Waking up in Bed With a Princess

Chapters

Hangovers Suck
The Rest of the Story
The Night Before

Hangovers Suck

“Uhhh…” A pained groan escaped Tempest’s mouth as she reluctantly left sleep’s sweet embrace and returned to the waking world. She struggled to pry her eyes open, only to clamp them shut again just as fast, hissing as beams of light pierced into her eyes and sent a fresh lance of pain shooting through her head.

Stupid sun… Struggling to lift a leg to cover her eyes, she wiggled her other leg around in search of a pillow to hide under. Her head throbbed worse than the time Grubber had challenged her to an ice cream eating contest (which she had won, naturally), her mouth felt drier than the badlands and she could practically taste her rancid morning breath against her tongue.

With a grunt, she continued blindly searching around for a pillow, sparks jumping from the shattered base of her horn in slow-building frustration. Where’s that stupid—

“Mph… Muff… pancakes...”

Tempest froze, her brain finally kickstarting into first gear as her hoof bumped up against something. Something fuzzy. And warm. And mumbling in their sleep. It took but a moment for all the pieces to click together in her mind:

There was somepony in bed with her.

Any other pony might have become filled with abject terror at such a discovery, possibly even leaped out of bed to crash onto the floor with a startled gasp. But Tempest Shadow wasn’t like other ponies. She had been the Head Commander in charge of the Storm King’s army up until a few days ago, and her title had been for far more than just show. Suppressing her shock, Tempest coldly considered her current situation.

I bet this whole thing is just some prank by that pink one, the one with the mane like cotton candy. Ha, ha, wait for some unsuspecting pony to fall asleep and then put her in the same bed as the big mean unicorn. No matter, all I need to do is carefully slip out of bed without waking them up. Easy as pie.

Opening her eyes and tilting her head to the side, she caught a glimpse of the pony sleeping next to her. As her eyes focused, she could just make out the silhouette of a wing against the pony’s side. A pegasus, huh? she mused, now curious as to just who her bedmate was. As more light filtered through the window and across the bed, Tempest could make out lavender fur and a mane of purple hair with a…

A pink streak running through it…

No, no it couldn’t be!

She almost laughed at the very notion of such a thing. Don’t be silly! Lots of ponies have a similar coat and mane colors. I saw at least three of them just yesterday! It couldn’t possibly be her!... Right?

With bated breath, Tempest’s eyes drifted down towards the pony’s flank. The covers had been kicked off at some point during the night, exposing their cutie mark for all the world to see. At that moment, Tempest’s breath caught in her throat and she swore she felt her heart skip a beat.

Staring her in the face was a cutie mark of a purple star surrounded by five smaller white stars.

“Tw… Twilight?”

With another sleepy mumble, the pony rolled over and confirmed Tempest’s worst fears: the Princess of Friendship herself, Twilight Sparkle was lying in bed beside her. Her mane was all ruffled and out of place like it had just waged war against Tempest’s namesake and several of her feathers were askew and in need of a good preening. She looked like Tempest felt, which hammered home even more what a hell of a party last night had been.

None of that mattered to Tempest, however, as she lay paralyzed on her side. She was in bed… with Twilight Sparkle. Princess Twilight Sparkle, the same princess that she had scoured through the Badlands in a mad attempt to capture, the same pony who, against all odds, had chosen to save her when she had been mere moments from being swept up in the Storm King’s hurricane.

Twilight Sparkle, the first pony since Tempest had been a filly that she been truly able to call her friend.

As new to the inner workings of friendship as she was, Tempest was pretty confident that “sleeping together” was not something friends normally did. Especially when they had been friends for barely seventy-two hours.

Stay calm, Tempest, she reassured herself, slipping back into her Commander mindset. Just slip away quietly, and nopony will be the wiser. Slowly…

Before Tempest could make a move, however, a pair of hooves wrapped firmly around her neck and pinned her in place as Twilight snuggled up against her side. “Mmm… flippidy… flapjacks…” Twilight muttered, affectionately nuzzling her new teddy bear.

“Oh, horseapples…” Tempest’s face was hot enough to cook breakfast off of as she lay motionless in bed, an unconscious alicorn cuddled up against her. As she stared up at the ceiling, her only means of escaping her perilous predicament having slipped from her grasp, one question ran through her mind:

What happened last night?

It felt like an eternity before Twilight began to stir, yawning loudly as her eyes fluttered open. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, her gaze eventually settled on Tempest’s terrified face staring up at her, still blushing profusely.

"Uh... morning?" Tempest said, grinning innocently.

