A Traveling Storyteller

Like every story , this story begins with four, well-known magic words...

Once upon a time ...

Not so long ago was a residential area close to Barnhills, was a settlement of the last remaining wild pony tribes . A tribe living in harmony with nature.

The settlement had a chronicler called Folklore and with his wife Campfire they had a foal named Travel Tale, with another one on the way.

The settlement was built centuries ago in a sparse forest beside a mountain. Most residents pitched their tents among the trees or around them. Some had settled in the more stable trees in tree houses , which where connected with bridges. The mountain itself had a large cave, where the elders , the wise counselors of the tribe, lived and taught the young ones how to respect and live off of nature, and their way of life

One sunny day in the settlement, Travel rushed home from school .

His coat was of pale mint- green color, his mane and his tail was a little scrubby, and was kept in vanilla-tone. On his forehead stood a horn out of his mane, and his Cutie Mark was simply a open, empty book in a black cover, with a black pen filling it with words. He hurried to get home in great anticipation, for today was a great day. Today is the day he finally gets to see his little brother or sister enter this world, and so with great joy, and gitty anticipation,  he picked up his pace and ran home.

When arrived at the front of his parents' tent , the great-elder came out and turned to him, giving him a solemn look. " Not now , young one," she said, " It will be a while before you can see your little sister. "

Travel looked to the elder with beaming eyes , "Sister ? " He repeated and began joyfully hopping up and down "When can I see her? "

" Not anytime soon, I'm afraid. It's... complicated. "

His euphoric smile faded and Travel ceased to bounce, a sense of overhwelming dread filled his heart and a cold, tingling sensation ran down his spine when he heard the elder speak so solemnly. "W-what happened? Is somethimg wrong with my sister?"

The old mare sighed , "She is very sick... that is all I can say. You should go and play with your friends, enjoy your time with them."

He nodded, "Y-yes , great-elder." He said as he trotted away . Though he was dong as the elder asked, he couldn't take his mind off of his new sister, the sens of worry and dread plaguing his mind much like an itch that got worse over time. The rest of the day he stared sadly to the ground, wondering what what was in store for his family, too worried about what would happen if his sister didn't pull through. He dreaded the thought, but the way the elder madenit sound, it was a very real possibility.

When evening came, Travel slowly walked home, his head filled with worry, each step only magnifying the feeling until finally, he was home.

Reluctantly, he entered the tent. He didn't see anypony, but he heard angry voices further in the back of the tent. He followed the voices and found his parents in the bed-place, both standing before the crib and arguing with hushed voices. The tension he felt made Travel cringe a little.

"... . The tradition demands it!" His father brought to an end as a Travel occurred. Campfire was about to say something when she noticed her colt.

" Why are you arguing?" Travel asked tentatively

"We are not arguing , darling. We're uh ... having divided opinions." Campfire replied.

For him it sounded very much like a quarrel. However, Travel did not dig further because something else attracted his attention . He walked over to the crib and there, under a blanket laid his sister, breathing heavily. She had a turquoise coat, and a bright yellow mane and tail like the sun' and was, like himself, a unicorn. " What's wrong with her ? " He asked, gently touched the cheek of the newborn, whereupon she opened her eyes and looked at him weakly.

" We don't know exactly, just that she only gets air badly and is very weak ... " . His father, Folklore replied.

" What can we do?" He asked as he looked into the orange button eyes of his sister.

" Hope for the good will of our ancestors ," said Folklore, while Campfire" Bring her to a doctor! " replied at the same time , what reaped a vigorous "No!"...

___________________________________________________________________

I let the feather slide back into the pen and sighed.

How many years have passed since then? A look at the calendar read that it was nearly thirteen and a half years ago when I started my journey. Since then, I have traveled to every country in Equestria and contributed stories and tales from everywhere together, which I held in books. Also, I had improved my skills in my illusionist , So I was now able to create in a position within 20 meters , a perfect , full - sensory illusion that reflects each scene of the stories that I tell .

I went to the window and looked out my living coach . It was already late afternoon , the nearest town, according to the map,  was called Ponyville. I would not reach before sunset ...

