My Little Kirin: The Lost Tribes

by Soothing Stone

Meet the Niriks

There were varying emotions among the party on the way to town. Moonstone was suspicious of everything; if anything so much as looked at him the wrong way, he was ready to punch them out. The guards were with him on that, because that was what they were trained to do. Autumn was the polar opposite in comparison. She was near the front of the group, and her excitement could barely be contained.

Meanwhile, Kunzite found herself right in the middle. She grew ever more curious of what was ahead, but her scaly friend had a point. These were strangers, and she knew her history well enough to see this could mean trouble. But they had means to defend themselves if things went south. Hopefully.

The kirins escorted them down the valley between the mountains. It wasn’t quite as dense as Autumn’s village, but it had its share of trees and bushes. Moonstone noticed that the mountains surrounding them had a lot of caves dug into the peaks. Usually, that meant a lot of dragons lived inside them. Yet another red flag in a situation full of them.

Not helping were the glances he felt from the tour guides. After more observation, he noted that they treated each member of the party differently with their stares. With Autumn, it was like meeting a long lost friend. When it came to the guards, they didn’t seem to care. Kunzite got a lot of attention and whispers behind their backs. When it was his turn, it sounded like nothing but contempt. Not really helping their case, there.

“What can you tell me about your village?” Autumn butted in. “Is it nice? Are you all safe and sound? Do you have just one tribe here, or two? Sorry, I just have a lot of questions, and I want to ask them all.”

“We are safe and sound here,” the tour guide spoke quietly. “Everything else, we’ll let the chieftains of our tribes answer those for you. They can address them better than we could.”

“TRIBES?” Autumn was ready to explode. “You mean...oh my gosh...I finally found you both, and I wasn’t even trying!”

“Sounds like someone is excited,” Kunzite smiled. “I’m really happy for you. Hopefully, things go well once we’re there.”

Moonstone shrugged and kept his eyes glued to the mountains. Every now and then, he swore he saw someone up there. If there were dragons here, things could get hairy quickly. Well, other dragons than him.

After a few minutes walking through the forest, they came into a wide, clear field. It was possible to see for miles in all directions, including the two closest mountains. Off in the distance, they could see a cluster of small buildings, even smaller than that of Autumn’s home. There were rivers of all kinds dotting across the town, some shallow and some feeding into lakes. As soon as Autumn saw it, her heart soared. Without another word, she darted across the fields as fast as her legs carried her. She didn’t need to be told what it was. She already knew.

The kirin were surprised by her speed. “Is she always this enthusiastic?” one of them asked.

“Not like that,” Kunzite commented. “She’s been looking for this place for years. This means more to her than you can imagine.”

The rest of them continued on their way, with Autumn beating them by a country mile. As they got closer, the village started to come into focus. Much like the place they just left, this one was harmonious with nature, but in its own way.

For one, it was more open aired. Unlike the treehouses that rose up in the air from Autumn’s home, all the buildings were firmly planted on the ground and stayed there. None of them were bigger than two stories, and most were just one. On top of that, a lot of them rested by the rivers. It didn’t hurt that the rivers were dotted with boats. However, they were all metal in design, mostly for one reason.

When Kunzite and Moonstone observed the people that lived there, they were almost all Niriks. Very rarely did they find a kirin that wasn’t covered in flames. Even the kids and teens were Niriks here. Yet, just like the scouts that discovered them, they didn’t appear to be angry. Emotional, yes, but not enraged.

“That’s different. I didn’t think I’d ever see a whole village of Niriks like this,” Kunzite commented. “It might have happened once, but that was a long time ago.”

“What’s a Nirik?” Moonstone questioned.

“It’s what happens when a Kirin gets so upset, they get angry and turn into flames, just like everyone else here,” she explained. “A few decades ago, Autumn’s tribe lost control and nearly burned the entire village down. But these kirin aren’t like that at all. In fact...huh. That explains why nothing’s burning down yet. These buildings are fireproof.”

