Two Bodies One Soulby ArtColterChaptersChapter 1: New Town, Old FriendChapter 2: Appearances and PromisesChapter 3: Diamonds, Gold, and the Dogs Who Hunt ThemChapter 4: Even Ponies Deal With Red TapeChapter 1: New Town, Old FriendGold Dust should have been like any other pony. He was born like any other pony, a healthy Earth colt, brown with a dirty gold mane, to a family of gold and silver miners on a farm just north of Vanhoover. But that was when his normality ended. And it was all because of a lazy, rich pony. You see, that rich pony was angry at Gold's father, Gold Strike, over money. Now Strike didn't owe this pony anything, but that wasn't how this entitled shmuck saw it. However, as he was unable to get anything out of Strike legally, he thought of an underhanded way to get what he wanted. This pony hired a zebra witchdoctor to place a curse on the family. This zebra said that this was impossible, that he had to pick just one pony. The rich pony decided not to curse Strike, but instead his new-born son, and told the zebra to do the worse thing he could imagine short of killing him. It wasn't until about a week after the curse was placed that his mother, Silver Dust, noticed. She went to change her son's diaper only to find, for lack of a better term, mare parts. Horrified, she called the local doctor to come out the next day. However, when the doctor came, everything was normal. Then the next day, everything was wrong. The day after that, everything was fine. And so on and so forth until finally the doctor saw it for himself. He couldn't explain it, obviously, but he did diagnose the condition. One day, Dust was a colt, the next she was a filly. And so began the sad tale of Gold Dust. Through the years, it affected him more and more. When he was young it was fine because nopony had to see him, it could be well-hidden, and his personality hadn't come through yet. However, as he got older, the change was more and more noticeable and less and less easy to hide. Soon after he earned his cutie mark, a pile of gold dust he got after learning the last of his father's gold-finding techniques, the secret got out. A neighbor accidentally happened upon Dust as a filly. At first, they thought it was just a relative, but that was soon put to rest. Once one neighbor knew it, everypony within 50 miles knew it. Soon, the neighbor's kids, who all used to be friends with Dust, started shunning him. To his face, they would call him names like filly-boy, behind his back, they wondered whether everything about him changed. The names and talk hurt, but not as much as the sudden realization that he no longer had any friends. Dust started to become very isolated. He would lock himself in his room, sometimes for days on end, refusing to come out, especially on days when his body was that of a filly. And on days like that, even if his parents or his younger siblings tried to check on him, all they would hear is crying on the other side. For a time, he considered the possibility of never leaving the farm, never seeing any of the world. But then, he had an epiphany. Maybe, just maybe, if he went somewhere where nopony knew him, he could get a fresh start. With that in mind, as soon as his parents would allow it, he left the farm and Vanhoover, vowing to never enter that city again. He decided to travel to Las Pegasus which was known for being a city where anypony could be anypony. He lived there for awhile, doing jobs here and there. His favorite, and the one that lasted the longest, was as a card dealer. The uniform he had to wear did a good job of hiding most of his physical features, and practice with his voice allowed him to sound like a stallion even if he was technically a mare. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever and his condition was found out. The manager of the casino was unsettled but wasn't about to fire him over it. However, Dust's peers and co-workers had different thoughts about it. Many of them said they were uncomfortable with the notion that one day they worked with a stallion and the next the same pony was a mare. Dust decided to quit, and on the last day of work he, as a mare, slapped the stallion who was his immediate superior. Knocked him flat on his ass. Outcast once again, Dust only had one option remaining. He had been following the news all this time and knew of the exploits of one Pinkie Pie. Now Dust's family and Pinkie's family had a relationship going back generations. Dust and Pinkie had been friends, but they hadn't seen each other since Pinkie got her cutie mark and left the farm. But Dust knew where she lived, and that was his next destination. *--*--*--*--* Dust arrived in Ponyville as a stallion with only the contents of his saddlebags to his name. All he had to do was find a place called Sugarcube Corner and hope that Pinkie remembered him. The first part was easy enough, the bakery was hard to miss, what with the decorative candy theme of the building. Stepping inside, he was a little suprised to find no line, especially since it was around lunch time. He shrugged it off and headed toward the counter, which nopony seemed to be manning. Curious, he looked left and right trying to find somepony without being so rude as to ring the bell for service. "HI," a voice suddenly rang out as a pink head, topped with a curly, frizzy pink mane, popped up behind the counter, almost catching him in the jaw, "Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, what can I--OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHDUSTYISTHATREALLYYOU?" "Yes, Pinkie," the stallion replied calmly in the deep, throaty voice of somepony who has spent their fair share of time underground, "it's me." "I haven't seen you in forever," Pinkie lept over the counter and threw herself into a hug. "Good to see you, Pinkie," Dust meeked out, his lungs not having the proper room to expand. "How long have you been in Ponyville? Did you just get here? Or maybe you've been here awhile and are just coming for lunch. Where are you coming from? Where are you going? Would you like something for lunch?" "Pinkie," Dust began, shaking his head. "Hold that thought," Pinkie said, covering his mouth with a hoof, "Mrs. Cake?" "Yes, dearie," another voice called from what seemed to be the kitchen. "I'm taking my lunch now, OK?" "OK, Pinkie." "OK," the pink mare said, turning her attention back to Dust, "so where were we?" "You were asking how long I've been here," Dust clarified, "and whether I wanted lunch. And to answer those questions, I just got here and yes." "Perfect," the pink pony exclaimed, "you pick a table, I'll get lunch." And with that, Pinkie sped off without even asking Dust what he wanted. Shrugging it off, he was quick to find a table for two, where he sat and patiently waited for Pinkie to return. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. Pinkie soon came back with two sandwiches. He also didn't have to ask which one was his, as she passed him the sandwich that consisted of daffodils and hay on rye. "Pinkie," he questioned, "how do you know I like daffodils?" "Oh, you told me once." "That was like 15 years ago, how do you remember?" "Eh," the pink pony shrugged, "I just have a knack for remembering things. I even remember your birthday. So, what are you doing in Ponyville?" "I'm moving here." "Really? You finally left the farm?" "I left the farm a long time ago. I've been in Las Pegasus the last few years." "Las Pegasus? That must've been fun. Why'd you leave?" Dust had to tread carefully here, since Pinkie was still in the dark about his condition. "I was just tired of it. Now that I'm here, I want to get back to doing what I was meant to do." "Which is what?" "Find gold," Dust answered, a gleam coming to his eye. "Hee-hee," Pinkie giggled behind a hoof, "you kind of sound like how Maud sounds when she talks about rocks." "Well it is my special talent. You wouldn't happen to know if there are any gold deposits around here, would you?" Pinkie shook her head, "I wouldn't have any clue. But my friend, Rarity, she always goes out to look for gemstones and stuff like that, maybe she knows." "Rarity, huh," Dust asked, scratching his chin, "And where might I find this Rarity?" "She runs the Carousel Boutique. You can't miss it, it looks like a giant merry-go-round." Dust chuckled, "OK then, I'm going to pay her a visit." "Okie dokie lokie. When I'm finished work here, I'll try to find you again, OK?" "OK Pinkie. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'm going to eat my sandwich." After the two ponies had eaten, they said there goodbye's for the time being, Pinkie to go back to work, and Dust to track down Rarity. *--*--*--*--* Pinkie was right, of course, the boutique wasn't hard to find. Since most of the buildings in Ponyville looked the same, the two-story purple-and-white boutique stood out. Dust didn't waste any time making his way into the building. A bell chimed as he did so. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique," the crystal clear, cultured voice of the white mare in the room called out, "where every design is chic, unique, and magnifique." Her catchphrase finished, the mare turned around, revealing herself to be a unicorn. Her violet mane flipped flawlessly away from her face, the curl bobbing lightly, matching the gentle bounce of her curly tail. "Are you Rarity," Dust asked. Rarity took a moment to size up the unfamiliar stallion in front of her. He kind of reminded her of Big Mac, with his good size and unshorn fetlocks. She also took note of his mane, which seemed a little long for an obviously blue-collar stallion and tied back in a short ponytail. "Why yes I am," she replied, pointing to herself with a hoof, "and what can I do you for?" "Pinkie told me you might know where I can find gold." "Gold," Rarity tilted her head in confusion, "I wonder what gave her that impression." "She mentioned something about you going and hunting for gemstones. That was the only lead I got." "Hmmm," Rarity contemplated, the hoof now rising to her mouth, "Well, Mr..." "Dust. Gold Dust." "Well, Mr. Dust, I'm not sure if I can be of any help. You see, I use a special spell to look for my gems, but I wouldn't know anything about finding gold." Dust looked around the main room of the boutique, paying special attention to the ponequin on the main stage. It was wearing Rarity's latest creation, which just happened to include gold thread. "Where did you get this gold thread," Dust asked, walking up and examining the ponequin, "It's very high quality." "Oh, I make it myself. It takes a lot of gold dust and other materials, but it is just perfect for accent." "And where do you get your gold dust from?" "I buy it from suppliers in the north, why?" A sly grin crossed Dust's muzzle, "What if you had a private supplier?" "I don't believe I understand, darling." Dust turned around to face the designer once more, "My talent is finding gold. You'd be surprised how much there is in Equestria. My family has been the main supplier for the gold they use to make Bits for generations." "That's impressive, but I'm still not following." "The mountains around Ponyville are an untapped resource. Every miner who puts in his two Bits says that there isn't any gold around here. I'll bet that I can prove them wrong." "Perhaps. But if there is any gold in those hills, how do you plan on extracting it?" "How do you get your gems? Something tells me a lady such as yourself doesn't dig around in the dirt." "It depends. Sometimes, they are in rocks that I break open with my magic. Sometimes I get my dragon friend Spike to dig them out for me." "There's a dragon here," Dust asked, shocked. "Yes, he is a good friend." "That's great," Dust exclaimed, "He'd be perfect for helping me mine the gold veins. Would save me a fortune on dynamite." "Dynamite!?" "Well yeah, how do you think they do it? Every miner uses that method. Not always the safest, but it gets the job done." "So remind me what you need me for, darling." "I'm new here. I don't know the lay of the land. I need...a guide, for lack of a better term." "And if you did find gold," Rarity mused, turning her head away and then rolling it back toward Dust, "you would give it to me?" "I'm sure we could work out a reasonable business arrangement." "I'm sure we could." The bell on the door of the boutique chimed again. Rarity turned to repeat her greeting phrase, but stopped when she saw the bubbly, pink pony at the door. "Hey Rarity," Pinkie beamed, "I see Dusty found you." "Dusty," Rarity questioned, turning her head back in the direction of said stallion, who could only smile. "Yeah," Pinkie hopped over, placing a hoof on Dust's back and propping herself up, "Dusty and I were friends back when I still lived on the rock farm." "That's nice, darling. But what are you doing here, now?" "Oh, I told Dusty I'd catch up," Pinkie then gasped as if she suddenly remembered something, "Dusty, you gotta come and meet another one of my good friends." "Why," Dust asked, shrugging his shoulders. "Applejack came to the Corner soon after you left. She wants to meet you. Come on. Later, Rarity," Pinkie began bouncing out the door. "Guess there's no stopping Pinkie," Dust chuckled, "Good meeting you, Rarity, we'll talk more later." "That we shall." *--*--*--*--* Pinkie led Dust down a long path that led out of town. For awhile, Dust was worried that his old friend was leading him the wrong way. That was, until he noticed an apple tree on the horizon. That one apple tree soon turned into several, which soon begat an entire orchard. "Here we are," Pinkie announced, "Sweet Apple Acres. C'mon, Applejack should be in the barn." Pinkie continued to lead Dust until they came to a large, red, barn. Outside stood two ponies, a red stallion and an orange mare wearing a Stetson. Dust could already tell they were related, with their similar builds and matching freckles, if their cutie marks weren't telling enough. "Hey Big Mac, hey Applejack," Pinkie called to the two, "I brought Dusty!" "Well howdy Pinkie," the mare greeted, "glad you could bring your friend." "Well," Dust chuckled, turning to the mare, "when Pinkie wants you to go somewhere, you go. Am I right, Applejack?" "You're right, pardner," she nodded as the two shook hooves, "And good work with the name." "No offense," Dust pointed to Mac, "but I assumed the descriptive word was for this hoss over here. "Eeyup," Mac stated bluntly, extending a hoof, "Macintosh." "Gold Dust," he replied, extending his own hoof for a shake. Now that the two stallions were standing next to each other, Applejack and Pinkie noticed what Rarity had noted before, that they were very similar. Unlike with