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

by shysage

Rating: everyone
Tags: Romance, Fluttershy, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Human, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 113369

A few years ago, the Phantom Alicorn had a vivid dream, that we understood to be a warning at the time. Now, years later, why did the Portal thrust us decades into that same future?

A few years ago, the Phantom Alicorn had a vivid dream about a scary, gutted future Equestria. Over the course of a week, we tried to carefully record that dream. And we understood it to be a warning at the time. Now, years later, why did the Portal thrust us decades into that same future? This was no dream...

Published 2015-01-19 05:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2015-05-22 01:22:16 UTC

Chapter 2, Done

Yesterday was a quiet day. My husband Dan was away on one of his increasingly more frequent business trips. He said a few times that business was picking up, I couldn't complain. He is an accountant, so I guess more business meant more work for him, I don't know.

During the day, I did what I normally do. Well, I cried a lot, I guess. I know I have cancer, but the prospects now look terrible, and it seems there is nothing they can do. Of course, I had to wonder if the Insurance Co-op had simply declined payment on the recommended procedure. I don't know. How could I know...

Well, I don't know anything, except everyone around me (doctors mostly) keeps saying things including the phrase 'as many as you have left' or something like it. This is all new territory for me. So I cry a lot. I don't know what else to do.

Well, I stopped crying long enough to head to the mall and buy a new pair of shoes in the afternoon. It had been a while since I had done this, so I decided I was due. And the shoes I got looked nice, easily worth the GOB ride. These new shoes matched the lighter streak in my curly hair.

I don't mind that streak much any more. I used to try to dye it to make it go away, but that turned into a continual, complicated process, so I quit doing that. My hair is normally dead flat though, and I do work to keep it curly. I like my hair in curls better than flat, but I don't remember why.

I made myself a barely tolerable, low fat dinner in the microwave, then sat in the recliner and watched some Vid (TV is the old name I think). I really don't watch much of the recent stuff. It seems geared to twenty year olds or morons. Well, I guess my age is showing, there might have been a nicer way to say that. I just watch old cartoon reruns, mostly one series, I don't know.

Falling asleep, I dragged myself out of the recliner, and changed into flannel PJ's. I was instantly wide awake, but I climbed into bed anyway. Our bed is huge, and I had it all to myself tonight. I don't know whether that was good or bad.

Laying awake for over two hours, I finally drifted off to sleep.

As usual, I woke up maybe two hours later, because that position hurt. I mean it hurt me inside. That wasn't good. So, I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. It worked for a while, then I woke up, and rolled back over to the other side. I think you get the picture.

At maybe 7 in the morning, I woke up with a start. I observed that I would be late for work, and sat quickly upright in bed, which didn't feel very good. Then I remembered. I don't work any more. My days as a teacher were done. I had retired three years ago.

Teaching was such amazing fun, I was actually sad. Well, they 'retired' me, I didn't decide to leave. They could bring in a new grad to work for half what I made. Well, anyone can effectively teach kids, right? Or plug them into a Vid and walk away; that works too? Tragic thinking... Whatever.

I laid back down, and drifted off into sleep.

I had the most vivid dream. I don't dream often. I usually don't sleep well enough to dream. I guess for the five or so minutes this dream took, I must have been sleeping well.

The dream was about two ponies talking to each other. In the dim and distant past, I think I knew both ponies, but not any more.

Anyway, a stallion was sitting on a small hill in some sort of meadow. I remember flowers near, so it was Spring or Summer there maybe.

For a few minutes, he just sat there staring off into the distance. Maybe he was crying, I don't know.

Then another pony flew over and landed next to him. I guess they had not seen each other in a while, and they hugged briefly.

Then they sat facing each other, and the stallion asked "Where is everypony?"

The other pony answered, but I don't remember that part.

The dream was over, and I woke up.

None of this suprised me, I watch that kind of stuff all the...

Wait...

I had to dig really far back for this...

There suddenly was a knock on the bedroom door. This really startled me... Well, this was VERY strange, and made me try to remember if I had locked the house up last night. After staring at the door briefly, I quickly got up and put my bathrobe on. Then I opened the door.

It was Dan.

I said quickly "Dan, you don't need to knock--"

Dan put his hand up immediately to stop me. This wasn't necessarily a hostile gesture. I have gotten used to it.

Still, Dan said what was on his mind. In his usual calculating manner, he spoke slowly, dispassionately and resolutely.

"Twilight, I'm sorry... I can't handle this... your condition... I just can't deal with that, not any more..."

Dan next handed me a big, thick envelope. Then he continued.

"I'm letting you keep the house, and promise you a nice allowance, until..."

Dan paused a minute. I don't think he knew what to say next. Then he said a little quieter "Twilight, I'm sorry. It's the best I can do."

Then he turned, walked down the stairs and out the front door.

...

...

...

I walked slowly to the window and watched as he climbed into the car... with another woman...

...

...

...

After they drove off, I just stood there for a long time. I felt myself slowly growing numb...

...

...

...

When I needed him the most, we were done.

...

...

...

My world collapsed.

Chapter 3, Remembering the Future

I have been moved around by the Portal on a number of occasions, and so the slow fading of Equestria Present was not a tremendous surprise. Such trips were often difficult, but we could usually depend on the Portal, or true friend, or maybe both... Things had worked out ok up to this point, so I wasn't too alarmed.

Well, I did have to come back from the Past without Summer recently, and that was a nightmare. As it turns out, she was just Blue, and somewhere else near Canterlot, and had forgotten a lot. I just sighed. I didn't want to endure that again. I didn't know if I could.

But the Portal didn't usually take me, us, unless there was a need. Being committed to true friendship, the needs of others often had to become a priority, and that was fine. And if more was at stake, like Equestria... We wouldn't argue about that. Still, a small break in the action would have been nice...

I also remembered Fluttershy's question over lunch. I guess we would find out. Well, I didn't even know whether Fluttershy would come or not.

And a calm but endearing tune lept to life immediately in the background(1). I had no idea if it was the same tune Summer had been hearing all day...

Ok, I was concerned, of course, to know where my Mare would be, whenever and wherever we arrived. I... Summer being near was an important part of the stability I more and more depended on. I quickly became a different pers... er, pony without her near. I guess I can't describe how desperately we have grown to need each other.

...

After maybe ten seconds, my destination began to come slowly into view.

Well, I recognized where the Portal planted me right away. I was in town square in Ponyville, not far from where I was before. And it was not Winter I guess. It was a warm day, with birds singing, and flowers blooming.

But Ponyville was a wreck, and clearly vacant, more like a ghost town, and had been for years. Looking the town over, Summer's Dream was the first thing I thought of. That was only a dream. It was vivid, but still... This was real. And seeing an abandoned Ponyville, real, before my very eyes, slowly collapsing in on itself... That hurt, a lot... I just stared for a while.

Then I took to the air and flew slowly, long enough to confirm that there was nopony else here. Well, I checked the homes of the most important ponies (that sounds bad, I meant Princess Twilight's girls) and found no trace of even footprints near where they lived.

I landed in front of the Canterlot Recorder's home. The roof was on the floor in the living room, and the amazing rug with Summer's Cutie Mark on it was scattered pieces on the ground. My scope thing looked terrible, but in the weather like that...

But I did find my clip thing and some quills, ink and paper under the cover for the scope. My old and tattered shoulder bag was there too. I quickly shoved everything into the shoulder bag, and pulled it on. I wanted to record this. I wanted to record everything. That is my job. I'm a Canterlot Recorder.

...

I walked from there quickly to Princess Twilight's Castle. I could see the spire above Ponyville from a good distance away, it was still there, and looked, well, untouched. When I got close, I realized why.

Those few times Equestria had sensed the need for this Castle, a faint Purple magical shield completely enveloped the Castle, from the top of the Spire, probably to below the amazing Council Room on the lowest floor.

That faint Purple magic shield had turned into a faint white shield. I ran into this shield and could go no further. Equestria was clearly messed up, but Princess Twilight's Castle was magically taking care of itself, and probably had been for years. I guessed we may need to try to find a way to reverse that at some point.

Well honestly, I had no idea why and when I was here.

This had happened to me once before (the sixth Chronicles, I think). That time, the Portal had time-warped me right as I walked towards Princess Twilight's Castle, and the Castle just disappeared. I had to carefully figure out what to do, and hope I did it right, which I guess I did. That amazing trip was a few years into the Past from where I was taken from however. But this...

I suspected though, that Summer's Dream was somehow related to this trip to the Future. Well, I was pretty sure it was in the future. It wasn't Summer's Dream; this was all painfully real. But I think my Mare's dream could hold some direction. Well, I hoped this was true.

What I did know was that the Portal had a reason for putting me here. But I didn't know if this involved my Mare or not. For all I knew, she and her sister might still be sitting on that little hill talking, or maybe they were freaked out that I suddenly disappeared. I just didn't know.

Still, I thought it was too early for tears just yet...

The only place I had not checked was Sweet Apple Acres, so I walked there, slowly. I guess I could have flown, but I needed more time to think. I really knew very little. And I wasn't in a hurry. I worked on pulling pieces of Summer's Dream back from distant memory. Wow, reaching backwards to remember the future... That was just wierd.

Summer's dream was recorded in the second Chronicles I think, the first fifteen or so chapters. That dream had forced Summer and I to bond so quickly. While traumatic, I don't think either of us really minded. But on top of that, there were so many details to include; it really was a very vivid dream. And by the third day, Summer was just remembering pieces, and we had to arrange them as best as we could. At the time, we weren't too concerned, we took it as a warning anyway. But even so, it was just a dream.

Still, that was a long time ago, and a lot had happened since then. My brain hurt as I walked up the slight hill to the farm.

The barn looked ok, but the farmhouse was a collapsed shell. And there was nopony there; it looked like it had been abandoned for years. I did find Applejack's amazing Rarity coat in the barn though. It looked like it had weathered the years fairly well. I guessed I might need that at some point, I don't know.

Well the Sun was going down; it would be dark soon. I curled up on a mound of hay inside the barn and fell asleep.

While sleeping though, I did have a dream. Well, it was close to a nightmare, and it woke me up in the middle of the night. After listening for five minutes and only hearing crickets, I decided everything was probably ok.

The dream I had, well the part that woke me, the part I remembered, wasn't long, but it brought back some scary portions of Summer's Dream. It was that big Black bear, Eschate Zumulus. That is who I dreamed about. I was sure this was a mistake. Princess Twilight had actually called this demon forth, and she and her girls had destroyed him. I doubted he could regenerate.

But I just didn't know, and decided that some caution was probably advisable. I had to be careful what I said out loud, and I had to keep an eye on things that flew over me. Especially big things. Eschate Zumulus ate ponies for dinner. And lunch. Well, in Summer's Dream he did.

It took a while, then I fell back asleep. This time, I had a long dream about Summer. I woke up so thoroughly lonely for her... I cried a while.

Still, I had work to do, and I found a flat piece of wood, and worked on a detailed record of yesterday. I tried to keep everything as short and succinct as possible. I didn't know how much time I would need to record on the few pieces of paper I had.

It took maybe an hour, then I was caught up. Still, I did splash a few teardrops on the paper.

I guess I wanted my Mare pretty badly...

I remembered the layout of the field near Applejack's house, and was soon eating Oats down in the valley near the lake.

Well, something big did fly over me at that point, twice, and so I ran for the cover of the nearest tree, hoping to get out of sight. Trying to relax, I just waited.

Two big things quickly landed near me. It was the Shyna Twins. We were quickly hugging and crying together. I think we cried together for a while. We were family.

Of course, the Shynas looked the same as they did when I left (this makes no sense, I know); off White coat peppered with tiny Red specks, blazing Bronze mane and tail, raised wing Cutie Mark. Well, I think the Bronze tipping on their wings was more pronounced now.

Still, I asked quietly "Girls, where is everypony?"

Equestria pony Shyna sighed and said simply "Gone..."

I think we all wanted to talk more, but I suggested that we head back up into the barn, and find somewhere out of sight. The Shyna Twins agreed, and we were soon laying on our bellies in one of the stalls inside the barn.

Without being asked, the girls talked very quietly, almost whispering.

...

Equestria Girls Shyna shared her story first. She had stayed in the Equestria Girls world for only maybe ten years after Fluttershy adopted her. At that point, she could stand it there no longer, and came to Equestria for good, she said.

At the mention of Fluttershy, both Shynas broke down and cried a little while. Such bonds are not easily broken...

Shyna explained her desire to leave, to her Fluttershy (Equestria Girls Fluttershy), and she understood. They cried a lot, then Equestria Girls Fluttershy walked her Shyna to the Portal, and she was gone. Shyna never returned to the Equestria Girls world, and doesn't want too either.

...

Equestria pony Shyna's story was heartbreaking, too. Her story actually covered two phases, the breakdown of Princess Twilight's inner circle -- her amazing girls, as well as the fall of Equestria into the decay seen all around us.

Shyna was not real sure why, but after maybe eight years of amazing friendships, it seemed like everypony just scattered; most going their own way. From what Shyna could tell, friendship stopped being magic; Princess' girls could not even get along. And even being together became painful.

Shyna said that it seemed like this happened over a fairly short period of time. And it seemed like Princess Twilight was deeply grieved by all of this, but she couldn't find anything she could do to stop it.

Shyna thought too, that there were no monsters to fight for a while, maybe that was a part of it. Still, she admitted this was all many years ago.

After thinking a minute, Shyna said Fluttershy mentioned once that friendship's magic was gone. Fluttershy didn't like talking about it because it hurt her so much, so Shyna never asked more about this.

Regardless of the specific reason, Princess Twilight's girls were quickly scattered all over Equestria. Shyna said the understanding was that, if she needed them, Princess Twilight could call the girls from anywhere in Equestria, to the Council Room when Equestria required their assistance. All Princess had to do was sit in her chair, and this was supposed to pull everypony there, right away. But the first time Princess tried that, it didn't work. And by then it was too late.

And it seemed like something similar happened with the Equestria Girls. Nopony could get along. Nopony could get along with anypony. The Portal was moved into storage back in the Crystal Palace.

Shyna was crying. Well, we all were. This was just a terrible tragedy.

Shyna stayed crying as she described her Fluttershy walking out of Ponyville one night, and leaving everything behind, including her. That was just heartbreaking...

Shyna stayed at the Cottage, hoping Fluttershy would return. Her Twin joined her when she came to Ponyville, and they lived in the Cottage together until Equestria fell apart.

Shyna's Twin was hugging her tightly and crying with her, and that is probably the only reason either of these girls, these mares had survived. Twin found Twin, and stayed together. That was enough.

...

The decay of Equestria was a more serious concern to me. When Summer had her dream, we had not been to the Past at all. But now, Cel and Lu (Equestria's Princesses) are very dear to us. They were our girls. 'Follow the Equestrium' explains why.

Equestria pony Shyna did not have a lot of information about what happened to Equestria, but she mentioned what she knew. She also mentioned that, after Princess' Girls scattered themselves, both Shynas spent most of their time together at the Cottage, and were not real connected with what was going on in the rest of Equestria.

From what both Shynas could tell, Equestria was brought to chaos by some sort of uprising from within the ponies in Equestria. Shyna didn't think it was a huge army or anything. But it was clear that something broke down in the kingdom. It was almost like the Guards fell asleep, and all sorts of terrible crimes spread like wildfire.

Shyna said Ponyville became a very dangerous place, and at this point the Shyna Twins flew away, far beyond Dodge City, and tried to survive. Well, they had each other.

Both Twins only knew beyond this, that some terrible monster took over Equestria soon after that. He didn't like anypony who said... Equestria pony Shyna looked around carefully, then finished; good words. Shyna said this monster would eat anypony who did this.

Still, every Spring or Summer, these Twins flew back to Ponyville for a day, just to see if anything was going on. Until today, when they recognized me, they had seen less than a handful of ponies in Ponyville ever, and nopony they even recognized.

I asked if they knew who the monster was or what happened to any of Equestria's Princesses. Equestria Girls Shyna said quietly that they were in hiding when Equestria fell, and they didn't know much more.

We all cried together for a while...

Still, while we cried, I made a few decisions.

I, myself was from the Past now, and so nothing I could do now could ruin the present (here), or the past for that matter. Still, I decided to avoid entirely both how or why I was here, and any discussion about what I had been doing up until now. According to Summer's Dream it was 37 years into the future, but this was not a dream and very real, and I had no idea.

I also decided to avoid talking or asking about Summer. I suspected anyway that the Portal had brought her here too, or would. I guess I decided the less I talk about that the better. Well, maybe I just didn't want to know. A life without my Mare would be the closest to tragedy I could possibly endure. I had already tried that...

It was getting dark, and I suggested we go get some more food, then try and sleep. The Shyna Twins already said they were heading home tomorrow anyway.

Trying to remain vigilant, we headed back to the valley, ate and drank, then went back to the barn to hide.

While crying softly, the girls told me about their new home, then were soon asleep. Evidently it was a long trip, even for these gifted Pegasi mares.

...

Our morning was mostly the reverse of our evening. We hugged and cried together in the barn a while. Then the three of us headed out into the valley to eat.

We hugged some more, and the Shyna Twins took off and headed back home.

I was sad to see them go...

Still, I headed back up to the barn, got out that piece of wood, and recorded what I had heard yesterday. Then I tucked everything away.

THEN I cried for a while...

I think I needed my Mare...

Author's Note

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

Chapter 4, Living a Nightmare

Summer ended. Fall came and went, and it got cold. Winter came, and it got very cold.

I was glad I had found Applejack's coat. These weren't my colors, but Rarity had done a good job; the coat was very warm. I wore it every day. I had to.

No visitors. No menacing monsters. No Canterlot Recording.

No Summer, either...

Just frigid, monotonous lonliness. It slowly ate away at my heart.

Well, there were a lot of Crows around here. They were easy to spot on the leafless, wildly overgrown apple trees. Well, there were a lot of them, they were everywhere. And they were always noisy.

Still, when I saw a shadow fly over me, I always had to look. I was scared to death it would be that monster. I was hoping like mad it would be my Mare. It was just a Crow.

I had plenty of time to think about Summer's Dream, and a lot of pieces came back during that Winter.

This wasn't a dream, but I still spent most of my time, usually shivering, on that slight hill on the gentle slope where Rainbow Dash taught Equestria Girls Shyna how to fly. I usually laid on my belly. I usually cried a lot. I talked to true friend a lot too. I knew better than question, it was just increasingly harder.

Buried in Summer's Dream I had waited 37 years. I didn't think I had to wait that long. I didn't think I could, either. But I really didn't know.

When I slept, I didn't dream much, but my life slowly became a nightmare.

Every day, I would start the day saying "maybe today". I would end by saying "maybe tomorrow." It was just getting harder and harder to say anything any more.

One cold, quiet night after a substantial snowstorm, I walked out and sat in the snow, right outside the barn. It was freezing, of course, but I slowly looked around at the landscape, covered with a hushed layer of White beauty; everything was glowing softly in the moonlight of a full Moon. And the music still playing quietly and persistently in the background, it so fit this...

The last time I had done this was with Summer, over 1,300 years in the Past. We had finally concluded that the two girls we rescued two years earlier, Cel and Lu, were really Equestria's Princesses, and that they belonged to King Thars, and that meant we had to give them away. She and I, we just sat together in the snow and cried out some of our pain. It turned out later we had a lot left...

But I did the same thing that night. Alone. And I had no idea where Cel and Lu were now... or Summer... Everything hurt.

As I helped Summer get her dream written down, maybe four years ago, I remembered the short segment we wrote that included her coming back to me here at the farm. Her recollection of that portion of her dream was incredibly, painfully detailed...

This wasn't a dream, but I realized that I honestly would never move from this spot; this is the first place she would look for me, when... if... she came.

And I remembered, when I actually helped Summer write that short segment, it was very painful for me. I wanted Summer, but doubted that would ever happen. Still, at the time I was glad it was just a dream.

And I wondered if I would wait for anypony that long. But now I knew beyond doubt that I would wait for her... I couldn't not wait. I desperately needed my Mare back. I would wait as long as I had to.

And now, actually living this nightmare out on a daily basis... I was always a wreck. I always cried a lot.

"Summer, please come back..." I said this a lot, and mostly everywhere.

I didn't know what else to do.

Chapter 5, Denied

It figures that I would have to spend a cold Winter alone.

I used to like Winter, but now this house is otherwise empty, and I have nopone left to keep me warm. I cry a lot.

Well, I had a lot more doctor's visits too. I cried a lot at that. Still, nothing seemed to change the finality of their conversations about my condition. Not much else mattered.

I actually wanted to keep walking. I remembered really enjoying jogging when I was much younger. And after Dan left me, I started walking, even if I couldn't walk very fast. I really enjoyed that, and the exercise did make me feel better. It was hard to tell if I was losing weight or not, but I wasn't sure how important that was any more.

But when it got cold, it was just hard. I thought often that I could have taken the GOB over to the indoor Mall, and walked around that; it's about a mile and a half around the inside. It is pretty big. I knew others that did that, and I had tried it a time or two, it was very nice.

But riding the GOB in the Winter... It was barely above freezing, and it seemed at least one passenger always had to open a window, no matter how cold it was outside. I had to ride the GOB a lot already to doctor's appointments. I wondered if I was supporting half the doctors in this town.

It just wasn't worth it. I would start to walk again when the weather warmed... If I was still...

I pressed a button on my wrist watch, and out popped a keyboard and display. That is my CV. The letters stand for Com/Video. I guess they used to call them cell phones. And I know some people who still cling to the boxy old smart phones, but this is a lot more convenient. And when I can't sleep at night (which is a lot), I enjoy watching reruns of some old cartoons called, uhm, my...

I checked the time. I had just eaten lunch. Well I ate something that I thought was supposed to be nutritious, it said so on the box.

I wanted to take a nap. It seems I sleep a bit more now. Well, honestly, I have a harder time sleeping at night, and an easier time sleeping during the day. Whether it's all the pills I take, or an empty bed, I don't know. Both make me cry. Both make me miserable. I never thought...

My CV automatically put itself away, and I stretched back in the recliner. Well, it hurt a little, but that was more common any more.

After a while, and a few tears, I did drift off to sleep.

I soon had a nightmare about Dan, which made me quickly sit upright (which hurt) and breath heavily with anger (which also hurt).

After a few minutes, I just sighed. I couldn't change that, and getting angry just hurt. I laid back down in the recliner and tried to relax again. I had already decided a month or two ago that the chances of Dan coming back were nil.

It was raining; the rain was tapping gently on the closest window. It was very relaxing, and it put me back to sleep.

It was a while later, but I had another dream. This dream was almost like a fairly tale. It was about four completely Black cats, lounging around on some hay in a large building or something. I thought it was indoors, anyway. The cats were all purring loudly. Very loudly.

After a few minutes, the vantage point of the dream crept slowly up to reveal a pony laying on her belly in the middle of the four cats, and I only then realized the cats were really some sort of much larger feline, Cougars or Mountain Lions or something. They were all much larger than the pony...

But it was clear that the pony in the center was the reason all the huge cats were purring. And they weren't eating the pony.

After a few more minutes, the view very slowly zoomed in on the pony. I should know who this is...

...

My CV jumped to life, which both woke me up from that dream, and startled me.

After a few rings, I answered it, trying to sound as awake as possible, even though I was still half asleep.

It was a young, cheery lady from one of my doctor's offices. After verifying that I was really the Twilight they needed to talk to, she said this.

"I am calling about your request for the experimental treatment your doctor had applied for. I just wanted to let you know that the Insurance Co-op denied your claim. Be sure to ask your doctor if you have any questions. He has a copy of the claim denied paperwork. Have a nice day!"

The lady said all this with a completely cheery voice like I had just won the Lottary (yes they still have that too) or something. Then she hung up, and was probably soon calling someone else with more cheery news.

I just sighed.

I think that experimental treatment was the last shred of hope for me ever getting better. And a cheery voice just broke it.

What else could I do. I cried softly the rest of the day.

Chapter 6, Visitors

Very early Spring, well or late Winter, I had a visitor. Well, I had five of them.

It was dusk, and still cold. I was shivering in the barn, trying not to cry, hoping I could fall asleep. I heard a growl, woke up immediately, and saw the faint reflection of many sets of eyes looking in at me.

It was quiet for a minute, and the growling continued. There was nothing I could do except be afraid. They were peering in the only door...

Then I heard a familiar voice say quietly "Oh, girls, hush."

It was Fluttershy, of course. Well, Equestria pony Fluttershy.

Her girls were four Black Panthers. Each Panther was huge, much bigger that Fluttershy, but they were her girls. That made tons more sense than it sounded like.

Fluttershy and I hugged and cried together. Well, I cried for a while, and Fluttershy cried with me. I was pretty sure she didn't need to be told about the pain I felt inside. Crying with my adopted sister; I did feel better. I was with family again.

After a few hours, Fluttershy laid her girls down in the hay for the night, and we laid on our bellies facing each other and talked. Fluttershy had a coat on, but it did not look familiar to me at all.

"Shysage, how long have you been here?" Fluttershy asked calmly. These were the first words we had exchanged.

And I knew I had to be careful; I didn't want to say too much.

This could be the Fluttershy that Summer and I were talking with when I disappeared from Equestria Present. And if that was the case, she would not know very much about Equestria 'now' either.

But it could also be the Fluttershy who had lived 37 years (in theory) up to this point. She would know most everything, maybe far more than I even wanted to know. The Portal had brought us from the Present to here. What Summer and I had been doing all that time... I didn't want to go there.

Fluttershy still wore that amazing ankle band, a gift from Cel in the Past. That told me nothing, that would be there either way.

I answered quietly "Too long... You?" This was the best I could come up with, but honestly, I felt that way.

Fluttershy could never lie. "Two weeks, maybe. We saw you across the fields yesterday."

Ok, so Fluttershy had been brought here like I did. She was just moved to a time months beyond when I came. I have no clue why. And I reminded myself to remember that Summer's Dream was just a dream.

Still, I smiled and said quietly "It didn't take you long to find your girls."

Fluttershy smiled too, and looked lovingly at her new friends, and gently ran her hoof across the head of the one closest, and they all began to purr at the same time. It was loud. Fluttershy got up and fussed over each one, then came and laid on her belly facing me again.

"Well, I have always wanted animal friends like this. They are amazing. And I guess I needed their help anyway. The Everfree Forest can be a dangerous place."

I realized it wasn't a dangerous place for Fluttershy, not any more.

I sighed at this point.

"Fluttershy, I have been here almost six months, and so far, besides you and I, everypony else here has lived through whatever happened until now. And I have no clue why the Portal brought us here."

Fluttershy thought a minute, then said quietly "Ok."

And I knew I had to tell her about this.

"Fluttershy, both Shynas visited me for just a day, late last Summer. I am pretty sure neither has seen you for a long time. I think they will come ba--"

I had to stop, and I just hugged Fluttershy as she cried, and I ended up crying with her. Present or Future, Fluttershy cared deeply for both Shynas. I was also pretty sure this aspect blind-sided Fluttershy; she had just not thought about it yet. I said more than once "Sis, I'm sure they miss you a lot..." It was clear from their visit that they both did.

...

After Fluttershy calmed down, it was clear she was trying to make sense of all this. She asked some questions, and of course, she deserved to know.

"So, everypony here besides you and me, so far, has lived through all this time?" she asked quietly.

"Yes" I answered.

Fluttershy thought a minute, then asked "And Summer isn't here yet, right?"

Trying to not cry, I said quietly "No, but I honestly expect her soon. At least I hope..." Well, I couldn't finish this. Fluttershy just put her hoof over mine as I cried briefly.

"So, do you think we are living Summer's Dream?" she asked next.

"Fluttershy, I don't know... This clearly isn't a dream, and everything that we've been through hasn't followed that dream. But I think her dream might be a helpful guide..."

I stopped here in thought, then continued. "I am sure the Portal had a reason for bringing us here. We just need to try to find out what that is, without getting killed in the process, I guess..."

Fluttershy smiled, and petted the cat nearest to her, and they all purred loudly again, and she got up and fussed over each one again, then she came back and laid on her belly.

I thought some more, then added this. "Remember that the big problem from Summer's Dream was that Black bear, and saying anything..." I stopped there.

Fluttershy just nodded. "I remember that part" she said quietly. "I don't think my girls like him either."

It was quiet for a few minutes. Fluttershy was thinking. "I'm living in a tree in the Everfree Forest right now. From what I remember, Princess Twilight is not too far from me. Should we go visit her?"

I sighed and answered honestly. "Fluttershy, I don't think we should try to do anything to fix this mess until Summer is here. I think anything else will just get us killed."

Fluttershy smiled. "Well, I agree. I think we all need my sister."

I tried to not cry. I knew I needed Summer. We were all soon asleep.

Waking up the next morning was, well, strange.

I was warm, and so I slept very well. But when I woke up, I realized why. I had a big Panther sleeping on either side of me. Only one of them could have eaten me easily. I guess they knew I was Fluttershy's family, so they kept me warm instead. Fluttershy had trained these Panthers well; she had one on either side of her also.

When Fluttershy saw I was awake, she woke her girls up, and again spent a while petting, scratching and talking to each one. Fluttershy clearly and thoroughly enjoyed these animal friends, and they just as clearly adored her. This was Fluttershy in her natural habitat; it just didn't matter what year it was.

After the Sun rose above most of the trees, I led us to the Oat stand down in the valley. Fluttershy and I ate and drank some, as the girls ran off, and did some foraging of their own, and came back, contented, a while later. I guess it didn't bother Fluttershy, her girls had to eat too, and they probably didn't like Oats.

After everypony was done eating, Fluttershy called her girls, almost singing to them, and they all gathered around her.

"Shysage, my sister will come, just be patient. There is really no reason for us to be here otherwise" Fluttershy said thoughtfully.

We hugged some more, then Fluttershy led her four Black Panthers, each one substantially bigger than she was, off to their new home.

...

I walked slowly back to the barn, got out that flat piece of wood, and recorded the last day or so. I was hoping I would have enough paper for whatever else happened. Or maybe I hoped that I would remember what all my cryptic notes meant. Maybe both.

I headed out to the little hill on the slope, laid on my belly and waited. I agreed with Fluttershy that Summer had to come. And I really wanted this. I was pretty sure that Fluttershy was completely correct that there was really no point in the Portal just bringing she and I here.

All I could do was wait. So I talked to true friend some, and just waited.

Well, I still cried a lot. I really missed her... "Summer, please come back..."

Chapter 7, First Blush

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

...then everything disappeared...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This wasn't a dream though.

I cried some more...

I just wanted Shysage...

...

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

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

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

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

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

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

I cried some more.

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

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

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

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

I wasn't ready for this...

Still, I tried to calm down.

I tried to think...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The door soon opened...

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

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

...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...

While crying with these mares, I did some thinking.

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

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

I love Equestria.

The Phantom Alicorn was here.

Author's Note

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

Chapter 8, Nothing Left, Part 2

My day started the way it normally does -- just a small bowl of Cheerios (yes they still make that), and some non-fat milk. I know it sounds bland, and it really is, but I like the taste. They are made with Oats, and I've always liked Oats even though I'm not sure why.

I could eat something else for breakfast, that tastes better, I guess. From what my doctors keep telling me, if it tastes good, it is probably not very good for me. I'm still trying to lose weight...

Waking up alone hurts worse though. I stopped eating and cried a little while after this thought surfaced...

I really thought I had found the right man. I thought Dan took good care of me. He bought me nice clothes, and a nice house. It really felt like we were in love, even if I never felt I knew what was in his heart... Well, when I got cancer, I found out. As soon as the word inoperable was used, he was gone. He let me keep everything, until...

...But he took the only thing that really mattered, the only thing I had left. That was six months ago. It still hurts, a lot... Like I said, I cried for a while.

Well, when my crying hurt me inside, I mean physical pain, I had to stop. It was either that or take another pain pill, but... I try to avoid those. I have them, but I've heard too many stories about being addicted to them until you die. I guess I have precious little 'fight' left, but enough to want to try to live normally as long as I can... And noone really knows how long that will be.

I had to drop that line of thinking right away. It was way too dangerous.

I finished my soggy Oat breakfast, by myself...

...

I pressed a button on my wrist watch, and out popped the keyboard and display, my CV.

An alarm sounded almost immediately. Hair-dresser appointment at 9:30 a.m. Well, I didn't work any more, but my curls were sagging some, and that needed attention. I like my curls. There is not much else I like these days, so...

Touching a few buttons brought up the GOB schedule.

Ok, so GOB is short for GoBus, someone's idea of a good name for public transportation. Evidently some extremely bright person high up in the government determined that driving cars was ecologically incorrect. But it is common knowledge he still drives his car.

The rest of us got GoBus instead, and we were supposed to like that. Of course it got shortened to GOB. The bus kind of looks that way, anyway. I laughed at this. Me laughing is rare any more. But it hurt too. I stopped laughing.

I could have gotten angry, again, over some condescending bureaucrat, shaking his finger at the rest of us, like we were naughty children, and telling us his way was better, even though he had absolutely no intention of doing that himself. And studies quickly proved that a sea of GOB's running constantly, actually used far more gas... Oh, nevermind...

I used to get angry at all that, a lot. It just doesn't make any difference any more. Whatever. I'll bet Princess Celestia would never... Wait, what?

Oops, I noticed from the clock on my CV... I could have checked the weather, but I realized from the time, that I needed to hustle to make the next GOB at the stop down the road. I guess I had cried too long, or daydreamed. Sometimes daydreaming hurts less though. I pulled on a coat, grabbed my very heavy purse, and was on my way.

...

My doctors keep telling me to exercise. And I like walking. But if I walk too fast, it hurts. My answer? Whatever. I'm not going to lose sleep over that. I don't think I have much sleep left to lose.

I made it to the stop on time, and the GOB ride was quiet, at least. This isn't always the case. And it hasn't been freezing cold lately either; it's Spring.

Sitting through a bunch of stops, and twenty five minutes later, I got out at the salon. Of course, I could have driven a car here in less than ten minutes, and it would have actually been FUN. Again, whatever... I guess I think that a lot...

I have known Marge for years; she runs the salon. She sent me down to chair 4, and told me they were breaking a new hire in on me, because I was so patient, she said. I don't know, maybe that is true. I guess I have nothing to lose... except time... At least sitting felt better, or hurt less, or...

After talking with Marge a few minutes, the new girl, currently a faded red-head, walked quickly over. I have been coming here to this salon for a while, and watched the ladies that work here. It seems they change hair color monthly, so I don't know.

The new girl started our time together with pleasant conversation, and we just talked trivialities for a minute, and I mentioned I just needed my curls recurled. Like I said, I like my curly hair. It just takes work to keep it that way.

I told her to just ignore the lighter streak...

Before even starting in on my curls, the new girl stopped abruptly and looked at me curiously. Well, she froze, and really looked at me.

"Twilight..."

...

I don't often run into people I know any more. I didn't recognize the smiling lady who would redo my curls until I glanced at the business license at her station.

It was Fiona...

...

Like I said, crying hurt, but I slowly got up, and, trying to not cry, I hugged her. Well, our hug wasn't short. Filia, Fiona's twin sister, was my charge, but I deeply loved them both. But that was long ago. Very long ago...

I sat back down in the chair, and this blazing flash from the past started redoing the curls in my hair. I really wanted to take Fiona to coffee so we could talk. For now, I just slowly and carefully chose some questions.

I tried to sound cheerful. It was hard. "Fiona, it has been years. How are you doing?" I asked cautiously.

Fiona sighed, and answered after some thought "I... I wish I could say good, but... Life... happens... I guess..."

It was quiet for a minute, then she asked calmly as she worked on my curls "You?"

When I was entrusted with these two girls at the dawn of time (i.e. decades ago), I told them both I would never lie to them. I still held myself to that promise.

I sighed. "As good as can be expected with inoperable cancer..."

I had to fight to not cry, but Fiona quickly was crying. She said "Oh Twilight, that's terrible, I'm so sorry..." and she hugged me as I sat.

We both cried together a little while, then Fiona apologized.

"Fiona, thats ok, I really appreciate... Hey are you going to the reunion at the High School tonight? We could meet there and talk..." I offered.

Fiona sighed. "Probably, my sister and I have no life..." Fiona broke down and cried, and she couldn't continue. I got slowly up and hugged her and we cried together a little while more.

After we cried together for, well, quite a while, we both worked on calming down. Crying was hurting me, and Fiona was no doubt afraid of what Marge was thinking.

"Fiona, hug your sister for me. I loved you girls so much. Please meet me at the High School tonight" I said quietly.

"Ok, Twilight. This sounds fun. And we don't have much of that any more, so yes, we will come" Fiona said, still holding back tears.

Fiona did an excellent job on my curls, and I told Marge that. I also explained that Fiona was an old friend, and seeing her again after so many years was amazing for both of us. I paid, even left a nice tip, and was soon heading out the door of the salon.

...

Still, I had to have a discussion with myself after I left.

I had made the reservations for the High School reunion for both Dan and I. I made them right before Dan had filed for divorce. I had already swore to myself that I wasn't going tonight.

Besides, it would just be a huge waste of time... It was a High School Reunion... The first 10 years were about how good you looked. The next 10 years were about how great your family was. Since then, it was how much money you had, how big your yacht was, and so forth. It would soon be about if you were even alive.

"I failed at all of those" I thought to myself, and had to work to not cry. Still, I wondered where these words came from...

Leaving the salon, I headed towards the Pharmacy; that was my next stop, and I could easily walk there. I needed more pills. Well, my doctors said I did. What do I know.

Waiting for them to make my latest chemical stew, I thought seriously about going back and just arranging coffee with the girls, instead of trying to brave the reunion. I really wanted to visit with both Filia and Fiona...

I sighed... I should just go...

I paid the smiling young lady for this latest brew, threw it into my huge and heavy purse along with the rest, and headed out the door.

"We can just meet there and then leave" I thought to myself.

When I walked out the Pharmacy door...

It was raining very hard...

My hair was quickly soaked...

My curls were all gone...

A few months ago, I would have stopped on the spot and cried for a long time. What did I do this time?

"Whatever..."

I found a GOB stop and waited... in the rain... I guess, I just didn't care any more.

Of course, I was soaking wet when I got home. I took a nice warm shower, without worrying about my curls, because I could. Then I got into the clothes I would wear to the reunion, even though it was just lunch time.

Then I stood in front of the mirror, and combed out my painfully straight hair. The lighter streak was still there. It didn't matter if I liked it or not. That is how my hair would be tonight. "Just like the old Twilight" I said to myself. Still, I noted that it had been ages since...

The timer on the microwave beeped and pulled me quickly back to the present. My barely edible, low fat, low taste lunch was hot and ready to eat.

Of course, I sat in the exact same spot at the kitchen table while I ate. And it tasted just about as bland as warm, wet cardboard.

I heard the pitter-patter of rain against the window next to me. That was ok. It was almost calming, I don't know.

...

I have had this happen before. I will get an idea, and all sorts of red lights will flash, but I will keep going...

I had been fighting for months, but I gave in. I pushed the button on my wrist watch, and pulled up the display and keyboard. I checked in on Dan's Facebook page. Of course, I was immediately sorry I did... Married... Already...

I took that wrist watch off, and threw it across the room. I wanted to be mad, but I knew that would accomplish nothing. I also wanted to cry buckets, but that would hurt... a lot...

I just sat there, and tried to calm down. Then I realized. I had nothing left. I could only calmly await my death.

My mom was so messed up... She left me with no legacy here. And everyone has always seemed to be screaming something different. I had no hope beyond the time when cancer would grow so much that my body could no longer function.

All I could do was sit here calmly and wait for that. I had nothing else left.

"Well, visiting with Filia and Fiona will be nice" I said quietly to myself, hoping that what I was saying was true. Well, I knew it would be... Times I had spent with Filia and her sister were amazing... That was just so long ago... My mind slowly started drifting off to these two amazing Red-head twins...

I noticed the mail truck out of the corner of my eye. It had stopped raining. Getting the mail seemed to be one of the few daily traditions I had going. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this. Either would hurt.

Mostly bills, of course, and a bunch of useless advertisements. I realized long ago that I should sort my mail next to the recycle bin. I ended up crying again. I realized this would soon be Dan's problem. I didn't want...

I was soon sitting back at the kitchen table. I had stopped crying, and was trying to relax. After staring off into space a few minutes, I was just looking around the kitchen. So many memorable times had hap--

I did start crying again. Jim's picture was still on the wall. He was our only son. He was amazing, gifted and caring. He went out with his friends one night... Jim didn't drink, but his friends were drinking. Jim alone, never came back that night.

That was over ten years ago. I still wanted to cry buckets. And now after Dan left...

"This is just so unfair... My body hurts... My heart hurts...

What did I do to deserve this?"

I shouted all this...

Dumb question...

Whatever...

I moved to the recliner, and tried to relax. I did nap for a while too, and actually made it back up in time. I started an oh, so nutritious, but utterly bland tasting low fat microwave dinner, then headed into the bathroom to check my hair.

Still flat. Still dark Purple with a lighter streak.

There was nothing I could do about that.

I sat in the exact same spot at the kitchen table, and force-fed myself some nutrition. I wanted to throw it across the room too. But I guess my body needed it. A cardboard box would have been cheaper than what I paid for this, though. That's right... Soon, that wouldn't matter...

It was getting dark now, but that was ok. The High School was close enough that I could walk. I didn't need to suffer through a GOB ride tonight. And if anyone attacked me, my heavy purse could do a lot of damage. Still, I thought to myself that I hadn't made it very far away from my High School...

When I thought I should, I headed out the door. I had checked first, the rain had stopped, and the clouds had mostly cleared. The air was a little humid, but warm enough that I didn't really need a coat. But I did slip the strap of my boat anchor purse that rattled like pills over my shoulder. There was nothing I could do about that, either.

I walked slowly. I was very scared how tonight would turn out. I really didn't even want to go. But I had said... And seeing Filia again, I really did want that...

My walk took me past the now very old aluminum bleachers out next to the Soccer field. How they were still standing was beyond me. But the Soccer field was gone, replaced by a batting practice gizmo and some pen looking things. I don't care for sports, so could not make heads or tails.

Still, I stopped in front of the bleachers... And began to remember... The bleacher girls... So many amaz--

Right on cue, the band fired up, and was quickly blaring loudly out the open, double wide doors of the main Gym.

I didn't even bother going around the front of the School, I just walked into the Gym through those open doors. The band was really loud. "Maybe they think we all have hearing aids" I said sarcastically to myself.

...

My plan was to find the registration table, give them my ticket, and get my name-tag, so everyone would be able to not care who I was. Then I would find Filia and Fiona, and we would leave. I didn't want to be in here for very long.

I had walked maybe half way across the Gym; everyone was just standing around talking this early in the evening.

I ended up face to face with...

Dan... and his new wife...

He started to introduce...

I didn't even let him finish...

I burst into tears (which hurt), and was quickly crying loudly... I hastily ran out the same doors I had just come in through. I think I may have bumped into a few people on the way out; I was crying hard and couldn't see well.

I ran quickly out the double wide doors from the already stale air of the Gym to the calm evening air of what used to be the Soccer field outside...

I cried by myself for a while. "This is just so unfair..." I thought to myself more than once. Well, crying was hurting, so I worked on calming down.

After a little while, I was looking up at the night sky, billions of stars twinkling brightly.

I thought that they never changed...

...since a similar night...

...that seemed so long ago...

...in a totally different world...

...watching the same stars, it seemed...

...Equestria...

I had not swam into these memories very long when another woman ran out the same doors, sobbing violently...

How could I ever forget that voice, even sobbing... It was Fluttershy... ...Her face was buried in her hands as she sobbed...

Fluttershy didn't even know that I was maybe 20 feet further out in the grass.

But I remembered her... I walked slowly over to my old friend, well maybe not slowly, then I gathered her into my arms, and I just held her. Fluttershy didn't even look up, and just sobbed louder...

Of course, I was soon crying again too... It hurt, but... whatever...

After maybe 5 minutes, Fluttershy's crying, our crying, slowed then stopped.

Fluttershy only then looked up at me, to see who was comforting her.

"Hi, Twilight... I really missed you" she said softly, and was soon weeping again.

I just held her close, weeping as well. It hurt, but honestly, I just didn't care any more.

First Fiona, now Fluttershy... Broken remnants of a time so long ago... when I really loved... when I could really give... Oh how I missed that...

And now I had... nothing... And my time was running out...

Fluttershy and I both soon calmed down, and just took what solace we could, from finding such amazing friends, after ages...

Well, I know this is just uncanny, but I somehow knew we weren't alone, and I looked slowly up.

Pinkie Pie was standing quietly to the side of both of us, and I only saw her as I lifted my head and looked around.

As Pinkie brushed her straight hair out of her eyes, it was clear that she had been crying a lot too, already. And the reunion had not been going more than 15 minutes...

Fluttershy and I both just pulled Pinkie into our hug. We were all soon weeping softly together.

"Girls, I really missed you..." I said softly. I was trying to not cry buckets, because that would hurt a lot. But I really wanted to...

Well, I made an accurate guess that almost 40 years of life had shattered the three of us. We just held each other tightly for a little while. For me at least, everything hurt a little less. Maybe a lot less.

Pinkie started crying again after a few minutes. She was crying pretty hard, and I was concerned at first. I had unofficially 'led' these amazing girls in the dim and distant past, and I think that was coming out again.

But, I guess, for the first time in many years, her Pinkie Sense was active, and Pinkie had dearly missed this part of herself, and was really crying for joy at it's return.

"Twilight" Pinkie said through tears, "The others are here too..."

I jumped in right away, and said without even thinking "Yeah, Filia and Fiona are supp--"

...

One single thought surfaced in my head with the force of a thunderbolt...

I stopped dead in my tracks and couldn't continue. I quickly burst into tears and sobbed heavily. And it hurt like mad, but I couldn't stop, not for a while...

As soon as I barely could, I said the thought that had interrupted... everything... I could barely talk... Sobbing heavily, I croaked out...

"Girls... Summer's Dream..."

Fluttershy immediately put her hand over her mouth and said "Oh, my goodness..."

Pinkie Pie thought briefly, then shouted "Yippeeee!", then said "Ouch, that hurt" Nopony needed to tell me what that meant.

...

It didn't matter.

Nothing else mattered.

"But after you feel you are done in your world, we will be glad to welcome you home..." Decades ago, Princess Twilight said these exact words to us Equestria Girls...

It was time...

If the Portal was still there...

We were going HOME...

Author's Note

I want to be sensitive to any of my readers who find themselves in a situation similar to Twilight's. I am convinced there are compelling, even amazing real answers, but philosophy, and especially theology seem unwelcomed here...

