> Dust
>  by SpiralWriter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> It's the Small Things
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


D U S T




small
smôl
adjective
1. of a size that is less than normal or usual.







Pony genetics was pretty straightforward. Two unicorns get together, they get a tiny little unicorn baby to care for and nurture, the same for both pegasus and earth. But what if two ponies of different races bred? It's a fundamental law that all ponies have some degree of magic within them, with unicorns being the most blessed in the arcane, pegasi in second, and earth ponies last. When different races intermingle, the child takes on the traits of the parent with the most magic. This is incredibly common, but it is not unheard of about an offspring not inheriting the related talents of their family members.

Small Smiles is a unicorn with the talent of reduction spells, nothing too extreme, but she makes a pretty fine business of using her magic to reduce large-scale objects to much more manageable heights. Moving luggage or furniture has never been easier, and she makes a pretty bit off of it as well. Ponies pay for not having to do as much work as they need to.

Wing Runner is a first-class flyer; Not Wonderbolts material, but he still is fairly well and confident in what he does as a pegasus, his talent literally being an excellent flyer. 

Somehow, these two meet. Smiles is petite with a a slender form, light blue in fur color, her mane cut short to keep the tangles from wrapping around her horn. Wing is tall and sinewy, his body sleek and with fur that of grey quicksilver, with broad, powerful wings to lift him from his hooves to the skies above.

They date for a while. They find out that they're in love. They get married, move into a home together, and make love until early dawn. The first couple of months are showing promise of their first child, a strong, healthy pegasus girl, a bit on the stouty side, but they loved her anyway.

They try again, gotta love them kids. Their second born is a rather...odd case. We'll get back to him soon.

Years pass, another child happens. Their third and youngest, a small unicorn girl. Now, back to the middle child. In the oldest and youngest, the mother's race was dominant, producing unicorn offspring but with various talents based around distant genes of other family members. The middle child was a unique case, his father's race but based heavily off of his mother's magic and genes. Small Smiles passed on a...different gift onto her son. In relation to her shrinking magic, he too was affected by them.

Except he can't use magic because he wasn't a unicorn, instead a pegasus, so it transcribed a different way. He was made small. Impossibly so. Thanks pony genetics.
> Down On His Luck
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


D U S T




in·fin·i·tes·i·mal
ˌinfiniˈtes(ə)məl
adjective
1. extremely small.
noun
1. an indefinitely small quantity; a value approaching zero.







A sound like thunder echoed throughout the void of empty air, scattering the cloud layer and replacing the sky itself with a color of magenta. So vast and almost endless, going beyond what the eye could even comprehend. But he could somewhat comprehend it, because he had seen sights like this his entire life and was entirely used to it.

“DUUUUUUST MITE! WA-A-A-AAAAKE UPPPP!!”

He nearly jumped out of his fur from the booming words that echoed all the way down to him, nearly deafening him by the second shout. He groaned tiredly, slowly sitting up and rubbing his temples to try and soothe the oncoming headache that was associated with being stimulated by noises that were far too loud to stand. “You don't have to shout!” He himself shouted up, but he had a good reason to. The being above could not even hear him unless his voice became strained to as loud as he could possibly muster. Meanwhile, her own voice could be kept to a whisper to make it more comfortable, if still not loud, to the being known as Dust Mite. But she yelled just to see how much he could stand of her and annoy him, and half wondering if her raised voice could make him 'pop', a rather joyous little thought despite how malicious the after effects were.

The sky of magenta shifted, many miles of the color passing by in a consistency that was comparable to fur before the sky was suddenly white, then colored again but this time a deeper purple, and then it was nothing but black. A loud rumbling filled the air, shaking him to his core and rattling his bones, but he was partly unfazed by this. As before, he was used to stuff like this. A wall, this time magenta again, many miles thick overcame the black and the dark purple and the white, closing over the surface area fully before rising over it again to reveal it all once more.

Blinking. Such a massive event was simply an eyelid covering a pupil to remoisturize it and to keep dust and dirt out. Dust Mite gazed skyward, staring into the enormous pupil of his little sister, how laughable it was given how so much more massive she was in comparison to his tiny form, his height in relation to his own namesake. He stood up to his hooves and stretched, his lithe form toned and a silvery grey, his wings fluttering out to get their own morning stretch. If he were of, say, a more normal height, his wingspan would be quite impressive to any pony and certainly enough to make any other pegasi envious, but he could not impress anyone with it given he wasn't even comparable to a fraction of a sliver of down off of a loosened feather. The harsh reality of being small was a bitter one to face.

Another staccato of thunder roars, when in reality it was simple giggling. “Had to get you up somehow sleepy-head!” Lilycup giggled. She was small in stature even for her young age, but always enjoyed feeling so huge when around her brother. Her form was slender, a unicorn with magenta fur and a cotton candy blue mane in a messy scraggle that was rarely kept and dared any brush or comb to try and tame it. “Besides, you've overslept anyway.”

“Nowhere to go and nothing to do . . .” Dust grumbled to himself. “Sleep is better than sitting around all day.”

“Don't be like that Dusty.” Lilycup frowned, the sky-eye peering down at him narrowing and the higher portions of the atmosphere that were her eyebrows furrowed. “You have to seize the day!”

“Not much I can 'seize'.” He repeated, crossing his arms. “If you haven't noticed in the years you've lived with me, I can't exactly do what . . . normal ponies do.”

“You're just being a negative-nancy.” She stuck out her tongue. Even though he couldn't see it, he could definitely hear the great parting of her lips and the slick, wet noise of her tongue hitting empty, dryer air. Being so small gave a very different hearing on the most minuscule of sounds, magnifying them to unwanted volumes.

“And you're being an airhead. Again.” Dust retorted, sticking out his own tongue even though Lily in return could not see it unless she had an incredibly strong microscope on her.

“Hey, what did mom say about calling names?” The younger one pouted. “Do you want to end up back in my hoof-slipper again?” She half-threatened, raising and stomping her hoof, the sound distant and echoing.

“. . . No . . .”

“Then you should have in the years we've lived together learned to be a lot nicer to your BIGGER little sister.” She leaned in closer, the black hole of a pupil closing the great gap until Dust was sure he could just flap his wings up and be within touching distance of the thing. All she had to do was blink and a great, mighty wind was swept up, knocking Dust away with the powerful force the young girl could conjure with the lightest muscle twitch.

He was sent flying backwards many, many yards to him, though to Lilycup the mite she called brother hadn't even moved at all. With a grunt and a twist of his wings Dust righted himself mid-air, flapping to steady his body and flow with the wind until it died down, hovering there as he growled up at her. “Hey, be careful! You know how dangerous that is to me!”

“Everything's dangerous to you.” She rolled her eyes, the generated sound akin to a thousand rumbling rollercoasters taking off on their tracks, slow and audibly low, but picking up to manifest all at once into a cacophony of noise. “Now c'mon, mom has breakfast ready.” A shadow began to loom over him, darkening the area for miles and miles as two enormous fingertips began to close in on him.

“Mind if I hike it own my own today?” Dust asked, causing the fingertips to halt, their looming presence still making him nervous with how close their gigantic stature was to him, always giving the sense of imminent and possible crushing. “Need to give my wings a stretch, I haven't flown in a while.”

A short pause followed as Lilycup hummed in consideration, a low thrum that resonated deep within his bones and lightly shook the ground beneath him. “You know how mom and dad don't like you going unsupervised . . .” She reminded.

“Please?”

“I dunno . . .”

“Please?” He repeated, tone bordering on begging. This caused Lily to crack a smirk, the familiar sound of lips parting and fur moving into that certain shape of sound off so far away. That always meant two things: Trouble and embarrassment. 

“Hmm . . I suppose so . . . if you'd do a little favor for me.”

The tiny mite known as Mite sighed exasperatedly. “Fine. What is it that you want me to do? This time?” He added. This was quite a common thing. “Want me to make Diamond Tiara think she has fur infestation again? Fly around in your ear and at least try to clean out the ear wax? Ugh . . . " He blushed. "Clean your hoof? Or at least fractions of it at least?"

"Hehe . . . I'll let you know in time Dusty." She leaned back, stepping away from her tiny brother, giving him a wave and a wink before trotting off, every step thunderous and earth-shaking. Dust Mite was taken aback. Normally her demands in trade for his freedom was usually 'here and now' sort of stuff. Well, at least he could shrug it off, but the sense of dread for what laid in the future made him shudder a bit.

Giving himself a little stretch once more, he spread his wings and flexed them. With a slow intake of breath he took a running start before pushing off of the ground, soaring up into the open air. He looked behind him, his tiny little 'room', really just a piece of lint for a bed resting on a shelf in the corner of a closet, looking far away as he zoomed away from it. He was small, everything else was big, but this speed he had while flying, this insane sense of mobility is what he lived for despite his talent was basically being just small. In a world more colossal than he could imagine, everything controlling and watchful, flying was when he could be himself, be free.

In a couple minutes he left the closet, flying through the open crack in the door and out into the vast, vast hallway. Everything was always blurry and far away, so he didn't bother looking at the family photos that he was in but couldn't be seen, didn't look at the accomplishments his siblings had done at normal sizes. He didn't want to think about it on his way to the kitchen.

As he entered the air space of the kitchen, he was assaulted with a blast of sensations. Heat from the oven, the smell of oats and pancakes, the sounds of booming laughter and scraping chairs against a linoleum floor far away. Well, time for breakfast. And to hear his mother ramble on again about him flying alone. He would most likely be scolded instead of his sister. The usual bit about how his safety was of the utmost concern and how he couldn't do what 'other' ponies could do without consequence. He was eighteen. He already knew this rhyme back and forth.

With another mighty flap he shot towards the table, the visages of his mother and sister off in the distance, a bevy of breakfast items waiting, more food than he could ever eat in his entire lifetime just sitting there. However, something felt a bit off. He found his flapping wasn't nearly as effective this time flying. He wasn't covering nearly as much distance as he usually did. Dust was beginning to feel...tired. 

It just so happened today that a thought crossed Small Smiles' mind as she cooked. Why not open a window this morning? It lets in fresh air, sunshine, and gets rid of the heat of the oven. This fresh air created a strong wind draft that was currently holding Dust Mite back, and with the lightest of breezes, sucked him outside flailing and screaming, not even heard or seen.

"Where's Dust Mite?" Small asked, sitting down and glancing over at her thirteen year old daughter, Lilycup flashing a fake smile.

"I uhh...let him fly to the kitchen today."

Small sighed. "You know that's dangerous for him Honey. Go fetch him and bring him here for breakfast. Poor little guy, probably isn't even out of the closet yet." She sighed, taking a sip of her coffee as her shrunken son desperately tried to right him amidst the confusion of getting sucked outside by a wind current, somewhere he had never actually been before.

It was going to be a long day.	



	
	
> The Land, It Be Trotting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


D U S T




mi·cro·scop·ic
mīkrəˈskäpik
adjective
1.so small as to be visible only with a microscope.







Not good. Nope. This was not good. Dust Mite let out a loud yelp, with all of his might coming to a halt in mid-air to try and fight back at the current that was tossing him about as if he were nothing. Which he was in most cases, but this wasn't the time to think about that. As he hovered there, almost painfully forcing himself to stay in place as not to become just another mote at the mercy of the wind, he breathed a sigh of relief as the current slowly died down, his wings now flapping at a considerably less strenuous pace than before.

He groaned, still hovering in place, but just barely. That had left his entire upper torso and back sore, cringing with every flap. Dust wasn't used to such actions, more working along the lines of floating alone a more gentle breeze rather than get caught in one and try to fight it. This was bad.

Outside, a place he had never been, tired, confused, and with no idea how to get back home. He could make out the window in the distance, but it was closed now. Just great.

As Dust tried to conjure an idea on just how to get back inside, he heard and felt a rumble right behind him, almost entirely unaware of it given how lost in thought he was. Maybe try heading for the window again. Surely he could find a crack to slip through or under. Or, if he was willing to rest and regain his strength, make a path to the front or back door and slip under the bottom. Then he would at least be in familiar territory. But by that point, he would be too tired to make the trek through the house . . .

Just as the thought crossed his mind to hitch a ride in the mailbox and wait for somebody to pick up the mail, one extra small package along for delivery, the rumbling grew louder, more powerful, until he could feel it rattle deep in his bones.

And then, something heavy smacked into him from behind. Really not prepared for that. At all.





A stallion grumbled to himself, scratching his back as he used his other hand to block out the sun from his eyes that streamed so brightly overhead. He hated waking up early, especially after a long night's work, but he had to get his paper. It always ended up missing somehow if he got up later in the day to retrieve. He always blamed that grey mare with the bubble flank.

He was of a older in his twenties sort of age, muscular body just making that process from tight and young to leaning towards the older side, with fur of brown and splotches of white here and there.

Land Trotter sighed as he walked across his front lawn, treading sleepily with bleary eyes, half naked in just his boxers. It was early in the morning, so nobody would see, and he really didn't care either way. Besides, he rarely saw his neighbors anyway. A family supposedly lived next door, but all he ever saw was a young filly and a budding stallion leave every once in a while. Supposedly there was a mother, a father, and another middle child, but they were never seen as well. Incredibly odd, but not worth investigating. Land liked to keep to himself just fine.

He reached his mailbox, opening it tiredly and pulling out the paper, glad to see that it was actually there this time, turned around, and headed back to his house. 





Everything went topsy-turvy once the massive object struck him behind. It was as if he had been hit by a moving continent with the rolling thunder it created, the momentum sending him flying forward only to fall back down onto something incredibly solid. Dust laid there for a moment, briefly noting the echoing quakes of hoofsteps in the distance, then shuddered and cringed, feeling a fresh jolt of pain surge through his back. Groaning, he sat up, cautiously looking over his shoulder and wincing.

His right wing was bent at an awkward angle, the bone poking just underneath the skin, making him hiss at the sight of it. Must've broken it the moment he collided with whatever smacked into him. Taking deep, heavy breaths, Dust somehow forced the broken wing to bend back in and fold against his body to keep it from moving too much, lest he risk injuring it even further. 

Standing back up despite the growing soreness in his body, he had to look around and take stock as to where he actually was. Obviously some pony had come up from behind and he had landed on their body, but who and where exactly? If he was quick, he could possibly manage to survive, and maybe even end up back home. It wasn't likely however, as situations like this tended to go terribly wrong for him . . . always.

The ground beneath his hooves was fleshy and brown, appearing soft yet somewhat firm was well, the texture riddled with criss-crossing etch lines and pores of various sizes. Some he could slip his hand into, others stretched into massive canyons and valleys in proportion, which he could easily fall into and get lost. Past the horizon of brown, fur shot up of a darker brown, stretching to the sky, and if he looked up, looming past the obscuring strands of fur, he could make out a thick, chiseled underchin of the unaware pony above. Apparently male.

Piecing the process together, Dust blushed as he realized where he actually was.





"Hmm?"

Land Trotter paused, about to walk up the first step up the porch before he began to feel a strange sensation. He peered down towards his torso, a small, almost pleasurable sensation emitting from his torso. Now what was this then? He was about to head inside, enjoy a cup of coffee with his paper and this oddness happened. He lifted up a finger, grazing his slowly erecting nipple.





"I can't believe I'm doing this . . ."Dust sighed to himself as he went on doing it. He was on his hands and knees, slowly rolling over and kneading the flesh beneath him in a deep massaging manner, working and pressing as hard as he could. His efforts would not go unrewarded however, as a slow rumble began to build up beneath him, akin to an earthquake about to happen. It quickly escalated as he held on and continued to rub, the very landscape itself seemingly growing, doubling, tripling, quadrupling in size to the point of many, many miles adding onto its position.

Eventually the quaking subsided, leaving Dust Mite atop an entirely changed plain, the ground beneath him now even firmer yet still somewhat pliable if he added a bit of pressure. His work was not yet done, as a messenger from above alerted him that the god he stood upon had noticed him. A shadow came over him as well as the entire land on which he stood. Gazing upwards, the blurry sky became brown as a fingertip slammed down on top of him, momentarily mushing him deeply into the nipplescape, embracing him in its warmth before lifting up, Dust now stuck to the tip of the appendage.

Wind whipped by him as well as hundreds of miles of the rising body in which he passed, leaving behind the nipple and viewing the rest of this titan's torso, then neck, muzzle, and finally eye. He just hoped . . .

No.

And then the wind that commanded him, his pitiful size forever at its mercy, lifted him up with just a mild just, ripping him from the finger that could have been his salvation. Uttering a cry, he was sent along another draft that would go unnoticed by those larger, sending him off into the wild unknown, except this time he had no way in which to fight back or control where he went with only one working wing.

As he zoomed away, flailing about helplessly, Land Trotter looked down at his finger in confusion. "Huh . . ." He could have sworn he heard the tiniest yelling ever as well as something almost pathetically minuscule atop of his finger. Oh well. With a shrug he went back inside, still rubbing his erogenous nipple slightly, having enjoyed that feeling from earlier.

Dust tried to remain calm, but as everything whipped around at a speed in which he could not comprehend, one would find it hard to steady the beating of their pounding heart and hyperventilating lungs. This was it. He would never be able to return home now. He would be forever lost out here, to die out here, afraid and forever small and . . .

As these gloomy thoughts raced through his mind, he slammed into another colossal wall of a size that which stretched far beyond the sight he held. A wall of blue.
> The Great & Colossal Trixie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


D U S T




speck
spek
noun
1. A tiny spot. Barely visible.







Dust Mite scrambled against the wall of blue, hands and hoof searching for something to latch onto, his one good wing beating furiously to keep him from falling while the broken one flapped uselessly, sending a mild shudder of pain through his body every couple of seconds. Eventually he managed to find some kind of small crevice in the surface to grip his fingers into, pressing his body as tightly as possible to it, cringing at the strain put on his body, feeling tiredness slowly creep through him and drain away at his already battered stamina, from the bottom of his hooves to the tips of his fur. "Eugh . . . I just can't catch a break . . ." He lamented aloud to himself, breathing raspy and quick, trying to settle down to a more normal rate in an attempt to calm his body.

'Try to breathe along with your heartbeat, with the wisp of the wind. It sounds all like zebra-shaman-guru stuff, but it's true, it works.' The advice from his father, one of the many tips that had been given to him during his younger days when trying to learn how to fly, spread through his mind, letting it echo along with his respiration, the wave of fatigue being combatted against by the relaxing sensation, not fully making him feel better, but at least kept him at a deadlocked state where he wasn't feeling as bad as before.

Now not feeling as if he was about to pass out (more along the lines of being close to it), Dust opened his eyes in an attempt to examine his new surroundings. He seemed to be . . . moving. And was /very/ high up. Given the scale of everything to him that was menial, but he felt as if he was atop the summit of something, of some great monument. The wall felt odd, a mix of flesh, fur, and something more hardened, akin to . . . stone, but more alive. His mind went to a memory of sitting atop of a pebble like its own landmass, but that wasn't it. Going through the experiences in his head, the puny pegasus finally found something that reminded him of this almost exact experience.

His eyes lit up with realization upon finding the fact that he was clinging to a . . .





What was on her horn? Trixie looked up, raising her brow and tilting her head in an attempt to get a better view of the protrusion from her forehead. Unicorn horns were naturally sensitive conduits, the nerves in the area nearly doubled to allow for better passage of magical energies, but she wasn't feeling something magical. She pursed her lips curiously, 'Hmming' as she tried to describe the sensation. It was tiny, but like . . . scrambling. As if the most minute of insects had slapped against her while she was walking and had gotten stuck in the one of the horn's crevice rings. Uuugh. She wasn't one for insects, but given how small the poor thing was, she might show mercy to it.

With but a mental flick, her horn lit up, the telekinetic blue magic searching for and eventually wrapping around something pitifully small . . .





The vast surface on which he clung seemed to hum to life, thrumming with sheer power. Visible bright blue light shone underneath him, the most miniature of details upon the skin coming to life with magical energy. He was reminded of his mother gently lifting him up with her own telekinesis, but this one felt fumbling, probably since it was unaccustomed to grasping at such a tiny thing. Dust could feel the invisible force stir, missing him a couple times before finally meeting him, a sparkling pink aura wrapping around his body and effortlessly pulling him away into empty air.

Momentarily panicking, seeing as how he was being touched by unfamiliar magic and feared it would crush him unknowingly, he flailed against it, weakly beating against a force that eventually drained him, deciding to give in and let it take him wherever it was taking him. Around him, the usual enormity of scale and blurs passed until finally settling him before a great black pupil, spreading onwards and outwards for many miles, far away the outer edges melded into a sort of pinkish-magenta tint that surrounded the rim, most likely the iris, but that was too much distance to see it properly. A loud rumble filled the air before a sonic-boom like force ruptured in front of him, nearly knocking him away but he held fast due to the magic holding him in place. A mere blink, an eyelash protruding passed by as some great black monolith, nearly slamming into him twice, once on the way down then on the way back up.

The sky-eye squinted, the pupil shifting slightly to try and focus in on him. It took several seconds before it even saw anything. "What . . . are you? No insect, that's for sure. Too small . . . who are you to touch the horn of the great and powerful Trixie? Speak, mite!"

"That's uhh, that's actually right." He chuckled nervously in reply, shouting to the point of strain. "Dust Mite's the name."

". . ."

"It's not a joke actually."

"Wow, you are actually serious. How could you even be this small?" Trixie asked, racking her brain for an answer before even asking him. "A shrinking spell? It's possible, but it must've been casted by a very powerful unicorn . . . usually the smallest it can go is a couple inches. Or are you some kind of freak of nature breezie? No, no no, that can't be it-"

"Actually, um,"

"Don't interrupt me." Her much, much, much louder voice broke through his squeaky words, shattering the air with every syllable. After coming up and going through various theories on her own, eventually the eye went from wandering to looking right back at him again. "Well, go on then. Tell Trixie why you are so small." She almost sounded like she was commanding it.

"Well, my mom was a unicorn, and my dad was a pegasus,"

"Trixie did not ask for your life story."

". . . I'm getting there. And my mom specialized in shrinking magic. Well, apparently I inherited that, but was born a pegasus like my dad. So, it had to manifest itself some way. Poof, tiny me. My talent is literally being small."

"How . . . cute. How . . . pathetic really. How pathetically cute." Trixie snickered, bobbing him up and down in the air with her magic. She had been out shopping for groceries, on her way to the market, but had found a much better distraction. She knew one certain purple mare had reformed her, but the chance of being so superior over something again had shown itself, and she wasn't going to let it go so easily. Not since those two (Snaps and Snills was it?) groveled at her hooves or when she had all of Ponyville under her control did she feel like this. She would have just a little fun, and that would be it. The sense of power of holding his tiny self before her really just made her feel like a . . . a goddess. No, bigger than that.

"Umm . . . yeahhhh . . . " Dust grunted, trying to keep from getting dizzy as she playfully jerked him up and down. "If-if y-you could be so kind . . . I need to get home. I can give directions, I-I think."

"Hmm, not so fast little one. The GREAT and COLOSSAL Trixie wishes to . . . have some fun."

"What."
> Powertrip
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


D U S T




tiny
ˈtīnē
adjective
1. Very small.







What had he even gotten himself into? If he had just swallowed some of his ego and accepted the fact he had to be carried by his sister, then he wouldn't be lost outside with very little chance of ever getting back home. A new sense of panic washed over Dust, already draining his weakened body, but at least being held aloft by telekinetic magic was giving him time to rest after the trials he had gone through. His family probably hasn't even noticed that he was gone yet, mistaking a minuscule piece of lint of him and finding it as no different company. This sense of anxiety bothered him to no end, but what else could he do but think about such things? Forever lost out here with no hope of ever returning . . .

