After my strange meeting with the Tree of Harmony, my life returned to nearly normal. Well, as normal as life ever gets in Equestria. I found myself once again relaxing into comfortable routines. There was little point in worrying about what the future might bring, and I found myself trusting in the same providence that has seen Equestria through trouble time and time again. To paraphrase Otto von Bismarck, the German chancellor, I believe there is a providence, which protects idiots, drunkards, little foals, and the Realm of Equestria.
So, I found my time once again taken up by a combination of farm life, and my own studies into magic. At present, the former, rather than the latter were taking precedence. It was getting on for early autumn now, and Applebuck Season was not far off. Applejack had booked some time off from the school in order to help me, Big Mac and even little Apple Bloom with the yearly harvest. And this year looked to be more fruitful than ever, if you’ll excuse the pun. That meant even more trees to harvest and, rather happily, just a little more produce for us to sell. The Apples’ do have modest savings stashed away for a rainy day, but as I’ve said before, farming is a profession where profits are also tight, so it was nice to be able to increase our safety net just that little bit more.
The apples that we’d harvest over the season would either be sold at the market in town, set aside for a few weeks down the line to go into making cider, or would be shipped out to other towns. Well, when I say shipped, I mean me, Mac or AJ would cart them out there ourselves with the wagon. We actually did quite a few deliveries of all sorts of produce to other parts of Equestria, such as Applejack’s regular delivery of pies out to the bayou country, or Big Mac’s deliveries down to Starlight’s old village. I even help sometimes and every now and then make the odd delivery all the way down to Appleloosa to see Brayburn. He’s nice to chat with, queer as all hell, but a nice guy nonetheless. I was just happy to see how accepting the rest of the family was, particularly when you compare them to their human analogues.
Anyway, like I said, things were falling back into their routines. But then, of course, the map decided to throw a spanner in the works. AJ found herself sent off on a friendship mission, along with Fluttershy, to the infamous Peaks of Peril. A brief gallop through Twilight’s library told me that the unfortunately named area was supposedly inhabited by two tribes of equine like creatures; the Kirin and the Nirik. In hindsight, I should have spotted the obvious spelling reversal and the kind of obvious ying-yang imagery, but we all have our blind spots.
As ever, I couldn’t help but help be a touch worried for my marefriend’s safety, despite the fact that she’s strong enough to easily wrestle me to the ground and pin me in just under thirty seconds, and she's faced far more serious foes before. Plus, if the map had sent her, then the Tree of Harmony was following it’s little plan, which meant all would prosper. So, I found myself once again briefly bidding her goodbye for a day or so. The peaks were quite a journey from Ponyville, even by train. So it would be a couple of days before she would be back.
As always, Big Mac and I did our best to pass the time by keeping ourselves busy, and somewhat doting on Apple Bloom. The filly has quickly learned that whenever her big sister is away, she’s much more likely to be able to go to the ice cream shop or eat out at the Hay Burger. Just our way of coping, I suppose.
Luckily for the two of us, Applejack wasn’t gone that long on this particular little quest. She and Fluttershy got back to Ponyville the very next day. She got back to the farm in the early evening, when the sun was low in the sky and everything was bathed in golden light, with the sky lit up as if it were on fire. I loved these cool autumn evenings, and would often take advantage of the pleasant weather to play with Winona. As Applejack came trotting up the path, I was busy playing fetch with her, using my magic to throw a stick far further than I could physically. It was the only hope you had of tiring the excitable collie out enough for her to go to sleep for the night.
As I was waiting for the clever little canine to retrieve her prize, I spotted AJ’s silhouette against the sunset as she came walking over.
“Applejack!” I called out in delight, briefly forgetting the game I was playing with Winona and trotting over to her. I pulled her into a brief hug which she gladly returned.
“Hey, sugarcube,” she replied with that coy smile of hers. “Did ya miss me?” I smiled.
“Course Ah missed ya’ Jack,” I replied. “It always seems more quiet on the farm when y’all aren’t around. How did your mission go anyway?”
