It was a lovely summer day, the one, on which ponies happily played in the parks or went for picnic. Many ponies relaxed under the sunlight of the warming sun, that was high in the blue sky. But only one was not feeling all cheerful and was in total contrast with his surroundings. His name was Lucky Eight and despite his name his luck went short on him, when he became a blind pony. Although Lucky was still in his prime, he never managed to coexist with others after his incident, which changed him for worse rather than better. Wherever he went, Lucky was looked with the eyes of pity but he did not want this and these actions of the others just made him more annoyed. He quickly became the neighborhood's most obnoxious pony because of his attitude to others, which didn't tried to understand his dilemma. Time went on and many actually forgot about him, as if Lucky ceased to exist but he was still there, waiting for his fate to change in his favor.

A beam of light went through the little window and shined on Lucky's face. He woke up and immediately felt uncomfortable. It didn't take him long to realize that he wasn't in his cozily bed and instead the pegasus was lying on the wooden floor. Lucky frowned.

"I've must have fallen off the bed, while I was having yet another nightmare. Wish they'd stop!" he thought, after which he slowly stood up and sat on his bed. The pony looked grim and in very bad shape. His green mane was unkempt and so ugly, that somepony would say he committed a crime against fashion. The last time he cleaned himself was a week ago and anypony approaching his apartment would sense it on the spot.

Lucky took some deep breaths. The bad feelings returned to make him miserable again like they always did. They reminded him about his inability to see and Lucky was getting really tired of their tortures.

"What have I become? A loser? A trash? I used to be more... I used to be a scout in the Royal Guards. I used to compete in the Pegasi races, I used to be happy, but now... I'm nopony."

Lucky lied down on his messy bed and tried to clear all his thoughts. He opened his lifeless brown eyes and stared in the ceiling. Although he couldn't see it, he imagined it to be colored in yellow with random red circles. The truth was, that the ceiling was painted in that way but the colors were starting to fade and it lost its previous beauty.

"Why it happened to me? I was supposed to be the luckiest pony around but it seems that luck has two sides. Ah... why am I having this stupid discussions?! I think, I'm going crazy."

Lucky rolled to the left and exposed his right flank. His cutie mark was an purple eight with a pair of white wings. His white fur was turning into something of a dirty rag, begging for some cleaning. Lucky curled into a ball. He looked so pathetic, that even the pegasus thought that this was ridiculous.

"An entire year has passed since the incident." he reminded himself with a sad voice. "And yet I'm still trapped inside my cage of eternal pain. No! I must brake free! I must go on with my life!"

The rise of his voice wasn't unnoticed. Immediately somepony from below annoyingly yelled:

"Shut it, sonny. The elders need their sleep, you know!"

For some unknown reason something cracked in Lucky's mind. He usually wouldn't replay to anything because of his total isolation from the rest of the world, but now the young pony had an urge to do so:

"I'm DONE sleeping!" the pegasus shouted as load as he could.

However, a response didn't come late:

"Then GET out!" the old pony below him yelled. "Waking me up like that... shish, ponies in my days had respect to one another."

"Get out?" Lucky froze still by his thought. "All those ponies, pitying me. If I go in the open, I'll feel like paltry compared to them. No! I must overcome this!"

The white pegasus got up and went by the small window, which he opened. The sun stroked his face with its warm beams. A wonderful aroma of freshness took over the old scent of filth. Lucky could hear the happy ponies, going around, talking with their friends and playing in the open. Lucky immediately felt so distanced from the perfect world, that lied before him and more dark feelings emerged deep in his soul.

"How am I going to return to them? How do I start anew?" he sighed. "Wish my friend, Metal Eye, was here." Lucky made a grim face by his thoughts and feelings. Suddenly an idea came to his little head, which for the first time in many months made him feel a bit better. "I should check him in the Royal Guard's office. Maybe, he will know how to get me started again! Then it's decided!"

Lucky turned around. He looked like something just gave him new strength to fight. The pony took his pink silk towel from the wooden chair and put it on around his eyes. Lucky despised wearing dark glasses like other blind ponies usually do, so to cover his motionless big brown eyes, he used a piece of silk, given to him as a gift by a nurse. Then he went to the living room, which was a kitchen at the same time. It was small but compact. On the one side there were a table with an ellipse shape and some lovely wooden chairs. They all were carefully engraved with hearts and little birds but a thick layer of dust covered these beautiful objects. The kitchen was on the opposite side and it was full with uncleaned dishes.  

