//------------------------------//
// Act I, Scene 5 - In Which the Nirik Roars 
// Story: I Am Not a Monster 
// by TheMysteryMuffin 
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The surprise of the terrifying creature of purple smoke creeping up towards Twilight made her close her eyes, almost trying to protect her own sight from the monstrous sight in which she had just witnessed. She turned her head away and covered her face with her hoof and wing. Twilight believed for a second if she didn't look at the creature, then she would be fine. It must be a nightmare, a horrifying dream which had managed to grasp onto the reality in which she lived.

It was those pale white eyes which shook her the most. There was nothing, but a blank eyeball inside those black, alien-like sockets. Although there were no pupils, Twilight could almost tell where the creature's eyes were looking at. They scanned the room like a radar, trying to find something that it was looking for, and soon enough it would find her and snatch Twilight like innocent prey, never letting go. Twilight managed to catch a sight of those eyes before she looked away and saw deep into them. She could only see the hunger, the anger and the evil inside those eyes. Every emotion was inside those eyes. They made Twilight feel cold with fear, her fur spiking up and the feeling of ice going straight through her blood and heart, making her freeze in place, unable to move.

Suddenly, the creature snarled like a ferocious beast, making Twilight's ears ring heavily at the sound. The sound was so painful, that Twilight dropped to the ground and couldn't remember what was happening or where she was anymore. Everything was happening at once and was a complete blur. The only thing Twilight could hear was the ringing which bounced off from the walls and the vibration from under her hooves. Her mind was full of confusion and Twilight was completely lost from where she was.

"Make it stop... make it stop... make it stop!"

The words came out of Twilight's mouth as a stammer. Her breathing continued to increase and sweat, and her hooves kept covering her eyes. She felt the hooves of another pony pulling them away from her face, which resorted in making her scream. And then it all stopped.

The screeching ceased to complete silence. The ringing stopped and so did the pain which was rushing through Twilight's head. At first, she didn't take her hooves away from her face, as Twilight thought that as soon as she looked up, the creature would be there again. But feeling slightly brave, Twilight took a peek through her hooves and saw an orange face looking back at her. Then, she noticed a pair of green eyes moving about and then as Twilight looked up, she recognised the blonde mane and brown cowboy hat which sat accordingly on the pony's head.

"Twilight..."

The face of the pony spoke. While watching the pony's mouth, Twilight saw the white freckles on Applejack's cheeks and soon knew who she was looking at. Shaking her head in order to throw away the distressing sounds and noises happening as her, Twilight looked back and the face of Applejack was now completely visible. Twilight gasped and looked around, before looking back at Applejack. She struggled for a moment to draw in what had happened to her.

"Huh? What... what happened?"

With a confused expression, Applejack held Twilight's hoof trying to give her reassurance. She could feel Twilight trembling with fear, her hoof shaking slightly and the mumble of her lips making enough sound to be heard. Twilight's pupils had become prim-pricks with shock and her face looked as if she had seen a ghost. Beads of sweat continued to drip down her face and soaked into her fur, and her breathing was still heavy. Twilight could feel her heart beating inside her chest, so hard that she thought that it would burst out at any point.

"Twilight, are you okay?"

Applejack's voice was still fairly distorted to Twilight like she was an old recording from a cassette player. However, as the blood soon made its way down from her head and into her body, Twilight tried to focus her eyes towards Applejack and make out what she was trying to say.

"Applejack?"

Looking around the room, Twilight saw that everypony were still enjoying the party and nothing unusual or distressing was happening around them. The music was still playing, the guests were happily chatting and all her friends seemed to be okay, including Celestia who craned her neck down as she looked over Applejack's shoulder. She seemed to be as fine as everypony else. It was as if nothing had happened.

"What do ya mean 'what happened', Twilight? Nothin' happened. Autumn Blaze and I have just arrived. Apologies for being late, by the way. The storm outside is really rough. Good thing you planned to have the party inside the castle, right, Twilight?"

