As a skein of geese flew overhead, squawking like geese usually do, Jason wiped his brow as he watched Nightshine finish up another set of wing-ups. He was sitting with his back up against the only tree in his yard, his chest heaving up and down. Nightshine was sweating just as much, if not more than him, but he knew that her desire to fly was making her push herself harder than she’d ever done so before. The morning sun shined down upon them, bleeding through the leaves of the tree that they were working out under. Jason’s stomach was sore from doing so many sit-ups and his arms burned from the sheer amount of push-ups he’d done along with his daughter.
Nightshine strained as she lowered herself back down, her wings trembling from over-exertion. Jason had asked her to take a break thirteen wing-ups ago, but she still had a lot of energy left in her to keep going. Part of her wanted to use her legs to push her back up for this last one, but her innate need to impress Jason pushed that thought right out of her mind. The joints of her wings screamed as she pushed herself back up, inch by inch, until she was all the way back up. As soon as she reached that point, she let her legs support her weight, letting her fold her trembling wings back to her side.
With a satisfied smile, she walked over to Jason and collapsed upon his lap with a happy sigh. “See? I told you I... I could do more!” she panted
“You sure did, sweetie...” Jason held up a glass of water for her and let her chug the entire thing down. She panted a little softer now, a little bit of water slipping down her cheek. Jason wiped it away with his thumb, then as he sat back, Nightshine laid down on his chest, sprawling out on him like he was her soft bed. He ran his fingers through her mane, smiling as she hummed in content.
As he listened to the leaves rustling in the tree above, Jason scratched Nightshine’s lower back, then rubbed her back as he asked, “So... what was it like being an orphan?” Nightshine stopped humming abruptly, tensing up in his grasp. He saw her ears droop as she laid her head on his chest.
After she let out a deep breath, she stayed silent for several moments, then said, “It wasn’t fun. I feel like I had to grow up a lot faster than everypony else because I lived in an orphanage. So many couples looking to start a family passed over me, making me think that I’d never be adopted. But then you came...” Nightshine planted a tiny kiss on his chin, then laid her head back down as his fingers ran through her mane. “I had a friend, a filly a couple of years younger than me, who was almost adopted. I remember her being so happy, and even though I was happy for her, I was still really, really jealous.”
“That’s pretty mature of you to realize that, especially given your age...” Jason said softly.
“I guess... But you know what happened? The inspector found something out about the couple that was going to adopt her in the final inspection stage, which made it not possible for them to adopt her. She was... different after that. She stopped eating, stopped playing with me, and after a while, she’d lost so much weight that the headmistress had to take her to the hospital. I wanted to go with her just so that she wouldn’t have to be alone, but the headmistress would not let me go. She came back a week later, and a couple of months later, a new couple came around. The headmistress told me that they were trying to choose between me and her, so even though I really wanted to be adopted, I felt like she deserved it more. I acted like a brat the next time I saw the couple, knowing that I could be giving up my only chance, and... she was adopted.” She felt Jason kiss the top of her head.
As he wrapped his arms around her, Jason whispered, “That was very sweet of you.”
“Yeah, I know, but... I still cried myself to sleep that night,” Nightshine murmured. She fluffed her wings and wrapped her forelegs around his neck, ignoring the smell of his sweat as she nuzzled the side of his neck. “You made me the happiest filly in all of the land when you adopted me... I hope you know that.”
“Oh, I do, little one. Anyways...” Jason chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “By waiting, you ended up with a better choice: me! Right?”
Nightshine let a wide grin slide onto her face as she pulled back, folding her forelegs under her chest. “Right!” She rolled onto her back and slid back down into his lap, letting her head rest just beneath his chin. Nightshine closed her eyes as the breeze ran through her mane, cooling her off from the warmth of the sun. She hummed happily as she felt him wrap his arms around her belly.
After a couple of minutes of silence, Jason looked up, eyeing the only branch thick enough to support their weight. “Hey, Nightshine?”
“Yeah?” Nightshine lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him.
“You know, since you’re a bat pony and all, does your species ever hang upside down?” Jason asked, massaging the area where her wings met her body.
“Huh? Why would I do that?” Nightshine asked with a light giggle. She cocked her head to the side as she peered up at him with a cocked eyebrow.