For a brief moment, neither pony dared move. A bead of sweat dripped down Tempest’s forehead as she anticipated Twilight’s reaction to waking up next to her. She expected her to freak out, yell, maybe even flail wildly out of bed in a heap before demanding to know why she was in her bed. She could already picture a pair of guards bursting in after that and dragging her off in chains to the dungeon, where she would spend the rest of her days for the crimes she had committed. Maybe the Princesses would instead take mercy on her and decide to execute her on the spot.

That’s what she expected to happen, anyway.

What she didn’t expect was for Twilight to smile at her instead, a noticeable glimmer in her eyes. “Morning, Tempest.”

“Uhh… err… Princess?” she stuttered, taken aback by the lack of a reaction.

“Princess?” Twilight giggled, “Just Twilight is fine, remember?”

“Right…” Breathing deeply, Tempest carefully wiggled her way out of Twilight’s grasp as she regained her composure. “Twilight, about last night—” She was silenced as her headache flared up again, like an icepick being driven into her brain. Shooting up, she held her head in her hooves as agitated sparks crackled from her horn.

“Tempest!” Twilight shouted with concern as she sat up as well. “Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?” Tempest hissed, still clutching her head.” Ugh… I feel like I just went ten rounds with a minotaur.” Wincing, she added, “Wait, make that twenty...”

“I’m not surprised,” Twilight remarked. “We went pretty hard on the cider last night. What an end to the first ever Friendship Festival, huh?” Lighting up her horn, she levitated a glass of water and a pair of pain-killer pills over to Tempest. “Here, these should help with your headache.”

“Thanks.” Graciously taking the pain-killers and glass from Twilight, Tempest wasted little time in tossing the pills into her mouth and downing the glass in a single gulp. As she licked her lips, a stray thought made her pause for a moment. “Wait a tick…” Glancing at Twilight, she suddenly noticed how perky the princess looked in contrast to how miserable she felt. “How come you don’t have a hangover?”

“Alicorns don’t get hangovers,” Twilight replied matter-of-factly.

Tempest blinked. “... Seriously?”

“Yep. We can get drunk sure, but some part of our biology counteracts the effects of hangovers. I tried to figure out why, but considering there are only five alicorns — one of whom won’t be of legal drinking age for a looong time — I don’t have a large enough sample size to make any definitive conclusions.”

“Huh…” Tempest remarked, only half listening as she cracked several kinks in her neck.

“Well, that and…” Twilight giggled, “... I don’t want to be the one to get Luna and Celestia drunk again. You wouldn't think it, but Princess Luna is a very affectionate drunk. Speaking of affectionate drunks…” Scooting up against Tempest’s side, Twilight leaned over and nuzzled against her cheek, causing a fresh blush to break out across the unicorn’s face. “You were pretty affectionate yourself last night.”

“I… I was?”

Twilight pulled back, her smile slipping into a frown. “Don’t... don’t you remember?”

With a firm shake of her head, Tempest set the glass aside on the nightstand. “No, sadly I don’t. I’ve been able to recall bits and pieces since I awoke, but everything after a certain point is a blur.”

“Oh…” Twilight seemed to wilt, her ears drooping and her wings hanging listlessly at her sides.

The last time Tempest had seen her like this was when she had been imprisoned aboard the Storm King’s airship, completely at her unyielding mercy. This time, however, she felt a pang of remorse pass through her once cold heart. Somedays, I really hate that I was born a pony.

“Perhaps you would be so kind as to fill in the gaps for me?” She said, attempting to smile without making Twilight flee in terror.

“Of course!” In a blink, Twilight perked right back up, happily clapping her hooves together while grinning from ear to ear. “Oh, we could start with—”

“Hey, Twilight!” Came a voice from outside the door. “Are you up yet? I was about to make breakfast and—” As the door creaked open and Spike stuck his head inside, he paused at the sight of the two mares in bed together staring back at him “Uh… am I interrupting something?”

“No!” Twilight hastily replied, her wings flaring out behind her. Plastering a smile on her face, she asked, “You said something about breakfast?”

Spike raised an eyebrow at Twilight’s forced smile, but chose not comment on it just yet. “Yeeeah, I was wondering if you wanted anything special. They’ve got a pretty well-stocked kitchen back here!”

Twilight giggled at Spike’s culinary enthusiasm. “No, I’ll leave the cooking up to you. Just… don’t go overboard, okay? Remember last time?”

“Yeah, yeah, I do,” Spike replied with a roll of his eyes. As he shut the door behind him, Twilight could just make out him muttering, “Never let me live it down, will you?” through the door.

