Shysage and I, we had been here in this pony-perfect meadow, Ponyville before Ponyville, for maybe 10 months now. The first three or four months were absolutely amazing; just my Stallion and his Mare. We were together and alone and close, as much as we possibly could. Shysage said that was our summer vacation. The following six months were focused on surviving our winter, with me carrying a foal. That was a tall order. And as the winter crept slowly by, I was increasingly immobilized as Ariel Dawn grew large inside me, and even enduring each day became our top priority. Shysage enjoyed our summer with me. He faithfully endured the winter with me too, and everything in between. Our first month with Ariel was amazing too. Holding her was so... She is so cute... During that month, my body gradually returned to normal, and so I guess I did too. And I got caught up enough on my sleep so I wasn't a zombie all the time. And watching my Pegasus foal start talking and trying to fly, all on the same day... Our Ariel was here, and each day was increasingly delightful.
But for Ariel, well she was increasingly seeing a whole new world. Shysage and I talked; we noticed the same thing with Cel and Lu while we had them. We guessed Lu was a yearling, and Cel was a year older. But, by the way they acted, maybe their life before we found them, it must have been difficult, anyway. They only unwound and began to look around after we embraced them into our family. The king's mares, the two appointed ones... I could only imagine... But for Ariel, that slowly taking in what she saw around her, it was happening now...
Shysage and I talked to Ariel like she was here starting soon after, well, the next morning. It would have looked strange, but we were talking to this growing life inside my belly. Shysage felt Ariel could start processing that maybe the last few months, although she surely sensed it from early on. Still, we wondered if all that helped Ariel begin to talk early. Well, maybe not that early; three months is more common here in Equestria. Ariel talking was both amazing and delightful at the same time. And she wasn't quite like Cel; Cel asked about everything. Lu was content, especially early on, to just be near me. Ariel struck a nice medium. Ariel talked a lot, and Shysage and I, we constantly told her she could ask us anything. We wanted her to learn as much as possible, as fast as possible. I don't know why, that's just what we did. But Ariel needed to be close to at least one of us, as much as possible. Neither Shysage nor I minded.
Of course Ariel wanted to know about the four Cougar carcasses with rocks on their skulls, spread around our tree in that meadow. At least they didn't smell anymore. But we spent most of that afternoon, talking about Cougars, predators, fighting, death, anger... We doubted Ariel could take it all in, but we answered all her questions, honestly, and as clearly as possible. And this included me showing her my Phantom Alicorn form. She had already seen it once, but we carefully explained everything. We even described an example or two about how we had helped Equestria. Well, Ariel asked! We quickly found out one thing. Ariel was a fast learner. She was very sensitive, almost like me, but she clearly had Shysage's amazing cognative abilities. She rapidly thought things through. Sometimes listening to Ariel and Shysage talk, it was amazing. They could almost talk in shorthand (Shysage's word), and sometimes didn't need to finish the sentence to communicate the thought.
We were in the Past, but we were here by ourselves. We taught Ariel about true friend early on. Well, that is who we are, what we do. She saw this a lot on a day to day basis. But Ariel needed to know. That is just the core of our family. She understood. Well, we talked to our true friend in the sky a lot anyway. We felt we had to. In a lot of ways, true friend was all we had here. Ariel increasingly realized... And Shysage felt this was very important. We didn't teach her just what we did, and demand she do it. We spent a lot of time teaching her, showing her why true friend was the center of our lives. It was all very practical. Ariel saw that. Ariel talked to true friend a lot with us. That was a family practice after all. Shysage knew that a point would probably come in her life; she would either own it or walk on. That would be her choice. For now, we hid nothing from Ariel like we felt we had to, with Cel and Lu.
