Daring Do and the Legend of the Kirinstone

by TheLegendaryBillCipher

Chapter 2: The Kirin Chief

The train rattled as it rumbled down the tracks. Yearling leaned against the window, looking over the arid landscape. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but rocks and hardy shrubs that somehow flourished in the wasteland.

The empty train car around her, along with the passing scenery, were a testament to the sheer remoteness of the Peaks of Peril. No creature would waste their time coming all this way for some relic that no one had heard of.

That was the logical part of her brain talking anyway.

Her gut told her something different. It was a similar feeling to all the expeditions to the Tenochtitlan Basin and into the shady black markets of Equestria in the search for artifacts. There was something out here that much her gut was certain of.

It was just a matter of how buried it had become.

Yearling perked up at the sound of screeching brakes and the gentle lurch of the train as it slowed to a stop. The conductor stepped into her car and, seeing as he didn’t have anypony else to address, turned to her.

“Peaks of Peril, miss,” he said.

“Right.” Yearling slipped on her saddlebags and got up. “Thank you.”

“Watch your step, miss, and good luck out there,” the conductor said as she walked past.

Yearling hopped down onto the old wooden platform and took in the sights. The first sign of anything more alive than a bush loomed off in the distance – thick trees and lush ferns amidst craggy peaks.

As the train gave a whistle and began to back down the tracks—Yearling only just realized the station was an abrupt dead end—she glanced at the lone building on the platform. It was either a ticket stall or the smallest stationhouse she had ever seen.

The crotchety old pony inside gave her a grin and a look that made her shudder. “Enjoy your stay, miss,” he said with a dry chuckle.

“Thanks,” Yearling replied flatly.

She huffed, straightening herself out and began marching across a faintly worn path that weaved its way towards the lush jungle ahead.

When she figured she was far enough away from any prying eyes, she dropped her disguise. Sunhat, glasses, and shawl cloak were stuffed away, revealing her explorer’s shirt. She slapped her pith helmet atop her head and took flight towards the jungle.

---

Her experience in the Tenochtitlan Basin had prepared Yearling for what lay ahead, but what she hadn’t expected was the sheer humidity.

A light fog hung about her as she made her way through the ferns and foliage. Combined with the heat, it made the air feel stifling. Her Pegasus wings, used to dealing with clouds, felt damp against her sides.

Still, to her relief, there weren’t that many creatures lurking about to do her harm. Overhead came the many calls of tropical birds, and from somewhere in the bushes the occasional croak of a frog or chirp of an insect. She had to avoid the occasional spider web, some big enough to platter a wedding cake, but otherwise met little resistance.

The Peaks of Peril seemed to be misnamed, she mused, for nothing felt perilous about the lively jungle. A part of her thought that might put a point towards the vulnerability of the object of her quest.

Her ear flicked as a new sound joined the noise of nature all around her – singing. Not of bird or insect, but of something sentient. Amid the vocal chants were the occasional word that Yearling could make out.

“Hello?” she called as she pinpointed the direction of the singing and made her way towards it.

She stumbled slightly as her hoof caught something new in the undergrowth: a smooth, flat stone, about a foot in diameter. A series of them, mismatched, led on in the direction of the singing through a clearly made path in the foliage.

The singing got louder the farther down the path she got. “Hello?” she called again.

The singing stopped – no sooner than Yearling had figured she was nearly upon the singer. She abruptly halted when she heard the clop of hooves on stone.

A shadowy form appeared through the fog. As far as she could make out, it was some chimera of a unicorn and a lion. A curly mane surrounded its head and its tail was long and thin with a tufted end. But atop its head was a gnarled horn, like a tree branch. Its eyes seemed to glow through the fog, hinting at its demonic origin.

“W-Who are you?” Yearling asked, taking a step back.

And suddenly it leaped through the fog, dispersing it like some illusion, with a friendly wave of its hoof.

“I’m Autumn Blaze!” she said cheerfully.

