A Kirin Tale

by Leaf Blade

02. An Invading Army

The hulking red Kirin who identified himself as Commander Tirek strode slowly through Twilight Sparkle’s village. Pinkie Pie was cowering behind Twilight, using Twilight’s body for cover, as the pair stood with their backs to a river and Twilight stared this Tirek down.

He was alone—for now; the man referred to himself as a ‘Commander’ and said that he was working under someone else, which all but confirmed that more Nirik would quickly be on their way, and if that happened, Twilight’s village would become a war zone and there would be a lot of blood.

Twilight couldn’t allow that, and the most efficient way she saw of diffusing the situation was to simply take out the Kirin leading them and prepare the citizens for battle as soon as possible.

Easy enough; it was only one Kirin, after all.

Twilight charged into the clearing between herself and Tirek and stood tall, staring him down with a disaffected expression.

The larger man smirked in reply, “You wish to challenge me?”

Twilight nodded.

Tirek chuckled. “Very well. I’m interested to see the strength of this Grove’s Kirin. Show me what you can do, child.”

Tirek walked into the clearing and looked Twilight in the eye, but made no move to attack. He was confident, which was no surprise if he commanded his own army; he was likely much more powerful than the Nirik Twilight had so effortlessly defeated before.

Twilight paced back and forth a moment, eyes trained on Tirek; she wanted to see if he would try to take first blood. If he did, she could react to his attack and learn about his combat abilities, which would give her an advantage going into this fight… but all he seemed interested in was watching Twilight with a smug sneer and waiting for her to move first.

So be it then.

Twilight’s eyes darted left and right, spying burning and cracked trees all around her. She tore shreds of flaming wood from the trees and fashioned them into makeshift spears and needles as she threw them at Tirek, surrounding him in a sea of weaponry.

The grooves in Tirek’s charcoal-black horn glowed brick-red as he dug his hooves into the ground, the Kirin simply standing in place as Twilight’s assault made contact, though if her attack did any damage at all, she couldn’t see it.

Tirek simply laughed and looked around at all the splintered shards of wood that were deflected off his body like pebbles being thrown against a mountain’s face.

“Is that it?” he snorted. “Is that the best you can do? Your village is on the line! Why aren’t you transforming?”

Twilight blinked, and cocked her head. It hadn’t occurred to her that Tirek might be uninformed about the Stream of Silence and its effects.

“Unless…” Tirek pondered, tapping his chin with a hoof as his gaze rested on the river nearby. “The Stream of Silence? I had heard rumors, but…” the man clicked his tongue and grit his teeth; he had appeared only mildly vexed before, but Twilight could see clear anger burning in his eyes now.

“What use is there to a village full of Kirin who can’t even transform!?” Tirek shouted, stomping his hoof. “It might as well be destr—”

Twilight had figured Tirek’s magic out; it wasn’t natural strength that allowed him to deflect Twilight’s attack before, but his magic. Distracted as he was by his rage, he wouldn’t be able to protect himself from a wooden lance to the back of his neck.

Or at least, that’s what Twilight thought before seeing the grooves on his horn light up, and felt the lance being wrested from her magic aura. Tirek looked at the makeshift weapon and scowled, seemingly unimpressed.

While Twilight’s magical repertoire might have been rusty from years of not practicing, her mind was as sharp as ever, and she had thought a few steps ahead. Enough steps, in fact, to predict Tirek would look at the weapon that almost hit him and turn a blind eye to the much smaller needle charging him from below.

‘Blind eye’ was an appropriate descriptor as well, considering where the needle ended up.

Tirek screamed and threw a hoof to his face as he dropped the lance and stumbled back, blood pouring from the pierced eye. Twilight wasted no time grabbing the lance and throwing it against Tirek’s other eye, picking up several of the other broken shards and throwing them one at a time, hoping that at least some of them would get through Tirek’s defensive spell.

But none of them did, as wooden spears were burned to harmless ash in the wake of Tirek’s transformation into a Nirik.

The Nirik’s body was a deep, bloody red, and the smoke that poured from his body was an almost transparent ash gray. His eyes glowed with oil-black light and the fangs that were gritted into a fearsome snarl were crooked, decaying and yellow-tinted.

Twilight felt no fear, but her instincts still caused her legs to tremble.

Tirek’s snarl twisted into a wicked grin, and a rumbling chuckle escaped his lips.

“Well done, girl,” he said, “but now you’re going to see the true power of a Kirin.”

Tirek blitzed past Twilight in the blink of an eye, and before she could turn to face him she felt her body being crushed. A cursory glance revealed that Tirek had caught her in a giant fist made from the smoke emanating off him, and though it was only barely visible, it was solid as stone.

