"So... What happened last night?"

The guard sighed. This was the third time today his buddy asked about it. He turned his head to the right, looking at the other guard, standing just a few meters away, on the other side of the castle gate. He was staring back at him with a rather fake-looking questionable expression on his face.

"Look, I told you man, nothing happened. I met her at her place, took her to dinner, pretended to laugh at her jokes and acted like I cared about her. But nothing."

"Come on, you’re not telling the truth, I know it!" his friend lashed back.

In truth, he did know. They've known each other basically all their life, and they had always been close friends. They knew things about each other that they wouldn't even tell their wives, assuming of course, they ever found any. So, trying to hold any information from the other pony would always end up the same way.

"Fine... Still, it's no big deal. A hug and that's it. But, uh...”

The other guard looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"..I think she felt me up a bit."

They both smirked, nodding at almost the exact same time, same speed

"Think you'll meet her again?"

"Doubt it. When I tried to answer her groping by doing the same thing, she just pushed me off and slapped me in the face."

"Ouch." He cringed.

"Yeah. If I wasn't wearing this helmet you wouldn't even see my face, just a big, red hoof-print."

They laughed again.

Everything was quiet in town today, as usual. At least here by the gate. Nopony had come by yet, or left the castle. It was a rather boring posting, in fact, and they both oftentimes wondered what the point of it was. They could leave the gate unguarded for as long as they wished, since nopony was foolish enough to try and storm the castle through the main gate.

But their opinions didn't matter; Celestia’s word was the law, after all.

They had been standing in silence for quite some time when one of them spoke up, breaking the silence once again. Slowly leaning to his left, as to whisper something serious to the other.

"But she did have a nice flank."

Again, they both chuckled. But then, they were both taken aback by an odd sight. They stopped laughing, closing their mouths shut quickly as a strange figure made its way to the gate. They watched in confusion at the strange creature, having never seen anything like it before.

It was walking upright on its hind-legs, its forelegs hanging somewhat limp down its sides. Even more strange was its hooves, or rather, the lack of them. Instead, at the end of the forelegs where strange looking... lumps. With what look like a number of small branches stuck to them.
On its hind-legs where strange-looking footwear, unlike any horse-shoes they've ever seen. Black, slightly shiny with lacing.

They exchanged puzzled looks. Even its clothing was odd, covering its entire body. A tight cloak with arms covered most of it, and underneath it they saw what looked like muscles, only they didn't look like any muscles they've even seen. The cloak itself was adorned with what looked like rings in some sort of metal, one on each shoulder.

The arms where covered in belt buckles and the hemline of the cloak hade more lacing.
When the figure came closer they could see that it in fact wasn't muscles at all, but some sort of shirt with an extra layer of fabric, depicting the pattern of muscles. It also had some fabric covering its entire hind-legs and flank, everything black. To top it all off, a big hood hiding most of its face.

They stood frozen in their place, not knowing what to say or even how to react to this strange creature. One by one they opened their mouths to say something, but decided not to and closed it again. A pressing silence surrounded the ponies and the creature, and nothing seemed to be able to break it.

"Good afternoon, 'gents, hard at work feeding the birds I see."

After a moment of complete bafflement, the two guards realized what the creature had said to them, and quickly closed their hanging jaws, one of them trying to laugh at the obvious joke, but all he managed where some uncertain snorting sounds. The creature spoke up once again.

"I come seeking an audience with the princess. Or princesses, as it is."

It was the voice of a stallion, yet surprisingly not that deep. It sounded much younger than the appearance of the creature let on. There was something about that voice. Something very calming, relaxing. Although the two ponies didn't recognize the accent, the voice nevertheless instilled them with a sense of tranquility. Not awaiting a response, the creature calmly stepped past the guards through the gate, slightly patting one of them on the head when passing, and then disappearing out of their sight.

"Dude." The pony that had been touched spoke up. "What... The... Buck..?"

The big, oak doors of the throne room flung open, and two guards galloped inside, panting and wheezing. Luna observed them from her seat in the throne, but not saying anything. She thought it best to wait in order to let the guards get their breath back. Neither of them said anything, only tried to close the doors quickly, seeming somewhat frantic in their attempts, one of them tripping forward, tumbling face-down into the floor.

