'For the next few years, Dusty enjoyed her new life in Canterlot. She experienced a slew of part-time and full-time jobs, working her way up the ladder of the city's work-based hierarchy, while also finding time to come and visit us every now and then. When she couldn't visit, she sent us letters, detailing all her experiences in her new home. More than one of those experiences involved new coltfriends. The first in particular stood out the most...'
Not long after arriving in Canterlot, Dusty was working in a diner as a waitress. It was her first day on the job, and she was going about it with gusto.
"...And two hay smoothies please." A customer finished off his order.
"Coming right up." Dusty nodded, writing it down.
Dusty made her way to the back of the diner.
"We have an order for a harvati cheese salad, red bean burrito, and two hay smoothies." She rounded off.
"You got it." The chef turned to take the order. He was a handsome Unicorn stallion, about Dusty's age, with a pale yellow coat, brown mane, teal eyes, and a Cutie Mark of a plate of fries. "First day on the job, right?"
"Right." Dusty nodded. "Haven't been in Canterlot all that long, either."
"I figured." The chef smiled. "No offense, but you kinda look like an out-of-town girl."
"None taken." Dusty smiled. "I've got to get back to work."
"Pity." The chef shrugged. "What say we talk more when our shift's are over? I get off in a couple of hours."
"Me too." Dusty grinned.
"Great." The chef smiled. "I'm French Fry, by the way."
"Dusty Speck." Dusty smiled back. "Glad to meet you."
"A pleasure." French Fry grinned.
Two hours later, they met outside the back entrance.
"You wanna get a drink?" French Fry asked. "There's this great bar, not far from here."
"Sounds good." Dusty smiled.
"It's the best." French Fry declared. "And that's just what a good-looking mare like you deserves."
"Oh, thanks..." Dusty blushed.
'Not long after that day, we received a letter from Dusty, telling us about how she and French Fry had started dating...'
The brothers were sat in the study, reading Dusty's letter.
"Got herself a big city coltfriend, huh?" Murray smiled. "Our little Dusty's really grown up."
"Just as long as that French Fry fella treats her right, I couldn't be happier." Salt declared.
"Plus, there's no chance of Slot chasing him off." Vinny chuckled.
"Seriously?" Slot frowned. "You're still going on about that? It was one time, and it was justified!"
"Anything you say, Slot." Grimoire rolled his eyes. "From what this letter says, French Fry seems to be a decent stallion."
"And Dusty always did have good taste in coltfriends." Sonny added.
"I'm just glad Dusty's doing so well for herself out there." Lars announced.
'We wouldn't know this until much later, but Dusty actually ended up losing her virginity to French Fry. Suffice to say, I held the stallion in far less favor when I discovered this little fact. If I had known that while they were still dating, I would have most likely gone over to Canterlot myself and drowned him in his own deep fryer. Ultimately, Dusty broke up with him after a couple of months, due to some argument over his cooking skills.'
'All in all, though, we were glad that Dusty was carving out a niche for herself in this new place. But years later, events would take fold, events which would change our family forever. These events will be outlined here, in what I call...'
Chapter Eleven: The Chronicles Of Dusty
'None of Dusty's jobs lasted any longer than a few years at best. But she was fine with that. She wasn't after a lifelong career. She just wanted to experience as much as she could. In her desire to stand apart from her family Dusty slowly but surely entered a subtle change in personality. She became meeker, quieter, the attitude and strength being a member of our family required no longer being needed. It was such a subtle change that none of us even noticed. But that wasn't the only major change coming...'
After over twelve years in Canterlot, Dusty had served in many positions, from waitress to personal assistant to fitness instructor. When she heard there was a position open for a member of staff at the castle, she leapt at the chance. To work for royalty was a fantastic opportunity, especially for Dusty, who had never even seen a royal before. Before long, she was sat in an interview room, speaking with the head of staff, a balding beige colored stallion with a gray mane, blue eyes, and a pocket watch Cutie Mark.
