In every story, there are heroes and villains. And in almost all those stories, the hero triumphs over said villain, saving the day and defeating evil. Most of the time, the villain is killed, or vanquished in some other way that they disappear altogether from the story, be it through exile, banishment, time travel, or whatever else you might think of.
Reality though, is somewhat different. First of all, heroes and villains are both terms that become quite relative in the real world. One pony’s hero is another’s villain. And when the villain is finally defeated, it is a rare thing for them to disappear altogether.
This was the fate of one Tempest Shadow, or Fizzlepop Berrytwist, to use her real name. As the commander of the Storm King’s forces, she was very much a villain to most Equestrians. And like all the villains who’d come before her, she had indeed, along with her master, been vanquished. But unlike most children’s stories, she was still alive and, in a move that had rocked the Canterlot political scene, been pardoned of her crimes against Ponydom by none other than Princess Celestia herself. Such a radical action, while merciful, also raised the rather awkward question of ‘what now?’. What does one do after their invasion fails, their army has surrendered, and they themselves are released from custody. Tempest had no real homeland to return to. She certainly had no desire to return to the homeland of the Storm King. She found herself in something of a paradox.
On the one hoof she was no longer a servant of that insane madman, but at the same time, she was no citizen of Equestria either. She had forsaken this colourful land of sunshine and rainbows long ago. She had burned her bridges on both sides, leaving her stuck, with nowhere to go.
There had been some help, of course. Twilight Sparkle, her former adversary and the pony who helped redeem her, had been kind enough to give her a home for the time being. For the past couple of weeks, she had been resident in this strange, crystalline castle in the small town of Ponyville. The alicorn had told Tempest that she was welcome to stay as long as she needed and that she would do everything she could to help the mare get her life in order.
But it was a far bigger task than anyone had expected it to be. Tempest had left Equestria twenty years ago. She had no education here, no work history. Hay, she barely had anything to her name bar a birth certificate and a death certificate, since her parents believed her gone, given how long she had been missing. Twilight had suggested she go and see them in her old home town. They were both still alive after all. But Tempest couldn’t. She had been away so long, changed so much, she doubted they would even recognise her. How do you build or rebuild a life from nothing?
There had been some promise at first mind. If there was one thing Tempest had in abundance, it was her military experience. She was a gifted and experienced soldier, so naturally, Twilight suggests that she apply for the Royal Guard. The young alicorn even suggested Tempest might make a good instructor or senior commander.
But it was not to be. One of the first things Tempest learned on returning to her homeland was its love of paperwork and tick boxes over actual ability. She had a proven record in her former army as a capable commander. For Celestia’s sake, she had successfully managed to capture Canterlot in an incredible blitz attack that the Royal Guard studied for decades. Despite this, about a week after she made her written application, including several long tedious statements that Twilight had helped her write, which showed her ‘commitment to the values and standards of the Royal Guard’, she received a short, neatly typed out letter that was clearly just a template slightly modified for each recipient. It thanked for her application, but regrettably stated that due to her medical conditions, she was ineligible for military service.
That was the other problem. Tempest was a unicorn in name only. The damage to her horn, which made it all but impossible to use even basic spells, apart from maybe creating some powerful explosions that disoriented her opponents, was not only irreparable, but counted as a disability here in Equestria, and excluded her from a spectacular number of roles. She couldn’t understand it. She had been a successful soldier with one army, which clearly had higher standards than the Royal Guard, and yet a chipped horn, since the letter did specify chipped, not outright broken, meant that, according to them, she could not be.
The setback had left Tempest not exactly in the best of tempers. Twilight even tried to have an exception made for her. But the bureaucracy would not be moved. Even with the support of no less than Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, the recruiters would not allow it, pointing out how they could not make an exception for one pony without causing trouble further down the line. And so, Tempest never would become a guard.
Still, Twilight, Starlight, and Spike would not let the mare give up. There were other jobs out there, other places to try. And once Tempest found the right one, she could start to get her own life back on track; getting her own place, saving money, and reintegrating back into society.