Unlike Autumn’s village, containing a lot of wooden houses that could catch fire easily, a lot of the houses and buildings were made of stone and other materials less prone to fires. One kirin brushed her hand across the walls to make sure they were nice and clean. Despite the flames coming from her Nirik form, it didn’t even spark to start a fire.

“So they found a way to stop everything from burning down. Yeah, don’t think any dragons are gonna be interested in pillaging this place,” Moonstone poked in.

“Not funny, Moonstone.”

“Wasn’t meant to be.” Anything to get his mind off the dread in his mind would be enough for now.

The Niriks kept their attention on the visitors, and their reactions to the party mirrored the scouts: Didn’t care about the guards, grew intrigued by Kunzite, seemed to dislike Moonstone on sight. A lot of them started to crowd around Kunzite.

“Princess, we can push them away from you if you give the command,” Silverstrike noted.

“No, it’s okay. I don’t think they’re going to hurt us.” She noted the flames on the Niriks as they came closer. The heat was tolerable on them as they grew near, and their clothes didn’t burn away from the fire.

“I didn’t know we’d find another kirin like you,” one villager noted. “Where are you from?”

“I’m from Ponyville. It’s a long story, but I’m kinda like royalty, but you don’t have to bow to me. Hey, why don’t I introduce you to my friend? He’s a dragon.” She pointed him out to the kirin here.

“Another dragon from the Lands,” another villager balked. “We don’t need you around here. We’ve seen the cruelty of your brothers and sisters, and we don’t need that kind of death and destruction around here.”

Moonstone clenched his fists and growled under his breath. “What did I do again? I just showed up with Kunzite, you love her at first sight, and I get treated like crap. Did I fly over your puppy or something?”

“He does have a point. We’re just here to find you and make sure you’re alright,” Kunzite agreed. “Please, try to be nice to him.”

The Niriks couldn’t believe their ears, but they nodded. “We should still keep a close eye on him,” one whispered under his breath.

Just before Moonstone heard that to make things even more awkward, Autumn ran in and couldn’t stop squealing in delight. “This place is amazing! They have their own stage for plays, just like us, and they found a way to get around the Nirik flame problem! Come over here, somebody wants to meet you!”

“Right now? But we just got here,” Kunzite said. “We need a moment to explore and get to know--”

“Let’s go meet this guy already,” Moonstone interrupted. “I dunno how it’s going to go, but it can’t get any worse than...this…” He stared right back at the villagers, who were still giving him suspicious looks.

“Fine. Silverstrike, Marine Wind, keep an eye around the town. If something looks off, tell me right away. Wow, my first letter to Mom and Dad is going to be a long one.” She went with Moonstone and Autumn to see who this person was.

Eventually, they were taken to one of the rivers, a smaller one that was still big enough for fish to swim through. They found someone there, kneeling and looking past the surface. He was a little small, maybe five and a half feet, and his dark blue fur was accented by the brown kirin fluff around his face. He dipped his feet into the river and got into a zen state of mind. His robes were a little fancier than the normal kirin fashion there, but not enough to blow them away.

Autumn approached him like a lot of ponies with Celestia: Complete awe, not sure what to say, and maybe a little intimidated. “Um, hello there. Are you the leader around here, or did I get the wrong guy? Don’t mean to intrude on your water thing here.”

He cracked his eyes open, and the sight before his eyes made him intrigued. “I might not be the only one overlooking this village, but I am the leader of one of the two tribes here, yes. My name is Streaming Sea. Sorry to disappoint if you were looking for someone else.”

“No no no, we wanted to meet you!” Kunzite countered. “That means there’s two tribes here, yes?”

“Indeed. My dear friend overlooks the other tribe dwelling here.” Autumn and Kunzite squealed together in delight, and his ears rang from the noise. “Am I missing something here? I don’t see how that’s important.”

Moonstone rubbed the temples on his forehead. “It’s not a big deal for me, either, but it’s a huge deal to them. I just came along for the ride. Really, it’s just because your tribes have been missing for a while from the rest of the world.”

Streaming Sea was astonished. “Have we? It doesn’t feel that way to us. We just found our own corner to protect ourselves from the dangers of the world, while keeping our culture and history intact. Is this really that much of a surprise?”

