Black

On the table across the room was a tremendous pile of clothes that Rarity simply couldn't have made in three days, and yet there they were, neatly stacked and arranged by color and style. Fuyu, seated in one of the boxy chairs, watched as the dressmaker added a few last touches to another garment with thread and needle.

"How did you do all of that in seventy-two hours?" she asked, trying to count how many articles of clothing there were.

"Do not underestimate my ability to sew, darling." She dropped the needle and held up the thing in her hand – a sliver tank top with spaghetti straps – and examined it. "Perfect. Understated, but shiny. I'll have to remember this color combination for later."

"If you keep this up, I'm going to have to find another tree just to store my wardrobe." She smiled when Rarity snorted and giggled at her joke, filing away the successful delivery to use later. "Really. You didn't have to do this."

"Shush. I will not stand idly by while your wings ruin all of your tops. Would you mind pulling them again so I can double-check my work?"

"Very well." Fuyu stood and adjusted her blue tube top before concentrating on the process to conjure her wings. The black goo squirmed out of her shoulder blades in ropes before yanking and tugging itself into the majestic ebony construction Rainbow Dash had seen. "Do you want me to turn around?"

"Yes, please." Rarity set her glasses aside and walked over. "Damn you. I've been going to the gym three days a week for three years and I will probably never have arms and shoulders of this caliber!"

Fuyu's tone betrayed no ill will, but the straight delivery stung the dressmaker right in the heart. "I'll trade your past for my physique, if you'd like."

"...my apologies," she sighed, frowning at the floor. "I meant it as a compliment, not to dredge anything up."

"I'm not angry, I'm just..." Fuyu paused a moment to grope for a suitable word. She ended up borrowing one from Rainbow. "...saying."

"Right. Er, let's change the subject." Rarity peered at where the wings sprouted from Fuyu's porcelain flesh, emitting a series of low hums and mutters. "Goodness, they're so...substantial. Have you tried producing magical ones?"

"Yes, but I can't seem to feel the ability – if I even have it." Several moments passed without any word from the dressmaker. "What are you doing back there?"

"Contemplating, darling, just contemplating." Abruptly, she clapped her hands once and stepped around front. "Time to try these on! All of them!"

"But, that's going to take-" Fuyu looked over her shoulder at the stack, "-hours."

"Then we'd better get started." She folded her arms and scowled at the look Fuyu gave her. "This is much harder than you think, darling. I am building you a style from scratch, so I have to throw fashion at the wall and see what sticks."

The pale woman dismissed her wings and issued a tiny smirk. "That's a lot of fashion."

"What can I say? I am a wellspring of excellent ideas. Now, grab something and put it on! I want to see it in action!"

"If you say so." Fuyu wandered to the table and plucked a sky blue something with virtually no back and moved toward one of the curtained booths. "I could have made my own clothes."

Rarity gave her an exaggerated wink. "Princesses do not make clothes."

"But I'm—oh. I get it." Blank-faced, she disappeared behind the curtain. Before she could start changing, however, her phone rung. "Huh?" After fishing it from her pocket, she looked at the screen and saw a picture of Trixie.

"Can you talk right now?" the magician asked just as soon as Fuyu hit the button to answer.

She kept her voice low. "Yes, why?"

"Expect a package tonight. I'm heading to the train station to pick it up about midnight or so."

Her heart rate elevated as she consumed the words. "Okay. I want to be there. I'll stay out of sight if I must."

"Darling, are you all right in there?"

"Fine," she called. "I need to go," she added lowly to the phone.

"Got it. See you tonight."

Rarity cocked an eyebrow as Fuyu walked out at last, clad in the blue top. "That took a while."

"Sorry. Phone call." She was still trying to return the phone to the pocket of her cargo pants.

Rarity cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Did something happen or is Twilight being a nag again?"

"It was Trixie." The look Fuyu got from her friend caused a severe scowl. Without hesitation she folded her arms and returned it in kind. "She's my friend too."

That assertion was too much; she turned her back on the pale woman and hissed angrily. "I despise that woman with every fiber of my being!"

Her temper had very little effect. "I'm aware."