"Well, you do have an impressive resume." The stallion smiled. "Lots of experience in the maintenance and housekeeping professions, and a spotless criminal record... Yes, I think we can make this work."
"You mean I've got the job?" Dusty smiled.
"Indeed you do, Miss Speck." The stallion held out his hoof. "Welcome aboard."
"Thank you so much." Dusty shook his hoof. "I won't let you down. I promise."
"I should hope not." The stallion said drily. "You see, all the servants here are like cogs in a machine. They each serve an important function. If one cog can't fulfil that function, the whole mechanism could fall apart.
"You can count on me, sir." Dusty nodded. "This is one cog that will do her best."
"Excellent." The stallion smiled. "You start tomorrow."
'None of us had expected Dusty to get a job like that. It was with an air of surprise that we read her next letter...'
"Dusty's a maid now?" Salt frowned. "Isn't that a little... demeaning?"
"I don't know demeaning of that word!" Caboose joked. "Ugh, you are so embarrassing..." O'Malley grimaced.
"Salt has a point." Lars frowned. "Dusty's a Napoleon. She shouldn't have to lower herself to such a menial position."
"If that's what she really wants, who are we to argue?" Grimoire countered.
"Grim's right." Murray nodded. "Besides, I hear the royalty in Equestria are really nice."
"Yeah, me too." Sonny smiled. "They'll probably treat Dusty really well."
"They'd better." Slot growled. "Otherwise, those snotty royals are gonna get a taste of my hoof!"
"I'm sure they're shaking in their fancy golden shoes." Vinny said sarcastically.
'As it turned out, Sonny was right, and Dusty was treated fairly by the royals. One in particular took a considerable liking to her...'
Moments after agreeing to Prince Blueblood's request of a date, Dusty started considering just what she had agreed to.
'Did I really just agree to go on a date with an actual Prince?' She thought to herself. 'What could he possibly see in me? I'm no misfit or unlikeable pony, but he's a Prince! A very handsome Prince. He's seriously out of my league!' But... if I do that, maybe he'll take it badly. Maybe he'll have me fired, or worse, thrown into the dungeon. No, he wouldn't do that... would he? Ohhh, what have I gotten myself into? She shook herself mentally. Snap out of it, Dusty! Remember, you're a Napoleon, and Napoleons always see things through, no matter what...'
('For more on these events, please consult "The Prince And The Pauperess", a first-hoof account of Dusty and Blueblood's relationship, available at all good book stores.')
'Despite her misgivings, Dusty went through with her date with Blueblood, and ended up enjoying herself greatly. The two started going steady. As they grew closer, some of Dusty's old self began to emerge...'
Dusty and Blueblood had decided to spend the day at the swimming pool at the country club. Blueblood emerged from the changing rooms wearing dark blue silken trunks and a swimming cap (to keep his mane tidy), while Dusty came out wearing a form-fitting red swimsuit. Her braid was undone, so her dark brown mane tumbled down her front.
"Wow..." Blueblood stared, admiring her appearance. "You look amazing."
"Why, thank you." Dusty grinned. Recalling Murray's lessons, she sashayed over to him, each movement accentuating her figure. "Do you do much swimming?"
"I dabble." Blueblood shrugged.
"Well, I always liked swimming." Dusty smiled. "Back home, I would swim every day during the summer. I even had a job as a lifeguard for a while."
"That explains why you look so good in red." Blueblood declared.
"You charmer." Dusty wrapped her hooves around him. "You don't look so bad yourself."
"Oh, Dusty..." Blueblood gulped, a little flustered at how forward she was being.
"Remember, if anything goes wrong, I'll be ready to give some... mouth-to-mouth." Dusty whispered in his ear.
Blueblood made a high-pitched nervous laugh.
"But first, maybe we should rub some sun tan lotion on each other." Dusty chuckled. "You can help me rub some on my legs, and other places..."
As Dusty leaned forward, Blueblood saw that her swimsuit had no back, exposing her slender curvature.
"That... that would be nice..." He squeaked, his horn sparking. He thanked Faust he wasn't a Pegasus.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Dusty purred. "Let's get to work."
