Dusty awoke to the sound of knocking on her door. Blinking groggily, she tried to get her bearings. The cushy bed beneath her and the opulent decor of the room were foreign to her. This was definitely not the hideout cave. She scooted off of the bed, but her hoof caught on one of the blankets and she face-planted to the floor. Suddenly the memories of yesterday came flooding back to her.
"Oh stars, ow. . ." she groaned, getting up and rubbing her sore snout. At the rate she was hitting her head on things, she wouldn't be surprised if she ended up getting brain damage. The knocking on the door continued, this time accompanied by a voice.
"Wake up! Be ready to appear before the princess in ten minutes." It must have been a guard, or maybe some kind of castle attendant. She shook out her whole body like a dog. Her muscles ached from sleeping in an unfamiliar position and she assumed her mane and tail were probably a mess. She ran a hoof through them, not bothering to glance in the mirror on the wall. She was never one to care much for appearances. She waited impatiently until there was another knock at the door, but this time the pony on the other side simply opened it instead of calling to her. The maid that entered gave her a too-big smile.
"How did you sleep, dear? I trust the accommodations were adequate?" the sweet, pink mare asked.
"Uhh, yeah. Adequate is one way to put it," Dusty said, remembering the way the bed had tried to absorb her like an amoeba.
"Excelle-" the mare paused, scrutinizing her as if she had finally seen Dusty for the first time, "wait, you don't plan on seeing the princess like this do you?"
"Like what?" Dusty looked down at herself. She thought she looked fine.
"Oh, honey," the mare swooped into the room and grabbed a brush, "give me a moment." Without asking she began to brush through Dusty’s mane and coat. Her protests fell on deaf ears, and she was still too tired to fight off the deranged maid, so she submitted herself to the cosmetic torture. After about five minutes the mare stepped back, admiring her hoofwork.
"Well, it's a rush job, but at least you look presentable, though you'll need at least three baths to get all of that dust out of your coat," she nodded to herself proudly and smiled, this time a more genuine smile, "now, let's get you to the throne room. We can't keep the princess waiting any longer." She ushered Dusty out into the hallway. Two earth pony guards fell into step beside them as the maid led her down the hall and toward the throne room. When they arrived, Dusty recognized the princess right away, but there were two other individuals she didn't recognize.
The first was a tall purple dragon that stood next to Twilight's throne. He was casually leaning against it with one arm and animatedly chatting with the princess. She laughed heartily at something he said.
The second was a pink unicorn with curly blue and yellow hair sitting in front of the throne. She was fiddling nervously with her tail. Glancing around the room, she caught sight of Dusty and the others entering. She sprung up from her place sitting on the floor and looked like she was going to prance over to them, but the princess motioned for her to stay where she was. The maid and the guards led Dusty halfway before breaking off and going back the way they had come. Dusty made her way over to the unicorn, who was practically vibrating with what she assumed was excitement, and sat before the princess and the dragon.
Twilight smiled at the two of them. "Welcome, friends," she said, "I am excited to brief the both of you on your upcoming mission."
'Mission' is an interesting way to spell 'cruel and unusual punishment,' Dusty thought.
"Dusty, I'd like you to meet Sunsweet. Sunsweet, this is Dusty. As you may have guessed, you two will be partners, you will help each other learn and grow as the program goes on," Twilight continued. Dusty and the unicorn turned to look at each other.
Sunsweet reached out a zealous hoof for Dusty to shake. Dusty ignored it.
"It's great to meet you, Dusty!" she said. Her voice was sweet and mellifluous.
"I'm sure it is," Dusty said. She cleared her throat and turned back to Twilight. The dragon beside her looked somewhat nervous.
"Now, let's begin by explaining to you how this program works," Twilight said, pulling two small, circular bands from behind her back. She motioned for the two of them to lift their hooves up, and as they did she slipped the bands onto them. The bands constricted, fitting perfectly against their fetlocks. Dusty poked at it experimentally and realized it was stuck tight, with no sign of a clasp to remove it.
"What are these?" Sunsweet asked.
"These are magic suppression bands," Twilight said, "as long as they are activated, the wearer will be unable to use their magic."