“Well, where I’m from, regular bats hang upside down to sleep. And seeing that you’re a pony, I sorta figured that you’d sleep like any other pony. So after seeing that you sleep in a bed, I’m a little curious as to if you ever hang upside down.”
“Oh. Um... I dunno!” Nightshine shrugged. “I guess I never thought about it. Why do bats sleep upside down, anyways? That seems like a silly way to sleep if you ask me! You wouldn’t be able to snuggle or use your favorite pillow!”
“Well, from what I remember from elementary school, they sleep upside down to avoid predators. They weigh so much that they can’t just start flying just like pegasi, and...”
“Hey, are you calling me fat?” Nightshine asked with a pout. She tried to hold a straight face, but a small giggle slipped past her lips.
“Heh, nah, I’m not. You see, these bats hang upside down so that when they want to fly, they just let go and fall, and that gives them the speed they need to give them lift. They also sleep in hard to reach places, too, so that their natural predators won’t be able to find them.” Jason looked up at the branch again. “So yeah! Wanna give it a shot?”
“Sleeping upside down?” Nightshine looked up at the branch he was staring at. “But we just woke up, silly!”
Jason tousled Nightshine’s mane. “I know, sweetie, I was talking about just the hanging upside down part. I’m still waking up, after all, and I haven’t even had my cup of coffee yet!”
“Coffee... that’s what the headmistress used to drink all day! She said it was just for older ponies like her, and she wouldn’t let me and my friends have any. Can I try some? I wanna see if I like it or not!”
“Sure, I can give you a little when I make some later! Too much and it’d give you a tummy-ache, though.” Jason motioned for Nightshine to get up, and after she slid off of him, he stood up, wondering what would be the easiest way to climb up. He noticed that the tree’s base didn’t have any footholds, so he did the next best thing.
He jumped up and was just able to grab onto the branch. Jason hung there, his arms feeling like they were about to snap off when he felt Nightshine wrap her legs around his feet. He chuckled as he felt her climb up him, and as she stood on his head, he groaned as he lifted himself up, letting her clamber up onto the branch. With his chin resting on the branch, he saw Nightshine bite down on the back of his sweaty shirt, pulling with all of her might, giving him just enough help to let him swing a leg up onto the branch.
Jason panted, sitting next to his daughter. They were high enough to see over the top of their fence, though it was just a view of his next-door neighbor’s backyard and the surrounding buildings. After he caught his breath, he asked, “So uh... I guess I didn’t really think this through, but... how would a pony hang upside down? With the way your legs are, I don’t really see a way for you to do this!” Making sure the backs of his knees were locked around the branch, Jason leaned back all the way, letting himself swing back and forth upside down.
“With my tail, duh!” Nightshine said with a giggle. She wrapped the end of her tail around the branch and threw herself back before Jason could catch her.
Jason watched her fall from the branch in slow motion. His eyes went wide as he tried to reach out to catch her, but it was too late. Nightshine swung back and forth, just like him, with a wide grin on her face. “Ugh...” Jason relaxed with a deep sigh. “Can you not scare me like that? I really thought you were going to fall and hit your head.”
“Oh... sorry! I guess I was too excited.” Nightshine giggled again as she swung back and forth. “Hehe, this is fun! I don’t know why I didn’t do this before!”
“Doesn’t that hurt your tail? The horses back home hated it when someone tugged on their tails, and more often than not, the tugger got bucked!”
“You know, I didn’t think about that.” Nightshine unfolded her wings and flapped them, propelling herself forward, then folded them as she swung back. “Whee! This is fun, Daddy!”
“Yeah, it sure is!” He heard somepony knocking on his front door, so he yelled, “Out here!” He heard his front door open, then shut, and as they waited to see whoever it was that came knocking, Nightshine started swinging back and forth again a few moments before Twilight and Spike emerged from his house.
“Oh, hey guys!” Jason leaned up, grabbed the branch with his left hand, then unhooked his legs, letting him fall to the ground. Wiping his hands on his shirt, he stopped Nightshine from swinging, then let her grab onto his arms. She unlooped her tail from the branch with a quick flick, then looked over at their guests. Jason leaned down and let Nightshine stand on her own, who promptly shuffled behind him. “How’s it going?” He noticed a lack of a smile on Twilight’s face.
“Well enough,” Twilight said as she sat down. She looked at Nightshine and smiled. “Ah, you must be Nightshine!”