“And go easy on the gemstones!” she hollered, prompting another pained groan from Tempest beside her. “Oh, sorry…”

“Can’t this day just be over already?” Tempest whined, grabbing the covers and pulling them tightly over her head.

Author's Note

I'm not sorry.

The Rest of the Story

“Wooohooo!”

Twilight giggled as she took a sip from her mug. She was still on only her third mug of hard cider, so she was only just beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol in her system. She was tipsy, that was for sure, but still a ways away from being red-faced drunk. She knew her limits, after all, and it wouldn’t do for a picture of a very inebriated princess to end up on the front page of the morning paper.

Which was more than could be said about the pony sitting next to her. Tempest had proved very quickly to be quite the champ when it came to holding her alcohol, almost putting Rainbow Dash to shame. However, by the time she started on her seventh mug of cider, even she was showing clear signs of having reached her limit. At the moment, Tempest had her arm wrapped around Twilight, rocking back and forth in her seat as she sang along (very badly) to the latest hit from Songbird Serenade while laughing and hollering like a madmare.

“Come on, Twilight! Sing along!” Tempest tried to encourage the alicorn, only slightly slurring her words as she swayed slightly in her seat, her grip on Twilight the only thing keeping her from toppling over completely. Lifting her mug, Tempest was dismayed when only a few stray drops rolled across her tongue. “Applur… Appleta… Apple Pie! Another!”

Applejack just looked at the clearly inebriated Tempest with a deadpan expression on her face. “I think you’ve had enough, Sugarcube.”

“Now you li...lis...listen here! Don’t ya know who I am?!” Tempest retorted, glaring at Applejack from across the table. “I’m Commander Fizzlypop! So don’t you till… tall… tell me when I’ve had enough!”

Applejack glanced at Twilight for assistance, and Twilight just sighed slightly.

“Give her half a glass,” Twilight whispered to Applejack while glancing over at Tempest, “I’ll make sure she makes it back to her room.”

“Alright, if’n yer sure.” Doing as Twilight asked, Applejack slid the half-filled mug back to Tempest, who immediately scooped it up and began to take a long drink.

“Hey, Tempest?” Twilight politely asked as she tapped the unicorn on the shoulder to get her attention. “You look a little tired. Want me to take you back to your room?”

“But… but the party!” Tempest attempted to argue as she continued to hold onto Twilight to keep from toppling over.

“Please?” Twilight asked, putting on her best pleading face.

“... Ok…” Tempest said after a moment. Downing the rest of her drink, she leaned on Twilight for support as she was helped from her seat and slowly led towards the castle.

However, the pair had only just left the food court area when Tempest suddenly perked up again, a beaming smile spreading across her muzzle. “Oooh, I love this song! Come on, Twilight, let’s dance!”

“I don’t think–Whooa!” Twilight had barely any time to react before she was yanked towards the dance floor by the much stronger Tempest.

The crowd parted as the pair of ponies strolled onto the dance floor, many still apprehensive about being around the mare who had tried to enslave them just days before. However, that apprehension seemed to vanish all at once as Tempest stood on her hind legs and began to cut loose, Twilight serving as her unwitting dance partner as the pair moved with surprising grace considering one of them was clearly three sheets to the wind.

“T-Tempest!” Twilight cried out as she was spun and twirled across the dance floor. “I… really think we should–”

Tempest just continued to laugh as she spun the mare around before bringing her to face her. Her face was bright red as she smiled and batted her eyelashes down at Twilight. “You know...you’re really cute...”

“Wha...what?” Taken aback by the sudden compliment, Twilight was unprepared for when Tempest leaned forward and pressed her lips against Twilight’s. Twilight’s eyes shot to the size of dinner plates and her cheeks turned bright red as Tempest continued to kiss her for several seconds, a long “Ooooh!” rolling through the crowd as they hollered and cheered them on.

***

“I… i…” Tempest’s mouth flopped open and closed like a fish as she tried to formulate words. She was red-faced, alright, though from building embarrassment as she listened to Twilight retell the events of last night. “I… I did not!”

“Oh, you did,” Twilight replied with a smirk. “Right in the middle of the dance floor too. If you don’t believe me, I’m sure somepony has the pictures to prove it.”

