The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 7 -- monsters in the Grass

Chapters

Chapter 2, Checking In
Chapter 3, Reliving a Nightmare
Chapter 5, Road Trip
Chapter 6, monsters in the Grass
Chapter 7, Equestria Girls Pinkie-ness
Chapter 8, Running Home
Chapter 9, Change of Plans
Chapter 10, Helping Out
Chapter 11, Helping Out, Part 2
Chapter 12, Helping Out, Part 3
Chapter 13, Another Week in Paradise
Chapter14, Another Week in Paradise, Part 2
Chapter 15, Another Week in Paradise, Part 3
Chapter 16, Shrinking the Chasm
Chapter 17, Twins, Part 8
Chapter 19, Awesomeness Times Two, Part 2
Chapter 20, Short and Sweet
Chapter 21, Ponies from a Different Land
Chapter 22, Trying to Find Normal
Chapter 23, Rescuing
Chapter 1, the Canterlot Recorder's Assistant
Chapter 4, Making Plans
Chapter 18, Amazing Tribute

Chapter 2, Checking In

Hi, its me, Summer Rain again, I hope that's ok.

It has been a little over a week since we had left the Equestria Girls world the last time.

My Stallion and I got up a little late this morning. Well, we were at the lake for a while last night, and the moon... It was so beautiful and peaceful... I love my Stallion... He takes such good care of me...

After we got up this morning, we headed to the meadow to eat and drink, then started our day in the air as we normally do. Maybe we are finding out what 'normal' is for us...

Fluttershy, Rainbow and Princess Twilight joined us a little while after we started flying. Just being together like that was so nice...

Rare, Applejack and Pinkie were talking outside the Castle. We landed, and we all hugged, then spent some time just talking together. I could not think of a better way to start our day. Such amazing friends...

As most of the girls headed off to their busy schedules, Princess Twilight mentioned "Summer, I do have an errand you can run for me today, if you want to, that is." Princess smiled after she said this, so I decided it must be a fun errand.

It was.

"Summer, can you and Shysage head to the Equestria Girls, and just check in? Just find out how everypony is doing, and come back and let me know" she asked. "Well, tell them I miss them too..."

"Princess, that is an amazing privilege... We would be delighted to do that for you" I answered, almost without thinking.

My Stallion (the Canterlot Recorder) mentioned he would probably try to work out a detailed interview with Shining Armor after returning to the Crystal Palace, and so this trip would work out well.

I looked at Fluttershy, and read her mind.

"Princess, can my sister come too?" I asked cautiously.

"Aww, now I want to come... But I can't... Of course Fluttershy can join you both as long as she stays with you and Shysage too." Princess said this with more than a hint of disappointment.

"Let me call for an Air Coach, though" Princess Twilight added.

Two and a half hours later, my Stallion, my sister and I headed into the main entrance to the Crystal Palace. Shining Armor was there, and so my Stallion arranged for some time to sit down with him for an interview after we came back. We left the paper, quill, clip thing and ink there for our return.

We headed up to the Portal, and were soon in the Equestria Girls world.

It seemed like mid-morning, so we headed out to the Soccer field, so we could say a quick 'hi' to Equestria Girls Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow quickly stopped what she was doing, and ran over.

"Awww, you didn't bring everypony else..." Rainbow said. She was clearly disappointed.

As we all gave her a hug, I said "No, sorry, Rainbow, we are just checking up on everypony."

Rainbow thought a minute. "Summer, come play me, one on one, to five again... Please? ...Pretty-please?"

"Seriously, Rainbow? In Jeans?" I asked. Still, I had a big smile, and that gave my answer away.

I gave my sweatshirt to my Stallion as Rainbow cleared the field. She told the team it was a 'grudge match', whatever that means.

Rainbow then took a stretchy thing and put my long blond hair up in a 'pony tail', and I had to laugh at that.

Anyway, our game was a blast. Rainbow still beat me by one, but it was amazing fun. I was sweating like mad when we were done, but I hugged such an amazing friend, and thanked her for the opportunity.

I like Soccer a lot. It's one of the really fun things I can do here. My Stallion smiled, and challenged me to a game sometime, just not now. I laughed, but I think he was serious.

During the game, I noticed that the rest of the Equestria Girls were sitting in the bleachers, watching the game. I couldn't tell who they were cheering for, but it didn't matter.

My sister had found her Twin in the bleachers, and Shysage was sitting next to them, also cheering. I hope at least he was cheering for me...

After the game was over, and Rainbow got Soccer practice going again, I joined the rest of the Equestria Girls in the bleachers. Still a little out of breath, I worked my way around the group hugging everyone. There were tears in my eyes by the time I was done. I really love the Equestria Girls. And I told them their Princess loved them all too.

I mentioned that Princess Twilight asked us to 'check in' with everypony here, and tell them she missed them all.

For the next few hours, we talked together...

Well, these precious friends spent most of that time talking with what seemed like an endless stream of girlfriends from the High School. They kept wandering over, just to spend time, and often find help and comfort, with such amazing friends. There was laughter. There were tears too. It really was amazing. And I really missed this...

Equestria Girls Dawn Flower (I don't know her last name here) also stopped by with her adorable daughter, Camille. I just cried... I don't think she knows about her Twin in Equestria. Still, I held her kiddo (a bunch of us did), and I hugged Dawn tightly before she left.

And a few other girls came up to me, and knew that I was the one that was 'Summer' maybe eight months ago, and they remembered me! I cried at that.

Well, I was sitting right next to my Twin, and all the girls knew both of us... I think I hugged my Twin a few times too, she really is amazing. And the way her life had changed from, maybe two years ago, was really amazing too... ...But I just sighed at this point, I had changed a lot myself...

Still, after all the time, the only notable thing anyone had to report was that School would start in less than a month...

At around two in the afternoon, everyone had to leave to get the rest of their days going.

We hugged everypony, and they were on their way, two or three together. I couldn't help but weep softly, I really felt that way...

With my Stallion sitting on the bench behind me, my sister and I crowded around my Twin and her sister. We were all anxious to hear how she and 'her stallion' (my Stallion's Twin, Equestria pony Shysage) were doing.

The first thing she mentioned was that they were taking everything very slow. She still could not get over how amazing he was, and handsome as a 'people' too.

Equestria Girls Summer and Fluttershy's parents quickly fell in love with him, and that was very important to this close-knit family.

And he had already found a job doing night-time cleaning at the church that their parents used to work for. It seemed they just scooped him up as well. They are good people, and the family still has good friends there. This arrangement seemed to work well for everyone.

My Twin got quiet a minute, then sheepishly admitted that 'her stallion' was actually living at my Stallion's 'cubical' near the School.

My Stallion just laughed, and said he wouldn't wish that on anypony, but it was fine.

Her stallion worked nights, and they generally spent some time together in the afternoon, seldom for a long time. Well, he was working some event at the church this afternoon.

This whole thing was actually working out very well. My Twin was still living with Fluttershy, and Fluttershy was welcome to tag along with them when they visited (which she usually did), or she could hang out with Pinkie Pie.

And when School started, this arrangement would continue to be very good.

And even so, her stallion fully understood the importance of existing friendships, and did his best to stay in the background for that. And their schedule left most of the day for my Twin to hang out at the School with the rest of the girls during Soccer practice and beyond.

Well, she would be busy with school soon, too...

Equestria Girls Summer mentioned she and her stallion were in no hurry as far as their relationship went. There was plenty of time. Both were just so completely overwhelmed at what they had together, and just being in the same room 'was heaven' for them.

Well, when she said that, my Stallion, still sitting behind me, put his hand on my shoulder... He still felt the same way. I love my Stallion...

My Twin did say that they texted back and forth quite a bit. This really helped too. They both had a lot to learn...

But Equestria Girls Summer teared up at this point, and said "Equestria has given me so much... Equestria 'rescued' me as a broken, selfish pony, and helped me change... And now my stallion... How could I not have Equestria in my heart..."

We all just cried together with her for a little while...

Once everyone calmed down, my Stallion asked that we walk together to his 'cubical' for a few minutes. I guessed (correctly) that he wanted to shave. He knows I appreciate that.

Us four girls talked together the whole time. I don't know... It just feels like I have three amazing sisters now. I love them all, a lot.

My Stallion's 'cubical' is very small, and so us girls stood together right outside the door as he shaved.

In the middle of shaving, my Stallion said "Incoming", and his Twin walked up soon after. My Stallion's Twin hugged my Twin, then chatted briefly with us ladies until my Stallion was done shaving.

Both Shysages then hugged (they are Twins after all), and my Twin's stallion hugged my Twin once more, then said "Work in a few hours, I need some sleep..." He went inside.

We walked back to Fluttershy's apartment, again chatting together the whole time. My Twin was telling me about some of the amazing new friends she had made at the High School, and school hadn't even started yet! I hope I don't get tested on that...

For maybe an hour, I Soul-Linked with my Twin, and the Fluttershy Twins 'Soul-Linked' together too. The peace involved, is just impossible to explain... I would have come just for this...

My Stallion waited patiently on the couch. He didn't mind at all. He was probably thinking about the next chapter of PonyRos' takeover...

The five of us then had a bowl of Granola as we sat on the cot or couch, and just talked together.

Everypony knew we needed to leave soon...

Dusk found us all at the Portal wall in front of the High School, hugging.

Our visit was amazing, but leaving ponies I love so much is always hard. Us four girls had tears in our eyes as my Stallion, my sister and I went back to Equestria.

After coming through the Portal, we looked out past the balcony in the Portal room of the Crystal Palace, and realized it was morning in Equestria. It would be a long day for us.

The three of us walked down towards the entrance to the Crystal Palace, and found both Shining Armor and Princess Cadance on the way down.

My Stallion and Shining Armor disappeared into a smaller room for what would prove to be a fairly long interview. The Canterlot Recorder explained that Shining Armor had played a crucial and substantial role during the entire takeover. There was a lot to record...

Princess Cadance led us to one of the meadows around the Crystal Palace, and we just wandered around for what seemed like hours.

After maybe an hour, Princess Cadance needed to head off to attend to some things, and so my sister and I sat down and just talked. Nothing was pressing, we just enjoyed the time together.

We talked a lot about how her Twin was doing; I love Fluttershy's Twin almost as much as... And for a while, I was the only 'sister' she had... Well, they are both Twins... both the same... It is just really hard... I love both Fluttershys a lot...

My sister Fluttershy gave me some 'behind the scenes' insight about how things were going for our Twins. Feeling what most can't even see -- that's Fluttershy's amazing gift.

She mentioned that my Stallion's Twin's presence among the Equestria Girls was very positive. And 'taking things slow' made everything else a lot easier. Nopony felt uncomfortable or awkward at all.

Fluttershy's Twin mentioned that they occasionally hugged, but that was it, and she never felt uncomfortable around the two of them. Equestria pony Shysage always acted like the perfect gentleman around the girls, and treated them all like friends. He was quiet and unassuming, and enjoyed melting into the background, while keeping an eye out for them.

I felt a little guilty at this point, and told my sister that my Stallion and I probably should have taken things a little slower maybe...

Fluttershy stopped me right away, and explained that nopony planned for what we had all been through in Equestria. Then she hugged me. I love my sister...

Well, we both fell asleep on our bellies next to each other. It had been a LONG time since we could do that. It was a warm day, and the Sun felt amazing, and we hadn't had any sleep since...

We awoke to Princess Twilight saying softly "Wake up, sleepy heads." I'm pretty sure she said this more than once.

Sis and I both yawned at the same time, realized that, then laughed together.

Princess Twilight was laying on her belly in the grass, facing us. "Well, what do you both have to report?" she asked with a smile.

Fluttershy quickly, but quietly filled our Princess in on what was going on with the Equestria Girls. She did a much better job than I could, and she 'sees' so much more. And this included how my Twin and her new stallion from Equestria were doing there.

Fluttershy told Princess about my game with Rainbow too, and Princess just laughed.

"I miss them all, already..." I said quietly. I don't think this is what my Princess was after, but I felt that way.

Princess got up at this point, and Sis and I did too.

"Princess, I really should bow..." I said quietly.

She just said 'Oh, Summer..." and we just hugged tightly.

"Fluttershy, you and I need to head back to Ponyville, us girls are all meeting together tonight in the Council Room in the Castle. There is an Air Coach waiting." Princess said calmly. "And Summer, nothing is going on, I want the rest of the girls and I to start meeting there, together, occasionally."

We walked back to the Crystal Palace, I hugged my Sister, and my Princess, and they were off.

Two of the most important mares in my life... Seeing them leave was hard...

And by the way, Fluttershy later filled me in on their meeting in the Council Room in the Castle; it wasn't extremely long.

Like she did with us the day we faced PonyRos, Princess Twilight led the girls down the stairs, then just inside the big doors, and she had them wait there

Then she walked over and climbed up into her chair, sat down, and the whole room came alive, a 'sector', a 'pony' at a time, just like it did for us. Everypony gasped, they hadn't been there for this part.

That room is amazingly beautiful when it is 'active'...

After all of everyponies' 'sectors' were lit up, Princess had everypony climb up into their chairs as she had.

Then Princess said right away "I know you all miss your Twin... I miss mine too..." Then they all cried softly together for a few minutes. Everyponies' Twins were right next to them, when they last sat in these chairs...

Princess explained that, in the face of a clear threat to Equestria, all she had to do was sit in her chair, and the rest of 'her girls', the five other amazing ponies in this circle, would immediately be pulled into this room, from wherever in Equestria they were.

Most likely, their 'Elements of Harmony' would be called forth as well.

Still, since this could happen at any time, Princess reminded the girls to work hard maintaining their devotion to everypony else in this circle.

After her comments were done, they all group-linked together for a while.

Being there together with their Princess... ...in that beautiful room...

I'm sure it was an amazing time...

Anyway, after Princess Twilight and Fluttershy left in the Air Coach, I walked into the entrance to the Crystal Palace, sat down, and just waited.

Princess Cadance joined me after maybe five minutes, and we talked briefly. I still feel a little awkward around her -- she is a real Princess, and very beautiful. Well, Shining Armor is amazing too.

I just sighed again, right then... So many ponies that I love, on both sides of the Portal...

Shining Armor and my Stallion came out at that point, and I smiled at my Stallion. He thanked Shining Armor for his help, and also for the amazing help he had been with his Mare.

He meant me, I think, and I was not sure what he was talking about, but I supposed I would find out.

Princess Cadance and I hugged, and my Stallion and I headed out to another Air Coach waiting near the Crystal Palace.

An hour and a half later, we were back in Ponyville.

It was still maybe an hour or two before dusk. We headed to our home, and my Stallion left his stuffed shoulder sack there. Then we wandered to the meadow, ate some, and drank some water, then we just flew around Ponyville until the Sun was low.

Then we landed in the grass at 'my tree' near the Castle, and watched the Sun go down. My Stallion was hugging me close, and we just enjoyed being together.

After it got dark, we just sat there, enjoying some peace together.

Before long, I was deep in thought.

I don't know how, but my Stallion knew what I was thinking about.

"Summer, I don't know that we could have 'slowed things down'..." he said slowly. He was thinking this through too...

Then he sighed, and said very quietly "It seems like everything that happened, prepared us for raising two amazing girls... That would have been very hard if we had not really wanted to be Stallion and Mare... So, I just don't know..."

I knew he was right...

Chapter 3, Reliving a Nightmare

The Canterlot Recorder warned me about this... And today was the day...

He wanted me to help him with the next chapter of the account of 'PonyRos' takeover'...

It was the chapter about what Star Dusk tried to do to me... And then she finally beat me with that Scepter when I wouldn't... And I ended up in jail... Hurting... Alone...

Well, the Canterlot Recorder (my Stallion) said we only needed to go through this once.

But as I told him about all that had happened that day, beginning in Ponyville, including Princess Twilight wanting a ride, and me running away, and Star Dusk physically forcing me into the Air Coach, he realized this chapter might take a while...

Realizing the task was far bigger than he thought, he slowly and quietly promised me a night at the lake when we were done, if I wanted. It really helped, having that to look forward too... After this, I realized I would probably need that... I love my Stallion, he knows me well, and takes such good care of me...

It took the better part of the day, and maybe three passes through, in order to get it roughed in...

And we both cried a lot, together, as we did this. It went very slowly... My Stallion felt so bad for me, both when he rescued me two weeks later, and even now, too...

And he lamented again how involved he had to be in all of this... Still, he was largely rescuing his family...

I have to say though, as hard as reliving this day was, neither of us had any anger or bad feelings at Star Dusk. We both knew now that forces in her life had spiraled far out of her control...

Sitting together, in front of the 'compy', as people, crying, hugging... We worked on that chapter... Quite a few times, we had to get up, take a break, lay down on the couch, and just hug as we cried... I hope something like that never happens again... It was a terrible nightmare for both of us...

After completing the third pass through, my Stallion saved what we had done, and turned the 'compy' off. He decided we had done enough, for now anyway.

We changed to ponies, and he went into our room, lay down, and rolled on his side.

I was quickly up against his chest. He pulled me close, hugged me tight, and we both wept softly for a while. We just needed this right now.

Maybe an hour later, we got up, and headed to the meadow to the East for dinner and a drink. It looked like early evening, with maybe two hours of daylight left.

We took to the air and flew a while, and felt a lot better. My sister joined us too, and that was nice. We all talked together as we flew around over Ponyville. Near dusk, Fluttershy left though, and headed home.

We headed back to 'my tree', and watched the Sun go down together, again.

We were both soon laying next to each other on our bellies, and quickly fell asleep...

We awoke, probably in the middle of the night, to Princess Twilight gently saying "Wake up, sleepy heads."

We both got unsteadily up, then bowed and she quickly got us back up, and we took turns and hugged her.

"Ok, you two, your home is more comfortable than out here... Is everything ok?" our Princess asked, just a little concerned.

My Stallion and I looked at each other briefly.

"Princess, we worked on a tough chapter of the account of 'PonyRos' takeover', and pretty much crashed here, accidentally" I said slowly.

Princess just sighed. "Well, I guess the Canterlot Recorder's job is seldom boring, and I feel for you both. I think Shining Armor and you two bore the brunt of that, and having to relive that again... I can't imagine..."

It was quiet for a minute.

My Stallion spoke up "Princess, were you going to walk tonight?"

"Yes, actually, and you both can join me if you like. I really appreciate the company" Princess Twilight said as she smiled.

We walked with her for a few hours, it was very nice.

But our Princess wanted to know basically and briefly what the content of the chapter was, and so, trying not to cry, we both helped tell the story.

Laughing, Princess Twilight said she remembered asking for a ride in the Air Coach in Ponyville, and added that she did the same thing at the Crystal Palace. Only that second time, it was her brother she asked, and she was immediately whisked to Canterlot, where Princess Celestia removed the spells.

It was clear to me though, that the Canterlot Recorder was processing this new information. It was his job, well our job, I guess, to get all these details right. And I knew he was weaving this back into what he already knew.

There was no more laughing, though. The rest she just didn't know.

And I actually explained to Princess more than just that day. I also included the two weeks of pain and lonliness that followed, including when my Stallion rescued me. That part didn't take very long to explain though.

My Stallion started crying as I talked about this part...

"Summer, Shining Armor, he..."

My Stallion was trying hard to not cry as he talked... In a minute he tried to continue, but had to stop a few times to cry before he was done.

"Shining Armor had the memory spell cleared, maybe 10 minutes after PonyRos spread Star Dusk's spells over the realm...

"He knew what was going on that morning in the Audience Hall, and began knocking quietly on the door when she started hitting you..."

"And he gently carried you to the safest place in Equestria and locked you in there. He cleaned your bruises, and left fresh food and water for you every day...

"And when your Twin and I came back through the Portal, he had us immediately arrested, and sent to Canterlot, simply because he knew you desperately needed me...

"I just can't..."

Well, my Stallion couldn't talk any more, and we just hugged and cried... I didn't realize any of this either...

We tried to calm down after a minute, maybe, then my Stallion said quietly "Princess Twilight, your brother is amazing..."

Princess Twilight said quietly "I know..." Then she started crying, and we all cried together for a little while.

After a few more minutes, we all tried to calm down.

"Well, you both have been through a lot" Princess said quietly "Let's talk about something else for a while."

And that's what we did.

After wandering randomly around Ponyville, and talking about all sorts of other things, Princess Twilight headed to her Castle. We both hugged her at the bottom of the steps, and she headed inside.

We headed slowly from Princess' Castle to our home, and were almost home.

My amazing Stallion...

"Summer, lets head to the lake, is that ok?" he asked quietly.

"Stallion, that sounds wonderful, I think I need you tonight..." I answered very quietly. We both knew there wasn't much 'tonight' left.

We wandered slowly, just being near each other was so nice...

It didn't take long to get to the lake, and we walked around to the far side.

My Stallion loved me... He made me feel like a princess... And I loved him back...

Then, after splashing each other in the lake for a while, then drying off, we were soon back in our room.

My Stallion pulled me up to his chest.

We really had been through so much together, but this was 'perfect peace' for both of us...

We wept softly together, and were soon fast asleep.

We 'slept in' the next morning, and just took it easy when we finally woke up.

We wandered to the meadow, ate some then got a drink, then we flew together over Ponyville, and were soon surrounded by amazing friends.

We landed at the Castle, hugged everypony, and then we all headed off to start our days.

Well, we told everypony they didn't need to wait until noon for this, if we slept in. Everypony else just laughed.

My Stallion and I walked back to our home, and he was quickly working on Canterlot Recorder things, probably trying to pull together his notes from talking with Shining Armor. I think he wanted to get stuff down while it was still fresh in his mind. Besides, it was just a matter of time before material for Volume 5 of Princess Celestia's Commentaries on Princess Twilight and her girls' 'Quests in Friendship' needed to be gathered and edited...

"Summer, just take a break this afternoon. I can do this chapter fairly easily, and you can help me final it" my Stallion offered.

I walked over, hugged him tightly a minute, and headed out the door.

I didn't go far.

It had been a while since I spent time with our neighbor Dawn Flower and her foal Camille, and seeing her Twin in the Equestria Girls world, made me cry... Dawn had been such a huge help when my Stallion's memory was gone, but we had been so busy since then...

I walked next door, knocked, and we were all quickly hugging. We agreed together to a 'wander' in the meadow beyond Princess Twilight's Castle.

On a whim, we stopped by Rare's shop, and she and Sweetie Belle joined us. This would be amazing fun, well just plain amazing... Sweetie Bell and Camille were quickly talking together, and playing, even when we were on the way. They both really got along well together.

It was such a nice day, too... Warm and sunny... Ponyville was shimmering today...

We wandered around in the meadow together all afternoon, as Dawn collected some amazing flowers. She and Rarity talked quite a bit together about a number of projects they were both doing. This was all fine, it was so nice just to spend time together with them both, again.

I talked with Camille some too, she seemed to be considerably more 'grown up' than I remember. I had waited too long for this, and I apologized to Dawn... We just hugged...

Well, for a while, Rare, Dawn and I all just hugged together. Such amazing friends...

As the Sun dipped behind the trees, we headed back to town. We dropped Rarity and Sweetie Belle off at Rarity's shop.

I told Rare that I really enjoyed spending time with her today, and we hugged tightly.

On the way back to Dawn's shop, I thanked Dawn again for all her amazing help with my Stallion when his memory was gone. I started crying at this... I couldn't help it, that was just a really hard time.

She hugged me for a little while, and said she was glad she could help.

Well, Camille was tired, and she and Dawn headed into the shop.

I needed my Stallion, and walked quickly home... Well, it was the house next to Dawn's Shop, so it wasn't far.

My Stallion was sitting, facing the door, waiting for me, and could tell I had been crying... I still was, a little.

He got up, changed to a 'people', then laid on his back on the couch, with his head up on some pillows. I was soon a 'people' too, laying next to him with my back against the back of the couch.

I cried in his arms for quite a while. I was just reminded again how glad I was that he got his memory back... That had been a terrible nightmare for me, and others as well...

My Stallion held me close. I needed that.

We both fell asleep like that.

We woke up 'on time', well earlier, the next morning. We were still people, so we kissed for a little while. We both really enjoyed that.

My Stallion said quietly "I know who else would enjoy this..."

I didn't understand what he meant, but we were kissing, and I didn't give it much more thought.

Then we got up, changed back to ponies, and headed to the meadow for our breakfast.

We were flying before too long. Rainbow and Fluttershy joined us too. We actually flew with them for a while, enjoying every minute together. It really seemed to me that my sister Fluttershy was becoming a much stronger flyer, as often as we did this.

As we had been doing recently, we landed at the Castle, and Rare and Pinkie were there. We all hugged together for a little while, then headed off to start our days.

My Stallion and I flew back to the meadow in the East, and ended up sitting next to each other on that little hill.

It was silent for a few minutes, then I sighed. "I love you, Stallion" I said softly.

I could tell my Stallion was deep in thought.

"Summer, I am just amazed that, even with all those spells cast on you, you still refused Star Dusk. You really are amazing" my Stallion said softly back.

"Shysage, you have given me so much... How could I not keep myself just for you..." I said this, then was weeping softly.

My stallion put his leg around my neck and hugged me.

Maybe a minute later, my Stallion burst into tears, and was sobbing...

I knew he loved me a lot, but I couldn't--

My Stallion got up and bolted off quickly, across the meadow, towards our home.

I followed him, of course. He was still sobbing...

'How can he even run...' I thought to myself.

...

When I caught up to him, he was sitting outside our home...

...hugging... ...his Twin...

They both cried together for a few minutes. Well, they were sobbing deeply... And for stallions to do that...

...

My Stallion said... ...while sobbing...

"Summer, it's your Twin... She's gone... Kidnapped or something..."

...

It took maybe half a minute for this to sink in... "My precious Twin... Gone... Not again..." I was soon crying loudly too...

Chapter 5, Road Trip

I got in the driver's seat and made sure everything was adjusted; mirrors and seat mainly. It would be a long trip...

Equestria Girls Fluttershy was right. My Twin (Equestria pony Shysage) was a perfect gentleman, and asked Pinkie Pie where she wanted to sit before they both got into the car.

"I'll keep the 'scope' thing company" Pinkie said with a laugh, and she opened the door and climbed into the back seat.

My Twin sat in the front on the passenger side. He is from Equestria, and obviously didn't drive. Still, he must have spent some time in Equestria Girls Summer's Mustang, because driving on the Freeway didn't freak him out. Well, my driving didn't, anyway.

We were on the Freeway soon, heading East. My Twin and Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie, on a road trip in this big, dark Blue car. But I didn't think it wouldn't be a very fun trip...

I could only hope (and ask true friend) that Equestria Girls Summer was ok. My Mare had actually woke up from her drugged sleep maybe minutes before they would have killed her. THAT was just scary... And they shot at her as she ran, too.

After about ten minutes of driving in silence, I said to Pinkie Pie "I apologize Pinkie, but us two Shysages probably won't talk much..."

Pinkie just laughed, pulled out her phone and some small earphones, and said "There's always MP3, I'll be fine."

"Well, it will be six hours or so..." I replied.

"Shysage, I'm here to help my friend. We will make it work." Pinkie said quietly.

"Six hours..." I thought to myself...

For a while, my thoughts just wandered. This was sort of like Summer's 'mental inventory', but I basically was just thinking random stuff through. What else was I supposed to do...

It was hard not to be angry at these 'monsters' though. Totally trashing a life, just so they could make a buck on the Internet with nasty pictures... And fully intent on killing their victim when they were done... That was just terrible...

I'm sure these two monsters had probably made a lot of money from... I had to stop here. At least she made it out alive. This probably wasn't always the case.

I was pretty sure there was more going on though. These 'monsters' didn't seem to have any problems finding buyers.

It was really hard for me to not get angry at that, too.

One of the reasons I had adopted Equestria as my 'new' home, was that 'femaleness' seemed to still be highly valued there.

Here in the Equestria Girls world, which was my home world, it seemed to me that the 'eclipse of femaleness' was proceding quickly. Well, it seemed to me that, when I left anyway, the Equestria Girls world, well the culture here, wanted to boil a woman's worth down to how well it contributed towards maybe ten minutes of pleasure.

Granted, men are especially sensitive to sights and visuals, and advertisers have been mercilessly using that for decades to sell products here.

But it just looked to me that everything that could be construed as 'media' was increasingly, predominantly male centered, or male focused, anyway... Movies, 'Prime Time' TV, and just about everything else, seemed so carefully crafted to appeal primarily to a male audience.

I seriously doubted that there were 'female' monsters out there, stealing men to take pictures, to sell on the internet to other women, and then thoughtlessly killing the men when they were done.

And it thoroughly disgusted me that this culture was increasingly turning a blind eye to the growing sea of rape victims. Even my Mare had noted that.

I don't know...

On the one hand, the entire 'woman's liberation' movement had so completely missed the point. The result of that movement was just women that acted like men, trying to be more 'male'. This just underscored the deeper problem.

On the other hand, I also realize that one of the main responses to the 'eclipse of femaleness' here, was wives increasingly becoming 'despots' in the home. Before marriage, the woman would do anything for her man. After marriage, the man had better do whatever his woman told him. This just seemed all too common... But this still resulted in women acting more "male".

Hmm... What is needed, I think, is a renewed appreciation of true femaleness. And maybe more is needed; maybe true femaleness needed to be better protected.

At any rate, I really felt that media here was reinforcing such a male-centered world-view...

But I just sighed again at this point...

Star Dusk's life had shown me that Equestria may be heading down this same road, hopefully, a lot slower though. But I suspected that the main problem for Star Dusk was that Canterlot seemed to breed egotistical stallions. Proximity to power just seemed to have that effect. And this just contributed to the maelstrom Star Dusk faced...

Of course, none of Equestria's amazing Princesses were corrupted by their power by any means. But the ponies around them...

I really wanted to hope that the stallions in Canterlot were NOT representative of the rest of Equestria. But I really had no way of knowing.

I just had to admit this to myself though. Whether Equestria or the Equestria Girls world, true 'femaleness' had to be the most crucial 'natural resource' know to civilization. And trampling this did not seem to bode well. I knew us 'males' were shooting ourselves in the foot, or worse...

I sighed again... Most men would probably fight me on this...

"Wow, would I get nasty-grams from the 'thought police' for even thinking this stuff..." This went through my head, but I caught myself before I said it out loud.

Still, this was ironic. History contained numerous examples of cultures and nations that had given up 'thinking' for the sake of 'feeling', along with the anger and rage that often 'tagged along'... These cultures didn't end well, and we would ignore that to our own peril.

And I hoped I was wrong about all of this. As a student of history though, some parallels were hard to ignore.

I deliberately parked my thoughts here for a few minutes.

Bah, what do I know... I could be totally wrong... I'm just a Canterlot Recorder... Trying to face bullies who speak by shouting in anger, or pulling the trigger...

Still, I could only hope our search for Equestria Girls Summer had a happy ending...

...

It was clear to me that I needed to find something else to think about. It didn't take long.

My amazing Mare...

Dying of cancer, emotionally shattered, and pillaged of all useful resources, I fell through a wall in front of the High School. I had gone for a brief walk from my 'cubical', probably looking for someplace to cry...

I found... Equestria... And a chance to start so completely over, that this still amazes me...

Well, Summer is amazing too, and I somehow found her there.

And I honestly think that Summer would be just as amazing, even if she wasn't the Phantom Alicorn, or the Shila, or if she didn't spend two years helping raise two Princesses.

Whatever else she was or would become, she was a true friend. Summer realized the foundational importance of simply putting others first, and integrating that into her entire life. Well, her Twin, Equestria Girls Summer had made the same committment. Their stories are both amazing.

I can't be back home in Equestria, soon enough... And I really did miss my Mare...

Still, this exact same seed, true friendship, is clearly flourishing in Princess Twilight and all her girls; such amazing friends.

The Equestria Girls world NEEDED this too... This 'true friendship'...

But that all makes this senseless kidnapping so... ...wrong... Neither Summer has a hurtful bone in their body, then this...

Why in the world...

The bright Orange 'Low Fuel' light on the dash pulled me from my thoughts, and I began looking for a gas station.

Fortunately there was an exit coming up, and I was soon filling the tank again. Wow gas costs a lot...

After paying, then parking my car, I asked Pinkie if she needed to use the restroom. She did, so I asked my Twin to accompany her, and wait outside the door nearby.

I guessed we were probably about an hour away.

I asked my Twin to stay with the car and Pinkie while I used the restroom next. When I returned, it was his turn.

While my Twin was in the restroom, I pulled a dusty pair of binoculars out of the trunk of my car, and tried to clean them up.

I gave them to Pinkie, since her eyesight was probably better than mine. I mentioned that we needed to find a place far enough away to avoid them seeing us, but close enough that we could look the house over fairly well, and decide what to do.

But after I did this, I just laughed to myself. I doubted she would even need them.

Once back in the car, I asked Pinkie to let me know when we were maybe 20 minutes away, so I could turn the 'scope' on. I was hoping that Equestria Girls Summer's 'signature' was close enough to my Summer's, that my 'scope' would pick Equestria Girls Summer up. I knew this was a long shot.

Besides, Pinkie Pie and her 'Pinkie Sense' had any form of electronics trumped, as far as I was concerned. We have Pinkie, and that was enough.

We were soon back on the Freeway. Most of the next hour, I tried to think through how we were going to pull this rescue off.

According to my Mare, one of the two guys was sort of a 'hot-head', and he was the one with the gun last time, and he did the yelling after she ran away.

We would wait until dark before doing anything, and that would not be long after we got close, and this was good.

There were two of us, and this was probably good, too. Still, it wasn't often possible to argue with a gun...

And we absolutely did NOT want them to have a chance to hurt Equestria Girls Summer... And I was hoping, at least, that she was still alive...

So much of this was just up in the air. We would have to play this all by ear. And 'a lot' would have to go right... I asked true friend for help again. I had few other options, anyway.

Pinkie alerted me to the '20 minutes out', and I walked her through turning the 'scope' on. It was picking up nothing...

I asked her to direct us to a good spot to check the house out, if she could. We were really completely at the mercy of 'Pinkie Sense' to find these guys, and I knew this. I also knew that this amazing lady was up to this task.

Pinkie told me when to get off, then carefully directed from there. It was like she had GPS in her brain. Well, she did. Over the freeway, right turn, down a long road that curved to the left, left turn four miles later.

Pinkie had me kill the lights, and a mile later we eased to the side of the road near a small, lone farm house off in the distance. It really was out in the middle of nowhere.

It would also be dark in maybe fifteen minutes.

Well, one way or another, it would be over soon.

"Pinkie, if things go badly, get out of here please" I said quietly.

Pinkie smiled, then said back quietly "It won't, Shysage."

I hoped she was right. Then I realized she was seldom, if ever, wrong.

Chapter 6, monsters in the Grass

Waiting for it to get dark... Sometimes waiting is the hardest...

It was quiet for a bit.

"Uhm Shysage..." Pinkie said, without warning. "They are not here, but they are incoming in their truck -- maybe 15 minutes away..."

I started the car immediately, turned the lights on and headed for the driveway to the farm house, maybe a quarter mile up ahead. They were not even there right now, we had to work fast.

"And Shysage... They have your Summer too..." she added quietly.

"How..." I said, trying to control my anger...

I glanced quickly back. The 'scope' showed Pinkie was right, of course... My Mare was laying in the back of their pick-up... ...again... She was wearing the same clothes though, which was probably good.

I headed between two close fence posts on the way down their driveway, and clipped one post with both bumpers; this car was wide.

I quickly drove around behind the farm house, far enough around so my car couldn't be seen from the front. I really hoped there were no other 'monsters' here right now...

My Twin and I were able to break the back door latch, and we were quickly inside.

Equestria Girls Summer was tied into a chair, sitting in the middle of a small, otherwise empty room... Her head was down, and her eyes closed... She didn't even acknowledge our presence...

We both said, at the same time "Summer..."

She brought her head up immediately, and burst into tears, as we began to untie her.

Before we were done, I knelt down in front of her, and asked her to look at me, and she did, still crying... I spoke softly...

"Summer, the monsters will be here in ten minutes, and they have my Summer with them. We need you to calm down, and wait in the car with Pinkie."

Summer said "Ok", choking back tears as she got up out of the chair. She headed straight for the restroom, and was soon back out. Then she hugged her stallion tightly, and wept softly as he walked her to the car. He helped her into the front seat.

Pinkie Pie was already in the front seat now too. Pinkie probably knew my Summer was going in the back seat.

Pinkie hugged her friend, Equestria Girls Summer Rain, and they were both crying softly together. True friends...

As soon as we had Summer out of that chair, I headed out to the car and grabbed the keys, and quickly opened the trunk.

I carefully turned the 'scope' off, put the cover on it, and moved it into the trunk.

As quickly as I could, I went back inside, and carefully checked the farm house for any electronics. I found 3 Tablets, 5 Notebooks, and 3 Desk Top computers. They all went in the cavernous trunk of my car.

While clearing out the electronics, I made a sobering discovery. One of their computer displays showed a clear view of the soda machine in the Cake's shop...

These monsters were watching EVERYONE who was coming inside... Just about everyone who ate at the Cake's got soda, and would need to be at this machine... And this is probably how they found both Summers... again...

Pinkie and I would 'fix' that...

Still, the computers in my trunk would provide tons of evidence should this prove necessary. Also, the IP addresses as well as passwords they contained would set the monsters back a while.

Well, we still needed to survive this, somehow..

And, honestly, while searching the monster's house, I really had to make an important decision...

I am not a fan of the 'vigilante' mindset in any form or fashion. Before I fell through a wall into Equestria, I would have insisted on involving the local law enforcement as soon as possible.

While increasingly favoring the criminal, the 'justice' process in the Equestria Girls world was ponderous and slow, but usually effective, unless the criminal was given the opportunity to run away. And sometimes just getting them away, that could be enough... ...Except they often came back, and that could be scary...

