I had just come through the Portal from Equestria, into the Equestria Girls world. Once onto the grass, I just turned around, and moved a little to the side. I moved no further, and just stood there for a while, deep in thought. I was still facing the Portal wall, built into the base of the large statue in front of Canterlot High School.
But, I was off to the side some, and I could see the broad walkway leading away from CHS, leading to the nearby busy street. I also saw Fluttershy's Cott... apartment to the left, on the far side of that street. Traffic was heavy, and I heard the sound of cars, horns, tires, the occasional ambulance wailing in the background. I could hear birds occasionally too, but more faint than the hustle and bustle. Maybe it was rush hour or something.
But, coming from the calmness of Equestria, and the quiet of the Library in Princess Twilight's Castle... Well, the din pounded heavily. My first impulse was to go back through the Portal. In fact, my first thought was "Bah, why am I even here..."
...
Just standing there, I guess my mind wandered...
Years ago now, dying of cancer, trampled by my family, I fell through this very wall, into Equestria. My cancer was gone, and so was my family. It wasn't rocket science... I built a new life for myself in my new home world. My pony body didn't bother me at all. As a Pegasus, I ended up in Cloudsdale. My avid study of history led me to the Canterlot Library one day. I wanted to find out more about my new home. Of course, I stopped by the Audience Hall to ask permission first. Princess Celestia took the time to even see me, which really surprised me. But she listened to my story about why I had no Cutie Mark, then she led me personally to the Library. Entering the Library lobby, I immediately received my Cutie Mark (an open book), and Princess Celestia made me Shysage the Canterlot Recorder on the spot. She wanted help on some writing projects. I was delighted to be able to help... And, being able to live the rest of my life in peace, helping others, that meant so much to me. I settled in...
...Then I met Summer... She is my Mare in Equestria, and my wife here. She is also the Phantom Alicorn in Equestria; her amazing power made her a top secret, valuable tactical asset. I found her Cutie Mark in an ancient magic book long before... But that made her, well us both, frequent targets. Recently, Equestria finally succeeded in killing a fierce bully who haunted us all for over a millenia, Dark Melvain. But evidently he had long ago left a magical land-mine out of sight, just waiting, and Princess Twilight had accidentally set it off. Now, Summer was gone. Alive, as far as Pinkie Sense could tell, but she was somewhere here, in the hundreds of thousands of square miles that is the Equestria Girls world. And I had to find her... I wanted to find her, and soon... She might be the Phantom Alicorn, but she is my Mare, my world...
...
Soon after I fell through this very wall, I swore I would never return to this place, even if I knew how (I didn't at the time). But now... My Summer is here somewhere. I have no choice...
And... I think the process of Summer actually being taken from our room, well that knocked me unconcious. When I came to, a few hours later, a most doleful tune drifted lazily, quietly in the background (1). That same tune had followed me quietly here into the Equestria Girls world...
I turned, walked up to the steps, and checked the time on the clock in the school lobby just beyond the double-wide doors at the top of the steps. It was 4:33, and late afternoon. I was pretty sure it was a school day, but school would be out already. I just sat down on the bottom step.
"Well, what do I have" I thought to myself...
We knew Dark Melvain authored the spell that literally blasted Summer away from me, and put her here, as far as we could tell. The fact that this vile Unicorn was behind this was unsettling on so many levels. And the only thing Princess Twilight could remember from the magical spell was the phrase a wing and a prayer, referring to a pursuit or goal based on the most meager of resources. Well, that was how I felt right now. I had nothing else. I had no clue even.
