The kirin-shaped pendent glinted in the morning light as the wing claw fiddled with it. It had never been said out loud but there had been a sliver of hope that a kirin or two might be found with the clan, though how they’d meet up with ponies outside of Equestria, let alone any that would want a relationship that would result in a foal, would be anyone’s guess. However, against the odds, Midnight had seen two, TWO, kirin in the spyglass as she’d examined the town, and they weren’t the products of dragons like Ember and Norik. They were, without a doubt, the products of pony and wyvern unions. Midnight’s revelation had raced through the ship like wildfire and soon a small crowd had appeared on deck, all wanting to be part of the first group to make contact with the town. The whole guard, sans the night guards and those guarding Eve, were there as well, though they were more composed.

“Alright everyone!” Midnight called, the chatter dying away almost instantly. “I understand your excitement but not everyone is going; not yet, anyway.”

“But Captain, my research!” Puzzle protested, waving a worn notebook for her to see. When he’d heard that kirins had been discovered in the town he’d forgotten all about the undead creature he’d been studying and ran to his cabin and then to the deck like Eve was on his heels the whole way.

“YOU are already on thin ice after what you pulled this morning, so don’t push it,” Midnight told him in a tone that promised unpleasant things if he continued. He put the notebook down but still looked disgruntled. “Now, as most of us live in Ponyville, we know how panicky ponies can get over simple things like a “rabbit stampede”, right?”

There were chuckles and AJ dipped her head in embarrassment but everyone agreed.

“And this town has already woken up to a huge airship and a large dragon practically on their doorstep, which I would imagine would make anyone nervous,” she continued. Shoal was on the ground below, Midnight having asked her to wait near the ship until they went over to explain things, after which she could hopefully come over and say hello herself or go out hunting. “As they have kirins living with them, that means they must have some kind of contact with the Storm Clan, so I want a good first impression and descending on them en masse isn’t going to do that. That must also mean that they’re used to different species, so no-one is going to be excluded because of that. That all said, I only want to take two boats down and only about ten per boat, so a total party of twenty max. With eight guards in each boat, including myself, that leaves room for four.”

Here she took a deep breath. “After what happened last night, I would prefer that only adults go down and that parents with underage children stay on the ship with them until things are smoothed out with the locals.”

Eden and Ember both looked unhappy while Norik just nodded and Squeaks hugged Sapphire’s leg. “I’d think having more kirin would help them see we aren’t a threat,” Eden said.

“It just might,” Midnight conceded, “however your party alone would take up all four spots, so that would leave Ember out.”

“And we’re not letting you go down their alone, my lady,” Dancer said, Sun nodding vigorously in agreement.

“I think having an ambassador or two would be helpful,” Midnight continued, “so I’d like Twilight and AJ to come with us. Seeing an alicorn might help the town’s ponies feel more at ease and the Bearer of Honesty should help them feel the same.”

“Kinda sendin’ mixed signals, with telling a lie about a princess bein’ there yet wantin’ an honest mare,” AJ pointed out.

Midnight blinked, then scratched the back of her head with a wing claw guiltily. “Was kind of hoping the two would balance each other out. It would only be a lie of omission, after all.”

“Still,” the apple farmer said with a raised eyebrow.

“Maybe we could send Fluttershy down with Applejack,” Spike suggested.

“Wait, why me?” Fluttershy asked, scooting behind Rainbow when everyone looked first at Spike then at her.

“Well, if the folks down there sees that one of us is just as nervous at meeting them as they probably are of meeting us, that might help show that they have nothing to worry about,” the young dragon explained.

“I-I guess that makes sense,” the butter-yellow pegasus admitted, “but my animal friends have been so shaken up with that strange mare Midnight brought on board that I really couldn’t leave them right now!”

“Hollow Eve is currently stuck in a metal cage below deck with guards on her,” Midnight said. “They can stay on deck both to be away from the brig as well as to watch you from the rails. I like Spike’s idea, so we’ll go with that; an alicorn might cause an uproar anyway.”

“We’ll have the guard with us, Sugarcube,” AJ assured her timid friend as she made a distressed squeak. “Anythin’ goes wrong and they’ll be tossin’ us back on the boats like sacks of potatoes so fast a jackrabbit on sand in the summer would be jealous.”

