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

by shysage

Ch.66, Easing Princess Pain

Shysage and I, we stood next to each other at the corner of the Audience Hall for maybe half an hour. Shysage was hugging his Phantom Alicorn, and we both wept softly together most of that time. I just wanted him near me.

At that point, Cel (Princess Celestia) and Fluttershy came out, and sat next to us, and were soon weeping with us.

After a little while more...

"Mom, I don't think I could have come up with a better way to handle that..." Cel stopped there, and cried some more.

Shysage said softly "Well, Summer was mush until you hugged me, then I was mush and she finished it. I think it was a family effort."

Shysage paused here a minute then finished.

"I just feel bad that Fluttershy couldn't come up though..."

It was quiet for maybe 10 more minutes as we all just wept softly together. Still, I hoped that what we had done was enough to keep Dark Melvain away from our girl...

...

Cel's next question, we expected at some point.

"When does the rest of my family need to leave me?"

She quickly realized how bad it sounded, and tried to apologize.

"I'm sorry, that didn't come out the way--"

Shysage started crying, and said quietly "I wish never..."

We all just cried together a little more.

Shysage was trying to calm down and asked honestly "Cel, what would the Princess of Equestria prefer?"

Cel answered quickly "Never?"

We all just cried together some more.

I have mentioned before that Shysage and I felt so torn between Equestria and the Equestria Girls world. Well, we have repeatedly felt stretched between the Past and the Present, too. It just hurts.

Cel said she wanted us as long as we could stay, but she said if we could spend two nights with her, would be nice. She sighed, and said that nights were the hardest for her. But that became our plan.

It was a nice early Summer night, and we stayed out there an hour or two. Still, I could tell that there were many guards, not very far away from Princess Celestia of Equestria, until we finally went inside.

Cel led us into Princess quarters, and she offered for Shysage and I to spend some time together before we tried to sleep. She led us to that same small room... It was hundreds of years since we stayed here last, but it still looked like the day we left it. Well, it looked nicer. Cel must have hoped we would come back at some point.

Cel and Fluttershy visited together (cried and hugged) in the large Princess quarters room, and Shysage and I were together and alone.

---

This small room really was very comfortable. Shysage and I sat facing each other, and rubbed noses, hugged and cried most of our time there.

I asked Shysage if he wanted to rub my back as a people. He said he felt I was way overdue for him taking care of his Princess, and he didn't want to risk starting anything until he could finish.

I smiled and said we could go get arrested again.

He smiled back and asked me to not tempt him like that.

I never worry about that though. Shysage takes such good care of me.

We ended up laying on our bellies side by side, with both our heads right next to each other over his front legs. We both really treasure having our heads together like that. Well, that actually started here too.

Cel and Fluttershy came in later, and laid on their bellies facing us.

Fluttershy now had a new hairpin!

On Fluttershy's first visit here to the Past, Cel gave Fluttershy a beautiful hairpin that coincidentally held an exact copy of one of the butterflies that made up Fluttershy's Cutie Mark. Somepony had given this to Cel at some point many years earlier.

Evidently, Cel recently had another beautiful hairpin made for Fluttershy. It included all three butterflies; it was a much more exact, and larger copy of Fluttershy's Cutie Mark. And in the center of the three butterflies was Cel's Cutie Mark, smaller though. The background was pale White, and everything stood out vividly.

It looked amazing. Shysage and I cried when we saw it... We all cried together a little while.

Cel said we should sleep soon. She wouldn't mind sleeping in our room, she called it, but her staff needed to know where she was at all times, so we moved to Cel's room.

Again, we slept on the thick, beautiful carpet next to her bed. It now had her Cutie Mark on it; it looked amazing...

Cel insisted dad and I sleep on either side of her, just like we used to do. Sis didn't mind sleeping next to me. I love my sister. I love my family.

...

Cel still had Princess stuff to do the next day. Equestria couldn't always just take a day off.

Still, my daughter let me brush her pony hair while I was a people. As we raised she and Lu, we brushed their hair as people a lot because it was just a lot easier for Shysage and I (we could use our hands). We all treasured that. I guess we still do; Cel and I wept softly the whole time. Well, Fluttershy wept softly too. I'm sure she felt how much that meant to both of us.

Too soon, Cel had to go attend to Princess duties, and she left us in her room until she was done.

