The Stallion in the Broken Cart
Luna gazed out over the roofs of Canterlot. Her night was just about to begin and her sister had retired to lower the sun some five minutes ago. The fading light as the sun drifted towards the horizon to make way for her moon cast sharp shadows against the mountain city. The ponies here would not be able to see her moon for several hours after it was raised because Canterlot peak cut the sky and blocked their view.
The thought made Luna's heart sink a bit. She knew that ponies these days had grown less fearful of the night. In fact, one of the most interesting festivals she had ever had the pleasure to attend was held at night on the anniversary of her incarceration. Nightmare night had recently come and went but her melancholy was not assuaged by the festivities. If anything they merely served to underscore her disconnection with the present.
Even with the fact that she could count her saviors among her friends, and many of the foals of the town as well, she was plagued with deep ennui and found she could do little to relieve her depression. To clear her mind before her nightly duties which never took more than three hours to complete, Luna had begun taking walks through the streets of Canterlot. Viewing the city in the light of her moon gave her a peace of mind that she could scarcely achieve elsewhere. Maybe, she mused she would meet some of her subjects and learn from the common pony what it was to be an Equestrian in this new era.
Celestia's sun dipped beyond the horizon and Luna began her first duty of each and every night. She lifted herself high into the air, far above Canterlot Keep and even the very summit of the mountain itself and lit her horn. She felt the familiar cool touch of the lunar sphere on her mind, and a smile spread unbidden across her face. Even with it's role as her prison for a thousand years, Luna could only feel happiness when she touched the moon. It was what she looked forward to each evening.
The moon crested the eastern horizon and broached the sky, beginning it's slow journey westward, chasing the sun. With her duty done for the time being, Luna allowed herself to glide gently towards the sprawling tiered city below. She had taken a stroll through the markets the night before, and the upper residential the night before that. In fact. She had visited nearly every part of the city in the last few weeks. All but one.
Down near the foot of the mountain laid the old walls of Canterlot Fort that now housed the lower district where the 'lower classes' lived and worked. With a deft twist of her wings, Luna began to spiral down towards the old fort and the district that had sprung up there. Here only the main streets were paved, and then only poorly. Cracks had been hastily filled to prevent ponies from chipping hooves and breaking cart wheels in pot holes but beyond that, the streets left much to be desired.
The shops were a different story. While not the grandiose architecture of Canterlot proper, the storefronts that Luna spied now were in very good repair. The shop owners obviously cared for their establishments. Many were two story buildings with what Luna assumed to be either apartments or storage on the upper levels.
There were no ponies on the streets now, but the sounds of lives being lived filled the air from open windows. The few shops still open looked to be in the process of closing and in the distance, Luna spied the lower gates set in the old fort wall stood invitingly open to the night time traveler. The idea of such a thing would have been laughable one thousand years ago, but as Celestia had said many times before, times change.
Luna began to stroll through the slowly darkening streets. As she walked, the street lamps began to light of their own accord, an ingenious spell now in use all across Equestria. The soft yellow light allowed everypony to see in the dark of night. Luna, being the Princess of the night, did not need such aid. She continued to walk aimlessly around the area. At first, she kept to the well traveled main roads but soon found that there was little to see in the dead of night, so she broke away from the well lit road. She passed into an alleyway that cut across into the more industrial area of the lower district.
There was no sound of ponies living their lives here. These buildings served their purpose during daylight and stood empty at night. She trotted between warehouses and factories, having decided to cross the small industrial park to the aqueduct that towered over the district. As she neared it, she noticed that the buildings were in more severe states of disrepair than any she had seen in all of Canterlot. These buildings could not have been used for months now.
She continued onward passing dilapidated buildings and broken wagons left here by merchants who could not afford to repair them. As she passed by one such wagon, she heard something she had not expected. Soft singing was coming from inside a covered wagon missing both it's wheels. Upon closer inspection, the tarp had been repaired amateurishly with poorly executed stitches holding tattered patches over what must have been small holes and tears. A dim light flickered from inside, just visible from beyond the slightly parted flaps at the cart's rear.