Twilight shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She thought that she was imagining things, but from what Applejack had just said, there was nothing wrong. Everything seemed to be fine. Twilight struggled to accept that what she had just seen, whatever it was that she had just seen, didn't actually happen. The smoke, the mist, the dark shadows, the mysterious figure, the white eyes glaring at her and that sinister snarl which sent a chill down her back. What kind of monster did she just see back there?

"Huh?"

Celestia trotted up to Twilight and placed a hoof under her shaking chin. Looking at Celestia gave Twilight some confidence and bravery, which made her stop shivering and mumbling, although she was still scared and confused about what had just happened.

"Twilight, is everything alright? Twilight?!"

Twilight kept looking around the room, still stunned from what had happened to her. Everything seemed to look fine, except she knew that it wasn't. Applejack and Celestia continued to look at her, as well as another figure who stood behind them. Twilight gasped for air and rubbed her eyes.

"I... I... I don't know. I think I'm better now. But, what was that thing?"

"What did you see, Twilight?" Celestia asked.

Twilight kept breathing heavily as if she was trying to capture every chunk of air. Her lungs were working hard, making Twilight's head feel wobbly and her sight blurry. It took a while for things to calm down again, but the ongoing beating inside her head made Twilight more nervous by every beat.

"I have no idea, Princess Celestia. It was like... a monster, covered in purple flames, with sharp teeth and pale eyes staring right at me. It was snarling, like a beast hunting its prey. I've never seen anything so frightening in my life, and I've seen some pretty threatening villains since I've been in Ponyville. Everything about it was horrifying, like something from a scary story."

Celestia twisted her lip as she tried to think of what Twilight might be trying to describe. She looked in the direction of Applejack and Autumn Blaze, only to see nothing out of the ordinary. Everypony else seemed fine as if all was well. Twilight put a hoof to her head, wondering wherever she had something that made her feel confused and wobbly, but she couldn't think what it could be exactly. She looked back at Applejack and Autumn, only to see the pair of them looking back at her with concerned expressions.

"You alrigh', Twilight? It looks like you've seen a ghost."

Or a monster, Twilight thought.

Autumn coughed quietly, trying to reverse the conversation to how it originally intended to be. After all, this was the first time she had met Twilight, so a good impression was important. She made her way around a long table covered with different selections of food and drinks, slowly heading towards the head where she would eventually meet up with Twilight. Still slightly dismayed by the surprising experience she just went through, Twilight breathed heavily and looked around her surroundings constantly as if she felt something was going to jump out and snatch her.

"So, um, I'm sorry that your first impression of me was slightly out-of-the-blue so to say."

Twilight looked at Autumn, still slightly in shock. Taking in a breath, Twilight walked up to Autumn and shook her hoof.

"It's nice to meet you, Autumn Blaze." That was all Twilight could say. She didn't particularly want to say anything else, but she could sense that a conversation was just over the horizon. "My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle and I welcome you to my castle. I was rather hoping that the weather would be better than it is now, but it seems that we've become rather unlucky tonight. The wind seems to be getting worse, doesn't it?"

Autumn nodded. "Oh yes, not as good as I had hoped, Princess. But at least we're inside tonight. Applejack has been showing Ponyville to me. Seems fair since I showed her around my home when we first met. On behalf of the kirins, it is an honour, your highness."

Autumn bowed to Twilight, feeling slightly embarrassed that she didn't do so when she first came in. Twilight bowed her head and smiled back.

"The honour is mine, Autumn Blaze."

Applejack wrapped a hoof around Autumn's neck, smiling happily. Autumn smiled back, before looking back at Twilight.

"This is my first visit to Ponyville, your highness, and I dare say that I'm amazed at the beauty of your town. It's such a great shame that the weather hasn't been so nice. I hear you have great sunrises here as well."

Twilight nodded. "We do indeed! I hope you get to see one during your stay here; they are breath-taking sometimes. I especially love the fresh air you get in Ponyville. I've been brought up as a city mare in Canterlot, you see, so it's been a positive change for Spike and I since we first moved."

