Autumn
The vivid memories of the serene village she had just left were already starting to leak out of her mind's eye, Autumn Blaze pushed forward along the path to the hill’s summit. The ground was carpeted with the brown leaves of the kirin’s namesake which made every unstable hoofstep accompanied by a comforting crunch. The only other noise filling the forest was the occasional tweeting of birdsong and the unoiled wheel of the cart containing once joyful Kirin’s entire life's possessions.
Images of home were flashing through Autumn’s mind, the one image sticking out above the rest being Rain Shine’s blank hoof pointing out of the village that she had once loved.
Still loved.
“It’s going to be fine…” Autumn whispered to herself as she trundled along, taking deep breaths after every sentence. “Once I have my bearings… I can find help… to save the village and get everykirin talking again… and then they’ll be so proud of me… they’ll see how important it is… and then we’ll be able to… see the whole world instead of… just staying in our village… once I… is… what is that?”
Her external monologue of her internal monologue was halted as she realized that the empty hilltop she remembered from her childhood was, in fact, not empty. There was a house, and not the natural tree sculpted one like the ones from her home. This one looked like it had, save for the tree that it used as one of the support beams, been built and not grown. Autumn had seen depictions of it in the occasional book from outside the grove that makes its way inside but never seen one in real life before. No one seemed to be home; the curtains were shut and the door was closed.
How long had this been here?
And whose house was this?
She struggled to the top of the hill, and set the cart down. Autumn felt very dizzy all of a sudden; It must have been the exhaustion from the journey. Shaking her head and letting her vision refocus, she looked at the slightly ajar door.
“Ok Blazie… just a lonely mysterious not-here-four-years-ago house in the woods! Well, what's the worst that could happen?” she said, smiling weakly, and pushed open the door. Her nose wrinkled at the sight.
It was a living room… or what was probably supposed to be a living room. There were two sofas and a small fireplace… but apart from that?
Rubbish. Everywhere.
Open books, half eaten food, paper, random plants, moss and mould covered the floor like a rug.
“Whoever lives here needs to do some spring cleaning…” she said out loud, and paused in place as she heard an exasperated groan from an adjoining room, the door of which being closed.
“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t realise that anyone was here! Is… this your house?” called out Autumn, curious of who the voice belonged to.
There was a good few seconds of silence, before she heard the voice once more.
“... Are you always this persistent?” it whined.
“I….. juuuust got here?” said Autumn, moving up to the door. “I was just passing by and saw the house, and I didn’t quite recognise it, and I thought: Gee! That’s weird! And I saw the door was open, so… I came in! Sorry!”
There was no response from the otherside apart from a small groan.
“Can I… come in?” she said softly.
Another long pause… then eventually:
“... Fine.”
Gently, Autumn pushed open the door.
It was a small bedroom. Autumn’s gaze made a quick pass of the room; a small desk, a shelf adorned with different rocks, and a typical kirin bed. Laying on top of said bed, staring up at the roof was the owner of the voice.
A kirin!
The kirin’s mane body was grass green, her mane being of a slightly darker complexion. She had long, unkempt and messy hair that had spread itself out along the bed below. Her tail was flopped down the side of the bed, the ends of the fur that clung to hit being brown with mud.
Autumn blinked a few times.
Despite her scruffines… she was real pretty.
“You’re not silenced?” she asked, hope erupting from her voice.
“... No. Evidently not. Because for some reason, I’m still talking to you.” she said, seemingly shuffling something in her hooves.
“Did you find more of the Foal’s Breath flower? Or did you find another cure for the stream?” Autumn asked, trotting over hopefully. She looked down at the green kirin expectantly, her exhausted expression meeting her gaze.
“... No.” she replied shortly. “I’m not from around here. I… wasn’t there when everykirin went in in the first place.”
“Oh…” said Autumn, her face falling a bit. “Well… that’s ok! I was SO scared I was going to be all on my own with no one to talk to… but you’re here! So that's alright then! I don’t think I’ve met you before! By the way, you should really hold your tail off the ground more; its covered in mud and dust! We’ll have to wash that out later. Oh yeah! I’m Autumn Blaze! What's your name?” she asked.
The green kirin blinked slowly, her tired eyes flickering a little wider. Autumn waited patiently, grin still plastered on her face.
“... Wallflower Blush.” she eventually replied. “And I’m… uhm… not from around here.”
Autumn looked behind her.
