The Redemption of Tempest Shadow

by twilightsparkle3562

Chapter 43: "You Became the Bully"

"Why should I accept your apologies?!" Tempest snapped at her friends, her broken horn glowing in anger. "Everything that has happened would not have happened had you not turned away from me!"

"Tempest, we didn't bring them here to further humiliate you," Twilight pleaded, trying to
calm Tempest down. "All they want is to…"

"QUIET!" Tempest snarled at Twilight, whose eyes widened with shock. "Let me handle this, alright, Twilight?!" Then Tempest turned towards her friends, snarling at them. But, as she confronted them, she didn't notice that Razzle Fizzle was watching from behind a curtain.

"We heard about what you did in Canterlot," Irish Spring cried out. "We couldn't believe it at first, Fizzlepop. You weren't somepony who would carry out such atrocities of your own free will. If there is anypony who should accept responsibility for what happened…"

"It's us," Lemon Lime added. "It's because of what we did to you that led to the invasion of Canterlot."

"That's not all you’ve done to me!" Tempest hissed again!

"Yes, we know," Snow Frost remarked with a gulp. "We... were told about what happened to your parents. None of us wanted them to die of broken hearts. We aren't like that at all, Fizzlepop. We didn't expect you to run away and never return to Equestria."

"Then, why couldn't you stop me from leaving?!” Tempest demanded! “Were you all too scared to be associated with a unicorn that had no horn! Was that it?! Were you going to become bullies to me?! Because that was all I was going to become! A punching bag, somepony to be picked on for being a freak, a worthless pony who could never amount to anything with a broken horn! I couldn't face being a target, so I ran away! And none of you even bothered to care until it was too late!”

"Tempest, why do you think I offered you the chance to become my Royal Guard Captain?" Twilight spoke up. "Because I know you have potential to put your life on the line for Equestria. You saved me and my friends from being turned to stone by the Storm King. I see good in you, Tempest. But, it’s up to you now. I hoped to bring your friends here, so that the healing process could begin, so that old grievances could finally be laid to rest. But only you can make that decision," She then cautioned. “But please, before you do something you regret, at least calm down and hear them out. And now that to forgive is not to forget.”

"We unintentionally made you a bully, Fizzlepop," Lemon Lime sighed. "And we are sorry for what we did to you. We’re ashamed that all of this happened solely because we were too scared to be there for you when you needed our help most. But, we…want to start over with you, again. We can't take back all that had happened long ago, as much as we wish we could. But, myself, Irish Spring and Snow Frost, we want to start our friendship again. This time, we won't turn our backs on you. What do you say? I know it’s too much to ask for us to all be friends again now, but do you think eventually we can get to that point?"

Tempest stood silent for a moment as the thoughts raced through her mind. Should she apologize to these three ponies? The ponies that had turned their backs on her and made her into the pony she was today: a pony that wasn't even a pony at all, but a bully that trampled on the rights of other ponies.

At last, Tempest looked at the ponies, and told them bluntly. “I… cannot forgive you right now. The wounds are still there, they still linger. Of course you’re ashamed now, just as I’m ashamed of the monster I used to be. But after all the pain and suffering I went through, forgiving you all now is too much,” She was quick to add. “I don’t hate you, hating is too strong. And maybe… in time, I might forgive you all. But for now, I just don’t see a reason why I should. I’m sorry.”

Snow Frost and the others just bowed. “We understand, Fizzlepop,” Snow Frost replied. “For what’s it worth, we truly are sorry. And if there’s anything we can do to make it up to you, to show you that our intentions are true…”

“You could start by leaving my sight,” Tempest requested. “I need time to think.”

“And you all should start thinking too,” Cadence advised. “Forgiveness is difficult to earn after such a long time. Broken bonds can’t be mended the same way broken bones can.”

“Understood, your highnesses.” Lemon Lime reluctantly spoke up.

---

Back in Canterlot, Luna and Celestia waited for anymore of the captured Storm King guards to open up about their actions. However, while some were opening up, others were not and Celestia was beginning to lose even more patience.

"It's no use, your highness," sighed the interrogator, stepping out of the interrogation room. "I can't get him to speak! I've tried everything by the book and he still won't talk!"

"Then, keep trying!" growled Celestia, stamping her foot down on the hard surface. "I want answers and I want them now!"

"Sister, if he's not talking..." Luna started to say.

"No, he's hiding something," Celestia snapped, angrily, giving Luna a fierce glare, before turning her attention back to the interrogator. "I don't care if you have to break any bones from your beatings, thousands of our subjects were tormented by these monsters! Keep trying until he gives in, do you understand?"

But, just before the interrogator reluctantly went back into the room, they were soon interrupted by Grubber who had been hearing what was going on. This made Celestia calm down immediately.

"Grubber," stammered Celestia, taking several deep breaths. "I'm sorry, I..."

"What are you doing?" the hedgehog asked as he peaked into the room and saw the storm creature stretched out by his arms and legs. "If you are getting him to talk...that's not the way to do it."

"What else do you want me to do, Grubber?" pleaded Celestia. "I want answers to what the Storm King did and what he was planning to do."

Then, at that moment, Grubber got himself an idea.

"Why don't you let me talk to him?"

Both Celestia and Luna gave each other a glance, thinking about Grubber's suggestion of talking to the captive.

"From the looks of it, he's in denial that the Storm King is dead and needs to know the truth. If he won't hear it from you, then he'll hear it from me."

"It's worth a try," said the interrogator, looking back to the princesses who both lowered their heads in agreement. Opening the door, they all watched as Grubber walked into the room to talk to his captured comrade...

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Good, Tempest made the right call.

[XFangHeartX]

Well, it's good to see that Tempest thought this through a bit.

[coryforsenate]

I like the story, there's not too many good Tempest stories (yet) and you're a prolific author with regular updates. My only major criticism is that it feels like everybody speaks with roughly the same diction. Suspension of disbelief is part of reading/watching non-fiction, but when Grubber and Celestia sound about the same it throws me a little.

Another thing, there's now a Tempest Shadow tag. If you update your tags to show that you might help other Tempest fans find your work.

And bravo for having the (currently) longest Tempest story by a fair margin. Short fics and oneshots are fun, but you can only get so much development in a few thousand words.

[Valsion]

It's only fair. Tempest is gonna have to work hard to earn forgiveness, so should her former friends.

[Vigriff]

It seems that Celestia truly is a dictator.

[AiNoTsubasaJP]

8675859
This isn't a good Tempest story.... This started out promising yes, but now Tempest is just shoving all her own responsibilities onto others. "Oh you guys abandoned me, so it's all your fault now that I think about it."
Only a few chapters ago Celestia was like: "Our mother said this isnt right so I agree." Now she is ordering to turn up the torture her mother said was wrong? Where is the sense in any of this?
Why does Grubber need to go talk to them? Doesn't he know it all already? Everytime something new comes up with they check it with him and he confirms it with details.... The fuck even?

[Jam5022]

"Tempest, why do you think I offered you the chance to become my Royal Guard Captain?" Twilight spoke up. "Because I know you have potential to put your life on the line for Equestria. You saved me and my friends from being turned to stone by the Storm King. I see good in you, Tempest. But, it’s up to you now. I hoped to bring your friends here, so that the healing process could begin, so that old grievances could finally be laid to rest. But only you can make that decision," She then cautioned. “But please, before you do something you regret, at least calm down and hear them out. And now that to forgive is not to forget.”

Replace “Now” with “Know” at the end