Those who would,
Should.


Despite having already walked the whole day just to get to the border, I followed the herd for many miles. There was an uneasiness within me yet I was trembling with excitement, energy practically bursting from my hooves. We camped the night in the open plains; clearly it was only a temporary rest stop.

And for the most part, I was ignored. The same buffafoal that had invited me to accompany them brought me a last meal. It was a bowl of tall grass mixed with flower petals from who-knows-where and then she promptly left me for some other duties.

Now that everyone was situated, the chance presented itself to properly observe the state of my new companions. By rough approximate, this herd was 30-40 strong, all of them appearing to be at the peak of their physical prowess- again with the exception of that small one. She certainly broke all of the norms of these people, and I began to wonder why she was with this tribe of... warriors? It grew apparent that this could not be the whole of the tribe- no, these were all males.

I picked at my bowl, appreciating the delicate simplicity of the meal. Out of a seeming wasteland, these innovative wanderers had managed to produce a delectable meal, something to truly satisfy one after a long day's march. Almost as soon as I had finished, the small one approached me again, though she visibly wanted to say something this time.

I decided to start the conversation, "Thank you for the hospitality, for the meal and a place to rest my hooves. It has been most welcome." She gazed at me with luminous orbs, as if wiser than one of her stature commonly was.

"Chief Jumps-Higher would like your audience".

She decided to abstain from easy conversation, then. Following her example, I rose to my feet and indicated with a nod that I understood. She led the way and I observed that she did not appear to have a cutie mark- these people were as blank of flanks as any foal.

We wound through different strands of buffalo grouped in two's and three's, towards a tipi that looked no different from the rest. Within rested the great black coated chieftain, eyeing me with an unreadable look. I could feel the power emanating from around him- practically a visible aura and I couldn't help wondering if this were the buffalo equivalent of a unicorn, for there was a certain hint of magical residue.

"So you are the pony called Rose?"

"How do you know that?" I was sharp with my reply, for I had not told anypony my name.

"There are always ways of knowing".

Sensing that he wasn't going to elaborate on that, I asked, "What do you need from me?"

"That is not the real question, I am thinking," he hummed, from somewhere deep within himself, "For now, you will be guided by Little Strongheart," he indicated the buffafoal that had supported me on occasion these last few hours, "and we shall speak further once we reach our home."

I took this as leave to go, bowed towards my host slightly, and withdrew from his temporary abode. Little Strongheart trailed me back to my campsite and gazed at me, expectantly. Her name stirred within me a recognition and it took me a moment to place it before I realized: this was one of the people who had been involved with the Appleoosan incident. So I asked her, "Aren't you from one of the tribes that lives within Equestria?"

Startled by my bluntness, she didn't reply at first. But she cleared her throat, and did, "I think you are talking about the tribe of my grandfather, Thunder Hooves?"

I nodded my assent, implying for her to continue. She took the hint.

"After the peace treaty was signed with the Appleoosan ponies, my grandfather decided to send me out with his cousin, Jumps-Higher, to learn the old ways of living. He feared that I would become too entrenched with the modern pony's way of life, having seen the quickness which with they built Appleoosa, or having witnessed one of their powerful trains. He was worried I would lose touch with my heritage. So here I am, learning the ways of a medicine buffalo- from one of our greatest teachers."

"So Jumps-Higher is a true buffalo then, in the greatest essence of the word?"

"I have never met another of the same stature".

I pondered this. I had journeyed from Equestria, in search of the wild peoples, and they had found me. Also, I had ended up in the camp of one of the most revered of their race... Perhaps greater forces were at work.

She interrupted my reverie by apologizing, "It truly is getting late and we march out at first light. Perhaps you should get to sleep, Rose, I will wake you in the morning."

With that, she left me to my own devices and I proceeded to follow her advice, and curl up for the night.


I woke to a gentle hoof-shaking on my shoulder and I peered into the innocent eyes of Little Strongheart. The camp was mostly packed and ready to go, and within half an hour we were off again.

As we travelled, I decided to ask the buffafoal about the general philosophy of her people, so I posed to her this question, "What is most important to the tribe? Is it the individual and their rights? Is it the general happiness of the community? How is 'good' measured?"

