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

Chapters

Chapter 2, Amazing Journey
Chapter 3, Settling In
Chapter 4, First Spring
Chapter 5, First Summer
Chapter 6, First Fall
Chapter 7, First Winter
Chapter 8, Second Spring
Chapter 9, Second Summer, Pegasus Fun
Chapter 10, Second Fall
Chapter 11, Winter of Magic
Chapter 12, Pony Nation
Chapter 14, Who Am I
Chapter 15, Telling the Story
Chapter 16, Fitting Back In
Chapter 17, Historical Endnotes
Chapter 1, On the Run
Chapter 13, Final Task

Chapter 2, Amazing Journey

Early the next day, they all woke up at about the same time. The Sun was just beginning to peek up over the mountains off to the East.

There was a level area next to where they had slept. Even before they climbed down from their 'nest', Summer Rain got up and asked Shysage to come sit facing her.

Summer quickly put one of her legs around Shysage's neck, and he did the same. Starting to cry, she said softly "Shysage, I joyfully accept your 'not proposed' proposal from last night. I love you so very much..."

Shysage was quickly crying himself, and he said softly through his tears "Summer Rain, I never thought I would ever love a mare as much as I love you..."

They just hugged and cried together for a few minutes.

Then, almost at the same time, they each reached out and pulled one of 'their girls' close, and included them in their hug.

"Girls, we love you both very much" Summer said, then had to stop there. It was surely true.

Both girls were soon crying too... Nopony thought they were sad either.

After hugging a few minutes together, they climbed down from their nest, and then ate and drank some, before heading off to the East.

Walking was a lot slower with two foals...

...until everypony realized the foals could ride on Shysage's and Summer's backs.

The foals were soon contentedly sitting still on someponies' back while Shysage and Summer carried them.

Summer's and Shysage's backs were sore at the end of the first day, but they quickly adjusted to the load. Besides, traveling was a lot faster carrying them.

The rocks soon gave way to a gently rolling meadow, that seemed to stretch on forever. They just kept walking East.

It was getting dryer too, and they had to search a little for water now, but still managed to find some.

Summer thought it looked like the area west of Dodge City, but didn't know for sure. Then she asked "Shysage, do you have any idea where we are?

Shysage thought a minute then said "I think we are in Equestria, but I also think we are substantially backwards in time. I really don't know much more. We will probably know more once we get to the 'Equestrium', whatever that is.

Summer thought for a minute, then said "Why did they call me 'Shila', that's not my name..."

Shysage just sighed. "I don't know Summer. I only know that 'Shila the Beautiful' was the name of the last Phantom Alicorn known to exist in Equestria... ...and you are a Phantom Alicorn... ..and you are very, very beautiful..."

Summer was not going to let this go un-rewarded. "Aw, Shysage... Can you come here a minute?"

He did.

They just rubbed noses a minute or two. Nothing else was said, and they resumed their journey.

Summer and Shysage just talked together, as they walked together. All they had to do was walking, and they really enjoyed every minute together.

Still, it must have looked strange. Two ponies who looked very similar, walking side by side, each with a foal resting calmly on their back.

It would still be days before they saw any other ponies though.

When it got dark, they stopped again for the night next to a big tree. It wasn't especially protected, but they didn't have many other options.

Summer and Shysage slept on the outside with 'their girls' in between them. Aside from being away from each other, they all slept fine.

The next day, they ate some, and found some water.

Getting ready to walk, Sue asked "Can I sit on daddy's back? I like him."

Lee was already leaning up against Summer's leg.

While both of these girls got along well with both Summer and Shysage, this preference would last a while.

They were soon walking along heading to the landmark to the East that Shysage had picked out using the Equestrium last night.

This day turned amazing, very fast.

At about mid-morning, Sue asked timidly "Whats that?"

Shysage looked, then said "You mean that small furry thing sitting on that log?"

Sue said "Ya..."

"Thats a ground-squirrel. they live here. They generally collect seeds and nuts and things to help them get through the winter" Shysage said. He suspected that this was more than Sue wanted.

A little while later, Sue asked again "What's that?" She actually pointed down this time with her leg.

"Oh wait, that's a Snake -- Summer careful." Shysage said a little alarmed.

They stopped and waited for the Snake to finish crossing in front of them. Shysage kicked a rock at it to hurry it along, and they heard it rattle. Giving it plenty of distance, they went around it.

All of this amazed Sue. She actually moved around on Shysage's back so she could put her head next to Shysage's head, so she could see ahead of them.

Sue asked some more questions. Then she asked Shysage "Is it ok if I ask questions?"

Shysage said quietly "As long as you aren't interrupting anypony else talking, you can talk whenever you want. We don't mind."

Sue said "I like you, daddy."

Shysage moved his head over against Sue's head, and rubbed his head up and down a little. "That was a hug Sue" Shysage said.

Sue just hugged him back the same way.

Lee said little that day, but kept her front legs around Summer's neck, and her head up against Summer's neck the whole time. She said once, carefully, "I love you mommy", and, choking back tears, Summer said "I love you too, Lee."

The whole day was just special like that. Everypony was bonding.

When they finally stopped for the night, they found a nice but small cave. They ate and drank, and were quickly snug inside.

Shysage and Summer lay on their bellies next to each other. Sue was next to Shysage and Lee was next to Summer. They usually slept like that now when they could.

Summer and Shyage rubbed noses a few minutes, then sighed together, and put their heads side-by-side.

After they thought the girls were asleep, Summer started crying softly. "Shysage I miss my sister and everypony else, but I don't ever want to leave these girls. They need us, but I really want them... ...and they are not even ours..." Summer just stopped here and cried.

Shysage was crying too. "I agree with you Summer..." was all he could say. A little while later, Shysage added "If we find a Portal, they're comin' with us..."

Both of these girls were 'supposed' to be asleep, but said at the same time "Thank you mommy and daddy..."

They set out the next day for the landmark Shysage had noted the night before using the 'Equestrium'.

Shysage fielded a lot more of Sue's questions, and enjoyed every minute.

Lee didn't say much, but she didn't need to. Summer just knew.

Around the middle of the day, they began to see more trees, and it began to look like the area around Ponyville. They thought they might have walked through the site the town would occupy, but nothing was there. But they just didn't know for sure.

Off in the distance, they also thought they saw what might just be the large stepped mountain where Canterlot was built, but they were still not close enough to tell.

At dusk, they found another nice cave, and then ate some Oats and drank from a nearby brook.

There were a lot more Oats here, and Shysage felt they were close to where they were supposed to go.

As the Sun set, and the bright canopy of stars twinkled over them, they both realized that the 'Equestrium', that perfect triangle of bright stars, was gone. They never saw it again.

The next morning, they ate some more Oats and drank from the brook, then were soon on their way, heading for the stepped mountain off in the distance.

As the day progressed, they began to see and pass more ponies. Shysage and Summer would say either "hi" or "hello", but would always draw mostly blank stares.

Shysage thought a minute. Shysage remembered that the early pony form of "Hi" worked out to "Hoy" like 'toy'. They tried that once, and got a broad smile and 'Hoy' back.

After walking further for a minute or two, Shysage said "Wow..." then explained to Summer that this would place them very early in Equestrian history.

From his research in the Canterlot library, he found that at some specific point, the language of Equestria changed from this early, barely understandable form, to the form spoken today -- well today for Summer and Shysage. Shysage never found out what caused this, or exactly when it took place.

Summer sincerely thanked her Stallion for all his careful research into Equestria's history. It was paying off.

They were soon close enough to see that the 'stepped mountain' where Canterlot would be built, was empty. There was no city there yet.

Near the end of the day, they found a large, walled 'city' of sorts, down below the stepped mountain. Many ponies went in and many ponies went out, through a large gate.

Shysage decided they were close enough.

Right where they stopped, there was a very large pine tree maybe 300 feet down a slight hill from the main road they were on. Well Shysage knew it was a Sequoia, but that would mean nothing to his Mare.

Shysage led Summer over to the base of the tree. The inside of the tree had been burned out, and was empty. This was not uncommon for Sequoias.

A small gap, easily large enough for a pony, formed a nice doorway. It actually faced North, towards a small river not more than another 400 feet further away from the road. It looked like there was plenty of grass to eat too.

Shysage looked inside the tree, and it looked like nopony had even been in there. Shysage quickly shuffled some old pine needles inside, and spread them along the floor to cover the dirt. It was very comfortable.

This was their new home. They would live here a while.

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.

Chapter 4, First Spring

The four coats, a gift from the townsponies, made a huge difference for Shysage and his family. It would be chilly for the next two weeks.

Since they had the coats, they could all do a lot of what they would normally do. Well, except fly, and they couldn't do that just yet anyway. The coats made sleeping at night a lot more comfortable too.

Still, Shysage and Summer would probably never know who the ponies were that gave this amazing gift.

However, after maybe 3 more weeks, the coats went away until the next fall.

Summer took very good care of them during the warmer months, as she knew they would probably be needed again. She found enough random branch stubs on the inside of the tree to easily hang all four coats up, out of the way. She had to hover a little higher inside the tree to hang them, but it worked out fine.

The first few weeks in their new home reminded Shysage a lot of 'camping out' in the Equestria Girls world where he was from. However, the difference between the two worlds was dramatic.

In the Equestria Girls world, a camping trip needed to be very carefully planned out in advance. Every single contingency needed to be carefully provided for. And, to a greater extent, variations in weather needed to also be taken into account.

And after all this planning was complete, the sheer volume of 'stuff' necessary to make such a trip even 'work', would usually limit the duration of the 'camping trip' to two weeks maybe.

In Equestria, daily life was much simpler, and ponies were a much more 'hardy' breed. As has already been mentioned, all a pony really needed was food, water and shelter, and they could live easily for long periods of time.

Shysage and his family had all that here. Their home was amazing, food and water were close, and Shysage and Summer were free to focus on the other more important aspects of raising foals... ..and just enjoying each other...

Shysage and Summer both loved this amazing opportunity.

And it was not unrealistic that they could all easily live here for a number of years, should this be required.

Shysage realized that the Winter months might prove more difficult, but only because the foals should not just stop eating for extended periods like 'grown up' ponies could. Shysage realized that he would need to address that however.

That first spring brought quite a bit if rain at various times.

On those days that it just sprinkled or rained briefly, the whole family simply had fun out in the rain. The air wasn't real cold, and so the rain generally wasn't cold either.

Summer and Shysage were both hesitant to take their foals into the river yet, and so the occasional rain shower helped keep Sue and Lee clean. Well, it helped keep Summer and Shysage clean too.

Near the middle of that spring, it rained for almost a week straight. It wasn't a major downpour, it was a fairly gentle, but continuous rain. The family could easily go out and eat and drink, but then they quickly headed back to the shelter of their home to dry out.

It was hard to do much else besides sit inside and watch out their 'front door'. Still, the constant sound of the gentle rain was very relaxing, and it was easy to sit for hours and just watch.

Well, it was easy for Shysage and Summer to do that. The girls needed a little more activity to keep them occupied.

Shysage remembered a few games from his past, that the girls enjoyed.

One game involved somepony finding an object, identified by either a color or a shape. Everypony else would then guess to see if they could find it. Sue and Lee, well, and Summer too, were all very good at this, and so Shysage would usually sit out, or maybe help Lee if she was having a tough time.

Another game involved finding sets of objects gathered together in the exact number Shysage or Summer would mention. Sue and Lee loved this game, and didn't realize they were learning their numbers in the process.

Both games were actually learning experiences as well as fun.

After a week, the rain soon tapered off, but their river had become substantially swollen as a result. It was closer to their home somewhat, but was clearly flowing very fast. It made a lot more noise flowing quickly past too.

Shysage and Summer explained the hazard to their girls, and required that they all stay way away from the river. Even taking a drink from it was not allowed, they would drink from small pools made by the recent rain.

Three more weeks, and the river was closer to it's 'normal' self, and they relaxed their limits some. Still, Shysage asked that everypony respect the hazard that the river presented. They needed the water it carried, but it could easily drag the girls away.

It was clear the townsponies were watching Shysage and his family to a certain extent.

Sometime during that spring, a long, low, fairly sturdy table mysteriously arrived one morning outside the door of their home.

Shysage suspected that it was probably given as a table for food and such. It was just about the right size that a pony could sit at it, and still eat food that was on it.

For now, Shysage and his family generally ate the grass around them outside, and so didn't need a table. However, Shysage knew this may change if they were still here during the coming winter.

Even so, the 'table' was quickly slid inside their home, and up against the inside wall.

Summer knew exactly what to do. She changed into her Equestria Girls form, then reached down and took Shysage's hoof, changing him too.

Summer called Lee to her, and before long, Lee had her head in Summer's lap, as Summer hugged Lee tightly in her arms. Summer and Lee were soon weeping softly. Summer would rub Lee's ears, or run her fingers through Lee's mane, which was very relaxing for Lee. Lee knew her mommy loved her.

Sue didn't want to be left out, and her head was soon in Shysage's lap, also being hugged by her daddy. Sue loved every minute. Sue didn't cry, but it was clear she treasured the time.

Often, Summer would sit on the bench, and hug both girls, reaching one arm around each of the girl's heads, and would usually weep softly as she told them she loved them a lot.

This would happen frequently in Shysage's home. Sue and Lee quickly knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that their mommy and daddy loved them very much...

Summer and Shysage would spend time hugging each other on this bench too, and Summer realized the girls needed to see that as well. They saw it a lot.

Still, this activity was wisely kept inside their home to avoid having to answer awkward questions from the local ponies with whom they had great difficulty communicating.

Strangely, neither Summer nor Shysage suspected that this would have any effect on the future. It evidently didn't.

This was a Pegsasus family, both girls were Pegasus mares after all. Flying was not optional. The family would fly together.

Soon after the river approached it's normal flow, Shysage and his family set out to find a suitable place for their first few flying lessons.

This was one of a number of areas that Shysage clearly realized his Mare should supervise, and he was fine with that. Shysage had learned to fly as an adult pony, and out of necessity. He knew he would not be a good teacher.

Summer requested that Summer and/or Shysage be in their Equestria Girls form for the first few lessons. This would make it easier for mommy or daddy to hold both front legs of one of the girls while they worked on lift first.

This meant a trip across the river and far away from the road, so they would worry less about being seen

The first time they did this, Summer helped Lee onto Shysage's back, and Shysage flew Lee across the river.

Sue then climbed on Summer's back, and they too were quickly across.

Then they walked together, further away from the road.

Shysage found a nice, fairly large secluded area surrounded on three sides by huge rocks, and their first flying lesson began.

Lee was first, and Summer changed into her Equestria Girls form, and sat on the ground, and grasped Lee's two front hooves.

Next she told Lee to flap her wings. It didn't take much, and Lee was soon a few inches up off the ground, smiling broadly.

"This is really fun, mommy" she said.

Summer was smiling too.

After maybe half an hour of doing this, Summer let Lee rest a few minutes, then she had Lee float a few inches off the ground again.

Next, Summer slowly got up, and had Lee flap her wings a little harder to rise further and Summer was soon standing up. Lee was maybe 4 feet off the ground.

Summer intentionally had Lee look down, and Lee began to be afraid.

Summer just calmly said "Lee, you won't fall if you keep flapping your wings. You can flap harder to go higher, or slower to go lower. Don't let the height bother you. As long as you can flap your wings, you will be fine."

Lee understood, then smiled, and had no problems with the height after that.

After an hour, Lee was tired, and landed. She was happy though. Summer was still a 'people', and wrapped both her arms around Lee's neck and hugged her tight. Summer had nothing but praise for her. The rest of the family was very supportive too.

Flying started out as family fun, and would always be that.

Sue was next, and it was clear she was anxiously awaiting her turn.

Summer changed Shysage into his Equestria Girls form then moved both her hands to his shoulders.

Shysage mentioned he appreciated that, and Summer said she would try to remember.

Shysage would hold Sue's front hooves, but Summer would direct the lesson.

Even so, Sue was quickly flying with Shysage standing up, and could easily have pulled Shysage over. Sue obeyed directions though, and simply hovered there for a while. She also was thoroughly enjoying this.

After maybe 20 minutes, Summer had Sue land, and she let go of Shysage, who said simply "Aww..." and turned back into a pony, and threw himself forward on 'all four'.

Summer had Sue hover, by herself, maybe a few feet off the ground. Then Summer had her try to move around, both turning herself, and moving along a straight line.

Sue mastered this exercise very quickly.

Summer changed back to her pony form herself, flew a few feet off the ground like Sue, and had Sue just follow her around.

Summer explained the 'shadowing' concept to Sue, and Sue was quickly doing everything Summer did. Summer kept them just a few feet off the ground, but even so...

Summer and Sue enjoyed doing this together for another hour.

Shysage and Summer were both amazed at this. Sue was doing very well.

Shysage was hugging Lee, but she was smiling at her sister too.

Over two hours later, the family walked back to the river. Sue asked permission to fly across it. Shysage thanked her for asking first, but would leave it up to Summer.

Summer and Sue flew low and together, and were soon and easily across. Sue was so happy.

Sue never needed a 'ride' again, and flew everywhere she needed to.

Shysage knelt down, and Lee was quickly on his back, and they too were soon across.

"Will I be able to fly like Sue, daddy?" Lee asked quietly.

Summer quickly hugged Lee and said "Of course, honey, your wing muscles just need more exercise. Be patient!"

Lee smiled of course.

Even so, Shysage led his family in a careful discussion about the hazards of flying off by one's self. This was just not allowed.

That spring would see Sue make great strides at flying. Summer and Sue would often fly around the tree they lived in. Sue so enjoyed those times. A few times, Summer took Sue up very high, usually above the river, and then back down. Sue loved it, the view was beautiful.

Summer noticed the natural cloud-bank that would become Cloudsdale on one of these trips up high, and told Shysage about it later. When they could, they both wanted to visit there.

At the end of that Spring, Lee was able to fly across the river herself too. It was not as wide as when Sue had done it, and it was a little scary for Lee, but she made it across, and got a bunch of hugs for that.

Well, both girls usually got a bunch of hugs anyway.

Shysage knew that Sequoias grew very tall, and the tree that held their house was no exception. It was easily the tallest tree around for miles.

This proved very handy for a number of reasons.

During that first Spring, especially after the rains calmed down, Shysage and his family would often go on walks to get to know their new land better.

This helped develop the girl's muscles, and also helped Summer and Shysage stay in shape.

Plus, there were always plenty of amazing sights to see, and Sue asked a lot of questions. Lee started to ask questions too, although she usually asked Summer. Summer would ask Shysage if she didn't know.

But even if they walked far away, the Sequoia was so big that it was always easy to know the way back.

While not an issue yet, Shysage knew that, once they began flying as a family, their 'landmark' tree would be extremely welcome. It would simply be very easy to see it, even from a great distance.

Summer and Shysage also started teaching their girls some basic 'school' stuff that spring.

The content was basic numbers and math, along with writing and reading.

There was a part of the ground inside their house near the wall, that was very hard. Shysage said he thought it was hardened clay or something.

That spot became their 'blackboard' of sorts, and girls could actually draw and write in it.

Dragging a branch across that small area cleared it for the next use. It worked well, for the basic learning they were doing anyway.

Still Shysage knew he would need to come up with a better solution involving 'pen and paper' before the girls would progress very far in these three basic areas.

The family kept the same sleeping arrangement that they had started when it was cold.

Summer and Shysage would sleep with their hind-quarters near the back wall, and their heads next to each other. Sue and Lee would sleep in the middle of the triangle this formed.

