Numbers

by Omegathyst

Soulmates

Princess Luna woke up from dispelling ponies' nightmares, taking down the lavender flowers off the pillars in the castle so she could replace them when she raises the night.

Ever since Starlight came to Canterlot, Luna had made an effort to smile more for her sister each time she made her pancakes. And despite the headache she had, this morning was no different.

When she walked into the dining room, for the first time in over a thousand years, her dear sister was absent from the table. There were no pancakes, or any indication that Celestia had even done anything besides raise the sun.

Luna thought about it for a moment, wondering if Celestia had made love to Twilight for the first time, and that was the reason why she wasn't up yet. She was about to pick up a random fruit from the kitchen, when she heard a set of hooves enter the room.

It was Princess Celestia, looking strained.

"I'm sorry, dear sister." Celestia frowned. "But the Storm King's evil pony lackey decided to live in my marefriend's castle, so I hope you can understand my concerns."

"The one with no horn?" Luna asked. "The Storm King is no more, and Twilight has helped her reformed. Not to mention, she can't do anything dangerous with no magic. What is your concern?"

"...I told Twilight that I love her, and she didn't say it back." Celestia admitted. "She acted skittish around me several times during the date, as if she wasn't trusting of my presence. And then to see her eyes light up when she saw that deformed rogue, it was almost too much for me to handle."

"You might be reading into this sister, remember that communication is important." Luna reassured her. "Ask her what is troubling her mind, and make sure you two are on the same page in your relationship."

"...Yes, you're right." Celestia decided, before quickly frowning again. "I am so busy though, and I don't want to make her uncomfortable by returning so soon. I will give it a few days, but not too many. I don't want that donkey to lay a hoof on her."

Luna ignored her sister's remarks towards Tempest; dismissing it as an overreaction based on jealousy. She believed deep down in her heart that Celestia meant well, and Twilight was overthinking as usual. Tonight, she would go into both of their dreams to make sure. It was her job after all.

---

Tempest surprisingly managed to get a good amount of sleep, climbing out of her bed and opening the door. She could hear laughter, followed by Twilight's gentle hushing. Tempest smiled, already feeling happier than she ever did with the Storm King's army.

When she walked into the kitchen, she saw Grubber and Spike with pancake batter specks all over them. Spike was laughing as he took the spoon out of the bowl of pancake batter and smeared a little on Grubber's face.

Spike dropped the bowl and flew off, Grubber giving a sharp-toothed grin as he took off after the dragon. Tempest turned her attention to Twilight, who was wearing a chef's hat between her ears and flipping a pancake-filled pan with her magic.

"Morning, Tempest!" Twilight grinned. "I thought I'd make all of us berry pancakes, if you don't mind."

"Who would mind?" Tempest chuckled. "I hope you've got great plans for me today."

"You bet I do!" Twilight exclaimed, taking the pan off of the stove. "Fluttershy's going to enroll you and Grubber into the School of Friendship and give you two a tour. And then after school is done, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are going to take you out to a bunch of places."

"Oh? I was hoping to spend some time with you, Princess." Tempest lowered her head respectfully.

"Well, I'm the Principal of the School of Friendship. Perhaps we could hang out while I'm grading papers tonight?" Twilight suggested.

"Perhaps for a bit, I don't want to be a bother." Tempest decided. Twilight placed her hoof under her chin in thought, before her eyes lit up.

"I don't teach school on the weekends, I can hang out with you the whole day!" Twilight decided. Tempest almost fell over.

"P-Princess, you certainly don't need to do that!" Tempest laughed.

It was funny, for in that moment, Tempest felt like the most special mare of Equestria, but her mind and her heart were floating in a raging sea of her fear and nervousness. To her, Twilight was truly the most beautiful creature in Equestria.

And she was offering her an entire day of her time, Tempest couldn't grasp how she was remotely deserving of this.

"Obviously I don't need to!" Twilight giggled. "But I want to, I did miss what little time we spent at the Friendship Festival, before..."