Autumn clapped her hooves in excitement, grinning happily. "Ooo, how wonderful! Say, Applejack has told me that you have other great friends. I met Fluttershy when she and Applejack came to visit my species, but I haven't met the rest of you yet."

"But of course! Please, allow me to introduce you to my friends; Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike."

Twilight's friends came up and shook Autumn's hoof in greeting. They all seemed excited to talk to Autumn, especially Pinkie, who had helped organise the welcoming party for her. She was the last one to say hello to Autumn Blaze but certainly gave off the most friendly and energetic of welcomes. Pinkie lept into the air and gave Autumn a big, lovable hug in which Autumn returned the favour. Both of them giggled with excitement.

"It's a pleasure the meet you, Pinkie Pie. Applejack told me all about you."

Pinkie nodded excitedly, portraying a big happy grin across her face. "Oh, I bet she did! I'm soooo happy to meet you, Autumn Blaze! Trust me, when I say that we can have so much fun together, I mean it. I organised this welcoming party just for you!"

Autumn Blaze blushed and giggled. She found Pinkie's personality charming and in some ways very relatable to hers. Autumn looked at all the different decorations, table designs, food and guests that were here, including the princesses.

"Whatever you need, Autumn Blaze, then we would be honoured to offer it to you," Celestia said, "I do hope your stay in Ponyville is a good one, for I especially would love to get to know you and your species better. I can see that there are many things that we ponies can help you kirins. I hope that our friendship will continue to thrive for many moons to come."

Autumn nodded. "Of course, your highness."

"I've never met a kirin before, Autumn. This is an exciting time during my reign as the Princess of Equestria. Our knowledge of the kirins is very limited, apart from the written legends which our ancestors wrote over the years."

"I know too..." Autumn said, trying to hide much of her emotion. "It's complicated, you see. We... we aren't always like that. Honest! I have to admit, though, before Applejack and Fluttershy came to visit us, I was so scared that when I made up a cure to get my voice back, resulting in transforming into a nirik and cause harm to other creatures, that I isolated myself from my friends. Applejack helped me understand that having these emotions were okay, but I needed to learn how to control them. We have so much history, Princess Twilight. There is so much that other creatures don't know about."

Twilight twisted her lip and looked down at the ground darkly. She stayed quiet for a moment, taking in everything she and Autumn had talked about. The kirins are indeed unique and talented creatures. Twilight began to think that they could be more powerful than she originally thought. Was Autumn trying to hide something from her? Was there something that she didn't want to say to everypony? There was something that was playing inside Twilight's mind as if it was desperate to come out and be heard. Something that sounded so dark that Twilight couldn't even imagine saying out loud. Instead, she tried to change the subject.

"Indeed, Autumn. I'm sure that there are many things we're yet to learn about. May I offer something to eat while we talk more?"

Autumn's face lit up at the mention of food. "Oh yes, please! I would love that, thank you, Princess."

Twilight used her magic to offer a plate of food to Autumn. It was covered with small sandwiches and other delicacies. After Autumn took some to eat, Twilight then offered her a drink, which Autumn accepted.

"I would love to visit the Peaks of Peril, Autumn Blaze," Celestia said, smiling, "and I must meet with your leader, Rain Shine, sometime in the near future. There are many things to discuss. I feel that there could be a strong friendship between our two kinds."

Autumn nodded with emphasis. "Of course, Princess Celestia! Rain Shine would love to meet you, your highness. It would be an honour! We'll welcome you with an open heart to our village. If it wasn't for Applejack or Fluttershy, this extraordinary moment would never have happened. And the Peaks of Peril are beautiful, especially when you look across the whole land from somewhere high. Especially at sunrise, it's something special."

Between speaking, Autumn took a sandwich and ate when she listened to her other friends. She chewed quietly, as she wanted to hear absolutely everything about pony-life.

"She has a point, Princess Celestia," Applejack added, cheerfully, "her home has some amazin' views. Some of the best, I dare say, that I've ever seen."

Celestia giggled quietly. "Well, I would be more than welcome to come and visit one day. What you've told me this evening has surpassed all expectations of your land."