That, by far, was the bigger problem. Tempest was far from what most would call a normal pony. Standing well over five feet tall, with a broken horn, scarred eye, and striking mohawk mane, she looked more than a little intimidating, even without the armour. Her voice too, although nowadays it had an undercurrent of friendliness, was still a hard, cold tone that made even grown stallions sit up straight and their knees knock.
When she had first moved into Ponyville, Twilight had taken her for a tour around town. The alicorn couldn’t help but liken the incident to when she first met Zecora several years ago. Everywhere they went, ponies bolted the other way, foals cowered behind their parents, and they all disappeared inside their homes and locked their doors as the intimidating mare came by. And what few introductions were made didn’t exactly help either. Having been away for so long, pony customs were unfamiliar to her, and her intimidating presence and limited body language only broadened the gap. Ponies talked to her once, but that was it. She never meant to do so, but invariably would somehow terrify any prospective friend.
Starlight tried to be encouraging, assuring Tempest that the same thing happened to her when she first arrived in Ponyville. She all but guaranteed Tempest that before long ponies would start to relax around her. But after six weeks, Tempest was beginning to have doubts. Ponyville still turned into a ghost town whenever she went out, with the exception of Twilight and her friends, and even some of them remained distrustful of her.
She began to, slowly but surely, isolate herself as a result. She still spent time with Starlight, Spike, and Twilight, if only to humour them. But she resolved to herself that, while she might have played a part in saving these ponies, they would never truly accept her. That was fine by her. She didn’t need to be accepted, in fact, she took pride in not needing anypony else for companionship. But she did want to live her own life and not languish here being pitied by everypony. So she turned her attention to study, learning all she could about ponies to try and recover some of the knowledge that she had lost during her time away from Equestria. Still, she couldn’t help but feel as though she was treading water, and ultimately going nowhere.
It was now seven weeks since the events in Canterlot. The world had moved on. Twilight was talking about starting some sort of school to teach ponies about friendship and was keen to broach the topic over breakfast. Tempest was at the table with her, along with Starlight and Spike. The mare preferred to take her meals in private these days, but Twilight had, in that way of hers, convinced her to join them, pointing out how unhealthy it was for Tempest to be spending so much time alone. The four of them were gathered around the breakfast table, with something of a mini buffet before them, courtesy of Spike. Tempest helped herself to some scrambled eggs and toast and was about to tuck in when Twilight spoke.
“You know, Tempest,” she said, prompting Tempest to look up from her breakfast. “You could take a job at this new school I’m working on. EEA guidelines say we have to have at least one physical education class. With your experience, I’m sure you’d be able to help.”
Tempest resisted the urge to roll her eyes and bit back a retort that was on the tip of her tongue. She’d been having to do that more and more of late. This lack of direction was getting to her. Twilight was just trying to be kind and helpful, and she did have a point. Okay, it wasn’t what she was used to, but at least it would be something close to what she was familiar with. On the other hoof though, she wondered what might happen with her in such a post. Given how ponies reacted to her, she didn’t want to think about how foals might react when away from their parents. More to the point, if something went wrong, it would cast doubt on this new school as well.
“Thanks, Twilight,” she said non-committally. “I’ve got a few other irons in the fire at the moment, but it sounds interesting.”
“I think you’d be a great teacher, Tempest,” Spike agreed. “With all your physical skills, you’d be great at keeping the students in shape. Hay, you could start with these two. They spend so much time studying magic in the library that they go days without exercising.”
“We do not!” both Starlight and Twilight retorted hotly.
“Spike,” Twilight admonished. “We’re far from unfit. After all, I took third last year in the Running of the Leaves.”
“Yeah,” Starlight agreed. “And physical strength is tied to your magical strength. So I’m in great shape.”
“Not as great as Tempest,” Spike countered.
He was right too. It was perhaps, aside from her horn and scar, the most intimidating thing about her. In addition to being taller than the average mare, never mind stallion, Tempest had quite the physique, and had strength that rivalled even Applejack when it came to raw power. The thing most ponies feared about her was the possibility of her snapping them like a twig at any moment.
“He’s right there, Twilight,” Tempest agreed, taking a sip of her coffee and quietly enjoying watching the mares’ insecurities play out. “But then again, I did spend most of my life training for war. Still, it might benefit you two to get in better shape for when you next encounter an enemy of Equestria.”
