For a moment, Fuyu found herself wondering just how many barns were erected on the Apple property. She stood in the doorway of one such structure, watching the blonde count the remaining crates of apples stored there.

"Hundred and two," Applejack finally blurted out. "Shoot, that's another trainload. Y'all did pretty well, Fu."

"I always did have a way with harvesting," she replied, a ghostly smile on her lips. "Are you finished?"

"Yep. What's up?" They walked out together into the gloomy morning light.

"Twilight's told you I've been summoned to Canterlot by Princess Celestia, hasn't she?"

Applejack's brow furrowed as she went about locking up the barn. "Actually, no."

"Good, I asked her not to. I get to bring three guests – two, since Twilight insists on going. I want you to come along."

Chuckling, she poked up the brim of her hat. "Aw, shoot. I don't get along well with them fancy folk in the capital. Why in the world do ya wanna bring me?" An extremely serious look from the pale woman made her heart skip a beat.

"I'm going to be finding out the part of my history I don't know, and Twilight might get wind of it. She needs someone there to steady her." Folding her arms, she turned and looked over the grayed countryside. "That's not the only reason why."

Worried, Applejack doffed her hat completely. "What else, then?"

Fuyu hung her head. "I may need someone to do the same for me."

"Y'all...y'all think it's really that bad?"

"I don't know, that's the problem." Turning again, she looked at the blonde and smiled. "There is another reason. You were..." The remaining words got stuck in her craw. She sat down on the grass, ignoring the dampness and peered at the ground. "You were the first person that was ever kind to me."

Stunned, Applejack sat on the grass with her. "Now wait a second. In all that time you were out there, nobody even said hello?"

Fuyu slumped over without a word.

She draped an arm around the pale woman's shoulder and frowned. "...damn, man, why didn't y'all ever say so?"

"I didn't think it mattered. I had the things I didn't have so I just assumed what happened before would...go away." The contact was making her squirm, but no effort was put into pulling away. "It all changed so fast, I just thought I could leave my history behind after I settled in town and talked to the Princess."

The blonde was taking on a very thoughtful pose, which required her to withdraw her arm. "Y'all do know each other, then?"

"Yes, from before I forgot everything. That's as far as I can go." She peeked over; Applejack looked rather melancholy. "What?"

"I can't believe y'all never talked ta anyone," she said, looking Fuyu dead in her one visible eye. "Never?"

She broke the eye contact quickly. "I never talked to someone that wasn't going to be food or was trying to do something to me, no."

"Geez. Uh..." Snatched by curiosity, Applejack asked a question she regretted the second it entered the clammy air. "How did y'all kill all them people and never get caught?" She winced at the anger she thought would be coming, but it never arrived.

"She told me to stay away from cities and towns. She told me to ambush people that were alone. She told me to hide. To be sneaky. Of course, it helped that I ate most of the evidence." Clinical and flat, her tone made Applejack's skin crawl. "I wanted to go into places with lots of people, but I couldn't. Wouldn't."

"Why?" It struck her as a stupid question, but she couldn't help asking it.

Fuyu's eyes squeezed shut as she grappled with her thoughts. "Because I hurt everyone, Applejack. It made me sad, even though I didn't understand why for a while. Half of me was a mindless robot, and the other was a terrified child."

Something prodded her brain and made her eyes light up. "I guess it's weird havin' two voices in your head, huh?"

Upon hearing that, Fuyu slumped over even further. "It's worse being alone up here."

Applejack couldn't help but clamp on in a bear hug. "You have gotta tell us stuff like this, Fu! It's what we're here for!"

"Mm." The embrace helped her in a way Trixie's neutral distance couldn't. "I don't know how I feel sometimes. I want to know about before, then I don't. I want to open up to Twilight, but she's already so frantic I'm afraid it'll hurt her. I want to open up to someone but you all seem so hellbent on being nice to me that I don't want to ruin it with what I know. I like it when people are nice to me. It's still new. It still tingles."

Although she'd loosened the hug, Applejack's arms were still draped around the pale woman. "Feel better?" She smiled gently at the nod. "That's why y'all gotta spill the beans. And by the way...don't ever be scared 'bout talkin' to any of us, okay?"

