• Published 9th Jan 2013
  • 963 Views, 16 Comments

White - Mayclore



Applejack encounters a lost soul on the side of the highway one morning, and soon takes it upon herself to help the woman find her way. The secrets that follow her, however, may lead the apple farmer and her friends into an early grave.

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...Where the Bodies Are Buried

“Hey, Stormy, give me a hand, will ya?”

The request drew a light cackle from her lips as she leaned against the driver's door of the black truck. Idly, she tossed her white hair over her shoulder and smirked at the man that was her partner. “You're the brawn, Clyde, you do it.”

Clyde muttered under his breath for a moment before speaking up. “I don't wanna get caught. We'll get out of here faster if you help me.”

Stormy batted her yellow eyes at him and pouted, but Clyde would not yield. Sighing with exasperation, she stood up and walked over, her long tan skirt flowing with each step. “Fine. But if my new white blouse gets dirty, I'm gonna punch you.” She began snatching apples off the ground and placing them in one of the many buckets that sat around this particular apple tree.

“Once we sell these apples, you can buy whatever clothes you want,” Clyde said, stopping for a moment to stretch and run a hand through his red hair. “I can't believe how much people up in Manehattan pay for these things.”

“I can't believe that crazy blonde chick hasn't found us out yet,” Stormy added, cackling again. “This is like stealing candy from a baby. A sleeping baby!”

Clyde couldn't help but laugh at the cliché, placing apples in the crook of his right arm before dumping them all into one of the buckets. “Yeah. That's the price you pay for having more land than you can keep tabs on.”

Stormy hopped around daintily, choosing to deposit each apple as she picked them up instead of grabbing handfuls. She paused for a moment to rest, shielding her eyes against the bright headlights. “I'd say we're doing her a favor by saving her the work!”

“Is that so.”

They looked at each other and blinked. Upon realizing neither of them had said that, they dropped what fruit they were carrying and backed toward the truck, glancing around frantically.

“Who's there?” Stormy called out, trying her best to sound assertive. “Show yourself!” They both whirled when something eclipsed one headlight, and were greeted by the silhouette of a woman framed in the dusky yellow glow. Stormy was again the first to respond, drawing a stiletto folder from her cleavage and opening it. She brandished the gleaming blade and pointed it at the shadow, all the while squinting at the light. “Who are you?” she asked, while Clyde reached under his shirt to retrieve the pistol tucked in his jeans.

They saw the silhouette's head move slightly as she looked at the gun now pointed at her. She released an audible groan and raised her forearms to waist height.

“Don't move!” Clyde bellowed, both hands on the grip of his pistol.

“She must be somebody that chick hired to watch the place at night,” Stormy surmised, gripping the knife tightly. “Well, lady, you're out of luck. Get lost before you get hurt.”

“Yeah, the apples ain't worth dying for,” Clyde said, his pistol trained on the target's head.

She said nothing, only dropping her left hand so the palm of it pointed at Clyde. He didn't detect the motion, and by the time the writhing black horror shot out of Fuyu's flesh and ran through his skull, he was only just starting to squeeze the trigger. The wiggling thing hung in the air, keeping its victim upright even as he slumped into death. With a sharp crack, the end of it broke off and Clyde fell to the earth, wound plugged up by an ebony spike. Stormy was rendered speechless, staring at the body and trembling violently. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fuyu's head turn. With a shriek, she threw her stiletto and turned away, running. Her long skirt hampered her steps, and she eventually fell over a bucket and crashed to the ground.

“Ow,” she breathed, lifting her upper body off the ground and getting to her knees. When she realized she was still alive, she looked back over her shoulder. She could see the gleaming brass of her stiletto; the knife was impaled in Fuyu's chest, and she was standing where Stormy and Clyde had first seen her. Staring, she hauled herself to her feet and approached slowly. The closer she got, the more confident she became. “Yeah, I told you,” she said, anxiously. “That's what you get!” She had only a moment to look sadly at Clyde's corpse before she saw Fuyu lift her right arm. She watched as those pale fingers wrapped around the handle, and extracted the knife with a wet pop. Droplets of dark liquid fell off the blade as she held it. Stormy did the only thing she could think of at the moment: turn and run again. As before, it was a clumsy gait, and her skirt caused her to topple to the ground. Fuyu walked quietly over to her, dropping the open knife on the ground by her head.

