Chapters Prelude: The origin of the Romani ponies
The Romani ponies, the wandering troupes of performers and entertainers, who make their rough and rugged living on the open roads of this world. There are many legends among the Romani ponies, tales of their travels and adventures among the kingdoms and lands of Ponydom. But there is the one that they hold dearer than any other, for it is the tale of their beginnings...
Long ago, a little over a millennia before the great and wonderful Harmony Bearers, there was a noble and just stallion named Roma. A pony entertainer whose special talent was dance and song, their was no pony more handsome or shined so brightly as he performed before others. His greatest joy was in making other ponies smile, wanting to turn tears into laughter, and frowns into smiles. A grinning and laughing trickster, Roma could bring joy to even the most angry of equines. All ponies who saw the great performer loved his act, and none could turn down the charismatic or charming pony, or tell him no.
Roma managed to capture the hearts of every mare who saw him, including the aloof heart of a princess of the Sun. Even the great Celestia's heart melted before his kindness and pure joy and love of all things. See caught sight of him at one of his performances at the palace of the two sisters, and asked to speak to him backstage. That dark black coat, coal colored eyes, mane the color of night.... is it any wonder the kind and gentle princess found a kindred spirit in Roma? The two were actually able to become friends, They would meet at secret in night, talking and laughing and enjoying one anothers company. Celestia and Roma began to care greatly for one another.
But the day came, that the great mare's sister came to learn of the lover's trysts. Following Celestia when she snuck out to the everfree one night, Princess Luna caught the two together in the shadows. Her heart filled with a jealous rage, fueled by an festering anger at her sister for having yet another thing she did not. The poison that would soon grow to become Nightmare Moon, drove the princess of the night to deal with her sister's beloved paramour. Luna summoned the unicorn before her the very next night, and unleashed her fury upon the unsuspecting stallion.
"Arrogant mortal! Dare thou try to winnest the heart of an eternal goddess?!" The princess of the night declared angrily, her rage burning at the pony before her. "Then ye art a fool, and for thine foolishness thou shall suffer greatly!"
A spell shot forth from the angry Alicorn's horn, engulfing the stallion before her.
"A wanderer ye shall be, and of of thine descendants, as well! The soil shall yield no crops under thine hooves, and disaster shall follow in thine hoofsteps wherever thy goest. None shall permit you to dwell in one place for long, and thou shalt be an exile of all the days of thine life. My night shall hold no refuge for you, and all things that dwell therin shall hunt you as their enemies. This curse I do pass on to all of thine descendants, that thou mayset be sire to a cursed herd, ponies without a home, forever! Let thine punishment be an eternal reminder to those who would dare incur the wrath of Princess Luna!"
The stallion was greatly dismayed by this fate, and it was not long before the curse took effect, and drove the cursed figure from Equestria. Princess Celestia did much lament the loss of her paramour, and it was not until after Nightmare Moon's banishment that she discovered Roma's tragic fate. Now, there was no way for the saddened mare to remove the tragic curse from the innocent stallion, nor could she find the love she had lost, wandering out there amongst the world. But a chance for the grieving alicorn mare's vengeance soon presented itself, and the Princess of the sun would soon make another innocent taste her wrath....
Princess Luna was unloved by the ponies of Equestria in that age, and the only friend she had was a quiet little earth mare, named Romani. This timid mare cared for the plants and animals in the castle gardens by night, and she was the only pony in those days, besides the thestrals, who stayed awake and appreciated Luna's beautiful evening sky. This caused the princess of the night to have great affection for the kind little pony, and the two would come together and speak in while Luna rested during the day, much as Roma and Celestia had spoken during the night. Romani was said to be the kindest of all ponies until the coming of harmony bearer Fluttershy, and there was none in all of Equestria who could find fault with her.
But the solar princess discovered her sister's companion, and a thirst for vengeance entered Celestia's heart. Many at court, seeking to curry the Solar Princess's favor, whispered in her ear that it had been the timid little earth mare with the yellow coat and mane who had poisoned Luna's mind, turning her into Nightmare Moon. And in her grief-stricken state, the mare turned her anger upon the unsuspecting caretaker of the gardens. Romani had mostly kept quietly to herself after her friend's banishment, so it was to her great shock when Celestia appeared before her in her full blazing anger.