My Sis and I took turns brushing each other's hair as people. Shysage had to hold Fluttershy's arm so she stayed a people, and then we brushed each other's hair. It was amazing. Sis and I, we cried the whole time.

And I noticed that, even as a people, the amazing Hairpin that Cel gave Sis was still there, and just as beautiful. I don't know how that works though. But I carefully took it off, and let Shysage hold it. Then put it back in after I was done brushing her hair.

Then the three of us, we just talked together for a while. I think my Sis and I talked the most. Even in the Past, sister time is amazing. The morning went by pretty fast as a result.

Cel had a pretty full schedule that morning, and she was finally done maybe early afternoon. We all decided to just take a walk. It was a very nice, warm day. We pretty much ignored the guards that followed us everywhere.

There were no meadows left up here, so we just walked around town. It didn't matter, we were with our daughter. Everything else was fine.

During our walk, Princess Celestia of Equestria gave me a hairpin too... Cel put it in my wavy, golden blond hair with her magic right away. I cried and we hugged a while... It was just like Fluttershy's new hairpin, but it had the three drops of my Cutie Mark, fading from Sun Yellow at the top, to Aquamarine, the color of water, at the bottom. It looked absolutely amazing...

We had dinner with Equestria's Princess. The food was good, and being with Cel was awesome.

We spent that evening, gathered together on the rug in Cel's room. We talked a lot, but also just hugged and cried a lot too. Maybe Cel was collecting for future pain, I don't know. We didn't mind. Everypony around her right now would do anything to help Cel, and she knew it.

Cel also asked that we change our schedule a bit. She explained that she had a busy Princess Day tomorrow too; she asked that we wait, and leave after she was done with that. We quickly agreed, this would be a big help for Cel.

We all knew she would cry a LOT after we left, and we wanted her to have the time she needed for that. But we all knew as well, that there was simply not a good time for us to leave... But we wanted to make it as easy on our girl as we could.

We slept the same way we did the night before, and our amazing girl slept soundly and safely. Mom and dad really couldn't ask for much more than that.

---

Fluttershy asked to brush Cel's hair the next morning. I didn't mind, and Fluttershy and Cel both cried the whole time. I guess we all did.

We had breakfast with Cel though, and our girl was doing ok. She led us back to her room, then headed off to attend to Equestria.

Shysage suggested we try to nap some. He managed, but Sis and I did not. We just talked quietly.

Cel completed her appoinments a little before lunchtime. We woke Shysage up when she came in, and talked quietly for a few minutes so he could finish waking up.

Cel wanted to fly down to the old tree that used to be our house when we raised Cel and Lu (Follow the Equestrium talks about that). We would stay for the afternoon, come back, then we could leave. We weren't about to argue, especially realizing our daughter was near tears anyway. The rest of the day would just be hard.

I was a little concerned. Shysage had suffered a lot of physical abuse his last time here (and before), and that was maybe only two weeks ago for him. I knew he wanted to fly, but we hadn't had that opportunity; it was Winter in Equestria Present (I didn't say that though).

Cel suggested a brief fly over the Commons lawn, and we could go from there. She had to collect and alert her guards first though. Random Pegasus flying around upper Canterlot was not allowed. We did all that, and Shysage did fine.

An hour later, we were all sitting in a circle near the river, hugging, crying... The huge tree whose stump was our home, was almost dead. Cel just wanted to sit on the riverbank, and hug and cry with her family. She mentioned once that she has come and cried here a number of times when things were especially difficult for her.

We hugged and cried with our daughter in her memory spot all afternoon. Maybe that needed recharging too. We all hurt for her...

...

As the Sun started to set, we flew back up to Canterlot, and headed straight to the Portal building. I knew what Shysage was thinking, just one more day. We could never stay long enough. We just needed to get it done, so Cel could get through it.

We walked to the Portal, and for a little while, we all sat in a circle again, hugging, crying...

Shysage was mush. He was almost hysterical. We needed to go.

I think Cel realized this, and walked over to the Portal.

I was barely able to get Shysage to grab Fluttershy's hoof, and help her up as a people, but he finally did. He was crying pretty hard though. Maybe we all were.

"Cel, dad and I will always love you. Please remember that" I said this as I grabbed the edge of the Portal.

In the dull reflection on the surface of the Portal, I saw Cel. She was laying on the floor, curled up at almost the same spot I had seen her when we came. She was crying.

I squeezed the edge of the Portal rim... before... I... couldn't...

There was a bright flash, and we were gone...

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