//------------------------------//
// Act I, Scene 4 - In Which the Nirik Snarls 
// Story: I Am Not a Monster 
// by TheMysteryMuffin 
//------------------------------//

At the beginning of the sunset, the atmosphere had suddenly changed from an excitable ball of energy among the ponies, to a calm, peaceful and quiet high street, littered with the occasional party decorations, balloons, and rubbish which had failed to make its way towards the nearest set of bins. It was now cool, but not cold, so Applejack made the effort to show Autumn Blaze the last glimpses of Ponyville in the fading sunlight before they went inside Twilight's castle for the night.

Looking at the abandoned rubbish left all over the streets and pavements which lined alongside it, Autumn frowned and felt slightly agitated at the behaviour of how ponies acted around in Ponyville. Applejack knew, too well, how the residents enjoyed partying, and when they did attend a party, they would go completely bananas. Autumn stepped on a small plastic cup, making a crunching sound as she pressed on it. The Kirin looked down, before tilting her head to one side, her ears reacting to the sound. This wasn't the behaviour which Autumn had grown up with before. The kirins were creatures who cared about their habitat and frowned upon any form of harm towards their environment. Autumn couldn't quite understand how ponies were so messy, especially when there was at least a rubbish bin on every street.

"It's slightly... messy here, isn't it?"

Applejack gulped quietly, looking around and seeing the quiet streets where very little action occurred. There was a sudden feeling of loneliness as if everything which was happening moments before had ceased.

Applejack slowly trotted up beside Autumn and looked down at the plastic cup, curious why her friend was so interested in a piece of rubbish. Autumn frowned and her ears drooped, her yellow eyes narrowing slightly. Kicking the plastic cup away, Autumn stood looking into the distance, where the sun was still hanging over the horizon with its deep orange glow and its last wave of heat travelled over the landscape before a cool breeze blew into the kirin's face. Autumn shivered, shaking her body like a cat, her fur fluffing up and making her look like a ball of fluff.

"It's so pretty..." Autumn Blaze said, "...Everything here is... beautiful. Reminds me of my home in many ways. The hills and all the different creatures which lived there... I know that you ponies have co-existed with other creatures for generations."

The road wasn't straight, but winded in the shape of a snake, slithering towards Twilight's castle. It went over a hill and then arrived near the castle and the School of Friendship, before splitting into two separate paths as they entered each building. The area was suddenly quiet and calm; the lake nearby and the pools of water around the school were undisturbed and still. Almost everypony and every creature had suddenly vanished and gone inside. It was all quiet and the odd birdsong could be heard from a tree nearby, and the rustling of leaves which blew in the wind.

Autumn Blaze kicked the cup to the side, after not being able to find a nearby rubbish bin. They continued walking on down the path, seeing the leftover leaves which hadn't been cleaned up yet, until they eventually reached Twilight's castle and the School of Friendship placed to the side, where only a few windows glowed faintly in the oncoming darkness. After passing the school and stream which ran around the structure of the building, Applejack and Autumn eventually made it to the large double set of doors to Twilight's castle. Before Applejack knocked to see if Twilight and the others were inside, a large gust of wind blew into the back of her and Autumn, making the doors slam open, vibrating the sound through the castle. The gust even blew out a few candles, snatching all light that filled the room. Autumn shivered at the cold air as she entered Twilight's castle and stopped to look around, while Applejack stayed behind and closed the doors.

"This castle... it's huge... I've never stepped inside one before."

Leading the way, Applejack took Autumn through the corridors which led up to the main hall, however, it seemed harder than what it first appeared to be. Very little light was present in the castle and the open windows occasionally allowed a gust of wind to come in, creating a whispering sound which sent shivers down Applejack's spin as she trotted through the tight corridor. Autumn Blaze was just behind her, occasionally jumping when she heard something in the darkness.
The weather outside became worse. The wind and rain battered against the castle, and the occasional flash of lightning brightened up the sky in the background. Curtains flapped in the wind which blew in through the windows, crows squawked loudly from outside and some of the wooden beams inside the castle creaked against the strain of the storm.

"This castle emerged from the ground after we defeated Tirek some time ago. Twilight and Spike have lived in it ever since, especially after the Golden Oak library was destroyed in the battle between her and our nemesis. It was hard for her to start off with, but after a while, we managed to dig up some of the roots and hang them from the hall's ceiling. It seemed to please Twilight enough."