And Shysage and I did talk one evening after Ariel was asleep. We were here right now, and we would freely tell Ariel about what we knew about that. If we needed to reference events in the future, we would keep our description as general as possible. This was hard, since Ariel was so inquisitive. But Shysage felt we should not tell her about even events that would surely happen in less than 20 years from when we were. That would all wait until we actually got her back to our future (although that point filled me with a vague dread, I don't know). Ariel could know about right now, and mom and dad's past in the most general of terms. And she even pushed Shysage on a number of occasions. He just smiled, hugged his daughter, and said quietly "I will answer that question when it is appropriate." Ariel just learned that some knowledge had to wait.
Beyond that, it was just Shysage, Ariel and myself. We simply enjoyed life together. It was just the three of us, and I know each of us treasured the other two. Each day was amazingly special, and with Ariel rapidly taking in life here in Equestria before Equestria...
...
I think Shysage and I were ready for another summer vacation. Don't get me wrong, Ariel was so worth it. But the last months, winter especially... Grueling quickly comes to mind. That first summer with Ariel was amazing. Ariel was learning so much. She was growing fast as well. She still nursed, and took at least two naps a day. Well, Shysage said that, with Ariel nursing, it was not likely I would get started on another foal just yet. We had to be careful, but we enjoyed each other quite a bit that summer. Ariel took fairly long naps in the afternoon, and in the grass (oats) in the sunlight was her favorite spot. We would often move just next to Ariel, with a small bit of standing grass between us, and Shysage and I... We kept careful track of Ariel, of course. A time or two, she woke up early, and just said quietly "Mom?" She evidently knew we would be close, and we were. It was never a problem.
And we still did Cougar patrol every day, every morning. Shysage and I would take turns. The rule was that whoever was in the air would never go out of sight of the other two. I would rather have been able to fly together, but it was doubtful that would hapen until next summer, at least. For this Pegasus mommy, that would be a lot of fun. Ariel already knew how to get her wings out, and we have talked a lot about keeping them safe. Over the course of the summer, she got better at flapping them together, and basically moving a lot of air. She still had too little wing muscle strength though. But next spring...
It wasn't quite as often, but we made trips to that tall tree as a family as often as we wanted. It wasn't quite as easy; we had to walk the whole way. Shysage or I had to be in the air a few times to check ahead for Cougars. It was usually Shysage. The walk there and back was not a problem for Ariel. Well, she usually nursed, then napped while we were there. Still, she talked to true friend with us, and we basically just enjoyed the afternoon together. Ariel was talking a lot, and that was so fun. And, well, Ariel and I started having girl time on those trips. She had already noticed that Shysage's pony body was different, and she wanted to know. Well, our Ariel wanted to know everything about everything. But this... I handled everything very carefully, but I told her what I felt she needed to know. And I also tried to explain just how desparately in love Shysage and I are, and that was really the center. Well that's not the only thing we talked about. It is just that our trips to that big tree sanctuary, those times just became very special times as Arial and I talked about things she was not comfortable asking dad. We would often stop, and hug while weeping softly. I love her so much... And I quickly saw that she is like me in so many ways. Shysage had already told me as much though.
The summer held its chores. On really warm days, we would relax in the shade of our trees and work on Canterlot Recording. I spent a bunch of days getting caught up. But we mostly just read through what we had already written, so we could remember as much as possible when we got, well, back... With Ariel here, I just read out loud. We were careful about explaining what exactly these leaf pages were for. And some sections were clearly not age appropriate (Shysage's words) for Ariel. But Ariel really enjoyed knowing about our time here before she came. Shysage and I would often read through what we had already written before we had Ariel. That summer, we read out loud a lot. It didn't take Ariel long to learn to read, and her vocabulary (Shysage's word again) was expanding rapidly. A few times Ariel really wanted to know about us before we came here. Shysage and I always did the same thing. We stopped what we were doing, group-hugged her, and said quietly "Ariel, we will tell you about that as soon as we can." We hoped that would be once we were able to get back to our present. Still, I wondered how...
