A young child, perhaps 6-8'sh years old, had visited our fine resort. Not the first, not the last. This one came with his father, but neither had registered as guests. Rude.

Facing them in one of the staffer's room was Autumn. "You broke her heart, and now you're back?"

"I didn't know." The father squeezed the shoulder of his son. "I didn't know what was actually happening. I was fed lies. When the news started coming out about this place... I put it together pretty quick."

"I told you she wouldn't just do that." The child looked, perhaps, a little smug in his vindication. "Where's mom?"

Autumn smiled at the little boy. "She missed you so much."

"I missed her too!" he retorted without delay. "Bet I missed her more."

"Now that's a challenge..." Autumn looked up towards the father. "Look, she's more like me than you. Are you sure you want to see her?"

He reached for Autumn, a habit with humans and fuzzy people, people or not. Autumn was a sociable sort and allowed it though, soon being pet and explored by the adult's hands. "That's really hard to imagine."

"You don't have to," half-sang Autumn. "She just is. She's also bigger than me."

The kid's eyes shined with new purpose. "Show me!"

Autumn drew back away. "Susan? They seem to still want to chat."

A door cracked open down the hallway of their apartment/suite. "They know what they're in for?"

"Mom!" And the kid was off like a bolt, right around the startled Autumn and charging right for that voice. His father, at least, had the etiquette to not burst forward, though he did look nervously... excited?

Susan got out a squeak as her child dove through the door, thumping into her. It wasn't a time for words. She soon had an arm around him, hugging the boy. She grit her teeth a moment. "Your mom's a monster."

"My mom's awesome." He did not remove his face, buried in her belly fur. "Does it itch?"

"Sometimes." She began to smile awkwardly. "You'll learn what it's like when you're old enough to grow a beard."

"You have a beard everywhere." At last he stepped back to better absorb her whole appearance. "And it's... cool."

She came in, curling her neck as she brought her head down to his level, gazing on him warmly. "Is your dad here too?"

"I'm here," came his call. "I'm so sorry, Susan. Can I come closer? Your friend is guarding you well." Not that he had tried to shove Autumn out of the way.

"Down girl," Susan called. "Let him come. May as well rip this bandage off."

And soon all three of their family had gathered. The father looked quite unsure what to make of it. "I'm married to a unicorn."

Susan inclined her head. "Kirin."

The man drew out his phone, doing a quick google search. "Huh. Yeah, you're right."

"John." Susan rolled her eyes. "I am it. I'd hope I'd know at least that. Don't see me second guessing what species you happen to be."

"Yeah dad," joined the child in chastising John. The child suddenly grabbed one of Susan's legs. "I saw it on TV."

"What did you see?" Susan gently nuzzled into the side of her child, smiling, unsure in her happiness, but they hadn't rejected her outright.

"About this place." He swept a hand wide over all the things. "I wanna be a 'kirin' too!" He said that one word carefully, copying what his mother had just said.

Susan's ears flipped against her head. "You are too young to make a decision like that, especially since you could get that done any time without a problem." She could do it herself, but she was in no hurry to make the rest of her family into kirin. "You're just in love with the idea."

"No. I'm in love with you." And he squeezed her leg firmly. "No more running away!"

"No more running away." That, she could agree with. "John... we.... We're still married?"

"We never got properly divorced," he admitted. "And now you're... this... If you want to... I won't be a jerk about it."

Susan considered John a long moment, her child still attached to her. "This..." Her horn began to glow, lifting her child and floating him right onto Autumn's back. "You get a kirin ride."

Fortunately for Susan, Autumn was quick on the uptick, trotting off with a bedazzled child on her back. "Now look..." Susan set a hoof on her face. "I'm not like the others. I'm not... naturalized to this. I remember the old me. Part of me even misses her. I thought what we had was... gone, dead and gone. I cried myself to sleep more nights than I want to admit."

"I'm so sorry... I had to explain to Mike--"

"--It's not a contest!" cut in Susan, frowning at John. "The whole thing was messed up, for all of us. But let's be perfectly real." She rose up to her full height. "You want to be married to a woman that has more body hair than you do by more than double." Her tail lashed behind her. "And more bodymass by about the same measure, who could knock you over without trying very hard?"

"You tolerated me being both those things to you, before." He had a quirky little smile at his humor. "I'm saying I'm willing to try, because the Susan I knew was a pretty great person, and I'm hoping you're still that great person, whatever the new wrapping is you went and got." He wiggled his fingers a bit oddly. "Now if you were a guy, I'd have to draw the line."

Susan snorted explosively at that. "All lady. Just not a human lady." She hiked a brow. "You do know you're going to catch trouble for this. A human dating something on four legs, even if legally a person. You won't get arrested, but that won't stop people from judging. Talking. Harassing... You want that?"