Walking through the darkness, Autumn accidentally stepped on a small creature, making her scream. It was warm, furry and big enough to step on. An outline appeared in the darkness; ahead could be made out and soon a tail could also be seen. The creature was a rat, perhaps one which had been made welcome by Fluttershy, Applejack thought. it had become aggressive, though, and wasn't pleased about being stepped on.

"Shoo! Shoo! Go away!"

Autumn waved her left front leg at the creature, trying to spook it. Applejack tried to help by squeezing past and waving her hat at the rat. The rat screeched at Autumn, throwing insults at her and waving its paws in the air. It showed it's deadly teeth and tiny sharp claws, preparing to attack its opponent. This made Autumn angry and resulted in her growling at the rat.
In doing so, Autumn Blaze's teeth grew sharper and the pupils in her eyes faded away, leaving a blank, empty space. Trails of purple flames poured out from her jaw and the corner of her eyes, as Autumn growled and snarled at the rat. She swiped her hoof towards the creature but missed. Terrified, the rat scurried away into the darkness, crashing into things as it panicked whilst trying to get away. Autumn continued to raw at the Once silence resumed, Autumn stood back; her pupils reappeared, her teeth shrunk to their normal size and the purple flames which surrounded her eyes vanished.

Applejack, surprised by how her friend reacted, trotted closer to Autumn to see if she was okay. Autumn sighed and wobbled into Applejack, slightly shaken and disturbed by the whole experience, and her breathing increased. She hadn't snarled at another creature in a very long time.

"Woah, Autumn," Applejack said, holding Autumn on the hoof, "I didn' know that you'll freak out like that. Are... are you okay?"

Shaken, Autumn gasped for air, completely in shock at how she reacted. She held onto Applejack like a filly did with its mother and looked at where the rat was. The squeaking from the rat soon ceased, with the only thing to be heard was the rain outside and the continuous breathing from Autumn's mouth. Autumn looked around her, feeling disorientated and saw herself in a nearby mirror. She was expecting to see a snarling nirik in the reflection, but all she could see was her regular face in her kirin form, scared and panting heavily.

"I... I'm fine, Applejack..." Autumn replied, for once sounding rather serious and not so energetic, "I... I just freaked out, that's all. Thank you for catching me. I'm sorry, I thought my temper was better than it was before. That rat, it just scared and annoyed me."

Holding Autumn's hoof, Applejack gently stroked the back of her brown mane, trying to be as supportive as possible. She very well knew that it didn't take much for a Kirin to be annoyed or upset. Looking down, Applejack noticed that Autumn's other hoof was producing a familiar looking purple flame, which waved in the air and flickered when a breeze passed through. It danced elegantly like a ballerina until it eventually disappeared.

"Sorry, Autumn. I... I should get you to Twilight and the others... they're waiting for us."

Applejack lifted Autumn up and took her along the corridor in the direction of where the party was taking place. As they got closer, the sound of the chilling, disturbing gusts of wind was soon replaced by the sound of party music, laughter, and hooves stomping the ground in excitement. Applejack trotted closer, with Autumn behind her, and they could hear the music getting louder.

"Honestly, I'm fine, Applejack. It just happens sometimes. You've seen how kirins react to these things. It's... it's nothing."

Surprised by how late it was, Applejack tried to trot a little faster in order to reach the main hall. She led Autumn to the nearest door. Tall, thick, wooden and painted in a coat of green, the door was heavy. At the door handle was a keyhole. Applejack peeked through and saw a bright room, almost too bright to even see. Giving it a hard push with her hoof, Applejack opened the door and it opened quickly, followed by a gust of wind which quickly blew in from behind them.





Main hall
A few minutes earlier

The hanging chandelier shook from the disturbance of the guests partying below. Its tiny individual shards of glass glistened the reflection of the light from the candles which were positioned on top, circling around the edge. As the light reflected onto the glass, it bounced around the room and sprayed across the floor below. The glass occasionally swung and the tiny beads holding the individual pieces clanged against each other, making soft clinking sounds. The chandelier shook again but remained hanging in place. It shook whenever the music was blasted up or the ponies below started dancing in the centre of the floor. With the amount of the ponies stomping the ground at the same time, the room felt at some points wherever it would suddenly move by its own.

Somewhere within the crowds of guests, Princess Twilight Sparkle was keeping a nervous eye out for Applejack and their guest who should have arrived at least a couple of hours ago. Occasionally looking up towards the door and then the clock which hung accordingly on the wall, Twilight began to worry wherever they would ever make it in time. It was becoming darker, colder and windier outside. Twilight could hear the creek of the trees as they firmly stood against the storm-blast of the wind and the flicker of candles which were placed around the room. A sudden chill ran down her back and buried into her spine; the feeling running through her bones and into her hooves, almost freezing her like ice.