“You forgot this.”

Stormy wept quietly, covering her head as she lay on the grass. “P-please d-don't hurt m-me...” When something warm and gooey wrapped around her waist, she began to flail. “No! I'm sorry!” she pleaded, “Let me go!” The black cords lifted her up, causing Fuyu to grunt lightly until her arms got hold of the trembling frame. Stormy thrashed as best she could while being carried, but the woman in black had too much strength for her to fight. A few moments passed before she fell limp, exhausted and sobbing. “Wh-what are you?” she asked, staring up at her captor's face.

Fuyu glanced down for all of one second before looking away. “Hungry.”

Stormy supposed that was sarcasm, and she didn't appreciate it in the least. “Let me go, damn you!” she growled, pounding her free right arm against Fuyu's ribs. It was like hitting a rock. “Ow!” she yelped, shaking her hand. She became instantly more repentant when Fuyu threw her against the trunk of a tree. “Aaaaah! Ah...ow...I'm sorry for hitting you, please, no...”

Her pleas were ignored as Fuyu set about gluing her to the tree. Fuyu restrained her arms by sticking them to the trunk via her wrists, leaving Stormy with her back to the tree and her arms awkwardly at her sides. Since she was still crying, Fuyu silenced her by injecting a squirt of black into her mouth. Stormy tried to chew on it, but it was like rubberized glue. The taste caused her genuine pain, as well; it was vaguely reminiscent of motor oil and a tire and something spicy, much stronger than the jalapeno peppers she liked to eat sometimes. Now that she was reduced to quiet sobbing and twitching, Fuyu walked away from her, up the hill and out of sight. She continued to emit muffled noises for several minutes afterward, until chewing against the horror in her much drew all her focus and made her silent. She stopped trying after a while, forced to be content with pushing the material against her lips as much as possible so she could breathe. Engulfed in silence, save for her raspy breath, she listened for footsteps that would signal her doom. Twice, she heard crunching sounds that she couldn't identify, but that was all. More time passed until she heard the dreaded footfalls coming, but they went behind her and departed again. Exhausted, both from terror and trying to loosen her gooey bonds, Stormy slumped against the tree and wept, closing her eyes.

“Wake up.”

Her eyes shot open. She raised them and saw Fuyu standing before her, a dim shadow in the moonlight. A thin trail of something dark ran from the right corner of her mouth. She froze, awaiting her fate. That fate was having a palm placed on her mouth; something pushed open her lips and wiggled around inside, causing her to let out a muffled cry. When it left, however, the goo in her mouth went with it. She gasped for air while Fuyu's attention went toward her ankles.

“What are you doing?!” she growled, trying to get her feet away from the iron grip. In an instant, a dark rope wrapped around them. Overwhelmed by adrenaline, she tried to kick as Fuyu began tying her knees together, but she couldn't lift her legs high enough. When her wrists were freed, she tried swatting and punching instead, only for her blows to glance off. Fuyu picked her up, hefting her onto her right shoulder, and started walking.

“Put me down!” Stormy screeched, thrashing weakly.

Fuyu's arm tightened around her waist as she wiggled. “Shut up.”

“No! Help!” Stormy began to scream. She was unceremoniously dumped onto the grass and grunted loudly, trying to wiggle away from Fuyu as if she were an inchworm. She yelped as she was pulled by the hair, forcing her upper body to bend backward. Fuyu crouched down and glared at her. With the moon off to their right, Stormy saw the dark trail on her face was actually red. She stared at the crimson smear for a long moment, until her mind came to a realization: if there was blood on her mouth, that blood had to come from Clyde. If that blood came from Clyde, then that meant she had...

“No no no no no no no no no!” she squealed, writhing furiously in Fuyu's grasp. “I'm not dinner! Let me go! Let me go!” She was again silenced when a pale palm was pressed to her lips, leaving a gooey black splotch that sealed her mouth. “Mmmph!”

Fuyu picked Stormy up and resumed walking. She crested and descended half a dozen hills, all of which looked nearly identical. The top of the seventh hill, however, was starkly different. It was wide and flat at the top, much like the bump of earth where the barn and farmhouse stood. There was a burned out husk of some structure near the center of the space, and off to the left was a tremendous tree that didn't resemble the others. Curious, Fuyu walked over to it, ignoring the murmuring wail of her captive. At the base of the gnarled trunk were two oddly shaped gray stones, two feet high and about four feet apart. As she examined them, Stormy began to pound on her back, causing her to make an annoyed face. She threw the woman off again and looked at the rocks. They were grave markers.