"Arrogant mortal! How dare you turn my sister against me?!" The princess of the daytime declared angrily, her rage burning at the pony before her. "You are a traitor, and for your traitorous actions you shall suffer greatly!"
A spell shot forth from the angry Alicorn's horn, engulfing the frightened mare before her.
"You and your descendants shall be exiles, hated and scorned by ponies everywhere! There will be no honest trade for you to work, and you shall always be regarded as a thief and brigand by all who come across you. Nopony shall allow you to stay in one place for long, and you will be a wanderer for the rest of your life! My day will hold no refuge for you, and all things that thrive in the sunlight shall hunt you as their enemies. I curse your children, and your children's children, so that your family will forever feel the pain in my own heart! I will never forgive you or your family for the loss of my sister!"
And so, the mare followed the same road of misery that Roma had taken before her, and she was driven from land to land by the disasters that befell her. Sad lonely, weary and forlorn, the accursed mare finally made her way to the court of a distant Mereharajah, where the the Solar and Lunar princesses, and their disastrous curses, were unknown to ponies. It was here that Roma first met Romani, and they found relief from thier respective afflictions in each others hooves. Both discovered how they had been hurt by the curses laid upon them by the alicorns, and how miraculously, the two curses seemed to cancel each other out in regards to each other. The two ponies were eventually married, and Roma became and entertainer in the royal court, and Romani the caretaker of the Mareharajah's menagerie and gardens.
But though the two cursed ponies were able to find happiness late in their lives, the two curses soon fell upon their children in a blazing fury. Plagues and disasters followed Roma and Roamni's bloodline over the next two generations, until all of their descendants and their families were driven from the mareharajah's kingdom. They became caravan of wanderers, and over time, their numbers increased as they spread across the world. Within a few centuries, caravans of Romani wagons could be found in every nation, performing for both rich and poor alike.
The ponies inherited Roma's gift for entertaining, banging on their tambourines while singing and dancing for happy audiences. And from Romani came the gift of being able to talk to plants and animals, giving them a close connection to nature that seemed almost magical to other ponies. But the two curses, joined together as they now were, produced an effect neither Alicorn had foreseen. For the Roma ponies gained the ability to forsee events before they happen, a kind of 'danger sense' that they developed as a magical defense mechanism against the curse's effects. This made the Romani the tellers of fortunes, through crystal ball, hoof readings, and the tarot. And putting these ponies of Prophecy in high demand across all the lands.
Sadly, this did nothing to negate the curse's effects. The Roma ponies were still hated as vagrants, accused of being chicken thieves, and kidnapping foals from their cradles in the middle of the night. They were still driven from place to place, sometimes barely escaping with their lives. It is no surprise, as their time in the Mareharajah's kingdom gave them a very different appearance and culture from the rest of ponydom. Despite love and toleration, ponies can be horrible gossips. And many times, gossip and bad harvest or misfortune in a town can lead to violence against those who are different or strange.
But though they are much hated and feared throughout the realms, there are those few Roma who have done great things in the service to Ponykind. For there are Romani song sung of a little pink filly, the daughter of Romani parents, who was left on the doorstep of a rock farmer just outside of Ponyville. This filly, with her natural ability to entertain, and a 'danger sense' that manifested as body twitches, came to be one of the greatest heroines that ponydom has ever known, and the pony the Romani are the most proud of.
...or so the romani stories and songs say...
There are few things I remember from my earliest childhood, except that it was a happy time. I remember lying in a cradle outside of our family's cart underneath the open sky. I remember resting in my mother's front hooves, as she sang a lullaby in the old tongue. I remember my father's smile, the few times when he'd look down at me, when I'd tug on his vest with my magic to get his attention. That's the memory I try to cling to the most from among those faded snippets, for it is one of the few things I have from him.
My birth was seen as an omen of good fortune, for a unicorn with both an orange coat and mane was a rarity amongst our tribe. We all lived together in small traveling herd- cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents- because family was the most important thing to our clan. We were always on the move across New Equestria, trekking from one town to the next in our colorfully painted wagons. Usually my parents, along with my aunts and uncles, took turns pulling the carts as we rolled along through the countryside.