"WHAT?" she shouted, and her face contorted in horrified bewilderment.
"Calm down, Sunsweet. It is part of the program. Consider it a precaution, as well as an incentive. If you look at the bands closely you will notice a number engraved on the front." Dusty looked down, and indeed, there was a small number five engraved into her band. "Once the number reaches zero, the bands will release and you will be able to use your magic again."
"How does it count down? Is it like a timed thing?" Dusty asked.
"No, the band will only count down once you perform certain tasks. In this case, when you perform true good deeds."
Dusty raised an eyebrow. "True good deeds?" she said skeptically.
"That's right, deeds performed out of the goodness of your heart, embodying the Elements of Harmony." Dusty snorted a laugh, however, the princess didn’t seem to be phased by it.
"Look, I'm giving the both of you a second chance. If you succeed at this, you will get to be free again,” she looked at Dusty, “and your past mistakes will be forgiven," she turned to Sunsweet. Sunsweet stared at the princess with wide eyes, then she got a pensive look on her face. Suddenly she perked back up and smiled widely at Twilight.
"Okay! I'll try my best, princess!" she chirped with a crisp salute. Dusty was shocked at the 180-degree shift in the unicorn's mood. One second she was reeling at the loss of her magic, and the next she was just as peppy as she started.
Twilight smiled at the unicorn’s cheerfulness, “I’m glad to hear it. If all goes well, you may be able to take your place in the school back.” The school? So this mare was some kind of student? Dusty thought.
Sunsweet beamed at this news, Dusty wouldn’t be surprised if she felt the air start to vibrate around her.
“And what about you?” Twilight was looking at her now. Dusty shifted uncomfortably again. Something about being started down by the extremely tall and all-powerful ruler of their country made her uneasy.
“I doubt you’ll like my answer, princess,” she said, trying and failing to answer without snark. Twilight just chuckled in that weird way of hers.
“I expected as much, but you’ll learn in time how special the opportunity I’m affording you is.” Twilight stood up from her throne and descended the stairs. The purple dragon stayed behind, shifting to stand in front of the two ponies. “Spike here will complete your briefing and tell you where you have been assigned for your first mission, welcome to the Criminal Reformation and Acclimation Program,” said the princess as she stepped out of the huge doors. Dusty and Sunsweet turned to look at the dragon. Dusty had never seen a dragon before. He was pretty big, but not nearly as big as the stories she heard from the ponies back home. He smiled nervously at them, his razor-sharp teeth glinting at them. Dusty shifted her hooves nervously, but did her best not to let her apprehension show. She glanced over at Sunsweet, who didn’t seem phased in the slightest by the large reptile in front of her.
“Well, uh, to be honest guys, I don’t really agree with this whole plan. The princess seems to think you guys would do best unsupervised,” Spike scratched the back of his head, “Buuuut I can’t argue with Twilight, she’s the boss and all.” He pulled out a parchment from somewhere behind his back. “It seems here that your first assignment is Ponyville. Well, that should be real easy. Says here all you have to do is perform one true good deed. When your bands count down, you’ll know you’ve succeeded, and I’ll give you guys your next assignment.”
“Ooh, we get to go to Ponyville! That’s the town where Princess Twilight learned all about the magic of friendship!” Sunsweet bounced in place excitedly.
“You know, you remind me of someone,” Spike said pensively, “but I can’t seem to put my claw on who.”
After Spike was done briefing them, four guards arrived and ushered them out. They led them through the castle until they came to a wide, circular courtyard. It was very similar to the courtyard that Dusty had arrived in the horrible flying box. Speaking of horrible flying boxes, there was one waiting for them at the center of the courtyard. Two pegasi guards were already strapped to the front.
“Um, maybe we could take the train instead,” Dusty offered to the nearest guard, “you know what they say, the journey is just as important as the destination, why not enjoy the scenery a little?” The guard simply ignored her and shoved the two ponies into the carriage, slamming the door shut behind him. At least it this one had an enclosed cabin like the last one, maybe she could pretend it was a normal ground carriage if she closed her eyes. She felt a tapping on her shoulder.
