My Little Kirin: The Lost Tribes

by Soothing Stone

First published 12th of February, 2019

The daughter of Twilight and Spike and the son of Ember set out with Autumn Blaze to find the lost Kirin Tribes.

Kunzite was the daughter of Twilight and Spike. An Equestrian Kirin, carrying the traits of her parents in a form rumored to never exist. Moonstone was the son of the Dragon Lord Ember. Just as tough as any dragon, but something unseen set him apart. They seemed to be as different as they could, but like their generation before them, they would still find common ground. Namely, the feeling that they would need to work together to stop a threat in the future.

As it turned out, Autumn Blaze has been hard at work uniting all the kirin tribes over the years. It's gone rather well, except she's had difficulty finding where two of the tribes have gone. When a stray kirin comes out of hiding and claims she ran away from the lost tribes, Kunzite thinks that might be worth investigating. Roping Moonstone into it, the three of them set out to find what happened to the kirin village, not sure what they'll find...

Part 3 of the My Little Kirin saga, set 21 years after Shadow Play. Reading the first two parts is not required, and you can read the Recap if you want to start here, or just need a refresher. Part 1, Spike Finds Love At Last, can be found here. Part 2, How To Raise A Kirin in 12,371 Steps, can be found here.

Edited with the help of Salnalus.

Recap (Recommended For New Readers)

When Spike arrived in Ponyville, everypony in the world figured he would end up with Rarity. It felt like it was in the cards for them. He was madly in love with her, and she admired him for his qualities and character. A lot of the time, she’d ask him for help on designing a dress or fetching gems from the caves in town. It seemed like a surefire thing, and they’d be happy together, right?

As it turned out, that wouldn’t be the case. She turned him down when he finally gained the courage to ask her out, and it took him a while to get over the rejection. She even found another stallion to fall in love with, although she made it clear that she only turned Spike down over how young he was. It never had to do with his personality.

A few years passed after the letdown. He still wasn’t over it when he hit adulthood, and he wasn’t happy about it. It left him with some scars, yes, but he needed to get over her if he really wanted to get over it. After he went over his options, he decided to turn to the pony that was always there for him, Twilight Sparkle. Maybe she could teach him how to talk to girls so he could finally meet the one for him?

And then things got messy. He developed feelings for her, and he wasn’t certain how to handle that. She was like a sister to him, and now he wanted to go out with her? It took him a long time to come forward about it, but he gained the courage to ask her out. It came as a surprise to the princess, but she decided to give it a shot after deliberating about it. It would be awkward at times, but she was curious where this would go.

It turned out to be the best thing to happen to them in a long time. Things blossomed between the dragon and the alicorn, and they fell in love. After they got used to this arrangement, they ended up getting married. It was a happy marriage, but anyone who knows them knows it wasn’t going to be quiet for long.

After some time passed, Twilight was pregnant with their first child. It would be a scary time, as they weren’t sure what their foal would be like. They were the first dragon and pony, possibly ever, to have a kid together. When the time to deliver arrived, they were shocked at the result: Twilight gave birth to a kirin, though not the kind of kirin Autumn Blaze was. This was one was closer to a dragon-pony hybrid. They weren’t sure what to expect from her in terms of magic and abilities, but they settled on her name: Kunzite.

The newly born Princess Kunzite was taken home, and despite some growing pains(now that’s an understatement), Twilight and Spike loved her very much and went out of their way to raise her right. Then they found out that she was a freak of nature, with almost as much potential for magic as Twilight herself. And then she could fly. Oh yeah, that was one part of Spike she inherited, the dragon wings.

Kunzite gained a lot of attention from Celestia and Starswirl the Bearded. They knew Twilight and Spike would want to learn all they could about their foal and what kind of creature she was. That sent them out on a journey to investigate a rumor of another kirin like her out in the world. Starswirl heard of it before, but he didn’t believe it at the time. Just like most rumors, there’s some truths hidden among them all.

There was indeed another kirin like Kunzite, going by the name of Wildfire, hidden deep into the forests by the Dragon Lands. He was born around the same time as Celestia and Luna, and he found out that any kirin both from the pairing of a dragon and a pony are born with a special destiny, not unlike a Cutie Mark. His special destiny? Stopping the then-Dragon Lord, Torch, from invading Equestria when Celestia and Luna were still fillies. Given that Torch ended up doing nothing, safe to say Wildfire succeeded at his job when he confronted the Dragon Lord over his plans.

When he found out that there was another kirin like him in the world, he set out to investigate for himself. He was shocked to see that Celestia wasn’t pulling his leg; there really was another member of his species. With that knowledge, he warned Twilight and Spike that their daughter would inherit a destiny of her own, and it would likely be linked to someone else in the world.

Sure enough, there was another child being born in the world around the same time: The child of Dragon Lord Ember and Fizzle--if you were shocked to hear that, it may be a comfort that everyone was surprised at the pairing. They had their first egg around the same time, and when he hatched, they dubbed him Moonstone for the blue colors of his scales. It wouldn’t be a coincidence that the two kingdoms had a child born at the same time, and Wildfire knew it. The surge of magical energy Kunzite sent out after his hatching further cemented the kirin’s theory. Odds are, Moonstone would play a role in Kunzite’s story, and vice versa.

With all that out of the way, it’s time to see what they’re up to, as their special destinies come out into the light...

One Generation Later

“Wow, you look incredible.”

“You’re just saying that because it’s me. I should have gotten a dress or something. Are you sure they’ll want to talk to me?”

“Hey, I’m not just saying it because you’re my daughter. You really do look good, and they’ve been waiting for you all week. This is something they want to do. Trust me, you’ll do great. Just be the wonderful woman you already are, and it will be over before you know it.”

She peeked out the curtain and saw the crowd. “Oh my Celestia, that’s a lot of people. Here goes nothing, and I trust you. Let’s do this.”

“That’s my daughter. Don’t worry. I’ll introduce you to the stage. That will make things a little easier on you.”

The students were busy talking with each other in the meeting hall. There was a good representation of every species there, from dragons to griffons to changelings to ponies. It wasn’t just ponies with a few other members in there anymore. This turned into the school of choice for everyone, not just everypony.

They shushed and rose to their feet when a seven foot, green dragon walked on stage. He wore a buttoned down white shirt and black pants, rather fitting for someone who took up a part time teaching job here. “You can go ahead and take your seats, class. No need for formalities here.” They sat back down and grew curious where the real guest was waiting. .

“For those of you in your first year here, I’m Prince Spike of Equestria. Good looking guy, I know.” He slicked his head spikes back, getting a chuckle from the students. “But you’re not here for me. You’re here to meet someone very special, and I’ve heard how excited some of you are to meet her. You see, here at the School of Friendship, we try to showcase different cultures, viewpoints, and species here. Headmare Twilight’s probably gone over that speech a million times, but it’s true.

“Today’s guest speaker is someone I’ve gotten to know very well over the last eighteen years, and she is truly wonderful. Good with magic, she can fly, and if you break one glass strand next to her, you’ll get to know her bad side.” The hall erupted into laughter again. “With that out of the way, here she is: my daughter, Princess Kunzite!”

The hall stood up again and applauded the guest speaker. She was around five feet six inches tall, with a mixture of pony and dragon features. Two twin, deer-like horns were on top of her head, and her face was mostly pony-like. Well, save for the scaly chin that went down to her belly, not that one could tell with her casual shirt and jeans. Her wings had the base of a dragon with the feathers of a pegasus. Her feet were clawed like Spike’s, and her pony fur and scales were all purple, the scales being lighter in color.

Yet, her unique features would not be the first thing the students noted. They would instead see a timid young woman waving to the audience, obviously nervous standing in front of a crowd in the triple digits. Spike stepped aside to give her the podium. While she was terrified of taking the stage, it was a relief to see that so many came to talk to her.

She struggled with the notes placed in front of her on the podium, and she adjusted the mic on the stand. “Um...hello, everycreature, is it? Wow, there’s a lot of you out there. Were you all happy to see me, or just happy that you didn’t have class at this hour?”

“Both!” a changeling shouted. That made everyone snicker, and Spike was one disappointed dragon from the laughing. Twilight would not approve.

“Alright, then, let’s get down to business. My name is Princess Kunzite, but you can just call me Kunzite. If you’re wondering what I am, I’m what they call an ‘Equestrian Kirin’. That’s different from the normal kirin in that they’re mostly ponies, but I’m half pony and half dragon. That’s because my mother, Headmare Twilight, was a pony, and my father? Um…” She pointed over to Spike’s direction, almost like he didn’t know who he was. The nerves were still getting to her.

Some of the ponies and dragons were taking notes about her. With her hearing, she could catch all their pen and pencil scribbling as clear as day. She took a cloth and wiped some of the sweat off her face, looking to her father for some moral support. He gave her a thumbs up and a smile. That was enough to gut through to the next moment.

“He’s that guy over there. Anyways, I’m sure you have a lot of questions about me, and this is a Q&A session after all. The floor is now open.”

A griffon raised her hand. “So you’re the only Equestrian Kirin, right? There’s not any more of you?”

“Um...well...there’s one more. He’s my teacher, Wildfire. He’s a pretty smart guy, if a little rude. But that’s it. If there’s more out there, we don’t know about them. It’s kinda weird, and I’d like to find out if there’s more of us out there. Next?”

Spike took a sigh of relief. He could see Kunzite relaxing a little bit, and that’s all he needed to see from her. Just keep going, you’re doing great…

Next to step up was a dragon. “You’re a half pony, so does that mean you get a Cutie Mark, like ponies do?”

Kunzite paused for a moment. She didn’t count on questions of that nature this day. “I-I don’t think so. I’ve gotten close to nature and learned about magic, friendship, and more about griffon cooking than I ever thought I’d learn.”

The class laughed in unions, save for the griffons themselves. Their pride was hurt that everyone wasn’t aware of their great cooking.

“But I don’t believe I get a Cutie Mark like my mother does. Wildfire told me that I have a special destiny like ponies do, so that’s something.”

“Do you know what that is?” The dragon replied.

The question made Kunzite freeze in her tracks. She gave it a lot of thought quietly, and the silence rang through the room for a while. The silence went on for so long, the students looked at each other. Spike debated on going on stage and intervening to help her out. Every second she was quiet, it only grew more awkward with time.

Realizing her nerves were getting to her, she took a long, deep breath. The exhaling couldn’t have been more peaceful to her if she tried. She inhaled once more and placed her hands on the podium. Exhaling that breath brought her back to where she needed to be.

“I’m not sure yet,” she admitted. Spike sighed from relief. “It’s just like everypony’s Cutie Mark. You can’t force yourself into figuring it out. It just happens, right? Everypony agree with me?” The pony students nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Though, you should always study hard in whatever you’re good at, and who knows? Maybe it will happen when you least expect it. I sure hope so. Any more questions?”

“Do you have more magical power because you have two horns?”

“No. I’m not as powerful as an alicorn, we found that out. Still, I got a pair of wings out of it, which I wouldn’t trade for the world.”

“Who’s your favorite parent?”

Her father freaked out over that one. It’s like picking a favorite child. If she said Twilight, he would be deflated. If she said Spike, he was going to get an earful about it from someone.

“That’s not a good question. I can’t just pick one.”

And then the dragon prince relaxed. Good, good, she wasn’t stabbing him in the heart. Maybe he can breathe--

“Although, I think I can easily tell who read the most books. That would be Spike. He has the biggest collection of comic books I’ve ever read.”

The hall filled with laughs again, while he groaned and slapped his forehead. That was supposed to be a secret! Nobody could know that he was that big of a dork. Then again, his wife did have a nerdout with Dash over Daring Do’s books….

On the plus side, the rest of the class went smoothly. Kunzite was able to relax and answer every question without another incident. It wasn’t long until the thirty minute session came and went. Just like Spike told her, it was over before she knew it. She would be just surprised as the students when the bell rang for next period. It wasn’t long until the meeting hall was empty, save for Spike and Kunzite. Well, save for the discarded papers and books among the rows.

“Did I do good?” Kunzite pleaded to find out. “It was so scary up there. There were a few moments where I lost my cool, didn’t I? It happened again. I really need to work on that.”

“You did great,” Spike interrupted. He hugged to prove he really meant it. “You might have been nervous here and there, but they threw everything and the kitchen sink at you. Yet, you never stopped or ran away from the stage like the last few times.”

Kunzite blushed at the memories. “I still remember that, Dad.” After she got over that, she clasped her hands and couldn’t stop grinning. “Mom’s breathing exercises really did work! I wasn’t anxious when I stopped to do them.”

“That’s my Kunzite. When breathing exercises work on your mother, they can work on anyone.”

“Now that you mentioned her, where is she? I didn’t see her anywhere in the hall.” She looked around the place, just to make sure a certain purple alicorn wasn’t hiding somewhere out there.

“She’s still at the kirin retreat with Autumn Blaze. It’s supposed to continue for another couple of days, but it’s going well. Autumn hasn’t lost any of her zeal over the years.”

“Oh.” She gazed down at the floor and kicked the dust off her feet. “I forgot about that. It might be important that we get along with everycreature, but it would have been cool if she was here, too.”

“I know, Kunzite, I know,” he admitted, and he rubbed the back of his head. “It’s one of the worst parts about being a princess, being gone from home all the time. She wanted to make it up to you, though, so she did something special. Once you’re done with Wildfire’s lessons this afternoon, you can come with me to Autumn’s village.”

Kunzite’s jaw dropped from the news, and she couldn’t be happier if she tried. So happy, in fact, that she glomped Spike to the floor. “Really? I can go with you down there? That’s wonderful! Full of nature for miles in every direction, interesting creatures, and there’s Autumn’s singing on top of it all! I can’t wait!”

Spike groaned as he laid on the floor. “Hey, you’re stronger than you look…”

“I’m so sorry!” She got off her dad and gave him a hand to get back up to his feet. “It’s just so much fun when we get out of town. Not that Ponyville’s bad, it’s just that...forests, grass, exotic cultures, oooh, I can’t wait!”

“Heh, something to look forward to when you’re done. Speaking of which, doesn’t Wildfire’s lessons start in an hour from now?”

“Is it?” She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was just after 1 in the afternoon. “You’re right! If I hurry, I can make it!” She spread her wings and lifted off the ground. A gust of wind scattered papers everywhere as she zoomed out of there, crashing through the doors as fast as she could.

Unfortunately, that left a mess for her father to pick up. He rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the discarded paper and books, but he couldn’t help but smile. It didn’t feel that long ago when Kunzite was just a foal, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to handle raising an Equestrian Kirin at the time. It still had its share of scares, but it also had its share of memories he was never going to forget.

Still, he wondered about a certain dragon he had gotten to know over the years as well. How was he doing, again?

------

Valleys and hills raced past him in a blur. He extended his arms as he picked up the pace, cutting through the wind trying to wrap around him. How long he had been going for, he lost count at ten miles. It wasn’t far enough. He had to keep going further than he did the day before. It wasn’t like he couldn’t pull it off. He knew he could do it. It was only a matter of making himself do it.

He was a young dragon, with blue scales and a white underbelly. His spikes were sleek and small, and he was tall for his age. It was true that he was thin, but his body carried a lot of muscle to it. And yet, his stature wasn’t the most important thing right now. He just wanted to see how quick his wings would carry him today.

It didn’t take him long to find the mountain ranges out in this little corner of the world. The air turned cold around him as he grew closer to them. It made him feel more alive, trading the hot temperatures of his home for a climate that created frost on his scales. Oh yeah, this is where he wanted to be. He hoped this range went on for a while, because he needed something like this. The huge gust trying to push him the other way only encouraged him. He could take it. He was a dragon, after all.

However, he noted that someone else was here with him. It was merely a grey dot on the blue horizon at first, but it was coming his way at a nimble pace. He extended his claws in case this stranger was someone he couldn’t trust, which was usually the case. How often did he come across someone that wanted to kill him, and he came out on top anyway? He lost count of that, too.

The figure came into focus, and he murmured in disappointment. It was merely a griffon, one in his thirties or forties. Judging from the huge grin on his face, it was going to be one of those obnoxious griffons he dreaded having to deal with. Let’s just get this over with.

“Hello, dragon!” the griffon cheered, cementing his nerve grating appearance. “Have you come here for a challenge?”

The dragon shrugged and went on his way. He didn’t need this right now. His wings lowered to get below the griffon and continue on his path. That should send the message that he wasn’t interested. He turned his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t followed, only to notice the griffon was doing just that. Great. Just what I needed, someone to tail me.

The griffon continued to follow him for a half mile. A few mountains passed them by, as the wind current turned to support them. “Do I sense hesitance, hmm? You wouldn’t dare admit that a griffon bested you?”

“I don’t care about that!” the dragon snorted. “You leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone!” He raced as far away from the thorn on his side as he could, and he couldn’t go fast enough if he tried…

...mostly because the griffon was going just as fast as he was. “Come now, I know who you are. I wouldn’t dare walk away from a fight against the Dragon Lord’s own son, would I? I’d give you all the gold in my knapsack if you win.”

“That’s why you came all this way?” retorted the dragon. “Look, I don’t know who you are, where you came from, or what. I just don’t want to fight right now!” He scrambled out of there at once, only to stop in his tracks when he found the griffon floating right in front of him.

Suddenly, the griffon’s friendly demeanor gave way to one almost as icy as the mountain air. “I insist, Prince Moonstone. I did not come all this way to be told no. You will fight me, or I’ll follow you to the ends of Equestria. I will have my fight with you on this day.”

Moonstone grumbled and cracked his fists together. “So that’s what you wanted, huh? You really think fighting me is a good idea. Just great. Be careful what you wish for.”

“And why would I be careful when I get exactly what I want? Isn’t that what every griffon and dragon desires?” He raised his fists and got ready for combat, being enough of a gentleman to let his foe have a moment to prepare himself. The moment passed. He lunged at Moonstone with a punch aimed right at his chest.

The dragon took a deep breath and let the griffon come to him. He could hear the wind current break against his enemy’s feathers. This was going to be too easy. Surely, the griffon would wonder why he remained completely still, but that would be his undoing.

The fists hit nothing but air. The griffon was astonished when the dragon prince seemingly vanished into thin air. He scanned everywhere with his eyes to find where Moonstone went. Only problem was that he didn’t look down.

Moonstone’s fist collided with his chin with an uppercut. The griffon squaked from the hit; it was a miracle his jaw didn’t break. As he was flying in the air from the blow, Moonstone grabbed his right paw before he could recover. To make matters worse for the poor bird, the dragon started to swing him round and round the place. The blood started to rush to his head when the swing picked up in speed. Maybe he was starting to regret this now.

Finally, he had enough and let the griffon go. He screamed as he flew a long distance across the range. It wasn’t long until he disappeared once again into the horizon. The landing wouldn’t hurt, but it wasn’t meant to. It was only designed to put some distance between them.

“When you get what you want, it’s always worse than what you pictured,” Moonstone stated coldly.

Now that the griffon (hopefully) learned his lesson, the dragon went back on his way. There was still a lot of ground he wanted to cover, with not enough time left in the day. Wisely going the opposite way of the griffon, he went on further into the mountain range. He needed it to get the blood pumping, but he was aware of the place these mountains led up to. No matter how far he flew, every flight ended in the same place. It was inevitable.

The mountains started to turn from ice to dust on top. A lot of them were active volcanoes Instead of a blue horizon in front of him, he saw one that was full of ash and other dragons. It gave him a weird feeling whenever he came back home. It was home, but it wasn’t always his favorite place to be. It had its charms and pitfalls alike. At the very least, there wouldn’t be any annoying griffons foolishly trying to pick a fight with him here.

After he got deeper into the Dragon Lands, a few dragons his age started to fly around him. “Hey, Moonstone, you found any good gems out there? I’m starving!” one of the dragons, green and muscular, complained.

“Sorry, didn’t find anything today,” Moonstone replied calmly. “Aren’t there any gem deposits here?”

“All the good stuff’s out in Equestria. Everyone knows that!” a female dragon, barely a teenager, noted. “You’ll share anything good you find out there, right?”

“Yeah, not like I need it all to myself--”

“He won’t share. He’s the Dragon Lord’s son, remember? We touch a scale on his head and she’ll hurt us real good,” another dragon interrupted.

Smoke snorted out of his nostrils. “No. She. Won’t.” He separated himself from the rest of the pack swiftly and went on his own way home. Thankfully, it wasn’t far from here, and he would be in the clear for a while. Maybe. Probably not. He never knew most days.

The cave he called home was embedded into the side of a rocky hill. He made a point not to look too far to the left as he went inside the cave entrance. It was a simple place, not too big but not small enough to feel cramped. It just the right size, but he knew he’d have to move once he got bigger. That would be Future Moonstone’s job to worry about.

LIke any dragon worth their salt, he had a hoard to call his own. It was small, like a lot of things there, but it was full of awesome stuff. Golden coins from a long lost griffon treasure, a good share of gems for food, a throne belonging to Princess Platinum herself, all the things he could dream of. Although, it might be best that he never tells his best friend’s mother who that throne belongs to…

As he came up to the hoard pile, he made sure nobody else was around to watch. So far, so good. He brought out a lot of gold coins hidden in his wings and grinned. “I didn’t need your gold, griffon, but don’t mind if I do. Funny how you don’t notice things when you’re swinging around in the air.” He tossed them all into his gold pile, and he was content for once. Maybe he could snack on a fire ruby, sit down, and relax.

Fate had other plans for him. Or, rather, another blue dragon he knew very well.

“Wow, this pile’s a lot bigger than the last time I was here,” a familiar voice rang out behind him. “I’m really proud of you, Moonstone.”

The spines on his back shot up. That was a voice he would recognize everywhere. “Moooom! Don’t come up behind me like that!”

In the years since Ember took the role of Dragon Lord, she had grown up a bit. Now standing at seven and a half feet tall, she was still small enough to fit inside her son’s modest home. It wouldn’t be long until she joined the bigger dragons in the lands.

“I know I promised to not surprise you like that, but I couldn’t wait,” she grinned. “I found something off the coast of Griffonstone, figured you’d want to have.” She extended her arm out and showed off a collection of diamonds and emeralds in her grasp.

His eyes glistened from the sight. “Are those...real diamonds? Not the cheap kind they sell in Equestrian stores? I don’t see those very often.”

“Nope. They’re from that time Griffonstone had an emperor or king, I can’t remember. Here, you can take it.”

His eyes were still glistening from the sight. When was the last time he saw a spread that beautiful? There was no denying they looked tempting, but something about the offer bothered him. He grabbed just half of the pile and added it to his collection.

“Why you’d only take half of it?” Ember puzzled. “It was all for you.”

“Yeah, Mom, it was nice of you. Here’s the thing: Everything in this cave, every coin and diamond, I found it and brought it in myself. I really want to make this my place, make my own name other than ‘Princess Ember’s son’.”

“So they’re still giving you crap over it?” She sighed and rubbed her temples. “You can’t let them get to you.”

“I’m trying to do that, but I should still try to make a name for myself when…” He spread his wings out and pointed to them. “I molted a few years ago now. And it feels like it’s really hard to do when your cave is so close to mine!”

He was right. The thing to the left of his cave that he refused to look at? It was Ember’s own home, less than a quarter of a mile from Moonstone’s.

Ember frowned. “I was afraid it was getting to you. Look, kid, you’re still young, but you’re very strong, and you know how to take care of yourself. But there’s going to be times when you can’t do things alone. You’ll need the help.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“You heard the story of how I became Dragon Lord?”

“Only a million times.”

“Here’s my point: I couldn’t do the Gauntlet by myself. If it wasn’t for Spike, I would be at the bottom of the ocean right now. We worked together to get through every obstacle, and we were stronger for it.”

“And you don’t think I can’t do it all by myself?”

“Not at all. You did really good with this cave.” She walked around the cave and admired the throne chair he had in the middle of the room. “Just want to be there when you need someone around.”

Moonstone took a deep breath and let it out. “Thanks, Mom. I just can’t see anything dragons can’t do by themselves. We’re good at that, aren’t we?”

“We are. Trust me, though, you’re gonna need the help sooner or later, whenever it’s me or your friend.”

“My friend? Oh yeah. I’m supposed to meet her soon. Wildfire’s lessons and everything. Ugggh, almost forgot about that…”

Moonstone calmed down enough to talk like a reasonable dragon after that, and Ember kept him in touch with all the happenings in Equestria. He wasn’t sure why he’d have to learn about that stuff, but who knows. It was possible it was tied to something special he’d had to go through one day.

After they were finished, Ember went on home to her cave. Moonstone watched her leave from the entrance, dangling his feet over the edge. He thought he was alone at last, but that wasn’t the case. He still had one more visitor.

“She’s something else, isn’t she?” yet another familiar voice noted.

“You’re here, too?” Moonstone groaned. “You gotta stop surprising me, Dad. You got that from Mom.”

Fizzle was resting his back on the wall of the entrance. Like Ember, he had grown up considerably over the years, though not as much as his mate had. He rubbed his chin and watched Ember fly off.

“It’s just a habit. But you gotta know that she’s talking out of experience. She’s learned the hard way that you can’t get through life alone, and she’s just scared that you’re trying to do that.”

Moonstone sighed and didn’t have anything to say. He crossed his arms and looked up to the sky.

“Hey, I know she can be overbearing, but that’s because she loves you. She’s really grown to appreciate family, and she doesn’t want to shove you out of her life because you molted.”

“Yeah, yeah. But it can be too much. I just want a moment alone every now and then, you know?”

“I do. Don’t worry, though. She’s not gonna be like that with you forever. She respects you and your life too much for that. Hey, don’t you have a meeting to go to with those kirin?”

“Equestrian Kirin,” Moonstone noted. “I probably need to head over there now.” He spread his wings and aimed for the sky.

“I love you, Moonstone. Don’t forget that.”

He stopped in his tracks. “I haven’t. I love you too, Dad. And Mom.”

It wasn’t long until Fizzle couldn’t see him in the sky anymore.

Author's Notes:

Here goes nothing. After a few months of headaches and stuff like that, finally got started with this one. I'm really hoping Kunzite and Moonstone work well here, because the story depends on them to make it any good. It's kind of their story. Next chapter will dive a little more into them before the meat of the story begins. so stay tuned.

Learning With Fire

Ponyville had its share of charms for Kunzite. It was always nice when she could look around and see ponies walking around in harmony, getting along and making the most of the day. Not to mention, the rustic roads, the thatched houses, all the things that made Ponyville what it was, she was happy to make it her home. Her mother might have said it was simpler back when she visited it for the first time, but it was still quiet compared to Canterlot.

Nevertheless, the kirin felt truly at home when she went into the forest. Which forest? Any of them. The fresh air everywhere, watching the sunlight filter through the fields, the wild critters running among the grass, it was paradise for her. She loved it so much that she hovered above the ground when she went through it, just to make sure she didn’t harm a single grass blade. It would get to her if she destroyed even one piece of nature, she would claim. No wonder she admired Fluttershy at times. That was a pony that understood the beauty of nature like her.

The forest by the Dragon Lands was just as picturesque as the forests near Ponyville. She glided peacefully by the trees and took in all the wonderful, fresh air around her. Her ears picked up the sounds of squirrels scurrying around in the bushes nearby, and the blue sky was barely visible in the thick shade above her head. She couldn’t see that far ahead in this neck of the woods, but she had a good idea of where she was going. Given how she had to come here once a week, she learned this place like the back of her hand.

It wasn’t long until she picked up new sounds, all while her wings carried her gently into the woods. Wait, was that a hawk she heard? Her eyes turned to see if it was the case, but she couldn’t make it out for sure. She hadn’t seen one in a while, and she couldn’t wait until she did. At least there was a deer not far away. They were some of the cutest animals she only found in the forests. Too bad they were too shy to hang out with her. Her train of thought was soon interrupted with the worst sound of all: The crunching of several grass blades.

Kunzite winced from the sounds, and it was causing her to panic. She went to investigate it and hopefully put a stop to it. Whoever was doing that was getting a stern lecture, and then they would see the error of their ways. Her tone changed completely when she saw who it was.

“Moonstone? You’re already here?” she balked. “This is early for you.”

“Oh, hey again, Kunzite,” the dragon responded. He took one look at her face and got the hint. “Let me guess. I’m stepping on grass again, and it’s driving you crazy.”

“You know how much that means to me,” she pleaded. “Please?”

He sighed and flapped his wings until he came up a few inches above the ground. “Is that better?”

She nodded and smiled. “Thank you. How’s it going at your place?”

“Eh, nothing new. Hoard’s getting bigger, cave’s getting smaller, and I’m getting stronger. He’s not gonna pick on me too much this time, I hope.”

“Don’t worry. I think he’s softened up on you a bit.”

He snorted and puffed out smoke. “Barely.”

“Anyway, I had to do some public speaking right before I got here. Can you imagine what it’s like to go up in front of a thousand students? They were asking all the questions you can imagine about me and what species I am. I wasn’t scared when it happened, but now it’s over, by Celestia’s mane! I can’t imagine anything scarier than public speaking.”

“Heh, you clearly never had a fight with a twenty foot dragon, then.”

“Really? You did that? What was it like?”

“Well, he wanted my cave for himself. It might not have been mine to begin with, but I worked hard to make it mine. He said I could move it or lose it, so I told him he could lose his pride while he was at it. Was almost a goner there for a while, until I smacked him right in the forehead. Never saw him again.”

Kunzite’s eyes widened. “That sounds...really violent, but that’s what they do over at the Dragon Lands, I suppose. At least you didn’t back down.”

“What can I say? I’m good at punching. Just gotta face whatever life throws at you, that’s how you get through that crap.”

“Gotta...face it on…” She pulled out a notebook from her knapsack and scribbled it down. “Get through...c-r-a-p by facing it on. That’s a cuss word, but Mom’s not reading my diary anytime soon.”

“You’re writing notes about that? It’s no big deal. That’s something everyone learns at some point.”

“There. All finished.” She put her notes away. “Wildfire’s place shouldn’t be too far from here.”

“Kunzite, you’re a dork. At least you’re a smart dork.”

They went on their way together into the woods, keeping the distance close between them. Moonstone wasn’t exactly thrilled with what was coming up, while Kunzite was thrilled out of her mind. This day of the week meant something to them, but for very different reasons.

Eventually, the thick foliage gave way to a clearing. The directionless ground gave way to curated roads decorated with flowers on both sides. Without the worries of stepping on grass, Kunzite landed down on the nearest one, with Moonstone following her. It wouldn’t be long until the dirt roads fed into ones made of stone tile, leading up to a beautiful garden. It was filled with flowers from all over Equestria. This was too curated to be natural in its formation, and they knew who created this place very well.

Anyone would be able to tell, judging from the lone figure there. He was sitting down in the middle of the garden, crossing his arms and legs with his eyes closed. Much like Kunzite, he had a pony like form, while his belly and chest were scaled like a dragon’s. The dark orange shade contrasted with his red pony colors, and he sported two horns on the top of his head.

Kunzite halted and held Moonstone back with an arm. “Shhh. It looks like he’s doing some kind of meditation. We probably shouldn’t disturb him.”

“Meditation?” Moonstone puzzled. “What even is this ‘meditation’? He’s just taking a nap. I do that all the time. Feels better than sleeping on a rock floor.”

“Meditation is where you tune yourself with your body and spirit, calm yourself down, or something like that. I think he’s using it to get closer to nature.”

“Nature. Right. You guys really like nature.”

After all that reasoning, Kunzite still couldn’t help herself. She went into the garden to join her fellow Equestrian Kirin. He looked truly at peace with himself, and she wanted to experience that peace for herself. She found a nearby spot and sat down, spending some time to get to the same position as him. It took a moment to get comfortable, but she felt like she got the form just right.

Moonstone watched from the garden entrance. Man, he wish he had snacks to enjoy the show right now. As wise as Kunzite was, she sure could outdo her mother on the adorkable scale. He couldn’t help but snicker while she tried to meditate for herself.

After a few second went by, the gardener slowly opened his eyes. His pupils were bright teal. “Kunzite?”

“Yes, Professor Wildfire?” She went deep into concentration, focusing on the leaves of the trees around her. It wasn’t obvious if this was how meditation worked to her, but she put her all into it.

“I think you’re sitting on the grass.”

Her eyes bulged in their sockets, and she looked down to see it for herself. In all that concentration, she never realized she sat down right in the middle of a grass field. She sprung up to her feet and ran away from it as fast as she could. “Oh no! All those grass blades, all crushed! This is all my fault!”

Moonstone burst out laughing. “You really like grass, don’t you?” He covered his mouth with a hand, and yet, he couldn’t stop laughing.

“This isn’t funny, Moonstone!” Kunzite interrupted. “What if I broke one of your gems by accident?”

“Settle down, you two. Nothing to get worked up about,” Wildfire stated. He rose up to his feet and dusted his legs off. “I’ve made that same mistake out here before. It’s no bigger if you screw up every now and then. We all do it.” He looked at the imaginary wristwatch on his arm. “You got here early this time. Never did believe in ‘fashionably late’. Just a bunch of tardy ponies acting like it’s a new trend. I assume we’re ready to begin?”

“Yes, sir!” Kunzite landed back inside the garden, and she made sure she was on the dirt this time.

“Ready as I’m ever gonna be.” Moonstone straightened his back and joined the rest of the group.

“Alright. Let’s get started.” The elder kirin rubbed his hands together, and he was ready for this yesterday. “How have things been going with your practices in the last seven days?”

“I made friends with five more squirrels recently,” Kunzite cheered. “It helped that they were all Fluttershy’s so they were already domesticated, but they really liked me. Was I supposed to accept these as gifts?” She pulled out a bag full of acorns in a baggie.

Wildfire couldn’t believe his eyes. “Errr...yes. I’m not sure what you’d do with that many acorns, but squirrels like them. What the hay, you got on their good side, so that’s good enough for me. Moonstone, your turn. Make it as blunt as possible, always more fun that way.”

“I punched a griffon in the face today,” the dragon replied calmly. Kunzite winced from the thought and wondered why he didn’t share that with her earlier.

“Now now, didn’t we say you shouldn’t get into any fi--”

“I didn’t. He wanted to fight me. Trust me, I wasn’t picking fights with anybody. Still, he flew hundreds of feet from my swing. Think that tells you how strong I’ve gotten recently.” He rubbed his right arm a bit, it might have gotten sore from that nasty uppercut.

“Hmm, that makes way more sense. Self defense is fine every now and then. If you fought a griffon and came off scratch free, that is indeed a sign of strength. Just for fun, I’m gonna put your skills to the test to see how much you’ve learned for myself, both of you. Moonstone, you’re particularly going to like this one. Follow me.”

Moonstone raised his eyebrow. If Wildfire of all people thought he would enjoy this, it was going to be interesting.

The elder kirin brought them out of the garden into another corner of the forest. There, the foliage was so thick that no ray of sunlight was able to pass through. The bushes covered more ground there than anywhere else, and the grass was hard to spot below them. A lot of bird nests decorated the branches of the trees, and deer gracefully made their way around the bushes to pass through.

Wildfire sat down on one of the bigger branches in the air, and he pointed to another branch for the students to rest on. Kunzite was positively giddy being in a place like this, while the dragon remained curious about his test in the back of his head. One thing was certain with their teacher: No matter what happened, it would be entertaining.

“This is one of my favorite places in the forest, because it has the least amount of visitors from Equestria and the Dragon Lands,” Wildfire explained. “Everything you see here has been mostly undisturbed. Despite the lack of ponies and dragons that come through here, it has some of the most life. Kunzite, I want you to close your eyes, concentrate on everything around you, and tell me what you feel. Take your time, we’re not gonna rush it.”

“I’ll do my best, sir.” Kunzite adjusted herself on the branch and closed her eyes. She tuned out her thoughts and feelings, concentrating solely on her surroundings. The sounds of nature passed through her ears, and she went into a trance as she got to work. Noting how peaceful this forest was, how every sound it created had its own story to tell.

Moonstone leaned against the tree trunk to rest while she did her thing. For him, this was just watching her note through ‘meditation’ what he could see through his eyesight. The sounds of his scales rubbing against bark echoed throughout the forest.

“I hear a dragon resting against a tree. Is that you, Moonstone?” she commented.

“It’s just me. Don’t worry, I won’t make any other noises.”

“Please don’t apologize. You’re fine. It’s good that I can pick up on that, isn’t it?”

“That means you’re listening,” said Wildfire. “Keep going.”

She nodded and resumed her search for more sounds. There were so many things happening around her, from the sound of wind to the nestling of trees, it was difficult to count it all. Certain noises stood out to her more than others, however. That’s where she knew she needed to focus on.

“I feel like there’s a flock of birds arriving south of us. A lot of nests are being built for them. Maybe they’re arriving from their home in the winter. Wait, is that a deer below us?”

Moonstone glanced down below to see for himself. “Yep, that’s definitely a deer.” The creature sniffed the flowers around it and went on its way.

“I was wondering about that. Wait a second. I think there’s a breeze coming in.” Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the forest through their hiding place. It sent her mane in five different directions before it left. “That tickled. And there’s something else happening. What is it? Oh. That’s water. Are we near a stream?”

“Yeah, there’s a pretty big one fifty feet from here. I’m impressed,” Wildfire commented. “You can open your eyes.”

Kunzite opened them and sighed. “Whew. That’s a relief. I thought that stream was another thing at first, like another gust of wind. Did I do good? It wasn’t that great, I know.”

“You found a deer below us with your eyes closed, you knew a breeze was coming in a second before it got here, and you still think you bombed?” Moonstone marveled. “Why you gotta have standards like that?”

“My parents?” she meeped. “It’s really hard to compare to what they’ve done.”

“Hey hey, you did good,” Wildfire butted in. “You’ve got room to grow, but you’ve also shown improvements over the last month. Remember that much, and you’ll get to where you want to be someday. Moonstone, you’re up next. You ready for your test?”

The dragon stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. “Bring it on. You sure I’m gonna like this?”

“It involves breaking stuff, so yeah.”

They got up and left the forest for the nearest valley. There used to be a mountain next to Wildfire’s forest home, but it eroded into nothing in the last few centuries. As a result, huge boulders and chunks of rock laid in ruins everywhere there. It was desolate and empty of life, reminding Moonstone of his homeland in a few ways.

Given this area didn’t have a single blade of grass for miles in every direction, the two kirin were okay walking on solid ground for this one. Moonstone was more than happy to do the same, but he noted that some of these boulders had gems sticking out of the surfaces. That was one way to get his attention.

“These bad boys you see here, there, and...everywhere...used to make up one of the tallest volcanoes in the world. I should know. I climbed it a few times. One eruption later, it’s a shell of its former self. Still, I think you’ll like this little test of strength. You think you can punch ten of them to shreds within, oh, let’s say, ten minutes?”

Moonstone couldn’t believe his ears. Was Wildfire doing something fun with this lesson? “You’re joking.”

“Come on. Show us how strong you really are. Unless you’re a chicken.”

“I’m no chicken! I’ll rip them to shreds!”

“Heh, now that’s the dragon spirit I want to see. Kunzite, put ten minutes on the clock. Start when he gets the first punch in.”

“Ready when you are!” Kunzite pulled out a stopwatch from her knapsack, winding it to exactly ten minutes on the dial.

“Then get to punching those boulders, Moonstone. Punch them like they’re that one griffon that won’t leave you alone!”

Now that got under Moonstone’s skin. He huffed and came up to the nearest boulder. It was a little taller than him, and he knew he could take it out easily. Before he knew it, he punched the rock down the middle. His fist hitting the hard surface caused the boulder to shake. Right when Kunzite pressed the button on her watch, a crack ripped through the sides of the boulder. It wasn’t enough. He smacked it with one blow after another, striking wherever he could. The crack grew wider and wider with each hit, and more cracks formed everywhere on it.

One last punch did it in, and it collapsed into a pile of smaller rocks. A drop of sweat formed on his head, yet it wasn’t enough. Even if he wasn’t being challenged, he needed more than that. He lunged for the next boulder, one that was even taller than the last one. The dragon leaped into the air and kicked it as hard as he could. The valley echoed with the sickening crack from the strike. Even though there were gems sticking out from it, he needed to keep going. It wasn’t long until there was a second pile of dust in the valley.

“Eight more! Eight more!” he shouted. The sweat started to pick up on his face.

“You can count? Of course you can count,” said Wildfire. “Get the other eight, and I better see more of that fight in ya!”

Kunzite watched in awe and fear from the destruction. She was wise enough to know he’d never harm anyone like her, but she didn’t envy anyone who was on the receiving end of hits like that. That griffon he fought had to be in the hospital by now.

Encouraged from the results, Moonstone went for the other rocks getting on his nerves. All those pent up nerves he gathered from the dragons, that griffon, the frustration that built up over the day, he was allowed to let it all out here. He had to make the most of that chance. Sweat poured from his face and dirt caked on his body as he kept going, but he didn’t care. He had a job to do.

A few birds flocked away in terror from the sounds of violence coming from the valley. Each boulder Moonstone tackled disappeared into a cloud of dust, and he grabbed some of the gems they left behind from the later. Then he came to the tenth boulder, which was three times taller than he was. He panted for air as he stepped up to the plate.

“Not getting tired yet, are you?” Wildfire teased.

“You don’t know that!” Moonstoned sweated. “I just got finished warming up!” He took a huge gasp of air and punched the sides of the boulder with both fists. He screamed from the impact on his knuckles, but he went for round two on the strikes. The boulder had splits on both sides from the two blows. He kept it up on both sides, kicking and punching the rock.

Soon, his whole body was drenched in sweat, but he wasn’t finished. Kunzite glanced at her watch, and he still had plenty of time to kill. She considered stopping it to put an end to the pain, but she knew Moonstone too well. He was going to see it through.

His fists and legs were hurting, but he still stood on his two feet. He sucked in all the air he could muster, rose up to one leg, and delivered a spin kick to the side of the rock. It cracked like thunder from his might, and it split right through the middle at an angle. It was enough to send the top half crashing to the side. He grunted and fell down to one knee.

“Moonstone!” Kunzite cried out. She ran to his side and tried to lift him up, but he held her back with a hand.

“Did...I...make it in time?” he gasped.

“Are you hurt? Please let me check on you!”

“Did I make it?” he repeated.

She gazed at her stopwatch. “You had just over a minute left.”

After hearing the good news, he rose to his feet again. All the anguish on his face disappeared, replaced with one of the proudest grins she had ever seen in her life. He lifted his head up, took one last breath, and roared at the top of his lungs. The roar went through the forest and valley, startling even more birds.

Kunzite covered her ears from the roar. “Wait, are you okay? You were in a lot of pain back there.”

“That was nothing. I’ve been through more pain than that. I was just worried about the time limit, and it sounds like I crushed it.”

“Literally, I would say,” Wildfire commented. “Any dragon can just punch something, but it takes skill to channel your energy to grind a boulder into powder. I’m talking things like which angle to hit them in, seeing your opening and taking advantage of that, all that good strategy stuff. You’re not just a brute, you got a brain between your two ears.”

“So you’re saying I passed.”

“You had to ask? You blew through that exam. Speaking of channeling your energy the right way, this reminds me of something…”

“That sounds like a lecture,” Moonstone and Kunzite said together. He was annoyed to hear it coming, while the younger kirin giggled and couldn’t wait.

“As you both know, every Equestrian Kirin has his or her special destiny, kinda like ponies. Kunzite, your mother’s destiny was rooted in magic and friendship, and Moonstone--”

“Dragons don’t have special destinies,” he interrupted.

“Your mother would beg to differ. Everything changed in your homeland when she took the title of Dragon Lord, didn’t it?” The silence from Moonstone told Wildfire that his point was crystal clear. “So that means the future holds something in store for you. Not to mention, with that magical link Kunzite sent out to you after you were hatched, we think you have a part to play in Kunzite’s destiny.”

“That’s right, we both have something awesome to look forward to! I might never get a cutie mark, but I can still do something pretty cool.” Kunzite took a seat on one of the smaller boulders. Moonstone sighed and sat down next to her. “But what does the whole channeling energy thing have to do with it?”

Wildfire turned his sights to the sun above, going down near the Dragon Lands. “I heard the stories of other Equestrian Kirin, ones Equestria didn’t account for. They all accomplished their purpose and having stories written about them, ones your historians once believed were just myths. But when it was my turn to do my thing, I spent years freaking out about it. What was I supposed to do with my life? Did I need to study all the things? Don’t do that, by the way. It will hurt your brain.”

Kunzite gasped. Learning everything is BAD?

