My Little Kirin: The Lost Tribes

by Soothing Stone


So Much For A Breather

The party continued into the night. This was something Autumn planned for a while, and there was no way it was going to end after just an hour or two. No, she was going to make it something everybody would remember for years to come. The torches were lit as it grew dark, and they rotated the musicians every now and then to keep the music going. If Pinkie was there to see it, she’d say it was a 10 out of 10 party in her eyes.

Still, not everyone wanted to go nonstop until the break of dawn. A few of the younger kirin grew tired and went to their homes to rest up. Others just needed an hour to rest, and they’d be back to full speed. Kunzite wound up being in the second camp. She found herself yawning after dancing for a while(as it turned out, she inherited Twilight’s dancing “talent”). Maybe it was time to nap for a little bit. She didn’t want to miss too much, after all.

She took a moment to rest at her parents’ guest house. It may not be as fancy as the permanent houses, but it was sturdy, had plenty of room, and felt quite comfy once she got inside. There, she found a guard keeping watch over the entrance. Twilight and Spike were busy unpacking by the main room.

“Kunzite? Didn’t think you’d come in here already,” Spike noted. “Figured you’d be up all night. Is something wrong?”

“I’m fine. Just need a nap and I’ll be good to go. Isn’t there a second bedroom in here?” Kunzite thought. “I could use some peace and quiet. It’s fun out there, and it will just be an hour or two. I don’t want to miss anything.”

“It’s the door on the right,” said Twilight. “I’m glad you’re having a good time so far. You’ll let us know if something’s wrong?”

“Yeah, you’ll be the first to know.”

Kunzite stumbled into the guest bedroom, a little smaller than the main room, and flopped into the bed. Ahhhh, this was just what she needed. The feathery mattress felt like a cushion on her body. She loved to “dance” and join in on the festivities, but it would wear her out after a while. How did Autumn do the same things as her, but she wasn’t the least bit tired? Guess that was one mystery she had to solve one day. Like how someone more than twice her age could outlast her like that.

She rolled around until her back was flat on the bed. The hutted ceiling was muted compared to the rest of the village, but maybe her eyes needed the break from all the vivid colors out there. It sure seemed peaceful enough. She tried to drift off to sleep, but something was keeping her up.

It happened every now and then: a thought would enter her mind when she tried to get some rest, and it would keep her up all night. She knew what it was this time. He meant nothing by what he said to her, but it did get to her. Was it something she should bring up, or let it go?

Sure enough, she heard someone knock on the door. “Hey, it’s me,” Moonstone said on the other side. “They said you’d be in here. You alright if I come in?”

“Go ahead. I’m still awake.” She rubbed her eyelids and sat up. Nap time would have to wait until later.

He opened the door and leaned against the wall, clutching at his right arm. “Wild night, huh? I knew I’d regret arm wrestling all those guys, but I’ll feel better tomorrow. I still won every match, save for one. Against your dad. Fun times.”

Kunzite chuckled and laid back down on the bed. “If anyone could get injured from arm wrestling, it would be you.”

“What can I say? I put in the effort to get like this.” He flexed both arms together and showed off his muscles. That turned out to be a mistake, and his right arm seared in pain. “Still, it can be too much for me. What are you doing in here, anyway? You’d probably love it out there.”

She exhaled and clasped her hands over her belly. “Same thing. I really like Autumn, but I enjoy the great outdoors for the peace and quiet, you know? But there’s something that’s getting under my skin. You promise that you won’t be upset at me?”

“You think you can get me upset? Not likely. Fire away.”

“Okay. Here goes nothing.” She braced herself for what she was about to say. Hopefully, he didn’t blow up from it. “It hurt me when you said I wasn’t that type of kirin.”

The dragon blinked a few times. It took him a moment to see how she’d get upset over it. “But you’re not. You’re half dragon, they’re more like full pony people. I figured you knew that already.”

“It’s not that. It’s more like…” She curled her legs up and rested her head on the kneecaps. “You noticed how everyone was staring at me when we got here? It didn’t feel good, going through that.”

