MLP Kirins in FoE - A Ramble · 1:31pm Jul 23rd, 2019
Went on a tangent on another site, but wanna try and gather it as a more coherent thought somewhere.
Been on my mind for a while, wondering where the MLP Kirins would fit into the Fallout Equestria Timeline, since the FoE line of events stops at the early seasons of the shows. Thus many things we see and learn in the many later seasons didn’t occur in FoE. Such as no Alicorn Twilight Sparkle. No reformed Discord. And no discovery of the lost tribe of MLP kirins.
I haven’t seen much use of them in the FoE stuff I’ve seen. Only one cameo in one fic I’m currently reading, barely any art.
So
I feel like sharing an idea I have for where the kirins might be in the FoE universe, based on what we know from their episode of Sound of Silence, while going by the FoE timeline which means the episode itself never happened in this crossover universe.
This might get lengthy
Usually my rambles are about personal fan theorize based on available data and how to interpretate it, but this gonna mostly be pure imagination from my part, motivated by what I think could work as an interesting concept. Sooo.. let’s see how this one goes.
In Sounds of Silence, Applejack and Fluttershy finds the Kirin tribe by being summoned to their valley in Peaks of Peril by the Cutie Map. BUT by the FoE Timeline, there is no alicorn Twilight, no Castle Friendship and no Cutie Map to lead up to this occurrence. All these later adventures and grand fates are not part of the FoE universe because of where it bends off from the official timeline to do its own thing. So... what did happen to the kirin during the war?
I like to think they stayed undiscovered, as their valley was never explored before AJ and Fluttershy’s visit, it seems like nopony had reason to go there. Leaving them be in their own, isolated little world as centuries before that.
Meaning the ponies never came to solve the Vow of Silence going on, meant to permanently tame the nirik issue.
Considering the nirik is as natural to the kirin as their own existence as living beings, I doubt it was the first and only time it was decided to try and deal with the Nirik Rage. And doubtfully kept as a permanent solution. Either the Silent Kirins would eventually want Autumn Blaze’s cure to find purpose and joy again. Or the next generation very much might have been born without the effect of the Stream of Silence. Meaning foals would be born with voice and joy, as well as rage and sadness. Who could possibly decide to dunk a newborn into a magic stream to silence their crying? That would be going too far, even if to deal with the destructive powers of the nirik. Parents must clearly know how to handle newborn kirins, whether or not they are capable of turning nirik at young age, for generations. And realize the Vow might be a bit much and not a real fix.
Either way, eventually the kirins would lose the Vow of Silence, either by natural progress or voluntarily to regain what was lost.
Not an instant fix as in the episode, but solving itself eventually.
Autumn Blaze in Sounds of Silence shows it is quite easy to control the Nirik once you accept your feels and know to balance them.
They would stay in their valley, still isolated from the rest of the world as always, their whole world contained within those peaks surrounding their peaceful home. As well as containing the nirik to be only their own problem. Whatever reasons they have had in the past to keep to themselves.
Meaning they miss a war is going on. Living in their protected valley far away from any war zones fought out by civilizations they are not part of.
That is
Until the megaspells fell. Kind of hard to miss, with its world wide effects.
Still, the Kirin valley is a protected place. Not just by the peaks knit tightly around this paradise on Equus, but whatever natural magic preservation that left them in a content peace unnoticed from the world. There must be reserves of gaia energy around that place with something like a magical stream with seemingly no story to where it came from, running only through this place.
That and the distance to the direct targets focused on with the megaspell hits. Whatever reason would there be to aim the balefire at a collection of very big rocks out in the middle of nowhere?
I like to imagine that the nirik fireform are a bit like that of the fiery phoenix. It is a live fire, as in, connected to their own lifeforce as well as their magic reserves. Not just simple, regular fire. It is magic.
Because even with the distance and protecting mountains, not even the hidden valley can hope itself to be past by completely by the waves of balefire and radiation that spread through the nations from their targets. A Nirik is more tough and fire resistant than the more soft Kirin form, although kirins on their own compared to regular ponies are pretty tough too, due to their dragon heritage.
Not to mention the kirins have experienced devastation of their home before and got the skills and magic to rebuild, Vow of Silence or not.
Radiation would still reach the valley, still poison the surroundings and its inhabitants. But limited compared to the communities hit directly or close to the craters caused by the spells. Those still Silent, unable to tap into their own nirik fire, would stand weaker towards the radiation poisoning. The last still sticking to the Vow of Silence dying out as no help will be coming to the hidden and forgotten realm of Kirin Valley,
But not all of them. Those not Silent stood stronger with the Nirik fire to protect them, to tough it through. Even their hidden world stood better against the fallout than most, so isolated and protected by unknown sources that kept them hidden for so long.
Of course not without any side effects. Plenty still died although no enough radiation to cause ghoulification for the most part (unless you want an Autumn Blaze ghoul still sticking around of course, or even that guy guarding the end of the train line by Peaks of Peril). The plant life twisting and dying, but not completely. The magic of the valley still doing what it has done for centuries already - protecting and preserving. There is still plant life in the valley, enough for the surviving kirins and niriks to survive and go on. Even less inclined to leave their safe haven to explore the outside world. Imagine how much worse it must be out there?