Chapter 9, Finding Family

As it got dark and cold, Camille fed us all some very nice Oat Pies for dinner. Of course, this made me wince. My Twin, Equestria Girls Summer Rain was called Corn, when she first came to Equestria, and she was very good at making these Oat Pies. She had probably taught Dawn the elder her secrets.

This much didn't make me wince. But in my dream, I found out that my Twin had died in the Equestria Girls world years earlier. I... I simply could not deal with that right now. I needed Shysage near to be able to handle that. At least, I hoped he was here. Finding that out was tomorrow's task, maybe... I hoped...

After dinner, the four of us were back on our bellies next to each other near the fire. It was a pretty cold evening.

There wasn't much reminiscing. I suspected that the harsh reality of the last few decades here had erased most of that.

Well, I also quickly realized I had to skirt a question about where we had been all these years. I softly said "I don't know", and that was the truth. Still, this prospect scared me.

I asked my friends what they knew about the present state of Equestria though, and we talked some about that.

Dawn the elder remembered Equestria falling apart for some reason. Law and order in the kingdom suddenly evaporated, and chaos took over. A few years later, the big Black Bear, Eschate Zumulus, and his daughter Phantasma came into Equestria and took over the kingdom. Evidently, there wasn't even a fight.

But that just made me mad. I didn't say anything, but Princess Twilight had summoned him forth, and she and her girls had killed him years ago. That an evil being could come back again, that seemed so unfair.

I just sighed. At least I had some idea how to deal with him.

Camille also quickly surfaced the fear of saying good words. This just reminded me that I didn't like this monster.

I hadn't thought on this long when I realized that, from my dream, Cel and Lu were somehow grafted into Phantasma. I was suddenly very scared for our girls.

Like I said, this was no dream. But it seemed like aspects of that dream were now reality. I don't know... There was still a lot that I didn't know. A lot I wouldn't know until I found out.

Well, I think we all had enough of that by this point. We hugged tightly and cried softly together for a little while, and were soon asleep.

I think we all slept in the next day. I was exhausted, but I think my three friends were very relieved that I was here, and I think they slept better as a result. I guess I couldn't blame them. And I honestly think our amazing neighbor (Dawn the elder) had actually fought to stay alive until I came. That meant a lot to me.

Camille got the fire going, then we had yummie Oat Pies again, maybe mid-morning.

Still, I mentioned that I needed to leave and see what I could find out. I promised that I would be back at some point.

We all hugged together for a little while.

I asked Camille if she had a coat I could wear. Dawn the elder said hers was still in the closet, and she was happy for me to use it. And one of her little card things fell out as I got it on. I don't know...

On the way to the door to leave, I noticed two things that I felt I should have.

First, there was a thick book on a small table near the door. By the color, the binding, I recognized it right away. It was one of Princess Celestia's commentaries about the Magic of Friendship in Princess Twilight and her girl's lives. According to the text on the spine, it was volume 3.

I asked Camille if I could have it. Camille said quietly "Yes, but we would like it back at some point."

Camille used her magic to help me get the book into one of the big pockets of the coat.

...

And hanging on a small stick poked in the wood frame around the door, maybe half way between the floor and the top, I found something painfully familiar. It was a shield necklace.

TF
MPOF

True friendship means putting others first

I knew what the other side said, too.

"Camille, can I borrow this?" I asked quietly.

Dawn the elder burst into tears...

Camille helped me take the pony coat back off, and I laid on my belly next to my old friend. We cried together a little while.

Dawn soon calmed down, and explained, still crying softly.

"Summer, that belongs to you...

"We found it in your house after the roof caved in...

"We were hoping you would come back, but still..."

Dawn cried a little more, but it was clear she wasn't done.

"Summer, we tried to live by that every day, for decades. That is why we put it right next to the door. We saw it a lot. We tried to live that way..." Dawn was done talking, and just cried. I cried with her.

As Equestria tore itself up, then was taken over by this terrible monster... Three generations, these three brave mares in this room... through scars and wounds... had sought to live out True Friendship. They tried every day to put others first.

I knew Shysage and I had been through a lot together, but would we still treasure true friendship after decades? And I could slap monsters around, I guess. Still, I know that Equestria usually set everything up for me, and I needed that.

But this simple, quiet... It was far more impressive... Living out that simple committment, day after day... for decades... tucked away in some forgotten corner of an abandoned kingdom...

I was overwhelmed... I was so amazed, so deeply humbled... Dawn and I cried together for a while, and I cried pretty hard. And I said a few times while crying "Dawn, you and your girls are so amazing..." I really meant that.

And I realized that it was so fitting... These amazing mares were waiting for this... The resurrection of Equestria was starting here. I felt so honored to be a part of that. I was so honored to be a part of what they chose to stand for, and I told true friend that a bunch...

...

After I managed to calm down, I just hugged Dawn for a minute maybe. Then I said quietly "Thank you, Dawn. Out of everything Shysage and I own... This is our treasure." We cried together for a little while more.

Well, Dawn's cryptic comment about us not coming back did scare me. But I was from the Past, and I really didn't know what Shysage and my future held. It was just a little scary.

After we calmed down again, I hugged Dawn the elder tightly, then got up, and Camille helped me get my Shield Necklace on, then the coat.

I was soon out the door.

It was close to noon, but still pretty cold. It was not near as cold as yesterday, but still. The Sun heated Dawn's Black coat nicely, when I was in the Sun anyway. But I couldn't fly; it was still too cold for that.

I walked past Rarity's boutique and the Cake's Shop, and saw no sign of anypony. I didn't even bother checking Fluttershy's Cottage again, and I headed for Princess' Castle instead.

I walked slowly towards it, and immediately saw the shield around the Castle. I pushed on it, and quickly found out I could go no further. But the Castle looked fine.

I sighed.

I walked slowly out to Sweet Apple Acres.

...

I was very scared. This more than anything else would tell me how close my dream came to reality.

Well, my dream aside, in reality I needed my Shysage. I knew that. I didn't think I could do much alone; I felt I was already slipping. I asked true friend to help me find my family quite a few times as I walked. Honestly, I didn't know whether to run forward or walk slowly away crying. I just didn't know what I'd find. But I thought I would find out soon...

I walked up the hill to the barn, and didn't even bother to look inside. I walked quickly through the gate, and headed down the path to the slight hill. This WAS the spot Rainbow had taught Equestria Girls Shyna how to fly. Well, this was also the spot I had found Shysage in my dream.

The path was pretty rutted, and I thought it looked freshly used.

Still, when I crested the bluff, and saw the small hill below me...

There was nopony there...

I sat down right there, and looked at the small hill in disbelief...

I shouted "NO!"...

After that I think I quickly lost it, and felt like my worst fears were confirmed. I started crying, and was soon sobbing. I just sat there, crying loudly.

I did not like the prospect of trying to face this mess alone. I would if I had to but... And I had absolutely no idea how to even try to find Shysage. Even if he was here in this same time, he could be anywhere in Equestria. I was pretty sure I was crying harder each passing minute.

...

The next thing I felt... Shysage's leg around my neck, as he pulled me close. As long as I have been around him, I just knew it was him...

I was already crying, but I just melted... Crying, melted, it felt amazing...

Shysage said "Oh, Summer..." and burst into tears himself.

We cried together like that for a while...

...

Maybe an hour later, Shysage said we needed to head to the barn. Well, I didn't know why, but honestly, I would follow him anywhere now. Being back next to him...

And I have no idea how we both made it back to the barn, but once there, we collapsed on the hay right next to each other, and burst into tears again, at the same time. My Shysage hugged me tightly as we cried together, really sobbing, my head right next to his...

Shysage was hurting a lot, and he cried a long time. I was a mess too, and cried with him. You wouldn't think I had been away from him for only a day maybe... We cried, sobbed together for a few hours. I love him. I really needed him. He really needed me too...

Late afternoon, Shysage suggested we eat some before the Sun went down, and it got cold. We tried to calm down. Well, again, I would follow him anywhere at this point. We were soon in the valley eating Oats together. Of course, I never left his side.

He mentioned in passing that he had been here for six months, and he stopped and cried after saying that, and I hugged him tightly, and wept softly.

Well, I also remembered something else about the dream, hugging Shysage like that, right there.

I sat down right where I was, and started yelling Fluttershy's name, very loud. It wasn't real loud, because I can't yell very loud. But I did the best I could. I was quickly crying. I wanted my sister, too. While Shysage sat next to me, I just kept calling Sis...

After maybe ten minutes, Shysage saw Fluttershy far off across the fields, pointed her out, and I stopped calling her. Shysage told me her cats would not hurt us. I didn't care, I just wanted Fluttershy. It seemed like it took forever for her to get to us... I was quickly hugging my sister and crying on her shoulder.

I needed Fluttershy. I needed Shysage.

Equestria needed my help, but I needed my family.

The three of us cried together for quite a while there in the valley. Fluttershy's cats just sat around us; they were protecting us. They were pretty big!

Still, with the last light of evening left, Shysage led us back up into the barn.

Once we were in the barn, my amazing sister took some time hugging each of her girls (thats what she called her cats!); she talked so lovingly to them. She is so amazing with animals.

Then she, Shysage and I cried together for a while more. Fluttershy's cats crowded around us, and helped us stay warm. This was good, it was a pretty cold night.

Still, with Fluttershy on one side, and Shysage on the other, I thought maybe we could accomplish whatever it was that Equestria needed us to do.

Still, It seemed it would take a miracle...

Chapter 11, Going Home

I can't explain it, but an amazing and soothing tune slowly rose in my mind right then(1)...

...Because remembering Summer's Dream changed EVERYTHING...

It wasn't necessarily the information in Summer's Dream...

This was all happening. It was no dream. It was ALL REAL...

...And our decades of past anguish and wreckage might just be swept away as our dim and distant past -- Equestria -- roared loudly and hugely back to life right before our very eyes...

...

It was now hard to NOT cry, and I didn't care if it hurt. I was pretty sure the Portal would change that, fix that, for all of us. Well, if the Portal still worked, that is.

And I still don't know how on Earth Summer had a dream that so vividly captured so much of these last 20 minutes. Maybe it was because she was the Phantom Alicorn. She told me more than once that she felt Equestria owned her. And I don't know... If she had a dream, we just couldn't ignore that...

But here at the bitter end of our shattered lives... It was like waking up out of the longest, most painful slumber... Never in our wildest dreams... And it absolutely was NOT a dream this time...

...

EQUESTRIA !!!

...

I had to remind myself. Equestria if the Portal let us...

...

I reached out a hand to both Fluttershy and Pinkie. The three of us were quickly holding on to each other tightly...

Together, we headed back into the uncaring maelstrom. We pretty much ignored everyone else. We were after a few very specific, very precious people. The rest of the people around us could have whatever destiny they felt awaited them. Even Dan, whatever.

We found Rarity, Filia and Fiona, crying together on the edge of the dance floor. Mostly oblivious to the dancing going on around us, we walked slowly across the dance floor, approaching three more amazing friends. We ended up group hugging right there, together, and crying loudly.

The band actually stopped and waited, our group took up a fourth of the dance floor. Outbursts like this were not unheard of at reunions I had been to. Well, this group was so totally different...

And seeing Filia again... I couldn't not cry for sure... We cried together, hugging tightly for a few minutes. Well, we all did.

I didn't get a chance to say anything, Rarity beat me to it.

"Oh, dear, Twilight, Summer's Dream!"

We all wept loudly together after that for a few more minutes. I was pretty sure most of us knew what that meant.

I tried to calm down. "Girls, if the Portal lets us, we are going home. Let's go find the others" I said quietly.

Well, nopony was ready to stop crying just yet, so we cried together some more, and didn't move... Maybe we couldn't move...

And Rainbow Dash found us. Well, we found each other.

Us six girls were sobbing loudly on the dance floor, which was near the center of the gym. The band had stopped. Everyone in the gym could hear us.

I guess it didn't take long for Rainbow to recognize spectres from the distant past. She got up with a start (Pinkie was watching by now), and knocked a full plastic cup of beer to the floor. Rainbow walked slowly towards familiar voices, as if in a trance, and was soon crying loudly herself, as she walked up to us. We just pulled her in. We all cried together for a while more.

Rainbow figured this out all by herself, though. She stopped crying most of the way, and said "Can we just go home now?"

"Well, we need Applejack" I said quietly through tears. Rainbow burst into tears again, herself. She and Applejack were pretty close. Well, we all were, I guess. Still, sooner than anyone expected, Rainbow said quietly "Lobby, check."

We were all holding hands, as I led us back through the crowds. Once we were off the dance floor, the band, the dancing started back up again. Whatever.

The walk to the lobby was quick, well, after I remembered the way anyway. I got turned around, and we had to back-track. But we didn't see Applejack at all in the gym. She was in the lobby.

We found Applejack sitting with her back up against one of the large glass doors that opened inward. This was the front of the School, and students usually came in and went out through these doors.

And even though it was dark, I could see the Portal wall off in the grass, down the steps outside. I almost burst into tears right then...

Applejack was sitting, and had pulled her knees up to herself, buried her head, and was crying quietly. Her hat was on the floor next to her.

Pinkie didn't wait for any of us to say or do anything. "Come on, Applejack, we're going home!"

Pinkie's hair was wildly curly. Pinkie was smiling.

Applejack wiped tears away, looked up at the rest of us, stared a minute, then asked quietly "Is this a dream?"

Rainbow answered immediately "C'mon Applejack, let's hug some, then let's go home."

That's what we did. Well, we all cried some more too.

We didn't cry long there in the lobby, the Portal was far too close, and we needed to find out if it even worked still.

We would never leave each other again I don't think, but if the Portal worked...

We all went quickly outside, down the steps, across the grass.

...

I put my hand six inches into the dull, now fluid Portal surface and saw...

...my hoof...

EVERYPONY burst into tears right away...

Our lives were about to start over, and in the most amazing place we could ever imagine. Never, ever in our wildest dreams...

And this was NO DREAM...

...

EQUESTRIA !!!

...

"Rarity, we need some coats. Can you work that out?" I asked quietly.

"Twilight, of course. Applejack, Rainbow, come with me, please. We will be back in a little while" Rarity answered quietly.

As they headed off, I sighed though. This part would be hard.

"Filia, Fiona, have either of you had any recent contact with Shyna?"

Fluttershy started crying softly. I remembered too late that Shyna was Fluttershy's adopted sister, and I should have asked Fluttershy.

Filia said quietly "We lost track of her decades ago..."

Fluttershy just nodded her head.

Still, this part was even worse.

"Fluttershy, your other sister..." Fluttershy burst into tears, and we all hugged her as she cried. Equestria Girls Summer Rain... In Summer's Dream, she had died earlier. I guess that part was real too. Losing a Twin is terrible. That would be hard for the Phantom Alicorn...

But I admitted that I actually didn't know if Summer or the rest would even be in Equestria. This... Tonight... This was no dream... We would have to just wait and see.

Well, I could have asked about the Principal sisters too (Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna). But I realized they were older than us, and had probably already died. That was just sad.

Waiting for the others, we just stood and hugged there a while.

I was quickly sobbing buckets. I was terminally ill, and suspected Pinkie was too, and maybe others...

And never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to start over, and in Equestria, no less. I guess this dawning realization just overwhelmed me right then. In a little while, we would be...

I stopped and looked up at the stars. Millions twinkling brightly. I smiled. What did I do to deserve this... to deserve to again find such amazing friends... to deserve to start so amazingly over... to deserve... Equestria...

Still, I had to stop myelf again. According to Summer's Dream, the Equestria that we were returning to, would be in very bad shape. I honestly didn't know what awaited us on the other side of the Portal...

Well, it didn't matter. I would be surrounded amazingly by the only true friends I ever knew. We would stay together, and do what we could.

Three precious ponies and 8 thick, Black coats soon came back. Rarity said she remembered it was Winter when we came back in Summer's Dream, so she added extra insulation. I was sure we would all appreciate that. We put our coats on right away.

I had to address everypony, quietly.

"Girls, I have absolutely no reason to ever come back to this awful place. I am leaving everything behind. I am not leaving this place, the Portal, until I am through. But I can't make you do the same thing, and if anypony wants a more secure spot to stash their stuff..."

There was a 50 gallon drum for garbage half way up the stairs, off to the side, and right then, Rainbow did a hook shot, and her purse went in first time. The rest of us walked over, and left our junk in there too. A bunch of huge purses, hundreds of pills, our C/V's (well mine was still on the floor in the kitchen), and I don't know what else, but it didn't matter. We no longer needed any of this. The Equestria Girls world wasn't our home anymore; we were going home.

We were soon group hugging back in front of the Portal, weeping softly. I had to voice how I felt. "Girls, never in my wildest dreams did I EVER guess that the events of this last hour would come to pass. I feel so honored to start over with you amazing ladies."

We just cried more. Rainbow interrupted though. "Twilight, can we just go?"

Rainbow went through first, and the rest of us followed, maybe 30 seconds apart. Filia and Fiona went ahead of me, and I went through last. I didn't even look back. I never wanted to come back. I had nothing left here.

I was going home...

Author's Note

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

Chapter 12, a good man

Well, to be honest, our time with Princess Twilight, while difficult, didn't turn up tragedy. The transformation that I saw in my Princess through maybe 48 hours, was surely difficult for me, and for Fluttershy too, and we were crying together outside. And I think the word tragedy worked for whatever had splintered Princess and her girls apart.

But Princess Twilight was still alive. I thought there was still time, and more importantly, hope. I was pretty sure we would need Princess Twilight to help us do what we needed to do. I think that I just knew that.

Shysage hugged Fluttershy and I as we cried together for a few minutes in the clearing outside the hut.

"Let's head back to the barn" Shysage said quietly, and we were all quickly on our way.

While walking, the three of us talked.

Shysage wanted to go to the barn and get his shoulder sack and his Canterlot Recorder stuff. He sounded pretty adamant about writing this all down, and that's our job anyway.

And we decided to spend the night at Dawns.

Fluttershy said she would see if she could leave her cats at her tree as they passed. Sis explained that she had not tried this before, so she couldn't promise anything. But we all agreed that, if these four animal friends needed to come, we would make that work.

The next morning, we would need to start working on finding the rest of Princess Twilight's girls. Well, the Equestria Ponies.

Short of going through the Portal and finding Twilight Sparkle, who could be anywhere there, we just didn't have much hope of rounding up the Equestria Girls. We still didn't know how far in the future we were, but we doubted the Equestria Girls would even remember, if they were even alive.

But we had to start looking for four other specific ponies, at least. And since, in my dream, we found both Pinkie Pie and Applejack in Dodge City, Shysage suggested we head there tomorrow and see if we could find anypony. Noting how empty Ponyville was, Shysage said he still feared finding all the girls would take a while. We just didn't know. And each of them could really be anywhere in Equestria.

By then, we were at Fluttershy's home in a tree.

Fluttershy had us leave her there, and she said she would meet us in maybe an hour, at the barn or at Dawns. Fluttershy, right away, began fussing over her new animal friends.

Shysage and I headed down the path.

...

This next part was just wierd...

We had walked maybe ten minutes down the path, and were stopped abruptly by the sight of a much larger pony... Pure White everything, clearly an Alicorn.

We walked slowly towards him, and he watched us intently, and only addressed us as we were close. He spoke slowly, and it was clear he felt deeply about what he said. Still, he didn't say much.

"I am Orbsah Tnouc...

"I want to thank you both for coming...

"Please rescue Equestria... Please rescue Equestria's Princesses... Please rescue my little ponies now scattered all over the countryside..."

As he spoke, Shysage and I bowed our heads some. We had no idea who we were now facing, but I think we both felt this was the right thing to do...

"Sir, I think that is why we are here" Shysage offered this quietly.

"I know, please bow..."

Shysage and I bowed the rest of the way, and closed our eyes. We didn't feel threatened at all.

It was quiet for a minute, except that we felt his Unicorn horn touch our heads briefly. My Cutie Mark warmed some as he did that, and Shysage said later that his did too.

Before we even had a chance to look up, we heard a loud sound. Shysage said it sounded like an explosion combined with an orchestra, but that description didn't mean anything to me.

We looked up after the sound died away, and he was gone.

Shysage sat down, and I did too. For a few minutes, we just sat there, listening... wondering...

"Shysage, who was that?" I asked.

Shysage shook his head. "Aside from somepony important, I have no clue..."

It was quiet for a few more minutes.

"Shysage, should we record that?" I asked quietly.

Shysage smiled. "We are Canterlot Recorders. We record everything."

Well, I doubted either of us would ever forget those three minutes. Like I said, it was just weird.

...

We walked the rest of the way to the edge of the Everfree Forest in silence.

We jumped a low fence, then started across the overgrown orchards.

I love my Stallion... We had not walked far across the fields, and Shysage changed into a people. I did too, and we walked the rest of the way to the barn, as people, slowly, hugging tightly. Well, maybe we both wept softly at times.

Equestria Girls stylish clothes and White sweatshirts, we weren't cold at all.

Little was said. We weren't even in a hurry. I think we both needed this time together and alone.

I don't need much, but I need him.

We didn't make it to the barn, and headed for the lake and the Oats instead. We changed back into ponies once we got there. It was maybe mid-afternoon, and we found a nice patch of Sun right away. We laid on our bellies in the Sun and just hugged for a little while...

"Shysage, why did I have my dream?" I asked quietly.

Shysage thought for a few minutes, then answered. "I don't know. I think it was right for us to take it as a warning at the time. But since we are here, now, living this all out, it would seem that the warning may have gone unheeded."

It was quiet for a minute, then Shysage added this. "Holding on to something that is amazing... This has proved difficult all down through history, so I don't know."

The historian in my Stallion never ceases to amaze me.

I looked deeply into Shysage's eyes, and quietly said this. "Dawn said we left, and never came back, until now... And we came here from years, decades ago... That really scares me."

Shysage hugged me tightly. I am sure he knew how I felt. I also knew he understood my real question, without me even having to ask.

"Summer, like I said in your dream... It is true friendship, putting each other first, that is the core of our relationship, and I'm convinced true friend is the only thing that can make our true friendship last. As long as we hold on to that..."

Shysage hugged me tightly again. I knew he was right. Our devotion was based on giving, and as long as we stayed connected to the giver of all giving, Shysage and I would stay so hopelessly in love. I sighed. I wanted that. I needed that. I think we both did.

But sitting here in this shattered future... It helped me feel just how tenuous everything in life really is. Equestria was truly GREAT, and had been for centuries, but something happened, and ALL that was lost...

This just made me cry... Shysage hugged me tightly for a few minutes.

"Shysage, do you think Equestria can come back to life?" I asked.

Shysage sighed deeply, then answered. "If Cel and Lu are still alive, I think Equestria can be rebuilt." He said nothing more.

In our Present, a lot of ponies seemed to resent our role in their two Princess' lives. That just didn't matter. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were Equestria. These two Princesses were Equestria's appointed ones. That was Shysage's point.

...

Fluttershy soon came walking quickly across the fields to us, followed by four bounding, maybe frolicing Panthers. Big Black cats, they were running and jumping, all at the same time. Well, they looked happy. And seeing them jump like that; Fluttershy really was dwarfed by her four huge girlfriends.

Ok, so our extended family would come too.

When Fluttershy got to us, she was about to fall apart; I could tell she was near tears. Shysage quickly hugged her and said quietly "Hey, hey, Sis, it's ok. We will make this work."

What came out next, was so Fluttershy... "I... I just couldn't leave them there, all alone, like that..."

I love my sister...

She soon calmed down.

But Fluttershy surprised me. She walked up close to me and told me quietly "Sis, I'm taking the girls up to the barn for a while, so, you and Shysage..." I don't think my Sis knew quite how to finish the sentence, but she wanted to give Shysage and I some time together.

I hugged Sis tightly and said softly "We won't be long, and thank you."

Fluttershy sang to her cats, and they headed up the hill together.

It wasn't warm, but it wasn't cold either. Shysage and I were both ponies still.

We took our coats off, and wandered to the far side of the lake. Shysage took care of his Mare. It was wonderful. I love him so much... And the lake was freezing; we couldn't splash each other (laughing) for very long. We soon had our coats back on, and were on our bellies next to each other in the dry grass, trying to warm back up in a nice patch of sunlight in the valley.

As messed up as Equestria was right now... The fact that my Stallion could still give to me like that... Like I said, I don't need much, but I need him.

I felt bad though, there was nothing in this for him, not this time, anyway. I guess I have gotten used to him sacrificing for me like that.

"A good man is strong enough to put his woman first" I remember one of the bleacher girls saying that. How in the world I had found a Stallion like that... And even here, in this skeleton future... Right now, I felt so amazingly cherished...

But that bleacher girl's comment didn't leave, and I remembered more... When she said that, she was crying loudly on my Twin's shoulder. She had just found out that she was pregnant from date rape, from a guy she knew she would never see again. He took what he wanted and ran...

"This is so wrong... A good man is strong enough to put his woman first... Why can't they see that... Why doesn't anybody even care about that any more?" She said this over and over again, as she cried out in her pain. Fortunately, she was surrounded both by other bleacher girls and ponies from a different land; she was among loving, true friends, who hugged her tightly and cried with her, and no doubt helped her for months, maybe years to come...

But I felt her pain. And I realized that whole mess had probably gotten far worse by now... And remembering Camille's dashed hopes, I guess it was worse here too...

I had been deep in thought for a few minutes.

"Shysage, please don't ever leave me..." I got this out, then cried.

Shysage hugged me tightly, and answered immediately. "Summer, I can't... I can't even live away from you... I... I just can't..." Shysage cried after this.

We cried together, hugging each other tightly for a little while.

When we calmed down, we decided we had made Fluttershy wait long enough, and we headed back up the hill to the barn.

Once there, we found Fluttershy and her cats in the Sun outside. Shysage headed inside to collect his shoulder sack and Canterlot Recorder stuff. One of Fluttershy's girls (a huge Black Panther) followed him inside, and watched him. I heard her purr later, so I guess she got some attention from my Stallion.

While Shysage was in the barn, I asked Sis quietly, and I know I had this quizzical look on my face. "Sis, can you tell when I need that?" We both understood I meant time at the lake with Shysage.

Fluttershy blushed, and that was answer enough. She is my sister, and she can feel what most can't even see. Sis knew me better than anypony else in Equestria.

Fluttershy spoke softly though. "Watching you both has helped me realize what I really want, and that's a good thing."

I thought for a minute, then said quietly "Desert Spring?"

Fluttershy blushed again. I guess we both remembered that part of my dream. "Well, that remains to be seen. It was only a dream, but I guess I am hoping."

I hugged my sister tightly. "Sis, you won't be able to bring him back with you..."

This made Fluttershy cry... "I know..." she said quietly. Maybe a minute later, she tried to calm down. "We will need to see how all that works out, I guess. But, either way, I'm in no hurry..."

Shysage had come out of the barn, with one of Fluttershy's cats in tow. Shysage sat down, and the cat did too. It was cute. Well, if you want to call it that; the cat was much bigger than Shysage.

Before we headed off to Dawn's, Fluttershy stopped us. "I think you both need to officially meet my girls."

Fluttershy sat them all down, in a row, then had us each pet them as she told us their names (Alyssa, Filicia, Dawn and Rose). Shysage and I both did this, it was fun. Well, Alyssa was the cat that had followed Shysage into the barn. She slopped her big tongue all the way across Shysage's pony face; she got a hug for that. Well, Rose smiled at me and I hugged her, I don't know. Fluttershy's girls all purred loudly the whole time.

Then we all headed off to Dawns. Fluttershy said we should probably do that at Dawn's too, maybe. And Shysage added that doing this was very wise. Fluttershy's girls were powerful animals and could do a lot of damage should they become angry. Getting to know our scent as friends was a good idea.

Of course Fluttershy protested "Oh, no, my girls would never do anything like that..."

Still, walking the path from Sweet Apple Acres to Ponyville was almost surreal. It looked the same, like it always had. And we could still see the spire of Princess' Castle off in the distance. But once Ponyville came into view, the dream was shattered. Ponyville was shattered...

Shysage, Fluttershy and I were quickly hugging and crying with Camille and Dawn the younger. And it again occurred to me that Camille, especially, probably didn't think she would ever see us again.

Still, I left them crying out front, and I went in and hugged Dawn the elder, and we were quickly crying together again. Still, we both calmed down after a few minutes.

"You found your Shysage, didn't you?" Dawn asked with a smile.

I'm not quite sure how she could tell. Still, our neighbor Dawn knew Shysage and I fairly well.

"Yes, and my sister too" I replied quietly. I had to work hard to not start crying again. I needed both nearby, and was so glad I found them.

While I sat next to Dawn the elder, Fluttershy introduced each of her girls to Camille and her daughter. Camille's daughter was still pretty young, and clearly afraid. But the cats purred the whole time, and all went well.

After that, Fluttershy told her girls to go find some food, then come back. She told them pretty sternly to not eat anything big, like ponies. Then they ran off.

The Sun was going down, and it was getting cold. After an hour maybe, Fluttershy's girls came back and laid down near the door. Fluttershy went out and fussed over them a little while, then came back in. She said they would be fine outside tonight.

Camille fed us all some more yummy Oat Pies, and we talked quietly the rest of the evening. In order to avoid awkward questions, Shysage mentioned that we had actually come here from a different time, and so we had to be very careful what we said. This worked well, but was mainly for our protection, I think.

And we all agreed to avoid, well, good words, for now anyway.

But the stout anchor that had been added to the wall inside Dawn's shop when Shysage lost his memory... I just cried a little while when I saw it...

Well, Shysage also took maybe an hour trying to get caught up on Canterlot Recorder stuff. Dawn and Camille helped us with my first day here. It went pretty quickly because Shysage's notes were painfully brief. We really were running out of space to record stuff.

And I had to ask Camille; it seemed like Dawn was, well, reviving some, now that we were here.

Camille just sighed. "She is 53, and that's pretty old for a pony, so I don't know... But, I'm so glad you could..." Camille just cried as I hugged her...

That night, I slept with our neighbor Dawn (the elder) on one side, and Shysage on the other. I think Dawn very much appreciated me being close like that.

The fireplace kept it pretty warm inside. I think we all slept well.

Chapter 13, Road Trip

The next day, we knew we had a lot of ground to cover. Fluttershy, Shysage and I had talked and already decided to head to Dodge City to see who we could find.

We also agreed that Princess Twilight's four other pony girls, they could really be anywhere in Equestria. Dodge City came up in my dream, so we decided to give that a try. We really had no choice, we had to start somewhere.

Shysage felt it was maybe 2-3 days journey walking, just to get there, but he admitted that was a guess. And us finding a functioning train in my dream was purely fiction. Shysage mentioned quietly that this would be even worse than Twin Fishing...

Still, Camille had us all up and fed fairly early. I hugged Dawn the elder for a few minutes, then we all hugged Camille and her daughter out front a few minutes more.

Well, it was early, and already a warmish day. Camille said it was Spring after all, and she expected at least a few more warm days like this. That's what she had seen in the past anyway. Our coats stayed at Dawns.

Of course, Fluttershy's girls came with us. That was a given, and we really saw no harm in that. Fluttershy fussed with her girls a little while. Well, Shysage and I helped. Then we were all on our way.

...

Our path was simple. We needed to head back to the Ponyville Train Station, and walk along the tracks in the opposite direction from the Crystal Palace. Well, this was clearly marked by a sign anyway. Still, both the building and the platform of the Train Station were in bad shape.

Of course, there was no Train. I had to wonder why there was a train here and waiting, in my dream, after Equestria had fallen apart over two decades earlier. Well, sometimes dreams include stuff just to make everything work out. I guess this just reminded me again that we weren't in a dream this time.

Still, walking together, like we were, this felt really nice. We could have flown some, and we left that option open. But Fluttershy didn't want to strand her girls, so we just walked. We tried to walk fast at first, but that soon wore off. We tried to keep a pretty good pace though. We were on a mission after all.

As we set out, Shysage, Fluttershy and I walked up front, and the girls walked behind us. This didn't last. As the cats realized we would be walking this way for a while, they were soon up front, well, up ahead. They played, they ran. they jumped... They worked on enjoying this road trip too. Shysage called it that.

I was walking... Shysage on one side, and Sis on the other... What more could I want? Well, Cel and Lu, Princess Twilight and her girls... Maybe the Equestria Girls too, but that... I enjoyed the trip as much as I dared. We felt there was really a lot at stake in us finding the rest of Princess' pony girls as quickly as possible. We were taking what we felt was the best path to accomplishing that.

Still, Shysage walked right next to me. He would occasionally touch my nose with his as we walked. He didn't have to. It was his way of letting me know he was thinking of me. I appreciated that. I occasionally did that to him too.

We didn't talk much. I think we were just enjoying being together. I never need an excuse to enjoy time with my sister. And with my Stallion here too...

In the middle of the afternoon, we realized that Fluttershy's cats had run off. Fluttershy wasn't worried, and said they were probably finding something to eat. She expected them to return when they were done. That's exactly what happened.

But, after the girls came back, we talked together. We decided to try to get as far as we could tonight, and only stop briefly for food if we found a lake near the tracks. And with Fluttershy's girls with us, we didn't think it would be a problem if we slept wherever we could.

We didn't find a lake, but near dusk, we found a tunnel that the train tracks ran through. We tried to walk through the tunnel, but we found it was blocked off with a huge pile of rocks.

We decided to spend the night in that blocked off tunnel. With the little light left from the Sun, we could see that the tunnel was otherwise empty. And it wasn't cold tonight, so everything seemed to work out.

We all spent some time fussing over our animal friends. Well, Alyssa preferred Shysage, and I scratched Rose around her ears. She really likes that. Fluttershy said she didn't mind the help. She didn't want any of her girls to feel left out.

As it got dark, Shysage, Fluttershy and I laid on our bellies on a flat spot inside the tunnel but away from the train tracks, and Fluttershy's girls were soon spread around us.

Well, I had been thinking about something for most of the afternoon. I was not sure if I should wait until Fluttershy was not with us. But I realized that there were really no secrets among the three of us. We were all family, and my sister knew me better than, well, anypony. So, once we were all settled down for the night, I asked Shysage what was on my mind.

"Shysage, from my dream, on our train trip back to Ponyville from Dodge City, you and I had a quiet discussion together. And I actually remembered that part of the dream pretty clearly. I just wondered how you thought about that. I don't remember us having talked about it... Still, I felt like that was a section other ponies really didn't like."

It was quiet for more than a minute. I knew my Stallion was deep in thought. Or maybe he was remembering. Maybe both. And it was clear that Shysage was choosing his words carefully for Fluttershy's sake.

"Summer, I don't... I am not sure how your dream captured so clearly how I felt about that whole discussion. But I think that, even at that early stage, you probably knew inside how I would respond, so I don't know."

Shysage was quiet a little longer, then said quietly, clearly near tears...

"The pursuit of pleasure gives nopony the right to violate another pony, just to take what they want. Doing that is appalling. And nopony who claims to hold to Friendship being Magic should ever even consider such a thing... So much damage is being done, on both sides of the Portal, by ponies, people, just like that..."

I had to choke back tears too. I... Everywhere I went, ponies, people seemed to be turning a blind eye to this growing ocean of pain...

This delay wasn't as long, and Shysage spoke with a much more, well, disgusted tone...

"But if a pony does not really care about Friendship being Magic, and has no problem taking advantage of others just to satisfy themselves... I can easily see these ponies getting upset, and resent that discussion. And they can get angry, but history clearly shows that societies that tolerate behavior like that, they don't last very long. I guess I hope better for Equestria."

Well, Shysage said this much, then together, we realized that we had spent the day walking down an abandoned train track in an abandoned Equestria. The three of us burst into tears, and cried for a while... The shape of Equestria right now made us very sad...

However, it was clear Shysage wasn't done, and after we calmed down, he continued.

"I am puzzled however, that, according to your dream, I said I knew that such violations were the cause of the break-up of Princess Twilight's girls. Whether that is true or not now, I have no idea. Still, it seems that something really did drive our amazing friends apart, and we don't know what that is. But, honestly, finding that out will become a crucial task at some point."

Well, it was quiet for a few minutes. I understood what Shysage had said, and I fully agreed with everything. And I had seen that damage first-hand in the hearts and lives of the bleacher girls, well, and here in Equestria too.

But his comment about what happened here, in the real future, between Princess Twilight and her girls, that was just scary. And not only that... The actual break-up, and whatever caused it, might be maybe less than five years from our 'present'...

But Shysage was right... Here and now, sorting out what happened would be very important, probably sooner than later.

After a few more minutes of silence, Fluttershy added softly...

"It is absolutely true that some of us are hurt much more easily than others..."

Well, she would know.

Nothing more was said, but the three of us sat up, and hugged tightly together for a few minutes, and wept softly. Then we laid back down on our bellies. Sis was on one side of me, and Shysage was on the other.

...

Shysage was right next to me, and he carefully moved his head so it was right next to mine. We both really treasure that. I just sighed deeply.

What I really wanted though, was for him to ever so slightly lick my nose, just that, nothing more. But even as I thought this, I quickly realized that I would probably shiver violently if he did that.

And I also realized next that, if Shysage did anything to me, my sister on the other side of me would surely sense that. And I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable at all.

Well, as all these thoughts swirled around in my head, it hit me...

Intimacy has to be maybe the most amazing thing in the world... But it can also cause the most gut-wrenching agony when it is abused...

I almost started crying... Shysage had shielded me from so much of that... He was a true friend from day one... He has consistently put me first, no matter what it cost him...

I think he was reading my mind...

"Summer, I love you..." He said this quietly and softly.

Well, Fluttershy added too "Sis, I love you too."

I just cried...

We were soon asleep.

Fluttershy nudged me awake, maybe in the middle of the night. I touched Shysage's nose with mine, and he woke up too.

Fluttershy's girls were lined up in a row, near us, but between us and the entrance of the cave. The moon was up, and though not full, it gave us some light to see.

The cats were all, well, yowling, I guess, I don't know. They didn't seem angry, and so weren't growling. They were sitting too, and so I guessed they didn't feel threatened.

Fluttershy spoke softly "There is a boy Panther out there. I need to have the girls send him away, but I want you both awake, just in case."

Well, we could see him now, also sitting, very close to the entrance of the tunnel. He wasn't very far inside. And he was making the same, low yowling sound too.

Fluttershy let the yowling continue for a few more minutes. Then Fluttershy said firmly "Girls, that boy Panther will just cause problems. He needs to go away."

I have no clue how Fluttershy could even communicate with these animals. But evidently...

Her girl's voices changed immediately, and did sound more agressive, to me, anyway.

A few minutes later, the boy cat ran off into the night.

Fluttershy's girls returned to us, and Fluttershy immediately began fussing with her girls. They had done what she asked, and she wanted them to know that was good. Shysage and I helped.

We were all soon back asleep.

Well, I think Shysage, Fluttershy and I were anxious to find whatever we would find in Dodge City. And we didn't really know how much longer it would be until we got there. We were up pretty early. We walked over the top of the tunnel, picked the tracks back up on the other side, and were soon walking along the tracks again, towards Dodge City.

It did seem a little dryer where we were now, but it wasn't Summer, so it was harder to tell.

After we had been walking maybe an hour, Fluttershy's girls headed off to find breakfast. Fluttershy somehow knew right away. She called them back and told them sternly again to not eat anything big, especially ponies. I guess... Fluttershy pointed to me and Shysage. Yes, please girls, don't eat us!

The girls came back after a while, and seemed contented. They froliced around in the grass ahead of us again. Every once in a while, it looked to me like they were playing tag or something. Wow they ran fast! It seemed they were enjoying this trip, which was good.

Mid-morning, we found a lake near the tracks, and so Shysage, Fluttershy and I ate some breakfast and drank some water.

And Camille was right, it was turning into another nice day. It wasn't cold at all.

Maybe around noon, we headed into another tunnel. We could see through to the other end of this one. It wasn't blocked, but it did seem pretty long. We just kept walking, following the tracks.

It was clear that the girls didn't like the confined area of the tunnel. Fluttershy called the cats to her side, and Shysage and I called our two, and we soon had cats walking next to each of us. Even I could tell that this was helping our animal friends relax. It still took a while to make it through the tunnel.

...

We had not walked past the end of the tunnel for more than five minutes, when some sort of shadow passed quickly overhead. I looked up, and realized it was another Pegasus, and he or she was flying away from us, along the track towards Dodge City.

Before I could do anything, Fluttershy was already in the air, after the pony. I heard Fluttershy yell, just once...

"SHYNA!!!"

Still, it wasn't very loud. Sis and I can't really do anything loud. But that was all it took, the other flying pony turned around, and they both landed up ahead, some distance away.

Shysage had tears in his eyes, as he said that Fluttershy and her other sister were probably hugging and crying.

Still, Fluttershy had left us with her girls. I quickly decided that Fluttershy needed to come back before these animal friends met new ponies. I explained this to Shysage, and he agreed.

Shysage called Alyssa, and I called Rose. Of course, all four came to us. We took turns fussing with all four of them, then Shysage and I just sat down, and the Panthers sat next to us. This was scary, but all we could do was wait here. If the Panthers got up, we would need to call them again and fuss with them some more, and try to get them to sit down again. I felt very out of my comfort zone!

Well, we did have to fuss with them one more time, and it was maybe half an hour before Fluttershy came back to her girls. Then she fussed with them all for a little while.

Still, it was clear to me she had been crying, but I didn't ask anything about it.

The only thing Fluttershy said was "The rest will be here in a few minutes." Sis said this in the middle of fussing, so I don't know. Fluttershy was back to take care of her girls, and Shysage and I were so relieved. Shysage and I helped Fluttershy with her girls, but evidently we were waiting again.

Half an hour later, four more ponies walked slowly up. Well, both Shynas, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. They stopped close, and Fluttershy lined the girls (four huge Panthers) up in a line. One at a time, Fluttershy called one of our pony friends over, and she introduced them to each of her girls. Fluttershy had arranged this ahead of time. She didn't want anything bad to happen.

It was only after each pony had met each of Fluttershy's girls, that we all hugged and cried together. And it was clear to us that the Shyna Twins, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were hurting a lot. Well, Fluttershy was crying loudly with both Shynas. I think she felt their pain especially. And they were family. Well, crying with Applejack and Pinkie Pie, I had to admit we all were family now.

We all cried together for over an hour, and I was sure these precious ponies could have probably cried a lot longer. I guessed that time would come at some point.

Still, Equestria pony Shyna said quietly "Filia and Fiona left ahead of us, but the six of us is all I could find."

Shysage burst into tears... As he cried, he said that the Shyna Twins were the reason for this... Since they met him six months ago, they had been rounding up everypony they could find... He cried while hugging both Shynas for a little while.

Still, this would save us a LOT of time. And, if Filia and Fiona were on their way, that left only Rainbow Dash and Rarity for us to find. No wonder my Stallion was crying...

Well, I was silently thanking true friend, and I think Shysage was too... This was really amazing...

After everyponies' crying tapered off, it was quiet for a few minutes.

"Wait, were you ponies following the tracks?" Equestria pony Shyna asked.

"Well, yes, why?" I replied.

"Twin, let's go" Equestria pony Shyna said, and both were quickly in the air, flying fast, back along the tracks, towards Ponyville, the way we had just come.

After they were out of sight, Applejack explained. "Filia and Fiona went ahead of us, and were just following the tracks. We woke up a bear in the first tunnel outside Dodge, so we always went around the tunnels. Those two are probably not far ahead."

Both Shynas quickly returned. Filia and Fiona were at the far end of the Tunnel we had just come through. They were waiting for the rest. We were to walk back through the tunnel and meet them there.

Fluttershy sent everypony else up ahead, and told them to wait for us. And she asked Applejack to mention to Filia and Fiona that they needed to meet these animal friends first thing. Once the rest of our group were a good distance ahead, Fluttershy, Shysage and I started into the tunnel with four huge Panthers, Fluttershy's girls.

The girls must have been fast learners. Alyssa nosed her way up next to Shysage right away, and Rose ran up to my side. We walked back through the tunnel same way we had come.

And Applejack had moved everypony beyond the end of the tunnel. When we got out of the tunnel, we all fussed with the girls for a little while. Then Fluttershy lined the girls up again, and called to Filia, then Fiona to come meet them.

Then we all cried together some more for a while.

Still, we had to decide what to do next. Shysage mentioned it was four hours to the tunnel we had spent last night in, and there was a nice spot for food along the way. Or, we could just stay here.

I think we were all anxious to get back to Ponyville, so we set out again.

Shysage jumped in pretty quickly and said that we should still avoid good words for now. Having to fight at night was just not a good idea. Everypony else understood.

And I just added softly... "Girls, I am just so thrilled to see you all, and I think there is a lot we need to work on, but now is just not the time yet..." I knew I didn't phrase that very well, but we all wept softly together for a little while, then we were on our way. I think everypony understood what I meant.

It was clear that the cats didn't mind all of their Fluttershy's new friends. And even with a bunch more ponies, the girls spent the rest of the afternoon running and jumping up ahead. Well, they did disappear for a while to find some food, then they returned. And it didn't seem like the girls had any problem finding Fluttershy, or Shysage or me either.

We stopped near dusk, at the lake where we ate breakfast earlier in the day, and we all ate some and drank from the lake.

We were soon on our way again, but it was dusk now, and quickly getting darker. We knew the way; we just had to follow the tracks. It was just harder in the dark.

Filia and Fiona solved that problem by taking turns using their magic to put a brilliant light at the top of their Unicorn horns; this gave us plenty of light for travelling. Shysage mentioned we only had maybe two hours left to the next tunnel.

We kept going. Well, Fluttershy brought the girls to the back with Shysage and I. The cats felt a lot better about this. That was important.

Maybe an hour later, everypony ahead of us abruptly stopped.

What I heard... "What... A pony with lights? Who are you guys?"

Fluttershy stopped her girls, and called them all to herself.

Next I heard... "Wait... Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy's girls began to growl.

"Girls, stop that. Ponies are our friends" Fluttershy said sternly.

Still, I placed the voice immediately, it was Rainbow Dash. Maybe night time was the only safe time to fly in Equestria any more...

Well, Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were already crying together with Filia and Fiona.

We let them cry together for a little while. Then, with light from Filia and Fiona, Rainbow Dash met Fluttershy's girls.

After that it was quiet for a minute.

Applejack said slowly "Rainbow, we're goin to Ponyville, to try and clean this mess up, I think."

Rainbow sniffled briefly then said "Count me in..."

Our walk to the next tunnel resumed. Filia and Fiona led the way, with Applejack and Rainbow on one side, and Pinkie Pie on the other.

Well, Rainbow said at one point "Wait... Summer, you had a dream about this..."