"Before a lot of things changed." Tempest smiled sadly. "But I'm very glad to see that life is wonderful for you."

Twilight didn't speak, but instead offered Tempest a plate of pancakes. Tempest grabbed the plate with her teeth and took it to the table, her heart beating like thunder and her hooves wobbling at the unwanted thought of Celestia's glaring eyes...

---

Several days had passed, and Tempest thoroughly enjoyed learning from Twilight's friends. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had also taken her out to various activities such as bowling, buckball, cooking with Pinkie, and Sweetie Belle's clumsy attempt to teach Tempest how to sew. While all of those things were fun to try, none of them earned her a cutie mark.

But that was hardly a concern, especially since today was the day she'd spend with Twilight.

They had several nights to catch up while Twilight was grading her pop quizzes, and each night was harder on Tempest. Each night, Tempest's hooves begged for contact with Twilight, and her muzzle drew closer to Twilight's neck, but never close enough.

Part of her was aware of how unhealthy it was to stay with Twilight, but she kept coming up with excuses in her head to keep her there. Especially since Grubber was becoming closer to Spike and his coltfriend Thorax, who appeared in the castle twice. Tempest wondered if there was a polyamorous relationship there, but she couldn't tell.

Tempest was currently waking up to the chirping of birds outside her room; the beautiful daylight basking on her fur. Before she could fully wake up, she felt the thundering in her heart again, for she didn't know what Twilight had planned.

She steadily got off the bed and opened the door, only to be welcomed by a completely silent castle. Did Twilight leave to do something else?

Then there was talking, talking that Tempest could hear from outside the castle. As Tempest walked closer, she recognized Rarity's voice.

"Well, darling, you should tell her if you're so certain..."

"I don't want to do that to her, she's been nothing but wonderful to me." Twilight's voice. "I just can't believe-"

Tempest tripped over her hooves and nearly slammed her head onto the tile floor, causing Twilight and Rarity to stop talking altogether. Tempest was mentally cursing herself by the time the castle door opened.

"Tempest, are you okay?!" Twilight asked. Tempest nodded her head.

"Just a bit tired I suppose." She was talking about me, she wants to get rid of me. "Ready to spend the day together?"

"You bet! I was hoping to show you the best places in Ponyville, to make you feel more at home." Twilight beamed.

Tempest could hardly enjoy her smile, especially when she thought that Twilight was going to kick her out of her castle and leave her all alone. She followed Twilight outside of the castle, and saw Rarity trotting back to her boutique.

Never in a million years had Tempest expected to be welcomed in a town ever since she left her hometown, and no mare had ever loved her. Any mare that did swing that way couldn't see past her broken horn and scar. And as nice as Twilight was, Tempest didn't think she'd be any different.

"I wanted to spend some time with you at the Sugarcube corner, catch a play at the Ponyville Theater, and then we'll meet up with some of our friends at the Hay Burger. Sound good?" Twilight asked.

Tempest nodded, surprised at how date-like most of her plans seemed to be. Even though she wanted a lot of time with just Twilight, Tempest was looking forward to getting to know the other heroes of Equestria.

As they took their seats at the Sugarcube Corner, Twilight and Tempest enjoyed talking to each other whilst eating cupcakes.

"I, uh, didn't know that there were so many reformed creatures that live here." Tempest commented. "I'd never guess that Starlight and Trixie caused great mischief like taking over towns."

"Yeah, it's wonderful that they found each other." Twilight smiled. "Discord too, he's been dating Fluttershy for two years now."

"Isn't he immortal?" Tempest asked, not being able to judge. She should've let Twilight's immortality alone guide her away from falling in love, but it seemed that her heart wanted the impossible.

"Yeah, but he's got more magic than Celestia and Luna combined." Twilight told her. "He's more than able to make Fluttershy immortal if they decide to stay together for that long."