“No offence, Tempest,” Starlight said with a slight scoff. “But one pony here saved all Equestria, and she isn’t the pony who’s built like a tank.” Tempest bristled at that, but took the teasing in her stride. You didn’t get to be where she had been without being able to take the odd joke.
“True, Starlight,” she agreed. “But one pony here successfully took over Canterlot in less than an hour, and she isn’t the one with jelly for legs.” Spike burst out laughing as Tempest skewed the unicorn with her infamous piercing gaze. Twilight just rolled her eyes.
“Alright, you two,” she said, trying to play peacemaker. “I think that’s enough...”
“No way!” Starlight said confidently. “You and me, Tempest, hoof wrestling contest. Now!”
“Seriously?”
“What? Afraid I’m gonna beat you?” Tempest had never been known to back away from a challenge.
A moment later, the two mares had a foreleg each on the table. Spike counted them down and the contest began…
…and ended in short order. Tempest pinned Starlight in seconds, sending the unicorn flying out of her seat to the floor, and prompting the watching Spike to burst out laughing again. Tempest, magnanimous in victory, as always, offered the defeated unicorn some advice.
“Next time you challenge somepony to hoof wrestling, don’t pick a mare who could bench you.”
“Really?” Spike asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.
“Okay, that’s enough, you three!” Twilight butted in, sounding more like a scolding mother than a princess. Starlight climbed back into her seat, still looking somewhat dazed.
“So how about it, Tempest?” Twilight reiterated. “I think having you at the school would really help you as well. It would give you a chance to spend time around lots of ponies, and a few other species too, and use some of your existing skill set for a better purpose.”
Twilight did make a strong argument. But Tempest couldn’t help but feel reluctant. When this whole reformation process began, she’d allowed herself to hope for a fresh start and the beginning of a new life. But forming a new life wasn’t the only challenge. In fact, most of her problems stemmed from her old one. Her broken horn, her intimidating presence, the general fear she caused wherever she went. No matter what, she didn’t quite seem to be able to shake them off. Even if she did take this job, she’d still be that scary pony with the broken horn.
She’d been considering it for a while, although she hadn’t brought it up with Twilight yet, the idea of going beyond Equestria. While she had no desire to head to the icy south pole where the Storm King had sprung from, never mind those infernal hippogriffs, there were other places where she might find herself of more use. Foremost in her mind was the Griffon Kingdom. Griffons weren’t like ponies in many respects, most importantly, they still felt the need to maintain a standing army. Tempest hoped that the more rough and tumble outlook of the griffons would be in a stark contrast to ponies and their military bureaucracy. She was confident she could find a role there.
The trouble was explaining that to Twilight. The young alicorn was adamant that Tempest rediscover her equinity. She’d been away from Equestria so long, and now that she had returned, Twilight wanted her to stay. She wanted Tempest to befriend ponies, discover the magic of friendship. In a way, Tempest did too. While in contrast to the life she knew, she did have a degree of fondness for this green and pleasant land, and she did like Ponyville. The problem was that ponies didn’t much seem to like her. And whatever else she might do, Twilight couldn’t force ponies to accept Tempest.
“Maybe,” Tempest said eventually as she finished up her meal. “Let me think about it a little. I think I’ll head out for a walk around town for a bit. When are you planning to open this school anyway?”
“Oh, not for another couple of months yet,” Twilight admitted. “The building is nearly ready, but there’s all the paperwork with the EEA, signing up students, teachers, buying equipment, planning lessons, you know, little things.” The alicorn giggled at that. “In any case, feel free to take all the time you need.”
With breakfast over, Tempest did indeed go out for a walk. It was another one of Twilight’s many helpful little suggestions. After she saw how Tempest was tending to hole herself up in her room all day, she began to insist that the mare go outside at least once a day just to get some fresh air and sunlight. She was like a mother sometimes, very much like her mentor.
Heading out the door, Tempest found herself squinting slightly at the bright morning sun. Ponyville was already starting to get busy. Ponies were buying and selling at the market, foals were going to school, everything was hustle and bustle, at least by the small town’s standards. Tempest swallowed as she walked down the castle’s steps, knowing full well what was about to happen.
