Dusty was splayed out on the loveseat, staring at the dark ceiling above her. After the party, which had gone late into the night, Pinkie suggested they crash in her living room for the remainder of their stay in Ponyville. She even gave them a hoof-full of bits each for their help, despite the fact that the cupcakes they made were for their own party. She looked over at Sunsweet, who was sleeping soundly on the couch. It had been a long night, but Dusty still couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about what Starlight had told her.
Stupid hornheads, always butting in, Dusty thought sourly. Why did everypony insist they knew what she was feeling? What she wanted? They didn’t know jack. Dusty hadn’t needed friends for a long time, and she sure as sugar wasn’t going to start needing them now. Especially not happy-go-lucky Canterlotian unicorn friends who have never known hardship once in their privileged lives.
Dusty tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position on the narrow loveseat. Eventually, she gave up, and resigned to the fact that she was going to have to have a sore neck tomorrow. She huffed and started fiddling with the band on her foreleg. She hadn’t had much time to really inspect it before. It looked like it was made of gold, but it was probably a bit more than that. Magic gold? Dusty didn’t really know a lot about magic stuff. The band was pretty light, and it had small, winding designs etched ever so slightly into the surface of the metal. At the front the designs came together, swirling like a vortex around the small number four in the center.
Wait.
Four?
Dusty sat up sharply, squinting at the piece of metal on her leg in the dim light. Surely she had been mistaken, right?
Nope. Right there on the front of the band the number four was emblazoned rather vividly. Dusty was shocked, when had this happened? She reached over and shook Sunsweet awake.
“H- wha?” Sunsweet slurred, she rubbed a hoof over her eye. “Is is morning already? Five more minutes, m’kay?”
“Sunsweet, wake up. The number on my band went down,” Dusty whispered.
Sunsweet took a moment to process that, then she shot straight up. “WHAT?” she whisper-yelled.
“Look,” Dusty stuck out her hoof. Sunsweet grabbed it and inspected the band closely.
“When did this happen?”
“I don’t know, I just noticed it now,” Dusty said. Sunsweet dropped Dusty’s hoof and looked at her own band.
“Mine still says five.”
“Really? I wonder why mine counted down and yours didn’t.”
“I guess that means we have to do our deeds separately,” Sunsweet said, it was hard to make out her expression, but Dusty could guess it was dejected.
“But, I don’t even remember doing any deeds,” Dusty said. It was true, she couldn’t recall anything deed-worthy she had done.
Sunsweet thought for a moment, then perked up, “the flour!”
“The flour?”
“Yeah, when you helped me with that sack of flour. I was about to topple over, and you rushed over and took it off my back.”
“Oh, yeah…” Dusty said thoughtfully, “wait, that was considered a good deed? I barely did anything.”
“I guess the bands thought it was good enough,” Sunsweet said, “so, now that just leaves me. I guess tomorrow we’ll have to find a good deed for me to do, then we can move on to the next assignment.”
Dusty laid back down on the loveseat. “Yeah, that shouldn’t be too hard. I mean if the bands accept stuff as easy as helpin’ you with some heavy flour, then it should be easy to find something else to do.”
“We should ask Pinkie if she needs anymore help tomorrow,” Sunsweet said, settling back down on the couch, “she seems like a pretty busy pony.”
Dusty hummed in agreement, and they fell into silence. Soft snoring could be heard from Sunsweet’s direction not long later, and Dusty soon followed her, drifting off into a restless sleep; full of dreams of cupcakes, candlesticks, and flying carriages.
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“Nope! Got nothing today!” Pinkie said with enthusiasm that didn’t seem to fit the situation. They were sitting in her kitchen as she mixed haycake batter. Dusty noticed the batter was suspiciously pink.
“Nothing at all we can help you with?” Sunsweet asked imploringly.
“Hmm,” Pinkie seemed to seriously consider that for a moment, “nope!”
Dusty groaned internally. Neither of them had been expecting Pinkie to not need any help today. They had both kind of been banking on completing Sunsweet’s first deed with some task set forth by the former Element of Laughter.
“Well, ponyfeathers, now what do we do?” Sunsweet turned back to Dusty, who shrugged.
“I suppose we could just go around town looking for somepony who needs help,” she offered.
