I must have been tired, because I don't remember anything until I woke up the next morning. The cell said it was around ten, and I had already received a bunch of texts.
The first three were from my Mare (who was sending stuff from Fluttershy's phone) and they immediately cheered me up. I couldn't be with her, but her words conveyed what was in her heart, and that was enough for now.
The next five were from Pinkie, and most went simply "Hey, are you there? We need to talk!" or something very similar. Evidently something was 'up', and I should probably find out.
The last text was fairly recent, and from my Mare, saying they were headed to the bleachers.
I got up and got dressed, then quickly shaved. I could find no food to eat, oh well. No breakfast today. I pulled the work table back down over the bed, and moved the 'scope' there, and turned the display back on.
Summer and the girls were already at the bleachers, so I would head there. I pulled the cell from the charger, and put it in my pocket, then locked the door, and was on my way.
According to the cell, today was Friday, whatever difference that made.
Everyone was already at the bleachers, except for Rainbow Dash, who was buried in Soccer practice. Filia and Fiona had already found these amazing friends too, and this was fine.
I walked over and sat down next to Summer, and smiled. She took my hand and squeezed it ever so slightly, and that was enough. And that ring looked beautiful on her finger.
Pinkie was quickly bubbling with the news. The two 'monsters' that had taken both Summers three days ago, were now in jail.
Pinkie talked quickly, and was very animated as she described what happened at the Cake's last night. Well, that's where Pinkie lived.
Evidently, the two 'monsters' came back last night, and they were not happy.
They saw Filia and Fiona, and thought it was the two Summers, and that they had simply dyed their hair red in order to avoid being taken again.
At gun-point, these two men took Filia and her sister out the back door, as their mom looked on in horror.
Even by the dim light over the back door, Filia could tell a rusty gun with no clip, and so no bullets, when she saw it.
Oh, and Filia and Fiona were both very accomplished at Judo.
In about two minutes, both 'monsters' were out cold on the sidewalk.
Mr. Cake was in his office, and saw the commotion on the security cameras, and the police were on their way before Filia and Fiona were finished.
The officers had the men cuffed even before the two of them 'woke up'.
As Pinkie explained all this, Filia and Fiona were sitting next to Twilight, and were both looking at each other and blushing.
Still, this news put to rest a nagging fear I had carried since we drove away from the two monsters in the grass. I resisted the urge to cry.
First, I asked Summer if the girls knew about our 'run-in' with the same men maybe three nights ago. She said they all had already talked about that. So, instead of crying, I just thanked the two amazing sisters. In jail is where those two monsters belonged.
This really was good news.
But I also knew that 'attempted kidnapping' would not get these two a very long sentence, then they would be back, and even more angry at now four harmless ladies. This was just not right.
I was deep in thought for a few minutes, as the girls all talked together. Well, I had to do someting.
I told Summer I needed to run to my 'cubical' for a little while, but that I expected to be back in an hour maybe.
My walk to my cubical was quick, and I went inside, and got the keys to 'big Blue', then opened the trunk.
A bunch of Notebook computers that we had pulled from the monster's house were still in the trunk.
Bah, I hated this part. I first put on gloves that I used too keep delicate components clean. I had worn these a lot while I built my 'scope' thing, and no I would never tell a soul how it worked.
I pulled a Notebook from the trunk, set it up on the bench over the bed, and started it up. Once it was done with this, I checked the contents of the computer.
The first Notebook held a bunch of video files... ...of garbage... The stuff they put on the Internet these days... This hard drive should really get 'wiped', well erased. I quickly shut it down.
I put it back in the trunk, and pulled out another one.
After starting up the second Notebook, I just found a bunch of video games. I turned it off.
I put this one back in the trunk and pulled out a third Notebook.
This Notebook looked older and was password protected, but the password was 'password', and it was soon up and running.
From the applications this Notebook held, I could tell these guys financials were on here, as well as the content and coding for their web site. Honestly, I didn't even want to look. I turned it back off.
But this was what I was looking for. I could only hope it would be enough.