My Summer is Equestria pony Summer Rain. She was born in Equestria, that is her home world. Well, her Equestria Girls world 'Twin' (parallel world counter-part, I don't know...), she is here, Equestria Girls Summer Rain. She lives in this world, along with her husband, who is also my Equestria Twin, Equestria pony Shysage (long story). We have used the name 'Twin Link' for this; Twins can feel each other's presence, and actually communicate over a distance of about half a mile. This means Summer's Twin could help me locate my Summer if I managed to get that close, and Summer wasn't knocked out (shudder). But Summer's Twin has her hands full with a 6 month old baby (her Ariel Dawn), and I was pretty sure taking them with me as I looked; that would just not work. I wouldn't even ask. Besides, if my Summer's Twin knew what happened, rather when she finds out, she would be a miserable wreck. Twins across the Portal are very close, and something like this hits hard. And I know this all sounds very complicated. Parallel worlds can cause that, and I apologize. But in some amazing way, aspects of Equestria and the Equestria Girls world operate in parallel. I don't know how else to try and explain it...
My Twin, Equestria pony Shysage came into Twin Link range at that point. I guess he was with my Summer's Twin, and, since they did not sense Summer with me, they both knew something was wrong immediately. Over the Twin link, my Twin asked quietly "Where is Summer?" I could hear Summer's Twin crying already in the background.
I told my Twin what I knew. Lying to him would be impossible anyway. "Dark Melvain took her, and put her somewhere here. I need to find her." I explained this, just by talking quietly, and I had to work hard to not cry myself.
My Twin was quiet briefly, then he said "Summer, Ariel and I are living with Summer's parents, so your cubical is available. The key and the cash are just where you left them. And let us know if there is anything we can do." Over the Twin link, I heard my Twin start to explain to my Summer's Twin what was going on; she was already crying. They must have been driving, and the Twin Link mercifully went inactive soon after. This would be a tough night for them too. I could not help the bad news I had brought here. It just made me feel worse. I wasn't the only person that needed my Summer back... Still, the Twin Link would not, could not be used for this search.
The only other resource I had, was what Summer calls my 'scope thing' when she writes about it. I had actually built this device using materials from the Equestria Girls world, along with a design that would forever remain hidden, along with what powers it, and how I get it through the Portal... But it supplies a video feed as well as audio in some cases, from remote vantage points. I designed and built this complex device so I could stay up in Cloudsdale and be able to watch six amazing ponies in Ponyville, and record the amazing things going on in their lives. For a number of years now, Princess Celestia has been releasing a written record of (now) Princess Twilight and her girls, and the impact the magic of friendship continues to have in their lives. The records are appropriately entitled Quests in Friendship -- A narration of the experiences of Twilight Sparkle and her dear friends in Ponyville and all over Equestria -- Collected and edited by Princess Celestia of Canterlot -- Vol. 1. The Canterlot Recorder helps with these, and volume 5 is the most recent one. We live in Ponyville now, and so haven't needed the scope, but for the first few years... I apologize if I'm wandering again. I have Summer's biometric parameters programmed into the scope, and it can find, lock on and track her, supplying video, etc, once it is in range of her, and she doesn't need to be conscious either (another shudder). And the detection range of this secret device is measured in miles. It will be a valuable asset, maybe the only asset for this search. Well, if I even knew where to start, that is.
Overall, that was it... That was all I knew... That was all I had... A wing and a prayer surely fit...
...
For minutes maybe, I just sat there, watching the sun sneak behind the trees. I wasn't thinking. I didn't know what to think, what to do. I guess, more than anything else, I was waiting for some direction, some idea. Of course, I was talking to true friend. Still, I just did not know what to do.
Somepon... someone came out of one of the doors behind me, and spoke briefly as I stood quickly up "Sir, school is out, can I help--"
It was Vice Principal Luna, probably trying to protect her students from this stranger on the steps. She recognized me right away, and said quietly "Oh, its you, Shysage." She was trying hard to not cry all of a sudden, and said softly "We heard...", and then she was crying.
Well, this blew me away. Somehow... Equestria's Princesses could communicate with Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna here at CHS. I have no clue how that would work. In Equestria, all four are Unicorns, so maybe some form of magic. Still, this took me by surprise.
I hugged her briefly, and said quietly "Its ok, everything will work out". I hoped I sounded a little more convincing than the last time I said that...