The other rushed to his aid, doing his best to both help his friend up and closing the doors at the same time. If it wasn't for their terrified expressions, Luna would have thought it all quite amusing, seeing them scurry around like crazy. The two guards jumped high when Luna spoke, in the Royal Canterlot voice, of course.

"Why art thou acting in this peculiar manner, loyal guards?"

One of the guards turned around to look at Luna, trying to apologize but stuttering hard, and sounding more like a complete idiot, rather than the loyal guard she called them. When he finally calmed down and managed to speak properly, he was instead interrupted mid-sentence by a loud knocking on the doors. Both guards froze in their place.

Luna felt a chill going down her back at this, something sure wasn't right, the guards where strong and able stallions, and seeing them act this terrified worried her. Whatever was on the other side of those doors, it scared the guards out of their minds. She arose from her seat, hastily trotting down towards them, but they cried out to her to stay back. She stopped in her tracks, observing the door with a mixture of worry and curiousness. She wanted to know who or what was behind those doors, as much as she dreaded to find out.

And then, the doors slowly opened.

The guards quickly moved into the small space that had been created between the doors, and Luna couldn't see past them. The guards where talking rather harshly with someone on the other side, but she couldn't hear any answers over the two ponies booming voices.

"You can't come in here; we don't even know what the buck you are! So would you please turn around and leave, or do we have to use force?"

The guards talked endlessly, blabbering over each other, completely drowning out all other sounds or voices. Finally, Luna couldn't take it anymore.

"Guards, let this unknown stranger enter, and make sure that this pony knows naught harm will come to it!"

The voices died down as the guards obeyed, slowly backing up and letting the stranger open the doors completely. In the doorframe stood a tall figure, upright on its hind legs, completely cloaked in black.
Slowly the stranger walked into the room, its feet making muffled sounds against the red carpet.
The guard to his left looked anxious, looking back and forth between Luna and the stranger. He took one last glance at Luna, before looking straight at the stranger, inhaled, and opened his mouth.

"Forgive me for asking, sir, but just what are you? I don't know about you-" he glanced at the other guard. "-But I don't feel too comfortable letting someone such as you see our princess-"

He was cut of abruptly by the stranger’s hand gently pressing over his snout. The guard stood his ground, looking this stranger straight in the eyes, but inside he was trembling, wanting to run away like a scared little filly. Hide behind his beloved princess.

"Oh, be silent. Luna knows perfectly well what I am."

The stranger removed his hand from the guards face, then turning around, looking at Luna. He took a calm step towards her, not breaking eye contact with her. Luna stared back at him cautiously, fully aware of what he was, but still confused as to why he was here in the first place. He stopped in front of her, and with a dramatic wave of his cloak he kneeled before her, bowing his head, placing his hand over his heart. His cloak spread out on the floor behind him, it looked as if shadows where emanating away from him.

"I apologize if I have troubled you and your people, my dear princess." He raised his head, looking back up at Luna. "I assure you, it was not my intentions to do so."

Those eyes. Greenish-grey, partly hidden behind a dark-blonde ridge of hair. A beard and mustache of the same color covered the man’s chin. Luna couldn't tear her eyes from him. There was something about this man, something trying to draw her in. Those eyes. And his voice, sounding like silk through her ears. For a moment, she stared blankly into those eyes, not realizing she was doing so. But as he blinked his eyes, and stood up again, standing a bit higher than her face, she snapped out of it.

"What is it you want, human?" Luna hesitated before speaking, doing her best to not use the Royal voice. After all, screaming like that in his face wouldn't be too kind, and she had no desire to scare this strange man away. The man chuckled heartily, turning around and looking at the guard who had asked him what he was just a few moments ago.

"See, I told you she'd know." he said to the confused guard, pointing a finger back at Luna.

He stepped towards her again, stopping mere inches from her face. Once again, Luna felt something pulling her in, towards those damned eyes, and for a moment, she thought she actually was getting drawn in, since the man’s face slowly came closer, but it was in fact the man himself getting closer, not her. Leaning closer to her, his mouth only a few centimeters from hers, he whispered into her ear. Calm. Soothing.