“I… I… UUUGH!” Covering her face with her hooves, Tempest flopped her head back onto the kitchen table with a huff, breathing heavily through her nose as she tried to hold onto whatever scrap of her dignity she had left. “... Ok… so I kissed you. Whatever…” Tempest said dismissively as she tried to calm down. “That still doesn’t explain how we ended up sharing a bed…”

“I’m getting to that. So, we danced for a little while longer before I finally managed to drag you back to the castle. However, we then ran into a small problem…”

***

“Uh… Tempest? Which room is yours again?”

Standing at a split in the hallway, Twilight racked her brain to try and remember which room Tempest was staying in, growling as the answer refused to come to her. “Tempest?”

“Mmmm…” The mare in question was resting on Twilight’s back, her legs nearly reaching the floor as she buried her face into the fur on the back of Twilight’s neck. “You smell niiiiccceee…”

“... Thank you, that was very helpful... “ Twilight grumbled, before letting out a sigh. She could always just dump Tempest into an unoccupied room, but that would be a rather rude thing to do to her new friend. Plus, there was the added snag of wanting to make sure Tempest didn’t get into any more trouble until she could sleep off all the alcohol in her system.

That left Plan B.

Within minutes, Twilight stepped into the Royal Suite that Celestia had reserved for her to stay in Canterlot for the festival, making a direct beeline for the bedroom. As Twilight enveloped Tempest in her magic to gently transfer her to the bed, Tempest began to wiggle and squirm as she was lifted up.

“Noooo…,” Tempest whined as she was lifted up and over onto the bed, seemingly not wanting to give up her new teddy bear so easily. “Don’t go…”

“Sorry, Tempest. But I should really get back to the festival.” Tucking Tempest in, Twilight turned to leave when she heard an odd noise. Perking up her ears, Twilight realized that the sound was coming from Tempest, and almost sounded like…

Was… was she crying?

Indeed, when Twilight peered over the bed, she found Tempest with her face buried partially into her pillow, her face scrunched up as she made sniffling sounds that made Twilight’s heart break just listening to them.

“Don’t go…” Tempest quietly pleaded, tears threatening to pour down her face. “Don’t leave me…”

Twilight just stood there, frozen and unsure as to how to respond. She hadn’t known Tempest for very long, but all her encounters with the mare had showcased a strong, no-nonsense pony who had long since built a wall around her heart to keep from being hurt ever again. Sure, showing Tempest how wonderful friendship could be had likely caused a crack to form in that wall, but Twilight figured it would take much more than that for her to ever truly feel comfortable again around ponies. So to see her in such a vulnerable state like this…

There was no question what she had to do now. While she knew that it was likely all the alcohol that had contributed to Tempest’s current state, she couldn’t just up and leave her now, not without potentially causing Tempest to put up even more walls. No, what Tempest needed right now, more than anything, was a friend.

“Please don’t cry, Tempest,” Twilight tried to reassure as she walked over and put her hoof on Tempest’s back. “I’m not leaving forever, just for a few hours. I Pinkie Promise I’ll be back by the time you wake up, okay?”

“Can…” Tempest sniffled again as she glanced at Twilight with a pleading look in her eyes. “Can you stay with me tonight? Please?”

Twilight bit her lip, wanting to say no… but she could really use a nap, now that she thought about it. Organizing a festival hadn’t been easy, and she couldn’t deny how tantalizing the bed looked at that very moment.

A quick power nap couldn’t hurt, right? They can handle the festival without me for a few minutes...

With that, Twilight walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed on top of it. Sighing as she laid down on the soft bedding, she reached over and put her hoof over Tempest’s, reassuring her even more that she wasn’t going anywhere.

***

“So that’s what happened, huh?” Tempest sighed as she leaned back in her seat. “That’s not too bad, I guess. And I was worried something bad had happened!”

“Well… the thing is…”

Tempest’s face fell as she looked back at Twilight, her short-lived relief vanishing as she saw the blush on Twilight’s cheeks. “... There’s more, isn’t there?”

Twilight nodded. “Mhmm.”

“... Ponyfeathers…”

***

After what felt like no time at all, Twilight’s eyes fluttered open. Yawning, she glanced over at the clock on the wall to find that just over two hours had passed, more than enough to make her feel more relaxed and rested. As she moved to get up, she felt something draped over her side shift slightly, as well as noticing the feeling of something pressing against the back of her neck.

Oh, right… Twilight thought, remembering that she had stayed with Tempest to keep her company. Craning her neck slightly, she could just make out Tempest sleeping peacefully next to her, her chest rising and falling with each breath.

