Despite Fuyu's best attempts, the seven of them were only able to gather at the library tree the next morning. Applejack arrived first, wandering into the public space as the pale woman was practicing with her new power. Quietly, she watched as Fuyu traced lines of black through the air that hung in place like permanent marker, but were three dimensional. Only when she came up to touch one did she even know anyone had arrived.
“Wow,” the blonde breathed, tapping a mark in the air with her fingernail. It responded with a cheerful ding that rang like metal. “How are ya doin' it?”
“Same as ever.” The black marks flowed from the stones on her palms as she moved her hands around, leaving ebony smears that hovered, motionless. “The way I was using it before seems so primitive.” She snapped her fingers and the lines fell to the floor, emitting a light crash. She snapped again and they rose, flying back into her open right palm.
“That's scary,” Applejack admitted, walking away and sitting in a chair. “Hey, it's been a while since ya ate. Ya wanna do that before we get started?”
Fuyu glanced back over her shoulder. “I'm no longer hungry.”
“Ya ain't?” She thought about asking why, but discarded the idea and just shrugged. “Granny always said not ta look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess the reason don't matter. At least ya don't have ta do that stuff anymore – once sure was enough for me.” She muttered the last words and sighed, giving herself a brief hug. “Anyway, where's Twilight?”
“I believe she's at the train station to pick up Spike.” Fuyu contemplated a spot above the blonde's hat and whipped a metallic black rope at it. Applejack jumped with fright, tilting her head back to look up at it. “Sorry. I'm getting my control down. It goes a lot farther than I'm used to.”
“Geez, could ya ask first?” she grumbled, securing her jostled hat. “Is Trixie still nailed down in the meetin' hall?”
“Yes. I haven't decided what to do with her yet, and no one has told me to let her go.” Fuyu recalled the black line, staring it all the way back into her palm. “Whatever happened to the Princess? I only saw her for a few seconds and she didn't even speak to me.”
The blonde shrugged a little and crossed her legs to get comfortable. “Far as I know, she didn't stay long. Just enough ta wander around town and make sure everyone was all right. Don't think she was here more than an hour.”
“I see.” The front door opened again, and they turned to look. Rarity peeked around it to see who had arrived and smiled at the two.
“Fashionably early, I suppose,” she noted, entering and closing the door behind her. “I cannot wait to hear what you did to Trixie.” She settled in the chair to Applejack's left and looked at her. “Do you ever sleep?”
“Early ta bed, early ta rise,” she grinned, tipping her hat.
Rarity smirked back at her, but that smile faded when she glanced up at Fuyu. “Long time no see, as it were. You look different, somehow.”
“I am different,” she confirmed, showing the dressmaker her new palm-mounted jewelry.
Before she could respond, the door opened again. Fluttershy shuffled in, wringing her hands and glancing around nervously. She took the chair on Rarity's left without saying a word, and tried for a second to hide in her yellow sweater. When she felt the three looking at her, a squeak escaped her lips. “Oh...um, hello. Am I early?”
“A little.” Applejack gave her a reassuring wave. “We're just chattin' until Twilight gets back.”
A noise from outside attracted their attention; it was a light thump, followed by muffled speaking. The door again opened, and Rainbow Dash stumbled in, grumbling unhappily and rubbing her arms. “It's too early for this crap,” she said, pulling the hood off her head and giving them all a bleary-eyed glower. “Hey. I didn't get much sleep, I'm gonna be grumpy.”
“Don't worry none,” the blonde said, waving her over.
The athlete took the chair to her right and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. “Bleh. Where's Pinkie?”
“I'm not sure, I haven't seen her since we checked all the shops last night,” Rarity said, adjusting her earrings and smoothing down an errant curl.
Fuyu crossed her arms and looked over the assembled. “I didn't miss anything in the town that needed restoring, did I?”
“Not as far as I know,” Rainbow shrugged, scratching at her ear piercings. “Ha, knowing Pink, she's probably passed out in her bed. She looked exhausted.” All of them looked over as the door burst open. “Or not. Hey Pinkie.”
“Ohmygosh you guys I am so sorry for being la—oh! Never mind!” she chirped, bouncing in and weaving through the room. “The Mayor and the Princess called me, can you believe it?” She came to a dead stop after looking at Fuyu and blinked. “Wow. You look a little scarier than I remember.”
