The train ground to a halt at the rickety wooden platform, exhaling steam. There had been some improvements over the years—the platform was longer than it had been, and even had a simple bench made of a wide plank and two logs. The stationmaster’s booth, however, was largely untouched.
Creek Shine stepped down from the coach and inhaled deeply. Even though the area around them was a dusty wasteland, she could pick up the faint tropical scents of fruits and flowers carried on the winds. She let out the breath with a big smile.
“It’s sure great to be home again,” she said, turning to a second figure that stepped off the coach to join her.
He was a green earth pony, with a messy burnt orange mane and tail. A cutie mark of a pile of autumn leaves adorned his flank. His saddlebags—and hers—were their luggage for the trip. Creek frowned at him.
“Pile…” she began.
The pony gave a sheepish smile, and “Leaf Pile” vanished in a swirl of emerald fire, replaced by a golden yellow changeling with faint, dark stripes almost like a bee’s and emerald compound eyes.
“Sorry, force of habit,” he said.
Creek stepped closer and nuzzled his snout. “I know you’re worried, but it’s going to be alright,” she said.
Pile jumped as the engine behind them let out a loud whistle and began reversing back down the line. The pair watched them go, before turning to their destination across the wasteland: the Peaks of Peril.
Pile swallowed as Creek set off, and he followed close beside her.
“Are you sure?” Pile asked. “I mean, have the kirin even met a changeling before?”
“Well, we took meeting ponies pretty well,” Creek remarked. “Why wouldn’t they like changelings, too?”
“Uh, those ponies helped fix their whole Vow of Silence?” Pile replied. “All we changelings have ever done is… take.”
Creek sensed his drooping demeanor before she saw it, and stepped closer to offer another reassuring nuzzle. “Hey, you aren’t like that now. None of you are.”
“Doesn’t mean we’ve done a lot since but make amends,” Pile said, smiling softly at the loving gesture.
“I dunno, you’re a pretty good landscaper,” Creek said with a smug smirk.
Pile chuckled. “Well, digging tunnels does come with some… job experience, I guess,” he admitted. “But… are you sure they’ll approve? Of us?”
Creek snorted. “If not, they’ll just have to get used to their princess dating a changeling,” she said, holding her head aloft with a proud smirk.
Pile offered a weak smile, but it quickly fell as the trees of the jungle loomed before them. The kirin themselves weren’t what largely worried him.
The hike into the village was relatively easy—Creek remembered the way by heart, and Pile’s wings overcame the terrain.
Bushels of blue flowers lining either side of the path announced they had reached the village. They passed under an archway constructed of thin logs and found themselves enveloped by the gentle murmur of the thriving Kirin Village.
It didn’t take long for the kirin to notice their arrival, stopping what they were doing to gasp and gawk. Pile shrank under their gazes, his deeper instincts telling him to disguise, to blend in, to go unnoticed.
“Creek!” called one kirin in particular, racing over. She had a light tan coat and reddish-brown mane. “It’s so good to see you again! You won’t believe how many plays I’ve finished, you’ve got to check them all out!”
Creek giggled as she brushed her friend off. “Maybe later, Autumn. Is mother around?” she asked. “I’ve got someone I wanted her to meet.”
It was only then that Autumn noticed Pile, who had stepped behind Creek. The kirin’s eyes widened as she took in Pile from horntip to hoof, tilting her head with curiosity.
“Uh… what am I looking at?” Autumn asked.
Pile winced, but Creek patted him on the back.
“This is a changeling. His name is Pile,” Creek introduced, turning to Pile. “Pile, this is Autumn Blaze, she’s sort of the village greeter.”
“And village hero, not to brag,” Autumn said smugly, looking at one forehoof before offering it to Pile. “Put her there, it’s nice to meet you.”
Pile flashed a sheepish smile and shook it. “N-Nice to meet you too,” he said.
“Ooh, what a voice,” Autumn said, her eyes narrowing. “I’ve got to try writing a song for that. Maybe something with… flutes? Panpipes? Maybe some other woodwind?”
Creek gently cleared her throat. “Autumn, where is mother?” she asked again.
“Oh! Right! She should be at her house,” Autumn said. “I don’t think she went anywhere, said she had some gardening to do.” She turned to address Pile. “You’ve gotta get back to me on that song thing though. However long you’re staying, that is.”
“Thank you, Autumn,” Creek said, gently stepping around her. Pile quickly followed in her shadow, glancing back at Autumn who waved goodbye to them.
His eyes panned around to the other kirin standing around them. The hushed whispers and surprised looks didn’t go unnoticed.
“Autumn’s a great friend, but she can get a bit chatty,” Creek said, stopping abruptly. Pile almost walked into her. She flashed a smile over her shoulder to him. “Ready to meet my mom?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Pile said with a shaky smile, following her on to her childhood home.
Creek and Pile walked up to one of the houses close to the center of the village. Pine had to admit that kirin architecture was something else. He’d heard of treehouses before, but never of homes within trees such as these. This one in particular was much like the others, although adorned with more flowers, both in beds out front and in boxes on the windowsills.
