> I Am Not a Monster
>  by TheMysteryMuffin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Act I, Scene 1 - In Which the Autumn Arrives
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Autumn in Equestria was, probably, the prettiest of all seasons. Unlike spring and summer which were brightening up alive in some many trails of light, colour, life and artistry, autumn was simply what it was meant to be; a season drawing everything to a close. It was like a large set of doors closing slowly to the days of warmth, sunlight and life, and opening a new pair of doors to a new world of plant-life, animals, colour and weather. There would be a cool breeze that swept past through the air as if travelling to a new destination. It carried the dead, brown, crusty leaves from the ground and sweep them off to their new home somewhere, mostly landing on the paths that winded through the many civilisations that were in their way.

The evenings were becoming longer and the days were drawing shorter more than ever. The sunset now had character. It portrayed its light and orange colours all over the sky as if it was performing a show to all the ponies and residents below. There would be more clouds covering the sky, changing shape and colour all the time; orange and large, black and thick, grey and thin, red and small. Standing out of the clouds, regularly disappearing into the next clouds, were flocks of birds heading to warmer climates, as winter would soon be approaching. The call of the leader echoed over the mountains, travelling down into the villages below as if calling to them; winter is coming. Soon, they would only be little specks in the sky, just visible as black dots against its orange canvas.

The road winded through the mountains towards the town of Ponyville like a serpent slithering along in a zig-zag pattern. Weaving past boulders, trees and rivers that were embedded in the spectacular landscape, the road was a drab brown colour, dirty, but it wasn't muddy, sticky or wet. Covering the road were the leaves; all brown, dead and lying all over the land. A scarecrow propped up on top of a hill was up to its waist in leaves and was leaning on its side by the weight of the leaves and the strength of the wind that blew past it.

A pony was busy raking up all the loose, dead leaves from their field and placing them into large bags. Other ponies, all in one long queue, would take the bags of leaves and take them to storage, to stay dry. They were preparing for the next season, winter, and they needed the leaves to be dry for fires and to sell well as a backup product, as there would be no apples to grow anymore or sell. One by one, each bag was filled, collected and dumped in the barn. Afterwards, the ponies would go and grab the remainder of the bags from their fellow workers, while having a chance to wipe the sweat from their brows before continuing their heavy work.

Applejack, an orange earth pony wearing a brown country hat and having a trio of red apples for a cutie mark on her flank, trotted down the queue of workers, watching each and every action that was happening. Being the second-oldest and middle pony in the family, Applejack felt that she had the skill and determination to be able to control and direct her team of farmers while working on her family's farm. Patroling down the long queue of ponies, Applejack would occasionally order about like they were her own soldiers.

"Move faster, you lot! We need to get those leave to Ponyville as soon as possible!"

Applejack then squinted into the distance and saw her younger sister, Apple Bloom, raking up more leaves and placing them into the large sacks and bags provided. She then handed them over to some older ponies, who carried most of the bags on their backs towards the long queue of ponies.

At the front leading the army of farmers, was Big Macintosh, Applejack's older brother. He was carrying the heaviest of the sacks of leaves on his back, occasionally grunting at the strain of the weight, even though he was a very strong stallion. Leaves may be light at first when there was only a few of them, but once the weight-load extended, it started to become a struggle, even for Sweet Apple Aches strongest family member.

"You 'kay there, Big Mac?"

Applejack caught up and checked on her older brother. Beads of sweat started to trickle down Big Mac's neck and sink into his fur. Applejack, being the loving younger sibling she was, pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her older brother's brow and removed the thickness of sweat that was pouring off.

"Eeup!" Big Mac replied.

Squeezing the handkerchief tightly to remove the sweat, Applejack then wiped her own brow, slightly tipping her hat back to absorb each and every droplet that was still around her face. 

She exhaled loudly. "This sure has to be the warmest autumn in Equestrian history! I've barely seen a drop of rain in the last two weeks or so. We need to hurry up and harvest as much as we can get our hooves on, before it all rots."

Feeling slightly chuffed and confident in himself, Big Mac completely dismissed the idea of his family ever failing to collect all the harvest. Knowing his sister, Big Mac simply smiled and gave a light laugh. Applejack would, sometimes, overreact to things that he knew would be very unlikely to happen, including missing out on their family harvest.

"Come on, Applejack, you know that'll never happen. Our family has been harvesting apples for generations and our parents, bless their souls, and Granny Smith having taught us, including Apple Bloom, how to keep the farm running for when we take over it."

Applejack grinned back but was still unsure. "Yeah, well, I don't wanna be the blame for leaving the farm as a mess or not picking the apples when they're ready. Granny Smith will, for sure, go crazy if we left anything to rot across the apple tree patch. Besides, I don't wanna wake up to the smell of rotting apples, now do I?"

Big Mac shook his head. "Nnnnope."

Applejack felt the moist soil beneath her hooves, realising how wet the ground had become recently. It was raining mostly during the night time, sometimes it even rained throughout the whole evening, turning into a fierce thunderstorm and flooding some of Sweet Apple Acres' fields. Even then, Applejack would occasionally step into a puddle while trotting alongside her older brother, leaving a brown patch of water sinking into her fur.

"With autumn arriving and the festivities taking place, 'ah don't wanna let Princess Celestia down, now do I?" Applejack replied, "My friends and I have done so much for her, so I can't ignore something that she's just offered."

This time, Big Mac didn't reply but simply rolled his eyes as if irritated from either carrying his heavy load or listening to his Applejack being acting in her usual annoying little-sister behaviour. Treading through muddy puddles, sticky clay and flies hovering around his face increased his irritation. His face was a brighter crimson and was increasingly hot, as it was directly in the heat of the sun.

"You know, Applejack, you've known Princess Celestia for a long while now, and you haven't completely let her down or failed whatever mission you gals go on. Really if you forget one small thing for just once in 'ya time with the princess, I'm sure it won't be a big issue to start off with. That friend of yours, Princess Twilight, she seems to know the princess more than anypony in Ponyville."

Squinting into the distance, Applejack spotted the centre of Ponyville and its inhabitants walking around, making the most of what was going to be the last warmest days of the year. She was still too far away, though, to recognise anypony, as they appeared to be tiny black dots along the horizon. Walking on, Applejack then came across more mud, which managed to ground Big Mac, sinking him deeper into the murky ooze. Sighing deeply, Big Mac simply stood still and continued to be sucked up by the mud.

"Hold on, big brother..." said Applejack, going over to help Big Mac, "...I'll get those off of 'ya."

Applejack grabbed the heavy sacks off Big Mac's back and chucked them into one of their carts. She then grabbed hold of Big Mac and pulled him as hard as she could, before she eventually pulled him out of the mud. Big Mac landed on his flank, while Applejack rolled onto her side, her front hooves completely covered with mud.

"Thanks, sis," Big Mac said, shaking the mud off his hooves, "those were some real heavy sacks there."

"Yeah, well, even 'ya little sis can help her big brother out. Even f I'm on one of these friendship adventures that I have to go on every so often. I do tend to miss a lot nowadays with 'ma family. Come on; I'll give you a helping hoof!"

Applejack got up and then managed, just about, to lift Big Mac off the floor. After coupling himself to the cart, Big Mac continued trotting along the road to Ponyville, with Applejack by his side. Looking back at the mess that she and her brother had left behind, Applejack became concerned for any other ponies who would be trotting along the same path and coming across the sticky mud left all over the path. Leaves which were being blown off the nearby deceased trees landed in the mud and stuck, turning the path from a dirty brown to a colourful golden orange.

The two siblings finally made it to Ponyville, in which everything looked ready for the season of autumn. Large piles of leaves were being raked together and collected in bags, in which Pegasi flew down and collected them, taking the leaves to the weather factory in Cloudsdale for fuel. More carts driven by earth ponies came rushing through the streets and unicorns were busy near the centre of Ponyville taking down loose branches and anything that could be considered as dangerous during the most fearest of weathers.

"Alright, girls, keep up the good work! We should be finished in no time!"

Twilight was busy directing the unicorns cutting down the branches, leaves and dead trees that were still growing in Ponyville. Next to her was Rarity, who was occupied by turning thick, cuboid-shaped hedges into majestic works of art. One of which had been sculptured into the head of a pony, while another was a large sphere. In the sky, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were collecting clouds and placing them in a circular pattern in the sky. And on the ground, Pinkie Pie was with Twilight's assistant, Spike, who was checking things off his list. Slowly noticing Applejack approaching, they waved, in which Applejack waved back.

"Hey, Applejack! Where've you been?" Pinkie asked, excitedly.

Applejack waited for Big Mac to catch up and dump his cart before she responded.

"Well, we've been held up, y'all. There's so much to do now that Harvest is happening and the farm is just turned into a mass producer, so we have little time to do the things that we wanna do now."

"Eeup!"

Big Mac parked his cart and allowed Twilight to go over an inspect their cargo. She ticked off things from her incredibly long list of things to do, with Spike holding the end while hovering in the air. Checking, re-checking and checking the bottom of the list three times over, Twilight started to feel the unnecessary pressure building on top of her.

"Okay, so Applejack and her family have collected leaves, Pinkie Pie's has made all the food for the celebrations, Rarity's made the costumes, Fluttershy's gathered all her animals and Rainbow Dash has helped the Pegasi cover most of the sky with clouds. I think we're all good to go, don't you think, Spike?"

Spike, Twilight's number one assistant, nodded. "I think so too, Twilight."

Applejack went over to Twilight, coughing to get her attention. Twilight looked up from her list, her eyes just popping up from behind the top of the long scroll that she was holding, before lowering it down so that her whole face was visible.

"You okay, Applejack? Is there anything wrong?"

Applejack pointed to the long queue of carts waiting for to be told where to be placed. "Where do we put these carts that you asked for, Twi?"

Twilight blushed with embarrassment. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Applejack. Just park them over there to the side, so they're out of the way. I don't think Princess Celestia wants the high street to be blocked by wagons of dead leaves."

"Good point, Twi. I'll get to it at once."

Applejack went over to Big Mac, who was waiting along with the rest of his family to park the carts. Looking for somewhere that would be a suitable parking spot, Applejack trotted into the next street, which had a large space to place the wagons. She waved back to her family, who followed her instructions and parked their wagons into the empty spaces, before making their way back to the farm.

"Good job, you lot!" Applejack said, "Head back to the farm. I'll be back at the end of the day."

The large group of earth ponies made their way back to Sweet Apple Acres, while Applejack stayed with her friends. "So... anything good happening?"

Twilight took out from her belongings a second long list of notes, all written in chronological order of when they would be happening during the day. Most of the things written near the top of her list were ticked off in red ink, while the rest remained to be a priority. Scrolling down, Twilight eventually found the most important, and perhaps most interesting, event that was happening Ponyville on that day.

"Well, Princess Celestia says that there's going to be a special guest arriving in Ponyville today. Nopony really important; in fact, they aren't even a pony. They're just coming in honour, for their dedication to Equestria, to meet Celestia and us in my castle. Like, a friends' tea party."

Applejack's ears perked up. "A friends' tea party? Well... who's invited? Who's the guest of honour?"

Twilight craned her neck to the side of her list and smiled mischievously. "You'll have to wait and see..."

"Ooo! Ooo! I know! Is it Luna? Is it Fluttershy? Is it Cranky Doodle?" Pinkie suddenly gasped. "Have you invited the king of all chocolate?!"

Twilight shook her head, laughing at some of Pinkie's strange predictions. She booped Pinkie on her muzzle and gently pushed her away, giving space between the two of them.

"No, no, certainly not and no, Pinkie. I've invited somepony else to be our special guest. Well, when I say somepony, I actually mean some creature. You may know them, Applejack, from one of your friendship adventures."

Everypony suddenly looked at Applejack who didn't respond at first. Looking blank and confused, she didn't know who Twilight was referring to, as she knew lots of different friends.

"And Fluttershy knows this guest as well!"

Fluttershy, who was just flying over Twilight's head when she mentioned her name, slowly hovered down and landed onto the ground, where Rainbow Dash quickly swooped in and landed just next to her.