Nopony really needed to answer.

Once we got to the next tunnel, Filia and Fiona led us all around, over the top, to the other side of the tunnel. Then they both went into the tunnel first, to check to make sure it was safe.

Once inside, Shysage said quietly "Filia and Fiona, you can probably combine your magic to start one of these wood things under the track on fire."

That worked well, and the fire burned all night and supplied light. Applejack and Rainbow took turns keeping watch. Well, they talked quietly together all night. And they did fall asleep early in the morning, but that was probably fine.

Fluttershy, Shysage and I slept with the girls, further in the tunnel, which the girls seemed to appreciate. The rest slept together. Still, there was occasional weeping through the course of the night. I guessed everypony else was beat up pretty bad. It sounded like it.

Well, I don't know what would happen, but, honestly, with Princess Twilight and her girls, I had no clue where to even start...

I just sighed. That wasn't tonight's problem anyway.

I woke up the next morning, nose to nose with Shysage, and surrounded by four huge Panthers. Fluttershy was nearby with a Shyna on either side. The three of them were crying softly. I knew my sister felt their pain...

I woke Shysage up, and we just rubbed noses briefly and talked quietly together. We would resume our road trip, Shysage called it, and probably get to Ponyville tonight. Still, he mentioned that we didn't even make it to Dodge City, but the only pony who wasn't with us was Rarity. Shysage declared this a complete miracle. Then we both thanked true friend together, and quietly.

We all gathered together and group hugged (most cried quietly) for a few minutes, then we were on our way.

I had to try to understand what I was feeling. I knew Princess' girls were all hurting a lot. But I also sensed maybe a tiny bit of animosity at times, I don't know. Well, at one point in the past they all scattered. Something caused that. Still, I had absolutely no clue how to deal with that. I guessed, I hoped that wasn't a part of what I needed to do. I wouldn't know what to say, what to even try...

...

Maybe mid-morning, from our places in the back, we heard a loud growl. Fluttershy, Shysage and I QUICKLY looked around and located all four girls next to us. It wasn't them.

We soon saw... Rainbow and Applejack, leading the way, were frozen, face to face with an angry Cougar...

Almost like four streaks, Fluttershy's girls jumped nimbly between ponies, and would have landed right on top of that Cougar, should he have chosen to stay there.

The Cougar realized he had better run... He ran like mad, directly into the overgrown forest along the side of the train tracks. Fluttershy's girls were angry now, and quickly pursued the Cougar.

Far off, there were brief sounds of a fight, then it was quiet.

Fluttershy smiled, then said "I think my girls are having breakfast. They will be along in a while."

We resumed our trip, they could easily catch up. They did.

I don't know if anypony had resented the presence of Fluttershy's girls with us on this trip. It had certainly slowed down us welcoming each of our amazing friends.

But I think there was now a full realization that their presence was extremely helpful. As the Phantom Alicorn, I could take care of monsters. But a small Cougar... It would be very difficult for me to defend ponies against that without hurting other ponies in the process.

I hugged Rose when she came back. Shysage and Fluttershy did the same thing.

...

The rest of the trip was uneventful; just a long walk together saying little. We all knew... Some stuff had to wait. And other stuff could quickly draw a big monster....

That was ok, at least we were together.

In this Equestria, that was a miracle.

Maybe we made better time, even though it was mildly up hill. Maybe we actually left earlier. Maybe we were all anxious to get home to Ponyville. Maybe all three...

We made it back to town probably late in the afternoon.

Rather than head straight to Dawn's, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Filia and Fiona wanted to walk around Ponyville some before it got dark. We did this, even though we knew it would just make everypony cry. It did. A shattered Ponyville was very sad...

At one point, Fluttershy's girls ran off. We didn't think much, maybe they were hungry again.

Later, Fluttershy got this alarmed look on her face. "Summer, it has been too long. Can you and Shysage come with me to help me find the girls?"

We asked the five other ponies to head to Town Square and wait for us there.

Fluttershy, Shysage and I took to the air, flying in a slowly larger circle around Ponyville.

In the air a little while, we quickly spotted all four of Fluttershy's girls.

They were bunched around another pony right next to the train tracks from the Crystal Palace.

Just then, Fluttershy said loudly (for Fluttershy)

"Oh, my goodness... My Twin!"

Chapter 14, Old Demons

When I arrived in Equestria, through the Portal, the first thing I saw... My seven amazing Equestria Girls friends, as ponies, JUST like I remembered them...

"Ladies, you all look amazing!" I said with a smile.

Rarity replied "Twilight, dear, you do to!"

It was quiet for a minute, then I said quietly, to all of us really, "Girls... Amazing friends... Welcome home..."

It was quiet for another minute, then I sighed.

I was quickly crying... And it didn't hurt...

I laid down on my belly right where I was, and cried buckets... So much pain I carried...

I could cry that all out now. I did.

And I wasn't the only one; the rest quickly joined me there on the floor, and together, we cried out years of pain and anguish... The Equestria Girls world was a tough place to live anyway, but I guess we had all been pretty much shattered there, even Pinkie Pie...

I am sure we cried together for a few hours, anyway.

...

Well, it slowly got very dark where we were. While we were crying, we didn't care.

But after a few hours, it seemed like, together, we all calmed down.

I said quietly "I hope that's the last of the Equestia Girls world for me, thank you. I don't ever want to go back." Then I laughed. And it didn't hurt...

There was barely enough light, but I could tell Filia was on her belly right next to me, and I immediately hugged her tightly. And Fiona was right next to Rarity.

Still, I assumed a more serious tone and felt I had to say this again.

"Girls, I think this might be a last chance. When we walk away from the Portal, we will probably be stu--"

Fluttershy quietly interrupted "Uhm, Twilight, I doubt I can, well, could have even made rent..."

Rainbow re-settled her wings under her thick coat, smiled, then said quietly "Twilight, I am home now. I know Equestria is probably a mess, but this is where I belong. I don't ever want to leave here... ever..."

"Twilight, I thought I would never see you again... And when my sister..." Filia could only get this far. I hugged her as she tried to calm down.

I sighed, then shook my head. "Maybe we should have come here decades ago..." I said this to nopony in particular, but I think my friends all felt the same way.

It was quiet a few minutes.

"Girls, lets try to get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, we will find out where we are, and decide what to do" I said.

Pinkie Pie said quietly "Well, if I even can sleep... Oh, wait..."

Pinkie laughed... We all laughed... Well, tears also came for me too, maybe for others... This was... just... amazing...

We were all soon asleep.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of quiet weeping. Still, I realized that I had slept amazing, all night. It had been a LONG time since...

Filia was still next to me, crying quietly. "Twilight, I really missed you..."

I hugged her tightly for a few minutes, smiled, and said softly "I don't think you need to worry about that any more."

Filia smiled back. Seeing that smile again... That was amazing...

Filia asked quietly if we still had our magic.

I thought a minute, and said quietly "I... Probably. Try a simple light spell, and see."

That still worked, and this brought tears of joy to my charge. Well really she is a treasured friend, well she was anyway.

...

"Twilight, I never heard much about this Summer's Dream. I don't understand why that's important..." Filia asked quietly.

Well, as long as I had Filia with me, I always told her to never be afraid to ask me questions. I guess that still worked too. And honestly, I missed that a lot. I thought a minute, then tried to explain as concisely as possible.

"Soon after the pony Summer Rain joined Princess Twilight's group, she had an amazingly vivid dream about the future, and wrote it down."

Honestly, I winced as I said this. All of a sudden, I wanted MY Twin, Princess Twilight. Well, I wanted ALL of our Twins, because these pony friends all around me most certainly wanted their Twins too.

Still, I worked on continuing.

"The very first chapter of her dream basically described the approximately 1 hour period last night, when, after all these years, us Equestria Girls amazingly found each other, and came back through the Portal into Equestria..."

It was hard to talk, but I tried to finish.

"Last night didn't go exactly like her dream, but that really didn't matter. What Summer wrote, 37 years ago, largely played out last night. And because of that, after decades of pain and anguish, we are all here now, back 'home' in Equestria. We won't age, all our physical problems are gone. We can start over..."

I couldn't talk any more, and Filia and I cried softly together.

Well, evidently, everypony else was awake and heard all this, and we weren't the only ones crying softly.

After a little while, Rarity asked quietly "Twilight, from the dream, what is our next step?"

I answered calmly "I don't know if what we need to do will align with Summer's Dream in every detail. But in the dream, we headed to Ponyville, and that makes the most sense now too."

I thought a minute, then had to add this as a warning. I had just remembered...

"And girls... If you don't remember from the dream, the big problem was a large, flying, magical Black Bear that ate ponies for food. We will really need to be careful. And I think that we need to avoid saying, well, good words, until we are back around Summer, or until we know more."

I knew right away that this confused Filia, but I realized this was utterly important. If this big Bear WAS the problem here, we didn't want to call him to us by what we said.

Filia asked "Twilight, what..."

I quickly but gently put one of my front hooves over her mouth, then tried to explain again. "Girls, let's be very careful. By good words, I mean any words that deal with positive values. Until Summer is near, we can't say any words like that."

I was pretty sure that phrase would communicate the meaning I intended. It would make no sense to our pony friends, but the Equestria Girls world we just left, they didn't like words like that either.

I was sure that thought brought this disgusted look to my face for a minute. I had tried being a good teacher without stressing positive values. It didn't work. Without any sort of moral compass, kids increasingly acted like... It was the law of the jungle on the playground, and bullies ran the show at school. And it had been this way for decades...

Well, that place wasn't my concern, not any more.

Still, I added quietly "Filia, Fiona or really anypony else, I think if you whisper the word in my ear once, we will probably be ok, and I can let you know... But girls just remember, saying such words is how our Princess called..."

I couldn't continue, and shouldn't have even mentioned this. That spectre was just too much for me right now. I choked back those tears.

I guess I also hoped we would find Summer soon. That would make our time here much safer. But I really didn't know. I really didn't know if that Bear even was a problem. And I really didn't know if Summer would even be here. Summer had an amazing dream, but this was no dream.

Still, Summer's Dream, from decades ago, had miraculously opened this door for us last night, and we went through it.

We would need to play the rest by ear. We just had to be careful.

It seemed like it was Winter here; it was pretty cold during the night. Thanks to Rarity's foresight, we all kept warm though.

From the soft glow in this room, I guessed we were in the Crystal Palace. This didn't make sense, the Portal was in Princess' Castle last I remembered. This thought surfaced bad memories that I also had to shove away.

And this room wasn't what used to be the Portal Room here, either. It was much too small, almost like a closet or storage room, and had a single doorway for access.

"Ok girls..." I started quietly. "We are in a small room, in the Crystal Palace. We need to find our way out the bottom of the Palace, head for the train station, turn right, and follow the tracks to Ponyville. I think it is a days walk, so we will probably need to find a place to sleep in the middle of our trip.

Rainbow excitedly said "Lets go!", and we all got up.

Heading out the first door put us in a hall, and there was a stairs leading up, very close. From the sounds we heard though, the top floors were gone; we heard birds, wind and stuff. Well, we all walked up the stairs.

The top of the Crystal Palace really was sheared off, just like Summer's Dream...

We went back down the stairs though.

"Ok girls, let's head around in this hall, and take every stairs down we can find. We need to get to the bottom floor, then outside" I said softly.

We were soon on our way.

Rainbow was clearly excited, and led us on. I had to ask her more than once to slow down and wait for the rest of us though. Each time I did this, I reminded everypony that we absolutely HAD to stay together.

We did finally make it down to the ground floor, and out the big doors.

I asked Pinkie, and we were soon heading towards the Crystal Empire train station.

And we had seen no other ponies up to this point.

Maybe thirty minutes later, we arrived at the station. The building had collapsed years ago, but the platform was still there. No sign of trains though.

There was a lake behind the station, and we all got a drink, and ate whatever we could find that looked like pony food. I had forgotten about all this.

I found some Oats. Then I remembered... I really like Oats...

We turned right and headed to Ponyville, walking next to and along the tracks.

Honestly, I was just glad to be here.

For a while, we walked together, mostly in silence. Filia asked a few more questions, and I answered them the best I could. Well, I really enjoyed that. I just didn't like the prospect of a big Black Bear coming and eating us because he didn't like the way I said something.

After maybe an hour of walking, I had to call Rainbow back to the group, and I mentioned again how important it was that we all stay together. I frowned again... Having to stick together for safety; that was becoming more and more of a problem in the world I just left...

I had to call Rainbow back again, maybe half an hour later.

This happened a few more times. Rainbow didn't appreciate this, and said quietly "We could fly this in an hour... Right, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy answered slowly and softly "Gosh, I love all of you amazing ponies."

I just sighed.

I had to call Rainbow back again, and I just patiently said the same thing, reminding her how important it was that we stay together.

This time, Rarity said sweetly "I think it is pretty rude to make somepony say that over and over..."

Rainbow quickly replied "Rarity...", and promptly walked ahead maybe 50 feet, and then matched our pace.

Rarity sighed, then said calmly "Twilight, I think I'll bring up the rear, to avoid the riff-raff. Fluttershy, dear, care to join me?"

Fluttershy answered slowly and softly "Gosh, I love all of you amazing ponies."

Still, Rarity did exactly what she said. She stopped until we were 50 feet ahead of her, then she started walking, matching our pace.

Applejack said something that sounded like "Humph", and galloped up to Rainbow and walked with her.

I just sighed again, and asked Filia and Fiona to stay next to me. Fluttershy was on my other side, and Pinkie Pie was too. I think both knew we had a problem. Unfortunately, this felt all too familiar...

Over the next two hours, I had to ask Rainbow and Applejack to slow down a few times, and Rarity usually added some comment from behind too.

"No wonder..." I thought to myself...

...

Late-afternoon, I heard a loud growl, followed by Rarity screaming.

A Cougar was gaining on Rarity fast as she ran. Somehow, I quickly remembered from Follow the Equestrium, that Cougars were natural predators of the pony race, until the ponies drove them all out. I guess they were back now...

"Ponies, come to me, he wont attack us all at once" I shouted.

Most ran every which way.

The Cougar ran after one pony for a little while, then chased another. He was trying to find the slowest one, which ended up being Rarity, not that the rest of us were speed demons or anything.

Still, by then I was running up close behind the Cougar, and I managed to get a fire spell off on the middle of the Cougar's back, as he was chasing Rarity.

No fire happened; it had been a long time, and I wasn't that good anyway. But it must have burned, and that infuriated the Cougar, and I was instantly his dinner choice, I guess. He was quickly after me.

I just ran along the tracks towards Ponyville as fast as I could run... I knew I couldn't outrun the Cougar. And I realized he was just pacing me, letting me wear myself down. He was right; I couldn't run this fast much longer...

...I didn't need to; the train tracks went into a tunnel up ahead, and I ran straight in, hoping to think of something maybe. Well, the tunnel was blocked off with rocks, not very far in. I had to stop, and I quickly turned around and stood there.

The Cougar was walking slowly towards me, growling...

I was trapped, and he was hungry.

"I survived the GOB to get eaten by a Cougar" I said this out loud...

I was about to say "Whatever..." That is how I felt right then.

I heard "TWILIGHTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!" as Rainbow flew quickly into the tunnel. She landed right next to me and faced the Cougar with me. She left her huge wings out, too.

Rainbow quickly said "Go ahead pal, you can only eat one of us, and the other won't be very happy..."

There were two of us together now.

The Cougar stopped, but was still growling loudly.

The rest ran quickly up from behind, yelling my name, over and over. They kept their distance, but honestly, I was just glad my friends were near... I needed them... I really needed them...

Filia and Fiona didn't wait very long.

They both cast a fire spell, together, at the Cougar's back.

And the minute both their tiny beams joined, the size of the beam was much larger.

A bonfire quickly erupted from the back of this Cougar. He screamed and ran quickly past everypony, out of the tunnel, as fast as he could. He didn't realize that the wind from him running was only feeding the flames that were burning away at his body. He was quickly out of sight.

...

I fell to the ground and just cried. Filia, Fiona, Fluttershy and Pinkie quickly joined me followed by the rest. We all just cried together for a while...

At one point, Rainbow tried to apologize.

I did my best to stop crying, and I quietly addressed everypony. Through tears, I ended up saying this...

"Oh girls...

"You precious ladies were the most amazing friends I ever had...

"There was a reason everything fell apart... Something changed... We changed...

"I mean, it was hard to even be around Fluttershy, of all people, back then...

"...What happened? ...What happened to me? ...What happened to us?"

I got this much out, then started crying again, and cried for a while. But I think everypony else did too.

When I could, I tried again...

"Girls... I want our friendship to be magic again. We need to find out what went wrong decades ago, and we need to fix that... But we can't do that until we find Summer. We need her near to keep us safe..."

It was pretty quiet for a few minutes. I think we were all trying to calm down. Then I said quietly.

"Girls, I want you, my precious friends back. But we need to survive being around each other until we can address that... Can we agree together to do that?"

Almost in unison, everypony else said quietly "Yes..."

We wept softly together there for a while more...

...

Well, it was dark anyway, so we decided to spend the night in that tunnel.

Filia and Fiona together started one of the wood things under the train track on fire, and it burned nicely all night. Rainbow flew quickly out, got her coat, then walked back, and she and Applejack took turns staying awake and keeping an eye out.

The rest of us slept well, I think.

The next morning was not near as cold, and we were up early. We really didn't need our coats, but wearing them was easier than any other option.

I think we all wanted to get to Ponyville. More than any other place in Equestria, that was our home. And it didn't matter how good or bad a shape we would find Ponyville in. Starting over, whatever that meant for us, would happen there.

We found our way to the other end of the Train tunnel, and followed the tracks again.

I think the Cougar from yesterday had reminded us all that we weren't in the Equestria Girls world any more, even though keeping together was wise there too. We all stayed together today.

Filia stayed at my side, and I hugged her a lot. I was sure that felt amazing to both of us. Well, Rarity and Fiona were back together now, talking a lot, too, and that was good.

...

Sometime during the night, Fluttershy had pulled an ancient relic to the outside of her coat.

It was her Shield Necklace. Princess Twilight had given each of us one of these in Equestria one amazing afternoon buried deep in the past; it wasn't very long after Summer had her dream, I think.

But, Fluttershy still had it. Fluttershy still wore it...

TF
MPOF

I just sighed. True friendship means putting others first... I knew I couldn't say that out loud, though...

And I was glad the other side wasn't showing. It read "Princess Twilight's Special Treasure" or something close. I don't think Princess Twilight would feel that just now. I also desparately wanted that to change.

...

Mid-morning we found a lake, and got some water and ate breakfast. I like Oats. They were hard to find since it was Winter, but still.

Around noon, I looked up at the amazing friends around me and said quietly "Girls, I love you all a lot, I just want you to know that."

I paused in thought some, then added this.

"I think I am as broke as anypony else, but I desparately want you all back. I want us to have each other back. We just need to be patient until we can work on that."

Rainbow started crying... And for Rainbow to cry... "I want that too..."

We stopped and hugged and cried together right there for a while, then we resumed our journey.

By late-afternoon, we could see what was left of Ponyville up ahead...

We tried to watch Ponyville as we got closer. I think we were all interested in seeing what kind of shape Ponyville was in. I didn't have my hopes up. Summer's Dream was just a dream, but it was a ghost town...

Still, I didn't see ANY other ponies. We had not seen a single pony since we came through the Portal. That was a bad sign.

Fairly close to town, we stopped walking abruptly.

These weren't ponies...

There were four big Black felines, mountain lions or something, blocking our path.

They were sitting, calmly, next to each other. They didn't attack us at all like the Cougar did. They just sat there...

But we knew it would be foolish to go on.

Of course, we didn't even try.

Well, I think we were all afraid. One Cougar was terrible for us, but these four huge...

"Girls, try to remain calm..." I guess this was the best I could do...

Nopony moved for a while. I put my head down in throught. "We can't run... How could we get around--"

The next thing I heard...

"She's such a purty girl..." Fluttershy was saying this over and over, as Fluttershy did what she does best -- make new animal friends.

In less than a minute, all four big Black felines were gathered around Fluttershy, purring loudly, as Fluttershy was scratching, petting, talking to four new animal friends. Compared to Fluttershy, the four of them were huge...

The rest of us began to relax. Fluttershy was clearly enjoying herself. And it didn't look like we would be dinner tonight.

The next thing I heard...

It was Fluttershy...

"Oh my goodness... My Twin!"

Chapter 15, Reunion

I... It's hard to really describe how quickly...

Us Equestria Girls had been in Equestria two days maybe... We didn't talk, because we couldn't... Well, we knew we had too... Maybe, to some extent, we just didn't want too... But more than anything else, I think that none of us knew where to even start. I knew I didn't...

A Cougar almost had me for dinner, and now we were facing four much bigger Black somethings...

I don't think we had any intention of going back through the Portal. I honestly doubt that thought crossed any of our minds.

Still, we were just very tired, scared and easily discouraged, realizing the chore we faced, restoring amazing past friendships...

We were pretty sure that Fluttershy took care of the big cats, but when she sensed her Twin near, that was just overwhelming to me...

Right where I was, I fell to the ground and cried, and the rest joined me...

Summer, Shysage and Fluttershy's Twin (Equestria pony Fluttershy) quickly landed at Fluttershy's Cats.

And seeing Summer again, I just sobbed... We needed her...

I didn't ever want to go back through the Portal.

But just two days here was overwhelming to me. I felt responsible again for these amazing friends, but quickly realized Equestria had become an extremely dangerous place. And that was all on top of the deep issues we needed to face.

Summer could keep us safe, at least.

It was a while before I could stop crying...

...

...

...

In this gutted Equestria, seeing the Equestria Girls... I just wanted to cry... We really did need them, I thought, anyway. But it just seemed so unlikely that we would ever see them again...

And when Fluttershy sensed her Twin... I was trying hard to not cry, but I doubted I was doing very good.

And as soon as we landed next to Fluttershy's girls, Twilight, then the rest of the Equestria Girls fell to the ground and just cried...

How could I not join them...

I ran quickly over next to Equestria Girls Twilight (Princess' Twin), and was quickly sobbing with them...

I... This was just so amazing...

...

We only cried for a few minutes though.

Shysage said what I should have realized. "Equestria Girls, most your other Twins are waiting at Town Square, except for Rarity. We haven't found her yet. And Princess Twilight is at Zecora's Hut."

Still mostly crying, everypony got up immediately at this.

Both Fluttershys pulled the girls (big Black Panthers) way to the side, and the rest of us walked quickly to Ponyville.

The Twin Link went active for most before we even got to Ponyville, and...

...Well, there was a lot of crying...

Most were quickly hugging Twins and crying. I hugged Equestria Girls Twilight and Rarity. They didn't have their Twins yet, and I could only guess how they felt. I tried very hard to ignore the fact that my Twin wasn't here, either. Still, I think the three of us cried pretty hard together.

But, like I said before, in Equestria right now, it seemed a miracle that we were even together.

And how... The Equestria Girls were here...

I cried a lot...

Both Fluttershys and four Black Panthers joined us after a little while.

Equestria pony Fluttershy interrupted everypony, and said that meeting her girls needed to be a priority.

Well, nopony disagreed with that.

Both Fluttershys got the cats lined up, and, one at a time, the Equestria Girls met each of Fluttershy's girls. The Panthers purred loudly the whole time.

Then both Fluttershys, Shysage and I fussed with our girls some.

Well, it was starting to get dark and cool, we couldn't stay out here much longer.

Everypony else headed slowly to Town Square, as Shysage and I flew to Dawn's.

...

We both went in right away, and I was quickly hugging our amazing neighbor Dawn (the elder).

After crying together a few minutes, I asked her quietly "Dawn, are you ready for a bunch of company?"

Dawn was amazing... "Camille, I think we have some ponies coming. Maybe you should get some food going."

"Dawn... There are 19 of us now..." I said quietly...

Dawn just smiled... "Summer, we will do what we can. Please bring them in out of the night."

Before Shysage and I headed back out for the rest, I had Camille help me. "Camille, please take my Shield Necklace off, and put it back on your door frame, just like it was."

Camille was choking back tears pretty quickly. "Are you sure, Summer?"

I hugged Camille, and we cried together a few minutes. "Camille, this simple treasure has helped your family seek to live out true friendship for decades. Please... I want it to stay right here."

Camille used her magic to put the necklace back on their door frame.

Dawn the elder was crying now too, so us girls gathered around her in front of the fire, and we all cried together for a little while.

Like I said before, I was confident the accomplishment of this abandoned family easily dwarfed anything I had done...

Shysage and I headed for the door.

"Camille, there will be 19 of us, I hope that's ok" I said apologetically to Camille.

"Summer, don't worry. We will make it work. Remember, we live for this" Camille replied softly.

I couldn't help but cry as Shysage and I walked to Town Square.

Most everypony was still hugging and crying when we got back to Town Square.

We didn't have any trouble getting everypony to follow us to Dawn's though, and we were all soon inside. It was tight, but we all had room to sleep.

Dawn just cried, as Camille did a good job remembering everyponies' names. Well, the Shyna, Filia and Fiona Twins just made Camille cry. They were her friends. The seven of them cried together for a little while.

Both Fluttershys went out and fussed with the girls some, then sent them off to find some dinner.

Camille said she could feed us some Oat Pies, but we would need to share them. She apologized for that, but everypony assured her that would be fine. Having a warm place to sleep, and together, this was just amazing.

Shysage reminded everypony that good words were still not a good idea. Everypony understood this intentional understatement.

Most of the Twins were quickly hugging and crying again. Well, the Fluttershys and Shynas all cried together. We guessed that this would probably be all tonight held for everypony, and we were right. That was fine. Solving whatever needed to be solved would need to be done during the day, and under safer conditions.

And it seemed that there was just too much 'something' going on, for any Twin-Linking to even take place. This was suprising, but 30 plus years of pain appeared to have taken it's toll on everypony.

After the cats had returned, both Fluttershys later went out, and fussed with the girls some more, then put them down for the night, then came back in. A full moon was coming up, but it was a little cool outside. Still, Equestria pony Fluttershy said her girls would be fine out in front of Dawn's shop..

That was ok, there was no room for them inside!

Fairly late, it was mostly Twin with Twin, as we sacked out on the floor.

...

In the middle of the night, loud noises woke all of us up.

We heard a pony crying loudly outside, and Equestria Girls Rarity was quickly awake and crying exactly the same way, at exactly the same time...

Both Fluttershys, Shysage and I ran outside.

The girls were sitting, in a line blocking the way, as a lone pony was a good distance off, crying loudly. The girls weren't growling.

Well, it was Rarity (Equestria pony Rarity).

I walked quickly over to Rare as both Fluttershys and Shysage called the girls far away from the door.

Rarity was quickly sobbing uncontrollably on my shoulder. "I just wanted to check... And I felt... My Twin..." She said this a few times.

Rarity was in no condition to meet Fluttershy's girls, so we just led her inside, and both Raritys were quickly hugging and crying loudly together.

Shysage and I were quickly crying together too. We... This was everypony... How in Equestria... We cried for a while too...

We tried to settle down. It was the middle of the night, and the next day would probably be, well, demanding...

I asked Equestria Girls Twilight to move next to me, and she did. I didn't want her sleeping by herself. I hugged her a few minutes. I think I knew how she felt...

We were all soon back asleep, except for the Raritys who wept softly together for quite a while.

Shysage and I did the same thing. Having everypony like this...

Maybe an hour before dawn, I woke suddenly to Twilight (Equestria Girls Twilight) crying loudly, and it was a while before she could even talk.

Everypony else was soon awake, and some were crying too.

I guessed Twilight must have had a bad dream, or something. She was right next to me, so I was quickly hugging her tightly, trying to comfort her, and ended up crying with her. After crying quite a while, Twilight got out...

"I had a dream..."

Twilight was still trying to calm down, and this took a few more minutes, then she tried to explain.

"Summer... While I was living... On the other side of the Portal... Equestria... Equestria has been calling out to me for the last six months... Dreams, images, memories... So many... Everything just seemed to get in the way... But I kept seeing... It was Equestria... Calling me..."

Twilight cried pretty hard for a little while after getting this much out.

Still, if Equestria was calling Princess' Twin... No wonder they came... It was hard to not cry at this. Equestria reaching out across the Portal... Equestria was trying to...

After crying a few minutes, Twilight tried to talk again. She didn't say much...

"Girls... Amazing friends... I dreamed... I saw... What... I saw what we need to do..."

That was all Twilight could say. Then she just cried...

We all did...

Chapter 16, just ashes

I'm not a princess... Maybe I was, once... Not any more...

...

After Summer left, I lost track of time... completely...

...

I didn't even tend to the fire. I guess the weather warmed up some, so that part didn't matter. I didn't usually eat often anyway, so that didn't matter either...

...

I just sat there, right where I was sitting when Shysage left. I hadn't moved at all...

I just kept looking steeply down at the floor... Trying not to look... It was still there...

I... It was more than a day before I even moved, maybe even two, I don't know...

...

Over the last 30 or more years, time had just barely crawled by for me. Now was no different...

In Summer's Dream, Summer came back to me within the next few days, with everypony else, including the Equestria Girls...

That would never happen. The Equestria Girls were long gone, buried in a world far more huge than Equestria. I shuddered as I thought this. Some of them may even be buried literally. It had been a long time.

And in Summer's Dream, a mythical train had appeared out of nowhere, three decades later, and this made pretty quick work of rounding up some ponies from Dodge City and beyond. Even that trip alone would take week, on hoof. I knew that. Then finding everypony that happened to be there...

Well, I was sure it would be weeks maybe before Summer returned, and I doubted she would find more than a pitiful few ponies, no matter where they looked. It just didn't matter.

I was in no hurry...

...

Still, I knew that day would come. At some point in the future, Summer would come back through that door, again, with whoever she could find, in addition to Fluttershy.

I wanted to plan ahead how I would handle that. I guess organization is still important to me. I also guess, I decided to ignore that my every attempt at planning for her first visit here, had resulted in dismal failure.

...

The first thing I realized, I needed to dispose of the book that she had dropped... It had sat, right where it fell, face down, maybe four feet directly in front of me for the last few days.

She said it was mine, but that was a mistake.

Again, I was in no hurry. At some point, maybe days later, I headed out into the forest long enough to round up a few good sized logs. I wanted the fire pretty hot for this. Well, it wasn't cold outside today anyway.

I walked slowly back into the hut, and carefully laid the logs on the fire. A little more magic, and the logs were soon burning hotly.

...

My goal was simple.

I wanted to burn that book... the book whose last chapter recorded me being changed into an Alicorn Princess... Equestria's Princess...

I wanted to forever sever the link that Equestria had formed with me the day I was made a Princess. I didn't want that. I was renouncing that contract. And burning that book was the only way I could think of to do that.

"I mean just look at me..." I said this out loud.

Nothing more needed to be said.

Staying a far distance away, I used my magic to pick that book up. I didn't want to even be close to it... at all... I didn't want to risk seeing anything more than what I already knew. I didn't want to change my mind...

Grasping the book with my magic, I levitated it, right where it was, and threw it quickly into the now raging fire...

...

...

...

Instead of hitting the back of the fireplace, the book curiously stopped, directly above the hottest flames...

...

...

...

The flames of the fire went out abruptly. There was absolutely no heat coming from my fireplace...

...

...

...

The book tilted at an angle slowly towards me, and opened all by itself, and turned slowly through the pages to a particular chapter. I could already guess which chapter it was... The last one in that book, of course...

The book just sat there... wavering slowly... beckoning me...

...

...

...

I couldn't... I couldn't... fight... this...

...

...

...

Weeping softly, I used my magic to pull the book back out of the fireplace... I laid it on the floor in front of me, still opened to where it had opened, all by itself... I could read it now. It was still opened to the beginning of that last chapter...

...

...

...

With the book removed, the logs in the fireplace immediately burst into flames once again, and were burning just as hot as before...

...

...

...

I laid down on my belly, with my front legs over that open book...

I buried my head in those words...

I cried for a long time...

...

...

...

Hours later, I started reading... I knew all this, of course, but I read it anyway...

...

...

...

I stopped at these words...

"...fulfill your destiny..."

Princess Celestia had sung those words to me (or something close), right before I was made an Alicorn Princess by Equestria.

I cried hours more...

...

...

...

In the middle of the night maybe, I stopped crying sharply.

This really was my destiny. I couldn't fight that...

...

...

...

But I had failed...

...

...

...

Unable to cry, I sat up and just stared off into the darkness. Well, there was a very small amount of light coming from the fireplace. It was mostly ashes now, and that was really how I felt...

I had nothing left... just ashes...

...

...

...

Why did I stop fighting for these girls? For their amazing friendships... Even now, I felt like it just wasn't worth it...

I had fought for them before... Once when Discord turned us all against each other... I fought to restore them the day I was made a Princess too... I'm sure there were other times...

Why did I just give up? Why did I finally decide it was too much effort?

...

...

...

I tried to avoid the answer to this for maybe an hour...

...

...

...

I... I had let go of Friendship's Magic... I had let go of the simple committment to put others first... to put them first...

Their Princess, me... I had finally been pushed so far, that I gave up... I gave in... I stopped putting them first... I decided rescuing them... Rescuing us... It was just too hard... It took too much effort...

...

...

...

I had set a limit to how far I would fight, then I gave up...

The truth made me sob...

...

...

...

I had failed them...

...

...

...

I cried hard for a long time...

...

...

...

I guess I fell asleep for a few hours.

When I woke up, it was early morning.

I woke up to the jarring realization that I... Their Princess...

I had failed them...

...

...

...

I didn't want to ever see them again, because I had let them down... I had let them languish... I had let our friendships languish...

For decades...

That was horrible... absolutely horrible...

...

...

...

But Equestria...

...

...

...

Equestria was not letting me out of my contract to be a Princess.

Whatever...

...

...

...

I guessed that meant I had to exact my own judgement for what I had done... For giving up on my precious friends like that...

...

...

...

Even if I desparately wanted them, it wouldn't change...

I had abandoned them... Decades ago... And ever since...

...

...

...

I was quickly sobbing at this thought...

...

...

...

Out of nowhere, the Twin Link went active...

My amazing Twin, Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle...

After decades...

...

...

...

And I quickly realized from what I was seeing...

...

...

...

Everypony... EVERYPONY...

...

...

...

They were coming... They were close...

...

...

...

But I didn't deserve this... I didn't deserve them... I had failed them...

...

...

...

It was hard, but I ran quickly out the door, off towards the clearing further into the Everyfree Forest.

The Twin Link went away as soon as I started to run...

...

...

...

I was soon standing next to Dethwell...

I shouted...

"JUSTICE..."

"PEACE..."

"GOODNESS..."

I was crying...

"Honesty..."

"Laughter..."

"Generosity..."

"Loyalty..."

"Kindness..."

I waited...

...

Nothing happened...

...

I thought they would be here soon...

...

...

...

I said quietly "Friendship is Magic..."

...

With the sound of thunder, Eschate Zumulus landed directly in front of me...

He yelled loudly and with mocking disdain...

"PRINCESS OF EQUESTRIA..."

Then he laughed loudly...

...

"So you have finally come to renounce the magic of friendship. Excellent."

...

...

...

I looked up at him, bewildered.

"I... Oh no... Not at all... Friendship is magic... Friendship is amazing... It is just that I have just failed my friends... I have failed Equestria..."

...

...

...

He roared angrily...

He looked down at me, clearly furious...

"WORTHLESS PONY YOU MISUNDERSTOOD...

"In about five seconds, you will be a believer that true friendship is as completely useless as YOU ARE!!!"

...

...

...

I didn't notice... He had already lifted one of his huge paws as he said this...

I didn't even have time to turn around...

...

...

...

I just sighed...

"I deserve this..." I thought to myself...

Chapter 17, Eschate Zumulus, Part 3

Well, we all slept terrible...

We had to wake up two times during the course of the previous night... And the second time was maybe an hour before the Sun came up. And it took everypony a while to get back to sleep. And the Sun was up less than an hour later. This was not a good night's sleep...

We started to wake up, and we all looked like we felt -- haggard, run down, hurting... Well, I sensed repeatedly last night that there was a lot of pain in this room... Not sleeping well, that just made everything worse.

And just like the first time Fluttershy, Shysage and I visited Princess Twilight; that was today's priority, but we didn't want too, because we feared what we would find. That fear nagged at all of us, all morning...

Both Fluttershys went out and fussed with the girls first thing for a little while. The rest of us just laid on the floor. Twin was with Twin, and most hugged and cried softly together.

Equestria Girls Twilight was next to me. I was glad she knew what to do. There was so much pain wrapped up inside the ponies in this room... I would not be able to see past that...

Well, I just hugged Twilight, and she and I wept softly together for a while. I knew she was hurting too. And I knew she was still worried how her first minutes wth her Twin, Princess Twilight, would go. I cried with her. I had my doubts about that part...

Still, this was just not a good day for us to start out like this.

Unfortunately, that just didn't matter...

...

When the Fluttershys came back in, they mentioned it was just a little cool, but slowly warming up. They felt that we would probably not need coats today. We piled them all up next to the door.

There would be no breakfast this morning, either. The task at hand had first priority.

As everypony filed slowly out the door, I walked back and spent a few minutes hugging and crying with both Dawns and Camille. I didn't say anything, because I couldn't say anything. And anything I might say would probably sound stupid. I just cried as we hugged. We just didn't know. I think our amazing neighbor Dawn and her family understood.

Well, we all knew where we needed to go, and when I came out, a long string of Twins was already heading off to Town Square, then Sweet Apple Acres.

Shysage, both Fluttershys and I, along with four huge Panthers, walked at the end of that long line.

As we walked, we slowly gathered together, I think. I really sensed a dawning realization that we were ALL in this together, and that everypony had a part in this. I also felt that this realization was hard... There still seemed to be animosity between friends within this group.

And when we got to the barn, everypony decided that Fluttershy and her cats should go first for the rest of the way. Shysage and I helped the Fluttershys with the cats, so we were up front too. Then our group headed slowly across overgrown orchards to the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Shysage occasionally touched my nose with his as we walked. I can't put in words how much that meant to me. What I really wanted to do was lay down in the grass with him and cry all day... My amazing Stallion knew that. He was comforting me... I love him so much... And today, I really needed him...

...

And I think, the further we got, the more scared we all became. Many ponies were weeping softly, Twins together, and this only increased as we crossed the fields.

And I think... I may have sensed a growing feeling among our precious friends... Maybe this group had let our Princess down. I don't know, that was just hard to really put a finger on.

I think, when we started jumping over the low fence and heading into the Everfree Forest, by then we were all bleeding inside...

And I was not sure how much a part of this I would be, even though I will freely admit I had made my mistakes with these amazing ponies. But I more and more just felt...

Well, it was very hard...

...

As we started down the path to Zecoras hut, I directed the Fluttershys to take the girls on ahead first, and asked Equestria Girls Twilight to join Shysage and I behind them. The rest of Twins then followed us, two or four across.

I would have liked to talk with Twilight, and try to cheer her up. I knew this was tough for her. No words came. We ended up just crying together.

And Shysage, Fluttershy and I had been this way recently. I had a pretty good idea when the Twin Link could go active for both our Princess and Twilight, her Equestria Girls Twin. That was just scary. That made me cry more...

Other than a lot of soft crying, it was otherwise quiet for the 45 minutes or so it took to get close to Zecora's Hut, to our Princess...

And, the closer we got, well, it got very foggy...

...

When Twilight, walking next to me, stopped walking, I knew right away that the Twin Link with Princess Twilight was active...

Equestria Girls Twilight fell to the ground crying immediately.

...

Less that a minute later, Twilight pleaded "Princess, please..."

...

Then "No... She's going... Girls hurry..." and Twilight got up quickly and started walking faster...

...

Less than a minute later, both Pinkies said quietly "Summer, go!"

I was quickly in the air, gaining altitude as I flew straight, to and past Zecora's hut.

I also quickly changed into a people, and spun up my Cutie Mark.

I remembered this part of my dream; then we were too late, and Princess died, and had to be brought back by the tears of devotion... I didn't really want to deal with that auguring pain again...

Still, I could not see very far ahead because of the fog.

I really hoped I wasn't too late...

...

When I finally got to the clearing, I saw that huge Bear...

...

The closer I got, I also saw Princess Twilight; she was WAY too close for my comfort.

I think they were talking...

...

I headed in to land just as I watched him lift his huge paw...

...

I landed right next to Princess Twilight, extended my arm, put my hand up straight, and barely managed to get a shield in front of Princess, well in front of both of us now, just as his huge paw came crashing down.

Eschate's paw hit the shield, bounced off, and he staggered backwards.

...

He roared out in anger, and began to cast some spell.

I pushed the shield forward quickly, and he tumbled madly backwards maybe fifty feet. Well, this stopped him casting his spell, anyway.

I ran forward, up to him, and he worked on getting up.

...

"SUMMER! STOP!!! I DESERVE TO DIE!"

I... What?

Princess Twilight was very angry at me?

Princess Twilight ran up quickly behind me, and started kicking my legs, from behind, with one of her front hooves.

I was a people... These fancy shoes, they barely covered my heel...

And Princess' front hoof was huge...

What Princess was doing, that REALY hurt...

...

Princess said the same thing, over and over...

"SUMMER, STOP IT... LET ME DIE!!!"

She kept kicking me... I would not be able to walk soon...

...

A bunch of ponies ran into the clearing, yelling "Princess Twilight..."

Evidently, this just made Princess more angry, and she kicked me harder...

What had I done?

...

Eschate Zumulus was up, and again began to cast some magic spell.

I didn't bother with the shield, and I just slapped him backwards, than ran up to him again.

I was really trying to get away from Princess Twilight...

...

Princess just followed me though, and started kicking me again. I was sure she would probably break one of my ankles soon... I guess she didn't realize that if she died now, I would die too, I don't know...

The backs of my legs and ankles were throbbing... bleeding...

...

Shysage landed quickly behind me, well he worked his way between me and Princess Twilight, so she couldn't kick me, at least.

This just made Princess Twilight furious at him... I won't write what she said...

...

I motioned a cup shaped shield down over the monster.

...

Pony friends flooded around us, and Princess Twilight's girls, all the Twins, literally surrounded her, and worked her away from Shysage, away from that monster.

...

My ankles and heels hurt so bad...

...

Princess Twilight was outraged...

"GIRLS, JUST LET ME DIE... I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE..."

She yelled that a bunch...

...

Princess Twilight's girls held her inside their circle, and would not let her go.

...

...

...

Shysage yelled...

I have never heard him yell like this...

I guess he realized what nopony else had...

"SUMMER, HE'S CASTING..."

...

...

...

I wasn't really sure what to do. I just froze... I didn't think I could stop him...

I had been so distracted having to deal with Princess Twilight...

I didn't notice...

...

...

...

"Summer I love you..." Shysage said quickly, then sighed...

I think we both thought that was the last words we would ever hear...

...

...

...

A huge Red beam jumped quickly out from the Filia and Fiona Twins...

...

...and Eschate Zumulus was immediately frozen solid...

...

I picked my hand up, formed a fist, and brought it down hard on that monster. His completely frozen body just shattered into a hundred pieces.

...

Somehow, I was right next to that pit called Dethwell...

And it was hard for me to even stand up any more...

I punched my fist down hard into the pit, creating a much deeper hole.

Then I waved with my right hand, and swept most of the chunks of Eschate Zumulus' body into that hole. It was a bloody mess, but I didn't care.

I threw a few fireballs into the pit with my left hand, and it was soon burning.

...

I flew off immediately, and Shysage quickly followed...

I had almost died trying to rescue my Princess, and she had hurt me a lot.

The monster was dead now...

I just wanted away...

I changed back into a pony as I flew. Still, the pain from my hind legs was excruciating, and I was sobbing... It hurt so bad...

I flew to the far end of the clearing. I managed to land without crashing, but it hurt a LOT to even walk... I just laid down right where I had landed, and cried.

Shysage was quickly on his side behind me, and he pulled me up to his neck and chest, and we just cried together...

I needed that... I needed him...

...

After maybe ten minutes, crying in my Stallion's embrace... Both our crying slowed. We both knew that there was really a lot else that needed to be done yet. We just weren't involved with that, not now at least...

It was still pretty foggy in the clearing, and I could just barely see that Fluttershy's girls were enjoying lunch on some stray monster pieces... But we couldn't see Princess Twilight or the rest of her girls.

Shysage and I didn't move. Laying together... this was really solace for both of us. Like I said, I really needed this right now.

Maybe half an hour later, Fluttershy's girls (four huge Black Panthers) came over to us. They laid down around us, and were soon asleep.

...

Well, Shysage and I agreed we had probably done our part for now, and the rest was up to Princess Twilight and her girls.

We both asked true friend to help them. Well, maybe we were thankful we didn't die, either.

Still, for now, all we could do was wait.

That was ok. I doubted I could walk another step any time soon...

Chapter 18, Old Wounds

I really was scared to death...

This was only our third day in Equestria, since, well, for decades...

Right now, in less than an hour, I knew the Twin Link would go active between myself and my amazing Twin, Princess Twilight.

My enthusiasm was guarded. There were reasons why us Equestra Girls came back to our world through the Portal, one day, for good, I thought at the time. That was also decades ago. Still, I honestly wanted that to change.

Maybe I now valued what I had so haplessly cast aside back then...

...But I didn't know if Princess Twilight would...

...

Summer pulled me up front for the final leg of the walk there, and she kept me right next to her. We were in the forest now, and she told me Zecora's Hut wasn't far.

All the time I had been around Summer since we returned to Equestria yesterday, I had only felt her kind, pure and loving heart. Summer wasn't guarded, hesitant or presumptuous like the rest of us. Well, pony Fluttershy wasn't either.

Summer mentioned the Portal had actually brought she, Shysage and Fluttershy here from the distant past, before all this happened. Crying, Summer said that she still loved us all...

I wished I could say that...

I wanted to be able to say that...

Still, I was pretty sure Summer wanted me near. I honestly think she suspected just how excruciating this was for me. I think I needed a friend like that just now. I hugged her a few times on the way.

...

Well, the Twin Link did go active.

The first thing I sensed...

My Twin, Princess Twilight was sobbing deeply...

...

But the Twin Link also surprised, maybe even frightened her, I think.

She ran quickly for the door, then out along the path, away from us, and the Twin Link went silent right away.

...

I really was heart-broken... I didn't want that...

...

But I remembered where she was going, and why maybe...

Now, I was terrified...

...

Both Pinkie Pies sent Summer quickly ahead, as we all hurried to make it to the clearing.

...

I heard that monster roaring...

That filled me with fear... ...for my Twin...

Weren't we worth more than that?

Why was she doing this... to us...