"Then I'll stop for now, and wait until morning .. "

I had to smile. the last time I showed up overnight in a village , I was considered a witch doctor or something along those lines.

" Now that I think about it , " I mused , and let my grin grow in width , " I could do that again .. "

So I got out of the carriage , sat down on the driver's seat and put the wheels in motion using telekinesis .

When it got dark , I lit my lantern on the coach . It was just before midnight , just over 2 kilometers from Ponyville , as I drove past a dwelling. It smelled like, well animals. don't get me wrong , the smell wasn't unpleasant in any way.

and the moon was bright enough to reveal a wide range of wooden boxes , and baby bird houses . Obviously, this pony was a great animal lover.

Shortly after, I passed a farm, I could not see what they grew there, and i didn't care at that time. Ponyville's silhouette gained contrast and finally I reached the city.

I quietly went to the city center and stopped there.

I yawned and jumped from the driver's seat and blew out the lantern. Finally, I went in and locked the door

There were countries where it was considered good form to open unlocked doors to see what is hiding behind it, and dropped me to my bed , falling asleep immediately .

When I woke, the sun was shining through the window, which was directly above the bed and lit up

there was a second one at the front of my ' ahem ' residence , which helped illuminate. I mean, - . only one window? - Pffff .. my room.

Right above my bed was a dream catcher , an object that would always remind me of my home...also it gave my dwelling a special kind of charm .

Across the bed, surrounded by bookshelves, was my workplace .

There was a desk along with pen and inkwell . Under the desk I brought a stack of blank books. You never know when strange stories would fall before your hooves. Next to it was my closet where I kept my few garments. Most , however, were different souvenirs and souvenirs were on , I had spread everywhere .

For example, I had a great shell that I found on a coast of Gallop'ago Islands, in the closet ( it fit nowhere else properly , so what debits ... ) or the sugar skull ( or also called Calavera .. . ) from Mexicolt. It found his home on the bookshelf .

I stood up and stretched . Normally I would prepare me for some stories, but as the day promised to be pleasant times today, I wanted to let my mind wander. Also, I wanted to get rid of a few bits .....

So I put on a short sleeve shirt and my dark blue vest and let my dark blue cylinder-hat slide on my head. Then I created a reflective surface in the air and looked at me:

In recent years, I pretty shot up , which resulted in the fact that I almost towered most others over a head. My stature was rather skinny but appealing, which gave me an androgynous look ( I really had to show bitter reality two times) . I let the mirror disappear , grabbed my purse and walked out the door .

Outside, the sun was shining in a cloudless sky. It was warm. It seemed as though all of Ponyville was already on his feet . In short, it was the perfect day for me to laze around and explore the city. As always, I was immediately catching curious, but friendly stares.

I put on a smile and made my way through the simple roads. There was much to see, next to the market and the town hall , I saw also a spa, jewelers, a boutique, a library  inside a tree( a tree house in the truest sense of the word), and a shop which had rainbow-colored (!) peddled jam ( I just had to secure a jar).

It went on to lunch time , when I decided to explore the surrounding area. So I arrived at a school that finished their day's work today . A group of young ponies left the building . I leisurely walked further when...

"Um ... Excuse me?  hey mister?" curious i looked around .

A girl with bright blue hair and dark blue mane stood behind me and looked at me. "I have never seen them here," she continued.

I turned around completely , some other children looked across. " Well, no wonder ," I replied , "I  just arrived here after midnight. Permit ? Travel Tale. Traveling storyteller and Fairy-tale collector ! "

" A storyteller ? Really? " Marveled the little one , " Would you tell me one? , " she asked expectantly.

I just thought , "Hmm ... Why not? But why just for only you? Get your friends around. " Joyfully she galloped away. While I waited for the return, I scoured my memory for tales . For starters, something funny should be enough ....

After a short time , a throng gathered before me.

"Is everypony here? Yes? Then I will tell you something ... but first I'll create the right atmosphere ... "

I let the environment become sluggish, what called forth astonished exclamation.

Gradually, I replaced the school grounds with a dirt road , where a farm pony pulled a load of wood. I let the children look around a few moments , as I began....

There was once a poor farmer named Beet who brought a load of wood to town and sold it for five bits to a doctor.