Applejack, Twilight, Autumn Blaze and Princess Celestia laughed happily together, as they ate more sandwiches and drank more cups of cider. The pleasant atmosphere lightened the room, which brought in nearby guests into their conversation. They also laughed and chatted happily together, completely at ease.

After they drank some more, Twilight wandered off to the refreshments table and trotted around to the other side. She almost stared at the table for quite some time, completely speechless and lost in thought. Twilight was by herself at the table, until Spike came up to her with a clawful of gems.

"Twilight, are you okay? You don't seem to be yourself tonight."

Twilight looked at Spike and tried to smile. "I'm good, thank you, Spike."

Spike frowned. He knew that Twilight was lying; there was no question about it. The way she responded to him wasn't how she would usually do so. Twilight had become awkwardly quiet and occasionally laughed rather nervously whenever Spike would try to get her attention. Spike saw Twilight's hoof quickly tapping the floor, looking unable to hold completely still even for a moment. He even wondered how Twilight would react if a spider or a ladybird landed on her muzzle, considering how twitchy and shaky she was.

"But may I ask, Spike, did you see something up there back then?"

Looking left to right, Spike made sure that nopony was near enough to hear them. Realising that all the guests were too busy enjoying themselves, he turned back to Twilight.

"What... what do you mean, Twilight?"

Twilight gulped nervously and tried to smile, but only made herself look even worse. "Well, um, Spike, I'm not sure that I'm going Twilynannas, but I swear... I saw something. There was purple smoke around Applejack and Autumn Blaze... especially Autumn Blaze. Her body was hidden away in thick, purple smoke, flashing like lightning and covering the floor like it was reaching out to the guests. I've never seen anything like it before."

Spike looked to where Autumn Blaze was originally standing when she came in. He tried to visualise what Twilight was saying to him, but it all sounded too confusing to fully understand. Did she really see all of that? Spike scratched his head, trying to piece together what Twilight could have actually seen instead. Was it an illusion? A trick? No, surely not.

"I think you should sit down, Twilight. Besides, you haven't had a chance to rest today. The party will be over in a couple of hours anyway, so you'll have some time to have a nap or something that should help you calm down. I don't think you're going Twilynannas, but what you're saying sounds too weird to be true."

Twilight found a spare sofa to lie on, where she laid down and sighed heavily. Spike came to her side and tried to comfort her, only to attract the attention of Rarity who had taken a break from the gossip and came for a quick snack at the buffet table.

"Twilight, darling, whatever's the matter? You don't seem to be yourself. Are you feeling alright?"

Rarity placed her drink down on a drinks table and placed a hoof on Twilight's forehead. She noticed that her temperature had risen and that her breathing had increased.

"I'm... not sure, Rarity. I think it's probably a bug or something. My head's been hurting since... she arrived."

Rarity looked at Spike, who only shook his head slowly, before turning her attention back to Twilight.

"What?! Autumn, you mean? Whatever do you mean, Twilight? You're surely not suggesting that this headache of yours is related to the arrival of Autumn Blaze?"

Twilight quickly shook her head hesitantly, as if she had been accused of something really bad. "Oh no, I don't mean- well, I, um... not Autumn personally, so to say. It's just that I saw something up there, where she and Applejack were. It was like a wild animal, covered in dark purple smoke and had pale eyes. It snarled like an animal as well. I... I don't know what it was exactly, but it looked like something that I saw on an ancient shield. The design exactly matches to a... a..."

Rarity and Spike looked at each other, completely bewildered by their friend's behaviour. 

"To what, darling?" Rarity asked.

Twilight sighed again. She was reluctant to even say the name of the creature that she was thinking of, but managed to spell it out quietly to Rarity and Spike.

"To a nirik."

There was a long, deadly silence that flew around Twilight, Rarity and Spike. Apart from the chatter and the music in the background, all sound escaped from them as they stood completely still. Spike and Rarity were oblivious to the mentioning of the species. They never heard of a nirik before. It was a mystery of hearing about the kirins itself, let alone a familiar sounding name.

