> All My Failures
>  by gmoyes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tempest groaned as she rolled over in the too small bed, her ears assaulted by the sound of cheers and noisemakers coming from outside the rundown inn she was currently resting in. While the yells melded into one another and dulled by the thin walls of her room, Tempest had no doubt about what the celebration was about. It was what all of Equestria was celebrating for the last week.

The defeat of the Storm King. The Friendship festival. Negotiating new diplomatic relationships with the Hippogriffs.

Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, befriending the Storm King’s commander.

“Why are you saving me?”

“Because this is what friends do.”

Tempest twitched her ear and with a sigh of defeat, climbed out of the moth-eaten quilt. Her mind was fuzzy and her body ached, tired from travelling all of the day before and sore from the cramped sleeping conditions. Still, she’d experienced worse. Images flashed through her mind of holes and hovels she had to deal with when traveling outside of Equestria. At least this inn was warm and dry.

She glanced over at her armour piled on a rickety wooden chair sitting in the corner of the room. Even with the defeat of the Storm King, she had kept the barding and horseshoes. They were familiar, kept her safe. They reminded her of her when she was at her strongest, with a whole army at her command. A symbol of status, meaning... and it kept old scars hidden. But now, looking at the cyan horns on the armour’s flank, Tempest swore she could see the the Storm King’s eyes glaring at her. 

“But we- we had an agreement!”

“Get with the program! I used you. It’s kinda what I do!”

Tearing her eyes away from the twin horns, she spent a moment to think about what her next move would be. She had told Princess Twilight that she would travel Equestria to tell ponies about the defeat of the Storm King and what she had learned about the magic of friendship. The former was moot as the newspapers were flooded about what had happened in Canterlot and the entire world knew something was wrong with the Princesses when the Storm King was playing with the sun and moon. Then again, that sort of thing happened more often than one would expect.

As for learning about friendship… what did she really learn? Twilight took pity on her and at that point the Storm King was everyone’s enemy. Is ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ really the lesson here? She wasn’t even sure why she took the crystal orb than was meant for Princess Twilight and her friends at the end there. Was it to protect the ponies she had mercilessly hunted for several days, or her being so bent on revenge against the Storm King’s betrayal that she just had to take him down even at the cost of her own life? What did the Princess of Friendship see in her that was worthy of being called a friend?

“Oh, the Princess of Friendship. With no friends!”

Thinking about it wasn’t going to get her anywhere. She fell back into a familiar routine, a brief grooming followed by her examining her armour for signs of wear. Besides a loose flank plate that could wait to be reinforced, everything seemed to be in order. Slipping on her barding and shoes was second nature by now. But today, the armour clutched to her barrel, feeling unusually tight. And her shoes were freezing. Perhaps the armour did change.

Feeling somewhat presentable, she turned towards a dirty mirror propped up on an old dresser to appraise herself. A scowl stared back at her. It was a familiar look and she stared back. Even after all she had been through, her face hadn’t changed. The jagged stump of her horn, the pale line across her eye. Gazing back at herself, she could see what could have been, what should have been. Her horn was whole, her coat unmarred by scars. An image that she had always dreamed about, but never seen since she was a little filly.

“Are you sure you want to go in there?”

“Hah, I’m not scared of some old cave. I’ll go get our ball!”

Tempest gave a snort and walked out of the room, her metal shone hooves impacting heavily on the wooden floor. Trotting down the hallway, she found herself in the lobby. Behind the front desk was a dark brown Earth Pony stallion. The innkeeper gave her a greasy smile that did not belong within the borders of Equestria. “Enjoy your sleep?” he asked, with a taunting tone. She could tell he knew the answer anyway.

In reply, Tempest glared at the stallion and channelled her magic, causing sparks to flare off her horn. The stallion’s grin swiftly fell and he took a cautious step back. After holding her gaze for a moment, Tempest left the inn without a word. She only ended up in that dump because she was barred from entering the better inn across town and she still had to pay double the rate to get the room she got here. At least when she was at the head of the Storm King’s army she got respect.

“Why, aren’t you a cutie wootie pony wony!”

TZZZZZAP!

Even in Equestria there are those looking to take advantage of others. Stepping on the street, Tempest could see masses of ponies milling around enjoying themselves. Tempest gave the crowd no attention, she already knew what to expect. It was typical small town Equestria. Farmers selling their produce, merchants hawking their wares and a couple of weather ponies shifting clouds in the sky. The fact that there was a party going on wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Ponies seemed to take any excuse to have a good time. 

Before she left Canterlot, she had made the mistake of asking Princess Twilight’s friend and event organizer Pinkie Pie about how many holidays Equestria had. A couple of hours later Princess Twilight had to rescue her from the verbal barrage that Tempest was sure could’ve gone on for several more hours. Apparently, between national holidays, local festivals, birthdays and days celebrating every little thing from pies to oaks, there were more parties than there were days in a year. Who knew what these ponies could do if they spent all the time they use partying for other pursuits. 

"All this power, wasted on parties."

Tempest kept her head low. She knew she was much too distinctive to hide in the crowd, but really, it was so she didn’t have to look anypony in the eye. She knew what she’d see in the faces of those who saw her. Fear. Anger. Pity. The former two she could work with, those were tools she could use. But pity… She was sick with pity. Pity for her broken magic, pity for being an outcast. And now, pity for being a tool for the Storm King. 

But even her head down, something caught her eye. Parked in the market was a large carriage, dressed up like a home. It had chipped and faded blue paint and a set of worn wooden steps leading inside. There was also a sign posted right outside, its paint just as old as the wagon. 


Oracle


Pasts and Futures Revealed


The sight reminded her of a wagon that the Storm Guards had found in Canterlot. It was apparently the home of a traveling showmare who seemed to have a large collection of fireworks. She had to be quite stern with Grubber and a few of the Stormguards who wanted to play with them.

“But I have good news! One word: Sponge Cake.”

TZZZZZAP!

Tempest felt oddly drawn to the carriage. It looked somehow both out of place and right at home. But the sign intrigued her. She had certainly heard of mediums and astrologers using whatever means they had to sucker in creatures to give false hope and make a few bits. She never held much stock in such matters, she preferred to set her own destiny. But now, with her past forgiven and her future out of her hooves, it may be time to have a hint on what she is supposed to do.

“Hello?” she called as she stuck her head through the door. She saw that  the carriage was as well lived in on the inside as it was on the outside. There were shelves cluttered with junk, a pair of oversized armchairs taking up the bulk of the floorspace and a faded map of Equestria hung up on a wall. But it seemed that the main attraction, this so-called Oracle, was busy with a small kitchenette at the back of the wagon. The Oracle was an old unicorn mare with a pale grey coat with a mane of a lighter shade of grey with some dark streaks through it. The mare didn’t seem to notice Tempest’s arrival.

Tempest cautiously walked up behind the older mare. “Are you the Oracle?”

The mare glanced behind her and gave a jump that ended with her as a heap on the ground as she realized just who was behind her. “Sun and Moon! You gave me a fright!”

Tempest froze for a moment, but looking at the other mare she saw that beside her shaking breaths that were starting to slow, she didn’t seem scared of her. “I’m sorry,” she said, helping the other unicorn to her hooves. 

“No, I’m sorry,” replied the old mare as she regained her balance. “My hearing isn’t as good as it used to be.” She brushed some dust off her flank, but the action drew Tempest’s attention to the mare’s cutie mark: a gold coin with a turquoise eye in the middle of it. 

“Open up your eyes!”

Tempest shook her head. “I saw your sign outside. Are you really an oracle? Can you really see the future?” A hint of skepticism entered her voice, thoughts of various scams she had encountered throughout her travels.

The mare gave a soft chuckle. “Oracle is my name, but a fitting one nonetheless. I help ponies in need of guidance. Ponies such as yourself, Tempest Shadow.”

Tempest froze for a moment wondering how Oracle knew her name, but then noticed a stack of newspapers sitting on a shelf. “How cute,” she dryly responded. “My name has been printed all across Equestria. You’re going to have to do better than that to convince me that you have any sort of special powers.” 

Oracle gave a short shake of her head. “Oh no no, I freely admit I saw you in the papers. However, my abilities tell me that you need my help. As well as few insights into you. For example,” she continued with a coy smile, “your name is no more Fizzlepop Berrytwist than a butterfly is a caterpillar.”

“You know, Tempest isn’t really my name.”

