//------------------------------// // Chapter 8, Blind Leap // Story: The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 12 -- Sweep of Time // by shysage //------------------------------// At least the Portal wasn't mad at us. Well, maybe not, anyway... We did not 'arrive' standing next to the Portal in the Past this time. Thick blanket of pine needles covering a dirt floor -- this was not the Portal room we remembered from any of our trips to the Past. At least Shysage and I, we were still together. And without even moving, we looked lovingly at each other. Maybe we do that a lot too. We rubbed noses briefly. It was warm, and we were in... Shysage and I recognized right away. This was the emptied out trunk of the huge Sequoia outside Coptol where we had raised two amazing foals... The rest of this tree probably still rose hundreds of feet in the air, a landmark visible for miles around. The Portal had placed us here in this tree trunk for some reason. Still, Shysage and I sighed together. This was very peaceful. It felt very peaceful, very calm here. We could have aroused a much different response arriving in the Portal room in the Past, unexpected, I think. Shysage had already tried that, and it didn't go well at all. So, maybe the Portal actually did us a favor. I didn't think we were fugitives anymore, well not here and now anyway. And we weren't near "anypony important", or anypony at all right now. After months shivering... and the last few days... I began to relax. And the warmth felt amazing... Based on the angle of the sun through the trees, it looked like early morning. We had lived in this tree trunk for over two years after all, so this was a pretty good guess. I think this visit was after that one though. Even I get confused about all that... We both arrived as ponies though, and I realized immediately that my ankle-band was gone. That, well... Shysage said our Shield Necklaces were gone too. Before even moving, Shysage said quietly "...Probably on the floor in the Library in front of the Portal...", then he frowned at that thought. I knew why. Should Princess Twilight find them, she would know right away that we had used the Portal. Well, we doubted they would or could come after us. I remembered Cel's words, yelled sharply "...any of Equestria's Princesses or their close associates and friends..."; it would probably be a while before-- ... ... ... Walking together and slowly towards the small opening that was the doorway, we heard another pony crying, quietly... Shysage and I, we couldn't ignore that... We headed out the door facing the river, and... realized... ... ... ... Well, it was Cel... well, Princess Celestia... It was Cel... We could say that in the Past I think. Huge white pony, Alicorn horn, wings and all... Crown on the ground nearby... She was laying on her belly, facing the river... crying... ... When you are crying heavily, you cry loudly, as long as you think there is hope. When all hope fades, and everything looks absolutely hopeless, you still cry heavily, but very quietly. Nopony will hear. Nopony will help... There is no hope... You just cry, heaving deeply, but making little sound. You are just waiting for the end to come... Cel was crying like that... Deeply, without making much sound... ... ... ... Before we did anything, Shysage and I looked at each other briefly, then looked down. I knew this feeling, as we both allowed it to wash through our souls at the same time... Forgiveness... After an excruciating winter that could easily have killed one of us, I think we both were... Well, resentment was growing inside. And then to see the pain of our own family that the same, unknown chain of events was causing, and realizing that such pain probably was spread much further... ...But at the dawn of Equestria, Shysage and I had rescued two terrified pony foals, and accepted full and complete responsibility for them, and committed ourselves to help both girls any way we could, whenever we could, regardless of who these two 'nopony' foals were. That's what moms and dads are supposed to do. That's what Shysage and I set out to do the minute they were tied to our backs, and we were flying high in the sky. And, at the time, it just didn't matter to either of us who these two foals would become, they were now our responsibility, gladly accepted. That's what true friends are supposed to do. Well, those two 'nopony' foals turned out to be the two appointed ones, Equestria's Princesses, and carrying out that commitment had already exacted a heavy cost. But we weren't done giving yet, and maybe the last three months had shown us both that. Again, Shysage and I, heads down, we re-accepted whatever we had to do to help our two girls, regardless of what they had become. And that included whatever awaited us in our present. Like I said, I think we both had come to resent such 'byzantine' treatment, whatever that meant; one of us could have died. But, long ago, knowing nothing else, we had made a commitment to two precious foals... Shysage and I, we looked up at the same time, and looked into each other's eyes. We would see this through. We had no clue why the Princess of Equestria had tried to kill us in our present... But I am sure Shysage and I felt the same way... Right now, our girl was hurting, and hurting bad... She was helpless... She felt hopeless... We absolutely HAD to see what we could do to help her... ... ... ... It was hard to even write this without collapsing into tears... Without making a sound, and without even talking to each other, Shysage and I both... We quietly walked up to either side of Cel and laid on our bellies right next to her, as close as we could get... She was our girl, and we didn't need anyponies' permission... ... ... ... Even with her eyes closed and full of tears, Cel didn't need to be told who these two ponies, now laying on either side of her, who we were. The moment she sensed our presence... She cried loudly, deeply, desperately, wailing out in her pain... We had brought her hope... ... ... ... We cried there together for hours. That was all we did for the longest time. Cel must have needed this. Well, it was clear she desperately needed us. Shysage and I, we both felt that. And, I guess I realized... Neither Shysage nor I... We didn't understand what was happening in our present, but we never stopped loving either of our girls, even Cel. And our hearts were breaking for her now. And as the tables were so quickly turned... It didn't matter, we would do anything we could to help our girl, Princess Celestia of Equestria. She cried out in her pain most of the rest of that day... Shysage and I, we cried with her... In the midst of this, she did try to talk, just once. Of course it came out all disjointed... "I don't know how you both... "They sealed the Portal room off, I couldn't even... ...Portal Beacon... "Oh, mom, dad, I need you both so much..." Not even Dark Melvain would reduce Cel to this. The longer we cried with our daughter, the more determined I became to face whatever, whoever it was that was causing this grief. I had to. I wanted to. I would. Well, I probably could. I also turned into a people, sat down, and gently moved Cel's pony head into my lap. I bent over and slowly kissed her head, and gently combed her mane with my fingers. I have done that a thousand times when she was young. And it was only then that she began to calm down. Shysage stayed a pony, but that was fine. Cel knew we were both here with her. Late in the afternoon, as Cel's head rested in my people lap, her crying subsided, and she was quiet. I am sure Shysage and I, we were in no hurry. For maybe half an hour, Cel said nothing. She just rested in my lap, and her breathing slowed back down, and she sighed a few times. I broke the silence. "Daughter, how can we help you?" Tears quickly filled mom and dad's eyes. We meant that. Tears filled Cel's eyes too. "Mom, dad, they want to replace me..."