“You alright, Dusty?” she opened her eyes to see Sunsweet sitting beside her on the carriage bench. She looked concerned. Dusty realized she must have been making a fool of herself. What kind of pegasus worth their salt got nervous on a flying carriage?
“Oh, yeah, of course. I just had some, uh, bad haycakes this morning and I was worried my stomach might start acting up once we’re in the sky.” Nice, perfect save.
“Aw, you got haycakes this morning? Lucky, the attendants just rushed me out the door to go see the princess.”
“Ah, well, we’ll be in Ponyville soon. I’m sure they have haycakes there. You got cash?”
“No,” said Sunsweet, looking a bit sheepish, “my parents always payed for stuff like that.”
Dusty deadpanned, “Well, isn’t that nice. So the princess sets us up to go to this strange new town and she doesn’t even give us some pocket change for food.”
“I’m sure we’ll figure something out!”
“You bet your hitches we will,” Dusty said with a sly smile, pulling out a fancy golden candlestick from under her wing. Sunsweet gasped in horror.
“What did you do? Did you steal that from the castle?”
“Sure did,” Dusty said proudly, “wait till those fillies back home hear about this. Not only am I an infamous bandit, but I stole from the princess of Equestria herself. I’ll be a legend.”
“You’ll be legendarily dead! Are you serious? The princess is giving us a second chance, don’t you even care?”
“Uhh, no, not really,” Dusty said with a shrug, “Besides, the princess has like, a million of these, I’m sure she won’t notice one missing. You said yourself that you were hungry, with this one candlestick we could buy like a hundred haycakes.”
“That’s not the point,” Sunsweet said with a huff, “the princess has been nothing but kind to us. Why would you betray her trust like that?”
“Pshh, that’s on her for trusting me in the first place. I made no effort to make myself seem like I wanted to go along with this whole charade. I have half a mind to make my way back to Dodge Junction as soon as we touch ground in Ponyville.”
“You can’t!” Sunsweet practically shouted, she looked panicked. Dusty was taken aback by the outburst from the sweet unicorn. “You can’t leave! I need this chance, I need this to work!”
“Sorry sister, but I have zero interest in this silly little program. All I want is to go back home to my old life.”
“You can’t, you can’t,” tears began to streak down the unicorn’s pink cheeks. She began to sob pitifully. Dusty didn’t know what to do, she wasn’t used to ponies crying around her. She debated on whether or not to pat her back, and decided instead to simply concede, for now.
“Okay, okay, I won’t leave,” Dusty said awkwardly. Sunsweet looked up at her, her eyes puffy and her face wet.
“Really, you won’t?”
“‘Course not, I can’t stand to see a filly cry.”
“I’m not a filly…” Susweet said, wiping her nose with a hoof.
“I know, I know, its just an expression,” Dusty said.
“Oh, ok.” There was a silence after that. A long silence. An awkward silence. Dusty hated it, she didn’t do awkward. But, before she could say anything, Sunsweet broke the silence for her.
“Are you gonna keep the candlestick then?”
“Yep,” Dusty said.
“And I can’t change your mind?”
“Not unless you want me to run off back home,” Dusty said firmly.
Sunsweet gulped, “A- alright. I won’t say anything. But, I don’t wanna eat with stolen money.”
“Fine, fair ‘nuff,” Dusty said with a defeated sigh, “we’ll find another way to get ‘hold of some bits.”
Sunsweet smiled happily at that. “Thank you so much, Dusty!” She reached over to give Dusty a hug, but Dusty scooted far away, pushing her back with a hoof.
“Yeah, yeah, but no huggin’.”
Suddenly the whole carriage shifted under their hooves. Dusty felt her stomach lurch, they must have started flying. She was surprised, though, when the door to the carriage opened, and a guard was standing outside.
“We’ve arrived in Ponyville, ma’ams.”
Dusty blanched. When did they take off? They were flying that whole time? She hadn’t even noticed! The guard led the dumbfounded Dusty and an excited Sunsweet out of the carriage and into a bustling town. Nopony seemed to notice or care about the royal carriage that had just arrived, going about their days like normal. It was very different from Dodge Junction. While they could both be considered small towns, Ponyville was much bigger. It was also much greener. Grass lined the streets and lawns everywhere she looked. The trees seemed to be farther along in their budding here, too; the leaf buds seemed ready to burst at any moment. The guards led them over to a small fountain surrounded by flowers and shrubbery. It was beautiful. Nopony in Dodge Junction could ever dream of growing something like this.