"And yet he lets them be in charge, I suppose he has his reasons." Tempest decided. "The Crusaders also told me that Applejack and Rarity were to be married?"

"Yes! Applejack longed for Rarity for a long time before confessing her feelings. Rarity broke up with her current coltfriend, and she confronted Applejack at her barn." Twilight smiled. "He was an asshole, so we're glad that he moved back to his hometown."

"Ugh, he was the worst! Good thing my ma...I mean Rainbow Dash was able to knock some sense into him." Pinkie approached them.

"It was quite a tough time." Twilight agreed. "Evil will always be a force to be reckoned with, but at least we can face it together."

Twilight opened up her wings to bring Pinkie and Tempest into a hug, and Tempest chose to fit her muzzle into the crook in Twilight's neck. She probably was going to lose touch with Twilight anyway, so fuck it.

Twilight tucked her wings back in, and Tempest awkwardly pulled away.

"You should get in line for the play, I'll catch up." Twilight winked.

Tempest nodded, getting up and leaving. She guessed that she was also going to tell Pinkie the news of abandoning Tempest for Celestia knows what. She just didn't want to be there to hear it.

Then, as she kept walking, she entertained the idea that Twilight could've been talking about any mare. Hopefully the play would be entertaining enough to take her mind off of things.

When Tempest walked into the theater, the employees' eyes lit up.

"You must be Twilight's guest, Tempest Shadow right?" said a black changeling employee.

Tempest nodded, shocked to see a changeling that didn't open themselves to love. She tried not to stare at the female employee's holed body, but she flew closer.

"My name's Ali, I'll be taking you to the private theater room." the changeling insisted, leading Tempest to the biggest room in the Ponyville Theater.

"Is there anything I can get for you? Popcorn?" Ali asked, hovering over Tempest like a hummingbird.

"Um, nothing right now. Thanks." Tempest took her seat in the third row closest to the stage.

"Okie, enjoy the show!" Then Ali zipped away in the blink of an eye.

That was weird.

Minutes later, Twilight walked down the dark stair steps with a pink aura emitting from her horn to guide her to Tempest's row. She slowly walked towards Tempest, but something was different.

Tempest was too frozen in the moment to say hi to her, especially with the awkward way Twilight was staring at her. Like she had no shame in it.

"Is something wrong?" Tempest finally spoke. "Did...Pinkie say something back there?"

"Nothing that'll change my mind." Twilight laughed, still holding that same awkward demeanor. "Ready for the play?"

Tempest nodded, she could use some silence with the thoughts battling inside her head. Maybe when the play got interesting, those thoughts would die down and she could enjoy the moment.

The actors for the play weren't ponies that Tempest recognized, all she knew so far was the play's premise: two mares that had feuding families that were homophobic and hated each other.

Then, one of the two main characters finally stepped on stage.

"Starlight?" Tempest whispered.

"She and Trixie thought it'd be fun to take up acting." Twilight smiled. "This is their first play, and they practiced many nights too!"

Tempest didn't think that practice was needed, not when Starlight and Trixie's chemistry spoke for itself. In fact, Tempest was so riveted by their performance, that she didn't even think about the lack of audience until now.

Her and Twilight were the only ponies watching the play.

"Did you reserve this performance just for us?" Tempest asked.

"Mmhmm." Twilight kept watching the play, blinking dreamily for Celestia knows why.

Tempest felt something light on her back, and it felt like everything was spinning in her mind. What was happening? She thought that Twilight wanted her gone!

Her ears flattened and she was staring intensely at the play, not focusing on it anymore. Twilight's calm gaze and wing on her back was taking up any focus she once had.

But then she remembered Celestia, the co-ruler of all of Equestria. If Twilight was even stupid enough to make a move...the things that Celestia could do to Tempest would be horrifying. The things that she could do to Twilight might be worse.

The thought sent Tempest reeling away from Twilight's touch. She fell on the floor, causing Twilight to get up and look at her with concern.

