For hours she followed, desperate not to lose them. She had an obligation as the guardian of Ahrah not to let it out of her sight. And she had a duty as a friend to follow him. She'd only known him for a few days, but that was enough for her to take a strong liking to him. After all, he'd said that he needed her, something no-one else had ever told her before. And it wasn't until she watched him die that she realised she needed him too. But the Life Thread had given her another chance. She could see them both; the blade Ahrah, and the spectral form of her best friend, Dust. The amber Nimbat was not about to let this chance slip away from her.
Mustering what strength she had, she attempted to close the distance for the thirteenth time. It seemed as though she was going to reach them, when a gust of wind knocked her back, putting more distance between her and her targets than before. She screamed in frustration and called out for them to stop, but under the howl of the choppy winds and the pouring rain, it was unlikely they could hear her, let alone understand what she was saying. Her voice was not all that loud to begin with, despite Dust having labelled her as a big-mouth.
Thunder and lightning struck at varying intervals, and the poor Nimbat was flung every which way from the wind. She was beginning to lose sight of her quarry. This she could not allow. She shut her eyes tight and screamed, making a mad dash for the last known location she'd seen them in.
Fidget awoke with a scream. She rushed up to a sitting position and took a few moments to calm herself. It was just a nightmare, it was just a nightmare. She kept thinking to herself. In the absence of a paper bag, she tried to calm her breathing taking deep gulps of air. After a half minute of this, she managed to calm herself down. Looking around, she found herself in the middle of some plains. But there was something different about them. Ironically enough, the plains were rather plain compared to what she was used to. How far was I... She began to think, only to realize something that was incredibly daunting. That nightmare wasn't a nightmare at all.
She pulled herself into a panic once more and began looking around for any sign of Dust or Ahrah, any indication as to which way they went. It was as she went to stand that she felt something soft and plushy underneath her. She took a moment to feel around, hoping to get an idea of what it was she had been sitting on. But the object was unfamiliar to her touch. As she looked down, her eyes widened as she gazed upon the familiar black vest with the red trim. The cerulean pants, the grey long sleeve shirt with the black sleeves. That coolie hat with the blue veil and matching blue cloak. Most of all, she noticed his face. That pale blue fur and although they were closed, Fidget could recall those equally bright eyes.
"D-Dust?" she whimpered. Her voice was so weak that any rational being wouldn't expect a response from it. But Fidget, after having seen her friend, was not of a rational mind. She leaned closer to him and called his name a little louder. "Dust!"
The one called Dust stirred as the echo of a familiar voice reached his drowsy mind. He didn't want to wake up just yet, but something in the back of his mind told him that if he didn't, the owner of that voice would give him no end of grief for making her worry more than she already sounded to be. With great difficulty, Dust opened his eyes ever so slightly, the overwhelming light of the sun greeting him first. This was soon remedied by a silhouette of a small creature looming over him. He recognised that figure the instant it opened it's big mouth.
"DUST! SPEAK TO ME! ARE YOU OKAY?! the voice of Fidget broke out in hysterical screaming. Normally, Dust would have told her to calm down, followed by an optional joke regarding her big mouth. What stopped him was the fact that he was confused beyond all reason.
"F-...Fidget? What are you... how am I still alive?" Dust managed to open his eyes further to look at the now teary-eyed face of his friend. She looked like that when she said goodbye too. He thought. His question was ignored as the amber Nimbat fell to pieces on top of him, her little arms wrapping around his neck. Dust could feel her tears soaking the fur beneath his jaw, aided by his collar. He laid there for a further minute, gently patting the Nimbat on her back, the latter of the two having proceeded to drench the side of his face now that his neck was thoroughly wet.
Dust understood her joy. She thought she'd lost a friend, and judging by what little he knew about her past, potentially the only friend she ever had. He recalled the moment of his death. He wasn't sad to be leaving Ginger behind, nor any of the others from Aurora or the Cirromon Caverns. Really, the only one he felt guilty for leaving behind was Fidget. Despite the fact that his memories had returned, Fidget was still his best friend. But the Life Thread had seen fit to grant him another chance, it seemed. And as Fidget cried into his side, nuzzling his cheek with her own, he vowed to himself never to die again. He would not leave her like that another time, he would not make her cry ever again.
At the same time, Fidget had made a vow with a similar goal in mind. She vowed never to let him die again. She would give one hundred and ten percent or whatever percentage was required at the time to keep him from going like that again. Not until he was old and grey would he be allowed to die, and hopefully, when that time came, she wouldn't be far behind.
"It's okay, Fidget. I'm right here." Dust said, breaking the contextual silence between them. He reached his hand up to pat her head. He felt her push into his hand, letting it slip back and down her back. She didn't like being called a pet, but apparently, she didn't mind being treated like one.