“I was looking all over Equestria for this place,” Autumn pointed out. “You’ve been missing for a couple of decades!”

“Hmm. It’s odd to be considered missing when you haven’t moved in a while. It doesn’t matter. I presume your search is over now--”

“Why is everyone in the town Niriks?” Kunzite butted in. “Isn’t that really dangerous?”

The kirin stepped out of the water and used a towel to dry off his legs. “It appears that we’ve accepted guests of the inquiring mindset. Perhaps there is a better way to answer all of them in one sitting than to answer them one by one.”

“I don’t really have any questions,” Moonstone said. Then he realized Autumn was even giddier than before. “Uh, what’s that about?”

“Do you mean...THAT way?” Autumn asked.

“Yes, we have a play for such occasions. Would you like to see it?” Sea continued.

She shrieked in delight. “See it? I want to see it right now!”

Kunzite was intrigued. “That would be a very interesting way to learn what happened here. Count me in.”

“I don’t have a say in this, do I…” grumbled Moonstone. “Well, not like it can get any worse.”

------

It got worse.

He found himself sitting in front of a stage where some of the kirin up there had dragon costumes in the background. Judging from the designs, this wasn’t going to be the most favorable depiction of his species. It didn’t help that there was a sizeable crowd coming to watch, and the only kirin that weren’t on fire there were Autumn and Kunzite. Well, save for the actors, but that almost doesn’t count when they have to wear costumes.

Kunzite picked up on his discourse and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it will be fine, and it means a lot that you’ve stuck around this far. You didn’t have to stay with us after we got here. Not like it seemed you wanted to.”

“I don’t. But I’m not leaving you here until I know it’s safe out here. Doesn’t something about this place rub you the wrong way?”

“Other than the way they’ve been treating you? Not really.” Speaking of which, they could still hear murmurs from the Niriks heading his way. Of course, there were the excited whispers for her, too.

After some preparation, Streaming Sea stood up on the platform. Behind the stage was a massive boulder, and they had painted the sides of the rock to give the impression of a wide air landscape for the background. “My fellow Kirin and Niriks, it is always a privilege to recount the history of our tribes, but especially so on this day. We have guests to observe this play. Ladies and gentlemen, Autumn Blaze and her friends.” The audience applauded for them respectfully.

Autumn sniffled and stood up. “Hey, everyone. It’s an honor to meet you all for the first time. But enough about me. Let’s get this show on the road!”

Streaming Sea couldn’t stop grinning, and he motioned to the actors in the back to get ready. He stepped to a corner of the stage and cleared his throat. “Some of our elders can recall a time from our former home, where we lived peacefully in the jungles and mountains. We were two separate tribes, yet there was no strife between us.”

Two groups of actors, wearing clothes that were closer to Autumn’s in style, came into view. They stood on the opposite ends of the stage, tending to normal village life. One was involved in knitting, gathering food, and running amok, while the other was busy scouting the parts of the “land” the stage represented. “Of course, we knew of each other’s existence, and became friends over the years,” Sea narrated. A member from each tribe came to the middle and shook hands, greeting each other with a friendly smile.

“So much information. You could write a book about this, assuming Autumn doesn’t beat me to it,” Kunzite thought. Autumn was tearing up from the production so far.

“We lived in harmony with the land, and grew proud of our cultures and union. But anyone who knows their history, knows that peace and quiet never last forever,” Sea continued. He was visibly upset with the next part of the play, though it wasn’t clear if it was part of the show or for real. “We have the Dragon Lord to thank for that.”

Moonstone watched in shock as the actors with the dragon costumes rolled on stage. They growled at the tribes and pretended to fly around them, and the kirin ran away in fear. The audience grew uncomfortable around this part of the play, as they tended to do.

“When we picked where to live, we had no idea that the Dragons made their homes nearby. Because of that foolish decision, we soon became prone to pillages and invasions of our homes, sometimes led by the Dragon Lord himself.”

