My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria

by Codex92

Sounds of Silence

Another school day, another day of friendship lessons, and yet another day with little friendship counseling to do. Lea sat at his desk, bored, wondering what to bother doing in his office. He hadn't seen Gallus for a while when he would occasionally ask him for advice about girls. Not many other problems escalate in a school meant to establish learning about friendship and the qualities of making friends. If Twilight had a lesson plan about friends having certain issues, she or the other Mane Six would most likely sort it out in a heartbeat.

"I wonder if I can get a radio in here and listen to some tunes," Lea pondered to himself. He stretched himself out, leaning back in his office chair with his hind legs lifted up onto his desk, reclining lazily. Glancing down at himself, he eyed the Bomb design on his new outfit. It was far better than the old Organization coat he had worn for a long while, and the enchantments Yen Sid placed on them helped keep them from getting scorched while he used his Fire magic. Letting out a yawn, Lea leaned back in his seat a bit further. "Maybe I can take a little nap until school's out for the weekend. Or brush up on my training. Or perhaps spend some time with Sweety and Axle."

There was a knocking at his door, startling the stallion as he let out a yelp, leaning back too far and crashing to the ground. Without his permission, the door opened up as Sweet Delight made her way inside, her son Axle Beam running in after her and jumping onto one of the seats.

"Lea?" Sweet called out.

Groaning, Lea climbed back to his hooves, thankfully falling over before his girlfriend saw and laughed at his goofy surprise antics. "And here I thought I wouldn't get any random visitors in my office today," he mumbled.

"Heheheh. Sorry, was I interrupting you?" Sweet asked, watching him sit his chair back upright.

"I was about to take a nap. Just don't let the head honcho know I was sleeping on the job," he said with a sly grin.

"Oh, so rebellious," Sweet Delight giggled.

Lea looked at Axle, who gave him a cheerful little wave. "Hey, buddy. How've those friendship lessons going for you?" Since Axle had started, the colt was really happy to have made a few new friends. He then began to tap his front hooves in his seat in different beats and pauses, which confused the stallion. "...Uhh, does he need to use the bathroom?"

"No, no, he's saying, 'I learned lots about my classmates, even though I am younger than them,'" Sweet said.

"...How do you know he's saying that?" Lea questioned.

"Oh. Well, his first few lessons a couple months ago were him and his class learning EHL," Sweet explained. Lea was still lost, tilting his head in confusion. "That's Equestrian Hoof Language. It's a way for ponies who are deaf or mute to communicate, and it just involved certain taps with hooves to spell out letters or words."

"Ah. Kinda similar that humans call ASL, only instead of taps, our ambidextrous fingers can make letters or signs with hand motions," Lea said, waving his hooves around to try to emphasize how it worked. Only, without any digits, it was rough to give a good example to his lover and the colt. Staring at his limbs, he hummed curiously. "If I'm able, I can show you what I look like as a human and show you what fingers are." He stepped around his desk and approached Sweet, nuzzling her cheek as he lowered his voice a bit. "And maybe how good they can feel if I scratch those Sweet spots."

Sweet Delight blushed as she grew flustered. "Lea! Not in front of Axle!"

"What? I'm talking about scratching behind your ears," Lea assured. "I know other animals like that kind of feeling. Even ponies. And maybe some spots on your back that your hooves can't reach. And they're like magic during massages."

He trailed his hoof along her spine, sending shivers through Sweet's body as she playfully tried to push Lea away from her. "Stop it," she whined, making the stallion chuckle maliciously as he continued teasing her. Axle had no idea what they were talking about, but he was happy to see his mom with Lea. Lea finally relented, giving her a peck on the cheek as a mock apology. "I am dying to see you as another creature. And if these fingers of yours are magical, I want you to stay as a human."

"Behind closed doors I will, but out in public in Equestria, we can't risk breaking the world order more than it already has," Lea promised. Sweet Delight completely understood, but she couldn't wait to see Lea's human form with her tail swishing excitedly at the thought. "So is that why I haven't seen you or Axle much after school? Learning this EHL stuff?"

"Kind of," Sweet admitted. From her bags, she pulled out a book on learning the basics of Equestrian Hoof Language. "It's a bit easy to grasp once you get the hang of it. Axle's already seemed to have got it down pat, and he's quite talkative for not having a voice." Axle agreed as he tapped his hooves rapidly, making his mother laugh at his enthusiastic explanation, though Lea didn't have a clue what he was saying. "I thought maybe you'd like to have this and learn with us."

"Eh. Why not? I bet I can get this memorized in a couple weeks," Lea boasted. Axle tapped his hooves to get his mom and Lea's attention, mimicking Lea's signature gesture. "Hey, I can understand that. Already progressing very quickly."

"Don't get too in over your head," Sweet chided. "But, there was something else I wanted to come see you about. Are you by any chance busy this weekend?"

"Hmm. Let me check my schedule this month." Lea walked over to his desk and pulled out his list of appointments. There weren't any made, considering the kind of school it was that rarely ever needed counseling, at least so far. "Uh huh. I can move that around to Thursday, and this one to next week. Huh. As it turns out, I'm actually free this weekend."

Sweet Delight rolled her eyes as he had to look up his schedule after claiming he wasn't doing anything, but she was glad to hear he wouldn't be too busy. "Well, if it isn't too much trouble, can you watch Axle Beam for me?" she asked. "I've been asked to help bake some pastries for a couple banquets. They're really big events, and I don't want to leave Axle by himself or check on him to make sure he's not in any trouble while in the middle of baking."

"Oh. Is that all?" Lea asked, letting out a laugh as he approached the colt, ruffling Axle's mane. "Of course I'll watch him for you."

"Thank you, Lea!" Sweet said. She looked at the clock, realizing how late it was. "Uh oh. I better get going before the next train to Fillydelphia leaves." She hurried over to Axle, hugging her son tightly and giving him a small kiss on the forehead. "Be good for Lea, honey. And thanks again."

"Hey, it's not problem. We're gonna have a blast this weekend," Lea promised. Sweet gave the stallion a quick hug, then ran off down the hall to catch her train. Left with the mute colt in his office, Lea grinned as he looked down at Axle. "You gotta go back to class?" Axle shook his head. "Good. Maybe we can steal some of Glimmey's hot cocoa if she's out of her office."

"I heard that!" Lea winced, watching Starlight stand by his office doorway. "You know, both our guidance counselor offices are practically side by side. And I had a feeling someone was taking my empathy cocoa when my supply was getting a bit low."

"You know, you make that stuff everyday waiting for a student, that's gotta go somewhere besides down the drain," Lea reasoned. "And Axle's been a good kid. I think he deserves some cocoa for making a lot of new friends here."

Giving the colt a sly wink, Axle nodded his head to Starlight, holding his hooves together with a pleading look in his eyes. Starlight rolled her eyes, but she was willing to give the mute colt some cocoa.

"Alright. I'll see if I have a mug to spare," she said. Axle cheered, but as Lea was about to smirk, Starlight gave him a stern look. "Only Axle. None for you, cocoa thief."

"Why not?" Lea asked. "And you know, my name was formerly 'Axel', too."

"Yeah, nice try, Fireball." Starlight headed back to her office to give Axle his beverage.

Lea wilted, sticking his tongue out at the retreating unicorn mare. "Next time, don't keep making your 'empathy cocoa' if it smells delicious." While waiting for Starlight to come back, Lea took a look at the EHL guidebook. "Maybe I should start practicing how to speak hoof taps." He flipped to the first few pages, which showed the alphabet along with each letter's unique pattern of taps underneath. There were dots that were spaced out or close together, signifying either to do a single tap or a certain number of taps to "speak" that letter. Lea hummed curiously, reading each letter as he tapped a hoof against his desk to memorize how each letter would sound. He paused when he heard Axle make the same taps, repeating the letters along with him. "Heh. At least I'll have a pretty great teacher myself if you've already got this down."

Axle beamed and nodded his head. Starlight soon came back in the office with a hot, fresh mug of cocoa for the colt. She noticed the book Lea was reading and his tapping hoof to each letter he was going over.

"Wow. Learning EHL?" Starlight asked.

"Sweety gave me a copy just a moment ago, but it seems pretty easy," Lea said.

"Sounds like you're just learning the first few letters," Starlight said. She gave the colt his mug, which he thankfully took, then tapped out "thank you" against the side of his cup. Giggling, Starlight responded by giving a few taps with her hooves. Surprised, Lea looked up from his book, unaware Starlight knew EHL. "Yeah, I've learned it. Got curious one day and saw that kind of book in Twilight's library. She even helped teach me."

"Of course," Lea said. "She's probably read and learned how to sign in EHL when she was in diapers."

"I probably wouldn't doubt that," Starlight agreed.

"Well, I'm sure to get this in my noggin before Sweety gets back from her banquets." Lea looked back down at his book, only to wince when he felt an odd tingling sensation around his flanks. He leered at Starlight, thinking she was doing something to distract him from inflating his own ego. "Hey, Glim Glam, I thought you had enough blasting me with magic. I don't want you getting weird on me if you're focusing your magic back there."

"Umm...I'm not using any magic," Starlight said, confused.

"Huh?" Lea looked at her horn, noticing the lack of aura. Axle was a bit curious to know what was wrong with Lea as he stopped sipping his hot chocolate. The red unicorn put the EHL book down as he looked down at his rump. Through his clothes, he could see his flanks glowing, where the weird tingling feeling was coming from. Pulling the waistband of his pants slightly, he revealed his cutie mark, pulsating outward with light every second. "...Uhh, is this what I think it is?"

"I think so," Starlight said. "Seems like the Cutie Map is calling you for a friendship problem."

Astonished, Lea gawked at Starlight. "Really? What kind of problem am I perfect helping solve?"

"I don't know. But if you want to find out, you'll need to see where the map's taking you," Starlight said. "And with whom."

An ethereal image of his cutie mark peeled off of Lea's flank and began to fly out of the office. "Uhh...ok, then." Pulling the band of his pants back up, he levitated Axle and settled him on his back, then the EHL book as he kept it close to him. "Let's see what's going on, then," he said as he walked out to follow his Bomb cutie mark.

"Good luck!" Starlight called. "And when Axle's done with that, bring that mug back!"

"Got it memorized!" Lea called back.

---

At the castle, Twilight and Aqua were in the throne room with Applejack and Fluttershy, the latter two present as their cutie marks had also called them to the map for another friendship problem. "I can't believe you two are going on a friendship quest!" Twilight exclaimed excitedly.

"Twilight, Fluttershy and Ah went on one together before," Applejack said. "Sora and Kairi were part of it, too, and they had their own apples to sort out after misunderstandin's and lack of communication when Sora first met his pa's Nobody."

"Oh, I know that, but it's the first time the map has ever sent the same team of ponies together!" Twilight mentioned.

"I guess that does mark it as special in some regard," Aqua said. "But if Sora and Kairi were called as well, then that would really be grounds for a special celebration sending the same team for a friendship problem."

"I wonder if anypony else will join us," Fluttershy wondered.

Her question was answered when they saw Lea's Bomb cutie mark fly through the opened doorway and join Applejack and Fluttershy's. A few seconds later, Lea had arrived with Axle riding on his back, his upper lip stained with cocoa as he finished drinking the beverage. As he stepped into the room, his Keyblade appeared in his mouth against his will, his throne appearing as well from his presence.

Spitting out his Keyblade, he grumbled in annoyance. "I forget that happens when I walk in here," he said, leaning his Keyblade against the base of his throne.

"So much for celebrating," Aqua sighed.

"What? What did I do this time?" Lea asked.

"Nothing. It's not you," Aqua assured. "Just something involving who was going on this new friendship mission."

"...So it is something about me?" Lea asked, confused by the blue unicorn's reasoning.

"Just...ugh. Forget I said anything," Aqua mumbled.

"She was talking about how almost coincidental the map picked the same team of ponies to handle another friendship problem," Twilight chimed in. "Applejack and Fluttershy had paired up with Sora and Kairi to Las Pegasus, and we half expected the betrothed couple to be picked again, but without the issue being between them."

"Oh. Now I see what the hassle is." Lea approached the table, standing next to Applejack to see where he was being taken.

Axle gave the girls a little wave, licking the chocolate mustache on his muzzle. "Hey there, little pardner," Applejack greeted.

"Where's Sweet Delight?" Twilight asked.

"She had a couple huge banquets to do in Fillydelphia and I offered to babysit Axle for the weekend," Lea said.

"Before or after the map called you?" Aqua questioned.

"Before, but maybe the little guy would like to go on an adventure and watch his favorite hero solve a friendship problem in person. Or fight some Heartless or Nobodies with some pizazz." While Axle was excited about the idea, the mares looked at each other, concerned about what could be dangerous where the cutie marks would be taking them. "So, where are we going?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Fluttershy asked. "What if he gets hurt?"

"I can take care of him," Lea assured. "Little guy's a little genius and knows what to do or what not to do."

Axle nodded as he mimicked Lea's signature gesture. "Maybe it's best for him to stay in the castle and let one of us watch him for you?" Aqua suggested. "You three might be able to solve the problem in a day, and you'll have the rest of the weekend to look after Axle for Sweet Delight."

"I'm sure where we're going isn't all that dangerous," Lea said, blowing a raspberry at the chances of their location being somewhere dangerous.

The cutie marks finally pinpointed their friendship problem on the map, circling over a mountainous region, a lake near the base of the mountain, and lush forests around and on the mountain. "Well, according to the map, you three are going to a place called the Peaks of Peril," Twilight said.

