They were soon on their way to Fluttershy's cottage.
Summer Rain could feel herself slipping into hysteria. She seriously doubted they could do what they needed to do. It would take a miracle...
Summer called Equestria Girls Fluttershy over and said "Do you know what to do?"
Equestria Girls Fluttershy quietly replied "I think so."
They were quickly up the hill. Fluttershy's tombstone was right in front of her cottage.
When Summer saw it, she said, through her tears "We gotta' get her down..." then she ran up and wept uncontrollably at the base of her sister's tombstone.
Summer Rain could help no more.
Equestria Girls Fluttershy ran to join her new best friend, and Princess Twilight stopped her.
"Fluttershy come here please, I'm sorry. All of you come here please, and listen carefully" she began.
"Summer fears that we will lose our Fluttershy, and not be able to bring her back. This is why.
"Fluttershy made a promise to Discord to never use her 'Element of Harmony' against him, as a gesture of friendship.
"Discord trampled that friendship, took Fluttershy's element, and then easily took each our elements as well. Fluttershy then had to watch in horror as the rest of us were... ...left to die.
"She will surely blame herself for what happened to the rest of us, and simply choose NOT to come back.
"Our only hope is for the Equestria ponies to very quickly assure Fluttershy we are all ok. I think Summer left her sister for last for this very reason."
Princess Twilight took a halting deep breath, as if staving off crying at this point, then said "And if this doesn't work... ...probably nothing will...
"I also doubt Summer will be able to help us. So don't even worry about holding Fluttershy up. Get her down, and start talking to her as soon as you can."
Princess Twilight walked over to Equestria Girls Fluttershy and hugged her and said "I am so sorry that this has to fall on you, of all people... But we need you... Fluttershy needs you... Summer needs you."
Equestria Girls Fluttershy was already crying.
She touched her Twin's leg.
The tombstone shifted a little, then slowly shrank in size.
Equestria pony Fluttershy screamed.
Equestria pony Fluttershy never did anything loudly. Her scream was like a high pitched, quiet "eeeep", and when she and Summer were growing up together, if she did that, Summer knew she was hurt really bad.
So when Fluttershy screamed, like this, Summer did too, loud and long, then Summer yelled "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" and kept crying loudly.
They had Equestria pony Fluttershy quickly and gently to the grass, and Summer was instantly at her side, sobbing deeply.
Fluttershy screamed four more times, and each time Summer did too...
Princess Twilight said through her tears "Please talk to her girls..."
They all tried, really they did.
This was simply heart-wrenching.
After the last quiet scream, Fluttershy went limp.
Summer sensed this and said "No..." quietly at first, but louder each time after.
Summer then screamed hysterically "I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU FOREVER!!!"
Then she just wailed aloud from the pain she felt.
"Sis, don't leave me..." Summer said over and over.
There was simply nothing they could do...
...
A blinding, but small pink bolt lanced quickly into Equestria pony Fluttershy's heart.
Princess Cadance, instantly sensing the need, quickly connected five more links between Fluttershy, Princess Twilight, and Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.
This was excruciating for Princess Cadance, she had never done this many links at once, she had just learned how to do this a few hours ago after all, and only with one pony.
But Princess Cadance knew one was still missing -- Fluttershy's sister, Summer Rain...
This last link was quickly made... ...and all seven souls... ...connected.
Princess Cadance could only hold it about 15 seconds before she collapsed, unconscious in the grass.
True friends...
It was dead silent except for Summer sobbing and saying over and over "Sis, don't leave me..."
After a little while, both Pinkies said together softly "Here she comes..."
Fluttershy opened her eyes, looked at her sister, and said simply "Summer?"
Again, everything else simply melted away for Summer, as she and her sister clung to each other tightly, and just cried together...
Princess Twilight was immediately at Princess Cadance's side, to see if she was doing ok. Princess Cadance quickly revived, and she said she was fine, what she did was just very difficult.
Princess Twilight could control her tears no longer, and simply joined Summer and Fluttershy on the ground, weeping. Equestria Girls Fluttershy was there already. The rest of the Equestria ponies quickly followed, then the rest of the Equestria Girls did as well.
Shining Armor ran up with Spike at this point and asked what was going on. Princess Cadance explained that they had just barely saved Fluttershy, and then she too collapsed into tears on her Stallion's side.
Spike ran to Twilight, and he was soon crying too.
Forever is such a long time...
After some time, the Equestria Girls instinctively backed off, allowing their Princess and her girls time together.
As I wrote before, the friendship Princess Twilight had shared with these five special ponies in Equestria over many seasons, simply could not be replaced, and everyone, everypony knew that.
