Nopony gave the dark-coated unicorn a second glance when she stepped off the train. The cold weather made her hood and cloak seem like a natural fit, and her relaxed walking did not betray her own nervousness. Besides, plenty of other ponies were flooding into Canterlot for the Hearth’s Warming festivities, making her just another face in the ever-burgeoning crowd. So nopony bothered her as she made her way deeper into Canterlot, towards the heart of the fashion district.

Tempest Shadow certainly hadn’t expected to return to the city she’d conquered just a few months before. Winding her way through the streets, she found little sign of damage from the Storm King’s forces. Only holiday wreathes with red bows and multi-colored lights hanging from the windowsills provided any notable difference to Canterlot’s bustling streets, and the crowd around her shuffled through the snow with little regard for anypony else.

How many of these ponies would scream if I brought my hood down? Tempest pondered, sidestepping a group of colts laughing and running down the street. Would the Royal Guard be called? Princess Twilight pardoned me, but a few might still have a grudge and-

No, none of that, she chided herself. Focusing too much on the past was what got her into the Storm King’s service. She needed to follow Princess Twilight’s advice, focusing more on the present and doing what she could to spread friendship to others.

In fact, that was the reason she was in Canterlot to begin with. A week ago, while Tempest was in the Crystal Empire, a letter came from Canterlot Carousel, a fashion boutique in Canterlot. The sender was Rarity, one of Princess Twilight’s closest friends, who’d asked for Tempest’s help with “a most unusual problem”. The fashionista’s letter had been rather vague, all things considered, with only a plea that Tempest be in Canterlot by Hearth’s Warming Eve.

The letter’s mysterious nature proved too much for Tempest to resist. Always pushing herself to be better had been her life goal after the Ursa Minor hurt her all those years ago, and the promise of some strange adventure provoked the conquering spirit she’d gained over the years. The conquest would likely be a minor, relatively trifling problem; probably some dispute with a rival fashion pony or an infestation of fabric-eating moths, but still something she could sink her teeth into and help somepony in a small way.

Fortunately, Canterlot Carousel was not hard to find. Once within the fashion district, with its gaudy buildings and windows lined with the latest dresses, every street corner within the district listed all the top fashion houses and directions to them. Canterlot Carousel was always featured near the top. Twilight had mentioned the store opened only 2 years ago, so Rarity had obviously made a splash in the fashion world rather quickly.

A passionate and determined mare, Tempest thought, kicking up snow with each step. Respectable. Admirable, even.

Soon, the boutique came into view. A wide, circular building, the place’s purple coloring stood out in the whited-out capital. Her hooves clopping up the stone steps, Tempest pulled the door open and stepped inside.

A wide showroom stretched before Tempest. The dull blue-grey floor contrasted with the thick curtains that glowed a dark purple and stretched across both stories of the building. A circular stage filled the far wall of the first floor, and wide windows filled the room with soft daylight. Winding stairs led up to the second floor, where racks of clothes hung unmoving. The faint sound of a sewing machine echoed from the upper floor.

“Hello?” Tempest called, pulling her hood off. “Rarity? Are you h-?”

Pop!

A brilliant flash filled the store, and Tempest instinctively leaped into an defensive pose. Adrenaline pumped throughout her body, ready for the attack that must be happening. A blast of fireworks, or a lightning spell, or-

An excited fashionista.

Standing before Tempest was a white mare with a curled purple mane. An ear-to-ear grin filled her face.

“Oh Tempest, darling!” she squealed, wrapping the unicorn in a hard hug. “I’m so glad you made it!”

Tempest did not move, only staring down at the mare in confusion. Any attempt to move was foiled by the unicorn’s iron grasp.

“Hello, Rarity,” Tempest wheezed. “I got your letter and-“

“Yes, you did!” She released Tempest and began to prance around her. “And now it will all be perfect! I’ll be a shoe-in for the fashion show!”

“What do you-?”

“First, we have to do measurements! Then, a practice walk!” She twisted to Tempest. “Have you any modeling experience?”

A flush of red filled Tempest’s face. “Well, no, I-“

“Oh, that’s not important, darling! I’ll play tutor and show you how to walk. It’ll be fine. With your fabulous physique and my passion, you’ll look like you walked out of a cosmopolitan magazine!”

“Wait, I’m-“

“But I’ll have to be quick. Sassy’s putting the final touches on the last batch, and I’ll need to smooth over the-“

“Rarity!” Tempest hollered, her voice echoing through the store. The fashionista stared at her in shock. “What is going on here?”

Rarity stared at her in confusion. “Whatever do you mean, darling? You got my letter, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Tempest said, “and all it said was that you had a ‘most unusual problem’ you needed me to solve at your Canterlot boutique.”

A frown filled Rarity’s face. “I’m sure I said more than that.”

Tempest shook her head. “Perhaps you wrote the letter too fast and only put a few thoughts on it. You were probably too busy with…whatever this is you have going on.”

Rarity sighed. “Yes, I suppose I’m prone to such lapses. In that case, the bluntest explanation is most appropriate.” At this, she grabbed Tempest and pulled her in close to her face. “Tempest, I need you to model in tomorrow’s fashion show.”

“What?!” Tempest stumbled backwards, landing on her flank.

