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

by shysage

Ch.41, The Apple Thief's Story

Well, we weren't inside long when the crashing of thunder rumbled through Canterlot, and announced the arrival of a storm. The soft sound of rain on the pitched roof of the hall continued all night.

That was ok, Cel (Princess Celestia) had already decided all the Twins would spend the night together in the large lower level of the Audience Hall. There was plenty of room, and Cel's staff kept it nice and warm inside the hall.

What unfolded next reminded me distinctly of the Fall Banquet we attended here, 1000 years ago in the Past. Well, I think it was night before last for Summer, Fluttershy and I.

Cel had her staff prepare dinner for all of the now 13 sets of Twins, along with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor.

Tables were set up along one side of the lower level of the hall, and we were all soon eating together. The food was good, and the dessert was nice too.

At least I didn't have to do a terrible job at dancing...

...

After dinner, everypony hugged Princess Cadance, and a few hugged Shining Armor, then the two of them headed out into the soft rain to an Air Coach to return to the Crystal Palace. It had been a long day for them, and both were anxious to get 'home'.

Cel devoted the next two hours to Twin Linking for all the Twins. Most wept softly, sometimes more, during this time. The last two weeks had been a nightmare, and today was horrible until Equestria stepped in. Everypony needed this.

This was a very good move; the peace found in the Twin Link worked substantially to help everypony 'come down' from these terrifying events.

After about an hour, it was clear that my Twin and I both needed our Mares, and not each other. We both just laid down on our bellies next to our Mares and talked quietly. Both Summers stopped linking and joined us. It was very nice. And Summer's Twin was doing a lot better.

After those two hours, Cel had everypony lay down on their bellies facing her. Evidently, there were some things to discuss.

Cel started simply with this "Is there anything that anypony needs to mention briefly before we talk some?

...

I stood up quickly. Cel nodded, then I mentioned quietly that I was pretty sure the Portal was available for use again. I didn't say this, but after a five minute recharge from the Phantom Alicorn, I suspected the Portal would last a while.

Then I laid back down next to my Mare.

Cel took the opportunity to clarify timing with the Equestria Girls.

The Portal had pulled the Equestria Girls through to Equestria maybe midnight Friday evening. This meant they would need to return home tomorrow at midnight, Equestria time. There were some frowns, but under the circumstances, this was fine.

Principal Celestia mentioned that some sort of break was coming up for the Equestria Girls, so maybe a longer visit could be planned at that point.

Princess Celestia mentioned though, that Air Coaches would start running the Twins back to Ponyville tomorrow morning.

Still, everypony was hugging their Twins.

I really did feel like I locked the door behind me last time I left the Equestria Girls world.

Having the Portal back was amazing news. Like I told Cel in the past, we NEEDED the Portal.

...

It was quiet for a minute, then Princess Twilight stood up. She said lovingly "I don't think they have noticed yet, but both Filias and both Fionas have their Cutie Marks now."

All four Red-head Unicorns let out the most amazing squeal, all at the same time, and quickly looked at their marks. The four of them were soon hugging together and crying.

The Filia's Cutie Mark was a bright Yellow, lower end of a Lightning Bolt.

Both Fiona's Cutie Marks were just like the Filia's, but with a single added gem, just like one of Rarity's three, exactly the same shape and color, noting their shared passion for fashion.

Princess Twilight was still standing, then said again softly "I watched their Cutie Marks appear as they first cast to join Equestria's Princesses. And I have to say girls, that together, your magic is breathtaking!"

I think at that point, the Filias and Twilights hugged together as the Fionas and Raritys group hugged too.

Soon, everypony was back laying on the floor next to their Twins.

---

It was quiet for a little while, then Princess Celestia tried to 'right a wrong', I think.

I knew Cel was fighting back tears, but she said softly "Shyna, child..."

Equestria pony Shyna was crying immediately, and ran up to Cel and was quickly hugging her and crying loudly...

It was otherwise quiet as Cel and Shyna cried together for a few minutes. After that time, and while crying, Cel (Princess Celestia) tried to explain. Shyna cried the whole time...

"Over a thousand years ago now, I rescued this 'cast-off' orphan...

"Event though the growing kingdom of Equestria kept us very busy, I took Shyna as my own, and tried to raise her, just like mom and dad did for...