There are few places that don't blend together in my memories... though I do remember one particular stop off we made in New Baltimare. My mother had stopped to pick buy me a Pegasus doll from a shop for my birthday, using a few bits she had earned from selling a blanket she had spent weaving. The shop owner then came to us later that evening with an officer pony, accusing my mother of stealing the doll, and ripped it out of my hooves with his magic. My parents argued with the officer for nearly an hour, before we were ordered to pack our carts, and move on. We did leave that very night... but not before my father managed to steal back the doll from the unsuspecting gadjo .
My life really changed, however, when our caravan went to attend the Kirs , the great Romani meet where disputes between families were settled. Thousands of carts came together in the White tail wood, far away from the towns and cities of the despised Equestrians, and we had a wonderful week of feasting and song. While the Rom Baro , the leaders of our tribes, met in council and settled legal matters, the rest of traded stories and songs. This was the first time I actually got to play with some fillies my own age (Not from my family), and got to meet relatives from other tribes I didn't even know I had.
Also at this meet, I encountered the mare who would change my life forever. A blue unicorn with a white mane, a member of our culture whom the others seemed to hold in some great esteem. I never did catch her name, but she was a show mare with a charisma and presence I have seen in few other ponies. She saw a potential in my crude attempts at dancing and singing few other ponies could perceive, and asked my mother if her cart could travel with our caravan and train me in the entertainment arts. My parents stuck a deal, in return with providing her with food and repairs to her vardo cart, and I found myself with a tutor.
And so my teen years were spent under this strange mare's tutelage. She showed me how to perform magic tricks, how to play to the crowd, and how to use my charisma to my advantage. She taught me to dance, to sing, and to play the tambourine... she taught me to read the tarot cards,the crystal ball, and pony's hooves to tell them what they want to hear. I had been born with a tambourine cutie mark on my flank (we Roma ponies are born with our marks, much like the ponies of many lands beyond Equestria) so performing and entertaining came naturally to me. The blue unicorn taught me how to use my special talent with flair, and I reveled in the skills her lessons brought me.
"Higher, leap higher! Your teacher wants to see the sweat pouring off of your coat!"
"You're not keeping time on that tambourine! Your teacher demands that you keep up with her rhythm!"
"Your great and wonderful teacher thinks you need to smile more when you read them their futures in the cards!"
As I crossed into adulthood, she taught me the more exotic side of entertaining. The swing of the flank, a high kick, a twirl on a pole... I have learned Equestrian stallions are perverse, disgusting creatures, easily manipulated by twirling hips and sweet words and false promises. The blue mare taught me how to easily part those spoiled fools from their bits with dancing and tambourine banging and sweet words, leaving them in some ditch in a dazed stupor. Our noble Roma stallions have far more dignity than they. I am amazed Equestrian mares can stand to be touched by the cold-hooved clods with small flanks and even smaller...hmph, all I can say is... poor Equestrian mares.
If I seem harsh on those equine pigs, it is because of what occurred during this time. My father was a worker with tools, repairing our vardo carts, during our long journeys. One day he made the mistake of repairing an apple farmer's wagon, in exchange for a part of his crop. The red stallion's wagon then got a broken axle, and he naturally blamed my father. There was a heated argument, and tempers flared... and...
I still remember my father, laying cold and quiet on the ground, with the rain coming down all around us. That over sized red behemoth simply trotted away, with no more concern than if he swatted a fly. Our lives meant nothing to those Equestrians, and it's makes me hate them loathe them all the more. It wasn't many years afterward that my mysterious tutor left me, and then a terrible illness claimed my mother. But by then, I was a fully grown Roma, ready for whatever adventure this world could throw at me.
My real adventure was about to begin...
It had been a hard journey, probably the harshest we had taken in our young lives. Three mares, who had trotted all the way across the San Palomino Desert, our hooves dried and cracked and our coats all dirty and matted with sand. Trotting our way back across the wastes, we make our way back into the civilized lands of New Equestria. It had been some time since we had traversed out of the wilderness, keeping to the out lands to avoid the ponies who so hated us. But we needed food and new supplies, so that meant returning to what passes for equine civilization in order to earn some more bits... urrgghhhh .
"Wow, this place looks really welcoming, Gypsy." My friend Susprio snorted srcastically, looking around at all of the ponies who were scowling at us. "I don't think they're exactly ready to roll out the red carpet for us, here."
"Oh, you worry too much, sister." Manzinita chuckled, totally oblivious to all of the hostile glares we were getting. "I'm sure these ponies will be more than happy to help us!"
