Dust on the Wind

by Sparky Brony


Chapter 15. Hail to the Chief

I am sitting with a few other Ponies. We've all cleaned up for this meeting. Of course, waiting for a helicopter can be sometimes boring. I play with my just brushed mane.

"Damn, why do I have to doll up so much?"

Irony looks over at me, "Because we are meeting the President of the United States."

"We've been told that his daughter is becoming a pony. Do you think she's going to come along?"

"I wouldn't doubt it."

Finally, a faint rhythmic thumping is heard to the west. As it increases in volume I finally see the Presidential helicopter, it's call sign is Marine One. Marine One circles the field near the buildings and finally settles to ground. We wait for its rotors to stop moving, whereupon the door opens and two secret service agents rush to greet the man exiting the helicopter. We are gestured forward. Irony, Moon Shadow, Mindy, and myself all walk in unison to the helicopter.

"Mr. President, I am known as Lightning Dust, welcome to my home."

The tall man looks around, the garden is starting to really grow, all the land is showing signs of good care. The barracks are brand new, the house was painted yesterday, by an enthusiastic group of ponies. All in all, we look pretty well turned out. But for this initial meeting, the only ponies seen are the ones that I have with me. Almost all the Federal employees are turned out themselves. I put out a hoof. He looks at me, and finally goes to one knee to shake my hoof.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Dust."

"Dust will do, Mr. President."

"Fine, Dust. Thank you for having me on such short notice."

I see a pink pony tentatively stick her head out from the helicopter. I gasp, I know that face. But not from my Equestrian memories. With her lavender mane, and unicorn horn sticking up. I'm certain I know here from watching the show. I nod to the President who gestures for her to join us. In moments she's sitting on her haunches next to him.

"And this is my daughter, Amy."

I feel my ears fall. I have an idea of what's coming. I turn and address the unicorn. "What is your pony name?"

She looks at me confused.

"You know, the dreams that you had right when you got your cutie mark on your thighs. The three brilliant cut diamonds."

She shrinks back, "I don't remember my dreams."

I sigh, then I look at her father and back at her. He seems to genuinely want her to answer, but I don’t think she's told him of the dreams yet.

I place a hoof on his knee, "I think you and I need to talk. Your guards can follow, at a distance. I have no intention of harming you at all, but I don't think you are going to like what you are going to hear."

He looks at me, confusion reigning on his face, he finally nods, but to my surprise, he waves off the Secret Service as I trot to follow him, after he places a kiss on his daughter's forehead.

We finally walk towards the fields. I get bored of walking quickly, so I spread my wings and hover at head level for him, so he doesn't have to speak down to me. I spend the first couple of minutes talking about my transformation, and about my family, my parents, and some of what happened.

He interrupts me, "I was told this was some kind of disease."

"Have they done genetic testing on her?"

He nods.

"What were the results?"

"That she shares less than 10% commonality with any species on Earth."

"What does that say to you."

He stays silent, he doesn't want to answer, he already suspects what I'm going to say.

"She's not of this world, neither am I, nor is any other pony here."

"But she's my daughter, I held her right after she was born. I held her hands for her first steps." Tears start to spill from his eyes, "Her first time on a bicycle. I comforted her after her first heartbreak"

"I know, my parents helped me the same way you did."

"What do they think of it?"

"They don't like it, but they are accepting, it's something they can't change."

"Can you be changed back?"

He walks with me flying next to him in silence for a long time, I finally answer, "No. We were originally ponies. What happened was a curse, all brought about by Discord. That curse has lifted, and the ponies we were twenty five years ago are back. To change us back would require something we don't have."

"And that is?"

"Magical knowledge, and more power than any unicorn known in pony history has."

"What about your princesses?"

He's been doing his research, "I don't think Cadance, Twilight, Luna or Celestia have the necessary power. And Discord himself won't do it."

"So, Amy I no more?"