“You're not the first one to tell me that,” the pale woman smirked, nodding over at Rarity. She tilted her head as the baker dashed over and clamped on in a hug. “What's this for?”
Pinkie squeezed as hard as she could. “You sound even more differenter than you did before! Did Trixie do something to you?”
Fuyu couldn't help but pat her on the head. “I'm fine. I'll explain it after Twilight gets here.”
“That would be now.” Spike said, walking through the open door with the librarian's duffel bag. The woman herself arrived a second later, looking bitterly frustrated.
“Huh? Where's your car?” Rainbow asked, not having seen the headlights despite keeping her eyes on the window to stay alert.
“It broke down, I'm having it towed to the garage. We just decided to walk back.” She stopped for a moment and bent over, rubbing at her calves through her gray sweat pants. “Geez, my legs...”
“Wow, you look jacked,” Spike said, staring up at Fuyu. “How'd you beat Trixie?”
“You can sit in for my explanation, if you like.” She nodded at an empty chair, but the boy shook his head.
“Nah, I'm beat. I'll just get the story from Twilight later.” He trundled up the stairs, yawning. The librarian had a smile on her face as she watched him go.
“Right!” she clapped her hands after he'd gone. Pinkie finally released Fuyu and skipped over to an empty chair, and Twilight followed her example. “Let's get this party started, so to speak.” She blinked at the unhappy gaze she received from the pale woman. “Is something wrong?”
“Forget it,” she said, casting her eyes at the floor and walking to the center of the little circle. “Those of you who haven't seen me since yesterday, this is for you.” Her hands began to glow; as she lifted off the floor, the soles of her sandals issued light scuffing noises. Rarity and Fluttershy gasped, but Pinkie emitted an enthralled 'oooooooooooo' that lasted a few seconds. “I suppose I should start with the amulet...”
“Yes, please. Trying to figure out that shit gave me a headache,” Rainbow interjected, looking even grumpier than when she'd arrived.
“Sorry,” Fuyu smirked. “First, the amulet Trixie wore is mine.”
“Excuse me?” Twilight blurted out, leaning forward in her seat. “How do you know it was yours?”
“The same way I knew your name.” She dropped to the floor and sat down herself, making a face at Pinkie's reaction when the baker saw her shining black stones. “When I touched it with the sludge, time stopped. At least, time stopped for me.”
“That's impossible,” Rarity stated, but drew back under the pale woman's firm gaze. “Or not. I should know better when it comes to you.”
Twilight stared in disbelief. “But how...you know what, just keep going. If I start to ask questions before you're finished, this will take six hours.”
Fuyu nodded at her and pressed on. “Okay. While time was stopped, I saw the figure that's usually in my head on the stage in the hall.”
“Here we fucking go again with insane shit,” Rainbow moaned, hunched over and clutching her head.
“Let her talk, Dash,” Applejack scolded gently, doffing her hat and setting it on the armrest.
“What did it say?” Pinkie urged, bouncing excitedly. “What did it look like?” Like the dressmaker, Fuyu stilled her with a firm glance. “Oopsies...”
“It told me why I...” she paused, raising a hand and frowning at the gleaming stone. “Wait. I think I should mention this first. Twilight,” she began, looking up and over at her, “you were wrong. The sludge is not a parasite. It told me that it, along with others, built the sludge as a weapon.”
“Now that is impossible,” Twilight insisted with a frown. “What that stuff does is completely beyond anything manufacturing is capable of!”
“I'm just telling you what it told me. It also said I was the container for this weapon.” Her eyes darted about at each gasp, frown, and in Fluttershy's case, a broken squeak. “Then it told me I had to kill Trixie.”
“Why in the world would it care if she was dead?” Applejack said, shifting in her seat. “Shoot, before we met that first time I hadn't even heard of her.”
“Again, I'm only telling you what it told me.” She fell silent for a moment too long, and Twilight caught it.
“What else did it tell you?” she asked gently, sliding to the edge of her seat.
“I...” Fuyu couldn't even look at the librarian without that six-word message playing in her head, so she averted her gaze and sighed. “It's something I've figured out myself. At any rate, after it went away, I was fighting with Trixie again. I grabbed the amulet, started to drain its power, then I was able to knock her off. Once I had it, I consumed it. That's when I changed.”