the unicorn, however, AJ decided to voice her opinion. "'Ey, Gold Dust," she said, getting his attention, "By any chance are you related to the Apples?" "Can't say that I am. I've heard of the Apple Family before. Pretty sure I would know it if I was related to a clan that large." "You never know," Pinkie interjected, "I didn't know AJ and I were related until recently." "Well Pinkie, last time I checked, our families are only related by marriage, so I think it's safe to say I'm not related." "Coulda fooled me," the apple mare chuckled, "you and Mac look like cousins." The two stallions looked each other over for a brief moment. "I don't see it," Dust said with a slight shake of his head. "Nnope," Mac agreed. "Oh, Applejack," Pinkie piped up, "I didn't tell Dusty the other part. I figured I'd save that for you." "What other part," Dust asked. "Well, pardner," Applejack smiled, "Pinkie told me at the Corner that you just got to town and she asked me if we could put you up for awhile. And since you're an old friend of Pinkie's, Ah said OK." The color drained out of Dust's face. "Um, thank you, Applejack," he stuttered, trying to maintain his composure, "but I can't possibly accept. I'll just figure it out on my own." "What's the matter, Dusty," Pinkie said in a worried tone, she had never seen her friend look like this. "Nothing's the matter," Dust answered, doing a bad job of hiding his fear, "I just don't like to take advantage of another pony's generosity is all." "Horseapples," Applejack scoffed, "Yer not takin' advantage of nothin'." "I don't know," Dust sighed. "Dusty," Pinkie came and put her hooves around Dust's neck in order to look him in the eyes, "I know you're big into self-sufficiency, but I'm not going to let a good friend just fend for themselves. Trust me, I wish you could stay with me, but the Cakes don't have the space. Please, just so I know you're safe." Dust sighed again, but he couldn't bring himself to shift his gaze away from Pinkie's baby blue's. "OK, Pinkie, you win." "Good," now Pinkie let out a sigh, "I didn't really have a back-up speech in case that one didn't work." This brought a smile and chuckle back to Dust. "You can sleep in the hayloft," Applejack said, "Hope that's OK." "It'll be fine," Dust said. "Well then, let's go then," Applejack said, walking in the direction of the house, "Soup's on, and you two are invited." Dust followed his old friend and his two new ones toward the farmhouse. Right now, he wasn't thinking about what tomorrow might bring. For once, he was purely in the moment. Chapter 2: Appearances and PromisesDust woke up in the hayloft of the barn early, even before the rooster started crowing. He had gone to bed before anypony else the night before on the excuse that he was tired from his trip. In reality, he just wanted to make sure nopony would surprise him. Him, or as someponies would say on a day like today, her. As had happened every night for almost the entirety of his life, Gold Dust's physical appearance had changed. His body was now that of a mare's. He could look down his snout to see that it had curved. His slightly-longer eyelashes fluttered in front of his eyes. He raised a hoof to see it now clean and smooth, unlike his stallion hooves. And he could feel his mane, a bit longer in this form, flowing over his shoulder. That was why he had awoken so early. The last thing he wanted was for Applejack or somepony else to find him like this and be caught by surprise. Now that he was awake, his only question was how to get away from the farm without being spotted. He figured that, like most ponies who worked the land, the Apples would be up soon themselves. Dust climbed down out of the loft and quietly snuck out of the barn. With nopony in sight, he made a dash down the dirt road toward town. As Celestia's Sun peeked over the horizon, Dust reached the center of Ponyville. He really didn't have a plan in mind. The best way to hide would be to go into the mountains and start his gold search, but without Rarity he was afraid he would get lost. He was just starting to formulate a Plan B, when he was unceremoniously interrupted. "Hello there," a familiar voice said behind him. Dust froze solid, fearfully scanning his peripheral vision to find that Pinkie Pie was standing right behind him, "My name's Pinkie Pie, what's yours?" Pinkie obviously didn't recognize his mare figure, and was acting as if he was a completely new pony. Dust slowly started walking away from Pinkie, hoping that she would go away, but it was not to be. "Aww," Pinkie cooed, suddenly standing right in front of him, "is something... Much to Dust's confusion, Pinkie just stopped in the middle of her sentence. Her blue eyes seemed to be gazing into his very soul. Then they got bigger and bigger, a sure sign of surprise. "...Dusty?" Quickly, Dust grabbed Pinkie and pulled her into an alley. He was sure to keep one hoof over her mouth, knowing full well that Pinkie would riddle him with questions if he didn't. "Promise to be quiet," Dust whispered in his slightly feminine voice, which was still rather husky, "Please promise. Pinkie could only nod behind the hoof, which Dust slowly removed. "You're right, it's me, Dusty," he continued solemnly. "What happened," Pinkie whispered, trying her best to keep her voice down, "Did somepony do this to you?" "It's a long story. It's not recent, either. This has been happening my entire life." "Even on the farm?" "Even on the farm. Remember those times when you wanted to play but my mother said I had to do chores. Yeah, that was a lie. The real reason I couldn't come was because I had changed into a filly. It had to be kept a secret." "I'm so sorry, Dusty," Pinkie threw her hooves around his neck, "Why didn't you tell me yesterday? I wouldn't have had you stay at Applejack's if I had known." "I don't know. I guess I was afraid of how you'd react. Other than my family, everypony who has found out about this turned their back on me." "I'm so sorry," Pinkie cried, hugging tighter. "How did you know it was me? Nopony has ever been able to guess on the spot." "Your eyes. Everything else about you changes, but your eyes stay the same. They have a certain golden gleam." "Pinkie, what am I going to do?" "I'm not sure," Pinkie said solemnly, releasing the hug, "Maybe my friend Twilight could--" "No," Dust interrupted, "I can't risk it. Nopony else must know." "Dusty you're going to have to tell somepony else in order to see if we can help you." "Promise me it won't get out." "Dusty, I--" "Pinkie, promise." "OK," Pinkie smiled, beginning to go through the motions, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." "What was that," Dust asked, confused. "You told me to Pinkie Promise, so I did." "OK. So what do you suggest I do?" "Well, if you don't want to go to Twilight, there is another pony who may be able to help. She lives in the Everfree Forest, and she would never tell anypony." "Are you sure she can help?" "Oh yeah, she's solved a lot of problems in the past. If not Twilight, then Zecora's our best bet." *--*--*--*--* Pinkie led Dust into the Everfree Forest. Dust had never really been in a forest before, and certainly not one this thick with vegetation. Pinkie was happily bouncing along in front of him, leading the way. Soon they reached a large tree whose trunk and roots seemed to have been hallowed out, allowing space for a house or hut of sorts. Dust wanted to take it slow, given the rather ominous-looking carved masks hanging up all over the place, but Pinkie bounced straight to the door and straight on in, without even knocking. "Good morning, miss Pinkie," said a new voice coming from the house, who Dust couldn't see yet, "why have you called on me so early?" "Hi Zecora. My friend Dusty needs your help." By this point, Dust had made it to the doorway and could see who Zecora was. He had never seen anything like her before. Black-and-white striped fur, a mane that seemed to be standing on-end, and golden bracelets on her neck and wrists. "Come, come, don't be shy," Zecora said, beckoning Dust in with a hoof, "I am a friend of Pinkie Pie." "Dusty's in real trouble, Zecora," Pinkie stated bluntly, "I don't even have the full story yet." Both mares looked to Dust, silently asking him to explain the situation. "OK," Dust took a deep breath and slowly let it out, "I was born a stallion. However, when I was very young, like less than a month old, strange things started happening. In short, every night, I change. One day I look like a stallion, the next day, I look like a mare. No doctor I've ever seen has any answer to it, other than to say that I am cursed." "A curse it does sound like to me," Zecora nodded, "but spare some time, and we shall see." "What do you need," Pinkie asked. "To find out whether your body is a curse's lair, I will need to have a mane hair." Dust quickly reached up and plucked a long, loose, strand of hair from his mane. Taking it, Zecora dropped it in her potion pot, along with other various ingredients. After only a few minutes, Zecora stepped away from her cauldron and walked back up to Dust. "It pains me to say this true," the zebra said, placing a hoof on Dust's shoulder, "but a terrible ill does plague you." "OK," Dust said, trying to remain calm, "Is there anyway you can remove it?" Zecora sighed, "By what your folicle is telling me, there is neither cure nor remedy." "What are you saying," Dust asked, his eyes beginning to glaze over. "You must understand the effect of this curse," Zecora paused, as if she didn't want to finish, "shall be life-long and cannot be reversed." "So," Dust shook, a tear coming to his eye, "I'm going to be like this forever?" "Nothing I know can end your plight, perhaps you should seek the magic of Princess Twilight." "N-No," Dust stuttered, backing away toward the door of the hut, "I-I can't..." Dust turned tail and bolted out the door. He just started running, in no direction in particular. Pinkie quickly ran after him, trying as best she could to keep pace with the surprisingly fast pony. Dust didn't stop or look back, even as he ran deeper into the forest. With the tears pouring from his eyes, it was a miracle he could see anything at all. He only stopped when he reached the edge of a gorge. He could see a bridge not far away that seemed to lead somewhere, but he didn't know if he wanted to take it. Instead, he just sat at the edge of the cliff, looking down into the abyss, which was covered by a thick, soupy, mist. Pinkie, meanwhile, had managed to catch up and saw her friend on the edge of doom. "Dusty," she called out, stopping a few feet away, "Dusty it's OK, promise. Everything will be OK." Dust heard her, but didn't respond at first. "How," he finally muttered, but still loud enough for Pinkie to hear him, "How will it be OK, it's never OK. I'm sick of being a laughingstock. I'm tired of moving around. You're nice to me, Pinkie, you tried to help me, and I thank you for that. But please, just go away, leave me alone." Pinkie took a step forward, "I can't do that, Dusty. You're a friend, and Pinkie Pie never leaves a friend when they're upset. I don't know exactly how things are going to work out, but I promise they will. My good friends, ponies like Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack, they won't say hurtful things about you. Please, Dusty, just please let us help you." "It's not easy," Dusty replied, "I've been burned too many times. I cannot, will not, let it happen again." "I understand," Pinkie offered, taking another step closer, "Anypony in your spot would feel the same. But I would never hurt you. And I know that my friends won't hurt you either. Please Dusty, I'm not going back without you." Dust's instincts told him to think about this, to not just jump in all over again. However, he was too emotional to think at all, so he just made a natural reaction. He got up from his seated position, ran the few steps back to his friend, and proceeded to bury his crying muzzle into Pinkie's chest. Pinkie, happy that she had won him over, sat down with him and slowly brought her hooves up into a hug. She stroked Dust's back and mane, sitting and hugging silently while her friend cried his eyes out. Eventually, Dust's uncontrollable crying gave way to sniffling and the occasional emotional hiccup. Pinkie still held him, determined to comfort her friend until he was all better. "What do you want to do," Pinkie asked when she was confident Dust had calmed down enough. "I don't know," he responded slowly, "I don't know who I can trust." "Do you want to hear my idea? Dust just nodded in response. "We should go back to Sweet Apple Acres and explain things to Applejack and Big Mac. AJ is the most honest, trustworthy, pony there is, and neither of them will treat you badly. That way, you can stay there and be comfortable." Dust raised his head up to look at Pinkie, "OK. Let's go." The ponies gave each other another big hug before setting off back through the forest for the farm. *--*--*--*--* Once they were out of the forest, it didn't take the two ponies long to find the Apple siblings. They were working hard, tending to the trees in the far part of the field, which happened to be the part closest to the forest. "Hey Applejack," Pinkie waved as she and Dust approached, "Hey Big Mac." "Howdy Pinkie," Applejack greeted in return, before noticing the new pony with Pinkie, "who's your friend?" "Silly AJ," Pinkie giggled, "you've already met." AJ and Mac looked at each other, than back to Pinkie, "Uh, no we haven't." "Don't you recognize her, or him, or, Dusty, which gender do you go by?" "I usually use the masculine pronouns, even when I'm a mare." "Okie dokie!" "What in tarnation," AJ exclaimed, "That mare is your friend Gold Dust!? How the hay did that happen?" "Oh, that happens to him every night," Pinkie explained, "He goes back and forth between being a stallion and being a mare. We just visited Zecora and she said it's a curse." "Did this happen this morning," AJ asked, "Mac and I were worried when we couldn't find him." "Nope, this has happened his whole life, it's a long story." "Why didn't you tell us yesterday?" "Even I didn't know about this until today. What do you think? Can Dusty still stay here?" The siblings exchanged glances again. "Well I ain't never heard of anything like it," AJ explained, "But that doesn't mean we're gonna go and throw ya out because of it. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need, right Mac?" "Eeyup," the stallion answered. "See Dusty," Pinkie asked, whipping her head around to look at him, "I told you it'd work out." Dust was on the verge of tears again. Never before had he been accepted so easily, without some kind of catch or need to hide. "Thank you," he croaked out. "Don't worry, sugarcube," AJ responded, "You're a friend of Pinkie's and you're a friend of our's. And it just ain't right to treat you any differently. Ya are who ya are." Chapter 3: Diamonds, Gold, and the Dogs Who Hunt ThemThe bell above the door of Carousel Boutique chimed like it always did. "One minute, darling," Rarity called from her creation room upstairs. Darling. Spike always liked it when Rarity said that, even though she said it to everypony and even though she didn't know it was him at the door. On the other claw, Spike reasoned, she was expecting him. Forced to wait, Spike kicked around the main room. He took a moment to look at the ponequin on the main stage. The dress was nice enough, but Spike was more interested in the strategic placement of rubies and the liberal use of gold thread. Never let it be said that Spike didn't love everything shiny. "Oh, good morning, Spike," Rarity said, entering the room and noticing the dragon. "Hi Rarity," Spike greeted with a small wave, "you all set?" "Just about," she raised a hoof to her mouth in contemplation, "though I can't help but feel that I am forgetting something." "Well," Spike pondered, going over his mental checklist, "the cart is outside, my claws are sharp, your magic works, I don't know what we could be missing." The door chimed for a second time that morning. Stepping through the threshold was a stallion who Rarity was familiar with, but who was a perfect stranger to Spike. "Gold Dust," Rarity smiled, "good to see you, darling." "The sign said 'Closed'," Dust pointed out, "But the door is open." "Oh, yes, well, I was waiting for Spike," she pointed to the dragon. "Oh, this is the dragon you told me about," Dust said, "Well Spike, my name is Gold Dust." "Yo," Spike greeted, giving the stallion a hoofbump. "Oh," Rarity perked up, "that's what I forgot. I was going to ask Dust if he wanted to come with us." "Where are you going," Dust asked. "I'm running low on gemstones, darling," Rarity explained, "so Spike and I are headed into the mountains. I thought you would like to join us." "Makes sense. I do need to start my gold hunt." "I was surprised that you didn't stop by yesterday," Rarity said with a tilt of her head. "Oh...yeah," Dust stuttered, he still wasn't comfortable with Rarity knowing his secret, and he had just met Spike, "I was busy helping Pinkie." "No problem, darling. You're here now, and we have everything we need, so let's get going." Exiting the boutique, Dust saw a rather large cart or wagon sitting to the side which he hadn't noticed earlier. Rarity obviously didn't mess around when it came to gem-hunting. At first, Spike made a move like he was going to pull the wagon himself. "Here Spike," Dust said, coming up beside the dragon, "I'll pull it." "Uh, you sure about that," Spike said with a over-sized smile. "Sure. The least I could do in exchange for Rarity showing me around the mountains is pull her gem wagon. Besides, I'm a big stallion, it won't be any trouble at all." Dust quickly hitched himself to the wagon. That task finished, Rarity began leading the way out of Ponyville and up into the surrounding hills. All the while, Dust kept a sharp eye out for any potential gold deposits or good places for a mine. Eventually, they reached a wide-open plateau. "Perfect place to start," Rarity announced, lighting up her horn. After a few seconds, she pointed her horn to a specific spot in the ground. Spike used his claws to dig in that spot, and lo-and-behold, after only a few clawfuls of dirt, Spike would come up with a couple of gems. "Wow," Dust said, "that seems almost too easy." "I do so love magic," Rarity beamed, "You should hear the story of how I found out I had this ability." She looked as if she was going to continue. However, before she could, she started stumbling, then walking, in a different direction, her horn seemingly pulling her along. His two companions preoccupied, Dust began to do a survey of the land. Obviously finding gold would take a lot more digging than these gems. But before any of that could happen, he had to find a deposit. *--*--*--*--* Something was not right. Dust couldn't exactly put his hoof on it, but something just felt off to him. It wasn't that he had been walking about the plateau for an hour and hadn't found anything. That was fair enough. No, what bothered him was that the dirt wasn't what it should be. Part of finding a gold deposit was finding the right layer in the Earth. Dust knew he wouldn't find gold at this elevation, but, for some reason, the dirt he was looking at contained deposits of minerals that would be found far underground, not as part of the topsoil. To him, it seemed like the soil had been churned, like by a digging machine. He decided to go back the way he came and find Rarity and Spike again. Surely they would have an answer to his question. However, not a minute after he started, he heard something that shouldn't be. "AAAAAIEEEEEEE," he heard Rarity scream. Quickly going from a trot to a gallop, Dust raced toward her voice. When he got sight of her, he was very confused. Rarity, and Spike for that matter, were surrounded by four strange creatures. They were furry and quite sizeable. They seemed quadruped, though their front limbs and paws were noticeably longer and bigger than the hind ones. "Hey," yelled one who was facing Dust and wearing a red vest, "get that pony!" The other three quickly turned and made tracks for Dust. Instead of running, Dust decided to fight, aiming for the one in the middle, who's fur was a bluish tinge and was the biggest. The two ran toward each other. The bluish creature lunged, reaching his paws out. Dust ducked his head, then, when the creature was fully above him, jerked his head up, sending the creature sailing behind him. The smallest one, who was tan, charged from Dust's left. Dust simply turned and lowered his head, butting the creature right in the chest and dropping him. The third one, who, by Dust's guess was wearing iron armor, attacked next. Dust simply kept his back to his foe, and, when the opportunity presented itself. Gave a good double-buck right into the offender's unarmored jaw. However, these creatures were tough. Though Dust had dropped them all, they were soon back on their paws. Dust decided to back away from the three, right toward Rarity and Spike. "You're a pretty tough little pony," said the red-vested one, "But we will not let this gem-hunter go again." "Again," Dust questioned, "Rarity, you know these things?" "Unfortunately, yes," Rarity answered, "They call themselves Diamond Dogs. They are obsessed with gemstones." "Fitting name," Dust conceded. "Yes," the red-vested one continued, "And this time, when we ponynap the gem-hunter, we won't leave nobody behind to squeal." The three other Diamond Dogs were quickly closing the space. "Rarity, Spike," Dust said calmly, "Get out of here." "What about you," Rarity questioned. "I can take them, no problem. But I need you and Spike to leave while you still can." "And how do you plan on doing that," asked the only Dog who had spoken. "Like this," Dust answered, stepping forward and cracking the littlest one on the jaw with a hoof, sending him soaring. This opened up a space in the circle. Rarity and Spike quickly made tracks, running away from the confined space and starting down the mountain. "You fool! Now it's just you against the four of us." "Good," Dust sneered, "the odds are even." The last thing Rarity and Spike saw was a big dustcloud which obscured Dust and the four Diamond Dogs. *--*--*--*--* Rarity and Spike ran all the way down the mountain and back into Ponyville. They had had to leave the gem wagon behind. "That was close," Spike huffed, sitting down on a rock. "We have to go back," Rarity turned around to look back up the path they were on. "OK," Spike said, shaking out his legs, "Where do we start?" "You get Twilight, I'll get Pinkie," Rarity commanded, "We'll pick up Applejack and Rainbow on the way." The two split up to find their friends. Before long, all six ponies and one dragon had been gathered and were heading back up the mountain. However, just as they made it to the plateau where Dust had been last seen, they saw in front of them a big brown stallion with a gold mane coming in the opposite direction. Dust was pulling Rarity's gem wagon, and was wearing the same red vest that the Diamond Dog had been wearing. "Oh, hi everypony," Dust smiled. "Dusty," Pinkie bounced over and threw her arms around his neck, "Rarity said you were in trouble." "She said the Diamond Dogs attacked her again," Twilight said. "Well that's true," Dust rolled his eyes up, "But I took care of them." "Is that the vest their leader was wearing," Rarity asked. "Sure is." "You should take it off. Red isn't your color." "I know," Dust reached into one of the vest pockets, "But I couldn't leave without a souvenir or two." Dust stopped his fishing, and a craggy, gold rock fell out. "Landsakes," Applejack gasped, "Is that what I think it is?" "It sure is," Dust picked it up and held it in front of his eyes, "A real, pure, 100 percent legitimate, nugget of gold." "That is marvelous, darling," Rarity beamed, "But wherever did you find it?" "Let's get back to Ponyville and I'll explain everything." Dust pocketed the nugget, and was about to get moving, but then he was stopped by a blue pegasus he was unfamiliar with. "Hold on, buddy," the pegasus said, "Who the hay are you?" "Like I said," Dust smiled, "I'll explain everything when we return to town." *--*--*--*--* The group traveled all the way to Carousel Boutique so that Dust could place the gem wagon somewhere. Once they were inside, Pinkie introduced Dust to the three ponies in this group he hadn't met yet. "So what happened after we left, darling," Rarity asked as she was sorting the gems that had been gathered. "Well, after you two got away, all Tartarus broke lose," Dust explained, "Those Diamond Dogs are tough. I was holding my own fine, but then the unexpected happened. The five of us broke through the ground. I guess all those tunnels that they've built down there undermined the Earth's structure." "That makes sense," Twilight agreed. "Anyway, we must have fallen a good hundred feet or so. I was fortunate that I ended up on top of all of them. They were all knocked out from the fall, if not worse, but I didn't worry about it. "Anyway, looking around, I noticed that there were many gemstones just sitting in plain sight. I took the vest from the one so I might be able to carry something out, since I didn't have my saddlebags. However, before I could choose a precise gem or two to bring back, I noticed the gleam of something that catches my eye much more." "The gold nugget," Pinkie exclaimed. "Exactly. It was just sticking out of a rock. At first I thought it was just pyrite, fool's gold, but a quick examination proved that it was the real thing. So I pocketed it and eventually found my way out. When you all came upon me, I had only just hitched myself to the wagon." "To find just one gold nugget," Twilight pondered, "that has to be rare." "It is a bit unusual, but it proves that there is gold here. This nugget alone would sell for," Dust held it in his hoof and felt its weight, "about five thousand Bits. But if I found a payload, a vein of gold, it could be worth millions." "Millions," Rarity echoed, eyes wide. "That's if I find one," Dust clarified, "But at least now I know what to look for." "This calls for a--," Pinkie began, but stopped dead in her tracks with a glare from Dust. "No, Pinkie," he said, much calmer than his glare indicated, "No parties until I hit paydirt." "Oh, OK," Pinkie said sadly, but then perked up again, "Can I at least give you a 'Dusty Struck Gold' hug?" Dust chuckled, "Only a fool denies a Pinkie hug." And so Pinkie hugged him. Chapter 4: Even Ponies Deal With Red TapeTwo days after his discovery of gold in the hills above Ponyville, Dust had to do his least favorite part of a miner's job. You see, Equestria treated different gemstones and precious metals different, legally. All gemstones, from the biggest diamond to the smallest emerald, was considered free game. This was usually because they were seen as purely decorative, as well as dragon food. Previous metals, like silver, were also thought of in the same light, as they had no specific purpose for the crown. Gold, on the other hoof, had a purpose, usually to be melted down into Bits. As such, whenever gold was found anywhere, in any form, it had to be registered with the government. Gold had accompanied his father on one such occasion, so he knew the basic run-around of such a process. However, he also knew that it would probably take him all day, even in a smaller town like Ponyville. Begrudgingly, Dust took his leave from Sweet Apple Acres early in the morning, immediately following breakfast. It didn't help matters that he had had to wait an entire day to turn back into a stallion. Of course, now that the Apples knew, and were very friendly about it, he didn't have to hide in the hayloft every other day. Instead, he was tasked with little things, like keeping an eye on Apple Bloom or her friends. But today, he was back in his preferred form and off to City Hall. When he reached the seat of local governance, he was pleasantly surprised to find it mostly empty. There were a couple of minor officials strolling about, as well as a few ponies he recognized from being at Sugarcube Corner. "Excuse me," a mare's voice called, Dust turned his head to see that there was indeed a royal blue Earth mare looking at him, "You look lost, can I help you?" "I hope so," Dust replied, turning his body to face the mare properly, "I am looking for the pony I would talk to to stake a claim." "Stake a claim," the mare asked, obviously confused by Dust's use of technical jargon. "Uh...I struck gold, and I need to report it." "Oh," the mare said, her eyes still indicating that she was lost, "Um...I actually have no idea. Let me see if anypony knows about that." "OK," Dust responded hesitantly, "you should have the forms somewhere, it is government policy whenever one finds gold." "OK," the mare said, putting on her best friendly smile, "I'll go check." The mare walked off, leaving Dust to kick around the main room. He had to admit that Ponyville's City Hall much different than its counterparts in Vanhoover or Las Pegasus. He doubted more than ten ponies actually worked here, including the receptionist-type he had just spoken to. Finding that there really wasn't much to this building, Dust decided to lie down, take a load off, and