Luster levitated her saddlebag onto her back. She grinned as she looked up at her friends.
“Yelena ready for vacation!” the yak said, pounding the floor of the Treehouse of Harmony. “Mean Starcutter interrupted us last time!”
“And poor River has to deal with that guilt,” Georgia said.
Luster nodded sadly. A week had passed since the award ceremony. Luster hoped that River being forgiven by the family of the guard she’d killed would have eased things up. That had appeared to be the case at first, but River hadn’t improved. In fact, she seemed to be getting worse.
Looking over at the kirin, Luster saw her arguing with herself… again.
“You’re a terrible Kirin! Killing an innocent pony!” River said. “You had no choice! Oh, come on, there’s always a choice! You should have thought of another way to deal with it! Just cast a sleeping spell on them! But you didn’t know one! Should have learned it!”
River continued to mutter to herself while her friends looked at her in dismay.
“This is really getting to her. I’m worried,” Georgia said. “She’s kind of out of it. Never seen her act like this before.”
“We can’t leave her alone. We’re her friends, and friends stick by each other!” Gallop said.
“Okay, we’re going to the Kirin Village. Maybe they can help River out?" Luster suggested.
Yelena approached River. “Hey, you ready to go?”
"Go where, to jail?" River asked.
"No… to Kirin home village!" Yelena said.
But instead of the smile she expected, River swallowed hard, her breathing speeding up. "I... I think... c-could we not go there?"
"What? Why? Yelena thought you would be happy to visit home."
River began nervously nibbling on her lower lip. "It's just... boring, you know? Why w-waste time..." she said, but judging by the stares of her friends, no one bought her excuse.
Luster stepped forward. "River, you told us many times how much you love it there. How you love swimming in the warm stream and singing with your friends. It didn't sound boring. So, what's the real reason?"
"I..." River started, looking for another excuse, but her mind went blank. Then, her body betrayed her, trembling gently. She glanced away. "I just don't want to go there, okay?"
"But why?"
"Because…" River whispered, her throat felt as though it were filled with concrete. Then her eyes began to glisten. "B-because…"
"Because what?!" Gallop said with a frown and annoyance in his voice. "Come on, spill it out already-"
"Because I'm a murderer!" River yelled, no longer composed, tears of anguish running down her cheeks. "Don't you get it?! I can't go home! Can't tell my family what I did! I can't have them know I'm a murderer!"
"River, you're not a murderer," Georgia said, extending a friendly claw.
"Yes, I am!" River shouted, swatting the claw away. As she did so, Luster saw a spark light up in River's eyes and mane.
"River, you're on fire!"
The kirin looked at her hoof. "Oh, no! My Nirik side is coming out! No, no, no!"
"W-what does that mean?"
"THAT I'M GETTING REALLY ANGRY! I MIGHT HURT ONE OF YOU!" River yelled in an unnaturally deep voice. Her eyes were sparkling, her entire head looking ready to ignite at any moment. "N-no, I can't do that! I won't hurt anycreature else! Not again! Argh!"
Before anyone could say anything, River burst out of the treehouse, shattering the door to pieces, and began running away…
…
Luster was the first one to come to her senses. “R-River, wait!” she yelled, but the kirin ignored her.
“I’ll get her!” Gallop said before taking off on his own.
The Earth Pony ran after the Kirin turned Nirik, while the Unicorn, yak, and griffon all followed. Gallop spotted River Song making her way through the Everfree Forest and chased after her. As he did so, she looked back, her body turning black and burning. It occurred to him to just grab her and pin her down, but he would have gotten burned in the process. He put that idea aside for now.
“Gallop, stop following me! I could start a fire in these woods!”
“I’m not leaving you alone, River! You need help!” Gallop said, barely keeping up with the Kirin (or Nirik). “W-would you stop so we can talk this out?!”
“Can't! I need to get to the river, to put myself out!” River said as the flames took up her entire body. With her new form, she suddenly shot out ahead like a meteor, leaving in her wake the stunned Gallop... and a wall of flames.
