//------------------------------//
// Act II, Scene 6 - In Which the Kirin & Nirik Become One 
// Story: I Am Not a Monster 
// by TheMysteryMuffin 
//------------------------------//

A jungle. A glistening pool of enchanted water. A civilisation masked away from outsiders.

The Peaks of Peril was a place lost from all knowledge in Equestria altogether, yet legends remained among travellers and pony-folk for generations. Its position was almost lost like the wind which blew between the dark green jungle-covered mountains and up over the jagged high peaks overlooking the landscape. A swirl of white clouds circled the mountain like a snake, floating over the valley, before going down the length of the mountain, through a smelly bog and out into the dead desert that stretched out for miles.

Legends of uncharted territory and wild beasts originated from the Peaks of Peril. No other civilisation lived near them for miles apart. Not another soul wandered the desert or went anywhere near the peaks themselves. Even the rattlesnakes and scorpions that slithered or scurried through the hot yellow sand kept their distance and didn't even go beyond the line of trees that separated the desert from the Peaks. Strange sightings, so to say, had been recorded there of the "beasts" and "monsters" that roamed over the Peaks of Peril; creatures covered with thick fur, hypnotically beautiful faces, fangs as long as dangers and tails as long as the snakes that lived there.

Some called them beasts. Others called them monsters. But only very few knew them as the Kirins.





"Come on, Autumn! No one's gonna see you doing this. Just do it and it'll be okay!"

The one thing that a young, curious, chatty and perhaps rather mischievous Autumn Blaze would normally do would be to go with her best friend's idea of trying to "nirik-up" in order to help her with something which an older kirin could easily have done for them. But that wasn't the case for an ever so slightly older Rain Shine, who was as talkative and naughty as she was. Blowing her greyish turquoise lion-like mane to one side like a fashion model, Rain watched Autumn's side at her attempt.

"I... I don't think this is a good idea, Rain," Autumn said, a slightly squeakier voice coming out from her young mouth, "...w... what if I... h... h... hurt some... k... kirin?"

Autumn Blaze was usually up to any mischief and fun. But this was the one exception. She didn't know what, when or how she would sometimes suddenly be engulfed with purple, blue and red flames, and have her body change from its colourful kirin appearance, to dark inky-black skin, and be brightened up by more flames across her body. But it happened, ever since she was born, and it terrified Autumn that someday she would completely lose her temper.

"But you're the bravest, funniest, silliest and best friend ever! I know that you can help me get this back home. Just flame up and take down this tree! We need some firewood for winter, don't we?"

Rain Shine's argument was supported by the quick shiver of the cool wind blowing past them, causing the trees the rustle and their leaves to fall to the ground. It was ironic that Autumn was born during this season, hence her name, and was seen by the other kirins as a positive influence on their civilisation. The design of her coat, mane, eyes and horn, the characteristics and lively attitude was what she was well known for in her village. Every kirin saw that. But there was always one thing that kirins feared and Autumn was thinking about that thing right then. The season was the turning point where the warmth started to leave and was replaced by the long months of chilling winds and large downpours of snow covering the Peaks of Peril like a thick blanket.

"I know, Rain! And you say that because you're a good friend. But what if I lose it? What if I hurt some kirin or some creature? What if the tree lands on us?"

Looking around, Rain grinned and shrugged at Autumn's complaint. "There's no other kirin around, silly! No creature's gonna get hurt. Besides, this is the fastest and easiest way to get this tree down. Do you want us to freeze this winter?"

"I didn't say that we should or will!" Autumn snarled, stamping her green hoof on the ground. Unable to control her own strength, she caused the dry ground to crack and a large rumble echoed among them. "Fine... I guess I'll give it a go."

Standing firm before the giant tree, Autumn stuck her fluffy chest out, breathed in, closed her eyes and gave out a weak roar. She stretched it out until she ran out of breath, only to open her eyes and see that the tree hadn't come down. Autumn sighed. She was also starting to feel upset. Letting her best friend down like this was the worst possible thing. She couldn't give up.