With my gloves still on, I carefully alcohol scrubbed the entire outer surface of the machine. Then I put a strip of masking tape on the side, and wrote 'evidence' using a Black, felt tipped marker.
I dug up an old backpack and carefully slid the Notebook inside. Next, I picked up the USB Drive that Mr. Cake had given me a few days ago.
With my car and cubical locked up, I headed back to town, well to the Cake's specifically.
It was a little before noon when I arrived, and they were swamped. I found Mr. Cake, and mentioned I would put the USB drive on the desk in his office, and he said that was fine. I left both the USB drive, and the Notebook, and was quickly on my way.
While I wanted the Notebook with the 'evidence' to get to the Police anonymously, I still knew I was taking a risk. I felt I had to, in order to protect the innocent people and ponies whose lives had already been so damaged by these two 'monsters'. I could only hope for the best. Well, I asked true friend for help too.
Still, if I had to tell my story, I would. Those two monsters had already caused too much pain and heartache to the lives of completely innocent people. I would try to protect the ponies involved but that could get complicated...
I walked back to my cubical, put the backpack away, then headed back to the Soccer field.
Soccer was done, and the Equestria Girls were 'being there' for a number of girls from the school. Filia and her sister were 'blending right in' it seemed. This was good, they were neat girls. Well, they all were.
Rather than interrupt anything, I walked across the field, unlocked the Shop, and got back to work.
I had just pulled together an eighth computer system for the Computer Lab, and started it through the update process.
While checking on the girls in the bleachers, I noticed a guy walking up, and talking to the girls. I was pretty sure he was a student at the School.
I wasn't too concerned, and got back to work.
A minute later, Twilight texted me "Hey, we need you..."
I locked up the shop and headed back to the bleachers, noting that the guy was still there.
As I walked up, the girls said nothing, and all looked at me, so I extended my hand to the student, and we shook hands as I introduced myself.
"Hi, I'm Rick. Can we talk?" he said quietly.
We walked together over to the other end of the bleachers, and we both sat down.
I had never even anticipated anything like this. Still, I quickly said "Rick, how can I help you." I really felt this way.
Rick briefly told his story. He was starting at the High School soon. He quietly admitted he was very lonely though, and that he simply didn't understand the messages he was hearing from just about every conceivable place, it seemed. But he knew from what he had heard, that the girls at the other end of the bleachers were different. Rick wanted some answers.
I sighed, and spent a minute just thinking.
I began by explaining that being lonely wasn't a bad thing. However, he needed to try to manage these feelings. The 'right woman' would be worth waiting for, but could take some time to find. Besides, the pain that could come from jumping too quickly into a committment was far more difficult than dealing with the lonliness.
Rick understood I was advocating the 'long view' here, and this made a lot of sense to him, even though much of what he was hearing told him to focus on right now. He noted though, that I had not yet explained the girls at the other end of the bleachers.
I just chuckled and agreed. Then I explained to him, still chuckling, that I wasn't sure I completely understood the amazing girls at the other end of the bleachers.
I also cautioned him that some may disagree with what I was about to tell him.
I said that these girls were clearly committed to True Friendship, which was rooted in the committment to put others first. The rest of their lives simply reflected this. As a result, these girls tried to be true friends to the other students they met, which was mainly other female students for now.
I mentioned to Rick that these girls were far more interested in making friends, and actually helping friends, than anything else. The endless boy-friend / girl-friend drama was just not a part of what they were pursuing.
Rick again saw the 'long view' here, and also understood the basic nature of putting others first. He rightly said this was an important consideration, and he would need to carefully think this through, and decide for himself.
It was quiet for a minute, then I mentioned what I thought Rick needed to hear.
"Rick, I know it is tempting to look mostly at the appearance of the girls around you at the High School. Remember though, that lasting beauty is rooted on the inside. There are a LOT of really amazing girls at this school. It just takes an investment in time spent getting to know them.
"I also think that learning more about being a friend, and focusing more on building friendships, in the long run, will be far more beneficial and fruitful than worrying about your next Date."
Rick was quiet for a minute, then got up. He thanked me for actually taking the time to talk to him.