Silence reigned as Fidget ceased her crying, opting instead to just have him hold her and pet her. It seemed utterly strange to her that for a person so strong and so athletic, Dust was so soft. From the feel of his fur, to the gentle caress from his hands. She felt every bit of it. The way his fingers moved over the contours of her form, the rhythmic breathing of his lungs and calm beating of his heart. Dust was alive once again and with them both like this, he and she were as serene as could be. It felt as though nothing could take this moment away from them.
*FWOOP*
The duo were startled by the sudden appearance of an arrow striking the ground just inches from Dust's head. The cerulean fox sat up and looked around for the archer, all the while covering both Fidget and his vital areas with his arms. Looking around, he saw a strangely shaped horse clad in golden armour standing atop a hill. It held a crossbow in one of its hooves. As Dust was just registering this horse as the archer, it befuddled his mind with the power of speech.
"Stay where you are, creature!" it ordered. The horse was a few yards away. How it had the accuracy to hit so close to Dust was a mystery to him and Fidget alike. As the archer began his descent, Dust whispered to Fidget.
"Fidget, I don't think he's seen you. Hide under my cloak. I'll give you the signal when it's time to jump him." Fidget didn't argue with him. She complied immediately and crawled around to his back, latching herself to his clothes. She remained silent and did her best to flatten herself against his back so as not to make an imprint against his cloak.
Dust remained in a seated position, his arms raised as the Horse closed in on him. The armour-clad horse scanned Dust with a keen eye. Dust noted that the horse didn't seem as angry as he sounded, but rather stoic, as though impartial to strange creatures. "I don't mean to cause any trouble, sir." Dust offered. "I'm unarmed, as you can see." The horse noticeably lowered his guard, but not to an extent that he could be surprised. Dust had hoped for this, it meant he was open to conversation.
"What are you?" the horse asked. Dust was thrown for a loop. His species didn't have a title beyond Warmblood, but something told him that his new 'friend' wouldn't accept that as an answer. Just having the word 'blood' in a name alone would send off warning signals. He then remembered one of Jin's History classes from school. The Warmbloods were initially a culmination of animal races that had evolved faster than their distant counterparts. Rabbits and Haley sprung to mind.
"I'm a fox." said Dust.
The horse showed no signs of that being the correct or incorrect answer. Stoicism was obviously his greatest trait, short of accuracy with a crossbow. "What are you doing in Equestrian Territory?" he demanded. This question was more confusing than the first for Dust. He could only answer truthfully. Thank goodness Fidget wasn't allowed to speak. This being seemed too smart to be fooled by the prospector shtick.
"To tell you the truth, I don't know. Last thing I remember was burning in lava." he replied. Dust felt Fidget clench her fists at the memory and he silently cursed himself for making it sound so casual.
"Lava, eh? That mean you're from Tartarus or what?" the horse asked.
"I don't know what that is." Dust replied honestly.
The horse seemed satisfied with the answer. This told Dust that Tartarus, wherever that was, was bad news. He was lucky he didn't just go along with the suggestion. That might have landed him in more trouble than he was already in. "I find you to be rather suspicious, but you don't seem dangerous. I'm going to ask you to come with me to the Castle. You'll be placed in a cell until the Princesses are able to see you." the horse said. Dust understood the armour now. This horse was a guard, a royal guard by the sound of it.
"I'll go willingly. May I ask how long it would take for your Princesses to see me?" Dust wasn't usually the impatient kind, but he wanted to get everything sorted out as soon as possible. He had no idea where he was, and if he could get his bearings at all, then he would want to do it immediately. It reminded him too much of when he had no memory of the land he knew.
"It shouldn't take more than a day or two. You'll be fed, of course. If you're new here, you can ask the guards about this place while you wait." he said. Dust thought he sounded more like a tour guide than a guard, now that the tension had been broken slightly.
"Thanks, I'll do that. You seem to be no stranger of random creatures. I take it there are other races here besides yours?" asked Dust.
The guard nodded, leading Dust to the castle. "Yes. The most common folk are the Gryphons and the Minotaurs. Minotaurs are bipedal like you. Gryphons are Quadrupedal like us. Personality-wise, both are kind of stubborn. Gryphons are rather aggressive, while Minotaurs have a very short temper, and attention span." he explained.
"And what about your kind?" asked Dust.
