Black

"I have to go to work soon."

Twilight paused banging her head on the kitchen table long enough to hear, process, then acknowledge Fuyu's words with a groan before continuing.

She folded her arms and cocked an eyebrow. "And you should probably stop that."

"I caaaaaaaan't. I have to figure this out!" Something in her tone made her feel the need to apologize. "Sorry. Not trying to pressure you into talking, just-"

"Yes, I know." Fuyu put her smartphone in her pants pocket and walked to the stairs to get her sneakers, which she had the foresight of leaving there last night. "Perhaps a nap is in order."

Shaking her head, she lightly pounded the table top. "I won't be able to sleep with this driving me nuts. I say we go to Canterlot right now and start snooping."

Fuyu blinked at the demanding nature of her voice and placed a hand on her hip. "But I have to go to work soon."

The bleary-eyed, slumping librarian wouldn't yield. "You may very well be a Princess and you are certainly at least as powerful as one. Take a day off!"

Her insistence met a half-lidded gaze of denial. "I have to ask for time off in advan—why are you looking at me like that?"

"You've really dove into this whole having a routine thing, haven't you?" Twilight issued a sigh and laid her head on her arms. "I mean, I've been up all night contemplating and it doesn't bother you any more than it does Spike."

"To be fair, you spend a lot of your nights reading, or thinking, or some combination of those." Fuyu smirked at the pout she got. "So, I would say this is normal."

"No it's not!" After dragging herself to her feet, Twilight skulked around with her hands on her head. "What is she hiding from me?! What could be so bad? She tells me everything!"

A distinctly uncomfortable weight settled on Fuyu's shoulders. "Well..."

"I know, I know, I'm not trying to make you talk...but damn, this is driving me up the wall!"

"Hmm." They paused as Spike shuffled in, scratching at his messy hair. "Hello."

"Hey. Are you two still awake? Geez." He smiled and moved to rummage in the fridge. "Twilight, you look awful."

"Good morning to you too," she said, glaring at his shoulder blades. Squinting at the sunlight, she hid her eyes and groaned out loud again. "Go ahead, Fu. I don't want you to be late."

"Okay." She used her magic to tie her shoes. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

"Don't worry about it." Twilight waved with a tiny smile as the pale woman floated out of sight. Once Fuyu had gone, however, she got droopy again and sat at the table. "Spike, I need to bounce some things off of you."

"Sure." He grabbed a bottle of cherry soda and sat across from her. "What's up?"

She looked over at him with drama dripping from her eyes. "I think Princess Celestia knows Fuyu."

Spike tilted his head. "Well, yeah. They met at the party."

Twilight slammed her fists on the table, then winced with the action. "That isn't what I mean! She knows her from before somehow, but I can't figure out what their relationship is. And you've seen her crystals. They've got the royal trim! What in the hell is going on?!"

"Ask the Princess?" he offered, trying to talk her down.

"I've already texted Luna and she told me nothing. If Luna won't talk, then I know I'll get nowhere with Celestia." At this point she resigned herself to setting her head on the table and groaning for a few seconds. "We're planning to go to Canterlot, but neither of us wants to attract attention while we search."

"When are you going?"

Twilight shrugged awkwardly. "I don't know yet. She wants to wait for a good reason. I want to go right now, but I'm not going to force her into the trip.."

"Probably for the best. I mean, this is her life we're prying into. She should be calling the shots." Spike took a drink, but stopped mid-swig when he got no answer. "Twilight?" He bent down and peered across the table to find she'd fallen asleep. "Pfft, of course. I'd better go get a blanket."

Fuyu drifted down the sidewalk at an idle pace, so lost in her thoughts she allowed the toes of her sneakers to bounce off the concrete every once in a while. It was a chilly morning despite the risen sun's best efforts, and most everyone she saw was bundled up in some form of jacket or coat.

And they were almost all friendly.

The shift in the town's mood toward her was almost unsettling. Trying to place just why was difficult, but the one thing she understood was the feeling of being something she wasn't.

Or was she?

"Princess! Put a coat on, it's freezing out here!"

Fuyu had no idea who said that; looking around didn't help either. She kept on floating with a shrug.

"Hey look, it's the Princess!"

"Huh?" This voice she was able to place. Across the street was Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo was flying – or desperately trying to fly – along with her.

"Can it kid, we're trying to keep that a secret." Rainbow's tone was almost mocking. She waved at Fuyu and grinned. "Headed to work?"