“The Hearth’s Warming Fashion Show! It’s held every year here in Canterlot, where only the top fashion makers can submit. This is the first year I’ve been allowed in, so I was required to host the show. And I needed something spectacular, something completely amazing to prove I deserved a spot.

“So I began thinking of themes for my next dress line. The usual concepts came and went, and I was struggling to think of anything as the deadline closed in. But I’m a mare who thrives on pressure, Tempest, and the heat just made me cook up an incredible idea. Perhaps the dresses should not be the safe output for mares with too much money. Maybe…” Her eyes seemed to light up. “…Maybe the theme should be for mares of action. Amazons who could fight and kick like no other. Fighters who could wrestle the toughest stallion to the ground and eat nails for breakfast!”

She pointed at Tempest, still sitting dumbfounded on the ground. “And I knew you needed to be the face of my line! No mare in recent memory has so befitted the title of ‘Mare of Action’, fighting with her bare hooves and possessing the keen craftiness of a warrior. Any average model wearing what I’ve made would look silly, unappealing. A tiny mouse pretending to be a mighty lion. But on you, the piece would be magnificent! Nopony in Canterlot would be able to deny the artistic value of the fashion!” She stretched her hoof out to Tempest. “So what do you say? Are you ready to become Equestria’s Next Top Model?”

Tempest blinked, her jaw still open.

“You brought me here…to be in a fashion show?”

“Yes, that’s what I just said!”

Tempest shot up. “I thought you were in some kind of dispute! Some horrible danger that would destroy your boutique!”

“Oh, but I am, darling! Debuting with lackluster models would be the death knell of any self-respecting fashion head!”

“I mean something vicious, violent! Like a runaway animal or some criminal threatening you!”

A full-throated laugh escaped Rarity. “Goodness gracious, Tempest! This is a fashion house, not a jungle! The only dangers here are losing your reputation or purchasing an overpriced gown.”

Tempest huffed. “Then I don’t think you need my help here.” She turned toward the door, only to find her rear hooves wrapped up. Looking down, she saw Rarity wrapped around her back legs.

“Please, Tempest!” Rarity cried with pleading eyes. “My line was specifically created with you in mind! Without you, it’ll be a joke!”

“What do you mean, ‘for me’? Last I heard, I wasn’t too popular in Canterlot.”

“Oh, you’re as popular as typhoid around here, dear!” Rarity chirped. “But that’s precisely why you’d work so well! Imagine! The former Conqueror of Canterlot, transmogrified from an oppressor to an icon of beauty! Yes, they may hate you, even tear their manes out the second they see you on that runway! But they’ll be unable to deny the daring of choosing you as the model, and project those feelings onto the dress itself!” Her body shook in ecstatic glee. “It’s sure to be the talk of the town! Pure shock value transmogrified into fashionable sensation!”

Tempest rolled her eyes. “There are plenty of tough-looking mares out there in the streets. Walk up to one, pay her a couple of bits, and she can wear your dress.”

“No!” Rarity screamed. “I can’t go searching all of Canterlot for some tall, well-built mare! By the time I found one, I wouldn’t be able to set up for the show!” She wrapped her hooves harder around Tempest’s legs. “And you’re already here! I’d just need to take a few measurements to fit the dress, give you a little talk through on how to walk the runway, and then all is done!”

Tempest began shaking her legs free. “I’m not a fashion mare, Rarity, but even I know a war pony can’t become a model overnight.”

“Why not?” Rarity said, her hooves still grasping for Tempest’s now-free legs. “You’re a mare of many talents. A fashion runway would be filly’s play for you.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be a model. I certainly didn’t come here for that.”

“Expand your horizons! Leap into the unknown world of fashion with gumption and passion, and you’ll be rewarded in some way!”

“No thanks,” Tempest said, reaching for the door. “I’ve had my horizons expanded plenty over the last few months.”

“Please, Tempest!” Rarity whined. “I’ll be a complete joke in Canterlot if you don’t perform! I’ll be run out of town on a rail! I’ll be banished from Equestria!”

Tempest looked back at her, a single eyebrow raised.

Rarity gave a sheepish grin. “Alright, maybe not that last one. But still! I need you, Tempest. And I’m willing to help you in any way I can if you help me.”

“Such as?”

“Any dress you want from my collection! A weekend in Las Pegasus! A year’s worth of massages from the Ponyville Spa! Anything, anything, darling!

Tempest rubbed her chin, then gave a devilish smile. “Half the profits from whatever Mare of Action dresses you sell.”

“Done!”

“Wha-?” Tempest’s face filled with shock. “You’re…you’re not curious why I want that?”

Rarity shrugged. “To live on, I suppose. A wanderer like you probably lacks a steady income, and with this, you wouldn’t have to worry about funds impeding your journey around the world.”

“That’s…actually correct.”

“Great! Then we can get started!”

“I must admit, I thought you’d bargain more.”

“No time for that!” Rarity hollered, grabbing Tempest’s hoof and dragging her upstairs. “I can bemoan my lost profits after you’ve been measured and lit the Canterlot fashion scene on fire!”

Tempest gave a low chuckle. “Maybe the fashion world is more cutthroat than the military…”

Author's Note

There was originally an opening section that showed Tempest coming into Canterlot on a train, but I cut it because it was more exposition than action.
Also, Tempest being in the Crystal Empire is a reference to the IDW comics, where Tempest had an adventure there in Issues 67 and 68.