. . . No. It was simply the negativity talking. This situation could be turned around and resolved, he just had to give it time. Ponies were reasonable creatures. Things could be discussed, thought out, planned, and executed. All he had to do was talk to Trixie and convince her to take him back home, despite the bleak circumstances and her general reaction to him asking the first time. Dust sighed, just wanting to be normal for a chance and rely on himself, but look where that ended him up at. With a broken wing and no mobility, at the mercy and risk of a massive blue unicorn with a goddess complex.

Thunderous thooming hoofsteps equatable to a far away storm sounded in his ears as Trixie walked, but they were relatively muffled by the aura of magic protecting him, a welcome safeguard from the overwhelming disarray of events prior. In this shimmering mist of sparkling pink, everything outside of it was simply cast in a way that either it was deadened or not even heard or felt at all. Normally he would be feeling rushing winds and a onslaught of noise, but instead hardly anything at all. It was strangely comforting in a sense, and reminded the tiny pony of whenever his mother carried him in her own telekinesis. Hers was much more familiar and gentle, but this was at least slightly reminiscent enough to evoke such feelings.

Occasionally Dust would note that the unicorn's eyes would stray to him briefly, instead of a swaying sky of blue they become the black of pupil or the colorful outline of the iris, as if analyzing and assessing him. Her sight would only latch onto him for a few seconds, but those spare moments did make him feel odd. Every time he called out to her in an attempt to initiate a conversation that could surely save him any more trouble, either she was purposefully ignoring him or he was being held at a distance that his pitifully minute voice just feel short of her hearing range. Both of those possibilities agitated the puny pegasus to no end, but what could he do other than wait?

"E-excuse me? Excuse me!" 

". . ."

"Hello? Err, Trixie?"

"Come on! You could hear me earlier!"

Dust Mite grunted in annoyance, beginning to wave and bob about in the hovering space in attempts to get her to notice him with movement. No such luck on that front either, Dust having to defeatedly resign to being ignored with a huff and crossed arms.He really, really hoped he could get a chance to speak with her before anything . . . unsavory or unfortunate would happen. Her ominous words from earlier still rang in his ears. Quite literally in fact. Sometimes the echo gets stuck in his head and it's pretty much all he can hear sometimes for a few minutes. Really hoping he wouldn't have to invest in a tiny hearing aid before he gets old, going deaf early would probably suck, especially given sign language or reading lips would be useless given he couldn't see it half the time with the size-scale disparity.

Within moments, boredom. Not much to do other than wait and see wherever she was going and taking him along. Dust briefly tried to remember if he knew anything about Trixie . . . she could just be another random pony, but he found something distinct about her. After tapping his brain for a bit, it hit him with a small "A-ha!" stated aloud for making himself feel clever. His family had spoken of her during dinner a few times. Apparently a magician who arrived in town and showed up the bearers of harmony, until apparently she was chased out of town by a Ursa Minor? Lilycup could have just been making up lies to make the story seem more exciting. Then the time she apparently took over Ponyville, but that couldn't have happened, more lies probably from Lily and Cloudy just to jib him. Now his parents did seem tired and distraught that day when they returned, but it must've just been from a long work session.

In all honesty, Dust had no idea what he was getting into. Summed up his life pretty well, as poorly as the outcomes usually were.





Just a few minutes. That's it. That was what she was telling herself. Let her have her few moments of godhood once more, gloat and lord it over the tiny little thing, and then help him. She was reformed. She was a better pony, but slipping into old habits couldn't be that damaging, right? This is what she asked herself as she made her way back to her traveling all-in-one home/wagon/stage, using it as a temporary setup in Ponyville until she can get off her hooves and back into show business. Trixie did truly pity him, and was intrigued slightly as well, but the urge to feel a power rush was all too overwhelming. Just holding him in front of her with her magical grip was enough, he was nothing. Only the smallest fractions of concentration was required to hold him, and whenever she looked at him it was so easy to see nothing at all or just a passing fleck of something impossibly miniature just caught in the air of her bubble of magic.

In a few minutes she reached her little slice of home. Small, yet cozy. Entering the wheeled room, she set her groceries aside and sat down at her dresser, eyes narrowing to focus on Dust floating in front of her, still held deftly by her magical grip. "Hmm . . ." She pursed her lips, and then bit the lower one. Just looking at him gave her such a powerful . . . emotion. It was hard to aptly describe. She had quite the ego when she was boasting about her feats during her first visit, but the shame drove her to almost becoming a deity. Yes, she had been humbled, and yes she had actually been forgiven and even made friends, but her current situation stirred the same feeling of when she held the alicorn amulet in her grasp. A shiver coursed through her body, and Trixie closed her eyes for a brief moment to allow herself to revel in such thoughts.

The Ever-Greater and All-Powerful Trixie. Trixie the Goddess. Trixie the All-Encompassing. The entirety of Equestria . . . nay, the world, beneath her, at her hooves and at the mercy of every whim she fancied with her monolithic stature. Towering over it all, feeling as massive to every living creature as she does in comparison to teeny tiny trite of a pony right here before her. Millions upon millions worshipping her visage, her very word that of-

"Um . . . excuse me?"

She blinked. Trixie snapped from her vision and squinted, furrowing her features to grumpily scowl at the tiny being. "What? Couldn't you see Trixie was busy daydreaming?!" The magic-maker scolded, a burning degree of harshness set in her tone.

"O-oh. Sorry." Dust could feel his very essence shiver under her words, and if it was possible for him to shrink even smaller, it felt like he would at any moment right now. "I was just-"

"Silence. The Great and Powerful Trixie is speaking."

". . . Okay . . ." His voice was so low it became indiscernible. 

"You have bothered Trixie with your presence, and your general rudeness in touching Trixie's horn and interrupting her will not go unpunished!" The aura of magic lowered until it touched down on the dresser's wooden surface, dissipating with a flourish of trailing swirls that disappeared into the air. Dust yelled slightly, free-falling for a few moments before smacking down onto the surface with a hard smack. Wincing from the jolt to his system, he stood up slowly, making sure everything was there and that he wouldn't lose consciousness upon standing.

"Ugh . . . do you always have to refer to yourself in third person . . .?"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

" . . . Hmmph." She loomed above as some great blue replacement for the sky, idly drumming her fingers a great distance away, every time the moveable masses thudded against the new landscape on which he stood a series of rhythmic quakes shook the world in a rapidly repeating staccato. "Now . . . what to do with you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Trixie will not repeat herself."

"I just . . . you're being awfully . . ."

"Silence." Her booming voice repeated in an eruption overhead and interrupted Dust once more. He was most likely not going to get anywhere the way he was going about things now. Maybe . . . he should simply play along for now. Get on her good side. So far she's only been mighty peeved at him.

"Y-yes, oh Great and . . . Powerful Trixie." Dust managed to stammer out, partially because he was actually nervous and afraid.

There was a recognizable shift in the enormously encompassing unicorn's body language as she leaned back, revealing more of herself as she peered down with now a slight glint in her eye. "Hmm . . . yes. You are much better to grovel. Trixie likes."

"H-have you decided what to do with me yet? I may be small, but I do have my uses!"

"Yes . . . Trixie has decided." She rumbled, leaning back even further in her seat, Dust feeling the quaking beneath him intensify as something incomprehensible slammed down in front of him with enough shockwave to blow him right off his hooves and fly back a good couple of yards, sending a fresh sear of pain to jolt through his back, mostly originating from his busted wing. Dust held back tears and a yelp, gritting his teeth and beating his fist against the ground until the pain passed. With heaving breath the pegasi sat back up, fighting through the aching that was quickly setting in and gawked upwards towards a sheer mountainside of blue hoof, escalating so high up it blurred and vanished beyond a certain point. Just the same could be said horizontally in conjunction vertically, the only way he actually knew it was a hoof was the rounded edges just past the point where his line of sight began to vanish and the unique scent it gave off.

Trixie chuckled, legs raised and kicked up onto the dresser, leaning back with her hands tucked behind her head with all the confidence in the world. "Worship Trixie's hoof." She commanded, giving the one before Dust a wiggle. "And once you're done with that one, the other." Her left hoof, adjacent by innumerable miles in distance, lifted up and dropped down with a tectonic impact to signify her words.

"W-well . . . alright . . ." Dust sighed, making a light jog to cover the distance towards the blue immensity, eventually reaching the underhoof.

"Alright, what?"

"Alright . . . Great and Powerful-"

"Great and Colossal."

". . . Great and Colossal Trixie." With a grumble he went to work, placing his hands against the wall and began to rub. Dust was particularly surprised by how soft it was. Normally a hoof did have its mixture of hard and soft spots, but this seemed amazingly marshmallow-y. Perhaps she had regular hooficures done? Or perhaps applied lotion daily? It was odd to have his mind wander to such thoughts, but he shrugged, dismissing it. Best to keep up the act. Already it seemed to be working, at least he hoped.

"Harder. Trixie can hardly feel anything."

Rolling his eyes and exhaling in a brief sigh Dust went from pressing inwards with his palms flat against the hoof to kneading in a circular motion, shoving in as hard as he could, managing to sink into the softness to wrist level. "How about that? Any better?" Dust called.

"Slightly. Trixie is beginning to actually feel something." She paused, adjusting herself in her seat. "Ticklish? Maybe. It is pleasant, so do not stop. Move on from your spot after you are done. You have all of Trixie's wonderful hoof left to worship~"

"Ugh." His sound of disgust was luckily kept to a level where she could not hear, a perk of being tiny. Badmouth all you want reasonably, and nopony would ever hear it unless you were screaming at the top of your lungs, or in an optimal location like near their ear. Dust actually had quite the sailor's mouth when he wanted.

Slowly did he make his way from his origin point, moving across the surface in a working pattern of pause, massage, break, continue on, and repeat. Occasionally Trixie would toss out semi-words of encouragement, but as time passed her annoyance returned. "Stop rubbing simply the outer edges of Trixie's hoof! Trixie does not wear horseshoes, so it is not so callous there. Move into the inner hoof, where it is so nice and silken."

"Umm . . . about that . . . I could, but . . ."

"But what?" Another rumble as the blue wall before him moved and disappeared with speed that should not match such great size, replaced by the glaring gaze of his pseudo-goddess.  "You dare defy Trixie?"

"It's not that! Not that at all! I'd absolutely would love to rub and love every last micro-inch if your sole, but, but . . . I can't reach all of it. Not in the position you had it in anyway." Dust continued to stammer, hands held up and prying for time.

"And just why is that?" Her tone was not getting any calmer.

"I . . . sort of have a broken wing. I don't know if you can tell all the way up there, but I'm a pegasus. Well, you probably got that when I flew into your horn, or otherwise I'd be on the ground, and . . . well that's not necessarily true. I'm small enough for the wind currents to pick me up whether or not I could fly them, I just so happen to-"

During his small gush of babbling, Trixie blinked once more and looked down at him. "Your . . . wing is broken?"

"Yeah."

". . ."

"Oh no it's not your fault! I sort of got it when I got lost outside."

"And you . . . were not just about Ponyville on your own. You were lost."

"Well, yeah. It's not safe for me. I've never actually left my home."

". . ."

"You uh, you okay up there?"

"Trixie is such an idiot."
> Sweet Treats and Sweet Cheeks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


D U S T




mite
mīt
noun
1. A very small amount.
2. A small child or animal, especially when regarded as an object of sympathy.
"the poor little mite looks half-starved"







"Once again, Trixie apologizes. Truly." She at least sounded . . . sincere enough in her words. Within their amplified magnitude of volume, Dust could easily catch the guilt laden in them. It was the subtle things one so small was able to hear easily, something a pony could miss at a larger scale.

"It's . . . it's okay. Really. I'm used to it." Dust replied to the stage magician, hoping his own words were coming off in their sincerity as well with how he forgave her. With such a vast size discrepancy between the two of them his own words usually lost meaning with their minuteness.

"Used to it?" Trixie raised her blue fingertip that held the mite-sized pegasus to her eye, blinking slowly as to not risk the chance of accidentally blowing him away or anything. Her voice turned to a tone of concern. "Really? You've had a horrible life then, if Trixie may speak bluntly."

"Eh. Ups and downs. I take the hits and keep going." He shrugged slightly.

"Mostly downs for you it seems."

". . . Is that a short joke?" Dust asked upwards with a generally jovial tone, the sudden shift in mood welcomed to ease the awkward tension that had built up. Trixie took a pause to try and comprehend his whisper of a voice, chuckling slightly upon realization, like a deep, distance earth-rendering boom of sound to Dust.

"Possibly." She grinned, not bothering to hide the tease in her voice. 

"I'm a little past 'short' in terms of height. Heh. 'Little'."

"Making jokes at your own expense even in such a disparaged situation. Trixie can respect that." A slow nod, like rumble of the distant wall of blue tectonic plate shifting.

"I was thinking of maybe doing my own standup routine one day. The main gag would be nopony seeing anything up on stage. Though, they might think the jokes were pre-recorded."

"Work on that. As a showpony myself, Trixie has learned through rigourous experience that sticking to a single gimmick won't get you very far. In your career, and in life. Advice trademarked by Trixie Lulamoon. Pick up my autobiography 'Showboating & Showstopping' at your local bookstore to find more."

"I've heard about you. Don't you just do little rope tricks and turn things green?"

"Fireworks. Trixie also has fireworks." She huffed almost indignantly.

"Uh-huh."

"Trixie's hoof still has a welcome little spot to keep you under." 

"Uh-huh." It was Dust's turn to snicker. Even with such a threat directed at him, he could tell she meant no harm in it. "Well, let me know if you'd like me under it again. I'm sure it'd be comfortable."

"Trixie has no idea if you liked that or not." The blue unicorn sighed, traces of her own guilt still lingering in her voice. A moment of pause, the background tremors of her hoofsteps stopping momentarily. "Say," She began inquisitively. "What if Trixie bought you a treat? Just to make up for . . . what Trixie did."

"Oh! Oh no, no thank you. You don't have to at all! Im fine-"

"Trixie insists." Another huff, followed by more tremors as she shifted and changed the direction of her walkpath. Dust had given her directions as to where his home was, thinking actually having a normal-sized pony tote him around would be the quickest way back. After that brief expedition, he figured his gripes of wanting to go outside would finally be settled for a while. He would just have to endure the smothering of his worried mother, as well as the chewing out she was going to give him afterwards. A small price to pay for safety once again, he figured.

"Fine. fine. Just buy yourself one thing. I'd feel bad if you bought me something since it would go to waste. I can't really eat a whole . . . food . . . thing meant for ponies larger than myself. I'll just eat a crumb off of yours."

"Trixie understands. Would . . . you even be able to eat a whole crumb?"

"Naw. Probably just fractions off of it. Think of them as 'crumb-crumbs'."

"You are far too tiny."

"I  couldn't agree more."





A gentle scent of sweets wafted through the air, mixing perfectly with one another. A soft vanilla tinged with chocolate, the tartness of berries mixing with fluffy icing. The warmth of the oven filled the bakery with a welcoming atmosphere, cozy and gently embracing enough to lull one into observing the decadently decorated treats on display. If the temptation was strong enough, they could convince one to part with their bits in trade for the baked delicacies of Sugarcube Corner.

The door parted with the ringing of a bell, and the slightly portly pony bobbed behind the counter, perking up at the approaching customer. While most in Ponyville were not so eager to exchange words with their residential one-time overlord, Mrs. Cake was always one to forgive, and greeted Trixie with a smile despite past transgressions.. "Why hello there! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, what can I get for you today?"

"Hello. Just one moment to figure out what we want." Trixie greeted with a nod, perusing what was available behind the glass display case, scanning slowly with her stare.

"Sure thing! Take your time. Business is sort of slow today, you're only the third customer I've seen since this morning." Cake was attempting to make small talk, given how boring it's been, enough so she didn't even need her husband or Pinkie on duty with her, one tending to their foals while the other was out and about with her friends.

"Yes, yes." The magician muttered in reply, holding up her finger to her ear as she spoke. "Trixie only has a few spare bits on her, so pick wisely. Perhaps a tarte? No? No . . . Slice of cake? Trixie is watching her diet, that will not do."

"Umm . . . miss?" At first Mrs. Cake assumed Trixie was going about her usually odd pattern of speech, but seemed to be talking to someone that wasn't even there. "I can get you some free samples, if you're unsure . . ."

"No. No. That won't be necessary. A creme puff would be perfect. Small enough that Trixie won't have to worry about her figure, and enough that you can enjoy it too. One vanilla creme puff, please."

"S-sure . . . coming right up." Cake blinked curiously, wondering if she should call her husband downstairs for safety reasons. She figured Trixie was simply being her usual eccentric self, and it was hardly comparable to the ridiculous antics of what she normally put up with in Pinkie Pie's case, so she let it slide for now. In a few quick, expert motions of having done this thousands of times before, Mrs. Cake had the creme puff pulled from the pile on display, wrapped neatly and nicely, placed upon the counter in an orderly fashion. "That'll be one bit please!"

"One moment." Another nod from Trixie as she reached for her satchel, digging around in it with her free hand.



 	

He really couldn't blame her, nor would he. How was she to know? Handling him required the utmost care, and she had only just met him this morning. Such a simple motion of turning at the angle she was at to reach in and grab that bit was enough to cause her finger to change its position enough to cause Dust to tumble and slide. "Buckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuck-" 

Dust felt like he was mimicking a chicken as he uttered the curse, frantically trying to scramble against any blue tower fiber or patch of flesh that passed his way, feeling his body give way to the familiar sensation of not being connected to anything, free-falling through the emptiness of air. Normally he would find comfort in this freedom, but with a busted wing it was his undoing. Stretching the one good feathered addition, Dust Mite pumped and exerted all of his remaining energy into it to keep from falling into the blurry abyss of the surrounding world. Quickly did the enormity of the massive blue unicorn he was trying to get back onto left him, the small breeze of motion generated by Trixie enough to carry him away from her.

Sweet Celestia he hated this.





"There. One bit." Trixie placed the golden coin on the counter, Mrs. Cake taking it and dropping it into the register, while pushing the purchased confection towards Trixie.

"Thank you for your purchase! And have a nice day, Trixie. Feel free to stop by anytime, next week we'll have a special new brownie recipe we've been wanting to try out!"

"Trixie might, Trixie might. But for now," She turned her attention back towards her extended finger, as if there were something of interest upon the very tip of the appendage. Holding up the creme puff in the other, the unicorn tilted her head curiously as she questioned whatever invisible force laid there. "Where would you like to eat this, Dust? We could in here, or find a nice place outside. Trixie also assumes enjoying it at your home would also be pleasant."

". . ."

". . . Dust?"

". . . Dust Mite? Are you still there? Don't worry Trixie like this."





A dull thump against a hard wooden surface, with the following "Oomph!" that came with it. Dust groaned, feeling the slight soreness already seeping through him, but it could have ended up much worse than it had been. Right before impact he had created a small pocket of air with a forceful wing shove to cushion him, and if it had not been for that he figured his state of being would be much, much worse than just his current state.

Getting up as quickly as he could and righting his orientation and senses, Dust followed one of his simple rules to surviving at his size. Look around, figure out where he was first. The surrounding landscape stretched on for miles, but it was not endless. It seemed to end in the distance in a roughly curving shape, surrounding him circularly. The surface was wooden, worn down over the years, the most minute lines and cracks in it visible to him, some even large enough gaps for him to jump into and explore, something he wasn't too keen on doing at the moment. Beyond that, he just had to assess . . .

Dust looked up and almost smacked himself in the forehead for such a facepalm-able moment. He had to unknowingly make a pun out of 'ass'-ess with his current situation.	





It was clear she was looking for someone. "What's wrong, dear?" Mrs. Cake asked worriedly as Trixie seemed to frantically scour her person and the general area around her.

"It's just . . . ugh! It is hard for Trixie to explain!!!" She stamped her hoof out of frustration but almost immediately let out a small yelp of fear afterwards, lifting up the hoof and turning to examine the underside of it, eyes scanning furiously, looking to see as if she had stepped on something. 

Cake pursed her lips into an expression of concern more than anything else. Maybe the imposed isolation set upon Trixie had somewhat cracked her mentally? She seemed to live for attention, and suddenly being starved of it from living in a place where other ponies who openly ignored her seemed to happen, maybe it actually was the case. Still contemplating whether she should call her husband down or not, Mrs. Cake sat down on the stool she had situated behind the counter in case her old hooves ever got tired of standing, wiggling slightly in her seat to get comfortable.





It was hard not to stare, given several factors. One, Dust had to find the right position where he would not be absolutely flattened. Two, it filled his entire sky and created enough roars of sound with its motion that he had to take notice of it, the blasting eruptions causing his bones to dully rattle within him. Three, albeit blushingly embarrassing enough, Dust had to admit to himself that it was a nice plot for a mare of Mrs. Cake's age and figure. Still it had that partial youthfulness to it, but after taste-testing and sneaking enough treats as she did, it wiggled with soft fatty plumpness.

The supple round rear like a slowly approaching meteor of armageddon, breaking the atmosphere above layer by layer, the sound barrier shattered with a constant echo of its own looming enormity. Even with such fractionous actions, it wiggled slightly, creating more booms that contributed to the overall overwhelming effect. Dust sighed, and after eyeballing it, he found a decent enough spot where he should be safe, a carved out groove in the landscape, hopefully low enough he wouldn't get crushed. Laying down on his back so he wasn't forcefully mashed while standing up, all he could do was wait as the titan-ass of the cerulean blue baker encroached.

With an all-powerful crash it landed, absolutely overwhelming him with a forceful blast that momentarily rendered the poor pitifully puny pegasus senseless upon impact. With the ringing dying in his ears, Dust Mite groaned and tried to move, only to find every part of his body completely immobile, pinned down beneath the plushness that smothered and surrounded him. Struggling just to even squirm, perhaps he should have found a deeper spot, or even gone into one of the gaps in the wood. He would still be trapped, but not as claustrophobic as this was.

It got even worse when she wiggled in place, feeling as if he was going to be ground up into little bits from the force of it.





Trixie was desperate for an answer. One moment he was there, the next, the little grey fleck was gone. Even as she brushed apart her fur meticulously, she thought what she saw was Dust was just a flake of skin. Losing somepony as small as he was proved disastrous upon her nerves, briefly wondering how his family even dealt with such a thing on a day to day basis. "Ohh . . ." Feeling as if she had screwed up once more, a sense of dread came over her, worse than any failed show where nopony showed up or if she had been booed off the stage, worse than being bested by Twilight Sparkle and the shame of coming back after defeat to ask for forgiveness.

"Are . . . are you okay? You look like you're about to cry."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie does not cry!" She sniffled. "She dramatically weeps."

"Can I get you anything dear?" Cake continued to ask, concern in her voice.

"No. Unless you have a spell that can-" Trixie paused mid-sentence, interrupting her own words with thoughts. In the time growing up, even the most basic of unicorn spells she had a grasp on. One was a sort of 'reflexive memory' younger magical users learned to get a grasp on their telekinesis. It was a simple exercise of grabbing a single object over and over again until they could pick it up on instinct without even looking or concentrating. Adult unicorns could do this with ease with smaller objects, and who was the smallest of all? Trixie had picked up Dust and held him long enough with her magic to get a brief enough sense of what she was looking for, and it was the only lead she had to actually find.

"Hold still." Is all she said to Cake, more a command than anything else. Her horn glowed a brilliant light, the spirals etched into the grooves of the arcane extension thrumming to life to do her magical bidding. Trixie closed her eyes and focused on the tiniest thing she could find mentally, her telekinesis briefly washing everything surrounding her with its invisible touch to discover what she sought. Eventually, she found Dust, or at least what she thought was him. It felt alive, and vaguely the shape of his body. With a mental tug, she pulled, but he seemed firmly stuck in place.

