A Chance Meeting

Applejack looked around at her stall, and was pleased to see that she had almost finished selling the day's batch of apples. Apple Bloom had been with her earlier; she had left with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle at another attempt to earn their cutie marks. Applejack smiled at that thought; wondering what sort of mischief they could cook up this time. Her expression changed to disgust as she remembered the Gabby Gums incident, and she shook away the thoughts, and just in time, too. She had another customer at her stall.

It was a brown unicorn stallion, with a black mane and tail. He had eyes which were dark yellow. He was obviously not from Ponyville; as Applejack had never seen him around before. The stallion smiled, and scanned the remaining six apples at her store. "How much do these go for, Miss?"

Applejack raised an eyebrow slightly. "Now, ah know ya tryin' to be polite and all, but there's no need to call me Miss or anythin' like that. Name's Applejack." She extended her hoof for a hoofshake. "And ya are?"

The stallion took her hoof in a firm shake. "Everypony calls me Lucky, so I guess you can too, Applejack. Again, how much do these apples go for?"

Applejack took back her hoof. "These here apples are going fer two bits per apple. Care fer one?"

Lucky thought about it for a moment. "Well, since you're left with only six, I'll take all of them. At least you can close up shop now, right?" He floated out twelve bits and lay them on the stall.

Applejack was impressed with the stallion; he seemed to had bought all of the apples not really because he needed them, but also because he seemingly wanted to help Applejack close up her stall. She was about to take the bits, when a sudden thought stuck itself into her mind. She had promised Fluttershy some apples, and these were the last ones Applejack could spare for today!

"Ah'm sorry, Lucky," Applejack began to apologize. "Ah kinda promised a friend that I'd give her a few apples, and these here are the last ones ah have. Try again tomorrow, ah'll keep some aside just in case ya come by!" She hurriedly began packing up her stall, and packed the apples into a basket.

"Well, that's unfortunate," Lucky replied. "I guess I'm not as lucky as my name implies." He floated the bits back into his saddlebag. "Do you need any help, Applejack? You seem to be in a rush."

Even though she was busy clearing up the stall, Applejack still managed a reply. "Ah, don't worry about it. Ah got everything settled, all ah just need is-" She was cut mid-sentence as she missed her footing, and accidentally sprained a hoof with a misstep. "Ah, darn it!"

Lucky stepped up next to her. "What happened?"

"Ah think ah sprained my hoof," Applejack replied, pained as she tried to flex her hoof. She forced herself to get up, and took a few steps, and pain flared up in her hoof. "Eeyup, I definitely sprained my hoof, there. Of all the times for it to happen, it had to be now! Well, it doesn't matter. A promise is a promise, and I gotta get these apples to Fluttershy."

"Now hold on there, Applejack," Lucky interjected. "You need to see a doctor more than you need to deliver those apples. I know that we shouldn't break promises, especially those that we made with a friend, but I'm sure this friend of yours would understand."

"I don't want to leave her hangin', though," Applejack replied. "She's probably waiting for them apples as we talk. I need to deliver them to her." She bit her lip as she took another step and the pain returned to her hoof.

"I can see that no matter what I say, you're going to insist that you deliver the apples," Lucky said. "In that case, let me deliver those apples for you. You're hardly in any shape to walk a few steps, let alone wherever it is your friend Fluttershy lives."

"I can appreciate you wanting to help," Applejack replied. "But there's no need to trouble yourself with this."

"Pish posh!" Lucky replied. "I wanted to help, so its no trouble at all." He grabbed the sack containing the apples with magic, and put it into his saddlebag. "Now, where does your friend, Fluttershy live?"

"She, uh, lives in a cottage near the Everfree Forest," Applejack told the stallion. She pointed in a direction. "If ya take a road that heads in this general direction, ya should be able to get to her cottage, no problem. Ya sure you can help deliver them apples to Fluttershy?"

"Without a doubt, Applejack," he assured her. "Will you be alright getting to the doctor's by yourself?"

"Ah could always call a taxi if ah can't make it," replied Applejack. "But this ain't all bad. Ah can get there by myself. Drop by the stall again some other time. Ah'll find some way to thank ya."