But the involvement of two Equestria ponies totally changed the whole equation. Both my Mare and my Twin had absolutely no identity in this world, and local law enforcement would never be able to work past that... ...And expecting ponies from Equestria to wait here in this world for years...

I quickly realized that I needed to 'rescue and run'... We really had no other options... I had arrived at the same conclusion with Summer, maybe eight months ago (in Equestria Girls world time), when these monsters last abducted her...

All the electronics I could find, were in the trunk. I closed it...

I called my Twin to me. "I need you to be a pony..." I said quietly. I honestly had no idea if this would even work...

My Twin just smiled, and said "I thought you would never ask." In the blink of an eye, he was a pony again. That was his native form, I don't know...

"How did you do that?" I asked quietly.

"Let's just get this done" he replied quietly.

I quickly walked through the house, and turned on every light inside.

I headed to the front door, unlocked it, and opened it wide, and left it that way.

Then I led my Twin, now a pony, out the front door.

I showed him the power lines coming across to the house, over the driveway, and said quietly "Don't get near that, it will kill you.

"I honestly don't know where they will come, or what they will do. It is dark now. When they pull in, they will get out of the truck.

"I need you fly above them, and dive low enough to kick one of them in the head from the air. Just knock him out, if you can. Then get out of sight.

"I will try to somehow do the same to the second one.

"I wish I could give you more direction, but we will need to play this by ear."

A few minutes later, we heard them coming, even from far away.

Equestria pony Shysage was quickly in the air and out of sight.

I ducked, and backed into the weeds near the clearing in front of the house, and just waited.

This was it... I asked true friend for help...

Evidently the 'hot-head' was driving the truck, and was instantly furious when he saw all the lights and the wide open front door. He turned on his high-beams, and drove quickly right up to the front porch of the house. I thought for a minute that he was going to actually ram the house.

Both got out of the truck, and the hot-head pulled his gun out. He was quickly yelling and swearing.

I heard a loud 'thump', and his buddy fell to the ground. My Twin was a skilled flyer, no question...

The hot-head was now pointing his gun into the night scanning around, slowly turning around in full circles. He had evidently seen something...

I ran quickly and quietly up to the back of the truck, then around to the side he was on.

When he was slowly turning towards the house, looking carefully into the night sky for 'something', I extended my elbows forward, and ran at him madly, as quietly as I could.

My elbows caught him in the small of his back, and he pulled the trigger, shot harmlessly into the air, then the gun flew out of his hand. I had knocked the wind out of him.

I kept my eye on where the gun went.

Well, when he fell, his head hit one of the path-stones that led to the front door of the house, pretty hard. He was 'out' now too.

Two monsters in the grass...

I picked the gun up, and put it on the roof of the truck.

My Summer...

I carefully picked my Mare up out of the bed of the pickup...

I loved her so...

Her hair was madly wind-blown, matted and full of dirt from the bed of the truck. I didn't even care. She was beautiful. But she was still 'out cold', too.

I carried her quickly around the house to the car, and laid her gently across the back seat, and checked both her pulse and her breathing. Both were ok; she was alive at least. I tried to quickly get the hair out of her face, anyway...

I called my Twin. I hoped this worked.

He walked over, as a pony, and I grabbed one of his front hooves. He immediately turned back into a 'people', and I helped him stand up.

"How did you do that?" he asked quietly.

"Go sit next to your mare" I replied quietly.

"Pinkie I will be right back. I need to use their gun to disable their truck." I said quickly.

I ran back around the front of the house.

Watching the monsters, I retrieved the gun from the roof of their truck, and used the gun to take two tires out, then put two bullets through the radiator. I wanted to make sure it was a while before they tried to follow us.

I next pulled the clip out of the gun, removed the bullets, and threw both far into the brush.

I ran through the house, found a large towel, and soaked it in water. And I carefully put the gun into the water tank of one of the toilets. It would be useless when they found it...

I ran out the back of the house.

Still holding the wet towel, I carefully got in the back seat, and gently moved Summer's head into my lap. I checked her breathing, and pulse again, both were the same. I really wanted to give her a kiss, but didn't.

Then I closed my door, and my Twin closed his door too.

Wow, big 'oops'...

Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie was sitting in front of the steering wheel...

It was quiet for maybe half a minute.

"Pinkie Pie, can you drive this thing?" I asked slowly.

Pinkie's reply was amazing... I wish I could have recorded it... In her high pitched, excited ladies' voice, she shouted "Whooo Hooo!"

Chapter 7, Equestria Girls Pinkie-ness

Wow, big 'oops'...

Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie was sitting in front of the steering wheel...

It was quiet for maybe half a minute.

"Pinkie Pie, can you drive this thing?" I asked slowly.

Pinkie's reply was amazing... I wish I could have recorded it... In her high pitched, excited ladies' voice, she shouted "Whooo Hooo!"

I freely admit that I am no expert on Equestria pony Pinkie Pie. But what I do know, goes something like this.

Pinkie grew up on a Rock Farm. It was a huge farm with fields full of rocks...

No matter how many rocks the family pulled out of these fields, the next day, there seemed to be more rocks. It was a rock farm because rocks mysteriously re-grew in the fields for some reason. It was just impossible to clear the rocks from this land, even after YEARS... These fields were useless for any other purpose as a result. No matter how much work was done here, there were STILL more rocks... ...It was a job that was never done.

As a pony it was just plain hard to get rocks into a bucket. And once the bucket was 'full', you had to get the handle of the bucket around your neck. And then you had to carry (or drag) that bucket all the way back. Especially if you were after big rocks, everything soon hurt. But pain was just a part of life on the rock farm. The physical toil was amplified if you actually had to break big rocks into smaller rocks, because that's what your customer wanted... ...It was painful, back-breaking work.

Finding buyers for rocks wasn't too difficult. The main problem was that customers had a hard time justifying paying much for something that could be found along just about any path or road. And a customer who came to the farm and saw ACRES of rocks, didn't think what they were purchasing was rare by any means... ...The pay was probably just barely enough to support a meager existance for the family.

And did I say that everypony had to help with this? Almost as soon as each Pie could walk, it seemed, they joined the 'fun'...

What kind of life was this? Harsh... Scraping out a bare existance though back-breaking work, knowing there was no end in sight...

Still, in the midst of this bleak picture, Equestria pony Pinkie Pie had learned the ability to bring JOY to those around her. Maybe she just got tired of the rutted frowns she saw, both in the mirror, and on the faces of her family. And, no doubt, Rainbow Dash's well timed Sonic Rainboom had a significant part in that.

But the transformation that took place in Pinkie's life, outlook, and mission were undeniable...

Not much is known about how her 'Pinkie Sense' came about though. But if there was a diamond somewhere in all those fields, Pinkie could quickly find it... 'Pinkie Sense' was amazing...

At some point, Pinkie Pie left the farm, and ended up in Ponyville. She met an amazing group of ponies... Pinkie Pie, her new friends, and Equestria would never be the same...

For Equestria pony Pinkie Pie's 'Twin', Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie, the story was similar, but the situation was completely different.

It wasn't a Rock Farm, it was a dirt 'Circle Track'. Well, the 'Circle Pie' track to be exact.

In order for a Circle Track to make money, you needed drivers and cars -- enough of both of these to bring in a bunch of spectators. The money came from what the spectators purchased as they watched the show; entrance tickets and refreshments. But there had to be a good 'show' in order to bring spectators in. If this sounds like a vicious circle, it was.

Pinkie's parents did this probably because they loved old cars. Well, specifically 'muscle-cars', those carburated, loud-mouthed demons from the hey-day of pre-smog, pre-safety automobiles. The races were dangerous enough, but when you added adrenaline and 'road rage'...

Generally, circle-track drivers bring their own cars, and had crews to maintain them. But not at this Circle Track. The family kept a large stable of late 60's, early 70's 'big iron' running and ready; this was their passion, it seemed. If they could find drivers, there would be a show. The cars were memorable, and kept as nice-looking as possible. But as you can easily imagine, this fleet of old cars didn't maintain themselves...

The Circle Pie track was not a 'main venue', by any means. The track was located in a small community about as far East from the 'big city' as you could go, and still find enough spectators to fill their small stands. And it was usually very hot there, on the edge of the desert...

Oh, and one more detail. The family liked to eat, so the Track ran events year-round. Well, when the rains came, they all got sort of a break, only to have to re-build their track when the rains were gone, and the erosion they brought were done. And the 'earth mover' equipment usually had to be brought back to life each time their use was required...

Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie grew up in the middle of this, with a wrench in her hand... ...facing an endless stream of flooding carbs, seized differentials, locked up transmissions, blown motors, froze brakes, dented quarter-panels, etc. And then, there were electrical wiring problems, both with the cars, and with the huge, dangerous high wattage lights that made races possible at night... It was usually a mad rush to get EVERYTHING ready by race night. After one and a half hours of show time, the cycle started all over again... ...It was a job that was never done.

The worst task known to people is working on a smoking hot motor when it is still 90 degrees in the shade... This happened a lot... Cuts and busted knuckles from slipped wrenches also happened a lot too. But pain was just a part of life at the 'Circle Pie'. And generally, everything that could come off these cars, had too, and was usually very heavy too... Jacks and power tools only slightly minimized the sheer physical labor required to keep the cars running. And re-arranging the dirt on the track, keeping everything painted, moving crates of food, soda and candies... ...It was painful, back-breaking work.

The cars were nice, and so the show was usually amazing. But the people in the surrounding towns were not so well-off either. And it seemed like as soon as the family would get a little ahead, some big expense (like a new motor for the bulldozer) would come along. A long stream of new parts to maintain the cars, was usually met with a dwindling 'net income' from the sales at the track... ...The pay was probably just barely enough to support a meager existance for the family.

And did I say that everyone had to help with this? Almost as soon as each Pie was old enough to hold a screw-driver, they joined the 'fun'...

What kind of life was this? Harsh... Scraping out a bare existance though back-breaking work, knowing there was no end in sight...

Still, in the midst of this bleak picture, Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie had learned the ability to bring JOY to those around her. Maybe she just got tired of the rutted frowns she saw, both in the mirror, and on the faces of her family. And noone knows if there was some other 'precipitating factor' like there was for her Twin (Equestria pony Pinkie Pie).

But the transformation that took place in Pinkie's life, outlook, and mission were undeniable...

Not much is known about how her 'Pinkie Sense' came about though. But if there was a short somewhere in the main Track Lighting circuit, Pinkie could quickly find it... 'Pinkie Sense' was amazing...

Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie quickly became the 'go to' person for any problems that were not easily solved. Just a brief description was usually enough for Pinkie to tell what fix was needed. Pinkie grew up around cars, and knew them inside and out, and she had an excellent memory. This may have accounted for some of the solutions she offered...

But many of her fixes were just mysterious... Like, one day, her sister brought her a spark plug... Pinkie held it in her hand, stared off into the distance a minute... "Two broken rings on that cylinder, the motor needs to come apart, I'm sorry..." That's just amazing... That's 'Pinkie Sense'...

At some point, Pinkie Pie left the track, headed West, and ended up at Equestria High School. She met an amazing group of friends... Pinkie Pie, her new friends, and Equestria would never be the same...

Well, actually, someone died in an accident at the 'Cirlce Pie' track. The family of the dead driver sued the track, well the Pie family. The man who died had signed a Release of Liabaility form (standard practice), but the Judge gave the cars and the track to the family of the dead man, and it was over. The cars rusted away and were soon recycled. The Pie's were scattered to the wind...

But now, the rest of this makes sense.

Wow, big 'oops'...

Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie was sitting in front of the steering wheel...

It was quiet for maybe half a minute.

"Pinkie Pie, can you drive this thing?" I asked slowly.

Pinkie's reply was amazing... I wish I could have recorded it... In her high pitched, excited ladies' voice, she shouted "Whooo Hooo!"

The fact of the matter was that Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie could drive ANYTHING... ANYWHERE... ANYTIME... Bulldozers, Cadillacs, backhoes, Mustangs, tractors, fuel injected Rice-Rockets, motorcycles, diesel semis...

Pinkie started 'big Blue', and let it idle briefly... She turned the steering wheel all the way to the right, then backed up some... Then, still moving backwards, she quickly turned the steering wheel all the way to the left, floored the gas pedal, and did a perfect 'power slide' which rapidly turned my big car around, 180 degrees, pointing out the way we had come in...

I realized she could drive 'this thing'...

"Pinkie get us out of here" I said with a smile.

"Yippeeeee!" Pinkie yelled.

She did this quickly... We accelerated past the farm house, past the two monsters in the grass... Pinkie drove the car past those two close poles down the driveway at about 40 mph, with an easy six inches on either side... And I didn't need to tell her how to get back to the Freeway. Well, I didn't know anyway.

"Pinkie Pie, you and your Twin are both amazing..." I said quietly.

"Aww, Shysage, now I want to see my Twin..." she said quietly.

Almost embarrassed, I still had to ask "Pinkie, you have a valid driver's license, right?"

Pinkie laughed loudly at this "Every Pie that I have known, was a good driver when they were ten, and took their driver's test the first day they could, and passed first time. And we ALL carry current driver's licenses. Because, you never know when you will need it... I think it's a family thing..."

We were soon back on the Freeway heading West.

I just sat there amazed for a little while. 'Pinkie Sense' had made all the difference tonight... Well, I thanked true friend too. It could have been a lot worse. Pinkie was right, of course. It wasn't.

It was quiet for a few minutes.

The only sound was Equestria Girls Summer crying quietly on my Twin's shoulders.

My Mare coughed, and I quickly tried to elevate her head so she could cough more if she needed. Her breathing was steady anyway. While holding her up, I felt a pretty big bruise on her neck near her shoulder. How could anyone hit this amazing lady... I tried to avoid anger, I had her back now, and that's what was important.

I put her head back down in my lap, and used the wet towel to try to clean her face some. It looked like the monsters had tried to force her to drink soda or something; it was all over her face and neck, and sticky and dirty.

After a few minutes, I had most of it off, and her face was pretty clean. I started working on the soda still on her neck. I guess this woke her up.

Without opening her eyes, she started screaming loudly. I decided this was probably left over from when they first took her, and it was just coming out now.

I quickly realized I needed to say something to her that she would absolutely know only I would say.

She was still screaming with her eyes closed; I put my head down near her ear, and said

"Summer, please come back..."

Her eyes popped open immediately, and she stopped screaming...

"Oh, Shysage..." She said, then she started to cry...

I carefully picked her up, so she could rest her head on my shoulder, and we just cried together, hugging, for a little while.

After maybe five minutes, I tried to quiet her down, then asked her how she felt.

"My head and neck hurt, but that's it... ...But that doesn't even matter any more..." Summer said this, then put her head back down on my shoulder, and was crying again.

I was too...

Both our Twins were crying together too...

Well us Twins were all crying the same way, at the same time...

After maybe ten more minutes, I stopped crying.

"Summer, can you stop crying please?" I asked, and both Summers stopped, at the same time, in exactly the same way.

"Pinkie, we all owe you amazing thanks for your help in rescuing our Summers... Thank you... How can we ever repay you..." I said quietly.

Pinkie is just amazing... Her reply: "Well you can all start by SMILING! WE DID IT!" And she really did emphasize this last part.

Then she put on some amazing 'Party' music... Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie didn't have a 'Party Cannon', but she DID have 'MP3' and a Playlist. This seemed to work well, too.

...

I need to add a little more history here.

Big Blue is so old that it came from the Showroom with a 'Cassette Player'. That monstrosity quit years ago, so I opened it up and did surgery.

I gutted and pitched the player, and added an 'Audio Lead' for the Audio that connected to the power amplifiers inside.

I closed it back up, and left the audio cable dangling down the front of my dash.

I had connected an MP3 player to this before, and it worked well.

And the sound system in this 'luxury car' was exceptional.

Well, Pinkie Pie knew EXACTLY what to do with this standard audio lead; she quickly plugged it into the Earphone connector on her phone...

...

While driving still, Pinkie Pie qued up the first song, which was amazing... It was called "When will I see you again"* or something like that. The music was good, the beat sounded great, and the lyrics were amazing.

Well, noone wanted to do again what we had just been through, but we had gone through this as friends, together, and could always look forward to the next time friends got together to help each other out. That WAS worth looking forward too!

Soon, we were all smiling, just happy to be together again...

"That's what I live to see!" Pinkie said excitedly. Either Pinkie Pie would have said this.

After we were all smiling, at THIS point, Pinkie stopped the music, pulled the audio lead out, and gave her cell to Equestria Girls Summer.

Pinkie laughed while she did this, and said "Ponies, don't EVER text while driving!"

When Summer had Pinkie's Cell, Pinkie said "Summer, please send the following message to everyone's cell: 'Both Summers safe, heading home, eta 6 hrs'. "

Equestria Girls Summer had this quickly done.

She did not even have the chance to give Pinkie her cell back, when it rang.

"That's Fluttershy, answer it Summer" Pinkie said immediately.

Equestria Girls Summer picked up the call, and I'm sure she and her sister both were quickly crying tears of joy, as they talked together a few minutes. Then, Equestria pony Fluttershy was on, and spoke with my Mare (her sister) for a few minutes too, with the same results. Sisters and Twins...

After a few minutes, Pinkie had her cell back, and the music resumed. It was as close to a party as we could come, driving down the Interstate...

Summer was soon sitting up, with her seat belt on, next to me, feeling better each minute.

She asked Pinkie Pie for her hair brush. Then she used the wet towel, and got her hair as clean and wet as she could, then slowly and patiently brushed the tangles out.

Well, I helped by brushing her hair in the back. I think we both enjoyed that.

I whispered in her ear that she looked hot when her hair was wet, and she blushed brightly; I could tell, because we went under a huge light over an off-ramp on the Freeway.

For a few minutes, we all enjoyed Pinkie's music.

I think both my Twin and I had been in 'panic mode' since we choked back our tears in Equestria. At this point, with everything now taken care of, and our mares safe, us stallions were both suddenly overcome with the need to cry, and were having difficulty holding our tears in...

Both of our amazing mares sensed this at the same time, and said exactly the same thing softly to us "Stallion, save them, and I will cry with you when we can." For both of us, that proved enough for us to wait.

Ah, yes -- 'Pinkie Sense'... "Shysage, you know your Cruise Control is busted right? I'm pretty sure that the fuse is blown, but that is the only problem. It is location 14 I think, and there is an extra 30 Amp fuse nearby."

It was quiet for a few minutes.

"Pinkie Pie, can you tell us about your life up to the point where you met Princess Twilight?" I asked cautiously.

Pinkie started enthusiastically into this, and talked, and laughed, almost non-stop, for the next two hours, as she drove us 'home'. I actually included some of the material earlier in this chapter because it made more sense that way. Pinkie had as much fun telling us all this, as Summer and I had later, writing it all down. Pinkie is amazing.

I had done sort of a comparative early biography on the Fluttershy and Summer sisters, on both sides of the Portal. That came out amazing.

I realized that I should probably do the same with the Pinkie Pie Twins. Well, honestly, all of Princess Twilight's girls are amazing, and I would probably be asked to do the rest at some point anyway. This would be amazing fun.

...

Who would have thought, that something as simple as Princess Twilight crossing the Portal to retrieve her 'Element of Harmony' would literally DOUBLE the amazingness of all of Princess Twilight's Equestria pony friends?

...

At about the half-way point home, Pinkie Pie eased 'big Blue' off the Freeway and into a gas station.

While I refueled, and paid, Pinkie had repaired the Cruise Control... in the dark... without a flashlight...

Then the girls went into the restroom together, and were soon back in the car. My Twin and I used the restroom next, then came back.

My Summer was in the front seat now, so I guessed it was my turn to drive. This was fine. Pinkie stayed in the front seat too, next to the door, so she could take care of the music.

This just put Summer in the middle, closer to me... Well, I didn't mind. I was trying to 'be careful', but at this point, I was just glad she was safe. Just having her near me was plenty right now.

We were soon heading West again on the Freeway. Having the Cruise Control working again really did make a big difference. I set it at the speed limit, and enjoyed the ride...

Well, we would probably be 'home' at around 5 a.m. I was tired too; I had been up since...

Well, my Twin and Summer's Twin were both soon asleep leaning up against each other in the back seat. Pinkie stopped the music, then she fell asleep a little later, leaning up against Summer.

My Mare was NOT tired, at all, and so we just both talked quietly the rest of the way home. I was so glad just to have her back. And her smile is absolutely amazing. She would occasionally nibble my ear too, which I appreciated, because it helped me stay awake.

Still, I told her that I guessed we would be back in Equestria by the end of the day. This was fine with me; I wasn't fond of this world, not any more. Breathing Equestria air couldn't happen soon enough for both of us...

Author's Note

* -- This amazing song is done by Owl City, and is one of the songs over the Credits at the end of the movie 'Wreck-it Ralph', and so is probably c2013 by Disney.

Chapter 8, Running Home

When we were maybe 15 minutes away, Summer woke Pinkie Pie up, and asked her to text everyone else that we would walk over to Fluttershy's apartment in maybe 30 minutes. Summer woke her Twin in the back seat next, and her Twin woke my Twin. This gave everypony some time to wake up, as much as could be expected after only 2 hours of sleep.

It was still dark outside.

I was soon backing 'big Blue' into the car-port next to my 'cubical'. I let everyone get out before I backed the rest of the way in; it was a tight fit along the sides. Then I backed my car the rest of the way in, being careful to avoid hitting the car deeper in the car-port.

In the light from the 'back-up' lights, Equestria Girls Summer Rain noticed the dirty, White car behind 'big Blue'. "Shysage, what is that old car back there? It looks like a Mustang..."

I started to sarcastically say "It's just an old, junk--"

Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie jumped in right away. "Summer, it's a 69 Mustang Sportsroof, you should know that" then Pinkie laughed. She would know.

Well, Equestria Girls Summer loved just Mustangs, and she should know too. Still the car was covered with dust.

Pinkie continued "We used to have two of those at the track..."

I don't think this was a pleasant memory for Pinkie. The family lost some amazing cars that I'm sure Pinkie had invested heart, soul, and sweat on for years...

Pinkie next got this really serious look on her face, and was quiet half a minute. "Whoa... Cleveland... T-5... Wow, that car is a beast!"

I started to answer "Well, when it runs, yeah. But I don't have much time to wo--"

My Mare jumped in here. "Can we take it for a ride, Stallion?"

"Well, maybe some day. It needs some work, and it won't fit through the Portal... Besides, there are some other ponies around me that are a little more important to me right now..." I said this slowly. I wanted to kiss my Mare to emphasize the point, but I just hugged her briefly.

Still, I realized that Pinkie could probably fix this car better than I could. This got me thinking...

I returned my wallet, cash, keys, etc. back inside my 'cubical'. I showed my Twin where I kept the cash should he need some for any reason.

The 'cubical' was locked up, and we all headed off to Fluttershy's.

The Sun was just starting to brighten the Eastern sky in the Equestria Girls world.

As we walked across the street to Fluttershy's apartment, the rest of the Equestria Girls quickly spilled out the door, still looking half-asleep. I'm sure we looked the same way.

Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, both Fluttershys, Applejack and Rainbow Dash -- well we were quickly ALL hugging and crying together. This whole thing had been just scary; the SAME nightmare all over again...

After less than a minute, Twilight Sparkle realized this was NOT the PLACE for this. Twilight spoke up, stopped the crying and hugging, and directed everypony to take their 'stuff' into Fluttershy's apartment, then head for the Portal wall.

I suspected that Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle must have 'just known'. She was our Princess' Twin.

And it was time to go home...

And nopony really stopped crying either.

...

But these amazing 'Equestria Girls'...

These girls had spent maybe two days around Princess Twilight... And their hearts were knit to her forever...

And they had Equestria in their hearts, and they NEEDED Equestria after what they had been though.

...

And we were all 'running home' to Equestria... to our Princess... RIGHT NOW!

Five minutes later, we were going through the Portal to Equestria...

...and were tearfully greeted in Equestria by Princess Twilight and the rest of the Equestria ponies...

They were already waiting for us in the Portal room in the Crystal Palace...

Everypony just cried together for maybe an hour. Nopony could talk... We couldn't do anything else... We were together again, and we were crying and hugging... That's all we could do right now. We all needed this... We all needed each other...

It had been a scary few days for everypony...

Well, after about an hour, we all stopped hugging, and bowed to our Princess... We all loved our Princess...

It was quiet for a minute as we bowed before Princess Twilight. Well, most of us were weeping softly still.

Before getting us back up, Princess Twilight said slowly, trying not to cry...

"I am reminded of a lesson I have learned repeatedly... I love you 'Equestria Girls' just as much as I love 'my girls'... And I missed you all so much... But you Equestria Girls are 'my girls' too... Welcome home, all of you..."

We all took turns hugging our amazing Princess, and this took a while.

After that, we all just 'soul-linked' with our Twins, and the quiet weeping just continued.

I had been putting off doing this with my Twin, but I realized now that he and Equestria Girls Summer were doing very well together, so we Soul-linked too.

We could all relax now. We were all home, safe...

Chapter 9, Change of Plans

Both Summers and Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie came back safely. And we had all quickly 'run home' to Equestria, and cried a while together with the Equestria ponies in the Portal room. We really did need that.

After maybe two hours, we were all just visiting. Well, both Summers and both Fluttershys were all hugging together and crying softly still. This had been especially hard on them.

Cel (Princess Celestia) and Lu (Princess Luna) landed on the Portal room balcony, and walked quickly in. Everypony bowed, of course, and Cel had them all quickly up.

Cel, Lu, my Mare and I just cried together and hugged for a little while. This had become a family ordeal too, and we were just glad to be home, alive.

Summer, even as a pony, still had a large, clearly visible bruise at the base of her neck where the monsters had hit her, hard. This was all very real and scary.

"Dad, I don't even know what happened. I want you to write it all down for Lu and I... We want to know..." Cel said quietly.

Choking back tears, I said "Cel, I will..."

Cel and Lu had tears still in their eyes. "We're sorry, we both need to get back..." Cel said quietly.

Lu gave mom (well Summer) and I another big hug, and it seemed they were gone, soon after they arrived. They were busy Princesses.

"That was too short..." I said quietly to Summer, and she just nodded.

Summer rejoined her Twin and the Fluttershys.

Princess Twilight and her Twin were talking together with the Pinkie Pie and Rarity Twins, so I walked up and waited.

Princess noticed, looked at me and said "Thank you for bringing my girls home safe."

"Princess, I think it was as much Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie as it was my Twin and I. I have already been asked to record the account though, so you will find out. It was amazing" I said slowly.

"Well, I'm looking forward to that" she replied.

Still, Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie blushed. "It was epic!" she said this, then she laughed.

"Yes, Pinkie, you were..." I replied.

It was quiet for a minute.

"Princess, I have a suggestion, if I may..." I said this awkwardly.

"Of course..." She replied.

"Princess, since you have a Castle now, you might consider moving the Portal there. I think this would make it much easier for the Equestria Girls to 'drop in' when they can or need" I said slowly and quietly.

I could have explained more, but really did only want to make the suggestion. I knew Equestria would tell Princess what to do anyway.

"Hmmm... Thank you." she replied after some thought.

I bowed a little, then backed away. I didn't really want to intrude on their visiting.

My Twin was with the Summers and Fluttershys, and that was fine.

What I really wanted to do was curl up next to Summer and cry somewhere. I felt so spent. Besides, rescuing family again... That wasn't the Canterlot Recorder's job... But it had to be done.

I walked over to the balcony, and sat down, gazing out across the Crystal Empire, trying not to think...

It looked like late afternoon here in Equestria, and we had been in Equestria maybe 3 hours now.

"Ok, everypony, please gather around, we need to talk" Princess Twilight said. She wasn't smiling. Well, she was trying to.

This was quickly done. Everypony was sitting with their Twin, facing Princess. Well, I walked over next to my Mare and sat down. My Twin was already next to Equestria Girls Summer, who was sitting next to my Mare.

"It is the middle of the week, and I understand that most of you cannot stay long today, is that correct?" Princess asked.

Most of the Equestria Girls nodded, then frowned. They liked it here, and didn't really want to leave...

Equestria Girls Summer Rain immediately burst into tears... "I... I can't... I just can't go back yet..." she sobbed.

Amazing friends quickly gathered around her. Still, everyone realized their friend might need a break from her world.

I just looked at my Mare and sighed. I didn't like that world either, but so clearly understood what Equestria Girls Summer felt. I nodded to my Mare.

"Princess... My Stallion and I will go in our Twin's place" Summer said this slowly and quietly.

It was a sacrifice we were both willing to make. I would stay at my 'cubical' again, while Summer stayed with Equestria Girls Fluttershy. And we would need to 'be careful' too.

Princess sighed, but fully understood what was going on.

"Ok, so while Equestria Girls Summer takes a breather here, their Twins and the rest of the Equestria Girls need to go back today.

"Also, I understand school starts soon, so I am thinking that the weekend before school starts, we should all get together here for a few days. This should give all of us something to look forward to." Even so, Princess Twilight had tears in her eyes as she said this. She would miss her Twin too.

"I'm sorry girls, I don't like it either, but I think that is the best we can do right now."

Princess sighed again.

"Ok well let's visit another hour maybe, then the Equestria Girls need to head back through."

'The girls' spent most of that time Soul-Linked, Twin with Twin and that was fine. Even though the visit was short, it was still an amazing privilege, and most everypony appreciated the time together.

I explained to my Twin that he and Summer should just stay at our home, and take it easy. I mentioned that we usually ate breakfast on what we could find in the meadow to the East, and he was fine with that.

My Twin explained to me where his cell phone and the charger were, in our 'cubical'. He also mentioned that Equestria Girls Fluttershy would take care of contacting the church about his absence. He was sure they would understand. They already knew Summer had been abducted.

We didn't Soul Link; I didnt want him to see the turmoil I felt inside. I wanted him to take care of his mare.

It was soon time for tearful hugging and good-byes. Equestria Girls Summer had tears in her eyes as she hugged my Mare and I. It was clear she really needed a break, and that was fine.

As the last ones through, Summer and I tightly hugged Princess Twilight, then the rest of her amazing ponies, then we held hands, and returned to the Equestria Girls world together.

Chapter 10, Helping Out

Nopony wanted to leave Equestria, but we had to come back.

The Portal was kind to us on the way back to the Equestria Girls world. The clock inside the High School lobby said 9:00, so Soccer practice was just starting.

Rainbow Dash ran quickly around to the field, and jumped in. She was barely even late. This was good, she was the team Captain.

The rest of us walked back to Fluttershy's apartment, and everyone else got their 'stuff'. The girls said they normally wandered over to the bleachers to watch Rainbow at ten, so they just sat around in Fluttershy's apartment and talked.

This was clearly 'girl time', which was fine. I told Summer I was heading to my 'cubical', and to have Fluttershy text me if anything came up. My Mare smiled at me, and I headed out the door. That would have to be enough.

The walk to my cubical in the Equestria Girls world didn't take long, it was also near the School.

After letting myself in, first thing, I got the keys to 'big Blue', and got the 'scope' out of the trunk. I unfolded my work-table down over the bed, set the 'scope' up there, and turned it on.

Once the 'scope' came to life, I saw Summer, of course, but this too would have to be ok. I needed to do everything I could to protect her safety regardless of how I felt. I would, of course.

Besides, Summer felt very attached to these amazing ladies, and it had been months since she could spend a lot of time with them. She deeply loved them all. I had no doubt that she would so completely enjoy every second she spent with them, and I didn't want to intrude on that at all.

Before doing anything else, I located the 'Loaner' cell phone, and the charger, and plugged it in. It showed an unanswered text, and I quickly uncovered the text chain for Equestria Girls Summer's disappearance, and that was just chilling. I was suddenly very glad she was in Equestria right now.

Using my shears and electric razor, I spent the next maybe fifteen minutes both shaving, and substantially trimming my very shaggy hair. After years of having to tend to this myself, I had gotten pretty good at cutting my own hair.

After this task was done, I headed out and checked my car over. It had received very little 'maintenance' in the last few years, and I wanted to make sure everything was still 'ship shape', and it was. I didn't know if I would need it again.

Every few minutes or so, I would walk back and check the 'scope'. I just wanted to know when they left. Their next stop was probably the bleachers, and this was fine. I just felt I should 'keep track'.

I also had no idea when and if the two monsters may 'show up' around here. If they did show up, boy would they be mad. They had not seen the rest of us or the car, but still. I wasn't sure what I could do, but I wanted to know immediately should they surface. This recurring fear would not easily go away.

The last task was to locate a key and a Title. This was quickly done.

Oh, and by the way, I really felt terrible. But I was trying to be a responsible pony...

I was standing inside my 'cubicle', because there was no place to sit. Well, I could put the toilet cover down and sit on that. I was watching my amazing Mare on the 'scope'. They were just sitting and talking. I am sure this was amazing for all of them.

Summer told me a number of times that her brief time with the Equestria Girls was a high point for her. I would do everything I could to allow her to enjoy that again. I really didn't know how long we would be here, and I wanted Summer to enjoy as much as she could.

Mentally, I took stock of the Canterlot Recorder tasks I had on deck. Summer and I needed to do a final pass or two through 'Faded Memories' (the title Summer and I agreed upon for the account surrounding PonyRos' takeover) and it was ready to go. That could wait until we got back to Equestria though.

I next needed to start on what had happened in the last week maybe, rescuing both Summers from monsters. I was hoping I could get this started while we were here.

Still, in the back of my head, I knew that the material for Volume 5 of Princess Celestia's commentaries would start flooding in very soon. As far as I could tell, Princess Twilight and her girls were doing very well, and I expected an amazing year of lessons.

I wished that the Equestria Girls could get involved with that though... They are all just as amazing as their Equestria pony Twins, and they all love their Princess too. Besides, I knew this world needed these lessons just as much...

I parked my brain, and watched my amazing Mare. I had seen a similar view the first time she was here, but I had not been emotionally attached then. Well her abduction changed that. Well, her first abduction had. Bah...

I tried to park my brain again. It wasn't working. I just sighed.

I walked out the door, and wandered back to the White Mustang behind 'big Blue'. It really was a beautiful car. I popped the hood. Where had I left this... Oh thats right, the carburator needed rebuilding. I wonder if I can even get a rebuild kit any more...

I closed the hood, then checked the 'scope' again.

The girls were heading over to the High School, probably to the bleachers. This was actually my cue to head back. I would sit in the bleachers too, some distance away, just to keep an eye on things. Cel, well Princess Celestia, had told me to do that.

I pulled the cell off the charger, put it in my pocket, then locked my 'cubical' and headed back to the School.

By the time I arrived at the bleachers, the girls were already there, sitting and talking. Princess.. er Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, along with Summer and Fluttershy, were all sitting in a group, still talking together.

Rainbow was also running Soccer practice.

I wandered over to the far side of the bleachers, and sat down, and tried to just relax and watch some Soccer.

Summer came quickly over, and sat down next to me.

It was quiet for a minute, and we both just sat there.

"Stallion, I know you are hurting, and I just wa--" She began quietly.

I stopped her gently, but firmly, then spoke softly.

"Amazing Mare, your time with these dear ladies was a high point for you, and I want you to be able to enjoy them as long as we are here. When we get back to Equestria, I will curl up in your lap, and cry for hours. Until then, I want you to enjoy these amazing ladies."

Summer almost started crying. But she hugged me, and said softly "Stallion, I love you so. Just know that."

"I know Mare, go enjoy your friends." I said, then I smiled.

She was quickly back over with the Equestria Girls, and a steady stream of High School friends began to wander over.

Being able to tell Summer what I told her helped me feel a lot better. I also think it helped my Mare be more at ease being with her friends, and this was good. As bad as I felt inside, this opportunity was a dream come true for Summer, and I would help her make the best of it.

Besides, watching Summer and her friends reach out and love hurting girls here... This was my Mare in her 'element', she loved helping others. The rest of the amazing Equestria Girls did too. The 'putting others first' that made up true friendship was very real to all of them, and it showed... a lot.

And what had happened to both Summers less than 24 hours ago must have opened old wounds for some of these girls, but this just allowed healing to proceed. There were a lot of tears, as they explained where Equestria Girls Summer was right now, and why. And the large bruise on my Summer's neck looked a lot worse now, and was hard to conceal.

After about an hour, Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna walked over to the girls, and they were crying too. Evidently they knew what had happened, and joined the group hugging and crying together. Of course, they were both glad the Summers were safe.

It must have turned some heads that the Principal and Vice-Principal were crying too, along with the rest of the girls, but both of these ladies really cared about their students. And it was clear that this was a very real danger for the girls who would start School here soon.

After maybe 20 minutes, both Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna walked over to me. I got up quickly and stepped down to the grass, and fought the urge to hug them. They were Cel and Lu's Twins after all.

I heard Cel's voice, but Principal Celestia explained...

"Our Twins felt it might be helpful if we could supply you with some sort of task while you and Summer are here. I think their main concern has to do with the time these amazing girls spend together here during the day.

"I cannot stress enough how helpful these six girls have been to our students, chiefly the girls. And our Twins were both sure Summer would want to be very involved with that time, and they wanted to make it easier for you both."

I almost started crying, but replied slowly

"Cel and Lu are right, doing what Summer is doing with the rest of the Equestria Girls right now, this is like heaven for Summer, and I have already told her to throw herself into this for as long as we are here.

"If there is some way that I can help you or the school, while still being able to keep an eye on the girls, then that would be nice. I doubt I really need to stay right here while they are all together at the School like this anyway."

The three of us were soon walking towards the High School building.

"Our Twins love you and Summer a lot..." Vice-Principal Luna said this quietly.

I did start crying at this point. We both loved them a lot too. Still, I added quietly "I think there's still some in Equestria that resent that. I don't know why..." I didn't cry long though. Men aren't supposed to cry here.