"What I am about to tell you is incredibly important, Luna, and best shared between four eyes. I'm sure you'll understand."

Luna nodded slowly, then managed to take her gaze of his eyes, and walked around him. She trotted up to the guards, and calmly asked them both to leave.

"But, princess...” They both said in unison, worried expressions on their faces.

Luna smiled encouraging at them.

"I have nothing to fear from this man, I'm sure. So please, wait outside for a while, I promise everything is fine."

The guards kept arguing against her a while, seemingly determined to not move an inch. Only after having used the Royal voice, Luna finally got them to leave. One of them walked slightly wobbly, holding his head in pain. Just before the doors closed behind them, Luna could hear him saying that the darn helmet amplified her voice.

Luna sighed quietly. She really did not enjoy screaming ponies in the face like that. Not at all. She found herself wishing her sister was there, she at least had more power and more respect from the guards, and they would listen to her without a word in protest. Sadly, Luna would probably never gain that same respect. She would always be the Sister, nothing more.

She spun around towards the man, but he was no longer standing where she left him. Instead, she saw him on the opposite side of the room, sitting in a relaxed pose in her sister’s throne. Slouched down in the throne, one leg laying limp, stretched out in front of him, the other bent, with his elbow resting against the knee. To complete the image of someone in deep thought, his chin rested on his knuckles, and he was looking off to his right, seemingly out the window.

"Comfortable?" Luna raised her voice to be heard across the room, walking towards the throne as she spoke.

The man turned his head from the window and looked at her, smiling.

"Yes... I truly do envy your sister, you know." His voice had changed. It didn't sound quite as regal and formal is it did earlier, but it was still so soothing and calming. Luna raised her eyebrows in wonder. What he had said really didn't affect her, more so than the fact that he didn't seem to care that he was so rudely occupying her sister’s throne.

"You do realize that my sister would not like you sitting there, right? You'd probably be thrown out of the castle before you could beg for forgiveness." Luna said with a cold tone to the man. He simply nodded at her words, but made no intensions to move.

"Speaking of which, where is your sister anyway, Luna? I had thought she would be here by your side."

"She's in Ponyville; there have been some troubles there as of late." The man looked at her with a wondering expression. "Some ponies have gone missing, it seems... Tia has made it her personal responsibility to find them."

Why did she call her Tia? Luna stood confused by herself for a moment. She never called her that when somepony else heard, much less a stranger. Was this man’s voice, or eyes or whatever the hay it was, so soothing that she forgot about the formalities?

"You're worried about them, aren't you, Luna?" The man answered in a low voice. Luna simply nodded to answer his question, having now reached the throne. She sat down on her haunches in front of him. The man changed his position, drawing in his stretched leg, leaning forward and resting both his elbows on his knees. He opened his mouth to say something, but Luna beat him to it.

"You keep calling me by name, yet you haven't told me yours."

The man wiped his smile, lowered his head, staring at his feet. The guards had been confused as to what he was wearing on his feet, but Luna saw instantly that they were simple leather-boots, something she knew humans wore, but she had never actually seen any before.

She had never seen a human either, in fact.

"Forgive me," the man said without raising his head. "You may call me Dust."

"Dust?" replied Luna,”That’s a rather odd name. For a human, I mean."

The man named Dust sighed loudly, raising his head and looking straight at her. Something about his eyes had changed as well. They no longer gave away that hypnotizing feel, but rather... Sadness.

"That is my name, for that is what I am." The man whispered.

Luna felt unsure of what to answer. Her eyes wandered over his arms and hands, and she felt a sudden urge to take his hand in her hooves, comfort him, and drive away that strange sadness that now haunted his eyes. But she didn't do anything.

"Well then, Dust. Would you be so kind to move out of my sister’s throne?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"Certainly, my princess." the man spoke, nimbly getting up from his seat, and walking off a few steps to Luna’s left, allowing her to sit down.