wait for the mare to return. That wait ended up lasting 20 minutes. Dust had waited longer to get his Dealer's License in Las Pegasus, but at least during that wait there were other ponies to interact with. Eventually, however, the blue mare returned, accompanied by another mare. This one was a tan Earth pony with a gray mane that made her look much older than Dust would have estimated. Her white collar with the green bauble definitely set her apart, along with the small, yellow-rimmed glasses. Dust rose back to his hooves when he realized they were coming in his direction. "Here's the pony who was talking about striking gold, Mayor Mare," the original mare said to the second one, "I'll admit I have no idea what form he's talking about." "Thank you Type," the second mare replied, "I'll take care of it." The first mare left, leaving only Dust and the other mare. "Ms. Mare," Dust began, "I assume by your name that you're the Mayor of Ponyville?" "Correct," the mayor replied, "Type said you told her you struck gold in the hills?" "Yes," Dust reached back and fished into his saddlebag. Per Rarity's suggestion, he had decided not to make the vest a permanent part of his attire. When his hoof came back out, it was holding the gold nugget. "Oh, my," Mayor gasped, adjusting her glasses, "you truly found that around Ponyville?" "By accident, yes." "They always said there wasn't any gold in Ponyville, but here you've proved them wrong." "Well," Dust tittered his head back and forth, "my special talent isn't finding gold for nothing." "Do you think there's more?" "Hard to say for certain," Dust said, pocketing the nugget, "But in my experience, where there is one speck of gold, there is plenty more. As such, in addition to reporting this gold finding, per the law, I would also like to apply for a mining permit." "To tell you the truth, nopony has ever asked for those two things here. We don't even have the proper forms on-hoof." Dust sighed, "I would like to begin my operation as soon as possible. How long would it take to get the forms sent from Canterlot?" "About three days, if the weather is good. And then another three to send them in and receive a reply." Dust sighed again and rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof, "That's a long time, miss mayor." "I know, I do apologize. We just haven't had a reason to keep them on file." Dust shook his head, his plan for the day in shreds and his hope of starting his project quickly all but dead. But then, a thought popped into his head. "Thank you Mayor Mare," he nodded, "but I do believe I know a faster way." "You're welcome," Mayor returned with a smile, "and I hope you are successful in your endeavor." *--*--*--*--* It was days like this that made Twilight Sparkle happy to be alive. She had absolutely nothing on her docket. No correspondence to or from Princess Celestia, no royal duties of any kind, and no terrifying villains or monsters to take care of. She could literally spend her entire day sitting in her castle's gargantuan library and read. Life was good. Then, her otherwise-engrossed senses picked up something new. A chime, a series of chimes, that steadily grew louder. Twilight recognized it as the castle doorbell, which had been magically enchanted so that it could be heard from anywhere in the massive structure. However, this brought confusion. If it was one of her close friends, they would have shown themselves in. So that meant it was a pony she wasn't familiar with, or at least not on such close terms. Deciding to beat Spike to the punch, she lit up her horn and teleported to just inside the main door. Just as she suspected, Spike was there, about to open the gate. "Oh, hi Twilight," the drake said, "you almost scared me." "Don't worry Spike," the princess replied, "I'm just curious as to who is ringing." Spike opened the door slowly at first, but was quick to relax his stance and fully open the barrier. "Hey, Dust," Spike greeted, "What are you doing here?" "To talk to Twilight," Dust replied, his gaze rising from the dragon to see Twilight, "Oh good, you're already here." "Indeed I am," Twilight responded, trying to sound official, "What do you need to talk to me about?" "I need to procure certain forms that deal with registering a gold find. In addition, I also wish to apply for a mining permit." "Ah, I see. I was wondering how long it would take you to do that. They didn't have the proper forms at City Hall?" "No, they didn't," Dust replied with a raise of his eyebrows, "and the mayor said it would take a week to ferry the necessary paperwork to and from Canterlot. I was hoping you had a faster way." "Well," Twilight began, but was cut off. "Sure we can help," Spike stated, "We have a direct link to Princess Celestia. I'm sure she could get you what you need." "Spike," Twilight straightened, "your personal mail delivery system is not to be used lightly. Both Spike and Dust gave Twilight a look which screamed 'stop being such a straightlace.' "But," Twilight continued, "you are Pinkie's friend, and our friend as well. I'm sure the princess won't mind." "Excellent," Dust exclaimed, "How do we start?" Spike pulled a quill and a sheet of parchment out of thin air, "Like this. Just say what you want to say and I'll write it all down." "OK," Dust said, "How about this..." Dear Princess Celestia, My name is Gold Dust. You don't know me, but I am an old friend of Pinkie Pie's. I hope it is not inconvenient that I am sending you a letter this way, but I feel this is an important matter. You see, as my name may imply, I am in the gold business. My father, Gold Strike, has provided gold from his mines to the crown for many years, as did his father before him. Now, I have discovered gold in the hills which surround Ponyville. I only have a nugget so far, but where there is one, there is bound to be more. I am fully aware that, by law, I must register this finding with the crown. Unfortunately, Ponyville City Hall does not have a copy of this document. Nor do they have a copy of an application to apply for a mining permit. If it pleases your highness, I would like to receive both forms, and I would be much obliged if you could do it at your earliest convenience. Your faithful servant, Gold Dust The letter completed, Spike rolled the paper up, held it out in his claw, and blew a green flame which magically wisked the paper away. "That is pretty cool," Dust commented, "How long does it usually take for her to reply?" "Oh, Celestia reads all mail from Spike immediately," Twilight explained, "As a matter of fact, i wouldn't be surprised if we received a reply any second." Twilight was right on the money, as not ten seconds after saying this, Spike burped up another green flame, out of which dropped three scolls. Spike picked up the one tied with gold ribbon first. Mr. Dust, It is always a pleasure to hear from my subjects, no matter who they might know. And do not fear, as you have actually caught me on an otherwise very uneventful day. I have met both your father and grandfather in the past. And it pleases me that their heir has followed in the family footsteps and have come across another source of the precious metal. Along with this letter, I will send the appropriate forms that you requested. Do not hesitate to return them to me via Spike once you have completed them. Princess Celestia Celestia was true to her word, of course. The other two scrolls were indeed the very documents that Dust needed. He and Spike set to work immediately filling them out. Dust could write, of course, but the hoofwriting that was created by holding a pen in one's mouth could not compare to one using claws or magic. Spike sent the forms, as requested, and not a minute later, Dust had his hooves on an offical permit to mine the hills of Ponyville. His task for the day complete, he left Twilight's castle. *--*--*--*--* Dust walked to Sugarcube Corner a very happy pony. Not only had he done exactly what he set out to do today, but he had done it all in one morning. And, on top of that, he had official correspondence with Princess Celestia, and that would make any laypony such as himself feel pretty good. Now that the only thing on his checklist was complete, he could settle down to lunch at Pinkie's place. He arrived to a fairly typical lunch scene. Pinkie was at the counter, and while she was currently tending to the needs of a mint green unicorn, she still gave Dust an energetic wave. Dust also noticed two other ponies, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the actual owners, scrambling around like mad behind the scenes. When the unicorn vacated the counter, Dust stepped up. "What's with the Cakes," he asked Pinkie. "Oh, they're super busy," she answered, "A big order came in this morning that has to be filled by tonight. And Pumpkin and Pound have been upset all day." Dust knew about the Cake twins, but had never actually seen them. "What about," he asked, curious. "I'm not sure," Pinkie sighed, "Mrs. Cake has tried every trick in the book. That's a lot of tricks." "Do you mind if I give it a shot?" Pinkie looked at him wide-eyed, "Are you sure, Dusty? They can be quite a handful sometimes." "I've dealt with foals before. I have three younger siblings." "Earth pony siblings," Pinkie specified, "Pumpkin and Pound are a unicorn and a pegasus, they can get into big trouble real fast." Dust just scoffed, "Mrs. Cake," he called into the back. "What is it, dearie," she replied, though she couldn't be seen, "We're kind of busy." "Just wanted to know if you'd be alright with me trying to calm your foals?" At this, Mrs. Cake popped her head out from the kitchen, her eyes beginning to get that tired look to them, "Are you sure you can handle them?" "Sure I'm sure," Dust smiled confidently. "OK," Mrs. Cake said, "They're in their room, upstairs." Dust gave a big smile as he turned to go up the stairs leading to the living quarters of the building. He had always been good with foals. The rational side of his brain said that it came with experience. The other part thought it may have been his mare side shining through. Either way, it was useful at a time like this. It didn't take him long to hear the sounds of fussing foals coming from a room which had the door ajar. He peeked his head in to see two foals, an orange filly and a brownish colt sitting in their white crib. They didn't seem sad or angry, just fidgety. Dust got as low as he could while still able to walk and started into the room. He knew from experience that foals often got scared by ponies they didn't know, especially if those ponies were much larger than them. Pumpkin and Pound got very quiet as they observed this strange new stallion slither across the ground, eventually ending up right at the foot of the crib. Dust slowly lifted his head so that his muzzle sat even with the mattress of the crib, his golden eyes peering at the two foals. "Hi there," he said in the sweetest voice his scratchy stallion self could muster, "My name is Dusty." The two foals blinked at him, but didn't make a sound. "I am friends with your Auntie Pinkie." At the reference to their favorite foalsitter, the twins began smiling and giggling a little. "Your Auntie Pinkie told me you two are upset. But that's not true, is it?" The two foals looked at each other, their smiles dropping into tiny, adorable little pouts. "Aww," Dust sighed, sounding like a stallion version of Pinkie, "what's the matter?" After a short while, Pumpkin let out a single word, "Inkie." Inkie. Dust turned the word over in his head. It didn't mean anything to him. At first, he shrugged it off as the unintelligible babbling of a foal, but then, Pumpkin repeated the word, followed by Pound echoing the sentiment. "Inkie," Dust echoed himself, trying to make sense of it, "Inkie...Inkie...Inkie...Pinkie!" The two foals brightened up again and started laughing. Dust started chuckling to himself, enjoying this little game. After a short time, he stood all the way up and made his way over to the long side of the crib, laying his head over the bar. "You want to see Auntie Pinkie?" "Yay," came the reply from the two foals. Dust made a move to unlatch the side, but before he could, he noticed a blue glow come from Pumpkin's horn. She gently floated herself up and onto Dust's back. The stallion looked back as the unicorn foal smiled at him. "That's very good, Pumpkin," he smiled, then felt a weight land on his head, rolling his eyes up to see Pound, "Guess you flew up there, huh?" The pegasus colt smiled. "Be careful, you two," Dust warned, "I'm not a carnival pony." Dust carefully made his way out of the room and down the stairs once again. He was certain that if they foals slipped, that he could catch them, but he still wanted to be as safe as possible. When he reached the ground floor and the sweet shop again, he scanned the room for the pink mare. As he did so, he heard various cooing sounds, coming both from the foals on his body, and the various mares in the shop. He silently hoped that the latter was meant for the foals and not for him. "Dusty," Pinkie called as she came out from the back, "what are you doing?" "The foals asked for you, so I decided to bring them to the source." "Inkie," the two foals said in unison. Pinkie let out a small gasp, "Oh, that is so cute." "What? You've never heard them say that before?" "No. I guess they can't make the 'P' sound as in Pinkie Pie is the perfect party pony." "Not yet," Dust shook the urge to shake his head with Pound sitting on it, "Took me a minute to figure it out myself." Pinkie walked over and picked Pumpkin off of Dust's back. She seemed perfectly comfortable leaving Pound in his elevated position. "I've been so super duper busy today,' Pinkie explained, "I guess I forgot to make time to play with the twins." "Well they're all yours now," Dust chuckled as Pound lighted off of his head and hovered for a bit before landing on Pinkie's back. Dust turned around to make his leave, for some reason having lost the appetite he came in with. However, before he got very far, he felt a tingling sensation around his neck. Peering down, he noticed a familiar blue aura encircling his neck in a thin ring. Turning his head to look behind him, he saw Pumpkin's horn alit, confirming his suspicions. The little unicorn didn't have enough strength to stop or pull him, but did catch his attention. "Usty," the foal exclaimed, "Usty." "What did you say, Pumpkin," Pinkie exclaimed in turn. "Usty," Pumpkin repeated, "Usty." Dust couldn't help but bow his head to hide a smile. "Sorry ladies," he joked, looking back up, "seems I've been claimed." This elicited amused giggles from some of the mares in the shop, including Pinkie. "You're silly Dusty," the pink mare smiled. "Like I said, I'm good with foals."