After an interval of thought, she finally replied, "For us Buffalo, there is just the earth we sit on and the open sky. The Spirit is everywhere. Sometimes it shows itself through an animal, a bird or some trees and hills. Sometimes it speaks from the wasteland, a stone, or even some water. What is important is that we respect the Great Spirit and all that it resides in."

This was a vague answer, and so I tried to get her to elaborate, "What do you mean? Who is the Great Spirit? Who does it reside in?"

I could see her struggle to get the right words out, though I did not fault her. After all, not many foals could articulate the philosophy of ponity in any sufficient manner. Eventually she said, "It's like this... To you they are just birds, to us they are voices in the forest."

It made sense... But not, at the same time. So I focused on the walk and the scenery, unable to get a proper grasp on her mindset.

Around noon-time, we crested a lovely hill and I got my first very first view Jump-High's village. A thin trail of smoke was drifting lazily to the clouds, emitting from a bonfire in a dirt clearing. Looking down from atop the hill, I could see the thatched roofs of semi-permanent dwellings- crude circular houses assorted around that central plaza- the whole settlement surrounded by sporadic trees that eventually thickened into a deep forest. At a lower elevation than the village was a clear lake, sparkling with purity.

The land was truly wild here, the air fresh, the scents crisp. I smiled at Little Strongheart and our group began to follow a path single file, down towards the waiting homebodies.

When we got there, I received a few strange looks but not what I would consider enough for what was probably the first time a pony had ever been here. Only two days out of the border, yet this was still uncharted land.

Apparently I was to be stuffed in a corner again, to be forgotten about until later, as everypony was already caught up in hurrahs of greeting. So I settled, and it was not until the sun had started to set over the lake that I received my summons. I followed Little Strongheart to the hut of the Chief, and she beckoned for me to enter.

He was lounging inside, surrounded by a cloud of sweet incense, burning into the air from a tray of delicate clay.

"So." He rumbled. I cocked my eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue. "So," he repeated, "you are the one that they send us".

I gave him an astonished look. "What do you mean, they sent me? I came here of my own volition. For that matter, how did you know who I was?"

He gave me a look that I imagine must have been reserved for petulant children and those who ignore obvious information. "The Spirits told me".

"What spirits?"

"Those who have been, who always are... Those who reside within all of us."

It was scandalous. I had traveled for weeks on end, to come out to this wilderness like a virgin for sacrifice, only to be told about some other religion. Furious, I got to me feet, ready to take my pack and start hiking back to Equestria.

"Where are you going, silly pony? If you tried to leave now, even if we didn't stop you, the timberwolves would get you, or perhaps you would run out of food and water on the way back and simply collapse from exhaustion. Do not act rashly."

I realized that I really was a prisoner out here, only alive at the discrepancy of the one before me. There was no chance I would get back without any help. So I asked, "what would you have of me?"

"For now, nothing. But if you have any questions, now would be the time to ask them."

"Well then Chief, how about you tell me about yourself? What's going on here, all that."

He chuckled at my obstinance, knowing it was all show. "Very well, I shall start from the beginning. I was born and raised in what is now Equestria, among the tribe who live where Appleoosa now stands. Chief Thunder Hooves is my cousin, and we were the last of our kind to be raised completely in the old ways. So even though I learned of life partially through the scope of the pony-kind, from being in close proximity with them, I still had that bridge back into our ancient wisdom. Eventually, I took it upon myself to go visit those who live as my ancestors did, farther west than any pony has gone and I found out many great truths. I developed a connection with the living spirits of this earth, and they helped me to create this tribe. Now I am teaching Little Strongheart, my cousin's granddaughter, the ways of the medicine."

"What spirits are you talking about? It sounds almost like you're thinking of a Unicorn's magic."

He scowled at this, and proclaimed, "These Spirits are the original medicine, the original technology. Your unicorn magic is a young, snot-nosed upstart compared to the old ones whom we worship."

"So why am I here? It's like you had some purpose in mind for me."

Apparently this buffalo easily changed his mood, for at this his frown turned into a full grin, and it looked like he had to stop from guffawing, "You tell me, why are you here?"

So I began to summarize all of my qualms with the status quo, evoked my opinions on the continued expansion of Equestria, and for the first time had the opportunity to hoist all of my frustrations on a sympathetic party.

