//------------------------------//
// Smoke And Magic 
// Story: Kirin And Changeling 
// by dudenotactive 
//------------------------------//

The train came to a stop, a stallion carrying a large bag on his back waited patiently for the passengers of this locomotive to exit. It was very early in the morning, but he had a business to keep. Sadly only a single pony had stepped out of the train. And certainly, it was an odd one. A grey unicorn in a brown coat, his legs were wrapped in bandages. A flat-top hat with a wide brim matching the color of his coat sat neatly on the unicorn's golden mane. A leather bag floated by his side surrounded by a blue aura. When his emerald eyes landed on the salespony, he froze. 

He couldn't move, as if the unicorn had him entrapped with a spell. The salespony started screaming in his mind when this mysterious pony walked over to him, his mind raced for a way to escape, but he was still as a statue. When the unicorn was just a foot away, his heart stopped. 

"Greetings, my name is Stoic, and I require your help," Stoic stated his purpose for approaching the salespony. "Do you know where I can lay my head to rest? I did not get a wink of sleep on the train."

The stallion unconsciously raised a hoof towards a direction, seemingly pointing at a building made of mud nearby. It was box-like, the same as the others. But it was larger than the rest and there was a sign, which was too far for Stoic to read. He simply guessed that it was some sort of inn, hopefully. 

"Thank you." Stoic bowed his head, he appreciated the help. But just as he was about to leave, his eyes glared at the earth pony, a new aura radiated from the unicorn. It was suffocating, the pony felt something heavy on him, and it wasn't the bag he carried around. Then the unicorn spoke, his voice deeper than before, and it lacks any emotion. "I have been informed of a creature among you, a kirin as a few had claimed."


"Where is he?"






Minion awoke to find herself on top of something soft. She shot up and sat on top of what looked to be Kirin's bed, she stared at the pile of leaves she had slept on. It was certainly comfortable, but for some reason, she couldn't remember why she was on the bed. Her thoughts ran for a second until her eyes landed on Kirin who was at the table eating the soup from last night. With him were the animals she brought in, and they had their own bowls as well, and it seems that they also liked Kirin's cooking. 

Kirin noticed that she was awake, but instead of saying hello, he fished out some walnuts out of his mane, which was painted purple for some reason. He then tossed it towards her, Minion could only stare in confusion as Kirin approached. But once he was comfortably close enough, he would stop just in front of the nuts. "Good morning!" He finally said it. "You alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She asked. 

Kirin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?" She stared at him. Then her eyes landed on the bed itself. That's when her imagination began to run wild. "Did we..."

"What, heavens no!" Kirin recoiled. "I mean, I have no issue with you or anything, but you aren't my type. And before you try and rip off my head, let me explain. Last night, I hugged you."

"You hugged me?" She arched a brow. It didn't sound as bad as it did. But it would be best to hear the rest of his story. 

"Yeah, and you kinda just hugged me back."

"I don't recall this." She admitted.

"Really? Not even the part where you tried to break my ribs?" Kirin smirked. "You were honestly strong for your size. I thought I was going to die! The best part is, we discovered that a simple hug and some appreciation is enough for you to feed on me!"

"Alright, must've been drunk on love. But I won't apologize, it was you who hugged me first." Minion pointed out. 

"And you made me use my trump card just to stay alive."

"Trump card?" She repeated, then her eyes landed on the seedlings on the ground. "You mean these walnuts?" They did in fact look like walnuts. 

Kirin smirked as he gathered the seeds. "Oh, these aren't walnuts. They might look like it, but these are dead roots seeds. You can tell because it's purple. See, these seedlings are found around the northern side of my village. Dead roots are trap based plants, when disturbed, they spring out of the seed and wrap around the victim."

"Wait," Kirin paused for Minion to speak her mind. "why in Chrysalis' twisted horn would you carry those around? Won't they just trap you or something?"

"Nope and the reason for that is because dead roots seedlings don't like heat! And my mane is warm enough to keep them from growing. It is also noted that dead roots are very dangerous around winter or cold areas. What is fascinating about them the most is that these dead roots prefer to grow on corpses. First, they trap, then they wait until the victim dies of starvation or other causes, and next is the beautiful part. All around the roots, flowers would grow on them using the nutrients they get from their victims."

