Ponyville proper had been spared the brunt of the tornado, but the high winds had still done a number on the trees and shops. Shattered glass littered the sidewalks, and the roads were covered in all manner of branches and limbs. Some of the trees had come down entirely, blocking whole streets.
“Dang,” Applejack said, gazing around at the scene as she doffed her hat. She and Twilight were on the front stoop of the library – another tree that had suffered some damage, but was far too stout for the wind to topple. Twilight had already repaired most of it with her magic, and was using a flashlight to check her work.
“This should hold for now,” she sighed, dropping the light and sweeping it around. “I wonder why Rainbow hasn't come back yet?”
Applejack looked down and smiled at Winona as she darted outside, picking her up and chuckling as the dog's tail repeatedly thwacked her side. “Aw, she's probably stoppin' to help everyone she sees on the way. Y'all know how she is.”
The librarian shrugged, brushing an errant leaf off her purple sweat pants. She looked off into the distance, her eyes settling on the metal tower in the east that was now easily distinguishable against the brightening sky. After a few seconds, a white light blinked on the very top of it. “Oh, the tower's up,” she noted, reaching into her pocket and producing her blue phone. “She took her phone, right? Call her and see what's going on.”
The blonde set down Winona and took it as Twilight handed it over, thumbing through the contacts list until she reached the goofy picture of her girlfriend. It drew a smile across her lips as she started the call and pressed the phone to her left ear. That smile faded with each subsequent ring. “Come on, Dash, answer the dang thing...” At last, the ringing stopped and the call was answered. “Hey! What's keepin' ya? We're gettin' a little worried.”
“Applejack...”
The tone of Rainbow's voice caused all of the color to drain from Applejack's face. Squeezing the phone, she went back into the dimly lit library, causing Twilight to blink and ask what was going on. She didn't answer the question, instead focusing on the call. “RD, what happened? Are ya hurt?”
On the other end, a wincing Rainbow Dash tried to ease the pain in her ribs by shifting around on Fuyu's bed. She had been untied, but the woman in black was right beside her, keeping a close eye on her actions. In the doorway stood a confused Stormy, still brandishing the shotgun but not pointing it at anyone. “We've got a problem.”
“What problem?” Applejack asked, pacing around one of the wooden pillars. “Where are ya?” Twilight stood to the side, visibly concerned, but remaining quiet.
“At the farmhouse.” She looked over at Fuyu with worried eyes and received a nod. “Is there any way you can get out here? I can't fly.”
“Ya are hurt!” Applejack exclaimed, slapping a hand to her head and becoming frantic. “What happened?!”
Rainbow backpedaled from the truth, but it was much too late. “I'm fine, I'm just kinda stuck. Look, I really can't explain it over the phone. Can you get back to the orchard?” She looked over again at Fuyu, frowning at the blankness of her face.
“Why?” she asked, her panic increasing with each step. “Is the house okay? Where's Fuyu?”
Rainbow scowled unhappily, staring down at her phone for a moment before trying again. “The house is all right, but the orchard's all messed up. As for Fu...” she paused, glancing over again with a frown, “There were a whole bunch of black cars all over the place. I think something happened.”
“Shit!” Applejack spat, turning to Twilight and speaking aside to her. “They musta come last night, Rainbow says there's a bunch of black cars at the orchard.”
“Oh no,” Twilight groaned, a powerful frown tugging at her lips. “Is everyone all right?”
“Hold on,” she replied, returning her attention to the call. “Dash? Where's Fuyu?”
Rainbow was beginning to crack due to the unreadable nature of Fuyu's face, so she just assumed the worst and started to cry out as much of the truth as she could get away with. “I saw something horrible and I don't know what to do!”
Confusion joined panic on Applejack's face. “I don't understand...what did ya see?”
“Damn it,” she muttered, low enough so the blonde couldn't hear it. She glanced over at Fuyu again. Taking the empty look for displeasure, Rainbow went directly to the words that she knew would get Applejack moving, swallowing hard before she spoke them. “I need you here. Now. Please,” she begged, more emotion leaking into the statement than she originally intended.
They worked to perfection. “I'm comin'!” the blonde replied firmly, ending the call and shoving the phone in Twilight's direction. “Somethin's happened, I gotta get back to Sweet Apple Acres.”
