The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 10 -- Ariel Dawn

by shysage

Chapter 7, By The Moonlight

Well, I want you to know that I will try to be very careful with this chapter, and work on avoiding unnecessary details. I remember Shysage mentioning once as we did a previous chapter like this; "If our readers need a physiology lesson, there are textbooks for that."

And I had not gotten too far into this chapter when I realized that Shysage was deep in thought, and had an almost sad look on his face. Well, I'm his Mare, and I was concerned. I stopped, moved next to him, and asked him what was wrong. "Well, it's just that..." He paused for a minute, then continued. "Summer, like most everypony else in Equestria, we both treasure feeling amazing. But the pursuit of just that feeling falls so far short... Our times together like that are absolutely amazing, but the physical feeling is amplified by the committment, devotion, really the self-sacrificial love we have worked at and built together over years... We have worked hard at putting each other first, and have become so close, so emotionally bonded. The intimacy we share is far more amazing and meaningful as a result... But it seems ponies just can't be bothered with that any more. Or maybe they just don't know, I don't know. But all they seem to want is just the physical feeling, and they seem content with that, then run off to the next. That's like taking only a few licks from an ice-cream cone, tossing it aside, then walking away and looking for another one. That all seems so tragically short-sighted..." Shysage was working on not crying, so I just hugged him for a while. I held back tears too. We had both been like that, at one point. But true friendship took over, and we both learned... Well, the more you give, far more will you receive...

...

We had spent the last week maybe getting caught up on Canterlot Recording. Well, I laughed as I wrote that; what I am writing seems more like our own personal diary at the moment. But I doubt we are here just for a vacation. Still, it may be late in the summer, and Shysage and I brought back plenty of dried leaves from those broad-leafed plants down by the lake. He even carefully tore them up into approximately paper sized pieces so I could be more organized with what I had written. Stacked up, they even look kind of like a book! They work very well, and we still have tons of yummy berries. I actually started from the beginning, and re-wrote the record of our first few days here, than added the rest, covering what had happened since then, up to and including the 2 days when a few signs help a lot fall into place for us.

And, honestly, I was waiting...

Shysage and I, well, it is just very difficult for us to keep secrets from each other. We somehow just know, and I think that really is a good thing. And usually it is not a problem. Neither of us, well we have nothing to hide, and really work hard to keep it that way. But I guess this time... I... Shysage has taken such good care of me in so many ways. We have also covered a few of the times he has helped me feel like a princess, his princess, he calls me. Most of the time, there is not much in this for my Stallion. That has always seemed so wrong to me, but the responsibility of having a foal, and... I guess... Shysage and I, we had taken chances in the past, mostly because Shysage knew I needed it, but we both would have welcomed a foal into our lives on each of those occasions. That added responsibility would be welcomed and joyfully embraced; we have both felt that way for years now. I think Shysage is just waiting for the right time, even though we both agreed we didn't know when that was, or even if it would ever be. Well, it would be soon, if I got my way. And, whether a foal resulted or not; this was just not... I mean, I would be delighted with a foal, but even if it didn't happen this time... I wanted to make my Stallion feel like the prince he is. He is my prince. I have so yearned to give him that; he has given so much for me... And it seemed now was the time. I was waiting for the moon to get larger and brighter at night. That was happening, slowly, as it always does. I just had to be patient. So, we spent a number of days mostly nestled in our wind break under our tree together, as I wrote, re-wrote, and basically got caught up on what had happened since our arrival here, in Ponyville before it was Ponyville, deep in the Past.

The weather stayed nice and warm most of that week. It rained calmly for part of one of those days, and the air turned a little cooler afterwards, for the rest of the day. The birds were out in the rain taking a shower. We found what we felt would be the dryest place for our Canterlot Recording stuff, then we did the same thing. We found a spot out in the grass where we had already been (the grass was already laying down), and we laid on our bellies together, and drank the gentle rain in. It felt wonderful. And just thinking about the turmoil we had faced, even recently. I think we cried softly together for a while. And we also spent one night at the base of that huge redwood tree. We flew out there at around noon, flew some generous circles around it, then settled down in a nice spot near the trunk, surrounded by lush ferns. I think we both needed that.

All through that week, I had been watching the moon before we went to sleep. The nights were getting brighter and brighter. That was good. And my plan was pretty simple. We would do some long and late flying, come back to our lake to eat and drink at sundown, then allow the moonlight and the lake to take over. I wasn't about to push anything. I was ready to wait, try a few times if necessary.

We were completely caught up on our writing on this particular day. And it was pretty warm. We did our usual circle flying, looking for animals. We always do that. A while before noon, we stopped at the lake for some food, and rinsed off. I tried to make this quick. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the shade of our tree, looking out across the meadow, out across Ponyville, even though there was no Ponyville here yet. Late in the afternoon, I asked Shysage if we could fly to the Redwood tree for a while. I think Shysage has a hard time telling me no, if he doesn't have a good reason. He just mentioned that we probably shouldn't stay long. We didn't fly there fast, and the shade of that big tree felt amazing on this warm day.

