//------------------------------// // Chapter 10, Ariel Dawn // Story: The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 10 -- Ariel Dawn // by shysage //------------------------------// Ariel Dawn did finally come, in all her glorious beauty. It was early spring as best as we could tell. The days were becoming progressively warmer, or rather progressively not as freezing cold. After three days of not being able to move, my pains started. It's not really rocket science. Shysage was so supportive all the way through this process, even as Ariel's birth grew very near. He helped me even cope with each day. And those last three days, when I felt so... Shysage loved me, Shysage tenderly cared for me... He probably made dozens of trips down to the lake to bring me water. He never complained. He was always there when I needed him, smiling... He must have told me I was so beautiful a hundred times. I just looked deep into his blue eyes... and believed him. It was maybe the middle of the morning. I had just asked Shysage for more water. He was on his way back when I felt the first pain. It was clearly distinct; a painful tightening around Ariel, not just one of the thousand pains that cropped up all over my body of late. I looked slowly up at Shysage as he walked into our cave and sat down. "Shysage, it's time" I said slowly. I guess he was more awake than I was; he understood right away. He helped me drink some water, put the shoe up, then he moved, sat down next to me, and hugged my neck tightly with his strong people arms. "I love you Summer" he said quietly. Then he added "Our waiting is almost over..." We both cried briefly after that. I asked Shysage to stay a people. Well, his hands, I had him hold one of my front legs as each new pain swept across my body. And he had to be where I could see him, where I could look into his eyes. It really did hurt a lot, and got worse each time. I kept reminding myself mares have been doing this for generations. That didn't help very much. Early on, Shysage spoke gently to me, encouraging me. And we talked to true friend a lot too, I think that helped some. This was all very good; early on I got frustrated because it seemed like things were getting nowhere. Well, later, it was clear things were getting somewhere. I felt very strong new pains in various places as my body was making way for our gem, our Ariel. Well, everything just hurt worse, and kept getting worse... And it hurt to cry... Shysage held me with both hands. But I could feel Ariel coming. That helped more than anything else, knowing I would be holding her soon. I don't have any idea how I made it through the last... At the very end, I had shysage move around to my hind-quarters. I missed him, but we had already talked some about this. I guess I could have done this solo, but... I (finally) felt Ariel move quickly out, and I immediately heard two things. Ariel was crying, and I about swooned. Shysage was crying too. He wasn't hysterical, but he was crying uncontrollably. I was able to lift my head up and turn and look. I saw my beautiful little girl, well foal, curled up in Shysage's lap. Both were crying pretty hard. Shysage was sitting still, just holding Ariel, crying. Well, I wanted to hold her too. And I knew she also needed to eat (well, nurse) soon. "Shysage, please bring her to me" I asked. No response. "Shysage, can I hold our daughter too?" I asked next Again, no response. I think I realized at that point that Shysage had, well, lost it. He was so overcome by his love for Ariel... I thought a minute, then asked quietly "Shysage, I need some water." I tried to sound just a little urgent, and evidently, that broke through. I felt bad, but I really did need his help. Well, and I wanted a turn with Ariel too... Shysage got carefully up, then gently picked Ariel up, and put her down in front of my legs, in front of my face (I was still laying on my side). I just cried. Well, all three of us, we all just cried together. Ariel was hungry, and that suddenly took first place. She squirmed carefully along my belly, until she found... It was like she didn't even need to be told where. Wow, she was hungry... But it felt amazing for her to be able to; well she was releasing the pressure. And I was feeding my foal. I... That meant so much to me... I looked at Shysage, and he looked back at me, then started to cry again. "Shysage, I need a lot of water now..." Shysage got up, found both shoes, and went down to the pond, filled them up, then brought them back. He was still crying. I quickly emptied both shoes (I really was really thirsty), and sent him back for more. It was at that point I took care of a few details. This wasn't rocket science; a miracle definitely, but not rocket science. When he came back with more water, he was still crying. I again quickly emptied both shoes, and sent him back for more. I could feel Ariel still nursing, but now I had a chance to look at her. Then I started crying. Shysage set the shoes down in front of me, sat next to me, wrapped his arms around my neck again, and we cried together, for quite a while. Ariel ate, well she drank a lot. Then she pulled her beautiful pony baby body back, then burped a few times. Her eyes caught mine quickly; Ariel knew who her mommy was. Shysage helped, and her head was quickly right next to mine as she lay on her side like I was. She was quickly asleep. Shysage and I cried very softly together as we surrounded our Ariel. It was late afternoon now, but we both certainly could not sleep, and so