Sensing this, Rarity spun on her heel and spat some more. "She was going to kill my sister! Why do you even give her the time of day?"

Fuyu flicked her emotion aside with an icy glare and decided to quash her tantrum before it really got going. "I fail to see why you all feel the need to keep reminding me about what she did. I am well aware. I'll tell you what I told Rainbow Dash; she did those things with my power. By all means, hate her. But remember that she held a piece of me for a while and that gives us a relationship, like it or not. And if her presence makes you fearful, you can rest easy. If she tries to bring harm to this town again, I will turn her to ash."

Rarity had a rebuttal all ready to go, but the tone of Fuyu's promise froze it solid. Unable to screw up enough courage for any response after her failed try, she slumped over in submission and glanced away. "Fair points, I suppose. I'm not going to like her, though."

"I'm not asking you to, but our friends need not all be mutual."

Rarity smirked at her and straightened up. "Goodness me, you are the most intimidating woman I have ever met."

She just gave her a nonchalant shrug. "Most predators are intimidating."

The statement hung between them, sucking all the air and heat out of the room until Rarity thought her blood was going to turn to ice. She coughed and tried to think of something to break that glacier. "You've certainly learned the complexities of friendship, haven't you?"

"I'm doing my best." At last, Fuyu remembered her new clothing and looked down to appraise how it hung on her. "This is a bit...revealing."

The dressmaker, eager to find a less touchy subject, rubbed her chin and nodded. "The front is a bit low, perhaps...there's a bolero jacket that goes with it, though. Let me go find it. Then you can try on everything else!" Giggling with glee, she disappeared into the back.

Fuyu looked up at the wall clock over the counter. It was 4:30. "Perhaps I should call Twilight and tell her I'm spending the night here," she mumbled, looking back at the huge pile of clothes on the table.

While she meant it as a joke, it turned out not to be; ten o'clock had arrived just as she hit the library door. Twilight was sound asleep in a chair across the room with a book in her lap. "I told her not to wait for me," Fuyu sighed, hovering to the kitchen door to avoid triggering any squeaky wood. A quick rummage in the fridge yielded a strange bottle of soda that, upon testing, tasted like watermelon. "Where did this come from?" There was a note on the bottom of the bottle from Pinkie. "'This is a new formula'," it read. "'Let me know how it is.' I should have figured."

Her mind was occupying itself with little things to avoid getting anxious, and she was well aware of its attempts. Grasping the soda, she floated right back out of the library and into the sleeping town. It was cold enough for her to see her breath now, and cold enough to keep most everyone inside despite the hour. After tracking the nearby magic users for a while, it seemed safe enough for her to lift off and look around for the railroad tracks. Once she found them, she followed them east, trading the lights of Ponyville for the darkness of the surrounding plains. The highway ran along the tracks, but she only saw five cars before another, smaller cluster of lights appeared. Discreetly, she dropped down and landed behind a tree to avoid being seen from the highway, and walked the rest of the way.

The train station, like the town it served, was a small affair. It had one platform to the left of the tracks as Fuyu approached; the station itself was a pleasant brick building with a gabled roof and large square windows. As she jumped up the four feet to the platform, the whole thing seemed to be empty. While surveying the scene, she took a swig of the watermelon soda.

"You're early."

She turned to see Trixie hefting herself up onto the platform, grunting most of the way. "I really need to start visiting that gym near the soda shop," she moaned.

Fuyu shrugged, emptied her bottle, and flipped it across the platform into a trash can near the wall of the station. "Mm. Are we early?"

The magician nodded and settled on one of the iron and wooden benches against the wall of the station. "I'd say so. The drop won't be for about an hour and a half."

She didn't follow her over. "I thought Luna was giving you the papers."

"My going back and forth to Canterlot would attract a lot of attention. It only took you one time to get curious." Trixie watched as she at last came over and sat down. "You seem a bit anxious."

"I am."

For the longest time those two words hung between them, just as cold and heavy as the air. "I didn't think you could be anxious," Trixie said at last, leaning back into her corner of the bench.

"That's ridiculous. My emotions might not work quite the same as everyone else's yet, but they still work." They paused and glanced at the lights of a car that traveled along the highway behind them. "You've seen me be angry."