“We tried that already,” Sunsweet sighed, “or did you forget how poorly that experience went.”
“I’ll have you know my mind is a steel trap, I forget nothin’,” Dusty grinned, tapping a hoof to her temple, “which is why I know that today will be different. Ya see, lookin’ for a job is one thing. Offering free, volunteer labor is something else entirely different.” Realization seemed to dawn on Sunsweet at that.
“If you two are looking for a pony that needs lots of help, you should go see Applejack! She’s always got lots to do on the farm,” Pinkie Pie piped in from her spot in the kitchen. She had started cooking the haycakes, the faint smell of strawberries wafting over to them. Sunsweet snorted, and Dusty felt her face get hot.
“Unfortunately, we already burned that bridge. Somepony, not naming any names here, decided it would be a great idea to lie to her. And now she doesn’t trust us.” Sunsweet gave Dusty a meaningful look.
Pinkie Pie hissed in sympathy, giving them a quick grimace before returning to the haycakes. “Yeah, that’ll do it. AJ is a big stickler for honesty. But, she is also very forgiving. I’m sure that if you go and apologize she’d be more open to you again.” She started humming after that, flipping the pink haycake she was cooking high into the air.
“Yeah, that is not happening,” Dusty grumbled, glowering at the cup of orange juice in her hooves. Sunsweet rolled her eyes.
Any further conversation was halted by the sound of thundering hooves coming down the stairs. A bright yellow colt came bounding down, making a beeline for the kitchen. He jumped onto Pinkie’s back, causing her to abandon her haycakes in favor of swinging the little colt around.
“Morning, mama!” the colt giggled as Pinkie finally set him down.
“Good morning, my Lil Cheese!” she beamed, nuzzling the colt. “Where’s papa?”
Lil Cheese giggled, pointing a hoof to the stairs. There, halfway down the stairs, stood an orange earth pony stallion with curly brown hair, fast asleep. He looked like he had been attempting to descend the stairs when he succumbed to an impromptu siesta. His face was smushed against the railing in what looked to be a very uncomfortable position.
Pinkie rolled her eyes at the stallion, trotting over and nudging him awake with a smile. He awoke with a start, jumping up and giving a small shout.
“You gotta stop staying up so late, hun.” Pinkie said tenderly, guiding the still half asleep stallion down the stairs and to the table, where he took a seat next to Sunsweet. He seemingly hadn’t noticed the presence of the two strange mares in the room. Lil Cheese, on the other hand, had.
“Hi! I’m Lil Cheese! You’re pink like my mama, that’s my favorite color!” the foal had bounced over to Sunsweet, reaching out a hoof for her to shake. She took it earnestly and smiled.
“Hi there, I’m Sunsweet, pink is my favorite color, too!” she said. Lil Cheese gasped at this, turning his shocked gaze to his mother, who smiled at him, and then back to Sunsweet.
“We are friends now,” he said, suddenly serious. Sunsweet looked shocked for a moment, before bursting into laughter. Lil Cheese giggled along with her. Once the laughter died down, Lil Cheese introduced himself to Dusty as well, albeit not as enthusiastically as he had greeted Sunsweet. Pinkie eventually came in and served the strawberry haycakes. This seemed to wake the stallion at the table all the way up, and he finally noticed the guests at the table. He introduced himself enthusiastically as Cheese Sandwich. The ponies enjoyed a pleasant breakfast, Pinkie, Cheese, Sunsweet, and Lil Cheese chatting amiably. Dusty occasionally contributed, but she was a little put off by the zealous nature of the four bright, curly-haired ponies.
Eventually, the two decided to take their leave. Lil Cheese had to get ready for school, and they needed to get a head start on their day of deed-searching. After saying their goodbyes, and Sunsweet giving thanks for their hospitality, the two ponies set off once again into the streets of Ponyville.
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“It’s no use,” Sunsweet wailed, dramatically throwing herself to the ground, “nopony in this whole town needs any help.” The two had been walking around town for about an hour, and still had no luck. Most ponies were busy making their way to work, and had no time to talk with them. The market was also fairly bare, as the shopkeeping ponies hadn’t set up yet for the day.