"A bit late for that. Now I feel like Twilight will be angry at me for telling you this instead of her," she muttered while looking up at the clouds.

"Pff, we don't share everything." Applejack chuckled loudly at Fuyu's surprised look. "Y'all got a lot ta learn. We love each other ta death, but we've got favorites even in our little circle. How d'ya think Rainbow and I started datin'?"

Fuyu broke away and levitated to her feet. "Are you telling me it's all right to hide things from people?!" she exclaimed. Her face bore more emotion than the blonde had seen in a while.

Applejack, blinking with shock, also stood. "Well yeah, some stuff. Friends do it just as much as strangers sometimes."

She loosed a groan and placed a hand on her forehead. "I don't understand as much of this as I thought I did."

"Ain't never gonna learn all of it. Nobody does." Chuckling, she picked up her hat, checked it for water, and put it on. "Best way to handle it is ta be as honest as ya can about as much as ya can."

Fuyu was smiling again, but her face betrayed a shadow of frustration. "Perhaps I should have stayed here with you. Now do I see why I want you to come?"

"I guess so. All right, I'll see if'n I can't find somewhere for Bloom ta stay." They began walking back toward the farmhouse. "Hey, 'bout what y'all said before. Can't run from your past, ya know. Gotta come ta terms with it. Embrace it if ya can. It's who you are."

All the humor dashed away from Fuyu's visage as she took in those words. A slightly frigid look was sent the blonde's way as they kept going. "Tell me, Applejack; how am I supposed to embrace being a nightmare?"

"Guess you had one of those talks with Applejack, huh?"

Fuyu's eyes slid over and tracked Twilight as she came up the stairs from the kitchen. "How can you tell?"

"You're still pretty awful at hiding emotion. You aren't as tense." The librarian sat on her bed and glanced about listlessly. "She's so good at that stuff. Almost as good as Pinkie."

"You're not curious to know what we talked about?" she asked, looking up more fully.

Twilight placed a hand on her chest and feigned surprise. "What? That's your business. I'm not going to pry."

After regarding her for a few moments, Fuyu went back to reading. "All right. I'll keep it to myself."

A happy chime from Twilight's pants drew both their attention. She retrieved her phone and peeked at the screen. "You know, Rarity wants to see you so she can fit that," she paused, looking down at the text again, "flowing ebony masterpiece of a gown, as she refers to it."

Fuyu glanced up at her for only a moment before dropping her eyes back to the book in her lap. "Another formal dress? She's a portal that spews clothes. There's no other explanation."

The librarian burst out laughing. "She's unstoppable. Say the words 'special event' and off she goes!"

A minute of light-hearted silence passed before the air got serious again. "I asked Applejack to come and she agreed."

Twilight nodded once. "Good. I'll call the station and have them hold another train ticket."

Fuyu closed her book and set it on the bed. "Why? I can fly us there much faster."

"I'm not thrilled with the prospect of going 700 miles at that speed. And it won't just be us, remember, it'll be all of our luggage, too. If Rarity's coming along, that'll be, I don't know, three or four dozen suitcases." She snickered at herself for a second. "Applejack's afraid of heights, too. And by the way, it's going to be cold this weekend, we'd freeze at altitude. Oh, and the scenery on the way up there is great by train, I want you to see it at least once!" A pointed look made her pause and blink. "What?"

"You're lecturing me again," she said, grinning. "Just say you want me to ride the train."

Twilight's face dropped, as did her arms to her sides. "I...want you to ride the train?"

"Then I will ride the train. I'm still not sure who else will be coming, though."

"Eh, you still have four days to choose." While tapping her fingers on her knee, an idea sprang to mind. "I know Applejack was your first choice, but of the rest of us, who would be next?"

"That's the problem, I didn't have a second choice. Now I have no idea who to ask." The answer didn't come to her after a bout of chin rubbing, either. "I should call around."

"You should! I know Rarity would jump at the chance to go show off her stuff in the capital – again. As if she doesn't get enough business from Canterlot." Twilight rolled her eyes and fell back onto her bed. "Fluttershy would be terrified of going. Pinkie would probably terrorize the-" A snap from Fuyu's direction made her fall quiet.