Twilight smiled. She looks so peaceful. Not wanting to disturb the sleeping mare, Twilight careful wiggled herself free and slid out of bed. She froze when Tempest made a mumbling noise at her absence, but relaxed when the unicorn didn’t stir awake. Content that she was safe, Twilight carefully tiptoed towards the suite bathroom.

“Tw… Twilight…”

Freezing in place again, Twilight glanced behind her at the sound of her name, only to find Tempest still fast asleep as she mumbled. Curiosity getting the better of her, Twilight swiveled her ears to try and pick up what Tempest was mumbling to herself.

“Mmmm… Yes, Twilight… more tea, please… You’re so cute when you… when you blush…”

Twilight froze. That was the second time that night Tempest had called her cute, her face breaking out into a blush as she recalled the memory of being kissed in the middle of the dance floor. Does… does she really think I’m cute?

“L… Love… love you, my… my cute princess…”

Now Twilight’s heart was hammering away in her chest, and it was all she could do to not shout in disbelief and possibly wake Tempest up. Having heard more than enough, Twilight made a mad dash for the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Turning on the taps, she quickly splashed water onto her face several times before grabbing a nearby towel and wiping her face. As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, Twilight’s mind was busier than a beehive as she tried to process what had just happened.

She had questions. Many questions, but right now the only pony capable of answering those questions was fast asleep on the other side of the bathroom door. Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Twilight opened the medicine cabinet and retrieved a few headache pills for Tempest come the morning, as well as fill up a glass of water from the tap. With both in tow, she walked back into the bedroom and set them on the nightstand before glancing over at the bed.

She glanced at the bedroom door, then back to the bed. Then to the clock on the wall, and back to the bed again. Several moments passed in total silence, the only sound being the steady rhythm of Tempest’s breathing.

But eventually, Twilight made up her mind and crawled back into bed. As she rested her head back down onto her pillow, she felt Tempest cuddle up against her again.

***

“... And that’s about it.” As Twilight finished, she took in Tempest’s reaction.

If Tempest hadn’t been blushing before, she certainly was now, her face redder than a tomato as she groaned and slammed her head back onto the table and threw her hooves over her face in a futile attempt to hide her ever-growing embarrassment.

“I. Am. Never. Drinking. Again!” Tempest hissed angrily through clenched teeth. Despite her best efforts, every part of her was screaming to cut her losses and make a run for it. It would be easy too, all it would take was a single shot from her horn to shatter one of the windows and leap out of it. Plummeting ten or so stories would probably be preferable to dying of embarrassment.

“So… about last night…” Twilight began, only to be quickly cut off.

“Please don’t make me talk about my feelings…” Tempest pleaded from behind her hooves, “I don’t do ‘touchy-feely’ stuff…”

“Sorry, but this conversation is going to happen one way or another. After much thought, I’ve decided the quickest way to resolving this would be to just ask you directly. So…” Crossing her hooves on the table, Twilight looked directly at Tempest and asked, “Tempest, do you by any chance happen to have feelings for me?”

Tempest was silent for several moments before mumbling into her hooves.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

Again, Tempest mumbled into her hooves, though a bit louder this time.

“Could you speak up, please? I can’t–”

“I like you, okay!?” Tempest shouted as she threw up her hooves in defeat. The sheer volume of Tempest’s voice could have put the Royal Canterlot Voice to shame, as Twilight had to visibly steady herself to keep being knocked out of her seat. “You happy now!?”

Silence reigned for several awkward moments as Twilight worked to brush her mane back into place. Eventually, Twilight rested her hooves against the table as she regarded Tempest, the princess’s face an unreadable mask of emotions. “How long have you felt this way?”

“... Since I first showed up along with the Storm King’s army,” Tempest admitted. I’m already in enough trouble as it is, digging my own grave a few feet deeper can’t possibly make things any worse. “First time I saw you, I thought you were pretty cute. Incredibly naive and way out of your depth, but cute nonetheless.”

“Uh… thank you?”

“But, of course, you were the enemy and the Storm King needed your power to fuel his conquest, so I didn’t really care at the moment. Not that I have a chance anyway…”

“What do you mean?”

Tempest glared at Twilight with a deadpan look in her eyes. “You’re joking, right? You’re a princess, national hero, and incredibly talented at magic, while I’m…” Tempest sighed as she glanced up at the shattered stump that remained of her horn. “I’m just a hornless freak who was dumb enough to listen to the first person who promised they could fix my horn.”

“Tempest…” Reaching across the table, Twilight placed her hoof over Tempest’s. “We’ve been over this, you’re not a freak. And you’re certainly not dumb for wanting something as precious as your horn back. I don’t know what I would do if I lost my horn, but you still managed to prove how powerful you really are to everypony without it.”

