Fuyu couldn't decide what sound was more comforting: the gentle clack of her magic stone on the armrest of the chair, or the seemingly endless clipping noise that was coming from behind her. Rarity was working her magic – literal and figurative – on the pale woman's hair, causing an avalanche of black and blue locks to float to the tile floor.

"Why is this necessary, again?" she asked, being sure to keep her head still. She allowed herself to glance down at her bobbing palm once she realized she was keeping time with the music coming from the radio in the corner. "And I think I might like this song."

"It is rather catchy." Rarity paused and moved back to get a better picture of Fuyu's hair. "That's shoulder length. We'll stop there for now." She went to trimming the top of her head. "It's necessary because you simply must look good for your new job."

A substantial amount of willpower was needed for her to avoid shooting an annoyed look over her shoulder at the dressmaker. "And why is that necessary?"

"It's all part of Pinkie's plan to rehabilitate your image." Rarity flicked a tilted sneer at one set of hairs that wouldn't stay down. She used her magic to press on them until, finally, she snipped them away altogether. "That'll grow back."

"I can fix it," Fuyu assured her flatly, then her tone changed. "I don't see why my image needs rehabilitating in the first place. I feel like I'm being blamed for saving the town."

"Darling, we're a tiny hamlet in the very literal middle of nowhere. There are no secrets. Everyone is probably just mad you managed to keep such a large one for so long." A few more snips and adjustments brought a cascade of bangs in front of the pale woman's left eye. "Oh, I like that. You look mysterious."

She couldn't help but issue an uncertain smile while staring at herself in the mirror. "If you say so. I'm not used to having hair in my face."

"It's quite stylish. I think we're done with the shaping. What shall we do about the color? We can go all black, or..." She paused as Fuyu lifted her left hand, then ran it along the blue stripe that buffered her left ear. It was black after emerging from under her palm. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know. I just thought about it." She copied the process with her right hand and dipped her head to see the results better in the mirror. "I miss the blue."

Rarity could only blink with amazement at the display. "Can you reverse it? If not, I have some lovely dye we can use. Plenty of shades of blue!"

Her answer was a palm swept across the bangs that covered her eye, a motion that changed them to an icy shade of turquoise. "That's better."

"Wha—good grief, darling." Rarity stroked her chin while evaluating the new look. "I must admit, the splash of color is quite appealing. Shall we call it done, then?"

"Yes." Fuyu rose from the chair, using her magic to detach the barber's cloth and hang it on the back. "I'm still surprised you cut hair."

Rarity let a pleasant cackle slip as she started to sweep the floor with her power. "Fashion is not a bolt of fabric and thread alone, my dear. Besides, mother simply had to pass on her craft to one of us, and Sweetie cannot be trusted with a pair of scissors."

The pale woman smiled again, rubbing the back of her neck to deal with how light her head felt. "You tease your sister so much. I like her. She's one of the few people besides you guys that will even give me the time of day."

"Sweetie's a bit biased. After all, you did save her from execution." The memory of that day caused her to grit her teeth with rage. "Damn that woman." After clearing her throat and regaining her poise, she continued. "Ponyville is a stubborn bunch." She issued a few pats on Fuyu's shoulder for comfort – and also to flick away an errant loose hair – and went back to sweeping. "Pinkie knows what she's doing. Just be patient."

"I will never understand people." Fuyu reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out the gleaming medal Celestia had given her over two weeks prior. The silence made her ears prick until she was forced to take her eyes off the thing and look at her friend. "What?"

"Welcome to life, darling," she replied with a wry smirk. "You'd best be getting on. Twilight wants to give you a speech before you get started."

"I should have known." Fuyu meant to roll her eyes, but it showed up as a glance at the ceiling instead. She dropped the medal back into her pocket and started for the back door. "All right. Thank you for the haircut."

Outside, the air bore a chilly edge. Even though the sun had been up for two hours, its angle in the sky made it seem distant and weak. Autumn was just beginning the process of fading into winter, and every tree in sight that could bore some color of leaf besides green. These were seasons unlike the pale woman had ever known. Unlike the endless, muggy summers of her time in the south, her first in the center of the country was a staunchly hot period that seemed to vanish into thin air. The fall had seemingly just arrived, and yet it appeared destined to fade just as quickly. The way things changed in this region was very unfamiliar to her brain. What wasn't unfamiliar, however, was the collective attitude of the locals to her presence. There weren't many others wandering about, but the few that were all gave Fuyu looks nearly as cold as the weather. While a precious few of them were friendly – such as the schoolteacher with striped hair whose name escaped her – most of the townsfolk were distant at best, and vaguely hostile at worst. A friendly wave was sent her way; upon returning it, she found herself looking at Lyra, another one of the pleasant minority.