Twilight took her phone, blinking. “Applejack, the street's blocked. Even if we had your truck, we wouldn't be able to get far. What's going on?”
“I dunno, Dash is in some kinda trouble...” There was a brief pause as she collected her thoughts; when she did, an idea came to her that caused her to gasp. “Damn it! What if those thieves got her?” She started for the front door right away, an uncertain Twilight in tow.
“Wait! What are you going to do, walk there?” she asked, trying to reason with the blonde as she strode powerfully through the debris in the street. “Applejack, no!” She had to pay attention to where she walked more so than the woman she pursued. The broken glass would tear her bare feet to shreds if she didn't. “Wait! You don't even know what you're getting into!”
“I don't care!” Applejack yelled back, weaving through the fallen limbs. “It sure sounds like somethin' bad happened ta her and she needs my help,” she said, taking a breath, “and I'm gonna get out there no matter how I have ta do it!”
Twilight had her phone again, sweeping through her contact list. “I'll call Fluttershy, she can meet us at the bridge and we can use her truck to go off road,” she offered, sighing with relief when the blonde turned and stopped. “Thank you. I know you're upset, but you can't just run through the town with everything messed up like this.”
“I know, but...aw, damn it ta hell,” Applejack muttered in frustration as Twilight called Fluttershy. “Tell her to hurry!”
“She's on her way, I guess,” Rainbow sighed, placing the phone on the nightstand and sighing with discomfort. She laid anxious rose eyes on Fuyu and frowned. “I thought you were going to kill me.”
“No. You're my friend,” she replied, absentmindedly staring out the window. “I didn't mean to hurt you earlier. I panicked.” She turned to look at Rainbow, frowning at the pain on her face. “I'm sorry.”
“It's...all right, I guess?” she replied, unsure. After struggling for a moment, she managed to sit up, rubbing her torso just under her breasts. “Damn it, Fu, you're as strong as AJ and Big Macintosh put together.”
“I suppose,” Fuyu replied, looking up at Stormy in the doorway. “You don't have to stay. The Don is dead, you're free now.”
“Yeah, I know,” the thief replied, letting the shotgun hang down at the side of her legs. “I guess I don't know what to do with myself.”
Rainbow ignored their chat, placing her head in her hands and trying to resolve the conversation she'd had with the woman in black on her way back to the farmhouse. Fuyu had told her everything; how often she needed to feed, how the black goo had altered her physiology, how she had spent all those years drifting around because of her appetite. It was too much for her to process, but with her most immediate concern – not dying at Fuyu's hands – alleviated, she felt just safe enough to stay.
“You eat people,” she blurted out, revealing her face and looking over. “You have to eat people. I don't even know where to start with this! And you don't know where that black crud came from?” She watched Fuyu shake her head. “This is all sorts of screwed up, man.”
“I know,” Fuyu admitted, looking rather uncomfortable. She loosed a black rope to retrieve the bow in the corner. Once the hardened ebony contacted her active sludge, it regained its flexibility and became a part of the appendage. “I suppose I won't be needing this,” she said, watching as the bow string lost its tension and fell to the floor. After she dismissed the tentacle, her eyes returned to Rainbow. She questioned the odd look on her face. “What?”
“You could have taken us out whenever you wanted, right?” The nod in reply, although not surprising, made Rainbow's spine tingle. “Why didn't you?”
“I wasn't hungry at first,” she said, crossing her legs and staring down at the bed. “By the time I was, I realized I didn't want to do it. Applejack gave me something I never had before. She was nice to me. When Stormy came,” she added, looking up at the thief, “she made a deal for her life. She would bring me people so I didn't have to hurt you.”
“Wow,” Rainbow muttered, totally flabbergasted. “You brought her people to eat? I thought you were just an apple rustler.”
“Hey, it helped me stay alive,” Stormy said, laughing lightly, but frowning hard just afterward. “Look, I don't know how far my word will go, but I don't think she's a bad person. She never tried to hurt me after we made that little agreement. Hell, when Candy got here, she stopped her from killing me even though she probably didn't have to.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow sighed, laying uneasily back onto the bed. “I'm gonna be honest, I don't know what the fuck to think at the moment.”