"I... I do?" Fluttershy said, placing a hoof to her chest. "Who... who is it?"

Twilight, still grinning, rolled up her long list of things to do and handed it over to Spike. She waved her hoof to the others and they came in closer to hear the secretive news that Twilight knew.

"Princess Celestia wants this to be special, so we've been trusted to make sure that our special guest is welcomed well to Ponyville. It'll be at the castle, so that's where we'll put the most work into making it look nice. I honestly don't know what they'll like, but perhaps we could grab some flowers and plantation, and then we can put them in the castle."

"Hmm..." Applejack said, "I wonder if Rarity has some ideas for our guest's visit? Speaking' of which, do you know where she is?"

Twilight suddenly looked shocked and had the sudden realisation that only six out of seven of her friends, including Spike, were only with her. She looked around, wondering if Rarity had wondered off to compliment a pony wearing one of her designer dresses or a popular celebrity wandering down the high street that she particularly fancied in some way or another. Nothing, at first, seemed to be obvious on where she was.

"Yeah... where is Rarity?"

Rainbow Dash swooped up into the air and looked around. She noticed Twilight's castle and wondered if she would have gone there instead. There was no sign of her there in the castle, but that didn't say that she wasn't in the castle. Remaining in the air, Rainbow hovered down but didn't give anything too positive.

"I don't see anypony there, girls, but I guess Rarity could be at the castle already."

Pinkie rubbed her chin

Twilight nodded and signalled to her friends to follow her. "Okay, everypony, let's go!"

Everypony, including Applejack, followed Twilight towards her castle, in which the setting sun was now behind the building, turning into a spectacular silhouette.





Rarity was, indeed, in the castle. She was busy minding her own business, admiring herself in one of the mirrors inside the castle, while trying on her new dresses for the autumn fashion season. Rarity failed to notice that the time had sped past as if it never occurred, as she unexpectantly spent the past three hours designing, redesigning and trying on all her creative products and fashion wear. Many of her dresses did include the autumn theme; one of which was a spectacular diamond crusted orange dress, with patterns of leaves decorated over it and some three-dimensional material-made leaves poking out near her neck. Rarity felt that she was in her element, mesmerised at how she could release herself into her own creative world.

"Oh, this is perfect! I must make these for each of my friends! They'll love it, no, they'll ADORE it!"

Standing behind her, was none other than Princess Celestia, who was lying occasionally down on Twilight's sofa, watching each of Rarity's rather desiring presentations of her dresses, whilst sipping some tea that she found in Twilight's kitchen. Celestia had taken off her crown and placed it accordingly on a coffee table, letting her mane collapse into a rare glimpse into a different look.

"I hope they do, Rarity. Although I must say that your dresses won't be the only surprise that will be happening today."

Rarity turned around and looked at Celestia, trying to remember what she had been told previously in the past.

"Are we talking about our special guest, princess?"

Celestia nodded, before sipping more of her tea. "Our guest will be arriving here soon, so I want it to be the best it can be. Everything needs to be ready before they arrive. Will we be meeting them downstairs?"

Rarity nodded. "Oh yes, we will. I have laid out a carpet for them to walk across over to the stairs, where we will be waiting for them. It's a shame that Princess Luna couldn't join us for this occasion."

"Yes, well, each princess has their own responsibilities, and Luna is just one of those ponies who is included. She sleeps more and more during the day after a long night of work, so the likeliness of her coming to welcome our guest today is slim."

"I understand," Rarity replied, "still, there's so much that is needed to be done! Our guest must have the best, no, better than the best! They must be-!"

Celestia chuckled, which interrupted Rarity's speech. "Don't worry, Rarity. Just try your best; I'm not expecting the finest of all dresses. Just... do what you normally do."

Feeling slightly foolish, Rarity blushed and stopped stamping her hooves excitedly like a young foal in an ice cream shop. She rushed back to work and focused on her main mission.

"Right. I won't let you down, princess!"

Celestia chuckled again, before sipping her tea quietly, peering out of the window.

"Rarity, listen. You never let me down, nor has any of your friends. I'm sure that you can handle one simple guest. After all, I know that Applejack is friends with our guest. It's friendship that has brought our guest from far beyond all the way here to Ponyville. I assure you, once more, that you'll never let me down."

Rarity didn't say anything. She had become distracted by the oncoming storm that was building up into a mass collection of clouds, hovering above their heads, becoming bigger by the second. The sound of thunder suddenly emerged and Celestia couldn't help notice that the smell of rain was soon approaching.





Outside of Ponyville, the rain was heavier. It came down as hard as it could possibly come, hitting the ground at a strong force, filling up rivers and turning what was once the long road to Ponyville was now nothing but slippery mud. Some travellers were still outside, getting drenched in the rain, their manes dripping and their cloaks completely drenched. Some were ponies and others were different species of creatures making their way past all of the pony inhabited villages and towns.

Among one of the travellers was a kirin; a strange, beautiful and rare beast that lived in Equestria. Little was known about them, apart from the myths that explain their existence, history and knowledge. The kirin was wearing a black cloak, completely hiding its identity. Its tail hung out from the back of the cloak, water dripping from its end, and its feet were also exposed, showing their claw-like features which dug into the ground, leaving prints behind. Under the hood, a pair of yellow eyes appeared among the empty blackness of what else laid underneath. They looked from left to right, up and down. After spotting Ponyville, their desired destination, the kirin lifted its hood up and flopped it back behind them, only to be seen by the flash of lightning.
> 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!"
> Act I, Scene 3 - In Which the Rumours Sting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Autumn stopped bouncing around and turned her head in different directions, looking and taking note of all the different things around her. She noticed that many ponies were getting ready for winter and were clearing up leaves that had covered the paths around them. Especially in the high street, Autumn watched as some of her family were busy trailing carts of leaves and broken branches towards their barn, where they would store the leaves ready for fuel during the winter. The Pegasi were preparing for a harsh winter and they had warned the unicorns and earth ponies that food and fuel would be scarce, so everypony was stoking up.

"Wow, you have a farm?! It's so big!"

Stopping next to Autumn, Applejack looked at her family barn and smiled.

"Yep! That's the good ol' Sweet Apple Acres Farm family barn. It's not the original, though, as we've had to upgrade it over the years, most recently when we had our family reunion a couple of years back. It's also painted in the traditional red colour; the colour of our ripe red apples."

Autumn Blaze looked up and saw all the different apples that were hanging from the trees around her. She spotted the red apples which Applejack mentioned as well as a few yellow-red and green ones in nearby fields. Autumn remembered showing Applejack the apples which grew on the trees on her mountain, which overlooked the land of the kirins. Unfortunately, Autumn Blaze remembered that the apple she showed to her new friend had a worm inside, which crawled out during the middle of her song.

"You may remember during your trip to my village that my people have been bred to farm and harvest. During our time of silence, we resorted to eating only plant-life, for when we became angry and turned into niriks, we accidentally attacked and ate the wildlife which co-existed with our kind. For hundreds of years, we have been resorted to being herbivorous, sparing the lives of all creatures great and small, but those who could not hold the anger in have been known to eat our neighbours."

Applejack gulped, looking worried. "That does sound extreme, Autumn."

Autumn then perked up again, changing the subject to something more positive, and her expression becoming more colourised. She grabbed Applejack and brought her into a hug, pattering her gently on the head like a pet. Applejack frowned, but couldn't come to herself to move out of her friend's grip. Kirins may be kind-hearted, but their nirik strength still laid underneath. Autumn didn't notice Applejack trying to escape from her cuddle, so she held her with her arm around Applejack's neck as she continued babbling on.

"Oh, you needed worry, Applejack! It's been a crazy few years being all alone and having to talk to myself. It's so good to actually be speaking to a creature, at last, especially one of my best friends in the whole of Equestria! I'm surprised how many different species live in this place you call 'Ponyville'. The Peaks of Peril are so inhabited, silent and too predictable. Losing our emotions so that we wouldn't turn on each other has caused more destruction, rather than actually helping my people. The fact that we're able to speak once more has helped grow our village back to its former glory. We may not be a powerful tribe, but we have knowledge which many other creatures do not have."

Applejack, still trapped in Autumn's grip, put a hoof to her chin and thought about what Autumn had said. Sure, the kirins were a smart, kind and honest tribe, but was there more behind their beautiful lioness features? They were a mysterious species; even though she had met them in their own village, Applejack knew that there were still questions yet to be answered. Twilight Sparkle would certainly be interested in understanding more about the kirins. When Applejack returned to Ponyville with Fluttershy, they told Twilight about how the kirins and niriks were no separate species but were in the same body together.

"Twilight would sure love to meet you, Autumn," Applejack said, "As well as my other friends, and the princesses. I think the town mayor will be there as well."

Autumn Blaze let go of Applejack and clapped her hooves, squealing excitedly. "That sounds wonderful! I'm so excited to see your friends! And to meet the princess and the town mayor in one day; I'm spoilt rotten! My shadow and I are both very excited."

Applejack frowned in confusion. At first, she didn't really understand what Autumn was on about, but then she remembered having the conversation about her shadow being one of her few inanimate friends, including the many pots with faces drawn all over to look like living creatures. She remembered when she mentioned about Fluttershy, Applejack was told by Autumn about how her "other friend" was her own shadow. Autumn waved at her shadow back in the Peaks of Peril, as if saying hello to it. Though it did weird Applejack out a little, she did think it was cute somehow.

"I'm glad that you and your, er, shadow are excited..." Applejack replied, "...What was her name again?" Autumn moved to the side so that the light of the sun landed against her body and showed her shadow on the floor. The kirin moved her body like a puppet, trying to make the shadow look as if it was moving on its own. It waved at Applejack, in which she waved back awkwardly.

"Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands. Friends for life."

Autumn Blaze waved at her shadow, which unsurprisingly, waved back. Applejack smiled at her friend, trying not to look as if she thought that what Autumn did was particularly crazy. Then again, Applejack would talk to Winona most of the time when she was alone. It was sweet, in some way or another, but she just couldn't get round to saying it out loud to her friend.

After a quick tour of the remainder of the farm and a brief introduction with Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom, Applejack led Autumn Blaze towards Ponyville, in the direction of Twilight's castle and school. She pointed out many other popular places, including the town hall, Sugar Cube Corner and the large hole which once stood the Golden Oak Library, which was destroyed in the battle between Twilight and Tirek. Of course, the remainder of the tree was hanging in the main room in Twilight's castle, but some of the destruction remained in the hole.

"So, this was where your friend lived?"

Applejack nodded, looking at the hole. A wave of memories flooded her brain; many of which were the best moments of her life. She remembered attending Twilight's first slumber party with Rarity and the moment when a nearby tree crashed into the bedroom.

"When she first moved to Ponyville, yes. I know, it's still a mess. The tree's roots now hang from the ceiling in the main room. I'm surprised that they've left the hole here still; I thought they would've used the spot to build a cottage or some flats. Come on; everypony's waiting for you. We don't want to be late."

Applejack led Autumn towards Twilight's castle, unaware of the number of ponies who were wandering the streets. After all, autumn was a busy time for ponyfolk, as harvest was at its peak. Snaking through the large groups of ponies, Applejack and Autumn trotted as fast as they could in order to make it to Twilight's castle in time. After they passed the busier parts of Ponyville, Applejack quickly took Autumn down the path which passed the School of Friendship, where students were hanging around or heading off to their next class.

Just as they were passing the entrance into the school, Applejack and Autumn Blaze were spotted by some of the students, including the Young Six; Silverstream, Ocellus, Gallas, Yona, Smolder, and Sandbar. Every creature surrounded Autumn Blaze like a celebrity, curious of her unique design. They especially took fancy to her lion-like mane, furry ears, green scales between her yellow-golden eyes and along her back, unique red horn, green hooves, beautiful eyelashes, her long tail ending with red-brown fur and her gorgeous smile.

Ocellus walked around Autumn, taking in every single angle and detail of her body, curious of her particular species. She particularly took fancy to her strange horn and its unique colours and pattern. Ocellus was, out of the Young Six, usually the most curious (alongside the bubbly and lively Silverstream), and felt the need to intervene.