Principal and Vice-Principal led me to a locked door that opened into a large room. One whole side of the room was filled with windows that looked out across the Soccer field to the bleachers on the far side. This was good. It would be a LOT easier to keep tabs on everyone from here. I think Cel and Lu's Twins knew this would be handy.

The room looked like some sort of work-shop or something, and fully one third of the room was stacked, floor to ceiling, with Computer stuff; Desk-top boxes, displays and printers mostly. It looked like any that quit working were simply packed in here.

"That mound of computers is my task, right?" I asked, then laughed.

"Any computers that you can fix will be welcome; we are short ten systems in the Computer Lab. Pulling out any stuff that is just too old will also help; we will just haul them off for recycling" Principal Celestia said.

Vice-Principal Luna added "We used to be able to hire a tech to do this, but our funding has been cut heavily, and he had to go. And we can't afford to buy the computers we need for the Lab either."

I laughed at this "But they made you add solar panels over the parking lot. I guess 'Carbon Footprint' trumps everything else..."

Principal and Vice Principal looked at each other and just smiled.

"Yes..." Principal Celestia said. "Just don't tell anyone I said that."

"Principal and Vice-Principal, I will be happy to help you try to make sense of this stack of computers, especially to see if I can bring ten or more back to life for you. It will give me something to do to keep my mind off of... well..." I started saying this, but couldn't finish.

"It is clear you and Summer love each other a lot..." Vice-Principal Luna said quietly.

"I just rescued her this morning... And now..." I started, then stopped deliberately and sighed.

It was quiet a minute, then I said softly "Letting Summer do what she loves to do, means more to me than anything else right now. Your girls need this. Summer wants this. I can wait..."

Well, they handed me a set of keys, then they both hugged me, then headed off to their offices.

I texted Fluttershy "Please don't go anywhere else before letting me know first, and thanks."

Then I looked at the mound of computers.

Fluttershy texted quickly back "I love you, Stallion", and I knew this was from my Mare. Reading this helped, a lot. I knew Equestria Girls Summer and my Twin texted a bunch, and now I was beginning to understand why.

So I texted back "Fluttershy, give Summer a hug for me."

An hour later I had the 'mound' spread out across the room. Well, I kept looking out the window to check on the girls too.

The Desk Top boxes were all in a row on the long bench below the windows; there were about sixty of them. They were placed so that their back panels were facing the room. From the arrangement of the connectors on the back panel alone, I could tell that half of them were to old to be useful.

The LCD monitors were carefully lined up on the table along one of the short sides of the room, maybe 35 of them. These had the highest probability of being useful.

I carefully laid the Printers on their side on the floor below the LCD Monitors. There were only twenty Printers, and I didn't think they were needed for the Computer Lab, but I needed to check on that. A few of the printers had archaic 'tractor feed' mechanisms, and they went straight into the 'recycle' pile.

A mound of keyboards were neatly stacked on one of the work tables in the center of the room.

The older 'CRT' style Monitors I just placed back into a careful pile in one corner. Most probably worked, but they used a lot of power, and so I would ignore them for now. But if I needed them...

Power cables in a pile here, video cables in a pile here, USB cables in another pile close by. A huge plastic bin filled up with 'mice'...

The thirty computers that were not worth fooling with were then carefully stacked to form a wall around the CRT Monitors. When I had everything fixed, this stuff would all get recycled.

The other thirty computers I would need to try and fix, one at a time. I had a pretty good hunch that most of the LCD Monitors were fine. If they were connected to a computer that failed, both were probably put in here.

At this point, Principal and Vice-Principal wandered in. I explained the smaller piles of stuff, and what they meant, and they seemed really happy; they felt I had made a lot of progress.

I also verified that the Computer Lab did not need the Printers; they were just used by Staff. However, they could use a few more if some could be brought back to life.

Principal Celestia indicated they were headed out for some food. I let them know a simple deli sandwich and some milk would be fine for me, and I thanked them. They were soon on their way.

A second work table in the center of the room had a good supply of tools in drawers underneath. Facing the windows, I grabbed a screwdriver, and got to work.

The first computer I opened up smelled bad inside. I quickly found two exploded filter capacitors on the Motherboard. I found some masking tape, put a piece across the top of the box and wrote 'Motherboard bad'. This system could supply spare parts for another system.

The next computer I picked up had a nasty rattle. Something heavy was clanking around inside. I opened it up, half expecting to find maybe the CPU fan dangling by wires, or something similar.

With the side off, I didn't see anything visibly loose. So, I picked it up, turned the open side down, and shook it. The 'rattle' fell out. It was a ring. Somehow, someone had stuffed a ring into this box.

I put the box down, and picked the ring up. It looked like Sterling Silver, and was thin but very shiny. It only had one decoration, two interlocked hearts. And it was just about the right size too. I put it in my pocket.

I set the computer upright, connected a keyboard and a monitor, and powered it up. It sounded like it went through it's startup correctly, but the Monitor showed nothing. Trying another Monitor fixed that, and, after plugging in a keyboard and a mouse, I had a 'known good' computer system. This would make it easier to troubleshoot the rest.

I marked the first Monitor 'bad' with masking tape.

By the time Principal and Vice-Principal had returned, I had checked out all the LCD monitors. Five were bad, 30 were good. This was very good. The bad ones were added to the 'recycle' stack.

I also handed the ring to Principal Celestia, and told her where it came from. She looked at it a minute, and said quietly "probably a 'steady' ring that wasn't needed at the last minute", then she gave it to Vice-Principal Luna to examine.

The Vice Principal looked at it briefly, then handed it back to me and quietly said "I know an amazing mare that might appreciate that", then she smiled.

"My thought exactly" I replied just as quietly.

"A little piece of the Equestria Girls world for Cel's mom" Principal Celestia said with a chuckle.

They went back to work, and I ate my sandwich.

At around two in the afternoon, Fluttershy texted me that they were about done. I told them to stay put, I would be out shortly.

Still, I already had five computers for the Lab up and running, and working on their usual updates and such. I would leave them running overnight for that.

I locked the shop, and headed out to the bleachers.

I really appreciated being able to help out the School like this.

Rainbow had joined the group by now, and they were all sitting in the bleachers talking.

I sat next to Summer.

Applejack spoke up "Shysage, we want to go to the Cake's for some soda, would that be ok?"

I thought for a minute then said "Pinkie, while clearing electronics, I saw that the monsters had a computer system dedicated to an on-line Web-cam pointing at the Cake's Soda Machine. They probably used that to find both Summers.

"That really needs to be dealt with before any of us go there. And it would be best if you found the Web-cam and disabled it without getting in the field of view yourself, so they don't see you.

"Does that make any sense?"

Applejack laughed and said "Not to me, it doesn't."

Pinkie said quickly "No sweat Shysage, I know where the security cameras are. I'll go in, turn the WiFi off, find the camera and kill it. Then I'll text you when it's clear."

Rainbow spoke up quickly "Pinkie, I'll come help."

Applejack laughed again and said "I want to see this, too"

I just had to say again "Pinkie, you are amazing..."

Then the three of them headed to the Cakes.

My Mare spoke up at this point. "Stallion, these ladies normally start into their projects for the day at around three. I think we are going to the Cake's for soda, then that will happen. That will give you and I some time... to uhm..."

It was clear Summer was having trouble with this. She was trying to be careful, and it showed.

Fluttershy quickly spoke up "Shysage, I'm going to spend the afternoon with Pinkie, so you and Summer can have some time together. I hope that's ok..."

I just smiled at my Mare, and said "I think I can make that work."

Summer smiled back. That would have to be enough for now. It was, her smile is priceless.

It was quiet for a minute.

"Shysage, I'm still not sure exactly what happened. Will you be writing that up or something?" Twilight Sparkle asked this.

"I have already been asked to do that, so yes" I replied. "I hope to work on it while Summer and I are here."

The Equestria Girls seemed every bit as 'close knit' as Princess Twilight and the Equestria ponies. They all deserved to know what had happened. Well, everypony did.

I just sighed. The Portal had brought amazing ladies together, but still... I really hoped the Portal got moved to Ponyville. It would help these dear friends be a lot 'closer' to each other.

Twilight got the 'all clear' from Pinkie, so we headed down to the grass, and walked to the Cakes. After maybe five minutes, we were there, and the eight of us were quickly all sitting at a big round table, talking together over sodas.

At one point Pinkie said "I helped Mr. Cake secure his WiFi, and the bad Web-cam has been disposed of, by the way. Still, I should probably check every week or so for any more 'floaters'.

That was my cue. I got out the Title and key, and slowly pushed both over in front of Pinkie Pie.

It was instantly quiet, and everyone looked at the paper on the table.

After maybe fifteen seconds, Pinkie Pie teared up...

Then she carefully pushed it back.

"Shysage, I can't take this, unless you give it to our family instead. Losing all those amazing cars crushed my parents, and there are none like them left in wrecking yards any more; we have all looked for years. I won't take this, unless you let us Pie's fix it up and give it to our parents..."

Pinkie was already crying a little, and I quickly pushed the key and Title back towards her and said quietly "I am honored to help out your family like this. Give your parents a hug for us."

"Shysage, I--" Pinkie started to say, then she was crying like a baby, and jumped up and ran over and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back. Then she hugged Summer too...

Applejack asked quietly "What just happened?"

Pinkie couldn't talk, and Summer was crying with her. So I tried.

"Well, this will make more sense once I have the account of both Summer's rescue written.

"Years ago, I spent more time wandering through wrecking yards. During that time, I found two similar Mustangs, and bought both. One is in the car-port next to my 'cubical', the other is in a storage shed here in town. My family consider both of them ju-- Oh, nevermind.

"Pinkie and her family used to own a bunch of very nice cars from the same era, including two of these Mustangs, and labored to take care of them. They owned a race track, and raced them. A Judge took the track and cars away from the family, and the cars rusted away and got scrapped.

"I gave my second Mustang to Pinkie's family. They will fix it up, and give it to their parents as a surprise. I just hope I can be there for that."

Well, I couldn't say anything more either. I knew this would be a very meaningful gift to Pinkie's parents. And I knew the Mustang was going to a very good home.

And everyone else said they wanted in on that too. They loved Pinkie, and helping out like this was an amazing opportunity.

After a few minutes, we were all just crying together. There was a lot of mutual devotion in this circle.

Five minutes later, most of our crying had subsided.

The key I had given her was to the storage shed. Pinkie picked up the key, then looked off into the distance. Pinkie Sense...

"Let's see... 69 Sportsroof... Interior pulled out... Wow, you switched it over to 5 lug, and disk brakes, nice! Straight body with some rust, but no major damage... Wow, Cleveland too! And, uhm C-4 tranny... from a Sedan? Oh well.

"Shysage, this will be a labor of love for us Pie's... Thank you..."

Pinkie started crying again, and I did too. Still, I got up and hugged her.

Pinkie had been such an amazing help recovering our mares... This gift wasn't 'payback' buy any means; I didn't feel I had to do this. I just wanted to. I was meeting a need in her life as she had freely helped us out. I couldn't explain any more than that.

We just sat around for a few more minutes, then everyone needed to head out. And everyone hugged everyone before leaving. About that 'mutual devotion' I mentioned...

When Pinkie, Fluttershy, Summer and I were the only ones left, Fluttershy said softly "Sis, you two can head out now. Pinkie and I will stay together the whole time. Just be back here at around five to walk me home. Is that ok?"

I think we all started crying again, and just hugged together for a minute. Then Pinkie took Fluttershy by the arm, and they headed up the stairs.

I took Summer's arm in mine, and we headed outside.

Chapter 11, Helping Out, Part 2

Summer and I walked out of the Cake's, arm in arm. We were finally together, just us. I sighed.

"Summer, where do you want to go?" I asked quietly.

Summer was clearly thinking about other things.

"Stallion, I really appreciate you letting me spend time with these girls while I'm here. That means more to m--" Summer said this much, then she started crying and couldn't continue.

I just hugged her close as we walked down the sidewalk, and decided we should just head to Fluttershy's apartment. We walked slowly, and didn't even talk. We didn't really need to. I was just glad to be next to this amazing Mare. And I knew her time here with Princess Twilight's friends was priceless for her.

When we were most of the way to Fluttershy's apartment, I took us on a detour, and we headed to the bleachers behind the School.

We ended up sitting in roughly the middle of the bleachers, maybe three benches up. We were the only ones here.

Summer was calming down, and I looked into her amazing Blue eyes, but resisted the urge to kiss her. I just took her hand, and we just sat together, holding hands, and enjoyed the day. It was sunny and warm, a nice day.

"I love you Summer" I said softly.

She put her head down on my shoulder for a minute, and sighed deeply. That was all I needed to hear.

It was quiet for a few minutes.

Still holding her hand, I remembered the ring in my pocket. I didn't want to give it to her with everyone else around. This would be a good time...

The cell in my other pocket announced a text, and I took it out and we checked it together.

"Where are you?" It was from Pinkie Pie.

I texted back "Bleachers."

Pinkie texted back quickly "Stay put, will be there soon."

Summer watched this whole interchange, and neither of us had any idea what was going on.

Five minutes later, Pinkie, Fluttershy and two other girls rounded the end of the bleachers. They were all crying.

I told Summer I would ask true friend to help them, then I got up and headed over to the School to check on the computers I had fixed earlier.

I knew my Mare would quickly be crying with them. And when I got back into the Shop, I kept an eye on them, too.

I found the rest of this out later.

The two other girls were Filia and Fiona, identical twins with striking Red hair. They would be attending the High School when classes started.

These two girls had actually been with the Equestria Girls earlier today, and had heard about what Summer and her Twin had been through less than two days ago.

Filia and Fiona had been abused by their Step-father. Both were trying to leave this behind them, but it seemed to just be consuming these girls. Both had recently attempted suicide and failed, thankfully. Still, time with the Equestria Girls had brought this all back out.

They left this morning, then realized that was a mistake. These two hurting girls needed more...

Pinkie 'sensed' their presence in the Cake's, and she and Fluttershy went down and found them, and tried to help. Fluttershy quickly realized they were dwarfed by the needs they faced, and brought them to Summer.

Summer quickly asked Pinkie to text the rest, to ask that if any of the girls could come, that would be good.

For a while, the five of them just cried together. The twins needed that. They needed someone who understood what they had been through... They needed to cry with that person. And that was Summer.

Twilight and Rarity walked up soon after, sat down, and started giving, loving and crying with everyone else. Rainbow and Applejack were both working, and that was fine. These twins needed more than just a 'quick fix' anyway.

At one point, Summer explained to Filia and Fiona that they MUST NOT let the past determine their future. Summer shared briefly about the first time she was abducted and abused, and the growing brokenness she felt inside. The twins instantly related to that. Summer also shared her realization she had to look past what had happened, and treasure her future. Well, she didn't mention Princess Twilight, Summer treasured her Princess. But Summer's point was that the future had to be more important than the past. The future had to be treated as something worth preserving.

At another point, Summer tried to help both girls see that the 'putting others first' that made up true friendship would be a huge help as they sought to work past what they had been through. These girls needed to increasingly focus on others, so that their own experiences didn't destroy them. Summer and her Twin had both learned that lesson.

And Summer begged Filia and Fiona to stay close to other true friends, such as those in this group. These amazing ladies would be a big help to these hurting twins.

For almost two hours, the Equestria Girls showered love, concern and tears on these two sisters, and it made a huge difference.

At this point, Twilight Sparkle mentioned that the High School Principal really needed to know what was going on, and asked the girl's permission to have them come hear their story.

Filia and Fiona both knew they were among real friends, and quickly agreed. Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna soon walked over, sat down, and listened to their story, and were quickly crying with everyone else.

After hearing Filia and Fiona's story, Principal Celestia said softly "Your situation requires that certain legal obligations be met. What you have been through is clearly against the law, and should be addressed. I really need you both to come to my office for that. Please rest assured though, that everyone in this circle will do everything we can to help you."

These two girls already knew that what Principal Celestia just said about the girls around them was true, and headed off into the High School with Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna.

A police car soon pulled up in front of the school. A second car with probably the twin's mom pulled up soon after. Hopefully, justice would be done for these girls.

I spent most of that time checking out computers. The ones that were already updating, I had to turn back on a few times, so the updating could continue. I also found two more working computers, and started the updating on them.

When it was starting to get dark, I shut everything down, locked the Shop, and headed back over to the bleachers.

Summer quickly filled me in on what was going on, and of course that had highest priority.

Principal Celestia had texted Twilight to ask everyone to just wait in the bleachers until she knew how things would turn out.

I moved, and sat near the group, but off to the side. These amazing Equestria Girls were in this together, and I was basically watching from the outside.

Friendship was Magic here...

After maybe another hour, Filia, Fiona, and their mom, along with Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna walked back out to the group in the bleachers. The twin's mom really wanted to meet the girls that had done so much to help her two daughters.

The Equestria Girls immediately gathered around Filia and Fona, and were again crying with them both. They just pulled their mom into the group hug, and they all cried together.

I walked over at this point to thank Principal and Vice-Principal, only to get a hug from both. We were all family now, anyway.

I just stood with them and watched the Magic of Friendship in action.

It was amazing, and Filia and Fiona and their mom were simply overwhelmed by the love and concern they felt. "I didn't know this kind of friendship even existed any more..." Their mom said this through her tears at one point.

...

And Princess Twilight had brought this here... Then she asked Summer to keep the flame alive... And with Equestria in their Hearts, the Equestria Girls simply carried the Magic of Friendship back to their world... It was burning brightly HERE, through all these amazing ladies, tonight...

...

After maybe half an hour, the Principal and Vice-Principal needed to leave. They both gave a business card to Filia and Fiona's mom in case she needed anything.

The 'Step-father' had not been living at the girl's house for a while now, so the mom decided to take her daughters to the Cake's for dinner, then just head home with her girls.

We all had no doubt that we would see these two precious girls again.

Still, I had to wonder to myself if Equestria held 'Twins' for these two twins. That would really be amazing...

Summer and I both agreed on the foundational importance of making others more important than yourself. This is the 'putting others first' that brings true friendship to life.

This 'life philosophy' is not very popular any more, and maybe this is one of the reasons Summer's Chronicles were collecting dust in the Canterlot Library.

But these two girls' experiences brought this whole discussion into stark relief.

A self-centered man (just another monster) had simply taken what he wanted from these two girls, and tried hard to destroy their future in the process.

A large, dedicated group of true friends had gathered around these same two girls, rescued them, loved them, treasured them and brought healing.

It didn't take rocket science or a master's degree to see which of these two 'life philosophies' was best, good, most helpful, better for everyone, and etc.

And the math behind all this seemed chilling to me.

I knew from experience that a single 'bully' could easily ruin the lives of the five or ten people around them.

But it took half a dozen or so true friends to rescue and treasure these two girls, after what a 'monster' had done to them.

I don't know... It just seemed to me that the number of people who were willing to give like this was continuing to dwindle in this world. Maybe that was why there were so many hurting people here...

Well, anyway, life would hopefully be better for Filia and Fiona.

After everyone else had left, Summer and I along with Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity were just sitting in the bleachers, in the dark, and we just talked for a while. Well, I was sitting next to Summer, and mostly listening.

At one point, Twilight Sparkle said "Summer, it seems we owe you a huge thanks for bringing true friendship to us. Thank you."

Summer started crying softly right away, and tried to explain through tears.

"Oh, Twilight, thank you, but it wasn't that way at all...

"I came here scared to death, both at what I would find, and how long I would have to stay..."

Summer took Fluttershy's hand at this point, then continued.

"Sis, er Fluttershy and the rest of Princess Twilight's new friends were already true friends, and just scooped me up, and gathered around me, just like they did for their Princess...

"And as I tried to work through the totally new 'school' experience, those same five ladies were right beside me, helping me every step, again like they did for Princess Twilight.

"And when Equestria was taken over, these same five ladies demanded that I take them back through the Portal with me, even though they knew they could die; they already loved their Princess and their Twins..."

A little more quietly, Summer added "I honestly think you Equestria Girls already had what I was supposed to bring you; I think I just understood enough to explain what it was."

Rarity sighed, and said quietly "Well, I wasn't very nice to you at first..."

Summer hugged Rarity tightly and said "Oh, Rare, my Twin did that, and I had to accept responsibility for that for my Twin. Once that was done, you were every bit the true friend as the rest...

"And by the way Twilight, you weren't here for most of this, but I have you to thank that I 'snapped out' of the brokenness the monsters left in me the first time. I just knew that my Princess meeting you would be amazing..."

It was clear Summer was choking back tears at this point.

It was quiet for a minute, then Summer said softly "Twilight, Girls, I just want you too know that I love all of you so very much. I will treasure every minute we spend together. I'm sure I said that a bunch maybe 8 months ago now, but I still mean it...

Summer couldn't help it, and started crying at this point. They all just hugged and cried together for a few minutes.

Well, it very dark, and late, almost eight according to the cell.

We all climbed down onto the grass, and group hugged for a few minutes, and cried some, too.

Then Twilight left with Rarity and Pinkie Pie.

"Summer, I should get some sleep" I said quietly. "Let me walk you both home first, though."

It wasn't far to Fluttershy's apartment, and Summer and Fluttershy were talking the whole time, which was fine. They were Sis... Well, they really were.

I stopped at the door, as these two amazing ladies walked inside.

"Shysage, can you come in for a minute, please?" Fluttershy asked.

I was trying to make this quick for both our sakes, but I walked inside anyway.

"I think you have something for Summer..." Fluttershy added quietly, then smiled.

Oh wow, this would be tough... I already wanted to cry for hours... But that part had to wait. Either Pinkie Sense or Fluttershy's ocean deep sensitivity... It didn't matter, both friends are amazing...

Without saying a word, I got the ring out, gently picked Summer's hand up, and carefully slid the ring down onto her ring-finger. It fit perfectly.

Summer looked at the ring, and burst into tears immediately, and we hugged tightly. I tried not to cry, but really couldn't help it. I loved this mare so much...

Fluttershy was in the bathroom, so we just stood there, hugging tightly and crying together for a few minutes. I think we both needed this. And neither of us could talk, either.

When Fluttershy came back out, I stopped crying, and thanked her.

I hugged Summer tightly once more, then said quietly to both of them "You two stay together, and inside, and I will see you again tomorrow. But I need to head out now, before I... ...can't..."

I headed out the door, waited to hear the door lock behind me, then I headed to my 'cubical'. It wasn't far.

I really was very tired, and was soon in bed, with the 'scope' sitting on the toilet cover, recording, with the display turned off.

Laying here in this bed in my 'cubical' surfaced a sea of terrible memories of seemingly endless, empty nights, but things were vastly different now. I hurt a lot inside, but for far different reasons... We were here to help others. That was more important. I was quickly asleep.

Chapter 12, Helping Out, Part 3

I must have been tired, because I don't remember anything until I woke up the next morning. The cell said it was around ten, and I had already received a bunch of texts.

The first three were from my Mare (who was sending stuff from Fluttershy's phone) and they immediately cheered me up. I couldn't be with her, but her words conveyed what was in her heart, and that was enough for now.

The next five were from Pinkie, and most went simply "Hey, are you there? We need to talk!" or something very similar. Evidently something was 'up', and I should probably find out.

The last text was fairly recent, and from my Mare, saying they were headed to the bleachers.

I got up and got dressed, then quickly shaved. I could find no food to eat, oh well. No breakfast today. I pulled the work table back down over the bed, and moved the 'scope' there, and turned the display back on.

Summer and the girls were already at the bleachers, so I would head there. I pulled the cell from the charger, and put it in my pocket, then locked the door, and was on my way.

According to the cell, today was Friday, whatever difference that made.

Everyone was already at the bleachers, except for Rainbow Dash, who was buried in Soccer practice. Filia and Fiona had already found these amazing friends too, and this was fine.

I walked over and sat down next to Summer, and smiled. She took my hand and squeezed it ever so slightly, and that was enough. And that ring looked beautiful on her finger.

Pinkie was quickly bubbling with the news. The two 'monsters' that had taken both Summers three days ago, were now in jail.

Pinkie talked quickly, and was very animated as she described what happened at the Cake's last night. Well, that's where Pinkie lived.

Evidently, the two 'monsters' came back last night, and they were not happy.

They saw Filia and Fiona, and thought it was the two Summers, and that they had simply dyed their hair red in order to avoid being taken again.

At gun-point, these two men took Filia and her sister out the back door, as their mom looked on in horror.

Even by the dim light over the back door, Filia could tell a rusty gun with no clip, and so no bullets, when she saw it.

Oh, and Filia and Fiona were both very accomplished at Judo.

In about two minutes, both 'monsters' were out cold on the sidewalk.

Mr. Cake was in his office, and saw the commotion on the security cameras, and the police were on their way before Filia and Fiona were finished.

The officers had the men cuffed even before the two of them 'woke up'.

As Pinkie explained all this, Filia and Fiona were sitting next to Twilight, and were both looking at each other and blushing.

Still, this news put to rest a nagging fear I had carried since we drove away from the two monsters in the grass. I resisted the urge to cry.

First, I asked Summer if the girls knew about our 'run-in' with the same men maybe three nights ago. She said they all had already talked about that. So, instead of crying, I just thanked the two amazing sisters. In jail is where those two monsters belonged.

This really was good news.

But I also knew that 'attempted kidnapping' would not get these two a very long sentence, then they would be back, and even more angry at now four harmless ladies. This was just not right.

I was deep in thought for a few minutes, as the girls all talked together. Well, I had to do someting.

I told Summer I needed to run to my 'cubical' for a little while, but that I expected to be back in an hour maybe.

My walk to my cubical was quick, and I went inside, and got the keys to 'big Blue', then opened the trunk.

A bunch of Notebook computers that we had pulled from the monster's house were still in the trunk.

Bah, I hated this part. I first put on gloves that I used too keep delicate components clean. I had worn these a lot while I built my 'scope' thing, and no I would never tell a soul how it worked.

I pulled a Notebook from the trunk, set it up on the bench over the bed, and started it up. Once it was done with this, I checked the contents of the computer.

The first Notebook held a bunch of video files... ...of garbage... The stuff they put on the Internet these days... This hard drive should really get 'wiped', well erased. I quickly shut it down.

I put it back in the trunk, and pulled out another one.

After starting up the second Notebook, I just found a bunch of video games. I turned it off.

I put this one back in the trunk and pulled out a third Notebook.

This Notebook looked older and was password protected, but the password was 'password', and it was soon up and running.

From the applications this Notebook held, I could tell these guys financials were on here, as well as the content and coding for their web site. Honestly, I didn't even want to look. I turned it back off.

But this was what I was looking for. I could only hope it would be enough.

With my gloves still on, I carefully alcohol scrubbed the entire outer surface of the machine. Then I put a strip of masking tape on the side, and wrote 'evidence' using a Black, felt tipped marker.

I dug up an old backpack and carefully slid the Notebook inside. Next, I picked up the USB Drive that Mr. Cake had given me a few days ago.

With my car and cubical locked up, I headed back to town, well to the Cake's specifically.

It was a little before noon when I arrived, and they were swamped. I found Mr. Cake, and mentioned I would put the USB drive on the desk in his office, and he said that was fine. I left both the USB drive, and the Notebook, and was quickly on my way.

While I wanted the Notebook with the 'evidence' to get to the Police anonymously, I still knew I was taking a risk. I felt I had to, in order to protect the innocent people and ponies whose lives had already been so damaged by these two 'monsters'. I could only hope for the best. Well, I asked true friend for help too.

Still, if I had to tell my story, I would. Those two monsters had already caused too much pain and heartache to the lives of completely innocent people. I would try to protect the ponies involved but that could get complicated...

I walked back to my cubical, put the backpack away, then headed back to the Soccer field.

Soccer was done, and the Equestria Girls were 'being there' for a number of girls from the school. Filia and her sister were 'blending right in' it seemed. This was good, they were neat girls. Well, they all were.

Rather than interrupt anything, I walked across the field, unlocked the Shop, and got back to work.

I had just pulled together an eighth computer system for the Computer Lab, and started it through the update process.

While checking on the girls in the bleachers, I noticed a guy walking up, and talking to the girls. I was pretty sure he was a student at the School.

I wasn't too concerned, and got back to work.

A minute later, Twilight texted me "Hey, we need you..."

I locked up the shop and headed back to the bleachers, noting that the guy was still there.

As I walked up, the girls said nothing, and all looked at me, so I extended my hand to the student, and we shook hands as I introduced myself.

"Hi, I'm Rick. Can we talk?" he said quietly.

We walked together over to the other end of the bleachers, and we both sat down.

I had never even anticipated anything like this. Still, I quickly said "Rick, how can I help you." I really felt this way.

Rick briefly told his story. He was starting at the High School soon. He quietly admitted he was very lonely though, and that he simply didn't understand the messages he was hearing from just about every conceivable place, it seemed. But he knew from what he had heard, that the girls at the other end of the bleachers were different. Rick wanted some answers.

I sighed, and spent a minute just thinking.

I began by explaining that being lonely wasn't a bad thing. However, he needed to try to manage these feelings. The 'right woman' would be worth waiting for, but could take some time to find. Besides, the pain that could come from jumping too quickly into a committment was far more difficult than dealing with the lonliness.

Rick understood I was advocating the 'long view' here, and this made a lot of sense to him, even though much of what he was hearing told him to focus on right now. He noted though, that I had not yet explained the girls at the other end of the bleachers.

I just chuckled and agreed. Then I explained to him, still chuckling, that I wasn't sure I completely understood the amazing girls at the other end of the bleachers.

I also cautioned him that some may disagree with what I was about to tell him.

I said that these girls were clearly committed to True Friendship, which was rooted in the committment to put others first. The rest of their lives simply reflected this. As a result, these girls tried to be true friends to the other students they met, which was mainly other female students for now.

I mentioned to Rick that these girls were far more interested in making friends, and actually helping friends, than anything else. The endless boy-friend / girl-friend drama was just not a part of what they were pursuing.

Rick again saw the 'long view' here, and also understood the basic nature of putting others first. He rightly said this was an important consideration, and he would need to carefully think this through, and decide for himself.

It was quiet for a minute, then I mentioned what I thought Rick needed to hear.

"Rick, I know it is tempting to look mostly at the appearance of the girls around you at the High School. Remember though, that lasting beauty is rooted on the inside. There are a LOT of really amazing girls at this school. It just takes an investment in time spent getting to know them.

"I also think that learning more about being a friend, and focusing more on building friendships, in the long run, will be far more beneficial and fruitful than worrying about your next Date."

Rick was quiet for a minute, then got up. He thanked me for actually taking the time to talk to him.

I thought a minute, then said "Rick, I can be here on weekdays, at maybe Two in the afternoon, if you have any more questions."

We shook hands again, he thanked me again, then walked slowly off the way he had come.

I thought to myself "Wow, helping out like this..."

Rather than wander over to the ladies, and again risking interrupting anything, I just headed back to the Shop, and got back to work.

Back in the Shop, I got a text from Fluttershy's cell "I love you, Stallion" surely my Mare's words.

I texted back simply "True Friendship...", and my Mare quickly texted the rest of this phrase back.

I had a ninth computer system pulled together, and then started it through updating. Some of these computers had not been used for a while, and the actual operating system updating was pretty extensive.

At around three, I looked out the window, and saw the Equestria Girls still being friends for other girls from the School. I just kept working.

I had found a tenth computer box that worked, and I was pulling together and testing the rest of the pieces for this system. Some of these computers did not work right away, but replacing the memory from a dead computer usually fixed this.

At around four, I was surprised by Summer, the Equestria Girls, and Fiona and her sister wandering into the Shop.

I wanted to hug Summer, but I just didn't know what to do, so I didn't do anything.

Summer walked up and hugged me briefly. I won't lie, that was nice.

Twilight spoke up and said "Thank you for talking to that boy. I don't think any of us knew how to handle that."

"Rick and I had a good talk together, and we will see how things go. I also volunteered to be available around two, week-day afternoons, so we will see if he comes back" I said quietly.

I liked helping students, but disliked bragging. That wasn't my goal at all. Besides, I didn't even know if I would ever see him again.

Filia and Fiona's mom walked in with Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna. Evidently, we were all heading to the Cake's for a slightly early dinner, courtesy of Filia and Fiona's mom. This was good, I was pretty hungry. Well, that wasn't the only reason it was good...

I mentioned to the Principal sisters that I had nine computer systems up, running and updating, and was working on the tenth. Both seemed very pleased with that.

I didn't tell them, but I suspected that I could pull together probably fifteen complete systems for the Computer Lab. I would find out next week.

We all walked to the Cake's Diner, it wasn't far from the School. And it was a lot more relaxed now, not having to worry about the monsters showing up any minute.

Mr. Cake quickly had a few tables pulled together for us, and we had a nice dinner.

I sat next to Summer, and Pinkie Pie was on my other side.

At one point during dinner, Pinkie mentioned casually that someone had left a computer in the office that held great evidence against the two men who had abducted the Summers and Filia and Fiona. The Police were appreciative, even though they didn't know where it had come from.

I had to suppress the urge to laugh. I was sure Pinkie knew I did that.

Dinner was very good.

Filia and Fiona seemed like completely different girls with all that weight cleared away. Their mom was so thankful to the friends in the group, and she said so plainly. Well, the 'helping' wasn't done yet either, but still.

And after dinner, we all sat and talked together.

Relaxing with such amazing friends. What more could I want...

When we first came back to the Equestria Girls world and rescued both Summers, I really did hurt a lot inside. I didn't hurt as much any more. Maybe helping others out had something to do with that.

Sitting next to Summer was very nice, too.

While talking together after dinner, we all decided to spend tomorrow (Saturday) at Sweet Apple farm.

Applejack mentioned, in passing, that they could use some help with picking apples. That was all it took; the rest of the Equestria Girls simply jumped at the opportunity to help her out. Applejack had tears in her eyes, but mentioned their 'late summer' harvest would be pretty big. Of course, the friends present wanted in on that.

Tomorrow, we would all help pick apples, then just relax together a while. The twin's mom needed to work, but the twins wanted to come help too. Rainbow got her cell out, and arranged someone else to take over Soccer practice.

Principal Celestia offered to borrow a Van from the School, and everything was taken care of. The Principal didn't hesitate to do this; these amazing ladies had done wonders for the girls in her student body, and this was an easily justifiable expense for that reason.

I sighed, and Summer sensed this right away, and quickly asked me what was wrong. I quietly mentioned that this would be amazing if the Equestria ponies could come. Principal Celestia was sitting next to Summer, and heard this.

Principal Celestia smiled, and spoke up quickly for everyone to hear. "Just so you all know, the plans are for us to spend time with our Equestria friends next weekend."

A few of the ladies at this table teared up immediately at this, including Fluttershy and Summer. It seemed everypony missed their Twins. Well, both my Mare (Summer) and Fluttershy missed their 'real' sisters too. Equestria pony Fluttershy and Equestria Girls Summer were in Equestria right now.

Filia and Fiona looked a little confused, but they would probably find out about this soon enough.

It was almost seven when we all stood, and everypony hugged everypony. True friendship had accomplished a lot in this amazing circle, and there was a lot of love as a result.

Summer and I hugged the Principal sisters, and they mentioned we could use their Guest House this weekend if we wanted to. Summer beat me to it, and said that we would prefer to stay with our Equestria Girls friends, but she thanked them both just the same.

Vice-principal Luna hugged us both again, and said "We are not really surprised, you are both amazing."

Well, I knew my Mare was anyway. But being surrounded by such dear friends, THAT was amazing.

Everyone else was soon on their way.

Fluttershy smiled, and said she was going to head upstairs with Pinkie for a while so Summer and I could have some time together.

Pinkie laughed, and said they were going to 'scan for more monsters', and we all laughed with her. This was funny because we didn't need to worry about this so much now.

I told them we would be back in about two hours, then Summer and I headed out the door, and I hugged her close as we walked.

"Summer, I love you. You are amazing" I said quietly.

"Oh Stallion, I love you too... Already our time here has been so amazing, and we have at least another week with these girls. I just can't--" Summer said all this, then was crying again.

We walked together in silence, slowly, hugging.

Summer soon calmed down again, and asked "So, where are we going?"

"To my cubical" I answered quietly. "And just so you know, I think I want to spend most of Sunday with you working on getting down the last week or so. A number have asked me about that."

"Stallion, that will be a lot of fun to do together" Summer said, then she hugged me tightly.

There was barely enough room in my cubical for both of us to even stand, but we were soon inside, and I closed the door.

I quickly shaved, then moved the 'scope' thing over on top of the toilet, and turned the display off. I didn't like seeing myself. I could have shut it down, Summer was right here with me.

I folded the work bench up, out of the way, and climbed up into that bed, and helped Summer up next to me. We were quickly hugging.

I explained what I was doing though. I said that I had spent seeming ages of empty, abandoned nights in this bed, and I was having her erase all that. I said that I had told a number of other men that five minutes with the 'right woman' would chase away years of pain and lonliness. That's what we were doing. I had no other goal and we both had our clothes on anyway.

Summer listened, then started crying, and hugged me tightly. Well, I hadn't anticipated this, and I was soon crying too. We just cried together in that bed, while hugging, for over an hour. I knew I needed this.

We both knew we had to calm down though, and so we tried to stop crying. I sat up on the bed, and leaned my back against the wall. Then I picked her up, sat her in my lap, and hugged her tightly. Well, we both hugged.

After maybe ten minutes of silence, Summer said quietly "Stallion, I love you so..."

I kissed her, then said "Summer, you were worth the wait."

Summer started weeping quietly at this, so I suggested we go for a walk for a little while, since we needed to be back at the Cake's soon anyway. I locked up the cubical, and we were quickly on our way.

We walked slowly, while hugging, all the way to the Cake's. It was a nice, warm night, with a million stars blinking overhead. It was amazing.