Another actor stood up, and Moonstone would recognize that design anywhere. It was uncanny how much it looked like Torch, with those colors and that snark he always had on his face, no matter what was happening. The dragons swarmed around the Torch player and growled in unison.

Kunzite gasped and watched Moonstone’s face closely. Seeing his fist clench to the side wasn’t helping her fears one bit. “Please don’t get angry…”

“Let’s see how this goes before I do,” he stated.

“Dragon Lord Torch was fearsome whenever he raided our lands, and we didn’t know how to stop him,” continued the narrator. “As a result, our villages were often decimated anytime he came by to play.” The dragons left the kirins be, leaving them upset and collecting the pieces from the latest raid. After they did the best they could do, they all joined together in the middle.

“What do we do about them?” one actor spoke. “This is unacceptable. We have done nothing to deserve this. We have to fight back!”

“Fight a dragon? Have you lost your mind?” another actor shouted. “We cannot just fight them and live. You’ve seen what they can do. We have to find another way.”

The conversation turned into a shouting match, everybody angry, everybody upset. They couldn’t agree upon anything. It was complete chaos, with the dragon actors still in the back to remind the audience what was at stake if they did nothing.

Kunzite got up from her chair and hugged Moonstone before it could continue. He just sat there, and he was too shell shocked to say anything. The silence only terrified her more than before. The silent kind of anger from him was scarier than the loud kind.

In the meantime, Autumn was on edge like the audience was. She was too naive to see how Moonstone was taking it, as she was wrapped up in the plight of her fellow kirin. It didn’t help that she was learning this for the first time, which made it hit harder for her than almost everyone else here.

“Eventually, one of these tribes came to a solution,” said Sea. “One that would be dangerous, as history has told us, but one that would teach these invaders what happens when you cross the wrong person.”

One group stopped their complaining and stepped up to the front of the stage. One by one, their form changed into flames, and they took the form of the Nirik. “We have the power of the Nirik on our side, and we’ll use that to fight back!” They stood proudly as the audience erupted into applause. The other group, still in the back, watched in terror.

“Are you crazy?” said one kirin. “You’ll destroy everything we’ve been working hard to achieve! You’ve seen the dangers of something like this. Many villages were burnt to the ground when we lost control of it. You cannot go through with it!”

“Nonsense,” one Nirik stated. “We have our own way of fighting back, and we will not give them another chance to take our lands again. This is the only way. Aren’t those dragons you hear out there? They are coming to invade again right now!”

Right on cue, a lot of the dragons came back to attack the Kirin. The tribe that stayed in their natural forms cowered in fear again, while the Niriks stood by in defiance in front of the invaders. The dragons swooped in and faced them directly, “growling” to show who was boss. Yet, the Niriks stayed still like a rock. They growled and threw the dragons off balance with their presence. To make it even better, they shot flames from their bodies, and the invaders were terrified that anyone stood up to them for the first time in, well, maybe ever. The Niriks took step after step their way. That made them even more terrified of the villagers.

“The dragons tried to fight back, take the treasures they stole before,” said Streaming Sea. “They thought it would be the same story, where they would come in and take what they wanted, but it would not be the case this day. In fact, they ran away after a long, hard fought victory for us.”

The dragons looked at each other and tried to figure out what to do. Realizing it was a lost cause, they turned tail and ran off stage. The audience rose up to their feet and clapped louder than Kunzite heard in a long time. The actors almost broke character with how emotional the reaction was.

The kirin tribe saw that the dragons left, and they bowed before the Niriks. “We are so sorry for doubting you,” a villager apologized. “We owe you everything in the world for saving our lives and homes.”

“Do not feel like you owe us anything. You, too, have the power of the Nirik on your side,” a Nirik countered. “Use that power to defend yourselves as necessary, and you can stop a dragon in their tracks.” Moonstone’s fist clenched even tighter at that line.

One by one, the Kirin of the other tribe turned into Niriks themselves, leaving the stage well lit from all the flames on their bodies. They stood together as one collective unit. True harmony, as Twilight would have said once.