It was very comfortable, and allowed Summer and Shysage to rub noses as much as they wanted, which was a lot. They clearly enjoyed just being around each other.

And as many parents had found, sometimes the start or end of the day was often the only time available for simple affection. Well Summer and Shysage made time for this throughout the course of the day if they could. The loved each other a lot after all.

They did enjoy sitting on the bench as people, and would hug, and sometimes kiss, usually just briefly. Shysage honestly explained that this exposed him to more temptation however, so they used that privilege sparingly.

Summer and Shysage would start their day the same way usually.

When both of them were awake, they would rub noses a few minutes. Then they would close their eyes, put their heads down next to each other, and talk to their true friend in the sky. When they were both done, they would rub noses some more.

And honestly, both Shysage and Summer talked silently to their true friend during the course of the day anyway.

Sometimes, if something came up, they would forget their morning routine. Summer and Shysage realized that their true friend was not a fan of self-centeredness, since this short-circuited the very nature of what true friendship was.

But they both knew their true friend understood simple pony frailty, and was not offended by it. He was their true friend too, after all.

Chapter 5, First Summer

Spring gave way to Summer, boldly announced by a singularly hot day.

Everypony woke up warm, and the Sun wasn't up very far even.

Nopony in Shysage's family liked the cold.

The girls were quickly outside, eating, playing or both. It was hard to tell. The girls stayed near the front door of their home until Summer and Shsyage came out however, and Summer told them she appreciated that.

They went on a short walk that morning. Everypony flew over the river, and then they just enjoyed a morning 'stroll'. It was a little warm for much else.

They took their time, and ate some too.

Lee saw a large butterfly, and asked Summer about it. The entire family marvelled at it's beauty for a few minutes. Then it flew away.

They were soon back at the river, and flew back over towards their home.

By noon, it was very hot, and even the slightest exertion resulted in a lot of sweat.

Rather than Sun, today it was shade that everypony was looking for. Warm afternoons were made for relaxing in the shade. That's what they did.

Sue and Lee wanted to play in the river. It was fairly low anyway, and was not moving very quickly. Shysage and Summer both felt it was probably fine. Even so, Summer went down to watch for a little while.

The girls absolutely loved the water. The river was up to Lee's back at the deepest, and so it was simply a lot of fun.

The girls splashed each other, they splashed Summer. They tried to splash Shysage.

It was so hot nopony minded. Water felt good today.

Shysage found a nice shady spot nearby, where he could watch, and lay down on his side in the cool grass.

After a little while, Summer joined him, by crawling up under his front leg like she had done in the past.

Shysage immediately pulled her close.

They both sighed and said "I love you" at the same time.

This is the first time they had hugged like this since they came here. They both had missed this gesture.

They could have easily stayed like that the rest of the day.

Summer saw it first.

Sue kept looking up at mommy and daddy. Then she would occasionally say something to Lu.

Summer sighed, then said she needed to get up.

Shysage sighed too, then said "reproductive physiology discussion?"

Summer rubbed Shysage's nose then said "If that means what I think it does, then yes. Sue doesn't understand what she is seeing, and she needs to."

"I love you Mare" Shysage said.

"Good, because you need to get up and stay with Lee while Sue and I talk" Summer said with a smile.

Shysage got up, and walked down to the girls, and sat down. Then he sent Sue up to mommy, and called Lee to the shore to sit next to him.

Summer and Sue walked into the house.

Lee said quietly "Daddy, is Sue in trouble?"

"No Lee, mommy just needed to explain some things to Sue" Shysage said calmly. Then he hugged Lee.

Shysage and Lee played the 'seeing game' while Summer explained pony reproduction to Sue.

Maybe an hour later, Summer and Sue came out, then hugged for a few minutes, still talking. Then Summer sent Sue back to the water.

Sue walked down to the river then said to Shysage "Daddy, mommy wants you to hug her some more. She really loves you."

Shysage hugged Sue, then Lee, then said "I really love mommy too, Sue."

Shysage walked back to where he was laying before, and was quickly laying on his side again. Summer was also quickly back up against his chest and neck, and Shysage again pulled her close.

They watched their girls however. Lee looked back at mommy and daddy once, then Sue said quietly "Lee, they are just hugging. They love each other a lot."

Sue and Lee were soon playing in the water again.

"Thanks Mare, I would not have known where to start" Shysage said quietly.

"I'll teach you some day" Summer said, without even thinking, then immediately blushed. "I didn't mean... Well, I hope to..." Summer just stopped and shook her head.

Shysage just hugged her tightly then said "Summer, every day with you is heaven for me."

Shysage and Summer spent the rest of the afternoon hugging in the shade while their girls played in the river.

It was Summer

Actually, Shysage and his Mare would lay on their side and hug like that quite a bit that Summer, and beyond. They really did miss this.

The Summer also found Shysage and his family taking longer walks. Lee especially was growing in her stamina daily it seemed like, and each walk could be longer.

Even so, they could always find their huge tree, and so never got lost.

They generally headed either around the city by a wide margin, or else away from the city. It was still difficult to communicate with other ponies, and so they generally tried to avoid crowds.

Still, heading away from the city, there was plenty of amazing stuff for the girls to see, and learn about.

Sue was getting very good at flying, and so once on their walk, Summer and Shysage turned around to see both Sue and Lee following them while hovering.

Sue explained that this was her idea, intended to help Lee practice her flying too. Lee was enjoying herself anyway.

Summer thanked Sue for helping her sister, and said that was fine, as long as everypony stayed close to the ground.

From that day on, this turned into a regular habit for most walks. Lee needed to be able to stay in the air quite a while before they could even think about flying trips.

Summer didn't want to rush Lee with this though.

However, both Summer and Shysage knew that sooner than later, family trips would be done flying rather than walking. This was their preference, but as parents they weren't pushing this.

It seemed like wherever they walked, Shysage and his family would still occasionally run into other ponies.

Shysage's family had come up with a specific approach for handling this, basically at Summer's direction. When they met one or more other ponies, Summer would sit down maybe 4 steps behind Shysage, and the the girls would come sit closely next to Summer, one on each side.

Part of this was just to show respect. Part of this was to also try to conceal Summer's potentially notorious Cutie Mark. Part of it was also to allow Summer to keep a good eye on what was going on.

The family didn't expect any problems but was still careful.

Shysage would usually try to communicate a little with each pony he ran across. His vocabulary was small, but it would only grow by trying.

On one occasion, they were actually walking around the city, still a good distance from the walls.

They ran into another pony, and the girls all sat as they usually did.

Shysage pointed in the direction of the city, then said "city, nom?"

It was a guess. Shysage knew that 'Old Pony' played with vowel sounds somewhat, and he tried this.

The response he got pleasantly surprised him.

The stallion said "Ah, Coptol"

Shysage said "Thanks" and bowed his head a little. This seemed to communicate well, and the stallion was on his way.

Once the other pony was a good distance away, Shysage said quietly "Wow, these ponies can't agree on anything. They named their capital city 'capital'."

Shysage was thinking to himself at this point, observing that they had not seen a group of ponies together that included more than one of the three main pony groups.

Summer jumped in too "Well after the 'Hearts-warming Eve' event, they were supposed to be working together, right?"

Shysage thought a minute, then said quietly again "Well we would hope so. It might have been hard for old prejudices to die over night though, I don't know.

"But Summer, I think that event happened fairly recently to this time we are in. That's very interesting."

Through the Summer, their 'school' activities were substantially reduced. They didn't stop entirely, but Summer was for relaxing and playing, and Shysage's Mare felt they should let the girls do a lot of that.

Shysage knew though that their 'on the floor' chalk board would not be optimum much longer.

Whenever they walked, Shysage always kept an eye out for a metal band that approximated the 'clip' thing he used in 'Equestria present' to write with, as a pony.

This simple device allows Shysage to clip a quill to his hoof. He could then use his leg muscles, and write letters and words and numbers.

Shysage wanted his girls to learn how to do this too. This one step would make 'school' a much more serious and beneficial process.

Once, on a walk, they were on the back side of the city. There was no gate on this side, just a very tall, very long, log wall. Well, there was a large guard tower on each corner. The guards payed no attention to Shysage and his family.

Still, Shysage found two small metal bands, very similar to what he was looking for, just thrown into a bush. The smithing used to make them was crude, and the edges were cut roughly, and the bands were rusty.

But they were a little springy, and the smaller one probably would work for Lee. This was an excellent find.

Shysage carefully rolled his front leg into one for the trip to the house. The other one was soon sitting on Lee's leg. The rest would happen after they got home, at some point. It would take a little work anyway. But he had the bands, which were the important part.

Well, they also found something else during one Summer walk, which Shysage knew would also come in handy.

They were actually far away from the city on this particular day.

Walking past a bush, Shysgage's eye caught a glimpse of something. He actually backed up a little. He quickly pulled it out. It was a bucket. The metal-work was crude, but it looked like it would hold water well, and that was the important thing.

It was intended for ponies to use, of course; it had a large metal handle that could be easily slid over a ponies' neck.

Once the handle was over the neck, the pony just walked into the water to fill it, then move it to where it needed to be, then put their head down and the large handle fell off their neck.

This particular bucket had a few rusted through holes most of the way towards the top rim, and it was probably discarded for this reason.

Bit it would work fine for Shysage's family. The handle was quickly around Shyage's neck until they got to the house. Once there, he headed down to the river and rinsed it out a bit, then filled it to the holes, and carried it into the house.

Facing the wall near the door, he put his head down. The bucket of water was on the ground, and the handle just sat against the wall. Anypony could get a drink now if they wanted. It wasn't 'running water' but still...

For most of the Summer, when the family went for walks, Sue and Lee would hover for as long as they could.

Summer and Shysage both kept track, and Lee was able to hover longer with each walk it seemed.

Summer just wasn't sure though, and tried taking Lee up higher near the house a few times. Lee seemed to be doing ok, but Summer didn't want Lee to be over the tree-tops and find she was out of breath.

Summer decided that the solution was to walk far away from their tree, and try to find a very large meadow. They would then fly around this meadow for a while, at progressively higher elevations.

Summer asked Shysage about Summer finding such a meadow.

Shysage did not want Summer to leave by herself though.

This is what they decided. The girls would remain on the ground, near their house. Shysage would fly up very high, so he could see both the girls and Summer. Summer would find a meadow and come back.

Everypony agreed it wasn't optimum, but neither Summer nor Shysage wanted to take any chances with Lee.

The 'recon' worked well, there was a huge meadow north of their home, essentially past the three rocks where they started their flying lessons. Summer was quickly back, and all was well.

The next day, they all hovered all the way to the meadow. It was a lot of fun, and a good workout too.

Shysage parked in the center of the meadow, and Summer just led the girls in a large circle around the meadow, maybe twenty feet up in the air.

It was clear Sue could do this all day, but her sister was smaller, and was having trouble.

Shysage went and got Sue, and she sat with him for a while, so Summer could focus on Lee. That proved an excellent move.

Lee could fly high, but not as fast as Sue, and quickly became winded at Sue's pace. At her own pace, Lee was an excellent flyer, and she and Summer were soon flying consistently at around 50 feet up.

For the rest of the afternoon, while Summer and Lee flew large circles, Shysage shadowed Sue as she flew around near the center of the meadow. Shysage asked her to keep completely away from Lee's flight path. Well, he had to keep asking Sue to slow down too. It must run in the family.

This first time to this meadow, when they were done, they all just hovered back.

They went back to the meadow the next day, hovering on the way, and played in the air over that meadow.

On the way back, everypony just followed Lee, who was under strict orders to take her time, and their return trip went fine. And it was a lot faster than walking.

Summer flew next to Lee the whole way, and kept checking up on how her energy level was doing. Lee was doing fine at her own pace.

Their huge tree was easy to see and hard to miss.

The rest of that Summer, they did not fly anywhere else besides that meadow. Lee had mastered that trip, and knew the way. They did not want to push her too hard. As ponies go, Lee was still young.

Even so, playing in the air over that meadow was family fun. And the sheer joy Lee beamed at what she was able to do in the air was priceless. Both girls got a lot of hugs for their progress in the air that Summer.

The last few times they went before the weather turned ugly again, they would all just shadow Lee. It was a lot of fun, for Lee and everypony else.

Lee reminded Shysage of his Mare in a lot of ways. Lee's frame was also 'slight', and it was clear Lee would not be a big pony. Still she was quickly becoming a very skilled flyer.

Sue was a good flyer too. She was quite a bit bigger than Lee, partially because she was older. Sue was a much stronger flyer as a result. Shysage guessed Sue would probably be a bigger pony as well.

Flying trips over unfamiliar terrain would have to wait however. Sue could probably handle that now, but Lee could not.

The family would wait for her.

Little has been said about pony hygiene, and not much needs to be said. Ponies are a very hardy breed, after all.

In the Equestria Girls world, there is simply a dazzling number of fashion and hygiene items, and some are definitely required.

It seems that both sides of the Portal agree in treasuring one particular item however -- a hair brush.

In Equestria, this is intensely practical. Especially if a ponies' mane or tail gets wet, it could get matted quickly. In addition, spending any time outside tends to leave small bits of the forest tangled in their hair.

Some ponies just don't care, and their mane shows it. Most do care, and try to take care of their hair as best as they can.

While in the Equestria Girls world, Summer quickly fell in love with the ability to grab a hairbrush with her hands and quickly have her hair look amazing. Well, Summer's hair looks amazing anyway, but still.

Most ponies in Equestria also own a hair brush, usually with a sort of clip attachment similar to what Shysage uses for writing. Still, it is awkward to use on yourself. Pony legs don't always bend the way they need to for this task.

Unicorns have it so much easier in this regard. The ability to use magic to hold the brush makes the entire task so much simpler. This is just as good as having hands, maybe better.

For Earth Ponies and Pegasi, it is just very difficult.

Having somepony else brush your hair is a lot easier. Shysage would be willing to bet that Rarity probably spent a lot of her time doing just this. Shysage knew 'Rare' was such a gem.

When Summer and Shysage started working on stories, Summer would just use Shysage's hairbrush when she was at his house. He added a specific angle to his hairbrush that made the task a little easier.

As they began to draw closer, they would actually brush each other's hair on occasion. Practically, it was just a lot easier.

It quickly became one way they could simply and easily show each other, they were putting each other first. That's what true friendship is all about.

For Summer and Shysage, this simple task ultimately became an act of devotion, treasured by both.

When they received the bench / table here in the past, Summer and Shysage began using their fingers to keep both each other's and the girl's hair straight, and also enjoyed the time. Still, it took a while, and required that somepony be in their 'people' form so they had fingers.

During these warmer months, Shysage knew he had to come up with a better brush, one that would much more quickly, but gently untangle the hair of the mane and tail.

He was looking for a pine cone, with specific characteristics. It had to have no sap on it, of course, and it had to have small 'flutes', the part of the pine cone that held the seed in.

He didn't know the pine tree family well enough, or he would know what tree to look for. Not knowing, Shysage was just always on the look-out for pine cones.

That Summer, Shysage collected a lot of pine cones. When he found one or a few that looked like they might work, he would ask his Mare to change to a 'people', pick it up, and tuck it or them under one of his wings.

Summer would also usually scratch the point where his wings joined his back, which felt very nice. Summer was just amazing like that.

Anyway, once back at the house, Shysage would spread his wings, which dropped the pine cones, and he would add them to his growing pile in the house.

On the next cold day, when they needed to stay mostly inside, Shysage would see what he could do about a better brush. This was sort of a winter project. He had more than one of those...

Chapter 6, First Fall

Everypony decided that their Summer was just too short. It was amazing, but not near long enough.

Fall was ushered in by a day that started colder than anypony remembered recently.

Before even heading out, Summer flew up and retrieved the coats, one at a time. It quickly became clear that Sue's coat no longer fit. Lee's was tight, but would still keep her warm. Sue's was way too small.

Shysage gave Sue his coat, which fit quite well. Anyway, Shysage mentioned that his Mare would keep him warm, if need be. Summer and Shysage both smiled at each other. They knew this was true.

Even though Shysage and Summer spent quite a bit of time in a nice patch of Sunlight, the day went fine. The family took a walk, both in the morning, and in the afternoon, and they all ate and drank some water too.

Still, nopony in Shysage's family liked the cold. But they all knew Winter was coming.

Well, until the next day. It was a 'normal' day, and coats were not necessary. The family was up early, ate quickly, and then headed to the big meadow for what would be the last day they could fly.

They flew there, following Lee, and then enjoyed the day in the air, as Pegasus families should.

Sensing that this might be their last opportunity, Shysage kept his family there most of the day. Nopony complained.

Near dusk, Summer had Sue lead them all back to their home, slowly. Summer flew with Lee, and kept track of her energy. She was doing fine.

As usual, their big tree was hard to miss.

Heading for the door of their home, they made a pleasant discovery; new coats for Sue and Lee. Both new coats were a little lighter in color, and looked very nice. They fit both Sue and Lee too, and looked to have a little growing space even.

They would need them from that point on. This was, again, a very nice gift from the townsponies.

Summer just wished they knew who to thank...

Shysage got his coat back from Sue, but Summer just smiled, and said she would 'keep Shysage warm' any time he wanted.

Shysage just said softly "I'll remember that tonite, precious Mare."

Since it wasn't very cold yet, Sue and Lee let mommy and daddy sleep together and by themslves that night. Sue and Lee just slept next to each other.

Shysage kept his coat on, and lay on his side up against the wall. Summer climbed up under his front legs and was quickly in Shysage's loving embrace, tucked up against his chest and neck. They basically just hugged all night, and enjoyed being close.

Shysage actually kept Summer warm, but it didn't matter. Neither of them slept very well, but enjoyed it anyway.

They would do this occasionally from that night on, with their girls' permission of course.

That Fall also brought one other gift from the townsponies, a bunch of small candles, and a fairly large but rough-cut metal plate to put them on.

This was also an amazing gift that anticipated a need Shysage knew they would probably encounter. When the weather was so cold it prevented them from opening the door, they would still need to have light in the house.

Even one candle would make a huge difference. And Shysage also knew that even one candle could warm the house slowly.

Of course, it could also start a fire, so all of this needed to be taken into account. That was the other reason for the bucket of water.

Shysage knew the candle needed to be near the wall of their house, and the metal plate should be up on rocks, but still had to be very stable.

Shysage also knew he needed to come up with a safe, reliable way to light a candle, aside from always having one going, which was also one option.

Shysage knew flinty rock scraped over the rough surface of the metal plate would probably generate a lot of sparks, but their floor was dried pine-needles, and that could prove to be a bad combination.

Shysage had also not seen any flinty rock on their walks yet, either.

Well, he had all Fall to figure this out.

Shysage also knew that he needed to find a better door for their house. The bark was good, but they needed a piece that covered the entire hole so their house would stay warmer in the winter.

Shysage just got in the habit of checking around their house every few days looking for more bark.

Nasty weather later in the fall would knock off a larger piece of bark, and that would do it.

That Fall, Shysage also tried to store up some food for the girls during the Winter.

They knew of a few places nearby that had Oats mixed in with the grass.

Maybe once a week during that Fall, the family would walk to one of those places. After the Oats were gone in those spots, they just walked further away from their house in search of more Oats.

Around the edge of the meadow where they did their flying, they found a lot more Oats. They made a few trips there and back.

For Oat collecting, Shysage slipped his neck under the handle for their water bucket, took it near the river, then dumped it out.

Then he would carry the bucket to the Oat stands, and they would carefully fill the bucket with Oats.

At first, they tried to nip the stems off, but this slowed the process way down. After realizing this, they just carefully placed the Oats in the bucket with the stems down.