“Oh, oh! Can I come, too!?” Pinkie asked, bouncing up and down. “I can bring some “Hi Nice to Meet You” cupcakes and help put together a “Welcome To Whatever this Town Is Called” party and exchange recipe ideas like when we made peace with the buffalo and-!”

“Pinkie!” Midnight interrupted. “I already said there’s only going to be sixteen guards going down.”

“Right, five for Applejack, five for Fluttershy, and there can be five for me while you lead!” Pinkie said, still bouncing.

“You going means that half the bearers are going to be down there and I already said why I don’t want a lot of us going! I can’t have half the guards descend on the town!” Midnight told her, exasperated.

“But who says we need half the guard?” Pinkie asked genuinely. “If they’re hostile or not we’ll know pretty quick and we’ll be by the boats so you only need a few guards to throw us back in before we take off like Applejack said so we won’t need that many and I’ll bet Shoal will be able to tell if anything bad happens so she’ll be over before we know it and you can go wyvern before she even gets there!” She leaned in closer and stage whispered. “Besides, I can tell miss ghoul downstairs is a real meanie-pants, so you might want to keep more guards here.”

“Pinkie sense?” Midnight asked with a raised eyebrow, looking the pink mare over for twitching and odd movements. Like all other Ponyville residents, she’d learned that, as AJ once put it, “If Pinkie’s a twitchin’, you better listen.”

“Nope, years of learning how to spot a party pooper,” Pinkie said proudly before adopting an uncharacteristic sour face, “and she is the biggest I’ve ever seen, and I haven’t even seen her yet!”

“Right,” Midnight said, looking past the party pony. She happened to spot Puzzle again and decided that the Bearer of Laughter would be better to bring than a scientist that would probably harass the first kirin he met on sight. “Fine, you can come as well Pinkie, but don’t wander off and listen when I or another guard tells you to do something!”

“Okie-doki-loki!” Pinkie said, bouncing back out of the kirin’s personal space.

That left only one more spot to fill. Looking back at the crowd around her, her eyes quickly fell on Honey but the changeling shook her head.

“I’d rather stay on board until that… thing is dealt with,” she said, slightly sliding closer to Sapphire and Squeaks. As everyone had been coming up on deck earlier, she’d asked Midnight about the mare she’d dragged on board earlier. She’d gotten a disgusted look when Midnight explained what she was, leaving out the whole connection thing and just saying that they were waiting for word from the princesses on how to deal with it. That also meant that all her changelings would be staying on the ship as well. “If she somehow manages to get out, I doubt it’ll be the animals she goes for.”

Midnight hummed and nodded in agreement. She highly doubted Eve could get out if she hadn’t already but it would be nice to know that someone as magically powerful as Honey was keeping an eye on things. She was already going to leave Arina on the ship anyway in case something happened but the spider couldn’t take the ghoul on if the worse did happen. Between Honey and Pinkie, the kirin was starting to wonder if she should double the guard in the brig.

“Well…” Midnight started, hesitantly starting to look back towards Puzzle. She stopped when Summer cleared her throat and stepped forward, pulling something off her back.

“I think that you should wear this,” she said, lifting the thing in her magic, revealing it to be Midnight’s dress uniform. “You ARE a captain of the guard and leading a group on something like this, you need to look in charge. I suspect this will get you farther than trying to pass Twilight off as a princess.”

“Oh, thanks mom,” Midnight said, taking the uniform.

“Professor Mixer,” Summer continued, turning to face the stallion, “while I understand that you wish to interview more kirins for your research, there is a chance that these kirin and their families may become hostile if approached suddenly and bombarded with questions. I think we can both agree that a willing subject is much easier to question.”

“Oh, um, yes, of course they are,” Mixer said, caught off guard by the mare addressing him.

Summer nodded. “In that case might I go down in your stead and see if any are willing to talk with you after formalities have been established? As you know, Midnight is my daughter so I have better intuition than most how a young kirin may react to certain situations. In the meantime, both Norik and Ember are waiting here on deck with you as well as their parents, all of whom I would assume would be happy to talk with you while everyone waits for word from us.”

Puzzle’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. “Of course! Miss Eden asked me to wait for a bit until she was better acquainted with her son but now would be the perfect time to begin an interview!”