The chosen trio looked at the mountain, Fluttershy understandably worried, though Lea and Applejack weren't all that disturbed. "Peaks of Peril, huh? Spooky," Lea said.

"What exactly are we gonna deal with around there, Twilight?" Applejack asked.

"There isn't much about it in books, but Rockhoof had told us legends about the Peaks of Peril back in his day," Twilight explained. She then pulled out an ancient shield, depicting the legendary creatures that resided in those mountains. On the surface of the aged, rounded metal shield were two creatures that seemed to be chasing each other in a circle. What they looked like made Lea do a double-take, thinking he'd seen both of them before. Quadrupedal, they both had equine forms, along with other features that made them unique. The first one seen on top had light green fur, a long tail, a curved horn that seemed to look more like antlers, though it was hard to tell what it truly looked like from the side view of the design. There were scales on its back in two tones of orange, a long curly mane of a darker shade of evergreen that matched that of a male lion's mane, even sharing the same color on the tip of its long tail. The other, however, seemed much more sinister with its black fur and grayed scales, the horn a bright white unlike the normal brown of the nicer variant, but its mane looked to be on fire, wildly flaring in bright blue as it flickered red at the end, and its hooves even shared the same burning red flame around each fetlock. "A group of creatures called Kirin lived there, known for their kindness and truth-speaking, but there were also the Nirik, fearsome beasts of pure fire."

When Axle climbed himself up on Lea's back, standing on his shoulders while perching his front hooves on his spiky mane, the sight of both the Kirin and Nirik made him gasp in surprise. "Oh my. Ferocious beasts made of fire? In a forest?" Fluttershy asked.

"Wait...Let me see that shield," Lea demanded. Twilight hovered the shield closer to him as his eyes darted all over the features of both creatures. Piecing them together, they looked closely similar to what Saïx looked like, bringing back the painful beatdown he received. "...This was what Isa looked like!"

Startled, the mares looked at Lea. "He looked like a what!?" Applejack exclaimed.

"He was this thing; both of them!" Lea exclaimed.

"Both?" Aqua questioned. Glancing up, she saw Lea's memories and his encounter with his friend in his equine form. Enhancing the memory for them all to see, they watched Saïx and observed his features. They matched closely similar to the Kirin on the shield aside from his blue fur, but when they witnessed his enraged transformation, they were all shocked to see the demonic, fiery form and the fact that he was able to transform into the supposed two separate creatures at will. Axle shivered and hid behind Lea's head, peaking through his mane as he couldn't look away from the monster his hero was once friends with. "My god. That's terrifying."

"They're...one and the same?" Twilight asked.

"Isa turns into a beast when he unleashes his rage, but if these things are really the same creature, then I don't think they have a short fuse as bad as he does," Lea said.

"But Rockhoof said they were legends," Applejack pondered. "Are there really Kirin and Nirik livin' on that mountain if Lea's friend became one in our world?"

"...I...don't know," Twilight mumbled.

"Still think it's a good idea to take Axle Beam with you with this knowledge?" Aqua asked Lea.

Lea frowned as he began to rethink taking Axle with him. There was only so much they all knew about the Kirin and Nirik, only from Rockhoof's tales and encountering Saïx as one. It could be dangerous if any Kirin that really exist could transform into the fiery Niriks if they got angry, but Saïx's changes in his rage were partially due to his abilities and could have increased in power while in Equestria. Though if the Kirin were a peaceful group of equine creatures, their anger would have decimated the forests and turned them to ash. Definitely much friendlier than Saïx ever will be, and they would have lost their homes if they lit themselves up.

Feeling Axle shivering against his neck, Lea levitated the colt off him and gave him a reassuring hug, patting the colt's mane to help calm him down. "I don't think any Kirin, if any exist, are that dangerous," Lea said. "There would have been forest fires all over Equestria for centuries if they transform by getting mad at stupid things." Axle looked up at Lea as he and the mares mulled over Lea's educated guess. "But there's been no knowledge of them ever existing in Equestria's history, so perhaps the one who needs help might be some campers or a hidden settlement with some kind of relationship problem."

"Well, I haven't heard of them until Rockhoof brought them up," Twilight said. "I couldn't even look up anything about them because there isn't much knowledge about them. Surprisingly, there's less information about them than dragons before we made peace with them."

Aqua looked at the mountain, feeling far more uncertain with what might be living in those woods. Lea being called did make sense if Kirin really do exist, having a high tolerance toward fire and could fight back if Nirik would blindly attack in their rage. Applejack and Fluttershy were a bit worried if they ever encountered one, but they were more concerned for Axle if he went along with them. Despite the possibilities, Axle didn't want to waste a whole day or two not being around Lea. He squirmed a little in the stallion's hooves, then tapped his hoof against his foreleg to "talk" to him.

"Hmm? What is it, buddy?" Lea asked. Feeling the same EHL message against his foreleg, Lea pulled out the guidebook as he slowly followed what the colt was trying to tell him. "'I...want...to...go...with...you?'"

"He does?" Aqua asked.

"I think so. Are you sure?" Lea asked Axle, who gave him a confident nod. Lea was just as concerned as the girls for the colt's safety, but he would probably throw a fit if he couldn't go. He would take full responsibility if he ever got hurt outside of town. After a bit more thought, he was going to get a lot of backlash from the girls, but he felt confident in his guess that they probably won't see other Kirin or Nirik if they really were just a myth and Saïx's Kirin form was just a coincidence that fit with his combative style and nature. "...Alright. But you stick close to me and don't go wandering off, ok?"

As much as Aqua hated Lea's decision, she had to trust him to watch over the colt. "Lea, I don't like having you bring Axle with you after just learning about this...If any threats do pop up in your area, I'm going to keep an eye out on you via the map."

"I'm not crazy about this either, but it's just a friendship problem," Lea said. "I doubt I'll need to fight anything and it'll be just a nice relaxing hike up a mountain that has some dangerous sounding name."

The room was left with unnerving silence, but after some deliberation, the girls were willing to trust in Lea's abilities should he need to use them against any potential threats. Lea glanced at the shield again, frowning slightly at the depictions of the Kirin and Nirik. He hoped beyond hope that he doesn't run into Saïx again as a Kirin again.

---

After preparing for the trip and checking which train route would lead them close enough to the Peaks of Peril, Lea, Axle, Applejack, and Fluttershy headed off to solve the friendship problem. Axle was distracted by the scary realization of the Kirin's nature as he watched the scenery pass by the window. Applejack and Fluttershy talked about how they'll help the troubled creatures while Lea continued studying up on EHL. Throughout the near hour trip, he was able to get the gist of every letter's significant tapping rhythm, though he couldn't help mixing up a few of them from how closely related some of the quick taps were to others at different times. He would look over at Axle from time to time, the colt either busy looking out the window or joining Lea in helping tutor him. He still tried to sit like the stallion does, getting more comfortable with the awkward position as he had been practicing, which made Lea smirk in amusement.

Some time later, the conductor announced the train reaching the end of the line on the route. The final stop was the closest they were going to get to the base of the Peaks of Peril. They gathered their belongings and prepared to exit the train car, ironically the only ponies onboard who were going out this far in the first place. The station was barely considered to be called one as they stepped out, a lone ticket booth that was in surprisingly fair condition with a small platform that was only an inch high. It did give a nice view of the mountain at the very least, not a single thing that showed any sign of danger aside from what might lurk in the forests.

"Well, this is...cozy," Lea said. The train backed up as it made its return trip back to civilization, leaving the colt and three ponies alone. "And there goes the train."

"Guess nopony else really was goin' out this far besides us," Applejack said.

"Maybe they know something we don't?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"I doubt anyone would be crazy enough to live out here to give information or tours if there's no town out here," Lea said.

Out of nowhere, something screamed behind them from the opposite side of the tracks, startling the travelers as they backed away and screamed in surprise, Applejack and Fluttershy hugging each other while Lea summoned his Keyblade in self-defense, Axle Beam hiding behind him as he peeked around him. The thing that startled them was actually an old stallion, an blue-furred earth pony with light blonde hair, nearly bald with long sideburns that ran down to his chin. He was dressed in a conductor's uniform, probably working for the same train station, though his screeching announcement was incredibly unprofessional and almost insane.

"I'm sorry," the stallion apologized, albeit slightly eerily as he approached the "station" toward the group.

"Dude, you nearly gave us a heart attack!" Lea exclaimed, dismissing his Keyblade with a heavy sigh.

"Oh, it's just that I'm not used to seeing ponies taking the train to...the end of the line," the conductor said, emphasizing his last words ominously as he stepped closer to them. "The final destination. The last stop!"

"Ok, we get it," Applejack said. "But...why?"

"Nothing but uncharted territory and wild beasts out that way." Despite the information he gave them, any thoughts of asking him about any Kirin living there went unanswered when the old stallion began to laugh maniacally like he's gone insane after being stationed here for decades.

He continued backing away while cackling like a mad hyena into the small ticket booth. The laughing stopped as he slammed the doorway closed, only for him to momentarily peek by the window in the booth, giving one my insane laughing fit as he pulled down the screen, whether it was to close it down or for privacy, neither of them wanted to know.

"...Ok, I am now terrified of this station and what that old guy has planned in his little booth," Lea said, then picked Axle up in his hooves. "Important life lesson: don't talk to strangers. Especially crazy, senile old dudes."

Axle swiftly nodded his head in agreement. They headed toward the mountain, getting far away from the small station as soon as possible. They reached the edge of the creek, looking up at the tall mountain. It was going to be a long climb up with three of them lacking wings, but Lea could manage with his athletic capabilities.

"Well, better get to climbin'," Applejack said.

"If only the map pinpointed the exact location on this mountain, but I guess you can't make a deal with a magic table," Lea grumbled. Since there would be some rough foliage they would have to get through, Lea placed Axle on Fluttershy's back. "You two follow behind while we lead the way."

Both Fluttershy and Axle nodded as they began their trek. Applejack and Lea leapt across some rocks and began to climb the first leg of the mountain. The rough terrain mixed with the humidity of the muggy air slowed the earth pony and unicorn down, but they trudged onward. As their hooves squished against the muddy waters through the woods, they were attacks by a group of annoying flyders. Applejack grumbled as she tried to smack them away, having dealt with them enough on her last camping trip with her sister, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Sora, Donald, and Goofy a while back. Lea was also attacked by the crossbred pests, yelping when he felt some of them spitting webs at him along with the annoyingly hungry biting.

Nearly twenty minutes dealing with the bugs and managing to get through sticky mud and thick foliage, they soon arrived at a valley. There was more mountain to climb, but no footholds or any thick enough stones sticking out to help climb them up higher.

"So these must be the Peaks of Peril," Applejack said. She took off her hat and wiped her brow, ignoring the mud still clinging to her hooves. "Phew. Tough goin', huh, Fluttershy?" She turned around, only to find Lea behind her. Looking around and behind the tired, sweating stallion, she couldn't find Fluttershy or Axle anywhere. "...Where'd they go?"

"Huh? Where'd who-?" Lea looked behind him, his eyes shooting wide in shock at the lack of the pegasus and colt he was supposed to be in charge of babysitting. "Where did they-!? I could have sworn they were following me!"

"Or Fluttershy didn't and got distracted by any critters near the woods at the start," Applejack grumbled. Since the only set of footprints on their muddy hooves were just theirs, both ponies grumbled and forced themselves to turn back around.

Again, through the muck and climbing down the mountain to where they began was a waste of time. Flyders came back to munch on them again, enraging Lea as he summoned his chakrams and surrounded himself in a veil of flames. Luckily, the sudden fire scared them off, and he didn't spread his fire too wide to risk burning down the trees around him. Spared getting bitten by the bugs, they climbed back down, slipping off the ledge and into the creek where their muddied hooves and sweat-covered bodies were somewhat cleaned in the water. Applejack's hat floated to the edge, where Fluttershy and Axle were helping a family of squirrels picking flowers all this time.

Axle Beam had bunch of bright blue flowers growing on thin stems that grew along the riverbed, placing them in the growing pile with an assortment of different flowers. "There we go," Fluttershy said after placing her own bunch from her mouth into the pile. "That should be enough to keep your tree cozy."

Even though Lea was exhausted and frustrated, he couldn't be too mad at Axle after leaving him with Fluttershy to supposedly follow them. One of the squirrels came up to thank him and Fluttershy, and the colt pet the critter without it shying away thanks to the pegasus's natural charm with the wildlife. He was just glad he was ok and enjoying himself while getting a feel of nature from outside of a cozy little town like Ponyville. Applejack, however, huffed in annoyance, snatching her hat and placed it back on her head as she climbed out of the water with Lea in tow.

"Fluttershy, this ain't no time to be visitin' varmints!" Applejack scolded. "We got a friendship problem to solve, remember!?"

"Yes, but we-" Fluttershy didn't get a chance to explain as Applejack began push the pegasus toward the mountain she and Lea literally just climbed up and down for more than half an hour.

"Come on! We're burnin' daylight!" Applejack said.

"I know, but I just found out that-" Again, Fluttershy was interrupted by Applejack.

"Now, we need to get up that peak before it gets too dark." Lea sighed, annoyed to go back and climb up the same leg of mountain again.

"I'm not going through that dumb swamp again," Lea whined.