When we got to the Cake's, Pinkie and Fluttershy were already downstairs waiting, of course, and we hugged them both and thanked them for the time alone.

Then, with Fluttershy, we headed back to Fluttershy's apartment.

Summer was in the middle, and was quickly hugging both of us. It was interesting trying to walk like that, but I clearly knew Summer loved us both a lot. And she was quickly weeping softly again.

As Fluttershy went inside, Summer stopped me at the door, and we hugged tightly. Then we kissed once, and she headed inside. Again, I waited to hear the door lock, then I was off to my cubical.

Summer texted me even before I got home. "Stallion, please don't ever leave me..."

I quickly texted back "I don't plan to, Amazing Mare."

I was soon in bed, and slept well.

Chapter 13, Another Week in Paradise

Hi, it's me, Summer. It's my turn, I hope that's ok.

It was clear to me that my Stallion so deeply understood how dearly I loved these Equestria Girls. They had been such a huge help to me, ESPECIALLY when they came back to Equestria with me to rescue the Realm. I really could not have rescued Equestria without each one of them.

Well, and Princ, oops, Twilight Sparkle is amazing too, and I just love my Twin.

Spending time with them here, is just amazing... Words just cannot express...

I also realized that it was very difficult for my Stallion that I was staying with Fluttershy, but he worked with that, it was really the only way we could do it.

Still, spending all that time with Fluttershy was simply amazing for both of us. I miss my sister, but I love her Twin so much, too...

And by the way, Filia and her sister are very neat girls. They are very quiet, 'soft-spoken' is the word I think. I mean, they are Judo champs too, but you would never know. They both remind me of Princess Twilight. And they both gladly embraced True Friendship so quickly and completely. It is so special just being around them. The rest of the Equestria Girls feel the same way. It seems we feel this bond growing. Who knows what that means.

Well, the monsters are in jail, and it seems we are all a lot more relaxed. And the weather here has been very nice.

Anyway, by about nine on Saturday morning, we were loading up into a big White Van that the School owned. We were all very excited; we were going to go pick apples at Applejack's 'Sweet Apple' farm. This would be a nice break from 'life in the big city'.

I sat next to my Stallion, and he sat next to the window for me. We were also near the front so we didn't get bounced around as much. Driving still freaks me out sometimes, unless I am in his big Blue car; that car seems to just float along. My Twin's Mustang isn't bad either.

For the whole trip there, I closed my eyes, and rested my head on my Stallion's shoulder, and tried not to cry. I love all of the Equestria Girls surrounding me now, but I needed my Stallion. I can't explain much more than that.

A small breakfast was waiting for us, and Granny Smith is an excellent cook; it was very good.

By maybe ten, we were all out picking apples. Doing this together was such great fun! And with so many of us there, we were a big help to Applejack and Big Mac. With everyone working together like we did, we only needed to spend maybe five minutes on each tree, and all the ripe apples were carefully in buckets.

Such amazing friends... Working together... To help another friend... It was amazing...

We held the ladder while Apple Bloom got some of the higher apples for us; only she would brave the ladder for that. We decided she is no stranger to that wobbly thing, and just scampered up, then back down. Being up high like that didn't bother her at all.

Being around her made me home-sick.

We got probably half of the entire 'late summer' harvest picked, in about six hours, and Applejack had tears in her eyes when we were done. We all just gathered around, hugged together and cried with her a few minutes. We were all enjoying each other's presence too, and, well...

And we all promised to come back in maybe a month to help with the rest of the apples, which would be ripe by then. My Twin would need to take my place, I think.

Granny Smith had an amazing early dinner waiting at around four when we were done.

For the next few hours after dinner, we just wandered around in the meadow near the farm. It was so quiet and peaceful. It reminded me of Equestria again.

Filia and Fiona spent most of their time with Twilight Sparkle and Rarity; there seemed to be a lot of 'good chemistry' going on there for some reason. Of course, none of the rest of us minded. Besides, we all knew Twilight and Rarity would both be amazing for them.

For part of that afternoon, the rest of us sat in the grass and talked together. My Stallion and the Principal sisters were with us, it was just an amazing time.

I found out that classes would begin at the High School the Monday after next weekend, and everyone was busy getting ready for that. Of course, the Principal sisters had already reserved next weekend for 'friends from Equestria'. This phrase was surely an understatement.

After sitting and talking for some time, I sheepishly asked if my Stallion and I could go for a walk. Those amazing girls all pretty much 'shooed' us away, and my Stallion and I were off. Like I said, I loved everyone around me, but I needed my Stallion.

We just walked slowly, arm in arm, across the meadow. As we crested a hill, it seemed like hundreds of acres of meadow stretched out forever away in front of us. It was beautiful.

My Stallion and I were both amazed at the sight, and stopped walking at the same time, to take in the view.

I just sighed. "I wish I could fly here" I said quietly. I really missed flying.

My Stallion turned to face me, and kissed me softly. "Summer, you can, go ahead" he said lovingly.

He was right, of course, I could turn into a pony here. So I did.

My amazing stallion... He knelt down in the grass, and hugged me tightly, even though I was a pony, then kissed me again on the forehead. "Go ahead, amazing Mare" he said.

Flying felt so good... And it was such a nice day too. There were few trees in this meadow, it was so nice. I just flew slow circles for quite a while.

I think my Stallion hoped I would stay in the meadow beyond this hill, and I did, mostly. But I couldn't help it. I wanted to fly past our dear friends...

Everypony knew right away who I was and waved. I think Rainbow and Fluttershy started crying though, and I had to apologize to them later. They both loved flying too.

Twilight Sparkle later told me that Filia and Fiona had no idea what they were seeing, and Twilight just said out loud "Oh, Summer..."

I flew back to my Stallion, landed, and changed back to a 'people', then just cried on his shoulder for a while... I feel so torn across the worlds on both sides of the Portal. My Stallion cried with me, he feels the same way.

We were soon hugging tightly and kissing. We both enjoyed that, and we thought this might be the only chance we got for a while. I love him so much...

As the Sun headed for the horizon, we walked back to the rest, and just visited together for a while more.

Too soon, it was time to load back into the Van.

My Stallion volunteered to drive us home, to give Principal Celestia a break. Principal Celestia sat in the back with Twilight and the twins (Fiona and Filia). Then she laughed, and said she had never sat back here before.

Vice-Principal Luna sat up front to help give my Stallion directions.

And it surely must have been awesome for Filia and Fiona to be able to spend time with the High School Principal.

Fluttershy sat near the front with me. We hugged like sisters all the way home, and I apologized to her if my flying made her cry.

"It's ok Sis, next time we are in Equestria, I'll just make you both take us flying" Fluttershy said with a smile.

This would be easy enough to do.

Vice-Principal Luna directed my Stallion to the Bus Barn, and we put the Van away. Then we all got out, walked over to the bleachers, and hugged together in a tight circle. It was so nice...

Everyone headed off together, by twos or threes. It was late, so my Stallion walked Fluttershy and I back to the apartment. I hugged him again, well for a little while, at the door.

Then he left, and we locked ourselves in for the night. We took turns showering and such, and were soon snug in our beds.

After a few minutes in the dark, Fluttershy began crying softly, and I quickly jumped out of bed and hugged her as she cried. I knew she missed her sister.

I cried with her for maybe ten minutes, then she said softly "Sis, I am glad you are here. It would be really hard otherwise..."

"Fluttershy, I miss my sister, but I love you a lot too... I don't think I can stay on one side of the Portal for a long period of time; I love you and the rest of the girls here a lot..." Well, I got this much out, then I started crying too.

We just hugged each other, crying together.

Maybe half an hour later, we were both asleep in our beds. Well, she was on the couch, and I was on the cot.

It had been an amazing day.

When I woke the next morning, Fluttershy was already up and brushing her hair.

She was smiling, and I told her that her smile was still priceless to me. We just had to hug after that.

When she was finished with her hair, she threw the brush to me, and I did the same thing. Both our hair is very wavy, just different colors. Still, we are sisters. Well, in a lot of ways, we are.

We took turns getting dressed, and I borrowed some of Fluttershy's clothes. I really didn't have that many clothes here, and Fluttershy quickly ran a load of 'laundry' in two small machines out behind her apartment. I went with her of course; we always stay together now.

Still, at around nine, Fluttershy let me text my Stallion. He was up already, but was bummed because the 'compy' we would use to start working on the events of the last week, was still in Equestria. He had forgotten about that.

Fluttershy saw this, of course, and quickly sent a text to Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie was happy to help, and we texted my Stallion that Pinkie was bringing her Compy for us to use.

He texted back that this would work great, and a simple USB drive could be used to transfer the resulting files to the 'scope' for transport to Equestria. He sounded happier anyway, and said he would be over soon.

We waited until he arrived before we had some Granola. I don't think there was any food in his cubical. We cleaned up the sleeping bags and stuff while we were waiting.

Pinkie showed up with her Compy right before my Stallion arrived, and so we all ate some Granola together.

And when we told Pinkie what we were doing, she said she would be delighted to do the typing for us. This would be a big help too.

Even better, we could all do this together, and it would be an amazing time. Well, it turned out just like that. It really was amazing to work on this together.

Pinkie and Fluttershy sat on the couch with Pinkie in front of the Compy, which was on the Coffee Table. We didn't have Coffee though, I don't know. Some names here still confuse me.

My Stallion and I sat together on the cot, and talked through the wording and such. Well, to be honest, Fluttershy and Pinkie helped a LOT too; it was just amazing fun doing this together.

I took care of the first three chapters. I did most of the 'authoring' for these chapters because my Stallion was buried in research for Star Dusk's tragic life, and I included some details about this as well.

I had some amazing 'down-time' wandering around Ponyville too. I really missed that. And I spent an afternoon with our neighbor Dawn and Rarity, and THAT was amazing too.

Each of the first two chapters included a trip to the Equestria Girls world, separated by a week, I think, to check in on our Twins, Equestria pony Shysage and Equestria Girls Summer. They were here at that time. And both visits were too short, of course. Still, Princess Twilight asked us to do this the second time.

The time covered by the third chapter was just wierd. It seemed like, in a short period of time, a bunch of the 'nightmares' my Stallion and I had recently endured, just kept popping up... And at the end of that time, we learned about the real nightmare... We learned my Twin had been taken...

I think my 'creative juices' were gone just remembering that, and I had to work hard to not start crying again. Fluttershy moved next to me and we just hugged. She felt the same way, she had lost her sister.

My Stallion took over, and moved next to Pinkie. It was hard for him too, but he and his Twin knew they had to go face these monsters.

My Stallion didn't cry, but we knew it was difficult for him. He remembered trying to make some plans, but he admitted he was pretty 'shot' (his word) in the hours after his Twin showed up with the news. Still, he got things going.

He included though, the stuff about 'Pinkie Sense' saving them a lot of time early on.

Pinkie typed it in while blushing.

Pinkie helped him with the account of the trip there. Well, he recorded some of his own thoughts, although he mostly scowled as he typed them in. My Stallion honestly feels the Equestria Girls world is turning a blind eye on all this...

Still, as a Canterlot Recorder, he knew he wasn't supposed to 'edit' the account, but just include what happened. For better or worse, he recorded what he had been thinking.

Fluttershy was crying quite a bit, they had taken me soon after my Stallion left, and Fluttershy was all alone. This was very hard for her. I just held Fluttershy as she cried.

And I said too that my Stallion didn't cry, but he did at one point while we worked on the chapter about the trip there.

He was working through some of his thoughts. All of a sudden, he stopped typing, and got this dazed look on his face.

Then he said "Pinkie, when did you learn about my Mare being taken?"

Pinkie blushed, but said calmly "Aww... I got a text from Fluttershy maybe an hour after we left. I couldn't tell you though, because I knew you would be 'mush' if I did."

Well, at this point my Stallion DID start crying. And that is just hard for a man here. He kept saying, though "You're right..."

Pinkie moved, and I sat next to him, and hugged him a little while.

He was soon wiping away tears, as he got back to normal.

Still he got up and hugged Pinkie, then said "Thank you Pinkie, you saved our rescue..."

Like he typed in at the end of that chapter, Pinkie is seldom wrong... And this surely applies to both Pinkies.

Anyway, the next chapter, the actual 'rescue', was just an amazing collection of coincidences, and really, everything did go 'right'. In less that thirty minutes, we were all driving away from the two monsters in the grass, and they hadn't seen us or the car.

Well, I was unconscious still. But I tell you, waking up in my Stallions arms... That was just amazing...

[Sorry, I had to stop here and cry with him a few minutes.]

But the trip back was just amazing too. Hearing Equestria Girls Pinkie's story... And my Twin (Equestria Girls Summer) who was sitting in the front seat with her stallion, said she will NEVER forget Pinkie yelling "Whoo hoo" when asked if she could drive my Stallion's big car.

It was actually Pinkie's idea to move that information about her childhood closer to when she actually spun the car around and took off away from the monsters in my Stallion's big Blue car. That was an amazing suggestion, and the whole chapter came out a lot better.

And, really, the rest of us looked on in awe, as Pinkie typed in most of this chapter. Well, she was really the best prepared to remember and type this chapter. And there are no rules that the Canterlot Recorder has to type everything.

And this part was true; she did let us all cry together for maybe fifteen minutes, then it was party time, and the rest of the trip back was amazing fun.

And we put in that part about my Stallion making me blush; that really happened. He knew though that little things like that would help 'bring me back'.

It was like ten minutes of horror when those monsters took me, then they hit me hard, and knocked me out. My amazing Stallion tenderly helped me work quickly past all that. I really love him a lot.

Well, we could tell it was starting to get dark, but we did one more chapter. It was short, and discussed my Stallion's White Mustang briefly. But the chapter really focused on how those of us here in the Equestria Girls world, once we were all safe and together, we pretty much 'ran home' to Equestria, and cried together there with our Princess and our amazing friends.

I think we all feel that Equestria is our real home...

Spending time together doing Canterlot Recorder stuff was so amazing... When we were done with what we had actually written, we all stood together, hugging and crying. It was a group effort, and came out so well...

Pinkie absolutely loved what we had written down together, and the rest of the Equestria Girls still didn't know all these details. Pinkie wanted to email these chapters to the rest of the girls, and we all thought this was a good idea. Everyone wanted to know. Of course, Pinkie wished she could email them to Equestria...

It was dinner time anyway, so we all walked together to the Cake's. Pinkie dumped the chapters on a spare USB Drive and gave it to my Stallion, and also emailed the chapters to everyone else.

We headed downstairs, grabbed a booth, and ordered some dinner. Within fifteen minutes, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash had joined us... with tears in their eyes... After hugging together a few minutes, we found a bigger table. We had an amazing dinner together like that. Such amazing friends...

At around seven, we walked to the bleachers, and it was starting to get dark. Still, we stood together in a small circle hugging, and some of us were crying softly.

Then we said together what Princess often has us say:

"We are deeply devoted to each other..."

"We are true friends, and committed to true friendship..."

"We are... ...Equestria..."

Maybe a few more of us were weeping after this. I think we all felt more attached to Equestria with each passing day, I don't know...

[The Canterlot Recorder had to take over for this part. You will see why.]

Soon, everypony walked off to their homes. Twilight took Pinkie and Rarity home, and Rainbow and Applejack headed off together.

It was just Summer, Equestria Girls Fluttershy and I near the bleachers, and we walked towards the back side of the Gym, away from the bleachers, and just sat down in the grass, and talked.

Before long, a mostly full moon gently but softly illuminated the field. It really was very beautiful, even though we were surrounded by the hushed, evening 'din' of the city around us.

At one point, I gently reached over, and took Summer's hand. She squeezed my hand, but then let it go.

"Sis, I hope our actions aren't making you uncomfortable. We really are trying to be careful" Summer said tentatively.

Fluttershy smiled right away, and began to explain.

"Oh, Summer, just relax.

"It is clear to the rest of us that you both are trying so hard.

"But seriously, you both have been through so much together... You are the 'Shila', and helped pull Equestria together, and helped raise two amazing Princesses... And you both had to work and live together for over two years for all that.

"The rest of us can only guess at the depth of your relationship together, and we are not offended by your mutual affection at all. I think most of us expect to see more, I don't know."

Summer quickly reached back over and took my hand at this point. Then she spoke up quietly and lovingly "Fluttershy, my Stallion and I could only accomplish all that because of our amazing friends. We refuse to accept sole credit for that..."

Fluttershy thought a minute. "I know Sis, but those experiences have welded you both together, and none of us fault you for needing each other the way you do."

Fluttershy said this next part very quietly. "The rest of us know that the current arrangments are not optimum, and are difficult for you both. I think we would all feel a lot better if you felt free to show your affection to each other, because this might make it a little easier for you. We are all SO thankful that you are both here."

Summer started crying at this, and she and Fluttershy hugged and cried together a few minutes.

Still, both Summer and I understood where Fluttershy was coming from, and realized that we both needed to 'relax' as Fluttershy had said.

Noone spoke for a few minutes, and the girl's crying slowed.

...

Neither Fluttershy seldom, if ever, spoke from her heart. Both were usually focused on the needs of the people around her. But tonight, Summer and I had a rare privilege. Still, Equestria Girls Fluttershy knew that we both loved her a lot...

Fluttershy looked over at the doors to the Gym, and began to talk softly.

"I think your dream was an eye-opener for all of us, but especially us Equestria Girls.

"The opening chapter was so starkly, vividly real, that even thinking about it still makes us cry. We could all honestly see that EASILY happening..."

Fluttershy started weeping softly at this point, and so Summer did too, and was quickly hugging her 'other' sister again. Still, Fluttershy continued.

"We have all talked about this a few times.

"Like Princess Twilight said, we need to accomplish what we are here in this world for...

"But we all agree together that having a 'home' in Equestria means so much MORE to all of us than our Equestria pony friends could ever understand... And having THAT to look forward to is just so... Each of our 'Homecoming' will be utterly amazing..."

Fluttershy was clearly having a hard time talking at this point, but she tried to continue.

"And we all are absolutely convinced that our lives won't really 'begin' until we finally come 'home' to Equestria, to STAY..."

Fluttershy stopped briefly, then continued, still crying...

"And we all admit that each of us fights the urge every day, to just go through that Portal, and never come back here...

"And each of us fights that same urge each time we have to come back here from Equestria..."

Fluttershy could no longer talk at this point, and she and Summer just cried, hugging for maybe five minutes.

Still hugging, Fluttershy continued.

"I also think your dream was a warning for me too. I know I have a rare gift, and marrying someone who either doesn't value or understand it would be a nightmare, as your dream portrayed.

"And Shysage, my Twin and I simply could not ignore the raging sea of pain inside you, caused by people who should have loved you, but refused too, for the same reasons..."

Fluttershy stopped and cried with Summer here briefly, then again, tried to continue.

"Summer, us Equestria Girls don't know quite how you found your amazing Stallion, especially since he is from our world. And I think we all hope to find one like him some day.

"But we have all talked about this, and agree together, that waiting is far less painful than "jumping into the fire" just because we don't like waiting."

Summer couldn't help it, and said "Fluttershy, I love you so much", and they both cried hard, and hugged tightly together for a little while.

Equestria Girls Fluttershy wasn't done. And she was still crying softly.

"Sis, I don't think I have ever told anyone this...

"The day you slid out of the Portal onto the grass, I was already sorting though options for killing myself, in a way that wouldn't scare me.

"Right before you came, I was standing outside the Portal wall, passing out flyers, and asking for volunteers for the Animal Shelter. A bully from the School had just come up and kicked the entire pile of flyers out of my hand, and maybe breaking something in my hand; he kicked it really hard, and my hand hurt so bad... And the flyers were all over the grass...

"I just sat down, and curled up into a little ball... Life hurt so much, I couldn't even cry any more...

"When you came, I was beyond caring... My sister was dead... I had no friends... Noone paid any attention to me at School... I was terrified of being alone each night...

"What that boy did just made me determined to 'end it' soon; everything hurt so much...

"The second... I saw my sis... sister laying in the grass..."

Fluttershy, still crying, paused, then said this very quietly.

"Summer, you were my 'Shila' too..."

Fluttershy could say no more, and was sobbing deeply. Still sitting, I moved to Fluttershy's other side, and Summer and I both hugged her tight as she cried for a while.

Summer and I were crying with her.

I could only guess how much pain this sensitive soul carried inside. Helping her cry even a little of it 'out' was an amazing honor...

Fluttershy still tried to speak, but had to stop often and when she did stop, she cried loudly.

"Summer, when you came from Equestria and promised me you would be the best friend that I ever had, you saved my life...

"And a week later, you led me to my Twin in Equestria...

"And two weeks later, Equestria gave me my Sis--..."

Fluttershy could barely talk...

"Everything I treasure... Equestria has given me..."

Chapter14, Another Week in Paradise, Part 2

Sunday night, my Stallion and I cried a long time with Fluttershy. We both felt she 'bared her soul', and we were so honored to be able to help her carry her burden.

And I think what she said about one day 'coming home' to Equestria helped my Stallion and I really appreciate what the Equestria Girls faced every day.

Still, when we walked to Fluttershy's Apartment, my Stallion and I hugged tightly, kissed briefly, then I closed and locked the door, and he headed to his cubical.

Fluttershy and I took turns getting ready for bed, and when I came out of the bathroom, Fluttershy was sitting on the couch crying softly again. We just hugged and cried together for another hour at least. Nothing was said, I think she just needed to cry, and I was so glad I could 'be there' for her like that.

Well, at one point through her tears, Fluttershy tried to say "Summer, I just don't know what I'd do if you hadn't come... True friend must have known I needed you desperately..."

I was crying too, but I tried to say back "Oh, Fluttershy, I needed you just as much that day... I was really hurting too..."

I think this just made us both cry more.

It was pretty late when we calmed down, and tried to wipe the tears away.

I looked at Fluttershy and said softly "Sis, I love you a lot."

She just smiled and hugged me. Then she said "I really am glad you came all that way just to rescue me."

We hugged again for a few minutes, then we both got our sleeping bags out, and climbed into them.

Fluttershy said "I was going to set my alarm and get up at the time I would need to for school, but it is very late, so let's just take our time tomorrow morning."

That's what we did.

We both must have been really tired, and so 'slept in'.

My Stallion knocked on our door at around 9:30. I got up and checked through the little 'peep hole' and saw it was him.

Fluttershy grabbed some clothes, and jumped into the bathroom, then I let my Stallion in, and we hugged tightly and kissed for a few minutes. I think my pajamas maybe didn't cover enough up, because my Stallion responded quickly, then said "I better wait outside until you get dressed."

I insisted on kissing him one more time, then he went outside and waited.

When us girls were both dressed and ready, we opened the door, and my Stallion was sitting on the grass, relaxing in the warm sunlight.

Fluttershy left the front door open, and quickly decided we would eat our Granola outside this morning. I went out, and sat next to my Stallion, and Fluttershy soon brought us two bowls of Milk and Granola. We waited until she came out with her bowl before we started eating.

Fluttershy apologized to my Stallion, and mentioned that she had kept me up even later with her crying.

I love my Stallion... He replied softly "Fluttershy, we both love you a lot, and treasure those times we can help you like that."

I could not have said it better.

Fluttershy didn't start crying, but she got up quickly and hugged my Stallion, then me.

After eating, we relaxed together in the sunlight for a little while, and just talked together. Then we took the stuff from breakfast inside, and washed everything up, and did some tidying up in the apartment.

At around ten, the three of us walked over to the bleachers, and within five minutes, the rest of the girls were all there.

My Stallion and I worked our way around, and hugged everypony, then he headed off to the Shop, and started in on his computer work.

Maybe fifteen minutes later, Fiona and her sister walked over, and we all hugged them. From this point on, it was just a blur of laughing or hurting friends. I really missed this a lot, and this seemed so much like paradise to me... And I could do this all week!

It was actually amazing to watch the Equestria Girls 'in action'. We would usually all welcome every girl that came over, but each one would usually 'gravitate' to the Equestria Girl (or two) they already had established a friendship with. This was just fine.

One of Filia's friends wandered over to the group maybe around eleven. Filia was sitting next to Twilight, and Filia's friend sat behind Filia, which put her near Fluttershy.

After maybe ten minutes, neither Fluttershy nor Filia's friend had said anything. Fluttershy moved over next to Filia's friend and just gave her a hug. They hugged together a minute maybe and that was it. They basically sat together there, the rest of the day, and said very little.

At around noon, the Principal sisters suprised us all, and walked over to our group in the bleachers. Principal Celestia introduced herself, for those girls that didn't know, then Principal promptly said some amazing things about us Equestria Girls, that made us all blush.

While Principal Celestia was talking, Vice-Principal Luna worked her way around the group and hugged EVERYONE; there were maybe eighteen of us girls in the bleachers right then, and we all got a hug from the Vice-Principal.

Vice-Principal Luna then said something about getting some lunch for the 'cranky shop tech' (which made us Equestria girls laugh loudly, he was NEVER like that), then they walked off.

The 'Magic of Friendship' then resumed in the bleachers. The rest of the day, well until around three, girls would wander over, visit some with the rest of us, and share their joys or challenges, let us cry with them and/or hug them if they needed it, then they headed off to the rest of their day. It was absolutely amazing.

At around three, Filia, her friend and her sister walked back off towards downtown.

But I have to tell, you...

A little before two, that same boy, 'Rick' I think, that my Stallion had talked to on Friday; he came back, and sat in the bleachers on the other end from us girls, where they had talked before.

My Stallion saw him, and was soon walking out to the bleachers. They sat and talked a while.

My Stallion just leaned back on the bench behind him, and he and Rick just visited together. Three other guys soon wandered up too, and they all just talked together.

I could tell they had some serious discussions, but they also laughed a lot too.

My amazing Stallion... He wouldn't tell me what they talked about, but told me later that he was just trying to be their friend, and offer them whatever help he could. He said he didn't mind fixing computers to help the School, but sitting there helping students; he considered that an amazing privilege.

A little before three, my Stallion shook each boy's hand, and they walked back off across the grass. Then he headed back to the Shop. He texted Fluttershy that he needed to shut stuff down in the Shop, and then he would be back.

We just visited together in the bleachers until he came back out.

It seemed like everyone had stuff to do on this busy Monday afternoon; well, everyone except Pinkie Pie, and she wanted to 'chill' some with Fluttershy. So the four of us walked to the Cake's, and Fluttershy and Pinkie headed up the stairs.

My Stallion and I headed out the door.

While walking together back towards the School, my Stallion mentioned that what he really wanted to do was jog some at the track.

I think we both agreed that we were starting to really need the exercise. In Equestria, we flew together a LOT, but would need to do something else here to stay fit.

We walked to his cubical first, and he grabbed a set of old jogging clothes he used to use when he lived here.

We headed to Fluttershy's apartment next, and then we looked for something I could wear. I pulled out shorts and a top that I thought would work, headed into the bathroom, then got them on.

My Stallion blushed when I came out. He immediately gathered me in his arms, and hugged me tightly, and I quickly realized that I probably should not go outside like this. I think that was his goal.

"Let's try to find something that covers a little more" he said softly.

Fluttershy had a long, medium Blue 'T-Shirt', and that would work fine. The shorts were fine already.

Then he changed into his jogging clothes; dark colored jogging shorts, and a long white 'T-Shirt'. I said "Wow" when he came out, but he assured me they were fine. I guess, I just really love him, I don't know.

I remember my Twin carrying on about how handsome her stallion is here. Well, my Stallion is his Twin, and my Stallion, well he looked very nice.

Well, we went out, locked Fluttershy's apartment, crossed the street, and jogged to the Track. It was further around behind the School from the Soccer field.

We had jogged maybe two laps around the Track, and Fluttershy and Pinkie showed up, laughed, then joined us. THAT was amazing fun!

We weren't jogging extremely fast, but we just enjoyed the time together talking, even though it wasn't exactly easy to talk, and we quickly lost track of how many laps we ran. We didn't care even, it was a blast.

I much prefer flying, but jogging is fine when flying is not an option.

Then we all just walked around the Track a while, and kept talking. It was an amazing time.

Well, at one point, I whispered in my Stallion's ear that he looked hot. He blushed, but I was so used to seeing him in his jeans and sweatshirt...

While we were walking to 'cool down' (Pinkie said that), Pinkie mentioned that Rarity was going to come and help get some new clothes for my Stallion and I, but that they needed someone with a car to drive us to the store. I think that was a hint to my Stallion, and he quickly volunteered.

Still, he got a little concerned, and mentioned that he didn't know if he had enough money for a trip like that.

Fluttershy smiled, then said "My parents are taking care of it. They saw the chapters about you rescuing their daughter, and, well, they already love you and Summer a lot anyway. They told me to help you any way I could."

My Stallion's response was so like him. "Well, I didn't rescue their daughter all by myself, but tell them thanks for me. They are very generous."

The plan was for dinner at the Cake's at six, then a trip to the store at seven.

Pinkie and Fluttershy headed back to the Cake's, and my Stallion and I walked back to Fluttershy's apartment.

Well, it was clear we both needed a shower; we were hot and sweaty from jogging. And I'll be honest, I was really starting to appreciate my Stallion's Equestria Girls body.

I love my Stallion so, he guessed what I was thinking and just said softly "Summer, your 'people' body is so beautiful to me too. I also realize it has been a while since we could spend some time together, where I could take care of you. I think though, that we should try to wait until this weekend, and make time to go to the lake together in Equestria."

We stopped and hugged a minute. "I love you, Stallion" I said quietly.

We kissed briefly, and resumed our walk, and were soon back at Fluttershy's apartment.

So, we took turns taking a shower, and we both came out dressed in our matching jeans, t-shirt and sweatshirt, except that we were both too hot for the sweatshirts. I brushed my hair while he took his shower, and then we just sat together in the grass outside and cooled off (and maybe calmed down some too).

I had heard a number of the girls from the High School talking about the substantial amount of 'sexual pressure' they felt at various times. I think, for the first time, I was beginning to understand what they were actually experiencing.

It wasn't that I didn't feel this in Equestria; my Stallion and I struggled with this a lot. I am not from here though, and am still learning how to see stuff from their perspective. And while here in their world, I think both my Stallion and I had felt that today, and we wisely decided to manage it, rather than let it mess things up.

But I also was aghast at the realization that many of the guys involved with these girls at the High School were actually pushing for more, and I could see how that could make this whole area very difficult. I guess it was just sort of a 'dawning realization' for me.

A little before six, we locked Fluttershy's apartment, and walked to my Stallion's cubical. He got some stuff from inside, locked it back up, and we were quickly 'cruising' (his word) down the road towards the Cake's in 'big Blue'.

I sat in the front, and there is even a seat belt in the middle so I could sit next to him while he drove.

He said that he needed to be able to use the 'rear view morror', even though he said he didn't mind looking at me all night. He also suggested that I only kiss him sparingly and briefly, both out of consideration for our friends, and also so he could try to focus on driving. I could see how driving seemed like a very complex task.

We soon pulled into the parking lot at the Cake's, and Pinkie and Fluttershy were already waiting inside.

Rainbow and Applejack couldn't come, but Twilight and Rarity joined us for dinner, along with Filia and Fiona. It was an amazing time.

And my Stallion and I split a normal meal again, like we used to do. Even that was plenty for both of us.

At one point during dinner, Fluttershy talked to Filia and Fiona for a little while, but I was busy talking to Rarity and Twilight; I didn't catch what they discussed. Both Fluttershys talk quietly.

After dinner, Twilight said she needed to take the twins home, then get some sleep herself. We all hugged, then Twilight and the twins headed out the door.

Rarity mentioned afterwards that she and Twilight were spending a lot of time with the twins. They were neat girls, but spending one on one time with them helped a lot. But Twilight and Rarity were both up pretty late last night.

Before getting into the car, I said we could wait until a different night for the store, but Rarity wouldn't hear of it.

"This will be amazing fun for me too, getting you both looking like you should!" she said with a smile. "I live for that, you know."

This was Rare in all her glory, and was simply so true. And everyone in the car knew that there was noone else they knew that could do this.

On the way, Rarity quickly clarified with my Stallion and I what our clothing goals were. This was good. Left to ourselves, we would just wander aimlessly for a while, and still not know what to get.

What we were after was pretty simple; matching jogging clothes, maybe two sets of casual clothing like the T-Shirt, jeans and sweat-shirt from last time, and then maybe a single 'stylish' outfit for both of us.

My Stallion didn't think he would ever wear the stylish clothing, but I insisted we get that anyway with a smile.

On the way through the door into the store, Rarity mentioned she even remembered our 'measurements' from the last time we did this.

When it comes to clothing, 'Rare' is amazing. And we didn't spend more than thirty minutes there, and we walked out with everything we asked for. More importantly, Rare said everything would look just fabulous, and she was right, of course.

Well, Fluttershy and Pinkie also got matching jogging clothes, and Rarity ended up getting a set for herself, Applejack, Rainbow and Twilight as well.

I really did hope we were 'starting something' here.

It is just so easy to NOT exercise here in the Equestria Girls world.

Maybe the rest of the girls really needed exercise too, well except for Rainbow. My Stallion and I knew we did.

And Fluttershy, well Fluttershy's parents, paid for everything.

Pinkie was up front next to the door on the way home, and quickly cued up the same amazing song we heard on our trip home, and we were all smiling. Pinkie Pie lives for THAT!

Like we wrote in that chapter, Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie doesn't have a Party Cannon (Yet!), but she does have 'MP3 and a Playlist', and that seems to work amazing for she and her friends.

We dropped Rarity off, then Pinkie, then my Stallion drove Fluttershy and I to Fluttershy's apartment. All the new clothing needed to be washed, so we unloaded all of it into the apartment. Fluttershy said we would be doing some 'laundry' tomorrow.

My Stallion took his new jogging clothes into the bathroom and changed into them. Evidently his other clothes needed washing too, so he left them with us. He put on one of his new sweatshirts too.

Then we hugged at the door for a few minutes. I think, for both our sakes, he left earlier than he wanted, just because he knew we were both struggling. He looked amazing.

He waited outside until we locked the door, then I heard him start his car, and he drive off.

Fluttershy and I took turns getting ready, and were quickly in bed.

In my head I was wrestling. Time spent at the High School helping other girls was amazing. But waiting until this weekend to be with my Stallion, that was hard. And I guess we really didn't know where we would be next week either.

In the midst of thinking this through, my amazing Sis... Fluttershy suprised me, and got up and gave me a hug. "Summer from Ponyville, I love you" she said with a smile.

Trying not to cry, I just hugged her back.

"One day at a time, Sis" she said softly. How did she know...

We were both soon asleep.

Fluttershy had alerted me that the alarm would go off early. We didn't have to get up, but still, she needed to start adjusting to this schedule.

Well, it did go off 'early', and we both looked at each other and smiled as she shut the alarm off.

We didn't have to get up, so we just lay calmly in bed a while, taking our time waking up.

Fluttershy then sat up and began brushing her hair. I didn't want to get up, but realized it was my turn next.

Fluttershy explained that we needed to get dressed, then she wanted me to come out back and help her start a load of laundry, then we could come back in and lay down some more. I wasn't about to let Fluttershy do that alone.

Sis showed me how to pull the tags off the new clothing, and together, we had a full load ready, and we went out and got it started, then came back in and just relaxed and talked some.

While that load was going, we got another load ready, so when the first load was ready for the 'dryer', we could start the second load.

Neither of us were tired at all after starting the second load, and it was maybe eight.

My Stallion had told me a few times in the past, that mornings were just hard for him. Early on, this was because waking up alone made him hurt a lot.

"Fluttershy, can we go..." I got this much out, then started crying.

Fluttershy quickly hugged me, then said "Of course. Let's lock the house, and we can go."

It was a nice morning, and the walk to his cubical was very nice.

I knew where he hid his key, and quickly and quietly unlocked the door, then quietly walked over. He was asleep facing the door, so I gently kissed his cheek.

His eyes opened immediately, and he just reached out his arms, and we hugged tightly for a minute maybe.

My Stallion didn't cry, but he had tears in his eyes, and said simply "Oh, Summer...", then after a moment's silence, he added "Thank you, amazing Mare."

I went out and closed the door while he got up and got dressed. Well, I hugged Fluttershy for helping me with this.

When he came out, he was still wearing his jogging clothes, and I appreciated that too.

Fluttershy had explained last night that our shorts were plenty long, and were probably fine. Still, I liked how they looked on my Stallion. And we held hands on the way to Fluttershy's apartment.

We found the first load was done drying, and my Stallion changed back into his regular clothes. I was sad, but also happy. I was beginning to understand what my Twin had said about her not wanting other girls to 'get any ideas' about her stallion.

Still, this was just all new for me. It seems that every day, I learn a bunch of new stuff about this world. In a lot of ways, life in Equestria seems so simple in comparison.

I also changed into the same clothes he was wearing. I didn't have to, but I wanted too.

My Stallion carried the last load of laundry out, and we started the second load in the dryer, and started the last load in the washer.

Clothes can really look nice, but taking care of them sure was a lot of work.

At nine, we were back out on the grass having Granola together, and talking. It was just nice. Then we got everything cleaned up and headed to the bleachers. Still, we were pretty early.

Pinkie and Rarity were at the bleachers early too, and after hugging, we all just talked together until ten. Rainbow was already deep in Soccer practice.

Twilight and Applejack walked over at around ten, and we all hugged them.

"Aww, Twilight, you need a nap..." Rarity said quietly.

"Well, I work tonight..." Twilight replied. Then she quickly added quietly "You girls know that Filia and Fiona, and really, all of these girls, are worth far more than any sleep we miss now."

I got up and hugged Twilight for that, and everyone else did too. That was so something our Princess would say. And Twilight was right, too.

Our precious friends began to arrive, and the Magic of Friendship flowed freely. Again, it was an amazing time, and each day of this absolutely... I was so thrilled to be a part of this.