"Let me find out these things for myself." Her phone was out. She dialed a number and placed it to her ear. "Hello? Fluttershy?"

"Oh, hello. Give me a moment, there's a...there's a cockatoo on my head."

Fuyu stared off in disbelief, trying to picture a bird nesting in the shy woman's pink locks. "...right."

"Ouch. Ouch! You are such a naughty bird. Sorry. How are you doing?"

"Fine. I have a question for you." She waved at Twilight, who was quietly excusing herself from the loft and heading back down to the kitchen. "Princess Celestia has invited me to Canterlot for a...thing...and I am allowed to bring three guests. Twilight and Applejack are coming. Would you like to come along?"

A long pause passed by, broken only by a few short, awkward noises. "Um, well..."

Fuyu couldn't understand why Fluttershy sounded so tense, only to remember she always seemed to sound that way. "You don't have to go?"

"Oh. I kn-knew that, really, I just have so much to do over the weekend. Um...sorry."

She wondered if rejection was supposed to feel so gentle, but shrugged it off. "It's fine. I can ask someone else."

"Okay! I'm still sorry...er...have a good trip!"

Fuyu's eyebrow lifted. "I won't be leaving for four days."

"R-right. Um, well, j-just keep that in mind for when you leave. If I don't see you off, I mean, but of course I would see you off. You're my friend."

"Of course. I'll...let you get back to work." Fuyu hung up after a squeaky goodbye from the other end and stared at the phone. "This is like talking to a minefield made out of eggshells." After noting the time, she hopped off her bed and magicked on her shoes. As she reached the bottom and laid eyes on Twilight, she dialed another number. "Pinkie?" she asked, once it picked up.

"Fufu! Hi!"

The pale woman drifted over and sat at the small table. "Hello. Do you need me to come in?"

"Nope! Nobody's allowed in the shop today!"

She blinked in Twilight's direction, which attracted the woman's interest. "What? Why?"

"It's being disinfected! The Cakes are so worried they might have brought their germs in before they got too sick to come to work and didn't know it, so they hired some guy to clean everything like super hard. All I can smell is bleach and chemicals and stuff and it's making my nose really itchy."

The pale woman idly patted her blue bangs and blinked. "But we were in there yesterday and none of us got sick."

"Fufu, I don't think you can get sick. But true, I feel fine! Except for my eyes watering and my nose being on fire and my..."

"You are sick, aren't you?"

"N-no, I promise! It's just these stupid chemical-y smells!"

Fuyu's hand dropped from her hair to her hip. Twilight snickered at her stern look. "Go out and get some fresh air."

"I caaaaan't. I have to stay in the loft and make sure Bleach McCleaningguy gets done."

"Well, open a window," she offered, staring blankly.

"I don't have any! Except the one in the door, which for all its cuteness is not openable and that makes it kinda useless."

"What if you opened the door?" Fuyu's empty gaze locked onto the giggling librarian.

"Oo! Good idea! I'ma do that." A few noises indicated she had. "So, what's up?"

"Would you like to come to Canterlot with me? I have room for one more guest."

"Ooo, Fufu, I dunno. When the Cakes come back we're gonna have to go nuts to catch up on the back orders. I'll probably have to live in the kitchen until like, next Tuesday."

This form of rejection still didn't feel too bad. She nodded slowly. "I understand."

"Sorry! I'm gonna be buried under candy. And cupcakes. And cookies!" A brief pause prefaced a loud sneeze. "Ugh...ow...I wish this guy would hurry up..."

"Perhaps you should wait outside," Fuyu scolded gently. "I will talk to you later." After hanging up and putting her phone aside, she sighed. "Well, I have another day off."

Twilight made a face, marked the page in her magazine, and closed it. "The place didn't burn down, I hope?"

"No, it's being cleaned. Pinkie might suffocate because of the chemicals." Once that had been said, the two looked at each other for several seconds. "You were right about my talk with Applejack. It did help."

"Yeah, I know. She's good at steadying people's nerves." A sip of coffee caused her to make a disgusted expression. "Ugh, cold."

"I feel like I'm still two people," Fuyu blurted out. In the silence that followed, she stared down at the table top. "I'm not used to having only one consciousness."