"Lea, don't ya dare be complainin' and givin' up!" Applejack scolded the stallion. "We just need a bit of rope and elbow grease and we'll make it up the-"

"APPLEJACK! Can you please just listen to me!?" Fluttershy shouted, startling the other three ponies. Axle had never heard Fluttershy get that loud, and he was kind of glad he couldn't speak to talk over her when he saw her as the sweeter and nicer of the professors. Getting her attention, Fluttershy cleared her throat as she regained her composure. "What I'm trying to say is the squirrels showed us a shortcut they take to a village on the mountain."

Taken aback, Applejack and Lea gawked at Fluttershy. "...A...shortcut? They know a shortcut?" Lea questioned.

Axle tapped Lea's leg to get his attention, then pointed over to part of the mountain wall covered by some foliage. There was a boulder that had some moss growing on it, and was a different color compared to the earthy brown of the mountainside. Lea heard Axle tapping and telling him it was behind that rock, prompting him to check to see if the squirrels were right. Lighting his horn, Lea shrouded the boulder in his red aura and pushed it aside, revealing a hidden passageway through the mountain.

"Huh. So there was," Applejack said. "Uhh, sorry, Fluttershy. Ah kinda got a bit too caught up in the adventure."

"That's ok. If you and Lea didn't come back to find us, I think we would have been talking and playing with the squirrels all day," Fluttershy giggled.

Lea grumbled as he stared at the hidden passage. "So we got bitten by bugs and walked through mud for no reason...Can't just make it any easier, can it?" He gave up on complaining, taking the easy way thanks to some squirrels. Applejack and Fluttershy went on through first, and as Lea carried Axle on his back again, the colt tapped him something on his head. "Huh? Flowers?" he asked. Glancing behind him, Axle pointed to the flower pile he and Fluttershy helped the squirrels gather. He tapped some more to ask Lea, taking the stallion a moment to try to figure out what the colt was telling him without the EHL book. "You...want to pick some flowers...for your mom?" Axle nodded his head. "Oh. Uhh, how about we wait until the friendship problem's solved and we come back? That way they won't wilt too soon when we return."

Axle nodded again, unable to wait until the job was done. Lea hurried after Applejack and Fluttershy before they got left behind, easily making their way to the center of the mountain much faster than climbing over and crossing muggy terrain. Before they knew it, they arrived at this hidden village the animals mentioned to Fluttershy, which was an awe-inspiring surprise to see in person. Surrounded by the mountains for protection, the homes were built in the trees, in huts, or mounds of hills near the bases of the many lush trees. There were even some huts built in the treetops with rope bridges connecting from home to home. There was clearly signs of civilization as they saw a water fountain in the middle of the village, a stream curving along for fresh drinking water, and there were a few carts and stalls near the stream that held a variety of fruits, all of them looking quite fresh as if they had just been picked not that long ago.

"Whoa...Look at this place," Applejack uttered.

Their sightseeing was interrupted when they heard rustling through the bushes and trees. Startled, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Lea stuck together, their eyes and ears flicking to the rustling sounds around them. Lea was ready to fight back whatever beasts found their way inside this peaceful little village, but as they came out from their hiding spots, their jaws dropped when they saw they were actually Kirin. The first to show themselves was surprisingly taller than the others, nearly as tall as Celestia. The taller one must have been the leader by the small bronze crown sitting their head, and looked female judging by her eyelashes and svelte frame. Her fur was a gray-tan, the scales on her face and back were white, and her mane was in two shades of pale emerald and forest green.

The other Kirin's color palettes were either dark or bright earthy or forest colors. Their horns were also pretty unique, having differently shaped and sized branches, even the markings on their dark crimson horns were different and either had brighter, darker, or contrasting colors to their horns. Even their tails weren't like how the shield's depictions showed, as there was a bit more hair along the length of their tail rather than just the tip. They didn't seem hostile by their curiosity of visitors entering their village, though the awkward silence and the stoic gazes from all of them felt unnerving. They expected some sort of greeting, but the Kirin all stood around the ponies in deathly silence.

"...Uhhh...Hello?" Lea greeted, wanting to break the silence. Unfortunately, the Kirin didn't return the greeting and continued staring at them. "...We are not here to take over your village! We mean no harm!"

Applejack facehooved at Lea's attempt to assuage the Kirin's worries of their presence in their home. "Why'd ya have to go and say somethin' crazy like that?" she questioned. Lea shrugged, having no clue what they were thinking. Applejack snatched the stallion's tail and pulled him back, making him yelp as she decided to take over the greeting. "Ignore mah friend. Ah'm Applejack, and this here's Fluttershy, Lea, and Axle Beam."

Fluttershy and Axle gave the Kirin a friendly wave, but again, no reaction from either Kirin. "This is getting really weird," Lea muttered.

"We are here to help with a friendship problem," Fluttershy spoke up to clarify their reason for being here.

They were met with even more silence, the leader tilting her head as she silently questioned their assumption. It was hard to tell what either of them were thinking with their stoic expressions. There had to be some sort of issue if the map told them to come here, but none of them were able to cooperate for some unknown reason.

"Maybe they don't understand what we're saying," Lea pondered aloud. Axle perked up, tapping Lea's head to ask him a curious question. "Huh? Try EHL? I doubt the Kirin have even heard of it, buddy." The colt shrugged, thinking it was a good idea. He hopped down from Lea's back and approached the leader, tapping his hooves and greeting her in EHL. When he finished, he expected a response, but the Kirin seemed to have no idea what he said. Axle wilted, thinking it would have helped. "Well, you gave it a shot, bud. They've probably never been anywhere outside their mountain home to know about any of this stuff.

"Let me give it another try." Lea approached the leader, giving Axle a little pat on the head to assure him he tried his best to help before addressing her. "My. Name. Is. Lea. This. Is. Axle. Do. You. Understand. What. I. Am. Saying?" he enunciated. To the ponies' surprise, the leader Kirin gave a nod. "...Oh. So...you do know what we've been saying." The leader nodded her head again. "But...you can't speak?"

She shook her head, the response shocking the foreign visitors. "Wait, so ya don't speak? Or can't speak?" Applejack asked.

"Umm, Applejack, I think you have to ask yes or no questions," Fluttershy suggested.

"Like talkin' to Angel Bunny?" Applejack asked.

"Not exactly," Fluttershy said. "I can always tell what Angel is feeling. But these Kirin don't show anything."

Their deadpanned, emotionless expressions says it all. They can answer specific questions and can clearly understand them, though their silence was a bit of a concerning issue. Not much is known about the Kirin aside from their enraged transformation into Nirik, so they didn't know if they were supposed to be mute or they all took some sort of vow of silence toward adventurers who find their village. So many questions, but they were going to receive very few answers about them, including whatever the friendship problem might be.

They didn't have much time to ask questions as the sun was already beginning to set. After being called in the middle of the afternoon, the train ride to reach the location, and the arduous back and forth trek Lea and Applejack made, there wasn't much time to do some digging to find the friendship solution.

"It's getting late," Lea mumbled. "We'll have to do some investigating in the morning." He patted Axle's head, seeing how tired the colt was with the little bit of excitement today, then looked at the leader. "Say, do you mind if we spend the night in your village? I swear we won't cause any trouble. We just want to know if there's anything going on that you might not know is troubling you, then we'll take our leave back home."

She gave Lea a nod, silently gesturing to a couple of the Kirin around them to escort them. Lea picked Axle up and set him on his back as he, Applejack, and Fluttershy followed their guides to one of the many huts in the village. Inside was not how they expected the Kirin to live as there was some crafted furniture like sofas, cabinets, and a bed. They didn't complain as they wondered more about the Kirin's livelihood, though with their silence, they may never know.

"Well, this is startin' out smoothly," Applejack mumbled sarcastically.

"This is going to be a much tougher friendship problem to solve," Fluttershy said.

"Maybe the Kirin have some written documents about their daily lives?" Lea wondered aloud. "They've got all this neat furnishing. That taller one's clearly the leader. She might have some answers in her hut."

"Would she allow outsiders to know about their culture or history?" Fluttershy asked.

"As long as we're not threatening them, we should be all good, right?" Lea approached the couch, lifting Axle off his back and laid him on one end with his head resting against the arm rest. Lea, Applejack, and Fluttershy took off their bags and laid them on a nearby table. Axle was already fast asleep, and Lea was feeling exhausted from the pointless trek he and Applejack made. "You girls can take the bed. I'll crash on the couch."

"Ya sure ya don't wanna put Axle in the bed?" Applejack asked.

"I think he's fine," Lea assured.

Applejack shrugged, letting out a yawn. Taking off her hat, Applejack placed her stetson on the table with their belongings. After the two mares said goodnight to Lea, he wished them the same as they walked into the bedroom. Before hitting the hay, Lea stripped out of his clothes, still a bit damp from his stumble into the stream outside the village. With no place to hang them so they'd dry, he set them on the edge of the windowsill. He headed toward the couch, seating himself on the opposite end, getting himself comfortable without wanting to stretch out and lay down. He didn't want to disturb Axle while he slept, and he didn't mind if the colt ever had a tendency to take up all the room if he stirred in his sleep. He yawned, resting his leg on the armrest, resting his cheek on his hoof as he began to drift off, awaiting the investigation tomorrow.

---

The morning sun shone through the window, light seeping into the living room of the hut the visiting ponies were temporarily settled into. Lea mumbled as he stirred awake, feeling the light shining in his eyes. Squinting his eyes open, he tried to shield his face from the incoming rays disturbing his slumber. While shifting himself, he felt something leaning against his side. Forcing himself awake to look down, he was a bit stunned to see Axle Beam had crawled himself over to Lea's side in the middle of the night and slept against him.

He chuckled softly, not minding the colt to trust him this deeply to protect him while he was asleep. Maybe seeing Saïx turning into a Nirik still frightened him and he was worried the Kirin in the village could turn into one in the middle of the night. As much as Lea didn't want to ruin Axle's slumber, they needed to get up and start the day. They had a lot of interrogating to do, which is easier said than done with the silent inhabitants unable to speak a word. Giving Axle's head a light rub, the colt slowly opened his eyes as he began to wake up.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Lea greeted. "You got comfortable enough?" His question startled Axle when he realized where he was sleeping. Axle grinned sheepishly, tapping his hooves together bashfully, earning a little mane ruffling from his hero. "Don't worry. I don't mind it. Just as long as you don't push me off an actual bed if you were too scared to sleep by yourself." Axle shook his head in response. His stomach then began to growl, as did Lea's. "Heh. Breakfast time. Let's see what kind of fruit the Kirin like to eat and we'll get some grub for A.J. and Fluttershy."

"Might as well join ya," Applejack said. She walked out of the bedroom, Fluttershy following behind as they both were early risers with their professions. They matted down their bedhead as Applejack tied her mane and tail back to her usual style with her hair ties, then placed her stetson back on her head. "Once our bellies are full, we start askin' around to figure out what's goin' on around here."

"With yes or no questions," Fluttershy added, reminding everyone that the Kirin can't give any other verbal responses.

"Right. This is gonna be harder than Ah thought," Applejack mumbled worriedly.

Axle hopped down off the couch and joined the mares while Lea got up and grabbed his clothes. Once he was clothed, the group exited the hut, seeing some of the Kirin going about their days around the village. They stopped by a stall with some local fruit grown in the forests in and around the village, grabbing some for a quick breakfast. Applejack tried to spark a conversation with some of the Kirin they passed as they ate, but they all stared at her with a blank expression, devoid of any emotion. She tried telling jokes, but they still didn't make any response to them, not even a laugh when she had to tell the punchlines. They all doubted Pinkie Pie could make these Kirin crack a smile with her silly antics if they were so stone-faced.

Lea decided to do some investigating of his own with Axle Beam riding on his back, calmly munching down on an apple. He asked some of the Kirin where their leader resided, which they gladly pointed to in response. At least that was another way of getting answers: locations they know of and if they can easily guide them with a simple direction. Reaching the hut with a door specifically made for the taller Kirin, he knocked on the door and was silently greeted by the mare.

"Hello," Lea greeted. "Mind if I ask you some questions?" She shook her head, allowing him to ask away. "Great. So, first, is there by any chance some bit of your history we can glance at that can explain why you don't talk? Be it from outsiders or even your own kind?" Sadly, she responded with a shake of her head. Lea's ears drooped, disappointed that his first thought in looking up any written knowledge was a bust. "Seriously? No history? But you can clearly understand what I say, so why can't either of you explain the reason why? That's probably very important so we can figure out what's going on here that's driving a wedge between someone's friendship, or even the whole village's."

She didn't make any sort of gesture to respond to Lea's frustrated info gathering. It's like there was no chance for him, Applejack, or Fluttershy to solve the problem without any details as to what has happened here. Part of him is glad the leader isn't as frustrated with him for bothering her and turned into a Nirik to scare him off. Axle rubbed a hoof to his chin, wondering what else they could try. They could understand what the adult ponies said, which gave him an idea. Finishing his apple, the colt climbed down Lea's back, finding a small enough branch for him to carry in his mouth around the side of the leader's hut, then came back to them.

Lea was about to ask what Axle was doing when he began to drag the stick in the dirt. The leader noticed as well, the colt using the stick to write out a question. His writing was a bit sloppy as he had just started writing along with EHL, but it was legible enough for Lea and the Kirin to read.

