When one considered Tempest Shadow, they thought of many things. Toughness. Ruthlessness. Calm and collected composure. What they would not have thought of, however, was nervousness. And yet, that was exactly what the unicorn mare now seemed to be feeling, as she made her way from the outskirts of Ponyville to what was, perhaps, its most iconic landmark; the Friendship Palace. This towering crystalline castle, looming large over the entire town, glistened brightly in the sunlight of the day, and Tempest, just for a moment, seemed taken aback at seeing it. But, after a few moments of taking calming breaths, she cleared her throat, took a few steps towards the door and, raising her hoof, knocked upon it three times. There was a period of silence and waiting for her, but at the end of it all, the door opened, and the smiling face of Princess Twilight Sparkle was there to greet her on the other side.
"Tempest! I'm so glad you could make it!"
Though she was typically unused to it, Tempest afforded her fellow mare a small but genuine smile.
"I hope I'm not late?"
Twilight shook her head.
"Not at all! You're right on time! Please, come in!"
Tempest nodded, and soon followed the young Princess into her home, with the large doors closing behind them. For a while, the older mare looked around the place, at the impressive-looking interior of the palace, particularly to the unexpected feature of the large tree roots hanging from the ceiling. But her eyes soon drifted downwards, to the enormous round table at the centre of the chamber, and it was here that she saw that she and Twilight were not alone here today. There were five others all gathered and sat around the table, looking to her and clearly having waited for her. One she recognised as Spike, Twilight's assistant. Two were mares, one pink and the other blue, whom she didn't know the names of. One appeared to be a large green bug-like being with tall antlers, and the final member was a creature she'd never laid eyes on before, a combination of mis-matched body parts that just smirked at her arrival.
"Everypony...this is Tempest Shadow," Twilight announced.
Nervously, Tempest raised a hoof and gave a small wave to the assembled crowd before her. In their own ways, the others waved back, all smiling in return. Silently, Twilight gestured to an empty chair nearby, and Tempest, getting the message, soon took her place upon it. Sitting in her own chair, Twilight soon nodded to Spike, who nodded back and began to move away from the rest of the group. At that point, Twilight looked to her newest guest.
"Do you take milk with your tea? Or sugar?"
Tempest considered that.
"Um...just milk."
Twilight smiled to that.
"You hear that, Spike?" she called out.
"Yep!" the small dragon called back.
Afterwards, there was another silence, and during that time, everypony looked to one another, like they weren't quite sure what to say. That is, with the exception of the draconequs, who simply floated above his chair with a look of boredom on his face. After a while, however, Twilight cleared her throat, looking to the taller mare beside her.
"So...Tempest...I figured it might be good for you to spend some time with those who've been in similar places to you in the past."
Tempest raised an eyebrow, which prompted another of the guests, the mare with the pink fur, to speak up.
"Twilight's right. Each of us have done things in the past that we regret. We all had a hard time finding friendship. But..."
She gestured to Twilight.
"...thanks to Twilight, and her friends...our lives have become all the better."
Twilight blushed with pride at that remark, and soon found herself being spoken to by Tempest.
"So everypony here...they were...?"
Looking to her, Twilight nodded.
"Yes. Enemies. In one form or another."
Tempest turned her head, staring at each of them. She never said anything, but she clearly seemed to have a hard time grasping the concept that those before her could have been opposed to Twilight, the way they were just sitting there, looking happy to be here. But, before she had a chance to actually speak up on the matter, the sound of nervous coughing caught her off-guard, and she turned to the bug-like creature to her right.
"Um...my name is Thorax. I'm...well...the King of the Changelings."
That surprised Tempest a great deal.
"Changelings?! The face-changers of legend?"
Thorax nodded.
"Yes. For a really long time, we were ruled by Queen Chrysalis. But recently, we overthrew her, accepted love and friendship into our hearts, and we've never been better."
Tempest considered that for a moment.
"So...you were part of Chrysalis' armies at one point?"
Thorax nodded.
"I was. I took part in the invasion of Canterlot some time ago. And even though I never attacked a single pony, just being there was something I regret. I never tried to stop them, never protested what we were doing. I just went along with it, like all of us, even when I knew it was wrong."
Tempest grimaced at that.
"You're not the first to feel that way."
For a brief moment, Tempest and Thorax looked to one another, and Twilight, seeing this, couldn't help but smile. But, the moment passed, and Spike had finally returned, carrying a tray of tea cups, all steaming and ready to be drunk. It took a minute or two, but eventually, everypony had their respective drinks. The blue mare seemed to be smirking for some reason at her cup in particular, a pink one with swirls, though why she seemed so pleased at it, Tempest could not say. Still, it drew her interest to her.
"And you? How were you an enemy to Twilight?"
The blue mare continued to smirk.
"I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, once possessed an ancient and terrible artefact of great power! Using it, I became corrupted, and wielded that newfound might to drive Twilight from her home and rule Ponyville with an iron hoof!"
Tempest was taken aback by that, looking to Twilight, who gave her a nod of confirmation, before looking back to Trixie.
"Why did you do that?"
Leaning back into her chair, Trixie answered.
"Trixie felt bitter over being cast out of Ponyville some time ago. Blame was placed on me for an incident where an Ursa Minor rampaged through the town."
