Incendiary Ignorance

Rainbow Dash walked through Ponyville, feeling the snide glances of the ponies around her. Their eyes were burning into her, making her blush more and more. She was sweating on her forehead, which wasn't surprising, since it was a hot summer and she was wearing that damn tight bodysuit.

All because of them...

“Fucking niriks,” Dash muttered irritably, kicking an innocent pebble.

She couldn't even fly!

Twilight had thoughtfully made wing holes in her bodysuit, but it was so tight on her that when she tried to fly, she seemed to have pulled a muscle and was now stuck on the ground amidst all the sneering stares.

That was total crap.

“Ah ah ah!” came a voice that made Dash jump with surprise. “We don't talk like that.”

Out of habit, Dash flapped her wings and tried to take off, but twitched in pain, lost her balance in the air, and nearly embarrassed herself by getting tangled in her wings and collapsing face down in the dirt. Thankfully, she was a professional and, albeit tentatively, still landed on all four hooves.

“What the fuck, Twilight?” hissed Dash, looking around embarrassed and glaring at the smug princess of the village. “All because of you and your bloody ni...”

Her angry tirade was interrupted by a telekinetic grip on her muzzle.

“Do you want to walk around in this suit for another week?” Twilight asked with a squint. “I guess you never learned your lesson.”

“Why the fuck do you even need this?” growled Dash, throwing off her telekinesis. “What lesson is there to learn? Why do I have to walk around in this clown costume?”

“So you can understand how they feel,” Twilight replied in an even and confident tone, her eyes glittering with seriousness and determination. “They had to make sacrifices to integrate into Equestrian society. Show some respect.”

Kirins, when they got angry, turned into niriks. Niriks were another form of kirins, reflecting their emotions, especially anger and rage. Turning into a nirik was a big problem not only for the kirins themselves, but also for everyone around them. In their normal state, the kirins were kind and peaceful creatures, but once they became angry, they would turn into fiery and uncontrollable niriks, which could lead to devastating consequences.

Fortunately, Equestria was able to find a solution to this problem, and not without Rarity's help. She suggested the use of bodysuits made of fireproof fabric that blocked the flames emitted by the niriks. This innovative approach had been a real breakthrough in the relationship between the kirins and the rest of Equestria, allowing them to live more harmoniously and safely.

“That's their problem,” Dash snorted, throwing her head up in displeasure. “Still don't understand why I'm being punished.”

“For calling the kirins... well, I won't repeat that word,” Twilight sighed, trying to remain calm. “It's an offensive word. Didn't you read that pamphlet I...”

“They call each other that all the time!” Dash burst out, interrupting Twilight. “Why can't I?”

“No, they don't...” Twilight began, but was interrupted by a sharp shout.

“Yo, get your nirik ass over here!” a laugh echoed nearby as two kirins looked at something through the display case. "Check out this hat. It's fucking sick, huh?"

Dash waved her hoof silently at the kirins, then turned to Twilight with an expression of undisguised triumph. She shifted her gaze from the kirins to Twilight and back again, as if mocking her mistake. Finally, she moved so close to Twilight that their muzzles were almost touching, and her hoof was still raised.

Twilight pulled back and pressed her lips together - did she have to be so dramatic?

“They can call each other that,” Twilight replied confidently, as if nothing had happened. “It's different.”

“No shit,” Dash dismissed those explanations sharply. “If that's what they call each other, it's not an offensive word. So shove that pamphlet up your-”

“It's a complicated situation, Dash,” Twilight interrupted her, losing patience. “They have a special case...”

“So are they just like us, or are they some kind of special case?” Dash asked caustically, squinting her eyes. “What's that about integrating into Equestria?”

Twilight opened her mouth, but immediately closed it - Dash's words actually made sense.

“Throwing facts at me like a coward,” Twilight thought glumly, but the whole thing made her think deeply.

Twilight's face grew more and more serious as dark thoughts filled her mind. Something was going on with Equestria lately. There was talk of tolerance, harmony, and unity everywhere, but it seemed the ponies were becoming more and more divided.

As a filly, she remembered the stallions teasing one another with the word “faggot”; now, it was considered highly offensive. Lately, everyone seems so fragile and easily offended. What's the point, anyway? Sooner or later they'll come up with a new word.

While everyone was supposedly equal, there were constantly new groups that required special treatment.

“So are they just like us, or are they some kind of special case?” - Dash's words flashed through her mind again as Twilight tried to make sense of what was going on.

Twilight couldn't shake the feeling that they were being artificially divided, as if following the ancient gryphon emperor's dictum, “Divide and conquer.”

“Hey, hey, Equus to Twilight,” came Dash's voice, but Twilight didn't hear, too immersed in her own thoughts.

Where would this policy lead ponykind? She had recently heard about a new initiative from the griffins - they were going to open several restaurants across Equestria serving fried... bugs!

The whole project was beautifully presented as an innovative way to ensure food security and support the ecosystem, but Twilight, as a scientist, knew it was complete nonsense. A pony's body is not adapted to process chitin, which would build up in the body, causing cancer and other diseases. In addition, insects are carriers of many parasites that even heat treatment can't kill. But will the nobles, who smell a big profit, listen to some princess from a remote village? They're not gonna eat that shit themselves.

As Twilight pondered, her gaze slid down the street and stopped at one of the café tables where a couple of ponies were sitting, munching on something with hay. Twilight's gaze darted further away, but immediately returned when she realized what they were eating.

Oh Celestia, they're already eating bugs!

Dash, tired of seeing Twilight hovering in the clouds, raised a hoof, about to bring her back to the ground with a precise kick to the forehead - it always worked.

Suddenly, Twilight blocked her hoof halfway, flashing her eyes, making Dash gulp - she'd never seen Twilight so serious. Her horn flared, and she pulled the pegasus close.

“They'll take everything from you,” Twilight said, her voice edged with manic intensity. “And you will eat the bugs!”

Dash blinked dazedly and missed the moment when Twilight pulled some sort of wand out of the air. Spreading her wings, she took off, heading towards Canterlot. Dash tried to follow but yelped in pain and collapsed to the ground.

“What the fuck did that mean!” she yelled after her, spitting out dust. “Hey, get this thing off me!"