"'Is there...a Keerun...who can talk?'" Lea read aloud. He brushed aside the misspelling since Axle was still young, but he was surprised he didn't think of asking a question like that. To his surprise, when he looked at the leader, she nodded yes. "Wait, there IS a Kirin around here who can speak?" Lea asked, getting another nod, and the mare pointed toward a path deep in the forest outside of the village entrance. There was a Kirin around here, outside the village, who was able to speak. Lea grinned as they finally got a lead, snatching Axle and giving the smart colt a light noogie. "Kid, you're a genius! We can finally get some answers! Thanks for the help, ma'am!"

Setting Axle back on his back, Lea raced off to find Applejack and Fluttershy to tell them some good news. He found them down near the fountain in the center of the village, Applejack pouting and struggling to find some way for the Kirin to speak up and communicate with her while Fluttershy was at a loss for what else they could do.

"Consarn it. These Kirin are quieter than an apple blossom on snowfall," Applejack grumbled.

Lea skid to a halt, snapping the farm mare out of her bitterness. "Did you find something, Lea?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh yeah! But all the credit goes to Axle!" he said as he praised the modest, bashful colt. "I'm kinda glad I decided to bring him with us. He's probably gonna be called by the map one day once he gets his cutie mark in investigating."

"What exactly did he do?" Applejack asked.

"He asked the leader if there were any Kirin who were able to talk," Lea explained. "Er, through writing, not hoof tapping. The Kirin may not talk, but they can understand what we say and what we write."

"You mean she didn't have any form of records about their history?" Fluttershy asked.

"No, but we can finally talk to a Kirin and get some answers!" Lea cheered. "They live somewhere outside the village."

"Now we're gettin' somewhere," Applejack said. "I'll come with ya, Lea. Fluttershy, you stay and see if you can get anythin' else from the other Kirin."

"Umm...I'll try. But I can only ask so many yes or no questions they might answer to," Fluttershy mumbled.

"Axle, you want to stick with Fluttershy while we search for the talking Kirin?" Lea asked Axle Beam. The colt quickly shook his head and hugged the back of his neck tightly, wanting desperately to come along. "Ok. But if something attacks us, you stay with Applejack so I can protect us. Got it?"

Axle nodded and pointed a hoof to his head, getting the plan memorized. Lea led Applejack down the path the leader pointed toward, leaving Fluttershy with the silent Kirin. At least these woods didn't have a muddy swamp filled with pests that wanted to munch on them. Lea still felt itchy from the welts the flyders yesterday gave him. They trekked through a good distance of the woods, but found no sign of any other settlement our hut outside of the main village.

The bushes nearby suddenly shook, startling the trio. Lea set Axle on Applejack's back as he stared down the creature hunting them. The rustling increased, and out came a harmless little squirrel, more likely one of the group Fluttershy and Axle Beam helped back down at the base of the Peaks of Peril. Breathing a sigh of relief at the false alarm, they turned around, only to yelp when they bumped into a random Kirin that snuck up on them. It was female by her appearance, her fur a light goldish-gray, the tips of her ears a lighter shade of gray, her mane a brownish-orange, her horn the common crimson color Niriks have with brighter upward-shaped marks near the base, and the scales on her nose and back green. Her blank eyes were a gold color as she stared at them.

"Jeeze. Don't do that," Lea growled. "Sneaking up on someone in the woods is NOT a smart thing to do."

She offered no response to his disgruntled near-panic attack. "We're lookin' for a Kirin who's able to talk," Applejack said. "Have you seen them?" The Kirin tilted her head, her expression still blank, which only further frustrated Applejack and Lea. "Oh for the love of Celestia! Can't any of ya just say somethin'!?"

Applejack threw her hat to the ground in exasperation, losing any hope of ever getting anything out of the Kirin. Lea was about to express his own complaints, but he saw the Kirin could no longer keep her façade and grinned widely, then began to laugh.

"Gotcha!" she said, hearing her voice shocking Lea, Applejack, and Axle. The Kirin's marks on her horn lit up a bright blue color, a similarly colored magical aura surrounding Applejack's hat and placing it back on her head. "Sorry, sorry, but that was too good. Oh, you have no idea how much I missed jokes. Hi-larity! Am I pronouncing that right? Some words I haven't said in a will. While! While." Though it was surprising to hear a Kirin finally talk, Lea was starting to see why this one lived outside the village: she seemed way too chatty and could out-talk Pinkie Pie on random tangents. "Hi, I'm Autumn Blaze. You all just arrived, and perhaps you're tired or hungry or reflective and want to sleep and eat and journal?"

"...Uhhh...What?" Lea questioned, letting out a yelp when he felt Autumn Blaze's aura run over his pants, more specifically around his rump while her hooves rubbed against his shirt.

"Wow. I've never felt something like this in forever, even though we never wear clothes! Or is it a pony thing since she's got a hat? Or maybe it's a costume for something," the Kirin excitedly rambled. "Black goes great with red. It kinda reminds me of fire, and your hair is really wild and spikey like a firepit fire's." Her magic then went to his shirt, inspecting the Bomb on the chest. "Ooh. Creepy. Is it a monster? You must really like fire because this thing looks like it's on fire."

"Ok, hooves and magic off, please!" Lea exclaimed, feeling incredibly uncomfortable as some random mare was unintentionally feeling him up. Thankfully, Autumn Blaze stopped, though Axle thought the Kirin was silly as he quietly giggled. "I think we found our talking Kirin, and I'd like to go back to the silent, non-violating ones in the village."

"But there's so much to talk about, and I want to know more about you three and where you come from!" Autumn said. "It's been so long since I've talked to anyone. So much to see and so much to do. You haven't even seen the - I mean, have you seen? What am I saying? Of course you haven't! You gotta - I - Follow me!"

She began to bounce further up the path, stumping Applejack and Lea with her surprisingly talkative nature. "...Uhh...Well, that was somethin'."

"Tell me about it," Lea grumbled with a grimace. "I don't think she knows what 'personal space' means when she was 'examining' my pants."

Applejack snorted with laughter, getting an idea of what Lea said. Despite the awkward greeting, Lea and Applejack followed Autumn Blaze, leading the ponies further up the mountain than the two had tried to explore yesterday. They soon arrived at the end of the trail, spotting a small house up the hill with a view of the peaks from the cliff. Autumn gestured her guests to come over to the cliffside, where the ponies marveled at the view. They could see the whole range from this height, the river flowing between the land right underneath a rainbow that stretched over the landscape.

"Whoa. This is...amazin'," Applejack uttered.

"Yeah. What a view," Lea said. "I bet Sweety would have loved to see this."

"I know, right!?" Autumn said. "The way the light shimmers off everything, like it all suddenly woke up the moment you saw it. And you realize maybe the water and the mountains and the forest and the...yes, the rainbow and the stars and the sky are all looking back at you thinking the same thing? That we are a part of the everything. That maybe there's just one thing and we are all it."

Autumn looked at her companions with a wide grin after sharing her random philosophy. Lea and Applejack gawked at the Kirin, knowing that there was a whole lot more that she didn't know really does exist beyond their world and that other inhabitants beyond theirs think the same thing. Either she was intelligent, or she was just rambling more because she seemed to live like a hermit compared to the village down below.

"...We were just saying it...looks pretty," Lea said.

Autumn Blaze shrugged, then pranced over to a small bush with some flowers growing on it, giving them a small sniff. "And this is just the first stop on a journey of amazing things to see, smell, tiptoe through!" she said, then turned around to face the ponies with a small frown. "I haven't been able to share all this with anypony in forever. Since they all took that vow of silence. So, it's a lot for me to pro-cess. Process?...Uh, deal with."

Taken aback by what the Kirin said, Lea and Applejack looked at each other in shock while Axle Beam climbed down Applejack's back and walked over to the flowers Autumn was sniffing at. "Wait a minute. Vow of silence?" Applejack questioned.

"They all won't talk to us because of some vow they made?" Lea asked.

"That's, uh...That's why they asked me to leave," Autumn said.

"Hold up. The village kicked you out because you refused to take that vow of silence?" Lea asked. "But your leader helped us find a Kirin who could talk, which just so happens to be you, but...she exiled you because you didn't want to be mute?"

"'Mute'?" Autumn asked, confused by the term.

"Mute. Unable to talk or make any noises," Lea explained. Axle looked up at the Kirin, tapping her hoof against her leg to get her attention. He pointed to his throat, opening his mouth to try to make a sound, but shook his head, expressing to her that he wasn't able to talk. "Axle's mute. He was born without the ability to speak. Unlike your vow of silence, he didn't have a choice over something like that."

"Oh. That's...awful," Autumn mumbled.

Axle Beam shook his head, not feeling all that bad not being able to talk. He ran back over to Lea, tapping his hooves against the ground while looking at him to help translate for him.

"But he's able to speak in a certain way with his hooves called Equestrian Hoof Language," Lea said as he tried to figure out what the colt was saying. "He's saying, 'I'm still happy, even if I can't talk. My mommy always knows what I need, even if I could never tell her.'"

Axle nodded his head, giving the surprised Kirin a grin. "Well, that is very different indeed," Autumn said.

"This might be a bit of a sore subject to bring up with ya, but...ya mind explainin' why y'all went quiet in the first place?" Applejack asked.

"It's a long story," Autumn said.

"Oh. You'd rather not talk about it?" Applejack asked.

"No." As much as it disheartened Applejack and Lea with the important information they needed to solve this friendship problem, they could understand if it was a painful memory to experience. And Autumn admitted she was exiled from her village, so it was much worse for her than the others. They were going to change the subject, but the morose expression on the Kirin's face suddenly changed to happiness as she spoke up. "I'd rather siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing~!"

Taken aback by the sudden one-eighty in mood swings, the ponies could hear music as the Kirin happily pranced about and began to sing her tale of woe in a catchy, upbeat tune. As Autumn Blaze warmed up her voice, Lea's pocket began shimmering. He pulled out a memory orb from the tree chandelier that was given to him, her story being visibly seen within the enchanted bauble along with her vocal descriptions.

[Autumn Blaze]
La, la-la-la, la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la

The Kirin used to speak and sing
We weren't always quiet
We told stories and funny jokes
My stand-up was a riot

Lea and Applejack could see the Kirin through the flashback all chatting, laughing, having fun, and actually expressing emotions. They wondered why this vow of silence was meant to keep them silent and also mask their emotions from their now stoic faces, but among the crowd for Autumn's random stand-up routine, there were two Kirin who were bickering something at each other, and they were getting angrier and angrier.

But then one day, a fight broke out
And hurtful words were said
Flaring tempers were inflamed
Destruction quickly spread

Soon, the two arguing Kirin got so enraged that their bodies erupted into pillars of red and blue flames, transforming them into the fiery Nirik as they continued to argue. Axle was able to see the memory as well, all the ponies watching the scene in horror as the fire literally and figuratively spread, the other Kirin around them getting mad and transforming into fiery demon ponies.

And flaming bred from head to head
Even burnt our...bread

"Sorry, I forgot how much I love rhyming," Autumn Blaze chimed in with the weird rhyming, noticing the odd ornament helping show the others what she had seen. "Oooooh. Now that's a really cool thingie. Wait, where was I? Oh right!"

My happy village lay in ruins
Relationships got worse
Spoiler alert: we quickly learned
That words could be a curse

Like Autumn described, the outburst from their Nirik transformations had burnt down a huge portion of their village. Lea and Applejack wondered how a species like this can live in a forest with their fiery anger and not be considered an environmental hazard. Granted, they are a secluded species, but if they burn down their home because of one small fight, they would destroy the world's ecosystem pretty quickly if they were nomadic. More Kirin fought and insulted each other and were about to blow up into Niriks again, but the same leader they met in the village seemed to have had enough.

"No more talking," yelled our leader
The last thing said aloud

The ruined village soon shifted to the leader ordering her people to a river with a flowing waterfall only a few yards away from a path leading into it. Around the area, there were several stones that were marked with unique symbols of different colors, used as some sort of markings the Kirin used. She pointed to the waters as the ponies watched the Nirik walk and submerge themselves completely under the water, steam picking up from their heated bodies, and coming back up on the other side, back to Kirin and the same bored, emotionless expressions on their faces. Once every single Kirin walked through the river, the leader did the same, and their ruined village was soon restored some time later.

Into the Stream of Silence
We stepped as a crowd

The water cooled emotions
And peace was soon restored
But with no way to speak my thoughts
I got super...bored

"Seriously, there's only so long that Sudoku can keep you entertained!" Autumn said as she broke out of song again.

"No wonder your thoughts bubbled up after being quiet," Lea uttered to himself. "You have way too many thoughts."

'Cause rainbows won't light up the sky
Unless you let it rain
And shiny apples sometimes come with worms

Autumn Blaze grabbed such an apple that had a worm digging around inside it as it poked its slithery body out of it. Axle felt a little woozy, wondering if he accidentally ate a worm in the last apple he ate. The Kirin suddenly popped up behind Lea, grabbing his cheeks and forcefully stretched them up and down to make him grin and frown, albeit a bit painfully as he almost dropped his ornament.

No, you can't give up your laughter
'Cause you're scared of a little pain
It's a lesson that the Kirin never learned

She let go of Lea's face, making him wince as his cheeks were now completely sore. "Yeesh. She's got a grip," he grumbled while Axle covered his muzzle as he shook a little with laughter. Even Applejack chuckled at the enthusiastic example Autumn Blaze made with the happy and sad emotions the Kirin had given up. "Ah, can it, cowgirl."

