Twins started waking up in the morning, and we did too.
Before getting up and joining her Twin, Princess Twilight said softly "I want to thank you both. I think being around you two has been stability for me a number of times in the past... I think I really needed that last night."
Shysage and I both hugged her, then she headed back to her Twin, Equestria Girls Twilight.
Shysage hugged me tightly, and I wept softly for a little while. Maybe I was still a mess, I don't know...
After I calmed down... "Shysage, I had the strangest dream a little while ago. You were on the stairs of the Castle, and an angry crowd of ponies were hitting you with signs or something. The signs had something red on them, but I have no idea what it meant. It was just... wierd...
Shysage thought a minute, then shrugged. "I don't think there are enough ponies in Equestria for an angry mob right now..."
I was tempted to laugh, but the truth of that statement was very sad...
Well, fixing that, fixing Equestria, that was our next step anyway.
Princess sent us all out to find some breakfast. And the Filias and Fionas were after berries for ink, too. A bunch of ponies reminded Princess Twilight to eat a good breakfast. Princess smiled and said she would.
Oh, and Equestria pony Rarity had to meet Fluttershy's girls.
Shysage and I turned into people, and my Stallion carried me easily outside. Then we changed back to ponies. We took to the air together, and landed in the meadow to the East. Both of these hurt, but Shysage said I needed food, and I also needed to keep my legs and ankles moving.
The meadow looked the same, just a little overgrown. And flying over Ponyville, that was just sad.
Shysage directed us down next to a bunch of Oats near the lake, and we ate together. It hurt to walk, but I didn't have to walk far. And after we were done eating, and had both got a nice drink, we changed to people again, and Shysage carried me over to that small hill.
I laughed, he could hold me in his strong arms, and sit down at the same time. He sat me in his lap, and we just looked off across the meadow as I hugged him. It was very relaxing. My Stallion was close to me, and the meadow looked basically the same.
Rose and Alyssa quickly joined us. They didn't even care that we were people, and purred just the same. Well, maybe they purred more. It is a lot easier to scratch itches with fingers! Soon, they were relaxing next to us.
Both Shynas and both Fluttershys walked over to us maybe ten minutes later, with the other two Panthers.
My amazing sister... "Ok, so Summer, Rose is yours, and Alyssa is Shysage's. Filicia is my Twin's (Equestria Girls Fluttershy), and Dawn is mine. Is that ok with everypony?"
We all looked at our animal friends and smiled.
Soon after that, Equestria pony Shyna started crying. "I just remembered that we were talking together right here when you three just disappeared..." Shysage and I turned back into ponies, and we all hugged Shyna until she calmed down.
I had no intention of asking her if she remembered anything about us coming back...
We also saw the Rainbow Dash Twins working out over Ponyville. But this just made me cry softly. Cel and Lu were out there, somewhere...
After maybe half an hour, Princess' Twin walked up to us. I don't think she planned this, but she was quickly in tears, hugging me tightly. "Summer, thank you so much..." She said this a few times as she cried. I hugged her tightly.
After her crying slowed, I answered softly, using the same words Camille had said to me. "Twilight, it's ok, helping others, we live for that." It was true, and I wanted it to always and ever be true...
Still, it was time to start into Canterlot Recorder chores. Shysage said his stuff was at Dawn's, and he didn't think I would mind visiting there briefly.
The Fluttershys and Shynas took the cats on ahead to the Castle.
Shysage had us both change into people again, and he helped me walk slowly out of the meadow, to Dawn's. Of course, we hugged tightly the whole time as we walked. Still, walking was painful, even as a people. I leaned on Shysage, and that helped a lot. But he said some of the pain just needed to be walked off. Well, I have learned to not question Shysage.
In front of Dawn's, we changed back into ponies, and I hobbled inside. We were soon all on our bellies crying softly together next to Dawn the elder.
I don't think I said much. What had happened, what was happening, it was just so amazing...
I was about to get up to leave. I looked at my amazing neighbor Dawn, and said quietly "Dawn, please take care of yourself. I want you to see all this!"
I hugged her tightly, then I got up, and hugged Camille and her daughter. Then I said "Camille, when Ponyville comes back to life, you will probably have your Helping Hands full."
Camille, crying, hugged me and said "I can't wait!"