Listening closely, she attempted to hear the song being sung. She recognized it instantly. It was an old traveler pony's song. Very old in fact. It was old before she was banished. It surprised her that such a thing could have lasted over a thousand years when some of the most important magical discoveries of that time were allowed to disappear into obscurity.
She sat and listened, reminiscing of happier times. She was so lost in her own recollection that the fail to notice the song had reached it's end and there was a stirring from inside the wagon. It was the gasp of a male pony that broke her from her reverie.
“P-Princess Luna?” the pony said, stopping dead in his tracks halfway through dismounting the wagon.
Luna's head quickly spun around to face him, her eyes just as wide as his in surprise. He was an earth pony, gray coat and icy blue mane. She could not see his cutie mark under a ragged cloak he wore over his back.
Luna paused to collect herself. It would not do for a princess to stutter like a foal in front of her subjects. “Our apologies if we hath startled thee, good sir,” She said, trying to smile past her embarrassment at having been caught listening to him. “We were simply enjoying this night when we heard you singing and could not help but listen. 'twas an old song you sang.”
The colt suddenly remembered himself and, once he was on the ground, he gave a bow and quickly righted himself to respond to his princess. “Not at all your majesty!” he said, wonderment still evident on his face at addressing a princess, let alone the Princess of the Night. “I was just passing the time with a song my father taught me.”
“Pray tell, what is thy name?” Luna asked, looking now at the cutie mark that had been revealed in his bow. It was a hoof saw in the midst of cutting a plank of wood.
“My name is Wood Cutter your highness,” He said, dipping his head. “But my friends call me Cuttie.”
Luna smiled at the nick name. She glanced over to the wagon and a question presented itself. “May I inquire as to why you were sitting alone in this wagon?”
“oh... uhm...” Wood Cutter faltered. He had hoped this question would not come up, but he couldn't lie to his princess. Taking a breath, he spoke again. “Well, the thing is, I kind of live here...”
“Live here... you can't mean?” Luna said, taken completely aback by the revelation.
“It's not that bad! I've fixed it up nice,” he said, pulling back the tarp to show the inside. Despite the fact it was a wagon, all the mismatched cushions and blankets made it seem fairly comfortable. A crate stood in a corner with three books and a firefly lantern resting on it, and yesterday's Canterlot Times was neatly folded and set to a side. A few knickknacks sat on low shelves along one side. “See! And I got all the water I need from the Aqueducts. Foods a bit of a problem, but I eat well enough most days.”
Despite his assurances, Luna was appalled at the idea of somepony living on the streets like this. She had heard many times before that there were homeless ponies living in Equestria, but in her ignorance, she assumed that their public works were taking care of them. The myriad shelters and all the charity balls that they hosted, surely this pony could find the help he needed.
“But why do you chose to stay here? Are there not shelters?”
“Yeah, and I used to go to them, but there are so many out here that need them, I decided I could do without so some other unlucky pony could have a nice bed to sleep on.” The look of sorrow on her face caused him to backpedal quickly. “No fault of your own, of course! There's just so much going on now, and all the work you've done to help already is a blessing that has likely saved hundreds of lives Your majesty.” The pony sat on his haunches and looked around himself nervously as the Alicorn gazed at him, a look of pity and hurt in her eyes.
“This shall not stand,” She said, raising herself to her full height. “You will come with Us to Canterlot Castle. We will have you fed and you may stay in one of our guest rooms. Tomorrow we will go about rectifying your situation.”
Luna stood and began to trot away, expecting the pony to follow her. When she did not hear his hoof steps accompanying hers, she stopped and turned to look at him. His head was hung low and and he looked away from her, and sad look in his eye. For a moment, Luna considered speaking, but sensed that he was about to himself, so she refrained. At length he did speak, but she certainly did not expect what he said.
“Thank you Princess, but no... I can't come with you.” He stood and looked at her, tears evident in his eyes. “Thank you so much, for the offer though.”