“We had a real doozy of a problem up there, Bones,” Applejack explained. “But Fluttershy and me were able to help the Kirin solve their problems.”
“So what was the matter then? And what about the Nirik?” I asked. Applejack explained.
The Kirin and the Nirik were actually one and the same. While the Kirin were calm and peaceful, the Nirik were creatures that could access something along the lines of fire based spells. When the Kirin got angry, they turned into Nirik. This had previously resulted in the small community accidentally burning down their own village, when one small, petty argument turned into a town wide brawl.
Applejack and Fluttershy arrived after the village had been repaired, for the most part. The Kirin however, had undergone quite the change. In a rather drastic move, they had decided that none of them would ever speak again. That way, there could never be any arguments. To that end, they turned to the magical world around them. The nearby Stream of Silence had unusual properties. Anycreature who came into contact with the water permanently lost their ability to speak. The Kirin, including their leader, Rain Shine, had all gone for a bath. The experience left them not only silent, but also seemed to completely suppress their emotions.
“Sweet Celestia!” I exclaimed in shock. I couldn’t imagine doing something so drastic, even if I do sometimes talk more than my fair share. “How did ya figure it all out?”
Applejack went on to explain their somewhat awkward arrival in the village. The silent Kirin had done little but give them odd looks when they tried to speak. It ended up with AJ resorting to the tried and true British method of communicating with people you didn’t understand; speaking more loudly and slowly. When that hadn’t worked, she’d gone off to look around the area, leaving Fluttershy alone with about two dozen or so slightly off putting mutes.
AJ’s plan was to try and find the village of the Nirik, which she assumed would be somewhere nearby. She figured that if the Kirin didn’t want to talk, perhaps the Nirik would. However, she didn’t find any Nirik on her short journey. Instead she ran into the only talking Kirin; Autumn Blaze.
At first, AJ had simply been surprised by the fact that she could speak at all, in light of the peculiar reception she and Fluttershy had received back at the village. It was Autumn Blaze who explained to her why the Kirin were so quiet and apathetic. She told Applejack the story of how one little argument had almost burnt down their entire village, also revealing that Kirin and Nirik were one and the same. She went on to explain her own story. She was the only one who, after going through the Stream of Silence, had tried to reverse the effect. Initially, she’d tried to remain with her fellow Kirin. But the difference between herself and the others was stark to say the least. In the end, she’d ended up pretty much exiled from the village for her disruptive behaviour. At this point, she’d been living on her own for some time.
“Ah reckon it was livin’ out on her own like that that made her a mite...odd,” Applejack explained. “She was a nice enough pony, er, kirin, Ah mean. But ya couldn’t help but think she was a few apples short of a bushel.”
“Well, livin’ on your own with nopony to talk to can drive anypony a little nuts,” I replied. “Ah remember when Ah was in high school, my folks and my little sister went on vacation, leavin’ me to watch the house. Ah think it was about three days before Ah started talkin’ to myself.”
“Well, Autumn Blaze had been on her own longer than that,” AJ said, remembering her strange new friend. “Still, it was nice to actually meet somepony that would talk to ya.”
“So then what happened?” I asked. Applejack went on.
After listening to Autumn Blaze’s story, Applejack had a rough idea of how to help the Kirin. Obviously, what they had done was just a partial solution, and not really solving their problems. Just because you don’t talk to somepony doesn’t mean you don’t butt heads from time to time. They were all just bottling up and repressing their problems instead of solving them. The problem though, was that the effects of the Stream of Silence were permanent. The only reason Autumn Blaze was able to talk and feel was because she had managed to cultivate an antidote from a local plant called Foal's Breath. But she’d only been able to find a small amount; enough for herself, but not enough to cure the rest of her people.