“Holy smoking hayburgers!” Gallop said, watching as the inferno began attacking the nearby leaves and forest. “I got to get back to the others and warn them!”
He turned back in the direction he’d come. Soon he found Luster and the others on their way through the path.
“Guys, River’s caused a fire!” Gallop said. “Our path home is blocked. What do we do now?”
Looking up, they saw smoke from the fire.
“We have to find River and warn the ponies about the fire!” Luster said. “If we act quickly, maybe we can stop it before it reaches Ponyville.”
“I’ll head to Cloudsdale and tell the Pegasi to create an emergency rainstorm!” Georgia said, flying off.
“Yelena and ponies search for River then!” Yelena said.
“She said she was going to the river,” Gallop said.
So, they were going to have to go to the river to find River? That would have been funny if not for the current predicament.
Luster, Gallop, and Yelena all headed for the river nearby. When they got there, they saw a burning Nirik standing on the shore, watching the flames consume the Everfree Forest.
“Arrgh!” the Nirik screamed. “I’m a monster! Now I’m destroying the forest too!”
She turned to the water behind her.
“River no!” Luster called.
But the Nirik ignored her and jumped into the water. There was the sound of flames quenching, and River returned to normal. But she did not move to climb out of the stream, letting herself be carried by it instead.
“Oh no, don’t tell Yelena River gonna try and drown herself!” Yelena said.
“Got to stop her!” Luster said, surrounding herself with a magic aura.
The Unicorn flew out over the water to chase after River Song. Luster dove under the water as Yelena and Gallop watched from the shore. Luster then reemerged, levitating a struggling Kirin in her magic.
“Put me down, Luster!” River shouted.
As they got to the shore, Luster did so, then immediately put her hooves on the Kirin’s shoulder.
“River, please stop!” Luster begged, tears appearing in her eyes.
“I-I don’t want to hurt you… or anycreature else…. ever again!” River sobbed.
“You just did!” Luster retorted. “If I lost you… it would really hurt! Do you want to hurt me like that?”
River looked up at the tearing face of Luster Dawn. Instantly, regret filled her heart at seeing the pain she’s caused her friends.
“I’m sorry, Luster,” River moaned.
The two friends embraced each other as Gallop and Yelena reached them and joined in the hug.
“You really scared us there, River!”
“Don’t ever do that again!” Yelena ordered.
They stood there for a long time, and rain began to fall as the emergency rainclouds were formed around Ponyville to prevent the fire from spreading.
“You guys should head to the train station. You don’t have much time before it leaves,” River said. “I think I better go to the hospital.”
“We’re not going anywhere without you! If you’re not coming, we aren’t going anywhere!” Gallop said.
“You need help right now,” Luster said. “We were going to the Kirin Village to try and help you get better! Wherever you’re going, we’re going to!”
River shook her head, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Other Kirin won’t want to see me. I’m a murderer! You should go without me!”
“You are not a murderer!” Georgia protested once she rejoined them. “This is no way to treat yourself! You’re being cruel to yourself! I hate seeing this, River! I love you, and all my other friends!”
“Yeah, Yelena love River too! Yelena not leave friend! That a rotten thing to do!” the yak stomped the ground.
River looked around at all her friends and managed a smile. “Well… maybe my kind can help me. I’m sure they’ll have a doctor there too.”
…
They walked to Ponyville.
“Hold on,” Luster said as they got close to the Castle of Friendship. “I just want to stop by and say goodbye to my parents real quick.”
“Okay,” River Song choked out, looking down in sadness.
They walked up to the front doors. Luster knocked and there was a popping sound inside. A second later, Starlight Glimmer opened the door with her magic.
“Hey Mom, just thought I’d stop by and say goodbye before we leave,” Luster said.
Starlight smiled. “Okay, you enjoy your vacation with all your friends.”
“Are Dad and Aunt Trixie around?” Luster asked.
Starlight nodded and beckoned for them to come in. Luster led her friends to the castle throne room where the Cutie Map was, still with Princess Twilight’s old throne and those of her friends. Trixie and Sunburst both sat at the table, eating toast and carrots.