Almost as soon as she closed the door behind her, ponies eyes locked onto her. Tempest knew when she was being watched, and could feel dozens of eyes on her. As she made her way down one of the thoroughfares, her sensitive ears picked up the first murmurs and comments from ponies. Had they really not run out of things to whisper behind her back? She did her best to ignore them and tried to recall Starlight’s advice. It did rather put a dent in the whole friendship is magic deal though. Whatever else you might say about Tempest, she had saved Twilight’s life, helped end the threat of the Storm King for good, and freed Canterlot. But all ponies seemed to remember was the fact that she was the one who petrified the princesses, turned the citizens of Canterlot into slaves, and had gone on to ruthlessly pursue Twilight and her friends, ultimately dragging her back to Canterlot so her sick master could steal her magic. She didn’t object to being judged for her crimes, but she wished ponies would at least acknowledge her good deeds too.
As far as she knew, the only ponies who had done that had been the princesses themselves. After all was said and done, Celestia and Luna had come to see Tempest while she was briefly held in the castle dungeons, courtesy of the Royal Guard. They had pardoned her of her crimes and set her at liberty. More than that though, Celestia had thanked her for saving the life of her former student and for helping to defend her realm. She had even told the mare that she was in her debt. For now though, Tempest would have to put up with the stares and whispers.
Gritting her teeth slightly, she wound her way through the increasingly empty streets. By the time she reached the market square, Ponyville had seemingly become a ghost town. Even the tumbleweeds were absent. Tempest snorted in annoyance. It wasn’t as if she was even doing anything. She didn’t glare at ponies, didn’t overtly approach them, she had no weapons, no armour on her; she did nothing threatening apart from exist. You’d have thought that, after nine weeks, ponies would have at least grown accustomed to her. With a snort, she prepared to head another way. She’d found some solace in Sweet Feather Sanctuary, a nature reserve outside of town. And while it’s proprietor was just as fearful of her as anypony else, it gave her somewhere to feel at peace. Plus the various animals didn’t seem to mind her that much.
Just before she turned to go though, she heard a voice call out to her, making her realise that she wasn’t entirely alone out here.
“Do not depart. My shop is still here. Even if every other pony hides in fear. Come, come, take a look around. You may find that what was lost can soon be found.”
Tempest looked across the market square and saw that one stall was indeed still occupied. If she recalled Twilight’s tour correctly, this one belonged to a potion maker, a zebra too, judging by the accent and rhyming. They always were an odd species. Still, having been invited over, she trotted across the empty square to the zebra. Like most ponies, she was noticeably shorter than herself. But where ponies looked up in awe at best, and fear at worst, this zebra seemed more curious than anything else.
“So many ponies there were here before. I can see why you seek to set out for a far off shore,” she continued.
“I feel like I’m going to cause some kind market crash if I stay here much longer,” Tempest said, attempting a joke. “You’d have thought these ponies would have gotten used to me being here by now.” The zebra chuckled.
“I have lived here for much longer than you. But it wasn’t so long ago that ponies hid from me too.”
“You? But why?” Tempest asked. As irrational as their fear was, she could at least understand why ponies were scared of her. But a zebra? They had no magic, weren’t particularly imposing. What was there to be scared of?
“I was different, and I was unknown. For that the princesses, I must be plotting to cast from their throne.”
“So how did you manage to stop ponies running for the hills then?” Zecora smiled as she resumed organising her stock.
“It was not me, but an innocent young foal. It was she who, the ponies’ fears, helped console. Young Apple Bloom was curious and friendly too. Perhaps friendship with her might be of help to you.”
Apple Bloom? That’s...er Applejack’s little sister right. Part of that little crusader gang?”
“The Cutie Mark Crusaders; an odd little bunch. But help you they might, on that I have a hunch.”
“Huh,” Tempest mused. “Alright, I guess I’ll try and see her over on that farm they have. Thanks.”
“I am happy to help you in such a familiar plight. Before you go, take this. It will help you sleep more easily at night.”
She passed Tempest a small bottle, containing a light green liquid. It was true, Tempest hadn’t been sleeping brilliantly of late. Well, truth be told, she hadn’t slept well since the business in Canterlot and her brief petrification. But she hadn’t realised that it was so obvious. Thanking Zecora again, she set off through the still empty town for Sweet Apple Acres. She didn’t care to look back, but she could hear quite easily that as soon as she left, ponies started to return back to their market.
