Tempest Shadow knows her actions have consequences. Still, with help from Twilight, will Tempest be able to redeem herself by helping others while suffering her own demons?
Tempest has nowhere to go, and nopony to turn to. Luckily, Twilight is willing to help. While Tempest suffers the consequences for her actions against Equestria, Twilight Sparkle helps teach her about friendship. Can Tempest redeem herself while still suffering the hardships of the past? Will she ever truely be free?
The cold walls filled the room with a stone chilling atmosphere. But not even the temperature mattered to the pony who was imprisoned in the room. Tempest Shadow lied on her cot thinking about everything that had happened the past few days. Not that she blamed anypony. Not even herself. The memories were so fresh, they brought her to tears.
Flashback:
After telling Twilight and her friends about her real name, Tempest stayed with them for a while until the party ended. She at least helped clean up. Not that it helped much in her eyes. Upon cleaning up, Tempest walked away and back to The Storm King's Ship. She called for every guard, soldier, and minion to meet her in the commanding room where everyone went to recieve orders from The Storm King. Once everyone had gathered, Tempest made her announcement.
"Everyone is probably wondering what we are going to do upon loosing this battle to Princess Twilight and her friends. Well, with The Storm King gone, your services are no longer needed. I regret to say .... we were nothing more than servants, used in The Storm Kings service just so he could gain power for himself. Including me. I am SOsorry for all the pain I have put all of you through. If there is anything I can do to repay you all, tell me and I will do so."
"There is nothing for us here. Therefore, I order everyone to pack up and go home. Go back to where you belong. All armour, weapons and such will be turned in and I will dispose of them properly. If anyone wishes to stay with Grubber and I, you may. Please make sure all Storm King belongings of any kind are on board and properly packed. Once everyone is ready, you may leave. Lastly, your payment for your services will be displayed in your lockers. That is all," Tempest announced before letting everyone leave. She then went through the task of making sure everyone on board got their payment, personal belongings, ect. Once that was done, everyone went to bed.
The packing continued the next morning, and after everyone was settled, Tempest made sure that nobody else wanted to stay with her and Grubber. Only one ape soldier stayed. The airships took off and eventually went out of site. Tempest then turned to all four Princesses and bowed.
"Princesses, I am well aware of my crimes. I am yours now. Do whatever you want with me, I deserve it ..." Tempest said before she stopped bowing. Princess Celestia looked at the unicorn with a broken horn for a while.
"Tempest Shadow, you will serve time in prison for your crimes until we decide on a proper punishment. Same goes for your guard friend. As for your furry friend, he will be keeping you company as a prison guard. Other than that, he had done no wrong ... besides eatting too many sweets," Princess Celestia announced. All three of them nodded before being lead away by royal guards.
That was when Tempest was sent to this prison. She wasn't going to deny her involvement in The Storm King's plans, but she was afraid of her punishment. Would she be sent out of Equestria as an outcast? An exile? Sent to Tarterus? Or stay in prison for life? She had no idea. Suddenly, the prison doors opened.
"Hello Tempest. I would like to talk to you, if that's alright?" Celestia asked stepping into the prison cell. The door closed behind her.
"Tempest. I am not here not to give you a punishment, but to listen. I am all ears," Princess Celestia said to the purple, broken unicorn.
"Why would you listen to me? You sent me here. Not that I don't deserve it ..." Tempest replied, a slight tone of anger in her voice. Why would Celestia send her to prison if not for punishment or just to buy time?
"I sent you here to let you cool down. I sensed that you were having conflicting emotions within yourself. I wanted to let you think about your feelings and actions before I visited you. Please, I know it seems unfair and disrespectful, but sometimes some alone time can help ..." Celestia said before being cut off.
"It CAN'T help THIS!!!" Tempest interrupted in anger, now displaying a mixture of blue, white, yellow, and orange sparkles from her broken horn. After letting the Princess witness her magic, Tempest calmed down.