"No need for thanks, Applejack," replied Lucky. I'll... catch you around some other time, then." With that, the stallion trotted off in the direction that Applejack had pointed him in.

~~~

Fluttershy was in her kitchen, humming along as she prepared the items she would need to bake her pies. She she was almost ready; the only ingredients she needed were some apples, and Applejack had already promised to deliver some apples to her. What Fluttershy hadn't told Applejack was that she intended to bake the pies for each of her close friends.

Fluttershy then heard somepony knocking on her cottage door, and the thought of Applejack standing outside with the apples she needed immediately came into her mind. She headed out of the kitchen, walking towards the door. However, as she was walking, she heard the door being opened, presumably by Angel, and then she suddenly heard somepony yelling.

Fluttershy rushed to the door, to find Angel standing in the doorway. She looked out, and she could see a unicorn in a muddy puddle, and a saddlebag not far away from him. She walked up to the unicorn, who had managed to get up. He was giving himself a once over, and he shook his head as he noticed that his whole body was covered with mud.

The unicorn stallion then turned his attention to Fluttershy. "Oh, hello!" he said in a jovial manner. "You must be Fluttershy. Name's Lucky Stripes, but everypony calls me plain Lucky." He wiped off some mud that was starting to run down his brow.

Fluttershy started to hide her face behind her mane, and started backing up into her cottage. She had not seen this pony before, and she was starting to get nervous from the meeting. Lucky noticed it. "Now,now, no need to be afraid. Your friend Applejack sent me here to deliver those apples she promised you."

Fluttershy perked up when she heard Applejack's name. Well, if Applejack trusts him enough to deliver the apples for her, he can't be a bad pony, can he? she thought to herself. Then a sudden realization dawned upon her. "What happened to Applejack?"

Lucky wiped off more mud off him before replying. "See, she was in a hurry to get these apples to you, and as she was clearing up her stall, she accidentally sprained her hoof. I was there when it happened, and when I heard about it, I offered my assistance to her, before she left for the doctor's. So, here I am. The apples are in the saddlebag."

Fluttershy looked down, and saw the saddlebag right next to her. The bag then seemingly opened by itself, and a small sack floated out of it. She looked up, and saw that it was Lucky who was floating the bag with magic. "Just a question, but you don't happen to have a garden hose around here, do you?"

Fluttershy nodded. She looked in the direction of her petunias. "Its, umm, down that way. You can use it if you'd like. Its the least I can offer after Angel Bunny threw you into the mud puddle."

Lucky offered her a grateful smile. Fluttershy grabbed the sack with her mouth, and headed back inside, with Angel slamming the door shut behind her. She trotted into the kitchen, accompanied by Angel, and she placed the sack on the table. After which, she turned to Angel. "Now, now, Angel Bunny, I know you're just trying to keep bad ponies from coming in, but that's no excuse to throw them about, especially into a mud puddle."

In response, Angel gave her a look of indifference. Fluttershy shook her head, fully knowing how stubborn Angel could be at times. She opened up the sack, and placed the apples on the counter, ready to begin her baking. However, she had just remembered that she still had a book that needed to be returned to the library. She would have done so, but she needed to bake the pies, or she would never be done with them.

Fluttershy bit her lip, unsure of what to do now. Then, there was another knock on her door. She opened the door, to reveal Lucky who had managed to the mud off of him already. "I found it improper to leave without even saying goodbye. Thanks for letting me use that garden hose of yours; the mud was starting to get stuck in my mane. So, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now. Goodbye, Fluttershy."

Lucky turned to leave, and replaced the saddlebag back on himself with magic, when Fluttershy called out to him. "Lucky, wait!" She then realized she had shouted, and added, albeit softly, "Please?"

The unicorn turned around, with a puzzled expression on his face. "What is it, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy traced some patterns on the ground with her hoof, nervous as she was. "Um... I was wondering if you were heading back to Ponyville..."

Lucky smiled at her. "I was indeed going to return to Ponyville after this. Did you need something, though?"

Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane again, and said even quieter, "I was wondering if you could help me return a book of mine to Twilight at the library..."

Lucky's expression was one of acknowledgement, and he had apparently managed to pick up every word that Fluttershy had spoken. "Well, since I'm heading back to Ponyville, and you have pies to bake, I could always lend a helping hoof."

Fluttershy was overcome with joy when Lucky agreed to help her return the book, and she hurriedly went to fetch it, which she placed in Lucky's saddlebag. Lucky nodded at her, and began his departure. Before he left, though, Fluttershy asked him, "How did you know I was baking pies, Lucky?"

As he was walking off, Lucky turned around and told her the answer. "A Lucky guess!"

