A stream of water hit me in the face with such force that it knocked me off my hooves and threw me to the floor. It was less the cold water more the sudden surprise that doused my anger and extinguished my fire. Turning me from a nirik back to a kirin. As soon as my rage was gone, I was finally able to think clearly again.

I looked around. All of my kitchen was burning. The furniture had long since burned to nothing but ash and coal. The flames had spread to the walls and even the cooking platforms, which were made out of straight iron, was damaged by the heat. And in the meantime there was a stream of water coming through the window, aiming at the flames. The window itself had no more glass. Most likely it had shattered by from the heat.

I had to get out of here. Being a kirin made me immune to fire but it would not save me if this whole building collapsed. I rushed out of the kitchen and opened the door to my house, only for it to hit somepony in the face.

I was at least as surprised as the pony that just got hit by a door and was now laying on the ground, dizzy. The pony had an orange full body fire protection suit on, so I couldn’t even tell if it was a mare or stallion. But their plan had most likely been to get inside.

I took a look at my surroundings. There was a lot more going on. Ponies with orange helmets were running around. Firefighters. One of them, a unicorn, was holding a hose in their magic grip and was shooting water through the kitchen window. The hose was attached to a huge water tank on a cart.

And there were also onlookers… Ponies standing in a half circle around the whole event to see what is going on. I recognised some of my coworkers standing in the crowd but none I would know by name.

“Sir, get away from the house!”, a voice yelled at me.

A fire fighter was coming at me and pushed me away from the entrance. I just did as I was told. I felt like I was in a trance. my brain already felt tired from the rage I felt earlier, and this whole scene just made me feel even more exhausted.

“Is there anypony else in your house? Do we have to send somepony in to save them?”, the firefighter asked me. It was a male voice. Demanding and clear. But I couldn’t tell much more about the pony.

“No. I was the only one in there”, I got out of me. My gaze drifted to the ground.

“Are you sure?”, he followed up.

Of course I am! This is the whole reason why my house is burning now! Because I was hoping so much that somepony would come but nopony showed up!

“Yes. Yes, I am sure.”

I think the firefighter gave a nod. In any case he turned away and gave some new orders to his colleagues.

At that moment I just plopped my rear onto the street. I just couldn't feel angry anymore. I was too tired for it. The fuel for my nirik fire was fully burned out and it just left behind a tired and empty kirin.

At one point a firefighter placed a warm blanket over my shoulders. But that was the only comfort I got. The firefighters were too busy to nurse me, and the onlookers didn’t even make an attempt to reach out to me. They were just here for the show.

It was just me. Sitting there. Alone. Watching my home burn.

It wasn't long before the fire was extinguished, and the only thing left of it was a bit of smoke. Now, even that was gone. I was standing in my house again, and looking at the completely destroyed kitchen.

After an inspection by the firefighters, they have declared the building safe, with no risk of collapsing. It was my good luck that the fire didn’t spread out further than the kitchen. Of course, the stone walls had helped preventing the fire from spreading.

But it was only a little happiness in this misfortune. I still felt broken, sad, depressed. As the fire was brought under control, the herd of ponies slowly shrunk until there was nopony left except me and the firefighters. They had asked me how the fire had started. I hadn’t been in the condition to lie. But some parts I had left out. I hadn’t mention anything about me becoming a creature of fire.

I didn't want word of my nirik side to spread about town. I already knew that tomorrow everypony else would gossip that the house, the one that belongs to the kirin, had burned.

Ididn't want to stand in this blackened kitchen any longer. Like an empty shell I made my way upstairs, to my bedroom and just threw myself on the bed.

And there I cried. All my emotions came up in me again and even the calm bedroom aura was not able to fix this wound. The pain was just too deep.

I was not angry. Not anymore. I was just sad how everything had turned out. How my efforts to make friends here was for nothing. How my hopes got shattered along with these efforts. How nopony cared. How lonely I was now…

I woke up late the next morning. I actually had to go to work, but I couldn't care less. I didn’t have the strength to stand up. I just continued to lay on my side in bed, starring at the wall and being lost in a depressed state of feeling nothing.

Maybe the ponies at work wondered where I was. But I assumed that word of the fire yesterday had spread through the facility. From one friend group to the next. And if that is not a reason to stay at home, then I would just call it a sick day.

I wanted to meditate, to ease the negative emotions in me a bit. But that seemed like too much effort right now. Besides, it wouldn’t have helped anything. The pain I felt was still too present for me to be able to calm myself.

It wasn’t until the late afternoon when I finally decided to get up. Mostly because my bladder called…

After visiting the toilet, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen to take a detailed inventory of the damage I had done.
The door already looked like it would soon fall apart. It had only been pure luck that the fire hadn’t spread into the other rooms, causing more destruction.

The walls and ceiling were completely black and will need restauration. All the furniture, decorations and cabinets were nothing more than ash. The plates, glasses and cups which I kept in the cabinets were shattered just like the window. The kitchen stove, sink and tap partially melted and became nonfunctional. They also need replacement… The fridge was broken and didn't look any better from the outside than the rest of the kitchen.

I opened the fridge. Somehow the food that I had prepared for the party had survived my arson. But the ramen soup, which had been outside of the fridge, was not anymore. That one burned away just like the pot, which now was a molten pile of metal.

I took the bowl with the tofu slices out of the fridge. I held it in my magic grip as I ate some slices. I didn’t feel hungry. I just ate it for the sake of eating at least something. It tasted like nothing.

I had such a good life in Hono. I had friends there. Kirins who I could have time with, talk to and who were there for me. And I gave it all up… Just because I wanted to have a change of scenery. To experience something new… And now I wanted nothing more than to go back. To my real home.

But the truth was, I couldn’t. I still had to pay back the credit to the Equestrian Bank before I could think about moving away again. Not to forget that moving back to Hono would also cost some bits. And on top of that there was this kitchen which now had to be repaired. The costs for this would be enormous. The whole room had to be renovated.

Sure, I could just move away and tell them to kiss my flanks but that wouldn’t solve the problem. I would still be in debt, and they still would have the right to ask for my payment. And in Hono I wouldn’t make enough bits to pay anything back…

In other words, I was stuck here. I still had to work here. I still had to live here. A place I didn't want to be. A village, that only depressed me. A home where I didn't feel welcome. And that for a long time…

Author's Note

Sad kirin noises…

Like always, feel free to write a comment. Positive comments help me to be motivated and negative comments help me to improve the story.