The guards saluted to the two ponies. “Well, this is where we take our leave. Good luck, ma’ams,” said one. They all turned and trotted away in unison.
“Wait, they’re just leaving us here? For real?” Dusty said.
“Well, yeah. Advisor Spike did say ‘unsupervised,’” Sunsweet replied.
“That he did,” Dusty said with a grin. The princess must be a fool to leave here out here unsupervised and think things would not get stolen.
“Where do we go from here?” Sunsweet said, looking around, “our mission was pretty vague. We don’t even have anywhere to stay, let alone the bits to afford one.”
“Well, since someone doesn’t want to utilize my hard earned candlestick, I guess our first order of business is findin’ a quick job.”
“But where are we going to find somepony willing to hire us at such short notice?” Sunsweet asked, “surely we will need to build up some kind of resume first.”
“No need, that’s the beauty of small town living,” Dusty said with pride, “there’s always somethin’ to be done and someone willin’ to do it. As long as we’re willin’ to do anything, we’re as good as gold.” Dusty took a look at the ponies around them. The first thing she noticed was how different they all were. There were unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies in nearly equal proportions. She even spotted several nonponies walking and flying around, though she couldn’t recognize what all of them were.
“Well, I’ll let you lead the way,” Sunsweet said behind her, “I’ve never been to a small town before, and I’ve certainly never had a job.”
“Well, aren’t you just the luckiest little thing,” Dusty said, her voice tinged with a hint of poison, “the first thing we need to do is scout out someone who looks like they might need help. Shopkeepers, farmers, bakers, and other ponies who do lots of work with their hooves are almost always needing an extra pair of hooves or two.” And, while they had their backs turned, Dusty could sneak a few valuables under her wings, and little miss buzzkill would be none the wiser. It was pathetic, compared to her usual grandiose style of thievery, but it would have to suffice until she could get back home to her hideout and her posse, if they were even still around. She’d probably have to break out Briar Rose and Chokecherry, those two were pretty useless on their own and without orders. Thistle Whistle was probably still free and laying low, she was always the more capable one of the bunch, but also the most cowardly. Dusty wouldn’t be surprised if Thistle already had everything moved out of the hideout and into a new location by now, deciding to cut her losses once dusty and Chokecherry didn’t come back the next day.
Dusty began to walk around town, looking for potential work. Sunsweet followed close behind.
“What about that shop?” Sunsweet said, pointing to a little carrot stand. The mare behind the stand had a fiery orange mane.
“Nah, she doesn’t look busy enough.”
“What about that one?” this time she pointed to a very busy flower stand. The pony behind the counter looked a little tired.
“Now that does look promising,” Dusty said, but right as she was about to walk over, two more ponies popped up behind the counter, passing bouquets over to the customers in line. “Ah, nevermind, they already have plenty of help.”
They kept walking for several minutes. Eventually the shopping district was gone, and they were surrounded by residential houses.
“Shouldn’t we go back? It doesn’t seem like anyone is needs workers here.” Sunsweet said. The sun was high in the sky at this point, and she looked a little winded.
“Tired already?” Dusty said with a smirk, “we haven’t even started workin’ yet.”
“No! Not at all!” Sunsweet perked up and a slight bounce entered her gait, “bright and perky as ever.”
“Well good,” Dusty chuckled, “because it looks like our only option is gonna be farm work. It’s springtime, so the farm ponies will be plowing fields and doing lots of maintenance from winter damage. They’ll need all the help they can get.” Sunsweet deflated a little.
“I’ve never even been to a farm…” she whispered.
“Well, you’ll love it. Nonstop, backbreaking labor in the hot, hot sun for a handful of bits at the end of the day, and if you’re lucky, a good, homecooked meal.” Dusty grinned at Sunsweet, who seemed to be getting paler at the thought of the labor ahead. “Don’t worry, miss fancy pants, I’ll do most of the work.”