“Whoa, whoa,” Applejack raised her hands. “What did ya figure out?”
Fuyu snapped back at her. “It's not important.” Her face dropped at how angry she sounded, and she let a sigh pass through her lips. “Sorry. I would like to deal with it on my own, please. What's important is that the amulet's magic is feeding me, so I won't need to eat as long as that remains true.”
“That's lovely!” Rarity smiled her approval. “Now you can do what you like and not have to worry about such awful things anymore.”
Twilight seemed a bit suspicious about something; her eyes glittered with the feeling, but her lips remained sealed. She looked around at her friends and started to enter her usual thinking pose. “Well, what we need to find out now is who did this to her and why. I sincerely doubt someone would put this much effort into killing a vengeful stage magician.”
“Any ideas? Because I don't have a clue,” Rainbow admitted freely, falling against the back of the chair and rubbing her eyes. “All I know is Fu beat Trixie's ass, fixed the town, and at the moment that's about as much of the story as I need.”
“Right. I will definitely need the Princess' help on this one, but I have no idea how to ask the question without exposing some seriously prickly information.” The librarian also fell back in her chair, staring helplessly at the ceiling.
Pinkie's eyes lit up, and she started to bounce again. “Oooooh! That reminds me! The Princess told me that she wants to be at Fufu's party!”
“What party?” Rarity blinked. “I thought the Mayor canceled it in light of Trixie being a complete ass.”
“She did, but then the Princess was all like 'well I think there should be a party because of everything Fufu has done' except she didn't call Fufu Fufu and she kinda told the Mayor to hold one and she said it was okay if I still plann—eek!” She rubbed at her ear after Twilight gently thwacked it. “Sorry, I got carried away.”
“At least she'll get to meet you,” the librarian sighed. “I don't know why she left in such a hurry after being in such a hurry to get down here.”
Rainbow perked up and glanced at the assembled. “Hey, that reminds me...where is Stormy?”
“That's another weird thing!” Twilight could no longer hold her feelings in and stood up to pace. “The Princess has put her up in the hotel, in her words, 'indefinitely'. She's even replacing her lost salary with some kind of stipend. I don't understand why! I don't understand anything she's been saying lately, and I don't understand why she won't just tell me what she knows!”
Applejack shook her head and tried to calm her friend. “Easy there, Twi. Ain't no use in running yourself ragged with questions.”
“We can talk to her when she comes for the party,” Fuyu stated evenly, hovering to her feet. “I believe that's all I have for you. Any questions?”
To everyone's collective surprise, Fluttershy quickly raised her hand. “Shouldn't we seal the cave?” she mumbled hesitantly, still halfway hiding in her sweater. “The Princess will be angry if she finds out all of this, and, um, if we forget to close it, she'll be even more mad.”
“Good point,” Twilight nodded. “Applejack, could you take me up there in your truck? I think the drive might help me clear my head. If nothing else, I can vent on that dumb rock.”
“Sure.” The blonde rose and grabbed her hat. “Er...we done here?”
Fuyu looked over her shoulder out one of the large windows. “I like Twilight's idea. I think I'll go for a walk now that my stomach has shut up.”
“And I am going to bed!” Rainbow said, standing up and summoning her wings. “Later.”
The meeting broke up, with all the women variously flying, prancing, bouncing, or shuffling with barely restrained terror out of the library. Twilight went with Applejack to her truck, and Fuyu found herself alone in the library after about three or four minutes.
“Huh.” The pale woman drank in the silence for a moment before striding outside and looking around. The sun was now fully above the horizon, and some people were wandering around as they got back to their normal lives. Deciding to go check on her prisoner, Fuyu turned left and started down the sidewalk. Any time she tried to make eye contact with anyone, though, they either looked away and ignored her, or gave her a frightened look and stopped dead in their tracks. The first instance of this she ignored, but subsequent occurrences made her increasingly uncertain. By the time she crossed the street in order to head downtown, her mood had grown foul.
“Why is everyone looking at me like that?” she muttered lowly, stalking down the street. She was so lost in her displeasure that she almost ran into someone leaving one of the shops.
It was Lyra, who turned to apologize, then swallowed loudly upon seeing who it was. “Oh. Uh. Hey?” she offered nervously, stepping back and waving.