I thought a minute, then said "Rick, I can be here on weekdays, at maybe Two in the afternoon, if you have any more questions."
We shook hands again, he thanked me again, then walked slowly off the way he had come.
I thought to myself "Wow, helping out like this..."
Rather than wander over to the ladies, and again risking interrupting anything, I just headed back to the Shop, and got back to work.
Back in the Shop, I got a text from Fluttershy's cell "I love you, Stallion" surely my Mare's words.
I texted back simply "True Friendship...", and my Mare quickly texted the rest of this phrase back.
I had a ninth computer system pulled together, and then started it through updating. Some of these computers had not been used for a while, and the actual operating system updating was pretty extensive.
At around three, I looked out the window, and saw the Equestria Girls still being friends for other girls from the School. I just kept working.
I had found a tenth computer box that worked, and I was pulling together and testing the rest of the pieces for this system. Some of these computers did not work right away, but replacing the memory from a dead computer usually fixed this.
At around four, I was surprised by Summer, the Equestria Girls, and Fiona and her sister wandering into the Shop.
I wanted to hug Summer, but I just didn't know what to do, so I didn't do anything.
Summer walked up and hugged me briefly. I won't lie, that was nice.
Twilight spoke up and said "Thank you for talking to that boy. I don't think any of us knew how to handle that."
"Rick and I had a good talk together, and we will see how things go. I also volunteered to be available around two, week-day afternoons, so we will see if he comes back" I said quietly.
I liked helping students, but disliked bragging. That wasn't my goal at all. Besides, I didn't even know if I would ever see him again.
Filia and Fiona's mom walked in with Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna. Evidently, we were all heading to the Cake's for a slightly early dinner, courtesy of Filia and Fiona's mom. This was good, I was pretty hungry. Well, that wasn't the only reason it was good...
I mentioned to the Principal sisters that I had nine computer systems up, running and updating, and was working on the tenth. Both seemed very pleased with that.
I didn't tell them, but I suspected that I could pull together probably fifteen complete systems for the Computer Lab. I would find out next week.
We all walked to the Cake's Diner, it wasn't far from the School. And it was a lot more relaxed now, not having to worry about the monsters showing up any minute.
Mr. Cake quickly had a few tables pulled together for us, and we had a nice dinner.
I sat next to Summer, and Pinkie Pie was on my other side.
At one point during dinner, Pinkie mentioned casually that someone had left a computer in the office that held great evidence against the two men who had abducted the Summers and Filia and Fiona. The Police were appreciative, even though they didn't know where it had come from.
I had to suppress the urge to laugh. I was sure Pinkie knew I did that.
Dinner was very good.
Filia and Fiona seemed like completely different girls with all that weight cleared away. Their mom was so thankful to the friends in the group, and she said so plainly. Well, the 'helping' wasn't done yet either, but still.
And after dinner, we all sat and talked together.
Relaxing with such amazing friends. What more could I want...
When we first came back to the Equestria Girls world and rescued both Summers, I really did hurt a lot inside. I didn't hurt as much any more. Maybe helping others out had something to do with that.
Sitting next to Summer was very nice, too.
While talking together after dinner, we all decided to spend tomorrow (Saturday) at Sweet Apple farm.
Applejack mentioned, in passing, that they could use some help with picking apples. That was all it took; the rest of the Equestria Girls simply jumped at the opportunity to help her out. Applejack had tears in her eyes, but mentioned their 'late summer' harvest would be pretty big. Of course, the friends present wanted in on that.
Tomorrow, we would all help pick apples, then just relax together a while. The twin's mom needed to work, but the twins wanted to come help too. Rainbow got her cell out, and arranged someone else to take over Soccer practice.
Principal Celestia offered to borrow a Van from the School, and everything was taken care of. The Principal didn't hesitate to do this; these amazing ladies had done wonders for the girls in her student body, and this was an easily justifiable expense for that reason.
I sighed, and Summer sensed this right away, and quickly asked me what was wrong. I quietly mentioned that this would be amazing if the Equestria ponies could come. Principal Celestia was sitting next to Summer, and heard this.