"I'm sorry, darling, I'm not sure that I quite understand. What's a nirik?"

Before Twilight could answer, Autumn came up behind her and laughed cheerfully at a joke Applejack had just told her. She had cake icing smeared across her mouth and was very cheerful. Both Rarity and Spike smiled nervously back at Autumn, trying to pretend that the conversation they just had never existed.

"Ooo, the food is so good here! Pinkie Pie is such an amazing cook. Is this what you ponies do all the time? Eat ice buns and cake with your friends? I could totally get used to this!"

Twilight jumped when she heard Autumn's voice behind her, and quickly turned around. For a horrible moment, Twilight thought that Autumn had heard everything that she had just said, but judging Autumn's beaming expression on her cake-smeared face she was completely oblivious to what they were talking about.

"Oh, that's really good to hear, Autumn! I'll tell Pinkie that you said that. I'm sorry, I haven't been myself tonight."

Autumn smiled happily, cake dripping from her mouth. "Oh, that's alright, princess. I don't think the weather's been helping either. I usually feel bad on a stormy day. Hey, at least we're inside from the worst of it, though. In the Peaks of Peril, we sometimes have rainstorms, and they come down heavily over our village. I must say, though, the train ride from the nearest station at the Peaks to Ponyville wasn't too smooth either. Still, nonetheless, it's great to be here."

Twilight smiled at the compliment, which managed to relax her a little bit.

"I'm glad that you've had a good evening so far, Autumn. I'm must introduce you to another one of my friends while we have the time. I'm sure he was somewhere nearby. Spike?!"

A small, purple head with green spikes poking out of his head appeared from the crowd of guests, with an innocent smile across his face. He walked up to Autumn, with a handful of gems that he had found somewhere in the castle. Twilight grinned at her number one assistance's hungry attitude, before giving his a quick rub on the head with her hoof. Spike then went up to Autumn and introduced himself to her.

"It's really nice to finally meet you, Autumn Blaze, since Applejack told us about visiting her and the other kirins," Spike said, shoving some gems into his mouth, "I'm Spike, by the way."

Spike stretched out his claw to Autumn, which she shook in return. She smiled back at Spike, especially as thought that he was perhaps the cutest and most adorable thing she had ever seen.

"It's nice to meet you, Spike. I hear that you're Twilight's number one assistant. I couldn't argue with that."

In his usual response to compliments, Spike blushed and pawed at Autumn. "Aw, chucks, Autumn."

Autumn smiled, before leaning down to Spike and looking deep into his reptilian eyes. Spike smiled, hugging himself using his wings as he continued to blush. Autumn then gently patted Spike on the head, continuing to make silly noises and giving him lots of affection.

"Um, thanks, Autumn."

Twilight giggled, before trotting over to the refreshments table, where she picked up some snacks. She offered some to Spike and Autumn, who both took them and munched happily. After discussing more with her friends, Twilight left them to get to know one another and sat at the dinner table.

Twilight ate some more snacks and drank some punch from the table, before laying back in her chair and watched all the guests partying in the room. She silently listened to the music being played, until Rainbow Dash swooped down and sat next to her in a spare seat.

"Hey, Twilight. Wanna join us on the dance floor? I've got some sick moves to show to everypony. Whacha say?"

Rainbow leaned in closer to Twilight, giving her a friendly nudge and grinning to try and make her laugh or even smile. But Twilight's frown didn't lift. She took a sip of her punch, before sighing deeply. Twilight looked down at the floor silently, staring into her cup of punch. Rainbow Dash's smile soon also vanished, being replaced by a concerned expression.

"Um, what's up, Twilight? You don't seem to be yourself tonight. Everypony else has noticed that you're acting weird. You can tell me; I'm your friend."

Twilight sipped the last of her punch, before placing it back onto the table and sighing again. She shook her head, feeling tired and frustrated.

"I'm... I'm not sure, Rainbow Dash. I've probably just got something that's making me feel ill and lightheaded."

