A Chance Meeting

Lucky snapped awake and sat upright in an abrupt fashion. Yet again, he was perspiring and was experiencing an increase in his heart-beat and breathing rates. He had just gone through the same nightmare that had plagued him for the past few nights. He forced his breathing to calm down, and kicked the sheets off angrily. He was about to look at his clock to check the time, when he remembered that he had smashed it just the previous morning. He groaned, and then turned to the window. The sun wasn't up yet, but it seemed like it was time to get ready to work.

Wearily, he pulled himself out of bed and made his way into the bathroom, turning on the lights as he did so, but missing a few. He took a long shower, but unlike the previous morning, he didn't feel the slightest bit rejuvenated from it. Once he was done, he went to the sink, and sloppily brushed his teeth. After rinsing the toothpaste out, he took a look at himself in the mirror.

Upon close inspection, he was noticeably exhausted. His mane was a mess, and he combed it back to how it usually was. As he combed, he could remember the time when his father had chosen a particular style for him for his high school graduation. It was a pleasant memory, but it did little to calm the stallion down. Instead, with a cry, he punched his hoof into the mirror, shattering it. The glass shards fell into the sink, and Lucky examined his hoof. He had some minor cuts, but with a few bandages he managed to stop the bleeding. He used magic to cast the glass shards into the bin, then wrapped up the bag.

Lucky strode towards the dresser; his punching the mirror doing little to calm the anger he was feeling. This anger was confusing him; he did not know what was making him feel as such. Was it the nightmares that had plagued him so? Or perhaps it was the cumulative stress that he had endured through the years. He didn't know the answer, and that alone troubled him profoundly.

He chose another simple vest to wear for the day, and glanced at the photo on the top shelf. He shook his head, and gently placed the photo flat against the shelf. With a sigh, he closed the dresser, initially wanting to slam it shut but then decided otherwise.

He briefly returned to the bathroom to fetch the rubbish bag, before heading out the door. He chucked the bag into the huge bin that was meant for the apartment residents to throw their rubbish, and hurriedly turned back to lock the door to his apartment.

Lucky made his way to work, thinking about how he was feeling right now. He was angry, to be sure, but at what? There was a pebble on the ground, and he tried to kick it, but failed. Cursing silently he grabbed it with magic, and smashed it against the ground, leaving a slight marking on the once near-pristine floor. He glanced around, and felt somewhat relieved that nopony had been there to see his antics.

He was first to reach the store, and went about opening it, but lowered the shutters to show that they were still not yet open for business. He went about his usual routine; cleaning up the store, making sure the displays were set up right and making sure that they hadn't somehow been robbed in the middle of the night.

As he was finishing up his morning preparations, Lucky heard the shutters being lifted. He looked at the door, and saw Flora strolling in. "Good morning, Lucky," she greeted with a smile.

Lucky forced himself to nod and reciprocate with his own smile. He felt a bit better, but his anger didn't abate entirely. However, he didn't want to take it out on another pony if he could help it, especially if that pony was his boss!

Flora strolled past him into her small office, leaving Lucky alone to finish up his preparations. He returned the broom with a sigh, then got ready to face whatever customers would be coming his way later on. He was worried that his anger might just suddenly flare up again, and he would lose his patience if he dealt with another snobbish unicorn like he had the day before.

To his relief, and also agony at the same time, the day was moving very slowly. There were few customers, none of whom were as snobbish as the unicorn who had been there the day before. However, in the lapses where there were no customers, Lucky was bored. His mind began to wander about in lands of dreams, and they helped in reducing the rage that he had been feeling. They did not, however, help to solve his confusion on why he had been angry in the first place.

He started to think through all the things that might have been the cause of the irrational anger that he had felt in the morning. The reasons ranged from simple stress to the nightmares that he had been experiencing to things that were not even remotely plausible. None of them answered the question, and Lucky could feel his frustration coming back with each unsatisfying answer.

Because he was so deep in thought, Lucky didn't hear the two new customers entering the shop. He only realized it when he heard somepony clearing his throat. Lucky shook off his thoughts, and looked at his new customer. He recognized the unicorn that was standing before him; it was none other than Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard.

Lucky swallowed, before he spoke. "Hello there, Captain," he said, trying to sound cheerful. "How might I help you today?"

The Guards Captain smiled at him. "Well, I was walking past the store when my sister told me how you had some beautiful floral arrangements for sale," he explained. "I was hoping that you had some recommendations to offer me. I'm buying it for Princess Cadance."