Filia and Fiona and Filia's friend came and sat with us maybe ten minutes after ten. Just like yesterday, Filia's friend sat next to Fluttershy, only she sat right next to Fluttershy this time, and Fluttershy gave her a big hug again.

At around eleven, Fluttershy asked Twilight if she and Shyna (this is the first time we heard what Filia's friend's name was) could go to the Animal Shelter and 'pet fluffies' together for an hour maybe. Twilight said that was fine, and the two of them walked off together.

And I again spent some time with two girls that remembered me from last fall, and that was amazing, catching up and all. I didn't cry, but I wanted too.

Fluttershy came back with Shyna at around noon, and the rest of us pleaded with Twilight to go home and take a nap. We all love her so, and it was clear she needed some sleep. Twilight thanked us with tears in her eyes, and walked quickly off.

Rarity and I corralled Filia and Fiona while Fluttershy sat with Filia's friend Shyna and the rest of the day was just amazing.

And at noon, Soccer practice was always done, and Rainbow Dash jumped in and joined the fun.

It was almost sad to see these precious girls wander off together at around three...

And honestly, I had not even paid any attention to my Stallion, except at the end, to watch him shake hands with the five guys that were there, and they likewise headed off across the grass.

And just like yesterday, he went to the Shop, shut everything down, locked the Shop, and came back to us girls.

Rare needed some sleep too, so we all hugged her and sent her off.

Pinkie asked if anyone else wanted to join she, Fluttershy, my Stallion and I as we jogged, and Rainbow wanted to, but Applejack needed to head home tonight. She said maybe tomorrow would work for her. We all hugged Applejack as Big Mac pulled up in his truck, and they were quickly off.

The rest of us walked to Fluttershy's apartment, and were all quickly wearing matching jogging clothes. This would be amazing fun...

Well, if I could keep my eyes off my Stallion. It actually worked out well, once we were all running around the track, it was fine, and we had an amazing time together.

Ten laps was enough for some of us, so we walked another lap to cool off, then walked back to Fluttershy's apartment.

Rainbow needed to head to work, so she showered while the rest of us sat in the grass and talked. When she came out, we all hugged her, and she headed into town. She took her new jogging clothes with her though.

Pinkie showered next, and my Stallion and I talked with Fluttershy in the grass for a bit.

I asked Fluttershy about Shyna.

It was a moment before Fluttershy answered.

Then Fluttershy said softly "She's just like me..." then began to cry a little. Still, she mentioned what she knew.

"Shyna is very quiet, and talks very little. Like me, she feels a lot, and so we both knew early on we were kindred spirits. And she actually smiled as we petted fluffies together.

"She is an orphan though, and her life has been very har--"

My Stallion and I just held Fluttershy as she cried for a little while.

I am not sure where this came from, I have a lot of 'Fluttershy' too. But I said softly "Fluttershy, she found the right friend..."

Fluttershy said through her tears "I know..." and cried really hard for a while.

Well, we all did, even Pinkie. She had heard most of this, and probably 'Pinkie Sensed' the rest.

And we all realized that Shyna's past may be tragic, but the Magic of Friendship would probably transform her future. And our precious friend Equestria Girls Fluttershy clearly wanted to be right in the middle of that for Shyna. And there was probably no person better suited for that than Fluttershy either.

As Fluttershy calmed down, Pinkie got a text from Mr. Cake asking for some help tonight.

Still in his jogging clothes (grrr), my Stallion walked Pinkie back to the Cake's, then jogged quickly back here.

Fluttershy was showering, so my Stallion and I sat on the couch, and kissed a little. We were trying to 'be careful', but for different reasons now, and we both knew and understood what was going on.

Still, my Stallion and I talked a little. I think the events unfolding around us were having an impact on our outlook and such.

I don't know... I wanted to be alone with my Stallion...

But watching lives transformed, for the better, right before our very eyes... We could wait until it was time. There was just too much else to do right now.

Fluttershy came out, and my Stallion insisted I was next.

While I showered, he went out and got the second load of clothes out of the dryer, and started the third load drying. Then he helped Fluttershy get everything folded.

When I came out, they were just finishing the folding, and I brushed my hair.

It was maybe six thirty, and Fluttershy got a text from Pinkie. They needed more help at the Cake's.

Though he hadn't showered yet, my Stallion still changed clothes, and we all walked quickly back to the Cake's Diner, and were soon immersed in one of the most basic forms of 'helping others'.

My Stallion cleared tables and washed dishes. I was a waitress, like Pinkie, and Fluttershy ran the Cash Register at the door. And Mr. Cake was the cook.

Pinkie laughed and called this the 'skeleton crew' whatever that means.

It was a busy night, according to Mr. Cake, but we worked together so well, it just seemed to go amazingly fast. Most of the people I served already knew what they wanted, and that made it a lot easier. And we told Fluttershy to just put our 'tips' into the cash register.

And Pinkie and I both got to hug a lot of girls from the school.

Like last time, Mr. Cake offered to pay us, and we refused. We had an absolute blast helping out like this.

After the diner closed at ten, the four of us hugged together and cried maybe a minute. Then Pinkie cued up that same song, laughed loudly, and said "And it was EPIC!"

And I honestly wouldn't mind doing this again.

My Stallion walked us home, we hugged and kissed at the door briefly, then I closed the door and locked it, and my Stallion headed off.

My sister and I quickly got ready for bed, ignoring the huge piles of laundry on the table.

Then we hugged together, and cried some more, then jumped in bed.

After a few minutes, Fluttershy got a text from my Stallion. "I love you both a lot" it said.

Each laying in our beds, we cried some more, but were quicky asleep.

Chapter 15, Another Week in Paradise, Part 3

Wednesday morning, Equestria Girls Fluttershy and I woke up early to her alarm. She shut it off, but it was too late, we were both awake. (She laughed when she watched me type this.)

My precious 'other' sister... She knew I was bummed that this week was half over, and she was quickly sitting next to the cot hugging me as I cried a little.

"Sis, I don't know where I want to stay, here or Equestria..." I said while crying. I realized I had been saying something like this a lot.

I think this was the wrong thing to say, because Fluttershy started crying too. I think her vote was Equestria.

We cried together for a few minutes, then we both calmed down. Fluttershy sat on the couch and brushed her hair, and then threw the brush to me, and she went into the bathroom and got dressed. It was my turn next.

It was a little early still, so we did some tidying up in the apartment, and put the sleeping bags and pillows away. Then we worked on splitting the piles of laundry up; a bunch of the clothes needed to go to my Stallion's cubical. And some of the clothes would go to a few of the Equestria Girls; we would take them with us when we went to the bleachers.

Then we locked up the apartment, and took our time walking to my Stallion's cubical.

It was another nice day in paradise outside.

I let myself into his cubical, and gently kissed his cheek again. He woke up, and said right away "Hi, beautiful." Then he stretched, then reached out both arms and we hugged tightly.

I don't know, I just started crying. I love my Stallion a lot.

After a few minutes, I calmed down again, and walked back outside.

I really wanted to cry on Fluttershy's shoulder, but I didn't.

She knew though, and hugged me close.

In a few minutes, my Stallion was dressed and outside. He was soon hugging me, and life seemed calmer to me, I don't know.

We walked slowly back to the apartment, and enjoyed the day. As we walked, I tried to hug both Fluttershy and my Stallion. We had to all walk together, but it was worth it.

Part of me never wanted to leave here... Part of me wanted to be in Equestria so bad... I thought I would be a mess today. I would have told my Stallion about this, but then I realized that Fluttershy would end up feeling the same way, and she would cry too.

No sooner had I finished thinking this, when Fluttershy started weeping softly. She had felt it anyway. We just cried softly together.

I guess my Stallion sensed this too. "Oh, girls... Well, I'll help you both any way I can..." he said softly.

We ate Granola for breakfast, and sat outside too. It was very nice. We cleaned up breakfast stuff when we were done.

Fluttershy found two large 'bags', and we packed my Stallion's new clothes in the bags, then we locked the apartment again, and carried my Stallion's clothes to his cubical.

Walking outside in the morning felt so nice. It reminded me of my Stallion and I walking and eating in the meadow near our house in Equestria. Hmm... Maybe I shouldn't think about that. It just made me want to cry again.

After leaving the two bags in his cubical, we walked back to Fluttershy's apartment, picked up the matching jogging clothes for Twilight, Rarity and Applejack, and headed off to the bleachers.

On the way, my Stallion mentioned that he had pulled together fifteen solid systems for the Computer Lab, and he still had more computers he could work on. Principal and Vice-Principal were so pleased about this. They only needed ten systems, and spares would be very helpful, especially since they couldn't afford a Tech during the school year.

Most of the Equestria Girls were already in the bleachers when we arrived, and we all worked our way through the group, hugging amazing ponies, well people, and passing out matching jogging clothes.

Twilight and Rarity looked a LOT better, and the rest of us let them know. We were so relieved. Sometimes sleep does wonders.

Soccer practice was already under way, but Rainbow ran up and quickly hugged everyone, then she ran back out onto the field.

Amazing friends began to arrive, and my Stallion hugged me tightly, then walked off towards the Shop.

Fifteen minutes later, Filia, Fiona and Shyna walked up, and each sat with their 'favorite pony', which was Twilight for Filia, Rarity for Fiona, and Fluttershy for Shyna. These amazing Equestria Girls were just scooping each of these younger girls up and involving them in the friendships they were building, and the needs they were helping address.

Well, honestly, everypony loved everypony in this group, and everypony knew this.

It is just hard to put this into words, but I will try. True Friendship means putting others first. The Equestria Girls, well Princess Twilight's girls too, they all had this 'down'. As a result, they were and are all just a pleasure to be around.

We knew that some of the girls around us during the day had embraced true friendship, but others had not yet. Still, they all knew the Equestria Girls were a loving, caring group, and so were really drawn to them as a result. Everyone knew these girls would do anything they could to help.

I am positive the Equestria ponies are just the same.

But proximity to the High School here, and all the students that attend, just increased the, well, 'exposure' -- so many more girls could be around these amazing ladies, and were increasingly drawn to the true friendship that made them 'tick' as a result.

I mean, the first day I spent in this High School, I got to talk to the entire student body about true friendship, and how it changed my life... I still cry...

I just don't know how to transfer that to Equestria. I try while I am there, just walking around town meeting ponies. It's just not the same as sitting here, and joining the Equestria Girls in loving the many hurting girls here...

Maybe we should build some bleachers outside the Cake's in Town Square in Ponyville...

The Magic of Friendship is just so clearly at work in the steady stream of amazing friends who wandered over to us during the maybe five hours we all sit here together...

I feel so honored to be a part of this, and never want it to stop...

Anyway, all throughout the day, girls kept asking about the jogging clothes. After hearing this getting explained for maybe the third time, I realized we may have company when we jogged this afternoon. This would be amazing too.

Exercise is good. Or, as my Stallion sometimes says, 'move it, or lose it'.

Oh, and Fluttershy asked Twilight again about taking Shyna to the Animal Shelter from eleven to twelve, and they spent some quiet time there together hugging fluffies. This was probably amazing for both of them.

And around two, my Stallion came out and had some quality time with maybe seven guys. We could only hope that Friendship was Magic there too. Listening to the girls here, the boys at this School had great needs as well.

Three o'clock came too soon, and it was sad to see these girls wander off. The guys were leaving too.

Like he did before, my Stallion headed to the Shop to shut stuff down, and lock the Shop. Then he headed back out to us girls in the bleachers.

Soon after he had come back, we were all just sitting and relaxing in the bleachers, talking about jogging. Evidently everypony was coming today, and this would be fun to do together. But I still thought we would have a lot more with us.

Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna walked quickly up, crying.

My Stallion was sitting on the bottom row, and he got up right away when they came over (manners, he explained to me).

Well, he is the one they were 'after' anyway, and my Stallion quickly got a huge hug from both Principal and Vice-Principal.

They both finally realized what they were seeing with the group of guys at the other end of the bleachers in the afternoons, and were thankful beyond words for my Stallion spending time with them.

The impact of the Equestria Girls on the girls in their student body 'after school' was simply amazing, and Principal and Vice-Principal had been concerned for the boys in the School for a while. They were overjoyed that someone was finally trying to help the guys too.

My Stallion said quietly "I'm just trying to be their friend..."

This was exactly what Principal and Vice-Principal were hoping for, and they just cried more, and both hugged him again.

Vice-Principal Luna said, still crying "I really hope your Twin keeps this going..."

My Stallion said, still quietly "Well, he is my Twin..."

I think that meant that he probably would, and probably would value that just like my Stallion does.

Principal and Vice-Principal then worked around the rest of the group hugging everyone, then walked back off towards the School.

We all walked back to Fluttershy's apartment and took turns getting our matching jogging clothes on. It was an amazing sight, we all matched! And I still really 'appreciated' the way my Stallion looked in those clothes.

We walked over to the Track, all still talking together.

Well, there were maybe twenty or more girls already waiting for us.

We all jogged together, it was amazing fun. Well, Rainbow and Applejack took a quicker pace, and a few other girls, mostly from the Soccer team, joined them. I'm sure they had an amazing time together too.

And one of the girls explained that if we had difficulty talking while we jog, then we are probably getting good exercise from it. Well, we were all getting that, then.

And Twilight said that jogging always helped her feel better, and need less sleep. Twilight used to jog, but hadn't recently. Twilight said what we had included before; it was just so easy to NOT exercise here. She said she was really looking forward to everyone doing this together.

And Rainbow quickly told everyone that if they got too tired, to just stop jogging and walk. This would still be good for them. Well, Rainbow has a good voice for that; everyone on the Track heard her. She could easily be our 'team captain' too.

The rest of us got eight laps in, then we were all walking. Some of the girls that were already walking, just stopped, wherever they were around the track, and waited for the group, so we could all walk and talk together. It was just amazing... It was just AMAZING...

We all said goodbye again to amazing friends, then us Equestria Girls walked back over to Fluttershy's apartment.

Most of the girls just grabbed their clothing and stuff, and headed off together. Big Mac picked Applejack up, and Pinkie, Rarity, Twilight and Rainbow headed off together towards the Cake's.

Fluttershy headed into the shower, and my Stallion and I just sat on the couch and talked, and kissed some too.

But I asked him "Stallion do I look hot to you in these clothes? I think you look amazing in them; is that just me? I'm trying to understand this world better."

He just sighed, then said "Oh, Summer..." He thought some more then continued quietly.

"Your people body is amazing to me, and the more I see of it, the more amazing it is. Even though these clothes are probably ok, I think you look very nice in them, and I gather you like how they look on me too. This is probably because we both usually wear jeans.

"Still, what other people should see is vastly different, and you need to dress based on that, if you will be out around other people."

We kissed some more, then Fluttershy came out, and I took a shower and got cleaned up and dressed.

When I came out, my Stallion was hugging Fluttershy, who was crying. I sat on Fluttershy's other side, and hugged her too.

Fluttershy was clearly trying not to cry, and failing, and she said "I really want to take care of Shyna... She has been through so much, and noone seems to want her right now..."

Fluttershy just cried quietly for a little while.

Then my Stallion said quietly "Fluttershy, just adopt her..."

At this, Fluttershy's crying dropped down quickly, and she thought a minute, still sniffling "That's not a bad idea, I will need to reseach that."

We all just hugged a little while longer, then my Stallion grabbed his clothes, and took a quick shower.

Fluttershy made the three of us a nice 'salad' for dinner. It was very good.

My amazing Stallion...

After eating and cleaning the dishes up, we walked quickly over to his cubical, and he drove us to the same beach in 'big Blue'.

The trip there and back took a while, but it was easily worth it.

It was just us three. I missed the other Equestria Girls, but wandering along the beach with two people I love so much... Listening to the waves, birds, and well, everything...

Fluttershy and I cried a lot.

I think Fluttershy missed her sister, who was in Equestria. But the two of them did this quite a bit, so this was probably very good for her.

I was just so thankful for the two people around me right now. Besides, I don't think I could stay in this world if my Stallion wasn't here with me, not any more.

But I think all three of us both liked and disliked the Portal.

Fluttershy and I both sighed at the same time as I thought this.

The ride back was long, but Fluttershy and I just hugged all the way back.

My Stallion parked the car at his cubical, and the three of us walked back to Fluttershy's apartment.

Well, Fluttershy is amazing too. When we got back to the apartment, she mentioned she was going to take a 'bath', and this might take a while.

My Stallion moved some pillows, and was quickly on his back on the couch, and I ended up laying next to him with my back against the back of the couch.

We kissed some, but he put his arm around me and just hugged me, and that was really enough. I felt I was where I belonged, at peace here like this.

For a little while I cried softly, but we said nothing, and just enjoyed being together. This was probably the first extended time alone we found, and it felt so nice. This wasn't time at the lake, but spending time with him like this made it easier to wait for that.

Fluttershy came out, said softly "Stay put, you two", then she went into the kitchen and took a few minutes making three small bowls of Ice Cream, and put them on the Coffee Table.

We took our time, but by then, we were sitting up on the couch, and she squeezed onto the couch next to me.

I immediately gave her a hug, and thanked her for letting my Stallion and I enjoy some 'peace and quiet' together.

Fluttershy just smiled, and said quietly "Well, I think it's the least I can do, since he lets you spend so much time with me. Thank you both for that, it really means a lot to me."

Well, it was late, and I was soon standing on the porch hugging my Stallion.

Fluttershy turned the porch light off, and closed the door some, and told me not to 'rush him off', and we hugged and kissed together for a little while.

He makes me feel very nice inside, but the main thing is that I love him so much. Sending him off is just hard.

Sis and I were quickly in bed.

"Fluttershy, I love him so much... I just can't seem to get enough of him..." I said, clearly near tears.

Fluttershy just answered softly "I think it's supposed to be that way.

Alarm again 'early' next morning, Thursday I think.

We brushed our hair then got dressed, and put our bed stuff away, and did some more tidying up.

While lying in bed, I was thinking about the amazing 'stylish' clothes Rarity picked out for me.

Before I got dressed, I asked Fluttershy if that top (blouse? I don't know) would be ok with jeans. She pulled it out, and looked at it. She just said softly "It's a little short, I think you should save it for evenings."

I think that was her way of saying now was a bad time for it, and I trusted her on this.

We were both soon on the way to my Stallion's cubical.

Most of the way there, Fluttershy began to cry softly. "I think he had a nightmare."

I soon felt it too.

I quickly let myself in, leaving the door open. I didn't want Fluttershy to be alone outside, and I thought I might need to be in here a while. My Stallion slept in his old jogging clothes anyway.

He was crying, well trying unsuccessfully not to, and I quickly hugged him tight, and he hugged me back just as tight.

I ended up just crying with him. It must have been terrible.

After maybe five minutes, he said through his tears that I died in his dream. He said it was horrible... It just shattered him... He just wanted to forget it...

Well, fifteen minutes later, his crying stopped, and he just hugged me tightly for a few minutes. Then we kissed once, and he asked me to go out while he dressed. I think he realized Fluttershy had been waiting all this time.

We walked back to the apartment with my Stallion in the middle this time, and we both were hugging him. We just took our time.

Halfway to the apartment, he thanked us both, then said "Wow, I hope that never happens..." He almost started crying again, but managed to stop.

We were all soon sitting on the grass eating Granola together.

At one point, Fluttershy got up, headed inside, and asked if I could help her a minute.

I had to give her a big hug... She suggested I get that blouse on for my Stallion. I quickly did, and added the jogging shorts too.

My Stallion blushed brightly when I came back out, and quickly hugged me tightly. At least he was smiling though. And we hugged a little more after we were both done eating.

He said quietly to me "You are so beautiful... Thank you, amazing mare."

Still, I told him I should probably change before we headed to the School, and he said that was probably a good idea.

But Fluttershy was right, those clothes were a good idea, at the right time, and helped cheer my Stallion up.

When we came back inside with the breakfast stuff, my Stallion helped Fluttershy with the dishes while I changed back into jeans and a t-shirt.

I heard him thank Fluttershy too. Well, it was her idea.

At ten, we were over at the bleachers, hugging amazing friends.

My Stallion seemed mostly back to normal, and headed to the Shop.

Shyna showed up very soon after we did, and she and Fluttershy both hugged immediately. I watched Fluttershy give Shyna her own 'cell-phone', and Shyna was quickly crying, and hugged Fluttershy again for a little while.

I thought this was amazing, they could keep in closer contact now.

Filia and Fiona walked over maybe ten minutes later, and they and Shyna quickly and excitedly exchanged cell numbers. Now they could keep in contact too.

It seemed like such a simple gift would have profound results.

Anyway, the next five hours were just an amazing time of sharing friendship.

Well, Twilight Sparkle mentioned to the rest, a few times, that we wouldn't be here past noon tomorrow.

Someone who knew, said softly "Some lucky ponies are going to Equestria", and the rest of us tried hard not to cry.

Some of this was common knowledge, but the girls quickly learned that it should be 'kept under wraps', and that wasn't a problem. Some of these girls had seen both the Equestria Girls and their Twins, and had enjoyed double friendship with them both, and this was just amazing. Noone wanted to jeopardize that!

At around three, those amazing friends that were still here, headed off, after making sure we were jogging again this afternoon. So, yeah, I guess we were.

And it looked like seven guys headed off from the other end of the bleachers at around the same time.

My Stallion told me later that a few other guys wandered over, talked for a while, then had to leave. He also mentioned to them that they would not be meeting tomorrow. He asked them to check back after School on Monday.

Getting ready to jog was next, and I guess I looked forward to that. My Stallion looks so nice, I don't know. Well, I knew we both needed the exercise too. And exercising with such amazing friends...

Well both Rainbow Dash and Applejack actually came this morning with their jogging clothes on. I think Rainbow lives in clothes like that, during the Summer anyway. The rest of us went to Fluttershy's apartment and changed.

Jogging was amazing, and also challenging, but this was good. And visiting with awesome friends again...

We all hugged when we were done, and everyone headed off to the rest of their day.

It seemed like the Equestria Girls, Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack, were free tonight, so we decided to head to the Cake's for dinner. Noone wanted to change, and we were close already, so we dragged our sweaty bodies there for an early meal.

All we could talk about was Equestria, our Princess Twilight, and our Twins, and tomorrow was the big day.

Fluttershy had already told Shyna, and Twilight Sparkle mentioned she already told Filia and Fiona about our 'field trip'.

All we had to do was make it less than 24 hours, and we would be 'home' in Equestria... Rainbow said that, and we all cried just a little. Equestria was in our hearts for good.

Fluttershy suggested sending some 'Air Mail' again.

But Rainbow said what most felt. "No, let's just get through tomorrow at noon, then we'll just go there..."

It was quiet for a minute, then Rainbow added "I want to go flying..."

Fluttershy said quietly "I want my sister, and my Twin..."

Well, EVERYONE wanted to be with their Twin, and so we all cried together for a little while.

During dinner, Pinkie surfaced the idea of everypony staying together up in her room tonight. We had all done this before, and it was amazing fun, just being together like that. And Pinkie mentioned that she still had a mound of sleeping bags we could all use.

Everyone liked this idea, but my Stallion was clearly the only real 'issue'.

He is so amazing, I love him so much... He sighed first, then began to speak quietly.

"Amazing ladies, you all need to know that my Mare loves you all very much, and we both have appreciated you bringing her into your lives since we came here.

"She will tell you that doing what she has been doing with all of you is like heaven to her.

"But even more than that, each of you have become such a crucial part of both our lives, just like Princess Twilight and her girls have. I really know of no way we can thank you all enough.

"I will not for a minute, stand in the way of Summer enjoying her amazing friends tonight. She deserves that. You all deserve that.

"I can sleep in my cubical one more night."

Well, I was weeping softly by the time he was done, he knows me so well.

Twilight Sparkle spoke up immediately after he stopped, while looking at her 'cell'.

"Ok, so this is the plan. It is five now. Everypony go home and shower, get clothes, etc, then come back here at seven o'clock. Bring back pajamas, and clothes for tomorrow. The pajamas will stay here, and we will leave from Fluttershy's apartment tomorrow at around noon.

"And Summer, you two need to go somewhere and relax together until seven."

Fluttershy added quickly "Summer, I will stay here with Pinkie, and we will come back to the apartment at around 6:30 to get you."

And that was that.

Well, sort of.

It was a warm night, maybe the last one for a while, so my Stallion decided we were going back to the beach together, just he and I.

We stopped by Fluttershy's apartment to get our White sweatshirts, and didn't even shower or change.

My Stallion sent Fluttershy a text of our plan, and said we would try to be back by seven.

30 minutes later, we were sitting together at the beach, watching something far bigger than us do what it had been doing for centuries...

I was quickly an emotional mess, and just wept softly on my Stallion's shoulder. I was trying to take in the waves, and everything else...

Inside, I really felt like those waves, coming and going... I was doing the same thing, coming here, going back to Equestria, coming here, etc... That was just the cost of all these amazing friends; it was just hard.

We kissed some, and hugged some too. But we mostly just held each other and tried to enjoy doing nothing together.

Well, at one point, while I was crying, and my Stallion knew why, he just said softly "Summer, honey, I think true friend will work everything out." He was right of course.

And at least once, I kissed both his knees, and he kissed mine too. This is just a part of us that we don't usually see because we are wearing jeans. It was just nice.

Still, for over an hour, we mostly sat there in silence, and just enjoyed hugging and being at the beach with each other.

We probably stayed longer than we should have, but not near as long as we both wanted. Still, and around seven, we walked slowly back to the car.

We climbed inside, and I sat in the middle of the front seat next to him again. Well, it was dark now, and my Stallion and I kissed, well, for a few minutes anyway. I really love him.

My Stallion texted Fluttershy that we were just now heading back, then he started 'big Blue', and we headed back onto the Freeway.

We got a text back, and I checked it. It was from Fluttershy, she is so sweet. She just said "Take your time..."

I texted back "I love you, Sis"

A little while later, I got a text from Pinkie saying "She loves you too, Summer :) ."

I must have made her cry, and I felt bad.

Once back to the cubical, my Stallion parked the car, and we walked over to Fluttershy's apartment, and I showered quickly, put on tomorrow's clothing, then brushed my teeth and hair.

My Stallion helped me pick out some pajamas that covered 'a little more'. He laughed, then blushed as he said this. Then he told me again that my Equestria Girls body is very beautiful.

We were back at the Cake's at around eight. Pinkie met us downstairs, and mentioned most were in pj's already, so I hugged my Stallion, and Pinkie and I headed up the stairs.

Well, I blew him a kiss right before I couldn't see him any more. I had heard one of the girls talk about that, and Fluttershy explained it to me. Walking away from him was just hard.

I hugged all the girls, and thanked them for some amazing time with my Stallion. I apologized to Fluttershy for making her cry too, and she started crying again. I was crying again, too. I loved all these girls...

We stayed up until pretty late. I think we were all excited about going 'home' to Equestria tomorrow. We could hardly wait.

Chapter 16, Shrinking the Chasm

Today was Friday, we would see our Equestria 'friends' today. That was surely an understatement, and everyone was SOOOO excited about this.

All us girls spent the night in Pinkie's room above the Cake's; it was just so nice being together like that. We were all in sleeping bags. Maybe we were too excited though; I don't know if any of us slept very well. And we woke up pretty early too.

It didn't matter. Being with our Princess Twilight and our Twins (and sisters for a few of us) would fix all that.

Before any of us got up, I explained that Fluttershy and I had been walking to my Stallion's cubical so I could be there when he woke up, since I was staying at Fluttershy's. (Well, I usually woke him up when I got there.)

I was going to ask permission for Fluttershy and I to leave and do that this morning.

Instead, Twilight quickly said "Hey, let's all do that!"

Fluttershy quickly added "Then we can all eat Granola together at my apartment."

This would be amazing fun...

Still, there were seven of us, and it took maybe thirty minutes for us to all get dressed and ready. And Pinkie only had two hair brushes!

As we headed downstair, Twilight reminded us to all try to be quiet. It was still maybe only eight in the morning.

Walking all together like that was... I just didn't know who to walk with. I wanted to walk with each of these amazing friends...

It didn't take too long to get to my Stallion's cubical, and we all enjoyed every minute together, as quietly as we could.

And the girls told me on the way, that as soon as I was inside his cubical, they were heading back to Fluttershy's. This made me cry.

Well, I let myself in, and they left immediately, and it got very quiet.

I carefully climbed up on his bed like I did the other night, and gently lay next to him, and just hugged him gently as he slept. After what he told me about the endless nights he cried in this bed...

He sighed right away, and he didn't stay asleep very long, and was soon hugging me back. We kissed for a little while, until we both realized we should probably stop. A trip to the lake would no doubt happen soon enough.

For a few minutes, we just lay next to each other and enjoyed being together. It was so quiet. And I love him so much...

(opt:btm7a)

Anyway, after hugging a little while, we went outside, and sat on the step next to the front door of his cubical. We tried to relax and and just enjoy the morning together. My Stallion hugged me, and we sat in silence together. Well, the city is never totally quiet.

We had lost track of the time, so my Stallion checked his cell, and realized it was nine already.

He texted Fluttershy to find out where they were.

Fluttershy said they were already at the bleachers. Rainbow had to start practice at nine, so they all went. Fluttershy said we could help ourselves to Granola if we wanted.

My Stallion and I agreed that we could easily pass on breakfast this morning.

We locked the cubical door, and walked quickly to the bleachers at the School.

Like I said, we were all so excited. We all missed our Twins... And Fluttershy and I missed our sisters, too.

Our plan was to go through the Portal after Soccer Practice was done, so at around noon. This was really the earliest we could go. We all had 'Equestria in our Hearts', and we were eager to be 'home'... Still, that was three hours from now... We could hardly wait...

At around ten, Pinkie said "I'm going to go check for 'Air Mail', I'll be right back." She was referring to some sort of message from Equestria. She walked off across the grass towards the Portal wall at the front of the School.

We all kept talking.

Less than a minute later, Pinkie RAN quickly back over to the group.

"Shysage, Shysage, Shysage!" she yelled, out of breath. "I just 'Pinkie Sensed' with my Twin!!!"

Pinkie Pie was clearly Ecstatic...

"No..." my Stallion said...

He was deeply in thought a minute.

"Wait..." he said.

Then he thought some more.

"Pinkie, what did you see?" he asked.

Pinkie thought briefly, laughed, then said "Cup-cakes, I think. I think it was her room."

My Stallion was quiet for a minute...

Then he started crying...

Well, Fluttershy started weeping softly too, I guess she just sensed what was going on.

Anyway, my Stallion couldn't talk for a minute or two. And for a stallion to cry, epecially here...

The rest of us just stared at him...

Still crying, he tried to explain...

"Pinkie, that wasn't 'Pinkie Sense', it was the 'Twin Link'...

"I think Princess Twilight moved the Portal to her Castle...

"So now, all of your Twins in Ponyville are probably in 'Twin Link' range when you are close to the Portal wall...

"And when we go through the Portal, we will be in Ponyville RIGHT AWAY...

"The chasm between this world and Equestria just got a LOT SMALLER..."

As the implications sank in, I was quickly crying with him... The pain we both felt, we ALL felt, being so torn between Equestria and this world, and the AMAZING friends on both sides of the Portal...

This Simple Move would dramatically ease this pain... I could Twin Link near the Portal Wall, and we could all go through the Portal and be in Ponyville, near our Twins RIGHT AWAY...

This was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!

We were all quickly crying together...

Still crying a little, my Stallion mentioned quietly "I don't think anypony should go over there yet... It would be very difficult to NOT go through, the minute you sensed your Twin..."

We ALL knew he was right...

Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna walked up soon after. We all supposed they were coming through with us. But both looked very concerned, and asked why we were all crying.

Pinkie YELLED...

"The Portal is in Ponyville now, and we can sense our Twins from here if they are in 'Twin Link' range... This is AMAZING!!!"

Out in the middle of the Soccer field, Rainbow heard this, passed up her shot, and ran quickly over. "WHAT?!?" she shouted...

Pinkie apologized for yelling, then explained quickly.

"Shysage is pretty sure the Portal is in Ponyville now.

"This means that when we go through the Portal, we will be in Ponyville, near our Twins, right away.

"And the Twin Link is active from here, if our Twins are close.

"This is AMAZING!"

Principal and Vice-Principal smiled. This would not help them, but my Stallion said later that he thought they both knew about this simple move ahead of time. It didn't matter.

"Rainbow, go finish practice, then we will test the theory out together" my Stallion said with a smile, and Rainbow ran back to her team.

Still, this just made us even more excited...

Noon couldn't come soon enough, we wanted to go...

For the last maybe half an hour, we just sat there in silence. Nothing needed to be said. We were all trying to wait patiently. A few of us were already weeping softly.

I sat between Fluttershy and my Stallion, hugging both of them, most of that time. Fluttershy and I were both crying a little.

Finally, Rainbow called the team together, they all talked briefly, then she dismissed them. Then she walked over to the rest of us.

She sat down in front of me and I hugged her tight from behind for a little while. Rainbow was quiet with the rest of us a few minutes, then she too started weeping softly. "I want to go flying with my Twin" she said quietly.

Rainbow waited until her team had dispersed, then said "Can we just go, please?"

We all felt that way. It was time.

We all got up, and headed to Fluttershy's apartment to leave our stuff. Then we hugged and cried together a few minutes in the grass out front. Fluttershy locked everything up, and we walked to the Portal wall at the front of the School.

The Twin Link went active for most of us as soon as we were near, and we were all quickly weeping softly. We loved our Twins...

...

Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle said right away "Oh my gosh..." Then she bolted off towards Fluttershy's apartment. "Fluttershy, I need my cell..." she shouted from a good distance away.

Fluttershy took off after her, weeping herself, and they were both quickly inside the apartment.

My Stallion sent Principal Celestia, then Vice-Principal Luna through first, maybe a minute apart. Well, we both hugged each one tightly before they went through. These sisters really were family now.

The rest of the Equestria Girls went through, weeping, and were no doubt quickly hugging their Twins.

After everyone else was through, my Stallion and I walked quickly over to Fluttershy's apartment. I was still crying, I wanted my Twin too.

I knew that my Stallion already realized what was going on.

Outside of Twin Link range... "Stallion?" I said quietly.

"Filia and Fiona" he answered quietly.

I gasped...

He was right, and their mom dropped them both off, maybe five minutes later.

Twilight walked quickly out, and explained to their mom that we would all take very good care of them, and that our 'field trip' this weekend would be amazing for the girls. Boy was that an understatement too...

After their mom drove off, Twilight brought the girls into Fluttershy's apartment, and asked the girls to leave all their electronics and other stuff on the couch. The girls noted the couch already piled with a bunch more, and simply added their 'stuff' to the pile.

Fluttershy locked the door, and we all walked quickly back to the Portal wall.

Twilight Sparkle didn't even turn around at the Portal wall.

Standing, facing the wall, she said simply "Girls, follow me please. The rest of your amazing friends are already through." Then Twilight walked through the Portal and was gone.

Both girls were incredulous, of course. "What is this..." Filia asked quietly.

I hugged both girls and answered softly.

"Filia, Fiona, this is a bridge to another place. I am actually from there, and my sister is waiting for me, as is Fluttershy's sister."

I stopped there, and took a breath, I was choking back tears. Then I continued.

"In your wildest dreams, you could never anticipate what lies ahead..."

Through the Twin Link, I knew my Twin heard this, and she gasped quietly as I said their names, and began to cry, but said nothing.

After a brief pause, Fluttershy spoke up quietly.

"Girls, maybe eight months ago, your friend Twilight Sparkle was standing in front of this Portal for the first time, just like you are now. She asked me what lies beyond this portal. I told her that her destiny was beyond it. You can ask her if I told the truth. She is waiting for you there."

I was pretty sure my sister did the same thing as my Twin, when she heard her Twin, Equestria Girls Fluttershy say this...

And these two twin sisters, Filia and Fiona, had heard enough from trusted friends. Filia went through, then a minute later Fiona went through, and these sisters were soon in Equestria.

...

Fluttershy and I were already crying a lot; our Twins were too.

The three of us hugged tightly, then Fluttershy went through.

Maybe a minute later, my Stallion and I joined hands, hugged tightly, then we walked through the Portal together.

We were both (thankfully) soon in Equestria with all our amazing friends...

It turned into a day we would never forget...

Chapter 17, Twins, Part 8

[This is a 'Twins' chapter, and the only fitting background music for this chapter is the slow, understated elegance of 'The Celestial Capital - Al'Taieu'* from the 'Chains of Promethia'* expansion for Final Fantasy XI* (*c2014 by Square Enix). ]

It rapidly became clear to all of us, on both sides of the Portal, that Twilight Sparkle was fully intent on honoring her amazing Twin, Princess Twilight. The rest of us lovingly took part in this amazing tribute. We all love our Princess.

While she was still in the Equestria Girls world, and the minute she was in 'Twin Link' range, Twilight Sparkle immediately ran off, and called Fluttershy to come with her.

My Stallion and I directed first the Principal sisters, then the rest of the Equestria Girls through the Portal.

Maybe ten minutes later, Twilight walked back to the Portal with Filia and Fiona, Fluttershy and my Stallion and I. Twilight never turned around to look at them before she asked the 'girls' to follow her, then Twilight went through the Portal.

My Stallion, myself, and Equestria Girls Fluttershy were left with Filia and her sister, and we set their mind at ease, and they both soon went through the Portal, separated by maybe half a minute.

Then Fluttershy went through, and my Stallion and I held hands, and went through together.

As soon as Twilight Sparkle came through the Portal, she immediately walked quickly over to Princess Twilight, and slowly turned her away from the Portal while they hugged. Princess Twilight was weeping softly on her Twin's shoulder, and Twilight Sparkle was weeping too, but also watching the Portal.

Filia soon came through, and fell, of course.

The Equestria ponies all gasped quietly, and started weeping softly as they saw Filia come through. The Equestria Girls were weepng softly too.

