Tinker, Tailor, Pony, Spy

by Blade Star

Chapter 6

Tempest hadn’t been sure of what to expect when it came to what Luna’s birthday celebration would look like. Given her position, and the venue, she expected something grand. She expected dozens of guests, if not hundreds all congregating in some grand ballroom, with three horseshoe cuisine and a mini orchestra providing music. Instead, when she arrived at the large double doors, and was let in by the two thestrals standing guard there, she found a much more restrained, yet relaxed affair.

The party was indeed being held in one of the ballrooms of the castle, one of the main halls that had hosted the Grand Galloping Gala earlier in the year. But apart from that, her expectations were greatly subverted. While it was true that guests were still arriving, the party was clearly in full swing, and yet there had to be less than a hundred ponies here, maybe even less than fifty. The cuisine on offer, while no doubt expensive, was a rather enticing looking buffet, with attendant tables for guests, as opposed to mere morsels being carried around by wait staff. And the music, while still a live band, was a small jazz quartet, playing swing music. One of them, a grey earth pony on the cello, had even propped open her case to allow guests to throw in the odd tip. The whole affair felt so much more relaxed than Tempest expected. Ponies were chatting, not networking. Even Luna herself wasn’t exempt from this. At the Grand Galloping Gala for instance, a pony was lucky to get ten seconds with Princess Celestia, and that was after careful vetting by the guards. Here though, Luna was standing with a few other ponies, chatting with them like an old friend. Despite the crown and regalia, it made her seem more like a normal pony than just a princess.

Tempest stood on the threshold for several moments, taking everything in As she did so, one of the waiters, who was making the rounds around the room, walked over to her with a tray of drinks.

“Would you care for a glass, miss?” he asked with a marked Canterlot accent that sounded just a little forced. Tempest reasoned he probably wasn’t a native.

“Thank you, no,” Tempest replied.

A glass of something presented two problems for Tempest. Firstly, while it might have come as a surprise to some, she was a teetotaller. Having spent most of her life soldiering, she had cared little for the negative effects of alcohol. It dulled the senses, slowed reflexes, and made a pony far more likely to make mistakes. Plus there was a more practical reason. With the damage to her horn, her fine motor skills were sorely impaired. And while she was working to improve this with the help of Twilight, she wasn’t yet confident in her abilities. The awkwardness of dropping a glass onto the floor was something she could do without tonight.

The young waiter of course, knew nothing of this, and merely retreated with a slight bow. Tempest knew it would make her seem to some like a bit of a stick in the mud, but the benefits outweighed the costs as far as she was concerned.

Stepping into the party proper, she looked for somewhere to start. While it was true that she was there mainly to have a good time, Luna had clearly invited her here to help improve her standing, and she could hardly do that standing by herself. She was just about to try and join a small group conversing with Fancy Pants, when she heard somepony call her name.

“Tempest!” Tempest instantly recognised the voice as Luna’s, and turning around, found herself face to face with the night princess.

“Princess Luna!” she exclaimed in slight surprise, before remembering to bow. Luna however, waved off the formality.

“Please, Tempest,” she said reassuringly. “This is a party, not a formal reception. I always make a point to drop titles at these little gatherings. I’m certainly glad you were able to make it, in any case. And I see that you paid a call on old Elusive. A beautiful gown, I must say.”

“Thank you, your...I mean, Luna,” Tempest replied, catching herself. Her nerves had come back for a spell. The last time she’d met Luna like this, it had been for her pardon. And the time before that she tried not to dwell on.

“Please come and join me,” Luna went on. “I was just chatting with an old friend I think you ought to meet.”

Tempest followed Luna over to a small group of ponies near where the band was set up. She recognised a couple of them at a glance. Frankly she was a little surprised that Twilight and her friends weren’t here, although given their track record for attending high society parties in Canterlot, she could sort of understand. There were a couple thestrals, guards in their dress uniforms, Raven Inkwell, and one stallion that she wasn’t familiar with.