Yearling set a hoof to her chest, trying to get her heart to go back into its place as she took a few breaths to steady her nerves. “What… are you a kirin?” she asked.

“Why yes I am,” Autumn said, gesturing grandly to her floofy mane, stripe of scales, and gnarled horn.

“Huh. I’ve never met one of you before,” Yearling said, ease falling over her as she took in the sight before her. Autumn was a lot more pony-like with a more solid look. The scales and horn were unusual, but otherwise she seemed to just be a fluffier pony.

“Yeah, I get that a lot. I mean, it’s not like we live right next door, ya know?” Autumn scoffed with a smirk. “At least we get rail service though!”

“I’m Daring Do,” Yearling said, stepping forward and offering her hoof.

“Pleased to meet you!” Autumn said, taking her hoof in both of hers and shaking it so hard it rattled the poor Pegasus like an earthquake. “What brings you all the way out to the Peaks of Peril?”

“I need to speak with your leader. Rain Shine?” Yearling asked. “Do you know where I can find her?”

“Of course! Rain Shine’s back at the village. Follow me!” Autumn inquired cheerfully, starting to trot back the way she had come. “What do you need to speak with her about?”

Yearling nibbled her bottom lip. “It’s… well it’s sort of private, and important.”

“Ah,” Autumn sounded out, winking back at her. “One of those top secret mission sort of things, gotcha. Don’t worry, my lips are sealed… well, not literally. Been through that once, not a fun time!”

Autumn gave a brief laugh and Yearling raised a questioning eyebrow at her before a shadow fell over her, catching her attention.

They were passing through what looked like a pass in-between two small cliffs. A boulder was dislodged off to the side like it had once blocked the passage. Now the gap was occupied by a wooden arch, hoofmade with logs, and covered in winding vines of blue flowers.

Judging from the craftsponyship, it seemed to have only been made recently.

---

The rest of the path that wound through the forest was both paved the same way, and marked with similar landmarks like the arch. Wooden poles, sections of fence, and lamp posts with hanging lanterns, all made from logs and with the blue flower vines curled about them.

“You kirin like these flowers, huh?” Yearling remarked.

“Yep! They’re called foal’s breath. Turns out, if you let them grow long enough, they climb like vines!” Autumn chirped. “I think they’re pretty.”

“Well, yeah, but do they hold any significance to you all?” Yearling asked.

Autumn abruptly turned around. “Oh,” she sounded out. “You haven’t heard the tale yet!”

“…What tale?” Yearling asked cautiously.

“How we kirin regained our voices!” Autumn exclaimed, bouncing in the air. “Oh, it is such a great tale. Take my word for it – I was there!”

“How you regained your voices?” Yearling asked, frowning. “How’d you lose them in the first place?”

She regretted asking it shortly after the words came from her mouth. Autumn launched into a rambling song full of comedic tangents and complicated descriptions. But she was able to piece together the story at least:

The kirin turned into their fiery nirik forms when angry. When too many arguments destroyed their village, Rain Shine made the kirin take a Vow of Silence, taking a dip in the Stream of Silence and silencing their emotions. Autumn, tired of being cooped up in her own head, had accidently found the cure and taken it. However, she was unable to convince the other kirin to take it and was cast into exile rather than take the Vow again.

That’s when familiar names entered the picture: Applejack and Fluttershy were summoned to the Peaks of Peril and helped Autumn show the value of expressing one’s emotions, at least in a tempered fashion, and helped the kirin break the Vow of Silence.

By the time her song had ended, the two had finally arrived at the kirin village.

Some native villages in the Tenochtitlan Basin were located on the ground or in the trees, but the kirin had managed to do both. Wooden huts with leaf-thatched roofs—which Yearling inwardly noted were indeed highly flammable— lay among a grove of trees. Some of the huts were in the trees themselves, with wooden and rope bridges spanning between the trees to connect them.