“You… literally have a house. And a real nice one at that! Well, It would be nice if it weren't so messy…” she said, turning around. Her twisting kirin horn gently activated as she started to pick up some of the debris that carpeted the floor of the bedroom with her magic.
Wallflower sat up, staring at Autumn.
“...What are you doing?” she asked.
“What does it look like I'm doing? I’m cleaning up!” she said, the various detritus forming together into a tight ball. “You can help if you’d like! Separate the items from the ones that can and can’t compost, then we’ll be able to work out a bin rota to work out how to best preserve the garden…”
“... Why? Are you doing this??” Wallflower interrupted her. “This isn’t your house? It’s mine. And I like to be on my own.”
“If you weren’t asking for help, why’d you let me in?” asked Autumn, smirking smugly as she side eyed Wallflower.
The tiniest hint of a smirk crossed Wallflower’s face.
“... Like I said. You’re… real persistent.”
Autumn nodded. “You’ll quickly learn that I am indeed very persistent. And if we’re going to be roommates, you’re going to have to learn to be a little more tidy!”
A gurgle of confusion escaped Wallflower’s throat as she shook her head.
“R-Roomates!? What? Since when were we- UGH!” she groaned, sliding off the bed, head in her hooves.
“I’m like a Batpony, Wally! Once you let me in, I never leave!” she replied smugly, finishing her brief sweep of the room and placing the ball of debris just outside the door.
“That’s not how Batponies work! A- did you just call me ‘Wally’?!?”
“Yeah! I thought we could work out some cute nicknames for eachother-”
“AUTUMN!” Wallflower shouted. “L-Look, I don’t want a roommate, ok? I just want to be left on my own with my thoughts! They’re just for me, and no one else. Seriously. Please leave.”
Autumn sighed firmly, and twisted her head around. She wore a firm expression; Wallflower looked taken aback.
“Do you know why I left the village?” she said, turning fully. “Because they forced me out. I was the only kirin there who was expressing my feelings, and they were terrified that I was going to burn the place down again. But if the kirins had just not suppressed their feelings in the first place, then the fire that burst out of us wouldn’t have been as destructive! And I’ve got a funny feeling that another wildfire is gonna start if I leave you here on your own ” she said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. Wallflower recoiled a little more.
“So. We’re going to clean your house, plant some food, and find a way to grow some more Foal’s breath to cure the village.”
Wallflower groaned as she quibbled, the words not forming correctly in her mouth. Eventually, she gave up, shuffling her hooves awkwardly.
“...You’re just going to keep coming back if I send you away… aren’t you?”
Autumn grinned smugly.
“You’re starting to get it, aren’t you? Don’t worry; I’m a good roommate! Besides… it really looks like you need the company. And I’d be more than happy to brush that mane of yours! I bet you’ll look dazzling when you’re all cleaned up!”
Wallflower continued to stare at the floor, shuffling with embarrassment.
“...I do have friends you know…” mumbled Wallflower, eventually looking back up at Autumn.
“Are any of them not plants?” she asked.
Wallflower chuckled sheepishly.
“...No.”
Autumn laughed a little too hard, and Wallflower’s small smile grew into a wider one.
“Come on. Let's see what progress we can make in your living room today!” she said, using her magic to open the curtains. The light shone through, illuminating Autumn in the golden hour sunrays.
Wallflower gawked at her for a few moments.
“... sure thing… B-Blazie…”
Winter
A long and whining groan escaped Wallflower's lips as she sat on the sofa, huddled in layer upon layer of blankets as Autumn focused on the frustration of another failed food scavenge to try and light a fire on her tail. The wind howled as it shook the house. The pair had spent most of the last days of autumn fixing up the structure of the house preparing it for winter storms, so the building was holding. They had not, however, prepared enough food. The harsh winter had made it difficult to find scraps in the kirin grove.
The only consistent food source they had was a small greenhouse area in the corner of the room; Autumn had been impressed to see how her new roomate’s earth magic had developed so quickly. But, like many other days, the two had already eaten through their allotted food for the day… but their stomachs still hurt.
What didn’t help was that even with the fire on, the building didn’t keep in that much heat.
“Shoot…” mumbled Autumn as she failed to fully light her tail to in turn light the fire. “Looks like we’re running on body heat… would you be fine sleeping next to me tonight? …” she said, looking up at Wallflower sadly. “I know how much you don’t like contact… but If you froze to death? I’d kill you.” she said.