...

We just couldn't get to the clearing fast enough...

This was taking so long...

At least Summer was there, to protect my Twin, I hoped...

...

When we all spilled into the clearing, Summer was trying to take care of that monster...

...as my Twin, Princess Twilight, was furious, repeatedly kicking Summer's legs...

I just... I... Summer, of all ponies?

...

Shysage managed to get between my Twin and Summer...

...

Princess was even more furious, and started kicking him too...

...

Shysage screamed that the monster was casting some magic...

...just as the Filia and Fiona Twins, together, turned that monster into solid Ice...

...

By then, the rest of us had completely encircled our Princess, and we were pulling her away... away from the monster... away from Summer...

...

Princess Twilight was so mad at us; she said some horrible things.

I think we all knew we had to do this, and so we ignored her.

I wondered why she didn't try to fly off, but found out later that it had been years since she had even tried to fly. She was banished to that hut, for decades, after all...

...

...

...

Once our Princess saw that she was trapped... That we were keeping her from leaving...

She laid down in the dead grass and just cried...

My dream, less than 12 hours ago, had prepared me for this part...

And the most amazing tune lept instantly into the background as we started(1)...

Our Princess was trapped in the center of our circle. We needed her, and if that was how we would keep her here for now, then that is what we needed to do.

But, right now, my focus had to be on the rest of us... We were all so horribly broken...

...

The dream had reminded me what we used to say as a group. We needed to say it now...

"Girls, we used to say something together...

"We are going to start saying that again, now...

"After each time we say that, we will stop a few minutes...

"If you remember anything that requires an apology, you need to do that... And I know I will need to be apologizing too...

"We won't say it again, until all apologies are done for that time through...

"And girls... If this sounds tedious, it will be. Something happened to all of us decades ago. We can't just ignore what happened back then, and expect everything to be fine now..."

And I didn't even wait for them to ask questions, or voice any sort of comments.

This absolutely HAD to happen...

...

"Girls, say this with me...

We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria..."

I said this very slowly, so everypony could say it with me.

But I am sure everypony remembered these exact words.

The response was half-hearted, to be sure, me included.

I just waited... My dream had set this all up for me... I could not back down, even though part of me wanted to...

Within two minutes, everypony in the circle was weeping softly...

...

I waited a minute more, maybe.

"Girls, say this with me again...

We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria..."

The crying continued...

And both Fiona's went first, and apologized to Equestria pony Rainbow Dash.

After that, slowly at first, more apologies followed.

I started to remember things that I had to apologize for... I didn't want to say anything, at first. But once I realized that all my friends were feeling the same thing... I realized I had to... I apologized...

Like I said, I was as broken, as guilty as everypony else. What was coming out of my mouth easily proved that...

...

And the specifics of all of these apologies were largely secondary. Details would stay within this circle alone. But the damage needed to be healed. Old wounds needed to be addressed...

...

Princess Twilight was now, also herself, weeping softly...

Still, we kept our places around her, keeping her inside our circle... We needed our Princess here for this...

We needed our Princess...

...

When the apologies stopped, I waited a minute or so.

"Girls, say this with me again...

We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria..."

A bunch more apologies followed...

From me and the rest of these girls...

It took quite a while this time.

We were in no hurry...

And apologies between Twins started too, between both Fluttershys at first. This was surprising, since Equestria pony Fluttershy came from the past, before all this had happened...

And I think with each apology voiced, a bunch more came to mind, to each of the ponies spread all around this circle, me included.

For me, it was like a rapidly growing tidal wave... Things I had said or done... They began to pile up... No wonder...

And we were all still sitting, in a tight circle (to keep Princess Twilight here), facing each other. Everypony could see everypony else. We were all in this together... Everypony heard... everything...

...

Still, after the apologies stopped again, I waited another minute...

"Girls, say this with me again...

We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria..."

A lot more apologies... Between ponies... Between Twins... Between sisters... Maybe over an hour this time...

And I was remembering a LOT more... I was not so slowly becoming appalled at myself... I... This was just so wrong...

And I could only hope Princess Twilight wouldn't leave...

Because most apologies now included tight hugs and lots of tears... Ponies were leaving their places in the circle to hug and cry with amazing friends as they apologized...

Princess could have easily left from this point on, if she really wanted too... I'm glad she stayed...

We needed our Princess...

...

And my precious friends around this circle seemed eager now, to set things straight, to accept responsibility, to make amends...

We ALL needed that... We all needed to WANT that...

...

After that hour, apologies tapered off...

...

It was quiet for a few minutes...

...

I was about to say it again...

...

It was both Fluttershys... Their Element of Harmony surfaced above both of their Cutie Marks, and slowly rose above their heads, and rotated...

...

Well, we all cried pretty hard when we saw this...

I think this gave us all hope...

...

"Girls, say this with me again...

We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria..."

...Lots more apologies...

...Few more Elements surfaced...

...Lots more crying...

I remember thinking to myself, crying... How could we justify treating each other like this...

...

...

...

Over the next maybe two hours, we did this same cycle a few more times...

We were all crying loudly by now...

Nopony even hesitated to apologize for anything they remembered...

And there were a lot more hugs going on... Some apologies drew hugs from ponies not even directly related...

And I had to marvel, the stuff we were apologizing for, it was all over 30 years ago... But we remembered it like it was yesterday... Well, I did...

I cried pretty hard realizing that this was so long overdue...

...

...

...

Both Fluttershys, together, said it first, sobbing...

"Amazing friends, I love you all so much..." It was clear from the way they said this, that they really meant it...

This part wasn't in my dream, but it didn't matter. This used to be the way we felt. We needed that back. And over the next few cycles, everypony was able to say that...

That alone was amazing...

I just cried... We all did...

...

...

...

"Girls, say this with me again...

We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria..."

We all cried, and deeply meant these words as we said them...

It was otherwise quiet...

All the Elements of Harmony were out now, except for Princess Twilight's and mine.

The Shynas, Filias and Fionas didn't have Elements, but it was clear they had taken care of everything too.

We all had...

And again, the what was not as important as the fact that we were, together, trying to heal old wounds...

It stayed quiet. Well, we were all crying together, even Princess Twilight...

It was quiet for a while...

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

...

"Girls, say this with me again...

We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria..."

We all said this together... Quietly serious... Meaning every word...

Devotion is hard to build, but so easily lost...

It was quiet for a while, again...

Honestly, I didn't know what to do next...

...

Princess Twilight spoke up... Well, she yelled loudly...

"And I am only a Princess...

"When you all went your separate ways, you took me apart... You took away what made me who I was... Everything I had worked for with you... It was lost... I was lost... I lost everything..."

Our Princess was sobbing again...

"Equestria lost everything..."

...

...

...

This shook all of us.

Princess was right...

Our petty infighting, selfish taking, and whatever else...

We had all abandoned our Princess in the process...

...

...

...

My dream of maybe 12 hours ago now, had included this part, but I really didn't understand it...

...until this very second...

...

I left my spot in the circle, and walked slowly over to my amazing Princess, my precious Twin, and bowed before her.

My eyes were closed, I was still crying...

"Princess, you are right. I am so sorry... Please forgive me... Please take me back..."

I was sobbing loudly by the time I was done saying that, especially that last part... I said it again...

"Princess, please take me back..."

...

...

...

More than anything else in the Universe, I wanted that very thing...

Nothing else even mattered to me any more...

I wanted my Princess to want me...

I was pleading for my Princess to want me again...

...

...

...

One at a time, the rest of the ponies in this circle did exactly the same thing, said exactly the same thing, and felt exactly the same way...

Everypony was clearly taking turns... And Twins were allowed to go one after the other...

...

...

...

After this we were all bowing before our Princess...

Once again... The ponies in this circle, were committed to being their Princess' loyal, true friends...

...hoping she would give us a second chance...

...

...

...

Princess Twilight was deeply moved, and was still crying loudly...

Still, she did a fair job of making her own apology....

"Precious girls... I am so sorry, that I stopped trying to win you all back... I have failed you..."

Princess just cried...

...

...

...

What Princess Twilight heard...

A growing chorus... Individual ponies... Me included... Pleading...

...

"Princess, please take me back..."

...

I don't think any of the rest of us really wanted anything else in the Universe any more...

Just this...

...

"Princess Twilight... Please take me back..."

We all said this... over and over...

...

It slowly got louder and more frequent...

We were all pleading... We were all desperate... We would probably all soon be hysterical...

...

...

...

Still crying, Princess Twilight said softly "Oh girls..."

It was suddenly very quiet...

"Girls, let's try this again..."

...

The two Twilight's Elements of Harmony joined the rest...

...

The Group Link sprang to life immediately...

We all fell into each other's loving devotion, and together, tried to help each other through almost four decades of shattering loss, auguring pain, stupid abuse...

...

Nine sets of Twins... Fully devoted once again...

We cried together as one, the rest of that afternoon...

This is Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria.

I have lived many years, read many books, and seen and heard about many, many things.

Never in my life have even heard about a devotion as deep as Princess Twilight shares with her close friends.

I can only hope for this same true friendship, this same devotion, for the rest of our precious ponies all over Equestria...

Author's Note

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

Chapter 20, Heart to Heart

I didn't sleep very well that night. My hind legs really did hurt a lot. It was just hard to find any position for them that was even remotely comfortable. After a few hours, I gave up on sleeping, and just enjoyed being next to Shysage. We were both laying on our bellies, and I snuggled up as close to him as I could. I think he was sleeping ok.

I picked my head up and just looked around. Seeing all these amazing Twins together, spread around on the floor like this... I was quickly weeping softly.

"Summer, can we talk?" It was Princess Twilight. I hadn't noticed, she was away from the rest of the group. It hurt, but I got up slowly and limped over to her, and flopped down on the floor next to her. I could tell she was or had been crying softly too. I could easily imagine...

I think Princess wanted to talk, but we were quickly hugging, and she and I cried together. I could not even guess how 30 plus years of banishment felt, and so much had changed for Princess Twilight in the last 12 hours. And I thought I was a mess...

I held my Princess as she cried, and just wept softy with her. We cried together, and this lasted a while. I didn't mind at all.

After crying together for some time, Princess tried to calm down. "I'm sorry... It's just that I never expected..." We both cried a little more.

I hugged her tightly, and said quietly "It's ok Princess, I'm a mess too."

Princess smiled at me, and we hugged as we both worked on calming down.

"Summer, I really am sorry for what I did..." she said quietly.

Princess Twilight wasn't yelling at me, and that meant so much... It took a minute for me to avoid crying just because of that.

"Princess, I know... I am just so glad..." Well I couldn't say anything more, and just wept softly. We hugged and cried together some more briefly. But I think she understood what I meant.

Princess had more to say, I guess. "Summer, thank you too, for bringing me my gi--" I think she wanted to say more, but right then she began crying, and couldn't stop. In so many ways, Princess Twilight depends on her girls being truly with her. Having them back now... We cried softly together some more.

I could have tried to explain that Equestria did most of the work, as usual, but I understood her point. I, too, was deeply grateful for the small role I could play.

It was quiet for a few minutes as we both worked on calming down. During that time, it was clear though that Princess Twilight was thinking.

She spoke softly, more like a close friend. That really meant a lot to me.

"Summer, I have heard you say on a number of occasions, that you feel like Equestria owns you. Well, until yesterday, I don't think I fully understood that. While I was banished, I tried a few different ways to get away from, well, Equestria, I guess.

"But, whether it was a crown that always came back, or a book that refused to burn, or even 17 other ponies that my anger couldn't run off... I think I have finally realized that Equestria owns me too. Like you, I really don't have a choice. I belong to Equestria, and I have finally reconciled myself to that."

I had to smile. "Princess, that is not a bad thing, though..." I answered quietly.

Princess quickly jumped in. "Summer, you so quickly accepted that, maybe because true friendship made such a profound change in your life, and really I admire that. It has just taken me longer to learn to do that. You are right, it is not a bad thing. But it is something each of us needs to accept. It just took me a while, I guess."

"Princess, I think you are amazing..." I responded. I don't think I really could have said anything else. I really feel that way.

Princess said "Oh, Summer..." and we hugged a minute or two.

"Princess, the day you told me I was the Phantom Alicorn, I told you clearly that I didn't want to be a Princess, because you are my Princess. I have never regretted that decision." I said this slowly, thinking it out as I went, and ended up crying at the end, because I really felt that way.

Princess hugged me again, and just sighed. "Summer, I don't know if that was the right decision or not, but it really doesn't matter. Equestria owns both of us. And it is clear that you have so freely accepted that, even without any special title, or position. Princess or Phantom Alicorn, as long as we follow the equestrium, everything will work out."

I understood her point, and smiled that she used the image of those three stars we followed to find the Pony Nation, buried over a millenia in the Past. She and I, we had to follow Equestria.

Still, I said quietly, the first thing that came to mind. "Shysage's Mare is fine with me..." And I did cry as I said this; it was absolutely true.

Princess Twilight smiled, and hugged me again. She didn't say anything, because we had talked before about this, well decades ago now, I don't know. And I honestly have no idea how I had found such an amazing Stallion. I looked up quickly, and spotted him sleeping, right where I had left him. He is my stability. I needed to know where he was right then.

Princess, trying not to cry, said quietly "Well, I envy and appreciate you both. I don't think there is anypony we know that does not see the amazing gem that you both enjoy together."

I quietly said "Thank you, Princess, and we cried a little more together.

It was quiet a minute.

"Princess, are Cel and Lu grafted into Phantasma like my dream?" I think I needed to know this. Well, I wanted to know.

Princess answered, and I was crying softly again as she explained.

"Yes Summer, they are. Your dream got that part right. And I know you are really concerned about that, about them. I have some ideas, but just remember they are also Equestria's Princesses, and Equestria has a stake in rescuing them both. I think Equestria will show us the way."

I just cried a little while, and Princess hugged me as she cried too.

I appreciated what Princess said. Cel and Lu were not just our girls, they were Equestria's Princesses. Still, I had to work to stop crying again.

"Shysage said that Cel and Lu are Equestria..." Still, I was crying softly as I said this.

Princess said "I think he is right. I really can't see an Equestria without them both."

It was quiet for another minute.

I asked this without thinking too far forward. Maybe I should not have, I don't know. "Princess Twilight, I am so glad that your girls... your circle is complete and devoted again... How can we keep it that way though? Shysage said that holding onto something amazing is very difficult..."

Princess was deep in thought, then she said this. "Summer, I don't know. Shysage is right, it is very easy to take even something amazing for granted. Most things worth holding on to, usually take hard work, both to build up, and also to maintain. If we are not careful, time just has a way of eroding everything..."

Princess Twilight was quiet a minute more, maybe, then she said this. "I know that is not a good answer, but I understand your point. I don't want to have to go through this every 1, 2, or 3 decades. But I don't know what the answer is..."

It was quiet for a few more minutes.

Honestly, I was just enjoying being next to my Princess. I always enjoy that. Maybe Princess sensed this.

"Summer, I just want you to know that I really treasure our friendship. You really are a very special friend." Then she hugged me tightly. I just cried...

A few minutes later, we worked on calming down again.

Princess Twilight asked this next. "Ok, so you, Shysage and Fluttershy came from the past, well decades before now, right?"

"Yes. Shysage thinks around 35 years ago is our present." Saying this scared me though.

Princess asked this next "Well, there is no concern with what you say and do here, is that right?"

"Shysage said nothing we do or say here, will affect our present or yours here..." I got this much out, then started crying...

I couldn't talk...

Princess just hugged me as I cried. I am pretty sure she knew that something... "Summer, what is it?" she finally asked softly.

I tried to calm down, and that took a while.

I worked on putting together an answer, and that took a while too.

I ended up crying again, and I guess Shysage heard that, woke up, and was quickly at my side. I leaned up against him and just cried softly.

Princess Twilight asked Shysage what she had asked me. "Shysage, I asked Summer if there was any problem with what she, you or Fluttershy says and does here. I sense from Summer, that there might be some issue here, and I think I need to know what that is."

Shysage hugged me tightly and started to cry himself. I don't think we had even discussed this, but... And I was sure that, right then, Shysage felt exactly what I was feeling. Shysage said what I could not... I think he even used the same words that I would have... He answered quietly while crying softly...

"Princess, we have come from the past, and found Equestria in terrible shape, just like Summer's Dream...

"With each day here, we are finding out more about why that happened. We could easily go back to our present, and work to prevent all this...

"But with each day here, we are realizing that... we don't... maybe we shouldn't... We love you all, and don't want to just... erase... all this... Maybe this is... better... And we may not even want... to... go ba--"

Shysage and I, we had not talked about this at all, but Shysage said it perfectly, for both of us...

He and I cried together as quietly as we could for a while. We couldn't stop...

Princess Twilight clearly understood, and cried softly with us...

Within an hour, we were all asleep, right there on the floor.

Chapter 21, Canterlot Recording

Twins started waking up in the morning, and we did too.

Before getting up and joining her Twin, Princess Twilight said softly "I want to thank you both. I think being around you two has been stability for me a number of times in the past... I think I really needed that last night."

Shysage and I both hugged her, then she headed back to her Twin, Equestria Girls Twilight.

Shysage hugged me tightly, and I wept softly for a little while. Maybe I was still a mess, I don't know...

After I calmed down... "Shysage, I had the strangest dream a little while ago. You were on the stairs of the Castle, and an angry crowd of ponies were hitting you with signs or something. The signs had something red on them, but I have no idea what it meant. It was just... wierd...

Shysage thought a minute, then shrugged. "I don't think there are enough ponies in Equestria for an angry mob right now..."

I was tempted to laugh, but the truth of that statement was very sad...

Well, fixing that, fixing Equestria, that was our next step anyway.

Princess sent us all out to find some breakfast. And the Filias and Fionas were after berries for ink, too. A bunch of ponies reminded Princess Twilight to eat a good breakfast. Princess smiled and said she would.

Oh, and Equestria pony Rarity had to meet Fluttershy's girls.

Shysage and I turned into people, and my Stallion carried me easily outside. Then we changed back to ponies. We took to the air together, and landed in the meadow to the East. Both of these hurt, but Shysage said I needed food, and I also needed to keep my legs and ankles moving.

The meadow looked the same, just a little overgrown. And flying over Ponyville, that was just sad.

Shysage directed us down next to a bunch of Oats near the lake, and we ate together. It hurt to walk, but I didn't have to walk far. And after we were done eating, and had both got a nice drink, we changed to people again, and Shysage carried me over to that small hill.

I laughed, he could hold me in his strong arms, and sit down at the same time. He sat me in his lap, and we just looked off across the meadow as I hugged him. It was very relaxing. My Stallion was close to me, and the meadow looked basically the same.

Rose and Alyssa quickly joined us. They didn't even care that we were people, and purred just the same. Well, maybe they purred more. It is a lot easier to scratch itches with fingers! Soon, they were relaxing next to us.

Both Shynas and both Fluttershys walked over to us maybe ten minutes later, with the other two Panthers.

My amazing sister... "Ok, so Summer, Rose is yours, and Alyssa is Shysage's. Filicia is my Twin's (Equestria Girls Fluttershy), and Dawn is mine. Is that ok with everypony?"

We all looked at our animal friends and smiled.

Soon after that, Equestria pony Shyna started crying. "I just remembered that we were talking together right here when you three just disappeared..." Shysage and I turned back into ponies, and we all hugged Shyna until she calmed down.

I had no intention of asking her if she remembered anything about us coming back...

We also saw the Rainbow Dash Twins working out over Ponyville. But this just made me cry softly. Cel and Lu were out there, somewhere...

After maybe half an hour, Princess' Twin walked up to us. I don't think she planned this, but she was quickly in tears, hugging me tightly. "Summer, thank you so much..." She said this a few times as she cried. I hugged her tightly.

After her crying slowed, I answered softly, using the same words Camille had said to me. "Twilight, it's ok, helping others, we live for that." It was true, and I wanted it to always and ever be true...

Still, it was time to start into Canterlot Recorder chores. Shysage said his stuff was at Dawn's, and he didn't think I would mind visiting there briefly.

The Fluttershys and Shynas took the cats on ahead to the Castle.

Shysage had us both change into people again, and he helped me walk slowly out of the meadow, to Dawn's. Of course, we hugged tightly the whole time as we walked. Still, walking was painful, even as a people. I leaned on Shysage, and that helped a lot. But he said some of the pain just needed to be walked off. Well, I have learned to not question Shysage.

In front of Dawn's, we changed back into ponies, and I hobbled inside. We were soon all on our bellies crying softly together next to Dawn the elder.

I don't think I said much. What had happened, what was happening, it was just so amazing...

I was about to get up to leave. I looked at my amazing neighbor Dawn, and said quietly "Dawn, please take care of yourself. I want you to see all this!"

I hugged her tightly, then I got up, and hugged Camille and her daughter. Then I said "Camille, when Ponyville comes back to life, you will probably have your Helping Hands full."

Camille, crying, hugged me and said "I can't wait!"

I took the time to hug just Dawn the younger for a few minutes. "Dawn, you have an amazing family. You are all very special. I just want you to know that." She started crying, and she, Camille and I cried together briefly.

...

Shysage had slipped into his shoulder sack, and we were soon on our way, as ponies, and I hobbled slowly back to the Castle. We had to stop a few times and rest.

And I couldn't do the steps outside the Castle, so Shysage put the shoulder sack down, and we both changed into people, and he carried me inside and gently put me down on the thick rug, then I changed back into a pony. He was quickly back with a few pages of very cryptic notes.

I was relaxing on the rug, and couldn't move, so everypony just found a comfy spot nearby.

The Filias and Fionas quickly had plenty of ink ready, and, of course, Princess Twilight's Castle had both quills and paper!

The Rainbow Dash Twins were in training, Shysage said, but the rest of us crowded around as the Red-head Unicorns took turns writing.

Shysage deciphered his cryptic notes into a bunch of chapters about his first months here. I cried a lot because he was lonely for me that whole time.

Next, I did the chapters about my return here, first to the Crystal Palace, then Dawns, and finally finding Shysage and Fluttershy. That made Shysage and I both cry. Well, and Sis too.

Everypony else was mostly quiet as we put these chapters together.

Next, Princess Twilight's Twin (Equestria Girls Twilight) started into her recollection leading up to the Equestria Girls return to Equestria through the Portal, the night of the High School reunion.

But the more Twilight talked, the more she remembered. There was just a lot of stuff going on. And it was clear that the six months leading up to the reunion were just excruciating for Twilight.

Princess hugged Twilight tightly and cried with her. Princess and her Twin realized that life had left both of them with, will, nothing left...

None of the rest of us knew any of this, and the Equestria Girls only knew a little of it. We all wept softly as Twilight tried to collect the scattered memories and auguring pain she felt on the other side of the Portal.

Twilight remembered details from the reunion too, and could now reflect on Summer's Dream as well. Equestria had set all this up... It was just amazing... And it wasn't a dream, either.

And the Equestria Girls experiences their first two days in Equestria... The Equestria ponies didn't know about that, either.

Well, it was very clear to all of us that, six months ago, Equestria had reached across the Portal, and put this into motion...

And we all cried a lot as these chapters slowly came together.

After a bunch of chapters, and a lot of tears, Princess Twilight said we should stop for now.

But she added this, as her Twin cried on her shoulders. "Precious friends, it seems so clear to me that Equestria was at work, even months ago, even on the other side of the Portal. That is just amazing. We need to remember that this is all about Equestria, not any one of us."

Still weeping softly, Princess sent everyone out again to find some food. Princess and her Twin cried together a while more.

...

Shysage and I changed into people, and he carried me outside. Rose and Alyssa quickly joined us as we walked slowly off to the meadow to the East (as people). Just being together with him like that...

Of course we changed to ponies once there, and ate and drank some. Rose and Alyssa played together in the grass. Again, the Shynas and Fluttershys and the other two cats joined us. Well the Fluttershys sent the girls off to find some food, and they came back later.

As it got dark, we headed back to the Castle. Fluttershys took the girls on ahead. I think the girls really understand their names! Shysage and I were people again, and I just love walking slowly with him like that. And he was right, it still hurt to walk, but my ankles and legs were slowly feeling better.

While Shysage and I walked slowly, as people, together and alone, I asked him something that occurred to me.

"Shysage, in my dream, we had to avoid the risk of having a foal, because we just didn't know when Phantasma would come to Ponyville. Well, if we get that out of the way soon..." I couldn't finish, and was weeping softly.

Shysage stopped, and we hugged tightly for a few minutes as I tried to calm down.

"Precious Mare... I still doubt there will ever be a good time for that, for us... The real problem is that we don't know how a return to our present would work, or even when that might be. I think having to leave a foal here would be absolutely..." Shysage had to stop, and we both cried together, while hugging a few minutes...

Still, he had answered my question. I knew he was right.

After a few minutes, we started walking back to the Castle again. We were close enough that the Castle lights made walking easy still, even though it was dark.

Shysage stopped, and looked at me. "You have a name picked out already, don't you?" he asked softly.

I just smiled, well, and wept softly. He was right about that too!

Both Fluttershys and both Shynas were having some animal friend time out front when we walked up to the Castle.

Alyssa and Rose ran up to us right away, and we walked slowly over to the rest, and we spent a while petting and scratching our animal friends.

I am not sure how or why it happened, but both Fluttershys, both Shynas and Shysage and I ended up hugging and crying quietly together for a little while too. It felt wonderful being with family like that.

I was going to ask about my Twin, but I chickened out... I just couldn't, not yet anyway.

Both Fluttershys put the cats to bed, and the rest of us headed into the Castle.

I think our animal friends were getting used to the Castle, and didn't mind spending their time outside it when we were inside. I am not totally sure how that works. Well nopony else minded that, and it seems like most of our precious pony friends spent time with the girls at one point or another.

Still people, Shysage helped me walk up the stairs, then we both changed back into ponies, and went inside.

Everypony was in the Library, of course. Still, the whole atmosphere tonight was much more relaxed. I guess, a day with Twins had done a lot of good.

Our evening stayed relaxed, and we were all soon asleep.

Early the next morning, the Applejacks, the Twilights, the Raritys and the Filias and Fionas headed off to Sweet Apple Acres together. At the last minute, the Pinkie Pie Twins decided to tag along, and followed them out to the farm.

The Rainbow Dash Twins headed off to train some more, and the Shyna Twins joined them this time.

That left both Fluttershys, Shysage and I in the Library, but we didn't mind.

My Stallion got his clip thing out, some paper and ink, and the rest of us worked some more on Canterlot Recorder stuff.

It was a pretty relaxed morning, but we still got some rough notes for a few recent chapters done.

The four of us headed out to our girls. Of course, they were glad to see us, and we spent some time with them in the grass for a while.

...

It was painful, but still easier as we walked slowly off towards the meadow to the East.

We stopped at Dawn's for a little while, and gave them all a hug.

Camille mentioned that we may want to come and get the big pile of coats near the door. I think she was hoping she would need the room!

Both Fluttershys, Shysage and I headed to the meadow after a while. It was another nice day, and the Sun felt very nice. We had nothing to do, and were in no hurry. A relaxing day, it felt amazing.

Fluttershy sent the girls off to find some food, and they ran quickly away and were gone.

...

Shysage was looking at me, well, he was just looking at me, I don't know. I soon found out why.

Still looking me over, he said this softly. "Summer, your pony coat has lightened up quite a bit. It seems a lot lighter than I remember. I guess I see you every day, but I just realized. You will be all White in a few years, I think."

Well, he was right, and I didn't even notice. My coat was now a very light Tan with very little Tan left. The Fluttershys agreed too.

"Is that ok?" I asked cautiously. Shysage just looked at me, but this time, that's all he had to do. His eyes said everything. I love him so much.

My sister, well Equestria pony Fluttershy also pointed out... My wings were now very lightly tipped with the color of my mane and tail. "Shyna noticed that immediately the first time she saw you the other day." Well, they would know.

Still, Shysage gasped, "Wow, you're right! That looks amazing!"

"Wait... I'm no gifted Pegasus..." I protested with a frown.

Shysage smiled. "That depends who you ask" he said softly.

And both Fluttershys said quietly "Well, you are the Phantom Alicorn..."

I just sighed.

Well, I looked into Shysage's eyes briefly, but that's all I needed to do. I was beautiful to him, and I guess not much else mattered. I am Shysage's Mare.

...

Mid-morning, we heard what was surely a Sonic Rainboom. That was progress, but I still cringed. I didn't think Phantasma would care about it unless there was magic involved, but I didn't know. I just knew I would need to face that monster, sooner than later, I thought.

The four of us ended up back on that small hill, laying on our bellies, talking. Shysage took a nap, and us girls talked a long time. Equestria Girls Fluttershy told us about her life after Equestria faded, and we cried together quite a bit. It had been very difficult for her.

Maybe early afternoon, we all took a nap. I think the girls did too. The Sun was so nice and warm. The last few days had been so filled with tension. The peace, the calmness out here, felt so amazing...

...

We woke up, quite a bit later, to ponies crying. We realized right away that our animal friends were sitting in a line next to us, to protect us I think. But they weren't growling at all.

The ponies were sitting and crying, some distance away though.

Shysage gasped as soon as he saw them...

Ok, so I just woke up. It looked to me like Cel and Lu, and that made me cry.

Shysage got up, and said as he headed past the girls that it was the Principal sisters. I was not sure how he knew. Then I realized; they didn't have wings.

Equestria Girls Fluttershy ran over right away and was quickly crying with them. Well, we all were soon. Finding them, of all ponies, and here in Equestria. Well, finding ANY ponies in this Equestria was amazing. But Cel and Lu's Twins...

We cried together for an hour, then the Principal sisters met Fluttershy's cats.

Then the six of us (well six ponies plus 4 cats) walked slowly to the Castle. It would be dusk soon. And I had to walk slow; it hurt anyway.

As we walked, Cel and Lu's Twins told us their story, the short version they called it.

After retiring, Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna had quietly slipped through the Portal into Equestria one evening, never to return. They found Equestria in bad shape, and they remembered Summer's Dream at that point.

Both sisters are Unicorns, and they learned more magic and managed to survive. They found their way to Ponyville, and have been living some distance from town ever since, just waiting.

Evidently the Sonic Rainboom earlier tipped them off. They saw us all from across the meadow, and recognized us right away. They were overjoyed, but the four cats looked pretty intimidating. They didn't know what to do, and were soon crying.

Cel's Twin asked us about what had happened with us, but Shysage said that should wait for now.

Both sisters gasped when they saw the Castle lights on. They knew the Castle had sealed itself off, but now...

We just quietly led them into the Library.

Everypony else was there...

We were all crying right away, and would be for a while. We were soon hugging and crying together. The Equestria Girls especially didn't think they would ever see these amazing friends, ever again...

It was hard, but everypony shared their short version to bring the Principal Sisters up to speed.

Then we all cried together for a while longer.

Pretty late, most were soon asleep, Twins together, spread around the Principal sisters.

Well, I couldn't sleep. I mostly cried softly, leaning up against Shysage. He stayed awake with me, because he knew I was hurting. We just cried softly together. I think we both wanted our girls...

Shysage asked me if we could go outside for a while. We were making quite a bit of noise, and he didn't want us to wake anypony else.

We walked together through the hall, then down the steps and into the grass, and we just laid down together. It wasn't cold. Four Black Panthers woke up, moved, and were soon spread around us, and they worked on going back to sleep.

Shysage and I just cried together for a while.

I felt another pony hug me though, and I looked up. It was Princess Twilight. She laid next to me, and cried with us a little while, then we worked on calming down.

"Princess, I'm scared..." I got this much out and couldn't finish.

Princess Twilight hugged me again. "I know Summer, so am I."

The three of us just hugged and cried together for a little while more. Then we calmed down again.

"Today, the Filias and Fionas worked together to use their magic to help Applejack trim a bunch of her apple trees. Applejack explained that the trees need to be kept trimmed in order to have good apples. Her trees are really overgrown.

"Doing the trimming actually involved a very focused Wind spell that needed to be carefully controlled. And I think these four Red-head twins alone possess the magical skill and power necessary together to be able to do this. The girls practiced this Wind Knife spell together all day.

"And Twilight and I worked on using our magic to pull the branches away, right after they were cut off."

Princess Twilight explained this much. As I listened, I think I understood where this was all going. But Princess made sure we understood.

"Our only hope of rescuing Cel and Lu is to somehow do this with them, to be able to carefully cut them away from Phantasma, and quickly pull them clear..."

Princess Twilight started crying. "This is the best we can do, I think..."

Well, I stopped crying. This very well could work. I hugged my Princess, and said quietly "Princess, I have a lot more hope now, that is an amazing solution. And I think we need to realize that Equestria wants them rescued too."

Princess worked on calming down. Then she quietly added this.

"Well, as the Phantom Alicorn, you need to know that Phantasma must be held very still for the five or so seconds it takes to do this. One wrong move could be deadly for our Princesses... And five seconds is a long time, easily enough..."

Ok, so we both were crying again. But still, even though fraught with peril, this could work. And I think Princess, Shysage and I didn't feel it very likely that Phantasma would cut one of them loose, like she did in my dream. We would have to carefully do this twice...

After thinking a few minutes, I asked Princess Twilight "Do the Filia and Fiona sisters know that is what they will be doing?"

Princess answered quietly "Yes..."

We all wept softly together for a while.

This would have to do. I was pretty sure Shysage and I would both be asking true friend...

Once our crying tapered off, Princess asked us to sleep next to she and her Twin, and that was fine.

We were soon inside, and asleep with the rest.

Chapter 22, Phantasma

Well, today was the day, and I think we all knew it.

Repeated magical, double reverse Sonic Rainbooms would announce to Equestria that it was time for Equestria to stand back up. It would probably also bring the second terrible monster here to Ponyville. And retrieving Princess Celestia and Princess Luna (Cel and Lu, our girls) from that monster; this had to be a primary priority.

I think we were all scared. I don't think we really knew exactly how to do what needed to be done.

We were up pretty early.

Princess Twilight sent us all out to find a good breakfast. She and her Twin did the same thing. Most headed to the meadow behind the Castle. The Shynas, Fluttershys, Shysage and I headed to the meadow to the East. This left more for other ponies near the Castle.

Our Panther animal friends followed us, of course.

I still had to walk slow though.

And we stopped at Dawn's again. The cats waited outside, and we all went in and hugged everypony a little while. I took the opportunity to let Dawn and her family know what to expect from today, both the Rainbooms and having to deal with a terrible monster. We all cried for a little while.

I saw the coats on the way out, and asked Shysage to remind me to talk to Princess about having the Filias and Fionas come and get them.

We headed into the meadow and found what we could to eat. The Fluttershys sent the girls off, so they could eat too.

After we ate, we were sitting together on that little hill, waiting for the girls to come back. It was another nice day. Maybe a little breezy, but not cold at all.

We mostly stared out across the meadow, and tried to relax. Little was said. Well, I knew Shysage was doing a lot of what I was, asking true friend for help. Help... We clearly needed that.

When the girls came back, we headed slowly back to the Castle. My legs didn't hurt as bad, but I still had to walk slow.

Once there, we sat together in the grass outside. More amazing friends just gathered around us, around four animal friends, and we waited. Mostly, Twins talked softly together. Getting caught up... I guessed this would take days...

Princess and her twin were the last to come. Equestria Girls Twilight apologetically mentioned that she was trying to get our Princess to eat a lot. We all appreciated that.

It was a little before noon maybe, and Princess Twilight had us set up for the Sonic Rainboom next.

Equestria pony Rainbow Dash can do a Sonic Rainboom all by herself. With her Twin helping her, the two of them together can do a double reverse Sonic Rainboom. Since they are Twins, they know exactly what the other is doing, and the two of them can actually push off of each other's feet, right at the apex. Two Sonic Rainbooms at the same time, this is pretty loud.

In order for it to be magical, I need to have my Cutie Mark spun up, and we had to all be people (which happens when I touched anypony, or when somepony touching me also touches somepony else). We usually hold hands, and as long as we stay holding hands, a beautiful magical trail forms as the Rainbows ascend. This trail keeps the Rainbows connected magically with the Phantom Alicorn (me...), which infuses magic into the Rainboom.

And any Pegasi in the group also have wings, as people, as long as we all stay touching. Well, Pegasi can fly a lot faster as people, which really helps with a Sonic Rainboom.

And the magic in the Rainboom's shockwave substantially speeds up it's progress as it heads away radially.

(Shysage helped me get all this down.)

And we were pretty sure that the magic in the shockwave, as it blasted far beyond the edges of Equestria; this magic would draw Phantasma here. That was our plan anyway. Of course, we had no idea how long it would take Phantasma to walk from Canterlot to Ponyville...

I turned into a people, then we slowly built the full circle with six sets if Twins, one people at a time. It was me, Princess Twilight and her 11 girls. This took a little while.

Once we were all people, holding hands, we carefully broke the Rainbows loose, while my sister and Equestria Girls Rarity stayed touching them, then they moved carefully into the center, and we all moved closer.

After warning everypony, I spun up my Cutie Mark.

When the Rainbows were ready, they launched up quickly, and worked through their usual flight path. Fly up high, split off, one fly up and one fly down, then speed madly towards the apex from opposite directions. The rapid change in direction at the apex is what causes the Rainboom. And the addition of magic just makes everything stronger.

The first time they tried, it didn't work. Because of the breeze, they missed each other at the apex, and just flew back.

We all still cheered them on. None of the rest of us could do this!

The second time, the Rainbows changed their orientation so the axis of their flight was with the direction of the breeze. It worked flawlessly. The Rainboom was almost deafening, and the beautifully colored, surely magical shockwave raced outward very rapidly. The magical trails marking each Rainbow's path were also beautiful, and glowed brightly for a long time.

It had been maybe a generation since that sound was heard in Equestria. But I suspect that, even if they had never heard it before, most ponies in Equestria just knew what it meant.

We weren't done yet, either.

We did another magical Rainboom, and it too, was loud and fast.

As the Rainbow Dash Twins flew back this time, I remembered about the coats at Dawn's, and I asked Princess if she could send the Filias and Fionas to go bring them back to the Library. The four Red-heads were quickly on their way to Dawn's.

The Rainbows asked for a short breather. Well, we could only guess how hard this was.

It was early afternoon, and we were setting up for the third magical Sonic Rainboom. Princess Twilight said in passing that this one would probably be the last.

The Rainbows were about to launch off.

"PRINCESS TWILIGHT, YOU HAVE VIOLATED YOUR BANISHMENT..."

It was Phantasma. She was less than 100 feet away...

A huge White Polar Bear, larger than Eschate Zumulus, maybe 30 feet high, I think. She didn't have wings, so she had to walk here. We had no idea how long ago she left Canterlot, or why. It didn't matter any more. She was here.

A bunch of people in the circle freaked out, let go, and a pile of ponies was the result. Nopony got hurt, but still...

Well, this just underscored... We were not ready for Phantasma, not yet.

The girls (Panthers) were angry and growling, and the Fluttershys called them all back to them, away from Phantasma.

I walked forward some, to face Phantasma. I was still the Phantom Alicorn. I doubted Phantasma knew what she faced. That really didn't matter. Rose left the rest and ran quickly over to me and stood right next to me. She crouched, clearly ready to attack, just like me, and growled loudly at Phantasma.

And I clearly saw both of Equestria's Princesses, grafted into Phantasma's side by their backs. My dream was just a dream, but some of it... Both Princesses were hanging limply now... They just flopped around as Phantasma moved. That was very unsettling.

Princess Twilight, as a pony, walked up from behind, and stood on my other side. Phantasma recognized her immediately, and addressed her. Well, we guessed that yelling was all Phantasma knew how to do.

"WHERE IS MY BROTHER? HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING OVER YOUR BANISHMENT."

Princess Twilight replied carefully but calmly.

"Eschate Zumulus is dead."

"NO!" This appeared to take Phantasma by surprise.

Still, we all knew that we simply were not ready, not yet. The Filias and Fionas were at Dawn's right now.

After a short delay, Princess Twilight asked this next, obviously trying to buy us some time. "Can we have a few minutes to assemble our response to your challenge?"

Phantasma roared loudly, and probably angrily.

"NO, THERE HAS BEEN NO CHALLENGE. YOU HAVE VIOLATED YOUR BANISHMENT AND KILLED MY BROTHER... YOU MUST DIE!!!"

Phantasma started casting some magical spell immediately.

I was about to slap her over, to stop her magic at least.

Rose didn't give me that chance...

Like a Black streak, Rose jumped quickly forward, bounding rapidly across the short distance to Phantasma, and jumped at the last minute, landing on Phantasma's chest. Rose jumped again, and pushed away strongly, and Phantasma fell over backwards.

Well, this stopped her magic.

And as Phantasma worked on getting up, Rose ran quickly to my side again, and turned around to face Phantasma. She crouched again and was still growling.

After standing again, Phantasma just looked around at all of us for the longest time. We didn't think she really knew what happened.

By now, both Filias and Fionas had returned, thanks to the Shyna twins, who flew quickly to Dawn's. Both Twilights moved closer and slightly to one side, and the Red-heads joined them.

"PREPARE TO DIE PRINCESS TWILIGHT!!!"

Another magic spell started.

Rose launched rapidly forward a second time, and knocked Phantasma over again. This stopped her magic.

The Twilights, Filias and Fionas moved closer as Phantasma was on her back.

Rose didn't run away this time, but jumped back up on Phantasma's chest.

Rose just stood there, on top of this monster, growling loudly, staring defiantly...

Phantasma didn't move at all, and just stared at Rose for easily ten seconds. We are not sure why. Rose was clearly not afraid of Phantasma.

There was a loud, high pitched, whistling 'zing' sound over the course of a few seconds, as the Wind Knife did it's work. The Twilight Twins pulled Princess Luna free, and levitated her far away from Phantasma.

"YYYEEEOOOWWW" Phantasma yelled, then she roared loudly again...

Rose jumped quickly away, and ran back to my side.

Both Raritys used pieces of some of the coats to help stop the bleeding along Princess Luna's back.

And Phantasma's side, where Lu was attached, was now bleeding too.

"YOU ARE ANGERING ME PRINCESS!!!" Phantasma bellowed, as she worked on standing back up again. It took a little while.

The Twilight, Filia and Fiona Twins moved over to my other side, and moved some towards Phantasma.

Phantasma started casting some magic again.

Rose didn't move.

I was pretty sure though, that Phantasma was focusing her magic on my Rose now. And I think Rose knew that somehow. That wouldn't do.

Waving my right hand, I not so gently slapped Phantasma over backwards. Well, her magic stopped, anyway.

The Twilights, Filias and Fionas moved closer to Phantasma's side, closer to Cel.

As Phantasma fell over backwards, Rose lept forward, and ran quickly and jumped up onto Phantasma's chest again.

Lunging forward, Rose bit Phantasma's nose.

With one of her huge paws, Phantasma tried a number of times to slap Rose away. Rose jumped, she twisted, she turned... Rose easily evaded a number of attempts...

Phantasma was laying on her back. She wasn't moving a lot, but she was moving... This would be very dangerous...

"True friend, please..." I think I quietly said that a bunch...

Phantasma finally managed to get both front legs around Rose, and pulled Rose tightly to her chest...

Phantasma and Rose, they both just stared at each other as Rose growled loudly...

Time just stopped. Rose was way too close... I was really scared...

...

'Zing'...

As Phantasma cried out in pain, Rose jumped free...

I looked over quickly, Princess Celestia was cut clear and moving away.

I looked back at Phantasma, just as she caught one of Rose's hind legs in her powerful jaws as Rose jumped...

Right away, Rose pulled madly, and quickly freed her leg, but it was already bleeding a lot. Rose jumped to the side, away from Phantasma, hit the ground rolling, but couldn't get up. Rose was crying...

Phantasma didn't even try to get up. That monster started casting some spell, and I knew she was casting it on my Rose again...

...

I had decided yesterday, that I would let Princess Twilight and her girls kill Phantasma once our Princesses were free. I was by no means a Prima Donna, and felt it would be a good opportunity for the devotion they had re-discovered...

But now, I think I was upset.

Rose had made it possible for us to rescue our Princesses, and Phantasma was now singling her out for punishment. And Rose was already hurt bad as a result, and couldn't move.

There just wasn't time. Rose needed this over now...

...

I ran quickly over to Rose, now to Phantasma's side, and stood between Rose and Phantasma. This put me pretty close to Phantasma, but I guess I wasn't too concerned. Holding my right arm out straight, and my hand and fingers up, I motioned a shield up in front of Rose, in front of us. I doubted it would block her magic, but that wasn't my goal.

I pushed the shield quickly forward, and Phantasma rolled painfully sideways maybe fifty feet. She roared out in pain, then yelled "STOP!!!" I ran up to Phantasma and pushed her sideways again. I wanted her away from my Rose.

Phantasma got louder, but I didn't care. I was done with this.

I formed a fist with my right hand, and punched a huge, deep hole in the meadow.

I waved with the back of my right hand, and shoved Phantasma into that hole, then formed a fist again, and pushed her down hard. She roared out in pain some more.

Using my left hand, I streaked a substantial amount of fire down into that hole, on top of Phantasma, then pressed my right hand down hard again. Phantasma was screaming as the fire was burning her fur, her body... I did this a few more times, until it was quiet.

Phantasma was dead... Again...

...

After streaming a bunch more fire into the hole with my left hand, I headed quickly to Rose, unspinning my Cutie Mark as I ran.

Shysage said he didn't think her leg was broken, but she was bleeding badly. He was afraid to do anything to a hurting Panther almost twice his size though.

As a people, I sat down next to Rose's head and I gently stroked her head with my fingers. She was crying. I was crying. But with me here, doing this, Rose let Shysage wrap a piece of a coat tightly around her leg. That was really all we could do right now.

Rose and I cried together. Well, we all did.

Rose is an animal, and we don't know if she understood what she had done to help us. But brave Rose had helped us rescue our Princesses. She had paid a price for that, too.

I think everypony knew I didn't want to move. Well, I couldn't. I doubted Rose would be happy if I left anyway. And an unhappy Panther... Well, it didn't matter, I wanted to stay.

Both Alyssa and Shysage stayed very close to us as well. I think Rose needed that. Rose needed us. She was just an animal friend, but still... After all she had done to help us, I didn't think that was asking too much.

First Cel (Princess Celestia) then Lu (Princess Luna) were carefully moved next to me.

Cel spoke as if very groggy, but said "Hi mom, I knew you'd come." And Cel's Twin (Principal Celestia) said the Twin Link seemed to be working. They moved Cel next to Shysage, and let her rest there. Both were soon hugging and weeping softly together.

They left Lu next to me, on my other side. Lu was lethargic, almost unresponsive. Vice-Principal Luna was next to her, sobbing...