“Um, yeah...” Nightshine half-hid behind Jason’s legs, only sticking her head out. She cautiously came out with a sheepish smile, then sat in front of Jason, flicking her tail around her legs. Her eyes flicked between Twilight’s wings, then her horn, then back to her wings. Her eyes went wide as her jaw dropped. “Oh my gosh, are you a princess?” she asked so quickly her question sounded as if it was all one word. She stood up, then bowed, her muzzle nearly touching the dirt.
“That I am!” She lowered her head to look Nightshine in the face. “And aren’t you a cute little filly!” She giggled as she saw Nightshine blush. Glancing up at Jason, she asked, “I trust you didn’t have any problems adopting her?”
“Nah, not at all! I really cannot thank you enough for your help.” Jason sat down beside Nightshine and scratched her behind her ears. As she clambered into his lap, he said, “There were so many ponies to choose from, but she stood out from the rest.”
“Just like how you stand out as a human amongst ponies, right?” Spike asked, sliding from Twilight’s back.
“Yeah, I guess so!” Jason said with a laugh. “I never thought of it like that.” He looked down at his daughter. “Nightshine? This is Spike!”
“Huh?” Nightshine lifted her head from his leg and looked over to find a small dragon, standing on his two back legs much like Jason did. “Woah, a baby dragon? That can talk?” She jumped up from Jason’s lap and walked up to him, then cocked her head to the side, eyeing him up and down with a curious gaze.
“Heh, I’m not a baby anymore, but yeah, I’m a dragon! The name’s Spike!” He held out a closed fist for her to bump, which she did in record time. “I saw you yesterday in the market, but you guys looked so busy that I felt it wasn’t a good time to introduce myself.”
“That’s fine!” Nightshine giggled. “So are you Twilight’s friend or something?”
“Actually, she’s my mom, but that story’s for a later time.”
“Woah, that’s so cool!” Nightshine’s smile widened. “You wanna play sometime? I haven’t made any friends here yet, so do you wanna be my first?”
“Sure, that sounds great!” Spike looked up at Twilight and asked, “Say... is it okay if we go to Sugarcube Corner for some treats so you can talk with Jason?”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Spike.” Twilight fished out a few bits from her bag and levitated them to him. “Can you be back here in a half hour?”
“Sure can! Come on, Nightshine, I heard Pinkie’s got some freshly-baked cookies!” He and Nightshine walked back into the house with a pep in their steps, leaving Twilight and Jason all alone.
“So... the reason for my coming was to talk about some... things with you. Can we go back inside?” Twilight asked as she stood up.
“Sure, what about?”
“...A few things, but I’d like for us to have some privacy back inside, if that’s okay.” Twilight’s smile faded from her face as she looked away.
“Yeah, okay.” He followed Twilight back inside, then sat down on his couch. “So what’s up?” he asked as Twilight climbed up next to him. She bit her lip, then looked up at him.
“I stayed up really late last night doing some research about finding you a way back home. The portal you came through was highly randomized, and it’s a wonder that you didn’t appear on top of a freezing cold mountain all the way up in the northern reaches. To have you appear on the outskirts of town was a blessing, but... anyways, to find a portal that would send you back to your planet is just not feasible. There’s no way to predict when and where it’ll show up, and for how long. I wouldn’t even know if it’d send you back to your planet, either.”
“So what you’re saying is that I’m pretty much stuck here?” Jason chuckled as he spread his arms out on the back of his couch. “It’s been so long that I’ve already accepted that. It’s also one of the reasons why I bought this house and chose to adopt someone.”
“I see.” Twilight rubbed her foreleg, then let her shoulders droop as she relaxed. “That‘s good to hear. I think Nightshine would hate to see you go if I did somehow find a way back home for you, and taking her with you, away from her home, friends, and her life here, probably wouldn’t work out too well.”
“Yeah, I don’t think it would. My life is here now. It is still a little weird not being a pony in a land of, well, ponies, after all. I can only hope that they won’t think less of me for choosing to raise one of their own species. I know you’re fine with it, but what about everyone else? I’m sure word spreads fast in a small town like this.”
“I doubt most would have any issue with it, but there might be some.”
“I figured as much. I’ve made a few friends around town, but I don’t get out much, so I can’t really say how comfortable they are around me.”
“Well, we’ve seen stranger things, so you needn’t worry about being the odd one out. In time, ponies will accept you, especially when they see how well you do in raising your new daughter.”