"Celestia would kill you." Tempest whispered, not getting up from the floor.

"She doesn't own me." Twilight huffed. "After tonight, we're through."

"What?!" Tempest hissed quietly.

But then Tempest remembered the conversation that Twilight had with Rarity, about doing something to a mare that's been nothing but wonderful to her.

It wasn't kicking her out of the castle. No, Twilight was telling her friends that she was going to break up with Celestia.

"I'm sorry if I misinterpreted things, but I can't continue to be with Celestia when all I think about is you." Twilight apologized. "We can talk after the play."

This wasn't happening, Tempest's hooves were trembling as she got back in her seat. Was it fear? Excitement?

The play ended with Starlight's character faking her death, only for Trixie's character to drink poison. Both characters died and the families grieved and ended their feud.

Tempest frowned, a sad story like her own. The one mare to like her back, and the ruler of Equestria holds their lives in the very balance.

Tempest silently followed Twilight out of the theater, contemplating on her words. She thought that Celestia was nice at first, but the glare that the Sun Princess gave her spoke a thousand cursed words.

If Tempest got a death stare from talking to Twilight, who knows what dating her will get.

"Twilight, I do feel the same." Tempest admitted. "But I don't know what Celestia is capable of, what if she wants to hurt you for leaving her? Or hurt me?"

"She may be a little selfish, but I know her." Twilight admitted. "She's been this motherly and protective leader for as long as I can remember; I'll always be the number one student she raised. In due time, who knows? She may even be happy for me!"

"Besides, where's that mare that took on four princesses at once in Canterlot?" Twilight teased. "I know you're a much better mare now, but you're still strong as you were then. Even stronger!"

"That was reckless of me, still." Tempest allowed herself to smile. "Even if Celestia is perfectly fine with this, it still blows my mind. You want to be with me, over her?"

"It's what my heart wants." Twilight shrugged, looking at Tempest with those ridiculously big eyes.

Tempest found herself being pulled towards those eyes, barely noticing their muzzles coming closer until-

"Hey Twipie, how you doing?!"

Pinkie came out of nowhere and knocked Twilight onto the dirt.

"Remember fillies, cheating is wrong!" Pinkie glanced at Tempest, keeping a big grin on her face. "Cause somepony could get hurt!"

"T-Thanks Pinkie, you can go now." Twilight groaned.

"But I came here to take you two to Hay Burger, everypony is waiting for you." Pinkie frowned.

"Oh, r-right you are Pinkie!" Twilight realized. "I suppose I am a little hungry, let's get going."

Tempest followed Pinkie and Twilight, the former keeping her signature hop as they made their way to Hay Burger. She wondered if all of Twilight's friends knew what was going on.

She wondered if they were all disapproving of Twilight's decision.

Every few minutes, Twilight would glance at Tempest and give a small smile. It was still blowing Tempest's mind that the Princess of Friendship liked her that way. She could only hope everything would work out in the end.

Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Discord were all waiting for them at a circular booth. Most of their stares were unreadable, except Fluttershy remaining friendly as always.

"Hello Tempest." Fluttershy smiled, leaning towards Discord. "How was the play?"

"Really good." Tempest replied. "Starlight and Trixie were great on stage."

She could see Rarity whispering to Applejack out of the corner of her eye. Then, she noticed Pinkie pulling up chairs to make room for everypony. With the three chairs in a row, Twilight and Tempest sat on the end chairs while Pinkie sat in the middle.

"So, you telling Celestia?" Applejack asked Twilight.

"Yes."

"And you two...?"

"Haven't done a single thing!" Pinkie grinned.

"Well, hopefully not. What I'm asking is, did you talk to Tempest too?" Applejack asked.

"Yes, I did." Twilight said. "She feels the same way."

"No surprise there." Applejack finally smiled. "Just don't make the same mistake twice, you need to talk to Celestia right away."

"Got it."