Now having a better idea of how to solve this friendship problem, Applejack had headed back to the village. Fluttershy, while she had been gone, had managed to establish a basic rapport with the other Kirin and had heard their side of the story, coming up with her own solution. The result was that when AJ and Fluttershy met up again, they both had differing opinions on how to help the Kirin. Applejack wanted to cure them of their silence and get them talking again. Fluttershy on the other hoof, saw this as too much of a risk due to the Kirin and Nirik’s innate fire based magic. After all, it had only taken one small difference of opinion to almost destroy the entire village in an inferno.
And so, the two had a bit of an argument. I know for a fact that Applejack can be incredibly stubborn when she thinks she’s right about something. Still, it was hardly the end of the world. I expected the next part of the story to show how they managed to find common ground and helped the Kirin solve their problem. Well, that’s sort of what happened.
As the pair continued to argue, the Kirin around them looked on in what to them, was deep concern and alarm. AJ and Fluttershy of course, didn’t really notice anything, since with no emotions or speech, it was difficult to tell what they were thinking. As it turned out, they were all actually quite alarmed. While neither Applejack nor Fluttershy would turn into Nirik due to their anger towards each other, the Kirin feared that their discord would spread to them if not promptly contained.
Consequently, the two mares suddenly found themselves lifted up by the combined magic of the Kirin around them. While at first unsure of what was going on, the pair soon realised their destination. They were about to go for a swim. The Kirin were carrying them toward the Stream of Silence in order to induce the same effect that they had experienced. A single drop of that water would render them mute and emotionless for the rest of their days!
“Well, obviously ya figured a way out,” I said with a smile. Applejack chuckled.
“Actually, it was Autumn Blaze that saved us,” she explained. “She came to save us in her Nirik form. That got the Kirin to put us down, and Fluttershy got to see that the Kirin could control their anger. Autumn Blaze was only mad when her friends tried to dunk us in the river. As soon as we were safe, she turned back to normal. She was the one who finally managed to convince the others that silence and livin’ without emotion ain’t no way to live at all.”
“Friends might squabble from time to time, but there’s so much more. The positives sure outweigh the negatives if ya ask me,” I agreed. Applejack nodded.
“That was pretty much what Autumn Blaze said,” she replied. “And that was what convinced the Kirin to change back. Only problem was, there weren’t no more of that Foals Breath left for Autumn Blaze to make more of her cure.”
“So they were stuck like that?” I asked. Applejack shook her head.
“Remember those critters Fluttershy was fussin’ over when Ah was tryin’ to scale the peaks?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Turns out that they knew where to find more of the stuff. Little varmints had been usin’ ‘em in their dens. Autumn Blaze was able to mix the cure into the fountain in the village. It was enough to cure all of ‘em. Their leader, Rain Shine, let her back into the village too.”
“Well, sounds like everythin’ turned out alright in the end,” I surmised. “And Ah take it y’all and Fluttershy made up as well.”
“Of course,” AJ replied with a wave of her hoof. “Like ya said Bones; friends fight from time to time, but repressin’ everythin’ just to stop an outburst of anger ain’t the way to go. Shoot, if it hadn’t been for her way with animals, we’d never have been able to find any more of that there Foals Breath.”
“And without you, AJ, the Kirin wouldn’t have realised how normal it was for friends to squabble from time to time. It ain’t easy to admit you’re not perfect after all.”
“Aww, thanks, Bones,” AJ said as she moved in to nuzzle me for a moment.
It sounded like Applejack had been on quite the adventure, certainly a step up from the last time she and Fluttershy went on a friendship mission; when they went to Las Pegasus and helped expose that jackass Gladmane. And run into those hucksters Flim and Flam. Still, despite the flaw in their idea, I couldn’t help but be slightly fascinated with the solution the Kirin had come up with. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the Vulcans from Star Trek. Their story was pretty similar. Ancient Vulcans had nearly destroyed themselves in war, until Surak, preaching a philosophy of peace and logic over emotion and passion, had helped them repress their violent emotions, becoming the species we were familiar with. Well, unless Pon Farr rolled around, then all bets were off.
