Honor For All

Chapters

Prologue
Dishonored (Part 1)
Dishonored (part 2)

Prologue

Nearly three months had gone by since the plan to venture to the Griffin Kingdom was formed, the faint echoing of the boat engine, the irritating thrashing of the waves, it brought ease upon the group to know it was all coming to an end. However, they were only to return in defeat and it was up to one specific guard to tell the princesses the depressing truth:

Dust Storm

Below the upper deck, a pale blue male unicorn sat back on a chair, rocking ever so slightly as he pushed on the desk with a back hoof. The sun shone brightly on his face through the window although his gazed was fixed on the table in front of him, a stoic look plastered on his muzzle. His horn glowed a faint dark aura underneath his brown short cut mane. A singular object levitated into his peripheral vision: his sword. It was a normal weapon, nothing too custom about it despite his rank amongst Celestia’s finest.

At the thought of the white alicorn, he thought once more on Canterlot, his duty and her. He found comfort in that, he was going to see her again, after all this time. Dust twirled the sword with his magic, it glowed the same dark aura as his horn did, his golden eyes returned to the table where the letter laid there on the hard, wooden surface, he visibly grimaced as he turned his attention away. He sat there in silence for another hour or so before something caught his attention, an annoying ‘cawing’ sound radiate from the top deck. Enough was his surprise to lean forward and gaze out the window to see shapes hovering around in the sky, he set his blade down back with his belongings and suddenly lifted himself off the chair. Dust trotted through the below deck, catching a few glances of both looks of respect and annoyance from the surrounding ponies that occupied the level.

Dust walked up the stairs, leading up towards the top deck, he glanced around to the crew and fellow guards lazily slouching around the ship. Much to his surprise, each of his companions were fully armoured, this confused him slightly as he stepped out entirely onto the upper deck.

“Make ready for land, ponies!” a gruff voice shouted from the helm. Dust trotted along the wooden floor, taking looks at the ponies that surrounded him, mares and stallions hovered groggily about on the ship. The blue colt walked up the stairs to the wheel and spotted the source of the voice: the captain. A rather gruff stallion he was, mush to fit his voice, he turned to Dust with a smile that was barely visible through his long grey beard.

“Land, what land? All I see is this enterable fog” Dust spoke with a rather typical voice you’d expect from a stallion with his background and it was true. There was indeed morning fog that refused to lift since yesterday.

“The gulls tell us everything, don’t you worry Dust” the captain replied friendly, of course he did, after all, they were old friends. The captain’s fur was a tan coat as he sported a black mane, only just visible due to his large hat that sat proudly upon his head, a sign of authority that he treasured. Fitting enough, his cutie mark was a wheel, a large helm, similar to the one he mantled with pride to guide his ship. At the news, Dust stared at the bow from his vantage point before placing a hoof respectively upon the captain’s shoulder with a friendly smile. In silence, the two nodded to one another before Dust released him and trotted back down the stairs to the upper deck, making his way back towards the next staircase that led to the lower level, the same level that held his quarters. Dust placed himself on the chair and waited for the upcoming departure.

The blue colt, after a half hour, began to collect his items. He was guard but he was special kind of guard, the kind that didn’t require to wear armour but rather a different sign of rank and authority. Dust trotted up to his saddle-bag and pulled out a large coat, leathered, striped and strapped it was but it was his favourite. The pale stallion pulled his front legs through the sleeves as the coat draped over his back with a certain astonishing look. Dust grinned at himself before pulling out another item from the bag, he held it with such…respect, a pony couldn’t quite tell what it was from his perspective. It was photo, to him, it was a treasure, in the picture held the image of himself, his pale blue coat in all and a mare. This was a different mare though, her coat was grey, her mane, short and purple, her eyes were deep pools of gold that surrounded sliced pupils, her wings flared as she smiled next to the stallion. She was a bat-pony, she was THE bat-pony, she Dust’s friend, quite possibly, his best friend…maybe more. Regardless, he wore a happy grin as he stared at the picture, after another moment, Dust placed it back in his bag aswell as his sword that followed suit. The blue stallion paused regretfully as he remembered another item that he was to pack, his eyes slowly shifted to the desk and his gaze met the letter. He stood up, threw his bag over his back and stared at the paper for a long moment.

Before anything else, quick hoofsteps could be heard echoing throughout the below deck, Dust turned when the sound stopped at his door. There in the arch way, was a young earth-pony colt, a black pelt coated his body as a short grey mane presented itself in a scruffy fashion upon his head, he panted as he placed a hoof on the archway. The thing about this stallion was that he idolised Dust almost entirely, he was a rookie guard that he himself personally invited him on the voyage much to that young colt’s excitement. However he seemed anxious at the moment, he panted before straightening himself in the presence of his superior.

“Sir”

“At ease, Shadow, what is it?”

“Sir, we’ve docked, sir” the young guard spoke with as much stoic as he could muster.

“Alright, thankyou” Dust said before quickly swiping up the letter and stuffing it into his coat’s interior pocket on his right side with a swift blue hoof. The pale colt walked towards the rookie and gestured with a nod and smile to indicate their departure, the young guard returned the sign of respect and trotted along side his superior. Dust was never truly anypony’s superior, sure he had a higher ranking amongst the guards but he wasn’t just some ordinary stoic-faced stallion that would stand, motionless at events such as the Grand Galloping Gala. Dust and Shadow trotted up the stairs to the upper deck to be greeted with a refreshing sight, gulls cawed annoyingly in the sky, the sound of hoofsteps on wood, the faint sound of ponies talking happily in the background and most important, the ship was not moving anymore. Dust found the new atmosphere to be the most welcoming sight he could imagine, he walked at a normal pace with Shadow following suit, he stopped as he reached the edge of the bow and looked down at the ramp, leading towards the dock. A smile crept across his face as he placed his right hoof on the diagonally based surface and a wave of bliss rushed through him. He walked down with the young guard in tow with a peaceful grin on his face.

“Sir…might I take your bags?” Shadow offered, Dust always thought his attempts to be stoic were hilarious at times but mostly he simply wanted to be respected not worshipped.

“Ahhh, that’s alright, thankyou but I can handle myself”

“Of course, sir” the black stallion replied with a blank look before the two started to trot towards the shore. Dust looked into the distance with a thoughtful look as he wore a frown upon his snout, Shadow noticed and question:

“Sir?”

“Hmmm?”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, thanks Shadow, just…”

“Yes?”

“There’s a storm coming, private, a big one, I can feel it”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“I mean that something bad’s gonna happen…I just dunno what yet”

“As you say, sir, I’m sure that whatever it might be, we’ll get through it” Shadow responded in a understanding tone, much to Dust’s surprise. A chuckle emitted from the pale pony’s lips before the two fell silent once more in respect, the sound of their hoofsteps the only confirmation of the other’s presence aswell as the sight in the corner of their eyes. Other royal guards that were on the boat trotted in their own ordered direction aswell did the crew of the ship, soon Dust spotted the captain and quickened his pace to greet him. The captain turned around and saw the pale pony, a friendly smile came across his face.

“Dust!” the captain greeted.

“Sparrow!”

“Did you enjoy the voyage?”

“More or less, the trip back was little less than uplifting”

“Indeed, I trust you’re on your way to Canterlot now”

“Yeah…”

“Tell her I said ‘hello’”

“Hehe alright, mate” at that, the two shared a respective brohoof. The two stallions looked at one another in a friendly matter before nodding simultaneously, Dust trotted past the captain but before Shadow could follow, he spoke once more.

“Come see me when you have a taste for the open sea!”