“What?” she breathed, blinking. There was a gentle rustling noise behind her as Stormy dragged herself away with her arms, but she paid it no mind. It was too dark for her to read anything carved on the rock, and after a few seconds she gave up and turned around, watching Stormy try to escape. She walked over after a minute and picked her back up, continuing on down the large hill. On the other side, she found the stream, winding its way toward a much thicker and varied clump of trees a few hundred yards away.

“This will do.” Fuyu dumped Stormy on the ground again, this time snatching her arms up and gluing her wrists together. She roughly stood her up when she had finished, dragging her awkwardly to the bank. Stormy, for her part, was screaming as ferociously as her limited air intake would allow. She unleashed a torrent of barely comprehensible words as Fuyu positioned her on the edge, readying to shove her into the water. With a gentle push, Stormy began to topple forward, and her desperate pleas became loud enough to understand. She spat out four words that caused Fuyu to snatch the back of her blouse, holding her above the water.

“What did you say?” she asked, pulling Stormy back enough to see her face. She repeated the four words again; Fuyu placed a palm over her lips and took away the black gag.

“I'll bring you food!” she repeated, a third time. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks as Fuyu held her upright. Her offer didn't seem to be swaying the woman in black, so she clarified it. “P-people! I s-swear!” That didn't help her case, either. “Look! We make a ton of money off these apples! My boss is gonna send more people! If you let me go, I can make sure you can...” she trailed off, retching at the concept of what she was about to say, “You can eat 'em without...without any problem. I'll just keep saying you sc-scared them off so h-he'll send m-more,” she finished, stammering as she saw the blank look on Fuyu's face. “Please, I swear! I don't wanna die...”

Fuyu genuinely didn't know what to think. She'd never been offered such a deal before. She folded her arms and stared at Stormy, who became ever more frantic at the lack of reaction.

“Listen!” she blurted out, sure she was about to met her end. Seeing no other way to convince the woman in black, she unleashed a flood of pent up emotion. “I only do this stuff because I have no choice! My family kicked my out 'cause I can't fly like them, I didn't have anywhere else to go! I'm just trying to survive!” To her horror, there was no expression on Fuyu's face. She pressed on, desperate. “If you kill enough of these guys, maybe I can leave and start over!”

“Why can't you leave now?” Fuyu asked flatly.

“They'd find me,” she replied, hanging her head. “The boss doesn't take kindly to people just leavin', especially not if he's given them a particular job. L-look, if I bring you guys here, a few at a time, then you can take them out for me! If he loses enough, maybe he'll come down here himself and you can kill him too! Then I could just, you know, go,” she concluded, a hopeful smile on her face. That vanished quickly when she saw Fuyu's mask of stone. “P-please don't k-kill me,” she tried again, reverting to basic begging.

“Four days.”

Stormy blinked at those words, suppressing her sniffles. “W-what?”

Fuyu crouched by Stormy's ankles, reclaiming the black rope around them. She moved a hand up to afterward to retrieve the one around her knees. “I cannot go without food for more than four days. If you don't bring me any, I'll have to take the nearest I can find.”

Stormy considered that for a moment, rubbing her aching joints. “No!” she gasped. “You can't kill the farmers. Who'll grow the apples? If the boss sends me somewhere else, I'll never get away from him!”

If she were looking for sympathy, there was none to be found in Fuyu's icy eyes. “That's not my problem.”

For a moment, Stormy just sat there, eye twitching as she realized how awful of a corner she'd just painted herself into. “Okay, so if I don't bring you somebody every four days, you'll kill the farmers...but if you kill the farmers, I'm gonna get sent somewhere else...” She swallowed hard and clumsily got to her feet. “What happens if you do kill 'em? I'll know it! I could go to the cops!”

That threat triggered a severe response from Fuyu, who flung a black tentacle from her hand that wrapped around Stormy's neck. She forced the woman closer to her; once they were face to face, she spoke. “I could always save you for later.”

Stormy shook her head violently, gagging as she tried to pull the dark rope away from her throat. Fuyu released her and she stumbled back, wheezing and coughing. “Okay!” she finally got out, “I won't talk, but you can't kill them, please.”