A notable small stream flowed through the village like a great winding snake, ending in a fountain at the end, which seemed to be roughly the center of the village itself.

All around them were kirin going about their business – some carrying carts, some chatting with one another. Some were performing on small stages to small audiences. Some were singing like Autumn had been, either to themselves or to others.

“Hey Fern Flare!” Autumn called over to another kirin. “Where’s Rain Shine?”

A few of the kirin took brief notice of Autumn, some with looks of mild annoyance. Then they took a second, longer look at Yearling, staring at her quizzically. Some tilted their heads as if in thought.

The kirin Autumn had called to pointed to a large hut near the fountain.

“Thanks!” Autumn called back before turning to Yearling. “Good news, Rain Shine’s home.”

“Thank you, Autumn. I’d best get this over with,” Yearling said, flashing the enthusiastic kirin a smile before making her way across a wooden bridge towards the hut in question.

As she stepped closer to the river, she glanced at it once, then twice, noticing the water was a richer hue of blue than normal. A few familiar blue petals also floated across its surface, which harkened Daring’s mind back to Autumn’s song.

Steeling herself, Yearling raised a hoof and rapped on the wooden door. The sound of hoofsteps could be heard approaching it from the other side before it opened inward.

The kirin that answered towered over Yearling and the other kirin, much like Celestia did over her own ponies. Her gnarled horn was similarly larger, and a simple golden tiara rested above her brow.

“Rain Shine?” Yearling asked.

“Yes. Who might you be?” Rain Shine asked, tilting her head at Yearling.

Realization hit Yearling and she took off her pith helmet, holding it to her chest and bowing. “My name is Daring Do. I came here seeking information about an artifact,” she explained.

Rain’s eyes narrowed. “What sort of artifact?”

“It’s called the Kirinstone. I was told you would know more about it,” Yearling explained.

A quiet gasp made Yearling look up. Rain’s eyes darted around at her kirin before focusing back on the Pegasus. “Inside, please,” she said in a quieter tone.

Rain quickly stepped back inside and Yearling was quick to slap on her pith helmet and follow her. She got one more glance at the kirin in the village before the door shut behind her.

---

“Who told you of the Kirinstone?” Rain Shine inquired as Yearling followed her into what appeared to be some sort of living room.

“Well… I don’t know, to be honest. I received a letter a few days ago telling me to find the Kirinstone and bring it to Tartarus,” Yearling explained. “The letter was only signed ‘Concerned Party.’”

Rain seemed to consider this, staring off in thought and nodding lightly. “I see.” She turned to Yearling. “I am afraid I don’t have much to offer you. I do not possess the Kirinstone.”

“Do you know where I can find it then?” Yearling asked. “Some sort of shrine or temple or something?”

“Perhaps. In the deeper jungle, but none of us have been there in many years,” Rain said. “I only know of the Kirinstone through stories, passed down through the generations.”

“Any information could help,” Yearling said, walking over to her. “The letter said it was a matter of importance for the kirin.”

Rain huffed. “The Kirinstone was believed to be a divine gift to the kirin for some great service they did in the past, but its exact purpose has been lost to time,” she explained, shaking her head. “I thought it was mostly a myth, seeing as no one has seen it in so long.”

“Whoever wrote to me sure thinks it’s real,” Yearling said, looking out a nearby window. “Chief Rain Shine, I’ve ventured into my fair share of ancient temples, and I was sent here because someone believed I could find it.”

“And return it to Tartarus… very strange,” Rain said, joining her at the window. She smiled fondly at the kirin going to and fro outside. “If this is an issue of importance to my kirin, then I shall allow you to search for the Kirinstone. I can’t guarantee you will find it, but I know where you can start looking.”

“Anything could help,” Yearling said with a sheepish chuckle. “You know more than I do.”

Rain smiled and nodded to her. “And I believe I have a kirin that will be able to assist you.”

Author's Note:

Sorry, I'm not as good at coming up with songs as Autumn Blaze is.