“Nevertheless, it was obvious when your grandfather, Torch, tried to invade Equestria when Princess Celestia and Luna were merely fillies. My path made itself before me.” The mention of Moonstone’s grandfather got his attention. “So I confronted him, fought to a draw, stopped everything, and that was that. Now, here’s a good question. Did I fulfill my special destiny by forcing myself into it, or seeing what was wrong in the world and doing something about it?”

“You did something about it,” Moonstone answered. “I still can’t believe my grandfather nearly pulled a stunt like that. It wasn’t right.”

“Indeed, it wasn’t. I guess in retrospect, there was more to life than that one moment for me, but it sure was a shining moment of glory. Still, before we go, there is something I wanted to show you. An illustration of my point, to be exact.”

He channeled magic to both of his horns, and they shone with the color of the sun. The magic he needed was so massive, he grunted from the force of it. Still, he kept his concentration going, and the air around them twinkled from the magical aura. Kunzite watched in anticipation as the valley started to take a new shape around them.

Rather than the rocks and mountains around them, a town similar to Ponyville started to come into existence. Grass formed on the ground, streets came into being, and hut houses dotted the landscape. They would soon find themselves in this town’s entrance, from the looks of it. In addition, a few ponies populated the town, of various shades of color and tribes. They trotted around town like it was just another day.

Even Moonstone couldn’t believe his eyes. “Did you just make a town out of thin air?”

“Nonsense...it’s just a...whew, that takes a lot out of me.” Wildfire wiped the sweat off his brow. “It’s an illusion spell. Nothing you see around you is real.” He went to a mailbox and swiped his hand through it, as if it wasn’t there at all. “It takes a lot of practice and power to pull something like this off, but I figured the best way to teach you what I mean is to show you. Look around, see what you can find.”

“Oh, I’m definitely gonna look around now. This is one of the coolest spells ever!” Kunzite grinned. She grabbed Moonstone’s hand and yanked him forward. “Come on, let’s see what’s around here. I want to see what Wildfire came up with!” They ended up in the middle of a marketplace, where there was a lot of imaginary ponies. It was like a normal day in Ponyville’s own markets, full of life and color.

Moonstone hesitated and pulled her to a complete stop. “Wait a second. He wouldn’t just make this fake town for his own amusement. This isn’t Discord we’re talking about here. He has to have his reasons for a spell this powerful, all for a lesson.”

“Maybe, but we could have some fun along the way. It’s not often that you see a fake town made out of nothing, right?”

“I don’t know. I’m keeping an eye out for something.” He went into the marketplace with her and kept an eye out for anything that looked fishy. There had to be a telltale sign of what Wildfire was up to. In the meantime, the elder kirin stood by the entrance, wondering if his students would be wise enough to get the picture.

Kunzite spotted a bakery not far from there, and she was tempted to find out if Wildfire got the smells of Sugar Cube Corner in here. Before she did, she heard something like crying in the streets. “Do you hear that?”

“I can hear it, too,” said Moonstone. He searched around to see who was doing there. “Hello? Anyone there? Seriously, can none of you hear it?” Everyone in the marketplace were carrying around their business, like nothing bad was happening.

“I’m over here! Somebody, please help!” a voice cried out.

“Hold on, we’re coming!” Kunzite went with Moonstone to find this person. Their search led them to an alleyway, and that’s where they found the pony. He was just a little colt, maybe eight years old, with a green coat and a green-yellow mane. His leg was pinned down by a boulder, and his skin around the rock was bloody.

“I can’t get it off!” he said. No matter how hard he pushed it with his hands, it was stubborn to come off, and he looked to the duo in desperation.

“Oh crap, did I do that?” Moonstone complained. Nevertheless, he rushed to the kid’s aid and started pushing it away. It was a huge chunk, maybe half the size of a fully intact boulder, and getting it out of there was harder than he imagined. It was one thing to destroy it with a few punches, another to push it away.

“Here, I’ll help you!” Kunzite grabbed the rock with a levitation spell, using both horns for safety. It was enveloped in a purple magical aura as she pushed it, and it was starting to budge. “Keep pushing!”

“That’s what I’m trying to do!” The dragon grunted as the rock came up a few inches in the air, just enough to get it off the leg. With a little help from his friend, he picked it up with his bare hands and threw it to the side. It rolled away and hit the side of a house.

“Oh Celestia, this looks serious!” Kunzite looked at the spot the boulder crushed on the leg, and it didn’t look too good. The skin was purple from the force, and a little bit of blood had rushed to the surface. “I don’t know if I can lift him up with this illusion spell, but I’m going to try.”

“Seriously, how did Wildfire get us to care about a fake pony like that?” Moonstone asked in disbelief. Still, he tried picking up the poor colt himself. There was nothing but air in his arms, but the illusion of the colt lifted up and clung to the dragon for support. “Hey, you’re gonna be okay. Just gotta find you a doctor.”

“O-Okay, Mr. Dragon, I trust you!”

They went out on the other side of the alley and searched for the nearest hospital in the town. If Wildfire was so willing to throw an injured pony their way, surely he gave this town a hospital their way. They went down every street they could find, yet they couldn’t find anything.

Right when they were about to turn a corner, they heard someone behind them. “Stop! Is that my child in your arms?” They came to a halt and turned around to see who it was. It was a green unicorn, clad in a dress and crown. She seemed to be in her thirties, complete with the most worried face they had seen in a while.

“Are...you his mother?” Kunzite stammered. “He was pinned down by a huge rock, and we were trying to find the nearest hospital.”

“Oh my Celestia, that’s my son!” She rushed to the colt’s aid and picked him into her arms. “I’m so sorry I left you back there. I’ll see that the physician takes care of you right away. Is it true that a rock fell on you?”

“Y-Yes, Mother. Nobody knew I was back there. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know what would happen to me.”

“Is that so?” She lifted to get a better look at her son’s rescuers. “I cannot thank you enough for saving him. He’s not just my son, he’s also in line to take the throne of Equestria one day. The country owes you its thanks.”

“He’s a WHAT?” Kunzite marveled. “I had no idea he was a prince. I guess we really did do a good job today.”

“Yeah, we sure saved that hologram,” Moonstone snickered.

“That hologram means a lot more than you realize,” Wildfire interrupted. The magical aura on his horn faded, as he came up behind the princess and her son. The town vanished piece by piece into dust, including the townsponies themselves. After a minute of this, the valley returned to its natural form.

“I guess that makes two tests we crushed in a row?” Moonstone grinned.

“Two for two, big guy.” Wildfire gave him a couple of love taps on the shoulder. “But you get the point of that illustration, right? That took a lot of planning.”

“I think so, but just so I don’t miss it, can you go over it in detail?” asked Kunzite.

“Very well. The point of the illustration is how your special destiny can illuminate itself to you. Most ponies just see a helpless little colt and think they should help him. Then that’s it, you did your good deed for the day and that’s the end of it. But if that colt is important like, say, a princess’s son, you might have just opened the door to new adventures. Maybe you gain a spot in her court one day. Maybe she sends you out on a quest that changes your life, because this one act got you in her good graces.”

“Ohhhhh. I get it now. How didn’t I get it the first time?”

“No biggie, you got a teacher to let you in on things like this. More than anything, this should be your takeaway: Your special destiny can come from anything. Nothing is too small for fate to have its hands all over it. Be open to any little opening, any chance to do the right thing, and it might lead to a big opportunity.”

“Not sure if it’s gonna happen like that, but I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m punching boulders,” said Moonstone. “Wait a second. You made sure that kid was pinned from one of my boulders on purpose.”

“Well, the butterfly effect exists for a reason,” he grinned.

------

“I knew it! Every single time he’s teaching us something, there’s a prank at the end of it. He might not be Discord, but he sure learned a lot from that guy.”

“Just ignore him. He’s not doing it because he hates you. That’s just the way he is. Celestia’s over a thousand years old like he is, and she likes messing with ponies. It might just be be a side effect when you’re that old.”

“I really hope your parents don’t end up like that. I can’t take that any more pranksters in my life.”

“They won’t, they’re too dorky to do that. That’s why everypony keeps calling them adorkable.”

By then, they were almost at Ponyville, taking a moment to calm down on one of the hills nearby. A break every now and then wasn’t so bad, especially with Wildfire’s lesson out of the way. Kunzite sat down in the middle of the nearest dirt field, while Moonstone took a spot next to her.

“He had a good point with that lesson, though,” Kunzite brought up. “We really should keep an eye out for anything we can help out with. It’s the right thing to do in the first place.”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll be sure to rescue every possum from the well, just in case it belongs to Princess Luna. Either way, it’s not gonna look like that, I’m sure of it. It’s gotta be bigger than that. If Wildfire had to go blow to blow with my granddad, that means we gotta be ready for something huge. Something like…”

“...a Kirin retreat?” She lifted her head off the dirt and couldn’t stop giggling like a filly.

“A what now? Don’t tell me there’s a sudden explosion of Equestrian Kirin now.”

“Not that kind of kirin. Mom’s holding a retreat for all the Kirin tribes over at Autumn Blaze’s village. She invited me to come along once we got Wildfire’s lesson out of the way, and it’s out of the way now! What if that’s what our special destiny’s tied to?” She leaned into Moonstone and gave him some puppy dog eyes.

“Oh no. I met Autumn once. My ears were ringing after her twentieth song. I couldn’t go visit that place again. That’s more of your thing.”

The puppy dog eyes only intensified from there. “It might just be the opening we’re looking for. Even if it isn’t, won’t it be nice to get out of the house for a while? Or, err, the cave?”

His eyes lit up at the offer. “Now that you mention it, I could use some time out by myself. Doubt my parents will mind if I’m gone for a day or two, they’re used to it. Just make sure Autumn doesn’t get in my face without warning.”

Kunzite squeed and hugged Moonstone. “Yesssss! I’ll make preparations so we can leave right away! This is going to be so much fun!”

The dragon gasped from the kirin’s grip. She was a lot stronger than she let on. “Yes...fun...that thing your family does…”

Author's Notes:

Yeah, this took longer than expected. Part of me went "maybe you should wait until March to publish this with everything going on", but I wanted to do this now. Yeah, I should have waited lol

That said, this was mostly done to further establish Moonstone and Kunzite, as well as introduce more aspects introduced in the previous Kirin story. Next time, the story begins in full :O Hopefully, updates will come easier with this out of the way now. I'll publish any updates on how things are progressing on my blog.

Everyone's Favorite Kirin

Since Fluttershy and Applejack went to Autumn Blaze’s village to tackle her friendship problem, it saw a lot more visitors over the last twenty years. Twilight was curious about them and visited often to note all she could about them. Once she published her book on them, a lot of ponies traveled to look at the fabled kirin tribe for themselves. With the sudden wave of visitors, their secrets were all out in the open. They got used to it, and one particular kirin took it as an opportunity to show them her home...through song.

In all that time, there were three guests they loved seeing more than anypony else: Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight. The first two need no explanation, but it felt like an honor that one of the four Princesses of Equestria enjoyed their company so much.

Late that afternoon, the town minded its own business, making preparations for the coming festivities. There were more kirin than usual, and they spent most of the day making accommodations for the extra guests. One kirin was in the middle of taking wood to the nearest fireplace, when she saw something on the road leading into the village. She gasped and dropped her stack. “Look, everyone! It’s Princess Twilight!”

Everybody in the village stopped what they were doing and looked for themselves. As it turned out, a company of ponies was coming their way up the road, flanked by a few Royal Guards. The princess herself was in the middle of the convoy, and she was accommodated by the dragon prince they got to know over time. They couldn’t be happier to see pony royalty, and they halted their work to go greet them. It wasn’t long until they formed a party to welcome their privileged guests.

Right when they got everything together, they realized the company wasn’t moving. It just stood there in front of them. That left the kirin wondering what was going on. Did Twilight and Spike make a wrong turn and came here by accident? That couldn’t be right. It was getting awkward for the ponies, too.

“Are you sure she’s coming? I don’t want to let these guys down. Look how excited they are to see us,” Twilight pointed out.

“You didn’t see her face when I told her that she could come,” Spike said. “We should give her another five minutes. She’ll want to see this.”

“I’ll give her ten. I really hope she’s not tardy.”

“She’s not going to be tardy. She is your daughter.”

“That she is,” Twilight chuckled.

Things got more unbearably awkward when nobody moved an inch for another minute. The guards messed with their swords to pass the time. The purple pony started to wonder if she gave Kunzite the right directions in her letter and not some terrible cookbook recipe again, until she heard someone gasping for air from the back.

“Mom! Dad! I’m here! That took longer than I thought…” Kunzite bent down and held her hands on her knees. She was winded after the long flight to get there. “Did I make it?”

Twilight shook her head, while the guards bowed before the kirin princess. “You made it just in time, actually. We’re about to go in right now. And I see you brought a friend with you.”

Moonstone remained silent next to Kunzite. In comparison to his friend, he wasn’t the least bit winded. His attention was more on Spike than Twilight. “Hello, Mr. Three Minute Dragon Lord guy. They still talk a lot about you back home. ‘The Friend That Helped Our Dragon Lord Get Her Throne’.”

“It was five minutes. But it’s still good to see you again, Moonstone,” Spike greeted him with a handshake. “I might have helped her become Dragon Lord all those years ago, but I can’t take credit for her reforming the Dragon Lands. That’s all her.”

The younger dragon shook his hand. It was still weird to do a ritual so pony-ish like shaking hands. “Yeah, I know she did a lot of wonderful things for the Dragon Lands, make it nicer, all those things. Something they remind me of on a daily basis.”

“Hey, she told me you got your own cave recently. You should be proud of that. Nobody can take that away from you.”

Guess Mom didn’t tell you that it was picked out for me. “Thanks, I guess. Um, what are all those guys doing, and why are they staring at us?” All the villagers staring away made him a little uncomfortable.

“That’s their welcoming party,” Kunzite explained. “They’re here to give us a big welcome. We’re kind of fan favorites here.”

The pupils in Moonstone’s eyes shrunk to the size of peas. “They’re going to do it with a song, aren’t they?”

“Some of the time,” Twilight corrected. “Don’t worry, they like you, too. Let’s go see them.”

See, she said SOME of the time, Moonstone. How bad could it be? It’s not like they prepared three songs in a row or anything, right? He tried putting on his biggest smile, but it couldn’t be more fake if he tried. Kunzite saw through his act and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. Well, that made things a little better. At least he wouldn’t go through this alone.

The guards gathered their weapons and wrapped around the party, guest dragon included. As they made their way into the village, the welcoming party got even more excited. They separated into two groups to give the ponies a clear path into town, and a few of them raised banners of Twilight’s cutie mark and Spike’s fire breath into the air. The musicians played a welcoming and (to Moonstone’s delight) vocalless song, of drums and chimes. It was a pretty relaxing song, all things considered.

Moonstone was relieved at the lack of singing for now. All he saw were a bunch of kirin honoring the princess and prince that came to visit, and they didn’t seem to mind having extra guests along for the ride. “Hey, it’s almost like they don’t know I exist,” he whispered to Kunzite. “This is fine.”

“Only fine? This place is perfect!” Kunzite squealed like a fangirl. “Don’t you remember how ingenious their city planning is? They found a way to build a whole community around the jungle without destroying it. Look, they even have houses around the trees! That’s what I call a real treehouse!”

“Don’t you have some of those in Equestria?”

“We do, but they’re just for fillies and colts most of the time. You could live here if you wanted to!”

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you ever move here?”

“I’ve thought about it, but I love my family too much. That and I’m a princess. Mom and Dad’s kingdom will be mine one day. I don’t want to let them down by throwing it all away, just because I love nature so much.”

Moonstone snorted to himself. She really was his polar opposite. His train of thought was interrupted, however, when he saw it coming closer to him. It shook him to the core anytime he saw it. Maybe it wasn’t too late to run away? Oh no, it was running to HIM. It might have bangs around the eyes and be noticeably older than most kirin here, but it sure moved like it was half its age.

And then it came right up to his face. He couldn’t escape this anymore. This was a nightmare he had to face now. It reached out its hand of torture to his face and...booped him.

“I remember you! You’re that dragon from the Dragon Lands. That’s a redundant sentence. ‘Dragon’ twice in one go? Okay, getting off track here. What was your name again? Moonburn? Sunstone? Let me know when I’m getting warm.”

“It’s...Moonstone…” he whispered in fear.

“Moonstone! I like that name. I’m so sorry I forgot about it. You remember me, Autumn Blaze?” The middle aged kirin couldn’t stop grinning, and then she had to see Kunzite. “And you must be Kunzite! It’s amazing how your friend has a simpler name, but I remember yours. I just realized you’re half dragon, too. Does that mean you’re good friends?”

“We are! Moonstone’s my best friend,” Kunzite replied. “It’s not just because I’m half dragon, but it’s pretty cool that I am. Still, he’s a good friend to have around.”

Twilight recognized her kirin friend and joined in. “Nice to see you again, Autumn. Fluttershy and AJ wanted me to say hello for them. How’s it going?

“It’s been amazing. Almost all the tribes are here. Give it a day and you’ll see the whole family. I knew the reunion was a good idea.”

“If there’s anyone that can bring the family together, it would be you,” Spike agreed.

“What...reunion...are you...talking about?” Moonstone choked out. He was perfectly still, with a few drops of sweat going down his face. If he didn’t move, maybe Autumn wouldn’t recognize that he was there.

“He is so cute when he’s just standing still,” Autumn commented. Well, that didn’t work. “Twilight and Spike didn’t tell you about the reunion? Oooh, you know what this means? STORY TIME!”

Moonstone nearly fainted at the threat. If anyone could make story time terrifying, it would be her. Her stories weren’t even that depressing to begin with. Still, he was in for the ride at this point.

“I’m in. Do you want to come with us?” Kunzite asked her parents

“Not this time, sadly. We need to unpack and get everything settled,” Spike explained. “Go ahead and have some fun, but don’t leave anything out. I want to hear this when I get the chance.”

Kunzite nodded and hugged them both. “I’ll be sure to write everything down. I’ll be back before you know it!”

Twilight and Spike hugged her back and went on their way to their guesthouse. Once they were gone, Autumn couldn’t wait to show them what she had in store. She almost literally dragged them away to the spot she wanted to show off. Moonstone might have stepped in it this time, and he was terrified the whole time. Story time? With Autumn? What was he in for?

To his surprise, Autumn brought the two of them to her home, overlooking the entire village. It was calm and peaceful up here. Huh. That was the opposite of what he expected. She gave them a moment to let it all sink in. Kunzite took the hint and gazed around the village.

“You notice anything different from last time?” Autumn asked.

Moonstone took a look for himself. It was crowded, busy, and the musicians were still playing their ambient songs. One of them took the stage to sing poetry. “It looks the same to me. Lots of kirin, lots of singing and galloping around,” he thought.

“Close, but there’s one thing you overlooked. See how there’s more of them? That’s because they’re from different tribes all over Equestria.” After she pointed it out to them, they realized that there were five times more villagers here than last time. Not only that, but they were different than the typical kirin. Some had different color schemes than Autumn’s kin, like icy hues or warm hues or things like that.

“Huh. How didn’t I notice that?” Kunzite wondered. “I usually have an eye for things like that.”

“That’s because they’re here for the first time in two decades.” She came up to a table and unrolled a scroll over it. The scroll had images of seven kirin, five of which had checkmarks next to them. “Before we took our oath of silence, there were six other tribes of kirin in the world. We got along and shared stuff with each other. The one to the south? They made a play that knocked ours of the park. I think it was called Much Hay About Nothing, and I’ve been trying to learn it recently.”

“Kunzite, wasn’t that the play you made me read that one time?” Moonstone balked.

“What can I say? It was entertaining. I...might have been inspired to write fanfiction about it…” Kunzite blushed.

“Awww, I’m so happy that it inspired you!” Autumn grinned. “Anyway, when we took our oath of silence, the tribes weren’t connected as much anymore. It might have been because some of them went through the same thing we did, turning into Niriks and destroying the villages. It was a really sad time for us.

“But when we broke our oath and got to talking all over again, I thought to myself, ‘We should get the band back together!’ So I’ve spent the last decade finding the tribes across Equestria, and we finally found enough to have a reunion.”

“I’m really happy for you, Autumn. It’s always heartwarming to bring communities together,” Kunzite noted. Still, something felt off to her when she took a closer look at the scroll. “I noticed you don’t have any checkmarks next to two kirin on this picture. What’s that for?”

“So you noticed that.” She shook her head and got a little emotional. “There’s five tribes here in the village right now, but two of them are missing. One of them was located over by the Dragon Lands, and the other was in the jungle right next to it. We’ve been looking over there for a while, but there’s no sign they were ever around to begin with. But we’ll keep looking, and we’ll find them one day. For now, though, we should be happy with what we found.” She pushed away the sorrow and slid down the tree, waving Kunzite and Moonstone on. “Come on down, let’s make this a festival to remember!”

“We’ll catch up later,” Kunzite replied. “Don’t let us miss anything!”

“No way I’m gonna do that. You’re my friends!” Autumn joined the rest of her tribe in the celebration.

Kunzite made sure her kirin companion was a long ways away, then she turned to Moonstone. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Way ahead of you. You think those two lost tribes are our special destiny,” the dragon sighed. “Look, it might be the case, but you might be jumping to conclusions with it. We have to be more careful than that.”

“Even if it isn’t, shouldn’t we at least try to help her? You saw how upset she was when I brought it up, and she might need somepony to help find them. Or somedragon.”

He groaned and rubbed his forehead in circles. “Alright, alright. I’m not gonna be that cold-hearted jerk that wouldn’t rescue a puppy in a well. Don’t help them out just because it could be destiny, though.”

She nodded and smiled. “It is the right thing to do in the first place, but we shouldn’t keep her waiting. I’m sure she’s got a lot of fun things to do down there.”

“Maybe for you…”

After a few minutes of bracing himself, Moonstone came out of the tree and joined Kunzite in the village. His head was spinning from the crowds everywhere he looked. At least they were happy, and they didn’t seem to mind two dragons running amok. If anything, they were intrigued by Kunzite. It wasn’t often that they found another type of kirin in their midst.

Kunzite was a little shy when she noticed all those glances her way, and one kirin in particular stopped and stared at her. She gulped and offered a handshake to him, the universal sign of friendship(according to Twilight’s classes at her school). The villager kept looking at her two horns in confusion, but he went ahead shook hands with her. She felt so relieved that he didn’t make fun of her for her horns, but she still wondered if she stood out that much to them.

In the meantime, Moonstone still felt a little cramped in there. It didn’t help that the musicians were getting louder with their singing, and their songs rang in his ears. It wasn’t unpleasant, but his eardrums were pounding from their volume. And it never stopped. He thought fifteen songs would be enough for anyone in a day, but they were still going.

Autumn was acting as a host in the village, and she greeted every visitor with snacks and drinks. In the middle of it, she noticed how dour Moonstone seemed to be. “This not your style?” she asked from behind.

He jumped away from the surprise. “It’s just...so much to take in. They’re not this loud in Equestria. It feels like I’m in a wooden cage at times. It’s not for me, sorry.”

She rubbed her chin and thought about the best way to address that. Then she snapped her fingers. “I know just the trick.” She grabbed another table and plopped it down between them. It went up to her waist, and she brought her right arm down on it. “You like tests of strength? Then what could be better than ARM WRESTLING?”

Moonstone couldn’t believe what he saw. Did she...understand his love of tests like these? “Autumn, I like the way you think.” He leaned over and stretched out his arm. “Nobody’s ever beaten me at this, just so you know.”

“Nobody’s ever beaten me, either. Wait, that could be a great tagline. The battle of the undefeated arm wrestlers, going toe to toe. Or in our case, claw to hand!” She gripped his hand and got ready. “Ready, set, go!”

Kunzite was almost finished sketching a flower in her sketchbook, one exclusive to this part of the world. RIght when she put on the final touches, she heard a commotion going on. A bunch of the kirin gathered around in a circle to see something go down on the other side of town. With how excited they were getting, she went to catch it for herself. It had to be some ancient ritual, some kind of craft, or…

...it could be Moonstone and Autumn arm wrestling. She rolled her eyes and chuckled. If anyone was able to get Autumn wrestling, it would be Moonstone. To her astonishment, they were neck and neck and strained to get any edge on the other. He grunted and pushed back on Autumn’s arm, but he couldn’t get anything going after a minute.

“Why are you so strong?” he grunted.

“Dumbbells, baby! Lots and lots of dumbbell exercise!” Autumn yelled.

A lot of the kirin were cheering their hometown hero on. No surprise given where they were. Kunzite would be lying if she said she didn’t want Moonstone to win, but she didn’t want to hurt Autum’s feelings, either. She remained still and watched quietly.

However, Autumn was starting to slip. Another minute of arm wrestling would do that to her. “No, not yet!” Before she could push back, he gave it another push and laid her arm flat on the table. “There goes my year long streak.”

“And my six year streak continues!” Moonstone grinned. He flexed his arm to show off all the muscles in it. “Who’s next?”

As it turned out, his little demonstration made several villagers want to take a crack at it. Many stepped up to the plate to beat him at his own game. They all failed, one after the other. As things progressed, he warmed up to them and chatted before and after every match. Kunzite didn’t think this would be the way he’d warmed up to the village, but she would take it.

“He’s got a mean arm to him,” Autumn commented. “Is he always like that?

“No, but I’m happy when he is,” said Kunzite. “I don’t see this side of him enough. He might be a bit of a bragging type…”

“Nobody can beat me, kirin or pony!” Moonstone roared. “If you think you can take me out, first, you’re wrong, and second, I’m willing to prove you wrong!”

“...but I can tell he’s happy when he’s like this.”

“Then I’ll leave him to it. Thanks for coming, by the way. Twilight didn’t tell me you were tagging along, but the more the merrier, I say.” She hugged Kunzite and went on her way.

Once she left, Kunzite smiled and joined Moonstone on his side of the table. “You still regret coming here?”

“Are you kidding? This is my idea of a good time,” the dragon replied. He leaned back and held his hands behind his head. “I think I beat every kirin here.”

“Well, I’m a kirin, too. You haven’t beaten me.”

“Yeah, but you’re an Equestrian Kirin. You’re not like the rest, for reasons like…” He pointed to the sides of his head, where Kunzite’s horns would be.

“Oh. Yeah.” She winced on the inside and tried not to let it show. “I am different, I guess.” She held one of her arms and looked off to the side.

“Hey, you okay? I just mean you have magic like a unicorn, and they don’t. That makes you different from them.”

“I know what you mean,” she sighed. She parted her mane off to the side. “And it’s okay, really. I’d probably beat you with my magic, anyway.”

“Now that’s just cheating.” Before he could say anything else, he heard someone else come up to the table. He gulped when he recognized who the invader was: A purple dragon, at least one foot taller than him. Judging from the grin on his face, he meant serious business.

“So you like arm wrestling?” Spike butted in. “Me too. I found out that I’m really good at it recently, so I practice here and there. It’s been a long time since anyone beat me. If nobody’s beaten you, either, can I take a crack at it?”

“Daaad, please don’t. He’s been doing this for an hour straight. He has to be getting tired.”

“It’s fine. We dragons have a lot of stamina. I’m sure he’s willing to take me on. What you say? You ready for one more match?”

Another drop of sweat went down Moonstone’s face. Spike’s arms had to be twice the size of his. The chance of winning this was very slim. Yet, that only stoked the fire inside him, and he brought his arm down on the table. “You’re on, old man.”

“Old? I’m like a kid in dragon years.” Spike took his jacket off and locked arms with Moonstone. Moonstone locked his arm around Spike’s, and it was on. They strained against each other for a good while, and the crowd around the table picked back up. Suddenly, Moonstone was their champion, and they chanted his name as he kept up the fight. Kunzite looked on in terror; no matter what happened, someone she cared for was going to lose.

And that was when Moonstone’s arm laid flat against the table. It was so sudden that he didn’t know he lost at first. Right when it registered, he grunted from the impact on his arm, and he looked up in shock. “But...what…”

The crowd was just as surprised as he was, and Kunzite covered her mouth with her hands. She knew it had to be destroying Moonstone on the inside. After a while, the villagers started clapping for Spike, while the blue dragon was still processing that he just got his tail handed to him.

“Huh. That was still the best match I had in years,” Spike replied. “It just comes with age is all. If you keep getting bigger and stronger, you’ll be able to beat me one day. Besides, your mother could take me out without breaking a sweat. She was always stronger than me.”

“Yes, my mother,” Moonstone sighed and clutched his arm. People always mention her when I’m in the room, don’t they. “Thanks for the pep talk. Hard to believe I still have a lot of growing up to do.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be a lot bigger before you know it. I should know.” He patted Moonstone on the shoulder and went to join the rest of the village. That left the dragon and Equestrian Kirin by themselves.

Kunzite shook her head and sat down next to her friend. “Sorry about that. He just got carried away back there. Every now and then, he gets carried away with competitions like that.”

“I can see that,” Moonstone snorted. “Can I ask you something, since it’s just you and me?”

“Sure. You can ask me anything.”

He pulled up a chair and sat down with her. “Would you still be friends with me even if we didn’t have this special destiny crap going on, and I wasn’t Dragon Lord Ember’s son?”

She openly gasped from the question. “I mean, it was how we met. But why wouldn’t we be friends? We still get along, and I like hanging out with you. You’re different in a good, fun way.”

Moonstone nodded and looked a little relieved. “That’s good. And you’re not too bad yourself.”

“Awww, that’s really sweet of you,” she gleamed. “But why were you asking about that? I’m a little worried about you if that’s on your mind.”

“It’s nothing to worry about. Guess it’s just nice to hear that every now and then. I don’t know about you, but I hope they have some gems here. I could use a bite.”

------

The sun was nearly setting by then, and that sent her paranoia through the roof. She wouldn’t be able to see under the cover of the night, and they could use it to their advantage. There was no way she could slow down at this point, but she was so tired. For hours, she had been running without end.

The foliage kept hitting her in the face as she continued, and her body was coated in dirt and sweat. Still, she raced through the jungle, panting for air. She had to be close by now. If she wasn’t, she was going the right way at the very least.

I can’t go back there. They can’t find me. I have to keep going. Just a little further. Keep going.

She used the sun as a reference point. As long as it was behind her, she was going in the right direction. Hopefully, it would still be there. She remembered her mother telling her about this village when she was younger, and there was no reason to think it vanished in the years since. She needed it to be there.

If the kirin village was still there, she would have one hay of a story to tell to them when she got there.

Author's Notes:

Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would. Not that I'm complaining...

That aside, Autumn finally enters the story, and she's going to be a crucial part of the story. As for what was going on in the last bit...I guess you'll have to wait until next time

So Much For A Breather

The party continued into the night. This was something Autumn planned for a while, and there was no way it was going to end after just an hour or two. No, she was going to make it something everybody would remember for years to come. The torches were lit as it grew dark, and they rotated the musicians every now and then to keep the music going. If Pinkie was there to see it, she’d say it was a 10 out of 10 party in her eyes.

Still, not everyone wanted to go nonstop until the break of dawn. A few of the younger kirin grew tired and went to their homes to rest up. Others just needed an hour to rest, and they’d be back to full speed. Kunzite wound up being in the second camp. She found herself yawning after dancing for a while(as it turned out, she inherited Twilight’s dancing “talent”). Maybe it was time to nap for a little bit. She didn’t want to miss too much, after all.

She took a moment to rest at her parents’ guest house. It may not be as fancy as the permanent houses, but it was sturdy, had plenty of room, and felt quite comfy once she got inside. There, she found a guard keeping watch over the entrance. Twilight and Spike were busy unpacking by the main room.

“Kunzite? Didn’t think you’d come in here already,” Spike noted. “Figured you’d be up all night. Is something wrong?”

“I’m fine. Just need a nap and I’ll be good to go. Isn’t there a second bedroom in here?” Kunzite thought. “I could use some peace and quiet. It’s fun out there, and it will just be an hour or two. I don’t want to miss anything.”

“It’s the door on the right,” said Twilight. “I’m glad you’re having a good time so far. You’ll let us know if something’s wrong?”

“Yeah, you’ll be the first to know.”

Kunzite stumbled into the guest bedroom, a little smaller than the main room, and flopped into the bed. Ahhhh, this was just what she needed. The feathery mattress felt like a cushion on her body. She loved to “dance” and join in on the festivities, but it would wear her out after a while. How did Autumn do the same things as her, but she wasn’t the least bit tired? Guess that was one mystery she had to solve one day. Like how someone more than twice her age could outlast her like that.

She rolled around until her back was flat on the bed. The hutted ceiling was muted compared to the rest of the village, but maybe her eyes needed the break from all the vivid colors out there. It sure seemed peaceful enough. She tried to drift off to sleep, but something was keeping her up.

It happened every now and then: a thought would enter her mind when she tried to get some rest, and it would keep her up all night. She knew what it was this time. He meant nothing by what he said to her, but it did get to her. Was it something she should bring up, or let it go?

Sure enough, she heard someone knock on the door. “Hey, it’s me,” Moonstone said on the other side. “They said you’d be in here. You alright if I come in?”

“Go ahead. I’m still awake.” She rubbed her eyelids and sat up. Nap time would have to wait until later.

He opened the door and leaned against the wall, clutching at his right arm. “Wild night, huh? I knew I’d regret arm wrestling all those guys, but I’ll feel better tomorrow. I still won every match, save for one. Against your dad. Fun times.”

Kunzite chuckled and laid back down on the bed. “If anyone could get injured from arm wrestling, it would be you.”

“What can I say? I put in the effort to get like this.” He flexed both arms together and showed off his muscles. That turned out to be a mistake, and his right arm seared in pain. “Still, it can be too much for me. What are you doing in here, anyway? You’d probably love it out there.”

She exhaled and clasped her hands over her belly. “Same thing. I really like Autumn, but I enjoy the great outdoors for the peace and quiet, you know? But there’s something that’s getting under my skin. You promise that you won’t be upset at me?”

“You think you can get me upset? Not likely. Fire away.”

“Okay. Here goes nothing.” She braced herself for what she was about to say. Hopefully, he didn’t blow up from it. “It hurt me when you said I wasn’t that type of kirin.”

The dragon blinked a few times. It took him a moment to see how she’d get upset over it. “But you’re not. You’re half dragon, they’re more like full pony people. I figured you knew that already.”

“It’s not that. It’s more like…” She curled her legs up and rested her head on the kneecaps. “You noticed how everyone was staring at me when we got here? It didn’t feel good, going through that.”

Now he started to see what she meant. “Well, it’s not often that they see an Equestrian Kirin. It’s kind of a big deal to them.”

“Yeah. But it’s just...I mean…” She groaned and buried her head in her arms. “It can be hard to deal with sometimes. Didn’t Wildfire say there’s only two of us in the whole world?”

Oh. So that’s what it was. “He did. And I don’t see the problem with that. Dunno about you, but it would be cool to have the strength of a dragon and the magic of a unicorn.”

“It is pretty cool.” When she lifted her head out of her arms, her eyes were a little bit bloodshot. “But...I just…don’t want to feel this alone about who I am…”

Well, that was another surprise for him today. “You know what, I’m sorry. If you think that makes you a freak or whatever, you’re not. You’re not even close. Nobody would say that if they got to know you.”

“T-Thank you,” she sniffled. Even though there weren’t any tears in her eyes, she wiped her eyes as if there were. “I believe you. But...what about you?”

“What do you mean?” He tilted his head to the side. “Not sure what you’re getting at.”

“I saw how upset you were when Spike brought up your mother. Is being the son of the Dragon Lord that burdensome? I had no idea if it was.”

That made him groan and slap his forehead. “I don’t like where this is going. It’s nothing. Shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, wait. I’m sorry. I’ll drop it if you want me to.”

“I want to drop it, yeah. But you’re still going to think about it, so let me stop you right now. I just want to forge my own path. That’s all. Nothing else to it, and we’re good.”

Kunzite nodded. “Guess we’ve been getting on each other’s nerves, haven’t we? I’m really sorry about that. Can you warn me the next time I’m talking about something you don’t want to get into? I don’t want to hurt your feelings like that.”

When Moonstone opened his mouth, he was about to drop yet another snarky comment. Then it dawned on him that she was completely serious. “Yeah, and I’ll do the same for you. I don’t get it with you, but if it makes you unhappy, I’ll drop it.”

“That’s probably for the best.” She flopped down on the bed and spread her arms to the side. “What do we do now? This has been one crazy day, hasn’t it?”

“Don’t think it can get much worse. You know what I do when I get all wound up? I scoop up a bunch of lava in a cup made of rock and drink it all down. Just the right amount of spice.”

The image of a dragon drinking lava made her laugh a little bit. “That’s because you’re all dragon. If I did that, my insides would burn up.”

“That’s just because you’re half pony. Come on, I bet there’s something we can drink out there. About time we blew off some steam.”

“Now that’s something I can agree with.” She climbed out of bed, and she was just as energetic as ever. “Let’s do this! Just make sure it’s not alcoholic. I’m not old enough to drink yet.”

“Oh my gosh, Kunzite. You’re the biggest nerd ever. But your parents would kill me if I ever pulled a stunt like that on you. Fine, I’ll see what they have that isn’t lava or beer. Man, you’re really missing out on lava drinks.”

“Ehh, maybe my inner organs are dragon-like. I don’t think it’s a good idea to test it out like this, though…”

Once they were ready, they left the room to join the rest of the village. Spike and Twilight vacated the guest house as well, and there were no signs that things were slowing down with the party. It was picking up in intensity, believe it or not. Yes, several hours of partying were a warm-up act to the real event. The music was noticeably more upbeat than before, and the kirin were passing drinks around like they were going out of style. Thankfully for the teenagers, there were plenty of non-alcoholic stuff to have as well.

Moonstone rolled his right shoulder to get some feeling back in that joint, and then he was ready to continue. No way was he going to do more arm wrestling tonight, but there had to be something he could do to spend the night. Meanwhile, Kunzite sat down by the music stage to hear what they had to play at this hour. She didn’t try to dance that time because, well, she knew she was terrible at it. But there was nothing wrong with just listening to the song, especially when the drums were so nice to listen to.

It wasn’t long until she caught Autumn checking up on Moonstone, offering him some kind of mango juice. He tried it out and didn’t seem to mind the taste. Knowing him, he likely complained at the lack of lava in this drink. Then Autumn came up to check on Kunzite next. “Don’t you wanna dance? You’re going to love the next song,” she offered.

“I already danced for three hours straight. I’m good for now. Besides, Moonstone’s a better dancer than me, and he’s probably never danced in his life.”

“Awww, you don’t think you’re good at it? I could probably teach you if you want. I did a lot of dancing when I was younger. You know all those plays with a lot of dancing in them? I was in almost every single one. One time, I tried this ballet where I almost broke my leg--”

“WHAT IS THAT?” a villager screamed. She pointed to a corner of the village in shock and terror.

Everyone turned to see what was going on, and they saw a stranger coming out of the darkness of the forests. She was a young adult kirin, no more than 20 years old. Her coat and fur were shades of blue, but it was hard to tell from all the sweat and dirt everywhere. Her hands trembled violently as she leaned against a tree, just so she could stay on her two feet.

Kunzite froze up from the sight. The kirin, whoever she could be, was just a mere twenty feet away. Moonstone was startled as well, and he rushed up to his friend in case this meant danger. Autumn didn’t know what to do, only to slowly approach her. Despite all the weird stares, the strange kirin gazed at this place like she had never seen it before. Largely because she didn’t.

“Is...is this the village...I’ve been looking for?” she quaked.

“This is a kirin village, if that helps. What happened to you?” Autumn asked her. “Are you hurt? We can help you.”

Kunzite joined Autumn and extended a hand to the stranger. “What she said. We don’t want to hurt you.”

“So it is...where I’ve been looking for…” A relieved smile spread across her lips, then she saw Kunzite standing there. A brief flash of terror filled her eyes. Before she could get another word out, she fainted and fell face down into the ground.

A loud choir of gasps filled the air as the villagers were terrified by the sight. Kunzite immediately rushed in to help her, only to get beaten to the chase by her parents. Twilight told her to back away to give the kirin some space, and a lot of villagers and Autumn came in to check on her as well. It started to feel like a blur to Kunzite, and she didn’t know what to do or say.

“You heard her. We need to give them space,” Moonstone interrupted. He pulled on her arm to get her out of there. “They know what they’re doing.”

The tug on her arm slowly brought her back to reality. “I hope so. Oh Celestia, I hope she’s okay…”

------

The rest of the night was one of the most chaotic nights the young kirin could remember. She couldn’t sleep at all, no matter how many people told her to go to bed. Instead, she waited by the house they took the stranger into. Did it matter when she started to see the sun rise, and she hadn’t slept for even an hour overnight? No. She had to find out what was going on. That poor woman was so terrified when she stumbled into the village, and Kunzite needed to know if she was okay.

On the other hand, Moonstone really was tired and dozed off in his chair by the house. Anytime he was about to pass out, he forced himself to wake up and keep an eye on his friend. He knew her too well; she needed someone to calm her down when things got really bad. Like mother like daughter, as they say. He passed the time by setting a torch on fire with his breath, and he hoped she could stay calm enough to hear what happened to the newest kirin in the village.

Twilight stepped out of the house, and she was calm and collected. She came up to Kunzite and nodded. “It’s going to be okay. There’s nothing wrong with her, she’s just exhausted and dehydrated. She’ll recover in a day or two. But….she wants to talk to you.”

“Me? Did I do something wrong?” Kunzite meeped.

“I don’t think so. She said you reminded her of someone. You don’t have to go in there, but it sounds like it’s really important to her.”

“I understand. I’ll go see her.” Kunzite sighed and took the first step to the house. Before she took another, she froze up. What if she was somehow responsible for this? It made her terrified of the next part. The next thing she knew, Moonstone came up to her side. Without saying a word, she knew he was going to come with her inside. That made her feel a little easier, knowing she would be supported by her friends and family. The two of them went inside, with Twilight backing them up.

By then, there were only a few other kirin in the room. Spike had gone off to get more supplies. The visitor rested on the bed and looked noticeably improved from her previous state. All the dirt was cleaned up, and she was much more relaxed than before. Autumn gave her a cup of juice to drink, and there was a plate of fruit nearby if she needed something to eat.

However, she was full of fear again as soon as she spotted Kunzite and Moonstone. That was the last image she needed to see. She scooted away and lowered her jaw in fear. “Did...did they send you?”

“No no no no!” Kunzite waved her hands. “I’m just here to make sure you’re okay. Promise!” She gave off the most nervous grin in her young life.

“What do you mean by ‘they’?” Moonstone butted in.

“They’re just guests. They wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Autumn explained. “Whew, you must have been through something rough. Don’t worry, we’re all friends here. Isn’t that right?”

The blue kirin started to relax a bit. From the looks of it, that half-pony-half-dragon woman and dragon man were way too dorky to be a threat. After all, he was giving her weird looks and she was trying not to cause even the slightest breeze to hurt her, even if she reminded her of…

“This is all so surreal. One moment I’m running for my life, and the next, you’re all staring at me. My name’s Aquatic Sky. I usually go by Aqua, and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone outside of my village in a long time.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” Twilight said, hoping to soothe her. “Just take it slow. We’re here for you now.”

Autumn’s ears perked up when she realized something. “You didn’t get an invitation?”

“What invitation? I came here because my mother told me about this place when I was just a filly. I figured it would still be around years later. From where I live, we’re less of a tribe and more like a village of two tribes, if that means anything. Um, why are you all looking at me like that?”

Everyone in the room had their jaws on the floor, save for Moonstone. “You know your tribe’s been missing for years, and Autumn’s freaking out because she’s been looking for them for a while now, right?” the dragon explained.

“You have?” Aqua puzzled. “That would explain a lot. We migrated away from the Dragon Lands a long time ago. Maybe that’s why you couldn’t find us?” After thinking about it, she curled up in her blanket a little tighter. “I wish you had found us sooner, but it’s not your fault, you didn’t know we moved…”

Autumn climbed into the bed and hugged Aqua. “I wish I did, too. But you’re here now, just in time. We’re reuniting all the kirin tribes this week.”

“What about the rest of your tribemates?” Kunzite cut in. Rather than answer, Aqua was so uncomfortably quiet that they could hear a pin drop. “I’m so sorry if that was awkward. I just wanted to know.”