"Don't mind me asking, miss, but what exactly are you?"

Autumn looked back hazily towards Ocellus, who was walking alongside her.

"I'm a kirin! The name's Autumn Blaze, by the way. Nice to meet you!"

Ocellus smiled back. "You too! I'm Ocellus. Now you mention it, your species' name seems to sound familiar to me. I believe my friends and I had come across a book on legendary creatures and monsters. Inside there was limited information about your kind... apart from the famous tapestry, written in ancient Poneish. It said that the kirins and niriks were one; living together, fighting for one body."

Autumn frowned. She was confused about what Ocellus was trying to tell her. "What are you talking about?"

Ocellus found this as an excuse to pull out a book on creatures, including kirins, and presented a page showing a kirin and a nirik to Autumn. Autumn Blaze was unhappy how the artist had drawn the nirik in order to make it look terrifying and dangerous, whilst the picture of the kirin was seen to be peaceful and beautiful, with a red mane, golden body and blue shining eyes.

"Whilst one form is kind, gentle, peaceful, honourable, wise and quiet, the other belongs to a wild beast, full of rage, anger and darkness. The kirins know much knowledge, holding information thousands of years old, beyond the reach of anypony."

Upset by seeing the image, Autumn looked away and pretended to look as if she wasn't offended. She tried to hold back tears which welled up in her eyes. Is this what ponies really thought about her kind? No, none of this was true. It was just some rumours and legends made up to scare ponies. Autumn raised her hoof and lowered Ocellus' book, and smiled as if she didn't think twice about what Ocellus had said to her.

"I see that you've done your research, Ocellus. Although, much of this information is old and there are many new things which you should hear of about our kind. My home has changed massively, twice in this new millennia; after it was destroyed, we rebuilt it back to what it was. But after your teachers, Applejack and Fluttershy, came to see us, we have now adapted it to feel like home again, especially now that we have the ability to talk to one another again."

Ocellus scribbled some notes down in her school book, which also included a sketch of a kirin. Around the sketch, there were some labels, each mentioning something about the kirin. One of the notes referred to how kirins are gentle creatures, but can easily be angered and have them transformed into their nirik counterpart. Ocellus even included some works of an artist's vision of the kirins and niriks, stuck around the edge of the book.

"So, when you get angry, do you attack other creatures?"

Autumn's lip twisted, as she backed away slightly from Ocellus, feeling awkward. "We haven't attacked any creature for years... we have only destroyed our village in our firey rage."

"But... would you attack us? When you got mad, you would destroy Ponyville, right?"

At that moment, Applejack had heard enough from far off to end the conversation. She moved in, grabbing Autumn by the tail with her mouth and dragging her away.

"Thank you, Ocellus, but we really need to get a shift on. Come on, Autumn, I need to show you something else."

Applejack took Autumn away and left Ocellus alone. When they were away from the other students, Autumn's face was bright red.

"What was her problem?" Autumn asked, a trail of flames igniting from her horn.

Trying to find a distraction, Applejack looked around and spotted Twilight's castle, where she knew that she could take Autumn to.

"Come on... I want to show you something."

Leading Autumn by the hoof, Applejack took her friend towards the castle, leaving the school and a group of confused students behind.
> Act I, Scene 4 - In Which the Nirik Snarls
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the beginning of the sunset, the atmosphere had suddenly changed from an excitable ball of energy among the ponies, to a calm, peaceful and quiet high street, littered with the occasional party decorations, balloons, and rubbish which had failed to make its way towards the nearest set of bins. It was now cool, but not cold, so Applejack made the effort to show Autumn Blaze the last glimpses of Ponyville in the fading sunlight before they went inside Twilight's castle for the night.

Looking at the abandoned rubbish left all over the streets and pavements which lined alongside it, Autumn frowned and felt slightly agitated at the behaviour of how ponies acted around in Ponyville. Applejack knew, too well, how the residents enjoyed partying, and when they did attend a party, they would go completely bananas. Autumn stepped on a small plastic cup, making a crunching sound as she pressed on it. The Kirin looked down, before tilting her head to one side, her ears reacting to the sound. This wasn't the behaviour which Autumn had grown up with before. The kirins were creatures who cared about their habitat and frowned upon any form of harm towards their environment. Autumn couldn't quite understand how ponies were so messy, especially when there was at least a rubbish bin on every street.

"It's slightly... messy here, isn't it?"

Applejack gulped quietly, looking around and seeing the quiet streets where very little action occurred. There was a sudden feeling of loneliness as if everything which was happening moments before had ceased.

Applejack slowly trotted up beside Autumn and looked down at the plastic cup, curious why her friend was so interested in a piece of rubbish. Autumn frowned and her ears drooped, her yellow eyes narrowing slightly. Kicking the plastic cup away, Autumn stood looking into the distance, where the sun was still hanging over the horizon with its deep orange glow and its last wave of heat travelled over the landscape before a cool breeze blew into the kirin's face. Autumn shivered, shaking her body like a cat, her fur fluffing up and making her look like a ball of fluff.

"It's so pretty..." Autumn Blaze said, "...Everything here is... beautiful. Reminds me of my home in many ways. The hills and all the different creatures which lived there... I know that you ponies have co-existed with other creatures for generations."

The road wasn't straight, but winded in the shape of a snake, slithering towards Twilight's castle. It went over a hill and then arrived near the castle and the School of Friendship, before splitting into two separate paths as they entered each building. The area was suddenly quiet and calm; the lake nearby and the pools of water around the school were undisturbed and still. Almost everypony and every creature had suddenly vanished and gone inside. It was all quiet and the odd birdsong could be heard from a tree nearby, and the rustling of leaves which blew in the wind.

Autumn Blaze kicked the cup to the side, after not being able to find a nearby rubbish bin. They continued walking on down the path, seeing the leftover leaves which hadn't been cleaned up yet, until they eventually reached Twilight's castle and the School of Friendship placed to the side, where only a few windows glowed faintly in the oncoming darkness. After passing the school and stream which ran around the structure of the building, Applejack and Autumn eventually made it to the large double set of doors to Twilight's castle. Before Applejack knocked to see if Twilight and the others were inside, a large gust of wind blew into the back of her and Autumn, making the doors slam open, vibrating the sound through the castle. The gust even blew out a few candles, snatching all light that filled the room. Autumn shivered at the cold air as she entered Twilight's castle and stopped to look around, while Applejack stayed behind and closed the doors.

"This castle... it's huge... I've never stepped inside one before."

Leading the way, Applejack took Autumn through the corridors which led up to the main hall, however, it seemed harder than what it first appeared to be. Very little light was present in the castle and the open windows occasionally allowed a gust of wind to come in, creating a whispering sound which sent shivers down Applejack's spin as she trotted through the tight corridor. Autumn Blaze was just behind her, occasionally jumping when she heard something in the darkness.
The weather outside became worse. The wind and rain battered against the castle, and the occasional flash of lightning brightened up the sky in the background. Curtains flapped in the wind which blew in through the windows, crows squawked loudly from outside and some of the wooden beams inside the castle creaked against the strain of the storm.

"This castle emerged from the ground after we defeated Tirek some time ago. Twilight and Spike have lived in it ever since, especially after the Golden Oak library was destroyed in the battle between her and our nemesis. It was hard for her to start off with, but after a while, we managed to dig up some of the roots and hang them from the hall's ceiling. It seemed to please Twilight enough."

Walking through the darkness, Autumn accidentally stepped on a small creature, making her scream. It was warm, furry and big enough to step on. An outline appeared in the darkness; ahead could be made out and soon a tail could also be seen. The creature was a rat, perhaps one which had been made welcome by Fluttershy, Applejack thought. it had become aggressive, though, and wasn't pleased about being stepped on.

"Shoo! Shoo! Go away!"

Autumn waved her left front leg at the creature, trying to spook it. Applejack tried to help by squeezing past and waving her hat at the rat. The rat screeched at Autumn, throwing insults at her and waving its paws in the air. It showed it's deadly teeth and tiny sharp claws, preparing to attack its opponent. This made Autumn angry and resulted in her growling at the rat.
In doing so, Autumn Blaze's teeth grew sharper and the pupils in her eyes faded away, leaving a blank, empty space. Trails of purple flames poured out from her jaw and the corner of her eyes, as Autumn growled and snarled at the rat. She swiped her hoof towards the creature but missed. Terrified, the rat scurried away into the darkness, crashing into things as it panicked whilst trying to get away. Autumn continued to raw at the Once silence resumed, Autumn stood back; her pupils reappeared, her teeth shrunk to their normal size and the purple flames which surrounded her eyes vanished.

Applejack, surprised by how her friend reacted, trotted closer to Autumn to see if she was okay. Autumn sighed and wobbled into Applejack, slightly shaken and disturbed by the whole experience, and her breathing increased. She hadn't snarled at another creature in a very long time.

"Woah, Autumn," Applejack said, holding Autumn on the hoof, "I didn' know that you'll freak out like that. Are... are you okay?"

Shaken, Autumn gasped for air, completely in shock at how she reacted. She held onto Applejack like a filly did with its mother and looked at where the rat was. The squeaking from the rat soon ceased, with the only thing to be heard was the rain outside and the continuous breathing from Autumn's mouth. Autumn looked around her, feeling disorientated and saw herself in a nearby mirror. She was expecting to see a snarling nirik in the reflection, but all she could see was her regular face in her kirin form, scared and panting heavily.

"I... I'm fine, Applejack..." Autumn replied, for once sounding rather serious and not so energetic, "I... I just freaked out, that's all. Thank you for catching me. I'm sorry, I thought my temper was better than it was before. That rat, it just scared and annoyed me."

Holding Autumn's hoof, Applejack gently stroked the back of her brown mane, trying to be as supportive as possible. She very well knew that it didn't take much for a Kirin to be annoyed or upset. Looking down, Applejack noticed that Autumn's other hoof was producing a familiar looking purple flame, which waved in the air and flickered when a breeze passed through. It danced elegantly like a ballerina until it eventually disappeared.

"Sorry, Autumn. I... I should get you to Twilight and the others... they're waiting for us."

Applejack lifted Autumn up and took her along the corridor in the direction of where the party was taking place. As they got closer, the sound of the chilling, disturbing gusts of wind was soon replaced by the sound of party music, laughter, and hooves stomping the ground in excitement. Applejack trotted closer, with Autumn behind her, and they could hear the music getting louder.

"Honestly, I'm fine, Applejack. It just happens sometimes. You've seen how kirins react to these things. It's... it's nothing."

Surprised by how late it was, Applejack tried to trot a little faster in order to reach the main hall. She led Autumn to the nearest door. Tall, thick, wooden and painted in a coat of green, the door was heavy. At the door handle was a keyhole. Applejack peeked through and saw a bright room, almost too bright to even see. Giving it a hard push with her hoof, Applejack opened the door and it opened quickly, followed by a gust of wind which quickly blew in from behind them.





Main hall
A few minutes earlier

The hanging chandelier shook from the disturbance of the guests partying below. Its tiny individual shards of glass glistened the reflection of the light from the candles which were positioned on top, circling around the edge. As the light reflected onto the glass, it bounced around the room and sprayed across the floor below. The glass occasionally swung and the tiny beads holding the individual pieces clanged against each other, making soft clinking sounds. The chandelier shook again but remained hanging in place. It shook whenever the music was blasted up or the ponies below started dancing in the centre of the floor. With the amount of the ponies stomping the ground at the same time, the room felt at some points wherever it would suddenly move by its own.

Somewhere within the crowds of guests, Princess Twilight Sparkle was keeping a nervous eye out for Applejack and their guest who should have arrived at least a couple of hours ago. Occasionally looking up towards the door and then the clock which hung accordingly on the wall, Twilight began to worry wherever they would ever make it in time. It was becoming darker, colder and windier outside. Twilight could hear the creek of the trees as they firmly stood against the storm-blast of the wind and the flicker of candles which were placed around the room. A sudden chill ran down her back and buried into her spine; the feeling running through her bones and into her hooves, almost freezing her like ice.