I was stuck in a silent prison
With the voices in my head
'Til I tripped over my salvation
In a helpful flowerbed

The next scene had Autumn Blaze in her village, but unlike the other Kirin, she was going crazy not being able to talk. It confirmed that the Stream of Silence didn't really take away their emotions, just made them mute by some magical means, and to avoid communicating with anyone, they just look uninterested. Autumn was wandering about, losing her mind as she couldn't speak her mind, not paying attention to where she was going and tripped over an upturned root. She rolled down into a field of flowers, recovering from the tumble as she looked at them, smiling in glee as she stared at the blue flowers around her. She then used those very same flowers, though Axle tilted his head curiously, knowing he had seen those very same flowers before, and Autumn made them into a tea she drank. It cured her of her silence and she was talking again, a very simple antidote for anyone who may have stepped into the magical water flow.

I found a cure to clear my pipes
And I became quite chatty
With years and years of stored-up words
I drove my village batty

It was a shock to hear that the Kirin have been under this vow of silence for years. It was no wonder why Autumn Blaze was so talkative. Sadly, none of the other Kirin seemed to appreciate her returned vocal chords, nor all the random stuff she was able to do involving talking, stand-up, or singing.

They didn't like my jokes and songs
And daily dose of news
The plays I wrote, the speeches spoke
Variety revues

Or the story about the Kirin who hid below an opera stage

"And fell in love with this opera singer, and he wore a freaky half-mask thing, and he played the organ a lot and got all broody 'cause the singer was in love with another dude, so he took her away on this underground gondola," Autumn quickly said as snippets of said story was enacted before their silence, and Lea thought it sounded similar to some other play he'd heard of back home. "I mean, who doesn't love musical theater!?"

The village leader made it clear
I had to make a choice
I could stay and live with them
Or I could keep my voice

Glossing over the random play, Autumn was confronted by the silent leader and the other Kirin and was given a choice that was tough to make. It was obvious she had chosen to keep her voice, but because she broke her vow, she was forced to leave her home and live outside the village.

So I came here, but left the couch alone
They're hard to move
With just the view for company
Until ya heard me groove

"Take it away, boys!" Autumn said to her random background group.

Since there was nothing else left needed to see, Lea put the ornament away. Autumn's "background singers" she pointed to were sitting by a clothesline outside her house, and to the ponies' disturbance, they were miscellaneous inanimate objects with smiley faces drawn on them. From wicker baskets to some of the fruit, even some of the cloths that were hanging on the wire, they all had painted eyes and a smile on them. Her isolation left her with making friends to curb the solitude she was forced to live in, which explained her hyperactive glee to talk with someone other than herself.

"I think she would make good friends with the crazy conductor back at the station," Lea mumbled to himself.

"Eeyup," Applejack agreed.

'Cause rainbows won't light up the sky
Unless you let it rain
And candles just won't glow until they're burned
No, you can't give up your laughter
'Cause you're scared of a little pain
It's a lesson that my village never learned

No matter how hard I schooled them
Fear of hurt is still what ruled them
Sometimes you gotta let it raaaaaaaain!

Yeah, sometimes you gotta let it rain

Autumn Blaze began to shed tears, wiping them away as they began to trickled down her cheeks. They could tell she was hurt being forced to leave because she wanted to keep her voice, and the other Kirin were afraid to use theirs again in order to keep themselves from hurting each other and their home. For years, they kept quiet to avoid the painful words and the anger following up to live a peaceful life, but the lack of proper, healthy communication has what caused them to resort to being mute through an enchanted stream around the Peaks of Peril. Lea and Applejack looked at each other as they processed all that they learned, discovering their problem and they have their solution all in one upbeat song.

"Ah can't believe it," Applejack said. "Nopony should give up feelin' their...feelin's just to keep from gettin' angry."

"That's exactly what I said," Autumn said. "After I started talking again."

"We need to tell Fluttershy what the problem is and finally fix this mess," Lea said.

"Who's Fluttershy?" Autumn asked. "Did you name your shadow that? Mine's called 'Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands'."

The Kirin looked down at her shadow and gave it a wave, further cementing just how crazy she had been on her own if she gave her own shadow a name. "...No. She's another pony who's back in the village who came with us," Lea explained, ignoring the weird name she gave to her shadow. "But now that we know what's going on, we can try to convince the other Kirin to let you back in and take that weird flower tea cure."

"Yes, that sounds great!" Autumn cheered, but her enthusiasm quickly died as she seemed to remember something. "Oh, there's just one small thing. The antidote from my anecdote? It's gone."

Lea and Applejack's jaws dropped in shock, though Axle was a little confused as he swear he saw the flowers Autumn Blaze used for her cure. "There's no cure left!?" Applejack exclaimed.

"I used the last of the foal's-breath flowers to make it, and I haven't seen them bloom since," Autumn uttered.

"You've gotta be kidding. And the only closest flower shop that might have these foal's-breath flowers is several miles away by train!" Lea sighed, running his hooves through his mane. "This was supposed to be easy, but now it just got a whole lot complicated..." Axle Beam began to tap to tell Lea about the flowers, but before he was able to understand what he was saying, his ears perked up when he heard something coming toward them. Looking to the noise, a heavy whooshing that sounded like something heavy was spinning after being flung, he winced, using his magic to quickly shove Autumn and Applejack aside. "Get down!"

Lea snatched Axle and dove out of the way, barely getting struck by blunt, grayscale broadsword flying right past him. Cursing their luck, the owner who threw the heavy blade stepped out. A Berserker called back its giant sword, followed by a couple more appearing beside the first along with a few Dusks.

"What are those?" Autumn asked. "Are either of them Fluttershy?"

"Nobodies," Lea growled, summoning his Keyblade as he hung it behind him in his aura in his signature pseudo-lazy stance. "Applejack, take Axle and Autumn Blaze and get back to the village. I'll catch up after I deal with them."

"I think they look hungry," Autumn said, completely oblivious of the threat before them. "I wonder if they'll like fruit. Especially those lanky ones doing that cute little wobble."

"Autumn Blaze, they ain't friends of ours!" Applejack exclaimed, picking up Axle and carried him on her back. The colt held onto her tightly, never seeing Nobodies like the Berserkers, but he believed Lea could beat them no problem like the Nobodies that ambushed the train they rode on. "We gotta warn Fluttershy and the other Kirin if they plan on ambushin' the whole village! Lea can handle them while we run!"

Shocked, Autumn looked at Applejack, then back to the Nobodies. She leered at them with a scowl, not allowing anything to come to harm to her home.

"Oh, no they don't." Growling, Autumn's horn glowed as her fire began to spread around her hooves.

Applejack was about to try to drag her off, but the Kirin let out a yell that quickly sounded demonic as a pillar of red and blue flames shot up and spiraled around her. Applejack stepped back from the intense heat, Lea momentarily distracted by the ferocious shout as he watched Autumn Blaze unleash her anger, transforming her into a Nirik. The air around them grew intense in temperature from the wildfire hair radiating from her body. Where Lea had seen Saïx like this, his flames were only blue, the hottest a fire could actually be. The normal Nirik flames were only blue and red, melding together at points where they could see purple flames flickering within her mane.

"Whoa nelly," Applejack uttered.

"You weird things will go nowhere NEAR my village!" Autumn said, her voice distorted like she had transformed into a demon, then suddenly shot toward the Nobodies.

"Autumn, wait!" Lea called out. A trail of flames fell behind the Nirik with every hoof, then she leapt up into the air and divebombed the Nobodies, turning into a massive fireball. The Dusks slithered off to safety while the Berserkers launched themselves up in the air while holding onto their swords, barely avoiding the explosive force of Autumn's deadly fireball. With a roar, she charged after one of the Dusks, grabbing its slithering body and caught it on fire with her burning mane. As helpful as she was trying to be, she had no idea how dangerous Nobodies were. "Darn it. Applejack, get Axle out of here now!"

"R-Right," Applejack uttered. "Hang on tight, little feller!"

Axle clung his hooves around Applejack's neck tightly, holding on as the mare galloped off toward the path down the hill. A Berserker saw them flee, using its sword to launch itself to block their path. Lea ran after it, summoning his chakrams and lit them on fire, flinging them hard toward the giant Nobody. They struck it before it could reach Applejack, spinning in place to stagger it while he caught up with it and began wailing on it with his Keyblade.

"No! You! Don't!" Lea yelled as he thrust his blade through the Berseker's chest, unleashing Firaga point blank in its body, blowing the Nobody up to figurative pieces as it faded in sparks of non-elemental light. Hearing Autumn Blaze roar, he watched the Kirin pounce at another Dusk, unaware of the other two Berserkers behind her. Slamming his Keyblade into the ground, he returned his chakrams and sent them spinning and spiraling around him. "Autumn, behind you!"

Hearing him, the Nirik turned her head, jumping away as she left a circle of flames where she stood. The Berserkers landed in the fire, quickly stepping away from it as they both shrank and grabbed onto the hilts of their claymores. Knowing exactly what they were about to do, Lea shot off toward them, leaving his own trail of orange-red flames, ramming through a couple Dusks that tried to stop him and managed to kick off one of the shrunken Berserkers. As it grew back to normal size, losing its weapon, now in Lea's mouth as he stared down the other Berserker. Fueled by the berserk rage from within the Nobody weapon, Lea went into a magic surge through the sword's innate attributes, his body erupting in flames. His fur now bright white and hair flickering like a rampaging, spikey wildfire, he unleashed that rage as the Berserker weapon he borrowed ignited with fire.

He roared as he and the other Berserker clashed their giant swords, shockwaves of energy and flames shooting out around them with each blow. Autumn Blaze was astonished by Lea's temporary transformation, her anger gone as she reverted to normal, backing away slightly while the Dusks tried to stop the unicorn. They weren't able to get close, caught in Lea's wild and frenzied swings, and the opposing Berserker wasn't able to keep up. Its blade was smacked out of its hands, causing it to stumble and grow back to normal size, only to get smacked around repeatedly with the Dusks. Lea roared and spun wildly, his chakrams joining and spiraled in an opposite orbit from his spins, literally adding more fire to the flaming blade. The Nobodies were slain, leaving the defenseless Berserker to try to hobble slowly away. Lea didn't let it get away as he flung the sword back at it with a yell, spinning it faster than the one that nearly struck him, Axle, Applejack, and Autumn Blaze. The Nobody turned around just as it struck him, killing it and leaving the sword to stick into the ground before it faded away.

Lea landed, panting heavily as the temporary rage died out and transformed back to normal. "Hah...Guess...that's why they're called...Berserkers," the stallion heaved. "I gotta...control the energy...if I get like that again."

"Wow. Are you part Nirik?" Autumn Blaze asked. Lea gawked at how nonchalant the Kirin was being after she could have gotten seriously hurt. "Because, uhh...that was pretty hot." The Kirin snickered, clearly joking, but Lea didn't find her antics amusing. "Get it? Because you were on fire, like I was? And I think I kinda like you and I barely know you. Or maybe it was the 'heat' of the moment?"

More Nobodies appeared behind Lea, another pair of Berserkers and some more Dusks taking their former comrades' spots. "...Autumn, go now and let me handle this," Lea snarled. "I don't know if you're trying to tell a joke, but one: I'm already seeing someone, and two: those things will seriously hurt you if you don't hurry after Applejack right now and warn the rest of your village!"

"I didn't think they were that tough. Besides, we make a pretty good team," Autumn said. "I got a couple of them, but those big guys are a little-"

"AUTUMN BLAZE!" Lea shouted. "Will you just shut up for one minute!? You are in peril, and these Nobodies are smarter than you think! Ever since we met you, you've just rambled nonstop about everything because you couldn't keep your mouth shut and think about what to say before you open your mouth!" Autumn was taken aback, stammering slightly as she tried to warn the incoming Nobodies coming up to him. He flicked his Keyblade down, creating a wall of fire between him and the Nobodies, keeping them from getting closer while he continued spouting his tirade. "Maybe if you and your village didn't constantly jabber with whatever crap you spew out, neither of you would have forced yourselves to permanent silence and didn't stupidly burn your village down because you can't keep your insane number of opinions to yourself! Get away from here right now, or I'll throw you out of here like the rest of your kind kicked you out for not listening to anyone but yourself!"

Autumn was visibly hurt, her lower lip quivering as tears welled in her eyes. Realizing what he just said after learning why the Kirin had forced to hold a vow of silence, he immediately felt bad for shouting at her like that. He tried to apologize, but Autumn Blaze turned and ran away, the damage already done. All he wanted her to do was just get away before she wound up getting hurt, and the stress from the unnecessary hike outside the peaks, "talking" with the Kirin, and dealing with Nobodies had boiled over. The whole problem they needed to solve was the lacking resolve of poor communication and preventing feelings from being hurt when any Kirin was frustrated by an argument. Now he created a new one by yelling at a Kirin who got her voice back a while ago and was just lonely and wanted someone to talk to. Sighing to himself, he rubbed his face, regretting what he said to Autumn Blaze, barely giving the Nobodies behind him any attention as his firewall still stood.

"Causing more problems with your new friends?" Lea jolted, quickly turning around and dropping his firewall. Behind it, along with the Nobodies that appeared was Saïx, the Kirin smirking in amusement at what he witnessed. "You were always troublesome when it came to relationships. It even showed with that puppet you and your companions are harboring."

"What are you doing here, Isa?" Lea growled, ignoring his former friend's comment as he readied his weapons in his aura.

"I just happened to be passing by this land, doing some...research," Saïx said. "Learning about what kind of creature I am. I was surprised to know these Kirin are quite subdued in this mountain range. A shame their choice of home is a poor choice considering the fiery tempers that could turn it to ruin."