“It’s not a bad question, Kunzite,” Twilight corrected her. “Just give her some spa--”

“They’re trapped back home,” said Aqua. “They may not know it, but they are. They’re trapped by...by…” She nearly broke into tears, and she covered her face in her hands. Even then, Kunzite could feel Aqua’s gaze in her direction.

Autumn hugged her tightly again. “It’s okay. We’re all here for you. You don’t have to be scared.”

“I-I ran away because it was so horrible. I don’t want to go back there. And I h-hoped that if this village was still here, you could help them. P-Please help them…”

------

No matter what Moonstone said and did, Kunzite felt awful about what happened. It didn’t help that Aqua freaked out when she saw them. Yeah, her mother kept telling her she did nothing wrong, but that wasn’t what it felt like. There was more to this story than what she was letting on.

Still, after they calmed Aqua down just enough to talk, they found out more about the location of the tribes. From what she was able to get out, they gathered that the tribes migrated to the Undiscovered West. That part of the world was located, for lack of a better term, west of Equestria. To this day, it still wasn’t mapped out. Twilight and Spike meant to do that for years, but raising Kunzite and ruling over a kingdom took too much of their time and resources.

After Aqua fell asleep, there was a special meeting held in Autumn’s home. Spike and Twilight joined her there, and the discussion was rather heated. “We need to go there and find the rest of them,” Autumn pleaded. “We can finally bring all the kirins of the world together!”

What they didn’t know was that Kunzite listened in on the whole conversation, peeking her head through the front door. Her heart pounded from the discussion, what it could mean, and what was happening to the lost tribes. Moonstone was further away from the house, because he knew this was supposed to be private. “You’re gonna get in trouble if they catch you,” he warned.

“Shh! I want to hear this!”

“We need a gameplan, though,” Twilight countered. “You heard Aqua. Whatever’s happening out there, it’s not good. Why else would she run away from her own home like that?”

“We’re not saying we don’t understand,” Spike agreed. “I remember how crazy I went when I met my ‘dad’ for the first time. You can’t just throw yourself into it, you need some idea of what you’re going to do. Twilight knows that from experience.”

“Okay, then I’m going to leave today. I have to do it, guys. The village will be fine without me, and if there’s a kirin stuck in the well out west, I’m going to save them.”

“Today? But there’s all those festivities you had planned. Not to mention, it sound like you’re wanting to go there alone,” Twilight pointed out.

“But this is really important. This festival, it was all about bringing the tribes together. But it ate at me that we were missing someone. Now we can finally find them. Wouldn’t you feel like something was missing if you celebrated with all of Equestria, but the Earth Ponies weren’t there?”

The royal couple raised their hands to refute that, but then it sank in for them. “I’d be upset…” Spike admitted.

“Exactly! That’s why I’m going to go out there, alone or not!”

“I’ll go with you!” Kunzite burst in. She swung the door wide open and stood next to Autumn. “I’ll make sure you won’t be alone, and maybe I can even help you and…and...what’s wrong?”

Everyone in the room was staring at her. Twilight looked upset, Autumn startled, and Spike was terrified, knowing this could go south in a hurry. Soon after, Moonstone ran into the house and got between Kunzite and the rest of the group. “She didn’t mean it. She was just worried about Aqua, is all.”

“No, I mean it!” Kunzite doubled down. “There could be a lot of terrified kirin out there, and it’s the right thing to help them out! Why should I just sit here and do nothing?”

“Kunzite, you’d be willing to do that for me?” Autumn wondered. “That is just...one of the sweetest things I’ve ever--”

“Kunzite, go to your room. We’re going to have a talk right now,” Twilight interrupted in a stern tone. That was the kind of tone when someone was in trouble, and Kunzite knew it.

“I tried to save you from that,” Moonstone whispered to her. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“I know,” Kunzite stated quietly. “But you know why I had to do that.” She went to her room without a fuss. Twilight went in after her and shut the door.

“She’s in for it now,” Spike chuckled nervously. “Hopefully, her skin got thicker recently.”

“How bad is this gonna be?” Moonstone asked him.

“Well…I’ve learned that a dragon isn’t always the scariest thing to find in Equestria…”

“How could you do this?” Twilight complained. “We’ve told you not to eavesdrop on conversations like that. It’s an invasion of privacy, and it’s just wrong to begin with.”

“But I was worried about Aqua. Not to mention, all those lost kirin? I need to go save them!”

“Kunzite, let me tell you something right now from experience. There is never an ‘I’ when you’re out saving the world or helping somebody when it’s like this. There’s always a ‘we’. You can’t do it alone. I can’t do it alone, and my cutie mark revolves around magic.” She paced back and forth, and she had to keep it together to avoid snapping at her daughter.

The kirin opened her mouth to say something, but she realized her mother wasn’t wrong. “Then what do I do? I feel like I can’t just sit back on this one. I have to do something.”

“I don’t think anybody’s doing anything for a while. We need a plan if we’re going to go in there. If Aqua’s that terrified, we have to take it seriously. It’s just...yes?” She noticed Kunzite raising her hand in the air, like she was back in school.

“What if this is my special destiny?”

The alicorn stopped her pacing. “Kunzite, please. We can’t tell if this is it like that. I want you to fulfill it more than anyone else in the world, believe me.”

“Then shouldn’t I try?” Kunzite pleaded. “It seems like this could be it. A bunch of kirin go missing for decades, and suddenly they’re back like that?”

That got Twilight to sigh and brush her mane to the side. “I understand why you feel the way you do. I mean it. But…” She gazed over at the door. “It could be dangerous. If you’re serious about this, you have to make sure.’

“I’ll bring Moonstone with me! He’s supposed to be a part of my destiny, and he’s really strong. Between the two of us, we could do anything.” She gave her mother a case of the puppy dog eyes to seal the deal.

“Wait, he has no idea that you’re this serious about it. From what I saw, he doesn’t want you in this at all. But…” The puppy dog eyes only intensified as she hesitated. “You can go with Autumn to the Undiscovered West.”

“Yes!” Kunzite fist pumped the air.

“Under a few ground rules.”

“Awwww.”

“First, you have to ask Moonstone to go with you. If he says no, you’re not going. If he says yes, I’m going to have a few Guards go with you to make sure you’re safe. On top of that, you have to write letters to us on a frequent basis about what’s going on. If anything looks serious or terrible, we’re going to go in there with you immediately. And we’ll stay right here or in a town nearby to make sure we’re close. I couldn’t forgive myself if you get hurt.”

“That sounds fair to me,” Kunzite grinned. She got ready to open the door, but she stopped when she realized something. “Why are you letting me go? It might be my special destiny and everything, but this isn’t like you.”

“I know it’s not.” Twilight joined her over by the door. “But I know how important this is to you. Over time, I’ve learned that sometimes, your special destiny shows itself in ways you can’t see coming. Like a trip to Ponyville, mandated by your mentor.” She came up and hugged her daughter. “Just be safe out there, okay?”

Kunzite smiled and returned the hug. “I will, Mom. You know me.”

They exited the room, and Autumn jumped up to her feet. “What’s happening? You okay if I go? Is Kunzite going?”

Twilight nodded. “Kunzite’s going to go with you out west, on one condition…” She turned her attention over to Moonstone.

The dragon gulped from the look his way. Whatever this is, it wasn’t going to be pretty.

------

Kunzite brought him out to another corner of the village, where nobody would be around. The villagers had gathered around Aqua’s makeshift house and came bearing gifts, like fruit and fresh clothing. It seemed like the right thing to do after the mess she went through. Still, Moonstone’s first reaction wasn’t exactly kind...

“Is everypony in Equestria this crazy?” he balked. “You’ve got to be kidding. You don’t know what you’re getting into, and that’s a big sign of trouble.”

“But it really could be our special destiny! Don’t you want to help the little guys out?” Kunzite countered. “Autumn really wants us to go with her. It’s not just because she wants some friends to tag along with her. We all want you to come, because you’re strong and intimidating. If anything goes wrong, you could be the one to get us out of a jam.”

“My strength? That’s why you want me to come?” He was surprised to hear that coming from her mouth.

“Among other reasons, yeah. I couldn’t win that many arm wrestling contests in a row if I tried. And even if we didn’t have this special destiny stuff going on, I’d want you to come with us. You’re my friend.”

Huh. She had said that to him a few times in the past, but something about this time was different to him. He still wasn’t used to hearing that, and it was...okay, he wasn’t going to get sappy about it. His parents were sappy, but dragons don’t do sappy stuff. He definitely didn’t.

Still, one look at Kunzite and he could see how eager she was to do this. Not to mention, it would just be the two of them, and an overbearing kirin that was willing to play all the songs of her people. And some guards, from the sounds of it. When he thought about it that way, it wasn’t so bad. Not to mention, getting to boast about beating some bad guy and get a huge part of the credit for saving the kirin? What was wrong with that?

“When are we leaving?” he asked.

Without warning, he suddenly felt himself get hug-tackled to the floor, a move he faintly remembered as “glomping”. He choked and gasped for air while Kunzite squeezed him tightly in her arms. “Thank you thank you thank you! I promise I won’t be too annoying! Oooh, here we go!”

“When...are we l-leaving…” he gasped.

“I think we leave in two hours. Autumn just needs to get some things ready, and my parents gotta get our guards prepared for the journey. Plenty of time.”

Moonstone pulled away from Kunzite and brushed his scales off. “There’s something I gotta do before we leave. I’m not gonna like it, but my parents will want to know I’m gonna be gone for a while.”

Kunzite stood up and helped him back on his feet. “Oh yeah, Dragon Lord Ember and Fizzle. Your parents seem really cool. I’ll go tell Mom about it, and we’ll leave when you get back. Deal?”

“Deal. This won’t take long, I hope. See you around. And man, are you crazy.” He flapped his wings and took off into the skies. That left her alone in the village for now.

Not that she minded. She couldn’t stop giggling like a filly over what she was about to do. An incredible journey with her best friend and her newest friend? How could it not be a ton of fun? Of course, she had some preparations of her own to make. This would all be worth it in the end.

Author's Notes:

And so the story reveals itself...next chapter won't be too long, so expect the next one soon.

Dragon to Dragon, Pony to Dragon

The Dragon Lands were an interesting place in the mid-morning hours. Some dragons were off doing their own thing--that used to consist of raiding Equestrian towns, but things changed recently--while others were still being lazy inside their caves. Moonstone was in the former camp, and he was grateful that the airspace was quiet around that time of the day. He needed to clear his head for what he was about to do.

The sun shone in his eyes as he arrived at his homeland, shielding his eyes. He sighed as he came within visual range of his target. It was best to do this before his little “adventure”, but that didn’t mean he looked forward to it. The scent of gems embedded down on the ground below was tempting to him, but he ignored it.

Soon after, he arrived at the entrance to the Dragon Lord’s cave. The entrance, big even by a dragon’s standards, was a little intimidating. Having his parents’ hoard starting at the entrance was fuel to the fire. His feet scrunched up against the golden coins on the floor as he made his way inside.

He had to navigate a hallway filled with many rooms, but it wasn’t long until he found the throne that marked the Dragon Lord’s seat, inside a room that used a lavafall for decoration and a hoard bigger than anything he could imagine. The throne was encrusted with gems with a hint of gold to the structure. Whenever Ember made it or stole it, he didn’t know. The throne next to it, surely for Fizzle, wasn’t nearly as nice. Still, it had its share of gems and gold to complete the set. When he got there, those thrones were both filled by their respective owners, and they were rather concerned.

“Moonstone? What are you doing here?” Ember wondered. “It’s been weeks since you stepped foot in our cave.”

“Yeah, is something wrong?” Fizzle added. “You don’t look too good.”

Indeed, Moonstone had a hint of worry to his face. He wouldn’t admit how he felt to himself, but it didn’t change one thing about his emotions. The young dragon stepped up to the thrones and shook his head. “I’m okay, guys. Just needed to tell you something before I left.”

“The kirin thingy? Yeah, we know,” Ember grinned. “Twilight sent us a letter all about it. You beat fifty kirins in an arm wrestling contest? I’m impressed.”

“FIFTY? You didn’t tell me it was fifty,” said Fizzle. “What have you been doing? Did Wildfire teach you pull ups or something?”

“Nah, they were no match for me,” Moonstone boasted. He flexed his arm, only to wince again. Seemed like it was going to take some time to recover. “Did they tell you what happened this morning?”

Ember and Fizzle looked at each other in confusion. “Not really. Was it something bad?” inquired Ember.

Moonstone spent the next few minutes going over it with them. Every detail about the visitor, her life story, and the whole “missing tribes” thing, he didn’t hold anything back. As they listened, Ember grew noticeably concerned, while Fizzle was intrigued. Maybe it was the history angle for him. Then Moonstone got to the part where Kunzite wanted him to join her out west.

“And that’s why I came over to see you guys. I’m going with her, and I don’t know how long it’s going to be until I’m back.”

The Dragon Lord leaned back in her chair, quiet at first. Her hands were clasped together as she dwelled on it. That worried Fizzle to death. When she got like that, that usually meant the next response would be highly emotional.

Moonstone stood by quietly, however. He wasn’t worried about her response like his dad was, because he wasn’t here for her approval. This was going to happen no matter what she had to say.

“I’m really proud of you,” she finally spoke. “I got worried about you doing that whole ‘find my own path’ crap, because every teenager does it. Most of the time, they’re just being jerks to their families and act like they’re not little kids anymore. But this is different.”

“How so?” he asked. That was surprisingly reserved for her, and it was no surprise that Fizzle sighed happily in his chair.

“Because you’re not doing that to prove you’re the better dragon to us. Nah, that’s not really what you’re doing, you’re trying to make Kunzite happy and go rescue some kirin.”

Moonstone swore his face was getting hotter. “I’m not doing it for her! I swear! It’s just...she made some really good points about our destiny...and it’s the right thing to do...and...stop looking at me like that!”

Fizzle had the biggest grin on his face. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you stop blushing.”

“Daaaad! Kunzite is really cute, but it’s not like that. We’re not a thing.”

“I know,” Ember agreed. “Just be warned, though. From the sounds of it, this is going to be one of the hardest things you’ve done, especially if it turns out to be your destiny thingy. You’re never going to get stronger unless you face some real hardships. Believe me.”

“And no, asking your crush out doesn’t count,” Fizzle teased. His hand came over to clasp Ember’s claws.

The teenage dragon was ready to erupt. “Fine, fine, whatever works for you two. I’m not gonna have to leave the room again, am I?”

“Not now, Fizzle,” Ember retorted, although she still planted a kiss on Fizzle’s forehead. “Still, you’ll let us know if anything goes wrong? We got that letter system set up now.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll blow fire on a letter and one of you two will belch it up. There has to be a more sanitary way than that.” Once he was finished, he came up closer to the thrones. “You’re not going to worry about a thing. We’ll get through it okay. Not like anyone can beat us in a fair fight.”

“Now that’s my boy.” Fizzle came up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t back down from a fight, you be good to Kunzite, and you’ll come home without a scratch. Deal?”

The hand on his shoulder made Moonstone freeze up a little bit, only to find himself hugging his dad. “Deal. Really, you don’t have to worry about me anymore. You should have known that by now.”

Ember rose up from her chair and joined them in a group hug. “Oh come on. We never worry about you holding your own in a fight.” Just worried about what you’re doing to yourself, all to convince us you’re the toughest dragon around. But that’s for another time.

Moonstone gagged from his parents hugging him so hard. “A little too much, guys…”

“Just a few more seconds. I wanna treasure this moment,” Fizzle countered.

“Yeah, been too long since our last family hug. Dragons do hugs now, after all,” Ember chuckled.

This dragon shouldn’t… Moonstone thought.

------

While Autumn, Kunzite, and the guards made their preparations, Twilight and Spike took a moment to retreat to the guest house. Things were going to be frantic for the next few hours, and they just needed a minute to breathe and adjust. Best to take a moment to let it sink in without rushing it, they would always say.

Twilight sat down on the sofa, and Spike joined her on the side. They didn’t say anything at first, because they didn’t know where to start. She gazed around the room and made sure nobody could listen in on them.

“This is crazy!” she started. “Every time we do something to relax and get away from civilization, this happens. Why does it keep happening?”

“You never complained about it before,” Spike countered, nuzzling into her shoulder. “You made friends that way, and everypony knows you as the Princess of Friendship, saving the world with your friends countless times. Is that a bad thing?”

“Not really.” She snuggled into his forehead. “But this is the first time Kunzite’s had to do it. And every time I see her…” Her horn glowed, and something came out of the bedroom. When it hovered in front of Spike’s face, he saw that it was a picture of Kunzite in Twilight’s arms, shortly after the kirin was born. “This is what I see. It’s like she grew up, but she never grew up in my heart.”

He picked up the picture and held it closely. “Yeah. She’s always going to be our little girl. But this is good for her, isn’t it? She likes to help people out, and we’ll be right there if things hit the fan.”

“That’s what I’m scared of,” she sighed. “We’ll be right there, and she’ll have Moonstone and the guards to help out, and Autumn can talk everyone’s ears off when they can’t do a thing.” She stopped to give him a moment to laugh. “But if anything happens to her, it feels like it will be on me. I signed off on it.”

“I know.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for more cuddles. “But we’ve gotten her ready for this. The magic lessons, letting Wildfire teach her, this might be the moment it’s all been leading up to. But if you’re still worried, maybe you should tell her.”

“I want to, but that could kill her confidence. You saw how she sprung at the chance to go out there. What if I mess it up by suggesting she can’t do it, and I didn’t even mean to do that?”

Now that got him on his cautious side. If he wasn’t careful, she was going to go full Twilynanas. “Hey, don’t overthink it. Just give her the advice you think she needs, let her know you believe in her, but you’ll be there if things go south. Sometimes, that’s all you need to do.”

She sighed. “It just seems so simple. Too simple, really.”

“Yeah. I won’t lie, I’m scared for her, too. If anyone harms her, I’m going to kill them.” The lack of sarcasm in his voice sent shivers down her spine.

“You can be really intimidating when you want to be. You know that?”

“Heh, I don’t want to be. Just when it counts.” They briefly saw Kunzite run across the village from the opened front door to the house. “But I think she’s going to be fine. She’s our daughter, which means she’s going to overpack and overplan.”

Twilight laughed and leaned on his shoulder. “I love you, Spike. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I love you too, Twilight. I’d say I wouldn’t know what I’d do without you, too, but I was still an egg when you found me.”

“Oh my gosh, Spike. You’re still that dork I met all those years ago.”

“Like you’re not a dork, yourself.” He kissed her on the lips and watched their daughter carry on.

Author's Notes:

Yeah, wasn't too long this time, but it was meant to give Spike, Twilight, Ember, and Fizzle one last moment before the story focuses entirely on their kids and Autumn. I'll try to have the next(and hopefully, longer) chapter up before the season 9 premiere.

Camping With Kirins

The next couple of hours were hectic for Kunzite. She asked around for the kind of things she would need for a long trip, having forgotten her prized book, How Not To Die When You’re Far From Home, when she left Ponyville. As a result, she freaked out and tried to grab all the things. A hundred water containers, enough food to feed...well, a village, things like that.

When Autumn came up to check on her, she found a huge pile of stuff in the middle of the village. Kunzite was even adding to it with different utensils. “Got to have a net,” she mumbled to herself. “Never know when there could be a dangerous bug out in the open. I should know, I could name them all off the top of my head. Wait, is that enough water?”

Autumn laughed and joined her friend by the pile. “You don’t have to carry that much stuff around. There’s no way we could carry all that by ourselves.”

“Don’t we need it, though?” Kunzite thought. “We’re going to be gone for a few days at the very least, and we need to prepare for everything.”

“Don’t you have magic? That should be enough for most things. You could start a campfire with your fire spells, maybe even make a magical shelter.” She poked Kunzite’s horns just enough to make sure they were solid.

“Hey, those are sensitive.” Her horns twitched from the pokes. “I guess magic could help a little bit, but I’m still learning. I haven’t gotten to Volume 2 of Mom’s spellbooks, and those have, like, a hundred spells each.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Autumn countered. “Between my knowledge of the tribes, your magic, and Moonstone’s strength, we can do anything. Isn’t that enough before you throw…” The pile of stuff collapsed under its own weight. Everything scattered in a million directions. “....all that on board?”

Kunzite cringed from the pile crashing on her. It didn’t help that the villagers were upset to see their village all cluttered from the mess. “I guess you’re right…” She used a levitation spell to pick everything up from the pile. One by one, she put everything back where she found it.

“Hey, we’ll be fine. You had the right idea, we just need to slim down.” Autumn went around the village and gained a fraction--fraction--of what Kunzite thought they needed. “We’ll just pack up some of the things we need, restock when we have to, and we’re good to go.”

“Really? That little?” Kunzite gazed at the pile to make sure she was seeing it right. It had a few one liter bottles of water, rations for food, some bedrolls and enough materials for a tent, among other things.

“That’s all you need. Oh hey, I think our little dragon’s coming back!”

Just on cue, Moonstone could be seen coming back over the horizon. He seemed pretty content with himself when he came back their way. It was impossible to miss the bag hanging on his back, with how tightly packed and cumbersome it looked. It wasn’t hard to guess that it was full of gems, given how some of them bulged out of the bag.

“You’re just in time. We’re about to leave!” Kunzite waved. “Are you ready to head out?”

Moonstone landed down, and the gems almost bounced out of the bag. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Said my goodbyes back home, and I guess I gotta write to Mom and Dad, too.”

“Don’t worry. I got enough between the both of us.” She pulled out a whole roll of paper, quill, and ink from her knapsack, more than he had ever seen in his lifetime.

“Why am I not surprised you were carrying that around…”

“Oooh, are those gems?” Autumn wondered. She pulled out a Fire Ruby from the bag. “That is adorable. You guys might eat rocks like these, but that would make for a good decoration.”

“Don’t touch my gems like that,” he snapped. He took it back and stuffed it in his bag, only to get a certain stare from his friend. “Sorry, just touchy about my stuff.”

“Gotcha, don’t touch the gems. Anything else you guys need to do before we hit the road?” Autumn asked around.

“I do,” said Kunzite. “Give me just one moment.” She went off to go see her parents again at their guesthouse. A few knocks on the door later, and Twilight and Spike came out to see her. They didn’t have to ask if she was ready or not. It was obvious with the look on her face.

Before she could get another word out, Twilight pulled her in for a family hug. Spike joined her right away, and the things left unsaid were louder than anything they could say. Kunzite wouldn’t know it yet, but Twilight’s eyes grew watery.

“I’m so proud of you,” her mother whispered. “You’ll promise you’ll write to us every day?”

“I will,” Kunzite nodded. “I don’t want to keep you guys out of it. We’ll be okay no matter what. I’ll keep Moonstone out of trouble.”

“We know you will,” Spike agreed, and he rubbed the top of Kunzite’s mane. “You’re a big girl now, and you got a lot of people looking out for you. Not that you need it, you’re awesome like that. But…” He brushed away a tear before she could see it. “Go out there and show them what you’re made of.”

Kunzite couldn’t stop grinning. “You guys are like the best parents ever. Now, I’m gonna go out there and change the--”

“Don’t forget about the guards,” Twilight interrupted. “They should be ready about now.”

“Awww, I forgot about that.” She kicked the dirt around her feet. “They’re not going to be bossy, are they?”

“No, and I think you’ll like them. They’ve been guarding the castle for a few years now, and I would trust them with my life.” She brought Kunzite and Spike down to go see them. “Here they are. I told them to keep an eye on you if something goes wrong, but they won’t get in the way if everything’s fine.”

The two guards were both pegasi, and they carried a small chariot with them. One was a mare, around twenty years old with a white coat and silver mane. The other was a stallion, sporting a blue coat with a black mane, and he was a bit older than his counterpart. They bowed before the alicorn when they saw her motioning their way.

“You don’t have to do that every time I point at you,” Twilight laughed. “Anyways, these two are Silverstrike and Marine Wind. They’ll use the chariot to carry Autumn around, so you won’t have to leave her behind whenever you want to fly.”

The guards rose up to their feet. “Sorry, matter of habit,” Silverstrike noted. “We are ready to depart when the party is ready.”

“Just one moment,” said Kunzite, turning to her parents. “I’ll promise to write every day...err, every three hours. You’ll know everything when it happens. Oooh, I wish I could draw, I want you guys to see what the kirin look like over there.”

“Oh, I think we’ll see them soon enough,” Spike smiled. He brought her and Twilight in for another group hug, and this one went a little longer than the last. “Don’t let us keep you from it. Don’t forget that we love you.”

Kunzite smiled and kissed them both on the forehead. When she left the guest house, she looked over her shoulder at them the entire time, then she found herself back with Moonstone and Autumn. She went ahead and told them about the guards tagging along, much to Moonstone’s disgust.

“You mean there’s gonna be more of you guys coming along?” he groaned. “Alright, whatever helps your parents sleep at night.”

Autumn had...quite a bit of a different reaction. She examined the guards coming along with them, and she made sure they were in top shape. The two pegasi stood there without a hint of emotion, as they were used to this kind of nonsense from Pinkie Pie. “You guys look alright. You can hold your own in a fight or not?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Silverstrike responded. “If we need to fight, we can fight. When we are leaving?”

“Right now!” Autumn immediately piled all the provisions into the chariot, including Moonstone’s bag of gems, and she climbed on board. “Let’s get this show on the road, guys!”

That’s when it truly dawned on the dragon and kirin what they were going to do. Even when they kept in mind that Twilight and Spike would be around, this would be the first time they’d get to do something this huge by themselves. Moonstone took it well, and his wings were already spread out. The sooner he took to the skies, the better.

Kunzite had a different feeling about the moment, however. She couldn’t deny that she was nervous, and it was possible she didn’t think about what she was getting herself into. Whatever was out there could be terrifying, and she grew nervous about it. Despite all of that, she learned over time about the best way to face fear for someone like her: Hit screw it and do it anyway. She spread out her wings and started to fly.

Her parents watched them both from the porch, along with a lot of the kirins across the village, as their wings carried them into the air. Autumn couldn’t stop squealing in delight as the guards flew up, taking her chariot up with them, and a cool breeze passed through the feathers and scales on their wings. It wasn’t long until all of them soared above the trees in the wild blue yonder.

Kunzite realized this was the last time she would see her parents in a while, and she turned around to see them one last time. She waved at them as fast as she could, and they waved back at her, trying not to tear up again. Just a few seconds later, the party would be dots in the sky, unrecognizable up there.

“I just hope they’re okay,” Twilight whimpered. She wouldn’t be able to fight the tears this time.

“They will be,” Spike comforted her. “I believe in them.”

------

The land of Equestria flew by them at crazy high speeds. The wind was a nice breeze behind them, carrying their wings further than they could do on their own. Autumn was having a blast from the chariot, with her mane and fur going everywhere. She even lifted her hands up in the air like this was all one big roller coaster.

Ahhhh, this was just what the dragon needed. He felt cramped in the village, and this was more like his style. He did barrel rolls both ways and soaked in the breeze. The wind enveloped him like a blanket, and the fresh air in his nostrils smelled like paradise.

Kunzite noted how fast he was going. She might not have been the quickest flier, but she had no idea he was so much better than she was. He noticed it right away when he gazed over his shoulder. “Come on, you can do better than that!” he ‘encouraged’ her.

“We have to be careful!” she cautioned. “We could be falling into a trap, or something worse!”

“Not right now. We got a lot of traveling to do, and I’m not gonna wait on it.” He blasted right over the forest, and he started to become a dot in their field of vision.

“Come on, Kunzite, show him what you’re made of,” Autumn piled on. She leaned over the side of the chariot and pumped her fist in the air. “He’s not the only good flier in this group!”

That didn’t help things for Kunzite. She didn’t want to show off, but she grew scared for her little scaled friend. He was so reckless, not caring if they were flying into danger, and she needed to make sure he was okay. Faced with no other options, she flapped her wings harder than ever to make up lost ground. Her feathers ruffled against the current as she pushed herself to make it.

Moonstone grew so arrogant, he was convinced she’d never catch up. That didn’t sound fair, so he halted to give her a few seconds to catch up. Maybe in a minute, she’d get over here, and he’d get to rest just a tiny bit. Not like he needed it. Then he felt a blur of fur and scales nearly miss him. Wait, was that...no way. There was no way that could be HER.

“What’s wrong? Worried that she can keep up with you?” Autumn grinned from the back. The guards strained to keep up the pace themselves, but they weren’t tired just yet. “She’s stronger than you think!”

“Grrr...knew I was full of myself back there!” He slapped himself for letting that happen, and he went back to his usual speed. As it turned out, his friend stopped in her tracks for him. You gotta be kidding me. It really was her back there.

Kunzite exhaled peacefully once he caught up. “I thought I’d never catch up to you. Do you know how fast you were going? I bet you could do a Sonic Rainboom when you grow up.”

“Huh. So that’s what you’re thinking about, Sonic Rainbooms,” Moonstone thought. “Well, I could go a lot faster if I felt like it.”

“Really?” The thought made her awestruck. “How fast could you go?”

“You know what, we got some time to kill before we get there. Why don’t we do a wager? I’m gonna fly to the limit, and you have to try to keep up with me...using your magic. If you win, I’ll have to read all of your mom’s books. If I win, you have to try one of my gems. Deal?”

Out of all the things she expected to happen on the way, this wasn’t on the list. That wasn’t a bad thing. “Deal. You’ll really like her books if you ever try them out. Really informative about a lot of things. And then there’s Dad’s book. That’s a classic.”

“Heh, we’ll see about that. On your marks, get set…” He sped off right away, leaving a huge gust of wind in his wake. The skin on his wings thrashed against the wind as he pushed himself to go as fast as he could without dying.

Kunzite was astonished how quick he was getting, and she huffed and tried to concentrate. This spell was going to be a long distance one to work. Her twin horns shined from the magical aura as she brought her attention to her destination. This was the longest distance she ever tried a teleportation spell on, but it would make for good practice.

The dragon roared in delight when he realized how far he had gone. He could barely make out his friends off in the distance, and he was only getting faster. Who knows, maybe he could be the first dragon to do a Sonic Rainboom. If anyone could do it, it might as well be him.

However, he heard something behind him. It sounded like a burst of energy of some sort. He froze up and turned to see who it was. “Dang it. Of course your magic’s that good,” he muttered. “Does this count as a win for me or you?”

“Hmm, I’m going to say...Moonstone!” Autumn interrupted. As it turned out, Kunzite accidentally dragged Autumn and the guards into her spell. The guards were caught off...guard...and tried to regain their bearings. “You came really close, but you weren’t totally caught up with him. That was really good, though.”

Moonstone placed his hands on his hips triumphantly. “Heh, knew I could do it. Okay, maybe not, but I still gave it my all.” He slapped her shoulder like she was a teammate. “You’ll get the hang of it one day.”

“That was my best teleportation spell yet. I had no idea I could go that far,” Kunzite cheered. “Guess I’ll have to try a gem after all when we make camp.”

Despite the satisfaction of winning, he felt kinda bad about things. “Hey, we could try something else to even up the score, so I’ll still have to read a book. And I think I got just the thing. You got any fire spells in ya?”

The idea made her meep. “I do, but why would I need to do that? It’s nothing but forests in all directions. I don’t want to burn anything down like that.”

“No no no, nothing like that,” he waved his hands. “How about something like...” He took a huge breath of air, more than Kunzite had ever seen him take before. She swore he had to suck in the air around her, too. After he exhaled, a huge plume of fire came out of his lips. It shot up fifty feet in the sky, maybe even more. He aimed it away from the party and any trees, but she could still feel the heat from it. Her eyes widened from the huge amount of fire, and maybe a little disgusted that he had to belch it out.

Once it was over, he caught his breath from all that. “You think you can top that with a fire spell? There’s no way you can come close to me.”

“It’s honestly a toss up,” Autumn comment. “What do you guys think?”

“For the love of Celestia and Luna, please don’t ever do that again unless you have to,” Marine Wind pleaded.

“That was so awesome!” Silverstrike countered. “We need to see that one more time. Go ahead, Kunzite. Try to show him what Equestria’s made out of!”

“Okay. I’ll try.” Kunzite wasn’t sure about it, but her friends having her back helped a little bit. That, and she really wanted him to read her dad’s book right away. Surely, Moonstone would love some advice from another dragon.

Once again, she concentrated everything she had into the spell. Her horns illuminated in a different shade of color, the red shade hinting at the spell she had in mind. Moonstone leaned back in the clouds and watched. He wasn’t sure what the dragon equivalent of popcorn was, but he wished he had some on him.

After a minute of preparation, Kunzite slowly let it out. It started as a spark of flame, but it almost flickered out before it caught on. “Come on, you can do better than that,” he egged her on. That turned out ot be one of the biggest mistakes of his lifetime. Before he knew it, a huge pillar of fire shot up just inches from his frame. It was bigger than his fire belch, and the heat felt like a volcano right up in his face.

Kunzite realized she almost hit Moonstone, and she freaked out. She immediately pointed her horns up into the sun, and the fire soared up a good seventy-five feet up. When it was over, Moonstone and Marine Wind’s jaws were planted on the floor, while Autumn and Silverstrike looked like they just saw the best fireworks show of all time.

“So...oh man…how was that?” Kunzite panted and wiped some sweat away from her forehead. “Was that pretty good?”

“Maybe we need to take a break from this…” Moonstone whimpered.

------

Yeah, my Molt was terrifying, AND I had to fight a giant bird, but it was worth it in the end. I even got these sweet wings out of it. Goes to show that change isn’t always the worst thing in the world. You might even love it like I did back then. I wouldn’t want to be a grounded dragon forever, after all.

Moonstone grumbled and put Spike’s book away. It had some practical advice mixed in there, but a lot of entries read more like diaries than any attempt at professional writing. Still, a bet's a bet, and he enjoyed watching Kunzite’s end of the bargain on the other side of camp.

Kunzite held a yellow gem in her hands, and she wasn’t sure where to start with it. Maybe she should begin on the pointy end, where it wasn’t that thick? On second thought, that was gonna hurt. The center could work, but she might chip a tooth that way. She didn’t know what to do, so she went ahead and bit down on the pointy end. To her surprise, her teeth dug right into the gems, and it crunched in her mouth like a rice candy bar.

The chunks of gem hit her tongue, and it tasted of lemons. However, it was unlike any lemon she ever had. The taste was so strong, yet so juicy. She grinded her teeth on the rock and swallowed. The aftertaste was even better than the regular taste. “Huh. I guess I could eat these after all. They’re really delicious.”

“Told ya. I’ll share some of mine with you,” Moonstone stated.

After another hour of flying, despite his concerns, they made camp for the midday hours. Silverstrike and Marine Wind took it upon themselves to get the very basics of a campground ready, mostly getting a fire ready for any cooking.

Autumn’s fur was blown over in all directions, but she never felt so alive in a long time, if not her entire lifetime. She didn’t bother fixing her mane when she sat down by the fire, boiling some rations on a frying pan. “Whew, we need to do that again! Is that what flying always feels like?”

“Pretty much. It never gets old,” Moonstone agreed. He tried to get through another page of Spike’s diary--let’s face it, that’s what it was--but then something crossed his mind. “Why is this so important to you, Autumn?”

Autumn tilted her head to the side. “Didn’t I tell you? I told the whole village, but if I left you out, really sorry about that.”

“No, you told me. You want to unite all the tribes, yadda yadda. But there’s so many kirin around you. It’s not like you live alone back home.”

“Ohhhh, I get it. You’re like ‘she’s not alone, why would she need more friends?’ But it’s more like I want things to go back like they were. We all used to be connected, and we hung out all the time. Then we stopped doing that for all the wrong reasons, oath of silence and all that. When I did our reunion with the two tribes missing, it felt like a family reunion but someone’s missing.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” he snorted.

“Moonstone!” Kunzite cut in. “Why would you say that? Don’t you know what she’s going through? I’m so sorry he said that to you, Autumn.”

Autumn got up from her log and, with a completely blank expression, went to face Moonstone. “No, I want to know what you mean by that. Did something happen to you?”

“Nothing happened!” He snapped, but he forced himself to calm down. “It’s just that we’re not divided where I come from. Dragonkind never went off and disappeared like your kind did. We might be united in a sense, but it never meant anything to us because we never saw eye to eye. We still fight each other. It’s not like Equestria, where everypony’s happy as they can be, and they’re all friends with each other.”

Kunzite didn’t count on hearing that, and she winced a little bit. She wanted to retort his argument, say something, but she couldn’t. Not another word was said by her.

“So you understand what I mean, probably because you’ve been in the Dragon Lands,” he continued. “They all recognize my mother as the Dragon Lord, but that doesn’t stop them from fighting and stealing from each other, right?”

“Right…”

“My point, exactly.” He put the book under his armpit. “Autumn, I hope you find what you’re looking for, I really do. But not everyone’s going to like what you have in mind for them.”

The older kirin stood there quietly. She had a lot of mixed emotions, ranging from sorrow to concern to optimism. Kunzite swore her fur started to ignite into that of a Nirik. Still, she didn’t burst out or anything like that.

“I need to try, at least,” Autumn stated calmly. “I have to. I just want to make sure everyone is safe and sound.”

“And I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” said Kunzite. “Look, it would get to me if there were just two of my kind in the whole world.”

But you’re only one of...oh, Moonstone thought to himself. I hit a nerve with you, didn’t I? “Yeah, I know. Just be careful about this.”

“I will,” Autumn replied, starting to get her cheer back. “And we’ll get through anything together. Right?”

“We will, but I think I need a moment,” Kunzite said. “Just a few minutes.”

“Wait, was it something I said?” She reached out for Kunzite, only for the younger kirin to go out on her own, deeper into the forest.

“More like something I said,” Moonstone complained. “I really gotta shut my mouth sometimes.”

Kunzite tried her best to keep her calm when she found a river nearby, where there was just enough grass around it to make her hover in the air. She gazed down at her reflection, and she didn’t see a freak like she might have done in the past. Just someone that needed...well, that was a silly thought. She didn’t need it like she thought she did.

Her hands cupped a few drops water out of the river, and she drank it down. It was just clean enough to drink, but she could still taste something weird in it. It might for the best to stop drinking it. Still, the faint taste of gem crust was on her tongue, and it was a reminder of the dragon side she carried around. That got her thinking about what Moonstone had to say, and he wasn’t wrong. There wasn’t any unity in the Dragon Lands like there was in Equestria.

At least he wasn’t alone when he wanted to find more of his kind.

Her eyes drifted towards the horizon, right in the direction of their destination. There were a few mountain peaks there, and maybe she should fly over there to get her mind straightened out some more. After all, he didn’t know he was getting under her skin with those comments. It was on her, and she didn’t clue him in on how that was a sensitive topic.

Right when she got out of the river to head over there, someone huge landed down by one of the peaks. What was that? It was big and red, with a little yellow on its underbelly. Were those wings she was seeing on it? They were. Then she recognized the body form, the scales, everything about it. It was a dragon.

She gasped and watched in bewilderment. There was nothing indicating that dragons lived here, not even one. Was it a stray dragon or part of a pack? She had to tell the others about it, maybe they knew what to do. Before she could go over and tell them, she heard a loud scream emitting from the camp.

“No no no, please tell me we’re not under attack!” She rushed to the camp and braced herself for the worst. There was no telling if there was another dragon out there, and she didn’t want to have to fight.

As it turned out, Autumn was the one screaming...in pure delight. Moonstone stood right by her with fists raised, and the guards had their swords ready for a fight. What was it they were facing? That was the fun part of this story.

Surrounding the party on all sides were a bunch of kirin consumed in the flames of the Nirik. Even with their bodies consumed in flames, their clothing remained intact. Despite their raged induced stage, they seemed calm and collected, but they carried spears in their hands.

“Why are you guys wanting to fight again?” Autumn asked the rest of the party. “These are KIRIN! They might even be from the lost tribes! Oh my gosh, this is really happening. I finally found you after so long. Where do we start? Hi, I’m Autumn Blaze, and these are my friends. I just met all of them, but they’re incredible.”

“Fellow Kirin, step away from the dragon,” one of the Niriks demanded.

“No way. I don’t trust you guys,” Moonstone snapped.

“Wait, why would I do that? He’s my friend,” Autumn added.

“He’s one of them. I sense it on him,” another Nirik answered.

Moonstone growled. “Say that again and I’ll blow you away.”

“No! Wait!” Kunzite dashed in and stood between him and the others. “They really are our friends. Please, don’t fight anyone. We can talk this out.”

The Niriks collectively gasped at the sight of Kunzite. The shape and features of her form brought all their attention on her “Could she be…” “No, this can’t be right.” “We need to let her know about this.” “Does this change anything?” “I still think we need to do something about that dragon.”

Moonstone caught the last part and growled again. “What is it with you guys? I haven’t touched a hair on you, but you’re sure getting on my nerves.”

Autumn went around him and faced the Niriks directly. “Look, if he was a bad dragon, he would have burned this whole forest down. We’re all just a bunch of friends coming to find you. How’s it going?”

They weren’t sure what to do about these visitors, so they huddled together and talked amongst each other. Autumn wished she was part of the huddle, Kunzite hoped it would be enough to defuse things, while Moonstone was still ticked off to high heaven. The guards held tight to their swords in case things escalated again.

After some words were exchanged, they powered down into their normal kirin forms. Their color schemes were vibrant, just as much as ponies were. They didn’t seem to be as suspicious about their guests as they once were.

“We believe you, but we’re keeping a careful eye on your friends,” they told Autumn, eyeballing Moonstone most of all. “Our leaders might be interested in your friend.” They gestured over to Kunzite.

“Yeah, she’s wonderful, isn’t she?” Autumn piped in. “Although, you gotta get to know Moonstone a bit more. He’s got a wallup punch like you’ve never seen before.”

“That’s not for us to decide,” the leader of the pack stated, with a calmness that didn’t exactly instill confidence in the dragon. “Come with us. We need to show you our village.”

“YOU HAVE A VILLAGE?” Autumn exploded. “Now this I gotta see! Come on, guys, we’ve got a lot to see and learn about these guys!”

The guards sheathed their swords, understanding that this wasn’t going to turn into a fight. They went with Autumn down into the forest, curious about where this village would be. Kunzite was about to join them, until she felt Moonstone tugging at her arm.

“This doesn’t feel right,” he stated. “You feel it, too?”

“That’s because they don’t like you,” she responded. “I didn’t enjoy that, either. You were just being protective, that’s all.”

“No, it’s something else. I don’t know why just yet, but they’re freaking me out. We shouldn’t go with them like we’re all buddy buddy.”

“Isn’t this why we came, though? Besides, if something goes wrong, we can handle it. If we can’t, my parents can send in help, too. We’ll be fine.” She went with everyone else down into the woods.

“Ugghhhhh...why does nobody ever listen to me?” He kicked a piece of grass (thankfully, not while Kunzite was there to see it) and huffed when he joined them on the trail. Whatever was going to happen, he wanted no part in it. Not like he had a choice, though. Let’s just get this over with.

Author's Notes:

And so the plot thickens...

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 Notes:

Poor Moonstone...

And You Thought You Were Alone

Streaming Sea managed to keep it together for an hour, but everyone had their breaking point. Once he got inside his home, he couldn’t contain his excitement. He sat down on the nearest chair and let it all sink in. This was really happening. Another Equestrian Kirin was here in the village with him. It was an incredible discovery, and one he did not take lightly.

Despite being a tribal leader around here, his house was modest. It was one of the very few two story houses in the lands, and it had several bedrooms in case he ever decided to start a family. He made sure the stone they used to build it was lightly colored, so it would be lively to look at. And it was. It didn’t help that one of the rivers was a mere twenty feet from the front door, perfect for his meditations and love of fishing.

Still, despite the peaceful surroundings he called home, he felt anything but peace in his heart. He reeled from the knowledge and tried his best not to lose it. As much as he grew comfortable with his Nirik form, it was probably not a good idea to do it inside his home. Not like this place needed more light around.

He remembered the bookshelf near his study table, where he owned books chronicling the history of Equestria. It went all the way up to Luna’s return and reformation. That made his curiosity grow, and he picked out a handful of volumes. Was there more on Kunzite than what he knew? Was this a common thing that happened and he just forgot about it?

Before he got too deep into the texts, he heard someone open the door behind. Judging from the heavy footsteps, he could tell who it was already. He turned to see this person come into the study room with him, a little ragged and dirty, but otherwise okay.

This kirin was at least six inches taller than him, with more muscle to boot. His coat was a faint hint of white, and the fur around the neck was brown. Well, when he wasn’t in his Nirik form, which he was. Then it was almost all fire.