“Well, at least there’s one sane pony in this town,” Tempest muttered to herself.
While Tempest was never a pony who minded getting her hooves dirty, she didn’t exactly care for farm life. While the rows of apple trees and white picket fences looked pleasant enough, the stench of manure on the air outweighed it by a wide margin. Evidently this place also hosted cattle or sheep, or maybe pigs. Still, if Apple Bloom and her friends could help her somehow, she wouldn’t pass up the opportunity. Although she wasn’t exactly looking forward to meeting her. Given her own curtailed childhood, Tempest wasn’t exactly good with kids. If adults were scared of her, to foals, she must come across like the Pony of Shadows.
Making her way along the track, she figured her best bet was to make for the farmhouse. Applejack, along with the rest of Twilight’s friends had been friendly enough to her, up to a point. She got the feeling that the cowpony and the one with a rainbow mane were the least trustful of her. Before she got to the farmhouse though, she picked up the sounds of children’s voices. Pony ears were sensitive enough, but Tempest’s training gave her even more of an edge.
Following the sounds, she headed off the trail and through the apple orchards until she came across what seemed to be a treehouse, perched in an old apple tree. Whoever built it had obviously put a lot of work into it too. There was even a telescope mounted at the highest point. Deciding that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to just wander in, not that she could easily fit in there, another disadvantage of her above average size, she called up.
“Er, hello?” she called, trying to keep her voice soft and the volume low.
Instantly, the chattering voices from within stopped, and a moment later, three sets of eyes appeared at the very bottom of one of the windows. Tempest wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but she could hear whispers and mutterings from within. The foals sounded like they were arguing. Eventually, one of their number was rather forcibly shoved out the door in a field of light green magic, landing unceremoniously on the steps. Scrambling back to her hooves, her eyes again fixed themselves on Tempest and a nervous smile plastered itself to her lips.
“Can...can I help you, miss?” the filly asked. She sounded a lot like Applejack, so Tempest assumed this was the pony she was looking for.
“I’m looking for Apple Bloom,” Tempest said. “That zebra...er...Zecora, she said you might be able to help me.”
The little filly now gained a more surprised and perplexed expression. Her two compatriots, still observing from behind the cover of the windowsill seemed equally bewildered.
“You’re lookin’ for me?” she asked curiously.
“Zecora said that you helped ponies get used to her and not be afraid of her. I was hoping you might be able to do the same for me,” Tempest explained, still feeling awkward talking to these fillies.
Apple Bloom, now seeming to grow a little bolder, trotted closer to Tempest, her two friends emerging from their cover at the window to join her. They all still seemed a little apprehensive, but they didn’t seem to be afraid of her as other ponies were. The trio circled around her curiously, making Tempest feel just a little uncomfortable. Eventually, Apple Bloom turned to her two friends.
“Any ideas, you two?” she asked them.
“We just need to show ponies that she isn’t scary,” the unicorn filly said simply.
“Yeah, but how?” Apple Bloom asked.
The third filly, an orange pegasus with rather stubby wings, didn’t offer anything into the conversation, instead staring up at Tempest with noticeable awe.
“Cool scar,” she said after a moment, pointing to the scar over Tempest’s right eye. “How did you get it?”
“Fighting an Ursa Minor,” Tempest replied evenly. “It slashed at me with its claws, did this too.” She gestured to her broken horn.
Now normally, at this point, ponies would offer sympathy, or worse pity. Tempest was never exactly proud of her battle scars, but nor was she ashamed of them. All most ponies saw though was a disfiguring injury. Not this pegasus though.
“You fought an Ursa?!” she exclaimed. The question caught the attention of Apple Bloom and her friend, who had both previously been lost in thought.
“Not intentionally,” Tempest explained. “I was just a filly when it happened.” This only fanned the flames.
“You fought an Ursa when you were a filly and lived. And you got a cool scar too?” the pegasus asked excitedly. The other two foals too seemed captivated.