I guess the mother in me expected this from both of our girls. Lu was extremely sensitive, just like me. What she had been through, it had been way more than Lu could carry. Lu would need me close, probably for days, maybe for weeks.

Cel was much more calculating, and surely a lot stronger. Cel needed Shysage, but would probably be on the road to recovery in days maybe.

As the fire in the monster's pit dwindled to a smoulder, we all cried together a few hours, until the Sun dipped below the trees. It could have been a lot worse.

...

But more importantly...

The Elements of Harmony had receded, silently waiting now inside their chosen carriers, Princess Twilight and her amazing friends.

The magical shield around the Castle was gone.

Equestria was alive once again.

Chapter 23, Tough Night

Phantasma was dead.

Equestria was alive, and could come back to life now. Hopefully the few Sonic Rainbooms earlier would start the process of tens of thousands of ponies streaming back into the cities of Equestria.

This was all very amazing.

...

Rose, a 200+ pound Black Panther was injured badly as she helped us rescue our Princesses. Rose wanted me near. Well, I wanted her near me. I was her friend.

I think Cel (Princess Celestia) would probably recover fine with Shysage nearby. It had always been that way.

But Lu (Princess Luna)... 30+ years grafted onto a monster... Emotionally, she had just shut down. I suspected she would need me a lot...

Honestly, I felt so torn.

I think we all cried together for a while. Being able to rescue our Princesses...

As the Sun sank behind the trees, Princess Twilight realized we needed to make arrangements for tonight.

The Fluttershys said that moving Rose into the Castle was just not a good idea, for a number of reasons. But Princess said smiling that she didn't think I would leave Rose tonight. She was right.

And it didn't seem like the night would be cold; this would be very helpful.

The problem was that we were in a meadow near the Castle, but far enough away that it would soon be very dark where we were. The Fluttershys said this was a bad idea with a hurting Panther.

Moving Cel and Lu was easy enough, but moving Rose... Princess had her doubts about this. And Rose didn't even want to try to move, by herself. Evidently, her leg hurt a lot. And Rose cried more when I even looked away from her.

Camille and her daughter Dawn had watched the whole fight. They cried with us afterwards. They also overheard our discussion.

"Summer, we still have one of your old blankets, maybe you could move her on that?" Camille offered. Starting to cry a little she added "We borrowed it from your house, one cold Winter night, for mom, and I guess we kept it, because you never came..."

"My old pony blanket Summer, it should be pretty strong" Shysage said quietly.

Camille and her daughter were quickly back with Shysage's old blanket.

Princess Twilight and her girls were working on getting Cel and Lu moved back over to the grass in front of the Castle. Cel smiled and laid upright on her belly after she was moved. Lu was still laying on her side, completely unresponsive. She was alive, at least.

I would have suggested that Cel and Lu be moved to the Library... But I realized I was staying outside with Rose tonight, and I would want Lu close as well. I also realized that everypony else would probably want to stay outside with Equestria's Princesses tonight anyway.

As it started to get dark, the blanket was folded in half, laying on the grass alongside Rose.

Coaxing Rose over onto the blanket by herself was a lost cause. The Fluttershys even tried. "She's hurting too much" Sis said. We were all weeping softly with Rose, our brave animal friend...

The Fluttershys directed everypony away, even me. Rose was not happy at all, and growled as both Twilights gently moved her onto the blanket.

Well, the first time, they actually got the blanket, and dragged it along. Levitation magic is not as easy as it looks, I guess.

After the second try, Rose was laying on her side, on that thick blanket, very upset. I ran in quickly, and she soon calmed down. Everypony else stayed away until the Fluttershys said it was safe.

I decided it would take eight other people to move the blanket that Rose was on. And I absolutely had to stay with Rose, right next to her head for this.

Shysage turned into a people, and soon had eight volunteers, as people, along the sides of the blanket. We wanted strong people, and this meant the Shyna, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack Twins. Both Pinkie Pies jumped in to help as well. Twisting wrenches or toting rocks, both Pinkies were still pretty strong.

Moving Rose was scary, I won't lie. I knew it hurt her some, as eight people walked unevenly across the field, and the walk wasn't short. And Rose did get upset, and I worked hard to keep her calmed down. At least she didn't bite me. I was still a people, and would not have fared well if she did.

By now it was almost dark though, and the magic lights on the Castle shone brightly. Rose calmed down quite a bit when we got her back in the light, back where she could see better.

And once we had her back down on the grass, her other Panther friends quickly laid on their bellies around to her. I think they were talking to each other. The Fluttershys suggested this. I don't know.

Still a people, I stayed at Rose's head, and sat down when they put the blanket down. Rose was soon calmed down again, and we were all relieved at that. Camille brought another blanket, to put over Rose, and Rose didn't mind that at all.

Still, it was clear Rose was not calm unless I was right next to her, and gently rubbing her head with my fingers.

I... This was so hard...

I had to keep Rose calmed down. The only way I could do that was to rub her head and scratch around her ears with my fingers. Rose would start crying if I didn't keep doing that. She was hurting a lot.

The Twilights moved Lu right next to me (which Princess said was very scary), and I started doing the same thing with Lu.

I knew Lu... I knew she needed to feel me close. I rubbed her head and talked quietly to her too.

The next hour was agony, as I slowly realized that I physically could not do this for very long, let alone all night. I wanted to make Lu a priority, but I had to make Rose a priority. And it was almost impossible to do both.

And I... I was still a people, and both my arms were rapidly becoming so tired... I had to rest more and more often, I knew I was losing ground with this...

Shysage saw and knew what was happening. He was still a people too, and he moved so he was on the other side of Lu, and Cel was moved next to him again. Cel and Shysage cried together, hugging, for a while, then Cel fell asleep. At that point, Shysage took over stroking Lu's head with his fingers, and he talked quietly to her as well. Lu absolutely needed to feel we were near.

While trying to keep Rose calm, I tried to talk more to Lu, too. Still, I was not sure how good a job I was doing with either of them...

...

I knew my Stallion was trying to comfort me...

Shysage softly said this to me...

If I could fly from East to West in search of loving beauty,
I'd never find another near, the Mare that now comes to me.
A Ruby kiss, a heart of Gold, and hands that yearn to serve me,
A love so strong, always my song, your Stallion,

forever I will be.

Shysage started this amazing poem while we raised Cel and Lu over a thousand years back in the Past, and he has added to and changed it a few times. I really love him...

And when I heard these words, I just melted...

But when Lu heard them, she screamed loudly...

"Mommy... Mommy... Where are you?"

Lu cried this over and over again...

I kept saying softly "Lu, I'm right here..."

...

I couldn't look away from Lu, not now. More than any time in our lives together, Lu needed me. She really needed me...

Rose was getting upset...

My sister, well Equestria pony Fluttershy came over quickly, squeezed in right next to me, which turned her into a people, too.

It didn't matter. Fluttershy spoke to Rose like, maybe nopony else ever could. Softly, Sis was almost singing... Rose calmed down immediately.

...

"Mommy... Mommy... Where are you?"

Lu cried this over and over again... She increasingly sounded heartbroken.

A parents worst nightmare... For their foal to cry out like this... And hear no answer...

And everything I said or did... No matter how hard I tried...

"Mommy... Mommy... Please... Where are you?"

Lu was almost hysterical...

I guess I was too...

...

But I think Shysage quickly realized what to do...

Follow the Equestrium tells more about this, but when Cel and Lu were very young, Shysage and I rescued them, within seconds of their death, on a day buried deep in the Past. We were quickly flying in a strong current as these precious foals were tied to our backs. They quickly fell asleep. When we finally landed near dusk, we all ate and drank some. Finally settling in for the night together, the girls said their names were Sue and Lee. That's what we called them when Lu was very young... That's the name Lu needed to hear right now...

...

Shysage moved his head down next to Lu's ear...

"Lee, mommy and I are right here..."

Lu's eyes blinked open wide right away, and she looked up at Shysage... He was crying too...

"Daddy, where's mommy?" Lu almost yelled this.

I did exactly what Shysage just did; I moved my head down next to Lu's head, and spoke quietly in Lu's ear...

"Lee, I'm right here..."

Lu spun her head around quickly, looking wildly for me.

I gently grabbed her pony head in my hands, stared into her eyes, and, crying myself, I said softly "Lee honey, it's ok. I'm right here..."

Lu collapsed into tears in my lap and just cried... Well, we both collapsed into tears together.

Lu actually worked on climbing up into my lap, moving her front legs up to me too, and I helped her with that. Then I wrapped both arms around my little girl, and I hugged her tightly, just like I had a thousand times in the Past... Lu and I, we were sobbing together...

Everything... Everypony else,... It all melted away as I hugged her...

"Mommy, I'm so scared..." Lu said a few times.

"Lee, I'm right here. It's ok." Through my tears, I softly said this each time.

Lu slowly started to calm down.

Our whole family, Shysage, Cel, Lu and I, we were sobbing together now. Cel and Lu's Twins quickly followed, and, well, I guess everypony else was crying with us, too.

I think we all cried together for hours... Everypony around us... Cel and Lu's family...

Lu never moved from my lap. And I realized that Cel had climbed up into Shysage's lap, and he too had wrapped both his arms around her, hugging her tightly, crying...

In the wee hours of the morning, our precious girls, Cel and Lu, now Equestria's Princesses, they both fell asleep.

Shysage and I, we couldn't, we wouldn't dare move, our girls were sleeping soundly in our laps. That meant so much to us...

Shysage reached one hand out and held one of mine.

Holding hands like that, we cried together quietly until the Sun came up.

For our girls, it had been a horrible nightmare...

But they were both safe now, calmly asleep in mommy and daddy's laps.

That meant more to Shysage and I than anyone could ever know...

We couldn't not cry...

...

Cel woke up soon after the Sun came up. She felt Shysage near, saw Lu and I, smiled, then wept softly in Shysage's arms.

An hour later, Lu woke up.

I... Honestly, I was scared...

Lu was clearly trying to look at me, so I moved my head down and around, so she could see me. She smiled at me, then started crying softly right away. I hugged her tightly with both arms again.

"Sister, that was really hard..." Lu said quietly.

After a brief silence, Cel answered quietly "Yes... Yes, it was..."

I couldn't talk...

Shysage tried... "Girls, we are just glad--"

Mom and dad were sobbing again...

Chapter 24, Road to Recovery

Shysage and I, we could have stayed there in the grass outside Princess Twilight's Castle, and hugged and cried all day with our girls, Cel and Lu, Equestria's Princesses.

After maybe 35 years of being mere appendages to a terrible monster, Cel and Lu were cut free and safe.

Equestria was safe too. Both monsters had been killed, and a few Sonic Rainbooms had signalled to Equestria's very soul, that it was safe for ponies to return to the kingdom.

And devotion had already been restored to Princess Twilight's circle, and that, in and of itself was so amazing...

...

After Cel and Lu woke up, maybe mid-morning, we were on the grass, just relaxing together. Lu and I were hugging and crying softly still. I think Shysage and I had no intention of doing anything else.

But that had to change...

Rose's other Panther friends (Felicia, Dawn and Alyssa) had run off, probably to eat, Fluttershy said earlier.

Rose was still very close to me, but not crying much. I think my brave Panther friend felt a lot better. Fluttershy was still a people, right next to me, helping with her.

But Rose's three Panther friends brought Rose some breakfast, a large, bloody chunk of some sort of animal.

It wasn't part of a Pony, Fluttershy assured us. Still, Fluttershy said we all NEEDED to move a good distance away from Rose as she ate.

Magic gently moved Cel and Lu, although Cel probably could have walked. Fluttershy, Shysage and I changed into ponies, and were soon on our bellies, back next to Cel and Lu.

Well, we had all moved away so Rose could eat. But I didn't want to move far, because I wanted Rose to know I was still near. Rose was pretty hungry. And after she ate whatever it was, the four of them just napped right there for an hour or two.

And, so far, Cel had smiled at her Twin, Principal Celestia, but Lu had not even acknowledged her Twin, Vice-Principal Luna. This didn't surprise me, it was probably still too early for my precious Lu.

But it was absolutely amazing that Lu could talk to Cel, Shysage and I. It was hard to not cry at this.

The Raritys, Filias and Fionas brought some rags and clean water, and gently tended to the scabs that ran down Cel and Lu's backs along their spine. The sores seemed to be healing ok, and didn't look infected at all.

Afterwards, Princess Twilight asked about cleaning the deep cuts on Rose's leg, but Sis (Fluttershy) quickly said that was not a good idea. When Rose was ready to get up and walk, she would. She would be fine.

Well, maybe around noon, Rose did get up and walk -- the short distance over to me! I petted and scratched her, as best as I could as a pony, and I talked to her. I really was glad for her help with Phantasma, and I wanted her to know that.

Lu was right next to me, and she looked up at Rose. Lu quietly asked me if she should be scared. I began to weep softly, and told Lu that Rose helped us get she and her sister cut away from Phantasma. Lu smiled, and said "Thank you, Rose."

I just cried...

...

Princess Twilight also declared today to be open season for Sonic Rainbooms, and the Rainbow Dash Twins and Shyna Twins headed off to play in the sky. Playing, in this Equestria... I guessed it had been a while...

Watching them as they flew occasionally over Ponyville, near the Castle, it was clear that Equestria pony Rainbow Dash was directing a pretty substantial workout. Later in the day, we heard why. Four individual Sonic Rainbooms, maybe fifteen seconds apart, blasted out across Equestria from Ponyville. These four amazing Pegasi did this a few times that afternoon.

...

Camille came to the Castle, by herself, maybe around noon, and was quickly crying and hugging with the Filia and Fiona Twins. Crying with long lost friends...

Before heading back to Dawn, Camille got both blankets. With tears in her eyes, she said they already had some new ponies staying at Helping Hands.

I just smiled. "Camille, get ready for a lot more..."

It was a warm, sunny day, and Cel, Lu, Shysage and I spent most of the day relaxing in the grass, enjoying the warmth. Shysage and I stayed right next to Cel and Lu, and I think none of us really wanted to do anything else. We didn't mind.

I think Cel and Shysage talked quite a bit. It was clear that Cel was feeling a lot better. They talked about a lot of different stuff, nothing in particular. Lu and I mostly listened, and I would occasionally say something.

At one point, I hugged Lu tightly, and quietly asked "Lu, honey, how are you doing?

Lu sighed then said quietly "I think I'm getting better. Phantasma taunted us a lot. At first, when Phantasma fell asleep, Cel and I would talk together, and I knew Cel was trying to encourage me..."

Cel and Shysage were silent and listening at this point, and Cel started to cry softly. Lu continued.

"...When Phantasma heard us talking once, she said she would kill the other if either of us talked, ever again... Mom... It was just so hard... My sister... And we couldn't even talk..."

Of course Lu was crying now too, and I hugged her tightly, and cried with her. I could not even imagine... We cried together for a while. Decades... This must have been excruciating for our girls...

Well, at least both were safe now. I didn't think there was any rush with this. I would give Lu as much time as she needed.

Shysage asked Cel if she had Twin Linked with her Twin yet.

Cel's answer made us all cry again... "Dad, my Twin and I are going to wait until Lu is ready..."

We all cried softly together for a little while more.

Out of nowhere, maybe, I asked Shysage... I didn't even pay attention who was around, I don't know. We had been talking about Twins, and I was just thinking it, so I asked... "Shysage, where do you think our Twins are? I have been tip-toeing around that question since we first got..."

Well, I started crying, and Cel did too, well and both Fluttershys...

Shysage moved so he could hug me, and he let me cry on his shoulder for a few minutes, which I appreciated, then he tried to answer, quietly. "Regardless what happened between all of Princess' girls, and on both sides of the Portal, I can't see my Twin ever abandoning Equestria... And, no matter what, I can't see my Twin ever leaving your Twin. That's just... not... possible..."

Shysage was trying not to cry himself, and I hugged him tightly for a few minutes.

Still crying some, I had to ask what was on my mind. "Well, where do you think they are then?" And I knew this was anypony's guess...

Shysage thought a minute, then said quietly "They are probably somewhere here in Equestria, and together. And they probably waited until your Twin's parents died before they came here."

I happened to catch Equestria Girls Fluttershy's face as Shysage explained this. Her eyes slowly grew wider... When Shysage was done, she was crying... "My Sis..." was all she could say for a while, as her Twin (my sister Fluttershy) hugged her and cried with her.

After crying for some time, Equestria Girls Fluttershy tried to explain what she knew. "Even through the hard times we all had together, my Summer and Shysage never had any problems, and worked hard to help us all just get along... Maybe ten years later, they just disappeared. I guess we suspected the worst, they were always helping others, as our world had become a terribly dangerous place..."

Equestria Girls Fluttershy was doing ok, then began to cry pretty hard. She barely got this out...

"...But I just realized as you... They disappeared a few days after mom's funeral..."

Equestria Girls Fluttershy just cried "I want my Sis..." She said this over and over again as she cried... I moved and hugged her, too... Losing a sister, twice... Still, I think we all hoped that Shysage was right about this.

...

After quite a while, we all calmed down again, and Shysage moved back next to Cel, and I moved back along side Lu. As soon as I was back at her side, Lu said this to me, almost whispering "Mom, I have a Twin too, right?"

Well, I started crying right away, and I couldn't say anything. And both Fluttershys did too, because I think they knew why...

Lu's Twin (Vice Principal Luna) watched this through the Twin Link, and got quickly up, but walked slowly over to Lu. Like the first time Twins meet, the Luna Twins sat facing each other, hugged, and wept softly together, and quickly fell into the Twin Link... I don't know if I have ever mentioned this, but their Aura was very dark Blue.

Cel and her Twin soon followed, and Cel and Lu stayed Soul Linked with their Twins most of the afternoon.

Shysage and I just cried...

The Celestia and Luna Twins came out of the Soul Link at about the same time.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were quickly hugging and crying together. We just left them alone. After thirty five years... They both needed this...

Later, Equestria's Princesses asked Princess Twilight over, and the three of them hugged tightly, and cried softly together for a while more.

As the Sun headed for the trees, it was clear that Lu, well Princess Luna, was doing a lot better. Whether it was mom time, Twin time or sister time didn't really matter.

This was all about Equestria, and Equestria needed these three amazing Princesses. The three of them were recovering well from this ordeal, and watching them cry together... I think this, more than anything else, seemed to clearly indicate that Equestria was on the road to recovery...

As this all unfolded around us that afternoon, both Fluttershys and four huge Black Panthers were always close by.

As much as she could, Rose spent the afternoon next to me. She hobbled off with the girls to get some food, and came back later. The material Shysage had wrapped around her leg was gone now. Her leg looked bloody, but there were no open, bleeding areas. Fluttershy said Rose would take care of it from here.

Well, Rose hobbled back to me when they came back. I fussed over my animal friend. I realized I would need to decide where I would spend the night tonight. I quickly decided a lot of that would depend on Rose...

...

Ok, so Sun in the trees meant it would start getting dark soon.

Princess Twilight asked everypony to head to the meadows and find some food and water.

Cel and Lu were doing a fair job of walking slowly, and Princess led them into the meadow behind the Castle. Evidently, there was a large patch of Oats that Princess and everypony else had been saving... Cel and Lu really appreciated that, and ate well.

Shysage and I, both Fluttershys and both Shynas headed past Dawn's to the meadow to the East.

Rose was clearly limping still (well I was too), so we went slow so she could keep up. Once to the meadow, the four Panthers ran off (Rose hobbled), and got their own food.

Us ponies took our time, ate some and got a drink, then settled down on that small hill together.

"Shysage, where do you think your Twin would be here?" I asked. Both Fluttershys and I started weeping softly, right away. Maybe I shouldn't have asked this until Shysage and I were alone...

Shysage hugged me then said quietly "Well, he spent most of his life in Manehatten, so I am guessing that they are now, or soon will be in the process of seeing what they can do to help that city come back to life."

Shysage thought a minute, then added quietly "It will probably be weeks before we can go try to find them..."

Well, an Air Coach was surely out of the question. After almost four decades, new Air Coaches would need to be built again. And the powerful Pegasi that fly them -- there is a lot of training for that.

Of course, that made me wonder how Cloudsdale was faring. And this made me think about Fluttershy and my mom and dad, and this made me cry again. I guess my Sis, well, Equestria pony Fluttershy started crying too. We both knew our parents were also long gone...

...

Our Panther friends came back a little before dusk, and we all slowly headed back to the Castle.

Rose was walking a little better, but was still slow. She rested while I went into Dawn's and hugged everypony for a few minutes. The new ponies staying there, I didn't recognize them at all. It didn't matter. Most of the ponies from Shysage and my present, they were dead now... The Equestria rising back up would be mostly a whole new generation.

After I came back out, we finished our walk to the Castle. We left both Fluttershys outside and they got the Panthers settled down, then they came back inside a little while later.

...

Everypony else was already in the Castle, in the Library.

Well, Cel and Lu both got up and hugged Shysage and I for a few minutes when we came in. Cel and Lu then both returned to their Twins. Princess Twilight, her Twin, and the rest of Princess Twilight's girls were spread out on the floor around Cel and Lu.

Cel, well Princess Celestia was very interested in what had happened to the ponies in this circle, leading up to today. Both Twilights did a good job of narrating everything that had happened, starting with Shysage's appearance maybe six months ago, Fluttershy's arrival maybe a month ago, and my time here starting over a week ago.

Wow, I've only been here less than two weeks... That made me cry...

Still, over a number of hours, and with questions from Cel mostly, we all slowly brought her up to speed on the amazing chain of events... This included Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle's last six months, and the Equestria Girls meeting, and return through the Portal, killing Eschate Zumulus, the restoration of devotion in Princess Twilight's circle, followed by rescuing she and her sister with Rose's help, then the death of Phantasma.

After this was done, most everypony was just crying softly. This really was all about Equestria, and Equestria's hand in all this was so clear... And so much had happened, even in the last week...

It was getting late though. Most everypony Soul-Linked with their Twin some, then went to sleep.

Well, I couldn't sleep... This was strange, because I had not slept at all last night.

Shysage and I were on the outer edge of the group anyway, but I was still working hard to not cry.

We moved a good distance away at first, and Shysage asked what was hurting. I just cried, but I think he realized anyway. We were surrounded by eleven sets of Twins. I think I was hurting for my Twin, Equestria Girls Summer Rain. And I was hurting for Equestria Girls Fluttershy; she needed her sister (my Twin) back, too...

Shysage hugged me as I cried quietly for a while. I had been putting this fear off since we came here, and I think he knew this was a growing concern for me. We both knew there was nothing we could do about it right now.

"Summer, I need a bath..." Shysage said, well, out of the blue...

I... This was just amazing... I so love the way Shysage can know how to help me... I don't know.

We managed to sneak quietly past four sleeping Panthers, and then, after changing into people, we walked slowly together to the meadow off to the East. The Moon wasn't full, but it was high.

We did take a bath together, as people, but we kept our clothes on. They needed a bath too! Then we stood in the meadow and hugged and kissed as people for a while, until our nice Equestria Girls clothes dried out.

Then we changed into ponies, and... Shysage made me feel like a princess... I think I really needed that... It was a nice, warm night, and we splashed and played in the lake for a while afterwards. Soaking wet, we climbed out, flopped down in the grass, and rubbed noses a while until we dried off.

Then we wandered over to that little hill, laying on our bellies about as close to each other as we could get. Shysage hugged me tightly. We didn't say very much, because not much needed to be said. Well, we thanked true friend together. Still, I love my Stallion. I don't ever want to leave him...

Rose hobbled up, and the three of us were quickly asleep on that hill. We spent that night together there.

Chapter 25, Back to Life

Waking up next to my Stallion... We were together and alone! Rose was with us, but still napping.

Well, Shysage hugged me some more, and we rubbed noses a while. We weren't in a hurry, and we were just enjoying being together. This all felt... amazing...

"Mom and dad... It's so nice to know some things never change..."

This voice surprised us. It was Princess Celestia (Cel), accompanied by Princess Luna (Lu) and both of their Twins. Cel and Lu were smiling, so I guessed we weren't in trouble!

"Princess Twilight was pretty sure we would find you here" Lu said quietly.

Shysage and I, we were quickly hugging our girls tightly. And after a little while, we included Cel and Lu's Twins, and we all hugged together for quite a while, crying softly. Still, these were tears of healing.

It was a good time for breakfast, and we all wandered around the meadow and found some food. Both Fluttershys and both Shynas joined us, and four Panthers wandered off to find their own breakfast.

Rose was walking better, and it looked like she had cleaned her leg off most of the way. Sis was right about Rose, of course.

But watching our girls (Cel and Lu) have a relaxed meal together... This made me cry again.

A little later, Lu came up to me, and I hugged her tightly.

"Mom, can you and I go for a walk?" Lu asked.

Shysage nodded quickly. "Just don't go far. I'm kind of attached to you both."

Lu and I both hugged dad before we wandered off. At Lu's request, we took Lu's Twin (Vice Principal Luna) with us, because, well, there are no secrets between Twins anyway.

And I quickly noticed that the Shyna Twins were soon flying slowly over Ponyville. I guessed correctly that Cel asked them to keep tabs on us. We fully understood.

For now we just wandered the meadows around Ponyville. I knew my way well enough to keep us close to town.

Well, ok, we didn't get very far before Lu and I were hugging, crying together. Well Lu's Twin was crying with us too, but I was pretty sure Lu needed me.

Maybe half an hour later, we tried to calm down, and resumed our walk.

"So mom, you and dad skipped past all this, and came here from the past, right?" Lu asked.

I had to think about how to answer this. Then I remembered we couldn't ruin anything here and now. "Yes, dad says we came here from maybe 35 years ago."

Lu answered quickly "Ok, yes, that was some years before all this happened..."

After a brief pause, Lu said quietly "Thanks, mom, for rescuing us..." Then she stopped and cried.

Her Twin (Vice Principal Luna) tried to add "Thanks, too, for rescuing Equestria..." but could get no further.

We all stopped again, and cried together. But I think Lu needed that, and maybe her Twin did too. And I honestly was amazed that Lu had a handle on the passage of the years like that. I could have tried to explain to them both that I wasn't the only pony involved in the rescue. Lu and her Twin would learn that soon enough. We just cried together a while more.

We started walking again. It was mostly quiet, and I could tell Lu was thinking. Staring off across the meadow, Lu said slowly "I know it was harder for my sister, but I think it was actually easier for me to be banished... All those fights with Dark Melvain... This showed me some of what she had to endure, as Princess of Equestria... I don't know if I would have survived all that..."

We had to stop again, because I was quickly crying softly. "Lu, your absense was so deeply felt every time we went back..." I knew this would make Lu cry, but it was true...

It did make her cry. "Mom, I really love my sister..." The three of us hugged and cried together some more...

Again, we calmed down after a while, then resumed our walk. I noted to myself that we weren't getting very far, but it didn't matter.

While walking again, Lu said softly "Mom, I wish somepony had told me being a Princess would hurt so much..."

I said what I should have. "Lu, you are one of the two appointed ones. Equestria chose you to be the Princess. And you and your sister are amazing Princesses!" As I said this, I stopped and hugged Lu tightly. I really meant that.

Starting to cry again, Lu said quietly "And you are my amazing mom..."

THAT made me cry, a lot. We just stopped again, and hugged and cried together some more. Like I told Princess Twilight, I have no desire to be a Princess myself. But names like mom and mare, these mean so much to me...

Calming down again after a while, we resumed our walk.

Lu's tone was much more somber as she asked "So when do you and dad need to go back?"

Well, I started crying again. Still, through tears, I tried to explain as best I could...

"Lu, we are really not sure. The Portal put us here, and if we go back we could probably prevent a lot of this. But that is scary, and we are thinking we shouldn't say anything when we go back... And maybe we should say if we go back, I don't know... That is just really hard..."

Both Lu and her Twin hugged me as I tried to calm down. This was just a very real concern. I had no idea how this would all work out...

We were soon walking again, and realized we had better make our way back to dad and the rest.

I just sighed. "Lu, I love you a lot..." I said this, then had to work hard to not cry again.

Lu and her Twin sighed too, at the same time, in the same way...

After a few minutes of quiet, Lu said softly "I doubt Sister and I would even be alive without you rescuing us like you have..."

"I think that may be a part of my calling, honey..." I answered quietly. Using my Phantom Alicorn abilities to rescue family... I could live with that.

We saw Cel and dad up ahead. We stopped again, and hugged and cried together a while more.

After we got back from our walk, we rejoined the rest, and we all walked back to the Castle together. Cel and Lu led the way, with their Twins at their side, and the four of them were talking together. Ok, so I still had to work to not cry...

Shysage and I along with both Fluttershys followed them. Near the Castle, we stopped briefly, and I hugged Equestria Girls Fluttershy... Well, the four of us ended up hugging together. I was pretty sure we all knew what was going on.

Still, on the way we did encounter a few ponies, which we didn't recognize, but who did recognize and bow to both of Equestria's Princesses. I am sure it had been decades...

After we all got back to the Castle, we found most everypony relaxing in the grass, Twin with Twin, outside the Castle. Of course, everypony got up right away and bowed. Princess Celestia had us all up quickly, and then we all cried together. It had only been a few days since...

A little while later, a bunch of the Twins wandered off. Well, Princess Twilight's girls mainly. The Applejacks headed for the farm, the Fluttershys headed to their Cottage, and the Rarity and Fiona Twins walked into town to check out the Boutique.

Rose and Alyssa decided to stay with Shysage and I, but the other two Panthers jumped along behind both Fluttershys as they walked off, chatting happily together. I think we both knew animal friends in the clearing next to Fluttershy's Cottage, that was therapy for both amazing Fluttershys.

A little after noon, a VERY unexpected visitor landed near the Castle, and was quickly hugging with Equestria's Princesses. It was Princess Cadance, and Equestria's four Princesses hugged tightly and wept softly together for quite a while.

After that, they were all on their bellies facing each other, and everypony else spread out in the grass around them.

"Shining Armor and some of his men will be here soon. They left the Crystal Palace when I did, and are running here" Princess Cadance said.

After some thought, Princess Celestia asked "So, I take it that the Crystal Empire was, well vacated, while the monsters were in control?"

Princess Cadance replied "Yes. And our return seems to have repaired the damage to all the buildings in the Crystal Empire. It also seems that while we were absent, time stopped for all of the ponies in the Crystal Empire. All our precious crystal ponies... It is like we never left..." Princess Cadance cried briefly as she said this. Still, a Princess' heart for her ponies, this was so clear...

And I knew that both Princess Cadance and Shining Armor would no longer age, since they had been through the Portal. But, from what Princess Cadance said, the Crystal Empire took care of all of it's ponies during the time the Empire was not in Equestria. This was amazing...

Cel was clearly thinking all this through. Then she said quietly "I think the rest of my questions will be directed at Shining Armor when he arrives."

Everypony just relaxed in the grass there, and talked calmly together. It was a nice warm day, and the Sun felt so good.

We didn't have to wait long. Shining Armer soon ran up along with eight other guards. I recognized Roderick, but not the rest. They were all Unicorns like Shining Armor though.

Shysage and I were on the far edge of this sea of pony friends, but still Shining Armor and his men kept their distance because of the two Black Panthers he saw. I had to remember again, that each Panther was as big as Shining Armor!

I just reached over and scratched Rose's closest ear with my hoof, and she closed her eyes and purred loudly. Of course, Shysage had to do the same thing to Alyssa, but neither minded. I think Shining Armor realized they were animal friends.

Shining Armor then gave some orders, and the eight guards that accompanied him quickly took up perimeter positions around the Castle.

At that point, Shining Armor hugged his Mare tightly for a few minutes. Then he hugged his sister (Princess Twilight) briefly as well; the two of them cried together. I wondered if Princess Twilight may have been in sad shape last time they talked. Shining Armor next walked all the way back to us, and hugged me, then my Stallion! I don't know. Maybe these two are closer than I think.

Shining Armor next bowed to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. He usually didn't, but I guess...

...

It was clear that a high level meeting of Equestria's leadership needed to take place. Princess Twilight had everypony back up some, and then Equestria's four Princessess and Shining Armor sat in a circle and conducted Princess business, maybe for the first time in many years...

Shysage and I ended up the furthest away from, well everypony. It didn't matter, we could hear what was going on, and that was what was important. He and I laid on our bellies and listened, with a Panther napping on either side. And honestly, I was hoping they did not call me over. I am just Shysage's Mare. Don't tell anypony I said that!

Princess Twilight first narrated the events leading up to today. She clearly told the short version, but actually started with Equestria reaching out to Princess' Twin in the Equestria Girls world six months ago, as well as Shysage's arrival here at about the same time. Then Princess briefly mentioned Fluttershy coming here, then me.

Princess Celestia interrupted and spoke up quickly at this point. "Dad, make sure you record all of this."

Shysage replied quietly "Cel, we will. Princess Twilight has already indicated that is a priority for us, and we have already started that task."

Cel, well Princess Celestia looked at Princess Twilight and both smiled.

"Very good. I want this written down. I want all of this written down." Cel said this forcefully and officially.

Shysage and I looked at each other and smiled. I guess we both still had our jobs!

Princess next covered recent events; the killing of Eschate Zumulus, the restoration of Princess' circle (both Twilights cried), the rescue of Cel and Lu (with Rose's help, of course) and the death of Phantasma.

Anyway, I think Shining Armor was just amazed at all of this. He had nothing to add.

And I also think that Cel (Princess Celestia) had already been thinking through her next steps. Maybe she and Shysage had talked about it, I don't know. But it was clear Cel was calling the shots again. Well, Equestria was... I tried not to cry.

"Shining Armor, I don't think that, at this point, a large Guard presence is required here. With Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony, well and the Phantom Alicorn... and the Filia and Fiona Twins, too...

"I want you to take all your Guards to Canterlot and immediately seal off and secure the Canterlot Library. That is to be your highest priority. Our past cannot be lost.

"Once that is done, I want you to evaluate the condition of Canterlot, focusing on the leadership and Guard functions.

"Evaluate the condition of the Audience Hall. I suspect structurally it will be fine, and don't worry too much about everything on the inside. The only thing that was there that was important to me..."

Princess Celestia had to stop and cry a minute as she hugged her sister, Princess Luna. Well, the two of them cried together briefly. Then Princess Celestia continued.

"But please evaluate the food stocks in the Audience Hall. That might prove helpful.

"It is just a matter of time until thousands of our ponies flood back into the major cities, including Canterlot. We need to be ready for that. If you find suitable stallions who are willing to augment the Guard function, then make that happen. Wages will be deferred, but their contribution will be compensated."

It was quiet for a minute, and Princess Celestia added this.

"I want to be diplomatic here, and I don't want to offend anypony. Rainbow Dash Twins, since you both carry an Element of Harmony, we need to safeguard you. I want you both to stay near the Castle, for now.

"However, I would like for the Shyna Twins to fly to Canterlot and back every couple of days, as Shining Armor sees fit. We will need fairly quick communication as we try to put Equestria back together."

Both Shynas bowed, then said "Yes, Princess, we will."

"Anything else?" Princess Celestia asked calmly.

Princess Twilight worked on not crying, and failed... "I'm sorry, I just never thought..." Four Princesses hugged tightly again for a few minutes.

Then Princess Celestia said "Shining Armor, you have your orders. You may leave Princess Cadance here, or accompany her back to the Crystal Empire, or keep her in Canterlot with you. That is up to you."

Shining Armor bowed, then walked back to Shysage and I. He met Rose and Alyssa, and was clearly amazed. I love my sister...

Equestria's four Princesses hugged and cried together some more. I think each one was glad to be able to rule Equestria together again...

Princess Cadance, Shining Armor and his men then headed away, back to the Crystal Palace. Princess Cadance would stay there until Canterlot was restored. Due to the way the Crystal Empire, well, vacated, when everypony came right back, everything was just like they left it. Food supplies, guards, everything was just as it was when everypony withdrew. I have no idea how that works.

The rest of Equestria was clearly a huge mess.

And after they left, Cel spent a while hugging and crying with the Shyna Twins, family from the distant Past...

Later that afternoon, Camille walked up to the Castle with two other ponies. Equestria's three Princesses were relaxing in the grass together, but quickly got up, and got the three bowing visitors back up, too.

"Princess Twilight, I am Pumpkin Cake, and this is my brother Pound Cake. You probably knew our parents, they ran a goodies shop here in town..."

Equestria pony Pinkie Pie squeeled right away, ran over, and was quickly hugging both, crying.

"I knew you both when..." This was all Pinkie could say.

Once everypony calmed down, Princess Twilight took over, I guess.

"Pumpkin Cake, how are your parents doing?"

Pumpkin Cake frowned. "They are doing ok, I guess. They are pretty old. They are at Helping Hands right now trying to recover from a long trip."

Princess said quietly "We must visit them then. They were an important part of Ponyville..." I think she wanted to say more, but was working on not crying. There were aspects of the lost past that just couldn't be replaced...

Her Twin (Equestria Girls Twilight) took over for Princess "Can you both cook very well? I think Ponyville will soon be full of hungry ponies!"

Pumpkin Cake was clearly not boastful. "I suppose, our parents taught us everything..." Then she paused, thought a minute, then continued. "Still, from the looks of the shop, I think it will be a while..."

Princess Twilight had recovered, and smiled at Pumpkin Cake. Princess clearly had other plans.

"Twin, can you show them to the Castle kitchen?"

The Cake's kids were quickly on their way into the Castle, into the kitchen, to see what could be done there.

"Summer, how many ponies do you think Dawn's can hold?" Princess asked me.

"Comfortably? Ten maybe, I don't know. We fit 18 in there, but it was very tight" I replied.

"I think we will need to see what we can do about that" Princess said, after some thought. I was not sure what she had in mind though.

Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake were soon back out, brushing away tears.

Equestria Girls Twilight explained. "Princess, there is a ton of food, supplies and ingredients usable and ready in your kitchen. The containers that were used to hold everything sealed very well, and just about everything is ready to go.

Princess just smiled. "Would the Cake family like to take care of feeding us for a while, until their shop is repaired?"

Well, Pumpkin Cake quickly hugged Princess Twilight. For the Cakes to be able to cook again...

Princess added "Please find a comfortable spot for your family, and make yourselves at home. I don't think anypony else here knows how to cook like your family does. However, be mindful that it may be some months before our current stock of food supplies is replenished. After you all have come to terms with what is there, we can talk and decide on some sort of food schedule."

"And we will help you too!" Both Pinkie Pies said this, at the same time, in the same way...

I hugged Camille, and she started crying softly right away. "Summer, mom got up for a little while last night..." Camille and I cried together for a few minutes.

Then Camille and the Cake's kids headed off to collect the rest of their family, which ended up being their two well known parents, Pumpkin Cake's Stallion, and Pound Cake's Mare. And, it seems, they all were still good at cooking!

Princess called me over, and said quietly "Summer, your dream made this all sound so easy. I think bringing Ponyville back to life will be a challenge. Fun, but a challenge."

"I know a very organized Princess who might do very well with that" I replied quietly.

Princess smiled, and we hugged for a few minutes.

Princess Celestia added "I think it may take all of us to bring Equestria back to life. But yes, It will be a labor of love."

We all knew that was true.

Chapter 27, Canterlot Recording, Part 2

Shysage and I, we slept together with everypony else in the Library that night. There was occasional weeping during the course of the night still, but I think we all slept ok.

And I had to wonder why Cel (Princess Celestia), Lu (Princess Luna) and their Twins didn't sleep by themselves in a different room. Well, the Filia and Fiona Twins weren't sleeping in what used to be their room either. We all slept together in the Library.

I quietly asked Shysage. He said he felt that what had happened... Well, we were all in this together. Equestria gave all of us a second chance. So now, we were all basically on equal footing, was the phrase he used. Everypony wanted to stay together. I think he was right.

And Shysage explained a little more. It didn't matter that he, Fluttershy and I had fast forwarded (Shysage's words again) past all the tough stuff... We were just as much a part of this second chance. Shysage said this was another reason why... Well, he couldn't say more.

I scooted over as close to Shysage as I could, and I briefly rubbed his nose with mine, just once. That helped him calm down. And really, that was all I felt we could do, everypony else was starting to wake up. I love him so much...

After everypony was awake, the three Princesses and their Twins had some sort of meeting. Then Princess Twilight said this. "Ok girls, I want everypony to go out and get some breakfast. Then come back here to the Library, it's time for more Canterlot Recording."

That pretty much defined the day for Shysage and I. We didn't mind.

Everypony preferred that both Fluttershys, Shysage and I go out first, and take care of our Panther guards! We didn't mind, and the Shynas came too. We were off to the meadow to the East.

As we passed by Dawn's, she and Camille were sitting out front, talking together. Camille's foal was with them also, of course.

When she saw us, Camille spoke up quickly. "Summer, we need your input. Helping Hands is pretty crowded, and some of the ponies want to fix up your home next door, so we can have more room. Would that be ok?"

Shysage said that would be fine, and they could just throw stuff they didn't want out back, and we would go through it later. Shysage also asked that they move the Royal Red couch into a corner somewhere inside, and just leave it, for now.

Well, at least he could talk. I was busy hugging and crying with Dawn and her family.

It was uncanny though, I remembered this in pretty good detail from my dream. And I know that neither Dawn nor Camille had any clue about the specifics...

We headed into the meadow, and got some breakfast. Our animal friends ran off, and did the same thing. And Rose seemed to have recovered most of the way from her injuries. I was glad about that. I think she loves running like I love flying. Rose is just an animal, but...

Well, we couldn't take our time, not this morning. Too soon, we were all on our way back to the Castle. We fussed with our animal friends outside for a little while, then joined everypony else inside.

It was clear that Cel and Lu and their Twins wanted a front row seat for the Canterlot Recorder process. Equestria's Princesses had both seen the results, but with them here, today...

Like our last time doing this together, the Filias and Fionas took turns doing the writing. Paper and quills were in good supply in the Castle, and there was plenty of ink.

Everypony helped, and Shysage and I (mostly me) did the final, well, sourcing, for the words we recorded. Don't get me wrong, it was truly a group effort, and just about everypony had valuable input. Still, Canterlot Recording for today went very slowly. And we spent a lot of time crying together...

Our last day together doing Canterlot Recorder stuff, we covered the time up through the Equestria Girls trip from the Portal, including their arrival in Ponyville.

My Stallion had worked through some rough notes for the next few chapters, and we started into that.

The night after the Equestria Girls arrived in Ponyville; that night was emotionally tumultuous (Shysage suggested that) for a lot of reasons, and a lot happened. Equestria Girls Twilight and I both remembered being so totally overwhelmed at seeing each other again that evening... We both stopped and cried together for a little while.

We packed into Dawn's for that night, and there was barely room for all of us to lay down. The night was hard anyway, with the last Twin, Equestria pony Rarity, showing up in the middle of the night. And for Rare to even show up there, on just that night...

And Princess Twilight's Twin had a vivid dream shortly before dawn... We all woke up again, to Twilight's loud crying, but her dream actually... I think Equestria really gave her that dream, to show her how to bring everypony back together... Well, it worked...

We were about to start in on the chapter about our trip together to rescue our Princess...

Princess Twilight, crying already, said she first needed to do a chapter about her experiences between our first visit, and the day we all came... We weren't going to argue with her, but she was right anyway.

Princess' chapter came together very slowly. She was crying with her Twin the whole time. And as she walked through those few days, it became even more clear, that both Twilights had simply come to the end of, well, everything, only to have Equestria snatch them both back.

We all ended up crying with our Princess as she described those days... And being able to see the progression of her thoughts through that time period... And Equestria refusing to let Princess go... That was just amazing... And I think our Princess ended up being embarrassed about what she described. But I don't think any pony present felt anything but pure devotion for our amazing princess, Princess Twilight...

When this chapter was done, we all sat in a tight group, hugging together with her... I think we all love Princess Twilight...

It was mid-afternoon, and it was clear we had to be done for the day.

And Cel and Lu seemed amazed at this entire process. Shysage told Cel later that we didn't always do this with everypony else, but recent volumes were done together like this, more often than not.

Lu just answered quietly that she and her sister should read what we had already done, so they knew the rest of the story up to this point.

...

For the rest of the afternoon, we had to do something different.

We all walked out to Sweet Apple Acres. The Twilights, Filias and Fionas helped the Applejacks by trimming more trees. This is the first time I had watched this. Making overgrown scary trees look like nice apple trees...

Watching this was amazing, even if the Wind Knife spell was pretty loud. And the Filia, Fiona and Twilight Twins split up into two groups. Evidently the Filia and Fiona Twins were growing stronger in their magic even as they did this.

But I wanted to tell Cel and Lu... I moved over next to Lu, and Cel was next to her. "Lu, this is how we cut you and Cel away from Phantasma..." Lu looked at me with the wildest amazement, and Cel looked at me right away, too. "Well, Phantasma was on her back, and Rose kept her still long enough... We all just cried together a little while. That whole thing still amazes me...

The rest of us sat together in the late afternoon Sun and visited, while Applejack's trees got a haircut. We all laughed a little while after Shysage said that.

When our nice warm sunlight went away, we all found dinner in the meadow near the barn. And again, we sent four Panthers off to find their own dinner, and they were soon back. Then we walked back to the Castle as the Sun went down.

We spent the evening all together.

It was quiet at first, as Cel and Lu read through what we had already recorded, about our time here, starting from the very beginning of what we had recorded. Quickly enough, Cel could no longer read through her tears, and Shysage read it for, well, all of us; everypony was listening by then. He cried too, but managed to keep reading.

Again, it was so clear... Equestria was, is doing this...

We were all soon asleep, Twin with Twin, and sisters with sisters, on the floor in the Library.

I woke up the next morning to Shysage hugging me and working mostly unsuccessfully at not crying. We walked quietly outside, and laid on our bellies next to each other in the grass. We were surrounded by four Panther animal friends right away. They clearly wanted some attention, but realized I guess that we couldn't.

"Summer, I don't even know if I want to go ba--" Shysage got this much out, then cried on my shoulder. Well, we were quickly crying together. I guessed Equestria would need to make that decision for us. Shysage and I had no clue.

And it was no surprise that my Sis and her Twin were soon next to me also crying. For the three of us that had come here from over three decades ago... Well, there was just no right answer...

The four of us cried together a while, then spent some time with animal friends.

As amazing ponies began to spill out of the Castle, we realized it was time for breakfast, and we headed off towards the East meadow. The Shyna Twins quickly joined us. They both knew we were all crying, and the Shyna Twins cried too, when Sis explained. This wasn't today's problem (we didn't think), but still.

Walking by Dawns, we saw that the Canterlot Recorder's home had a nice roof again, and there were clearly ponies inside. We didn't mind. Dawn needed the room.