Fluttershy and my words on the other side of the Portal had already alerted our Twins, and Equestria Girls Summer and Equestria pony Fluttershy quietly and quickly went over, and helped Filia up, and moved her aside.

And Princess Twilight was still crying softly on Twilight Sparkle's shoulder, and Princess didn't see any of this.

Fiona came through next, and our sisters likewise helped her up, and moved her away, and she was standing up, as a pony, next to her sister Filia. Both were speechless.

Fluttershy, my Stallion and I quickly followed through the Portal, and we were all 'home'...

As soon as Fiona came through, and was standing with her sister, and the rest of us were through, it suddenly became COMPLETELY silent in the room...

...then EVERYPONY bowed to Princess Twilight...

Twilight Sparkle pulled away from Princess Twilight, and turned Princess around...

...

Princess saw all her pony friends bowing to her in loving honor...

Princess saw Filia and Fiona, as ponies, and Immediately burst into tears...

...

Filia and Fiona, as ponies, both saw...

...their TWINS...

...They couldn't look away...

The Filia and Fiona Twins were quickly seated facing each other... Equestria pony Filia was hugging Equestria Girls Filia... Equestria pony Fiona was hugging Equestria Girls Fiona... Each was quickly Soul-Linked with their Twin, and weeping softly... Both Soul-Link 'auras' were Red...

These four girls were both twins and Twins...

...

At this point, Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle could control herself no longer, and she burst into tears too, and cried on Princess Twilight's shoulder...

Our precious Princess and her Twin would cry together for a while...

Well, the rest of us were quickly crying too...

[I'm sorry, my Stallion had to do this section. I couldn't work on this without crying a lot...]

Equestria pony Filia and Fiona's dad had died maybe six months ago. Their mom had made an 'acquaintance' of another stallion, and they were getting to know each other better.

Evidently, this stallion had attempted something he should not have, with both Filia and Fiona, at different times. That scoundrel was now in jail, and would be working hard for Canterlot, under heavy guard, for a long time.

Equestria ponies Filia and Fiona were 'identical twin' Unicorn mares with fiery Red Mane and Tail, Brown eyes, and a medium Brown coat. The girls were pretty much 'full grown' by Equestria standards.

Princess Celestia had just taken over the care of these two young Unicorn mares personally, the day news arrived in Ponyville that Equestria Girls Summer Rain had been kidnapped. Princess Twilight let Princess Celestia know what the plan was.

Princess Celestia was concerned, of course, but hoped that 'dad' and his Twin would take care of this. Besides, Princess had her hands pretty full now too.

Princess Celestia had a hunch that these two Unicorn mares had substantial, though now latent, magical ability. After over thirteen hundred years as an Alicorn Princess, she had a pretty good perception in this area.

All her testing with the girls just confirmed this.

The next morning, an Air Coach arrived at Princess Twilight's Castle. In it was Princess Celestia with an amazing present for Princess Twilight -- two Unicorn mare 'apprentices'.

Princess Celestia was convinced that Princess Twilight would be the perfect teacher for these two mares.

Princess Twilight was OVERJOYED at this opportunity...

Princess quickly fell in love with these two precious red-heads. They bonded quickly as well. Princess took them everywhere she went, well, as often as she could.

But Princess also quickly realized that she absolutely could not handle Equestria pony Filia and Fiona by herself.

The Magic of Friendship sprang to life as 'Princess' Girls', Equestria ponies Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, were rapidly and lovingly pulled, well eagerly jumped, into this amazing project. Equestria Girls Summer jumped in too as she was feeling better.

It was clearly a group effort, and the Equestria ponies just showered these two mares with love and friendship.

And Rarity pulled Dawn and Camille into the fun too; they were both Unicorns as well, and Camille was maturing rapidly.

Equestria pony Rarity spent a LOT of time with Princess Twilight and her two new charges. This was only natural, Rarity was a powerful Unicorn as well. Nopony that had watched 'Rare' use her magic to quickly sew an amazing dress would ever question that.

But within this loving group, it hurt noponies' feelings that preferences soon surfaced. Filia gravitated towards Princess Twilight, and Fiona spent extra time with Rarity. This 'one on one' time was just special and helpful.

Well, two days ago, Equestria Girls Summer and the rest of the Equestria ponies 'borrowed' Filia and Fiona for a day at Sweet Apple Acres (they picked apples), and sent Princess and Rarity to bed to catch up on their sleep...

...

If anypony would have asked Princess Twilight yesterday if there was anything else she would like these girls to experience beyond her lessons on Magic and this circle of amazing friends, she would probably have stared off across the meadow, wishing Filia and Fiona could some day meet their Equestria Girls Twins, if they even existed...

...

And yet, as all of this amazingly and lovingly unfolded in Equestria, nopony in Equestria even dreamed that, on the other side of the Portal, comparable developments were just as amazingly and just as lovingly taking place...

...

The very minute Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle saw two blazing red-head ponies next to Princess Twilight through the Twin Link, Twilight Sparkle knew immediately who they were, and ran quickly away...

Twilight Sparkle was determined to honor her Twin and Princess...
...and give both Filias and both Fionas a gift far greater than could ever be given... You really need to have a Twin to understand this...

Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle and Equestria Girls Rarity had just as quickly bonded with Equestria Girls Filia and Fiona; both loved these girls as their own.

In the context of such deeply true friendship and amazing devotion and committment in two very different worlds...

...the Filia and Fiona Twins met...

...

On BOTH sides of the Portal... Friendship is Magic...

The Filia and Fiona Twins Soul-Linked for an hour. After that time, neither had many questions left about their Twin or their world; the Soul Link had cared for that.

Most of the rest of us Soul-Linked with our Twins during that time too. My Twin, Equestria Girls Summer Rain, was doing a lot better.

Princess Twilight and her Twin, Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle, cried on each other's shoulders for almost that long. Twilight Sparkle had helped orchestrate an amazing gift for her Twin and Princess...

Twilight Sparkle and Princess Twilight gently pulled the Filia Twins apart, and both Raritys gently eased the Fiona Twins away from each other.

Twilight Sparkle couldn't do this, so I did.

"Filia and Fiona, Princess Twilight is your Princess, and when you see your Princess, you need to bow before her like this."

I showed them, bowing quickly before Princess Twilight. Within a few seconds, everypony else in the room was bowing to our amazing Princess too. Well, the Principal and Princess sisters didn't, and neither did Twilight Sparkle. It didn't matter.

Still, it was very quiet as the rest of us bowed, and both Princess and Twilight started crying again.

Princess Twilight, crying softly, said "Oh girls, please arise all of you... I have never known... I have never even read about such amazing love and devotion..."

Then, after a brief delay our Princess started to cry more

"Equestria Girls Filia, and Fiona... Welcome to Equestria..."

Then Princess began to cry a lot, and she hugged each of the Filia and Fiona Twins, and she told them she couldn't tell them apart yet.

This would take us all a while. The four of them were all identical twins...

Then both Princess and Twilight worked their way around the room and hugged EVERYPONY, and this took a while...

Well, I need to mention a few more details here.

Having the Portal in Princess' Castle was an amazing development; we all agreed on that.

Still, I found out that both the Princess sisters and the Principal sisters found themselves doing an increasing amount of behind the scenes co-ordination, and really would benefit from quicker communication. There were no 'cell towers' in Equestria...

Moving the Portal to Princess' Castle meant Princess Twilight could send and receive messages from Principal Celestia for them, so all that was required now would be a brief visit to Ponyville via the Portal. The Principal sisters didn't mind visiting, Equestria was in their hearts, too.

The Portal was actually placed in an empty corner in Princess' spacious new Library.

And Princess had wisely requested a nice, soft, thick rug, to be placed right in front of the Portal, for happier landings. Filia and Fiona certainly benefited from that. And Princess Twilight's Cutie Mark was prominantly displayed over the bulk of the rug, of course.

Chapter 19, Awesomeness Times Two, Part 2

Twelve sets of Twins; we were all still standing in a circle, as 'people', holding hands, weeping softly...

Before anypony moved, Equestria Girls Rainbow Dash spoke up quickly.

"Princess..." she said, still crying with everypony else.

"Summer promised me time flying... Can my Twin and I do a magical, Double Reverse Sonic Rainboom again? Please? Pretty-please?"

Princess Twilight didn't think very long...

"Of coure, Rainbow... It's pretty early still, but I think everypony will understand."

Princess paused a minute here, then continued.

"And if not, I'm sure the Canterlot Recorder can write all this up, and let them know" Princess said, then she laughed.

Well, I did wish I had a video camera...

Both Rainbows were grinning 'ear-to-ear' now; this was an amazing opportunity for them...

This really WAS Rainbow in all HER glory! (Well, both of them.)

Still, Summer was next to me, and I heard her just sigh quietly. She did not like showing off, not any more, and she needed to be a Phantom Alicorn for this to work. But she had promied this to an amazing friend, so it would happen.

Summer briefly described her Phantom Alicorn form for the benefit of the Filia and Fiona Twins. My Twin had not seen this yet either.

And Summer stressed that EVERYPONY needed to stay holding hands until the Rainbow Twins both landed again.

"Rainbow, try and do the Rainboom pretty high if you can. It will be pretty loud here otherwise" Summer asked.

The Rainbows slowly pulled themselves to the center of the circle, then carefully broke from it, after Summer and her Twin each were touching one of them. Physical contact was required for the magical trail to work. The open ends of the circle were quickly closed again.

As Summer prepared everypony, she spun up her Cutie Mark, and her wings and Alicorn horn appeared. And the very low rumble was clearly audible. Most in this circle had already seen and felt this before, but most gasped again...

And every time I watch Summer make this transformation, it still seems like an eerie dream...

The Rainbow Twins took off quickly, and, working together, began a rapid, long ascent. After they were quite high, they began a slow arc to one side...

Since they were people, they could fly a lot faster, and this really helps.

The magical 'tail' left behind them blazed with the contribution of the Unicorns and Alicorns in the group plus the two Rainbows. Well, there was a lot of Pink, Blue and Orange in there too (Fluttershy, Pinkie and Applejack's colors).

It looked like a constantly changing magical vortex containing every imaginable visible color. It defied description beyond that. It was amazingly beautiful... It was also very bright.

And as had happened before, the 'tail' that followed the Rainbows did not dissipate; it stayed there, brightly blazing, growing across their entire flight path as they flew...

Well, Ponyville was starting their day, and ponies just stopped wherever they were, and watched. I am sure that a lot of jaws dropped at this.

"Summer I think this is going to be loud..." I said softly.

It took maybe five minutes for them to get 'into position'...

Arc far to the side... Split off and one fly up and the other fly down... Turn in at exactly the same time, and blast quickly towards the Apex... Push strongly off each other right at the Apex... Speed quickly away at a right angle...

The 'Boom' was LOUD, almost deafening...

It generated a wave-front also splashed with every conceivable color that launched quickly outwards, radially.

And the presence of the magic seemed to vastly accelerate the speed of the wavefront... It wasn't consuming a thick magical cloud, so the wavefront itself made no sound as it sped quickly to the outer reaches of Equestria, but still...

It really was amazing...

Well both Rainbows are amazing too...

And I knew for a fact, that it simply didn't matter what was going on in Cloudsdale... What the Wonderbolts were doing or what awesome 'signature moves' they were practicing... or anyone else for that matter...

The wave-front was high, but probably raced over Cloudsdale maybe only 100 feet above the avenues...

And as they heard the deafening BOOM, and watched this amazing 'rainbow' wave-front streak quickly by, not very far overhead...

I'm sure they ALL stopped what they were doing IMMEDIATELY, and just stood there, in wonder and amazement, at what a Pegasus named Rainbow Dash could do...

Well, they probably didn't know there were two of them...

Awesomeness times two!

Chapter 20, Short and Sweet

After an amazing magical Sonic Rainboom, both Rainbows flew back to the Castle, landed, and we all hugged tightly for a few minutes, then changed back into ponies.

Summer jumped in here, and spoke briefly. She said that coming back home directly to Ponyville last night was amazing, as was time with all now twelve Twins.

Still, she asked all present to take a moment to honor Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the rulers of Equestria, as they had not yet taken that opportunity.

Everypony understood immediately, and quickly bowed to the Princess sisters.

Princess Celestia asked everyone to rise right away, and said a few words herself. She didn't speak for very long, but simply warned against 'frivolous' use of the Portal.

Moving it to Princess Twilight's Library made both worlds 'closer', and Equestria leadership had agreed to that move. But this just required more responsible use of the Portal by all involved. And nopony really knew what sort of 'magical reserve' the Portal had, or whether it was close to being depleted or not.

Princess Celestia also indicated that the Equestria ponies still should NOT go to the Equestria Girls world without Princess Twilight's approval, and that it was expected that the Canterlot Recorder (and his Mare, of course) would accompany them. Princess Celestia again reminded everypony that even recent events demonstrated that the Equestria Girls world could be a harsh, unforgiving and dangerous place.

In closing, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna 'officially' welcomed Equestria Girls Filia and Fiona to Equestria, and both Princesses hugged all four red-heads.

Princess Twilight followed by simply saying that nothing else was planned, and that everypony should enjoy the day with their Twin.

Amazing ponies began to wander off, and Summer and I headed over to Cel (Princess Celestia) and Lu (Princess Luna). There were two Air Coaches waiting now, but we still took some time, just the four of us, and we hugged and cried together for a (too short) while.

Evidently they had only recently heard that mom (Equestria pony Summer) was kidnapped too, and this was very scary to them. Cel and Lu were just glad mom and her Twin were safely back.

Summer and I walked them over to their Air Coaches, hugged all four of them, and they and their Twins were soon off.

Still, Summer and I needed to hug and cry together for a little while after they left. We both loved our girls...

Well, the best I could tell...

Both Raritys and both Twilights spent the day in the Library with four red-head Unicorn mares, learning magic together, and having a blast. Equestria Girls Twilight and Equestria Girls Rarity were still learning too; it was just an amazing time.

The Pinkies went to the Cakes, the Applejacks went to Sweet Apple Acres, and the Rainbow Twins spent most of the day together in the air. It was clear that Equestria Girls Rainbow had dearly missed flying.

The Summers and the Fluttershys spent most of the day at Fluttershy's Cottage, hugging sisters, talking together or Soul Linking.

I talked to my Twin for a while, and realized that he needed something to do.

His Summer (Equestria Girls Summer Rain) was doing a lot better, and expected to head back to the Equestria Girls world in time to start school. And they both were absolutely overjoyed that the two monsters were in jail now.

But spending a lot of time around his Summer, here in Equestria, was not easy for him, and I understood what he meant. He mentioned they both were feeling a lot of pressure, and were doing their best... Well, it was just hard.

He loved his Summer dearly, but living in the Equestria Girls world seemed to slow both of their desires down to a great degree, and he mentioned that they both were looking forward to that.

I knew exactly how he felt.

Still, I mentioned that I needed my 'scope' thing, and told him it was still in the trunk of my car. I asked him to take his time, go through the Portal, get it, and bring it back to the Library. I mentioned that it would probably be late in the evening there, but that should be ok.

We walked to Fluttershy's Cottage, and he hugged his mare some (I hugged mine too), and then we walked to the Library, let Princess Twilight know, and he was quickly through the Portal.

I thought that he would be tempted to climb into bed, and try to get some sleep. I found out later that's what he did. Well, he checked in with the church where he worked, and actually worked most of the night first, because they really needed him to. Then he slept for quite a while. I would have done the same thing.

Still, when he didn't come back right away, I walked back over to Fluttershy's Cottage and let his mare know what I thought was going on, and she started crying on my Mare's shoulder. They had already talked about this, I guess.

My Twin and Summer's Twin both loved Equestria, but it was very difficult for them here. Still, Equestria Girls Summer hoped it would be easier after they got married. I think they both hoped that would be soon.

Well, I hugged my Mare again for a little while, then I left so they could enjoy their day together.

This was actually different; I had a bunch of time to myself this afternoon.

I could have spent time working on Canterlot Recorder stuff, but realized that should wait until after everypony was safely back in the Equestria Girls world. And it would help if I had my 'scope' back too.

I just walked to the meadow to the East, ate and drank some, wandered over to the small hill there, and was soon asleep in the warm sunlight.

My Mare and her Twin woke me up, maybe late afternoon. They were both crying.

"Girls, what did I miss..." I asked quietly.

My Mare tried to explain "Stallion, it's my Twin, shes--"

Her Twin, Equestria Girls Summer, didn't wait...

"My Fiancee is in my world now, and I'm glad... I'm such a terrible mare..." she said through her tears.

I sighed, but I knew where this had to go.

I asked my Mare to lay down next to me, and I addressed my words to her Twin, Equestria Girls Summer.

"Summer, it is really ok that he's there. It is night there, and I would guess he's working, weekends are busy for the building he takes care of. I suspect they have really missed him, he does very good work. And I bet he sleeps a lot after he's done working.

"And Summer, your Twin and I have struggled a lot while we were in your world too, and we are both happy to be back here.

"You need to realize that while my Twin and I are in our home worlds, our mare's bodies have a far greater, a HUGE impact on us. He and I talked some this afternoon, and I am not surprised that living here has been tough for you both."

It was quiet for a minute, then she said, still crying..

"But I want him too... It's just not fair..."

"Summer" I said softly. You lived here for over a year. I have too, and I am feeling the same thing.

"But Summer, you are not a bad mare. For now, you both just belong in your world. And for him to be there now, and give you a break; he really loves you...

"Summer and I were delighted to be able to give you a chance to recover here, and it has been amazing for my Mare to be able to share time with your friends. But for now, this is our home, and we are both better off here.

Summer had calmed down by this point, and it was quiet.

Then I added "Summer, there is no other mare for my Twin. And he is trying to protect you both. And that's ok.

"Besides, in a few days, you will be fretting to him about homework in a text message, anyway."

She just laughed.

"And by the way, sending texts back and forth really helped my Mare and I too, while we were there" I said.

But I had to honestly add this.

"Summer, while you are here, enjoy your Twin and all these amazing friends while you can. You will be back home soon enough, then both of us will get our mares back."

Equstria Girls Summer looked a lot better as she got up.

My Mare and I got up too.

I got two hugs, and then they both left, chatting happily together, again.

This was good.

I just sighed...

Dinner for nine sets of Twins was at the Castle, I'm sure it was amazing.

I heard that, after dinner, both Summer's helped Pinkie Pie tell the story about their 'ordeal' in the Equestria Girls world. Well, all the Equestria Girls had read the ten or so chapters we had already written, so they all helped.

It was scary, but there was probably a lot of laughing with Pinkie Pie involved. It had actually worked out that way anyway, thanks to Pinkie.

Then the Equestria Girls shared Filia and Fiona's 'back-story'.

This was followed immediately by the Equestria ponies telling Equestria pony Filia and Fiona's story afterwards.

I wish I had my 'scope'; that would have been absolutely amazing -- for ponies on both sides of the Portal -- to see all these parallel events playing out in both worlds like that.

This recounting also underscored that there were no secrets within this group.

Then I think everypony went to sleep next to their Twin in the Library at a 'normal' hour.

I didn't have much (anything) to do, so I went back to the meadow off in the East, and watched the Moon come up, then went home and fell asleep on the couch as a people. It was a warm night, and I wished I had my jogging clothes...

When I woke up the next morning, Summer was asleep next to me, as a people, with her back up against the back of the couch. This was just very comfortable for both of us, and we slept well like that.

I used to cry most mornings because I was alone. Lately, I cry some mornings, like this one, just because I need this Mare so much. I tried not to wake her though.

I managed to work my arm around her back, and I gently hugged her. She sighed, smiled, then opened her eyes, and we kissed briefly... well maybe a little longer.

Still crying, I said this quietly; it fit the way I felt perfectly...

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.

I actually put this together in the past, on a day I was trying to teach Cel and Lu (Princess Celestia and Princess Luna) about Poetry.

My Mare knew I meant every word, both then and now, and Summer was soon crying with me.

I was pretty sure I was the luckiest stallion in the universe.

A little while later, we were both up, ponies, and doing some light snacking in the meadow.

Then Summer and I took to the air, and flew. THAT felt so very good to both of us. We had really missed this...

We were soon joined by the rest of the amazing Pegasus mares in Princess Twilight's circle.

And we ALL cried; we had all missed doing this together. For us, this just seemed a part of being 'home'; flying leisurely around in the sky over Ponyville. And even though we were pretty high, Equestria pony Fluttershy was not scared at all, and blended right in with the rest.

Flying together near the Castle, we saw the rest outside on the grass, talking.

Well, Equestria Girls Filia and Fiona had this 'deja vu' look on their face, as they stared up at us. I was pretty sure they were now able to make sense out of the day that they saw Summer flying, as a pony, at Sweet Apple farm in the Equestria Girls world.

But we landed, and quickly melted in with the rest. There was a lot of hugging and crying. It was so clear everypony missed everypony.

Well, once everypony was done hugging, somepony bowed to our amazing Princess Twilight, and we all were quickly bowing. We all loved our Princess.

Princess got us all back up.

Like my Mare had done in the past, she jumped up quickly, and gave Princess Twilight a big hug. I think she started something, and everypony else wanted to hug our Princess too. She deserved it, she is amazing.

After this was done, Princess Twilight explained how today would go.

She reminded us that the Equestria Girls needed to head back through the Portal tonight at around midnight. This would put them back in their world at around noon there, and this would give them all some time to prepare for School and classes starting the next day.

Until then, Princess said we should just do stuff together with our Twin. And she asked that Twins try to do things just with their Twins, and to try to avoid group stuff.

The exception to this would be the Rarity and Fiona Twins. They would spend at least part of the day at Rarity's Boutique immersed in 'Amazing Fashion', Equestria style.

Princess mentioned to the Filia Twins that they should stay near she and her Twin. But Princess still wanted the red-head Twins to spend some time together, and by themselves as much as possible.

Princess also said that everypony needed to be back at the Castle by dinner time, and from that point on, everypony would stay at the Castle until it was time to head back through the Portal.

Princess added finally that, at this point, just the Canterlot Recorder and his Mare were the only ponies going back to the Equestria Girls world with the Equestria Girls.

Princess Twilight simply underscored Princess Celestia's comment that nopony knew what state the Portal's magical reserve was in; she wanted to be careful.

As far as I can tell...

Both Fluttershys spent the day surrounded by 'fluffies' at Fluttershy's cottage. This was both Fluttershys in their 'element'.

The Rarity and Fiona Twins evidently had a fashion project or two in the works, and spent the day together at Rarity's Boutique. They wrapped Sweetie Belle into their plans for a while, too. Especially for the Fiona Twins, this was probably an amazing time. And Sweetie Belle adopted both Fiona Twins as her 'other' big sisters.

The Applejack Twins headed back to Sweet Apple Acres, and just enjoyed time with family, and walking the fields together. They tried to keep the chores they did to a minimum, although both enjoyed chores.

The Rainbow Twins flew together most of the day, and sat in a tree talking the rest of the time.

The Pinkie Pie Twins ate cup-cakes and cheered up Ponyville outside the Cake's Shop. Two Pinkies... Amazing... About those 'bleachers'...

The Twilight Twins led the Filia Twins into the meadow behind the Castle, and told them to spend some time together. The red-heads had to stay where they could see the Castle however, but were otherwise by themselves. They hugged and Soul-linked for most of that time. The Twilight Twins did the same thing.

Both Summers ended up on that little hill in the meadow to the East of our home, and spent most of the time talking or Soul Linked

My Twin wasn't back yet, so I realized that he was staying in the Equestria Girls world. I decided this was probably best, but this also meant that I would not have my 'scope', so I had to wander around some just to check in with all the Twins.

This was fine, I didn't have anything else to do.

But I did a quick survey about the Canterlot Recorder tasks I had. And all this was further tempered by the fact that information for Volume 5 of Princess' Commentaries might start flowing in soon. Well I just didn't know.

I could have dove back into the record of PonyRos' takeover. There was a LOT of work left on that. But it would take a while for me to get my head wrapped back around all those details, and I really should wait on that until I was back for a while, and could stay focused.

Up next would be finishing the account about both Summer's being rescued. Honestly this was a lot further along than PonyRos' takeover, since Pinkie and Fluttershy had helped my Mare and I do a BUNCH of that while we were in Equestria. That text would come back with my 'scope'.

I had a lot of work to do, but couldn't start any of it today...

After making the 'rounds' twice, and finding little change, I realized I probably didn't even need to keep doing that.

Another 'free' (lonely) day, oh well. I took a long nap on the couch.

Both Summers came and woke me up. It was dinner time at the Castle, and I needed to come.

I tried to 'be careful' around my Mare's Twin, and hugged my Summer once, and we were off.

The Sun was low, off in the West, as we headed up the stairs to the Castle.

Everypony was already in the Library, including the Celestia and Luna Twins.

Evidently Principal and Vice-Principal were heading through the Portal after dinner. I was pretty sure they still had a lot to do before tomorrow, which was the first day of classes at Equestria High School.

Principal Celestia walked quickly over, and thanked me again for my work on the computers. However, she sheepishly asked that I spend some time this afternoon (well in Equestria Girls time) to move the computers into the Lab, and make sure everything else there was working properly.

My mare smiled immediately.

"We would be delighted to help you" I said quietly.

I was glad I took a nap.

Before dinner, Princess Twilight had the Raritys give 'Shield Necklaces' to the Filia and Fiona Twins. Well, Princess Twilight lovingly put them on the Filia Twins, and Equestria pony Rarity put the Fiona Twins' necklaces on, crying of course. Making more of them was one of their tasks this afternoon. They also gave two to Equestria Girls Summer for she and her stallion as well. Her other one had gotten lost when she was kidnapped.

Dinner was amazing, of course, and with such amazing friends...

After dinner, we all took turns hugging Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna, and they went together back to Equestria.

I was pretty sure it was early morning there now.

Cel, Lu, Summer and I found a quiet corner, and hugged and cried together for a while. Again, it was too short, and then we walked them out an Air Coach out in the grass, and they were soon gone.

Summer and I cried together a few minutes, then went back inside.

The rest of the evening was quiet, and pretty subdued. Visiting with Twins was amazing, but having to leave is always tough.

I think the Filia and Fiona Twins were having an especially hard time dealing with this; it was their first time. Still, both Twilights and Raritys said a few times that they would be able to get together again in the near future. The eight of them spent most of the evening hugging, anyway.

At one point, I was with my Mare, her Twin and the Fluttershys. Equestria Girls Fluttershy said she was anxious to get back, and see how Shyna was doing. She also mentioned she was looking into some sort of 'legal guardian' status anyway.

One way or another, she would take care of Shyna. And her parents said they would do anything to help, too. Equestria Girls Fluttershy started weeping softly at this point, and we all hugged her for a little while.

My Mare told me later that her sister (Equestria pony Fluttershy) was excited to meet Shyna, especially after all she had heard from her Twin. Still, Fluttershy hoped that there was a Shyna here in Equestria too. This was scary to me, I knew that wasn't always the case...

At around midnight, Princess Twilight started sending ponies through the Portal.

She sent Equestria Girls Summer, Rainbow and Applejack through first, and asked them to help the Filia and FIona twins adjust back to the Equestria Girls world. Pinkie then Rarity went next, then Twilight Sparkle, then Filia and Fiona. Fluttershy went, then my Mare and I went last, and we were all soon back in the Equestria Girls world.

After we were through the Portal, I saw it was around noon according to the clock in the High School lobby.

We all walked quickly to Fluttershy's apartment. Before going inside, we all hugged in a tight circle, and cried a few minutes, out on the grass. I think most in this circle would really liked to have stayed in Equestria, for a longer time, anyway.

Shyna ran up quickly, and cried with us, well with Fluttershy, mostly. I think they had both missed each other a lot.

After a little while, everypony got their stuff, and Twilight texted Filia and Fiona's mom that we were all back.

Everypony soon headed off to 'settle back in', and get ready for classes tomorrow. Twilight and Rarity headed off with Filia and Fiona. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow headed downtown, and Big Mac soon picked up Applejack, and took her home.

My Twin (Equestria pony Shysage) was asleep.

The five of us, two Summers, Fluttershy, Shyna and I hugged again, then my Mare and I headed off to the Computer Lab at the High School.

It took about three hours to get the Computer Lab set up, and we pulled one more bad system out of the Lab, and I replaced it with another I had fixed. Everything seemed to be running well. If any problems surfaced, there were six back-up systems available in the Shop. Still, I suspected that I would probably be 'in and out' of the Equestria Girls world enough now, to help keep things running.

And my Mare stood by just watching me work, smiling the whole time, even though she had no clue what I was doing. She is one special Mare. I told her how beautiful she is a few times.

Principal and Vice Principal were just so overjoyed that I had taken care of this for them. They wanted to pay me, but I just said quietly that a weekend at their guest-house would be nice. They quickly said we were welcome there any time.

I told them again that I was very glad to be able to help out like that.

We hugged both Principal and Vice-Principal sisters, well for a little while, and headed back to Fluttershy's apartment.

Fluttershy, Shyna and Equestria Girls Summer were about to climb into the Mustang for a trip to the beach. I had my Mare grab her jogging clothes while we were there. We stood out front, and hugged them all, cried a little, then my Mare and I headed to my cubical, and the Mustang was off towards the Freeway.

I was pretty sure my Mare wanted to go with them. Before she said a word, I promised her we would take such a trip soon.

We walked slowly, hugging, to my cubical.

My Twin was asleep, so I quietly let myself in, got the car keys and my new jogging clothes, then locked everything back up. He was still asleep. I guessed he probably hadn't slept very much in Equestria.

I got my 'scope' out of the trunk of 'big Blue', stuffed all our jogging clothes inside the cover, and closed it back up. I hid the car keys in the White Mustang behind it.

I carried the 'scope' back to the Portal wall; it was starting to get dark. With the 'scope' in one hand and Summer's hand in the other, we went through together, and were soon back in Equestria.

Back in Equestria, in the Library, we immediately found Princess Twilight and Rarity trying to comfort two very sad red-heads.

I put the 'scope' down in an 'out of the way' place, and Summer suggested we all go for a 'town walk'.

Princess said it was probably early morning, but still this was good, and Filia and Fiona seemed warm to the idea.

We had a nice time walking and talking together.

At one point, Princess Twilight asked Filia and Fiona what some of the highlights of their weekend were. I knew this could be dangerous, but then I realized this was a round-about way to help Filia and Fiona be grateful for what they were able to do.

The sisters were very animated as they told us. We all cried, but laughed together too. And hearing a lot of things from Equestria's perspective was again, amazing. We had watched everything from the other side of the Portal.

At one point, Summer asked that she and Princess and Rarity be able to talk alone.

I volunteered to take the sisters on ahead, as they talked together for a little while.

Filia and Fiona just kept talking. We walked past our house to the meadow to the East. We walked part of the way into the meadow, and sat down together. We were watching the Sun come up.

They chatted some more about their weekend; they really did have an amazing time. Both were sure that their Twins were the most amazing ponies in Equestria.

As the first rays of dawn crept over the tree-line, Princess Twilight, Rarity and my Mare joined us, and we watched the Sun rise on our town together. It was very nice.

As we all felt the heat of the morning Sun, Princess 'put her foot down', and said that Filia and Fiona needed to at least take a nap. Without explaining why, she mentioned that tonight might be another late night.

We walked through town, dropped Rarity off at her Boutique after hugging her together, then we headed to the Castle.

At the Castle steps, Summer and I both hugged our Princess and Filia and Fiona.

They went inside, and we headed home.

Summer explained to me that she had tried to communicate to Princess Twilight the struggle that the Equestria Girls have to face every day, wanting so desperately to come back to Equestria to stay.

Summer suggested that the Equestria ponies take the initiative, and bring Equestria to them for the first afternoon of the day school started (tomorrow), just to help them feel a little closer.

Princess loved the idea, and clearly understood the need. Such a visit would just mean basically staying up all night, well tonight. But we clearly all loved them, and so would make this happen.

Princess mentioned she would let Princess Celestia know what was going on, just to see if she had any input. Well, she would do this when Spike was awake.

Princess Twilight, Filia and Fiona headed into the Castle.

Summer and I changed to people, and walked slowly, hugging, to the Canterlot Recorder's house.

"It is so nice to be home again, Stallion..." Summer said quietly.

"Long nap together on the couch?" I asked with a smile.

"Stallion, I just need to be near you... That sounds amazing" she said quietly.

Maybe half an hour later, we were both sound asleep together.

Chapter 21, Ponies from a Different Land

Summer and I napped there on the couch until noon maybe. Then we hugged and kissed a bit. Well, I awoke to Summer gently kissing my cheek. I didn't mind.

Ponyville was already bustling with activity, and Summer and I changed back into ponies, ate some Oats together in the East meadow, had some water at the lake, then we flew.

It was just the two us for a while, and so I shadowed her. My Mare is absolutely beautiful in the air like that. Shadowing didn't last too long though, because Summer said she wanted me next to her. Well, she wanted me where she could see me too.

While talking together, we flew large, lazy circles high over Ponyville, so we could 'keep an eye out' in case anything was going on below. It was quiet for almost an hour, so we just enjoyed flying together. As I said before, we both had missed this during our time in the Equestria Girls world.

Rainbow Dash joined us after an hour maybe. Evidently Princess had mentioned tonight's trip through the Portal to her girls. Princess suggested to Rainbow that she nap some. Rainbow didn't mind napping.

Maybe ten minutes later, Princess, Rarity, Fiona and Filia came out of the Castle.

Summer, Rainbow and I just curved our path, headed to the grass in front of the Castle, and landed.

It turns out Princess Twilight did want Summer's help. Princess wanted to see about helping Filia and Fiona get pretty good at walking before tonight. Both were pretty excited, so we all realized they knew what tonight held in store for them.

Summer changed into a people right away, walked over to Fiona, and grabbed one of her front legs, then helped Fiona stand up as a people. Summer held Fiona's hand until she was pretty stable standing up. Then Summer began to slowly walk Fiona around.

Fiona was unsteady walking at first, but caught on quickly. After maybe ten minutes of walking around, Summer asked me to change to a people too, and then I was walking around with Fiona as she 'practiced'. Huge grins like her's are priceless.

Summer then did the same thing with Filia, and she too was soon walking around as a people.

I think Summer is always looking out for things like this. What she did next was amazing.

Summer called Princess over and had Filia grab Princess' front leg and help her up as a people.

I brought Fiona over, and Summer had Fiona take her other hand, and had me let go.

Rarity was clearly expecting this as Fiona took one of her front legs, and helped her up as a people.

And off they went, walking hand in hand towards the meadow behind the Castle. Smiles and tears... It must have been an amazing time.

Still a people, I grinned at Rainbow and said they might be a while.

Rainbow didn't want to miss out, and quickly flew after them, and ended up walking as a people, next to Princess Twilight.

I knew they really would be 'a while', so I walked into the Castle, into the Library, and got my 'scope', and carried it back to the Canterlot Recorder's house, and set it on it's table next to my compy. I left the jogging clothes in the cover, and set it aside.

I realized that there was no sense starting in on anything this afternoon. In less than twelve hours, we would be back in the Equestria Girls world, anyway.

But I did turn the 'scope' on, and checked in on my Mare. Well, the group was walking while hugging now, which I expected. Walking like that requires everyone walk 'in step' though, and that can be an interesting challenge, but this was probably good practice for Filia and Fiona.

And Pinkie Pie and Applejack had joined them; they were walking back from Sweet Apple Acres. They were headed to Fluttershy's Cottage at the moment.

The mutual devotion these girls shared together never ceased to amaze me...

I turned my 'scope' off, changed back into a pony, and walked back to the Castle. Princess Twilight and her amazing 'treasures' were simply enjoying being together, and would return when they were ready, and that was fine by me.

I was soon napping in the grass between the Castle and Summer's tree.

I must have slept well in the warm sunlight, and woke up later to my Mare laying next to me, gently rubbing her head up against mine. I tried not to cry.

It was dinner time, and I was invited. Dinner was good, and maybe an hour later, we were all in Princess Twilight's new Library, waiting.

Princess suggested that we all take a nap, and that we would go through the Portal around midnight.

Well, I knew that there were no 'alarm clocks' here in Equestria, but I was not about say anything to Princess.

We all went to sleep.

It was late when I woke up, and I suspected that it might have been later than Midnight.

I woke Summer up, and let her wake Princess Twilight.

Five minutes later, everypony else was waking up. This looked the hardest on Filia and Fiona, but maybe ten minutes later, Princess started sending ponies through the Portal.

Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Fiona, Princess Twilight, Filia, Fluttershy, then Summer and I went through the Portal.

It didn't really matter how tired we all felt. That wouldn't last.

We were all soon in the Equestria Girls world, and wide awake.

The timing worked out pretty good. The clock in the School Lobby said 2:35; classes would be done at 3:00. I suggested we head to the bleachers.

As we started across the grass, I noticed that everypony else was crying.

Summer said it was because her Twin was very upset, but she didn't know why.

This seemed all wrong to me; this was supposed to be a pleasant surprise.

"Twin, do you know what is going on?" I said out loud, gently, when I realized Equestria pony Shysage was already at the bleachers.

"Filia and Fiona's mom, well, 'freaked out' Summer said, when the girls told their mom about their weekend. Filia and Fiona are not allowed to see Rarity or Twilight any more..." My Twin said this slowly. He was pretty upset too.

No wonder...

Soon, we were sitting together in the bleachers on the left end like the girls usually do. My Twin joined us, and I told the rest what my Twin told me.

Everypony was crying a LOT now, especially Equestria ponies Filia and Fiona, and Princess Twilight and Rarity too...

This was just hard...

My Mare was crying too, but she got up and moved next to Princess Twilight, hugged her, then asked Princess to ask her Twin to 'text' Filia and Fiona's mom, and tell her that one of Filia and Fiona's friends would like to talk to her.

I just sighed. It sounded like their mom had already made up her mind.