It was quiet, there wasn't much to say. Vice-Principal Luna then said quietly "Shysage, I know your emergency is far bigger than ours, but if you could give us some time for our Computer Lab like you have before..."
I hugged the Vice-Principal again. "I will be by in the morning, and see what I can do. I think I would like the use of your work-shop anyway. This will all work out fine."
Vice-Principal Luna sighed. "We really appreciate your help. It's just that..." She didn't finish, and I knew, so she didn't have to. Funding priorities for schools here seemed... After a minute or two, she said softly "Well, let us know if there is anything else we can do to help you. Our Twins are really concerned." Well, their Twins are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, in Equestria. Vice-Principal Luna went back into the lobby and was gone.
It was getting dark, and I walked slowly to my cubical, literally a 10 foot by 10 foot room with a bed, a microwave, a sink, a mirror and a toilet and not much else. I lived here (was banished here) for years before I fell into Equestria. I would stay here again as I tried to find my Summer. I guess that was good, except that living here before Equestria was one un-ending nightmare, so I don't know. Locating the hidden key, I was soon inside. I knew I needed to trim my hair, but one look in the mirror... wow... The hair on one side of my head was singed badly and much shorter than the rest. First thing, I trimmed my hair; it looked a lot better when I was done. Then I shaved. My dark blue slacks, white T-shirt were ok, but my white sweatshirt was badly stained; I was a people a lot as we raised our Ariel in Equestria (Past), then adding Anne. But, evidently my Twin and I have similar tastes (no surprise), and there were a few brand new white sweatshirts under the bed. I quickly put one on. Wow, it was soft. Still, I think I looked almost normal now, even if I didn't feel that way. I grabbed some cash, noting that there was a lot there, and headed back out the door. I walked slowly back past CHS, then down the street to the Cake's Diner. There was a lot less traffic on the road, and it was quieter. I walked slowly, by myself... I just kept realizing that I really didn't know what to do. And I missed Summer...
At the Cake's, I ordered dinner, a burger, fries and a soda. Mr. Cake came out, and said right away "I noticed Summer wasn't with you. Is everything ok?" Well, the back story for this was that my Summer was abducted twice, from this very place, on two separate occasions. And Mr. Cake knew this. I really couldn't tell Mr. Cake everything about what happened last night. But I appreciated his concern, and tried to let him know something. "Summer is missing, and we are pretty sure she is somewhere in this area." He was immediately concerned. "She was brought here from Equestria?"
I just nodded. Again, I had to work to not cry.
It was quiet a minute, then Mr. Cake said "Well, let me know if there is anything we can do. And your food is on us until she is located." I heard his name from the kitchen, and he had to leave, and get back to work.
Still, I was glad that a growing... A growing number of real friends here were at least offering to help any way they could. When Princess Twilight first came to CHS, she found five amazing friends (just like the five amazing friends she had left) that dropped everything to help her (also like the five amazing friends...). That circle had grown over time. Even Mr. Cake.
I just sighed, and ate my dinner. I only ate half of the burger. I always split with Summer, and...
Pinkie Pie, (well Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie, the Pinkie Pie that grew up here) she walked quickly up and sat down facing me. "Shysage, how can I help?" Wow, word was travelling fast...
This was Pinkie Pie, and her Pinkie Sense had never been wrong. Well, both of their Pinkie Sense had never been wrong. I put my soda down, and spent a few minutes thinking.
I don't think Pinkie likes waiting. "Shysage, I also think Summer is alive and here. I don't know anything more than that though."
Well, this narrowed my options somewhat, but I thanked Pinkie for what she did know. It did really help me to hear again that Summer was still alive. "I would like to drive back out to the goon's house that took Summer before, just to make sure. Can you help with that?" I asked slowly. "I'm not sure I could find my way again."
Pinkie didn't hesitate. "A road trip! Yippeeee! Just let me know when you want to go."
That was all I could think of, but I thanked Pinkie for her willingness to help.
"Shysage, everypony here knows already. Just let us know if there is anything we can do to help you." Pinkie said this, gave me a brief hug, then headed back upstairs to her room.