As he turned to go and do just that, Summer turned back to Midnight with a smirk. “That is how you handle somepony like Puzzle Mixer.”

“Not my fault you speak Canterlot,” Midnight grumbled as she buttoned her coat.

“It’s not about ‘speaking Canterlot’, it’s about knowing what to say and do so with a smile, my little gem eater.”

Midnight rolled her eyes with a snort then turned back to the crowd. “One more thing! Sergeants and Lieutenants” she called out and when the ones she called were looking her way she motioned for them all to step away for a private conversation.

“Captain?” Hazelnut asked once they had privacy.

“I’ve only mentioned this to First Sergeant Night so far, but after this trip there’s going to be some promotions,” Midnight told them. “With the owl harpies made full privates after all this, there’s going to be a whole lot of low rankers with few officers to lead them. It’ll mostly affect the nocturnal part of the guard, but going forward we’ll need it for the rest before we know it. Splitting the bearers up like this is one such time I wish we had enough officers to split things evenly.”

They all nodded. “Some of them are ready for more responsibility,” Mane agreed.

“And for others that responsibility might just be what they need,” Blackberry added.

“I want all of you to keep that in mind and be ready to give me lists on who you think deserves them. I have a few in mind already but want your inputs,” Midnight said. “With that out of the way, I’m taking Lieutenant Hazelnut, Sergeant Blackberry, Corporals Scarlet Claw and Lance Breaker, and Privates Clover, Strawberry, Duster, Speckled Snow, Gusty Glow, Amber Armor, Savanna, Tart Cart, Dapper, Ditch Digger, and Umbra Shroud with me in the boats. Lieutenant, you will be in charge of one, I the other. Collect those going and split them up while I see if Captain Smith has any last minute instructions for us.”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” they all said with a salute.

“Also, see about putting some more guards on the brig,” she added.

Midnight traded places with the crewman, hoping out of the boat while he got back in after securing it, having driven a stake attached to a rope into the ground and setting out some steps for them to get in and out safely. She was the first one out and immediately positioned herself between the town and the boats, standing straight so that her uniform was clearly visible while she folded her wings back in tightly. Good first impressions did not include making one’s self look bigger. Those with wings also hopped over the sides while those without filed down the short stairs. “Everyone stay close,” Midnight said once they were all back on the ground, “let them come to us.”

Closer up, the homes that were carved into the trees were much more obvious, with doors, windows, and even outside decorations like lanterns clearly visible. There were much more of these than the normal-looking houses, though these were more like cabins than the houses back in Ponyville. By now it seemed like the whole village was watching them, either from out in the open or from windows and doorways.

“They some weird kind of unicorns?” Private Ditch Digger asked no-one in particular. He was referring to the only other species they could see besides the ponies, which they looked just like except for a few differences. The most obvious difference was that they all had single horns like a unicorn but these were longer and shaped more like a tree branch that had all been painted in a dark red with bright red stripes. They had manes but they seemed to either grow or be fashioned to look like a lion’s mane and their tails were long and whip-like, with the tail fur starting about halfway down their length. Finally, they had scales on their backs and going down the ridges of their noses and the tips of their hooves were bare, as well as having tuffs on the back of their legs.

“We’ll find out soon enough, Private,” Hazelnut said as three of the creatures left the milling crowd and came towards them. The one in the center was a tan color with white scales and an aqua-green mane while one flanking her was white with pale green scales and a copper mane and the other was a brown/dark red with gold scales and a mint-colored mane. All were about the size of a normal pony though the one leading them seemed to be slightly taller.

The small party stopped a few lengths away from them. “Welcome travelers,” the one in the center said, “I am Rain Shine, leader of the kilins, and I welcome you to our village, as long as you mean us no harm.”

Midnight tried to stand a little straighter. “I am Midnight Storm, Captain of the Bearer Guard and one of the heads of the expedition from Equestria to the Storm Clan. We do not mean you or your village any harm; in fact we didn’t even know you were here. We ran into some trouble over the swamp and our ship’s engines are simply recovering.”

“I see,” Rain Shine said, craning her head slightly to look past Midnight. “And the dragon is…?”

“Shoal is with us and also does not plan to bring harm to the village,” Midnight explained. “I can personally guarantee it.”

