“So this is all mine now?” Tempest asked breathlessly as she looked around her new room. While shattered glass from the windows still covered the floor, Tempest knew all of that could be fixed with relative ease. Thick purple curtains lay on either side of the two windows; thankfully they looked like they were untouched by her former army. The stained glass door leading out onto her small balcony had a long, single crack that marred its beauty.
Much to her disbelief, instead of getting tattered hand-me-downs like she had expected, Twilight had bestowed upon her a beautiful set of white silk sheets plus four of the fluffiest pillows that she’d ever seen. Her bed was large enough to comfortably fit at least three ponies side by side, and to top it all of, there was a thick fleece blanket folded neatly at the base of her new bed.
“Yes, it is!” Twilight said with an earnest grin.
“I... I don’t know what to say,” Tempest said. “I feel like saying thank you just isn’t enough.”
“Well, you are most welcome!” Twilight said. She pointed a single feather at the bed. “Go on, try it out! I’m sure you’ll love it!”
“The bed?” Tempest prodded it with a hoof, then flopped stomach-first on top of the mattress with a giggle. “Oh... my... gosh...” she said as she sunk down into the sheets. “What is this? It’s so soft...” She laid her head between her forelegs, the softness of the silk caressing her muzzle. She held herself back from humming in content.
“A cloud bed,” Twilight said, her grin widening. “They’re the most expensive beds around. You will never find something softer and more comfortable than that. I’ve outfitted nearly every bed in the castle with them. Starlight prefers firm beds, so I made sure to have a few traditional mattresses laying around, too.”
“How can you afford so many of these beds?” she asked, rolling over onto her side.
“Perks of being a princess,” Twilight said with a giggle as she stood up. “So you coming? We have a lot of work to do!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” Tempest pushed herself off the bed, shooting a wistful glance at it. Soon... she thought. Her body wanted nothing more than to slip under the sheets and take the rest of the day off, but her mind advised otherwise. “Say, is there some spell you could use to fix the windows? Feeding everypony should definitely be top priority, but, um... maybe we could clean the castle up afterwards?”
“That might be a good idea. And yeah, I do know a spell that can fix the windows. It takes a lot of energy to do it, but it should work so long as all the pieces are here.” She lit her horn and focused her magic on the broken glass.
Tempest watched in amazement as all of the glass shards rose up into the air, each piece flying towards the windows. Seconds later, each piece fell into place. As Twilight’s magic faded away, Tempest trotted up to both windows and inspected them. “They’re flawless...” she muttered. “Almost like they weren’t broken in the first place.”
“Heh, thanks. I’ll repair the rest of the windows here when we get back. If I’m not exhausted, that is.” Twilight wiped her brow with a hoof. “So now that we’ve got you settled in here, our friends need us down at the farm!”
Our friends? Tempest’s heart warmed at the thought. I like the sound of that. Guilt forced its way into the front of her mind, making her ears droop. She saw Twilight turn towards the door, so with a nervous flick of her mane, Tempest trotted past her and locked them in. “Before we go... I need to talk to you. In private.”
Twilight cocked her head to the side, then her eyes widened for just a brief moment.“Very well.” She sat down and flicked her tail around her side, then fluffed her wings.
“I must ask... Why? Why am I getting all of this nice stuff? Why are you being so nice to me? I was absolutely horrible to you.”
Twilight pursed her lips, then relaxed. “Well... yes, you were pretty mean. However, I believe in second cha—”
“Stop saying that; you’ll give me a headache.” Tempest huffed, then started pacing around the room. “I still can’t wrap my mind around all of this. I invaded Equestria. I enslaved everyone and led them around in chains. I humiliated the alicorn princesses and welcomed the Storm King into the Royal Palace. In the land of the late Storm King, we would have treated those who committed crimes such as these as war criminals, worthy of neither my forgiveness or trust; never my friendship! And yet you welcome me into your town and among your citizens, for whose troubles I am responsible. You give me a bed in your own home with the finest of sheets, and you dare to give me a place amongst your circle of friends? After I had chased and hunted you to the ends of Equestria with your home and your capital in ruins, how can you even begin to think of calling me a friend?!” she demanded, her entire body trembling with anger.