"Dark Melvain was making Lu and my life miserable, and he finally succeeded..."

This chapter did not need to be repeated, and Cel didn't. But Cel, Lu, Fluttershy, Summer and I cried. I don't think we could help it.

Cel was able to continue.

"One day, I sent Shyna away with dad, and I never saw her again...

"...until two weeks ago. But I learned right away that mom..."

This chapter didn't need repeating either, but everypony cried.

But Cel's point was that reeling from the report of mom's death prevented her from welcoming back this 'orphan from the past'. I guessed Cel would do that now, and she did.

Cel and Shyna hugged and cried a while longer, then Cel gently moved Shyna away a little, then said softly

"Shyna, child... Welcome to Equestria..."

Cel and Shyna cried loudly together at this point. Soon, Shyna wanted her Twin with her, and she quickly joined them, and the three of them hugged and cried for a while.

Cel sent them back to the Fluttershys at this point.

---

Cel didn't stop crying, though.

"Fluttershy, please..." Cel said quietly.

Equestria pony Fluttershy got up and ran to Cel, and didn't even turn around, and was quickly crying with Cel as they hugged tightly. Well, they were sobbing on each other's shoulders again.

After a few minutes, Cel asked Fluttershy to sit next to her, so she could try to explain to everypony else what this was about. Still, they both wept softly.

Well, Cel cried pretty hard at first.

"When dad came back from the Bastion without mo--... He... He... ...left really fast... It was just hard..."

Yes, Cel cried some here...

"But, he came back two months later... I... There was just a lot going on, And Dark Melvain, he... I still hadn't cried much..."

And Cel cried briefly here too...

"Dad and I cried more this second time..."

...

"But dad brought mom's sister when he came that time... Fluttershy said she wouldn't leave dad because she needed family close... I did too... And mom's sister... And we... We cried together a lot..."

Well both Cel and Fluttershy cried pretty hard here, and were clearly trying not to hug tightly again...

"I think we were both hurting a lot, and crying together... We just felt so much better that we didn't have to cry alone... And with family...

...

"I honestly think Fluttershy and I needed each other then... We were both hurting so much... We cried together a lot...

...

"And when dad found mom... We cried together a lot more...

...

"We just couldn't believe... It was like a miracle... We just cried...

...

"Mom didn't remember for a while, and Fluttershy and I really needed each other...

...

"I had to leave her, dad and mom to go fight Dark Melvain... I was pretty sure I wasn't coming back...

...

"But they all came... and saved..."

Cel, Fluttershy, Summer and I cried... This was less that a week ago for Fluttershy, Summer and I...

"We spent a few days together after, it was so nice.

"But then they had to leave... That was just hard..."

Cel turned to face Fluttershy...

"Fluttershy, thank you, again..."

Cel and Fluttershy cried together for a little while, hugging tightly. Summer and I soon joined them. Well, Summer (mom) quickly called Lu up too, and we all cried. This was our family. We cried together some more.

---

After crying together for a few minutes, Cel (Princess Celestia) sent Fluttershy back to her Twin, then she and Lu headed back to their Twins.

This left my Mare and I 'up front', and Summer just beat me to it.

"Cel, was there..."

Cel was laying down with her Twin, but stood up long enough to say this much. Well, she put her head far down as she started.

"Mom, a little over two weeks ago, we all heard that you were de--"

Cel cried briefly here, but then everypony else did too. Cel brought her head up and tried to continue.

"...Up until the Portal suddenly sprang to life at noon today, nopony in this group even suspected you were alive. I think you need to tell us all how that happened."

Cel paused a minute, then finished.

"I am assuming that you and dad will put this all together soon. But I am pretty sure dad will be useless for this right now, so I think you should try to fill us all in."

Weeping softly, Cel laid back down next to her Twin.

Summer sat down, looked at me, only to watch me lay down on my belly and begin to weep softly.

Cel was right, I wouldn't be able to talk about that...

Summer then laid down on her belly next to me, and hugged me. I was glad she even could...

...

"Well, I can only tell you what I remember. And I might cry a lot too, but this is basically what happened.

"I remember running under that huge block of Obsidian to rescue Shyna.

"I heard a loud boom, and it began to fall.

"I was already the Phantom Alicorn, so I threw Shyna out to my Stallion.