She took her seat in the throne, and Dust walked back, standing in front of her. His eyes wandered all over her, finally coming to a stop at her cutie mark. The man looked at it intensely. Looking back up at Luna’s face, he realized she'd seen what he'd been staring at, he quickly turned away his face, mumbled some apologies.

"No need to apologize, sir" said Luna, now sounding a bit more formal in her tone. "I take no offense."

Dust nodded in response, but seemed to tense up a bit. He crossed his arms over his chest and started to walk off to the left, past Luna and over to the window. Then, he paced back the same way, continuing on to the window on the right side. Luna observed him in silence, afraid to break his pacing. He stopped there by the window, raised one hand up to his face. She couldn't see what he was doing due to his hood, but he then turned around, stroking his beard with his thumb and forefinger.

He stood silent for a few moments, before letting his arms fall limp by his sides again. Slowly he walked back up to Luna. She cleared her throat.

"Earlier you said you had something important to tell me. What was it?" She asked him, once again looking straight into his eyes. No sadness. Determination.

Dust didn't answer right away; he simply kept on walking slowly up the stairs towards her. Again, he stopped right in front of her, but closer this time. He frowned, and spoke up.

"It's quite simple, dear Luna...” Luna flinched at the word "dear".

"Well, if it's so simple, then please tell me, Dust." Luna hurried to reply. If it indeed was as simple as he said, then this all might have been a waste of her time. Sure, she had all the time she wanted, literally, but she still did not like to be kept waiting like this.

"I came here-" the man said, clearing his throat, "-for you."

Luna sat silent. Did he really just say that? She had no idea how to react to this, no idea what he meant. She went over his words in her head, trying to understand, but where unable to. Usually, she probably would have understood, but now she was taken by such surprise by his words that her brain felt like it shut down.

"What are you talk-"

She was interrupted mid-sentence. Before she realized what had happened, Dust had leaned in and pressed his lips against hers.

For a short moment, Luna didn't think. She felt lost in this. At first, she felt shocked, embarrassed, even harassed. But after a quarter of a second everything changed. Slowly, a sudden urge grew in her, and she wanted to give in, wanted to answer his sudden kiss. The warmth of his breath blew over her, sending shivers down her spine. His beard tickled her face. Luna felt a jolt of anticipation as she felt his hand touching the side of her face. She closed her eyes, raised her hooves, about to grab him.

She wanted to feel his body close, wanted to hold him and not let go. She didn't care that he was human, didn't care she didn't even know him. She didn't want to be lonely anymore. She wanted him.

But then, she came to her senses.

Realizing what was happening, she quickly tore herself away from him, shocked at what had just transpired.

Dust looked at her with worry in his eyes, but also confusion, his eyes once again piercing through her, trying to draw her in. Luna looked past him, down at the wooden doors. But all she could see where his greenish-gray eyes.

"Guards!" She yelled loudly.

Those bucking eyes.

Being the only human in all of Equestria wasn't easy. Most of the ponies he met where either afraid of him or down-right despised him. In the early days, he actually tried to befriend them, tried to show them that he was no different from them, but every attempt ended in failure.

They were disgusted by him. Simple as that.

Nowadays, he didn't care anymore. He didn't care about these stuck-up ponies; he just wanted to be alone. He had lived practically everywhere, from Manehatten to Appleloosa, but every place was the same. Now, he lived outside Canterlot, in a small cottage he built himself, because... what else was there to do?

The ponies of Canterlot where probably the worst, most despicable lot he'd ever met. Whenever he entered town to get something he needed that he couldn't get himself out in the wild, he almost instantly got bombarded with insults. Although, luckily for him, there was one pony who didn't treat him like shit.

He met her after a particularly nasty encounter with the townspeople. Sitting on a bench with torn clothing and covered in filth, he was surprised when a bright white unicorn slowly trotted up to him. Her purple mane clashed beautifully with her white coat. She took one glance at his filthy clothes, looking disgusted, and against her better judgment she had offered him help.

Since then, Dust and Rarity had been close friends, but Rarity insisted on keeping it a secret, she had no desire to be seen with "low-life", such as Dust. But nevertheless, they spent a lot of time together. She had made him some new sets of clothes, completely free, even helped him with his cottage.