“I—”
“I took what was most precious to you in a stupid, brainless attempt to get my horn back! Because of me, my army ruined your home and destroyed your most cherished possessions!” Tempest stormed up to Twilight and planted her hooves into the carpet. “And I get forgiveness and friendship?! Where’s the sense in that?” Tempest screamed, staring Twilight dead in the eyes. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but she closed it a few moments later as she glanced away, unable to hold her piercing gaze.
Tempest rolled her eyes as she stormed off. “I’m a worthless, no-good, criminal!” she grunted, sitting down in the middle of the room. “I don’t deserve any of this; I’ve hurt way too many to make amends. I’m an outcast. Always have been... always will.”
“Not anymore! All of that’s in the past!” Twilight said, shaking her head as she moved to sit down in front of her. Gently lifting Tempest’s head with a few feathers, Twilight shot her a warm smile. “If it helps, I want you to know I have forgiven you,” she said, folding her wing back to her side.
“W-What? You do? Why?” Tempest wiped the tears from her eyes with a hoof as she blinked.
“Because that’s who I am.” Twilight stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug. She wrapped her wings around Tempest’s back, then nuzzled her cheek a few times for good measure. “Stop tormenting yourself, Tempest, just... stop. I believe in you, so you should believe in yourself.”
Tempest’s eyes slid shut as she awkwardly wrapped her forelegs around Twilight, her heart bursting into warmth as she nuzzled her back. “So this is how you’re supposed to hug somepony?” she asked with a short chuckle, hoping to break the tense silence.
“Mhm.”
“I could probably learn a thing or two, right?”
“Oh yeah.”
Tempest woke up with a start, her warm sheets drenched with sweat. She threw them off of her as she pushed herself out of bed. Tempest trotted around the room, shaking her head to and fro as she fought to release herself from the terrifying grasp of her nightmare. Slowly fading thoughts of the Storm King trying to end her life slipped away, leaving her with nothing more than a sense of dread. “Why, why, why!” she groaned as she ground her right hoof into the carpet. After such a long day of working, she’d thought that she would have been able to get a good night’s rest, but she was not so lucky.
She heard an off-pitch groan that made her ears perk up. Tempest cocked her ears in every direction until she heard the sound again. “Where’s it coming from?” she muttered, walking up to one of her windows. She pressed her left ear against it and waited several moments. “Not coming from outside... Wait, could it be coming from Twilight’s room?” Tempest trotted up to their shared wall and pressed her other ear up against it, hearing soft moans and groans coming from the other side. Is she having another nightmare? she thought, her ears flicking back. She tapped on the wall a few times, hoping that it’d wake her up. When she heard a louder groan, her shoulders slumped down in defeat. “Hm...”
Pushing open her bedroom door, Tempest trotted up to Twilight’s door, then rapped on it a few times. “Twilight?” she softly called out. She placed her hoof on the doorknob and was surprised to discover that it was unlocked. Hearing another groan, she pushed the door open and shut it as quietly as she could behind her, using the moonlight streaming in through the windows to guide her towards the bed. Twilight’s sheets had slipped from her trembling form, laying at a crumpled heap at the end of her bed. She twitched in her sleep, muttering things that Tempest couldn’t make out.
“Twilight?” Tempest asked again, shaking her with a hoof. “Twilight, wake up,” she said a little louder. She waited a few seconds, but Twilight still remained asleep. “Oh, right... she said she was going to use a sleeping spell...” she muttered. “Fantastic!”
She started pacing around the room. Minutes passed as she threw away idea after idea, each no better than the last. Tempest sat down next to Twilight’s bed and stared at her, hating the fact that she was unable to help the one who treated her with the utmost kindness and respect. Suddenly, a memory that she hadn’t thought of for years popped into her mind.
”Mommy?” Tempest asked, pushing open her parents’ bedroom door with her muzzle. Her ears flicked back as fresh tears sprang to her eyes. She squeezed her stuffed bunny rabbit tighter as she took a few hesitant steps towards their bed. The sheets on the bed moved, then she spotted her mother’s horn light up. Tempest rose up into the air, a smile of relief gracing her lips as she floated towards her parents.
“What’s wrong, little one? Another nightmare?” her mother softly asked as she rubbed her eyes with a hoof.
Tempest nodded, her grasp on her stuffed animal tightening. Mr. Fluffikins was always there for her when she needed him most, but the comfort he gave her was nowhere near what she needed right now.