Rainbow Dash wasn't convinced that Twilight was suffering from a headache or an illness. She knew how Twilight was when she was ill; she wasn't bouncy or quick on anything, the complete opposite how she was now. Something was bothering her, sure, but not in the way that Twilight was describing.

"Hey, it's alright, Twi. Relax. We'll be here for you. Why don't you join me with the others? We're just getting to know Autumn. She's telling about her people and everything about the Peaks of Peril. Usually, you're interested in these sorts of things."

Twilight sat in silence for a while. She then got up and followed Rainbow Dash towards the rest of their friends.

There were more guests now, with almost all of the floor space taken up. Twilight and Rainbow flew up into the air and slowly made their way to the others, missing the guests below them. They landed next to another long table, where Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike were hanging out.

"Ah, there you are, darling!" Rarity said to Twilight, "We were wondering where you had headed off to. Autumn's just at the refreshments table; she'll be back in a moment. Anyway, I did come over to see you. Are you sure that you don't need somepony to check to see if you're okay, darling? You really don't seem yourself."

Twilight shook her head. "I'm... fine, Rarity. I promise. I swear I'm just feeling light-headed."

Rarity frowned but shrugged off her theory without question. She stood next to Twilight silently whilst sipping away at some punch, listening to the sound of thunder which continued to rumble outside and the chatter of the other guests. Rarity then pulled out her pocketwatch; it was very late.

"Darling, the party will be over in an hour or so," Rarity replied, "may I recommend that you go straight to bed afterwards?"

Twilight nodded in agreement. "I should... go and talk to Autumn again. It wouldn't be fair if I didn't have another chat with her this evening. After all, she is our special guest."

Moving through the sea of guests, Twilight and Rarity trotted back to the refreshments table. They tried to look up and see if they could spot the others, but there were too many ponies in the way. It took some squeezing through and politely pushing past the guests, but they eventually made it. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike and Autumn Blaze were all busy chatting and laughing away, despite the loud rumbling of thunder that continued to bang against the walls of the castle.

Rarity stopped on the opposite side of the table, where she and Twilight tried to find a way to get around. The table was long, but thankfully there weren't too many ponies in their way. Twilight looked at all the different dishes and drinks which were available, all their different colours and patterns, all of which looked very tasty.

"Hey Twilight, I'll come around and meet you on the other side."

Twilight stopped and saw Autumn's face looking through a water jug placed on the table. At first, she smiled and Autumn smiled back, waving a hoof. Twilight waved back weakly, trying to be as friendly as possible. Autumn started admiring the jug of water and decided to pull a silly face. She poked her tongue out, which made Twilight laugh. But then, without warning, Twilight saw Autumn's face change into something unrecognisable in the water. All of a sudden, Autumn's pupils vanished, leaving a pair of white eyeballs staring back at Twilight. Her face was covered with light blue flames, with a hint of red and purple mixed in. Autumn's emotion suddenly changed from happily laughing into a frustrated and scary expression. Her teeth grew sharper and longer, and then she started to snarl like a ferocious beast.

Autumn's body was now dark, with purple flames pouring out of her like a raging fire. Her ears and horn had lost their beauty, both now an inky black and looking more terrifying than ever before. Only her face appeared in the glass jug, but it looked disjointed and lost within the flames themselves. As Autumn snarled, her sharp white teeth became clearer to Twilight, making her shiver like ice running through her body.

Twilight gasped, almost feeling completely frozen in place. Then, she finally recognised the face in the glass. Sure, it wasn't Autumn Blaze's exact face, but Twilight knew that it was her underneath that frightening form. The blue and purple flames disguised most of Autumn's face, until she reappeared suddenly, roaring loudly like a lion. Twilight screamed and the jug of water exploded, shards of glass flying everywhere. Twilight magically rebounded the glass away from her face, but still got wet from the water that spilt everywhere. Nearby guests gasped and stared at Twilight and Autumn, some even running away in panic. They slipped on the wet floor and struggled to get back onto all four hooves again, before galloping off to the other side of the room.