“Well, it's Luster and friends!” Trixie said. “Here to see your great and powerful aunt?”
“Yeah,” Luster said. "Just thought I'd say goodbye before I left."
Sunburst got up and walked over to his daughter. “So, Luster, you’re going to the Kirin Village first, right?”
“Right, Dad,” Luster said.
“Could you bring me back a Kirin vase? I hear they have really unique craftsmanship among their kind! It would be great to have one!” Sunburst said.
Luster smiled. “Sure, Dad.”
“All of you be careful out there, okay?” Starlight said.
Trixie scoffed. “Starlight, really… you need to stop worrying about Chrysalis. We haven’t heard anything about her in weeks. She, Tirek, and Cozy Glow have probably decided they should just give up.”
“Don’t you remember what Chrysalis said?” Starlight snapped before saying in a deep voice, “You think friendship will save you? We will always return! Nothing will ever stop…”
“Yeah, and then Pinkie Pie dropped a giant cupcake on them, and Celestia, Luna, and Discord all turned them to stone!” Trixie countered. “I bet after that, Tirek and Cozy convinced Chrysalis to give up. I don’t think they would want to go through the same thing again.”
Starlight shook her head. “Chrysalis will never give up. She wouldn’t listen to me when I told her she didn’t have to seek revenge. She could have retained her kingdom and been a loved queen rather than a feared one. I offered her friendship, but she refused.”
Trixie sighed. “Yeah, she can’t be reasoned with.”
Starlight looked back at Luster. “You and your friends be careful, and make sure you use those passwords you came up with!”
Luster’s eyes widened. “Hey, we haven’t been using those ever since we all got together! What are your favorite things to do?”
“Run!”
“Smash!”
“Fly!”
Luster's friends said their word, then turned to the silent kirin, waiting. After a moment, River sighed apathetically.
“Swim…” she said, but there was none of the usual enthusiasm in her voice.
“Well, at least all of you are still the same,” Luster said. “I need to remember to check from now on.”
She turned to her parents.
“Have fun, Luster. Stay safe,” Sunburst said.
Her parents hugged her, and Luster walked out of the castle with her friends. They made their way to the Ponyville Train Station and were off to resume their vacation. The Friendship Express went on the road, Luster and her friends took it all the way to the end. The very last stop there was the Peaks of Peril, where the Kirin Village was located.
…
“Why do they call those the Peaks of Peril, anyway? Is there any actual danger to them?” Luster inquired.
River shrugged. “I don’t know. The ponies call them that. But they thought we Kirin were different from Nirik. That could have been why they thought that the Nirik were vengeful creatures, which is kind of true since we Kirin become Nirik when we get super angry. Though, some of us say that a dangerous beast lives at the top and occasionally comes down to our village and steals little Kirin to eat for supper.”
“That’s scary, is it true?”
River shrugged. “I’ve never seen any beast. The legend says that they only come once every hundred years or so.”
She led them to a shortcut into the village through an opening in the cliff.
They soon arrived at the village, where Luster saw many Kirin. The creatures looked up and saw River as she walked forward nervously. The Kirin had expected her to come home feeling eager, but that didn’t appear to be how she was feeling.
“Hey! Look! River Song is back, and she’s brought some friends!”
Many of the Kirin saw them and began to walk over with wide smiles.
“River! You’re back!” one little Kirin with a brown body and white mane said as she hugged River. “I missed you so much!”
River managed a small smile and returned the younger Kirin’s hug. “Hello, Spring Blossom. I missed you too.”
Spring Blossom was a close friend of River that she had often played with and foalsat. Being around her again gave River a slight feeling of happiness to take away the hurt. As they stood there in an embrace, more of the Kirin approached them.
“How is it living with ponies? You got to tell us everything!” another demanded.
“Are these your friends?”
River Song looked at each Kirin.
“River Song.”
A very large Kirin with a graying blue mane came up to them.
“Grandma,” River said, forcing a smile.
“Welcome home,” her grandmother said.