"Er, well..." Twilight had no advice for her on that front, instead offering a short series of mumbles and shrugs as she collected her thoughts. "All I can say is give it time. You're such a unique case, I really won't know what to think until Celestia gives me some details."

"If she does. And even so, you will not want to hear them."

The sullen look in her eyes caused Twilight to scowl. "I don't care if I do or not, I have to know. We have to know."

Fuyu hearkened back to the words Celestia had said at the party about keeping Twilight in the dark and sighed. "She won't tell you anything."

The librarian was growing agitated, folding her arms roughly. "Then I'll sit in her throne until she does. I want to know what's going on!" Her emotion faded away as she watched her friend stare at the floor. "...something else is wrong, isn't there?" Fuyu lifted her hand slightly and pointed at Twilight's magazine, which suddenly became a rose. Everything about it was correct – even down to the smell. Fascinated, she picked it up and examined it. "Wow. You've gotten good at this."

"I always was good. You noted how quickly I sank into a routine; I know why, now." As soon as Twilight put the flower down, she snapped it back to its previous form. "I can shift matter. Living things. Pain is an inconvenience. Sleep is barely a necessity. I know I'm not like anyone else, but it's more than that. There isn't a rule on this planet that applies to me."

The more she contemplated that assertion, the more uncertain Twilight got. She couldn't place why it unsettled her, however. "Why does it bother you?"

"I tortured the thief that held Applejack and Rainbow Dash hostage that night." The gasp in response stung despite the fact that she expected it. "It was very pleasant, in a strange way."

"You were angry," Twilight rationalized, more for her own benefit than Fuyu's. "Anyone would have been angry." She was helpless in the face of the pale woman's penetrating gaze. "You're human. We get emotional. We do things we regret."

"I'm more than human, Twilight. I am something else entirely. If I get angry I can...I can rewrite pieces of reality." Fuyu's eyes widened as the pieces flew together in her mind's eye. Her emotional outbursts were limited in scope, but no longer; the story Celesta had given her about the librarian's panic attack – her own reason for existence – was a window into what could happen if she lost her cool now. "I was wrong," she breathed, shock still marring her face.

Twilight had no idea what was happening and didn't try to hide it. "Wr-wrong?"

"She began transmuting matter. She turned her parents into potted plants, for instance. I had to intervene and stop her."

"You and I aren't so different," Fuyu said at last, placing her elbows on the table and leaning forward. The combination of her tone and body language rattled the librarian, but left her unable to speak.

The shared glitter in their eyes made apparent their agreement on one thing, however; the pale woman had just given voice to a dangerous thought.

Three days and an afternoon crawled by, laden by Twilight's silent anxiety and Fuyu's inability to do anything substantial to quell it. The last two of those days at least brought the respite of work at Sugarcube Corner, although the Cakes had bought into the pale woman's royal identity and needed convincing to let her stay on. As she arrived back at the library at the end of her shift, she found Twilight seated in the public space, staring off into the aether.

"I'm back," she said lowly, trying not to startle her as she sat in the chair across the table. "Are you...all right?"

Twilight snapped back into consciousness and looked over. There were faint bags under her eyes. "I still don't understand what you meant, you know."

No reply to that could be forced from Fuyu's lips, and so they sat in a chilly silence for a while. This was broken by a noise from the pale woman's shirt pocket – her phone, which she answered. "Hello?"

"Are you at the library?" It was Rarity, and for some reason she sounded displeased.

"Yes, why?"

"We're on our way." After that, she hung up, leaving Fuyu to stare at her phone.

"We?" she asked herself.

Twilight was just as confused, but for different reasons. "Who was that?"

Fuyu put her phone away and shifted in the chair. "Rarity. She's coming over, and it sounds like she isn't alone."

"...crap. I should have known." She dragged herself out of the chair and shuffled to the kitchen. "This usually happens when I isolate myself...I guess I assumed you being out and about would have stopped her from worrying too much. I'm still shocked Pinkie didn't interrogate you."

"She's incredibly busy with baking." Fuyu tailed the librarian into the living quarters. "I also might have deflected every attempt she made at asking what was wrong."

"Ugh! I have about had it with this keeping secrets nonsense!" she growled, slapping her forehead. "My mind has been running laps for over 72 hours trying to figure out what you meant!" She latched on to Fuyu's shoulders with both hands. "Can't you give me something?!"