“Oooooh! What is it?!”

“What?” Tempest asked stunned. She only told her old name to Princess Twilight and her friends, and while she wasn’t sure that they were trustworthy enough to keep that under wraps, she was certain it hadn’t leaked to the public so far.

“Then again,” Oracle continued off-hoofidly gesturing to Tempest’s chest, “it looks like you’re still in your cocoon.”

Tempest glanced down to her barding in confusion then glared at Oracle. “Listen, old lady, enough riddles and tell me what you want!”

“What I want?” she replied with a smirk. “You’re the one who came to me with a problem. One I’m happy to help with.”

“Oh yeah?” Tempest shot back. “If you think you know so much about me, how about you tell me what my problem is!”

“You have until the count of three to tell me where they are. 1… 2…”

“Oooh, this is intense.”

“You failed,” Oracle stated plainly.

Tempest blinked. “What?”

“You had it all. Power. Recognition. Purpose. And you lost it all through no fault of your own. Fate and Harmony intervened to stop your victory. You made some new friends, but at what cost? And you wonder if there could have been another way.”

Silence reigned for a minute as Tempest processed this. Oracle’s words echoed some thoughts she had, but never voiced. But having them said to her face… it made them all too real. “Yes… those have been some thoughts I have been having,” she admitted. “But what can you do about it?”

Oracle sighed. “I have the power to show ponies the might have beens. Things that happen when the coin flips to the other side as it were.” She smiled as she glanced back at her cutie mark, then turned back to Tempest. “Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable while I finish making some tea. It will help us relax some.”

Tempest paused for a moment to watch as Oracle picked up a kettle of hot water in her turquoise magic, wondering if the old mare had put the water on to boil before Tempest got here because she knew Tempest was coming. Shaking her head, Tempest turned to the armchairs and hopped up into one. The chair was actually pretty comfy and was large enough for her frame. Though she had to be careful not to poke any holes in the cushions with her metal shoes. It wasn’t until Oracle came over with her tea tray floating in her magic did Tempest consider that perhaps she chose Oracle’s seat, but the old mare made no comment and took the chair opposite Tempest, setting the tea tray on a small folding table between them.

“Milk? Sugar?” Oracle inquired as she doctored up her tea.

“Black is fine,” Tempest replied gingerly picking up her own teacup in her hooves. The old ceramic cup was tiny and delicate in her hooves and breaking it would have been too easy. Seeing Oracle take a sip from her cup, Tempest took her cue to take a sip of her own. It was a little bitter, but there was nothing quite like Equestrian grown tea. 

After a shared quiet moment Tempest spoke, “So how are you going to do this? Crystal ball? Read the tea grounds at the bottom of my cup?”

Oracle chuckled. “Oh, nothing as primitive as that.” She shook her head. “With my magic, I can cause ponies to relive memories, then give them a bit of a tweak to see the immediate effects of certain changes. I must warn you, this process may bring up some painful memories. Are you ready?”

Tempest gave a curt nod. “I’m ready.”

“Good. Now then, I want you to think back to the day when you invaded Canterlot.” Tempest flinched slightly with how casually Oracle stated the matter, but the old mare waved it off with her hoof. “What was the first thing that went wrong in your attack?”

“Hyyyah!”

“Twiiiliiight!!!”

Tempest looked away from Oracle in thought. “...At first, things went better than I expected. There was confusion in Canterlot with the set up of the festival and a good chunk of the Royal Guard was out of the city running some drills in preparation for the increased security of the event. We made our threat clear and offered the princesses to give up their power willingly. We expected them to put up a resistance, but the princesses went down surprisingly easy.” Tempest hesitated. “Well most of them. A civilian took an orb meant for Princess Twilight. One of the Princess’s pegasus friends pulled her out of there before the smoke cleared enough to see the mistake.” She shook her head. “If it wasn’t for that grey pegasus, we would have had all four princesses taken out in less than a minute and all of Equestria would be ours by the end of the day.”

At the end of her tale, Tempest saw Oracle staring beyond the walls of the wagon with a smirk on her face. “Yes, forces beyond our understanding have taken quite the shine to that mare.” The old mare shook her head seemingly to shake off her distraction. “Well then, we have our first moment in time. Shall we?” She stood from her chair and ignited her horn. “Could you lower your head please?”

Tempest stared at Oracle. She had heard of unicorns channeling their magic into stronger spell if they touched horns together, it was something she learned in her research on how horns worked. And if the two unicorns weren’t in sync, it could lead to disastrous results. “Are you sure about this considering…” She tapped the broken base of her horn.

Oracle paused for a moment and gave a chuckle. “I don’t need another horn to work my magic. I wouldn’t be a good fortune teller if my spells only worked on a third of the population.”

Tempest hesitantly lower her head to Oracle. “Well, if you insist.”

“Besides,” Oracle continued, touching her glowing horn to Tempest's forehead, “the condition of your horn is irrelevant.”

Before Tempest could parse what exactly the older mare meant by that statement, her world faded to black.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tempest blinked and saw that she was facing a familiar scene. Not that there was much to see at the moment, what with the billowing steam and fog. At the time, she didn’t understand why or how Grubber managed to get his paws on a chunk of dry ice, but she had come to learn not to question him on matters concerning presentation. If there was anything the little creature was useful for, and perhaps the main reason he worked for the Storm King, it was his talent setting the stage.

“Put your hooves together for Commander Tempest!” 

Tempest felt her hooves move without her control, following old familiar steps, with her horn sparking even older and even more familiar sparks. She stepped forward through the clouds to see the princesses alight in front of the ship. The scene played out how it always did. The four princesses looked at her with defiance, disdain, fear and pity while trying to reason with her. Tempest’s voice was filled with sadistic glee, words spoke of confidence and power. The princesses refusing to step down. And neither did she.

And so the battle of Canterlot began. The rest of her troops arrived and Tempest threw her opening attack, kicking a Null Orb at the gathered Princesses. According to the Storm King, Null Orbs were remnants of an old unicorn war, devices first meant to eat through warding spells and turn complex magical devices into useless obsidian. They were enchanted to seek out strong sources of magic and neutralize it. However they were also found to turn anything with a high degree of magic into stone, including ponies. As such, the devices and the knowledge of them was banned. She didn’t know where or how the Storm King got them, but he guaranteed they would stop any pesky princesses (or your money back*).

So as expected, one of the princesses, Cadence the so called Princess of Love, stepped up to shield the others and as advertised the orb ate through the warding and struck the pink princess. The orb worked perfectly, with a degree of irony as dark, twisted crystal engulfed the Crystal Princess. 

Time always seemed to slow here. Orders were belted out from Princess Celestia to the younger sister to go seek useless help, cut off as the most powerful mare in the world was struck. Within moments, the sun’s light was extinguished by cold unyielding stone. 

Next, an orb sent skyward towards the cowardly fleeing Princess of the Night. There it hit, causing the dark sister to become as she was a millennia ago: fallen and imprisoned in a monument with her own visage. 

It was only the actions of Princess Twilight that prevented Princess Luna from shattering across the main stage. Several panicked ponies and few Stormguards trying to round them up had managed to get between herself and her target, so she launched herself into the air to kick one final orb at the last, and certainly the least, true bastion of Equestrian leadership.

Then time seemed to freeze entirely. Out of the corner of her left eye, a grey form coalesced into the shape of a Stormguard. This new guard then grabbed a grey pegasus by her blond tail where she stood in mid sprint. 

Then time resumed, with the grey pegasus being halted in her tracks. Unimpeded, the orb struck Princess Twilight, just as blur and a shout rushed in to reach her. Tempest then saw a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane trying to pull the crystallizing princess out of the smoke.

“Twilight! What is--” the voice of the pegasus rasped before it was interrupted by the sound of two stone statues clattering across the plaza. 

Tempest landed on the ground and stared for a moment at the aftermath of what she just did. She could hardly believe her eyes. She did it. All four princesses were incapacitated, as well as an incidental... casualty. Most of the civilians in the plaza had been subdued and herded towards the airships where they would be tasked to prepare Canterlot for the arrival of the Storm King. It was a bit overwhelming, she had brought a nation to its knees in just a couple of minutes. This was true power. The total success of the operation brought a smirk to her face. “Easy as pie.”

“Ooh I love pie!” Grubber, who had managed to catch up with her, chirped up causing Tempest to roll her eyes but not lose her pride. She had earned this moment, she wasn’t about to let the Storm King’s court jester ruin it.

