Midnight watched as her mom and her grandparents reunited, complete with hugging, tears, and incoherent words said through sobs. The three kirins that had come with her grandparents looked about as shocked as she felt and seemed just as unsure what to do next. She waited a few more minutes and when the crying had died down somewhat she loudly coughed, getting their attention.

“I’m sorry Midnight,” Summer said, trying to wipe away some of the tears that were still falling, “It’s just, I haven’t seen them since...” her voice hitched and the stallion drew her into another hug.

“We’re sorry captain,” the mare said, bowing to Midnight then turned to the three younger kirins. “Girls, this is Summer Ice, our daughter from back in Equestria that we’ve told you about. Makers know what she’s doing here but when we saw her… you can understand.”

“That’s true,” the stallion said, gently letting go of Summer and looking down at her. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s a bit of a story papa,” Summer said, wiping her eyes again, “and I guess we should fill everyone in while we’re at it.”

“I’m sure the captain and her guards don’t need to hear about our personal stories,” the mare said, turning back to Midnight. “Speaking of manners, I’m Rosemary Thyme, this is my husband Big Spruce, and our adopted daughters Gold Clover, Island Dream, and Southern Wind.” She pointed to the white kirin, the brown kirin, and the blue kirin respectively.

“I’m Midnight Storm,” Midnight said, not sure what to do beside return the introduction. “These are Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, three of our ambassadors, and the rest are a hoofful of my guards,” she said, pointing out who was who.

“Adopted?” Summer said, looking between her parents and the three kirins with them.

“Like you said, it’s a bit of a story,” Spruce said as he and Rosemary guided them over to the table. At the same time the kilins came back with the promised refreshments. Pinkie Pie added her own cupcakes to the spread as well.

“We will take our leave and allow you to be acquainted with one another,” Rain said as Summer sat back down next to Midnight and the five newcomers sat across from them. “Should you need anything more from us, Autumn will stay here to relay your message.”

“Thank you,” Midnight said with a nod and the two other kilin left.

“So captain, Autumn told us you wanted to meet our girls?” Spruce said, eyeing the sweets Pinkie had put out. “Those wouldn’t happen to be baked in Equestria, would they?”

“Just baked them this morning on the ship, so technically they were baked there, but all the ingredients are from Equestria!” Pinkie said proudly.

“Honestly Spruce, now’s not the time to be thinking of sweets,” Rosemary chided.

“But these are special ‘Hi Nice to Meet You’ cupcakes and Autumn told us that what ponies here make doesn’t measure up to the real deal and these are the real deal so why not try a little taste of home?” Pinkie insisted, pushing the platter of cupcakes a bit closer.

When Rosemary saw how her husband and daughters were eyeing the treats she rolled her eyes and magically picked five off the tray, depositing one each in front of them. “Table manners,” she said sternly as Spruce picked the treat up. He gave her a sheepish grin and took a smaller bite than he’d been going for. Almost immediately he made a satisfied noise and took another bite.

“Wow, these are good!” Island Dream said, taking another, bigger bite of her own.

“They’re so sweet!” Gold Clover agreed. Wind simply nodded in agreement as she ate.

“Only the finest made by yours truly,” Pinkie said with pride.

“If we can get back on track,” Rosemary said, turning back to Midnight.

“Well, I did have some questions for them but…” she turned to Summer, who looked like she wasn’t sure where to start, “I think some other questions need to be answered first.”

“Really captain, it can wait. I’m sure you have more important business to attend to,” Rosemary said. “We’ll have all the time we need to catch up later, I promise you.”

Midnight sighed and made another sideways glance at Summer. When the unicorn still didn’t say anything she decided to be the one to do so. “Mom,” Midnight said, looking directly at her, “you want to help me explain things?”

Both of Rosemary’s eyebrows went up. “Wait,” she said, looking from Midnight to Summer and back in confusion. Spruce, Gold, Dream, and Wind had all stopped eating and where looking at the two across the table as well.

“Captain, we’ll take our refreshments to another table for now,” Hazelnut said standing up, quickly followed by the rest including Autumn.

“That’s fine lieutenant,” Midnight said, absently waving a hoof in his direction.

“My baby’s a mother!?” Spruce said once the guards and bearers were gone.

“It’s been almost twenty five years, papa,” Summer defended.

“Still…”

“Spruce, we knew this was a possibility,” Rosemary said, patting his hoof then looking back at Summer, “we just supposed our… our grandchild would be a bit younger and not a captain of the guard.” She looked Midnight up and down. “Nor that she’d be a kirin. When did wyverns arrive in Equestria?”

“They didn’t, it was just one and…” Summer trailed off as Midnight raised a hoof.

“I think we can all agree that both sides have a story,” she said, “so why don’t we start all the way back in the beginning and explain why I never knew my grandparents.”

An embarrassed blush spread onto Summer’s cheeks. “I never said anything, did I?”

