How Some Are More Fortunate

“So, have ya been through the town yet?” Applejack continued her applebucking as she spoke to the newcomer to the town.

“No. I just got off my train.”

Applejack checked Silver up and down with a contemplative look. “Don’t ya have any luggage?”

“What can I say? I travel light. I had a blanket and a cloak. I gave those to a younger orphan when I was leaving. Other than that, I have this necklace.” He reached up to his neck and removed the aforementioned necklace, a simple silver chain with an hourglass hanging from it.

“Why an hour glass?”

“The necklace is supposed to represent my name. See, that’s not sand in there, it’s tiny metal shavings. They came from silver. It’s silver dust.”

Applejack looked closer at the hourglass, and sure enough, the sand was actually tiny metal shavings that shone with a brilliance that could only mean silver. She also noticed a pair of wings carved into the glass, and in between them a cloud with a lightning bolt shooting from it. Something about the carving looked familiar. “Do ya know what happened to yer parents?”

“Nope. According to the headmistress, I was found alone in the middle of nowhere and dropped off by the stallion who found me. He had a white coat, black mane, and red eyes.”

Applejack maintained a respectful silence as she continued her work, keeping an eye on Silver to make sure he knew she was listening.

“Is there anything specific ya know about ‘em?”

“No. Only that they’re where the necklace came from.”

“Huh.”

The two of them fell silent as Applejack continued her work, bucking tree after tree and filling the buckets underneath them. After a while, Applejack acted on her curiosity about the necklace. “Ah’m curious. Does the carving on the necklace mean anything?”

“The wings simply refer to the fact that I am a pegasus. If I were a unicorn, the engraving would likely be a horn, and an Earth pony, well, I’m not sure. But the cloud, I’m not sure. I think it has something to do with the family I came from.”

“Ah see. Well, Ah’m just about finished up here, just gotta get the bushels in the wagon and the wagon in the cellar. What do ya say Ah show ya around when Ah’m done?”

“Sounds good. I want to thank you for your hospitality. It really does mean a lot to me.”

“Well, shucks, sugarcube, it’s nothin’, really. Ah can’t let ya wander round with nowhere to go. Ya gotta at least have a bed to sleep in, and food to eat. Can’t in the right mind let ya starve, either. Speakin of food, I never even thought to ask, are ya hungry?”

“Nah, I ate before I got on the train.”

“How long was the train ride?”

“Two hours.”

“Ah. Well, if ya ever find yourself hungry, just come to us. We got the best apples in all of Equestria here, and don’t ya worry bout payment, either.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

By the end of their conversation, the wagon had been pulled into the cellar and Applejack had unhooked herself from it.

“Let’s go. No doubt Pinkie’s party will be sometime tonight, and I want ya to get situated in the town before it starts. I wonder what the girls’ll think of ya.”