Rain Shine nodded. “If you really mean us no harm, then we do not have a problem with your ship or dragon staying where they are. In fact, I believe the ponies that are living with us will be glad to see you.”

“Oh?” Midnight said, craning her own neck for a look past Rain Shine.

“Yes. Most ponies here were originally from Equestria and became lost in the swamp. They were the lucky ones and made it out to us but, as you can imagine, refused to go back in to try and make it back home. We allowed them to settle here with us but many still express a wish to return to Equestria someday. I suspect they see your arrival as a blessing from your princess.”

“Well, we’ll certainly hear out anyone that wants to get back home, though we’re going north to the clan like I mentioned. There wouldn’t be a chance that we could wait here for one to visit, is there?” Midnight asked.

Rain Shine gave her a sad smile. “I believe you’re referring to the other kirin living here with us that you most likely have already seen. I am sorry to tell you, seeing as by your name you are a member, but they are not of the Storm Clan.”

“Really?” Midnight said, an eyebrow going up. That was unexpected. Was there another wyvern clan close by that was unknown to Snow somehow? Or perhaps a wyvern from a different clan, or even a lone wanderer, had come through and stayed long enough for them to be born? Maybe they were twins?

Rain Shine nodded. “We should talk further in a more comfortable setting. We have a common area that is the equivalent to town halls back in Equestria or so I’m told. Speaking of, these two would be my assistants to what would be my title as “mayor”, Crimson Flare and Autumn Blaze,” she said, motioning to each as she said their names.

The kilins on either side bowed. “It is a pleasure to meet you,” the darker one, Crimson Flare, said.

“It’s so great to meet you! All the ponies talk so much about Equestria and it’s always awesome to hear new news about it whenever someone new shows up!” Autumn said.

“It’s so great to meet you, too!” Pinkie said, hopping forward. “I even brought ‘Hi Nice to Meet You’ cupcakes!” she said, producing a large tray of cupcakes from… somewhere. “Do kilin like cupcakes? I don’t know anypony that doesn’t but you’re not ponies so I’m not sure but I can go back to the ship and make something else if you like!”

“Ooo, cupcakes from Equestria!” Autumn, said, her eyes going wide. “Ponies here have made some but they say they never have the ingredients to make them properly and that they don’t taste as good. I bet everyone will like them!”

“This is Pinkie Pie, one of our ambassadors,” Midnight cut it, trying to return Rain Shine’s introductions and motioning to each in turn. “Applejack and Fluttershy are another two ambassadors. Summer Ice is traveling with us to the clan and the rest are members of my guard, Lieutenant Hazelnut, Sergeant Blackberry, Corporals Scarlet Claw and Lance Breaker, and Privates Umbra Shroud, Savanna, Tart Cart, Dapper, Ditch Digger, Duster, Speckled Snow, Gusty Glow, Amber Armor, Clover, and Strawberry. We didn’t want to overwhelm you but there are others back on board who would like to visit your town and meet you all. We can come and go in small groups if that’s alright.”

Rain Shine nodded. “Thank you for the consideration. Once we talk I believe there will be no harm in letting more of you come into town. Autumn, please let Gold and Island’s parents know that another kirin is here and wishes to talk with them.”

“Yes ma’am, right away!” Autumn said, hurrying back to town.

Rain turned back to Midnight. “If you follow us, we’ll lead you to the common area.”

“Thank you,” she said with a nod then turned to the guards. “Privates Savanna, Dapper, Gusty Glow, and Strawberry will stay behind with the boats. We may be out of the swamp but we’re taking no chances. Anything attacks, lift off immediately and shoot off a flare and both we and those on the ship will come running.”

Those she named snapped off a salute and Midnight turned back to Rain, nodded again, then followed with everyone else as the two kilin turned back towards town. “Rather odd that what they call themselves is only one letter off from what you’re called,” Summer said quietly as they walked.

“You think they’re some other kind of pony-wyvern hybrid?” Midnight asked, “or they come from a specific line of dragon hybrids? Maybe they weren’t born from ponies but something else?”

“Only one way we’ll find out,” Summer said.

Entering the town proper, they could all see that the ponies who lived there were all older than they expected. “When was the last time a pony came through the swamp?” Midnight asked Rain.