Having skirted away from most of the larger cities, our little group had made it's way to one of the smaller farming towns, just south of the capital. Here we found a friendly little burg where everybody smiled- at least, towards each other. We were given stares and glances, as if we were something these ponies had scraped off the bottom of one of their hooves.
Poor, naive little Manz..... she's far younger than Susprio and I. She's never had to deal with Equestrians first-hoof, Manzinita doesn't know what they're capable of. I watch her trot up to one of the merchant ponies at his stall, and try to buy something to eat.
"Excuse me, I'd like to but a bag of your oats, and a few of your oranges." Manz threw a few coins onto the counter, and smiled at him. "I'm feeling kinda hungry."
"Then why dontcha go get some feed outta the trough, like the other animals?" The stallion snorted, throwing her money back in her face. "I don't sell gruel for livestock!"
The poor little mare just stared at him, stunned. We got the same reaction from the other ponies, many putting a hoof over their saddlebags protectively. We hurried on towards one of the town's hotels, a tried to get a room where we could stay out of sight. The innkeeper, however, wasn't exactly very friendly to mares such as ourselves.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have any rooms to waste on Romani." The mare shook her head, pointing over two a 'no vacany' sign. "I barely have enough space for the paying customers"
"Now wait just one minute." Suspiro protested, slamming her hoof down on the counter. "we can pay for-"
"The best I can give you is some space in the old tool shed out back." The innkeep told us, pointing a hoof back behind the building. "You should find it really dry back there, and I think there's some old hay you can eat."
"Of course, thank you very much." I told her politely, not wanting to stir up any trouble. "Thank you for your hospitality."
The three of us sadly took our small packs out back, and lit a lantern in the shed full of tools and old hay.
"Ugh, this place is terrible! I can't believe we got stuck with staying in a dirty old shed!" I snort in disgust. "And what kind of a meal is hay? Romani ponies don't even put this filth into their mouths! How can Equestrians stand it?!"
As I used my magic to unpack our things, my two earth pony companions began their usual nightly custom of arguing.
"Oh, brilliant idea you had there, Suspy. You totally had flash of genius when you came up with this one!" Manz snapped, glaring at her older friend. "Let's leave the safety of the rest of the Caravan, you said! Lets strike out on our own in Equestria, you said! Thry'll be plenty of gullible pony there to trick out of their money, you said! Most of these small town ponies seem to want us dead so badly, they won't even give us a chance to perform!"
"Now hold your horses, Manz,we're not out of luck yet!" Suspiro retorted, her usual crafty grin on her face. "I saw a really juicy target on our way into town; a wealthy looking earth stallion with a little pink brat at his heels, always whining at him for something!"
"Ohhhhh!That's a good one!" Suspy acknowledged, remembering what she had been taught about fleecing wealthy ponies for money as a filly. "The spoiled little heiress could be the key! If we could just talk to her, maybe do a hoof reading or crystal ball reading..."
"We don't have time for those kinds of games, girls! I just want to get what we need out of this little hick town, and get out!" I snap in irritation, being no no mood to listen to either of these mares' jibes at each other. "We will perform in the town square tomorrow, get the few coins we need, and get hell out of this town before we have any trouble!" Picking up a mouthful of stale and smelly hay, I try to choke it down with a scowl on my face. "Now, I suggest you all try to get some sleep, before tomorrow morning!"
My two friends nodded their heads in agreement, and we all sat down to enjoy a very foul tasting meal. It was then, however, that we got a knock at the shed door. Spitting out my bite of hay, I trotted over and magically turned the handle.
"Excuse me, but are you the Romani ponies who came into town today?" A blue Pegasus with a multicolored mane asked coldly, scowling at my friends and I as if we were beneath her notice. "I got a tip you were staying here."
"Yes, we are Roma." I respond politely, trying to ignore her hostility. "How may I help you."
"Just a friendly little piece of advice, pal... get out of town, as soon as possible." The angry looking Pegasus warned. "I don't know why you're here, but your kind are nothing but trouble. So as soon as you're finished with your stuff here- leave!"
Without another word, the blue one zipped off into the nighttime sky.
"Hmm, looks like we have a meddler, I told myself in annoyance, watching the multicolored blur of her mane speed away. Muttering a curse under my breath, I made note of what angry Equestrian pony I was going to have to avoid, when we were pulling our little con acts tomorrow...
