The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 2 -- Homecoming

by shysage

Chapter 1, Nothing Left

[This starts the second volume of The Chronicles of Summer Rain, and reading the first volume (almost done) will help this make a lot more sense. Also, if you are interested, the background music for this entire second volume is 'The Celestial Capital -- Al'Taieu'* from the 'Chains of Promethia'* expansion for Final Fantasy XI* (*=c2014 by Square Enix). The cautious optimism of this piece fits well. In addition, note that these events take place largely in Equestria. Finally, I think this account might be hard to write, so bear with me. -- Shysage]

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The 35th High School Reunion for Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle's graduating class at Equestria High School was in full swing... ...and Twilight wondered why she was even here...

The first 10 years were about how good you looked...

The next 10 years were about how great your family was...

Since then, it was how much money you had, how big your yacht was, and so forth...

It would soon be about if you were even alive, Twilight thought.

Twilight wasn't sure why she came, or what she was after here. Her life was a wreck anyway.

She found what she thought was a good husband, but still, Twilight wasn't sure if she ever got all the way to his heart.

For 30 years they seemed happy enough. They had one amazing son, but he died ten years ago in a tragic car accident. Twilight began to weep at this, she thought she had grieved this through already.

Within the last six months, she had learned both that her husband was filing for divorce, and that she had cancer. All of a sudden, her whole life, the last 30 years, seemed like a complete waste.

What had she done to deserve this, she thought to herself... ...not really expecting an answer...

Still weeping, Twilight walked quickly out the double wide doors from the stale air of the Gym to the cool evening air of the Soccer field outside...

She had only been inside for 15 minutes...

Twilight cried by herself for a while, then looked up at the night sky, billions of stars twinkling brightly.

...

...

...

Twilight thought that they never changed...

...since a similar night...

...that seemed so long ago...

...in a totally different world...

...watching the same stars, it seemed...

...

...

...

Equestria...

She would never forget that place...

...or her amazing Princess and devoted 'Twin', Princess Twilight...

..and even now, she began to re-live her few visits to the most amazing place she had ever been...

...

...

...

"That place was so amaz--" Twilight began to say out loud...

...but she was interrupted as another woman ran out the same doors, sobbing...

...

...

...

Though this woman was crying, Twilight instantly recognized that unmistakable voice. It was Equestria Girls Fluttershy... ...Her face was buried in her hands as she sobbed...

Fluttershy didn't even know that Twilight was maybe 20 feet further out in the field.

Twilight walked slowly over to her old friend, gathered her into her arms, and just held her. Fluttershy didn't even look up, and just sobbed louder...

Twilight was soon crying again too...

After maybe 10 minutes, Fluttershy's crying slowed, then stopped.

Fluttershy only now looked up to see who was comforting her.

"Hi Twilight... I really missed you" she said softly, and was soon weeping again.

Twilight just held her close, weeping as well.

Both their lives were a wreck, it seemed, but they had each other now.

After a few more minutes of quiet weeping, they just relaxed in each other's presence.

...

Somehow, Twilight became aware that she and Fluttershy were not alone.

Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie was standing quietly to the side of both of them, and Twilight only saw her as she lifted her head and looked around.

It was clear that Pinkie had been crying, too, already... ...a lot...

Twilight simply reached out for her and drew her in.

Three dear friends were quickly holding each other close, trying to sooth the pain etched in each other's hearts by the last 35 years of life...

They cried for a while together, then their tears tapered off, and they just held each other a while. It was so quiet.

A few minutes later, Pinkie began weeping again. For the first time, maybe in ages, her 'Pinkie Sense' was active, and Pinkie had dearly missed this part of herself, and was really crying for joy at it's return.

"Twilight" Pinkie said softly through her tears, "The others are here too..."

---

Holding Pinkie's and Fluttershy's hands in each of hers, Twilight headed back into the sea of people, ignoring everyone, looking for three more precious friends.

They found Rarity at the edge of a very active Dance Floor... ...by herself. There were tears in her eyes as well.

They walked up to her, and they all just smiled at her. Then Fluttershy reached out her hand to Rarity, and she quickly joined them, crying loudly.

These friends didn't care who was watching, or what people thought. Nothing else mattered.

Rainbow Dash was sitting on a chair in the corner facing the wall. She was crying softly, and had a plastic cup of beer in her hand; she was having a hard time holding it still.

From behind, Twilight said simply "Rainbow..."

Rainbow dropped her beer on the floor, and jumped up and hugged Twilight crying loudly herself. Then Pinkie reached out her hand, and Rainbow was hanging on for dear life it seemed.

Where was Applejack...

They had to look a little to find her. She was still in the school lobby, she never even made it into the Gym before collapsing into tears in the corner. Curled up into a ball, she just sat with her back against the wall crying, not even looking up.

Five friends, from long ago, knelt down around her, and all put their hands gently on her shoulders.

Applejack stopped crying abruptly, then looked up.

"Girls, I missed you so much..." Applejack said, still choking back tears.

Everypony else felt the same way...

They were soon all standing up in a circle, there in the lobby, hugging each other tightly, and crying.

The crying was different now, and everyone knew it.

Everyone was crying tears of joy...

...having found such special friends...

...who they thought were lost...

Twilight smiled to herself and thought again "What did I ever do to deserve this..."

---

Still holding hands, Twilight led her precious friends back through the sea of people in the Gym, and back out to the Soccer field. They completely ignored all the funny looks they were getting, that was irrelevant.

