It's time to grow up...
Twilight felt a stinging, aching pain in her head as she slowly, very slowly regained her consciousness. She quietly breathed in and out as she laid on the ground. It was cold, cold and hard. The purple mare gathered what strength she had and rolled over to her left side, biting her teeth together as to not scream out loud. Her eyes slowly opened, almost as if she had just awoken from a long slumber. Twilight’s vision was hazy, but even still she managed to make out that she was in trouble. Her heartbeat accelerated as Twilight looked around herself, spotting the hazy images of the steel bars trapping her in her cage. She looked around further, becoming nervous, breathing more heavily. She spotted the weird orange fields surrounding her in her cage. The helpless mare rubbed her eyes and looked again. Still she couldn’t make out what it truly was. All she knew was that it gave off enough heat to almost make her sweat just by thinking about it. The purple mare turned around frantically, looking for a possible way out, or perhaps a weakspot but... nothing. There was no way out. No escape.
Twilight breathed louder and quicker with every minute that passed. Already, minutes felt like hours for her. The Princess of Friendship was trapped, captured. She had failed. She had failed Equestria, herself and her...
...her friends.
Twilight suddenly remembered what had happened; how she and the others argued, how they left her and how she was eventually caught by Tempest. All of it, all of those memories suddenly flooded back into her brain, it seemed, almost too quick for Twilight to process.
Twilight’s ears flattened. Her heartbeat slowed down, and she herself sat down on the cold floor of her cage.
”They’re... gone,” she began to think to herself. ”Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy... all of them,” she continued, ”gone. Just like that...”
Twilight’s previous almost panic-like state turned into a combination of regret and anger.
”It can’t be,” she said to herself out loud. ”It can’t be! My friends would never abandon me!”
The purple mare hammered a hoof against one of the solid bars of the cage in her fury.
”It can’t be...” she said to herself again, much quieter now. ”Please, it can’t be real!” she shouted loudly in desperation before tears overtook her.
Twilight’s sobbing became louder, her face wet from the tears that were now constantly streaming down her face. The poor, purple alicorn tried to speak up in between her sobbing, but her words would only turn into louder crying than before. Eventually, she was so invested in crying that she barely noticed that she had a visitor. An unpleasant one at that.
Twilight’s crying suddenly stopped as she took in the sound of hooves hitting the iron floor, followed by a self-assured laugh.
“The Princess of Friendship,” Tempest Shadow said as she approached Twilight, “all by herself. No way out, no rescue, no escape.” The scarred mare gave out another cackle as she put a hoof on the cage. Oh, how she enjoyed the sight; a completely helpless, powerless, broken princess. “-And all without her friends, too,” Tempest added.
Twilight looked away from Tempest, closing her eyes. She began to hear the sound of hooves hitting the hard iron floor again as Tempest began to circle her cage.
“Allow me the question, princess, but... whatever happened to your small, cute little group of best friends?” Tempest asked mockingly.
Twilight opened her eyes and looked up to see Tempest staring right into her eyes. The purple alicorn froze, giving out nothing but small, quiet stuttering.
“What was that?” Tempest asked in an overly joyful and nice voice. “I couldn’t hear you!” The wicked mare screamed, her broken horn giving off powerful lightning bolts. Twilight cringed and instinctively covered her face with her wings.
A broad smile formed on Tempest’s face, fueled by the sight of the helpless, scared princess that laid in front of her. “You ponies are such easy prey, weakened by your childish delusion of friendship and harmony.”
The imprisoned mare lowered her wings and looked back towards her captor. Tempest’s smile and words were like poison for the already weakened princess.
“Why?” Twilight asked with a weak voice. “Why are you doing this? You’re a pony, just like me. You don’t have to do this!”
Tempest’s smile disappeared, turning back into her usual monotone expression. “Oh, I don’t have to do this, alright,” she said, calmly spinning Twilight’s cage with one hoof, “but I chose to. I saw the true nature of so called ‘friendship’, the selfishness that hides in every friend.”
“W-what?” Twilight stuttered. “No! No, that isn’t true, at all!”
“Or is it?” Tempest snapped back. “My horn, my face...” she said as the remnant of her horn sparkled with blue energy, “they’re both more than enough evidence, I think, to show how friendships really end!”
Twilight gasped quietly. “No. Friends would never let this happen to you!” the princess exclaimed half-heartedly.
Tempest took a deep breath and began to circle the cage again. “When I was still a small filly, I wasn’t liked much in my village. Yet even then I had two ponies with me that I called friends. We would go on to play together every day.” Twilight continuously turned herself to face Tempest as she walked around her. “However,” she continued, “one fateful day, as we were playing in the forest, our ball ended up in a cave. We looked at each other for a moment, and the other promptly told me to go in and get it. So I did. What I didn’t know, however, was that within the cave lived a monster. It appeared from the shadows and I tried to fight it off but... I wasn’t fast enough.”
Tempest stopped. Once again her horn sparked, just before she gave out a low, bitter sigh.