~~~

Spike descended from the ladder, glad that he had finally rearranged the books on the top shelf as Twilight had asked him to. Twilight, too, had just finished arranging some books in a stack, which were now ready to be shelved. She turned to look at Spike, and then turned her focus to the books at the top shelf, and frowned. "Spike, you didn't arrange the Daring Do series in order! Look!" She pointed the the shelf. Indeed, Spike had not arranged the books in the correct order. He placed book two at the beginning of the series, and several other books were all over the place.

"But Twilight, I spent the last half hour rearranging the shelf because you didn't like the arrangement," Spike complained. You could easily use magic to rearrange these small problems! Why do I have to go back up and do it?"

"Because, Spike," Twilight replied. "I still have more books to sort out." She pointed at another pile of books which she had not sorted yet. "Once you get the books on that shelf rearranged properly, we can stop worrying about it and concentrate on the remainder of the books. We don't have much left to clear."

Spike groaned, but he complied with Twilight, and headed up the ladder and began to rearrange the books, starting with the Daring Do series. Twilight, in the meantime, started to sort the books in the last pile. She had just pulled out two books to form the base of the stack, when she heard somepony knocking on the door.

Without turning away from her current task, she said, "Come in!"

She heard the door open, and then close again. She added another book to the stack, and then turned to the pony who had just entered the library. It was a unicorn stallion, and he was taking a look around. He saw that Twilight was looking at him. "Did I come at a bad time?" he asked.

Twilight shook her head. 'We're just doing some cleaning up and rearranging the books to accommodate some recent arrivals," she explained. "I haven't seen you around Ponyville before. My name's Twilight Sparkle, and I'm the librarian here." She pointed at Spike. "That dragon there is my assistant, Spike."

Spike raised a hand to acknowledge his name, when suddenly, he lost his balance on the ladder. He fell from it, and the books from the level that he was rearranging fell with him.

"Spike!" Twilight shouted. However, the situation had developed so quickly that she hadn't regained her composure, and she did nothing.

The other unicorn with her, however, reacted quickly. His horn glowed, and he managed to catch Spike and the books with magic. He didn't stop their fall, but he reduced their speed significantly, and Spike landed softly, as did the other books. Twilight, who was standing with her mouth agape, hurried up to Spike. "Spike, are you okay?!"

Spike groaned, and got up to his feet. "Is the floor supposed to be shaking so?" he asked wearily.

The stallion looked at him. "You'll be fine," he assured the dragon. "It's just that you're off balance from what happened. Things will return to normal soon." He spied the ladder. "That looks a little bit too precarious for you to use safely." He floated the books that were on the floor in front of him. He glanced at each of them, rearranged them in mid-air and nodded, then placed them onto the shelf.

Twilight looked at the books. The stallion had managed to place the books in the right place, at the right order, faster than Spike had done. She looked at him in disbelief. "How did you manage to do that?" she asked, baffled. "Spike had been on that for half an hour, and he still wasn't done."

The stallion smiled warmly at Twilight. "When it comes to certain things, I can process information very quickly. That, and I've quite the collection of books. Arranging them so that I can find them easily is something that I'm accustomed to." His eyes shifted for a moment. "I just remembered why I came here in the first place." From out of his saddlebag, he floated a book. "Fluttershy asked me to return this to the library. And that would make you, Twilight, I'd wager."

Twilight took the book from his, and looked at it. She then returned it to its proper position in the library. "That's me. Twilight Sparkle. Oh, but you can call me Twilight."

"Certainly a pleasure, Twilight," he replied. "My name's Lucky Stripes. Similarly, you can just call me, Lucky."

"Oh, that's an interesting name," she said. "I wonder what-" Her eyes traveled down Lucky's flank, and she was shocked by what she saw. "You don't have a cutie mark!"

The stallion sighed. "So I don't. I realize that," he told her.

Twilight stared on in disbelief. "But, you should have gotten you cutie mark by now!" she exclaimed. "I mean, you're probably older than me!"

Lucky shook his head. "After going so long without a cutie mark, I've realized something. I don't need a cutie mark to be me. I had my fun, searching for it, but then I reached a certain age... It'll be nice to have one, but I can go without, as I have all this while."