Not one to give up on the first failed trick, she pulled again, this time harder, and again harder still. While Cake curiously watched Trixie with a raised eyebrow, She felt the slightest of tickles underneath her. Squirming in place seemed to kill it instantly, but it came back stronger seconds later, enough so it began to stretch an inch or so across one of her cheeks. Lifting up partially to scratch at it, it suddenly disappeared, and she swore something flung by her eye faster than she could blink, wrapped in the same glow of magic coming from Trixie's horn.





"Trixie is SO so sorry."

"I apologize too, dearie."

"It's alright! I'm fine, I'm fine, promise. A little . . . flatter than usual, but I'll live." 

Two pairs of enormous eyes gazed down upon him, one belonging to Trixie, while the other Mrs. Cake, both looking down with concern upon the infinitesimal speck. Upon being found and explaining the situation, Mrs. Cake's face flared up in embarrassment, the same to Dust, but fortunately he could hide it with his size. After much apologizing he had managed to wear down both the mares guilt to considerable levels.

"Let's just get me home, alright? We can share the creme puff on the way there, Trixie." He said assuredly up to her, in which a nod was given in return, a brief wind blowing over him a moment later. 

"Well . . . alright. You two stay safe, especially you, Dust Mite." Mrs. Cake took on an air of maternal worry. "You're welcome back here anytime, and anything you want is on the house. I doubt we'll be missing a few you-sized pieces of food." She winked down at him, another gust of wind, but he was braced for it this time.

"Thank you Mrs. Cake. I'll be sure to!" He cheerfully called up to her. "And uh . . . let's just not speak of this to anypony. Between the three of us, okay? All Trixie did was take me in here for a snack, we bought, we left."

"Trixie agrees."

"I do too. Ohh. Imagine the scandal if I told any of my marefriends, such a striking young stallion was underneath me, Mr. Cake would . . . Ohp! But I promise not to tell."

A brief goodbye later, Trixie was back on her way to taking Dust back home, the streets of Ponyville calm, the sun overhead shining down warmly. This time taking extreme care, the stageshow magician unwrapped the dessert she had bought, using a sliver of magical energy to peel off the smallest crumb she could manage, placing it beside Dust upon her rigidly held fingertip, the small horse giddily diving into the hill-sized mass of vanilla creme and fluffy cake. He would be almost full without even making a dent in it, but he figured the trouble and trauma was worth it. Now, all he had to look forward to was the respite of home.
> School Daze
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


D U S T




tee·ny
ˈtēnē
adjective
1. tiny.







"WA-A-AAAAKE UUUUUUUUUU-U-UUUUUUPPPPPPPP!!"

Groaning, writhing under the covers, wishing the grips of dreary sleep would latch on for just moments longer. A very similar situation happening just a few weeks ago, but hopefully with a more positive outcome that the previous events. Dust Mite sat up and yawned, feeling the bleary tiredness wash over his body, urging him to go back to sleep despite the inability to do so with his current situation. Non-committedly scratching random spots on his grey form as he rose, rubbing away whatever form of crust had formed on his eyes while he slept, stretching out the cramped kinks in his muscles from staying still for too long.

"Ugh . . . good morning, Lilycup." Dust half-heartedly managed to spit out with a weak wave upwards towards the general sky of magenta. "How'd you sleep . . . ?"

"No time for that, Dust!!!" She boomed in reply, still not bothering to lower her voice, so her 'little' brother was reeling from the force of the soundwaves washing over him, feeling his ears rattle and his bones vibrate. "We gotta go! Like, now!!!"

"Go . . . ? Go where?" Still attempting to force himself to become a morning pony while recovering the blast of noise that was her inconsiderate voice.

"School!! I'm going to be late if you don't get your tiny, tiny butt in gear." She had taken on a tone of annoyance now, which, generally, was not good for Dust Mite. Lily was not the most cooperative or reasonable when she was annoyed. She was not those traits most of the time, but even moreso when her mood would take a dip south.

"School . . . ?" He mimicked confusedly, scratching his head. Dust . . . didn't attend school, in fact he was out of it. Given his situation, his parents had tasked themselves with home-schooling the puny pegasus over the years, and the thoughts of class and homework were foreign to him.

"What are you, a parrot? Yes! School! C'mon!" Impatient irritation abound in her voice, quickly followed by a descending, looming shadow that darkened the surrounding vicinity. Dust stared upwards, two enormous fingertips that outrivaled mountaintops nearing him.

"H-hey, wait a minute-" He stuttered out, unable to finish his complaint as they slammed down and then ominously began to pinch together, squeezing him between their enormity and lifting him up high into the sky. Dust could hardly get a word in edge wise as he breathed raspily betwixt the two tight walls of fur and flesh that held him up towards his gargantuan sister's eye. "L-Lily! What's this about!?"

"I'll explain it on the way, don't worry Dusty!" She thundered before lowering her trapped sibling down towards his destination. Dust Mite did not have a well-off vantage point to see where he was going, but he had a good enough idea from experience. His suspicions were confirmed once his surroundings darkened with his descent, Eventually the tiny mite of a pegasus released from the pinched grip, taking a short tumble onto a fiber as wide as a hoofball stadium, cushion only by the fact of how worn down it was. 

Grumbling to himself as he held his head, Dust gazed around him, knowing all too well where he was. His escape so high up it might as well have been from looking at the bottom of the deepest trench to the summit of the highest mountain peak, faint light shimmering in and only partially illuminating the depths at which he found himself at. Masses of random bits of stray lint formed mountain ranges, while a bit in the distance enacted as a golden monument that was too vast to see all of it. Feeling the landscape shift with a cataclysmic rumble, just outside the wall of denim Lilycup patted her pocket where she had dropped her brother into. "There! Now let's go!!"

"I'm still in my sleepwear . . ." Dust grumbled to himself, looking down at the loose tanktop and pair of shorts he occasionally wore to rest in. "Didn't even get any breakfast either . . ." Sitting down with a sigh, he could only brace himself as he could feel the shaking and rumbling of Lily simply lifting her leg, rising with speed and strength that could part the atmosphere, even hearing every last strain of the fiber of her jeans move with her, then the incomprehensible quake of her hoof making contact, the energy dispersing with a shattering roar. 

"Okay, so," Outside, Lilycup began to speak as she walked, that skip in her step not helping in the slightest. "Today's Family Day! We're supposed to bring a family member to show off to our classmates. Now I know what you're thinking bro, 'but Lilycup, why didn't you pick somepony else?' And I have an answer! Mom was out running some errands, Dad's out at work, and you know Cloudy's up in Canterlot probably punching some bad pony's teeth in. So, who else was I to pick, hmmm?"

She paused, as if expecting an answer in reply. "Ding-ding-ding! You! I'm sure mom won't mind me bringing you along with me to school for the day. I'll be extra careful, promise, promise, promise! And uh, just don't tell her about it. Just sayin'." The extra 'oomph' in her following hoofstep, more of a stomp really, made the action seem more than just vaguely threatening.

"It'll be simple and easy, promise. Look, I even brought a microscope and tweezers so other ponies can interact with you! You meet and greet a few of them, and spend the rest of the day chilling in my pocket until we get back home. The day'll breeze right by."

During the whole one-sided conversation Dust was simply trying not to fall through the gaps between the fibers or succumb to the powerful quaking and end up stuck in some lint. The stuff was killer on the sinuses at his scale. "Humph. Sure. Still doesn't help you just dropped this on me outta the blue with no time to prepare . . ." He silently complained to himself, among other murmurs of discontent he was glad he was small enough nopony else could hear but him.

"Oh, and by the by big little bro, I know you're probably hungry. Don't worry, I gotcha covered."

Several seconds later a shadow appeared over the entrance to the pocket but quickly vanished, leaving behind a series of rapidly approaching shadows. Like a meteor storm, crumbs slammed down all around him, having been sprinkled in by Lily, some akin to boulders, while others remained hill-sized and even comparable to smaller mountains. Once it had settled down and realized he hadn't been crushed to death by a simple action of sisterly affection, Dust approached one of the crumbs, using his hands to rip off a sizable chunk of it. One bite made him realize it was a muffin from Sugarcube Corner. Lily really liked visiting that place, probably having a few in store to munch on during her walk to class.

After a few bites, smacking his lips satisfactorily, all Dust Mite could do was sit and wait, wishing for the day to be over already.





". . . And that's how apples were made. Thank Celestia the orange war ended before the bananas got involved."

"Thank you . . . Granny Smith! Class, any questions for Granny or Apple Bloom?"

". . . None? None at all? Well okay then! Thank you for telling us all such a riveting tale of fruits Miss Smith. You and Apple Bloom can take a seat now. Who's next?"

A hand shot up quicker than the rest, anypony desperate to get things rolling again after dredging through the escapades of the first apple farmers in Equestria. Lilycup was practically standing in her seat, waving the limb back and forth spastically, Cheerilee's eyes turning towards her. "Ah, Lilycup! But umm . . . where is your family member? I don't remember anyone else walking in with you."

She beamed proudly as she bounced up to the front, taking her time setting things up. Upon her teachers desk the magenta filly placed what was needed, a microscope and a pair of tweezers. She mentally facepalmed, realizing the means of actually communicating with her brother were still at home, left in a rush, but figured it wouldn't be too hard to get things going. All the while over a dozen confused eyes of her fellow students, their family members, and Cheerilee watched her in confusion. "Just oooooone moment everyone, have to retrieve the guest of honor."

Her hand reached down into her right side pocket, face screwed in concentration while her fingers fiddled around, visibly poking out against the denim. Eventually her expression lit up, retrieving what seemed to be absolutely nothing from out of it, but she still carried on, placing whatever visible object she had found upon a slide that fitted neatly under the microscope's lens. "Sorry bro . . . grandma over there took too long. Just do your best to make yourself presentable, okay?" Lily whispered quietly, but was still overheard by those who were closer, garnering even stranger, questionable looks towards her.

"Alright Mrs. Cheerilee!" Lilycup jumped back up, grinning expectantly towards her teacher. "I'd like you meet . . . my brother!" Her arms waved jazzily towards the scope, the older mare looking nonplussed, arms crossed.

"Lilycup, just what exactly is the meaning of this? Some kind of jo-oh-OH." Cheerilee's voice jumped in surprise as she played again with her student's notion, green eye peering down through the powerful magnification lense, shocked to see a grey pegasus waving up at her, looking a bit nervous himself and a tad raggedy, his mane disheveled from bedhead and clothes wrinkled and untucked.

"This is my older brother, Dust Mite! Now, everyone form an orderly line, and you can all meet him one at a time. Please be gentle, he's really, really fragile and really really really tiny. If you want to pick him up, use the tweezers. If you want to talk to him, just ask him to fly into your ear. Also! Keep your voice low, it hurts him if he's up close and you talk normal."

"I . . . I really can't believe this." The educator seemed agawk, agasp, and agape.

"I know, I know, it's a long story, and me or Dust could explain it to you if you'd like."





"And he's really tough! And a great flyer!! Like, good enough to be in the wonderbolts if he wasn't so teeny. I was watching him practice one day and he almost hit sonic rainboom. I swear it, by Celestia's mane."

"No swearing, Lilycup. And . . . wow! Thank you for introducing us to your brother. Any questions for Lily or Dust Mite?"

Almost every hand shot up.





"Wow! I've never even gotten a reception that good! Not even when I showed off my private garden for show-and-tell!" Lilycup giggled to herself as walked home, the schoolbell ringing, signaling the day was done. She held up her index finger, focusing in on the miniature grey speck sitting atop of it. "Thanks bro. You really helped me out there." The younger sibling smiled softly, holding up her free hand and extended the opposite forefinger until it was as close as it could possibly get to the almost unseeable mite.

For most of it, Dust Mite was horrified and nervous beyond any sane zones of anxiety, but as it wore on, he was really getting into it. It was the most social interaction he had ever gotten in all of his years cooped up inside his own home, and by the end of it, was feeling just as great as his sister was. ". . . No problem, Lily. Glad to help." Gazing at the sheer vastness before him, Dust clenched his fist and bopped it against the fingerscape held in front of him in as close to a fistbump he could get with his sister.

It was all in all a good day, considering how rudely he had been awoken that morning. His mind went almost haywire every which way things could have gone wrong, but they didn't. Dust Mite was proud of his younger sister and how maturely she handled him, and, well, a little more than embarrassed by her words of praise to bolster him. Even as they made their way back home however, a brief tug of a wriggling doubt etched itself to the back of his mind. It was almost always there no matter how good the turn of events were, but he figured now was a time to be happy about something for a change.

As soon as they stepped in through the door however, the voice of their mother Small Smiles rang through the air. "Lily! Have you seen Dust? I haven't seen or heard from him all day, and I'm worried!! I searched around all of the usual spots he stays, felt over my body, scoured every article of clothing that I own as well as your father's, now I'm getting into yours and Cloudy's. Oh no whatever could have happened-"

"Don't uh, don't worry mom! I just found him! He was chilling in the safe zone in the living room. You must've missed him."

"Nice save, Lily." Dust sighed aloud, that persistent bit of worry still worming its way through his thoughts.
> Of the Guard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


D U S T




scant
skant
adjective
1. barely sufficient or adequate.







"You got me covered?"

"Course I do, bro."

"Thanks Lily. I owe ya one. Really do." Dust Mite sighed in relief as he stared up at his colossal younger sister from atop her fingertip. She held a bemused smirk high above, blurred and decolored from distance. Far off upon the horizon, her free hand held something pinched together betwixt her forefinger and thumb. A lot of planning had gone into this, and he knew he couldn't do it alone. So who better to employ aid in other than the madam mischief herself? 

It had always been there, gnawing at him, but only recently had it come to light in realization. The entire plan wasn't there altogether, but he had enough to go forward with it. Maybe, just maybe, this could be fixed. He could live a normal life. His mother had dedicated a chunk of her time since he was born to try and fix it, but no potential solutions had ever surfaced, so he was going to the source of problem-solving for all of Equestria, the princesses themselves. They must at least have something. He was tired. Tired of being threatened by absolutely everything more monolithic than him, tired of his family having to worry and watch out for him almost all the time. Tired, and ready to change things.

The only problem being was that he was in Ponyville, and Canterlot was far, far away atop the tallest standing mountain in the land. Normally a train ride could change this, but with no bits to his name as well as absolutely no chance of flying there without the risk of a months and possibly years spanning adventure of treachery and danger, he needed more viable options, and the answer came in the form of his older sibling. Cloud Tower, or just affectionately referred to as Cloudy for short, was Dust's more preferred sibling out of what he regularly put up with with Lilycup. All his life, she had been his protector of sorts, and he had always deeply admired her for what she had accomplished, striving to be as much as possibly similar to her.

Memories of sitting in his mother's palm in the backyard briefly flashed in Dust's mind, watching from so far away his father teach her flight lessons before getting to his own personal flying lessons, had to start a pegasus young, even with their own natural instinct to fly. If he couldn't get it right with his father teaching, then afterwards Cloud would take time herself to help him. Another flash of being threatened by Lily, only for a cough from their older sister to get her to back down and leave him alone for at least a week, followed by a small cuddle session and a movie afterwards to help cheer him up. Countless times of her being there for him, and he felt as if he was about to betray it all.

He knew she would simply say no, but he was bound and determined to get to Canterlot, which is why he wasn't even asking at all. Can't say no to a question that was never posed. At least, this was how he justified it in his own head.

"No prob. Just keep that favor in mind~" Lilycup snickered down at him. They were currently standing in front of the closed door to Cloudy's room, the rest of the house deathly silent save for their own conversation. Mom was in her study, Dad tending to the lawn, and Cloud Tower asleep. After five solid days of guard duty up in Canterlot, she would always return on the weekend to spend time with her family, though really it was only about a day and a handful of hours she actually did so. Arrived Friday night, spent it Saturday and Sunday morning before a small nap then getting up and heading out back to Canterlot. It would be so much easier and less time-consuming for her to live in the castle barracks, but she insisted on returning to see her family, something the princesses and the guard captain appreciated of her dedication, so during holidays she received a few more bonus days off than those of her fellow armored defenders of Equestria.

"I know, I know." Dust rolled his eyes. If his plan went off as well as he hoped it to, then he wouldn't need to be worrying about returning that favor. He silent snickered to himself, thinking about returning home, his family shocked to see him stand as a tall and proud stallion, finally able to fully embrace his mother and shake his father's hand, as well as give Lilycup a smirk and a noogie he's been dying to give her for years.

"Hey uh, Dust." Lily paused, a genuine expression of concern on her face. "Stay safe, okay? For all of us. Dunno what we'd do if you were actually gone."

". . ." Dust Mite blinked, genuinely touched by the show of worry for him. ". . . I . . . will, Lily, promise. You know how careful I am."

"Yeah, and that's what worried me."

". . . Err, um, anyways. The plan. You need the rundown again, or do you have it?"

"You'll be stowing away on Cloudy to Canterlot. For whatever reason you haven't told me yet. Eh I'll probably figure it out soon and if I feel like it rat you out to mom and dad."

". . ."

"Kidding! Kidding. Anyways, this here almost lifelike replica of you," Lilycup held up what is in between her fingers, really just a dustpony he had made to resemble him, packed tightly enough it should stay together. "Is your decoy. I'll keep an eye on it, and tell the folks you aren't feeling well. You've gotten sick before so we'll just say you're too sore to fly so I'm carrying you around, and your throat hurts too much to talk, so I'll do the talking for you. Now I can probably only keep this up for a few days, and when I'm at school I'll keep your decoy in a safe zone, telling them you're resting and recovering so neither will bother you."

"If all goes well, it won't take a few days to pull this off." Dust nodded in reply, actually impressed she paid enough attention to have it all memorized. "Now, you ready?"

"Just one more thing. If you don't make it, can I have all the stuff mom shrank for you?"

". . ."

"I mean, it's not going to be of use if you're not there, all shrunken and not being owned by me. You got tons of books, and a realllllll nice laptop. Been needing a new one. Ooh, and a gamecolt, I'd gladly take that off your hands. And-"

"LILY!"

"Sorry! Sorry! Yeah, I'm ready to begin. Godspeed, little Dust Mite." She saluted, and Dust saluted in return. Slowly, ever so slowly, almost painfully slow, Lilycup opened Cloud's door as not to wake her, but only enough she could slip the finger in that was holding Dust. After inching it in, Dust looked up and nodded. "Good luck." The magenta filly whispered, carefully watching as the little fleck of grey disappeared, pulling her finger back out and closing the door.

Within the dark of the guard pony's room, Dust hovered in place, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the lowlight environment. Eventually after a few blinks, things began to become more visible than simply dark blobs and shapes. From her time of regimental military training, Cloud Tower's room was neat and orderly, everything had its place, the floor empty of anything that may obscure it. Off in the corner slept his sister, while upon a nearby mannequin stand her armor rested, all golden and gleaming even in the dim light.

He flew closer, noting how even despite her clean room and tight lifestyle Cloudy was far from that as a sleeper. Her body laid in an unnatural position with her limbs flayed in every which direction, pillows and blanket strewn randomly and messily about, her heavy snoring echoing in the air. As both pegasi, they shared similar athletic forms, albeit still having their differences. While Dust Mite was sleek and slender for speed, Cloud Tower was built for power, toned and thickened from her time in the guard. He could appreciate it, albeit blushingly and trying to ignore it from how his older sister was only in her sleepwear and barely covered by her blanket.

Closer and closer, until he was close enough to his destination. Not the light whitish-blue of her fur, or near the castle wall-shaped cutie mark in the visage of clouds themselves. Somewhere he was safe from the piercing bright orange glow of her eyes, amidst the dark blue forest that was her mane. Even though it was cut short for standards to fit it in her helmet, it was still more than enough for him to get lost and hide in. Landing amidst the towering fibers of hair strands, Dust sat down and waited, though fortunately it wouldn't be too long. Cloudy always left around noon, so her alarm would be going off soon.

Just on time its shrill buzz pierced the air, Cloudy waking up on queue. Dust held on as he felt the rumble of her sitting up and yawning, promptly turning off the alarm and standing to stretch. She neatly made up her bed and went through the process of getting clothes on, grabbing a bag and her stand of armor, easily able to carry it with her strength. In a matter of moments she was making her way through the house to say goodbye to everyone.

"Hey Lilycup," Cloud Tower said in a voice far too gentle that did not belay her powerful form. "I'll see ya next weekend, m'kay? Let me know how it goes at school. Good luck with your test, and don't let that boy not liking you get ya down."

"Okay Cloudy!" Distant hoofsteps as she got up, hugging her older sister.

"By the way, do you know where Dust is?"

"Oh! Right . . . here!"

Now was the moment of truth whether if their plan would work or not. Lilycup lifted up her finger, a similar mote of grey sitting atop of it. ". . . 'Cept . . . he's not feeling all too great. Got real sick sometime last night. Can't fly all that well so I'm carrying him around, and says he has a sore throat so he can't yell to talk to us."

"Oh no! Poor Dust." Cloud leaned down to get as close as possible to Lily's finger, sending the real Dust tumbling and clinging for dear life not to fall out of his hiding spot. "Don't worry little brother, I'm sure it'll pass soon. If it gets too bad, make sure to take some medicine. Love ya, Dusty." She blew a kiss at what she thought was her brother, standing back up and giving Dust Mite relieved respite on even ground once more.

Whew. It worked. Now all Dust had to do was leave it to Lily to fool the rest of their family, and ride it out all the way to Canterlot Castle. "Hey Mom, headin' out." Cloud knocked on the entrance to their mother's study, heading in and giving her a hug from behind.

"Okay sweetie, see you next weekend. Be safe!" Small Smiles replied, turning and giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Moooom, you know I'll be fine. 'Sides, it's my job to keep others safe." The tower of a woman befitting her name chuckled.

"I know, I know. Just a mother's worry is all."

Some more shared words later and she was out the door into the light of Celestia's sun. "Hey Dad, heading out! See you later." She waved at her father trimming the bushes.

"Alright!" Wing Runner stopped his chore and hurried over to wish her farewell. "I have a route up there on Thursday, so I'll stop by and say hello."

"Thanks Pa."

"Might even try to help convince your patrol partner to go on a date with ya, got a package for her the other day and I've been holding off on delivering it to her so I can meet her face to face. Now I'm sure she's already interested in you, just have to hit the final nail and seal the deal. Give her that old Wing Runner charm and get her with my little gal."

"Daaaaaad. Oh come on. You're just as bad as mom is about this." Cloud Tower sighed with a frustrated groan, placing a palm upon her head and scratching her scalp, tugging at her mane out of annoyance and narrowly slamming her hand into her hitchhiking brother.

"I'm just sayin' . . ." Wing shrugged with an amused smile and wink. "I've seen you on duty. You two look pretty cute together, and your mother and I do want grandfillies . . ."

"Dad."

"It's probably physically impossible for Dust unless he adopts, and Lily's too far off to be thinking about that . . ."

"DAD."

"Okay, okay, sorry. Sorry." His smirk softened. "You be careful, okay? Just a reminder we're all very proud of what you do, defending the castle and Equestria day in and day out."

"Alright old man, don't get soft on me." Cloudy chuckled. "I'll see you and everyone else next weekend. Oh and by the way, check up on Dust when you can, he's come down with something and isn't feeling too well."

"Will do, Cloudy, will do."





"Can't believe this is actually working." Dust said aloud to himself. Normally things never went as well as they were going. Cloud Tower was back in Canterlot within the hour, and already within the castle's vicinity.

"Hey Bill." Cloud waved to a guard who was standing stoic at his post, who briefly broke rank to reply. 