"How's it going?" she asked, walking up to fully say hello. Taken aback by the change in appearance, she stopped and gawked for a moment. "Whoa. Nice haircut."

"Thank you." She peered out through her blue bangs and sighed. "Where's Bon Bon?"

"Probably at the shop by now." A brief, contemplative tap on the chin preceded an embarrassed look. "I'm so late. She's gonna kill me."

"You should go, then." Fuyu thumbed over her left shoulder back toward downtown. "Tell her I said hi."

"I will." Lyra was gone with a toothy grin and an excited wave, jogging down the sidewalk. The pale woman listened to the scuffing sound of her sneakers before starting off. It was a noise which only attracted more unhappiness; the reason she was on foot herself was directly related to her standing with the locals. Her best efforts went to rationalizing and dealing with the situation, but as she had confessed to the librarian previously, it was all beginning to grate on her.

As she thought on it, she figured that Pinkie must have gotten wind of her feelings and thus come up with her idea. Shaking her head with that conclusion, Fuyu walked faster toward the library tree.

Upon arrival, she peeked through a window and found Twilight in the public room, seated with a grave-looking hardbound book in her hands. She almost dropped it when the pale woman came completely through the door. "Oh! There you-" The new look made her trail off. "Wow. Is there anything appearance-related that woman isn't good at?"

"It was a joint effort." A lifted hand, sheathed in magic, pressed the door closed. Now out of sight of the town, she finally detached herself from the floor and floated over to the nearest empty chair. "When do you think it will be appropriate for me to fly again?" she asked, complete with air quotes for emphasis. "I don't think walking is helping my image, and it's slow."

Twilight snickered and slapped her book closed. "Oh, Fu. I didn't say you couldn't hover, I just thought it might be a good idea to not, you know..." Her right hand waved around in circles, as if trying to fan the right word over to her tongue through the aether.

Fuyu helped her along while getting comfortable in her seat. "...do the Rainbow Dash thing?"

"Yes. That." She looked over and smiled, but in the back of her mind it was difficult to ignore how imposing Fuyu looked, even sitting down. "Are you nervous about today?"

"Why would I be nervous? I took on an army of mobsters, got beaten up by a tornado, then fought a magician that held power comparable to my own." Her eyes slid down as she queried herself, and up again as she realized the truth. "Yes. Some."

"It's fine. Everyone gets nervous about this sort of thing." Twilight rose and began to pace, her sensible heels gently clacking on the wood. "All you have to remember is—huh?" A snapping sound drew her focus back to the pale woman, who had crossed her legs and put on a wry smile. "What?"

"This must be the speech Rarity told me about," she replied, that grin getting a little wider.

Twilight huffed with mock annoyance, but returned the expression. "It's not a speech, it's just a word of advice. Or two. Or twelve. If I wanted to give you a speech, you wouldn't be out of here until past lunchtime." They both laughed for a moment before she pressed ahead. "Seriously." She made a brief show of clearing her throat before the pacing started anew. "Pinkie probably already filled you in on what the Cakes want you to do, so you'll be fine."

Fuyu slid an interjection in before the librarian could proceed off that fallacy. "Actually, I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing at the shop," she said, hand raised.

"What? Um. Well." Scratching at her navy locks and staring up, her brain scrambled for new words of wisdom. "Er, then don't be afraid to ask questions. Basically, be nice – like you usually are – and dependable, and you'll be fine. Also, if someone tries to be a jerk, then you should be polite. That's the best way to defuse the situation."

During her talk, Twilight had somehow ended up behind Fuyu's chair, forcing her to look back over her shoulder. "I think I understand the social interactions, just not what I'm supposed to be doing, exactly."

"Oh, right. I'm sure she'll fill you in on the way there. Unless she's too pumped to remember, that is." Smiling, she came around and seated herself again. "I'm surprised she's not here yet, to be honest. Sounded like she was going to pop over the phone earlier."