Applejack raced around from the other side of the table and came to Twilight's side as fast as she could. She helped Twilight up, whilst trying to rub off some of the loose glass that had landed into her fur. At first, Applejack feared what damage the shards of flying glass had done to Twilight, but other than a few scratches and tiny pieces that had embedded themselves into her flesh, she was fine.

"Twilight! Are you alrigh'?! What in Equestria happened?"

Gasping in shock, Twilight sat on her flank and stared into space. Her face started bleeding in places where the glass had cut her skin, blood dripping down her cheeks. She removed a piece using her magic and then stared at the blood-stained shard of glass, before dropping it on the floor.

"I... I don't know! I... I just walked past the water jug, saw Autumn and then... I saw some kind of beast in the water and the jug exploded..."

Applejack sat on her flank while she comforted Twilight from the shock that they received. She brushed off the tiny fragments from Twilight's fur and held her in her hooves. Twilight was still conscious, but completely in shock. She lifted her head up to Applejack, with her head supported by her hooves. Slowly, but steadily, Twilight sat up on her flank and looked around, seeing everypony looking back at her and Autumn.

"A beast?!" Spike repeated, "What kind of beast?!"

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity all gathered around Twilight, trying to help her alongside Applejack. The crowd of guests continued to watch them like hawks, shocked at what they had just witnessed. Once Twilight was back onto all four hooves again, she and her friends looked at the smashed glass and a bewildered Autumn Blaze staring back at them, completely speechless.

"Twilight! Are you alright?! I... I don't know what happened... I... I only looked into the glass and... and..."

Twilight, panting in fear, looked at each of her friends. Her vision had become blurry and all sound that she could hear was blurred out by high-pitched ringing in her ears. Applejack remained standing close to Twilight, in case she collapsed again. Autumn Blaze was panicking. She could feel her body shaking and her heart beat increasing.

"I saw a monster. A monster in the glass. A creature of purple flames, with white pale eyes and sharp jagged teeth. I saw it snarling at me before it then roared ferociously like a beast. I could have sworn that I've seen a drawing of a creature like that before. It was evil, dark and sinister. It... it looked like... it almost looked like... a nirik."

Applejack slowly turned her head towards Autumn, dismayed at what she had just heard. How could this be possible? Autumn was her friend. She was her best friend. When she and Fluttershy were about to be thrown into the Stream of Silence, Autumn saved them. Autumn Blaze would never harm a creature, not even a fly. She couldn't believe it. Applejack looked back and forth between Twilight and Autumn, unsure what to do at this point.

"What did you call me, princess?" Autumn asked.

Every creature in the room watched silently as Autumn stood opposite Twilight and the others in what looked to be a stand-off. They surrounded the ponies, Spike and Autumn in a circle, standing well away from them in preparation of a fight starting. Each of the stood still, not daring to move or interfere with what was happening.

"I... what? No, I... I didn't... that creature was you? Oh, Autumn, I didn't mean-"

But the words had already escaped from Twilight's mouth. It was now too late to take back what she had said. Applejack took a hoofstep towards Autumn but didn't dare trot any further. She stood still, the fur hanging down over her hooves wet from the spilt water. Every creature watched silently at Autumn; the only sound they could hear was her heavy breathing and the dripping of water. Then, Autumn Blaze's breathing increased and then into a snarl.

"Oh no..." Applejack whispered, "... Twilight... what in Celestia's name have you done?! She's... it's too late..."

Autumn continued to snarl. It was quiet but noticeable. Her snarling mixed with her heavy breathing, sounding deep and threatening. Then, the snarling sounded like growling and it echoed across the silent room, haunting every creature who was there watching her. As she continued to snarl, Autumn's teeth sharpened, glinting in the light like knives. Her lips became inky black and slowly the rest of her head started to change colour. Autumn opened her eyes, her pupils now tiny pin-pricks which stared at the crowd.

"So... that's what you think of me, then? How... how dare you."