“YOU!”

Tempest turned towards the shout to see an orange earth pony with a cowboy hat covering her blond hair glaring at her. She also noticed three other ponies behind her, a white unicorn who was flailing and breathing in complete hysterics, a yellow pegasus whose sobs were hidden behind long lengths of pink, and a grey-pink earth pony who was staring without emotion off into space. Judging by the shaky, but ready to charge stance of the orange earth pony, she was the one who shouted. A couple of nearby Stormguards lowered their spears and took a few steps toward the mare, but Tempest waved them off. They had already won this day and she was in a good mood. She could indulge a bit by letting this civilian speak.

“You- Y'all- You change Twilight back!” the earth pony yelled, frantically gesturing to the statues. “An’ Dash an’ the other Princesses!”

“Oh?” Tempest asked with a cruel smile. “And why should I do that? I can't allow the princesses to interfere with our plans. And besides,” she continued dismissively, “I can’t turn the princesses back to normal. And honestly, I don’t care if they ever are.”

“You- You’re lyin’!” the earth pony declared, shaking her head in protest. Tempest kept a calm gaze looking back, which after a moment seemed to shake the other pony to her core. “You… You’ve got to be lyin’! Nopony would ever betray the princesses!”

“Look around,” Tempest coolly responded giving a small gesture to the fallen Canterlot. The smoke produced by the airships had cast a dreary shade on the once vibrant city. Sounds of fighting still filled the air and she could see fire springing up from a building a couple of blocks over. “See the proof. I have nothing to lie about.”

“Horseapples ya don’t!”

“Then you are just lying to yourself.”

That seemed to be the last straw for the other mare, who let out a snort and lowered her head to charge at her. Tempest’s smirk stayed as it was. Taking down the princesses was over too quick and easy, she was looking forward to an actual fight. Though as she appraised the incoming pony, she knew she wasn’t going to get a challenge. The earth pony did look strong and probably had mean buck, but she had an apple farmer’s mark and her intentions were easily readable. Where as Tempest was bigger, armoured and had spent her whole life fighting. All she had to do was stay light on her hooves and land a few solid hits.

So as the earth pony pivoted on her front hooves to throw a buck, Tempest was already on the move. She jumped to the side, but realized she had underestimated the other mare’s speed slightly as a hoof clipped the armour plate on her hip. At worse, it would leave a small bruise, but now she knew it wasn’t play time. 

Tempest spun in turn to return a more controlled kick than the one she just received, causing the other mare to stumble back out of reach to avoid it. Tempest then advanced, jumping up to strike from above. The other mare reared up to defend herself from the attack, but it was for naught as Tempest’s speed and longer reach bowled the mare over. The earth pony fell to the ground gasping for the breath stolen by metal clad hooves striking her chest.

“Is this really the best Equestria has?” Tempest sneered at the fallen pony. The other mare started to struggle to her hooves, but Tempest swept her legs out from under her with a kick. “You little ponies are weak.” She struck a hoof across the mare’s face, opening a gash on her cheek. “Hiding away in your perfect little kingdom, ignorant to the harsh realities just beyond your front door.” The mare tried to swing a hoof in retaliation but Tempest pinned the limb to the ground and leaned towards her in a hiss. “And all of Equestria’s ‘friends’ will abandon you.” She spun to give a quick kick to the mare’s side, knocking the breath out of her again. 

“You’re… Lyin’...” The mare gasped between breaths.

Tempest barked out laugh. “Lying is what the world does to you, little one.” She gave a few more kicks to the mare’s side, enough to feel something give within her body, before winding up for a finishing blow to the head. “You just have to open up your eyes.” Her hoof connected with the mare’s skull which caused her to immediately slump to the ground. 

She took this moment to survey the area. Her fight had attracted a bunch of attention, both from her troops and the civilians of Canterlot. Most of said citizens wore looks of horror and disgust towards the display, but Tempest ignored them. If they were going to be a threat, they missed their chance to interfere in the fight. So much for ponies always looking after one another.

“Boom!” Tempest looked over to see Grubber pointing at the defeated pony, jeering. “How do ya like them apples?!” He cackled. “Get it? Because she has-”

“I got it, Grubber,” Tempest responded with a roll of her eyes. She started to walk past him toward the petrified body of Princess Twilight. “We need to secure the princesses. The bulk of the main guard will be back any moment and we need to use the princesses as leverage to make them--”

Her orders were interrupted by a grunt of effort behind her and a large weight slamming into her back. Forelegs immediately wrapped around her neck and hooves dug into her flanks. 

“I AIN’T DONE WITH YA YET!” roared a voice into her ear.

Tempest jumped and twisted to try to shake the mare off her, but it seemed that this wasn’t the mare’s first rodeo. The other mare must have been tougher than she looked and was playing dead to get back on her hooves that quick. Now she was trying to wear her down like she was a bull. It was a contest the other mare already lost due to the injuries she had already taken, so the attack was more of an annoyance than anything else. Fortunately, she had more tricks than a bull did.

So she came to a standstill and twisted her head back so the remnants of her horn pointed at her assaulter and channeled her magic. She was rewarded with a scream of pain that lanced into her ears, but the grip relaxed and Tempest threw the other mare off her. She landed in a heap, weakened and scorched but still conscious. 

“You’re soft,” Tempest stated glaring at her fallen foe. “You had your hooves at my throat and it didn’t even occur to you to squeeze.” She shook her head in disgust, and then channeled her magic into the other mare once more, getting another scream of pain in response.

“Applejack!” The white unicorn that was with the mare earlier, apparently named Applejack, walked forward with her horn ablaze with light blue light. 

Tempest raise an eyebrow at the new unicorn, but there was a Stormguard right next to her ready to stop her if she tried to do anything. So Tempest smirked and walked up to Applejack’s fallen form. She was impressed that the earth pony was still conscious after all of that. But she was clearly no longer a threat. “Applejack was it?” Tempest asked, prodding Applejack’s most likely broken ribs to receive the expected cry of pain. A glance at the unicorn showed her horn’s aura waver. “You’re certainly a stubborn one. Still trying to fight even after you’ve already lost. Is there anything you’d like to say for yourself?”

Applejack spat and looked towards her friend and spoke, her words twisted in pain. “Rarity, take Fluttershy, Pinkie an’ Spike an’ run. Go find help and-” the rest of the sentence was cut off in a scream of pain as Tempest’s hoof pressed into her wound. 

“Wrong answer,” Tempest hissed. “There will be no help for you.” She shot a glare at the unicorn, Rarity it seemed, then panned it across the gathered crowd of ponies. “If any one of you are thinking about resisting, I kindly suggest you reconsider.” She loomed over Applejack and channeled her magic, a few stray sparks bouncing off the earth pony’s back. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a few Stormguards loading the crystallized body of Princess Cadence on a wagon. “For Applejack's sake, as well as the princesses'.”

Tempest smirked as the light on Rarity’s horn winked out. Then Rarity and most of the ponies in the crowd hung their heads in defeat, in shame of their failure to protect their oh so special harmony. Today was the best day of Tempest’s life, she had finally won and proven her power. No one would show her pity ever again. Once the Storm King arrived and restored her horn, it would be perfect.

She took a step back as a Stormguard collected Applejack, the crippled mare glaring at her even as she was roughly hoisted over the soldier’s shoulder. “If ya dare hurt my family, I’ll kill you myself,” she seethed in a dark pain-stained rage.

Tempest shrugged nonchalantly. “If any of them are in the the city, I already have. I’ll look forward to your challenge, if you don’t get yourself killed in the meantime.”

The framer struggled and spat, at least until another Stormguard came over to slip a muzzle over her head to silence her. Tempest shook her head, it was really too bad that Applejack decided to fight. A strong mare like that could have been really useful for pulling carts and other labor jobs around the city. Still, if her family was anything like her, then perhaps they could compensate.

As she though of other organizational plans, she trotted towards the closest petrified princess, Princess Twilight in this case, to inspect her work. Despite the tumble across the plaza, she was completely intact besides a few scratches on her body and a few chips off her feathers. She had frozen in mid down flap and landed on her back, one wing pointed towards her, the other pointed skyward. Tempest wondered what would happen if a wing just so happened to have broken off in the fall. She had heard that the young princess was once a regular unicorn, so she was used to living without them. “What did you do to deserve your wings?” she asked herself under her breath. She was suddenly reminded of old, bitter questions. What did she do to deserve losing her horn? Was she always destined to lose it? Would she ever get it restored? Her anger grew as she looked above the frozen expression of terror on Princess Twilight’s face to the horn on her head. Her horn would be just as easy to break off as the wings would.