They were quickly back into a tight circle again hugging, still fighting back tears of joy, it seemed.

Twilight said softly "I would like to work around this circle, and each of you to try to summarize where you are in your life right now. Just the short version though, I don't want to be here all night."

Everyone smiled at this last part.

Fluttershy was to Twilight's right, so Twilight said "Fluttershy, can you start?"

Well the short answer was no, she couldn't. Fluttershy immediately burst into tears, and could say nothing. Her friends just comforted her until she calmed back down again.

Rainbow was next. She was overweight and an alcoholic, and her fierce competitiveness had ruined three marriages. She had no children, and was 'flipping burgers' just to get by.

Rarity started crying, but said quickly that, after being abused for 20 years in a long string of Lesbian relationships, she had married a man she adored, who himself was recoiling out of a similar life. They lived happily for 15 years, but he died last spring from cancer, probably the result of his previous relationships.

Applejack had moved away from her Grandmother's farm to a much bigger spread. She had one son who was Autistic, and he died tragically when he was 20. Over the last five years, her husband of many years had embezzled the entire spread with the farm secretary, with whom her husband had been having an affair for years. She came home one evening, and her husband pointed to the door and said "get out". She came back to the farm here, but had no energy or motivation to start over.

Pinkie was next. She was overweight and diabetic. Her hair was straight, and she said simply "I have cancer, not much time left, nothing else left, and not much to say."

They were all standing together, hugging tightly during this process.

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...

...

After a few minutes of silence, Twilight said softly "Girls, lets just go home..."

At this Fluttershy immediately burst into tears again, and yelled (for Fluttershy) through her tears "I don't want to go home... I am back living in the same apartment I lived in when I went here... I don't even think I can make rent this month..."

The rest of the girls were also beginning to tear up too. No-one had anything left to go home too...

After a minute, Twilight said softly again...

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...

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"Girls... I meant Equestria..."

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...

...

"I want to go... I am going... Right now..." Twilight said again softly. "Girls, can one of you give me a reason why you can't go with me?"

It was silent...

"Rarity can you make us some dark coats?" Pinkie asked.

"Of course I will... My shop isn't much but I can do that at least." Rarity answered quietly.

"Applejack, maybe you can go help Rarity, the rest of us will go to Fluttershy's apartment, and wait for you." Twilight said softly.

Before the circle was broken, Twilight said softly "Girls, I love you all very much. I hope you know that."

---

Just like that dark night so long ago, six large, dark coats didn't take Rarity long to make.

They were soon back in Fluttershy's small apartment together.

It hadn't changed much.

"Ok girls, leave all your stuff here" Twilight said.

They all left their oversized purses...

Twilight and Pinkie left all their pills...

Pinkie left her Insulin pump too...

Rainbow left her 'discreet' wine cooler...

Applejack and Fluttershy had little else to leave...

They all put their coats on.

They were all soon out, and Fluttershy again locked the door behind them, although she didn't know why. Nopony wanted to come back to this place.

They crossed the street together, and headed for the Portal. When they got there, they made a harrowing discovery.

The school was being torn down, and the statue, and the base, of which the Portal wall was a part, were probably mere days, maybe hours away from being moved, or worse yet, destroyed.

A bulldozer, engine still warm, was parked right next to it.

It really was now or never, and they didn't even know that until just tonight...

Twilight directed everyone through, with maybe a minute between people, then Twilight went last.

No one stopped to look back, there was simply... ...nothing... ...left...

---

Most everyone fell on the other side of the Portal, but quickly got up and out of the way. After Twilight came through, and got up, she joined them all in a small circle.

Twilight was amazed that everypony was still wearing their 'Shield Necklace' as she was. 'True Friendship means putting others first'; Twilight had tried to live that way at least...

All their necklaces were battered by the years, and most saw new neck straps every several years, but still... Equestria was in their hearts.

"Girls we are home..." Twilight said, and they all started weeping. They sat close and hugged together the best they could, since they were ponies now. They wept for a while.

They all felt wonderful as ponies, and really did look a lot better, it seemed to Twilight anyway.

Then Rainbow said "I feel really good right now, but I will probably be a mess soon, and have no alcohol either. But I just want you to know that being with you all here, in this place again, makes me far happier than I thought I would ever be again... Thank you..."

Pinkie added "...well if I go into blood sugar shock, you all will know why, but I agree with Rainbow. I am honored and overjoyed to even be in this special place again with you special ladies... er, ponies."

Twilight said "Well girls we are here. Whatever we face, we will do it together, as the true friends we are."

---

At this point they looked around. They were in the Portal room at the Crystal Palace, only the warm, spring sun was shining on them. They looked west, and saw the top of the Crystal Spire laying on the ground... shattered... Frost covered the crystal still in the Sun's shadow.

Most of them were muddy to varying degrees. Evidently the top of the spire had been broken off for years.

After some silence, Twilight said softly "Girls, we have been gone many years I think. I do not know what shape we will find Equestria in. But as long as I am with you, it doesn't matter."

Pinkie noticed it first, and asked everypony to stop and look.

There were the tracks of a solitary pony leading away from the Portal, and out into the hall.

Twilight looked a minute, then said "Girls, I don't think we are the only ponies who have recently come back here. I only hope we can find this other pony."

They followed the other ponies' tracks as long as they could, and were soon out of the remains of the Crystal Palace, on the broad avenue that ran across the Crystal Empire. It was completely deserted...