"Hey Cloud. How's the family?"

"Doing good!"

"Good." Right back to a stern expression.

He couldn't quite tell where she was going, given most of it was obscured by how deeply he was hiding within her thick mane, but every step of hers was felt, the wind whistling past at a brisk pace. It soon reached a point where outside noise went from general ambience to a clatter of sound and voices. Looks like she had reached the barracks.

"Eyyyy, Cloudy!" A female voice called out, causing Cloud to turn towards the direction of it.

"Oh, hey Pewter!" 

"Pewter . . . Pewter Pewter Pewter . . ." Dust mumbled to himself trying to remember and recognize the voice. He had never formally met his sister's partner while on duty, but had heard plenty about her, enough for Dust to snicker. "Pewter Patrol . . . you have no idea what Cloudy thinks about you."

"How was your time back with the fam?"

"Oh it was good. Watched a hoofball game with Dad, made dinner with Mom, helped out my sis with some homework, taught the little bro a couple military flight drills."

"Aren't those like . . . top secret or something? Like only we're supposed to know them?"

"Pewter the Wonderbolts use them for airshows."

". . . I knew that."

"No you didn't."

"I could turn you into the princesses for insubordination and leaking top secret intel!"

"We're the same rank and you're not even in the pegasus regime. Stick to the ground, earth pony."

A passing moment of silence and tension until both bursted into laughter. "Whewwww! Okay, ya got me Cloudy. Just glad to have ya back."

"Thanks Pewts. By the way, my Dad'll be dropping by soon to bring you a package."

"You mean the one I've been waiting like two weeks for? Isn't it a bit late?"

"Yeahhh . . . listen whatever he says, don't give him time to get it out. Just take the box and hurry him along his way. I don't care how you do it, just do it. Please, for my sake."

"Sure, sure. Say, you wanna join me for lunch in the mess hall? Bout to head over there myself."

"Nah," Cloud Tower shook her head, depositing her items near a bunk bed. She was slowly putting on her armor, starting from the metal hoof boots to the shin guards and up. "I'm gonna go ahead and clock in, get my shift out of the way so I can have some more time tonight."

"Sounds good to me. See ya later tonight then."

As Pewter strolled away, Dust Mite could feel Cloud Tower tense up. "Stupid, you should have accepted her offer . . ." She mumbled to herself under her breath. Dust felt a pang of pity, and would normally attempt to right this wrong by either convincing Cloud to go eat with her or by helping her feel better, but he was under a 'don't get found out' rule right now, and had to hold in his good deed for the day.

Carrying on with a sigh, eventually Cloud was fully suited up in the Solar Guard's golden regalia, the last touch was putting on her helmet. Dust was blanketed in darkness as the heavy helm descended and his sister began clanking her way towards her post, and he knew it was nearing time for him to continue on without her. "Thanks Cloudy, you've been a big help." He whispered aloud, patting the ground beneath him.

"Cloud Tower, reporting for duty. You are relieved, soldier. Go get yourself some grub and some rest." Cloud barked in a stern, militaristic voice, much different from what she spoke with when in a more relaxed environment with friends and family. 

"Yes ma'm!" Another voice replied, followed by the chinking of shuffling armor as they traded spots, Cloud taking her post. Once again Dust felt bad for what he was doing, taking advantage of his sister like this, but he was desperate and was calling for desperate measures. She had informed her family of her routine schedule, one such being as soon as she got back to the castle she stood guard directly in front of the throne room until the Princess Celestia was finished with Day Court and would turn it over to her sibling for Night Court. This was a perfect opportunity for him to meet with the most powerful pony in all the lands, who could surely cure him! 

Inhaling long and deeply to prepare himself and exhaling slowly to relax the body and mind, Dust took flight. The micropony made his way through the strands of hair, weaving in and out of the spaces between them as he followed the curve of Cloud's helmet, eventually reaching a breaking point where there was empty space for him to fly freely. For a brief moment he had to whiz by Cloud's eye, but he did it so fast he was sure there was barely any time for her to react to seeing him. All he had to do now was-

Ram directly into a sheer wall of white. Ouch.





"Greetings, Princess Celestia." Both guards stood rigid and saluted until the solar matriarch lowered her hand for them to relax. A gentle smile that held her centuries of wisdom and experience met the two guards, as brilliant as her own burning star in the sky. Just her mere presence alone calmed them as she strode by silently, barely any clop of noise from her hoofsteps despite the fact the white alicorn stood at more than twice the stature of an average pony at fifteen feet of height, despite what weight she should have was almost soundless as she passes. Her form was befitting of the walking goddess that she was, clad in a silken white dress accentuated with golden markings, hugging her extravagant curves quite well, two waving tatters trailing behind her from the garment, complimented by the multi-hued flow of her mane and tail.

As she passed into the throne room, the two guards closed the door behind her with a slam that echoed in the hallowed halls, a moment of silence passing between them.

". . . I'm so gay." Cloud Tower stated aloud in regards to their ruler, almost trembling in her armor.

"Yeah, I feel that." The other guard nodded. "Have you seen the Guard Captain? Too bad he's married." They would reach over to console her, but they must remain vigilant and stationary.





Down the long hall to her throne she walked as so many countless times before, the ancient hallowed stone of her castle built before recorded time carrying the slight echo of her steps. No matter how many times she had done beforehand, she did not tire of it. The monarch wondered what would be within her court today? Perhaps some feuding royals who claimed inheritance despite barely having any blood from either her or Luna within them? A dispute over land? Or, even a foreign diplomat, asking for aid in a long-torn war against some untoppled dictator? So many possibilities, all ranging from the simple to exciting, and she would bear witness to it all.

Unfortunately for both parties, her first visitor for her court was fleeing for his life and trying not to get crushed, an all too common event for the puny pegasus. Dust Mite's entire body was a streamlined streak of grey, blurred to the point he was speeding along the floor at the fastest pace he could manage without breaking stride, wings pumping, senses alert for any change in air pressure or flows that could disrupt him. On his way off Cloudy and into the throne room, the alabaster alicorn herself had walked up behind him and bumped into the tiny pony with her leg, sending him tumbling to the floor. He wasn't too roughed up, but he was awed by what followed.

From what he gathered from Cloudy, she was a tall pony. Standing 6'1 regularly, Cloud Tower's height was befitting of her name, but she explained once to Dust even she was made short in comparison to their rulers, the alicorn's godlike magic and stature befitting of their position. It boggled his mind when he thought about it before, and now certainly did so now as he gawked upwards. Considerably normal sized ponies were monumental, colossal, vast in all their own right to Dust, and he was used to that. An alicorn though . . . he could barely even make out her entire body that seemed to have an atmosphere all its own, looming and towering so high above just her hooves and a bit of her lower legs could be soon before her sheer size alone blotted out everything else.  'Astronomical' was such a fitting word for the bigness before him his mind couldn't think of much else.

In a moment's time the underside of her hoof's sole encompassed the entirety of miles and miles of the sky above, his eyes drawn along its sheer smoothness and intricately cared for perfectness, the normal debris one might gather on their hoof from walking completely absent, the pristine white above absolutely clean. Such was a prompting Dust for to turn tail and fly at near breakneck speed to avoid becoming the first tumultuously tossed about speck that could end up beneath it. No matter how soft it looked, he figured that the enormous gap of size disparity was more than enough to end up no other way than a squashing he would not survive through.

Celestia strode behind him, entirely unaware every slow step of hers brought a catastrophically powerful slamming vastness of white that threatened ever closer and closer to Dust Mite. In due time he began to veer upwards, forcing his body to find a flight path that would take him out of harms way, but it would take him some time just to even escape the alicorn's presence, but eventually he managed to enter empty air space, the incomprehensible rumble of Celestia walking by as a moving wall that seemed to never end. As he sucked air to catch his breath, feeling as if his lungs were about to tear and his chest cave in, far off in the distance the princess sat down at her throne.

Taking his time to regather himself, the micro pony flew slowly towards her, watching her grow ever larger and larger in his vision the closer he became, eventually caught in the shadow of her total colossal form. She was sitting down and he was even positioned at a height that was well above the average pony's head, yet still her upper torso dominated the view above, face entirely blotted out by the impressively gargantuan chest she possessed. Gulping quite audibly, he worked up enough nerve to finally fly upwards, taking him more than a couple minutes to bridge the gap of distance until he was before the serene horizon of her face. "E-excuse m-me, your m-m-majesty . . ."

Promptly interrupted by a puff of torrential air from her snout.





Princess Celestia huffed in slight impatience. Normally she would have a line of ponies ready to meet with her by now. Perhaps the schedule wasn't as normally full as she thought. Well, it was a Sunday after all, and most were want to relax on such days, even those with worries and quarrels. Still, she would wait, as she did perpetually, now and to eternal as she would live. There was always a straggler or two on slow days who required her, and she would be more than happy to oblige in whatever may come.

In her boredom, she was sure something out of the corner of her eye moved. Turning her view slightly in the direction of wherever it came from, whatever had moved was there no longer. ". . . Huh . . ." The sunholder mused aloud. These halls did hold secrets, ancient ones. Perhaps a spirit of old, come to speak with her of elden times,  her eager mind wondered. Or maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her in her old age, she figured that was bound to happen most likely at some point.

she contemplated closing court early for a walk in the garden, or perhaps waking Luna early so they could share a meal together just to do something. A sigh escaped her lips. She needed something, anything. Enough so she began to pay attention to the slight tickle coming from her chest.





Dust Mite tumbled countless miles and miles below, until eventually he fell into a mass of white that surrounded him from all directions, falling deeper and deeper to a point where it encroached upon him, closer and closer until he was caught, trapped between two immoveable walls on either side. He grunted, attempting to move, but was entirely trapped. While the walls were of a consistence that was soft yet firmly pliable, the resistance they offered without rigorous applied force was enough to keep him in place. After he lost his grip and was bounced back into his trapped position, he blushed, realizing just where he was, indicative of the jiggling that slowly died down over time.

He really, really hoped there wasn't a death penalty for accidentally touching your God Ruler's tits, let alone getting stuck between them. Dust Mite squirmed and struggled briefly, trying to get into a spot where he could at least start climbing up to a more spacious position, but stopped when he felt the familiar tingle of magic wash over him, a golden, glowing aura enveloping his body.  It was . . . calming in a sense, like being held by the gentlest touch, akin to how his own mother would hold him aloft with her own magic. 

Lifted up and out, rising higher and higher and higher past zooming masses of white and gold, eventually stopped to be floating before a paleish pink sort of sky. "Well, what do we have here?" Her voice echoed, sending a shudder through Dust Mite from the force of the vibrations, but he also figured it was from his own nervousness as well.
> Royal Guest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


D U S T




small-scale
adjective
1. Of limited size or extent.







Celestia squinted, curiously examining what she had found causing the slight tickling from her cleavage. She had not expected it to be something so . . . tiny, so small and nondescript one would need the aid of magnifying tools just to make it out properly. Despite her age, her eyes and senses had not dulled in the slightest, much more keen than the average pony's, almost to a supernatural sense of how much grander an alicorn's power was. She could make out the curvature of a pony's body, diminished to an infinitesimal scale, the sleekness and spread wings in the golden glow of her magic telling all what she held was a pegasus, though more comparable to a floating mote of dust than anything else. It was hard to shock her given she had seen many things throughout the millennia, but even this was a tad strange to her.

". . . Hello." The solar sovereign spoke softly, realizing how much her voice in a normal might just simply blast the poor little thing apart. A small smirk fell on her lips, along with a slight chuckle. "Just what were you doing in there, huh? Normally I ask for dinner first." She joked, having to contain and simmer down her own laughter to keep from possibly making the little pony held in her magical grasp from going deaf.

Dust Mite was honestly astounded, still reeling from the facts of the situation. Attempting to stammer out a reply, he blushed, much to his own chagrin against his own self for his incompetence of trying to communicate correctly. "S-s-sorry, my princess, I didn't mean to end up there. Honest, honest, honest. J-just that I sort of have the worst luck." The puny pegasus shouted, eliciting another small laugh from the alabaster ruler.

"No need to shout so loudly, you might strain yourself. I can hear you just fine, my hearing is still quite impeccable." Celestia replied. "Worst luck? Heh, most ponies would consider where you were as good luck."

"O-oh. Well, that's convenient." Dust spoke, finding it odd to communicate with a being so vast with such a normal tone, having ended most conversations in his life with a hoarse throat afterwards. "Again, I'm sorry. I flew in here, and if I'm not prepared even the slightest draft of wind messes up my flight pattern. Sort of sent me careening down . . ."

". . . And the biggest thing you could land on caught you." She snickered, having to get in one more tease, noting the red tinge of his cheeks. "Honestly it's fine. I'm relieved to find one of my little ponies unharmed, though you're much, much more 'little' than what I'm used to. What is your name?"

"D-Dust Mite, your solarity-ness!"

"Dust. A pleasure to meet you then." Her comparison earlier on was not far off then, she noted mentally. How cute. Celestia internally giggled. 

"I-I-I wanted to speak with you about something." He tried to force his words out, anxiety still quite high.

"You know, normally to meet with me you need a royal summons or schedule something with my advisor. Impromptu visits are looked down upon in my court." The princess spoke with a slight taunt.

"I-I-I apologize, y-your majesty, I didn't mean to-"

A small chuckle from her quelled his nerves. "It is fine. From what I can tell, today is a very slow day, and your appearance is actually most welcome to break the tedium. Now, what is it that you needed? I am always eager to help my subjects, on matters both large and . . . small. Hehe. Pardon the pun."

Another gulp followed by a relieved sigh from the tiny pony. "Well . . . I was wondering if you could . . . do anything a-about . . . this. Me."

"Your . . . size? I suppose I could. I'd have to dig up something from the royal archives, I can't remember off the top of my head the exact spell to regrow ponies. Size magic isn't common practice nowadays."

"The thing is . . . I'm not shrunken, I have no previous size to be regrown and returned to. This is bout the tallest I can get."

The princess of the day blinked, partially confused by his words. "Excuse me? Could you care to explain?"

From there, Dust went into detailed length of his plight. Of how the magic of both his parents resulted in his odd genetics and personal talent, the unfortunate trials of it all. His colthood and teenager years spent cooped up inside his home, how daily and mundane things presented their own hardships and struggles, even as much as how it affected his family. Celestia listened with a keen ear, feeling sympathy for him, but a well of guilt began to build up inside of her. She would have to explain once he was done, how heavy the burden she possessed with this situation.

". . . And . . . that's pretty much it. Up to about ending up here now. So, if you'd please, I'd like for this to . . . end, your majesty."

She was silent for the most part, as if searching for the correct words to reply with. "Dust Mite . . . you brave soul. I apologize from the deepest parts of my heart, I truly do. As much as I would want it to be, even with great strides taken to do so . . . not all ponies are created equal. Your story is testimony to that. Unfortunately, I cannot grant your wish, as much as it pains me to say."

Now it was his turn to be silent. A weary sense of dread hung over him heavily, as if it were a physical presence now. When he spoke, it was but a squeak. "B-but . . . but why?"

"Your problem lies in your very self. Your talent is being . . . small. And look. Here you are, held with the slightest of magic that I can muster. It is unfair, to have this placed on you by fate. There was never anything wrong about you to begin with," Her voice raised, as if attempting to inspire hope. She would not let despair to win the day, not if she had anything to say about it. "While this talent may simply be a burden upon you, please look upon what you have to compensate for it."

"Your family loves you very much, enough so to change their lives so that it is easier for you. Through tribulations you became what very few pegasi could even compare to with the feats you have done. Even your recollection of today! Your wit and own action lead you to me on your own volition with help from nopony else but your own."

He continued to be quiet, but his body shuddered slightly, as if Dust were holding something back. Celestia's gaze softened upon viewing this, gently swaying her magical aura to rock him. "There, there now. It is fine to cry. You more than anyone else about this deserve to let it out. Your courage, heart, your soul is bigger than you are Dust. Never forget that."

Then it came. The tears streaming, darkening his grey fur further, bawling to the point he felt as if he would be embarrassed upon looking in on himself. This continued even as Celestia shifted her magic, a wall of white nearing him to be pressed against.





"Who has the princess been speaking with?" The guard beside her asked, turning to Cloudy with a confused glance. "No one else has stepped through these doors for the past twenty minutes."

"Beats me." Cloud Tower shrugged, armor chinking slightly with the motion. "Maybe someone stepped in through one of the side entrances? . . . The throne room has those right?"

"Probably. All kinds of secret passages going on in this castle. Hay, even the princesses forget about them sometimes. I was on duty in the kitchen last week and one of the chefs stumbled into an underground cavern in the cellar where we store all the wine and stuff. That's going to be its whole thing in a week or two I'm guessing. Get the elements to investigate that bull." He rolled his eyes, as if slightly annoyed by the constant shenanigans that went on almost on a regular basis.

"True." She nodded, interrupted by the doors swinging open, both of them standing to rigid attention as their ruler appeared before them once again. Celestia turned to Cloud, and the female guard began to sweat underneath the taller alicorn's gaze. What had she done? Did she forget to salute or bow at some point? Was protocol broken with her missing a piece of her armor? Oh princesses she forgot the butt plate again didn't she. It was embarrassing the first time, but luckily nopony saw other than her partner. Now though-

A brief cough broke the train of thought Cloud was having, looking up in a slightly trembling manner. "Y-yes my princess! What can I do for you!?"

"Oh, nothing for me. I just wanted to let you know I just spoke with your sibling. Very charming, a pleasure to meet."

"My . . . sibling?" She seemed confused. "Umm . . . Lilycup?" A shake from the princess's head confirmed her fears. "Dust . . . Mite?"

"Yes." The princess chuckled. "He hitched a ride on you to meet with me. All of those stories I overhear on occasion that you tell about him are quite true. You're right to brag about him."

Cloudy almost locked up in panic from hearing the monarch's words. She was overcome by several emotions at once. Overall wondering if he was okay, where he was now, and the resisting urge to blast him with a rant about how dangerous that was. "I-is he alright!? Please tell me is."

"Don't worry! He is. We had a good heart to heart, I'll explain it all. Right now he's on the plushest hand pillow available in Equestria, being carried off to be pampered."

". . . What."

"I figured I'd give him some time off from the . . . troubles that plague his daily life. A vacation, if you will, seeming he's never left the house or had the chance to make proper friends. Don't worry, you have my word as Equestria's ruler that he will be safe. Promise."

She could only put her faith in her princess as she had done many times before, both personally and in duty. "W-what . . . what does this even entail, if I may ask, my princess?"

"I'll be sending a message to your family back in Ponyville that'll explain everything. He'll be spending today and overnight in the castle, and starting tomorrow, well," She winked. "Let's just say he'll be spending time with experts on the subject of friendship."
> Royal Guest Pt. II - The High Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


D U S T






Cloud Tower still could hardly believe the turn of events that had transpired roughly as soon as she had started her post; the biggest inconvenience to her since she had to break up a fight between feuding aristocrats at a charity ball held right in the castle one night. Her brother hitching a ride somewhere on her to get all the way from Ponyville up to Canterlot to speak with the princesses, their mighty solar ruler actually tending to him, and worst of all, she couldn't berate him for it until her shift was over! 

"Hey uhh . . . you okay over there, Tower?" A gruff voice opposite to her interrupting her thoughts.

"What!? . . . I-I mean, . . . yeah. Yeah. I'm fine." She huffed out, the sudden harshness of her tone startling the guard standing across from her. " . . . Sorry, sorry. Just a bit on edge. Thinking about . . . stuff."

"Ah it's fine." Dismissed by him with an understanding wave. "Who's this 'Dust Mite' fella you and the princess was talkin' about? That's your brother, right? The one you're always praising to everyone about how he's just the best thing this side of Equestria?" Her stationed partner sarcastically chuckled, enough so to create a clanking sound in his armor with the hefty guffaw. Cloud blushed with a slightly embarrassed snicker of her own, knowing she did have a habit of boasting about him to her workmates.  Couldn't quite help it, she was proud of him, and every little achievement he had earned was a major one to him in comparison to an average pony's.

". . . Yes, that is my little brother." A sigh in response.

"Well then, he is one lucky stallion! I'd give my tail and shave off my mane just to spend one day in Canterlot Castle."

She paused to consider what she would say to such a statement. ". . . You're in the castle right now. In fact, you're in it almost every day. Aren't you permanently set to live in the barracks?"

"Bah. You know what I mean, off from work. I've seen the digs around here, as well as the treatment the staff gives to the royal family and visitors. It's practically paradise. The servants at your beck and call, every kind of food and drink from around the world, not to mention the beds. I swear I saw a camel delegate from Saddle Arabia practically melt into one and didn't leave until their visit was over."

"Yeah . . . guess so." Cloud replied absentmindedly, her real thoughts distant from the conversation at hand.

Practically steaming inside of her armor, she did all she could to muster enough willpower to remain stationary and concentrate simply on her duty in guarding the throne room, but there was absolutely no point to it at all with Princess Celestia out of court at the moment. If anypony even showed up today for a hearing with her right now all Cloud could do was point them away, saying that the princess was not present to hear their plea; or ask them to reschedule, simply because her brother had taken her notice and time, Celestia strutting away soon as everything had been explained to her. 

. . . Which, honestly, she was amazed at. Her brother, the littlest pony in the land, had singularly one of the most important being on the planet's attention. A spark of pride burned somewhat inside of her chest for him.

Fidgeting out of impatience so much that there was audible clanking from the metallic suit she wore, she just wanted this day to be over with so she could find Dust and figure out what was going on, possibly get in contact with her family at home and ensure that everything was alright. Knowing that her younger sibling's farce wouldn't go very far with the current knowledge at hand, it was paramount to inform her mother and father that everything was alright. One could only imagine the panic that would jolt its way through Small Smiles' mind upon hearing what her infinitesimal son had done, escaping safety to the dangers of the outside world.

Contemplating this thought, Cloudy frowned slightly, biting her lip. She couldn't blame the little guy for how absolutely stir-crazy he must've been from being trapped inside their home all his years, really only getting a taste of the outside from glances through windows or if a family member was present to take care of/keep an eye on him. It was only a matter of them before he staged something like this, and at least it worked out in his favor rather than a misfortunate end, her mind going through a million different ways in which a cruel fate could have befallen her little brother. This stress was settled by focusing on being thoroughly impressed by how far he went and how much he planned to make his aspirations come to fruition, perhaps she considered lessening the lecture he'd receive, and even step in and ward him from the one he will not doubtedly be given by his parents.

Sighing, all that the pegasi guard and worried older sister could do was wait. It was figured today was going to be a very, very long day, reminiscent in length of her first day on the job after graduating. "Stay safe, Dust. Hope you're okay, lil' buddy . . ."





The Princess of the Sun, serene in disposition and perfect in her posture, strutted down the one of the many hallways of the royal castle, greeting the servants and guards she passed by name, knowing them all personally out of consideration for their dedication to her and the kingdom, the recipients either bowing or saluting before resuming their duties. What caught their attention today about their ruler was that she seemed to be speaking aloud to nopony in particular. At first it was assumed she was just talking to herself, but the way she sounded it was as if she were carrying on a conversation with an invisible second party. Whatever it was, it was no real cause for alarm, just a curious sight. Some assumed she was just practicing for a speech she might have to give in the future, or practicing small talk for a dinner party.