Chapter 1: New Town, Old FriendGold Dust should have been like any other pony. He was born like any other pony, a healthy Earth colt, brown with a dirty gold mane, to a family of gold and silver miners on a farm just north of Vanhoover. But that was when his normality ended. And it was all because of a lazy, rich pony. You see, that rich pony was angry at Gold's father, Gold Strike, over money. Now Strike didn't owe this pony anything, but that wasn't how this entitled shmuck saw it. However, as he was unable to get anything out of Strike legally, he thought of an underhanded way to get what he wanted. This pony hired a zebra witchdoctor to place a curse on the family. This zebra said that this was impossible, that he had to pick just one pony. The rich pony decided not to curse Strike, but instead his new-born son, and told the zebra to do the worse thing he could imagine short of killing him. It wasn't until about a week after the curse was placed that his mother, Silver Dust, noticed. She went to change her son's diaper only to find, for lack of a better term, mare parts. Horrified, she called the local doctor to come out the next day. However, when the doctor came, everything was normal. Then the next day, everything was wrong. The day after that, everything was fine. And so on and so forth until finally the doctor saw it for himself. He couldn't explain it, obviously, but he did diagnose the condition. One day, Dust was a colt, the next she was a filly. And so began the sad tale of Gold Dust. Through the years, it affected him more and more. When he was young it was fine because nopony had to see him, it could be well-hidden, and his personality hadn't come through yet. However, as he got older, the change was more and more noticeable and less and less easy to hide. Soon after he earned his cutie mark, a pile of gold dust he got after learning the last of his father's gold-finding techniques, the secret got out. A neighbor accidentally happened upon Dust as a filly. At first, they thought it was just a relative, but that was soon put to rest. Once one neighbor knew it, everypony within 50 miles knew it. Soon, the neighbor's kids, who all used to be friends with Dust, started shunning him. To his face, they would call him names like filly-boy, behind his back, they wondered whether everything about him changed. The names and talk hurt, but not as much as the sudden realization that he no longer had any friends. Dust started to become very isolated. He would lock himself in his room, sometimes for days on end, refusing to come out, especially on days when his body was that of a filly. And on days like that, even if his parents or his younger siblings tried to check on him, all they would hear is crying on the other side. For a time, he considered the possibility of never leaving the farm, never seeing any of the world. But then, he had an epiphany. Maybe, just maybe, if he went somewhere where nopony knew him, he could get a fresh start. With that in mind, as soon as his parents would allow it, he left the farm and Vanhoover, vowing to never enter that city again. He decided to travel to Las Pegasus which was known for being a city where anypony could be anypony. He lived there for awhile, doing jobs here and there. His favorite, and the one that lasted the longest, was as a card dealer. The uniform he had to wear did a good job of hiding most of his physical features, and practice with his voice allowed him to sound like a stallion even if he was technically a mare. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever and his condition was found out. The manager of the casino was unsettled but wasn't about to fire him over it. However, Dust's peers and co-workers had different thoughts about it. Many of them said they were uncomfortable with the notion that one day they worked with a stallion and the next the same pony was a mare. Dust decided to quit, and on the last day of work he, as a mare, slapped the stallion who was his immediate superior. Knocked him flat on his ass. Outcast once again, Dust only had one option remaining. He had been following the news all this time and knew of the exploits of one Pinkie Pie. Now Dust's family and Pinkie's family had a relationship going back generations. Dust and Pinkie had been friends, but they hadn't seen each other since Pinkie got her cutie mark and left the farm. But Dust knew where she lived, and that was his next destination. *--*--*--*--* Dust arrived in Ponyville as a stallion with only the contents of his saddlebags to his name. All he had to do was find a place called Sugarcube Corner and hope that Pinkie remembered him. The first part was easy enough, the bakery was hard to miss, what with the decorative candy theme of the building. Stepping inside, he was a little suprised to find no line, especially since it was around lunch time. He shrugged it off and headed toward the counter, which nopony seemed to be manning. Curious, he looked left and right trying to find somepony without being so rude as to ring the bell for service. "HI," a voice suddenly rang out as a pink head, topped with a curly, frizzy pink mane, popped up behind the counter, almost catching him in the jaw, "Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, what can I--OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHDUSTYISTHATREALLYYOU?" "Yes, Pinkie," the stallion replied calmly in the deep, throaty voice of somepony who has spent their fair share of time underground, "it's me." "I haven't seen you in forever," Pinkie lept over the counter and threw herself into a hug. "Good to see you, Pinkie," Dust meeked out, his lungs not having the proper room to expand. "How long have you been in Ponyville? Did you just get here? Or maybe you've been here awhile and are just coming for lunch. Where are you coming from? Where are you going? Would you like something for lunch?" "Pinkie," Dust began, shaking his head. "Hold that thought," Pinkie said, covering his mouth with a hoof, "Mrs. Cake?" "Yes, dearie," another voice called from what seemed to be the kitchen. "I'm taking my lunch now, OK?" "OK, Pinkie." "OK," the pink mare said, turning her attention back to Dust, "so where were we?" "You were asking how long I've been here," Dust clarified, "and whether I wanted lunch. And to answer those questions, I just got here and yes." "Perfect," the pink pony exclaimed, "you pick a table, I'll get lunch." And with that, Pinkie sped off without even asking Dust what he wanted. Shrugging it off, he was quick to find a table for two, where he sat and patiently waited for Pinkie to return. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. Pinkie soon came back with two sandwiches. He also didn't have to ask which one was his, as she passed him the sandwich that consisted of daffodils and hay on rye. "Pinkie," he questioned, "how do you know I like daffodils?" "Oh, you told me once." "That was like 15 years ago, how do you remember?" "Eh," the pink pony shrugged, "I just have a knack for remembering things. I even remember your birthday. So, what are you doing in Ponyville?" "I'm moving here." "Really? You finally left the farm?" "I left the farm a long time ago. I've been in Las Pegasus the last few years." "Las Pegasus? That must've been fun. Why'd you leave?" Dust had to tread carefully here, since Pinkie was still in the dark about his condition. "I was just tired of it. Now that I'm here, I want to get back to doing what I was meant to do." "Which is what?" "Find gold," Dust answered, a gleam coming to his eye. "Hee-hee," Pinkie giggled behind a hoof, "you kind of sound like how Maud sounds when she talks about rocks." "Well it is my special talent. You wouldn't happen to know if there are any gold deposits around here, would you?" Pinkie shook her head, "I wouldn't have any clue. But my friend, Rarity, she always goes out to look for gemstones and stuff like that, maybe she knows." "Rarity, huh," Dust asked, scratching his chin, "And where might I find this Rarity?" "She runs the Carousel Boutique. You can't miss it, it looks like a giant merry-go-round." Dust chuckled, "OK then, I'm going to pay her a visit." "Okie dokie lokie. When I'm finished work here, I'll try to find you again, OK?" "OK Pinkie. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'm going to eat my sandwich." After the two ponies had eaten, they said there goodbye's for the time being, Pinkie to go back to work, and Dust to track down Rarity. *--*--*--*--* Pinkie was right, of course, the boutique wasn't hard to find. Since most of the buildings in Ponyville looked the same, the two-story purple-and-white boutique stood out. Dust didn't waste any time making his way into the building. A bell chimed as he did so. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique," the crystal clear, cultured voice of the white mare in the room called out, "where every design is chic, unique, and magnifique." Her catchphrase finished, the mare turned around, revealing herself to be a unicorn. Her violet mane flipped flawlessly away from her face, the curl bobbing lightly, matching the gentle bounce of her curly tail. "Are you Rarity," Dust asked. Rarity took a moment to size up the unfamiliar stallion in front of her. He kind of reminded her of Big Mac, with his good size and unshorn fetlocks. She also took note of his mane, which seemed a little long for an obviously blue-collar stallion and tied back in a short ponytail. "Why yes I am," she replied, pointing to herself with a hoof, "and what can I do you for?" "Pinkie told me you might know where I can find gold." "Gold," Rarity tilted her head in confusion, "I wonder what gave her that impression." "She mentioned something about you going and hunting for gemstones. That was the only lead I got." "Hmmm," Rarity contemplated, the hoof now rising to her mouth, "Well, Mr..." "Dust. Gold Dust." "Well, Mr. Dust, I'm not sure if I can be of any help. You see, I use a special spell to look for my gems, but I wouldn't know anything about finding gold." Dust looked around the main room of the boutique, paying special attention to the ponequin on the main stage. It was wearing Rarity's latest creation, which just happened to include gold thread. "Where did you get this gold thread," Dust asked, walking up and examining the ponequin, "It's very high quality." "Oh, I make it myself. It takes a lot of gold dust and other materials, but it is just perfect for accent." "And where do you get your gold dust from?" "I buy it from suppliers in the north, why?" A sly grin crossed Dust's muzzle, "What if you had a private supplier?" "I don't believe I understand, darling." Dust turned around to face the designer once more, "My talent is finding gold. You'd be surprised how much there is in Equestria. My family has been the main supplier for the gold they use to make Bits for generations." "That's impressive, but I'm still not following." "The mountains around Ponyville are an untapped resource. Every miner who puts in his two Bits says that there isn't any gold around here. I'll bet that I can prove them wrong." "Perhaps. But if there is any gold in those hills, how do you plan on extracting it?" "How do you get your gems? Something tells me a lady such as yourself doesn't dig around in the dirt." "It depends. Sometimes, they are in rocks that I break open with my magic. Sometimes I get my dragon friend Spike to dig them out for me." "There's a dragon here," Dust asked, shocked. "Yes, he is a good friend." "That's great," Dust exclaimed, "He'd be perfect for helping me mine the gold veins. Would save me a fortune on dynamite." "Dynamite!?" "Well yeah, how do you think they do it? Every miner uses that method. Not always the safest, but it gets the job done." "So remind me what you need me for, darling." "I'm new here. I don't know the lay of the land. I need...a guide, for lack of a better term." "And if you did find gold," Rarity mused, turning her head away and then rolling it back toward Dust, "you would give it to me?" "I'm sure we could work out a reasonable business arrangement." "I'm sure we could." The bell on the door of the boutique chimed again. Rarity turned to repeat her greeting phrase, but stopped when she saw the bubbly, pink pony at the door. "Hey Rarity," Pinkie beamed, "I see Dusty found you." "Dusty," Rarity questioned, turning her head back in the direction of said stallion, who could only smile. "Yeah," Pinkie hopped over, placing a hoof on Dust's back and propping herself up, "Dusty and I were friends back when I still lived on the rock farm." "That's nice, darling. But what are you doing here, now?" "Oh, I told Dusty I'd catch up," Pinkie then gasped as if she suddenly remembered something, "Dusty, you gotta come and meet another one of my good friends." "Why," Dust asked, shrugging his shoulders. "Applejack came to the Corner soon after you left. She wants to meet you. Come on. Later, Rarity," Pinkie began bouncing out the door. "Guess there's no stopping Pinkie," Dust chuckled, "Good meeting you, Rarity, we'll talk more later." "That we shall." *--*--*--*--* Pinkie led Dust down a long path that led out of town. For awhile, Dust was worried that his old friend was leading him the wrong way. That was, until he noticed an apple tree on the horizon. That one apple tree soon turned into several, which soon begat an entire orchard. "Here we are," Pinkie announced, "Sweet Apple Acres. C'mon, Applejack should be in the barn." Pinkie continued to lead Dust until they came to a large, red, barn. Outside stood two ponies, a red stallion and an orange mare wearing a Stetson. Dust could already tell they were related, with their similar builds and matching freckles, if their cutie marks weren't telling enough. "Hey Big Mac, hey Applejack," Pinkie called to the two, "I brought Dusty!" "Well howdy Pinkie," the mare greeted, "glad you could bring your friend." "Well," Dust chuckled, turning to the mare, "when Pinkie wants you to go somewhere, you go. Am I right, Applejack?" "You're right, pardner," she nodded as the two shook hooves, "And good work with the name." "No offense," Dust pointed to Mac, "but I assumed the descriptive word was for this hoss over here. "Eeyup," Mac stated bluntly, extending a hoof, "Macintosh." "Gold Dust," he replied, extending his own hoof for a shake. Now that the two stallions were standing next to each other, Applejack and Pinkie noticed what Rarity had noted before, that they were very similar. Unlike with the unicorn, however, AJ decided to voice her opinion. "'Ey, Gold Dust," she said, getting his