“You know I don’t like being a Nirik in my own home, Ivory Steam,” Sea mentioned.

“Sea, your home was built to be fireproof,” the Nirik pointed out. “But you just had to fall in love with books, with their flammable paper. Very well.” He powered down into his kirin form, and he lowered the spear in his hand. “It was a good hunt, and we should have enough food to last for several months. However, I’ve heard rumblings about a very special guest in town. What do you know of it?”

“You wouldn’t believe it unless you’ve seen it with your very eyes. I think we found another Kirin. Not like you and me. Like her.”

Ivory was a stern man in his stature, but a thing like that left him astonished. “You must be joking. There hasn’t been another one in centuries, if ever. You’ve told me yourself. Are you certain?”

“I’ve seen her myself. She’s one of the guests in town. They can’t stop talking about her, partly because she’s not trying to hide from us. I was going to introduce you to her once you came back. This is no rumor. They do exist.”

Ivory scoffed and sat down next to Sea. “You’re no liar, that I’ve learned over the years. But we might be playing with fire. If there is another Equestrian Kirin and she’s here, it’s not merely a visit. You’re aware that they have special destinies, and it burns in their hearts until they’ve fulfilled it. That means she’s here to see it fulfilled.”

“What I was thinking. I think we should introduce her to...you know who.”

The older kirin leaned back in his seat and peeked at the river out the window. It was soothing and still, but every now and then, a fish would jump out of the surface to snatch a fly. “Who else came with her? They don’t act like she is.”

“Right. She brought four guests with her. Two of them are pony guards, and another is a kirin from a different tribe. They told me they came out here to find us, because we are apparently lost in the eyes of Equestria. But the last guest backs your theory. What do you say when you find out one of them is a teenage dragon?”

The mere mention of it sent Ivory back to his Nirik state. “Where. Is. He?”

“Calm down, I don’t think he’s here for a fight just yet. He didn’t like our play, but really, would any dragon like it when they’re forced to confront the dark side of their history?”

Ivory grabbed his spear and ignited the tip with his magic. “I’ll ask you again. Where is he?”

Streaming Sea rubbed his forehead and stood up. “He’s with our little kirin. They seem to be friends.”

If the mention of a dragon was enough to ignite Ivory, the mention of this friendship was enough to calm him down to get back to normal. “Are you certain?”

“He was defending her when the villagers didn’t care much for him. It couldn’t be more clear if it was under the surface of a clean river.”

“I’ll decide that for myself. If they’re expecting me to see them, that will be the ultimate judgment of their character. You never know with dragons. Even the smaller ones could burn down towns and raid our belongings. I remember seeing it for myself when I reached adulthood. Still, they are waiting for us right now?”

“They are. Just be careful about this. She’s not going to be happy if your first reaction is to push him away. We have to gain their trust if we want to discover the true reason why they are here.”

“That’s for me to decide. You find out what you can in your books, and we’ll go out to see them after you’re finished. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Don’t we all wish that for ourselves?”

------

“And that should be it. Did you get everything?” Kunzite inquired.

The guards were hard at work, getting every single detail down on the letter. Silverstrike assisted Kunzite with the illustrations as best she could, while Marine Wind got all the words down when the princess got blisters on her hands. She always thought there was a more personal touch, writing things by hand rather than her magic. By the end of it, they were pretty sure they got blisters on their hands, too.

“I hope to Celestia that’s everything,” Silverstrike noted. “Are you finished, or do we need to get a third sheet of paper?” Both scrolls were covered in writings, front and back.

“Nope. I think that’s everything.” Kunzite gathered the letters in the meadow and cast a spell over them. They turned into wisps of magical energy, drifting off into the winds. It wouldn’t take long for them to reach the town her parents were staying. “I hope Dad doesn’t mind two letters at the same time. If anyone could make his throat sore, it would be my letters.”

Before the letters could even get out of the village, another wisp of magic arrived to greet her. It turned into a scroll with the seal of Twilight’s cutie mark. “They must have been waiting to hear from me!” She broke it and went over it right away.

Dear Kunzite,

I got your first letter, and I’m so happy for you! If anyone could find the village, it would be you. Only Fluttershy rivals your love for nature. Still, we’re very concerned about some of the things you noted, and there’s more guards staying in town with us in case something really bad happens.

Still, it’s amazing that you found the tribes like that. Autumn must be over the moon. We’ve known her for over twenty years, and the enthusiasm she showed when we found out was unlike anything I’ve ever seen from her. Still, it’s our hope that these tribes are kinder than what we feared.

If what you’re saying is true, you need to keep an eye on Moonstone. He might not be the kindest person in the world, but he’s never left your side. Something I’ve learned over the years is to never judge a book by the cover, and I’m sad to hear that these kirin are doing that.

No matter what, write to us right away if something else, no matter how small, happens. We’re confident that you’ll be fine, but if we need to come in, tell us. Oh, and Dad says hello. He’s wondering how you’re able to draw all that stuff, because he almost gagged when he got your letter. That was the biggest letter I’ve ever seen from you.

Love you more than anything else in the world,
Your Mom and Dad

Kunzite read over every word carefully. The words were written in detailed cursive, which made it a little hard to read at times. The message still got across, and she was a little concerned. If there were more guards staying with her parents, things were going to go south in a hurry once they started. Maybe she should have left a detail or two out. No, they would have been upset if she was holding secrets from them.

Nevertheless, she rolled up the scroll and put it away in her knapsack. “Thanks for the help, guys. There’s more guard staying with them, but is it really that bad?”

“Look around you. This village is full of people I wouldn’t want to mess with.” Silverstrike motioned to all the Niriks in town. “We don’t want to provoke them, but we should be ready in case we get on their bad side.”

“Not that they’re bad people. Just don’t go around poking them in the chest. Kinda like a bear,” Marine Wind mentioned. “Personally, I don’t think they’re bad. They just had a bad rub-in with some of the worst dragons in the world, and that was it.”

She nodded. “That’s true. Good thing they like Autumn and I so far. Just gotta convince them that Moonstone’s a nice friend, too. Speaking of which, has anyone seen him?”

The guards pointed him out to her. He was sitting over by a riverbank by himself, and he had a sheet of paper in his hands. His feet dipped below the surface of the water as he sat down on the ground(thankfully, without any grass there). The letter was toyed with in his claws, like he wasn’t sure what to do with it.

Even though he didn’t say or do much, she could tell he was still having a rough time. She sat down next to him and brought her feet into the water as well. There was a flash of recognition in his eyes before he carried on with his thing. He drew the letter closer to his face and blew it away with his fire breath. It vanished into magical smoke, and it went on its way to the Dragon Lands.

“You don’t have to stay here with me,” he sighed. “I’ll be fine.”

“I know. I wanted to be here with you.” She clasped her hands and rested them on her lap. Fish swam by their legs and didn’t seem to mind the invaders to their homes. “Was that a letter to your parents?”

“Yeah. Just letting them know I’m okay. And I am. Really. This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten crap from others, and I’m still here. I’m not the one you need to be worried about.”

Despite not having the most street skills compared to her dragon friend, she knew what he meant. “You’re scared because they seem to be freaking out about who I am.”

He nodded quietly. “Mom told me that before either one of us was born, ponies would freak out about dragons, because our kind tended to threaten you guys. If you ask me, this is more creepy. They don’t know anything about you, but they’re treating you like royalty. That’s not always a good thing.”

She sighed and couldn’t disagree with that. Still, either one of them knew what to do at that point. Something was off about this place to them. When Moonstone didn’t know what it was, though, there wasn’t much they could do to act upon it.

Instead, Kunzite leaned in and gave Moonstone a hug. It caught him off guard, and his instincts told him to pull her off, especially with all the Niriks in the rivers staring at them. Yet, he felt strangely comforted by it. He wanted nothing more but to get out of the situation, but with a friend comforting him like this, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. After all, his mother told him dragons do hugs now. It might just take a while before he figured out if he liked hugging people back or not.

“Ah, that is so sweet of you,” a familiar voice warmed up to them. “See, I told you they were friends. They seem nice enough.”

The sudden intruder made Kunzite and Moonstone jump out of the river. They were greeted again by Streaming Sea, along with a kirin that was new to them. He was ashy white and brown, and Moonstone could tell he was a contender for the toughest kirin in town just by looking at him.

“So your report was true after all,” Ivory Steam remarked. He gazed all over Moonstone, and yeah, that was a dragon. “You’re must be the visitors I’ve heard so much about.” Then he got a look at Kunzite, and he was intrigued. The Equestrian Kirin and dragon were equally concerned.

“Oh, my apologies. I didn’t realize how rude it was of us to interrupt like we did. Kunzite, Moonstone, this is my friend, Ivory Steam,” Sea introduced him. “He rules over the other tribe in town. As you can see, whatever he lacks in subtlety, he makes up for in strength.”

“If that was meant as an insult, that had the opposite effect,” Ivory commented. He took a step closer to the welcoming party, and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. This little kirin appeared to be studious with that knapsack on her back, while he could sense the dragon’s power just with one image. Given they weren’t already fighting, this was a good sign. “I can guess where this dragon comes from, but where do you reside?” he asked Kunzite.

“Ponyville. I’m kind of a junior princess over in Equestria,” Kunzite explained. “Why do you think you know where Moonstone comes from?”

“He’s already guessed I’m from the Dragon Lands, and he’s right,” admitted Moonstone. He crossed his arms and stood his ground against Ivory. “I’m not here for trouble. If I was, I would have done it a long time ago.”

Ivory smirked and glanced over to Streaming Sea. “Let me guess, our kirin friend is a fellow academic like you, while this dragon boy is well trained in fighting, even if he’s not enjoying his field of work right now?” His eyes turned sideways to Moonstone to observe his reaction. The dragon wasn’t sure how to read this kirin just yet.

“You could say that,” Sea observed. “Personally, I view them both as potential allies we could learn much from. Speaking of which, you two must be hungry if you came all the way from Autumn’s village. We haven’t been there in years, but we remember that it’s a long trek.”

Right on cue, Kunzite’s stomach growled so loud that everyone could hear it. She covered her belly and blushed, only to be interrupted by an even louder growl from Moonstone’s stomach. He slapped his forehead when he realized he might actually have to eat with these people.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Don’t worry, we have all the gems you could want,” Ivory offered. Now that got him on Moonstone’s good side, and his eyes twinkled from the offer. “On top of that, we have something in mind only we could offer.”

------

“A dinner cruise? Okay, that has to be a pony thing. It has to be,” Moonstone balked.

Two canoes rested by one of the riverbanks. They were both large enough to carry four people, with a couple of paddles on the side for rowing. One canoe was stuffed with enough gems to feed a teenage dragon for a day, the other had typical Equestrian faire.

Autumn was invited over to join them for it. She took the scent of fresh water from the river and gave out a joyful exhale. “Ahhh, how much I missed the sea without actually being in the sea! Nothing wrong with a beachside town, but it takes three days to get all the sand out of my fur.”

Kunzite smiled and went over to examine one of the boats. The cushions on the seating was a nice touch. It sure helped that this seemed to be a wooden boat, but with tiny pieces of metal to reinforce it. It was likely there to avoid burning down in case of Nirik emergencies. Meanwhile, Moonstone noticed some of the dragons were gathering together downstream. They seemed to be having a good time, sharing stories and gems. It felt surreal exactly because it wasn’t like home at all. They seemed to be...tranquil here.

“So how are we doing this?” Kunzite wondered. “There’s two boats here, and I can guess one of them is for Moonstone with all those gems, but we can’t all fit into one boat.”

“That’s because we’re splitting into two parties,” Sea explained. “I was thinking that you’d join me on one boat, and Ivory would travel with Moonstone. Autumn’s free to choose between either one. How does that sound?”

“Uhh...give us one moment.” Moonstone knew Kunzite was ready to climb on board, so he guided her by the hand to a spot far away from Ivory and Sea. They both raised an eyebrow at his antics. Autumn was even further confused, given she was already starting to climb into Kunzite’s boat.

“Okay, what’s your problem this time?” Kunzite sighed.

“I don’t want you alone with either one of them,” Moonstone explained. “If I can convince them that we should share the same boat--”

“We’re going to be out in the open, and I can fly if they do something bad.” She fluffed her wings to cement her point. “I got this.”

Moonstone crossed his arms and snorted a wisp of smoke from his nostrils. “Can Autumn go with you, at least? Just to be safe?”

Her eyes widened at the suggestion, but she nodded her head. “I can do that. I’ll be fine either way, but I’m sure she’ll want to stick with us. You going to be okay?”

“You’re not the only one that can fly, either.” He extended a wing as a reminder that they were bigger than Kunzite’s. “Let’s get going before we make it worse.”

“Hey, be careful out there. I’ll have your back if you need someone,” she told him. It left him stunned, and he didn’t know how to answer that for a moment. Before he could, she already found himself back with everyone else.

Sea and Ivory seemed to be talking amongst themselves when they saw their guests coming back again. They stopped their little conversation and went back to their own things. “Are we ready to depart? Don’t worry, there is still plenty of daylight left if you need a moment,” Sea offered.

“No, we’re ready. Only thing is, can Autumn ride with you and me?” Kunzite asked.

“Well…” He turned to see what Autumn was up to. She had already climbed into their boat, and she waved over to the two of them. “I figured she would want to come in the first place, so I see no problem in it.” He nodded over to Ivory. Ivory nodded back knowingly.

Autumn squealed in delight. “I just can’t wait to get going! I mean, my village is really nice and I never want to move, but this village is awesome with the rivers, the fish, and all the Nirik fire everywhere. It’s like the opposite of that time we took the Oath of Silence and nobody would ever say anything and...okay, I’ll stop talking.”

Kunzite giggled under her breath. “It’s quite alright. I think we’re all looking forward to this.”

With that out of the way, both groups got together for the ride. Moonstone and Ivory went to their own boat and made the final preparations. Ivory literally leaped over the side to get onto the boat, while Moonstone was content to simply climb on board like most passengers would. At least it seemed like this kirin was agile. He noted that Ivory observed him carefully, as if he wasn’t sure what this dragon would do next. Almost like he still didn’t trust him.

Things were calmer on the other boat. Autumn gave Kunzite and Sea a helping hand with getting the boat off the ground, and the ride rocked gently on the banks of the bay. Kunzite was a little on edge, because she knew Moonstone was paranoid for justifiable reasons. Still, Sea was relaxed and calm, like he had gotten to know both kirin over a long period of time. That certainly helped her feel more comfortable with this arrangement.

Now that they were all on board, they all passengers picked up a paddle and pushed their boats deeper into the river. It took some effort, but Ivory and Moonstone’s boat left first. One could chalk that up to them being physically stronger. “No fair, you have a dragon on your side!” Autumn teased.

“Push ups, Autumn. It’s all in the push ups,” Moonstone snarked. Ivory was indifferent to the little exchange, but he gave Sea a knowing smile while they drifted down into the currents of the river. Their boat was ahead of Kunzite’s, but Kunzite put everything she had into the paddle. It wasn’t long until the bay was far behind them. They were still behind Moonstone’s boat, but they weren’t going as slow as snails anymore.

“So you are strong after all,” Sea noted. “That must be because you’re half dragon. Even a half dragon would be stronger than a normal kirin or pony.”

“How did you know I was half dragon?” Kunzite commented.

Sea paused for a moment, and Autumn swore she saw a drop of sweat go down his face. Or maybe that was just water from the river. “I can tell from your features alone. Being surrounded by dragons, I can pick up on the dragon features on you, just as your scales.”

“Fair enough. All the dragon blood is on my dad’s side, so I guess I can see that.” She dipped the paddle below the water and pushed them forward. “Moonstone could still beat me in a fight, though.”

“Nah, you got magic on your side. Just use it for a magical fist or something, and there you go,” Autumn grinned. “He can’t top that if he tried.”

“I heard that.” Moonstone lifted his paddle and splashed the water on Autumn. Her neck fur matted down to her skin, and she couldn’t believe he just did that.

“Come on, she was just trying to be helpful!” Kunzite splashed water back at Moonstone, only to get some on Ivory by mistake. He stood perfectly still as he realized he was soaking wet. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to...oh,” she said in awe. He ignited into his Nirik form for a brief second, and when he went back to being a kirin, he was completely dry. “That is pretty cool.”

The river widened as they drifted further down its path. The village took up occupancy on both sides, and Moonstone, Kunzite, and Autumn noticed all the kirin walking around down there. Some of them took advantage of the beautiful day by going fishing. A few houses stood nearby, but it was still an open air feeling. Up ahead, they grew ever closer to the company of dragons. They were chatting and seeing how far they could send their fire breath into the air. Now that was something Moonstone could get behind.

It got to the point where he debated on getting out on the boat to go see them, but Ivory had other plans. “Why don’t you eat before you meet them?” he asked. It wasn’t hard to judge where the dragon was staring. “If everyone in a mile long radius could hear your stomach, you must be hungry.”

Moonstone’s stomach growled again, and he remembered the spread of gems Ivory gathered for him. The gems weren’t as big as the ones he usually ate, but they still looked delicious. He picked up a few green emeralds and helped himself. “Thank you. Really, I don’t care if you hate me or not, just as long as you give me a chance.”

“A chance? Hmm. Just what I was thinking.” Ivory leaned back into his cushioned seat and guided the boat to their destination. “Tell me, then. Have you ever taken anything that didn’t belong to you?”

The dragon stopped in the middle of his emerald. He struggled to swallow it, especially when he got a certain glance from the kirin. “I have a hoard, but every dragon has one. But I don’t steal from ponies or kirin. Most of my stuff came from lost treasure, like shipwrecks and stuff like that.”

“So there really is buried treasure in the world, even after all these years of treasure hunting.” Ivory kept his thoughts to himself for a while, and the boat drifted ever closer to the flock of dragons nearby. “And not every dragon has a hoard. If you didn’t learn that already, you will once you get to know the dragons that call this place their home.”

That made Moonstone curious, and he wondered about the mountains up to the skies. The caves above seemed to be rather large. Yet, he noticed that with the way these mountains were designed, there couldn’t be much room inside. That means less rooms for hoards and collected treasure. “Let me guess, your dragons are different?”

Ivory was treating himself to a simple salad, albeit mixed with some meat on the side. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I’ve heard you saw our little play and didn’t respond well to it. What was going through your head when you witnessed it?”

Whatever was left of the Emerald grinded into dust in Moonstone’s hand. He took a moment to let it pass. This was nothing. He could get through it without losing his temper. “I hated it. Torch isn’t the nicest dragon in the world, but he wasn’t that bad. Was he?”

For the first time in a while, he saw someone else snort smoke out of their nose. “I was a child when the raids happened. We didn’t add anything to enhance the drama there. It was all as it really happened. And I hated all dragons for years because of it, until I learned better.” His paddling went a little faster. “Just a pity he still rules over the other dragons with an iron fist.”

Moonstone tried to ease his mind with another gem, but he nearly choked again on his meal. “Still rules? What do you mean?”

“He might be getting old, even for a dragon, but he’s going to be around for a few decades longer, if not more,” Ivory noted. “I’m sorry if he’s given you a hard time. I can tell you’re not like him at all. You’re listening to what I have to say, for one. He wouldn’t even get that far.”

The young dragon couldn’t believe it. He long suspected with the way Ivory and Sea were talking, they didn’t know Torch had stepped down from his throne a long time ago. But it was another thing to have his suspicions confirmed like that. The other dragons were right by him, and it dawned on him that they didn’t know about it, either. That left his mind reeling; did they all think the same thing? How long had they been cut off from the rest of the world?

At the same time, he wasn’t sure how to break it to them. Not like they were going to respond well to finding out he was the former Dragon Lord’s grandson. They already didn’t trust him too much to begin with. This wasn’t something he could just drop on them. He had to be careful about it.

“He doesn’t rule over me,” he replied. “That much I can tell you.”

“I figured he doesn’t. You share a lot of his traits, I’ve noticed, like his burning strength and that burning rage that smolders underneath it all. But you’ve learned to channel it, haven’t you?” Ivory though. “From someone who learned how to harness the strength of the Nirik, that can get you far in life.”

That only served to get Moonstone more uncomfortable. He needed to do something fast before Ivory really caught onto who he was. “Mind if I get out so I can hang out with those guys?” He motioned over to the dragons close by.

“Not at all. Go on and learn how dragons live around here,” Ivory offered. “You have those wings of yours to catch up when you’re done. Don’t worry. I don’t think I could eat those gems, even if I wanted to.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Moonstone wasted no time getting out of the boat, using his wings to lift him out of the river. His heart was beating in his chest, though not from fear. It was more like he realized the risk he just got himself into. Maybe it was a good thing Kunzite’s parents were nearby, after all.

Ivory drifted along the river while he kept his eyes on Moonstone, while the teenage dragon went off to join the other dragons. Kunzite’s boat went along with Ivory’s, and she caught how on edge the dragon seemed to be. This wasn’t a good sign, but she had a feeling she needed to just keep paddling. He likely wanted it that way.

The dragons near the river were of various shapes and sizes. Some could rival Torch in their size, but a few were smaller than Moonstone. A few of them might have accidentally set a tree on fire, but they were quick to help the kirin put it out with a gust of wind with their wings. Others were chatting away and having a good time. At the very least, this seemed to be one of the more friendly groups of dragons he had seen in a while. Well, save for that time he met Smolder.

When he approached them, the mood of the area changed. They all stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Nobody seemed upset about it, but they could pick up that this was an outsider. “Hmm, he must be from the Dragon Lands.” “He seems friendly enough. He’s not trying to set us on fire, so that’s a good start.” “You think he has a hoard? I can pick up a faint scent of gold on his scales.”

“Yes, I have a hoard,” he shrugged. “I’m from the Dragon Lands. Is that a big deal? I’m not gonna hurt you or anything.”

One of the teenage dragons, a green one, came up to see him. “Sorry, we’re just not used to seeing a dragon from outside the village. My name’s Emerald. Kinda weird seeing dragons and kirin co-existing like this, huh?”

“Actually, I’m kinda used to it. Name’s Moonstone. Ponies and dragons are starting to get along in Equestria. Still feels like a weird fever dream,” he explained. Okay, this is a good step. Tell them things are changing, but not enough that they find out who you are. Just find a way to break it to them slowly and you’ll come out okay.

Emerald gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “That’s a thing now? Wow, that really does sound like a fever dream. It sounds like paradise to us.”

“I’ll say. The ponies in Equestria didn’t seem that bad,” another teenage dragon commented, a purple one that was slightly bigger than Moonstone. “Still, I wouldn’t want to leave here. The kirin are pretty cool and they like us. We don’t even have to breathe fire to make the gems hot. They’re willing to help out with that.”

As much as Moonstone should have been happy that things were smooth between the dragons and kirin, he couldn’t help but think this was boring. Where was the fight? Where was the desire to go higher and further than ever before? Then he got an idea to fix that issue.

“That sounds cool and all, but I got something in mind. Anyone up for some arm wrestling? Look, there’s even a rock we could use for it.” He pointed out a rock with a flat surface, and it almost looked like a table. It was tempting to just eat it instead, given it had a few gems embedded along the surface. “What do you say?”

All the teenage dragons looked at each other in confusion. Some were even wondering where that rock came from. Emerald came up to him and broke the bad news. “We really don’t do that kind of stuff around here.”

“WHAAAAT!” he balked. “But...but...everyone likes arm wrestling. I even arm wrestled Autumn, and she’s a kirin! That means it’s not just a dragon thing. Don’t you all like doing stuff like that? Showing the world just how strong you are?”

The dragons stood silently around him. Emerald shrugged and shook her head. “Why would we do that? It’s all good around here. Maybe you like doing things your own way, but I like some good old peace and quiet.”

That left Moonstone in shock and awe. His jaw dropped from the sheer surprise, and he had to take some time to absorb the blow. “You...you don’t like...doing tests and strength...and you like the...the...QUIET?”

One of the elder dragons, the blue one from the play, leaned her head down to face Moonstone. “My apologies, but it’s clear you’re not used to our way of life. What’s the use of showing your strength off when you don’t need to? Here in this village, we only use it when we have to defend ourselves.”

Did he hear that right? Was Moonstone hearing that in the real world? He couldn’t believe it, and his confused expression told the story to the rest of the dragons. Emerald was pretty sure they broke the poor dragon, and gave him a tap on the shoulder. He just stood there, wondering what kind of alternative dimension he was in.

At least he was giving the elder dragons a chuckle. “I guess things never changed back home if that’s how he feels about this,” they commented.

------

The other boat ride was much more peaceful. Kunzite grew ever more concerned about her friend, but Autumn’s mood was anything but down. She helped herself to the exotic salads and foods of this village. In the meantime, Sea kept an eye out for where they were heading. There was nothing but blue rivers and sea life for miles to come. It helped that they ended up on the scenic route, with a few bridges connecting the two sides of the river.

Autumn waved over to the kirin crossing the bridge. “Hey, everyone! No wonder you’re all outside today. It’s a really good day. It’s like...the perfect day, and…” She didn’t try to hold back the tears this time. “It’s just amazing. I spent a few years wondering what it would be like when I found you guys, and now it’s real.”

“LIke I said, I’m happy for you, Autumn. You finally got to meet everyone,” Kunzite smiled. She wondered about the food Streaming Sea provided for them, namely the… huge amounts of meat he brought on board. Was it wrong to eat it when it used to be an animal? Probably. She just went for the salad and helped herself.

“I still can’t believe we were ever considered a lost village,” Streaming Sea pondered. He pushed the boat forward and kept a lookout. “Then again, the world will always change around you.” He was in his Nirik form, and the flashes of fire reflected across the surface of the water.

Eventually, Kunzite couldn’t help but wonder the burning question--literally, burning--that was in her mind. “Hey, Sea, do you think you have to be on fire all the time like that? I imagine it has to hurt every now and then.”

“Is that a problem? We’re not setting the boat on fire, are we?” Sea examined the vessel, as if he actually needed to check if he caught it on fire. “Oh, nothing wrong. You still wonder if it hurts to be on fire all the time? Autumn, tell me, does it hurt when you’re a Nirik?”

Autumn shook her head. “Everything gets hot around me, but I feel fine. I’ve been through waaaaay worse than that.”

“My point, exactly. Not to mention, the form has its perks.” His hands went back to normal, and he picked up a glass of milk. With a simple wave of his hand, he sent heat inside it from his Nirik magic. In no time at all, the milk was boiling over, and it sizzled in his grasp. He handed it over to Kunzite. “Give it a try.”

Kunzite had no idea what hot milk fired up from a kirin would taste like, and she made sure it looked safe to drink. Nothing looked wrong here. She gave it a few sips and focused on how it tasted. It was...pretty delicious, actually. It was just the right temperature, and she helped herself to a few more sips.

“That is pretty good,” she noted. “So you use it for cooking, too? I could see the use in that. I’ve been trying to do the same with my fire spells, but...I almost burned down the house the last time I used it.”

That drew the first laugh she ever heard from Streaming Sea. “Yes, that’s one use for it. Personally, I’m guilty of using it to light candles in my study room every now and then. We haven’t found a way to fireproof the books yet, but we’re looking into it.”

“And look over there!” Autumn noted more Niriks all around them on both sides of the river. “They’re really getting creative with it.” Some of them were crafting their own little plays on mini stages they had built, and fire was used for dramatic effect, like sending a ring of fire into the air. It brought a tear to her face, and she thought about doing that herself when she had another play going on.

“It is pretty amazing,” Kunzite noted. It was strange to her. She never thought an entire installment of civilization built around fire and strength could be so peaceful, but it worked. It was a unique place, with the mix of fire in the air and water on the ground, but she couldn’t deny that she enjoyed it. Of course, that was that little twinge of guilt in the back of her head, reminding her that what they did to Moonstone was wrong. Judging from the frown on her face, her guilt was becoming visible to all.

“Is something wrong?” Streaming Sea asked. “We’d be the first to understand if you’re seasick.”

“It’s nothing. Just thinking about my friends,” she replied. “I’m really happy to hear you found your own way of life out here.” Despite that, her face was down, and she had a lot of thoughts swirling in her mind.

“Yes...your friends. You must really trust them if you brought them all the way out here,” he trailed off. Before he could continue his train of thought, he heard a gagging noise behind him.

“I think I might be getting seasick,” Autumn whined. Her face was a dark shade of green, and she had to do everything in her power not to hurl. “Can we stop at the next bay? I’m so sorry.”

“No no, it’s okay. We can make a pit stop right now, in fact.” There was a bay right coming up, and he tilted the boat to head down that way.

Kunzite gulped when it dawned on her that Autumn was leaving. Moonstone would have told her to get off the boat if he found out. Yet, she felt an urge to stay on board, as if something would happen if she kept going. Something that would make the ride worth it. Maybe that was just her curiosity speaking for her.

They arrived at the bay soon after, and a few kirin were waiting in case of emergencies like this. “Please help Autumn back to solid ground. She’s not feeling too well,” Sea informed them. Autumn nearly fell down on her belly as soon as she reached for the bay, but the kirin grabbed her arms and helped her back on her feet.

“Whew, what a ride!” she rambled. “I might not be one for boat rides, but that was one hay of a scenic route. Go ahead without me, I’ll catch up with you later!” She already started to feel better, and she slowly found her way back to the village.

“Take care, Autumn. I’ll tell you the rest when we get back!” Kunzite waved her on. Then she noted just how eager Sea seemed to be to continue. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Very well. There is something I wanted to show you, and I think you’re going to like it.” He pushed the paddle off the bay, and it got the boat back into the deep end of the river. They were off to continue their journey, and it was late in the afternoon by then. Celestia would be setting the sun at any minute, if she wasn’t already getting ready for her duty.

The boat drifted off into the deeper parts of the river. The village still enveloped them on both sides, but the buildings were becoming more and more scattered the further they went. Kunzite noticed it slowly but surely, and she had no idea what was in store for them. If Streaming Sea said she would like it, that means this was going to be significant.

The kirin took a few small, deep breaths as he led the boat to his destination. Whenever he noticed the lily pads on the surface of the river, he knew what it meant. Kunzite wasn’t the best mind reader, but thanks to Wildfire’s lessons on meditation, she could pick up on heartbeats. And Sea’s heart was going haywire. It didn’t take a genius to realize it wasn’t from the amount of force he put into the paddling.

“The truth is, we haven’t been honest about how this village works,” he started. “I do have jurisdiction over my tribe, and Ivory overlooks the other with a lot of authority. Our titles have some merit to them. But we’re not the ones in charge, not really. I figured you’d want to meet the real leader of the tribe for yourself.”

“...real leader? What are you talking about?” Now Kunzite’s heart was going crazy. Her mind raced from the news, and she had no idea how to take it.

“That’s what I mean to show you. This isn’t a secret we need to keep from you any longer.” He drove the boat into the riverbank, and he got out before the boat even stopped. He offered Kunzite a hand to help her climb out as well.

She wasn’t sure if this was something she needed to be part of, but her curiosity went through the roof the more she thought about it. She grabbed his hand and got back to solid ground. Of course, she minded the grass as she touched down, which there was a lot of. Everywhere, in fact. She had to hover on the ground to avoid breaking a single strand.

He brought her to a garden of some sort, on an island separated from the rest of the village. It brought back memories of Wildfire’s own garden, but this one had waterways in some lanes of it. It was like the river was slowly invading the area, but it was kept in check with boundaries. The smells from all the flowers present were stronger than anything she had ever smelled before. Maybe it was all the water everywhere, but she couldn’t deny that she loved it.

Sea motioned for her to go on ahead of him. She made an effort not to stop on the curated grass as she went deeper into the garden. Sweat started to go down the kirin leader’s face, something that didn’t go unnoticed by her. Whatever this was, she started to get nervous about it.

Right in the middle of the garden, however, there was a section where the river overtook the ground. It almost resembled a crescent moon, with the way the land curved around it into a smaller bay. But that wasn’t what grabbed her attention. No, it was something that would shock her to the core.

A person was standing in the shallow end of the river. She was at least a foot taller than Kunzite, yet she seemed to only be in her twenties, maybe the end of her teens. Her clothes resembled oriental robes, but she had claws on her hands. Her skin was a combination of dragon scales and pony fur. The fur was dark red, and the scales were noticeably lighter. Her eyes seemed to be bright orange, and her mane went down past her shoulders.

And then there were the two horns on her head. They were a bright, electric shade of orange, and the magical aura on them was almost pure white. She waved her hand across the water in some kind of ceremony. Within the span of just a few seconds, the algae and other contaminants in the river vanished from her spell, like they were never there.

Despite Kunzite never making a sound, the woman in the water felt something change in the air behind her. She turned around and noticed Streaming Sea there, bowing on one knee and lowering his head. But that was nothing compared to the young girl she spotted. She greeted the awestruck kirin with one of the most heartwarming smiles she had seen in a long time.

“Hello there, young one,” she greeted. “I’ve heard the stories about you. Never in a million years would I imagine that I’d find another one of my kind.”

Author's Notes:

BOOM. Things are only going to get more interesting from here.

Have to say, it's really starting to click for me here. Despite this being the longest chapter so far, it was one of the easiest to write so far. Maybe it's because the huge, story defining moments unfolded by now, but it's been the case lately. Always seems to happen, I hit the big moment and it becomes much easier to write.

You Were Never Alone

The sun set off in the horizon, and the moon drifted up into the sky to take its place. Its light reflected along the surface of the water, where the newly found kirin stood in its banks. She slowly walked out of its confines, and the bottom of her robes were dried off with a simple flick of her horns. Despite how young she seemed to be, there was a hint of wisdom beyond her years. Looks could be deceiving like that.

That wasn’t the first thing on Kunzite’s mind, and her jaw was firmly planted on the ground. A million thoughts raced through her mind, and she couldn’t focus on just one of them. Then there were a million more questions. Did Wildfire know that there could be more of them? How long has this been a thing? What this did mean for Equestria? For her? Her eyes darted all across the place as she tried and failed to process it all.

The other kirin turned to address Streaming Sea. “Thank you for bringing her to me. If you don’t mind, I’d like to spend some time with her, just the two of us. I imagine there’s a lot on her mind right now.” Her voice was quiet, too deep to pass as a young person’s voice, but too soft to be an old woman’s tone.

Streaming Sea rose up to his feet and nodded. “I’ll be waiting by the boat.” He picked up his belongings and went on his way. That left the two Equestrian Kirins by themselves, and Kunzite still couldn’t get another word out. Every time she thought she nailed down what she would say, another thought entered her mind to replace it right away.

“You must be confused and anxious,” the other kirin began. “If it helps, I was the same way when I started to learn about my powers and nature. Even then, never in a thousand years did I expect to see another one of my kind.” She closed her eyes and calmed down. Turned out that Kunzite wasn’t the only one overwhelmed by this meeting. “My name is Cinder. What is yours?”

“K-Kunzite,” the younger kirin finally got out. “You h-have a really nice name…”

Cinder smiled warmly and came closer to Kunzite. “It’s not that unique. I’ve met a dragon or two with that name. Yours on the other hand, I’ve never heard of a name like that before.”

That made Kunzite gulp. She cut the distance between them, and she had to focus to get the first question on her mind out. “How? I mean, what? Why? Err, where to begin? Oh Celestia, I thought there were only two of us in the whole world. And now there’s you! You’re real!” She gasped and nearly collapsed from the sight. Her mind might have actually been hurting.

Cinder came in and held onto Kunzite’s shoulders, doing whatever she could to comfort her younger kin. “Two of us? So there’s even more than I expected. But that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that you must be filled to the brim with questions, and I’d be happy to answer all of them for you, Kunzite.”

If Kunzite wasn’t already over the moon, she was now. She just hoped she had enough breath in her lungs to get through them all. “Where to start?” Another look at Cinder’s young-ish face helped her see what she wanted to ask first. “How old are you?”

Cinder couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Normally, that would be a rude question to ask a woman, but this isn’t quite normal. The answer is, I turned one hundred years old just last month. It’s odd, I don’t quite feel that old.” She stretched out her arms and noticed the lack of wrinkles or anything like that on her body. “What about you?”

“E-Eighteen,” Kunzite stammered. That was new to her. Did that mean she wouldn’t age at all over the next 82 years? Wildfire had centuries on her, and he just now started to look like he was leaving middle age.

“That would explain why we haven’t met. You just came into the world by dragon standards. Speaking of which, was your father a pony and your mother a dragon, too?”

Kunzite shook her head. “My mother’s the pony, and my father’s a dragon.”

That sent a youthful spark in Cinder’s eyes, and she grinned in delight. “Then you must be half dragon as well! Your mother is a unicorn, isn’t she? That would explain the horns.” She lightly touched one of Kunzite’s horns, and even that was enough to make the younger kirin twitch a bit. “Oh, sorry, I forget how sensitive those are.”

“No, it’s okay. I just have so many things to ask you!” Then she remembered how she promised Twilight that she’d write to her frequently. The next letter was going to be an all timer, that was for sure.

“I know, I know. But I’m curious about you. If you don’t mind, could you show me what all you could do with your magic?” Cinder clasped her hands and stepped to the side to make room for her to do her thing.

“Me? But I want to learn about you, more than anything else!” The mere idea of showing off her skills to someone like Cinder blew her mind. She had to be dreaming by now.

Cinder nodded to show how serious she was. “Here, I’ll give you an example of what I can do, if that helps.” She brought her wings out to hover one inch above the ground, and she drew herself to the edge of the river. Her horns shone as white as clouds as she got ready for what she was about to do.

After some thinking, she had the perfect spell in mind. A bunch of water swished around inside the river, like there were two giant fish lurking underneath the surface. As she got to work, she kept her distance above the surface as she flew deeper into the river banks. The creatures underneath came out of their hiding under her command, but there wasn’t anything there--they consisted of two figures made out of water.

One of the figures was a dragon, standing six feet tall. She was clearly feminine, but her muscle mass rivaled that out of any dragon of her size. The next figure was a unicorn pony, just as tall as the dragon. He sported a robe of a particular design, something Kunzite recognized. They were the kinds of robes magicians wore a century ago in Equestria.

As they took form, Cinder sniffed and reached out to grab their hands, even though the figures were just that, figures. “These were my parents. Dragon and pony romance was looked down upon that time, but I imagine that has less to do with taboos and more that Equestria and the Dragon Lands didn’t get along. I know why that was the case,” she muttered, her emotions betraying her calm demeanor. “My father passed away a long time ago. My mother grew as big as any elder dragon does, but we still see each other every now and then.”

Kunzite watched in awe. She wished that she brought some popcorn with her on the trip. “I’m so sorry to hear that. At least it seems like they were happy together.”

“More than anything else in the world.” Cinder’s horns stopped their little spell, and the figures dropped down to their watery home. “Now you give it a try. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do anything that complicated. Just do the first spell that comes to your mind.”

Oh no. I know she just said that I could do anything I wanted, but how am I going to top THAT? Still, Kunzite saw Cinder’s face and knew that she wouldn’t be the judging type around here. It was okay doing whatever silly thing she had in mind.

Like Cinder did before her, she rose up with her wings and found her spot three inches in the air. She closed her eyes and lifted her hands up to her sides. Her senses focused on the scents of nature around her. It was so lovely to feel that around her, and the spell took its shape from those impressions.

Cinder could feel a breeze roll by around her, rustling her mane. And then there was another breeze that followed it, with three more coming up behind it. That’s when she realized what Kunzite was up to. It was going to be beautiful.

The breeze turned into a gust of wind, and it started to swirl around Kunzite. The breeze picked up flower petals from the ground and carried the scents of honey, fish, and other assorted smells of nature with it. It turned into a whirlwind of nature, and Kunzite opened her eyes to see how Cinder was reacting. It wasn’t quite the proud and heartwarming smile she saw Twilight give her when she cast her first spell, but this one was close.

She felt she proved her point, and the spell dissipated over time. The flower petals dropped back down their home, and everything was quiet and still again. She lowered herself to solid ground, only to cringe when she caught the sound of crunching grass. That wasn’t good.

Cinder cringed from the sound as well, but she ignored it and clapped her hands together. “That was amazing! Could you imagine all the uses for something like that?”

“It’s just a wind spell. My mother tells me it’s a great spell, too, but I don’t get it. It’s just a wind machine.”

“You never went sailing before, have you?” Cinder noted. “Imagine having a spell like that when you’re out in the sea. There’s no wind to back the sails one day, but then you cast that? You could sail anywhere in a minute, just like that.”

“Hmm...never really thought about that. But you’ve probably thought of a lot of things I haven’t thought about,” Kunzite said sheepishly. “Are you okay if I ask you another question?”

“Kunzite, I asked Sea to bring you here precisely to answer your questions. You think I wouldn’t find out about another one of my kind in the village, and not be curious about it? I’ll have questions of my own, but you go first.”

“Okay. Here goes nothing.” She took a deep breath to prep herself. “Streaming Sea said that you’re the real leader of this village. How did that work out? I saw the play and I get the history, but I’m still confused. You weren’t mentioned at all.”

Cinder’s eyes turned to a darker shade of orange for a second, but she concentrated on her work instead. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to show you the history of how that came to be, in a form I think you’ll recognize as one of our favorites: The play.”

“Wow, you kirin really like your plays, don’t you?”

“The tribes rubbed off on me, I admit,” Cinder admitted. She brought Kunzite down to a separate corner of the garden, where there were two tree stumps resting by each other. She sat down on one of them, and she motioned for Kunzite to sit on the other. The younger kirin sat down soon after.

Once they were seated, Cinder’s horns glowed again. This time, there were sparks across the dirt floor in front of them. After a while, the sparks formed fire particles, each forming by the second, until there were hundreds of them. They floated and swirled all around the floor ahead of their little audience.

“By now, you saw the first play, where you learned about the reason why the tribes migrated from their homes,” Cinder began. The particles moved and took two groups of shapes. One stayed on the ground, forming little tiny kirin and Niriks. The second group hovered in the air, resembling dragons. Some of them acted hostile to the tribes, but others protected the kirin below.

“That’s right. Moonstone was really upset about it,” said Kunzite.

Cinder looked off to the side for a second. “I’ll talk with him later. But there was more to the story than what Sea showed you. You see, the play you saw has a second half. I asked them not to tell that part to you, as I’m directly involved with that piece. I figured I’d be the best to tell it. As you’ll see, things weren’t exactly peaceful during their migration.”

The remaining particles went to the other side of the field, and the figure they formed was a little kirin that closely resembled a younger Cinder. Kunzite could tell who this person was, despite her being just one foot tall. The mini Cinder wandered around the field, curious yet directionless. “I’m not sure if you were ever told about this, but every kirin like us has their own special destiny. Much like how ponies have their cutie marks, except ours doesn’t leave tattoos on your hip.”

“I’ve learned about it. You know that other Equestrian Kirin I mentioned? His name is Wildfire. He taught me all about it, and his special destiny was stopping Dragon Lord Torch from invading Equestria, over a thousand years ago.”

The figures all stopped in the middle of their tracks, and Cinder looked right at Kunzite. “Is that so?” She let it process in her mind before she continued. “Then he and I have something in common. That said, I was still young of mind when they moved. More like a teenager, really. Trying to find myself and my place in the world, until one day showed me the way.”

The mini Cinder stumbled upon the tribes as they were migrating. They all stopped their trek and took a moment to examine her. Their reactions seemed to be a mixture of fear and curiosity. “That was their reaction, right there. And why wouldn’t they be a little worried? I was the first Equestrian Kirin they ever met, after all.”

Some of the Niriks approached mini Cinder without a hint of worry or concern. From the looks of it, they were chatting, although she was a little concerned herself. Kunzite was just in awe that anybody could do this, to be able to control fire like that. Although, she had seen ponies like Luna, Starlight, and even her own mother do similar tricks with smoke and wind. Just not with fire.

“I admit, I wanted to learn more about them, so I asked if I could come with them. They were divided on their response. Some thought it would be fine if I tagged along, but others were concerned. They migrated to hide from the dragons, after all, and they knew I was half dragon. And then something happened to change their minds.”

As they discussed the matter further, one of the more hostile dragons came down to confront the tribes. Kunzite couldn’t tell, but judging from the colors and the shape, it had a striking resemblance to a certain Dragon Lord of the past. She gasped and had trouble believing what she was seeing.

“Not every dragon from the Lands was happy to learn that we were leaving. They thought we were cowards, running away because we were scared. Even after the Kirin knew how to harness the Nirik form to their advantage, they needed a little push to truly break free. It was my turn to be that push.”