“You're using me to get away from these people,” Fuyu summed up, again folding her arms.

Stormy rubbed at her neck as she looked up, slumped over and gasping. “In exchange for food, yeah.” She paused to cough again. “A steady supply! So, what do you say?”

“Very well. I will see you in four days.”

“You're serious,” Stormy blinked, raising up fully. “You're not going to kill me?”

“Unless you want me to,” Fuyu replied, turning and walking away. Stormy watched her go back up the hill until she disappeared, and continued to stand there dumbfounded for several seconds afterward. Abruptly, she hiked up her skirt and started running in a different direction, bursting into tears as she went.


By the time Fuyu returned to the truck, whose light was the only landmark she could really see from where she'd come, a series of increasingly loud barks filled the night air. She decided just to wait there, standing by the driver door as a hat-less Applejack arrived, wearing an orange t-shirt, gray sweatpants and sneakers. She brandished an over-under shotgun, which she pointed at Fuyu briefly while her eyes adjusted to the light.

“Don't move!” she bellowed, moving closer. Winona arrived a moment later, but went up to Fuyu and barked happily. “Fu? What're ya doin' out here?” she asked after recognizing her, lowering the gun and walking over.

“They were trying to steal these,” she said, pointing to the buckets full of fruit. Applejack walked around and surveyed the items scattered about, gasping audibly when she saw Clyde's pistol amongst the grass.

“Fuyu!” the blonde stared at her. “They had guns! Ya could have gotten killed!” She was wont to even pick up the weapon, instead leaving it where it lay. “I appreciate the sentiment, but this ain't worth dyin' over!”

“He said the same thing,” Fuyu replied, watching Winona bounce around happily as she sniffed at the buckets. “I'm fine. He didn't even get a shot off.”

Applejack smoothed back her bed hair and sighed, glancing around before finally laying eyes on the woman in black. “I...” she started, but couldn't finish, looking down. “Look, I appreciate you tryin' ta help, but if ya got killed...” she trailed off again, staring at the ground. “Never mind. Ya all right?”

“I'm fine. They got away, though.” Fuyu began walking, hands shoved in her pockets. “I'm going back.”

“Wait,” Applejack said, moving to get in front of her. She nodded over at the truck, then the buckets of apples on the grass. “Let's load these and drive back. May as well sell 'em in the mornin' since they've already been picked,” she said, resting her shotgun on her left shoulder. Fuyu nodded, and after the blonde set her weapon in the truck-bed, they loaded the buckets. “I wonder if this was stolen too,” she asked, gazing longingly at the gleaming black machine. “We sure could use a new one...I'll ask the sheriff tomorrow when I get ta town.”

“Mm,” Fuyu replied, moving cargo like some sort of pale robot. As she worked, her mind traveled back to the grave markers, and she could not help but vocalize her confusion. “Whose graves are those I saw?”

The blonde stopped dead, nearly dropping the buckets in her hands and clenching her teeth. “Ya...ya saw 'em?”

“While trying to deal with that woman, yes,” Fuyu nodded, having set the buckets she was carrying into the bed. She watched Applejack's reaction and tilted her head, waiting for a reply.

“My parents,” she blurted out, carrying on with the buckets. She said nothing else besides idle words to Winona as they worked, and remained silent even after they'd finished. She looked in the cab to confirm the keys were still in the truck, and once she had, bade Fuyu to get in so they could go. She put Winona in the bed and slammed the door after getting in.

“Are you angry?” Fuyu asked, eyes unwavering.

“'Course not, just...” Applejack fell silent again, allowing her head to hang slightly. “It just seems like it only happened yesterday, is all. I don't really wanna talk about it.”

Fuyu nodded, gaze stiffly ahead. “Very well.” The look in Applejack's eyes bothered her immensely; it was the same kind of pain she'd seen when she attacked people that were related. She'd seen it the night before she met the farmer. As they drove, a frown gently tugged at her lips. “I'm...I'm sorry?” The words out of her mouth caused her to blink – she had no idea at all where they'd come from. They just seemed correct.

“Don't worry none,” Applejack replied, failing totally at her attempt to be reassuring. “Bad memories, is all. Uh...thank ya for carin' enough to risk yourself for my apples,” she added awkwardly.

