//------------------------------// // Chapter 16, Sweet Mare // Story: The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 10 -- Ariel Dawn // by shysage //------------------------------// Since we now had to speak old pony on a daily basis, it was amazing how quickly we learned this strange new language. After two weeks maybe, it was like we just spoke it naturally. It was surely different. And Shysage and I did carefully and quietly speak modern equestrian together on occasion when we felt it was necessary. But as time passed, that happened less and less. We were just becoming a part of Annie's world, the world of Coptol (the old pony word for capitol), the world of the pony nation before it was Equestria. But Equestria would happen in 5 or 10 years maybe, as best as we could tell, and this was only a guess. But it was fall, and becoming increasingly cooler. Since the afternoon we rescued Annie from the Cougars, from that day on, we spent nights in our cave. We all felt that was just a lot safer. But as the temperatures slowly dropped, we found ourselves spending more and more time in the cave, out of the cold wind. A few other things had to change however. Last year, even during the fall, Shysage had continued to collect oats from the east meadow. He wanted to make sure we had enough for winter. And Shysage had to be a people for this. Up until we saved Annie, we had already collected a good supply. We thought that Ari would be eating more this winter, so Shysage tried to take that into account. But we never even dreamed we would have Annie with us too. Harvesting more oats would have been nice, and there were plenty, but Shysage said what we both knew; Annie seeing him as a people too, that was probably too much. She had already seen my people form, and even that... We both needed to stay ponies now, and so extra harvesting just couldn't happen. Canterlot Recording came to a screeching halt as well. We couldn't write anything new, and we couldn't even review what we had written. That part was just hard; we had no idea how we would ever be able to get what we had already written to our present, and we already realized we would need to just remember as much as we could. Shysage quietly suggested running back through the activities of each day during whatever free time we found ourselves with. I think for both of us, that wasn't much. We had two young, growing mares to take care of now, and that kept us both pretty occupied. Wow, and brushing each others hair... The pony doing the brushing was a people for this, but now we couldn't... Sometimes we take little things for granted. Shysage and I really missed such a simple delight, a humble means of showing each other we cared. We did manage to fly together, the four of us, on a number of afternoons, before it became too cold for flying. Annie shared our love of flying. That probably is a Pegasus thing, although I know Pegasi that don't care for flying much. That wasn't Annie. Annie's stamina was on par with Ari's. It was clear that before she came to us, she either didn't or couldn't fly a lot. But Annie loved flying, and thoroughly enjoyed our time in the air. And it rapidly became clear that Annie would become tired before the rest of us, and so I just tracked her energy as we flew. Well, Ari was usually doing that too. Ari is such a smart girl... Cold weather put a stop to our flying though. Winter is just hard for Pegasi who love to fly... Well, Ari already knew we were an affectionate family. Ari, Shysage and I, we hugged a lot, and cried softly together a lot. As a family, our mutual love and devotion was out in the open, and that didn't change. We just added Annie to our family, and she clearly didn't mind. I spoke with Shysage quietly at one point. He suggested we wait and let Annie tell us about her family; he felt we should let Annie decide when she talked about that subject, and how much. Well, Annie didn't mention much. But even from little comments and statements we occasionally heard, it was clear that, to Annie, life in the pony capitol (uncreatively named Coptol) was just hard. We could read in between the lines... Pony tribes that were outwardly one, but each tribe continued to fight subtly for their own agenda. We guessed the tension in the air in that city was probably felt by everypony. And we could have guessed how that tension rippled down into the individual pony families. And if we add marauding Cougars to the mix... Well, it would not have been fun, and Annie's attitude towards Coptol seemed to reflect that. Annie seemed starved for the love and affection that Ari, Shysage and I shared on a daily basis. We quickly folded her into our loving arms. She evidently needed that; as we hugged together, Annie often cried more than we did. Even Ari quietly thanked us one evening after Annie was asleep. Maybe Ari was realizing that the love we shared as a family was rare and precious. Well, we certainly felt that way. Both Shysage and I knew that families in both our worlds generally were far more difficult. And it was clear true friendship, putting each other first, that had transformed our family. And we joyfully shared that with Annie without explaining why. Shysage and I, we loved our Ariel Dawn. Annie was here; we loved her too. And Ari was getting an object lesson about sharing true friendship. While a lot more busy usually, our days together with both Ari and Annie were amazing. And Ari