Finally I was able to move into my new home.

My name is Spring Frost and I’m maybe the first kirin who left the Hono, the village of kirins, to move to a new place.

when Applejack and Fluttershy first visited the Hono, they not only Freed us from the Stream of Silence, but they had also shown us that there were more creatures outside of our own little place.

Of course, we had always known (or at least suspected) that there was more. But none of us had dared to go there. It had always been like an invisible barrier had kept us from leaving and it wasn't until these two ponies arrived that it finally disappeared.

Since that day I had dreamed of leaving Hono. It was not like I dislike our kirin village, but I wanted to experience more. Have a change of scenery, live in another culture, work on new projects and meet new kirins (or in this case here: ponies).

It was not easy. In the end, it was still a new world I was entering, and I was just as inexperienced as every other kirin in my village.

My plan had been, because of this, not directly move into a big city like Manehatten, Las Pegasus or Canterlot to avoid culture shock. Instead, this small little place called Maren would be my new home. It had some houses, a café, a restaurant, a post office, some little shops, farms, and a very small part that ponies used to call an industrial part. The next closest city was Canterlot but but it was still nearly a day’s train ride away. In other words, maren was a small, unknown, and off the beaten path with just a small hoof full of ponies.

But right now, I was standing in front of my own little house. While kirins build their homes inside a tree, ponies usually construct houses. What I had here was called a row house. Which meant that there were two other houses attached to mine. One to my left and one to my right. These ponies sure know how to build with space efficiency in mind.

These buildings might look a bit thin, but they were way larger when you enter them. Plus, I also had a second floor and even a small garden in front of the house. All in all, it was something completely new for me and also too big for just one kirin to live in. But I had neighbours and was hoping to make some pony friends who help me to make this block feel more and more like home.

I gave a happy sigh andswept a hoof through the top of my dark green mane. I was proud of myself. Taking such a huge step and now being able to stand here and say, “I did it”.

I entered my home and looked around. I actually knew everything was in place and this inspection was unnecessary. But it filled me with such pride to do so.

From the entrance you could go left to the living room, straight ahead into the kitchen or right upstairs. The kitchen came along with the cooking plates, oven, fridge and other cooking essentials. These were, of course, be pony like in build since no kirin (or pony) had expected that a kirin would move in here. So, I wanted to keep the pony touch and only added a table and two chairs. (From there I also learned that ponies have way higher chairs and tables.)

The living room on the other hoof I gave a mix of pony and kirin style. And I think I did it pretty well. With a soft sofa, a kirin style table, two pony style armchairs, pony style library and closets and kirin style carpet, plants, wall paintings and other decorations. The living room was designed to help ponies and kirin to feel more comfortable, in case I got some visitors, which I hoped for a lot.

I decided to go upstairs. Here you could go from a hallway into the bathroom and the bedroom. The bathroom was… a bathroom. It had a toilet, a shower and a sink. I doubted that ponies poo different than kirins…

The bedroom was, unlike the rest of the house, very empty. It had a bed and a closet in it. Nothing else. The bedroom was a place for me to retreat to and be myself. I didn’t want luxury or anything else in here. This was a place filled with an empty, but still calm, aura. And nothing should disturb it. Here I slept, meditate and thought about nothing.

But even though it was already evening, right now was not the time for rest. I still had things to do. Introduce myself to the neighbours. Of course, the plan was not to become best friends with the neighbourhood but at least have a positive relationship with them.

I jumped into the shower and let the water wash over my blue-green coat, king blue scales and green mane to get rid of all the smell, sweat and dirt. I wanted to make the right first impression. When I was done cleaning myself, I got out of the shower and dried myself properly (which is always hard with the manes kirins have). When I looked into the mirror, I saw my dark green eyes looking back and taking in my freshly washed body.