Later in the summer, we also started harvesting oats again. It was funny; Shysage and I ate a lot of oats every day, that was our food. Ariel paid no attention, and usually nursed while I ate oats. But Shysage explained to Ariel that we needed to stockpile food for the coming winter. Shysage would change into a people, then harvest a big armful of plants, then we would all walk together back to the cave in the woods, and put the oats on the shelf and the stems on the floor. A few trips an afternoon was all we could do. We had done harvesting the last summer and fall too. But we did it together. Ariel and I, we talked the whole time; that was just so fun. Shysage would look at us, and put both his hands up, shape them like talking ducks, and flap their bills open and shut. Ariel and I just laughed. One afternoon near the end of the summer, Shysage was sitting in the cave pulling the oats off the stems, and throwing the oats up on the shelf. He laughed and called the shelf full of oats our pantry. Sort of on a lark, he bit a piece off one of the oat things, and chewed it up. He was still a people. He managed to get it down, but he said that oats taste so much better when he is a pony. I just laughed. I knew my Stallion; as a people, a soda and a hamburger would be his preference. That would have to wait... If...
But Ariel asked Shysage "Dad, can I try the rest of that oat thing?" She quickly gobbled it down and said "Wow..." Shysage wisely grabbed a handful from the pantry, and Ariel made quick work of them. Ariel never nursed again. From the end of that summer, she ate oats just like we did. My little girl was growing up...
It's so easy to get complacent... I was in the air looking for Cougars one day at the end of the summer. It was cooling off, and raining a bit more, so Shysage felt autumn was close. It was still a warmish day, and I was supposed to be keeping guard. I was more focused on enjoying flying, I think. I was almost back to our tree when I saw them, just two. They were crouching, actually sneaking up on Shysage and Ariel from behind our tree. At first I wasn't sure what to do. I was still a pony, and decided I would pretend I hadn't seen them, and land next to Shysage and Ariel. I did that, walked around behind them, and said quietly for them to stay behind me. It was only at that point that I threw myself back, changed to a people, and spun up my Cutie Mark. I motioned a shield up with my right hand, just as they both jumped at us together, growling loudly, fangs bared... They certainly didn't recognize the people I was, or care about the noise. But I don't think they expected the shield either; both crashed into it, hard, and fell to the ground. Motioning electricity on them with my left hand next immobilized them anyway.
Well, we didn't want Cougar carcasses right here at our tree. It was kind of dangerous, but I had Shysage and Ariel follow me far away into the meadow behind our tree. Once we were on the other side of the trees, I stayed between Shysage and Ariel, and the Cougars. We basically walked backwards maybe 500 feet before they both managed to get up. I was counting on them following us using our scent, which they did. Shield, electricity then rocks, and they were dead. And they were a good distance from our tree, and mostly downwind. Still, Shysage pointed out... These two Cougars had things like Shysage's shoulder sack. They had carried food with them for the trip. Judging by the amount of blood we saw on the pouches, these sacks had been refilled a few times. It looked gross. But the Cougar scouts were clearly getting better at this... I guess all our explaining had prepared Ariel. She was scared like we were, but she didn't freak out or cry hysterically. As Shysage and I talked a little about the pouches, Ariel said quietly "Mommy, I don't like angry animals..." Shysage and I agreed, then we all hugged together for a little while.
...
There were, are a lot of details about Shysage and my life that we just take care of and go on. We have mentioned some of these in past volumes. From very early on in our relationship, brushing each other's mane and tail was always a very special time we shared. It wasn't physical or exciting, it was just a humbling way of showing we cared so deeply for each other, just sharing in so menial a task. We often would weep softly as we serve each other doing that. After our arrival here in the Past, we kept doing that. We didn't have our fancy Equestria Girls plastic (I don't know what that means) hairbrush. But we just gently ran our fingers through each other's hair, and worked any knots out. It was still very moving, very humbling.