“We were finally safe from the dragon invaders,” Sea continued, and he had to stop himself from swelling up in pride. “I remember those days when I was just a little child, and I can still recall how relieved my parents were when we realized we had won. No matter what we did, though, it was only a matter of time until Dragon Lord Torch came by again. The retaliation would be fierce when he got word of what happened. Therefore, there was only one course of action to take after this.”

The Niriks came together again and packed their bags of the belongings on stage. “I wish we didn’t have to migrate,” one of them commented. “Still, we’ll be safe if we leave here. They’ll never find us where we’re going.”

So that’s why they went missing for so long, Kunzite thought. They moved to hide from Torch. But he hasn’t been the Dragon Lord for over two decades. Why are they still hiding?

Moonstone was lost in his own world while things were continuing. Like things couldn’t get any worse, now he was surrounded by people that likely saw him as a monster. Yeah, join Kunzite and Autumn on a cool adventure. What could go wrong? EVERYTHING.

As he continued to digest all the crap going on, he heard a whistle of the wind. That noise, that specific tone, it was familiar to him. He heard it all the time back home. Did that mean what he thought it meant? There was no way they were all the way out here. Right?

“We left our homelands together, two tribes united into one, and we came to the land you all call home today. On our way there, however, we were greeted by the best surprise of our lives,” Sea went on. “One that would change our lives forever.”

Once again, the audience were on the edge of their seats. Their gaze turned to the mountains around the valley, and the visitors were curious what was up there. Sea brought his hands to his mouth and whistled a song, one that sent goosebumps to anyone who knew it well. Soon, Kunzite and Moonstone were going to get goosebumps of their own from the sound.

When the song reached into the sky, the mountains soon swarmed with dozens of winged creatures. Some of them were as big as Torch, some as small as Moonstone. He couldn’t believe it. They were all dragons. Some of them were as fierce as any he had ever seen, and it left him reeling.

Kunzite gasped and tried to make sense of it. “Oh my gosh, those are dragons, aren’t they? You guys have dragons?”

“I think they have dragons,” Autumn stated. She was just as stunned as they were, if not more so. “Kirins and dragons, living together? Well, other than you two. Now I’ve seen everything.”

“Yes, we found dragons on our way!” Streaming Sea shouted. Some of them stayed up on the mountains, but others swooped down into the field. None of the villagers were upset by their presence. In fact, a lot of them were hollering and cheering on the top of their lungs. Two of the biggest dragons of the bunch touched down next to the stage, one blue and one red. Their wingspans had to be dozens of feet, if not more. No better way for Moonstone to feel like an insect than seeing fully grown dragons next to him.

The actors were in awe of the beasts next to them, and it might not have been in character that time. The dragons soaked in the applause and bowed before their welcoming party. The fact that there was a teenage dragon and Equestrian Kirin in their mist was not overlooked.

“To our astonishment, a herd of dragons were migrating to the same land we were traveling to,” Sea explained. “Not every dragon was satisfied with Torch’s rule, and many of them broke away on their own and looked for a new place to stay. Little did they know, they’d be crossing paths with us.”

An actor faced the red dragon and got down on one knee. “Please, we’ve come a long way to arrive at our new home. We shouldn’t fight each other like this any longer. Haven’t we both had enough of it?”

“Oh, you’re having this play again, are you? One of my favorites,” the dragon noted with a deep voice. The blue dragon shot him a stern look to put him in his place. “I mean, we haven’t come here to fight, either. We’re looking for a new home of our own, and we don’t see the use in fighting you for it. Look above. There are mountains up above that we can dwell in, and you can rest here in the valley. Perhaps we can come to an understanding.”

“Yes, we agree!” another actor responded. “Perhaps we can cultivate this land into something beautiful together. If we combine the might of the Nirik with the might of the Dragon, nobody will ever think to fight us ever again.”

“Indeed,” the blue dragon, a female one, continued. “We’ve had enough of oppressing the ponies under Torch’s rule. It is time to move on from that kind of thinking.”

Moonstone nearly left his seat. “I’ve had enough of this,” he whispered to Kunzite. “He might have raided Equestria a lot of the time, but he’s still my granddad.”