“Its still early in the morning,” Dusty said, rolling her eyes at the unicorn’s antics, “we have all day, I’m sure we’ll find somepony.”
“But what are we supposed to do in the meantime?”
“I s’pose we can just stroll around town and look for loose deeds to do.”
“Loose deeds?” Sunsweet raised a skeptical eyebrow at Dusty and scrunched her nose.
“Ugh, I don’t know how to phrase it. You know what I mean.” Dusty began to stalk off without her, Sunsweet scrambling with her hooves to follow. They found themselves in what looked to be the city park. The grass here was particularly lush, likely due to the meticulous care of the landscaping ponies who milled around trimming bushes and watering flower beds. Paths wove through the green here and there, wrapping around the occasional tree. At the center of it all was a rather large fountain, surrounded by benches and shrubs. A tall statue of Princess Twilight Sparkle standing proudly at the center, surrounded by the shorter figures of her six closest friends. Dusty inspected the statue as they approached. She recognized most of the ponies, but she wasn’t sure about some. She looked over to Sunsweet, who seemed to deflate at the sight of the princess.
“So, you go to Twilight’s school, right?” Dusty asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. The question seemed to take Sunsweet a little off guard.
“Oh, uh, yeah. I did,” she replied somberly. She averted her eyes from the statue, staring instead at the pool of water at the base. Water trickled between the hooves of the stone ponies and the stone dragon, creating a pleasant ambience.
“So you know the princess fairly well, huh?”
“I guess,” Sunsweet said, sounding unsure, “as well as any student would know one of their teachers.”
“Still, that’s pretty cool. Not just anypony can say they personally know the princess.”
Sunsweet gave her a incredulous look. “‘Personally’ is stretching it a bit,” she said, “the School for Gifted Unicorns has a considerable amount of students, and the princess only comes to teach, like, twice a week.” She paused, looking into the water again. “Although, I did get to talk to her personally a few times. I was in the top ten students, you know.” She gave the water a small, wistful smile.
“Really?” Dusty was surprised, “so you’re like… really good at magic then?”
Sunsweet chuckled, seeming to cheer up at the praise. “You could say something like that. What about you? Are you a really good flier?”
Dusty laughed, “You could say something like that.”
Sunsweet smiled warmly at her, then she seemed to think of something, and her smile fell. She didn’t say anything, though, so Dusty didn’t ask. After a moment more of gazing at the fountain, the two ponies moved on without a word.
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Ponyville was peaceful. Too peaceful.
"Ugh, I'm at a loss here. It's been hours, and nopony needs help with anything. No lost puppies, no falling pianos, no kites in trees, nothing." Dusty lightly hit her forehead against a huge oak tree. They were toward the outskirts of town again, having gone over what felt like every nook and cranny of Ponyville looking for anything that even smelled like it could turn into a good deed.
"Don't lose hope yet, Dusty. What about the School of Friendship? We haven't checked there yet."
"I'm sure they have enough ponies on hoof to handle things."
"Hey! You never know until you try!"
Dusty groaned again. What did she do to deserve this? Besides robbing banks and pickpocketing ponies, that is.
The two ponies slowly made their way toward the school. It was hard to miss, the castle beside it towering above every other building in Ponyville.
Out of nowhere, there was a shout further up the street from where they stood. An orange-maned mare was galloping after a cart, which was overloaded with carrots and barreling down the hill. Carrots were flying out everywhere onto the street. Dusty shook Sunsweet hastily.
"This is perfect! Catching that cart would be the perfect good deed. Go, go, hurry before someone else gets it," she said, shoving Sunsweet forward.
"Wait, but, wouldn't it be better if you got it? You're much faster than me."
"I'm not the one who needs to do a deed, so go!"
Sunsweet started off for the cart apprehensively. She looked like she was galloping as fast as she could go, but Dusty could tell she wasn’t making much headway. Suddenly, from above, a rainbow streak shot over her, nearly scraping her horn. She lost her footing on the uneven road and tripped, tumbling face first into the dirt. The rainbow streak continued past her, cutting off the cart right as it was about to crash into another pony. As it stopped, it became all too clear who it was; none other than the Element of Loyalty herself, Rainbow Dash.