When, in reality, she was conversing with the slightest of specks stationed upon her bosom. Dust Mite sat upon a sheer surface of ivory white fur and flesh, endless miles stretching on in every direction he would turn his gaze; the pristine perfection of it all only interrupted by the occasional fur tower that proved slightly taller than the rest, or when where Dust would look would be a wall of massive magnitude, whether it be the hem of the dress's neckline that contained such bountiful breasts, or some of the jewelry in which the alabaster alicorn wore around her neck. His situation was only slightly unsteady atop the right portion of her chest, if warranting caution to the otherwise and relatively more quakes that affected his surroundings. Every cataclysmic, world-rocking step of the goddess thoomed powerfully, moreso than he was ever accustomed to. The energy would build up with a roaring echo that would only die down seconds after it was unleashed, traveling upwards through the air and her body until it cultivated into a rather unabashed jiggle, repeating in a rhythmic motion as she continued to walk.

"Are you sure you're okay right there?" asked with a teasing tone intertwined into her word, a sly smile upon the princess's face as she peered down towards him. He seemed generally okay, if his evident blush was any note, but there was something amusing to her about watching him scrabble or cling any time the jiggling quake was slightly too powerful or took the micropony by surprise; at least alerting her to the fact that Dust Mite was still present on her body, signified by the slightest tickles and tingles against her. "If you're not careful you may end up where I found you in the first place. Though, that might not entirely be a bad thing~! If not a little suppressing, I'd imagine."

Boom. "I'm-" Jolt. "Just-" Rumble. "F-FINE!!!"

"If you say so, little one." Celestia replied with a doting chuckle, her horn lighting up with the familiarly golden aura of her magic, encasing the minuteness of his form and lifting him up into the air until he was positioned directly on her snout, allowing him to slowly descend onto it. Going slightly cross-eyed to ensure he was safely secure upon it, she continued to grin. "There, some more even footing for you. Better than your previous position, young man?"

"I'd say so, your highness . . ." Dust sighed in relief, looking upwards towards the horizon of her gaze turned towards him, skyward beyond the towertops of the spires of white fur stretching high above him. He could still feel the quakes, but considering how much higher up he was, feeling as if it were an entire atmosphere above than where he had just been, they were so far off in the distance it was hardly perceptible. 

"That's good to hear." Celestia continued to smile as she walked towards her destination. "Now, I've had a courier sent out to explain the situation to your family. They will most likely arrive within the hour, and be back this late afternoon."

"I'm going to imagine Mom and Dad aren't going to take it very well, heh . . ." A escaped sigh as he rubbed the back of his mane nervously, wings twitching with anxiety. "My family's been REALLY overprotective of me for years, which you can imagine why."

"Yes, I can. Understandably so." Spoken with a frown. "However, a royal sanction from myself should be enough to convince them, hopefully. It will only be for a week, and if any problem should arise you will be returned to them posthaste. I have confidence however that this will be for the best interest of both parties, wouldn't you agree?"

A small nod from the puny pegasus. "Thank you, Princess Celestia. You don't know how much this means to me."

"I can imagine. Do not worry. I do all that I can within my power for my little ponies, even the littlest one of all."





"Err, hello! Is this the residence of the Smiles-Runner family?"

Wing Runner peeked up from his chores, a wide-brimmed hat over his head providing some shade in the midday sun. Releasing a gasp of relief and wiping a line of sweat from his brow, the father approached the figure standing in front of their lawn. The visitor was clad in immediately recognizable clothing, emblazoned with the symbol of the princesses. "My, you're a royal courier, aren't you?" Wing whistled in appreciation. "Mailpony myself. Not as grand a job as yours, but still it gets the bills paid. Now, what can I do to help you today?"

Nodding at him, the courier retrieved a scroll from a satchel at his side, holding it to be displayed. "A message to you from her majesty herself, from Princess Celestia. Is your wife present as well?"

"From the princess!? O-oh, wow! Just one moment." Taken aback by such a high order straight from their solar sovereign, Wing Runner scrambled towards the home and opened the front door, yelling into the house. "Honey! Come out here quickly!"

Several moments later Small Smiles hurried outside, looking puzzled and flustered. "What is it, Wing?" Asked with a concerned voice and expression.

Noticeably excited, her husband was practically bouncing when he answered her. "This is a royal courier! We got a message from the princess!! Oh wow I wonder what it's about? Maybe Cloud is getting promoted?" He gave a small gasp. "What if she's the new captain of the guard?! I mean, Shining Armor has done an amazing job, but being captain and a prince AND living in another kingdom might be dividing up his duties too much-"

"Sir, I assure you it's nothing like that, unfortunately." The courier interrupted him, still holding the scroll and handing it over to them. "It's simply some information she would like to pass onto you. Have a good day." Nodding at them both, he turned abruptly and walked away, leaving the two to look at their received letter confusedly.

"Well, let's open it up and see." Wing shrugged, peeling off the wax seal holding it shut, unfurling it and holding it out at a distance so that both of them could read it at the same time.



Dear Mrs. Smiles & Mr. Runner,


I write you in regards to your middle child, Dust Mite. As disconcerting as it may be to both of you and any other family or friends presently aware of the matter, this morning the little brave soul made a venture out towards Canterlot to meet me. He is unharmed and currently under the protection of myself and the staff in the castle, on my honor I assure you this. However, upon being explained his heartbreaking tale, I could not help but feel more than a tinge of sympathy for him. Thus, I must take it upon myself to ensure that he receives what he had been denied these past years through his colthood. For the remainder of this week, he will be given a 'vacation' if you would require a name for it. Free from the confines of your homestead, he will engage in social activities normally barred to him by his size. Once again I reassure you that he will safe and cared for only by the most expert of hands. 

Your eldest daughter here in the castle has been informed as well, which in regards to that matter I have not had a finer guard in years. Upon the final hour of the seventh day he will be returned to you posthaste.


Yours Truly,

Princess Celestia ☀



For what felt like the longest pause of time, the two stunned parents just stared at the words scrawled on the parchment in front of them. Wing was the first to react, noting his wife's stricken expression of horror, seemingly frozen solid in the action of beginning to scream. He himself was taken aback drastically, still trying to process the information as well. "Err . . ."

Waving a hand in front of Small's face, she seemed unresponsive. "Honey? Are you alright?" asked with concern in his voice. After snapping his fingers a few times directly  in front of her eyes with not even a twitch from the unicorn, he sighed and headed back into the house, walking to his youngest daughter's room and leaning in the doorframe. She was currently laying on her bed, doing some homework while freely kicking her legs in the air.

"Ahem," Wing faked a cough to get her attention. Looking up with an unconcerned expression, Lilycup waved at him in greeting.

"Oh, hey dad. What's up?" Not even a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"I know, Lily."

"Know about what?"

"You know." He glared with narrowed eyes. "About Dust."

At that she seemed to perk up slightly, glancing around to avoid eye contact. "I . . . have no idea what you mean. Dusty's right here, see?" She chuckled nervously, pinching at something on her nightstand nearby, holding it out for him to examine himself with a wide, forced grin on her face.

"That won't cut it, kiddo. Look here." Walking over to her, her unfurled the scroll so she could read it, shoulders visibly slumping in defeat the further she went down. 

"Wow . . . snitched on by the princess herself." She almost had to laugh at that. "I'm telling you though, it was all Dust's idea."

"I believe you." Wing sighed, rolling it back up. "But-" soon as the word left his mouth, a high-pitched scream rang through the air, piercing the entire neighborhood with its shrillness.

"Yeesh!" Lilycup exclaimed, wincing and holding her hands over her ears. "What was that?!"

"Your mother." He replied, looking quite pained as well from the noise, digging a finger into his ear to make sure he still had hearing after that.





". . . Did you just hear anything, your majesty?" Dust Mite asked, tilting his head with his ear perked, swearing he had heard something. 

"I . . . suppose so? Might've just been the wind banging against the windows. We are fairly high up." She replied with a shrug, turning a corner and seemingly having reached her destination, stopping in front of a rather lavishly (though, WHAT in the castle wasn't so) decorated door. The two guards on either side stood to rigid attention as she passed, to which she nodded at them. Throwing it open, she entered with confidence, sitting down at a table nearby. It appeared to be a parlor room of some sorts, complete with whatever furniture necessary to make it overwhelmingly comfortable, even what appeared to be an entryway to a balcony outside, overlooking whatever side of the mountain it was facing.

Picking him up once more with her magic, she gently settled him down onto the table in front of her, looming above more and more the further down he went, until eventually his hooves touched the surface of his new landscape to survey. As the golden aura surrounding him dispersed, Dust stared upwards, the sky practically nothing but the princess. The two titanic orbs jangled above as twin hemispheres within their bodice; with the jewelry adorning them and the dress clattering briefly from each distinct movement, almost completely blotting out Celestia's face as she peered down at him, her visage nothing but a distant blur.

"There we are now," she spoke gently, giggling as she gazed downwards. "I hope this will make for decent enough accommodations for tonight before your venture for the week ahead."

"I'm sure they will, your highness!" Dust eagerly replied, waving upwards towards her almost rather frantically out of habit, eliciting another echoing giggle from the enormous alicorn. He noticed there were several objects within his immediate vicinity. One was . . . a bell that was roughly suitable for even a pony of his diminutive stature. Another was a sheer mountain range of candies spread out, opened in a box nearby. There were a few other objects upon the table, an ink quill and some parchment, a small stack of magazines, but nothing of worthy note to take interest in. Celestia reached over, daintily plucking one up and popping it into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before she continued to speak.

"I had servants go on ahead and prepare this for you. That bell is magically connected to a much larger one. If you ring it, that one will ring as well, and somepony will come by to fill out whatever request you may have. Feel free to take advantage of the many pleasures and necessities Canterlot Castle has to offer, little one. I'm sure you'll come to enjoy it." Princess Celestia spoke with a courteous tone, winking down at him and seconds later he was blasted by a gust of wind from above.

"T-thank you. I'll be sure." He gave a bow out of politeness and habit. "Though, just one question. If I'll be staying here overnight, where will I sleep? I'm not questioning you or anything, but despite my size sleeping in a crevice trench in a table doesn't sound too appealing, trust me."

She laughed again, a chortle that boomingly rumbled his whole world. "Don't worry so much about that one. It will be provided when it is needed. For now though, I must unfortunately resume my duties." She sighed reluctantly, a gale wind blowing overhead from her exhalation. "It was such a pleasure meeting you, Dust Mite. May your talent shine as brilliantly as my sun does."

"Thank you, Princess. Truly." He sounded truly sincere in his words, overwhelmed by the amount of opportunities suddenly presented to him. With another nod Princess Celestia slowly stood up from her seat, recognizing the fact every action from larger ponies for Dust was magnified magnificently, just that alone generating winds that he could feel blow by and quakes that shook the ground. 

Towering above to an insanely ridiculous degree, the titaness waved down one last time before striding away, the erupting booms of her slamming hooves eventually dying down as she left the room, the door closed behind her by the guards. All he had now was his thoughts and this bell; as well as what to do with it. He did briefly consider ordering food, but just turning his head answered his question, the delicacies of the laid out treat too tempting to ignore. Licking his lips, Dust Mite flapped his wings and flew up until he was at the mountain's peak, landing at the top of what appeared to be a chocolate bonbon. 

Lowering his hands, he dug into the 'earth' until he ripped up a good sizable chunk of it, bringing it to his lips and biting into it, almost feeling his legs buckle from the sheer overwhelming sensation it presented. These had to have been made here in the castle by a expert at their craft, or else it wouldn't have been so melt-in-your-mouth delicious. His tongue tingled with the rich flavor, practically salivating just from that single bite alone. After several more chomps into it, Dust figured why stop there? There were plenty more laid out on the table to try, and he had all afternoon.

With a gleeful whiz the tiny living fleck flew from mountaintop to mountaintop, standing at the highest peak of the most delectable confectionaries he had ever conceived. Tangy, tart, sour, sweet; every flavor was present.





"Guoohhhhh . . . I don't feel so good . . ." Dust grumbled to himself while he laid flat on his back, limbs and wings spread out in a flayed fashion. He patted his stomach, while normally toned and evenly defined musculature-wise,was now partially bloated from the sheer sum of sweets he had devoured in the past hours. Belching slightly, he attempted to sit up, sorely moaning from the realization of how much flying he had done. His marks would forever be detailed upon these sacred monuments, the tiniest hand and bite marks only the most powerful of microscopes would be able to comprehend.

"Well . . ." Spoken aloud to himself. "That was a way to spend an afternoon. Sun's going down." He noted, seeing in the distance through the balcony's window of the setting daylight. From a bright, piercing hue of oranges and yellows to dull reds and eventually purples, giving way to the darkening embrace of night; the moon rising high with the stars awakening around it to glisten. A content sigh escaped, a result from viewing such a beautiful sight to the satisfactorily filled stomach he possessed.

While Dust pondered what to do next, something in the room moved. Catching his attention, a shuffle just ahead alerted the micropony.





"E-excuse me, your royalness?" 

". . . Hmm?" Princess Celestia turned, her eyes of pale magenta falling upon her trusted guard, Cloud Tower standing to attention. "What is it, Tower? You are dismissed from your post for the day, Sun Court is over, which I'm not sad to say. Rather droll day, don't you think?"

"I do have to agree, your highness. No scheduled meetings today at all." Cloud saluted before shaking her head and getting to her real question. "What I wanted to ask was, what happened to my brother?"

A coy smile raised itself upon Celestia's lips. "He'll be staying in the castle overnight before he is picked up in the morning. Do not worry. As I have assured you before, he is safe."

"That's not it, I completely trust you and the security our forces offer, just . . . what room is he staying in? If I may ask."

"Hmm . . . I am sorry to say, but you sadly do not have clearance to access it." She seemed continuously amused by the thought of such.

"I . . . don't understand. During off-duty I thought we were free to roam the castle, excluding a few rooms."

"And what would some of those rooms be, hmm?"

"Well, the vault where forbidden items are stored, the dungeons that lead into the underchasm, your private study, a royal family member's room . . ." Cloud seemingly paused at the last one. Something in her head ticked, and she looked up at her leader curiously. "You . . . didn't . . ."

"I may have." The grin grew wider. "If I recall while passing through the barracks on inspection, I overhead you speaking about how much your brother seemed to love a certain sibling of mine. I just wanted to give him the chance at meeting his patron princess is all." 

The pegasus slowly began to smile as well. "I can't believe it . . . he's going to be so unbelievably stoked."

"I do what I can~"





With a loud groan, the shuffling figure in the dim light slowly rose, encased in what appeared to be a bedsheet. What was but a simple blur of blobby shapes and colors to Dust due to distance suddenly made sense. It was a bed, and somepony had been sleeping in it the entire time. A yawn escaped from the figure, and finally the bedspread dropped, revealing a mass of flowing cosmos, sprinkled with the wonders of the galaxy made physical.

Illuminated via moonlight, the dark blue figure of Princess Luna strode from where she had rested, stretching in full view of Dust Mite, who, frankly, was so stunned he had a hard time processing what he was seeing. Waltzing over with a lazy sway in her hips towards the table he resided on, his view becoming nothing but a horizon of black and blue thigh, she had reached down at the scrawl of paper he had ignored earlier, picking it up and reading it aloud. Her words were mumbled, her speech pattern low and grumbly after just waking up, but despite that they still rang powerfully with what he had expected from her.

"Dear sister,

I have invited a guest into your quarters, I hope you do not mind too much. His situation is unique, considering he is hardly comparable to a grain of dirt in stature, if even that. I have promised him safehaven here at the castle, and I am informed he is quite a fan of yours. 'The Patron Princess of the Lost and Outcast', is what I remember some of the older tales refer to you as. If that is anything, this poor small soul falls into that category. Tend to him for the evening if you would do so, as a favor for me? It's not like the Moon Court is going to have any visitors apart from the occasional drunkard or the cultists again who want Nightmare Moon to reign. He is currently on the table right below you, so be gentle.

Loving regards,

Princess Celestia~<3"

"By mother and father's name, she even signed it with a heart." Luna rolled her eyes with a chuckle, humming to herself as she set the paper down back where it had been. With a slow hum, she slowly lowered herself, the very sky itself moving until it was nothing but her piercing teal eyes that practically glowed in the shadows. They seemingly scanned the table, not even having to squint before firmly locking in on where the puny pegasus stood. Cracking the smallest of smiles, the night mare lifted up her head so that her lips were the new worldview, miles and miles of spanning blue stretching into a parted smirk. 

"Well, hello there . . ." Spoken haughtily, nearly blasting him backwards from the ensuing windstorm blowing in from her words, each syllable ringing in his ears as explosive strikes of thunder. 

He had never before been happier.
> Bonus Chapter: Comfy Seat
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



anonymous asked:

Anypony ever sat on you? Unintentionally, or intentionally? What was it like at your size?



“It happens more than it should. Lily teases me all the time by threatening to squish me.”

He momentarily paused to think about the few instances in which she wiggled above him, pinching him up and dropping him onto a conveniently located seat. She never had actually done it, plopping right down atop his infinitesimal body, but the act of malevolence was still there. Wondered when she would actually do it one day.

“Yeah . . . “

Instead she had left him on the seat to fend for himself. Now he would be fine and fly off, but his gigantic little sister had dropped him a distance that was more than enough to leave him stunned and uncognitive for a brief period. As he stumbled about, trying not to slip in between the fibers of the seat cushion, a rumble that neared far too quickly echoed away.

Then the shadow dawned far too quickly. How had he not noticed something so large appear so quickly? Dust would gaze up, momentarily stunned in a sense of awe at the sky of jiggling cheek mass descending at a rate in painfully slow motion. A meager fraction of the whole rump, but more than enough to encompass all he could perceive. 

He felt like he was in some kind of action movie, escaping at the last second. Regained his senses just quick enough to zoom up into the safe space between the two blue monoliths, then sped across the landscapic surface of the seat, hearing and feeling the assocalypse itself flatten down into the chair.

Just as his mother fully sat down, Dust had safely flown into empty air space, the massive matriarch entirely unaware she had almost crushed her son. It was incidents like this that Dust never ever mentioned to anypony.
> Bonus Chapter: A Visit From Aunt Sally
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Dust Mite yawned, awakening to the sound of a low roar far away, but that’s what usually what it always sounded like, just even the slightest bit of air rolling by sound like some sort of storm blowing over a flat plain. He sleepily rubbed his eyes, contemplating whether to conk out for another hour or so. There wasn’t much else to do today, just like every other day, but he felt like there was definitely something he was forgetting. The tiniest of ponies tapped his chin thoughtfully, trying to work his thoughts through the jumbled maze of just waking up.

“Blegh . . . maybe going back to sleep isn’t so bad . . .” He said aloud to himself, which was nice. Dust normally spoke to himself when alone, finding his own voice calming and grounding with its low volume. A much better substitute than the ear-shattering words of normal ponies most of the time. “. . . But I really can’t . . . now what was it? I swear there was something I HAVE to remember . . .”

A low rumble off in the distance, but he chose to ignore it. They were far too commonplace for him to pay attention to every single one.  “What was it . . .” Dust repeated as the source of the rumbling seemed to grow stronger, affecting the ground now. Odd, normally at least one of his family members would be here to check up on him.

Boom.

“Something . . . something mom told me.”

Boom.

Wow he was not alert and very forgetful in the morning. As he pondered, he stretched, flexing his lithe form to work the apathetic laziness that worms its way into the muscles during rest. While he thought, Dust look off into the distance in contemplation, spotting something come into view if he focused. Squinting, miles away a sticky note attached to a wall, ready for him to view if he was even slightly attentive. He smacked himself in the forehead and mentally kicked his own flank, but really he thought he shouldn’t be so hard on himself, he had just woken up.

Boom.

“Dusty, the gals and I will be out picking up groceries for dinner tonight. Your father is out on a run, but don’t worry, we won’t be leaving you alone for too long. Aunt Sally should be over soon. Hope you too have fun catching up! 

Love, Mom”

“Ohhh . . . that’s right, Aunt Sally!” He chuckled, finally remembering.

BOOM.

Dust Mite was nearly knocked flat on his back from a resounding quake that came from right behind him. He was blown back many meters, burning his hooves by jamming them against the ground to stop his flying, wings unfurled to create a sort of organic parachute. Gritting his teeth, he finally stopped, having to wince and hop from one hoof to the other to keep the short sensation of pain from becoming too intense.

“WE-E-E-E-ELLLLLLLLLLL HOWWWWWDY DOWN THERE!”

Gazing skywards, a new atmosphere of patchy black and white greeted in, very random in size and scale, some of the fur just a couple miles of either, but further away they seemed to increase in magnitude and scale. “Oh me oh my, Dust Mite, ya’ll’ve gotten so big! … I think. I can only guess.”

“Uhhmmm . . .” Continuing to look up, the visitor was far too close for him to properly get a read of what they looked like. From what he could gather however, what he was staring at was Aunt Sally. “H-hello!” Dust finally waved up weakly. “You’re a little close, but um . . .”

“Oh sorry bout that lil ‘un. Here, let Auntie back up a bit. An don’t worry I’ll make sure to use my inside voice, if I remember right ya’ll hated noise.” She continue to speak at a rather heightened volume, physically assaulting him with waves of sound that made his fur stand up on end.

A new rumble and roar, this one slow and building, moving away from him as the new colossi slowly backed away, giving him a better view as she furthered herself. She must’ve been right up on the shelf where he was situated, no doubt trying to squint and peer down as closely as possible. There was always a handy magnifying glass nearby for those who weren’t accustomed to trying to spot him, but his mother might’ve neglected to mention it to Sally.

Several new thooms erupted over the course of a few seconds as her own hooves clopped down with seismic force onto the floor below as she backed away miles and miles, her form becoming a much more better contrast to see than just neverending sky, now simply a partially neverending sky with much more definition. A cow. Aunt Sally was a cow. The usual black and white splotches patterned her fur, and she seemed to be sporting a nose ring through her septum. She appeared to be roughly around his own mother’s age, but what distracted him the most was sort her…assets.

Dust’s eyes widened as two new planets entered the solar system, heaving up and down with her breathing as if in some sort of slow cosmic ballet with one another, jostling with just the slightest movement and barely restrained by the jean-fabric top that held their girth up. Sally’s, ahem, ‘udders’ to be precise nearly outsized her whole body, the massive mammaries nearly blotting the view of her face, just a fractionous sliver staring down at him past their magnitude. Well then.

“Ahhh, just so glad to see ya again Dust Mite! Your mom and I go way back, and I was so glad to get a call from her for a visit! So, how’ve things been? Do you go to school anywhere? Any friends? Ooooooh, how about a special somepony, hmmmm?”

“Uhhh …”

“Oh I’m sorry I’m just gushing. I’m still thinking bout when I had to nurse you! Y’know I’ve been a nursing cow for years and helped with dozens of fillies, but when I got you to care for, why, I was being tested! I knew though with all my skill and training I could get you to feed.”

“Ummm yeah.” Now he really didn’t want to think about it. This was getting a little weird and awkward. He hoped his family would come back soon and not leave him with this bovine he hardly knew or remembered.

“In fact, I could show you how I did it, if you’re curious.”

“No, no, that’s not necessary, but thank you Aunt Sally-”

“Nonsense! It won’t take long. Now c’mere you little scamp . . .” Two twin towers that stretched past the heavens descended upon him, casting a new shadow he could never outrun or outfly. Dust gazed up and yelped in panick, wings fluttering to try and lift him off the ground, but instead rammed him right into the trap that would encompass the air space in which he would escape, pinching him tightly between two slamming walls of a thumb and forefinger large enough to put tectonic plates to shame.

When the appendages met and nearly crushed him, knocking the breath out of him with ease, all he could make out was white fur plowing into his tiny body, the slight echoing rustle of movement still in his ears. The tiny grey pegasus gasped and struggled, but it was no doubt futile. He was stuck, and not in a position where he could power through and slip out. It was always odd in those ways when being held. Sometimes he could actually escape through the tiniest of fractions of empty spaces where a normal sized being could not see him leave, but this was just enough to hold him in place.

