Cinnamon spent the night with Luna, Rain Shine, and Celestia again, leaving Autumn alone. The white kirin stayed up late, thinking about Nala. Holding back tears, she finally managed to fall asleep. When she awoke the next morning, she felt empty inside. Sitting up, she let out a sigh and left her bed to go into the bathroom. Walking over to the shower, she stared at the knob before turning it. Feeling the water, the turned the knob some more until it was warm enough. Stepping inside, she just stood there and let the water wash over her.

Once she was dressed, Autumn left her room and slowly made her way downstairs. As she entered the lobby, Rainbow Dash ran up to her with a smile.

"Hey," the cyan mare greeted. "How'd it go?"

"Really bad," Autumn replied plainly, heading for the front door.

"Oh..." Rainbow said, her cheerful expression fading. "I'm sorry... Want me to drive you around again?"

Autumn shook her head. "I'm just gonna go for a walk."

"Oh," the mare said, sounding a little concerned. "Okay, well... Take this, then," she said as she held out her cell phone. "Call any number in my contacts if you need help."

Autumn stopped at the door and looked at the device. Hesitantly taking it, she looked it over. "Um... Alright. Thanks." She then pushed the door open and left, leaving the worried mare behind.

Autumn Blaze made her way down the sidewalk with no clear destination in mind. As she looked around, she noticed that all eyes were on her. She started feeling like maybe she shouldn't have come out here alone after all. Continuing on, she found herself in a small park area with a grassy field and trees. Smiling, she made her way to the edge of the sidewalk and stopped. Looking around, she made sure no cars were coming before running across to the other side.

Upon entering the park, she walked over to a tree and sat down. With everything going on right now, spending time with nature was exactly what this kirin needed. Leaning back against the tree, she closed her eyes and let out a happy sigh. The nice breeze in the open air felt nice against her skin as she rested in the shade of the tree. She managed to drown out the sound of passing cars and focus only on the wind. The quietness, however, didn't last long.

“Are you a kirin?” A feminine voice asked.

Autumn opened her eyes as a purple unicorn kneel beside her. “Yes, I’m... Autumn Blaze. You?”

“Starlight Glimmer,” the unicorn greeted with a kind smile. “I can’t believe you’re really real. I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to meet one of you.”

"Oh, well, I'm sure it's the same as meeting one of you," Autumn said with a light smile.

"Still, though," Starlight beamed joyfully. "The kirin are a legend. Without you, we wouldn't have buildings or Thanksgiving."

"Thanksgiving was a collaborative effort," Autumn smiled. "We kirin and the princesses helped each other and, in doing so, made Thanksgiving."

"Wow, so... you're all here to stay?" the unicorn asked.

"Hopefully," the kirin replied. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be immortal, would you?"

"No," Starlight chuckled. "No, sadly, no. Why do you ask?"

Autumn shrugged. "Just curious."

"Alright, well..." Starlight said as she stood up. "I have things to go do. It was great meeting you. Maybe I'll see you around?"

The kirin smiled and nodded. "Probably. T was nice meeting you, too."

The unicorn gave her a quick smile before walking away. When the mare was gone, Autumn looked around to see a couple mares and stallions approaching her with their phone out. Going wide-eyed, she stood up and started walking away. Looking both ways at the crosswalk, she ran across to the other side. Upon arrival, a group approached her, all speaking at the same time so it was hard to make out what they were saying.

"I can't understand what you're saying," Autumn stammered as she backed away. As she walked away, the group followed her before another group started approaching her from the front. Feeling trapped and anxious, she felt fire form around her hands. "Oh, no," she whimpered, closing her eyes.

The overlapping voices from both groups began drowning out all other sounds of the city. Without warning, she let out a yell and burst into flames. When she opened her eyes, they were completely white and her skin was black. Everyone around her had a look of fright on their face. It seems that a nirik wasn't as approachable as a kirin.

Seeing everyone’s frightened expressions made her scared, too, as she didn’t want to be seen as a monster. When she was about to say something, a police car pulled up to the curb before the cop got out.

“Freeze!” He yelled, aiming his gun. “Whatever you are, don’t move!”

Autumn let out a gasp as her bad day was becoming worse. Tears started to drip from her eyes but quickly vaporized due to the heat. Backing up against the side of the building, she thought her heart was going to explode from the amount of stress, anxiety, and terror she was feeling.

“Put your hands up!” The cop yelled with a shaky voice.

Autumn let out a yell and covered her head before a brown mare quickly stepped in front of her, a calm look on her face.

“Relax,” the mare said gently, reaching out and gently holding the nirik’s wrists.

Autumn gasped at the touch, both surprised by it and the fact that someone would touch her while she was on fire. The calming tone and face of the brown stranger was enough to soothe the flames. Soon, Autumn returned to normal.

The mare smiled at her and removed her own red jacket, before giving it to the kirin. Under the jacket, she was wearing a dark red tube top that covered her A-cups along with black jeans and boots, both splattered with dark red paint. “Put this on, you’re naked.” Autumn blushed and quickly pulled the jacket on. Luckily, it was long enough to hide her crotch. “What the hell is wrong with everyone?!” The brown mare yelled, looking around at everyone before her eyes fell on the cop. “Didn’t anyone do the research?! Kirin burst into flames when cornered or provoked!”