Lucky gasped. Shining Armor was here, and he wanted to purchase a bouquet for a Princess! "I'm sorry, but I'm not the right pony to recommend you any of our arrangements," he replied hurriedly. "But I'm sure our florist would have suitable arrangements to suggest. I'll just go get her, and-"

He was interrupted by somepony that was standing at one of the arrangements on display. "I think that Cadance might like this!"

Lucky looked past the Guards Captain, and found himself staring, with his jaw slightly agape, at Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight was also staring at him, and Lucky knew why. He wasn't wearing the glasses that had fooled them only the day before, and Twilight had recognize him.

His guess was proven right. "It's you!" she cried out excitedly, making her way nearer to the counter. "We all thought that you weren't Lucky Stripes, because of the glasses, but its really you! You left Ponyville even before Applejack could thank you for delivering those apples for her."

As Twilight spoke, Shining Armor turned to look at the cashier pony with a quizzical expression on his face. Lucky replied with a sheepish grin, and turned around. "Flora, the Captain of the Royal Guard is here," he called out. "He wants to buy a bouquet for Princess Cadance."

Flora appeared at the doorway in a blink of an eye, and she gasped when she saw Shining Armor. "The Captain of the Royal Guard thinks that my floral arrangements are worthy for a Princess?" she asked excitedly. "I'm honored!" She trotted up to Shining Armor, and directed his attention towards some of the bouquets on display, and started going on and on about which one she thought was suitable for the Princess.

While the two were looking through the bouquets, Lucky had to contend with Twilight. The mare was beckoning him out of the store, a sure sign that she wanted to talk to him without her brother eavesdropping. Lucky put on a stern face, and vigorously shook his head. He wasn't feeling in a mood for a conversation, especially if it was somepony whom he had left abruptly after his day off.

However, unwittingly, Twilight was helped by the last pony that Lucky had in mind; Flora. "Lucky, you've been working into lunch," she told him. "Why don't you run along for lunch, now? Then I can leave for the art exhibition when you come back."

Reluctantly, Lucky headed out of the shop after acknowledging the florists words. Twilight walked after him, and the two headed to a nearby eatery; the same one that Lucky frequented for his lunch. The two unicorns took a seat at an empty table, and made their orders. They sat in silence as they waited for their food, and Twilight looked at Lucky expectantly. Lucky maintained his silence, as well as an indifferent look, pretending that Twilight wasn't there with him.

Lucky began his lunch, which was when Twilight finally decided to start the conversation. "So, Lucky, I heard from Shining Armor that your father was in the Royal Guards previously," she started. "I, uh, I'm sorry to hear about what happened to him."

Lucky wanted to reply, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to get himself involved in the conversation. Twilight was visibly disappointed by the lack of a response, but she carried on. "I also heard that you're quite the scholar," she said. "They say that you were the top in your entire cohort and even your school. You must have been very good in your studies. I wish I was half as brilliant as you-"

"Just stop, Twilight," Lucky interjected. "There's no need to play nice with me. Speak your mind and be done with it."

"Okay," she replied, dubious. "I was just wondering why Princess Celestia didn't consider accepting you as her student, or even mentioned that there was somepony as smart as you living in Canterlot. If what I've heard is true, then you're easily better than me in terms of academics."

Lucky nearly choked on his food, and drank a mouthful of water to help with pushing the food down. He cleared his throat, and then replied to the mare. "There's more to being the Princess's student than simply acing every single test, exam and question that comes your way," he explained. "You of all ponies should have known that by now."

Twilight frowned. "But you're good at so many different subject!" she countered. "I'm sure you could help me improve on some of my own subjects, but you didn't mention that you were a such a learned pony!"

Lucky returned his sandwich back to the plate, and placed a hoof on the table. "It's because I'm not perfect!" he shouted out. He saw that several heads had turned to his table, and he nodded apologetically at the other patrons. He then turned back to the mare, who was visibly shocked by his outrage. "I'm not perfect. You don't know how it feels like to have been born with such ability. An ability that makes everyone think that you are, in fact, perfect. I aced my subjects, and my friends asked me to help them with theirs. I did, but they didn't understand what I was teaching them, even after a sustained period. They came to a conclusion that I wasn't doing my best to help them, and they became envious of me. More specifically, my academic ability."