“Now, all I had to do was this,” Using her free hand, the cow shimmied her top down, letting one breast fly free in a sort of fleshy explosion, as if its tremendous cup size had almost doubled in proportion upon being freed. Once the wobbling died down, she hefted it up so that her hemispheric nipple was faced upwards, slowly descending the two fingers that held Dust Mite down towards it, releasing him once she thought he was close enough, letting him fall onto a new fleshy pink continent.

He landed with the smallest ‘squish’, sinking into the ground slightly before jolting back up onto his hooves and feeling like his entire body was unclean. The skin was almost spongy, but still soft and malleable to the touch, and he felt ‘udderly’ embarrassed for being on here. He also mentally scolded himself for making the worst situational joke on the planet. All around, far as the eye could see, even onto the distant horizon nothing but pink nipplescape, the occasional pore large enough to engulf Equestria and wrinkle canyons in the skin that made San Palamino’s look pitiful dotted here and there.

Up above, the new sky of Sally’s eye gazed down, almost twinkling with mirth. “Aww, this brings back memories! Ya look right as cute as did you when you were a silly little filly.”

“I really don’t-” Dust began. Sally interjected again, interrupting his all too small voice.

“Once you were on there, all I had to do was work up the juice,” Far, far away a great sloshing like a million churning shaken milk jugs at once echoed. Dust could feel it beneath him roil and roar, while further away in the largest hole of all, what he could only assume was the duct, a rising tsunami of white slowly made itself visible, miles of it encompassing the pink and splashing down. Good thing he was too far away for it to physically affect him.

“Aaand right after that, we’d get an eyedropper and just give you the slightest amount! You were smart, so you didn’t fall in or anything. Oh, such memories.”

“Y-yeah. Now um, if you could remove me please-”

“Dust Mite! We’re home!” The familiar sound of his mother called from far away, followed by a door closing and multiple shuffling hoofsteps. He could already feels his cheeks burning with flushed humiliation.

“Oh Small Smiles!” Sally called back in reply. “Dust’s here with me! Here, we’ll be right there in a jiffy!” She then looked back down at him still upon her nipple tip and grinned. “It’s a big ol’ family reunion! Can’t wait to see the girls too.”

“Yeah . . .” He wondered if he went into one of those infinitesimal marks in the skin deep enough he could get lost and never come back. Probably.
> Bonus Chapter: Keep Your Eye on the Prize
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



anonymous asked:

That idea from your other blog would be a great writing prompt. Dust gets in someone's eye and they have to fix the situation without anything bad happening.



“Ow, ow, OW! Get him out get him out get him OOOUUUTTTTT!!!!!”

“Stay still! Moving around will only make things worse.”

“Things aren’t any better for me.” Dust Mite grumbled to himself, wincing as he attempted to wriggle and free himself from his bonds, but the current situation proved a tad too hazardous to elicit any sudden movement. Being as small as he was always proved to have its dangers, even if he was careful. So many factors could come into play, everything that was so seemingly minute magnified to disastrous results. Such a situation had recently befallen him, and wasn’t much better for his younger sister.

Having been provoked just a tad too much, he had taken it upon himself to show her a lesson or two. It would be a minor inconvenience for sure, but it was a victory he’d take willingly, consequences be damned. Rearing back and zooming at full speed, he was only going to to hit her eye and bounce back, but his reaction time was off just enough he had been caught by the falling eyelid, trapping and mashing him against the softly protective outer layer of jelly that covered the optic. Currently embedded into it, Lilycup was dancing around as if she were doing a jig, almost crying from the minor pain from an area where there normally shouldn’t be any.

“Just stay still, sweetie,” The calmly mature voice of their mother rang out, her horn lighting up as her magical aura went out in search of Dust Mite. “Let this be a lesson to both of you. Lilycup: be nicer to your brother. Dust, don’t pick fights you know could get you in trouble.”

“Hmmph.” Both practically huffed in unison. Eventually however Small’s magic did find him, and with keen precision and gentleness, plucked him right out as if no harm had been done.

“There, all better.” Small chirped cheerfully. “Now, apologize to one another.”

“…”

“…”

“Ahem. Apologize.” Repeated with clearer enunciation.

“Sorry Dust …”

“Sorry Lily … “
> Bonus Guest Chapter: Dust Mite's Mighty Fight - Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dust Mite’s Mighty Fight
Chapter 1






There are those that claim that size doesn’t matter and that it’s how you use your talents that defines a pony. Ponies of all sizes work their whole lives to figure out what they are destined to be good at, some small ponies have a large future ahead of them and big ponies might have a small, simple life waiting for them. Each and everyone will need help figuring out what that talent is and there are those that are willing to help. But when a great danger threatens them all, they need some the help of the strongest ponies. That is when they look for heroes. And in the tiniest of ponies, they will find that hero.

In the small city of Mareton, the citizens went about their days like an normal pony would, going to work, meeting with friends, and enjoying their lives. It was a rather peaceful little place, but even the most relaxing places must be balanced out with occasional times of turmoil. However, the criminals of Mareton are wary of the ever watchful eye of the city’s protector. No pony knows where he came from or how he became the way he is but they all know that he is their righteous defender of peace and justice. The bad guys never see him coming for he is swift and powerful. 

Among the cities skyscrapers, a fast, visible streak of grey and yellow was seen scaling the largest tower of the city. The streak moved with blinding speed and agility, making 90 degree turns and changing directions without losing momentum, continuing to scale the building. As it came close to the top, it rocketed into the sky above the tower creating a small explosion of sound as it created a sonic boom. It hovered over the tip of the tower for a second before rocketing to the tip and landing on the top, creating a small shockwave in its wake. Upon the pinnacle of the structure stood a tiny pony dressed in a bright yellow suit with a symbol of a black fist laid overtop of a white lightning bolt on his chest. The pony was a pegasus pony and his wings were extended to full length, showing the impressive wings that had produced such power. With his arms crossed over his chest and confident smirk on his face, the little pony let out a roar of authority that could match the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Evil beware! For I! AM! DUST MIGHT!! TINY ENFORCER OF ALL THAT IS RIGHT AND JUST!!” the hero bellowed for all of the denizens of the city to hear.





“…”

“……..”

“…………….”

“Uhh…that’s your cue to enter” Dust spoke into his walkie-talkie. 

His mother had shrunken down a couple of them for him to communicate easier with others in the house. They were still a little buggy because, as his mother had explained, when some electronic devices are shrunk by her magic, the spell could cause some interference with the electronics inside the device. It was hard to not completely fry the wiring in the thing in order to modify it so that a normal pony’s voice would blast the speaker out of the the shrunken one. The pile of fried devices in the corner of his mother’s office showed it was still a work in progress.

“…Dust…” the device crackled, “I am your sister, and I love you dearly and would do anything for you, but this…is… seriously out of the realm of likelihood. I’m sorry, I change my mind. I can’t bring myself to do this” 

The voice was that of Dust’s bigger, quite literally, older sister Cloud Tower. She was on a break from her duty in the Canterlot Guard and was home to take some time to relax and recuperate before her next week of duty. It was tough work and Cloud was thankful for the time off to see her family again, even if for a little while. After a particularly tough week, she was expecting a week of relaxation.

She hadn’t, however, expected her little brother to suddenly have the desire to live out his fantasy of being a superhero and for her to be roped in as the, as he put it, “terrifying monster creature.” As if being called that wasn’t strange enough, he had even got their parents to buy her a cheap, green dragon costume. When she had been handed it and Dust explained what he wanted her to do, she suddenly had no interest in participating in Dust’s little play. When she had rejected the part, Dust began to desperately try and get her to reconsider. She endured several minutes of begging from her brother as he flew in front of her eye, showing how cool she was going to be and how the two of them would have fun. She wasn’t going to be swayed and gave him a stern look and telling him that she wouldn’t and that it was childish. As soon as she had said that, she regretted it as she could almost see the tears begin to well up in Dust’s eyes. It wasn’t long before he actually did begin crying on her snout that she felt bad and decided to at least try it, causing her mite of a brother to hug her, or at least one of the hairs on her snout.

“ Oh c’mon Cloudy! You said you’d do it!” Dust objected into the device “you said you’d at least TRY it. And what was part of the Guard Code?” he asked her, she could almost hear his smug grin.

He pulled out his trump card. In the Canterlot Guard Code, one of the requirements of a good protector of Canterlot and Equestria was that one must honor their word. That clever little pony had used her duty against her and if there was one thing that made Cloud furious, and Dust knew this, was when somepony used her duty to make her do something she didn’t want to. Cloud smiled a wicked grin, if he wanted to go there to get her to be a monster, then he’d get his monster alright.

“Alright you sly, lil pony. You’d better get ready for it if that’s how you want to play this” Cloud chuckled, a pinch of malice in her voice.

Against his will, Dust felt his whole body shiver as she said that. His body turned cold as he felt the distant rumbles of “the monster” approaching, rapidly getting closer and more violent. In trying to get his monster, he might have accidentally created one. The super Dust Might might not be able to help him win this fight.





It happened slowly at first, a low, long rumble that only those that paid attention would notice. Then another, similar to the first one but again, undetectable from the daily noise and commotion of the daily city life. If one were to look into their beverage while it was resting on the table in a cafe, they might notice tiny little ripples, expanding across their drink with steady increasing intensity with each quake. With each following quake, a low, booming shockwave raced through the air, only a ringing rumble at first, but it began to pierce the ears of the ponies in Mareton, causing many to look around in confusion at the source of the noise. 

Soon the quakes and the sounds became more defined, occurring in a steady pattern that began to worry the citizens. Traffic began to slow as vehicles began to bounce from the shaking ground under them, the back ends swinging out from the drivers causing a couple minor accidents. As traffic began to stop, ponies began murmuring to each other to try and discover what the source of the disturbances might be. Some said that it must have been an accident at one of the many construction sites, others said that it must have been some kind of traffic accident with a lot of vehicles. Then the ground really began to shake, more and more intense quakes rocked the city to its foundation, throwing the denizens to try and find their balance as vehicles were thrown about like toys. Alarms from the vehicles began blaring, their piercing shrieks added to the building chaos as ponies began to panic, yelling in confusion about what was causing the earthquakes, but nopony could come up with a solid conclusion.

But one pony knew what it was. Standing on the top of the city’s tallest skyscraper, Dust Might was able to not only feel the swaying of the building as the earth beneath it shook, but also see what the source of the disturbance was. And the sight of the source paralyzed him in fear. 

It was a hoof and It was big. Bigger than big, enormous, titanic. No, it was even bigger than that. It’s size was incomprehensible to many of those below. It was a moving mountain the size of which dwarfed the ones that lay on the outskirts of Mareton but this moving monument made those mountains look like pebbles. He soon realized that the feature was still many miles away, but its size matched the distance it was from the city. The hoof was so massive that it’s light blue color became the sky that covered the horizon and the peripheral view of the surrounding countryside, a moving sky of a hoof. If this was just the hoof of this creature, Dust Might couldn’t comprehend just how titanic the rest of the pony attached to it must have been.

And then his greatest fear became reality. Dust Might looked up, and up, and up until he was bent over backwards to try and see how large the being was. Far, far, far, far  above him, a pair of eyes, the size of a small countries,  looked down, right back at him. The worst part was the mouth, countless miles across, was smiling down at him, but he didn’t feel the happiness that that pony was feeling.





To the creator’s credit, they really tried to make the costume seem like it actually was a dragon, with a different texture stitched in diamond patterns to try and give the illusion of scales. The problem with it was that no pony over the age of 5 would be scared by it, or even take it seriously. For a proud pony like Cloud, she’d be caught dead wearing it. Folding the suit carefully to ensure its future wearability (you never know when you might need a foal costume of a dopey dragon), Cloud placed it on a chair resting in the hallway by the main door. As much as Dust wanted his monster, Cloud didn’t need a cloth to show that she was scary. Turning her eyes towards the family room where Dust was, she smiled and slowly made her way into the room.

She knew very well what her size was to her little brother. Everything in the wide world of Equestria was massive in size to him and he knew that everything that moved would rock his world, quite literally. And if Dust wanted to use things that annoyed her to get her to do something, she would do what scared him to give him the full effect. Cloud was taller than most mares her age, standing around a little under 6 feet and she was going to use every inch of it to be the monster her brother wanted. 

Cloud peaked into the family room to located where Dust had taken base. She focused her eyes to try and see where he and their mom had placed the miniature city sets that Dust had take to “protecting.” Years of looking out for her little brother had developed her eye for spotting him to protect him from trouble. Finally she spotted it, located near the middle-back of the room.

“There you are…” she muttered, turning her radio to “emergency only” mode, meaning only if Dust sent an emergency tone would the two radios be connected. She didn’t need a radio for what she was about to do next, but left it on just in case it got out of control. “Time to start this rampage.”

She took a step towards the city. She made sure to put more force into her step rattling some of the loose items on the bookshelves on the back wall. She paused for a second in order to let her step resonate through the floor before she took another step with the same process. By this time, Dust likely had realized his mistake in annoying his sister and was probably starting to worry, trying to plead with her into her silent radio. Cloud grinned as she stepped closer and closer to her brother until she was basically on top of the city. As her eyes focused down of the model cityscape she managed to find the tallest building where her brother was rested upon, craning his neck to look up at his older sister. She smiled down at the sight and slowly crouched, her body and shadow looming over the city, completely covering it in darkness, none of the buildings reaching past a couple centimeters on her hooves.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” Cloud inquired, speaking in a volume loud enough to shake the whole city but not loud enough to hurt Dust’s ears, “it seems as though a city of bugs decided to sprout up in my living room. This simply will cannot be allowed.” 

She quickly unfurled her wings out to her sides with a mighty “phwoosh” and began to chuckle, causing shockwaves that knocked Dust down, and slowly began to rise to her full height. She was an impressive sight with her full size on display to a normal pony, to Dust, it looked like one of the biggest mistakes he had ever made.

“I’ll have to take care of this. And I think the old fashioned way of getting rid of pests will work just fine. Prepare yourselves, little critters, no “hero” will save you now” Cloud taunted, putting an emphasis on hero to let her brother know that this was his cue. 

She slowly, methodically lifted her right hoof and gradually hovered it towards the city until it was positioned over it. She let it dangle for a second, letting some of the gunk that had been smooshed into her hoof fall onto the model skyscape. Bits of dirt tracked in from the outdoors bounced off some of the buildings, lint and dust floated all over the place, covering some of it in thin layers of grey, and a couple beads of sweat from the hot temperatures that had formed on her underhoof splashed in the streets. She taunted her brother a little longer, letting him see what was in store for him, Cloud giggling at how silly he must be feeling now,  before letting it slowly fall.

> Bonus Guest Chapter: Dust Mite's Mighty Fight - Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dust Mite’s Mighty Fight

Chapter 2: The Sky Is Falling!






Panic turned to absolute chaos and pandemonium in the city below as the colossus above kneeled down towards the city, its movements alone rocked the very ground they stood on and the displaced air raced through the city streets, blowing away anything that wasn’t prepared for the assault. The shock that a creature of such size left many unable to comprehend what to do, leaving them with slacked jaws and frozen in place. For others, a primal urge to flee danger filled them and they began to flee for safety, even if they subconsciously knew that they had nowhere to hide, this being could destroy everything with just its simple movements.

For those that had their wits and could observe everything, the being appeared to be a pony, just like them, except for the whole “large enough to be a continent or larger and could completely flatten the whole city and not even feel it” thing. The colossal pony seemed to be a female, but that was only a thought that briefly crossed their minds as they waited for this being to act.  To put it simply, all the citizens were at the mercy of this being. Was it benevolent and simply curious or did it have more sinister, destructive motives?

And then it spoke, and any sense of potential calm was blown away, quite literally, by the absolute power of the shockwaves that its voice produced. It was as though a God, or in this case a Goddess, was addressing them, her voice was so powerful, but controlled enough that it didn’t blast their eardrums out, but the shear force rattled their whole body and the very earth began to tremble at her power.

“Well, well, what do we have here? It seems as though a city of bugs decided to sprout up in my living room. This simply will not be allowed” Her voice exploded from above.

And in that moment, no soul knew peace. Ponies everywhere began to shriek in abject terror and fled for their lives. 





From his perch above the city, Dust Might looked on in a paralyzed fear, his body covered in a cold sweat under his super suit, his throat going dry as he couldn’t pick his jaw up off the floor. He had been knocked over by the sheer force of his sister’s voice, which wasn’t what scared him. What really scared him was just how much Cloud was embracing the role. He knew that he had gotten under her skin with his guard remark, but he hadn’t realized that a tired and angry pony was not one to be so lightly mocked, especially one that was much, much larger than him. She truly seemed like she was going to step on him, with little regret and the look in her eyes, the piercing green eyes filled with a pleasure that she had kept locked away, a look that said she was slightly enjoying this, almost made Dust begin to weep in total fear.

Then she unfurled her wings and began to slowly rise. If her presence before had caused such fear in him, when she showed off just how much power she really had over him, Dust felt a couple tears stream down from his face. He quickly scrambled for his walkie-talkie.

“C-C-CLOUDY I’M SORRY! I-I-I DIDN’T MEAN T-T-TO UPSET YOU!! I’M SORRY! PLEASE STOP, PLEASE!” Dust shouted into his device, but to his horror, he heard nothing from the device high above him. 
“CLOUD!!!” he screamed at the top of his lungs up at her in a desperate attempt to get her attention, but she didn’t hear him.

“No ‘hero’ will save you now” Cloud’s voice crashed down on him. 

Before he could do anything, he felt the ground shake again and saw her leg move. On the horizon, the sky lifted from the horizon and began to rise, higher and higher it went until it was miles above him. Then it began to hover towards him until it was right above him and the city. Her hoof. It hung in the air, covering the city and him in darkness, agonizingly still. Before she even had to move, it began to cause destruction, bits of dirt and other gunk that had clung to the bottom of her hoof began to rain down upon him. The dirt bounced off the model buildings with loud bangs, a thin layer of dust began coating the surface of everything and Dust himself had to dodge some larger bits, and beads of sweat splashed in the streets, creating small pools and streams. 

Then it shifted and began to descend. Dust could only look on in horror as the all encompassing appendage began its slow free fall towards him. With no other option, he spread his wings, leaped from his building, and raced away to try and escape from his fate. He was a fast flier, if he was a normal pony, he would probably get the attention of The Wonderbolts for his talents. He would also be able to avoid danger like this with no problem. Unfortunately, in the real world, he was an infinitesimally, tiny dot and his sister’s hoof was not. He pumped his wings and flew as hard and fast as he could, weaving between building spires and antenna to get away, to reach the edge of her hoof where he knew that he could be blown out by the displacement of air if he didn’t make it out in time. 

He had been stuck to the bottom of other ponies’ hooves before and while he was usually safe since most pony had soft, squishy bottoms, the fact that his sister was gunning for him made him think that it would not be good for his health if he was stepped on. So he pumped his wings harder, faster, feeling the burn of his muscles and the rush of adrenaline in his veins as the shadow above him grew larger and darker as the hoof crept closer and closer. He peaked a look up in front of him to judge where he was and how close he was to the edge of her hoof and he gasped slightly as he realized that if he continued at this pace, he would make it out with time to spare. His eyes gleamed as hope filled him with the strength to continue.

But there was an old saying for Pegasi that his father had told him repeatedly, “‘Lazy sight makes for dangerous flight’ it means that if you don’t have total focus when flying you could get into trouble. So make sure you don’t lose focus when you fly, okay? Somepony your size can’t risk getting in trouble when you fly, especially if you’re in danger. Remember that, okay son?” Dust heard his father’s voice in his head. Realizing that he wasn’t focused on his trajectory he glanced back down just in time to see a building racing towards him. 

Dust yelped in surprise and pulled up hard to avoid running into the side of it. He managed to avoid colliding with it and began flying up the side, his view filled with the still descending hoof. He pushed himself to reach the top of the building and managed to clear it and was granted a view of the other side where he began to hover and quickly survey his surroundings. Only a couple blocks away from where he was, the shadow of the hoof had not covered in darkness meaning that that part of the city was a safe place. Winding his leg up like he had seen in some cartoons, he rocketed off towards his potential safety zone. What had been a safe amount of time to escape suddenly became a race against the clock as Cloud’s hoof was now beginning to get uncomfortably closer as he pushed on. 

“Almost…there…” he said to himself, the fire in his wings growing noticeably more severe as he pushed himself with every last ounce of energy he had. Then he heard a rumbling and noticed that Cloud was now much closer than he had expected, she was closing in fast. Dust continued to pump as hard as he could, closing his eyes and pushing even harder, but he felt his body starting to slow down, he hadn’t had to push himself this hard in a long time and his body was not used to it. He kept pushing, but his body was giving out on him and he began to slow down. The hoof above him was not slowing down though and it was almost upon him. Panting and sweating, Dust gave it everything he had, the safe zone was so close, just another block. He continued to beat his wings with everything he had until he felt the air around him began to change. Cloud’s hoof had begun to rapidly displace the air around him and it was changing the currents and pressure around him. It was minute at first but it began to gather strength. Dust continued his flight, adjusting to the air, but it caused more strain on his already tired body and he felt as though his wing joints were being stabbed with hot knives, but he kept going, only a little farther. He heard the rumbling of Cloud’s hoof and the screaming air around him, the darkness completely covering him, the only light was the city beyond the hoof. It was almost on him, he descended to give himself some more room, only a couple meters left. He reached deep within him for any last amount of energy to give and pushed hard. The buildings behind him were swallowed up and consumed by the soft, destroyer of civilization but Dust took no notice, ignoring the rumbling of Cloud’s hoof along the ground and the rumbling floor below him, only seeing the safety in front of him. Dust let out a roar of power and kicked out behind him trying to give him just a little boost.  

Suddenly, a huge rush of air blasted Dust from behind and he was projected forward, causing him to lose control and was sent flailing through the air head over hooves. He landed on the ground and skipped along for a couple feet, skidding across the ground. His body groaning in pain as he pushed himself up, looking where he was. Just a few feet in front of him, safety. He didn’t need to look up to know that he was still in trouble, the fact he felt the whole world rumbling clued him in that he was still in danger of being smothered. He picked himself up and began running towards the shrinking opening of light, his wings limp at his side, exhausted of energy. He tried to keep his balance as the ground continued to violently shake, pushing himself hard. He felt the presence of Cloud behind him, covering the path he had just trekked as it pursued him mercilessly. It was there, just a couple more feet.

With the last ounce of strength he had, Dust leaped towards the opening, his cape from his costume releasing itself from himself and being engulfed by the hoof. Feeling a final strong gust of wind, Dust was tossed through the air and again began to roll and tumble, hearing the final deafening “thoom” of Cloud finally stepping down. He skidded along the ground again on his back, opening his eyes after he came to a stop, looking up the massive wall of a hoof and the leg that it was attached to, all the way up into the hazy distance where the rest of his sister continued to look down on him. Gasping for every last breath of air he could get, he continued to lay there, his whole body on fire, but not smashed into the bottom of his sister. He smiled.

“I……*huff*……ma…de…..it……..” he gasped. He thanked Luna that either she or her sister had blessed him with being able to survive that. He laid there, closing his eyes and getting his breath back, glad for the moment of peace.

It was shorted lived, however, as he again felt the ground tremble and his sister lifted her hoof. Dust sat up immediately, on high alert of what his sister might do. When the massive appendage moved up, Dust was in awe of what he saw. Where an impressive model of a city once stood was now a flat, broken landscape, none of the previously tall, majestic buildings were any taller than he was, crushed into oblivion. As the hoof continued to rise, it began to shake up and down and side to side, small bits of debris began to free themselves from being lodged in Cloud’s hoof and began to rain down towards the ground, causing loud collisions as pieces banged into each other. 