Thankfully, however, it wasn't too late and everypony was still chatting and introducing themselves to one another. Twilight's other friends; Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike were all helping themselves to the party food which was all arranged carefully on the refreshment tables. The constant chatter kept the room buzzing with life, as well as the decorations which Rarity had provided, which shined brightly in the light of the room.
Retro music was being played in the corner of the room by a very familiar unicorn mare, who was also controlling the beams of colourful light which shot around the room quickly. Vinyl Scratch sat behind her equipment, occasionally changing the track or adjusting the volume on her speakers.

Back at the refreshment table, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were eyeing up a rather large pink and white cake placed between all the other dishes and snacks which were emptied into large bowls. The cake had five layers, with the smallest being at the top and the largest for the base. There were chestnuts placed on the top, arranged in a circle and a tiny model of a kirin representing Autumn was placed in the centre. It was decorated in letters which said all together:

Welcome to Ponyville, Autumn Blaze!

The tick-tock of the clock which hung on the wall kept Twilight on the look-out for their special guest, including Applejack. It wasn't like her friend to be this late. As well as the rumble of thunder from outside, Twilight could hear the wind blow against the shutters to the windows of her castle. Thankfully, though, the sound of music playing suffocated the thunder banging against the walls of the castle and it didn't disturb the party too much.

As Twilight continued to watch the time, Rainbow Dash flew to and landed beside her. She also looked up and watched the clock ticking away. Twilight started to really worry wherever Applejack and Autumn Blaze would make it to the party before the rest of the celebrations started, including the cutting of the precious cake which had been made for Autumn. Twilight bit her lip impatiently and started breathing heavily.

"Oh, it isn't like Applejack to be this late! What's taking her so long? She and Autumn are missing the party."

Rainbow Dash wrapped a wing around Twilight and pulled her in, grinning with confidence.

"I'm sure that they are just being held up by the storm outside. The Pegasi did warn everypony about the storm tonight in advance, so I'm sure Applejack has everything under control. Besides, she knows Autumn really well already and I'm sure that Fluttershy will welcome her without a problem. Stop worrying, Twilight. Everything's going to be fine."

After receiving the reassurance from Rainbow, Twilight nodded and tried to think positively. If anypony knew how to deal with fierce rainstorms, it would be Applejack. All they had to do was wait a little longer and sure enough, the pair of them would appear from the main door.

"I hope you're right, Rainbow. I hope so. It's just... Applejack is a pony who is on time for almost every meeting, party or event. I can't imagine anything happening to them. What if the storm has put them in danger? What if Autumn never made it?! What if- ?!"

Before Twilight could continue, Rainbow placed a hoof on her muzzle, slightly booping her on the nose, which prevented Twilight from speaking anything else. Rainbow Dash slowly hovered down onto the floor and smirked darkly, raising her eyebrow as she did so. Twilight didn't say anything and showed a shocked expression, her eyes wide and her lips crooked. As Rainbow started talking smoothly, Twilight scowled.

"What if you chilled for a second? Applejack and Autumn will be fine. They will arrive here, wherever it be soon or later on. Now for Celestia's sake, calm down."

After Rainbow removed her hoof from Twilight's muzzle, the two mares paused for a moment. Twilight sighed; she tried to calm herself, only to keep looking towards the main doors which opened up to the hall where they were in. Soon enough, Applejack and Autumn Blaze would be coming through those set of double doors and be welcomed by all of Ponyville. Twilight exhaled and then looked back at Rainbow, before smiling casually.

"You're right, Rainbow Dash," Twilight replied, still occasionally looking towards the pair of doors, "I shouldn't be worried about them too much. They'll be fine."

Twilight noticed that she had been worrying so much, that she could feel tiny drops of blood in her mouth from where she had been biting her lip too hard. A few drops poured down from her lips and over her chin, before staining her fur. Twilight licked her lips and then gave her hoof a long lick, before rubbing it into a chin, trying to wash out the blood from her fur. Rainbow Dash grabbed a napkin, soaked it and then rubbed Twilight's chin.

"Sorry... thank you."

Rainbow cleaned up the loose blood and then threw the napkin into a nearby rubbish bin. She then offered Twilight a bowl of sweets, which Twilight ate and enjoyed. She and Rainbow Dash occasionally jumped at the loud crashing sound of thunder, which echoed around them.

"No problem, Twilight. Look, I know that you hate to admit it, but you do sometimes get into a fit about these things way too many times. It does make me question why you sometimes don't ask anypony else to help you on some occasions. I'm sure I, the girls and Spike will help you with this. We'll help you with anything, Twilight. Stop thinking that something's going to go wrong."

As Twilight and Rainbow argued on wherever Twilight did over-dramatise or predicted unrealistic circumstances, on the other side of the room in the shadows, Rarity was busy sipping blue punch from a small martini glass whilst listening to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy talking about the cakes which they made together at Suger Cube Corner, including the one specifically made for Autumn Blaze.

"These cakes are sure to be yummy! It was a good thing you girls could help out, otherwise I wouldn't have known what I would have done! I'm sure Autumn Blaze will love them as much as I do. I actually don't know what kirins like."

"Well... funnily enough, Applejack and Fluttershy told me that they do grow food in their village," Twilight said, "they are quite an advantaged species and have are amazing farmers. Applejack herself said that she had even learnt some new and different ways when it comes to growing her crops back at her farm. One of the great things with inviting Autumn over to Ponyville is so we can learn a little more about the kirins and their lifestyle. I should even, at some point, invite them to the School of Friendship."

Rarity gently levitated her martini glass away from her lips and looked at Twilight, occasionally flashing her eyelashes.

"I'm sure that would be wonderful, darling. Is Autumn Blaze staying long in Ponyville?"

Twilight nodded. "Probably she'll stay a few days, before returning to her village. I'm sure Autumn will want to explore more of our culture and meet the other residents here. But I hope that she can get to see more of Ponyville in better weather than this; the rain is just awful!"

After taking another sip from her drink, Rarity wrapped her spare hoof around Twilight's neck and smiled. Her friendly attitude and behaviour made Twilight happy, making her almost forget about her worries from earlier on.

"The weather has become worse over the last few weeks, darling," Rarity added, "I can't imagine myself braving that ghastly wind or that horrid rain which never seems to end. Autumn is such a pretty season. It's a shame that winter has to come around and ruin everything."

Pinkie Pie excitedly jumped next to Rarity and hugged her, almost making the drink which Rarity was drinking from spill over her white fur.

"Aw, but Rarity, winter is when it snows and it's pretty! Autumn's cool as well, you know?"

Rarity frowned, almost making a scowl on her face, as she wasn't too pleased that Pinkie had nearly made her martini spill all over her body and into her fur. She levitated the glass away and slowly pushed away from her, giving the two of them space.

"Do try to be careful, darling. I cannot afford to get my fur all wet."

Despite realising her actions, Pinkie continued giggling. "Tehe! Sorry, Rarity. I'm just so... EXCITED! I need to ask Autumn Blaze what her favourite flavour of cake she likes, so I know from after making the one for her arrival over there the ingredients that I need to make her a super, duper, awesome birthday cake! I also need to ask what her favourite drink is, what kirins even eat, what party games she's into- oh, oh, oh! I know what they'll be good at; the game 'shhh'!"

"You do realise that the kirins can now talk, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie turned around and saw Fluttershy nervously poking her head through her pink mane. Without having a chance to react, Fluttershy had her head stuck under Pinkie's front leg. Pinkie beamed brightly and squealed.

"Well, of course, I know, Fluttershy! You told me that you and Applejack helped the kirins be able to talk again, but surely they must still be really good at the game, right?!"

Pinkie grinned and elbowed Fluttershy gently. Fluttershy simply whimpered and didn't speak. Occasionally, she would jump when the sound of thunder echoed through the room. Pinkie laughed, snorting slightly, at her friend's reaction to the storm banging outside. 

"Oh, come on, Fluttershy! It's not that scary!"

Another flash of lightning silhouetted in the window pane. Pinkie gasped and jumped behind Fluttershy. She started shaking her body and covered her eyes. Fluttershy looked at Pinkie with a frown on her face and then looked back at the window, where she could see the tiny raindrops tap against the glass and the trails of water dripping down the panels. The wind howled outside, like a wolf, and the curtains at the side of the windows flapped about. Then, another flash of lightning appeared and the thunder became louder and louder, which eventually managed to spook Pinkie.

"Okay, Fl-Fl-Fluttershy. M-m-maybe it is a little scary."

As Fluttershy gently calmed Pinkie down, Rarity continued to sip her martini and returned to talking Twilight. She noticed that Spike had joined them after he had helped served some of the guests. He was also slightly nervous about the fierce storm which continued to rage on outside. However, trying to be brave, Spike tried to ignore it and focused his attention on walking around the hall and offering treats to the rest of the ponies inside. He was most relaxed when he was around Twilight, who was still chatting with Rainbow Dash and Rarity.

The ticking of the clock which hung in the room continued to keep Twilight focused on the door where Applejack and Autumn Blaze would be coming out of. Twilight watched the hands of the clock move slowly like a hawk targeting its prey. The hands moved slowly. As time passed by, the minute's hand gracefully moved along the numbers, making Twilight count the exact minutes and seconds which would have flown by already.

"Where is she?" Twilight whispered to herself, "Applejack is never late."

"I'm sure that your friend will arrive soon, Twilight."

An elegant voice appeared from behind Twilight, which managed to surprise her slightly. Twilight turned around saw Princess Celestia standing upright and looking down upon her. Her violet eyes shimmered from the light of the candles around the room and her mane waved slowly in the air like a dancer.

Twilight gasped. "Princess Celestia!"

The two alicorns hugged and laughed happily. Celestia had her hooves wrapped around Twilight's smaller body and her head rested on her shoulder. Twilight lifted her front legs up so that she could wrap them around Celestia's neck.

"I was coming as well, you know? Luna's also here, somewhere in the crowd. Did you really think that I would just leave you to do everything?"

Twilight blushed a bright red, her cheeks glowing. "What?! No! Of course not, Celestia! Why- why would I think of that?" As she stammered, Twilight laughed nervously and her eyes narrowed with concern. Her lips twisted as if they had been tangled up together and drops of blood dripped down her chin again from where she had been biting down still. Twilight swallowed the blood in her mouth and grinned awkwardly.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Twilight, I know that expression on that face of yours. I know when something's stressing you out. Even Luna can tell. Right, sister?"

Princess Luna wasn't really paying attention. She was busy looking around the room, as well as eyeing the cake which was made for Autumn Blaze. After a nudge from her sister, Luna quickly spun her head around to face Twilight. Celestia frowned but didn't say anything. She tried to tell Luna something by using her eyes, moving them left to right and towards Twilight. Realising what Celestia was trying to say to her, Luna tried to think of something to say.

"Yes... we know when something is bothering you, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Do not hide the truth from us."

Twilight sighed. She knew that the princesses could understand the tiniest of emotion from her, even if she tried to cover it up.

"I'm just... worried for Applejack... and Autumn Blaze. They should have arrived already. Especially with this storm outside. It's just... anything can happen."

Celestia placed a hoof on Twilight shoulder. "I know Applejack, as much as I know you and the rest of your friends. She is a strong, honest, kind and loyal friend to you. Everypony will agree with that, as I'm sure you will as well. A princess must trust that her friends will do as they say, especially in Applejack's case as she represents the Element of Honesty."

Twilight tried to relax, by trusting Celestia and Luna's words of wisdom.

"We will be here if you need us or if anything goes wrong. I understand that the storm outside may have caused some problems for your friends, however I am sure that they will arrive safe and well very soon. There is no need to fear."

Twilight sighed. "Of course. There is nothing to fear. Thank you, princesses. I don't know what I would do without you two."

Celestia smiled, placing a hoof under Twilight's chin. "We know that you can do this, Twilight. Try not to worry too much."