“I never gave you the chance since I was always so demanding to know about dad,” Midnight told her. Since she’d been homeschooled all her life and had rarely interacted with other foals, even the idea of grandparents never really crossed her young mind. All she wanted to know in those early years was where her father was and that eventually had turned into teenage resentment towards her mother, so she wouldn’t have wanted to know about her mother’s parents anyway. Even Summer’s brief mention of her own father when they first reunited had been swept under the proverbial rug when Midnight learned she had a younger sister. One would have thought that Shoal revealing herself to be her grandmother would have awakened some questions but things in her mind had stayed almost laser-focused on her father. It was kind of embarrassing now that her other grandparents were right in front of her.

“Well,” Summer started, “it was shortly after Orange and I moved to Manehattan.”

“How is Orange Glow?” Spruce interrupted. “That boy and you were always tight when we lived back in Sunny Pines.”

“Spruce, let her talk,” Rosemary scolded and he gave them an apologetic smile.

Summer smiled back. “We’re actually married and have a foal, Autumn Light. I have pictures I brought with me on the ship I can show you later.” Spruce and Rosemary went wide-eyed again but Summer continued. “Shortly after we got to Manehattan I got a letter from one of your friends that you’d gone north to get some rumored expensive wood.”

“Gem wood,” Spruce clarified, “supposed to shine like the wood is made of gemstone when the light shines on it just right. Never seen it myself before but it goes for a pretty bit and there was a rumor there were some trees just inside the swamp to the north so I figured I better get up there before anyone else did.”

“But you were doing fine back home,” Summer said, confused. “Why did you need the bits?”

“Well, living in the city can’t be cheap,” Spruce said, “and just in case it didn’t work out we wanted you to have something when you came home.”

“I never wanted her to go,” Rosemary added to Midnight, “but your mother had a head harder than her father’s back then.” She eyed Summer. “Then again she might still have one.”

“So that’s where I get it from,” Midnight said with a grin.

“Oh hush, both of you,” Summer told them with a huff. “Things were working out fine; I wish you two had said something.”

“Parents worry, Summer, which I believe you’ve learned,” Rosemary said.

“I worried, too, when no-one heard from or even saw you again,” Summer countered.

“We got up to the swamp just fine,” Spruce interrupted, getting back to the story, “and we even found the trees!”

“I’d gone along to keep an eye on him and good thing I did,” Rosemary added, “because he was so wrapped up in cutting down the trees that he’d never see what came after us.” She paused for a moment. “Truth be told I don’t know what is was either but it was out for our hides and we bolted. Tried to keep an eye on the blazes your father made getting out there but it cut us off and we had to run in another direction. Before long we were just running to escape it, which we eventually did but by that time we were completely lost.”

“Couldn’t even see the sun half the time through the trees, so using it to get out wasn’t an option,” Spruce added. “After a long time of wandering and running from other things we eventually stumbled out of the swamp and into this village. We wanted to go back, of course, but after all we’d been through in there we weren’t about to risk going through again and there wasn’t any other way to get back, so we ended up settling here and praying everyday that you weren’t struggling back home without us.”

“Well, I always had a roof over my head and a full belly, so it must have worked,” Summer chuckled and a look of relief passed over both older ponies. “That explains why you up and disappeared.”

“Then would you explain how our granddaughter came to be?” Rosemary asked.

Summer looked at Midnight, then took a deep breath. “It was shortly after you both disappeared. I’d started throwing myself into work more, mostly to take my mind off it and to make some extra bits just in case, so one night I finished later than usual.” The three other adults bristled a bit, knowing how a story like this was going to go. Midnight’s wings mantled and her fangs even popped out. “Yeah, it was stupid and I ran into some rough ponies on the way home as you’ve probably guessed,” Summer admitted, then smiled. “Just as they were about to attack me, though, something big and draconic landed in the alley they’d trapped me in and attacked them. Once they’d been chased off the one who saved me asked if I was alright and that’s how I met Windstorm, Midnight’s father.”

“A bit fairy tale-ish, wouldn’t you say?” Rosemary asked with a raised eyebrow. “A handsome, I suppose, stranger saving a damsel in distress at the last minute and she falls in love with him.”

Summer shrugged. “When I looked back on it later I thought the same thing but at the time I was just so happy to be saved.” She glanced over at Midnight again and blushed. “He was handsome, if a bit scary at first but he was scaring those other ponies off, so...”

“And what happened next?” Spruce asked, a protective, fatherly glare in his eyes.

“About what you’d expect; I thanked him and asked who he was, he told me and asked what I was doing out so late, and we ended up talking as he walked me back to my apartment. I was surprised that there was what I thought at first was a dragon in Manehattan, let alone one so small. He explained he was a wyvern, how they could shrink down, and that he had heard a lot about Equestria and wanted to explore it. He just happened to have come to the city the night before and saw what was going on as he was doing a circuit. He said he’d been traveling by night so as not to scare ponies. I offered him my couch as thanks for saving me while he stayed in the city. He thanked me, took me up on the offer, we grew close, and eventually…” She looked at Midnight again with another blush and smile, both of which soon faded. “Wind said we needed to keep her a secret because ponies wouldn’t understand her, that he’d been told by his clan that ponies hated kirins and it would be safer for her to stay hidden until she was an adult and couldn’t be hurt so easily. I’d never heard of a kirin before, obviously, so I took him at his word. When Midnight was two he told us he had to leave, saying he had to take part in the dragon migration. We know now that’s not true but recently some messengers have come from the Storm Clan saying that Wind’s father wants to meet her, so here we are with a royal airship, traveling north.”

