Chapter 1 - Of Grey and Red
Grey.
The walls of my shop were all a very unsightly grey that gave off a putrid aura of apathy. It was not only the walls that were grey, but almost everything about my shop was grey. From the counter that was beginning to flake, to the dust-covered window that was illuminating the room with the first glimpses of daylight. Everything was grey.
Needless to say, the shop was not the best in Tenpony Tower, but at the time that I bought it it was all I could afford. Of course, this wasn't the case now. I could easily afford a bigger shop. If I wanted to.
My eyes were drawn, once again, to the greyness of my shop. This simply would not do. I would have to inform maintenance that there was a ghastly case of monochromaticity in my shop.
Was monochromaticity a word? And if so was I using it right? Surely noone in maintenance would be educated enough to understand that I had used monochromaticity if I were to use it in a complaint. That is, if it was used wrong. There was always the possibility that I had used it right. But what if they did recognize a mistake? That could jeopardize my social standing. All because of one simple slip up. How would I ever be able to live through such embarrassment?
A pony coughed impatiently, making me realize I had gotten lost within my own thoughts. Although, to be fair my mind is somewhat of a maze and when it comes down to it having to memorize fanciful words just made my brain hurt. Wait . . . fanciful doesn't make sense there, does it?
No, I refuse to get involved in anymore inner arguments whilst a customer is waiting.
I turned my attention towards the pony who was waiting expectantly. He was . . . monochrome. Great. He wore a grey trench coat, a dark-grey hat, sunglasses, and he had a grey coat. My shop seemed simply colorful in comparison to this unknown pony. I presumed his mane was also some form of grey, however I couldn't see it because it looked like it was hidden beneath his hat. Or he was bald. That was a possibility too.
I had to force myself not to get into another inner argument about monochromacity and whether or not it was a real word. Instead, I turned my attention towards this pony and decided to give him the normal greeting.
"Monochromacity!" I said happily.
Wait . . . "monochromacity"?
Oh no.
You really screwed this one up, didn't you, Beginners Luck?
But I don't recognize him.
Maybe he's new.
But working in a Tenpony Tower coffee shop means I don't get to see many ponies.
Especially with prices so damned high. Not that I couldn't afford them, that is. Of course I could afford them.
"Pardon?" the earth pony inquired, raising an eyebrow, a hint of boredom in his voice.
Maybe he didn't hear me. I could still pull this off. Sometimes I think I'm the luckiest pony in the world, why else would I be called "Beginners Luck"?
"I said salutations!" I lied, trying to drown out any signs of concern with false happiness.
"I could of sworn you said 'monochromaticity'," he replied coldy.
My heart dropped. It was all over. I'd be a social outcast. I may as well end it all here and now.
"I'll take whatever's cheapest," he continued.
He didn't care? Perhaps he was new. This was the luckiest day of my life.
"And what's your name?" I inquired.
"Why?" he snapped.
". . . So we can call I can call you out to tell you when your coffee's ready?" I ventured, unsure as to why he wouldn't want me knowing his name.
"In that case it's Archangel," "Archangel" replied, his reverting back to bordom.
Archangel. I didn't like it. Something just didn't feel right about that name.
Then again, I had once lost all of my caps in a casino because I felt 4 was my lucky number. Maybe I shouldn't trust my feelings.
It was unfair of me to judge somepony just because of the name their parents had given them such a horrid name.
I wondered what Archangel's cutiemark was. Surely it had to be more interesting than mine. All I had for a cutiemark was a three leaf clover. I mean, I'd understand a four leaf clover cutiemark, but a three leaf clover? What's that supposed to symbolize?
A few hours had passed since I nearly became a social outcast and I had managed to get myself lost within my own thoughts again. This time I was arguing with myself about cutiemark symbolism, an argument that had began to form when I had made the mistake of wondering what Archangel's cutiemark was.
"But a three leaf clover cutiemark can't symbolize anti-luck. That's just stupid," I muttered.
"Oh yes it can. Think about it. If four leaves means luck then what if three leaves means anti-luck? It's not as if clovers are common," my brain countered.
"Now you're being stupid."
"No you're being close minded."
"Excuse me, am I interrupting something? I'd hate to inconvenience you," said a third voice.
I froze. Somepony was listening? I must sound uneducated, let alone insane.
I slowly shuffled towards the pony, only to be filled with relief.
