"The Princess of friendship. With no friends."
"I saw the truth. My "friends" abandoned me when times got tough. Looks like I'm not the only one. Face it, Princess. Friendship has failed you, too."
Lying on her bed, Tempest closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, the tears threatening to escape her eyes for the hundredth time. This had become her normal routine every night ever since she became reformed. Not that anypony knew, of course. Twilight and her friends had given her a roof over her head, food to eat, fluids to drink. They had simply acted like nothing happened, even after all she did. All the suffering she caused. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve any of this.
And yet here she was, lying on the bed given to her by Twilight, in the castle given to her by Twilight, eating the food given to her by Pinkie Pie, and what had she done for them? Nothing. In fact, quite the opposite. She had all but helped them - she caused them suffering. Tempest had attacked the princesses.
At this point, she was sobbing into her pillow. This had become the norm for her. Think about how she didn't deserve any of the treatment being given to her, think about the evil things she had done, and cry for hours on end. She didn't dare talk to anypony about it. They'd surely ridicule her, maybe even stop being her friend. It was not usual of Tempest to cry. In fact, she couldn't recall a single moment in which she had cried in her life - barring the past few days. Maybe-
"Fizz... are you okay in there?" a familiar voice said just outside. It was Twilight's voice.
Tempest composed herself as best she could - which was barely at all - before responding a little bit too quickly.
"Yeahimfineimjusthavingroublesleeping!"
Tempest mentally slapped herself for that response, and she quickly tried to correct herself.
"I-I mean, I'm not having trouble sleeping! I'm just... um... reading! Yeah, reading!"
There was a short silence, before Twilight's voice was heard yet again.
"Fizzle... I'm coming in..." Twilight said cautiously. When no response was heard, her horn lit up a magenta, and the doors opened.
To say that Tempest looked a mess was an understatement. He mane was sticking out in every direction possible, her usually greenish-blue eyes had turned a more dull green. Tear stains were apparent in her already ruffled fur, and she was sniffling furiously.
"Fizz... what's wrong...?" Twilight said
Tempest could not hold the tears in any longer. She burst out in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. She tried to speak, but her mouth had failed her, so she just laid there crying. After a few seconds, Twilight, without thinking for the most part, trotted up to Tempest and brought her into an embrace. She drew circles on her back with her hoof and nuzzled her gently.
There it was, the butterflies. The feeling like she was going down the steepest rollercoaster ever. Tempest knew what these feelings were. Her body knew, yet her mind refused to acknowledge the facts.
Both Twilight and Tempest stayed like that for a while, and neither of them wanted it to end. But after Tempest's sobbing had turned into almost inaudible sniffles, Twilight asked again.
"Fizz, what's wrong...?" She spoke in a hushed tone in her ear.
Tempest gently pulled away from the hug just enough so that she could look into Twilight's eyes. Those beautiful, purple eyes filled with life and magic. That's what Tempest loved about her most. Her eyes. She knew that it was wrong. She knew that everybody would ridicule her for thinking this way about the princess of friendship.
She was also well aware of that fact that her feelings would not be returned by Twilight.
"Fizz? Hello?! FIZZ!"
Tempest jumped a little bit and then quickly averted her gaze to anything other than Twilight. She struggled to find an excuse to her sudden outburst, but sighed when she came up with none. Tempest shivered a little every time Twilight exhaled and her warm breath landed on her cheek.
"I..." She began, but started choking on her own words almost immediately.
Tempest cleared her throat, and closed her eyes before exhaling softly.
"I don't deserve this, Twi... After all I did, you just... act like nothing happened. Why...? I attacked ponyville... nearly killed dozens of ponies... because I was selfish. I was selfish because I was willing to put everypony else before me just to get my horn back!" At this point, Tempest was close to tears again and found herself closing her eyes to try and stop the tears from falling.
Twilight must have noticed this, because she once again brought Tempest into a tight embrace.
"Tempest. That's not true. You do deserve this! You're forgetting the part where you saved our lives! You jumped in front of the storm king to save us... You realized the wrong in your actions and you regret what you've done. That's enough for me. You can't change what you did, but what you can do is change your actions in the future. You can make better decisions, right?"
Tempest reflected on Twilight's response briefly, taking in all that she had said. She had never thought of it like that.
"Oh, Twi... I'm so sorry... you probably think I'm a pansy... I just... I..." Tempest trailed off as she met Twilight's gaze.
The two stared at each other for what seemed like hours, when in reality, it was just a few seconds. Without putting any thought into it, Tempest leant towards Twilight's muzzle and closed the gap between their lips. They stayed like that for a few seconds, before Tempest suddenly clocked into what she was doing. Her eyes widening, she pulled away quickly and managed to stutter out an apology before galloping out of the room.
Twilight didn't even have time to realize what was happening. Everything had gone so fast. There was no way Fizzlepop had kissed her... right? Why would she do that? Purple jumped off the bed and chased after Tempest, both concerned for her friend and wanting an answer.
A few hours had passed, and it was now 1AM. Twilight had not given up the search for her friend. She had checked all around the castle, and had come to the conclusion that she wasn't there. She sighed and stopped for a moment, averting her eyes to the floor, both in thought and in slight worry. So she wasn't in the castle. That's for sure. Where else would she be? Sugarcube corner?
With no warning, she heard a sudden sniffle behind a nearby tree. He ears perked up and she turned to face the tree in which the sniffle had been heard.
"Fizz...?"
She heard a small sigh, before a purple pony came out from behind the tree. The two stood there for a few seconds, before Tempest closed her eyes and looked to the ground.
"I...I... um... I-I'm sorry! I don't k-know what came over me! I just.. I... I..." Tempest was at a loss for words
Twilight didn't even care what had happened between the two just a few hours earlier. She galloped up to Fizzle and embraced her tightly.
"Don't ever do that again. You had me worried."
"Twi... I... I think I..."
Twilight tilted her head to the side a little bit, and let out a small "hm?"
"I'll... show you instead."
Tempest leant towards Twilight for the second time, but to her surprise, it was Twilight who closed the gap this time. After a few moments, Twilight pulled away.
"I love you too, silly."
1 year later
Tempest lied on the bed next to Twilight, sighing happily. Twilight giggled.
"Fizzz~"
"Mmmhmm~?"
"Give your princess snuggles!"
Tempest didn't need to be asked twice. She chuckled and embraced Twilight, both of them facing each other on the bed. Tempest leaned towards her and placed her lips on Twilight's, bringing her closer.
"I love you, Twi..."
"I love you too, Fizzlepop Berrytwist."
Both of them giggled for a few moments, before sharing one last kiss before falling into the realm of sleep.