and Annie were quickly best of friends. ... Ari and Annie talked together a LOT, girls just do that. Annie was clearly such a sweet spirited mare so we didn't really worry about that. It rapidly became clear that both girls were having a profoundly positive effect on each other. As a result, Shysage and I, we didn't try to keep tabs on every conversation they had. I had to laugh as I wrote that; these two mares talked together almost constantly. Cel and Lu did the same thing. My sister and I did the same thing. Uhm, I gotta stop that thought... And I think Ari especially probably felt that mom and dad needed some time together and alone. I think she was right, but we all enjoyed each day together. Still, Ari suggested we move the pantry to the floor at the back of the cave, and make the raised area where the pantry was, that would be Ari and Annie's room. Cel and Lu had asked for their own domains too so we didn't think too much about it. Still growing mares, the girls slept more than Shysage and I anyway. Rain had forced us all into our cave early on one cool evening, and that was fine. Ari and Annie were in their room, talking quietly like they always did. Shysage and I were on our bellies next to each other and both our heads were together over my front legs. Shysage was napping. I overheard the girls... Annie spoke slowly, answering a question from Ari, I think. "No, I don't ever want to go back to Coptol... I have never seen a Mare and a Stallion that love each other so much... And they love you... and me... Your whole family is so nice, I don't ever want to leave you..." Annie said this much, and towards the end she was speaking even slower, and her words just sort of trailed off. It was quiet less than a minute, then Annie mentioned faintly "Unless..." Ari knew that Annie was thinking about something. Ari said quietly "Friend?" Annie sighed, then said quickly and calmly back "Oh Ari, friend..." and they hugged briefly I think. Still, it was clear Ari wanted to know what Annie was thinking about before. These girls seldom kept secrets. And mentioning the word friend was Ari asking. Annie was quiet briefly, then she haltingly said this. "Well, its just that... Well, if I was the Mare, well... Then I would have to go back..." Annie said this slowly and it came out very disjointed, like Annie was at a loss for words. Ari queried right away "the Mare?" Annie quickly responded "You don't know about the Mare?" She paused briefly, then said a little more quietly "Oh thats right, you've never been to Coptol." Pausing briefly, Annie quietly said this. "Every mare in Coptol dreams... We all hope that we might be... The Mare will foal the two app..." Annie ended up speaking slowly, with the most dreamy voice, then she stopped abruptly right there. Then Annie laughed loudly. "Oh Ari, that will never be me... I am about as ordinary as they come..." The Fluttershy sensitivity in Ari was not about to let this go. She said quietly "Hey... Annie, you are amazing... And I don't ever want to leave you either..." They both hugged again, and cried together a few minutes. Annie said softly "Ari, I feel so honored to be a part of your family. It is so... different... You all actually love each other, I can tell. And you all love me... I don't understand that. But, well, I don't want to lose that..." Annie was crying again. They hugged some more I think. That's what Ari always did when Annie cried. A few minutes later, Ari quietly said this. "Annie, I don't think we will be going anywhere in the near future, and I know you are welcome to stay with us as long as you want." It was clear she had put some thought into the exact wording, and I appreciated that. Still, our Ari said what Shysage and I both felt. Annie could stay with us as long as she wanted. Annie cried over this for a while. ... Honestly though, our time together, the four of us, it was amazing. There were, could be no by the moonlight nights, but that had to stop anyway, because it was just too cold. Years ago, rubbing noses, hugging each other, and being right next to each other, that had been easily enough. Well, that seemed the case now too. We couldn't really do anything more, but we really didn't need to. I think we both still missed my sister, our Princess and the rest. But, like I said, I think we were both working on enjoying Ari, Annie, and each other, right here and now. And Shysage quietly confirmed what I suspected, we were both talking to true friend a lot more now. Even though we expected spending years with Annie because she had no intention of leaving us, we were still entrusted with two young mares that we loved dearly. And it seemed like, to me anyway, that each new day pulled our past in 'our present' just a little further away. But Shysage and I agreed, we would see this through. Wherever, whenever, we would take care of our Ari, and help Annie any way we could. Like I mentioned before; the cooler weather found us in our cave more and more, but I don't think any of us minded. I certainly didn't; that meant more time with my amazing Stallion. Just being next to Shysage, feeling him near me, that was amazing to me. And Ari and Annie could always find stuff to talk about -- for hours. Shysage needed to be a people in order to build a new door for our cave. He did this by breaking branches off nearby trees, and leaning them up against the exposed side of our cave. The branches broke the wind, and dimmed