They kept on until the houses got farther and farther apart. Eventually, they found themselves at the front gates of what appeared to be a massive apple orchard.
“‘Sweet Apple Acres’ huh? Cute,” Dusty said, “this is perfect. I’m used to working with orchards. Lots of cherry trees where I’m from, I imagine the work is much the same.” She looked over to Sunsweet, who was unusually quiet.
“Dusty! Do you know where we are?” she squeaked.
“Uhhh, Sweet Apple Acres? I just said that.”
“Yes! Sweet Apple Acres! That’s where Applejack lives, the former Element of Honesty! One of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s closest friends!”
“Oh, really? She’s the orange one, right? I remember some folk back home talking about her, apparently she worked in town for a mite back during Celestia’s rule.”
“That’s right,” Sunsweet said, she was doing the vibrating thing again, “and I bet if we work with her we’ll complete our first good deed in record time!”
“Any time is record time when you’re the first one to do it,” Dusty said flatly, “But I see what you mean. Having an Element of Harmony close at hoof is definitely advantageous.”
“Yeah! I bet if we do what she does, we’ll be one step closer to finishing in no time!”
“I do like finishin’ things quickly, alright lets go meet this honest element and see if she’ll give us a job.”
They made their way into the farm. It was lovely, really. Nothing like anything they had back at home. The trees were tall and healthy, with nary a scuff on their sturdy bark. The grass was lush and soft, swaying gently in the slight breeze. Nothing here looked thirsty, dry, or covered in red dust. They came upon a small field, it looked freshly tilled and nothing had been planted on it yet. Past that were some pens that held a few livestock and a huge red barn. They walked past all of this, and right up to the door of a large red farmhouse. Dusty knocked, and they heard crashing from within. The door flung open to reveal a young yellow earth pony mare with a pink mane, about the same age as them.
“Howdy, can I help y’all?”
“Howdy to you too, miss, I’m Dusty Clouds, and this here is Sunsweet. We’re fresh in town, and are lookin’ for work. We were wondering if you had anything we could do here on your farm in exchange for a few bits.”
The yellow mare looked back and forth at them for a few moments, “You know, I think there is one thing. Gimme a sec,” she closed the door in their faces. Dusty and Sunsweet exchanged a glance. They waited for about a minute before the door opened again. This time it was an orange mare with a yellow mane. She seemed to be a bit older than them, maybe her late thirties.
“Why hello there, folks, I hear from my little sis that y’all are lookin’ for work?”
“Sure are, we’d be mighty grateful if we could help out. We just arrived in town today and are a bit short on bits. We don’t even have enough to afford a room and a meal for the night.”
The orange mare looked surprised when Dusty spoke. “Say, you’re from Dodge Junction, right? Can tell by the accent. Didn’t know there was pegasi livin’ down there, though,” she said with a big smile, “its always nice to meet fellow hard-workin’ country folk.” She reached out a hoof. Dusty accepted it, nearly toppling over when the earth pony started vigorously shaking it. “I’m Applejack, it’s a pleasure to meet y’all.”
“I’m Dusty Clouds,” said Dusty after recovering from the vicious assault on her hoof.
“I’m Sunsweet, its great to meet you Applejack!”
“Now y’all come on in and I’ll get us some cider, then we can discuss this whole business of workin’ here on the farm.” Applejack ushered them inside and onto a large red sofa. They waited while she retrieved cider from the kitchen. The living room was really nice. It reminded her a lot of the houses back home. Of course, she never lived in them, but she robbed a few a lot like this. Sunsweet seemed to be going into shock.
“You doin’ okay there?” Dusty nudged Sunsweet in the side sharply.
“I don’t know,” she said without looking at Dusty. Her eyes were all over the room, taking in every little detail. “I’m in Applejacks house!” she squeaked.
Applejack returned with three glasses of fresh apple cider. It looked delicious.
Dusty took a sip.
It was delicious.
“Thank you, this is the best cider I’ve ever had,” Dusty said, mmm’ing gratefully.
“I’m glad you like it, it’s our specialty here at Sweet Apple Acres,” Applejack said, puffing out her chest proudly from her place on the armchair, “Now, I’m curious, what are an odd couple like you doin’ out here in Ponyville with no money? It’s not a situation most ponies find themselves in these days.”