Now he started to see what she meant. “Well, it’s not often that they see an Equestrian Kirin. It’s kind of a big deal to them.”

“Yeah. But it’s just...I mean…” She groaned and buried her head in her arms. “It can be hard to deal with sometimes. Didn’t Wildfire say there’s only two of us in the whole world?”

Oh. So that’s what it was. “He did. And I don’t see the problem with that. Dunno about you, but it would be cool to have the strength of a dragon and the magic of a unicorn.”

“It is pretty cool.” When she lifted her head out of her arms, her eyes were a little bit bloodshot. “But...I just…don’t want to feel this alone about who I am…”

Well, that was another surprise for him today. “You know what, I’m sorry. If you think that makes you a freak or whatever, you’re not. You’re not even close. Nobody would say that if they got to know you.”

“T-Thank you,” she sniffled. Even though there weren’t any tears in her eyes, she wiped her eyes as if there were. “I believe you. But...what about you?”

“What do you mean?” He tilted his head to the side. “Not sure what you’re getting at.”

“I saw how upset you were when Spike brought up your mother. Is being the son of the Dragon Lord that burdensome? I had no idea if it was.”

That made him groan and slap his forehead. “I don’t like where this is going. It’s nothing. Shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, wait. I’m sorry. I’ll drop it if you want me to.”

“I want to drop it, yeah. But you’re still going to think about it, so let me stop you right now. I just want to forge my own path. That’s all. Nothing else to it, and we’re good.”

Kunzite nodded. “Guess we’ve been getting on each other’s nerves, haven’t we? I’m really sorry about that. Can you warn me the next time I’m talking about something you don’t want to get into? I don’t want to hurt your feelings like that.”

When Moonstone opened his mouth, he was about to drop yet another snarky comment. Then it dawned on him that she was completely serious. “Yeah, and I’ll do the same for you. I don’t get it with you, but if it makes you unhappy, I’ll drop it.”

“That’s probably for the best.” She flopped down on the bed and spread her arms to the side. “What do we do now? This has been one crazy day, hasn’t it?”

“Don’t think it can get much worse. You know what I do when I get all wound up? I scoop up a bunch of lava in a cup made of rock and drink it all down. Just the right amount of spice.”

The image of a dragon drinking lava made her laugh a little bit. “That’s because you’re all dragon. If I did that, my insides would burn up.”

“That’s just because you’re half pony. Come on, I bet there’s something we can drink out there. About time we blew off some steam.”

“Now that’s something I can agree with.” She climbed out of bed, and she was just as energetic as ever. “Let’s do this! Just make sure it’s not alcoholic. I’m not old enough to drink yet.”

“Oh my gosh, Kunzite. You’re the biggest nerd ever. But your parents would kill me if I ever pulled a stunt like that on you. Fine, I’ll see what they have that isn’t lava or beer. Man, you’re really missing out on lava drinks.”

“Ehh, maybe my inner organs are dragon-like. I don’t think it’s a good idea to test it out like this, though…”

Once they were ready, they left the room to join the rest of the village. Spike and Twilight vacated the guest house as well, and there were no signs that things were slowing down with the party. It was picking up in intensity, believe it or not. Yes, several hours of partying were a warm-up act to the real event. The music was noticeably more upbeat than before, and the kirin were passing drinks around like they were going out of style. Thankfully for the teenagers, there were plenty of non-alcoholic stuff to have as well.

Moonstone rolled his right shoulder to get some feeling back in that joint, and then he was ready to continue. No way was he going to do more arm wrestling tonight, but there had to be something he could do to spend the night. Meanwhile, Kunzite sat down by the music stage to hear what they had to play at this hour. She didn’t try to dance that time because, well, she knew she was terrible at it. But there was nothing wrong with just listening to the song, especially when the drums were so nice to listen to.

It wasn’t long until she caught Autumn checking up on Moonstone, offering him some kind of mango juice. He tried it out and didn’t seem to mind the taste. Knowing him, he likely complained at the lack of lava in this drink. Then Autumn came up to check on Kunzite next. “Don’t you wanna dance? You’re going to love the next song,” she offered.