"Yes, please..." Blueblood grinned.
'Suffice to say, neither of them partook in much swimming that day. And for those of you wondering how I know this, let's just say Slot slipped Blueblood some truth potion as a prank one time. That experience was the least of what came out of Blueblood's mouth. What else he told us is better left unsaid...'
'At that point in time, none of us were aware that Dusty was dating a Prince. We only found out because Vinny liked to read up on gossip from overseas, and had a subscription to The Canterlot Crier.'
One morning, Vinny picked up his freshly delivered issue of The Canterlot Crier.
"Let's see who's in trouble today..." He grinned. His smile vanished as he saw a picture of Dusty and Blueblood on the cover, with the words "Prince/Maid Romance!" accompanying it. "No way!"
Vinny rushed into the dining room.
"Guys, check this out!" He waved the magazine over his head.
"For the last time, Vinny, none of us cares how many stallions Sapphire Shores was caught in bed with." Lars rolled his eyes.
"Not that, this!" Vinny pointed to the front cover.
"Is that... Dusty?" Murray frowned.
"Dating a Prince?" Sonny gaped.
"Not just any Prince." Salt growled. "It's that stuck-up egomaniac, Blueblood."
"It can't be." Grimoire shook his head in disbelief. "What would a snob like him want with our sweet Dusty?"
"Maybe he wants her to be his trophy marefriend." Slot said darkly.
"Come on guys, don't be so negative." Caboose said fairly. "Maybe he really does like Dusty." O'Malley jumped in. "And maybe we can use this to our advantage. Having royalty in the family means having some emergency funds when things get rough. Or even a little influence overseas."
"What I get is why Dusty wouldn't tell us." Vinny sighed.
"Maybe because she'd have to tell him about us." Murray pointed out.
"Good point." Lars nodded. "Telling a member of the royal family that you're part of a family of criminals isn't the best idea in the world."
"Either way, I would very much like to meet this Prince Blueblood." Grimoire said darkly. "Face to face."
'Moments later, I penned a letter to Dusty, asking her to bring her new beau to me. She replied back without delay, and suddenly, she was bringing a Prince home. Hours before they were due to arrive, the rest of us gathered in the study...'
"Okay boys, get ready." Grimoire declared. "We're about to meet this royal coltfriend of Dusty's."
"And if I don't like what I see, somepony's gonna be sorry." Slot growled.
"Easy, Slot." Sonny admonished him. "Let's give the guy a chance, okay?"
"Yeah." Murray nodded. "Let's see what kind of stallion he is first. If it turns out all the story about him are true, you can beat on him to your heart's delight, Salt."
"Just remember to save some for me." Slot growled.
"I'll talk with him first." Grimoire declared. "The rest of you can meet him at lunch. That way, he'll have a chance to see what this family's made of, without us all ganging up on him from the get-go. Any questions?"
"I have one." Caboose raised his hoof. "Doesn't it kinda feel we've already done this before?"
"What?" Lars frowned. "How could we have done this before?"
"I dunno." Caboose shrugged. "I just got this weird sense of deja vu. Like we did this before, a long time ago..."
"Yeah, but that's you." Vinny snorted.
"The kid's right." O'Malley admitted. "It feels like even though we've evolved our personalities over the years, we're about to take a big step back today, as if life is some kind of story, and what's happening now is somehow our first appearance."
"You're getting to be as bad as Caboose." Lars sighed.
"Enough talk." Grimoire said sternly. "Let's just get through this little meet-and-greet. We'll have the measure of Blueblood soon enough."
"Just so long as we get it fast." Murray declared. "We've still got that cockatrice to round up tomorrow, remember?"
'Surely enough, we did get the measure of Blueblood. We weren't impressed at first, but after Dusty talked us into taking him on our hunting trip, and he helped us capture the rare cockatrice, we started to realize what Dusty saw in him, and we gave him our full blessings. Even so, I felt a little extra caution was required...'
Not long after Dusty and Blueblood's departure, Grimoire called the brothers to his study.
