The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 8 -- Dark Melvain

by shysage

Ch.22, Fluttershy Crashing (Portal Beacon)

I think spending the day in Canterlot with Cel and Lu yesterday... I was really thinking hard about 'busting the dam' and admitting to what I had seen, and letting that avalanche loose... I knew it wouldn't be pretty, or short, but maybe I still needed to accept... ...that...

The events of this next day quickly shuttered that plan...

It was too cold to fly, but we did all meet at the Castle and hugged and cried a while together.

Soon, everypony headed off, to either keep warm, or try and start some meaningful activity, or both...

When it was just Princess Twilight and Filia and I (Fiona went to help Rare making coats), I asked Princess about the looming cloud. Her answer was scary; it was still seeming closer, and looking larger...

I hugged Princess again, then I left.

I was almost home, when I decided to go talk to Fluttershy about, well... crashing...

I headed to her Cottage, and was quickly in. Fluttershy was trying to keep the heat in her house, too. It was another cold day.

We hugged tightly for a minute.

Two minutes...

Three minutes...

Five minutes... Fluttershy couldn't let go, and seemed to be hugging me even tighter...

Then Fluttershy burst into tears, and was quickly almost hysterical... And her crying didn't slow at all...

After she had cried that way for over fifteen minutes as I hugged her, I sent Shyna to the Castle. I asked her to stay with Filia, and ask Princess Twilight to come here.

Soon after Shyna left, Fluttershy almost shouted (well for Fluttershy) through her tears "I can't hold this back any more... I need my sis..."

I couldn't say anything... Nopony could change this... But I hugged her tighter, and tried to cry with her, well without allowing my own avalanche....

But I was a terrible brother... I should have seen this...

Fluttershy seemed to have been doing so well with Shyna.

But it was clear now, that this most sensitive pony in Equestria, had herself, shoved searing pain far away, so she could take care of her amazing and needy 'new sis'...

Fluttershy had reached her limit...

Fluttershy was crashing...

Well, I would wait then... I was holding my adopted sister as life was finally shattering her, and I wouldn't let her down...

---

Princess Twilight came, and just joined us, and cried with Fluttershy and I.

I thought about trying to explain to Princess Twilight, but I think she knew...

The three of us just sat there, hugging tightly, weeping softly as Fluttershy wailed from her pain...

After a few minutes, Princess Twilight was crying pretty hard too.

Within maybe an hour, the rest of Princess' girls had joined us, and I think they too, were 'venting' searing pain...

Well, to varying degrees, it looked to me like Princess Twilight and her girls had ALL tried to stave off and shove back... The girls cried hard all afternoon...

I really didn't like this Dark Melvain... This was just so completely senseless...

As it began to get dark outside, I softly tried this...

"Girls, I think 'crying down' our pain like this is good, but I doubt Equestria will stop and let us finish this all at once. Let's try and calm down though. We can do this together again soon..."

Nopony said anything, but everypony tried to calm down.

This was good, I didn't have any other ideas what to do... And I had to work hard all afternoon shoring back my own avalanche... Mine had to wait...

Still, if I had to cry with this group for a week... a month...

I would...

---

We all went to the Castle for dinner, it was pretty cold. Dinner was quiet, and we all hugged quietly together in the Library until pretty late.

Before the question even came up, Fluttershy asked quietly "Can I please sleep with what's left of my family..." And it was clear to me that she was choking back tears...

"Fluttershy, Shyna and I will stay with you..." I said quietly.

The 'family' idea was quickly adopted though, as possible...

Applejack headed home to be with her 'kinfolk'.

Rarity and Fiona headed to the Boutique to be with Sweetie Belle, and Filia went with them, so she could be with her sister.

The rest of us stayed at the Castle. Pinkie and Rainbow had no family in Ponyville, so they stayed with Princess Twilight and the rest of us. We all slept together on the floor in the Library. And Fluttershy insisted that I be on one side, and Shyna on her other side. I guess that was the least I could do...

Fluttershy did wake up crying in the middle of the night, and we all sat in a circle hugging, and cried together for a while. I couldn't see that ending any time soon.

After an hour maybe, we were all back asleep.

I was too exhausted... too emotionally spent to even care what I dreamed... With the pain erupting from friends and family all around me, it just couldn't matter...

---

The next day wasn't as cold.

Fairly early, everypony else returned to the Castle, and we all hugged and cried together for a while. I didn't think this was 'venting', but it didn't really matter.

Fluttershy seemed to be doing a little better, but quietly asked that her family stay by her side. Shyna would anyway, and I realized my adopted sister was pleading that I not leave her by herself.

I would help Fluttershy any way I could at this point.

Everypony headed off to start their days.

Rainbow Dash went to the Farm with Applejack so they could try and get some more apples in.

Pinkie Pie headed to the Boutique with Rarity and Fiona. Rarity said quietly it seemed like every single pony in Ponyville needed a new coat now. Pinkie wanted to help any way she could.

Princess Twilight and Filia stayed at the Castle and worked some on magic.

Fluttershy, Shyna and I spent the morning at the Canterlot Recorder's house as I tried to get caught up. Well, both sisters napped together on the thick rug most of the morning. Still, they were close by. And it was honestly pretty cold in my house...

We spent the afternoon at Fluttershy's Cottage entertaining some fluffies, once the fire in the fireplace warmed the cottage up again. I tried to make friends with Angel, but he kept his distance still.

Dinner found us all back at the Castle again. Everypony was subdued, but otherwise seemed to be doing ok.

And it seemed like friends helping friends had been very helpful today. Applejack and Rainbow got a bunch of apples in. Rarity was almost caught up on coats, assisted by magic (Fiona was rapidly catching on to 'magical sewing'), and by Pinkie's smile and her cupcakes.

Princess Twilight seemed to be doing ok, as did Fluttershy. Still, it was clear that Fluttershy was counting on my presence. Like I said, I wouldn't let her down.

We all spent the evening together and hugging tightly, and there was some pretty hard crying for a while, probably some more 'venting', I don't know.

Life can't always just stop, so maybe this was best.

And... The girls were all venting together now; that was probably very good, too. I knew from experience, crying by yourself is just brutal...

The ten of us stayed together in the Library until very late, just trying to 'be there' for each other.

And we all decided to spend the night in the Library together. I thought this was a good idea.

And I found myself thinking that maybe, just maybe, we could get through this...

---

At midnight, the Portal Beacon blazed to life, scaring everypony...

"Oh, great..." I thought to myself...