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

by shysage

Chapter 3, Settling In

[Wandering around Vana'diel*, I realized that the background music used for Ceizak* and other zones, fits the 'untamed wilds' aspect of early Equestria nicely -- Shysage (*=c2014 by Square Enix. This tune is on the 'Seekers of Adoulin' expansion Original Sound Track, track 5, I think.)]

---

To Shysage and Summer, this tree-house felt so much like home... It wasn't near as nice as Princess Twilight's old tree-house, but still...

And they were done walking.

Shysage and his new family had enough evening left that first night to eat a good dinner, and drink some from the river.

As the Sun went down, the four of them were soon snug inside their new home. Shysage and Summer were on their bellies in the middle, and their girls were soon sleeping next to them. As usual, Lee was next to Summer, and Sue was next to Shysage.

The two girls were soon fast asleep.

Summer and Shysage rubbed noses a little while. They loved doing this, and generally seemed to need little else besides that to show each other they deeply cared.

---

After this 'little while', Shysage said quietly "Summer, I think we need to have a little discussion."

Summer smiled then said quietly "I am assuming I am not in trouble, is that correct?"

Shysage chuckled and said softly "Of course not precious Mare. It's just that, due to my background in the Equestria Girls world, I think we both need to accept a little bit of caution.

"We are probably over 1000 years in the past, and I really don't know why the Portal brought us back this far.

"However, as I have watched the Portal in action, I think it possesses a certain amount of 'sentience', and so I don't think we need to question what the Portal has done. I think the Portal knows what it is doing, in other words.

"However, we both need to be very careful that we do not affect our own future while we are here.

"I don't think raising these girls presents many concerns. They are both amazing, but just two girls we rescued from death."

Shysage paused here then said "Wait, that sounds so wrong... They are not 'just two girls'..."

"Shysage, I know what you mean" Summer said softly, with a smile.

"Anyway, in general, we just need to be very careful.

"I think the best rule of thumb should be this.

"Generally, we should do what we would normally do while we are here. However, we need to specifically avoid situations where we try and force specific results, because we won't know if those results fit in with 'our present' or not. And the more ponies affected, the more important this becomes.

"At any rate, as we raise the girls, I think we will find we both agree a lot regarding how we raise them.

"Does this make any sense?" Shysage asked at this point.

Summer thought a minute then said softly "So if we mess up, we might erase or change the future, right? Would we disappear then?"

Shysage quickly replied "Well, you have the right idea, and I am trying to avoid alarming you. And I honestly don't know what would happen if we affected the present enough to change the future.

"I do think, at this point, we would probably have to work hard to mess the future up, or the Portal probably would not have brought us back here.

"But this is the reason for this caution. We just need to be careful.

"As much as I don't like this, our true friend in the sky is probably something that could affect the past, right now, substantially.

"If we were in our world, I would insist on teaching our kids about it. But here, I think we need to handle this very carefully."

Summer didn't think very long, then replied "Well I don't like that, but I understand. Can we maybe do that silently at the start of every day? I don't want to ignore him until we are home..."

"I think that would be an excellent way to hande it, We still need him now, maybe even more, I don't know..." Shysage said slowly.

Shysage thought for a minute than added "The only other concern I can think of would be your neckl--"

Shysage stopped mid-sentence at this point; they both realized it was gone.

Summer began crying immediately...

Shysage thought a minute, then said softly "Summer, honey, can I suggest something?"

Shysage rarely used that word; he meant it when he did...

Summer tried to stop crying, and looked at him.

"Summer, I remember that you didn't have your necklace on when we first saw the Cougars. It is probably on the floor in the Crystal Palace. I think the Portal did that on purpose." Shysage said.

Summer put her head down on his front leg, and Shysage put his head next to hers, then said softly

"I know that necklace means a lot to you Summer, but remember, that is the way our Princess feels about you whether you wear the necklace or not. She loves you very much."

Summer was soon weeping softly. "I do miss everypony Shysage."

Shysage was also soon weeping; he missed everypony too...

Shysage and Summer drifted off to sleep.

---

They were all cold the next morning, and a cool breeze was blowing in their 'front door'. Summer and Shysage got up long enough to move the girls between them. After that, nopony moved early in the day; they were keeping each other warm.