Twilight processed the stallion's words. She was younger than him and already had her cutie mark, and her outburst must have seen like an insult to him. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to cause any offence."

Lucky shook his head, and smiled. "None taken. I've already accepted the fact that I may have to go in life without a cutie mark, so its all good." He spared a glance at Spike, who had mostly gathered his composure and balance again. "Your assistant seems to be feeling alright, now. I can see that you have quite a fair bit of sorting to do, and I'll just get in your way if I stay any longer. I'll take my leave now, Twilight Sparkle."

He gave Twilight a nod, and proceeded out the door. Spike made his way to Twilight's side. "He's new around Ponyville. I've never even seen him before," the dragon said nonchalantly. "Well, we should get back to cleaning the library, shouldn't we? Hello! Twilight, are you listening? Twilight..."

~~~

Rarity was walking along the path towards the library by herself. She had wanted to get Twilight to accompany her back to the Carousel Boutique, to get her opinions on the dress that she was currently designing for Twilight.

She was walking while thinking about the dress that she had painstakingly designed for so long, and she now finally had the chance to get Twilight's opinion on the matter. She had her eyes closed, thinking about the dress' design, when suddenly she bumped into another pony, and fell to the floor.

"Watch where you're walking, you ruffian!" Rarity cried out as she tried to get up. "That's no way to treat a lady, you know!"

"I'm terribly sorry about that, then, milady," came the reply. "Here, allow me to assist you."

Rarity looked up, and she was stunned. Helping her up was a unicorn stallion. He wasn't as sharply dressed as the ones Rarity had seen in Canterlot during her stay there, but he had a certain poise to him. Rarity took his hoof, and with grace, he pulled Rarity up to her feet. "Are you all right, milady?"

"Well, I, uh... I'm fine," she replied, suddenly finding it difficult to come up with proper words.

The unicorn smiled at her. "I hope I didn't hurt you any in way. My name's Lucky Stripes, but everypony calls me, Lucky," he introduced himself.

Rarity composed herself without showing any obvious signs of doing so. "And you may call me Rarity," she replied. "I haven't seen you around in Ponyville before. Might I just ask one question?"

The stallion's expression turned to one of amusement. "Feel free to do so, Rarity. I'll answer it to the best that I can."

"Were you originally from Canterlot, Lucky?"

"I've been to Canterlot before, and have taken up temporary residence there before. Why do you ask?"

Rarity smiled slightly. "Oh, its nothing," she replied. "Its just that you seem to have a bearing that resembles the unicorns in Canterlot. Not the snobbish, uptight ones, I mean."

Lucky laughed. "I know what you mean, Rarity," he said. "I've had dealings with some of the more snobbish unicorns that. Unpleasant experiences, I have to say. Well, its been nice meeting you, milady, but I'm afraid that I'll have to take my leave."

Rarity moved out of his path. "Don't let me keep you, Lucky," she said. "And have a good day." Rarity walked past Lucky as she continued her walk towards the library; Twilight's dress no longer the foremost thought in her mind.

~~~

"Pinkie, for the last time, if you stop at every stall and saying hello to everypony, we won't make it to the hospital to meet Applejack!"

"Oh, Rainbow, don't be silly! We have plenty of time! Twilight and the others haven't even arrived there yet!"

Rainbow Dash was headed to the hospital, when she ran into Pinkie Pie. Rainbow had explained about the news she ad heard about Applejack; that she was in the hospital getting treated for a sprained hoof. She had a headache, however, when Pinkie posed question after question without stop regarding Applejack. Ultimately, Rainbow had managed to get Pinkie to go along with her to the hospital in quiet.

That changed, however, when Pinkie suddenly let out a cry and dashed towards a stall selling flowers. Rainbow rolled her eyes, and hurried after Pinkie.

"Pinkie, we don't have time for this!" Rainbow complained. "It's not like Applejack's going to stay in the hospital. We're just going to accompany her back to Sweet Apple Acres from the hospital."

Pinkie didn't reply to Rainbow, however. It took a moment for Rainbow to realize that it wasn't flowers Pinkie was interested in. Rather, she was busy questioning a unicorn stallion that was trying to purchase a flower. Pinkie was interrupting the stallion's line of thought, and he seemed to be having a hard time at choosing some flowers from the stall owner.