“Okay, Sparrow!” the pale pony waved at his older friend before gesturing for the young guard to follow with a shake of his head, the black colt understood and caught up with his idol. The two colts continued to trot up until they walked into the small town near the docks, a sign at the edge of the residential area read ‘Trottingham’. Dust stopped and turned to what he considered his friend with a smile, one that Shadow was unsure he was able to return.

“C’mon, Shad, we got a train to catch”

“Yes, sir” at that, the pale pony turned back towards the town and began walking again through the streets. Ponies of all kinds trotted about on the roads, getting to wherever they needed or wanted to be, the occasional group of friends that sat and talked to one another was a sight Dust was fond of. He then spotted a mare and a stallion sitting rather close to one another on a park bench under the shade of a tree, shielded from the Spring-time sun that Celestia generously provided. She nuzzled him fondly as he tightened his grip around the mare’s shoulder and smile crept Dust’s face at the sight.

“Hey, Shadow?”

“Sir?”

“You got somepony special in your life?” at that, the black stallion’s stoic look faltered to the most emotion Dust had seen on it since he eavesdropped on him squealing about getting offered by how he put it ‘THE Dust Storm’.

“N-no sir”

“Well…we’ll have to remedy that sometime then, won’t we?” the pale pony said with a friendly tone, matched by his smile, Shadow’s face shot up and stared at the opposite stallion.

“Sir?”

“Okay, you don’t ALWAYS have to address me by that, Shad, we’re both ponies here, right?”

“Yes, si-…Dust, yes we are…but what do you mean?”

“We gotta get you a mare friend, Celestia knows, maybe somepony in the training camps has had an eye for you” Dust stated positively, with a hint of hope in his voice that was more than a little contagious, Shadow smiled shyly.

“I-…maybe there is…”

“Oh, really? Well, I wish you luck, my friend”

“Thanks…Dust”

“Hakuna Matat-” was all that the pale stallion managed to say before getting trampled by something. He hit the ground on his back with a thud as he felt a weight pushing down on him, whatever it was that him, it was warm, furry and must’ve been moving quickly to knock him down like this. Dust gritted his teeth before his eyes shot open to see a yellow mare on top of him, she sported a two toned frazzled blue mane, her eyes were clenched shut as she laid atop him. Her hooves pressed down on his coat, the fabric rubbing up against his fur pelt uncomfortably…soon that was the last thing on his mind. Dust felt something soft and firm on the inside of his haunches, he glanced down to find that just between their two bodies, two large mounds could be seen pressed up against his lower torso, they seemed to swell slightly. He connected the dots quickly in his mind and zipped his gaze back up to her face but as soon as he did, her eyes shot open revealing large green rimmed irises. Surprised didn’t come close to what could be used to describe her look that sketched itself on the yellow…earthpony’s face, he quickly glanced at her body, finding no horn nor wings, confirmation of her race.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” she said quickly as her eyes widened while her pupils shrunk. She staggered to get off of the pale stallion, when she couldn’t get any purchase, Dust began to get to his hooves, much to the help for the yellow mare.

“It’s okay, what’s the hurry?” the blue stallion asked, she seemed anxious aswell as incredibly nervous perhaps even a slight but afraid.

“I’m sorry but I gotta go…NOW!” and with that, the pale mare was gone, dashing out the two colts’ sights, both with confused looks on their faces.

“That was…odd”

“By Faust, did you see the rack on that mare?” Shadow said, still gazing at where the mare left, Dust turned to him with a blank look.

“Mate, show some class” the blue stallion scolded, the black colt quickly straightened himself and chuckled.

“Sorry”

“It’s okay, just…be respectful” Dust added with a hint of disappointment that was not intended but that’s what came off his sentence. Dust noticed his saddlebags that laid lazily on the ground and lifted them up onto his back once more, realising that Shadow was still staring in the same direction with a blank look, he whistled.

“K, mate, let’s go” the blue colt said with a gesturing hoof to follow him, the black stallion shook his head and walked along side with his idol. The walk through town was like one would expect, ponies bustling around, doing business or socialising with their friends, eventually the other edge of town could be seen aswell as their destination: the train station.

Dust walked up to a booth that presented a tan coated mare with a red mane and a uninterested look on her face, he approached her with a smile, one that caught her attention with somewhat surprise.

“Two tickets for Canterlot, please?”

“Hey…don’t I know you from somewhere?” the mare asked, not caring for her job at the moment.

“Perhaps, I am technically a royal guard” Dust replied with a blank tone.

“Two tickets please?”

“Oh, yeah, hang on a sec” with that the mare dove under something behind the booth and pulled out two tickets.

“Twenty five bits, please?”

“Here…” the blue colt said as he withdrew the amount from a pocket placed in his jacket.

“Thankyou…oh, now I know, you’re the royal protector aren’t you?” the tan mare said with a squeak in her voice, much to the amusement of Dust.

“Yeah, yeah I am…have a nice day, ma’am” the blue unicorn said with a nod of his head before turning away from the mare. Shadow stared at her as she stared at Dust with a dreamy look, her attention snapped to the dark colt who immediately averted his gaze and followed the clothed stallion with haste. The crowd of ponies that waited impatiently for their scheduled trains was smaller than one would expect, it was quite early in the day, that may explain as to why.

“Sorry…pardon…excuse me…” was what the two colts said repetitively as they made their way to the head of the pack. Dust wore a content smile as he stood by the ledge with his companion by his side, waiting patiently unlike everypony else with a calm look. He glanced around to see several ponies of all kinds in the crowd along with at least a couple of gryphons of gryffons…or griffins, whichever is was, terminology always was a tough spot for Dust when referring to another species. Like an idiot, he didn’t notice the mare beside him, a familiar white unicorn from his past faced away from him, staring out into the diatsnce. Her mane, a two-toned electric blue, contrasting red eyes presented magnificently upon her face, not concealed by her trademark goggles. At the thought of that, Dust felt the need to speak.

“Vinyl?” he questioned, she looked to both sides before fixing her gaze on the pale blue unicorn colt, sporting large golden eyes and a brown mane, clothed in a black jacket. He wore saddlebags over his torso and smile on his face.

“Dust?” she replied, her voice was scratchy and soft, it feminine and strong at the same, her voice cracked, most likely in surprise.

“Yeah, what’s up?” he spoke calmly, as he finished, the white mare hugged him, a gesture he returned, he knew this mare, she was his friend.

“ ‘What’s up?’ I haven’t seen you in ages, what’s up with you?” she responded with a friendly voice as she broke the embrace.

“Ahh, well, ya know, just came back from the Griffin Kingdom, by the way, how do spell that?”

“The Griffin Kingdom? What were you doing there?…oh, I dunno, I think ‘gryphon’ is a mare, ‘gryffon’ is a stallion and…I really don’t know but why were you there?”

“Royal protector business…ya know, job stuff” he joked, much to the mare’s amusement, she giggled slightly.

“Yeah, you’re always doing something important…speaking of which…how’s Strife doing?” the DJ inquired with a sly tone, Dust’s shot open at hearing that name.

“Fine, I guess…I haven’t seen her in a month though so I guess we’ll catch up when I get back…why?” the blue stallion question with a stoic tone.

“Oh, no reason” she said with knowing grin.

“So why are you here?”

“I just got back from a gig, heading home to Ponyville right now”

Vinyl responded, apparently noticing something behind Dust as she glanced to his side, the thought clicked as he turned around to see the ever silent Shadow standing next to him.

“Oh right, I forgot, Shadow this is Vinyl Scratch, she’s an old friend” Dust said, gesturing a hoof between the two, the black stallion turned to meet the opposite shaded mare, his eyes widened slightly.