Magic was a welcome addition when building and the cottage stood finished after some time of building. And then, Rarity had of course spent the night with him. All night they had stayed up, drinking and laughing at nothing. Dust had been surprised at how much Rarity acted like a guy when drunk.

He had never thought he would gain such a good friend, and in Canterlot to top it all off.

But that was some time ago. Dust honestly didn't remember how long it'd been. Just like he no longer remembered how the hell he even got to Equestria in the first place. He had deliberately repressed those memories, since they wouldn't do him any good anyway.

Dust sighed. From his seat on a small bench in one of the towns many squares, he observed the ponies and their everyday-life. Nothing spectacular, really, but it was all he had now.

Rarity was gone. Long gone. His only friend, his only source of happiness and comfort in this world, had forgotten him. He longed to see her face again, just for a second, but it was too late for that. He, singlehandedly, had destroyed the friendship they’ve worked so hard to build.

Dust got up to walk back home, his mind clouded with thoughts of his lost friend. Because of this, he never heard or saw the carriage approaching in the air.

Three knocks reached his ears. Three very quiet, gentle knocks, almost completely silent, but he had grown so accustomed to hearing it that he never missed it. Dust got up from his seat in the couch, moving towards the door. On his way he passed the fireplace, and he quickly reached down and threw another log in the fire.

Despite it being bright, colorful and warm during the day, Equestrian nights where the coldest nights he'd ever experienced. The fireplace had been useful, even though he didn't want one to begin with. He had a stove to cook his food, and to him that and some blankets where enough. But Rarity had still convinced him to build the fireplace, and he was glad she did.

Dust made his way to the front door in a hurry, griped the handle and opened it. Outside Rarity’s bright mane and equally bright smile met him.

"Finally, I thought you'd never open, darlin!" she laughed, trying her best to fake being hurt. Of course, she failed.

Dust answered her facial expression with a laugh of his own, and a joke about not wanting to let her in at all, stepping aside to let the unicorn enter. Smirking, he added that she really drew him nuts.

They both shared a laugh at this and met in a short embrace, as usual. The rest of the evening they spent as they always did, sharing a meal, laughing, talking and bickering about everything imaginable.

A few hours later they both lay half-asleep in front of the fading fireplace; Dust slouching in the recliner to the left of the fire and Rarity snoozing lightly from her place in the couch, her white coat stood out clearly from the red color of the couch.

"Rare? You awake?" Dust's voice carried through the silence, accompanied only by the crackling from the fireplace.

".. Yeah." came her answer, a little bit louder than Dust's whispering voice. She raised her head from the couch and looked at him, but not saying anything else.

".. Can we talk a little?" Dust asked, still whispering. He wasn't sure how the unicorn would react, so he kept his voice down.

"Sure! About what, fashion?" Rarity said smiling, but Dust clearly heard some worry behind her words.

Dust shook his head in silence, and slowly got up from his seat. He walked over to the couch and sat down hard next to Rarity, who flew of the cushions and down onto the floor as Dust's heavy weight came down on the other side of the couch.

He quickly got up again, apologizing as he helped Rarity back up on the couch. She sat down next to him, wiping her mane out of her eyes with a hoof. She looked at Dust with more worry in her face than before, having realized something really troubled him.

"Dust... what's wrong? I've never seen you like this before...”

Dust didn't answer; he just stared at the fireplace in front of them, the flames mirrored in his eyes. For a moment, Rarity thought that the flames didn't come from the open fire, but rather from inside Dust. Burning through his eyes. She felt a slight chill up her back.

".. Nothing's wrong, It's just... I've been thinking a lot lately. About my time here in Equestria, how everypony's treated me since I got here. And also about us. About you and me."

Rarity sat quiet, not wanting to interrupt him. Instead, she scooted closer to him.

"I don't understand... I've always thought you ponies where supposed to be friendly people. Erm, ponies. Caring about everyone, spreading love and happiness treat others kindly and what-not."

Rarity placed a comforting foreleg around his shoulders, pulling him closer.

"But ever since I got here, ponies have been treating me like shit. Like a disgusting maggot not even worthy of looking at. Why, Rarity? How can they act like that?"