When they were further away from both the city and the road, Summer would change into her 'people' form, and maybe change Shysage too if there were a lot of oats.

It was a lot easier to get rid of the stems as 'people', and the bucket was quickly full of just the heads of the Oats. This really was the fastest way to collect Oats.

At any rate, near the end of the Fall, they had a substantial pile of Oats for the girls.

Summer and Shysage discussed this with the girls. It was more important for Lee to eat the Oats during the Winter because she was younger.

Sue was probably old enough that she could just wait and eat when Summer and Shysage did. Rather than just restrict Sue, they all just asked her to take it easy so there would be more left for Lee.

That Fall, 'school' did not go quite as well as Shysage and Summer had hoped. The main reason was that, with everything else going on, Shysage was having difficulty coming up with a suitable 'clip' solution.

In addition, Shysage had yet to come up with suitable ink or paper. They rarely found any berries on their many Summer walks, and that would be the basic ingredient for the ink. Also, they had not found any plants with broad enough leaves that could be dried and serve as 'paper'.

Besides, they had seen no Ducks or other large birds around, and the quill would probably need to come from something like that.

Using the 'clip' thing for writing was just not going to happen, at least not now.

They continued using their basic chalk-board on the ground, and Summer and Shysage both did the best they could with that.

Basic math concepts were still fairly easy to communicate. Summer would frequently use some of Shysage's large pile of pine cones to better illustrate adding and subtracting and such.

Words and sentences were impossible on their little clay area.

For this reason, Shysage felt that they would brave a trip into the city, together. Shysage was hoping they had a Library, and a fairly simple book would go a long way in helping both girls start to get a grasp on basic reading and writing skills.

They left early on a cold but sunny Fall day, with their coats on, of course. They headed to the main gate. This was the first time they had entered the ponies' capital city.

When Shysage came to Equestria, he gained access to the Library by talking to the ruler of the realm, Princess Celestia. Shysage hoped to use the same plan here.

Shysage felt that 'King' was probaby the safest bet for the ruler, a hunch based on what he had seen around the city.

Shysage approached one of the guards at the main gate, then said carefully and slowly "Can I see the King?", and then Shysage slightly bowed his head a little.

The guard at least heard 'King', then said simply "Ah..." and then turned, and pointed to a large building off in the distance at the opposite end of the main road through town.

The building was far bigger than any of the other small houses in the city, and Shysage decided the King must live there.

Shysage said "Thanks" and bowed again, then he and his family headed to the Kings 'palace'. That's what Shysage decided to call it anyway.

Shysage and his family walked slowly, and most ponies completely ignored them. There were small groups of ponies along the way, but it seemed the ponies always gathered according to the three main pony groups, Earth, Pegasus or Unicorn.

They saw a certain amount of what looked like 'commerce', but they couldn't tell.

They were soon to the door to the King's palace. Shysage approached a guard there, and said slowly

"Can I ask the King if I can use the Library?"

This guard must have heard "King" and "Library". He quickly replied "Ah... Nom?"

Shysage decided the guard wanted his name, so he said his name slowly.

The guard then said simply "Com..."

Shysage and his family followed the guard down a long hall, then into what Shysage thought was like an 'audience hall' or something.

The room was quite big, and had a high ceiling. The King was standing on a raised platform, that was accessed by maybe 6 or 7 large steps. Shysage quickly realized that they should probably not use the steps.

They followed the guard to the base of the steps, then the guard sat down, and Shysage and his family did too.

The King was mumbling, or something... "All ded..." is what it sounded like. And he seemed transfixed in front of a picture on the wall behind him.

The guard said carefully "King Thars, Shysag for teh Librory"

The King was still mumbling...

"Mar ded... dappont onz ded... we all ded zoon... Bah..."

The guard repeated himself, obviously used to this...

"King Thars, Shysag for teh Librory"

Without even turning around to look, King Thars mumbled to the guard "Bah... Go... we all ded zoon aniwy..."

That must have been a 'yes', the guard got up and said "Com..." again, and led them down a short hall, right turn, another short hall, then a stairs down to a lower room.

Shysage looked down the steps, into what they could see of the room. He saw a few rows of book-shelves in the room... But there was no light down there... And there was water standing on the floor, that smelled like it was all the sewage produced by this city. It was terrible, and Shysage would not take his family down there.

Shysage turned to the guard, then bowed, then said slowly "Thanks, No..."

The guard just laughed, like he expected this, then said "Com..." again, and led Shysage and his family back to the main door and out.

Shysage bowed again, then "Thanks..." and the family headed back down the main road, away from the King's palace.

Again, the townsponies just ignored them. Well, except for a small group of Earth pony mares, talking along the side of the road, maybe half way to the gate, who sincerely smiled at Shysage and his family.

Summer had a hunch here too, and then stopped, bowed to the group, and said quietly "Thanks..."

The mares all smiled back.

Summer was pretty sure they were involved with the coats. And she was glad she could thank them. The coats made a huge difference.

Shysage and his family were soon back at their house without a book.

They would just have to make do...

Towards the end of that Fall, both Shysage and Summer realized that Sue had grown very quickly in the last six or seven months since they had arrived here.

Sue was almost as big as Shysage, and would probably end up a little bigger.

During that same time, Sue's mane and tail had faded substantially, from the Yellow they used to be. They were now almost as light as Sue's coat. Well, they did spend a lot of time in the Sun, but Shysage didn't think that was the cause.

None of this mattered, Summer and Shysage loved both girls no matter what.

Still, it was exciting. Both Summer and Shysage knew that ponies often changed substantially between foals and full grown. It was always fun to try and think what their girls would one day become.

Whatever it was for both girls, Summer and Shysage were devoted to helping 'their girls' get ready for whatever path their lives would take.

And Summer and Shysage never talked about true friendship with the girls, but did their best to show this gem every minute of the day.

Chapter 7, First Winter

Shysage knew they would need some source of light in their house. This would be helpful at night, but probably essential, all day and all night, during the winter, especially on days when it was too cold or too stormy to go outside.

As previously mentioned, somepony from the city had provided them with a bunch of candles. How quickly they would burn, or how long they would last, Shysage didn't know. They had also given him a rough, approximately 1 foot square metal plate, presumably to put a candle on.

Shysage needed to find a safe way to light a candle. Fire was dangerous in their home, but he needed fire to be able to do that.

Late in the fall, when the river was fairly slow, he called everypony down to the edge. They all stayed in visual range, while Shysage walked along the middle of the river both East and West from their house.

He did find a few large flinty rocks in the river bed as he did this. The ones he found, he kicked up and out of the river. They were soon inside the house. They needed to dry out before they could be used.

The rest of the equation would be some sort of easily flammable material, preferably in small quantities. Shysage had already collected a bunch of fallen Oak tree leaves for this. They were big, and so hopefully could collect a lot of glowing sparks, and maybe one would catch fire.

At any rate, late in the fall, before the weather got stormy, Shysage had built up a substantial pile of dried Oak leaves in the house.

Shysage also decided that the roughly 2 foot square area of hard clay next to a wall in their house would be the place to actually light candles. Besides, the bucket of water was near too.

The first, very cold day they had that Winter, Shysage actually lit his first candle. He had Summer change him into a 'people' for this task, so he could use his hands.

The first flinty rock he tried was a dud, but the second one worked well, and most of the Oak leaf was soon on fire over the clay. Placing the wick of the candle into the fire quickly lit the candle.

For now, Shysage just set the candle in the middle of the clay, and that was that. He actually liked that location for the candle, and so moved the metal plate under it. They didn't use it as a 'blackboard' any more. Shysage used the five flinty rocks he had gathered and built a sort of semi-circle around where the candle was, on the side away from the wall. It was just a little added containment.

They had light, and it was far enough away from the wall that it wouldn't start the tree on fire. It wasn't near the door either, so hopefully it wouldn't blow out with a gust of wind. And it actually lit up the inside of the house nicely, after everyponies' eyes adjusted.

Shysage and Summer sat as 'people' on the bench and hugged their girls for a while, then kissed each other a few minutes. Then Summer changed them both back to ponies.

Shysage then pulled some hair from his tail, called all three of his girls over, then showed them all how easily hair caught on fire, and that it smelled terrible. That was an important lesson. Everypony needed to stay away from the candle.

Shysage realized that half an Oak leaf would be plenty. He also found that one candle would last more than a day, and so he had enough for the whole winter.

This Winter was not extremely cold. There were days that were so cold, they could not go outside. But there were also days where they could stay outside long enough to forage some dead grass, and drink some water. Of course, the coats stayed on all Winter.

Sue decided she would just eat whenever and wherever daddy ate, and so the Oats were left for Lee alone, and she appreciated that. Lee thanked her sister more than once. The food supply that Shysage and his family had gathered during the fall served Lee well as a result.

With the exception of Lee, the rest of the family just went on a diet of sorts. There was not a lot of dry grass close, and they soon had to walk some distance to find it, and so they simply did not eat much. That's just what ponies do during the Winter.

Summer and Shysage wisely backed off some on their schooling during the winter. They found that their girls just had a hard time focusing on 'lessons' when it wasn't warm inside, and this happened quite a bit.

Still, overall their girls were both very smart, and seemed to pick up division and multiplication quickly. It took a lot of pine cones to show everything, but that was just part of the process. Besides, Shysage had a big collection of pine cones.

Reading and Writing mostly had to wait though. The girls knew and practiced their letters, and that was a good start. But they could no longer use their 'blackboard' since the candle was on it.

About those pine cones... Shysage quickly realized that a specific variety of pine cone that he had collected were the only ones suitable for making a hair brush.

As a result, the rest of the pile, a significant amount, were available for however anypony else decided to use them. They were used mostly for math, but would find other uses at various times.

By the beginning of the Winter, the pine cones had dried out, opened up and dropped their seeds.

With this specific pine cone however, Shysage found that he could carefully remove every other row of 'flutes' in a circle around the diameter, and then remove every other flute in the perpendicular direction. (He didn't think 'flute' was the correct term.)

But this left one flute in four, and that particular spacing worked well. Shysage used a small stick to clean everything else from the deeper parts of the pine cone, and then rinsed them in the river, and let them dry out.

Later, Shysage asked Summer to change him into a 'people', and then asked for a test subject. His amazing Mare quickly turned back into a pony and said softly "Me please."

Shysage was not touching her when she changed back into a Pony, and he strangely stayed a 'people'. He didn't think about this part very long, but immediatey began brushing his Mare's mane. She loved it. And if Summer loved it, Shysage did too. He brushed her mane and tail a while. She sighed a lot.

Shysage even tried touching her while she was a pony, and he didn't change forms. This was a new experience, but would probably come in handy. Besides, being able to brush his Mare's mane and tail was amazing, for both of them.

But the main point was that the new brushes were a LOT faster than fingers at untangling the hair of the mane and tail.

On that first day, after Shysage brushed his Mare's hair a while, Summer was quickly back into 'people' form herself, and spent the better part of the afternoon brushing Sue and Lee's hair. They loved it too.

Somepony had to be a 'people' to use them, but these homemade brushes worked very well, and substantially reduced the time it took to brush the girls and each other's hair. This was probably offset by the fact that everypony in the house now thoroughly enjoyed getting their mane and tail brushed, and so it 'took' longer, but nopony minded.

There were a few snow storms that first Winter. Going outside and seeing the ground covered by this beautiful White coating was amazing for the girls. If they had seen Snow before, neither remembered.

It was fun to play in, but the cold soon forced everypony back inside. Still, their tree provided good insulation, and it usually stayed tolorably warm inside, even if it was very cold outside.

Shysage decided against even mentioning a 'Snowman'. It would just be a mistake.

That first Winter saw the beginnings of what Shysage called 'sibling rivalry' between Sue and Lee.

Summer suspected that they had not seen it sooner because Sue and Lee were still adjusting to their new family. However, now that both were very comfortable in their mommy and daddy's love, they began to pick at each other in very subtle ways, always verbally.

Another factor may have been that, during the Winter, the girls spent a lot of time 'cooped up' inside, with little else to do. There was just nothing anypony could do about that though.

Summer and Shysage just dealt with each occurrance with a careful discussion about the damage that hurtful words can cause.

Neither parents thought it would simply go away, the girls just needed to realize for themselves that the pain they were causing each other was just wrong.

Still, Shysage and Summer realized part way through that Winter that they needed to come up with some good 'in-door' activities for the girls. These were mainly kept for very cold days when going outside was not an option.

Shysage called his activity "Queen for a day". The goal was for each of the girls to think through very carefully what they would do if they were the ruler of the realm -- for just one day. The girls had to create any type of realm they wanted, as well.

Shysage explained that this could be answered very simply, but that he wanted the girls to put some real thought into their answers, so there was no time limit.

He also required that, each time they played this together, they had to come up with a completely different response. He didn't want the girls to just say the same thing each time, but that was never a problem. In fact, sometimes the girls came up with very elaborate 'kingdoms', and they were allowed to use them more than once.

Shysage's main goal was to challenge their imagination. He doubted either of their girls would actually be able to do this.

It turned out that both girls were very creative, and came up with a lot of interesting, and sometimes crazy answers. It really was a lot of fun, and required that they think a lot too. Still, they actually looked forward to this.

The girls talked Summer into doing this, just once. She thought for a few minutes, then simply described the life they were living now. Her point was that she was so completely enjoying the ponies around her, right now, that she would change nothing.

Well, Summer did point out that in her version, Sue and Lee never teased each other. And mommy did look at daddy funny once, like there just might have been something else she would change.

Summer came up with an amazing activity too. She called her activity simply 'Monsters', and all the family would play.

They would pick one pony, usually one of the girls, and that pony would carefully create a mental description of some sort of bad monster. The monster could have any powers or abilities, but needed to have one weakness. Only the one pony knew this information.

The rest of the family would then, together, formulate attacks against that monster, and the pony that made the monster would describe how the monster responded to the attack.

This careful attack-results cycle would continue until the monster's weakness was discovered, and the monster was conquered.

This game moved very slowly, but was always a lot of fun. The discussion together about the attack strategy was always very fun, and often funny. The pony who created the monster could hear all this, and had to avoid laughing or frowning, to avoid giving away their monster's weakness.

Both girls loved this game too.

At any rate, through some very dull days inside, during that Winter, Summer and Shysage did work hard to keep the girls busy. It was often a lot of fun for everypony.

[This is the first of a number of isolated sections that handle some of the physical aspects of Summer and Shysage's relationship. They are living together as Stallion and Mare, far in the past. It is easier to write about 'idealized' and perfect ponies, but Summer and Shysage are not that. Together, they faced very real struggles, and some of these have been included. I have tried to avoid graphic details. Still, I apologize if this offends anyone. Feel free to skip sections like this if you prefer. -- Shysage]

Summer and Shysage probably changed back and forth between being ponies and being 'people' far more than anypony else on either side of the Portal.

The reason for this is that it seemed like Summer alone possessed the ability to chose either form at will. This was probably because she needed this ability to function as a Phantom Alicorn.

Shysage rapidly realized that, when transitioning into the 'people' form, Summer and Shysage would both be wearing the last clothing items they were wearing the previous time they were in their 'people' form.

Summer and Shysage were 'people' a lot, both to care for and nurture their two girls, and also to care for and love each other. As a result, their 'people' clothing were seeing a considerable amount of use, and began to show it.

Shysage's long pants, t-shirt, white zippered and hooded sweatshirt, and tennis shoes were fairly sturdy. Well, the sweatshirt wasn't bright White any more, but still... However, Summer's stylish Equestria Girls clothing was not showing itself to be nearly as durable.

Nopony could have known they would be in the past for a while...

(opt:btm3a)

As usual, Shysage just hugged his Mare close to him...

After a few minutes of silence, Summer sighed, than began softly.

"Shysage, you aren't the first stallion I wanted. The other ones happened before I learned about, and understood true friendship, and so I was only thinking about myself, just what I wanted from the stallion. There were only a few, and I was never close to any of them, and that was probably my fault.

Summer started weeping softly at this point.

"Soon after I fully understood the 'putting others first' part of true friendship, I met you. And it seems like the closer we became, the more I simply worked on putting you first...

"Just by focusing on what I could do for you, I have received so much more in return... Far more than I even thought possible, when I was just thinking about myself...

"In general, it seems like no matter how much I try to give to the ponies around me, I just seem to receive so much more back...

"And you, precious Stallion... The more I give... to you and for you... So much more do I receive in return from you...

Summer just stopped here in thought, then said very quietly "I don't ever want to lose true friendship... And I don't ever want to lose you..."

Shysage felt the same way, and just cried softly with her for a while.

They soon cried themselves to sleep.

Chapter 8, Second Spring

Summer and Shysage never saw large animals near their home. They saw smaller animals; Foxes, Skunks, Rabbits, etc. These animals were mostly benign, and not natural predators of the Pony race.

They saw Cougars (predators) and Giraffes (friends) far out West, when they first arrived in early Equestria, but nothing like that here.

That changed one cold day, early in their second Spring.

Shysage and his family were foraging along the river fairly far away from the city. There was not much to eat, but even a little is better than nothing, if you are hungry.

Evidently a large Black Bear had the same idea. He must have smelled the ponies from far off, then came crashing through the brush towards them, surprising the entire family. He stood on the riverbank maybe fifty feet from them and growled loudly.

Then he charged, intentionally homing in on Lee, the smallest of the group.

He would never make that mistake again.

When he started his growl, Summer had already changed forms, and spun up her Cutie Mark.

Summer didn't run, and when the Bear was maybe thirty feet away from her, she simply back-hand slapped him, by motioning with her right hand. The Bear flew backwards, over fifty feet, above the ground, along the bank of the river. The last they saw, he was 'face down' in the water, floating away from them.

Shysage was holding both girls, who were scared to death. They were also amazed that their shy and loving mommy could do that.

Summer was quickly a pony again, and hugged her girls. Then she calmly mentioned that a mommy will go to great lengths, if possible, to protect her children.

Nothing else was said about it.

Summer and Shysage had to wade carefully through an unexpected series of questions early in that second Spring.

It was too cold on that day to stay outside for very long, so the family was relaxing in the house.

They had just finished a game, and the girls were talking about mommy and daddy. Sue asked casually "Mommy, daddy, do you know where our real parents are?"

Before answering, Summer looked at Shysage, and they both were soon 'people' sitting on the bench. The girls were quickly in their favorite lap, but were listening.

"Girls, the first thing we saw when we arrived here... ...was a Pegasus Mare being killed. That mare was probably your mother..."

Sue and Lee just cried for a while. This was terrible news.

Mommy and daddy just hugged them and cried with them.

Summer and Shysage knew this would be hard for a while, but the girls' tears soon slowed down.

Sue asked again, still sniffling "Do you know anything about our father?"

Summer answered again "We have no idea who or where your father is, girls."

It was quiet for a few minutes, except for everypony sniffling.

Lee asked quietly "How will we even know who our father is?"

Summer answered quickly "Lee, you will just know. I don't know how to explain it any more than that. You will both just know."

This answer surprised Shysage. He hoped his Mare was right. She was.

Shysage explained to Summer that both Sue and Lee were 'strong-willed', i.e. the opposite of Summer and her sister, who were very 'compliant'. Summer basically understood this.

As already mentioned, the ugly spectre of 'sibling rivalry' began during the previous Winter, and seemed to be growing worse.

Plus, it was clear that Sue would be substantially larger than Lee. She was already as big as Summer and Shysage.

This growing rivalry reached it's peak at about the middle of this second Spring, and with scary results.

It was early in the day, and they were down by the river; this was their favorite place. It was Spring, and they were all enjoying a large patch of direct sunlight that warmed them nicely.

