How Some Are More Fortunate

by Silver Dust

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life
Length: 1828

Silver Dust grew up in Trottingham. He never liked the place. He never made any friends, either. Will he like Ponyville any better? Or will he shut himself out again?

Friendship has never made any impact on Silver Dust's life. He made friends, yes, but there was no emotion there. They were more allies or followers than they really were friends. They watched each others' backs because they had to to get anywhere in life. They never liked each other.

Now he's moving to Ponyville to get away from the city life. After all, the city life is the only thing that kept him from having friends. Maybe if he lived in a small town where he had no worries, he would make better friends.

This story takes place at the same time as How the Tables Turn.

This story doesn't really have that much substance to it. It's really just meant to introduce Silver Dust and talk about his past, and I threw in a conflict, more to hold your interest than anything else.

PS: Yes, the main character is my OC. No, he does not represent me. While I did move from a big city to a small town, Ive never had a problem with friendship. Just dispelling these ideas before they start.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-13 03:01:35 UTC

Mysterious Pink Mare

Silver Dust sat in the train, not really paying attention to anything. He was on his way from Trottingham to his new home in Ponyville. He had finally turned 18, which means he no longer had orphanages breathing down his back. Not that he’d ever been in one; at least, not since he was 7. He preferred the streets, knowing how often children in the orphanage fought. Then again, he had to hold his own often enough in the streets of Trottingham, too.

He wondered if he would have the same problem in Ponyville. It seemed to be a safe haven to most of Trottingham’s orphans. Everypony was supposed to be nicer, happier, friendlier, and according to what he’d heard, everypony there was considered part of one large family.

Family would be a new experience for Silver.

The train pulled into the Ponyville train station. The doors slid open with a hiss, and Silver stepped off. He went through the train station, and he was greeted by the sight of the entire town laid out before him.

He trotted into the town, his crimson eyes flitting around to take note of every alleyway, every climbable building, and everypony around him. His careful mapping, however, was interrupted when he bumped into a pink mare with a poofy pink mane.

“Oh, sorry, I- why are you looking at me like that?”

She had crouched low and was regarding him through narrowed eyes. Silver began to wonder if he should pursue the question further or expect her to pounce and run away. The pink mare began slowly walking around him, her piercing gaze taking in every inch of him. She finally got back around to his front and returned to simply staring into his eyes.

Suddenly her eyes seemed to become larger than Celestia’s sun, and she jumped up and gasped so hard it was a wonder there was any air left in all of Equestria. She turned tail and galloped away, streaking off at a speed Silver had thought only Spitfire and the Wonderbolts were capable of achieving.

Silver rolled his eyes. “Well then. Hello to you, too.” He resumed his mental mapping of the place, stopping when he saw- “Is that a tree building?” Silver’s brain confirmed that, yes, that was the weirdest thing he had ever said. He saw a sign next to it that read ‘Golden Oaks Library’. This building was definitely one that could be climbed if need be.

He had just turned to move on when he noticed the pink mare from before walking towards the library. She was now wearing a saddlebag, and she was wearing the largest smile he had ever seen. She seemed entirely unaware of his presence as she trotted into the library.

Silver once again resumed his mental mapping of the place. After he had gotten some distance away from the library, he noticed another strange building. It took the shape of a large carousel. A sign upon it read ‘Carousel Boutique’. Well, there goes his interest in the place.

He turned to continue, when for the third time that day he saw that pink mare. She trotted into the Carousel Boutique, once again oblivious to him.

How did that mare seem to be simply everywhere?

He decided to look into it later. Looking around, he chose a place to stay. He spread his wings and took flight, something he rarely did. He didn’t like using his wings. Climbing made for a better survivor. As a result, he generally concealed, to the best of his ability, the fact that he was a Pegasus.

However, he was tired, and he needed a nap, badly. He found what seemed to be an apple orchard and chose a solid but soft looking tree and lighted upon a branch. He found a comfortable position and allowed sleep to claim him.

A Place to Stay

THUD

“Whoaaaaaa!”

THUD

“Whoops. Sorry, sugarcube, I didn’t see ya there.”

“Sugarcube?” Silver stood up, contemplating the new mare that stood before him. She was a tan earth pony with a blonde mane. Her cutie mark consisted of three apples.

“Yeah, Ah call a lot o’ ponies that. Just a habit, Ah guess. Hey, yer not from ‘round here, are ya?”

“No, I just came in from Trottingham.”

“Have ya run into a pink mare with a poofy mane?”

“FINALLY I can get an explanation! Yeah I did, and she didn’t say anything, she just gasped and ran off and I’ve been seeing her EVERYWHERE since then.”

“She’s probably just happy somepony new got here. Her name’s Pinkie Pie, and mine’s Applejack, by the way. She’s probably just planning ya a proper welcome. See, her special talent is throwin parties, and she does so just about every other day. She knows everypony ‘round here, and whenever somepony new shows up, she has to greet ‘em right.”

“Ahh. Well, it’s nice to meet you, although I wish it could’ve been a better way to meet…” He trailed off, staring up at the branch he had previously been sleeping on.

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. See, that’s how I get the apples outta the trees. Ah buck the trunk, and it shakes the trees, and the apples fall. Ah can’t tell ya how many times Ah woke Rainbow Dash up that way. Speakin o’ Dash, Ah ain’t seen that mare ‘round for a while. She was goin to Trottingham for a weather exchange, but the weather pegasi’re sayin she got lost on the way or somethin. They’re lookin for her, but it’s been a couple days now.”

“Sorry to hear your friend went missing.”

“Bah, she’ll turn up sooner or later. Believe me, that mare can handle herself.” Applejack’s face became crimson as she realized that Silver was laughing. “Not like that, Ah mean she can hold her own in a fight. Not that we’ve fought or anything, she’s just an athletic pegasus. Ah of all ponies should know.” Silver’s laughter doubled in strength. “Oh, shut up, you know what Ah mean.”

“Oh, I already know I’ll never regret meeting you.” Silver was still giggling uncontrollably as he spoke, wiping a tear away from his eye. “I’m Silver Dust, by the way.”

“Nice ta meet ya. Now, do ya have a place ta stay here in Ponyville?”

“No, but to tell the truth, I never had a place to stay in Trottingham, either.”

“Oh my. Did ya just stay at friends’ houses, or what?”

“I never really made friends, to tell the truth.” Silver noticed the sympathetic look he was receiving from Applejack, and fought to stave it off. He didn’t want anyone to feel bad for him. Not just because he didn’t want pity, but because it was unnecessary. “It doesn’t matter, really. I don’t dwell in the past. I’m just hoping the ponies here are friendlier than ponies in Trottingham.”

“Of course we are, sugarcube. It’s Ponyville. We’re all one big happy family.”

Silver smiled at the confirmation of the orphans’ rumors of Ponyville. “Glad to hear it.”

“Now, Ah want ya to know that you’re always welcome to stay here. If ya need a place ta stay, our door is always open.”

“Thank you. It means a lot to me.”

“Don’t mention it, sugarcube.”

Silver Dust smiled, glad to have a helping hoof in the new place. Friend? Perhaps. He didn't know enough to say about friendship yet, but he at least had a pony willing to help him out, and that was the closest he'd ever gotten.

A Namesake Necklace

“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.”