Mini Cinder stepped up against the dragon, alongside the Niriks and the dragons on their side. They rushed right at him and collided with the beast, causing a flame to break out from the collison. It shot up into the air and vanished without a trace. When it was over, only Cinder, the tribes, and their dragons remained in the aftermath.

“He left without when he realized it would be a stalemate, at best. At worst, our combined might would have defeated him. So he conceded the fight and we were finally free of their tyranny.” She waved at the particles to signal that their work was done, and they scattered across the wind. As the wind carried them away, the light inside them faded away.

That left the two kirin alone in the nighttime garden. “And that was my special destiny. I was supposed to be there to help them defeat the dragon. They chose me to be their leader once they found their new home. I don’t really see myself as that, however. The title ‘guardian’ feels more fitting, the way things have gone lately.”

Even though the figures were all gone, Kunzite stared at the field as if they were still there. Her eyes twitched from the revelation. Torch’s name was never mentioned, but she couldn’t ignore it when it was so strongly implied. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding? It wasn’t like…Oh Celestia.

Cinder noted her perplexed face and leaned in. “I understand if it’s a lot to take in. It might not have been the Dragon Lord that attacked us, but he did resemble Torch. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re safe and sound, and we picked this spot because it’s out of the way. Nobody will find us here. Well, save for you. You’re actually the first to find us since we formed the village here. Speaking of which, how did you find us?”

“Well…” Kunzite hesitated to share all the details, but she reasoned that if she was honest about what happened, maybe Cinder would trust her further. “It went something like this…”

------

The nighttime sky soared over the village. Luna’s moon shone over the lands, and it was almost a full moon tonight. That left the outdoors well lit, and Moonstone could see everything around him as well as he could during the daytime. His current situation took some time to deal with; this place was just like and nothing like home at the same time. On one hand, there were tons of dragons. On the other, they acted nothing like his homeland.

Later on, he noticed a lot of the teenage dragons went over to one of the caves on the mountains. Maybe they were there to hang out somewhere else. It would be one hay of a view, that was for sure. Not to mention, some of the older dragons were old enough to be part of the migration, so maybe he could get a few answers of his own while he waited for Kunzite.

As he ascended to the nearest peak, the cave entrance was visible to him. He was able to see that a few bigger dragons were indeed there, which there seemed to be just enough room for. A few of the teenagers hung out there as well, and they made their own little fire to cool off with. Yes, some dragons cooled off with fire. They could swim in lava, so it wasn’t much of a stretch.

He eventually came down to the entrance, and it was much like it went by the river. A lot of dragons were making small talk, but some had drinks to pass around. There was even some meat to break up the same old gems and lava diet. He caught bits and pieces of what the bigger dragons were talking about. It helped that they didn’t really have quiet voices.

Listening to their conversations, he caught wind of them discussing things from the pages of history: The Pillars of Equestria, the beginning of the Elements of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle and her friends, things like that. Yet, they never mentioned the one thing he was burning to learn about. Given how things were going so far, he didn’t think they’d want to talk to him about it, so he wasn’t sure if he should bring it up to them.

Eventually, one of the elder dragons, the red one from the play, noticed him sitting on the edge of the cliffside, staring down at the landscape down below them. He told the others that he needed a moment to get some fresh air, then he scooted over to sit down with Moonstone. The teenage dragon almost jumped up from the huge thud as he suddenly found the dragon he was looking to talk to.

“Yeah, that’s how I felt when this all started. Really confused and not sure what to make of it,” he greeted Moonstone. “Name’s Sunstone if you’re asking.”

“Huh, we both have Stone in the name. It’s Moonstone. I can’t really wrap my mind around it, either. It’s just so confusing, and I don’t get it half the time.”

“You get used to it. Not that you have to live here. I’m sure you got a home somewhere else. That said, while you’re here, you can see how things work--”

“Why did you and the others leave the Dragon Lands?” Moonstone interrupted.

The elder dragon didn’t care for the interruption, but he looked to the sky, right in the direction of the Dragon Lands. “So that’s on your mind? Not our way of life, or how things came to be?”

“I’ll know sooner or later. But that’s what I don’t get. It’s not like everything’s horrible in the Lands. We fight each other, but that’s the thing. We fight back. We don’t back down. Nothing gets in our way.”

Sunstone’s demeanor turned fierce, and he peered his head down to his younger counterpart. Moonstone could see the intent in his eye, and it wasn’t a friendly one. In fact, that was the look he’d see right before things came to blows.

“Don’t be one of those dragons. I was surrounded by them every day. We all were fighting each other, and going after so called threats. Not everyone wanted that way of life back home, though. Was that the norm? Yes, unfortunately. Torch was in no hurry to change it, either. He loved it as much as anyone did. That left us the outcasts in the Lands, the ones that thought dragons didn’t have to live that way.”

Moonstone shifted a few inches away from Sunstone’s head, and his clenched fists told how little he feared his elder. “You could have taken the title of Dragon Lord from him if you didn’t like it. You could have beaten him.”

“And continue the barbaric ways of our ancestors? No. I wouldn’t take it by force like that. That’s why we left. It would have been nice to spend a day without the need to fight again.”

That made Moonstone nod to his own surprise. As much as he disagreed with it, he knew where this dragon was coming from. “It’s not as bad as it used to be. I don’t fight every day like that.”

A flicker of wonder spread across Sunstone’s face. “Interesting. Still, we migrated away to this place, but finding a new home for a horde of dragons proved difficult. Even when we found the kirin tribes, welcome to our assistance because we were friendlier than most, it wasn’t all peaceful from there. We needed one last turn of events to figure out our new way of life.”

Moonstone peered down at the village below. Some of the dragons were resting inside the village, enjoying the night with their kirin/nirik brothers and sisters. “Let me guess, that came from Sea and Ivory?”

“No. If you can believe it, it came from…”

Moonstone would spend the next ten minutes getting his mind blown away.

------

When Kunzite finished her tale, Cinder was noticeably disturbed. Her hands laid to the side, and her eyes might have gotten watery a few times during the story. She stared off to the distance and went off into her own world.

Kunzite was crushed. It must have been devastating to find out that one of Cinder’s own villagers didn’t trust her. In the back of her mind, however, she remembered that they never found out exactly why it happened. It still wasn’t fun to be the one to break the news. “I’m so sorry. I’m not sure what all happened between the two of you, but if it makes you feel any better, she’s doing okay now.”

Cinder sighed and pushed her mane behind her head. “It does. I think I have an idea why she left. Being overbearing is really easy to do with a job like this, so it’s probably my fault. Might not always be easy to talk to someone like us.”

“I know what you mean. My mother’s one of the Elements of Harmony, and believe me, ponies get really nervous when they want to talk to her,” Kunzite went on. “So yeah, no harm no foul. Just be their friend and it will go a long way for them.”

That was a surprising answer to Cinder. “You’re really wise for your age. With your magical strength, I can tell you’ve had a lot of practice. Perhaps I could show you what I know about magic, too? You might have an alicorn for a mother to show you the ropes, but our kind of magic is quite different from pony magic.”

Kunzite’s eyes gleamed. “You? As a teacher? Mom and Wildfire are really good at what they’re doing, but to have a third teacher? Sign me up!”

The older kirin was very thrilled to hear that. “Then we’ll see how it goes with that. Now, about your dragon friend…”

The solemn tone sent a shiver down Kunzite’s back. “What about him?”

“Is he...nice? I heard from Sea that he seems to have some anger issues, but he’s been decent with you. Everything indicates that he hails from the Lands, so I was surprised to hear that he appears to be friends with you. But that’s my experience talking there, not you.”

For once, it was Kunzite’s hands gripping tight from anger. “He’s really good friends with me! We don’t always get along, but that’s the case with any friend. My mother would know. She’s literally the Princess of Friendship. Just give him a chance and you’ll see he’s got a good heart.”

“Hmm, if that’s the case, maybe I should talk to him.” Cinder rose up from her tree stump and dusted the backside of her robes. “You seem to care deeply for him, and that’s no small thing for you, given you seem to have a kind heart. Do you think you can introduce him to me?”

“Absolutely! Hold on, I’ll get things ready for you. I think you’re really going to like him. He’s one of the strongest dragons I’ve ever met. Well, for his age, that is.” Kunzite went off to do her own thing, getting the boat ready to leave for the village.

After she left, Streaming Sea noticed Cinder was alone and went over to see her. “It is just as I reported. The two of them are near inseparable. You saw her outburst when you suggested even the smallest accusation against the dragon.”

“Indeed, and I’m starting to believe you,” Cinder noted. “It’s hard to see if her destiny is tied to our home specifically, but he certainly plays a part in it. Keep a close on him. I don’t think he’ll be a threat, but looks can be deceiving.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Now, then. Time to find out more about our guests.”

Author's Notes:

Hey, shortest gap between chapters so far! Really feels like things are clicking for me again. Anyways, the real conflict of the story is building at last....

Reconnecting In Progress...

The morning light trickled through the blades of the jungle tree. They still felt like they were blazing fiercely into Cinder’s eyes. Maybe it was because she was shaking from the nerves that wracked her body, or the sweat all over her scales and fur. She trembled where she stood, even though she had nothing to fear when it came to her well being.

Maybe it was the kind of people she stumbled into. A lot of pony-like creatures, going by the name of kirin, crossed paths with her. If it was fate that they met like this, she didn’t know. Some of them were on fire, others were not. All she could see in them was their mix of fear and curiosity. She shared the same sentiment. Some of them gathered together into a circle to discuss the matter when it came to her.

“I can leave if that will make things easier on you,” she offered. “I’m just trying to find my place right now. Wouldn’t think to hurt you in a million years.”

One of the kirin came out to talk to her directly. “We never thought you would. We’re merely deciding what to do with you.” He eyed her scales, the mark that she was half dragon, before he joined his brothers and sisters in the circle. She used her magic to listen into their conversations. None of them hated her, but a lot were terrified. Her dragonhood was frequently mentioned, asking themselves if that was a sign she would be like the others. What others?

Some of the younger tribes mates, no more than seven years old, came over to see what kind of creature she was. Their parents would discourage it, as they didn’t know what to make of her, either. Still, she tried to pat their heads, anything to convince them that she was nice. And that she was, only terrified of what might happen to her at the end of this.

The conversation drew to a close, and the chieftains came over to confront her. “We have no reason to believe you mean any harm,” said one of them. “You’ve been honest and accommodating with us, and you seem like good person at heart. The only thing is, we’ve never met anyone quite like you. That’s left us puzzled.”

She slowly nodded and combed her fingers through her hair. “I understand. I can just leave and let you all on your way. Where are you going, anyway?”

Another chieftain sighed. “We don’t want to push you away simply for being different. The thing is--what is that?” A gust of wind parted the leaves on the trees, and it was not a natural gust. It foreshadowed the cause of the wind, and it left all the kirin of fighting age pulling out their spears and igniting their forms to be prepared.

“What is that?” Cinder asked. “That can’t be good.”

“It’s a dragon. One of the bad kinds.” The chieftain whistled, and a herd of dragons came out of their hiding places to join the tribes. They were all ready for battle, as fierce as any creature she had seen in her lifetime.

She should have ran away with the children and elders, finding a place to hide while the battle raged on. Yet, that’s not what she did. Something about this set a fire in her heart. Maybe it was how terrified the tribes were, or another element she didn’t know yet. Either way, she knew what she had to do. She stood with the warriors and dragons and confronted the threat.

“What are you doing?” one of the warriors asked. “You need to get out of here!”

“No, I can’t leave you here!” she shouted. “Let me help you. I have more than enough strength to go around!”

The leaders were too busy forming a battle plan in their minds to reply, and then they saw the invaders arrive. It wasn’t time to debate if their strange new friend should come in to fight with them. The time for debate and planning was over.

It was funny. Anytime she replayed this memory in her mind, she could remember almost everything about it. The smell of the jungle air, the fear of the tribes when they found her, and the ensuring fight ahead. But she only had the haziest memory of the threat they would fight that day. Blue scales. As big as any dragon she had seen before. Why couldn’t she remember more beyond that?

Then again, every culture likely had their version of the devil, or a demon that was evil enough to nearly pass as one. Not the kind of person anyone would want to remember, just being grateful that they met someone like that and came out of it alive.

The memory faded away from her mind. The way the moonlight reflected off the river soothed her heart when she dwelt too much into the past. Either that, or the tap on her shoulder broke her out of it.

“Are you okay, Cinder?” Kunzite asked. “You were really out of it for a second.”

“I probably was, and I’m sorry. We have a job to do, and there’s someone I’d like to meet before we call it a night.” She grabbed a paddle and joined in with the rowing. The boat pushed against the weak current, and it wouldn’t be long until they were back in the village.

By then, the last of the daylight was gone. Luna’s moon was high above the skies, and it felt rather festive that evening. Maybe it was because there was so much fire around the village, from natural fires and the light of the niriks alike. Either way, Kunzite was going to have a good time tonight, and she couldn’t wait to see how Moonstone would receive Cinder. Very well, from the looks of it.

Cinder and Streaming Sea helped row the boat when Kunzite needed a breather, and it was a slow but steady progress. The current dying out around this time of the day sure helped. However, something caught Cinder’s eye as soon as they came closer to the nearest bay. It wasn’t something she’d forget anytime soon.

Moonstone stood by the bay, his arms crossed with his face empty of emotion. He huffed silently as they came closer, and Kunzite grew worried as soon as she saw him. This wasn’t how she planned for their first meeting to go, and she had some explaining to do.

In the meantime, Cinder was nothing but concerned. She had gotten to know each and every dragon that lived in her village, and this wasn’t one of them. Judging from past experience, this was going to be one of the Dragon Lands creatures. Not the best first impression.

The boat arrived at the bay, and a few kirin came by to fasten the boat with rope to the bay. Moonstone helped out as well, and he offered a hand to help Kunzite get out of the boat. Even when he was doing something as helpful as this, she could feel the emotion in his hands.

“Did you know about Cinder?” he asked her face to face.

That made her gasp. “How did you find out? I just found out ten minutes ago. Believe me, I was just as surprised as you were.”

“Oh.” He looked over to the side at Cinder, who was getting the lion’s share of help from the other kirin. “Some of the dragons told me just now. I knew they were hiding something. I just didn’t think it would be...that. There’s more of you guys out there?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Cinder butted in. “Believe me, to find out that there’s not only another Equestrian Kirin in the world, but two? That could...um, be a lot to take in.” She was carefully observing Moonstone, and Kunzite could tell how she didn’t know what to make of the dragon.

“Do you need me to take care of anything else?” Streaming Sea inquired, as the boat was fully roped into the bay by then.

“No, that’s fine. Thank you for everything.” She waved him off ceremoniously, and he went off to attend to other things. Kunzite gulped when she realized there was no more delaying the next bit.

“So when were you going to tell me about all this?” he asked Cinder directly. “You’ve been keeping this a secret from all of us for how long now?”

“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I? We came out here specifically to meet you. Admittedly, hiding that I exist might not give the best image, but I’m here to fix that now.”

Moonstone snorted a puff of smoke, not buying it for a second. However, Kunzite came between both of them before it got worse. “She’s right. We just met a few minutes ago over at this cool looking garden, and we just left to meet you.”

He studied Kunzite’s face to make sure she was telling the truth. One look and he saw how sincere she was. “Fine. I just don’t like people keeping secrets from me like that. Kunzite and I don’t do that to each other.”

“Oh?” Cinder raised an eyebrow. “So you two really are friends, then. Tell me, if you don’t keep anything to the chest, do you want to be here? I’ve heard you haven’t had the best time since you arrived.”

“Hey, it’s okay. He doesn’t have to answer that,” Kunzite sweated. “I’m really sorry if I made things awkward between you two.”

“No, I want to be honest about this, too.” The dragon came up right in Cinder’s face. Only three feet separated them, and he did his best not to let his anger flare up. “We had to sit through a play that implied that most dragons are horrible, AND it called Torch a tyrant. How do you think I’m going to feel about it?”

Kunzite gasped and hoped to Celestia that this didn’t escalate. There were a million ways this could go south, each one worse than the last. But none of them happened. In fact, for a brief second, it looked like Cinder was concerned for her friend.

“Point taken. If I was called a monster through poetry like that, I would give them the cold shoulder as well. Yet, here you are. I admire that about you, having a thick skin like that.” She stopped for a brief second, however, when she noticed something on Moonstone’s skull.

It was a minor detail, but one she could spot from a mile away. In the back of his head, she noticed what seemed to be two small horns growing in the back of his head. It was very slight, but she recognized the patterns of it. It reminded her of someone from her past…

“How long does it take for your species to grow horns out again?” she inquired.

“Oh oh, I can answer that. Around 20 to 40 years of age,” Kunzite answered. “So he still has some time to grow up before he grows his horns.”

A drop of sweat started to go down Moonstone’s face. He picked up that she was a very strong woman, despite being a little smaller than he was. Maybe it was because she was half dragon, and probably had some of his strength to go along with it. It didn’t help that she wasn’t asking the most friendly questions in the world.

That out of the way, Cinder sighed and rolled her shoulders a bit. “Well, enough of that. We’ve all been through a lot today, and I think I know just how to let you blow off some steam,” she told Moonstone. “I heard you’re a fan of arm wrestling. Is that true?”

Moonstone’s eyes lit up from the suggestion. “A fan? No, I’m the champion of the world, dragon or non-dragon. I’ll take you on right now.”

Kunzite chuckled under her breath. “Whenever someone wants to break the ice with you, they should just bring up arm wrestling. That always seems to do the trick.”

“Is it, now…” Cinder took a personal note of that for later. It was very telling for anyone, not just for her.

She decided to bring them to her favorite spot of the village. It appeared to be the best hangout for social gatherings, given the amount of open air shops and bars around. With the amount of dragons around, some kirin even opened some gem shops for the rarer and tastier treats they came across. Moonstone was going to need to go there at some point. There were a lot of tables near those shops, perfect for some arm wrestling.

For once, Moonstone noticed that he was getting some welcome stares for once. Maybe it was because they were getting to learn what kind of dragon he really was, but he didn’t care. He was just happy to be welcome around here. Of course, Kunzite got a lot of attention as well, but the interesting part had to be the reactions to Cinder. A lot of them bowed on one knee before her. “Now now, it’s not necessary. Just happy to help,” she would say to them.

Eventually, they wound up at a table with enough seating for all three of them. It was by the gem store, and the scent of those delicious treats drove Moonstone up the wall. Still, there was a quick way to get his mind off of them: Having Cinder sit opposite him and offer her hand for a good old fashioned arm wrestling match. “I think this game tells a lot about a person. How strong they are, and what they’re willing to do to win,” she noted.

“Oh yeah?” Moonstone commented. He raised his arm and locked hands with Cinder’s. Just from that grip alone, he could tell that he was stronger than her, but she seemed to have an edge in something else. What that was, he was about to learn about it. “Like how I’m the strongest dragon ever?”

“He really is the best,” Kunzite commented. “Well, save for that one time my dad beat him. He’s an older dragon, though, so I’ll give it a pass.”

“That was one time! Nobody’s beaten me other than him.” He stared down at Cinder and got ready to go. “Are you ready?”

“Of course. I haven’t done this in, well, a year or two, but I’ll be curious how I stack up against you,” Cinder commented. “Let’s begin.”

With that green light, they went at it. Moonstone expected an easy victory, but she was even stronger than he expected. She grunted as she pushed back against his might, and the dragon side in her was obvious to him immediately. He still had the edge, but she had a trick up her sleeve.

Moonstone had the strength advantage, but Cinder had experience on her side. She knew just how to push back, angle her arm to gain some leverage, and other things like that. She smiled when she realized she could put up a fight, even with a trickle of sweat going down her face.

“Oh no, you’re not getting away with this one!” he retorted. His arm torqued up against her own, and she slipped from the force of it. Kunzite watched quietly, but it was obvious whose side she was on. With every little push Cinder gave, she was terrified. Anytime Moonstone got a thing going on, she looked relieved.

He picked up on her nerves and pushed harder for her poor heart’s sake. More sweat started to coat Cinder’s forehead, while Moonstone seemed like he was just getting started. That’s when he knew he had her. Before she could form a new game plan and shift her hands around, her hand was planted flat against the surface of the table.

“What?” she marveled. “How did that happen? I just had you on the ropes, and then I lost out of nowhere? I can’t believe it. What’s your secret?”

“It’s all in his dragon strength,” Kunzite replied. She went over and high fived Moonstone. “I knew you could do it. Not that you’re terrible at it, Cinder. He’s just been doing it for years. This is easy for him.”

“My ego’s already too big for Equestria, don’t inflate it like that,” he laughed. He kissed his arm for good measure. “At least Cinder put up a fight. Most people can’t even say that much.”

Cinder leaned back into her chair and still couldn’t believe it. Well, not that she lost. But there was a real sense of commadere between the two guests in front of her. The high five, the way Kunzite seemed upset when he was about to lose, all that jazz. Still, something else came to her mind, and she wanted to put it to the test.

“Not that I want to take away from your win, but Kunzite told me how much she’s dug into the history books in her free time. Tell me, Moonstone, if I was to give a few questions regarding the same kind of knowledge, would you be able to answer them as well as she can?”

Kunzite was taken off guard. “That came out of left field. Why are you asking if he can do that?”

“Oh, it’s no secret with me.” He leaned down into her ear and whispered. “She’s trying to make sure I’m not just some dumb, strong dragon like they think every outsider dragon is like.”

She found herself gasping again. “I really don’t like that. I mean, you read through all the books I gave you, right?”

“Sure. Let’s go with that.” He leaned out of Kunzite’s ear and addressed Cinder again. “Hit me with your best shot. I might not be Twilight-levels of nerd, but I’ll beat you at your own game. Again.” Good thing he was Kunzite’s friend, or else she’d be getting onto him for that little comment about his mom.

“Very well.” Cinder brought her hands together and thought over what kind of questions to ask. “Who was the Mare on the Moon? I’m thinking of somepony very specific here.”

“Nightmare Moon. She was...um...I think Princess Luna? Yeah, Celestia banished her to the moon for a thousand years, and she used to be the Mare on the Moon. Weird, because I never got to see that.”

Kunzite was half tempted to make flashcards to help him out, yet that didn’t seem to be necessary. “That’s right! I mean, Luna returned before we were even born, but I would have liked to see it, too.”

Cinder raised an eyebrow again, but it wasn’t out of surprise. “Very good. I could tell you were struggling to recollect things here and there, but I’ll still take it. Hmm...oh, here’s a good one. Name the farmer that played a big part in founding Equestria.”

“Oh, her?” Kunzite was practically mouthing the right answer to him, but he did his best to ignore her. It would be even sweeter if he could say he did it without help. “I don’t know her real name, but her nickname was Granny Smith.”

The pupils in Cinder’s eyes shrunk. “That’s...also right. You’ve been doing your homework. Okay, one last one, just to be safe. Who was the savior of the Crystal Empire when Sombra first returned? Twilight Sparkle, or Spike?” She took one look over to Kunzite, and she could tell the poor kirin was screaming inside. Maybe it was because this question was multiple choice, or how her parents were the possible answers. That made it harder for her to keep it inside this time around.

“Oh, please. Everyone knows dragons can save the day once in a while,” Moonstone said. “Spike was just a little baby at the time, but he did what he needed to do.” He threw his hands up in the air for dramatic effect.

“Whew, it’s finally over. Do you know how hard it was not to spill the beans?” Kunzite exhaled. “I knew it like the back of my head, but you’re asking him about it, not me. Thank Celestia that’s over!”

“If it makes you feel any better, he got them all right. You’ve exceeded my expectations by a mile, Moonstone. You might be just as well studied as your friend here.”

“Ohhhhhh no, there’s no way I’m topping her. She knows everything about everything.” Huh, I guess all those books she shoved down my throat paid off after all. Who knew? Before he could continue, Kunzite gave him one of the tightest hugs he ever felt. So tight, in fact, that he was finding it hard to breathe.

“Who cares if you’re not the smartest person around? You’re smarter than most people, and that’s all I need,” she interrupted him.

He could feel his head start to throb, as he swore that she cut off the air from his brain with all that hugging. “Let...me...go...please…”

Cinder watched on curiously. They were close, that much she could see. On top of that, Moonstone might not respect the artform of the hug, but he tolerated it well enough. It wasn’t that long ago that she was told how dragons don’t do hugs. Or friendship. Or anything that was nice. And here was this little fellow, hanging out with someone quite unlike him. It was kind of heartwarming, but if anyone knew how deceiving appearances can be, it was her. There was just a twinge of doubt left after this meeting, and she needed to squash it.

That might just come later tonight.

------

It was turning into one of the best days of Autumn’s life. Who said she was going to peak early in life? Her middle aged years were turning into some of the best so far when things like this were going on. She got to know so many of the kirin that day, and she even got to show off her own Nirik form to them. It was one hay of a packed day, but she was starting to wind down a bit. A day of non stop partying and socializing could do that to anyone, not just her.

Still, her mind started to drift off to a specific direction, and there was one last bit of business she needed to see to before she called it a night. She asked around to find out where her two newest friends were at, and it brought her to one of the bars in town. It was a nice touch with all the lit torches and the rivers nearby, but she didn’t come here to sightsee.

What she didn’t know, however, was that Kunzite found herself at one of the tables nearby. She asked for apple juice, since she wasn’t old enough to drink just yet. Still, she spotted Autumn coming in, and she almost said something first. Autumn didn’t see her, but she saw the two kirin she was looking for.

She found Sea and Ivory at one of the tables, and she decided to invite herself over at their table. There was a conversation going on between them, and they stopped as soon as she came over. Hopefully, she didn’t interrupt anything too important. Streaming Sea knew she was here to talk, so he turned to greet her. “Oh, it’s you. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone quite as energetic as you.”

“Then you haven’t met Pinkie Pie,” she grinned. “Hey, is it okay if I sit by you guys? There’s something I wanted to talk to you…” Then she noticed Ivory waiting impatiently at the table. “...and that guy. Figured you’d be the ones to talk about with this stuff.”

The chieftains looked at each other, more than a little puzzled. Still, Ivory nodded his head. “Very well. You can sit with us, but we’ll be heading to bed relatively soon.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be here for very long.” She yawned and covered her mouth. “I’m getting sleepy, too.” She noticed that they had jugs of beer with them, and she ordered one thing of ale for herself. Didn’t really matter to her what kind it was, as long as it tasted good.

“So if you’re growing tired, what exactly is worth putting off bed for?” Ivory asked.

“Well, here’s the thing. I’m having a really great time, and it’s awesome. I mean…” The waiter walked on by to hand her a glass of ale. The waiter happened to be a dragon, slightly taller than Moonstone. “...that’s so cool! You’re living with dragons, and you learned how to make a village that doesn’t catch on fire.”

“That’s the kind of business you wanted to attend to? Complimenting us?” Sea still seemed happy with that. “Not that we mind, we’re just curious if there’s a ‘but’ coming along.”

“Oh, there’s plenty of ‘buts’ to go around. Here’s my first but: You’ve been missing from the rest of the world for so long, and I think you’ll like how things are in Equestria now. It’s not as bad as it used to be. So what do you say to...reconnecting with the other kirin tribes?”

Ivory nearly spat out his beer. Sea looked alarmed as well, and it took them both a moment to recover from the shock. That left Autumn crushed inside. “Did I say something wrong?”

“I mean…I don’t know...where do we…” Ivory learned that the words weren’t coming to him so freely.

“Here’s the thing,” Sea corrected him. “We’ve gathered that things are indeed better than they used to be. To start, Moonstone seems like a fundamentally good dragon, temper and all. But we’d have to run it through Cinder first. She’ll know what to do.”

“Cinder? I learned about her from the other kirin and she seems like a great girl, but you don’t need her permission,” Autumn countered. “You two have done a great job looking after this village. I’m sure she’ll understand. Just let me talk to her and it will be easy like 1, 2, 3.”

“It’s not just that,” Ivory retorted. “We’re in the middle of the longest peacetime in our history, because we’ve remained hidden from the Dragon Lord for so long. If we come out of hiding, we risk facing him again.”

“You don’t have to worry about him anymore. He’s not the Dragon Lord now,” Kunzite blurted out, leaning into their table. As soon as she let it out, she covered her mouth when she realized what she just did.

“What did you say?” Sea asked. “Did I hear that right?” He and Ivory both looked directly at her, astonished and shaken up at a level they had never felt before.

Autumn saw how terrified Kunzite was, just how shell shocked she was from the slip up. Therefore, she had to do something about this. “It’s true. He hasn’t been the Dragon Lord for a while now, actually. That’s kinda why things have changed between ponies and dragons recently.”

Kunzite was tempted to shoot her a look, but then again, she was the reason why they were in this hole to begin with. She looked up at Ivory and Sea, both standing before her and trying to make sense of what they just heard. “She’s not lying.”

Ivory and Sea looked at each other in bewilderment. It took a moment for the truth to sink in, if it ever would. Still, they were calm as they turned back to her.

“Well, that would explain...a lot,” Sea thought. “I’d ask why you kept this a secret from us for so long, but I can’t say we created the most trusting atmosphere in the world.”

“How? We did everything right,” Ivory said. “We showed them our play and...oh. I see. Still, we have no choice but to tell Cinder now. She’ll want to know about this.”

“Indeed. Thank you for sharing this with us, Kunzite. This could change things around here, to put it lightly.” They left the bar together right away, leaving Kunzite with Autumn.

As soon as they left, Kunzite started to tear up. To say she opened a can of words was a strong understatement. She held her mane in her hands as she tried to get past her little slip up. It wasn’t going to happen, getting over it so easily. Before she could, Autumn sat by her and held her shoulder warmingly.

“They were going to find out sooner or later,” she tried to comfort Kunzite. “Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

“I AM beating myself up over it!” Kunzite cried. “Moonstone kept it a secret from them for a reason, and now I don’t know what’s going to happen. What’s he going to do when he finds out that I told them?”

“He’s probably going to be mad at you for a while,” she admitted. She brought her hand through Kunzite’s mane and brushed it aside. “But you’ve stuck up for him so many times already, and you’re good friends. He’ll stick with you after it’s over.”

Kunzite sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye. “I really hope so…”

------

The night turned from one of the best nights of Kunzite’s young life to one of the worst in the span of an hour. She didn’t have the chance to tell Moonstone the truth just yet; he was already asleep when she arrived at their shared guesthouse. Still, she knew it was going to be an ugly morning when she had to come clean. It was sure tempting to wake him up and tell him right then and there.

Not helping was how she stared at him from across the bedroom the whole night. They had two separate beds in the room, but that arguably made things worse. She wanted nothing more than to come clean about it, and the moment he woke up, she would. The sick feeling in her stomach kept her up all night. Despite the fact that she could feel the dawn start to break, she stayed up so she could tell him as soon as he woke up. For his sake and possibly all of Equestria’s. She drifted off to sleep a few times, but forced herself to wake up soon after.

Before the moment arrived, she heard a knock on the door. It was quiet enough that it didn’t wake Moonstone, but she heard it loud and clear. She got out of bed in her pajamas and opened the door. This was going to be rough, but she had no idea just how rough it was going to get.

Cinder was the visitor at her doorstep. Her mane was disheveled, it looked like she barely got any sleep, and she might have been drenched in sweat recently. Her chest rose all the time from the heavy breathing, and her voice was shaky as she spoke.

“Is it true? Torch isn’t the Dragon Lord anymore?” she asked.

Kunzite gulped, and she felt even worse than before. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No no, please don’t keep this away from me. I need to know.” Her voice was getting shakier by the second.

Realizing she had no way out, she slowly nodded. “He stepped down a while ago. Her daughter’s the new Dragon Lord. Has been for a while.”

Cinder slowly nodded and pushed her mane back. “That makes...sense. And Moonstone. He’s related to Torch, isn’t he? I could tell. He’s strong, they both have blue scales, and the horns at the back of his head…” She looked Kunzite straight in the eye. “I’m sorry. Are they related?”

As nervous as she was, Kunzite could still see the fire in her eyes. This wasn’t someone to lie to. “Yes. Torch is Moonstone’s grandfather, but they’re nothing alike! You can see that, can’t you?”

Right when she said those words, a tear rolled down Cinder’s face. “I hope I can. He’s...not like Torch at all...but I don’t know him like you do…I’m sorry. I need a moment.”

“Cinder, I’m so sorr--”

“No, not right now.” She covered her face before Kunzite could see how distraught she was. “Just a moment.” She ran off past the guesthouse, to the point where Kunzite couldn’t see her anymore.

The younger kirin was tempted to run off to meet her, but she had a feeling that she’d make it even worse if she tried to fix it again. It had been a long time since she felt this terrible in her life, and all she wanted was forgiveness and reconciliation at this point. It would be the complete opposite of what she had been doing as of late.

If she wasn’t terrified of what might happen when Moonstone got the news, she was now.

------

It was one of the fiercest battles of the young tribes’ lifetimes. A few kirin had to be removed from the battlefield due to injury, but a few of the invaders had to flee, too. Some of the trees were set on fire, a few intentional and a few by accident. It was a chaotic mess of a jungle, and the children and elders were wise to stay away from this one.

Yet, something happened along the way. The kirin, used to stalemate and losses, were on the right side of the battle for once. Cinder had given them the edge they needed. She was aggressive, she was determined, and her strength in might and magic was just what the doctor ordered. It wasn’t long until the invaders realized this wasn’t a day where they’d win, and they left one by one.

This wasn’t something the kirin were used to. This was a day of victory, not of fear or retreat. They burst into shouting and victory roars when it finally registered in their minds. They couldn’t believe if it if they tried, but that only made things sweeter.

Cinder couldn’t have felt more proud of herself when the dust settled. “I’m so happy for you all!” she would tell them. “Now you don’t have to fight anymore. You showed them what you’re made of!”

“No, this was largely thanks to you,” the main chieftain corrected her. “If you weren’t there to protect us, we might have lost this day. We owe you our gratitude.”

“Yes, this one is wise and strong,” another kirin spoke up. “Perhaps she should be our new chieftain. She certainly has what it takes to lead us. After all, who else has fought the dragons with the wisdom and courage that she possesses?”

As much as she wanted to be modest about it, the thought warmed her heart. They welcomed her with open arms and hearts. They wanted her to be here with them. Outside of her parents, this was the first time she felt welcomed by anyone. No longer was she a freak or someone to be studied, but someone to be admired and looked up to. That’s when she was certain she found her place in the world, and she aimed to take full advantage of it.

“I don’t know about being your ruler, I really don’t,” she admitted. “But I have an idea of what I could do for you.”

Author's Notes:

And so things begin to hit the wall...

So here's a question for those who are reading. Next chapter will be an intermission chapter of sorts, a breather to let things sink in a bit. The question is, would you guys rather have me post that intermission chapter right as it's done, or wait until it and Chapter 12 are both done, so they'll be published on the same day?

Royal Summit

As much as Twilight and Spike wanted to stay close to Kunzite, it was proving to be a problem with the town they chose to stay in. Las Pegasus was the closest city to the village, true, but they stood out like a sore thumb among the crowds. Everypony in town swore they were here for some kind of residency tour, and they got asked all the time when and where the next show was going down. There was no show here, just concerned parents looking out for their daughter.

It only got worse when they had another unit of guards come in for protection. Every letter Kunzite sent was worse than the last one, and they needed to be prepared for the worst possible outcome at this point. Yet, their arrival only convinced more ponies that they were doing a show. And then they got a letter from Ember and Fizzle to meet someplace else to discuss what was happening. Yeah, it was time to leave. The sooner the better.

Thankfully, there was a mountain range less than an hour away from Las Pegasus. In fact, it was a little closer to the village than the town. It would be perfect for a little get together, to pass the time while they were worried sick for their kids. There were worse things to do than meet up, while you hope to Celestia and Luna that the next letter was better than the last.

The area was prepared in advance. Twilight and Spike helped the guards have the base of the mountain ready when the dragon royalty came over. After an half hour of work, a few tents were set up here and there, all bearing flags with Twilight’s symbol or Spike’s. A table was set up in the middle, with the custom mix of pony food and gems set into place. Spike had to stop himself from snatching a few of them for himself, but he resisted the temptation for now. All that was left to do was wait.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t write to Kunzite again, just to make sure it’s not so bad as she made it seem?” Twilight asked worriedly.

“I’m thinking about it,” Spike admitted. “She’s got a lot of friends to help her out, but it doesn’t sound good. I just don’t want to destroy her confidence.” He had no idea how bad things had gotten just yet, as it was late that afternoon. Kunzite didn’t spill the beans on the identity of the current Dragon Lord just yet.

“That might be what we’re going for, but if it gets any worse, I say we go in there and take a look anyway. Just say hello and make sure it’s fine. It doesn’t sound too bad.” Even then, she was halfway certain it would do the opposite of what she hoped for.

Right after they got settled, they saw two figures swoop in from the horizon. They’d recognize the blue and white dragons anywhere, and they rose up from their chairs to greet them. The Dragon Lord might not have cared that much about manners, but that wouldn’t stop them from doing so anyway.

“Hi, guys!” Twilight greeted them. “Long time no see!”

“It’s only been a month, you dorks,” Ember noted. She and Fizzle did their superhero landing impressions on the ground, cracking the floor a bit. Then she caught a look at the spread they made for the dragons. “Oooh, are those emeralds? I haven’t had any in a while.”

“It’s nice to see you again. How were Kunzite and Moonstone, the last time you checked?” Fizzle greeted them. “Moonstone’s last letter wasn’t...a happy one.”

While they took their seats around the table, Spike sighed and rubbed his forehead. “So you got the bad news, huh. I don’t know about you guys, but I wasn’t expecting it to be all sunshine and rainbows. Still makes me sick to hear what happened.”

“Grrr, wish I could teach them a lesson with my bare hands,” Ember grumbled. “Nobody makes fun of my son like that and gets away with it!” Fizzled placed a hand on her shoulder to make her feel better. It barely worked.

“We’re all on edge at this point,” Twilight continued. “It’s why I brought Wildfire over with us. Where is he, anyway?”

It turned out to be perfect timing, as the kirin was just waltzing into the campground at that time. He had a jar full of flowers in his hands. “Errr...this was a bad time to go picking flowers, wasn’t it?” he asked, noting the meeting taking place before him.

“Actually, we just got started. Take a seat.” Twilight patted an open chair between her and Ember, and the group was relieved to have someone like him on board. Nothing like a little wisdom and experience to round out the meeting.

“Very well, excuse the flowers.” He placed the jar down in the middle of the table. With the wide range of flowers and colors he accumulated, it actually worked with the imagery. Rarity would be proud of the color choice in particular, if she was here. “I presume this is about the case of Kunzite and Moonstone?”

“Yep, that’s pretty much it,” Fizzle agreed. “Here’s my thing. Moonstone’s going through a really hard time right now, and the only thing that would make it worth it is if this was his special destiny, or whatever you call it. How do we know if this is actually it?”

Wildfire thought about it for a moment, and he glanced over to Twilight. “Twilight, your species have cutie marks when you figure out what your special talent is. Tell me, when you got yours, did you foresee that it was going to happen?”

Twilight shook her head. “It just came to me when it needed to. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have found my future husband.” She clasped a hand around Spike’s, and he returned the favor with some good old fashioned nuzzling.

“Exactly. I know Kunzite went to the village because she thought this could be it, but you can’t force yourself into situations just to make it happen. You just do the right thing at times. For instance, when I faced down Torch, I--”

“OH HO HO, I KNOW THAT FACE ANYWHERE. IF IT ISN’T THAT guy THAT STARED ME DOWN A THOUSAND YEARS AGO. HEH, YOU’RE STILL JUST AS PATHETICALLY TINY AS YOU WERE BACK THEN!”

The voice made Wildfire gulp, and he was afraid for the first time in a long time. “Is that...him?”

Ember sighed and planted a hand on the side of her face. “It is. He wanted to tag along and stretch his wings. I’m sorry for anything he’s about to say.”

Sure enough, the former Dragon Lord was hovering above the mountaintops, his frame just as large and encompassing as it ever was. In the years since Torch stepped down from his spot, he gained a few scars here and there, one series of claw marks just barely missing his eye. The amount of wind made by his wings nearly threatened to blow away the entire camp. The tents nearly came off from their posts, for example.

“Huh, you’re still really tiny, but I couldn’t crush you with my pinkie anymore,” he noted about Spike. “Still, you were Dragon Lord for five minutes? And you’re…” He noticed the banners all around the tents. “...an Equestrian Prince? Bwa ha ha ha! At least you’ve grown up since you were summoned.”

“Nice to see you too, Torch,” Spike muttered. He didn’t enjoy his visits with the big guy much, if at all, but he mellowed out in the years since then, thank goodness. At least he was taking it easier than Fizzle, who came this close to hiding below the table.

“So we meet again,” Wildfire stated calmly. He forced his mind to quiet down as he met the dragon face to face. “Tell me, did you come to roast us, figuratively or literally, or did you come here to show off again? We all know what happened the first time you tried to ‘roast’ me.”

Torch stared him down for a second, and even in his old age, he could still be terrifying. However, he just smirked and carried on. “Why would I need to do that? I don’t have anything to prove to anyone. No title, no glory, nothing to worry about. My daughter has done a great job leading the Dragons, and you better listen to her. OR ELSE!”

“Daaaaad! I said we weren’t going to do that anymore!” Ember complained.

“It was just a joke. Maybe I went a little too far.” He noted that one tent was almost on its side from the impact of his voice. Still, he was curious about Wildfire. “No hard feelings between us?”

“None at all.” Wildfire didn’t dare say the first thing on his mind, that if they fought again, he’d win a second time.

“Very well. I have no further business with you. Ignore me, I’ll be showing off at the peaks!” Torch spread out his massive wings and flew up to the sky. It didn’t take long for him to get there, so the tents wouldn’t be blowing around in the wind again. Twilight still held the plates and cups down, just in case.

Fizzle finally had the courage to come back out from underneath the table, and his breathing was shaky and erratic. “That guy still scares me. I don’t care if I’m strong enough to fight him, I don’t want to.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Ember said. “You gotta admit, he’s not as bad as he used to be when you fought him, Wildfire. Right?”

“Oh, you have no idea. The fact that he was even willing to crack a joke says the world about him,” Wildfire agreed. “Just be grateful that he was able to change at all. Which...does bring me to you two…” He turned his gaze to Twilight and Spike. “It sounds like there’s still some hard feelings over his past actions, judging from what your daughter’s been telling us about this village.”

“You weren’t the only ones to be upset over it,” Spike said to Ember. “I hate that they’re treating Moonstone like that. It’s really hard to avoid going down there and showing them how things are like now.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Ember shouted. “Look, Torch wasn’t the best Dragon Lord. We all know that. But you’ve seen how things changed since I took over. We do hugs now!” She hugged Fizzle to prove her point. Fizzle gasped for air from how tight it was, but he was more than happy to hug his mate back.

“Still, if it turns out that this is part of their special destinies, we’re probably not supposed to be part of it,” Twilight countered.

“And if it’s not?” Wildfire butted in. “There’s always a chance of that happening.”

“Then we do the very thing we’ve been preparing for all this time,” Spike responded. “We take all of these guards and confront the village over their action. We’re not leaving anything to chance.”

Ember, Fizzle, and Wildfire took a serious look at the campgrounds to see what he meant, and there were guards everywhere. Some of them were in the middle of training drills, others were sharpening spears, and a few more were gazing at a map of the terrain the village was set in. This was a tightly run ship.

“Heh, if anyone was going to prepare for the worst case scenario, it would be you,” Ember mentioned to Twilight. “You’ll keep in touch if things go south?”

“Certainly. No matter what happens, I hope your son doesn’t have to deal with this anymore. He’s got a good family around him, but he deserves good friends that accept him for who he is.”

Fizzle realized how sincere they were, and he responded with a smile. “He already has.”

“Awww, that was adorable,” Spike gleamed. “I didn’t know they were that close already. We’ve always encouraged Kunzite to be a good friend to him, but we had no idea it went that well.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be busy getting all the sugar out of my system from that,” Wildfire joked as he stood up. “You’re always a wonderful audience, but my heart can’t take just how pure and innocent you guys are. It’s almost enough to get me out of my cynical mood. Don’t worry, I’ll still be around in case you guys wanna chat.”

“Come on, you’re fun to have around,” Twilight responded. “Just stay for a bit. We haven’t even gotten the wine out yet. There’s a bottle in the back that’s even older than you.”