The fist squeezed and Twilight made no outward reaction. She felt her bones being crushed, she felt the snapping of her limbs and shattering of ribs, and yet it meant nothing to her. She supposed this was it, this was how she was going to die, and frankly she didn’t really mind. She didn’t have much of a life to return to anyway.

Before that morbid thought could entirely take hold, the fist dropped Twilight onto the grass as two beams of light shot Tirek in the back of his head, and he turned to face the source; Night Light and Twilight Velvet, Twilight Sparkle’s parents.

“Well then,” Tirek grumbled with a grin on his face, “so there are Kirin here who may actually put up a fight? Fine then.”

Tirek walked toward Twilight’s parents, forgetting about Twilight entirely. Twilight struggled to stand, but soon felt a warmth caressing her body, and looked up to see Pinkie Pie had come out of hiding, and the pale blue light covering Twilight’s body matched the grooves of Pinkie’s burnt-red horn.

“It’s not much,” she whispered, “but it should get you back on your feet, yeah?”

Twilight nodded as she stood up, then looked over to the scene of Tirek crushing her father with his smoky fist while whipping her mother with his tail. They weren’t going to last more than a few more seconds against him.

“Twilight, what do we do?” Pinkie whimpered. “We need to help them! And Tirek’s army’s gonna get here pretty soon! What do we do?”

Pinkie Pie was right; if Tirek indeed had an army, it wouldn’t be long before it arrived. The Kirin who Twilight had trounced earlier was now unconscious, which meant the only present threat was Tirek himself, and if he was taken out now, that would deal a huge blow to his army, no matter how powerful they were.

But Twilight knew she couldn’t defeat him, and neither could her parents, nor any of the silent, weakened Kirin in this village. Which left only one option.

Twilight cocked her head toward the village gate and ran in that direction, looking back to see Pinkie hesitating for only a second before following Twilight’s lead.

“We’re just gonna leave?” Pinkie said worriedly.

Twilight nodded, looking back to see that Tirek was still engaged with her parents for the time being. This would be Twilight and Pinkie Pie’s only opportunity to escape undetected.

“But this is your home!” Pinkie pleaded, but didn’t stop running. “And those Kirin, are they—”

Twilight nodded, but she didn’t stop running either.

“But—”

And at Pinkie’s third whimper, Twilight stopped and pressed her nose against Pinkie Pie’s. She had no words or expressions she could use to impress upon Pinkie the urgency with which they needed to escape, but she hoped Pinkie could somehow understand simply from that small gesture.

Twilight pulled back and ran, Pinkie following Twilight out the village exit and into the ravine.

****

From atop the ravine, near the foothills of the Macintosh Hills, Twilight watched the glow of her home’s pyre glistening against a dark blue sky, columns of black smoke seemingly devouring the stars. She knew as she turned her back on it, that she would never see that village again.

While her and Pinkie Pie weren’t quite out of the woods regarding Tirek’s army, they stopped a moment to catch their breath. Pinkie Pie’s spell did indeed get Twilight back onto her feet, and her body moved without any apparent problems, but she wasn’t moving as fast as she wanted to.

And Pinkie Pie, she was breathing heavily, hoof glued to her chest and eyes stretched wide-open as she grappled with what had just happened.

Twilight wasn’t certain what she was shaken up over; whether it was nearly losing her life, or being so close to the complete annihilation of a Kirin village, or the knowledge that such a powerful army was rampaging through Equestria, and was likely chasing them.

It didn’t matter to Twilight; while she couldn’t empathize with Pinkie’s pain, she could still recognize it for what it was and offer her best attempt at a comforting presence.

She walked over to Pinkie, sheltered in an alcove just inside the ramp down to the ravine, and put a hoof on the pink Kirin’s back. Pinkie Pie jumped for a moment, but looked behind her to see Twilight and offered a shaky smile.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, the words barely legible past her sniffles and blubbers. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Twilight cocked her head.

“It’s my fault,” Pinkie sniffed, “they’re after me. I didn’t warn you—well, I guess that wouldn’t have helped your village, would it? Damn it, I’m so stupid! Why did I think leading them to another village would—”

Twilight tapped Pinkie’s shoulder, light enough to be considered gentle but hard enough to stop her rambling and get her attention. When Pinkie looked at Twilight, tears staining her eyes, Twilight merely shook her head.

“You don’t blame me?” Pinkie said, and Twilight nodded. Pinkie frowned and opened her mouth, but then put a hoof to her chin and chuckled. “I don’t know what that means, I kinda phrased that question weird.”

