I Am Not a Monster

by TheMysteryMuffin

Act I, Scene 2- In Which the Kirin Sings

The creature stood still on top of the hill and looked down towards Ponyville. She cocked her head to the side, almost looking down at it as if curious and unfamiliar to this strange environment, yet also intrigued to go on further. Looking around, the creature recognised some of the surroundings to be what she expected to be; flowers coming to an end in their life, the leaves turning orange, yellow and red on the trees and the cool, crisp air that waved through her fur. Shaking her body, the creature smiled, enjoying everything around her and the feeling that told her that Autumn was certainly here.

At first glance, nopony could recognise that the creature was a kirin. They were rarely seen across Equestria and mostly kept to themselves, yet they were known by legends for their kindness and honesty, and for their beautiful singing. Whenever a kirin sang, everything around them would almost fall into an enchanted phase, hypnotised by their delicate voice. Many believed that a kirin's voice sounded as majestic as a siren's, although it had been believed that no creature had survived to tell so. Every note that came out of a kirin's voice meant something important; songs explained their feelings, from songs of happiness and love to songs of sadness and despair.

The kirin continued to sing as she continued her way into Ponyville. She passed residents, who stopped and listened to her singing, becoming completely lost in its enchanting sound. Ponies who were wandering through the streets could hear the kirin's voice and they listened very carefully to its haunting tune. As the kirin made her way into the busy streets of Ponyville, ponies stood back and allowed her to pass, almost as if they had planned to do so. The singing past through the streets and made its way towards Twilight's castle and the School of Friendship, not too far away.

Nopony could resist the kirin's voice. They all stopped and watched her, almost as if they were waiting for instructions on what to do next. Yet, the kirin didn't interact with the residents but simply walked past, looking straight ahead into the distance. Nothing interfered with her, as if she was a very important guest and everything had to be just right. Not even an animal ran in front of the kirin, for they feared that it could rage into a ball of fire at any moment. Except, ponies didn't actually know much about what kirins were really like.

Gentle, kind and honest, the kirins were a peaceful species that survived only by their friendship. They were so careful, in fact, that they always watched where they tread, looking for insects or small animals that walked all over the ground. There were many kirins who believed that on the seventh day of the week, they would sit down early in the morning and sing the best of their songs, whilst experiencing the company of other creatures and animals around them.

As Autumn Blaze made her way towards Twilight's castle, she noticed a red stallion standing next to a cart whilst chewing on a piece of straw and an orange mare nearby to him. From a distance, Autumn could see that they were talking, or perhaps arguing about something. While having a positive attitude among most other creatures, Autumn understood the times of when something was wrong. The way that they were talking and how loudly they had become told Autumn that they were both unhappy with the other who they were arguing with. Autumn tilted her head to the side and listened very carefully to each and every word that was coming out of both the ponies' mouths.

Autumn Blaze recognised one of the voices to be Applejack, the pony who she met a few months ago when she and a yellow Pegasus called Fluttershy came to visit them in her village. She was standing in front of a large red stallion who was arguing back at her, who talked with a very deep voice and would sometimes grumble between sentences. Saddened by this discord between the two ponies, Autumn slowly made her way towards them, trying not to be seen so easily.

Hiding behind Big Mac's cart, Autumn listened to the remainder of the conversation, annoyed that she didn't understand the whole story.

"Now look here, Big Mac! I can't go and help on the farm for this weekend! Twilight wants me to welcome a special guest to Ponyville and I ain't available."

The large, red stallion shook his head. "I'm sorry, Applejack, but it's Nightmare Night season and every Apple family member needs to get everything ready for the celebrations. Pumpkins are still needed to be loaded onto the wagons and taken across Ponyville."

"So?" Applejack said, raising an eyebrow, "Can't sompeony else do the job for me, then?"

Big Mac grunted and hooked himself into his wagon, attaching all the mechanics together and lifting off the brakes that held the wagon in place.

"Everypony has their role, Applejack. Yours is as important as ours and if Granny Smith wants something done, she wants in done alright! Now, if you excuse me, I need to deliver these in time for the festivities."

Before Applejack could protest, Big Mac dragged his cart behind him and made his way down the road. Applejack watched silently, with no words to come out of her mouth, before stamping the ground angrily with her hoof. Autumn Blaze, who had quickly jumped behind a stack of boxes before Big Mac took his cart, watched how Applejack acted with the emotion of anger. It was rather strange for Autumn to see a creature not transform into a nirik and cause destruction around them while they were angry or frustrated.