I took the time to hug just Dawn the younger for a few minutes. "Dawn, you have an amazing family. You are all very special. I just want you to know that." She started crying, and she, Camille and I cried together briefly.
...
Shysage had slipped into his shoulder sack, and we were soon on our way, as ponies, and I hobbled slowly back to the Castle. We had to stop a few times and rest.
And I couldn't do the steps outside the Castle, so Shysage put the shoulder sack down, and we both changed into people, and he carried me inside and gently put me down on the thick rug, then I changed back into a pony. He was quickly back with a few pages of very cryptic notes.
I was relaxing on the rug, and couldn't move, so everypony just found a comfy spot nearby.
The Filias and Fionas quickly had plenty of ink ready, and, of course, Princess Twilight's Castle had both quills and paper!
The Rainbow Dash Twins were in training, Shysage said, but the rest of us crowded around as the Red-head Unicorns took turns writing.
Shysage deciphered his cryptic notes into a bunch of chapters about his first months here. I cried a lot because he was lonely for me that whole time.
Next, I did the chapters about my return here, first to the Crystal Palace, then Dawns, and finally finding Shysage and Fluttershy. That made Shysage and I both cry. Well, and Sis too.
Everypony else was mostly quiet as we put these chapters together.
Next, Princess Twilight's Twin (Equestria Girls Twilight) started into her recollection leading up to the Equestria Girls return to Equestria through the Portal, the night of the High School reunion.
But the more Twilight talked, the more she remembered. There was just a lot of stuff going on. And it was clear that the six months leading up to the reunion were just excruciating for Twilight.
Princess hugged Twilight tightly and cried with her. Princess and her Twin realized that life had left both of them with, will, nothing left...
None of the rest of us knew any of this, and the Equestria Girls only knew a little of it. We all wept softly as Twilight tried to collect the scattered memories and auguring pain she felt on the other side of the Portal.
Twilight remembered details from the reunion too, and could now reflect on Summer's Dream as well. Equestria had set all this up... It was just amazing... And it wasn't a dream, either.
And the Equestria Girls experiences their first two days in Equestria... The Equestria ponies didn't know about that, either.
Well, it was very clear to all of us that, six months ago, Equestria had reached across the Portal, and put this into motion...
And we all cried a lot as these chapters slowly came together.
After a bunch of chapters, and a lot of tears, Princess Twilight said we should stop for now.
But she added this, as her Twin cried on her shoulders. "Precious friends, it seems so clear to me that Equestria was at work, even months ago, even on the other side of the Portal. That is just amazing. We need to remember that this is all about Equestria, not any one of us."
Still weeping softly, Princess sent everyone out again to find some food. Princess and her Twin cried together a while more.
...
Shysage and I changed into people, and he carried me outside. Rose and Alyssa quickly joined us as we walked slowly off to the meadow to the East (as people). Just being together with him like that...
Of course we changed to ponies once there, and ate and drank some. Rose and Alyssa played together in the grass. Again, the Shynas and Fluttershys and the other two cats joined us. Well the Fluttershys sent the girls off to find some food, and they came back later.
As it got dark, we headed back to the Castle. Fluttershys took the girls on ahead. I think the girls really understand their names! Shysage and I were people again, and I just love walking slowly with him like that. And he was right, it still hurt to walk, but my ankles and legs were slowly feeling better.
While Shysage and I walked slowly, as people, together and alone, I asked him something that occurred to me.
"Shysage, in my dream, we had to avoid the risk of having a foal, because we just didn't know when Phantasma would come to Ponyville. Well, if we get that out of the way soon..." I couldn't finish, and was weeping softly.
Shysage stopped, and we hugged tightly for a few minutes as I tried to calm down.
"Precious Mare... I still doubt there will ever be a good time for that, for us... The real problem is that we don't know how a return to our present would work, or even when that might be. I think having to leave a foal here would be absolutely..." Shysage had to stop, and we both cried together, while hugging a few minutes...
Still, he had answered my question. I knew he was right.
After a few minutes, we started walking back to the Castle again. We were close enough that the Castle lights made walking easy still, even though it was dark.
Shysage stopped, and looked at me. "You have a name picked out already, don't you?" he asked softly.
I just smiled, well, and wept softly. He was right about that too!
Both Fluttershys and both Shynas were having some animal friend time out front when we walked up to the Castle.
Alyssa and Rose ran up to us right away, and we walked slowly over to the rest, and we spent a while petting and scratching our animal friends.