“Get away from her!”

Tempest jumped a bit before seeing a purple figure crawl out from under Twilight’s far wing. Her magic flared to prepare for an attack, but then saw that it was a small lizard-like creature whose face was tear-stained. “And who might you be?” she asked with a smirk on her face.

“S-Spike the Brave and Glorious, T-Twilight’s number one assistant,” he stammered out trying to stand tall, but Tempest could tell it was all bluster.

“D’aww aren’t you cute,” Tempest stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Applejack mentioned a Spike earlier, she didn't imagine this pathetic little thing. “Princess Twilight’s little pet.” 

“I- I’m not a pet!” he protested, crossing his arms. “I’m a genuine dragon.”

Tempest snorted and rolled her eyes. “Oh, of course you are. If you were a real dragon you would have fought and not hide beneath your mistress being a crybaby. If you were a true dragon, you might have even been able to hold off our attack.”

“I-I’m not a crybaby,” he protested, the tears welling in his eyes instantly disproving him. And here she was trying to flatter him, it wouldn't have mattered if there was a real dragon in Canterlot or not. The Storm King's ships had enough firepower to take out even a Dragon Lord.

“Uh huh,” she replied skeptically. “You know, I think the Storm King might take a shining to you. You have a lot in common with Grubber." 

And speak of the devil, the fuzzy little creature just popped up again, looking between her, Spike and himself. "I don't see it."

Tempest rolled her eyes once again and turned her attention back to Spike who was still standing adamantly by his mistress' side. "Move," she ordered. "I have matters to attend to with Princess Twilight.”

“I’m not leaving her!” he roared, which might have been intimidating if he wasn’t a harmless little lizard.

“We’ll see about that,” Tempest said as she reached down to pick him up by the scruff of his neck. 

The next thing she knew, her entire world was enveloped in green flames.









Tempest gasped as she found herself back in Oracle’s wagon. It felt as if she was just asleep, but it felt so real. It was just like that day in Canterlot… up until it wasn’t. Her heart was still hammering and she swore she could still feel some lingering flames. “What... what was that!?”

Oracle wasn’t in her seat, but was instead pouring them both a new cup of tea. “That was my talent," she stated calmly, returning to her chair. "Please relax, we have much to discuss and unpack.”
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tempest felt sick as she stared at her hooves, still picturing the blood of a newfound... friend on them. Still feeling the dragonfire burning through her body. Still experiencing the pride she felt when she won. “Did I really… Applejack? Why did I…” 

“You got lost in your memory,” Oracle replied looking calmly at her. 

Tempest shuddered as thoughts of Princess Twilight’s friends surfaced. “I didn’t even recognize any of them, I didn’t care if I hurt or… tortured them.” She slowly shook her head in the shock. “I thought I had changed.”  

The older mare nodded. “You have. As I said, you got lost in the memory.” She gave a faint smile and continued, almost to herself, “Those who continue to dwell on old memories have a hard time moving on from them.”

Tempest snarled at Oracle. “What is that supposed to mean, you old hag?!”

Oracle gave a sharp glare in response. “Calm down and I’ll explain. And do mind your manners, I think I’ve well established that this ‘old hag’ has more power than it seems. I am doing this to help you.”

“Fine,” Tempest said with a roll of her eyes. She took a breath and picked up her tea cup to take a sip. It tasted more bitter than the last cup.

“Okay then,” Oracle started. “Let me put it this way. When you dream, are you typically aware that you are in a dream or do you not question it and go along with it?”

Tempest frowned as she put her cup back down. “I try not to think about my dreams.” There were too many nightmares and broken dreams. 

“Then you probably aren’t a lucid dreamer. Which is a good thing in this case.”

“How so?” Tempest asked, curious. She never heard much about the meanings of dreams besides a few old fairy tales.

“My ability to relive memories is much like how dreams work. If you were aware that it was just a memory, it would defeat the purpose. To understand the consequences of the changes that I’m making, it’s best that you stay in the same frame of mind that you were in at that moment.” She gave a bit of a frown. “I was worried at the beginning when it looked like you were just going through the motions, but once the fighting started you really got into it.”

Tempest raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t that mean that now that you’ve told me about it, that I might come to my senses next time?”

“Oh no,” Oracle responded with a wave of her hoof and a smile. “It take a lot of dedicated time, months even, to notice the tells that show that you are in a dream and even more so for you not wake up when you realize it.”

“This all seems rather complicated.”

The older mare gave a shrug. “Perhaps, but this isn’t meant to be easy. It is hard to look back on one’s own life and think about what went wrong. To confront our past and wish things could have gone a different way.” The mare got a distant look in her eyes, as if speaking from experience.

Both ponies sat in silence for a moment to think, each taking the time to take a sip of their tea. All that happened in the warped memory was a bit overwhelming to Tempest. “Is that really what would have happened if I got Princess Twilight there in Canterlot? I beat Applejack half to death, get to savour my victory for a minute and then get torched by Spike?”

Oracle nodded. “It’s hard to guess the specific motivations of Twilight’s friends and whether or not they would contribute to the fight, but I chose the most likely to happen. With some help from your soldiers, you would have won regardless. As for Spike, he just singed your hair a bit and sent you to the other end of the plaza, to Celestia’s hooves.” 

Tempest breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought the fire would turn me to ash. Though if it didn’t, why stop the memory there?” 

“A few reasons really,” the older mare responded. “We have limited time together and while time in the mind doesn’t flow quite the same, it would take too long for the memories to play out and skipping ahead would be disruptive. There is also the matter that the longer a memory goes on, the harder it gets to predict. I’m trying to piece together things from your memory, reports that I’ve read and other sources. There are too many variables to predict long term, besides in broad strokes.”

“You’ve seen all of my memories?” Tempest asked with grimace, thinking back to some lonely and not-so-lonely nights she’s had. About other mistakes she’s made, other crimes she had committed. 

“Just your most important ones, your privacy will be respected.” She held a hoof to her heart. “I swear it on the Sun and Moon that nothing shall leave this space.”

Tempest sighed. “You may have wanted to be more up front about that.” She shook her head. “I suppose that it’s too late for that now. So now what?”

“Now, we take a look at some of those longer term consequences.” She walked over to where the old map hung and picked up a small pointer stick. She tapped the image of Canterlot, a castle on a mountainside on the dead center of the map. “With all four princesses captured, the Elements of Harmony no longer a factor and Canterlot held by the Storm King’s forces, most of Equestria surrendered rather quickly. There were a few pockets of resistance of course, a few heroes working behind the scenes. But they couldn’t to anything major or it would risk the lives of the princesses and their fellow ponies.”

Tempest nodded. “Just as we planned.”

Oracle returned the nod and turned back to the map. “And once the Storm King arrived and took the power of the princesses for himself, there would be little that anyone in the world would do. Especially when he would discover how much more he could do with such power. Still, even after playing with the Sun and Moon, I believe he would stick with creating tornadoes and hurricanes because they are ‘on brand’.”

Tempest smirked. “Sounds about right. He’d probably be lazy and forgetful at times raising the Sun and Moon, but besides for some leverage I don’t think he would abuse them much. He would suffer just as much as anyone else if the Sun and Moon weren’t where they were supposed to be.”

Oracle chuckled and tapped to the north of Equestria to an image depicting the spire of the castle of the Crystal Empire. “Thanks to the Crystal Heart, the Crystal Empire could weather any storm thrown at them by the Storm King, but with his wife held hostage there would be nothing Shining Armour could do besides bend the knee. Perhaps given a couple of decades of hiding and training, their daughter Flurry Heart might’ve had a chance to take back Equestria. She is after all, the fifth alicorn princess. However that would be a longshot.”

Tempest blinked in surprise, she didn’t know Princess Cadence had a child who was an alicorn. It might have been good to know for a plan B instead of trying to catch Princess Twilight, but fear for his daughter’s safety might outstrip Prince Shining Armour’s reluctance to let his wife come to harm. It would be risky. “We, like most of the world, weren’t really familiar with the Crystal Empire. We figured that with their ruler captured they would be irrelevant.” 