“Did he say where is son has been this entire time?” Spruce asked, clearly unhappy that his daughter and granddaughter had been abandoned.

“The messenger says he’s with the clan but refuses to elaborate further,” Midnight told them. “At this point I’m, we’re, just waiting until we arrive to get some real answers.”

“To be honest, I’m coming along mostly to support Midnight,” Summer said. “I might have a few words with Wind myself, whatever his excuse is, but as I said I’ve been married to Orange for some time now and have a foal with him, so at this point I just want to know why so I can close the book on that time in my life. I also have a high position in the company, so we’re all living comfortably. In fact I’m also on this trip for a bit of business, as one of the ambassadors is a dress designer and my boss wants first rights to any designs she comes up with.”

The hardness in Spruce’s eyes relaxed a bit and he took a bite of his cupcake. “As long as you’re happy and whole in the end, that’s all I want,” he said simply.

“The same goes for me,” Rosemary added. “And I suppose it’s back to our side of the story with how you have three adopted sisters.” This made Midnight sit up straighter and bend her ears forward, which her grandmother didn’t miss. “And I suppose this is where we get to what you wanted to talk with us about to begin with.”

Midnight gave her a sheepish smile. “For the longest time I thought I was the only kirin; in fact it was the reason Cel-, Princess Celestia, made me captain of the bearer guard. Then we found out that there was another kirin wandering Equestria somewhere who eventually came to us, then we discovered yet another kirin, which brought it up to three. Then not only did we discover this village but I saw two kirins flying around,” she nodded at Gold and Dream. “You could say I got a little excited, especially when I learned that there were three. Then it turns out you’re here and, well…”

“Got a bit more than you bargained for?” Rosemary chuckled. “Well, it’s an odd story, starting with a wyvern falling out of the sky, practically on top of the village. Poor thing seemed exhausted like it had been flying for Celestia knows how long. It was also carrying a basket, almost like the kind that those balloonists ride in, except in this basket was an old mare and three little bundles that turned out to be three little babies. Once he caught his breath, the wyvern asked us how much further to the Storm Clan and Rain Shine told him that they were still a ways up north and that they never come this far south, at least that we’ve seen. When he’d made sure the mare and foals had gotten out of the basket safely, he asked us if they could stay here while he flew off as a distraction. He never told us what was chasing him and we were worried that whatever it was would come to the village but he said that he’d given them the slip for the moment and he’d fly off with the basket before they found him again.”

“We’d learned from the kilins about wyverns and that they live in clans,” Spruce added, “and when we asked him why he wasn’t heading for his he just shook his head and said the Storm Clan was all he could count on. We eventually agreed to watch his passengers but the kilins told him he had to leave immediately for the safety if the village. He nuzzled the mare and foals and flew off towards the coast. You can imagine how much we were watching the skies for the next several weeks but whatever had been chasing him never showed up and he never came back. Soon after that the mare passed away and now there were three foals that needed someone to watch over them.”

“We decided to take them in,” Rosemary continued. “We were the only couple at the time and the only ones who’d been parents before, so we were the most obvious choice. I won’t say that we did it just because we missed you, Summer, but I’d be a liar if I said it didn’t help fill that particular hole in our hearts. Before long we just started thinking of them as our own and when they started calling us “mama” and “papa”, well, that pretty much cemented it for us, not to mention we’re the only parent’s they’ve ever known.”

Midnight tapped her chin thoughtfully. “It’s a bit weird that they each have a different name. From what I understand, each clan has a name that each member shares.” She pointed to herself, “Midnight Storm, Windstorm, and Firestorm are all from the Storm Clan, for example. The wyvern never gave you a name?”

“He called himself Steady Flame,” Rosemary said, “So apparently no relation, at least not an obvious one. The mare wasn’t the mother to any of them, before you ask.”

“I guess that’s something else to ask grandpa about,” Midnight muttered.

“Shoal might know something, at least about what might have been chasing Steady Flame,” Summer suggested. “There’s probably very few things that can scare a wyvern into running.”

“Is that one of the two kirins you mentioned before?” Rosemary asked.

“Actually, she’s the dragon that’s with us,” Midnight said.

“I told you there was a dragon!” Dream said exasperatedly.

“Well Dream the village isn’t on fire so excuse me for not taking you seriously,” Rosemary shot back, then asked, “but how is a dragon so, well, tame, for lack of better words?”

“Shoal is different from normal dragons,” Midnight explained. “In fact we’ve got two more dragons on board beside her that you could say the same of.”

“Got a bit of a menagerie on board, eh?” Spruce said with a chuckle.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Midnight told him with a smirk.