“But...” Luna began, unsure of what exactly to ask. “But why?”
“I can't say,” He replied, turning away from her. “If you'll please excuse me. I was actually about to see about some food.” and with that he trotted away.
Luna stood stock still for a moment, taking in all of what had just happened. Why, under all the heavens would he refuse her offer? Was it pride? Or something more? She simply could not wrap her mind around it, but she deigned to respect his wishes and took to the air. Her night court would begin soon and she had much to consider.
Night court began like it always did. Dignitaries levied complaints that either did not reach the docket for day court or were outright denied audience with Celestia. Luna had taken it upon herself to grant these individuals audience, if only to pad her lacking schedule. Tonight however, Luna's heart was not in it, so to speak. Her mind drifted back to Wood cutter and the wagon he lived out of.
The night wore on, and with Court adjured, Luna retreated to her chambers to handle her paperwork. It was tedious and boring, and just what she needed to dull her mind a bit and weed out the unwanted thoughts. Her mind blissfully clear of images of lonely stallions living in the gutters of the cities she ruled, Luna went about her duties.
Before too long, morning arrived and she took supper with her sister. They chatted amicably, more so now than they had before. The ice was broken months ago, and now they simply waited for the chill to leave the waters. Luna then lowered the moon and Celestia raised the sun, she bid her sister a good day and retired once again to her chambers. There she magically shut her curtains and stripped away her regalia. She then flung herself unceremoniously into bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Ponies would have you believe that Luna was the mistress of dreams. This was not the case. She was just as susceptible to the random nonsensical happenings of her subconscious theater during sleep. Tonight was no different.
Her dreams started out well enough. A familiar dream. She and her sister flew together amongst the clouds, like they did before all of this princess business. The frolicked and played, chasing one another and sweeping about the clouds in joyous laughter. Then Luna spotted something on the ground, different from the green grass. It was a pony. She swooped down to ask them if they wanted to play.
The pony was a gray Earth pony, she felt that she should know his name, but a cloak obscured his cutie mark, and she couldn't recall anything about him. She landed and smiled, and asked him if he wished to play. The pony shook his head and told her he was trying to find something.
An idea struck, and Luna flew up to fetch Celestia. The two sisters came to land by the Gray pony. They asked him what he was looking for. He said it was his home. Luna asked if he was lost. He said he was not. Celestia asked him where he slept if he did not know where his home was. He cast a hoof in a wide sweeping gesture and told them of the many places he had slept while he searched for his home. In wide glades and warm forests. He slept under Luna's stars most nights. This made Luna smile.
Luna asked if she could help him find his home, but he shook his head. It was his to find. If he couldn't find it himself, then he just didn't need it. Celestia asked him where he would sleep tonight. The pony looked away deep in thought for a moment.
He told the sisters about a city in the mountains where he would sleep that night. And maybe for many more because there were many places to look in city of that size and one could not hope to look everywhere there was to look in a single day. Celestia nodded, satisfied with his answer and flew away. Luna however was not satisfied. She felt a desperate need to help this pony, and a guilt she could not place. She asked him if she could come speak with him later, and he smiled at her. With a nod he told her that he would love to have her company. He said that loneliness is a burden that he bore often. Then he trotted way, and disappeared over the cusp of a hill.
Sadness seemed to well up within Luna. She did not want him to be lonely, so she decided to accompany him to the city in the mountain. She darted over the hill, but he was nowhere to be seen. She ranged wide and far searching for him, but could not spot him. When she finally gave in, night had fallen.
She decided to seek out the mountains. That was where he said he would be, so she would find him there. To the east, the mountains loomed and she spied the outline of buildings jutting from it. She flew to it and began searching. Starting at the top, she saw shops and houses, very nice houses and ponies everywhere, all happy and smiling but she knew they were only smiling because they knew where their home was.
She saw a castle, but he was not there. There were houses and shops further down the mountain, but he was not there either. Tears began to fill her eyes as she searched desperately but he didn't seem to be here at all. Fear gripped her as she thought that maybe he had never made it here. But then she spied a flickering light down by the base of the mountain. Flying quietly, she approached. The light was coming from behind several dirty buildings. She alighted and came around the buildings to see what was making the light.