"And you keep them in your mane. You sure you aren't some kind of evil mastermind in hiding? Because no sane creature would carry those around." Minion said as she left the bed.

"I'm sure that I'm not," Kirin claimed with a smile. "Hey, can you clean up? I gotta go to town and see if I can land a job somewhere."

"Hey, you can't just leave!" Minion lit up her horn, the idea of him wandering out of her home was a terrible one. She didn't want to risk being discovered if Kirin started telling everyone about her true identity. But before she could even cast a spell, Kirin was quicker. With a flash of his horn, roots once again shot out of his mane. "Gah!" Minion exclaimed as the dead roots wrapped themselves around her. 

"Listen, you spent most of my bits on the ingredients for the soup. I never had much, to begin with. And if I have to stay here with you, I'll need a job." He paused for a second to see if she was listening. "Plus, unlike you, I eat normal food. And I don't go around hunting bugs for nutrients. So, I hope you can forgive me and see you later."

Instead of walking off, Kirin knew that it was better to run. He could see that Minion did not want him to go. "Hey, don't you dare!" She struggled in her binds. "I will tie you up on a chair and drink you dry of your love!"

"Oh before I go," Kirin came to a halt just as he reached the tunnel that led to the entrance. "Dead roots shrivel up in heat, so crawl closer to the fire and wait till it's dry and stuff, then you can easily break free. See ya!" With that, he left the changeling to her own, Minion's remaining companies were the bunny and the hen. 

"Kirin, I will get you for this!" Minion promised, her voice echoed through the cave. She was sure that he had heard her, and may he stay strong for what punishment that would come to him. 





Stoic stared blankly at his room, the innkeeper shifted uncomfortably beside him. His eyes slowly moved from one side then to the other. It wasn't bad, neither was it great. The bed was thankfully made of wood, as well as some furniture. A small desk sat just in front of the only window in the room, a simple lamp shaped like a pony was on a bedside table. The floor is wooden, but the walls are just solid mud. The decorations were sub-par, but they were still a helpful ice breaker. Though the clown picture was disturbing, especially when it was right on top of the bed. 

All in all, this room was adequate for his needs. He sets down his bag just next to the door and shrugs off his long coat. He revealed that he wore a white shirt and a red vest that went perfectly with his blue tie. The sleeves of his shirt were folded up to his elbows, which revealed that his forelegs were wrapped in bandages, not just his hooves. After tossing the coat onto a coat rack, he faced the innkeeper with a passive face. The innkeeper, a young mare who looked too young to be in charge, froze stiffly once his eyes landed on her. 

"This will be enough, I do hope the meals are as fantastic as you claimed." His stare alone was enough to crush the mare by an invisible force. 

"Y-yes." She stammered. "We hope that you will enjoy your stay." She spoke like a machine, fear overwhelmed every crevice of her mind.

"Hopefully I will. That would be all, have a lovely day." With that, he closed the door. Stoic could hear the mare's hooves rapidly tapping on the floor and away from his room. He noticed that the ponies of Mud were acting odd. But he paid it no mind, he had a bigger target to deal with. 

Stoic took off his hat and placed it on top of his coat on the rack, his short platinum blonde mane now free from the hat. Then he went towards his leather bag and started fishing around his belongings. A journal with a leather cover and a simple blue pencil that glowed for a second. Stoic was about to head over to the desk, but he returned to his bag once he remembered his most important item. After another second of searching, he produced a simple smoking pipe and a small pouch of tobacco. The pipe itself was made of cherry wood, there was an engraving on the pipe which depicted a small picture of a mare holding a sword in her hooves. It was small so it would be harder to see from afar. 

With everything ready, he had finally sat down on the seat and laid his journal on the desk. First, he took a pinch of tobacco and inserted it into the pipe. With a small spell, smoke started rising out of the pipe. Once he was done, Stoic opened the journal and started to write on it. His pencil glided on the page, the blue aura around it glowed brightly. He said nothing since there was nothing to say, the words only formed in his mind and the journal. But then he stopped, he looked out of the window and stared at the populace, Mud was certainly odd. Ever since he had entered the town, the ponies did nothing but stare. 