After we left Dawns and walked through the meadow towards the lake, Shysage explained that he had originally dug up his shoulder sack, because he fully intended to record everything, and he was convinced he would take all that back to our present, to try and avert all this. But he was pretty sure now, if we did go back, we probably shouldn't say anything...

Well, this was our problem, not everypony elses'. It was hard though, and we all wept softly for a while. And, while we were next to each other eating, Shysage said quietly that getting both Eschate Zumulus and Phantasma taken care of so quickly... Well, he didn't know any other reasons why we had to be here, and that was just scary...

Well, what should we do? Us six ponies gathered on that little hill, and just cried together. I am sure Shysage was asking true friend for help as I was, maybe Equestria Girls Fluttershy too. That's just what we do...

After a little while, Equestria pony Shyna mentioned that today was more Canterlot Recording, and we really should get back.

I hugged Dawn the elder one the way. She was sitting out front in the morning Sun. We both just cried together briefly.

We guessed Canterlot Recording would happen outside, in the grass near the Castle today. That was fine. It was a nice day. The six of us laid on our bellies at the edge of this group of family and amazing friends...

Still, Shysage and I had spent some time last night, talking quietly about the next few chapters. The next chapter especially scared me. I... Recording my Princess at her worst, maybe, and in front of this whole group...

We were still on the edge of the group, and everypony was settling down. Equestria pony Filia would be writing first, and the Filias and Fionas were getting everything ready for that, and Princess Twilight and her Twin were next to them, and Cel and Lu and their Twins were next to the Twilights.

Honestly, I wasn't even sure where to start...

Cel (Princess Celestia) spoke up quickly "Shyna Twins, I almost forgot... You both need to head to Canterlot today for a status update from Shining Armor."

Well, Equestria pony Shyna said "Aww..." It wasn't loud, but we heard it. She really wanted to stay for this...

Princess Twilight put a crown pouch over each of their necks, and they were on their way. I guessed they would waste no time in making this trip, and I was right. They were to Canterlot and back in maybe an hour and a half. Gifted Pegasi indeed!

Ok, so we were ready to start. And first thing... I just burst into tears... Crying, I jumped up, ran over to my Princess, and just cried on her shoulders...

I think everypony was mystified, especially Princess Twilight...

After a minute maybe, Shysage said quietly "Princess, the next chapter involves the fight with Eschate Zumulus, and you were furious with Summer..." I don't think Shysage could say any more. He didn't have to either...

And Princess was quickly sobbing herself, hugging me tightly. This lasted a little while, and I think most everypony else realized what was going on, and they too, were weeping softly. This was just not a good day for our Princess...

It took a little while, but we all managed to calm down. Princess Twilight told me to go back next to Shysage, and Princess came and laid on her belly right next to me, with her Twin next to her.

Then, before I even started, Princess Twilight, still crying, said this. "I am not proud of what I did this day... But it was a part of what Equestria had to do to get me back. We need to record it, just like it happened..."

Princess and I had to hug together a little more, then I think we were ready to start recording...

The day actually started out with maybe 18 dog-tired ponies leaving Dawn's and heading to Sweet Apple Acres, then the Everfree Forest, ultimately to Zecora's hut.

And, with each step we took, I think we all realized we were walking into the only maelstrom that could fix everything, but it would be hard...

And we knew where we had to go, so we slowly headed there, strung out over a good distance. But the more we walked, the more... We were all in this together, and so we increasingly walked together.

I started crying as I worked words through for me, as the Phantom Alicorn, being barely able to get that shield up as Eschate Zumulus' huge paw came down... The results had been far more tragic in my dream...

Princess started crying as I worked through my Princess kicking my people legs and ankles repeatedly...

Princess and I basically hugged as we worked through how that part unfolded. Shysage finally got between Princess and I, and she stopped kicking me. But the Filia and Fiona Twins had to stop recording and just cried together when we got to them turning Eschate Zumulus to solid ice. Shysage and I were sure we would die. And the Filias told me later that the four of them weren't even sure the spell would work. They had never used it before...

Well, I crushed the solid chunk of ice that the monster was, and swept him back into Dethwell where he belonged, and Shysage and I just flew away. I just wanted away at that point...

Still, I insisted on recording Shysage taking such good care of me... Things like that... I don't think I can ever do Phantom Alicorn stuff without him, and I hope Equestria realizes that...

I don't think this chapter came out very long. It was just excruciating having to write those words...

...

The Shyna Twins, almost out of breath, came back at that point, and Princess Twilight retrieved the single pouch that came back from Shining Armor, and just placed it around her own neck.

It was clear that would be taken care of later. Canterlot Recording would continue.

The Shynas were soon on their bellies next to us.

The next chapter was worse... well, harder... But it needed to cover maybe the most important event... And I was across the clearing, looking at thick Fog that day, hoping my hind legs would stop bleeding. I could not do this chapter.

And it was quiet for a minute, and I was trying to decide what to do. I was getting ready to overview what Shysage and I felt the chapter should include. He and I, we didn't even know what happened...

Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle started crying right away, and was almost immediately hugging Princess Twilight, who was also crying. Princess Twilight's girls moved around them, then everypony else... This was their chapter. And Twilight Sparkle put the words together for that whole chapter as, well everypony was hugging together tightly, crying loudly the whole time...

This chapter was about the healing of old wounds among Princess Twilight's circle, and came out absolutely amazing when it was done. And Shysage and I (well, and Cel and Lu and their Twins), we had no clue what happened that day. For these events, we were largely observers, that day as well as today...

...

On that foggy morning, Twilight Sparkle did exactly what she remembered from her dream, just hours before... Old wounds were dealt with, and devotion was slowly restored. I guess things we do that hurt other ponies, time doesn't erase all that. Each thing had to be... Twilight Sparkle carefully described the whole process, just as it unfolded, over several hours...

...

When that chapter was done, Equestria Girls Twilight fell to the ground, and just cried... Her Twin, Princess Twilight laid next to her and cried with her...

...

After they cried together a few minutes, the rest of Princess' ponies did the only thing it made any sense to do...

They all circled up around both Twilights. Everypony sat tightly together, shoulder to shoulder, in a circle around our amazing Princess Twilight and her Twin.

Well, Shysage and I and the Celestia and Luna Twins were nearby, just watching all this... I really wanted to join them though.

...

As everypony sat, circled around our Princess... All were crying... Eyes closed... Heads down...

We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria..."

We all said this softly, slowly and together. Shysage and I said it with the rest.

...

When we were done saying this, Princess Twilight sat up, still crying, her head still down, and eyes closed... She said "Oh girls..."

...

Princess' Twin, Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle, she did not get up...

Now sobbing hysterically, she curled up tightly as she lay there in the grass...

Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle... pleaded... quietly...

"Princess Twilight... Please take me back..."

...

Twilight Sparkle said what everypony felt right then...

We all burst into tears, and cried hysterically...

...

Princess Twilight pulled her sobbing Twin up, and they hugged tightly, and cried loudly together.

One at a time, the rest of us joined them...

We sobbed together with our Princess for a long time...

I think we all love our Princess...

...

I found out later from my Sis that what Twilight Sparkle said, what she did, that was really the turning point, and drew everypony together as one, once again. Everypony realized how desparately we needed our Princess... I cried when I heard this...

...

Well, later I guess, Cel (Princess Celestia) had the Filias add the following note at the end of this chapter...

This is Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria

I have lived many years, read many books, and seen and heard about many, many things.

Never in my life have I even heard about a devotion as deep as Princess Twilight shares with her close friends.

I can only hope for this same true friendship, this same devotion, for the rest of our precious ponies all over Equestria...

...

Shysage and I, we are Canterlot Recorders. But the main thing is that what happened, exactly that is what gets recorded. Twilight Sparkle's chapter came out amazing, and we just watched in awe as it did.

We all spent an hour or two crying together. The miracle of restoration, even today, was just amazing... And it seemed a crucial part of what Equestria was doing. Well, it seemed like that had to happen first, before Equestria could come alive again...

And we had to be done with Canterlot Recording for that day.

Brushing away tears, Princess Twilight sent everypony off for a few hours of Twin time. Princess did smile as she mentioned that dinner would be in the Castle tonight.

Both Fluttershys took Filicia and Dawn off to Fluttershy's Cottage, and the Shyna Twins went with them.

Twin time... I am so glad Shysage knew I would be a mess. I really missed my Twin, Equestria Girls Summer Rain...

We ended up back on that little hill in the meadow, and I basically cried in Shysage's arms (as people) most of the afternoon. Rose and Alyssa laid on the ground on either side of us. I think these animals knew how we felt.

After I was pretty much cried out, I just sat there in Shysage's lap. He had his arms wrapped tightly around me, hugging me, and I just sighed. I told him I really needed him. That made him cry...

After we were both quiet for a while...

"Shysage, what do you think the future holds for us?" Even as I asked this, I knew neither of us had any idea.

Shysage made me cry some more when he answered. "Summer, I don't know, but as long as you are with me..."

I guess we just cried together a while more.

I wanted my twin... And as far as we knew, Equestria could send Shysage, Fluttershy and I back to our present at any time... We were here right now, and that was really all we knew.

But Shysage was right. Like I said early on... I don't need much, but I need him.

Equestria would take care of us. True friend would take care of us.

Right now, I didn't even want to move. Shysage was holding me, and we were together. Not much else mattered, to either of us, I think.

The Fluttershy and Shyna Twins joined us late in the afternoon, and our four Panther friends ran off to find food.

It was clear that Equestria Girls Fluttershy had been crying a lot. Well, maybe they all had. Shysage and I turned back into ponies, and we cried together until the girls returned. Then we all headed back to the Castle. We stopped at Dawn's briefly and I hugged the three of them for a few minutes. Helping Hands was very busy.

We left both Fluttershys outside with the girls, and the rest of us went inside, and were soon in the Library. I didn't feel too sociable, and sat near the edge.

The Cake family took care of dinner, and it was very good. It would have helped if I felt better; I would have eaten more.

We all ended up back in the Library, and I again sat near the edge. Both Fluttershys joined us, I think they felt the same way. The Shynas ended up talking with the Rainbow Dash Twins. It was ok, really. We were surrounded by amazing friends. Like I said, I just wished I felt better. I knew I was hurting and why. There was just nothing anypony could do...

...

As soon as the three Princess Twins joined our group, Princess Twilight said we were going to try to do more Canterlot Recording tomorrow, but that would be it for a while. She said it was going slowly, but that was ok, given what was being covered.

It was quiet for a minute, the Princess Twilight looked at her Twin and started to say "Well, ok, I guess tonight is Twin--"

Princess Celestia interrupted her with a smile. "Princess Twilight, I think you have something around your neck that might require some attention."

Princess Twilight smiled. She had forgotten about what was probably a progress report from Shining Armor, in the sack whose strap was now around her neck. Unicorn magic quickly got two pages of notes before Princess Celestia.

The first bunch of stuff was surely from Mildred, and Cel and Lu both teared up as Cel read.

-- Audience Hall food stocks approximately 6 months
-- Audience Hall kitchen facilities cleaned and ready

[Currently no kitchen staff / cooks, however.]
-- Princess Quarters, cleaned and ready
-- Audience Hall main room cleaning in process

Lu said with a sigh "Sister, she's doing it all by herself..."

Cel sighed too... "That's Mildred..." Still, Cel continued, clearly items from Shining Armor

-- Commons clean-up done

Cel had the most quizzical look on her face after reading this. Shysage explained, and we all cried briefly. Cel kept going.

-- Estimated Canterlot Population 600
-- Current Guard Strength 9 + 47
-- Contact with other cities

a. Ponyville

b. Crystal Empire

c. Manehatten (5 guards sent there)
-- Civil Backlog 3 cases

Cel groaned at this last item. Lu said quietly "Already..." Neither sounded happy about this.

Cel moved the notes away and looked across the Library, off into the distance...

"I think Equestria's Princesses need to head back to Canterlot soon... We will all need to talk together about how to do that..."

Cel just sighed.

Lu asked quietly "Sister, what is this other paper?"

Cel moved the second page to the front, and turned it right-side-up. She read briefly, and then was clearly fighting back tears.

"Fluttershy, please hug your Twin, and dad..."

Cel did a pretty good job of reading the letter.

Personal Letter from Summer Rain

Precious Ponies,

Shysage is mayor of Manehatten, and we made contact with Shining Armor today, and are heading back with some guards. We are both pretty busy, but we will visit when we can...

I miss my sister... I miss my Twin... Everypony hug them for me please...

Summer and Shysage

Everypony surrounded Equestria Girls Summer Rain as she cried hysterically... To have Equestria give her sister back to her, twice...

I was a mess too, but I had Shysage...

At least our Twins were alive, safe, and we knew where they were... That seemed like a miracle in this Equestria...

Chapter 28, Making Amends

I had a bad dream that night. It was about coming back through the Portal, just like I had two weeks ago maybe. In this dream, I kept going around the halls inside the Crystal Palace. I just couldn't find any stairs, or doors even. I couldn't get out. I kept walking, and found just continuous, slowly curved hallways... Over the course of the night, I woke up a few times, fell back asleep, just dove into the same bad dream...

In my dream, I was crying, and that's how I woke up in the morning. I found Shysage, right next to me of course, and he hugged me tightly right away, and I started to relax. I don't like bad dreams.

But I did remember the letter from my Twin (Equestria Girls Summer Rain), and that made me weep softly. These were tears of joy. I really missed her, well here and now...

I asked Shysage if they would come see us. Shysage hugged me tightly again. "My Twin is mayor of Manehattan, and won't be able to leave any time soon. Would you leave me to go visit your Twin all by yourself?"

Just thinking about this made me cry. I am pretty attached to my Stallion. Shysage's point was that our Twins were, are the same way.

"We will see about visiting them when we can" Shysage said thoughtfully. Nopony knew when that might be, and Shysage and I both knew it. Still, I think we both knew a trip to Canterlot then Manehattan with both Fluttershys would probably be in the works at some point in the near future. I could ask true friend anyway...

Everypony was up by now, and Princess Twilight sent us all out to find some breakfast after reminding us to hurry back for more Canterlot Recording.

The Fluttershy and Shyna Twins joined Shysage and I and four Panther friends, as we walked out to the meadow to the East like we normally do. Equestria Girls Fluttershy was still a mess, weeping on and off. Her Twin was on one side, and I was on the other, and we cried with her.

Well, I wanted to cheer her up anyway. "Shysage said, when we can, we will take the trip to Manehattan..." I couldn't say anything more, and the three of us just cried. But I didn't need to finish. We all knew what that meant.

We managed to calm down, and sent the girls off for some food. We ate some and got a drink too. At about the same time, we all converged back on that small hill, and laid on our bellies. Us girls were trying to not cry.

Shysage, both Shynas, well all of us... We were all laying on our bellies next to each other, just staring off across the meadow to the East, away from Ponyville.

At about the same time, we all noticed another pony walking slowly and hesitantly towards us. Unicorn, light Brown coat, dark Brown mane and tail. Shysage said a stallion.

When he thought this other pony could hear, Shysage yelled "It's ok, come on over. We won't bite!"

We all laughed, but the stallion did not. But he did continue to slowly make his way over to us. He was constantly looking around, as if searching...

In this Equestria, we really didn't know what to expect. But a lone stallion... I doubted I would need to be the Phantom Alicorn.

It took him a few more minutes, but he finally made it over to us. He came to within maybe ten feet of the rest of us, then he sat down.

It was quiet for a minute, and Shysage again spoke "How can we help you?"

The stallion thought for a minute. "I'm... I'm looking for a Unicorn mare... That used too... Well, that was... here..."

Well, I don't know why, maybe a mare's intuition... But I was pretty sure I knew who this stallion was, and more importantly, what he had done...

Doing a poor job of concealing the anger growing inside me, I asked quickly "Did you do something to this mare you should not have?"

Immediately, the stallion fell to the ground, and cried...

Just then, our four Panther animal friends ran back up to us. They ignored the stallion, and gathered around us. But the stallion turned white as a ghost, he was clearly scared to death...

I did not want to leave Shysage. But at this point, I had to.

I said curtly "Mister, don't even move..."

I sent the Shyna Twins quickly to the Castle to collect Princess Twilight and a bunch of ponies.

Both Fluttershys didn't know the details, but they must have just felt... Sis and her Twin moved around, some distance behind the stallion, and took Dawn and Filicia with them. This stallion probably would not try to run, even if he could.

I waited until I saw a bunch of ponies walking across the meadow towards us, then I went to Dawn's and brought just Camille back. I didn't tell Camille why, but she realized it was pretty important. Dawn the elder didn't mind watching her grand-daughter for a little while.

Princess Twilight, her Twin and a bunch of ponies walked up to Shysage and the other stallion, then stopped. Shysage asked everyone to just wait for now. I think he may have figured it out too.

I was angry, I won't lie. I waited until all the other ponies were seated, then I slowly led Camille around to where the Stallion could see her.

"Is this the mare?" I asked, again rather curtly. If I was right, then what he had done...

The stallion looked up at Camille only briefly, then looked quickly back down, burst into hysterical tears, then buried his head in the grass between his front hooves...

Camille looked at me, and asked quietly... "Is this the one that..."

I sighed... "Probably..."

Camille looked down at this stallion and began to cry softly, right away...

I think Princess Twilight was already getting some input. "Summer, I think this is important. Can you tell us all a little more?"

The stallion was still crying, almost hysterical in the grass. Well he tried to explain...

"I... I did it... I can't believe... I... I was so lonely... There was just nopony left... Across the... meadow... She was so... so beautiful... I couldn't... I didn't want... to... to stop..."

The stallion got this far, then could not talk any more, and just cried hysterically in the grass some more.

After a minute maybe, he started saying over and over again... "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Except for that, it was quiet for a few minutes.

Then I answered Princess Twilight's question, slowly. "Princess, maybe two years ago, this stallion found Camille in the meadow, knocked her over, and almost knocked her out... He took what he wanted, and ran off... Camille had a foal as a result..."

When the stallion crying in the grass heard about a foal, he cried even harder...

Princess Twilight said "I see", then was deep in thought herself. Then she added "I'm not sure what..."

It was quiet for a minute maybe. Nopony moved...

...

"Princess Twilight, if I may..."

It was Princess Celestia (Cel), and everypony immediately opened a path for she and Lu (Princess Luna) as they both walked forward.

And I knew my role in this was secondary from here on. That was fine with me. Shysage and I backed away and let Equetria's Princesses do their job, taking care of Equestria's ponies.

And both Fluttershys called Rose and Alyssa over to them, around and a good distance behind this stallion.

It is doubtful this stallion had ever before seen any of Equestria's Princesses, but he probably knew from what he had heard, who he now faced. And he knew there were four huge and hungry Panthers behind him. He stopped crying as much and just said once and quietly "I'm dead... I deserve this..." He left his head in the grass, eyes closed, and cried softly.

Again, it was quiet for a few minutes as Equestria's Princesses were deep in thought.

"Stallion, your name please" Princess Celestia said.

"Maple Song" came quietly back. He didn't even move.

"Maple Song, what you have done is terrible, and your actions have put this mare through a nightmare" Princess Celestia said forcefully.

"Yes..." came also quietly back.

It was quiet for a minute.

Lu (Princess Luna) asked "Maple Song, why did you come back?"

Maple Song was again crying hysterically in the grass. "I wanted... To try... I wanted to try to make things right... I felt so bad... So much guilt... I really am sorry... I hurt so much... so much more after... I just want to try... To see if anything..." This was all he could say as his tears took over again.

Except for that, it was quiet again for a minute, maybe. Then Princess Celestia said officially "According to Equestrian Law, you must pay for what you have done. A very lengthy prison term, and a substantial monetary fine, paid to this mare, this is the usual result. But in this particular situation, the law gives the violated mare a certain voice in the outcome."

I looked over at Camille; it was really her turn, and I don't think she knew it.

Camille looked back at me, then Camille looked at Princess Celestia, who was looking gently back at her.

Camille burst into tears herself. I got up at this point, walked over next to her, and hugged her tightly. Camille cried for quite a while, then she tried to explain, slowly, still sobbing loudly herself...

"I don't... I don't want... My daughter... She needs... She needs to know... who... She needs to know her father... She needs... this... She needs... him..."

Camille had to stop for a few minutes and cry... Then she tried to keep going.

"I don't want her... I don't want her to live... to live... never know... to live not knowing... Like... Like I did... I just never knew... I never had... It was awful... It was terrible... I don't want... that... for my Dawn..."

Camille got this far, then was crying hysterically. The anguish of never knowing her father had evidently ripped her apart, and she didn't want that for her daughter.

Equestria's Princesses, well all of us were crying now, to varying degrees.

Princess Luna asked quietly "Camille, how can Equestria help you?"

Camille didn't even need to think, and she immediately cried out loudly "I want him to never, ever leave his daughter... He needs to always be there for her, from now on... And if that means... My precious Dawn is just worth so much more than... this..."

Camille had to stop, and just cried as I hugged her...

Well, we all did...

Princess Celestia, tears still dripping down...

"Maple Song, you have two choices. You can marry this mare, be the perfect Stallion, and take amazing care of your foal, and any others that you both may have, or you can--"

Maple Song was sure he was dreaming. He said quietly "Wait, what?"

Princess Luna spoke quietly, also herself, crying...

"Maple Song, Camille is willing to marry you, just so her daughter can know you, her father. But you had better be sure that we will all have our eyes on you, and you had better be the best Stallion, the best father... Otherwise, you will spend probably the rest of your life in jail, working on various public works projects around Equestria..."

Maple Song seemed stunned briefly, then got slowly up. He walked slowly over to a now mostly quiet Camille.

"Camille, is this true?" he asked quietly.

Camille was quickly fighting back tears. Still, she said right away "Yes."

Maple Song walked over to Equestria's two Princesses and bowed. "Never in my life did I expect this outcome. I will do as you say. I want desparately the very thing you have offered me, and I know I don't deserve this second chance..."

Maple Song then started crying again...

Well, the revived Equestria's first wedding was about to take place. Princess Celestia, mostly recovered, tried to make it happen.

"Maple Song, please stand up, and Camille, you really should stand next to him..."

This could have been very awkward, but Camille and Maple Song were quickly hugging tightly, crying buckets together. The two of them cried together for a while. This was fine, I had time to go fetch both Dawns. Dawn the elder made the trip slowly once I told her it was important. And, as soon as Dawn the elder saw Camille and Maple Song crying, she was crying too.

"Gramma, who is that stallion mommy is hugging?" Dawn the younger asked quietly.

"Dawn honey, I'll let your mommy tell you." Dawn the elder managed to say this much, anyway.

Ok, so Maple Song, Camille, then both Dawns stood before Equestria's Princesses. Once it was mostly calm...

Princess Luna said quietly "Maple Song, you need to ask Camille if she will marry you."

"Camille, most beautiful Unicorn in Equestria, will you marry me?" This came quickly out, and didn't seem forced at all.

Camille smiled at Maple Song. "Yes" she said simply.

Picking up her royal tone, as much as she could, she pronounced "Based on the laws of the realm of Equestria, and your mutual acceptance of this proposal, and barring any other, I now pronounce you Stallion and Mare."

Camille and Maple Song were hugging and crying again.

After a minute maybe, Dawn the younger almost shouted... "Mommy, who is this stallion?"

Camille immediately stopped, turned, hugged her daughter tightly, then looked into her daughter's eyes, and said quietly "Dawn, honey, this is your father. He is the one who... gave you to me. He is going to stay..."

Both Dawns and Camille were crying buckets together, as Maple Song... for the first time... hugged his daughter...

We all cried together there for a while...

...

After we all managed to settle down, Princess Twilight said quietly "Maple Song, do you have any special abilities that might help Equestria put itself back together?"

Head down to Princess Twilight, Maple Song said quietly "I am a Paint Maker. And from the looks of your town, I think I can be very busy..."

Hearing this, Princess Celestia jumped in right away. Maple Song, please consider providing Ponyville with the paint to rebuild; that is a part of your punishment.

"Yes, Princess, I will" Maple Song replied quietly. "And thank you..."

Leaving Dawn's amazing and newly expanded family crying together in the meadow, the rest of us walked back to the Castle.

What I really wanted to do was turn into the Phantom Alicorn, look Maple Song in the eyes, and say "You better be good mister, we live right next to Dawn's, and we will be watching you..."

I chickened out, and just cried instead. And I had no idea how long Shysage and I would even be here...

And I guessed on the way that Equestria's three Princesses, along with their Twins, had a serious discussion while we were walking to the Castle. We soon found out.

Once to the Castle, Princess Twilight had us all relax in the grass together. As usual, the Fluttershys and Shynas joined us further away, as we relaxed with four Panther animal friends.

When it was clear everypony was here, Princess Celestia addressed all of us.

"Amazing pony friends, living here with you all has been amazing. I have treasured each of you for many years, but to actually live among you..."

Cel and Lu hugged briefly, then Cel continued.

"We have all together witnessed first hand a civil case like Lu and I have seen many times. This time, there was amazingly a happy ending. Usually, it is much worse.

"But dealing with Camille and Maple Song, both Lu and I felt... Equestria is calling my sister and I... We both must return to Canterlot as soon as possible.

"I will let Shining Armor dictate the details, but we will probably walk to Canterlot tomorrow or the next day. In the very least, I think mom, well the Phantom Alicorn and dad will need to come. And Shining Armor may want Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony to accompany us, as well as the Filia and Fiona Twins. Our safety is Shining Armor's job, and we will do as he says.

"Still, our amazing time here must soon come to an end, I think. I think Equestria wants us where we belong. I think Equestria needs us back in Canterlot."

Everypony understood, but still wept softly at this news. We knew it had to happen at some point, but still. Shysage and I especially... This would just hurt. There were no Air Coaches for quick visits. We would need fly to Canterlot and back...

Well, clearly Equestria had to come first...

Cel and Lu put together the following letter to Shining Armor.

Shining Armor,

Princess Luna and I feel strongly that we need to return to Canterlot very soon, maybe tomorrow. We will entrust the details of the trip to you, but we sense a matter of urgency. Please send the Shyna Twins back with your response.

Princess Celestia
Princess Luna
Princess Twilight

Cel wanted us to write a copy of this down so it could go into a later chapter when we finally record it.

The Shyna Twins were soon off, on their way to Canterlot with the letter in a sack around one of their necks. It was only around noon, so we were sure these amazing Pegasi would be back in maybe two hours.

...

Princess Twilight sent everypony out for an afternoon of Twin Time, but warned everypony to be back for dinner at the Castle.

The Celestia and Luna Twins headed off for a walk by themselves around Ponyville.

The Applejack and Rainbow Dash Twins walked out to the farm together.

The Raritys and Fionas headed for the Boutique. I found out later that they successfully got some ponies from Helping Hands to come work on her roof, while they cleaned up on the inside.

Both Fluttershys and Shysage and I headed to the Cottage with our animal friends. Us girls pretty much hugged together, and cried on and off the whole afternoon. Shysage was never far, but he thought through some chapters.

The Twilight and Filia Twins stayed at the Castle for more magic fun. Well the Pinkie Pie Twins stayed at the Castle too, but spent the afternoon in the kitchen with the Cakes, eating or cooking or something, maybe all three.

Maybe two and a half hours later, the Shyna Twins landed in the clearing next to us at the Cottage, and just joined our hugging and crying. We knew it would be our dinner time soon, so we sent our Panther friends off to find their dinner, and they were back a little while later.

...

Our walk to the Castle was slow and quiet. Our animal friends stayed with us. I think us girls were just emotionally spent. The last two weeks had been a blur, and maybe everything was catching up with us, I don't know. I think I leaned on Shysage most of the way back.

Leaving the Panthers outside, we found everypony else already back in the Library.

Princess Celestia read Shining Armor's response.

Equestria's Princesses,

Princess Quarters are ready, but we have no kitchen staff at present.

Still, I agree that your presence here is probably best.

Tomorrow morning a guard will arrive, and you will accompany him to Canterlot. The Phantom Alicorn should come with you as well, but the rest can stay at the Castle in Ponyville. Should a need arise, they can gather in the Council Room, and Equestria will quickly transport them all to Canterlot.

You can report any last minute additions or changes to the guard who arrives to escort you.

Respectfully, Shining Armor

I just sighed.

Princess Celestia asked if there were any questions.

Equestria pony Pinkie Pie thought we should ask and see if some of the Cake family would be interested in working in the kitchen in Canterlot for a little while.

Princess Twilight quickly did this. Pound Cake and his Mare would accompany us and fill in until more staff could be hired in Canterlot.

I told Shysage quietly that I really didn't want to leave Rose here... I guess he agreed, and quickly thought everything through.

"Cel, I would like to suggest that the Fluttershy Twins and the four Panthers accompany us. They were a huge help on the last road trip we made" Shysage mentioned.

Cel and Lu had both read or heard about that. Cel thought a minute. "I think that will work fine."

And I also had to wonder if a trip to Manehattan might have been in Shysage's thoughts. I'm sure he would pull that off if he could. And we probably would need our Panther friends for that.

Well, dinner was amazing, and desert was too.

Bedtime came early. We had a long walk tomorrow. I snuggled up next to Shysage, and was soon asleep.

Chapter 29, Bully Culture

Falling asleep, I was kind of leery about what might happen, especially after my string of bad dreams last night... Still, I was about as close to Shysage as I could get, and, well that's just so comforting to me. I did fall asleep.

Shysage nudged me awake maybe a few hours later. Cel (Princess Celestia), Lu (Princess Luna) and both their Twins were standing behind Shysage. "Summer, we need to do some late night Canterlot Recording" Shysage said gently, almost whispering.

Well, I was sleeping ok up to that point. Still, I got up, and we all headed down the hall for the room that was the Filia and Fiona Twin's bedroom. The four red-heads were asleep in the library with the rest. We were soon inside.

But we could talk in here, and Cel spoke up as soon as the door was closed. "Mom, dad, I apologize for waking you both up. There is a crucial chapter for your record that we absolutely need to cover. It is best that we talk this through privately, and I don't think we will get that opportunity beyond tonight."

Of course, we had no intention of arguing with Equestria's Princess. But even more, the mother in me sensed that Cel needed this to happen, and to happen now. She needed to tell us. Shysage and I, we would do anything to help our girls.

Lu had paper, ink and a quill, I suspected she would be taking rough notes for Shysage and I. This was fine; I am terrible with Shysage's clip thing. Actually, I was not even sure where it was.

We all laid on our bellies in a circle. Cel (Princess Celestia) let us have a few minutes to wake up the rest of the way, and she was clearly deep in thought. It was clear though, that this would be very difficult for her, for both of them. Our girls were trying not to cry. Cel started putting some words together.

"Mom, your dream was amazing, and fairly accurately covered the basics of both the falling apart of Princess Twilight's circle, as well as the take-over of Equestria by Eschate Zumulus and Phantasma."

Well, she got this far, then she started weeping softly. This continued for a while... Cel kept talking.

"But Eschate Zumulus didn't bring Equestria down. That had already, largely happened..."

Cel had to stop and cry, and Lu moved, taking her writing stuff with her, and laid on her belly next to Cel and cried with her. The two of them cried together for a little while. Cel tried to start talking again.

"I am not even sure where to start...

"Dad, do you remember that stallion that kicked you across the Library lobby? By the next evening, Shining Armor had him in jail. Lu and I met with him the following day.

"Well, he brazenly admitted that he would do that to you again in a heartbeat. He was defiant. He was adamant. He wasn't sorry for the pain he caused you at all..."

Lu picked up here. "We talked to him for a while, trying to help him see how his actions affected you. He simply didn't care... I have never..." My sensitive girl just cried...

Cel just sighed...

"I asked him why he had done that. He repeated all the things I guess he told you. He was visible angry as he explained, and Shining Armor actually called two more guards into the jail cell at this point, just in case.

"After his rant was done though, he said, a little more quietly, that it was a matter of conscience. He said that's why he did that...

"Dad, you taught us to value convictions. I didn't understand this angry stallion, and why you, of all people, should so enrage him. But if he was following his convictions, I don't know... I guess I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt..."

Princess Celestia of Equestria started crying...

"Dad, I made a mistake, and all Equestria paid... I warned that stallion that hurting other ponies would only hurt Equestria... His anger so offended me... I ordered him released, and I quickly left, and of course Lu followed.

Princess Celestia of Equestria was sobbing... "I'm so sorry..." She said this over and over as she cried...

...

After a few minutes, Shysage asked gently "Cel, how..."

Cel tried to calm down, but was still speaking through tears...

"A number of years later, this same stallion did the same thing, to another stallion who said stuff we guessed he didn't like. It was a month maybe before we even found out what happened, and Shining Armor tracked him down in Manehattan, and again had him in jail in Canterlot a few days later.

"What happened was basically a replay of what happened to you... He was arguing with another stallion, and ended up seriously injuring that other stallion. And when we talked to him, he was angry, he was completely uncaring and unapologetic. And again, he said it was a matter of conscience.

"And hearing all this, I was having a hard time not being angry myself. I wanted him in jail for a long time, until he learned that other ponies are as important, just as valuable as he is.

"But he had a defence advocate who walked up at this point...

"And you need to understand that the legal proceedings here in Equestria are open and transparent. The first time we released him, that was recorded, and that information was readily available to anypony else interested in legal proceedings within Equestria.

"This stallion's defense advocate pointed out, that according to our legal proceedings, this case was exactly the same as the last case, and so he said we had to let the stallion free, because that is exactly how we had handled it the last time...

Princess Celestia cried...

"In spite of what he had done... Again... We had to let him go... Again..."

Princess Celestia cried a while more...

I think Shysage rapidly figured out where this was leading. After a few minutes, he asked softly "Cel, couldn't you reverse the precedent that had been set?"

Princess Celestia, crying a little harder, tried to explain this.

"According to Equestrian law, it would take the Council of Princesses in order to reverse the precedent that I had set..."

Well, Shysage and I both knew... A Council of Princesses takes all living Princesses...

Princess Celestia cried a while, before she could go on, but I think Shysage and I both had realized... Still crying, she said simply this...

"But, Princess Twilight wouldn't... couldn't..."

I think we all cried together a little while. This legal issue happened at the worst possible time, after Princess Twilight and her girls had unraveled... Princess Twilight would be a wreck, and probably not even want to leave her Castle... And this was probably also the main reason for this late-night Canterlot Recording session...

Princess Celestia tried to go on.

"Six months later, this same stallion did the same thing. He viciously assaulted another pony, with whom he disagreed, a mare this time. We had him in jail, and another defense advocate had him out again the next day...

"The next month, we had two more cases like this. We could arrest them, but that precedent... Once the pony said 'matter of conscience', we had to let them go. And by now, I guess more and more ponies that deserved jail time, realized there were magic words...

"This whole process just snow-balled... Within a year, our jails were packed, and the guards spread all over Equerstria, whose job it was to protect Equestria's ponies... They didn't even know what to do anymore... Our guards knew their hands were tied, so they usually did nothing...

Princess Celestia of Equestria was crying hard...

"The rule of law evaporated in Equestria... A lot of innocent ponies got hurt... And we couldn't... There was just nothing... We just couldn't...

"And these bullies and bad ponies seemed totally uncaring that their actions were hurting a lot of other ponies, and destroying Equestria, too... They just... didn't... care..."

Cel and Lu both just cried a while...

...

Shysage asked quietly "And let me guess... Sometimes it was religious reasons, sometimes philosophical, sometimes ponies just blamed everything on what happened to them when they grew up... But they learned the magic phrase..."

Cel looked at Shysage with an almost incredulous look. Shysage explained to me later that the Equestria Girls world was running headlong down this same path, when he left it anyway.

Well, Cel clearly wasn't done. "Well, dad, I have no idea how you knew that..."

Shysage just quietly said something like "...nothing new under the Sun..."

Cel was clearly thinking though, then she continued.

"Well, there was a lot of all of that. But I guess, having decades to think all this through..."

Cel stopped, and tried to not cry before continuing.

"I have watched Equestria, well, from birth, I guess. And as a kingdom, we slowly grew over time. But, during all that time, it was just a lot of hard work, even surviving the next day... Everypony knew they had to do their part to help preserve Equestria. There was such a clear understanding that Equestria was the result of all of us working together.

"We really didn't need much of a written law, because we all worked together to preserve the kingdom, to preserve the way of life that we all enjoyed... and depended on...

"But in the last few generations, that all changed...

"As the population of Equestria mushroomed as it had, a growing number of ponies were growing up in our cities, and found it a lot easier to make it from day to day. I don't know, maybe they had more time. But I guess this whole process removed them from how much work it took to preserve the life we all shared. I don't think they valued Equestria, and the sacrifices it took to build the everyday life they experienced and enjoyed themselves.

"In the last few generations, well, before all this, our written law mushroomed too... It had to... We had to spell out things that were always just assumed to be wrong, for many generations...

"For over a millenia, our ponies just went out of their way to take care of each other... Now, we had to have laws to stop them from hurting each other... It was heart-breaking...

Equestria's Princesses cried together...

...

Wiping away tears, Cel sighed, then she kept going.

"Especially early on, it was clear to both Lu and I, that the vast majority of the stallions we put in jail, they were simply bullies, who somehow derived joy from hurting other ponies. It was Equestria's job to protect everypony else from them. But we increasingly had to turn these bullies loose...

"Soon after everything unraveled, most of our cities became very dangerous places. Once bad ponies realized there would probably not be any consequences, crime skyrocketed in our cities. This bully culture caused most ponies to flee the big cities, long before...

"There were exceptions. Dodge City especially comes to mind. That city was a safe place up until Eschate Zumulus and Phantasma came.

"I think the mayor of Dodge City realized what was happening, and where it was going. He immediately doubled his guard staff, and built a large prison.

"Any ponies that were brought in were quickly evaluated. If it was determined they were bullies or bad ponies, they were thrown in that jail, and left there.

"And any Unicorns that got put in that jail; they were severely warned that if they used their magic at all, their Unicorn horns would be broken. This certainly seemed barbaric, because it weakens Unicorn magic by maybe 90%... Under the circumstances though...

"And the condition inside that jail... It was just a bunch of bullies, packed together in the same cell... It seems that all bullies know is the 'law of the jungle', and, over time, many of the bullies got killed by a bigger bully... So, I guess that's how bullies work; they keep acting like a bully until somepony stronger steps in and stops them...

"The Dodge City mayor clearly ignored Equestrian law and current legal proceedings when he did that, but in so doing, he preserved the rights of the vast majority of innocent ponies in his town. The streets of Dodge City were safe, well, until Eschate Zumulus flew into town and their ponies fled..."

It was quiet for a few minutes, and Cel was deep in thought, and also fighting back tears.

...

"When Eschate Zumulus and Phantasma walked into Canterlot, Lu and I stood for Equestria before them. We couldn't fight them, of course, not just the two of us...

"But their take-over... They really did the realm a favor, and stopped what would have turned into a blood-bath, as Equestria's ponies increasingly turned on each other... Some innocent ponies, especially guards in Canterlot, were sadly killed by Phantasma...

Both princesses cried together again.

"But the vast majority of the ponies that got eaten were the same bullies that had brought Equestria down. As an appendage on Phantasma's side, I watched in amazement as bully after bully came up and complained to Phantasma, sometimes even challenging her, only to be quickly eaten or killed by her magic. Maybe she was just a bigger bully, I don't know. Well, it was clear neither monster had any concern for Equestria and our ponies..."

Princess Celestia of Equestria assumed a much more resolute attitude at this point.

"Dad, I have had decades to think this through. Even though I honestly was pretty sure Lu and I would die when Phantasma did, I always hoped we could fix..."

Cel and Lu cried together again. For Equestria's amazing two Princesses... Being able to start over like this...

Brushing tears away again, Cel kept going.

"Do you remember that day when we all went to the beach in that big White van in the Equestria Girls world? That afternoon, I watched some children build a house or something in the sand. As the children built whatever it was, they scooped a bunch of deep holes in the sand around them...

"The rights of the ponies of Equestria are like the smooth surface of the sand on that beach. When the surface is smooth, everypony has the same rights and privileges. This is the way it should be.

"But, in order to give anypony more rights, you have to get those rights from somewhere, which means taking rights away from other ponies around them. That's what happened in Equestria... That's what we were forced to do...

"Dad, we will not make that mistake, ever again. We believe in Equestria and our ponies. We will do whatever we can to take care of, and protect all... each one of them.

"And our ponies will just need to accept this... This whole approach has absolutely nothing to do with philosophies, religions or anything else. This is all about survival. We want Equestria to survive... And the way it was... It clearly could not, did not...

"The only way to keep bullies in check is for our guard force to be the bigger bully, who stops them. And we will do that, in order to preserve the rights of the other ponies around them.

"But that will be one of our primary roles, to protect the rights and privileges of all of the ponies in Equestria. There is, well, will be, no acceptible justification to give anypony more rights by taking away the rights of those around them. Period."

It was quiet for a minute, then Princess Luna said for both of them.

"Dad, sister and I have talked. We will never let this happen to Equestria again."

It was quiet for a minute or two. If anypony could pull this off, the two Princesses in this room could. I think Equestria was counting on that.

Still, what had happened in and to Equestria, really was a monstrous tragedy, perpetrated by a comparative handful... That was just so sad...

We were soon all weeping softly together, hugging tightly. We cried quietly for a while. For Cel to have carried that by herself, all these years... That must have hurt...

Still, both Cel and Lu had their Twins now. I think the future for Equestria looked a lot brighter.

We all fell asleep, in a circle together there in that room...

Chapter 30, Another Road Trip

I think we all slept as well as we could. It is just that the six of us, Cel (Princess Celestia), her Twin (Principal Celestia), Lu (Princess Luna) and her Twin (Vice Principal Luna), and Shysage and I... We had all been up most of the night as Cel described the fall of Equestria into chaos...

Shysage said Cel must have a built-in alarm clock or something, she did not sleep in, and neither did we. This was fine, I think Equestria's two Princesses felt some urgency about getting to Canterlot today. We would all do what we could to make that happen.

The six of us hugged together for a few minutes, then Equestria's Princesses led us back out, down the hall to the Library.

Well, it was empty, there was absolutely nopony in the Library.

We made our way outside, and quickly found out why.

The first thing I heard, both Raritys crying loudly, hugging a mare that I guessed (correctly) was Sweetie Belle, Equestria pony Rarity's not so little sister. Crying as only Rarity can, she and her Twin... Well, that was fine, what family she had was alive, doing well, and back in Ponyville. Sweetie Belle's Stallion stood close, not really knowing what to do. I guessed he would learn quickly.

Well, where Sweetie Belle was... I quickly saw both Applejacks crying buckets with (probably) Apple Bloom and her stallion. Just like Rarity, Applejack's kin had returned home, having survived the decades. The return of family... This was a good day.

Scootaloo and her Stallion were crying with the Rainbow Dash Twins. I knew little about Rainbow's family, but in this Equestria, I was pretty sure the Rainbows would unofficially adopt Scoolaloo and her Stallion.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo... Well, they all had Cutie Marks now, of course, and, well, nevermind... These three were clearly grown up, and looked older than their big sisters. That didn't matter at all. These three were back home in Ponyville now, and would stay.

Once everypony saw Equestria's Princesses in the grass near the stairs... Everypony turned and bowed right where they were. Cel and Lu both had to work pretty hard to not cry. Equestria's ponies were returning. Cel had them all quickly back up.

And the newcomers gasped loudly as Rose and Alyssa ran quickly past Cel and Lu, and up to Shysage and I. Of course, we spent some time with our animal friends.

It was then that I noticed a guard, off in the distance, speaking with the Twilight Twins. Shysage said right away it was Roderick, and he would know. Shysage explained that Roderick could talk with Shining Armor in Canterlot using magic or something. Shysage said it wasn't a cell-phone, but he was pretty sure the results were the same.

For a little while more, everypony visited, hugging and crying mostly. Shysage and I, we were off a little from the rest. The Fluttershys and the Shynas brought two more Panthers over, and together, we had some animal friend time. Still, for Shysage and I, our family was all right here. Well, except for our Twins... Shysage had to hug me for a few minutes as I cried.

The Twilight Twins were now talking to the Celestia and Luna Twins. And it was after they were done, that Princess Twilight asked that everypony relax in the grass for a few minutes, as Princess Celestia needed to address everypony. I knew this was hard for her, she was fighting back tears the whole time.

"Precious Ponyville friends...

"It really has been an amazing pleasure living with you all these last days. And you all will never know how grateful Lu and I are that you worked together to rescue us from Phantasma..."

Cel and Lu both cried together briefly, then Cel kept going.

"As Equestria's Princesses, we are feeling a growing urgency to return to Canterlot, in order to assist in the, well, reviving of our pony nation. The guard has indicated that we really need to leave soon, and we won't argue, he is responsible for our safety..."

Starting to cry again, Princess Celestia said slowly "It is time for us to say goodbye, for now anyway. Until the Air Coaches are back on line, I doubt we will see many of you for quite a while, unless Equestria requires the Elements..."

That was all Cel could say. Sets of Twins, one at a time, walked over and hugged our amazing Princesses and their Twins. The Fluttershys, Shysage and I were busy hugging Princess Twilight, since we would actually accompany Cel and Lu to Canterlot.

Well, Pound Cake and his Mare were saying family goodbyes too, they were leaving for Canterlot, and would probably be there for a while. Pound Cake and his Mare would travel with us. Both Pinkie Pies were in the middle of that.

Less than half an hour later, which seemed far too soon, the Canterlot group headed off. We basically followed the train tracks away from town. Leaving was hard for all of us, for one reason or another.

I think Roderick intended to lead us by a good distance, just to make sure the way ahead was safe. Our Panther animal friends clearly had other plans. They froliced and played in the tall grass, even far up ahead, as us ponies walked together next to the tracks.

Fluttershy suggested that Roderick officially meet these amazing four Panther friends. We asked him, and he answered "Just a moment". Shysage said Roderick was asking Shining Armor about this. Shining Armor clearly agreed with Fluttershy. And it was also clear Roderick was not comfortable, but he did it anyway. Well, we wanted to make sure the Panthers left him alone, which they did the rest of the trip. They probably would have anyway.

Still, it was clear that, for the most part, the Panthers would lead the way. I guess that was ok.

For much of today's trip, the guard went first, but usually following four playing Panthers. Cel and Lu and their Twins were next, and basically talked the whole time. It sounded like a crash course on Princess stuff. But Shysage and I cried realizing that, with the Principal sisters... Well, our girls would probably not be alone, ever again.

Pound Cake and his Mare followed the Princesses. We offered for them to walk with us, but they were not too comfortable around our Panther friends. And it looked like Pound Cake's Mare was having a hard time with leaving their family. I really felt for her...