“Flurry may become a great princess on her own, but not under those conditions.” Oracle continued by tapping on the land across the eastern sea with the figure of a Griffon on it. “The griffons of Griffonia would make for a fierce army that the Storm King’s forces would have a hard time with, but between their economic ruin and lack of leadership, they won’t be able to do much. There would a few individuals who volunteer to help the resistance, but most Griffons would be easily bought off.”

Tempest nodded. “We even thought that by using Equestria’s royal treasury, we might have been able to buy out most of Griffonia’s Griffon mercenaries to supplement our own forces.”

The old mare gave a slight chuckle. “You may be overestimating how much money the royal treasury has.” She shook her head and continued, this time tapping to an island off the south-east coast with a dragon coiled over it. “The Dragons were probably your most overt threat. A single full-grown Dragon would be able to take out any airship in an instant and can fly through powerful storms. However, Equestria only had the loyalty of its inexperienced Dragonlord. While she might be able to order the other dragons into attacking the Storm King, they won’t take it kindly and would either try to overthrow such an abuse of power or follow the letter of the order and cause as much collateral damage as they could. Given a few years for her to get respect from the other Dragons, they could wipe the Storm King out with some difficulty.” 

Tempest nodded. “Another race we were thinking of bribing. Equestria already exports a lot of gems to the Dragonlands. Maybe cause some internal conflict by increasing tariffs.”

“Indeed.” Oracle nodded, then pointed to a familiar Mount Eris to the south of Equestria. “You had already managed to subdue the threat of the Hippogriffs. They had managed to flee their home, but still had most of their forces and the Pearl. However, Queen Novo is much like Celestia, looking after her own ponies before looking at troubles abroad. They would be content to hide away, protected from whatever else the Storm King can throw at them. Still, they probably had the most fit army and motivation to attack back at the time. Probably why Celestia thought it would be a good thing to got to them for help.”

“And Princess Twilight succeeded in getting it.”

“...It was a bit more complicated than that,” Oracle stated. When Tempest raised an eyebrow, the old mare just shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll get around to that.” She continued with them map, tapping a dark twisting spire in a middle of a wasteland. “The Changelings… are honestly a bit of a wild card. A few years ago they made an attempt of their own to conquer Canterlot and take down the princesses. Their Queen did succeed with Celestia, but Cadence and Shining Armour’s combined magic were enough to forcibly remove her. They are under a new King, Thorax, so they are now an ally of Equestria, but have renounced most of their warlike ways. They wouldn’t be able to rally much of a military force, but they still have their old infiltration tactics available. It would certainly be a major boon to any sort of resistance movement.”

“True,” Tempest agreed with a grimace, “but the Storm King doesn’t trust anyone anyways. It would be difficult for a Changeling to get close to him. And their situation is fragile enough that being blasted by storms would cripple them.”

Oracle nodded and pointed to one last spot even further north than the Crystal Empire, represented by a wooden gate. “And then the Yaks…” She trailed off, then gave a shrug. “Live as they always had, isolated and shrugging off whatever weather ends up heading their way.”

“We honestly didn’t even take the Yaks into consideration,” Tempest said sheepishly. “I’ve hardly even heard of them.”

“It’s just as well, I’ve never really seen them do much of anything,” the old mare said with a smirk. She took one more look at the old map. “Any other nations out there are, in some combination, too weak, too far away or don’t have close ties with Equestria.”

“So to sum up, there would be a serious resistance movement that couldn’t afford to make a major move at the risk of the princesses, any sort of organized counterattack wouldn’t come for years and there is no other hope for Equestria.”

“Well, not quite,” Oracle said with a grimace as she laid her pointer stick on a nearby shelf.

“Oh?” Tempest asked in surprise. “What else does Equestria have?”

The other mare’s eyes darted around the room, the first thing resembling fear that Tempest had seen on her. Oracle took a deep breath and uttered a single word, “Discord.”

Tempest swore she heard the word echo around the room and her stomach clenched. “Discord?”

“Pray to the Sun and Moon that you’ve never met him,” Oracle said shakily. “He’s an extremely powerful spirit of Chaos who can warp reality with the snap of his… talon. The Storm King, even with the power of the princesses and his army, would be powerless to stop him.”

Tempest’s mouth gaped. “H-he’s really that strong?” 

“If he decides that you’re his enemy, he would find unending ways to torment you, reality be damned. Turn you into a balloon and set you free in a cactus field, clap his hands and the Storm King’s biggest tornado would find its new home in a bottle, mess with your troops’ minds so that they fight each other, and Sun and Moon knows what else. Nothing short of the Elements of Harmony or being talked down by some of his closest friends would stop him.”

Tempest stared into space. Would their attack on Canterlot be ultimately pointless of someone with that much power was in Equestria’s corner? Was it always doomed to fail from the start? “Everything we did would be for nothing...” Then she paused as she realized something. “Why didn’t we see him when we attacked Canterlot?”

“He’s Equestria’s ace in the hole against anything that might overpower the princesses, but he’s notoriously unreliable. Who knows why he didn’t show up in Canterlot that day? Perhaps he didn’t know about the attack until after it was over. Perhaps he did know about it, but figured that Twilight had it well in hoof and didn’t bother. He could’ve just sat around with a bag of popcorn and watched the Chaos unfold. Though if you hurt his closest friend, he would come after you personally.” She paused to think for a moment. “Or maybe he just wanted to milk the duration of the princesses being trapped in stone for as long as he could. That sounds like something he would do.”

Tempest sat in silence as she thought about the spirit of Chaos. “So the most likely thing that would happen if we won at Canterlot would be that Discord would come by, wipe us out and rescue the princesses.”

“Maybe,” Oracle said with a grimace. “It would depend on if he felt like ruling Equestria himself with the princesses still indisposed and if his closest friend could talk him out of it or not. If he did take over, it would make the threats of the Storm King sound like a breeze through the trees. It’s probably for the best that he didn’t get involved.” 

“Agreed,” Tempest said with a nod. “I’d fight him if I had to, but that doesn’t sound like a good ending.”

“Yes, but from what I can guess, you wouldn’t likely be around to experience it.” 

Tempest frowned. “What do you mean by that? Am I just leading some troops to stop some resistance in an outlying town or…” She trailed off thinking about some ways her story would be finished. None of them were good.

“The Storm King was always going to betray you, Tempest,” Oracle stated looking her dead in the eye. “You gave him the power he desired, so he had no use for you anymore. Whether that means he dismissed you from his service so you could run off and hide on your own, or you tried to take what you desired by force and were punished accordingly, I’m not sure. But it should suffice to say, you wouldn’t be employed by the Storm King for long, even though you would always be affiliated with such by your fellow ponies.” Her eyes flicked up to Tempest’s forehead. “Whatever the case, you wouldn’t get you horn back.”

Another stretch of silence settled over the two of them and Tempest’s thoughts tumbled through her head. If things played out perfectly in Canterlot, her ultimate goal would still end up in failure. She’d be powerless once again. “...and that will always happen if I get Princess Twilight when we take Canterlot.”

“It would happen regardless of when you got Twilight, be it then or whenever you caught her during her travels.”

“So if we were more thorough with that mercenary ship or got to that cat’s house before that crime lord did…”

“Or afterward and you conduct a ‘business transaction’,” they both knew that the exchange would involve more violence than money, “with him to secure Twilight and her friends. Regardless, the Storm King would always betray you eventually, capturing Twilight later would just delay the inevitable. As it actually did.”

“So I would always end up betrayed and powerless ever since I decided to work for the Storm King.”

“Well…” Oracle hesitated. “There is one scenario where the Storm King doesn’t betray you and you gain power.”

“Oh?” Tempest sat up expectantly. “What happens?”

Oracle paused for a moment to think. “I think this requires another visit to a memory as the set-up is rather unique. If you wouldn’t mind of course.”

Tempest snorted. “I don’t think I have much of a choice.” Still, some hope stirred inside her. There was a chance to see herself with real power, not as somepony to be pitied.

“I understand that is how you often see things, Tempest, that things happened to you that you had no choice in. But I am giving you a choice here. You are free to go if you want to.”

Tempest shook her head. “No, I need to see this.” She wanted to feel what having real power felt like.

“Very well,” Oracle said. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them as her horn flared with magic. “Are you sure?”

Tempest gave a firm nod. “Absolutely.”

