As Jason washed the dishes from their dinner of a light salad and some bread rolls, Nightshine pushed their chairs back into place at the kitchen table. She flicked her tail in annoyance as she peered up at Jason wiping down the plates. Cocking her head to the side, she sat down next to the counter and managed to get a look of his face. Gone was the familiar smile that his face normally held, and he had been oddly quiet through most of the dinner, answering her questions with simple, one-sentence replies. What’s wrong with him? Does he have a tummy-ache or something? I get kinda quiet sometimes when my tummy hurts, so… that might be it… Licking her lips, she opened her wings and hopped up onto the counter. Sitting down on what little space she had, she folded her wings and let her tail hang off the counter as she pointedly stared at him.

Jason paused for a couple of moments, then glanced at her. He placed the rag and the plate back on the counter, then crossed his arms as he leaned against it. After he let out a sigh, he forced himself to smile and asked, “There something I can help you with, sweetie?”

Nightshine bit her bottom lip, then flicked her tail once as she used her right hoof to stomp on the counter. “You’ve been acting weird ever since the princess came by earlier today. Before she came over, you and I were having so much fun!” She couldn’t help but smile as she remembered swinging with Jason out in the backyard. “But when I came back from that bakery, you were… different. Even though it’s only been a few days… I can tell when you’re upset,” she said, her voice as soft as a feather.

“Already?” Jason chuckled as he propped himself up with his hands. “Am I that easy to read?”

“Well…” Nightshine hopped off of the counter and wrapped a hoof around Jason’s leg, then tugged him out of the kitchen. He followed her to the couch in the living room, and she waited for him to sit down. As soon as he sat down, she hopped up next to him, and to ensure that he wouldn’t be able to get up, she draped her forelegs over his legs, keeping him pinned until she got her answers. “You were really happy after we left the orphanage, so I kinda know how you look when you’re happy. But now?” She pushed herself up onto his lap. Nightshine let her forelegs curl up underneath her, then sighed as she laid her head on his chest, looking up at him. Jason wrapped an arm around her back, then used his other hand to scratch her behind the ears, just how she liked. She smiled and closed her eyes as she pushed up into his hand, then tilted her head to the right, allowing him to get her favorite spot: right at the base of her ear. “You don’t really look so happy…”

Jason sighed as he let his hand still. He let it fall back to his side, then laid his head on the back of the couch. After a few seconds, he felt Nightshine lay her head back down on his chest.

“How about this?” Nightshine lifted her head again and waited until Jason looked back down at her. “I promise I’ll never lie to you if you promise you’ll never lie to me, okay?” she asked.

If I say no… Jason glanced away as he ran a hand through his hair, feeling his stomach twist itself into a knot. She’d probably never trust me again. If I agree, then… ugh. I already know what she’s going to ask, but still… even if there’s a small chance of us staying together… “Alright, that... sounds fair,” Jason said carefully. “I promise I’ll never lie to you,” he said, looking down at Nightshine with a little smile.

“Good!” Nightshine chirped as a smile broke out on her face. “And I promise I’ll never lie to you, so…” Her ears flicked up as she sat up in his lap. “What did that princess tell you while I was gone?”

Knew it… “I... don’t think you’re old enough, little one,” Jason said softly as he lifted his hand to scratch her ears again, hoping that she’d just drop it.

“It can’t be that bad, right?” Nightshine asked as she pushed away his hand, even though a small part of her didn’t want to. “I am twelve years old, after all; I’m practically a grown-up like you!”

“Heh, you’ve still got a lot of growing up to do, Nightshine,” Jason said with a chuckle, glancing away for a moment. When he looked back at her, he saw her glaring up at him with her forelegs crossed. He held her gaze for a few seconds, then relented. “Alright... Twilight, she… told me something troubling about you,” Jason said softly. “The issue is that Princess Twilight said I could adopt anypony I wanted to, but what she didn’t say is that I had to adopt a pony that’s native to Equestria.”

“What do you mean? I am from Equestria!” Nightshine said, poking his chest with a hoof to emphasize her point. “I spent so much time in the orphanage, so… how can I not be a legal resident?”

“Yeah, well, Twilight intended for me to adopt an earth pony, a unicorn, or a pegasus. She told me that your species is from a country far away from Equestria, and that you aren’t native to these parts. On top of that, there’s this law that says that if a youngling of a species foreign to Equestria ends up here, that Equestria is obligated to send them back. They might have parents that are worried sick, so… you see where I’m going with this?” Nightshine nodded. “But since you were in an orphanage, you might have been overlooked. Now that Twilight is on her way to talk to the other princesses about this, you and I might…” He couldn’t look Nightshine in the eyes as he whispered, “not be a father and a daughter for much longer.” Many seconds passed in silence before he murmured, “She also told me that a foreigner, like me, wouldn’t be able to legally adopt a foreigner like…”

“Me?” Nightshine asked, her ears flicking down to lay flat on her head. Her bottom lip began to tremble, but she licked her lips to hide it.