So Tempest told them what had happened to her. True, she didn’t like to dwell on the event. While it had been many years since that terrible day, it still troubled her. After all, she need only look in the mirror or try to cast a simple spell and be reminded of it. But while other ponies were horrified by the story of a young filly taking on such a terrible beast and being so horrifically injured in the process, these fillies looked on it as something incredible.
Things soon picked up from there, Tempest showed off some of her limited magical abilities to the three foals, as well as a few simple combat moves. By the time she was done, the trio had a plan to help her.
“We’ve got to show everypony else that!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.
“Yeah!” the unicorn, who Tempest learned was called Sweetie Belle, agreed. “You’re not scary, Tempest. You’re awesome.” Tempest actually felt herself blush a little at that.
“Come on!” Scootaloo ordered. “The other foals have got to see this.”
And with that, Tempest found herself being dragged back towards Ponyville.
Tempest actually found the company of the Crusaders a little unsettling at first. Having grown accustomed to being alone for so long, walking through town with these three fillies somehow felt off. Not that she could really dwell on that as the three of them continued to pester her as they walked. Their questions came thick and fast, ranging from how she learned to use her fractured horn, to why she was so much taller than most ponies and, of course, what her cutie mark was. Tempest did her best to answer as much as she could, but was already feeling uncomfortable. The ceaseless chattering, along with being pulled in three different directions most of the time was beginning to annoy her. She did her best to keep herself composed, but the sudden overload was really getting to her by the time they reached the school.
Since it was early morning, classes were yet to start, and the playground in front of the modest schoolhouse was currently filled with foals playing, being watched by a plum coloured earth pony mare, who Tempest assumed was their teacher. Her arrival on the scene prompted the usual reaction. The yelling and laughing of the playing foals quickly died down and stopped as they all stared at her and the Crusaders. The teacher, who had previously been standing by the door, only half paying attention to her charges, now trotted out right to the low fence that marked the school yard boundary.
To her credit, she didn’t immediately command Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to get away from Tempest, but she certainly didn’t seem happy at the idea of Tempest being there.
“There you three are,” she greeted the fillies with a smile. “I was wondering where you’d got to.”
She opened the small swing gate for them, evidently trying to put something of a barrier between them and Tempest. The fillies however, didn’t take the hint and continued to bound around their new friend.
“Sorry we’re late, Miss Cheerilee,” Sweetie Belle apologised. “We had a client come to our clubhouse for a consult.”
Tempest had to restrain herself from laughing at that.
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom continued. “Tempest here wanted our help settling in to Ponyville.”
“Settling?!” Cheerilee repeated the word, sounding more than a little alarmed at the notion. Tempest was well aware that a good many ponies were hoping she’d leave town before too long.
“A bunch of ponies are still scared of her because of what happened in Canterlot,” Scootaloo went on, ignoring Cheerilee’s alarm, and, as far as Tempest could tell, seemingly not fussed at the mention of a time where she herself was kept prisoner.
It actually surprised Tempest quite a bit that these three fillies had warmed up to her so readily. While it had been quite some time since those events, she would have been more understanding of foals being fearful of her compared to adults, particularly as, unlike most of Ponyville’s residents, they had actually been there. Surely those events would have been more frightening to a foal. But instead, these three children seemed remarkably resilient.
“So we figured the best thing to do is to show ponies that she isn’t scary at all,” Apple Bloom finished.
“Really?” Cheerilee said, still trying to mask her alarm.
“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle said with a nod. “Once you get to know her, Tempest is actually kinda nice, plus she showed us all these really cool fighting moves.”
“I’m not really sure...” Cheerilee began, trying to find a way out of the situation.
However, at the mention of combat skills, a few of the colts that had previously taken refuge behind the jungle gym came out of hiding. The Crusaders convinced Tempest to show off a couple of her spells, on a small scale, of course. This soon drew in more foals, and even Cheerilee seemed impressed with the demonstration. And a few minutes later, the mare who had previously struggled to get anypony to come within a mile of her was surrounded by excited kids watching a fireworks display.
Tempest actually found herself smiling and actually feeling happy for the first time...well, actually, she couldn’t really remember. But her current situation certainly rekindled some foalhood memories of happier times. She made a mental note to thank Zecora as soon as she could. Her advice had been spot on.