Of course, he noticed that there were zero unicorns in town, only pegasi, and earth ponies. But he did not let that bother him. 

His eyes widened. The pencil dropped out of his magic and Stoic rose out of his seat. There just outside a cafe was his objective. He wasted no time and set his mission in motion, with his journal and pencil floating beside him, and his hat back on his head. Stoic ran out of his room and towards the entrance of the inn.




"And that's what I think about coffee!" 

Kirin gasped after giving his thoughts about the subject. The cafe owner, an old blue stallion, was staring at him. He had said nothing ever since Kirin had entered the cafe and casually strode over to him after serving coffee to another customer. Now the old pony is being spoken to be the talk of the town, the kirin who supposedly went missing after going with one of the unicorn twins. 

"No." That was all he said before returning to his work. 

Kirin sighed. "Oh, well... might as well order something while I'm here then."

The door struck the bell as Kirin exited the cafe. His drink floated next to him, a soothing caramel latte to help ease his worries away and grant the energy he needed to continue his day. One of the few things he needed to get once he had a job was a kettle and some coffee. But before he could list off things that he needed, Kirin noticed a strange unicorn standing next to him. He was grey, and his mane under the hat was white. He wore a white shirt and a red vest which goes well with the blue tie. The oddest part of this unicorn was the bandages around his forelegs. 

Right now, the unicorn is writing something onto his journal, he would glance over to Kirin a few times between pauses. Honestly, this stallion was the strangest pony Kirin had ever met in his life. Kirin took a few steps away, but the unicorn followed. Kirin tried again when he wasn't looking, but as if they were linked together the unicorn still followed. 

"Hey." Kirin finally said. 

"Greetings." The unicorn greeted back. 

"You uh, mind?"

"Not at all."

"..."

"..." The pencil that scribbled against the journal was very loud. Ear piercing as the silence continued for another minute. 

"You're not a monster in disguise right?" Kirin questioned. 

"Not at all." The unicorn answered. 

Kirin paused. "My name is..." He took a moment. Two names battled within his mind. But it was one-sided. Try as he might, he was unable to utter his birth name. "Kirin." He finally introduced himself, though it was strange that he couldn't say his name out loud. 

"Stoic." The unicorn finally had a name. 

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Stoic. But I better go."

Stoic stopped, his pencil was pulled away from the journal. "Oh, where to?"

"Nowhere in mind, just looking for a job." Kirin explained. 

"I see," Stoic hummed as he thought about Kirin's words. Then an idea came to his mind. "If it's bits you wish to earn, then perhaps we can make a deal."

"What do you mean?" Kirin asked, his attention now focused on Stoic.

"Well, I am from the Institute Of Peace, a federal institution that promotes peace among the races of our beautiful planet. We learn different cultures from others to help the institute understand, and our purpose is to also settle any conflict between ponies and our enemies by using diplomacy." Stoic paused so he could take a drag from his pipe. "Sorry, I smoke to help myself relax, so I must apologize for my first impression. Anyways, the institute was alerted by a sighting of a kirin, which is you, and they had sent me to... research your kind."

"Oh, well I'm not sure about that, I kinda got this thing-"

"Two thousand bits to help my research," Stoic quickly offered to Kirin. "that is if you accept. But you will first receive half, then when my research is over, I will give you the rest."

Kirin narrowed his eyes. "How can I trust you?"

"You are right to be skeptical, I mean, seeing that there are no unicorns in this town I'm sure you are very suspicious of me. But allow me to show you that I mean you no harm of any sorts. All I need is your cooperation, and you will be properly paid."

Kirin pondered for a minute. He weighed in the scales, there were certainly pros with his offer. But he just couldn't trust the unicorn right off the bat. The first one he met turned out to be a bug who tried to consume his life energy. He had just met this stallion, so there's no telling what would happen in the near future. Then there was the fact that he needed money, and just like his grandma used to say, "If you ain't got bits for dinner, might as well fight a giant bird".