Thankfully, however, it wasn't too late and everypony was still chatting and introducing themselves to one another. Twilight's other friends; Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike were all helping themselves to the party food which was all arranged carefully on the refreshment tables. The constant chatter kept the room buzzing with life, as well as the decorations which Rarity had provided, which shined brightly in the light of the room.
Retro music was being played in the corner of the room by a very familiar unicorn mare, who was also controlling the beams of colourful light which shot around the room quickly. Vinyl Scratch sat behind her equipment, occasionally changing the track or adjusting the volume on her speakers.

Back at the refreshment table, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were eyeing up a rather large pink and white cake placed between all the other dishes and snacks which were emptied into large bowls. The cake had five layers, with the smallest being at the top and the largest for the base. There were chestnuts placed on the top, arranged in a circle and a tiny model of a kirin representing Autumn was placed in the centre. It was decorated in letters which said all together:

Welcome to Ponyville, Autumn Blaze!

The tick-tock of the clock which hung on the wall kept Twilight on the look-out for their special guest, including Applejack. It wasn't like her friend to be this late. As well as the rumble of thunder from outside, Twilight could hear the wind blow against the shutters to the windows of her castle. Thankfully, though, the sound of music playing suffocated the thunder banging against the walls of the castle and it didn't disturb the party too much.

As Twilight continued to watch the time, Rainbow Dash flew to and landed beside her. She also looked up and watched the clock ticking away. Twilight started to really worry wherever Applejack and Autumn Blaze would make it to the party before the rest of the celebrations started, including the cutting of the precious cake which had been made for Autumn. Twilight bit her lip impatiently and started breathing heavily.

"Oh, it isn't like Applejack to be this late! What's taking her so long? She and Autumn are missing the party."

Rainbow Dash wrapped a wing around Twilight and pulled her in, grinning with confidence.

"I'm sure that they are just being held up by the storm outside. The Pegasi did warn everypony about the storm tonight in advance, so I'm sure Applejack has everything under control. Besides, she knows Autumn really well already and I'm sure that Fluttershy will welcome her without a problem. Stop worrying, Twilight. Everything's going to be fine."

After receiving the reassurance from Rainbow, Twilight nodded and tried to think positively. If anypony knew how to deal with fierce rainstorms, it would be Applejack. All they had to do was wait a little longer and sure enough, the pair of them would appear from the main door.

"I hope you're right, Rainbow. I hope so. It's just... Applejack is a pony who is on time for almost every meeting, party or event. I can't imagine anything happening to them. What if the storm has put them in danger? What if Autumn never made it?! What if- ?!"

Before Twilight could continue, Rainbow placed a hoof on her muzzle, slightly booping her on the nose, which prevented Twilight from speaking anything else. Rainbow Dash slowly hovered down onto the floor and smirked darkly, raising her eyebrow as she did so. Twilight didn't say anything and showed a shocked expression, her eyes wide and her lips crooked. As Rainbow started talking smoothly, Twilight scowled.

"What if you chilled for a second? Applejack and Autumn will be fine. They will arrive here, wherever it be soon or later on. Now for Celestia's sake, calm down."

After Rainbow removed her hoof from Twilight's muzzle, the two mares paused for a moment. Twilight sighed; she tried to calm herself, only to keep looking towards the main doors which opened up to the hall where they were in. Soon enough, Applejack and Autumn Blaze would be coming through those set of double doors and be welcomed by all of Ponyville. Twilight exhaled and then looked back at Rainbow, before smiling casually.

"You're right, Rainbow Dash," Twilight replied, still occasionally looking towards the pair of doors, "I shouldn't be worried about them too much. They'll be fine."

Twilight noticed that she had been worrying so much, that she could feel tiny drops of blood in her mouth from where she had been biting her lip too hard. A few drops poured down from her lips and over her chin, before staining her fur. Twilight licked her lips and then gave her hoof a long lick, before rubbing it into a chin, trying to wash out the blood from her fur. Rainbow Dash grabbed a napkin, soaked it and then rubbed Twilight's chin.

"Sorry... thank you."

Rainbow cleaned up the loose blood and then threw the napkin into a nearby rubbish bin. She then offered Twilight a bowl of sweets, which Twilight ate and enjoyed. She and Rainbow Dash occasionally jumped at the loud crashing sound of thunder, which echoed around them.