I am not sure how or why it happened, but both Fluttershys, both Shynas and Shysage and I ended up hugging and crying quietly together for a little while too. It felt wonderful being with family like that.
I was going to ask about my Twin, but I chickened out... I just couldn't, not yet anyway.
Both Fluttershys put the cats to bed, and the rest of us headed into the Castle.
I think our animal friends were getting used to the Castle, and didn't mind spending their time outside it when we were inside. I am not totally sure how that works. Well nopony else minded that, and it seems like most of our precious pony friends spent time with the girls at one point or another.
Still people, Shysage helped me walk up the stairs, then we both changed back into ponies, and went inside.
Everypony was in the Library, of course. Still, the whole atmosphere tonight was much more relaxed. I guess, a day with Twins had done a lot of good.
Our evening stayed relaxed, and we were all soon asleep.
Early the next morning, the Applejacks, the Twilights, the Raritys and the Filias and Fionas headed off to Sweet Apple Acres together. At the last minute, the Pinkie Pie Twins decided to tag along, and followed them out to the farm.
The Rainbow Dash Twins headed off to train some more, and the Shyna Twins joined them this time.
That left both Fluttershys, Shysage and I in the Library, but we didn't mind.
My Stallion got his clip thing out, some paper and ink, and the rest of us worked some more on Canterlot Recorder stuff.
It was a pretty relaxed morning, but we still got some rough notes for a few recent chapters done.
The four of us headed out to our girls. Of course, they were glad to see us, and we spent some time with them in the grass for a while.
...
It was painful, but still easier as we walked slowly off towards the meadow to the East.
We stopped at Dawn's for a little while, and gave them all a hug.
Camille mentioned that we may want to come and get the big pile of coats near the door. I think she was hoping she would need the room!
Both Fluttershys, Shysage and I headed to the meadow after a while. It was another nice day, and the Sun felt very nice. We had nothing to do, and were in no hurry. A relaxing day, it felt amazing.
Fluttershy sent the girls off to find some food, and they ran quickly away and were gone.
...
Shysage was looking at me, well, he was just looking at me, I don't know. I soon found out why.
Still looking me over, he said this softly. "Summer, your pony coat has lightened up quite a bit. It seems a lot lighter than I remember. I guess I see you every day, but I just realized. You will be all White in a few years, I think."
Well, he was right, and I didn't even notice. My coat was now a very light Tan with very little Tan left. The Fluttershys agreed too.
"Is that ok?" I asked cautiously. Shysage just looked at me, but this time, that's all he had to do. His eyes said everything. I love him so much.
My sister, well Equestria pony Fluttershy also pointed out... My wings were now very lightly tipped with the color of my mane and tail. "Shyna noticed that immediately the first time she saw you the other day." Well, they would know.
Still, Shysage gasped, "Wow, you're right! That looks amazing!"
"Wait... I'm no gifted Pegasus..." I protested with a frown.
Shysage smiled. "That depends who you ask" he said softly.
And both Fluttershys said quietly "Well, you are the Phantom Alicorn..."
I just sighed.
Well, I looked into Shysage's eyes briefly, but that's all I needed to do. I was beautiful to him, and I guess not much else mattered. I am Shysage's Mare.
...
Mid-morning, we heard what was surely a Sonic Rainboom. That was progress, but I still cringed. I didn't think Phantasma would care about it unless there was magic involved, but I didn't know. I just knew I would need to face that monster, sooner than later, I thought.
The four of us ended up back on that small hill, laying on our bellies, talking. Shysage took a nap, and us girls talked a long time. Equestria Girls Fluttershy told us about her life after Equestria faded, and we cried together quite a bit. It had been very difficult for her.
Maybe early afternoon, we all took a nap. I think the girls did too. The Sun was so nice and warm. The last few days had been so filled with tension. The peace, the calmness out here, felt so amazing...
...
We woke up, quite a bit later, to ponies crying. We realized right away that our animal friends were sitting in a line next to us, to protect us I think. But they weren't growling at all.
The ponies were sitting and crying, some distance away though.
Shysage gasped as soon as he saw them...
Ok, so I just woke up. It looked to me like Cel and Lu, and that made me cry.
Shysage got up, and said as he headed past the girls that it was the Principal sisters. I was not sure how he knew. Then I realized; they didn't have wings.