“Um, just so we understand everything,” Gold piped up and everyone looked at her. “She,” she pointed at Summer, “is basically our big sister and she,” she pointed at Midnight, “is our niece?”

All four adults looked at each other. “Basically, yes,” Rosemary agreed.

“I guess the amount of known kirins isn’t the only thing that’s doubled,” Midnight sighed. “You all just got Summer back, and then there’s Autumn, Orange, me, and Squeaks as well to add to the family tree.”

“Who’s Squeaks?” Rosemary asked.

“Oh, well, she’s… my adopted daughter,” Midnight told them with a sheepish smile, “which makes her your great granddaughter. Would this be a bad time to mention that Shoal is also Windstorm’s mother, which means she’s also my grandmother?”

Rosemary and Spruce just stared.

“I was surprised, too, about both, for the record,” Summer said.

“Wait, we’re now related to a dragon, too?” Dream asked. “Cool.”

“Well,” Rosemary said, recovering from the news, “I suppose all that answered at least some of your questions about the girls.”

“Pretty much,” Midnight admitted. “I guess there’s not much else I won’t find out later. The only thing I can really think of to ask now would be what your cutie marks mean, if you want to share.”

“I’m kind of lucky,” Gold said, instinctively moving to show her hip. "Any time something bad is about to happen, I'm able to just avoid it, like I zig instead of zagging if something is chasing me and it throws them off, or I find something someone has been looking for and find it the first time, stuff like that."

"Maybe I could have you stay over when my friends and I have poker night," Midnight said with a grin. Summer elbowed her and gave her a look.

“I like to grow tropical fruit,” Dream told them, “Well, just one that made it up here when this one pony arrived. I’ve tried my hoof at growing it myself with,” she made a so-so motion with her hoof, “some success.”

“I, uh, like to read books,” Wind said in a quiet voice. “I can also tell when a cold front is coming through.”

“Wind’s helped me save my fruit before,” Dream added.

“Well, we’ve got a lot more fruit back in Equestria,” Midnight told them, “and we even have a librarian on board the ship who can introduce you to a lot more books.”

Wind gave a small smile in return but then looked at Rosemary and Spruce with a frown. “On the way over you were talking about moving; are we really leaving the village?”

Midnight felt her heart drop a bit. Had she overstepped again like when she’d first met Ember and Forest Floor?

“We know this has been your home all your life,” Rosemary said, “and I hate the idea of uprooting you three. That said, not only is this place far more dangerous than Equestria, the only future your father and I can see for you is to be stuck here with barely anything to do. I may not have liked Summer leaving for the city, but it was more of where she was going and less that she was leaving. Every parent wants their children to eventually make their own way in the world.”

“And let’s not beat around the bush, either,” Spruce interjected. “The kilins aren’t exactly the best neighbors, either.”

“What is their deal, exactly?” Midnight asked. “Autumn seems nice enough, but the rest seem… standoff-ish.”

“From what we understand they left Equestria long ago,” Spruce explained. “Apparently they didn’t like how things were going and left before something bad happened to them, or so they say. They tolerate us ponies but don’t trust us. Autumn’s the exception and will talk your ears off given half the chance. She thinks we should all get along but,” he shrugged, “hard to do when one side constantly gives us the cold shoulder. In all honesty, I think they’re just as happy your ship arrived as we ponies are since all the ponies here are going to want a ride home in it, if it’s possible.”

“I’ll talk with Captain Smith but I doubt he’ll have a problem,” Midnight said, “in fact I think he’d jump at the chance to help everyone get home, after going over that swamp himself.”

“By the way, Midnight,” Rosemary spoke up. “Since the girls told you what their cutie marks mean, could you share yours as well?”

Midnight shared a glance with Summer. “It means I can turn into a full-sized wyvern,” she finally said. Everyone across the table stared. “Yeah, that sure was a heck of a day when we found out,” she nervously chuckled, then shared another look with her mother. It was probably better to not say just how much the two of them wanted to forget that whole week, not just the day.

“Well, I say we go for it,” Dream said after a few seconds. “Equestria sounds like it's a lot of fun.”

“Not to mention that it has a lot more stuff for us to do,” Gold added.

“And papa’s right; the kilins tend to just ignore us,” Wind chimed in.

“Like we’ve said before, we’re still going north first to visit the clan,” Midnight reminded them, “but if you want, you can join-” she stopped as her eyes began to glow.

“Midnight!?” Rosemary asked, worriedly looking to Summer for an explanation.

“She has a pet she’s magically linked with,” the unicorn quickly explained. “They can connect and talk with each other and see what the other is seeing. Right now Midnight has Arina stationed in…” she trailed off as she realized why Arina was probably contacting her daughter, her eyes going wide. “Midnight?” she asked fearfully.

“I’m on my way,” Midnight said gravely, then blinked and stood up, the glow gone. “Bearer Guard, stay with the bearers here on the ground!” she announced, making most of them jump. “The ghoul has just escaped! I’m going back to stop it!”

