The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 3 -- Follow the Equestrium

by shysage

Chapter 15, Telling the Story

It was noon maybe.

Shysage flew unsteadily to his house, walked in the door, and collapsed on the floor where Summer Rain had last slept next to him there.

"Summer, please come back..." then he wept...

Shysage had Volume two of Summer's story to finish... Volume four of Princess Celestia's Commentaries... And now the story of He and Summer's journey into the past...

He didn't even want to get up off the floor.

Somehow he did get up, and he did get back to work. He was a responsible pony.

Shysage just felt terrible...

He just wanted Summer...

Everything he had worked with and for, through the last two years, disappeared within the last maybe 8 hours.

Cel and Lu were close, and it really did feel like 'family' again, that was just amazing...

Still... He just wanted Summer...

Shysage knew he needed to turn the 'scope' back on, but he also knew he would see Summer when he did...

Shysage did turn the 'scope' on, and he did see Summer...

He pressed the 'record' button, then just laid down on the floor and cried.

Shysage knew this wasn't just about "wanting what I want", for either he or Summer. They just needed each other right now... He made up a short poem about it...

"Tell me why it hurts so much, to look up and not see you
"It's you I serve yet still I find such misery far from you

"Resting in agony...
"When you're away from me...
"Please come and rescue me..

In all the world, you'd think I'd find, some solace from this pain
Just when you're near, it's all so clear,

perhaps my heart can live again

Shysage got up long enough to get some paper, his clip thing and a quill and ink. He got most of the poem written before the paper was soaked with his tears...

Shysage was glad the audio patch wasn't 2-way.

He just wanted Summer...

He was weeping softly...

---

Summer cried a lot too. Fluttershy helped her, and stayed close. Summer was very glad to be back around her sister.

Evidently it would be a while before Summer could tell her story, and she didn't know why. It was ok though.

Summer asked Princess if she and Fluttershy could walk in the meadow together for a while, and she said that was fine.

Summer and Fluttershy walked over to 'Summer's Tree', and they both just sat down. Summer was soon weeping again on Fluttershy's shoulder.

Fluttershy knew what was hurting Summer right now...

"Summer, lets go ask Princess if we can run over Shysage's house for a little while" Fluttershy said.

"Ok..." Summer said quietly.

"Can you please go ask though? I would rather stay here for now." Summer asked quietly.

Shysage had just walked up. Shysage was trying not to cry, and got out "Summer, I..." and burst into tears.

Shysage and his Mare were quickly sitting, sobbing on each other's shoulders...

Shysage and Summer just hugged and cried softly there for over an hour.

Summer pulled her sister in, and she just cried with them.

An hour later, Summer's Twin and her sister's Twin joined them.

They just all cried together for a while.

Summer and Shysage really needed their friends right now...

Later in the afternoon, Princess Twilight and her Twin joined them there, and cried with them all for a little while.

Then she said it was time for the girls to come.

Princess Twilight offered for Shysage to come too, but he did feel a little better, and he thanked the girls present.

Shysage sighed... "Princess, it's been two days for you, but over two years for Summer. She missed you all a lot. I think a little 'girl time' would probably a good thing for Summer right now." Shysage knew this was true...

Summer smiled.

Shysage and Summer hugged tightly for a few minutes, then Shysage headed back to his house.

Summer hugged her Twin and her Twin's sister, then her own sister, then headed to the Castle with the rest of the girls.

Shysage was already questioning why he said what he said. He did feel a 'little better', but he still felt absolutely terrible... But he knew his Mare also needed Princess Twilight's girls. It would have to do.

---

Shysage made it back to his house. He hit the record button, then just lay down on the floor and cried.

Once his Mare started talking, Shysage got up briefly and looked to see who was there. It looked like the wait was so all the Twins could come. The nine Equestria Girls were there now too. This was good.

It hit Shysage at that point... Cel and Lu were their girls now...

But Princess Twilight and her girls, they were Summer and Shysage's family. He couldn't explain it much more than that. Summer did later though.

Fifteen ponies were all laying on their bellies on the floor, most with their Twin, in Princess Twilight's huge, new Library. There was plenty of room. Well, the two Principal sisters were sitting next to each other, and Equestria Girls Summer had a Fluttershy on either side.

Summer was sitting on the floor facing the rest, with Cel and Lu on either side of her.

Summer was still a pony, but Shysage knew that wouldn't last. Summer would soon be a 'people' with each of her arms wrapped tightly around each of the girl's necks, hugging them. That's what had happened repeatedly in their home, and that's what would happen today too.

Cel and Lu had taken their crowns off, and simply put them on the floor in front of them. This symbol of royalty was evidently deferred to mom. Shysage knew Summer was worth that.

Shysage walked back to the spot on the floor where Summer last slept in this room, lay down, and just wept softly while he listened. The audio patch was very good this close.

Shysage didn't know how much time Summer had spent thinking about how she would do this. He knew she felt as bad as he did.

Still, Summer quickly broke their time in early Equestria down into the eight seasons they were there. She talked in the beginning about their first day together there, and immediately rescuing two helpless foals. Then she discussed the 'road trip' East to 'Coptol', which made her cry a lot. Well, she cried a lot anyway.

It made Shysage cry too; he was simply amazed at how quickly he and his Mare fell in love with these two foals... They all bonded together so rapidly...

It was also amazingly clear to everypony, that there were absolutely no hints at who these foals actually were, this early in their time together. They were both 'nopony foals' whose only, slim hope was Shysage and Summer. Shysage and Summer quickly 'scooped them up', and loved them fully and completely, regardless.