Instead of retreating to its owner in the distance, it shot past Dust and he watched it go into the distance where it began to turn perpendicular with the floor and began to lower.

“Wait…then that means that…” Dust pondered and began to look back.

	“WWHHTTOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM” 

Dust was propelled into the air as the ground violently quaked underneath him. He was propelled so fast and high, he landed on a smaller model building’s roof. Shaking his head to get rid of the stars, he turned to the source of the quake. Cloud had sat down on the floor, her legs straddling the remaining city between her legs. Each leg was a sight to behold, well toned and muscular but still graceful and feminine, training as a guard really made you strong. Dust followed the legs up towards their owner and saw his sister, high above him, gazing down on the model, reaching towards her walkie-talkie and turning it on.

“You survive the ‘big, scary monster’ lil’ bro?” Cloud asked, a smirk on her face.

Dust frowned and took a second to give his sister his answer with his hands, a rather obscene gesture that he didn’t like giving, but after what he went through, it was the best answer he could give.

> Bonus Guest Chapter: Dust Mite's Mighty Fight - Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dust Mite’s Mighty Fight

Chapter 3: Not a Violent Pony






Cloud had never really considered herself to be a particularly violent individual. Causing pain or harm to another pony was something that she had never really been about, after all if she caused another pony to feel pain, she would feel incredibly guilty. The exception to this was when the pony was a jerk. Whether she was born with it or whether it was something that had she had developed as she got older, protecting younger, smaller ponies (like her brother from her baby sister, for instance) was something that called to her, as though she was some kind of guardian angel for those that couldn’t defend themselves against bullies. She grew up as the kind of pony that other, younger ponies looked up to as an idol, which Cloud wasn’t fond of being called, but did blush a time or two when they called her a “hero.” When she finally got her cutie mark, it was one of the best days of her life.

It was when she was almost done with school that she finally found what she wanted to do with that protective talent. Her parents took her on a trip to Canterlot to visit some old friends of her mother and during that trip, they passed by the castle of the Princess Celestia. Cloud was in awe of the majesty of the building, but what happened next forever remained with her. As they passed by, Princess Celestia was leaving the castle with her royal guard to go on an trip to a neighboring country for diplomatic reasons. She paraded through the streets for a while before she took off, but she made sure to wave to her citizens, and that was when Cloud was spotted by the princess. Her smile was as warm as the sun she raised everyday and as loving as her parent’s embrace. The guards that surrounded her were the most amazing thing she had ever seen and when she learned of what they stood for, how they were protectors of those that needed help and guarded the princess, Cloud set her goals ahead of her. For years, she trained to be one and to be able to help those that needed help and to punish evil doers. The day she was accepted into the guard was the best day of her life, one of many.

She took great pride in her duty and, as Dust had shown, it made her furious when ponies would try to use that against her. She usually managed to take control of the situation and not let that happen, mainly because she would likely be dismissed if she lashed out, since protecting the citizens was top priority.

…

There was nothing in the code that said tormenting little brothers that got on your nerves was against the rules. And sometimes, it felt good to be a troublemaker. Besides, it’s what siblings do, bother each other.

Cloud knew very well what she was doing as she began to lower her hoof onto the cityscape that housed her brother. 

Dust was a tough lil guy and he always managed to survive whatever kind of trouble came his way and after having to watch out for him for his whole life, she knew him just about as well as he knew himself. She would never actually intend harm or significant injury to him, but deep down, she did enjoy the power trip that came with it. She always caught it and made sure that she didn’t get carried away but there were a couple times where she had to apologize profusely because she misjudged something or was not paying attention and had accidentally got Dust in a…less than ideal situation. Some were worse (and more awkward) than others, but through those experiences, she learned what both of them were capable of. And right now, she knew exactly what he was up to.

Dropping her hoof at an angle, she was offering him more time to fly towards the far side of it and to escape from there. He would go as fast as he could, which compared to Cloud was incredibly slow, but she had learned the perfect pace to step when around him and give him time to fly out from underneath her, and it was not a short amount of time. For his safety though, as much as she actually wanted to smoosh him into the floor and tease him, she wouldn’t let him be harmed.

Plus, she had other ideas and didn’t want to end this “fight” too soon.

As her hoof continued to lower, she felt a sharp prick on the bottom of it, signaling that she had hit the tops of the model buildings. She winced for a second as the sudden prick was unexpected but soon the tips couldn’t hold up to the mass and size of the flesh crashing down onto it and the buildings began to break off and fall to the floor. Cloud was a little surprised at how flimsy the buildings were. Even for being a model, she was expecting for them to give up more of a fight than what they gave. But she continued to slowly step down feeling more and more buildings break apart and crumble under her and there was a small feeling of excitement that ran up her spine as she continued her destructive step. Finally, the first part of her hoof slammed into the floor and the rest of it began to roll forward, flattening the wimpy buildings under her with little effort. It slowly continued to roll forward, more and more of the model flattening before her until the last part of it was left. By her calculations, Dust should have made it out by now but to be safe she continued her pace and finally let her hoof fall with a forceful press at the end. She held in place for a second before she lifted her hoof from the floor. Dust likely made it to the safe spots in the rest of the model and probably had a word or two for her, not that she really cared right now, she had a monster role to play and she was going to give it her all.

Swinging her hoof forward and lowering to the ground, she took a seat, stretching her legs so that one was placed on either side of the remaining model. She reached over and turned on her walkie talkie to hear her brother.

“You survive the ‘big, scary monster lil bro?” she asked the little buildings in front of her, still not exactly sure where he was. 

A couple seconds passed before her device crackled to life. On the other end she heard the deep huffs and puffs as Dust continued to catch his breath.

“You” he wheezed, “definitely…are…living up…to this…role” came the reply from Dust.

Cloud smiled as she was glad that he wasn’t harmed. But this was just starting and he had a job to do.

“Don’t compliment the enemy, ‘hero’” she said, mockingly, “You still have a city to defend and if you don’t fight me, there won’t be any city left to save.” She shifted her legs and brought them up towards her body keeping her left leg crossed under her right leg as she displayed the crushed remains of the model squished into the bottom of her hoof. She placed it a couple inches away from the closest buildings, lifted it a couple inches and then slammed it back onto the ground, rocking the bookshelves again and no doubt causing Dust to shake.

“It’s time for your counter-attack ‘Dust Might,’ give it all you got or more civilians will be lost” she smirked at him, wiggling her hoof in front of him, a little blush appearing on Dust’s face.

She leaned forward and placed her chest on her thigh and laid her chin on her knee, getting comfortable for the attack that Dust was about to unleash. 

“We’ve only started little brother. You are gonna help me relax, whether you want to or not” Cloud thought to herself, her smirk growing larger, a chuckle filling the room.

She really isn’t a violent pony, honest.

> Bonus Guest Chapter: Dust Mite's Mighty Fight - Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dust Mite’s Mighty Fight

Chapter 4: Eat Your Greens, Buddy






This was a situation that Dust was both incredibly familiar with and incredibly shocked by at the same time. He had sometimes been on the other side, underside mainly, of somepony’s hoof, usually his little sister’s since she had a little nasty habit of having little “fun times” with him, or he had to get away from a member of his family just walking by while he was near the ground. This was something that didn’t bother or fluster him at all. What DID throw him for a loop, and bring a shameful blush to his face, was the fact that it was his OLDER sister acting like this. If there was one pony in the whole world that he would never expect to act like this, it was his stoic, honorable, protective older sister. She always made sure to take care of him and ensure that he didn’t have to endure situations that were potentially dangerous like this. Now she was the one who not only instigated it, but was keeping it going, which went against everything that Dust had ever expected from Cloud.

A violent shaking snapped him out of his thoughts and looked up to see his sister’s vast body shifting position, the light blue landscapes that were her legs rushing past on both sides of him at speeds that he could only wish he could achieve. The gigantic limbs were a wonderful combination of athletic fitness and attractive grace, the result of years of training with the royal guard in Canterlot as part of a rigorous regimen, ensuring that pegasi like Cloud could be as tough as they could be on the ground as well as in the sky. And since Cloud had a drive to be strong to protect others that needed help, she doubled her efforts and had worked harder than most of the roughest, toughest stallions in the guard. She was seen as an overachiever, but when she managed to take down some of the big guys in one-on-one combat training, well, some of those in the guard would be okay with her protecting them. 

The overall result? A body that would make any stallion’s legs wobble (or mare, if they were into that). For Dust, he was wobbling alright, but not just because Cloud was attractive. The fact that each leg was miles high to him also contributed to that fact.

She finally finished shifting her legs and brought her right hoof forward towards Dust. For Dust, it was a pretty scary sight as the limb that had just squashed about a fourth of his cityscape model flat with no effort was now making it’s return appearance. The giant wall of flesh was approaching ever closer and he could still see the flattened model buildings stuck to the hoof, pressed deep into the soft prison that was Cloud. Dust was starting to worry as the limb continuing its approach, looking for its prey, but he took a breath of relief as she stopped, Dust standing in the shadow of the hoof as it stretched up into the air above him. 

"Don’t compliment the enemy, ‘hero’" she thunderously mocked from above, making Dust jump. 

She then raised her hoof into the air, not very much, just enough to make it slightly higher than the remaining tallest building in the model. Dust wondered what she was doing, but she very quickly answered the question as she slammed her hoof down with such force it threw Dust into the air again, sending him tumbling across the rooftop of the building next to him.

Her words thundered down upon him again and he his head swam as he tried to gather himself and still comprehend what she was saying to him. Her mocking tone showed that she was in complete control of what events were about to transpire and that Dust was now stuck with this scenario whether he wanted to or not. He heard her say the words “counter-attack” and whipped his head towards her. Counter-attack? Him? He couldn’t possibly harm her! He could barely be felt even when a pony knew he was there, whatever he did wouldn’t have any effect on her. However, he would hesitantly admit, she was staying with the theme of him being a hero, he did have “citizens” to save and he was their best hope. He had to try! He stood and unfurled his wings, his body filled with…

A low rumble interrupted him and he stumbled and tried to find his balance. Cloud had shifted again, bringing her chin to her knee bringing her closer towards him. She had also given him a calmly smile and wiggled the tips of her hoof, an act that she knew always flustered Dust.

For Dust, he suddenly felt his face get really warm. Rapidly flapping the neck part of his outfit in and out, trying to cool off. If he could see his face, it’d probably be as red as a rose. He hated it when his sister’s did that to him. Something about the wiggling of the tip of a pony’s hoof always ruffled him and he couldn’t explain why.

Shaking his head and clearing his thoughts, he posed heroically and pointed up towards his sister, her head cocked to the left with that smile still on her face.

“P-PREPARE YOURSELF, B-BEAST!” Dust screamed as loud as he could, his words only reaching Cloud through the walkie-talkie, “I, DUST MIGHT, SAVIOR OF THE PEOPLE, WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!!”

Dust flared his wings and prepared to take off.

“HAVE AT YOU!” he bellowed and shot off like a bolt of lightning towards his giant foe.

“Here goes…something…” Dust thought to himself.

The wind screamed past him as he raced at high speed towards the underside of his sister’s hoof. Though it was only a couple inches for Cloud, it was quite the distance for Dust, his wings beating hard and his breathing stable. What was he even going to do to attack? He hadn’t planned for Cloud to get this serious and actually make him get physical, even though it wouldn’t hurt her. She had always tried to get him to be tougher and more confident in himself, which would be hard to do for any normal, shy pony. Trying to raise confidence in a pony as small as him was a task as big as the world around him. But she knew it wouldn’t be easy and made sure that she would always be there for him when he needed her. 

Well it was his time to show her how strong he had become with her help. That he was the hero that he always dreamed to be. That he was strong!

Her hoof was coming up fast. He was prepared for this confrontation. He judged the distance and wound his arm back and felt the muscles in his arm stretch as he prepared. A couple meters...here it came!

As Dust rocketed in, he braced himself for impact, the wall of light blue awaited him, white and grey flecks and pieces from the model implanted throughout the surface. 

“HWAAAHHH!!” Dust yelled and unleashed hell.

*pomp*

Instead of the epic moment that he was hoping for, Dust instead found himself impacting into the soft wall of flesh. He found himself lodged into the hoof as the soft walls flattened out and reformed from the shockwave of the impact. He gasped as he saw the ripples returning to their original place looking to trap him and bring him further into his sister’s limb. Dust rapidly flapped his wings and managed to escape from his potential prison, retreating to a safe distance to catch his breath. Taking a sec to compose himself, Dust took a flying start and delivered a couple more blows with the same results and after having no success, took a minute to breathe. 

As he was catching his breath, a shadow crept over him and a loud chuckle vibrated the air around him. He didn’t need to look up to know what was the source of it was, but he did so anyway. Cloud was leaned over and was now looming over Dust, a smug grin on her face as she chuckled again. Before Dust could react, her hand shot down and had imprisoned him in her grasp, carefully making sure that she didn’t crush him and he felt his world rapidly shifting.

Pegasi were usually not fans of enclosed spaces and darkness, it wasn’t in their genetics. So it was always terrifying when Dust was swallowed by darkness and enclosed spaces, even though it was his sister, her behavior made him nervous. Suddenly, his accent stopped and he was thrown around by the sudden stop. He rubbed his head and was suddenly blinded by the light of his sister’s hand opening and his view was taken over by two giant eyes staring down at him. She had brought him towards her face and now had him in her palm at the end of her snout.

"Heh, well at least the people of your city will know that their hero at least tried. Now? He will simply become a victim like the rest of them" Cloud’s voice rumbled, shaking Dust to his core.

“Wha..? What do you mean?” Dust yelled in reply, nervous as to what “victim” implied.

His answer came in the sound of an “evil” laugh since Cloud had to actually try and make it seem like she was a bad pony. Normally Dust wouldn’t have bought it, but with her behavior, he didn’t want to upset her anymore than he already had.

"You’ll find out, Dust Might" Cloud sneered.

Before he could respond, his world went dark again as she closed her hand. Gravity escaped him as he began to rise in her grasp, signaling that they were descending. Before he could orientate himself, he felt himself slam into the top of her grip and feeling himself stay there, the rapid descent affecting his gravity. Then, he heard loud, thunderous rumbles and Cloud’s hand began to vibrate. The shaking tossed Dust around again and he was sent rolling in her grip, bouncing off her hairs and fur. He hadn’t noticed that the rumblings had stopped long ago and now Cloud was just gently rolling him around in her hand like a pair of dice, the grin she had been sporting this whole time remaining on her face. Finally, she opened her hand and threw Dust, sending him spiraling towards the ground, landing with a bounce on the floor. 

He took a couple minutes to gather himself, the world refusing to stop spinning before he managed to stand up. Taking a second to look around he noticed that he was back in the model city, the part that Cloud hadn’t crushed. He looked up towards Cloud and saw that her face was much closer to him now. She had sprawled out onto the floor, her left arm supporting her head and her gazed focused on her little brother. She then gave him a wink and brought her free right hand forward, her index finger extended out and held it high above the buildings, its tip aimed right at Dust.


“Oh no…” he whispered.

> Bonus Guest Chapter: Dust Mite's Mighty Fight - Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dust Mite's Mighty Fight

Chapter 5: Thunderstorm






Dust had little time to come up with a plan to evade Cloud before her finger began to fall, aimed right at the building he stood upon. Her finger was not falling very quickly, but it was fast enough that Dust took off to avoid it. He flew across the building tops as fast as he could, trying to keep an eye on his sister’s appendage to ensure he was safe. After flying for a little while he figured that he was safe and turned back to see the building he left be enveloped in darkness, Cloud’s finger still a good distance up above it, until suddenly, with incredible speed, it slammed into the building, replacing the white structure with a light blue monolith of destruction, the building crushed under her finger with little effort. The displaced air of the sudden descent raced towards Dust and before he could avoid it, he was again thrown through the air, landing in the street, his head again spinning. How many times had that happened to him in the past half-hour? He couldn’t remember and that was probably a bad sign that it was too many.

However, being thrown had given Dust an advantage. Even though she was keeping close eyes where he was, Cloud had blinked and lost sight of where he had gone, giving him a perfect opportunity to find a hiding location and take a breath. He knew that if he was gone for too long that she might resort to some method of finding him that would result in him flying for his life, but he needed this chance to get away. He took off towards the buildings that were located further towards the edge of the model where he could hopefully at least get a chance to try and apologize for what he had said.

“Dust? Where’d you go?” Cloud asked down towards the model, no traceable hints of teasing or aggression in her voice.

Dust took a second to land and stood behind a building and peaked around the corner, looking towards his sister as he buzzed his walkie-talkie to life.

“I’d tell you, but the fact that you are trying to crush me with your finger is kinda a reason for me to be hesitant.” he replied. “Can I say something before this spirals any more out of control?”

“Out of control? What do you mean? Are you implying that I didn’t know what I was doing?” Cloud replied in a quieter voice, though she still was rather indignant. “I was just being the monster you asked me to be, what’s wrong with that?”

“Well, the fact that you tried to step on me, you grabbed me in a fist, and now you’re trying to squish me with your finger. On top of that, you’ve also destroyed most of the model that mom and dad got me! I didn’t want it to get destructive, it was supposed to be campy and fun!” Dust scolded Cloud, his anger punctuating some of his words.

He kept his gaze on his sister looking at what her reaction was going to be. To his confusion, she remained emotionless, her face not expressing anything other than showing that she was thinking. Finally, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath and raised her finger from the ruined building that she had crushed, bringing her hand up into a fist above the site. Suddenly, with even more speed than the finger, she slammed her fist down, violently shaking the world for Dust, crushing a couple more buildings and damaging a few others, as well as rocking the whole room with the force. There was some anger behind that blow, but her face betrayed her actions, her eyes still closed and her face still calm. Of all the scary things that Dust had experienced today, this display was probably the scariest thing that he had seen, normally reserved Cloud expressing her frustration in such a violent display of force, made him start seating again. Finally she opened her eyes, an ice-cold look in them and Dust felt as though the room was both getting colder and darker.

“Then perhaps you should have thought about that before using the guard’s code against me, Dust Mite.” her tone cold and quiet, a silent fury.  The fact that she used her brother’s full name was a sign that she was truly angered by what Dust had done and he now had to endure the consequences. “You know very well,” she emphasized those words by grinding her fist into the model, making Dust gulp. “That I hate it when ponies do that. I’m disappointed that you, my little brother, would ever THINK about doing that as well. Seeing as how I can’t do to you what I do to others that do that, I’ve had to get creative.” she raised her fist, pieces of model stuck to the side of her hand, some of the smaller bits falling of. “So I just imagined how a real monster would destroy a city and put my own twist on it. Besides, monsters aren’t kind, Dust ‘Might,’ and the heroes have to fight hard to beat them.”

She opened her hand, revealing the miles wide palm to Dust, the bigger pieces of the model falling off.

“Now, I don’t like to say this because I usually don’t believe it, but this is all your fault. You wanted your monster, I’m just the result of your words.” Cloud continued. “So if you don’t want this to get worse, you’ll reveal yourself to me right now.” Her eyes scanning the model trying to find her brother, those gigantic orbs still filled with a look of anger.

Dust, against his better judgment, remained hidden. Her eyes did not have the look of mercy and he liked the idea of living for a little longer. If he avoided her long enough, mom would get home and Cloud would be forced to stop doing this.

“I-“ Dust began before the ground began to rock violently. Cloud had moved and had lifted herself into a crouching position, her shadow falling over Dust, her gaze still cold.

“Fine, if you won’t reveal yourself, I’ll just MAKE you come out.” Cloud spoke, her voice louder, expressing her frustration.

Before Dust had much time to register what she was planning, her hands lowered to both sides of the model. For Dust, the infinite wall of Cloud’s hand descended close to where he was located, preventing him from escaping. They grabbed the base and shifted to find a grip and when they did slowly lifted the rest of the model, anything without a solid grip sliding around. For Dust, it was an earthquake unlike much of what he experienced. The ground below him shaking and tilting in every direction violently, forcing him to take to the sky but Cloud was raising the model faster than Dust could fly and he was smacked from behind by the roof of a building where the force kept him locked in place. Finally the accent ended and Dust gathered his surroundings. While most of his view was obscured by Cloud’s hand, he could tell that she had lifted the model to her eye level, the rapid ascent made Dust’s stomach turn a little, even though he had gone through things like this before and his avian characteristics helped reduce the side effects, being raised from the ground to Cloud’s eyes, which was an incredibly significant distance in a short time, he felt woozy and couldn’t stand. To his luck, she continued to hold the model up steady, giving Dust time to recollect himself. He could her the sloshing liquids in her eyes as her eyes darted around to try and find him. Dust gulped when her eyes furrowed in annoyance, leaving him to wonder what she was about to do.

His questions were answered when he felt the ground below him beginning to tilt again. He struggled to find his grip and fell over as the buildings began to turn 90 degrees. She was turning the whole cityscape. She was going to force him to take to the air again and would be able to find him. As much as Dust didn’t want to fall into her plan, his grip on a railing was staring the get weak, but he wouldn’t let go, will, as well as fear, kept him hanging for dear life. Then he felt the ground leave him, and he was left dangling. She had completely flipped the whole model, loose bits and pieces falling from the base all around him, but he wasn’t going to let go.

“Making this hard, huh? Don’t worry; I’m not done trying to find you yet. I have a trick or two.”

Cloud’s voice was incredibly loud now that he was closer to her, making Dust’s whole body rattle, making him lose his grip a little. He tightened it as much as he could and used his wings to reduce the gravity and push himself up. He was not excited for whatever plan she had in store.

He felt her begin to move the model again, Dust holding on with everything he had. It was rising into the air again and when Dust looked down, his fur turned white in fear. Below him, expelling hot, humid air all over him, was his sister’s awaiting, open maw. She wasn’t serious was she? Before the terrifying thoughts could occupy his mind, a colossal torrent of her breath rushed over him, the force of the breath strong enough that it slammed him into the roof. He peaked through his eyes and the sight of a neverending cavern of fleshy muscle, white mountains, and a dark oblivion in the far distance filled his sight.

The wave of her breath had ceased, but he hadn’t realized that he had lost his grip. Before he could save himself, he began to fall, the mouth of his sister awaiting him.

> Bonus Guest Chapter: Dust Mite's Mighty Fight - Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dust Mite’s Mighty Fight

Chapter 6: Coming To Her Senses






It was a good thing that Cloud kept up with her dental hygiene, brushing her teeth three times a day, flossing, mouthwash for a minute or so, that sort of stuff. And it all added up to a clean, healthy, and fresh mouth that any dentist would be proud of. Being a part of the guard had taught her that every little detail towards making yourself better made you look at everything in your life the same way and try to apply that lesson. If your body is healthy, happy, and taken care of, the rest of your life will (hopefully) follow. 

As he fell down and down, Dust also was glad that his sister had taken good care of her dental hygiene. He didn’t, however, like the fact that he was now about to inspect it up close as he’d rather just enjoy seeing it from a distance. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to be the case. The humid air of his sister’s breath continued to wash over him as he fell, blasting him with hot air, over and over again. Closer and closer he came to her maw, falling past the giant, pearly-white mountains of enamel and smacking into the tip of the vast, pink muscle that was Cloud’s tongue, taking the air out of him. He wasn’t out of the woods yet as her tongue began to wiggle and build up saliva, a substance that Dust absolutely hated. Before he could move again, Cloud’s tongue tip rose, forming a slope from it to the base, a slide that was aiming towards the black hole that was in the back of her throat, a land that Dust didn’t want to visit, already having been in similar places due to other unfortunate events. 