“I already danced for three hours straight. I’m good for now. Besides, Moonstone’s a better dancer than me, and he’s probably never danced in his life.”

“Awww, you don’t think you’re good at it? I could probably teach you if you want. I did a lot of dancing when I was younger. You know all those plays with a lot of dancing in them? I was in almost every single one. One time, I tried this ballet where I almost broke my leg--”

“WHAT IS THAT?” a villager screamed. She pointed to a corner of the village in shock and terror.

Everyone turned to see what was going on, and they saw a stranger coming out of the darkness of the forests. She was a young adult kirin, no more than 20 years old. Her coat and fur were shades of blue, but it was hard to tell from all the sweat and dirt everywhere. Her hands trembled violently as she leaned against a tree, just so she could stay on her two feet.

Kunzite froze up from the sight. The kirin, whoever she could be, was just a mere twenty feet away. Moonstone was startled as well, and he rushed up to his friend in case this meant danger. Autumn didn’t know what to do, only to slowly approach her. Despite all the weird stares, the strange kirin gazed at this place like she had never seen it before. Largely because she didn’t.

“Is...is this the village...I’ve been looking for?” she quaked.

“This is a kirin village, if that helps. What happened to you?” Autumn asked her. “Are you hurt? We can help you.”

Kunzite joined Autumn and extended a hand to the stranger. “What she said. We don’t want to hurt you.”

“So it is...where I’ve been looking for…” A relieved smile spread across her lips, then she saw Kunzite standing there. A brief flash of terror filled her eyes. Before she could get another word out, she fainted and fell face down into the ground.

A loud choir of gasps filled the air as the villagers were terrified by the sight. Kunzite immediately rushed in to help her, only to get beaten to the chase by her parents. Twilight told her to back away to give the kirin some space, and a lot of villagers and Autumn came in to check on her as well. It started to feel like a blur to Kunzite, and she didn’t know what to do or say.

“You heard her. We need to give them space,” Moonstone interrupted. He pulled on her arm to get her out of there. “They know what they’re doing.”

The tug on her arm slowly brought her back to reality. “I hope so. Oh Celestia, I hope she’s okay…”

------

The rest of the night was one of the most chaotic nights the young kirin could remember. She couldn’t sleep at all, no matter how many people told her to go to bed. Instead, she waited by the house they took the stranger into. Did it matter when she started to see the sun rise, and she hadn’t slept for even an hour overnight? No. She had to find out what was going on. That poor woman was so terrified when she stumbled into the village, and Kunzite needed to know if she was okay.

On the other hand, Moonstone really was tired and dozed off in his chair by the house. Anytime he was about to pass out, he forced himself to wake up and keep an eye on his friend. He knew her too well; she needed someone to calm her down when things got really bad. Like mother like daughter, as they say. He passed the time by setting a torch on fire with his breath, and he hoped she could stay calm enough to hear what happened to the newest kirin in the village.

Twilight stepped out of the house, and she was calm and collected. She came up to Kunzite and nodded. “It’s going to be okay. There’s nothing wrong with her, she’s just exhausted and dehydrated. She’ll recover in a day or two. But….she wants to talk to you.”

“Me? Did I do something wrong?” Kunzite meeped.

“I don’t think so. She said you reminded her of someone. You don’t have to go in there, but it sounds like it’s really important to her.”

“I understand. I’ll go see her.” Kunzite sighed and took the first step to the house. Before she took another, she froze up. What if she was somehow responsible for this? It made her terrified of the next part. The next thing she knew, Moonstone came up to her side. Without saying a word, she knew he was going to come with her inside. That made her feel a little easier, knowing she would be supported by her friends and family. The two of them went inside, with Twilight backing them up.

By then, there were only a few other kirin in the room. Spike had gone off to get more supplies. The visitor rested on the bed and looked noticeably improved from her previous state. All the dirt was cleaned up, and she was much more relaxed than before. Autumn gave her a cup of juice to drink, and there was a plate of fruit nearby if she needed something to eat.

However, she was full of fear again as soon as she spotted Kunzite and Moonstone. That was the last image she needed to see. She scooted away and lowered her jaw in fear. “Did...did they send you?”