“Understood, ma’am!” Hazelnut said with a salute and the guards formed a circle around the three bearers.

“Excuse me!” Midnight told her family before bolting from the table and taking to the air.

“Did she just say there was a ghoul on your ship!?” Spruce asked.

“She didn’t mention all the details before we came down,” Summer said, “but she defeated it last night and it’s been in the ship’s brig since then. She said there was no way it was getting out as she saw to it personally.”

“Well, it clearly has gotten out,” Rosemary noted, “and those things are part of the reason no-one goes back in the swamp. I hope everyone on the ship can stay safe until Midnight gets there.”

“The majority of the guard is still on board. If they can’t stop her, I know of a few others on board that can hold it until Midnight arrives,” Summer assured them.

“Well, she’s not a captain of the guard for nothing,” Rosemary said hesitantly. “And if she already beat her once, I suppose she knows what she’s doing.”

Summer snorted. “She came out of it better than when she fought that hydra or during the changeling invasion of Canterlot.”

“She fought a hydra!?” Spruce yelped.

“Canterlot was invaded!?” Rosemary cried.

Summer blinked, then rubbed the back of her head and gave them a half-smile. “A lot has happened back in Equestria since you left.”

Midnight’s wings pumped hard as she flew back towards the ship. If that was how Eve was going to play, she was sure Twilight knew enough about law to help her draft a series of commands that would be loop-hole free. Of course, that was if she even had to, if the princesses could just get back to them with some way to cut their bond. She wasn’t scared of Eve hurting anybody directly, as it had been clear in what Arina had seen and heard that particular command was still being enforced. She was still going to tear a chunk out of Eve for what happened to Sundial, though. Unknowingly, she was in agreement with Honey that Eve couldn’t be allowed to escape. Even if she straight out fled and didn’t stalk the ship or the village, she would eventually kill somepony if she wasn’t confined, not to mention how the link between them would probably be much harder to break if she wasn’t close by. Better to keep her under lock and key until the connection was broken and then properly disposed of.

As she got close to where the landed boats were she saw Shoal rise up on her haunches, pull her arm back, then take an almighty swipe at something. Then a dot appeared, then it grew larger, then it became large enough that she could see it was pony-shaped with leathery green wings, then Eve went rocketing under her and the kirin banked sharply to pursue. Eyeballing it, Midnight quickly guessed that her impact point would be just outside the village and she was almost right as Eve drove a furrow in the ground as she hit, finally coming to a stop just past the first tree house.

Eve groaned as she finally came to a stop. If she wasn’t already dead then the dragon swatting her alone would have killed her. Becoming a plow would have been the cherry on top. She wasn’t home free yet, though, so she willed her body to get up and keep moving. She couldn’t feel pain, not in the normal way a living creature could, but she could feel her body being sluggish to respond and it irked her. At least she was already tied to that kirin, Midnight, because the idea of being passed around like a used, busted up toy, and twice in one day at that, would have been unbearable. Looking around, she saw a few kilin watching her, at first in confusion but then in fear when they realized what she was. ‘Damn it, right into the village! If I don’t get out of here quick, that stupid kirin will-!’

Said stupid kirin dropped on her like a pile driver, driving her back into the ground with a roar. Midnight followed up the landing by biting into Eve’s whither, hard, and shaking her like a dog with a toy before throwing her back down and pinning her again, hooves pressing down hard. “And where do you think you’re going?” Midnight growled, her wing claws and tail blade at the ready as well as her fangs.

“Just getting some fresh air,” Eve wheezed, one of the kirin’s hooves pressing down directly on her chest, “that brig needs some windows.”

“Well, I hope you enjoyed what little you got, because you’re going right back in and you won’t be getting out on a technicality again, I assure you.” There was a flash of magic and a familiar purple pony and dragon were there. “Just who I want to speak with. Tell me the princesses have gotten back to us.”

“Just as she was escaping,” Twilight said, a scroll floating over to the kirin who took it with a wing claw. “Unfortunately, what we found in the books is all true,” she said as Midnight read the response. “The princesses will help how they can but until they can see the two of you in person you’re basically stuck with her. Princess Celestia thinks she and Princess Luna can overwrite the magic when we see them next but can’t really do anything about it right now.”

“Great,” Eve muttered audibly from under the kirin.

Midnight finished reading the scroll for herself, groaned loudly, then tossed the scroll, which Twilight caught in her magic again. “Fine, we put up with her until then but you and me are going over a list of commands to give her with a fine toothed comb to get rid of any loop holes after everything settles here.” She pressed a hoof harder into the ghoul. “We don’t want a repeat escape attempt. Is someone attending to Sundial?”

“Honeycomb and Steel Ore are working on her,” Spike said. “They think she’ll be fine in a day or two. Honeycomb was the one who really kept Eve on board until Shoal got her.”

Midnight nodded and she could see three more boats casting off from the ship with a bunch of flyers surrounding them. “Well, good thing we got permission from the kilins already, though I’m sure they’ll be happy when we all get out of here.”