I just sighed. I didn't like this world at all. But surrounded by true friends, all eager to help... Pinkie said everything would work out ok, so... Summer could be anywhere though... Pinkie is never wrong, so I think we knew the outcome. But I had absolutely no clue what to do...
Well, one of tomorrow's jobs should help. Like I said, I needed what Summer called my scope thing. I was pretty sure that strange device was my only hope for finding her. It should still be in the trunk of my old car that Summer calls Big Blue. Getting it ready for use again at the school work-shop was on the list for tomorrow. Thinking about Summer as I walked... I cried for a while as I walked to my cubical. I think I cried myself to sleep that night.
I woke up early, to the sound of an ambulance racing past on the street outside my cubical, siren blaring loudly(2). I was actually disoriented briefly, and it took a minute to realize I was in my cubical, in the Equestria Girls world, and not in Equestria. Maybe the Red LED digital clock should have tipped me off. But the sun was just now coming up, and it was still pretty dark in here otherwise. And that same doleful tune reminded me... My Summer was gone...
I got up and dressed slowly. I noticed something new in my cubical right away. It was the loaner cell-phone that I had used here before. Sometime last night, probably in the middle of the night, my Twin brought it over, put it on the shelf above the toilet, and plugged the charger in. I didn't know if I needed it or not, but I disconnected the charger, and put the phone in my pocket. I still had cash from yesterday. I headed out the door, locked it, and walked slowly past CHS to the Cake's Diner. I passed quite a few students who were on the way to school, and guessed classes were starting soon.
Breakfast was good, and the lady would not let me pay for it. She said her orders were that Shysage gets meals for free until Summer comes back. A quizical look swept across her face, and she asked me who Summer was. I explained that she is my wife, which was hard. Quizical turned to concern. "Well, I hope you find her soon" the lady said softly. I hoped so too.
At maybe nine o'clock, I was standing in front of the Computer Lab at CHS. The door carried a large sign "Out Of Order." I guess they needed my help very badly. I had helped them before and would gladly do it again. I stared at the sign briefly, tried the door and found it was locked. Just then Principal Celestia walked up. I think they have a camera system here. Likewise trying to not cry, she unlocked the door both to the Computer Lab and the work-shop at the end of the hall. I asked her if it would be fine if I walked back to my house and got another piece of equipment that also needed some work-shop time, and she said that would be fine. "Your work in here is our only hope right now" she said quietly. I hugged her briefly and she headed back down the hall and was gone.
Maybe an hour later, I had lugged my scope from the trunk of Big Blue, the short distance to CHS, then down crowded halls to the work-shop. Unstrapping, then removing the large upper covering (which has been used as a bench before), I turned the scope thing on, and started it through its usual boot-up sequence. Then I went to the Computer Lab down the hall. There were now fourteen computer systems at workstation type tables carefully spread around this room. One at a time, I turned each computer system on, and noted what problems I encountered. Some had hand-scribbled notes on them too. This added more information, but one note said just "dead", but this was the first system that came up correctly, and was working fully. I just shrugged. Doing a little mixing and matching, and a little 'known good' detective work, I was able to get eight of the systems up and running well. Leaving those eight running, I moved the other six systems, a few pieces at a time, to the work-shop. There were still some other assorted system pieces scattered around the work-shop. I would have my work cut out for me on the other six systems.
Right before my last trip back to the Computer Lab to get the last two monitors, I checked in on my scope thing, and it seemed to be doing ok, running some background tasks, I think. I headed down the hall to the Computer Lab, and found a class already in session in there, two or more students crowding around each of the eight computer systems I had just 'fixed'. Wow, I guess they really did need some help! Trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, I grabbed the last two stray monitors and left, and carried them back to the work-shop.