"Ever since that Ursa Minor broke my horn, all I ever wanted was to get it back. My own friends left me just because I couldn't control my magic! Just because I was DIFFERENT! I would have gone to your School of Magic, if it wasn't for my broken horn. I had to leave Ponyville as a filly and go to many places, where I got almost the same treatment. It wasn't until I met Grubber and The Storm King that I found friends who actually cared about me ... that is, until The Storm King revealed he was just using me. HOW Celestia?! How can you listening to my feelings, help me? All I ever wanted was my horn fixed, and to be accepted! And now I have nopony who will even TRUST ME, apart from Princess Twilight and her friends!!!" Tempest exclaimed in a fit of anger, confusion, and emotion. She then took some deep breaths and calmed down after her outburst. Tempest's breathing turned back to normal after a few minutes, and then, almost instantly, she started crying.
"I- I have nopony to turn to. No friends apart from Twilight. If I had known what The Storm King was doing to me, I would have never served him. P-P-P- Please Celestia, I don't know what to do. I am SO broken. My heart is broken!" Tempest explained as she sobbed out of emotion. As she cried however, Celestia put her hoof on the pony's chin and lifted Tempest's head up.
"Tempest, I am SO sorry. I never knew. I promise, I will do everything I can help, but I want you to stay here for the time being. I will talk with the others, but it will take time for other ponies to be able to get to understand you. I want you to stsy in prison for now, but I am more than will to allow you to redeem yourself," Celestia replied calmly. Tempest smiled sadly.
"Thank you Princess," Tempest responded before the alicorn turned to leave.
"Wait! I do have a question," the purple unicorn asked. Celestia faced her.
"Yes Tempest?" the white alicorn said.
"Who is the Ape talking to?" Tempest asked, pointing with her hoof to her left. She could hear sounds coming from the other cell.
"Fluttershy volunteered to help your ape soldier go through therapy. Seems she was able to soften him up during the battle. She is helping him get through his emotional problems through support. Although, she isn't a licensed therapist. Still she helps support him," Celestia responded. Tempest nodded, Celestia left, and the door was closed.
Tempest rested easy knowing Celestia agreed to help her. At least somepony besides Twilight was showing her mercy. The door opened as a royal guard came in.
"It's your lucky day Tempest. Celestia invites you to have Breakfast. Come on," the guard said before the unicorn came out of the cell. The purple unicorn was accompanied by another guard as they walked down the stone hallway, up some stairs, into a white marble hallway -practically blinding Tempest for a moment due to her dim lit room- and eventually into a big room with decorations, and a long table full of food. Celestia was at the end of the table along with Princess Luna.
"Thank you for coming Tempest. I'm glad you could make it," Celestia said before smiling. Tempest smiled back softly.
"Thank you for the invite. But why offer me Breakfast? We just talked yesterday," Tempest replied, somewhat confused about the situation.
"I know, and after talking with my sister and the other Princesses, we want to make you comfortable during your stay. I said I was going to help you. So, after Breakfast - if it's alright with you- I arranged a day solely about you. Anything that we can do, we will help with. As long as it's not anything negative that will affect you or any other pony," Celestia explained.
"No offense!" Luna quickly added. Tempest smiled at the alicorn's kind words.
"None taken. And thank you. I wasn't expecting this!" Tempest replied calmly. She looked at the pancakes in front of her. It was a stack of three to four pancakes, with berries, whipped cream, and maple syrup over it. It was very creative. Tempest was shocked.
"Princess Celestia, please tell the cheif my thanks for the creative pancake," Tempest said before using her hooves to take a sip of juice.
"You're very welcome Tempest. I enjoy decorating the Breakfast. It adds a little bit of a special touch to the meal," Celestia responded before taking a bit of her own pancakes. Luna joined in eatting her own.
"Huhmm?!" Tempest exclaimed, eyes widening in shock and almost choking on her drink. Once she put her juice down, she took a deep breath.