The pale woman nodded. "Yes."

"Tell Pinkie I said hello. Come on, Scoots, race you to school!"

They were both off like shots. Rainbow was airborne while the young girl had no choice but to run; even on foot, though, Scootaloo was blisteringly fast. Fuyu turned the corner after they were out of sight, then hovered on and turned a few more. All the way people greeted her, waving and smiling. It was as if the air had sucked up all their chill.

As Fuyu slipped into Sugarcube Corner, she had no idea how to feel about it. Nor did she get much chance to think.

"Fufu!" In an instant Pinkie flung herself from behind the counter – seemingly the whole distance to the door, almost – and latched onto Fuyu in a hug. "I've got good news and bad news!"

She hugged the giggling baker and walked on, simply carrying her. "Oh? What's the bad news?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes and whined. "Geez, why does everyone ask for the bad news first? You people are totally depressing."

"You...people?" Fuyu reached the counter and set the baker down. "Well, what happened?"

"Story time!" Pinkie began to bounce in place. "Remember when Mister Cake was home taking care of Pumpkin? Well now both of the grown-up Cakes are sick! I'm the only one here. Since there's nobody in the kitchen, I can run the shop by myself! You get a day off! That's the good news!" Punctuating her words with a sweep of her arms, Pinkie stopped bouncing. She stared when the pale woman seemed underwhelmed. "Whoa, don't use up all your happy at once."

Fuyu folded her arms and glanced out one of the large windows. "I was sort of looking forward to the time away from the library. Twilight has been driving herself insane trying to figure out why I have the markings of a Princess. I was hoping my absence would allow her to fall asleep."

Pinkie nodded furiously. "Ooooo. She does that. One time she came in here and asked for like, the biggest cup of coffee we sell and drank all of it on the spot. Then she started slurring and twitching and ran away and – honestly? – I was kinda really terrified she would die of a heart attack. I think she had been studying astro-trigo-algebranomics for three days straight or something."

"Mm. My...situation is bothering her a great deal. The fact that Celestia is hiding things from her is causing her a lot of stress. My having to hide it as well isn't pleasant either." Fuyu turned away, her expression dropping. Not a moment later, Pinkie latched onto her in a tight embrace. "What's this for?"

"Sssssshh. Shh. Serious hug time, Fufu."

She tried to turn around and finally managed it, only to find herself looking right at the baker's grave blue eyes. "Serious hug?"

Her grip increased in intensity. "It's gonna be okay, okay? I know you're trying be sooooo bad-ass and stoic and all that but I can tell it's getting you down. So just remember it's gonna be okay!"

Fuyu sank more into the hug and let out a sigh that made Pinkie frown. "No it won't."

If it had been anyone else, the dramatic gasp of terrified indignation would have burst their lungs. "Do not say that. It totally will. It will! Be positive!"

She couldn't help it any longer and let the emotion flow, at least what of it she was willing to expose. "Pinkie, if you knew what I know, you would agree with me."

"If it's so bad then stop hiding it! We're your friends dang it, talk to us." Pinkie whined again when Fuyu pulled out of the embrace. "Wh-what happened? Did the Princess tell you something?"

"I really can't say." Feeling awkward, she looked toward the door and decided to make her move before the baker got too riled up. "If I'm not needed here, I'm going. I...I think I want some time to myself."

"Ohmygosh Fufu pleeeeeeease-" Another attempted hug was gently deflected. "O-okay. Just come back if you need a buddy. It doesn't have to be me, even! Just...anyone."

"I'll be fine. I think." Fuyu offered her a weak wave and slid out the door.

The baker watched her go until she could see her no more, frowning bitterly. Her poofy pink hair seemed to lose a bit of volume once Fuyu disappeared. "Oh man, this isn't good."

Five minutes of rather high-speed hovering put a good swath of space between Fuyu and the town. She had taken great pains to avoid passing by the library just in case Twilight was still awake, taking a winding route through town, then heading toward the orchard and doubling back. Looking over her shoulder, she decided this was enough distance and dropped to her feet. Just ahead of her was another section of the massive, dark forest that she'd seen behind Fluttershy's cottage. After ensuring she had no pursers, her eyes began to scan the environment.

The terrain here was bumpy, although not so much as the orchard, which she could see far off to her left as she began walking. The highway was also nearby, but it soon vanished behind a gentle hill.