"What's up, Grim?" Murray asked.
"While our first meeting with Blueblood went better than I expected, I still think it would be best if one of us went to Canterlot to keep an eye on things." Grimoire declared.
"Seriously?" Salt asked. "Blueblood saved us from a buckin' cockatrice, and you still don't trust him?!"
"It's not about trust." Grimoire told him. "It's about insurance. Not everypony likes royalty, after all. If some subversive pony were to kill Blueblood, or worse, if Dusty got caught in the crossfire, or held hostage, I don't know what I'd do."
"I didn't think of that." Lars gulped.
"But I did." Grimoire said quietly. "I've put together a fake backstory for one of us to use in order to join the Royal Guard in Canterlot. That should allow for a very close eye on things."
"But which one of us should go?" Sonny asked.
"Good question." Vinny nodded. "We all have our part to play around here. We can't pack up and leave, just like that."
"Especially not Grim." Murray added. "It'll have to be one of us."
"But who?" Slot asked.
"I've devised a fair and reasonable way to decide who goes." Grimoire reached under his desk, pulling out a tube containing straws. "By drawing straws."
"Really?" Lars frowned.
"You have a better idea?" Grimoire asked.
"I like it!" Caboose smiled. "But we're gonna need some pencils and paper. Silly Grim, you can't draw straws with actual straws!"
The brothers stared at Caboose.
"Idiot." O'Malley growled.
"Come on, guys." Grimoire held up the tubes. "Let's do this."
One by one, the brothers used their magic to lift a straw out of the tube. Once all the straws were out, they compared sizes. Caboose's was by far the shortest.
"Looks like you're going." Grimoire smiled.
Yay, I won!" Caboose cheered. "Wait, what did I win?"
"An all-expenses paid trip to Canterlot." Murray joked.
"Hooray!" Caboose cheered.
"You do realise you just made a huge mistake, don't you?" O'Malley asked Grimoire.
'Despite O'Malley's misgivings, Caboose did do a good job of watching out for Dusty and Blueblood, though the job interview could have gone better...'
Caboose sat in the same room Dusty had sat in, so many months ago. His interviewer was Iron Hooves.
"So, why exactly do you want to be a part of the Canterlot Royal Guard?" Iron Hooves asked.
"Because, er... it sounds like fun!" Caboose grinned.
"Fun?" Iron Hooves raised an eyebrow.
"Well, not fun in the 'ha-ha' sense." Caboose shrugged. "More like fun in 'serious, no laughing' sense."
"I see." Iron Hooves frowned, confused. "Let me just check your history..."
Iron Hooves turned and reached for the papers Caboose had brought with him.
"You're blowing it, stupid." O'Malley whispered.
"Am not!" Caboose hissed.
"Well, you do have a very impressive service record." Iron Hooves glanced at the fake documentation Grimoire had written up. "Five years serving in Saddle Arabia. That's great. We could always use more veterans around here."
"Well, I'm not sure if I can help in that regard." Caboose shrugged. "I don't have much of a history when it comes to taking care of animals..."
Iron Hooves glanced at Caboose for a moment, an odd look on his face... then burst out laughing.
"And funny too!" He chuckled. "Just what we need to liven things up around here!"
"Yeah, it was a joke..." Caboose lied. "A funny, funny joke..."
"I'll go and grab your new armor." Iron Hooves declared, walking away.
"You stupid lucky bucker..." O'Malley growled in disbelief.
"What was that?" Iron Hooves asked as he turned back.
"Oh, nothing." Caboose laughed weakly. "It's not like I have a malevolent split personality in my head that comes out whenever he wants. Because that would be crazy!"
"Yeah, it would..." Iron Hooves frowned. "I'll be right back with your armor."
As Iron Hooves walked away, Caboose smiled widely.
"I think that went pretty well." He declared.
"Yeah, right." O'Malley snorted. "You almost blew the whole scam."
"Well, you weren't much help." Caboose shot back. "Why don't you try keeping it to yourself from now on? It's not like there are a lot of Royal Guardsponies with split personalities, y'know."