“When I escaped the cave, I found that my friends had already fled after they heard my screaming. I had called for help, could have died right there, all by myself, and they ran away!” Tempest exclaimed, stomping a hoof on the ground.
“Oh but that isn’t where the story ends, my dear princess,” the scarred mare said as she looked back over to Twilight. “When I eventually came back home, I saw my friends playing together as if nothing had ever happened. I approached them, and they froze as they saw me, my horn, and this ugly scar on my face, all of which I had because of them and only them! And do you wanna know what they did, princess Twilight? Hm? Do you!?” Tempest shouted in anger, slamming her head against the bars of the cage. “My so called ‘friends’ turned tail and left me behind, abandoning me when I most needed them! Not only that, but they simply started playing together with a different kid! Is that what you call friendship, princess? Is it? Is it!?”
Twilight was silenced. At long last she knew why Tempest turned against her and all of Equestria. Yet... it was because of friendship. Friendship had failed her, her friends had failed her. Only because of this had Tempest become what she now was. Not once had her friends shown real friendship. Twilight, although caged and captured by her, couldn’t help but... feel an increasing amount of pity and empathy.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
“What was that?” Tempest asked in disbelief.
“I said I’m sorry. Friends should stick together, no matter the cost but...”
“But that isn’t how reality works, princess” Tempest interrupted. “You might think of friendship as all-powerful and harmonic, but that is a delusion, a lie!”
Twilight remained silent as she took in her opponent’s words. They hurt. And as Twilight quickly realised, it was the truth that hurt her most.
“Do you really think I am the only pony in Equestria that was betrayed, abandoned or simply disappointed by her friends?” Tempest’s broken horn sparked once more, more powerful bolts escaping it this time. “You and your closest friends have for the longest time been the role model of any friendship in Equestria, because your friendship is the only one that ever endured!”
Tempest’s words echoed throughout Twilight’s mind. She couldn’t rid herself of them, of any of them. It only worsened as her opponent continued on...
“And yet... it seems like even this ‘perfect friendship’ of yours is... how do I say this... dead! Over!” Once again, Tempest threw herself against the cage. Her horn emitted powerful, light blue bolts, but luckily the enchanted cage deflected them from Twilight.
The princess didn’t cower this time, however, wasn’t scared at all. She sat there. Silently. Thinking to herself.
“Don’t worry, princess. I’m sure your friends will come rescue you soon and- oh wait. They won’t! Cause they’ve abandoned you!” Once again, the princess didn’t react, not even flinch, in reaction to Tempest’s anger. “Don’t you see? Don’t you see it, at last? Don’t you see how friends really behave? How they abandon you, just like that, when things go badly?”
Twilight lifted her head up to face Tempest. It was the face of a mare that was visibly beaten; defeated and lost.
“Your friends are no different than mine, and you,” Tempest said with a vicious smile, “you are just like me. Abandoned, alone, left behind...”
Twilight closed her eyes, squeezing them together as hard as she could as her mind was in conflict with itself. “No...” she mumbled, “No! I’m nothing like you!”
“You might say that, but we both know the truth, don’t we?” Tempest suddenly took hold of both of Twilight’s forehooves, pulling her against the bars of cage as she stared her in the eyes with a menacing look. “Oh, Twilight,” Tempest said quietly, almost as a whisper, “we’re just the same, you and I.”
Twilight watched as the broken horn in front of her spewed bolts once more. Tempest let go of Twilight’s hooves and broke out into a deep, triumphant laugh. Twilight watched from her cage as the mare turned and walked away. Was she really like her, after all? Had her friends abandoned her when she most needed them?
“Face it, Sparkle,” Tempest said as she walked up the stairs, “friendship has failed. Your friends have failed and betrayed you!”
Tempest stopped one last time, turning towards the defeated, imprisoned mare. “Open up your eyes, princess,” Tempest spoke down to Twilight. “It’s time to grow up, time to leave this childish delusion behind.”
The trapped alicorn watched as the wicked mare swiftly turned away. The last thing Twilight heard was a loud bang as the trapdoor to her prison was shut.
Twilight was alone, once more. Her heart seemingly stopped, and the purple mare collapsed. Her mind was split, her will broken, her world shattered. As her mind fought on, there was one continuous thought that echoed not just through her mind but her entire body.
Friendship had failed.
She had failed.
My second attempt at writing a story about Tempest Shadow.
Please do leave a like if you enjoyed the story, and a comment showing your criticism, especially if you disliked this story in one way or another.
Thank you 
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I liked it a lot. You got Tempest's character down.
This was deep! It was so sad what happened to her. Well done.
Just so you know, I already knew about what happened to Tempest Shadow. She was seduced by the dark side. She ceased to be Fizzlepop Berrytwist and became Tempest Shadow. (Star Wars reference) In a way, if you think about it, her old former friends were entirely to blame for Fizzlepop Berrytwist becoming the evil Tempest Shadow, and the near destruction of Equestria.
This story was very good. Once again, Well done.
