Fuyu burst into the Boutique about fifteen minutes later and went straight up the stairs to the living quarters. Once again, however, she found the whole place to be completely empty. This posed something of a problem, as she had no idea where the dressmaker's family lived. While pacing around her enormous bed in thought, the pale woman suddenly realized something.
The buzzing had stopped. Furthermore, she had no idea just when the noise had ceased. Distracted by this development, she scratched her head and tried to retrace her thoughts. It buzzed when she found Applejack, but faded because the magician had outrun her to town. When she next saw Trixie, it was faint, but still there. However, in the police station, there was no noise at all when it should have been unbearably loud. Trixie had been, after all, not more than ten feet away when she ordered Applejack to find Sweetie Belle. Fuyu's mind was quiet then, and it had been quiet ever since.
“What happened?” she asked herself, coming to a stop and looking into Rarity's large floor mirror.
You are ready.
She blinked, both at the voice and at the imposing figure she struck in the mirror. “Ready for what?”
It didn't answer her, but she had no more time to spend on the topic. She was gone from the tower in a few moments and emerged into the streets, trying to figure out where the dressmaker might be. Without any immediate ideas, she simply made a beeline for Rainbow Dash's brick brownstone, hoping she had decided to go home and get some sleep in her own bed. Upon reaching the structure, she skittered right up its side and looked in the window. There was certainly someone inside, but it wasn't quite who she expected.
“Like hell you will!” Rarity screamed. Her back was to Fuyu, and her little sister was clinging to her right side. “I cannot believe you're even considering such a thing! I will let her have Sweetie over my cold, dead body!” It took the pale woman a second, and some shifting, to see who she was talking to – a sheepish, wilted Applejack, hat in hand and cheeks soaked with tears.
“Rarity, please, I ain't much inclined ta do this either, but I ain't got another idea! One of us is gonna get it, and...and, well, if we give Trixie what she wants, then maybe she won't hurt nobody else!” The look in her green eyes betrayed the fact that she didn't believe the words even as she said them.
“She wants me, right? Then I'll go,” the dressmaker replied calmly, patting her sister on the head.
“Noooooooooo!” the young girl squealed, so strong and high-pitched her voice broke near the end. “She's gonna hurt you!” Sweetie clamped on even harder to her sister and began to bawl. Applejack couldn't take the sight, and looked over to the side and down.
Frowning, Fuyu slipped in through the window and walked up beside Rarity, startling both her and Applejack with her sudden appearance. “Neither of you are going anywhere. Where is Rainbow Dash? How did you end up here?” she asked, looking over at the dressmaker.
“Sweetie was terrified and wanted to come with me. I knew we couldn't stay at the Boutique, so Rainbow Dash let us sleep here last night. She went with Pinkie and Fluttershy, but did not tell me where they were going.” She swallowed hard and looked down, tears gathering. “I...made her keep it a secret, since I assumed Trixie would think I broke us out of the jail and come for me. I suppose I was right.”
Fuyu took a moment to consider her words as she crossed her arms. “You decided to give yourself up to protect them?”
Sweetie began to cry loudly, and Rarity knelt down to give her a hug. “What can I say? Giving is what I do best,” she replied, looking up at the pale woman and smiling sadly. “Even if it means...”
“What the fuck am I supposed ta do?” Applejack wailed, her voice weak and cracking. “I can't go back with nobody, she'll kill me. I can't go back with either of you two,” she added, pointing to the sisters, “'cause she'll kill you, and I can't not go back at all, 'cause then she's gonna kill someone at random!” The burden of it all became too much to bear, and it felled the blonde at last. She sank to her knees and wept. Fuyu walked over to her, causing her to look up just in time to receive a studded slap across her cheek that drew blood and rattled her skull. Even though it was a light strike, the shock of it made her fall over, and caused Rarity to stand up and gasp in horror.
“What in the hell are you doing?!” the dressmaker growled, placing herself between Fuyu and her sister. Both of her hands became coated in blue magic, ready to be used in defense, but all the pale woman did was help Applejack sit up again.
“I'm giving her an excuse,” she replied stoically, hefting the tall blonde to her boots. “You're going to go back to Trixie and give her me.”
