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

by shysage

Ch.61, Wedding Present

The day after Shysage and I, and both our Twins, were married in the Equestria Girls world, we spent some time with Sunset Shimmer (which was amazing but strange at the same time), then we came back to Equestria.

And actually, Shysage had proposed to me a few years ago at the beginning of our first trip to the Past. And Cel, well Princess Celestia, had also officially married us in the Past once, too. How long have we been married? Well, I don't know, but a long time. It doesn't matter, I will never leave my Stallion. And our wedding in the Equestria Girls world is something I will never forget either!

We were back in Equestria now, and our day started with Princess Twilight, Fluttershy, Shyna, Shysage and I relaxing on our bellies on that rug in front of the Portal, just talking together. Filia and Fiona soon stumbled out, still waking up, and flopped down on the rug next to Shyna. The three of them were soon chatting happily.

Over the next hour, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity, then Rainbow Dash joined us. Well, as each one came into the Library, I jumped up, ran over and hugged them, and thanked them again for being a part of Shysage and my wedding. These girls are all amazing.

Laying there on that rug, we all said what we usually say together. Then we talked together for a while. After that, Princess Twilight shooed us off to get our days going.

I am still not sure how Princess' amazing Castle stays nice and warm in the Winter like it does. I don't think it has a fireplace, and if it did, it would need to be huge, because the Castle is huge. I don't know, I don't understand the heater in Shysage's car either.

One of the Unicorns helped us both get our coats on, and we headed to the Canterlot Recorder's home. We both agreed we needed to try to get caught up. We really didn't know when stuff for vol. 5 of Princess Celestia's Commentaries would start flowing in. Right now, we just weren't ready.

Walking slowly and together, Shysage said he really wanted to try and fly, but it was too cold for that today. He just sighed.

"Patience Stallion" I replied quietly. "Let's work on staying warm first!"

He just smiled, pushed up against me as we walked. "You can keep me warm, Mare."

I just smiled back. He knew I would, and he was right. And we tried walking up against each other like that, it was pretty hard.

---

Shysage stopped me in front of our home though. He described a tradition of sorts from the Equestria Girls world. It basically involved the husband carrying his brand new wife across the threshold (I think), well through the doorway into their new home together.

I turned into a people right away, and he did too.

Shysage picked me up easily, but I wrapped both arms around his neck anyway. Like I told him, I don't need a reason to give him a big hug. I just pulled myself close as he carried me. He is so strong.

His head just cleared the top of the doorway as he carried me into our home. Well, I love him so much, and I love our home, and I was glad to be home... I was quickly crying as he put me back down, and we hugged tightly and cried together for a little while.

At one point, he quietly said "I love you, Summer..." I just cried more when he said that.

It was really cold inside our home, and I think neither of us were done hugging. We ended up laying down together, as people, on the nice rug in our room. We just pulled that old pony blanket over us, and I kept him warm (he said with a smile).

A little while later, he said he was going to get up long enough to get our Canterlot Recorder stuff turned on and ready. I told him to hurry back, and he laughed and said it was too cold not to.

Well, I looked around 'our room', and got lost in thought.

Cel had this room added to this house a few years ago, since she understood that Shysage and I would be working together on the story of the Equestria Girls and I rescuing Equestria (the first time...). This room would give me some space of my own during that time, since we weren't married or anything.

I guess my dream about the future changed all that, and this quickly became 'our room'. I teared up as I remembered the first time he and I spent the night together. I NEEDED to be near him that night. Well, he needed me too. I realized none of this has changed at all since then.

Well, after thinking about this, I needed him now, so I called him. He said he would be back in a minute. I just waited, trying mostly unsuccessfully to not cry.

He did come quickly, and climbed back under the blanket with me, and was quickly hugging me as I cried. We kissed some, but mostly, he just hugged me tightly. That is what I needed. Through tears I explained why I was crying.

He just sighed, and said softly "Summer, your dream changed a lot for us." Then he hugged me tightly.

He was right. Before then, we were certainly drawn towards each other, largely because of both our deep and growing committment to true friendship. And we increasingly enjoyed our time together working on my first chronicles.

But that dream, well, forced us together, kicking and screaming some maybe. Well, maybe not. I think Shysage had already determined to give me whatever I needed by then, I don't know. The monster's curse made everything a nightmare, but being near him...