“Yeah, about that...” Jason scratched the back of his neck as he licked his dry lips. “I’ve never been a parent before, and I’ve never been married. I’ve always been good with kids, though, so I think I’ll do alright. It’s not like I’m raising an itty bitty foal, though. Nightshine’s already a little old, so... yeah,” he finished rather lamely.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Twilight shifted on the couch, then let her forelegs swing out over the edge. “So...”
“What?” Jason noticed that Twilight’s tone changed, making a small pit of worry form in his stomach.
Twilight stared at the floor for several moments, then said, “I'm just worried what everypony will think of you and Nightshine; we rarely get thestrals down here.” Twilight stopped talking as she spotted Nightshine and Spike walking back towards the house through the window. “Well, I think it's time I took my leave. Perhaps I can have you two over for dinner so we could all spend some time together next week? I have a few things I need to attend to today.”
“Sure, that sounds lovely,” Jason said. As Twilight walked over to the door, he followed her and opened it for her. “So I guess I’ll see you then?”
“Yep!” Twilight smiled up at him as Spike and Nightshine finally reached them, though Nightshine bore an even bigger smile than hers.
“What is it, little one?” Jason asked, kneeling down to her level.
“Spike said that Twilight can change ponies into different things with her magic!” Nightshine exclaimed, her tail and the tips of her wings quivering. “Back when, uh...” Her eyes narrowed as she paused. Glancing at Spike, she asked, “Who was it again?”
“Rainbow? Yeah, she was bugging Twilight about changing her into a gryphon or a dragon for like, a week or two straight a while ago. Wouldn’t stop talking about how cool it would be to breathe fire.”
“Yeah, them!” Nightshine jumped up and down in place. “So if the princess can turn herself and her friends into other creatures then that means that she could turn you into a pony, right? I always wanted a...” She stopped jumping and froze, her smile slowly fading from her face as she looked up at Jason. Her shoulders drooped as she felt a sinking feeling form in her tummy, watching Jason's smile disappear entirely. “A daddy,” she said hopefully. “And now I have one!” she recovered as she threw on a tentative smile, praying that it would make Jason smile in return. Me and my big mouth... she thought, feeling nervous tremors make her tail twitch.
Jason’s heart skipped a couple beats. “Nightshine, I don’t think that’d be appropriate to ask,” Jason stuttered out. “I wouldn’t want to impose and I don’t know if I even want to be a...” He cleared his throat, opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Twilight awkwardly cleared her throat. “F-For the record, yes, I could turn you into a pony. Temporarily, of course. I’d have to do some research to be certain.”
“Oh my gosh, yes!” Nightshine’s head whipped between Twilight and Jason, searching their faces for anything that would give away their true feelings. A few moments passed before she tugged the bottom of his pants with her hoof. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?” she asked, laying her chin upon his leg as she sought his gaze with the biggest puppy dog eyes she had at her disposal.
Aww, I always love these bonding moments between Jason and his daughter. Although he may not be able to return to his own world, by the end of this story I don't think he'll want to.
Shit.....I really, really hope Nightshine doesn't get taken away, she's too adorable.
Crap! This sucks. (NOT THE STORY, obviously. The stuff IN the story is what I am talking about, of course!) I can't wait to see the next chapter!
You did an amazing job like always, Abyss! Keep up the awesome work!
Although, grammatical error:
“I stayed up really late last night doing some research about finding you way back home." Finding you way home?
7475119 Got it, thanks!
trouble on the horizon?
or maybe princess Celestia has a work around for this.
Ok, first things first:
Now that that's out of the way, I beg of you to do something original with this plot point. Don't have Celestia and/or Luna try to stick to the law because some variation of "that's how it's always been" and don't have everyone suddenly change their minds about it because some variation of "look how much he loves her."
All that aside, I really do love this story.
One of the hardest things for parents is to keep up the image that everything is fine even when things are not
7475135 Lol I'm not going to do something as basic as that.
7475149
I don't mean to sound so accusatory. To paraphrase Stephen King, when you've seen everything that came before, you can't always see when something new is coming.
NEW CHAPTER
Definitely going to remain cool, and read it when I get home.
The joys of immigration laws... Here's to a can of worms that Jason and Nightshine can live through.