Summer and Shysage both realized it must still be early spring. And maybe they also wondered why Summer seemed to arrive in a different 'time' in early spring. The first was a dream, but still...

Of course, they both silently thanked true friend that their traveling days were not cold, or the trip would have been a night-mare.

They waited until the Sun was up fairly high in the sky before the family ventured outside, and they quickly ate and drank, and then found a nice warm patch of direct sunlight.

Even so, Summer and Shysage lay in the Sun, and put the girls in between them again, both to help them contain the heat, and also to break the cool breeze.

Shysage also realized that he needed to find some way to be able to more effectively 'shut' the small opening which was the door to their house. This needed to be done while it was still light.

He got up and wandered around briefly near the base of the Sequoia, and found a large piece of fairly thick bark. He carefully moved it inside the tree. It didn't cover the whole opening, but it covered a lot of it, and this would have to do.

He rejoined his family, then realized they had moved to a different patch of sunlight that was warmer, and so he joined them.

---

Shysage took this opportunity to institute an important rule for his family. He actually realized the need for this rule while looking for a door. He had wandered away from the rest.

Shysage began by speaking to the girls.

"Sue, Lee, I need you to listen to me a minute. You are not in trouble, but I think it is really important that we all stay together at all times. The main thing to avoid, is wandering off by yourselves. If either of you get lost, it may be impossible for us to come find you.

"So, I think the new rule is that you must always stay with Summer or me, and you should never go so far away that we can't see you or that you can't see us.

"And Summer, Girls, this is only for your safety. We really only have each other to rely on right now, and I love all three of you very much."

Sue spoke up timidly "Daddy, you broke your rule..."

Summer just smiled. Well, she thought "Busted", a phrase she picked up in the Equestria Girls world, but she didn't say anything; that wouldn't be very respectful.

Shysage replied quickly "Yes Sue, you are right, and I realized the need for this rule for that very reason. I need to obey that rule too, and I will from now on.

Lee had been quiet, but spoke very slowly and said "Mommy, daddy, please don't ever leave me..."

Lee was laying down next to Summer, and Summer just wrapped her neck around Lee's neck and pulled her close, and said softly "We won't Lee, we love you very much."

---

They ate and drank a bit more, but as the Sun headed down, it was quickly very cold, and they retreated into their tree-house.

The bark substantially cut down on the breeze blowing in through the door, but they still had to snuggle together to stay warm.

The breeze was the least, the furthest from the door, so they all snuggled up against that back wall there.

They could stay warm, but had to be all huddled next to each other. Nopony seemed to mind.

Still, Summer and Shysage were on the outside again, so their girls could stay warm.

Sue asked Shysage why it was so cold today, and Shysage tried to explain the four seasons, and that the changes in the seasons didn't just happen; sometimes the weather would switch between two seasons like this.

Sue asked Shysage why he knew so much.

Summer smiled, and said "Because your daddy is very smart."

Then Shysage said that it was probably because he had read so many books.

Summer drew Sue's attention to Shysage's Cutie Mark, a simple open book, and only then realized this wasn't a good idea. Shysage was a Canterlot Recorder, and 'Canterlot' didn't exist yet.

Shysage helped out and said it meant that Shysage was good with both reading and writing books. This was true, and Sue understood.

But Sue also asked Summer about her Cutie Mark.

Summer honestly answered that, for the longest time, she didn't have any idea what her Cutie Mark meant.

Shysage politely interrupted at this point, and mentioned to Sue that she would probably get her Cutie Mark in the next year or so herself, and Shysage couldn't wait to see what it was.

Shysage then deliberately changed the topic again, and said calmly "And Sue, we will soon teach you how to read and write. That will be very important for our family."

Even so, this entire interchange clearly revealed that both Shysage and Summer were 'on the same page' as far as things they needed to avoid as they tried to leave the future alone. And they seemed to work together effectively to help each other with this.

Sue was still thinking. "Daddy, I don't even know what reading and writing is. Will you teach us?"

"Yes Sue, we will." Shysage said.

Huddled together, they were soon fast asleep.