Sue and Lee began picking at each other, and Summer tried to get both to stop and look at what they were doing. As soon as she got one stopped, the other would start again.

Shysage heard all this, and was not far away, and decided he needed to intervene soon.

Summer had just stopped Sue, and was talking to her.

Lee intentionally said something she knew would infuriate her sister.

Sue flew into a rage, and quickly spun around and instinctively pulled one of her hind legs forward, and got ready to 'back-heel' her sister.

Summer realized that Sue's hoof would probably kill Lee if it connected.

Summer did what parents do, she dove into the path of Sue's hind hoof.

Sue's hoof caught Summer in the chest. Summer has a slight frame for her size, and doesn't weigh that much. Sue's kick sent Summer over Lee's head, eight feet further away, and onto the grass away from the river.

Summer didnt move... She couldn't move... She couldn't breath...

Shysage watched this in horror... He wasn't close enough to do anything to stop it. But he was quickly at Summer's side. He just put his head down next to Summer's head, so she knew he was there.

Maybe a minute later, her diaphram unlocked, and she began to breath again. Summer opened her eyes soon after. But everything hurt a lot, and she was quickly crying. Summer didn't even want to move...

The girls were both laying near mommy, crying... They both knew that, together, they were the cause of this...

Shysage didn't scold or berate them. But through his tears, he just said gently, to them both, and just once "Rage is a terrible thing..."

They all lay around Summer, all crying with her, for the rest of that day.

Summer just lay there crying, and didn't move until it was almost dark, and Shysage helped her into their house. It was a dark, scary night too...

Summer felt better in the morning, and was able to hobble out to get some food and drink. Everything hurt a lot when she walked, so she was soon laying on her side again in the warmth of the Sun, with her family crowded around her, weeping softly.

At one point, Shysage and Lee were some distance away, and Summer called Sue to her side.

Sue ran up to her mommy weeping. "I'm so sorry mommy..." she kept saying.

Summer asked Sue to come very close, and Sue put her head down next to Summer's head, and listened. Still, it as hard for Summer to even talk...

"Sue, honey, just so you know... ...if I hadn't blocked your kick... ...Lee would probably be dead now..." Summer said quietly. "That would have been a lot worse... ...Daddy is right, rage is a terrible thing..."

Hearing this, Sue burst into tears, and she and Summer just cried together for a while...

After maybe four more days, Summer was mostly better, and the family was so relieved. This whole episode was just scary.

But the bickering, the baiting, the teasing, the subtle barbs, they all stopped, and never came back to Shysage's home. Well, not for a while.

It would be two weeks before Summer could fly again, and even so, damage had been done to the lower tendons of her wing muscles. Summer never was nor could be blazing fast, but now it hurt for Summer to even try to fly fast.

Sometimes parents have to pay a price like this for their children.

This whole incident would become a defining moment for Sue however. Rage was never, ever again welcome in her soul, it had caused her to seriously injure her own mommy and this was almost unthinkable. Had her sister died instead, that would have been intolorable.

From that day forward, Sue would always pursue every other available avenue, and would only reserve the use of force as a last resort. This incident burned that into her soul, and it stayed with her the rest of her life.

Later that Spring, a bunch of small transitions took place one day in Shysage's home. All had to do with their girls. It is hard to tell if they were related or not. It was clear their girls were growing up.

Summer and Shysage were sitting outside their house in the afternoon on a warm-ish day.

They noticed that Sue and Lee were sitting together down by the river, talking quietly. As the girls were getting older, they were both becoming a little more independent, and this began to happen more.

And, after what rage did to mommy, it seemed that their girls were now best friends. This was a lot better.

After a few minutes, both Sue and Lee walked up to mommy and daddy.

Sue said quietly "Mommy and daddy, can you start calling us by our real names?"

Summer and Shysage were surprised at this. Shysage said quickly "Sue of course. If we got your names wrong, let us know."

Sue said quietly "I'm Cel, and she is Lu. That's what we remember anyway. I guess when you asked us a year ago, we were still really scared, and I got the names wrong."

Summer quickly accepted this. "Girls, that's fine. So Sue is really Cel, and Lee, you are Lu right?" Summer hugged each one as she said their new names.

Both girls smiled.

Shysage said "Girls, we may still mess up on your names some, so please be patient with us. We love you both a lot, even if we use the wrong names.

Cel and Lu just laughed.

After thinking a minute, Shysage asked "Do you remember any more of your names, or just Cel and Lu?"

Sue, er Cel said quietly "Just Cel and Lu. We don't remember any more than that."

Cel thought for a minute, then continued "And can we start calling you 'mom' and 'dad'? We feel this is better because we are both growing up."

Shysage quickly answered "You are both growing up into amazing young mares. That is fine."

This 'growing up' theme seemed to carry over into the following two changes too.

Up until this point, the girls still slept next to Summer and Shysage. On occasion, the girls would give Summer and Shysage permission to sleep together away from the girls.

Right then, Cel and Lu indicated that they were 'big enough' to sleep by themselves, and Summer and Shysage quickly agreed that this was fine.

Cel also asked about using some pine cones to mark out small 'rooms' which would be each girls' 'private space' (her words).

Shysage cautioned that this could cause a harsh argument if one or the other intentionally moved the 'boundary markers' ever so slightly. This type of antagonism would not be tolorated, and the rooms would disappear.

Cel and Lu both laughed, and Lu said they were both too 'grown up' for that.

The family went inside their home, and Shysage helped both girls arrange pine cones to mark out their own rooms near the back wall, which was furthest away from the breeze from the front door. They had plenty of pine cones for that.

Summer and Shysage could always enjoy sleeping by themselves now. They didn't need their own room to do that, and it would be nice.

After this task was done, everypony was back outside, and Cel and Lu walked back down by the river, sat down, and were talking again.

...

Shysage then said quietly to his Mare "Cel... Lu..."

Summer replied, also quietly "Yes, that is strange... I don't know... I guess it's possible, but we will just need to wait and see I guess..."

It was quiet a few minutes.

Summer looked at Shysage then said softly "Shysage it doesn't matter who they are... We will love them as our own."

Shysage smiled back, then said "Yes amazing Mare, we will."

Summer's injury substantially delayed any family flying that second Spring. That unfortunate incident took place in the middle of the spring, before they had been able to do any flying.

A month after Summer's injury, near the end of that Spring, Summer felt strong enough to try some flying at the big meadow. She and Shysage walked while the girls hovered on their way there.

When they got there, everypony rested as Shysage spelled out the boundaries.

The girls had to stay in the open meadow; i.e. they couldn't fly over any trees. Also, they could go no higher than the tops of the trees around them. Next, he said that Sue had to shadow Lee, and could not rush her. Finally he cautioned them about trying to fly while winded, and suggested they stop and rest at regular intervals.

Then he said "Have fun girls! We will be here if you need us."

Cel and Lu were quickly off flying big circles around the meadow. They flew together all afternoon like this, and had a blast. Well, they were laughing together most of the time anyway.

Shysage told his Mare he would simply shadow her, and he asked her to just fly lazily around, the way they had over Ponyville. That's exactly what she did, and they just flew slowly together, and enjoyed every minute.

Summer was flying very calmly, so Shysage actually flew next to her, and they could talk this way. It was amazing to be together like this in the air.

Summer felt the injury, but she still had no problem flying all afternoon. Towards the end of their time, they noticed that their girls were shadowing them as well, and they just flew slowly around the entire meadow, as a family... It was amazing...

At Shysage's direction, Summer just headed back to their tree, and the girls just followed. Summer was going fairly slow, and the girls had no problems flying above the trees, and they were soon home.

Once they all landed, Shysage's Mare called everypony to her, and they all cried, as she told everypony she loved them so... They all just hugged and cried for a little while, then headed inside.

Summer would soon be upon them, and they would fly a lot.

Chapter 9, Second Summer, Pegasus Fun

This second Summer was mostly devoted to two activities. When it wasn't stinking hot, Shysage's family was flying together. When it was stinking hot, the girls played in the river while Shysage and his Mare hugged in the shade.

Shysage's Mare had a pretty good plan how she wanted the flying to go this Summer, and she and her Stallion talked about it a lot. Shysage deferred to his Mare on this, she clearly knew better.

Summer's main goal was to be able to visit some places, here in the past, that had some significance to Summer and Shysage in Equestria Present, and Shysage thought that was a good idea. This part they would not tell the girls about; there was just no need. All of these places would be fun to visit anyway.

Still, the first week or so, the family would just fly around their big meadow, and get their strength back up; they would need it.

The family dove right into this. The first three days they just flew to the meadow, played all day in the air, ate some Oats from around the perimeter of the meadow, then flew back to the house, drank some water, and usually bathed in the river. Flying was a good work-out.

By then everypony was beat, and they went inside and slept.

Those first few days, Shysage split things up like their first day at the end of Spring. Cel and Lu would fly together around the outer diameter of the meadow, and Shysage and Summer would fly together lazily, next to each other, near the middle.

It was clear however, that everypony was ready for Summer's next step.

One of the most important 'emergency' skills Summer knew her Pegasus girls needed to learn, was the ability to 'glide'. Summer was adamant that the girls had to learn this, and Shysage agreed. If they were ever in a situation where they became winded, and couldn't flap their wings, gliding could save their lives.

On their next trip to the meadow, they all just landed in the center.

Summer first discussed the mechanics of gliding with the girls. The important thing was to hold their wings out straight, and then adjust the angle of their wings as well as the angle of their body so they did not lose altitude quickly.

Before doing anything, Summer had the girls hold their wings out straight to the side, and she helped them see what control they had like this. She also showed them the approximate position their wings needed to be in, to glide.

The optimum angle was probably about 20 degrees above 'straight', but Summer could only show the girls that. They would just have to get a feel for this themselves.

While learning this skill, Summer stressed that if they were losing altitude too fast, all they had to do was start flapping their wings again, and they would stop dropping down. In other words, starting a glide did not prevent again flapping their wings.

But if they were dropping too fast, a glide would probably be the only way to pull up in time.

Summer also told the girls that, the more a pony weighed, the more difficult it was to get everything right for gliding. Cel would have a more difficult time than Lu because Cel was a bigger pony.

Summer knew that the girls needed to be comfortable with all of this.

Summer's exercise for this was simple. She led them all in a slow, wide spiral up to maybe 100 feet, then had them glide back down, following the same spiral flight path.

It took both girls maybe 10 seconds to get everything right for the glide down the first time, but the family was soon gliding back down towards the ground, in the same large spiral.

Still maybe 30 feet above the ground, Summer had everypony start flapping again.

This first time, at the bottom of the glide, Cel had issues starting to flap her wings again, and just landed to avoid crashing.

Summer had the rest land too.

Summer explained to Cel that she had done the right thing. Crashing can seriously injure a Pegasus, and sometimes can cause a pony to never again be able to fly... ...or worse... They had to be very careful.

When Cel was ready, they were all off, and did the same exercise again. Spiral up to 100 feet, glide back down to 30 maybe.

At the bottom, Lu had problems this time, and just landed, even though Cel did ok. Still, Summer had everypony land anyway.

This was a family activity.

The next time they did the same thing, everypony did fine.

It was boring and monotonous, but they did that same exercise most of the rest of the day, maybe fifty more times.

Summer explained that these skills needed to be 'second nature', i.e. something they did without having to think much. That's the only way it would help them in an emergency.

For the last hour or two, they just all flew around and had fun before it was time to head home.

The next day they did it higher, maybe around 200 feet. Everypony did fine, so they just did that the rest of the day. Nopony complained. And Summer knew they shouldn't rush this step.

The next day was 300 feet approximately. Again, everypony did fine, they just couldn't do as many runs before the Sun headed down.

Summer was guaging their height by watching the level of the natural cloud bank off in the distance that would be Cloudsdale some day. That was Summer's main flying goal. The girls needed to be comfortable flying that high, maybe 1000 feet. Summer was not in a hurry.

Still, when they had worked up to 600 feet maybe, they would take a break and fly up the stepped mountain near the city that would one day be Canterlot.

The next few days, they had worked their way up to 500 feet, with Cel and Lu doing very well at gliding down, then transitioning back to flapping. They were Pegasus mares, after all.

For the following three days, it was too hot to fly. The family just stayed close to home. The girls played in the river. Summer and Shysage played with them some, but mostly hugged in the shade. They both enjoyed that.

The second day, in the afternoon, Summer was playing in the water with the girls, and then headed back to Shysage, who was laying on his side watching.

"I'm soaked..." Summer warned.

"Mare, I love you, it doesn't matter" Shysage replied quietly, smiling.

Shysage was soon hugging his wet mare.

"Mare, I have a confession though" Shysage started. "You look hot when you are wet. Did that make any sense to you?"

Summer blushed... Summer's blush was bright, you could usually see it through her coat even.

Still, Summer quickly replied "Yes Stallion, Rarity explained that to me in the Equestria Girls world once. And honey, coming from you that is an amazing compliment."

Summer also rarely said that word, only if she really meant it.

Summer paused here a minute, put both her front legs over Shysage's leg that was hugging her, and said softly "You are hot too, Stallion, I just wish my body would respond... It's like it's asleep or something..."

"Summer, I love you, asleep or not" Shysage said just as softly, and hugged her tightly.

The girls enjoyed the water the rest of that day, and the next day as well.

Their next flying day, Summer changed her plan a little, and decided to try to fly to the 'stepped mountain' that would one day be Canterlot.

The ponies' capital city was built below it for some reason, and it didn't look like it was that far away. Still, Summer knew that from a distance, looks could be deceiving.

From outside their home, they all flew quickly up to maybe 200 feet, then headed for the first level of the mountain.

Summer was a little concerned that the girls had to ascend to that level in the midst of a lot of trees, but they did fine, laughing as they dodged tree branches and such. They really hadn't talked about this.

At about 200 feet up, they flew slowly towards the first level of the 'stepped mountain'. Still, Summer kept checking with the girls to see how their energy was doing. The mountain wasn't very far after all.

On the way, Summer and Shysage were talking about how strange this mountain was. It looked very bazaar.

Summer began to remark about the train, and Shysage immediately saw it coming, and quickly interrupted, and said "I love you, Summer."

Cel (Sue) had a very good memory; they had covered this rule just the third day after they rescued the girls. Cel reminded dad that he just interrupted mom.

Shysage thought for a minute, then said "Cel, you are right. Summer, I apologize for interrupting you. What should I do, to show you I'm sorry for that?"

Summer didn't even think. She said softly "Just love me tonight, Stallion."

The girls just laughed... ...like that would ever NOT happen.

The first flat area was up at about 300 feet, and the family flew up to it and quickly landed. They just wandered around for a little while.

Once everypony was rested, they headed up to the next clearing, which was maybe 300 feet higher. It was a bit of a climb, but the girls did fine.

Nopony wanted to stop there, and everypony wanted to get to the top level, maybe 300 more feet up. They all did.

Once they landed at the top, Summer hugged the girls, and told them that they were both making amazing progress on their flying.

The clearing at the top level was quite large, with a lot of grass and some trees. Well, an entire city would one day be here, but nopony said that.

Shysage sternly warned the girls to stay completely away from the edge. In addition, they suspected little danger here, but still, everypony HAD to stay together.

Plus, everypony quickly decided they would spend the night here. It was not cold at all, and this would be a fun spot to relax.

Still, Summer was strangely quiet. This flat spot on the top of the strange mountain held a lot of memories for both of them.

Shysage and Summer both sat where the approximate center of the main commons outside the audience hall would be. Shysage hugged his Mare, who was soon weeping softly. He just held her.

Summer told Shysage a number of times she loved him.

He just hugged her back, and was soon weeping himself.

After half an hour, Summer was mostly back to her normal self, and she and Shysage faced each other, and just hugged a few minutes, and rubbed noses.

The girls were maybe halfway between them and the cliff edge of the clearing to the North just staring calmly off into the distance beyond the edge. The view really was breathtaking.

Summer and Shysage headed to the girls, and sat next to them.

"Next time we play 'Queen for a day', my kingdom is gonna be right here" Cel said. Lu quickly agreed.

Summer and Shysage just looked at each other.

As the Sun headed for the horizon, everypony ate for a while. They needed to find some water.

The artificial ponds that Canterlot would have, were not there yet, so they headed to the back of the clearing.

They found a cave, which Summer knew would one day be the train tunnel. Next to that cave was a small pond.

Everypony drank their fill, but both Summer and Shysage knew this was the same pond Summer and Princess Twilight's girls drank from right before facing Sunset Shimmer. That next hour was one of the most scary of Summer's life.

Summer walked away quickly, and sat a distance off, and Shysage quickly sat next to her. She was weeping softly again. Her Stallion just hugged her.

After a while, Cel and Lu walked up.

Cel asked with a smile "Dad, are you going to love mom tonight?"

Shysage pulled Summer close and said "Of course, Cel."

Lu then asked hesitantly "...but you won't have a foal, right?"

Shysage and Summer both sighed at the same time.

Summer said "Lu, honey, come with me, we need to have a talk."

Shysage said "Cel, stay with me, please."

"I know, dad" Cel said quickly.

Summer and Lu walked back towards the cave, and Summer explained Pony Reproduction to Lu.

Shysage and Cel sat towards the middle of the clearing and just talked.

"Dad, I didn't put her up to that, just so you know" Cel said almost apologetically.

"Cel, it's ok. It is sort of a natural curiosity. It is just important to understand everything involved, and that's why mom took time with you and is now explaining things to Lu." Shysage said quietly.

Still Shysage wanted to avoid having to explain anything else, like why he wouldn't know how to start, since he was actually from a different world. That would just cause problems.

Shysage also knew that his Mare was having a difficult time here anyway, and so he was asking true friend to help her.

Shysage also realized that Summer and Lu were very close, and very similar, so he did not expect any problems overall.

It also hit Shysage that very moment, that Cel was actually talking to Shysage as a 'grown-up' now... This seemed like a rather abrupt change, but their girls were clearly growing up.

"Cel, I really love you, I hope you know that" Shysage said at one point.

Cel reached one of her front legs around dad's neck, hugged him, and said softly "I know dad, thanks."

Maybe an hour later, Lu and Shysage's Mare came back.

Summer was smiling at any rate...

...until Lu asked them both "Dad, why can't you and mom have a foal now? You both deserve this. You are both amazing."

Summer sat down right where she was, and started to cry immediately. Shysage walked over, sat next to her and hugged her close.

Shysage wasn't upset, and simply said softly "Girls, we will explain this some day. For now, we simply cannot enjoy each other the way we really want to. For us it is simply a matter of responsibility. We just can't. And please understand that this is very hard for both of us."

The girls immediately understood that this was why mom was crying, and they both hugged her. Summer said through her tears "Girls, I love you both so much..." They never really doubted that.

It would be night soon, and so everypony knew they needed to find a place to sleep.

Shysage led them all away from the edge, and towards the back of the clearing where the mountain headed up some more.

Shysage found a tree, and asked his Mare to sit there.

The girls found a tree maybe 50 feet away, with some intervening bushes, and asked if they could 'give mom and dad some privacy' for the night.

Shysage said that was fine, but he specifically did NOT want the girls wandering off or around in the dark. Here, that could be deadly. They promised they would not.

Summer was still weeping softly, and so Shysage asked her to lay down on her back, and he lay on his side, and put his head on her chest, then he looked into her beautiful eyes.

Summer grabbed his head with her front legs, and just held him close, and was soon calmed down, sighing contentedly.

Shysage worked on staying there all night. His Mare slept wonderfully, as Shysage gave her a wish she had voiced maybe 6 months ago. Shysage didn't sleep very well, but it didn't matter.

