Bearer of Misfortune

by Kitsunin


Canterlot

After a day's travel, while I was sleeping by the road, I was awakened by an older couple. They offered to take me with them to Ponyville. They said they knew some ponies who would be glad to give me a home, but I turned their offer down, blinded by my goal of reaching Canterlot. The couple still gave me some food they had taken for their trip before moving on, and it was amazing; compared to the trash I had been eating for a while, at least.

By the end of a second day of traveling I had reached Canterlot. The sight left me in awe, the pastel pinks and blues, the rounded shapes and tall spires so unlike the simple, drably colored, square buildings Manehattan consisted of. I so wished I could just enter and live there like the upper class ponies, but even approaching the city I could feel the disgusted stares of the wealthy citizens. I skirted around the main areas, wanting to avoid causing any trouble, and found that, like any other city, Canterlot contained many slums. These were the places the ponies that catered to its wealthier inhabitants lived, and though the slums were better hidden than in other cities; there were more of them, and the way the poorer ponies were treated by the upper class was worse.

At the rear of the city was the great castle that the King and Queen ruled from within. Although it was difficult for me to see from my position on the opposite side of the moat that surrounded it, the spires that peeked over the top of the surrounding wall gave the impression that it must have been even grander than the rest of Canterlot. My goal was to make my way within that castle, but I hadn't even considered that it wouldn't be a place just anyone could enter. There was only a single obvious entrance, that being the bridge across the moat, and it was much too easy to guard to be a viable option to sneak through.

It was too late in the day to do anything more, so I needed to find a place to sleep. Rather than heading back into town, I found a small garden on the city's side of the moat. I settled upon the inside of a bush for my sleeping location: I was small enough to fit within entirely, mostly concealed, and was even able to use some of the leaves as a pillow of sorts.

Canterlot was now my home, and, practically speaking, it wasn’t much of a change. Finding food was a bit trickier than it was back in Manehattan, due to the lack of a middle class, who were the types of people most likely to throw food out into easily accessible places; however, the wealthy here generally threw more and better foods out, it was simply harder to know where to look.

Whatever excess time I had, I spent trying to find a way into the castle’s complex. The castle was quite well guarded, and while there was no way to get inside without crossing the water, the waterfalls that formed the moat had much less of a current than the moat itself did. It didn’t take too long for me to figure out that it would be possible, with some careful footwork, to cross by jumping across the boulders that broke the waterfall’s path. When I tried this, I was pleased to find that there was an opening, not more than a few inches larger than my own size, where one could squeeze around the building portion of the gate. While it would seem as though the entrance was unnoticed, there were still guards watching the area it came out into, perhaps guarding a particularly important building within the complex.

I spent some time trying to find another way in, but eventually it became apparent that there was only the one way other than the front gate, I was becoming worried that in the end I would not be able to get beyond the outer wall. Fortunately, with a few weeks of conviction, I discovered that on a single day of the week, when the night shift guards replace the others, there were a few moments during which the guards watching the entrance I found were gone. The problem I now had was that, once I entered, I would not be able to leave again until a week’s time had passed. I figured that would be an issue I could deal with once I was already inside.

I spent the next day gathering extra food, which I packed into a big paper bag I had found in somepony’s trash. I was finally almost ready to do what I had come to Canterlot to do in the first place, my mind had not changed in the slightest. I set out to find one last meal to eat, so I could wait as long as possible before needing to dip into the food I packed. Now, fully prepared, I made my way back across the rocks to the other side of the moat. I squeezed my way through the crevice and around the wall. Now, from my position in the shadows, I would just have to wait until the guards were gone.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Time dragged on, I was becoming anxious. Had I chosen the one week the guards would have their timing correct? What if the guards decided to look more closely into the shadows this time? I couldn’t quit now, as the bag I brought with me was in such a position that if I tried to move backwards it would rub against the wall, and if luck was against me, crinkle. I wouldn’t be able to back out quickly enough to avoid notice, and even if they didn’t send guards to catch me on the other side, they would certainly realize the flaw their security had. I had waited here for this long before; when I discovered the break that I was now trying to take advantage of, but now the excitement and anxiety that I was finally putting my plans into action made it much more difficult.

One of the guards looked up, then, slightly surprised, turned to whisper something to his comrade. They both wandered off, leaving the space unguarded, and myself able to finally slip inside. I found myself in an open area, the area not taken by the cliff face occupied by two towers, even more dazzlingly designed than those in the city, now utilizing golds and purples in all sorts of minimalistic patterns, with well placed flourishes of contrasting reds and greens. Two paths led away from my location, not counting the crevice I had come from, which was hidden between one of the towers and the mountainside. One of the paths, the one the guards took, went between the two towers and in the direction of the gate. The path which I took, not wishing to bump into the guards’ replacements, lead further along the mountainside, slipping around the majority of the occupied areas.

The path continued to grip the rocky wall, the other edge blocked by the walls of the buildings within the castle. There were occasional openings where branches lead off into a fancier path made for the usage of visitors. For now though I wanted to avoid being seen, so I continued along the same path; I assumed it to be built for the servants, judging by its simplicity and the way it was hidden away from the rest of the castle. A couple of times the servants actually saw me, but they didn’t seem to care; they must not know one another well enough to be able to tell an intruder apart.

As I began to pass the main palace, I considered what I could possibly do. At this point I was just being a stalker, I was willing to admit it. It did not matter though as it was too late to change my mind, so what would be the best way to meet the princess? I couldn’t just go to her room: there was no way that would end well. I needed some way that felt natural, but in what way does a princess meet a commoner? Perhaps I could dress up as a servant and happen to bump into her, but no, that would just be too weird, really difficult to pull off, too.

In the end I decided that I would just happen to meet her as I am, and hope for the best. Maybe she would even remember me out of that crowd. I knew it was highly unlikely that a princess would listen to anything I had to say, but messing too much with the circumstances felt wrong to me. If everything turned out well, I would need to explain to her what I was doing here, after all.

The rocky wall began to bend away, the mountain range pulling back and away from the point that Canterlot was built upon. The path I had been walking on began curving to the left, away from the mountainside. Rather than continuing to circle around the entirety of the castle, the servant’s walkway was now passing in front of the castle’s garden.

Rather than continue along the path, which seemed to be leading further into the main area of the castle; I decided to head into the garden. It was late anyways, I needed a place to sleep, and what could be better concealed than within a heavily foliaged tree?

The garden was such a serene place, so at odds with the cities I had always lived in: even the small home my family lived within was always pervaded by noises from the other families that lived in the same single room so-called homes. I found myself becoming very tired. I had succeeded in the first part of my task. Now that I was within the castle, tomorrow, just maybe, I could speak with the princess.