Trixie nodded, pulling her jacket tighter around her. "And it's something I'll never forget."

"I'm sorry, again." Sullen only for a second, she perked up and looked over. "I was genuinely angry at you for no reason."

"Yes. Yes, you were." She was getting an odd vibe from the pale woman and shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

"I never would have done that to Twilight, or Applejack, or Rainbow Dash, and so on. I was going to kill you." Fuyu was thinking out loud.

Trixie was just getting more and more uncomfortable. "Where are you going with this?"

Pieces were still flying together in her head and kept leaking out through her lips in the process. "But you're still my friend...hmm."

"Um, can I get an explanation, please?" she asked, tapping her sneaker on the concrete.

Fuyu didn't give her one. "How many kinds of friends are there?"

Thrown off entirely, she blinked and tilted her head. "...what in the wor—I don't know. A lot. Why?"

"Twilight and company want so desperately to help me. It makes me feel like I can't really...talk to them. I don't understand why."

Trixie crossed her legs and rubbed her chin. "Maybe you don't want them to worry?"

She nodded lightly and cast her eyes at her black moccasins. "Perhaps. Would you worry?"

"Some, but certainly not as much." Silence fell. She finally bent forward and tried to peek at Fuyu's face. "You want to talk?"

"Yes, I do."

Suddenly, the magician assumed the air of a therapist and gazed at her. "Let's hear it, then."

"Hmm." Nothing else was said for about ten seconds as she tried collect her thoughts – or arrange them into what she wanted to escape first. "I don't know what I'm supposed to be."

After shrugged and glancing across the tracks into the night, Trixie asked, "What do you want to be?"

"I..." She had no idea. Slumping back against the bench and staring up, she sighed. "I only know what I didn't want to be, which was...what I was before I came here."

"So, success, right? What's the problem?"

Fuyu stood up and walked away a few steps. "I don't know. I don't have the whole story," she said, turning to face Trixie. "I haven't been given the whole story."

"Oh. That sucks."

A light from their left killed the conversation. Too bright and in the wrong place to be a car, they couldn't determine what it was until it got closer and lit up the rails. "Will it be on a train?" Fuyu asked.

"I have no idea." Trixie watched the light bounce about slightly. "All I know is to expect it here at midnight."

"I see." An elbow to the ribs made her squirm. "What?"

Trixie smirked at her. "Keep talking. We've got over an hour to go."

"Fine." Another brief arrangement of her thoughts occurred. "Am I allowed to tell you what I read in the first envelope?"

"Uh...good question. I wasn't supposed to look, but Luna didn't say anything about you telling me after the fact." She needed to hug something and brought up her knees. "I'm guessing no, though."

"I'm going to anyway."

The magician swallowed hard as her friend sat back down. "I really don't want to die in jail, Fuyu."

"You won't." She whipped out a rope of the black goo. "This is made of dead people. A lot of dead people. They crushed them until their innate magic became a black paste, then they injected me with it." Only when Trixie whimpered out loud did she pause and glance over.

"Can we please change the subject?" she begged, trembling.

"No, I need someone else to hear this. They built this as a weapon, then gave it to me to..." Her mind slapped her hard. "That's as far as I can go."

Trixie winced as Fuyu recalled the substance so fast it emitted a snap against her palm. "Okay, fine. I don't know whether to be more afraid of that gunk or more afraid of whatever they gave it to you to do."

The answer to that question was very easy. "Be more afraid of the gunk."

"If you say so. Who gave it to you, exactly?"

Debating whether or not to reveal this took several moments. Figuring there was no point in deflecting the question, she decided to go ahead. "The Princesses did."

"What?!" Trixie stood up and stumbled away from the bench. "Why?!"

"I had a job to do." Recalling the sentence Celestia had written in the documents made her scowl furiously. "At least one that I know of."

"What jo—you know what, no. Don't even tell me because I've got enough to freak out about." To prove her point, she started to wander around and mutter. "Your goo is made of dead people and you're a Princess apparently. Oh, and I'm a stalker too, with the blessings of Luna. I miss pulling rabbits out of hats."

Fuyu shook her head and approached. "Calm down."