Twilight took her hoof and put it in the dirt at their feet, etching written words for the first time in many years.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself.”

Twilight tilted her head as she re-read her own message. She had forgotten how verbose she could be.

Pinkie Pie chuckled, but her laughter quickly escalated into a full belly laugh as she rolled around on her back. Twilight tilted her head.

“I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you,” Pinkie wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at Twilight. “I’m just—I dunno what to say. Other than ‘thank you’, obviously! So thank you! It means a lot that you’d say that to me.”

Twilight nodded. She puffed out her chest and put a hoof on it, then pointed to Pinkie Pie.

“You’re gonna protect me?” Pinkie asked curiously.

Twilight nodded.

“W-well then,” Pinkie Pie’s cheeks turned a bright red as she put a hoof on one, turning her gaze away from Twilight, “I guess, uh, I’ll try to be worthy of your protection!”

Twilight cocked her head.

“Umm,” Pinkie chuckled nervously, “what I mean is, uh, I don’t know… what I mean.” Pinkie laughed awkwardly, even letting out a snort, and Twilight just waited for her to compose herself, which she did by taking a deep breath.

“Okay!” she said exuberantly, pumping her hooves in front of her. “So you’re honestly serious about helping me, huh?” Twilight nodded. “Okay! Then I have to get serious too! We’re gonna do this, Twilight! We’re totally gonna find the Elements of Harmony and save Equestria from those mean ol’ Nirik!”

Twilight nodded, and she noted that the Nirik army and Pinkie’s claims of ‘saving Equestria’ from before were indeed related, as she had presumed. Right now though, they still had to make it to the Macintosh Hills before the Nirik caught up to them.

Twilight got up and walked in that direction, pointing Pinkie that way with a bob of her head, and Pinkie sprung to her hooves to follow Twilight, taking one last look behind her.

Twilight didn’t bother to look back. There was nothing for her that way.

“Twilight! We better hurry!” Pinkie whispered urgently, and Twilight didn’t need to look back to know to quicken her pace, sprinting into a full gallop toward the looming Macintosh Hills before the Nirik—whose crackling, flaming bodies she could hear in the distance—caught up to them.

Twilight and Pinkie Pie ran through a moonlit open field, and the Nirik weren’t far behind. Twilight looked to see that there were about six of them, and even if they were all as weak as the first one Twilight defeated, there were still too many for Twilight to feel confident taking on at once, given her and Pinkie’s injuries.

They would still be able to lose them in the Macintosh Hills, but only if they reached them before the Nirik caught up to them.

A slash of flame burned through the grass on Twilight’s right, only missing the Kirin by a hair because she was able to dodge in time. Another bolt of flame came in an arc from above, but Twilight summoned a protective barrier above herself and Pinkie to deflect it.

“Wow, they’re really close, huh?!” Pinkie said with a shaky smile, running as fast as she could, though it was obvious she was exhausted. Twilight felt like she could run another thousand miles, but she could tell that her body was slowing down with every passing step.

They wouldn’t make it at this rate.

But maybe… Pinkie could make it, if Twilight bought her some time.

Twilight stopped in her tracks and turned around, lighting up her horn with raspberry magic and scraping a hoof across the grass out of habit.

“W-w-what are you doing?!” Pinkie all but shrieked, screeching to a halt and jumping in front of Twilight.

Twilight picked Pinkie up in her magic and tossed her away toward Macintosh Hills—lightly enough that she wouldn’t be harmed, but with enough force to give her a head start.

Twilight could easily make out the shadowy figures in the distance, and could count their number; there were six Nirik approaching, enveloped in various flames and vapors; a sign that they had a mixture of Natures among their group.

No matter; all Twilight had to do was buy time for Pinkie, who suddenly hopped in front of Twilight with an irritated scowl and pressed her nose against Twilight’s.

“I am not leaving you behind,” she growled, “that is not an option for me, okay?”

Twilight took a step back and blinked. After a moment, she nodded.

Pinkie took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder, her previous fierce demeanor melting away at the charging Nirik getting rapidly closer, but then light returned to her face and she bore a hesitant smile at Twilight.

“Would it be possible,” she tapped her hooves together, “to maybe combine our powers? Like, maybe you have a spell that can give me a wee energy boost? I think I have an idea.”

Twilight nodded, and Pinkie’s smile shone radiantly in return.

“Alright then,” Pinkie turned on her hooves and scraped one twice across the grass, “gimme a boost, and I’ll stop these guys, at least long enough for us to make our getaway!”

Twilight stood beside Pinkie Pie and lit up her horn, connecting the aura of her magic with Pinkie’s and feeling Pinkie’s magic in return. Twilight noted that Pinkie Pie had a Wood Nature, apparently.

