//------------------------------// // Chapter 19, Out of the Frying Pan // Story: The Chronicles of Summer Rain // by shysage //------------------------------// Summer Rain stared at the words in disbelief. "Discord Sunset Shimmer Equestria Lost" Summer said "No... no..." Then she fell to her knees and bent over and began crying loudly. "I have to go back" she said over and over through her tears. Fluttershy was quickly by her side, and soon they all huddled around Summer. The rest were already crying. Fluttershy said it first, but quietly "I'm coming with you Summer." "No it will be way too dangerous..." Summer sobbed in reply. But it didn't matter, both Rainbow and Applejack said they were coming too. They all wanted to come. "No, No, No, No, No... You girls have no idea what what we may be up against... We may die..." And Summer cried some more. At this point, Pinkie Pie spoke up "Summer, wait a minute, answer me just one question. Is Princess Twilight in any danger?" After dead silence, except for Summer sniffling, Summer said simply "Very grave danger I think." Pinkie then said very matter of factly "Then we are all going. Twilight is our Princess too, and our dear friend, and we are coming to help you rescue her." "Girls..." Summer said with a groan. Rarity said again simply "Summer we are all coming. Tell us what we need to do." Summer tried again "Girls, just seven short days ago I came here, and have had to rely on your help so much of that time, and I appreciate it more than you will ever know. I feel like you have already been true friends to me far more than I may have been able to even try to explain anything to you. My whole country probably lies in ruins now, and I just can't--" "Summer, we're coming." Rainbow interrupted, saying it really for all of them. After a minute's silence, Summer said softly "You girls really are Princess Twilight's true friends. Thank you." Summer stood up and said "We first need to even see if we can go, we can't turn the Portal on ourselves. One at a time, each of you press your hand against the wall. If your hand goes in some, then you can probably pass, but don't jump through yet, we need to get ready first. Summer's five friend's hands went in deeply. Summer was last. She took a deep breath, and her hand passed in as well. Summer Rain sighed with relief and said "Rarity, please take Rainbow and Applejack with you and make us some dark colored coats. Nothing fancy, just dark colors, a hood, and a few buttons, down to the knees maybe. Doing it quickly is more important than how it looks. "I have just the pattern for that" Rarity said quietly. "Pinkie and Fluttershy lets go back to Fluttershy's apartment, and you girls meet us there" Summer said. Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity headed to the shop. Summer picked up the paper, and then Summer, Pinkie and Fluttershy walked back to the apartment in silence. Once inside, Summer said "I'm scared Sis. I'm not sure we can do anything about this." Fluttershy sat next to her and just held her. Pinkie said "We may know more once we get there Summer." Summer sighed and said "I hope so, and thank you Pinkie". Rarity was very fast, and they were back at the apartment with six dark sturdy coats in around twenty minutes. They were all big but Summer said that was perfect. Rarity passed them all out, then they all sat down. "Girls" Summer began. "I have no idea if we can even do anything about what has happened. And I seriously think us all dying is a good possibility. This is our last chance. There will be no turning back from this point o--" Applejack interrupted Summer, and spoke up and said for everyone "Princess Twilight needs us again. We're goin'." Summer accepted this and said "Ok, a few very important things before we leave, please listen very carefully. And while I'm talking, please take all your stuff out of your pockets, phones, keys, everything. Everything but your coat and clothing needs to stay here. "Pinkie we will rely on your input when we can but I want you to know that there will probably be nothing fun about this trip. This will probably be the hardest on you, and so the rest of us will try to help you with that. Summer stopped for a minute then said slowly. "I suspect that a lot of sorrow may await us. We will need to care for Fluttershy and Pinkie especially because of this. "And girls listen. Mentally prepare yourself for this. On the other side of the Portal you will feel like you have no clothes on, but just accept that, everyo... everypony else will be the same way. This is just going to be hard for you. And don't for a second think you are ugly, I know you all on both sides of the Portal, and you will be just as beautiful in Equestria believe me. "Also, you will