Just as Celestia finished speaking, a flash of lighting appeared in the windows. Its white, blinding light crawled through the room, swallowing all darkness. The rain outside became worse and the sound of thunder became louder and louder. The "tap, tap" of the rain started to sound like stones being thrown into the glass. One of the windows was open, its curtains flying in the wind like kites and the rain coming in, creating a pool of water on the floor.

Suddenly, without warning, the main doors to the hall swung open and crashed against the side of the wall. A large gust of wind quickly flew through the room and a strange fog, the colour similar to a dark purple, emerged from the entrance. It swept into the room, covering the floor. The room had become dark and flashes of light started appearing in the paranormal fog, which was now pouring out from the sides of the door frame like some kind of monster with its large tentacles spreading out to catch any unwilling prey.

In the thick purple fog, two figures appeared. One was in the background, its appearance was nothing but a silhouette. It looked like a pony, though no detail could be made in its body. The other figure stood in the centre of the door frame and had its head low, as if it was going to pounce out. Appearing from the fog was some kind of creature, similar to a timberwolf. Except, this creature looked like its body was made of purple smoke and nothing else.

Its eyes were blank, nothing, but white. They stared straight into the crowd and didn't blink. It watched everypony inside like snake, waiting to pounce. As the creature grew closer, the front of its body started to take shape, revealing an inky black form. But what disturbed Twilight and everypony else, as they gasped and screamed, was the sinister snarling that the creature made, as it slowly crept forwards.
> Act I, Scene 5 - In Which the Nirik Roars
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The surprise of the terrifying creature of purple smoke creeping up towards Twilight made her close her eyes, almost trying to protect her own sight from the monstrous sight in which she had just witnessed. She turned her head away and covered her face with her hoof and wing. Twilight believed for a second if she didn't look at the creature, then she would be fine. It must be a nightmare, a horrifying dream which had managed to grasp onto the reality in which she lived.

It was those pale white eyes which shook her the most. There was nothing, but a blank eyeball inside those black, alien-like sockets. Although there were no pupils, Twilight could almost tell where the creature's eyes were looking at. They scanned the room like a radar, trying to find something that it was looking for, and soon enough it would find her and snatch Twilight like innocent prey, never letting go. Twilight managed to catch a sight of those eyes before she looked away and saw deep into them. She could only see the hunger, the anger and the evil inside those eyes. Every emotion was inside those eyes. They made Twilight feel cold with fear, her fur spiking up and the feeling of ice going straight through her blood and heart, making her freeze in place, unable to move.

Suddenly, the creature snarled like a ferocious beast, making Twilight's ears ring heavily at the sound. The sound was so painful, that Twilight dropped to the ground and couldn't remember what was happening or where she was anymore. Everything was happening at once and was a complete blur. The only thing Twilight could hear was the ringing which bounced off from the walls and the vibration from under her hooves. Her mind was full of confusion and Twilight was completely lost from where she was.

"Make it stop... make it stop... make it stop!"

The words came out of Twilight's mouth as a stammer. Her breathing continued to increase and sweat, and her hooves kept covering her eyes. She felt the hooves of another pony pulling them away from her face, which resorted in making her scream. And then it all stopped.

The screeching ceased to complete silence. The ringing stopped and so did the pain which was rushing through Twilight's head. At first, she didn't take her hooves away from her face, as Twilight thought that as soon as she looked up, the creature would be there again. But feeling slightly brave, Twilight took a peek through her hooves and saw an orange face looking back at her. Then, she noticed a pair of green eyes moving about and then as Twilight looked up, she recognised the blonde mane and brown cowboy hat which sat accordingly on the pony's head.

"Twilight..."

The face of the pony spoke. While watching the pony's mouth, Twilight saw the white freckles on Applejack's cheeks and soon knew who she was looking at. Shaking her head in order to throw away the distressing sounds and noises happening as her, Twilight looked back and the face of Applejack was now completely visible. Twilight gasped and looked around, before looking back at Applejack. She struggled for a moment to draw in what had happened to her.

"Huh? What... what happened?"

With a confused expression, Applejack held Twilight's hoof trying to give her reassurance. She could feel Twilight trembling with fear, her hoof shaking slightly and the mumble of her lips making enough sound to be heard. Twilight's pupils had become prim-pricks with shock and her face looked as if she had seen a ghost. Beads of sweat continued to drip down her face and soaked into her fur, and her breathing was still heavy. Twilight could feel her heart beating inside her chest, so hard that she thought that it would burst out at any point.

"Twilight, are you okay?"

Applejack's voice was still fairly distorted to Twilight like she was an old recording from a cassette player. However, as the blood soon made its way down from her head and into her body, Twilight tried to focus her eyes towards Applejack and make out what she was trying to say.

"Applejack?"

Looking around the room, Twilight saw that everypony were still enjoying the party and nothing unusual or distressing was happening around them. The music was still playing, the guests were happily chatting and all her friends seemed to be okay, including Celestia who craned her neck down as she looked over Applejack's shoulder. She seemed to be as fine as everypony else. It was as if nothing had happened.

"What do ya mean 'what happened', Twilight? Nothin' happened. Autumn Blaze and I have just arrived. Apologies for being late, by the way. The storm outside is really rough. Good thing you planned to have the party inside the castle, right, Twilight?"

Twilight shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She thought that she was imagining things, but from what Applejack had just said, there was nothing wrong. Everything seemed to be fine. Twilight struggled to accept that what she had just seen, whatever it was that she had just seen, didn't actually happen. The smoke, the mist, the dark shadows, the mysterious figure, the white eyes glaring at her and that sinister snarl which sent a chill down her back. What kind of monster did she just see back there?

"Huh?"

Celestia trotted up to Twilight and placed a hoof under her shaking chin. Looking at Celestia gave Twilight some confidence and bravery, which made her stop shivering and mumbling, although she was still scared and confused about what had just happened.

"Twilight, is everything alright? Twilight?!"

Twilight kept looking around the room, still stunned from what had happened to her. Everything seemed to look fine, except she knew that it wasn't. Applejack and Celestia continued to look at her, as well as another figure who stood behind them. Twilight gasped for air and rubbed her eyes.

"I... I... I don't know. I think I'm better now. But, what was that thing?"

"What did you see, Twilight?" Celestia asked.

Twilight kept breathing heavily as if she was trying to capture every chunk of air. Her lungs were working hard, making Twilight's head feel wobbly and her sight blurry. It took a while for things to calm down again, but the ongoing beating inside her head made Twilight more nervous by every beat.

"I have no idea, Princess Celestia. It was like... a monster, covered in purple flames, with sharp teeth and pale eyes staring right at me. It was snarling, like a beast hunting its prey. I've never seen anything so frightening in my life, and I've seen some pretty threatening villains since I've been in Ponyville. Everything about it was horrifying, like something from a scary story."

Celestia twisted her lip as she tried to think of what Twilight might be trying to describe. She looked in the direction of Applejack and Autumn Blaze, only to see nothing out of the ordinary. Everypony else seemed fine as if all was well. Twilight put a hoof to her head, wondering wherever she had something that made her feel confused and wobbly, but she couldn't think what it could be exactly. She looked back at Applejack and Autumn, only to see the pair of them looking back at her with concerned expressions.

"You alrigh', Twilight? It looks like you've seen a ghost."

Or a monster, Twilight thought.

Autumn coughed quietly, trying to reverse the conversation to how it originally intended to be. After all, this was the first time she had met Twilight, so a good impression was important. She made her way around a long table covered with different selections of food and drinks, slowly heading towards the head where she would eventually meet up with Twilight. Still slightly dismayed by the surprising experience she just went through, Twilight breathed heavily and looked around her surroundings constantly as if she felt something was going to jump out and snatch her.

"So, um, I'm sorry that your first impression of me was slightly out-of-the-blue so to say."

Twilight looked at Autumn, still slightly in shock. Taking in a breath, Twilight walked up to Autumn and shook her hoof.

"It's nice to meet you, Autumn Blaze." That was all Twilight could say. She didn't particularly want to say anything else, but she could sense that a conversation was just over the horizon. "My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle and I welcome you to my castle. I was rather hoping that the weather would be better than it is now, but it seems that we've become rather unlucky tonight. The wind seems to be getting worse, doesn't it?"

Autumn nodded. "Oh yes, not as good as I had hoped, Princess. But at least we're inside tonight. Applejack has been showing Ponyville to me. Seems fair since I showed her around my home when we first met. On behalf of the kirins, it is an honour, your highness."

Autumn bowed to Twilight, feeling slightly embarrassed that she didn't do so when she first came in. Twilight bowed her head and smiled back.

"The honour is mine, Autumn Blaze."

Applejack wrapped a hoof around Autumn's neck, smiling happily. Autumn smiled back, before looking back at Twilight.

"This is my first visit to Ponyville, your highness, and I dare say that I'm amazed at the beauty of your town. It's such a great shame that the weather hasn't been so nice. I hear you have great sunrises here as well."

Twilight nodded. "We do indeed! I hope you get to see one during your stay here; they are breath-taking sometimes. I especially love the fresh air you get in Ponyville. I've been brought up as a city mare in Canterlot, you see, so it's been a positive change for Spike and I since we first moved."

Autumn clapped her hooves in excitement, grinning happily. "Ooo, how wonderful! Say, Applejack has told me that you have other great friends. I met Fluttershy when she and Applejack came to visit my species, but I haven't met the rest of you yet."

"But of course! Please, allow me to introduce you to my friends; Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike."

Twilight's friends came up and shook Autumn's hoof in greeting. They all seemed excited to talk to Autumn, especially Pinkie, who had helped organise the welcoming party for her. She was the last one to say hello to Autumn Blaze but certainly gave off the most friendly and energetic of welcomes. Pinkie lept into the air and gave Autumn a big, lovable hug in which Autumn returned the favour. Both of them giggled with excitement.

"It's a pleasure the meet you, Pinkie Pie. Applejack told me all about you."

Pinkie nodded excitedly, portraying a big happy grin across her face. "Oh, I bet she did! I'm soooo happy to meet you, Autumn Blaze! Trust me, when I say that we can have so much fun together, I mean it. I organised this welcoming party just for you!"

Autumn Blaze blushed and giggled. She found Pinkie's personality charming and in some ways very relatable to hers. Autumn looked at all the different decorations, table designs, food and guests that were here, including the princesses.

"Whatever you need, Autumn Blaze, then we would be honoured to offer it to you," Celestia said, "I do hope your stay in Ponyville is a good one, for I especially would love to get to know you and your species better. I can see that there are many things that we ponies can help you kirins. I hope that our friendship will continue to thrive for many moons to come."

Autumn nodded. "Of course, your highness."

"I've never met a kirin before, Autumn. This is an exciting time during my reign as the Princess of Equestria. Our knowledge of the kirins is very limited, apart from the written legends which our ancestors wrote over the years."

"I know too..." Autumn said, trying to hide much of her emotion. "It's complicated, you see. We... we aren't always like that. Honest! I have to admit, though, before Applejack and Fluttershy came to visit us, I was so scared that when I made up a cure to get my voice back, resulting in transforming into a nirik and cause harm to other creatures, that I isolated myself from my friends. Applejack helped me understand that having these emotions were okay, but I needed to learn how to control them. We have so much history, Princess Twilight. There is so much that other creatures don't know about."

Twilight twisted her lip and looked down at the ground darkly. She stayed quiet for a moment, taking in everything she and Autumn had talked about. The kirins are indeed unique and talented creatures. Twilight began to think that they could be more powerful than she originally thought. Was Autumn trying to hide something from her? Was there something that she didn't want to say to everypony? There was something that was playing inside Twilight's mind as if it was desperate to come out and be heard. Something that sounded so dark that Twilight couldn't even imagine saying out loud. Instead, she tried to change the subject.

"Indeed, Autumn. I'm sure that there are many things we're yet to learn about. May I offer something to eat while we talk more?"

Autumn's face lit up at the mention of food. "Oh yes, please! I would love that, thank you, Princess."

Twilight used her magic to offer a plate of food to Autumn. It was covered with small sandwiches and other delicacies. After Autumn took some to eat, Twilight then offered her a drink, which Autumn accepted.