“Alright then,” the other mare said with a nod of her own head.

When Oracle touched her horn to Tempest’s forehead, her world faded away as it had before.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tempest found herself walking down the hallway to the Canterlot throne room, accompanied by a few Stormguards, Grubber and a caged Princess Twilight on a pony-drawn cart. The capture of the last princess was more of an annoyance than anything else. She and her friends slipped through her hooves a few times, but they never put up much of a fight. And in the end, Princess Twilight, alone and distracted, was easy prey for Tempest. Once trapped, the poor Princess of Friendship tried to negotiate, tried to understand why Tempest was helping the Storm King. So Tempest had explained. She told her about the true nature of the world, not just beyond the borders of their all so magical land, but even the truths within it. 

The princess was broken, innocence shattered, but Tempest was only scraping the surface of what was out there. What happens beyond Equestria’s borders, what happens while ponies do nothing but party among themselves. About what she had to endure, what scars she bore. She knew that the princess saw Klugetown, that was just one of many such depraved locations just outside of the reach of ponies. And judging by the state of Griffonia, even some pockets existed within Equestria’s sphere of influence.

The pair of Stormguards who were leading their procession opened the large double doors into the throne room of the royal sisters. There the sisters, as well as Princess Cadence, stood motionlessly, expressions frozen on their faces, hearts as cold as stone. Tempest wondered how many ponies got that exact reception when they came to get an audience with Princesses Celestia and Luna. Probably more often than most ponies thought. 

As Princess Twilight’s cage passed the crystalized form of Princess Celestia, Tempest could see a look of horror on the younger princess’ face. From what she heard, Princess Celestia practically raised her as a filly. Tempest could guess that Princess Twilight was remembering her mentor’s last moments, the moments of her screaming and turning to stone. The moments where the little princess ran in fear to avoid the same fate. The moments of Princess Celestia’s failure and Tempest’s victory. 

By now, the cart had pulled up to the empty spot on the glyph on the floor in order for the Stormguards unload the cage. Tempest wondered about why the throne room already had a slot and glyphs for the Storm King’s staff. It was as if the princesses designed their own demise, their own home made to take away their own power. She wasn’t quite sure about the history of the Staff of Sacanas, but it was quite literally the key to the princesses power. Power that could be used to restore her own.

After the Stormguards got Princess Twilight into position, they shuffled out of the room with the cart. Tempest caught a worried glance from one of the ponies pulling the cart, but she ignored it as Grubber closed the doors behind them with a cackle. All these ponies could use a dose of reality, that they aren’t safe and sound in their perfect kingdom. That there are others out there barely scraping together enough to survive. 

Once it was just Tempest, Grubber and the princess there waiting for the Storm King to arrive, Princess Twilight made one last plea. “Tempest, don’t do this. Don’t give the Storm King--”

“Your magic?” Tempest cut in. “Did you think you could keep it all to yourself? Time to share.” She turned away dismissively. Everything was in place and there was nothing Princess Twilight could do to stop what was happening. Her own magic would be restored. “I’d love for everybody out there to see what I can really do.”

“Oooh fascinating!” Tempest heard a voice say from behind her. She turned to see the Storm King's massive form duck through the door from the balcony. His voice turned threatening as he continued, “What can you really do?”

Tempest froze, panicked that she said too much. She was surprised that the Storm King was already here. He had the habit of always arriving late, it was the reason why she had three ‘days’ to track down Princess Twilight. And that was probably the last thing he would like her to say. 

Fortunately, Grubber was quick to respond with a bow. “You bidding if course, oh mighty one.” However, it seemed that his cowardly side came to the front and he sped out the throne room, ensuring that the door was closed behind him. Tempest rolled her eyes at the act. She knew what she said, and she knew the Storm King’s temper. She wasn’t going to flee, never again. 

“Bidding’s good, I like bidding,” the Storm King replied as he approached, not even noticing Grubber’s escape. He paused, when he saw the imprisoned Princess Twilight. “Uh, what are you supposed to be?”

The little alicorn tried to stand tall and proud, but it didn’t accomplish a thing. “I’m the Princess of Friendship,” she said in a faltering voice.

The Storm King gave a bellow of laughter at the title, a sentiment that Tempest shared. “Oh, that’s nice,” he said, wiping a false tear from his eye. However, he instantly turned to Tempest with a snarl. “Why is this one still moving?”

She could have said that it wasn’t necessary to turn her to stone, that she was already powerless. That she wanted Princess Twilight to see that her weakness had caused her own people to suffer, to feel the guilt, the pity. For her to live with the pain, and not have it nullified by being frozen in crystal. But Tempest knew she had to be professional, to keep things simple for the Storm King and not make excuses. “She and her friends put up a bit of a fight, but she’s alone now.” She turned to the princess with a smirk on her face, proud of her accomplishment. “She won’t be a problem.” 

The Storm King brushed past her, quite literally as he ran his paws through her mane. Tempest had to stomach the insult, the degradation, she was almost there. “Yeah, so, speaking of problems,” he started, but then time froze. A grey mist shrouded the Storm King for a moment, then seemed to flow into his mouth. Then time resumed, the Storm King continuing as if nothing had happened. “A matter concerning your employment has come up.”

Tempest frowned in confusion, her stomach clenching. “What do you mean?”

“It means that as of right now, you’re outta the job,” he replied, not even looking at her, instead looking between his staff and the slot in the floor as if trying to figure out which end of the staff to stick into the hole. “You will receive a gracious severance package and a lifetime employee discount anywhere Storm Bucks are legal tender. Feel free to use me as a reference in your next job interview, I’m certain that will make a good impression.”

Tempest stared in shock at her former boss. “What? I-I did everything you told me to, I’ve proven my worth!”

He laughed as he turned to her. “Exactly! Because you’ve done everything I needed you to do, well, now you aren’t worth anything to me. I suggest you take this offer now, because this is the best one you’re gonna get.”

“But what about my horn?” Tempest cried, seeing her victory being snached away from her hooves. Everything she’s done, wasted. “We had an agreement!”

The Storm King gave a twisted smile, his tone mocking. “Get with the program, I used you. You ponies are so gullible. Now run along, there are more important matters for me to attend to. Like taking all the magic from these ‘cute pony princesses’.” He gagged over the last few words as he rammed the buttend of his staff into the slot in the floor. 

Tempest stood there stunned, the Storm King’s words echoing in her ears as the staff started drawing in energy. Beams of magic shot out from the horns of the princesses, but it seemed that magical light was seeping through the walls of the castle as well. Was the staff drawing more power from elsewhere? Maybe it was magic from items that the princesses personally enchanted?

The Storm King laughed, seemingly to no one in particular while his attention was on the head of the staff. “Check out the light show!”

Tempest’s eyes flicked between the Storm King and his staff, fury building within her. He dared to betray her? Steal away her victory, threw her aside after she did all his dirty work? She put up with his threats, all his mocking, all for nothing? 

No.

No more weakness.

No more begging.

No more failure.

Her body was in motion, a dash that turned into a leap. A hoof lashed out at the Storm King with the full force of her body behind it. The unexpected attack sent him reeling across the room. Tempest landed, putting herself between the staff and the Storm King as he recovered his balance. Poor Princess Luna ended up being his brace while Princess Twilight stood with a shocked look on her face. 

“What’s the meaning of this?” the Storm King snarled, before flexing his hand as if just realizing that the staff was no longer in his hand. His look of anger quickly became mixed with panic. “You dare betray me?!”

“You betrayed me first,” Tempest said coldly. “I was the one who lead an army into Canterlot. I was the one who captured the princesses. And as I’m not longer beholden to you, the prize is rightfully mine.”

“It’s my army, my staff!” He snarled back. “You’re nothing without me!”

The words did cut into her, but she couldn’t let her resolve waver. She lowered her stance, ready to defend herself. “This is the day I’ve been waiting for my whole life. I’m not going to let some ignorant despot take it away from me!”

The Storm King roared. “That power is mine!” His stance turned primal as he launched himself towards her.

Tempest anticipated him to leap at her, but her battle-trained eye saw that with the power behind his launch, he was trying to jump over her to reach for the staff. She adjusted accordingly, leaping up as he soared over her to plant her hooves into his stomach. She pushed off with all her strength, which caused the Storm King to overshoot his target and slam into Princess Twilight’s cage with a resounding clang. The princess herself cowered as far away as she could get from the Storm King. Pathetic, if it was Tempest herself in a cage, she’d be attacking the Storm King in any hopes of getting herself out. 