Both Fluttershys, Shysage and I brought up the rear. Rose and Alyssa, well all four Panthers, one or two at a time, would frequently run all the way back to us, get some attention, then run back up front and play some more. Our Panther animal friends clearly enjoyed the trip, and could probably run all day.

For a while, I had a lot of fun talking with both Fluttershys. I really feel like I have two Sis's now... I love them both so much. We talked about a lot of stuff. It was clear though, that things got strangely quiet whenever Shysage and my future came up, meaning the time between our present, and right now, some 35 years later. I guess that was something we couldn't talk about.

...

Maybe mid-morning, Pound Cake's Mare screamed. A lone Cougar had been watching us from the brush along the train track clearing, and decided that the group with two ponies was his best bet, rather than any of the other groups.

Everypony up ahead all stopped right away and looked. The Cougar was growling, and walking slowly towards Pound Cake's Mare, who was absolutely frozen with fear.

Nopony really had time to do anything, as four Black streaks converged on that Cougar. One of the Panthers jumped clear over Roderick, before Roderick even knew what to do. I think Roderick was getting ready to say something, but it didn't matter.

The Cougar turned quickly and ran, rather than have four much larger Panthers land right where he stood. Our four animal friends streaked quickly into the under-brush after the Cougar. Like last time, there were sounds of a brief fight some distance away, then it was quiet.

Everypony in front of us, well, their mouths were draped open in amazement. This included Roderick.

My sister Fluttershy smiled, then said quietly "I think our girls are eating some lunch. They will catch up with us in a little while."

We resumed walking.

Cel asked both Fluttershys to join them up front for a bit. I think Equestria's Princesses wanted to know more about our amazing animal friends, and they all talked for a while. I think our trips to the Past came up some, too.

Pound Cake and his Mare joined Shysage and I in the back, and I hugged the Mare briefly, then explained our amazing animal friends had really been a big help to us on a number of occasions. I talked about most of those incedents. Talking about rescuing Cel and Lu just made me cry again.

Our animal friends, well Rose and Alyssa, ran up to Shysage and I after a while, and Pound Cake again walked up forward some with his Mare.

Filicia and Dawn ran ahead to the Fluttershys and walked behind them briefly. Both Fluttershys moved to the ends of the Princess group, then quickly had a Panther on their outside. Shysage said he wished he had a camera. Well I think I know... Equestria's Princesses, flanked by Panther guards... It would have made an amazing picture!

Still, before too much longer, both Fluttershys (and their cats) came back to us as the Celestia and Luna Twins again talked Princess stuff.

After the Panthers ate lunch, they didn't feel like running and jumping, and just walked with us for a while. So Roderick got to go first! Of course we fussed over our animal friends some while we walked. We appreciated them protecting us.

And it was while the girls were back with us, that I noticed one or two of them would occasionally let out the strangest, high pitched, well, whine, I don't know.

Fluttershy said they were saying hi to any Panthers that might be off in the woods. They didn't come, of course, but after Sis told me that, I began to notice an occasional response, just the same, but from a long distance away.

In the middle of the day, Roderick had us stop at a lake near the tracks. He wanted us to drink and eat. He also cautioned us about wandering off. He wanted us to all stay near him. We didn't argue.

And while we ate, the girls found a shady tree nearby, and licked themselves clean, then napped. Rose's legs looked a lot better. The cuts were almost gone.

We resumed our trip. The girls didn't want to come just yet, and Fluttershy said it would be ok, they would join us in a little while.

Pound Cake and his Mare joined us at the back, and together, they told us about their life after Equestria fell. Well, it wasn't easy. Pound Cake said it was a miracle, not only that he found an amazing Mare (she blushed), but that she was good at cooking too! They were a nice family, and hoped to finally be able to have some foals now.

I just sighed, and leaned up against Shysage...

...

Roderick abruptly shouted "Stop", and we guessed he was talking to us, so we stopped.

A Black bear, standing on his hind legs, was walking slowly towards Roderick, growling. He wasn't big, but he was probably hungry, and Roderick was a pony, after all.

I don't think Roderick knew what to do.

"Everypony stand back" he said forcefully, but just stood there, as if trying to decide how to best deal with this bear. We guessed Roderick felt he could hurt the bear, but he doubted he could kill it, not by himself.

Roderick didn't have to decide.

Our four Panther friends had just run up, heard the bear, and streaked forward, jumping over ponies in the process.

Our girls just ate, and so weren't hungry. But they were quickly in front of the bear, growling loudly.

The bear must have decided that the odds were too great now, because, he got down on all four, turned around, and crashed quickly back into the under-brush, kept running, and was soon gone.

Our Panther friends ran to the edge of the clearing after him, then just sat there, facing the forest, while we all walked past. Then they joined us again, and we fussed with them some more. These four Panthers are just animals, but still... I think they understood they were protecting us.

We soon started the ascent towards Canterlot. The train tracks sort of loop around up to the tunnel on the top level. I won't lie, it was a tough climb, and it took a while. I think I told Shysage more than once that it would have been much easier to fly.

Shysage said it was maybe dinner time when we started through the last tunnel, the one that went directly to the top deck of Canterlot. I had been through here a number of times; there were just bad memories... Well, this time I was looking forward to the small pond to the right at the Canterlot end; I was thirsty...

I think we all had the same idea... ...except Cel and Lu... I think they were expecting what happened next.

As we neared the Canterlot end of the tunnel, it was clear some sort of honor guard (Shysage's words) was waiting for Equestria's Princesses. Shining Armor and maybe 20 other guards, fully uniformed, were bowing in sort of a semi-circle around the end of the tunnel. Roderick had already moved next to Shining Armor and bowed himself.

When we had walked to within maybe 20 feet of them, Cel and Lu stopped. Equestria's Princesses were standing tall, heads slightly up, but now weeping softly.

We didn't know... The rest of us bowed too. Our Panther friends laid on their bellies and just waited.

Princess Celestia spoke slowly.

"The Princesses of Equestria have arrived in Canterlot. The kingdom of Equestria is officially alive and active once again..."

Both Cel and Lu hugged and cried together briefly, then Cel continued.

"According to section EGC:18.5.34, and due to Equestria being vacated for a period exceeding 10 days, the Equestria Governing Code is hereby fully re-enacted. Additionally, as provided for in this same section, Martial Law is hereby declared by the ruling Princesses, whose word, directives and testimony supercedes the EGC in it's entirety, until a Council of Princesses can be convened to ratify the EGC and restore normal rule to Equestria."

It was quiet for a minute, then Shining Armor spoke up.

"As commander in chief of Equestria's Guard Corps, I, Shining Armor, along with these loyal guards, report for active duty to Equestria's ruling Princesses, and sware full and complete allegiance, on all matters, at any cost, to the kingdom of Equestria. We are here at your service."

Princess Luna answered with this.

"Shining Armor, your service to Equestria has been fully received. You are fully authorized to return to your duties, and remain available to enforce the current form of the EGC, and to further carry out any of the ruling Princesses' directives."

Cel and Lu hugged and cried, as Shining Armor and his men got up and returned to their posts. I guess this ceremony was done. Still, it was amazing to be able to watch this...

...

...And Cel and Lu stayed crying, as Mildred ran quickly up, crying loudly herself. Among the three of them, I don't think there was much hope of this ever happening. The master of details cried with Equestria's Princesses for a while.

After they were done crying, Cel introduced Pound Cake and his Mare, and Mildred led these two amazed temporary cooks to the Audience Hall, where we were sure they would see the biggest kitchen they had ever seen in their lives...

Our Panther friends laid on their bellies while Cel and Lu cried for a while with Shysage and I... Even here in the future, Cel and Lu... They were our girls...

Cel suggested that we wander over to the meadow near the Library, "the back meadow" she called it. We mentioned we had been there before, so that was fine. Equestria pony Fluttershy mentioned quietly that we would still need to work out food for our Panther friends. Cel hugged Fluttershy tightly, and they cried together for a while too.

Cel and Lu and their Twins headed to the Audience Hall. I am sure the next hour or so would be emotionally difficult for our girls. Being able to shepherd Equestria again...

Both Fluttershys, Shysage and I, along with our four Panther friends, we just followed them. There were quite a few ponies in Canterlot now. Most ponies we passed stopped and stared at these four Black Panthers that were bigger than they were!

Us four ponies, along with our animal friends, we ended up relaxing in the Commons grass. It was clear a lot of work had already been done here. There was no trace of the carnage we saw last time. There was a lot of visible dirt though.

We hadn't been there very long when the Shyna Twins landed nearby, Pegasus mare curtsy and all. We hugged and cried with them briefly, and they fussed with our animal friends with us a little while too. They said they had to meet with Shining Armor, then return to Ponyville before it got dark. I guess Princess Twilight was anxious for some news!

After meeting with Shining Armor briefly in the Library, the Shyna Twins came back and we all hugged and cried some more. I had them both promise to hug Princess Twilight for all of us! As we tried not to cry, the Shyna Twins took off for a super-fast run back to Ponyville.

At that point, it was still light some, and we moved to the meadow near the Library. It wasn't far from the Commons either. There were buildings most of the way around this meadow, but it was a big meadow where we could eat, drink, and our animal friends could still feel relaxed. That was rather important.

The rest of this strange mountain rose precipitously up, at the far edge of this meadow. I remembered Shysage and I sleeping here with Cel and Lu once, almost fourteen hundred years ago now, when they were just Cel and Lu... At that time, these two girls were feeling quite grown up, and so they let Shysage and I sleep together and by ourselves under our own tree. Still, our girls weren't far, and we told them repeatedly to not leave their tree!

I just sighed, and tried not to cry. Shysage and I, we wouldn't trade any of our lives for anything, but I think he agreed with me that the Portal moving us around in time... Sometimes that left us feeling so torn... so... mushed...

We didn't know when our animal friends would be hungry again, but Fluttershy said we may have to take them down into the forest below town so they could eat. That would be tomorrow's problem.

Honestly, I think us three girls were also hoping for a trip to Manehattan. I knew Shysage would pull that off, if he could.

Before it was totally dark, Cel, Lu and their Twins came and hugged us some, and cried some more with us. Well, it didn't help that Shysage said softly "Welcome back Princess Celestia and Princess Luna" Both girls cried on his shoulders. Well Shysage pulled me in and the four of us cried together, and that included Shysage, too.

I think the plan was that we would spend the night here in this field. It was summer here anyway, and this was fine. Fluttershy said quietly that taking the Panthers inside anywhere, this was just not a good idea. And the four of us had no intention of leaving them. Equestria's Princesses understood.

A little before dark, Shining Armor brought four other guards over, and commanded them to meet our Panther friends. One of the guards was scared to death, but the other three seemed to enjoy the process. After that, they formed a very wide perimeter around us, and Shining Armor asked us to try to keep the Panthers near us. The guards were to keep other ponies away.

Well, it was dark, and today included a long walk... We were all tired. I snuggled up next to Shysage, and we were quickly asleep.

Chapter 31, Macabre

I slept well. Next to Shysage, I should have expected that! When I woke up, Shysage was awake already, looking off into the distance, but both Fluttershys were still asleep.

I picked up my head, and moved my nose to try and touch Shysage's nose with mine. I thought this might be our only chance today. It took me a minute to realize he was gazing intently away from us.

Our animal friends were awake, sitting in a line, maybe ten feet away, between us and the Commons lawn. Ears alert, they too were looking intently off across the meadow towards the Commons, which was behind buildings from here.

"Summer, the only time in the past they have done this was when they sensed a possible danger to us" Shysage said quietly after a few minutes of silence.

Well, we watched them a little while more, and didn't see anypony, or hear anything else.

I called Rose, and all four of them got up, and ran over to us. Filicia and Dawn woke the Fluttershys up with their noses, and the four of us started our day giving our amazing animal friends some much deserved attention. These four Panthers really had been our protection in a lot of ways. We wanted them to know we appreciated that.

And my Rose... It was like she sensed what I needed to do, and actually helped me... What more could the Phantom Alicorn want?

As Panthers lounged around in the warmth of the morning sun, us ponies ate some and got some water to drink. We were never far away from them, though.

Shysage led us over to the closest guard, and we let him know we were leaving, then we walked to the Commons lawn (mostly long grass now) with our Panther friends. We found a nice spot of shorter grass, maybe a hundred feet from the big doors at the front of the Audience Hall, and we relaxed in the Sun for over an hour.

Both Fluttershys and I talked together most of the time. I could tell that Equestria pony Fluttershy knew we would need to give our girls a chance to eat soon. She knew our animal friends well! Still, she kept looking at them with concern. None of us wanted anything bad to happen.

So I was not suprised when she finally said "Maybe we should head below to..."

Fluttershy hadn't even finished that sentence, when we heard something large, land loudly in the Commons grass, some distance behind us. It felt close. And it shook Canterlot.

Both Fluttershy's Element of Harmony surfaced out of their Cutie Marks immediately, and began slowly rotating above their heads. Well, Equestria knew... This must not be a friendly visitor...

We all turned around quickly, and were facing a huge, White Polar Bear, her wings now drooping down on the ground. It looked like a much larger version of Phantasma, except Phantasma couldn't fly.

I should have known we weren't done with monsters yet... Shysage and I had talked quietly a few times about when we might get plunged back into the past, back into our Present. We had already killed Eschate Zumulus and Phantasma (again...). Our only theory was maybe we weren't done with monsters yet. I guess not...

As we watched, the huge flying White bear slowly folded its large wings, then carefully stood up on it's hind legs. It was standing in about the center of the Commons area, on fresh dirt above what was the center of the large pit we saw on our last visit. For a minute or two, it just sniffed the air. Shysage wondered if it could still detect Phantasma's scent.

This monster looked down at us briefly, then again just looked across the Commons at the Audience Hall.

Fluttershy's girls immediately began to growl loudly. They were not happy at all. Shysage helped both Fluttershys try to calm them down.

Well, as the Phantom Alicorn, my focus had to be on this... thing...

Cel (Princess Celestia) and Lu (Princess Luna) walked quickly out of the Audience Hall with their Twins. The Principal sisters headed for the small island, for the safety of the magic shield around it.

Cel and Lu walked up to the four of us. Cel smiled at me, and I joined them. Together, the three of us walked slowly towards the monster. On the way, Cel asked me quietly to stay a pony for now, but to be ready to quickly change. That's what I did.

The three of us stopped maybe twice the monster's height away from it.

The monster looked down at us with disdain, and bellowed loudly.

"I AM MACABRE...

"THIS IS THE SECOND TIME... I LEFT MY OFFSPRING IN CHARGE OF EQUESTRIA... WHERE ARE THEY NOW?"

Cel did not bat and eye, and answered forcefully but calmly.

"If by your offspring, you mean Eschate Zumulus and Phantasma, they are dead. Equestria treasures the good words they forbade."

Cel didn't say this with arrogance or malice at all. She was just stating the facts.

Macabre continued bellowing.

"I SEE. AND WHO AM I TO REWARD FOR THAT?"

Cel again replied "The Princesses of Equestria."

Macabre bellowed again.

"SUMMON THEM AT ONCE. THEY MUST DIE."

Cel answered immediately. "I will do as you ask."

Cel next sent a letter to Princess Twilight.

Within a very few minutes, both Fluttershys disappeared. We realized Princess Twilight must have sat in her chair, and both Fluttershys were immediately pulled to the Council Room in the Castle in Ponyville. I walked back and helped Shysage with Fluttershy's girls. I knew both Fluttershys would be back here, with everypony else, soon enough.

Maybe a minute later, both Fluttershys emerged from the magical shield around the small island memorial garden to the left of the Commons. Both Fluttershys walked up to us, and immediately calmed the four angry Panthers. Maybe Fluttershy's singing, or something else... I'm not sure what... Shysage and I were just glad they were back...

I had mentioned before that our Panther friends would occasionally let out this high pitched whine or something. Well, the four of them sat down together, and started doing that same thing. Only it sounded like a scream to me. But I don't know, I'm not a Panther!

It didn't really matter, I was busy. When both Fluttershys arrived at the girls, I walked quickly back into the Audience Hall, changed into a people, then into a Blue pony and walked back out. Then I walked slowly over and into the magic shield over that small island. Princess Twilight and her girls (and 10 Elements), the Filia, Fiona and Shyna Twins were all in there, along with the Principal sisters.

Macabre ignored me. She ignored the ponies on the little island. She ignored the Panthers. She just glared with disdain at Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"YOU ARE TESTING MY PATIENCE. WHERE ARE THESE PRINCESSES?" Macabre bellowed again.

Completely calm, Cel said quietly "It will be soon, Macabre."

Cel sent another message to Princess Twilight, who quickly walked out of the magical shield, and stood next to Cel.

Cel said simply "Macabre, we are ready."

Macabre bellowed "ARE YOU EQUESTRIA'S PRINCESSES?"

Cel, Lu and Princess Twilight said at the same time "Yes."

Macabre laughed loudly, almost as if relieved. Then she bellowed...

"FINE, I MUST TEST YOUR MAGIC. DO WHAT YOU CAN. EITHER YOU DEFEAT ME, OR I WILL DESTROY YOU."

It was clear Macabre was void of fear.

Cel said "Equestria's Princesses, let's go."

Three magical beams formed into one, and that single, twirling beam streaked rapidly towards Macabre...

...only to shatter into thousands of magical pieces, showering away at random angles. Macabre was enclosed in an invisible, potent magic shield. Equestria's magic went no further.

Equestria's Princesses stopped their magic, and it was quiet for a minute.

Cel asked politely "Macabre, as slight adjustment, if we may?"

Macabre just laughed monstrously. "OF COURSE, BUT YOU ARE JUST PUTTING OFF YOUR OWN DEMISE!" Then she laughed some more.

Princess Twilight called the Filia and Fiona Twins out, and, at Princess Celestia's word, they all cast together. The Filia and Fiona Twins merged beam was huge, and twirled together into the beams of Equestria's Princessess, and Equestria's magic again lanced quickly towards Macabre...

...only to again be blocked by Macabre's magic shield.

"IS THAT ALL?" Macabre bellowed loudly.

Macabre waited maybe a minute. There was no response.

"FINE THEN, YOU WILL ALL DIE!"

...

Macabre laughed with disdain, and began casting herself...

...only to be knocked backwards onto her back in the grass a few seconds later. Her casting stopped. She only slowly rolled sideways over onto her legs, turned around, then stood back up on her hind legs, and again sniffed the air briefly.

"WHO DID THAT?" Macabre bellowed.

It was silent for minutes. Nopony said anything.

Macabre started to cast again, then was quickly again knocked over onto her back in the grass.

...

After slapping her over backwards again as the Phantom Alicorn, I turned quickly back into a Blue pony and landed right next to Fluttershy, just like I had last time.

Talking to nopony in particular, I said quietly "This is a stalemate... Equestria's magic can't touch her, and I don't think I can..."

My quiet, timid sister... Equestria pony Fluttershy... Maybe the most sensitive pony in Equestria... "Summer, knock her over backwards one more time."

I looked over at my Sis quickly. She was serious...

...

Macabre was incensed...

"I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO KNOCKED ME OVER. YOU MUST DIE TOO! OR I WILL KILL EVERY PONY IN EQUESTRIA!"

I changed into the Phantom Alicorn, spun up my Cutie Mark, and walked forward, and next to Equestria's Princesses.

"It was me, Macabre" I said quietly.

Macabre began casting some magic at me immediately.

Two seconds later, the Phantom Alicorn slapped Macabre hard over backwards. She was on her back in the grass again.

...

I heard Fluttershy say quietly "Go girls..."

Our four Panther animal friends screamed loudly as they streaked rapidly across the Commons, and pounced quickly onto Macabre as she lay on her back. Fluttershy's Panthers quickly began ripping huge chunks of flesh from Macabre's body, throwing it clear, and taking another huge bite...

Macabre was roaring out in pain...

From where I was, I reached my arm forward to my Rose... This was hopeless... It would just prolong... And my Rose was far too close... I didn't want her to get hurt, not again... I started to cry...

...

...Like a blurred web of Black lightning... ...Over fifty other huge Panthers raced past all of us, and jumped quickly up on Macabre as she struggled... We had not seen them; these other Panthers came out of nowhere...

Somehow, these Panthers knew what to do; Macabre's wings were the first to go... The magic shield didn't stop the Panthers at all. Together, they were quickly ripping flesh away from Macabre's body... Legs were next...

And it was clear that Macabre was having trouble targetting any of these Panthers with her magic, and it was clear too, her magic would injure herself if she wasn't careful. Still, Macabre did get a few magical spells off, which immediately killed the Panther she had cast on...

But, overall, it didn't matter. Macabre never made it back up off the ground. And when a bunch of angry Panthers ripped through her throat, it was just a matter of time...

...

This was Equestria's fight, but it was not a magic battle.

Really, this was Fluttershy's fight. As Equestria's powerless Princesses watched in amazement, Fluttershy's army of animal friends delivered Equestria that day...

...

And, maybe ten minutes later, Fluttershy's Panther army was sitting down to a meal fit for a king... Fresh Bear meat...

...

I ran up quickly, already sobbing... Brave Rose was the first one to die. I just cried over her dead body, and Shysage and Fluttershy quickly joined me... We cried so hard.

Soon, there were loving ponies surrounding the other three fallen Panthers too, crying... sobbing...

These amazing animal friends had given their life for Equestria. We just could not ignore that...

...

Soon, we heard an amazing sound...

The rest of the Panther army had stopped eating, and was circled around us... They were sitting, facing us. Together, they let out the most doleful moan... They were all crying too.

We all cried together for maybe half an hour...

...

Then the Panther army went back and ate their hard won meal.

Fluttershy had us back far away from the Panthers while they ate. This was very wise.

Then we crowded around both Fluttershys and we cried together some more.

I wanted Rose back... There was just nothing anypony could do...

It was noon maybe, when Equestria's Panther army ate their lunch. It looked like there were plenty of left-overs, as 60+ Panthers carefully cleaned themselves, then mostly napped together in the Sun for the rest of that afternoon.

I think Shining Armor had his hands full trying to keep curious ponies a good distance away. I guess so many Panthers really was quite a sight. Napping Panthers though; most ponies had wandered off by then.

Well, I spent the rest of that afternoon just crying.

Both Fluttershys, both Shynas and our three Panther friends... And I knew that Shysage was never far, and that was such a comfort. Cel and Lu came and cried with us for a while too, and I really appreciated that. Princess Twilight, and her girls... We all cried together that afternoon. And I don't remember much more about it. I was just so sad...

Our dinner was in the Audience Hall. Our three Panther friends joined the rest in the grass, while we had some pony food. It was very good, Pound Cake and his Mare surely knew their way around a kitchen.

I vaguely remember Princess Twilight telling everypony we would return to Ponyville, walking, probably tomorrow morning. I guess that was fine, I really didn't know what I wanted any more. Well, I would always want Shysage. I just felt so at a loss that evening.

Princess Twilight and her girls would sleep in the Audience Hall with the Celestia and Luna Twins. Well, the Fluttershys and Shysage... we would sleep outside tonight with the animals... I... My anim... She was gone... That was just very hard...

The rest of the evening was a blur; I cried a lot, and just followed Shysage wherever he went. I hoped he would hug me a lot, which he did. As the stars came out, the Shynas, the Fluttershys, Shysage and I, along with Dawn, Felicia and Alyssa, we were laying together near, but not too close (Fluttershy said) to the Panther army.

I slept terrible, and my dreams just made it harder that Rose was gone. I don't think Shysage slept much because of me, but it was clear he understood. Just feeling him close...

...

At the first light of morning, the Panther army was gone...

And so were most of the left-overs...

Chapter 32

It wasn't early when I woke up in the grass in the Commons (in Canterlot). Right away, I remembered Rose dying yesterday, and I began to cry. That seemed so harsh to me...

Shysage was next to me, already awake, and he hugged me right away, and cried some with me. I didn't need to tell him how I felt. I knew if he could, he would roll over on his side, and pull me up to his chest and neck, but we weren't alone.

Both Fluttershys were fussing over their animal friends. Still, I tried to stop crying. Alyssa got up, came over, and nudged her huge Panther nose into my pony face. I smiled at that.

"Summer, Alyssa wants us to both share her now" Shysage said quietly. Well, I couldn't not cry at that. Shysage and I petted and scratched Alyssa, together, while I cried softly. And Shysage was right, I had to move on. We had to move on.

I looked out across the Commons in the morning Sun. I was hoping for one last look at my most amazing animal friend. Well, all four dead Panthers were gone now. My guess was that the rest of the Panthers had buried them in the Commons somewhere, last night. I just sighed. Rose deserved at least that.

And it was clear Fluttershy's Panther army had eaten dinner in the middle of the night, then left. Still, the carcass of a huge bear, the grass couldn't hide that. I was pretty sure getting rid of that would be one of Shining Armor's tasks for today.

Well, hopefully they wouldn't start this project soon; our three Panther friends ran over and ate some breakfast.

For a few minutes, I just stared across the Commons, out across Equestria, as it stretched away for miles past the edge of this top shelf of Canterlot...

...and it was only then, that I noticed; the music flowing slowly through the background had changed(1). It was still flowing softly, but I really liked this tune. It was very relaxing, very calming. Maybe I really needed that. Well, Shysage was right next to me, with his head right next to mine. I really needed him!

My Sis (Equestria pony Fluttershy) and her Twin (well they are both my sisters now...) soon were laying on their bellies next to me, and the four of us rested there quietly, and stared off into the distance.

For the next hour maybe, the four of us just rested there. It was like time just stopped. I think I told Shysage a few times that I loved him. I also told both Fluttershys the same thing. Losing Rose had just reminded me that I was, I am so dependent on the ponies around me...

And the two amazing Fluttershys next to me... Equestria really needed them yesterday!

...

Happy, chatting ponies began spilling out of the Audience Hall doors. Both Shynas made a bee line for us, and the six of us were quickly hugging together, crying...

I guess the rest just followed them over, and everypony was soon spread out around us, including Cel (Princess Celestia) and Lu (Princess Luna) and their Twins (Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna).

Cel had us all lay on our bellies, right where we were. Cel then backed away from the group some. She wanted to address us, but it seemed difficult for her, for some reason. These words came slowly.

"I can't... I had no idea that Fluttershy and her animal friends would rise up and rescue Equestria like they did yesterday...

"Our Fluttershys spend so much of the time, quiet and in the background. And the rest of us often dismiss their affinity for animal friends... But yesterday..."

Cel was crying by now.

"Fluttershys, we are all alive... Equestria is alive... Because of your amazing animal friends..."

Both Fluttershys, already crying, ran up, and all three of Equestria's Princess cried a little while with them both. This was only right...

After everypony else was back laying down in the grass, Cel said this.

"Early this morning, after the Panthers left, I had Shining Armor gather the remains of the four brave Panthers who died yesterday..."

Well, I'm sorry, but I couldn't not cry at this... Shysage just hugged me tightly as I sobbed... I think this made Cel cry, and soon everypony else was crying too. I knew that Cel wasn't done though, so, maybe together, we all tried to calm down.

This was all Cel could say.

"Four brave Panther animal friends were buried this morning with a full military funeral...

"Their burial spot is along the left edge of the Commons, roughly half-way between the Circle memorial garden, and Star Dusk's memorial closer to the far end.

"As soon as we can, we will add some sort of memorial marker, explaining both the singular role of the Panther army in rescuing Equestria, as well as the amazing ponies whose special gifts made such a victory possible."

We all cried together for a while after that.

I was trying to calm down; I really missed Rose. And it was only yesterday... I had made pretty good progress, and was just resting in the grass with my head next to Shysage's head. At least what Rose did would be remembered... I had to stop there.

"Shysage, why does life seem so tenuous?" I asked him this question very softly after I had managed to stop crying. I didn't expect an answer, and Shysage just hugged me tightly. That was his answer. Nopony knew. But, honestly, having him close...

Everypony else was just relaxing in the grass, enjoying the warmth of the Sun, and talking. Well, I couldn't help but notice... Everypony else was with their Twin...

I just sighed... I tried not to start crying again.

...

A minute later, I burst into tears, and was quickly sobbing. I mean I was really crying hard...

Shysage started crying too, but could at least say this much:

"Cel, Summer and my Twins will be here shortly..."

My Twin...

Everypony got up, and we could see them now, as they both flew up.

And since everypony else had their Twin, they all backed away, as my amazing Twin and Shysage's Twin landed near us.

I was really almost hysterical as I hugged my Twin... We cried buckets, together, at the same time, in the same way...

After a few minutes, I think my Twin (Equestria Girls Summer Rain) read my mind. Still crying profusely, she said quietly "Twin, we shouldn't, can't Soul-Link. I'll explain later..."

I didn't think much of it. That was fine, I was just... Hugging my Twin... We both cried together a while longer...

And everypony else was hugging their Twin now too, also crying... Well, except the Shysage Twins. Both Shysages were crying a little, but not hugging. That seemed strange to me.

...

After my Twin and I cried together maybe ten minutes, Shysage, well my Shysage (Equestria Girls Shysage, my amazing Stallion) said quietly to us Summers (talking to me mostly)

"Summer, my Twin is mayor of Manehattan, and he has some official business to take care of with Equestria's Princesses. Maybe we should let them do that."

It was hard, but I let go of my Twin. Still crying, my Shysage was immediately at my side, and both our Twins walked up to Equestria's Princesses and bowed.

Of course, Cel got them quickly up, and asked cheerfully

"Mayor of Manehattan and his amazing Mare. How can Equestria help you today?"

Shysage's Twin would talk, and, with everypony else around, he was clearly uncomfortable. He spoke very slowly, and stumbled over his words occasionally.

"Princess, we have a pony in jail, and we need your direction about how to handle his... situation...

"He attacked... He seriously hurt another pony, and the guards stopped him, and put him in jail."

My Twin was crying at this point, but so was my Shysage, and I wasn't sure why. His Twin, Manehattan's mayor, continued talking.

"Once we had locked him up in jail, he said we needed to release him right away, because... well..."

My Stallion had the most disgusted look on his face...

And his mayor Twin was clearly searching for words, then quickly said this.

"He said he did what he did because of an act of conscience, or something like that... And that we needed to let him go..."

Lu (Princess Luna) let out a deep sigh...

Cel (Princess Celestia) jumped in right away.

"Mayor of Manehattan, you may stop, I have heard enough. Please wait here a minute."

Cel walked off, and found the closest guard and said "I need Shining Armor here as soon as possible."

Cel walked back over, next to Princess Luna and Princess Twilight. And we didn't have to wait very long for Shining Armor; he quickly ran up in less than two minutes.

Cel said quickly "Shining Armor, the mayor of Manehattan tells me that there is a stallion in jail who thinks he should be acquitted of his crime and released."

Cel didn't stop talking, but Shining Armor nodded here. He probably already knew about this. That was Shining Armor's job.

Cel kept going. She spoke officially, forcefully...

"Please take plenty of guards with you, and bring this stallion to Canterlot. I want him in my jail at your earliest convenience."

Shining Armor said simply "Yes, Princess."

Cel, looked off across the Commons, as if in thought, then she added "And, Shining Armor, bring the pony he attacked, as well."

Shining Armor didn't answer, but Shysage's Twin, the mayor of Manehattan did...

"...uhm, Princess, that won't be necessary..."

My Twin burst into tears after he said this, and so I did too...

The mayor said quietly... "...it was me..."

My Shysage burst into tears at this point...

And actually looking at my Twin's Shysage... I could see two broad hoof prints on his shoulder, now starting to bleed again. And I could also see other bruises, also starting to bleed...

Well, it was clear this stallion had beat up the mayor (my Stallion's Twin) pretty bad. The Shysage Twins couldn't hug because he was in a lot of pain, and a hug would hurt a lot... My Shysage knew all this about his Twin...

And my mind raced quickly back to when this had happened to my Shysage... How could his Twin even fly?

And my Twin told me later, by the time they got near Canterlot, her Shysage was a bloody mess, and she had carefully licked everything clean, right before they flew up to speak to Princess Celestia.

My Stallion's twin groaned, said "Princess, I'm sorry", then laid down on the ground. I guess he couldn't even stand up any more.

Cel clearly was NOT happy. Still, she again addressed Shining Armor politely.

"Shining Armor, please take some extra guards to leave in Manehattan, but I want this stallion back here as soon as you can."

Shining Armor said "Yes Princess", and was quickly off, barking out some orders as he ran.

And my Twin later confirmed, that she and her Shysage coming to Canterlot right away, like they had, this was Shining Armor's suggestion.

...

One pony was still crying loud and hard at this point, and I really wanted to scold myself...

I immediately turned into a people, and grabbed one of my Twin's front hooves, turning my Twin, Equestria Girls Summer Rain into a people too.

Equestria Girls Fluttershy, still crying buckets, ran quickly over, jumped up as a pony on her sister, and almost knocked her sister over. I grabbed one of her hooves with my other hand, changing her quickly into a people, too...

I motioned my Sis over, and the four of us, both Fluttershys and both Summers, as people; we cried together...

I... Twice now, after everypony thought Equestria Girls Summer Rain had died... This was the second time Equestria had given Equestria Girls Fluttershy her sister back... The Equestria Girls sisters hugged tightly and cried together for a while. I guess we all did...

After maybe an hour, us sisters and Twins calmed down.

Shysage, well my Shysage was already on his belly next to his Twin. They had talked some, but my Shysage vividly remembered how he felt, and was basically just being there for his Twin. Nopony could take his pain away. That would take some time.

Still, my Twin's Shysage, the mayor of Manehattan; it would be a while before he could move from where he was. Well, us Summers were not going to move away from our Stallions any time soon. And the Fluttershys were not about to wander away from the Summers. And the Shynas weren't about to leave us either. The eight of us, plus three animal friends, we ended up relaxing together in the grass, right there.

Well, it was too late for a trip to Ponyville anyway, so Princess Twilight told everypony else to relax in the grass for the afternoon. The Twilight Twins checked with the Celestia and Luna Twins, and dinner and sleeping in the Audience Hall again was not a problem.

Still, the Celestia and Luna Twins clearly had Princess stuff to attend too, and headed back into the Audience Hall. Princess Twilight and her Twin came back and relaxed in the afternoon Sun with the rest of us.

My Twin and I, together, wandered around and hugged everypony. It had been decades for my Twin... It wasn't too long before we were back in the grass next to our Shysages. My Twin and I... We are so alike...

...

At that point, my Twin noticed both our three Panther friends, as well as the huge animal carcass in the grass some distance away. She asked about the carcass. Of course I answered by crying, and couldn't stop. Shysage couldn't explain it either.

Well, everypony elected Princess Twilight to explain yesterday's events for Shysage and my Twins. Princess did a nice job, even though most everypony had to stop and cry at times. I am sure Shysage and my Twins tried to listen, but I cried a lot, and so my Twin did too.

I think they understood, though. And I realized that there would likely be plenty of time for them to catch up on all the other details.

And Princess Twilight assured everypony that a full record would soon be available, covering the amazing 'coming back to life' of Equestria. Of course, this made me realize that Shysage and I were WAY behind on our Canterlot Recording for our time here. That was scary... It was like, at any minute, we might get taken back...

When Princess was done, my Twin and I cried together a while. I was just so glad to see her, to hug her... I guess you need to have a Twin like this to really understand... My Twin and her sister cried together a while that afternoon, too.

Equestria Girls Fluttershy introduced her sister and the mayor of Manehattan to our three amazing animal friends. Alyssa made sure I didn't cry too much. Shysage and my Twins, they both freely accepted these animal friends. I don't know... Maybe it's a family thing...

...And our family stayed together as the rest of the girls had a nice dinner inside the Audience Hall. The Shyna, Fluttershy and Summer Twins, we wandered in the grass nearby and had some dinner.

My Shysage turned into a people. Surely getting some stares, he went into the Audience Hall, and came back with a bowl of fresh water, and another bowl of yummie but very nutritious dinner. His Twin ate well. Shysage turned back into a people, and took the bowls back, and got a refill on some water.

Our Panther animal friends snacked on left-overs again. That was proving to be pretty handy...

As the Sun headed for the horizon off in the West, all three Princess Twins came out and spent some time with us. Evidently everypony else was spread around in the Audience Hall, Twin Linking, visiting together, or both. Well, both Pinkie Pies were probably in the kitchen... Anyway, this was fine.

Still, I think I cried a lot, hugging everypony around me... Princesses, girls, sisters, Twin... So many family ties...

Princess Twilight also mentioned we should really try to head back to Ponyville tomorrow. I guess that was ok... At least I got to spend some time with my Twin, anyway. I shouldn't complain.

Before it got too late, the Princess Twins walked back to the Audience Hall, and joined everypony else inside.

Shysage and I both knew that Shysage's beat up Twin would probably not sleep at all tonite. There was not really much we could do about this. I also think having us near was comforting to him.

Well my Twin was laying on her belly next to her hurting Stallion, and her sister (Equestria Girls Fluttershy) was quickly next to her. The two of them hugged and cried together a lot that night. I guess we really weren't sure when my Twin and her sister would be back together again.

I flopped down in the grass facing my Twin, and my sister Fluttershy and my Shysage ended up on either side of me. The Shyna Twins ended up next to the Fluttershy Twins. This worked out really nice; we were all facing our Twins.

Our three animal friends were spread around us, and were quickly asleep.

Us girls talked together until very late. Still, it was clear that any talk about Shysage and my 'present future' was just not going to happen. I don't know, that was just scary.

Equestria pony Shysage didn't sleep at all, and moaned, and moved around quite a bit during the night. He was in a lot of pain, and just could not find a comfortable position. His amazing Mare (my Twin!) stayed awake as well. And my Shysage and I both remembered that. We didn't sleep either. I think the Fluttershys and the Shynas slept though.

Ok, so maybe my Twin and I must have fallen asleep in the early morning hours.

Us six girls awoke the next morning, to what sounded like another pony yelling. It didn't sound close, but it was loud.

I immediately located Shysage, well both Shysages, sitting next to each other some distance away from us. I guessed they had probably been talking, and moved away some because they didn't want to wake the rest of us up.

And some distance beyond them, all three of our animal friends were sitting in a line, looking off across the Commons, well, towards some of the buildings in Canterlot. I remembered Shysage telling me the other day that only monsters triggered that response from them. Still, both Shysages were looking at the cats, waiting, watching quietly.

The yelling was slowly getting closer and louder.

My Twin and I got up and quickly walked over and sat next to our Shysages. At the exact same time, we both leaned up against our amazing Stallions, and sighed deeply, the same way, at exactly the same time.

Fluttershys and Shynas joined us, and all eight of us were sitting in a long line, with the Shysage Twins in the middle. We were some distance behind our three animal friends, who were also sitting in a line.

Well, the yelling wasn't us, but it was clear that the yelling is what had the attention of our three animal friends. That was the direction they were facing. Well, now, we all were.

Between two buildings, a bunch of ponies came into view, and one of them was doing the yelling.

It was Shining Armor and six other guards accompanying another pony. The other pony, a stallion my Shysage said, was the one yelling, and we could now make sense of some of what he was yelling.

"I can't take another step... Ouch, that hurts, stop! This is terrible... I've been up all night... No, I want to go home... Guards? You stallions are useless... My legs hurt... I need to eat..."

We all realized that, with Shining Armor there, this group was probably heading for the Audience Hall. We weren't far from the main entrance.

...

Once the group was near, all three of our animal friends lurched up and ran quickly forward, and, as pony guards backed away, all three Panthers confronted this yelling pony. Well, his yelling stopped right away. And our Panther animal friends were ready to pounce, facing him, down on their front legs, growling loudly. Each Panther was bigger than he was. He was scared to death.

My Shysage gasped as soon as he saw this stallion up close.

My Shysage's Twin asked quietly "You too?"

My Shysage simply nodded, without looking away. This was the same stallion who had done the same thing to my Shysage... He was clearly much older now, but still...

Shining Armor ordered his men to stay away. Heading into the Audience Hall, he yelled to Shysage, well one of them, or both, I don't know...

"Shysage, just hold him there until I bring Equestria's Princesses."

Shining Armor quickly disappeared into the Audience Hall.

The yelling pony was speechless, motionless and clearly very afraid...

My Shysage said quietly to Fluttershy "Fluttershy, we need the girls to stay there, but not attack him just yet."

Fluttershy sang out something, and all three Panthers simply sat down right where they were, but kept their steely glare on the pony, and continued growling loudly.

Well, as far as I was concerned, Equestria's Princesses could take their time...

...

Fifteen minutes later, Equestria's three Princesses, along with their Twins, walked calmly out of the Audience Hall doors, and followed Shining Armor over to the yelling stallion; well, he was speechless at the moment.

The cats didn't move, as Equestria's Princesses walked up behind them. Princess Celestial spoke first, without even turning away from this yelling stallion.

"Mayor of Manehattan, is this the stallion who assaulted you?"

"Yes, Princess" my Twin's Shysage said quietly.

Shining Armor quickly added this "Princess, a number of the guards in Manehattan confirmed this as well."

It was quiet for a minute, then my Shysage quietly said this.

"Cel, this is the same stallion that kicked me across the lobby of the Library, in case that matters."

The yelling stallion only now looked over at the rest of us. Well, his gaze shot over quickly to my Stallion. He yelled loudly again "YOU !!!"

Our Panther animal friends quickly asserted themselves, got up, got back down on their front legs, ready to pounce, and growled loudly. They were not going to put up with that, anyway. There would be no more yelling.

It was quiet for a few minutes. I honestly think Cel was letting our Panther animal friends re-assert their presence in this yelling stallion's mind. After that time, Cel addressed the prisoner, calmly.

"Stallion, you have viciously assaulted both of these stallions. What do you think we should do about that?"

Timidly at first, but then increasingly bold, the prisoner answered.

"Well, you really... Princess, you need to release me. In both cases, what I did was an act of conscience. And just like before, you have no choice. You have to let me go."

This yelling stallion was almost bragging at the end of these words.

It was quiet for a few minutes. The Panthers stayed growling.

It was clear though, that Cel was angry, and needed some time to try and calm down.

"Stallion, are you aware that your actions cast Equestria into anarchy? I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, that first time, and you just used that..."

Cel had to stop here. She was again angry.

The yelling stallion closed his eyes and said smugly "That is none of my concern. Princess, a law is a law. Now get these vicious beasts away from me... I have a long walk home..." He said this last part almost sneering...

Cel couldn't talk, she was furious. Princess Luna broke the news.

"Stallion, according to Equestria's own law, since Equestria has been vacated, these ruling Princesses have decreed Martial Law, and our words and directives specifically supercede ALL of Equestria's previous laws. And it will stay that way until a Council of Princesses convenes..."

Princess Luna let this sink in some, and Shining Armor specifically walked up and faced this stallion next to Equestria's Princesses.

Princess Luna then said this.

"We could ask these Panthers to eat you, for what you have done, and you would have absolutely no legal recourse..."

The yelling stallion's eyes grew very big at this point. "You wouldn't..."

Well, it was clear that Cel was still going to try to talk some sense into this stallion. The use of force was only to be a last resort for this Princess... Mostly calm, she tried again.

"Stallion, on two occasions, you have deliberately caused great pain and suffering to other ponies. Does that not matter to you? Would you like the same thing to happen to you?"

The yelling stallion forgot about the Panthers, and didn't even bat an eye. He snorted loudly, and said this.

"They both deserved it. And, well, Princess, to be honest, I only care about one of us, and it isn't you."

It was again quiet for a few minutes as Cel fought again to control her own anger. Then she replied.

"Sir, that approach would work fine -- if you lived by yourself on some island somewhere...

"But this is Equestria, and we all need to live and work together. And if you can't bring yourself to do that, to live peaceably with the rest of us, perhaps you should leave Equestria.

"In reality, you are just a big bully, and I think you will find Equestria's leadership has every intention of protecting the rest of the ponies in Equestria from your bullying."

Well, Cel was done with this yelling stallion. She turned her head away from him, closed her eyes, and spoke forcefully, and officially.

"Shining Armor, show this stallion to the jail, and lock him up. He is to have no visitors whatsoever, and no food for the next week. And warn him sternly that if we see ANY evidence of him using his magic, we will break his Unicorn horn."

The yelling stallion was aghast, and said "You wouldn't dare!"

Cel ignored this, and continued.

"Fluttershy, please bring your Panthers to escort this stallion to the jail, so that he remains cooperative."

Cel quickly concluded with this.

"Shining Armor, you have your orders. Carry them out."

At Shining Armor's direction, the guards quickly formed a ring around the prisoner. Shining Armor told them to follow him as he walked towards and around the Audience Hall, on the way to the jail cells.

Evidently cooperation was still an issue... Jumping between two guards, this yelling stallion bolted off across the commons, laughing, away from everypony else... Shining Armor quickly told the guards to stop, as they got ready to run after the prisoner. Good call...

Three Black streaks launched quickly across the grass, and only a few seconds later, the yelling stallion... Well, he had stopped laughing. He was on his back, with a few extra scratches, and a huge Panther paw on his chest, and a good collection of very sharp fangs mere inches away from his nose. The Panthers were angry now too, and being pretty vocal about it.

Well, for over a minute, nopony moved. The yelling stallion had earned a time-out with our Panther animal friends. That's what he got.

After that minute, Cel said forcefully "You, sir, are also a common criminal. You need to learn some respect for the laws that protect you and everypony else in this kingdom, instead of just using the laws when convenient, and ignoring them the rest of the time."

Turning to Shining Armor, Cel said calmly "Shining Armor, when the cats withdraw, put this stallion to sleep, and PUT him in his jail cell. He can wake up when he is ready."

Cel turned to the Fluttershy Twins and smiled.

Equestria Girls Fluttershy was learning fast, and with the same melodious voice, had the Panthers sitting calmly around the yelling stallion, who was too scared to even move just yet.

Shining Armor quickly had him asleep, and one of the other Unicorn guards carried him.

Still, both Fluttershys, Shysage and I, and three huge Black Panthers, we helped escort the prisoner to the jail. We waited outside, for Shining Armor to come back out, just to make sure everything went ok.

"I wish we could have brought your Panthers to Manehattan... The trip back here was a nightmare..." Shining Armor said quietly to Shysage.

"Well, we would have come..." my Shysage replied.

Shining Armor sighed, then answered "I know, and thanks... We just didn't know it would be such a pain..."

Shining Armor was quickly off about his duties.

We walked the Panther friends back to the Commons grass, and they were quickly into the left-overs again, even though the carcass smelled pretty bad...

Equestria's Princesses, well everypony was out in the grass, all just talking together in the morning Sun

As soon as I was sure Cel could hear it...

"I know it would be wrong, but I really wanted to slap him hard..."