The next 20 minutes or so, seemed to take forever...

Finally, the last bell rang, and the Equestria Girls pretty much ran out to the bleachers, and hugged and cried with their Twins. Shyna came with Equestria Girls Fluttershy, too.

Basically Twin with Twin, everypony was crying...

Equestria Girls Rainbow mentioned that she had tried to text everyone that Soccer practice was cancelled. She had no intention of trying to run that right now...

Still crying, Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle mentioned to my Mare that Filia and Fiona's mom would be here maybe 3:30, but that Summer shouldn't get her hopes up. Evidently she was pretty rough with Twilight.

This was the first day of classes at the High School, and Summer and the Equestria Girls had been group hugging and loving girls from the student body all Summer.

MANY came out to the bleachers today, soon after school was out. They saw their dear friends crying, but refused to walk away.

These precious friends walked over to the group, hugged everypony they knew or could, and cried with them, then moved and sat as a group of girl friends in the middle of the bleachers. This process continued for the next hour, and the group of amazing friends in the center of the bleachers slowly grew. Evidently a bunch of the girls from the Soccer team ended up there as well.

During this time, a few of the guys from the student body arrived, and sat on the far right end of the bleachers like we did last week. I sent my Twin over to introduce himself, and get to know them better. He was anxious to carry this forward. This group slowly grew as well.

Evidently word traveled quickly, and maybe 3:15, Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna walked over together, and sat with the growing group of girls in the center of the bleachers. These girls were Principal and Vice-Principal's primary concern.

At maybe 3:25, Filia and Fiona's mom walked slowly across in front of the bleachers with her two girls. It was clear she was stunned at all the students in the bleachers, but didn't connect anything, except to note that many were weeping quietly.

But she DID stare briefly at two girls up on the left end of the bleachers that looked exactly like her daughters.

And as she walked across, down in front, it grew instantly quiet in the bleachers.

My Mare got up right away, and went down to talk to her. Filia and Fiona's mom immediately recognized that Summer had been a part of the group that reached out to her girls in the first place, and she actually hugged my Mare.

Before Filia and Fiona's mom could say anything, Summer spoke to the rest of Princess Twilight's girls. "Twilights and Raritys and Filia and Fiona please stay put, but the rest of you girls, please come down here and gather around us"

Filia and Fiona's mom gasped as she heard those two names.

I suspected what my Mare had in mind as I joined the group around her. Still, I realized people higher in the bleachers may see this...

And, by the way, both Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna came over and joined us too.

Once the Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy Twins (Shyna come too) and Principal and Vice-Principal were all crowded around my Mare and Filia and Fiona and their mom, Summer threw herself forward, and turned into a pony, then she sat down.

Filia and Fiona's mom gasped again, and her eyes got pretty big.

Her daughter Fiona said quietly "Summer, you really are amazing..."

Summer tried to talk.

"I... I really wanted to--"

A voice came up from somewhere between us and the bleachers.

"Wait, wait a minute, let me through..."

It was Equestria Girls Fluttershy's mom... She gently made her way through the girls in the circle, knelt down and hugged Summer tightly.

"I still think you are an angel..." she said again, and began to cry.

Summer just cried with her...

It was clear that Filia and Fiona's mom was stunned, both by the fact that a people had turned into a pony, and that the pony talked, but also that another people was hugging and crying with that pony... This was certainly a lot for Filia and Fiona's mom to take in.

But I think what she heard from Filia and Fiona about her weekend was sounding less and less strange.

After a few minutes, Fluttershy's mom stood up, then held her hand out for Summer.

Summer stood up as a pony, then threw herself back, changed to a people, and stood up, but took Fluttershy's mom's hand so she didn't fall over backwards.

Fluttershy's mom moved to stand next to Summer, hugged her tightly, and faced Filia and Fiona's mom, and motioned towards her two girls.

"Are these your two girls?" she asked.

Filia and Fiona's mom answered softly "Yes..."

"Did they spend the weekend with these amazing girls standing around you?" she asked again.

After a brief delay, Filia and Flona's mom again answered quietly "Yes..."

It was quiet for a minute... Fluttershy's mom wanted to speak, but had to fight back tears...

"You will never find a more caring, loving group of girls, and here of all places..." she said as best as she could.

It was quiet for another minute maybe. Fluttershy's mom was still trying not to cry... She called out "Summer", and her daughter (Equestria Girls Summer, my Mare's Twin) quickly ran up to her.

Fluttershy's mom hugged the Summer on her right, then said softly "This is my daughter. We thought she had died in a terrible car accident, but these amazing friends gave her back to us..."

Fluttershy's mom had to stop and cry a minute, but she wasn't done.

Then she hugged my Mare, the Summer on her left, the one that was a pony.

"This is my daughter's 'Twin', they call it. She is just like my daughter, but is from another place. And, yes, I know it's wierd that she is a Pony there, but... They treasure true friendship there, and they are bringing that here... They are carving out an oasis of love and compassion at this School... And we really need that..."

Fluttershy's mom couldn't talk for a little while, and the two Summers cried with her. BOTH Fluttershys quickly ran up and cried with mom also... Shyna came too.

It was quiet for a few minutes.

Filia spoke up quietly, trying not to cry herself. "Mom, can we please go hug our Twins one last time, anyway?"

Filia and Fiona's mom looked at the two crying red-heads up in the bleachers, sighed, and said simply "Yes"...

Filia and Fiona quickly left the group, ran up to their Twins and were quickly hugging and crying together...

...and almost immediately, the now large group of girls in the center of the bleachers applauded... It was VERY loud...

As the applause trailed off, Princess Twilight, still crying herself, got up, and slowly made her way down the bleachers, and walked over towards the Summers and Fluttershys.

Princess didn't even make it up to the circle.

Both Summers and both Futtershys saw her coming, and turned towards her and bowed to the ground to their Princess. Shyna did the same thing.

The rest of the girls in the circle around them, Equestria Girls and Equestria ponies, moved out some, then also bowed, Twin with Twin.

The Rarity Twins and the Filia and Fiona twins helped each other carefully down, and they all ran over and bowed to their Princess as well.

Well, I bowed too. I love Princess Twilight. My Twin was with the guys, and just sat with them. This was probably best.

Fluttershy's mom backed up, and bowed herself.

This must have looked very 'different' to the girls in the bleachers. They were suddenly very quiet. A few put their hands to their mouth in wonder. I think some of them remembered this same Princess from a very different night not too long ago...

Leaving the rest bowed, Princess Twilight spoke to Filia and Fiona's mom.

"I am one of the leaders of the land we are from. And I do agree it is strange that we are ponies there.

"Still, I have accepted primary responsibility for the two 'Twins' for your two girls, also called Filia and Fiona. Believe me, I truly understand your concern for the well-being of your girls; I am just as concerned for the two from our land. But I want you to know that we have all gone out of our way to take very good care of your two girls while they were with us."

Without even turning away from Filia and Fiona's mom, Princess Twilight said softly "Amazing ladies, please arise", and we all got back up.

Princess Twilight continued.

"You will notice that it looks like there are two of all the amazing girls around us. One of each is from here, and one of each is from our land. And I can honestly say that I have never even heard of the love and devotion shared between these Twins, and this amazing group of po... people standing around you even now."

Princess stopped here, and herself was fighting back tears.

"I have a Twin too... And I love her dearly... And I know for a fact that she would do anything to protect your two girls while they are under her care..."

Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle got up from the top of the bleachers, and ran down to her Twin (Princess Twilight), and was quickly crying on her shoulder. Princess was crying too.

EVERY girl in the large group in the center of the bleachers knew and loved Twilight Sparkle... They were all soon weeping softly together as well...

It was quiet for maybe two minutes, except for a large number of girls crying quietly.

Filia and Fiona's mom looked slowly around, then spoke quietly, evidently now fully accepting what she had heard from her girls...

"Princess Twilight, I appreciate you accepting responsibility for my girls while they were in your land. I honestly don't understand how my girls can already love you so deeply, and it seems very, uhm 'different' that you are a pony in your land. I don't understand that either.

"But twice now, I have felt a love, a committment... something so vastly different... a friendship that is so terribly rare here...

"I think I want my girls to know that...

Filia and Fiona's mom began to cry softly herself.

"And Twilight Sparkle, I am sorry for all the hurtful things I said to you... What my girls were telling me sounded, well, impossible. But I think you and your friends are bringing the 'impossible' into our hurting world.

"My daughters can spend as much time with you and Rarity as they want."

Princess Twilight, still crying, hugged Filia and Fiona's mom, and the bleachers again erupted in thunderous applause.

Both Twilights hugged Filia and Fiona's mom for a few minutes, and they cried together.

Before too long, the Raritys and the Fionas were hugging and crying, and the Filias and Twilights were as well.

After maybe ten minutes, and before anyone had a chance to leave, Principal Celestia called EVERYONE down onto the Soccer field, and had them gather closely around her.

She asked a few times; she wanted to make sure everyone could hear this. Then she spoke.

"Vice Principal Luna and myself have a very deep concern for the students at this High School.

"It is clear to us both that the influence of this 'other land' called Equestria is having an amazing, overwhelmingly positive impact on the lives of our students, and we can't ignore that. For better or worse, there is more to High School than 'book learning'. And, thanks to some very special ponies, our students are finding healing compassion and love in the midst of this difficult life. Vice-Principal Luna and I don't ever want that to stop..."

Principal Celestia began to cry, and couldn't finish. Her sister did for her.

Vice-Principal Luna spoke up softly; it was very quiet now.

"Anyone of you that wants, could head from here straight to the newspapers, or the radio station, or to any number of social networking websites, and tell everyone that you saw some strange things here, today.

"But you would ruin what is happening here, if you did. As much as my sister and I truly value what is taking place at our school, and in the lives of our students, ANY sort of 'notoriety' will quickly kill this.

"For the sake of these students, PLEASE keep what you have seen and heard today in the strictest confidence.

"Principal Celestia and I are pleading for you all to respect this request.

It was quiet for a minute maybe, as most in the group were nodding in agreement.

Principal Celestia had recovered somewhat, and, still wiping tears from her eyes, concluded with this.

"I think that tomorrow after school is out, some amazing friends will be available here in these bleachers. For now, I think some special ponies need some time together, and would appreciate your understanding."

And with this, the entire group erupted in applause again.

Students then began to wander off.

Five minutes later, it was just Princess Twilight's girls, my Twin and I, Filia and Fiona's mom, Fluttershy's mom and Shyna.

Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna talked with Filia and Fiona's mom briefly, and mentioned that she should not hesitate to call, as they were both fairly familar with these 'ponies from a different land' (surely an intentional understatement).

My Twin hugged his Summer, then headed to the cubical for some sleep. He had to work in a few hours.

Filia and Fiona's mom spent over half an hour with both her girls and their Twins. She tried hard not to cry the whole time. And she could not tell them apart either. She was also deeply amazed at their devotion to each other. She hugged both Twilights a little while longer, then both Raritys, then she left.

The Summers, Fluttershys (and Shyna) hugged together with Fluttershy's mom for a few minutes, then she needed to leave.

Then both Fluttershys talked with Shyna for a while. This was just a very special time for the Fluttershy twins. The three of them really didn't need to say much in order to communicate. They were Fluttershys.

As the Sun went down, it was Twin with Twin. This was good.

Even though everypony knew we had to leave soon, this trip had turned out very well.

We had meant it as a pleasant surprise. It turns out our presence here was absolutely essential.

Having the Portal close by, made this trip possible.

Chapter 22, Trying to Find Normal

Hi, it's me Summer. The Canterlot Recorder is trying to get the account of PonyRos' takeover done. He has been working on it all week. He asked me to help by keeping track of everything else.

Our first three hours of that 'surprise visit' with our precious friends in the Equestria Girls world were absolutely amazing.

Resolving Filia and Fiona's mom's concerns rapidly turned into a time that really pulled all of our girl friends there together. I don't think we thought much about this as we all were just 'there' for these needy girls thoughout the Summer. But the fact that they stayed because we were hurting... And hearing them all applaud, a couple of times, made the Equestria Girls and ponies realize that something amazing really was happening among the girls at the High School.

And for the Equestria Girls to be able to honor our Princess Twilight there, in their world; that just made us all cry...

And Fluttershy told me that asking her mom to come was Pinkie's idea. I gave both Pinkies a hug for that, 'Pinkie Sense' is just amazing. And I really love Fluttershy's mom.

I think by about six, most of us were pretty 'cried out'. It had just been such an amazing time.

Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle got permission from Filia and Fiona's mom, and we all went to the Cake's for dinner.

Equestria Girls Fluttershy, well her mom, insisted on treating us all. We pretty much filled the restaurant to capacity, but it was an amazing time. We couldn't all sit together at the same table, but we easily split up as 'Twins', and enjoyed being together. My Stallion, my Twin and I sat with the Pinkie and Applejack Twins, and the time was amazing.

After dinner, the Twilight, Rarity, Filia and Fiona Twins walked the Equestria Girls red-heads home. Leaving them there was hard for Equestria ponies Filia and Fiona, but both were thankful for the time they got. Both Equestria ponies Filia and Fiona hugged Filia and Fiona's mom and thanked her for letting their Twins come, and this made her cry. Then the group headed back to the bleachers, and the rest of us were already there.

Both Fluttershys walked Shyna 'home', and soon returned, weeping softly. Evidently the group home where Shyna was living was not very nice.

We all talked together until very late. It was mostly Twin with Twin for a while, but the Twilight and Rarity Twins took good care of Equestria ponies Filia and Fiona.

My Stallion's Twin was at work, so he just stayed with me, and we all just relaxed and talked together. It was a warmish, later moon-lit night, and the time was just very nice. Still, the later it got, well, I just needed my Stallion close.

Our goal was to bring Equestria a little closer to our precious Equestria Girls friends, and I think we succeeded on that.

Well past midnight, according to the clock in the School lobby, a tired, tearful but happy group of ponies made their way back to Ponyville through the Portal.

Of course it was mid-day in Equestria. I think because of this, none of us were tired at all. It really had been a very good visit.

Applejack headed to the farm, and Pinkie to the Cakes. Rainbow checked the cloud-cover, then probably found her favorite napping tree.

Rarity headed to the Boutique with Fiona, and Twilight and Filia headed off on a walk in the meadow behind the Castle.

My Stallion, Fluttershy and I walked to Fluttershy's Cottage, and spent the afternoon in the warm sunlight surrounded by animal friends. Well, Angel kept his distance from my Stallion.

At one point, Fluttershy asked how she would go about seeing if Shyna had a Twin here in Equestria. Fluttershy asked this VERY timidly, but both my Stallion and I easily felt her heart, and we both hugged her. Fluttershy started crying. It was clear Fluttershy really wanted to do this.

Well, if Equestria pony Shyna was 'out there' somewhere here in Equestria, we all knew she would probably be 'needy' just like her Twin. Even the thought of that hurt my sensitive sister.

After we cried together for a while, my Stallion explained that the best way to look for Equestria pony Shyna, would be to bring Equestria Girls Shyna here, then take some rather lengthy Air Coach rides to see if the Twin Link picked anything up. This might work well if Shyna was living in one of the cities, but still, it could be 'hit and miss', and would probably take a while.

My Stallion apologized; this didn't seem very reassuring, and he knew it.

We just all cried with Fluttershy some more.

Fluttershy was soon back to her normal self, and she and I hugged and talked the rest of the afternoon. I love my sister so much...

My Stallion napped a while during this time. I think he knew that he would soon be 'jumping back in' to Canterlot Recorder stuff. The account about PonyRos just was not going easily, and he still had a lot left.

As the warm sunlight was blocked by the trees, my Stallion woke up, hugged us girls, and told me to enjoy the evening with my sister. Then he went home. I love him so, he clearly understands how much that means to me.

He told me he went back through what little he had written about PonyRos, and also went through his extensive notes, just to try to get his head back into that. Then he fell asleep.

Fluttershy and I had an amazing evening together, and fell asleep next to each other on the rug in her livingroom. We used to sleep like that a lot when we were 'little'.

Early the next morning I woke up and knew I needed my Stallion. I woke my sister up, and we hugged for a few minutes, then I flew quickly home. The Sun was just starting to brighten the sky off in the East.

I walked into our home, and quietly closed the door. My Stallion was asleep on the couch as a people. It was pretty warm still, and he was wearing his jogging clothes as a result.

We were back in Equestria now. I knew what I wanted, but couldn't make up my mind what to do. Still a pony, I just sat down on the floor next to the couch, and began crying. I couldn't help it.

He woke up, changed back into a pony, and was quickly hugging me tightly. Well, he was crying with me too.

After a little while, he moved and laid on his side on the floor, and I was quickly up against his chest and neck. That is just so comforting to me, and I settled down.

He quietly mentioned that the moon would probably be pretty bright tonight. I started crying; I understood what he meant. He knew I needed that... He knew I needed him...

He was crying with me. I think he needed me too.

After maybe fifteen minutes, he suggested we start the day as we had in the recent past. I guess we are still trying to find what 'normal' is for us.

After eating, we were soon high in the sky above Ponyville. We both enjoyed that.

I think my sister was waiting for us, because she joined us right away. As a Pegasus, spending time together flying with ponies you love...

I remembered that I used to fly just to try to be first. This was so vastly different, and amazingly better. I would never care about being first again.

As the morning progressed, everypony else joined us. I just cried.

After maybe half an hour we landed at the Castle, and joined the waiting ponies. Filia and Fiona had already come out, and Applejack just walked up.

As soon as everypony else was there, we all bowed to our amazing Princess.

She got us quickly up, but somepony started saying what we usually say, and so we said it together. Princess said the part she always says, and then we all just hugged and cried together for a little while.

Everypony wandered off at this point to get going on their days. Still, what a way to actually start the day!

Fluttershy was about to leave, but my Stallion asked her to come back.

"Summer, Fluttershy, would you like to spend the day together again?" he asked softly.

We both grinned ear to ear, and that was answer enough.

"Fluttershy, please bring your sister home after dinner, though" my Stallion said with a smile.

I cried on his shoulder for a minute, then Fluttershy and I headed off, already talking happily together.

My Stallion said he spent a bunch of the day working on the account of PonyRos' takeover. He made good progress, but it was still coming together slowly; the early chapters were just hard. This was partially because he was very involved with a lot of this. He had to work through stuff that was very difficult for him. And he still felt bad for Star Dusk.

That day, Fluttershy and I did the most amazing thing we could do together, as sisters.

After crying with Equestria Girls Fluttershy's mom, I realized we just had to do this...

Fluttershy was becoming a much stronger flyer, and was getting better at dealing with heights.

To make a long story short, we flew to Cloudsdale, and surprised our mom and dad together.

We all cried a LOT...

We really should have done this sooner. Still, arranging a Balloon Coach to get Sis up there, this was a bit of a hassle...

But today, both 'their girls' were in their house, probably the first time in, well, way too long...

Mom and dad LOVED... EVERY... SECOND...

Without being very good about any sort of progression, we both tried to explain some of the amazing things we had done, well, recently. Talking about the Equestria Girls world drew mostly blank looks. Still, they had already met my Twin, and were very excited to hear that Fluttershy had a Twin too.

And I didn't even try to tell them about our trip to the past, and the two years we spent raising two amazing mares...

When Fluttershy and I realized we had probably said more than our mom and dad could take in, we just hugged and cried together the rest of the time.

Out of nowhere, my mom asked "Summer honey, you are Shysage's Mare now, aren't you?"

I am sure I blushed. I also realized that there was a lot more they probably should have been told about.

Still, I said quietly "Yes, mom, and he takes amazing care of me. You will just never know..."

My amazing mom... She smiled and said "Summer, I do know... I can tell..." Then she hugged my dad and said "Finding a good Stallion is getting a lot harder, I think."

My dad blushed too. But then he answered quietly "He is a good stallion, Summer. We are both so pleased."

I know my dad... This was an amazing compliment for my Stallion. I started crying again, and hugged my dad. This made him cry. Maybe it had been too long since his daughter hugged him...

Fluttershy also told them about Shyna, and Fluttershy's hope that there was a Shyna in Equestria too, then she started crying herself. Our parents felt their daughter's heart, and just cried with her.

I know that Fluttershy is more sensitive than me, but we are both very sensitive. I think for the first time I realized that we both got that from our parents. I think that the Equestria Girls say 'duh' when you realize something that should be obvious. But that afternoon, it was clear both our parents were feeling a lot. I should not have been surprised.

At about mid-afternoon, we headed to the door, and then just hugged and cried together some more, right there.

Fluttershy said this! "Mom, dad, I actually flew here with Sis. I think we will be able to visit together more often now."

We just had to cry together a little more. I also think that them knowing that their two girls were very close again -- this made them so happy...

We finally left, still crying softly, and I showed Fluttershy how we could just glide back to Ponyville. She picked this up very quickly.

We both agreed on this; flying together is just amazing. But actually gliding slowly down, being able to focus on enjoying the view... I think we both wept softly all the way back. Well, we loved our parents a lot, too.

We actually landed in front of the Canterlot Recorder's house. I was a little concerned, it was dusk now, we were late. I should not have worried.

My Stallion was sitting in front of the 'scope' thing, as a people, with his head in his hands, crying. He had watched our afternoon on his 'scope' and cried a lot himself.

He changed into a pony and we all just hugged and cried together for a while. Well, a long while... Fluttershy and my Stallion already treat each other like brother and sister, for a lot of reasons. But I realized the three of us were really all family now, too.

My Stallion insisted we walk Fluttershy to her Cottage, and we cried a little more at her door too. We both love Fluttershy a lot...

My Stallion and I walked slowly home together, as he told me about his day. He had made good progress. But when he saw Fluttershy and I in Cloudsdale, he had to stop.

Well, Cloudsdale isn't exactly close, and flying there was a good work-out. I was beat.

It was warm again tonight. My Stallion said it seemed like an 'Indian Summer', whatever that meant.

We were both soon fast asleep on the couch in our jogging clothes. My back was against the back of the couch like we usually do, and I put my head on his chest. It was very comfortable.

(opt:btm7b)

We slept in a little the next morning, and had soon snacked (as ponies), and were flying above Ponyville. Fluttershy joined us.

My Stallion said he was going to wear his Canterlot Recorder 'hat' for the next few days, to see if he could pull the account of PonyRos' takeover together.

My sister and I grinned at each other, and my Stallion smiled too.

Well, it took five more days to get it done, and during those days, my sister and I tried to do as much together as we could.

One day we spent half of the day with Princess Twilight and Filia, and the other half of the day with Rarity and Fiona. That day was amazing. Well, they all were.

We spent most of one day helping Applejack at the farm. It seems there are always apples to be picked. Fluttershy and I had a lot of fun doing this, too. Well, Applejack had me pull up a few more dead trees, but I was delighted to help out a friend like that.

Sis and I sat with Pinkie Pie outside the Cakes one afternoon too, and that was amazing. Pinkie knows everypony in town, and has already built such deep friendships with most of them. And Derpy sat with us for a part of that time too, and that was very nice.

I wanted us to spend a bunch of time with Rainbow Dash on one of those days. I decided that playing 'Shadow' still might be too much for Fluttershy, so we just spent most of the day playing 'Town Square'. With the three of us it was very fun. An hour later, Princess Twilight, Filia, Rarity and Fiona had joined us. Pinkie brought Applejack soon after. This was such great fun! And we all played this most of that afternoon.

The fifth day, Sis and I just spent at her Cottage. We hugged a bunch, and talked too. It was very nice, just to spend time together calmly like that. Her Cottage is such a relaxing place, too.

I actually went home early that fifth evening. I knew my Stallion was wrapping up his work, and I just felt he would need me.

He was waiting for me as I headed in the door.

First, he mentioned that he would like me to help him do a last pass through what he had done, probably tomorrow. He mentioned that Fluttershy could help too, if she wanted. Then he mentioned that he would also like for Princess Twilight to help, since she played a key role for the later stages.

Well, I said Princess would probably enjoy this, and that we may very well end up with a bunch more ponies helping.

The Canterlot Recorder just smiled and said that he expected as much, but this seemed like such a fun task for everypony the last time they did this together.

Still, he mentioned that he really felt like he needed me tonight. I can guess that this whole account had been pretty draining on him, for a lot of reasons.

We flew to Princess' Castle, and talked to her about helping tomorrow. She said right away that she wanted Filia and Fiona there, and this might mean Rarity would come too. My Stallion joked that everypony could come, this would be more fun. I think Princess took him up on that.

Then we walked together to Fluttershy's Cottage, and my Stallion thanked her for 'keeping me out of trouble' while he did his work. Fluttershy made us all a nice dinner, we hugged and cried some at the door, and my Stallion and I left.

We went to 'my tree' near the castle, and my Stallion just cried on my shoulder. He said at one point that every time he had to work through the chapter where he had to rescue me, and 'bring me back'... It was just very difficult for him. He said he didn't ever want to lose me like that again... I just cried with him.

And taking me and Cel (well, Princess Celestia) to the Portal; he said that trip was the most difficult thing he had ever done. And every time he worked through this trip, he was just amazed at how well my Twin did. It was only later that this stuff caught up with her.

Our amazing friends had helped us all work past this terrible time. Having to write about it though, made it all real again to my Stallion. It was just a lot for him to carry alone. We cried together for a while.

We heard Princess Twilight, Filia and Fiona come out of the Castle for an early walk, and we joined them. That was just an amazing time.

After our walk, my Stallion and I headed to our home. We decided to sleep on the couch, as people, in our jogging clothes. I don't think either of us had any plans for the night; I think my Stallion just wanted to be close to me.

I moved the pillows around some, then I laid on my back, and had him climb over me and lay on his side against the back of the couch.

I put his head down on my chest, right below my neck, and he closed his eyes, sighed, and smiled immediately, and this made me cry. I want to be his 'comfort' when he needs it. I guess I am making progress on this.

We were both soon asleep.

Chapter 23, Rescuing

We woke up early, ate, and were soon flying around Ponyville together. When everypony else joined us, I suspected that we would have a lot of help on the 'last pass' through the account of PonyRos' takeover.

Maybe half an hour later, the rest of Princess Twilight's girls were standing outside the Canterlot Recorder's house.

My Stallion smiled, and said "I guess it's time to get to work."

We all landed in the meadow East of town, then walked to our home. It wasn't far.

Everypony hugged everypony (which took a little while), then we all went inside the Canterlot Recorder's house.

Princess Twilight, 'her girls' and Filia and Fiona were soon sitting in sort of a circle around the 'scope' and compy.

My Stallion and I changed to people, and we both still had our jogging clothes on. This was good for us, it was a warm day. I caught Rare's smile though. She knew about them, and also agreed they looked fabulous.

My Stallion and I took a few minutes, and moved the table the 'scope' and compy were on, so our helpers were to our side, and not behind us.

While we were moving stuff, Princess Twilight said this.

"Girls, remember that our main concern here is to record what actually happened. This might be hard at times, but we are here to help.

"And Shysage, some of the material may not be a good idea for some of us."

My Stallion and I both understood her last comment. As a result we simply summarized the chapter that involved Star Dusk, well, eventually throwing me in jail. These details would not be helpful, given what Filia and Fiona had recently experienced.

And my Stallion and I already had questions about including the chapter about my Stallion 'bringing me back' after a few weeks alone and in jail. Cel would tell us if it should stay. But we just summarized that chapter too.

Even so, at some later time, anypony that wanted to, could read the final, published account once it was available.

As we started, I read, and my Stallion entered any changes we discussed. My Stallion smiled and said he loves to hear my voice.

Everyone was quiet for the first chapter, which talked about Star Dusk, her tragic life, and her encounter with PonyRos. A huge amount of detective work went into this, and there were no changes. My Stallion had agonized over the details. It was a sad chapter.

And, as I said, I just summarized the next chapter, which was about what Star Dusk tried to do to me.

The chapter about my Stallion 'waking up' was next, and amazing. Everypony now knew that being within Twin Link range of his Twin was what actually woke my Stallion up (it erased the memory spell so he remembered), but that information isn't discussed until much later in the account. Well, my Twin and I had absolutely no idea until his Twin walked up to us...

My Stallion's trip to the past to get the Portal fixed, was also received with silence, especially the part about him crying with Lu (well, Princess Luna) for a long time. Filia and Fiona just didn't know, and I still don't think the rest of Princess Twilight's girls understand how close-knit our family really is. I had my Stallion change the chapter name to 'Daddy's Little Girl', and this made him cry. But I know this perfectly fits his love for 'our girls'.

The next chapter (5) talked about the rest of my Stallion's first trip to the Equestria Girls world. He felt he needed my Twin to find me, using the Twin Link. He found that she was already in Equestria, with no memory. He needed to get her through the Portal, to rescue her, which he did. This was tough for him, but a later trip would be a lot worse...

The chapter about Princess Twilight's Brother made Princess cry. Her brother really is amazing. And my Stallion could only do what he did, because Shining Armor was an amazing soldier, through and through, and had already made possible so much of what my Stallion needed to do. My Stallion had told me he was intent on honoring this amazing stallion, and this came across beautifully.

Chapter 7 talked about my Stallion taking me, my Twin and Princess Celestia from Canterlot to the Portal, on the train, mostly. Using the Portal would erase the 'memory spell'. Still, this trip, especially towards the end, was terrible for my Stallion, and my Twin too, because of the 'wontonness spell'. Well, we decided to summarize this chapter too.

The next chapter (8) dealt with the same day in the past, when my Stallion cried with Lu, but from Cel's (Princess Celestia's) perspective in the present. I asked that this chapter also be changed to 'Daddy's Little Girl', well part 2.

My Stallion and I have talked about this, and we feel Cel doesn't usually remember stuff from the past until something in the present triggers that memory. On this particular day, my Stallion gave Cel a piece of paper with the spell details, that she herself had written maybe 1300 years ago for her. THEN she remembered the day, and all about Lu... Cel has a LOT of memories after over 1300 years.

It is so clear that Shining Armor loves his Mare, Princess Cadance. The next chapter covered him actually rescuing 'Cady' from the memory spell, by luring her through the Portal. I was worried for a minute, but my Stallion mentioned Princess Cadance laughed, then told Shining Armor his special name for her could stay in the account. Nopony else in their right mind would dare address her that way.

Their brief time in the Equestria Girls world was absolutely amazing, I'm sure. And when he was going to take Princess Cadance back to Canterlot, Princess Twilight was already in the Air Coach, and wanted a ride. She got it!

We just summarized chapter 10 since it covered how my Stallion lovingly 'brought me back'. It is pretty personal, but was a part of the account. This had to be done...

The next chapter was short, and covered my Stallion's 'best guess' about how to rescue Equestria. He clearly was doing the best he could figure, but Equestria stepped in through Twilight Sparkle.

This whole realization made Princess Twilight cry a lot. She had no idea that her Twin, Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle... that Equestria had reached across the Portal through Twilight Sparkle, to actually initiate the chain of events that brought Equestria to life. Princess loves her Twin, who would never have thought about pointing this out herself.

Her girls all hugged her while she cried for a little while.

Chapters 12 through 14 covered Equestria standing up to PonyRos. These chapters came out as amazing as the events they include. Starting with Princess Twilight's new Castle, Equestria was quickly 'calling the shots'. Many of these details would no doubt set the stage for future encounters deemed necessary by the Realm.

There was no battle, but 'being prepared' was certainly the best deterrent.

These chapters provoked the most interaction. This was all good, mostly everypony was involved with these events. There were a lot of good suggestions and some new information.

Still, PonyRos killing Star Dusk as he fled like a coward, was both tragic and disgusting...

The next two chapters (15 and 16) discussed the aftermath of the the confrontation, as everypony started to put Equestria back together.

And the next two chapters included events within Princess' circle, as we all tried to put our lives back together, too.

Chapter 19 was amazing, to me and my Twin. It talked about my Stallion quietly leading my hurting Twin to the very pony that could help her, my Stallion's Twin. Most didn't know the details about our meeting, but it was amazing... And the last chapter talked about his Twin meeting Cel and Lu along with the rest of Princess' Twilight's girls.

My Stallion had not yet come up with a title for this account. I think he looks forward to times like this just so everyponies' input can help him come up with good suggestions. We all decided on 'Faded Memories', and that was that.

My Stallion got his slow printer going, then he and I turned back into ponies. Then we all just hugged together and cried some. I think times like this just show us all how much we NEED each other. And the Equestria Girls AGAIN 'stood in the gap' for Equestria that day. We all need them too.

A little after noon, we all headed off to the Castle. Princess carried this stack of pages for 'Faded Memories' to her Library. She set it on the correct spot on the correct table, so the Courier could come get it for Princess Celestia's review and printing.

Princess Twilight said we should all come back for dinner at the castle.

As we were sitting in a group just talking, Fiona asked about 'Cel' and 'Lu' and our trips to the past.

Neither my Stallion nor I like to even come across as bragging, so we asked Princess Twilight to talk them through that account, well 'Follow the Equestrium'. Princess did a good job, and that made for an amazing afternoon for Princess' girls.

It was good that Princess did that, my Stallion and I mostly cried the whole time.

Who would have thought that our simple decision to risk our lives and rescue two doomed foals would end up one of the main reasons the Portal sent us back there... We were just being true friends to these two mares, and lovingly took them as our own. We had no idea until much later. This is still such a humbling realization...

Well just thinking about my Stallion and I coming back through the Portal and helping Cel and Lu remember... I always cry...

And dinner was good too, of course.

This happened a few days later, I'm not sure how many.

Our morning started like it 'normally' did. My Stallion and I both woke up, rubbed noses a while, then snacked in the meadow and were soon flying above Ponyville with amazing friends.

We landed at Princess Twilight's Castle, and were all bowing to our precious Princess. She got us up, and we said together what we often say. I still cry every time.

I could tell by watching Filia and Fiona, that 'something' was up. Princess didn't leave us guessing.

We would all be heading through the Portal tonight a little after dinner, for a day with our Equestria Girls Twins. It was a Saturday there, and we would arrive at the start of their day. Princess said some sort of nap this afternoon might be a good idea.

My Stallion likes to be 'punctual', well on time, for stuff, and he suggested that we all eat dinner together at Princess' Castle, and leave afterwards. That immediately became the plan.

This would be nice. It had been a little less than two weeks since we were there last. My sister and I looked at each other and smiled broadly. This trip would mean we all got to see our Twins.

A much more excited group of ponies wandered off to start their days. We were all anticipating our amazing visit. Again, you really need to have a Twin to fully understand this.

First thing, my Stallion, Fluttershy and I headed to our home. We left Fluttershy outside briefly. My Stallion and I changed back into people, and put jeans on over our jogging shorts, and put our sweatshirts back on. We didn't know what the weather was like there, but jeans were just more 'appropriate', my Stallion said. Then we changed back to ponies.

Then my Stallion, Fluttershy and I pretty much spent that whole day together.

The three of us decided to fly some more, so we did. Rainbow Dash joined us at that point, and she stayed with us the rest of the day too. I later found out that Rarity took Filia and Fiona to the Boutique, and this allowed Princess Twilight to join us for some flying time, too.

I am trying to help Fluttershy with her flying, so I took us on a larger circle, and we were flying higher. It was a little more demanding for both Fluttershy and Princess. It was a good workout, but still an amazing time.

After an hour, Princess landed in front of Rarity's Boutique, and the rest of us landed in the East meadow and snacked some. Then we flew to my tree (near the Castle). My goal was for us to nap there for a while, so I walked over to the edge of Rainbow's memorial garden, like I normally do, and sat down.

I'm not sure exactly why, but Rainbow was quickly crying. We just gathered around her and hugged her for a while. That terrible night had been an absolute nightmare for all of us.

Well, after crying a little while, Rainbow explained. She had met her Twin, for the first time, right at this very spot. Rainbow loved her Twin. We were ALL crying after hearing that. We all loved our Twins.

Still, we moved to the grass on the other side of Princess' Castle, and napped there. The sunlight felt very good, and we were all soon asleep.

A few hours later, Princess sent Filia over to wake us all up. I think Filia was afraid we would be cross at having to wake up, but we all quickly group-hugged her.

Rainbow took off to get Applejack, and my Stallion and I flew to the Cakes for Pinkie, then walked to Rarity's Boutique to get Rarity and Fiona. Sweetie Belle was bummed that she couldn't come.

Dinner was very good, of course, and I don't think anypony even remembered what we ate.

Princess started us through the Portal after dinner.

My Stallion and I went through last, holding hands, like we usually do.

The clock in the School lobby said 8:17, it was morning here.

We all walked quickly to the bleachers. Those Twins that were in Twin Link range joined us soon after.

My Twin and my Sister's Twin came quickly, along with Shyna. All six of us (Summers, Fluttershys, my Stallion and Shyna) hugged and cried together right way.

Princess Twilight asked my Stallion and I to come with her to get the Filia and Fiona Twins (it wasn't far), and they were soon back as well. Evidently Equestria Girls Filia and Fiona's mom was eager to see her daughter's Twins again, too. Princess' Twin (Twilight Sparkle) walked over maybe five minutes later, and was also quickly hugging everypony.

Rainbow and her Twin ran and tackled each other, and were quickly crying together on the ground. They had pretty much done the same thing when they first met, in Equestria.

They both got up, Soccer practice would begin soon. They walked out onto the field and started kicking a Soccer ball back and forth while talking.

Applejack and Pinkie both came in Big Mac's truck.

We were all quickly sitting in the bleachers, talking excitedly together.

My Twin (Equestria Girls Summer Rain) asked for everyponies' attention, and also asked for the Rainbow Twins to come over briefly.

Then she told everypony that Fluttershy had been given legal custody of Shyna. Evidently, the 'social workers' were just amazed that anyone would want Shyna, and, realizing the quality of Shyna's new home, quickly approved this.

My Twin laughed and said "Three sisters in Fluttershy's apartment. Everything is working amazingly well."