“Same,” Stormy agreed, raising her left hand as though she were answering a question in school. “I'm just saying, she's not a monster...uh, even if one lives inside her.”
“Riiiiiight.” Rainbow rubbed at her face, wincing with the dull pain that continued to shoot through her ribs. “Applejack is going to throw a fit. I guarantee it.”
“We will see,” Fuyu stated flatly, using the sludge to pluck a book off her nightstand to read. “If she does, then I'll just leave, I suppose.” The moment the words were past her lips, she doubled over as though hit by a gut punch. “But I don't want to...” she sniffled through clenched teeth.
Rainbow looked over, and after a brief eternity began to lightly pat her on the back. “I'd tell you it'll be okay, but I don't think that word is ever going to apply again.” The image of Fuyu's teeth sunk into the skull of that woman dulled her sympathy to a useless level, but she still felt she owed the woman in black something for saving their lives the day before. They listened to the sound of her gentle weeping until another noise broke in. It was a tinny shriek that erupted from downstairs, and Rainbow sat up painfully. “Fluttershy?” she blinked, rubbing her ribs again.
A thunderous cadence of footsteps approached from the hall, and suddenly Applejack appeared in the doorway, almost throwing Stormy aside. “Rainbow!” she shouted, nearly falling over herself to get to the woman. “Are ya okay?!” A hug was attempted, but denied by a stern look and a stiff arm on Rainbow's part. “What happened? Why are there dead folks in my livin' room again?”
“Fuyu, you're up,” was all the athletic woman said.
Their eyes met; one set was hollow, while the other was confused beyond expression. “Fu? I saw the cars...what did they do?” the blonde asked, crouching down and taking Rainbow's hand as she waited for an answer. Twilight arrived just then, a weeping, trembling Fluttershy in tow. Her left hand was aflame with magic to provide light. The librarian was about to ask what was going on, but the tension on Fuyu and Rainbow's faces silenced her nascent question.
“They came for me,” Fuyu said, wiping her eyes with the back of her arm. “I killed most of them. The tornado took the rest.”
“Ya ki--...Fu, there were seven cars out there! Ya couldn't have...” The hollowness in those blue eyes departed, replaced by an icy chill that confirmed the impossible. “How?!”
Fuyu lifted her right hand, pointing her palm at the blonde. A wiggling length of ebony emerged, which she hardened into a blade about a foot long. It shone faintly in the raspberry light. “This is how.”
Applejack released her partner's hand and fell back onto the floor, roughly bumping into the wall as she uttered a series of unhappy, frightened noises. Twilight was quieter but no less stunned. She subconsciously put herself between Fuyu and Fluttershy, who was kneeling in the doorway, still weeping with her back turned to the whole scene.
“Wh-wh-what the hell is that?” Applejack finally choked out, her eyes so wide they seemed ready to pop from her skull. Fuyu rose from the bed and walked around it slowly, her armed hand at her side as she went. Her face was no longer blank; it bore a faint wisp of gentle resignation, mixed with a sizable dose of sheer anxiety.
“This is the thing that lives inside me,” she began, lifting the bladed palm so it caught more of the glow of Twilight's power. She summoned an identical weapon in her left hand and brought it up for them to see. “It makes me strong. It heals me when I am hurt. It gives me the ability to do things no regular human can.” She looked at the shock on their faces for a moment; that they were still here and hadn't run shrieking out of the house reassured her enough to continue on. “It is why I can lift the fertilizer by myself, why I can punch your trees and bring down the fruit. It makes me not like you.”
“What in the name of Princess Celestia...” the blonde breathed, reaching out an uncertain hand. She poked a finger at the strange obsidian. The touch caused Fuyu to twitch slightly, as though she had been tickled. “It's...it's like rock!” Twilight finally came over, also examining one of the black blades.
“This is amazing,” she breathed, curiosity flooding in. “I've never seen anything like this!” She turned to Fluttershy, still on the floor, and frowned. “Shy, it's okay. Come over here.”
She did, eventually, rising to her feet and spinning to face the librarian. When she saw the black daggers, however, she screamed again and hid her eyes, running into the hall. Twilight moved to console her, and after a long period of whispering they both walked back into the room.