Princess Twilight had 'her girls' all back now. Her circle was complete once again. She could live... She was crying, but knew they could make it, together.
The Equestria Girls sat together in a line away from their Princess and the Equestria ponies.
Summer noticed, and pulled herself away from her sister, and joined them. She was sitting next to Equestria Girls Fluttershy, and was soon crying loudly again on her shoulder. The Equestria Girls just gathered around Summer and cried with her.
After some more time, Princess Twilight said slowly "Girls, everypony please stop and come here."
Summer and the Equestria girls walked over, and laid on their bellies next to their Twins, and Summer got as close to her sister as she could.
"Fluttershy, please listen" Princess said softly. She was looking into Fluttershy's eyes at this point.
"Fluttershy, when you promised Discord what you did, you did the right thing. You promised him something significant and valuable to show him that you were serious about being his friend. That's what true friends do."
There were tears in Princess Twilight's eyes at this point. "What you did was right. What Discord did after that was absolutely wrong, and... ...horrifying.
"But what Discord chose to do was NOT your fault. You need to hear this Fluttershy. None of us here hold anything you have done against you, you have done nothing wrong.
"The problem, the responsibility is Discord's alone."
Princess Twilight began to cry and tried to say through her tears "Please don't carry this around with you, it's not your burden to carry..." and then their Princess could speak no more.
Fluttershy looked around at eleven true, loving friends, with tears in all their eyes, thought briefly, then said simply and quietly "ok... ...and thank you."
Fluttershy just held her Princess at this point, and all twelve ponies were soon crying again.
Fluttershy cried for over an hour.
Discord had brutally abused the feelings of the most sensitive pony in Equestria, and they had come perilously close to losing her. Princess Cadance's arrival supplied the miracle needed...
Her true friends cried with Fluttershy as long as she needed to cry.
After a little while more, everypony's crying tapered off, and they were all just sitting there together quietly.
Equestria pony Rarity used her magic and carefully, gently placed Fluttershy's Shield Necklace, already repaired by Princess Twilight, around Fluttershy's neck.
Princess Twilight sighed then spoke up softly "Do we know where Discord is by the way?"
Both Summer Rain (sitting next to Fluttershy), and Shining Armor (now standing out towards the perimeter), said at the same time "He should be dead", and neither made any apology for the opinion.
Spike answered "He's turned to stone and locked up in the Portal room."
Summer spoke up apologetically "I used your magic for that, Princess, I hope that was ok."
Princess Twilight was thinking ahead, and missed this, but said "Ok. Do we know where Sunset Shimmer is?"
Shining Armor walked a little closer and said quietly, with his head bowed a little "I sent four Pegasi to Canterlot to find her, and they haven't returned. I'm guessing she's there."
"I'm sorry Shining Armor" Princess Twilight said quietly. Then she added after a brief pause "Let's go rescue my friend Zecora, then we head to Canterlot."
It took a while between Princess Twilight and Shining Armor to decide exactly how to cover the journey into the Everfree forest.
Shining Armor explained that he had Pegasas guards constantly in the air flying a very large perimeter around Princess Twilight and her party. He explained that should Sunset Shimmer arrive, they wanted plenty of warning. And this was in addition to the large perimeter guarded by the ground troops.
Princess Twilight mentioned the 'Poison Joke' and other potential hazards, and indicated that the distance to Zecora's hut wasn't especially far.
Shining Armor decided that the Pegasas flights would be doubled, and follow Pincess Twilight and her party, but that the rest would remain at the entrance to the Everfree.
During this time, Summer Rain finished her song. She thought it a little short, and did not feel it was angry enough, but decided to leave it alone. She couldn't especially sing well, and certainly would be useless at putting a good tune to it, but it did reveal her heart. It is all included here.
~~~~~
This crushed and smoking wreckage,
Is that what you call friendship?
Razing paths we walked with joy,
Did my new friend just do this?
Chorus:
Why would you... After all I said and did
How could you... After all I freely gave... For you...
Excuse me if I ask this now,
What ever were you thinking?
To play the friend and feed me lies
Then stand and watch me sinking?
[Chorus]
To think of friendship bought or sold
A calloused heart, and lying bold
[Chorus]
My heart is laid bare...
Consumed with dispair...
Please never again...
Please never again...
Please never again...
~~~~~
Summer quickly made up a tune, and walked over to her sister, and, oblivious to the fact that there were ten other ponies around her, Summer simply sang the song softly and slowly for her.
Then Summer Rain simply lay down next to her sister, buried her head in the grass, and cried... Her sister and the others quickly joined her.