He loved her so... ...and he loved her that night.

The next morning, Summer and Shysage had enough of this strange mountain, but the girls wanted to stay until noon maybe, so they did.

Summer was not quite sure how to handle the trip back. Shysage suggested gliding, and Summer just said they would be very far up.

Shysage pointed out that they could see the huge tree that held their house, even from here.

Shysage also reminded her that the 'bunch of clouds' was this approximate height too.

Shysage said it was up to his Mare though.

Summer didn't want to take chances with the girls. To play it safe, they would glide down to the next clearing, and go from there.

At around the middle of the day, they did that. And from that middle clearing, they were able to glide most of the way to their house.

Watching the girls start their glide was amazing. They both just flared their wings wide, jumped off the edge, and laughed. Cel's wingspan looked huge, but she was a big pony.

Cel and Lu both were getting very good at gliding, and were able to adjust their wings and such, so that they glided almost to the city, then just flew home.

They spent that night in their house, and slept well.

The next day was a good flying day, and Summer again changed her plans.

They all ate a good breakfast, drank some, then rested maybe an hour.

Summer explained they were going to fly over the meadow, then head towards the cloud bank North-West of the meadow. It was about as high as the top level of the strange mountain, and would be a good workout.

Still, Summer stressed that should ANYPONY become winded on the way up, thy would ALL turn around and simply glide back to the meadow.

They were all quickly off, and Summer flew next to Lu so she could keep track of her energy.

Shysage stayed next to Summer, and Cel was next to him.

This required a little exertion for Shysage, but Cel could clearly do this twice. Shysage observed again that her wing-span was huge.

Summer was doing fine, and Lu was too.

The family was quickly up and over the cloudbank, over 1000 feet in the air.

Cel asked the obvious "Mom when are we going to turn around and glide back?"

Summer completely forgot about this. The girls didn't know yet that Pegasi could land on the cloud tops.

Rather than try to explain, and risk saying something wrong, Summer just landed.

Shysage led the girls in a small circle, and Summer called them down, one at a time.

The girls were totally amazed that nopony fell through the clouds.

Summer and Shysage both were sweating at the possibility that they might just disappear. This was clearly new, privileged information.

They didn't disappear.

Shysage sternly warned them to stay away from the edge again. He also indicated that they should not try to fly anymore until they glided back down. It was a long way back, and they would need their strength.

The family walked slowly together, some distance towards the center of the cloud bank, then just lay down on the cloud tops, and talked.

They watched the Sun go down, it was beautiful. They spent the night up on the clouds.

Pegasus family fun...

The next morning they lay on their bellies and talked a while more, then sat closely together for a family hug, along with a few tears. Then they all walked back over towards the edge, for the glide back down.

Still, Summer warned them they should jump and fly before they got right to the edge, and then trim for a glide past the edge of the clouds. The edge of a cloud was rather hard to determine after all, and surprises could disorient even a good flyer.

In maybe 30 minutes, they were back in their meadow, and had a good breakfast around the edge of the meadow.

Then they flew together back to the house, and spent the rest of the day playing in the river.

Early in the afternoon, Shysage wandered down the river a short distance, found a much deeper spot, and asked his Mare to join him there. Then he hugged her and asked her to stand up. They were both ponies. He didn't have anything on his mind, other than to see if they could do this.

They were standing in the water, on their hind legs, hugging, and rubbing noses. It was only the buoyancy of the water that enabled them to do this.

Cel saw them, looked away and said 'Mom, dad, not out here", then the girls started laughing.

Summer just sighed, then Shysage pulled them both over with a splash, and they headed back to the girls.

This was really a 'people' thing, but Shysage wouldn't say anything about that.

Anyway, the girls had made amazing progress with their flying. Shysage's Mare thought they still had two months of Summer left.

After relaxing at the house, and playing in the river for a few days, Summer took them back up to the cloud bank. They flew to the meadow, then up to the clouds like they did before.

They again spent the night on the clouds. The Moon was up that night, and it was amazing.

On the following day, Summer led them over to the edge near where Ponyville would one day be, and set them up for the glide down.

The "lay of the land' was the same, and they were quickly where town square would one day be.

Summer and Shysage said nothing about this.

Still, it was early in the day. And Summer knew they would need to find a place to spend the night.

It was very surreal to Summer and Shysage, but they wandered around 'Ponyville with no Ponyville' most of the day. They quickly found the area where Princess Twilight's tree-house, Summer's tree and the new Castle would be, but of course didn't say anything.

They did find something else there however, a few ponds. Ponds usually have Ducks, and Duck feathers can be used as quills for writing.

Shysage felt his three girls would have a serious problem with Shysage tackling a Duck, and pulling a few feathers out. They just wandered around the ponds, and found three good feathers at one point.

Shysage had Summer change him into a 'people', and the first thing he did was hug everypony as a 'people'. Shysage loved doing that... Well, he deeply loved his whole family.

Then he picked the feathers up, and tucked them down his pants on his left side. His plan was to change back to a pony, then when they were home, have Summer change him back to a 'people', and (hopefully) the feathers would still be there, and he would pull them out. Shysage decided that the feathers probably had to be touching his skin for this to work.

By the end of the day, the girls mentioned that they had enough of just a bunch of trees.

Summer and Shysage sighed together at this. Still, this made them both realize that what made Ponyville so amazing was their amazing and true friends that lived there.

They found a small cave about a mile east of where the town would be. They would sleep there.

Shysage asked Summer to change him into a 'people' inside the cave. Before it got too dark to see, Shysage picked up a sharp rock, and got to work.

Taking care not to bend the feathers, Shysage carefully scratched a large heart shape on the roof of the cave. Then he wrote inside the heart 'Summer + Shysage'. It took about 30 minutes to do this because the rock on the roof of the cave was pretty tough.

When he was done, he said softly "An enduring monument to my love for your mom."

The girls quickly understood what this meant.

Then, as a 'people', he hugged Summer, who was a pony, tightly, and went to kiss her. Summer backed away, changed into a 'people' herself, and then they kissed... ...for a while.

Their girls were used to this, and just found a comfy spot on the ground, and lay down.

Mom and dad were soon back to being ponies, and together, the family was quickly asleep.

The next morning, they ate Oats from a meadow East of town (no surprise). They found a creek and drank some too.

The girls wanted to just fly back to their house, so they did that, even though it took a while. Well, they flew to their big meadow first, played in the air a while, ate, then headed home.

On the way, Summer led them over the area where the Crystal Palace would be one day, but of course there was nothing there, and nothing was said.

It was fun trip, but they wouldn't do it again, because there was just nothing for the girls to do there.

And Shysage was right, when he got back to the house, and was a 'people', he pulled out the three feathers. Now, all they needed was ink and paper...

The next month and a half was simply a blur...

The family flew a lot, usually to either the top level of the strange mountain, or to the cloud bank.

Shysage would 'love his Mare', many more nights, by letting her sleep with his head on her chest. Summer loved this. The girls didn't seem to mind at all either.

At the end of the Summer, everypony was in very good flying shape. The girls were simply amazing flyers, and Shysage and his Mare had gotten back in shape too.

Summer was not a show-off by any means, well not any more. Still, both girls quickly realized she was a very skilled flyer.

On one of the glides back from one of the last few trips to the cloud bank, Cel asked mom while they glided "Mom what is the hardest thing you do while flying?"

Summer thought for a minute, then replied softly "I don't know if I should even tell you. It is very dangerous."

Cel was persistent "Please mom, you are a very good flyer, and I want to learn as much as possible."

Summer thought a minute, then said softly "You must never do this unless you can pull into gliding then flying no matter what.

"It involves turning into a steep dive, then flaring your wings out at the bottom to pull out of the dive when you need to. If you can't pull out, you will die when you hit the ground.

"If you need to dive down steeply, you just pull your wings in, leaving just a little out so you can steer. And again, this is very dangerous.

"I will show you at this height because it's safer.

"You all keep gliding, and just watch."

Summer flew up maybe 200 feet higher which wasn't very far, and flew ahead of them a bit too so they could watch. Then she pulled her wings in and turned down into dive just as she said. At about their level, she broke rapidly into a glide then used her wings to slow her descent down.

Summer was soon gliding again with them, but she was crying... "Shysage, that really hurt... And it was only from 200 feet..."

"Focus on landing first Mare, then we can hug..." Shysage said calmly.

Both girls knew immediately why their mom was hurting now... It was their fault... There was nothing they could do about it... The girls just started weeping...

As soon as they all landed, the girls both hugged their mom, and cried with her for a while. "We're so sorry mom..." they both said this a bunch...

After crying a while with everypony, Summer stopped both girls, then said softly, through her tears, "Precious girls, I love to fly... but you both are more important to me than flying. I would do it again if I needed to."

They both knew this was true...

They so loved their mom...

Chapter 10, Second Fall

Their second Fall came very quickly, and their flying was basically done.

The coats came down, and Sue got Shysage's coat, Shysage got Summer's coat, and Summer got Sue's old coat, which looked very nice on Summer, and Shysage said so. Lu's coat was still fine.

Sensing a long Winter ahead, Shysage immediately started taking the family to the big meadow, walking, to gather Oats in the bucket.

They had plenty of Fall ahead of them, and so took their time, and just enjoyed being together. It was still a busy time.

No candles had showed up, so Shysage was thinking he would need to address this as well.

On a few days, early in the fall, the family did actually leave their coats in the center and fly around the meadow some, but the cold usually made that a short time.

Still, the family clearly loved flying.

Shysage also had the quills, and so they were always on the lookout for berries for ink, and wide leaves that could be used for paper.

After the first week of wandering around the meadow, these two items didn't show up. So, Shysage and his family headed South, which took them to the opposite side of the road, and they began to wander there.

Some distance South from the road there was another large meadow, just not as large as the one they flew in.

Still, they began to wander around that meadow, both exploring and keeping an eye out for Oats, berries and broad leaves.

They found all three.

The berries they found were small, and Shysage thought they would keep a while, and this was important. On a later trip, they filled the bucket up with them and brought them home.

Shysage sternly warned everypony that they were NOT to eat these berries. He did not know if they were poisonous or not, and this was important. They were just for ink.

Still, a bucket full of berries was a lot of ink.

They also found a grove of plants that were a lot like Ferns. They just had very broad leaves that grew out from the core of the plant like Ferns did. Shysage didn't know what they were called.

It didn't matter, the leaves were alreay starting to brown. These would work very nicely.

Shysage asked Summer to turn him into a 'people', and he pulled a bunch of good, smooth leaves off some of the plants. Then he asked first, then carefully placed a bunch of the long leaves over Cel's back for the trip home. Aside from dropping one or two leaves on the way, which Shysage picked up in his mouth, the trip went fine. They really weren't that far away after all.

These leaves were carefully laid down along Cel's room so they could finish drying out.

They were also developing a nice pile of Oats, and these were stored next to Lu's room.

Shysage liked to plan ahead if he could, and after the first two weeks of Fall, preparations were coming along nicely.

Well, except for candles. Shysage knew they needed these, but also knew that he could probably not wander up to somepony and just ask for some. He was pretty sure the ponies in the city were using a 'barter' economy, and he needed to come up with something he could trade.

His only option, really, was to draw something, and his Mare gave him an excellent idea, the final scene from the 'Hearts-warming Eve' account.

He loved her that night for that. It was cold, but he let her sleep with his head on her chest. Well, he loved his Mare like that as often as he could.

The high point of that historical account, was when the three deputies, one from each of the three pony races, simply sat together, and talked and laughed together, as if they were all equals. Their leaders had already been frozen.

At any rate, the love and warmth they shared together that night was the turning point in everyponies' lives, and their leades were soon freed too, and they all realized that treating each other as friends was better than turning into Windigoes.

Summer's suggestion was to try to draw just the three ponies, laying down, talking and laughing together.

This was a good suggestion, but Shysage knew he couldn't draw that well. Any pony he drew would just make anypony laugh when they looked at it.

Summer tried, and did amazing.

Shysage, as a person, trimmed a roughly paper shaped piece from one of the broad leaves.

He gave it to Summer, and, as a 'people', she skillfully drew three ponies, an Earth pony, a Pegasus, and a Unicorn, laying down together, smiling.

His contribution was to write, near the bottom, in large letters, the single word "ON", which was the 'old pony' form of 'one' as far as he could tell.

The point of this simple picture was clear, and should be very reminescent of the main point of the 'Hearts-warming Eve' event. And again, Shysage felt this particular event could not have been very long ago from the time they were in.

How many candles this would be worth, Shysage didn't know, so he and Summer made five pictures. Summer was very good at reproducing her work.

Shysage was still learning about his Mare's many talents.

Well, it seemed like Fall was the time for a trip into town, and they needed candles.

Shysage carefully tucked a picture under each of the girls wings, so they would be easy for him to pull out with his teeth. The fifth picture, he tucked under his Mare's wing, and then scratched her wing some. She loved that so he promised more tonight.

Together, they headed for town.

They found a large Earth pony with a big supply of candles near the main gate.

Shysage walked up and said "candles?"

The stallion said "Trad?", which Shysage expected. This meant he wanted to trade Shysage for the candles.

Shysage carefully pulled the picture out from under Summer's wing with his mouth, and carefully laid it on the table in front of the stallion.

He almost began to cry on the spot, and quickly moved a large bag full of candles over to Shysage.

This stallion's mare walked up at that point, and Summer immediately recognized her as one of the mares who supplied coats for the girls.

Summer carefully pulled out another picture, from under one of Cel's wings, and gently laid it on the table near the mare. Then Summer looked at the mare, and said carefully "Thanks... for you."

The mare did start crying. They both deeply appreciated the message of these pictures.

The stallion pushed more candles towards Shysage, but he pushed them back and said "Thanks."

Summer pulled out the rest of the pictures, and carefully laid each on the table, in front of the mare and stallion, then said carefully "For your friends."

This evidently communicated well, and the stallion teared up now too. He again tried to push another big bag of candles to Shysage, but he pushed it back. Shysage pointed to another smaller bag, which the stallion quickly pushed his way.

Shysage bowed to the stallion, Summer hugged the mare, and they were soon on their way back to their house with a nice supply of candles.

They would need all of them.

Shysage had sort of a gut feeling that this would be a harsh Winter. He also suspected that their Summer was longer than normal, and they did not have as much Fall left as they thought.

The next week, the family would head to the meadow, and stock up on more Oats. What they collected that week was placed under their bench.

Shysage also realized that he needed a bunch of Oak leaves, and the bucket was used for that as well. They gathered a lot of those leaves. Fortunately, it had not rained yet, and the leaves were still dry.

Also during that week, Summer used a piece of paper and put the letters of the alphabet on them. Another piece of paper got some numbers on it too. Summer was planning on doing some school this Winter if they could.

And with this, their preparations for the Winter were complete.

Even so, their 'large' tree-house was pretty 'packed' with items for the Winter ahead. That's just the way it needed to be.

Shysage guessed maybe another month of Fall.

From this point on, the family slowed way down, and just took it easy and spent time relaxing together.

In the morning, they would frequently walk to one of the meadows while they still could, and eat Oats that were there. Then they would usually walk back to the house and just relax in the afternoons.

They would do some school in the evenings if they could, or wanted to.

Along with relaxing, Summer and Shysage began to spend more time on the bench with their girls. They had more time for that now. They would hug them, brush their hair, talk to them...

Cel was big enough she actually had to hunch over to lay her head across Shysage's lap, but she still did it. She loved her dad lavishing his attention on her.

That Fall she started something new.

Shysage and Summer would often tell the girls they loved them a lot.

Shysage had just hugged Cel's head with a hand on both sides. Then he pulled her head to him, and kissed her forehead.

Cel carefully put one of her front legs up on the bench, stepped up a little, then wrapped her other front leg around Shysage's neck, and hugged him. "I love you too, dad" was all she said.

Still, it needs to be mentioned again, that mom and dad spent a lot of time with both girls, and they both clearly knew their mom and dad deeply loved them both.

There were preferences, but no favorites.

Towards the end of the Fall, one afternoon, Summer and Shysage were sitting together outside the house. They were right next to each other, sitting in the Sun, trying to keep warm.

The girls were sitting together in a different patch of sunlight, down near the river, just talking.

It was quiet for a few minutes, then Summer said softly "Look at our girls, Shysage..."

"Yes, I think being friends is better than arguing" Shysage said casually. Even so he remembered that Lu was starting to occasionally pick at Cel now; Cel just ignored it.

"Shysage, no... Look at them..." Summer wasn't scolding, she said this quietly.

Shysage had been avoiding that... They had been so busy all Summer...

Cel's coat was white... Her Mane and Tail were a Pearl colored white. And Cel was a huge pony.

Lu's coat was now medium blue, and her Mane and Tail were a light night-mist Blue.

Summer said it again "Look at them..." She said it softly. She was hurting at this. "If this really is Celestia and Luna, it would be inconceivable that their father wasn't close..."

They both looked into each other's eyes at this point, then hugged tightly. They both had the same growing, nagging fear, that they would need to give 'their girls' up. Nothing would be 'sure' until they got their Cutie Marks, but still... This would hurt a lot...

Chapter 11, Winter of Magic

Technically, Cel's Cutie Mark was late. Still, they couldn't be sure who their girls were until their marks arrived.

This happened early that second Winter.

It was late in the evening, and Summer and Shysage were just enjoying being next to each other.

Cel and Lu were already asleep, they could tell from their breathing.

While rubbing noses, Summer and Shysage both heard a very strange noise, like a log hitting a rock or something.

They both looked at the girls, and, at the same time, they both immediately stood up.

'Their girls', Cel and Lu, were now Celestia and Luna... Even by the light of a single candle, they could tell...

Lu's mane and tail were now a darker, but still light night-mist Blue... Her coat was half way between Blue and Purple, and her new Unicorn horn was the same color. Lu's Cutie Mark was Princess Luna's, a White crescent Moon on a black background.

Cel's mane and tail were still very flowing, just now a very pastel rainbow of colors with sparkles mixed in. Her coat was still white, but so was her large Unicorn horn. Princess Celestia's bright 'blazing Sun' Cutie Mark was hard to miss.

How could these two simple foals, that Summer and Shysage rescued from oblivion, while running from Cougars...

There was no question now who they were, not any more...

Their 'nagging suspicion' had become their reality...

Summer and Shysage didn't yet know who the two princesses belonged to, but it was clear they had just spent the last two years protecting... caring for... raising... loving... ...the two most important Princesses in Equestria's history...

They both started weeping softly...

It would be very scary now. Summer and Shysage knew they had to be extremely careful from here on out...

Shysage would also, a few times, discretely remind his Mare that they must not try to defuse the 'Nightmare Moon' incident, or they WOULD disappear. Everything they had done up to this point would evaporate if they tried to change that. They didn't... It was just hard... ...for both of them...

But they were both crying, because 'mom' and 'dad' now KNEW they HAD to give 'their girls' away. That would hurt... ...a lot...

Shysage and his Mare cried themselves to sleep hugging tightly that night...

They would do that a lot...

Shysage and his mare decided the night before, to use the same names, Cel and Lu. They would explain the significance of the fact that they were Alicorns now, but would let their real father handle the names, which included being Princesses too...

The next morning was very difficult for mom and dad. Every day would be difficult for a while.

Summer and Shysage did finally get to sleep late in the night, only to be awakened early the next morning by two very excited mares.

(It was very hard for Summer and Shysage to call them 'their girls' any more...)

Summer just started weeping softly...

Shysage felt like doing the same thing...

