Chalk Dust

Chalk Dust is the younger sister of Holy Steel. She is a royal court painter for the Unicornian royal family. While she is best at oil painting she practices several artistic mediums. She has been in a magically induced coma for several years, following an assassination attempt. She is currently being treated by royal doctors in Castle Sweet.

Appearance

Chalk Dust has a light blue coat with white socks, blaze, insides of her ears, and appaloosa blanket. She is average sized for a unicorn, noticeably shorter than Holy Steel. Her hooves are alternately pink and blue.

Her mane is naturally black. Its bleached blonde with dyed pink and blue streaks, and visible black roots on her mane and tail. She has fluffy bangs and layered short hair in the back, with a small ponytail. Her tail is medium length and very fluffy.

After losing an eye in the attack, she now wears a black eyepatch with two sparkles and a blood drop applique on it. She has droopy, kind eyes with 2 pointed eyelashes. Her resting expression is happy/relaxed. Her ears are pierced asymmetrically, with one cuff earring on her right ear and a cuff with a stud on her left ear.

Her Cutiemark is a yellow picture frame with a blue paint drop inside.

Her ankle heart is blue.

Personality

Chalk Dust is a very relaxed and friendly pony, generally well liked by everypony who has met her. She is kind and forgiving, good with foals, and levelheaded in times of stress. She has a great sense of humor and loves to tell jokes.

Holy Steel is her best friend. She realizes that without her, Holy Steel would be almost completely isolated from other ponies and makes an effort to spend a lot of time with them. She enjoys this, of course, but recognizes the obligation. If she was aware of how poorly Holy Steel is doing while she's unconscious, she would feel partially responsible. They're family, and family sticks together.

Biography

Early Years

Chalk Dust is the younger of two siblings born to aristocratic parents in Saint’s Spring. Their parents died under unknown circumstances when she and Holy Steel were young, leaving the foals to raise themselves. Thanks to Holy's best efforts, she feels that she had a decent childhood. She began making art as a filly, eventually earning herself a place in the Royal Art Academy where she trained as an oil painter.

The Attack

The war between Unicornia and the Cloud Empire has stagnated in the last few years. Few battles have broken out on the borders, and there have been whispers of treaties or ceasefires passed between members of the Unicorn and Pegasus elite. Queen Dusk, intent on winning the war, is forced to do anything in her power to get the upper hoof. She is convinced that an alicorn is the only weapon that could turn the tide, and determines that Holy Steel is the only unicorn powerful enough to become one. Alicorn transformation requires intense stress and, according to her research, despair is the easiest way to achieve it. So she orders for Chalk Dust to be assassinated.

The assassination is botched, she doesn't die right away. Chalk Dust is quickly discovered and taken to the hospital. She was missing an eye and in incredible pain; the doctors put her in a coma to heal. However, to continue her original plan, Queen Dusk places an additional spell on her to keep her from waking up. She's been in a sort of stasis ever since.

Waking Up

Chalk Dust senses Holy Steel's alicorn magic from her coma and reacts to it. A normal amount wasn't enough to wake her, but when they begin to charge a potentially world-ending attack, the magical energy finally breaks the spell. There is no way for Chalk Dust to make it to the battlefield in time, but she runs stumbling down the Queensroad, shouting Holy Steel's name in hopes that they can hear her somehow.

And they do. On the edge of their magical perception, they can feel that Chalk Dust is awake. That breaks their concentration and allows for them to be defeated.

Notable relationships

• Holy Steel: Their beloved sibling. After their parents died, they were the last two of their family line and became very close. Chalk Dust relies on Holy Steel for a lot of support, and semi-unconsciously provides infinitely more support to them. She feels very grateful to have such a responsible and strong older sibling.
• Queen Dusk: Chalk Dust has painted her portrait a few times. She doesn't have an overly positive impression of the queen, but doesn't think she's a bad person.
• Princess Marshmallow: They're somewhere in between aquaintances and friends. Chalk Dust painted her portrait once, and they've spent a small amount of time together.

Gallery

Notes

• Original design by pegalsus.
• Image #2 is by origamijuni.
• Image #5 is by 314pt.