“Wh-what?” Applejack stuttered, a hand against her cheek. “I don't understand...”
“You're going to tell her you found Sweetie, but I stopped you. I can't have stopped you without hurting you.” Fuyu turned back to the sisters and walked away from Applejack. “I'm not sure it'll be safe here. You should probably go.”
Rarity was no longer in a defensive stance, and her hands had lost their glow. Fuyu's words, however, managed to rile her up somewhat again. “Oh, so you get to die instead of us. That's ridiculous.”
“And you get to be dramatic,” the pale woman shot back, stunning the dressmaker with her sarcasm. “No one is going to die. Now stop arguing with me and get out of here.” She gazed over her shoulder at the blonde. “And you get back to Trixie. The sooner she starts looking for me, the safer all of you will be.”
“But...but Fu,” Applejack said quietly, only to be silenced by an icy glance. “It ain't any easier for us just 'cause ya volunteer ta be the sacrifice.” Her words failed to move the pale woman, and she spent her breath on no more. Defeated, she walked out of the apartment, leaving the three of them behind. Fuyu walked past the sisters and to the window, looking out into the street to see if anyone was around.
“You fainted merely by being near her,” Rarity said evenly, boring a hole into Fuyu's back with her eyes. “What, exactly, makes you think you'll fare any better than one of us would?”
Her question had come while Fuyu was climbing out, and it stopped her long enough to make her turn and smile at them both. “Because I'm ready.” With that she was gone, dropping from sight and landing on the sidewalk in a crouch. Sighing, she jammed her hands into her pockets and began to walk at a leisurely pace. When she reached the corner, she saw Applejack a distance away, heading toward the center of town. “I may as well make it easy for her to find me.” She turned and headed in the same direction, hands shoved in her pockets. It was beginning to rain in earnest now, and after a time Fuyu's hair and clothes were soaked through. She made no attempt to pick up the pace; in fact, she went even slower, a part of her mind savoring the deep quiet that engulfed her.
“There she is!”
Blinking, the pale woman came to a stop and looked around for the speaker. Eventually, she found Bon Bon approaching from behind her. She wasn't alone. Lyra was at her side, as were several other people, almost all of which were holding some sort of weapon. The mob came to a halt about ten feet away, and Bon Bon approached, brandishing a knife and looking anxious and angry all at once. “Show me your hands!” she yelled, pointing the blade.
Fuyu, confused, lifted her arms and obliged. “What's this about?” she asked, her voice as gentle as she knew how to make it.
“Now show them what comes out of your hands!”
Suddenly, it all made sense. “You saw?” Fuyu asked, somehow more relieved than upset. “You saw me?”
“Yeah! You're a monster!” Bon Bon yelled. “What is that gunk? Did Trixie give it to you? Did you sell out?!”
An idea was beginning to form in the pale woman's brain, and she allowed the black to wind itself out of her palms and wiggle in the rainy air. “Perhaps I am a monster,” she admitted over the collective outburst of shock. “Perhaps Trixie is the only one that can save you from me, and I was going to go kill her so I could have the town to myself.” The mob was now stunned silent. “If I were you, I'd go find her and beg for help.”
They ran, scattering, screaming and for the most part leaving their weapons in the street as they went. Smiling to herself, Fuyu dropped her arms, retracted her awful assistants, and decided to take a seat on a nearby bench. “That was fun. I'm sure she'll have her hands full with the panic.” Silence returned, and she stared directly up into the falling rain. Drops struck her in the eyes, but she didn't bother to blink; the way the magician had wrangled the storm was a sight to behold. Untold amounts of gray cloud swirled in the dome like a massive top. It was akin to staring into a compressed hurricane.
“What am I?” she asked herself, lounging against the back of the bench. She went about tracking a specific sky-borne puff for a while, then locked onto another as the first disappeared. “Am I really a monster?”
My dear Winter...
She sat up straight, eyes wide. “Who is Winter?” She needn't even bother asking; the heavy feeling in her chest was all the reply she required. “My name is Fuyu...isn't it?” She hunched over and placed her hands on her head. “Was my name Winter once?”
