Twilight Sparkle looked around her castle a piece of wall that had come loose during a storm. Whilst doing so, Spike was looking for her and eventually found her.
"Twilight, what are you doing?" Spike asked. Twilight listened, but didn't say anything as she needed to concentrate on the repairs and the builders were not available. It soon became clear to Spike what she was doing and, as such, he understood the matter and watched quietly.
"You could have just answered me, ya know?" Spike asked.
"Sorry Spike; I’m just a little busy, that's all. How are you?" Twilight asked as she used her magic to help finish fixing the wall piece
"I'm all right.” The dragon produced a letter in his hand. “I came looking for you because Derpy dropped off this letter. It’s an invitation" Spike said. Twilight looked at Spike with utter confusion.
"What do you mean invitation?" She asked. It turned out to be a redundant question as she levitated the parchment over to her. As she examined it her expression changed to one of confusion.
"What does it say?" Spike asked. He hadn’t read the contents, so hoped that Twilight would tell him.
"It's a letter from Captain Calaeno, I'm going to meet up with her. Can you take care of the castle while I’m gone?" Twilight asked as she left. Spike grumbled to himself as he set off toward the throne room.
"Why am I always treated like a servant around here? You would think Starlight could do that."
Twilight went on her way to the coordinates described. It was a plain just outside the town. Calaeno was waiting there in a black coat, a friend Twilight had not seen in a long time.
"Hello!” The Lavender Alicorn called. “Is there something you need? I haven't seen you since we freed Equestria from the Storm King!" Twilight asked.
"Twilight, I'm gonna keep this quick. I know you’re very busy and you like to focus on your work. I wouldn't have asked to see you for no reason."
"Hey, we’re friends now, it’s no bother!" Twilight said. Calaeno shrugged.
Calaeno, like the sailor she was, got straight to the point. "I met with Cadence and she asked for help. For some reason her sister won’t listen."
"Do you mean Celestia? But those two have such a close relationship!" Twilight said.
"I'm just the messenger! She said she needed to show you something."
Twilight was becoming more and more alarmed by this. What had caused this apparent fallout?
"What is she planning?" Twilight asked. Calaeno rolled her shoulders in frustration.
"I don't know!" Calaeno exclaimed. Twilight was confused by this; normally Celestia was very good at listening to others, especially the other princesses. She sighed as she looked back up at the captain.
"I'm going to go and visit. Thanks for the memo!" Twilight called.
It was a long train journey to the Crystal Empire, over sands and snowy landscape. Twilight finally arrived, and when she got off the train she headed straight for the castle. Oddly, there was absolutely no sign of her brother anywhere. However, Cadence was there to greet her.
“Cadence!” Twilight called to her old foalsitter.
"It's great to see you Twily!” Cadence replied. “Shall we go upstairs?”
The corridors of the castle were extremely long, and winding. The two engaged in idle conversation on the way up. “Where’s Shining Armor?” asked Twilight.
“He’s currently in Tartarus. The Royal Guard drew lots to determine who got to watch Cozy Glow. Guess who got the short straw!” Cadence laughed as they passed the threshold to the Royal Bedroom.
Twilight got straight to business. "Cadence, there’s one thing I don’t get in all this? Why did you, of all ponies or creatures, have Calaeno tell me about you wanting to talk to me? You could have sent a letter to Spike and nopony’d be the wiser!"
Cadence sighed. "We need to talk about Tempest Shadow.” Cadence paused. “You see...she’s had her horn replaced..." Cadence said, this shocked Twilight.
"Don't you remember the fireworks at the Songbird party?" Twilight asked. “They were incredible!”
"Well she never accepted her old one, so got it repaired. She wants to see you, so here she is." Cadence said.
The room went suddenly quiet as the former Storm King army officer stepped into the room. She was still wearing that suit of barding she’d worn during that campaign all those years ago. She still had the scar above her eye, and her mane was still in a mohawk. But where her broken horn had once been, a freshly rebuilt and refitted horn was mounted and glowing with energy. Although her eyes were narrowed, she had a friendly look on her face.
Tempest laughed gently.
"Hey Twilight, it’s nice to see you when we’re not on the opposite sides of a war.” She paused, then continued. “Look, this is probably not how you remember me looking, but I've missed being able the ability to cast magic properly. Even though the Storm King wouldn’t repair my horn, these kind folks in the Crystal Empire have. So, I won’t hold anything against you if you don’t like it, but I wanted to be able to fit in. I hope you can understand”.
Given that Tempest had had no apparent issue with the horn at that concert, it was a bit of a surprise for Twilight. Still, there was nothing that could be done.
"Tempest, I wouldn’t throw away a friendship over this! I'm just surprised you got a new one. I liked your broken one, but I wish you the very best with your new one."
Tempest was touched by Twilight’s acceptance, having been shown kindness during the Battle of Canterlot. She took Twilight in an embrace. "Thanks Twilight,” she said with a smile. “I'm glad that you could understand."
Alas, Twilight’s time in the Crystal Empire had to come to an end. Saying goodbye, she returned to the railway station and caught a train home. The journey took all night, and so Twilight had to wait until next morning to give the fellow Elements the news. To say the least, they were happy for the reformed soldier, and promised to support her in her decision. To say the least, Tempest would get the love and support she would need to fully integrate into Equestrian society.
Though they never did get to the bottom of what caused Cadence and Celestia to fall out...
