Two Bodies One Soul

Gold 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.