"So you plan on getting rid of them to use their home as some kind of secret base from the others?" Lea questioned.

Saïx shook his head, rolling his eyes at the assumption. "Xehanort wants nothing to do with this world. The others are far too busy wondering who the new wielders you're all training are and which ones would be a better backup than Vexen or Demyx. Nor do I have any intentions with this region."

"Then what are you really here for?" Lea asked.

Saïx took in a breath as he closed his eyes, summoning his claymore, then opened his eyes as they began glowing white. "You."

He roared as his body was engulfed in blue flames. Saïx stared down Lea in his Nirik form as the flames died down, his Nobody entourage backing up to avoid getting singed by his fire. Lea gulped, highly unprepared for another round, even if he wasn't as exhausted as he was last time after unleashing his magic surge. Faster than Lea could blink, Saïx shot forward, swinging his claymore hard into the stallion's side. Unable to block in time, Lea was sent flying toward the nearby woods, grunting as he painfully skipped across the ground. Saïx was hot on his tail, swinging his sword and slicing down the trees in his path with blue flames trailing behind him.

Lea managed to land on his hooves, skidding back until he hit a tree behind him, looking up to quickly hold his Keyblade and chakrams up to block Saïx's incoming strike. The impact shoved Lea, his body sent straight through the trunk as the base shattered to pieces, toppling the rest of it on the side as he was sent flying further back. Ignoring the pain in his back, he slid farther back, out of the tree and almost right over the edge of a cliff next to a waterfall. Regaining his balance before he fell off, he winced as he nearly doubled over in pain. Walking out menacingly through the trees, his blue flames igniting the bark and leaves as they caused a forest fire, Saïx leered at Lea, his claymore hovering behind him.

"Damn it. He's far too strong in this world," Lea uttered to himself. "I doubt Sora could take him on like this." His Fire magic would be no use against Saïx's Nirik fire, and he lacked in raw power to hold a candle to Saïx's might, enraged or calm. Desperate, he flung his chakrams, which were quickly deflected by Lunatic, and he even tried to throw his Keyblade at him. Saïx side-stepped the flung blade, then lunged forward and punched Lea hard in the abdomen. Gagging, Saïx used the same hoof to grab the collar of Lea's shirt, hoisting him off his hooves, then walked over to the cliff's edge, holding him right over the high drop as the mist from the crashing waterfall made it hard to tell how far the ground was. While his clothing was fireproof thanks to Yen Sid's enchantments to his new duds, the fire around Saïx's hooves was far hotter than the temperature blue flames were meant to go, unable to grab at his limb without risking burning off the fur on his forelegs. "I-Isa, don't...don't do this! Open your eyes! Do you even realize what Xehanort's going to do if he gets Kingdom Hearts!?"

Saïx glared at the unicorn stallion for a moment. "...Yes," he said, startling Lea as his eyes widened. "But I don't care. Just like you never cared about anyone else but yourself." He then pulled Lea toward him, nearly bumping his snout against his. "Not even her."

Saïx shot his hoof forward, releasing Lea as he tossed him several yards away from the cliff. Lea's face was filled with terror, his own friend watching him plummet to the ground as he screamed in terror. Saïx watched his former friend disappear through the mist, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to survive such a fall. Calming down, he transformed back into a Kirin, huffing bitterly as he turned away from the cliff, walking through a portal of darkness to take him back to the Organization's base.

Down below where the waterfall crashed to the lower areas of the mountainside, several more smaller falls a third of the taller one's flowed calmly through a length of streams before dropping further into another. One of the streams had a dirt path that crossed the water, with many stones near the path or the water, each with different markings and symbols of different colors. In the calm stream, bubbles began to rise up, the calm waters breached as Lea pulled his head up with a loud gasp. He swam to shore, coughing up water as he dragged himself out of the water. His body was in dire pain from another beatdown from Saïx, and somehow managing to be lucky enough to have fallen into the flowing river, albeit still incredibly painful for a softer landing.

Soaking wet, he finally pulled all of his body out of the water, wheezing heavily, wondering if he suffered anymore broken ribs. Rolling onto his back, stifling his grunts, he dug his hoof in his pocket, pulling out a Potion. Giving it a weak toss, he felt the healing mist seep over his body, dulling the pain enough for him to move. As much as his body demanded to rest and conserve his strength, he had to warn the village, Applejack, and Fluttershy that his friend was here along with the Nobodies if he did plan to destroy the village after killing him off. Rolling on his side, he winced as he forced himself to stand, limping off down the path, hopefully headed in the right direction leading toward the Kirin village.

---

Applejack rushed into the village, thankfully not being followed by other Nobodies. Axle looked back down the path as Applejack searched around for Fluttershy, worrying for Lea if the bigger Nobodies would be too much for him. Applejack found the animal loving pegasus, having given up on trying to ask the Kirin anything and asked some of the local fauna if they may know something they've seen.

"Fluttershy!" Applejack called out.

"Applejack!" Fluttershy thanked some of the animals for their insight, letting them go about their gathering for food. She looked around for Lea, but he wasn't behind them. "Where's Lea?"

"Well, there's some good news and bad news," Applejack said. "Good news is we found the talkin' Kirin, and she found out a cure to help the other Kirin get their voices back."

"That's incredible! But...what's the bad news?" Fluttershy asked.

"Bad news, the cure is foal's-breath flowers. There ain't none growin' around here," Applejack said. "What's worse is that Nobodies appeared and attacked us."

"Oh no," Fluttershy whimpered. "Is the Organization here?"

"Ah don't know, but our Kirin friend, Autumn Blaze, turned Nirik to stop them, and Lea's dealin' with them while tryin' to get her to safety," Applejack said. "Ah hope she didn't get hurt. Ah don't think any of these Kirin have ever seen Heartless or Nobodies before."

"Did Lea call for backup?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ah don't think he has one of them communicators like the others do. If there's somethin' worse, Ah'm afraid he's gotta deal with it on his own." As the ponies hoped Lea would make it out ok, they winced when they thought they heard an explosion up near the peak of the mountains, close to where Autumn Blaze's home was. Several moments of anxious waiting passed, the Kirin in the village wondering what was happening, Axle spotted Lea coming up from another pathway into the village, not from the path leading up the hill to the mountain peak. Seeing him limping into the center of the village, he yanked Applejack's hair to get her attention. "What's wrong, sugarcube?"

She looked back to the colt pointing desperately, where she and Fluttershy gasped when they saw the battered and drenched stallion as he collapsed to the ground. "Lea!" Both mares ran up to him while the Kirin stared at him, confused by the events that had unfolded with him. "Oh dear! Lea, are you ok!?"

Applejack helped Lea stand up, quickly catching him as his legs buckled slightly. Once they were sure he could stand, Lea leaned his hoof on the short wall of the fountain as he caught his breath. He opened his mouth to explain what happened to him, but nothing came out. Confused, he looked at Applejack, Fluttershy, and Axle, waiting for him to say something. He tried to speak again, but not a peep came out of him. Grabbing his neck, he tried to let out a yell, then screamed, but again, nothing. His voice had mysteriously vanished after he fell, and he began to panic.

"Uhh, Lea? What's the matter?" Applejack asked. He grabbed his neck, gesturing to the mares he's unable to talk. "Ya...Ya can't talk?" Lea nodded his head, but he couldn't explain how or why as he gave a shrug and shook his head in bafflement. "How in the hay can't ya talk? What about Autumn Blaze?"

The stallion winced, his ears drooping down while avoiding eye contact with the earth pony. "Oh...You...couldn't save her?" Fluttershy asked. Lea shook his head, unable to explain what had happened even if he was able to talk. "W-Well, what happened?"

"You're also soaked," Applejack mentioned. "Did you fall off the cliff fightin' them Nobodies?"

Lea was trying to figure it out, too. Axle hopped down from Applejack's back and approached his idol. With him unable to talk, the colt wanted to at least know how he got so badly hurt and lost his voice all at once.

*Did you lose to those monsters?* Axle tapped worriedly.

Lea realized that he was still able to communicate, though Applejack and Fluttershy would have no idea. With Axle taking part in the School of Friendship, he figured the other Mane Six would have learned EHL like Twilight or Starlight had, but with their busy lives outside of teaching taking up most of their time, they couldn't sit down for one minute and learn a few words of it. He wished he could have told the girls what happened, but he was already going crazy not being able to talk, so he could at least tell someone.

*I...I was fighting the monsters, and I got...Autumn Blaze away from them,* Lea tapped, slowly checking himself to make sure he was making the right sequence of taps for each letter and word. He didn't want to mention Saïx to the colt and scare him after his last encounter, silently mulling over how to explain what happened after. *More appeared...I got cornered as I put space between us...and I fell off a cliff into a stream.*

"Lea, we don't know what you're sayin'," Applejack said, making the stallion pout as he leered at her. He suddenly remembered he had the EHL book in his pocket. He searched for it and pulled it out, only to grimace at the state of the book. Completely soaked and the pages were soggy, and there were burn marks all over it. The pages were illegible, and he didn't know whether his own fire or Saïx's managed to catch in his clothes and burnt it. Disappointed, he dropped the ruined book, their only hope of being understood completely gone. "Oh...That could have helped, but it's completely destroyed.

*Where did you fall?* Axle asked.

Lea rubbed his neck in thought. His hoof resting against the fountain tapped into the water pooling inside it, barely glimpsing at his surroundings while he was lucky enough to have survived and was more focused on warning everyone. Digging his hoof in his pocket, he pulled out the memory ornament, thinking back to where he landed. It reacted to his thoughts and showed the location where he wound up, gasping for breath as he breached the water and crawled to shore.

"Wait, why does that area look familiar?" Applejack asked.

"You've seen that stream before?" Fluttershy asked.

"Not personally. Autumn Blaze showed us what happened to the Kirin and why they couldn't talk," Applejack said. "It looks like...the Stream of Silence?" Lea froze, eyes widened in shock as he dropped the ornament. He fell into the Stream of Silence. That explained why he wasn't able to speak. Saïx sent him flying toward the falls where the source of the enchanted stream resided, though whether Saïx knew where he would land or not, Lea had no clue. The horrified look on the stallion's face explained it all. "Ya fell in the Stream of Silence!?"

Lea raised him arms, exasperated, having no clue where he had ended up in the first place. "What's the Stream of Silence?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's some magical river that runs along this mountain that the Kirin used to force themselves to not talk," Applejack explained. "Autumn Blaze told us why they did it because arguments broke out, and turning into Nirik had caused them to burn down their village years ago. But by taking away their voices, they can't explain what their problems were and try to settle them without gettin' mad and turnin' into burnin' fire beasts."

"Really?" Fluttershy asked. She looked around the village and all the trees around them, unable to imagine how damaged the environment would get from a wildfire created by this unique species. "...Maybe it is best if they don't get angry and remain quiet."

Astonished by Fluttershy's thoughts, Applejack and Lea looked at her. "...What? Ya mean ya actually think it's better for them to not be able to talk?" Applejack questioned.

"Well, they burned down their whole village last time," Fluttershy said. "The Kirin must have decided to make sure it happened again and walked through this Stream of Silence to keep it that way."

"But's that's no reason for them to stop talkin'," Applejack argued.

"Yes it is!" Fluttershy argued back. "Fire is very dangerous in an environment like this! They could harm the other animals' ecosystems, or harm them!"

"Not if they don't turn into Nirik in the first place!" Lea helplessly watched both mares bickering and arguing about the pros and cons of the Kirin's silence. Not only were he and Axle hearing them, but the entire village was able to hear their argument, concerned that their fighting would end up bringing disaster to their home. Both mares were unaware of the surrounding Kirin as they continued yelling, even the Kirin leader as she joined her people to know what was happening. Lea noticed, trying to get between them to tell them to calm down, but he was pulled back by a Kirin as they snatched both mares in their magic, finally stopping their fighting as they were lifted over the entire village and were being carried out of the village. "W-Whoa! What are they doin'!?"

"I-I don't know!" Fluttershy whimpered, neither mare able to break free from the Kirin's magical hold.

Lea saw the direction they were going, heading down the exact path he came from, where the Stream of Silence was. Panicking, fearing those two were going to get dunked in the water, he picked up Axle and set him on his back, racing after them while trying to stop the Kirin. He couldn't yell or shout at them, his flailing hooves to get their attention ignored as they were focused on settling the disagreement between Fluttershy and Applejack themselves. He ran up to the leader, pleading with her to reconsider tossing his friends in the water and make them mute, but with no idea of what he had wanted without some sort of way to communicate right away, it was a lost cause that was frustrating him more.

The stream was within sight, making the mares panic. "Oh no! Ah think they're wantin' to put us in the Stream of Silence so we don't argue no more!" Applejack said. "Look, we were just havin' a civil disagreement! That's all!"

Lea didn't seem to have much of a choice. He had to scare off the Kirin or back them off from the Stream of Silence. Racing to the edge of the water, he summoned his Keyblade, temporarily stopping them as he held his weapon out at them. Without any way to get mad and turn into Niriks, they were completely defenseless. Some tried to push him aside, but he prepared to use a Fire spell just to spook them and hopefully drop Applejack and Fluttershy.

"Put them down!" Startled, everyone turned back toward the path, the distorted voice sounding familiar as Autumn Blaze, as a Nirik, charged down the hill toward them.