Looking up at Twilight’s smiling face, Tempest felt a warmth start to bloom in her chest as a small smile crossed her lips.

“Besides…” Now it was Twilight’s turn to look away, her cheeks beginning to blush as she fiddled with her hooves. “... I would say you have a pretty good chance…”

“R-really?” Tempest asked hopefully. “You… you mean it?”

“I mean…” Twilight bit her lip as she tried to find the right words. “... it felt… nice waking up knowing that there’d be another pony lying next to me. I certainly wouldn’t be against doing that again, if that’s alright with you…”

Tempest opened her mouth to respond, but she was interrupted as the door to the Royal Suite was loudly thrown open, causing both mares to turn towards the door.

Standing in the doorway was Spike, panting like he’d just run a marathon as he clutched a newspaper tightly in his claw. “Tw-Twilight! Have… have you seen... seen the morning paper?”
“No…” Twilight replied with growing uncertainty. “Why?”

Instead of answering, Spike ran up and slammed the paper into the middle of the table for both mares to see. The front page headline read, “First Friendship Festival Ends With A Bang!”, but what truly caught both mare’s attention was the photo plastered on the front page.

A photo immortalizing the moment Tempest had passionately kissed Twilight in the middle of the dance floor.

Both mares stared wide-eyed at the photo for several moments before both glancing up to look at one another. Eventually, it was Tempest who voiced what they were both thinking:

“Never. Drinking. AGAIN!”

The Night Before

“~I can see a rainbooow in your tears as the sun comes ooout!~” With a sway of his hips and a twirl of his whisk, Spike spun on his heels as he gave the pan one more flick, catching the eggs with the skill of an experienced chef. “~As the sun comes ooout!~”

“Booo! Booo!” Grubber hollered from the fridge, jumping up to grab a carton of milk from the top shelf before using his hip to slam the fridge door shut. “Get off the stage!”

“Everyone’s a critic,” Spike muttered dismissively as he carefully divided the eggs across four separate plates. With perfect timing, several slices of toast popped from the toaster in time for Spike to catch them in mid-air and set them next to the eggs. Sprinkling a final dusting of salt and pepper over each plate (and a claw full of crushed topaz and emeralds over his own), he grabbed two in each claw and hopped down from his stool before setting the plates on the table. “And… perfect.”

“Mmm, something smells good in here!” Twilight said as she walked into the kitchen. The Royal Suites were a noticeably lavish affair given that they were commonly reserved for visiting dignitaries and royal guests visiting Canterlot. Fine silk curtains lined the windows looking out into the city, while individually carved red oak furniture sat around the room, all lined with velvet cushions lined with the fluffiest of pegasus down.

And, true to Spike’s word, the suite also included a fully stocked kitchen with everything a chef could ever want or need.

Taking a seat at the table, Twilight pulled one of the plates closer to her, taking another whiff of the freshly cooked eggs. “This looks and smells delicious, Spike.”

Beaming under the praise, Spike bowed at he put on a fake Prench accent and said, “Bon Appetit, Mademoiselle.”

“Geeze, it’s just eggs…” Grubber mumbled as he took a long chug directly from the carton of milk in his paws. He was rewarded with a swift whack of a whisk against his head, nearly spilling the carton. “Hey!” he snarled, whirling around to find Spike glowering at him with his claws on his hips. “What was that for?”

“For drinking straight from the carton!” Walking over, Spike swiped the carton from the hedgehog’s paws before whacking him again with his whisk.

Grubber growled, glaring defiantly at the young drake. “Don’t think just cause the Storm King’s gone, you can just boss me around. I won’t be pushed around by—”

“Grubber, shut up,” Tempest grumbled as she walked into the room, dragging her hooves across the kitchen floor. Fresh bags hung under her eyes as she stared ahead with a glazed look in her eyes. A damp towel hung across her withers, her mane and tail both noticeably damp as well. Groaning, she plopped her flank into a chair before tilting forward and slamming her face against the table.

“Whoa…” Grubber whistled, eying Tempest’s run-down state. “What does the other guy look like?”

“That was fast,” Twilight remarked, guessing that the mare couldn’t have been in the shower for more than five minutes. “Still hungover?”

Tempest mumbled something into the table, unwilling to bother with lifting her head up.
“I’ll take that as a no. Spike, would you mind?”

“On it.” In no time, Spike had poured a tall glass of juice and slid it across the table towards Tempest. “Here, this should help.”