attention, "By any chance are you related to the Apples?" "Can't say that I am. I've heard of the Apple Family before. Pretty sure I would know it if I was related to a clan that large." "You never know," Pinkie interjected, "I didn't know AJ and I were related until recently." "Well Pinkie, last time I checked, our families are only related by marriage, so I think it's safe to say I'm not related." "Coulda fooled me," the apple mare chuckled, "you and Mac look like cousins." The two stallions looked each other over for a brief moment. "I don't see it," Dust said with a slight shake of his head. "Nnope," Mac agreed. "Oh, Applejack," Pinkie piped up, "I didn't tell Dusty the other part. I figured I'd save that for you." "What other part," Dust asked. "Well, pardner," Applejack smiled, "Pinkie told me at the Corner that you just got to town and she asked me if we could put you up for awhile. And since you're an old friend of Pinkie's, Ah said OK." The color drained out of Dust's face. "Um, thank you, Applejack," he stuttered, trying to maintain his composure, "but I can't possibly accept. I'll just figure it out on my own." "What's the matter, Dusty," Pinkie said in a worried tone, she had never seen her friend look like this. "Nothing's the matter," Dust answered, doing a bad job of hiding his fear, "I just don't like to take advantage of another pony's generosity is all." "Horseapples," Applejack scoffed, "Yer not takin' advantage of nothin'." "I don't know," Dust sighed. "Dusty," Pinkie came and put her hooves around Dust's neck in order to look him in the eyes, "I know you're big into self-sufficiency, but I'm not going to let a good friend just fend for themselves. Trust me, I wish you could stay with me, but the Cakes don't have the space. Please, just so I know you're safe." Dust sighed again, but he couldn't bring himself to shift his gaze away from Pinkie's baby blue's. "OK, Pinkie, you win." "Good," now Pinkie let out a sigh, "I didn't really have a back-up speech in case that one didn't work." This brought a smile and chuckle back to Dust. "You can sleep in the hayloft," Applejack said, "Hope that's OK." "It'll be fine," Dust said. "Well then, let's go then," Applejack said, walking in the direction of the house, "Soup's on, and you two are invited." Dust followed his old friend and his two new ones toward the farmhouse. Right now, he wasn't thinking about what tomorrow might bring. For once, he was purely in the moment.
Chapter 2: Appearances and PromisesDust woke up in the hayloft of the barn early, even before the rooster started crowing. He had gone to bed before anypony else the night before on the excuse that he was tired from his trip. In reality, he just wanted to make sure nopony would surprise him. Him, or as someponies would say on a day like today, her. As had happened every night for almost the entirety of his life, Gold Dust's physical appearance had changed. His body was now that of a mare's. He could look down his snout to see that it had curved. His slightly-longer eyelashes fluttered in front of his eyes. He raised a hoof to see it now clean and smooth, unlike his stallion hooves. And he could feel his mane, a bit longer in this form, flowing over his shoulder. That was why he had awoken so early. The last thing he wanted was for Applejack or somepony else to find him like this and be caught by surprise. Now that he was awake, his only question was how to get away from the farm without being spotted. He figured that, like most ponies who worked the land, the Apples would be up soon themselves. Dust climbed down out of the loft and quietly snuck out of the barn. With nopony in sight, he made a dash down the dirt road toward town. As Celestia's Sun peeked over the horizon, Dust reached the center of Ponyville. He really didn't have a plan in mind. The best way to hide would be to go into the mountains and start his gold search, but without Rarity he was afraid he would get lost. He was just starting to formulate a Plan B, when he was unceremoniously interrupted. "Hello there," a familiar voice said behind him. Dust froze solid, fearfully scanning his peripheral vision to find that Pinkie Pie was standing right behind him, "My name's Pinkie Pie, what's yours?" Pinkie obviously didn't recognize his mare figure, and was acting as if he was a completely new pony. Dust slowly started walking away from Pinkie, hoping that she would go away, but it was not to be. "Aww," Pinkie cooed, suddenly standing right in front of him, "is something... Much to Dust's confusion, Pinkie just stopped in the middle of her sentence. Her blue eyes seemed to be gazing into his very soul. Then they got bigger and bigger, a sure sign of surprise. "...Dusty?" Quickly, Dust grabbed Pinkie and pulled her into an alley. He was sure to keep one hoof over her mouth, knowing full well that Pinkie would riddle him with questions if he didn't. "Promise to be quiet," Dust whispered in his slightly feminine voice, which was still rather husky, "Please promise. Pinkie could only nod behind the hoof, which Dust slowly removed. "You're right, it's me, Dusty," he continued solemnly. "What happened," Pinkie whispered, trying her best to keep her voice down, "Did somepony do this to you?" "It's a long story. It's not recent, either. This has been happening my entire life." "Even on the farm?" "Even on the farm. Remember those times when you wanted to play but my mother said I had to do chores. Yeah, that was a lie. The real reason I couldn't come was because I had changed into a filly. It had to be kept a secret." "I'm so sorry, Dusty," Pinkie threw her hooves around his neck, "Why didn't you tell me yesterday? I wouldn't have had you stay at Applejack's if I had known." "I don't know. I guess I was afraid of how you'd react. Other than my family, everypony who has found out about this turned their back on me." "I'm so sorry," Pinkie cried, hugging tighter. "How did you know it was me? Nopony has ever been able to guess on the spot." "Your eyes. Everything else about you changes, but your eyes stay the same. They have a certain golden gleam." "Pinkie, what am I going to do?" "I'm not sure," Pinkie said solemnly, releasing the hug, "Maybe my friend Twilight could--" "No," Dust interrupted, "I can't risk it. Nopony else must know." "Dusty you're going to have to tell somepony else in order to see if we can help you." "Promise me it won't get out." "Dusty, I--" "Pinkie, promise." "OK," Pinkie smiled, beginning to go through the motions, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." "What was that," Dust asked, confused. "You told me to Pinkie Promise, so I did." "OK. So what do you suggest I do?" "Well, if you don't want to go to Twilight, there is another pony who may be able to help. She lives in the Everfree Forest, and she would never tell anypony." "Are you sure she can help?" "Oh yeah, she's solved a lot of problems in the past. If not Twilight, then Zecora's our best bet." *--*--*--*--* Pinkie led Dust into the Everfree Forest. Dust had never really been in a forest before, and certainly not one this thick with vegetation. Pinkie was happily bouncing along in front of him, leading the way. Soon they reached a large tree whose trunk and roots seemed to have been hallowed out, allowing space for a house or hut of sorts. Dust wanted to take it slow, given the rather ominous-looking carved masks hanging up all over the place, but Pinkie bounced straight to the door and straight on in, without even knocking. "Good morning, miss Pinkie," said a new voice coming from the house, who Dust couldn't see yet, "why have you called on me so early?" "Hi Zecora. My friend Dusty needs your help." By this point, Dust had made it to the doorway and could see who Zecora was. He had never seen anything like her before. Black-and-white striped fur, a mane that seemed to be standing on-end, and golden bracelets on her neck and wrists. "Come, come, don't be shy," Zecora said, beckoning Dust in with a hoof, "I am a friend of Pinkie Pie." "Dusty's in real trouble, Zecora," Pinkie stated bluntly, "I don't even have the full story yet." Both mares looked to Dust, silently asking him to explain the situation. "OK," Dust took a deep breath and slowly let it out, "I was born a stallion. However, when I was very young, like less than a month old, strange things started happening. In short, every night, I change. One day I look like a stallion, the next day, I look like a mare. No doctor I've ever seen has any answer to it, other than to say that I am cursed." "A curse it does sound like to me," Zecora nodded, "but spare some time, and we shall see." "What do you need," Pinkie asked. "To find out whether your body is a curse's lair, I will need to have a mane hair." Dust quickly reached up and plucked a long, loose, strand of hair from his mane. Taking it, Zecora dropped it in her potion pot, along with other various ingredients. After only a few minutes, Zecora stepped away from her cauldron and walked back up to Dust. "It pains me to say this true," the zebra said, placing a hoof on Dust's shoulder, "but a terrible ill does plague you." "OK," Dust said, trying to remain calm, "Is there anyway you can remove it?" Zecora sighed, "By what your folicle is telling me, there is neither cure nor remedy." "What are you saying," Dust asked, his eyes beginning to glaze over. "You must understand the effect of this curse," Zecora paused, as if she didn't want to finish, "shall be life-long and cannot be reversed." "So," Dust shook, a tear coming to his eye, "I'm going to be like this forever?" "Nothing I know can end your plight, perhaps you should seek the magic of Princess Twilight." "N-No," Dust stuttered, backing away toward the door of the hut, "I-I can't..." Dust turned tail and bolted out the door. He just started running, in no direction in particular. Pinkie quickly ran after him, trying as best she could to keep pace with the surprisingly fast pony. Dust didn't stop or look back, even as he ran deeper into the forest. With the tears pouring from his eyes, it was a miracle he could see anything at all. He only stopped when he reached the edge of a gorge. He could see a bridge not far away that seemed to lead somewhere, but he didn't know if he wanted to take it. Instead, he just sat at the edge of the cliff, looking down into the abyss, which was covered by a thick, soupy, mist. Pinkie, meanwhile, had managed to catch up and saw her friend on the edge of doom. "Dusty," she called out, stopping a few feet away, "Dusty it's OK, promise. Everything will be OK." Dust heard her, but didn't respond at first. "How," he finally muttered, but still loud enough for Pinkie to hear him, "How will it be OK, it's never OK. I'm sick of being a laughingstock. I'm tired of moving around. You're nice to me, Pinkie, you tried to help me, and I thank you for that. But please, just go away, leave me alone." Pinkie took a step forward, "I can't do that, Dusty. You're a friend, and Pinkie Pie never leaves a friend when they're upset. I don't know exactly how things are going to work out, but I promise they will. My good friends, ponies like Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack, they won't say hurtful things about you. Please, Dusty, just please let us help you." "It's not easy," Dusty replied, "I've been burned too many times. I cannot, will not, let it happen again." "I understand," Pinkie offered, taking another step closer, "Anypony in your spot would feel the same. But I would never hurt you. And I know that my friends won't hurt you either. Please Dusty, I'm not going back without you." Dust's instincts told him to think about this, to not just jump in all over again. However, he was too emotional to think at all, so he just made a natural reaction. He got up from his seated position, ran the few steps back to his friend, and proceeded to bury his crying muzzle into Pinkie's chest. Pinkie, happy that she had won him over, sat down with him and slowly brought her hooves up into a hug. She stroked Dust's back and mane, sitting and hugging silently while her friend cried his eyes out. Eventually, Dust's uncontrollable crying gave way to sniffling and the occasional emotional hiccup. Pinkie still held him, determined to comfort her friend until he was all better. "What do you want to do," Pinkie asked when she was confident Dust had calmed down enough. "I don't know," he responded slowly, "I don't know who I can trust." "Do you want to hear my idea? Dust just nodded in response. "We should go back to Sweet Apple Acres and explain things to Applejack and Big Mac. AJ is the most honest, trustworthy, pony there is, and neither of them will treat you badly. That way, you can stay there and be comfortable." Dust raised his head up to look at Pinkie, "OK. Let's go." The ponies gave each other another big hug before setting off back through the forest for the farm. *--*--*--*--* Once they were out of the forest, it didn't take the two ponies long to find the Apple siblings. They were working hard, tending to the trees in the far part of the field, which happened to be the part closest to the forest. "Hey Applejack," Pinkie waved as she and Dust approached, "Hey Big Mac." "Howdy Pinkie," Applejack greeted in return, before noticing the new pony with Pinkie, "who's your friend?" "Silly AJ," Pinkie giggled, "you've already met." AJ and Mac looked at each other, than back to Pinkie, "Uh, no we haven't." "Don't you recognize her, or him, or, Dusty, which gender do you go by?" "I usually use the masculine pronouns, even when I'm a mare." "Okie dokie!" "What in tarnation," AJ exclaimed, "That mare is your friend Gold Dust!? How the hay did that happen?" "Oh, that happens to him every night," Pinkie explained, "He goes back and forth between being a stallion and being a mare. We just visited Zecora and she said it's a curse." "Did this happen this morning," AJ asked, "Mac and I were worried when we couldn't find him." "Nope, this has happened his whole life, it's a long story." "Why didn't you tell us yesterday?" "Even I didn't know about this until today. What do you think? Can Dusty still stay here?" The siblings exchanged glances again. "Well I ain't never heard of anything like it," AJ explained, "But that doesn't mean we're gonna go and throw ya out because of it. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need, right Mac?" "Eeyup," the stallion answered. "See Dusty," Pinkie asked, whipping her head around to look at him, "I told you it'd work out." Dust was on the verge of tears again. Never before had he been accepted so easily, without some kind of catch or need to hide. "Thank you," he croaked out. "Don't worry, sugarcube," AJ responded, "You're a friend of Pinkie's and you're a friend of our's. And it just ain't right to treat you any differently. Ya are who ya are."
