Bohemian Rhapsody

By Slipstream

• July 3, 2012

Age: 39

Gender: Female

Species: Unicorn

Cutie Mark: A quill in the wind, symbolizing both her talent for storytelling and her joy of travel. While her talent is in storytelling, she IS a unicorn, and often uses her magic powers to enhance the atmosphere, produce illusions, or disappear into the mist.

Personality: Rhapsody is very much a mother hen. She knows that there are ponies out there with things to run from, that there are fortunes to be sought, knowledge to be earned and journeys to take out on the open road. She's never stayed in one place too long, and she considers her caravan to be open to anyone looking to see the world, or at least perhaps to see something different.<br /><br />Like any mother, though, sometimes Rhapsody has to make tough choices. There have been times she's had to refuse help to somepony in order to keep the rest of her herd's safety in mind. There are rules to follow and chores to do; just because home is on the road doesn't mean home doesn't need to be maintained. But as with any home, she puts her whole heart into it, and into the ponies who have decided to travel with her.

Backstory: Rhapsody has always had a streak of wanderlust in her. As a child she was jealous of the wings of the Pegasi that let them walk on air and take them to the far reaches of Equestria on a whim. At a very young age she left home with nothing on her but her saddlebags, living on the land and traveling from place to place by hoof. Everything she saw, she cherished and remembered, and as she moved from town to town, other ponies started to listen to the stories she would tell. They were always stories of the places she'd seen or of mighty, ancient adventures, but very occasionally, someone would ask for her story. A young filly in a small town hoping for more, perhaps, or a disillusioned colt finding no meaning in his current life. These types would, upon learning that such a nomadic lifestyle were possible, often join her in her journey. These were ponies of all kinds with all sorts of talents, and when they stopped by someplace to visit it became common for them to play music, paint, and of course tell stories to the local population before packing up and moving on. Sometimes in moving on they'd leave a pony or two behind; sometimes, they'd pick one or two up. That was the way of the road, and Rhapsody never forgot anyone she knew, even if she didn't happen to get along with them so well. <br /><br />Now, as an older mare, there's a bit more structure to her travel; what she manages is practically a caravan of ponies, with carts and belongings and stories of their own. She has maps to read and routes to plan, new hooves to introduce and put to work.<br /><br />She wouldn't have it any other way, though.