need to walk on all four, you will find this far easier than trying to balance on your hind legs." Summer paused in thought, but couldn't think of any other warnings. So she just said "Any questions?" Fluttershy said softly "Can we hug before we go?" They did. There were tears in everyone's eyes. In the middle of their hug, Summer confessed "Thank you girls for coming. I think if we have any chance of doing any rescuing, it will take each and every one of us. I know I can't do this alone." They were soon out the door. Fluttershy used a hidden key to lock her apartment, and then re-hid it. They walked to the Portal wall in front of the school and put their coats on. "One last thing" Summer added. Once you land on the other side of the Portal, get down on your hands and knees and don't make a sound for any reason." Summer took a deep breath. "Ok I'll go first then the rest of you come through about every 15 seconds, and once you are through, crawl to me." With this Summer Rain simply walked into the Portal and was soon back in Equestria. Summer Rain quickly passed the Portal and landed on her hooves. She walked away, and to the side and waited. Even under her coat, she could feel her wings again and was at least happy about that. Every 15 seconds or so a new pony would arrive, and Summer quickly and quietly got them out of the way. Summer's new friends were soon all in Equestria too. Summer whispered quietly "Girls sit down like I am please, and no talking." The portal had taken their clothing, but left the big coats which now fit very well, just as Summer had hoped. The Portal had also let each of them keep their 'Dog Tags', and even though the chain was a little tighter, they fit fine. "Pinkie, we need to know if either Discord or Sunset Shimmer are close" Summer whispered. After a few seconds, Pinkie said simply "Discord". Summer whispered "I figured as much. This won't be easy." At this point, the girls noticed two very large red eyes open about 20 feet from them, glowing faintly. Summer saw them too, and tried to hush the fear they felt. It looked like a big dragon, just staring at them. It looked like the dragon was sitting on a huge pile of something, he wasn't on the ground. After about a minute, the Dragon opened his mouth and said "Well ponies, looks like you picked the wrong Dragon to wake up!" At this the girls were all terrified, and Summer knew she could not keep them quiet much longer. Summer raised her voice a little and said "Spike, it's me Summer, stop being greedy, get little and come here, but don't make a sound." In less than a minute 'normal' Spike was leaning up against Summer's front leg, shivering in fear. "Spike we will talk soon, but Discord is near and we have to deal with that first. "Spike please lead the girls over behind that pile you were on and girls wait there until I call you. I need to try to find out what is going on, and Discord is the only one I can ask." They were soon in hiding so Summer tried to call Discord. "I must be insane" she thought to herself at this point. "Discord" she said loudly "Discord" she shouted. Summer sighed with disgust, then softly said "Harmony." With the sound of a thunder clap, Discord immediately appeared about 20 feet away from Summer, on the other side of the room from the pile. He seemed angry, and shouted loudly "Who would dare use that forbidden word in my castl--" And then he stopped right there and resumed his normal voice and said simply "Why hello Summer Rain, welcome back." He next looked at the Portal, and said "Oh so that's where they put it. More toys for daddy to play with" and he said this with glee. Summer tried to put on her defenceless little girl voice at this point. "Oh Discord, what has happened to Equestria?" She whined. "Oh it seems that Sunset Shimmer has taken Equestria over, nasty business, that" Discord lamented. Summer couldn't believe this, "But Princess Twilight and her friends, where are they, couldn't they stop her?" Summer said more afraid. Discord was lost in thought briefly, then said "I think they are all stretched kinda' thin at the moment." "But Discord, you're our friend, couldn't you help them stop her?" Summer whined again. Discord got testy and said loudly "I helped her you idiot. Like you said, true friendship has it's price, Sunset Shimmer just offered me a better price that's all. "And your dear sister would never break her promise to me, and so I easily delivered the 'Elements of Harmony' to Sunset as agreed." With a slight air of disdain, he continued "Bah, after I gave the elements to Sunset, she told me 'go, run along now' like I was her little puppie or something. She said 'go find a comfortable spot, preferably as far away from me as you can'. Just as well she's a real monster