Pinkie was talking non-stop, her words directed at the stallion "Who are you? Are you new in Ponyville? Do you like parties? I know I like parties, and so does everypony else. Oh, did I forget to mention? My name's Pinkie Pie! What's yours? Where are you from? Who are you buying flowers for? Why-"

Rainbow cut her off. "Okay, Pinkie, that's enough. We don't want to bother any more ponies around here. Remember what happened with Doodle Donkey?"

Pinkie stopped her questions. "But this one's a new pony! And he's not bald!" she countered.

Rainbow did a facehoof. "Pinkie, that's no way to make new friends. Not that there's time for that now. We need to go meet Applejack at the hospital."

Without the two friends realizing it, the stallion's ear had pricked at the mention of Applejack's name. "My name's Lucky Stripes. Everypony calls me Lucky, so I guess you can do the same."

"Lucky Stripes?!" Rainbow burst out. "What kind of name is that?!"

"The name that was given to me by my parents, that's what," Lucky replied coolly. "And I'm trying to buy some flowers for a friend." He turned to Pinkie. "And yes, I'm new around here."

Pinkie gasped. "So you are new around here! I knew it!" she cried out. "Oh, its going to be so cool! I've got to plan a welcome party for you. What do you like to eat, and play, and do? I'll make sure its the most wonderful party you've ever been to!"

Rainbow groaned, and started to drag Pinkie along, headed to the hospital. "Come on, Pinkie, we have somepony to meet at the hospital. Some other time."

As Pinkie was being dragged along the floor, she was still yelling at Lucky. "Don't leave Ponyville! The party for you is still on! Promise me that you won't leave Ponyville! Pinkie promise that you won't-"

Lucky shook his head, as he could no longer hear Pinkie's words. He turned back to the stall owner, and finally made his purchase.

~~~

"Ah'm glad that you all could make it, but really, there's no big deal. Just a sprain, that's all. Nothing more."

Twilight and the others had arrived at the hospital just as Applejack was coming out. All of them had agreed to accompany Applejack back to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack had received some medication for the pain, and the sprain was healing nicely. She just avoided putting too much pressure on the hoof to avoid the pain.

"So, Fluttershy, I take it from these apple pies that Lucky managed to deliver the apples to you?"

Fluttershy smiled. "Oh yes, he did," she replied. "If only I knew he was coming, or I might have been able to stop Angel Bunny from throwing him into a mud puddle."

Rainbow Dash burst out laughing. "That dolt was thrown into a mud puddle?! By a bunny?! Oh, that's rich!"

"Now, now, Rainbow Dash. Laughing at the misfortune of others isn't a very polite thing to do," Rarity chided.

The group arrived at the farm, and Applejack invited them all inside. Fluttershy placed the apple pies that she had baked on the table, and there were six of them; one for each of the 6 friends. However, there was something else on the table; a note and a box.

Applejack spied the items, and she called out into the house. "Granny Smith! Big Mac! Apple Bloom! Anyone there?! Ah guess nopony's home right now. Hey Twilight, ya mind helping me read that note?"

Twilight smiled at her friend. "Of course not, Applejack." She used magic to lift the note and opened it up. Bringing it closer, Twilight began to read it.

To Applejack, and her friends. This is the first time I left a note in a town where I once was, so bear with me as you read this. I've been to many places in my life; the more recent ones being Canterlot, and this here Ponyville. To many of you, and the other residents here, I was just another random stranger. Even the jubilant Pinkie Pie, who has the reputation of knowing everypony in Ponyville, is no exception to this fact. I would have liked to linger on, but I'm afraid that isn't possible, not at this given time. I have to say, it was a pleasure meeting, and also helping the 6 of you. I leave with a message to give. We might be strangers to one another, but it shouldn't stop us from being friendly, from helping another pony when they need help. Taking this first step is a big help to brightening somepony else's day, and to an extent, making new friends. It's been a fun time, helping the 6 of you where I could. But now, I take my leave.

Rainbow Dash was the first one to break the momentary silence that followed. "Did it sag who it was from?" she asked.

Twilight shook her head. "It didn't," she explained. "That's all there is on the note." She turned to look at the box. "This note has got me wondering. What's in the box?"

Without hesitation, Rainbow Dash tore open the box, and the 6 friends finally saw what was in the box. It was a striped vase, and there was a single four leaf clover in it.