The voice spoke no more, and she felt unsure about what was to come. She remained in that position for nearly half an hour until a noise from her right attracted her attention. Upon looking up she saw Applejack drawing near with an umbrella in hand. She was alone. After arriving, she sat down beside Fuyu and emitted a loud sigh.
“Trixie was about ta light me up when a buncha folks came in cryin' about a monster,” she said, crossing her legs and looking down at her partially soaked jeans. “Y'all mighta had somethin' ta do with that, I reckon?”
“Yes,” Fuyu nodded. “I guess you backed up their story?”
Applejack grinned, pointing to the bandage on her cheek. “Y'all know what Trixie said? 'Since y'all have failed me, ya get ta go find that monster and bring her ta me',” she said, waving her free hand around in exaggerated air quotes. “A suicide mission. Hell, the whole town probably thinks I've headed out ta my death by now 'cause Bon Bon and Lyra can't keep their mouths shut.”
“They have a tendency to hem and haw,” Fuyu said, sitting up and relaxing against the bench again. “At least my idea worked.”
“She's gettin' angrier, Fu.” Applejack rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Her fuse is shorter and shorter every time I see her.”
She considered that for a moment, staring out through the rainfall. “The amulet. She can't handle its power.”
“What is it that Twilight said once about power corruptin'?” The blonde tapped her chin as she chased the thought around her mind, but she couldn't quite catch it. “Aw, shoot. Don't matter. Y'all still insist on fightin' her?”
“It's the only way, Applejack.” Fuyu stood up off the bench and traveled a few steps ahead. “I told them I was a monster. Am I? If not, then what?” she asked, facing the blonde with a helpless look on her face.
The blonde stood up too, grasping her umbrella and regarding the pale woman with an easy smile. “That's easy. Y'all are somethin'.” They shared a brief laugh, and Applejack couldn't help but admit her surprise at the reaction. “Ain't never heard ya do that before. Ya sick?”
Fuyu cocked an eyebrow and grinned. “I've been hanging around Pinkie too long.”
“Sounds 'bout right,” the blonde said, laughing again. “Well, we'd better get back. Trixie's probably gonna blast a hole in the town at this rate.”
The pale woman's smile ran away instantly. She slammed her right fist into her left open palm, turning her hands over to look at the red lines afterward. From them, two black blades emerged. “Not if I blast a hole in her first.”
Only when she realized she could no longer see straight – nor make herself see straight after a minute of trying – did Twilight decide to rest her aching eyes. She had been poring over text of all kinds for nearly three hours, but was no closer to finding her answer than when she'd started. Stormy was still in the desk chair beside her, slurping a can of soda loudly through a straw.
“You don't look so good,” she noted, watching the librarian rub vigorously at her face.
“I think my eyes are going to fall out,” she replied, dragging herself to her feet and walking the stiffness out of her legs. “I wish I'd gotten more sleep on the train.”
Stormy answered that with a shrug and another series of noisy slurps. “Hey, I'm curious...how'd you end up feeding Fuyu?”
“I can't tell you that.” The librarian was still pacing the aches out of her legs, running slow laps around the small room.
All her reply did was invite Stormy's curiosity. “Are you killing people for her?” she asked, setting her soda aside.
The librarian couldn't help but snap at her. “Of course not! Do I look like a murderer?”
The former thief shot a sour look at her and folded her arms. “Sheesh, you're still uptight. It was just a question!”
“And the answer is none of your business,” she muttered under her breath, glancing down at her watch. “I need a drink. Where did you get yours?”
“There's a vending machine tucked in the corner. Turn right when you leave here and just walk until you see it.” She grabbed the can off the desk and peered into the open top. “Damn, I'm empty. Hey, will you grab me another?” A hand entered her shirt pocket, then emerged and flicked two shiny coins at the librarian which she barely managed to catch.
“Fine.” Twilight glanced at the can to note the brand, then shuffled out of the room and looked to the right. She didn't see the machine, but decided that Stormy wouldn't lie to her and started walking. “I can't believe I haven't found out exactly what that amulet is,” she sighed, beginning to think out loud. “It's so powerful, surely someone must have heard of it before. Seen it, even.” She looked up and saw the machine. “Oh, right.” Before she could insert the money, however, her phone started to ring. Upon seeing who was calling, her heart began to race. “Ah...good morning, Princess!”