He was small, so small in fact that at first she thought he was a colt. His coat, which was mostly hidden under what could almost be a foal’s waistcoat and jacket, was an ashen grey, while his mane and tail were a sort of two tone seaweed blue green. His mane reminded him a little of Twilight, with bangs coming over his forehead and down towards his eyes. He was a unicorn, like herself, and like everything else about him, his horn was fairly short too. All in all, he wasn’t particularly impressive to look at. The group however, seemed quite taken with him. He was currently in the middle of what seemed to be a very animated discussion with one of the thestrals. This conversation stopped as Luna returned and all eyes fell on Tempest. Once again, she found herself feeling more than a little self conscious.

“Excuse the interruption,” Luna said to the young stallion. “But I wanted you all to meet somepony. This is Tempest Shadow, a friend of both Princess Twilight Sparkle, as well as myself.”

The introduction surprised Tempest. She knew Luna was friendly enough towards her, but she never thought the alicorn considered her a friend. For one thing, Luna was known to be very selective about such things. She was friendly with virtually everypony, but few she called true friends.

There was a moment’s pause as the group all recognised her and for a moment, Tempest felt a twinge of fear that all might not go smoothly. To her surprise though, the little stallion then came to her aid.

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Shadow,” he said, offering his hoof. “Luna was just telling us how you helped defeat the Storm King.”

“Permit me to introduce Stygian,” Luna said, gesturing toward the stallion. “A member of the Pillars of Old Equestria. He saw off threats to the realm when I was but a filly. He and his friends were recently released from their inadvertent confinement in Limbo and helped defeat the Pony of Shadows. He’s now quite the successful author.”

“It’s helped me a great deal,” Stygian explained. “Writing about my experiences; inadvertently creating the Pony of Shadows and falling to darkness.” He chuckled for a moment. “It seems we’re all ex-villains here tonight. Myself, Nightmare Moon, a couple of former thestral rebels, and you Tempest. It certainly makes things a little less awkward all around.”

Tempest couldn’t help but agree with that. It certainly helped lay a few concerns to rest. She knew of Luna’s past, of course, but she knew nothing of this Stygian. Though from what she knew of the Pony of Shadows, he’d arguably done more damage than she ever did. If Equestria was willing to take him back, then she ought to have a shot as well.

“Yes, I suppose it does,” she agreed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Stygian.”

“That’s quite the outfit you have there, Miss Shadow,” one of the thestrals commented. “Where in Equestria did you manage to find such a prize. I’m sure my wife would love to know.”

“Oh, this? It’s one of Elusive’s designs. He has a modest shop in the Old Quarter.” The thestrals eyebrows went up in surprise at that.

“Indeed,” he replied, turning to Luna. “I’m surprised you didn’t invite him along to this soiree, Luna. A former supposed spy would make for the perfect finishing touch on your collection of ex-rogues.” Luna let out a laugh.

“Oh come now, Captain Night Song. Don’t tell me you ascribe to those baseless rumours.” The thestral now chuckled.

“A rumour is one or two ponies throwing around gossip,” he replied. “And a tailor sneaking his way into the castle using classified security codes, and then claiming that he overheard them while hemming somepony’s pants after he gets caught, is far from baseless. Whoever he was and whoever he worked for, I can guarantee they weren’t in the fashion industry.”

“Still, Captain, you have to admit, he does good work,” Stygian pointed out. “Shady past or no.”

“Very shady,” Night Song insisted. “That’s what put ponies off. He might not necessarily be a bad guy, but I wouldn’t wager any bits that he’s on the side of harmony either.”

“A lot of ponies would say the same about me, captain,” Tempest pointed out. Luna smiled at that.

“The lady makes a good point, captain,” Stygian pointed out. “I could even say the same thing about you. Celestia knows that your loyalty to your princess supersedes all other obligations.”

“Now, now, gentlecolts,” Luna chided. “Let’s not start accusing one another of trying to undermine the realm. Stygian, would you care to join me on the dance floor?” Stygian looked up at Luna and offered a slight bow.

“It would be my pleasure, majesty,” he answered and took the lunar diarch’s foreleg in his. Night Song meanwhile turned to Tempest.

“How about you, Miss Shadow? Might I have this dance?”

“Of course, Captain,” Tempest replied.

With that, the thestral led her out to join Luna, Stygian and several other couples as the band prepared. Tempest had to admit, she was enjoying herself, but Night Song’s knowledge of Elusive had piqued her interest, and she was not about to pass up an opportunity to learn more about her mysterious friend.

