In the distance, Light saw another group of armoured Ponies march hither, and they feared for their fellow Rangers, and their village. They hoped the result would be different, but it never could be.
Walking into the field, past their shattered sword, sticking out of the ground, they put down their satchel, and removed their armour. Though they were ill-equipped now, they prepared to oppose them.
As they knew this would be the last time they would see her, Light looked at Blossom, with tears in their eyes, and a bittersweet smile on their face, and they nodded to the Scouts, bearing her away.
They sat down in the field, lowered their head, and closed their eyes, listening to the approaching army. As the group got close, their hoofsteps faded, until Light heard no more, yet they moved not.
A voice called out to them, though they knew not what it said to them. But still, they lifted their head, opened their eyes, and smiled to the heavily armoured enemies, their face stained with tears.
Both looked around the field, but while Light saw no more Kirin Rangers at the edges of the forest, the army saw their allies, moving away the fallen, and many wept uncontrollably at what had passed.
Though Light spoke not, and they did not know what the soldiers of the army said, eventually, using gestures, they managed to convince the soldiers to lower their arms, and to listen to their allies.
The few remaining soldiers of the groups who came before walked towards the army, heartbroken, yet, calm as well. So much pain and suffering for far too many brave souls, for a purpose they knew not.
Then, the Stallion, whose life they saved, and who saved their life, appeared, and sat down besides them in solidarity. Looking around at his fallen allies, his facade shattered and he wept silently.
In turn, Light cried quietly as well, and gently laid their hoof on his shoulder. Later, after they learned from their allies what had passed, many laid down their arms, and began to help the fallen.
But there were still those who did not accept this...
Through their tears, Light saw a hoofful of furious soldiers running through the crowd, charging at them with their weapons drawn. Instantly, they leapt up, mere moments before the first strike fell.
Their allies were nowhere near, their blade was shattered, and they had no armour. Standing unarmed and alone, Light looked around for any weapon, to no avail. Only their agility would save them now.
Fearing for their life, and those of others, they had no other choice but to turn Nirik. Instantly, when Light turned to a being of shadow and flame, the soldiers halted, before attacking once again.
They were relentless. Even though their form struck terror into their hearts, they gave Light not a single moment of rest, as they attempted to drive away the vile demon, which had taken their place.
Though Light now held great power as their Nirik self, still, they were careful. Too well they knew what happened on this field so long ago, and they would do everything in their power to prevent it.
They knew not how long they could keep this up, but as time dragged on, Light felt they were losing control of themselves, and they looked for a way to finish this battle, peacefully, albeit quickly.
To their relief, though the merciless group before them had many allies, none dared to lift a hoof. The Stallion they sat next to in solidarity held them all back, though he grew concerned for Light.
By the worried expression on his face, Light could tell, but as both they, and the attacking group, were slowing down, Light hoped to end this without bloodshed. But then, they tripped and fell down.
As fires started all around, Light crawled away, hoping to reach the village to warn them, but when they were struck on their back, they knew they would not make it, and they cried through the flame.
For a moment, seeing their terrified and vulnerable expression on an enemy's face, the soldiers did not move. But then, they raised their weapons to strike Light down, and they feared the coming end.
When they heard heavy galloping to their side, they dared not look...
First, there was a mighty clash, echoing around the fields. Then, a split second later, Light heard the spine-tingling sound of breaking bones and pained screaming, though not from a voice they knew.
When they opened their eyes, they saw the Stallion, standing over them, blocking an attack from his former allies. Looking around, another laid to the side, with great dents in his armour and helmet.
The Stallion stepped forward, and Light doused their flames, picked up a fallen blade, and arose to his side. However, they did not harm, for the battle was over, and they would not spill more blood.
With the Stallion's help, they stopped these few attackers by knocking them down or disarming them, forcing them to surrender. But it was only a matter of time; one move, and the Stallion was struck.
The blade cut deep, and he fell over. Luckily, Light managed to disarm the last attackers, and took the Stallion's hoof, and tried to stop the bleeding. But it was too late, and he breathed his last.
They awoke, goodness knows how many hours later, surrounded by a few of their fellow Kirin Rangers, all breathing a sigh of relief. When Light got up, they had no memory of what had happened to them.
But when they looked around, seeing grey ash falling from the sky around them, and not another soul nearby, their heart ached. It could not have happened. It must not have happened! Did it really...?
Crawling through the ash-covered field in a panic, eventually they found a scorched sword, and they knew it was the same one they wielded as they stood by the Stallion's side. But where was his body?
They rose to their hooves and looked around, but all they could see was more devastation. Blackened trees in the forest burnt, there was not a single shrub in sight, and Light saw no Ponies anywhere.
As tears formed in their eyes, Light turned around to the Rangers, shaking their head in disbelief. But in tears, the Rangers gave them pained nods, confirming their fears. After all they had done...
Now, only the Kirin knew of the Fields of the Forgotten Folk...
All their memories came flooding back. Emerging from the forest all these years ago, only to find a charred forest, and the field burning, Light ran to find help, but it was of no use. None survived.
A fierce battle had been fought, and many lives were lost, but only the lucky few Rangers, who were brought back to heal, could give their account. But even they knew not what happened to the forest.
No fire could match the heat of a Nirik's flames, but only by the will of the Kirin underneath, who still controlled the feral beast they would become, would their fire touch or damage anything else.
But this utter annihilation, of such a great area, with Light as the only survivor, yet unconscious in the field, could mean only one thing, though none could say it, nor did they wish to believe it.
They fell to their knees, and sitting motionless in the field, coughing up ash and dust, many tears formed in their eyes, as they looked at their shaking hooves. They couldn't possibly... Could they?
From behind them, they heard approaching hoofsteps, moving through the scorched area, though Light, unable to believe what had come to pass, did not turn around, until a Ranger gave them new weapons.
For a moment, they stared at the sword and bow, weapons they had used to guard the realm for a long time, until they turned around. Looking at the destroyed forests and field, Light shook their head.
They would do their sworn duty, to defend the borders, but without bloodshed. Far too much had been spilled, of both friend and foe alike, and they swore never to let anything like this happen again.
Slowly reaching out a hoof to the broken Kirin, the Ranger helped Light to their hooves, placed one arm over their shoulder, and helped them return to the village, which was now safe because of them.
At the edge of the forest, Light saw their shattered sword, and asked the Rangers to wait a moment. In the centre of the empty field, they planted their dagger in the ground, so they wouldn't forget.
Then, covered by ash, they found what they had to look for...