The cart crashed harmlessly into her side, a few more carrots falling off from the inertia. She didn’t seem fazed by the impact at all. Dusty trotted up to Sunsweet, who stood up shakily.
“You okay?” Dusty asked.
“Yeah, just a bit of a tumble,” she shook her entire body like a dog, a cloud of dust and dirt flying off of her fur, “but did you see that?”
“I’d have to be blind not to, that was crazy. I’ve never seen someone go that fast.”
“Oh good, you got it, Dash,” said a soft voice behind them. They turned to see a sweet-looking yellow pegasus fly from the same direction Rainbow Dash had come from. She landed near where the cart had started rolling and began to pick up the carrots. The orange-maned mare to whom the cart presumably belonged to rushed up to Rainbow Dash and thanked her profusely.
“Its alright, Goldie. Don’t mention it. You really gotta fix the parking brake on this thing, though. That’s like the third time this month!” Rainbow laughed and nudged the mare teasingly. The mare rubbed the back of her head with a nervous grin.
The yellow pegasus, who Dusty presumed to be the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, brought the fallen carrots to the stand and placed them back in their baskets. The two echanged their goodbyes with the merchant mare, and then immediately started heading for Dusty and Sunsweet.
“Oh stars, they’re coming over here. Oh no, what do we do?” Sunsweet said, panicking.
“Relax, we’ve already met two elements—or three if you count the princess.”
“Yeah, and look how well those interactions turned out.” Sunsweet’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper as the two pegasi approached, she then turned and gave them both her winning smile.
“Why hello there!” Sunsweet beamed.
“Hey,” Rainbow said, “I saw you trying to catch that cart. That was pretty cool of you.” She stuck out her hoof and Sunsweet shook it.
“Yeah, that was really brave,” Fluttershy spoke up quietly from beside her. They were a lot different from what Dusty had expected. She had heard a lot about the two legendary pegasi who helped defeat so many villains and vanquish so many evils, but these ponies just looked like any other pegasi. Rainbow Dash wasn’t particularly big, as one would expect from one of the fastest fliers in Equestria. While she definitely had more muscle definition than Fluttershy, their wings seemed to be roughly the same size. Fluttershy was actually a bit taller than Rainbow, but stood with her head slightly bowed, making her look smaller. They really didn’t look much different from Dusty herself.
“It’s really great to meet you two, I’m a big fan,” Sunsweet said, and Rainbow and Fluttershy share a knowing look.
“I see our reputation precedes us, Flutters,” Rainbow said with a grin.
“Indeed,” Fluttershy giggled.
“I actually saw you two at the party last night, but I didn’t get an opportunity to introduce myself. I was… otherwise occupied,” Rainbow laughed nervously, “but its great we get to talk now! I have so many questions I’ve been dying to ask.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier either,” Fluttershy said, “I had to leave early to help Rarity with an emergency.”
“Oh no, is she alright?” Sunsweet asked.
“Oh yes, she’s fine. Some mice had gotten into her attic and had started nesting in her old dresses, so I had to relocate them to a safer place.”
“Oh, well it’s good everything worked out,” said Sunsweet with a sigh.
“Pshh, yeah, its Rarity we’re talking about. If anypony can save a few shredded dresses, she can,” Rainbow said, waving her hoof almost as if to usher the conversation away, “why don’t you two come to the track with us and we can chat some more. Fluttershy and I were about to get some laps in.”
“Sounds good! We were just kind of wandering around anyways. It’ll be nice to actually have something to do.”
“Great! By the way, I don’t think I caught your names. Twilight didn’t mention them,” Rainbow said as the four ponies began to make their way to the sports track.
“My name is Sunsweet, and this is Dusty.”
“It’s lovely to meet you both,” Fluttershy said.
“Not much of a talker?” Rainbow said, turning to Dusty, who had slunk to the back of the group.
“Uhh,” Dusty mumbled. She didn’t know why it was so difficult for her to find her words. Usually, she had no trouble spouting off about Celestia knows what. Sunsweet looked back at her questioningly.
“You okay, Dusty?”
“Um, yeah, I’m fine,” she said distantly. She didn’t elaborate beyond that. Sunsweet smiled nervously at Rainbow Dash.
“She’s probably just tired from last night’s party. She was much more lively yesterday.”