She leapt into the center of the group of Kirin, sending them staggering back, the ones who held Applejack and Fluttershy dropping them a few yards from the edge of the water. She then ran in a wide circle, separating the ponies from her Kirin brethren with a stream of red and blue flames.

"W-Who is that?" Fluttershy whimpered.

"Ah think that's Autumn Blaze," Applejack guessed.

Through the flames, the Nirik stepped through them harmlessly, then returned to normal from a pillar of flames that washed over her body. "Good thing I caught up to you before something bad happened," Autumn said. "I didn't want them to silence the only friends who'll speak to me."

Lea was taken aback, being considered a friend to Autumn Blaze even after he had yelled at her a moment ago. He didn't feel like he should be her friend with what he said with the stress he was under.

"So she can talk," Fluttershy uttered.

"Ya have no idea," Applejack said. "Fluttershy, this is Autumn Blaze. Oh, and we never even introduced ourselves earlier. Ah'm Applejack, and that's Lea."

"And I think the little guy's name is Axle," Autumn guessed, the colt nodding his head in confirmation, happy to see her again. Autumn reached her hoof out to shake Fluttershy's, except it was still on fire. Wincing, the Kirin blew out the fire and grinned nervously at the pegasus. "Sorry. That sorta happens."

"Uh, nice to meet you," Fluttershy said, shaking the Kirin's hoof. "But, I thought being a Nirik was dangerous when you're mad."

"Yeah, but, being angry is like other feelings," Autumn said. "It's not about having them. It's what you do with them." She glanced at Lea, who focused intensely on his hooves. "And, I guess I was so excited being able to talk to somepony, I got...a little bit annoying?"

"Uhh, Ah...thought y'all were pretty...articulate with your words," Applejack said nervously.

"Oh. Not you. I meant Lea." The stallion flinched, feeling Applejack, Fluttershy, and Axle's eyes on him. "I get you were trying to protect me, and I wasn't really listening to you about those weird creatures. At least you weren't a Kirin and turned into a Nirik when you yelled at me."

"What!?" Applejack exclaimed. Lea leaned back when the farm mare confronted the stallion, Axle Beam astonished to hear his idol had shouted at the friendly and lonely Kirin. "Ya yelled at her!? Ya didn't have to go that far to get her to leave!"

Lea gave the mare a nervous grin, but quickly frowned and hung his head. "No, no, it's not his fault," Autumn insisted. "I didn't know they were that dangerous. I was upset and ran, but I didn't get far. I wanted to apologize if I got a little too frustrating to deal with. But then I heard what sounded like another Nirik, which was odd because the other villagers can't, and when I returned, I saw him fighting a Nirik with an X shaped scar on his face and blue fire billowing around him."

The other ponies' jaws dropped, the only other Nirik they know who has such a scar and blue flames was Saïx. Lea didn't even notice her around and had witnessed his fight with his friend, though he probably couldn't tell when he was smacked across the other end of the cliff.

"Saïx was here?" Fluttershy asked. "Why didn't you say anything, Lea?"

As much as Lea wanted to state the obvious with his lack of voice, he really didn't want them to panic. "Then we really do have a big problem if he's here," Applejack said.

"I don't think that Nirik is around anymore," Autumn said. "I followed after them, which was pretty far when Lea got knocked back really, really hard by that giant bat thing. They ended up by the waterfall that flows into the Stream of Silence, and I watched in horror when the Nirik threw Lea over the edge, then turn back into a Kirin and walk through this weird void thingie that appeared and disappeared before I could even confront him myself." She hopped toward Lea and caught him in a hug. "I'm so glad you survived the fall! I would have felt so bad if I didn't apologize to you!"

Lea was relieved that Autumn didn't harbor any hard feelings for him, but this was the kind of closure that the Kirin desperately needed to make up with each other in order to be happy, not bury their feelings until it gets worse. The flames Autumn left behind finally died down. They almost forgot about the other Kirin as they overheard their conversation. And they were staring at Lea being hugged by one of their own, forgiving him after he yelled at her moments ago. Feeling a bit embarrassed from the silent staring, Lea patted Autumn Blaze's back, accepting her apology and gently pulled her hooves off of her.

"Do y'all see what you're missin'?" Applejack asked the Kirin. "Givin' up your happiness to keep away your anger is no kind of life."

"I can't imagine not being able to talk to my animal friends if you threw Applejack and I into the Stream of Silence," Fluttershy added, making the Kirin feel a bit guilty for solving their argument their way.

Autumn Blaze approached her villagers. "Fern Flare, you used to love to laugh at everything," she said to one of the nearby Kirin. The one named Fern Flare looked down, seemingly missing the moments where they could laugh at anything from jokes or funny stories. "And Rain Shine, you sung the most beautiful harmonies. Don't you remember?"

Surprisingly, Rain Shine happened to be the tall Kirin, the leader. She looked ashamed as her eyes expressed just how much she did miss to sing.

"Ah know y'all are worried about about fightin', but friends can disagree without causin' a ruckuss," Applejack said.

"Everypony gets mad sometimes," Fluttershy added. "Even Applejack and I argue."

"What!? Since when!?" Applejack exclaimed.

"Oh, on the way here? About the Kirin's silence? And right now?" Fluttershy listed snidely.

Lea furrowed his brow as the two began to bicker again, but then the mares laughed, showing the Kirin that they're still friends despite one small, insignificant disagreement. But it was a decent example to show them that they don't have to give up their laughter to avoid the pain, like Autumn had figured out when she told Applejack, Lea, and Axle.

"See? We may not always see eye-to-eye, but we never let that get in the way of our friendship," Applejack said.

"And if you're really angry, then take some time away to be a Nirik where it won't hurt anypony," Fluttershy advised.

The message seemed to have sunk into the Kirin, and they seemed eager to want their voices back and speak and sing again. They didn't know what the cure was if Autumn had found one. One of the Kirin walked up to her, miming out something to her as if asking her what the cure was.

"Uhh, ok? Are you hungry?" Autumn guessed, getting a shake from the Kirin. "Oh, wait, is there a Kirin who fell down the well!? Uhh, 'baby'? 'Baby fish'? 'Baby face'?" Autumn's random guesses weren't helping as she began to get frustrated, unable to tell what her fellow villager was trying to ask from the little game of charades. "Urgh! Can you just write it down or something!? This is making me furious!" The other Kirin winced as Autumn's eyes horn and eyes began to glow. She was about to lose her temper, but she realized how close to bursting she was as she awkwardly shuffled away. "Would you excuse me? I'll be right back."

Autumn Blaze walked over to a nearby rock and stood behind it. She let out a distorted roar, a pillar of flames shooting out from where she stood, not harming anyone and just letting out her frustration, giving herself some space from the infuriating situation. Axle was a little nervous when she yelled, but she came back as she was, much calmer and no longer upset. Although, the Kirin was kind of worried trying to explain themselves again.

Lea tapped Autumn's shoulder, getting her attention to help give her an idea of what they were trying to say. Doing a better job of charades, he mimed out pouring a pot of tea, sipping at an invisible cup, then opened his mouth and waved his hoof from his throat, up to his lips, and out, like he was making noise.

"Ah think they were askin' for the cure," Applejack translated, Lea grinning as he pumped his hoof to confirm her guess was right.

"Oh! Right! Well, why didn't you just tell me what he was trying to say, Lea?" The stallion slumped his shoulders, emphasizing he couldn't speak as he grabbed his neck. Autumn tilted her head, not understanding his motions, which made him frown, picking up Axle in his magic, then pointed to the colt, then himself with his mouth hanging open with a shake of his head. "...You can't-?...Oh. You...landed in the Stream of Silence." Lea sternly nodded his head once. "...No wonder you weren't talking."

Lea groaned silently in exasperation and fell over, plopping Axle Beam on his chest, making him snicker at the Kirin's clueless response. "Then let's see if we can find the cure," Fluttershy said. "We need to find foal's-breath flowers, right? What do they look like?"

"I can't recall," Autumn Blaze said with a shrug. "It's been so long, and I've scoured the forests seventy-three and a half times while I was alone, and never found anymore."

Axle was certain those very flowers the Kirin and Lea he saw before. He hopped off the stallion's chest, helping him sit up.

*Can you show back what Ms. Autumn drank?* he asked. Lea nodded as he pulled his ornament out again. Luckily, he was able to play back Autumn Blaze's tumble into the flowers through her song, but when she saw the flowers, Axle's eyes lit up. *I saw these flowers before! Back where we got off the train!*

Lea glanced down at the excited colt, who looked like he just solved the biggest mystery all on his own. Looking back at the paused memory, he decided to tap into Axle's memory on their first steps at the base of the mountain range. While the colt was helping Fluttershy gather flowers for the squirrels yesterday, he gasped at the pile of flowers had the same blue flowers that Autumn discovered. There were foal's-breath flowers that grew in the lower forests of the area, their cure able to grow more closer to the earth than up high around the mountains. Smiling, Lea ruffled Axle's mane and hugged the colt for being a little genius.

Getting Fluttershy's attention, he showed her the image of her and Axle gathering flowers for the squirrels, giving a clear image of what the foal's-breath flowers looked like. "Oh! Those were foal's-breath flowers!?" she gasped, getting everyone else's attention. "There were lots of them back at the bottom of the mountain!"

"Huh. You know, that's the one place around the mountain I never looked," Autumn said.

"Well, what do ya know?" Applejack mumbled. "Fluttershy and Axle were pickin' them without even realizin'." She sighed and looked at Fluttershy. "Ah owe ya an apology, Fluttershy."

"Why?" Fluttershy asked.

"'Cause if your kindness hadn't made ya stop to help them squirrels, we might not have ever known about that flower," Applejack said.

"And if your honesty hadn't convinced the Kirin to talk, we wouldn't need to find it," Fluttershy said.

Both mares giggled, the two believing in the map's decision to pair them up again. "It's a good thing the map picked us, huh?" Lea pouted, tapping Applejack's shoulder to get her attention. He played a part in helping figure out the solution, too. But, most of it couldn't have been done without Axle's help as well. He looked at the colt, then back to Applejack, lifting Axle Beam up and pointed to the two of them, reminding the farm mare that he and Axle deserve some credit, too. "Oh, right. And Lea and Axle, too. Maybe bringin' the little feller was a good call after all since he did solve most of the problems we got stuck on."

Axle beamed as he was praised, given a celebratory noogie from the unicorn. "I'll go and gather a whole bunch of flowers and fix everypony's silence," Fluttershy said, flapping off to get Lea and the Kirin's cure, hoping her squirrel friends down at the base of the Peaks of Peril won't mind helping her gather some more for her.

---

Everyone returned and waited for Fluttershy to return with a large batch of foal's-breath. She arrived some time later with a huge bundle of the blue flowers tied together with a bit of rope from their bags of supplies. Several pots of tea were made with the plant and dispensed in dozens of cups. Each Kirin drank their fill and were back to talking and singing, missing the ability to speak after so many years. Rain Shine thanked Autumn Blaze for helping them realize that they can choose how they let out their anger if push comes to shove, and accepted her back into their village. Autumn graciously accepted and was welcomed back with open hooves. Lea, Applejack, and Fluttershy's cutie marks glowed as a signal of their friendship problem being solved.

Lea was glad to have his voice back, and the tea wasn't all that bad as a beverage either. The Kirin village was now far more lively with chatter, and some singing to commemorate the return of their voices and their new resolve to fix verbal conflicts without expressing their anger on each other. There were some leftover foal's-breath flowers that Axle wanted to take with him, making a little bouquet of them with Fluttershy's help to give to Sweet Delight. The Kirin saw their new pony friends off before they left their village, thanking them for helping return their village back to the way it was.

"If you are ever around the Peaks, please do not be strangers," Rain Shine said. "Autumn has also mentioned the unicorn was able to 'turn Nirik' when he gets angry, too."

"Uhh, it's a magic surge," Lea corrected. "And I can keep my cool...Sometimes." He glanced at Autumn Blaze. Though she seemed fine after he yelled at her, he still felt guilty for insulting her like that. Walking over to her, rubbing the back of his head anxiously, he needed to properly apologize to her. "Hey. I'm sorry about what I said. I never meant any of that. I was...actually worried about screwing up this friendship mission, being my first one and all, and looking after Axle to make sure he stays safe along with you and Applejack."

"Apology long-since accepted," Autumn assured, snatching the stallion in another surprise hug. "I can be a pretty big hoof full when I ramble. Water under the bridge."

Lea chuckled, hugging the mare back. "Good. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't apologize. At least verbally."

"I totally get it," she said as she pulled away. "You've got that sort of overprotective dad thing. Your son's got a pretty responsible dad if he worries about everypony in trouble."

Blanching, Lea stammered as he stumbled back, waving his hooves around erratically. "W-W-Wait, what!? D-Dad!?"

"Yeah. Your son?" Autumn question. "The mute little colt who looks up to you? I figured he was your foal with how well you two get along with each other. And even talk in that cool hoof tippy-tappy language."

"G-Gah!? H-Hold on a second here!" Lea exclaimed, laughing nervously. "A-Axle's not my kid! I'm looking after him for his mom for the weekend! M-Maybe I'm more like a father-figure for him, but I'm not really his dad."

Curious, Autumn looked at the colt, who was busy making sure the flowers looked nice when they get back to Ponyville, then back at Lea. "Huh. I couldn't tell," she said. "Well, regardless, you're a great stallion, Lea. Burning hot temper and all."