And 'nopony' still seemed like so much the wrong words... Regardless of who they were, these two foals were worthy of he and Summer's complete devotion, and received that no matter what.

Then Summer slowly worked through the eight seasons they were there. Summer's retention was amazing, and Shysage realized he could use the same organization for the book Cel wanted him to write, and just add what he remembered. He and Summer would do that together though.

Summer actually stopped and quietly asked Cel and Lu about Cel kicking mom. Lu nodded to Cel, then Cel said softly "tell everything", so Summer did. There would be no secrets in this room. And this included aspects of the 'physical' side of Summer and Shysage's relationship; she carefully included all that as well.

Summer also correctly surfaced their growing awareness about who these girls actually were, during the second four seasons. It was like a tidal wave... Slow at first, then came crashing down...

Taking the girls to the King, followed immediately by the Cougar invasion was next. Summer discussed her shout to the ponies, then her role in the Cougar invasion, then her amazement at the Pony Nation charging into the fight...

Cel (Princess Celestia) stopped mom here.

Cel then carefully explained to the important ponies present, the immense historical significance to the very birth of Equestria, of mom's actions in those maybe 30 minutes of the forgotten past.

Cel said what she had said in the Portal room yesterday, and wanted to make sure everypony in the room understood the role this simple Pegasus mare had played in the founding of their nation. Cel didn't have them all bow again, but realized she didn't need to.

And Lu (Princess Luna) just underscored that the unifying effect of mom's simple words, on the Pony Nation, was simply earth-shaking...

Cel than added, both regally and officially, that she and Lu had no intention of making mom a Princess. Cel and Lu both started crying at this point. Then Cel said that Summer was already both 'the Shila' and 'mom', and there were simply no more important honors anypony in the realm could add beyond these...

Lu added that she preferred 'mom', and Summer, Cel and Lu just cried together for a few minutes.

Then Cel asked mom to continue.

Summer began again, still weeping, and was honest about the acute sorrow she and Shysage felt after being left outside the gate as the Pony Nation headed inside to celeberate.

Lu cried at this point too. She said she felt the same way, but there was nothing she could do about it. She missed her mom for a long time... Mom just kissed her and hugged her tight, right then and there.

Still, Equestria had every right to head to the palace and celebrate, it really was a good day...

But for Summer and Shysage... ...'their girls' were gone... They had never felt such blinding pain...

Summer told how, at that point, they flew together up to the cloud bank that would become Cloudsdale. Summer then carefully shared how her amazing Stallion kept his promise, and tried to help ease the pain somewhat, which, of course, Cel and Lu didn't know.

Summer stopped at that point, thought a minute, then supplied Cel and Lu with an explanation that Shysage promised the girls on the 'stepped mountain' their first visit there.

"Girls, soon after we arrived in the past, a group of Giraffes helped us after we rescued you from the Cougars. They called me 'the Shila', and said the Cougars would attack us in the next two years.

"Shysage and I couldn't do anything that would risk having another foal, because we needed to be ready for the Cougar invasion, and having another Foal would make that very hard. We just had to wait... That proved pretty hard too..."

Back on track, Summer explained that, even after Shysage's amazing gift, she and Shysage were soon crying together anyway.

Starting up the Portal was the last thing Summer covered.

Talking about all this took over four hours. Summer asked her friends to feel free to stop her and ask questions, which happened a lot.

Everypony laughed and cried a lot too.

...

Summer and Shysage's return through the Portal was described next, with great difficulty, by Cel and Lu; they took turns. When one was sobbing, and couldn't go on, the other would try to pick up and continue...

Summer just cried the whole time. And a few times, all three just sobbed together for a few minutes. Shysage just cried with them.

In Shysage's family, mutual devotion was out in the open... And yesterday in the Portal room really was amazing for Shysage's family...

It was quickly clear to Shysage that Cel and Lu had gone through a lot of pain at 'losing' mom and dad too...

And it was clear to everypony, that a very vital, sadly missed part of both Cel and Lu's life was amazingly restored just yesterday, over 1,300 years later...

---

When Cel and Lu were done, it was silent for a minute maybe.

Summer changed back into a pony, got up, and walked forward maybe two steps towards Princess Twilight and her girls, then sat down. She was still crying softly, but spoke anyway. Summer was still hurting, and her voice reflected that.

"I really want to make sure that nopony gets the wrong impression about our amazing trip. And I know for sure that Shysage would agree completely with everything I am about to say...

"Our last two years were not simply about how great Shysage and I were at raising foals... We made mistakes, and I'm sure we almost made some really big ones...

"But when we went back there, we took all of you with us... We simply could not have done what we did without the love and deep, true friendships we both experienced, with each and every pony in this room....

"And I don't just mean the Equestria ponies; you Equestria Girls are just as amazing... We both feel so torn between everypony on both sides of that Portal...

"But we took you all with us... It was each of you as much as it was Shysage and I... I just cannot communicate how much a part each of you were, to what Shysage and I did, raising our amazing two Princesses...

"There were honestly many moments that Shysage and I relied on different aspects of our experiences here with each of you...

"I just don't know how to communicate how deeply grateful we are for each of your roles in both our lives...

"We both love everypony in this room deeply..."

"Shysage and I are both still hurting very much... The transition was painfully fast... I am convinced that he and I need you all more than we ever did...

"Thank you all..."

Summer was sobbing now and couldn't talk more. Shysage was too...

Princess Twilight and her girls got up and just surrounded Summer, hugged her, and cried with her a while. There was nothing else anypony could do, but this was enough.

Author's Note:

I pulled the 'real' song because I should really get permission from the artist first, and I know of no way to do that... I liked it better the other way though...