Fuyu was about to speak when a thought occurred to her. Once again, it seemed right to speak it, so she did. “You helped me. I helped you back.”

The blonde made a face at the odd wording, but the sentiment struck true. “Ya don't owe me anything, sugarcube. I ain't gonna leave someone homeless if I can help it.” She seemed to relax a little, and began looking around the interior of the vehicle in earnest. “Be careful, though, seriously. Next time, take the shotgun with ya. I keep it over the fireplace.”

That idea was considered and dismissed almost instantly. “I don't need it.” Her tone silenced Applejack and continued to hang between them like an icicle, cold and heavy, until they reached the farmhouse. Before Fuyu could open her door, Applejack broke the quiet.

“Who are ya?” she asked, folding her arms. “Were ya like, in the military before, or somethin'?”

That idea caused Fuyu's eyes to widen for the briefest instant, but her stoic mask went otherwise unchanged. She opened the door and emerged from the truck, leaving a quiet “I don't know.” in her wake. Applejack pursued her, only pausing to retrieve her gun and dog.

“I think I may know how to find out,” she offered when they reached the front door. Come with me ta town tomorrow. My friend might be able to help ya.”

Fuyu was genuinely stunned by those words, and almost helplessly turned to Applejack as she unlocked the door. “Help me...help me remember?”

“Yeah,” Applejack nodded, unlocking the door and pushing it aside. “She's real smart and stuff. If anybody'd know, it be her. Uh...” she paused, rubbing her neck. “You're probably tired, right? I'll see ya in the mornin'.” Fuyu was still a bit shocked, and wandered up the stairs as Applejack returned her shotgun to the mount above the mantle. She only got halfway up when the blonde called for her to stop.

“Thanks, again,” she said, smiling broadly. “I knew ya were a good apple.”

She considered what she'd done in the course of being a 'good apple', and the dissonance made her brain ache. “Yes...I suppose,” was all she could offer in reply as she continued on up the staircase.


Fuyu found herself in the cab of the old red truck the next morning. Applejack had just dropped Bloom at school, and they were on their way to town to deal with the business of selling the apples and finding out about the vehicle itself. The blonde was in a terrific mood, humming along with the twangy country song on the radio as she drove. Fuyu was busy looking out her window, absorbing the sights of the town as they moved past. Her eyes fixed on a tremendously brightly colored building that looked like a gingerbread house. Applejack saw she was looking at it and smiled.

“That's Sugarcube Corner,” she explained, tapping her fingers on the wheel in time with the beat. “My friend Pinkie works there. She's a real card,” she explained, concluding with a giggle.

“A real...card?” Fuyu asked, looking back at her.

“Oh, uh, she's kinda crazy. In a good way, I mean, don't get me wrong,” she clarified, flicking the indicator as they came to a traffic light. “She's a party planner on the side, too, always tryin' to make people feel happy. I should take ya to meet her later, I think ya'd like her.”

Fuyu stared blankly, wondering where in the world Applejack had come up with that conclusion, but turned away soon after and said nothing. They continued into town until, at last, they arrived at the police station. This was a squat limestone building, surrounded by small elm trees and a statue of some woman out front that Fuyu didn't recognize. There were only two cruisers parked on the right side of the structure, and three civilian cars out front. Applejack brought the truck in to occupy the last available space beside them.

“Be right back!” she promised, turning off the truck and hopping out. Fuyu watched her enter the building, but couldn't see her after that. Sighing, she stared out the window and tried to occupy herself.

“Home,” she whispered. Once again, the word drew a smile on her face.

She cast her eyes up at the cloudy sky and watched the puffs of gray float past, until after a while they blended down into a solid, dreary wall of color and got darker. She was so absorbed in this that the sudden knocking on her window startled her to the point of summoning short lengths of black tentacle from her palms. She stared out the glass at the offender and saw Rainbow Dash, waving back with an amused smirk on her face. Frowning, Fuyu sent away her ebony weapons and rolled down the window.

“Did I scare you?” she asked, snickering gently and crossing her arms. “What's up? Kinda wondering why AJ's truck was parked here.”

The corner of Fuyu's lips dropped, betraying she was still annoyed at the interruption. “There were thieves last night that left their vehicle. She wanted to see if she could keep it.”

All the humor left Rainbow's face in a flash. “What?!” she exclaimed, dropping her arms and resting her hands on the door. “Why didn't she call the police?”