“Hello,” Fuyu peered at her, arms crossed. “It seems that everyone is unhappy with me for some reason.” She glanced over and saw Bon Bon coming through the plate glass windows.
“Why would we be unhappy?” she laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. Bon Bon stood beside her, a rather defensive look on her face. “It's just, well...you're kinda scary. And with what just happened and all, you understand why we're nervous.”
“Not really,” Fuyu shot back. “You've known me for longer, and I've never lifted a hand to hurt anyone here.”
“Which is totally true!” Lyra nodded frantically, sensing the edge in the pale woman's voice. “But you're really strong, and we still don't know that much about you, you know? You're kind of a walking mystery.”
“I know that feeling all too well,” Fuyu sighed, gazing off to the side. “I assure you, there's nothing to worry about.”
Bon Bon was visibly unconvinced. “I heard you took that amulet. What's to say it won't make you crazy too?”
“It was...” Realizing she couldn't say the truth without unleashing an even larger storm, she fell silent and let her arms drop. “It will be fine.”
“Uh huh,” Bon Bon muttered. She lead her partner back into the soda shop without a further word.
“Really.” Fuyu watched them for a second, then kept going. “I save the town, and this is what I get?”
The pale woman was truly stewing now, and every further anxious look she received only deepened her anger. By the time she reached the meeting hall, she was very close to punching something. Her vicious slamming of the double doors awoke her captive, who had somehow fallen asleep despite being held down in an awkward crouch.
“O-oh, it's you,” Trixie stuttered. The blood that had been leaking from her mouth was now dried and brown. Her face was etched with exhaustion, although that was joined by fear as Fuyu walked up to her. “Have you come to...to...”
Her reply came in the form of an uplifted hand and snapped fingers, which caused the ebony restraints to shed their rigidity and fly into the black gem on her palm. A surprised Trixie stood, wobbling and rubbing her shoulders.
“You're letting me go?” she asked, still trying to get her feet under her.
“No. You and I are going to have a talk.” Fuyu turned and launched a shimmering black line at the doors, which wrapped around the handles and tied them shut.
“Of course! It's better than the other thing I thought you wanted to do,” the magician said, laughing nervously, then doubling over a bit at the pain in her ribs. “Ugh...I really need to use the bathroom, though.”
“Fine.” Fuyu walked past her and to the chair that was still positioned on the stage.
Trixie blinked at her back. “You're really going to let me get out of your sight?”
“Yes, because if you make me find you, we both know what will happen,” she replied, not bothering to glance back at her as she went.
The magician gulped hard. “R-right...I'll be right back.”
Fuyu settled into the chair and eyed her as she skittered away and out of view. She was gone for about five minutes, and returned looking relieved, although she walked with a limp. Unsure of what she was supposed to do, Trixie stood on the floor in front of the stage, leaving her eyes at knee level with the seated woman. “What do you want to talk about?” she asked, still uncertain.
“I would like to know exactly how you came in possession of my amulet,” Fuyu stated, clasping her hands on her crossed legs.
“Believe or not, I found it in an antique shop in a little town in the south,” Trixie explained. The look on Fuyu's face said she did not, in fact, believe, and the magician gesticulated a little to reinforce her point. “No, I swear! It was inside a glass case behind the counter. I don't know how I knew it was so powerful. I just...I just did.”
The pale woman pinned her down with an unyielding gaze. “It spoke to you, didn't it?”
“When you put it that way, I suppose it did,” she admitted, glancing to the side and looking somewhat more uncomfortable. “It whispered. Awful things. Or, they sounded like awful things. I couldn't really make out words, just sounds. I only know that I didn't like it at first, but it sort of faded away after a while.”
The pale woman rubbed her chin in thought. “What happened when you started drawing on its power?”
Trixie considered that for a moment, and almost subconsciously went over to a bench to sit down. “I can't remember! It's so strange. When I fell asleep, though, I could hear talking more clearly. It kept telling me I wasn't worthy. That's why I came back here – those words just made me think of what Twilight had done. I got very angry.”
“You came looking for revenge?” She watched Trixie nod sheepishly, but then the magician's eyes got wide. “What?”
Trixie hung her head and sighed. “I wanted to humiliate her, absolutely, but the rest of it was not my original idea. I wanted the whole town to see it too, but after I had won I couldn't control myself. I felt so...strong.”