the light some. Late that fall, and over the course of maybe five days, he got up before the girls did, turned into a people, and took care of this. It was my job to keep Ari and Annie inside until he came back as a pony. I didn't like him being away, but I could hear him. He was close, and that was enough. We didn't expect any Cougars this late in the year. Also late that fall, It sounded like Ari and Annie came to terms with something that had come up at least a few times. Annie would not forget the strange being that had quickly killed the nine Cougars that would have certainly killed Annie if she landed. And Annie knew that being was me. I overheard a few of the times they talked about this, and Ari could usually deflect the question in one way or another. I guess Annie wanted to know though. Ari answered with just one word, pronounced "n-tel" in old pony, probably a forging together of the two words no and tell. It meant secret. Trying hard not to cry, Ari explained to Annie that there were aspects about her mom that had to be kept secret (n-tel). The girls hugged and cried together briefly, but Annie knew that Ari would never intentionally lie to her. But Ari explained that she couldn't explain, and that was evidently enough for Annie. I don't think the subject came up again. Well, I did overhear Annie mention to Ari a few times that she felt safer with her mom (me) around. I guess... The girls did talk a lot together about Cutie Marks. Neither mare had their mark yet, and that is (usually) just an amazing threshold that ponies go through as they grow up. It was clear both mares were insanely creative. Some of the marks and abilities they came up with, I had to work really hard to not laugh, even though Ari and Annie laughed a lot about this! Ari had no clue what her mark would be. Ari felt it was too early for her; she was just a yearling after all (well, a year and a half old). Annie was clearly old enough to get her mark, which was very exciting to both girls. Annie just had no idea what she could do that was, well, above normal. Annie thought of herself as a painfully normal mare. Of course, Ari didn't let her get away with that. And Annie correctly guessed that Shysage and my Cutie Marks were n-tel. Late one fall afternoon, we were all huddled in our cave. Our new door wasn't quite done yet, and it was a pretty cool day. We were all trying to keep each other warm. The wind was blowing from the east, making warmth difficult for us. It wasn't freezing, but it wasn't quite comfortable either. It was quiet for a little while, one of those rare occasions where Ari and Annie were silent. Annie spoke quietly and slowly. "Shysage, Summer, thank you for welcoming me into your family... And Ari..." Annie had to stop there, and the girls hugged and cried together a little while. Shysage answered for us both. "Annie, you are such a sweet mare. And we will do anything we can to help you, just let us know." Annie and Ari cried together a little while, then it was quiet again. Annie said quietly, to nopony in particular "I wonder if there's a Cutie Mark for that..." ... Last winter, we had spent a lot of time teaching Ari how to write, modern equestrian of course. Shysage had cobbled together a clip thing that allowed Ari to attach a feather to one of her front hooves. Berries and water made ink, and pieces of those broad leaf plants served as paper. Even though that clip thing was very tempermental and fell off a lot, Ari was patient, and made a lot of progress a year ago now. But this winter... The first freezing cold winter day that we were confined to our cave, Ari asked about teaching Annie how to write. Ari reminded us that she needed more practice too. And for the record, Ari had quickly hidden our Canterlot Recording pages, my Equestria Girls world shoes, and the clip, some feathers, and a bunch of berries when we realized Annie would be staying in the cave with us. Ari hid them in a small recess, and piled a bunch of rocks... I was glad she thought of that little detail because Shysage and I had started that day pulled in so many directions. Ari thought ahead, and did what needed to be done. She is a lot like Shysage in that regard. But Ari asked about teaching Annie to write, and Ari herself could practice too. Annie absolutely loved the idea. She said only Unicorns in Coptol could write. Shysage thought a few minutes. We loved Annie to death, but we didn't feel any great destiny awaited her, even though it would seem rude to even suggest such a thing out loud. Annie was amazing at being normal, and so sweet about it. The pony nation would always need more ponies like that! Shysage saw no harm in this exercise. Of course the lessons would be in old pony now, and Annie would need to help us get the letters right; Annie could read a little already. We guessed that, as rough as life was in Coptol, reading wasn't too high a priority, for anypony... Shysage pulled out a blank piece of leaf paper, and made some ink. The girls spent that entire first day working carefully on the old pony alphabet. And the clip thing fit Annie very well, and fell off only twice. We could say that such an exercise kept these two growing mares busy for hours; both enjoyed themselves immensely. But Shysage listened carefully too, and also insisted that the girls write everything down. For the historian in Shysage, this was an amazing opportunity. It didn't take long until we were