now too, no thanks." Sighing with contentment he continued. "I've always liked this castle, so here I am, snug in my new home. Do you like it?" Summer had heard enough and said "Girls I need you." At Pinkie's leading they had already come forward and were very close anyway. Discord said "Helpers? Oh, Equestria Girls. We should do a proper welcome then." Next he raised his voice he shouted "And you will all die together!" And with this Discord created a massive, growing, spinning vortex right at the spot where Summer was. "Quickly Girls, hoof to hoof, quickly." Summer said emphasizing 'quickly'. All Summer knew at this point was that she had five dear friends with her, and she hoped she could access Princess Twilight's magic. Against Discord this didn't seem like much. The force of the Vortex was already making it hard to stand, it was increasing rapidly in intensity. One of Spike's gems bounced off Summer's hoof, it hurt a lot. Unless something changed, they would all die quickly. Discord was laughing and said "This 'otta be good!" The very second all hooves touched, completing the circle, two amazing things happened. First, even as the roar of the wind rose to a deafening crecendo around them, Summer and her friends were insulated from it's effect. It was a perfect calm where they were standing. Second, Summer and her friends were instantly transformed back into their Equestria Girls form, and quickly stood up straight, and simply interlocked fingers. They heard Discord say in disbelief "How..." Summer knew she had to act fast. "Girls close your eyes, and concentrate on your special character, just like we did the other day. "Applejack, your element is Honesty "Pinkie Pie, your element is Laughter "Rarity, your element is Generosity "Fluttershy, your element is Kindness "Rainbow Dash, your element is Loyalty" "You have chosen these as the very heart of your being, and no-one can take them away." Summer's Cutie Mark was very warm again, as was a large area on the top of her head. Summer said slowly, really pleaded, "Please... we... need... Twilight's... magic... to turn Discord... to stone..." Discord cried out "Not Agai--" and the faint cracking sound of hardening stone finished the job. The Vortex quickly disappeared, and it was again calm in the room. Summer said simply "Smile girls, you are awesome." They all opened their eyes, immediately turned back into ponies and promptly fell in a pile helter-skelter on the floor laughing. Summer smiled briefly then said somberly. "That may be all the laughter we get for a while, I'm sorry..." "And girls" Summer said quietly, then paused before continuing "I would be dead right now if you all would not have come. I need you. I need you all. This will be our fight. Together." As ponies, they sat in a tight circle and just held each other for a minute or two. In the midst of this, Summer said what was dawning on her even now. "Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow, you are my true friends. But there's more. Right now I have nothing left... Nothing except you five friends. I don't just want you, I NEED you. "We read the story about how Princess Twilight first met her special ponies here in Equestria. She was facing Nightmare Moon, and tried doing it alone. She realized she had nothing at that point, and was so glad when she heard her true friends coming because she NEEDED them. "Maybe this realization of need is part of what actually marks out True Friendship, I don't know. And I don't know what we will meet on this dark journey, but it doesn't really matter. I do know that you five special people are what I need now. And I don't ever want to NOT need each of you." Then she just cried some more. Well they all did really. After a few minutes, Summer remembered that Spike was waiting. Wiping away some tears, Summer said "Ok girls, practice walking in here, but stay far away from Spike's gems." "Spike come here please" Summer said softly. Spike rushed over and started to cry Summer Rain said "Spike I'm so sorry, not quite yet. I need you to get big and greedy, and then carefully move Discord over against that far wall, into the corner, as far away from the Portal as possible." Spike was soon very big again, and he yelled "Don't any of you ladies even think of touching my gems!" Then he carefully nudged stone Discord into the corner away from the Portal, to the far side of the room. "Spike you can get little again, but I need to talk to Discord first before we talk. And girls, we are not done with Discord yet, but I will tell you what to do. Summer walked over to the stone statue that was Discord, and spoke her mind. Summer knew he could hear from her reading. The rest of the girls watched and listened. "I don't like calling people