Well, everypony had to hug a crying Fluttershy and Shyna. Still, I knew this would be hard for my sister. But I also knew that the group home Shyna was living in was a disaster. Some very nasty people lived there, and the head couple demanded that Shyna do a lot of their work.

This move was certainly best for Shyna.

The Rainbow Twins headed back to the field, and started Soccer practice, while the rest of us visited in the bleachers.

Soon after, a seemingly endless stream of girl friends from the High School flowed over... This was... amazing... I would have come just for this...

The Principal sisters wandered over at ten on someponies' cell, and hugged everyone... Still, they asked for my Stallion's help with another bad computer system.

He walked to the Computer Lab with them, and quickly replaced the bad system with another he had fixed earlier. He also found a stray table, and set up an eleventh station in the Lab, so they could easily switch should one of the other systems go down.

He was quickly back, and said the Principal sisters really appreciated his help.

Well, at eleven, my Stallion's Twin showed up, followed soon after by a bunch of the guys from the School. My Stallion wandered over, and just blended in.

My Twin told me that the church her stallion was working for, when they heard what he was doing with the guys here, told him to add the time he spent here, after school, and on Saturdays, to his time-card. On his last paycheck, they were paying him double for that time. Evidently, they saw the value of this, and wanted to help.

Maybe ten minutes later, the Principal sisters walked back over with their Twins (Princess Celestia and Princess Luna).

Well, we absolutely could NOT pass up such an opportunity.

Without even discussing this or anything, ALL the Twins in the group, wherever we were in the bleachers, got up, ran down, and were quickly bowing before our two amazing Princesses. My Stallion and I didn't need to, but we did anyway with everypony else. Both Twilights did the same thing.

It was like everything around us stopped immediately, and all of us gathered around our Princesses, bowing.

Princess Celestia was clearly not expecting this. Still, she asked us to all arise, then she said quietly "Equestria knows no other, more dedicated ponies... Thank you all."

We all returned back to what we were doing as our amazing Princesses worked their way around hugging and crying with us.

I am sure that, seeing the 'magic of friendship' in action in hearts and lives here, was an amazing experience for both our Princesses. I made a mental note to ask them about some bleachers in town square near the Cakes...

At around one o'clock, everypony wound everything down, and amazing friends walked off, the guys included. My Twin told me that they normally stay until three, but today was different, and the Equestria Girls and her stallion had warned everyone ahead of time about the change.

Principal Celestia asked my Stallion and I to go get 'big Blue' and park in front of the Van already at Fluttershy's apartment. The rest of the group walked over to Fluttershy's apartment, and sat in the grass and talked. Still, with now 12 sets of Twins, or 24 people plus Shyna, we had a big group.

The walk to my Stallion's cubical was pretty quick, although we did walk while hugging. And it wasn't warm here, and jeans and sweatshirt worked fine.

In five minutes maybe, we backed 'big Blue' up carefully in front of one of the School's White '18 passenger' Vans. Well my Stallion said he could fit six in his car, and they had 25 people, but that this loving group would make it work.

Well, it worked out like this. My Stallion and I along with both Pinkies and both Fluttershys and Shyna were soon packed in 'big Blue'. Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie sat up front next to the door with me in the middle.

Both Fluttershys are very 'slight', as is Shyna, and there was plenty of room in the back seat for Equestria pony Pinkie Pie, both Fluttershys and Shyna. Shyna and her 'new sister' easily shared the center seat belt.

Everyone else climbed into the Van, and we were ready to go.

My Stallion said he didn't know where we were going, but Pinkie said she would tell him, and the Van would be following us. When Pinkie got a text the Van was ready, we were off together.

My Stallion quickly figured out we were heading to the storage unit where the Pie family Mustang was. Pinkie confirmed this, and we were quickly there.

There were already a bunch of the Pie siblings waiting at the storage unit when we pulled up. We all spilled out of the car and Van to see what was inside. We didn't go in, but we all looked at the car inside the unit. It looked beautiful to me.

Equestria pony Applejack said immediately "Wow, what color is that? It looks amazing, just like some of our apples."

Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie quickly hugged her and said quietly "Applejack, it is called 'Candy Apple Red'. We added a few extra 'clear coats' to give depth to the Red so that it looks like Apples sometimes look."

Well, my Stallion went in and looked the car over pretty carefully. He knows these cars pretty well, and so I asked him to describe what we were looking at.

Well, first, I need to say that the Pie family did not just 'put this car back together', they actually restored it. They went out of their way to make it look the way it did when it first left the dealership many years ago. They cleaned and repainted EVERYTHING, and fixed anything that was broken. A LOT of craftmanship went into this job. This Mustang looked amazing.

Well, there were a few changes. The 'period correct' slotted mag wheels were buffed out and left in place. They looked very nice.

The outside of the car, while done in Candy Apple Red, also included Boss 302 markings and trim. But since the motor was a 351, the Pies had the numbers changed to 351. But it all looked very 'factory'.

They added a five speed, like I had done to the other one.

The interior was done in bright White, and was a stunning contrast to the Red exterior.

And the license plates... The letters said 'Circle' then a space, then the Math sympol 'pi'. Sorry I can't type that in, but the plates read 'Circle pi' sort of a play on words based on the math symbol 'Pi' which is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to it's diameter. The Circle Track the family used to own was called the 'Circle Pie'.

The car was amazing... And it spoke volumes of the love the Pie family had for their parents. The Pie family had transformed this car into an amazing gift...

Oh, and they had done all this in less that a month. That was REALLY amazing...

Still, the picture of this amazing, beautiful car sitting in this storage unit, surrounded by rusty pieces of metal and assorted dirty parts, and oddly shaped pieces of cast-off metal, and a hundred nasty bolts and such... I don't think I'll forget that.

And Pinkie did take a lot of pictures. I was positive that today's gift would end up on Facebook before the Sun went down.

Well, ok, what my Stallion said. But he was right, the car was beautiful.

There were some of the other Pie siblings around, and Pinkie quickly mentioned their names. I only remembered Inky and Maude, but it was clear the Pie's were all amazed that so many wanted to see what was going on.

Anyway, Maude gave the keys to Pinkie, and Pinkie walked over to my Stallion, and handed them to him.

"Shysage, your amazing gift made this possible, we want you to drive it to their home." Pinkie said quietly.

My Stallion is so amazing... He said quietly back "Pinkie, you are surrounded by ponies that love you dearly. You can drive this tribute."

Pinkie hugged my Stallion and I, then yelled "Whoo hooo" again, then climbed in the car and started it up. It was LOUD!

The rest of the Pies' climbed into an older van, and the rest of us got back into our cars.

It took fifteen minutes for our caravan to get to the Ma and Pa Pie's little house on a small hill lot in the foot-hills.

At the bottom of the long driveway, Pinkie stopped far enough in so we could all get off the main road. Then she brought her MP2 player to me, plugged in the audio thing, cued up that same amazing song, and showed me how to start it up. That was my job when she gave me the nod. Pinkie knew my Stallion's car had a good enough sound system to do this.

Pinkie started the Mustang up, headed up the hill, then turned the motor off, and coasted this beautiful car to a quiet stop in front of their small house.

This part was amazing...

We all parked our cars and got quietly out. The Pie family crowded around the door, and everypony else formed a semi-circle around behind the cars. We were just friends after all.

Pinkie quieted everyone, then knocked.

Ma and Pa Pie came out, and then the Pie kids all backed away to reveal this Red Classic Mustang, now blazing BRIGHTLY in the afternoon Sun. Ma and Pa gasped immediately. Then Pinkie handed them the keys and the title.

Pinkie's parents started crying right away, and Pinkie nodded to me, and we started the 'party' music.

Pinkie's parents were astonished... They kept looking at the car like they were dreaming or something.

Pinkie stepped down, walked over, and opened the hood, the trunk and both doors, and her sisters pulled both her parents over to have a look.

They worked Pa into the driver's seat, and Ma into the passenger seat, and put the keys in Pa's hand. He knew what to do, and started his new gem up. It was loud out here too.

Pinkie's parents smiled HUGE -- Pinkie Pie was ecstatic; SMILES are what she lives for... She was quickly crying...

Well, most of the Pie girls were crying too, and a bunch of the rest of us were crying as well. We all realized this was an amazing gift.

My Stallion was standing behind me for most of this. He was just hugging me from behind with his hands over my hands in the two pockets on the front of my sweatshirt. I think he was hiding though. Or he was trying not to cry, or both. He said later he didn't want to get any credit; the Pie family had done an AMAZING job on the Mustang.

It didn't matter though, both Ma and Pa came over, and had to hug my Stallion once they understood his role in all of this.

Pinkie was standing next to us.

Pa Pie asked quietly "Pinkie, who are all these other people?"

Pinkie just laughed. "Pa, these are my amazing friends. We are all just ponies from a different land."

Well, this was true. We all have Equestria in our hearts...

I changed the title for this chapter after I had pulled most of it together. The new title is 'Rescuing' because that is the theme that surfaces a number of times.

We all worked on the account of PonyRos' takeover. This was really about Shining Armor and my Stallion rescuing ponies they love, and ultimately rescuing Equestria by providing the means to allow Equestria to stand up and defend herself through Princess Twilight and her girls.

My amazing 'second' sister, Equestria Girls Fluttershy... She rescued Shyna from an absolutely terrible 'home', and a completely barren 'cast off' existance. Shyna's amazing life can truly blossom now.

And the time the Equestria Girls spend with so many of the hurting girls at the School... We are reaching out to them and trying to rescue them from the pain and hardship that just seems to be part of living there.

And even the Mustang... The Pie kids did an amazing job rescuing that car. But that wasn't the real rescue... Ma and Pa Pie treasured a stable of cars like that. For some reason, selfish people literally 'scrapped' everything the Pie family treasured... But, with my Stallion's help, the Pie kids rescued a little piece of 'treasure', and were amazingly able to give that back to their parents.

Well, a few chapter earlier, ponies on both sides of the Portal rescued Filia and Fiona, too...

This made my Stallion and I cry... Rescuing is what true friends do. It is who we are, and how we live.

Little did we know, that would one day cost us everything...

The Chronicles of Summer Rain, Vol. 8 -- Dark Melvain

Chapter 1, the Canterlot Recorder's Assistant

Hi, it's me, Summer Rain.

The Canterlot Recorder is asleep on our couch. I feel really bad for him, the account of 'PonyRos' Takeover' has become such a complicated research project. He tries really hard to get the details right; that's his job. But details are the hard part at this point.

The main issue is details about Star Dusk.

Zecora was able to help some. The fact that Star Dusk accidentally wore the Alicorn Amulet briefly was certainly an ominous portent.

He also ran into Trixie in the Canterlot Library, and he took a long shot and asked her if she knew Star Dusk. Trixie sheepishly admittedly she spent quite a bit of time 'around her', and she may not have been as kind to Star Dusk as she should have been.

Well, reading between the lines, maybe things were a little worse than that. Evidently, Star Dusk felt the need to try and avoid Trixie, which was not good...

Still, Star Dusk's life and death was a tragedy, and the Canterlot Recorder knew that there had to have been more pressure than that, in order to 'push her over the edge' (his words).

Oh, and we also walked last night with Princess Twilight. We all really enjoy doing that together, and, as the Fury Run showed, we need to try to stay vigilant around our little town as best as we can. Our Princess really is amazing. I thanked her for actually getting us up last night. We both enjoy sharing this task with our Princess.

So my Stallion, the Canterlot Recorder is asleep.

Well, one of my official titles is 'the Canterlot Recorder's Assistant', so I can do this too, right?

I am not very good at the 'detached, descriptive third person' like the Canterlot Recorder is, but he assured me I would do fine. We always go through our work together anyway.

While the Canterlot Recorder focuses on trying to piece together Star Dusk's life, I am just trying to keep up with what is going on in the lives of our amazing friends, on both sides of the Portal. We both dearly love them all...

Actually locating the Canterlot Recorder's Twin was amazing, and seemed to happen at just the right time for my Twin as well.

What my Twin (Equestria Girls Summer Rain) had been exposed to during PonyRos' takeover, just seemed to overwhelm her, in so many ways. Well, it overwhelmed some of the rest of us, too.

And, with my Twin, thankfully, this didn't surface in her, until everything started to get back to normal, and we could actually give her the attention she needed. I love my Twin, she is amazing.

My Stallion is amazing too; he was leading us to his Twin even as my Twin was slowly spinning out of control.

And I don't know if this came across, but the actual working out of the first, maybe 30 minutes after Equestria pony Shysage walked up, with the four of us, together, as two sets of Twins, was just absolutely amazing. I guess you need to understand the Twins for that to make a lot of sense.

The Canterlot Recorder's Twin fixed a lot of things in my Twin; she was actually waiting for him in many ways. But we all realized that he had a huge amount of learning to do. His first destination was the Equestria Girls world, which was a totally new world for him.

The first night we all got back together with Princess Twilight and her girls, us mares all spent the evening together, and it was an amazing time. It was just so relaxing, since everypony realized that their friend, Equestria Girls Summer, was doing so much better.

Evidently, that same night, Shysage and his Twin spent hours together talking, as my Stallion tried to explain as much as he could about the Equestria Girls world. It is a lot more dangerous than Equestria. Clearly, after all those hours, he had barely scratched the surface.

My Stallion mentioned to me that he was trying to make life easier for my Twin, once they were in her world, and I told him I really appreciated that. Well, I think I kissed him too. He knows things like that mean a lot to me.

The next day, we all went through the Portal to the Equestria Girls world.

Princess Twilight and her girls headed to the bleachers behind the High School, and the Rainbow Dash Twins jumped together and immediately into Soccer practice, since it was maybe mid-morning. They were late, but just blended right in.

My Twin had us get her Shysage quickly over to Fluttershy's apartment.

Well, right off, she gasped loudly when she saw him for the first time in her world. His 'Equestria Girls' form took my Twin's breath away; she realized he was very handsome here.

Once to Fluttershy's apartment, he changed into some 'toned down' clothes to replace the flashy clothes the Portal gave him. My Twin didn't want any other girls to 'get any ideas', whatever that meant.

Well, a Tan Sweatshirt, White T-Shirt, Blue Jeans and Blue sneakers -- My Twin had already picked this stuff up 'just in case'. I had to laugh at that.

Equestria pony Shysage picked up walking quickly, and he and my Stallion just relaxed on both sides of our group, keeping an eye out for everypony while us ladies just sat and talked, for about two hours.

Some High School ladies wandered up too, and talking to them was amazing. I really miss that...

After Soccer practice was done, we all headed back to the Portal wall for tearful, but not too difficult goodbyes. I made it a point to hug all of the Equestria Girls, they are all so amazing, too.

My Stallion and I told my Twin and her Shysage we would ask true friend to help them both. My Twin really appreciated this.

Then my Stallion and I came back through the Portal last, and together as we usually do.

It was good to be home again. The Canterlot Recorder and I could actually relax. I think we were both hoping that life could get back to 'normal' for us, whatever 'normal' is.

Well, we could relax when he wasn't trying to figure out Star Dusk. He is not very 'detached' as a historian, and is increasingly taking a personal interest into what actually went wrong in her tragic life. He hoped this might help others, at least...

And we still have not been asked to record this account, but consider it just a matter of time.

That afternoon, my Stallion asked for some time alone so he could think through some things about Star Dusk.

I didn't think twice about this, and hugged him tightly, then sent him off. I think he headed to the meadow to the East.

I wandered into town, then played Checkers for a while with Derpy. Well, it had been a while since we visited together, too, and I really missed that. She beat me every game of course, and I did really try. Derpy is just very good at Checkers.

The whole time we just talked. We chatted about what was going on in our lives, in Ponyville, in Equestria, things like that. I didn't drag up any details that I knew about, but just spoke in very general terms. I was more interested in what she had to say.

I gave her a big hug as I headed to the door. I told her I really enjoyed our visit, and hoped to not be such a stranger.

Derpy teared up and said "Summer, why are you doing this?"

I didn't have to think very long. I said quietly "Derpy, you are my friend. I try to do anything I can for my friends. And I really enjoy our time together."

"Thank you, Summer, you made my day" Derpy said, also quietly.

I hugged her again, then headed off.

I wandered slowly through Ponyville, to the East meadow to find my Stallion. He was still laying on his belly on the hill there.

I thought through some things I could do as I walked up. I really love him a lot. Rather than do any of those things, I just lay next to him and said softly "Shysage, I love you."

"Summer, I love you too" he said immediately. I appreciate that he always makes time for me, no matter what he is doing or thinking about.

It was quiet for a minute.

"Summer, I have a theory about what may have been weighing so heavily on Star Dusk's mind and heart. I am just not sure how to test it." He said slowly.

"Well, lets eat and fly. And I'll ask true friend to help you" I replied with a smile.

We ate some Oats, walked to the lake for a drink, then flew for a while. Rainbow Dash joined us for some of that time. It was just amazing to be in the air with friends.

Near dusk, we stopped by and visited Princess Twilight at her Castle. We bowed, then both hugged her. I asked if she had any errands that she needed us to run for her.

Princess said "Oh, Summer..." then gave me a hug again. Then she said "Not today, but ask me again tomorrow because you never know..." then she smiled.

I love our Princess.

Then we went home.

My Stallion held me close, and we fell asleep.

The next day was so completely unlike any other day we have ever had together.

I spent most of the day with my sister, and that is always amazing.

But what my Stallion did...

The details of this amazing day are recorded elsewhere. We decided together that it really should get it's own 'volume', since it wraps so amazingly around Chapter 2 of the first Chronicles.

Since the first chapter of the first Chronicles is sort of a 'cinematic overview', chapter 2 is actually the first 'real' chapter, and details my initial experiences with Princess Twilight and her girls.

That chapter still makes me cry... And the Portal sending my Stallion back two years to get me that amazing book... It just so amazingly sets the stage for what happened in chapter 2.

And I did remember that day, and I would never have thought that 'dumb Pegasus' was my Stallion...

We both cried a lot, together, that day...

Early the next morning, my Stallion and I got up together. We ate some Oats in the meadow, drank some water, then flew around Ponyville for a while. Fluttershy and Rainbow joined us, it was just an amazing way to start our day.

We headed back to our house, and spent a few minutes rubbing noses.

The Canterlot Recorder then moved some blank sheets of paper, some quills and ink, and his 'clip' thing -- into his shoulder sack.

Then we flew to Canterlot in a relaxed sort of way. It took about an hour.

Before doing anything else, we found Cel (Princess Celestia) in the Audience Hall. She was waiting on an appointment, and we spent some time hugging together. Lu (Princess Luna) joined us as well.

The Canterlot Recorder explained what he was doing, and Cel assured him that she would fund such an effort. She also added, that she did indeed want dad to put this account together, and she thanked him for getting it going already.

Cel's appointment showed up, and Lu clearly needed some sleep.

We headed out the door of the Audience Hall, then walked quickly to the Library.

My Stallion made two signs, that read the same:

Canterlot is researching Star Dusk's tragic life.
Any stallions with information, please come to
the Library Lobby for an interview, and 5 bits.

Well, 5 bits for just an interview was a LOT. Still, the Canterlot Recorder knew it would probably take that much to get the kind of information he was after. Cel agreed.

We posted the signs on the board next to the Audience Hall doors, and on the board in front of the Library, then we went into the Library Lobby, and waited. Well, the Canterlot Recorder sat in front of a table where he could take notes, and I walked into a nearby room, found a book, and just read.

We didn't need names.

'Stallion A' came in first. He evidently spent some time with Star Dusk maybe four months ago. They got along fairly well, but their interests were largely divergent. He was a Pegasus.

'Stallion B' was next. He was brash and conceited. He said clearly that Star Dusk was attractive, but she just didn't want to 'play' at all... The Canterlot Recorder gave him his bits and sent him off...

"Stallion C' complained that Star Dusk had put him to sleep, in the middle of a nice time together, then she left. Boom, right out of nowhere. He never saw her again. He was asked why Star Dusk put him to sleep, and he just shrugged. He was asked what he had said right before Star Dusk put him to sleep. This stallion looked down immediately and a minute later mumbled something that couldn't be understood. The second time he said a little louder "...I asked her to roll over..." The Canterlot Recorder was supposed to be collecting information, but this...

'Stallion D' and 'stallion E' sounded a lot like 'stallion B' with minor variations. Well, 'stallion E' mentioned that Star Dusk didn't like being touched.

'Stallion F' spent some time with Star Dusk, in the Audience Hall, AFTER PonyRos' takeover, and the Canterlot Recorder would have ordinarily dismissed this as not a part of what he was looking for. Still, this stallion got a hearing, and his bits. This stallion mentioned that he and Star Dusk spent a lot of time together in the Audience Hall just talking, on a number of occasions, and Star Dusk seemed to really enjoy that. This stallion said that she seemed really troubled. Well they did other stuff too, but he didn't feel he could say no to that, at the time.

No other stallions showed up for the next hour, so my Stallion came and got me, and we retrieved the signs, and we were done. He was very quiet, and I could tell he was fighting his emotions...

At one point, he said, very irritated "What do we expect a mare to do, if no stallions want to take the time to be her friend..."

That was all I needed to hear. I led him out 'somewhere' into the Commons lawn, then I stopped him, and we hugged. He was soon crying loudly on my shoulder...

This really was a tragedy. And I had seen the same thing 'first hand' at the High school in the Equestria Girls world too...

I also knew where these tears belonged. I had led him to Star Dusk's grave. We cried for her, together, there, for a while...

The next few days were calm at any rate.

In the mornings, my Stallion 'worked'; well he was writing.

I usually wandered into town and visited, or else spent time with my amazing sister, Fluttershy. One morning when Sis and I were together, I told her about that day in Cloudsdale when I tried to 'fall off' the clouds, and that I realized I just couldn't do that to her. We cried together for a while... It's just hard to explain how much I love Fluttershy...

One of those mornings, I ran into Snips again. I asked him if he was selling anything, and he looked at me like I was crazy. I guess he had changed. He was helping weed someponies' yard.

The Canterlot Recorder started in on the text for PonyRos' takeover. The opening chapter was just hard. My Stallion really felt bad for her...

Chapter 4, Making Plans

Well, my Mare was quickly sobbing too. She deeply loves her Twin... And her Twin, Equestria Girl Summer Rain, was kidnapped, or something. She was gone...

Thankfully, within two minutes, Fluttershy ran quickly up, and hugged her sister (my Mare) while she cried. I really wanted to do that, but I was busy hugging my Twin, and we were both crying. I could only guess how he felt. Well, through the Twin Link, I basically knew.

In two more minutes, Pinkie Pie had brought Princess Twilight.

"Twin, we have things that need to get done" I said to my Twin, Equestria pony Shysage. We both quickly choked off our tears at this point, and stopped hugging.

"Everypony, Summer's Twin has been abducted in the Equestria Girls world" I said, trying not to cry. "Or something" I added slowly.

I tried to think a minute, then said "I need to get my 'scope' to the Portal, and some of us will need to go try and find her."

Princess Twilight thought a minute herself, then said "Who do you think you should take with you?"

"Well, my Twin and I, and Summer" I said slowly. Then I added "And I think both Summer and Fluttershy's Twin will need Fluttershy."

Fluttershy started crying at this point; she hadn't even thought about her Twin...

Princess Twilight thought a minute more, then said "Ok. I'll send for two Air Coaches, and let Princess Celestia know."

As she and Pinkie Pie started off, I said quickly "Pinkie, thank you, you are amazing. I think we will need your Twin a lot in the next few days."

Pinkie said quietly "I wish I could come help."

"I know, Pinkie, and thank you. But I doubt this will be fun at all." I replied quietly. "And it will probably be very dangerous."

Maybe three hours later, the four of us were standing in front of the Portal wall in the Equestria Girl world. It looked like mid-morning here.

Summer was doing better. But once Fluttershy came through the Portal, and sensed her Twin's anguish, Fluttershy immediately burst into tears herself, and Fluttershy's Twin ran quickly up, and the two Fluttershys just hugged and cried together. Equestria Girls Fluttershy was almost beside herself. Her sister was gone...

I sent my Twin to my 'cubical' with the 'scope' thing, and told him to carefully put it in the back seat of the car. I also asked him to find a rag and get as much of the dirt off my big car as possible.

I suspected we would need my car; I hoped it started. And I also knew my Twin needed to be doing 'something' anyway.

Summer and I worked on getting both Fluttershys to the apartment.

Once we all got there, I asked Equestria Girls Fluttershy to text Twilight Sparkle to come when she could. Fluttershy got that done, then was quickly crying again. I couldn't blame her...

In the Air Coach, on the way to the Crystal Palace, my Twin explained that he and Equestria Girls Summer were together at the Cakes having dinner last night when she disappeared. She got up to use the restroom, and never came back. I had a hunch that it was the same two monsters, but I needed to make sure.

I hugged Summer, and said "Summer, please stay here, and please don't go anywhere. Just stay here with the Fluttershys, I should be back in an hour or so.

I headed over to the Cakes, they had just opened, and so they weren't very busy.

I explained what had happened, and Mr. Cake took me to the office, stopped all the security cameras, and dumped the whole week's worth of video streams, up to this morning, onto a USB Drive.

Then he also added a HUGE file that included the last 52 weeks worth of security videos from multiple cameras, double compressed... He mentioned that the two programs to extract the archived video streams were also on the USB Drive, but that it took maybe an hour just to extract a week's worth of videos. Then each day would need to be extracted out of that...

Mr. Cake had to run back to the order desk. They got busy all of a sudden. I thanked him; this was the only information we had, after all.

I walked out the front door, then walked slowly around to the back door... ...And I was soon picking up Equestria Girls Summer's 'Shield Necklace'...

"Not again" I said to myself, then I sighed. "The same nightmare... twice..."

I walked quickly back to Fluttershy's apartment.

Not just Twilight Sparkle, but the rest of the Equestria Girls were there, comforting their friends, and all crying together. This was good, they all needed each other.

Friendship really needed to be magic right now... And it was...

Still, I asked Pinkie if she could go get her Compy, and Applejack quickly volunteered to go with her.

After they returned with the Compy, Pinkie sat on the couch, opened her Compy on the Coffee Table, and started it up.

I handed her the USB drive, and she poked it into an empty slot.

I took my time, and carefully explained the files that were on the USB drive. I indicated that I needed to find the video from maybe eight months ago from when Equestria pony Summer was abducted. We really didn't have time to wait on a bunch of one hour extraction runs, then individual day extractions...

I mentioned that I was hoping she could use her 'Pinkie Sense' to tell me which week's file to run the one hour extraction on, then which of the video stream sets from that week held the view of the men that had taken Summer eight months ago.

Pinkie stared off into the distance maybe a minute, then said quietly "Shysage, what do you want to know?"

"I need to know if Equestria Girls Summer was abducted by the same two guys that took my Summer..." I said quietly.

Pinkie reached down, pulled the USB Drive out, held it a minute while staring off into the distance, then put it down on the Coffee Table.

"Yes... Same two guys... And if you get me close, I can take you there..." Pinkie said softly, then she smiled.

I was next going to have Pinkie wade through a literal 'sea' of geo-location coordinates, that my 'scope' constantly archives, to find the actual location of the little house the 'monsters' live in... I could get us to the general area, but that was it, unless the huge list of geo-location coordinates from my 'scope' could be quickly analyzed...

This amazing lady could do ALL of this for us. 'Pinkie Sense' would save the day repeatedly from here on out.

I thought for a minute, then asked quietly "Pinkie, this trip could be very dangerous, but I think we will need your amazing talents. Can you come with us?"

Her answer didn't take long "Yes... I want to help my friend."

Pinkie got out her cell, and texted Mr. Cake.

I just sighed...

"Ok, so my Twin and I will take Pinky and try to find Summer's Twin. The rest of you stay here, and stay together. How does that sound?" I asked.

Princess... er Twilight Sparkle spoke up quickly "Ok, Shysage, we will try to take care of things here. Good luck."

I walked up to my Mare, but tried to be careful. "Summer, I need you to stay here, but I also need you to stay safe..." I tried to say this calmly, but this world scared me too.

"Ok, Stallion, but I want you back. And I think we both need true friend's help. Be careful..." she said quietly.

I knew she was right about needing true friend. We (just) hugged, then Pinkie and I headed out the door, and headed off to my 'cubical'.

It wasn't far...

Right when we arrived, my Twin had just finished cleaning my car. He did a very good job; it looked a lot better, but the rust spots were easy to see now too.

I went into my 'cubical', retrieved the car keys, and tried starting 'big Blue'. It complained a little, then started right up. I checked the gas guage; At least I had left the tank full after bringing Summer home maybe eight months ago...

Leaving the car running, I went back into my 'cubical', and grabbed some carefully hidden cash, along with wallet, license, etc...

Then, I locked the cubical door, went out to the car, and checked on my 'scope' thing to make sure it was off for now, and was fairly stable.

We were as ready as we could be. I quietly asked true friend for help. We would need it...

Chapter 18, Amazing Tribute

It was after midnight in Equestria, and most everypony decided to 'sack out' on the floor in Princess Twilight's new Library. Even with book-shelves quickly filling up with books, it was easily large enough for such gatherings. Well Princess' new Castle was just big.

I sent my Twin (Equestria pony Shysage) to the house, and told him to try and get some sleep. I explained that I didn't have my 'scope' here yet, so I needed to hang around.

Twins quickly scattered all over the room, and most talked quietly together.

Still, groups quickly formed, and this bothered nopony.

The Celestia and Luna Twins found a quiet corner, talked together briefly, and were quickly asleep. All four of them were beat. They all carried a lot of responsibility.

The Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Twins talked together for a little while, discussed possibilities for tomorrow here in Equestria, then they were quickly asleep too, Twin next to Twin.

Well, Twins always sleep this way.

Both Summers and their real sisters hugged and cried together for a long time. Then the four of them Soul-Linked together for over an hour, then they all fell asleep.

The Twilights, Raritys, Filias and Fionas were all crowded together, and the Twilights and Raritys quietly answered a seeming endless stream of more strange and amazing questions about each other's world. The Twilights and Raritys were also learning alot too.

It looked like a lot of 'Twin' fun, and it was a long time before this group went to sleep, but they finally did.

Seeing the Filia and Fiona Twins sleeping next to each other here in Equestria made this stallion CRY... It was absolutely amazing.

When everypony else was asleep, I walked outside. It was probably middle of the night, and the moon was high and bright. This would have been a good night for... Oh well...

I walked over to Summer's Tree, laid down next to Rainbow's memorial garden, and hoped for a 'long nap'. I suspected that was all the sleep I would get.

Maybe two hours later, Princess Twilight woke me up.

She was surrounded by four amazing red-head mares.

"Shysage, can you join us on our walk? I really don't want to wake anypony else up..." Princess asked apologetically.

"Well, I'm no Phantom Alicorn, but I would be delighted to accompany you and keep you safe" I said with a chuckle. I had no magic, and wouldn't be able to do much...

We headed off on a random walk around Ponyville.

First thing, probably Equestria Girls Fiona asked if I was the Shysage that was in Equestria this last week.

I quietly said "Yes."

"Well, your Summer is amazing, just so you know" she said.

I answered honestly "Well, I agree with you there. Still, I think you will find that Summer's Twin is just as amazing. And you will probably get to know her well, too."

It was quiet for a minute, and since I had the opportunity, I asked quietly "Equestria Girls Filia and Fiona, Summer and Fluttershy both encouraged you to come here, as you stood before the Portal. Are you glad you came?"

Both Equestria Girls red-heads started crying and hugged their Twins tightly. I guess that was their answer. I didn't expect much less.

The rest of the time, I walked behind the five of them, and just listened. It really was amazing.

Princess was in no hurry, and walked slowly with two mares on each side.

It was clear that Twin was with Twin, and sisters were on opposite sides. Twins just hug a lot; well girl Twins do.

Princess first explained a little about why she did these walks.

She carefully explained the Fury Boil, and mentioned that it was only visible during early morning hours. It was very dangerous, but 'someponies' had fortunately seen it the first night it arrived. And amazingly, all the Furies were killed, and nopony had to die.

But since then, when she can't sleep, Princess walks, just to keep an eye on her town.

She also laughed as she described some of the things she had encountered on some of her walks. Almost getting run over by 'someponies' was one of them.

Still, it was clear that all four of these young mares were taking this all in very quickly, and asked some amazing questions.

Princess was so thrilled, helping to guide these mares, and never, ever expected to see all four together like this.

I doubted Princess would sleep much while they were all here. I couldn't blame her.

Princess Twilight also mentioned that most of tomorrow, well today already, would be devoted to helping the Equestria Girls red-heads get some Magic instruction under their belts, and maybe getting 'caught up' with their Twins. All four of them were very excited about that.

The walk done, we stopped at the steps to the Castle, and Princess thanked me, then walked inside with the Filia and Fiona Twins.

I turned to head back over to Summer's Tree, to try to get another 'nap' in before the Sun came up.

There was another pony there, I saw this right away.

When I got close... It was Summer...

"I kept your spot warm for you Stallion" she said softly.

I couldn't help it... "Oh, Summer..." I got this much out, then was crying...

She cried with me for maybe five minutes, then I realized we didn't really need to spend our limited time together doing that.

I sighed, and we rubbed noses a few minutes. I sighed again.

"Summer, what would you like to do right now?" I asked softly.

"Just be with you, amazing Stallion..." she said quietly.

I realized that, as much as my Mare had enjoyed her time with the Equestria Girls, it had been hard for her there, too...

"Summer, lets just go for a 'People walk' together. How does that sound?" I said softly.

"Wow, that sounds nice!" she replied softly.

We both got up and changed to our Equestria Girls 'people' form.

As usual, we were wearing the last clothing items we wore before coming here; sneakers, jeans, t-shirt and sweatshirt. Well, it was a warm night, so we left the sweatshirts on a low branch of the tree.

We spent the rest of the early morning hours just walking together, slowly, hugging, talking some.

I explained that I didn't want to just 'jump into' time at the lake; I felt we would be rushed, so we could wait on that. I let her know though, that we could go there right away if she really wanted me to; otherwise we could wait until we had more time.

Summer said this was fine, she just wanted to be alone with me.

I felt the same way.

We walked slowly, 'in step' together so we could hug, and just wandered around in the meadow behind Princess' Castle.

The Moon was bright, but slowly headed towards the West. It was a very beautiful night. Well, my Mare looked beautiful, too. She always does.

Still, after a little discussion about this later, we both learned a very important lesson from our time together early that morning.

Since we had decided together that 'time at the lake' wasn't really an option for now, this really 'freed up' both our ability to simply enjoy being with each other.

At one point, we found a Live Oak tree with low branches, and I leaned up against one of the branches, pulled my Mare close, and we kissed, well, for a long time. Our bodies had already adjusted to the fact that the lake wasn't the goal right now, and we both stayed pretty calm as we kissed.

We kissed so long that we both started crying over how deeply we loved each other...

It's true... I love her so... And kissing in the moonlight like that, free to focus on just her... It was amazing...

As we saw the sky off to the East start to brighten, we wandered back to Princess' Castle, and sat on the steps next to each other (hugging), and watched the Sun come up in the East over Ponyville.

Maybe an hour later, amazing pony friends began to spill out the Castle door, and down the steps into the grass.

Summer and I stood up along the side of the steps, so ponies could pass. We were still 'people'.

I hoped nopony stopped to hug us though, because I knew what would happen.

Well it happened anyway, but for different reasons.

Equestria Girls Filia had 'issues' going down steps as a Pony, and she fell. I can tell you from experience that going down stairs as a pony is not the easiest thing. Maybe seeing two 'people' here in Equestria might have been a factor, too.

But Filia was just as quickly caught by Summer and I.

But when Summer touched Filia's front leg, Equestria Girls Filia turned back into her Equestria Girls form, and was basically laying in Summer and my arms, as a 'people'.

We set her carefully down, after telling her to get ready to turn back into a pony. She was soon safely at the bottom. Her sister made it down without falling.

...

Still, my amazing Mare... This was all her idea, and an amazing tribute.

Summer walked over into the grass some distance from the Castle, and called both Filia's over to her.

Everypony else came too, this was a tight-knit group.

Still a people, Summer carefully reached down, and grabbed one of each of their front legs, near the hoof.

BOTH Filias changed into 'People' right away, and Summer helped them both stand up. Both people now, these Twin girls were quickly hugging each other and crying...

My Mare then called BOTH Twilights over, and the four of them were quickly hugging and crying together as people...

The 'web' of love and devotion between just these four 'people', spanning two worlds, was just amazing...

The four of them stayed 'people' as long as Summer was touching one of them, and they were touching each other.

After maybe fifteen minutes, Summer directed as they were carefully returned to being ponies.

Anticipating their turn, both Raritys and both Fionas had already been crying together...

Well, it was their turn, and the Raritys and Fionas were soon standing together as 'people', hugging, crying...

Well, maybe fifteen minutes later, they were all back to being ponies.

...

Princess Twilight took over at this point.

She directed as Summer took Equestria Girls Rarity's hoof, and changed her into a 'people', and helped her up.

Equestria Girls Rarity called her Twin over, and she was next.

Then both Fionas, then both Twilights, then both Filias, then both Applejacks, and so on.

Everypony that was here was soon standing in this big circle, as 'people', including the Luna and Celestia Twins.

We stopped and waited though, as my Twin and Summer's Twin were coming from the Canterlot Recorder's house.

We were soon all together, in a circle, as people, holding hands. Most of us were weeping softly. There really was a lot of love and devotion in this whole group... Twenty four amazing ponies, now twelve amazing sets of Twins...

"Girls let's say this together please." Princess Twilight said softly, crying herself. We all knew the words anyway.

"We are deeply devoted to each other..."

"We are true friends, and committed to true friendship..."

"We are... ...Equestria..."

Then Princess said as best as she could

"And I am only a Princess with you all at my side."

Well, everypony was weeping softly after this.