“No no no no!” Kunzite waved her hands. “I’m just here to make sure you’re okay. Promise!” She gave off the most nervous grin in her young life.

“What do you mean by ‘they’?” Moonstone butted in.

“They’re just guests. They wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Autumn explained. “Whew, you must have been through something rough. Don’t worry, we’re all friends here. Isn’t that right?”

The blue kirin started to relax a bit. From the looks of it, that half-pony-half-dragon woman and dragon man were way too dorky to be a threat. After all, he was giving her weird looks and she was trying not to cause even the slightest breeze to hurt her, even if she reminded her of…

“This is all so surreal. One moment I’m running for my life, and the next, you’re all staring at me. My name’s Aquatic Sky. I usually go by Aqua, and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone outside of my village in a long time.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” Twilight said, hoping to soothe her. “Just take it slow. We’re here for you now.”

Autumn’s ears perked up when she realized something. “You didn’t get an invitation?”

“What invitation? I came here because my mother told me about this place when I was just a filly. I figured it would still be around years later. From where I live, we’re less of a tribe and more like a village of two tribes, if that means anything. Um, why are you all looking at me like that?”

Everyone in the room had their jaws on the floor, save for Moonstone. “You know your tribe’s been missing for years, and Autumn’s freaking out because she’s been looking for them for a while now, right?” the dragon explained.

“You have?” Aqua puzzled. “That would explain a lot. We migrated away from the Dragon Lands a long time ago. Maybe that’s why you couldn’t find us?” After thinking about it, she curled up in her blanket a little tighter. “I wish you had found us sooner, but it’s not your fault, you didn’t know we moved…”

Autumn climbed into the bed and hugged Aqua. “I wish I did, too. But you’re here now, just in time. We’re reuniting all the kirin tribes this week.”

“What about the rest of your tribemates?” Kunzite cut in. Rather than answer, Aqua was so uncomfortably quiet that they could hear a pin drop. “I’m so sorry if that was awkward. I just wanted to know.”

“It’s not a bad question, Kunzite,” Twilight corrected her. “Just give her some spa--”

“They’re trapped back home,” said Aqua. “They may not know it, but they are. They’re trapped by...by…” She nearly broke into tears, and she covered her face in her hands. Even then, Kunzite could feel Aqua’s gaze in her direction.

Autumn hugged her tightly again. “It’s okay. We’re all here for you. You don’t have to be scared.”

“I-I ran away because it was so horrible. I don’t want to go back there. And I h-hoped that if this village was still here, you could help them. P-Please help them…”

------

No matter what Moonstone said and did, Kunzite felt awful about what happened. It didn’t help that Aqua freaked out when she saw them. Yeah, her mother kept telling her she did nothing wrong, but that wasn’t what it felt like. There was more to this story than what she was letting on.

Still, after they calmed Aqua down just enough to talk, they found out more about the location of the tribes. From what she was able to get out, they gathered that the tribes migrated to the Undiscovered West. That part of the world was located, for lack of a better term, west of Equestria. To this day, it still wasn’t mapped out. Twilight and Spike meant to do that for years, but raising Kunzite and ruling over a kingdom took too much of their time and resources.

After Aqua fell asleep, there was a special meeting held in Autumn’s home. Spike and Twilight joined her there, and the discussion was rather heated. “We need to go there and find the rest of them,” Autumn pleaded. “We can finally bring all the kirins of the world together!”

What they didn’t know was that Kunzite listened in on the whole conversation, peeking her head through the front door. Her heart pounded from the discussion, what it could mean, and what was happening to the lost tribes. Moonstone was further away from the house, because he knew this was supposed to be private. “You’re gonna get in trouble if they catch you,” he warned.

“Shh! I want to hear this!”

“We need a gameplan, though,” Twilight countered. “You heard Aqua. Whatever’s happening out there, it’s not good. Why else would she run away from her own home like that?”

“We’re not saying we don’t understand,” Spike agreed. “I remember how crazy I went when I met my ‘dad’ for the first time. You can’t just throw yourself into it, you need some idea of what you’re going to do. Twilight knows that from experience.”