"It gets Mike his mom back. I missed you, so much." He dropped to a knee, which put his eyes under hers. "Introduce me to your new... everything. I'm here."

"You're here," Susan echoed as if having a hard time grappling with it. "Moron." She bumped her nose to his. "You had the chance to get away from all this."

"Real stupid of me," John laughed in agreement, and they hugged. Their family would heal.

Starlight reached over, slapping the glowing button next to the monitor and cutting off our feed of the happy family reunion. "Good on them." She turned to me with a grin. "I got my family right here."

"Speaking of that." I reached to rub gently along one of her long fuzzy ears. "There was a promise you never kept."

"Hm?" Her ear quivered against my finger, the content little rumble coming from her, and her not drawing away, implying she was fine with the ear attention.

"I got my name." I gestured with my free hand at my glorious noodly form. "But you never shared yours."

Starlight waved me closer, and closer still when I just leaned forward. Soon I was eye to eye with her, sharing one another's breath. She smooched right on the tip of my noise. "Danielle," she spoke gently. "But that name's dead, so this'll be the first and last time you hear it coming from me."

That did settle that Starlight had always been a girl though, so there was that. Not that it would have changed much at that point. "A pleasure to meet you, Starlight."

She poked me suddenly on my pudgy belly. "So, how is this going to work? We're married." She wobbled the hoof between herself and me. "Tied that knot, you were there. That--" She poked me again. "Is a bastard child by most definitions. You and Shining Armor are cheating on me, perverts. You're lucky this isn't a state where that's literally illegal. We can't marry him. That is when it becomes polygamy, and we all go to jail."

"Not officially." I swirled in around Starlight, wrapping her in pregnant noodle. "But, you know, between us, we're one big happy family. Legally, sure, it's me and you and this one roomie we sometimes bang. But what happens between us is our business. I say we keep it that way."

"Probably for the best," she allowed, sticking out her tongue in the act. "Our kids are going to be so confused when they get old enough to understand how strange their family is compared to literally any other in the country."

"Starting with having like three different species in it?" I waggled my brows. "Pretty sure they were doomed on that front a while ago."

Starlight buried her face in a hoof. "Ugh... can't you just... noodle this away?"

"You know I won't." God, what would that even look like? Snapping society into some new shape sure felt like a good way to mess everything up in ways that would be... hard to fix. "Great powers, great responsibilities, you know the drill."

Starlight thumped her head against me, rubbing gently. "You're allowed to be a little irresponsible with me. I won't be mad, promise..."

"Foul tempter." I hugged the little bad influence, but floated up and away right afterwards. "Save that talk for off duty."

"Thank you for taking the time to talk to us." There sat a reporter, the lady smiling at me with the bright expression of someone who'd practiced it long and hard to get it just right. "You are the director of the resort?"

"That is correct." I had my hands folded in front of me. I was seated on a chair that was not floating. I was mostly normal! If one ignored the bump of new life, and my generally strange appearance.

"Director is an interesting title for the position," the reporter pried. "Wouldn't that more typically be manager? Or owner? Or even 'hotelier' if one wanted to be fancy."

"Well, true... but I'm not the owner." I tapped the armrest of my chair. "This is a subsidiary building, which I direct. I have floor managers beneath me that report to me. I am... more of a conductor, a director. One step removed, the title works for me."

"Most of the... new people--" That being a term that had come up to define all the new varieties of people. "--are ponies, griffons, kirin, and dragons. What species are you, director?"

Of course they'd want to know that. "I am the only one of my kind." Thank goodness, really. The world didn't need two noodles! Heaven forbid they didn't agree about something. "But don't feel bad for me. I have a family and am quite content."

"Are you... expecting?" With an alien species, that bump could have been normal, or just fat, or something else. Who could know! Points to her for just asking.

"I am." I patted the baby bump. "Couldn't tell you exactly when it's due." Starlight had taken a little less time than normal and produced a healthy child. Would I have longer or shorter? Who knew. "I have to play it by ear." I waggled an ear for emphasis. "But we aren't here to chat about babies."

A hint, and one received. "Of course. We've heard some interesting rumors that you are especially good at your position, working literal miracles to keep things going. What do you think of that?"

She was hoping to get more dirt on my other abilities. I would disappoint her. "I read up on the job and took to it whole heartedly. The well-being of my guests and staff are my top priorities. This isn't just a job." I spread my hands out wide either way. "This is my home, and I plan to take care of it."

"One thing, if I may... You are married to Starlight Glimmer, a female unicorn. How..." Her eyes were on my midsection. The question was perfectly clear.

"I'm quite happy to answer questions regarding the resort and how it operates." I flashed a toothy smile. "You've gotten all the personal questions you're going to get out of me."

Author's Note

I feel good about this, the 3rd of the 4 part epilogue. We only have one more! Got questions? Last chance!

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