Fuyu nodded at that. “You couldn't handle it.”
Trixie smoothed back her hair and looked up at the ceiling. “It corrupted me. I got drunk off the power and decided I wanted more. Then I decided I wanted it all.”
They spent a few moments in uneasy silence. Trixie continued to rub and grope at various sore parts, wincing in pain. Fuyu, meanwhile, seemed to be contemplating something. Suddenly, she asked a question. “What would you do if I let you go?”
The magician snapped her eyes up at the abrupt inquiry. “I had planned to stay here, actually. I have a penance to pay for what I've done. That thing...if you hadn't stopped me, I would have done something genuinely horrible. I owe you for preventing that.”
“To hear Twilight's friends tell it, you're a jerk. Maybe that's not entirely true.” Fuyu stood up and regarded Trixie as she walked to the edge of the stage. “I thought I was supposed to kill you.” She smiled faintly at the fear in the magician's eyes. “I don't think that's true, either. You can leave.”
Trixie watched in amazement as Fuyu snapped the black ribbon over to her, tracing its curvy path through the air with wide eyes. “I wish you'd teach me how to do that. I'd make a fortune with my shows.”
“One of us is enough, I think,” Fuyu replied, hopping off the stage and walking toward the doors. Trixie got up after a moment and followed painfully. They had just reached them when they swung open, revealing Applejack and Big Macintosh. “Hello,” the pale woman waved, happy to see a friendlier face. “What are you doing here?”
The blonde was holding a heavy toolbox. She and her brother gave Trixie a sour look – although he also had one for Fuyu, which she tried to ignore – then nodded at the damaged benches. “Mayor asked us to come fix this stuff for the Princess' little get-together.”
Fuyu blinked. “I didn't know you did carpentry.”
“Seems like we do every damn thing in this town sometimes,” Applejack muttered, her unhappy words drawing a nudge from her brother. “Never mind. What'd y'all decide ta do 'bout Trixie?”
“Trixie is going to stay here, for now,” she said, her face suddenly taking on a confident mask. Fuyu blinked at the way she spoke. “Public persona time,” the magician whispered to her, before increasing her volume. “She would like to pay off her debt to Ponyville before departing.”
“Whatever,” the blonde said, “If ya do anything else, I'll punch your face in.” They walked by the two women and toward the broken benches. “Good grief, what in the world happened?”
“Trixie threw me through them,” Fuyu explained. “I'm going back to the tree.”
“All right, see ya later,” Applejack waved, hammer in hand. “Mac, we're gonna need more wood.”
The magician followed her out, past the Apple's red truck, and into the streets. “Could have gone better. Oh well. I understand why they're upset,” she shrugged. “Thank you for not murdering me, by the way.”
“Hmm.” Fuyu was looking around; again, people were going about their day, and like Big Macintosh, they gave both women unhappy glances. “I don't understand why they're upset with me.”
Trixie was preening a little, adjusting her hair and trying to look her best. “Maybe they're afraid. You're extremely powerful, after all. People fear that sort of thing.”
“I don't see why.” Fuyu departed, leaving the magician behind, and started back toward the library. She did her best to ignore the chilly feeling that came from the residents, but by the time she made it home, it had gotten to her again. Twilight was reading in one of the boxy chairs, and the moment the pale woman laid eyes on her, the figure reminded her of her apparent failure.
“Hi!” she waved. “How was your walk?”
“The town hates me,” Fuyu replied, heading toward the kitchen. “I saved them, and they hate me.”
“That can't be right!” Twilight put her book aside and got up, chasing Fuyu down. “What did they say?”
“It isn't words. It's looks. It's body language.” She felt herself getting angrier, and had to stop walking in order to focus on quashing her emotion. “They think I'm another Trixie.”
“Applejack told me you showed them the sludge. We were scared too. It just takes time. They'll come around.” She clung to Fuyu in a hug, an embrace the pale woman returned only after a few seconds. “Don't worry about it, okay? I'm pretty sure you and Trixie have nothing in common.”
“Hmm.” Just as soon as Twilight let go, Fuyu continued on to the kitchen. The pale woman turned in the doorway and watched her go back to her seat for a second, scowling hard at the urging of the figure in her head to kill the librarian. “We may have more in common than you think.”