“Hey” the unicorn greeted, with that Shadow only nodded with a smile, respectively to the mare, much to the eye-rolling of the larger stallion present. However Vinyl smiled back in a friendly before Dust and herself began to chat once more while Shadow remained courteous and kept to himself. A few minutes passed until the sound of a loud whistling train horn could be heard in the distance aswell as the constant noise of wheels moving on tracks thanks to the also noisy steam engine that powered the machine. The passenger train stopped with a loud squeak as it reached the station, Dust and Vinyl looked at each other for a moment before he returned to the black stallion and nodded, a gesture he mechanically returned. The three equines trotted into the car that was closest, the shoving of impatient ponies making it a difficult task aswell as for finding their seats.

In the end, Dust and Shadow sat conveniently on the adjacent side of Vinyl’s, the blue colt and white mare shared a glance across the train and laughed, Dust’s a joyful chuckle while Vinyl giggled. The train began to move at a steady pace at first, thankfully the car being sound proof much to the pleasure of the clothed stallion. About half an hour later, we find the white unicorn with an entire booth to herself while her and Dust shared smiling glances to one another every so often. Shadow remained silent, barely ever speaking at all despite his mood, he was truly happy at the moment. Time passed as the train motioned at the same pace, much to the discomfort of the blue unicorn, after a month long boat trip, he ha hoped to just be on his hooves for a while. However a thought broke into his mind, the letter, he placed a hoof into his interior pocket and felt the paper in his limb. He carefully pulled it out and stared at it for a while, he knew what it said and he knew who was going to read it but both factors he didn’t like in the slightest.

He had hoped the Griffin society would be more sympathetic towards pony kind but that was obviously not the case for most of them unlike the few that have romantic involvements with ponies but that’s another story. After going through what was on the page once more in his mind he slid it back into his coat and waited patiently as he sat back on the chair with his front hooves on the table.

The train came to a halt after a few hours, on the way, Vinyl and Dust occasionally visited the other’s seat and chatting about something before returning to their own booth. Ponies began to pile out aswell as the occasional gryphon that boarded as the train got to one of it’s designated stops, Vinyl stood up, catching Dust’s attention, he looked up at her, she froze when the realisation hit her.

“Guess this is my stop” she said with disappointed tone.

“Alright, it was good to see ya again” the other unicorn replied with a friendly grin.

“You too” at that, the two shared a respective hug, Vinyl tightened her grip causing Dust to chuckle and return the motion to the best of his ability. Hey eyes gazed down his body and landed on his tail, similar to her to her own but his cutie mark what was what caught her eye. His flank depicted twin swords crossing in front of the sun, she smiled as she remembered why he had earned that mark. The two broke apart and stared at one another once more.

“Cya”

“Bye” and with that, she was gone, out through the door and back into Ponyville. The train picked up once more after a moment, suddenly Shadow found another thing to say, adding to the small lists of his sentences around the blue unicorn.

“Sir, if I may ask?”

“Hmmm?”

“How do you know that mare?”

“Well…long story short, we met while we were young, when I was still where you are, we became good friends after a while then…we got closer, actually for a bit of a long time aswell…but then one day we came to a mutual agreement to see other ponies”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that, I knew it wasn’t going anywhere anymore and so did she then one day, we met, we talked, we split up with smiles on our faces”

“I don’t think life works like that, sir”

“Well…apparently in some cases it does but that was years ago” with that, the stallions fell into respective silence once more. After another hour, the train stopped again, Dust grinned as he peered out the window, taking the sight of none other than Canterlot.

“Shad, we best be off”

“Of course” the black colt replied as the two got to their hooves and proceeded following the other ponies that piled out of the train. Dust and Shadow trotted out into the train station then out into the streets of the capital city. Fancy-looking ponies walked about in as posh matters as they could get. It was then when the blue colt gazed at a particular unicorn at a café table sipping on some tea, he recognised her as one of the Elements of Harmony, the generous one called: Rarity. He chuckled as he shook his head and continued to trot with a somewhat confused but still following black stallion in tow. The two male equines walked up a familiar large structure presenting itself on the edge of the city, Canterlot Castle, the home of Princess Luna, Celestia and newly crowned: Twilight Sparkle. Dust gazed at the towering sight for a moment while Shadow did what he always did and remained silent. The stallions walked up the pathway leading into the castle, two guards stood adjacent to each other with stoic looks, that is before they noticed the pale colt in his jacket and saddlebag. Their eyes widened before returning to calm looks on their faces.

“Afternoon Dust” they said in synchronisation, the blue pony nodded to each of them with a respective smile before trotting into the opened doors of the castle. The main plaza was all too familiar to both colt, they began to walk into the room only to realise they had different paths to take, the two colts turned to one another with knowing looks.

“I-…I must return to my training tomorrow, sir” Shadow stated with a hint of sadness in his tone.

“I know, Shad…” Dust said as he placed a pale blue hoof on the trainee’s shoulder.

“…And I reckon you’ll graduate quickly, with the way you handle yourself, I’m sure you’ll rise through the ranks…just as I did” he added with a smile, he could’ve sworn he saw tears well in the black colt’s eyes. Shadow nodded as he Dust released his grip, he watched the black stallion walk towards the guard barracks for a moment before frowning and turning towards the stairs.

“Here we go…” he whispered to himself as he trotted up the flight, he walked through the familiar corridors and stairwells that populated the castle, ascending towards none other than Celestia’s thrown room. When he reached the large doors, he stared at them for a moment and tried to prepare himself, the sun goddess, being how she is, most likely isn’t going to flip out when she receives the news but…he’d failed his mission.

A few months ago, the rat population in Equestria escalated quickly, nopony knows why exactly but that was the least of their problems. A plague hit pony society, most likely form the new breed of rats that presented themselves. It was nothing at first, simply some ponies got a bit sick then the next stage kicked in. Ponies all around Equestria became aggravated easily, attacking everypony in the streets, it wasn’t until much later when the effects started increasing, spreading. Eventually they found a pony that didn’t speak coherently and simply moaned as she just stumbled around, another mare walked up to her and saw blood pouring from her friend’s eyes, she wound up in the hospital after she was attacked. The entire plan behind his voyage was to get the Griffin society to help, in any way they could, what was written on the page was basically.

“Buck off, fend for yourselves” At least that’s how Dust put it. Now he was about to walk into the great hall and tell the goddesses of the sun and moon that we’re on our own. Apparently, unicorn or even alicorn magic can’t do anything about it, causing ponies to take a more scientific approach.

As Dust took several deep breaths, he heard faint hoofsteps emit from behind the door. He took a step forward and was stunned, the door had swung open as they glowed an aura of violet, Dust looked down and saw what caused it.

“Dust?!” the purple mare exclaimed in excitement, much to his shock. The uni-…alicorn was none other than Twi-…Princess Twilight Sparkle, wearing her newly forged golden armour and her element of harmony placed proudly upon her head, so much different from when he first saw her. After a quick second, a smile crossed her smile before she galloped towards him, Dust spread his front hooves before she wrapped him in a hug.

Perhaps it’s time I revealed exactly what Dust Storm is.

This greyish blue stallion is the personal bodyguard of the princesses, the royal protector, sworn to defend the rulers of Equestria with his life. Princess Twilight had known him a great deal before she was crowned, guarding her mentor meant that they did in fact share some time together every now and again. Sometimes he hated to admit it but for all the years he had spent with royalty, protecting them, befriending them, he had to admit that Twilight was now his favourite Princess.

After a moment, Twilight released him and beamed brightly at the stallion.

“Hey, Twilight…”

“So, how was your trip?” she questioned in an ecstatic tone.