Shysage lay on his belly, trying to stay calm. He explained to the girls that they were both now extremely rare 'Alicorns'. While trying not to cry, he mentioned that both he and Summer were amazingly proud at what the girls had become, over night. This was a great honor.

Also, with the presence of their Unicorn horns, they could now both learn magic. Shysage explained that He and Summer were both Pegasi, and so would be of limited use for this. While even talking, Shysage decided, then said, that they would focus mostly on 'Levitation', the magic used to move and manipulate phyical objects around them.

To give he and Summer a little breathing room, Shysage pointed to the 'hair brushes' he had made from pine cones, which were on the ground near the bench. He asked each of the girls to carefully kick one of them into their rooms. Each should work on moving that pine cone, ultimately with the goal of picking it up.

Shysage explained that, even though it could be very frustrating, the girls just needed to try to discover the connection between their thoughts and their magic that would give them that control. He asked them to be very patient with this 'trial and error' approach, since that was the best that he and Summer could offer right now.

Shysage also mentioned that they should feel free to work together on this, since they both needed to work through this same basic process. He stressed that they each absolutely NEEDED to stay friends through this process. Then he stopped there; he could have said more about this, and might have said too much already.

At least he didn't disappear...

The girls were soon in their rooms, together trying to move their pine cone hair brushes.

Shysage put his head down next to his Mare, and wept softly with her a while.

It was very cold that morning, they couldn't even think about going outside; that would have allowed them to at least talk together...

Shysage and his Mare were laying on their bellies next to each other, to stay warm. They had been up late crying, and were soon asleep again.

When they woke up a few hours later, Cel and Lu were using their magic, and their pine cone brushes, to gently brush Summer and Shysage's mane. It was clear that they had already brushed their own mane and tail.

Summer and Shysage were quickly weeping softly again... Both realized this would be hard for the girls too...

After the girls were done, Shysage had Summer turn him into a 'people' long enough for him to carefully make two pieces of paper from one of the broad leaves. Even so, as Shysage did this, he realized they would probably need to go back and get more...

Shysage explained to the girls, that they should each get a quill, and some berries, make some ink, and work on doing some writing using their magic. Shysage explained that this would be far easier than his 'clip' idea.

The girls were soon laying down in their room practicing their 'magical writing'.

Even so, Shysage realized that they were progressing very rapidly in their magic skills. Maybe it was easier for Alicorns.

While the girls worked on this, Shysage just hugged his Mare. They both realized at this point, that they would probably have very little time to talk between themselves during the day.

Summer really said it, softly, for both of them "Stallion, I really need you now..."

Shysage looked into her amazing blue eyes, and said slowly "I really need you too..."

By the middle of the day, Cel and Lu were writing sentences on their papers, which were now completely full.

Shysage asked to be a 'people' again, and carefully trimmed out three more pieces of paper. He stayed a 'people' for a few minutes.

First, he explained to the girls how to play 'tic-tac-toe'. He indicated that they should make the lines small so they could get a lot of games in on their paper. The girls realized they could probably use the first two papers for this. Shysage hoped he didn't disappear for this.

Shysage also explained Poetry to the girls. His goal was to allow them to express themselves in writing, and Poetry required more thought and used less paper space than simply writing.

He asked them to sit patiently for a few minutes, while he thought up and wrote the following poem:

If I could fly from East to West, in search of loving beauty,
I'd never find another near, the Mare that now comes too me.

Cel actually read it out loud as Shysage thought it through and wrote it, and mom was quickly crying on Shysage's back, as he was sitting, thinking and writing (they were both 'people' still). He loved her so...

Still, Shysage showed the girls the way poetry was put together, both the meter of the words, as well as the use of rhyming (he explained both concepts).

Shysage also mentioned that Cel and Lu knew a lot of words, but that mom and dad could help them get the spelling right.

Then he 'sent them to their rooms' together to work on poetry, and mom and dad sat on the bench hugging and kissing for a while; they cried some too.

Summer and Shysage were soon back to being ponies, but still spent the rest of the afternoon as Cel and Lu's dictionary while they just hugged.

They did speak quietly and briefly. Summer said what they both realized "Shysage, from the girl's perspective, an entirely NEW WORLD has just opened up to them, and we will be here to help them through, like we have up to this point."

There was enough 'new' in the day, that it went very quickly. As the amount of sunlight sneaking around their door began to diminish, Shysage said "Girls, please eat seven Oat heads, then we will go get a drink quick.

Cel said "Mom, dad, are you having any?"

Summer said quietly "Just three for us please."

Cel used her magic to quickly put six down in front of mom and dad.

Shysage said "Unicorns have it so much easier..."

The girls just laughed.

After a little while, they all headed out into the cold long enough to drink some, and they went on a very short walk. It was fairly cold, and they were soon snug, back inside their house.

Shysage and Summer were people sitting on the bench, and the girls eagerly came over. Dealing with the presence of Unicorn horns was an issue at first, but everypony got used to it.

Shysage realized that it probably felt very good to the girls to get scratched around the base of their horns, and he was right. He quickly showed Summer too.

It seemed that, almost at the same time, Shysage and Summer both hugged the girls heads tightly and said softly "I love you..."

Cel stepped up on the bench and hugged dad again. "I love you too, dad" she said. And she didn't let go right away, either.

Lu tried this too, and it worked well, and she was soon hugging her mom. Lu started crying at being able to hug her mom like that... Summer cried too...

The girls were quickly back in their rooms working on poetry.

Summer said to Shysage "I don't know whether to smile or cry, Shysage..."

She turned them back into ponies, and Shysage said quietly "Probably, both..."

Summer and Shysage were soon sleeping next to each other. The girls stayed up a little later, then they too were fast asleep.

The next day was a little calmer. Maybe everypony was getting used to the two new Alicorns in the house.

Shysage reminded himself there were really three Alicorns around him, but he didn't need to say anything. He already had no idea what he had ever done to deserve Summer as his Mare... He just shook his head at that thought... He loved her so...

Shysage had already decided they needed to head back to the South meadow to get more berries and paper leaves today.

It still had not rained much yet, so now was a good time. It was a cool day, but warmer than yesterday.

Before they left the house, Shysage asked the girls that they keep their magic to themselves while outside or near the road, and especially around other ponies. Once they were in the meadow, he expected them to work with their magic, however. They needed this practice. Shysage pointed out that their Uncorn horns meant that magic was an important part of who they are.

Shysage checked the candle, then took the bucket of water down near the river, and dumped it out. Then he asked Cel if she would carry it, and she said that was fine. She was stronger than Shysage after all.

They walked to the meadow to the South, and actually had time to eat some more Oats while there.

Everypony waited and watched as Cel and Lu used their magic to fill the bucket with berries. Their Alicorn mares were getting much better with their magic. And this was only the second day...

They walked to the broad leaf plants, and Cel just began pulling them out with her magic, then placed them carefully on Shysage's back.

He pretended like it was a really heavy load, and the girls just laughed.

Shysage asked Cel to stop, and allow Lu to finish the job, and Lu did, with no problems.

They were soon on their way back to the house with more berries and more paper leaves.

The afternoon sun through Cel's mane was amazing... Shysage had spent quite a bit if time around Princess Celestia, and this mare was indeed Princess Celestia; well she would become Princess Celestia. This was just a far different perspective.

Well, Lu's mane was amazing too. Both girls were stunningly regal, no question about it.

Back at the house, Cel easily picked up the entire load of leaves using her magic, and carefully added them to the stack in the house.

With Cel's permission, Lu pulled the bucket from her sister's neck, added the berries to the pile in the house, then walked the bucket down to the river, rinsed it out good, and filled it with water, then carefully placed it back in it's spot against the wall.

The family sat outside for a while before it got too cold. Summer and Shysage were near the door, and the girls were down by the river, again talking together.

Shysage hugged his Mare, and pulled her close. Then they just rubbed noses for a while. They did that more now. Maybe they needed to.

"Shysage, I really love these girls..." Summer said softly.

Shysage shook his head slightly then sighed, and said softly "I do too... They really are amazing girls."

A cold breeze gusted past them, and Summer shivered. Shysage hugged her close. "I really love you too, Mare..."

Summer just replied softly "Oh, Shysage... Please don't ever leave me..."

"I think I'd die without you, Summer..." Shysage replied quietly.

When it got too cold, they headed inside.

Shysage checked the candle, then closed the door for the night.

Shysage had a discussion with the girls about 'unintended consequences'. They were getting better at manipulating their surroundings with their magic, but it was even more important that they carefully think through the potential results of their magic use.

Shysage's example was moving a rock that was holding up a bunch of other rocks. The bottom rock would be easy to move, but the consequence of the rest of the rocks crashing down needed to also be thought through, hopefully ahead of time.

In other words, they needed to carefully think through the results of their magic use before they used it.

The girls both understood this.

A little later, the girls wanted to brush Summer and Shysage's mane and tail. This was again deeply moving for both of them, and they were soon both weeping softly. They had been doing this for the girls for almost two years, and the girls were now lovingly returning the favor.

After this was done, Summer and Shysage sat on the bench, as 'people', and loved the girls back. Everypony was soon weeping softly now too.

Summer and Shysage were 'hands on' parents after all.

The girls retreated to their rooms to play with their magic some more before they slept.

Since it wasn't very cold, Summer slept up against Shysage's chest and neck. Still, they both again were weeping softly, and were soon asleep.

That second Winter was a Winter of Magic. And the rest of that Winter was a lot like this second day. The girl's magic made a lot of tasks much easier. Still, a number of realizations surfaced repeatedly.

The girls were their two Princesses, and that was often a very humbling realization.

The girls were both very grown-up, and talking to them now was a lot like talking to their Princesses in Equestria present.

The girls still had plenty to learn, and mom and dad patiently helped them as they could.

The girls still loved mom and dad deeply. Well, in Shysage's home, everyponies' devotion was out in the open.

The girls advanced rapidly in their use of magic, and could soon move very heavy objects. Shysage reminded them again, that moving things like other ponies, which both could probably now do, also meant that they had to accept responsibility for that ponies' safety. That was a sobering realization for the girls.

Shysage and his Mare would often smile, and sometimes laugh with the girls during the day, they really were amazing.

However, the nights were often very difficult because all they could feel was that they would have to give these girls away to their real father at some point.

Shysage suspected part of this was just parent's pain at 'letting go of their kids' to a certain degree. What he and Summer faced was more harsh however. At an unknown day in the future, the girls would just be gone.

And even so, explaining pain doesn't always make it go away. Well it didn't for Summer and Shysage. They were both Fluttershys.

Sometimes in the process of parenting, one or both parents are given a warning, out of the blue, to pay very close attention to what is going on. This happened on one specific occasion that second Winter.

Summer and Shysage were laying on their bellies next to each other, rubbing noses.

'All of a sudden', they both looked over at Cel and Lu, and what they were doing.

Each of the girls had chosen a pine cone, and they were using their magic to push their pine cones up against the other's pine cone. The direct result of this contest was who had the strongest magic. Cel was handling it fine, but Lu was upset.

Almost that the exact same time, Summer and Shysage looked at each other and whispered "Don't..." Both realized they had to let this play out, and mom and dad just watched.

After a minute maybe, Lu was very mad, and Cel made both pine cones shoot straight up into the air, then she laughed. Lu wasn't laughing.

A few minutes after the contest was over, mom and dad were people sitting on the bench, and loved their girls, hoping to ease the tension, which it did. The girls were soon back on friendly terms with each other.

It was only later that night, and whispering very quietly, that Summer and Shysage discussed this.

Lu's anger at the contest showed a very bad problem in Lu. In Equestria present, Summer and Shysage agreed they would have stopped it and addressed this problem.

Both knew this same attitude would probably result in the Nightmare Moon incident. This is the closest they probably ever came to being able to erase their future, and they did not.

Shysage pointed out however, that Cel's response showed a lot of maturity. The effect her rage had on her mom, really HAD changed her for life, and this would be a part of the Nightmare Moon incident as well.

Even so, they both wept together after discussing this... It was just scary...

One night late in the Winter, Summer woke with a start and a gasp, and it woke Shysage up too. Summer was soon weeping softly.

Trying to avoid waking the girls, they both got up quietly, and headed for the door.

They were soon outside, sitting down, shivering in the fresh snow. It was glistening in the moonlight.

They both had their coats on, but it was still very cold.

Summer began, softly. Shysage could quickly tell this was hard for her.

"Shysage do you remember when we visited the King over a year ago? He seemed pre-occupied with the picture behind him, and didn't even turn around... He kept going on about the two 'appointed ones' being dead or something...

Summer paused here, and cried a little louder.

"Shysage, our two girls, Cel and Lu, are the two in that
picture...

"These two girls, that we rescued, and raised from foals, are his two 'appointed ones'...

"They are the King's daughters, Shysage...

"We need to take them back to him, and this will probably put everything back together...

Summer was sobbing...

"But that means for sure that we need to give these girls up..."

Summer just kept crying as Shysage held her. Shysage was crying too...

Summer was right. This was the last piece of the puzzle. Summer and Shysage knew who would get 'their girls' now.

They both knew exactly what they needed to do now, and they both knew it would be hard... ...very hard...

They both cried together for a while in the snow that night...

From here on out, they would spend many nights crying...

[The next two sections also deal with the physical side of Summer and Shysage's relationship. Again, I have tried to avoid graphic details. Feel free to skip the next two sections if this offends you. -- Shysage]

Another night late in that second Winter turned out far differently. It was hard to say if this was a good thing, or just added stress.

One of the aspects of watching over the family, that took place in Shysage's home, had to do with two nuisance issues -- Tics and cuts.

Tics needed to be removed as soon as possible. This was usually only a problem during the Spring and Summer though.

Cuts just needed to be licked soon after they were found. Saliva would help dis-infect the cut and minimize infection.

Usually once a week, Summer would carefully check the girls for these two problems. Summer and Shysage would check each other about as often. Well, if anypony got a cut, that was frequently taken care of as soon as it was noticed.

(opt:btm3b)

Also, late in that Winter, Shysage made a 'conditional' promise to his Mare.

This was all predicated on them having time to do this after taking Cel and Lu to the king, but before they found the Portal, so they would have to see. Although, they really had no clue if there even was a Portal. They just didn't know.

Shysage carefully explained all this to his Mare, he did not generally like surprising her.

They would spend the night up on the clouds that would one day be Cloudsdale.

Once there, Shysage would take the time to help his Mare feel like she really deserved to feel. In order to avoid a foal, Shysage would have to bail out at the last minute, and so the plan was fraught with peril, and even if this all went according to plan, Summer could still end up with a foal. But Shysage was convinced that he would try to give this gift to his amazing Mare.

Part of this was that he hoped to give his Mare something to look forward to, as their world was literally collapsing with the immanent loss of the girls. Another part was that, back in Equestria present, they both knew that such an act would not be possible. They both knew, and accepted that their options were more limited there.

After explaining all of this to his Mare, it was clear to Summer that Shysage was committed to doing this if he could. She would not fight him on this. She truly wanted what he intended to give her.

She just cried as she hugged him tightly... She loved him so...

He just cried with her...

Time would only tell...

A lot happened that second Winter. But for Summer and Shysage, they clearly saw that it was simply a matter of time before they both had to give 'their' precious girls away.

It hurt already, and would only get worse. Through mounting pain, they just kept giving. They were true friends...

Chapter 12, Pony Nation

[Background music fades away at this point -- Shysage]

Summer and Shysage had already agreed that, on the first warm day of Spring, they would both take Cel and Lu to see the King.

They had not yet told Cel and Lu ahead of time about this, or why, and would not. Cel and Lu needed to decide for themselves if the King was their 'father'.

That 'first warm day' came in no uncertain terms. It was easily too warm for coats, and it was still early Spring.

Shysage said calmly "Girls, we are going to visit the King this morning, I hope that is ok."

Cel thought for a minute, then asked "How come, dad?"

"I just want to talk to him some more" Shysage said cautiously.

Within the space of maybe 30 minutes, the family was walking slowly towards the main gate to the city, without coats on, of course.

Ponies of all three main groups QUICKLY began to gather... ...and stare...

Once Shysage and his family were inside the city, it just got worse. Ponies came running from all over town to look at this strange sight...

Dozens of ponies were quickly lining the road ahead as they walked...

Then the whispers began. At first, it was very hard to determine what they were whispering.

And it wasn't the two stately Alicorn Mares they were staring at either...

Shysage mentioned softly at this point "Summer, they are all looking at your Cutie Mark..."

The whispering slowly got louder... "Shila..." That was all that the ponies were whispering...

Still, as they walked down the long main road to the King's palace, nopony got in their way... Nopony talked to them, or tried to stop them... Everypony just stared... ...and whispered "Shila..." to each other.

It took maybe ten minutes to walk to the King's palace. Once in front of it, the guards simply opened the door, and let them pass. They too were staring with the same dumb-founded look everypony else had.

Shysage and his family kept walking, into the palace, down the hall, and into the large hall where the King was last time.

Even inside the hall, nopony stopped them or even tried to talk to them. There were maybe 20 guards inside, but they all likewise just backed away, silent, and stared...

Shysage walked his family up to the bottom of the stairs.

King Thars was on the top of the stairs, up on the platform. As he did a year ago, the King was just staring at the picture. Shysage guessed he had simply given up on mumbling, even...

Shysage looked at the picture too, briefly. Summer was right, of course. The two Alicorns they were bringing, Cel and Lu, were his two daughters, matching the picture exactly...

...

Shysage remembered what the King had mumbled during their last visit. Then he said clearly

"Dappont onz" and said nothing more.

The King spun around immediately, and stared at the two Alicorn Mares before him...

He turned back to the picture, then rapidly back...

"Hello, father" Cel said first...

"Hello, father" Lu said next...

King Thars' first words were "Dappont onz..."

Then King Thars, started to cry, then said "Celestia... Luna... Whar yo be--"

A very loud horn or something blared at this point, interrupting the King.

A guard quickly ran in, obviously very afraid. He spoke in 'old pony' of course, but Summer and Shysage picked out "Cougars" and "attack".

Summer said quickly to Cel and Lu "Have the King get you both somewhere safe.

Well, that 'somewhere safe' would be one of the front guard towers. The King wanted to direct the battle.

Within 10 seconds, as every pony in the room looked on in awe, Summer transformed into her Equestria Girls form, stood up as a 'people', and spun up her Cutie Mark.

The King's eyes got very big, and he said simply "Shila..."

Summer ran for the door, and Shysage followed.

They were both quickly out the door, and maybe 20 feet up in the air.

The crowd was not whispering any more...

"Shila... Rescu oz" is what Summer and Shyage heard.

Ponies were screaming it... It was deafening...

Summer flew over to Shysage, then said "Shysage, they want me to do this... I need their help!"

Shysage quickly yelled "Tell them Summer!"

Summer stopped and thought a minute, then began to shout...

Everypony was immediately quiet once they saw the Shila would speak...

The Phantom Alicorn, 'the Shila' yelled...

"Earth ponies...
"Pegasus ponies...
"Unicorn ponies...
"Fight for...
"...Equestria..."

Summer shouted this... Well she yelled as loud as Fluttershy's sister could.

She suspected that including the Earth ponies first, probably broke some unspoken taboo. Summer also intentionally included 'ponies' as she named all three, just to emphasize their same-ness. Summer was the Shila, she could do this.

After she yelled this the first time, it remained silent.

Summer flew 100 feet down the road towards the gate, and yelled again

"Earth ponies...
"Pegasus ponies...
"Unicorn ponies...
"Fight for...
"...Equestria..."