“About ten years ago. Since so few end up making it through there really isn’t a stable population. Right now there are only two pony couples and only one of those has produced a foal. As I said, with you being here now it would not be surprising if all the ponies here leave,” she said, not looking fazed by that prospect at all.

“Oh, um, we didn’t mean to take away your neighbors,” Midnight started but Rain waved her off.

“We kilin left Equestria when your kind were young and for a reason. We do not dislike ponies but we only offered them a place to live because going back in the swamp would be a death sentence. You not knowing about us before reaching here tells us that no-one who tried going through again made it back to Equestria. All we want in the end is our peace.”

“Oh,” was all Midnight could say to that. Looking back at everyone else she was met with uneasy looks and Fluttershy ducking back behind AJ.

“Also, your question about our species names would be better answered by your clan, but the story passed down is that one of the wyverns could not properly pronounce our name due to a speech impediment.”

“Really?” Midnight said, embarrassed that she and Summer had been overheard. She was also surprised at the bluntness of the answer and how simple it was. She shared a raised eyebrow with her mother.

Before long they arrived at what they assumed was the center of town where a group of close trees stood, their branches forming a sort of large, open gazebo that sheltered several large wooden tables and bench seats beneath them. At one end was a raised section, like a small stage, that was probably used by those that wanted to address a crowd. The intertwined branches above formed a natural roof but in some places the branches were tied together, probably where they’d grown enough apart to let too much sunlight and rain through. Autumn was there waiting for them. “They said they’ll be here in a minute,” she said as they approached. “Southern Wind is nose deep in her books again and you know how she can be.”

“Sounds like somepony we know,” AJ said with what sounded like a forced chuckle.

“We will bring some refreshments while you wait,” Rain said, her and Crimson immediately trotting off to a nearby house, Autumn following behind.

“Okay, so we all agree that they’re weird, right?” AJ said once they were out of earshot. Hopefully.

“Completely,” Midnight agreed.

“Even if they don’t like it, they’re still letting ponies stay instead of sending them back into the swamp to their deaths,” Summer pointed out. “You can’t write them off just because they said something you don’t like.”

“It’s how they said it,” Midnight told her.

“I agree with Midnight,” Scarlet said. “The way they speak, at least how Rain Shine does, just doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Autumn sounds like a nice kilin!” Pinkie said, pulling out her cupcakes again and setting them on the table.

“Wonder if we can talk with her instead,” Private Clover said, turning her head to look at where the kilin had gone.

“I think we’ve all met someone who’s seemed a bit creepy but turned out to be nice,” Hazelnut said. “I agree that she and the other kilin probably don’t like ponies for some reason, despite what she first said. Barely any of the kilin we passed gave us much of a look when we entered town. That said, Miss Summer is right and they at least gave ponies a place to stay, so they can’t be all bad.”

They all fell silent to think on the situation and that was when Midnight noticed an elderly mare walking over to them. “Hello,” Midnight said as she got close, getting everyone else’s attention, “how can we help you?”

“Excuse me, deary, but did you all come on that ship from Equestria?” the mare asked.

“We did, ma’am,” Midnight said with a small nod, then added, “and we’ll be using it to get back as well.”

To everyone’s surprise tears began to run down the mare’s face. “I was barely a mare when I arrived in this village,” she told them shakily. “Thought my folks were just making stories about the swamp to keep us young’ns in line, so I went looking for things to pick for dinner one day in it. Got lost and got chased by something I don’t care to remember. I ran until it felt like my legs would fall off and stumbled upon this place. Everyone told me that getting back home was impossible and to just accept settling down here. Never had the courage to go back in the swamp after seeing what chased me,” here she paused and shivered at the memory. “I never thought anypony would come up here with a way to get home. Is there any way I could convince you to take an old mare with you when you go back? I’d like to see the old farm and just one of my siblings before I go off to the great plains beyond.”

“Ma’am,” Midnight said gently after a few seconds of silence, “after here we’re still going north a ways. That said, when we come back south to go home, I promise we’ll stop back here and pick up anyone and everyone that wants to go back to Equestria. I swear it on my title of Captain of the Bearer Guard.”