“Does the leader of every nation have to be the biggest?” Gallop whispered to Luster. “She’s as big as Princess Twilight.”
Luster shrugged. She wasn’t sure how Princess Twilight or this Kirin grew to be bigger than the other members of their kind. She’d assumed it might have been because Princess Twilight was royalty or an alicorn. But this Kirin wasn’t royalty, was she? The Kirin weren’t said to have any monarchy blood. Perhaps leaders found ways to make themselves larger? Well, it didn’t matter.
“Welcome home, granddaughter,” the Kirin leader said.
A middle-aged orange maned Kirin stepped forward. “It's good to have you back River, we heard all about what you did recently!”
“You did?” River asked in a worried tone, fearing they would accuse her.
“Yes, you saved that place you live in where we sent you!” the orange maned Kirin said. “But I’m sure there is much much more to the story than that! You got to tell us everything! Don’t leave a detail out!”
She put her hooves on River’s shoulders as she finished, grinning eagerly while River gritted her teeth nervously.
“Alright, Autumn Blaze, let's not overwhelm River Song too badly. She just got back after all,” the larger Kirin said before looking at River’s friends. “Welcome to our humble village, everycreature. I am Rain Shine, leader of the Kirin, and River Song’s grandmother.”
“Hello, I’m Luster Dawn.” Luster bowed.
Rain Shine giggled. “There is no need to bow to me, Luster Dawn. I’m the leader of the Kirin, but I’m no Princess like the leader of your nation.”
Luster blushed. “Yes ma’am.”
River introduced all of her other friends. “This is Yelena, Gallop, and Georgia.”
“It is wonderful to meet you all. We saw you with River in the newspaper we received from the ponies just a while ago. It's an honor to have you, young heroes, here. We shall have a feast tonight!” Rain Shine said.
…
That night, Luster and her friends all sat at a large table in Rain Shine’s house. River looked down at the plate that was in front of her. It was her favorite Kirin dish that she hadn’t had in a long time. Seeing it caused a smile to form on her lips, but in her heart, she still felt the sting of what she had done.
Rain Shine looked at her granddaughter. “What’s wrong, River? You haven’t touched your food.”
“I’m not hungry,” River said glumly, pushing her plate away.
“River not eat all day!” Yelena said. “River need to eat!”
“River, we’re all getting really worried about you,” Georgia said. “You turned into a Nirik earlier, tried to drown yourself in a river and-“
“She WHAT?!” Rain Shine exclaimed. “River, what could possibly compel you to do such a thing?”
“I killed a pony!” River screamed as tears flowed from her eyes. “During that battle where I got labeled a hero! I had to take a life to save my own!”
For a moment, Rain Shine was silent. “Oh, you poor dear.”
She leaned over across the table and hugged her granddaughter. “I can’t imagine the pain of that. You need help, River Song. I think I know just the thing to do that.”
“You do?” River asked.
Rain Shine nodded. “You just try and get some rest, and in the morning, we will do something about this.”
River managed to eat her meal but found it difficult to sleep again that night. She tossed and turned in her bed, but sleep would not come. Finally, at midnight, Luster knocked on the door.
“River, you awake?” Luster whispered as she looked into the room.
“Yeah,” the Kirin said.
Luster yawned. “I couldn’t sleep myself. I thought I’d better check on you. Well, if you’re not gonna be able to fall asleep on your own, I think I know a way to help.”
The Unicorn lit up her horn and sent a little spell at River. The Kirin felt a sudden feeling of drowsiness wash over her.
“S-sleeping spell?” she asked with a yawn.
“Yes,” Luster said. “That should help you.”
And soon, River was out like a light. Luster smiled, glad her friend was at peace. She exited the room.
Meanwhile, outside, a shadow moved. A door to one of the Kirin homes opened, and the figure entered. It walked quietly into one of the rooms and saw the young Kirin, Spring Blossom, in her bed. The figure approached and put a clawed paw over the young Kirin's mouth as her eyes opened. She made a small mumble, and then both of them vanished from the house….