Startled, the pale woman took a step back. "I don't kn-" She was interrupted as Twilight began to shake her lightly and emit a very unhappy noise. "I..."

Tears were clinging to her eyes. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?!"

"I...can't." Together they slumped in defeat. She guided Twilight to the table and sat her down. "You're right, though. One way or another, we're going to have a word with Princess Celestia."

The librarian was fuming hard. "Oh, you bet we are. I will nail her to something if I have to." A noise distracted them both, then another. Before long Rarity appeared with Rainbow Dash in tow. "Here it comes..."

"Twilight Sparkle, I swear upon my sewing needle, if you don't explain what's bothering you-"

Fuyu was, for a split second, more interested in how Rainbow Dash had ended up with the dressmaker. They shared a look. "Don't ask," the athlete said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Rarity, I just..." Unable to complete her statement, Twilight hid her face.

"Welcome to your first intervention," Rainbow muttered, standing next to Fuyu.

Rarity spun on her heel and glared at them. "Oh, don't think I won't get to you. Just as soon as I help Twilight, you and I are going to discuss why you keep brushing off Pinkie Pie."

Rainbow folded her arms and dug in. "Barging in and invading their personal space seems like a great way to accomplish stuff."

"I am not barging in. Twilight needs a firm hand to yank her out of her unhappiness sometimes, we all know that. Since Pinkie is busy, I've taken it upon myself to help her!"

"Um, I'm right here," the librarian interjected, waving her hand. She glanced across the table at Fuyu with an apologetic look. "Good grief, now I know how you felt."

"Beg your pardon." Rarity made a show of clearing her throat before continuing. "Twilight, please. Tell us what happened."

"Nothing did." She bristled at the dressmaker's glare. "I'm serious! That's the problem! Nobody will tell me anything and it's starting to piss me off!"

"Whoa," Rainbow blinked, recoiling at her harsh tone. "Fu, I thought you would have talked by now."

"I have no facts to give, only theories." Fuyu scowled at bit at Twilight's glower. "I'm not mocking you. I have no way to confirm my ideas."

All her emotion came out at once as she stood and pounded the table. "I don't care! What are you thinking?!"

The noise attracted Spike, who came out of his room with headphones around his neck. "What the—oh. Intervention time?" Rarity and Rainbow nodded. "Great. I've been trying to get both of them to say something all week. Good luck." He gave everyone a thumbs up and disappeared again.

Once the distraction was gone, Twilight pinned Fuyu down with a frigid glare. "Talk."

The pale woman reacted badly to her demand and rose. They ended up leaning over the table and staring at each other from close range. "Anything I say would be so much worse than your fears."

Twilight wouldn't yield an inch. "Let's find out." Rainbow and Rarity decided it would be safer to wait near the stairs to the bedroom, and shuffled over there while exchanging several nervous glances.

Fuyu's consciousness screeched at her to shut up, but she could bear no more of the tension and had to admit something. "Fine. Since you insist, I'll let you have this: I believe we have the same power, you've just forgotten about it."

"What are you talking about? The black gunk?" Twilight leaned back as the pale woman shook her head. "What, then?"

"Shifting forms of matter."

"That's ridiculous," Rarity called. "We've only seen such a thing twice, and both instances were related to you."

"That doesn't mean I'm the only one with the ability," Fuyu replied curtly, still gazing right into Twilight's suddenly uncertain eyes.

"But I would remember such a thing. I would be able to feel that power! I would..." The remaining words lodged in her throat. She broke away, muttering incoherently, and started to pace. "No, I would know. I would know. She would tell me."

"Oh, shit," Rainbow said. "I don't think this is what we had in mind when we were thinking of a heart-to-heart..."

Twilight ran laps around the kitchen at the speed of molasses, hugging herself tightly. Low, mumbled phrases continued to leak from her lips, most of which took the form of "She would tell me!" or "Why wouldn't she tell me?!" Neither the athlete nor the dressmaker could force themselves to approach, even as they watched her come unglued. Only Fuyu stepped forward, killing her walk with a hand on the shoulder. "Wh-what?"