Suddenly, Autumn's coat morphed from a gold-grey coat into an inky black colour. Her apple-green scales that lined along her back changed into a purple-grey pattern and became uneven, sharp and long. Autumn's tail then changed to black and blue-purple flames erupted from the end. Her hooves changed from green to a fiery red, with flames pouring up along her legs. Then, Autumn Blaze's neck released more pinkish-purple flames, again flowing upwards and over her head. Her eyelashes morphed into blue flames, coming out of her eye sockets. Her horn became more jagged, like a deformed antler, her ears became more pointed and her face was completely pitch black. Only the flames brightened up Autumn's face, as well as her eyes, now as pale as snow, and her sharp teeth that continued to shine brightly.

Those beast-like teeth were as frightening as Autumn Blaze's empty eyes. They grew longer and sharper. As Autumn's teeth grew, her snarling became deeper and louder, echoing across the whole room. The guests started whimpering in fear, and Applejack and her friends were all left speechless at what they were witnessing.

"I... I am not a monster... I... I thought you would all like me! But you all think that I'm just a beast! That's... that's why you brought me here, wasn't it? You... you think that I was going to hurt you ponies, didn't you? Well... I... how dare you say that about me. I'm not bad! I'm not bad!"

Without warning, Autumn stamped on the ground in frustration, which cracked like glass, forcing Applejack and the other ponies to back away. Some of the guests started screaming and others tried to make their way to the exit. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike surrounded Twilight in a formation, protecting her like a wall. They watched as the ground continued to crack around them, dark purple light pouring out. As Autumn slowly walked forwards, her hoofsteps left purple rings with fire rising up out of them. Autumn stamped the ground again, making tables in her way flip over and crash into some of the escaping guests.

"Twi... Twilight... do... do something!" Applejack cried.

Twilight was left standing in front of her friends, her horn pointing towards Autumn ready to shoot out a spell. But Autumn had other ideas; she started weaving left and right, dodging Twilight's magical blasts. Autumn jumped up and landed on one of the tables, surrounding herself in flames, and started roaring loudly, like a lion. Her white, empty eyes and bright, sharp teeth illuminated from her dark head. 

"I... I don't know what to do! I don't want to hurt her!"

Applejack, feeling completely hopeless, watched as her friend continued to roar uncontrollably, unaware that a hanging chandelier which was directly above her was shaking out of the ceiling. By the time she looked up, the chandelier had managed to shake one of its screws out, leaving it hanging on a single screw. It wasn't until the loose screw landed on the floor with a soft clink, that Applejack realised what was going to happen. She looked up and saw the grand chandelier, before looking straight back at Autumn and reaching her hoof out to her.

"Autumn, look out!"

But by the time Autumn stopped roaring and heard her friend, it was too late. She looked up, seeing the chandelier shake from its last screw and falling down right on top of her. As the chandelier fell, there was a second of disturbing silence, with the exception of the individual pieces of glasses landing on the floor, making a tinkling sound. Autumn continued staring at the falling chandelier, quickly covering her head as it landed on top of her, with a loud crash and the sound of smashing glass. The chandelier landed on the floor, shattering itself into tiny pieces.

As the chandelier crashed on the floor, the room went dark, engulfing all light, and was followed by a long, empty silence. Twilight and the Mane Six watched from the floor the still scene in front of them, waiting to see if they could spot movement. There was nothing, but blue and purple light occasionally illuminating from inside the chandelier, the light being reflected across the room. Glass continued to clink softly as if they were playing a tune.

Then, a creepy looking figure appeared behind the hanging shards of glass. Its head moved around slowly, its eyes staring straight through the glass. All the Twilight could see were a pair of white eyes and two rows of sharp teeth. She could hear the creature continuing to snarl angrily, whilst staring straight back at her, and the glow from the flames shining through the glass chandelier. Blue and dark pink light shone around the dark room, illuminating the outline of Autumn's nirik form.  It was in that moment when Twilight tried to see beyond the creature's physical form and looked deep into Autumn's eyes again. There, a single tear poured from her pale white eye, slowly dripping down her cheek and making its way down her mouth and chin. Twilight could only watch helplessly as she saw Autumn trapped under the chandelier, as she gave off one more terrifying roar, before everything went black.


End of Act I