Wallflower blushed.
Autumn suddenly held her head in discomfort. Ever since she had moved in, she would get occasional sudden and sharp dizzy spells. She put it down to the stress of being kicked out of the village. Whenever she had them, Wallflower would be right there, and always seemed to know the perfect thing to say.
“Ohh… uhm, It’s ok.” she said. “I. Don’t mind it too much. It's ok, I mean. We can. Do that.” she stuttered.
Autumn smiled softly. “I’m still pretty warm from getting mad earlier… I’m glad that the snow is stopping any fires that I start…” she said, hopping up onto the sofa and doing a big stretch. Wallflower watched her with wide eyes, tensing up a bit the closer she got.
“You letting me in, orrr…” asked Autumn, tilting her head.
“... OH! Oh, right.” said Wallflower, quickly unfurling her blanket cocoon. Autumn smiled sweetly, and lay next to her, using her magic to wrap the blankets around the pair.
“I just hope my old friends down in the village are smart enough to do this kinda thing… I’m real worried they’re gonna freeze down there…” said Autumn yawning. “Not being able to communicate… must suck at times like these…”
“... yepthatmustsuck.” Wallflower chirped quickly. Autumn twisted her head to look at her; she was freaking out.
“Hey, you alright?” she asked quickly.
“Me? Oh, nothing. Just a hot and pretty Kirin laying right next to me as we cuddle for warmth.” muttered the green kirin.
Autumn stared at her, eyes unblinking.
“UHM! Shoot, uhm- F-Forget that I said that!” she said quickly, shutting her eyes tight as the flush grew on her face.
“... Wallflower? I never knew you felt that way about me!” said Autumn as her eyes sparkled.
“I- Huh? Why didn’t it???” Autumn watched as Wallflower frantically fumbled around in the pile of blankets, apparently looking for something.
“Hey! Hey… hey!” Autumn quickly placed a hoof around her shoulder. Wallflower froze and slowly turned around to stare wide eyed at Autumn, their muzzles inches away.
“... I…” Autumn tried to speak, but began giggling like a schoolgirl. Wallflower was like a deer in headlights.
“Lets just say…” she lowered her head to stare deep into her eyes. “Wanting to find a way to save the village wasn’t the only reason I decided to stay here.”
Wallflower opened her mouth to try and worm her way out of it, but stopped as she probably realized that this wasn’t a thing she particularly wanted to worm her way out of.
“You… m….. ME?!” she spluttered.
Autumn giggled again, nodding. “I assumed you didn’t like girls or something, so I never brought it up….”
“No. I. Uhm. Those. Girls are. I do. I do like girls.” Wallflower said, eyes practically glowing.
The pair sat in silence for a few moments before both speaking at once.
“Would you-” “Can we-” “Oh, no, you go first” “Oh sorry I didn’t mean to-” “Oh shoot I’ve done it again” “No wait one of us has to-” “Yeah we should probably,” “Wallflower, you’re really-” “Ok im going imgonadoitherewego!!!” “ohokwayareWOHGBN”
That was the night that Autumn Blaze and Wallflower Blush shared their first kiss.
Spring
“A-AUTUMN! QUICK! HERE! NOW!”
Autumn’s ears shot up as she looked out the window. Wallflower was approaching, and seemed to have something on her back. Something big. And horse shaped.
Autumn leapt up and left the house, rushing towards her. She gasped upon seeing that Wallflower was carrying a pony on her back! Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was a sandy coloured pegasi with stripy grey hair, an explorers hat (with 20 small arrow holes) and a camo green shirt.
“Is that a Peagsus!? A PONY! SOMEONE FROM OUTSIDE THE GROVE! Think of it! She could go and get help! She could see if… oh…” Autumn exclaimed, eyes sparkling with wonder. The wonder faded, however, as she saw the large gash in its side.
“OH! Oh no, that’s… ohh that's bad! Quick, get her to the sofa! I’ll see what medicine we have!” she said, trotting alongside her as they raced back into the house.
Wallflower (with a high amount of strain as she was a brittle boned skinny kirin) placed the mysterious pony onto the sofa as Autumn rushed forward with the loose bandages made from leaves and moss.
“Where did you find her?” she asked as she started applying the procedure.
“She was at the outskirts of the village… It looks like she was either trying to steal something, or communicate. I-I think they tried dumping her in the stream…” she said, staring at the sandy pony infront of her, their breathing still shallow.