Her words were as firm as the expression on her face, but only a little louder than a whisper. "Now you understand. She's been lying to both of us."

"She loves me," Twilight whimpered. Each word stumbled out in a heartbreaking fashion. "She's always loved me." Rarity could no longer bear witness to the scene and hid her eyes; even Rainbow, her face twisted with sadness, had to glance at the floor.

Fuyu made the librarian face her. "You're correct. She loves you dearly. That doesn't mean she's been honest with you."

Twilight couldn't formulate a response, but the wheels were turning at light-speed in her head. She gently pulled away and went back to the table to sit down. "That's why you were so brooding. She lied to you too...about whatever it is you can't tell me." After drying her eyes, she looked over the women near the stairs. "I'm fine. You don't have to hide."

Rainbow was the first to move closer. "You sure?"

"Yes. Now I understand why Fuyu was acting so..." Her hands waved about erratically, grasping for a term that wouldn't come.

"Moody?" the pale woman offered, faintly smiling.

For some reason, picturing her as moody made the other three smile, in Rarity's case, or flat out laugh in Rainbow and Twilight's. "Some moodiness," the librarian said. "I guess that fits as well as anything." She rested her chin on her hands and sighed. "I'm glad we're leaving tomorrow. I need answers."

"Agreed," Rarity nodded. "Had I known it was this bad I would have gone with you."

"It's fine. You've got to get the town ready for Nightmare Night next week." Twilight got to her feet again. "Looks like it's just Applejack and us, Fu."

"Like hell it is!" Rainbow, arms folded, peered at the librarian. "I thought I knew what she was getting into, but apparently Shy and Pinkie don't have the whole story. If you think I'm letting AJ go by herself after hearing all this shit, you're wrong."

Twilight nodded once. "I understand. I'll uh, I'll go make the arrangements now." She vanished into the public space.

"Goodness, that was intense." Rarity fanned herself for a moment while groping for her composure. "Speaking of arrangements, I've brought something you need to try on!" She too vanished, skittering toward the rear entryway.

Rainbow leaned on the wall and regarded Fuyu evenly. "I don't know if I like this, Fu."

She was busy looking through the doorway, where Twilight was visible while on the phone with someone. "That makes at least three of us. Applejack knows the purpose of our trip, by the way. I made sure to tell her."

"All right. Saves me from having to explain anything." They both looked as Rarity returned, fumbling with a long black and blue garment. "Oh, this oughta be good."

"It better be, I spent two nights on it." She handed it off with a broad smile. "We'll wait here while you try it on."

"Very well." Electing to wrangle the thing with her magic, both dress and Fuyu went up the steps. In no time she shed her clothes and slipped it on, examining herself in the mirror as she smoothed it down. It was almost all black, save two stripes of turquoise which ran from the hem near her ankles and all the way up her sides to her armpits. There were no straps – the fit was so snug these would have been redundant anyway – and its length was such that it almost dragged on the floor as she walked around.

"May we come up?" Rarity asked from the base of the stairs.

"Yes."

They peeked over the floorboards before fully entering. "Damn," Rainbow whistled, "You clean up good."

"Well. Clean up well." Rarity moved in circles around the pale woman, judging her handiwork. "I can't say I don't agree. How does it fit?"

Fuyu tracked her as she walked around. "Fine. I would say you didn't have to do this, but I doubt you'd listen."

The dressmaker hid a giggle with her hand. "You would be correct. Do you approve?"

Another long look in the dresser mirror came and went before she nodded. "I like it."

Twilight arrived behind them, the noise of her footsteps causing everyone to turn. "We're rea—whoa, Fuyu. You look great!"

Rarity smiled brightly, but it faded into a worried frown. "Dare I ask what you two are going to wear?"

"Whatever I feel like. I'm going home to pack. See you later." Rainbow pulled her wings and zipped down the stairs, leaving Rarity to emit an annoyed grunt.

Twilight shook her head and grinned weakly. "We'd better get packed too. Big day tomorrow."

Fuyu, staring at herself in the mirror, could only think of her impending audience with Luna. "Yes," she muttered, "very big." A few unhappy noises from Rarity shattered her reverie. "What?"