we didn't even try. An hour later, Ariel woke up crying softly. She was hungry again, and was quickly nursing. Cry, nurse sleep, cry nurse sleep... For the next few days, that was the cycle. Well, there was more, but it doesn't matter. Shysage quickly recovered, and carefully cleaned up -- his Mare, our daughter, our cave floor. And it was after that, I realized... I needed Shysage for this... Every step, he was my helper. Trying to do this alone would have been a nightmare. I probably could have done it alone, and would have, but still... ... The next week maybe was just a blur. I was sooo tired. I slept when Ariel did, but waking up was just hard. Shysage started napping when Ariel woke up, then he helped Ariel back to me, to my head, then we all slept, until... The moon wasn't extremely bright, but it was only at this point that Shysage moved the huge branch that had fallen over the entrance to our cave. Well, he had too; we needed at least a little light in the cave at night. And Shysage's sweatshirt... Well, Ariel loved it, and maybe she needed it too. On cool nights, it kept her very warm. And Ariel looked soooo cute with the hood part over her head... Shysage was spending a little more time as a pony anyway, so it all worked out. Still, to see my beautiful foal wrapped up in Shysage's mostly white Equestria Girls world sweatshirt, even buried deep in the Past when there were no sweatshirts... Well, it was just amazing. And Shysage made a LOT of trips down to the pond with those two Equestria Girls world shoes. I was really thirsty a lot of the time. I was positive Shysage knew the way by heart; he had to, because I am convinced a few of those trips he never really woke up. After that week, Ariel started sleeping a little longer at a time, a few hours usually. Shysage and I could both work on getting caught up on our sleep. And our sanity returned, Shysage said with a big smile. And, well, ok, give me a break. Maybe I should have included this sooner. Ariel is a Pegasus (mare of course). This is not surprising since both her parents are Pegasi too. Ariel's baby coat was light tan, just like I remember mine from as far back as I can remember (even though mine has faded to white now). Her mane and tail were blond (Equestria Girls world color), with quite a bit less gold than mine ever had. Eyes were hard to tell, but I guessed that faint trace of blue would deepen as she grew. It didn't matter; she was amazingly beautiful, easily the most beautiful foal in all Equestria. Shysage and I both felt that way. And I guess... Shysage switched to his people form quite a bit, usually when I needed water, which was a lot. Ariel never had a problem with that; she knew who her dad was no matter which form he was. Shysage felt his voice was the key but it didn't matter. Shysage and I had already agreed that I should stay a pony for at least a month, so my body could put itself back together, Shysage said with a grin. Well, I felt like that... Still, to watch Shysage as a people, with his beautiful pony daughter curled up in his lap, asleep... I would usually move and put my pony head up on Shysage's knee so my head was next to Ariel's. We had spent a lot of time around Cel and Lu as people, and I missed them just thinking about that. Well, after that second week... It was probably the middle of the night. The temperature outside had been getting slowly warmer, and sleeping seemed easier for all of us. And Shysage got his sweatshirt back too. Shysage and I were asleep, of course. I felt something nudge my face. I didn't think it was Ariel; when she woke up hungry, she helped herself, and I told her every time she should do that. Ariel couldn't talk yet, but Shysage and I, we still talked to her almost constantly, when we were awake and coherent (Shysage's word) anyway. Shysage could have nudged my face too, but it was Ariel; she was standing up, and that alone made this Mare want to cry buckets. We had spent the last two weeks in our cave home, and there was so little room... Ariel was just standing there looking at me. Even though I was half asleep, I struggled and got up too. It actually felt very nice to stand, by the way. I put my head up against hers right away. "Ariel, mommy and daddy love you very much" I said softly. By then, Shysage was awake and also standing with his head on the other side of Ariel's. Ariel smiled, and we didn't move for the longest time. Well, I was fighting back tears, and I think Shysage was too. Shysage asked me about a slow walk down to the pond. It was the middle of the night, but we were all soon on our way. Shysage went first, and Ariel walked right next to me behind Shysage the whole trip. Well, she had walking down, no question about that. And, as we walked, Shysage asked me to explain to Ariel that she must never leave our cave when mommy and daddy are sleeping. I explained this very carefully. The three of us now, we just had to stay together. And I tried to explain the water to Ariel, well that if she got too far in, she could... Shysage gently mentioned to Ariel that she should just stay at the edge of the water for now. Then Shysage took a drink, and Ariel did the same thing. She sneezed first time, but otherwise did ok. And I drank a lot; I guess my body still needed a lot of water. It was too early for oats yet; we could eat some when we went back to the cave, although Ariel would nurse for months more. And I forgot to mention that the moon was high, and almost full; it was easily bright enough. Shysage led us over to that