Taking their places, Night Song moved to take the lead, so Tempest decided to have a bit of fun. Mirroring his movements, the two bumped each other slightly. Night Song blushed slightly and chuckled to shake off the embarrassment.

“Forgive me, Miss Tempest, but I fear you’ve been away from your homeland too long. Typically it’s the stallion who leads.” Tempest smiled back, and down at the slightly shorter thestral.

“True, Captain,” she admitted. “But typically, the stallion is the larger partner, and by my reckoning, I have three inches and a good twenty pounds on you. I think you’ll find it quite a challenge to lead me anywhere. So, if you don’t mind…”

With that, she took position as the leading partner.

“Oh, very well,” he replied with some chagrin. “I suppose if young Stygian is happy to be led about by the princess, I can try the same.”

Stygian had indeed taken the following role in his dance with Luna. The pair looked almost comical together. Stygian wasn’t much larger than Spike, while Luna was ever so slightly taller than Tempest. And yet despite that, Tempest saw something between the two. You didn’t need to be Princess Cadence to see that something was going on between them. Tempest’s attention was soon brought back to her own partner though, as the band struck up a waltz and the pair began to dance.

“Impressive,” Night Song commended. “You have a natural rhythm; unusual for a mare such as yourself.”

“I had a good teacher,” Tempest replied. “And you’d be surprised how much overlap there is between dance and combat.”

“And you are quite skilled in both,” Night Song complemented. Tempest smiled.

“Flirting with a mare who once held you captive and turned your princess to stone? You are awfully forgiving, Captain.”

“Well, you made a good argument on that front,” he replied. “And it’s hard to see that same cold soldier in that magnificent dress.”

“Yet you still don’t trust it’s maker,” she countered as they began to spin.

“I’ve never trusted spies,” he replied. “No matter what side they’re on.”

“You certainly seem to know a lot about him.”

“Well, it’s not every day you see a tailor go toe to toe with a bunch of bugs and come out the other side,” he replied.

“During the invasion?” Night Song nodded.

“Pretty much everypony except the few guards that managed to hold out against the initial assault was running for their lives. After the captain’s shield collapsed, anypony could tell you we were in trouble. Ponies just started panicking, and their sheer numbers let them just overwhelm most guard positions. We’re a guard after all, not a standing army.

“But that Elusive character, he was different. He ran at first, sure, but it wasn’t from panic. He holed himself up in a dead end alley, dug his hooves in and started blasting anything that moved. A solid stun spell too. Your average unicorn might know the odd thing or two, but I’ve only met a few ponies who can keep up stun spells for more than a minute or two. It takes a lot of energy, as I’m sure you know. He held his ground the entire time. And when they sent more bugs to pull him down, he fought his way out hoof to hoof. I never knew much about tailoring, but I know for a fact they don’t teach those kinds of combat skills.

“After the dust settled, I had him pulled in for an interview. In all honesty, I thought about offering him a job. But when I asked him where he picked up those skills, he threw out this nonsense about how he’d never been trained or anything. So I got suspicious, ran a make on him. The guy’s a ghost until about five or six years ago. Moved here from nowhere, both parents dead, no siblings or family of any kind, everything in cash.”

“I can see why you figured him for a spy,” Tempest agreed. “But who could he be working for?” At this, Night Song chuckled as Tempest spun him.

“Truth be told, Miss Shadow,” he answered. “For the longest time I figured he was one of your boys, sent to scout the city. But when he didn’t come out of the shadows and collaborate with your troops, and given how he just went back to his job afterwards, I don’t think that’s the case.”

“That’s one thing at least I can be certain of, captain. He’s not a soldier of the Storm King’s army. But if you know he’s a spy for some foreign power, why not just have him arrested?”

“An unfortunate thing called civil rights I’m afraid,” Night Song joked in a rueful tone. “I might have my suspicions about him, but no proof that he’s a foreign agent, or that he’s involved in any form of espionage. Besides, rule eight of the Moscrow Rules; don’t harass the opposition. Whoever he’s working for isn’t openly hostile. Heck, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was GSB.”