"I would love to visit the Peaks of Peril, Autumn Blaze," Celestia said, smiling, "and I must meet with your leader, Rain Shine, sometime in the near future. There are many things to discuss. I feel that there could be a strong friendship between our two kinds."

Autumn nodded with emphasis. "Of course, Princess Celestia! Rain Shine would love to meet you, your highness. It would be an honour! We'll welcome you with an open heart to our village. If it wasn't for Applejack or Fluttershy, this extraordinary moment would never have happened. And the Peaks of Peril are beautiful, especially when you look across the whole land from somewhere high. Especially at sunrise, it's something special."

Between speaking, Autumn took a sandwich and ate when she listened to her other friends. She chewed quietly, as she wanted to hear absolutely everything about pony-life.

"She has a point, Princess Celestia," Applejack added, cheerfully, "her home has some amazin' views. Some of the best, I dare say, that I've ever seen."

Celestia giggled quietly. "Well, I would be more than welcome to come and visit one day. What you've told me this evening has surpassed all expectations of your land."

Applejack, Twilight, Autumn Blaze and Princess Celestia laughed happily together, as they ate more sandwiches and drank more cups of cider. The pleasant atmosphere lightened the room, which brought in nearby guests into their conversation. They also laughed and chatted happily together, completely at ease.

After they drank some more, Twilight wandered off to the refreshments table and trotted around to the other side. She almost stared at the table for quite some time, completely speechless and lost in thought. Twilight was by herself at the table, until Spike came up to her with a clawful of gems.

"Twilight, are you okay? You don't seem to be yourself tonight."

Twilight looked at Spike and tried to smile. "I'm good, thank you, Spike."

Spike frowned. He knew that Twilight was lying; there was no question about it. The way she responded to him wasn't how she would usually do so. Twilight had become awkwardly quiet and occasionally laughed rather nervously whenever Spike would try to get her attention. Spike saw Twilight's hoof quickly tapping the floor, looking unable to hold completely still even for a moment. He even wondered how Twilight would react if a spider or a ladybird landed on her muzzle, considering how twitchy and shaky she was.

"But may I ask, Spike, did you see something up there back then?"

Looking left to right, Spike made sure that nopony was near enough to hear them. Realising that all the guests were too busy enjoying themselves, he turned back to Twilight.

"What... what do you mean, Twilight?"

Twilight gulped nervously and tried to smile, but only made herself look even worse. "Well, um, Spike, I'm not sure that I'm going Twilynannas, but I swear... I saw something. There was purple smoke around Applejack and Autumn Blaze... especially Autumn Blaze. Her body was hidden away in thick, purple smoke, flashing like lightning and covering the floor like it was reaching out to the guests. I've never seen anything like it before."

Spike looked to where Autumn Blaze was originally standing when she came in. He tried to visualise what Twilight was saying to him, but it all sounded too confusing to fully understand. Did she really see all of that? Spike scratched his head, trying to piece together what Twilight could have actually seen instead. Was it an illusion? A trick? No, surely not.

"I think you should sit down, Twilight. Besides, you haven't had a chance to rest today. The party will be over in a couple of hours anyway, so you'll have some time to have a nap or something that should help you calm down. I don't think you're going Twilynannas, but what you're saying sounds too weird to be true."

Twilight found a spare sofa to lie on, where she laid down and sighed heavily. Spike came to her side and tried to comfort her, only to attract the attention of Rarity who had taken a break from the gossip and came for a quick snack at the buffet table.

"Twilight, darling, whatever's the matter? You don't seem to be yourself. Are you feeling alright?"

Rarity placed her drink down on a drinks table and placed a hoof on Twilight's forehead. She noticed that her temperature had risen and that her breathing had increased.

"I'm... not sure, Rarity. I think it's probably a bug or something. My head's been hurting since... she arrived."

Rarity looked at Spike, who only shook his head slowly, before turning her attention back to Twilight.

"What?! Autumn, you mean? Whatever do you mean, Twilight? You're surely not suggesting that this headache of yours is related to the arrival of Autumn Blaze?"

Twilight quickly shook her head hesitantly, as if she had been accused of something really bad. "Oh no, I don't mean- well, I, um... not Autumn personally, so to say. It's just that I saw something up there, where she and Applejack were. It was like a wild animal, covered in dark purple smoke and had pale eyes. It snarled like an animal as well. I... I don't know what it was exactly, but it looked like something that I saw on an ancient shield. The design exactly matches to a... a..."

Rarity and Spike looked at each other, completely bewildered by their friend's behaviour. 

"To what, darling?" Rarity asked.

Twilight sighed again. She was reluctant to even say the name of the creature that she was thinking of, but managed to spell it out quietly to Rarity and Spike.

"To a nirik."

There was a long, deadly silence that flew around Twilight, Rarity and Spike. Apart from the chatter and the music in the background, all sound escaped from them as they stood completely still. Spike and Rarity were oblivious to the mentioning of the species. They never heard of a nirik before. It was a mystery of hearing about the kirins itself, let alone a familiar sounding name.

"I'm sorry, darling, I'm not sure that I quite understand. What's a nirik?"

Before Twilight could answer, Autumn came up behind her and laughed cheerfully at a joke Applejack had just told her. She had cake icing smeared across her mouth and was very cheerful. Both Rarity and Spike smiled nervously back at Autumn, trying to pretend that the conversation they just had never existed.

"Ooo, the food is so good here! Pinkie Pie is such an amazing cook. Is this what you ponies do all the time? Eat ice buns and cake with your friends? I could totally get used to this!"

Twilight jumped when she heard Autumn's voice behind her, and quickly turned around. For a horrible moment, Twilight thought that Autumn had heard everything that she had just said, but judging Autumn's beaming expression on her cake-smeared face she was completely oblivious to what they were talking about.

"Oh, that's really good to hear, Autumn! I'll tell Pinkie that you said that. I'm sorry, I haven't been myself tonight."

Autumn smiled happily, cake dripping from her mouth. "Oh, that's alright, princess. I don't think the weather's been helping either. I usually feel bad on a stormy day. Hey, at least we're inside from the worst of it, though. In the Peaks of Peril, we sometimes have rainstorms, and they come down heavily over our village. I must say, though, the train ride from the nearest station at the Peaks to Ponyville wasn't too smooth either. Still, nonetheless, it's great to be here."

Twilight smiled at the compliment, which managed to relax her a little bit.

"I'm glad that you've had a good evening so far, Autumn. I'm must introduce you to another one of my friends while we have the time. I'm sure he was somewhere nearby. Spike?!"

A small, purple head with green spikes poking out of his head appeared from the crowd of guests, with an innocent smile across his face. He walked up to Autumn, with a handful of gems that he had found somewhere in the castle. Twilight grinned at her number one assistance's hungry attitude, before giving his a quick rub on the head with her hoof. Spike then went up to Autumn and introduced himself to her.

"It's really nice to finally meet you, Autumn Blaze, since Applejack told us about visiting her and the other kirins," Spike said, shoving some gems into his mouth, "I'm Spike, by the way."

Spike stretched out his claw to Autumn, which she shook in return. She smiled back at Spike, especially as thought that he was perhaps the cutest and most adorable thing she had ever seen.

"It's nice to meet you, Spike. I hear that you're Twilight's number one assistant. I couldn't argue with that."

In his usual response to compliments, Spike blushed and pawed at Autumn. "Aw, chucks, Autumn."

Autumn smiled, before leaning down to Spike and looking deep into his reptilian eyes. Spike smiled, hugging himself using his wings as he continued to blush. Autumn then gently patted Spike on the head, continuing to make silly noises and giving him lots of affection.

"Um, thanks, Autumn."

Twilight giggled, before trotting over to the refreshments table, where she picked up some snacks. She offered some to Spike and Autumn, who both took them and munched happily. After discussing more with her friends, Twilight left them to get to know one another and sat at the dinner table.

Twilight ate some more snacks and drank some punch from the table, before laying back in her chair and watched all the guests partying in the room. She silently listened to the music being played, until Rainbow Dash swooped down and sat next to her in a spare seat.

"Hey, Twilight. Wanna join us on the dance floor? I've got some sick moves to show to everypony. Whacha say?"

Rainbow leaned in closer to Twilight, giving her a friendly nudge and grinning to try and make her laugh or even smile. But Twilight's frown didn't lift. She took a sip of her punch, before sighing deeply. Twilight looked down at the floor silently, staring into her cup of punch. Rainbow Dash's smile soon also vanished, being replaced by a concerned expression.

"Um, what's up, Twilight? You don't seem to be yourself tonight. Everypony else has noticed that you're acting weird. You can tell me; I'm your friend."

Twilight sipped the last of her punch, before placing it back onto the table and sighing again. She shook her head, feeling tired and frustrated.

"I'm... I'm not sure, Rainbow Dash. I've probably just got something that's making me feel ill and lightheaded."

Rainbow Dash wasn't convinced that Twilight was suffering from a headache or an illness. She knew how Twilight was when she was ill; she wasn't bouncy or quick on anything, the complete opposite how she was now. Something was bothering her, sure, but not in the way that Twilight was describing.

"Hey, it's alright, Twi. Relax. We'll be here for you. Why don't you join me with the others? We're just getting to know Autumn. She's telling about her people and everything about the Peaks of Peril. Usually, you're interested in these sorts of things."

Twilight sat in silence for a while. She then got up and followed Rainbow Dash towards the rest of their friends.

There were more guests now, with almost all of the floor space taken up. Twilight and Rainbow flew up into the air and slowly made their way to the others, missing the guests below them. They landed next to another long table, where Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike were hanging out.

"Ah, there you are, darling!" Rarity said to Twilight, "We were wondering where you had headed off to. Autumn's just at the refreshments table; she'll be back in a moment. Anyway, I did come over to see you. Are you sure that you don't need somepony to check to see if you're okay, darling? You really don't seem yourself."

Twilight shook her head. "I'm... fine, Rarity. I promise. I swear I'm just feeling light-headed."

Rarity frowned but shrugged off her theory without question. She stood next to Twilight silently whilst sipping away at some punch, listening to the sound of thunder which continued to rumble outside and the chatter of the other guests. Rarity then pulled out her pocketwatch; it was very late.

"Darling, the party will be over in an hour or so," Rarity replied, "may I recommend that you go straight to bed afterwards?"

Twilight nodded in agreement. "I should... go and talk to Autumn again. It wouldn't be fair if I didn't have another chat with her this evening. After all, she is our special guest."

Moving through the sea of guests, Twilight and Rarity trotted back to the refreshments table. They tried to look up and see if they could spot the others, but there were too many ponies in the way. It took some squeezing through and politely pushing past the guests, but they eventually made it. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike and Autumn Blaze were all busy chatting and laughing away, despite the loud rumbling of thunder that continued to bang against the walls of the castle.

Rarity stopped on the opposite side of the table, where she and Twilight tried to find a way to get around. The table was long, but thankfully there weren't too many ponies in their way. Twilight looked at all the different dishes and drinks which were available, all their different colours and patterns, all of which looked very tasty.

"Hey Twilight, I'll come around and meet you on the other side."

Twilight stopped and saw Autumn's face looking through a water jug placed on the table. At first, she smiled and Autumn smiled back, waving a hoof. Twilight waved back weakly, trying to be as friendly as possible. Autumn started admiring the jug of water and decided to pull a silly face. She poked her tongue out, which made Twilight laugh. But then, without warning, Twilight saw Autumn's face change into something unrecognisable in the water. All of a sudden, Autumn's pupils vanished, leaving a pair of white eyeballs staring back at Twilight. Her face was covered with light blue flames, with a hint of red and purple mixed in. Autumn's emotion suddenly changed from happily laughing into a frustrated and scary expression. Her teeth grew sharper and longer, and then she started to snarl like a ferocious beast.

Autumn's body was now dark, with purple flames pouring out of her like a raging fire. Her ears and horn had lost their beauty, both now an inky black and looking more terrifying than ever before. Only her face appeared in the glass jug, but it looked disjointed and lost within the flames themselves. As Autumn snarled, her sharp white teeth became clearer to Twilight, making her shiver like ice running through her body.