There he was, finally. She galloped to him and smiling happily, recounted her tale, of searching the planes, then the city to find him and keep him company. The stallion smiled warmly.
“Thank you Princess,” he said.
Luna awoke abruptly, the dream already fading from memory. She reached a hoof to her cheek and brought it away. Clinging to the fur were her tears, shimmering in the dim light that invaded her room from outside.
She went to her wash basin and cleaned her face, washing away the tears. Replacing her Regalia, she trotted briskly from her chambers, two of her night guards in tow. In the dining hall, Celestia sat waiting for her sister, Signs of fatigue were beginning to show from the day's duties.
“Good evening Luna,” She said, smiling at her sister. “Did you sleep well?”
“Not as well as I would have liked,” Luna said, taking her place at the table. “I awoke to discover I had wept in my sleep.”
“Was it a nigh... a bad dream?” Celestia said, catching herself before she said that word.
“I do not think so. I felt no fear, merely sadness. And now I cannot get this stallion from my mind.”
“Stallion?” Celestia queried, intrigued.
“Yes. Last night, I took a walk in the city. Whilst there, I met a pony who lived in a broken cart. I offered to help him and he refused. I cannot think of why.”
“He lived in a cart, you say?” Celestia thought for a moment. “Was he, perhaps, a traveler?”
“Neigh, sister. We spoke at length. He lived there in that dank alley in a broken cart with a poorly mended tarp. I dare say he could carry all his worldly possessions upon his back with ease. And when I offered to extend to him aide from the castle, he promptly refused and left.”
“He was homeless then?”
“Aye. I believe that is the word for it.”
The white alicorn levitated a fork full of her dinner to her mouth and chewed for a moment, deep in thought before she spoke again. “If he refused the aid, there must be a reason,” she said. Luna's head rose hopeful for some sound advice from a more grounded pony than she. “However,” Celestia continued. “It's none of our business. If he does not wish to accept our aid, we cannot force him to do so.”
Luna's head hung again. She was back at square one. She was picking at her food as Celestia stood and walked over to her. “Now Luna,” She said, giving her sister a loving nuzzle. “You're heart's in the right place, but you can't force these things. Maybe you could visit him, befriend him? He may be more willing to accept help from a friend than the Princess.”
Luna returned the nuzzle and smiled. That was a brilliant idea. She knew she could count on Celestia. And she had just the idea of how to break the ice! All she needed was a basket...
Wicker basket. Check. Simple meal of daisy sandwiches and apples slices. Check. Bottle of Sweet Apple Acres Sparkling Cider with glasses. Check It wasn't much of a gesture as far as charitable gestures go, but Luna assumed anything too grand would be found insulting by the destitute stallion. After her duties with the moon were concluded, Luna gathered up her basket and all the accompanying effects and took to the skies. She angled down towards the old fort and let herself glide over the sleepy city.
The Aqueduct came into view and from memory, Luna spotted the alley where Wood Cutter made bed. She landed, soft as a feather on the packed dirt, and approached the broken wagon.
“Wood Cutter? Are you here?” she asked. There was no response so she drew nearer the wagon and peeked inside. He was not asleep inside. She withdrew and began to look around the area. In better light, Luna could see that much of the debris from the nearby buildings had been swept away to the sides, leaving a clear walkway that looked well traveled which went towards the Aqueduct. There was a circle of fallen bricks that surrounded a blackened ashy patch where Luna assumed he would heat his food and maybe clean his water.
As she inspected the surrounding area, the sound of hooves reached her ears and she turned to see Wood Cutter trotting her way with two buckets of water hung from a single plank of wood stretched across his withers. He paused for a moment, having caught sight of Luna, but continued forwards.
Depositing the water, he dipped a bow. “Good evening Princess,” He said, with a smile. “I didn't think I would see you again.”