Modern computer systems are not really designed to be fixed. Most of the repair that I did was at the module level, and I went through the easy stuff first, and was able to quickly come up with two more computer systems that worked well. I used pieces from the six systems I brought here along with the piles of stray parts scattered around. Making a few trips, I carried computer system pieces from the work-shop to the Computer Lab, and set them up on one of the vacant tables. I watched the first one for a while, tried a few programs, and it seemed to be working ok. Then I left to go get the second system. On my way out, the teacher asked if that first computer was ready. I smiled and said "I think so", and he moved two students over to that system right away. I followed the same process on the second 'repair' computer system, and two more students were already using that system when I left. Well, ten out of fourteen systems were back in action. This was good.
It was also around noon when I headed back to the work-shop to take a stab at the other four systems. Princess... Vice-Principal Luna met me in the hall, smiling... I think they already knew how many systems were up and running now. "Shysage, we really appreciate your time... Can we get you some lunch?"
I said "The usual will be fine" and smiled back. I really was glad to be able to help.
"Deli Turkey sandwich with mayo and a little mustard, and some water to drink, and a nice chocolate chip cookie -- check." Vice-Principal Luna said this quietly, remembering it correctly from a year ago maybe, then walked off as I headed into the work-shop.
Replacing a power supply, I had another system up and running on the bench when my deli sandwich arrived. I thanked both Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna. They went back to work, and I took a break to eat some lunch.
...
I think I was mentally working through how to approach troubleshooting the remaining three systems, based on the problems I was seeing. A decidedly different alarm sounded at that point. It had been a while; the alarm was from my scope. The alarm uses a standard beeper, but the nature of the error is spelled out in Morse Code. This would be viewed as archaic, but it enabled me to quickly know the nature of the error, without a display, and without having to look anything up. I glanced over at the Scope, and realized that the LCD display was turned off anyway. The beep pattern confirmed my worst fears: "Error 0 Power Supply"... The secret power source in this device had lasted six years, amazingly, a lot of that time in Equestria. But I needed it now, and, well, replenishing it would take... forever... This... I... Well, the scope was down... leaving me with just... a wing and a prayer... Instead of a range of 10-20 miles, all I had left now... Line-of-sight... Visual... I slowly reached over, and turned my scope thing off, and even more slowly put the cover on and strapped it down... Well, I wanted to drop everything, run back to my cubical and cry for days. Instead, I would need to lug the scope back, and return it to the trunk of Big Blue...
I had promised Principal and Vice-Principal help with their Computer Lab systems. But I just wanted to go home, well back to my cubical. But they needed me, and I stayed. And one of the computer systems needed a new mother-board, and it was the only chassis around that used that exact mother-board. After trying quite a while to find a replacement, I had to put that whole system aside, and work on other systems. Working when you feel like crying is torture... But they needed my help. By the end of the day, I had all fourteen systems back up and running in the Computer Lab, and an additional two back-up systems running on a spare bench in the work-shop. My scope thing was on the floor next to the door.
Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna were absolutely delighted, of course, and wanted to take me out to dinner. It was just hard. I was subdued. But I was polite, and told both that I was delighted to help. It was just that, under the circumstances, well it was just hard. Dinner was good too. They walked me back to the Work-Shop so I could get my scope.
I think Vice-Principal Luna must have known that something... "Shysage, what is it..." she said out of the blue.
I was holding the scope up, and just said "It's this thing. It's range is miles, but its broken, and I can't use it. I will need to just about stumble over Summer in order to find her now..." Honestly, that's how I felt just then, and I couldn't stop the tears, even though I don't think I was crying. Principal and Vice-Principal, they hugged me briefly. I was pretty sure they had some idea how I felt.
Vice-Principal Luna spoke again, softly. "Shysage, Pinkie Pie said everything will work out ok. I don't think she is allowed to be wrong, either."
Well, I think we all hoped that was the case.
I was soon lugging the scope home, at night, in the dark, by myself. My arms hurt, but it didn't matter. If this device should ever get into the wrong hands... Big Blue is backed into the carport next to my cubical, and the scope thing was quickly locked back in the trunk. Trying to not cry, I just fell into bed. I am not sure how I even got to sleep that night...