“I understand, but think about what he did,” she pointed out quietly. “Equestria was scared of dragons for years until your mother took over.” As she continued, Moonstone gave her a stern, yet concerned look. “But I know it’s not fun to sit through. If they were trashing my mother like that, I’d hate it, too.”

The two dragons lifted off and flew in circles around the stage, while the Kirin actors all resumed their Nirik forms and formed a circle on stage. “And so began the time of peace and prosperity we live in right now, uninterrupted for over two decades,” Sea concluded. “Everything we’ve built started with the breakthrough on that day, and it is a story of the good that comes from bravery, determination, and overlooking each other’s differences in the name of harmony.”

Everyone in the village, even those not in the audience, couldn’t stop clapping and shouting compliments at the play. The actors all bowed, including the dragons, from the reception. It seemed like this play always drew an enthusiastic crowd, despite being told many times. Autumn was even among the kirin supporting the play, up until she caught how Moonstone received it.

In comparison to everyone else, he was deep into a cloud of angst. He crossed his arms together and had to do everything in his power not to snap. Maybe it was his pride getting in his way, maybe it was seeing someone in his family get that kind of treatment. Either way, he fussed and tried not to make eye contact with the dragons by the stage, despite the fact that all their attention was on him.

“Hey, it’s over now,” Kunzite tried to comfort him. “They’re not going to do it again anytime soon. It can’t get any worse from here.”

“That’s what somebody says before things hit the fan,” he retorted. “If you like it here, it doesn’t bother me. It’s probably paradise for you. It’s just not for me, and they know it. To them, I’m just another dragon from the outside that would burn down the village if I could.”

Autumn wasn’t too happy to hear that. “I liked the play, but it probably would feel like a slap in the face if I was a dragon. You have every right to be upset.”

“Oh? I haven’t thought about that,” Streaming Sea noted, coming up right behind Moonstone. “It’s just that we haven’t had any dragons from the Lands come to visit in awhile. I must apologize for that, and for the treatment of some of the dragons here.” A lot of said dragons were paying close attention to Moonstone and his kirin friend.

“He’s just been having a rough time here so far,” Kunzite admitted. “Still, your play answered a lot of questions, and I think Equestria will learn a lot about this.” She pulled out her notebook to show all the notes she took during the play. It was at least four pages long.

“I feel so bad for you guys,” Autumn continued. “I had no idea you left to hide from…” She was aware Moonstone was ready to burst, so she kept it simple. “...bad things from happening. At least things are getting better now.”

“That they are.” Sea brought a hand to Autumn’s shoulder. “But that’s in the past now. You see what we’ve accomplished out here. No need to fear about our safety. Torch won’t find us here.”

The crowd left the area along with the actors, and Moonstone kept an eye on the dragons, both near him and the mountains above. It took him a while to wrap his head around dragons living like this. Even in Equestria, that was rare to see. And then he heard the last few words from Sea. “What do you mean, Torch won’t find you here?”

“Yes, I’m certain he won’t be happy to know that there’s dragons living against his rule, nor too thrilled that they’re protecting our tribes. Oh, you should meet the leader of our other tribe. He’s out on an expedition, but I’m sure he’ll be happy to meet you all, especially you,” he said to Kunzite.

Kunzite gulped. “Dragon Lord Torch, yeah.” She was about to continue, only to see Moonstone freaking out and waving his arms to make her stop. “That is one mean dragon. I’m sure glad he’s not around to fight us, heh heh.”

“Wait, didn’t Torch step--” Autumn tried to explain. Before she could continue, Moonstone came over and came between her and Sea.

“Yep, he stepped on ponies and told everyone who’s boss.” He started to sweat a little bit from the mess he created.

Streaming Sea raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, that certainly sounds like Torch hasn’t changed a bit from my colthood days. Oh well. Go ahead and check out the rest of the town, get to know how things work around here. It won’t be long until my friend comes back. You’ll like him, Mr….what are your names?”