“It was alright, I suppose…” Dust replied before noticing that the doors to the thrown room were open wide and at the end of the room sat the sun goddess herself. Princess Celestia, her rainbow mane flowed gracefully despite the lack of any wind current, aswell as her tail, the two locked eyes with one another from afar.

“Excuse me, Princess” Dust said as he trotted past Twilight and towards the solar mare. As he walked up to the thrown, his heart sank as he recalled his fears but pressed on like any other day, Celestia looked down on him and smiled.

“It is good to see you, Dust Storm, I hope you bring good news” she spoke with that soothing tone of hers.

“It’s good to be home…ummm, yes…” he said unsurely before reaching into his coat and grasping the letter in his hoof and pulling it out.

“…This is what the Griffin Kingdom had to say” Dust said, Celestia could feel his regret but carried on with levitating the letter and opening it to reveal a parchment within. A silence fell upon the room as Celestia scanned the page, ever so calmly. When she read the last sentence and the signature, she let out a deep sigh and lazily released the page from her magical golden aura, letting it float to the ground as she closed her eyes.

“I had hoped they would be more sympathetic…those cowards, they’re going to border us in, trapping us with this plague…I’m sorry Dust, I had high hopes for your mission”

“It’s alright, Princess, what should we do now?” Dust replied with uncertainty.

“Princess Celestia, is something wrong?” Twilight asked as she stepped towards the two equines.

“Everything is fine, Twilight, don’t worry” the white alicorn said with the same tone. The blue stallion was visibly anxious about something, looking impatient as he glanced around.

“You may leave, Dust, I know there’s something you’d like to get to” Celestia spoke with a knowing grin and a hint of teasing in her tone.

“Thankyou, your majesty” Dust replied before heading towards the front door, the stallion’s horn shined the same dark glow as did the doors, they opened as the blue colt walked through the large archway and into the next hall. Dust paused after the doors closed with a loud slam, he closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply, straightening himself as his lings expanded within his chest. Dust’s golden eyes shot open as he lowered his head while exhaling. After a moment, he regained himself and began to trot forward. Dust walked out into a large hall and turned his head as the sound of ponies talking emitted form his right. There, walking towards him without realising it were three mares, chatting idly to one another as they walked down the hall. Dust recognised each but his eyes drew to one in particular, the batpony in the middle of the group. The grey mare named: Strife and the rest of the group broke into laughter at something Dust didn’t catch but that was the last thing on his mind, the sound of her giggling was always something he cherished. The blue colt stood there, staring at the group, growing ever so closer towards his position, not even noticing him as of yet.

“So then I said-…Oh, hey Dusty” the batpony greeted, using his pet-name quickly as she trotted past him. It wasn’t too long before the three mares crossed the stallion’s path, he looked at them as they took a few steps forward before stopping dead in their tracks.

“Hey, Strife” the blue colt responded with a grin behind her back. Strife turned slowly to meet his gaze, it was then when he caught her sight properly. Her coat was dark grey as he long deep blue mane hung over her face, covering portions of her sliced golden eyes, much like his own. Her wings flared at the sight of him, large leathery appendages standing proudly on her back. A silence fell upon the four equines for a long moment before a large grin crossed the bat pony’s muzzle.

Dust had known Strife for a long time, ever since the academy days, back when he had to wear the coat colour changing armour guards wear. One day they met and one thing led to another, you all know the story of how friendships grow and prosper. For the longest time, the two were close to inseparable, the best of friends, mostly because in the beginning ‘each other’ was really the only thing they had. It wasn’t until much later, into their official guard days when Dust noticed how affectionate Strife had become over time, sure they had spent close moments but the blue stallion’s first priority (that was followed closely by his friend) was his duties as being a royal guard.

For example, one night, it was excruciatingly cold. Strife shivered uncontrollably as she laid in the bed opposite Dust’s in the barracks.

“Ya cold?” the stallion questioned a hint of teasing yet concern in his tone. Strife rolled over under her thin blankets to look at him.

“Y-yeah, I’m f-freezing” Strife responded, trying to make it clear that he was deducting the obvious.

“Aren’t you?”

“No, well, a little bit but overall, I’m fine…”

“How can you not be cold?”

“Body heat I guess, don’t ask me” he spoke with a chuckle, in the darkness, he could see Strife having a look of intent on her face.

“C-can I…uhhhh” Strife spoke up, catching Dust wide eyed for a moment, he knew the implications but he also knew who it was, why she was asking and what the best thing to do was.

“Yeah, okay, fine…you don’t snore anymore do you?” the blue stallion inquired as he scooted his body to the side, allowing room for the mare of whom rose to her hooves after throwing off her covers and climbing out of bed.

“No” she answered as she began to lay her body onto the bed, slipping her back legs slip under the sheet Dust had opened for her.

“Comfy?” Dust asked before the batpony mare rummaged under the blanket, trying to warm herself, after a minute, the unicorn became irritated slightly at how long it took for his friend to find and keep a position that her had to move constantly in order for her to obtain.

“Now I am” she answered with a toothy and most of all, adorable grin as she turned her head to meet his gold eyes with her own.

“Okay, goodnight Strife” Dust said as he turned so that he was back to back with the batpony, he felt the leather touch of her wings, appendages that he was without, thankfully for her.

“Yeah, ummm, goodnight Dust” she replied with a hint of what sounded like uncertainty in her tone. Right when the blue pony thought he was about to get some sleep (next to a cute mare) she disturbed the stillness of the bed, causing his to turn over yet again only to find Strife staring at him with an unsure look.

“Ummm…” she said with a nervous look in her sliced eyes. Understanding what she was on about, Dust rolled his eyes and turned over fully so that he was facing the mare. Strife smiled calmly at the stallion’s motion and watched him as he rolled onto his back and scoot upwards so that his neck was leaning against the pillow. The unicorn wrapped a hoof around the mare and rested it on her shoulder as she laid on her side, pressed up against the stallion as she rested her own hoof on his chest. Strife exhaled loudly as she felt the warmth the stallion was giving off and quickly fell asleep. Dusk looked down at her and noticed something he had before but was never as notable as it was right now: Strife was cute. He smiled at the batpony before staring up at the ceiling, soon his eyes closed and he found himself drifting off into sleep as he felt something nuzzle up against his side affectionately.

That was a long time ago, before Dust raced through the ranks up to his current title. The two mares that he guessed were fellow guards that were Strife’s friends remained silent and wide eyed at the stallion as he and the batpony stared at each other.

“Dusty!” Strife exclaimed as she quickly galloped over to the unicorn and squeezed him in a tight embrace.

“It’s good to see you too, Strife” the blue stallion said with a chuckle, emitted through friendly smile as he returned the hug.

“I-I missed you” the batpony said in a chocked yet happy tone.

“I missed you too”

Dishonored (Part 1)

Evening had come quick, with the return of the Royal Protector, the batpony guard ecstatic to say the least. Strife had saluted her fellow feminine protectors in order to leave with the blue unicorn stallion, much to their amusement. They giggled as the two began to trot to a familiar area, caching Strife’s attention due to her specific genetic traits, being a batpony and all. However, she could care less, her best friend that she had known throughout the entirety of training and further was with her once more. As the two walked, they chatted happily with one another, each showing that they were happy to see eachother.

“So, how’s was the trip?” Strife asked with excitement, Dust let out a chuckle.

“Could’ve been better, could’ve been worse, word of mutiny spread quickly but that was all sorted…thanks to me” the unicorn said with a modest smile.

“Really?” she questioned in anticipation, hoping that she was going to hear his story and if it was a long one, well that just meant they were going to spend more time together.

