The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 9 -- Future Perfect

by shysage

Chapter 7, First Blush

I clearly remember the last thought I had before Equestria, and my Shysage faded from view. I was going to ask him to make me feel like a Princess tonight, somehow. Even he felt I was long overdue for that. I was going to whisper quietly in his ear, and ask him...

...then everything disappeared...

And, wherever I ended up, I still heard that same tune in the background(1). Maybe it was louder, I don't know.

It didn't take me long to realize I was in the Crystal Palace, facing the Portal. The Crystal Palace is made entirely out of crystal, and the light outside diffuses through the entire building. I recognized that soft Blue glow right away.

But the Portal, being here... This seemed all wrong, it was in Princess Twilight's Castle. It was only in the Past that...

I started crying immediately... It seemed like we had just finished...

I cried until I started shivering, then I realized it was far too cold to stay where I was.

Still crying, I walked quickly out the door of the small room that now held the Portal. I immediately heard birds, and went up a nearby stairs. The top of the Crystal Palace was gone... Well, even from where I was, I saw the pieces of the Spire shattered on the ground, trailing away from the rest of the Palace.

But the sunlight helped me warm up some. It was a very cold day.

I laid down on my belly on the top step of the stairs. The breeze was blocked, and the Sun felt amazing. I hoped I would warm up some. I tried to think.

I didn't have to think long. A broken Crystal Palace... I had a dream about the future that included this a number of years ago. At the time, we all thought that dream was just a warning.

This wasn't a dream though.

I cried some more...

I just wanted Shysage...

...

Well, I knew I couldn't stay here; I would freeze to death tonight.

I remembered from my dream, that I headed to Ponyville first, and that seemed the wise choice now too.

I was quickly flying. It was colder up high, and the air blasting past my body was freezing. I tried to fly pretty fast, because I doubted I could do this for very long. With the Sun on my back, and the exertion of flying fast, I think I just barely escaped turning to ice... It was a painful trip.

Maybe noon, I landed, and quickly laid down in a bunch of weeds next to the pool in Town Square in Ponyville. The weeds blocked the cold breeze, and the Sun again felt amazing.

Hoping I would warm up, I laid on my belly and tried to remember what I did next in my dream. This was all very wierd; trying to remember a dream about the future to know what to do next. Well, this was not a dream. And I didn't have any idea why I was here, or what I needed to do. I didn't even know when this was...

I wanted Shysage. He... I could always count on him to help me know what to do. Well, maybe I just wanted Shysage...

I cried some more.

I thought about Fluttershy too. I was just talking to her before... And her Cottage wasn't far. I needed to check...

I kept crying, as I walked there. I had to stay in the sunlight, or I shivered. It was very cold...

I was soon walking up to her home. It looked ok, but the gardens, and lawn area... Everything was wildly overgrown. It was clear she wasn't here. I didn't even check...

I flopped down in the middle of some weeds near her Cottage, and started crying pretty hard.

I wasn't ready for this...

Still, I tried to calm down.

I tried to think...

After a few minutes, I started to warm up, and I sighed.

I realized that the Portal had moved us, well me, anyway. That meant to me that Equestria had a reason for moving the Phantom Alicorn to this time. Well, in my dream, that reason was Eschate Zumulus, a huge, magical, flying Black Bear. But Princess and her girls had taunted him out and killed him in the Present; that was years ago now I thought. I don't know.

I laid there, on my belly for a while, just thinking. I guess, I was trying to remember more of that dream. And I was warming up, slowly.

Well, I asked true friend for help, and remembered our amazing neighbor Dawn Flower before I even finished.

---

I got up and walked quickly towards Dawn's house, and only then realized that Ponyville was a ghost town, literally falling in on itself. I actually ended up walking slowly, shivering, dumbfounded at how bad my hometown looked. It was awful. The trip to Dawn's took longer than it should have. I couldn't believe my eyes.

As I walked slowly up to Dawn's shop, I tried to not notice that Shysage and my home was uninhabitable any more. But I did notice that the sign above Dawn's door had been changed to "Helping Hands", probably years ago.

Judging by the looks of the rest of Ponyville, I doubted anypony was even here any more. I knocked anyway.

The door soon opened...

A very grown-up Camille recognized me immediately, and burst into tears. Well I did too, and we were quickly hugging. After crying together a minute maybe, Camille motioned me inside. Wow it was much warmer in here...

Still, Camille and I were quickly hugging tightly and crying together again. We were both crying pretty hard. Another very young mare was standing next to Camille, and Camille pulled her into our hug and we all cried together, and for quite a while.

...

But I slowly percieved that another mare was in this room, also crying, very feebly. I didn't pay much attention at first. But later, almost like a flash of lightning, I knew exactly who it was...