"YOU made this Breakfast?! ... Princess Celestia, I'm ... surprised! I just thought we were having Breakfast. I didn't know you cooked! It's ... so thoughtful of you ..." Tempest said in a combination of shock and gratitude. She even felt something soft and warm inside her body.
"Again, you're very welcome Tempest. Really, it's nothing much. I enjoy this part of the day. Especially if I get to share this moment with other ponies," the white alicorn replied happily. Tempest smiled and started to eat as well. Once everypony was done eatting, Tempest was taken by the guards to a special bathroom, near the prison.
The walls were filled with light green and blue tiles, sinks and showers were set up as well for prisoners to use. Tempest was allowed to get washed up before seeing the Princesses again. Tempest trotted over to the shower and washed herself in the shower, the warm water feeling good against her body. However, the soap was tricky at times.
"I can't believe how much I need to use my hooves. So tricky with certain objects," Tempest noticed as she carefully tried to wash herself. Luckily, she did okay with the soap, despite it slipping off her hooves at times. After about half an hour, Tempest got out, dried, and combed her mane. Even combing with hooves could be tricky too. Soon, she got into her armour, and out with the guards to see the Princesses. They met not in the prison, but in a chamber room.
"Hi Tempest, nice to see you again. Now, since I said today will be about you, I am going to give you a quill and parchment to write down everything you want to do. In addition, I thought of some suggestions for you to consider. We will let you think about what activities you want to do," Princess Celestia told the unicorn.
"Furthermore, you will be free to roam, but will be accompanied by one of us, or Twilight and her friends. That way, you won't feel lonely or like a target by other ponies," Princess Luna added kindly. Tempest smiled.
"Thank you Princesses," the purple unicorn said before bowing. The princesses then left the room and let her be. Tempest looked at some of the suggestions Celestia had put down, and read as;
Suggestions:
1. Appologize to Canterlot citizens
2. Magic training
3. Pony Therapist- optional. If yes, will be best suited to Tempest's needs
4. Hoofacure
5. Time to socialize with other ponies
6. Part of punishment being community services
"These are actually pretty good ideas. But I think I wil skip the first two. An apology won't help Canterlot forgive me completely. And what use is magic training with my horn broken? My magic has no sense of direction!" Tempest told herself. The rest of the list she agreed with though. The unicorn the thought hard about other tasks she knew she had to do. She took the time to think and carefully write down her choices by hoof. Literally.
Tempest's List of Requests/Activities:
1. I would like to be called Fizzlypop Berrytwist. It is my real name. Tempest as a nickname is okay
2. I need to apologize to the ape guard. I owe him for putting through all the terrible orders as commander. Maybe even stay for one of his theropy sessions?
3. Hoofacure. Yes, I would like one please
4. New clothing if possible. Armour is just too intimidating, and I have worn it for a long time
5. Pony Therapist sounds good. Could also help me with controling my anger
6. Community service sounds like an acceptable punishment, and will give me time to interact with the public a bit. Even if ponies are just getting use to me being around
7. Time to socialize sounds good, but I want to take things one hoof at a time
8. Help with my magic. I know it's not like a normal horn, so it's going be tricky for me to use magic properly. I don't want to be seen as the pony who's magic is only good for random destruction
After going through her list several times, Tempest called the Princesses in. Celestia and Luna entered the room.
"Yes Tempest, you finished your list?" Celestia asked cautiously.
"Yes Princess. Here," the unicorn answered before showing the list. The two princesses looked it over and nodded.
"Very well Fizzlepop Berrytwist. Your list is definitely acceptable. Which activity would you like to do first?" Princess Celestia responded.
"May I have a hoofacure please? Then get some new clothes? I don't mind my armour, but it's a bit intimidating to see me in it," Fizzlepop Berrytwist suggested.
"Very well Fizzlepop. I will have Princess Twilight and Rarity accompany you with those activities. Come, let us get started," Celestia replied before the group walked out of the chamber, and towards the main hallway.