The Stream of Silence is hit by the necrotic energies of the radiation as well, fighting to keep its magic properties as always. But still poisoned and twisted like most of Equus in the hubris of ponykind.
Those testing the Stream to see if the Vow of Silence still holds, find it still mutes the subject - but they can still obtain the nirik form despite it. The Nirik form is useful though, they learn. It helped stand tougher against the impact hitting their isolated home. It seemed even stronger in the presence of radiation still lingering, making the flames burn brighter to fight off the poison.
The Vow of Silence is no longer the same as before, no longer a tool to repress the Nirik. And thus what to do with the members who become a problem? Those who are far too aggressive to control their Nirik Rage? Those causing destruction in what little they have left to help them survive these sudden changes.
The Stream of Silence can no longer tame the Nirik completely. But it still symbolizes the need to tame the beast, the anger and rage. To save the fragile valley from completely dying, those who are deemed a threat to the survival of the many gets banished. A dip in the Stream due to traditions and habits that are hard to kill, then made to leave the protection of the only home they have ever known. To protect it and its limited resources, to ensure the survival of the rest.
Outside the valley is much tougher conditions. More radiation, no signs of life, nothing but a dying or already dead world. The new generation of Silent left to fend for themselves, or band together and find ways to communicate and organize.
With the kirin side muted and the nirik free to prosper, the toughest manage to survive the harsh conditions. Determination, spite, rage... many ways to fuel the will to live. With all plant life dead or dying, alternative food sources must be found. Meat. They already have a predatory ancestor, time to reawaken the heritage of their blood.
Meat comes in many forms, even more so when desperate enough. The odd creatures, mutants, roaming the world now. The occasional dying straggler desperately searching for safety from the radiation or simply a place to die in peace. Or the weakest members of their own pack.
The Silent changed. Though tough enough against the worst effects of radiation, that’s not the only way to poison a creature.
Decades pass, the valley stays hidden as always within the Peaks of Peril. Its limited number of kirins surviving on the resources their home still offer, hoping to help it recover bit by bit until it can finally return to its true splendor once more.
There are no visitors, no outsiders reaching this hidden place out in nowhere.
Those who do reach so far to explore will be facing the Silent, unwitting protectors of the home they were rejected from. Meat is meat. Some ponies though are tough. Or just stubborn enough to face off the odd, mute scaled, heavy maned creatures. Some even can stand against them when they burst into flame and lunges for them.
Some ponies seem crazy enough to enjoy the challenge.
Some earn a spot by the Silent’s side, proving tough enough to join the pack. To teach new ways to protect the claimed territory around the curious formation of mountains the Silent refuse to wander too far away from.
New kinds of bands of raiders develop. Why kill to only eat? Make the meat prove its worth it, try have fun despite the empty faces and the tough living.
And what is beyond those rocks? Why are the Silent so against to wander too far away? Wonder if one could find a way in, or around, or over... If one could just get a peek in on the hidden valley. Compared to the rest of the Wasteland, it is lush and full of life. And a community trying to hoard its wealth to itself.
The banished Silent recalling their birth right taken from them. It’s their home too! THEIR valley!
The Valley Kirins finding that hiding from the world only works when the world has forgotten you. But the Silent knows. And now they want what is theirs back. They a tougher, stronger, generations of growing in numbers and toughen up even more. The Valley Kirins can fortify their home further, make use of their own Nirik Rage to fend off those trying to return home.
A war begins, a siege already going on but first now realized. For existence, for resources, misplaced justice, mute cries for redemption through blood.
The Kirins and their home weren’t passed by the war. Forgotten through it, but even they suffer the consequences from territory dispute going out of hoof.
I like to keep calling the banished kirins/Nirik the Silent. Although I mused above the Vow of Silence might not pass to the next generation. The change in the magic properties of the poisoned Stream of Silence might gotten more permanent and passes to the foals through the parents. Or the foals grow silence over time when faced with parents unable to talk, thus never teaching them speech. Maybe a tradition to keep them separate from the Valley Kirins develop by removing one’s tongue to stay Silent. It might be a welcome ritual to outsiders joining the packs of Silent, to truly become one of them.
I can ponies exploring the area of Peaks of Peril when wondering where the lone train tracks lead, either becoming meat for the Silent or raiders tough enough to join them, and teach them how to further their tactics against the natural fortress that is the Peaks further fortified by its inhabitants.
Welp, that is my ideas for it at least. Probably never gonna use this concept myself beyond maybe some RP’ing at some point, as I have no fic ideas to use this for. Just felt like sharing my thoughts tho.
As popular as the MLP kirin started out as, their lack of further appearance and development seemed to have stagnated ideas for them for the fandom. I just like to see how people find ways to add in these later concepts of MLP;FiM into FoE despite its jump in the timeline.
So this is just my take on it for the Kirins in the Fallout Equestria universe.
Feel welcome to share your own thoughts.