“We are not a couple!” Sunsweet practically shouted. Dusty and Applejack looked at her in surprise. “Sorry,” she said, “I didn’t mean to yell.”
“I wasn’t tryin’ to insinuate nothin’, sugarcube. It’s just a turn of phrase. I’m just curious about y’all’s story. I’d like to know who I’m dealin’ with before I let y’all work on my farm.”
“That seems fair,” said Dusty, “Sunsweet and I are old friends. We decided to go on a roadtrip together around Equestria, but our wagon fell in the river several miles east of Ponyville and we lost everything. Thats how we ended up here.” Dusty considered herself a good liar—you have to be to survive in her line of work—so it always came to her rather naturally. She didn’t even have to think about it. Sunsweet gave Dusty a horrified look.
“Mhm, interestin’,” Applejack said, “how’d y’all meet?”
“At a party in Canterlot several years ago,” Dusty said without missing a beat. Applejack seemed to ponder that for a second.
She looked up at Dusty, a disappointed look on her face. “You know, you’re a decent liar. I can tell you’ve been doin’ this a long time.”
Dusty stiffened, “W- what do you mean?”
“Listen, I know y’all know I’m friends with Twilight. Stars alive, I’m in her gosh darn friendship council. You really think she wouldn’t have shown us those fancy little bracelets y’all got on?”
Dusty and Sunsweet looked down at their bands in unison, then back up at Applejack.
“I know exactly who y’all are. Twilight’s had y’all picked out for her little program for months now.” Applejack sighed and put a hoof up to her forehead, “why wouldn’t you just tell me the truth? What did you have to lose from just bein’ honest?”
Dusty stared at the cup of cider in her hooves, all her confidence and bravado gone.
“I thought you wouldn’t trust us if you knew we were criminals,” Dusty said quietly.
“Well, now I don’t trust you because you’re a liar,” Applejack said, her voice firm. There was a moment of silence.
“Applejack, I’m really sorry about Dusty’s behavior. Can you please give us another chance?” It was Sunsweet that spoke up. Dusty didn’t look at her. Her face burned, she wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or anger. Probably both.
Applejack sighed heavily, “Look, I want to help y’all, I really do, but by my principles I can’t help you with this. Y’all aren’t ready to learn anything I have to teach you.” After a moment of silence she spoke again, “I suggest you go an’ talk to Pinkie Pie. I think she would appreciate the help in the shop now that she’s got a lil’un runnin’ around. Long as you don’t go lyin’ to her, too.” Applejack shot Dusty a look, but she didn’t see it.
“Thank you, Applejack, for your time,” said Sunsweet, her voice wavering. They left shortly after that. Dusty didn’t look at Applejack the whole time. It wasn’t often that she got caught in a lie, but it definitely never felt like this before; she felt like she was going to be sick. They left the farm with their heads hung low.
“I can’t believe you did that,” Sunsweet said as they stepped out of the gate to Sweet Apple Acres. “That was our best chance at getting this first mission over with.” Sunsweet’s voice had lost all of its usual honey. Dusty didn’t respond to her.
“Look, I know you don’t care about this whole reformation thing, but can you at least pretend to try?” she said, she sounded close to tears. “Don’t you want to be free? Don’t you want your magic back? Don’t you want your record wiped clean?” Dusty still didn’t respond.
“Say something! I can’t believe I got stuck with the world’s most selfish pony. It’s like the princess wants me to fail.” She started sobbing, “maybe she does.”
Dusty looked at the crying unicorn beside her.
“Why are you even here?” Dusty said.
“What?”
“Why are you here? With me? Why did the princess choose you? I mean, we both know why I’m here, but you don’t seem like the criminal type at all. In fact, it sounds like you used to be a student at Twilight’s school.”
Sunsweet looked at the ground, she was silent for a long time. For a second, Dusty thought she wasn’t going to answer.
“Twilight didn’t tell you?” she said finally.
“No, she didn’t tell me anything about you.”
There was another beat of tense silence. “A few years ago, I made a mistake,” Sunsweet said, shaking her head, “and a lot of ponies got hurt.”