Trixie would have none of it and kept on pacing. "Are you serious? I'm stuck between two very, very powerful people that can look at me and blow my head off. Now I have to keep Luna in the dark about you knowing about her and oh boy, if she finds out my life is fucking over." Her frantic voice echoed briefly through the cold night.

The pale woman caught up and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know plenty about keeping secrets."

All she could do was wilt with the contact. "I wish I didn't."

"Mm." They had to pause again as the train went by, rumbling past at a crawl in the direction of Ponyville. It carried only freight, various low gondolas full of something that sparkled in the station's lights and looked like a mineral. Once the groaning diesel locomotives had passed around the curve, Fuyu spoke up again. "Twilight was right. Talking really does help."

Trixie didn't appreciate the chat nearly as much. "Why didn't you say this stuff to her, then? She's one-sixth of your best friends forever."

Fuyu folded her arms and watched the train. "That's exactly why."

It went right over her head at first, but something clicked and she gave the pale woman a surprised look. Fuyu wouldn't look back, wouldn't even glance over and acknowledge that expression. She knew then that she knew something, but was unwilling to say it. Instead, they both watched the train trundle along in front of them until it ended, bidding them farewell with a flashing red light on the final coupler that slid into the darkness.

"It's cold," the magician grumbled. She grumbled again after looking at her watch. "And we still have 40 minutes to wait."

Together they returned to the bench. Trixie moved a manila envelope to sit down, dropping it on the concrete. As soon as it hit, she froze with surprise. "Wait..."

"What?" Fuyu looked down at it, resting near the magician's feet. "Where did that come from?"

"I have no idea." She hugged herself and glanced around, eyes flooded with paranoia. "Did you see anyone?"

"No, did you?" After picking it up, she turned it over to find a flap for opening. "Huh. It feels light."

"I'm out. Cannot be seeing any of the contents. I don't think." Trixie stood and skittered away, stopping at the edge of the platform. "I should probably not jump off this thing in the dark." Fuyu lifted and set her down on the grass with magic, forcing a yelp. "Ah! Right. Fine. Thanks."

Once she was gone, the pale woman opened the envelope and began extracting the documents. There weren't many; 10 pages in all, only nine of which were stapled together. The tenth fell out and fluttered to the concrete.

"Huh?" Once it was in her hand, she found it to be a leaf of notebook paper with something scribbled on in purplish ink. "'I'm sorry it's not much. I'll tell you much more once we meet.'" It was signed Luna in swooping cursive. "When we meet?"

That page was set aside on the bench in favor of the others. The first was blank on both sides, but the second was plastered with handwritten notes. After a second of skimming, they caused her to gasp out loud. "This is all about me!"

They took the form of a very informal journal, with times prefacing every paragraph. There were no dates, however. Despite frowning at their absence, she devoured the text with great interest.

09:44: I've been told the subject has chosen a name for herself after visiting the castle. Fuyu. Odd name, but she really seems to like it. The moment I received her at the academy she went right back to the little room we've got set up and grabbed those dumbbells. Man, she loves to exercise. I wonder if I should tell her to stop, but she never seems to get tired.

10:39: Dr. Cannon arrived with a sample of the...whatever. It's black as night and looks like coal. He wants me to give it to her.

10:41: She – Fuyu, I mean – has no idea what it is, and frankly that's a relief. Wait, she touched it. It melted! How did she...oh, it scared her. I don't like her when she gets like this, she's too strong.

10:48: Calmed her down. Whatever this gunk is, it's now a frozen puddle on the floor. I tried scraping it up but it wouldn't budge. Fuyu wants to help me.

10:53: Holy crap. Whenever she touches this stuff it flows like water.

10:59: She's playing with it like a toy. As long as she keeps contact with it, it'll do...well, whatever she wants. Turn into a rope, a ball, a cube, stuff like that. What is this goo?

11:21: Oh man, Cannon says the Princess is coming. Luna. To check up on her 'weaponry', whatever that means. I've been sitting with Fuyu for 15 minutes. Never seen her smile like this. I think she's talking to the black stuff.

11:30: Luna and Fuyu are staring each other down, and if I weren't being paid to write this I probably would have passed out by now. I hate tension! Luna keeps telling her to do stuff with the goo, but she won't. Wait, there she goes. It's like...like watching solid magic.