“See, it's okay? It's just magic,” Twilight assured her with a half smile. That grin ran away when Fuyu shook her head. “What?”
“It's not magic,” the woman in black replied, her face becoming sad.
The librarian reached out and gently took hold of the black blade again, closing her eyes. “Of course it is, it's just really complica--” her words were cut off by a gasp as the sensation reached her brain. Not only did it lack the spark of magic, it was like a pocket vacuum, an empty space that made her tremble with a fear she could not entirely define. She let go and stepped back, the change in her demeanor causing Applejack to shrink back also and look worried.
“What is it, then?” the blonde asked, eyes darting over to Rainbow Dash. “Did you know about this stuff?”
“I found out a couple of hours ago,” she replied, rubbing her neck and looking more awkward than any of them had ever seen her. “Oh, wait. It gets weirder. And a lot worse.”
“Huh?” Twilight blinked, at last shaking off her fear and returning to awareness. “How does it get worse?”
Fuyu wasted no time in dropping the bomb, only waiting long enough for the blades to withdraw into her palms. “I have to feed it human flesh.”
Neither Applejack or Twilight could move, looks of horror etched into their faces as they stared. Stormy and Rainbow weren't much more active, preparing themselves for the reaction. Fluttershy looked ready to pass out, but her eyes – whose pupils were the size of pinpricks – indicated that the adrenaline wouldn't let her.
The blonde finally broke the silence. “Is...is this some kinda sick joke?” she stammered, trying to scramble to her feet without removing her gaze from Fuyu. She tore her eyes away as she stood, moving them to Rainbow for some sort of confirmation. “It's a joke, right?”
“I caught her eating someone,” Rainbow said, slowly tilting her head to look at Applejack. “That's why I didn't come back. Fuyu tied me up and used me as bait to get you to come here.”
Twilight placed her hands on her head, closing her eyes. “No, this can't be real,” she muttered, turning around and shuffling out into the hall. Fluttershy took a massive breath and darted out of the room with nary a word, but Twilight didn't move to stop her. She didn't leave, however, reappearing a few seconds later with a pistol in her shaking hands. Fuyu recognized it as the one Stormy had brought as the shy woman pointed it at her head.
“I will not let you hurt my friends!” she growled.
“Whoa!” Stormy blurted out, halfway raising the shotgun. Applejack tried to approach, but Fluttershy stomped her foot and gave her a threatening look. Rainbow very slowly slid off of the bed, moving to stand with her girlfriend.
“Fluttershy, no,” Twilight said weakly, coming back in and standing behind her. “We have to...we have to figure this out...”
She shook her head, sending the pale pink hair to waving furiously. “What is there to figure out?! She kidnapped Rainbow Dash! She eats people! She's a horrible, evil...thing! I will not let her hurt any of you!”
Fuyu locked eyes with Fluttershy, her icy orbs boring a hole right through the woman. “Do it.”
“Fu, no,” Applejack breathed, raising a hand. “Fluttershy, sugarcube, please put the gun down. There are enough dead people in my house...”
“Let her shoot me,” Fuyu insisted again, her voice devoid of any emotion. “She'll have to learn some time. It may as well be now.”
“This is stupid,” Twilight whined, tears beginning to gather. She balled her hands into fists and placed them on her chest. “Fluttershy! Please!”
The woman in black took one step forward, gently wrapping her hands around Fluttershy's and raising the gun higher. The longer she held on, the harder the shy woman began to shake.
“Let me go!” she shrieked, too frightened to pull away from the gentle grasp. Fuyu didn't, and fearing for her life, Fluttershy pulled the trigger. Everyone else in the room looked away, Twilight and Stormy screaming in the act. Applejack hugged Rainbow and moved her away, placing herself between the gun and her girlfriend. In the silence that followed, all they could hear was a faint whimpering; that was the shy woman. When they all finally looked again, Fuyu was standing exactly as she had been, but a stream of red and black trickled down her pale face. She still held Fluttershy's shaking hands, but made no other movement.
“No!” Fluttershy squeaked, her eyes full of fear. She at last managed to pull out of Fuyu's grasp, but could make herself go no further as she watched the woman bleed from a head wound that should have killed her instantly.