Child protective services ought to actually protect rather than forcefully remove children from places of comfort, soooooooo, hopefully they'd be reasonable enough to screw dated defunct laws contrary to the spirit of their organisation.
just found a plot hole, wouldn't Spike also be sent away?
Interesting, to what lengths will Jason go for little Nightshine?
I can't describe how much I LOVE this story! It's hard to get through each chapter with out a little liquid pride!
7475223 We do not know how Spike came into Celestia's care, so no, I don't consider Spike being in Twilight's care a plot hole.
7475223 I imagine that his origin would have something to do with that. I mean, he wasn't an orphan. He was an egg as part of a test. The general consensus in the community is that the egg wasn't meant to be hatched, so he's exempt from the law? Not sure, depends on the author's headcanon.
7475223 Spike was hatched and I believe that's why he can stay with Twilight (The law is about adopting foreign species)
7475223 There are a couple of headcanons floating around that either
A. Celestia was given spike's egg intentionally for some reason or another
or
B. The egg was never intended to/couldn't hatch
These could probably allow for some legal loopholes to be used to keep spike in Equestria
That being said the author may have an entirely different idea so we may just have to wait and see
7475223 Not particularly.
Spike was born and raised in Equestria, as proven by Twilight hatching him canonically.
Nightshine could go either way - if she was born Equestrian, that makes all the worrying completely pointless. So, I suspect she'll have been born elsewhere, but due to some loophole be eventually allowed to stay with her adoptive parent.
Obviously, that loophole will first have to be found - and I suspect that'll have something to do with her having been up for adoption in an Equestrian orphanage for a long time.
And that, in turn, is what Celestia, Luna and Twilight are going to have to find out first - both Celestia and Luna are nothing if not sympathetic ponies, and I doubt they'd ever force Nightshine and Jason apart.
... Okay, against my better judgment, I'm going to present a theory with the limited information we've been given. I've already discussed the headmistress' hidden love for all those under her care, but, of all the young ponies, it seems that Nightshine was there the longest. She has no known family and her origins are a mystery, but the headmistress isn't stupid or incompetent, I would bet my last dollar that she knew about the law. So why would she keep Nightshine instead of sending her home, risking her carrier and the wellbeing of the orphans? The only thing that makes sense to me is that the headmistress is Nightshine's mother. Now, everyone do me a favor and tear this apart so I can stop worrying.
Kinda liked it better when bat ponies were rare and raised in the palace personally. Feel like a great opportunity to write Luna in was missed with the change.
Sooo...Thestrals have never been seen before? What about Luna's personal guard?
Wat. Or does this refer to the human? A bit confusing.
7475371 She's talking about Jason.
7475351
Okay then lol.
If the headmistress was Nightshine's mother, then why did she let Jason adopt her?
7475399
Hmmm... well, all things considered, she wasn't showing Nightshine the love she deserved, she was simply spread to thin, hence her "mean headmistress" act. If I were in her position, I would much rather see Nightshine with someone who could adequately care and love for her. Besides, Nightshine wasn't long for the orphanage anyway. Ship was simply getting to old. Serenity (I had to go back in the story to confirm the info) told Nightshine she would have to set her up with a job and the orphanage would no longer be able to take care of her.
Does he really have to get dual citizenship to follow his daughter to her own country? Do they not allow foreigners in at all, or to live there?
Oh damn. THIS is bad.
In all honesty I think that Celestia's agreement for that old law, is completely unfair, I mean sure it worked for the time, but if she was benevolent as she claims to be, you'd think that she would at least modify, or disban that law seeing that the land is in a time of great peace and order. Celestia better make the right decision on this one, if not, then she has earned the anger of both Night Shine, and Jason. Also Celestia has yet to see what the anger of a human can be like, and the terrible things that come as a result.
I got a kitten sitting in the window outside at work. He/she is grey. It's not apropos but still.
Now my question is how 'old' is that old law?
After all when talking about somepony who has ruled for over millennia that can be pretty freaking old, in which case trying to reform it could be easier than it seems.
Nice chapter, good work.
Leges equidae nascuntur, vivunt, moriuntur.
7475842
speak english please
Would anyone with a heart pull apart a loving family, regardless of some archaic law?
I would hope Luna would come up to bat for them
I bet Celestia will quickly allow Nightshine to remain with her new father. She probably is not even aware that this law is still on the books and will quickly rectify that.
was the thing with Luna in the last chapter changed into this?, I just want to know if the actions Luna would take which I didn't liked still exist.