At that, Tempest started to glare angrily at Trixie, her broken horn sparking off somewhat.
"You...you let loose an Ursa?! On other ponies?!"
Immediately, Trixie felt fearful at the angry look she was getting, and backed away slightly. But, thankfully, Twilight was there to calm her latest friend.
"No, Tempest! It wasn't like that! A pair of colts were inspired by some of the stories Trixie was telling earlier that day and went in search of one. One thing led to another and...well...it followed them back."
Hearing that, Tempest let out a long sigh, the sparks of her horn dissipating. Sitting back down, she nodded to Trixie.
"...Continue."
Gulping, Trixie nervously did as requested.
"Yes...well...um...it took some time before I was willing to come back here, but when I did..."
She turned, placing a hoof on the pink mare's shoulder.
"...I found a real friend. Starlight. Through her...I've felt more accepted than I've ever been before."
Starlight smiled to her companion, and as she did so, she soon found that she now bore Tempest's full attention.
"You sound like quite a mare then, Starlight. Tell me...what sins have you committed?"
Immediately, the smile vanished from Starlight's face, and her shoulders slumped as she let out a long sigh.
"It's not a pleasant story. After my closest friend left my life at a young age, I grew bitter and resentful at the world. And that anger festered until it drove me to create a cult that spurned the talents of others. I took control of an entire village, stamping out dissent wherever I found it."
She looked to Twilight.
"If it wasn't for Twilight...I would have probably continued to maker others' lives miserable."
Twilight faced Tempest.
"And she's learned from her mistakes ever since. She's been an apt student of mine for some time now, and has helped us on many occasions. She's a friend, now and always."
Starlight bore a small smile at being spoken of in that way, all while Tempest considered the matter.
"Bitter in your youth? Yes...I can safely say I know how that feels."
Much like with Thorax, there was a moment of understanding between the two mares. But, when it was over, Tempest's eyes finally landed upon the strangest-looking member of the group, who, during her talk with everypony else, had elected to turn his tea cup upside down and, in a blatant violation of the laws of physics, actually drink that tea from the bottom somehow. Though clearly disturbed by this bizarre behaviour, Tempest cleared her throat, gaining his attention.
"Oh, is it my turn now?" the creature responded.
Composing himself, he stood in a statesman-like way, before speaking up.
"I, Discord, the master of chaos, once twisted all of Equestria into a personal playhouse of mine...for fun."
And with that, he sat back down, getting back to his tea, all while Tempest looked like she was waiting for something.
"...And?"
Discord shrugged.
"Nope. That was it. I did what I did for amusement. And it was amusing, I can assure you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to think of stuff to do right now. You know how it is, stay still to long at a tea party, and you just fade away," he chuckled.
Tempest looked to Twilight for clarification, who seemed to be rubbing her temples slightly. When she was done, the young Princess glared at her chaos-loving friend, tapping her hooves impatiently against the table. Discord, seeing this, waited a few moments, then rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed grunt.
“Ugh! Fine! I may have also betrayed my pony friends to a big and scary magic-gobbling centaur. And yes, he betrayed me, and yes, I felt really bad about it afterwards. I said I was sorry and we’re all good now, right?”
After a few seconds, Twilight sighed, giving him a nod, which allowed him to smile to himself before getting back to his tea.
“Excellent! Glad we cleared all that up.”
Twilight shook her head a little before regarding Tempest yet again.
"I think what Discord meant to say, is that he was a trickster that gave Equestria no end of trouble back in the day. But then he met Fluttershy, who accepted him in a way nopony else had. He found friendship and is now thought of as one of us..."
Slowly, she looked to him, raising an eyebrow.
"...though admittedly, as you’ve heard, there have been a few bumps along the way."
Again, Discord shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, that too."
Naturally, everypony looked to him in a disapproving manner, but Tempest, by contrast, simply leaned closer to Twilight and whispered to her.
"No offense to your friend there, but he reminds me a lot of my old Master when he talks like that."
Twilight giggled to that, then placed a hoof upon her shoulder.
"Maybe so...but each and every person you see here was like you once. Lost, confused, looking for something. Eventually, they found it. They found how much better and richer their lives could be when they accepted friends into their hearts."
Looking Tempest right into her eyes, Twilight's smile widened.
"And I know yours can be made better too, Tempest...if you want it to be."
Tempest sat there looking to Twilight, then to each of the other guests, all of whom smile to her, even Discord, though the latter did so by having grown a couple of extra heads while she wasn't looking. In spite of herself, Tempest afforded herself a small chuckle, looking back to Twilight and giving her an appreciative smile.
"Thank you, Twilight. I...I suppose finding a better life might not be beyond my grasp after all."
If possible, Twilight's smile grew even wider. But, before she had the chance to reply, Discord spoke up again.
"Well? Don't leave us hanging here, Tempest my dear. We've all told you ours, so how about you tell us yours too?"
Twilight's head snapped in Discord's direction, and it very much looked like she was going to scold him for that. But Tempest, yet again, placed a hoof on her shoulder, stopping her.
"No, Twilight, it's fine."
Though hesitant. Twilight accepted her friend's decision, allowing her to speak up. She looked to all of them, Thorax, Trixie, Starlight and Discord, taking a deep breath, and then beginning her story.
"It all began many years ago...when I was playing with my friends..."