“Then I’m the only person in the world who can drink it without dying,” he noted. “Still, go have some fun without me. You guys might need it if things are going the way I think you’re going.”

Ember’s expression turned from smiling to frowning right away. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, things have the potential to go either really good or really bad. It’s hard to tell, but I’m sensing a pattern here. The discovery of the unknown, young people coming of age through adventure, all that stuff. That’s usually the sign that something big is going down. I’m not saying you should worry just yet, but I am saying that you should be prepared.”

He went back into the forest nearby, leaving the four of them puzzled and confused. What he said resonated with them, though. Twilight recalled her own cutie mark adventure, and the chain of events that led her to Ponyville, where she would meet her friends and stop Nightmare Moon. Ember remembered how she wasn’t supposed to be in the Gauntlet of Fire, but with the help of Spike, she ended the day as the Dragon Lord. Things had a tendency to sneak up on them.

If only they knew what they were in for.

------

The night was long, yet fun. Ember and Fizzle agreed to stay the night in one of the spare tents, Spike and Twilight doing the same in their own tent. Maybe it was just being able to hang out as a group again, after their lives changed so much over the last few decades. Granted, dragons didn’t age much over that period of time, and Twilight was turning out to be the same, alicorn and all. They still had time to spend together. Still, it was sweet when they were able to have moments like this.

However, it was time to call it a night. A patrol of guards would look over the camp as they rested that evening, and Twilight cuddled tight with her husband as they drifted off to sleep. It was a peaceful sleep, even with the weight of worrying about their daughter in mind.

It was a restful sleep, up until dawn. Then Spike found himself coughing. His chest wheezed from a clog in his stomach, and he had to sit up from it. It woke up Twilight from the noise, and she looked over him as he tried to get it out. “Are you okay? Do you need water?”

“I think...it’s a letter…” he struggled to say. He covered his mouth from the pressure, and it felt like he was going to throw up. And then it finally came out. He belched louder than any time he could remember, and a pillar of flame filled the insides of the tent. When it died out, a letter appeared in its place. It was a good five sheets long, the longest he had ever done. Each page was filled front and back, making it more bizarre.

“That was a letter? THAT?” Twilight picked it up and broke the seal in the middle. Spike leaned over and read along it with her, curious what this could be. When they were finished reading it, they burst out of the tent, wide eyed and freaked out over the moon.

“Where’s Ember and Fizzle?” Spike gasped. “We need to see them now!”

“The fourth tent on the right,” a guard pointed out.

As soon as they got the news, they raced to get to it and went inside right away. A few minutes passed, with some grumblings and questions coming from within. Once that was over, Ember and Fizzle exploded out of the tent, both angry and upset about what they learned.

“Kunzite should have kept her mouth shut if Cinder was going to be that way!” Ember raged.

“She literally said sorry twenty times!” Twilight recalled. “We’re not happy about this, either, but don’t put all the blame on her. We’ll do our best to fix this. We’re going down there right now.”

“Don’t bother. If that’s how Cinder is, she’s coming for us. We’ll be ready for it,” Fizzle countered. “Just...I’m not mad at her, personally. How could she know Cinder would do that?”

Ember shot him a glare and sighed. “Have your guards ready. I’ll be getting the Dragon Lands ready myself.” She took off and flew off to the Dragon Lands. Fizzle joined her right away, followed by Torch soon after.

Spike went to Twilight’s side and hugged her tightly. “We’ll get them out of this mess. Cinder’s not going to lay one hand on either one of them.”

“No, she won’t,” Twilight trembled. “If she lays one hand on my daughter…”

The letter rested on the floor of what used to be Ember and Fizzle’s tent. It was full of drawings, impressions of what Cinder looked like. It detailed who she was, what she was doing in the village, and other things. Wildfire went into the tent, curious about the source of all this discord he heard around the camp. When he saw what the contents were, he shook his head.

“Kunzite, this is why you don’t trust everyone you meet…”

She knows that Torch stepped down from his crown, that Ember’s the new Dragon Lord, who Moonstone is, all that stuff. It’s all my fault that she knows. And...I don’t know why, but I think she’s coming for Ember.

I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.

Kun--Kunzi--Kunzite

Author's Notes:

So the last time I uploaded a chapter, I said the next two might come out on the same day. Those plans were shelved for two reasons. 1. This ended up being a good 800 to 1k words longer than I expected. 2. The plans for the chapter were chucked out the window. Originally, the five of them would discuss raising their children, things like that.

I changed it because that seemed redundant with the way things had gone, and what happened here was mostly improvised. That's one benefit to writing a later entry to a story: Sometimes, the characters tell you where the story needs to go, not what you already planned.

Either way, we're coming up to the end, and as you can see, it's going to be an intense ride to the finish line.

The First Spark

Most kids hated the sunrise on a weekday. Unless it was the summer, it meant that they had to get ready for school, for running errands, that kind of thing. Kunzite was a rare exception. Maybe it was because of her unique nature, but she looked forward to the morning. There were so many things she could do with a brand new day, such as learning about a spell or discover another part of the world. The potential waiting for her made it the best time of the day.

Not this time. She dreaded the sunrise as she waited by the front porch, and she could tell it was going to be an awful day. The kind that came around every now and then, and most people would approach it with “I can’t wait for it to be over”. It was even worse than usual, as she could hear Moonstone snoring on the bed. Another reminder of what she was in for.

Eventually, Moonstone opened his eyes from the traces of sunlight hitting them. He stretched out his arms and wings as he got out of bed. His muscles were a little sore, mostly around the joint he used for arm wrestling, but it wasn’t a bad night’s sleep at all. Granted, his mind was full of bad memories, but he reminded himself of the support all around him out here.

He noticed that the other bed was unoccupied. That left him curious if Kunzite was already out and about, and the front door laid wide open. Kunzite was sitting in a chair by it, and he could see how heavy minded she was right away. The way she was clutching at her cup of coffee didn’t help. Something was wrong, and he had to find out what it was.

The dragon headed outside and went to see her. “What happened? Did they do something to you?” He didn’t want to namedrop Cinder, but if anyone harmed his friend, she was on the top of the list of candidates.

She slowly turned to see him, and her arms were quaking around the cup. “Moonstone...I need to tell you something. I’m so sorry. I am so, so sorry.”

A chair was pulled up next to her, and he took a seat. “Hey, talk to me. You might be the biggest nerd I’ve ever met, but we don’t hide stuff from each other. Come on, spill the beans. I’m here.”

Kunzite sniffed and downed what was left of the coffee. “You’re going to hate me for the rest of your life.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. How bad could it be?”

The moment of truth had finally come. There was no more delaying this, and she knew it. She barely had the courage to face him as she made herself say it. “I...told C-Cinder everything. She knows who you really are, t-that your mother’s the Dragon Lord now. I didn’t hold anything back. It’s all out in the open.”

When the beans spilled in front of him, he stood silently for a while. He gazed over the village from his seat, and his face was completely blank. “You really told her everything? Why?”

“Y-Yes,” she cried. “I-I don’t know why, but they were talking like they still had to hide from Equestria because of Torch, and I tried to correct them. When Cinder found out, she ran away and said she needed a moment to herself...I’m so sorry.”

“Fine. Fine.” He stood up without making a sound, and that was the worst thing she could have seen. That was the quiet kind of anger she had seen from him before, the scariest type imaginable. The quiet before the storm. “Let me guess, she’s upset at me.”

“I t-think so. Please don’t be angry at--”

“Just. Stop,” he snapped with a growl that sent shivers down Kunzite’s back. “I’m angry at you. Actually, no. I’m upset at you.” His hands clenched up by the sides. “I trust you more than anyone else in the world, and I wanted to keep this quiet. And then you…” He kicked a molehill’s worth of dirt into the air.

Kunzite whimpered from the force of the kick, but something came over her. She stood up and got into his face. “It was a mistake, I admit it. But they were going to find out sooner or later. What’s the right thing to do, they find out the truth and hate you a little more, or live a lie they’ve been in for almost twenty years?”

“But I trusted you,” Moonstone snarled. Even though he was burning in rage, she swore his eyes started to water. “They should find out, yeah. But they already hate me. They can’t stand to look at me. And then, right when Cinder starts to warm up to us, I’m suddenly her number one enemy. If she hated Torch so much, how do you think she’s going to feel when she knows her grandson’s here?”

“I know, and I’m sorry!” She grabbed his shoulders and let it all out. “If we were going to tell them, we should have done it together, and I made a huge mistake. Just...please...don’t push me away…”

Moonstone had to do everything to avoid losing his cool. The anger boiling under the surface was so difficult to keep inside. “At least you know you screwed up. But our friendship’s the last thing you need to worry about. You and Autumn are the only people in this village I can trust. Other than that, I’m probably not welcome here anymore.” He backed away from her and got his wings ready for takeoff.

“What are you going to do?” she asked. It was making her paranoia go up the wall, seeing him fly away like this.

“I’m going to talk to Cinder. It’s the only way we’re going to fix this.” He took off right away, sending a small tornado’s worth of wind into her face. It wasn’t long until he was gone from her sight. Where he went, he was going too fast for her to see.

“Celestia and Luna, no!” She used her wings to get up into the clouds, but the blue dragon was already far way. Her heart pounded from the fear coursing through her veins, and she had to find Cinder before it was too late. No matter where she looked, though, he was nowhere to be found.

This was so, so bad.

Autumn was down on the ground around Kunzite’s guesthouse, and she shouted from down below. “Kunzite! What happened? I heard this sudden whoosh and it nearly blew the house down. Where’s Moonstone?”

Kunzite came down to the kirin’s level. “He left to confront Cinder. I don’t know where they are, but he knows I told them everything.”

“Oh no. I heard from some of the kirin that she’s really upset. I’ll keep an eye for them, and if I find out where they are, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Thank you. I hope I can stop it before it goes downhill, again…”

------

Deep into the forest, there was a little creek tucked inside its boundaries. Few people knew about it, as it was hidden so well. Whenever Cinder was troubled like she was now, she went there to cool down. The clear water on the surface, the fish that called this place their home, the leaves falling around it, it soothed her soul when she needed it the most.

It helped that there was enough of a clearing for an elder dragon to come in and guard the area. That day, she had one of her closest companions, a purple male dragon, come in and protect it in case things got worse. From her point of view, things had already gotten bad enough to last a lifetime.

Her arms were trembling as she brushed the algae off the surface. Her breaths were quivering and uneven, and her hair was all in her face. Not even a few cups of tea would be enough to calm her down. Her mind was racing with a million thoughts, all of them from terror and fear. She just needed a few more moments by herself, and maybe she’d be okay again. She had to be, for her village’s sake. They needed someone to look after them.

“Are you certain you don’t need anything?” the elder dragon asked. “It would not be an inconvenience to fetch you food or something to drink.”

“And that’s the kind of attitude that brought you to me,” Cinder replied. “I don’t need anything from you right now. All I need is a little bit of peace and quiet.” She took a deep breath and exhaled steam from her mouth, a result of the magic in her lungs. “I hope…”

The dragon’s ear twitched before she could get too comfortable. “Someone’s coming. Just one person, and it’s as big as you are. There’s wings to this creature. I think it’s one of our kind.”

Cinder’s eyes bulged in their sockets, and her horns glowed wildly. “Not now not now NOT NOW!” she begged.

Right on cue, they could see the blue dragon flying above them. His nostrils were constantly pouring out smoke, and she was certain he was growling at her. Her mind frantically tried to figure out which spell to use in case she had to defend herself.

It turned out to be a mistake. Moonstone could hear the magical aura on her horns, and his eyes locked onto her location. He couldn’t believe it took a short time to find the kirin, and she gasped when she saw that he found her. Rather than lunge in for the kill, he slowly lowered himself down to the ground to face them both. The snapping of grass blades was almost enough to send her over the edge.

The elder dragon got on all fours and reared up. “Do you need me to attack? I could wipe him out with one blow.”

“No, stand down and alert the rest of the village. I don’t think he’s here just to fight. Might be someone I can reason with. I hope,” she tried to convince herself.

He nodded and flew over to the village grounds. That left only the younger dragon and the Equestrian Kirin with each other. It was only a matter of time before it came down to this. They had to know this scene was going to happen, sooner or later.

A gentle breeze rustled the trees with a small push. The creek reflected the morning sun throughout the forest, and a few birds drifted among its borders. On most occasions, this would have been the picture of tranquility. Funny how a few small details, like two people ready to come to blows, could change that picture entirely.

“So Kunzite told you everything,” Cinder managed to get out. Seeing this dragon in front of her, smoke pouring out and fists clenched, had her prepared for anything and everything.

“She did, and I hate that she did,” Moonstone admitted. “You and your friends have given me nothing but trouble since I’ve gotten here.”

“Then why are you here? For all your power, you have one of the worst poker faces I’ve ever seen. And don’t tell me it’s your special destiny keeping you here.” The more she spoke, the more her arms shook erratically.

“I think you already know,” he huffed. He drew a leg back into a battle stance, in case this came to blows. More like when it came to blows.

“No, I don’t. Apparently, there’s a lot I don’t know about you. When did Torch step down? Why did your mother send you here? Don’t lie to me about one single detail.”

The accusations made him growl louder than he had in awhile. “Torch hasn’t been Dragon Lord for almost twenty years, and nobody forced me to come down here. Okay, Kunzite egged me on, but she didn’t force me to go. Don’t even think I was sent here by someone. I’m my own dragon.”

That wasn’t the response Cinder expected. She slowly stepped out of the creek to dry ground, and it said a lot that an Equestrian Kirin like her didn’t notice all the grass she was stepping on. Her expression was blank, yet her eyes expressed all the terror she was going through.

“You’re a very smart dragon for your age, I’ll give you that,” she conceded. “But it’s just...Torch. Everything about him. He was so fierce, so scary, that I knew I had to protect the kirin from the likes of him. From the likes of you.”

“Don’t you dare…” Moonstone grunted.

“I didn’t want to do it at first. I know I’m not always there, so to speak. But they were safe for the first time in forever. And when I heard you’re his grandson, I was...terrified. Like everything that happened so long ago was happening again.”

“It’s not happening again! I’m nothing like him!” He sprinted a little closer to her, and the distance was closing by the second. “If I was, we wouldn’t even be talking.”

“Perhaps, but I can’t risk it again,” she muttered. “Everything this village has ever built up, it has to be protected. From the worst kinds of dragons.” Her horns blazed with a light that rivaled that of the sun. “FROM YOU!”

A ball of magical force, intense and crackling from all the energy it contained, lunged at Moonstone. He saw it coming a mile away, and he jumped to the side to get away from it. It barely avoided his torso, but the tree behind him wasn’t so lucky. A sickening crack came out of the trunk, and it collapsed with a heavy thud to the side.

“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE!” he roared. He got back up and brought his claws out. They came for the kirin, but she vanished before he could get her. A teleportation spell, really? She appeared again just inches behind him, but he turned around and caught her forearm before it landed at the back of his head.

They came to a deadlock. Moonstone knew he was stronger than her, but her horns kept him in check. He wasn’t willing to make a move and risk opening himself to a spell. Whatever kind demeanor she had was gone, having given away to a creature twisted in rage and fear. She panted and struggled to gain any ground.

“I didn’t force you into this,” he snarled. “I just wanted to be there for Kunzite. You’re the one that pushed me into fighting!”

“No, this was inevitable,” she gasped. “I should have known there was something about you. Dragon or not, you were going to be our downfall. I’m stopping it before the war begins!” The horns started to glow again, with an electricity only rivaled by the strongest mages in Equestria.

Moonstone realized that, and he pushed her away at full strength. It forced her to back up a few feet, and she unleashed her fury at him. A bunch of thunderbolts launched around him, and he was dead meat if he stayed put. He used his wings to pick up the wind, and he leaped high into the air. The sun had risen above him, and she lost where he went in the sunlight.

However, she spotted him coming in with a spin kick, and she grabbed his leg before it could land. He grunted and tried to break loose from it, and he was left wide open for yet another spell. With no other options, he closed his wings and let himself drop to the ground. She gasped from the sudden thud, and he landed on his back in front of her. It left her wide open, and he used the moment to sweep the leg.

“Ahhhh!” Now they were both flat on their back, and he sprung up to the ground. It was so, so tempting to jump on her and land blow after blow against her, but he hesitated for a moment. That was the opening she was looking for, as she hit him right in the chest with a blast of water coming from her magic. It sent him back a good ten feet, causing him to roar. His chest burned from the pain she dealt.

As Cinder recovered, she quivered and panted as she tried to figure out the next step. “You...can’t just walk away now...you’re going to bring more of them, aren’t you? That’s what Torch did...and he’s rubbed off on you...way too much…”

“If there’s anything I picked up from him, it’s being able to defend myself!” He shook off the pain and swooped in, using his wings. She let out an oof as he picked her up into the air. Seeing the spot she was in, she brought her wings out to full span and dropped down below him. They got a good thirty feet above the forest, but they were too low to be spotted by the village. Only a dragon would be able to see them where they were, and there weren’t any within a few miles out here.

The sudden descent surprised Moonstone, but given he did the same trick not long ago, he knew to go off to the side before she could get him. It was just fast enough to avoid an uppercut to the chin. She stopped right in front of him to avoid opening herself up to a counterattack, but he brought a fist down to her shoulder. It got blocked with a magical force field she deployed for a brief second, and he tried to get her again with another punch. Another force field blocked that blow, and he got the hint. Then the field grew wider and more intense, and she tried to push it to his direction. It was too big to dodge, so he tried to blow it away with his fire breath. The intensity was enough to stop it into place for a while, but it was too powerful to keep in place forever.

He screeched like an animal as he saw stars in his eyes. The force field sent him spiraling for a good while, and he shook his head around to regain his bearings. Right when that happened, he would see her coming at him with a kick right into the chest. With the amount of pain that was already there, another shot in the chest was going to do some serious damage if he let it happen.

What felt like minutes happened in seconds, as he managed to get out of the way just in time. It left her vulnerable, and a fist smacked her in the shoulder. She yelled in agony as the blow was enough to make her clutch at the joint, but not enough to stop her. Her eyes glowed with the intensity of the sun as she thought up the most powerful spell she knew. A cloud started to form around her head, quickly turning grey as the skies suddenly seemed less friendly.

This spell wasn’t a new one to the dragon; he heard the stories where Celestia and Luna harnessed the power of nature to strike down anyone who stood against them. There was no way he was going to let this kirin do the same thing to him. He huffed and gathered all the air around him, as he prepared himself to shoot out fire that could rival the heat and power of an active volcano.

No matter how this standoff ended, someone was going to come out seriously injured. Neither one was willing to back down, even after seeing how it would end for one of them. It was the unstoppable force against the the immovable object, as some scholars would say.

Right before the impact, they noticed someone was coming their way. It was a winged person, not very big in size. As soon as the horns on its head lit up, it didn’t take long to figure out who it was. And they might never see a person so upset as the figure was.

“STOOOOOOOP!” Kunzite shouted. Her magic shot out and dissipated the cloud above Cinder’s head. “What’s gotten into you? This...this wasn’t supposed to happen. It’s my fault you didn’t see eye to eye, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be fighting like this!”

Cinder gasped from the younger kirin shouting at her. “But you don’t understand. He was going to--”

“I don’t want to hear it! Cinder, he’s my best friend. He wouldn’t do anything bad in his life. And Moonstone…” She turned to him with a solemn face. “I’m really disappointed in you...I let you down, but you’re the one fighting her. Just...why?”

Moonstone stayed there quietly, not daring to answer back right away. He shot a glare at Cinder, but he shut his eyes and grunted. “She laid the first blow against me, but…” The way Kunzite looked at him put him back in his place. “...I let my anger get the best out of me. But you’d do the same thing if it happened to you, too.”

Kunzite froze from hearing that, and she just shook her head. “I expected you to be better than this. You...had every right to be angry, but you never threw a punch until now. And you, Cinder?” She struggled to find the right words, that was how emotional she had gotten. “What you did...it was terrible. Just...things changed. Moonstone’s not like what you expected. Please realize that.”

Before either one of them could respond, she left the forest then and there. She left them with a lot to think about. She looked back at them before she vanished, tearful from the mess she created.

Moonstone sighed and couldn’t find it in himself to look at Cinder or Kunzite. “She’s not wrong. We’re both full of it. But you didn’t help one bit. I’m going to do everything I can to make it right. You should do the same.” He left the forest as well, leaving the kirin alone by herself.

That ended up being the one thing she did or didn’t need, depending on an observer’s point of view. She started to realize what she had done, and it drove her deeper into her sorrow. Her limbs couldn’t stay still anymore, and to say she felt awful was an understatement.

But it wasn’t for the reasons Kunzite was hoping for.

“I’ve done so much to protect this village over the years,” she said to herself. “And I’m a good person in the end. Fighting Moonstone, it was to make sure we didn’t have our generation’s version of Torch. Yes? I’m just…” She put both hands over her face. “I probably took it too far. He just needed to see how strong I was, and we couldn’t have come to blows. That’s what happened last time I fought someone in his family.”

Out here above the forest, there was nothing to block the flow of wind. It rustled against her fur, and she felt how strong it was on her frame. Usually, that would be the best way to calm herself down. But this wasn’t a normal situation at all. Not even close to it.

“I just need...a moment to think…”

------

Kunzite had at least thirty seconds of a headstart on Moonstone, and it was going to take a lot of strength to catch up to her. This wasn’t good. Guess it was the kind of occasion where everyone messed up, so everyone needed to work together to fix things. Maybe this was the kind of thing he had to do to see to that.

It wasn’t long until he found himself back at the village. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary out here: All the kirin were attending to their own business, the dragons were seeing to their normal routines, so on and so forth. From the looks of it, the purple dragon didn’t share the news with them just yet. If he did, Moonstone was getting out of town the first chance he got. If their trust in him was just now starting to bloom, it was going to go away the moment they found out he fought Cinder.

He went to the first place he figured Kunzite would be, their guesthouse. He opened the door and stepped inside, only to get two pairs of eyes giving him the stare of a lifetime. Neither one was too thrilled with him, and he had to face the music. “Autumn. I guess she told you everything already.”

“She did,” Autumn sighed. She was sitting down on a sofa, while Kunzite sat down next to her. Both were down and trying to get through this. “I can’t say I’m surprised, but it’s not good that this happened at all.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I might have had a good reason for what I did, but that doesn’t make it right.” He pulled up one of the front porch chairs inside and sat down with them. “Can you forgive me?”

Kunzite wasn’t sure what to say. She observed the weather outside through the open front door. There were a few clouds scattered here and there, but otherwise, it was a beautiful morning. Not exactly the kind of day that fit the mood.

“You’re my best friend, Moonstone, and I trusted you,” she spoke quietly. “I want to forgive you. But...I’m scared. What you did there…” Autumn hugged her on the side, while she found it hard to describe her feelings. “I don’t want to see that from you again. It was scary.”

He took a deep breath and let it happen. He deserved it. “I don’t want to be a monster. But it felt like I had to fight back. She tried to hit me first. I wanted to run away. And yet, I stayed there and locked horns with her and...yeah.”

“Why did you do that? Please, don’t hold anything back.”

“Because I felt like she was going to hurt you,” he admitted. “It’s just, everything about her, it felt like if I stayed there, she was going to do something bad. And I didn’t want her to lay one finger on you.” For the first time that Kunzite could remember, his eyes started to water up. “I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.”

“Moonstone…” Kunzite got up from her chair and hugged him tightly. Autumn did the same, trying to comfort them both. “You don’t have to do that. I would have been fine.”

The dragon shut his eyes and didn’t hug back. He didn’t know what to do in that moment. A part of him thought he didn’t deserve any act of kindness like this, but another part really wanted to hug her back. Just for a moment. Or something. He lightly pushed them back and stood up. “She’s going to be back. I’m only going to make it worse if I stay here. We all need to leave.”

“What?” Kunzite choked up. “No, we have to stay here. The kirin are really getting behind you, and Ivory and Sea? They weren’t that upset over Torch stepping down. Maybe we could talk it out and--”

“No. I need to leave. I’m only going to make a bigger mess if I’m around for that.” A single tear rolled down his cheek. “It’s the right thing to do. I’m sorry. For everything.” He started to walk out the door, and Kunzite reached for his hand. Before she could grab it, he had already taken off into the air. Within the blink of an eye, he was gone.

The dam broke within Kunzite, and the tears burst out of her eyes like waterfalls. She fell down to her knees and wept. “I lost him…”

Autumn brought the poor girl in her arms. “You didn’t lose him. He thinks this is for the best, and he’s wrong. You’ll see him again.”

Despite the words of advice, Kunzite couldn’t stop crying. It was going to be a difficult road to fix all of this and make it right for everyone. If there was a road at all.

Author's Notes:

Yeah...pretty safe to say everyone had a turn to screw up in the last two chapters. Except Autumn. She's still her old self in the best possible way.

Don't worry, there's still quite a bit of story left to go. Things will change yet. Just three chapters to go.

The Cinder and The Flame

Usually, the mid morning hours would be calm, crowded, and peaceful. The little ones would go off to school, the adult kirin would go to their jobs, and the dragons scouted the fields for gems and threats to protect their home from. At first glance, it seemed like a really nice day. Of course, it wasn’t going to end that way. They just didn’t know it yet.

By that point, Streaming Sea and Ivory Steam got wind of things. The elder dragon with Cinder had returned to report the fight to them. Without delay, they organized a unit of guards, both Nirik and teenage dragon, to go into the forest. The Niriks had spears and swords equipped, and the dragons needed no such weaponry. They could fight fire with fire.

Right before they went into the forest, Ivory examined each soldier. They all had to be ready for one hay of a fight, and he was going to make sure they were. “Don’t let Moonstone’s youth give you the wrong idea. He will be resilient, arrogant, and not willing to back down. Your combined might will take that advantage away from him. It’s time.”

In the middle of the prep work, Sea leaned into his ear. “Are you sure this is necessary? I don’t believe this alone would cause him to break out fighting. He might be many things, but trigger happy isn’t one of them.”

“You would leave Cinder alone with him?” Ivory retorted. “He might not be impulsive, but there is no denying his temper is just as short as mine. We have to move right now. Understood?”

Sea sighed, looked off to the guards, and nodded. “I just don’t want to start a fight we have no business doing. I might have only been a foal during our first little dragon war, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see the scars on the older villagers here.”

“It doesn’t matter. Your enemy doesn’t wait for your wounds to heal. It strikes when it smells blood in the water,” Ivory continued. He brought a cloth over his sword and wiped away the specs of dust that built up from months of no use.

Before they could send the troops out into battle, however, one of the guards stepped up to the plate. She was maybe twenty years old, yet she appeared to be wise beyond her years. “I should have said something earlier, but right before you got us, I think I saw Moonstone leave the village. He’s heading in the direction of the Dragon Lands. Are you sure something’s up with him?”

The other guards were startled and whispered to each other. Ivory came up to the kirin and grabbed her shoulders. “Did you get a good look at him? Any blood or wounds?”

The guard tried her best to detail the events, but she was anxious as she detailed the events. “It seemed like he was crying. Couldn’t see any serious wounds, maybe a few burn marks. But that’s normal for a dragon, right?”

The answer left Ivory and Sea more confused than ever. Sea took it upon himself to respond. “This is bizarre. We have to check to make sure Cinder’s okay. Moonstone might be gone, but we need to find out if she’s okay.”

“Y-You don’t have to. He left her alone,” a voice cried out behind them. The tone was all over the place, barely able to hold it together for those eight words alone. It was Kunzite, and Autumn was there to give her someone to lean on.

Ivory was tempted to go up and demand answers from her the same way he did with the guard, but Sea held up an arm to block him from doing so. Instead, Sea went up to her. “What do you mean? Were you there to see it?”

“Whatever you do, take it easy on her,” Autumn warned. “She’s been through a lot already. She doesn’t need another person jumping on her case.”

“I understand. We’re just trying to find out what’s going on around here,” he replied. “Anything you know, even the smallest detail, could do wonders for us at this point.” He glanced over his shoulder to see how Ivory was taking it. The big guy crossed his arms and pouted a little bit. The nice and quiet way was rarely the right way.

Kunzite sniffed and rubbed her eyes dry. It took a lot to find the strength to keep going. No way was she going to risk screwing it up more, so she had to be careful. At least Streaming Sea seemed like the listening and understanding type.

“Can we take this somewhere else, please?”

------

Tranquility was turning into a resource in short supply within this corner of the world. How much of that was the fault of the guests around here and how much of it was on the leadership, it was hard to tell. All that was certain was that Kunzite needed more tissue. It was a mystery how someone could get through a box of them within a few minutes, but Sea started to understand how.

Kunzite didn’t hold any detail of the confrontation back from there. Autumn did her best to help her friend, from offering tea to whatever else she needed. It barely worked, but it was enough for the younger kirin to get through her story.

“And t-that’s it,” she finished. “I’m so sorry for everything we’ve done since we got here. If I didn’t tell you about Torch, none of this would have happened. If you need me to leave, I can do that.”

Ivory was eerily silent throughout the conversation. Rather than say anything, he rose up from his chair and walked out of the house. He shut the door with a noticeable force, and it made Autumn and Kunzite nearly jump out of their chairs.

“Don’t mind him. He does that when he needs to process something big like this,” Streaming Sea explained. “And I have a lot to take in from this as well. And...I’m conflicted, to be honest. Yes, this created conflict where none was needed. I accept your apology for it, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet.”

Kunzite grabbed another tissue and cleaned up her face. “Y-Yeah. It’s all awful from here on out, isn’t it?”

“No...actually, it’s not all terrible. If it wasn’t for you, none of us would have known that things changed.” He noted the map of Equestria he pinned to the wall. “We spent all this time thinking we were hiding from a draconic tyrant, only to see things have changed. And from the sounds of it, this new Dragon Lord is much different than her father. Even if Moonstone is moody and full of it, he’s nothing compared to his predecessors. He hasn’t burned down the village already, for example.”

Kunzite took a moment to make sure she heard that right. “Are you sure about that? I mean...it came to blows between him and Cinder. I figured you’d be more upset about it.”

For a split second, a spark from Sea’s Nirik form flickered across his chest. “I’m very upset about it. But...I’m trying to see the bright side here. We’ll have to do something about that fight, but...learning that we might not have to hide like we used to, that’s not insignificant.”

“See?” Autumn pointed out. “You did something really good here. It’s not all bad. We just have to make them cool it, and who knows? Maybe something awesome comes out of it. Your mother had to do a lot of hard things to bring Equestria to its golden age. Maybe that’s what’s happening to you right now?

Kunzite gave it some thought, and she lowered her head down. “It doesn’t change the fact that Moonstone’s upset with me, and Cinder’s a whole different story. There has to be something we can do.”

Sea brought his hands together and hummed. “That is the question, isn’t it? She’s been through a lot, and if anyone would snap at a dragon, it would be her.”

“That’s not encouraging,” Autumn trailed off. “But if we put our heads together, there has to be a way.”

-----

Ivory stormed off and went to the first bay he could find. There was no way he was going to stay there after that. The other kirin at the docks wondered what was wrong with him, but he pushed them out of the way and climbed into the closest boat. The villagers asked him why he was treating his own brothers and sisters like dirt, but it didn’t register to his mind. He just grabbed a paddle and pushed the boat out of the bay.

His mind raced with thought after thought, and he chose not to concentrate on any of them. It was blood curdling, finding out this was happening at all. After he gave himself some time to concentrate, he knew there was one place she would be. Just one place. No matter how wise Cinder was, she could be so predictable when the pressure was on.

A lot of the kirin in the village noticed him paddling down the river rapidly. Even if another boat out here had four kirins paddling away, they might not be able to catch up with his rate. Not that he wanted anyone to. He needed to be alone. When the village started to thin out and vanish behind him, that’s when he knew he was close to his destination.

The boat skidded against the banks of the river, and he could see a garden in front of him. It didn’t take him long to reach his destination after all. He pulled the boat further ashore and tossed the paddle inside. When he was finished, he stormed into the garden and waited for the right moment.

Yeah, this was Cinder’s garden, alright. Nobody else would have made a place like this full of water, so far away from the river. Maybe that came with being an Equestrian Kirin, creating nature where there was none, or it could just be a wrinkle in her personality. Either way, he was right where he wanted to be. He paced back and forth around the flower beds, waiting for a certain person to get on in here.

He didn’t have to wait long. His ears picked up the sound of wings beating against the wind, and he recognized that signature anywhere. Cinder had come to the garden, just like he suspected she would, and carried with her the most sorrowful face he had seen since the days of Torch. That was the face someone made when they lost someone close to them, or feared the worst for their loved ones.

Then she realized she wasn’t alone. It made her stop in the air when she spotted Ivory, although she wasn’t alarmed. Just surprised. She ended up on solid ground in front of him, and judging from the way he stood there, this wouldn’t be a picnic.

“Ivory Steam? What are you doing here?” she asked. Her hair and robes were a complete mess, and she had issues staying still at times.

“What happened in the forest?” he asked right away. “Is it true that you and Moonstone came to blows?”

The question put Cinder into her place. She nodded hesitantly, and she was on edge. “We’re both guilty of losing our tempers. How did you find out?”

Ivory scoffed and nearly ran out of the garden. “It doesn’t matter at this point, does it? What matters is that Moonstone left the village, and Kunzite’s been crying her heart out for the last few minutes.”

“He left? Really? After all we did, I can’t...he really did that.” She held her hand over her forehead. “I thought for sure he was going to retaliate or do something worse. I didn’t hide how I felt about him.”

“And how did you feel about him, exactly?” he retorted. “No, no, that’s not what’s most important to me right now. Here’s a better question: Who threw the first punch?”

The question made her wonder why it was relevant, until she caught the game he was trying to play with him. “I did. But I had to, Ivory. Do you know why we’ve survived for this long? Because we fight back against those who would take our home away from us, and we made it out in the past. I had to stop the threat before it threatened us again.”

“What?” Ivory turned back to her, and he needed a moment to make sure she wasn’t lying. “Are you serious? Did you...did you really…”

“Yes, and I would do it again,” Cinder cried a little. “It’s not that I wanted to. I felt like I had to. To keep you and everyone else in the village protected. I...didn’t want another Torch to happen in our lives. It was the worst time I can remember, for all of us. Don’t you remember?”

“I remember it every day. The fighting, the fear that we would have been wiped off the map of Equestria, all that. But I remember enough to see that Moonstone is no Torch. He would have accepted us if we extended a hand to him. And you pushed him away.”

“What do you mean…” She trembled as she took a few small steps towards him. “You mean, you think he wasn’t here just to keep an eye on us? That he wasn’t just spying on us for the Dragon Lord?”

Ivory snapped his head her way. “That’s what you thought he was doing? I never did. If that’s why he was here to begin with, he did a horrible job of showing it.” Then he sighed and forced himself to take a few deep breaths.

“It’s just...I mean…”

“You’ve done a great job overlooking this village for a long time. You really have. And the only reason why I’m not walking away from you right now is because I know your intent. You always mean well, even when you’ve made mistakes. But whatever you’re doing right now, I can’t be part of it. Cinder, whatever it is you’re planning to do, I’d advise that you stop it right now. You won’t help anyone, even yourself, at this point.”

With those words set in stone, he left the garden quietly. The boat drifted off against the currents of the river not long after, and that left the kirin alone by herself. Again. This time, it felt considerably different. Last time, she was deep into a situation she didn’t want to be in. Here, she felt...alone.

I don’t want to feel this way. But I have to keep going. Moonstone could be the first of many, again. Ivory might not believe me, but that doesn’t mean this is wrong. There was a time where I thought I was a freak, because the other ponies thought so at first. But these kirin convinced me that not everything people say is right.

I just need someone to help me with this. Streaming Sea always had a cooler head about these things, and Kunzite? She was terrified to see us fighting, but I imagine it would be scary to see your friend and someone like your sister do that. I just need to talk to her, and we’ll be able to stop this before it gets worse.

I hope. Please, don’t be wrong...

------

This was the kind of day Autumn knew she had to be a really good friend for. Kunzite needed all the support she could find, and there was one way to go around it. She caught wind that some of the dragons started to warm up to Moonstone, and reminding Kunzite that they did some good here together could be a start.

Kunzite was hesitant at first; maybe they would remind her of who was missing out here. That, and she was convinced she needed to talk to him the first moment she got. But Autumn was right. He needed time. Not very much, she hoped, but going to see him right this instant? Not the best plan.

Streaming Sea went with them, as he needed time to think outside of the village as well. Ivory Steam would be far too heated to think with his mind and not his temper for a while, judging from what they heard. If it wasn’t for the fact that something still needed to be done, they probably would have all left for a vacation then and there.

Out of all the mountains the dragons dwelled in, one of them strongly resembled a volcano from the Dragon Lands. There was no active lava, but the mud and vegetation was consistent with an area recovering from an eruption. The lack of snow came from the heated air around here, and there was a faint scent of sulfur in the winds. The oldest dragons spent their days around the mountain, but a few teenage dragons found it to be a fun place to hang out as well.

The three kirin sat down together on a fallen oak tree’s trunk, the roots and branches having long since faded away. Kunzite gazed up at the dragons swarming the peak of the mountain. They were aware she was there, but they didn’t disturb her. A few frollicked around on the ground, either sleeping or resting, while she tried to ease her mind with some grape juice.

“Nobody’s asking you to be happy about this,” Autumn spoke up. “If you need some time to think by yourself, we’ll understand.”

“That’s the last thing I need to do right now,” Kunzite countered. “I’d just beat myself up. We have to think. Sea, did you ever see Cinder like this before?”

“It’s been a while,” Sea admitted. “But it’s possible. I hate to say it, but she’s only been like this when she’s afraid something bad will happen to the kirin, like a disaster or threat.”

“That’s even worse.” Kunzite stood up from the tree trunk and, for the first time in a while, didn’t seem to care that she was stepping in grass. “Is there anything we can do to calm her down? Anything?”

He sat still on the trunk. Nothing came to his mind, and he shook his head in defeat. It was hard for him to see a way out as well.

That wasn’t what she hoped to hear. She clawed at her eyelids and finished whatever was left of her drink. Once it was done, she hopped down and headed for the mountain. Autumn reached out for her and wanted to hug her again, but deep down, she was convinced it wasn’t going to help at this point.

The Equestrian Kirin found herself near the base of the mountain in no time, and her mind was racing as fast as her feet were. The intrusion made the dragons take note of her, although they weren’t upset to see her by their home. Just curious.

Before she could say anything, she found one of the teenage dragons coming to see her. She didn’t know who this dragon was, other than she was green and the same size as Moonstone. “I heard what happened. Word traveled fast. Kind of a shame.”

Kunzite sighed and rubbed her arm. “Yeah. I wish it didn’t come to that, but it happened.”

“I know. Moonstone might not be the nicest guy around, but he was kind of a fun dork. Who does arm wrestling anymore?”

That sent a spark in the kirin’s eyes. “Wait, you’re not mad at him? I thought everyone would be. At least, Ivory seems mad about it.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. We love Cinder. She’s cool, and we’re not gonna let anyone hurt her. But he seemed pretty cool, too. Like a really grumpy guy with a nice heart underneath it all. Kinda wish they stopped being jerks to each other.”

“Heh, that’s about right,” she laughed nervously. “You should have seen when I tried to make him read a romance book. Think he literally threw up. But he wouldn’t let me get it back for a month. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

“Sounds like I should have gotten to know him better. Name’s Emerald.” The dragoness paused for a moment. “What are the Dragon Lands like?”

“Huh? Well, err…”

Before she could go into detail over literally every part of the lands, she could feel a shift in the environment. Emerald’s confidence evaporated into nothing, and even the elder dragons stopped what they were doing. One thing they all had in common: They were looking right behind Kunzite. She turned to see what the fuss was about, and her heart nearly burst in her chest when she saw…her.

Cinder stood between Kunzite and her friends. Her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying, and there was mud on the outskirts of her robes. Despite seeing her just a few hours ago, it seemed like she hadn’t slept for ages already. Autumn and Sea were both alert and slowly approached her, ready for the worst case scenario.

As she took a step closer to Kunzite, it left the younger kirin’s mind conflicted. She wanted to hug Cinder so bad and do whatever she could do to make it better. On the other, the fact that she was willing to fight Moonstone made it clear this could be a dangerous person if pushed the wrong way. She had to be careful.

With seemingly no alternatives, she did the only thing that might not screw this up. “Cinder, I’m so sorry for what happened. I had no idea things had gotten so bad in the past, but it’s better now. He’s very upset, but I can talk some sense into him. He won’t fight you again.”

Despite her appearance, Cinder was very calm when she spoke. “If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. Our fight was one that needed to happen, but you were dragged into it, and you shouldn’t have.”

“What do you mean?” Streaming Sea interrupted. “You may not be one to back down, and I admire that about you. But what is your intent here? Even if he was a threat, I think he conceded any battle to you when he left.”

“That is true, yes. But you remember how it was the last time we engaged with a dragon from that family,” she stated, turning to address him. “We...we have to prepare for a second round. That’s what they do, and he likely alerted them about us. Do you think our defenses are strong enough?”

Kunzite jumped out between them. “No, it’s not like that. Haven’t you heard what happened? It’s not the same anymore. You don’t have to fight this time! He just went home. That’s all.”

Cinder’s lips quivered from the retort. “But...you haven’t been what we’ve been through. You weren’t there when we had to take care of the kirin hurt in the battle…” She shivered tightly from the images in her mind. “Please. You mean well, but I can’t risk it. Not this time.”

“Hey, you don’t have to worry about it,” Autumn butted in. “I met Dragon Lord Ember, too. Moonstone picked up her grumpiness, but once you get on her good side, she can be nice. You might even like her.”

Before Cinder could respond, she noticed Sea had come up to confront her. He seemed nervous, but he held his hands on her shoulders. “Trust me. I don’t want our tribes to go through what happened that day, ever again. Nobody does. Yet, I don’t believe it’s something we have to fear. I can feel it. And if I’m wrong, you can cast me out for being that foolish.”

Cinder’s mind was sent scrambling. Her eyes widened as she couldn’t decide how she should process what all these people, some she had gotten to know for decades, had just said to her. It was too much. Her eyes tried to let out the tears again, but they were too worn out to do so. “Sea...Is that what you believe?”

Sea nodded. He braced himself for the worst case scenario. “I do. This isn’t a burden you have to carry alone. You never had to. I can’t decide for you, but that is my advice as your follower.”

“Sea…” She shut her eyes and backed up a foot from him, enough to get his hands off her shoulders. “You know why I can’t.” Terrified, she turned away from him. It surprised him, as he didn’t get the cold shoulder from her. Instead, she went to address the dragons in his place.

As she thought about what to do, she took a peek back at Kunzite. If she was the most stressed person by the mountain, Kunzite was the second. The poor girl was trying, that much was obvious.

“Many of you were there with me when you fought Dragon Lord Torch, were you not? So you remember all the cruelty he brought with him, the fights that ensured, and so forth. It’s possible we might be facing the same thing right now. And…” Cinder struggled to keep it together. “We should prepare for the worst, so history doesn’t repeat itself.”

The dragons whispered and discussed this amongst themselves, but Kunzite picked up that their tones weren’t too approving. Sea, meanwhile, was dumbstruck. Was it possible she asked them for approval because he didn’t give it to her?

After a minute passed, Emerald bowed down on one knee before Cinder. “If I’m not speaking out of place here...do we have to?”

Cinder’s heart nearly stopped. “Emerald, you’re wise for your age, but...don’t you see what Moonstone is doing? He has to be spying on us, it explains so much…”

“But does it?” A voice echoed out from the throat of an elderly dragon, one that was dark red with yellow eyes. “Cinder, you have carried us far through these years, and we owe you our gratitude. Your plan of defense is sound, as well. But it did not occur to us that a new Dragon Lord would take Torch’s place. And if that’s true, we have considered something else.”

“And what would that be?” she puzzled.

“Anytime a Dragon Lord took the throne, with the new leadership always came new philosophies, and new ways of thinking. Perhaps it might be wise to meet this Ember and see how she differs from her father.”

The words shattered her mind completely. Her eyes widened considerably, more than anyone had ever seen her do. She almost fell to her knees, as all her strength left her legs. “You...you mean…”

“It is what we had considered before your arrival. We find it to be wise for you to do the same, although we will respect your thoughts as well.”

“No...No…” Then she really did fall down to her knees, and her nerves were wracked. As soon as she fell down, Kunzite rushed to her side and tried to hug her.