7476027
Not sure how that works, but since she already lives for so many years in that country, I think she would have a pretty good chance to be allowed to stay there.
Pointless conflict for pointless conflict!
Really can't say I like this as it seems like a really forced thing, but the story it self so far has been good so I will keep with and see it out.
Also, just wanna point out that if that law is a thing, Then Celestia already violated it with spike, so again, rrreeeaaalllyyy forced conflict right there. The Luna thing you had before would have been a lot better and made more sense then this.
If Celestia says 'no', then Twi can just put them under her royal protection and tell Sunbutt, "Make me."
takes a heart of steel to not feel anything from that.
Keep it up your doing great
7475907
Rough translation from Latin:
"The laws of Equestria are born, live, and die"
If that was an actual law in equestria, then my oc has already broken it multiple times
7475986
Lol, bat pun.
Interesting development, but a few things that just didn't feel right about this chapter.
Abyss, I love the story, and here's the conflict you give us...Can I say that I feel...I don't know, a little underwhelmed about it? I feel that this problem has arisen too fast. It's only been a few days, and Jason already feels so attached to her. I can see Nightshine being attached so fast, and I'm not saying Jason can't, but I feel that the strength of it wouldn't be as strong...To me, this would have felt like a bigger catastrophe if they had been together for a few months, and something happened to bring the law to light, as this law might be such an old, seemingly unimportant one as it's rare for any other race to live or visit Equestria in the fashion that would cause the law to be in effect. Sure, some creatures visit from time to time, but never any young, unless it's a special event or under special circumstances *i.e. jr Flight Camp has griffons* So, for me, this law, which does make sense, seems to be made up on the spot to give the story conflict.
I see other things, smaller trials, being the problems first. Like school, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon giving her flack for being a bat pony or that she's a few years older than the others in class due to the problem of standardized schooling in the orphanange. Maybe she might develop a rivalry with Scootaloo, as neither of them can fly yet. That would be fun to see, as they compete to see who can learn to fly first, and then who's better at it. The rivalry would turn into strong friendship.
Maybe she could even met a colt that she has a crush on, and they could have a date, where she finds out that he's a real jerk, and that breaks her heart. Oh, Jason would have a tough time figuring out what does he do as a Dad. He'd want to deck him for it, but at the same time, he knows that his daughter has to grow, and he can't be over protective her.
Then after all these trials, the issue is brought about because a diplomat from the Bat Ponies is visiting Twilight at her Castle, and sees Nightshine with Jason. He (or she) would be in an uproar because the Equestrian Nation isn't obeying the old laws, something his ponies hold sacred, and starts questioning what else are they breaking. Maybe it's this ambassador that pushes for the laws to take Nightshine away from Jason and take her back to her home country, staking the relations of their country and Equestria on it, thus making this much more bigger than either Jason or Nightshine. It would be then that Twilight and Jason would have to figure how to both appease the Bat Nation while keeping Nightshine with Jason, where she's truly happy.
That's a story I'd like to read. This story is super cute, but I feel like I need a little meat with my sugar.
Hope I don't offend. I love your works, but I feel like this is just sugar, and not substance. Also, must everyone speak with exclamation marks? I feel that their being over used.
7475986 bbooooooo
7476401
thank you
7476832
I think you might be looking a bit to deep into that
7476027
Pretty sure she'll make something like a royal pardon for the two of them. If she can't because she took away her own supreme powers of law, there's more than a few nobles she could get to petition and head up some helpful bureaucracy, Fancy Pants or a reformed Blueblood is always the go-to character for these things.
This international law is just badly written, inharmonious, and seems to be an excuse to throw out immigrant minors from foreign countries before they can be nationalized to that country through adoption (Gosh, wouldn't want their alien blood or thoughts polluting our purebred stock, right?). What about asylum laws? Nightshine could claim to not have anyone in her home country because she was left trapped and abandoned in an orphanage with no legal means of adoption out of it, and thus should stay with her adoptive father-- it's a flimsy claim of hardship but any excuse is better than none at all. While it might not prevent an annulment of the adoption, it should keep Nightshine from getting kicked out of Equestria.
At this point, no piece of paper is going to tell Jason and Nightshine they are father and daughter, or not. They know they are.
But, but everything will work out in the end, right...right?
great chapter!
And thus, the complications began.