"Perhaps there is something to being alone for a while, at least." This concept continued to give her a bit of trouble. Forced solitude was one thing, but optional solitude was...she didn't quite know how to explain it to herself.

Time to think.

Fuyu glowered at a flock of birds that darted overhead. "Yes, time to think. Think about what? All the things I can't say?"

About what I am and am not.

"I don't know. I'm a Fuyu." Abruptly, she sat on the grass and folded her arms, almost pouting. "First I was a monster, now I'm a false Princess."

I can be both.

"Wh-where did that come from?" A book, most likely; she'd read dozens of them since settling at the library. They formed the foundation of her knowledge about so many things – a base upon which her interactions with her friends and everyone else was growing. "How can I be both?"

She had no answer for herself. Almost idly, a thought wandered by; perhaps the amulet had unlocked some new ghost of a memory for her to chew on. Twilight had been correct; the routine of life had swallowed her up to the point where she didn't even care about her past self. Newness surrounded her, a welcome change from her nomadic killing. That's what mattered.

And now it wasn't enough.

Ever the pragmatist, she decided to make a vocal list. "What do I know, and what don't I know?" She peered at her palms and sighed. "I don't know why I have these. I don't know who I was or what I was doing before I woke up. I don't know..." Her mind passed over one of the things she'd read in the packet. "Re-purposed. I don't even know what I was truly meant to do."

She was forced to pause as this latest idea lit a massive fire under her brain, then gave rise to another. "I don't even know the full extent of my power." Another bird flew over. On a whim, she snapped her hand at it and called on the reserve of energy she'd used to restore the town. The bird became an orange, which fell until she brought it to her with magic.

"Now you are this," she murmured, letting it float before her eyes. With a snap of her fingers it was the bird again. Seemingly stunned, it fell into her lap and hopped around, chirping and ruffling its feathers. Then it bounced right into her open hand and looked up at her. "And now you are that." It chirped again. "Did I hurt you?" Apparently not, as it flew away and continued on in the direction it had been traveling.

For a moment she watched it go. Only after she lost sight of it did the momentousness of the whole sequence hit her. "I can do that to living things?" Unsettled, she stood. "I'll put that in the 'things I know' column. What else do I know?" Her foot tapped on its own as she thought. "My name is Fuyu. I'm not like everyone else. But I have friends." Finally, a smile appeared. "I did very bad things." She frowned at that and looked at her sneakers. "Which I don't have to do any more."

She caught herself in the single-person conversation and realized another of Twilight's habits had clung to her. Smiling again, she sat back down. "What else can I do? I wonder..." Flicking her wrists, she snapped two ropes of black out of her palms and looked at them. They had always come from there, but now she wondered if they would come from anywhere else. Trying to figure that out was posing a problem, as an internal check of where the goo was yielded not the usual clump in her stomach, but a smooth feeling throughout her body. "Hmm." She chased it around with her consciousness, yanking it back in through her palms and trying to corner it in her legs. When that failed, she pursued until the path lead to her head. "Oh. Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

But at this point she'd finally latched onto it like she was used to. It felt like a physical thing inside her again, so she pointed it at the nearest hole – her mouth – and directed it to appear. A wiggling tentacle popped between her lips in response. "Mmph!" She slurped it back in and made a face at the ghastly flavor. The next few minutes were spent with experimentation; black strands peeked from her nostrils and ears in turn. Upon consideration, she realized her pores probably counted as openings too and summoned tiny tendrils from the skin on her arms. So many of them sprouted from her flesh it seemed like thick, black hair.

"I haven't been using this right," she muttered, reflecting on the clumsy, grabby nature of her interactions with the gunk. As a final test, she sent a squirt out of her left eye socket, which caused the eye to slip out and dangle from the optic nerve, while the black rope wiggled through the new hole. She winced with dull pain and gently enclosed the eye in her hand to kill its ability to see. Even in those few seconds of divergent sight, the effect made her dizzy. "That hurts," she grumbled, carefully re-inserting her eyeball. "I don't even know why I did that."

Regardless, it too had an effect on her. Images of every time one of her friends had gotten hurt cropped up. For them, pain was a big deal. For her, it was a nuisance. A trifle. Even grievous injuries, while inconvenient, were usually of little concern. More reinforcement for the truth; there was no one in the world like her. In a way, it drew back the curtain on a realization – she sunk into a routine so deeply because it seemed a good way to fit in. To become what she was not.

