Twilight Sparkle does not ask for much in life, and usually life has been kind enough to give her what she asks for, but there are always strings attached. Examples?

Friends.

Twilight deep down always wanted friends, but during her filly and teenage years she was too anxious to go out and solidify the connections she had in Canterlot, choosing to retreat in her studies to cope with her lack of decent social skills. Then shortly after her eighteenth birthday, she got sent to Ponyville, made friends and has been Equestria and the world ever since.

Have a husband.

She has Flash, which is nice, but he is not the Flash from the human dimension. She is trying to make it work, but the more time passes the more she realizes that there really are two different Flash's. She will make it work, though. As far as she knows Pony Flash does not know about Human Flash, so that is good.

Be like Celestia.

Twilight has always admired Celestia in ways no one else can possibly comprehend. Sure there are churches dedicated to Celestia since she is a solar goddess, but they do not have the Mother-Daughter relationship that she and Celestia share. Twilight is even bold enough to say that her relationship with the Sun Goddess is stronger than the one she has with her own parents. Now Twilight has a school, is an alicorn, has her own semi-autonomous kingdom, and has a few students of her own. Each with their own challenges. Such as Sunset being crafty (and in an entirely different dimension), Starlight's devious nature, and Twilight is sure that Tempest is a genuine sociopath.

Be important.

This ties into being like Celestia, and she has her own kingdom with the capital being Ponyville and her taking charge over every town in the Plains of Equestria. From Ponyville to Appleloosa, to Dodge City and the towns between it and Foal Mountain, and White Tail Woods to Ghastly Gorge and all who reside in those areas. So this dream has come true as a default with being like Celestia. But with being an important government figurehead comes mail. Lots and lots of mail.

Most of the mail is good with polite requests, but some are not so good as they are calls for her to step down and let a real noble take her place or saying she sucks at her job. Those kinds of mail hurt, but they usually belong to ponies who fall outside her territory, therefore have no rightful say in how she runs things in the Kingdom of Twilight.

Then there is mail that has the official Seal of Celestia, a tightly wound and bound scroll with a sun seal and red bands. These always take priority over all else, which is why Twilight is quick to open it.

URGENT

Dear Princess Twilight,

Your presence at the Royal Palace is requested right away. The matter is best discussed in person, and bring your friends as well as Tempest Shadow along. I feel we may need her for this particular situation.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Twilight drops the letter and knocks over her chair when she bolts out of her office.

“Spike, we need train tickets!”

In the heat of the afternoon sun, Tempest lays in a field of tall grass in her lavender combat armor, stomach and hoofs pressed to the dirt, eyes narrowed, ears flat against her skull and the tip of her tail flicking. In her sights, casually munching on some tomatoes that she has spent a lot of time tending to is a small white rabbit. She has seen that rabbit around town, and it has specifically ran towards Fluttershy's tree house every day, so Tempest is sure it is one of that pegasus' fifty pets. But the glorious thing is that Tempest does not care.

This rabbit has been ruining her garden and now it will die.

The rabbit leaves a half eaten tomato and moves on to digging up the carrots Tempest planted, and the former commander licks her lips as she crawls just a bit closer.

'Rabbit stew tonight,' thinks Tempest.

The rabbit is still distracted, and like a coiled spring released, Tempest leaps towards the rabbit only for a blinding flash of sparkly purple light to suddenly appear and with it an alicorn. Tempest's eyes widen and she manages a short sharp yelp before impacting Twilight in the chest with enough force to knock the air out of both of them. They roll over each other, smashing cabbages to bits, and they crash into a fence that Tempest recently built, covering both of them in splinters and dust. And they lay there, Tempest on top of Twilight and Twilight twitching and groaning in pain. The rabbit has long since ran away.

Tempest's dinner... is gone.

“You...” seethes Tempest. She sits on top of Twilight's hips and presses her metal boots on to Twilight's shoulders as electric sparks fly from her broken horn, bringing the alicorn to wince. “You cost me my dinner and wrecked my cabbages!”

“I'm sorry! But there is something urgent that Celestia wants to talk to us about!” says Twilight.

“Us?”

Twilight nods.

“If its about the bank then I didn't rob it,” says Tempest.

“What?” says Twilight.

“You ruined my meal.”

“And I'm sorry! … Can you get off of me, please?”

Tempest climbs off of Twilight and pokes at her broken cabbages while the Princess rolls upright and shakes dirt off her hide and feathers.

“What does she want to talk about?” asks Tempest.

“She didn't say, but she specifically requested you. She said we may need you for this situation that has come up,” says Twilight.

“A situation that she has not revealed.”

“Right.”