"I'll try." O'Malley told him. "Just so long as you try to keep a lid on that verbal diarrhoea of yours."
"I don't know what that is, but you got yourself a deal." Caboose nodded. "And once Iron Hooves comes back with our armor, we'll pay Dusty and Blueblood a visit..."
'For the next few months, all was well. Then came the day the brothers and I visited Canterlot. It was the day Blueblood proposed to Dusty, and the day we learned that Celestia and Luna knew of our mafia ties (mostly due to Luna peeking into Caboose's dreams). Blueblood's proposal was no surprise, given that Caboose had written to me about it weeks before, but knowing that the Princesses were aware of our activities was another matter entirely. Though they claimed they were okay with our profession, we were still shaken by the revelation after returning home...'
"I know the Princesses said everything was cool." Murray fretted, as the brothers sat on the front garden, several of their agents with them, having wanted to discuss matters that occurred during their absence. "But what if they were lying?"
"I'm pretty sure Princesses don't lie." Sonny shrugged.
"Don't be so naïve." Lars said contemptuously. "What if they're sending a squad of Royal Guards to Bitaly right now to arrest us?!"
"Calm down, guys." Grimoire rolled his eyes. "It's been a week since we met them. If they were going to do anything, they'd have done it by now."
"Funny you should say that..." Salt gulped, pointing to the sky.
A carriage carrying Celestia and Luna descended upon them
"Oh, boy..." Slot gaped.
"Suddenly, they're not so hot at the moment." Vinny trembled.
"Oh, my Faust!" One of the gardeners yelled. "It's a royal bust! Where are the cyanide pills? I'm not going to jail!"
The rest of the agents occupying the outside of the house started panicking.
"The Princesses are here?!"
"We're doomed!"
"Run for your lives!"
"Tell my wife I love her!"
The agents ran in all directions, most of them taking cover inside the mansion.
"Calm yourselves." Celestia announced, as the carriage landed. "We are not here to 'bust' anypony."
"We are simply here to provide a warning." Luna added.
"What kind of warning?" Grimoire asked.
"You may wish to tone down your actions from this point on." Celestia told them.
"And why would we do that?" Murray asked. "You already told us you were okay with them?"
"It's not us you should be worried about." Luna retorted. "It's Dusty. If ever your not entirely lawful ways were revealed, she would no doubt suffer for it. As a future Princess, she will be quite well-known in time."
"They've got a point." Sonny admitted.
"To be honest, you can't really judge us by what you've seen in Caboose's dreams." Lars declared. "To be blunt, he's a little screwloose."
"When he's awake, perhaps." Luna countered. "But he's surprisingly lucid when he's dreaming."
"While a lot of your activities are beyond our jurisdiction, there are some which are closer to home." Celestia pointed out. "Like a certain incident in Las Pegasus, some years ago..."
"Ah, yes..." Grimoire cringed. "That. But we only blew up those building because they were being used by phony credit companies. We were helping the citizens of Las Pegasus."
"Yeah, you oughta be thanking us!" Slot yelled.
"Don't push it, Slot." Salt elbowed him.
"We may be crooks, but we're not heartless." Vinny admitted. "We help ponies as much as we rob them, and unlike your Royal Guard, we're ready to bend the rules to do it."
"An admirable sentiment." Luna admitted. "But I trust you know there is only so much we can look the other way from. As long as you keep your operations from achieving too grand a scale, we are willing to live and let live, as they say."
"Okay." Grimoire nodded. "We'll scale back our operations a tad. Believe me, the last thing any of us want is to hurt Dusty."
"We know." Celestia smiled. "The love all of you have for her is plain to see."
"And you all have good hearts." Luna beamed. "We simply wish to ensure everypony is happy."
"Thank you." Grimoire grinned. "We know letting us go about our business goes against the grain, and we appreciate you looking the other way."
"You're welcome." Celestia smiled. "Now if you'll excuse us, we must be off."
"So must we." Salt retorted. "We need to stop some of our best agents from committing suicide..."