"...Are you still trying to hit on me even though I told you before I'm dating someone? More specifically, Axle's mom?" Lea questioned. Autumn just gave Lea a huge grin, unsure if she was just messing with him or she was being serious. "...Welp, we better leave before we miss our train. See ya!"

Zipping off, he placed Axle Beam on his back and grabbed Applejack and Fluttershy's hooves with his telekinesis. The two mares were startled by the abrupt exit, trying to catch up with him while the Kirin waved goodbye to their new pony friends. After reaching the secret passage the squirrels showed them, Lea slowed down, ignoring answering any questions Applejack or Fluttershy had about his odd behavior. They squeezed through the hidden entrance and made it to the station. Luckily, they found no sign of the crazy old conductor stallion to creep them out with his solitude while stationed out here. The train arrived a few minutes later, letting the four ponies hop onboard and enjoy the ride back home to Ponyville.

The sun was starting to set as soon as they arrived at Ponyville station. Lea made his way to the castle while Applejack and Fluttershy went back to their homes to check in with their family or critters respectively. He volunteered to give Twilight a rundown of what happened with their successful friendship quest. Axle was holding onto the bouquet of foal's-breath carefully, eager to give his mother the beautiful flowers tomorrow when she gets back.

He approached the throne room, remembering to summon his Keyblade in advance before it pops up against his will upon entering the room. He walked in, letting his throne appear, where Aqua was already sitting by the table, facing the entrance as if she was waiting for him.

"Welcome back," Aqua greeted.

"How'd you know we were coming back?" Lea asked rhetorically. Lowering himself, he let Axle down while he carried the bouquet in his mouth. "Mission accomplished, boss lady."

"I figured," Aqua said. "And you dealt with the Nobodies that appeared around the Peaks of Peril."

Confused, Lea blinked at her. "Wait, how'd you know that?"

"Last night, I did a little more work on the map. And I managed to tweak the enchantments to help us locate Nobodies," Aqua explained. "Heartless are black dots, Unversed are blue, and Nobodies were a dull gray. Some had appeared in another world I sent Ven to take care of, and he confirmed that what the map pinpointed were Nobodies."

"...Oh...Well, good to know," Lea mumbled.

"And, without any way to warn you while you were watching over Axle, I knew you could handle them." Lea was a little taken aback by Aqua praising him, even after they made up from their little fight a while back. He was a bit nervous detailing exactly what happened between him and Saïx, but his thoughts were distracted when Aqua tossed the stallion something toward him. He quickly caught it in his magic, holding a small crystal earpiece similar to the ones the other wielders and Twilight have. "Now you have a way of contacting us if you ever need backup."

"So...did I have to prove I could handle a friendship mission before I earned one of these?" Lea asked sarcastically, examining the enchanted earpiece.

"Actually, we originally only had enough crystals to craft these for eight. One of the extras, we gave to Kaito since he was a reliable ally," she said. "We...never took account of you sticking around after the Pony of Shadows incident. Not to mention the school and training our apprentices taking priority, I managed to find some time in between to look for some more of those types of crystals and make one for you."

"...Oh. I see..." Lea was only kidding just to pester Aqua, but her reason why he didn't have one sounded legitimate. He didn't know much about crystals and the magical properties they have within Equestria, but seeing them from time to time, they must have been pretty delicate or a rarity to find. Placing his new earpiece in his right ear, he gave the little enchanted gem a couple taps, barely feeling it affect part of his hearing. "Uhh...thanks."

Confused, Aqua tilted her head, noticing something was bothering Lea. "What is it?" she asked. "Did you...expect me to reply with some snarkiness or make a joke?"

"No. No, I..." Sitting down, Lea leaned his Keyblade against the table. Axle sat beside him, looking up at him worriedly. "...There was...a lot more trouble I bumped into. Outside of the Kirin we helped."

"Did they catch the forests on fire as Nirik?" Aqua questioned.

"They're much more peaceful than that, but the problem was they thought they could keep their anger to themselves by walking into a magic river that made them mute, throwing away every other feeling they can express as well to avoid hurting each other," he explained. Aqua had expected the worse out of the Kirin, but she couldn't imagine herself giving up her voice if it meant avoiding being honest about her thoughts and opinions. Some of those days, she wished she didn't open her mouth and lose control of her emotions to avoid the pain she had felt herself from her mistakes. "It's about the Nobodies...Isa was there, and he attacked me."

"What? Why was he there?" Aqua asked, shocked.

"For me, apparently," Lea grumbled. Sighing, he leaned his head against the table, feeling Axle nuzzle his side to try to comfort him. "...I don't think I can beat him. I don't even know if Sora can either while he's a Kirin...He's too strong in this world."

"He didn't want anything to do with this world?" Aqua questioned. "Or the Kirin because he's one of them while in Equestria?"

"I have no idea what he's up to. He even knows why Xehanort's gathering his thirteen seeds of darkness and what he plans to do to everything. And all he cares about is me not caring about him or this girl we promised to save from being imprisoned in that stupid castle in Radiant Garden who Ansem the Wise was conducting his heartless experiments on!" Lea slammed his hooves on the table, startling Axle as the colt backed away from him slightly. Aqua didn't know who Lea was talking about, nor what he and his friend did in the past. She didn't know much about Radiant Garden or whatever experiments Ansem the Wise had done, but the mention of someone being held prisoner and being the scientist's test subject. "...He thinks I forgot the promise we made...I never forgot."

"Who were you trying to save?" Aqua asked.

"We didn't know her name," Lea mumbled. "She...seemed out of it, had no memory of who she is. I couldn't let her suffer. We used to sneak in to find out what the strange, painful wails were at that castle, and we found her in that experiment prison beneath the castle. She was moved elsewhere the next time we successfully sneaked in, so we tried to be Ansem's apprentices to plan her breakout...Not even a day passed as we were allowed inside, and then everything went dark. Ansem the Wise's right-hand researcher, Xehanort, became Xemnas, we became Nobodies in the old Organization XIII, and by then, our plan was a bust as we got involved in that old man's insane schemes."

Above them, the enchanted ornaments hanging from the tree stump chandelier began glowing. Aqua looked up, enhancing the memory to see it clearly. Lea and Axle Beam looked up, the former grimacing as he witnessed the first and last time he saw the helpless victim he failed to promise to save. Aqua and Axle watched as the teenage Lea and Isa hurried down the long, winding spiral staircase, being careful not to get caught by the scientists who worked there. The younger Lea wore a white sleeveless shirt under an orange sleeveless jacket, a yellow and brown keffiyah around his neck, brown baggy pants, and red and white sneakers with black socks. Isa wore a black undershit with a short-sleeved navy blue jacket, a light blue stripe going down the shoulders to the end of the sleeves, the jacket's collar a bit higher than a normal jacket's in a sky blue color, the hems of the sleeves a similar color, a yellow crescent moon symbol on the left breast of his jacket, white pants, and black shoes. Despite their hairstyles still being similar between their teenage years and now, their hair back then was much shorter, and Isa didn't have the X-shaped scar on his face yet.

Teen Lea and Isa reached the bottom of the stairs, the hallway dark and devoid of any lighting to guide them further on. It was eerily quiet, neither of them brave enough to take the first step into the dim corridor. They could barely make out the iron bars of cages or cells along the nearby walls as their eyes adjusted. Their skin crawled, able to feel an ominous presence down here, but where it lurked in the darkness spooked them.

"Uhh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all," Teen Lea uttered. "M-Maybe...we were just hearing things?"

"...heart...key..." Both teens froze, hearing a young girl's voice somewhere in one of the nearby cells.

"Was that...a girl?" Teen Isa asked.

"I...I think so." Curiosity overcoming their fear, both boys stepped down the corridor, unable to tell which cell the mysterious girl was held in. They peered as hard as they could through the bars, unable to see much aside from darkness. "Hello? Where are you, miss?"

"...Hello...?" As they got closer, they located the source of the hushed voice, spotting a faint silhouette of a young girl through a very slim sliver of light within the cell that offered very little light.

Lea and Isa could barely make out her appearance, though she seemed to be huddled against the back wall. "Holy cow. They really have someone locked up down here," Isa muttered.

"Hey," Lea greeted, hoping to hear her voice again. "What's your name?" The girl didn't respond, though she was consciously aware of their presence. Lea tried to talk to her, asking her questions, but she either didn't answer or murmured quietly, barely making out what she said. From the sound of her voice, she almost sounded like she was barely awake or cognizant, but had no memory of who she was, where she was, and what was happening. Lea and Isa couldn't believe that a research center like this was really using live human test subjects for some heinous experiments and leaving them locked up inside a dark prison. "Isa, we can't leave her here."

"Yeah. This isn't right," Isa agreed. "How exactly are we going to do that?"

"I...I don't know," Lea mumbled. "I'll figure something out. If we can manage to sneak in and visit her, promise her she'll be ok, we'll get her out of there faster than those two muscle-heads at the front gates can blink."

"Assuming we don't get caught by them. Again," Isa reminded his brash friend.

Teenage Lea promised the girl they'll be back to see her and one day break her out. Sadly, their next few visits after successfully sneak in, she wasn't in her cell. Day by day they snuck in, they looked all through the corridor to see if she was moved, but they couldn't find her. Then the day Lea mentioned he and Isa deciding to sign up as Ansem the Wise's new apprentices to freely traverse the castle to their hearts' content arrived. Their first day getting a feel for how the research process is done in the main computer room, Ansem's aide, Xehanort, or rather a Xehanort-possessed Terra, backstabbed Isa, Lea, Ienzo, Aeleus, Dilan, and Even, taking their hearts and using their Nobodies as almost half of the members of the old Organization XIII.

From the girl's sudden disappearance in the castle and over a decade before Lea regained his former self, Aqua could tell that there was no chance this girl could still be alive after all that time. He and Isa really wanted to rescue her, but they never could when they were both used as a part of Xehanort's plot, creating the Nobodies of Organization XIII. Lea lowered his head, feeling like he really did fail her despite all he could to keep his promise and be there for someone.

"...I'm so sorry, Lea," Aqua said. "But, whatever Isa said to you, don't listen to him. You clearly never forgot about her."

"I just wish I could have done more than make empty promises," Lea muttered.

Axle frowned, unable to believe his idol was beating himself up over something he had no control over. Gently laying the bouquet down next to his Keyblade, he tapped his hooves against the floor, getting the stallion's attention.

*It's not your fault. You never break a promise. Your bad friend broke his promise if he's always so angry at you,* the colt said. *I think if you did save her, she would be glad to have a hero like you. You are me and mommy's hero, too.*

Axle stopped tapping, bringing a hoof to his head and tapped his temple, copying his signature gesture as he silently asked him if he's got what he said memorized. Despite the past promises Lea's made, both as himself and as Axel, he couldn't help but crack a smile at the colt's words. Axle grinned, hugging the stallion's side while Lea rubbed the colt's head with a small laugh.

"Thanks, buddy," he said.

Aqua was able to understand what Axle told Lea, grinning to herself. What the colt said was true; he was, in a way, a hero to some people. As Axel, he defected from the Organization and tried to help Sora and Kairi. He even rescued the ponies on the train the day he first arrived in Equestria and met Sweet Delight and Axle Beam. The Keyblade chose him for a reason, and his heroism and selfless acts were proof enough. Aqua stepped around the table, noticing the flowers the colt had carried sitting beside Lea's Keyblade against the base of the Cutie Map.

"Foal's-breath, huh? Who are they for?" Aqua asked curiously.

"Axle wanted to pick some flowers to give to Sweety," Lea said. "By the way, these flowers helped bring the Kirins' voices back from the magical silencing water."

"I see." Aqua picked up the bouquet in her aura. "Let's put these in a vase so they don't wither and dry up so she can take them home."

Axle nodded, following the unicorn mare to find a good vase to set the flowers in. Lea began to follow them, pausing as he glanced back at the lingering image of the cell where the young girl was. He hoped that, wherever she was, someone else my have freed her, and he would one day see her again. Sighing sadly, he exited the throne room, letting the memory fade from the magical projection, but he will never forget about her in his memories. Now he had to worry about what Sweet Delight would do to him when they tell her about the wild adventure he and Axle had at the Peaks of Peril, and that the flowers would be enough to keep her from scolding him.

Comments

[Komodo Dragoon]

Aw. I'm not gonna lie, I was kinda hoping that Lea would've found a way of using the Foal's Breath to give Axle the ability to speak.

[MidnightSun]

Oh Isa and Lea, if only you knew how in front of you that "trapped" girl has been.

When the music is in melody, it will be the key to memory.

[shining paladin]

11649422
me too

[Codex92]

11649422
The cure wouldn't have worked if someone was born without the ability to speak. I know others have mentioned the foal's-breath cure could give Axle Beam his voice, but his disability is physical, not magical. Like if anyone is affected by Silence, their muteness is temporary, not only disabling their spellcasting, but also makes them temporarily mute until it's recovered with Esuna or an item that cures status ailments.

Besides, I think keeping Axle mute can open up some more original chapters I can try to write up for this story, or for a future sequel I plan to make with him and Sweet Delight getting involved in some of the stuff Lea gets into.

[Postwarmonkey50]

11649422
Hey, I was thinking the same thing. Then it would be a cure to the ponies who lost their voices.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

*sees chapter title*

One obligitory song coming right up!

[MLPFanForever]

Wow! This was a beautiful chapter. You really outdid yourself with this one. Awesome job.

BTW, I've been meaning to ask: Any chance we'll be seeing a Twilight/Riku chapter anytime soon? I love that ship, and I wish to see more. Just saying.