His eyes started to well up. Rarity quickly pulled him into a tight embrace, holding him close. She never knew Dust was this sensitive. She thought he didn't care about what other ponies said about him, that he just shrugged it off. Apparently he didn't. And she never believed he would think about her.

He buried his face in her mane, and soon she felt tears dripping down her shoulders. Her coat and mane where the two most important things in her life, sure, but right now, they didn't matter at all. She never really understood just how much Dust meant to her, how much she cared about him. Maybe even more so than herself. Her eyes started to tear up.

They sat there quietly for a while, holding each other, crying. Until eventually, Rarity couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't stand seeing him cry like this. Every tear that fell from his eyes were like a string tugging at her heart.

"Dust... You said you've been thinking about us..?" She asked cautiously, trying to change the subject, get him to think about something else and perhaps stop crying. She couldn't bear it anymore.

Dust raised his head from her shoulder, and moved away from her, without letting her go. He looked into her big eyes, and wiped the tears out of his own.

".. Why did you come up to me? When we met, I mean... Why did you help me?"

"Why, because your clothes looked horrible, dear!" She smiled back at him, trying to ease the tension.

"Rare, please. I'm being serious." Dust answered.

Rarity went back to their first meeting in her mind, trying to remember what she felt that day. He had looked so helpless and lonely sitting there, covered in mud and... No. That wasn't it. In truth, she knew why she approached him, but... She had been afraid to admit it to herself. She felt drawn to him. She wanted to sit next to him, to learn everything about him.

She couldn't explain why, there was just... something. Something about him that she loved. And now she finally accepted it.

"Because...” She began, tears welling up again as she stared into Dust's sad face.

".. I love you."

Dust watched her in silence. The fire had burnt down, leaving them in almost complete darkness. He didn't know what to say. When he didn't answer, Rarity continued.

"I guess I always have. Ever since that day I first saw you."

"But...” Dust whispered, "I'm human... and you’re a pony."

"That never mattered to me; it only made you more interesting. I...” She hesitated, unsure if she should continue. Instead, she leaned closer to him, looking into his eyes.

".. I... I want you." she whispered, kissing him before he could answer. And at that moment, Dust didn't care to answer. Slowly, he let himself sink into her arms, kissing her back, losing himself in passion for what felt like hours.

But then he broke the kiss. He got up from the couch, turned to look at Rarity before he put his hands around his head.

"This... This isn't right...” He stuttered, fighting a cultural battle inside his head.

"Don’t you want me..?" Rarity said with a seductive voice, batting her eyelashes at him through the dark, even though Dust couldn't see it.

"I... I do, but.. My god, woman, you’re a pony! And I'm a human! How do you suppose that would work, Rare?"

"It doesn't matter, we can work it out somehow, I promise... Please, come back here." Rarity whispered.

Dust paced back and forth through the shadows, rubbing his temples to try and calm down. She was beautiful, yes, and he did want her, but at the same time he didn't want to lose his only friend. Did he love her? As a friend, yes, but more than that? He wasn't sure. He couldn't turn her down, that might completely ruin their friendship, but at the same time he wasn't ready to go any further.

His brain felt like it was about to explode by all questions and thoughts. Rarity sat quiet in the darkness, listening to his footsteps against the wooden floor as he paced around. Then finally, Dust stopped by the window behind the recliner, having made up his mind.

"Rare, I... I love you too. But it just won't work. You know it won't. I don’t' want to hurt you; I want you to be happy. And with me, you wouldn't be. You would become an outcast, just like me. So I'm sorry... But... I-I think it's best if you leave."

Rarity didn’t answer. Dust heard her getting out of the couch and walking up to him. She carefully nuzzled his lower arm, before softly kissing his hand. He wanted to bend down and pick her up, wanted to hold her in his arms and kiss her again, but he knew he couldn't.

Instead, he gently put his hand round the side of her neck, and together they went to the door. Dust opened it, and Rarity hesitantly stepped outside.

Even though she didn't want to leave, Dust was right. It wouldn't work, and she knew it all too well. She spun around and looked at Dust, standing in the dark doorway.