"Yes, do apologise to them for us, will you?" Luna requested. "We didn't mean to make such an abrupt entrance, but we feared you wouldn't answer a written request to meet."
"You'd be right about that." Murray snorted.
"Until we meet again, Napoleons!" Celestia waved, as the carriage took off.
"Well, that wasn't so bad." Sonny shrugged.
"Could've gone worse, that's for sure." Slot agreed.
As the Napoleons went back into the mansion, they saw their agents kneeling on the floor of the front hall, cyanide pills and knives at the ready, intending to commit suicide to avoid prison.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Vinny yelled. "Easy, guys! It's all good now!"
"How can it be good?" One stallion asked. "We're finished!"
"Actually, the Princesses and ourselves have reached an understanding." Lars declared. "Other than a slight scaling-back of our operations, everything's business as usual."
"That's right." Grimoire smiled. "No mass suicide today."
The agents sighed with relief.
"Thank Faust." A buffalo smiled. "Apart from anything else, we would have left quite a mess on the floor."
"And most of the house staff would have been dead, so cleaning it would have been quite the challenge." A Griffon added.
"Okay, that's enough drama." Murray chuckled. "Back to work, you guys."
"Gadly." A Changeling smiled.
As the agents filed out of the room, the Napoleons reflected on their close call.
"Little bit of an overreaction, don't you think?" Sonny mused. "Jail's not that bad, y'know..."
"Like any of us would know..." Salt said darkly.
'A few months later came the wedding between Blueblood and Dusty. As I led my daughter down the aisle, I had a few things I wanted to get off my chest.'
As they walked side-by-side, Grimoire hugged Dusty tightly.
"I can't believe this day has come." He whispered. "My baby's getting married."
"Oh, dad..." Dusty gushed.
"My little girl's all grown up." Grimoire beamed. "I'm so proud of you. And I know your mother would be too."
"Thanks, dad." Dusty smiled.
"It wasn't always easy, raising an exceptional mare like you." Grimoire admitted. "But seeing you now, ready to take such a big step, makes it all worthwhile."
"You were a great father." Dusty declared. "I wouldn't be here without you."
"True." Grimoire smiled. "Guess we can call it even."
'Not long after the wedding came the news that Dusty had fallen pregnant. We reacted with our usual aplomb...'
"OH YEAH!!" Murray cheered.
"I'm going to be a grandpa." Grimoire smiled widely. "I can't believe it..."
"Believe it, Grim." Salt grinned. "Our Dusty's going to be a mom!"
"And we're all going to be great-uncles!" Sonny added.
"Let's celebrate!" Vinny pulled out a bottle of his best wine.
"You know it!" Slot grinned, pulling out the glasses.
"Ah, Dusty..." Grimoire nostalgically. "I remember when you were just a foal yourself, and now you're having foals of your own..."
"Enough of the melancholy navel gazing." Lars grinned. "Let's toast to our new soon-to-be family members!"
'We drank quite a lot of wine that day. In fact, that first sip was the last thing I could remember until the day after. Eleven months later, Vito and Pureblood were born, and our family grew ever larger. For a time, things were perfect.'
Not long after Pureblood and Vito were born, Dusty cuddled her two foals. Grimoire came into the room.
"You look just like your mother when she was holding you." Grimoire smiled.
"Hi, dad." Dusty grinned. "I'm just getting them off to sleep."
"Let me help you with them." Grimoire offered.
"Okay." Dusty smiled. "You take Vito."
Gently, they both eased the twins into their crib, where they slept peacefully.
"They're so beautiful." Dusty whispered.
"Of course they are." Grimoire nodded. "You're their mother, after all."
"Oh, dad..." Dusty smirked, before lapsing into a quiet reverie.
"I know that look." Grimoire noted. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was just wondering..." Dusty admitted. "What kind of life would these two have? Do you want them to join the family business? Because I'm not sure Blueblood would appreciate that..."
"What these two become is entirely up to them." Grimoire declared. "They're your sons, not mine. You raise them as you see fit, and I'll be proud, no matter how they turn out."