“Oh yeah, I get that. Pinkie’s parties can get pretty crazy. Even I get tired sometimes after a particularly long one.”
Dusty glared at the ground as they continued. The three ponies ahread laughed and chatted the whole way. What was wrong with her? She had been fine just a few minutes ago. Why did the thought of saying anything around these two particular elements feel so terrifying?
After just a few more minutes of walking (or flying on Rainbow’s part) the four ponies arrived at the track.
“Alright!” Rainbow cheered, pumping her fist.
“Why do you guys need a running track, anyways? Can’t you fly?” Sunsweet asked.
“Well, yes, but we aren’t here to train our wings. A good athlete doesn’t just focus on training one part of their body. It’s good practice to be well-rounded in your abilities. No, we’re here to run!”
Dusty perked up at that.
“Rainbow really wants to beat Applejack in the Running of the Leaves this year. She lost last time,” said Fluttershy.
“Hey! Our tally is 8-7. Once I win this year, we’ll be back to even! Plus, I won’t have to do chores for a month.” Rainbow landed and began to stretch her legs.
“Can we join you?” Dusty spoke up.
“Well, of course! The more the merrier,” Rainbow hopped up with a grin. Dusty took her place beside Rainbow and quickly shook out her legs. Sunsweet trotted up beside her.
“I gotta warn you guys, I’m not a very good runner,” Sunsweet said.
“Oh, that’s okay. I’m not very good either, but its still fun,” Fluttershy said, taking her place beside Sunsweet.
“Everyone ready?” Rainbow said, holding up a wing. The other three mares nodded. “Alright! We’ll start with three laps. On your mark, get set, go!” And with that she brought her wing down and they were all off. Rainbow and Dusty immediately left the other two in the dust.
“Whoa, kid,” Rainbow mused, “you’re fast!”
“Thanks.”
“Buuuut, not fast enough,” and with a mischievous grin, Rainbow suddenly picked up in speed by nearly tenfold. She shot ahead of Dusty, her mane and tail just short of creating her iconic rainbow streak. Dusty snorted, she wouldn’t be shown up like this. She cranked up her speed, easily catching up to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow had to give her a double take.
“Huh, ok, so you’re really fast. I guess I’ll have to go all out.” She began to run even faster, pulling ahead of Dusty once again, but her acceleration was slower this time. They had already gone around the track two times, and were nearing the end of their third lap. She could easily catch back up to Rainbow Dash, but not before they ran out of track. No, she needed something much faster if she was going to win this. Dusty smiled and lifted her wings, then she flapped them hard, boosting her forward in a huge cloud of dust. She shot right past Rainbow Dash and over the line, skidding to an easy stop on the familiar dirt terrain. She turned to see Rainbow Dash, who had stopped right before crossing the finish line. Her eyes were wide.
“Sorry, wings probably weren’t allowed,” Dusty said, slightly sheepish.
“I… no… h-what?” Rainbow mumbled. She shook her head violently. “You… BEAT ME?”
“Um, I guess so, yeah,” Dusty said, cocking her head in confusion.
“Nopony has EVER beat me in a footrace except Applejack, holy horseapples kid, you’re insane!”
“Oh, uh, thanks,” Dusty didn’t know what to say to that. Hadn’t she technically cheated? She didn’t really mean to, she had just been so focused on winning. Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to care, though. She trotted up to her and slung a foreleg around her shoulders.
“Where’d you learn to do that boost thing with your wings? That was so awesome! I’ve never seen anypony use their wings like that before.
“I learned it running from the cops,” Dusty said with a shrug. Rainbow’s jaw snapped shut with a click. Something about the exhilaration of the run made her feel more at ease around the blue pegasus. Maybe it was just the adrenaline.
“Oh yeah,” she said, dropping her foreleg off of Dusty and rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, “I sorta forgot you’re an ex-criminal.” She laughed nervously.
Ex-criminal, huh? Dusty thought.
“It’s no big deal, really,” Dusty said, “besides, that trick is how I got my name.”
From behind them, there was a thump and a gasp. They turned quickly to see Sunsweet standing beside a fallen Fluttershy.
“Oh no, Fluttershy!” Rainbow yelled, rushing over to her friend’s side. Dusty followed close behind. Fluttershy was sprawled out on the ground, breathing heavily. Her eyes were half-lidded and her gaze was distant.