"No problem, Twilight. Look, I know that you hate to admit it, but you do sometimes get into a fit about these things way too many times. It does make me question why you sometimes don't ask anypony else to help you on some occasions. I'm sure I, the girls and Spike will help you with this. We'll help you with anything, Twilight. Stop thinking that something's going to go wrong."

As Twilight and Rainbow argued on wherever Twilight did over-dramatise or predicted unrealistic circumstances, on the other side of the room in the shadows, Rarity was busy sipping blue punch from a small martini glass whilst listening to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy talking about the cakes which they made together at Suger Cube Corner, including the one specifically made for Autumn Blaze.

"These cakes are sure to be yummy! It was a good thing you girls could help out, otherwise I wouldn't have known what I would have done! I'm sure Autumn Blaze will love them as much as I do. I actually don't know what kirins like."

"Well... funnily enough, Applejack and Fluttershy told me that they do grow food in their village," Twilight said, "they are quite an advantaged species and have are amazing farmers. Applejack herself said that she had even learnt some new and different ways when it comes to growing her crops back at her farm. One of the great things with inviting Autumn over to Ponyville is so we can learn a little more about the kirins and their lifestyle. I should even, at some point, invite them to the School of Friendship."

Rarity gently levitated her martini glass away from her lips and looked at Twilight, occasionally flashing her eyelashes.

"I'm sure that would be wonderful, darling. Is Autumn Blaze staying long in Ponyville?"

Twilight nodded. "Probably she'll stay a few days, before returning to her village. I'm sure Autumn will want to explore more of our culture and meet the other residents here. But I hope that she can get to see more of Ponyville in better weather than this; the rain is just awful!"

After taking another sip from her drink, Rarity wrapped her spare hoof around Twilight's neck and smiled. Her friendly attitude and behaviour made Twilight happy, making her almost forget about her worries from earlier on.

"The weather has become worse over the last few weeks, darling," Rarity added, "I can't imagine myself braving that ghastly wind or that horrid rain which never seems to end. Autumn is such a pretty season. It's a shame that winter has to come around and ruin everything."

Pinkie Pie excitedly jumped next to Rarity and hugged her, almost making the drink which Rarity was drinking from spill over her white fur.

"Aw, but Rarity, winter is when it snows and it's pretty! Autumn's cool as well, you know?"

Rarity frowned, almost making a scowl on her face, as she wasn't too pleased that Pinkie had nearly made her martini spill all over her body and into her fur. She levitated the glass away and slowly pushed away from her, giving the two of them space.

"Do try to be careful, darling. I cannot afford to get my fur all wet."

Despite realising her actions, Pinkie continued giggling. "Tehe! Sorry, Rarity. I'm just so... EXCITED! I need to ask Autumn Blaze what her favourite flavour of cake she likes, so I know from after making the one for her arrival over there the ingredients that I need to make her a super, duper, awesome birthday cake! I also need to ask what her favourite drink is, what kirins even eat, what party games she's into- oh, oh, oh! I know what they'll be good at; the game 'shhh'!"

"You do realise that the kirins can now talk, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie turned around and saw Fluttershy nervously poking her head through her pink mane. Without having a chance to react, Fluttershy had her head stuck under Pinkie's front leg. Pinkie beamed brightly and squealed.

"Well, of course, I know, Fluttershy! You told me that you and Applejack helped the kirins be able to talk again, but surely they must still be really good at the game, right?!"

Pinkie grinned and elbowed Fluttershy gently. Fluttershy simply whimpered and didn't speak. Occasionally, she would jump when the sound of thunder echoed through the room. Pinkie laughed, snorting slightly, at her friend's reaction to the storm banging outside. 

"Oh, come on, Fluttershy! It's not that scary!"

Another flash of lightning silhouetted in the window pane. Pinkie gasped and jumped behind Fluttershy. She started shaking her body and covered her eyes. Fluttershy looked at Pinkie with a frown on her face and then looked back at the window, where she could see the tiny raindrops tap against the glass and the trails of water dripping down the panels. The wind howled outside, like a wolf, and the curtains at the side of the windows flapped about. Then, another flash of lightning appeared and the thunder became louder and louder, which eventually managed to spook Pinkie.

"Okay, Fl-Fl-Fluttershy. M-m-maybe it is a little scary."

As Fluttershy gently calmed Pinkie down, Rarity continued to sip her martini and returned to talking Twilight. She noticed that Spike had joined them after he had helped served some of the guests. He was also slightly nervous about the fierce storm which continued to rage on outside. However, trying to be brave, Spike tried to ignore it and focused his attention on walking around the hall and offering treats to the rest of the ponies inside. He was most relaxed when he was around Twilight, who was still chatting with Rainbow Dash and Rarity.

