//------------------------------// // Legends // Story: By and by // by Bysen //------------------------------// “I am a buffalo. And you are a pony? A child female?” “I’m not a child, I got my Cutie Mark. That means I’m an adult!” Pinkie said happily, despite her fear, remembering what her late Granny Pie had told her. “A buffalo? I thought you people only lived down in the badlands?” “’Badlands’?” the buffalo questioned as he stepped up onto a flat rock near his fireplace and sat down. “You know, the desert. Down south where ponies don’t live.” Pinkie said. She was shaking and nervous. She’d said a few things wrong already. ‘you people’ calling his home ‘badlands’ and saying that nopony lived there. “Come, sit. I will tell you of my people.” he said, lifting a hoof and motioning for her to sit on a rock opposite him. She hadn’t moved from where she’d lay before and only did so now very hesitantly. She approached slowly and took a seat, making sure not to point her rear in his direction. “You are scared of me.” he stated. “No I’m not.” Pinkie lied. “You are shaking. I apologise for what happened earlier.” “I’m not scared!” Pinkie insisted. Pinkie lied… “If I was scared, why would I come and speak with you?” “You are brave to speak to me, this is true. But bravery doesn’t not mean you lack fear, it merely means you do not let it control you. You would be honoured amongst my people for such acts.” he stated as Pinkie finally made herself comfortable on the rock. It wasn’t as comfortable as the rocks she had back at the farm but they did always keep the best rocks for themselves after all. One of the many benefits. “Thank you?” Pinkie said with a tint of confusing. She wasn’t too sure if that had been a compliment or just that speaking in his weird way. “Can I ask you something?” “You may.” “Did you have a fire going about a few hours after now, but yesterday? I saw some smoke from the road and thought there was a forest fire.” “I did. Though I do not think you have to worry about a fire. The ground is rich with water and though the trees look as if dead, they are very much alive. I found that out yesterday. I thought the tree dead as it was devoid of leaves, perhaps dried during some drought, but when I went to burn it in my pit, it let out very much smoke. Living wood has much water in it and does not burn as clean as dead wood. I am not used to the trees around this new home.” “Well, that’s good news I guess. I live on a farm not too far from her and a fire would’ve really been bad.” Pinkie cheered, she was becoming less scared of this big lug by the second. “I apologise if I scared you then too, young one.” “It’s alright. And you can call me Pinkie Pie. What’s your name?” “My name is not important.” “Sure it is. All I’ve got to call you so far is ‘Mister Monster’ and I’m sure you don’t like that name. So what’s your name?” “I will not say. My name is my name and you may not use it against me.” “Use it against you? What are you talking about?” “My people live in peace. For the moment. There are many tribes and we oft fight one another. To know our enemies name gives us the advantage, that we know them. To give one's name is to give one's soul. I will not give you my name to be used against me.” “Well, I told you my name so even if I were use it against you, you’d have just as much power over me, so c’mon tell me already.” “I said I will NOT!” he yelled, bringing a small bit of fear back to Pinkie. It was a deep part of his customs. While she was not a buffalo and doubtfully knew any of the shamanistic magicks to use his name against him, he knew one thing about her. “You have not told me your true name.” “My name’s not true?… you must mean how I changed it a few weeks ago. My name used to be Pin…” “I do not wish to know. I will call you Pinkie Pie and I will not use it against you.” he however, did know the shaman’s magicks. He was a shaman. Emphasis on ‘was’. “Well then, how about I give you a name that I can call you.” “That is acceptable.” “Yay!” Pinkie cheer, jumping from her seat and then landing back on it, legs instantly tucked perfectly back under her. “Ok what do I know about you? I found you by this rocks, you’re a buffalo and you’re very zen. Hmm…” Pinkie pondered what he was pondering. “I know! I’ll call you Bysen, get it? Because you’re a bison, I found you BY these rocks and you’re so zen!” “I do not know what zen means. But I am fine with this name, you may call me Bysen. And I shall call you Pinkie Pie.” “Yippy!” Pinkie cheered as she clapped her hooves together. “I can’t wait to tell my family I made a new friend. Especially somepony, err, someone like you.” “I would rather you didn’t. I am new to this land and I do not wish to meet any ponies.” “But you met me.” “Yes. I did.” he said flatly. Though he wouldn’t say it, but he was surprisingly happy to have met this child. “I’m not a child remember. Cutie Mark.” “My apolog…. wait, how did you?... never mind.” “So how long have you been here?” Pinkie asked. “Since yesterday. I