“Looks like heatstroke,” Dusty said, “we need to get her somewhere cool.”
“She’s right,” Rainbow said, suddenly very serious, “Dusty, you look the strongest, you drag her over to that tree. Sunsweet you go get some water. I’ll go get somepony who can help.” Without wasting any time, Rainbow was off in a flash. Dusty immediately threw Fluttershy over her back, and began to carry her over the the large oak tree Rainbow had gestured to. It was fat, and provided lots of shade. She set Fluttershy down gently under the tree and checked to make sure she was still stable. She was still breathing fast, but her eyes had closed.
“Sunsweet, we’re gonna need that water,” she called behind her. She turned to see Sunsweet exactly where she had left her. Puzzled, she trotted up to the pink mare. “Sunsweet, did you hear me?”
She was still staring where Fluttershy had been lying, just as wide-eyed as when they had found them. She was trembling slightly.
“Sunsweet, are you okay?” Dusty reached over a hoof and touched Sunsweet’s shoulder. Sunsweet jerked, as if she had been hit.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t do anything to her I swear! She just fell out of nowhere!” Sunsweet screamed, cowering away from Dusty.
“Whoa, whoa, Sunsweet, its okay. No one thought you did anything to her, calm down,” Dusty said, confused. Sunsweet didnt respond. Dusty stood there for a moment, waiting for her to do something, but she just stood there, staring at her with terrified eyes. She was torn on what to do. Obviously, Sunsweet needed help with… whatever this was, but at the same time, Fluttershy needed their help right now.
“Hold on, stay here, don’t move,” Dusty said. She ran to the nearest house, banging violently on the door. A confused pony opened it.
“Can I help you?”
“Sorry to interrupt, but a pony has collapsed. Could you spare some water?” Dusty said urgently.
The pony nodded and rushed inside, returning quickly with a large jug of water. Dusty nodded in appreciation, and ran back as fast as she could without spilling the water. Sunsweet was right where she had left her, but she had sat down. Her head was bowed, so Dusty couldn’t make out her expression.
She brought the pitcher over to where Fluttershy was laying. Her breathing had slowed a bit, and as Dusty approached her eyes flickered.
“Can you hear me?” she asked, gently nudging Fluttershy with her hoof. Fluttershy’s eyes blinked open slowly, and her head tilted slightly in what appeared to be a nod. “Great,” Dusty said, “ I have some water for you. I’m going to put it up to your mouth. I want you to take small sips.”
She brought the pitcher to Fluttershy’s mouth, and she took small sips, just as Dusty asked. She remembered Chokecherry doing the same for her when she had fallen that day in the desert. It had been way too hot for any of them to be out, but they were just foals then. They didn't know any better, and they certainly didn’t have anyone around to tell them otherwise. He had saved her life that day, and she never forgot it. She wondered what he was doing now. Probably sitting in a prison cell, or doing community service. Whatever he was doing, it was probably lightyears better than whatever the hell Dusty had gotten herself into.
She was broken out of her reverie by the sound of approaching hoofsteps. She turned to see a frantic-looking white mare with a pink mane galloping toward them at full speed, led by Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was already looking much better, but the nurse still gave her a look-over. With both the nurse and Rainbow Dash fussing over Fluttershy, Dusty decided that she wasn’t needed anymore. She trotted up to Sunsweet, who was still sitting there in the same position as before.
“Sunsweet,” she said, hoping to get the mare’s attention and snap her out of whatever this was. Sunsweet didn’t respond. “Sunsweet, what’s wrong.”
Dusty leaned over to try and get a look at Sunsweet’s face, but she just turned her head so that Dusty couldn’t see.
“Sunsweet, what is this? Why won’t you look at me? What happened?” Dusty reached over hesitantly, but before she could even touch her, Sunsweet jerked away.
“DON’T TOUCH ME!” she snarled, and Dusty finally got a look at her face. Her cheeks were wet, and huge tears still trickled down them. She couldn’t tell if she was angry or scared.
“Sunsweet,” Dusty started, but she was cut off.
“Just leave me alone!” Sunsweet choked, and with that, she got up and galloped away.