Tears welled up in the mare’s eyes again. “Thank you, deary, thank you so much! You have no idea how happy the ponies here will be to hear that! By the way, my name is Dew Breeze.”

“Nice to meet you, Dew Breeze,” Midnight said.

Then the other thing she said seemed to register and Dew examined Midnight’s uniform after wiping away the tears. “You are a captain of the guard! Fancy that! I didn’t know any kirins lived back in Equestria.”

“There’s only three,” Midnight admitted, “and I didn’t exactly climb the ranks the normal way.”

“Well, there being three of you doubles the amount of kirins I know about,” Dew said.

“Wait, there’s three kirins here!?” Midnight asked, eyes going wide. “I only saw the two!”

“Windy always has her nose in a book, what few we have,” Dew said with a knowing chuckle, “you probably saw Goldy and Dreamy; those two are more the normal teenagers. Speaking of which,” Dew nodded at something behind them.

Turning, Midnight saw an older stallion, an older mare, and three teenage kirin mares enter the gazebo.

Despite the late night on the ship and needing to get up good and early the next morning to board, Midnight had spent some time talking with Luna about the possibility of kirins living with the Storm Clan before they’d left. During the discussion, Luna had explained the differences kirins had when they were birthed by ponies from the three tribes. Kirins born to unicorn mothers, like her, had horns but no magic in them. Those born to pegasi mothers had wingspans greater than even Midnight’s, able to cover eight ponies compared to the four she could. Those born to earth pony mothers stood almost a head taller than the others and could dig through rocks like they were dirt.

“Any others? Like are thestral kirins any different?” Midnight had asked.

“Besides those born of dragon blood, kirins were only born of the three original tribes,” Luna told her. “There hast only been speculations on what attributes a kirin born of other tribes would have.”

That particular question wasn’t answered by these three but it was still the first time she’d seen another kirin show aspects from another tribe. One kirin looked a lot like Autumn Blaze, with a white coat and copper mane, though she had pale green eyes instead of yellow. The size of her awkwardly folded wings showed that her mother was a pegasus and her kirin tail ended in a horizontal, half circle tail blade. The second kirin, with a brown coat, darker brown mane, and dark green eyes, had no horn and smaller wings than the white one but was taller, about Midnight’s height, which meant that her mother was an earth pony. She’d be one of the few Midnight would physically have to look up at when she was fully grown. This one had a spiked club at the end of her tail. The third kirin, who was a dark blue with a white mane that had frosted blue highlights at the tips, was a unicorn type like Midnight. She had three spikes sticking out of the top of her tail and light blue eyes.

The mare and stallion were normal looking ponies, the mare a unicorn and the stallion an earth pony and both older than Summer but not as old as Dew. The unicorn was a dark green with a dark gray mane and tail with the mane done up in a bun topped with, of all things, a pointed witch’s hat on her head while square glasses rested on her muzzle. The blue stallion looked like a stereotypical lumberjack, with a powerful frame not unlike Big Mac’s, a full dark red beard with his mane under a dark green skull cap, and wearing a red flannel shirt. His cutie mark was even an axe embedded in a log, while the mare’s was a tied up bunch of herbs. The three kirins also had cutie marks, the white one’s being a gold four-leaf clover, the darker brown’s a split open coconut, and the dark blue’s was a frost-covered book.

The fact that there was only one mare with them confused Midnight since, as a unicorn, she couldn’t be the mother of the other two. Had their mothers been taken by the things in the swamp, died in childbirth, or even abandoned them? Then there was the question of where their fathers were, since according to Rain they weren’t wyverns from the Storm Clan.

“Well,” Midnight said quietly to Summer, “this is going to be interesting.” When the unicorn didn’t say anything, Midnight turned to look at her fully. Summer was staring at the group, particularly the older mare and stallion, with wide eyes. There were even tears welling up in them. “Mom?” Midnight asked, concern rising in her voice, making the others at the table turn to look at them.

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t go,” the mare was telling the stallion, her accent sounding like someone from Trottingham, “but this is the only home the girls have ever known!”

“With barely anyone here their own age,” the stallion argued, “and do you really want them to stay stuck here their whole lives? Not to mention how long it’s been since we’ve seen-” he stopped when he realized they’d entered the gazebo and there were others present. “Oh, sorry about that, just a little family…” he trailed off as he actually looked at Midnight’s group, his eyes falling on one of them in particular and going wide.

