People. People all around me.
Why are you letting them hurt me? Stop them.
Why is everything white? Why won't you come out?
Help me! Don't just stand there!
At least look at me, you--
Fuyu shot up in bed and slammed a palm to the right side of her head, trying to figure out what had just happened. In a moment she knew it was a dream; in moment more she realized it was the first one she could recall ever having. Quickly, she ran over its particulars. She was in a white room, surrounded by hazy figures at which she had to look up. It was because she was lying on a bed of some sort, unable to move her hands and feet. The black goo would not listen to her, nor free her from her bonds. She was only able to move her head and look, and behind a mass of the formless crowd she saw that figure again, the one which spoke to her in times of need – or refused to speak outright when she most wanted it to.
“What happened?” she droned, slumping over as she collected herself. The light in the loft was pale and gray, and as she got her wits she slid out of bed and walked over to the large window. “Cloudy.” Turning around, she noted that Twilight's bed was made; the librarian was long gone. It was also ten after ten in the morning; she had been out for over four hours. “I should tell Twilight about this. It's not normal.”
Now that her shock at the dream was fading, something else rushed in to replace it: a buzzing noise, faint but unyielding, that caused her to grimace. Keeping a hand on her head, she retrieved her shoes and shuffled down the stairway into the kitchen, only to find it empty. Spike's bedroom door was open, so she walked over and looked inside. It, too, was vacant. No one was in the bathroom or the laundry room, either, nor the open space that lead to the tree's back door. After entering the public space and finding it just as deserted, she began to worry. Sprouting two knives from her palms, she crept around the pillars and tables to ensure she was truly alone. As she stalked past a bank of windows, however, something outside caught her attention.
The streets were just as empty as the library. Cars were parked beside the sidewalk as they always were, but no pedestrians were moving about. Even stranger, there was no vehicle traffic to speak of. Confused, Fuyu walked over and stepped out of the front door, eyes darting about warily.
“What is this?” She suspected she was still dreaming, and without a second thought lifted her shirt and stabbed herself in the side to confirm. The dull pain dissuaded that notion, and she started into the street with a frown while the sludge worked to repair her. Out of habit, she dismissed her ebony blades, even though nobody was around to see them.
“I don't understand,” she muttered, glancing into car windows as she passed by. Before long, she was in front of Rainbow Dash's apartment building, and peered up at the open window on the third floor. After making certain no one was watching, she squirted some of the goo onto her palms and placed her hands against the brick. In the space of thirty seconds, she had scrambled up the side of the structure and was peeking into the blue apartment. “Rainbow?” she called, sticking her head in through the window. Not seeing her, the pale woman slid in through the window and started searching the rooms one by one. The kitchen was empty and the bathroom was vacant. Upon entering the bedroom, she found the bed unmade and tremendously messy, but that was the standard state for it.
“Why isn't she here?” she asked herself, going back to the window in the living room and sticking her head out. Her eyes rested on the Boutique, some distance away. “Hmm.” The buzzing in her head poked at her for a moment in the silence, and she took some time to shake it away before flinging herself out the window. She landed with a heavy thud in the street, brushed off her pants, and started toward the purple tower. A drop of rain pegged her in the forehead; when she looked up, she noticed the clouds were swirling in a wide circle above.
“Storm?” Fearing a repeat of that night at the orchard, she picked up her pace. The pavement flew underneath her sandals as she ran; the faster she went, however, the louder the buzzing became. It grew so noisy that it forced her to clutch at her head and come to a wobbly stop. “Go away,” she droned, making herself stumble on. Slowly, it began to subside until she regained her footing and tore off again. Once inside the shop, she went directly up the stairs at the back and began poking around the living quarters. The enormous four-poster bed in Rarity's bedroom was neatly made; everything in the room was orderly, for that matter. The same went for her bathroom, the small kitchen at the back, and the two rooms set aside for her little sister's visits and her fashion brainstorming sessions. They all had something else in common, however: none of them contained the dressmaker.