Her mentor's tone was decidedly less chipper. “Twilight, would you care to explain why I've been told there's a giant glass dome over Ponyville?”
The librarian swallowed hard, unable to stifle her nervous laughter. “Oh, that? That's nothing. I've got it under control!”
“Don't you dare lie to me. What's going on?”
“I...um...” Unable to think of some decent excuse, Twilight wilted after a moment. “N-nothing! I promise!”
“Twilight Sparkle!”
That was enough to make her wince and almost drop the phone. The Princess sounded angry – disappointing and/or upsetting her was one of Twilight's deepest fears, and it seemed to be coming to fruition. “Trixie!” she blurted out, unable to bear the strain any longer. “Trixie beat me in a magic duel and took over the town!”
Many seconds passed. Each successive moment of silence caused the librarian to grow more anxious, until she was ready to scream at the phone for her mentor to say something, anything, before she went completely off her rocker.
“How did she win?” This time, Celestia's voice was far more gentle.
“S-she was wearing s-some kind of amulet.” It took all Twilight had to prevent herself from bursting into tears with relief. “I came up to Canterlot to see if I could find out where it came from and how to get around it.”
“Oh, Twilight.” Disappointment did stain the Princess' voice, but it was the variety a parent used when scolding a child. “Why didn't you just ask me for help?”
The reasons were many and varied, and an emotionally spent Twilight was unable to stop them from rushing out all at once. “I didn't want to bother you, and I wanted to beat Trixie myself, and you're busy, and...and damn it, I wanted to win! I failed! I have to fix it!” she replied, her voice cracking by the time she managed to make herself finish.
“We all fail, Twilight. Failure is a part of life. And for the record, I'm never too busy to help you with something. Tell me, what did this amulet of hers look like? I'm sure it's listed in the Castle archives.”
Her thoughts had to be collected before she could describe it; running over those memories caused her heart to sink. “It's mostly black. There's a large red gem set into it. It's got a unicorn's head at the top, and the sides have red and black wings.”
Silence came again. This time, Twilight just assumed the Princess was asking someone, or taking the information and looking herself. Burnt out, she knew nothing else to do besides the thing for which she'd walked out here: get something to drink from the machine. As the can of Stormy's soda was dropped, however, she realized it had been a couple of minutes since Celestia last spoke. It was making her anxious again. “Princess? Are you still there?” she asked, balancing the cans in the crook of her left arm and starting back toward the little room.
“Who else knows about it?”
Twilight blinked several times, both at the question itself and the oddly worried tone the Princess' voice carried. “Well, the whole town watched us fight. Why do you ask?”
“Did you tell anyone else besides that?”
“I don't understand why you're asking me this,” she replied, becoming distinctly uncomfortable with the line of inquiry. “Why does it matter? Do you know what it is?”
“Answer my question first.”
She came to a stop in front of the door, trying to open it while not dropping the cans in her arm. After some failed tries, she decided to finish the conversation first. “Spike came with me. He knows, obviously. Besides him, only the receptionist in the Library. The one on the third floor. She's the only other person I told anything.”
“Is that where you are now?”
The librarian couldn't help feeling uneasy, but her words ended up tinged with anger when they emerged. “Well, yes, but...Princess, why are you asking me these things? If you know what's going on, tell me so I can go back to Ponyville and stop her!”
“Find her and both of you, stay where you are. I'm on my way.”
“Wh—why? What is going on?” It was too late; she'd hung up, and Twilight was left staring at her phone with a mixture of disbelief and worry. “What was that about?” A full minute passed before she was able to recover enough to put her phone away and go back into the little room.
“Thought you'd gotten lost,” Stormy smirked. She received an icy look in reply. “Sheesh. Did you get my soda?”
“Yes, here,” she sighed, handing the can over and sitting roughly in the desk chair nearby. While the former thief popped the top and took a loud, obnoxious swallow, Twilight simply set her own drink aside and put her head in her hands.
For that gesture, she received a poke on the shoulder. “What's up?”
“Princess Celestia called me.” Twilight was still trying to rationalize the conversation, and didn't feel like giving up any more detail than that.