I shake my head, "That's not the case, Mr. President. Amy never was. The pony she has become was turned into her, and a good deal of that pony's personality were folded into the human you knew as Amy. But she's reverted back to her original form, she is the same. Some mental changes have happened during the change, but for her to integrate what her life was with what it is, it is something internal each pony must face."

"Is there any way I can help with that. I've been told she hasn't been sleeping well. And she seems very reluctant to tell me anything about it."

I sigh, "The only thing you can do is let her know you will love her, no matter what. That's it. I had to deal with the Lightning Dust that I was, and reconcile her with the Lightning Dust that I am now. It took some doing, but it worked."

"So, she's not coming back?"

"She hasn't left, her body changed, that's it. She's the same pony she was as a human."

"She won't forget us?"

"There is a possibility that it can happen."

He look at me quizzically.

"If she hasn't resolved the facts in her own mind, the pony she was before and the pony she is now could fight, and then she would lose, because there are two outcomes, a pony that doesn't remember her time on earth and is freaked out being here, or a pony that doesn't remember her heritage and is freaked out because her body has turned into a freak. Neither of those are conducive to a happy life."

"You are saying, she's at war with herself?"

"And she's not the only one, many ponies here have gone through this, it's a hard thing to adjust to."

"And you did as well?"

I nod.

He looks down, "All I want is her to be happy, if we can't turn her back human, she needs to be happy."

"May I talk to her?"

He looks back, in the distance she is sitting with my friends, "I think she's getting talked to already." He turned back to me. "What do I do?"

I move closer to him, "Mr. President, I'm not here to tell you what you need to do. I know what is best for her, but it may not be easy. She is a pony now, she needs to be with her own kind. But wouldn't you think that the decision would be hers? She was twenty five when this transformation started. She was an adult. What happened on your end?"

"Well, it's well known she wasn't living in the White House, she was a grad student at CalTech. When she got pony ears, she called me, crying, asking me what could be done. I had some Secret Service agents come pick her up. She completed the transformation in the White House with my wife and I." He looked down. "She cries every night. I know she's not happey."

"So…" I prompt.

"If she wants to stay here with you ponies, that's okay with me. We will have to have some security…"

"No."

He looks at me, his face darkens.

I gentle my voice, "Mr. President, nobody but your security and staff know that the pony over there was your daughter. She is in no danger from ponies. One thing I do know about pony society, we are very peaceful, your daughter will be safe here."

"Is she still my daughter?"

"Yes, and no. The body you see was her original, but you cared for her for twenty five years. She's as much yours as she was the daughter of some pony back in Equestria. If she still calls you Daddy, you are still hers."

He sighs, and puts a hand on my shoulder, "Thank you, Dust."

I smile at him, "All part of the service."

He turns back away from the farmhouse, apparently we still have some talking to do.

I hover as he walks for a while. Finally, he breaks the silence, "So, what am I going to do with you?"

"Beg pardon?"

He chuckles, "This is an election year, the year 2020. I'm in the middle of a fierce competition for the Presidency. And then this is happening."

"And that's why you are having general knowledge of the ponies suppressed?"

He nods.

"We won't hide. It's not right to make us."

"I don't have any choice. You know humanity's reaction to things we don't understand."

My ears fall flat, "Hatred, distrust."

He nods, "In the end, I am protecting you."

I roll my eyes. He nudges me, "I happen to know who pulled off that little stunt in Billings."

I almost fall out of the air.

"And why aren't you calling me out? Or getting the FBI involved, I guarantee they are angry."

"Oh yes, they were angry, but you did it all without harming a hair on a single human. Lightning Dust, you showed integrity. You said your goal is to help the ponies. I've been in communication with those working here. You have shown that you are a mare of her word. And I will tell you this, Lightning Dust, I don't control every individual part of the Federal Government. And while general knowledge of the ponies is not my desire, I will instruct parts of my government that I can to officially ignore you. So long as you remain within the bounds of the law, for our purposes, you are persons as defined in the Constitution, you have the same rights as any other person. I will issue an executive order to that effect, but it must remain secret for the time being."