"Then I think I passed out..."

(I was crying uncontrollably at that point, but so were both Shyna Twins. We had watched this gut-wrenching sequence... And I had to watch it twice, because I had a dream about this beforehand...)

Still, Summer just hugged me tight and continued.

"The next thing I remember, I was in a field below Canterlot. Well, I would learn the name of the city later.

"But I was confused because I was Blue now, and that seemed strange. And I couldn't remember anything before that day. And I didn't have a Cutie Mark either. Everypony I met soon teased me about that too."

(Summer's Twin cried pretty hard when she heard this. Both had to endure this...)

Summer continued.

"I was hungry, and so found some apples on a tree, and ate some.

"Then I found an abandoned shed, and that became my home. I couldn't remember anything else the next day, so I just adjusted to what I had been doing. I didn't know what else to do.

"I lived like that for maybe two months. Each day was pretty much the same, except for two things.

"First, the ponies that owned the orchard were getting upset that I was 'stealing their profit', they kept saying.

"But, after the first week, it seemed like a constant stream of stallions were trying to 'be my friend'. I at least remembered what they might be after, and I did have to kick a few."

(Like I said, the prospect that other stallions were after Summer in the Past terrified me when I first learned about it, but I had no idea it was this bad. This scary realization just made me cry harder for a few minutes.)

Summer just kept hugging me tightly, and continued.

"Well, after two months of eating somepony elses' apples, I got caught, and the guards took me up to Canterlot, and led me before Princess Celestia, very briefly. She was with my Stallion and Fluttershy, but I didn't remember them, and they certainly didn't suspect they knew this Blue pony.

"Princess Celestia told the guards to put me in jail for the night, and they led me there right away."

(Well, Summer had actually been doing fairly well up to this point. While Blue she didn't remember... But it was clear that Summer would increasingly have more difficulty telling our story from this point on... Still, for me to hear this devastatingly amazing night from my Mare's perspective; that was priceless...)

Summer kept going, and was soon weeping softly as she spoke.

"I couldn't sleep... I was scared... I didn't remember anything... I have never felt so alone... I cried a lot that night...

"Well, some time after midnight, I heard a stallion trick a half-asleep guard into letting him into my jail cell. Based on what he said to the guard, I was pretty sure I knew what he was after, and I made up my mind he wouldn't get that. He didn't either.

"The guard let this stallion in, then locked him inside with me, then walked off.

"I was both furious and terrified...

"I shouted at him a few times; I wanted to force him to tell me why he was in there. I don't think he could talk.

"I finally demanded he move over against the far wall, as far away from me as possible, and he just quietly moved over there...

"It was a little while before he started talking to me. During that silence, I tried to feel what he was feeling, and was promptly shocked... I remember thinking to myself "How could this stallion even be alive with all that pain bottled up inside..."

"When this stallion did start talking, he spoke pretty calmly, and all I felt was that he really cared, and was trying to help me. Even in the last two months, I had never felt that before.

"He told me what my name was, and said some amazingly nice things to me. I just couldn't remember being treated like I was so special... He... he even offered to give me what I thought he wanted, and in such a way that it wouldn't benefit him at all.

"But with every passing minute I could feel him slipping back into that sea pain he carried...

"I... I just couldn't let that happen... And I didn't...

"This stallion was starved of giving, and I knew letting him give me what he had offered me -- that would pull him out of all that pain, for a little while anyway...

"I think it helped, sort of...

"Not too much longer, he proposed to me...

"In the two months I could remember, I had never felt so cherished... And I had only known this stallion since the time he forced his way into my jail cell just hours ago.

"Besides, I could tell, he had not lied to me once... I didn't think I really needed to know him any longer... I accepted his proposal right away, and we cried together...

(Well, Summer and I did stop and cry together for a minute or two. I think a lot of other ponies did too. This whole chain of events was so... amazing... And I think crying with me some helped Summer calm down, and she continued. I was a wreck, but that didn't matter.)

"My new Stallion tucked me up under his chest and neck; I was so warm on that cool night... I quickly fell asleep.

"A few hours later, it was morning, and Cel, well Princess Celestia, barged into our jail cell. She was outraged at what a stallion had done to a mare in her own jail. Her voice was raised even before the door to our cell was unlocked.

"Cel realized right away who this terrible stallion was, and she sounded very disappointed.