“What was it about this time?” She let the magic fade away from her horn as she placed her daughter beside her.
“I... In my nightmare, you said you couldn’t love me anymore because of my broken horn. You wanted me to leave and n-never come back,” Tempest squeaked out, looking up into her mother’s loving gaze, praying that the words she had spoken were not true.
“Oh, heavens no! Nothing in all of Equestria could ever stop me from loving you, sweetie! Horn or no, your father and I will always love you.” She planted a kiss at the base of her horn and pulled her up against her side with a hoof. “And don’t forget, snuggling with someone will always keep the nightmares away!” she said, nuzzling her daughter’s cheek.
Tempest wiped the tears from her eyes as she curled up against her mother’s side, laying her head on her foreleg. She closed her eyes as she felt her mother pull the blankets back up, then felt a tender hoof rub her back, making a content smile grow upon her face. “Sweet dreams, Mommy...” she whispered as she felt sleep tug at her eyes.
“Sweet dreams, little one.”
Tempest flicked her gaze back up to rest on Twilight. “Could it work?” She stood up and placed a tentative hoof on the edge of the bed, pausing when Twilight twitched again and moaned something that sounded like her name. Feelings of guilt once again rose to the front of her mind. I told her that I would do anything to make things right... Gods above, this is going to be awkward... She pushed herself up onto the bed and lay down next to Twilight, her tail nervously swishing about on the sheets.
Knowing that she hadn’t snuggled anypony in well over a decade, she rolled onto her side and tugged the sheets up over them. Fluffing up a pillow with her other hoof, Tempest scooted forward until her belly touched Twilight’s wings. She was never the type of pony to do things halfway, so after a deep breath, she wrapped her left foreleg under Twilight’s forelegs and pulled her into her grasp.
A minute passed as Tempest felt her chest floof grow warm from Twilight’s body heat. It was a rather pleasant sensation, one that Tempest felt that she could grow accustomed to. Her friend’s twitches, moans, and groans gradually stilled. Tempest felt Twilight gently wrap a hoof around her foreleg, and as the minutes passed in a peaceful silence, it appeared Twilight had slipped into the sweetest and most deepest of slumbers. A smile grew on Tempest’s face as she nuzzled Twilight between her ears. “Sweet dreams, Twilight...” she whispered, tucking her head in around Twilight’s. Gotta make sure I wake up and get out of here before Twilight wakes up...
Okay, someone absolutely has to walk in on them like that before either of them wakes up. Bets on either Spike or Starlight for most likely, Rarity or Fluttershy for most hilarious. (Rarity goes gossip/scandal mode, Fluttershy rushes out in embarrassment before explanations can be given.)
Nah, forget about it Tempest. The laws of cuddling and shipping demand that you sleep in just long enough for Twilight to wake up and realize what you're doing. This ship has already sailed and there's no calling it back to port.
now I wish I waited to read this until the next chapter came out. twilights reaction is going to be priceless lol!!!
Too. Goddamn. Cute.
Great chapter, can’t wait to see Twilight’s reaction
I'm loving this story with each new chapter. Tempest still has lots to learn about Twilight and her friends and I can't wait to see how this goes.
Don't even bother hoping Tempest, the laws of narrative causality are such that you literally can't wake up before her in this situation.
And if you do, she is going to know anyway.
(I just imagined Tempest singing to herself "DON'T Open up your eyes !" while trying to sneak out of Twilight's bed )
8582146
Oh I quite agree, my thinking though was the plan was to sweep up from the Storm King's lands, take Canterlot, then move out to the rest of Equestria. Problem was that Twilight's escape meant that Tempest had to take her airships (IIRC we only saw three which I assume were basically troop transports) and go after her. I doubt she trusted her ground forces to continue the attack, so they were left to hold the conquered territory while she went and collected the last princess. Thus the attack hadn't moved forward when the Storm King fell, so the northern cities and perhaps east and west coast cities were left unharmed.
Do keep in mind that not all of this needs to be revealed or focused on. I like to build my universe, then reveal pieces to the audience as they become necessary. For example, we can see Twilight receive a scroll telling her what each princess' role is in the recovery. Spitfire can arrive to let Twilight know how the Wonderbolts will be assigned, specifically that Dash and one other are now on active duty and assigned to her. Any detailed look at this stuff can be left to another story, or other writers that you allow to play in your universe.