…
Morning came, and River awoke feeling much more refreshed after a good night's sleep. She sat up in bed and stretched her hooves. There hadn’t been a nightmare last night, so that was good. She looked around; it took her a moment to remember she was back in the Kirin Village. She got to her hooves, hoping that maybe today would be better. She could play with Spring Blossom today; that might help things.
She walked into the living room of her grandmother’s hut, only for a loud pounding to sound on the door.
“Rain Shine! Rain Shine!” the voice was desperate, and the pounding continued.
River quickly ran to the door and found a brown Kirin she recognized outside. It was Oakgrow, Spring Blossom’s mother.
Rain Shine walked into her living room. At her age, she wasn’t as quick as she used to be. But as she approached, she asked,
“Oakgrow? What is wrong?”
“It’s Spring Blossom. She’s gone!”
…
Rain Shine, along with River, Luster, and all their friends gathered outside Oakgrow’s home in the village. They examined the house.
“No signs of forced entry,” Luster said once she finished her inspection. “You sure she couldn’t have simply snuck outside?”
Oakgrow shook her head. “She wouldn’t leave the house before I woke up! This has to be the work of the… the Full Nirik!”
Luster cocked her head. “The… what?”
River Song scoffed. “That’s just an old Kirin tale that’s used to scare us!”
“No,” Rain Shine said. “The Full Nirik is real. While most of us Kirin have a Nirik side and only turn it on when angry, this Nirik never turns back. When it was a Kirin, its heart became so full of anger that it could not be changed back. The anger completely consumed the Kirin within. The Kirin from generations ago were able to defeat the Full Nirik, but even after its destruction, its spirit would not rest. It lives at the top of the Peaks of Peril and every few decades descends back to take a little Kirin to its den and takes over their body to turn them into a new Full Nirik.”
“No! No!” Oakgrow sobbed. “This can’t be happening! Not my Spring Blossom!”
For a moment there was silence, River thought back to all the times she’d had with Spring when she would foalsit her, she would stay in Rainshine’s house with the aging leader and River. Then a fire lit up in River’s heart and in her eyes.
“No! I won’t let this happen! Not to a little Kirin like Spring Blossom!” River stomped the ground. “We’re going up the mountain and we’re going to stop the Full Nirik before it makes Spring the new one!”
“You must hurry,” Rain Shine said. “Spring will not last long. Now listen to me carefully - the Full Nirik lives at the top of that mountain!”
She pointed upward, toward the tallest of the Peaks of Peril.
“Alright, let's go!” Gallop said, waving his hooves. “I’m ready to run!”
“Uh… I have a better idea,” Luster said. “I’ve been hoping to try out a new spell that I found recently. This is probably a good time to use it.”
She lit up her horn and pointed it at Yelena. Butterfly wings sprouted from the yak’s back. Yelena looked back, and her mouth fell open.
“Yelena has wings!” the yak said.
“Now… we can all fly up to the mountain. It will be a lot… quicker!” Luster said through pants after having to do a demanding spell.
“Good luck, everycreature,” Rain Shine said.
“Please, bring Spring back!” Oak begged.
They took off, Georgia flying with her wings, Yelena could now do the same thanks to Luster’s spell. She carried Gallop in her hooves while Luster used her flying spell and levitated River alongside her. She stayed close to Yelena, as the yak was not experienced using wings and might lose her balance. Fortunately, they made it to the mountain in just a couple minutes. Landing on the cliff, the friends saw a cave up ahead. They climbed up the steep hill, listening as they got close to the entrance. But there was no sound.
“Maybe no Nirik is home,” Luster suggested.
Only for a loud roar to sound from within the cave. The sound sent a chill down everycreature’s spine.
“Or maybe there is Nirik home,” Yelena said.
River gritted her teeth.
Luster gulped. “Okay, here’s the plan. We-“
“Arrgh!” River screamed, her Nirik coming out again as she burst into flames and ran into the cave.
“River, wait!”
But River didn’t listen. She stormed inside, her Nirik form burning in rage. She saw the Full Nirik standing behind a bound and scared Spring Blossom.