“Uh…” There’s really no better way of putting this, so… “Yeah, like you,” Jason said softly. Before he could start speaking again, Nightshine lunged forward, startling him. Before he could react, he realized that she was hugging him, wrapping her hind legs as far around his chest as she could. He placed a hand underneath her rump to get some of the pressure off of his neck, holding her up as she nuzzled the side of his neck over and over. He opened his mouth to say something, but felt a little bit of wetness graze against the side of his neck, and with the way that Nightshine’s chest was heaving, there was no doubt in his mind that she was crying. “Hey…” He wrapped his other arm around her back and placed his hand on the back of her head, making her grow still as he heard her breath come in short, stuttering bursts. Jason rocked from side to side as he held her close, only feeling her grip tighten. “Everything’s going to be alright, Nightshine, I promise you that…”

Nightshine only whimpered in response, tightening her grip around his neck so much that he could have sworn he saw stars for a brief moment. “You remember what we just promised each other?” Jason asked as he slowly pulled her off of him so he could look her dead in the eyes. He wiped her tears away with his thumb, then placed her back on his lap. “I swore that I would never lie to you, so believe me when I tell you that I’ll do anything to keep you by my side.”

Nightshine couldn’t help but crack a small smile. “I-I know. It’s just… the idea of going back to the orphanage is…”

“Shh… I know,” Jason whispered as he grabbed her front hooves with his hands. “I have no idea what the laws are in regards to foreign species being born in Equestria, but if it’s anything like back where I come from, then technically, you’d be a legal citizen of Equestria if you were born here. That could work in our favor, but…” He stretched himself out on the couch, placing his hands behind his head. Nightshine slid off of his chest and settled down between him and the back of the couch. “I don’t know for sure if you were born here or not. When I was doing the paperwork to adopt you, the space where that little tidbit of information was supposed to be was… blank.”

“Huh…” Nightshine rolled over onto her back, propping her head up on Jason’s shoulder. “Are you a citizen of Equestria?”

“I think so, yeah.” Jason chuckled as he tickled Nightshine’s belly for a few seconds. “If I wasn’t, then how could I buy this house? And if you think about it, if I’m not a legal citizen of Equestria, how was I able to adopt you from an Equestrian orphanage?”

“Well, you did have that scroll from the princess to help you, right?” Nightshine asked.

“Yeah, I did, but from what I can tell, Twilight plays by the rules. She wouldn’t knowingly break a law just to help me out.” Would she? Jason let out a deep sigh, then felt a smile slip onto his face. “I wonder if, since I adopted you, you would gain legal residency in Equestria since I’m a legal resident. On top of that, if you were a legal resident, then this wouldn’t really be a big issue, but… if you aren’t a legal citizen, then… we might have a pretty big problem.”

“Yeah, maybe…” Nightshine peeked up at him for just a moment before she climbed back up onto his chest. “But you’d be able to work it out, right?”

“I sure hope so, Nightshine… I sure hope so.” Jason glanced at the clock and saw that it was getting close to Nightshine’s bedtime. “Well, I think that’s enough drama for one night,” he said, yawning as he stretched. “Worrying about this all day has left me kinda tired. What about you?”

“A little, yeah, but after you told me what might happen?” Nightshine slid off of his chest and sat down next to him, then reached out for him as he stood up. He picked her up and cradled her against his chest as they walked to her bedroom.

“Yeah, I know, but just try to get some rest, okay?” Jason set her down on the bed, then sat down next to her, rubbing her back with his hand. “Twilight is going to come back tomorrow, so I want to make sure that we’re not walking around like zombies in the morning.” He planted a kiss on her forehead, then lay down on her bed, pushing himself near the wall as he rolled over onto his side. “I can tell you don’t want to be alone, especially after I just told you all of that, so… we can snuggle if you want to,” Jason said, holding up the covers for her as he slid his legs in underneath them.

“Okay,” Nightshine murmured, carefully walking across the bed as she settled down next to his side. Instead of pressing her back against him, she curled up into a ball and laid her head on his outstretched arm, tucking her head underneath his. She felt the sheets settle down over her body, so she flicked her tail a couple of times in content as Jason flicked off the light.

“Hey, remember how I said that Twilight told me about the law talking about how they send younglings back to their country?” Jason asked, letting his arm rest on Nightshine’s side. He ran the tip of his finger across her wing, making her giggle softly.

“Y-Yeah?”

“Maybe you’re old enough for that law to not apply to you...” Jason murmured, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. But Twilight did try to find me a way home, even after all of this time... Could she have been ordered by the other princesses to find me a way home like that law says? Jason gulped. Earth never formed an agreement with this world’s governments, so... hm... I dunno, but I’m sure that Twilight’s gonna figure out a way for all of... this, to work... I hope.

“Maybe...” Nightshine whispered back. She blinked, already feeling her eyelids starting to feel heavy. She gently nuzzled Jason’s neck, then felt a yawn force itself past her lips. “Goodnight, Daddy...” She felt Jason plant a kiss on her head, making her blush and smile a teensy bit.

“Goodnight, Nightshine...” Jason pulled his legs up, curling up into the fetal position as he felt Nightshine stretch her legs with another yawn. When he felt his legs bump against hers, he let himself relax. As he heard thunder rumble far off in the distance, he glanced at the window and saw not a bit of moonlight streaming through the open curtains, so with a shrug, he closed his eyes for the last time that night.