//------------------------------//
// 1: A Forgotten Angel 
// Story: The Pegasus Apple 
// by KiraOnlinePony 
//------------------------------//

Applejack had just made a big sale with the Royal Guard. To celebrate, she decided to stay in Canterlot for the weekend. She’d phoned home to let her family know. She looked up at the clock to see it was close to midnight.
“Thanks fer treatin me, Shining! Ah’ll tell Twi ya said howdy!” She tipped her hat to the Guard Captain and walked out the door. As her front hoof hit the ground, she’d heard light squish. “What in tarnation…?”
She looked to see she’d stepped in blood. Not a lot, about the equivalent of a nosebleed. She noticed there was a trail that led under the stairs. Applejack heard crying. “Hullo?” She called out.

The crying stopped at the sound. “It’s ok. C’mon out, ah ain’t gonna hurt’cha. Ah promise.” Applejack said in a sweet voice. After a solid minute of silence, the figure limped out to show a young pegasus colt. His long chocolate brown mane and tail were oily and unruly, His baby blue coat was caked with grime and filth and he didn’t have a cutie mark. His left foreleg was bleeding and he had it pressed with an old newspaper. His eyes were closed.
“Go on, open yer eyes. Ah swear ah’m not a monster.” After a couple of seconds, the young colt opened his eyes. His eyes were as red as rubies.
“You’ve got the most beautiful eyes ah ever saw… Let’s get that wound patched up, huh?” Applejack said, undoing the ribbon in her mane. She touched his foreleg to wrap the wound and he jumped as if she’d punched him.

“It’s alright, little feller, this won’t hurt.” She smiled at him. He watched her closely as she wrapped the ribbon around his wound. “There we go. We’ll getcha to a doctor in the mornin. C’mon, y’all can stay with me.” She got down on the ground and offered to carry him. It took a second but he finally got on her back. She carried him back to her hotel room. “Ya can take a shower if ya want. If ya need help, Ah’ll be right out here.”
She opened her room’s door to a one bed, one bathroom room. The room was small enough for a bed, the TV across the room, a gorgeous view of Canterlot for the fourth floor, a couch adjacent to the bed and the bathroom on the left as you entered the room. Applejack helped him into the shower and turned it on. She sat on the bed and looked out the window.

She was lost in thought, the passage of time lost to her when she heard “Oophm!” She jumped off the bed and ran into the bathroom. “You ok, buddy?” He picked himself up rather wobbly and nodded. He dried off and grabbed the first aid kit under the bathroom sink.
“This here is hydrogen peroxide.” She held up a brown bottle, “Ah’m gonna clean your wound as best Ah can for now but this is gonna sting. Be a brave colt, ok?” She grabbed the guaze in the kit and poured a little peroxide on the wound, causing the colt to wince. “Ah know, sugarcube, it hurts. Jes bare with me.” She pressed the gauze onto the wound and wrapped the gauze with the ribbon in her tail.
“There we go. C’mon, it’s time fer bed. You can have the bed if ya want. Ah’ll take the couch.” She smiled. The colt just nodded and tried to fly onto the bed. He got a few inches before falling.

“That’s ok. Ah’ll help ya up. We can get Rainbow Dash ta teach ya to fly.” She helped him into bed and went to the couch.
“Jackpot.”
Applejack turned to look at the colt. His voice was quite light for his age of, she guessed, eight. 
“My name is Jackpot.”
“Can ya tell me what happened ta yer leg?” she asked. Jackpot was looking out the window.

“I got stabbed… I’ve lived alone on the streets of Cloudsdale for years now. I had to steal to eat or else I’d eat out of garbage cans.” The colt said.
“Poor guy. Y’all have had it rough but no more. Now, get ta sleep, ok?” Applejack smiled. The colt just nodded and laid back down. Applejack went to sleep pretty quickly but her dreams liked to torment her. Her mind replayed her most recent physical exam with her doctor. The one where it was told that she was possibly infertile.
And, like every time she had the dream, she sat upright in a cold sweat and couldn’t get to sleep until the morning sun.

As she promised, Applejack took Jackpot to the doctor who had stitched up his wound. Then on the train back to Ponyville, Jackpot looked deep in thought. Applejack thought it best to let him be with his thoughts. As they got off the train, Applejack heard the familiar Boink! Boink! Boink! “Hello, Applejack!” Pinkie said in a singsong voice, “Oooh, and who’s this?” she asked, spotting Jackpot, who hid behind Applejack.
“Easy, there, Pinks. This little feller could give Fluttershy a run fer her bits in bein timid. Ah think yer energy scared him.”
Pinkie flatmaned and laid on her belly. “Aw, I’m sorry, little one. My name’s Pinkie Pie. What’s yours?” Jackpot looked up at Applejack, who nodded.
“J-Jackpot.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Jacky! I hope you’ll stay in Ponyville! Bye!” 

“That was Pinkie, Jacky. You’ll get used ta her boundless energy.” Applejack chuckled. Jackpot said nothing until they reached Sweet Apple Acres.

“M-Miss Apple?”
Applejack looked over to Jackpot. “We can drop the formalities, sugarcube. Just Applejack will do.” she smiled.
“I… I’d like to work on the farm to pay back my bill…”
Applejack looked at the colt. “Now, that ain’t neces-”
“Please?” Jackpot asked again.
Applejack looked into his red eyes and after a minute of quiet deliberation, “Ok. Ya wanna work here, ok. But there’s gonna be some rules.” Applejack started and nodded for the colt to come in the house. To her surprise, her family was home.

“Uh… Who’s this?” Big Mac asked.
“Applejack, what did you do?” Granny Smith asked.
“Oh yes! A new friend!” Applebloom squeaked. Jackpot blushed as Applebloom addressed him.

“Settle down, y’all. This here is Jackpot. He’s gonna be stayin with us fer a while. He wants ta work off me payin fer his doctor visit. Now, Jacky, some rules. First, ifen yer gonna stay here, yer gonna be enrolled in school.”
“Can I have goggles then? Or something to hide my eyes?” Jackpot asked.
“No.” Applejack answered, “Ya need to build confidence in yerself and that ain’t gonna happen if ya hide yerself. Second, you’ll work the weekends. Homework comes first. Finally, if ya stay here, yer gonna be treated like family. Got it?”

“Uh huh.” Jackpot said.
“Ok. Now, Ah’ll ask Rainbow later ifen she can teach ya to fly. Bloomy? Can you and the girls show Jacky his new home?”
“Sure thing! Cutie Mark Crusader Tour Guides! C’mon, Jackpot!” With that, Applebloom bolted out the door with Jackpot in tow. Big Mac caught Applejack smiling.
“Aj, what’re you up to?”
“Jes tryin ta make a better life fer…” she looked out the window to see that blue coat disappear over the hill, “A forgotten angel…”