“I’m Kunzite, she’s Autumn Blaze, and he’s Moonstone,” Kunzite introduced them.

“Hmm. I like your names. Mr. Moonstone, I think you’ll enjoy talking to the higher up around here. He goes by Ivory Steam, and he’s just as fiery as you are. Until he comes back, go out and look around. I’ll be around if you need anything.” He left them to themselves, and things sure got awkward when he went on his way.

“Why didn’t you want us to tell him about Torch stepping down?” Kunzite asked. “They clearly have no idea your mother’s Dragon Lord now. Don’t you think they have a right to know?”

“They do, but something is off about it,” Moonstone countered. “Don’t you think it’s fishy that they’re all interested in you? Everything about this place is wrong.”

“Hey, this is just a different kind of village,” Autumn motioned. “Nothing wrong with it. Wait until I tell everyone back home about it!”

“What she said,” Kunzite agreed. “They’ve been treating you like a monster since we got here, but you’re not helping when you get angry like that.”

“Haven’t they given me every reason in the world to get angry? We just met, and they already don’t like me at all,” Moonstone noted. “And it’s not because I’m a stranger.”

Kunzite sighed and rested her hands on her hips. She couldn’t think of anything to say, and she stared off in the distance. It didn’t help when Moonstone stayed quiet as well.

“Maybe you guys should take a break and cool off?” Autumn proposed. “You two are good friends. We can get through this, right?”

“That’s probably a good idea. I need to write a letter to my parents, anyway,” Kunzite said. “I should let them know we found the village.”

“Good idea,” Moonstone sighed. “Not too long, though. If I’m going to stay here, I want to be around people I trust.” Kunzite was surprised to hear that. Before she could say anything, though, he already left to go to his own corner of the world up in the clouds.

“I really hope I didn’t screw things up,” she said to herself. Autumn came over to give her a hug.

------

Dear Mom and Dad,

There’s good news and bad news. The good news is, we found the tribes! They were just where Aqua said they’d be. They moved out west to hide from Torch back when he was Dragon Lord(I wonder what he’d say if he heard that) but they’re safe and sound. They even have dragons guarding the village! They seem to be friendly, too. Just like you, Dad.

The bad news is, they don’t like Moonstone. They don’t seem to know things have changed between dragons and ponies, and they think every dragon outside of the village is mean and stupid. He’s gotten the cold shoulder ever since he got here, and I feel really bad for him. He’s not enjoying it out here, but I’ll try to convince them that he’s a good dragon.

Autumn’s really happy about this discovery, of course. It’s like she’s finding a member of the family for the first time in years. I’m just really worried about what’s going to happen, though. Moonstone thinks something is wrong about the village, and I believe him. If things go south, I’ll let you know. I drew what the Kirin here look like, and they really seem to like their Nirik forms.

I miss you guys so much, and I promise I’ll write another letter this evening. Dad, does it ever hurt when you have to belch the letters out all the time?

Love you so much,
Kunzite

------

Dragon Lord Guys,

This place sucks. Yeah, we found the kirin village and my friends are happy, but I’m not. They all kinda don’t like me, and they have a thing against Granddad. He’s really rude and keeps saying I’m a speck of dust in his eyes, but it’s not like he was the worst dragon ever. I can think of ten dragons that make him look nice.

But whatever. I’m here to keep Kunzite and Autumn safe, and that’s what I’m doing. No matter what happens, I’m not gonna leave them here in a village like this. I don’t know what it is, but something’s wrong. But who cares? You guys know I could just punch them out if things get bad. That’s what I do.

It is weird being out on my own like this. Not because I’m alone. I’m really not. But this is the first time I really feel like someone is depending on me. Like, if something bad happens to Kunzite, it’s on me because I should have protected her from it. We need to look after each other while we’re here. I dunno, just a weird feeling I got.

I don’t think I’ll be here long. Kunzite and Autumn get to know the kirin here, they make new friends, and then we get outta here. The sooner, the better. Didn’t think I’d ever miss sleeping on a pile of gold.

See ya later,
Moonstone

Author's Note:

Poor Moonstone...

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