Twilight gasped, almost feeling completely frozen in place. Then, she finally recognised the face in the glass. Sure, it wasn't Autumn Blaze's exact face, but Twilight knew that it was her underneath that frightening form. The blue and purple flames disguised most of Autumn's face, until she reappeared suddenly, roaring loudly like a lion. Twilight screamed and the jug of water exploded, shards of glass flying everywhere. Twilight magically rebounded the glass away from her face, but still got wet from the water that spilt everywhere. Nearby guests gasped and stared at Twilight and Autumn, some even running away in panic. They slipped on the wet floor and struggled to get back onto all four hooves again, before galloping off to the other side of the room.

Applejack raced around from the other side of the table and came to Twilight's side as fast as she could. She helped Twilight up, whilst trying to rub off some of the loose glass that had landed into her fur. At first, Applejack feared what damage the shards of flying glass had done to Twilight, but other than a few scratches and tiny pieces that had embedded themselves into her flesh, she was fine.

"Twilight! Are you alrigh'?! What in Equestria happened?"

Gasping in shock, Twilight sat on her flank and stared into space. Her face started bleeding in places where the glass had cut her skin, blood dripping down her cheeks. She removed a piece using her magic and then stared at the blood-stained shard of glass, before dropping it on the floor.

"I... I don't know! I... I just walked past the water jug, saw Autumn and then... I saw some kind of beast in the water and the jug exploded..."

Applejack sat on her flank while she comforted Twilight from the shock that they received. She brushed off the tiny fragments from Twilight's fur and held her in her hooves. Twilight was still conscious, but completely in shock. She lifted her head up to Applejack, with her head supported by her hooves. Slowly, but steadily, Twilight sat up on her flank and looked around, seeing everypony looking back at her and Autumn.

"A beast?!" Spike repeated, "What kind of beast?!"

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity all gathered around Twilight, trying to help her alongside Applejack. The crowd of guests continued to watch them like hawks, shocked at what they had just witnessed. Once Twilight was back onto all four hooves again, she and her friends looked at the smashed glass and a bewildered Autumn Blaze staring back at them, completely speechless.

"Twilight! Are you alright?! I... I don't know what happened... I... I only looked into the glass and... and..."

Twilight, panting in fear, looked at each of her friends. Her vision had become blurry and all sound that she could hear was blurred out by high-pitched ringing in her ears. Applejack remained standing close to Twilight, in case she collapsed again. Autumn Blaze was panicking. She could feel her body shaking and her heart beat increasing.

"I saw a monster. A monster in the glass. A creature of purple flames, with white pale eyes and sharp jagged teeth. I saw it snarling at me before it then roared ferociously like a beast. I could have sworn that I've seen a drawing of a creature like that before. It was evil, dark and sinister. It... it looked like... it almost looked like... a nirik."

Applejack slowly turned her head towards Autumn, dismayed at what she had just heard. How could this be possible? Autumn was her friend. She was her best friend. When she and Fluttershy were about to be thrown into the Stream of Silence, Autumn saved them. Autumn Blaze would never harm a creature, not even a fly. She couldn't believe it. Applejack looked back and forth between Twilight and Autumn, unsure what to do at this point.

"What did you call me, princess?" Autumn asked.

Every creature in the room watched silently as Autumn stood opposite Twilight and the others in what looked to be a stand-off. They surrounded the ponies, Spike and Autumn in a circle, standing well away from them in preparation of a fight starting. Each of the stood still, not daring to move or interfere with what was happening.

"I... what? No, I... I didn't... that creature was you? Oh, Autumn, I didn't mean-"

But the words had already escaped from Twilight's mouth. It was now too late to take back what she had said. Applejack took a hoofstep towards Autumn but didn't dare trot any further. She stood still, the fur hanging down over her hooves wet from the spilt water. Every creature watched silently at Autumn; the only sound they could hear was her heavy breathing and the dripping of water. Then, Autumn Blaze's breathing increased and then into a snarl.

"Oh no..." Applejack whispered, "... Twilight... what in Celestia's name have you done?! She's... it's too late..."

Autumn continued to snarl. It was quiet but noticeable. Her snarling mixed with her heavy breathing, sounding deep and threatening. Then, the snarling sounded like growling and it echoed across the silent room, haunting every creature who was there watching her. As she continued to snarl, Autumn's teeth sharpened, glinting in the light like knives. Her lips became inky black and slowly the rest of her head started to change colour. Autumn opened her eyes, her pupils now tiny pin-pricks which stared at the crowd.

"So... that's what you think of me, then? How... how dare you."

Suddenly, Autumn's coat morphed from a gold-grey coat into an inky black colour. Her apple-green scales that lined along her back changed into a purple-grey pattern and became uneven, sharp and long. Autumn's tail then changed to black and blue-purple flames erupted from the end. Her hooves changed from green to a fiery red, with flames pouring up along her legs. Then, Autumn Blaze's neck released more pinkish-purple flames, again flowing upwards and over her head. Her eyelashes morphed into blue flames, coming out of her eye sockets. Her horn became more jagged, like a deformed antler, her ears became more pointed and her face was completely pitch black. Only the flames brightened up Autumn's face, as well as her eyes, now as pale as snow, and her sharp teeth that continued to shine brightly.

Those beast-like teeth were as frightening as Autumn Blaze's empty eyes. They grew longer and sharper. As Autumn's teeth grew, her snarling became deeper and louder, echoing across the whole room. The guests started whimpering in fear, and Applejack and her friends were all left speechless at what they were witnessing.

"I... I am not a monster... I... I thought you would all like me! But you all think that I'm just a beast! That's... that's why you brought me here, wasn't it? You... you think that I was going to hurt you ponies, didn't you? Well... I... how dare you say that about me. I'm not bad! I'm not bad!"

Without warning, Autumn stamped on the ground in frustration, which cracked like glass, forcing Applejack and the other ponies to back away. Some of the guests started screaming and others tried to make their way to the exit. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike surrounded Twilight in a formation, protecting her like a wall. They watched as the ground continued to crack around them, dark purple light pouring out. As Autumn slowly walked forwards, her hoofsteps left purple rings with fire rising up out of them. Autumn stamped the ground again, making tables in her way flip over and crash into some of the escaping guests.

"Twi... Twilight... do... do something!" Applejack cried.

Twilight was left standing in front of her friends, her horn pointing towards Autumn ready to shoot out a spell. But Autumn had other ideas; she started weaving left and right, dodging Twilight's magical blasts. Autumn jumped up and landed on one of the tables, surrounding herself in flames, and started roaring loudly, like a lion. Her white, empty eyes and bright, sharp teeth illuminated from her dark head. 

"I... I don't know what to do! I don't want to hurt her!"

Applejack, feeling completely hopeless, watched as her friend continued to roar uncontrollably, unaware that a hanging chandelier which was directly above her was shaking out of the ceiling. By the time she looked up, the chandelier had managed to shake one of its screws out, leaving it hanging on a single screw. It wasn't until the loose screw landed on the floor with a soft clink, that Applejack realised what was going to happen. She looked up and saw the grand chandelier, before looking straight back at Autumn and reaching her hoof out to her.

"Autumn, look out!"

But by the time Autumn stopped roaring and heard her friend, it was too late. She looked up, seeing the chandelier shake from its last screw and falling down right on top of her. As the chandelier fell, there was a second of disturbing silence, with the exception of the individual pieces of glasses landing on the floor, making a tinkling sound. Autumn continued staring at the falling chandelier, quickly covering her head as it landed on top of her, with a loud crash and the sound of smashing glass. The chandelier landed on the floor, shattering itself into tiny pieces.

As the chandelier crashed on the floor, the room went dark, engulfing all light, and was followed by a long, empty silence. Twilight and the Mane Six watched from the floor the still scene in front of them, waiting to see if they could spot movement. There was nothing, but blue and purple light occasionally illuminating from inside the chandelier, the light being reflected across the room. Glass continued to clink softly as if they were playing a tune.

Then, a creepy looking figure appeared behind the hanging shards of glass. Its head moved around slowly, its eyes staring straight through the glass. All the Twilight could see were a pair of white eyes and two rows of sharp teeth. She could hear the creature continuing to snarl angrily, whilst staring straight back at her, and the glow from the flames shining through the glass chandelier. Blue and dark pink light shone around the dark room, illuminating the outline of Autumn's nirik form.  It was in that moment when Twilight tried to see beyond the creature's physical form and looked deep into Autumn's eyes again. There, a single tear poured from her pale white eye, slowly dripping down her cheek and making its way down her mouth and chin. Twilight could only watch helplessly as she saw Autumn trapped under the chandelier, as she gave off one more terrifying roar, before everything went black.


End of Act I

> Act II, Scene 6 - In Which the Kirin & Nirik Become One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A jungle. A glistening pool of enchanted water. A civilisation masked away from outsiders.

The Peaks of Peril was a place lost from all knowledge in Equestria altogether, yet legends remained among travellers and pony-folk for generations. Its position was almost lost like the wind which blew between the dark green jungle-covered mountains and up over the jagged high peaks overlooking the landscape. A swirl of white clouds circled the mountain like a snake, floating over the valley, before going down the length of the mountain, through a smelly bog and out into the dead desert that stretched out for miles.

Legends of uncharted territory and wild beasts originated from the Peaks of Peril. No other civilisation lived near them for miles apart. Not another soul wandered the desert or went anywhere near the peaks themselves. Even the rattlesnakes and scorpions that slithered or scurried through the hot yellow sand kept their distance and didn't even go beyond the line of trees that separated the desert from the Peaks. Strange sightings, so to say, had been recorded there of the "beasts" and "monsters" that roamed over the Peaks of Peril; creatures covered with thick fur, hypnotically beautiful faces, fangs as long as dangers and tails as long as the snakes that lived there.

Some called them beasts. Others called them monsters. But only very few knew them as the Kirins.





"Come on, Autumn! No one's gonna see you doing this. Just do it and it'll be okay!"

The one thing that a young, curious, chatty and perhaps rather mischievous Autumn Blaze would normally do would be to go with her best friend's idea of trying to "nirik-up" in order to help her with something which an older kirin could easily have done for them. But that wasn't the case for an ever so slightly older Rain Shine, who was as talkative and naughty as she was. Blowing her greyish turquoise lion-like mane to one side like a fashion model, Rain watched Autumn's side at her attempt.

"I... I don't think this is a good idea, Rain," Autumn said, a slightly squeakier voice coming out from her young mouth, "...w... what if I... h... h... hurt some... k... kirin?"

Autumn Blaze was usually up to any mischief and fun. But this was the one exception. She didn't know what, when or how she would sometimes suddenly be engulfed with purple, blue and red flames, and have her body change from its colourful kirin appearance, to dark inky-black skin, and be brightened up by more flames across her body. But it happened, ever since she was born, and it terrified Autumn that someday she would completely lose her temper.

"But you're the bravest, funniest, silliest and best friend ever! I know that you can help me get this back home. Just flame up and take down this tree! We need some firewood for winter, don't we?"

Rain Shine's argument was supported by the quick shiver of the cool wind blowing past them, causing the trees the rustle and their leaves to fall to the ground. It was ironic that Autumn was born during this season, hence her name, and was seen by the other kirins as a positive influence on their civilisation. The design of her coat, mane, eyes and horn, the characteristics and lively attitude was what she was well known for in her village. Every kirin saw that. But there was always one thing that kirins feared and Autumn was thinking about that thing right then. The season was the turning point where the warmth started to leave and was replaced by the long months of chilling winds and large downpours of snow covering the Peaks of Peril like a thick blanket.

"I know, Rain! And you say that because you're a good friend. But what if I lose it? What if I hurt some kirin or some creature? What if the tree lands on us?"

Looking around, Rain grinned and shrugged at Autumn's complaint. "There's no other kirin around, silly! No creature's gonna get hurt. Besides, this is the fastest and easiest way to get this tree down. Do you want us to freeze this winter?"

"I didn't say that we should or will!" Autumn snarled, stamping her green hoof on the ground. Unable to control her own strength, she caused the dry ground to crack and a large rumble echoed among them. "Fine... I guess I'll give it a go."