Of course, a more cynical part of Tempest’s mind pointed out that all this fun and laughter seemed too good to be true, and it wasn’t too long after that those negative waves hit home. Tempest allowed herself to think that, by befriending these foals and their teacher, she might finally shake off the dark persona ponies had attributed to her. She would be able to integrate into the town, find work, and at long last move on with her new life. This wishful thinking lasted right up until another mare appeared on the scene.
She had just finished her little display and amidst cheering foals was being congratulated by Cheerilee.
“My goodness. That was incredible, Tempest,” the young teacher declared, clapping her front hooves together.
“Can you come and do a display for my party?” Diamond Tiara asked hopefully.
Tempest was about to reply, when a high pitched scream cut across the air.
“Diamond Tiara! Get away from that monster this instant!” A harsh, piercing voice commanded.
The owner of the voice was a pinkish earth pony, with a purple mane done in a style that vaguely reminded Tempest of Rarity. If Rarity had put no effort in that morning that is. She quickly learned that this was Diamond Tiara’s mother, Spoiled Rich. And she wasn’t exactly a fan of Tempest. Marching over to the ground, she quickly grabbed her child and rounded on Cheerilee.
“What in the name of Celestia are you thinking allowing that horrible creature near my child?!” she demanded. Cheerilee’s ears wilted for a moment and she shot an apologetic look toward Tempest.
“Spoiled,” she said in an imploring tone. “Tempest was only showing the children a few magic tricks under my supervision. I can assure you she’s quite harmless.”
“Nonsense!” Spoiled huffed back haughtily. “That cripple is nothing but a no good turncoat! And I won’t have her around my child!”
Tempest suppressed a snarl at that. While she wouldn’t have minded showing Spoiled just what she was capable of, she figured it probably wasn’t the best idea. Cheerilee however, wasn’t so inclined.
“Spoiled!” she barked in a scolding tone. But the mare was having none of it and, seeing how she was getting a reasoned response from Cheerilee, turned to call out to other ponies who happened to be passing by.
“Look, everypony,” Spoiled called out, pointing accusingly at Tempest. “That horrid unicorn is trying to hurt our foals!”
Gently pushing her way past a couple foals, Tempest had a go at trying to calm the situation down
“Lady, if I wanted to hurt your foals, you wouldn’t have had time to run over here,” she said plainly. “Apple Bloom and her friends asked me to come here to show some of my skills. Anyway, I’m done now, so if you really want me to go, I’ll be on my way.”
No, don’t go, Tempest,” various voices implored.
“Yeah, show us some more of those fighting moves,” others pleaded. This only egged Spoiled on.
“You’ve been teaching our foals how to attack each other?” she demanded, blowing the situation far beyond any sane proportion.
By now, Spoiled’s deranged screeching had attracted quite a crowd of ponies, and Tempest could tell that they weren’t on her side.
“What? No!” Tempest exclaimed, bewildered. But it was too late, amongst the modest crowd were other parents.
“Get her away from my kids!” a voice demanded.
“She’s clearly intimidating Miss Cheerilee,” another declared. And with a certain finally came.
“Get her!”
Now, it was true, had Tempest wanted to, she could have easily dispatched the three middle aged stallions that tried to rush her. But she was well aware that the fallout from all this was going to be bad enough as it was. Plus the foals probably didn’t want to see her beating up their dads. So, deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, Tempest turned tail and promptly legged it.
Tempest had hoped that a simple withdrawal would calm things down, but she instead found herself pursued through the streets. Jumping over obstacles and pushing her way past the odd pony, none of whom cared for the experience, which probably didn’t endear Tempest to them very much, she made her way back towards the comparative safety of the castle.
Rounding the corner, she was relieved to see a confused Twilight Sparkle standing on the steps. Putting on one more burst of speed, she charged up the steps, ran past the alicorn and made it inside. Luckily for her, the pursuing angry mob stopped at the threshold.
A slightly winded Tempest spent the next half an hour sitting in one of the chairs at the map table, furious with herself and feeling deeply embittered towards the world. Starlight brought her a cup of tea and listened to her explanation. The unicorn agreed that Tempest hadn’t done anything wrong, and explained to her how Spoiled Rich had also made life difficult for her at first. Tempest couldn’t understand it; according to Starlight, Spoiled was a pretty disliked figure in Ponyville due to her snobbish personality. So why then had ponies paid her any mind?