"We ponies are more level-headed. We revolve around a creed of love and tolerance. That creed was formed after the uniting of the three pony races. Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth Ponies. I'm an Earth Pony, Pegasi are ponies with wings, you'll see most of them in the air if they don't have business on the ground. Finally, there are the Unicorns. They're the more dexterous of the three races. Their history is coated with arcane magic. You'll know them by the horns on their heads. Among these three races, there is another race. Very rare. These are our Princesses. Alicorns are a culmination of all three races. They have the strength of Earth ponies, the wings of Pegasi, and the arcane mastery of Unicorns."
It was obvious to Dust that once you got a guard talking, it was impossible to shut him up. But Dust found himself intrigued by the knowledge he was gaining. It also gave him an idea of where he was.
"What can you tell me about the Princesses?"
"Well, the oldest of the four is Princess Celestia. Some call her the High Princess. She raises and lowers the Sun with her magic. Then there's her sister, Princess Luna. As the name suggests, she raises and lowers the Moon. Both these Princesses are over a Thousand years old, but are ever youthful. If you were a pony, you couldn't help but fall in love with them, they're so beautiful. The third Princess is called Mi Amora Cadenza. Cadence for short. She rules an empire North of this Nation called the Crystal Empire. As the name suggests, the area is coated with crystals. Finally, there's Princess Twilight. Easily the most accomplished of the four. She was born a Unicorn, and became Princess Celestia's personal Student. She'd saved the nation four times, before finishing a spell that granted her the power and form of an Alicorn. After which, the other Princesses indoctrinated her into the Royal Family. She's been a Princess now for roughly Eight Years, and she's barely aged a day since she became one. Or so I'm told." he replied.
The concept of immortal ponies with magical powers that could move celestial bodies was frightening, and at the same time awe inspiring to Dust. He wondered what these Princesses looked like? Before he knew it, he was staring up at a tall castle embedded in the side of a mountain. He'd completely missed the city he'd passed through along the way.
"Welcome to Canterlot Castle, Home of the Alicorn Sisters; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. You're fortunate that Princess Twilight is also here. Your meeting with them will no doubt be bumped up ahead of schedule. The Princess has an inquisitive nature. She'll no doubt ask you a lot of questions. I hope for your sake patience is one of your virtues." the guard said before leading Dust inside.
The other guards saluted as the chatty guard lead his charge through the castle corridors. He must be a high ranking officer. Dust thought as he looked around the castle. He noticed that every guard looked exactly the same. They were like clone soldiers. Dust would have thought as such were it not for the fact that there were what appeared to be females among the guard. Each bore white coats with blonde manes and tails. The armours were styled differently for each race, some allowing movement of the wings while others allowed for access to the horns on their heads. On top of that, there was another set of guards, these ones wore dark blue armour and had an even darker shade of blue fur with Navy manes and tails. Their wings were like those of Fidget's, and their eyes were like a reptile's. The guard had failed to mention them. Perhaps they were a sub-species of pony that didn't really register as such to him. So much for love and tolerance.
Dust was led to the prison cells. As the guard opened the door, Dust stepped through. "The Princesses should send for you within the day. If you're hungry, just call for the guard upstairs. After travelling with you, I have a good feeling about you. I hope I'm right. My name's Black Steel, by the way." the guard said.
"I'm Dust. Nice to meet you." Dust offered his hand, which Black Steel took and gave a shake before letting go.
"Good luck, Dust." he said before leaving the area. When the coast was clear, Dust reached behind his back and pulled Fidget out from under his cloak.
"Thank goodness. It's hot under that thing. If these Princesses he spoke of are as kind as he seemed to be, I may not need to wait for an opportunity to ambush them after all." she said.
"Yes, it seems like they'd understand why I hid you from the guard. An arrow isn't exactly the best first impression." Dust replied. He let Fidget go and she took to the air, hovering over to the bed.
"Speaking of sharp objects, I wonder where Ahrah is?" Fidget pointed out. Dust, although he just realised that the talking sword wasn't around, didn't seem all that phased by the realisation.
He shrugged his shoulders and sat down beside Fidget. "He can move on his own. He'll find us when he has to." he said, looking to the Nimbat with a smile on his face. Fidget looked back at him and grinned.
"You know, you should probably get rid of that hat. You're going to be addressing royalty after all, and that thing's got more holes in it than a flesh fly nest." she said. Dust chuckled before taking the hat off and examining it himself.
"Yeah, I should really think about getting a change of clothes when I can. All this light blue makes me look like a ghost." he mused. Fidget gave him a light giggle before leaning against him, her head resting comfortably on his lap. "I'm glad you're here with me, Fidget." he said, brushing a finger along her head. She moaned happily before sighing in content.
"I feel the same way." she said sleepily. Dust chuckled and left her to fall asleep. He rested against the wall and went to do the same. No doubt the cell door would wake him up, if not the clopping of hooves.