THE THREE TRAVELERS
being an instructive tale for colts and fillies
with analysis by Archivist the Crown Princess Twilight Sparkle
and
commentary by Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia
A long time ago, a long way from here, there was a long road upon which three ponies traveled.
There was a merchant, seeking better markets, pulling his wagon of goods.
There was a magistrate, seeking a new town, for she had lost an election.
There was a mediciner, seeking new cures and herbs, for he wished to advance his skill.
The three were as different as sun, moon and stars, yet they had become good friends as the miles had come and gone. They would speak, but not boast. They would discuss, but not argue. They would sing, but not criticize. They were ponies as ponies should be. And as will often happen, fortune smiled upon them as a reward... and as a test.
As they set camp, a day's journey away from the city that would someday be Trottingham, the mediciner made a discovery. “Come, friends!” he called, “for I have found something strange!”
The merchant and the magistrate ceased what they were doing and came to see what the mediciner had seen. Within an old hollow tree-stump was a chest, the kind in which pirates will keep their plunder and kings will keep their taxes.
“See,” said the merchant, “this is a strong chest which once was valuable. The hinges are sturdy and the lock is of iron. Yet the wood has become brittle, the fittings tarnished, and the lock seems to be rusted shut. I know this, for I know the value of such things.”
“See,” said the magistrate, “this chest once belonged to the bandit-chief Bruno the Brute, as this seal of brass shows, though it is indeed tarnished. I know this, for I am a student of history.”
“See,” said the mediciner, “this chest has been here for over a hundred years, as the slow-growing moss upon it shows. I know this, for I am skilled in the study of growing things.” And the mediciner gathered some of the moss, for he knew that with it he could make a tea to cure toothaches and bald spots and warts.
“Let us open it to see what is inside!” they said together. For what else is there to do with an ancient abandoned treasure chest?
The merchant fetched over his hatchet and struck the chest, and on the third blow it burst asunder. Coins poured forth in colors of copper and silver and even a little gold. The three stood in awe, for none had ever seen so much wealth gathered into one place at time.
“What should we do with this bounty?” asked the mediciner.
“The law says that such treasures may be kept by those who find them,” said the merchant, and he was accurate.
“Bruno the Brute plied his bandit's trade over a hundred years ago, and is no longer here to claim it,” said the magistrate, and she was right.
“It is bandit-money, taken wrongly from the innocent, but there is no way to know how to return it, or to whom.” said the mediciner, and he was correct.
They spoke at length, and agreed that this was a windfall, and that it would be folly to leave it behind. Therefore they counted the coins, making three piles equal to the penny, and each of the three took their share. Their dreams that night were filled with wonder and light and hope for the future, for they had been granted what most ponies could only wish for.
When the morning came, the three travelers broke camp and eagerly completed their journey. The city, though not so great as it would become, was a-bustle with ponies going about their daily lives, and the three were amazed at what they saw.
Upon setting hoof into the market square, the merchant looked about with a gleam in his eye as he witnessed ponies buying and selling. “This I understand,” said he, “and it is here I shall put my fortune to its best use!”
As they passed the town hall, the magistrate looked about with a gleam in her eye as she observed the town elders debating matters of state before the mayor. “This I understand,” said she, “and it is here I shall make my fortune into my future!”
But the mediciner, as they made their way through the crowds, had eyes only for the people. Happy and sad, confident and timid, bold and retiring, and in every color and shape and hue... so many fascinating ponies! “I do not understand this place,” said he, “but I will learn the hearts and the ways of these ponies, and perhaps I will also learn how my fortune may guide me.”
And upon finding a friendly inn, the three bought the house a round, toasted each others' health, and swore by the light of Celestia to never forget each other as they followed their fortunes.
Twenty years came and went. The snows fell and melted. The summer sun warmed and faded. The birds flew back and forth from the north to the south then north again. And upon the twentieth anniversary since the three found their fortune, they gathered together at a friendly inn to tell their tales.
The mediciner prompted the merchant to share his tale (for the mediciner, in his modesty, would rather listen and see to sipping his cider than be the first to speak).
“That I will do,” said the merchant. “I put my fortune into my business,” said he. “I would turn a small fortune into a large fortune, for I felt the touch of luck upon me. I bought a store in which to sell. I hired ponies to stock the shelves and tend to the customers. I made deals with far-traveling traders to bring me interesting and exotic things to offer. And every bit I earned I put back into my business. Now, I own ten stores, am employer to a hundred, and am a wealthy pony!”
“And are you happy?” asked the mediciner.