And never will be. Admit it.

Grumbling, she stood up and made an effort to get back to the point of her enforced solitude. "I have to figure out what I'm not being told." To that end, she moved back toward Ponyville with the intention of finding Trixie. Before she got too far, however, a final idea tickled her brain. "I could fly...hmm. If I'm a Princess, shouldn't I have wings?"

She poked at the black goo coursing through her one more time, directing it to squeeze out of her shoulder blades. Using her magic to detect the shape it took, she formed the secretion into blades to pierce her gray shirt, then into feathers, whose image she recalled from books. Five minutes of sculpting the living material yielded a pair of ebony wings that were detectably heavy. Her shoulders tensed and flexed to acclimate themselves to the weight. Squinting, she spread her new appendages and looked from side to side to check her work. They were flawless, shining examples, although more solid-looking than the wispy magical things Rainbow and Fluttershy used to fly. "Good."

Before she could take off, her magical alarm interrupted. A spark was something was approaching from high speed above. It was Rainbow, streaking through the cloudy blue until, abruptly, she dove down and came to a hover before the pale woman. "There you are! I've been loo—holy fuck." She stared as Fuyu folded her wings. "What the hell did I miss?"

"I had a chat with myself." While flexing her wings, she blinked at the athlete's demeanor. "Is something wrong?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. Pinkie was having a full-on freak out at the shop. Said you seemed kinda sad." Rainbow's jaw slackened as she watched Fuyu fiddle with her pinions. "Seriously! What the fuck did I miss?"

"Like I said, I had a chat with myself. Is she all right?"

She scratched at her colorful hair and shrugged. "I guess? Let's go back and check. Uh...do those things actually work?"

"I haven't tried them yet." Fuyu's eyebrows raised at her friend's continued staring. "I made them from the black goo, if you're wondering. If everyone believes I'm a Princess, then I shall play the part. For their sake."

"Right. Geez." They lifted off together and formed up, side by side. The pale woman had no issues keeping up, using her telekinesis to boost her lift. Her wings issued heavy beats. "Damn, they are loud."

Fuyu shrugged to herself. "Mm. If I'm going to feign being royalty, it stands to reason that people should know I'm coming."

Luna rifled quietly through the papers in her hand, determining what would be suitable to pass to Trixie next. She wasn't in the castle; that would have been asking for trouble. Instead she was in a clinically decorated room full of stoic gray filing cabinets. This room was in the National Academy of Science in Canterlot, where most of the project had been carried out. Everything about it was stored in this classified area, far away from the students and tourists.

As she pored over the pages, humming lowly, the door to her left opened. Framed in it was a lanky man with mousy hair, glasses, and a white coat. She peered at him with mild disdain. "What is it?"

"Ma'am, I really must stress how bad of an idea I think this..."

Luna raised her hand to quiet him before looking back down at the files. "Again, Doctor Cannon? We've been over this six...no, seven times. My mind is made up."

He wouldn't yield – then again, she really didn't expect he would. "Your Highness, we have no idea how this information will affect the subject!"

That earned him a pointed glare. "Her name is Winter."

Rattled, he made a show of straightening his red tie and adjusting his glasses. "Right. I still think this is a bad idea."

"We'll see. You and I both know that there is no clean way out of what we've done." Idly, she flicked a stack of files across the room with her magic for later reading. "My sister wishes to suppress it. I wish to get it out in the open and deal with it."

"But we never tested her mental capacity! Her emotional capacity! What if she's unstable?"

"She is a killing machine. I believe the question is how unstable we ended up making her." Luna continued to read. The document she had displayed was the order given by her sister to re-purpose Project Winter, the one that laid out its new goals. "No," she whispered, "Winter is not ready for this." Doctor Cannon cleared his throat to get her attention, which she gave. "Even if she does prove unstable...her reaction may be no less than we deserve."

Her words were too much for the doctor; grumbling awkwardly he took his leave. Sighing with relief, Luna went back to reading. "Nobody understands. I owe her too much to make her live without knowing the whole story."

Another hour passed before she forced herself to conclude her search. Being away too long would invite just as much trouble, so she collected a small set of suitable documents, placed them into a manila envelope, and tucked that under her black hoodie. In order to avoid attracting attention, she meandered through a series of hallways and corridors for about ten minutes before finally slipping out a rear service entrance and onto the Academy grounds. Before moving on, she pulled up her hood and drew it tight to obscure her face. While the evening sky above was full of those that could fly, her angelic wings would be easy to pick out. She was always forced, therefore, to return to the castle on foot. This was no easy task; Canterlot sprawled and towered before her. The castle was hard to see from this side of the city, much less reach.