A couple of days later, and Applejack’s story about the Kirin was still rattling about in my mind. It hadn’t really dawned on me just how significant their little adventure had been. This was the first time ponies and Kirin had come into contact with each other in quite some time. It was like white explorers coming across some unknown tribe deep in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. From an academic standpoint, there was quite a bit of work to be done. The scope for research was pretty much endless, since there was so little information about their culture and history. After all, let’s not forget that what records we had, incorrectly portrayed the Kirin and Nirik as separate species that were in conflict with one another, instead of one and the same with interesting magical properties.
Now, I’d written a few articles and monographs here and there in my time. A couple had even been published in respectable journals, copies of which I kept very close to my heart. But they’d been fairly minor in their scope. After all, in this day and age, there was little we didn’t understand about magic, and what remained to be discovered required an intellect far in excess of my own.
The rediscovery and successful first contact with the Kirin however, presented a rather unique opportunity. I could be among the first to document their society, their unique magic, and their history. I could really put my mark on things; like those old Victorian explorers who discovered native tribes in Africa, or European settlers who first established contact with the Native Americans (although hopefully without the various problems those two examples caused).
In any case, I suddenly found myself imbued with a spirit of adventure and exploration, something that isn’t usually my scene, since I prefer to keep watch on the old homestead here on Sweet Apple Acres. However, I found myself wanting to go out and meet these Kirin, to learn a little more about them. If nothing else, I was keen to learn about their magic, and possibly how the Stream of Silence had the ability to deprive a creature of both its voice and emotions.
Of course, I couldn’t just drop everything and go gallivanting off. As the spring drew on, the farm was quickly coming back to life. All of us were kept pretty busy, having spent the winter in something of a slumber, apart from the excitement brought on by Hearth’s Warming Eve. On that note, my knitting skills have finally gotten good enough so that this year I could make my own doll for the fireplace. Anyway, to come back to my point, I didn’t have the free time at present to leave the farm and go off exploring. But I knew that eventually I would have some time off, so I began to make a plan.
I figured that it would be a good idea to go with somepony the Kirin already knew, considering their reaction to AJ and Fluttershy when they turned up unannounced. It would be a chance for me and AJ to spend some time together too. We could travel up to the peaks together, and then spend a couple days visiting the Kirin village. It would also give Applejack a chance to see how the little village was doing now that they all had their voices and emotions back.
There was something else I wanted to do as well. Among the modest book collection I have in my room is a copy of The Teachings of Surak. Okay, sure it’s technically a piece of Star Trek merchandise, but it is also quite an interesting philosophical text. I figured that it might make a nice middle ground for the Kirin. While they couldn’t suppress their emotions like Vulcans could, it would give them the mental tools to help control their emotions, and prevent them from accidentally turning into Nirik again.
I pitched my idea to Applejack, who was more than happy to go and visit, particularly to see Autumn Blaze again. While that particular Kirin may be as mad as Pinkie Pie, she and Applejack had become fast friends. Twilight too was rather keen to hear how the Kirin were adjusting when I told her about my plan in passing, when I went to see her to return some books of hers that I’d borrowed.
In the end Applejack and I planned to head out for just a couple days, leaving Big Mac and Apple Bloom to look after the farm, along with Caramel, who had offered to lend a hoof and pitch in.
The first part of the journey was relatively straightforward; a simple, if lengthy train ride. The last time me and AJ had done something like this was when we’d gone north to the Crystal Empire. She’d gone to buy up some local produce to try and transplant onto Sweet Apple Acres, and I attended a lecture given by Sunburst, actually running into the new Royal Crystaller at one point. That had also been something of a holiday for us too. As I’ve already said, it’s pretty hard for us to get away from the farm much, less so now that AJ’s also working as a professor at Twilight’s school.
As the train rattled along, we chatted to each other to pass the time. AJ told me a few interesting stories from the school, mainly about some of her more notable students. She was telling me a story she’d heard from Twilight and Rainbow that happened on Hearth’s Warming Eve. The school was pretty much empty as most students had gone home for the holiday. Of course, that hadn’t stopped Pinkie Pie from decking the halls, including a massive Hearth's Warming tree in the dorms. Twilight was just about to wish the last of the students well when somecreature poured something onto the fire of friendship (the glowing magical heart shaped flame that sits on top of the tree) that caused it to create a massive pile of goo that ruined the whole room. Twilight and RD ended up having to have a little investigation to find the culprit, which turned out to be Gallus, their only griffon student. It ended up with him and the other non-pony students staying behind to clear up the mess and do extra work, but also getting to celebrate the holiday together.
AJ’s story came to an end as we reached our stop; a virtually deserted, ramshackle station out in the middle of scenic nowhere. The nearby Peaks of Peril were the only real feature. Getting off the train, and briefly having the living daylights scared out of me by the crazy old station master, the two of us began to make our way over to the peaks themselves.
“That’s one heck of a climb there, AJ,” I commented, letting out a low whistle. We had a few supplies, but it looked like you’d need mountaineering equipment just to get up there.
“Oh, ain’t nothin’, sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “Besides, Ah know a much easier way in.”
Trotting over to some nearby shrubbery, she pulled it back to reveal a modest passage. Apparently, Fluttershy had found this by talking to the local wildlife, while AJ herself had been trying to climb the peaks herself. Needless to say, Fluttershy’s route was noticeably easier. And personally, as a unicorn with no wings and barely enough power to cast a brief self-levitation spell, I don’t much care for heights.
Passing through the rocky crevice, we soon found ourselves in a lush, jungle like environment; a stark contrast to the barren, arid landscape that we’d just left. Applejack led me over to a path that cut through the dense jungle and before too long, I began to notice other tracks on the ground. They were similar to a pony’s hooves, but ever so slightly different. From what I understood, Kirin were a lot like ponies, but with a bit of hippogriff thrown in there, with lion like mane, and tails, and a strange dual pointed red horn like appendages, which allowed them to use magic analogous to unicorns.
After a few minutes of walking, Applejack pushed back some of the foliage and revealed our destination. The Kirin village was small, but still an impressive sight. Of most note was the large fountain that stood in the centre of the village, which was the Kirin’s water supply. It was there that Autumn Blaze had introduced her antidote allowing all the Kirin to talk and feel again. The village looked to be relatively busy at the moment, and lively too, with Kirin bustling around the settlement’s main square. Nearby, I picked out one Kirin that stood taller than the rest, and I surmised that that was Rain Shine, their leader. It made sense to make our presence known to her first, so we both trotted over, quickly catching the attention of the nearby villagers.
The larger kirin quickly noticed our arrival and came over to greet us. She was a little suspicious of me at first, at least until AJ explained who I was. She was certainly happy to see the Element of Honesty again. Applejack introduced me to her and I explained my interest in their small society. The taller kirin seemed more than eager to help and was just about to usher us inside, when we were set upon by the Kirin’s answer to Pinkie Pie.
“Applejack! You came to visit!” The kirin exclaimed, pulling the earth pony into a bone crushing hug, giving AJ a taste of her own medicine.
“Hey there, Autumn Blaze,” Applejack replied with a slight laugh as she gently pried herself free from the kirin’s grip. “It’s good to see ya again. This here’s Blade Star.” I reached out and shook the kirin’s hoof.
“Please, friends call me Bones,” I said with a smile. “Pleasure to meet ya, Autumn Blaze.”
“So what brings you back to our little village?” the kirin asked curiously.
“Well, Ah wanted to talk with y’all a bit about your vow of silence that ya used to have,” I explained.
So the two of us sat down with Autumn Blaze, Rain Shine and several other kirin to explain the reason for our impromptu visit. I told them how their own attempts at emotional suppression were similar to an idea from my world and explained a little bit about Surak and the Vulcans. I may have embellished things a bit here, since I didn’t tell them that Vulcans were just fictitious, but their ideas were still sound nonetheless.