As the Sun dipped low off in the West, Shysage suggested we fly back to the lake for some dinner. I asked him if we could rub noses a little while first. We both enjoy that, and it wasn't a little while. We flew back and landed next to our lake just as the Sun dipped below the horizon. Shysage was looking around. I knew he was working on our safety, just doing some thinking ahead. I treasure that in him. But I started eating, so Shysage did too. And just as it started to get dark, the moon crept over the meadow to the East. It never got very dark. And the soft blue glow from the moon... I kept eating. I think Shysage and I were both hungry. Later, we both wandered over to the lake and got a drink. Shysage rinsed off. I... well, I dove into the water. I had to be very careful with my wings, but Shysage got a good splash from that. I got up, splashed him some more, than ran off around the edge of the lake. Just like last time, he chased me, and finally, gently knocked over, then splashed down right next to me. I was on my back again, and I knew... Shysage started to say "Summer, I don't think I can..." I just looked into his amazing eyes, and he stopped right there. We rubbed noses briefly... maybe a little while. It felt amazing. (opt:btm10c) Then I got up and ran... To make a long story short, as a people, I surprised my amazing / amazed Shysage! (He was a people too.) (/opt:btm10c) It happened so fast. I made my Stallion feel like the prince he really is. And my amazing Stallion... He realized he had responded far faster that I had, and he still took care of me.

Well, for a long time, I just hugged my Stallion as he cried... We were soon crying softly together. My Stallion was long overdue for this. I was crying because I could, well I did finally give that to him. We cried together, hugging, right there, for hours... We said nothing. I don't think we could talk...

The first thing Shysage said...

If I could fly from East to West in search of loving beauty,
I'd never find another near, the Mare that now comes to me.
Her ruby lips, a heart of gold, and hands that yearn to serve me.
Summer Rain, you are my world, my life, my home, my destiny.

From Past through time, a million years, in all this I would see,
There never was, could ever be, a friend so true, so strong as you.
This gift so great such treasure rare I know not how I've found you.
Summer Rain, you are my world, my life, my home, my destiny.

So scary this, I hold you close, to lose you would destroy me
You share that fear and pull me near, so now we rest and sigh.
Our love so strong, so fear is gone, to dizzy heights we fly.
Summer Rain, you are my world, my life, my home, my destiny.

Shysage said this haltingly, and trying mostly unsuccessfully to not cry as he whispered this to me. We both cried together a while after he finished. He told me later he had been working on the words for this latest version of that poem since we got here. He didn't think it was great poetry, but it said... Shysage basically said what I think we both have felt for a long time...

And I don't know why, but a little while later, well, I couldn't help it. We were both still people. I tried to get up, so Shysage moved. I was soon standing in the Oats, hopping up and down. I was so EXCITED!!! I guess it had finally sunk in... While hopping up and down, I said something like this. Maybe I was delirious. And I know there was a long pause between each statement as I laughed and cried at the same time...

"Shysage, Shysage, Shysage, we are SO excited!

"You and I!

"We are going to have a foal!

"Finally!

"That is so AMAZING!

"We are going to have a little baby girl, and she is going to be absolutely beautiful!

"And we are going to name her Ariel Dawn... I absolutely love the name Ariel, and Dawn is our most amazing neighbor who took such amazing care of my Shysage when he forgot!

"Shysage and I, we are both SOOO excited!"

I don't know how much sense I was making. I was hopping excitedly the whole time. And by the time I was done, Shysage was holding both my hands in his as I hopped, and he had a huge smile on his face.

We hugged and cried together for a little while after that...

Well, we splashed each other some more in the lake, and ended up half in and half out of the water, hugging, kissing and crying softly together a while more.

It was the middle of the night, maybe early morning. We both got our stylish Equestria Girls clothes back on, then we both changed back into ponies. Still, the moonlight was bright enough, so we flew the 30 minutes or so to that huge Redwood. It was easy to find. We quickly found our spot among the ferns, talked to true friend a while, and fell asleep right next to each other.

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Well, I guess... When I woke up the next morning, Shysage was looking lovingly at me. When I opened my eyes, he said softly "Hello, beautiful." I just melted. He then added this, again softly and slowly... "I can tell my Mare is carrying a foal... I can tell by the look on your face, your eyes... The life you are carrying... It is making you radiant, I don't know how else to explain it..." Tears came to my eyes, and I couldn't talk. "I love you Summer" Shysage said quietly, and he wrapped one of his front legs over my neck and hugged me, and we cried softly together there in the ferns for a while.

When I managed to stop crying, we took to the air, and flew back to the lake, then did our morning patrol, looking for Cougars. I was thinking my Stallion was right, we had not seen any more, I don't know. We relaxed under our tree together the rest of that day, and the next day too, and worked together, crying a lot, on this chapter.

...

That moonlit night meant a lot to both of us, and the introduction of a foal into our family just made it all the richer. But that one night became the first of many nights by the moonlight. And, since there were no other ponies around, we had some amazing mornings and afternoons too. We had already committed to the responsibilities of the foal I now carried. Shysage and I, we reveled in the amazing joy we could freely give to each other, easily the capstone of the love and devotion we had committed to each other, and demonstrated over years...

I... Shysage is my world, my life, my home, and my destiny too.

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