Lucky passed by them without even stopping to clean a bit because he had a new mission. The pegasus was about to do something he hadn't done in a while and for some untold reason Lucky got excited by it.

"I'm going for a walk!" the pony shouted, when he was at the front door but before he could open it, something took over his hoof and then the entire body. Lucky stood like a stone for a few moments, after which he slowly turned to the wall mirror. The pegasus remembered that he didn't wash himself for quite some time. "Maybe I should clean myself first, then go to Metal Eye!"

The mirror was broken by him in one of Lucky's raging moments and now the pieces, that were still on the frame, showed a grotesque vision of the pony. Lucky remembered how he hit it with his full anger. It happened, when some of his friends were trying to calm him after hearing the bed news, that Lucky would never see again. The blow was meant for one of his friends but instead he hit the mirror. After this incident, the blind pegasus never heard of them again.

Lucky felt sad and angry at the same time, although not at his lost close ones but at how stupid he acted then. It was something he would never forgive himself to the rest of his life. He then slowly opened the door and got in the pink hallway, which led to the stairs. There were three more apartments on this floor. No sound was coming from them maybe because the residents were enjoying the weather outside.

Lucky walked almost silently, as if he didn't want anypony to hear him leaving. When he got to the stairs, Lucky stop because he felt uneasy.

"I hate the stairs!" the pegasus thought. The last time Lucky almost hurt himself badly, while trying to get to the ground floor.

Lucky made uncertain steps. "Easy, easy!" he thought, while going down the stairs. After some few moments he successfully got to the second floor and Lucky proceeded with more confidence.

"Well, that wasn't so hard. Only a few more steps! Woaa..." Lucky slipped and fell from the stairs like a rolling barrel. The pegasus landed hard on his face just in front of a pony.

"Ha-ha" he laughed his ears off. "Nice stunt, lad. Never seen such a perfect barrel roll. Let me help you..."

"Don't get near me! I do not need your help!" Lucky said with annoyance in his voice. The pegasus painfully stood up and tried to look tough but failed miserably. Lucky could feel every part of his body hurt but noting was broken.

"Ah, a strong one. Just the kind I'm looking for. I'm Fancy Pants and you, sir, are?" his voice was of an aristocrat but there was something more that met the eye.

Lucky didn't know what to do. The pegasus didn't even leave the building, when somepony greeted him and wanted to make an introduction.

"Lucky Eight." the pegasus answered with a low voice.

"Can I call you Mr Lucky?" Fancy Pants asked, while looking at the pony with his charming eyes. He was a white unicorn, dressed by the latest fashion. His blue mane was carefully brushed to the sides, giving him a royal look.

Suddenly Fancy Pants made a strange face and covered his nose with a hoof.

"Dear pony, what is this horrible stench. As if somepony didn't wash for a full week."

"It's coming from me." Lucky sorely admitted. He was feeling so uncomfortable. His coat was as dirty as an old city cat. "I'm sorry about this. I was just on my way to the spa..."

"Oh, I'm sorry for delaying you, my dear sir. Actually I'll help you get there, as I see you are not in a perfect condition."

"Are you pitting me?" Lucky asked with a note of annoyance and anger in his voice.

Fancy Pants raised an eyebrow from surprise but answered with his calm gentlepony voice:

"Of course not, dear sir. I'm just helping a pony in need. Come now, I'll lead you there and I'm going to ask you some questions on the way there. A friend of mine has a job for somepony like you."

"A job? What possibly he expects from a blind pony? I don't like the sound of this but working on a job may prove to be a great start to a new life, I think. Let's see how it goes." Lucky thought.  

"Are we going, Mr Lucky? Did you forget something important?" Fancy Pants asked.

"No... lead the way Mr Fancy." Lucky tried to sound as confident as he could.

"Excellent. Wait for me outside. I just need to tell a friend of mine that I'll be late for our meeting. I'll be back soon." Then Fancy Pants went to the front door and exited the building. Lucky slowly moved to the exit, trying not to bump into the walls. Despite his meeting with the gentlepony, the pegasus was looking grim again.

"What if it's some sort of prank? If it is, they'll regret messing with me!" the angry thoughts made him even more insecure to go out but his curiosity finally prevailed and Lucky left the building without a sound.