Pinkie’s horn lit up with a pale blue light, and as she grunted and grumbled with her tongue hanging out of her mouth and her eyes tightly shut, a line of pale blue light shone across the field.

From that light emerged a hundred or more thorny claws that grabbed the Nirik that ran straight into them. The Nirik fought back with fire and lightning and metal, but for every claw that they struck down, there was another to take its place.

“That oughtta do it!” Pinkie hopped in place and beamed at Twilight, who was looking at Pinkie’s wall of defense with wide eyes. Even if she could speak, she wouldn’t be sure what to say, but she knew that Pinkie had done well, and wanted to commend that.

Twilight gave Pinkie Pie a salute, but Pinkie just scoffed and rolled her eyes with a giggle.

“C’mon, silly,” Pinkie prodded Twilight with a hoof, “we gotta go! Hurry up!”

Pinkie Pie ran for the hills and Twilight followed, looking back for one moment to watch the Nirik preoccupied with Pinkie’s spell. She knew that Pinkie had only been able to cast that with Twilight’s help—or at least she assumed, based on Pinkie’s prior comments—but Twilight still took note that Pinkie’s spell was far greater than any Twilight had in her arsenal, and that was… something.

Twilight and Pinkie Pie were only a stone’s throw away from the foothills by the time the pursuit party began catching up to them again, and while Twilight knew that they would be cutting it close, she believed they could still make it and then lose the party in the hills.

At least that was plan A before a Nirik jolted to the front of the pack, cutting Twilight and Pinkie off from the Hills, its body crackling with blue electricity. Pinkie took a fighting stance, and Twilight merely looked over her shoulder to see the other five Nirik surround the pair.

This wasn’t good.

Twilight wracked her brain for ideas, some solution to this new problem; perhaps by combining their magic again, Pinkie would be able to buy a way out of this mess, but that would take time they didn’t have. Or perhaps Twilight could put up a barrier and—and drain the rest of her magic, most likely, with no tangible benefit.

It looked like the only available tactic was to just fight their way through and hope they could get lucky. But then plan B arrived in the form of a wall of blue flame behind the pursuing Nirik, accompanied by a cackle that rumbled through the foothills.

Pinkie sidled up to Twilight and looked concernedly to her for an answer, but a shrug was all Twilight could give.

“Looks like you fellas stumbled into the wrong neighborhood,” a raspy woman’s voice growled, her voice being carried by magic and echoing through the Hills to sound much deeper than it really was. “The Storm King’s army isn’t welcome in these Hills.”

A small opening appeared in the wall of flame, and yet another slow cackle was heard.

“This is your only invitation to turn back,” the voice said. “You’d better take it.”

A lengthy shadow stretched outward from the wall of flame, covering the grassy field in darkness and even shrouding the nearby hills, enrapturing the attention of the two Kirin and their pursuers. Suddenly, two bright blue flaming eyes appeared on the wall, accompanied by a similarly burning grin.

Then another smiling face appeared in the shadow. Then another, and another, until the entire visible range of the foothills were covered in these gruesome grinning faces.

“Unless you want to deal with us,” several raspy voices spoke in unison, “take this chance to turn back.”

Only one of the Nirik hesitated, taking a shaky step toward the shadowy foothills, but once he turned to see his party had all run away through the opening provided, he quickly followed suit.

Pinkie Pie breathed a sigh of relief and flopped onto her belly as the Nirik ran away, though Twilight wouldn’t let down her guard until the person responsible for the show made themselves known.

Luckily, Twilight wouldn’t have to wait long, as once the shadows and flames receded, a figure slunk out of the shadows.

“The ol’ Army of Shadows trick,” a light blue Kirin flicked back her rainbow-colored mane as she approached Twilight and Pinkie with a friendly smile, laughing at the fleeing Nirik, “gets ‘em every time.”

Author's Note:

What if TwiPie, but everything Twilight's ever known gets destroyed and she has no capacity to mourn.
That escalated quickly.

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

Comments

[Ze1a7in]

Yay! New friend!

Loving this AU.

[Leaf Blade]

9425831
I'm very glad to hear that. I was a bit concerned by your first comment that you might have an issue with the trans thing.

[Ze1a7in]

9426830
Sorry about my first comment causing concern. I was more just completely shocked due to not expecting it. I have no problem with the topic or those who are trans.

[Leaf Blade]

9426863
No worries. I'm just glad you're enjoying the fic so far.

[ShadowLDrago]

As usual, no matter the universe, Rainbow is a smug bitch. That said, ALSO as usual, she's got a damn good reason to be.