Cel smiled. "I know mom, I think we all did... And maybe he needs that, I don't know..."

Shysage added quietly "Our Panthers got it right, he's a monster..."

Author's Note

(1) 'The Celestial Capital - Al'Taieu'* from the 'Chains of Promethia'* expansion for Final Fantasy XI* (*c2014 by Square Enix).

Chapter 33, Yet Another Road Trip

We were all lounging around in the Commons grass in front of the Audience Hall. This included Cel (Princess Celestia), Lu (Princess Luna), and their Twins. Well, the Celestia, Luna and Twilight Twins were all in a conference or something.

It was maybe mid-morning, and Princess Twilight walked over to where she felt the front of the group was, then she asked for everypony's attention.

Princess Twilight started "Girls, I think..."

My Twin quickly said "Princess Twilight, please...", then she started crying softly.

Our amazing Princess... She walked quickly over to my Twin, hugged her, and asked softly "Summer, what is it..."

"Princess, can we all play Cutie Mark tag for a little while, before you and the girls have to leave?" My Twin said this, then was crying again.

Evidently, this sounded like a very good idea to everypony else. Maybe this... Maybe play could finally happen in Equestria again. I guessed it had been sorely missed, among this group especially.

Princess Twilight thought a minute, and hugged my Twin tightly again.

"Ok, girls, you can play Cutie Mark tag for a while, but then we will need to head to Ponyville. And remember, no magic, and no flying." Princess smiled, then added "Equestria Girls Summer, you are it first."

My Twin quickly tagged me, because I was right next to her, then my Twin ran off. I tagged Shyage right away, but he quickly excused himself from the game. I knew why. I ran off too, trying to find someone I could catch.

I guess, even after over three decades, everypony still remembred how to play this game. We played for over an hour, and it was a lot of fun. Everypony spent the whole time both laughing and crying. I think we all missed this. I think we all missed each other...

Princess Twilight and her Twin must have expected to stay in the stands (Shysage said) with the other two Princesses, but the Filia and Fiona Twins quickly pulled both Twilight's into the game. The Twilight Twins had fun too.

As they were watching, the Celestia and Luna Twins looked confused. Shysage walked over, explained the game, and they all laughed together as they watched the rest of us girls run around madly.

Like last time, this was an even playing field. My sister, well both Fluttershys were probably the slowest of the bunch, but both were very capable of twisting, turning, dodging... Everypony was it a few times, and nopony held that honor for very long. It was amazing fun.

...

I remembered playing Soccer together in the Equestria Girls world once, right before we all had to leave... We were having so much fun now, but we all knew... It was just hard...

Still trying to catch her breath, Princess Twilight walked over to the rest of the Princesses, and then called everypony over. Our game was done. And nopony could lay down yet, we were all trying to catch our breath too.

Princess Twilight tried to arrange the rest of our day for us.

"Girls, I feel strongly, that I need to get back to Ponyville soon."

Princess was in thought briefly.

"I really think some of us should fly there. Rainbows, can you maybe accompany me on that trip? I may have to stop a few times, it has been a while..."

Both Rainbow Dash Twins, said loudly and together "Woo-hoo!" I guess that was a yes. The Shyna Twins volunteered to go with the flying group as well.

"Summer, I really think you and Shysage should bring the rest back on hoof. I know it is a long walk, but we all really need to get back to our homes." Princess said this slowly, but we all knew it was true. Everypony else was restarting their lives, and with their Twins too, and Ponyville is where that would happen.

"Princess, that will be fine" I said quietly. I think it was assumed that the Fluttershy Twins would accompany us. Taking our Panther animal friends with the group walking, this was definitely not a secondary consideration! We would probably need their help at some point.

While everypony else said their goodbyes to the Celestia and Luna Twins, my Twin and I were quickly hugging tightly, crying. I had changed us both into people, just because hugging was so much easier that way.

I knew Equestria Girls Fluttershy needed to hug her sister some more, and we quickly added both Fluttershys. The four of us, as people, were hugging tightly, crying together. The Shyna Twins were soon people too, and joined us.

I guess Princess Twilight noticed this. She sighed, then said "Summer, can we all do that?

Well, it took a little while, but we were soon standing together, shoulder to shoulder, in a tight circle, as people. The Celestia and Luna Twins joined us, but my Shysage was on his belly in the grass next to his Twin, who was finally comfortable, and asleep. That was fine.

Us girls were all crying. The Equestria Girls especially; I wondered if they didn't think they would ever be people again. And their Equestria Girls clothing, well most of the Equestria Girls clothing didn't fit well any more (mostly too big), but it didn't matter... Princess Twilight, and her five girls along with their Twins, the Filia and Fiona Twins, the Shyna Twins, the Celestia and Luna Twins, well and us Summers... All 24 of us, we cried together and hugged tightly, as people, for a while.

What we did not see, was that a bunch of Canterlot's ponies had already gathered... They were watching, staring... Even though they understood it when we talked, most had never, ever seen a people before...

After a while, hugging, crying, somepony in our group started what we often say, and we said it very slowly. I think we all really felt it now...

"We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria..."

Then Princess Twilight added her part.

"And I am only a Princess with you all at my side."

We all just cried for a little while more...

Crying herself, Cel (Princess Celestia) said "Amazing friends... As I have said before, I... Your devotion to each other, to your Princesses, to Equestria... I have never even heard of anything like this..."

Well, the growing crowd of ponies heard Princess Celestia talking, and they all immediately bowed. They would have to stay that way for a little while...

And honestly, we didn't expect this part... Princess Twilight had a hard time saying this...

"Summer... Fluttershy... Shysage... We know the Portal brought you here, decades into your future... But... We all... ... Equestria is alive once again because of you..."

We all just cried together some more... Now, I wanted to stay even more...

A few minutes later, Cel asked quietly "Mom, how do we... I really need to address the ponies gathered and bowing around us..."

I thought a minute. "Equestria Girls, do you remember how we did this? You just let go, which will turn you back into a pony, then just rock backwards, and sit down."

It worked pretty well, only my sister fell. Still, almost in the blink of an eye, 24 people turned back into 24 ponies.

Cel said to us first, and quietly "Amazing friends, please don't bow."

Cel, well Princess Celestia, next walked to a point between our group and the still bowing group of ponies that had gathered to watch, then she sat down. Princess Luna and Princess Twilight joined her, seated on each side of her. Cel addressed the crowd, all still bowing.

"Ponies of Equestria, you may arise, but please sit down right where you are.

"After decades, I don't think anypony would have dreamed that Equestria would be able to rise up again..."

Cel was having a hard time already, and had to stop and cry. That was fine, everypony else, we all cried too. After a few minutes, Cel continued.

"The group of amazing ponies behind us... Their devotion... their love and committment... their amazing true friendship... their bravery... ... Equestria is alive because of them..."

Well, we all cried some more. Cel kept going.

"True friendship means putting others first. Let us rebuild Equestria on this profound truth."

Cel only waited briefly here.

"Ponies of Equestria, you are dismissed."

Some still crying, the crowd got up, and slowly wandered off, and went about the affairs of their day.

We kept crying, and our amazing Princesses joined us.

It was maybe noon now, and, after last minute hugs, Princess Twilight, the Rainbow Dash and Shyna Twins took to the air, and headed back to Ponyville.

I knew the rest of us should really leave soon, also for Ponyville. I just didn't think either my Twin's sister or myself... I was pretty sure we both just wanted to hug my Twin a while more. Plus, I was hoping for some family time with Cel and Lu, I don't know...

I also felt that, in Princess Twilight's absence, her Twin, Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle, she should really be in charge. She was easy to find, mostly by herself, looking very out of sorts without her Twin, our Princess.

"Twilight, can we wait an hour maybe before we leave? There are some last minute hugs..."

Twilight responded right away "Aww, Summer, you don't need to ask me..."

Well, I answered this right away too. "Twilight, in our Princess' absence, you are really our leader."

Twilight smiled, hugged me tightly, then said quietly "We should probably leave in no later than an hour."

Well, the Equestria Girls Summer and Fluttershy sisters were already hugging and crying near her Shysage. I needed to find Cel anyway, because I wanted to ask her... Shysage was already over hugging Cel and Lu, and I joined them, and my sister (Fluttershy) did too.

In a little while, Princess stuff awaited, and Cel and Lu and their Twins headed for the Audience Hall. Before they left, I mentioned to Lu that it would be a good idea to let Shysage and my Twins stay in the oversized closet that became our room in the past. Cel said she would get Mildred on that right away.

I hugged my amazing Twin for a while, but far too short... I told her about the room in the Audience Hall, and that made my Twin cry... She knew it would be a few days at least before her Shysage could fly again...

Still, it was time to go... Leaving Canterlot this time wasn't easy at all...

Twilight Sparkle called all the rest of the ponies together. I ran in and brought the Pinkie Pie Twins from the Audience Hall kitchen. I guess leaving was hard for them too... And I hugged Cel and Lu one more time, then my Twin...

We all got a drink at the small pond next to the first tunnel, then we were on our way.

Fluttershy mentioned that our three Panthers would no longer touch any of the carcass. I wasn't surprised, it smelled really bad. Still, Sis said we would need to give our animal friends the opportunity to eat on the way back.

And I realized immediately... Once we started down that first train tunnel, away from Canterlot... The music that had been flowing through the background, well it stopped, abruptly and completely. All I could hear was the wind, the birds, and the ponies around us talking. Shysage looked at me and nodded. I guess it was the same for him.

At the beginning of our walk, Twilight Sparkle, Shysage and I walked up front for a while. This included the walk to the train tunnel, then through the serpentine path the train tracks took down the side of the strange mountain that Canterlot was built on. At least it was down hill this time, Shysage said.

The rest of the girls followed us, chatting happily. Both Fluttershys and our three Panther friends came last. It was clear that Equestria Girls Fluttershy was having a hard time leaving her sister. I didn't say anything, but at least these Equestria Girls sisters would probably meet again in the near future.

The Pinkie Pie Twins were crying softly too. I guessed leaving Pound Cake and his Mare, this just wasn't fun. I was pretty sure these friends likewise, would probably be able to get together again in the not too distant future.

...

Twilight Sparkle and I talked a lot. We really did not have the chance until now. It was very nice. Before we even got going, she and I both hugged tightly, and cried together briefly. I knew she felt bad being away from her Twin. I felt the same way, and she knew it.

And I guess she appreciated our help too, I don't know. I never wanted... Shysage and I, we help whenever we can, and we never expect or look for any recognition. That's just part of being true friends. Still, Twilight made it clear, she really appreciated us, especially early on.

"Twilight, how are you doing?" I asked quietly at that point.

Twilight thought a minute. "Well, a lot better now. It was terribly hard, at first. And it did seem like we jumped through an amazing door, and then spent the next three days in a cyclone..."

"Twilight, you followed your dream" I said with a smile. "And that put everything back together."

Twilight teared up, but said quietly "Well, I can't claim any credit for the dream, but... I love everypony around us so much..." Twilight did cry softly at this point. She is so much like our Princess...

"Aww, Twilight, I'd hug you, but we really shouldn't stop" I said quietly.

"Shaking tears off, Twilight answered "I know, Summer, you are so caring... Still, that afternoon we came together... It played out so much like a dream, so, I don't know... like I really was dreaming it..."

"Twilight, I think Equestria was in charge... And not just you... Shysage, Fluttershy and I, we just tried to walk through what Equestria had already set up" I said quietly, also trying to not cry. Fluttershy, Shysage and I, we honestly felt that way... I mean, we didn't wake up one day and say "I think the future needs us, let's go..."

I actually said this out loud, and Twilight just laughed. "You would have if you knew you should, Summer!" Twilight smiled as she said this.

Well, I was having trouble smiling, and I guess Twilight realized right away. "Aww, Summer, what is it..."

Well, I did start crying at this point, but I tried to explain. "Twilight, we came from maybe 35 years ago to help with this, and that is fine with us. We just don't know..." Well, I cried pretty hard for a little while, and had to stop talking.

Shysage explained it better than I could, but it was hard for him too... "Twilight, we are absolutely scared to death about getting whisked back into our present... It would be very easy to ruin what we have helped rebuild here; even the slightest wrong word in the past could easily unravel everything we have worked hard to regain these last few weeks. And we dearly love everypony around us, and honestly feel everypony is so much better off now..."

Shysage was clearly choking back tears, but he paused a minute, then finished with this. "And the prospect of having to live through the dissolution of the relationships of all our dear friends... unable to say or do anything about it..."

We didn't stop walking, but we cried together for a while... It was clear Twilight understood what we faced...

"Can you three stay here in the future maybe?" Twilight asked quietly after a few minutes of silence.

Shysage's crying had trailed mostly off, and he answered. "I don't know... We probably won't know until it happens, whatever it is... As it is, Summer, Fluttershy and I were talking together with Shyna, and we just disappeared, leaving Shyna there alone. That may happen again... We just don't know..."

Between quiet tears, I added this "And I think the main reasons we were brought here have been fulfilled... We helped bring everypony back together, and we killed two monsters. Well, the Filias and Fionas killed the first one, and we helped Fluttershy's animal friends kill the last one. Still, I am not sure if there is anything else for us to do here. Like Shysage said, we just don't know..."

Our amazing Princess' Twin... Twilight quietly said this.

"Well, I think you are right, it does seem like Equestria has been calling the shots. And I think wherever you both go, you will have each other; I think we all realize that. Still, I understand the... just not knowing..."

Shysage and I, we heard the first part, looked at each other, and smiled. Twilight was right.

It was quiet for a few minutes, but I decided to change the subject.

"Twilight, how is our Princess doing? You probably know better than most... And we all really love our precious Princess Twilight."

Twilight didn't have to think long. "Summer, she is doing a lot better. I just can't imagine spending 30+ years locked up there..." Twilight said this last part quietly "Maybe... Well, my last six months were excruciating too..."

Twilight cried briefly, stopped, mustered a smile, then said "Our Princess just needs time, and she will be fine. Well, maybe we all do."

I just sighed, then said this. "Twilight, I am so glad you Equestria Girls are here for good. Shysage and I felt so torn by that Portal, but now..."

Twilight answered quickly "Summer, I so agree with you... And all of us Equestria Girls really are starting over, and in Equestria, no less. Surrounded by Twins, it will be so amazing..."

Well, we all knew it would be...

In the middle of the afternoon, both Shyna Twins landed near us, and of course, did the Pegasus mare Curtsy once on the ground.

Twilight Sparkle asked that all the Equestria Girls join her up front for a little while, which left the Equestria ponies gathered around us behind them. Nopony thought anything amiss with this. Twilight had brought most of the girls around her to Equestria to begin with, and this was probably the first chance she had to talk with just them.

Still, what happened next was just wierd.

I heard Twilight ask, at about the same time I did... "Girls, how are you all do--"

Twilight Sparkle and I both got this far, and the amazing girls surrounding each of us just burst into tears. Twins were crying, the same way, at the same time... But split into two groups, it was just strange.

And we had to stop for a while, realizing a lot of hugging had to happen just then. Twins had spent a lot of time hugging each other, but these girls; they needed to hug their amazing friends, having re-discovered their devotion. Twilight and I both realized that this was also probably their first opportunity for that; for the Equestria Girls to cry together, and for the Equestria ponies to do the same thing.

Shysage realized the girl time nature of this, and called the Panthers away as ponies cried together and hugged.

I knew Twilight would feel this, since her Twin wasn't here either. We both had the same idea, I guess. We walked towards the middle, and I hugged her a while, and we cried together.

After maybe a half an hour, we resumed our journey, all in one group. Most were still trying to not cry. Half an hour later, everypony was chatting happily...

...That is, until a bunch of ponies in the front screamed. Another Cougar...

While most girls ran towards the Panthers in the back, the Filia Twins quickly had the Cougar asleep. Twilight Sparkle mentioned that Princess had been having them work on this Sleep spell. Well, it worked, the Cougar was asleep, standing up...

...That is, until three hungry Panthers landed on one asleep Cougar. The four of them ran into the forest, then it was quiet. Our Panther friends would rejoin us after lunch.

We resumed our journey, still following the tracks, as we headed to Ponyville. Surrounded with so many amazing ponies, we were all quickly chatting happily again. I loved everypony around me right now.

But I was also terrified... These amazing ponies had lived through a future Shysage and I could only guess at. What little we had heard, here and there, was just plain scary... I didn't want to know honestly, and was scared to death it might come up. Well, it didn't.

As dusk neared, the Shyna Twins thought we were still maybe an hour away from Ponyville. Both Shynas were going to fly back to Ponyville to let Princess Twilight know where we were. I guess this was one of the reasons that the Shyna Twins had flown all the way back to us. I was pretty sure the other reason was that both of these Pegasus mares love to fly. The Rainbow Dash Twins love to fly too; we thought they may have had things to do.

Maybe fifteen minutes later, the Shyna Twins came back, accompanied by Princess Twilight and the Rainbow Dash Twins. Our Princess landed unsteadily, but even flying this far was amazing since she had not been in the air at all for a long time.

Princess and her Twin were quickly hugging, crying... This made the rest of the Twins do the same thing. I just hugged Shysage and cried softly. I love my Twin, but I need my Stallion...

As everypony took a break from walking, Shysage and I sat together, facing away from everypony else, and we looked out quietly across the darkening forest as the Sun set. I just cried softly as he hugged me.

"Shysage, how long do you think..." This was all I could say.

"Oh, Summer..." This was all Shysage could say.

Nopony really knew... how much longer we would be here... how we would go back... if we would go back...

Princess had us all resume our journey. Evidently, dinner was waiting for us at the Castle.

Shysage and I, we walked together and alone, some distance behind everypony else. We quickly changed back into people, and walked while hugging. We both love doing that. I think we both needed it right now.

We didn't talk a lot, but we didn't even need to. And we both agreed that from here on out, it would just be scary. While everypony else would increasingly bond with the most amazing friends in the universe, Shysage and I... Well, and Fluttershy too... We could have to leave in the blink of an eye...

We both doubted that we would be taken at different times, or to different places. The three of us, we would probably be sent back together, well if...

But, like Twilight Sparkle said... just not knowing...

I guess Shysage... He stopped us both, and I was quickly hugging him tightly, clinging to him maybe. In my Stallion's amazing arms...

He said softly "Summer, just like those times we went back to the Past... We are here right now, and we need to just carefully be true friends, and help any way we can. But we need to let go of our future. Equestria... True friend... I think we are in good hands."

I just sighed, he was right, of course. For a few minutes, neither of us moved. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it felt just to rest in my Stallion's embrace. I don't know what I would do without him...

After a few minutes, we started walking again. We could not see anypony else, even far ahead. We just kept walking, hugging... Alyssa was still with us, and so we weren't too worried. And we could see the spire of Princess' Castle now, blazing brightly with magical light, out across the night.

Shysage and I, we walked slowly, hugging, towards Ponyville. Here in the future, or back in our present, it would look the same. And walking with my Stallion like this, that would feel the same too. I guess everything was ok.

Chapter 34, By The Moonlight, Part 3

Dinner at Princess Twilight's Castle was good, of course. Princess made sure there was plenty to eat; most of us had been walking for much of the day, and we were very hungry. I think we all ate a lot.

After dinner found us all relaxing in the grass outside the Castle. Our animal friends were there too, and got some attention from the Fluttershys and the Shynas. Well, Alyssa... Shysage and I fussed over her a while too.

Princess took sort of an unofficial inventory of everypony and their homes.

The Applejack Twins had their kinfolk; Applebloom and her Stallion were already living in the farm house at Sweet Apple Acres. The Rainbow Dash Twins added that, for now at least, they would stay there as well, along with Scootaloo and her Stallion. The Rainbows would need to find their own house in town, at some point though. We all expected Scootaloo and her Stallion to join them.

The Pinkie Pie Twins asked if they could stay at the Castle with the Cakes until the Cake's shop in the center of town was repaired. This task was in process. Evidently, most returning ponies had heard so much about it. There was a lot of interest in getting this Ponyville landmark of sorts back in operation.

Rarity's Boutique was weathered in again, and looked very nice. Maple Song was making good on his promise, and supplied plenty of paint for that. Sweetie Belle insisted on getting the colors just right, and her Stallion had done most of the painting (he was a Unicorn too). Sweetie Bell and her Stallion were already living there.

The Filia and Fiona Twins, all four of them, had reclaimed what used to be Equestria ponies Filia and Fiona's bedroom. The Twilight Twins would also stay at the Castle, of course.

Both Fluttershys and both Shynas would stay at Fluttershy's Cottage, and my Sis (Equestria pony Fluttershy) said it was already in pretty good shape. They asked for help with some minor repairs, and the Applejack and Rainbow Twins promised that.

It was quiet briefly, then Princess Twilight sighed deeply. "It's so nice to be home..." I think everypony felt the same way.

Princess Twilight next mentioned that she hoped the Canterlot Recorders (Shysage and I) would work tomorrow on getting caught up on the amazing events that had happened recently. She assured us that the Filia and Fiona Twins would be at our disposal to handle the writing. Evidently, Princess was really concerned that this get done. I think she knew we were feeling behind.

Princess also mentioned that she would like it if, on some sort of a regular basis, everypony could all spend the night together at the Castle. Trying not to cry, she mentioned that everypony... we really needed to work hard to maintain what we had recaptured. Princess wasn't the only one who cried at this point.

It was quiet again, then Princess Twilight smiled, and said "Ok, everypony, go home!"

That's just what everypony did.

The Fluttershys and Shynas and Shysage and I hugged and cried together for a little while. Then the Fluttershys and Shynas headed for the Cottage. Dawn and Filicia were Alyssa's friends, so we fussed with Alyssa briefly, then she ran and caught up with them.

Everypony else had already left.

...

I looked around briefly, discovering that Shysage and I, we alone were left here in the grass outside the Castle. It was bright around the Castle, but otherwise late evening, and very quiet.

"Shysage, where is our home..." I asked quietly, unable to mask the dejection I felt... I doubted our home would be here, but I really wasn't sure I wanted to go back to our present, even though we might get taken there any minute... I was looking off across the meadow, into the darkness beyond where the light from the Castle faded away. That darkness; I guess that's how I felt...

Shysage turned into a people, stood up, smiled, then held out a hand for me... One look into his amazing Blue eyes, I realized... My home was with him. I would sleep next to him. Not much else mattered. And I was positive he felt the same way.

I turned into a people right away. As people, we hugged tightly a few minutes, well maybe longer. Without even moving, we kissed there in front of the Castle for a while, too. I think we were both soon weeping softly.

Then we walked together, slowly, hugging, kissing some more too, towards the meadow off to the East. It was pretty dark, but we knew the way easily. As we walked past Dawn's, we noticed there were ponies in 'our house', and that was ok. We kept walking. Of course, we ended up on that little hill in the East meadow. Even though it was dark, we could probably find our way blind-folded, Shysage said.

Shysage sat down, and helped me sit in his lap. We both talked to true friend some. And, for what seemed like hours, I just relaxed there in his lap as he hugged me. For a while, he held my hand in his, and slowly rotated our wedding ring as we both looked off into the darkness. Well, ok... I didn't need a home, I needed my Stallion. This was home.

A half moon slowly rose, and out of the darkness, our familiar meadow grew brighter and brighter. In the growing soft Blue glow, the meadow looked like it always had. I had to wonder if when we were really made a lot of difference...

Shysage said he needed to get up a minute. I didn't know, I had been in his lap for a long time.

He turned into a pony right away, slowly extended his wings, rolled them carefully towards me and he bowed, put his head down and closed his eyes.

That still makes me blush... And I just melted. And I just don't understand how this Stallion can so clearly know exactly what I need, even when I don't...

Trying not to cry, I turned into a pony, faced him, and slowly did the same thing. We rubbed noses a long time, then he licked my nose, and ran off. I ran after my Stallion, of course!

For the next two hours, it was Pegasus play... And for those two amazing hours, nothing else even mattered... I forgot about everything we were facing...

I chased him... He chased me... We flew in the air above Ponyville, and around the Castle... We ran through town, wings extended, laughing, hoping nopony was watching...

At one point, I was chasing my Stallion. We both had our wings out, too. This is dangerous, so we had to be very careful. Still, as Shysage was running ahead of me, he clearly slowed, so I did too. Then he pulled his wings in, so I did too, of course. We had almost run Princess Twilight over one evening doing this...

We were in the middle of the meadow though, and Shysage abruptly stopped. Well, I couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting him, and we both tumbled into the grass together, rolled over each other, and ended up all tangled together, laughing... We didn't even bother moving. We hugged right where we were, and rubbed noses a while. We did that a number of times that night.

And, I don't know... Evidently, everypony else in Ponyville thought it was dangerous to be outside at night. Maybe it was. We didn't even see another pony though...

At one point, we ended up at my tree, near the Castle. The light of the Castle was still pretty bright, but we just hoped nopony came out.

We were facing each other, bowing, rubbing noses... Shysage licked my nose, then quickly laid down on his side in the grass. I climbed up under his legs, and he pulled me close. We both sighed deeply and at the same time. And it was clear we would end up at the lake...

And we did, because I got up, put my wings out, and ran quickly through town, straight to the far side of the lake. Of course, Shysage followed me...

Shysage took care of his Mare. Well, we took care of each other. Still, we couldn't risk a foal. I think we have both gotten used to that. Leaving a foal behind, as the Portal took us sometime else, I think that is one of our worst fears...

After splashing each other in the lake for a while, laughing, we both collapsed on the edge, half in and half out of the water. There, we hugged tightly, and rubbed noses for a long time.

Then, at the same time, we both started crying, and we cried together for a while... Nopony could unravel the uncertaintly we faced. We cried together because we knew that. We just had to wait and see.

But playing together with Shysage like that... We forgot everything but each other... I think we both knew taking care of each other would happen at some point, but it wasn't just that. Shysage and I played together too, and that was almost as amazing. Hugging my Stallion, all tangled up with him in the grass, laughing together... Chasing each other in the air around the Spire of Princess Twilight's Castle... I will never forget that night...

Overall, I think Shysage knew I needed a time out, a deep and amazing break from everything we faced...

How could I ever leave him...

Shysage and I managed to sleep a few hours, there on that little hill in the East meadow. We woke up as the Sun started to barely brighten the morning sky. We rubbed noses a little while, then we laid on our bellies; I snuggled as close to Shysage as I could.

We were facing East, well, staring East across the meadow, watching the Sun come up.

We heard the hushed steps of an approaching pony. Before we could even turn to look, we heard Princess Twilight...

"Aww, don't move you two, just let me join you."

Princess Twilight slowly laid down on her belly on my other side. The three of us watched the Sun come up. Nopony said a word, as we just enjoyed the start of a new day.

Without any questions or other discussion, Princess Twilight shared her heart. She didn't turn her head or look at us. Staring off across the meadow, she spoke slowly, and paused thoughtfully between each sentence. Princess was soon weeping softly as she spoke.

"I never could have imagined that Equestria would give me all this back...

"But Equestria gave me... Equestria gave all of us a second chance, and that is just amazing..."

Our Princess had to cry a few minutes at this. I hugged her and the three of us cried together. This really was amazing. Crying, Princess continued.

"Still... I think you both need to know this...

"I remember reading once, Faded Memories I think, that Princess Luna knew enough magic to be able to kill herself, and felt terrible at the time... And I guess, even basic magic can be used to do just that..."

Princess was now crying quite a bit, but kept going.

"Losing my girls... Being banished away from everypony, or anypony... Both were absolutely terrible... excruciating for me...

"And, honestly, it seemed like each day I was sorely tempted... I hurt so bad... I had nothing left... I wanted to just end it... I knew killing myself would be easy... Any of a number of magic spells...

"And I think Eschate Zumulus thought, hoped, wanted me to do exactly that...

...

"...but I couldn't..."

Princess stopped and cried a few minutes, then tried to continue.

"I just couldn't..."

...

"I would always think of you two..."

...

"I remembered the love you shared... the times I caught you playing together... the way you both almost effortlessly stepped in when the other needed it... the way you smiled when you look into each other's eyes... just a whole lot of things...

...

"I couldn't end my life... I just couldn't... I wanted... That..."

...

"I felt terrible, but if I took my life, I would never even have the chance... the opportunity... I just didn't want to give that hope up... that someday... I could have...

"I couldn't let go of that..."

...

Then Princess said quietly "I think your love kept me alive..."

...

The three of us cried together some more. Honestly, I cried pretty hard too. The prospect that Shysage and my devotion to each other could have such an impact... I never would have thought...

We cried together for a while, maybe a long while. Then Princess Twilight worked on calming down, and we did too.

Once it was quiet again, Princess Twilight sighed deeply. Then she turned to look at Shysage and I, smiled, and said this.

"I watched you play some last night, well early this morning. I couldn't sleep, and I was still unsure how safe a walk would be by myself, so I climbed the stairs to the porch at the top of the Castle. I'm surprised you didn't see me.

"After watching you both for a while this morning, I smiled to myself, and was quickly crying..."

She was crying as she said this too, but didn't stop talking.

"I realized I had won... I had made it through that nightmare alive. I can still hope now that some day..."

Princess Twilight couldn't finish, but she didn't have to. She and I hugged tightly, and the three of us cried together a while longer.

Maybe half an hour later, Alyssa, then the Fluttershys and Shynas found us and were quickly crying with us. Twilight Sparkle and the Filia Twins arrived next, and were relieved to have found Princess Twilight.

We tried to calm down. We had a lot of work to do today...

Chapter 35, Canterlot Recording, Part 3

After we calmed down, Princess Twilight said she would like to see us get a bunch of Canterlot Recording done today. I think she knew we were way behind.

We all grabbed a quick breakfast from the East meadow, since we were already there. Fluttershy sent our three Panther animal friends off for some breakfast too.

Of course, I stayed next the Shysage the whole time. Times like last night seem to bond us even more closely together. I don't think either of us mind.

Too soon, it seemed, we gathered at the little hill, and headed back through Ponyville, to the Castle.

On the way, we passed Camille and Maple Song as they walked the opposite direction, out into the meadow. Camille said "Hi Summer", but otherwise had her eyes on her Stallion. I knew that look -- deepening love. I guess, against all odds... A happy ending if there ever was. I think Dawn's family needed that, after all they had been through.

Nearing the Castle, Princess Twilight said it was a very nice day outside today. However, she wanted us to work inside, in the Library. She hoped this would cut down on distractions.

The Fluttershys and Shynas headed to the Cottage for a day of animal friends. The Twilight and Filia Twins would help us with Canterlot Recording.

Shysage and I flopped down on the thick rug next to where the Portal used to be. It was very comfortable. Both Filias laid on their bellies facing us, with ink, quill and paper ready.

Reading recent recording, we had covered up through the afternoon when Princess Twilight's circle was restored. I tried not to cry, and Shysage and I talked about what to do next. He and I flew to the Castle after the girls were done.

Evidently there was a lot that happened as the rest of the group made slow progress returning to the Castle in Ponyville, from deep in the Everfree Forest. Princess Twilight took over, and wrote most of this chapter. Well, it was about she and her girls, and she was there! It came out very nicely.

Princess also reminded me about our late night discussion that very night, which I guess I had forgotten about. She and I did that chapter together. It was amazing. We hugged quite a bit.

The next chapter we did was hard. It was about doing repeated magical Sonic Rainbooms to try to lure Phantasma here to Ponyville, only to have her arrive right as we were about to do the last one. We just weren't ready.

Rose was a big help with that fight, and that made me cry a lot. This huge Black Panther was my amazing animal friend, and she fought bravely at the side of this Phantom Alicorn. Rose was instrumental in getting Phantasma to hold still long enough so the Wind Blade spell could be used to separate Princess Luna and Princess Celestia from Phantasma's sides. Rose was badly injured in the fight, and that made me sad at the time.

Still, we successfully killed Phantasma, and Equestria sprang back to life. But having to write that chapter... Rose was dead now, and I had a hard time not crying a lot. I still missed my animal friend.

The Twilight Twins had to leave at this point; it was early afternoon. That was ok, Shysage and I started into the next chapter. It was about the night following the killing of Phantasma.

Cel and Lu (Princess Celestia and Princess Luna) had been appendages on Phantasma's side for almost 40 years. They were freed now, but clearly needed our attention; but so did brave Rose... I felt so torn that night, and Shysage and I both slept very little. Cel snapped back quickly, but Lu did not. Fluttershy helped with Rose, and that freed me to take care of my Lu.

The three of them made a lot of progress on the road to recovery the next day or so, and it was so clear in the next few days that Ponyville, Equestria were rapidly coming back to life. There was just so much going on. We split this material across three chapters. And honestly, the Filia Twins had very good memories, and their input was absolutely crucial.

It was late afternoon, and we were all mentally beat. The Filia Twins hugged with Shysage and I for a little while and we thanked them, then they put the Canterlot Recording pages back into their special spot on a certain shelf in the Library. Evidently, Princess Twilight was watching over these pages carefully. The Filia Twins disappeared into their room.

...

Shysage and I headed out of the Castle, really not sure where we should go. We found the Rarity and Fiona Twins out in the grass near the Castle, talking with Princess and her Twin.

I wanted to ask the Raritys if they could fix a tear in my Equestria Girls blouse. Shysage and I, we spend a lot of time as people, and our stylish Equestria Girls clothing was showing that. Princess, her Twin and the Fiona Twins headed into the Castle.

Shysage and I joined the Rarity Twins and we headed off to the Boutique. We talked on the way. They mentioned new Shield Necklaces for everypony, and I was really excited about that. Mine was still at Dawn's, where it would stay, and Shysage and I both wouldn't mind having one to wear.

There were a lot more ponies in Ponyville now. I guess ponies were coming back in droves. We passed a number of ponies as we walked. But when we passed two similar looking stallions, both Raritys stopped talking mid-sentence, and failed at trying to ignore them, until after they had walked past us.

Well, I don't have a PhD (I heard one of the Equestria girls say that), but I knew various aspects of my dream... And I remembered this part...

I turned around immediately, and walked towards the two stallions, only to have both Raritys say quietly "Summer, don't..." I saw no harm, I just wanted to see if my dream was right about this. Well, maybe... I love Rare...

I ran up, and apologized to the stately stallions.

"Escuse me, are you two brothers?" I asked quietly.

And I knew Shysage was watching this, or I would never have done it. I think he knew what I was up to, anyway.

Both stallions looked at each other. "Why, yes" one of them answered. "Why do you ask?"

Well, I think I was on a mission. "Are your names Beau and Big?" I asked again quietly.

The eyes of both stallions grew very wide. "Why... yes, how did you know?"

I was not about to try to explain my dream to them, and that didn't matter. I kept asking questions.

"Are you both artistically minded?" I was just not sure how to ask this, and I knew it was a long shot.

Beau and Big looked at each other, too stunned to even talk.

I just said simply "I think you both might find kindred spirits at Rarity's Boutique here in town."

One of the two immediately said "Brother, this is the second pony to mention that to us. I think we should pay this boutique a visit."

The other said back sternly "Let's visit the meadow first, please. I'm starved."

That's where they headed, as I walked slowly back to both now flabbergasted Raritys. I thought they would be cross with me, but I guess... We hugged together for a little while.

"Summer, dear, there were aspects of your dream I rather liked, you know." Equestria pony Rarity said this. That was Rare...

And it didn't take them long to fix my Blouse, even if I had to wait in the dressing room with no blouse on, all by myself...

I was soon back to being a pony, and the four of us hugged briefly as I thanked them. Then we headed from the Boutique, still not sure where we should go next.

We weren't far from the Boutique, when we passed Beau and Big, clearly headed where we had just come from. Both nodded politely to us, but kept walking. I thought this would be a good day for Ponyville's fashion experts. Well, dream or no, I hoped it would.

...

Still, this auguring feeling...

"Shysage, we just don't have anyplace..." I said this, then was crying. Shysage stopped and we hugged a few minutes.

He led us to the meadow off to the East, to that little hill. Well, I guess this was the closest to our place that we had. We both changed to people, and I cried a while, sitting in his lap as he hugged me tightly. Maybe we both cried together.

It was later in the afternoon, and a nice warm day. After a while, our crying trailed off, and we sat there, looking across the meadow, enjoying the hushed breeze and birds singing, as Shysage had me folded in his arms.

"I love you Summer" Shysage said softly, and hugged me a little more tightly.

It was quiet a few minutes, then I said softly "Shysage, I think you are my home... You are really all I have..."

He answered immediately "And you are my home, precious Mare. I don't know what lies ahead either, but if I have you..."

We kissed a while there on that hill, in the warmth of the waning afternoon Sun. Spending time with my Stallion like that, I felt a lot better. And even back in our present, we could do this too... Unless it was absolutely freezing cold there still... I shivered as I said this.

We just sat there on that hill, for a long time. I think we were waiting for somepony to come let us know when dinner at the Castle might be. Well, that didn't happen.

As the Sun dipped past the trees, Alyssa ran up, crying, and Shysage and I petted and scratched our animal friend together, and as people. Alyssa doesn't seem to even care if we are people or ponies. Well, I think she realizes we scratch better as people with fingers. Still, I always weep softly when we do that. I still miss Rose.

The Fluttershys must have already taken care of dinner for the Panthers. After Alyssa had calmed down, she was quickly asleep next to Shysage and I. Well, we basically didn't sleep at all last night, and we were both very tired.

Shysage and I kissed a while more, then changed back into ponies. We both laid on our bellies near Alyssa. I snuggled up as close to him as I could, and we both fell asleep like that, on that little hill in the East meadow.

I guess this was home for us right now.

Well, someponies did come and wake us up the next morning. Both of the Filia Twins came out to the East meadow to remind us that we were Canterlot Recording again today.

Evidently, the Fluttershy Twins and their Panthers had joined us at some point. Sis said early this morning. And I think... Maybe Sis was having to deal with that auguring feeling of an unknown future too.

Shysage told the Filia Twins we would come to the Castle after we ate some breakfast. The Filia Twins ran off to the Castle, playing Cutie Mark tag together as they ran there.

Shysage and I were quickly hugging with the Fluttershys. Nothing was said, nothing at all. I think I felt from my Sis exactly what I felt, and I am sure she felt that. And I knew my sister's Twin (Equestria Girls Fluttershy), she also felt all of this too. I know this sounds complicated. That's how us Fluttershys work though, I don't know. Nopony talked, but we all cried together for a while.

We all ate some breakfast as our Panther friends ran off after their own food. When they came back, we all fussed with our animal friends, then the Fluttershys led the three of them off to the Cottage.

It was Canterlot Recording time again, I guess...

...

Shysage and I walked slowly through town to the Castle.

I stopped to hug my neighbor Dawn as she sat outside her shop, enjoying the warmth of the morning Sun. She was smiling. She said quietly "Summer, we had to add another name, look!" The sign above Dawn's shop now read:

Camille's Helping Hands
Maple Song's Paints

The whole thing had been freshly repainted, and it looked very nice. Still, I had to ask "Dawn, does Camille have your same artistry with flowers?"

Dawn sighed. "No, but I don't mind. Her family is amazing. I just wish..."

Dawn and I hugged and cried for a little while together. Dawn herself, she had longed for years for this same happy ending in her life too.

At one point, Dawn eased me away a little. "Summer, you have done so much for us... How can we ever..." She was crying again, but so was I. I was glad to help, of course. And I felt like all I did was just try and help, nothing more...

Camille called her mom from somewhere inside. I could tell just by Camille's voice...

...

Shysage and I walked the rest of the way to the Castle. Up the steps, down the hall, into the Library. We flopped down together on that nice rug with Princess Twilight's Cutie mark. The Filias were gathering everything, and Shysage and I talked briefly.

Our first trip to Canterlot was the next thing to record. We flew this time, with the Shyna Twins, to protect them, if necessary. The Shyna's could probably out-fly any monster, any magic... I don't know. We did what Equestria's Princesses had asked. And flying felt absolutely amazing.

The Commons was a grizzly graveyard, but even this early, ponies were streaming back into Canterlot. Mildred found the Shyna Twins, and... Equestria's Princesses got their Master of Details back. Both cried at this news.

Shysage helped Shining Armor evaluate the Library, and he and I left Canterlot with little pouches around our necks holding Cel and Lu's crowns, along with a note with some information about Canterlot.

Landing back in Ponyville that afternoon, I guess that was the first time Shysage noticed my Pegasus mare Curtsy. He likes it, anyway!

The next chapter started out covering our previous attempt at Canterlot Recording. But Maple Song sheepishly arrived, and was quickly married to Camille... That whole event unfolded so amazingly... I guess one of the ways Equestria was coming back to life... Ponies making amends for past mistakes...

But I think Equestria used this event to call Equestria's Princesses back to Canterlot. We all knew this time would come, sooner or later. It turned out sooner...

While we were recording, Princess Twilight needed the Filia Twins at this point, and apologized. The four of them quickly left. This wasn't a problem. Shysage and I both turned into people, sat next to each other, and Shysage wrote for me. I think I smiled at him a lot!

Shysage reminded me about our late night recording time with Cel and Lu, the night before they left. The plan was that Lu would take notes, but we didn't know how far she got, and we never saw her notes. That whole discussion about the culture of pain that bullies create, had created... It was very difficult for all of us.

The next day, a bunch of us escorted Equestria's Princesses to Canterlot. This second trip to Canterlot, we had to walk because most ponies that came with us couldn't fly. That was fine. And we brought our four Panther animal friends too, and they were a huge help again.

On hoof, the trip to Canterlot took most of the day. And as we came to the end of the last tunnel, some sort of amazing re-constitution ceremony took place. I guess the governing of Equestria was formally back in place at that point.

And Equestria's Princesses, and their Twins, they hugged and cried with Mildred for a while.

The last chapter we recorded that day was the battle with Macabre. Like we wrote, we should have known we weren't done with monsters yet. Of course, Equestria brought all of Princess Twilight's girls, and 12 Elements of Harmony, back to Canterlot for the confrontation. It didn't matter. Due to her magic shield, Equestria's magic couldn't touch Macabre.

But the shield didn't stop our Panther animal friends... And where a huge Panther army came from, I'll never know. But my sister, her amazing gifts... Fluttershy and her animal friends rescued Equestria that day.

We had to stop Canterlot Recording for the day after we wrote that amazing chapter. Shysage said his wrists refused to write another word. That was fine, it was early afternoon, and we had made pretty good progress. Well, we didn't feel so far behind, anyway.

It was so quiet in the Library. I helped Shysage put everything carefully on the closest table. Then we turned back into ponies, and laid on our bellies next to each other on that rug for a few minutes.

I don't think the quiet was good for us, we both started weeping softly together. No more monsters... Canterlot Recording almost caught up... It seemed to us both that there was just not much left to keep us here...

We headed outside, down the Castle steps into the grass, again not really knowing where we would go.

We found the Twilight and Filia Twins in a discussion with the Applejack and Rainbow Dash Twin.

"Ah, Summer, there you are" Princess said with a smile.

Equestria pony Applejack mentioned their chore.

"Summer, we have a bunch of dead trees we need removed from our main orchard. I think you can do that a lot faster than anypony else. For now, we can just stack them in a corner, and burn them later. You interested in helping with that?"

I had done this before, years ago now. I had to be the Phantom Alicorn, but there was nothing hard about pulling up dead trees and piling them up somewhere else. And I guess I was glad Rare had fixed the tear in my blouse.

"Applejack, we would be delighted to help you with that" I said quietly. It was true. And we had a place to go, for now anyway.

Thirty minutes later, I was a people, with my Cutie Mark spun up, pulling hugely overgrown and now dead apple trees out of the ground, roots and all. Applejack had me stack them in a corner. Those trees that were close enough to the corner, I just threw over to the pile. The rest of the trees I had to pull up, then fly across the orchard carrying them, and add them to the pile.

Of course, everypony else stood way back while I did this. The trees were big, and would injure anypony they may fall on, including me. Rainbow Dash and her Twin were in the air all the time, watching out for anypony in the wrong place.

Still, after maybe an hour and a half, the dead trees were all in that pile. I walked over and did some re-arranging to make sure all of the trees were on the pile. Some of the trees I threw didn't quite make it.

Then I formed a fist with my right hand, and brought it down a number of times on the pile. I didn't want to shove the trees into the ground, but I broke them into much smaller pieces, so the pile was smaller. It would also be much easier to burn this way.

After a few cycles of smashing and carefully rebuilding the pile, there were mostly small chunks of branches, from very small branches to very large limbs.

I asked everypony to back away, and got ready to use my left hand to shower the wood with fire. It would burn quickly, and hot.

Applejack stopped me. "Summer, that wood... It is the perfect size for the hearth in the house. Can we just wait, and not burn it for now? We can pull a lot of good firewood out of that pile..."

Of course that was fine. The bonfire could wait. I unspun my Cutie Mark, and walked over to Shysage, who was also a people now.

But, I guess Princess had additional plans.

"Applejack, do you have other dead trees?" Princess asked slowly.

"Wow yes..." Applejack quickly replied. "The entire North grove still needs dead trees pulled..."

Princess thought a minute more. "Summer... I think Ponyville could use a similar firewood supply like this. Is there any way..."

Equestria pony Rainbow Dash answered quickly for me, I guess. "Summer, just fly each dead tree to a pile near town, and do the same thing, crushing them down like that. That ought to work!"

"I can do that Princess" I said quietly. I wouldn't tell my Princess no. And I knew this would greatly benefit Ponyville. I was kind of concerned about flying large dead trees the 3 miles or so, but...

Princess set the plan in motion.

"Rainbows and Shynas, go find a spot in a meadow close to town, probably the East one. The four of you should mark off a large area for the wood, and keep other ponies away. Applejacks, you can show Summer where the dead trees are. How does that sound?"

Well, flying over town holding a dead tree... I ended up flying around Ponyville. I got a lot of stares still, dead trees don't normally fly. The spot the Rainbows and Shynas had marked off was easy to find, and easily bigger than the resulting pile of trees. It just wasn't very far from that little hill...

As it started to get dark, I added dead apple tree number 27 to the pile, then made Ponyville maybe a year's supply of firewood. Shysage and I turned back into ponies, and soon everypony else came to see the fruits of our labors. There was a lot of firewood in that pile!

Everypony hugged everypony else. I really was glad to be able to help amazing friends like that. Then everypony else left for their homes as it got dark. Shysage and I were quickly together and alone again.

We just laid on our bellies next to each other on that little hill and rubbed noses briefly. Fifty feet to our left was a huge pile of firewood. It was hard to miss.

Ponyville's ponies quickly found the pile. It was not quiet in that meadow any more, not until very late. And with a continous stream of ponies getting firewood... Well, we couldn't rub noses worrying about who might see us.

After unsuccessfully trying to sleep for a few hours, