//------------------------------// // One Generation Later // Story: My Little Kirin: The Lost Tribes // by Soothing Stone //------------------------------// “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.