Well, all this just prepared us for being Mare and Stallion for over two years in the Past with Sue and Lee... Like the quiet snowfall after a blizzard on a moonlit night, those two years were both absolutely, breathtakingly amazing and also deeply humbling.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna don't need parents, they belong to Equestria, and have since birth. But both needed rescue, love, and well, a loving mom and dad... That Shysage and I could play this role...

---

Shysage kicked the pony blanket quickly off.

I sort of shrieked at this. I was warm and wanted to stay that way.

Shysage got up and quickly disappeared. I got up and followed him, and found him laying on his back on our couch. Of course, he and I were quickly hugging again, kissing occasionally too.

It took a few minutes to realize it was actually WARM in our home. A few minutes later, I recognized the tell-tale sounds of a softly cracking fire... Nopony needed to tell me we had a fireplace now.

I picked my head up, looked into his amazing eyes, smiled, then said "Shysage was that your doing?"

He hugged me tightly and replied "Nah, Cel and Lu must have had that done while we were gone. We also have a kitchen of sorts too, but I will let you deal with that, I wouldn't know where to start. I suspect a wedding present, but I don't know. Our girls are amaz--"

Shysage started crying, and we just wept softly together for a little while. Our home was very simple, but he and I had so much...

Shysage said we should really get up and get to work. Well, I didn't want to. I wanted my Stallion near me. I didn't ever want to move and I told him so. He couldn't argue, I was laying right on top of him.

Our precious girls walked in right then! Shysage and I both burst into tears. We love our girls...

Right away, Cel told us to not move, so we didn't. Cel and Lu both set their crowns on our new kitchen table, and walked up to us at the couch, and sat next to each other, facing us. Shysage worked an arm around Cel's neck, and I quickly hugged Lu. Cel and Lu just cried with us.

Now I really didn't ever want to move... I didn't have to, we cried like that for a while.

Well, it really was warm in our home! After crying with Cel and Lu for a long time, Shysage and I got up, changed back into ponies, and we hugged tightly in a circle.

Lu said it was a wedding present. So, with Cel and Lu next to me, I had to check out my wedding present from the Princesses of Equestria.

After adding that small bedroom a few years ago, the Canterlot Recorder's house was shaped kind of like an 'L'. Shysage thought maybe 30 feet front to back, and the big room was maybe 20 feet across. The added bedroom was maybe 10 feet square, added to the right.

Well, the most recent addition added another ten feet on the right side, from the bedroom, all the way back to the back of the house, filling in the open part of the 'L'. The bedroom was still there, but there was a small kitchen behind the bedroom, and a fireplace next to the kitchen.

Oh, and we had a back door now too, in the back corner near the fireplace. And we found a nice shed next to the back door, full of firewood. The shed was built up against the back of the house, and it looked like a nice, covered and raised wooden porch ran all along the back of the house.

We wouldn't get wet grabbing more firewood if it was raining, and we could sit out here on nice days. The meadow stretched off to the East beyond the right end of the porch. I realized that we really were right on the edge of Ponyville!

The four of us were quickly hugging again on the back porch. Cel said quietly that she wished our home was a lot nicer, but she would work that out when she could. I was already crying, and told both that this home was amazing for us, and these latest additions would make life a lot easier.

Well, it was cold outside, and we were quickly back inside, where it was warm.

Cel and Lu wanted to see our rings though. Shysage and I both changed into people for that, and it made Cel and Lu just cry.

Lu said softly at one point "The Equestria Girls world has a lot that is strange about it, but some of their customs are amazing..."

Well, I pulled my pant leg up some, so my amazing ankle band was showing. "This is amazing too, girls!"

We changed back into ponies and cried a little while longer.

Still, Cel and Lu had both come all the way to Ponyville just for this, and, too soon it seemed, we had our coats on and were walking back to the Castle with them.

I think my sister felt them close; she and Shyna joined us as we headed into the Castle, and we all hugged together. The reason we went into the Castle was so Cel and Lu could hug our Princess Twilight. We all just hugged together.

Cel and Lu were soon on their way back to Canterlot, and we all cried together for a few minutes after they left.

---

Still, I wanted Fluttershy to see our new home, and she was very excited about that. She and Shyna came for a tour. Well, they stayed all afternoon. It was warm in our home, so that worked fine.

Shysage was quickly doing Canterlot Recorder stuff, working on text for the time we spent in the Past after I remembered, rescuing Cel and what happened after, in the Past. That afternoon, he got a good solid pass done for the maybe five chapters for that.

Us girls (Fluttershy, Shyna and I) spent most of that time helping me make sense of the stuff in the kitchen. I had been away from kitchen duty for years, and remember little of what our mom did to feed us.