At first, the pegasus was surprised to hear how much the streets were full with life. Ponies of all sorts were peacefully walking by him, other were enjoying some ice-cream and donuts in the nearest confectionery. Everypony was smiling at each other. Fillies were playing their little games, while running and cheering. This day provided only joy to the ponies in Canterlot and they were going to enjoy the moment to the fullest.

Lucky was feeling really out of place right now but soon he was going to become a new stallion and join the happy herd.

"Come on. where is this pony?" Lucky started to panic a bit. He didn't want to be seen like this and by some chance no pony noticed the dirty one standing at the front door of the beautiful white building. Everypony were so enjoying themselves that they failed to notice a lot of things in this sunny morning. Some clouds were forming in the east that may threaten the wonderful weather, the ponies so enjoyed at the moment.  

Lucky waited for five minutes, in which he almost bite his hooves off, when the elegant white unicorn came to him with a fast paced.

"Ah, I have to apologies for being so late. My friend was very unhappy about delaying our meeting in the gardens but I feel she will understand the situation."

"Right."

"Alright-y then, let us proceed to the spa center, shall we?" Fancy Pants started walking in the direction of the City center, when he noticed that his companion was going the wrong way. "Excuse me, but I think, the spa was that way, if I'm not mistaken."          

Lucky immediately stop, turned around and went to Fancy Pants. He looked quite embarrassed.

"Now, lets have a nice walk. I'll have to ask you some questions. Are you okay with that?"

"Shoot!" Lucky answered with a bit more confidence in his voice. The two ponies were heading in the direction of the Princess Celestia's castle.

"What was your last profession, dear Lucky?"

"Scout in the Royal Guards. Why do you need this information?" Lucky was walking right beside Fancy Pants, when they passed by some other pairs of gentleponies, who looked surprised to see the famous unicorn with the filthy pegasus. However, Fancy fully ignored them.

"My friend wants a pony with a talent in finding stuff. A private detective, If you think about it."

"Detective? I thought this profession died a while ago, since there are no major crimes in Equestria. The small ones are handled by the authorities. And this leads to my question, what do you need from a blind pony?" Lucky didn't like, where it was going but he was curious enough to hear the whole thing.

"I don't have the exact details. You'll have to get them from my friend." the unicorn was honest in his answer.  

"And who exactly is this pony?" Lucky impatiently asked.

Fancy Pants looked around and when he was sure, that no pony could hear him, the unicorn answered quietly:

"Ms. Blooming Rose. One of the most talented artist I've ever had pleasure to meet."

"I've never heard of her. Are you some sort of famous pony? You sound like one." Lucky asked.

The two ponies were passing by some amazing houses with unique architecture. The facade was brilliantly thought and made by very talented ponies. They had become a symbol of wealth and a roll model for many other buildings in other cities.

"Yes, I am a bit famous, though I do not like to brag about it. You are not from here, don't you?"

"I was born and raised in Canterlot. Maybe I just didn't pay attention to who is the next Big Deal." Lucky didn't bother to stay civil even with this gentlepony. However, the unicorn was not offended by his statement and carried on.

"Quite the tongue, you have there, dear sir. he coughed. "So, would you help my friend or should I look for another pony?" Fancy Pants was straight to the point, which Lucky found it to his liking. Others usually tend to go around the main point, when they talked with him and he found that to be very irritating.

"Lets see how we got here: I incidentally bump into this stallion, then he wants me to help his friend with finding something. A blind pony to find something... yeah sure. If I had Celestia-like powers, maybe I would. This smells like a bad thought out joke." Lucky thought. "Let's see how he holds to this question."

"Why were you waiting at the ground floor? You know most ponies are either out in the city or are still sleeping in their beds." Lucky sounded serious but that couldn't scare the mighty cool face expression Fancy Pants had.

"Ah, you've got me here, Mr Lucky. The truth is I was looking for you. My friend, Blooming Rose, explicitly wanted you to meet her. However, I do not know the reasons why." the unicorn calmly answered.

"Is this a some kind of a bad joke?" Lucky sounded a bit angry. He stopped right in the middle of the paved road. Some ponies, that were walking by, glimpsed at the two white ponies, trying to learn what is going. Fancy Pants came closer to Lucky with a smile.

"I do not take part in awful jokes, that are meant to hurt other ponies' feelings. I assure you, dear sir." his words were honest and for the first time Lucky felt awful for being such a jerk to others. He lowered his head to the ground.

"I'm sorry for offending you." Lucky apologized sincerely for the first time in months.

"No matter, dear Mr Lucky. I don't get offended so easily and besides I understand you completely." the unicorn kept smiling at the blind pony.