---

The next morning seemed just as cold, so the family again waited until the Sun was up pretty far before venturing out.

Shysage moved the 'door', and Summer headed out with the girls.

Summer quickly said "Awww... Shysage, come look..."

Shysage was soon out, and was amazed...

Somepony or somponies from the city had left four coats for Shysage and his family, right outside their door.

They were nice pony coats, with a small hole and short sleeves for the two front legs only, and they covered the sides and back, down well below Summer's and Shysage's Cutie Marks. They also had a nice hood which could be easily nudged back and off their heads.

The dark fabric looked 'archaic' compared to the fabric Shysage was used to, but the 'knit' was fairly tight, and it was clear these were new coats, and probably very nice by contemporary standards.

Summer and Shysage helped Sue and Lee get their coats on, and they both warmed up quickly.

"This feels so much better, mommy" Lee told Summer.

Summer gave Lee a hug. Then she hugged Sue too.

Shysage helped Summer with hers, then Summer helped Shysage with his.

They were all now very warm, this was just an amazing gift.

"Shysage, how do you say 'Thanks' in Old Pony..." Summer asked, not really expecting an answer.

Shysage thought a minute then answered softly "Summer, I think they saw us yesterday. I think they will know we are wearing them now. I don't know what else to do.

"And I don't know very much 'Old Pony', and it is simply very different. I doubt we could communicate on my current vocabulary..."

Well, with these coats on, the day was a lot more enjoyable for Shysage and his family.

They ate more, and didn't need to worry about freezing in the shade.

They still spent a lot of time in the Sun, but it was actually warm, and felt very nice.

Sue asked a lot more questions that day. It was just easier when her teeth weren't chattering.

Lee took a nap in the Sun, leaning up against Summer, and Summer loved it. Sue soon joined Lee, and they both napped on Summer's side.

"Precious Mare, you have 'mothering' in your very soul. You are an amazing mom." Shysage said softly. "I really prize that in you..."

Summer rubbed her Stallions nose a minute then said "It takes both of us Shysage, and you are an amazing dad too."

Shysage was lost in thought for a few minutes, then he asked "I wonder how everypony will respond when we bring these two girls home with us..."

Summer just sighed, then said quietly "Shysage, we still don't know if we will find these girls' parents or not. Let's hold off thinking about that for now."

Shysage quickly replied "Yes amazing Mare, you are right...

"I love you Summer..."

"I love you too Shysage" Summer said, then she sighed.

"It seems like right now we need to be 'time-travellers' in order to act married... Well to act more married than when we are in... uhm..."

"Thank you for being careful Mare" Shysage quickly replied. "This is going to be hard for both of us, and we will need to help each other a lot probably."

Shysage paused in thought briefly, then continued "And you are right, I do feel a lot less 'constrained' now, so far into the past, and I do love you very much. While I think our presence here is not permanent, I appreciate having you as my Mare. I will enjoy every day we share together."

Shysage and Summer rubbed noses a little while after this.

It was quiet for a few minutes, then Summer said quietly "Shysage, I think we will be in trouble when my desires come back..."

Shysage smiled, then said softly "Probably..."

---

After maybe half an hour more, Summer woke Sue and Lee up. She wanted the girls to sleep well at night.

They all ate some more, and drank from the river.

They actually went for a short walk too, and Sue asked more questions.

They stayed out a little later, and then headed inside.

Shysage closed the 'door'.

The door and the coats made a big difference, and everypony was a lot warmer that night.

Summer and Shysage slept on their bellies in a 'v' shape with their heads together, and their hind-quarters up against the far wall, and Sue and Lee were in between them.

The girls were soon asleep.

Shysage and his Mare rubbed noses a while, then put their heads down next to each other, and sighed together.

Summer started to drift off to sleep.

Shysage said softly "That IS a scary thought..."

Summer replied half asleep "Aw, what Shysage..."

"You getting your desires back..." Shysage said slowly.

Summer picked her head up and nibbled Shysage's ear then said softly "Well, you are safe tonight, get some sleep Stallion."

"After I thank... ...for the privelage of sleeping next to you, I will."

"I love you Summer."

"I love you too Stallion."

They were both soon asleep.