//------------------------------// // Raising Dusty // Story: The Napoleons: The Confessions & Revelations Of The Greatest Mafia Family // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// 'After Sandy passed, I was faced with the prospect of being a single father. Thankfully, I had all my brothers raring to help out. Unfortunately, their idea of "help" was sometimes anything but. But they all meant well, and somehow, we muddled through together. What follows is the story of Dusty's path to marehood, aided and abetted by her father and uncles, which I call...' Chapter Eleven: Raising Dusty 'Of course, it's never easy, running a business out of your home. But throw in a curious ten-year-old, and it suddenly becomes a lot harder. We were keen to keep the... less pleasant aspects of our business from Dusty until we felt she was old enough to handle it. But there were a few close calls...' One day, in the basement of the Napoleon manor, Grimoire and his brothers were working over one of the Saddelini's boys, a smart-mouthed teal-coated, blue-maned Pegasus with brown eyes and a feather Cutie Mark by the name of Feather Frenzy. Feather Frenzy had beaten on by them for the past half hour, and was covered with blood and bruises. "Last chance, Frenzy." Grimoire declared. "Tell us when the Saddelinis are going to be moving that shipment of counterfeit Bits, or else." "Never." Feather Frenzy spat out some blood. "Still not talking, huh?" Murray scowled. "From what we've heard, you normally can't stop." "What can I say?" Feather Frenzy sneered. "I'm just not in a talkative mood right now." "We'll see about that." Salt growled. "Perhaps the esteemed Mr. Frenzy could use some... incentive." Lars suggested. "Come on, can't you just tell us?" Caboose begged their captive. "We'll be your friends!" O'Malley jumped in. "You make me sick sometimes, you know that?" He punched Feather Frenzy in the face. "Now that's incentive!" "Whattaya say, Frenzy?" Sonny smirked. "Ready to talk yet?" "Never." Feather Frenzy snarled. "Do your worst." "If you insist." Slot sneered. "Hey Grim, you see the pliers anywhere? If this clown's so keen on not talking, maybe we should yank some of his teeth, make it easier for him." "Great idea, Slot." Grimoire grinned. "They're over there, by the lawnmower." Feather Frenzy tensed up with terror. "Here we go." Slot snapped the pliers open and shut. "Open wide, Frenzy. Dr. Slot's gonna have to make an extraction.." "No, please!" Feather Frenzy quivered. "Don't! Noooo!" Suddenly, the door to the basement was opened. "Dad?" Dusty called. "You down here?" "It's Dusty!" Sonny yelped. "Hel-" Feather Frenzy's plea was cut off by Murray gagging him with an old cloth. "Hi, honey." Grimoire smiled widely as Dusty came down the stairs. "What are you guys doing down here?" Dusty asked. "...Playing house." Slot shrugged, hiding the pliers behind his back. "That stallion's tied up." Dusty pointed out. "Roamin' Polanski's house." Lars added. "Okay..." Dusty frowned. "Anyway, have you seen my paddleball? I can't find it anywhere." "Oh, I, uh... picked it up off the floor." Grimoire declared. "It's in the study." "Thanks, dad." Dusty smiled, going back up the stairs. "Have fun!" "Oh, we will..." Grimoire smirked, as the brother turned back to the hapless Frenzy. A short while later, Dusty walked by the basement door, playing with the recovered paddleball, when Frenzy's screams filled the air. "AAAAAHHH!!" Dusty froze in place. "...Wow." She said. "That's a really believable scream. Whoever that guy is, he really knows how to play his part." 'Dusty wasn't a very sociable filly. She was shy and reserved around ponies not of our family, so it was hard for her to make friends. Not wanting her to feel alone, I enlisted some of my top agents to help...' In Dusty's room, she was having a tea party, with Big Guns, Carapace and Gregory in attendance. "I hope you're all enjoying your tea?" Dusty smiled. "Yes." Big Guns nodded. "Very nice." "Terrific." Carapace added. "Lovely." Gregory smiled fakely. "Great." Dusty beamed. "Oh, let me just get the coasters..." "I can't believe we're doing this." Carapace muttered. "Stuck being the guests at a little filly's tea party..." "This. Is. Humiliating." Gregory said through a gritted beak. "Come on, Greg." Big Guns whispered. "The bosses wanted us to keep Dusty company. They said they would give us a pay raise." "I don't care." Gregory grumbled. "I single-talonedly took down the Crooked Beak gang. I am not supposed to be playing tea party with a little filly." "More tea, Mr. Gregory?" Dusty offered. "Yes please." Gregory smiled awkwardly. "Here you go." Dusty mimed pouring more tea. Gregory grudgingly "drank" it. "Isn't this fun?" Dusty asked. "Oodles." Carapace sighed. "I can't remember the last time I had this much fun." Big Guns lied. "Me neither." Gregory added. "That's great." Dusty smiled. "Because I was hoping we could do this again! Let's say, every Saturday?" The agents looked at each other, mortified. 