“She’s amazing…” said Autumn dreamily, running her hoof down her splayed wing. “She’s got FEATHERS, Wallflower! FEATHERS! They’re so soft!”
Wallflower shuffled uncomfortably. “... they’re not that cool.” she mumbled, glaring at the new arrival.
“Do you think you can use some of your magic?” asked Autumn, looking at her beloved roommate. Wallflower shrank.
“Uhm… I guess… but what if it goes wrong?” she said meekly.
“It won’t.”
“... but what if it-”
“I’m not playing this game today, Wally. It will work because you cando this.”
Wallflower’s ears flattened back, but she nodded.
Carefully, she lit the green magic around her horn, and carefully placed her hooves on the pony’s bandaged wound. She started humming to herself. From the ground beneath her, green sprouts started to twist into vines, running their way up the side of the sofa and intertwining themselves into the makeshift bandages. A few small flowers popped up throughout the material, and a golden glow flowered throughout the pegasi’s body.
Wallflower fell back, winded. Autumn was immediately by her side, embracing her tight.
“Are you ok?” she asked, head turning to their patient.
“I’m… fine…” she said through gritted teeth, hoof to her forehead.
Slowly, the pegasus woke up.
“Great… another prison to escape from…” she grunted slowly as she swiveled up into a sitting position, but paused upon seeing the two kirin infront of her.
“You’re ok!” said Autumn excitedly. “You’re… not dead! That’s great! You looked pretty bad but my amazing roommate healed you! Are you a pegasi? You have wings, right? That's amazing! How far can you fly? How HIGH can you fly? Do you have to preen-”
“Blazzieee….” whimpered Wallflower, putting a hoof to Autumn's lips. “Sorry. She hasn’t spoken to anyone other than me for the last few months. And uhm. We’re. Girlfriends, by the way. Not roomates. She's my. Girlfriend that is mine. Girlfriend.” said Wallflower awkwardly. Autumn’s eyebrows raised at this insistence.
“Rrright. Don’t worry, I’m not to steal anyone's girlfriends. Anyway, where in Equestria am I?” asked the Pegasus.
“You’re in the kirin grove! It’s far from anywhere else… What exactly are you doing here?” asked Autumn.
“I’m an explorer! I had heard rumours of a secret village filled with mysterious creatures called Kirin… and I guess I was right. Not very talkative, though… Or friendly.” she said, eyeing Autumn, “Apart from you two, it seems.”
“Yeah, we, uh. We aren’t silenced. We’ve been tryna work out a cure. On our own. For a while.” said Wallflower, eyes narrowing a little. “What’s your name?”
“Daring Do. Pleasure to make your acquaintance!”
“I’m Autumn Blaze! And it is a marvel to meet you! And this… oh Wallflower, this is perfect, isn’t it! She can go and get help!” Autumn said, standing up in excitement.
“You see, the village has been suffering with food shortages for moons! Me and Wally figure it's because they’re having trouble coordinating crop rotations…” she said. “Do you know of any ponies out there that could help?”
Daring Do looked at her bandages, and grinned. “Well… for the fine ponies… sorry, Kirin, who helped me? I think I know of such a group~”
Autumn watched with wrapped attention as Daring Do described 6 ponies who welded powerful artifacts named the elements of harmony. She oo’d and Ah’d constantly as Daring do described their many exploits of helping those around Equestria, all the while not noticing Wallflower start to gravitate closer and closer to her partner.
“I reckon if you leave it to me? We can get them here in no time. Think they've got a big coronation happening soon; Equestria has a new Alicorn! They'd be sure to come here and make the folks around her speak again.” She said confidently. “Plus… I imagine I could write quite a book about this place… Daring to and the saving of the Kirin Grove…”
Autumn's eyes sparkled. “Just think, Wally! The whole village could be talking again, and creatures from around the world could come and visit to see how beautiful our grove is! We could even give tours! We'd made such good tour guides!”
Wallflowe’s ears flattened back as she looked down.
“... Sounds like a lot of different people to have to talk to.” She mumbled. “I only really like talking to one…” she finished, looking directly at Autumn.
Autumn looked quizzically at Wallflower.
“This… is what we want, right? I mean, that's why we even started living together! To find a cure for the village?”
“... We started living together because you wouldn't leave.” Said Wallflower indignantly. Autumn’s eyes widened in shock.
Daring Do looked between them, sensing the tension.