flat, exposed rock area, and we all sat down. Ariel had no trouble, and easily sat right next to me. Shysage sat on her other side. I said quietly "Shysage, how in Equestria..." I have wondered many times, how I ever found my Shysage, but with Ariel here... That was just so amazing to me. Many nights I wondered if I could ever even be able to have a foal... But here... I just wept softly as I pulled Ariel close with one of my front legs. For a while, Shysage and I both talked to true friend. We were both thankful for Ariel, and the last two weeks, hard as they were. But we both knew that, well, we still needed his help, maybe even more. There was no moon spotlight that night, but it didn't matter. Ariel and Shysage, what more could I ever want. We soon made our way back to our cave. I laid on my belly where I normally did, and Ariel copied me exactly, and was soon laying right next to me, an she leaned up against me. Shysage carefully laid down on Ariel's other side. Ariel looked at me, and I smiled, and gently nudged her nose with mine. Ariel looked over at Shysage and he did the same thing. Ariel smiled, put her head down on her front legs and was quickly asleep. Shysage and I wept softly together for a while... I was feeling a LOT better, compared to those last few days right before Ariel was born. And with a foal that can walk... Shysage said Mares in Equestria have it so easy... The very next day, we starting taking walks. Ariel needed them, well, I guess all three of us needed them. They were mostly to the pond, and around in the woods nearby. And Shysage let me set the pace and distance. He knew I was best at keeping tabs on how Ariel was doing. And on epecially long walks, Ariel would grow suddenly tired. We would stop and lay down. Ariel would nurse, then fall asleep next to her adoring mom and dad. Shysage and I would usually cry softly together, then I would nap too. Outside the cave, Shysage seldom napped. He felt it was a little too early for Cougars, but he wanted to know right away... It was clear though, over the next weeks that Ariel was growing rapidly. She was getting bigger, and could travel a lot further, even over a few weeks time. ... Maybe a month after Ariel was born, I asked Shysage if we could take a walk to the, well, it is the east meadow, in our present, the meadow closest to our home, wierd. It was the closest meadow to our cave here in the Past, and it really wasn't far. Shysage answered softly "For you, Mare, anything!" Ariel was bouncing up and down on her front legs. She wanted to go for a walk too. Like I said, the walk to the meadow wasn't very far. Well, it was further than I remember, but Ariel didn't have any problems. The meadow still looked mowed, but it was all green, blanketed with new oat plants shooting up out of the ground. These young plants tasted very good... It was also easy to see that the meadow was empty. We would have been able to see a Cougar, even crouching, as low as the new oats were. We could also see what we thought was that small hill. We got to that hill just as warm sunlight spilled over the tops of the trees that were our woods. "Shysage, I think one of us should do Cougar patrol" I mentioned quietly. Well, I did have a reason for wanting to come here... I think Shysage read my mind. "Precious, mommy Mare... That's fine, just stay where you can see us." I don't know how he does that. But he must have known... "Ariel, stand back here with me please" Shysage said softly to Ariel. I just shook my head in disbelief... But, now, still a pony, some distance from Shysage and Ariel... I threw myself back on my hind legs, stood up as a people, and immediately spun up my Cutie Mark. It never occurred to me that I might lose Phantom Alicorn just from having a foal. I didn't. Shysage said I jumped 15 feet into the air, but with my wings... I headed rapidly towards the sky. I am a Pegasus Mare, and that felt... amazing... And, with my Cutie Mark spun up, my wings were bigger, my muscles were stronger... This is how Shysage said I should spell what I yelled as I headed for the sky: "Yeeee... aaaahhhh... ha ha haaa..." Ok, after getting very high, I turned back into a pony, and did glide slowly down, sweeping increasingly larger circles in the process, as I checked for Cougars. When I landed, Shysage was crying, hugging Ariel. It took a while, but he explained what had happened. Ariel didn't quite know what to do with the low rumble from my Cutie Mark, but she looked rather alarmed when her mom headed rapidly up into the sky. Ariel said her very first word at that point... "mommy?" Shysage quickly hugged Ariel, and said softly "Ariel, honey, mommy is flying. She will come back in a little while." Ariel looked back down, and stared briefly at the ground maybe five feet in front of her. Then she looked up, smiled, and said quietly to herself "fly..." That was her second word. Ariel is a Pegasus, all right. Shysage was a pony, and turned some, and spread his wings out for Ariel to see. She got this most wondrous look on her face, and her eyes and mouth opened very wide. Almost without thinking, Ariel slowly, and haltingly unseated her own wings, until both were fully out like Shysage's. Ariel then began to bounce on her front legs, and haphazardly move her wings. "Fly! Fly! Fly!' Ariel said this a number of times, in her high pitched baby voice, and Shysage just could not keep from crying. After I landed, and he explained it to me, I cried too, as Shysage and I hugged our amazing foal... Ariel Dawn was here...