I explained my interest in their experiment with emotional suppression. While their small village seemed to be thriving again with no real problems, I thought they might be interested in a sort of middle ground between the two views they held when it came to talking to one another. Their problem hadn’t really been talking to one another, it had been emotion. They’d got into arguments, become irrational, and consequently done irrational things, like nearly burn their own village down. So, while they were all friends and happy to talk out their problems, I figured it couldn’t hurt to give them this little bit of knowledge. If nothing else Vulcan meditation made a good mental exercise.
Several of the Kirin were quite interested in the idea, and I decided to let them keep my copy of the Teachings of Surak, which is pretty much the only copy translated into Ponish, thanks to Twilight. Others, such as Autumn Blaze, were not opposed to the idea, but preferred their new more emotional outlook on life. It was certainly nice to see that the kirin had gotten her own emotional stability under control. Living around a bunch of mutes for ages was enough to drive anypony a little batty. Applejack was just glad to see that she was no longer having to check that she was pronouncing her words correctly.
Overall, we had a fun time in the Kirin village. In addition to everything else we were doing, I also got to learn a little bit more about Kirin history, courtesy of Rain Shine, their leader. They were a fascinating species, and the larger kirin was even kind enough to clue me in on some aspects of their magic. As I suspected, most of it was tied into their emotions.
In the end, we spent the better part of a day with the kirin. The only downside was that Fluttershy hadn’t been able to come with us. I’m no expert, but I think some of the woodland critters we encountered were hoping to see her with us. Still, it was a great experience, giving me a chance to meet new ponies, broaden my horizons and do some proper field research to boot.
And so, after having the singular honour of being only the third pony to have contact with the kirin for over a hundred years, Applejack and I prepared to head home. We decided to make our trip home a little more interesting, or rather, Applejack did. The mare had brought a bit of climbing gear with her, mainly her lasso and a few more lengths of rope. After a bit of encouragement, and a promise that she wouldn’t let me drop to my death, the two of us ended up abseiling down the peaks back down to terra firma.
I won’t lie, after I got over the initial fear and stopped dwelling too heavily on the no doubt fatal drop I would face if I lost my footing, it was actually quite enjoyable. As a rule, I’ve never been one for extreme sports or outdoor pursuits, aside from maybe a spot of orienteering to keep my map skills up to par. But it was quite exhilarating carefully working my way down the sheer rock face, with AJ beside me.
Eventually, the two of us reached the bottom and made our way back to the train station. The unhinged station master initially thought we were vengeful spirits come back from the Peaks of Peril to haunt him. After convincing him that we were just as mortal as he, we got him out of his hut on the platform, and found out that the next train was a couple hours away.
So the two of us ended up sitting on the platform chatting to each other. The conversation of course, invariably turned towards Vulcans, which led to me telling AJ about Star Trek. I may have slipped from conversation and into lecture mode at one point. Personally I don’t think Applejack needed to know my opinion on the Star Trek Enterprise finale, no matter how terrible, stupid, badly written, and illogical it was and made no sense because they had to just put it on the air despite losing at least a couple of seasons because ratings hit the floor…
Sorry, there I go again. We did manage to chat about other things. AJ and I got to talking about Autumn Blaze. From my own experience, she wasn’t quite as unhinged as when AJ had first met her. Some time spent with talking kirin had really helped her psyche. Honestly, I think if things had gone on much longer, her isolation could very well have taken a darker turn; Ed Kemper dark. Still, she was a nice enough pony...er, kirin. Between her, Rain Shine and a few others, I had quite the set of notes; more than enough to publish a few articles and maybe even a paper or two. If nothing else, it made an interesting psychology case study.
The pair of us were finally brought out of our reprieve when the train arrived, bound for Ponyville again. It was late in the evening by now, so the ride would be overnight. Not that either of us were about to complain. I certainly don’t mind a night having to avoid Big Mac.
Although, I’m not sure how our neighbours in the other compartments felt about it.