The merchant lowered his head, and sighed a great sigh. “I thought I would be. But I have labored from dawn til late in the night for so many years, and knew only my work. I have wealth, but no time for a family, and few friends. I am lonely. But enough of this!” he exclaimed. Turning to the magistrate, he said “Tell us your tale!”
“That I will,” said the magistrate. “I put my fortune into my fame. I would turn a small fortune into a great legacy, for I felt the touch of destiny upon me. I dressed in finery as a famous pony should. I made friends of the powerful as a famous pony should. I hosted lavish parties as a famous pony should. I became famously well-known as a celebrity. And thus I was elected Burgermeister, and gave speeches and cut ribbons and made proclamations!”
“And are you happy?” asked the mediciner.
The magistrate lowered her head, and sighed a sigh even greater than the sigh the merchant had sighed. “I thought fame would make me so,” she said. “But fame is fleeting. When my fortune was spent, my new-found friends forgot me. When the elections were held again, a pony with fresher fame than my own became Burgermeister. Once all drank to my health, but now few ponies even know my name. I am lonely. But enough of that!” she exclaimed. Turning to the mediciner, she said “Tell us your tale!”
“I will do so!” said the mediciner. “I did not know what to do with my fortune as you both did, so instead I went to the University to learn the art of the apothecary. Yet I still did not know what to do with my fortune as you both did, so instead I practiced my arts and healed the sick and tended the wounded whether they could pay or not. Yet still I did not know what to do with my fortune as you both did, so instead I took a wife and had many children. Yet still I did not know what to do with my fortune as you both did , so instead I wrote books of plant-lore which are now read in the University. I must confess, I am no closer to understanding my fortune than the day we found it.”
“But are you happy?” asked the merchant and the magistrate together.
“I have lived well,” answered the mediciner. “I am content. I just don't know what to do with my fortune, for I am not wise!”
The merchant and the magistrate looked at each other for a long moment. “I think,” said the merchant at last, “I think you are the wisest of us all. You had made your fortune long before your bags were filled with coins, and your joy never required a heavy purse. I see now that fortune is not wealth, and wealth brings neither family nor happiness.”
“And,” said the magistrate, “all the ponies know your name, for they know you are kind and that you can ease the hurts and ailments of their lives. Your fame is greater and more justly deserved than my own, for it runs deeper. I see now that fortune is not fame, and fame brings neither friends nor happiness.”
To this the mediciner had no answer, but he blushed and he smiled.
It is remembered that soon after this fateful meeting that the merchant retired from his business, bequeathed his stores to his workers, and devoted his wealth to aiding the poor, and thus he finally knew happiness.
It is also recorded that soon after this fateful meeting that the magistrate devoted her knowledge of civics, her acquaintance with the powerful, and her experience of high office to helping the common pony, and thus she finally knew happiness.
And the mediciner? He had known happiness all along, for his happiness had never depended upon fortune, but the comfort he brought to others. He was indeed the wisest of them all.
Though not as old as some pony stories, “The Three Travelers” touches a theme as old as time itself: whether wealth and fame can lead to happiness. We can date this tale to about five centuries ago from the archaic titles of “Bürgermeister” (an earth-pony office) and “Magistrate” (which comes from unicorn-originated government), as well as the reference to bandits and the founding of Trottingham.
The astute reader will have noticed that, aside from their avocations, the lead characters are otherwise anonymous. It is a hallmark of this period that none of the ponies, or at least the protagonists, are named; it was believed that leaving the ponies without name or pony-type would make it easier for a reader to identify with the subjects of the story. Though today it is easy for an earth-pony or a unicorn to identify with the heroic pegasus Daring Do, it was not always so. We have made some progress, and such literary constraints no longer apply.
Historical reference also shows the question “is wealth a force for good or only for greed” becoming widespread at about this period. This is due to the relative success of Equestria at that time compared to its neighbors, and for what it is worth, this remains a subject of discussion.
Like so much else, the conclusions a reader reaches depend upon the reader in question, and the debate remains open.
—Twilight Sparkle
The themes touched upon in this story are deeper than one might suppose. Not only is this a cautionary tale of the fleeting nature of shallow happiness; it also speaks of the dangers of pursuing a dream to the exclusion of family and friends. True wealth, as much now as when this story was first penned, lies in the ponies around you and not in their purses.
Yet this is a condemnation of neither wealth nor fame; these are tools only, and as such are neutral. The good or ill associated with sudden fortune and its material and social rewards lies in whether we use such blessings to help others, or merely to help ourselves alone.
—H.R.H. Celestia