Autumn started kicking the tree with her hind legs. Each kick came with more force. Harder and faster, Autumn kicked with full force against the bark of the tree. The breaking and snapping of wood getting louder and louder. Until a loud snap as the tree started leaning and eventually fell to the ground with a thunderous crash.

The tree landed on top of some overgrowth, the twigs of its bushes snapping loudly like bones breaking. Its trunk squashed the bushes, leaving an opening to a dark overgrown path. The only light coming from tiny blue fireflies hovering over the path.

Autumn Blaze and Rain Shine looked at the tunnel of vines and brambles for a moment, a gust of wind blowing through their manes as they stared deep into the dark opening. They both illuminated their horns and squinted at the path that led into the darkness, before slowly making their way down the path. 

Not all of the path was dark. Many of the vines and brambles once the kirins' magic passed them lit up patterns of swirls, circles, zig-zags and other shapes, sizes and lengths. The ground beneath them became boggy and moist. Autumn and Rain made sure not to trip up on any branches or get stuck in the mud by treading slowly. The path was swerving left and right like a snake for a while.

They tread slowly along the secret path for a short while. Rain Shine then spoke up, as she looked up through the small openings of the brambles and could see the spots of orange light shining through, indicating the sunset and the darkness drawing in. Rain Shine's breathing increased in speed and she could feel drops of sweat dropping down her scales. Her tail was tucked underneath her hind legs and her ears had drooped.

"Hey, Autumn? Shouldn't we head back at some point? It'll be getting dark soon."

Autumn's gaze was focused straight on the path ahead. Her ears were pointing back and her pupils widened. Something sparkled in her eyes. Rain Shine squeezed past Autumn to see what she was seeing and gasped.

Before them, a clear stream was flowing down a slight gradient from a miniature waterfall embedded in a pile of boulders and headed through the middle of the clearing, before dropping down a steep cliff and into the mist below. Now it was no surprise to Autumn Blaze and Rain Shine that there were streams, pools and river sources in the mountains of the Peaks of Perial. But something about this stream and waterfall seemed off. First of all, what seemed to be steam was hovering over the water. Secondly, the colour of the water was more silver than naturally clear. And thirdly, not a single creature was drinking from the stream. Normally streams near the kirin village would be packed with wildlife and would serve as a life source for the kirins. But not one creature, other than Autumn Blaze and Rain Shine, was anywhere near the water.

"Hey, Rain, check this out!" 

The two kirins stepped right up to the river, the water close to touching the tips of their hooves. They both looked straight down and saw their reflections in the water. Rain Shine pulled a silly face, making Autumn giggle childishly.

"Hey Autumn, why do you think no kirin comes here? I mean, there's a stream here, right?"

Autumn shrugged. "I don't remember any kirin mentioning this part of the Peaks of Peril. Weird, we practically learnt about every nook and cranny in our land. It's been completely abandoned... and this stream has been left untouched."

Autumn then lifted her hoof and slowly inched it closer to the stream. But Rain Shine grabbed Autumn's hoof instantly and forced Autumn to look at her directly in the eyes.

"No, don't! We don't know if it might be poisonous or not!"

In retaliation, Autumn shook off Rain Shine and scoffed.

"Oh don't be a scaredy cat, Rain! It's just a stream. There's no fish or vegetation in it and it looks clean and safe to drink!"

Once again, Autumn reached down to touch the water, with Rain quickly using her magic to pull back her friend.

"Stop it, Autumn! We don't know what this stream is. Let's go back, okay?"

"Aw, come on! It's completely harmless! Nothing to worry about, Rain. It's not like it's gonna jump at us and attack."

Then, the loud snap of a twig made the kirins freeze in place. They gasped, before jumping into each other's front hooves. Autumn and Rain's breathing increased, as they frantically looked around to see where the sound came from. But all they could see where the bushes around them.

"What... what was that?" Rain Shine asked, shaking with fear.

"I... I don't know..." Autumn whispered, "... but it sounded... big!"