“What’s wrong with you now?” The mare asked, looking up at him and then at Midnight’s group and adjusting her glasses. “Autumn told you their leader was a kirin, so you shouldn’t be… oh sweet makers,” she said, her eyes matching his.

“Papa?” Summer asked quietly. “Mama?”

“Mom? Pop? Are you two okay?” Asked the brown kirin, who slightly nudged the stallion.

“Summer?” the stallion said weakly.

It was Midnight’s turn to stare wide-eyed, head snapping back and forth between her mom and the newcomers. It was going to be an interesting meeting indeed.

Hunter scribbled in his notebook. He’d been one of the few not to go up on deck once word that kirins had been found had filtered through the ship. The only ones to not go up as well had been the two guards, Granite and Shale, who diligently stayed at their post. Eventually two more guards, Smooth Stone and Sundial, had arrived, buy order of Captain Storm and took watch as well. Twilight Sparkle and Puzzle Mixer hadn’t returned; Mixer busy interviewing the other two kirin on board and Twilight on standby in case they were called to go down to the village.

“Oh, so we’re there,” Eve had said when she understood what the commotion above was about, looking around for a porthole but found none. Not that she could have looked out of one anyway since she’d been commanded to stay put by Midnight and had done so ever since.

“You know where we are?” Hunter asked while examining a wing.

“The village of the kilins. Been there since before I died and they’re a bunch of two-faces. They say they have no problem with ponies living with them but if any pony from their village is in trouble they don’t lift a hoof to help.” She’d given Hunter a toothy grin. “Taste good, though.”

“I see,” was all he had said and proceeded to focus on his research.

Time passed though he didn’t know how long, buried in his work as he was. At one point he’d pulled out a stethoscope to see if he could hear anything going on inside the ghoul. It took him a second to remember what his subject was when he at first heard nothing and silently berated himself. Undeterred, he still checked everywhere he could simply to be thorough. He had all the time he wanted with her, after all. “Alright, Miss Eve, if you could just move so I can check you abdomen directly,” he said absently after scribbling down yet more notes.

It took him only a second to realize his mistake.

Midnight had ordered Eve to stay still, which she had done so up until that point. She’d also ordered the ghoul to follow Twilight’s, Mixer’s, and Hunter’s instructions so they could get their research done. What he should have said was for her to roll onto her side. Instead, he’d just undone Midnight’s order.

“Gladly,” Eve purred then shot up, pushing him away and knocking him into the cage’s doorway hard, the slim metal pushing into him and he dropped to the ground in pain.

All four guards charged into the brig, bringing their spears down so she’d face a bunch of lethal tips as she tried to get out. The ghoul effortlessly ducked under them then pushed up, knocking the spears out of the way and out of their hooves, then jumped between the two stallion guards. “Excuse me!” she shouted, opening her wings and knocking the guards into the walls. The two mare guards powered up their horns and all four spears magically rose into the air and shot at Eve. The ghoul jumped into the air and twisted her body so that all four spears missed her. Three of the spears buried themselves into the bulkheads, one drove itself into Sundial’s shoulder and she went down with a yell of pain.

Granite and Shale were back up again and they leaped at Eve, aiming to use their combined weight to try and bring her down. They got on her, but she just spun around and threw them off, then jumped at Smooth Stone. “Excuse me!” she said again, shoulder checking the unicorn into the bulkhead, then leaped for the brig doorway.

“Wait!” Hunter called after her, neither one noticing the spider with four glowing blue eyes hiding in an upper corner of the room. Miracle of miracles, Eve actually stopped to look back at him. “You aren’t supposed to hurt any of us,” he wheezed, “and you can’t leave!”

“I didn’t hurt you at all,” Eve told him, “the doorway, spears, and walls did. Didn’t you hear me say ‘excuse me’? And your kirin told you I can’t leave.” With that she laughed and shot out the door.

“So that’s how she operates,” Hunter groaned.

Eve found herself in the hold, so she wasn’t home free just yet and a shout from above made it clear she wasn’t going to just bolt out of there. That pesky bond was forcing her not to hurt anyone on the ship so she couldn’t properly fight or even grab a snack for the road. Well, she could, but she didn’t feel like holding onto a struggling pony while she tried to escape. She could eat when she was free and clear of the ship.