“I'm… gonna head outside for a bit to stretch my wings: they're stiff as Tartarus. Let me know when… you're… done?” She said, losing momentum as she moved outside.
Once the door has shut, Autumn turned her head to Wallflower.
“... Are you ok?”
“Yes. I'm fine.” she said, not even trying to hide the lie.
“No, you're not. Come on. I know this is a lot, and I'm here to support you, but you need to tell me what's up!”
Wallflower whimpered a little, avoiding eye contact like the plague. .
“... I… like how things are. I like it being just you and me. I don't want more ponies coming in… because if they come in, then they'll take time away from us…” she mumbled.
Realization spread across Autumn's face as she suddenly brought Wallflower into a sudden and tight hug, making her squeak.
“Wally… I understand… don’t worry, I do! I know how intimidating it must seem… And I love spending time with you! More than anything… But I can’t just be thinking about us! There's a whole village down there stuck in silent prison, unable to feel anything close to what I feel for you. I want the whole world to feel the way about something like I feel about us.” Autumn said, gently rubbing Wallflower’s scaly hide. Wallflower whimpered a little again.
“This is what I’ve been waiting for… for months. To be able to share how much I care for you to the whole village.” said Autumn, giving Wallflower a kiss on the cheek. “And don’t you worry, Wally. No matter what comes up, you will always be my number one priority.”
Wallflower nuzzled into her for a few moments, remaining silent.
“... Wallflower?”
“... Ok. I understand.” she said quietly. “D-Don’t worry. If she comes back with ponies… I’ll… I’ll be fine.”
Autumn smiled, and kissed her. Wallflower reciprocated.
“Ok! Amazing! You’re the best, my lil’ flower!” Autumn said after they finished. “I’m going to show Daring Do the village as best I can, then we’ll send her on her way to go get help!”
“... Is it ok if I go with her?” asked Wallflower. “I-I’ve never actually… figured out where an exit is.”
Autumn nodded excitedly. “Sure! Just be sure to be back by sundown! I’ll stay here to make sure none of the villagers try to take any of our stuff!”
As Autumn turned her back, Wallflower smirked, as she made sure that she had something stored in her mane.
Summer
Autumn sat on the balcony overlooking the valley, wiping her brow from the sun beating down on her. The baking heat was overwhelming, the only reprieve being that of the occasional gust of wind.
The drought that had set in had made growing anything much, much harder. Even still, Wallflower had managed to cultivate enough fruits and crops with her magic to keep Autumn and her well fed. But, as always, Autumn’s mind would always turn to the Kirin of the village.
“Thatssss another round of apples done…” said Wallflower as she stepped up the narrow ramp to the open balcony, parking herself next to Autumn and leaning into her. The ginger Kirin extended her foreleg around her partner's shoulder.
“Good… you’re amazing…” she said, licking her cracked lips. “I’m worried, Wally… Daring Do has been gone since spring, and she never came back with the help she said she was bringing. And the last time I looked, the kirin of the village were using the stream of silence to irrigate their crops. I can’t even imagine what that’s going to do to their minds… what if it messed with their memories? That’s like… my worst fear…” she said, with a sigh. “Wallflower… I know how much you’re going to hate it… But I think it might be a good idea for me to venture out, and try and find some outside help… or at least, find out what happened to Daring.”
She was expecting some sort of response from Wallflower, but when she looked over, the kirin was staring at her hooves. Autumn’s eyes narrowed.
Ever since Daring Do had left, Wallflower had been… different. She had never been much of a talker, but even more than ever she had just clung to Autumn like a lost puppy. She’d happily listen to Autumn’s long speeches about plays she was writing, but never proposed ideas of her own like before. As well as this, Autumn’s headaches had been becoming more frequent. Autumn assumed it was because of the heat….
But under all of it, Autumn thought that she could feel a level of guilt underlying Wallflower’s every move.
“... Wallflower…” she finally asked.
Immediately, another headache started, and she held her hoof to her temple.
“Are you ok?” asked Wallflower quickly, a noise of stone scraping along wood following her question.
“Yeah, I’m ok, just another… what was that?” she asked, looking around.
“... what was what?” said wallflower.
Autumn turned her head to see a small stone in Wallflower’s hoof, pressed against the wooden decking.
“... What is that?” she asked.
Wallflower froze, and quickly held up the stone to her.
“Forget seeing the stone” she said, but before she could finish speaking Autumn had knocked the stone out of Wallflower’s hoof. It fell off the balcony and into the grass below.