'As much as we tried to keep our work separate from Dusty, sometimes, it slipped through...' One afternoon Dusty walks into the dining room, finding it all messy and stained with a thick red substance. "Who spilled all this ketchup on the floor?" Dusty tutted. 'It, er... wasn't ketchup. We had actually murdered the Clopone family, whom we'd discovered had running a slave trade ring, right there in the dining room that morning.' "Such a mess." Dusty shook her head. "And that smell. Funny, it smells more like copper than tomatoes. Either way, I'm not going to stand for this. Where's that mop?" Half an hour later, the brothers returned, having gone out for a celebratory lunch. "Boy, what a mess that was." Murray sighed. "Perhaps we shouldn't have gone for the 'slasher method'." Lars mused. "It left such a frightful mess in the dining room." "It'll probably take forever to clean... up?" Sonny stopped midsentence. The brothers froze as they entered the dining room, where Dusty was cleaning up the last of the blood. "Hi, everyone." Dusty smiled. "What... what happened here?" Grimoire gaped. "Oh, I just cleaned up all the ketchup." Dusty shrugged. "Ketchup?" Caboose frowned, before O'Malley stepped in. "What ya talkin' about, it was-" "Yes, ketchup." Salt covered up Caboose's mouth. "It was ketchup. Lots and lots of ketchup." "And you cleaned it up all by yourself?" Sonny gasped. "Sure." Dusty nodded. "It was easy." "Look at that Shine." Murray noted. "You've got a gift, kiddo." "Yeah, I guess I do." Dusty admitted. Suddenly, Dusty's flank lit up. A dustfeather Cutie Mark appeared. "Is that-" Dusty whispered. "It is." Slot nodded. "You got your Cutie Mark, squirt!" "I did!" Dusty cheered. "I really did!" "That's my girl!" Grimoire picked up Dusty and swung her around. "This calls for a celebration!" "How about we go out for dinner tonight?" Caboose suggested. "Fine with me." Dusty smiled. "So long as there's no ketchup. I've seen enough of that for one day." "Haven't we all?" Lars snarked. 'That was a proud day for all of ours. Our Dusty was growing up, and we were more determined than ever to look out for her every step of the way. We all pitched in to raise Dusty, my brothers providing their own unique slant on the rearing of a young filly. Slot's slant was, to be blunt, decidedly crooked...' Dusty was sleeping peacefully in her bed, when Slot slowly slid out from under it. "Hey, Dusty, you asleep yet?" He asked, waking Dusty up. "Um, no?" Dusty gulped, a tad unnerved. "Just checking." Slot lit a cigar as he slid back under the bed. 'To this day, I have no idea what he was thinking. And we used to think Caboose was the strange one. Thankfully, the others were a little more pleasant in their efforts. Sonny took it upon himself to teach Dusty to bake...' Sonny and the twelve-year-old Dusty stood by the oven, waiting for the muffins Dusty had made to be done. "Oh, I can't wait!" Dusty squealed. "Me neither, kiddo." Sonny smiled. Moments later, Sonny pulled the baking tray out of the oven. "Here we are." He smiled. "All ready for-" He stopped as he realized that Dusty's muffins were a misshapen mess. "Well, that's, er... different." "They're not very good, are they?" Dusty's face fell. "Of course they're good." Sonny fibbed, seeking to protect his niece's self-esteem. "Especially for a first try." "Then prove it." Dusty challenged him. "Eat one." "With... pleasure." Sonny gulped. Hesitantly, he picked up one of the muffins, and took a bite. The muffin was hard and tasteless, crunching as he bit into it. Holding back a grimace, Sonny chewed tit up, then swallowed it. "Mmm... yummy..." "Really?" Dusty smiled. "You like it?" "It's... delicious." Sonny smiled awkwardly. "Yay!" Dusty suddenly grabbed the tray. "I'll go give them to dad and the others!" "What?!" Sonny gasped, as Dusty ran out of the room. "...Wow, that backfired horribly." 