A rapid tapping rang out from the door. Twilight answered it at range, using her magic to pull it open. A tittering Pinkie Pie burst into the room, wearing blue overalls over a pink, long-sleeved shirt and yellow sneakers. Her hair was even more poofy and erratic than usual, flying all over the place as she ran over to the two. "Ohmygosh guys I am so excited!"

Fuyu looked across at Twilight, then at the happy baker. "Really?" she smirked, her sarcasm utterly flawless.

"Yeah! Today is the first day of the town actually getting to know the real you!" In true Pinkie form, this revelation demanded an added hug for the pale woman. Like Lyra, she had to blink and take in the new hairstyle. "Wowie. You look nice!"

"Thank you." She stood up with Pinkie still attached; as usual, that made her giggle and wiggle her lower legs. "Ready to go?"

"Yep! Let's do this!" The baker was gone nearly as soon as she dropped to the floor, shooting back outside with remarkable speed.

Twilight stared out the open portal with blank eyes. "Good luck," she said, finally, waving up at Fuyu. "See you in a few hours."

The pale woman drew a sharp breath and nodded. "Mm. Here goes nothing."

By the time Fuyu caught up, Pinkie was already in her car, caterwauling to the unbearably chipper tune that poured out of the radio. She got into the white coupe and looked around. The interior was oddly gray and even cleaner than Rarity's car. It also bore little touches of color, from the red balloon air freshener on the rear-view mirror, to seemingly random stickers on the glove compartment door. Her nose filled up with the smell of some flower.

Without warning, the baker turned the radio down and gripped the steering wheel. "This is gonna be great! You're gonna make friends and make money and do stuff and help people and everything! I'm so glad Mr. Cake hired you."

"Speaking of that, what did he hire me to do, again?" she asked, cutting Pinkie off before she became too agitated to shut up. "Nobody's told me."

An explanation came as they pulled out into the street and drove away from the library tree. "Oh, it's super easy. All you've gotta do is man the register and take orders and that sort of thing. I'm gonna be in the back 'cause Mrs. Cake needs me to help with the actual baking stuff since Nightmare Night is coming and people want candy by the cartload!" By the time she finished talking, her joy bubbled up in various giggles and other assorted noises. "See, we've got like a little cafe in the front, and that's where I usually am most of the time. But the holidays are coming and I'll have to use my super confectionery smarts to help the Cakes keep up with their orders."

Most of Pinkie's frantic speech rolled past Fuyu's mind like water off a duck's back. She was far too busy picturing Sugarcube Corner in her head to get an exact idea of where the job would be taking her. "I see. So all I have to do is stand behind that glass counter with the strange pies?"

"Pretty much! There's a fancy coffee thingy I'll have to teach you how to run but it's easy too. You can use your magic and not even have to move!" They were already pulling into the parking lot by now, an occurrence that made the baker emit another happy sound. "Ready to go?" she asked, looking over with a grin so wide her face seemed ready to split open.

The expression made Fuyu a bit unsure. "Yes?" Both women exited the car. "I could have flown here. Or walked. You didn't need to pick me up."

"Don't be silly! We're co-workers now, we totally have to carpool!" She skipped ahead and entered. The pale woman only followed her after a moment and with an odd look in her eyes.

Mrs. Cake waved at them from behind the counter. "Good morning, dearie! Ready for your first day?" she asked, almost as gleeful as the other pink-haired woman.

A genuine smile arrived; while she assumed the Cakes would be on her side, given their constant exposure to Pinkie, it was nice to have actual confirmation. "I suppose." She circled the counter and stood there, peering at the register. "This doesn't seem too difficult to manage."

"Oh, not at all. We decided to ease you in." She ceded the space to the pale woman and went to find her apron. "We're at that odd little time of year where it's too cold for milkshakes and too hot for cocoa, so most everyone ends up asking for coffee and a bagel. You don't need to worry about the food, we'll take care of that. If you run out of something up here, all you need to do is call the order back to one of us." She laughed at Pinkie's forceful thumbs up, then motioned at a gold-plated contraption on the wall directly behind the counter. "This is the cappuccino machine, by the way. Pinkie? Would you mi-" She jerked back as the young baker dashed between them and slid to a stop by the machine. "I didn't even need to ask, did I. Well, I'm off to go see to that order of key lime pie. Have fun!"

"Bye?" Fuyu turned her attention back to Pinkie. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you two were related."

