//------------------------------//
// Chapter II: Slim Luck 
// Story: Regret 
// by I Am The Night 
//------------------------------//

	
Chapter II: Slim Luck



Hours had passed since the bank closed, and you were still pouting over it. You were so close! If you were just one minute earlier, you would have been able to get inside and see how much money you had. Sure, you did think you didn't have enough money to buy those tickets, but did you really?

You won't know until tomorrow.

No. Wait...Make that the day after tomorrow. The bank would be closed.

But it wasn't because of renovations or repairs or anything. It was simply because Rainbow's birthday was tomorrow.

Now in complete honesty, you thought that it was quite stupid to close a bank because it was someone's birthday. You knew Rainbow was well known and well loved by pretty much everyone in town, but honestly, was it really necessary to close the bank?

'Ugh, never mind,' you mutter in your mind, simply choosing to ignore it to avoid the ever growing pain in your head.

Right now, the main things on your mind were just the tickets and nothing but the tickets. They had been on your mind ever since you woke up. It was the one thing you were determined to get Rainbow for her birthday. Sure, she would really love that she got a copy of Daring Do early, along with a satchel from Daring herself, but you knew she would love to see the Wonderbolts, especially a 120 minute 'spectacle of the century'.

With no money and just another hour and a half before tomorrow, you were running out of time fast, and at this point, you were just about ready to give up on getting the tickets altogether. Maybe she'll be fine enough on her own with the book. Maybe she'll think of it as better than just some stupid tickets.

Already, you were convinced that the tickets were not worth fretting over if you were not going to get them.

With whatever mental strength you had, you did your best to block out the thoughts of the tickets and began to prepare yourself for bed. With a yawn, you lifted yourself from the kitchen table and began to make your way upstairs to the bathroom for a well needed shower. You felt that you needed it very much after today.

Making your way into the bedroom, you looked about at the windows. Noticing that the blinds were still over the windows, which were still closed, you sighed in relief, knowing that Rainbow hadn't barged in.

...

However, you did check the spot where you hid the gifts. Seeing that they were still where you put them---as well as in the same position they were placed in---you let out a sigh of relief and left the spot alone for now.

As you made your way into the bathroom, you took a look at yourself in the mirror for the first time since this morning, and honestly, you were quite...well, 'shocked' wouldn't exactly be the word for it, but it was surprising, to say the least.

Your mane was frizzled, likely from your trek in the forest and possibly sleeping...and running.

The same went for your tail, and your colored coat was dirty with shaded patches of dirt all over your body. You were quite questionable about how you managed to get so dirty from rubbing against some plants.

However, you simply ignored it for now and decided to hop in the shower. Oh, but not before warming up the water first, of course.

Turning on the water first, you put your hoof under the rushing water and waited for it to warm up. Once it was at a reasonable enough temperature, you slowly and gently stepped into the shower, and almost instantly, you were drenched with warm liquids, nearly bringing you to your hind knees from simply how enticing it was.

Oh yes, you definitely deserved this.









By the time you had gotten out of the shower, it was already eleven o'clock, indicating you had been in the shower for over half an hour, honestly the longest time you had ever taken a shower.

'Well worth it,' you think as you begin to dry off your mane, enveloping yourself in the fluffiness of the towel.

It was no wonder why Fluffles and Puffles was doing so well in sales.

Once dry, you put the towel back onto the drying rack and leave the bathroom, turning off the light and closing the door behind you. With a yawn, you make your way towards the radio on the stand by the door and turn it on. Almost instantly, the evening voice of Blossom Meadow comes to life mid-sentence.

"-eady to wrap up tonight's broadcast with a few more songs before we sign off, but first, we've got a little challenge for all you listeners out there!"

You didn't really care much about the challenges they made. They weren't hard, but you could never win because somepony out there was always faster than you. But most of the time, you didn't exactly care about the prizes. They were never that interesting anyways. Seriously, who wants a woodchip necklace?

Nonetheless, you like to listen to ponies pointlessly trying to win pointless prizes. In a way, it was kind of comical.

"So today, we've got a challenge question: What is the year of Star Swirl The Bearded's birth? This one is quite the doozy, and only a hoof-ful of ponies really know this one! However, if one of you listeners can figure it out and call within the next 60 seconds, you will win....!"

A mane-dryer! you think to yourself, chuckling at your pathetic joke.

"Surprise! You will win two tickets to the upcoming Wonderbolts Wonder Spectacular!"

Your ears almost immediately perked up so fast, you'd think they would rip off from your head, and before you knew it, you were nearly slamming into the wall trying to reach the phone. As you picked up the phone, you dialed the occasional number for the radio station, and as you did, you could hear ponies on the radio attempting to guess Star Swirl's birth, each and every response thankfully wrong.

But you knew that it wasn't going to last long. At some point, someone was going to answer the right answer, and they would win those tickets.

...And that pony was going to be you.

The moment you heard Blossom's voice on your phone saying, "Caller 22," you immediately blurted out the date that you were certain had to be right.

But the moment you answered it, you immediately also regretted it. You were afraid it was wrong, that you were a year behind or ahead. Or what if you were-

"Correct!"

-ready to scream in joy any second, but you decided to save it?

Yes, you were quite sure about that last part. Very sure. Absolutely 200% sure about it.

That wasn't just a guess or speed or whatever anyone else called it.

That was nothing but slim luck.

"Caller 22, you have just won two tickets to the Wonderbolts Wonder Spectacular! How do you feel?"

You wanted to give Blossom a clear description of how you felt, but you only said, "I don't want to make you go deaf."

Blossom did chuckle a bit at your statement before announcing that the tickets would arrive in your mail in the early morning, and thanked you for participating in the challenge.

Welcoming her, you hung the phone back up.

Then you walked back into your bedroom.

Then you walked into the bathroom.

Then you closed the door.

Then you screamed at the top of your lungs in sheer joy.

Thank Celestia there were no windows.