“Kilins?” Twilight asked.

“They’re the odd looking ponies we saw in the spyglass. I’m going to need to talk with Captain Smith as well; we’re going to have more guests on board than we originally thought,” Midnight told them.

“Like who? Some of the kilin?” Spike asked.

“No, more like a bunch of lost ponies, two of which are my grandparents and their three adopted daughters, all of which are kirins,” Midnight said, chuckling at the shocked look on their faces.

“Can I get up now?” Eve grumbled.

The unhappy ghoul was marched onto one of the three boats that had come down after her. “You are to ride this boat back to the ship, then you will follow First Lieutenant Windrunner back to the brig, where you will stay unless I tell you that you can leave. You cannot even touch the bars without my permission, understand?” Midnight told her before the boat took off.

“Completely,” Eve growled back.

With the situation of the ghoul taken care of, the ebony kirin went about preparing the landing area for more boats and guests. The kilins seemed hospitable enough but with how they saw ponies and probably other races Midnight felt it was better to set up an area where everyone on the ship and everyone in town could meet easily without bothering the original natives. If everyone agreed to getting on board now it would also be better to have someplace they could bring all of their things outside of the village where they could be loaded up easily.

Before the boats could return to the ship and let it be known that it was okay for others to come down to the village, Pinkie shot past her and jumped into a boat as well. “I need to make more baked goods for everybody!” she called back while Scarlet flew over and apologized for letting the pink menace run off.

“Please tell Sapphire and Squeaks to come down,” Midnight told Windrunner, “as well as Captain Smith or his first officer, if possible. A ship’s officer can better coordinate how best to get everyone on board as quick as possible.”

Word of what was going on had spread and several of the village ponies also offered to bring tables and chairs from their homes to help set up, which Midnight gladly accepted. She noted a couple of ponies who had a young colt with them about Squeaks’ age, making them the only other pony couple her grandparents had mentioned. “It’s usually a while between arrivals,” Spruce said when Midnight noticed that most ponies were about her mother’s age or older. “Including those two I think there've been only about three newcomers after we arrived.”

As she expected the first boat back to town included everyone else that wanted to come, along with Squeaks and Sapphire. To her surprise Honey had come down with them as well, flying down alongside the boat with all four of her changeling guards. “Windrunner told me how you confronted Eve,” Midnight said as the ones on the boat began to disembark, “so what’s up with her ticking you off like she is?”

“It’s the whole “hunting ponies” thing,” the young queen confessed. “While we do it to collect love, creatures like ghouls and sirens do it to kill. That’s part of the reason it was agreed that we needed to stay hidden; we didn’t want ponies to think we’d kill them like the others. No-one’s made the connection yet but it still stays in the back of our minds.”

“Well, if anyone does we’ll set them straight,” Midnight assured her.

“Captain!” Mixer called out as he got off the boat. “Captain, there are three kirin here!” He exclaimed excitedly as he came over, waving a hoof at where Midnight’s family was currently gathered, now including Sapphire and Squeaks who’d let the kirin and changeling talk.

“Indeed, Professor Mixer. One was apparently hiding in a book when we arrived,” Midnight told him. “If you could wait a little longer, the ponies living here need to be caught up on current events in Equestria first, then we can see about an interview.” Summer had told her how Rosemary and Spruce had reacted to news of how Canterlot had been invaded and Midnight had added “get everyone up to speed” to what to go over besides reminding everyone that they were still going north first and getting ready those still wanting to board.

“But captain, I’ve been waiting all morning to see them!” Mixer protested, once again waving his notebook and pen around.

“Haven’t you been interviewing Ember and Norik all morning?” Midnight countered.

“Yes, but these three are obviously born from wyverns and-!”

“A kirin is a kirin, regardless of birth,” Midnight said with force and fangs, cutting him off. “Furthermore it turns out they’re family, so you’ll understand if I’m even more reluctant to let you bombard them with questions. There is going to be a reception of sorts after everyone is caught up so you may ask a few questions then. From the sounds of it they’ll be joining us going north to the Storm Clan so you’ll have plenty of time to interview them.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “If you can control yourself and keep questioning them to a minimum, then I will make time in my schedule to give you a proper interview and answer any appropriate questions you have for me. Is that a deal you’d agree to?”

Mixer’s eyes lit up. “Yes! I’m sure I can limit my questions to a few a day, though it will be hard to know which questions to limit myself to! So many can come to mind at once!”

Midnight left him to ramble and went over to where the others from the ship were milling about. “Was he respectful?” she asked, motioning back towards Mixer.

“He didn’t ask anything too weird,” Norik said.

“He looked at us a lot,” Ember added.

“Nothing inappropriate,” Spine clarified, though he didn’t look happy, “but he could have poked them a little less while asking how tough their skin was.”

“I suspect he had just enough presence of mind not to piss off a dragon father too much, especially with him right there,” Midnight said.

“Professor Mixer is just enthusiastic about his research,” Eden said. “He’s mostly been hunting down and reading books on the subject up until now, so it would make sense that he’d be over the moon to study live specimens.”