“It’s going to be okay,” she tried to comfort Cinder. “It’s going to be alright.”

“Kunzite...I can see you have a good heart, and you’re open to many creatures for friendship. But you have no idea what we’ve been through,” Cinder quivered. “No idea at all. I’m terrified. I can’t let this repeat itself. I can’t. You understand? I can’t sit here like it’s all okay. And…”

Autumn immediately ran to their side, and Sea did the same. “Kunzite, please be careful. Cinder needs all the help she can get.”

“It’s not all okay, we understand,” Sea added. “But that’s why you joined us. Neither us nor you would have to deal with this alone. Can you hear us?”

Cinder huffed from Autumn addressing her that way, but Sea’s words got to her. “Maybe...maybe you’re right...I didn’t want to be alone, and I didn’t want to see you burn...but I feel alone…”

“That’s because we’re all scared of what you might do,” Kunzite stated bluntly. “I just wanted a friend in you...but you hurt Moonstone, and that wasn’t okay. You have to do something to apologize to him.”

Cinder paused for a while, and then she looked off to the distance blankly. “To...him...I need time. I don’t know what to think anymore, and I just want to be able to think...even I know that I’m doing the right thing, or I’m turning into a monster.”

Kunzite gasped and hugged her tightly. “We’ll help you. Just let us help. If there’s anything I can do to help…”

“Then give me time.” Cinder vanished into thin air without warning. All this time while they were talking, her horns were glowing subtly, and she had cast a long range teleportation spell. It was like she was never there to begin with.

“WHAT?” Kunzite panicked from the spell, and she searched the ground Cinder stood on to make sure she wasn’t just seeing things. Sea backed away and huffed from the move, while Autumn reacted the same way that Kunzite did.

“Why did she do this?” Autumn asked Sea. He remained silent. “Where did she go?”

The dragons watched on as well, and the oldest ones shook their heads in disapproval. “It is saddening when one’s personal demons catch up to them, isn’t it?” one pondered. “We’ve let her carry this burden alone for too long. Perhaps it is time to fix this.”

“What do you mean?” Sea turned and asked. “I wouldn’t know where she went. She could be across the world for all we know. She has the power in her magic to do that.”

“I propose we go to the Lands and meet Dragon Lord Ember before Cinder has an opportunity to worsen relations, if that’s her intent,” the dragon spoke. “Do you suggest the same?”

Sea thought about it for a moment, and he nodded. “I would. But I’m deeply concerned for Cinder, too. We have to find her.”

“And that we shall do as well. Some of us will stay behind to look for her, but we must tread carefully. If we do not, we might have an unnecessary war at our doorstep.”

While this was going on, Kunzite hyperventilated and clutched at Autumn’s shirt. “Please, Celestia and Luna, don’t do this…”

“I know. What she did was awful. But we can do something to fix it. Do you have any idea where she could have gone?”

Kunzite paused and thought over it in her head. “I have no idea. Maybe the Dragon Lands...I don’t know for sure. I just want things to go back to normal.”

“Welcome to being an adult,” Autumn sighed. “You’re going to have moments like this, where it seems like you screwed up so bad, nobody will ever like you again. But I’ll tell you from experience, it’s almost never as bad as it looks. You can still do something about it.”

“Like what? Screw it up even more?”

“No. Think about it. You’re talented with magic, and you have wings. What do you think you can do with those?”

She paused again, and it took her a moment to come up with anything. Then the light bulb went off in her head. Maybe this wasn’t her best plan, but it was better than sitting on her flanks. “Autumn, can do you do something for me?”

“Anything. What is it?”

“If something really bad happens to me, tell Mom and Dad I’m sorry.”

“Wait...what…”

“I’m going to go to the Dragon Lands, I’m going to go to Moonstone, and...she will likely be there, too. Whatever I have to do or say, I’ll do it.”

Autumn could see the determination in her friend’s eyes, and she hugged Kunzite. “Just...please learn from what you saw today. Don’t do this alone.”

“I won’t. I just need to find a pen and quill first.”

------

Mom, Dad,

Tell Ember that they’re going to send a bunch of kirin and dragons to the Dragon Lands to meet with her. Don’t worry, they’re not against her. They want to know what kind of ruler she is, things like that. I’m really happy about that part, because it means they might come out of hiding.

But Cinder disappeared. I could tell she wanted to keep fighting Moonstone, but everyone in the village doesn’t want to do that. She thinks she has to protect them, but they think this could be the sign of a new era for us.

I don’t know how and I don’t know when, but I’m going to do everything I can to stop this from getting worse. If you go to the Dragon Lands, I’ll meet you there.

I’m going to make this right. That’s my special destiny. Even if it’s not, I’m going to do it anyway. Mom, you didn’t stop defending the world just because you got your cutie mark. That’s what I should do, too.

Kunzite

Author's Notes:

Out of all the chapters so far, this took the most editing. A lot of what Cinder said had to be carefully edited; while she's the villain of the story, I don't want to push her too far into being a jerk, either. Just someone whose fears from past experience do too much of the thinking for her.

And then we came down to two chapters to go...with the next one possibly being the longest to date. I'm a little nervous, but it helps that this is so close to the finishing line by now.

Inferno

The air around the Dragon Lands that day was tense, thin to the touch, and not pleasant at all. The Dragon Lord spent most of yesterday telling the dragons what happened with her son, and what could soon happen. As a result, there was a lot of murmuring and gossip around the land. Whatever was going to go down, they had a feeling that they wouldn’t forget it.

It only intensified when a unit of pony guards came into their home. Once upon a time, this was a sign that they were going to war with Equestria. This day, it was a sign that they would be standing together against whatever would come. Many of the guards carried swords and spears by their sides, all carried the banner of Twilight and Spike, and none looked at the dragons with contempt. In fact, some of them looked concerned for their scaly counterparts.

Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Spike would be among them. As soon as they arrived, they came to see Dragon Lord Ember and Fizzle. Even though she knew it wouldn’t go over well, Twilight went over to hug Ember. For once, Ember didn’t seem to mind it. Maybe it was because Spike warmed her up to the idea of hugging, but it was most likely because of what they were going through. Along with the rest of them, Wildfire tagged along. Still, when he noticed the royal couples coming together, he stayed back a bit. He didn’t need to be part of their personal conversation right now.

“I don’t care what’s going on. I’m going to get Moonstone out of there,” Ember warned. “There’s no way I’m going to leave him alone with people like that.”

“But he already left from the sound of it,” Fizzle pointed out. “He’s probably coming this way. I don’t think we don’t have to worry about him to begin with, he’s stronger than me. Kunzite, on the other hand…”

“I know,” Twilight sighed. “There’s another unit of guards coming to get her now, some of our best. I just really feel bad for everyone involved. If I knew it was going to be like this, I wouldn’t have let her go.”

“That’s how we’re all feeling right now,” Spike sighed with her. “Let’s just keep our heads up and do the best we can right now. We can get out of this safe and sound yet.”

“He is wise about this,” Wildfire noted. “If you spend too much time beating yourself up over your past mistakes, you’re just left beaten up. The best way to move forward is to go after your current problem with all you’ve got. Oh, and bring your friends, too, but you’ve already done that in spades.”

Despite all that was going on, he managed to calm them down. Ember still looked ready to tear a volcano to pieces with her bare hands, but that was nothing compared to where she was just a minute ago. A lot of the dragons and guards gathered around the five of them, to listen in and guard them in case things went south.

The sun blazed down on the lands, leaving not one shadow to hide in. Whatever was going to happen would be as plain as day. A cool breeze kept the environment around them bearable, but it was still tense to the feeling. However, all of them noticed a small blue blur off in the distance. It was coming their way, and it came alone. It didn’t take much to guess who it was, and everyone knew it. Ember and Fizzle immediately spread their wings and flew up to meet the person halfway.

Moonstone’s eyes were dark red from the tears he let out, and his cheeks were still a little wet.. No matter what kind of person he was, he gasped when he saw his parents coming out to see him. He couldn’t get a word out, and he didn’t fight it when they hugged him for dear life. That was the thing he needed most, and he hugged them back. All the strength was gone in his bones, and he trembled.

“I was so worried about you,” Ember admitted. She pulled back and held his face. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“No, they didn’t hurt me,” he replied, his voice gravelly to the ears. “I missed you guys so much. All that time, I just wanted to be back home. Sorry. I should be stronger than that.”

“Stop that. You don’t have to be the big, silent guy all the time,” Fizzle corrected him. “You were brave for going through all that, and you were the better man when things got rough. That’s all that needs to be said.”

Moonstone nodded slowly, and he looked down below. All the ponies over there got his attention, especially a certain kirin’s parents. “Is Kunzite okay?”

Ember and Fizzle looked at each other for a moment. “She’s safe. Twilight just got a letter from her an hour ago, and they’re going to get her out of there. Nobody’s going to be hurt.”

“Good. That’s all I needed to know.” He hugged them again, and it was clear he didn’t know what to do at that point. It was getting harder and harder to think, but simply hearing that his friend...if he didn’t force their friendship to an end...was okay, that was enough to put his heart at ease.

Twilight and Spike watched them in the meantime, and they were clutching each other’s hands tightly. “I just hope we can do the same with Kunzite…” she trailed off.

“We will. I believe that she knows how to handle it, and she wasn’t alone. We left her with those two guards for a reason,” Spike pointed out.

Even then, they were both thinking about her all the time. It’s terrifying for any parent to go through that when they’re separated from their children like this, especially with the circumstances they were going through. This wasn’t going to be a picnic of a day, that was for sure.

Right when they thought they had a quiet moment, they would see even more people coming in from the horizon. These weren’t just tiny figures, either. A lot of them were elder dragons, some of the largest they had ever seen. And they were coming right in the group’s direction.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let the games begin,” Wildfire said to himself. “May the stars help us all.”

“Everypony, get to your stations and prepare for battle!” Twilight waved them off. The guards got together into battle formation, and they divided up into three groups. The Earth Ponies acted as the vanguard with spears ready to throw, the unicorns backed them up with offensive spells at standby, and the pegasi had swords glistening against the sunlight.

There were a few dragons around them, and they knew what this meant. A lot of them rose up and joined the pegasi in the formation. The smaller ones growled and extended the claws on their hands, while the bigger dragons stood by. They were ready to launch into the air in case it came to blows. With Spike joining the guards and Twilight standing out in front of them all, it was an impressive show of force, one that could and would not easily stand down or crumble in battle.

In the middle of all this commotion, Moonstone could feel a shift in the environment around them, even before the “visitors” came in. His demeanor changed right when he saw the party coming their way. “No...why won’t you all leave me alone!” An inhuman growl escaped his lips. It had been a long time since his parents saw him that ticked off.

Ember and Fizzle turned to see what it was, and they soon shared Moonstone’s sentiment when they spotted a few kirin riding the dragons. “That’s them, isn’t it?” Ember asked. “Those are the guys from the village?”

“I think we know the answer to that already,” Fizzle responded. “It’s time to put an end to this, once and for all!” The three of them stayed where they were, roaring together against the threat at their doorstep. The roar rang throughout the area, going for miles in all directions. This was war in their eyes, and they came prepared.

They were still in for a surprise.

When Moonstone saw the party come closer, he recognized Ivory Steam, Streaming Sea, and a lot of kirin riding on the backs of the bigger dragons. There were a few teenage dragons along with them. The more he read the faces on them, the more he saw Sea waving his hands frantically, as if to say “STOP!” And then there was the other noteworthy thing: None of the kirin were armed, or even in their Nirik forms.

“Those two over there? They’re the ones in charge,” he pointed out to his parents. “But...that’s weird. Is it just me or does it look like they’re not here for a fight?”

“No, I see it, too,” Ember agreed. “We should check it out, but keep your guard up. It could be a trap.”

“What should I do if it is a trap? I don’t want to see either one of you get hurt,” Fizzle said worriedly.

“Nothing’s gonna happen. If it’s a fight they want, we’ll take them down together,” she said, as a matter of fact.

“That’s right,” Moonstone nodded. “I’m doing it for Kunzite.”

The three of them went up as a group to greet the kirin. Twilight saw what they were about to do and turned to Spike. She tilted her head their way, and he got the hint right away. They went up together to join Ember and her family, united to face whatever future that was about to unfold. Wildfire didn’t need to be told anything, and he joined them right away.

Sea and Ivory’s dragons were at the front of the pack, and they had the largest dragons of them all. Well, from their group. They stopped right on the outer edges of the Dragon Lands’ territory. From the looks of their faces, they were waiting for the others to meet them halfway. Even with the feeling that they weren’t here to fight, it didn’t ease the tension around here. There was still a sense that one wrong move could lead to disaster.

Moonstone, Ember, Fizzle, Wildfire, Twilight, and Spike all felt it amongst themselves. They went up to meet the kirin, and Twilight already knew what spell she would hit them with if it came to that: A water spell that would turn the area around them into a monsoon of destruction. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to use it. If only she knew it was like a pea shooter compared to what Wildfire would use...

The dragons looked carefully at Ember, seeing how tiny she was in comparison to them, but noticing her similarities to Moonstone. “Are you the Dragon Lord that they call Ember, daughter of former Lord Torch?”

“Yeah, I am. And I heard what you did to my son,” she snorted. “You’re not on our good side right now.”

“As we expected. Before we begin, we apologize for what has happened in the last few days,” Streaming Sea began. “It was not our intent for things to come to this, but it doesn’t change the fact that we played a hand in it. That means you, Moonstone. We...should have been better.”

Moonstone grumbled under his breath. “That doesn’t change how you treated me like a parasite!” Ember held an arm in front of him, fearing he would lunge at the kirin right away.

“That’s why we’re here,” Ivory continued for his friend. “We had no idea Torch stepped down with you taking his place, Ember, as I’m sure Moonstone might have told you. And judging from what we’re seeing, dragons and ponies are closer together than we’ve ever seen before, with so many ponies among you. And…” He noted Wildfire there. “...that there’s another one of Cinder’s kinds in the world. We’re learning a lot about the world in a short matter of time.”

Wildfire crossed his arms. “From the sounds of what they told me, we should have been involved a long time ago. But it doesn’t matter. What matters the most is what we’ll do at this very moment. Choose wisely.”

Twilight took note of Ivory and Sea’s demeanor; it was probably bizarre to come out to a scene like this. “Ponies and dragons have been getting along for a while now. I can’t believe you guys never found that out for all this time. It’s been a while.”

“It’s because we were afraid of what came before, and we felt like the best course of action was to hide,” one elder dragon spoke, the one Ivory rode on. “Your father, Ember, was one of the worst Dragon Lords we ever served, and history might reflect on it. But you...I sense a different spirit in you, as we expected. Perhaps our decision concerning you was wise after all.”

“And what would that be?” Spike asked up. “You’re kinda being weird about it.”

The other elder dragon, acting as Sea’s ride, snorted and grinned. “This one smells more like a pony than a dragon. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is why we’ve come here. We came to open a dialogue between our village and the new Dragon Lord. Perhaps that’s the best way to overcome our mistakes, to look beyond the past and try to reconnect, like we should have done before.”

To say that everyone in the group was surprised was an understatement. Ember tilted her head to make sure they weren’t pulling her leg. “You serious right now? It’s really hard to believe, given, you know, everything you’ve done to this point.” She tilted her head over to Moonstone to show what she meant.

“That doesn’t always mean they’ll act the same way,” Wildfire butted in. “Shouldn’t it say a lot that they’re willing to talk to you to begin with? Although, I’m sure Moonstone feels differently, and for good reason.”

“Yes, we dropped the ball with him,” Sea conceded. “But we want to do differently. That’s why we came here, to try to right a wrong and see to change. That is, if you’re willing to take us up on the offer. We’ll hold no secrets from you.”

That got Ember’s attention, to put it lightly. She noticed Twilight and Spike glancing at each other, wondering how to take it. Fizzle was puzzled, but Moonstone? His frown said it all. Sea was the most nervous when it came to how the teenage dragon would react, though it wasn’t without a good reason. Even the kirin knew that at this rate.

“If you’re here to change things, then why isn’t Cinder with you guys?” he asked. “She’s the one really calling the shots back at your place, or so I heard. So what’s happening with her?”

Sea and Ivory could feel the stares coming their way. Twilight watched quietly and carefully; she knew it was best to see their cards before she played a more active role. There wasn’t any fighting so far, so that was a plus.

“If you didn’t hear about it, she ran away after we suggested a dialogue, Dragon Lord Ember,” said Ivory. “She thought it was the wrong course and...we don’t know where she is now. She used her magic to vanish without a trace, and there’s no telling where she went.”

Twilight gasped. “She VANISHED? Oh, that’s not good. Equestrian Kirins are always good at magic, so she might literally be anywhere in the world. What do we do…” She started biting her fingernails, and Spike placed a hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her. Barely worked.

Moonstone clenched his fists on his hips. He scanned the whole area with his eyes to make sure she wasn’t here right now. There wasn’t a sign of her out there. That got him to relax for a little while, but he was still on edge.

To everyone’s surprise, Ember was the most relaxed out of all of them. “So you’re not working with her right now. If I find out you’re lying, we’re breaking it off. Is that understood?”

Sea gulped and nodded. Ivory stood his ground and nodded as well. “Understood. We wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

Moonstone interrupted things by getting in front of Ember. “Are you sure about this? You heard the stories. They never liked me to begin with. So what are we--”

“I can hear you,” Ivory cut in. “And yeah, we gave you no reason to trust us, haven’t we?”

“But here’s the thing: We’re here partly because of you. If anyone showed us how much things have changed in recent years, it was you,” Sea explained.

“Huh?” Fizzle piped in. “What happened over there again?”

“Let’s see....after all we’ve been through, he’s not fighting us or anything like that. There used to be a time where dragons wouldn’t even want to talk to us before they burned our houses down. He’s nothing like that at all. That’s a pretty good start already,” Ivory explained.

“Then we meet the Dragon Lord, and she’s kind enough to hear us out. If nothing else, we want to see if things changed. If it doesn’t unfold the way you want, you can cast us out for good,” Ivory’s dragon piled on. “We just ask for one more chance. That is all.”

Once he was finished speaking, the space around them grew silent. The kirin awaited the answer, but everyone in Ember’s group wasn’t sure what to make of it. Twilight waited to see what she would do, and Spike was waiting to see what role he would need to play in this. Fizzle was quiet, as he was still anxious over what his son just went through. Wildfire observed all the players in this little game, curious where the next chess piece would move.

The most interesting reaction of all, however, was the Dragon Lord herself. She had listened to all of those words, but she spent a lot of time studying how Moonstone reacted to them. Seeing him flinch, get worried, and just being down in general got most of her attention. Maybe it was the experience he had that she didn’t when it came to these tribes. Either way, she had a feeling what the right course of action was.

So when it got quiet like it did, she leaned into his ear. “It’s your decision, Moonstone. You and Kunzite know these people better than anyone. Do you think they deserve a second chance?”

He blinked a few times. Was she really giving him this much power? Then he realized she was fully serious. It really was his decision in the end of the day. You’ve got to be kidding me…

All eyes in the group turned to him. Ember didn’t hide what she was saying, and everyone else could hear her. Twilight gulped while Spike tried to rub her shoulders to calm her down. Fizzle was openly nervous as well, knowing the weight of the world was on the shoulders of his son.

Realizing his student was in a tough place, Wildfire went up to talk to Moonstone. “I hate that we’re putting all our marble to you, when you’re just a kid. But you’re not just strong of body, but strong of mind. Whatever you choose to do, we got your back.”

Moonstone gulped. Now that he was in this spot, the easiest thing in the world would be to turn the tribes away. After all, their history spoke for itself. It didn’t help that their true ruler wanted to fight him, push him away, and wanted nothing to do with him. That was another thing to consider.

But then something came into his mind. He recalled the whole picture, how things changed the longer he was there at their village. With that in mind, he came to a conclusion. It surprised him, but the more he thought about it, the more it felt right.

He went up to the place between Ember’s group and the kirins. Fizzle reached out a hand to grab him, but Ember shook her head at the move. “We have to trust him,” she whispered. He frowned and pulled his arm back.

And so Moonstone came to the moment of truth. Nobody would stop him from making his decision, and it was time. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and looked to the kirin. “I hated you with all my guts for most of the time I knew you all. It was awful, being rejected before you ever got to find out one thing about me. And I still stand by that.

“But something changed over time. You treated me differently when you found more about who I was. In a good way. You were willing to give me a chance to change your mind, even though you didn’t have the best history with my granddad. When you did that, I could tell I was growing on you. You trusted me the longer we hung out. And when Cinder acted the way she did, you decided to come over here to fix things anyway.

“That’s why I’m gonna do the same for you.” He turned to his mother. “We should give them a chance to prove they learned from their mistakes, like we learned from ours. That’s what we did before, we used to hate ponies and now we’re friends with them. We should do the same thing to the kirin.” Then his gaze turned back to Ivory and Sea. “But we’re only gonna do this if you treat us right this time.”

There was an audible gasp from both groups. Twilight gasped the loudest, while Streaming Sea couldn’t help but gasp as well. Everyone was surprised to various degrees, but Moonstone wasn’t fazed by it. He made his point. No use in getting an ego about it at this point.

Once the decision was made, Sea and Ivory bowed their heads before the group. “There are no words in the dictionary that can express our gratitude for this,” Sea said warmly. “I promise we’ll make the most of this chance. It’s the least we can do.”

“Well, other than making sure the rest of the village hears about this,” Ivory pointed out. “If we pull the trigger on this, things will never be the same again. That’s for the best anymore.”

The dragons serving as their ride bowed with them, and Twilight couldn’t stop smiling from the sight. She turned and saw Spike smiling as well, which was enough to warm both of their hearts. Even then, they weren’t fully comfortable with this situation just yet. There was still one last element to deal with...

Still, what got Moonstone’s attention the most was the hand that went over his shoulder. He turned to see Ember there, watching him with the proudest smile. “Moonstone...that was amazing. It took a lot of maturity to do something like that. Something only a wise king or queen could do. Maybe when my time’s over, you should take my place.”

Moonstone tilted his head and smirked. “Yeah, I got a lot of growing up to do if that ever happens. I got a really bad temper, you know?”

She chuckled. “And who did you get that from? Another Dragon Lord. Come on, we dragons still gotta show who’s boss once in a while.”

“Listen to your mother on that, that’s where you got all the brains from,” Fizzle laughed. “Seriously, though, I am so proud of you right now. That must have been tough, and talking to all these kirin…” He peered over his shoulder at the visitors. “...well, we might need some help with that, and you know these guys better than we do.”

“Yeah. But I’m not the only one around here who knows about them. There’s also Autumn and…” Moonstone paused when he realized who was missing out here. He noticed Twilight and Spike hovering right behind them, and he could see the worry in their faces. A reminder of someone he left behind.

Ember and Fizzle noticed how worried he was. “What’s wrong?” Ember asked.

“I gotta get back to the village. Kunzite is still there. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! Why did I leave her there alone with HER?”

“Moonstone, we sent a unit of guards down there to make sure she’s okay, and there’s a reason why we had two guards come with you to begin with,” Twilight noted. “It might not have been right to leave her like that, but we were prepared if things went south.”

“Not to mention, Cinder’s still out there,” Sea warned. “You know how she feels about you. If you two cross paths again, I don’t want to imagine what will happen.”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER! I’m going to find her right now!” He spread his wings as far as they could go, and he dashed out of there before any of them could stop him. The dragon flew as fast as he could to the village.

“Moonstone! No!” Ember reached out an arm for him, and she went off to catch up to him. Yet, she learned the hard way that he was already faster than her. In mere seconds, he was just a speck on the horizon. “Noooo! Come back!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get him back. Spike, take my hand!” Twilight shouted. Spike grabbed her hand right away and hanged on tight. Her horn blazed with a magical aura, and they both disappeared with her teleportation spell. Flashes of white dust sprinkled the air where they once were.

“And I thought this would be uneventful,” Wildfire commented. “Don’t worry, I’ll get him before you worry too much.” Right when he was finished speaking, he was gone with a spell of his own.

“I don’t care what they’re doing. We’re going after him, too,” Ember snarled. Fizzle didn’t need to be told to follow her, and they went off to get their son back.

“We’ll come with you,” said Ivory. “Cinder might be out of control, but she’s not a monster. We refuse to believe that. She can be reasoned with like anyone else.”

“Shove it, we’ll deal with that later!” Ember retorted.

And with that out of the way, a search party formed for Moonstone. Kirin, elder dragon, and younger dragon alike, they were all out to look for the poor guy. But there was one chess piece left in this situation, one that would reveal itself shortly…

------

The forest went on for miles in all directions. Up in the clouds, it looked like a sea of green, rustling against the wind in all directions. Unlike the sea, it wasn’t fish that broke free from the surface, but birds. Much like the sea, however, it was quiet or thrashing in all directions, depending on the weather. Today, it would be thrashing against the gust. A huge wind current came into the area that day, and all the trees would be pushing against it.

Kunzite was one of those people. Her wings strained as she tried to fly opposite of the current, and she wasn’t sure why she was doing this anymore. She had no idea if Cinder went this way or not. Yeah, this path led up to the Dragon Lands, but there was no hint that this was Cinder’s destination. All Kunzite had to work on was a hunch, and she learned many times recently that hunches could be misleading.

Still, she kept flying that way for a while. Her breathing grew more ragged as she could feel the fatigue in her wings. Not always the best sign. She remembered that she had magic to work with, so she tried using her own teleportation spell to get some distance in. The results were a mixed bag: She went forward another hundred feet, but a sudden gust in her face caught her off guard.

It was too much, and she needed a breather. She made herself dip down below the trees and land on the ground. Of course, she went for a dry patch of dirt for a landing spot. Even while she was this upset, she would not break one blade of grass. She didn’t have to destroy nature to save the world.

Once she touched down, her wings folded against her back. Her breaths were short and frequent, and she must have gone on for an hour. Was this a good idea? It didn’t matter. Sometimes, it didn’t matter if she had a smart idea or not. What mattered more was whether or not it was the right thing to do.

Sweat poured over her face, as she leaned her hand against a tree stump for support. Her clothes pressed against her body as the wind pushed them forward. Even with all these trees around, the wind was cutting through the forest unimpeded. This was getting annoying. She took a seat on the stump, and she thought she’d give herself a few minutes. When she would be back on the hunt, she’d get her strength back. At least she wasn’t alone in searching for Cinder.

This is all my fault. If I just kept my mouth shut, Cinder and Moonstone would be the best of friends already. But she would have found out who he was sooner or later...oh, Celestia, Luna, and whoever I’m forgetting, this was going to happen no matter what. But it’s my fault it happened when it did.

Still, she remembered what Wildfire taught her about meditating. She was surrounded by nature now, so maybe if she closed her eyes and concentrated, it would help her calm down. Not like there were any better ideas on the table. So she picked up her legs, crossed them across the tree stump, and closed her eyes. With a touch of magic, she started to meditate.

In the place she was, the sounds of nature were louder than ever. The wind had a mind of its own and carried itself for long distances. A few birds abandoned their nests when the currents knocked them down, while others fortified their homes to make sure their homes would stay intact. Any animal that had four limbs didn’t care about the winds.

It was weird to feel. Maybe she should do things like that. Even when things got tough, maybe she should be like the birds that fortified their homes against the threat, or be like the critters that didn’t care about what happened. Just go with the flow.

And then she heard someone else in the forest with her.

The way this figure carried itself, she could feel it all. Two legs, walking slowly through the fields. It was moving away from her to the south. The footsteps were heavy and deliberate, and she could tell this person was working hard to avoid the grass with its steps. There was no doubt who it was. Once it dawned on her, her eyes shot open in fear and anxiety.

It couldn’t be. The odds were slim that she was here. But there was too much evidence to suggest that Kunzite found the right spot. She hit the jackpot, one she wasn’t sure she wanted to win. She slowly got off the stump and walked very, very slowly to the person. Whatever was going to happen, she had a feeling it was going to have repercussions that lasted years, not just days. But there was no going back to begin with. She had to do this.

As she kept going, she started to see the figure starting to come into view. There was no mistaking who it was. The tattered robes on her frame, the weeping face she carried, the way her limbs shook as they clung to the bushes, it was her.

Cinder didn’t seem to know Kunzite was there yet. She kept moving forward one step at a time. Judging from the way her wings were folded tightly against her back, she was just as winded from flying as her younger counterpart was. She tried to wipe the tears away from her face, but new ones took their place right away.

Despite all they had just gone through, Kunzite felt her heart soaring for Cinder. She ran towards the former chieftain, and her steps echoed throughout the forest. A few birds scattered away from her moves, and it was the telltale sign to Cinder that she wasn’t alone here, either.

“It’s you,” she said softly, not even bothering to turn to see who it was. She already knew. “Why did you come here to see me? Shouldn’t you be with the others? With Moonstone?” Her voice was raw and quivering.

“I came here because I’m worried about you!” Kunzite shouted. “What you did to Moonstone was wrong, but I could tell you’re scared. Please, don’t run away again. We don’t have to fight like this!”

Cinder stopped in her tracks, and she couldn’t stop staring at her younger counterpart. “He...he was your best friend, wasn’t he? And I hurt him. He’ll say it was nothing, but no, it was supposed to hurt. And yet, you’re still here, talking to me…”

Kunzite sighed and nodded. “Because it’s my fault. You were almost friends with him before I opened my big mouth. That’s why it’s just me. I feel like I’m the only one that can fix it, because it’s a problem I made happen.”

With that in mind, the older kirin’s eyes started to well up, but this time, she managed to keep the tears at bay. She grew closer to Kunzite and shook her head. “No. It was inevitable. Sooner or later, we would have clashed. And the way I acted, it would have happened no matter what you did.”

That almost drew a gasp from Kunzite. “Why would you say that? Please, give him another chance. He didn’t want to fight you. If he did, why did he run away when I showed up? Because it was the wrong thing to do, and he knew it!”

“It was inevitable!” Cinder shouted back. “You have a kind and loving soul, and that’s something you should be applauded for. I did terrible things to someone you care about, but you still reached a hand out for me. But…”

The words didn’t need to be said for Kunzite for her to see where this was going. “No. Don’t do it. There’s no turning back if you do.”

“I have to. I-I can’t risk anyone getting hurt again. Not this time. Trust me, I don’t want to do this. But I feel like there’s no choice anymore. The first punch was from me. There’s no way to undo that…”

She took off the ground and aimed for the sky. Before she could get far above the canopy, she felt her head sear in pain when she collided with something. She tried it again, only for the same thing to happen again. That’s when she saw what got in her way. It was a force field.

That’s when she turned to see Kunzite holding her ground down below. Her horns were shining bright with the spell at hand, and her arms were trembling from what she was doing. Both of them knew what this meant. And it was about to get ugly.

“There has to be…” Kunzite begged. “It doesn’t matter what you did, there has to be a way out…”

Given the size of the force field, Cinder had no choice but to go back to the forest floor. A gust flew up into the clouds from the impact her landing created. It wasn’t just Kunzite on edge now. They were both emotionally raw at that point.

“Stop the force field,” Cinder demanded. “It has to be done! For the safety of every kirin and dragon back home. And...for my safety…”

“No! I can’t let you fight Moonstone. There has to be another way. Whatever you do, please don’t hurt him again!”

“I told you, I don’t have a choice!”

She launched herself back into the air, and she hit Kunzite’s force field with a shot of pure magical energy. The force was enough to break the field into dust, and Kunzite gritted her teeth from the feeling in her horns. It felt like they were breaking from the inside. Cinder soared through the hole made in the spell’s wake and tried to go against the wind again.

Realizing this was a do or die situation, Kunzite went up above the forest to find Cinder. The older kirin was flying as fast as she could to the Dragon Lands. There was no way this could be allowed to happen. Kunzite countered by casting a teleportation spell on herself again, and this time, she wouldn’t need to go that far.

When she reappeared, she showed up a few hundred feet in front of Cinder, her eyes tearing up again. “PLEASE STOP!” she shouted. “I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU TWO FIGHT!” A force field showed up again in front of Cinder. It was larger than the one before, and the dark purple light along its surface shone brightly against the rays of the sun.

Cinder gasped from the sight and stopped on her path. Rather than use the previous spell again, she countered with a force field of her own. It was bright yellow in comparison, and she launched it against Kunzite’s force field. They clashed violently, and the tug of war put a huge strain against their horns. Kunzite groaned from the huge drain on magic this put on her, and she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to keep this up.

She was right. Her field broke up into a million pieces as Cinder’s magic won out. They both disappeared as she zoomed past Kunzite right away. Kunzite almost crashed from the near collison, and her heart was pounding when she realized she couldn’t slow Cinder down at all. Something still had to be done.

So she changed her approach. Her wings flapped hard against the wind, and this time, she was able to fly hard enough to catch up to Cinder. Only a few hundred feet separated them, and then it was just a few dozen feet. Cinder could feel her coming up from behind and tried to fly harder to break away. But it wasn’t enough. Cinder would be facing the wind directly, while her path left an updraft for Kunzite to catch.

Before she could dash away, she felt a hand grab her ankle. She was tempted to kick it away, until she felt a surge of energy wash over her. It was another teleportation spell. She found herself back into the woods when the spell was over. Thankfully, Kunzite picked an area that was wide open with a river next to it, so neither one of them would collide with the vegetation.

After it was over, Cinder came down and dragged her feet against the dirt (and sadly, grass) to stop before she hit a tree. Kunzite came to a complete stop right behind her, and both of them were panting from the amount of energy they just unleashed.

“Leave me alone!” she shouted at Kunzite. “Every minute we waste out here, they’ll be getting their forces ready to attack. I can’t let that happen!”

“They wouldn’t do that! They’re not that kind of dragon,” Kunzite shouted back. “I’m only doing this because I’m afraid you’ll start a war with the dragons!”

“That’s exactly what we need to do. I hate the idea of it, too. There’s no joy or pleasure in it. But it’s a necessary evil. Just get out of my way. I don’t want to hurt you, either!”

“You don’t have to hurt anyone to protect the village. And I won’t let you go any further!”

“In that case, if you won’t get out of my way, I’ll have to push you out of the way. Please forgive me!”

Kunzite wanted to stop her with another retort, but she saw a ray of magic launch right at her face. It was a really slow ray; Cinder wanted her to be able to dodge it. She caught that and jumped off to the side before it hit her. It collided with a bush behind the kirin, but it barely had enough force to whistle the leaves on it.

Just the fact that Cinder was willing to do that shocked the younger kirin to the core. The way she crossed that line made Kunzite tremble for other reasons. This really was a do or die situation. She didn’t want to do this, either, but what Cinder just did? That was a point of no return.

At that moment, there was a visible shift in the way Kunzite stood. Almost like she was standing more upright, despite the heavy emotion coursing through her veins. Then the air in the forest appeared to be...swirling around her. Only a little bit, but enough that Cinder noticed.

“I see what you’re doing, and I’m sorry I did that,” Cinder apologized. “But I feel like my back’s against the wall. When that happens, sometimes fighting is the only thing you can do.”

“I know,” Kunzite sighed. Even when she was sighing, there was a certain...energy to her words. “And I don’t want to hurt you, either. But I know one thing for sure.”

“And what would that be?”

“I have to stop you.”

Her horns buzzed with a fierce energy, and she shot a ray of fire at Cinder to answer for the attack. Cinder cast a shield over herself to block it, but she observed the intensity of the ray. It was surprisingly strong, and she could feel it even inside the shield. She glanced up at Kunzite and couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Eventually, the shield disappeared as well, and so did the ray. Cinder was worried what Kunzite would do next, and she got her answer when another force field tried to form all around her. This was taking the shape of a cocoon, a way to trap her for good. Instead, she used just one more teleportation spell to get out of the prison before it formed. She lunged at Kunzite with a kick down at the left leg, just strong enough to get her off guard but not enough to seriously damage her. That was the last thing she wanted to do, hurt the one person that would reach out to her.

Instead, she hit nothing but air. Kunzite got out of the way when she needed to. Before she could protect herself, Kunzite used the opening to hit her with a snow spell. Cinder found herself deep into a huge snowball, enough to send her flying a few feet into the air. She crashed with a thud, and the snowball softened the blow. It wasn’t just Cinder trying to use spells that would stun and not hurt.. Kunzite didn’t want this to get fatal, either.

“I knew you were good at magic for your age, but I’m impressed,” Cinder noted as she got up to her feet. “Give or take a century, there’s a good chance you’ll exceed me. But you’re still young and full of unrealized potential. You still won’t match me at full strength. Just let me go.”

“No, not until you say you’ll stop fighting Moonstone, too,” Kunzite warned. “I don’t want things to get that bad.”

“Then there’s only one way this will go. I just hope I’ll be able to live with myself after this, even if I already have a feeling I won’t…”

“That’s because you won’t listen!” Kunzite’s eyes glowed from the surge of magic hitting her horns, and the river almost scattered from the power coursing through her. She prepared a spell to stop this for good. While it was hard to tell what it was, Cinder saw it coming, and knew there was only one way to stop it from potentially ending her.

“I’m sorry…” She extended her hand out and cast a spell quickly before Kunzite could finish hers. It was a simple gust of wind, harder than the ones breezing through the forest. It was enough to not only stop Kunzite from going forward, but sent her flying. She gasped loudly when her back hit the side of a tree. It wasn’t hard enough to do serious damage, but the wind was knocked out of her, and her back was searing in pain.

She fell down on all fours and gasped for air. The pain in her back was the worst she had felt in a while, and she knew how vulnerable she was getting. Cinder could see it as well, and she slowly approached the younger kirin.

“Once again, I’m sorry,” she spoke softly. “That wasn’t hard enough to cause any injuries, but I need you out of the picture for a moment. When you wake up, it will feel like nothing happened at all. I mean it when I said I don’t want to hurt you...because you’re the closest thing I have to a sister.” A single tear rolled down her face. “I know you won’t forgive me anytime soon, but Equestrian Kirins do have long lifespans...maybe in a century…”

Her horns started to glow with an energy that rivaled Kunzite’s. It was enough to send the birds nearby scattering, and Kunzite could feel the power within. She scrambled against the tree and tried her best to make another force field, but it never came. That impact not only knocked the wind out of her sails, but it left her without enough strength to cast another spell. The aura on her horns sputtered out into nothing. She was finished.

Then she looked up to the sky. What she saw made her heart soar for the best reason. She didn’t have to worry about a thing anymore.

More tears rolled down Cinder’s face as she started to unleash the spell. “I hate myself for this. If you hate me for the rest of your life, it’s probably deserved.” The spell took the form of a huge ball of water, large and energetic enough that it would likely put Kunzite to sleep. Not permanently, of course. Just enough to get her out of the way. The water ball went for Kunzite and was about to hit her…

...when a blue figure came out of the clouds and kicked it hard on the top. The water scattered everywhere from the brute force, and a rainbow formed briefly from all the moisture in the forest. Once the person touched down on the ground, it was like the spell was never there.

“MOONSTONE!” Kunzite gasped. She tried to crawl towards the dragon, but she was too weak to do even that much. “I couldn’t be happier to see you. But how did you know we were here?”

“Once we heard all the magic out here, it was really obvious who was doing it.” Moonstone rushed to her side and helped her back up to her feet, giving her the support she needed. “What did she do to you?”

“She knocked the wind out of me, but nothing serious beyond that. And what do you mean by ‘we’?”

“Turned out that I didn’t come here alone.”

As Kunzite struggled to get back up to her feet, she saw the cavalry arriving. Ember and Fizzle came in first, the former holding the scepter in her hand. A lot of dragons came in right behind them, with Ivory and Sea coming in as well. The legion of pony guards came in as well, their swords and spears pointed right at Cinder. Wildfire joined them and had his horns on standby with the most deadly spells imaginable if things came to that point. Everyone was here to put an end to this charade.

The last one to arrive were Twilight and Spike. “KUNZITE!” Twilight screamed. She saw how badly her daughter was doing, and went in to check on her. “Oh Celestia, Luna, what happened to you? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay now,” Kunzite smiled weakly. She caught Spike checking up on her as well, and she hugged them both as tight as she could. “Oh my gosh, I thought I was going to die for a moment there…”

“It’s okay now,” Spike comforted her. “We’re all here for you, and she’s not going to lay one more finger on you. We’ll make sure of it.” He turned, along with Twilight and Moonstone, back to the kirin that started it all.

However, the reaction they got with Cinder would surprise everyone.

Rather than continue to fight, all of her attention was drawn to Moonstone. Her eyes were wide and wild as she tried to process what she just witnessed. “You...you protected her...when I was about to harm her…”

“Damn right I did,” he growled at her. “I don’t care what you think of me, but the moment you hurt my friend, you became a dead kirin walking. Nobody touches her and gets away with it!”

“You...protected...her…” It was like her mind was spinning, just trying to process that her head. She glanced at Moonstone, then Kunzite, then Moonstone again. It was like a child learning algebra for the first time. She couldn’t figure out the logic behind it at all. Almost like she couldn’t put it together.

Then she turned to the rest of the group. Ivory and Streaming Sea were standing behind her, along with Ember. One look at that red scepter in Ember’s hand, and Cinder recognized it right away. She was in the presence of the Dragon Lord. This dragon, one she acknowledged was Torch’s daughter, was nothing like him. She wasn’t attacking Cinder right away, despite having every reason to do so. Instead, she was...observing the kirin. Prepared for battle, but not launching right away. And that other dragon with her, that white and vaguely red one, that was clearly Moonstone’s father.

Along with them was another Equestrian Kirin. This one she would soon know as Wildfire, it must have been the other kirin Kunzite mentioned. And he was united with them. Not with her, despite the fact that they were members of the rarest species on the planet.

And then Cinder caught Ivory and Sea standing right behind Ember. They were standing with the Dragon Lord, not with the kirin they stood with for so long. And there was no strife between them and Ember. The elder dragons were with them as well, and it was the world against her.

Sea was the first to step up. “Cinder...it saddens me that you were willing to go this far. Between you, Ivory, and I, we all deserve some of the blame for this. But to do what you just did...I’m scared for you. Let these people help you. I can say from recent experience, things really have changed as much as we hoped.”

“What he said,” Ivory noted. “He was always better with words than me. But it’s true. I think this dragon lady, Ember, could be someone worth talking to.”

Ember stood still and bared her teeth at Cinder. “Are you the one that hit my son?” she snarled.

The kirin was perfectly still for a good while. All around her, she saw a picture that she didn’t know how to feel about: Dragon, kirin, and pony, all united together. All safe and sound. There wasn’t going to be any fighting between them. The kirin tribes wouldn’t need to hide anymore. There was no monster to fear at this point. Well, not a dragon one...

And then she realized there were two children among this group, and she struck them both. It was all over their faces how terrified and angry they had become of her. She earned that contempt. Now...

When it hit her, she collapsed on her knees and held her hands over her face. She wailed so loud that it could be heard for a good distance. “Oh gods, I’m sorry, so so sorry! I was terrified for my village and did whatever I could, but I hurt innocent people because of it! You didn’t do anything to deserve this! Just take me away, it’s what I deserve…”

As she continued to weep, Ivory and Sea glanced at each other. None of them could find the words to say to this. Ember merely shook her head. At least Cinder saw the extent of her crimes. Fizzle hung back quietly and remained silent. This was out of his league. Wildfire turned his head to the side and grimaced. He found another one of his species, and she turned out to be like this...

In the meantime, Twilight and Spike had a different feeling about this. Maybe it was their history, but they saw a poor soul that could be redeemed. After all, how many dictators, tyrants, and would be conquerors did they reform over the years? But something felt different about this one. Cinder threatened their daughter. That changed things.

The most interesting thing was how Moonstone and Kunzite felt about it. They had tons of history with this kirin, most of it not good. But Kunzite, very slowly, pulled away from her parents and started to come to the dragon. Twilight meeped and tried to reach out for her ailing daughter, only for Moonstone to come in and pick her up before she stumbled again.

“I got you. It’s finally over,” Moonstone told her, clutching her tight.

“I know. And I’m so glad that it is. But...I don’t think we’re supposed to leave her like this.”

He nearly dropped her from the surprise. “Are you kidding me? After what she did to us? If we didn’t come sooner, I don’t want to imagine what would have happened to you.”

“I’m mad about it, too. But...look at her now.” At that moment, Cinder was down on all fours and refused to let anyone see her face. She was too ashamed of herself. “She saw that she did the wrong thing.”

“So? I read the stories of ponies doing bad things in your history books. Saying you’re sorry doesn’t mean they could just walk away.”