Stormy was genuinely impressed. “Wow! She's got your phone number?”
“She should, I'm a Princess, too. Technically, at least.” She dropped her hands and reached her to grab her can of lemonade and open it. She looked over at Stormy for a moment, and decided that she owed her at least a heads up about what was coming. “She's coming here. For us.”
“Wait, for us? For me too?” Stormy watched her nod. “Uh...why?”
Twilight made a face at the fizzy sourness in her mouth before swallowing it and answering. “I don't know. She didn't tell me. All she said was to find you, and stay where we are.”
Now it was the former thief's turn to panic. “She must have found out about my history! Shit, I'm gonna get fired, then I'm gonna end up in Tartarus Prison!”
Twilight watched her pace around the room, wringing her hands and glancing about worriedly. “Stormy, I didn't even tell her your name. She only wanted you to stay here because I...” After pausing and considering just how specific she wanted to be, she realized that it probably didn't matter at this point and spilled all the beans. “I told her about the amulet. She asked me who else knew. I said you, and that's when she said to stay put. It's about Trixie, it's not about you.”
Stormy tried to calm herself with some hilariously deep breathing, and after a few cycles it seemed to have worked enough for her to stop pacing. “R-right. I'm fine. I'm just an office bitch, why would the Princess do anything to me? Right? Aheheh...uh...I'm still fucking terrified.”
Twilight nodded, knowing exactly where she was coming from. “Honestly, so I am. The things she asked were very odd. I can't figure out why she wouldn't tell me if she knew about the amulet! I can take care of it, I just need the information to work with.” The librarian folded her arms and nodded confidently. Her eyes bulged shortly after as a thought crossed her mind. “I'd better call Spike and let him know what's happening.” She dialed the number and placed the phone to her ear again, but it rang several times without any reply. A second attempt also yielded no response, and she dropped the phone back into her shirt pocket. “He's probably asleep. Oh well, I'm sure it's nothing,” she said happily, trying to convince herself more than anything.
“I've never met anybody famous before.” Stormy walked past and sat down in the other desk chair again, fussing with her long skirt so she could cross her legs. “You know her? What's she like?”
“Kind and gentle.” She met the former thief's look of disbelief with folded arms and a serious scowl. “She is! I've known her since I was young.”
“If you say so,” Stormy shrugged and picked up her soda. “I should probably find my boss and explain what's going on. Then again, I don't want the Princess to show up and me not be exactly where she told me to be, 'cause that would piss her off. I seriously do not want to piss her off.”
Twilight rolled her eyes and groaned. “She wouldn't be mad.”
“Yeah, well, I ain't gonna test that theory.”
They spent the next few minutes in silence, save for Twilight trying to reach Spike, without success. She was just about to call him a sixth time when the door opened. In stepped Celestia, dressed as she had been in the photo Twilight showed to Fuyu. She towered over the two women even after they had stood; the librarian curtseyed, but Stormy just waved and laughed awkwardly.
Celestia gave that greeting an odd look, but quickly turned her attention to the librarian. “Both of you, come with me.”
“Wait just a second!” she countered, looking as cross as she could without overstepping her bounds. “Why won't you tell me what's happening?”
“There's no time.” The Princess' tone was even and barely harsh, but her eyes had a much harder edge. “We need to go, now.”
Twilight refused to yield. She glanced over at a fidgeting Stormy, before looking up at her mentor. “Are you hiding something from me?”
A shadow of fear ran across Celestia's face, but she maintained her regal composure. She walked over to her student, placed a hand on her shoulder, and put on her best smile. “I'll explain on the way. Please. We have to hurry.”
They stared at each other for a long while, but finally Twilight softened her stance and dropped her head a little. “Okay, I guess. I'm just worried. What about Spike? I can't get a hold of him.”
“He'll be fine where he is.” Celestia raised a hand, motioning at the open door. “The car is out front. I'll be along in a moment.” Stormy darted out immediately, not wanting to get in trouble. Twilight lingered a little longer, giving her mentor an uncertain look before gathering her things and departing. Once they were gone, the Princess shed her royal demeanor and slumped over slightly, hiding her eyes.
“You were right after all, Luna. It's finally coming back to bite me.”