Summer flew another 100 feet down the road, and yelled again

"Earth ponies...
"Pegasus ponies...
"Unicorn ponies...
"Fight for...
"...Equestria..."

The crowd behind them, near the King's palace, began to surge forward, and started screaming...

It wasn't "Shila" they were screaming any more, either...

They screamed "Equestria... Equestria... Equestria..."

Summer flew another 100 feet down the road, and yelled again

"Earth ponies...
"Pegasus ponies...
"Unicorn ponies...
"Fight for...
"...Equestria..."

Summer moved two more times, and yelled the same thing, then she yelled it again at the gate.

Nopony could hear her anyway. EVERYPONY was now yelling

"Equestria... Equestria... Equestria..."

Pegasi were pouring over the top of the wall, as the rest of the ponies surged through the gate.

King Thars was a very good leader with a commanding voice, and he quickly stopped all the ponies, maybe 500 feet past the wall, and they all gathered there for his command.

Summer and Shysage, in the air, headed maybe a quarter mile from the gate, and just waited, still up in the air. Summer's Cutie Mark was going. She was ready...

Summer could see the leading Cougars, they were advancing rapidly.

Still, they completely ignored the Phantom Alicorn, and maybe 100 Cougars stopped on the ground directly underneath her. They were gathering for their attack.

The Phantom Alicorn simply backhand slapped all 100 Cougars brutally to the ground with her right hand.

The Phantom Alicorn then coated them with electricity with her left hand. Those that weren't dead yet, could only writhe in agony.

Summer moved maybe 200 more feet forward, and waited for maybe 100 more Cougars to gather.

Then she again back-hand slapped them into the ground, and coated them with electricity too.

Summer moved 200 more feet forward, and did the same thing again.

Even from this distance, Summer heard King Thars yell loudly "Attack!"

The Phantom Alicorn would do no more...

...

...and the Pony Nation waded into the battle...

Mighty Earth ponies could crush a Cougar's skull with just one stomp from their huge hooves. They ran into the Cougars laying paralyzed on the ground and left death in their wake...

They rapidly caught up with Summer, and simply began kicking Cougars. If the kick didn't kill them, their stomp would...

Unicorn ponies quickly followed. They could easily use Levitation magic to throw Cougars high up into the air. They didn't usually land well...

If a Cougar managed to get up on the back of an Earth Pony, a Unicorn would quickly rip it off, and dash it hard against the ground, or throw it up high...

Pegasus ponies were also streaming into the fray, and were quickly dropping large boulders like hail on the Cougars still heading into the slaughter. Most of the attacking Cougars didn't make it to the Earth Ponies alive. If they could still move, they didn't last long...

After fifteen minutes, all the Cougars were dead -- around 800 of them -- and the battle was done.

Everypony again began screaming...

"Equestria... Equestria... Equestria..."

...as they all joyfully returned, together, to the City Gates, to their King.

As hundreds of ponies crowded below the guard tower where both King Thars and his two daughters were, King Thars asked for quiet.

Then he said slowly and regally...

"Earth ponies...
"Pegasus ponies...
"Unicorn ponies...
"We ar on..
"We ar... ...Equestria..."

Then everypony all started screaming again...

"Equestria... Equestria... Equestria..."

The crowd was all types of ponies... ...all together...
Everypony was hugging everypony else as they screamed...
They were truly one...

They screamed and hugged for maybe half an hour...

During this time, Summer turned back into a pony, and she and Shysage landed some distance behind the crowd.

They just stood there, weeping softly...

They had just given 'their girls' away...

At some point during that half hour, King Thars and the girls had moved down to the gate to the city.

King Thars quieted the crowd. Then he said simply "Shila..."

The crowd instantly opened a wide path between Summer and Shysage, and the King.

Summer and Shysage slowly walked towards him...

In 'old pony', the King told the ponies that the 'Shila' had rescued his two daughters from the Cougars, flown them back here, and raised his girls as their own. With tears in his eyes, the King said that his 'appointed ones', Celestia and Luna, were back. Well they were standing right there...

King Thars looked at Cel, then said quietly, and hesitantly "Thanks you both" then looked at Summer and Shysage, and bowed his head briefly.

After this, the King led his two daughters into the city, to the palace, as the ponies of Equestria followed... ...shouting "Equestria... Equestria... Equestria..."

This was a very good day for Equestria...
The King had his daughters back...
The nation had a name now, and was truly one...
They had shattered a larger attacking army...

Equestria had reason to celebrate...

[This is another section involving the physical side of Summer and Shysage's relationship. Again, I have tried to avoid graphic details. You can skip this section if you prefer. Just don't miss the blinding pain they both felt... -- Shysage]

It was early afternoon...

Summer and Shysage were soon standing by themselves, outside the gate, weeping softly. 'Their girls' were gone...

They had done what they thought they came here to do, and had nowhere to go now. They didn't want to go back to their 'home' and all the memories it held...

They felt... ...terrible...

It hurt so bad they just felt... ...numb...

They flew, together, as 'people' up to the cloud bank that would become Cloudsdale.

In the middle of that afternoon, Shysage kept his promise to his Mare...

(opt:btm3c)

But, after a little while, almost at the same time, they began to cry. This was a painful cry. Nothing could change the fact that 'their girls' were gone. Both had poured their lives into somepony elses' daughters, and just today, had given them back. And they had no idea what lie ahead now...

This was all the right thing to do, it just hurt...

They were soon laying on their bellies, side by side, crying, with their heads next to each other.

Cel and Lu found them like this.

They both layed on their bellies next to mom and dad, and cried with them.

After maybe five minutes, Cel spoke "Mom, dad, I'm sorry, the King wants you."

Shysage thought for a minute, then said while wiping away tears "You girls head back to the Palace. We will run by the house, and then head there in a little while."

Cel and Lu were soon off.

Once they were gone, Shysage said quietly to his Mare "Let's go get cleaned up in the river, dry off, then go see the King. I'm not sure I even want to go in our house any more... What was valuable there, is in the King's palace now anyway..."

Shysage knew his Mare felt the same way.

They flew together to the river near their 'old house', and bathed, then sat on the river bank together until they dried off. Shysage put his leg around Summer's neck and hugged her close.

"Shysage, I love you..." Summer said softly.

"Summer, I love you too..." Shysage said back softly.

Nothing else was said.

After they were dry, they got up and took to the air towards the King's palace. It wasn't far.

Chapter 14, Who Am I

Summer and Shysage technically didn't go through the Portal, but still, they both materialized in the Crystal Palace in the exact same stance that they were in, from the other end.

Summer was holding the rim of the Portal, and also holding Shysage's hand, and both Summer and Shysage were in their Equestria Girls 'people' form.

They were now back in 'Equestria Present' though...

...

They saw the tail end of the very bright flash from the Portal, and still heard the loud rumble from Summer's Phantom Alicorn form, although the noise died back down quickly.

They also heard the rest of Fluttershy's quiet shriek, and several gasps.

After a brief delay, Summer let go of both the Portal and Shysage's hand. They both were ponies again, and threw themselves forward. The book Shysage was holding simply fell to the floor.

Princess Twilight and her girls were all there, and now crying with joy that Summer had come back.

Fluttershy was immediately crying on Summer's shoulder...

The rest quickly gathered around Summer, hugging her, crying too...

Princess Twilight said it for them "Summer, it's been over TWO DAYS, we were so worried..." It was clear they had all been crying... A lot... And especially after 'Summer's Dream'...

Summer noticed Princess Celestia and Princess Luna too...

After a few more minutes of everypony crying, Fluttershy noticed her sister was crying different, and she didn't know why, except that she could feel her sister was hurting... a LOT... Fluttershy backed away a few steps, sat down, and began crying for her sister's pain.

Pinkie Pie immediately joined Fluttershy, her 'Pinkie Sense' was going crazy.

Princess Twilight saw this, thought briefly, then joined them, not really knowing why. Princess was already crying...

Shysage heard the change too, but there was nothing he could do. This was her higher pitched cry, Summer was hurting. Shysage expected as much. He was hurting too... They were both bleeding...

...

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both got up, at this point, and headed for the door...

The Phantom Alicorn was back safe with Princess Twilight and her friends. That was what they hoped to see. They were done here. It had been a very long two days...

...

Summer was absolutely beside herself... ...sobbing... ...and said through her tears, "...Girls, please..."

...

Applejack... Rainbow Dash... Rarity... They quickly realized...

...Summer was not talking to them...

They stopped, and backed away in amazement, and sat down...

...

When Summer said '...Girls, please...', both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stopped walking, dropped their head down just a little, and turned their heads slightly towards Summer.

...

Summer was still sobbing...

Through her tears, Summer said "Lu..."

...

Princess Luna (Lu) had spent 1000 of the last 1,300 years trapped as Nightmare Moon. As a result, she only had maybe 300 years of memories to sort through.

In about the time it took to blink, Princess Luna connected that voice, that name, with memories from a long time ago...

...Then Lu (Princess Luna) burst into tears, and bolted over to Summer, threw one of her front legs around Summer's neck, hugged Summer tightly, and sobbed on her shoulder...

Summer was sobbing too, and quickly hugged Lu tightly...

...

Princess Celestia looked at her sister and Summer, and was very confused.

In her defense, Princess Celestia had been the guardian of Equestria for the last 1,300 years. That was a long time...

...

There was thankfully a random long block of Crystal along the wall, low enough and long enough for both Summer and Shysage to sit on, well as people.

Shysage walked over to the bench, and then transformed, by himself, back into his Equestria Girls 'people' form, simply because he wanted to, really, really badly. Shysage sat down.

Crying himself, Shysage looked at Princess Celestia (Cel), held his arms wide as if to welcome her, and said simply "Cel..."

...

It took Cel (Princess Celestia) a little longer, but soon a thousand memories from the deepest recesses of Princess Celestia's mind exploded upon her...

She got a childlike, wondrous look on her face, and her eyes got very big...

She began to speak... "Dad... You... You said we would probably see you ag--"

Then Cel likewise burst into tears, bolted across the room, buried her head in Shysage's lap and just sobbed...

Shysage, stallion that he was, just sobbed with her...

Summer changed also to her 'people' form, and led Lu over to the bench, then she sat down right next to Shysage, and Lu's head was quickly in Summer's lap as she sobbed too.

Cel and Lu stayed in their pony form, even though touching Summer and Shysage, again probably because they really wanted to stay in this form. That's how they knew mom and dad.

Summer put her arms around both of their pony heads, pulled them together as she had done hundreds of time, and said "Oh girls..." and then buried her head between their heads and just sobbed with them...

...

Princess Cadance and Shining Armor came through the door at this point, and stopped right where they were...

Princess Twilight and her girls simply had no way of knowing how to even understand what they were seeing...

Fluttershy had already guessed they were a family now...

...

After maybe five minutes, Summer brought her head up, and tried to speak, really for the rest of the ponies in the room, who were just looking on, completely mystified... Nopony else had any idea what was going on...

Summer's voice was higher too, she was still hurting, and still crying...

"The Portal took Shysage and I back to the earliest reaches of Equestria's history... ...over a thousand years ago...

"In less than two minutes, we had rescued two horrified foals from six Cougars; they would have been dead shortly..."

Summer stopped here and cried...

"We flew these two precious foals to Equestria...

"We raised these two amazing girls as our own for two full years... ...Shysage and I loved them and taught them and cared for them... We brought them up as our own... These girls were just amazing...

Summer stopped here and cried...

"We never even knew who these two girls were...

"It was only towards the end of that time that we realized that they were... Princes--"

Summer could go no further, and burst into tears again...

...But this was enough...

Summer pulled Cel and Lu's heads together in her arms again, and buried her head down next to them and was sobbing again...

Cel and Lu were still sobbing too...

Shysage was just running his fingers through Lu and Cel's hair like he had for years, crying himself...

All at once, Summer picked her head up and said "Oh Shysage, who am I... I can't bow to these girls any more..."

Summer next buried her head on Shysage's shoulder and sobbed some more, still trying to hug Cel and Lu...

In Shysage's house, everypony knew that Summer's, well mom's stomach was very ticklish. Shysage had accidentally found this out once, and then used it effectively, but sparingly on his Mare.

Cel saw dad do this once to mom, and she noted the result, and would occasionally do it too.

Cel and Lu would never, ever call Summer and Shysage by their first name -- ever again.

But Cel wanted to get her mom's attention.

So Cel gently poked her pony nose into mom's stomach, tickling her. Summer laughed a little even though still crying.

Then Cel said softly and slowly...

"Please don't ever bow to me or Lu again...

You both are the most important ponies in Equestria...

You are mom and dad, and we are so happy to be able to see you both ag--"

Cel had to stop here, and she just cried in dad's lap some more... They all cried some more.

They cried there together, as the family they were, for maybe 20 more minutes...

...

Lu stayed with mom, and wouldn't move.

Cel pulled her head away and backed up some then sat down. Her eyes and face were still wet with tears.

"Mom, dad, you both need to hear this.

"I remember our first visit to King Thars... He was broken, he was powerless. His Mare and his two 'Appointed Ones', his two daughters, had been taken and were probably dead from what he knew. When you both brought us, his two 'Appointed Ones", back to him, he changed before our eyes... He became a mighty leader...

"I would also later find out that the three pony groups in that city constantly fought, even though supposedly at peace. That day, your repeated rallying cry before you headed out to fight the invasion galvanized all three groups, together, into one, and they all fought valiantly at each other's side. They never fought with each other again...

"And up until that day, nopony could figure out what to call our nation. Nopony could agree on anything, and gave up trying. Mom, you gave us a name -- the name Equestria. That day when you cried that, that was the first time that word was ever used in our history. And from that day forward, that has been our name...

"That day...
"You made us one...
"You brought us together...
"You gave us a name...
"You gave us hope...

Cel then walked up to mom, and bowed to the ground before her, and Lu quickly did too. Well everypony in the room did, except Shysage; he had his arm around his amazing Mare.

Cel said softly while bowing...

"Twice now, the Phantom Alicorn has intercepted Equestria's history and rescued us...
"You are the Shila...
"You are the deliverer...
"We all owe our existance to you..."

Nopony moved for maybe a minute.

Summer was just weeping softly.

Summer then cried and said "Can I still be mom?"

Cel and Lu were quickly back in their laps crying...

...

After crying a while longer, Cel and Lu both got up.

Cel, mostly back to her usual princessness, sighed, then said "Mom, dad, we will both be so happy to adjust to your presence with us. I am sure we will see you often, but we do need to head back to Canterlot."

They both walked slowly over to the door.

Most of the way there, Cel (Princess Celestia) froze, and stood motionless.

Tears began streaming down her face... It was clear she was failing at trying to stop them...

Cel alone, ran quickly back to mom and dad, who were still sitting on the bench

They both quickly hugged her... Cel began to sob in their embrace...

Both mom and dad, together, hugged her tight, she just cried...

Cel kept crying...

Lu was quickly back next to her sister as well. Maybe she suspected that she might have been part of the reason for these tears...

After a few minutes, Summer looked over at Shysage, and they both just knew...

Mom and dad realized that Cel was venting tears and pain from over a thousand years of shepherding Equestria through some very difficult times. As Princess, a lot of this simply couldn't come out. She had to be strong... She had to move on...

...This was 'princess pain'...

...Back now with the only family she ever knew, everything could come out... ...it HAD to come out... ...so it was coming out...

...and Summer and Shysage loved her...
...They just held her...
...They cried with her...
Lu did too...

For almost an hour, Cel cried gut-wrenching sobs in mom and dad's arms...

Being a Princess wasn't easy...

After that hour, Cel's crying slowed. Shysage put his hands on both sides of Cel's head, and said softly "Cel, I love you...", then he kissed her forehead, also like he had done many times before...

Cel stood as the big pony she was, put one of her front legs up on the bench, and quickly put her other front leg around dad's neck and hugged him tight, still in tears "I love you too, dad..."

Lu was hugging mom too...

Princess Celestia (Cel) sighed, got back down to the floor, then said "Mom, dad, I don't even want to leave... ...but we need too..."

Summer said softly "Cel, honey, you need to attend to your responsibilities. That's ok."

This surely sounded surreal to everypony else in this room...

"Thanks, mom" Cel said.

Summer gave Lu one more big hug, and kissed her, then hugged Cel too. Shysage hugged Lu, and kissed her as well.

Then Cel and Lu headed back to the door together

Almost to the door, Cel stopped, turned to look at Shysage, and said "Dad, please write that story."

Shysage smiled, and said "Cel, for you, anything." He had told her that a hundred times, and meant it each time.

Cel (Princess Celestia) and Lu (Princess Luna) were quickly headed back to Canterlot.

Nopony else in the room moved... Nopony even knew what to do right now...

Shysage got up at this point, and walked over to the Portal and picked up two things, the book Cel had given him less than two hours ago, and Summer's necklace.

He walked over to Princess Twilight and said "Princess, can you take care of this book for me? Cel gave it to me and it's very important. And Princess, I think Summer would like her necklace back. Can you take care of that for me too?"

Princess Twilight quickly used her magic to take the book and Summer's Necklace from Shysage.

As a person, Shysage gently hugged Princess Twilight. Shysage loved his Princess. Cel and Lu were his girls. Twilight was his Princess.

Shysage then walked back over to Summer and took her hand. He couldn't turn himself back into a pony.

Summer then changed them both back to ponies.

Summer ran over at this point and hugged her sister, and cried on her shoulder. Well, they were both crying.

After a few minutes, Princess Twilight, still weeping softly, walked over to Summer, and said softly "Summer..."

Summer quickly threw her front legs around her Princess' neck, and sobbed on her shoulder for a little while.

"I missed you all so much" she said, more than once.

"Summer have a seat a minute please" Princess asked.

Summer was still crying but sat down.

"Summer, this is yours..." Princess said, crying softly, as she used her magic to put Summer's necklace back around her neck.

Summer was quickly crying again on her Princess' shoulder.

The rest of the girls joined them. They all cried together for maybe 20 minutes.

Princess Cadance came up to Summer at that point, also crying. "I don't know what to call you any more..."

Summer answered softly "I don't know either, Princess, I think Summer is fine. I'm still a pony."

Summer thought about saying 'just a pony', but knew she would not be allowed to get away with that, not any more.

Princess Cadance just gave Summer a hug, then said "There are Air Coaches waiting down below to take you all home, just let me know when you are ready."

Fluttershy spoke up timidly, but said "Princess, can we all spend the night at the Castle tonight? I would really like to hear my sister's story."

Everypony thought that was an amazing idea.

Summer looked at Shysage.

He sighed, then said "Can we be 'people' for a minute first?"

They quickly were, and Shysage tightly hugged Summer, and she hugged him back.

Shysage and Summer hugged while crying softly for a few minutes.

Then he sighed again, then said "That will be fine".

Still in their 'people' form, Shysage actually kissed Summer a minute or so, then hugged her again.

Shysage had Summer change them back to ponies, then they rubbed noses briefly, and they walked together to the balcony in the Portal room, hugged again, and Shysage was quickly gone.

Summer was weeping softly still, and Fluttershy was quickly at her side hugging her.

"I really love him..." Summer said quietly to Fluttershy.

"I know, Sis" Fluttershy whispered back.

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...

Chapter 16, Fitting Back In

It was pretty late after Equestria pony Summer Rain shared her last thoughts about the role of everypony present in Summer and Shysage's life, and their amazing trip.

The lamps were soon dimmed, and everypony was settling down for the night, next to their Twin.

Summer couldn't sleep however, and so her Twin was having trouble too.

Nopony needed to tell Equestria Girls Summer what was going on. She said softly "Twin, feel free to go to him... I know he is amazing, and he's probably hurting as much as you are. You both need each other now... I'll be fine."