“What in the hell?” Fuyu spat, blinking in surprise at her anger. Only one other place was near enough to check, and she immediately departed the Boutique. The scene only got more eerie as she entered downtown proper. She passed shops that had very clearly been opened, yet held no occupants. There were far fewer parked cars. Even worse, the buzzing was back with a vengeance, pounding her brain as she wobbled toward Sugarcube Corner.
“Shut up!” she shrieked, her voice echoing off the plate glass windows. The sweets shop was at the corner ahead, but every step she took felt like an hour's worth of withering work. Once she was in range, she pulled one hand away from clutching her skull to point it at the balcony of the baker's loft, firing a black rope at the railing. Once it attached, she yanked herself up and fell roughly against the door, unable to control her landing. The buzzing was now so powerful it twisted her sight, blurring everything around her into wispy blobs of color. “Pinkie!” she croaked, stumbling into the loft. “Help me!” No one was there to answer her call. Eventually, she teetered back outside onto the balcony, bumped into the railing, and fell off onto the sidewalk. The fall didn't bother her so much as the ceaseless ringing, which was so loud now it drilled through all of her thoughts, and even obscured the shape of the figure in her mind. “Stop...stop...” she begged, clawing at her skull.
Working on its own, the black goo forced her arms down. It shot out of her palms and latched to the concrete, reeling itself back into her hands to drag her along. To her horror, however, the noise only got worse as she traveled. “No! Other way!” she ordered it, clutching her hands into fists. It ignored her, wrenching her fingers open and pulling her into the ringing abyss. “No! Damn it, listen to me!” Before she could fight it again, however, the buzzing was gone entirely. Fuyu now found herself lying on the pavement in the shadow of the enormous town meeting hall, the only building in Ponyville that beat out Rarity's dress shop in height. Like the rest of the town, the space around it was devoid of people. Unlike the rest of the town, however, she could hear voices. Quickly, she leaped to her feet and shook her head, trying to clear out the residual cobwebs left by the incessant ringing. Once she could see again, she started following the voices. They lead her to the hall, but when she looked in the windows it too was empty. Confused, she went around the side and finally found a large crowd of people out front. Sighing with relief, she prepared to join them, but something stopped her.
It was Pinkie, at the front of the mob and staring at her with fearful blue eyes. She slowly shook her head at a Fuyu when the pale woman started to approach, and nodded off in a random direction. A few cycles of this went by before a loud, unfamiliar voice boomed out.
“What are you looking at? Did I miss someone?”
Pinkie squeaked with fear and threw up her hands. “No no no no no! I just saw a bird! A dancing bird with a top hat and a cane!”
Stunned by the randomness of the baker's outburst, Fuyu barely heard the voice's next words. Instead, she only came in contact with their results – a crestfallen Applejack appeared, shuffling up with tears in her eyes.
“H-hey Fu,” she greeted with a halfhearted wave. “Uh...y'all just come back with me, all right?”
Fuyu didn't budge, instead folding her arms and pinning the blonde down with a harsh look. “What's going on here?”
“Why aren't you back yet?” the strange woman yelled again.
Applejack winced, slumping over in defeat. “Please, Fu, she's gonna hurt somebody if I lollygag.”
“Who is she?” The pale woman walked over to her, trying to peek around the building and see. She blinked when Applejack grabbed her by the wrist and started forcing her ahead. “What are you doing?”
“Just play along, please,” the blonde muttered. They rounded the corner and Fuyu saw just how large the crowd was. She picked out individual people as Applejack moved her along; Bon Bon was there, with Lyra by her side, Rarity and Fluttershy were huddled together on the ground, an angry Rainbow Dash perched over them protectively. The Mayor was there as well, standing between the crowd and a woman Fuyu didn't know. She had two-tone blue hair and hateful red eyes. Cornflower blue crystals studded her palms. The majority of her frame was covered by a black cloak, but around her neck was a gleaming red and black amulet in the shape of a unicorn's head, whose sides were framed by wings. Fuyu's eyes would not leave it, even as Applejack stood her before its wearer.