“Mother?” Creek called. “Are you home?”
“Creek?” came a gentle voice from behind the house. “I’m in the garden.”
Pile followed Creek around to the side, where there was an area sectioned off by a wooden fence. Creek opened the gate with her magic and hurried through. Pile followed close behind.
The garden was like a miniature jungle contained within the fenced yard. Thick vines grew up trellises, laden with sweet-smelling flowers. Neat rows of vegetables and herbs were growing lushly, nearly overgrowing onto a simple path made of stepping stones. Near the back were bushes, some flowering and some full of ripe berries.
A tall form emerged from behind the bushes that made Pile halt in his tracks.
He hadn’t expected Rain Shine to look so much like Creek, or perhaps it was the other way around. Indeed, his marefriend was a smaller copy of the kirin leader, with the only real difference being that her mother was about the size of Princess Celestia.
Creek ran forward and Rain Shine caught her in a one-legged hug. She leaned down and nuzzled against Creek’s mane.
“It’s so good to have you back home, my daughter,” she said.
Pile shifted awkwardly, flinching when Rain Shine’s burnt orange eyes and saw him. He gulped as she stood back to full height, her head tilted. Her expression was blank as she studied him.
“And who might this be?” Rain Shine asked.
Creek backed up Pile and wrapped a foreleg around him. “Mother, this is Pile. He’s a changeling, and… well, he’s my lingfriend.”
“N-Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Pile stuttered, flashing an uneasy smile.
“I see,” Rain Shine said. “Creek, I wish to speak with Pile alone, if I may.”
Pile shook, and Creek’s ears drooped.
“Mother, I—”
“Please, Creek,” Rain Shine said, raising a hoof.
Creek sighed and nodded. She gave Pile a peck on the cheek before walking over and heading through the backdoor into the house. Pile watched her go, desperately wishing she would stay, before turning his attention back to Rain Shine.
He jumped slightly when he realized she had stepped closer to him, her shadow looming over him.
“So, Pile,” Rain Shine began. “What are your intentions with my daughter?”
Pile’s chitin rattled as he fought to get the words out. “W-Well, ma’am, I, uh, j-just want to make h-her happy,” he said. “N-Nothing else.”
Rain Shine hummed as she studied him. “How much do you know about us kirin?”
“I k-know you’re pretty isolated. The Changeling Hive is a l-lot like that, actually,” Pile said. “And I know about the n-nirik thing.”
“It is important that you do, for your own safety,” Rain Shine said gravely, walking over to a table tucked away in the corner of the garden. A few small potted trees sat on it, among clippings and a pair of pruning shears. “And I am well aware of you changelings.”
“You are?” Pile blinked as he hesitantly walked closer.
“We kirin haven’t seen many visitors since Applejack and Fluttershy left, but with our existence known, I made sure to study up on the current state of the world,” Rain Shine continued. She lifted the pruning shears in her magic and began trimming one of the trees. “I know of you changelings, and your queen.”
A chill froze Pile’s core. “W-We aren’t like that anymore!” he spluttered. “We’ve changed!”
“I’m aware,” Rain Shine said. “Much like us, you had the help of ponies to change your ways. You no longer hunger… much like we no longer rage uncontrollably, or freeze our emotions.”
Pile relaxed a little, but remained silent.
“I understand you, and what you must have went through, and I have no place to judge you. I just need to know that my daughter is not just… food to you. That she means something,” Rain Shine continued, stopping her pruning to glance back at him over her shoulder.
Pile stood a little taller and nodded. “Ma’am, Creek isn’t just a meal. She means a lot to me. I used to be pretty closeted before I met her. I used to not even let down my disguise except around my friends. She’s helped me get more used to… well, being me.”
Rain Shine was quiet for a moment, before she smiled. “Good, I’m glad,” she said. “I was often worried she’d be so wrapped up in figuring out our history that she would never settle down. I’m glad she has you.”
“Th-Thank you, ma’am,” Pile said.
“Now, let us go inside and have some tea, and you can tell me more about yourself,” Rain Shine said, setting the pruning shears down. She smiled as she admired her work. “I’m sure Creek Shine is rather anxious.”
Pile blinked. “Uh, sure, ma’am.”
“And please, call me Rain Shine,” the kirin leader said, gracing him with another, warmer smile before stepping into the house.
Pile let out a breath as a weight lifted off of him, and a genuine smile crossed his muzzle. He followed behind Rain Shine into the house—perhaps a second home.
Author's Note
Date of Creation (D.o.C.): 07/30/24
I'll admit, I kind of threw this one together at the last minute. I'd been meaning to write this since the beginning of July and never got around to it. Then I learned the due date got pushed back a month when I went to publish it at the end of July and it kinda fell on the backburner. So here we are, I hope you enjoyed.
If you're curious how Creek Shine and Pile met, or perhaps why Pile is named Pile, I'm compiling something together that should answer those questions and more. 
The song I listened to while writing this was "Land of Green and Gold" from the video game Stardew Valley.
-yours truly,
The Legendary Bill Cipher, Equestria Enthusiast