Equestria pony Summer was crying quietly as she hugged her Twin, then she headed out of the Library, down the hall, to the front door of the Castle.

Summer quickly found Shysage... He was laying on one of the steps of the Castle, crying softly.

Summer put her head down and rubbed Shysage's nose, then said quietly "Shysage, your house is our home now -- lets go home."

Shysage got up and together they went to 'their home', and collapsed together on the floor in 'their room', which used to be Summer's room.

Summer and Shysage were soon facing each other, as ponies, hugging tightly, and crying together. They tried to keep their hind-quarters apart, but neither were too worried about this right now. They both just hurt a lot and needed each other close.

They both cried like that for maybe two hours, then fell asleep that way.

The next morning in the Library, everypony guessed where Equestria pony Summer was, and why. Everypony would probably be surprised if she was still here.

Still, Princess Celestia mentioned that she needed to talk to everypony, as soon as all the Twins were awake. She didn't feel the need to rush this, but felt some things needed to be said in mom's absence.

In maybe half an hour, everypony else was spread around Cel and Lu, who had not put their crowns back on yet.

Cel spoke softly...

"I want to start by saying that I am not talking to you as subjects... You are all trusted, beloved friends.

"There is a lot about mom and dad... (Summer and Shysage to you precious ponies) ...that I still don't understand.

"But the very first night the Portal threw them together into the past, dad proposed to mom, and she officially accepted the next day, and they both immediately pulled Lu and I into their new family.

"And by the way, any court in Equestria would find that proposal the binding basis for marriage, and would also view that first committment as superceding any following ones, so I don't know...

"Still, Lu and I never saw mom and dad fight, or quarrel... They never even disagreed... They were simply and completely devoted to each other and to us... This was all so clear...

"When we all first 'met' Fluttershy's sister Summer Rain, maybe seven months ago, her main focus was true friendship, and the 'putting others first' that made that happen. And it was already clear to me that the 'Canterlot Recorder' lived exactly the same way.

"While raising us, mom and dad never mentioned true friendship. But they so clearly reflected it in everything they did and said, for Lu and I and between themselves. And I have no idea why Lu and I never made the connection...

"I never dreamed that Lu and I would ever get our mom and dad back, but that has become our reality, and we are so thankful...

"But I know they are both hurting a lot now... And this is maybe compounded by obligations Shysage feels from his past in the Equestria Girls world, which will probably just make everything harder.

"But our mom and dad's 'family' is made up of you... ...the rest of the amazing girls in this room... They are living among you now... Please take care of them for us..."

Both Lu and Cel were crying at this point, and everypony else just gathered around them and hugged them and cried with them.

They were all 'family' now...

They would all do their best...

They were all in this together now too...

And after this, Cel and Lu put their crowns back on.

Summer and Shysage woke early the next morning, the same way they had fallen asleep, and both immediately began crying again, and just hugged each other tight.

After maybe an hour, their crying slowed, and Summer suggested maybe flying some.

Shysage said very quietly "Summer, I really don't want to move away from you here... But I realize that you should head back to the Castle at some point. You decide how you want to do that, and I will make it work."

Summer replied, also softly "Shysage, I suggested that because I am feeling very pulled... I really want you closer to me... I can't hel--" and she began to cry again...

"Oh, Summer..." Shysage said quietly. He thought for a minute, then asked "Can you lay next to my chest and neck? Will that be a problem?"

"That will be less of a problem, I think..." Summer said as she rolled over, then climbed up under his front legs "Still, Shysage... I just love you so mu--" and she was crying again...

Shysage hugged her tightly, and she put both her front legs over his, and hugged him back...

Summer said through tears "Shysage, I'm sorry... Everything hurts, and I think you're the only pony that can help me right now..."

"Summer, have I ever told you that I will love you no matter what?" Shysage asked softly.

"Oh, Shysage... I need you so... Please just hold me..." Summer replied.

For maybe half an hour more, Shysage held his Mare, and they wept softly together.

During that half hour, Shysage likewise began to feel 'pulled'...

"Summer, maybe we should go flying now. I'm feeling it too..."

Summer rolled out from under his front legs, and got up, then Shysage got up too.

They sat facing each other, and rubbed noses briefly, then Shysage said "Mare..."

Summer just answered softly "Yes, Stallion..."

They were both looking into each other's eyes at this point.

Shysage said "We need to try to avoid 'messing up', whatever that means... But Summer, I won't love you any less if it happens. Neither of us could have planned on all this..."

Summer pulled Shysage close and hugged him tightly, trying not to cry...

It was quiet for a few minutes, as they hugged each other tight. Neither wanted to let go during that time.

Then Shysage backed away a little, then looked into his Mare's eyes again.

"Summer, do you remember our first year with Cel and Lu?" Shysage asked quietly. "You laughed a lot more... I love your laugh, and I really miss that..."

"Well, the second year was a lot harder... And then coming back..." Summer said quietly. "Still, I miss wandering around Ponyville, making new friends, too... Or meeting new girls at my Twin's school, that was just amazing..."

Summer and Shysage both sighed at the same time...

"Maybe we can get back to living like that soon..." Shysage said softly...

It was early, and Shysage and his Mare were soon up in the air flying lazily around Ponyville together. They had missed that too.

What they both really needed was time...

They wouldn't get it...

...

The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 4 -- Fury Run

Chapter 17, Historical Endnotes

Historical Endnotes

The appearance of the Shila and the official founding of Equestria probably took place within 20 years after the events recorded in the Hearts-warming Eve account. Best estimates put this event maybe 1,300 years in the past from 'present day' Equestria.

1a. Of those approximately 1,300 years, the last approximately 1000 years saw Lu (Princess Luna) trapped as Nightmare Moon. She was rescued perhaps 4 years ago by Princess Twilight and her new friends.

The Shila's carefully worded rallying cry the day of the Cougar invasion did two very important things for the realm. It gave the realm it's permanent name -- Equestria. It also helped three bickering factions see their fundamental same-ness, and forged them as one. They never fought among themselves again.
The tracing of the Phantom Alicorn's Cutie Mark was not from a tombstone, but probably from some sort of commorative stone-work. Also, Shila was indeed not a proper name, it was a title, meaning 'Deliverer'
Other Pegasi had seen Shysage and his family relaxing up on the natural cloud bank near their capital city. The city of Cloudsdale was soon founded. Since the realm was now one, this was not a problem. In fact, the presence of a heavy military up in the clouds formed a substantial deterrent. Even if all the ground based military were taken out, the attack from the sky could still be brutal.
Now working together, Equestria expanded rapidly out from their capital city. And they all worked together with this expansion. Soon there were so many ponies that, after a few more overwhelming defeats at the hands of mighty stallions, the Cougars stopped invading, and were never seen again in large numbers.
The Portal was in fact first charged by the magic of the Shila, who was actually brought back in time by the Portal itself. There is no known way of explaining how time wrapped around upon itself to accomplish this feat.
The Shila raised the King's two daughters, always conversing in the language current in Equestria from the distant future. The presence of these two daughters, as Princesses, quickly transformed the language of the realm from the 'Old Pony' form to the current form, which has remained stable for over a thousand years.
This note was added later.

The history book Cel gave Shysage proved to be a historical treasure trove, and will be further developed at some point. It was written in 'Old Pony' and would take a while to work out.

Still, it became quickly clear that the ascendency of the Pony Nation in Equestria was foretold well in advance. It was likely that the Cougar's surprise attack, and escape with the King's Mare and his two daughters (the two 'appointed ones') was intentionally meant to put an end to any dreams the Pony tribes may have held.

The Cougars clearly didn't read any further.

The arrival of the 'Shila', the Deliverer, was also foretold well in advance, including both the rescue of the King's daughters, as well as raising them as her own. Her role in helping crush the next Cougar invasion was also mentioned specifically.

Chapter 1, On the Run

...Equestria pony Summer Rain hugged her Twin tightly, and they cried softly for a little while. Still, it was clear both Summers were doing a lot better.

Just Princess Twilight was left, but Summer and her Twin finished hugging, and Summer took Shysage's hand, and led them both through the Portal, and they were soon gone.

They expected Princess Twilight to follow them.

Princess Twilight did come through the Portal last.

Summer and Shysage were not there...

Summer Rain and Shysage did not make it back to the Portal room that day...

And it wasn't a dream either...

As soon as Summer and Shysage completely cleared the other end of the Portal, they were standing at the top of a slight hill, which drifted down lazily in front of them.

The ground was covered with short, dead grass, it looked very dry here.

It looked early in the day too.

They were still holding hands, and so were still in their Equestria Girls 'people' form.

But this wasn't the Portal Room in the Crystal Palace... It didn't even look like Equestria...

Starting maybe 100 feet away from them, and spreading further down the hill, was a large group of maybe 400 brown Cougars.

Summer realized the Cougars were standing around a single Pegasus mare... Her coat was light Green, and her Mane and Tail were Red.

The Cougars didn't sound happy.

Summer noticed and said quickly "Shysage, they've tied her wings..." Both guessed she must have been in a lot of pain just from that. Then they noticed scratches bleeding all over her coat...

Summer quickly said "Shysage we need to--"

All of a sudden, a heavy steel blade came down on the Mare's neck, severing her head from her body.

This poor mare tried to scream...

...Summer screamed for her, loud and long...

All at once, all 400 Cougars turned and growled at Summer and Shysage. Then they all bolted towards them both.

"Fly Shysage" Summer shouted.

Still holding hands, they launched quickly, in Equestria Girls form, and rose rapidly. They barely made it away in time.

Some sort of spear hit Shysage's leg, but hurt more than it bled.

Summer led them in an expanding circle. The Cougars were trying to follow them.

Summer adjusted their heading to fly with the wind, they would make better distance that way. They were rapidly pulling away from the Cougars.

Without warning, Summer let go of Shysage's hand, cried "Shysage help", pulled her wings in, and dove steeply towards the ground.

Shysage quickly saw what Summer had seen. Six Cougars had backed two small pony foals into a corner where two rock walls joined, and were simply heading in for the kill. Both foals would be dead in seconds...

Shysage had already changed back into his pony form, and he quickly landed right in front of the two foals, who just as quickly ran behind him, cowering in fear, crying loudly...

Shysage just stood there. The Cougars stopped briefly. That was all the delay Summer needed.

Summer had dove far behind them. Each of these six Cougars then got a large rock on their skull, killing them instantly, courtesy of the Phantom Alicorn.

Summer was back in pony form and quickly landed. The foals were hysterical...

Summer tried to comfort them, but five Giraffes quickly ran up to them.

"Shila, you have come... ...Just as the books promised...

"Listen carefully please" one of the Giraffes began.

While one of the Giraffes spoke, the others carefully picked each foal up, gently placed them on Summer and Shysage's back, and used some sort of vines to carefully tie the foals in place.

At this point, a huge herd of maybe 200 Giraffes charged out into the distance, instantly scattering the Cougars that were after Summer and Shysage; they were very close. The Cougars turned back, and tried to go around.

"Shila, you need to follow this wind to the East. Get up high, there is a strong current up there that will take you quickly away from here.

"At nightfall, look for three bright stars, low in the East, in a perfect triangle, that is the Equestrium. Follow the Equestrium. That will take you back to your tribes.

"And Shila listen. The Cougars will soon turn back, and give up for now. But in the next two years, they will attack your land. You must be ready.

"Good luck Shila..."

Summer and Shysage were quickly back in the air, pulling heavily up higher.

They could not use their Equestria Girls form for fear of dropping one of the foals.

Actually, this nagging fear flew with them until they landed that night...

Summer had ended up with the oldest, therefore heaviest foal. This was good, Shysage was having difficulty keeping up with Summer with the smaller one.

Still, they were soon gliding along very high, in the midst of a very powerful current. The land below swam quickly beneath them. Their flying effort was minimal, they could stay up here all day. They did.

Once up high, the two foals fell asleep.

"Summer did you notice" Shysage said. "There was no Portal where we came out. I have no idea why. There is no way we can even try to find it..."

Summer thought for a minute then said softly "Shysage... Listen... We are carrying two foals who have no mom or dad. That has to be our first priority."

Shysage thought for a minute, then said softly "Parents already... I love you Summer."

Summer just smiled.

They flew the current for a long time.

As the sun began to decline towards a mountain range behind them, Summer and Shysage dropped slowly closer to the ground to try and find a safe place to spend the night.

Once they got low enough, they noticed that the land below was very rocky with many huge rock out-crops jutting up out of the ground.

They dropped further below the current, and flew more slowly until they found an outcrop that had a high but natural depression in the center. The one they found had a small lake in it as well, and plenty of grass. That was a welcome relief.

Shysage and Summer dropped fully below the current, and carefully landed. Next, Shysage gently untied the larger foal from Summer's back, and eased her to the ground.

"They took our mommy..." she began crying immediately.

Summer carefully untied the smaller foal from Shysage's back, and also helped her down. She just ran to her sister cowering in fear.

Summer next said very softly "Girls, we will do everything we can to help you. Those bad Cougars are far away now. We will take good care of you."

The girls seemed to calm down at this. Next, Summer said again, very softly, "Are you two hungry at all? There is some good grass here, and the lake is close if you want a drink."

The girls were quickly eating, but never wandered far from each other.

Summer and Shysage ate too, but tried to keep the two foals between the two of them so the foals would feel safer.

After everypony ate their fill, and drank some water, Shysage and Summer led them up to a natural dip in the rocks, and they snuggled together for the evening.

"Girls, what are your names?" Summer asked softly.

It sounded like the oldest said "I'm Sue, and my sister is Lee"

Summer said "Sue and Lee, I am so glad to meet you. My name is Summer, and my Stallion's name is Shysage."

Summer thought a minute than continued. "Listen girls. We don't know where your mommy and daddy are, but we will take care of you as long as you want us to. Is that ok?"

Sue smiled at this, and her sister saw her smile, so she smiled too.

Sue thought for a minute, then said slowly "Are you going to be nice to us?"

Summer just hugged her tightly. Then she hugged Lee too.

This had been a long, scary day for the girls, maybe just one of many, Summer and Shysage didn't know... But they were safe now, and knew it, and were soon fast asleep up against Summer.

After a few minutes silence, Summer said softly "Shysage, what are we getting ourselves into..."

Shysage smiled at Summer and said quietly "True friendship, I think..."

Summer thought for a minute, then said quietly "Shysage, you need to be my Stallion."

Shysage said back, just as quietly "And Summer, you need to be my precious Mare."

Summer quickly responded "Shysage, I'm serious..."

Shysage responded just as quickly, but still spoke slowly "Summer, I am too... These two foals need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are completely committed to each other. They have already been through a lot. These two don't deserve any more uncertainty in their lives."

Summer began to weep softly "I love you so, Shysage... You really are amazing..."

Shysage moved so that his head was near Summer's.

Then they rubbed noses a little while.

Shysage looked into Summer's amazing Blue eyes, and said softly "Summer last time I proposed, it was a dream... I have no idea where or 'when' we are, but can we live like I did propose?"

Summer just cried softly... She didn't want to wake the girls.

"And by the way, just like your dream, we really can't risk a foal until after the Cougars come back... I hope we agree on that." Shysage said, kind of awkwardly.

Summer said quietly "Of course, and I still have no desires yet anyway, which should make it easier in theory... But Shysage..."

"Yes amazing Mare?"

"We already have two foals..." Summer reminded him with a smile.

Shysage thought a minute, then replied softly "Summer, this is an amazing opportunity. I love kids, er foals..."

Summer was weeping softly again as she said quietly "That doesn't surprise me in the least, amazing Stallion."

For the first time really, they both looked closely at the two foals they had snatched from the jaws of death, literally, and who were now sleeping contentedly up against Summer.

Shysage said it first but they both realized it at the same time "The oldest one could easily be ours, Summer."

Her coat was also very light, and her mane and tail were the same 'faded yellow' as Summer's, maybe a little more Yellow though. It was amazing.

The younger one's coat looked like a light blue. Her mane and tail were white with a hint of blue.

They both guessed the older one was two years old maybe, and the younger one was maybe one year old.

Summer said... "Shysage, we will love them both..."

And Shysage finished... "...just like we love each other."

This last part just made Summer cry again.

Shysage tried to find a spot to sleep that allowed him to put his head next to Summer's head, since Summer couldn't move without waking 'their girls.'

Then they just rubbed noses a while.

As night fell, they saw the Equestrium, it was easy to see. "Ok, so that's where we need to go" Shysage said. "That's nice, we can re-check our course every night."

Summer was lost in thought. "Shysage, I do feel bad, the rest of the girls are probably beside themselves that we are gone. There is just nothing we can do about that though."

Shysage sounded a little serious as he said "Summer, without a Portal, we are pretty much stuck here. But as you said, these two girls have to be our first priority."

"Shysage, can we talk to true friend some?" Summer asked.

"That is an excellent idea Mare" Shysage said.

They both closed their eyes, and Summer began "True friend, we are really concerned for our friends in Equestria. Can you help them through this time?"

Shysage concluded with this "True friend, I think I am allowed to have this amazing Mare, at least for now, thank you. Also, we now have two foals to care for. I think we both need your help as we care for them."

They just rubbed noses for a while longer, and were soon fast asleep with their heads next to each other.

Chapter 13, Final Task

The guards quickly opened the door for Summer and Shysage.

They walked slowly to the main hall, where the King, Cel and Lu were waiting. There were other guards there, but it didn't matter.

Cel spoke for the King.

"Mom, the Unicorns here have something they want your help with. They seem to think your magical power is great, based on what they saw this morning. I'm not sure I know what they are talking about though. But they would like to get this done before you leave."

Trying not to cry, Summer said "That's fine, Cel honey, we can do that now."

Summer and Shysage really had no place to 'leave' too...

Cel then nodded to the King, and the King walked off, followed by Cel and Lu. Cel asked mom and dad to follow them.

It wasn't far, but it was underground, and through a labyrinth of tunnels. Evidently what they would see would be important.

Through the final door, they saw what they were supposed to help with...

...

The Portal...

...

This was it...

It was time to leave...

Summer was crying right away, and said softly, and through tears "Girls, it's time for us to go... But the first time you use this Portal, don't stay long."

Summer quickly hugged Lu, then Cel. They were crying too. Shysage hugged them next also...

Summer changed into her Equestria Girls form, then bent over and grasped Shysage's front hoof, and he stood up as a people too.

Cel walked over with a book. She was using her magic to hold it. "Dad, I had the King find the best book on history up to this point. He slogged down into the library and brought this out, in his mouth. I hope it helps..."

"Thanks Cel" was all Shysage could say, choking back tears...

Lu was crying, and asked quietly at this point "Will you both be here again?"

Summer replied through her tears "I don't think so, honey..."

Lu walked up crying, and Summer hugged her tightly with her free arm.

Cel was crying now too, then asked "Dad, will we ever see you again?"

Shysage, crying himself, managed a smile, then said "Probably..."

Shysage hugged Cel too...

"Girls, please back up..." Summer asked.

Summer led Shysage over to the Portal, and ran her hand across the wood frame. The finish was fresh, but the surface of the glass was dull and solid.

Summer said "Good bye, girls" without even turning around... She was crying... Her heart was already bleeding...

Then she spun up her Cutie Mark, grabbed the wood frame at a convenient spot, then squeezed it tightly.

The Portal took care of the rest...

It spun Summer's Cutie Mark up much higher than she ever had, and the low rumbing was very loud.

There was a bright flash, and Summer heard Cel and Lu gasp...

Then mom and dad were gone...