“Okay, then I’m going to leave today. I have to do it, guys. The village will be fine without me, and if there’s a kirin stuck in the well out west, I’m going to save them.”

“Today? But there’s all those festivities you had planned. Not to mention, it sound like you’re wanting to go there alone,” Twilight pointed out.

“But this is really important. This festival, it was all about bringing the tribes together. But it ate at me that we were missing someone. Now we can finally find them. Wouldn’t you feel like something was missing if you celebrated with all of Equestria, but the Earth Ponies weren’t there?”

The royal couple raised their hands to refute that, but then it sank in for them. “I’d be upset…” Spike admitted.

“Exactly! That’s why I’m going to go out there, alone or not!”

“I’ll go with you!” Kunzite burst in. She swung the door wide open and stood next to Autumn. “I’ll make sure you won’t be alone, and maybe I can even help you and…and...what’s wrong?”

Everyone in the room was staring at her. Twilight looked upset, Autumn startled, and Spike was terrified, knowing this could go south in a hurry. Soon after, Moonstone ran into the house and got between Kunzite and the rest of the group. “She didn’t mean it. She was just worried about Aqua, is all.”

“No, I mean it!” Kunzite doubled down. “There could be a lot of terrified kirin out there, and it’s the right thing to help them out! Why should I just sit here and do nothing?”

“Kunzite, you’d be willing to do that for me?” Autumn wondered. “That is just...one of the sweetest things I’ve ever--”

“Kunzite, go to your room. We’re going to have a talk right now,” Twilight interrupted in a stern tone. That was the kind of tone when someone was in trouble, and Kunzite knew it.

“I tried to save you from that,” Moonstone whispered to her. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.  

“I know,” Kunzite stated quietly. “But you know why I had to do that.” She went to her room without a fuss. Twilight went in after her and shut the door.

“She’s in for it now,” Spike chuckled nervously. “Hopefully, her skin got thicker recently.”

“How bad is this gonna be?” Moonstone asked him.

“Well…I’ve learned that a dragon isn’t always the scariest thing to find in Equestria…”

“How could you do this?” Twilight complained. “We’ve told you not to eavesdrop on conversations like that. It’s an invasion of privacy, and it’s just wrong to begin with.”

“But I was worried about Aqua. Not to mention, all those lost kirin? I need to go save them!”

“Kunzite, let me tell you something right now from experience. There is never an ‘I’ when you’re out saving the world or helping somebody when it’s like this. There’s always a ‘we’. You can’t do it alone. I can’t do it alone, and my cutie mark revolves around magic.” She paced back and forth, and she had to keep it together to avoid snapping at her daughter.

The kirin opened her mouth to say something, but she realized her mother wasn’t wrong. “Then what do I do? I feel like I can’t just sit back on this one. I have to do something.”

“I don’t think anybody’s doing anything for a while. We need a plan if we’re going to go in there. If Aqua’s that terrified, we have to take it seriously. It’s just...yes?” She noticed Kunzite raising her hand in the air, like she was back in school.

“What if this is my special destiny?”

The alicorn stopped her pacing. “Kunzite, please. We can’t tell if this is it like that. I want you to fulfill it more than anyone else in the world, believe me.”

“Then shouldn’t I try?” Kunzite pleaded. “It seems like this could be it. A bunch of kirin go missing for decades, and suddenly they’re back like that?”

That got Twilight to sigh and brush her mane to the side. “I understand why you feel the way you do. I mean it. But…” She gazed over at the door. “It could be dangerous. If you’re serious about this, you have to make sure.’

“I’ll bring Moonstone with me! He’s supposed to be a part of my destiny, and he’s really strong. Between the two of us, we could do anything.” She gave her mother a case of the puppy dog eyes to seal the deal.

“Wait, he has no idea that you’re this serious about it. From what I saw, he doesn’t want you in this at all. But…” The puppy dog eyes only intensified as she hesitated. “You can go with Autumn to the Undiscovered West.”

“Yes!” Kunzite fist pumped the air.

“Under a few ground rules.”

“Awwww.”