“Let Spring Blossom go, you evil spirit!” she demanded in a deep voice, her flames burning brighter.
“No, I shall have a new host now,” the Full Nirik said, also in a deep voice that didn’t reveal its gender.
It circled around Spring, surrounding her in a wall of fire. The young Kirin flinched in terror at the sight and struggled against her binds. The two Nirik, meanwhile, stared each other down with fiery eyes. Then in flashes of fire, they flew at each other like meteors, crashing at high speed. Luster and the rest of her friends entered the cave and saw the two flaming creatures battling. River and the Full Nirik hit each other with flaming bodies several more times until one clash sent River back to the ground. She returned to her normal Kirin form as she hit.
“River!” Luster cried, putting a hoof on her friend.
The Full Nirik looked at them. “Well, well... it seems non-Kirin are now frequent visitors.”
Luster looked at the Full Nirik in suspicion. “You’re no ghost!”
The creature grinned. “No, but I am a Full Nirik! One that stays this way forever!”
It sprinted around them, moving too fast for the naked eye to see. It encircled them with a wall of fire just as it had Spring Blossom, Luster’s head flew back and forth, trying to keep up with it. Thinking quickly, she threw up a shield to surround herself and her friends. At that moment, the Full Nirik struck, its flames pushing against the barrier. Luster strained as she felt the pressure.
Gallop, meanwhile, grinned. “You move pretty fast! But can you keep up with me?”
“Gallop, wait!” Luster called worriedly as she watched her crush run out from behind her shield.
The Full Nirik laughed as it saw Gallop step out of the protection of the shield.
“Brave colt, aren’t ya! Or stupid?”
Gallop leaped at the Nirik with a fierce cry and locked hooves with it. He screamed as the fire on the Full Nirik’s hooves caught on his. He then received a sharp flaming kick that knocked him down.
“No!” Luster screamed.
River managed to open her eyes as the Full Nirik charged up a large amount of fire from its horn, aiming at Gallop. She gasped.
“No, you don’t!”
Blue fire shot from her horn, fueled by her anger. It hit the Full Nirik in the chest, it fell over and then returned to its normal form. Everycreature gasped at who it was.
“Autumn Blaze!”
The orange maned Kirin grinned and got up, unharmed from River’s spell due to her Nirik form being immune to fire, though it’s impact exposed her identity.
“Surprise!”
“But… what’s going on here?” River asked.
Autumn Blaze giggled. “This was just a little thing Rain Shine decided to do to make you feel better. When she heard you had done something that was getting you down, she decided to come up with a little scenario where you could play the hero!”
“Play the hero?” River repeated. “Wait, does that mean-”
“Yep, Yelena and friends all in on it!” the yak said with a wide grin.
“We planned the whole thing as a way to help you get over your depression,” Luster said.
Gallop nodded as he pushed himself up, cringing slightly from the pain of his wounds. “Yeah.”
Luster walked over to the wounded stallion's side and began to cast a first aid spell to help his burns heal.
“But this was all fake!” River said.
“Yes, this was fake,” Luster replied. “But imagine if it had been real? How would you feel if you actually managed to save Spring?”
River looked over at the young Kirin, who was watching the proceedings with what looked like amusement in her eyes.
“Well, I would probably feel pretty good,” River said.
“And one day we will probably have to do it for real,” Georgia said. “We’re going to do some really good things someday. Of course, we might have to do some things we regret as well. But as long as we do more good than bad, it’s fine. What you did wasn’t good, but you didn’t have a choice when your life was on the line. You can still do a lot more good.”
River thought a moment then nodded slowly. “Maybe… maybe you’re right. We did save Ponyville and a lot of ponies, if we hadn’t stopped Starcutter more lives would have been lost. I… I can’t ever take back what I did to that one guard, but I’ll have to do it again. But, if I can save lives, I guess that’s what’s really important.”
River then got hugged by all her friends, she smiled, feeling ready to put the bad behind her and prepare for another heroic deed. Spring Blossom watched the scene fondly, then mumbled into her gag for them to untie her.