“I had already dealt with them by the time she arrived,” Fuyu explained, turning away from her and looking out the windshield. She only glanced back when Rainbow failed to speak, and squinted at the look she had on her face. “What?”

“You did what?” Rainbow asked, shaking her head slightly and staring. “I heard they almost always carry guns! You could have gotten seriously messed up!”

“One of them did try to shoot me, but I stopped him,” she explained flatly, still staring out the windshield. “They escaped, but I stopped them from taking any more of the apples.” Again, Rainbow was quiet, but she extended her right arm into the cab, hand open. Fuyu had no idea what she was doing at first, until her brain stepped in and guided her. Gingerly, she lifted her own hand and shook Rainbow's, the motion awkward and unsure.

“That's awesome,” Rainbow said seriously, framing the words as if they were the highest compliment she could muster – and they were. “Applejack's always worrying about her crop getting snatched. Thanks a lot.”

“Why are you thanking me?” Fuyu asked, quickly closing her hand after the shake ended to conceal the mark on her palm. “They're not your apples.”

Rainbow smirked a little. “No, but AJ loves her apples, and if she loves her apples, then I love her apples too,” she explained, smoothing down her unruly locks. “Why do you think I fly over every morning to check on them for her?”

That explanation confused Fuyu for a moment, forcing her to try and process why someone would care about a thing that didn't belong to them. She failed, and almost automatically vocalized it. “I do not understand.”

“That's how love works,” Rainbow said, shrugging and stepping away. “Well, I gotta fly, it's gonna storm soon. Catch you later, Fu!” she said, raising her hands and flashing the woman in black a pair of finger guns before recalling her wings and flying away. Fuyu blinked several times as she shifted in the seat.

“Love?” she asked herself. For her, trying to define the word was like teaching a goldfish how to play a cello, and the attempt almost instantly gave her a headache. She threw the thought aside and went to another, more easily reconciled one: “Fu? That's not my name.” Sighing, she emptied her mind and went back to waiting. She didn't have long; Applejack came back out just as drops of rain started to fall, jogging quickly to the door and climbing in. Her face bore a look that was a shade or two less intense than disappointment as she turned the key in the ignition.

“Gonna have ta check ta see if it's missin' anywhere,” she said, without any prodding. “Could take a while. At least they said it don't count as a crime scene,” she grumbled, pulling out of the parking space and driving off down the street. “Said it'd be best if I not use it 'til they get done checkin', though, and they wanna dust it for prints.”

“I see,” she nodded, while not really understanding at all. They were both quiet as Applejack drove, the only noises being the radio and the increasing rainfall. After a few turns, Fuyu noted the appearance of a massive oak tree that towered over the nearby buildings. It was this object at which they came to a stop, and she could not help but look up out the windshield at it.

“Here we are!” Applejack said, exiting. Fuyu got out as well and followed her to a door set into the trunk of the massive tree, waiting on the stoop as the blonde knocked. A minute passed before the door opened.

“Hello, Applejack! Come in before you get soa--” The blue-haired woman fell silent when she saw Fuyu. “Um, hello. Who's this?”

“A friend of mine, more or less,” the blonde explained briefly, doffing her hat out of respect. “We were wonderin' if ya could help her with somethin'.” Fuyu quietly eyed the woman in the doorway. She was a dainty, slender figure with gleaming violet eyes and a faintly olive complexion, clasping a thick brown book to her chest. Her blue hair was straight and exceedingly neat; not even the bangs above her eyebrows contained an errant strand. Fuyu tilted her head at the random violet and rose stripes that ran through it. She was clad in a collared white long sleeved blouse and a pleated purple skirt that ended at her knees. Shiny black Mary Janes enclosed her white-socked feet.

Fuyu's eyes snapped away when Applejack spoke again. “This is Fu. I mean, Fuyu. I just call her, Fu, heh...” There was an awkward pause. “Fu, this is...”

Her brain had been running a million miles an hour since that door opened, and had already provided her a name. Unlike the hazy thoughts that had dominated her mind for the past two days, this bit of data was as clear as a diamond. “Twilight Sparkle,” the woman in black stated. “I know.”

Twilight frowned a little, hugging the book more closely to herself. “You...you know me?” she asked. Applejack looked between the two of them, confused and quiet.

“Yes,” Fuyu nodded. “And I'm not sure why.”