have travelled many a moons until I came to this place.” “Wow, you must’ve come really far. But if you don’t want to meet new ponies, then why did you leave and come here?” “I am a shaman. Or I was set to be one. I am but a young acolyte and when I became of my tenth year I began my rite of passage. I set out on a spirit quest to speak with my ancestors. I went off into the wilderness and communed with the spirits. They gave me a vision. To go north. So I returned to my village and told my elders of the dream. They told me to follow my vision and so I did. I travelled for more than a full seasons until I found this place.” “What’s so special about this place? It’s just a gloomy old forest.” “That is how I thought it too. Until I found these.” he pointed his hoof towards the white marble pillars. “The bones of a dragon.” “These are dragon bones?” Pinkie jumped up and went over to one, poking and knock on it. “I didn’t know dragons where this big!” while she had only ever seen three dragons as they’d passed over her farm, even from so far up in the sky, none had been this big. These were easily five times the size of the ones she’d seen. “These are indeed dragon bones. And these are indeed very large.” Legends tell of the Dark Queen who beguiled and enslaved my people millennia ago. She ruled us and fed on what little joy we had. She ruled for seasons untold until a great dragon, far larger than any alive today, larger than any that ever did or ever will exist again, fought her for control of our people. A dragon as big as he needed as much food as the Dark Queen’s entire people. When he won, my people disappeared. For while they lived in sorrow under the Dark Queen’s rule, at least they lived. With this new dragon king, he would eat them and our people would be soon facing extinction. Or so they had all thought. Instead, he freed our people from the slavery of a ruler and let us form our own tribes with our own chieftains and elders. We thanked him and celebrated him. But the battle had taken a toll on him. We offered him gemstones in numbers uncountable, but he did not last. In less than a moon he passed. And from his passing, the Dark Queen returned. But she could not harm us. He used his body, his very bones, to form the mountains, to form the great standing mesa of our lands to shield us from her kind. And so, our people worship the dragons. That such powerful creatures would give of themselves to save us lesser beings. “At each set of remains I passed, I paid my respects to their spirits. And then left them be, continuing until I found these. I saw it as a sign. That this is where I was meant to be. For what reason, I do not know. For how long, I do not know. And if I will ever return to my people... I do not know.” Bysen let out a sigh at his last words. “That’s so sad. I mean the story sounded good, and kinda sad too, but I mean that you don’t know when you’ll see your friends again." Pinkie could only imagine what that would be like, "Would you like to be my friend?” “Perhaps.” “Great!” Pinkie squealed. “I’ll come by every time I can. I’ll come tomorrow and the day after, and not the day after that, but the day after that I will. I’ll come every day I can, I promise!” she beamed, her smile wide and her teeth even seeming to sparkle a little bit. “That sounds… good.” he said, with a slight smile coming to his face. His people didn’t usually socialise with the other races, but he liked this pony. Something about her just made him feel… happy. ~ ~ As Pinkie bounced through the gate to the farm she saw her mother running up to her. Before she knew it her mother had Pinkie on the ground holding her tightly, stroking the back of her head and crying. “What’s wrong Mom?” she asked but got no response. Not for a while at least. Both Inkie and Blinkie soon came to see what was happening. Both of them looked worried yet also happy. “Your father’s out looking for you… where have you been!?” Bonnie replied at last. She didn’t stop crying though as she pulled away and looked her daughter in the eyes. “There was a fire yesterday, I was right. I went and got the bag and then I headed into the woods where I’d seen the smoke coming from and it was really far in there but then I came across this camp where someone had set up a small fire last night and that’s where the smoke was coming from. See I wasn’t lying, there was a fire so there’s no need to ground me.” But that didn’t stop her from crying. They hadn’t grounded Pinkie for lying, they’d grounded her for scaring everypony. And she’d scared them far more now. “Two more weeks. No, three! A month! You’re grounded! You’re grounded and not to leave this farm AT ALL!!!” she yelled and shook Pinkie a little as she did. “B-but I…?” “I was so scared! You were supposed to back hours ago! I thought something had happened and now you’re father’s out there. He’s been looking for you for hours! I’m so glad you’re ok... I’m… so…” Bonnie couldn’t say anymore as she cried her eyes out and just kept hugging her daughter.