"I guess... This is goodbye, right?" He said quietly, smiling sadly.

Rarity nodded slowly, but then stood up on her hind legs and wrapped her forelegs around him. Dust wrapped his arms around her, and they shared one last kiss.

"You know, your bedroom isn't far-" Rarity whispered in his ear. Dust chuckled at her, but shook his head.

"Goodnight, Rarity." he said, giving her one last kiss on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too darlin'." Rarity whispered, smiling at him. Slowly she turned around and started trotting away. Every now and then she turned around and waved, and Dust waved back at her. Eventually, she was gone.

"I'm so sorry, Rare...”

And that was it. The last time he saw the white unicorn. The last time he said goodbye to his only friend. Everything ruined, a perfect friendship down the drain, because of too strong feelings.

"Ey, look out!"

Dust was pulled out of his memories by a voice calling out nearby. He looked around, and saw a rather big pony with red coat and blonde mane looking at him with fear in his eyes.

"Behind ya!" The pony yelled, and Dust quickly spun around.

Before he even had time to react, the carriage approaching from the air went straight at him, but managing to lean up in the last second. The stallions pulling it flew right above his head, and Dust only had time to think that it was a close call, before the bottom of the carriage hit him straight in the head and he tumbled hard into the cobblestone street.

The moment Dust regained consciousness, his entire world exploded in pain. He couldn't feel his body anymore, due to the pain that had amassed in his head. He wanted to scream in agony, but his lips refused to obey him. He tried to move anything, but to no avail. The pain was so strong, it would be impossible to describe it, and his mind was too clouded to even think. He just wanted to die. So that the pain would go away.

Voices could be heard all around him, but he couldn't focus on what they were saying.

Finally, he managed to move his head a bit to the right. But when he did, the pain hit him like a brick wall, and he let out a quiet whimper of pain. Then he felt his thoughts drifting away. Fading, as they slowly leaked out of his head. He heard a frightened yell, and then something smooth as silk touched his head, and his thoughts stopped moving.

He managed to open his eyes, painfully slow. His blurry vision was filled with something blue. At first, he thought he was looking at heaven. The blue skies welcoming him into eternal rest. But then, everything moved. The blue skies lifted up and disappeared, before he felt another touch at the back of his head. And then the blue appeared again. And now, Dust could see that it wasn't the sky or the heavens, it was in fact a hoof.

A dark-blue hoof, standing only a few inches from his face.

Straining himself to the max, Dust groaned and rolled around on his back. He wanted to know who was standing there, who was helping him. Needed to know the pony who probably saved his life.

He looked up into the cloudy sky, and all he could see was a blurry form of a creature. The sun in the sky shone straight down on the figure, making it almost impossible to make out any features. Except the blue color, of course. Dust blinked, and slowly his vision started to become clearer, he could focus, and what he saw... couldn't be described.

He saw wings, stretched out around him, shielding him, and a strange-looking head. Above the head hovered some sort of gleam, seemingly magic.

An angel.

It had to be. An angel with blue wings and a blue halo. So it was true. He was already dead, and this angel had come to carry him off to heaven. He mustered his last strength, and lifted his arms towards it, stretching out his fingers and trying to grab hold of it. He was ready. Ready to embrace the silence and peace of eternity.

The angel looked down on him as his fingers clamped around its wing. It made no intention of flying off with him, or trying to get out of his grip; it simply widened its eyes and gasped, then quickly turned its head to the left.

"Celestia, he's alive!" The angel yelled.

Dust could hear hurried steps, clacking against the cobblestone street, getting closer. His grip on the wing tightened as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Are... are you...” He whispered, but the angel hushed him, told him to stay calm and breathe slowly.

Another figure appeared this one on his left. Another angel, in purest white, gleaming like snow in the sun. The white angel spoke to the blue, but Dust couldn't make out the words. The sound was fading.
His vision blurred once again. His grip on the wing slipped, and his hands fell to the ground, but he neither heard nor felt the impact.

The blue angel looked down on him; he could see fear in its eyes as it reached down at him, grabbing him, yelling something in his face.

The rest, is silence.