"Something's missing..." Rarity circled a few more times before snapping her fingers. "Gloves! I'll be right back."

"No need." Fuyu raised her right hand and excreted ebony from her skin, which wrapped around her arm like a snake until it became one solid, skintight smear that covered everything from her elbow down. She repeated the process with her left arm and looked at Rarity for approval. All she got was a dumbfounded, mouth agape stare from both women. "I told you I could make my own clothes," she said, smirking.

Friday morning arrived cloaked in clouds and frigid air. Twilight, Spike, and Fuyu all carpooled to the train station at the librarian's insistence; Rainbow and Applejack followed them in the old red truck, while Rarity's silver SUV, containing herself, Fluttershy, and Pinkie brought up the rear. To their surprise, they found that Trixie had beaten them all to the station. She was waiting on the platform as they came outside.

"What are you doing here?" Rarity hissed, trying to kill the magician with her glare.

Trixie's stance became more rigid as she stared at the tracks. "Saying goodbye to a friend."

"Please don't fight while I'm away," Twilight moaned, rolling her eyes. Once confident that the two women would remain a safe distance apart, she began issuing standing orders. "Spike, you have the library until Tuesday night. You read the to-do list, didn't you?"

He nodded and smiled wryly. "Of course. Pretty much the same thing I do when you're around, just without fear of waking you up."

"Gee, thanks." She looked over at Pinkie, who was giving Fuyu what could only be described as an angry hug, and Fluttershy. "Will you two keep Rarity and Trixie separated, please?"

"Yep!" Pinkie chirped, then whispered into the pale woman's ear. "I am so mad at you for not telling us about the thing."

Fuyu patted her on the back. "I didn't want you to worry."

"Are you sure you don't want us to go?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow folded her arms. "She's got plenty of backup, relax."

Applejack, who was hauling most of the luggage, set the cases down and tossed her keys to Pinkie. "Y'all take my truck back home, will ya? Don't want Mac and Granny ta get back and think someone done stole it."

Pinkie jingled the keys and bounced in place. "Yep! I'll even try not to crash it on the way!" She laughed at the noise Applejack made. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

"I'll just leave my car here, I guess." Twilight fidgeted while running down a mental checklist. "We've all got our phones, right?" Her party nodded in turn. "Right. Now we wait."

The congregation split and occupied benches. Fuyu ended up between Twilight and Trixie, with Rarity watching like a hawk from the seats to their left. "Listen, before you go, I just want you to know that...well, that I know how serious this thing is," the magician said, leaning forward to talk to Twilight.

She shrugged it off and tried to smile. "I guess I'm not really surprised. By the way, um, sorry for trying to kill you."

"I deserved it."

"Mm, well. Let's hope Rarity doesn't try and finish what I started."

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Fuyu looked up at the flat gray sky. "Is it supposed to rain?"

Twilight swung her legs back and forth like a child, trying to calm her nerves. "Snow, believe it or not. Before Nightmare Night! That hasn't happened in years – if I'm to believe the local weatherman."

"I suppose that's what you get for living in the foothills." Trixie caught a movement out the corner of her eye and glanced over to see Rarity glaring. "I get it! You still hate me!"

"You have no idea." The dressmaker looked away and over at Applejack, seated by her side with Rainbow. "I'm really looking forward to having Apple Bloom, by the way. The Boutique can feel sort of empty this time of year."

The blonde tipped her hat. "You're such a sweetheart. I appreciate ya lettin' her stay over."

"I love your sister almost as much as my own. Besides, someone has to keep her safe from that woman."

Rainbow interjected with a wry smile. "You know, if you guys get into a fight and break the town, Fu's liable to fly back here and beat both your asses." Before Rarity could reply, a low, grumbling noise caught everyone's attention.

Twilight recognized it first. "Our ride is here," she said, rising from the bench and grabbing her suitcase. The train appeared a few minutes later, trundling to a halt before the platform. She, Fuyu, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash approached the train, but the librarian stopped them short. They all turned to regard those they were leaving behind.

"Good luck," Rarity offered with a dainty wave.

"We'll mind the store," Spike added. "Go get what you're after."

"We intend to," the pale woman replied. She looked over her traveling party with stern eyes. "My friends...it's time I finally went home."