“It's all right,” Fuyu said, her voice gentle and calm. “I'm not going to hurt you. Any of you. But you're not going to hurt me, either.” While the sludge worked on fixing her injury, she made her way back to the bed and sat down on it. “I kept Rainbow Dash here so you would come to me immediately. I never had any intention to harm her. I wanted to tell Applejack the truth, and I knew no other way to force her arrival.” She took a breath and looked out the window. “I understand how this must look, and I assure you I derive no joy in having to survive this way. If I must leave, then I will,” she added weakly, tears flowing and mixing with the blood on her face, “but I don't want to be alone again...” She broke down, doubling over and weeping bitterly.
The other five woman traded looks with each other, utterly unsure what to do. Fluttershy squeaked at the gun she still clutched in her hands, dropping it on the bed and trembling with the realization that she had just shot someone. Twilight's face was a mask of exhaustion as she ran her mind ragged, trying to figure out an answer, or even the totality of the question. Applejack's expression was unreadable; all she could do was stare at Fuyu's back with a slightly dropped jaw. Rainbow's look was the softest of the four, and she abruptly pulled away from the blonde, moving around the bed and sitting next to Fuyu. Stormy did the same, setting the shotgun aside, sitting on the side opposite, and patting Fuyu on the back.
“She saved our lives,” Rainbow said, jerking the women behind her back into consciousness. “She stayed here to face an execution that was meant for me and Applejack too.” She ran a hand through her messy hair and sighed loudly. “Look, I'm not saying it's okay, but you guys have to admit that's she done a lot for us. I think...I think I believe her. She could have killed me no problem when I caught her. I don't know what to do about the whole cannibalism thing, but...” she trailed off, looking back over her shoulder. “What do you think?”
Fluttershy spoke up next. “I'm...I'm sorry I shot you,” she said first, still trembling with the thought. “I just thought you wanted to eat us.” Fuyu nodded a little, but was too overwhelmed to speak. “Maybe...maybe we can help you? I'm not sure how, but there must be some reason you have to do the things you do.”
The emotional pendulum was beginning to swing away from fear and horror, and it swept Twilight along with it. “Yes, there has to be an explanation for this!” she said, laughing anxiously as she fell back on her core ideals. “I don't know what that would be at the moment, to be honest, but that's never stopped me before!” She laughed again, only silencing herself when she received a concerned look from Applejack. “I'm fine, I promise, just...wow. This is a lot to deal with.”
“No kiddin',” the blonde agreed, doffing her hat to wipe her brow. “Fu, I have ta know...did ya ever wanna eat any of us?”
She nodded again, inhaling deeply to calm herself enough to speak. “Yes, when I first came here. After you were kind to me, however...I had never experienced that before. I didn't want to eat you anymore. That's why I worked so hard that day, when you tried to stop me from punching the trees. I was working fast so I could get away from you before I lost control and...and did something bad.”
“All right,” Applejack nodded, her face sullen. “Y'all didn't want ta hurt me then, and ya don't now... Ya know what? I'm in. I still think y'all are good under all that...whatever the hell that goo is. I owe ya, but...ya can't be goin' around killin' folks in town. We can't let ya do that. I dunno what we're gonna do when ya get hungry again.”
“When will that be?” Twilight asked, folding her arms. “Is it a set time period? Whenever you feel like it?”
“Four days from now,” Fuyu replied, drying her face. “I can go longer if I don't do much physical activity.”
“All right. We'll figure out something.” The look on the librarian's face betrayed how uncertain she was of success as she folded her arms.
“So, no hard feelings?” Stormy chirped, standing and looking at the assembled with her hands clasped together and a large smile on her face.
“Y'all sure are chipper,” Applejack said, crossing her arms and wryly smirking.
Stormy shrugged a little, walking around the bed and looking out the window. “Hey, she killed half of the Manehattan Mob. I get to do something legal for a living now. I kind of owe her my new life.”
“See?” Rainbow said, trying her best to smile. “A good person that has to do bad things. We can deal with that...right?”
There was a murmur of agreement, but Fluttershy still had a concern.
“How are we going to tell Pinkie and Rarity?” she asked, looking around at them with a deep frown.