"You're silly. I'ma tell you a secret; before I moved in upstairs, Mrs. Cake was kind of a grumpy grump. Like, you know that old lady with the cooking show that yells at everyone? Kinda like that." She was bent down and rubbing her chin as she stared at the device. "Okay! Coffee thing 101! This is the regular coffee button. This is the frothy button, for frothiness. This is the...I dunno what this one does, honestly. I think it shoots out pure caffeine. This one is for the milk, 'cause people like milk with coffee! This is the thingy attached to the thingy for iced coffee. And this is the drawer where the cream and sugar are."

Her icy blue eyes followed along as Pinkie pointed out each little knob and switch. She filed the information away and nodded. "Okay. I think I've got it."

"Great! If you need any help, just pop back into the kitchen!" They both snapped their eyes to the rear entryway as Mister Cake yelped out about a fire of some sort. "Oh boy, I gotta go. Go get 'em, Fufu!"

Fuyu's nosed crinkled with the smell of smoke, but she nodded and waved as Pinkie dashed out of sight. "Right." She took up position at the register and lightly laid her palms on the counter top. Enveloped by the quiet – or perhaps soothed by the dulcet background tones of Pinkie and the Cakes at work – she allowed herself to think. Her hand slipped into her pocket and drew out the medal. "Where's the other stuff you promised me?" she asked the thing, brow furrowed. "What's taking you so long?" A cheerful ringing from the front of the shop drew her attention. Her eyes drifted up to see Applejack wandering through the door.

The blonde's reaction was the automatic greeting of a friend. "Howdy!" It took her a moment to realize that something was a little bit off. "Wait, what're y'all doin' back there?"

"I work here now." She dropped the medal back into her pocket and tried to put on what she assumed would be a polite, professional guise. "It's my first day."

Applejack doffed her hat to confusedly scratch at her ponytail, then slapped it on again and blinked. "Y'all gotta be kiddin." She watched Fuyu shake her head slowly. "No? Seriously? When did all this happen?"

"I believe Pinkie has been planning it for about a week. I'm not much less surprised than you are." Fuyu idly tapped her crystals on the counter and glanced about.

"She kept a secret?! For seven whole days?" Confusion yielded to shock as the blonde dramatically placed her hands on her cheeks. "I'm impressed."

The pale woman couldn't help but laugh some herself. "You're not the only one. I believe I'm supposed to ask you what you want now."

"Oh, right. Small coffee, black, straight up. None of that sissy stuff. I like my pep bitter."

"Okay." That last word tickled her mind in such a way that her shoulders slumped. Another reminder of her night with the Princess – and another reminder that she still hadn't delivered on her promise for more answers. Applejack didn't catch her wilting, so she turned quickly to the machine before it could be brought up. Smears of black shot from her upraised right palm, grabbing a cup, placing it under the correct nozzle, and pressing the appropriate button almost all at the same time. Once full, she floated the full container over and set it before the blonde. "Here you are." She glanced up above the machine at the large placard that displayed the prices. "It costs that much."

"Heh, I know." Applejack reached into her jeans and dropped a ratty-looking bill on the counter. "That's about the fastest I've ever seen anybody make a cup of coffee." She took it up and blew the wisps of steam away while watching Fuyu count out the change – another action assisted by her flying black appendages. "Dang, Fu. Y'all are gonna run Pinkie out of a job."

"I doubt it. I'm only doing this because she thinks the town will like me more if they see me here." She thwacked the register shut, withdrew the ebony streaks into her palm, and sighed, though the noise was clipped by her looking back at the kitchen. A loud crash from that direction was the thing that interrupted her, so loud it almost made the blonde drop her coffee. "What are they doing back there?"

"Sounds like they're bakin' a cake outta dynamite." Applejack took an exploratory sip from her cup and grinned. "Phew! This stuff'll put hair on your hair! Welp, I'm out. See y'all later, and give 'em hell!"

"I'm not sure the Cakes want me giving anyone hell, but thank you." She waved goodbye with a vague smirk and soon found herself alone again. While she could hear more unpleasant sounds from the kitchen, she was unwilling to abandon her post to check on things.

Orders are orders.

"Seems like the only thing I'm good at is taking orders," she mumbled in reply to her consciousness. "I'm not going to be like any of these people. I wish they'd just come to terms with it."