The rest of the evening was a lot better with everypony at ease again (except Pinkie). Tempest got to hear more about Applejack and Rarity's wedding. Even though the two mares wanted to get married asap, the wedding wasn't happening for another six months. Rarity wanted to make sure everything was perfect; identical to the wedding she's planned ever since she was a filly.

Tempest didn't think she'd ever be deserving of such a future, not since she lost her horn. But there was something blooming in her heart when she looked at Twilight's friends having such a good time. She didn't feel jealous anymore.

All in all, it was a pretty good evening.

---

"How did you feel when Spike started dating the leader of the changelings?"

"Well, I wasn't all that surprised." Twilight laughed as her and Tempest walked back to the castle. "He had came out to us long before then. So when I saw him bring Thorax to the Crystal Empire, I knew there was a connection there."

"I think Grubber likes them both." Tempest admitted. "But he's never dated anyone before, and I feel a little protective of him. I don't know if he's ready to date a drake and a leader of an entire species."

"Don't worry, I've done many studies on dragons and changelings!" Twilight reassured her. "If Grubber has any questions, I'm happy to help!"

"T-Thank you so much for giving both of us a second chance." Tempest stopped walking, turning to face Twilight. "I don't know where we would be if you didn't."

Twilight wasn't sure she should say, except she leaned closer for the second time that day. Her wings flapped as she excitedly moved close-

Suddenly, a burst of magic in front of the castle startled them both. They pulled away and looked at the pony staring at them both.

Princess Celestia.

Comments

[G33kySt3v3]

Alright, so, as much as I would like to praise the sun and moon for finally delivering me a chapter on one of the tempestlight stories I thought was dead, I'm not sure how much I like this cheaper/story. The way you portray Celestia is very odd to me, and feels extremely forced for the sake of the story. In the first chapter Celestia shows anger and jealousy for what could easily be described as friendly affection. Then, during this chapter, she complains to Luna about the situation from before and even insults Tempest in ways that even some people who are used to insulting others wouldn't use. Like the example below

when she saw that deformed rogue

Celestia referring to Tempest as deformed really crosses a line for me, especially since she goes on to refer to Tempest as a donkey as well, and mean it to be insulting. You know... In a world where donkeys are sentient and have their own feelings...

All in all, I think Celestia's hate for Tempest is way too forced, and Twilight being so ready to abandon the relationship she's been in for 6 months also feels extremely forced for plot convenience. As well as her hesitation with the relationship even before she found out Tempest had returned. I feel like the pacing for this story really needs to be fixed, Celestia's jealousy needs to be gradual, and Tempest and Twilight need to have more development before they reach the point they have. Otherwise, the interactions between Twilight and her friends feel real, and the way they seem hesitant to believe Twilight could so quickly change who she's interested in also feels real. And while a lot of this comment may be harsh, I'm still interested to see where you might take this, so please author, write on, I will probably continue to follow either way, even if I would much prefer the story to go a different way.

[Omegathyst]

9163155
First of all, thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad to hear constructive criticism and I'm more than happy to clear up some concerns about the storyline

About Celestia, it is very intentional that she's angry about what was friendly affection. It's meant to be an overreaction to fit the yandere personality she has in this story, and it is displayed in this chapter now to avoid her anger appearing sudden in later chapters. Her ableist and rather racist comments about Tempest were also very intentional. In an earlier draft, Luna even states that they're ableist and racist, but I scraped it in order to make the dialogue seem less "on-the-nose" if that makes sense.

The mentality that Twilight had when she "abruptly" planned on breaking up with Celestia is something that'll be addressed in the third chapter, which will focus more on Twilight and Celestia. Still, I can understand that the story seems rushed as pacing is one of my weaker traits (?) in writing. And because I'm working on several stories outside of Fimfiction, this is meant to be a five-part story. That was something I planned before starting on this story.

I'll be doing my best to fit everything properly in the story. I hope you're still enjoying the story!

[DarkSnowGaming]

Princess Celestia.

.....shit....