'As you can imagine, none of us wanted to upset Dusty either, so we all ate the muffins, and all suffered bad stomach aches later on (which we claimed were due to a bad batch of cannolis). But at least Dusty had fun with Sonny. Lars' idea of an entertaining past-time involved teaching her to do taxes...' Dusty, thirteen at the time, was in Lars' room, struggling to stave off boredom, as Lars lectured her on the ways of monetary management. "...And now, let's move on to the difference between gross and net income." Lars smiled, totally ignorant of Dusty's stupor. "Gross income is the intermediate earnings figure before all expenses are included, and net income is the final amount of profit or loss after all expenses are included. Now, moving on to tax-deductible expenses..." Lars was interrupted by the sound of Dusty snoring. "Dusty!" Lars yelled. "What are you doing?" "Wha?" Dusty woke up. "Sorry, uncle Lars. I know you're trying to help, but this is just so... boring." "Boring?!" Lars gasped, genuinely shocked. "How can the ways of tax management possibly be boring?" "You really don't know?" Dusty frowned. "Honestly, it's more exciting watching paint dry. No offense." 'Lars was quite perturbed by Dusty's revelation. It actually took him a couple of days to recover. As for Salt, he took Dusty under his wing, and taught her self-defense.' In the gym, Salt and the fourteen-year-old Dusty stood on a mat, wearing karate outfits. "Okay, we'll start with the basics." Salt declared. "Just a few handy tricks for dealing with most attackers." "I don't know, uncle Salt." Dusty said nervously. "I'm not really big on violence..." "This isn't about violence." Salt corrected her. "It's about protecting yourself from the lowlifes out there. Now, I'm going to come at you, and you're gonna grab my hoof and kick me in the gut, got it?" "Yeah..." Dusty cringed. Salt made his move, reaching for Dusty. She grabbed his hoof, as instructed, but when it came to the kick, she barely tapped him. "Come on, you can do better than that." Salt shook his head. "I don't want to hurt you, uncle Salt..." Sandy quivered. "Relax, kid." Salt smiled. "I've taken worse in my time. Now, let's try it again." They repeated the move, with Dusty grabbing Slot's hoof. She made to kick his stomach, but missed, striking his groin instead. "Oooh!" Salt groaned, as he collapsed to the floor. "Sorry!" Dusty cringed. "I... I didn't..." "No problem." Salt squeaked. "In fact, that was pretty good. Remember that move. It could come in useful." "Thanks for the lesson, uncle Salt." Dusty smiled. "Anytime, kiddo." Salt winced, still clutching his crotch. 'Salt had to sit on an icepack for the rest of the day. Dusty didn't look it, but she had the mulekick of a mule. Despite his agony, Salt told me he had never prouder of his niece. Speaking of pride, Vinny was the one who gave Dusty her first drink of wine, when she was just thirteen...' Dusty took a sip of wine. "What do you think?" Vinny asked. "Ick!" Dusty gagged. "Ick?" Vinny frowned. "This is my best vintage!" "Ponies actually like drinking this?" Dusty grimaced. "It's so... yuck!" "It's not really for kids" Vinny declared. "Sure, now you hate it. When you're older, you're going to be drinking whole bottles of this stuff!" "Really?" Dusty frowned. "I'm not looking forward to growing up so much now..." 'As the years passed, and Dusty grew older, she became interested in colts. Murray decided to take her under his wing and teach the 'sweet art of wooing' as he put it....' Murray and Dusty stood in the local mall. A group of teens gathered at the food court, several of them handsome colts. "Okay, first things first." Murray declared. "Doesn't matter whether you're a guy or gal, you always gotta make the first move." "And why is that, exactly?" Dusty asked skeptically. "Because it shows you've got confidence." Murray grinned. "Now, go over there and tell that colt that he's a 'real cutie'." Murray pointed to a green-coated, blonde-maned Pegasus stallion with blue eyes and a hunting knife Cutie Mark. "I can't do that!" Dusty blushed. "And why not?" Murray asked. "Because he is cute!" Dusty yelped. "I can't just go over there and tell him!" "Of course not." Murray nodded. "Just telling somepony that isn't enough. You've gotta put yourself out there. Show off the goods." "The goods?" Dusty frowned. "Yeah, you know: strut your stuff." Murray smiled. "Swing those hips, flick that mane. Let that guy know what could be his. Then just come right out and say that you think he's cute, and you'd like to hang out. That oughta do the trick." "I... I don't know..." Dusty stuttered. "You sure it'll work?" "Would I steer my favorite niece