Honor For All

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”