Luna returned his smile and the basket over to her with her magic. “We brought you some food so that you needn't scrounge tonight for sustenance. And we hoped we might speak with you again.”
He took the basket and looked inside. A couple sandwiches and sliced apple. Not at all what he had expected. He gave a good humored laugh, catching Luna by surprise. “Hath we done something humorous?” Luna asked, confused as she was by his reaction.
“No princess, not at all, but would you be offended if I told you I assumed this basket would be full of Gourmet foods?”
“So we where right!” She said, glad that she had read the situation correctly. “We decided that a simple meal would benefit you more than some of the other foods we may have brought. We were forced to talk the royal chef down from making a whole hoof sandwich spread for us. She looked ready to burst when I told for whom it was intended,” Luna allowed herself to laugh at the antics of that mare, and she was delighted to hear that Wood Cutter was laughing along with her. This was going splendidly!
“I appreciate this Princess,” said Wood Cutter, as he lifted a sandwich from the basket and taking a small bite. He lifted a second and offered it to her, but she shook her head.
“We thank you, but no. We've already eaten recently.” Her horn gave it's magical chime, and the bottle of sparkling cider and two glasses rose from the basket. The glasses were not the fluted crystal affairs that sparkling beverages were typically served in, but rather the heavy wooden tumblers used by the royal guard in their mess hall. “Would you care for a drink of cider?” she asked, popping the cork and pouring a glass which he gratefully took.
“Thank you, but I have to ask princess. Why are you here? Could you have not simply had a servant bring this here?”
The Night Princess paused momentarily as she poured her own glass of Cider. “If we are to be completely honest, we were curious about you.” She gazed at the bottle levitating beside her and then to Wood Cutter. “We assume many in your position would leap at the offer we gave last night, but not you, and we cannot help but ask ourselves why.” Wood Cutter's expression had become more serious as she spoke. Quickly she sought to regain his trust. “We will respect your wishes, of course, but we wish to know you better, and maybe by knowing you, we may better know our subjects.”
Wood Cutter stared hard at Luna, making her slightly uncomfortable, but slowly a smile began to spread across his face. “Well,” He said, taking another small bite of his sandwich. “I can't begrudge a pony their curiosity, and I could use the company. It's awfully lonely sometimes.” At those words, memories of her dream that night rushed into Luna's mind. She smiled. Maybe she could help this stallion find his home.
They spoke for a few minutes more before Wood Cutter, having eaten only half his sandwich set it aside and stood. “If you'll excuse me princess,” He said, as he turned to his wagon. “I just have to get something to keep this food fresh for now.”
“Why would you need to do that?” Luna asked as he trotted into the wagon and came out with a roll of paper in his maw. He set it down on the ground and rolled out a length, on which he set the sandwiches.
“Well, If I eat it all now, I won't have more for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.”
Luna nodded. It made sense, no matter how unfair it seemed that he should have to conserve such meager meals. Silently she wished she had brought more for him. Maybe next time. She watched as he wrapped the food in wax paper and tied it away with some twine. With the food secured, he sat again, facing Luna.
“So...” he began but trailed off. “umm... I've told you a bit about myself, I guess, but all I know about you is what the schools told me, and that's a little out of date now.”
With this, Luna looked up at the sky. The moon was just beginning to peak over the mountain. Night court would start soon and she would be late if she didn't take her leave. “True, but perhaps next time?” She said. “We must return to the castle to perform our duties.”
“So you'll be coming back?” he asked while Luna stood and stretched her legs. In answer to his question, she nodded with a smile. “When? Not that I don't appreciate the visits, but some warning would be nice.” Wood Cutter chuckled a bit to remove any bite that may have been in his words.
“The night after next?” She asked. “You won't be busy then will you?”
“Princess... I live in a cart in an alley. I'm never 'busy',” he said, somewhat sardonically, earning a chuckle from the Princess.
“Then we have an accord! We shall be here at moonrise the night after next.”
“It's a date!”
With that, Luna took to the air and flew for the castle. This truly was going splendidly.