wrong?" Murray grinned. "I'm your only niece, uncle Murray." Dusty pointed out. "Exactly." Murray nodded. "But seriously, if you just show a little confidence, he'll pick up on that, and get interested." "You really think he'd be interested in me?" Dusty blushed. "Why wouldn't he?" Murray grinned. "You're a sweet, smart little filly, not to mention you inherited everything from your mom in the beauty department. Any guy would be lucky to have you speak to him. Now go get 'im." "Okay..." Dusty took a deep breath. "Here goes..." Dusty walked over to the colt, trying her best to strut her way there. Just as she was almost there, she lost her footing, and fell against him. "Oh, boy..." Murray cringed. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Dusty cringed. Quickly trying to save face, she added. "I mean, I'm cute- You're cute! No, you're not cute! I mean-" "Hey, easy." The colt smiled good-naturedly. "What say we start over? I'm Hunter." "I'm Dusty." Dusty smiled. "Sorry for bumping into you. I just wanted to say..." She glanced over at Murray, who nodded. "I think you're... cute." "Oh, really?" Hunter grinned. "Well, you're not so bad-looking yourself." "Thanks..." Dusty blushed. "Would you, um... like to join me for a hay smoothie, maybe?" "Wow, you're pretty forward, aren't you?" Hunter mused, causing Dusty to cringe slightly. "Sure, why not?" "Really?" Dusty beamed. "Sure." Hunter nodded. "Honestly, you're the first mare who ever actually asked me out. I'm impressed." "Thanks..." Dusty blushed. As they walked over to the smoothie stand, Murray watched them. "Not quite how I'd have done it, but it worked." Murray beamed. "Way to go, Dusty." 'Thanks to Murray, Dusty got her first coltfriend. It didn't last long unfortunately, but it opened a door for Dusty. She grew a little more confident around colts, and enjoyed more dates after that. Not as few as I'd have liked, but at least she wasn't the sort of mare who had a different colt every week. I don't if I could have handled that... Now, Caboose had always been very invested in Dusty, as had O'Malley. They were both protective of her. He became the 'mama bear' since Sandy's death, using all his skills to make sure Dusty remained happy. Unfortunately, one day, they went a little overboard...' The sixteen-year-old Dusty was at Roam High School, when she was accosted by a blond-maned Earth Pony mare with a peach-colored coat, and a pom pom Cutie Mark. She was Connie D'amuzzlo, the "alpha female" of the school, whom Dusty usually tried to avoid. "Hey, Dusty." Connie smirked. "Um, hi, Connie." Dusty said nervously. "That's a nice mane you've got there." Connie declared. "Oh, really?" Dusty smiled, pleasantly surprised. "Thanks." "So, how much do the rats charge you to rent it?" Connie said nastily. Connie and her friends laughed spitefully at Dusty. Suddenly, Caboose arrived. "Hi, Connie." He smiled. "Caboose Napoleon, Dusty's uncle." O'Malley suddenly emerged. "And O'Malley Napoleon, also Dusty's uncle. Say, uh, can you do me a favor?" He pointed out a fire extinguisher in a glass case on the wall. "You see that fire extinguisher there?" In the split second that Connie turned to glance at the extinguisher, O'Malley grabbed her by the mane and slammed her repeatedly into the case. "O'Malley, that's enough." Dusty tried to stop him. He ignored her, and kept on ramming Connie's face against the glass. "That's enough!" She pulled on his leg, to no avail. "THAT'S ENOUGH, O'MALLEY!!" Connie dropped to the floor, her face a bloody mess, as Caboose returned, weeping loudly. In front of the shocked student body, Dusty led the still-crying Caboose away. 'What a mess that was. It took a lot of influence to make that little fiasco go away, not to mention we had to pay for Connie's medical bills (Despite the doctor's best efforts, she ended up losing her bid for homecoming queen. Sad as it was, she still did had it coming, so it's a moot point). Caboose wound up getting banned from the school grounds, though. But despite all those mishaps, Dusty was on the way to being a fine young mare. However, not long after her eighteenth birthday, things took a sudden swerve. It all started when her latest coltfriend, Vance Fetlock, came to visit Dusty at the mansion...' It seemed like a peaceful evening. The area around the mansion was still and quiet. But then... "YOU SWINE!!" Slot's voice rang out. One of the windows shattered as Vance, a slim Unicorn stallion with a white coat, blue mane, silver eyes, and a tennis racquet