Another happy ring snapped her out of her muttering reverie, but the arrival was something of a surprise. A casually dressed Trixie sauntered past the chairs and tables, although for some reason or another she was wearing the gaudy hat she used for her various performances. She blinked and stopped in her tracks after laying eyes on Fuyu. "Color Trixie confused," she said, walking up. "What are you doing here?"

The pale woman was already tired of answering that question. For everyone's sake, however, she brushed aside her displeasure and tried to smile. "This is my new job. What are you doing here? I thought you were going back to your traveling shows."

"Someone hasn't been watching the news. Trixie is rather infamous these days, so she believes it best to lay low for a while until things cool off." As if to emphasize the point, her eyes darted about suspiciously. "She also managed to procure an apartment for very low rent, and is frankly tired is sleeping in a hotel. Or a too-small traveling trailer."

Fuyu nodded idly as she spoke, but the revelation of her new living arrangements was enough to snatch her into focus. "Really? Where did you end up?"

"Trixie's apartment happens to be in the same building as Rainbow Dash." Her purple eyes rolled as she uttered the name. "In fact, Rainbow is directly above Trixie, and trust her, the woman seems none too pleased with the arrangement."

Arms crossed, the pale woman put on another faint smile. "I wonder why."

Trixie slumped over helplessly, resting her arms and elbows on the counter top. "No doubt. Trixie is still trying to atone." Her head tilted up and peered at the menu. "Medium iced coffee, please." A tray of baked goods, enclosed in glass and resting on the other end of the counter from the register, caught her eye. "And that chocolate-glazed doughnut. Please." Startled, she stepped back as Fuyu raised a hand and let her awful black assistants do most of the work. In the space of twenty seconds, Trixie received her doughnut – via magic and on a small paper plate, since not even Fuyu herself knew what eating the black goo would do to someone – and her cup of chilly coffee, complete with lid and straw. "Good grief. You're even terrifying as a barista."

"I'm efficient." Both of them glanced up at the menu above. "Money, please." After a brief pause, she hastily tacked on "I think I'm glad you stayed around."

"And why is that?" the magician asked around a mouthful of doughnut, and while fishing in her pockets for cash.

"Because you understand what's like to be despised." Too much emotion welled up for her to keep facing the magician, so she spun on her heel with fists clenched and tried to compose herself.

A loud swallow preceded Trixie's reply. "Give it time. They'll come around. I came around, and you tried to kill me." Her added laugh didn't seem to have any effect, so she reached across and tapped the pale woman's shoulder. "At least you have friends. That's more than I can say."

Fuyu turned around at last, but her face was downtrodden and weary. "I don't know. Lately, I've been thinking of you as a friend. You've been nice to me a lot."

Trixie's face brightened. "Much appreciated. Think positive and be patient. Things will change."

"As Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rarity have told me respectively." More crashes erupted from the kitchen, prompting both of them to wince. "I'd better go see what's happening." She counted out the change as Trixie paid up, then slipped out from behind the counter and into the kitchen. "Pinkie? Is everything all right?"

Trixie took her leave and her coffee, finishing off her doughnut as she walked back toward the door. Once outside, she got a few odd looks from the passersby – glances that were not far off from the ones Fuyu had been subjected to earlier. "Perhaps Fuyu has a point." A long drag of iced coffee served to distract her from the unhappy populace as she headed back to her apartment. Before she could cross the street, however, a tune began to leak from her back pocket – the same one Rarity had on while cutting the pale woman's hair. "Hmm?" She drew the phone out and peered at the screen. It was the same model Twilight and company had, though hers was clad in cornflower blue and yellow stars, much like the obnoxious hat on her head. On the display was a text message.

Have you talked to Winter today?

Her cup began to float while she used both hands to type her reply. "Yes, just a moment ago," she said, speaking the words lowly as she typed them. "The way the town has reacted to her power is wearing her down. It's hard to miss. I also just found out she's gotten a job at Sugarcube Corner."

I hope that helps her get acquainted with everyone. She deserves a mundane life. At any rate, a daily check-up is not the only reason I've contacted you.

She kept her reply short and sweet. "Oh? Why, then?"

I need you to travel to Canterlot to pick up the papers. It is my intention to give Winter as much of the truth as I can slip past my sister.

Trixie looked about as if she thought she were being spied on. Satisfied that wasn't the case, she took another drink and typed in her reply. "I am at your disposal, Princess Luna."