“And what if this particular situation is a trap to arrest me?”

“... Did you really rob a bank?”

“No.”

Twilight narrows her eyes skeptically.

“If a bank was really robbed then everyone would know. Especially if I was involved,” says Tempest.

“Look, Tempest. If Celestia was going to arrest you then it would have happened already,” says Twilight. “You're lucky you weren't turned back to stone after the Storm King's invasion, and if she was going to arrest you it would be over that. But you've already been pardoned so arresting you for that would be a legal nightmare and raise some serious questions about our judicial system.”

“If I recall correctly, I was only pardoned because you and the Princesses had a very long chat about it, which, honestly my life is boring now. Prison would be nice. I could actually start a gang, get into prison fights and maybe get some tattoos.”

“First, no you can't. You'd still get in trouble. Second, we've been over this. What we're doing with you now is like a rehabilitation program. Starlight went through the same thing you are going through.”

“Yeah, but she's Starlight.”

Twilight cocks a brow. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, you know? Conniving, deceitful nature. Master manipulator. Destroyer of timelines. Bad case of envy and very self centered. I wouldn't be surprised if she has a plan to gradually erode your influence and create a hidden network of loyalists that will remove you from power using legal loopholes and clever subliminal propaganda, thus allowing her to take your place and owning your kingdom which will allow her to begin the process of orchestrating an independence movement to create a fully independent nation that will eventually usher in the unnatural society that she dreamed of.”

By the time Tempest is done, Twilight's eyes are wide and Tempest has slipped past her to inspect her broken fence.

“Or maybe she doesn't. Hard to say with her,” says Tempest.

“Uh... Yeah, I... I, uh, I think your imagination might be running just a little bit wild.” Twilight points at a simple windowless shack with a skinny chimney, steel door with four locks, a line of lanterns, spikes on the steep roof, and a disarmed bear trap in front of the door. “Why don't we get your stuff?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really. If Celestia says something you really have to do it.”

Tempest huffs. “Fine. But let me go in first. I got a trap on the other side of the door ready to shoot unwanted guests in the face.”

A couple of hours later, Twilight and Tempest are on the train with the rest of the Element Bearers. The scenery speeds by in blur of green and brown, and so far Tempest has yet to say a word to any of them while Twilight is reading Celestia's note for the three dozenth time.

“Are ya sure ya don't have any idea what Celestia wants?” asks Applejack.

“There is nothing in this letter,” says Twilight. “I even scanned it for hidden messages and nothing came up.”

“What if its a trap?” asks Rainbow Dash. “Like, a villain captured her and forced her to write the letter to lure us in and then BAM! We're in an ambush fighting for our lives.”

Fluttershy gulps and Tempest rolls her eyes.

“What if it's a party?” asks Pinkie Pie. “Luna's birthday is coming up so maybe she wants us to help her throw a surprise party.”

“I don't think that's it,” says Twilight. “The tone doesn't sound right. Plus she didn't use the code words for Luna and birthday party.”

Pinkie Pie rubs her chin. “You're right... Unless... Hold on.” Pinkie Pie digs into her saddle, pulls out a thick book and flips through the pages. When she finds the right page, her eyes slide left to right, then right to left, then up and down, and finally she nods and quickly puts it away. “Well, that makes sense.”

“What was that? What did you find?” asks Twilight.

Pinkie Pie smirks. “No spoilers.”

Twilight groans and rubs her temple, and Rarity, who is reading a newspaper, glances at Pinkie Pie.

“It would do all of us wonders if you gave us 'spoilers',” says Rarity.

“That would ruin the surprise. But I'll give you a hint... Money,” says Pinkie Pie.

Tempest's ears perk.

“Fine dining at an exotic place.”

Rarity lowers her newspaper, fully intrigued now.

“Adventure... Science... Animals... Gift shops and...” Pinkie Pie looks at Applejack. “I'm sorry I got nothing for you. Trees, I guess. Lots and lots of trees.”

Applejack sighs sadly. “Well, that'll do, I guess.”

“So, chin up, everypony! Whatever Celestia wants, it'll give us something unforgettable to reflect on when we are old and surrounded by kids.”

Fluttershy raises her hoof. “I would like something forgettable for once. I've kind of had enough unforgettable events for a few lifetimes.”

Pinkie Pie snickers, wraps her hoof around Fluttershy's waist and pulls her in so their bodies are squished together.

“After all we've been through, how can you want a boring life, Flutters?” asks Pinkie Pie.

“It's not that... It's just that... Well, I kind of want a chance to live a full life,” says Fluttershy.

“Oh, don't worry, you will. Now, who wants to play I-Spy?”

So I found this and decided to post it because why not?