"I'll do it! Only because I don't want to fight a giant bird." Stoic stated at Kirin, confused about the latter. Kirin cleared his throat after a second of awkwardness. "But first, I gotta get myself a job!"

"But I am paying you, so why do you require a job?"

"Well I have no idea how long I'll be in town, and as I said, I'm short on bits. So getting a job would be best for me."

Stoic hummed, his pipe glowed as he took a drag. He was deep in his thoughts. Before Kirin could even speak a word, Stoic lifted him in a blue aura and started walking towards a large building. Kirin tried to voice his complaints, but he was silenced by the unicorn. It was bad enough that ponies were already staring, now they are watching Kirin getting unicorn handled. He could do nothing but drink from his coffee. 

After a short humiliating trip, they both entered what seems to be a restaurant. Every pony in the building turned to gawk at the two. Every conversation went quiet once they entered the room. The style was simple, wooden tables and chairs, some ceiling fans with lights on them to illuminate the room. Unlike the walls, the floor was tiled with a black and white pattern. There was also a bar on the right side of the room with a young mare behind it. On the opposite side were stairs that led to the second floor where several doors were. 

"This is the inn I am currently living at," Stoic explained as he dropped the kirin down. "Don't mind the ponies, they have been acting so oddly ever since I arrived in this town."

Kirin shrugged his shoulders casually. "Eh, they were like that when I came to town. But I think it's just because there are no unicorns around."

"I noticed that." He motioned for Kirin to follow, both stallions walked over to the bar where the mare was. 

Kirin noticed that she was brightly pink, her short mane was also hazel brown. She wore an adorable blue apron that complimented her sapphire eyes. The most notable thing was that the young mare was shaking in her place as they both approached her. Her eyes darted between the two, her eyes would occasionally wander to the floating cup of coffee also. 

"Greetings, it's me again. I hope I'm not bothering you." Stoic said casually. He waited for her to speak, but no words were formed from her, so Stoic continued. "My friend here is looking for work, and I noticed the sign at the front. Would you kindly hire him? He needs work."

Kirin looked over his shoulder and towards the window where a sign was placed, he couldn't read it since it faced the other way, Kirin could only guess that it was a simple "Help Wanted" sign. 

"Miss?" Stoic leaned closer.

"Y-yes." She finally spoke. "He can work, I-I guess. But I need to know h-his skills and experience."

"Oh!" Kirin walked up. "Well, I'm pretty light on my hooves and well balanced! If you need help gathering some plates from tables, I can do it! Also, I can cook some basic meals. Anything you need, I might be able to provide."

"Well, a buscolt would help me out a lot." Somehow, when the mare spoke to Kirin, she was far more relaxed than she was with Stoic. "You can start now, we can decide your pay later after I show you around."

"Really? Alright! I won't let you down." Kirin promised. 

Stoic nodded towards Kirin. "Well, we can continue our own business after your shift. I do not wish to obstruct you Kirin, so good luck."

"Oh, sure, see ya later!" He waved a hoof goodbye.

With everything said and done, both stallions parted ways. Kirin towards the kitchen while being led by the owner of the inn, and Stoic towards his room on the second floor. He didn't want to distract Kirin and hoped that he'd get his research done as soon as possible. After climbing the stairs, he stood just in front of his room. Stoic glanced over towards the kitchen, he could no longer see Kirin. He then entered the room, making sure that no one was around. 

A soft caw caught his attention. Just at the windowsill sat a crow. It stared at Stoic motionlessly, like it was a statue. He sighed deeply and brought out his journal which he then tore a small piece from a blank page. With his pencil, he scribbled something onto the piece of paper and folded it after. Once he was done, he walked over to the crow and handed the piece to the bird. 

"Inform the master that I have made contact with the kirin. But I have not yet discovered the whereabouts of the other creatures. I will need time. May the stars watch over you, Bertrand, and make haste."

With that, the crow flew. Its wings fluttered as it went north. Soon it reached the clouds and just over the horizon was a mountain that stood tall. And one could see that on the face of this mountain was a castle, one that housed an immortal mare that lived a thousand years. This was Canterlot, the capital of Equestria.