I hope he or she is friendly and doesn't burst into flames very often... Oh wait, ponies don't have a nirik form, quickly went through my mind as I rushed outside, through my garden and went to my left neighbour’s door. It was summer and the warm and bright evening only motivated me more.

As the good neighbor that I wanted to be, I aimed to introduce myself formally. I lifted my hoof and gave a soft knock on the door. I couldn’t tell if any kirin (I have to get used to saying every PONY here) was home and it seemed like there was not. To be sure I gave another knock and waited one or two minutes Still, the door remained shut. But I knew that ponies, just like kirins, can be busy and are not always able to be home.

I didn’t let this get my spirit down and went instead to my other neighbour. The one to my right side.

There I too knocked on the entrance and, to the beginning, nothing happened. Then very slowly and not too far the door opened and this time a lemon-yellow stallion with a light blue mane opened the door. He had no wings and no horn so I guessed that he must be an earth pony.

“Good day, nice to meet you”, I greeted in a happy tone. “I am sorry to bother you. My name is Spring Frost, and I just moved into the house next yours. I wanted to introduce myself to let you know that I am your new neighbour.”

“Oh… yes. Hello mister Frost”, the stallion said slow and careful. He had a smile on his face, but I could tell that he was uncomfortable talking to me.

“No need for formalities. We are neighbours. Spring is fine”, I waved off.

“Ah yes… Nice to meet you Spring. My name is Light Blue”, he again spoke slowly.

A short and awkward moment of silence followed as i waited for him to say more, but he didn't. I quickly tried to react in hopes of breaking the ice.

“Likewise Light. So, if you need something, like the classic cup of sugar”, I chuckled, and he gave a small laugh too. I just couldn’t tell if it was pretend or not now… “feel free to knock on my door and ask.”

“Yes… thank you”, was Lights only answer.

Oh Holy Flame, is this stallion shy. Sure, I am a kirin and something new but it’s not like I'm acting hostile right now, I thought.

But I didn’t give up so easily.

“Oh, the same goes if there is any problem. If I am too loud next door then also don't hesitate to tell me. Along with anything else that bothers you. Often there is no harm in such situations, so a solution can easily be found.”

But again my efforts didn’t get the reaction I hoped.

“Okay. I will.”

I rolled my eyes on the inside but continued to stay polite.

“Right… I will let you be now. But you can always come over, and I'll make some tea, and we can introduce ourselves and have a nice chat”, I said as I turned around and gave a goodbye wave.

“Alright. Have a good day”, Light said and slowly closed the door.

As I slowly walked back home, I asked myself what i possibly did wrong. Was I so friendly that it came over as weird or flirtatious? Or maybe he was really just so surprised by the sight of a kirin.

Kirins were only a recent discovery by ponies, and I could bet that many didn’t know yet what these special looking creatures are. Unlike ponies we had a thick lionlike mane, clipped hooves, a leonine tail, a unique horn and scales on the back. Maybe I should have explained what I am and what a kirin exactly is. I made a mental note that I should say this the next time I meet some PONY new.

I went back inside my home. Luckily, I came here with food already in stock. I decided to cook myself some fried rice with vegetables. As I sat alone at the kitchen table, I used the time to reflect about the day.

Sure, Light was a shy neighbour but there was also the other one to my left. Maybe that one was different. Besides, I came from a place where I already knew every kirin. We had known each other for our whole life. And I should not forget the major part I achieved today. I moved in here and already started to get familiar with pony culture and my new home. Now could happily go to bed. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new week and the start of my new job, so i need plenty of sleep to be ready.

I finished my dinner, cleaned my plate and went upstairs. After brushing my teeth I snuggled under my blanket and not long after I drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note

Hello and thank you all for reading the first chapter.

As you might have noticed, this story is written in first person and the beginning is a bit of… boring. But don’t you worry, the story will build itself up and the more exiting chapters will follow with a (planned) regular update.

Btw, feel free to give any reviews. If you see mistakes or have some inputs let me know.