Chapter 3: Diamonds, Gold, and the Dogs Who Hunt ThemThe bell above the door of Carousel Boutique chimed like it always did. "One minute, darling," Rarity called from her creation room upstairs. Darling. Spike always liked it when Rarity said that, even though she said it to everypony and even though she didn't know it was him at the door. On the other claw, Spike reasoned, she was expecting him. Forced to wait, Spike kicked around the main room. He took a moment to look at the ponequin on the main stage. The dress was nice enough, but Spike was more interested in the strategic placement of rubies and the liberal use of gold thread. Never let it be said that Spike didn't love everything shiny. "Oh, good morning, Spike," Rarity said, entering the room and noticing the dragon. "Hi Rarity," Spike greeted with a small wave, "you all set?" "Just about," she raised a hoof to her mouth in contemplation, "though I can't help but feel that I am forgetting something." "Well," Spike pondered, going over his mental checklist, "the cart is outside, my claws are sharp, your magic works, I don't know what we could be missing." The door chimed for a second time that morning. Stepping through the threshold was a stallion who Rarity was familiar with, but who was a perfect stranger to Spike. "Gold Dust," Rarity smiled, "good to see you, darling." "The sign said 'Closed'," Dust pointed out, "But the door is open." "Oh, yes, well, I was waiting for Spike," she pointed to the dragon. "Oh, this is the dragon you told me about," Dust said, "Well Spike, my name is Gold Dust." "Yo," Spike greeted, giving the stallion a hoofbump. "Oh," Rarity perked up, "that's what I forgot. I was going to ask Dust if he wanted to come with us." "Where are you going," Dust asked. "I'm running low on gemstones, darling," Rarity explained, "so Spike and I are headed into the mountains. I thought you would like to join us." "Makes sense. I do need to start my gold hunt." "I was surprised that you didn't stop by yesterday," Rarity said with a tilt of her head. "Oh...yeah," Dust stuttered, he still wasn't comfortable with Rarity knowing his secret, and he had just met Spike, "I was busy helping Pinkie." "No problem, darling. You're here now, and we have everything we need, so let's get going." Exiting the boutique, Dust saw a rather large cart or wagon sitting to the side which he hadn't noticed earlier. Rarity obviously didn't mess around when it came to gem-hunting. At first, Spike made a move like he was going to pull the wagon himself. "Here Spike," Dust said, coming up beside the dragon, "I'll pull it." "Uh, you sure about that," Spike said with a over-sized smile. "Sure. The least I could do in exchange for Rarity showing me around the mountains is pull her gem wagon. Besides, I'm a big stallion, it won't be any trouble at all." Dust quickly hitched himself to the wagon. That task finished, Rarity began leading the way out of Ponyville and up into the surrounding hills. All the while, Dust kept a sharp eye out for any potential gold deposits or good places for a mine. Eventually, they reached a wide-open plateau. "Perfect place to start," Rarity announced, lighting up her horn. After a few seconds, she pointed her horn to a specific spot in the ground. Spike used his claws to dig in that spot, and lo-and-behold, after only a few clawfuls of dirt, Spike would come up with a couple of gems. "Wow," Dust said, "that seems almost too easy." "I do so love magic," Rarity beamed, "You should hear the story of how I found out I had this ability." She looked as if she was going to continue. However, before she could, she started stumbling, then walking, in a different direction, her horn seemingly pulling her along. His two companions preoccupied, Dust began to do a survey of the land. Obviously finding gold would take a lot more digging than these gems. But before any of that could happen, he had to find a deposit. *--*--*--*--* Something was not right. Dust couldn't exactly put his hoof on it, but something just felt off to him. It wasn't that he had been walking about the plateau for an hour and hadn't found anything. That was fair enough. No, what bothered him was that the dirt wasn't what it should be. Part of finding a gold deposit was finding the right layer in the Earth. Dust knew he wouldn't find gold at this elevation, but, for some reason, the dirt he was looking at contained deposits of minerals that would be found far underground, not as part of the topsoil. To him, it seemed like the soil had been churned, like by a digging machine. He decided to go back the way he came and find Rarity and Spike again. Surely they would have an answer to his question. However, not a minute after he started, he heard something that shouldn't be. "AAAAAIEEEEEEE," he heard Rarity scream. Quickly going from a trot to a gallop, Dust raced toward her voice. When he got sight of her, he was very confused. Rarity, and Spike for that matter, were surrounded by four strange creatures. They were furry and quite sizeable. They seemed quadruped, though their front limbs and paws were noticeably longer and bigger than the hind ones. "Hey," yelled one who was facing Dust and wearing a red vest, "get that pony!" The other three quickly turned and made tracks for Dust. Instead of running, Dust decided to fight, aiming for the one in the middle, who's fur was a bluish tinge and was the biggest. The two ran toward each other. The bluish creature lunged, reaching his paws out. Dust ducked his head, then, when the creature was fully above him, jerked his head up, sending the creature sailing behind him. The smallest one, who was tan, charged from Dust's left. Dust simply turned and lowered his head, butting the creature right in the chest and dropping him. The third one, who, by Dust's guess was wearing iron armor, attacked next. Dust simply kept his back to his foe, and, when the opportunity presented itself. Gave a good double-buck right into the offender's unarmored jaw. However, these creatures were tough. Though Dust had dropped them all, they were soon back on their paws. Dust decided to back away from the three, right toward Rarity and Spike. "You're a pretty tough little pony," said the red-vested one, "But we will not let this gem-hunter go again." "Again," Dust questioned, "Rarity, you know these things?" "Unfortunately, yes," Rarity answered, "They call themselves Diamond Dogs. They are obsessed with gemstones." "Fitting name," Dust conceded. "Yes," the red-vested one continued, "And this time, when we ponynap the gem-hunter, we won't leave nobody behind to squeal." The three other Diamond Dogs were quickly closing the space. "Rarity, Spike," Dust said calmly, "Get out of here." "What about you," Rarity questioned. "I can take them, no problem. But I need you and Spike to leave while you still can." "And how do you plan on doing that," asked the only Dog who had spoken. "Like this," Dust answered, stepping forward and cracking the littlest one on the jaw with a hoof, sending him soaring. This opened up a space in the circle. Rarity and Spike quickly made tracks, running away from the confined space and starting down the mountain. "You fool! Now it's just you against the four of us." "Good," Dust sneered, "the odds are even." The last thing Rarity and Spike saw was a big dustcloud which obscured Dust and the four Diamond Dogs. *--*--*--*--* Rarity and Spike ran all the way down the mountain and back into Ponyville. They had had to leave the gem wagon behind. "That was close," Spike huffed, sitting down on a rock. "We have to go back," Rarity turned around to look back up the path they were on. "OK," Spike said, shaking out his legs, "Where do we start?" "You get Twilight, I'll get Pinkie," Rarity commanded, "We'll pick up Applejack and Rainbow on the way." The two split up to find their friends. Before long, all six ponies and one dragon had been gathered and were heading back up the mountain. However, just as they made it to the plateau where Dust had been last seen, they saw in front of them a big brown stallion with a gold mane coming in the opposite direction. Dust was pulling Rarity's gem wagon, and was wearing the same red vest that the Diamond Dog had been wearing. "Oh, hi everypony," Dust smiled. "Dusty," Pinkie bounced over and threw her arms around his neck, "Rarity said you were in trouble." "She said the Diamond Dogs attacked her again," Twilight said. "Well that's true," Dust rolled his eyes up, "But I took care of them." "Is that the vest their leader was wearing," Rarity asked. "Sure is." "You should take it off. Red isn't your color." "I know," Dust reached into one of the vest pockets, "But I couldn't leave without a souvenir or two." Dust stopped his fishing, and a craggy, gold rock fell out. "Landsakes," Applejack gasped, "Is that what I think it is?" "It sure is," Dust picked it up and held it in front of his eyes, "A real, pure, 100 percent legitimate, nugget of gold." "That is marvelous, darling," Rarity beamed, "But wherever did you find it?" "Let's get back to Ponyville and I'll explain everything." Dust pocketed the nugget, and was about to get moving, but then he was stopped by a blue pegasus he was unfamiliar with. "Hold on, buddy," the pegasus said, "Who the hay are you?" "Like I said," Dust smiled, "I'll explain everything when we return to town." *--*--*--*--* The group traveled all the way to Carousel Boutique so that Dust could place the gem wagon somewhere. Once they were inside, Pinkie introduced Dust to the three ponies in this group he hadn't met yet. "So what happened after we left, darling," Rarity asked as she was sorting the gems that had been gathered. "Well, after you two got away, all Tartarus broke lose," Dust explained, "Those Diamond Dogs are tough. I was holding my own fine, but then the unexpected happened. The five of us broke through the ground. I guess all those tunnels that they've built down there undermined the Earth's structure." "That makes sense," Twilight agreed. "Anyway, we must have fallen a good hundred feet or so. I was fortunate that I ended up on top of all of them. They were all knocked out from the fall, if not worse, but I didn't worry about it. "Anyway, looking around, I noticed that there were many gemstones just sitting in plain sight. I took the vest from the one so I might be able to carry something out, since I didn't have my saddlebags. However, before I could choose a precise gem or two to bring back, I noticed the gleam of something that catches my eye much more." "The gold nugget," Pinkie exclaimed. "Exactly. It was just sticking out of a rock. At first I thought it was just pyrite, fool's gold, but a quick examination proved that it was the real thing. So I pocketed it and eventually found my way out. When you all came upon me, I had only just hitched myself to the wagon." "To find just one gold nugget," Twilight pondered, "that has to be rare." "It is a bit unusual, but it proves that there is gold here. This nugget alone would sell for," Dust held it in his hoof and felt its weight, "about five thousand Bits. But if I found a payload, a vein of gold, it could be worth millions." "Millions," Rarity echoed, eyes wide. "That's if I find one," Dust clarified, "But at least now I know what to look for." "This calls for a--," Pinkie began, but stopped dead in her tracks with a glare from Dust. "No, Pinkie," he said, much calmer than his glare indicated, "No parties until I hit paydirt." "Oh, OK," Pinkie said sadly, but then perked up again, "Can I at least give you a 'Dusty Struck Gold' hug?" Dust chuckled, "Only a fool denies a Pinkie hug." And so Pinkie hugged him.
Chapter 4: Even Ponies Deal With Red TapeTwo days after his discovery of gold in the hills above Ponyville, Dust had to do his least favorite part of a miner's job. You see, Equestria treated different gemstones and precious metals different, legally. All gemstones, from the biggest diamond to the smallest emerald, was considered free game. This was usually because they were seen as purely decorative, as well as dragon food. Previous metals, like silver, were also thought of in the same light, as they had no specific purpose for the crown. Gold, on the other hoof, had a purpose, usually to be melted down into Bits. As such, whenever gold was found anywhere, in any form, it had to be registered with the government. Gold had accompanied his father on one such occasion, so he knew the basic run-around of such a process. However, he also knew that it would probably take him all day, even in a smaller town like Ponyville. Begrudgingly, Dust took his leave from Sweet Apple Acres early in the morning, immediately following breakfast. It didn't help matters that he had had to wait an entire day to turn back into a stallion. Of course, now that the Apples knew, and were very friendly about it, he didn't have to hide in the hayloft every other day. Instead, he was tasked with little things, like keeping an eye on Apple Bloom or her friends. But today, he was back in his preferred form and off to City Hall. When he reached the seat of local governance, he was pleasantly surprised to find it mostly empty. There were a couple of minor officials strolling about, as well as a few ponies he recognized from being at Sugarcube Corner. "Excuse me," a mare's voice called, Dust turned his head to see that there was indeed a royal blue Earth mare looking at him, "You look lost, can I help you?" "I hope so," Dust replied, turning his body to face the mare properly, "I am looking for the pony I would talk to to stake a claim." "Stake a claim," the mare asked, obviously confused by Dust's use of technical jargon. "Uh...I struck gold, and I need to report it." "Oh," the mare said, her eyes still indicating that she was lost, "Um...I actually have no idea. Let me see if anypony knows about that." "OK," Dust responded hesitantly, "you should have the forms somewhere, it is government policy whenever one finds gold." "OK," the mare said, putting on her best friendly smile, "I'll go check." The mare walked off, leaving Dust to kick around the main room. He had to admit that Ponyville's City Hall much different than its counterparts in Vanhoover or Las Pegasus. He doubted more than ten ponies actually worked here, including the receptionist-type he had just spoken to. Finding that there really wasn't much to this building, Dust decided to lie down, take a load off, and wait for the mare to return. That wait ended up lasting 20 minutes. Dust had waited longer to get his