The first fall we were here in the Past (well this was really our second trip back to the Past) we started running stuff for our winter to the cave that would shelter us. On a particularly blustery day, the wind blew a small branch down to the ground in front of us. Shysage had both arms wrapped around a very large bundle of oat plants, and we were in the woods, almost to the cave. Shysage watched it fall, stopped and looked at it, then carefully moved it aside with his foot, and asked me to not step on it. Well, it was just a branch, but I... That was fine, I carefully walked around it. After taking care of the oats, we were walking back together; Shysage stayed a people. It didn't take long to find that small branch. Shysage picked it up, and I just wondered. A few minutes later, he had broken most of the branches off, and trimmed the rest to approximately the same length. He was then carefully peeling the bark off. Well, he had made us a comb of sorts, with five small branches connected to a larger central branch. I am not sure how Shysage saw a comb in the random branch blown from a tree, but it worked very well. We turned around, and put our comb in the cave. Shysage changed back into a pony, and we headed off for another load of oats.
Later that same afternoon, Shysage had us walk back to the cave. For over an hour, my Stallion combed my mane and tail. He kept saying my hair was beautiful. Well, I was carrying Ariel, and I didn't feel... I just wept softly the whole time. And that winter... The closer it got to Ariel's arrival, the more I guess I needed that. Shysage would gently comb my mane until he couldn't even hold his arm up, rest some, then comb some more. He helped me survive, being in foal was very hard towards the end.
For the first few months after Ariel was born, well after we got our sanity back, Shysage and I began combing each other's mane and tail again. We both love that. Ariel would nurse then sleep early on, and paid little attention to this. As her new world started to open up before her very eyes, she paid a little more attention. But when she was maybe two months old, I noticed a large knot in her mane, probably from her last bath in the lake. And I need to add that Shysage was a people on and off since Ariel was born. After Ariel was a month old, I often switched back and forth too. None of this bothered Ariel in the least. And, I don't know; hugging Ariel in my people lap as she slept, or stroking her neck with my fingers to help her get to sleep... Anyway, when I saw that knot, I turned into a people, grabbed that comb, had Ariel curl up in my lap, and then I gently worked that knot out. And after I was done, in her cute foal voice... "Mommy, can you comb my mane like you comb daddy's?" I had Ariel stand up in front of me, and I began to comb... We both just melted, I think. We were quickly weeping softly together. From that point on, whenever Shysage got out the comb, Ariel would walk quickly over, and climb in daddy's lap, or when she was too big for that, she would lay on her belly and put her head on daddy's leg... Ariel was waiting for her turn, and she always got it!
Near the end of that summer, or early fall; Ariel was probably four or five months old. We were in our cave for the evening. By the last light of the setting sun, Shysage was combing his daughter's mane. Both were weeping softly. Shysage loves Ariel so much... Well, I watched this a little while, and started crying. It took a little while and a family group hug, then through tears...
"Shysage, I love you so much... I simply know of no way I could possibly love you any more... But I know that tomorrow I will... Shysage, please don't ever leave..." That was all I could say. Shysage and I cried together for a while; I am pretty sure he feels the same way. Ariel stayed close, crying too. She has a lot of Fluttershy sensitivity, and probably felt what was going on. As a family, we cried ourselves to sleep together that night.
...
Well, when it did get pretty cool, we moved back into our cave. It was probably early fall. Shysage said it was early because none of the trees had changed yet. Ariel didn't understand and quickly... Shysage explained how the leaves on some trees change into beautiful colors as the tree stops supplying sap, and the leaves die and fall off. Shysage harvested a huge armfull of oats on the way. After he was done, he laughed, and said it was time for us to hybernate. Ariel didn't understand... Shysage explained how some animals survive winter by finding a warm cave and going to sleep for three months. Well, we are ponies, and we don't hybernate. We might sleep a little more though.
That evening, after we ate oats from the pantry, then made a trip to the pond for a drink, we ended up on that flat exposed rock area near our cave, sitting together. We talked to true friend some, but mostly enjoyed being together. A full moon soon rose and lit up the forest floor. It was cool, but there was little wind. With Shysage on one side of me and Ariel on the other as I hugged her close... I realized I had so much... I so deeply loved our family, and I was soon weeping softly. But then, my sister... Princess Twilight, and all our other pony friends... My amazing Twin an all our Equestria Girls world friends... Weeping changed to painful crying... I didn't want to be stuck here...