I finished with the sentence, "... and so I felt morally compelled to leave, hoping that somepony would have the answers as to how to stop the destructive machine."

His smile was long gone and he finally said, "I have never drawn the picture together quite like that, though I see mostly the same problems as you. This land-theft is a new concept among our people, for we do not believe that anyone can own the ground beneath our feet, the mother who raised us all up. So naturally, ponies see us as wasting the land which they leave to us. Maybe it's a good thing they would not let us buffalo keep that land. Even the area around your capital city, Canterlot, was once ours to run upon. Think of what would have been missed: the motels with their glowing signs, the pawn shops, the gift shops with their "Genuine Buffalo Crafts", the saloons, the life-size statues of magical beasts. If that land belonged to us, there would be nothing there, only trees, grass, and some animals running free. All that real estate would be going to waste!"

I could do nothing but assent my agreement. After a moment, he asked me a question which I would hardly know how to answer.

"You, little Rose pony. You are unique among the equine-folk, as far as I have seen. Perhaps the Spirits guided you here for that reason. In any case, I wish to take you on a vision quest, for it should harden your resolve- show you the path which you must take. Will you come with me now, to recognize those whom you have been blind to your whole life?"

I nodded, and Jumps-High stretched onto his muscled legs, and beckoned for me to follow. We started towards the dark strands that marked the beginning of the forest, and I heard him tell me to stay close. After a little while, the trees began to grow spaced and we found ourselves in a bright clearing, the moon shining down on us.

"Let me tell you," he began, "about a message that the spirits recently passed to me. These are beings of light-energy, essentially, so they can travel fast and far and hear things when certain ones think they are alone. It was only two months ago when one familiar little Spirit came to me and let me know that he had overheard a meeting discussing the territory we now stand on. I was informed that one day from today, tomorrow, a battalion of Canterlot guard will be sweeping the countryside in order to determine a good place for a new settlement. I was shocked! It had not even been twenty moons since we signed a treaty with Celestia, barring her from further expansion. It seems that it only took word of good soil to bring the ponies back to sniffing around. Naturally, where we are settled now is the only good soil around here. Well, this friendly Spirit also mentioned a certain pony was starting to have doubts about her place in society, so I made sure we had watchers waiting near the border. This Spirit told me that you would be receptive to their messages, so they wanted me to take you on a vision quest. Have you anything to say?"

It was the moment I had been waiting for. "Yes," I uttered, barely able to contain my excitement.

So the chief offered me a hoof-full of what looked like moss, told me to chew it up, and walked out of the clearing.

This is what I found in my notes the next day. I do not remember much of anything.

His dark brows beetled together as he drew himself to his full bearing. Nostrils wide, he snorted a puff of air that misted in the cold before beginning his tale. Rumbling out of his deep chest, the first notes of his song began. Four low bellows reverberated, humming long waves of sound. Four times he bellowed those four notes- washing upon me reams of vibrations that streamed past, morphing the world into strange forms during the same instant that I thought I had it already known.

Strange hues danced around the corners of my vision, whirling colors I had never seen before, each pattern telling a story about itself, the whole of the stories telling one of a much grander scale. I drifted towards the front line of an army of trees, staring them in the faces as they used the wind to shake their leaves at me. One of them bent down and whispered in my ear: I heard it tell of infinity, of timelessness. Hushed, it told me of dreams and the cosmos; it showed me the structure of the universe.

A wavering string, that was all.

A wavering string, resonating, tearing things into and out of reality to the tune of four notes.

Who is the singer?

The creator

Who is the creator?

A useless question.

What is?

Everything.

I woke to find these notes scrawled in my collection. Clearly, it is my own hoof-writing yet I do not remember having ever pulled out my quill. That even such a small level of coherency was achieved in a state that I cannot remember is remarkable, I think.

They say that this was my first vision quest- that I had experienced the spirit realm for the first time, for to have a genuine vision was to be in contact with those of a higher consciousness. Yet I still do not know. In any case, I woke up feeling more complete, much fresher than I have in a very long time.

I see Little Strongheart and she's telling me that it's time to pack up, that the Canterlonians are coming soon and that we're going to shelter in the forest grove. So I finish this sentence and pack it up.