“I did miss someone, it seems,” the woman sighed, waving her hand dismissively. “I don't remember seeing you the last time I was here.”
Fuyu was too busy staring at the amulet to pay any attention to her words. It pulsed with an energy she could barely comprehend – the spark that alerted her to the presence of magic was wailing at a tremendous volume. So enthralled was she by it that she didn't see the woman lift her hand, nor that hand light up with crimson power. Only when that glow was hurled at her and bounced off of her face did she snap out of her reverie.
“You do not ignore Trixie,” she hissed, smiling at the smoking mark on Fuyu's face. Applejack growled angrily, but was quieted when the magician pointed over at her family in the crowd. “Go over there and shut up. I'm going to have some fun with the present you've brought me.”
“You leave her alone!” Rainbow screamed, only to be suppressed by another bolt of crimson magic that forced her to cover her friends with her wings.
“A friend? All the more reason for me to enjoy my--” she stopped short, blinking at Fuyu. “Why are you still standing?”
The burn on her cheek was still there, but Fuyu paid it no attention. The amulet had her in its shining grasp; it was almost as if its presence wouldn't let her fall. The buzzing returned, but it was a more subtle noise than earlier, and instead of clouding her thoughts, it cleared away some of the white fog.
When the time comes, you will do what needs to be done.
Fuyu's eyes rolled up into her head until she was looking at the swirling gray above. “Why are you saying this...”
“Fu?” Applejack blinked down at her, then reached over to steady the pale woman. “What did ya say?”
“Oh, this one talks to herself,” Trixie groaned, rolling her eyes. She lit up her hand again and prepared to launch another glob of magic. “I'll be putting her out of her misery.”
Fuyu grew wobbly, and as she fell her sight passed over the amulet again. When it did, the figure spoke in a tone so clear, the words stuck even though she was beginning to lose consciousness. They even drowned out Applejack's worried cry and the hateful laughter of Trixie.
I am sorry...but that time is now.
The first thing Fuyu heard as her senses returned was someone crying. As her body ran its usual post-unconsciousness self-check, she eventually figured out that it was Pinkie Pie. The noise was bouncing, which alerted her sense of touch to the cold, concrete floor on which she lay. That, in turn, agitated her fingers and toes, which she wiggled. Her left hand came up automatically to feel her cheek where Trixie had struck; it was back to normal. Having passed the check, her eyes were the last thing to react, fluttering open.
“Fufu!” The baker was on her knees, hovering over the pale woman. “You're awake!”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
Fuyu looked over at Rarity as Pinkie helped her sit up. The dressmaker was an exhausted wreck – her hair, especially, was all out of sorts – but she put on a smile and walked over from the corner. She offered a hand, which Fuyu took, but it required both women to help her to her feet. As she rose, she examined the room. It was gray and bare, save for a simple cot on the wall opposite, and a silver toilet nestled between it and the back wall.
“What happened?” she asked, glancing about. The three of them were in a jail cell. The only light came from outside. When Fuyu went over to the bars and looked out, she saw a single ceiling light at the far end of a hallway. “Where are we?”
“The police station's basement,” Rarity explained. “Darling, are you all right? You've been out for hours. We thought you were...” She choked up a little, and had to force the last word out. “...dead.”
“I'm fine,” Fuyu assured her, turning around. Her sight caught a small window above them, through which she was able to see the cloud-obscured moon hanging in the night sky. “Who was that woman?”
“Trixie! She's the meanest meanie that ever meaned!” Pinkie growled, her hands clenched into fists. Upon seeing the blank look on Fuyu's face, her frown softened. “That didn't help explain anything, did it?”
Whatever anger the baker had lost in that instant, Rarity seemed to have gained. “She is a charlatan!” the dressmaker growled, stomping over to the cot on the back wall and sitting down. “This isn't the first time she's done this. Last time, Twilight humiliated her after she used her magic to mess around with us.”
That reminded Fuyu of something. “Where is Twilight?” she asked, moving to sit with Rarity on the cot.