“Yeah, it was rather interesting”

“Oh, I wish I could’ve come along” Strife said with a pouting look, Dust found that incredulously adorable before he took on a stoic look, much to the batpony’s confusion. She glanced at him with concern for a moment as they continued to walk through the castle. Dust suddenly glanced up at her again with a saddened look.

“I failed, Strife…The Griffin Kingdom refused to help…we’re…we’re on our own” at that, the batpony’s lightened face fell from the news. She looked away as Dust continued to stare at her, Strife suddenly stopped in her tracks before the unicorn halted aswell.

“Buck, damn those cowardly hybrids!” Strife yelled with anger, Dust knew she wouldn’t tale the news well but seeing her enraged like this was worse than he thought. She gritted her teeth and stared daggers at nothing, she would’ve been looking at him but she knew what the look in her eyes gave off.

“Strife, don’t worry…we’ll be fine, the princesses are working on it” the blue stallion tried to calm his dear friend. The batpony turned her head away from the unicorn, closed her eyes and began.

“Things have been slowly going to Tartarus right under our hooves, Dust, everything’s coming apart, more and more of the sick are found, rats are spreading like mad, ponies don’t know what to think and to top it all off-” Strife was suddenly cut off by something on her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open in confusion before her head slowly rotated to glance down at the base of her leg. A pale blue hoof rested there, her eyes scanned the foreleg up to the shoulder which was all covered by a familiar jacket. The neck, however, was not. Her slit, golden eyes travelled along the strong form of a stallion’s neck, his pale aqua fur coat was complimented by a short brown mane that covered portions of the back and sides. Up to his head, she stared at his face, large, golden eyes, much like her own stared back in a comforting look. His muzzle was formed into a smile as his eyelids lowered compassionately. Something brewed inside her at that moment, something familiar, the same feeling that had hit her occasionally in the past…the feeling felt good.

“Strife…” he spoke calmly, causing her surprised look to slowly fade into a calm attitude of her own “…It’s alright, we’ll get through this, I promise…” her own eyelids half closed as she moved closer to him while his hoof was still on her shoulder. Her mane was longer than the other batpony guards, it sometimes got in her eyes on occasions, a look, Dust was quite fond of. It was this exact look that she had when she moved centimetre by centimetre closer to the unicorn. “I…” he paused as he felt the mare’s form move ever so more near with passing seconds. “Strife…” he whispered as her muzzle was little more than an inch way, she stopped and stared up and down his face as he stared back into those gorgeous golden eyes. The feel of the metal armour on her chest pressed up on his own, the two slowly tilted their heads to the opposite side of eachother as their lips parted in the same fashion: slowly.

“Dust…” was all she managed to say before she lunged forward, bridging the small gap between them. Their noses made contact as did their lips, both guards’ muzzles pressed firmly against the others as their eyes closed in sheer bliss. Dust felt two hooves wrap around his neck, the new found weight was something to get used to. Strife began to slowly ease her tongue through his and her own lips, parting them gingerly as to savour the moment. The unicorn met the batpony on the entrance and wrestled her muscle with his own. Strife and Dust tilted their heads back and forth as they embraced eachother in a passionate kiss. The two remained like that for a what felt like a long moment before the batpony pulled away as Dust’s eyes groggily opened to see her, biting her lip slightly, almost trying to get an after taste. Her eyes snapped open to reveal a calm and rather sultry look that she directed at the blue stallion. He grinned at her before letting out a chuckle, she giggled along with him before coming to silence and staring into each others eyes once more.

“I really missed you, Dust, I’m very glad you’re back”

“So am I, Strife…I missed you too”

“So…what should we do now?” the batpony spoke in a hushed tone.

“You know I have my own private quarters, right? Ya wanna catch up, old friend?” Dust said playfully with a grin, much to Strife’s amusement.

“Lead the way”

“Dust Storm, if only there was somepony I trusted more to send, so you could remain near…but there is nopony else and the Spy Master insisted that I send you” Celestia’s words echoed through the greyish colt’s mind. He sat down on his recliner, watching the flame crackle in the fire place, because it was lit by his magic, it didn’t produce smoke, good thing too, as there was no chimney to speak of.

“The plague has taken so many and we must have a cure…Twilight and I will count the days until you return, hurry home and bring good news” the sun goddess’s very voice radiated in his head, bringing a cold feeling to come to his senses.

“Dust, you okay?” a familiar raspy yet feminie called from behind him, he turned his head to see the only other pony in then room, his best friend: Strife. The royal protector shook his head slightly to regain focus and tried to give the mare a genuine grin.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just…recalling history” the unicorn said, turning his head back to the fire, the batpony trotted towards the adjacent couch and sat herself down. However, she wasn’t just sitting, she laid there, spread across the couch in a rather sensual position, she grinned at him despite him not looking.

“Anything good? Anything about me?” at that, Dust turned to her, noticing her stance, shock fell over him before a smirk replaced it.

“A few moments, sure” the greyish stallion got to his hooves and walked over to the mare, she rummaged a bit to make room for him all the while, trying to keep her…what she called, her sexy look, at least that’s what she said in her mind.

“Care to share?” she questioned, trying to get him look at her once more, it worked. He turned to answer but failed to as she shot him the best pair of bedroom eyes she had in store…especially for him.

“You were there for all of them, can you think of any?” he spoke, regaining his composure in order to play along.

“Maybe a couple, like earlier today…” with that, she got to a more formal stance, sitting on her haunches before leaning into the unicorn. She pushed him down slightly so she could rest her front hooves on his chest all the while looking down at him.

“Would you like to remind how that went?”

“Gladly…” she almost whispered as she brought him into another kiss.

Celestia’s sun hovered gracefully out from the horizon, coating the land of Equestria in a faint orange glow. Through the window, the light shone proudly upon the two equines, nestled up against one another, sleeping with dazed smiles on their muzzles. Strife’s right wing draped over Dust’s chest as he laid on his back, caressing the mare with his left hoof as it rested around her shoulder. She laid on her side as she rested her own hoof around his neck.

The unicorn’s eyes groggily opened, they focused as he felt something warm and soft on is side, he glanced down only to have a dazed smile plastered on his snout. As the light focused on Strife’s face, her head rummaged slightly into Dust’s chest, she mumbled and yawned before her head slowly lifted up to meet his gaze. Her eyes, heavy and half-lidded, stared at him with her own sleepy grin.

“Mornin’” the blue colt greeted.

“Good morning” replied the batpony. In synchronisation, the two leaned into one another for a kiss before the door to Dust’s quarters flew open. The two lovers looked up in shock to see a rather embarrassed looking black stallion at the door.

“Oh, sorry for intruding but Royal Protector: Dust…” Shadow turned his attention towards the unicorn, of whom was rather stunned with the batpony in his hooves “You’ve been requested into the throne room, Sir” at that, Shadow turned into the hallway out of respect, Strife looked up at the unicorn who chuckled.

“Well, I best be off, then” Dust said with a smirk, turning his attention back to the mare.

“Oh, already?” the batpony put on a pouting look, much to his amusement.

“Yep…” he said as he began to rummage out of her grip up onto his hooves. He trotted over to a chest, his horn glowed that same dark aura before the lid popped open in the same glow. Inside was all his gear, his jacket, his tools, his weapons, everything that he wielded with pride. Dust Storm slipped the sleeves of his coat through his forelegs with his magic as he stood on his back hooves. He sheathed his blade into his jacket before turning to Strife. She got to her hooves when she caught his glance and smiled at him.

“…Gotta go” he said as he walked towards her, she grinned before dashing forwards, pressing her muzzle to his successfully, kissing him.

“Cya tonight, Dust” she whispered, he smirked at her as she beamed back. Wordlessly, he trotted towards the door before stepping out into the hallway. Strife paused and sighed happily before giggling to herself uncontrollably, bouncing up and down as her wings flapped excitedly.