“One of which is your son,” Midnight pointed out. “One would think you’d want him to be considered more than a specimen.”

“His words, not mine,” Eden defended, “and like Private Spine here I made sure Professor Mixer didn’t overstep any boundaries while asking my son questions. For example, I stopped him when he asked Norik what species, if any, he preferred when it came to possibly mating.”

With great effort, Midnight simply took another deep breath, then a second; she had enough on her plate at the moment. “I have made an agreement with Mixer that he’ll keep his questions to a minimum during the rest of the trip in exchange for a formal interview with myself. Let me know if he asks anymore question like that.”

“Leverage?” Spine asked.

“A little,” Midnight confessed.

“Well, onto why we’re all down here,” Eden said with a clap of her hooves, “have you met with the new kirins yet? It looks like there was one more than we thought!”

“Like I told Mixer, she was nose deep in a book while everyone else was looking at us. Also, it turns out they’re family,” Midnight told her. “There’s a lot the ponies of this town have missed, having been trapped here. We’re going to give them all a rundown of recent events, since most of, if not all, the ponies are coming with us from the sound of it. Then we’ll have some refreshments while they digest all they’ve been told. You all can meet them then.”

“Does that mean they’re from the Storm Clan?” Spine asked.

“No, they were adopted by my grandparents on my mom’s side,” Midnight told him. “Turns out they’re here, too.”

“That’s… rather against the odds,” Dancer said skeptically.

Midnight shrugged. “Take it up with the makers. At this point I might as well go to Las Pegasus after we get back home.”

“Are they nice?” Ember asked, peaking around legs to see the newest additions to their species.

“As far I can tell,” Midnight assured her. “You’ll meet them after the announcement. Now,” she said, turning back to Spine, “is the captain coming down?”

“He says he wants to double check berthing space so he knows where to put them but says more passengers won’t be a problem,” Spine told her. “He said he’d send Mooring Dock down with Pinkie to get accurate numbers and see what accommodations might be needed. Also, Eve’s been properly locked up. Professor Hunter says he’s done with examining her so there isn’t a chance someone can accidently let her loose again.”

Midnight nodded. “There’s always a chance but it’s nice to know no-one’s going to go near her for the foreseeable future. Well, if you’ll excuse me.” With a final nod to them she made her way back to where her family was meeting each other.

“Oh sweet makers that’s a lot to process,” Rosemary said, holding her head while Spruce just stared into space, blinking.

“Yes, a lot has happened in a few short years,” Summer, who had obviously been catching her parents up even further ahead of the rest of the village ponies, said.

“It’s a lot to process even when you’re in the thick of it,” Midnight added, coming up next to Sapphire and giving her a quick nuzzle. “Speaking of which, do you think you’d like to meet your great-granddaughter or let things sink in more?”

“Well, I assume you mean this filly here,” Rosemary said, indicating Squeaks who was on Sapphire’s other side. “It would be rude to ignore her while she’s right here, spinning heads or not.”

“That would be my Squeaks,” Midnight confirmed, glad to see the little thestral wasn’t shying away from the ponies looking at her. “Squeaky Wings, meet your great-grandparents Rosemary Thyme and Big Spruce. Grandma, grandpa, this is Squeaky Wings.”

“Hello Squeaky,” Rosemary said sweetly.

“Hey there, little one,” Spruce said with a smile.

“Hello,” Squeaks said politely.

“Aw, she’s cute!” Gold said.

“So if Midnight is our niece, what does that Squeaks here?” Dream asked.

“Technically, that makes her your grand-niece,” Summer explained, “but most folks would just call her their niece, too.”

“Calling her “grand-niece” would make us sound old,” Wind chimed in.

“Yeah, it would,” Dream agreed.

Squeaks turned to Midnight. “So they’re like grandma Shoal?”

Midnight nodded. “Only instead of being your grandpa’s parent, these are your grandma’s parents.”

“Oh, okay,” Squeaks said, then stepped forward, sat down, and opened her front legs wide for a hug. Both Midnight and Sapphire had to bite their lips at the scene while Gold, Dream, and Summer outright laughed, not expecting the gesture and Wind covered her sudden grin.

Rosemary just smiled at the now confused filly and scooped her up, then Spruce squeezed them both. Squeaks looked uncomfortable at first and Midnight suspected the invitation to hug was done because she thought it was expected of her but she was soon smiling and hugging them back. The kirin leaned against her marefriend and Sapphire laid a wing on her back in return.

“A great-grandma,” Rosemary said once they were done and had put Squeaks back down. “We’ve really missed a lot.”

“Now, just out of curiosity,” Spruce said, looking back at Midnight, “what is she exactly?” Gold, Dream, and Wind pricked their ears forward to listen as well.

“She is a thestral, also known as a bat pony,” Midnight explained. “There’s a few more of them on the ship as part of our night guards, along with a bunch of owl harpies, so you’ll meet them later.”

“Really is a menagerie then?” Spruce muttered, noticing Honey and her changelings talking close by with Scarlet.