“The Griffons? But I thought they were allies,” Tempest said in surprise, recognising the name of the Griffon Security Bureau; the kingdom's infamous secret police.

“Just because we’re allies doesn’t mean we don’t keep an eye on each other,” Night Song said, before changing the subject. “But enough about that strange fellow. Tell me, how in the wide wide realm of Equestria did Tempest Shadow get invited to Princess Luna’s birthday celebration?”

“Like most ponies, captain, I received an invitation,” Tempest answered coyly.

Tempest explained, leaving out the more personal aspects, how she’d crossed paths with Luna in her dreams, and how the night princess had invited her to attend in the hopes of distancing herself from her nefarious past.

“You know, I’ve always been a believer in that old phrase ‘if you can’t beat them, hire them’. I’m surprised you weren’t approached by the guard for a position. You certainly have the skills to make a fine officer.”

“Not according to the recruitment office,” Tempest growled. “Apparently I’m utterly inadmissible, despite the fact I led an attack that successfully overwhelmed the entire city’s defences and can clearly still fight. Bureaucracy, right?”

“Who in Luna’s name told you that?!” Night song exclaimed, with perhaps more volume than he intended, as his outburst drew the gaze of a few dancing couples.

“I got a letter back about two weeks after I sent an application off. Princess Twilight herself tried to have an exception made, but they wouldn’t budge.”

Now, Night song’s expression turned to be more understanding.

“Ah, then you applied to join the Royal Guard. I thought I hadn’t seen your application cross my desk.” Tempest was confused.

“But you are Royal Guard, aren’t you?” Night Song shook his head.

“The Lunar Guard broke away from the Royal Guard at the outbreak of the War of Solar Aggression. There are plans to reintegrate the two forces, but at the moment, we are two different organisations. And I can assure you that the Lunar Guard would never turn away such a promising candidate. If you’re still interested, that is.”

The song ended and Tempest and Night Song briefly parted and bowed as per custom. Tempest however, wanted to jump in the air and scream for joy like a filly on Hearth’s Warming. She could see light at the end of the tunnel. Was this why Luna had invited her perhaps? So that she could meet the right ponies and get her life going again? She knew that Celestia seemed fond of such subtle machinations as a way of helping ponies without directly interfering and playing favourites. Naturally, she accepted Night Song’s offer, the thestral stallion assured her that he would start drawing up the preliminary application for her next week, and was quick to assure her that it would be all but a formality.

The two parted happily, marking the high point of Tempest’s evening. She had arrived in this city more than a little despised by some ponies, and distrusted by most. And yet now, here she stood, barely recognisable compared to the pony who once marched into these halls with an army at her back. It was as if a great fog had finally lifted, and she could see the way ahead at last.

---

After the dance, Tempest stepped off the floor, along with Luna and Stygian, when the princess asked her to join the two of them for the provided dinner. The available buffet made for quite the lavish spread, and Tempest soon found herself sitting down at one of the several round tables, with Stygian on one side and Luna on the other. The night princess was quick to engage her again in conversation.

“So, I take it, from what I overheard, that you may be joining the ranks of my guard before too long,” she said, trying to sound innocent. Tempest smiled.

“You know, princess,” she replied. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the whole reason you invited me here was so that that conversation could happen.” Luna chuckled.

“To quote a mutual friend of ours; ‘my dear Tempest, there may be hope for you yet’.” That got Tempest to laugh as well. “Although I must admit another ulterior motive in referring you to Elusive.”

Tempest had been curious about that. There were many good tailors in Canterlot, so why send him to the one most ponies chose not to associate with.

“While he may be a pariah to some, he has been most useful to me on any number of occasions. Though, while I hope your outfit on display helps improve his standing there, I sent you to him more for his incredible skills when it comes to social skills. I see you picked up a few things since we last spoke. Although I’m sure he’d say he merely polished the diamond.”

“I actually asked him to come along tonight,” Tempest said. “But he insisted I come on my own.”

“Ah yes,” Luna mused. “When I first met him, I almost tried to replicate my sister’s success with Twilight Sparkle, hoping to ease him out of his shell. But he, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, possesses a remarkable talent for misdirection. And short of forcing him to a function such as this, I could not see a way to help. Then again, he seems more content on his own, with the few clients he has tiding him over. On the other hoof, he clearly seems to embrace friendship, though like myself, on a much more personal level.”