“She got kicked out of town!” Pinkie wailed, dropping to her knees and hiding her face. “Oh, it was the worst! They had this big magic fight and Trixie's magic was magickier than Twilight's magic so Twilight took Spike with her and just...just went poof! We don't know where they are!”
The pale woman blinked at this revelation, but lost none of her chilly pragmatism. “Can't you just call her?”
“Trixie knocked out the signal tower. I tried a land line before she rounded us all up, but they're not working either,” Rarity explained, leaning back against the gray concrete wall and sighing. “I can't even open this stupid door. That rampaging whore has done something to it.”
Fuyu glanced over at the metal bars, then to the lock itself. That spark flashed past in her head – something magical indeed clung to the steel. “You're right, I see it.”
Pinkie rose to her feet and gasped at the pale woman. “You can see magic?”
“It's not really sight, but yes. It's how I can tell the ones that fly from the ones that can't, among other things.” Fuyu rose from the cot and walked over to the door, peering into the keyhole. At this close distance, the magic alarm in her brain was somewhat louder. Placing her hand on the metal drew a vaguely electric shock, but it wasn't strong enough to deter her. She filled the mechanism with goo and began rotating her hand back and forth. A loud click rang out a few seconds later, and the door swung open into the cell. “There.”
“Now we're getting somewhere,” Rarity sighed with a smile. She got up and followed Pinkie out into the dark hallway, looking over her shoulder at Fuyu as she brought up the rear. “I heard Rainbow in here earlier, but I'm not sure which cell she's in. The dressmaker lifted her left hand, lighting it up with bluish magic to help them see. They headed for the lit end of the hall first, but all the cells in that direction were empty. After doubling back and reaching the darker end of the corridor, they discovered the athlete asleep in the rear corner of one cell. The cot was also occupied; the long pink hair that spilled out from under the green blanket gave away that person's identity. “Rainbow! Fluttershy!”
“Nnagh!” the athlete screeched as she startled awake. Fluttershy squeaked loudly and tumbled to the floor, wrapped in the blanket and unable to wiggle out of it. “It's okay, Shy.” Rainbow went over to help her up before they both approached the bars. “Hey, guys. How'd you get out? Every time I touched the door I got shocked.”
Fuyu loosed a black snake from her palm, causing the shy woman to cry out unhappily. “This is how. Give me a second.” She worked her magic on the lock, prying it open with hardened ebony and pushing open the door. “Where is Applejack?”
Rainbow's face dropped into an angry mask of frustration. “Fuck if I know,” she hissed, stalking out of the cell with Fluttershy in tow. “I'm gonna kill that bitch!” Rarity grabbed her hand as she streaked past, pulling her gently back. “Let me go, Rare! I've got people to stab!”
“Because that worked so well the last time,” the dressmaker countered sarcastically. “She mopped the floor with Twilight, and Fuyu passed out in front of her. She's too strong for us to handle.”
Fluttershy began to weep quietly. Pinkie darted over and clamped on in a hug to calm her down, but the tears kept flowing. Fuyu looked over the four of them – while Rarity was calm enough, Rainbow still wanted to murder someone, and it wasn't long before the shy woman's crying caused Pinkie to tear up and sniffle. Fuyu folded her arms and sighed, looking down at the door on the other end of the hallway. “I'm going to go figure out what happened to Applejack.”
“Excuse me, but you've been unconscious for hours!” Rarity shot back, still having to restrain a furious Rainbow Dash. “I've got enough trouble dealing with our resident hero! Don't you start!”
Fuyu had a chilly glare loaded and ready to fire, but looking at Rainbow stifled it and swapped it out with a question. “Why didn't you just fly away?”
Rainbow became still and glanced at the dressmaker, who released her wrist. “I tried, but there's some kind of dome over the town, beyond the clouds.”
“A dome? Over the entire area?” Fuyu blinked as Rainbow and Fluttershy both nodded quietly. “How did she do that?”
Rarity shrugged and placed her hands on her hips. “Good question. Not even Twilight can do such things.”
