Thirteen years later…
All was going well on Equus and some of the planets that the Young Six had mapped out. The space station that served as the dock for the Alicorn had been expanded to house more ships, research bases had been established on Ludus, Merlin 5, and Agartha. Also, a second space station had been constructed in orbit around Equus to keep a clear communication channel with all of the bases. Currently, the research work at the bases was going very well, and tons of data was being gathered. Early into the thirteen years, Hyperborea had been restored and was now thriving again, thanks to Equus’ scientists determining how to neutralize the radioactive substances in the fertilizers. Little did anyone know that there were visitors coming soon.
Starlight was making her rounds on the space station when a sensor detected an approaching ship. She rushed to the communications area and called out to the ship.
“Unidentified ship, this is Starlight Glimmer, Chief of the Equus Orbital Patrol. Please identify yourself and confirm that you are not hostile.”, she said.
“Starlight, this is Callie Cuttlefish aboard the Squidbeak 1. I am one of the inklings that Flurry Heart and the Young Six met on Earth thirteen years ago. We are coming to visit you.”, said a female voice.
“Copy that, Callie. You are clear to proceed.”, replied Starlight.
Callie acknowledged Starlight’s approval and the ship continued on its path to a landing area. In the meantime, Starlight contacted Flurry and Twilight to tell them that the Squid Sisters were visiting them. Flurry was thrilled to hear this. She and the Young Six had been planning to go back to Earth and visit them the following year, but now they didn’t need to. They made their way to the landing area and greeted everyone as they disembarked from their ship. Along with Callie, Marie, Michael, and Andrew, they also met the kids and the Agents, along with four older inklings they did not know. At this point, Lizzie was 18, Angelo was 15, Taylor was 16, and Takara was 13.
“My goodness, you all have grown since we last saw you.”, said Smolder to the kids.
“How do you know all of us?”, asked Angelo.
“It’s quite simple. When we first visited Earth, your mom was due any day to give birth to you, Angelo. We ended up having to assist in your birth, because your parents could not get to the hospital, so we carried out the procedure on our ship.”, said Gallus.
“Also, we were on our way home when we learned that you had been born, Takara. You never saw us because your eyes were bandaged. However, your father told us that you’d inherited your mother’s eye color and ink color.”, Flurry told Takara.
“Mom is that true?”, Takara asked Callie.
“Yes it is, sweet pea.”, said Callie.
“We wanted you to meet our parents as well.”, said Marie.
The four older inklings stepped forward to introduce themselves. Marie’s parents went first. Their names were Iris Ammonite and Michael Cuttlefish. Iris had green hair and yellow eyes, and Michael had short gray hair and gray eyes. Then it was time for Callie’s parents to introduce themselves. Her mother’s name was Sally Ammonite and she had long blue hair and pink eyes. Her father’s name was Jerome Cuttlefish and he had black hair and dark eyes.
“It’s great that we get to see you guys again.”, said Agent 3.
“The same goes for us.”, said Ocellus.
Just then, Lizzie pulled out a folded cover made of a leatherette material. Flurry’s eyes lit up when she saw this.
“Is that what I think it is?”, she asked Lizzie.
“Yes it is. I graduated high school two months ago. I’ll be starting college three weeks after we return to Earth.”, said Lizzie as she proudly opened the cover to reveal her diploma.
“Hey, congratulations!”, cheered Twilight.
“We remember that you were on a mapping mission when you first came to Earth. How has your progress gone since then?”, asked Michael.
“We have research bases on three of the other planets we mapped out, and we have restored the fifth planet to its former glory.”, said Silverstream.
“What does that mean?”, asked Taylor.
Flurry proceeded to tell the story of what had happened to Hyperborea and how they had found a way to restore the ecosystem. Everyone was shocked, including Taylor since he was learning about chemistry and environmental science.
“At least you were able to help them.”, said Sally.
After giving everyone a tour of Equus, Twilight decided to celebrate Lizzie’s graduation before they left to go home. For years to come, Equus’ citizens mapped out more planets further out in space and they remained friends with the Inklings and the Octarians until the end of time.