Tempest took the moment to pull the staff out of the floor, interrupting the last trickle of magic from entering it. Holding it in her hooves, she leveled it at where the Storm King sprawled on the floor. She wasn’t quite sure about the abilities the staff had, but she was well-versed enough in uncontrolled magical blasts to tell that it was all that was needed here. “All I wanted was what was rightfully mine.” She channeled her will through the staff to shoot a beam of multi-hued light at the Storm King. The blast sent him flying across the room to land close to the sisters’ thrones.

The Storm King struggled to push himself to his feet, his face twisted in rage. “You are weak! You don’t even have your own precious little magic. You don’t deserve anything!”

Tempest channelled another burst of magic through the staff, but instead of blasting the Storm King across the room, his body spasmed as energy coursed through it. “Really, then what does that make you?” Tempest wondered aloud, ignoring the howls of pain from the Storm King. “Just trinkets and show. A spoiled child playing with toys. Everything is just a game for you, the world your twisted playground.” She cut off the stream of magic and leaned the staff back against her shoulder. “These ponies aren’t the only ones who need to learn a lesson about the real world.”

“Tempest, stop.”

She glanced toward the weak voice of Princess Twilight, the drained alicorn sitting in her cage, looking visibly faded. “Don’t kill him,” she pleaded, her eyes huge and tearful.

Tempest laughed as she turned back to the twitching and moaning Storm King. “If you really think he deserves mercy, then you really don’t understand all of what he’s done. He’s invaded other kingdoms, killed and enslaved countless creatures. All because he finds it fun. His death will be a celebration.” 

“Not like this…” the princess whimpered.

Tempest rolled her eyes. The princess’s blathering was getting annoying. “Try to stop me then,” she said. 

Princess Twilight just hung her head, powerless in all meanings of the word. Satisfied that she wouldn’t be an issue, Tempest trotted up to the Storm King’s fallen form and leered over it. “Then again, death could be considered a mercy for you.”

The Storm King gave a wet cough, blood splattering down his chin. He held a defiant glare, but it changed into fear as he couldn’t get his limbs to cooperate. “You… you can’t…” he struggled to rasp.

“I already have,” she stated plainly and jabbed the head of the staff into the Storm King’s side, channeling every last ounce of its magic directly into his body.

She didn’t stop until she could smell something that resembled a griffon’s lunch. 

It was dead silent besides her own heavy breathing and the strangled sobs of a broken princess. She fell back on her haunches and took a few moments for what she just did to sink in. She had just killed someone. A cruel tyrant, yes. One that deserved no mercy. But her stomach still clenched as she looked at the Storm King’s charred body.  “I…” she started, still stunned.

She raised the staff, turning it as she examined it. She realized that the Storm King was irrelevant now. She held the power of the four Princesses of Equestria in her hooves. Her life, her pain, had all lead up to this moment. She looked at the princesses. Sun, Moon, 'Love', Magic. Could she really control these forces? It would take some testing to figure that out. Testing that would probably wait until later. She got back on her hooves and turned to leave.

"Wh-where are you going?" 

Tempest spared the powerless princess a glance. “The Storm King’s soldiers are loyal to him, they'll be after my head as soon as they find him here." She twirled the staff in her hooves as she smirked. “Otherwise, I'm free to go wherever I want now." 

"But you can't just leave us here! Equestria needs the princesses!"

Tempest barked out a laugh. "The world is much more that Equestria, I thought you would have learned that by now. It would be interesting to see what you little ponies do without big mama Celestia holding you on her wings.” She sneered and felt the urge to spit in said princess’ face. She resisted though, there were some lines that she wouldn’t dare cross. “I’ve fought all my life to become something more than a broken unicorn. And now I am. If you dare try to take that away from me, well…” She gestured to the Storm King’s corpse. “I’m sure I can be a bit more creative than this once I figure this staff out.” 

“W-we’ll stop you. For the sake of Equestria.”

“Oh? Who is this ‘we’ you speak off? You’re all alone, Princess. Get used to it.” 

The gasp and the broken stare look on Princess Twilight’s were the last clear thing Tempest experienced as she turned and galloped through the castle and out of Canterlot, the sacked city all a blur. And then… 



Tempest blinked and found herself under the unblinking gaze of Oracle.

“Interesting…” the older mare stated.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I killed him,” Tempest stated, her voice struggling to stay neutral. Shame and pride waged war within her and she didn’t know which should win.

“That you did,” Oracle responded with a nod. “But then again, you already did that when you sacrificed yourself to save Twilight and her friends.” She gave a smirk. “But something was different this time, wasn’t it?”

Tempest gave a shaky nod. The Storm King’s death was ultimately her responsibility. In a way, it was a mercy the she had turned to stone herself in that moment. She didn’t have to hear his body shatter across the courtyard. “Back in Canterlot, I acted out of desperation. I couldn’t let the Storm King win after all he did to m— everypony.” A look from Oracle told her the old mare noticed her slip. “But here…” 

“The Storm King had already lost by the time you killed him,” the older mare stated. “While what you actually did in reality could be seen as right and just, this memory is more akin to murder.”

Tempest sat silent for a moment in contemplation. She did many unsavoury things in order to survive on her own. Killing wasn’t one of them. She was pony enough for that. Or so she thought. “Am I really that bad of a pony? Am I a killer?”

Oracle gave a small grin as she shook her head. “Be glad that we don’t persecute ponies for crimes that never happened.” But then a frown came to her face. “As technically as the case may be.”

Tempest frowned in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

“Next time you see Twilight, ask about her personal student,” Oracle replied, her mouth drawn into a thin line. There was certainly a story there. “But, that’s another topic. For now, let’s focus on you.”

Tempest nodded, though the old mare’s words made her think. Princess Twilight must have had previous experience with turning other ponies into her friends. Was she just one of many? Was she just another lost pony that needed to be saved by the Princess?

Oracle continued, “Now the ultimate outcome of this memory is a little uncertain. You manage to escape Canterlot, while Twilight’s friends manage to fight through to the castle and free her. After that, well, I can only work with hypotheticals. I don’t know the full scope of the staff’s power or what sort of toll draining Twilight’s magic would have on her. But my best guess is that while they would be able to track you down, the Elements of Harmony would likely be ineffective against you.” 

The Elements were certainly a threat that was considered. It was good news that Princess Twilight and her friends didn’t have them during the invasion. The Storm King’s army had scouted out ahead of time to insure that was the case, even sent out a detachment to Ponyville to make sure no pony could retrieve them. In a typical display of competency, the guards never found the Elements of Harmony. Though it seemed that the effort was moot anyways. Still it was odd that they wouldn’t be of use against her if she had the staff. “Is that because without magic, Princess Twilight can’t use her Element?”

Oracle shook her head. “It might be a stumbling block at first, but the powers of Harmony are more deeply ingrained than that. No, it’s more likely because they would be up against the combined power of the alicorns, which would be the highest concentration of Harmonic magic outside the Elements themselves. While the power of the alicorns could be corrupted…” the old mare paused, a pensive look on her face, “and has been in the past, I don’t think you have the capability to corrupt it yourself.”

“You must mean like Nightmare Moon,” Tempest realized, remembering the old fillyhood legends about the Mare in the Moon. The ancient Princess Luna making a deal with dark forces in order to usurp her sister’s rule. The Elements of Harmony banishing her to the moon. And then learning that the tales had been true when the Princess of the Night was returned.

Oracle’s turquoise eyes turned sharp, her words laced with an underlying venom. “I suppose you might say that.” She shook her head, as if to clear it. “Magic gets corrupted by dark magic, be it through evil spirits, cursed artifacts or sinister spells. Many a creature have turned to the darkness to get the power that they wanted.” 

“What about the Storm King?” Tempest asked. “He was a despot, but he didn’t have any magic of his own, corrupted or not. Would that mean the Elements wouldn’t work on him?”

The old mare paused in thought for a moment. “Not directly, I suppose. However, they would most likely be able to dispel the Null Orbs and overwhelm the deflection charms on your army’s shields. They would certainly be useful in that way even if they didn’t affect him personally.” She then looked directly at Tempest. “It makes me wonder though, Tempest. Why didn’t you ever turn to dark magic to restore yourself? You seem to me a prime target to be corrupted.”