8468634
Thanks! I couldn’t help but write yet another story about Tempest. As my avatar suggests, she’s one of my new favourites
8468639
There's nothing wrong with that. I love Tempest Shadow too, even though I haven't seen the movie yet, and only read up about her. To me, she's like the Darth Vader of MLP.
In fact, I wrote 2 stories involving Tempest Shadow myself, but they are crossed-over with Star Wars.
1. There Is Still Good In Her
2. I Will Not Fail
You're more than welcome to check them out, if you'd like. One Tempest Shadow fan, to another.
8468882
I might! Though... it’s already 1:30 pm, so I’d much rather get some rest, instead. For now, at least
8468884
I hope you enjoy them.
Awesome!
If I could rate 5 stars, I would give this 6.
Good job my man.
I do like how you expanded on the scene, maybe improved it a little.
8469693
Honestly, if it weren't for the song (which is awesome in itself), I figure this could have really happened.
If it weren't for the music number, I would guess that this is how the scene would've gone. But that wouldn't have saved Tempest from the most ridiculous name on history
8472821
Which shall never be spoken aloud ever again.
I double dare you.
8472828
Which I won't, but you can't deny it sounds like a soda flavor
8472852
That... is too true, unfortunately.
Hey, I actually read this.
And it's like... This is just sort of exactly what happens in the movie, only with no singing. <.< So, didn't really leave any impression on me.
8474217
Not exactly, but still, I do get your point.
But hey, I’ve only just now finished writing yet another story about Tempest, sooo...
Feel free to check that out, I suppose
8474232
Actually, the one you wrote before this sounds really good, so I might check that out. :O
This was AWESOME! I enjoyed the read! Poor Twilight. Looks like Friendship ISN'T as magical as she thought!
Anyway, I'd love to see more!
8475587
Well, I already have 2 other drama stories about Tempest published, so you can feel free to check those out, if you wanna
8476441
I will!
I was thinking of doing a oneshot like this where Tempest describes what happened as if the song didn't have that flashback. It's too similar to what I was going to do, actually.
i think it's flawed, Twilight's friends didn;t abandoned hr, she drove them away.
She the oen who failed at Friendship, because she didn; trust ehr friends she showed whata failure she was.
Tempest is like a picture of what Sunset could have become after the anon-a-miss incident
This must be an alternative scene where Tempest didn't sing.
Or imagine this, since this isn't the first time Twilight's friends abandoned her. *Ahem* A Canterlot Wedding. In fact, this could probably what would happen to Twilight if she never found the real Cadance or became an Alicorn.
But I will tell you this, the fallout is better than what A Canterlot Wedding did.
You know, this is actually better than what we got in the movie. Don't get me wrong, the song is great and all, but I think that this sells Tempest's hurt a lot more.
8700417
Thanks! I do agree with you that, though I did and still do enjoy the song, it gave us only a very short glance at Tempest's past and the pain it brought with it. Then again, this whole story's goal was to improve upon the scene and replace the song so... mission accomplished, I say!
8700544
Your welcome!
By the way, as long as you're doing this kind of thing, you should try rewriting the attack on Canterlot. You know, have it so the Royal Guard is actually
useful for once, and have the other Princesses actually put up a decent fight.
8700693
Not a bad idea, though Im currently busy with a whole lot of real life struggles, mostly school work, so Im already lacking when it comes to writing new stuff on here.
Maybe at a later point, though
*Alondro yawns* Since the movie writers forgot the rest of the show canon when they shoved this plothole ridden mess onto the silver screen, allow me to fix the problem.
Suddenly, the other 5 showed up. "We didn't abandon her, ya danged broken horn-head," smirked AJ.
"Like, DUHHHHH," Dash rolled her eyes as she hovered lazily. "Element of LOYALTY, here!"
Pinkie bounced in place, as usual, "We were just thinking, "Heyyyy, where are all our NEW friends! Like, the REALLY strong ones we've made in the past 6 seasons!"
"Abandoning a dear friend in a time of trouble is the sort of utterly uncouth thing I'd expect of someone as garish as yourself," sniffed Rarity.
Fluttershy then drifted in and landed demurely, "Oh, hi everypony. He agreed to come too."
"When I heard some annoying wanna-be was trying to take over MY playground," slithered in the voice of Discord. "How could I refuse the call to demonstrate just how serious a mistake they'd made?"
And behind Discord stood a vast army of Skittles Bugs, griffons, and Dragons. It was then Tempest knew how thoroughly bucked her OP OC plot truly was.
8475587 Yeah, because a single villain monologue is ALWAYS to be believed.
Especially a violent invader. Totally trustworthy.
Sheesh, people fold so easily these days. Makes my job easier, though!
This has enough drama to be realistic, but not so much that it feels sadistic. This is perfect. No complaints!
8701376
can we have a sequel?
11367190
Hmm, not out of the question, but I'm currently tied up with other ideas, as well as (primarily) my ongoing series about the Sirens. Once I finished the latter, I'll start poking around with new story ideas.