“Shit...” the cop muttered. “Um...”

“Save it!” The mare snapped at him. She then looked at Autumn and held out her hand. “My place isn’t too far from here.”

The kirin smiled lightly before taking her hand. “I’m Autumn. Autumn Blaze.”

“Rusty Dust,” the mare replied with a smile.

Rusty led the kirin into her studio apartment, both chuckling at their conversation. “Wow, so you had an orgy with the princess? That must’ve been pretty special. And, everyone in your village was topless, even the females?”

“Sure was and yep,” the kirin replied, answering both questions as the mare closed and locked the door before kicking her boots off.

“Well, things are a lot more restricted now, as you may have gathered," Rusty said as she made her way to her bedroom. She soon emerged with a pile of clothes. "These should fit, though you should look into fireproof clothes."

"Thanks," Autumn said as she took the clothes. "They make those?"

"Fireproof clothes?" Rusty asked with a chuckle. "Of course. Well, they're not mass-produced but if you find a clothing designer who knows how to enchant clothing, you can pay a little extra for some fireproof clothes."

"Huh..." Autumn said in thought. "And, you know of someone?"

The mare nodded. "You bet I do. I can take you to her later, if you want."

The kirin smiled widely and nodded. "Oh, yes, please. I mean, if it's alright with you-- Well, you offered, so I'm guessing it's-- I-- Yeah-- Um..." She then let out a nervous chuckle. "You aren't... by any chance... immortal, are you?"

"Me?" Rusty chuckled. "No, not yet."

Autumn tilted her head in confusion. "Um... What?"

"Oh, I'm looking for something that should help with that," Rusty vaguely explained. "But, I won't bore you with my... uneventful search."

"Alright..." Autumn replied, still confused. She then turned and went into the bedroom to set the clothes on the bed.

Rusty followed and leaned against the doorway. "Why'd you ask, anyways?"

The kirin blushed as she held onto the collar of the red jacket she was wearing. It was easier asking the others because they were immortal and seemed more open. This mare seemed more normal and it made it a little harder to admit why she asked about immortality in the first place. "Um, well, I-I-- You see, I-- It's..." She let out a sigh and her grip on the collar tightened.

"You're lonely," Rusty said, figuring it out. "You're looking for someone like you."

Autumn nodded and slipped out of the jacket. The mare eyed the kirin's exposed breasts and fit figure. As she reached out and grabbed the jacket, Autumn followed her gaze and blushed more. When she let go of the jacket, she covered her breasts and crotch. Rusty kept her eyes on the kirin as she tossed her jacket on the bed. She then slowly got closer, making the kirin blush harder.

Autumn looked the mare in the eyes as she was standing directly in front of her. Rusty gave her a smile and removed her tube top, tossing it on the bed behind her. Reaching down, she undid her jeans and let them drop to the floor. Stepping out of them, she kicked them aside. Autumn quickly looked her up and down. Rusty reached out and placed her hands on Autum's arm. The kirin slowly felt more and more relaxed. Something about this mare was calming to her. Smiling, Autumn moved her arm away from her breasts. Rusty moved closer so the kirin's breasts pressed up against her chest. Autumn hugged her as the mare hugged her back.

"This is nice," Autumn said, nuzzling the mare's neck.

"Yeah..." Rusty sighed. "Wow, you're soft..."

They pulled back to look each other in the eyes, before Rusty leaned in to kiss her. Autumn kissed back with a soft moan. This kiss felt more natural and loving than the experience she had with Nala. Breaking the kiss, she leaned in and kissed Rusty on the neck. The mare tilted her head back with a happy sigh. Autumn kissed lower and lower, making the mare have to lean back against the bed as her kisses neared the mare's breasts. Autumn smiled and wrapped her lips around Rusty's nipple, making her moan out.

"Oh, Autumn," Rusty gasped. "Your tongue feels great." She bit her knuckle to stifle a very loud moan. "Mmm... Lower..."

Later...

Rusty was laying on her back with Autumn resting her head on the mare's chest. The kirin was fast asleep with a huge smile on her face. The brown mare soothingly stroked the kirin's head, feeling her chest moving as she breathed peacefully. After a few more minutes, she slowly slid out from under Autumn and made sure she was laying comfortably. After kissing the kirin on the forehead, Rusty went to her paint-spattered jeans and pulled out her cell phone. One missed text.

Letting out a sigh, she stood up and looked over at Autumn. Smiling lightly, she left the bedroom and closed the door. Dialing the number that texted her, she waited for an answer. "What do you mean you can't find it?" She asked. "I need that dagger." She listened for a bit before interrupting. "N-No, don't give me excuses. Twilight's gone. The Elementals are broken. Now's our chance. Besides, I..." She then looked back at the bedroom where the kirin slept. "I really need it now..."

Author's Note

Rusty's Apartment