He sighed, and took another bite out of his sandwich. "When you're good in your education, everypony has high hopes for you," he continued. "My dad wanted me to get a good education and become a doctor or something like that, you know?" He looked at Twilight, who was listening intently. "He never once supported my dream of joining the Royal Guard, which was my dream back then. But no! It was always 'Get a good education and become a doctor!' or 'Don't be like me and join the Guard. It's not a very fulfilling job.' I was never once encouraged to pursue what I wanted, Twilight. It was always study, study, and more study. It was all about being perfect."

The stallion took another bite out of his sandwich. "I know how I came across to you and your friends. Applejack thought that I was helping her to clear out her stall by buying up the rest of her apples, but I wasn't. I only wanted four. Fluttershy thought that since I was sent by Applejack, and that I didn't look like a ruffian, she could trust me with returning her book for her. Rarity guessed that I was from Canterlot, and she fancied me to be the gentlecolt that I'm not. My father forced me to behave impeccably while I'm around others, and it was a forced display I put up for her. You were surprised at how fast I managed to rearrange the shelf, especially since I simply skimmed through the book titles once."

Twilight gasped. "You're gasping because my points all hold true, and you're wondering how I got them right," Lucky continued. "It's because of this quick learning and processing ability. Because of it, I'm labelled a prodigy, and also as a perfect pony, after the Royal Princesses. The epitome of mental prowess among all of the unicorn scholars. You don't know how many times I've wished that I was normal. That I could just live my life as I wanted, without others imposing such high expectations on me. Back then, I sometimes wondered what would happen if I didn't have a father who never supported my dreams. And guess what, it did happen." A tear rolled out of his eyes and dropped into his sandwich. "Then my mother, too. I was alone, and I could have done anything that I wanted. I could join the Royal Guard, or I could become an artist, or a musician or maybe even a doctor." He sniffed, and another tear dropped into his sandwich.

Twilight made no action other than to remain in her seat, and Lucky continued. "So you see, Twilight, I'm not perfect," he said, his voice cracking up. "I'm not. No matter what I'm good at, no matter what everypony thinks of me, I'm not perfect." He smiled, and it looked awkward. "I thought that, by writing that note, maybe I could help somepony else without solving a formula, or writing a research article, or something like that. Guess that didn't work out, huh?" He sniffed again.

It was at this time that Shining Armor returned, with a bouquet in tow. "There you are, little sis!" he said, joyful. "Flora told me that I might find you here with Lucky. Ready to go?"

Twilight looked questioningly at Lucky. He waved her away, and modulated his voice. "Just go, Twilight," he said. "I'll be fine." He offered her a smile.

"I'll see you another time, Lucky," she said, and got up to leave. Shining Armor was about to leave a few bits for the meal, but Lucky stopped him, telling the Guard Captain that the meal was on him. Thanking him, Shining Armor took his leave with this sister. Twilight looked back at the cashier pony, before trotting off towards the castle. Lucky took the last bite of his sandwich and paid for the meal, before heading off.

~~~

Lucky sat on his bed, staring deeply into the photo that he had earlier placed flat against the top shelf of his dresser. He had been crying ever since he looked at the picture, and his mind was alive with thoughts.

Why? Why did you name me Lucky? Ever since I was born, I felt anything but lucky. Was I lucky to have the ability to learn new things like how a fish takes to water? The same ability that distanced me from my friends, and led to everypony else to have unbelievably high expectations of me? The same luck that made my wish of not having a father like you come true? I could laugh at the sheer irony of my name compared with what's happened in my life, but I can't.

He placed the photo on the bed, and headed into the center of the room. There was a stool there, and a noose that Lucky had painstakingly tied, and tested so that it could bear his weight. He climbed atop the stool, and rested his chin on the noose. He felt the rope on his jaw, and could roughly imagine how it would feel once he had jumped off the stool. He hesitated to do so.

I told myself that I would carry on despite what I went through, but here I am again. I'm such a hypocrite.

He took a deep breath, ready to jump off, but he didn't. Instead, he decided against doing it, and tried to get out of the noose, but it was too firmly attached. He tried to shake off the noose, but none of his attempts were successful. He was about to give another attempt, when a sudden knock on his door threw surprised him. His hoof slipped and he fell off the stool. He could now feel the crushing pressure of the noose against his throat, denying air passage into his lungs. He felt his head going light while the pain continuously pressed against his neck. The knocking became more frantic, as the stallion started to slip into unconsciousness. The door burst open, and the last thing that Lucky remembered was seeing some vaguely familiar silhouettes, and then darkness claimed him.