I look at him intently, after a moment, that seems to be about the best I'm going to get. I hold out a hoof, "That will help Mr. President."

***
After our talk I'm finally introduced to Amy, and find out her name. Irony and Moon Shadow were talking to her quite a bit while the President and I talked. They were able to help her remember her dreams. Sparkler. Adopted daughter of Derpy Hooves. I almost squee in delight, one of my favorites in the show is Derpy. Mindy showed me the episode where she talked, before Hasbro got a wild hair and edited out Rainbow saying her name. Unfortunately, she has no clue where her little sister and mother are. After a bit the President comes up, and she rushes to him and hugs him, and sighs, "I love you Daddy." I hear. Good.

After judging a few minutes of Daddy Daughter time, I pull them to give them the tour of the farm. Only one barracks is in use right now. The three story buildings have been put in with long term in mind. No bunks, individual beds for each pony, and privacy curtains to allow ponies to rest quietly. But I've been finding that privacy is not something ponies value as much as humans. Only two floors of one of the three buildings is in use right now. After the initial greetings, most of the ponies have been lounging around, talking to each other. A lot more work needs to be done in the fields. I let them know what's going on and they pile outside to get to work. I continue giving the President and his daughter a grand tour.

"It's amazing here, Dust." The President says. "How many ponies are you planning on coming here?"

I look at him, "Once the ponies that you have in custody are released, we will have almost three hundred here. The plan is to be able to accommodate over a thousand."

"For how long?"

"I don't know. As long as necessary."

He looks around, "All this must be expensive."

I nod, "It is, but some of the ponies have their own resources and are helping out, we aren't turning any pony that shows up away."

"So, some kind of commune?"

I look at him sharply, "I don't believe in that crap, that can stay in Mr. Marx's grave for all I care. This will be a community. Free ponies interacting how we wish. Some will choose to work in town, we are planning on bringing out business owners in the area and see if they want to hire ponies. Some of the pegasi have shown the aptitude for handling the weather."

His eyes get big, "So, the show is accurate about that?"

I nod, "Yes, and we are controlling the weather around here already. It's warmer than the area around us by a good ten degrees, and we are planning on it staying in the 50's temperature wise for a month or so, until summer gets here. Once the acreage is planted, we will be bringing in some gentle rainstorms to help the plants grow. And they are growing at an accelerated rate because of the earth ponies. I've got several ponies here that have cutie marks that show skills with woodworking, and even a few that can work with metal. I have no clue how to use the forge that came with the farm, but it's fired up, and we have ponies working on that now. I think most of the ponies here will earn their keep quickly."

"Just like in Equestria?"

I nod.

"Amazing, but what about my Amy."

"Sparkler." she pipes up.

He turns to her, "Sparkler? That's your pony name?"

She nods, he turns to me, "Okay, what about Sparkler?"

"I don't know what her cutie mark represents, so once she figures it out, she'll be able to do that as part of her job here. But every pony will be compensated for their work, some simply by food and board, but some will do more."

"And what will you be doing."

I smile, "I'm a Wonderbolt, but I also own an electrical contractor's business. I'm going to keep that up and running. In the end, this farm will turn a profit from our weather services, and from helping farming. This part of Montana will be much more productive when it comes to the farmland."

"You know the land around here is mainly cattle ranching."

I nod, "And those cattle may not be sapient like they are in Equestria, but they will be cared for just like any other creature here."

He nods. Then a thought hits me, "Excuse me, Mr. President, but I was told yesterday that I'm going to have to spend some time at my office today. So, you can talk to Soarin if you need anything. But you can treat this trip primarily like a vacation, no golf course here though. But feel free to enjoy your time away from it all."

He thanks me as I rush over to the farmhouse. In moments I'm at Soarin's door.

"Hey, bro. I've got to get to the shop, call me if you need me."

I hear a muffled response from inside the office, my brother is still busy looking for ponies online. I trot outside and take off.