Dust Storm trotted through Canterlot Castle with a grin, despite everything that was going on, he felt happy. He was home with Strife, with new found confidence, the unicorn continued to walk the path towards Celestia’s throne room.

The doors swung open in a black aura, allowing the royal protector to walk through. The solar goddess’s eye fixed on him, noticing his smile, she tried to give her own. It was then when Dust realised that another stallion was there, talking to the princess, a bat-pony guard he recognised…and despised.

“I’ll leave you now, princess” said that voice, the same voice that Dust had come to hate, the voice of the stallion speaking to Celestia. She wore a stoic look as she turned to him, looking down on him before he turned.

“Ahh, Dust, I see you have returned, full of surprises, aren’t we?” he spoke with a hint of irritation, he wasn’t fooling anypony, Dust knew he wanted to hit him, the feeling was mutual.

The colt’s coat was a darker grey than Strife’s as he mane was instead of dark blue, it was jet black. He was old compared to Dust, his voice was scratchy and malicious, it just screamed sinister. The colt’s name was Thunder Cracker, an odd name for a bat-pony but still, this was no ordinary guard on Princess Luna either.

Behold the royal spy master, the princesses most reliable informant and it was this stallion who glared daggers into the golden eyes on the royal protector.

“Hello, Thunder, did ya miss me?” Dust said with a tinge of spite. Before anything else, Celestia spoke up.

“Hello, Dust, how are you this morning?”

“Very good, Princess, thankyou and yourself?” Dust nearly spotted an expression of grief cross the goddess’s face but held his tongue.

“Fine, thankyou, master Thunder Cracker, leave us” she said sternly, most unlike how she normally acted.

“As you wish, princess…” he said in that almost evil tone of his before turning. Dust caught glimpse of a sinister grin on his muzzle before he stepped out of the room, he mumbled something as he walked towards the door aswell, Dust didn’t quite catch it. When the door closed, the blue unicorn caught something rather unsettlingly unusual…the guards were. Not a single stallion or mare in golden armour populated the room, twas only himself and Celestia in the entire throne room. The princess of the sun didn’t quite seem to notice though.

“You wanted to see me, princess?” Dust inquired.

“Yes, sorry to ask for your presence, I know how important your time is as of late…” she replied with rather smug looking smile.

“Princess?”

“I’ve been noticing you and one of my sister’s guards, Dust Storm”

“Oh…Strife? Yeah…I guess I deny it anymore, I suppose” he said with a chuckle.

“Indeed…” Celestia took on a frown before continuing “…In light of the latest news of the sickness, I-” was all she managed before a burst of white light exploded right behind Dust, he turned to face it calmly as the sun goddess looked down at it. The light subsided to reveal Princess Mio amore Cadenza, the pink alicorn of whom sported a long, flowing mane of yellow, purple and pink, it was this very mare that appeared before the two ponies. There she was, in all her majestic, regal glory, from her lavender eyes, to her golden hoof and chest pieces. She smiled at the white alicorn.

“Hello, princess” she said before noticing the unicorn colt beside her “Hey, Dust” she greeted in a less formal manner.

“Hello, Princess Cadence” he greeted.

“Just ‘Cadence’ is fine, Dust, haven’t I already told you that?”

“Yeah, a few times” with that, he rubbed the back of his neck, she gave him a grin before trotting towards Celestia.

“I have word about the ill from the Crystal Empire” she said, suddenly taking on a much more serious tone, Dust remained silent. The two alicorns spoke quietly to one another, the unicorn stood there in respect, not eaves dropping on their conversation even though he probably should’ve. After a few minutes, he looked up to see Celestia nod in understanding of whatever it was that she heard, the pink mare shared a glance with Dust for a moment smiling as she turned away from the sun goddess. She trotted down the steps and approached the blue stallion. She looked down at him with a smile.

“Princess, is everything alright?” he asked, she turned back to Celestia who gave a small nod before turning back to him.

“Nothing to worry abou-” was all she managed before a faint springing sound caught their attention. Another sound struck, a grotesque impaling sound. The two quickly turned their gazes to Celestia of whom was…sleeping? No, not sleeping, unconscious, Dust observed. Just barely, he could make out the form of a thin vial like object, drained of it’s contents. In surprise, the unicorn was about to say something but was immediately cut off. Cadence quickly took on a concerned look before she spoke.

“Prince-?” at that, time slowed dramatically for the unicorn. Every second felt like an hour in that instant, his eyes widened as did hers, her mouth was agape in surprise as his was in shock. Right there, in Dust’s vision, right in front of him, the pink alicorn’s wings unfurled as her eyes widened further. In reality, this moment might have lasted little over a few seconds but that’s not how he saw it. Something long, something long, thin and sharp protruded from Cadence’s lower neck, red liquid poured from the wound as she went off her hooves, swaying ever so slightly to the right. In an instant, time returned to normal.

Dust quickly turned his head to see Cadence being violently javelined into the wall, she winced and cried out in pain. His looked to his left to see something in the distance, a pony…a stallion. Even from where he stood, he locked eyes with Dust and smiled, lowering something in his hoof. The pony jumped off the ground, revealing that he was a pegasus, his wings flapped up and down as he raised that thing, wrapped in his hoof again. It wasn’t long before Dust knew that it was a weapon, the pegasus glared right down the crosshair at him from the distance and smirked. Dust only had a brief instant to dodge the flying object that propelled in his direction. A thin, sharp, fast arrow quickly shot at him, the unicorn reared up on his back legs, the arrow almost scratched him crossed the stomach. He looked back to see that the pegasus was gone, he glanced over at Cadence of whom was bleeding profusely. The royal protector quickly galloped over to her in fear but before he could reach her, a bazaar pony wearing what looked like a gas mask with an outfit that covered most of her body stood in his way out of nowhere. He quickly noticed her before she immediately pulled out a sword, in an instant, his horn glowed and his own weapon unsheathed from his jacket.

His sword glowed a dark aura as did his horn, the mare apparently was a unicorn, her horn sticking out from her forehead through the mask. Her horn glowed white as did her weapon. The sound of metal clashing together filled the throne room, Dust grunted as the mare remained silent, their swords, suspended in magic, came into contact with force. Dust managed to get her in a stalemate, their blades scratched at each others’ as they struggled, eventually the stallion swiped her sword away, in her confusion, he quickly plunged the sword into her neck. He retracted it and watched her body go limp on the ground, blood staining the floor. Without remorse, he just glanced at the body for a second before running over to Cadence’s side. He kneeled by her side, trying to see what the damage was, he didn’t get very far.

A green flash clouded his vision, Dust was sent off his hooves, suspended in a magical, dark green aura. He watched helplessly as a unicorn stallion trotted towards him, looking up at him with that same gas mask, his horn glowed the same shade, indicating that it was him who was controlling Dust. He struggled and grunted in the invisible restraints, trying to break free, he watched as the same pegasus colt form before flew into the room, stepping towards the pink alicorn. He paused as he witnessed the horrible act. The pegasus had a tan coat, his mane was brown, not unlike his own but he wore a red coat over his legs and chest. Every detail of the stallion was painted into his mind at that very moment. The pegasus just walked up to her and violently grabbed her mane with a hoof as…he unsheathed a blade from under his wing with his other hoof. She barely had time to scream let alone defend herself as he…mercilessly, plunged the sword into her. She gasped, blood poured from her wound in her chest. He retracted it like it was nothing from out of her, her body fell, limp on the ground, just barely breathing.