The next two paragraphs were blacked out save for the times – 12:19 and 14:42 respectively. At the end of the second was a notation that read 'end of day 30'.

"Is this when I met you?" she asked herself. Or at least she thought she was asking herself, but unconsciously a wisp of black had wiggled from her palm, at which she looked and frowned. "You made me smile."

She turned the page. Something was different about this one – not the notes or their style, but the paper itself. It seemed newer than the previous page.

00:57: The injection process is about to take place. Both the Princesses are here to see it. Fuyu doesn't appreciate being tied to the bed very much.

01:11: She's starting to cry. Begging for help. I can't even look at her.

01:14: I want to leave the room but Luna won't let me. I can't even hear myself think for Fuyu's screaming.

There was an added line between that entry and the next. I'm so sorry about this. The handwriting was different from the rest, and on comparison seemed to be Luna's own.

"My dream." Unable to process any more, she slid the papers back into the envelope and stood. "I..." Her shoulders slumped. "I don't know."

Suddenly an idea occurred to her. She looked back toward Ponyville, blankly at first, then with determined eyes. After making sure she'd collected all the papers, she streaked into the sky. While the trip here had taken her a few minutes, the trip back was a two minute affair, if that. It concluded with a hover in front of Rainbow's apartment building, although one window lower than usual. She tapped on the pane and watched a confused Trixie first track the noise from her couch, then look over, and finally walk.

"Uh, hello?" she said after opening the window. "What are you doing here?"

Fuyu slipped through and landed on the carpet. "You talk to Luna, right?"

"Yeah, I thought you knew that..." When the pale woman snatched her phone off the table, Trixie started to panic. "No! You can't!"

Fuyu thrust the phone at her. "Dial the number."

That caused begging. "Please, no, she can't know that you know." The phone was thrust at her again and she took it, hands shaking. "Fuyu, please."

There was no anger to be found in her face, but as it had before her determination looked frighteningly similar. "Dial it, Trixie."

"F-f-fine." Due to her trembling fingers, several attempts were needed. "Here. It's ringing. I am so dead."

Before the magician went to cower in the corner and weep – quite literally – Fuyu took the phone and placed it to her ear. Several rings passed before a voice took over.

"This better be good, Trixie. I'm in the middle of lunch. Or dinner. Whatever you call a meal at midnight."

Fuyu squinted at the TV. "Princess Luna."

On the other end, the phone nearly slipped from her hand as the voice registered. She was shaking even worse than the magician was previously. So bad were the tremors that she had to hold the device with both hands just to keep it to her ear. "Winter? How did...how did you..."

"I know about Trixie being your spy, but that's beside the point."

"Your voice hasn't changed at all." Luna began to cry; out of instinct she pulled up her hood to hide the tears. "Did you get my packages?"

She folded one arm and glanced over at the whimpering woman in the corner. "Yes. What did you mean by your note?"

Luna could hardly maintain her balance as she walked to her bed. "You will see when the letter gets delivered, tomorrow I hope. It's...it's so nice to hear your voice."

"Hmm. Are these documents what your sister promised me?"

"Well, no. I'm picking up her slack." She sat on the mattress and tried to control her shaking. "I'm so sorry for everything, Winter."

Fuyu had no idea what to say to that and hesitated for a long time. "I'll decide whether to accept your apology after I get the full story."

"Perfectly fair. I have to go, but before I do...look at the last journal note on the last page."

With her magic, she did just that. What waited for her there almost caused her to drop the phone.

23:59: We have lost containment of the subject – I heard she escaped, somehow. Fuyu, I mean. No idea where she is. Princess Celestia told Cannon not to look, so I guess she'll handle it. Cannon said this is the last entry I'll need to write, so...end day 247 and end log.

"I escaped? But how?" Behind her, Trixie perked up as she listened.

"A story for another time. I must go. I'll see you soon enough." Luna quickly ended the call and fell back onto her bed, still shivering. "I don't know whether to hang Trixie or hug her for this."

A deep breath steered her mind toward the latter. Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, she stood and started the process of composing herself.

"Mail call!"