Standing firm before the giant tree, Autumn stuck her fluffy chest out, breathed in, closed her eyes and gave out a weak roar. She stretched it out until she ran out of breath, only to open her eyes and see that the tree hadn't come down. Autumn sighed. She was also starting to feel upset. Letting her best friend down like this was the worst possible thing. She couldn't give up.

Autumn started kicking the tree with her hind legs. Each kick came with more force. Harder and faster, Autumn kicked with full force against the bark of the tree. The breaking and snapping of wood getting louder and louder. Until a loud snap as the tree started leaning and eventually fell to the ground with a thunderous crash.

The tree landed on top of some overgrowth, the twigs of its bushes snapping loudly like bones breaking. Its trunk squashed the bushes, leaving an opening to a dark overgrown path. The only light coming from tiny blue fireflies hovering over the path.

Autumn Blaze and Rain Shine looked at the tunnel of vines and brambles for a moment, a gust of wind blowing through their manes as they stared deep into the dark opening. They both illuminated their horns and squinted at the path that led into the darkness, before slowly making their way down the path. 

Not all of the path was dark. Many of the vines and brambles once the kirins' magic passed them lit up patterns of swirls, circles, zig-zags and other shapes, sizes and lengths. The ground beneath them became boggy and moist. Autumn and Rain made sure not to trip up on any branches or get stuck in the mud by treading slowly. The path was swerving left and right like a snake for a while.

They tread slowly along the secret path for a short while. Rain Shine then spoke up, as she looked up through the small openings of the brambles and could see the spots of orange light shining through, indicating the sunset and the darkness drawing in. Rain Shine's breathing increased in speed and she could feel drops of sweat dropping down her scales. Her tail was tucked underneath her hind legs and her ears had drooped.

"Hey, Autumn? Shouldn't we head back at some point? It'll be getting dark soon."

Autumn's gaze was focused straight on the path ahead. Her ears were pointing back and her pupils widened. Something sparkled in her eyes. Rain Shine squeezed past Autumn to see what she was seeing and gasped.

Before them, a clear stream was flowing down a slight gradient from a miniature waterfall embedded in a pile of boulders and headed through the middle of the clearing, before dropping down a steep cliff and into the mist below. Now it was no surprise to Autumn Blaze and Rain Shine that there were streams, pools and river sources in the mountains of the Peaks of Perial. But something about this stream and waterfall seemed off. First of all, what seemed to be steam was hovering over the water. Secondly, the colour of the water was more silver than naturally clear. And thirdly, not a single creature was drinking from the stream. Normally streams near the kirin village would be packed with wildlife and would serve as a life source for the kirins. But not one creature, other than Autumn Blaze and Rain Shine, was anywhere near the water.

"Hey, Rain, check this out!" 

The two kirins stepped right up to the river, the water close to touching the tips of their hooves. They both looked straight down and saw their reflections in the water. Rain Shine pulled a silly face, making Autumn giggle childishly.

"Hey Autumn, why do you think no kirin comes here? I mean, there's a stream here, right?"

Autumn shrugged. "I don't remember any kirin mentioning this part of the Peaks of Peril. Weird, we practically learnt about every nook and cranny in our land. It's been completely abandoned... and this stream has been left untouched."

Autumn then lifted her hoof and slowly inched it closer to the stream. But Rain Shine grabbed Autumn's hoof instantly and forced Autumn to look at her directly in the eyes.

"No, don't! We don't know if it might be poisonous or not!"

In retaliation, Autumn shook off Rain Shine and scoffed.

"Oh don't be a scaredy cat, Rain! It's just a stream. There's no fish or vegetation in it and it looks clean and safe to drink!"

Once again, Autumn reached down to touch the water, with Rain quickly using her magic to pull back her friend.

"Stop it, Autumn! We don't know what this stream is. Let's go back, okay?"

"Aw, come on! It's completely harmless! Nothing to worry about, Rain. It's not like it's gonna jump at us and attack."

Then, the loud snap of a twig made the kirins freeze in place. They gasped, before jumping into each other's front hooves. Autumn and Rain's breathing increased, as they frantically looked around to see where the sound came from. But all they could see where the bushes around them.

"What... what was that?" Rain Shine asked, shaking with fear.

"I... I don't know..." Autumn whispered, "... but it sounded... big!"

Another snap made Autumn and Rain look directly in front of them. Soon, the snap was followed by more snaps, and then sounds of crunching leaves and the unmistakable sound of growling. The growling became more audible, along with the heavy thuds of footsteps.

Out of the shadows, a pair of glowing green eyes emerged. They were pointed, like finally-cut emerald gems, with no pupil inside. The sound of nostrils exhaling made Autumn and Rain's hearts skip a beat, and the sound of growling made their legs tremble. The eyes moved up as the head of a timberwolf emerged from the darkness, revealing its wooden sharp teeth and its long, green, slimy tongue. The beast looked at Autumn and Rain before lifting its head up and then bellowed out a loud long howl.

"A-Autumn? I-I think we should run..." Rain stuttered, her mouth trembling.

Autumn nodded. "Yeah, we should run... RUN!"

Autumn and Rain gave chase, running as fast as their short legs could carry them. The timberwolf pounced towards them, its thick wooden legs much stronger. Autumn and Rain knew they would be done for no matter how fast they ran, so in quick haste they climbed the nearest and thickest tree they could find and helped one another up onto a short branch.

The timberwolf clawed at the tree's trunk, leaving deep claw marks in the wood. It snapped its jaws and tried to jump at Autumn and Rain, falling down again and again, but refused to give up. With each leap, the timberwolf swiped its huge claws at Rain Shine's tail, gradually getting closer. It caused Rain to start losing her grip onto the branch, her hooves slipping.

"Autumn! Help me!"

"Rain! Don't worry, I've got you!"

Autumn tried to hold onto Rain's front hooves, holding them as hard as she could, trying to use her body weight to pull her friend up. But in doing so, while Rain was being lifted up out of the timberwolf's grasp, Autumn was now slipping on her side of the branch. Her hind hooves were dangling frantically, kicking back and forth in a bid to keep herself on the branch. Each snap of the timberwolf's jaw drew closer and became louder. Then Rain started slipping, pulling Autumn onto the branch, with Rain now much closer to the timberwolf's jaw. Despite Autumn's best efforts, the timberwolf managed to grasp hold of Rain Shine's hind legs and pulled her and Autumn to the ground with a heavy thud, both of them rolling in opposite directions.

Autumn groaned as she lifted her head up, looking back and seeing Rain Shine sitting on her flank, her back pressed against a boulder. The timberwolf slowly walked up to her, his long tongue licking his lips as prepared to eat his meal. Rain felt she had nowhere to go and was trapped. The timberwolf was just too big to squeeze past. This was it. She was a timberwolf's dinner.

"Rain, no! Please!" Autumn cried, only managing to reach a hoof out in a desperate plea.

The timberwolf ignored her, his focus on Rain Shine. Autumn used her magic to fly pebbles at the timberwolf, but alas its wooden body was too thick to be damaged by just a pebble. The timberwolf didn't feel a thing. Autumn gasped as the timberwolf started biting on Rain Shine's hind hooves, her screams piercing the night.

It was at that moment when a wave of rage swept through Autumn Blaze. She growled, just like the timberwolf did, and dug her hooves into the ground. Autumn felt her teeth grow sharper and more pointed, and a fierce heat built up in her body. Her eyes lost their pupils, her fur replaced with black skin, purple and blue flames erupting over her body, her hooves turned sharp and her voice became deeper and demonic.

"PUT HER DOWN!"

Autumn Blaze then let out an almighty roar, making the timberwolf turn its head sharply towards her. Rain Shine fell out of the jaws of the timberwolf and lay on the ground still. The timberwolf dug its paws into the ground and huffed loudly. Autumn was covered in fire and the ground underneath her was scorched from her flames. Despite the timberwolf leaping towards her, Autumn stood her ground.

The two of them crashed into one another and started fighting, clawing at each other, snarling, biting. They rolled around on the ground, sometimes getting very close to the stream. Autumn knew that her flames would be extinguished if she landed in the water, so she slid underneath the timberwolf and got back up. Then, Autumn climbed onto the back of the timberwolf and started ripping at its wooden back, pieces of wood flying everywhere, burnt from Autumn's flames. 

The timberwolf managed to scratch Autumn's chest, leaving three claw marks. But then, almost immediately, the scratches were healed by Autumn's purple and pink flames, leaving no trace behind. Autumn then jumped onto the timberwolf's back and started riding it like a horse. The timberwolf retaliated, sometimes standing on its hind legs to try and shake Autumn off. But Autumn held on tight.

Autumn tried to avoid the twisting head of the timberwolf as it tried to snap at her. Without realising, however, Autumn managed with her new strength to roll the timberwolf onto its back, making the creature howl in agony. The timberwolf tried to roll back onto his front, but in doing so his neck was exposed, leaving it open for Autumn to bite into his neck as hard as she could.

Both growled as Autumn sunk her new teeth into the timberwolf's neck. The thick tree roots that connected the head to the body started to burn and collapse. Autumn was thrown off the timberwolf in its last attempt to attack. There, Autumn watched as the timberwolf coughed and spluttered as parts of his neck dropped to the floor. Finally, the timberwolf sat on its flank and stopped making a sound, before the wood that formed his body detached and collapsed onto the ground. All the way from the top of his ears to the claws of his hind legs. There was nothing left, but a pile of wood, and his two glowing green eyes went out for good.

Rain Shine slowly got back up and gasped as she saw Autumn. Autumn turned back and growled at Rain. Rain Shine stopped, trying to stay still.

"Autumn? Is... is that you?"

The only response that Rain Shine got from Autumn Blaze was her deep snarl. Rain backed up a little.

"H-hey, it's okay now... the timberwolf is gone... you... you saved me. You saved both of us! That was so cool!"

Autumn snapped her jaws, revealing two rows of silver sharp teeth.

"Autumn, it's me, your friend... your best friend, Rain Shine. Remember?"

Rain Shine slowly approached Autumn Blaze, despite the menacing behaviour her friend was portraying. Rain stood face-to-face with Autumn. She could feel the heat from her friend's body.

"Autumn... you're not a monster. You are the funniest, cleverest and kindest kirin any creature could know. And I know you're in there. Just... breathe... be calm... you don't have to be angry any longer. Because we're friends, and nothing will change that."

Autumn's eyes expanded, before switching to a more depressed expression. A purple flame poured out from the side of her right eye and dripped down her cheek, leaving a trail of pink behind. The drop fell to the ground and burnt, before eventually going out.

"Friends..."

Immediately after Autumn responded, flames erupted over her body and her regular form returned, leaving a scared and confused young kirin. 

Rain smiled and hugged Autumn, where the two embraced for a short while. Autumn then backed out of the hug and looked at her friend again.

"What... what happened to me?"

Rain put a hoof to her chin and had a moment to think for a short while. "Hmmm, I remember mother telling me about something like this. Though this is the first time I've seen this kind of transformation. You... Autumn, you changed into a nirik!"

Autumn blinked silently. "A nirik? What in the Peaks is that?"

Rain Shine then placed her hoof on Autumn's fluffy chest and then her own. "Niriks are inside us. We are kirins, right? That's what we are when we are happy, feeling okay and at peace, when we laugh. But when our emotions grow in a way that we can't control, like when we're angry or frustrated, we become niriks. Isn't that so cool! I've never seen a nirik before. And to see my friend turn into one... well, that's just awesome!"

Autumn backed away, shaking her head. "No... no, I... I can't be a nirik! I don't want to be a nirik. I... am I a monster?!"

Rain Shine then hugged Autumn tightly. "You're not a monster, Autumn. None of us are. It's just when we lose our patience and we become angry. But that's a part of us. We are kirins and we should be proud of that. And don't let any kirin or any other creature for that matter tell you otherwise."

Autumn smiled, closing her eyes. Her front hooves tightened around Rain Shine and the two hugged, as the sun slowly popped above them, raining beams of light onto them.