Dust nearly cried at the sight, the tow stallions just stood there, one facing the princess, the other looking blankly at him with those large, googly eyes. Another pegasus in the same attire, a mare, flew into his clouded vision. She…was carrying her, Princes Twilight, over her shoulder like it was nothing, she too, was unconscious. She landed on her hooves and looked at the unmasked stallion. The two shared a nod. The pony holding Dust looked back, the two colt’s nodded. In a flash, Dust was released, he fell to the ground but was able to raise his head up quickly to see the three ponies stand next to eachother. The unmasked one smiled at him and spoke.

“Goodbye, bodyguard”

His voice echoed like a curse through his mind.

Before he could do anything, there were gone. No lights, no known magic, they just…faded like they turned into dissolving shreds of paper. Only looking in the direction of the disappearing ponies for a moment, Dust quickly crawled over to the pink alicorn. He lifted the princess’s head up with a hoof placed at the back of her neck as his other hoof covered the bleeding wound, she gasped before looking him dead in the eye.

“Dust…It’s all coming apart…”

“Shhh, save your strength, I’ll get you out of this, I promise”

“No, it’s too late…” she paused as she coughed up a small platter of blood “Find Twilight…”

“No, no, no, no, c’mon, stay with me”

“Tell Shining…I love him…you’ll know what to do, won’t you?”

“Princess, I-”

“Cadence…My name is Cadence”

“C’mon, don’t do this to me, I have to protect you” at that point, the unicorn’s eyes welled with sorrowful tears.

“You have…I’m glad to have called you my friend, Dust”

“Stop it, stop talking!” blood continued to stain the unicorn’s hoof as he held it there, where the blade impaled her. Of all things she could’ve done, despite everything that was happening, she smiled.

The pink alicorn wore a teary smile on her face as she lifted a hoof to Dust’s cheek, he just stared at her, wide eyed, panting in fear. He clenched his eyes shut, letting the tears ran down his face as she caressed him.

“You’ll know what to do…“ she whispered, Dust’s eyes shot open at the sound, she looked back into his golden irises as she continued to smile. She gasped in a choked voice as she released her hoof from his face, he continued to stare. Her eyes slowly closed as her head rested on it’s side on the ground. “I love you…Shining Armor”

With that, she died. Her last words were to her husband, in the royal protector’s hooves. Dust continued to stare at her unbreathing body, slowly becoming colder as Death’s icy embrace took her. He choked up as he sobbed through his tears. After a few seconds, Dust gently rested her onto the ground, making her looking as at peace as possible. He looked at her for another moment before a loud noise grasped his attention.

A group of guards ran through the open doors, including the spy master. They paused, eyes wide and mouths agape, looking at the dead princess.

“What-…Traitor!” the same old bat pony yelled as he looked at the unicorn with rage “He’s killed Princess Cadence!”

“What?!” Dust yelled before several spears were pointed directly at his face, every guard around him, dressed in golden armour glared at him, daring him to make a move.

“The royal protector himself, ironic” Thunder commented before a pegasus guard came flying towards him.

“Sir, Princess Twilight is missing” Thunder turned back to the blue stallion.

“What have you done with her?”

“Nothing, you bucking idiot, now let me get to Shining Armor, I need to-”

“Take him out! I’ll see you be-headed for this, Dust Storm”

“I’m telling you, It wasn’t m-” the blue unicorn was cut off by a blunt object hitting the back of his, he gasped in surprise before his vision turned black, he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Dishonored (part 2)

In the darkness, a slow, rhythmic melody voices it’s feelings throughout the halls.

“What will we do with the drunken whaler?

What will we do with the drunken whaler?

Early in the morning…”

A lone blue unicorn stallion sits against the far wall of a small, narrow room.

“Feed him to the hungry rats for dinner.

Feed him to the hungry rats for dinner.

Early in the morning…”

The stallion’s voice was deep yet quiet; the song radiated an echo throughout the corridor.

“Way, hey and up she rises.

Way, hey and up she rises.

Early in the morning…”

Only the dimly lit torches gave off the faintest orange glow of light in this dark place. The tall, slim metal bars at the end of the narrow room ceasing slender beams to be shone upon the unicorn’s form.

“Slice his throat with a rusty clever.

Slice his throat with a rusty clever.

Early in the morning…”

Behind the wall, a new voice echoed through the hall, groggily catching onto the song. The sound of whistling accompanied the verse with a complimenting tune.

“Stuff him in a sack and throw him over.

Stuff him in a sack and throw him over.

Early in the morning…”

The group of tired, saddened stallions and mares sang out together in one climatic chorus, radiating all their sorrow into a song.

“Way, hey and up she rises.

Way, hey and up she rises.

Early in the morning…”

In the darkness of the corridor, towards a single cell to the left, lays a blue stallion unicorn. Unclothed, scathed and tired. His gaze fixed on the concrete beneath him as his hooves lazily rest on the ground.

The colt was none other than Dust Storm. The once renowned guardian of royalty now lies in his own shame with sorrow and regret. The image of her face stains his subconscious with vengeance, the sounds of screaming and swords clanging ring in his ears like a curse. His golden eyes shift from side to side, half lidded and dazed as voices continue to echo through his mind, plaguing his very sanity.

The faint sounds of hoofsteps radiate through the corridor outside his cell, a pair of heavy ones and a set of much lighter ones. The excessive sounds stop right outside his barred door, ceasing even more light to be shown into his narrow room. The heads of their shadows were painfully recognizable, a small pony with ears that had three points of fur pointed up from the top a long mane draping over her head, concealing further light. It was accompanied by larger pony, wearing a helmet.

“Dust, ya gotta visitor” the deep voice of a familiar guard spoke out to him. The blue unicorn’s eyes slowly drifted upwards to see the mare that would be accompanying him even if only briefly…wait a second, mare? The pony on the other side of the bars was not somepony he would’ve liked to see under these circumstances.

It was a bat pony, she was Strife.

The door opened with a creak as the guard groggily pulled it open with his hoof, allowing the mare to step inside while he stood up on the wall. Strife shared an expressionless nod with the guard before looking down at the blue unicorn, of whom refused to make eye contact.

“Dust…” she began, trying to think of something to say. “…I…just wanted to say I tried, I tried to believe that you didn’t kill the princess…but the evidence is…rather strong…and I-…I’ll always remember you as my friend and not a murderer” she continued as the unicorn remained perfectly silent, not looking at her. “D-Dust…I love you…but I can’t believe that you’d be able to do something like this how could you? We trusted you, I TRUSTED YOU, DUST, SPEAK TO ME!” there was no answer; the blue stallion remained quiet and stoic.

After a while, Dust found himself alone once more, the bat pony he had come to love left him in his depressed state. It was then when he let it all get to him, the unicorn burst into sorrowful sobs, tears streamed down his face as he released the pain that built up. She was furious, she had to be, somepony does not simply continue to like another when it seems that they’ve murdered a princess. He knew it was futile by this point to try and convince anypony of his innocence. By Faust, he wanted to though. Just to try, just to see whether or not they’d believe but the chances were slim.

The next day was all too familiar to everypony that dwelled within the walls of the facility.

“Alright you pieces of dragon shit! Everypony to the yard! Now!” a voice yelled, catching all equines’ attention, mare and stallion alike. The sound of dozens of hoofsteps radiated throughout the entirety of the large concrete room. Dust sigh quietly as he got to his hooves, finding that his prison mates walked groggily by his now open cell door. He managed to join the group, following towards the prison yard. It was small but it worked. The group came through a large archway and split up into their own respected groups in the yard. Dust however found a spot in the corner to call his ‘hangout spot’. Little did everypony know that on several occasions, he’s tried to find a way out of the magically barred facility. The idea was simple, all pegasi wore metal braces around their torsos, preventing them from flying and the entire prison was surrounded by a shield, repelling any magic from being casted within it. Much to the dismay of Dust and the other unicorns forced to be in such a place due to hat society claimed them to be: criminals.