Another snap made Autumn and Rain look directly in front of them. Soon, the snap was followed by more snaps, and then sounds of crunching leaves and the unmistakable sound of growling. The growling became more audible, along with the heavy thuds of footsteps.

Out of the shadows, a pair of glowing green eyes emerged. They were pointed, like finally-cut emerald gems, with no pupil inside. The sound of nostrils exhaling made Autumn and Rain's hearts skip a beat, and the sound of growling made their legs tremble. The eyes moved up as the head of a timberwolf emerged from the darkness, revealing its wooden sharp teeth and its long, green, slimy tongue. The beast looked at Autumn and Rain before lifting its head up and then bellowed out a loud long howl.

"A-Autumn? I-I think we should run..." Rain stuttered, her mouth trembling.

Autumn nodded. "Yeah, we should run... RUN!"

Autumn and Rain gave chase, running as fast as their short legs could carry them. The timberwolf pounced towards them, its thick wooden legs much stronger. Autumn and Rain knew they would be done for no matter how fast they ran, so in quick haste they climbed the nearest and thickest tree they could find and helped one another up onto a short branch.

The timberwolf clawed at the tree's trunk, leaving deep claw marks in the wood. It snapped its jaws and tried to jump at Autumn and Rain, falling down again and again, but refused to give up. With each leap, the timberwolf swiped its huge claws at Rain Shine's tail, gradually getting closer. It caused Rain to start losing her grip onto the branch, her hooves slipping.

"Autumn! Help me!"

"Rain! Don't worry, I've got you!"

Autumn tried to hold onto Rain's front hooves, holding them as hard as she could, trying to use her body weight to pull her friend up. But in doing so, while Rain was being lifted up out of the timberwolf's grasp, Autumn was now slipping on her side of the branch. Her hind hooves were dangling frantically, kicking back and forth in a bid to keep herself on the branch. Each snap of the timberwolf's jaw drew closer and became louder. Then Rain started slipping, pulling Autumn onto the branch, with Rain now much closer to the timberwolf's jaw. Despite Autumn's best efforts, the timberwolf managed to grasp hold of Rain Shine's hind legs and pulled her and Autumn to the ground with a heavy thud, both of them rolling in opposite directions.

Autumn groaned as she lifted her head up, looking back and seeing Rain Shine sitting on her flank, her back pressed against a boulder. The timberwolf slowly walked up to her, his long tongue licking his lips as prepared to eat his meal. Rain felt she had nowhere to go and was trapped. The timberwolf was just too big to squeeze past. This was it. She was a timberwolf's dinner.

"Rain, no! Please!" Autumn cried, only managing to reach a hoof out in a desperate plea.

The timberwolf ignored her, his focus on Rain Shine. Autumn used her magic to fly pebbles at the timberwolf, but alas its wooden body was too thick to be damaged by just a pebble. The timberwolf didn't feel a thing. Autumn gasped as the timberwolf started biting on Rain Shine's hind hooves, her screams piercing the night.

It was at that moment when a wave of rage swept through Autumn Blaze. She growled, just like the timberwolf did, and dug her hooves into the ground. Autumn felt her teeth grow sharper and more pointed, and a fierce heat built up in her body. Her eyes lost their pupils, her fur replaced with black skin, purple and blue flames erupting over her body, her hooves turned sharp and her voice became deeper and demonic.

"PUT HER DOWN!"

Autumn Blaze then let out an almighty roar, making the timberwolf turn its head sharply towards her. Rain Shine fell out of the jaws of the timberwolf and lay on the ground still. The timberwolf dug its paws into the ground and huffed loudly. Autumn was covered in fire and the ground underneath her was scorched from her flames. Despite the timberwolf leaping towards her, Autumn stood her ground.

The two of them crashed into one another and started fighting, clawing at each other, snarling, biting. They rolled around on the ground, sometimes getting very close to the stream. Autumn knew that her flames would be extinguished if she landed in the water, so she slid underneath the timberwolf and got back up. Then, Autumn climbed onto the back of the timberwolf and started ripping at its wooden back, pieces of wood flying everywhere, burnt from Autumn's flames. 