Principal Celestia smiled, and spoke up quickly for everyone to hear. "Just so you all know, the plans are for us to spend time with our Equestria friends next weekend."
A few of the ladies at this table teared up immediately at this, including Fluttershy and Summer. It seemed everypony missed their Twins. Well, both my Mare (Summer) and Fluttershy missed their 'real' sisters too. Equestria pony Fluttershy and Equestria Girls Summer were in Equestria right now.
Filia and Fiona looked a little confused, but they would probably find out about this soon enough.
It was almost seven when we all stood, and everypony hugged everypony. True friendship had accomplished a lot in this amazing circle, and there was a lot of love as a result.
Summer and I hugged the Principal sisters, and they mentioned we could use their Guest House this weekend if we wanted to. Summer beat me to it, and said that we would prefer to stay with our Equestria Girls friends, but she thanked them both just the same.
Vice-principal Luna hugged us both again, and said "We are not really surprised, you are both amazing."
Well, I knew my Mare was anyway. But being surrounded by such dear friends, THAT was amazing.
Everyone else was soon on their way.
Fluttershy smiled, and said she was going to head upstairs with Pinkie for a while so Summer and I could have some time together.
Pinkie laughed, and said they were going to 'scan for more monsters', and we all laughed with her. This was funny because we didn't need to worry about this so much now.
I told them we would be back in about two hours, then Summer and I headed out the door, and I hugged her close as we walked.
"Summer, I love you. You are amazing" I said quietly.
"Oh Stallion, I love you too... Already our time here has been so amazing, and we have at least another week with these girls. I just can't--" Summer said all this, then was crying again.
We walked together in silence, slowly, hugging.
Summer soon calmed down again, and asked "So, where are we going?"
"To my cubical" I answered quietly. "And just so you know, I think I want to spend most of Sunday with you working on getting down the last week or so. A number have asked me about that."
"Stallion, that will be a lot of fun to do together" Summer said, then she hugged me tightly.
There was barely enough room in my cubical for both of us to even stand, but we were soon inside, and I closed the door.
I quickly shaved, then moved the 'scope' thing over on top of the toilet, and turned the display off. I didn't like seeing myself. I could have shut it down, Summer was right here with me.
I folded the work bench up, out of the way, and climbed up into that bed, and helped Summer up next to me. We were quickly hugging.
I explained what I was doing though. I said that I had spent seeming ages of empty, abandoned nights in this bed, and I was having her erase all that. I said that I had told a number of other men that five minutes with the 'right woman' would chase away years of pain and lonliness. That's what we were doing. I had no other goal and we both had our clothes on anyway.
Summer listened, then started crying, and hugged me tightly. Well, I hadn't anticipated this, and I was soon crying too. We just cried together in that bed, while hugging, for over an hour. I knew I needed this.
We both knew we had to calm down though, and so we tried to stop crying. I sat up on the bed, and leaned my back against the wall. Then I picked her up, sat her in my lap, and hugged her tightly. Well, we both hugged.
After maybe ten minutes of silence, Summer said quietly "Stallion, I love you so..."
I kissed her, then said "Summer, you were worth the wait."
Summer started weeping quietly at this, so I suggested we go for a walk for a little while, since we needed to be back at the Cake's soon anyway. I locked up the cubical, and we were quickly on our way.
We walked slowly, while hugging, all the way to the Cake's. It was a nice, warm night, with a million stars blinking overhead. It was amazing.
When we got to the Cake's, Pinkie and Fluttershy were already downstairs waiting, of course, and we hugged them both and thanked them for the time alone.
Then, with Fluttershy, we headed back to Fluttershy's apartment.
Summer was in the middle, and was quickly hugging both of us. It was interesting trying to walk like that, but I clearly knew Summer loved us both a lot. And she was quickly weeping softly again.
As Fluttershy went inside, Summer stopped me at the door, and we hugged tightly. Then we kissed once, and she headed inside. Again, I waited to hear the door lock, then I was off to my cubical.
Summer texted me even before I got home. "Stallion, please don't ever leave me..."
I quickly texted back "I don't plan to, Amazing Mare."
I was soon in bed, and slept well.