Equestria Girls Fluttershy ran over right away and was quickly crying with them. Well, we all were soon. Finding them, of all ponies, and here in Equestria. Well, finding ANY ponies in this Equestria was amazing. But Cel and Lu's Twins...
We cried together for an hour, then the Principal sisters met Fluttershy's cats.
Then the six of us (well six ponies plus 4 cats) walked slowly to the Castle. It would be dusk soon. And I had to walk slow; it hurt anyway.
As we walked, Cel and Lu's Twins told us their story, the short version they called it.
After retiring, Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna had quietly slipped through the Portal into Equestria one evening, never to return. They found Equestria in bad shape, and they remembered Summer's Dream at that point.
Both sisters are Unicorns, and they learned more magic and managed to survive. They found their way to Ponyville, and have been living some distance from town ever since, just waiting.
Evidently the Sonic Rainboom earlier tipped them off. They saw us all from across the meadow, and recognized us right away. They were overjoyed, but the four cats looked pretty intimidating. They didn't know what to do, and were soon crying.
Cel's Twin asked us about what had happened with us, but Shysage said that should wait for now.
Both sisters gasped when they saw the Castle lights on. They knew the Castle had sealed itself off, but now...
We just quietly led them into the Library.
Everypony else was there...
We were all crying right away, and would be for a while. We were soon hugging and crying together. The Equestria Girls especially didn't think they would ever see these amazing friends, ever again...
It was hard, but everypony shared their short version to bring the Principal Sisters up to speed.
Then we all cried together for a while longer.
Pretty late, most were soon asleep, Twins together, spread around the Principal sisters.
Well, I couldn't sleep. I mostly cried softly, leaning up against Shysage. He stayed awake with me, because he knew I was hurting. We just cried softly together. I think we both wanted our girls...
Shysage asked me if we could go outside for a while. We were making quite a bit of noise, and he didn't want us to wake anypony else.
We walked together through the hall, then down the steps and into the grass, and we just laid down together. It wasn't cold. Four Black Panthers woke up, moved, and were soon spread around us, and they worked on going back to sleep.
Shysage and I just cried together for a while.
I felt another pony hug me though, and I looked up. It was Princess Twilight. She laid next to me, and cried with us a little while, then we worked on calming down.
"Princess, I'm scared..." I got this much out and couldn't finish.
Princess Twilight hugged me again. "I know Summer, so am I."
The three of us just hugged and cried together for a little while more. Then we calmed down again.
"Today, the Filias and Fionas worked together to use their magic to help Applejack trim a bunch of her apple trees. Applejack explained that the trees need to be kept trimmed in order to have good apples. Her trees are really overgrown.
"Doing the trimming actually involved a very focused Wind spell that needed to be carefully controlled. And I think these four Red-head twins alone possess the magical skill and power necessary together to be able to do this. The girls practiced this Wind Knife spell together all day.
"And Twilight and I worked on using our magic to pull the branches away, right after they were cut off."
Princess Twilight explained this much. As I listened, I think I understood where this was all going. But Princess made sure we understood.
"Our only hope of rescuing Cel and Lu is to somehow do this with them, to be able to carefully cut them away from Phantasma, and quickly pull them clear..."
Princess Twilight started crying. "This is the best we can do, I think..."
Well, I stopped crying. This very well could work. I hugged my Princess, and said quietly "Princess, I have a lot more hope now, that is an amazing solution. And I think we need to realize that Equestria wants them rescued too."
Princess worked on calming down. Then she quietly added this.
"Well, as the Phantom Alicorn, you need to know that Phantasma must be held very still for the five or so seconds it takes to do this. One wrong move could be deadly for our Princesses... And five seconds is a long time, easily enough..."
Ok, so we both were crying again. But still, even though fraught with peril, this could work. And I think Princess, Shysage and I didn't feel it very likely that Phantasma would cut one of them loose, like she did in my dream. We would have to carefully do this twice...
After thinking a few minutes, I asked Princess Twilight "Do the Filia and Fiona sisters know that is what they will be doing?"
Princess answered quietly "Yes..."
We all wept softly together for a while.
This would have to do. I was pretty sure Shysage and I would both be asking true friend...
Once our crying tapered off, Princess asked us to sleep next to she and her Twin, and that was fine.
We were soon inside, and asleep with the rest.