confined to our cave most days because of the cold. And we had no pony coats. Well, we always made our way briefly down to the pond for a drink every day, even if we were freezing. We quickly ran back to our cave when we were done. But it also didn't take long until both girls were very good at writing and reading old pony. After a week, the alphabet, then short words. Annie was still teaching the rest of us new words in old pony. Both girls quickly began writing sentences, and came up with the most bazaar... We all spent a lot of time laughing. And Shysage taught them about poetry some too. If I could fly from east to west in search of loving beauty, I'd never find another near, the mare that now comes too me. An angel's eyes, the sweetest smile, her voice I long to hear. A friend so true, my lover too, Of course, I cried as Shysage worked on putting together another variation of a poem he originally started while we raised Cel and Lu, also here in the past. But Shysage only got this far, then he had to stop because he was crying too, and we hugged tightly. We have been through so much together... Words quickly fail at trying to describe the mutual devotion we share. Annie cried too, then explained that most of the stallions in Coptol didn't make much time for true love (Annie's words). I wondered silently if maybe they couldn't... Annie said she was still hoping to find a stallion like Shysage, which made Shysage blush. I didn't say anything, but I am pretty sure my Stallion is easily one in maybe a million... Well, I cried again because I still don't fully understand how I had even found him. One warmish morning in the middle of the winter, Shysage quietly replenished our supply of berries and broad leaves for paper. Well, he had to, Annie and Ari needed more... I wasn't happy because he had to go alone. He came back frozen just about, but at least he was safe. And I got to work on warming him back up. But the girls made amazing progress together on reading and writing that winter, and had a blast together doing that. Ari and Annie were probably the only Pegasus mares in the realm right now that could write... ... One day late that winter, it snowed all day, constantly, slowly, gently. It wasn't windy at all, the snow just kept coming down. By the end of the day, as it started to get dark in our cave, Shysage said it looked like maybe three inches of snow on the ground. He said it was a wet snow, and he didn't expect it to last very long tomorrow. But we all decided to brave the cold, go get a drink, and head back in for the night. We headed out slowly, and made our way to the pond. It was cold, but not windy at all. And the blanket of snow... It looked very pretty, and the woods were so quiet... Well, it took a little while for Shysage to knock a hole in the ice so we could get a drink from the pond. In the time it took for us to all get some water, the sun had gone down, and a three quarter moon was rising rapidly. It never really got dark. On our way back, I asked Shysage about a brief stay at the rock. There is a slab of rock that is right at ground level. We had ventured out there on a few other nights. And with the snow tonight... We knew there would be no snow on it, and we were right. The flat surface of the rock was completely dry, and vaguely warm. We all sat down, and just took in the view across the woods, covered gently with a blanket of white. There were no leaves on most trees, so the moonlight beamed down, and the woods looked almost surreal, but were still very beautiful. We were all soon hugging together, and weeping softly. And I think we managed to keep each other just a little warm that way too. We stayed out on that rock for a while that night. But, at one point, I said what was on my heart. "Shysage, Ari, Annie, I love you all so very much. I honestly look forward to the coming year and our time together..." Well, we were all crying softly together already. But I had to add this. "And Annie, know that we will do anything we can to help you..." Annie was right next to me, and she hugged me tightly. I really wanted to add the words "No matter what we need to do" but I didn't. But that is what true friendship is all about. A true friend is a friend in need... We would help Annie any way we could, no matter what the cost, just like true friend does for us, and just like true friend expects us to do for others. Nopony on this rock had any idea what the coming year would bring, but I spoke for our family. We would all help Annie any way we could, no matter what. That is true friendship. Still, after crying together a while with my family, I realized... I could probably do this. Even if we had to wait years here... even with Annie... After we found it anyway, the Portal would probably take us back within hours, maybe even minutes of when we left our present. The hardship of being gone, separated from Sis and everypony else, that would be our hardship alone. But we could do that. We were true friends. Everything would work out. For the first time in I don't know how long, I sighed. It was the sigh of me relaxing and enjoying the here and now. Besides, when spring came, we would be flying again, the four of us together. Pegasus fun for a Pegasus family. That would be amazing. And with summer coming, and warm, maybe Shysage and I could sneak away a time or two for some moonlight... I ever so slightly hugged Shysage just a little tighter. Then I smiled.