Any how, ve look forward to where you're going with this.
So one thing I noticed in this chapter was that Tempest changed her demeanor. If we take a look at this, you can see how Tempest acts in front of Twilight which illustrates their progressive relationship:
Tempest is now much more casual around Twilight, showing that she indeed has already been changed for the good. I'm now wondering if this relationship is going to stay linear, or will become something that is not projected. We cannot extrapolate the future outcome because that's out of reach, however I can definitely see an exciting upcoming future .
I chose this to be my highlighted passage:
This is unequivocally the most significant passage in this story so far. Tempest lashes out on Twilight out of pure frustration, demanding for answers to the heart-pounding question: "why?". What Tempest said is purely symbolic of her own life (though I am not sure if you, Mr. Abyss, intended for this!) Fizzlepop Berrytwist's life is just that; an enraged scream of confusion. Her childhood friends, who relied on and loved Fizzlepop, decided to abandon her. This quote is from The Stormy Road to Canterlot:
Fizzlepop had done everything right, but got nothing out of it. Now that Tempest has done everything wrong, why does she receive lots of love, kindness, and heavenly pillows? This is her reason for the scream of confusion; it is senseless, as she stated in this story. Commander Shadow came back for this passage, to remind us of her inescapable past. This is what is causing her grief, and has been for her entire life. The real reason for Twilight taking Tempest under her wing was not to reform her, but to relieve Tempest of her mental agony. And that is this story's entire premise.
Hopefully soon, instead of Commander Shadow, we get to see more of Commander Cutie
The integration of the flashback worked really well, actually! It didn't seem cliché as I originally thought, and instead turned out to be another one of those "awwwe" moments that makes you smile.
This entire chapter focused on Tempest and Twilight, purely to zone in on their relationship development rather than the world around them. I enjoyed this chapter because it helped shed light onto what this was really about: nursing Tempest back to good mental health. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, excellent job, Mr. Abyss!!
-Paul
8582103
I can accept this answer, I love a good secret admirer (sub)plot, even though it looks like Starlight is the secret admirer in this case. Still I hope its Twilight tho, I'm a sucker for those 2
8582091
You sneaky little devil.
Tempest is going to fall asleep.... I bet she is.. And she is not going to wake up in time... I can just see it comming xD
Good job though sor far! Definitively one of my favourite tempest stories...
8582181
Heh, that would be pretty funny.
8582182
Eeyup!
8582187
Or what if she doesn't mind being snuggled at all, hm? lol
8582225
It's gonna be one heck of a reaction, that's for sure!
8582283
Pffffffffffft that'd be hilarious.
8582555
She's definitely not going to wake up in time, haha.
8582754
Well, if you think about it, Nightmare Moon didn't enslave everypony or turn all the princesses to stone.
I now got to wonder if Equestria has and mental health professionals, because mental issues seem to be common place.
8582882
They probably do, but I doubt that they actually would have a lot of them. Equestria seems to be a utopia, a place where nothing bad happens (usually).
... but she won’t, won’t she?
Loved the chapter! super coot! Also I'm really liking how this is developing! SO GOOD! Next chapter cant come soon enough!
8582927
Hahahahaha no, of course not! Tempest is going to come to realize that snuggling with someone results in the most blissful of slumbers. She hasn't slept well in days, and after a very long, hard, and exhausting day, there's no way that she's going to wake up before Twilight does.
Besides, if I had Tempest wake up and sneak out of Twilight's room before Twilight wakes up, there wouldn't be any fun to be had!
8582941
Yeah, I was just responding to Tempest. I like being genre savvy.
You know your a good writer when there are a bunch of sophisticated comments about the story... I'll just be the small guy in the corner and just enjoy this fine work of art.
Damn.... Tempest's memory was so sweet, but at the sametime sad... Makes ya wonder what happened to her parents... On a happier note, the winds are setting in & the ship will soon be sailing!
8582992
Hey now, comments, whether they be big or small, still mean a lot to me. Glad you're enjoying the story!
8583007
Yeah, I know. I was contemplating on if I should have Tempest reunite with her parents later in the story.
8583012
That would be interesting to see, but that reunion would have to be sour before it could a sweet moment
8582122
at first this seems pretty much the same. I don't think I view this scene different now.