Trying not to cry, Fluttershy said that our mom visited her quite a bit after she moved into her Cottage, and taught her a lot about just basic things of surviving in a home like that. Mom mentioned that in Cloudsdale we seldom had fresh Oats (or fresh anything), and so mom learned how to make do with whatever she could get.

Evidently, Cel had made sure that the kitchen was well stocked, and Fluttershy was able to quickly cook up the most amazing warm Oat 'porridge' she called it I think. We even had bowls for four, and so we all got to have some.

Shysage got a nice snack that afternoon. He stopped where he was, saved what he had, changed into a pony, and ate at the table with us. It was very good. Then he changed into a people, and got back to work. Well it turned out to be dinner for us.

Shysage worked until late that night, and got those five chapters solidly done. Well, the last pass through all five chapters, we did all together. Fluttershy and Shyna were very helpful, too.

I think, before Shysage took Fluttershy into the Past, Fluttershy would listen about our time there, but now... Fluttershy had been there, and knew a lot about what we covered. Well, Shyna did too. Both were very helpful, and clearly attentive. And we couldn't help but cry together for a while, when we were done.

Since we had a warm house now, I convinced my sisters to spend the night with us. Sister time is always amazing. Convincing them to stay wasn't hard.

We moved the kitchen table away from the fireplace, and Shysage moved the rug from our room into the kitchen. We were comfortable and stayed nicely warm. The four of us stayed up very late talking together. Shysage threw another (small) log on the fire, then we all fell asleep. I really like fireplaces.

---

The next morning the fire had died down mostly. Shysage got up, changed into a people, then added two smaller logs, which quickly caught fire and began to warm the house nicely.

I am pretty sure Shysage finds it easiest to tend the fire as a people. I am not sure how my sister and our other pony friends do this. But the fire is clearly Shysage's job; I'd probably burn the house down!

Shysage and us sisters just relaxed together until the house was warm. Fluttershy directed me as I made some more Oat porridge; it doesn't seem hard, and it looks like we have plenty of flour and Oats.

Fluttershy mentioned that, during Spring, Summer and Fall, there are a lot more things we can make. Options are just more limited during the Winter. Still, I am looking forward to cooking more things with my sister now! And Fluttershy said Shyna is learning about this too.

We all got our coats on, and took a quick walk in the meadow near our home. We ate some more oats if we found some, and got a nice drink from the lake. We had to drink slow, the water was very cold, and even frozen a little around the edge of the lake.

We ended up back in our home, and Shysage jumped back into Canterlot Recorder stuff. Having a warm house made it much easier to work on that!

The next section Shysage was doing covered our fight with Dark Melvain as soon as we came back to the Present. The first chapter was done; Princess Twilight had made some mental notes, and she had already helped Shysage get them typed in. Still, Fluttershy and Shyna got their coats on and walked to the Castle to see if Princess Twilight wanted to help. We all knew her input would be very helpful.

I think Princess Twilight likes helping with this. She and Filia dropped everything and were soon sitting on the nice rug next to the fire while we worked through what would become four chapters.

Well, Princess saw the latest additions to our home too, and she hugged me, and we cried together a little.

The first chapter we did started as soon as we came back to the Present after recharging the Portal. The Portal actually put us in Canterlot, and we interrupted Dark Melvain as he terrorized Equestria's Princesses. And I agree with Shysage; the Filia and Fiona Twins could probably have killed Dark Melvain, but then he would have killed all of us without the Phantom Alicorn shield.

It was Princess Twilight and her girls that killed Dark Melvain, then I guess my shield kept him from killing the rest of us. I was pretty sure what I did with that shield was Equestria's doing, and not mine. I just knew I needed to back the shield up and form a wall, I don't know.

The next three chapters covered events that followed after we killed Dark Melvain. Well, there was a lot of crying, because everypony else thought I was dead. An awful lot of emotional 'decompressing' needed to take place, especially with my Twin.

I think we all helped together with these four chapters, even though we mostly cried all afternoon.

Still, as the Sun went down, we did a careful proof of Princess Twilight's second chapter, events that happened right before we came back. This made Princess cry pretty hard. She really felt hopeless that day...

Then we proofed the next four chapters, dealing with the fight that killed Dark Melvain, and the aftermath of all that.

Shysage quietly told me that the next 3 chapters would be mine, and he would help me. But clearly by now, we were all emotionally spent.

Still wiping tears away, Princess Twilight decreed dinner at the Castle.

How could we refuse!

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