"Really?" Dusty smiled.
"Really." Grimoire nodded. "They're not just Napoleons, after all. They have royal blood, and they deserve to make their own choices, just like you did. If you hadn't chosen to go and live your own life, they wouldn't even have been born. Ill always be proud of you for that."
"Thanks, dad." Dusty hugged him. "It wasn't always easy, making it on my own, but I can't thank you enough for giving me that chance. And I'll make sure they have that same chance, too."
"That's my girl." Grimoire hugged her back.
'But not long after the "Crystal Sun" incident, after our identities as heads of a criminal family had been revealed to all of Equestria, Dusty came to visit me at Zecora's hut (where I was staying while our new mansion was being built)...'
Dusty knocked on the door of the hut. Grimoire answered.
"Hello, darling." Grimoire smiled. "What brings you here?"
"I just wanted to talk." Dusty said solemnly.
"Okay." Grimoire frowned, noting the look on Dusty's face. "Come in."
Dusty entered the hut, and took a seat.
"Zecora's out gathering ingredients for her stew." Grimoire declared. "So it's just you and me right now."
"Great." Dusty sighed.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Grimoire asked. "Come on, you can tell me."
"It's... well..." Dusty steadied herself. "Ever since the family revealed themselves, things have been... well, bad."
"Bad how?" Grimoire frowned.
"I've been getting a lot of flak back in Canterlot." Dusty admitted. "I used to be well-liked, with lots of friends, both common and noble. But lately, ponies on the street have been throwing insults at me, calling me a 'no-good hood' who seduced Blueblood just so she could be royalty." She sniffed tearfully. "Some even said I belong in jail!"
"Oh, honey..." Grimoire comforted her. "I know what you're going through."
"You do?" Dusty wiped her eyes.
"Of course." Grimoire nodded. "Even though we were only outted a while ago, there have always been ponies who suspected what we really were. Those ponies would insult and antagonize us at every turn."
"It sounds horrible." Dusty cringed.
"It was." Grimoire nodded. "And I'm sorry to say things will only get worse from here. The cat's out of the bag now. Our family secret is out, and everypony knows who we are, and what we do. The insults and antagonism is only just beginning. We'll all be getting some serious flak before this blows over. If it ever does..."
"So what should we do?" Dusty asked.
"What we always do… we rise above it." Grimoire declared. "Even if they were right about our professions, we didn't need to worry about their half-witted insults. We knew we were good ponies, and not the monsters or criminal scum they called us. You need to do the same, my darling girl. Ignore the taunts and insults. If those ponies can't see past your heritage to who you really are, that's their problem, not yours."
"…You know what, dad, you're right." Dusty realized. "Why should I care what those jerks think? I know what kind of pony I am. My husband knows. My kids know. So I shouldn't let a few mean-spirited insults affect me."
"Exactly." Grimoire patted her on the shoulder.
"Thanks, dad." Dusty smiled.
"You may not be my little girl any more, but that doesn't mean I can't guide you from time to time." Grimoire beamed.
"I'll always be your little girl." Dusty hugged him. "And you'll always be the best dad in the world."
"So true." Grimoire chuckled as he hugged her.
'Dusty took my advice to heart; She ignored the insults and taunts from others, and got on with her life. And what a life it was. She became a strong, respectable Princess, her determination and compassion overcoming the prejudice and hatred of those who judged her by her heritage. Over time, the haters diminished, as she ignored their insults, and kept showing the world the real her. Ponies looked up to her, loved her, and bowed to her (though she could have lived without that last one). She and Blueblood raised Pureblood and Vito to be fine young stallions, who lived up to both their heritages, exemplifying the nobility of the royal family, and the honor of the Napoleons.
Looking back on all Dusty's accomplishments, from independent mare, to wife and mother, I couldn't be prouder to call her my daughter, and I know the feeling is mutual. I'm actually starting to get a little choked up, so I think I'll end this chapter here. Stay tuned for the next tale in our family saga.'