The slippery surface of her tongue prevented him from getting a solid grip as he began to tumble again, his body getting covered in the slimily saliva as he fell uncontrollably. He fell for what felt like eternity until the surface was leveled out and he flopped onto a hill-sized taste bud. He panted, gasping for breath and at the same time trying to get the liquid out of his own mouth and lungs. He finally managed to relax and get a normal breathing pattern and examined how far he had gone and was shocked to see that he was near the base of her tongue. He had gone much further than he had thought and was now located in a very dangerous location, one strong swallow from Cloud would send him on a trip down her throat and to her stomach. As he stood, he felt the expansive cavern shift and looked around in confusion and noticed that it was starting to get darker.

“Oh no…” he whispered again, knowing exactly why it was now darker.

Sure enough, far in the distance, Cloud began to close her mouth, the towering teeth descending to form an impenetrable prison that Dust had no chance to escape from. 

Dust hastily tried to take a running start and get out before the was trapped, but he was still wet and the surface made him slip, face planting right into the muscly mass with an audible “oof.”

When he looked up and took off, it was too late. With a thunderous boom, the teeth slammed into each other and Dust was a prisoner in his sister’s mouth. He had been in the mouths of other ponies, mostly Lilycup, his little sister who had a bad habit of tormenting him, but he had never been in the mouth of Cloud like this, the closest was when he was asked to investigate why she was having a toothache when they were younger. 

Before her guard days, she had quite the monstrous sweet tooth and she had paid the price. One day, she had complained to her parents that her mouth hurt and she didn’t know why. Both her parents took a look, checking to see if she had something stuck in her teeth or if it was a loose tooth, but they didn’t see anything. Cloud was getting more and more restless and upset so the tough decision was made to ask Dust if he could investigate. He immediately rejected the idea, as any sensible pony would, his parents pleaded with him and bribed him with whatever he wanted. Unfortunately for them, he refused to budge. It all seemed like a loss until Dust saw how upset Cloud was, giving him a change of heart and say that he would try to check it out, but only if they made extra sure he’d be safe and that he could still get what he wanted. To both, his parents agreed. 

The plan was simple, his mother would shrink some kind of rope that Dust would use as a harness and his father would hold onto to ensure Dust had a tether. When Dust began his investigation, he was incredibly anxious since it was his first time seeing mountainous teeth up close. He eventually found that she had a huge cavity in a tooth near the back of her mouth. He returned and relayed the news. One trip to the dentist later and Cloud was showering him with affection and love, grateful that he had helped end her pain.

It was different then. This time, he had nopony there to help him. And instead of fulfilling gratitude, Cloud was now full of seething anger. He might not be so lucky to escape from her jaws this time, but maybe he could find some way out.

However, Karma decided to keep laying the punishment upon Dust. As he was pondering a plan to escape, the large, muscly tongue began to squirm and wriggle about, slamming into Dust and trapping him within its pink embrace. He was tossed and thrown around like the small speck that he was as his sister sloshed her tongue about, her little brother helpless against the rodeo that he was on. He was disorientated and completely soaked but the flurry of movements continued until she finally showed mercy and rested, Dust deposited on the fleshy surface again, panting and coughing trying to find his breath. However, as soon as he found it, a sudden rumble from the back of her throat took it away from him, he knew what that noise was and where it was coming from.

She really was about to do it. She was going to eat him.

Panic overtook Dust as he yelped and scrambled, trying to get away, but he wasn’t fast enough. With one simple flick of her tongue, Cloud sent Dust sailing towards the back of her throat where, with one simple motion, contracted her muscles and swallowed him. For Dust, the wild ride didn’t end as he was sucked into the black abyss, bouncing off the walls of her esophagus as he tumbled down and down. With several strong flaps of his wings, he managed to stabilize himself and began to hover in place, several paces down her throat.

He was in shock. His older sister, his overprotective guardian, hero and defender to all ponies, had swallowed him like he was a treat. How could she? Was she that mad at him? He knew that it bugged her, but this was too far. Maybe...he should have thought of a better way to try and say what he meant. He wasn’t trying to use her, he simply wanted her to help make him happy. It was a misunderstanding of epic proportions, something that Dust should have thought about, but was so enthralled in his desire to be a hero, he got a little cocky and didn’t think straight. 

He needed to have her understand that. He went to grab his walkie-talkie but he didn’t feel it. He patted himself down but it was nowhere and if it wasn’t on him, it was long gone now. There was only one way she’d hear him now, but he needed to find a way out of her mouth. Flying straight up, he reached her cavernous mouth again and began to look around. He was glad that he managed to stop himself from going too far down her throat. It would’ve taken him ages to get back up and with no communication, Cloud might not even have been able to feel him. He needed a way to get her to react so she’d open her mouth and he could get out. He scanned the area, came up with nothing. Annoyed, he flew over and landed on a tooth, sighing in defeat. 

Suddenly, an idea struck him. A tooth. He had helped identify a tooth problem before for her. Maybe...just maybe, for her to open her mouth, he could cause a tooth problem. He looked down at the tooth he was on and chuckled as it was the exact tooth that had had the cavity all those years ago. 

“Heh, sweet irony” Dust laughed. If he had one trait that defined him, besides his size, it was his ability to make awful jokes at the worst possible times. Flying in front of the tooth, he examined it and to his disappointment, she did not have another cavity that he could exploit. 

“Must have a quality dental plan for working with the royal guard” he said aloud. Another quick observation of the other teeth on the either side of this one revealed they were as healthy and pristine as the first one. 

“HORSE APPLES!!” He yelled, frustration getting the best of him. With all the force he could manage, his anger and emotions powering him up, he delivered a buck into the tooth. At first he thought it had done nothing, but he was shocked when he was thrown about as Cloud had shifted, but he wasn’t sure if that was because of him or not. Again, he mustered up his strength and delivered another buck into the fleshy gums and again into the top of the tooth. He was thrown about again as Cloud shifted both times, it must have been working! 

“One really good buck and I can get out of here” Dust panted. He flapped his wings and gained altitude, storing up his potential energy to release into her tooth. He continued to rise until he felt himself touch the fleshy roof of her mouth. 

“Prepare yourself, Cloud. I’m sorry in advance if this works, but you’ve left me no choice” he apologized to his sister, before rocketing right towards the tooth. His speed picked up, faster and faster he flew, similar to his first his attack when he attacked her hoof. That was unlikely to work because of how incredibly soft and massive it was in comparison to him. Her tooth however, was, relatively, smaller and harder, giving him an opportunity to transfer his kinetic energy into a sturdier object and the possibility for a more powerful blow. Closer and closer he came to it, preparing himself for a rough landing, this wasn’t going to feel good for either party, but she had given him no other option.

The impact was just as unpleasant as he was anticipating it to be, his whole body slamming into the enamel, his body tough enough to tank the impact, courtesy of his pegasus genetics. The effects were almost immediate, while he hadn’t done any major damage to the tooth, he had managed to make it shake, and he knew that when one had a tooth problem, it was not a subtle pain, it made you KNOW that it hurt. And praise his lucky stars, Cloud felt it. 

“OW!!” 

Thinking quickly, Dust began flying in front of the sound wave that came from Cloud’s exclamation, his hands covering his ears. He wasn’t sure this would work, but the tooth thing did, so maybe his luck was still good. Incredibly, like a surfer pony catching a wave at sea, Dust adjusted his flight and used the force of Cloud’s voice to increase his speed racing towards the now opening mouth of his sister.The bright light of their living room temporarily blinding him, but he kept his course true. He pumped his wings as hard as he could, determined to get out before she was able to react. 

Sure enough, as he came close to the exit, her tongue began to move, she using it to investigate what the pain she had felt was. A wall of pink flesh raced towards him from his left. Dust began to ascend to avoid it and just barely managed to dodge it and have it erase all the progress he made. Finally, he flew past the teeth and began flying higher. He knew he had to do something to get Cloud to calm her rampage and give him an opportunity to say something and her to actually listen to it. And he knew another place that could help distract her. Turning sharply and continuing to pump his wings as fast as possible, wanting to do this while she was still stunned, he raced up past her left nostril, avoiding the blasts of air that were coming from her and continued his trajectory towards his new target.

The giant white and orange orb that was her left eye.

He had learned that getting something in one’s eye  rather unexpectedly made any pony recoil in pain and discomfort. He had never attempted this, but his name was Dust and if there was one thing that got into pony’s eyes, it was his namesake. 

He again began to pick up speed, using his small size to his advantage. Cloud wouldn’t be able to see him coming unless she focused in right on him, and with his blazing current speed, she had a snowball’s chance in Tartarus of seeing him. He could hear her eye moving as he approached, closer and closer, her iris the color of a warm orange his target. Rising again, lungs beating rapidly to supply Dust with air and his muscles burning and aching, he rose to an attacking angle until he reached the optimal height. He flipped in the air adding momentum to his attack and dived right at his sister’s sensitive area.

“Again, I’m sorry Cloud! But I need to do this!” Dust screamed above the raging wind, apologizing to his sister.

With only a couple feet to go, Dust flipped head over hooves to add even more momentum and delivered a dive kick right into the squishy surface of Cloud’s eye. He felt himself sink into the surface, going further and further down until he was thrown back with such force he was able to rocket off into the air again. His attack had done the job. 

“AAAHHH!!! DAMMIT!!” 

Cloud roared in pain and her left hand was immediately on its way to relieve the pain that she had just suffered. Her hand approached with such speed that Dust thought he was going to be blasted to red and grey bits if he had been hit, but to his luck, he had just been out of the way of the racing appendage and managed to grab onto a fur strand. Cloud began to rub her eye, her hand going back and forth and it was the perfect support for Dust, who timed his release and used the momentum to shoot off towards his final destination, her ear.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, when Cloud had been struck, the surprise of the blow made her lose her grip on the model she was still holding. For a second, it hovered, before it began to fall.

He reached her cavernous ear hole and sped into the depths as fast as he could until he reached the ideal spot to get Cloud to listen to him. 

The model turned, end over end, on a devastating collision course with the ground. 

Still flapping his wings, he took in as much air as he could, the rank smelling air in her ear making it a challenge, but he filled up his lungs and unleashed the loudest bellow he could possibly muster.

“CLOUD TOWER!! STOP AND LISTEN TO ME!!”

Cloud froze, her eyes shooting open. 

At that time, the model cityscape, Dust’s lovely possession, smashed into the floor with a loud crash, breaking into a million pieces. The only sound heard for a minute was the quiet rattling and rolling of loose pieces, scattering all over the living room floor.

> Bonus Guest Chapter: Dust Mite's Mighty Fight - Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dust Mite’s Mighty Fight

Chapter 7: Reassurance






The silence was deafening. When the model broke it seemed as though all sounds held their breath in shock at what had just happened between a sister and her little brother. The birds weren’t singing, the insects did not cry out, the wind did not blow, it was as though the whole world became silent. The only noise that could be heard was the rapid breathing of Cloud Tower as she started to come to her senses, seeing the destroyed model scattered upon the ground by her hooves. Her eyes surveyed the living room and saw broken buildings, shattered shops, and crushed city blocks all over the floor and under the furniture. She didn’t know that she had started to go out of control and that it was the desperate plea of her brother, screaming for her to stop in her ear, that she realized just how far she had gone.

“D-Dust?” She whispered.

“Please, stop. I’m sorry for what I said. I just wanted to live my fantasy as a hero, I didn’t mean to make you angry, just please stop. I’m sorry” her little brother’s apologetic plea ringing in her ear.

“W-What happened?” Cloud asked.

“You…kind of went insane” Dust answered apprehensively, “when I used the Guard’s code against you, you…pretty much turned into a rage induced monster. You mocked me, almost stepped on me, I tried to fight back but you laughed it off and tried to crush me with your finger. Then you got angry and…uh, well, you don’t need to know the last bit” Dust rattled off the events that had transpired, feelings of nervousness about telling her what she had done laced in his voice.

“…I...tried to eat you, didn’t I” she asked, her body tensing up at the possibility of what she might have done, knowing how much it scared Dust.

No response.

“I did, didn’t I?” Cloud said, a resigned sigh passing her lips.

“No no no! Y-you didn’t! I, uh, I just kinda, er, fell into your mouth, to, uh…” Dust tried to come up with a lie to tell her to play down her actions, but he struggled to come up with the fib. Cloud didn’t fall for it.

“I did, didn’t I?” She repeated, more forcefully and blunt.

“…yeah, you did. Swallowed and everything, I’m just lucky that you didn’t chew and that I could fly back up your throat” he quietly answered.

Cloud’s heart dropped. She already knew that she had done the terrible act of keeping him in her mouth, but she hadn’t realized that her simple swallowing of her saliva had taken Dust with it. Being at his size made him anxious about many of the simple actions that she and her family took, a simple blink from them was enough to send him spinning head over hooves. When it came to his greater concerns and worries, it was when he was close to their mouths, a simple inhale of air enough to suck him into their maws and from there, his fear of being eaten was magnified. Cloud was very aware of Dust’s fears of being consumed, he had told her of several nightmares he had about loved ones eating him and she promised him that they never would mean it. Lilycup might do it as torment, very much to Cloud’s displeasure, but none of them would purposefully do it.

And yet, she had. Only moments ago, she had broken her passionate promise to him that no pony in his family ever would do such a thing. The shock of what she had done was becoming too much for her. She had, on purpose, with malicious intent, tried to step on him, flatten him, and…eat him. How could she let her emotions overcome her like that? She was taught to control and suppress those aggressive emotions and to withhold acting upon them. And she had just gone against everything she had been taught to do. And she unleashed them upon her helpless little brother.

She felt her legs getting weaker, the guilt washing over her. Sure enough, she slumped onto her knees, resting her body on her hooves. Everything that had happened replaying in her mind but she was watching herself from the outside. She watched as she loomed over Dust with a threatening grin, she watched as she tried to crush him under her hoof, she watched as she laughed off his attempts to defend himself, how she toyed with him with her finger, how her rage exploded and she had taken the ground from under him, and how she…she had…eat-…eaten-…

Tears began to form in her eyes. This was her brother. She had made a vow to herself to protect him from these kinds of things and now she was the one who was doing it to him. How could she?

“D-Dust…I-I’m so, so s-s-sorryyyy” she whimpered, letting out a loud cry as tears began to stream down her face. 

She felt the tears roll down her face for a while, apologizing to Dust the whole time, saying what a horrible sister she was. 

“H-Hey! It’s okay Cloud, you just…” Dust tried to comfort her but she interrupted him.

“It’s NOT okay, Dust! I just did everything to you that I said I would protect you from. How can you say it’s okay when you just had to be the victim of that?” Cloud sobbed, a new round of tears streaming from her face. Dust tried to comfort her again, but she continued to claim how awful she was, her face in her hands as she wept.

Suddenly, Cloud felt a sharp pain in her ear and yelped reflexively. It was as though something had stabbed her and it caught her attention.

“NOW STOP THAT, YOU SILLY FILLY!” Dust’s voice roared in her ear, making her jump a little. He had grabbed several hairs that were in her ear at once and pulled them all violently to get her to notice him. 

Cloud continued to cry, but she remained quiet. Deep inside her heart, she was impressed that Dust had taken such action to scold her. “Silly filly?” He had never done this before, being called a filly by him was gutsy, but admirable.

“Now you listen here, missy! You knock that crying nonsense off RIGHT NOW, or Luna help me, I will tear these hairs from your ears and then you WILL be crying!” he yelled.

Cloud sniffed and gave him her full, undivided attention.

“That’s better, I can’t have Cloud Tower, proud member of Celestia’s Solar Guard crying about such things, now can I?” He sounded like their father when he would try to cheer his kids up, guess it rubbed off on Dust.

“But Dust, I…” Cloud tried to interject before she felt the tugs in her ear again, wincing. 

“Ah ah, none of that ‘but’ business!” 

Yep, that was their dad alright. 

“Listen here little missy, I’m stronger than you think. I’ve gone my whole life with these problems. I know you want to help protect me but I’m in danger enough that I’ve learned how to take care of myself when you aren’t around. Don’t get me wrong, I love to be comforted and protected by you, but I’m not a tiny mite anymore, I’m the mighty Dust Mite! Surviving and fighting larger than life beings is what I do! Just as how I have beaten the mighty Cloud Beast, I don’t need to be babied, as you have seen today, I can handle myself. You don’t have to cry over being the monster.” Dust’s persona had emerged and was comforting her, she guessed, in the best way that he could. She actually chuckled at how silly he was being, but his point stuck with her. He had matured into a fine young stallion, capable of adapting and surviving whatever was thrown at him.

“Listen Cloudy,” he continued, his voice much more serious, but comforting and kind, “I’m sorry that I used the Guard’s Code against you like that. I guess I just let my fantasy get the better judgment and I didn’t mean to upset you. I should have not used those words, but I should have known, as your family, to not take advantage of you like that, can you forgive me?” he asked.

Cloud smiled, “Dust, you are my little brother, I could never stay mad at you. Of course I forgive you. I’m just sorry that I went overboard. You are right that you shouldn’t have done that, but I should have controlled my emotions and not lashed out like that. For that I hope you can forgive me” she said.

“Of course I can!” he gleefully replied. “Can I get a hug to make this up to you?”

Cloud nodded and stuck her finger into her ear. She pushed it far to get to where she knew Dust would’ve taken refuge to talk to her. She reached a good enough distance and held it there as she felt a very, very tiny form grasp her fur and embrace it. She had always found it funny looking when somepony wanted to hug Dust when he was in their ear, their finger plugged way into it so that he could hug it. While it looked silly as a clown, she knew it held significant meaning to Dust, he couldn’t hug a pony normally so he had to make do with what he could, usually a fur strand. She had gotten over the silliness of it long ago, but every once in awhile chuckled at how it must look from the perspective of a pony who didn’t know Dust existed. Though she was an imposing enough figure that they usually just kept it to themselves, lest they wanted to deal with the consequences.

“Hey, keep holding on Dusty, I wanna take a look and make sure you’re okay.” She instructed him and very slowly began to pull her finger out, still feeling the small form on her finger. She brought him up to her face and saw his little grey form on a field of her little blue fur bouncing up and down, happy to see her now that her eyes weren’t filled with rage. She smiled a smile as wide as a mile, glad to see that he was, indeed, unharmed. For as much of a pain in the flank he was to deal with sometimes, she loved him no less. Very carefully and feeling for his form, she brought her lips to him and gave him a little smooch to show her affection.

For Dust, his view was suddenly filled with a endless sky of a light red as Cloud brought her lips in for a kiss. He waited for her to come to him and embraced the soft, puffy wall, returning the affection to his titan of a sister. He was extremely happy to have Cloud as a sibling, not just for her role in the Solar Guard, but because the two of them had an extremely tight bond. He felt himself sink into her lips, the soft skin molding to his form, making for a comfortable experience. It took a lot of practice for the them to perfect this affection act, sometimes with strange results, but they had succeeded and he was glad that they could reconcile in this manner. For as much as Cloud wanted ponies to see her as a tough mare, she was an incredibly soft, kind hearted pony.

Cloud pulled him away from her lips and brought him up towards her eye where she let him off.

“I’m…really sorry about your model. The next time I’m in Canterlot, I’ll make sure to get one to replace it. There is a really neat model shop up there that sells pretty awesome models that I think you’d like. For now though, I suppose I should clean this up.” Cloud sighed.

“Hey, it was a real cheap one, so I’m not shocked that it broke so easily” Dust called up, “though I am actually surprised that you stepped on it without any issue. I thought that the tips would be sharp” he said.

Cloud scoffed as she kneeled over to start picking up the big pieces, “please, those things snapped like they were twigs. I’m surprised that I felt them at all, honestly. If I hadn’t, I might have actually gone faster than what I did. By the way, I saw that you lost your cape, what happened to it?” she asked.

“Lost it when I had to action dive out from under your hoof. So if I had to guess, it’s stuck to the bottom of you somewhere” Dust replied.

Cloud looked back at her hoof and examined it. Sure enough, flattened into her hoof, sticking out among the small bits of dirt and model, was a tiny little cape. She reached over and scooped it up in her hand and brought it to her face for Dust to see. 

“Heh, it’s kinda dirty. Not surprising when it got stuck to your hoof. You should really clean them more often, y’know?” he teased Cloud.

“Watch it, little guy, if you keep that up, the “Cloud Beast” will awaken again and might make you a part of that dirt” she playfully threatened him. “I’ll buy a new one for you when I get the time and have mom shrink it.”

For the next several minutes, Cloud and Dust enjoyed their time together while she cleaned up the scattered pieces, needing to move some furniture to get them all. After about 20 minutes, she had done a good enough job that she sighed and wiped the sweat from her face, Dust having moved back to her ear.

“Phew, Celestia really made it warm today, huh? How’s some ice cream sound, Dust ‘Might’?” She asked, smiling.

“Sounds good!” he replied.

Cloud Tower smiled and made her way to the kitchen with the pony that she was proud to call her brother excitedly telling her what kind he wanted. She smiled, ready to enjoy some real time with him.






Several Days Later


A knocking on the door brought Small Smiles out of her study to see who was there. As she opened the door, a grey pegasus mare with a yellow mane in a mailpony outfit was standing by the door with a large package that came up to about her knees by her hooves.

“Mrs. Smiles? Package for you from Canterlot!” the pegasus said, her voice full of excitement, her eyes not quite looking at her. “If you could just sign here please!” she held a clipboard in front of her.

“Thank you Miss Doo.” Small said as she took it and began writing her signature, “boy, that’s quite a large package, you brought that all the way from Canterlot?” she asked in bewilderment.

The mare shook her head, her long mane flying everywhere, “Nope, packages like this get delivered to our office and then we take them out. I thought your husband was a mailpony, didn’t he tell you that?” the mare asked.

Small shook her head, “No, Wing doesn’t usually talk about his job that much. Not much to talk about, he says” she replied, handing the clipboard back to the grey mare, giving her a couple bits for her service.

“Oh that’s a load of bully, there is always something to talk about in our line of work! Just about anything can happen when you need to deliver a package. Anyway, here you go! Have a fabulous day!” she cheered and took off, her flight a little wobbly.

“Wonder what it is?” Small questioned, picking it up and realizing that it wasn’t very heavy, but still had quite some mass to it. She closed the door and brought it into the living room, where Dust was napping in his safe zone. When Small carefully dropped the box, it landed with a resounding thud, shaking the room and waking Dust from his nap, raising him a couple feet into the air from the force.

“Goodness, something large must be in there. Who’s it from?” she investigated the tag and saw that it came from the castle, with Cloud’s name on it. “Oh! Cloud sent us a gift! Wow, wonder what it is? Wanna see, Dust?” she asked her mite of a son.

Dust stretched and zipped his way towards his mother and landed on her snout as she opened the box. Inside was a large white cape with Celestia’s crest emblazoned upon the inside with Luna’s crest and a darker blue on the reverse side. Small and Dust both “ooo”’d in awe of how majestic it looked, the cape fitting of royalty. Underneath the cape was another smaller, hefty box. Small opened this box and smiled when she saw what it was.

“A replica model of Canterlot Castle, with figurines of the guards and the princesses” she described to Dust. “Looks like she wanted to really make it up to you” she grinned.

Dust was shocked at how big the model was. The first one they had was only a couple hooves lengths across and a plain black and white color. This one looked like it could take up a good chunk of a room when assembled and was a vibrant array of colors.

At the bottom of the box was a letter written by Cloud. It was short and only had a couple lines.


“Now you really CAN be the hero that Equestria deserves!
But be careful, the “Cloud Beast” might strike again!
Miss you all,

Much love,
Cloud Tower”