“And they shouldn’t have. But if we leave her like this...I think we need to do something.”

“What would that be? I’m doing everything right now to stop myself from kicking her flanks right now.”

With that in mind, she leaned into his ear and whispered some words his way. He heard every little bit, and to his surprise, he liked. He turned to Twilight and Spike and waved them in. Kunzite shared what she was going to suggest, and Twilight nodded in approval. Then they saw Wildfire not far away from them, and they brought him in the huddle to hear his thoughts.

“Well...err...that is quite the undertaking, but I could do it,” he responded. “That is surprisingly mature of you guys.”

Twilight pulled away and came to see Cinder. She bent down so their eyes were at the same level. Cinder cringed and covered her face with her hands. “Don’t let me get away with this. I might get even worse if you let that happen.”

“Hear me out before you say anything,” Twilight interrupted. “We talked about what we should do with you, and this is a very serious matter. But Kunzite suggested something to us, and I think it’s the right thing to do.”

The offer was enough to have Cinder come out of her shell. She lowered her hands very carefully. “Is this my sentence? If you lock me away for life, I will have no complaints.”

Twilight rose back up to her feet and addressed the crowd. “We’ve come to an agreement on what should happen to Cinder. Under the decree of Kunzite, Princess of Equestria, I have a sentence to deliver to you.”

Everyone in the forest stopped to see what this pony princess would say and do. Ember took note, while Ivory and Sea seemed to be the most interested in what would happen to their now former ruler.

“Cinder will be placed under house arrest for fifty years under the watch of Wildfire, a fellow Equestrian Kirin. She will be kept under watch by our guards at all times. As long as she sticks to the boundaries of Wildfire’s forest, she will be allowed to do what she wants inside. And we’ll have our own force field to make sure she doesn’t leave.”

The kirin whimpered under those terms. “That is too much mercy for me...it doesn’t matter if I’m allowed to be free in a set area...I’m a monster. Moonstone and Kunzite saw it. You’re a fool for giving me such a light sentence.”

“It was my idea to begin with,” Kunzite corrected her. “Everything you did, you did it because you were scared. You even said that just now. This is another chance for you to change your ways before it’s too late. And Wildfire’s one of the wisest people I’ve ever met. If anyone can help you, it’s him.”

“Yes, this is sound to me,” Sea agreed. “Cinder might have been in the wrong, but she was courageous and willing in a time when she had to do that for us. I will agree to these terms if everyone else will.”

“I’m on board with it,” said Ivory. “That is, if the Dragon Lord is, as well.”

Ember huffed from being put on the spot, and she came face to face with Cinder. “Alright, but if she acts up or does anything else, we should lock her up. And don’t ever touch my son again.”

Cinder cried once more and shield away. “I swear! You can kill me right on the spot if that ever happens! You should have done it already.”

“Don’t think I haven’t thought about it…” Ember pulled away and found Fizzle holding her tightly.

“Very well. If everyone’s on board, that’s the sentence I’m giving Cinder right now. Guards, you know what to do. Wildfire, she’s in your care.”

Wildfire nodded and knelt down in front of the kirin girl. “Cinder, I know you’re terrified right now, and you should be. But here’s the thing. That’s just fifty years of your life, and you’re still young for one of us, right? You still have time to change the road you’re on. And that’s what I’m gonna help you with. You don’t want to end your life this way, right?”

Cinder slowly lifted her head to meet his. “N-No. But I don’t deserve mercy like this. I don’t deserve your help.”

“Deserve’s got nothing to do with it. I heard them out, I want to do this for you. There’s still time for you. You want to make the most of it?”

“Yes…” She got back up and couldn’t stop crying again. “I don’t want to be like this anymore.”

“Very well. Let’s get to it, then.”

A few guards, all of them unicorns for obvious reasons, came over and escorted Cinder and Wildfire out of there. Her face was drenched in tears and sweat, and she didn’t resist as they handcuffed her to make sure she wouldn’t do anything. There were a few rings placed on her horns as well, ensuring she wouldn’t use her magic to get out of this jam. She looked over to Kunzite and Moonstone, the two people she would remember most of all. “Why did you do this for me, when I deserved so much worse than this?”

“Because I think you can still change,” Kunzite explained. “And my parents taught me what can happen when you give your enemies a second chance. They can be your best friends in time.”

“Whatever you do, don’t blow it,” Moonstone warned. “This is your last chance.”

“One more chance than I deserve. Moonstone, Kunzite...there is one thing I want to thank you for.” She witnessed Ivory and Sea standing with Ember and Fizzle. “Thank you for doing the one thing I couldn’t do. You brought us back into the world.” She went with Wildfire and the guards to her new home

That left Ember with Ivory and Sea. “I dunno about you two, but it sounds like you got a lot of catching up to do. You guys treated Moonstone pretty well, so you’re on my good side for now.”

Sea sighed in relief. “Thank you so much. It will be nice to see the world for what it is, rather than what we feared it to be. Who knows. I personally want to see how the other kirin tribes are doing.”

“Did someone mention other kirin tribes?” Out of nowhere, Autumn jumped in and tackled Ivory to the ground. “I was hanging in the back because it sounded pretty scary, that and the guards told me I should stay away. But you’ll totally love our other tribes. Believe me, if you ever had a reunion party, ours will blow yours away!”

“...this one is stronger than she looks…” Ivory muttered. “At least she’s friendly…”

“Heh, sounds like some of us are having a good time,” Fizzle chuckled. His attention turned to Moonstone, and the teenage dragon was still supporting Kunzite on her feet. “I couldn’t be prouder of you two right now. Really, I couldn’t.”

“Same here,” Spike nodded. “It’s really hard to tell if this was your special destiny because you’re not getting cutie marks out of it, but a lot of people would have turned tail and ran way before this. But you stuck in there, and...oh. Maybe we should stop talking?”

As they were talking, Moonstone and Kunzite fell down to their knees together. They pressed their foreheads together and cried endlessly. Unlike past times, they were tears of joy and relief. Much deserved after all they had just been through.

“Let’s give them a moment or two,” Twilight explained. “I think they deserve some quiet time after all that.” She went on her way to give the teens some space.

“Still really proud of you!” Ember shouted.

When they were gone, Kunzite kept her face pressed against Moonstone’s, holding onto him support. “Are we still gonna be friends after this?”

“Kunzite…” He snuggled up on her forehead. “That’s what I was about to say. I thought I screwed it all up back there and--”

“You thought the same thing?” she interrupted.

“Yeah. Guess we’re both a couple of screw ups.” He sighed. “But I wanna stay friends with you. You’re the only person who stuck with me through all that, and I don’t care what happened. I still like you.”

“Me too.” She hugged him a little tighter. “Let’s stick together no matter what, okay? I dunno how long Equestrian Kirins live for, but it’s obviously for centuries. Wildfire’s older than Celestia and Luna. And you’re a dragon, so you’re gonna live a while. And I wanna be your friend for all those years.”

Another tear trailed down Moonstone’s face. “Oh man, so do I. It wouldn’t feel right without you. No matter what happens, at least I know you’ll be there with me.”

Kunzite laughed softly and closed her eyes. “Best friends, then?”

“Yeah, best friends. Dragons do the best friends thing, right?”

“If they don’t, they should. You’re awesome like that.”

He smiled and closed his eyes with her. “Yeah. They should.”

They would spend a lot of time together after that point, and there was finally peace and quiet around Equestria again. A war was averted, two long lost kirin tribes were found at last, and an Equestrian Kirin began the long road to recovery with a companion there to help her.

Twilight and Spike found out that their daughter might just be the Princess she was born to be. Ember and Fizzle discovered that their son could be the next great Dragon Lord in time. Ivory and Sea saw a whole new world opened in front of them, and they were eager to explore it. Everything that just happened, it concluded a crucial chapter in all of their lives.

Now was the time to start the next chapter.

Author's Notes:

Just one last chapter to go...

Out of all the chapters of this story, Inferno deviated from my original plans the most. Originally, Ivory and Sea would have still rejected Moonstone and gone down to the Dragon Land to confront Ember. Kunzite, still hung over from screwing Moonstone like she did, would have requested a one on one battle with Cinder to try to avoid open warfare.

Yeah, things changed big time. Given how much reconciliation is a theme of the story, I didn't think Ivory and Sea should keep rejecting Moonstone like that. Not only that, but given how much patience he had throughout their treatment of him, I figured they'd grow to accept him as a result. To put it lightly, this is a MUCH better turn of events in my opinion.

Not only that, but if Cinder really did go in with her forces against Ember, there's no way Twilight and Spike would let Kunzite take on someone like that by herself. Too many plot holes in the original plan, so....yeah, things changed considerably. I'll leave you to judge if this version is better, but I'm happier with this at the very least. Also, pretty sure this marks the longest chapter of anything I've ever written on the site.

Rainwater

It was strange how the weather worked. The pegasi might be controlling it in Equestria, but everypony’s mood had a habit of matching the weather. Bring in dark, dreary clouds, and they might say it was a depressing day. Have the sunshine come in, they would note how cheerful and uplifting today felt.

On the day after Cinder was taken in, the pegasi called for some light rain in the area. It would help with the incoming harvests of that season, and it wouldn’t be heavy enough to pour on everyone’s parade, figuratively or literally. Some of the fillies and colts would even play in the puddles on the streets, just to kill some time and have fun.

Kunzite carried an umbrella with her as she walked through the streets in town. After all she had been through, it was good to be back. She heard kids splashing each other with buckets of water on her way. A few noted the princess walking by them, and others just tried to stay warm. In other words, it was the peace and quiet she could use more of. Not that things would stay that way. Her schedule was going to be packed for a while, but this was the breather she needed.

She soon found herself on the outskirts of Ponyville. Someone was supposed to be waiting for her there, but she did come a few minutes ahead of schedule. She would credit her mother for that habit. Still, the sounds of the rain bouncing off her umbrella gave her some ease of mind as she waited, almost like nature playing its own song for her.

Eventually, she heard the sound of wings flapping against the rain, right behind her. It made her spirits soar, and she turned around to meet the figure arriving just in time. Moonstone was coming in from the east, just as unhurried as she was. It was a long time since he had any peace of mind, and it was a refreshing sight.

“Am I late again?” he asked as he landed. “Lost track of time after a while. Mom and Dad decided to go on the trip after all, and they wanted my help with some of the preparations. Wildfire’s gonna give me crap over it…”

“You’re actually five minutes early,” Kunzite noted, checking the clock in the middle of Town Hall. “I think he’ll give us some slack if we’re late today. We’re not the only ones busy around Equestria.”

“You never know with that guy.” Moonstone rolled his shoulders for a bit. “Dunno about you, but when this is over, I’m taking a loooong break.”

“Oh yeah, me too. Mom said I can take it easy on the books for the next month. Do you know what that means when she’s the one saying that?”

“That Tartarus just froze over?”

That drew a soft chuckle from the kirin, and she waited with him out there. The rain was tampering off a little bit, but it never went away. She wasn’t sure if she would need an umbrella when it was just sprinkling, but Moostone never needed anything like that. He flew in the rain many times in the past.

It wasn’t long until they saw Wildfire making his way up the trail to Ponyville. He carried a backpack with him, and he was positively thrilled when he saw his students up ahead. He was in no hurry, just like they were. The pressure was off at last.

“Good to see you two don’t mind a little rain,” he greeted them. “Have to say, wow. I knew this day was coming, but I thought you would be like, 20 or even 30 before that happened. You’re not even adults yet.”

“What do you mean?” Kunzite puzzled. “Oh, this is about the thing with the kirin tribes, isn’t it?”

Moonstone smirked. “Pretty sure that’s what it meant. There’s something I gotta know, though. Kunzite was pushing for us to go down to the village because she thought it might be our special destiny. How do we know if it is?”

Wildfire plopped his backpack down on the ground, went over, and used it as a chair. Seeing how rude that might look, he used his magic to conjure two chairs behind Kunzite and Moonstone. They weren’t anything fancy, just some metal ones, but it would work. That, and they didn’t sink into the muddy ground.

“You remember how my destiny was tied to stopping Torch all those years ago? I didn’t recognize it for what it was at the time,” he explained. “I didn’t do it to get the monkey off my back, I did it because it was the right thing to do. And...it did feel like a huge weight lifted off my chest when I got it done.”

Kunzite turned to Moonstone with an eager grin while they took their seats. “That’s how we both felt. Does that mean we did the thing?”

“I wouldn’t put it that way...more like relieved,” Moonstone corrected her. “But yeah, it’s been on my mind all day.”

“You want my opinion? Let it sit for a while,” said Wildfire. “Maybe a day, week, or a month. You’ll know in time. But you want my other opinion? It doesn’t matter. What you two did was...do I even have to say it?”

“It wouldn’t hurt,” Moonstone said with a grin.

“Alright, it’s one way to make it up to you after all the crap I threw your way. It was amazing. Lot of maturity from you two, far beyond your years, and when you messed up, you did the right thing anyway. Trust me, what happened back there, they’re gonna write about it in the books. At least, Autumn will.”

“I’ve been meaning to meet up with her,” thought Kunzite. “She’s been busy, but we can go over to her place today, right? Mom and Dad worked so hard to help her out.”

“What, one reunion party wasn’t enough for you?” Moonstone snarked. “Then again, enough is never enough. I’m happy for them. If they need some space, we get it. But whatever you guys want, I’m not getting in the way.”

“Actually, we’re seeing them right now as part of your lesson,” Wildfire countered. “I got word from both of your parents, and they wanted me to take you guys over there. Said you guys should see the fruits of your labor, or something like that!”

Kunzite squeed from the news. “Really? That’s wonderful! I’ll get some stuff together right now. I can’t wait to get this party started!” She went over and hugged Wildfire. “Thank you so much!” She gave Moonstone another hug as well, and then she ran back home to get her belongings.

“She is something else,” Moonstone sighed. Kunzite’s chair vanished into magical dust, and he noted its absence. “Can I ask you something before we go?”

“Sure. I’m all ears,” Wildfire said.

“When you were done with your own crap, you never met Celestia and Luna, even though your destiny was to help them out. Does that mean Kunzite and I...are we done?”

The kirin exhaled through his nostrils. “I never met them because I chickened out. Even then, Celestia found me to help you guys out. So no, it’s not over just because you’re done with what you were supposed to do. And you want one more word of advice before you go and party your tail off?”

“Yeah, why not. I could use it,” the dragon agreed.

“Your life isn’t over just because you’re done with this moment in time. A lot of people make that mistake when they achieved something of this magnitude. Even I thought I was just supposed to spend the rest of my life in some garden, forgotten by everyone else because I did the thing. But I wasn’t finished. I helped you guys out, and look what you’ve done.”

The dragon couldn’t stop thinking it over, even then. Deep down, he really did think he might have peaked, other than maybe becoming the Dragon Lord in the future. “Err...thank you. I needed to hear that.”

“Course you did. Just make sure you stay good friends with her. She really likes you, and she went a long way to make sure you were happy back there. Do the same for her, and you’ll be friends for centuries.”

“Yeah...didn’t think about how much time we have like that. Thanks for the pep talk.”

“My pleasure.”

Shortly after, they saw Kunzite run down the town to see them again. If Wildfire’s bag was huge, hers was enormous. It had everything someone would need for a camping trip, like a tent, frying pan, and first aid kit. Some of them threatened to burst out of the bag, yet the weight didn’t slow her down at all.

“I’m all ready to go. Come on, guys, we’ve got a party to catch!” she cheered.

I missed you when you were like this, Moonstone thought to himself. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“You guys go ahead for a while. There’s something I gotta take care of, won’t take too long,” Wildfire waved them off.

“Alright. We’ll meet you there,” Moonstone waved back.

With that business out of the way, Kunzite and Moonstone went off by wing into the clouds. Autumn’s village wouldn’t be too far from here, and they knew the way pretty well by that point. As the city of Ponyville disappeared behind them, it was a long time since flying felt that effortless. There was a lot to look forward to for them.

In the meantime, Wildfire waved them away, and he turned his attention to a certain place in the world. A garden, to be exact. It wasn’t long after until he was gone from the town, vanishing by his own teleportation spell. This was gonna be something that would take a lot out of him, but it needed to be done. She needed it more than anyone else in the world.

------

If Autumn Blaze’s first reunion party was something to remember, the history books might have to note the second time. It was so big that it spilled out of the village grounds and ended up in parts of the jungle. There was no way she was going to find the two missing kirin tribes and not throw a celebration for them. As far as she was concerned, it was a duty, not just something she wanted to do.

When Ivory Steam and Streaming Sea arrived at the village, they were blown away. There was so many musicians playing everywhere, with tunes they found themselves enjoying. As they looked around, they recognized the stage Autumn built for plays. It was so grand, they decided to make some notes about it. In general, the atmosphere was just wonderful, with music greeting the newly found tribes.

A lot of the kirin from the two (formerly) missing tribes were in their Nirik forms, showing how they differed from the other tribes. That left Autumn’s kirin curious about them, noting how their clothing didn’t burn away. It was fabric designed to be fireproof, they would explain. That left to some interesting conversations among the kirin, and it was amazing how quickly the Niriks felt accepted.

“I can see it in your face. You’re surprised,” Streaming Sea noted.

“Aren’t you surprised as well?” Ivory responded. “This is...we missed out on this. I never heard music like that before.” He noted the drum beats and rhythm of some of the musicians playing in the background. “And the hospitality?”

“I wouldn’t say we missed out, but I feel relieved. It is wonderful to see our brothers and sisters from the other tribes doing well, and we didn’t miss out. We’re still here to experience it. Let’s make this wrong right again and see to--”

Before he could finish, he was tackled by a familiar kirin. He let out an oof as he realized the one pinning him was none other than Autumn Blaze.

“Now you know how it feels,” Ivory said under his breath.

“You finally made it!” Autumn cheered. “I had a feeling you would come over at any moment, but it felt like torture waiting for you guys. Seriously, you guys have no idea how wonderful it is that you’re all finally here!” She gave them the biggest squee they would ever see in their lifetimes.

Sea would normally be upset over being pinned by another kirin, but he nodded and tried to get back up, only to accept more snuggles from Autumn. “I can see that. It didn’t dawn on us how much this means to you, but it is visible from the size of this celebration.”

“You really like it? I had Pinkie give some input, and she said it should be even bigger than last time.” Autumn got off Sea and gestured to all the festivities. It was less of a village and more like a kirin state fair. It might take over a day to do see and do everything there was out here.

“It’s perfect,” Ivory agreed. “Come, let’s not waste time talking about this celebration when we can be a part of it.”

Sea brushed the dirt off his clothing and joined his companions in the festivities. A few other kirin came by to see them as they walked on by, curious about these new strangers.

“Are you those guys out west?” one would ask.

“Indeed. This was a long time coming,” Sea answered. “What’s all there to do?”

“Where do I start? We have our own plays, music, oh, and we got our own cuisine you can’t find anywhere else in Equestria,” another kirin responded.

“It’s like we never left home...minus the dragons, of course,” Ivory noted.

“Exactly, you brought something new to the table!” Autumn squealed. “You even brought some of them around, didn’t ya?”

Speaking of the devil, a few of the dragons had come around to check out the village for themselves. Most of them were the smaller, younger kind, but a few elder dragons sat and observed everything from the outskirts of town. The younger ones were the most curious of them all.

One of them, Emerald, sat by the stage for the latest musical act and took a seat. She was curious most of all with the drummers, mostly how fast they could go. It had to be over a hundred times per minute, if not double that speed. Before she could get far into the performance, she noticed a certain dragon taking a seat next to her.

Just being next to her made Emerald a little nervous. Maybe it was the scepter, or it could have been realizing how important this dragoness was. It was probably a little of both. She tried not to look at the dragon out of fear of what could happen.

“You one of Ivory and Sea’s guys?” Ember asked up.

“Y-Yes,” Emerald responded warily. “You’re the Dragon Lord.”

“That’s right. Moonstone said you were one of the better dragons over there. Thanks for that.” She wondered what the fuss was about, and listening to some of the tunes. “Music like that isn’t really my thing, but it looks like you’re enjoying it.”

Emerald gulped and slowly turned to Ember. “T-Thank you. Wow. I can’t believe I’m really talking to a Dragon Lord after all this time. You seem pretty nice. S-Should I get down on one knee and bow before you?”

“What? I dunno what kinds of stories you’ve been hearing, but that’s not my thing. Just don’t be a jerk and we’ll be good. You seem pretty nice, so there’s nothing to be worried about.”

That got the younger dragoness to take it easier on herself. “That’s fair. I wanted to ask about something, though. There’s this weird thing I found out about, and I don’t know if I’d be any good at it.”

“And what would that be?”

“Have you ever heard of something called ‘arm wrestling’?”

Now that got Ember’s attention. “Heard of it? I’m the best in the world in it! Moonstone might say he’s good at that stuff, but he’s never beaten me.” She grabbed an empty table and shoved it between Emerald and herself, plopping her arm down on the surface. “I’ll take you on right now.”

The offer made Emerald curious. “Hmmm...that does sound pretty fun…”

Twenty seconds later, Ember would become the former undefeated champion of arm wrestling. Dragons would later note it in their own history books for the sheer shock of the occasion. Yes, that’s how much of a shocker it was.

While that was going on, Fizzle was taking it easy on himself and seeing where the other royal couple was. After a few moments searching around the place, he saw Twilight and Spike coming into town. They ditched the customary chariot ride for a simple flight together. Albeit, with a few guards to make sure things went smoothly.

“Been looking all over for you guys,” he greeted them. “Where are Kunzite and Moonstone? Shouldn’t they be here any minute?”

“They still have their weekly lesson with Wildfire, but he told us it shouldn’t take too long,” Spike explained. “Wow, this whole thing is amazing. Ember seems like she’s having a good time--”

Right when he got there, Ember screeched as her arm was pinned down on the table. Emerald was just as surprised as she was, and would spend the next ten minutes profusely apologizing and bowing.

“Oh. Nevermind.”

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “I think she’ll be fine. But I’m really happy to see all this again. It might just be a repeat of last week’s party, but this one feels...different. Better is the word I’m looking for. Like, for the first time in our lives, it feels like we’re not screwing up as parents, even if we could have handled things a little differently.”

“That sums it up pretty well.” Fizzle exhaled through his nostrils and observed all the rain being blocked by the trees. “Does it ever get easier, raising your kids?”

Neither one of them thought he would come at them with a thought like that, and it caught them off guard. They would need some time to think it over. That left Fizzle a little concerned over what their answer would be.

“It never gets easy. You’re going to second guess yourself a lot,” Twilight respond. “That’s part of being a parent. But that makes the good moments sweeter, like when you see your child do something amazing. You feel like your hard work helped them get there.”

“What she said,” Spike agreed. “It’s still going to be tough at times. Our children are starting to grow into adults. But...I never felt more proud to be a parent than how I did just a few days ago.”

Fizzle nodded, and his eyes started to swell. “That’s how we felt. Oh my gosh, my son did all those things with Kunzite. They’re the reason we’re all out here. Look, we even got more dragons!”

To prove his point, he pointed out some of the elder dragons coming into the village that very moment. Slowly, but surely. A few of them mingled with the kirin, and a lot of the younger villagers looked up to the massive dragons like they were meeting a friendly giant. Which they were.

The elder dragons, in response, couldn’t hold back the reactions. They were just as cheerful as Kunzite was, while Ember noticed them coming in and decided to chat it up with her newest subjects. She had to get over the shock of her first ever loss in arm wrestling, after all. Twilight and Spike couldn’t hear their conversations, but judging from the looks on their faces, it was going to be a fruitful one.

“Heh, and they even seem pretty nice,” Spike noted to Fizzle. “Funny, you and I met for the first time when you were still running with Garble, and we didn’t get along at all. Now, look at us.”

“It’s crazy,” Fizzle agreed. “Between you and me, I’m glad I knocked it off after a while. Still, out of all the things that changed over time...Garble turned out to be a sensitive poet. Who knew?”

“I think it’s safe to say this little adventure taught us a thing or two,” Twilight thought. “Hmm....I wonder when they’ll get over here, come to think of it…”

RIght on cue, she would hear Autumn shouting in the distance. “Hey, everyone! The guests of honor are coming this way! Give them the welcome they deserve!”

Indeed, Kunzite and Moonstone were on their way to the village. They went by flight, despite all the rain in the area. Their wings were drenched in rain, but it didn’t slow them down while they were searching for the town. It wouldn’t be much longer.

“You know they’re gonna freak out when they see us, right?” Moonstone pointed out.

“Why would they do that?” Kunzite puzzled. “It’s just a reunion, this isn’t about us. It should be about all the tribes coming together for the first time in a long while. I’d hate to take anything away from that.”

“Yeah, right. It’s only happening because of us. They’re gonna give us a hero’s welcome right when we get there. I dunno about you, but after all that crap we’ve been through, we deserve it. Well, you deserve it more, but whatever.”

“Moonstone, give yourself some of the credit. But I don’t think that hero’s welcome is gonna happen. We’re just another kirin and dragon.”

“A kirin and dragon that saved the world, you mean.”

Kunzite couldn’t help it and ended up laughing. “See? You are giving yourself some of the credit.”

They went on their way without any more interruptions, and soon enough, they found the village they were looking for. Their feet touched down near the entrance, and they were finally at their destination. Right when they got there, the entire town erupted into a standing ovation. Confetti flew into the air while a lot of kirins and dragons, more than they had ever seen before, came in to celebrate the guests of honor.

Kunzite meeped and almost launched herself back into the clouds to hide, while Moonstone grinned and waved to the crowds. “Good thing we didn’t bet on that hero’s welcome, or you’d lose.”

“But...there’s so many people here!” she marveled.

“That’s how many people you helped. Come on, it’s gonna be okay. Like I said, you deserve it.”

She was still in awe as they headed inside. A lot of the kirin, many she recognized from Cinder’s village, swarmed them and shouted nothing but compliments their way. Even though she felt like it was too much, she still shook their hands and tried to soak it in. It was near impossible for her to do so, but it warmed her heart that she was able to help these people when they needed it the most.

In the meantime, Moonstone had no problems letting it soak in. He couldn’t stop shaking hands with everyone, especially the kirin from earlier. For many people, this would have made their egos explode. For him, it was a sign that his patience could be rewarded. It took a lot of guts to do what he did, and he hoped it was worth it at the time. This proved that it finally paid off.

“Hey, it’s the dragon that introduced me to arm wrestling!” Emerald pointed out to the other teenage dragons. “Oh, and he saved our village. That’s probably more important.”

While the welcoming ceremony went on, both Kunzite and Moonstone’s parents watched on from a distance. Spike hugged Twilight while she let Kunzite have her moment in the sun, and she never felt such pride in her life like that moment. Seeing a bunch of kirin and dragons chant her daughter’s name was a surreal experience. For Spike, it was the second greatest moment of his life. The only moment that topped it was the day he married Twilight, which opened the door to a moment like this.

For Fizzle, he couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot. For once, he could let himself go. Everyone here was loving his son; when they weren’t chanting Kunzite’s name, they were chanting for Moonstone. To think, he used to be a little hatchling not that long ago. Meanwhile, Ember realized something she suspected earlier. She wasn’t really seeing her son walk that aisle down the village. She was seeing the man that would be the Dragon Lord after her. Whatever happened from this point forward, the dragons were going to have one hay of a ruler in the future.

It was getting hard to walk through the village for the kirin and the dragon, with how many people were there to greet them. It got to the point where even Moonstone was getting stunned by it, and he looked to Kunzite in disbelief. He didn’t expect her to be near tears again. In a fit of emotion, she came over to hug him. This was still a new concept to him, the idea of hugging, but he was warming up to it. They found themselves hugging each other for a while.

“I think this might be the greatest day of my life,” Moonstone whispered in her ear. “It can’t get any better than this.”

“Hey, we’re still young. There could be a lot of days even better in the future,” she whispered back at him. “But today is definitely up there.”

He nodded and kept hugging her. Then he noticed Sea and Ivory were there among the crowd. Sea mouthed the words “thank you” to them, while Ivory just raised his fist in the air in a show of gratitude. That was all the dragon needed to see. Funny, given how they were about him just a few days ago. LIfe could be a funny thing sometimes.

“Thanks for the show, everyone! Whew, if anyone deserved it, it’s those two!” Autumn shouted to another outburst of applause. “Settle down, everyone, I got a speech prepared for this.”

The crowd managed to calm down and gave Moonstone and Kunzite some space. Kunzite giggled and pointed out her parents to Moonstone, and Moonstone did the same with a soft laugh. All four of their parents were crying from joy on the inside, even if Ember wouldn’t admit it. At least she was crying for all the right reasons.

“It wasn’t that long ago that we had our first reunion, but something was missing,” Autumn started. “You all know what that is. It’s no secret. But I had no idea where the other tribes could be. We searched high and low, many times over, and we couldn’t find you guys. So I settled for a reunion with the tribes we could find.

“But you know the rest. Aquatic Sky appeared out of nowhere, told us where the other tribes were, I went with Kunzite and Moonstone to find the tribes, and whatever.” Aquatic Sky was in the crowd, and she might have been the second happiest kirin in there. “And you know why we’re here? Because two people went out of their way to help the kirin and dragons in need. They didn’t care what it would take. They kept going anyway. But there’s something everyone keeps overlooking. You know what that is?”

Everyone in the audience whispered and talked to each other, wondering where this was going. Kunzite was just as puzzled as they were, but Moonstone was just sitting there, drinking it all in.

“The thing is, they were friends to begin with, and they couldn’t be more different if they tried. Kunzite is a nature loving kirin, and Moonstone’s a big, tough dragon. But it never got in the way of their friendship. If anything, their differences don’t hurt them. They actually compliment each other because of their differences. I saw them do their thing, and they’re like peanut butter and jelly. Two totally different things, but they’re awesome together.”

As the answer finally dawned on the tribes, the kirin and the dragon looked at each other. The warm expressions on their faces told the whole story. What surprised him, though, was when she reached out a hand to him. He looked at it for a moment, unsure how he should react to that, before clasping their hands together. “Does that mean we’re friends for life?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said softly, without missing a beat.

“And that’s what we should all do. It doesn’t matter how different we are, we can still learn from each other and even become close friends...or more,” she teased the two of them, noticing the hand holding. They blushed and broke it off before anyone else caught it. “Either way, let’s learn from each other in the future, and here’s to all the united kirin tribes and dragonkind!”

Once again, the entire village erupted into cheers. There wasn’t a party like that in all of kirinhood, and it was going to be a long time until another party topped it. And it was just getting started. Regardless of what happened that night, Kunzite and Moonstone knew they would spend it together as the best of friends...and maybe with holding hands, every now and then. Maybe just not in front of Autumn. Or their parents.

------

When Cinder first surrendered her authority, she had a mental image for the prison she’d be thrown into, assuming they were merciful enough to give her a cell in the first place. It was the usual prison in her mind: Cold, hard floors, metal bars to make sure she wouldn’t escape, something along those lines. She expected to call a place like that her home for the rest of her life.

Instead, her personal “cell” ended up looking familiar. She found herself in a garden within a forest, and it reminded her of the one she had back home. Hopefully, someone would look after it while she was gone. This garden, meanwhile, gave her a sense of hand crafted tranquility. The only sign that something was off was the handful of guards staying there with her, guarding the area to make sure she wouldn’t lash out.

The light rain exposed the force field walling her inside. To be fair, it went around for a long distance, maybe five miles or so. On top of that, it went up a mile or two up high, giving her plenty of room to fly around. For a place she would have to spend the next fifty years of her life inside, it was...actually pretty nice. She could feel the pity radiating from the confines, and it still felt like a miracle that she was given this much.

It was getting late in the day, and she wanted to take some time to stroll around her surroundings before calling it a night. Her hands traced the bushes around the fields as she passed them by. The sounds of birds and deer, not blocked from the force field like she was, were sweet music to her ears. There was a theory that the noises of everyday life could be a song of its own. For her, nature provided a better song than anything civilization ever created.

Before she could get that far into her trek, she heard someone coming in from behind. It only took a second for her to guess who it was, and he didn’t seem angry or upset when he stepped into view. In fact, he seemed relaxed and collected. Compared to her matted hair and muddy robes, there was a noticeable difference in their appearances.

“You don’t have to keep going like that,” he mentioned, noticing her clothing. “This might be part of your prison, but the whole point of house arrest is that you don’t have to live like a prisoner as long as you’re here.”

“Perhaps, but that’s not important right now,” Cinder waved it off. “How is everyone else doing? I hope they’re okay. The last time I saw them...you know how it went.”

“Everyone’s fine. They’re having a little reunion party, and I’m going to go see them when I’m finished here. There’s just some business I need to attend to first.”

She sighed, knowing what he meant. “You don’t have to waste your time with these lessons. If you’re wanting to go over there and celebrate, you can go right ahead.”

“Hey, I chose to come here. They asked if I was okay with this arrangement before they signed off on it, and I didn’t have any objections to it. All of this, the force field, the guards, having you under my wing, it was something I was happy to go along with.”

“And why is that?” Cinder sighed and gazed up at the top of the force field. It was still illuminated by the downpour, but the rain started to taper off. “I can’t wrap my head around it.”

“About the same reason Kunzite wanted this for you. She saw a terrified, lost soul that was lost, but if someone came around to reach their hand out to her, she would be okay. I saw the same thing in you. You think you’re the only one to go into hiding because of Torch?”

That wasn’t the answer she expected, and she took a deep breath. “I don’t know...it’s going to take a long time with what happened to me.”

“We’ve got plenty of time. We’re both Equestrian Kirins, after all.” He strolled over to the garden, inviting her to follow him.

Knowing there wasn’t anything else she could do, she went with him to look over the foliage. As they arrived at the garden, she thought about all the time he spent to make the flowers look as nice as they did. He had to be thinking the same thing, given how much of his attention was spent on them.

“You’re scared of change, I feel,” he said. “And I get it. We’re all in the middle of a season where we’re surrounded by it. Sometimes, that change isn’t so good. Something emerges and it looks terrifying, and there’s been more than one occasion where the looks match the threat they pose. Not always, but enough times that you have good reasons to throw your shields up. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” she admitted hesitantly. “Moonstone reminded me of what I almost lost. I lashed out at him because I felt like I had to guard over the village like I had to do before. But the next part of your lecture is going to be about change that’s good, isn’t it?”

“That cliche, huh?” He bent down and grabbed a watering can, making sure his roses remained well watered. “I was going to say something about how this garden used to be nothing but a dirt pile and it turned into this beautiful garden. But if you’re saying that, something else is on your mind.”

She meekly nodded. “I’ve been hurt by change before. I fear it’s going to wash away all the good in the world, like it almost did to me. But the new Dragon Lord, Ember, it seems like she’s a good person and...how do I remind myself that good things can still happen? If I open my heart up to everything again, how do I know I won’t just get hurt again?’

Wildfire stopped watering his plants after hearing that, and he put the watering can away. “You don’t. That’s part of life. When I went back to Equestria, I got called a freak by some of the ponies. A lot of them. However, just as many ponies welcomed me with open arms. They’re writing a book about Kunzite and me right now, trying to get more knowledge about how Equestrian Kirins work. That’s because they want to understand us.”

“It sounds like you’re saying there’s both good and bad in the world. Which...is something I should have learned a long time ago.”

“It’s a lesson you need to learn again, but a lot of people do. We have a habit of thinking one side of the coin exists, and forget the other side is there as well. That doesn’t mean the world is purely evil, though. There’s always going to be a lot of good things and people in it.” He dried the water off his hands and looked Cinder directly in the eye. “That’s what I hope to remind you through the next fifty years. I want to help you learn to trust and love again, because there’s always something worth fighting for, like your soul. Can you give me that chance to help you?”

She peeked down at the ground and clasped her hands. “Can I be helped at this point?”

He responded by placing both hands on her shoulders and giving her the most accepting look she felt in a while. “What did you do when you realized you were in the wrong? You stopped your crusade and surrendered on the spot. That tells me you still have a strong sense of right and wrong. That’s a start.”

Hearing that left her on the verge of another breakdown, but she realized he was being sincere. “Then I want to keep going. When my fifty years are finished, I want to be the person I’m supposed to be.”

“Oh? And what kind of person would that be?”

“The kind of person that would accept a good dragon like Moonstone as a friend, without second guessing myself.”

Wildfire couldn’t stop smiling. “Yeah. That sounds like the kind of person anyone would want to be friends with, Moonstone included.”

------

The nighttime fell over the village, and the best was yet to come. The celebration would go on for a few more days, but Autumn had a special celebration for that night. Given it was Autumn Blaze hyping it up, that meant this was going to be something special. The anticipation would go through the roof, just from that.

She told them all where to go to get the best seats in the house, and everyone would take their place. Even the elder dragons would find a comfortable corner to curl up in. Kunzite and Moonstone would be allowed to be near the front of the group, of course. Their parents would be sitting right behind them. Once they all found their seats, Autumn wet up to address them all.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this has been a long time coming,” she told them all. “But I wanted to do something special for the first night of the festival. Who knows, it could be pretty cool. I’ve never done a fireworks show before. Everyone ready to see the sky light up like you’ve never seen it before?”

Kunzite clapped her hands in applause, even though nothing happened yet. “I can’t wait! We’ve had a few shows in Ponyville before, but I bet it won’t be anything like this.”

Moonstone was about to say a snarky comment back at her, but thought better of it. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. Let’s get this show on the road.”

The rest of the crowd cheered to say they were ready to go. With Luna’s moon rising above them, this was the perfect time to watch the show. When you get a bunch of dragons excited, you know something special is about to happen.

“Alright, everybody, let’s do the thing!” Autumn pulled out a remote control from a pocket in her pants, and she hit the massive red button in the middle. “You guys are gonna love this!”

Everyone there leaned forward, curious what this was going to look like. After a mental countdown went down to zero, a huge rocket went up into the air. When it hit its peak, it exploded into a curtain of red sparks in front of the group. The audience ooed and awed to the display, and it was soon followed by three more rockets, soaring up past the clouds. They filled the sky with different colors, from red to yellow to green. Yeah, Autumn delivered as promised.

Kunzite’s eyes twinkled from the sight of the show, and it was the icing to the cake to her day. Maybe it was just how relaxed she was or something else, but this was the best thing ever to her. Moonstone had seen things like this before, but knowing this was done for them made it that much sweeter. Maybe he could get used to being seen as a hero after all.

“We’ve done shows like these before?” Sea poked Ivory. As he was talking, they would see showers upon showers of fireworks light up the village. “When was the last time we did something like this?”

“Right before we moved,” Ivory responded. “Perhaps we should bring that tradition back. Everyone seems to be enjoying it.”

“I agree. I’ll look right into it.”

In the meantime, Spike noticed his wife in awe of the show, just like their daughter was. “I like seeing you like this. You’re always cute when you’re happy.”

“Heh, you too,” Twilight laughed. She nuzzled on his face and kissed his cheek. “You think they’re gonna be alright?”

“Kunzite and Moonstone? I’m not even worried about them anymore. They’ll figure it out, and we’ll be there to help them. If anything, I’m looking forward to seeing what they do.”

“Me too…”

The dragons, on the other hand, had a different reaction to the display. “You think it would be better if I went up there and did my fire breath, make it really explode?” Fizzle inquired.

“Nah, let Autumn have her fun,” Ember waved it off. “I kinda like it. What’s really on your mind?”

“Me, just happy it all worked out. Moonstone’s a good kid. What are you thinking?”

“Same thing. They’re both good kids. That’s why I’m not getting in there and making everything blow up. This is for them. Let them have their moment. You never know when they’ll get something like this again.”

“Yeah. I just hope it’s not too far away from now.”

The show would continue for a long time, and Autumn loved the reactions she was getting. It took a lot of time and resources to put this together, and seeing everyone loving it was the best reaction she could hope for. On top of that, she swore she saw Wildfire coming in there sometime during the show. He chose to sit in the middle, not wanting to get in the way of the fireworks.

After the show was over, he would go to his students again, telling them that Cinder would be okay. Then, he would say that they were wise beyond their years, but there was still much to learn. Still, they should take pride in the fact that they were on the right path, which they were. He wanted to wait until the show was over for that little speech, however. This was their moment under the moon. They deserved it.

Right now, Kunzite and Moonstone were sharing this moment together. As they witnessed the spectacle, they were fully comfortable with each other. They felt like the past issues between them were just that, issues in the past. It wasn’t clear what the future would hold for them, but that was okay. What they did was something that would echo in the halls of history, and nothing would take this moment away from them. As it should be.

After a while, Moonstone would feel Kunzite’s head leaning on his shoulder. There was a time where he would have reacted with disgust to that. Tonight, he leaned his head into hers. It was clear that they didn’t like each other that way right now, but rather, they did it as a sign of friendship and affection. Little touches like that every now and then wouldn’t hurt.

The Equestrian Kirin and dragon would have adventures together after that night, just like the Elements of Harmony before them, and the Royal Sisters before that. Some would surpass this little story in scope, and they’d make new friends and discoveries along the way. But this chapter of their lives would still be near and dear to their hearts. No matter what happened followed that day, it was the moment they truly became friends. And that paved the way for everything that came right after.

Author's Notes:

Fun fact: I named the chapter Rainwater before deciding that there would be rain in these scenes. Funny how that works out. And before I go any deeper, thank you to Salnalus for helping me through the process of writing this story, and helping to edit it as things went along.

And now, here we are. That was the final chapter to the story, and there's a lot to unpack with this one. Strap in, this is gonna be a long author's notes.

I don't want to get into details, but the time in between the previous kirin story and this one was one of the hardest of my life. IRL stuff, being drained from writing the last story, I needed a break. The hope was that this story you're reading now would have been published starting right after New Year's Day, but obviously, that didn't work out, because man...this was a hard story to come up with.

A lot of the groundwork was there. Kunzite and Moonstone would grow up to becoming teenagers and tackle their linked destiny together. But that was it. I had nothing else until deep into January. It was one of the worst cases of writer's block I can remember. Then, suddenly, I had a breakthrough and came up with what you see right now. Well...mostly.

Truth be told, the story is WILDLY different from the outline I came up with in late January and early February. Ivory and Sea would have remained hostile to Moonstone until the chapter "Inferno", and they would have joined Cinder in confronting Ember, as mentioned before. The elder dragons would have done the same.

Funny enough, the themes of reconciliation and overlooking differences were mostly improvised. They weren't in the original outline, and it was purely more like Kunzite and Moonstone trying to stop a war before it broke out. In the end, that element is still there in my opinion, but changing how Ivory, Sea, and the other dragons acted made it much better. In my opinion, of course. You can be the final judge on that.

But...out of all the stories I've done that went for this long(it's my longest FIMFiction story in wordcount, I think, but it's not my first multichapter story), it was possibly the most difficult. You look at the upload dates and see that there's some sizable gaps between the chapters going up. To be brutally honest, I had some severe anxiety issues writing this. To be even more brutally honest, it was partly because I didn't think the story was that good. Felt like it was too much of "characters go here to talk about how they feel about this and that" and not enough scene variety. That's probably why the fights were the most fun things to write in the story.

It didn't help that I, admittedly, was discouraged by the early reactions. You're probably not going to be very popular with a story about OCs that happen to be a canon character's offspring, but...yeah, I care about viewcount a lot. Maybe too much. It might be because I've had several stories cross four digits and even five in some cases with the viewcount, and this ended up being my least viewed story ever, along with being the worst in terms of like/dislike ratio. It might have contributed to the anxiety if I'm honest with myself.

Still, now that it's all over...I'm happy I still went through with it. It was taxing, yes, but this ended up being the first trilogy I ever completed(people said I could have done a third Kiss of the Dark story, but I was ready to leave that behind), and it ended up being rewarding. That, and I have a feeling there's at least one reader that was eagerly waiting for each chapter as it went up. If that's you, this whole thing is for you. Not to mention, for being my least viewed story on the site, hitting almost 300 unique viewers isn't so bad when some writers are lucky to get 10 views.

In the end of the day, however, I was really happy with Kunzite and Moonstone. This was their story, and they had to carry the bulk of the drama and conflict. In that regard, I liked how they turned out. It can be tricky to write OCs, especially when they have the parents they do, but they were the most fun characters to write for. Hopefully, that showed in the writing, and I hope you liked them as much as I did.

For now, though, I think I'm gonna take a rest. This was something being worked on since January, and it's probably time to cool down and relax. For everyone else, hope you enjoyed the story, and thank you for following it all the way to the end.