The timberwolf managed to scratch Autumn's chest, leaving three claw marks. But then, almost immediately, the scratches were healed by Autumn's purple and pink flames, leaving no trace behind. Autumn then jumped onto the timberwolf's back and started riding it like a horse. The timberwolf retaliated, sometimes standing on its hind legs to try and shake Autumn off. But Autumn held on tight.

Autumn tried to avoid the twisting head of the timberwolf as it tried to snap at her. Without realising, however, Autumn managed with her new strength to roll the timberwolf onto its back, making the creature howl in agony. The timberwolf tried to roll back onto his front, but in doing so his neck was exposed, leaving it open for Autumn to bite into his neck as hard as she could.

Both growled as Autumn sunk her new teeth into the timberwolf's neck. The thick tree roots that connected the head to the body started to burn and collapse. Autumn was thrown off the timberwolf in its last attempt to attack. There, Autumn watched as the timberwolf coughed and spluttered as parts of his neck dropped to the floor. Finally, the timberwolf sat on its flank and stopped making a sound, before the wood that formed his body detached and collapsed onto the ground. All the way from the top of his ears to the claws of his hind legs. There was nothing left, but a pile of wood, and his two glowing green eyes went out for good.

Rain Shine slowly got back up and gasped as she saw Autumn. Autumn turned back and growled at Rain. Rain Shine stopped, trying to stay still.

"Autumn? Is... is that you?"

The only response that Rain Shine got from Autumn Blaze was her deep snarl. Rain backed up a little.

"H-hey, it's okay now... the timberwolf is gone... you... you saved me. You saved both of us! That was so cool!"

Autumn snapped her jaws, revealing two rows of silver sharp teeth.

"Autumn, it's me, your friend... your best friend, Rain Shine. Remember?"

Rain Shine slowly approached Autumn Blaze, despite the menacing behaviour her friend was portraying. Rain stood face-to-face with Autumn. She could feel the heat from her friend's body.

"Autumn... you're not a monster. You are the funniest, cleverest and kindest kirin any creature could know. And I know you're in there. Just... breathe... be calm... you don't have to be angry any longer. Because we're friends, and nothing will change that."

Autumn's eyes expanded, before switching to a more depressed expression. A purple flame poured out from the side of her right eye and dripped down her cheek, leaving a trail of pink behind. The drop fell to the ground and burnt, before eventually going out.

"Friends..."

Immediately after Autumn responded, flames erupted over her body and her regular form returned, leaving a scared and confused young kirin. 

Rain smiled and hugged Autumn, where the two embraced for a short while. Autumn then backed out of the hug and looked at her friend again.

"What... what happened to me?"

Rain put a hoof to her chin and had a moment to think for a short while. "Hmmm, I remember mother telling me about something like this. Though this is the first time I've seen this kind of transformation. You... Autumn, you changed into a nirik!"

Autumn blinked silently. "A nirik? What in the Peaks is that?"

Rain Shine then placed her hoof on Autumn's fluffy chest and then her own. "Niriks are inside us. We are kirins, right? That's what we are when we are happy, feeling okay and at peace, when we laugh. But when our emotions grow in a way that we can't control, like when we're angry or frustrated, we become niriks. Isn't that so cool! I've never seen a nirik before. And to see my friend turn into one... well, that's just awesome!"

Autumn backed away, shaking her head. "No... no, I... I can't be a nirik! I don't want to be a nirik. I... am I a monster?!"

Rain Shine then hugged Autumn tightly. "You're not a monster, Autumn. None of us are. It's just when we lose our patience and we become angry. But that's a part of us. We are kirins and we should be proud of that. And don't let any kirin or any other creature for that matter tell you otherwise."

Autumn smiled, closing her eyes. Her front hooves tightened around Rain Shine and the two hugged, as the sun slowly popped above them, raining beams of light onto them.