***

Finally I'm able to flutter down and land in front of the shop. It's close to noon. So I just hustle right into Pat's office.

"I'm guessing you have some work for me to do?"

She nods and picks up a stack of paperwork, causing me to sigh, "I really need to hire someone to do a lot of the paperwork for me."

She smirks, "I thought of that, inside are three applications, one of them should work."

"What would I do without you Pat?" I say as I trot into my office and sit at my new desk.

She lays the papers down, including a stack of checks for me to sign, "Go out of business is what you would do."

I chuckle as she closes the door behind her.

The next several hours are occupied by signing the checks, and of course, the various bits of paperwork that I have to deal with. I find out more about my injured worker. Compound fracture of the leg, and several nasty lacerations. Pat sent flowers from the company, and set him up to get 40 hours a week of pay while he's recovering. I smile at that. Though he'll probably miss the massive overtime he was getting, 40 hours is pretty good. Bills get authorization, and everything else I have to deal with is dealt with. Though eventually there is a tentative knock at the door.

"Come in."

The door opens and two ponies come in. I recognize them from the farm, some relative newcomers. A pegasus and a unicorn.

"And what can I do for you?"

The unicorn looks nervous for a moment, then gains his nerve.

"We would like jobs."

Oh really.

"And you think I'll hire you because you are ponies?"

He shakes his head, "No, I think I can do the job, I've been getting pretty good with telekinesis, and I would love to learn a trade. And since you've become a master electrician, I can do it too."

I look over at the pegasus, "And you?"

She gulps, "I may not be able to pick things up like a unicorn, but I'll learn everything I can, I want a job, and I know you pay pretty well. Your company has some of the highest wages in town."

"I also have some of the hardest work in town."

The both nod.

I look at both of them critically. I can see them starting to sweat under my scrutiny.

After the silence gets drawn out, I'm thinking furiously, the unicorn says, "Please, Dust."

I grin, "I think I can find work for both of you. My out of town crew is light one body. I'll shift one of the in town guys who's already asked to work out of town. And you can take his place." I say to the unicorn. Then I turn to the pegasus, "I think stringing lines would be a good job. You won't have to climb the poles. How well can you fly?"

She looks at her friend, then back at me. "I can fly pretty well. I'm no Wonderbolt, but I just didn't have any aptitude for weather work. Soarin got a little sore at me."

I smile, my former sister was always a perfectionist, I'm glad to see that tendency made it through this change. "I won't lie to you, the job is dirty, and hard. But the pay is good, and you will learn a lot. I'll have Pat give you the paperwork for the job, and the apprenticeship. For now just use your legal names you had before your change, I hope we will work something out when it comes to that ball of wax. But I'll get you working tomorrow morning, seven in the morning, sharp."

Both ponies thank me as they file out the door. I look at them sadly, how many ponies will be able to get jobs in town? I hope every pony that wants to.

***

Eventually I'm caught up, and I'm happy for that. I did decide on the application, my new office pony starts tomorrow. Eeyup, Pat included a pony in the list of applicants and I didn't find that out until after I had made the decision. A unicorn. Meaning much better writing, and she's got a degree in accounting. It's all good for me. I fly quickly to my house. Lamenting the lack of my family. I finally crawl into my king sized bed and snuggle under the covers. I start to fall asleep but I'm interrupted by the front door opening and closing. After a minute the door opens and a few ponies come into the bedroom. I see Irony, and Moon Shadow. And to my surprise, Trixie and Lightning Flash join us. I glance out the window, the sun has just set, it's still relatively early.

Trixie speaks up, "It has been a long day for all the ponies involved. Would be okay if the Great and Powerful Trixie, and all of her friends join you in that huge bed?"

I look at all of them, and finally nod. The last few weeks have caught up to me, and exhaustion is taking hold. I lie my head down as I'm cradled by Irony, with Moon Shadow laying her head next to Irony's and mine, then Flash and Trixie find a way to make this a comfortable pile of ponies. I eventually nod off, feeling more secure than I ever have in my life.