I think this was a scene in which I probably thought Starlight was being a bit more than picky and getting on her nerves for nothing. I just hate it if some of the characters try to change someone more than necessary because they aren'T like they think they should be. (I say this without looking at it again, but I beleive it can stay like this).
Tempest lit the fire in the middle of the night around 4/5 AM. Nopony else was awake, and the majority of Ponyville's citizens are sleeping in Twilight's castle all the way across town. good with that time in mind I can probably understand it.
8583023
Exactly.
8583036
Indeed
magic money out of nowhere.
No really, even if I tried to see it this or that way, I can't image where they got the money for her without to empty Celestias money. I know only so much about how that stuff works.
I like this scenes with it'S emotions.
I guess the thing with Tempests horn is a psychological problem, but sometimes in a few stories I had to read so far they answer her like this if she is sad about her hown.
"your so stupid that you did all of this because of your horn you worthless piece of shit" (some characters do that in those stories.
However if this is a psychological problem then she can't do much about that fact, or course it is still her fault but I could understand what she did much better because of this. I guess I'm sometimes just annoyed that they make it look like she was just stupid and all that kind of stuff, when for herself this was a problem that couldn'T be more serious than everything else back then.
You killed her parents in this story right?
The ending was nice but I asked because I want a return of Mr. Fluffkins and an overly emotional mother who keeps seeing her as a little filly.
Wait, How's Tempest sleeping on a cloud bed? She's a unicorn; she should sink right through.
Not gonna happen. Once you wake up, welcome to Awkwardville.
Probably going to be saying this every chapter, but again, amazing work. Pacing and narrative feel natural and smooth. Moar plz.
8582705
oh I have no doubt of that. but I just think she will be a little shocked at first
Little does Tempest know that Twilight was awake all along, and this was the master plan to get Tempest into her own bed.
... yeah, no. That will definitely end with an awkward awakening, because I have a feeling that Tempest will sleep really well as well.
Hoo boy, that will be fun!
Also, wouldn't Tempest want others to use her actual name now, as a sign of a life devoid of the Storm King? It was probably asked already, but I'll admit that I don't really read the comment section
Any bets Tempest wakes up being the little spoon, and Twi is very much awake?
Looks like you’ve done it again, Abyss; set the bar high on a ship I would not have really considered.
Sorry fizzle, but the laws of comedy dictate you will fail
for chest floof!
8582941
Oh, there could be fun.
It could happen every night, with Twilight waking up every morning for days, even weeks with the impression that she hasn't slept alone. The evidence of ruffled feathers from where Tempest was pressed against her and a little bit of drool convincing her it's not just her imagination. It would drive her crazy trying to figure out what was going on, but the embarrassment of having someone sneaking into her bed every night would keep her silent as she tried desperately to figure it out. Trap spells would be disarmed, recording spells obfuscated and simply pretending to sleep would never work because for one Tempest is a canny spell crafter, and she'd never come in until she heard Twilight start tossing and turning.
It could all keep going until some sequence of events that results in them being exhausted and curling up together while awake happens. Maybe the tried and true 'caught out in the rain' gag. Suddenly Twilight is seized by a harrowing feeling of familiarity, and she KNOWS.
I guess that would be more of a comedic turn than you're going for, but, see? Fun!
Hot daum!
I have read a lot of stories on fimfiction, a lot of your stories too... but this one, oh my.
The emotion here is so real I can almost feel it, and I absolutely love a story that does that.
The turn of events you have going on here is quite perfect to, I can tell you put thought into every detail.
I will end my bickering now for I feel like a suck up... but lordy please, keep up the amazing work on this beautifully crafted story!
Thank you!
The image of them sleeping together warms my heart. Jeez, I'm going soft, and I have a feeling I'll be softer by the end of this.
Seeing scared baby Tempest just made me want to do this.
That isn’t just an image of Tempest getting a hug. That’s the face of someone about to shower her with positive affirmations and tell her she’s stronger than her past.
8591212
Heh, true that.
8591243
For how much Hasbro can mess up their pony plushies, that Tempest is actually really cute in a chibi sort of way. I actually think I’ll buy it once the after Christmas sales come in.
8591259
It seems a little too cheap for me. I'm really hoping that 4DE is gonna make a Tempest plush, because I'll buy that in an instant.
8585775
Yeah, that'd be a lot of fun to write, but sadly, it wouldn't fit in with what I have planned for this.