names, but Discord you are the idiot. When I say that 'true friendship has it's price', it is a reminder that you first need to decide if you are willing to lay yourself aside to become a true friend to begin with, that you need to count the cost of true friendship beforehand. "Your understanding that you can peddle your 'friendship' to the highest bidder is disgusting, and a vile affront to any friendship, and betrays your utterly selfish heart. My sister was right to offer you a valuable concession so you would see she really wanted to be your friend. For you to then trample her after this, is utterly appalling. "If it were up to me, we would have killed you here and now, and you would never breath Equestria air again. But I will spare you that for the time being. "I don't know what other of your atrocities we will find in Ponyville, in Equestria, but we will wait until that final tally is in. "Equestria treasures justice, even if you do not, so I will let the Council of Princesses decide your fate." Then Summer turned and walked back to her friends. "Girls, it would be terribly irresponsible to leave even the remotest chance of escape with Discord this close to the Portal. We must ensure NOTHING can get to him" Summer said calmly, and they all agreed. "Hoof to hoof please." Summer said simply. Six Equestria girls quickly stood in a tight circle, fingers locked, eyes closed, focusing on their own inner character, their Cutie Marks warmed by the mysterious power available. Summer said calmly but slowly "We need Princess Twilight's Magic. Please encase Stone Discord in a Physical and Magical shield, both of which are completely impenatrable." The crackling sound of pure crystal setting followed by a very faint buzzing sound, signaled that the shield was in place. This done, the six Equestria Girls simply let go of each other's hands, rocked backwards while turning into Ponies, and sat back down in a circle. "Girls you are amazing. I think I will be saying that a lot. We are all in this together, and I could not ask for any better friends" Summer said quietly. Summer got up and said "Spike, I will pay you back for this." Summer then used one of her front hooves to kick one of Spike's gems at Discord's new 'cell', and the gem vaporized instantly. "I think that should do it" Summer said. Summer walked back to the group and said "Girls, please lay down on your bellies, like this." She showed them, and they found it very comfortable. Summer hadn't forgotten; "Spike please come here now, I'm sorry this has taken so long." Spike ran up and held Summer's neck tightly, shaking violently. He just cried for a few minutes as Summer held him. As soon as Spike's crying began to taper off, Summer said softly "Spike, when you are ready, we need you to tell us what you know about what has happened." After another minute, Spike was ready. "I don't know very much" he said slowly, still sniffling a little. "Discord came and got Twilight. Discord was in a good mood, but he forced Twilight to come with him, and Twilight told me to stay at the Library. "About an hour later, Princess Cadence flew to the Library, told me very bad things were happening, and flew me back to the Crystal Palace. "They put me in this room with the Portal and all these gems. Princess Cadence told me to get big and greedy, and to protect the Portal at all costs. Shining Armor used his magic to seal the entrances, then they were gone. "I didn't hear or see anything else until you came. "Summer, I'm scared, I want to see Twilight", and he started to cry again. Summer just held him a while. "Ok girls, let me tell you what I suspect. And Discord pretty much admitted this. "Recently, in order to gain Discord's friendship, My Sister promised Discord she would never use her 'Element of Harmony' against him. "Somehow, Sunset Shimmer talked Discord into getting the 'Elements of Harmony' for her, and Discord abandoned his friends to do that. "Discord knew my sister wouldn't use her Element, which pretty much left Princess Twilight and her friends with no magic, and so completely defenseless. Discord has already given the Elements to Sunset. "I have no idea what Discord has done to the Equestria ponies, but I think we need to find them soon. It seems we were able to access Twilight's magic, so maybe she is alive, but I don't know about my sister or the rest. I hope we aren't too la--" and she could go no further. At this point, Fluttershy had wrapped her hoof around Summer's neck, and was holding her. "I'm so sorry Sis. This is pretty much what you suspected earlier." Rainbow spoke softly. "Summer, we are your friends too, we will do whatever it takes to help you." "Rainbow, girls, you are all true friends, thank you" Summer Rain said through her tears.