"How? Do you know me?" Lucky asked insecurely.

"I do not know you, but I have heard from someponies about your incident. However, the said ponies were more interested in what happened and not in the victim."  

"Thanks, that means a lot." Lucky slowly smiled. He felt like a big piece from the rock on his heart fell over.

"Now, let's get going. We do not want to delay your bath any further."

Lucky nodded and followed the gentlepony to the spa center. It was a big, stylish and beautiful building. It was visited by everypony in Canterlot, who were seeking to beatify themselves or just relax after a long day. At the entrance two mares cheerfully welcomed the newcomers. Lucky and Fancy Pants found themselves last in queue that stretched from the entrance to the end of the gardens, that were in front of the spa center.  

"It seems many ponies want to celebrate this good day in here. Not that its wrong, of course." the unicorn noted.

He took off his monocle to furbish it in his suit and then put it again on his left eye. There was something in his simple action that made him look more like a prince than just a wealthy gentlepony. Maybe it was how he did things or the way he talked. For Lucky, he seemed really odd but in a good way. It felt good to be in the company of this stallion, who showed how different he was from the other ponies. However, the pegasus was still cautious about the job this Blooming Rose wanted him to do. He still couldn't understand why she chose him and not somepony who can actually see and do things on his own. If it had not been for Fancy Pants, it would have taken him more than just few minutes walk to the spa.

After some moments and no real progress on moving forward in the queue, Lucky's curiosity was so high, he couldn't hold it any longer:

"So this pony needs something to be found? I may have to speak with her in person to get all the details, right?"

"Yes, of course. What do you have in mind?"

"Then I should make an appointment with her, right?"

"Well, yes. When and where would you like to meet her, Mr Lucky?"

"I'd like her to come at the Royal Guard's Office today, after I'm done here. Could you tell that to her, Mr Fancy Pants?"

"Hm, I think she would gladly come and visit you in the Office. Consider it done."

Suddenly an purple unicorn, who was the first in the line, overheard their conversation. She turned around and gently waved her hoofs at Fancy Pants.

"Hello, darling. Long time no see." she greeted over the queue.

Fancy Pants at first didn't see her and was a bit confused but when he saw her, the unicorn answered her greetings:

"Well, what do you know. Ms Cricket, pleasure to see you again. How are the things going?"

"Rather well, thank you for asking. And who is your companion?"

"A good young pony that is in a need of some good old fashion relaxation at the spa." he answered.

"Uh... I don't know who's more embarrassing: me or these two." Lucky thought. "I think I'm going to be sick of this royal talk."

The purple pony told the two mares at the door to wait for her turn and then went to Fancy Pants and Lucky. The ponies in the queue were unhappy because of her but she didn't give a damn. When Ms Cricket saw the dirty pegasus, her mane almost turned from red to white.  

"Oh, dear Celestia." she exclaimed in horror. "What happened to your friend here, Mr Fancy? Who did this monstrosity to him?"

Fancy Pants as usual stayed calm and tried to explain:

"Well, you see, he had a rough time but he came here to wash away the past and set a new beginning."

"Oh that is so sad. In this case, why not give him a little push?" she smiled. "Here take my place, I was first but I can wait."

"That is very generous coming from you, Ms Cricket." Fancy Pants admitted.

"Why is this pony helping me?" Lucky thought. "This day feels really strange... is my luck back or something?"

The pegasus barely bowed in gratitude and thanked with uncertain voice.

"Now let's move in front. Follow me." the unicorn said.

Fancy Pants went to the entrance, followed by Lucky. Many ponies looked a bit annoyed but when they saw him, or more accurately smelled his unpleasant scent, many tried to move away from him in disgust. The stylish white unicorn faced the two mares from the spa center.

"Good-morning, ladies. This young stallion desperately needs your help. I'll pay for his stay here." Fancy Pants smiled charmingly. However, this came as shock to Lucky cause he was not expecting such a generosity from a stranger.

"Wait? What? You can't pay for..." Lucky sounded very embarrassed.

"That is the least I can do for you, dear Lucky. Now off you go. Please take him first to the bathroom." the unicorn ordered with a smile.

"Wait!" Lucky shouted but his words fell on deaf ears.

"This way, sir." the two mares grabbed him and moved him inside the spa center. The doors closed behind them and Fancy Pants's job was done here.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Ninja Meeting Estimated time remaining: 17 Hours, 28 Minutes