Some occupants seemed quite proud of their actions despite the consequences. Knowing who exactly Dust was, most prisoners left him alone, mostly because he beat the ‘toughest guy in the bar’ as he was called…twice. He had come SO close to finding a way out, thanks to the help of a fellow falsely accused occupant, Dust trusted him as best as he could, finding that he may have just made a friend. He was executed the day they were so supposed to escape. Dust sat in the very same place, thinking in silence, plotting, wondering. It was just another day.

Twas just like any other night, dark, quiet…horrible. It was just another late evening at Coldridge. Yet that didn’t stop the unusual happen.

“Dust Storm! Get up!” a gruff voice called out, the typical tone of a guard. The unicorn lazily complied, rising from his groggy stance. He began to walk towards the now open door. “Hurry up!” the same guard ordered, Dust barely took notice and just kept walking the same pace. As soon as he was out of his cell, he felt a stern hoof placed on his shoulder, he looked down only to be aggressively pushed forward. He staggered before letting out a defeated sigh, the guard took lead, allowing the blue unicorn to follow albeit with little interest.

The guard lead the dishonoured stallion through the corridors, down the stairs up to a door. He shared a glance with the unicorn for a brief second before it opened to reveal…out of all ponies, it just had to be him. There, grinning like a mad mare in the archway, stood Thunder Cracker, the royal spymaster and the bat pony colt responsible for Dust’s imprisonment. It was his silver tongue that convinced Celestia to favour his own argument rather than the stallion that she trusted with her very life. In a way, he hated Celestia for that.

“Ahhh Dust, come in, guard, you are dismissed…” he said through his fangs. The blue unicorn breathed heavily, glaring at the dark pony in his view with hate.

“Thunder…” he hissed.

“Mr. Storm, if you would be so kind, would you step inside?” he replied, smiling evilly at the unicorn. Cautiously, Dust aggressively pushed the bat pony out of the way and stepped into the room only to be surprised by two sets of strong hooves grabbing his shoulders. He struggled and grunted as he felt them lift him into the air before angrily placing him down in a chair. The unicorn felt leather straps wrap around his forehead, torso and hooves. He continued to struggle and grunt, trying to break free but to no avail.

“THUNDER CRACKER!” He yelled before immediately find the exact stallion looming over him as his chair or whatever he was strapped to suddenly tilted forward, giving him a better view of the room. The bat pony was accompanied by a mare and another stallion. The mare was a pegasus with a red coat, sporting a pure white mane and vibrant cyan eyes. The other stallion was an earthpony who wore some sort of clothing over his dark green coat, he sported a slightly lighter green mane with a hint of malice in his dark brown eyes. “What is this?” he asked, suddenly frightened.

“This is your final chance, Dust storm, sign the confession and then be given the rights to put your spirit at ease” the crimson mare said blankly. She nodded to the green colt of whom trotted to the back of the room wordlessly. Dust thrashed as hard as he could, his magic was useless in this place so he had to rely on brute strength to escape, something he didn’t quite have. The stallion returned with a long piece of burning metal in his mouth. He trotted up to the quivering unicorn with a unremorseful look before connecting the heated segment to his right shoulder. Dust yelped in pain, barring his teeth, clenching his muscles to suppress his cries into several deep grunts of torture. He panted heavily as the metal was taken away before looking back up at the mare with a raged stare. Thunder turned to look at the green stallion, causing Dust to focus on the bat pony.

“That’s enough for now, get out!…let’s give the stallion some time…to think” he said, Dust couldn’t see but he heard the sound of heavy hoofsteps trot towards the door before the sound of it closing made him feel a lot more calm than before. That was when he realised that the other two ponies were still in the room with him, his anger flared once more as he looked back at them.

“Dust Storm, the princess is dead, princess Twilight is hidden away and nopony will ever know the truth…” he said, causing the unicorn’s eyes to widen.

“Yes…” the mare started “…Tomorrow, you’ll be executed but it’s for a good cause, this world needs strong leadership now, especially the crystal ponies, somepony to guide the weak…and that…is where we come in” she ended with a sinister grin. Dust just sat there, awestruck and in silence.

“There was nothing personal in this, even though you almost sank our plans but it turned out well, you were in the wrong place at the right time…and somepony has to take the fall…goodbye, Dust Storm…Guards! take him back to his cell!”

It was just another night at Coldridge or rather it would be.

Dust remained completely wide eyed ever since that small ordeal earlier had come to a close. The new information swam around in his brain, refusing to leave him be.

They set me up, it was them the entire time, they hired those assassins, they threw me in here…they’re gonna kill me for something I didn’t do…

“MOTHERBUCKER!!” he yelled aloud, not caring whether he was heard or not, he was angry. That hatred was shortly replaced by sheer sadness, they had ruined his life and now it was about to end. Dust broke into sobs at that point. Hours passed, the last hours he thought he’d have in this world, he tried to cherish them but he was in prison. One does not act happy while at Coldridge. The unicorn continued to weep over his thoughts, thoughts of Strife, of his family, of his title, of the scene that played before him that nopony could care about. Before he knew it, it was well into the night however, he could care less as something caught his attention.

As he sobbed, he heard something. Laughter it sounded like, deep chuckling in the darkness caused him to raise his head from his stance, frantically glancing around for the source. He wish he hadn’t at first. The light seeping into his cell by the dimly lit torches was aggressively and completely blacked out. They didn’t extinguish, no, somepony of something was blocking the light. Even in the near blind darkness, a shadow stood amongst it, just barely outlining the form of a bazaar looking creature. There was that chuckle again, this time it was louder, more direct, more in person. The sound emitted from the shadow, Dust was sure of it. It was then, when he recognised the sound, the voice, the form, he quivered at the thought.

“Poor, Dusty…” the voice cooed with a mocking tone. “…Here you wait for your death and nopony believes your little story of your innocence…breaks my heart” it continued before chuckling once more, the echo creating an ominous, almost frightening tone to it.

“D-Discord?” the unicorn inquired in a shaky voice. He got a response in the form of the shadow quickly moving to the side, letting the light back into the room. He breathed a sigh of relief but was cut off to find something in the cell with him. The shadow was now clearly visible, down to every disturbing feature of the draconequus.

“The one and only” he replied with smug, leaning down and sitting next to the blue stallion with initiative. “Now, Dusty, I’m here to tell you something important…” at that, the unicorn looked back at the chaotic being with intrigue in his golden eyes. “…Over the course of events in the next few days, you ill play a pivotal role in the lives of those around you and the outcome of your little adventure…OOPS, spoiler alert” Discord continued before giggling like a school filly. Dust just sat there, silent all the while being slightly anxious if not confused. “I just came by to tell you…you’ll get your present tomorrow” the draconequus said with a sinister grin, tapping his talon and paws together like a REAL villain. Before Dust could utter a word, he snapped his claws and in a flash of white, he was gone.

The unicorn was barely able to shrug off the event, staring blankly at the space where the god of chaos stood. After a while, he felt tired and decided he could do with one more good night’s rest. The dishonoured stallion lazily retired to his bed with a mind full of thoughts. Dust was awoken roughly around five hours later by the sound of his cell door opening. His golden eyes fluttered open before looking at the guard at his door. His eyes drifted to a small platter he was carrying in his mouth before setting it down on the floor by the bars. The guard looked up at the stallion who was groggily rising to his hooves.

“You should eat, Dust, this meal comes from a friend”