Luna wasn't looking forward to the jog. She steeled herself with a deep breath. "I certainly could use the exercise."

Off she went, moving past the fountains of the grounds and onto the sidewalk. Dozens of cars crawled past in rush hour traffic. In a few minutes she was swallowed by the dreary towers of downtown. Only by looking straight up could she see a significant chunk of the sky, but she didn't dare – her main priority was to remain anonymous. Ten minutes and several turned corners more brought her past the library and before a large, ornate gate that prevented any further progress. Beyond it was the castle road, a freshly paved, winding path that would see her home. On the left was a guard shack.

"State your business," the grizzled female guard demanded as she drew near. Luna opened her hood just enough to reveal her identity. "Ah. Good evening for a run, isn't it?"

The princess shrugged and smiled a little. "I'm looking forward to the snow, to be honest."

"You're weird. No offense." Laughing, the guard pressed a button and opened the gate for her to pass.

Once through, Luna began to run up the road as fast as her legs would allow. She needed to look tired and sweaty, and sprinting up this incline would be more than enough. Evenly-spaced trees lined the pavement after a while, until suddenly a fountain appeared and the road itself became a circle that surrounded the feature. Luna kept on going past that and down a stone pathway – one of many, with statues placed at seemingly random points. There were neatly trimmed hedges and benches but no other people around. No other people save the one Luna spied through her hood as she came to a breathless stop.

"You're going to hurt yourself!" Celestia called from the balcony ahead. "Be careful."

"I'm fine!" she called, or tried to. The words fell out as a raspy yelp. To aid her quest to ram as much air into her lungs as possible, she bent over and placed her hands on her knees. "Oh my."

In a moment or two her sister was there, arms folded and smiling kindly. "I hope you didn't strain anything."

"My legs are fine, old woman." They both cackled. "Really, I am all right."

"Sit with me a moment." She lead Luna to a bench and settled on it. "I'd still like an explanation for the sudden exercise regimen."

Still panting, Luna shrugged at her and looked out across the statuary. "I guess I finally got tired of being cooped up in the castle all day."

Celestia's eyes shimmered with worry as she prodded Luna into looking at her. "...are you well?"

"Sister, I'm fine, I promise. If I were ill I wouldn't be running all over Canterlot. I'll say this, though..." Pausing, she used her magic to roll up a leg of her cargo pants. "I'll have calves to die for by new year's day."

Celestia couldn't help but smile at the quip. "Oh, you. I can't help but worry about your well being, you know that."

Luna removed her hood. As it dropped, her eyes suddenly became hard. "Then why won't you give me the thing I want most?"

Groaning, Celestia tilted her head back to look at what few stars were beginning to appear in the sunset-reddened sky. "Are we going to argue about this again?"

The younger Princess folded her arms – carefully, to ensure no rustling came from the papers under her hoodie – and nodded once. "Until I change your mind, yes."

"You aren't going to. I know you're terribly fond of Winter, but I have this," she paused, sweeping her arm out to indicate the city beyond and slightly below them, "to worry about. Not just this, either. The nation. Our people."

Luna wanted to shrug, but she understood the gravity of her sister's words too well. "And one day, so will I."

"You have no idea how happy that fact makes me."

"If I ever get over being frail." Luna jumped as she was nudged in the side.

Her sister was grinning wide. "Says the girl who's running every day. Maybe I should join you. I could surely use the workout."

"But I'd feel so bad for leaving you in my dust." They shared one more laugh and stood up, starting toward the castle. "What's for dinner-slash-breakfast?"

"I'll let you pick this time." Celestia nodded to the two guards in blue suits that opened the doors for them as they approached. "You're going to take a shower?"

"Yes. I won't be long." Luna wasn't even looking at her, but knew she'd stopped in the hallway and turned to figure out why. "What?"

She smiled warmly, clasping her hands in front of her. "I've found a reason for Winter to come visit, but you'll have to wait a while. I hope you don't mind."

Had her legs not been aching so, Luna would have jumped for joy. As it was, she maintained a s
arcastic version of the regal composure she never used and shot a smile back. "Of course, sister. You know I am endlessly patient."