Cutie Mark, leapt out of it. "YEAH, YOU'D BETTER RUN!!" Slot stuck his head out of the window, waving his hoof angrily. "Vance, come back!" Dusty yelled after him. "He's... just kidding, that's all!" "Don't waste your time with slimeball, Dusty." Slot snorted. "You're too good for him." "Slot!" Dusty yelled, rounded on her uncle. "You... why... I'm telling dad!" Dusty charged into the living room, where the rest of the brothers were. "Dad, Slot chased my coltfriend away!" She announced. "What?" Grimoire frowned, as Slot entered the room, panting slightly. "Slot, why would you do that?" "He was getting hoofsy with Dusty." Slot revealed. "How hoofsy?" Grimoire asked tentatively. "Like this!" Slot yelled. Pretending he was the colt, he acted like he was hugging Dusty. "That doesn't seem so bad." Sonny shrugged. Slot moved his hooves lower. "Hmm, a little amorous, but nothing to complain about." Murray declared. Slot moved way lower, and his hooves seemed to cup something. "Oh, boy." Lars gulped. "Honk. Honk." Slot pretended to squeeze something. "Ahhh..." The brothers said in unison, except for Caboose. "Wait, why would he honk a clown horn?" Caboose asked. "You are really embarrassing sometimes..." O'Malley groaned. "Good call, Slot." Grimoire nodded. "What?!" Dusty yelped. "So what if he was feeling me up?! We were making out!" "I know, I know." Grimoire nodded. "But 'making out' can evolve into something far more sordid faster than you can imagine." "Seriously?" Dusty frowned. "We've all been there." Salt nodded. "Trust me, kiddo. Colts that age can't control themselves." "Vance would had never done that!" Dusty retorted. "You don't know that." Slot shot back. "You've been dating him, what? A couple weeks?" "What, you don't trust my judgement?" Dusty asked. "It's not that, kiddo." Murray told her. "We just don't want any to happen to you." "I'm not a foal anymore!" Dusty yelled. "I can take care of myself!" "None of us are disputing that." Grimoire declared. "We're just trying to look out for you, like family does." "And what part of 'looking out' for me involves scaring off my coltfriends?" Dusty growled. "Better safe than sorry." Slot shrugged. "Ugh!" Dusty groaned, storming off. "Dusty..." Grimoire sighed. "Boy, she seems pretty mad." Sonny noted. "Maybe one of us should go and talk to her?" "She'll be okay." Lars declared. "Give her time to cool off, and everything will be fine by morning." "'Course she'll be okay." Murray chuckled. "She can't stay mad at us. We're family, after all." 'Despite my brothers' words, I couldn't help but experience this foreboding feeling in the back of my head. I could never have imagined what that would lead to...' The next morning, the brothers were having a brief discussion about their operations with some of their operatives when Dusty entered the room. "Dad, guys, there's something I need to tell you." Dusty declared. "Can't it wait, dear?" Grimoire asked. "We're in the middle of something here." "It can't." Dusty insisted. "Okay, then what is it?" Murray asked. "Well, I'm... moving out." Dusty announced. The brother all gasped in shock. "Moving out?!" Salt yelped. "Why?" "What did we do wrong?!" Caboose asked. "Nothing." Dusty shook her head. "I just... can't stay here anymore." "Is this about that boy I scared off?" Slot asked. "Seems kinda extreme, if you ask me." "It's not about that." Dusty assured him. "Then what?!" Caboose threw himself at her hooves. "Whatever it is, we'll fix it! Just don't leave us!" "I'm sorry, uncle Caboose, but I have to." Dusty sighed. "And why precisely do you 'have to'?" Lars asked. "The truth is, I'm sick of how my life seems to be going nowhere." Dusty confessed. "Sick of having no friends..." "Of course you have friends." Vinny retorted. "You have tons of them right in this room." He turned to the mafia agents. "Right, boys?" All the mafia agents turned to face the group. "We love you, Dusty!" They chorused. "Those aren't real friends." Dusty frowned. "They're just guys you're paying to like me. It's just not enough. I'm sick of this mafia life. And I'm sick of all of you coddling me. It makes me feel... boxed in. I want to strike out on my own, somewhere else, where I can stand out on my own merits!" "But Dusty, you belong here." Grimoire declared. "You're a Napoleon, and you have a duty to uphold to this family." "Even if I want to do something else with my life?" Dusty asked. "Or go someplace else?" "You're acting like you're in prison." Grimoire frowned. "I may as well be." Dusty