“Should she be awake?” Rosemary asked, probably already realizing that her kind were nocturnal.

“Squeaks is a special case,” Midnight admitted. “She’s pretty much become diurnal since I adopted her. It never seemed to bother her and none of the other thestrals have raised an issue, so I didn’t question it.”

“I’m okay,” Squeaks assured them. “I don’t get tired until night time like everyone else. It’s harder to play with the other thestral foals in the summer, but I have plenty of other friends!”

“Well, as long as you’re okay,” Rosemary said, accepting the arrangement.

“Um, can I ask you something?” Squeaks asked.

“Of course dear,” Rosemary said.

“Why are you wearing a witch’s hat?”

“Oh, this old thing,” Rosemary said, tapping the brim as she frowned for a second. “You see, when I was young many rural towns didn’t have doctors but what we did have were healers. They mostly used herbal remedies to treat sick and injured ponies. Hats like these,” she tapped the brim again, “where how you could tell who was a healer. It also helped if you knew what kind of cutie mark to look for,” she chuckled, pointing to her own, then her tone changed. “Then some city ponies, jealous doctors looking for more work, decided it would be funny to spread rumors that we weren’t actually helping anypony or even downright hurting them with our plants and “suspicious potions”. They even started to include… let’s call it unflattering images of us during Nightmare Night and stories about witches stealing little foals to eat alongside Nightmare Moon began to crop up and… oh, it makes me so mad just thinking about it!” She stamped a hoof.

“My birthday this year is going to be fun,” Midnight muttered quietly to Sapphire.

“And who this young lady here?” Spruce asked, motioning towards Sapphire in an attempt to change the topic of conversation.

“Sapphire Breeze, I’m the guard’s liaison officer,” the light blue pegasus said with a bow of her head.

“And my marefriend,” Midnight added.

“I see,” Rosemary said, calming down from her rant. She’d at first thought the mare might be Squeaks’ nanny, seeing as her mother was a guard captain and how close the filly was sticking to her. She looked Sapphire up and down once more before giving her a smirk. “Well, I suspect we’ll be seeing you around for a while to come.”

“I would hope so,” Sapphire told her, a little boldly, then blushed.

“Why would Sapphire be going anywhere?” Squeaks asked innocently.

“She’s not,” Midnight said, which only made the pegasus blush more. Had any of them been able to tell, they’d have noticed that Midnight was blushing just as much as her marefriend as they basically declared how serious they were about each other. Summer noticed but didn’t say anything while her adopted sisters chuckled. It was then that the kirin noticed the cheshire grin her grandmother was giving her and she returned it with a half-lidded stare and a snort. “Really?”

“We’ve got more than twenty years of catching up to do,” Rosemary said with a laugh, “including some good-natured teasing.”

“I don’t get it,” Squeaks said, confused.

“You don’t need to,” both Midnight and Sapphire told her, which elicited more laughing from the other kirins.

It was only then that Spruce realized what his wife had done and laughed himself. “Still haven’t lost that evil streak, have you?” he asked between chortles.

“What fun would I be if I did?” she asked.

“Anyway, are we missing any ponies?” Midnight exasperatedly asked.

Rosemary and Spruce looked around. “I think I see everyone,” Rosemary said, looking up at her husband.

“Yep, all’s here,” Spruce confirmed.

“Then let’s get this started,” Midnight announced, turning towards a small desk that had been brought out to act as a podium. “There’s a lot to catch up on!”

Author's Note

So, first I want to apologize to everyone for being a day late in uploading this chapter. When it's your sister's wedding shower and she's anointed you "Man of Honor", you kind of need to be in the thick of it during set up, the actual party, and cleanup.

Anyway, this chapter.

At least there's some action this time, even if it's just Eve taking some hits. There'll be more action in later chapters, I promise. Most of this chapter ended up being back story, which there won't be much else of for the rest of the season, except for an emotional one after we get to the clan. I also want to have a scene specifically with Autumn Blaze next chapter mainly to have a kilin's point of view of things. Hopefully that conversation won't drag on but we'll see what happens.

Some trivia for this chapter: originally I wasn't going to have Summer's mom be around at all, having passed away in childbirth or sickness, I wasn't really going to elaborate as it wouldn't have been that important, but then I ran into THIS video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX2IkaXENm0
and my brain just went "That is Midnight's grandma and no-one is telling me otherwise". At first I was just thinking in terms of a "what if" story where Rosemary visits Summer when Midnight was still a foal but then I realized there's nothing stopping me from bringing her into the main story, so...
Also, I've apparently gotten my witch history from Scooby Doo as I could have sworn the origin of witches was people denouncing old-time healers but that's only a thing in the second Scooby Doo movie. Still kept it but my inner historian wanted to kick myself when I realized it.
Don't worry about Nightmare Night, Middy; someone else has plans for it.

One last thing for upon release readers: my sister is also buying our grandmother's house so next weekend I might be too busy again to upload the next chapter on time, so I want to apologize in advance if that happens and assure you the chapter will be published ASAP.