Lifting her head up, Tempest eyed the glass dubiously, suspecting any number of foul tasting liquids mixed in. After a moment, she grabbed the glass and took a long drink, gagging slightly at the unexpected taste of cranberries. Slamming the glass back down on the table, she glanced at Spike out of the corner of her eye and muttered a quick, “Thanks.” Turning her attention to her self-proclaimed “sidekick”, she added, “Grubber, get out.”

“What? Why?” Grubber argued, crossing his stubby arms over his chest.

“Cause I just want to enjoy a nice and quiet breakfast with Twilight, and you’re not helping my headache in the slightest.” Glaring down at the hedgehog, she tempered her voice and again commanded, “Out. Now.”

Grubber looked like he wanted to argue further, but paused as he glanced at the two mares. “Oooh, I see how it is,” He said with a smirk and a wiggle of his eyebrows. “I can take a hint, you just want to spend some time together with your special some—Yow!” Grubber jumped almost a foot in the air as an arcane bolt struck him in the tail.

Tempest chuckled as she watched Grubber scurry away, a thin trail of smoke coming off his tail fur. Turning her head, she noticed Twilight frowning at her from across the table. “... What?”

“That wasn’t very nice.”

With a dismissive hmph and a shrug of her shoulders, Tempest replied, “Keeps him in line. I wasn’t Commander because I let others walk all over me like cobblestone. Strength and loyalty were the only things that mattered in the Storm King’s army.”

Twilight sighed as her gaze softened. “That’s all in the past. You don’t have to be that kind of pony anymore, Tempest.”

Tempest said nothing as she skewered a pile of eggs on her fork and stuffed them into her mouth. An awkward silence settled over the pair as they ate breakfast. Occasionally, they would catch the other’s eyes as they glanced up from their plates briefly, only to glance away just as quickly.

Pushing her empty plate forward, Twilight crossed her forehooves in front of her. “So…” she began slowly, glancing at the mare seated across from her. “How much of last night do you remember?”

Tempest paused mid-bite, thoughtfully chewing her food as she tried to think back to last night. Luckily, her headache had finally let up enough that the big ball of fuzz clouding her head had diminished. “Well....”

***

Last Night…

Excited cheering filled the streets of Canterlot as ponies ran back and forth, catching up with old friends and making new ones as they enjoyed everything the Friendship Festival had to offer. After being held prisoner by the Storm King’s forces, no pony had been opposed to extending the festival an extra day or two in celebration of being freed from their restricting shackles. Songbird Serenade had graciously agreed to highlight the festival no matter how long it lasted, right now singing a duet with none other than Coloratura. Everywhere you looked you were met by smiling and happy faces.

But there was still one pony who was anything but happy.

Sulking in the shadows of the festival, Tempest Shadow did her best to stay out of sight as much as possible. Every so often a pony would notice her, but one look at her scowling face and shattered horn and they would just as quickly scamper away in fear.

Tempest sighed as another pony did just that, turning away from the crowd to glance up at the starry night sky.

“What am I even still doing here?” she muttered, filtering out the loud cheers of the crowd behind her. It had already been made abundantly clear that nopony were willing to give her a second chance, especially after everything she’d done to assist the Storm King’s forces in taking Canterlot as their own. The only reason she was even standing here and not locked away in the deepest cell in the castle dungeons was because of the good graces of the princesses, all thanks to the good word of one princess in particular…

“There you are, Fizzlepop!”

Speak of the Discord… Turning around, Tempest noticed Twilight running up to her, a smile on her face.

“I’ve been looking all over for you!” Coming to a stop, Twilight took a second to catch her breath. “I couldn’t find you anywhere, and I was starting to worry that you might have left without saying goodbye.”

“I was just… thinking,” Tempest said, avoiding Twilight’s gaze as best she could.

“About what?”

“Just… things…” Tempest muttered, suddenly feeling strangely self-conscious. Pull yourself together! Taking a deep breath through her nose, she collected herself before asking, “Was there something you wanted?”

“Oh, I was wondering if you wanted to join me for some cider,” Twilight replied. “I’ve been so busy with the festival that we haven’t had a chance to enjoy it together. I thought this could something nice we could do together as friends.”

Friends. Even now the word still felt alien to Tempest, like it was another language altogether. Twilight had said they were friends, but did she considered Twilight a friend? She had leapt in to protect Twilight and her friends from the Storm King’s attack, but that was just repaying Twilight for saving her from being swept up in the Storm King’s hurricane earlier… Right?

“Fizzlepop?” Twilight wilted as Tempest winced slightly at the sound of her real name. “Sorry...”