The pale woman cast her eyes at the floor for a moment, thinking. “The amulet,” she realized, walking away from them and toward the door. “It was radiating a lot of magical power.” Rarity and Rainbow moved quickly to catch up to her, but Pinkie was still comforting Fluttershy, causing the two to lag behind. “You said you've met her before?”
The dressmaker shivered at the calm edge in Fuyu's voice, but nodded in reply. “That's right. Twilight said she was some kind of illusionist. She uses her magic ability as part of her show. The things she did to us, however, were no trick.”
That sentence made Fuyu turn around and look at her. “What things?” she asked harshly, the calm in her voice fading into anger.
“She made some people really old!” Rainbow said, raising her hand. “And younger, too. She fucked with my wings a couple of times. Oh, and she took Pinkie's mouth!” They all looked over as the baker emitted a very displeased noise and clung to Fluttershy, who sobbed even worse in response. “Don't worry, Pink, I'll give her one for you once we find her.”
“She even thought about leveling the library,” Rarity added, falling in beside Fuyu as they all got going again. “That would have ended badly for her, I wish she'd done it. No offense to the books.”
“I wouldn't have appreciated that very much,” Fuyu grumbled. They were at the door, and waited for Pinkie and Fluttershy to catch up with them.
“At least she had the decency to let Spike leave with her,” the dressmaker said, giving the shy woman a hug of her own as she walked up. “It's going to be all right, darling. If Twilight doesn't find a way, we will.”
“I hope she hasn't flattened the town,” Rainbow said, opening the door and peering up the stairs. They slowly ascended them and came to the station's ground floor, whose desks and floor were littered with all manner of paperwork. Upon reaching the glass front doors, they saw that Ponyville was indeed still standing – although most of the buildings in sight were dark. Fuyu placed a hand on the side of her head as the buzzing returned. “You all right, Fu?”
“I hear it,” she mumbled. “I hear the amulet.” They all followed her out into the small parking lot. “What are you all going to do?”
“I'm going straight to my parents' house to see if everyone is all right,” Rarity said, adjusting her blouse. “Hopefully I can get there without being harassed by that damnable wench.”
“I'd better take Fluttershy back with me,” Pinkie said, still clinging to her. “I don't think she wants to be by herself now, and I don't really wanna be either...”
“I'm gonna figure out where the hell Applejack went!” Rainbow growled, sprouting her wings and taking flight. As she flashed by, Fuyu launched a black rope from her palm that wrapped around her waist and yanked her backwards. “Let me go! I want blood!”
“You can get it after you make sure Rarity gets home.” Fuyu glared at her to make her stop struggling, and once satisfied she would just hover recalled her tentacle. “It might be a good idea for the four of you to lay low. I don't know what Trixie will do once she finds out you're not where she left you.”
“That's a good id--” Rarity stopped abruptly, stalking over to Fuyu and jabbing a finger into her chest. “And what about you? Are you going to go off and be a hero again by yourself? She's too powerful for you! She was too powerful for the most powerful woman I've ever known! I am not going to stand here and watch you go off and get killed!”
Fuyu swatted her finger aside and returned her glare with a frigid gaze. “I'm aware of that. I'm not going to go pick any fights, I just want to see where she is. Maybe Applejack is with her. If not, I'm going to go find her and bring her to Rainbow's apartment.” She ignored the happy cheer of the floating woman and continued. “If nothing else, I can cut a way out of the dome and go look for Twilight if I have no other options in town.”
Rarity huffed an annoyed sigh, but stepped back and folded her arms in resignation. “Fine. At the first sign of trouble, though, you come to the nearest one of our places, all right? This is something we need to tackle together.”
“I understand.” They all broke up, Rarity and Rainbow heading in one direction while Pinkie and Fluttershy shuffled in another. After they were all out of sight, Fuyu turned around and peered up at the town meeting hall with crossed arms. She stood there for several seconds, listening to the ringing in her mind as she thought. “There's something else I have to do first,” she muttered, dropping her arms and beginning a dash into the street toward downtown. The next words that passed through her lips were warped as if two of her were speaking at the same time.
“I must find out why she has my amulet.”