The ticking of the clock which hung in the room continued to keep Twilight focused on the door where Applejack and Autumn Blaze would be coming out of. Twilight watched the hands of the clock move slowly like a hawk targeting its prey. The hands moved slowly. As time passed by, the minute's hand gracefully moved along the numbers, making Twilight count the exact minutes and seconds which would have flown by already.

"Where is she?" Twilight whispered to herself, "Applejack is never late."

"I'm sure that your friend will arrive soon, Twilight."

An elegant voice appeared from behind Twilight, which managed to surprise her slightly. Twilight turned around saw Princess Celestia standing upright and looking down upon her. Her violet eyes shimmered from the light of the candles around the room and her mane waved slowly in the air like a dancer.

Twilight gasped. "Princess Celestia!"

The two alicorns hugged and laughed happily. Celestia had her hooves wrapped around Twilight's smaller body and her head rested on her shoulder. Twilight lifted her front legs up so that she could wrap them around Celestia's neck.

"I was coming as well, you know? Luna's also here, somewhere in the crowd. Did you really think that I would just leave you to do everything?"

Twilight blushed a bright red, her cheeks glowing. "What?! No! Of course not, Celestia! Why- why would I think of that?" As she stammered, Twilight laughed nervously and her eyes narrowed with concern. Her lips twisted as if they had been tangled up together and drops of blood dripped down her chin again from where she had been biting down still. Twilight swallowed the blood in her mouth and grinned awkwardly.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Twilight, I know that expression on that face of yours. I know when something's stressing you out. Even Luna can tell. Right, sister?"

Princess Luna wasn't really paying attention. She was busy looking around the room, as well as eyeing the cake which was made for Autumn Blaze. After a nudge from her sister, Luna quickly spun her head around to face Twilight. Celestia frowned but didn't say anything. She tried to tell Luna something by using her eyes, moving them left to right and towards Twilight. Realising what Celestia was trying to say to her, Luna tried to think of something to say.

"Yes... we know when something is bothering you, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Do not hide the truth from us."

Twilight sighed. She knew that the princesses could understand the tiniest of emotion from her, even if she tried to cover it up.

"I'm just... worried for Applejack... and Autumn Blaze. They should have arrived already. Especially with this storm outside. It's just... anything can happen."

Celestia placed a hoof on Twilight shoulder. "I know Applejack, as much as I know you and the rest of your friends. She is a strong, honest, kind and loyal friend to you. Everypony will agree with that, as I'm sure you will as well. A princess must trust that her friends will do as they say, especially in Applejack's case as she represents the Element of Honesty."

Twilight tried to relax, by trusting Celestia and Luna's words of wisdom.

"We will be here if you need us or if anything goes wrong. I understand that the storm outside may have caused some problems for your friends, however I am sure that they will arrive safe and well very soon. There is no need to fear."

Twilight sighed. "Of course. There is nothing to fear. Thank you, princesses. I don't know what I would do without you two."

Celestia smiled, placing a hoof under Twilight's chin. "We know that you can do this, Twilight. Try not to worry too much."

Just as Celestia finished speaking, a flash of lighting appeared in the windows. Its white, blinding light crawled through the room, swallowing all darkness. The rain outside became worse and the sound of thunder became louder and louder. The "tap, tap" of the rain started to sound like stones being thrown into the glass. One of the windows was open, its curtains flying in the wind like kites and the rain coming in, creating a pool of water on the floor.

Suddenly, without warning, the main doors to the hall swung open and crashed against the side of the wall. A large gust of wind quickly flew through the room and a strange fog, the colour similar to a dark purple, emerged from the entrance. It swept into the room, covering the floor. The room had become dark and flashes of light started appearing in the paranormal fog, which was now pouring out from the sides of the door frame like some kind of monster with its large tentacles spreading out to catch any unwilling prey.

In the thick purple fog, two figures appeared. One was in the background, its appearance was nothing but a silhouette. It looked like a pony, though no detail could be made in its body. The other figure stood in the centre of the door frame and had its head low, as if it was going to pounce out. Appearing from the fog was some kind of creature, similar to a timberwolf. Except, this creature looked like its body was made of purple smoke and nothing else.

Its eyes were blank, nothing, but white. They stared straight into the crowd and didn't blink. It watched everypony inside like snake, waiting to pounce. As the creature grew closer, the front of its body started to take shape, revealing an inky black form. But what disturbed Twilight and everypony else, as they gasped and screamed, was the sinister snarling that the creature made, as it slowly crept forwards.