shrugged. "I've spent my whole life here! I just want to go and see the world. Is that too much to ask?" "It is when you're asking to abandon your family." Grimoire frowned. "We're Napoleons. We stick together, and we run the family business together." "But what if I want to do something other than be a part of this little crime syndicate?" Dusty asked. "What if I just want to get some regular job, and pull in an honest wage?" "Why would you want to, when all the money you ever need is here?" Grimoire asked. "It's not about the money." Dusty growled. "It's about going out on my own, making a new home, and new friends." "That's out of the question." Grimoire frowned. "No daughter of mine is turning her back on the family business. We need you here. You're not going anywhere." "Says who?" Dusty asked petulantly. "Says me, the head of this family!" Grimoire yelled. "And your father! That means you do as I say! You're staying here, like it or lump it!" "Fine." Dusty pouted, tears in her eyes. "Then I choose 'lump it'!" Dusty stormed out of the room. Grimm let out a harrowing sigh as he fell back into his chair... however, he soon felt the glares of his brothers. "...What?" Grimoire growled. "Seriously, bro? Did you not notice the irony in what you just said?" Murray glared. "What are you talking about?" Grimiore frowned. "He's talking about who you sounded like just now." Sonny explained. "Do you remember what Dad said when you wanted to leave and become a writer?" "How could I forget?" Grimoire shook his head. "He said 'no son of mine is going to turn his back on the family way'." He went mute, as he realized the familiarity in his words. "Oh, Faust, I've became Pa." "Yes, you have." Lars nodded. "Dad had his points, but he was pretty stubborn." Sonny declared. "He wanted us all to go into the family business. And if you'll recall, he didn't take kindly to anypony thinking otherwise." "And now you're doing to Dusty what he did to you." Vinny added. "Well... I..." He floundered. "She needs to stay here!" "We know you don't want her to leave." Murray noted. "We feel the same way." "But she's a grown mare now." Salt added. "She should be free to make her own decisions." "Are you seriously lecturing me on this?" Grimiore snarled, "You all detested me for wanting to leave the business!" "Yeah, but that was different." Slot countered. "You were our big brother. You were supposed to set an example." "But Dusty isn't supposed to set an example." Sonny declared, quickly skirting around the issue. "We're the ones who were meant to do that, especially you." "And the example we set was for Dusty to make her decisions, to be her own mare." Caboose smiled. "And know you want her to not do that? Not cool, Grim." "For once, I agree with hay-for-brains here." O'Malley added. "We can't dictate her life." Lars countered. "She should be free to make her own choices." "If not, she's just gonna wind up hating you for it." Slot declared. "Come on, Grim." Vinny urged. "She really wants to do this." "As sad as it'll be to let her go, she deserves to stand on her own four hooves." Murray declared. "Don't you think so, Grim?" "I..." Grimoire muttered. "No, I can't... "What would Sandy say if she were here?" Caboose asked. "She... she'd want Dusty to live her life to the full." Grimoire acknowledged. "What a fool I've been..." "It's not too late to make things right, you know." Sonny smiled. "Yeah." Grimoire nodded. The following day, Grimoire called Dusty into his study. "What do you want?" Dusty asked angrily. "I've been putting a lot of thought about our conversation last night." Grimoire declared. "And?" Dusty said tensely. "And I've decided... that I'm going to give you my blessing." Grimoire smiled. "Of course you would." Dusty pouted. "You always- wait, what?" "I'm sorry for being so stubborn." Grimoire apologized. "I just couldn't bare the thought of you leaving. You may be a grown mare, but you'll always be my little girl." "Aw, dad..." Dusty cringed. "So, I can really go?" "Yes." Grimoire nodded. "But only on one condition…" "Condition?" Dusty frowned. "That I get to pay to have you taken to anywhere in the world that you choose. Prance, Maretonia, Haygypt..." "Dad, you don't have to-" Dusty tried to say, but Grimm cut her off. "No, I want to, dear. Just name the place and I will get you there. No questions asked." Grimm explained. "Okay." Dusty smiled. "Then I choose... Canterlot." "Canterlot?" Grimoire gasped. "In Equestria? But, it's so far away..." "Exactly." Dusty nodded. "Nopony