“N-NO!” Squeaked Wallflower, standing up and trying to grab it with her magic, but it was a little too far away. She went to rush down the ramp to grab it, but Autumn blocked her path.
“Wallflower.” she said sternly. “What is that thing?”
Wallflower backed up, whimpering as her hoof slipped on the edge of the balcony.
“I-It’s nothing! I promise! Please, just let me go get it, I'll just… you won’t… it won’t be. Won’t be a problem I promise!” she said, moving to the side. Autumn put her hoof out.
“Wallflower Blush. I know when you’re lying. You’re really bad at it.” she said, using her hoof to make Wallflower sit back down. “Something’s up, Wally. You’ve been acting weird ever since Daring Do left. You have barely said anything. At all.”
“You know I don’t like talking much…” Mumbled Wallflower, her eyes darting back at where the memory stone was on the ground.
“That may be so, but you still say things!” said Autumn, tears starting to well in her eyes. “I f-feel like you’re hiding something from me! A-And I don’t know why you don't trust me enough to tell me! I-Is there something I don’t know? Did you and Daring Do get up to something when I wasn’t there? You can tell me! I don’t mind sharing with you! But please just tell me!”
“J-JUST FORGET WHY WE’RE FIGHTING!” cried Wallflower, holding out her hoof. Her eyes shot open in panic as she remembered that she wasn’t holding the stone.
Autumn exhaled.
“That stone…” she said, looking down at it. “That’s the second time you’ve told me to forget something! You…” her brain whirred. “T-That’s what you said to me back when we first kissed! L-Like you wanted me to just… forget!” the horror in her voice increased. Wallflower cowered back further.
“T-That stone! Y-You’ve been using it… to make me forget things? Is that why I've been having these headaches!?” she accused, disbelief struck on her face like hot iron. Wallflower stared at the floor as she began to shake.
“Please stop shouting at me…” she mumbled. “I’ll just make you forget the fight and we can go back to things how things were-”
“How long?” Autumn Blaze shouted, the ends of her mane starting to rise up in flame. “H-How long have you been doing this to me?”
Wallflower shuffled her hooves again.
“... W-When you came into my room that day… you had already come in 12 separate times…” she admitted.
Wallflower took in a horrified intake of breath.
“S-Since the very beginning?” she said, slowly backing away. “You’ve been… messing with my memory this w-whole time? Why? H-How many times have you made me forget things?”
Tears were falling out of the fall kirin’s eyes.
“W-Wallflower… h-how much of… us… is real?”
It was that that made Wallflower’s head snap up.
“A-All of it! All of us!” she said desperately. “I p-promise! N-None of the feelings are fake! They’re all real! I o-only removed your memories when I said something embarrassing, or you didn’t find a joke funny, or when you’d get upset when I did something wrong-” she cut herself off as she realized she really wasn’t helping herself.
Autumn’s face hardened as she wiped her tears away.
“You’ve got to take the good with the bad! You can’t just magic away all the inconvenient bits, Wallflower! I didn’t fall for you because you’re perfect! I fell you for you because-”
“Because I’m not. I know.” Wallflower finished her sentence. “T-This is what you tell me every time.”
The flame’s on Wallflower’s back started to whip up even further.
“How many times have I found out??”
Wallflower lay down on the floor, eye’s terrified.
“F-Four.”
“When was the last time!” She roared.
Wallflower’s ears pinned back against her head, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
“... W-When you saw me wipe Daring Do’s memories of being here…”
The overwhelming realisation of what Wallflower had done shook Autumn down to her core like a sledgehammer. A burst of fury emanated from said core as the anger took over. Autumn erupted into flame, completing her Nirik transformation.
She saw red.
Autumn lunged furiously at Wallflower. Wallflower screamed and leapt out of the way. Autumn lost her footing and went careering off the edge of the balcony, landing on the floor with a heavy thud. Her head bashed against the floor, and all went dark.
The Leaves Turn Brown
Autumn Blaze’s head foggy mind cleared as she opened her eyes, vision swirling. She could see the clear blue sky above her, the foliage of her tree built home… and Wallflower. As her vision focused, she could see her girlfriend above her, eyes red with tears.
“... W-Wallflower?” she said, trying to sit up, but quickly found that she was restrained. Her hooves and stomach were all bound to the ground with vines. Her head whipped too and fro and she saw that she was in the middle of a big circle of plants and rocks, with a few minerals in the four corners.