Applejack punched a rock next to her and groaned at the pain. She placed it in her mouth, as a small child would do, and suckled slowly. Applejack then turned around to look at something in the distance, her hoof just above her eye level. Worried that she may notice her, Autumn Blaze quickly tip-toed backwards to keep herself hidden behind the boxes, but then knocked one over and the rest came tumbling down on top of her.

Shocked at the commotion behind her, Applejack turned around and gasped when she saw Autumn Blaze lying on her front with boxes on top of her. The kirin got up and wiped the dust out of her fur before she properly said hello to her friend.

"Ugh, stupid boxes! Sorry for scaring you, Applejack."

Speechless, Applejack looked left to right, wondering where Autumn had come from. When she realised that they were alone, Applejack simply smiled and gave Autumn a hug.

"Autumn Blaze. Good to see 'ya again! What are you doin' here?"

Autumn chuckled, covering her mouth with her uniquely shaped hoof. "I was apparently invited to Ponyville. It seems that your friends have learnt a little about kirins, now. Probably all the good stuff!"

"Really?!" Applejack replied, "Sorry that I've been quiet for some time. Been busy dealing with Cozy Glow and her mad attempt to take over the school. But y'all needed worry about that."

Autumn raised an eyebrow. "Cozy Glow?"

Applejack suddenly scrunched up her face in frustration at how Cozy Glow turned out to be the evil genius who tried to control the school. She remembered being locked up with her friends and Tirek, completely out of magic and only believing in the students back at the school to help them succeed, rather than imprisoning them in an everlasting scene of chaos.

"Yeah, 'ya needn't worry about that, though. Everything's been usually quiet, apart from the preparations for Nightmare Night. Anyways, so you're the special guest for Ponyville, eh?"

Autumn was still listening to Applejack, although she had started to take interest in the surroundings and what was Ponyville. Everything was specially decorated for Nightmare Night and the evening had already arrived and was becoming less of a bright yellow and more of a strong orange lighting up the sky. Autumn Blaze, memorised by this beautiful scene, jumped and hopped on the ground while making rather excitable kirin noises.

"Oh, it's so pretty!" Autumn said, swirling around in some kind of beautiful dance, "From the sky to the trees to their leaves to all the different shapes and colours and lights that all surround me, and the sounds of the wind or the crows that call. Oh, there are so many things out there that I love! You should, one day, come and visit me in the Peaks of Peril and see my family on Nightmare Night! Fireflies come and light up the night and the flames of the pumpkins make our village so gorgeous!"

Applejack, who had been left speechless, simply nodded in agreement to Autumn's opinion. Her positive attitude gave Applejack the indication that she was happy to experience anything that Princess Celestia had to offer.

"Autumn... I don't know if ya heard me or not, but are you the special guest that Princess Celestia invited?"

Autumn Blaze stopped prancing around and focused on Applejack again. She scratched her head as if trying to remember something.

"I believe so, yes. After all, I did receive an invitation."

Applejack raised a hoof over her eyes and looked towards Ponyville. She stared into the distance, not really knowing what or who she was looking out for. Though, remembering that she needed to be back with the rest of her friends, Applejack grabbed Autumn's hoof and dragged her along.

"Come on, Autumn. Let me introduce you to the others."

Autumn smiled and followed Applejack towards the centre of Ponyville. "Sounds fun!"

Author's Note:

Apologises for the short chapter, but life is weird at the moment. More chapters coming soon, please bear with me. The story will improve.

Comments

[TheNootofToot]

OOo, very nice!

[TheMysteryMuffin]

9276563
Thanks for coming along and leaving a comment. I'm so thankful that this story has done much better than Canterlot Bridge and has gotten over 475 views!

[Kinder der Nacht]

Looks like we've just got a new character tag for Autumn Blaze. You might want to check it out

[TheMysteryMuffin]

9286821
FINALLY!!!!! Thanks, hun.

[Ni-kun]

Autumn Blaze is tired of ponies and creatures thinking that she and the rest of the kirin are monsters. Losing her anger, Autumn needs her friends' help to calm her back down.

It should be temper, not anger.

[TheMysteryMuffin]

9315277
Thanks for letting me know.

[Ni-kun]

9315342
You're welcome!