It was Wastrel, a unicorn stallion who had been my friend since we were foals. Although at first we were only friends because we were both social outcasts, me because of my tendency to get lost in thought and him because of his name and something about his family that I never could quite understand, we both grew to be really close friends. Even if I eventually got accepted into society and he didn't.
"No of course not Wastrel. You know me. I was simply pondering the fragility of life and the inevitibility of death," I lied. It was a bad lie, but I hoped it either made me sound classier or more intelligent. Or both. Both would be good.
"How peculier, I could of sworn I had overheard you talking about cutiemarks. Anyhow, Snowdrop told me to inform you that a new supply of coffee beans should be heading your way. Although she said it in a way that was much more offensive to me. If I recall corectly, according to her my mother was a drunken whore and I am nothing more than a disapointment." he said, class simply radiating from him whilst he spoke.
I felt sorry for Wastrel, but at the same time I envied how classy he was. I envied his cyan coat and his yellow mane. I envied how he was a unicorn whilst I was stuck being a boring earth pony. I envied how his cutiemark made sense (it was a bowtie which, in my mind, clearly meant his special talent was class).
What I didn't envy was how he almost never wore clothes. Atleast I got to wear dresses. And I loved every dress I owned. I was currently wearing one of my favorites. It was, to put it simply, classy as fuck.
"Luck! You should not use such foul language,"my brain yelled at me.
My dress was-
My thoughts were cutoff as a mare screamed right outside my shop.
I jumped over the counter, determined to find out who would interrupt my thoughts in such an uncivilized manner.
As I rounded the corner I was met with a grizzly sight.
"What in Equestria has gotten into you, Luck? I'm sure she simply screamed because-" Wastrel's voice was cutoff when he saw what I had seen. By the look of utter disgust on his face I could tell he was close to throwing up and I presumed the only reason why he didn't was because it wasn't a classy thing to do.
I couldn't blame him, infront of us lay a dark blue mare, lying in a dark-red pool of her own blood. Her neck- OH SWEET CELESTIA HER NECK WAS TORN OUT!
I glanced away from the mare, certain that if I looked any longer I'd throw up. Towards us ran a guard pony, who, after seeing the mare that lay before us, couldn't keep his stomache in as much as me or Wastrel.
A pink mare, who I presumed to be a friend of the now dead dark blue mare started yelling at the guard. I was shocked I hadn't noticed the mare before. Then again, there was a dead pony right-
"No. This was not the time to get lost in thought, Luck," my brain reminded me.
". . . And the pony was wearing a dress that looked like . . ." the pink mare paused, unsure how she could describe the dress. She began to look around for inspiration. She paused when she saw me, her eyes filling with dread.
"IT'S HER!" she screamed, pointing a hoof at me, "I'LL NEVER FORGET THAT DRESS!"
The guard turned towards me, his eyes burning with what could only be described as pure hatred.
Oh no.
Oh sweet Celestia no.
There was no way this could be happening.
I'm dreaming.
Any minute now I'll wake up.
Any minute now.
Any . . . minute . . . now . . .
" . . . Well? Got nothing to sat for yourself?" the guard asked, alerting me to the fact he had been talking to me.
"Now slow down. Let's all calm down. I was just talking to Luck. I'm sure there's been a-" Wastrel was slapped rather harshly in the face by the guard pony.
"SHUT UP WASTREL! Your family is nothing more than a disgrace! If I had it my way you'd be thrown out into the wastes! You can't honestly be defending this bi . . ." the guard soon got out of hearing range as I galloped towards the exit, passing a few ponies who looked rather confused as to why I was galloping full speed down the hallway.
There was no way in hell I'd be killed for something I didn't do. Wastrel would just have to take one for the team. I just hoped they won't kill him.
I was lucky nopony saw me slip away. This may just be the first time I'd experienced luck in my entire life.
I ran out the entrance just as the gates were opened to let somepony in. Another streak of luck.
"Hey, slow down Luck," one of the gate guards called out to me, "and be careful. I'm pretty sure you've never actually been out. . ." that guard pony was also out of hearing range.
He was, of course, right. I had never left Tenpony Tower, but how bad could it be?
Footnote:
Level up
New perk: Three Leaf Clover -- Due to your extremely low luck all other SPECIAL stats have been raised by 1 point, however your luck has been lowered to 1.