“First, you have to ask Moonstone to go with you. If he says no, you’re not going. If he says yes, I’m going to have a few Guards go with you to make sure you’re safe. On top of that, you have to write letters to us on a frequent basis about what’s going on. If anything looks serious or terrible, we’re going to go in there with you immediately. And we’ll stay right here or in a town nearby to make sure we’re close. I couldn’t forgive myself if you get hurt.”

“That sounds fair to me,” Kunzite grinned. She got ready to open the door, but she stopped when she realized something. “Why are you letting me go? It might be my special destiny and everything, but this isn’t like you.”

“I know it’s not.” Twilight joined her over by the door. “But I know how important this is to you. Over time, I’ve learned that sometimes, your special destiny shows itself in ways you can’t see coming. Like a trip to Ponyville, mandated by your mentor.” She came up and hugged her daughter. “Just be safe out there, okay?”

Kunzite smiled and returned the hug. “I will, Mom. You know me.”

They exited the room, and Autumn jumped up to her feet. “What’s happening? You okay if I go? Is Kunzite going?”

Twilight nodded. “Kunzite’s going to go with you out west, on one condition…” She turned her attention over to Moonstone.

The dragon gulped from the look his way. Whatever this is, it wasn’t going to be pretty.

------

Kunzite brought him out to another corner of the village, where nobody would be around. The villagers had gathered around Aqua’s makeshift house and came bearing gifts, like fruit and fresh clothing. It seemed like the right thing to do after the mess she went through. Still, Moonstone’s first reaction wasn’t exactly kind...

“Is everypony in Equestria this crazy?” he balked. “You’ve got to be kidding. You don’t know what you’re getting into, and that’s a big sign of trouble.”

“But it really could be our special destiny! Don’t you want to help the little guys out?” Kunzite countered. “Autumn really wants us to go with her. It’s not just because she wants some friends to tag along with her. We all want you to come, because you’re strong and intimidating. If anything goes wrong, you could be the one to get us out of a jam.”

“My strength? That’s why you want me to come?” He was surprised to hear that coming from her mouth.

“Among other reasons, yeah. I couldn’t win that many arm wrestling contests in a row if I tried. And even if we didn’t have this special destiny stuff going on, I’d want you to come with us. You’re my friend.”

Huh. She had said that to him a few times in the past, but something about this time was different to him. He still wasn’t used to hearing that, and it was...okay, he wasn’t going to get sappy about it. His parents were sappy, but dragons don’t do sappy stuff. He definitely didn’t.

Still, one look at Kunzite and he could see how eager she was to do this. Not to mention, it would just be the two of them, and an overbearing kirin that was willing to play all the songs of her people. And some guards, from the sounds of it. When he thought about it that way, it wasn’t so bad. Not to mention, getting to boast about beating some bad guy and get a huge part of the credit for saving the kirin? What was wrong with that?

“When are we leaving?” he asked.

Without warning, he suddenly felt himself get hug-tackled to the floor, a move he faintly remembered as “glomping”.  He choked and gasped for air while Kunzite squeezed him tightly in her arms. “Thank you thank you thank you! I promise I won’t be too annoying! Oooh, here we go!”

“When...are we l-leaving…” he gasped.

“I think we leave in two hours. Autumn just needs to get some things ready, and my parents gotta get our guards prepared for the journey. Plenty of time.”

Moonstone pulled away from Kunzite and brushed his scales off. “There’s something I gotta do before we leave. I’m not gonna like it, but my parents will want to know I’m gonna be gone for a while.”

Kunzite stood up and helped him back on his feet. “Oh yeah, Dragon Lord Ember and Fizzle. Your parents seem really cool. I’ll go tell Mom about it, and we’ll leave when you get back. Deal?”

“Deal. This won’t take long, I hope. See you around. And man, are you crazy.” He flapped his wings and took off into the skies. That left her alone in the village for now.

Not that she minded. She couldn’t stop giggling like a filly over what she was about to do. An incredible journey with her best friend and her newest friend? How could it not be a ton of fun? Of course, she had some preparations of her own to make. This would all be worth it in the end.