With a hard push she rocketed up towards the open cargo door above. When she emerged, she immediately had to bank hard to avoid flying into the reinforced balloons above and as a consequence circled the deck. Shouts and cries of alarm met her ears and she looked around to see where she should go. Off to one side she could see the kilin town and for a second she thought of going there to get a meal but remembered that the kirin that beat her was there and she didn’t want to tangle with her again or be forced to obey an order. She’d have to find a victim somewhere else for now.

She dove towards the other side of the ship, planning to dive almost straight down to get lost in the trees, when she was enveloped in a sickly green glow, came to an abrupt halt, and was promptly slammed into the deck. Getting up, she found herself surrounded by both guards and some strange, black and gold bug-ponies that had holes in their legs. One of these was almost as large as Midnight and her bent-knife-shaped horn was alight with that same sickly green glow that had just stopped her. “And what are you supposed to be?” Eve sneered.

“I am Queen Honeycomb of the changelings and you will not hurt anyone on this ship nor will you escape to hurt anyone else,” she announced.

“Well, your majesty, I couldn’t hurt anyone on this ship even if I wanted to, which I very much do,” Eve said, looking for an opening. “As for escaping…” she shot to the left, aiming for what looked like the weakest guards. As she hoped they flinched and she made to dive under them, planning to push them out of the way like she done down below. A volley of magic blasts hit her, stopping her long enough for Queen Honeycomb’s magic to grab her again and throw her back to the center of the circle. Eve shot back up but she noticed her body was responding just a little bit slower than she was used to. ‘So these bug ponies’ stunning spells actually have an effect. Lovely.’ She dove at another group of guards, only to be stunned and thrown back to the center like before. “I would think you’d want me gone,” Eve said as she stood up again. “None of you seem to want me here.”

“And risk you stalking and trying to kill us as we travel? We’re not fools,” Queen Honeycomb said, horn still powered up and ready. “You’re too dangerous to let go.”

“Well, I’m not going to make it easy,” Eve told her. Something had caught her eye and a new plan was forming. Now if only she could reach it…

She dove at another group of guards, but launched herself into the air instead of trying to get under them. The stun blasts impacted the deck where she’d been and she twisted in midair and chucked the bucket she’d picked up at the changeling queen. She’d hoped to hit the queen square in the head or make her duck, but another changeling jumped in the way and caught the bucket instead. It did what Eve wanted anyway, which was to distract the queen long enough for the ghoul to make her escape, shooting over the ring of guards, past a few flyers, and over the side of the ship. “So long, idiots!” Eve yelled back as she dived for the trees. She’d hide for a few days in the brush, wait for them to give up searching for her, then either sneak over to the village or do what the changeling queen had suggested and stalk the ship. Probably the former as Midnight would be back aboard. Either way, there was a meal in the future of her.

That’s when she noticed the shadow and looked up to see a giant, light blue claw coming at her like a wall. ‘Oh right, the dragon,’ she thought right before Shoal swatted her. The dragon had been aiming to send her into the side of the ship where she could be either peeled off or knocked out and recaptured but she missed and Eve was sent rocketing towards the town.

Author's Note

Eve goes for a grand escape only to be stopped by Grandma Shoal! Though it looks like she isn't the only grandparent around anymore! Midnight's getting a family reunion that she hadn't expected.

Back to the what I've said before about these chapters being longer than I expected, it's occurring to me that the real meat of the matter is that I was not as prepared for these chapters as I thought. A prime example is these three new kirin. Before writing these next few chapters I knew their names, what they looked like, roughly their special talents, and their personalities to a degree, always saying to myself that I'd iron that stuff out later after they'd been introduced. Now that I'm here I'm coming to the realization that I actually need them to interact with other characters and all I have are nice looking cardboard cutouts.

Imagine mah joy as I stare at the screen with that realization. *Lets out a long, heavy, dramatic sigh* I swear it's like I'm getting worse at this.

Looks like two more chapters after this in the village because I'm going from G.R.R. Martian to Stephan King style of writing; from hardly writing and uploading to trying to make as thick a book as possible. At least it's season-appropriate.