"My new Stallion said something to Cel, I don't remember what, but in less than a minute, Cel had recognized me, and nearly burst into tears on the spot...

"I was pretty sure the next few minutes were very difficult for Equestria's Princess."

(Yeah, they were. And Cel remembered, and was sobbing...)

"I didn't know, I mentioned to Cel that my new Stallion had proposed to me, and that I accepted, and Cel married us right then. I didn't mind...

"The next few days were kind of a blur.

"My Stallion explained all the pain he carried, and that we were already Stallion and Mare, but that a horrible accident had happened, and he thought I was dead...

"My Stallion also told me I had a sister... I could already feel another mare close who was hurting, and when I heard this, I think I had already made that connection. I felt that Fluttershy was my sister, even though I could remember nothing about that. Finding her was..."

(Summer couldn't continue, and Fluttershy ran quickly up and she and Summer hugged and cried a few minutes. Well, the three of us hugged and cried together. I had honestly thought that bringing Fluttershy to the Past with me was a mistake. It turns out it was absolutely amazing that I did...)

After we cried a few minutes, Fluttershy laid on her belly on the other side of Summer, and Summer kept going.

"My Stallion was trying to come up with ways to reconnect my memory, and he told me a lot about our past together. It was all so amazing, but I couldn't remember anything.

"One morning, Cel brought Fluttershy in, crying...

"Cel had to leave to go fight some bad guy, and Cel was pretty sure she would die... That hurt... And it hurt even worse, because I could help her... ...if I could remember... That was a terrible morning..."

(Cel remembered that morning now too, and ran up at this point. Then she, Fluttershy, Summer and I cried together briefly. I think we had to... And Cel didn't leave, she just laid on her belly next to Fluttershy.)

Summer worked on continuing.

"Cel left, crying... She was certain she was heading for her doom...

"We just didn't know what to do... I was rapidly getting hysterical... I could rescue Cel if I could remember... But nopony knew how to do that, and I was furious with myself that I couldn't...

"My Stallion knew I needed help... He turned into a people, and started to rub my back with his hands. That was, well is, very relaxing to me.

"But his hand accidently slipped under my wing...

"He has rubbed me there before, and that is also very relaxing. But whenever he did that, I have always told him that he is the only one who can touch me there.

"Well, when Shysage's hand accidentally slipped under my wing, I was outraged, and quickly kicked him across the room..." Summer was crying loudly, but added quickly "But I also remembered everything..."

Summer cried here for a minute, then kept going.

"The three of us immediately headed to Dark Melvain's Bastion to rescue Cel. We didn't really know what we would find, and that made for a quiet trip out there.

"Well, we did rescue Cel, but Dark Melvain got away, again...

"The four of us flew back to Canterlot, and we spent a few days with Cel. That was very nice, even if leaving was difficult, for all three of us.

"But I remember dancing with my Stallion here in the Audience Hall one afternoon... I will never forget that!"

(I think everypony laughed at this, even me. I have absolutely no idea what it was that I did. But if my Mare appreciated it, that was enough for me.)

Summer wrapped up...

"After we left Equestria Past, we arrived in Equestria Present, here in Canterlot in the midst of your fight with Dark Melvain. You all know the rest from there...

...

It was clear that our family had to cry together at this point. Lu (Princess Luna) ran quickly up, and both princesses, Summer, Fluttershy and I cried pretty hard together for a few minutes. It sounded like everypony else did too though.

---

Cel (well Princess Celestia) had to add something though. She asked everypony to return to their Twins, then she said this. It wasn't long, but it didn't need to be.

"I just want everypony in this room to understand something. Those of us who are princesses realize that our first priority is protecting the ponies of Equestria.

"The destruction of Dark Melvain today was the result of the contribution of each pony sitting in this room. Equestria worked through us all together to defeat this tyrant.

"I have said this before. But even though our group is growing, I consider you all 'family' now...

"Thank you..."

---

It was very late, and Princess Celestia had the lights in the Audience Hall dimmed way down.

Everypony was soon sleeping soundly next to their Twin.

Well the only exception was Summer, myself, and our Twins. We slept next to our Mares.

And I think for the first time in almost three weeks, everypony present could, and did sleep well.

Equestria was safe. Our family was safe. We were all safe.

---

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