Still crying, I slowly pushed Camille and the other mare away, and walked slowly across what used to be the showroom. The walls to the Kitchen were gone, and there was a fireplace built into the back wall... uhm... where Corn's room used to be.

Laying on her side in front of the fireplace on a thick blanket...

It was Dawn Flower... Our amazing neighbor... She was clearly very old...

She was crying softly... I quickly laid on my belly along side her, where I could lay my head up against hers. I was quickly crying again. Dawn and I cried together for a while.

Well, once as we were crying, Dawn stopped crying long enough to say quietly "Summer, I knew you'd come... Equestria needs you..." We kept crying.

Well, I was positive Dawn had never heard Summer's Dream. I thought that was only available to a very restricted audience. So Dawn's words were all the more amazing. She had no reason to hope for this...

Dawn and I cried together there for a long time... Camille and her daughter laid down on their bellies next to me, and we all cried together...

But, crying together like that, I realized that these three precious mares, spanning three generations, they all hurt alot. And I began to realize, to feel that Equestria was hurting too. Maybe that's why I was here. And it wasn't a dream this time.

...

Dawn tried to move, so I got quickly up. Dawn suprised everypony, and actually rolled over onto her belly. She smiled, and said quietly "I wanna see this!"

I guessed she was referring to Ponyville coming back to life. Well, dream or no, Ponyville needed help. All Equestria clearly did.

Well, I laid back down on my belly next to Dawn, and hugged her gently. "Dawn, it is so good to see you..." I said, trying to not cry again.

It was quiet for a minute, and Camille's daughter said quietly to Camille "Mommy, who is this mare?"

Well, Dawn answered, and used her own name again, so I guessed that was Camille's daughter's name, too.

"Dawn, honey, I have often talked about the most powerful pony to ever walk in Equestria. She was the Phantom Alicorn, and she helped Equestria with many monsters. Her power is very great..."

Well, Dawn the younger had heard this before, and so was again listening attentively and nodding. Dawn the elder continued, clearly trying not to cry herself.

"Dawn, this is Summer Rain, the Phantom Alicorn..." Well, I just hugged Dawn the elder as she cried a little while. I could have cried more too.

Dawn the younger, her eyes grew very wide. She said, almost unable to finish "Are you..."

I looked at Dawn the younger and smiled. "Yes" I said. I realized I didn't need to say anything more. Dawn the elder had probably already told her grand-daughter all she needed to know.

It was quiet, and I think we all still working on calming down. Still, Dawn the elder looked up at me and said quietly "Summer, Equestria needs your help. We all do."

I smiled at my old friend and hugged her again. "Dawn, I think that's why I'm here. Helping others got me to where I am and I'm not about to stop now."

...

Still hugging Dawn the elder, I said softly "Camille, please introduce me to your beautiful daughter."

Camille hugged her daughter tightly, and both smiled at each other.

"Summer, this is Dawn, my daughter. She is... Well..."

Camille got this much out, then burst into tears. It would be a while before she could talk again. Dawn the elder nudged me away, and I moved and hugged a sobbing Camille, and was soon crying again with her. When she could, after a while, she explained.

"Summer, I grew up watching you and Shysage... You were both amazing, and so completely devoted to each other... I wanted that so badly... I tried to wait so I could find a good stallion... I knew it would take a while...

"Then Equestria fell apart, things got crazy, and Ponyville just... emptied out... Years went by...

"One afternoon, I was out in the meadow collecting food for mom... A stallion ran up out of nowhere... He hit me hard and knocked me over. While I lay there, dazed, he just took what he wanted and ran off... It was awful... But I had a foal..."

Camille couldn't continue; this shattered dream hurt her so much. Well, Dawn the elder was crying hard too. I never knew what happened to Dawn the elder's stallion, but I guess I did now... Two generations of hit and run rape... That was just harsh.

I moved back over next to Dawn the elder, and motioned Camille and her daughter over next to me, and the four of us cried together most of the rest of the afternoon. I felt their pain. I had been there too. They needed this.

...

While crying with these mares, I did some thinking.

When I came to this point in the Future (I was pretty sure anyway) earlier today, I was so concerned about my own comfort. I fell quickly into the midst of the deep needs of hurting friends, and was inch by inch beginning to feel Equestria's collective sorrow.

I didn't question this trip any more, and started asking true friend for help. I would do that a lot. And Dawn the elder was right. I was the Phantom Alicorn. I could do something about this mess, and certainly would try. At this point, I didn't know anything about what all needed to be done. But I would do whatever I could.

I love Equestria.

The Phantom Alicorn was here.

---

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Author's Note:

1. The tune is the BGM for the 'Kamihr Drifts' zone in Final Fantasy XI, and the music, the zone and the game are c2014 by Square Enix. The tune is called 'The Divine' and it is available on the 'Forever Today' add-on for the OST for the 'Seekers of Adoulin' expansion for FFXI and is c2014 by Square Enix.