here has really heard of the Napoleons, so there's no chance of me coasting on the family name. And it's such a big place. I'm sure I'll be able to find a job there." "Well, if that is the place you want, so be it." Grimm declared, "All I want is for you to be happy, no matter what." "And I am." Dusty leapt up and hugged him. "Thank you so much, daddy!" "Anything for you, my darling girl." Grimoire hugged her back. "It's what your mother would want, after all. And there's so much of her in you. That's part of the reason I didn't want you to go. You're the last part of her, I have left." "Oh, dad." Dusty smiled. "Mom will always be with you. And so will I, whether I'm here or not." "I know that now." Grimoire stroked her mane. "And I'll never forget..." 'It didn't take Dusty long to get ready. In a couple of days time, she was raring to go. My brothers and I saw her off...' "So, I guess this is it." Dusty sighed. "I'll miss you all..." "And we'll miss you, Dusty." Grimoire sniffed. "My brave, brave girl. I'm so proud of you..." "Aw, dad." Dusty cringed. "Good luck out there, kiddo." Murray smiled. "Don't take no guff from anypony." Salt added. "And remember to eat right." Sonny smiled. "Try not to drink any of that cheap, foreign wine." Vinny grimaced. "that stuff's like pigswill..." "Remember what I taught you about doing your taxes." Lars beamed. "And if you happen to meet any exotic ladies out there, let 'em know I'm available." Slot grinned. "Dusty..." Caboose quivered, on the verge of tears. "I... I... bwaaaahhh!" Caboose hugged Dusty, wailing like there was no tomorrow. "What sprinkler-face here is trying to say is that we'll miss you too, Dusty." O'Malley stepped in, quickly shutting off the tears. "Take care of yourself, okay?" "I'll be fine." Dusty smiled. "After everything you guys taught me, how could I not? Seriously though, the only reason I feel ready for this is because of all of you. You were the best family I could ever ask for." "And you were the best daughter." Grimoire grinned. "And niece." Murray added. "Group hug!" Caboose bawled. The family embraced one last time. "I'll write you just as soon as I get settled." Dusty declared. "And I'll come visit the first chance I get." "You'd better." Grimoire said jokingly. "Bye, everybody." Dusty sniffed. The brothers waved as Dusty left the mansion grounds. "Off she goes." Grimoire sighed. "To a new life, a new path... She's become quite the young mare, hasn't she?" "She didn't do it alone." Salt smiled. "So true." Lars nodded. Days later, Dusty arrived in the city of Canterlot. She was amazed by all the sights; The fancy boutiques, the upscale eateries, and especially the nearby castle, home to the Princesses themselves. It seemed like the perfect place to make a fresh start. "Here we are." She smiled, taking in her surroundings. "New life, here I come..." Dusty made her way to the shopping district, correctly assuming there would be a plethora of job opportunities there. Back in Bitaly, Grimoire was sitting in Dusty's room. He reached down the side of her bed and pulled out an old stuffed baby. "Where did the time go?" He sighed. "It seemed like just yesterday you were, and now you're out in the big wide world, all by yourself..." "Grim?" Caboose asked, as he entered the room. "I thought I heard your voice." "Hi, Caboose." Grimoire sighed. "I was just-" "Thinking about Dusty?" Caboose asked. "Me, too." "And me." O'Malley chimed in. "Guess it's a popular topic today, huh?" Grimoire shrugged. "Sure is." Caboose nodded. "This whole house seems so empty, all of a sudden. "Doesn't it?" Grimoire agreed. "And this room..." Caboose continued. "Just doesn't seem right, seeing it without Dusty." "Come on." Grimoire patted the bed. "Sit down. Let's talk about it." Caboose sat on the bed beside Grim.. "I still can't believe she's gone." Caboose sighed. "Me neither." Grimoire nodded. "But all baby birds leave the nest eventually. And thanks to us, Dusty is soaring to new heights. How knows how high she'll go." "As long as she doesn't leave us behind." Caboose smiled. "That'll never happen." Grimoire declared. "If there's one thing a Napoleon never loses sight of, it's family." 'All in all, I was feeling quite good at the time. Albeit, I was a bit sad at first, but soon, I felt pride. My Dusty had grown up and left the nest, forging a new path in life. I was so happy for her, and giddy with joy at all the opportunities that lay ahead of her. Little did I realize where that new path would eventually lead her...'