Dealer's License in Las Pegasus, but at least during that wait there were other ponies to interact with. Eventually, however, the blue mare returned, accompanied by another mare. This one was a tan Earth pony with a gray mane that made her look much older than Dust would have estimated. Her white collar with the green bauble definitely set her apart, along with the small, yellow-rimmed glasses. Dust rose back to his hooves when he realized they were coming in his direction. "Here's the pony who was talking about striking gold, Mayor Mare," the original mare said to the second one, "I'll admit I have no idea what form he's talking about." "Thank you Type," the second mare replied, "I'll take care of it." The first mare left, leaving only Dust and the other mare. "Ms. Mare," Dust began, "I assume by your name that you're the Mayor of Ponyville?" "Correct," the mayor replied, "Type said you told her you struck gold in the hills?" "Yes," Dust reached back and fished into his saddlebag. Per Rarity's suggestion, he had decided not to make the vest a permanent part of his attire. When his hoof came back out, it was holding the gold nugget. "Oh, my," Mayor gasped, adjusting her glasses, "you truly found that around Ponyville?" "By accident, yes." "They always said there wasn't any gold in Ponyville, but here you've proved them wrong." "Well," Dust tittered his head back and forth, "my special talent isn't finding gold for nothing." "Do you think there's more?" "Hard to say for certain," Dust said, pocketing the nugget, "But in my experience, where there is one speck of gold, there is plenty more. As such, in addition to reporting this gold finding, per the law, I would also like to apply for a mining permit." "To tell you the truth, nopony has ever asked for those two things here. We don't even have the proper forms on-hoof." Dust sighed, "I would like to begin my operation as soon as possible. How long would it take to get the forms sent from Canterlot?" "About three days, if the weather is good. And then another three to send them in and receive a reply." Dust sighed again and rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof, "That's a long time, miss mayor." "I know, I do apologize. We just haven't had a reason to keep them on file." Dust shook his head, his plan for the day in shreds and his hope of starting his project quickly all but dead. But then, a thought popped into his head. "Thank you Mayor Mare," he nodded, "but I do believe I know a faster way." "You're welcome," Mayor returned with a smile, "and I hope you are successful in your endeavor." *--*--*--*--* It was days like this that made Twilight Sparkle happy to be alive. She had absolutely nothing on her docket. No correspondence to or from Princess Celestia, no royal duties of any kind, and no terrifying villains or monsters to take care of. She could literally spend her entire day sitting in her castle's gargantuan library and read. Life was good. Then, her otherwise-engrossed senses picked up something new. A chime, a series of chimes, that steadily grew louder. Twilight recognized it as the castle doorbell, which had been magically enchanted so that it could be heard from anywhere in the massive structure. However, this brought confusion. If it was one of her close friends, they would have shown themselves in. So that meant it was a pony she wasn't familiar with, or at least not on such close terms. Deciding to beat Spike to the punch, she lit up her horn and teleported to just inside the main door. Just as she suspected, Spike was there, about to open the gate. "Oh, hi Twilight," the drake said, "you almost scared me." "Don't worry Spike," the princess replied, "I'm just curious as to who is ringing." Spike opened the door slowly at first, but was quick to relax his stance and fully open the barrier. "Hey, Dust," Spike greeted, "What are you doing here?" "To talk to Twilight," Dust replied, his gaze rising from the dragon to see Twilight, "Oh good, you're already here." "Indeed I am," Twilight responded, trying to sound official, "What do you need to talk to me about?" "I need to procure certain forms that deal with registering a gold find. In addition, I also wish to apply for a mining permit." "Ah, I see. I was wondering how long it would take you to do that. They didn't have the proper forms at City Hall?" "No, they didn't," Dust replied with a raise of his eyebrows, "and the mayor said it would take a week to ferry the necessary paperwork to and from Canterlot. I was hoping you had a faster way." "Well," Twilight began, but was cut off. "Sure we can help," Spike stated, "We have a direct link to Princess Celestia. I'm sure she could get you what you need." "Spike," Twilight straightened, "your personal mail delivery system is not to be used lightly. Both Spike and Dust gave Twilight a look which screamed 'stop being such a straightlace.' "But," Twilight continued, "you are Pinkie's friend, and our friend as well. I'm sure the princess won't mind." "Excellent," Dust exclaimed, "How do we start?" Spike pulled a quill and a sheet of parchment out of thin air, "Like this. Just say what you want to say and I'll write it all down." "OK," Dust said, "How about this..." Dear Princess Celestia, My name is Gold Dust. You don't know me, but I am an old friend of Pinkie Pie's. I hope it is not inconvenient that I am sending you a letter this way, but I feel this is an important matter. You see, as my name may imply, I am in the gold business. My father, Gold Strike, has provided gold from his mines to the crown for many years, as did his father before him. Now, I have discovered gold in the hills which surround Ponyville. I only have a nugget so far, but where there is one, there is bound to be more. I am fully aware that, by law, I must register this finding with the crown. Unfortunately, Ponyville City Hall does not have a copy of this document. Nor do they have a copy of an application to apply for a mining permit. If it pleases your highness, I would like to receive both forms, and I would be much obliged if you could do it at your earliest convenience. Your faithful servant, Gold Dust The letter completed, Spike rolled the paper up, held it out in his claw, and blew a green flame which magically wisked the paper away. "That is pretty cool," Dust commented, "How long does it usually take for her to reply?" "Oh, Celestia reads all mail from Spike immediately," Twilight explained, "As a matter of fact, i wouldn't be surprised if we received a reply any second." Twilight was right on the money, as not ten seconds after saying this, Spike burped up another green flame, out of which dropped three scolls. Spike picked up the one tied with gold ribbon first. Mr. Dust, It is always a pleasure to hear from my subjects, no matter who they might know. And do not fear, as you have actually caught me on an otherwise very uneventful day. I have met both your father and grandfather in the past. And it pleases me that their heir has followed in the family footsteps and have come across another source of the precious metal. Along with this letter, I will send the appropriate forms that you requested. Do not hesitate to return them to me via Spike once you have completed them. Princess Celestia Celestia was true to her word, of course. The other two scrolls were indeed the very documents that Dust needed. He and Spike set to work immediately filling them out. Dust could write, of course, but the hoofwriting that was created by holding a pen in one's mouth could not compare to one using claws or magic. Spike sent the forms, as requested, and not a minute later, Dust had his hooves on an offical permit to mine the hills of Ponyville. His task for the day complete, he left Twilight's castle. *--*--*--*--* Dust walked to Sugarcube Corner a very happy pony. Not only had he done exactly what he set out to do today, but he had done it all in one morning. And, on top of that, he had official correspondence with Princess Celestia, and that would make any laypony such as himself feel pretty good. Now that the only thing on his checklist was complete, he could settle down to lunch at Pinkie's place. He arrived to a fairly typical lunch scene. Pinkie was at the counter, and while she was currently tending to the needs of a mint green unicorn, she still gave Dust an energetic wave. Dust also noticed two other ponies, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the actual owners, scrambling around like mad behind the scenes. When the unicorn vacated the counter, Dust stepped up. "What's with the Cakes," he asked Pinkie. "Oh, they're super busy," she answered, "A big order came in this morning that has to be filled by tonight. And Pumpkin and Pound have been upset all day." Dust knew about the Cake twins, but had never actually seen them. "What about," he asked, curious. "I'm not sure," Pinkie sighed, "Mrs. Cake has tried every trick in the book. That's a lot of tricks." "Do you mind if I give it a shot?" Pinkie looked at him wide-eyed, "Are you sure, Dusty? They can be quite a handful sometimes." "I've dealt with foals before. I have three younger siblings." "Earth pony siblings," Pinkie specified, "Pumpkin and Pound are a unicorn and a pegasus, they can get into big trouble real fast." Dust just scoffed, "Mrs. Cake," he called into the back. "What is it, dearie," she replied, though she couldn't be seen, "We're kind of busy." "Just wanted to know if you'd be alright with me trying to calm your foals?" At this, Mrs. Cake popped her head out from the kitchen, her eyes beginning to get that tired look to them, "Are you sure you can handle them?" "Sure I'm sure," Dust smiled confidently. "OK," Mrs. Cake said, "They're in their room, upstairs." Dust gave a big smile as he turned to go up the stairs leading to the living quarters of the building. He had always been good with foals. The rational side of his brain said that it came with experience. The other part thought it may have been his mare side shining through. Either way, it was useful at a time like this. It didn't take him long to hear the sounds of fussing foals coming from a room which had the door ajar. He peeked his head in to see two foals, an orange filly and a brownish colt sitting in their white crib. They didn't seem sad or angry, just fidgety. Dust got as low as he could while still able to walk and started into the room. He knew from experience that foals often got scared by ponies they didn't know, especially if those ponies were much larger than them. Pumpkin and Pound got very quiet as they observed this strange new stallion slither across the ground, eventually ending up right at the foot of the crib. Dust slowly lifted his head so that his muzzle sat even with the mattress of the crib, his golden eyes peering at the two foals. "Hi there," he said in the sweetest voice his scratchy stallion self could muster, "My name is Dusty." The two foals blinked at him, but didn't make a sound. "I am friends with your Auntie Pinkie." At the reference to their favorite foalsitter, the twins began smiling and giggling a little. "Your Auntie Pinkie told me you two are upset. But that's not true, is it?" The two foals looked at each other, their smiles dropping into tiny, adorable little pouts. "Aww," Dust sighed, sounding like a stallion version of Pinkie, "what's the matter?" After a short while, Pumpkin let out a single word, "Inkie." Inkie. Dust turned the word over in his head. It didn't mean anything to him. At first, he shrugged it off as the unintelligible babbling of a foal, but then, Pumpkin repeated the word, followed by Pound echoing the sentiment. "Inkie," Dust echoed himself, trying to make sense of it, "Inkie...Inkie...Inkie...Pinkie!" The two foals brightened up again and started laughing. Dust started chuckling to himself, enjoying this little game. After a short time, he stood all the way up and made his way over to the long side of the crib, laying his head over the bar. "You want to see Auntie Pinkie?" "Yay," came the reply from the two foals. Dust made a move to unlatch the side, but before he could, he noticed a blue glow come from Pumpkin's horn. She gently floated herself up and onto Dust's back. The stallion looked back as the unicorn foal smiled at him. "That's very good, Pumpkin," he smiled, then felt a weight land on his head, rolling his eyes up to see Pound, "Guess you flew up there, huh?" The pegasus colt smiled. "Be careful, you two," Dust warned, "I'm not a carnival pony." Dust carefully made his way out of the room and down the stairs once again. He was certain that if they foals slipped, that he could catch them, but he still wanted to be as safe as possible. When he reached the ground floor and the sweet shop again, he scanned the room for the pink mare. As he did so, he heard various cooing sounds, coming both from the foals on his body, and the various mares in the shop. He silently hoped that the latter was meant for the foals and not for him. "Dusty," Pinkie called as she came out from the back, "what are you doing?" "The foals asked for you, so I decided to bring them to the source." "Inkie," the two foals said in unison. Pinkie let out a small gasp, "Oh, that is so cute." "What? You've never heard them say that before?" "No. I guess they can't make the 'P' sound as in Pinkie Pie is the perfect party pony." "Not yet," Dust shook the urge to shake his head with Pound sitting on it, "Took me a minute to figure it out myself." Pinkie walked over and picked Pumpkin off of Dust's back. She seemed perfectly comfortable leaving Pound in his elevated position. "I've been so super duper busy today,' Pinkie explained, "I guess I forgot to make time to play with the twins." "Well they're all yours now," Dust chuckled as Pound lighted off of his head and hovered for a bit before landing on Pinkie's back. Dust turned around to make his leave, for some reason having lost the appetite he came in with. However, before he got very far, he felt a tingling sensation around his neck. Peering down, he noticed a familiar blue aura encircling his neck in a thin ring. Turning his head to look behind him, he saw Pumpkin's horn alit, confirming his suspicions. The little unicorn didn't have enough strength to stop or pull him, but did catch his attention. "Usty," the foal exclaimed, "Usty." "What did you say, Pumpkin," Pinkie exclaimed in turn. "Usty," Pumpkin repeated, "Usty." Dust couldn't help but bow his head to hide a smile. "Sorry ladies," he joked, looking back up, "seems I've been claimed." This elicited amused giggles from some of the mares in the shop, including Pinkie. "You're silly Dusty," the pink mare smiled. "Like I said, I'm good with foals."