Starlight tried to help Tempest, explaining how, in a crisis, ponies can fall into a herd mentality, and not necessarily think straight or act with good reason. Tempest though, was too angry to care. She’d played nice, gone out of her way to make friends here, and try to integrate back into society. And just as she gets a first tenuous grasp, something comes along and put her probably worse off than she was before. To say the experience left her feeling down was an understatement, and her mood didn’t improve when Twilight joined them.
“Alright,” she said, sitting down in her own chair, emblazoned with her cutie mark. “I managed to calm everypony down at last.”
“Let me guess,” Tempest said bitterly. “I’m not allowed near the school again?”
“At the very least,” Twilight replied sadly. “I talked to Cheerilee. She has absolutely no problem with you and thought everything got blown way out of proportion. But Spoiled has got all the parents worried.”
“Yeah, nopony wants to be around the big scary monster pony,” Tempest mused to herself.
“That’s just ponies petty small mindedness talking,” Twilight replied, sounding more than a little cross herself. “Trust me, Tempest, with time things will...”
“Get better, Twilight?” Tempest cut her off. “Come on. I’ve been here for weeks. I’ve tried to integrate, I’ve tried to make friends. It just isn’t happening. And somehow I doubt that after today I have any chance at becoming a teacher at your new school. It’s time we faced facts; I’m just not welcome here.”
“You are, Tempest,” Starlight countered. “It’s like Twilight said though; these things take time.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve wasted enough time,” Tempest replied. “I’m sick of just sitting here spinning my wheels doing nothing and turning Ponyville into a ghost town whenever I go out. I’ve got no job, no prospects, and no future here.”
“Tempest...” Twilight tried, but the larger unicorn had already gotten up from her chair and stormed off, her damaged horn crackling. The alicorn could only look to her student and dragon companion in worry.
Stalking into her room, Tempest slammed the door behind her with an angry snarl. She was sick of it. She was sick of being here, sick of this town, and sick of its damned ponies. She should have left for the Griffon Kingdom as soon as she was released, instead of wasting her time hanging around here. The whole experience just served to remind her of why she left Equestria in the first place. Ostracised for her injury, she had never been accepted, and it seemed that wasn’t likely to change any time soon. Twilight had been kind to her, and she did consider her, Spike and Starlight friends.
But at the same time, she only had those three friends. She had no job, no means of supporting herself and in general felt like her life was going nowhere. Whatever else she might have thought about the Storm King, he gave her a purpose. She had duties, which she performed admirably. She had a purpose, albeit a malign one. And though the cause was wrong, she could still take some measure of pride in her accomplishments. Now, here she was, supposedly saved by the magic of friendship, and it was all just the opposite.
It wasn’t as if she expected forgiveness either. Tempest would have accepted, without complaint, if the princesses chose to execute her for her crimes. It wasn’t the fact that ponies remained distrustful of her that angered her. It was the fact that she was told time and time again that eventually ponies would forgive her. That promise seemed to be as much nonsense as the promise she’d had decades ago when she lost her horn, and her mother assured her ponies wouldn’t treat her any differently.
Perhaps she had been wrong to switch sides as she had. A dark part of her mused that, perhaps she should have let her former master have his way. At least then she would still be a soldier. Might her life not have been better if Twilight hadn’t been as quick on the draw when she found herself petrified. Perhaps things would have worked out better for all concerned if she had joined the Storm King, smashed to pieces of petrified obsidian.
With a snort, Tempest roused herself from such a dark line of thought. Tempest had done many things in her life that she was not proud of. But there was no way she would even consider taking the cowards way out, not when there were still prospects outside Equestria to be had.
Letting out a weary sigh, she allowed herself to flop onto her bed.
‘Equestria was a beautiful place.’ she mused to herself.
And in some other life, she might have been happy here. But not now, not any more. These ponies weren’t her kin any more, and they would never see beyond her chequered past. There was no way to rebuild. Hay, there was nothing to rebuild from. If she really was to restart her life, it would not be here.