Autumn was no mage, but she knew what she was in the middle of.
A Ritual Circle.
“Wallflower! W-What are you doing?” she said as she tried struggling, but Wallflower put a hoof to her lips.
“I… I’m going to make this all right…” she said. “I-I’m going to go and find the village help from someone. A-Anyone.”
Autumn’s eyes widened in confusion, and she whipped her head enough to free her mouth.
“And what? J-Just wipe their memories after they leave?” she shouted, but more out of desperation than anger.
Wallflower tensed a little, a small growl escaping her mouth.
“N-No. O-Once the grove is fixed, We’ll leave. I-I’ll make everyone forget all about you and me. I-I’ve done it before. Then we can be with each other forever. Y-You’ll have saved the village, and I’ll have you all to myself. So we’ll both be happy.”
Autumn’s eyes turned from fury to terror. “W-What do you mean, you’ve done it before!?”
Wallflower sniffled sadly.
“Who do you think’s the one who’s anger led to the village burning down in the first place…” she mumbled.
“Y-You… it was… you?” Autumn shuttered, now realizing that noone had actually ever worked out who started the fire in the first place.
Wallflower let out a big sigh.
“You’re going to forget me now, Autumn.”
An icy dagger was thrust into Autumn’s heart.
“W-What?”
“I-If I’ve prepared this ritual correctly… I should be able to restore your memories of me when I come back…”
“Wally, please…” Autumn whimpered. “I… I don’t want to forget you! Please! You’ve done something r-really bad, but this isn't the answer! W-We can fix that-this! We can go out and find help! Together! Please just put that stone down!” she pleaded.
“I-It’s the perfect solution. I-I’ll be able to save the village for you… and…” she choked as she replied, “A-And you won’t have to miss me if I don’t come back.” she said, slowly holding up the stone towards Autumn.
“Wallflower! I D-don’t understand! You don’t have to wipe my memories! I want them! I NEED THEM! I can wait for you if you're so determined to leave! B-But I d-don’t want to forget!” she cried, struggling and squirming in her binds.
“I D-DON’T WANT TO FORGET HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU!”
Wallflower paused as she closed her eyes.
“I-I’ll remember for you, Autumn. D-Don’t worry…” she smiled a tiny bit. “I’ll be back before you realize I was ever here…”
“WALLFLOWER! DON’T!!”
“... F-Forget everything about me, Autumn Blaze.”
Autumn felt a sharp, stabbing pain behind her temple as she quickly faded from consciousness, the last image of the crying wallflower quickly evaporating from her mind's eye like sand through an hourglass…
Fall
Autumn sat on the edge of the cliff overlooking the valley, the wind whooshing its way through her mane. Today marked an entire year since she had been exiled from the village and found the strange, empty house atop the hill. A whole year since she had moved in and started her long wait for help.
Autumn wasn’t sure why she was waiting. She just had the strange feeling in her stomach that someone was coming to help.
Surely…
She smiled to herself. The year had gone by so fast; she could barely remember any details of the days past… but she had done it.
All on her own.
“A whole year, Silhouette Gloom…” she said, looking down at her shadow. “If I can do it for a year! I can do it forever…” she said, pausing as she felt her stomach twist. Small droplets of water land on her muzzle. She felt her face, and then her face.
Tears?
“Why…” she mumbled to herself with frustration, digging her hooves into the ground beneath her.
She had been getting this horrible pain in her stomach for the last few weeks every time she thought of herself being alone. Whenever she came home, she found herself expecting someone to be there. She found herself telling jokes to a non existent audience, and being crestfallen when realizing no one was there. At night, she found herself reaching out to cuddle someone that wasn’t there.
Like she was forgetting something….
But that couldn’t be right.
She had always been here on her own. There had never been anyone else.
But then why did she feel so bad?
She chuckled a little to herself, and sighed.
“I’m… glad I have the ability to feel sad for no reason, Gloomy…” she said, patting her shadow cast out behind her. She turned her head to look out at the valley, face struck with an unknowable sense of loss.
“Sometimes, you gotta let it rain.”
Author's Note
Ever since I saw Wallflower Blush, I have been encapsulated. Specifically... what if she were a Kirin?
I hope you enjoyed :)
This won't be the last we see of Kirin Wallflower. Stay tuned for future story: "Twilight's Forgotten Dawn"