Tempest had to agree with that. He was an unusual friend, but Elusive definitely was one of her friends in this new life. And sometimes, she mused to herself, being a good friend meant stepping back. Elusive preferred to keep his secrets, or at least enjoying spinning his many half truths. So Tempest would not press it. He was a good friend to her. Was that not all that mattered?

Tempest spent the rest of the evening enjoying herself and mingling with the guests. She spent a little more time chatting with Luna. The alicorn was eager to hear what was going on in Ponyville. Like Celestia, she seldom had time to get away from the castle to visit, except on official functions, or at times of near world ending catastrophe. Only in dreams could she talk with the common pony face to face, and even then, the interaction was often fairly brief. So it was nice for her to, even vicariously, catch up on the lives of ponies she was, in her own words, eternally grateful to.

She also managed to get a bit more time talking with Stygian. The young stallion might have looked like just a colt, but he was wise beyond his years. Tempest was fascinated by his stories of his time with the Pillars. And of course, his own experiences coping with the effects of past misdeeds was also of great help to her, and they had a long conversation together, talking about their respective pasts. Their time together also confirmed her earlier suspicions. Stygian was indeed quite smitten with the lunar diarch. Now true, so was around half the adult population of Equestria, but that was more for her title or just a physical attraction. For Stygian, it was something much deeper. Luna was one of only a few ponies who he could talk with about the old days, in the time of Old Equestria, when the nation was little more than a collection of farms. She was also perhaps the only pony who could truly relate to what had happened to him, and he to her. Their inadvertent transformations to Nightmare Moon and the Pony of Shadows made them almost like kindred spirits. Both had lost themselves to jealousy, and paid most dearly for it. Tempest never claimed to be an expert on love, never mind friendship, but she figured those two would do well together. Considering all that they’d been through, they deserved some happiness.

Such things weren’t in the cards for Tempest though. One day perhaps, but she was only just beginning to rebuild basic friendships with ponies. It would be quite a while before she would consider something like that for herself. A part of her felt she was so set in her ways as to make it not even worthwhile. But that was for the future. Right now, she could just enjoy herself and see what came next.

---

Eventually, the party began to wind down, though it was well into the wee hours before the gathering began to break up. Tempest had greatly enjoyed herself, and while she was most grateful to Luna for inviting her, she couldn’t help but feel that the lion’s share of praise ought to go to Elusive. Were it not for him, she would not only have nothing to wear, but she would have been completely out of her depth chit-chatting with all these ponies. So as she departed, after wishing Luna one last happy birthday before she went, she decided to make a point of calling on Elusive. He’d said that he would be up most of the night working on something. She could stop by his store and, if he was still up, she could take five minutes to thank him before doing so properly tomorrow. So, engaging another dog cart, she retraced her journey down the steep hill that led up to the castle, and returned to the rabbit’s warren that was the Old Quarter.

As she left the castle, she soon found herself rattling through quiet, empty streets. Ponies may no longer shun Luna’s night, but they had to get sleep sometime. All was quiet, calm, and peaceful. The same however, could not be said for Elusive’s situation, and before too long, her night would go from one of the happiest in recent memory, to one that she would never forget for all the wrong reasons. It would reopen the many questions she had about Elusive, and would finally force the truth about her curious benefactor to the surface.

Comments

[harts fire]

i get the feeling that Tempest is going to walk in on Elusive doing something questionable.

[Jade Dawn]

Well that was a good evening.

Cue things going wrong in three, two...

(also seriously, why has this story not gotten more attention? This is good stuff)

[Blade Star]

10904132 FimFiction is a fickle beast. I try to update at around 8pm GMT so as to catch both folks here in Europe and North American readers. It's just the site's way. A story that's 80% meme can end up in the feature box, and something amazing (far above my tawdry abilities) barely gets a look in.

[Jade Dawn]

10904372
I usually try to update mine at around 3 pm EST. I heard somebody crunched some numbers and found that was when the most people were active on the site a day. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it’s served me well so far.