Tempest blinked in surprise at the question. The dangers of dark magic were another of those stories that she remembered from when she was a filly. “I know how dangerous dark magic is. I certainly had idle thoughts about exploring that option, but I didn’t think I’d be able to use it, as unstable as my magic is, that is. It helped that I lived outside of Equestria for most of my life, there isn’t much access to powerful magic, dark or otherwise. Besides, any power I got wouldn’t be my own.” She smirked. “I needed to get my magic back, not be under the control of some… thing else.”

Oracle gave a sigh. “Many a nobler pony have turned to darkness for pettier reasons, Tempest. I suppose you are lucky that the darkness never managed to sink its claws into you.” A grim look came to her face. “And yet, you allied with the Storm King. How is pledging your allegiance to a tyrant any different than bargaining with darker powers?”

“As I said, he didn’t have any magic himself. All he had was an army and a few artifacts. And as we’ve just seen, I could beat him in a straight fight. We made a deal to help each other out, though that obviously didn’t work out. Still, there was no chance of corruption.”

Oracle barked out a harsh, bitter laugh. The sound made Tempest jump, surprised that the old mare was capable of making it. “‘No chance of corruption’?” she cried through cackles. “‘No chance of corruption’? Do you know how many ponies said those exact same words before poking at a dangerous artifact? How many ponies thought they could get the better of the darkness? Face it, Tempest, the Storm King didn’t need magic to corrupt you. Think about it. You are a different pony than you were before you met him. He gave you the power to act out your deepest desires. He encouraged you to commit atrocities. And when he no longer needed you, he tossed you away. Sun and Moon, you changed your name for him! How is this any different?!”

Tempest sat stunned, her ears pinned back to protect her eardrums as Oracle’s volume reached a shout. Her mind spun. The old mare was right, how could she have been so stupid? Was she really no better than Nightmare Moon? 

Tempest watched as the old mare panted from her exertion, then took a shaky sip from her teacup and closed her eyes. “My apologies, Tempest, corruption is a matter dear to my heart.” She sighed and reopened her eyes. “I don’t want to see anypony else slip into its clutches. Otherwise, the best one can hope for is for friends to pull you out of it,” she finished with a waning smile. “Some don’t get that chance.”

Tempest gave a slow nod, still somewhat stunned by Oracle’s outburst. “So I should be grateful that Princess Twilight saved me from the Storm King.”

“From the source of your corruption, yes,” she responded with a nod. “And to bring it back to continuing with the memory, the power of the staff is its own form of corruption. You’d be the most powerful pony in Equestria and the only one telling you what to do would be yourself. Would you trust yourself not to abuse that power?”

Tempest looked at her hooves, still able to see the shape of the staff in them. Still seeing the seared corpse of the Storm King. Thinking back to beating Applejack half to death. “...I don’t know…”

Oracle nodded. “And more importantly, Twilight and her friends would be on your tail trying to reclaim the power of the Princesses. Would you fight them? Would you risk losing your power to them? Would you heed their offerings of friendship or cling onto the power you held? Would you be free or condemned to Tartarus for what you did?”

Tempest sat in sullen silence, unsure of which of her many thoughts to voice. She’d win in a fight, no doubt about that. But would it be worth it? Would the power she held be enough for her, or would she allow Princess Twilight’s help? Would she have to spend the rest of her life as a fugitive, or even a slave to the responsibility for moving the Sun and Moon?” 

“To be honest,” Oracle started, “I don’t really know either. There are too many factors to consider. What I do know, is that for as long as you held onto the staff, you would never know true friendship and happiness. Others would want your power. Creatures who don’t have Twilight Sparkle’s affinity for Harmony.”

Tempest gave a snort. She was used to hiding, surviving. It was nothing new. “Back to the old normal then.”

Oracle gave a sigh and a wistful gaze off into the distance. “In my life, I’ve come to learn the benefits of giving second chances. You deserve one, Tempest. As much as you might not believe it, you truly are a good pony at heart. I’m sorry your circumstances didn’t allow that to show.”

Tempest froze at those words. How could this old mare show her killing someone and then say that she was a good pony? After doing all she did to survive, up to betraying all of Equestria, how many creatures did she hurt? How did she enable the Storm King to enslave thousands of ponies? What good was there in her?

What good did Princess Twilight see in her?

“Tea biscuit?”

Tempest jumped in her seat, snapping back to her senses to see a plate of biscuits floating in a turquoise aura before her. How did this old mare think she could eat after all of this? And how did she get those without her noticing? "I'm not hungry.” 

Oracle paused for a moment, Tempest felt like the old mare was testing her. However Oracle gave a satisfied nod and returned to her seat, placing the plate on the tea tray. “Suit yourself,” she said, taking a biscuit for herself and bit off a mouthful. 

“What good have I done?” Tempest managed to utter. She hardly knew what good was anymore. It was another thing lost long ago.

“Hmm?” Oracle responded while wiping off a few crumbs with a napkin. “You helped defeat the Storm King and made friends with Twilight. That must count for something.”

“But before that,” she replied, “I was only looking after myself and look at all the harm I’ve done. One moment like that does not negate all of the damage I’ve done.”

Oracle sighed. “No, it does not. You can be the greatest example of Harmony from this point on and there will still be those who would never forget what you did. But sometimes it is indeed the thought that counts.”

“But I don’t even know what I was thinking at that moment,” Tempest admitted. “I just knew I had to stop the Storm King.”

Oracle gave a smile. “And if your instincts told you to do that, then you are really a good pony. Good steps in when there is injustice.” 

“Then where was it when I needed it?!” Tempest snapped. 

Oracle waited a moment to consider her answer. “Harmony works in mysterious ways, Tempest. I am truly sorry for what happened to you, but don’t blame it for what happened in your past.”

Tempest snorted. Harmony, destiny, whatever it was, it certainly didn’t help her survive in the wild outside of Equestria. “Easy for you to say.”

The old mare sighed. “No, it really isn’t. Destiny can be cruel at times, but it is up to us to make of it what we wish. Our choices matter, Tempest.” 

Tempest rolled her eyes. Oracle didn’t know what it was like to lose everything, to bear the scars she did. “You don’t know my destiny.”

Oracle’s eyes glanced to Tempest’s covered hip. “No, I suppose not. But that doesn’t matter, your choices are still important. After all,” she continued with a dangerous glint in her eyes, “I can show you what would happen if one of your most important choices was taken away from you.”

Tempest’s stomach clenched and a chill settled over her coat at the thought. She didn’t want to be powerless ever again. Why experience that? “Why? Why are you showing these memories to me?”

“Because I’ve seen too many ponies fall into darkness because they weren’t aware of the consequences of their actions, both good and bad. Ponies who see themselves as villains who don’t deserve friendship. Ponies whose thoughts are tortured by guilt and take it out on others. Ponies who live with regret and can’t move on from their past. Ponies like you, Tempest. Ponies I want to help.”

Tempest snorted again. The whole speech sounded condescending to her. How did the old mare know better? Who are these ponies she kept talking about? “And showing me these memories helps me... how?”

“It shows that you matter, Tempest. It shows that destiny is a fickle thing and that things often don’t come out the way we wish. And some of these you can only realize first hoof.” She smirked. “Or as first hoof as you can get. These are things that could have happened if fate conspired a little differently, yet didn’t. I believe things need to play out as they have for a reason, and this allows one to see why.”

“And in these cases, each of them would have turned out even worse for me and everyone else,” Tempest said with a frown. Why was that the case? “How reassuring.”

“You haven’t even seen the worst possibility,” Oracle said. 

Tempest could tell from the old mare’s coy smile that she was trying to bait her, but her curiosity was piqued anyways. What was the worst case? Presumably one where she died, but how? “Really? What do I do there?”

“Ironically, nothing,” Oracle said with a smirk.

There was a pause, then Tempest sighed when the old mare didn’t give any more details. “I’m going to have to do the whole memory thing to find out more, aren’t I?”

“How about you think about it like this: if you see the worst, it can only get better from there. I think this is something you need to see.”

Tempest sighed. Why subject her to these visions when this accursed mare can just tell her? “Fine, whatever you say. I’ve survived this long, let’s see what happens.”

Oracle nodded and lit her horn. “I just want to assure you that whatever happens, that you are safe and I am here for you.” 

Tempest gave her an uneasy look, but lowered her head anyways. She felt the touch of a horn on her brow and passed out.