Fuyu hardly glanced up as Twilight scaled the stairs, clutching the mail in her hand. She flipped one of the pieces to the pale woman, who caught it with her magic. "It's from Canterlot. Any idea what it is?"

There was no genuineness in her voice. "No." With a black blade, she slit it open and peeked inside. "Hmm."

Twilight rifled through the rest of the letters and bills for only a moment before Fuyu's tone stung her ears. "Are you okay? You've been kind of quiet since the wings thing happened..."

The morning light caused the embossed sun on the stationery to gleam as Fuyu moved the letter about. She ignored the question, read the text, then summarized it out loud. "Princess Celestia wants me at the castle."

"What? Why?" Fuyu handed her the letter as she walked over. "Your presence is requested, blah blah, one week's time, blah blah blah...official investiture ceremony! Oh! This is perfect!"

Fuyu was not nearly as giddy. "I thought I already had one of these."

"You've got the medal, but usually there's a set number of dates each year when the members are officially invested. I didn't know if you were getting a chance at a ceremony or not." Grinning, Twilight handed the letter back and clasped her hands. "We get to go to Canterlot! I can show you around the city to jog your memory...while I try and ask Celestia what exactly is going on, in person."

"Mm." Fuyu folded the paper and set it on her lap.

"Geez, contain yourself." Twilight assumed her finest grumpy pose and glowered. "I thought you'd be excited."

"I don't know whether to be excited or afraid."

Stunned by the admission, she sat down on the edge of the pale woman's bed and looked at her. "Wh...why would you be afraid?" When she got only silence, the answer became clear. "It's something the Princess told you, isn't it."

A shrug of her shoulders came and went. "More or less."

"Crap. Sorry." Her eyes drifted and came to rest on the morning sky out the window. "It's driving us both crazy, huh? I don't know, but you know. It's just as bad no matter which side of it we're on."

"I don't know as much as you think." Fuyu took the letter and re-read it. "It says I can bring three people to the ceremony, if I want."

Twilight's hand snapped up as if she were answering a question in school. "I'm going!"

Fuyu nodded with an eyebrow raised. "I assumed you were. Who else should I take?"

"I dunno. You've got a week to pick. Call around and see who's up for it." Just as she was reaching for her phone, however, Twilight interrupted. "Wait just a second. Before you do that, uh...can you say at all what's bothering you? Anything?"

Scanning her mind, there was one thing that was safe enough to let out. "Everyone suddenly loves me for something I might not be. I'm not sure what to think of that."

She nodded slowly and sighed. "Oh. Well. I have to admit, it was rather...drastic. The people here love the Princesses. I guess that's part of the reason why Celestia sent me here."

Fuyu perked with surprise. "Sent you here?"

"Oh, I never told you this, did I?" After shifting around a bit, Twilight settled into her storytelling mode. "A couple of years ago I lived in Canterlot. Not in the Castle, of course, but I visited a lot."

"Why did she send you away?"

Her hand rose to hide a light laugh. "The city life was getting to me. It's so hectic in Canterlot. I suppose she saw how-"

"Stressed you were becoming?" Fuyu's eyes remained firmly on her legs as the librarian looked over.

"Yeah. Stressed." A frown bent her lips, but after a second she looked away and back at the window. "You know, she was right. It's much easier to relax out here, not to mention how much my friends have helped keep me sane." She snickered again. "Or made me lose my mind."

"Hmm." Fuyu blinked when Twilight's hand suddenly came to rest on her knee. Her eyes traveled up that arm until they reached her concerned expression.

"I should have asked this first – do you want to go? I think the excitement made me a bit pushy."

"I..." Her adamant wish to find out something had faded somewhat since she'd first expressed it to Celestia. It had flared up again last night while talking to Luna, although now it was colder again. She set her chin on an upraised fist and stared into space, fighting with herself. "Yes," she murmured at length, glancing over. "Knowing is better than not knowing, even if I can't divulge it."

Twilight beamed at her. "I'll see if I can't get her to fill me in. Well then, since you're on board...I guess we'd better get ready for our trip!"

Fuyu moved her gaze away and squinted at the bright morning light. "Yes. I guess we'd better."