Lessons for a Benevolent Tyrant

by Hustlin Tom

Chapter 9

The great Red Wastes of the west spread out before Princess Celestia and Starswirl as they materialized into existence once again. Great plateaus and ridges of large rock spired into the heavens all around them. The sunlight of the rising dawn played across those jutting towers of stone to create an artist’s dream of mixed colors; purple, red, blue and yellow. Though barren but for some sparse vegetation that clung desperately for life to the shaded canyons farther out, the landscape was absolutely beautiful for its rugged simplicity.

“I’ve never been this far west before,” the Princess idly commented to Starswirl.

He nodded as he looked out across the wide landscape, “Very few ponyfolk have. It is still very much a wild place, and I’ve seen many strange things here. Parts of the landscape here were not so kindly blessed with life when you and your sister projected the energies of the Elements of Creation out to the world, and the land is still both tainted and harsh from the Before Time.”

The two of them heard a hissing growl carried along the wind that sounded like two stones being ground together. The sound was bone chilling as it caterwauled into the early morning across the various rock formations.

The Princess’ shook her head to rid herself of the influence of the paralyzing sound, “Was that a Canyon Cougar?”

“I believe it was,” Starswirl said as he mused on the banshee-like wailing, “Let’s just be thankful for our intangibility should we come across one. They’re furious beasts, those stone cats. While Timber Wolves seem to be the forests’ elemental guardians, the Canyon Cougars are the Red Waste’s dominant predator. Their teeth are made of sandstone, and their eyes are glowing turquoise.”

“How are we supposed to learn about Honesty from them?” the Princess asked.

“We’re not. Our teachers are to be the Buffalo Nomads.”

“I see. I remember them being a kind folk,” Princess Celestia said as she reminisced. As she recalled times long ago, she began to grimace, “I still remember Chieftain Red Plain as he declared that his people would seek this place as a sacred home for their nation for all eternity. They said they were looking for where the sun fell every night. I tried to explain to them how the sun doesn’t fall to the ground, but they didn’t understand.”

“They may not be astronomers or philosophers,” Starswirl quipped, “But the Buffalo Nomads are wise to the secrets of the earth. Let us ascend,” the unicorn sage pointed to a large plateau to their right, in the direction of the northwest, “From there we can see what it is the proud Buffalo cherish most.”

The Princess and Starswirl floated upward under his spell, their immaterial forms slowly rising up to meet the edge of the large elevated slab of rock. As the two of them cleared the top, Starswirl set the two of them down on the ground, and made them solid once again. They walked across the craggy surface of the plateau, avoiding the large crevices that lead far down into the earthy depths at the heart of the rock formation. The Princess expected Starswirl to continue talking as he had been before, but he remained silent. The sun cleared the plateau’s edge that they had first come from, just as they were about to reach the other side. Starswirl stopped at the edge of the plateau. Princess Celestia also stopped when she reached his side. She gazed out to see that a large portion of the horizon was not colored with the red earth, but was instead masked with dark blue.

“What are we here to see?” the Princess asked.

Starswirl shushed her, “Wait patiently,” he whispered, “This is our destination, but watch.”

The sun rose higher, and the land before them became more visible. A valley full of green grass, plentiful with different kinds of teepee dwellings met their eyes, but the focus of the valley from this vantage point was a lake. The sun’s rays were like magic, as the light it created played across the unbroken green and blue surface of the water. The Princess gave a tiny gasp of awe at the beautiful spectacle of nature, and Starswirl nodded knowingly. The lake simply did not end, or at least that’s what it seemed. It stretched far off, miles upon miles, until it disappeared against the rolling deep blue and purple of the retreating night sky.

“Down below is the Buffalo encampment,” Starswirl pointed to the largest cluster of teepees, “where we will hold talk with Chieftain Mournful Sparrow.” The unicorn gave a slight bow to the Princess, and gestured towards the little community, “After you, Tia.”

She nodded and smiled, “Why thank you, kind sir,” before walking off the edge of the plateau, plummeting to the dark red valley floor below. She opened up her wings and pulled up, gliding serenely toward the edge of the encampment. As she was about to touch down on the earth below her, Starswirl appeared right next to her in a burst of azure-grey light.

A young buffalo scout saw the two newcomers approach; he made no reaction but to continue to observe them silently.

“Hello there!” Starswirl raised his right forehoof in greeting, “Tell your Chieftain that we are fellow sojourners. We would seek to join him on the path of wisdom.”

The scout made no response but to turn and run back into the camp.

“And now we wait?” the Princess looked to Starswirl.

“And now we wait,” he sighed, “the Buffalo are not ones for hastiness. It may be several hours before we are permitted to enter the Tent of Meeting, if we are allowed at all.”

Suddenly, a messenger buffalo ran up to them and stopped, “Welcome, expected ones, to our humble gathering. Please, follow me.”

The Princess looked to Starswirl who merely shrugged, and the two of them followed their guide into the Buffalo community.

“How are we expected?” the Princess asked.

“It’s one of their cultural curiosities,” Starswirl replied, “The lake’s shores are littered with turquoise and other gems, which the Buffalo use in some of their ceremonial potions. Shamans claim that some of the more powerful elixirs offer them some limited precognition of true events, rather than the best guesses I can make with my time travel spells.”

“So their way of peering into the future is better than yours?” the Princess smirked as she tried to goad her friend.

The unicorn sage sputtered, “Of course not! My spells are more fun than theirs any day! Where’s the joy in waking up every day knowing exactly how it’s going to happen? Besides, I like the guesswork that comes with my method.”

Comments

[Csquared08]

Oooo, Buffalo. As much as I enjoy what you've done with Starswirl and Celestia, I'm really liking all this extra world-building on the side.