“No, it’s just… it’s been so long since I’ve gone by that name that I’m still not used to hearing it again. It might be a long time before I start to feel comfortable being called ‘Fizzlepop’ again. Could…” Glancing away nervously, Tempest asked, “Could you just call me ‘Tempest’ for now?”

“Of course, Tempest. That said, you still haven’t answered my offer yet. Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Biting her lower lip, Tempest was torn on whether to accept Twilight’s offer or not, her mind drifting back to her still lingering doubt as to whether the two of them even counted as friends. I shouldn’t, I’ll just be getting in the way and end up ruining her good time.

“I don’t—” Tempest’s breath hitched in her throat as she glanced at Twilight, the alicorn mare looking up at her with big pleading eyes that made Tempest’s argument die in her throat. Suddenly the prospect of saying no to that face was as terrifying as staring into the maw of an enraged dragon.

“Please?”

“... Fine.” You win this round, Princess.

Twilight squealed excitedly, clapping her hooves together. “Oh, thank you! Applejack’s waiting for us, so follow me.”

Resigned to her fate, Tempest trailed behind Twilight as the princess weaved through the crowd. Twilight seemed oblivious as ponies gave the two a wide berth, darting out of their way at the mere sight of Tempest. She said nothing, loudly grinding her teeth together in frustration.

It felt like an eternity before they came upon a set of picnic tables around together to form a food court, each one filled with ponies engaged in any number of conversations over a bevy of succulent food. From one of the tables, an orange mare wearing a cowpony hat waved them over, a large barrel with a turn spout behind her. “Looks like you managed to find her, Twi. I was startin’ to think I’d have to send out a search party.”

“I wasn’t gone that long, Applejack,” Twilight replied as she sat down at the table, Tempest taking the spot next to her. Glancing around, Twilight quickly noticed the lack of a certain pony. “Huh… Where’s Rainbow? She was here when I left, and I can’t imagine her missing out on cider.”

Applejack chuckled, glancing over her shoulder as she filled a pair of mugs to the brim with cider. “Oh, she was first in line, no surprise there. I think she already had a cup or two of her own while we were waitin’...”

“I swear to drunk, I’m not Celestia!”

“... Or seven.” Slamming a pair of mugs onto the table, she slid them over to the two mares. “There ya go, fresh Sweet Apple Acre’s Hard Cider, straight from the tap! Drink up!”

Tempest glanced beside her as Twilight wasted no time in downing the mug of cider. Lifting up her own mug, Tempest took a tentative sniff of the brew before taking a sip. The sweet taste of apples danced across her tongue, accompanied by the hot bite of alcohol mixed in.

“Well?” Applejack inquired as she watched Tempest drink. “What y’all think? Pretty good, huh?”

Lowering her mug from her lips, Tempest licked the remnants of cider from her lips. “It’s… good, but it’s still missing something…” Cupping her hoof over the mouth of the mug, she began to vigorously shake the mug up and down.

Applejack stared on in horror. “What in the name of Granny Smith are you doin’!?”

Ignoring her, Tempest continued shaking the mug for another moment or two before removing her hoof. Frothy foam immediately began to spill over the rim, as Tempest took another sip of the bubbling liquid. A content sigh escaped her mouth as the bubbling cider hit her stomach. “Ah… much better.”

Applejack could only shake her head. “That just ain’t right…” Glancing at Twilight, she saw her looking at her with pleading eyes. “Go ahead, Twi,” Applejack replied with a sigh, “I won’t stop ya…”

Grinning, Twilight mimicked Tempest and shook up her mug of cider as well. Once the cider was good and fizzy, she took another sip, giggling as the bubbles tickled her tongue.

Tempest smirked, the sound of Twilight’s laughter like music to her ears. Looking to Applejack, she slammed her mug against the table and proclaimed,“I like this. Another!”

***

“... And, that’s about it.” Having finished eating while recounting her memory of last night, Tempest had pushed aside her empty plate and crossed her hooves in front of her. “Everything gets fuzzier and fuzzier around the third or fourth drink or so.”

Twilight nodded, having been silent the whole time. “Yep, that sounds about right.”

“It still doesn’t tell me how we ended up… uh… sharing a bed last night.” A blush spread across Tempest’s face at the mention of earlier, making Twilight giggle.

“Luckily, I think I can help fill in the blanks,” Twilight said, meeting Tempest’s eye. “See, I remember noticing you loosening up more and more as the night went on, but I could never have imagined just how loose you would get…”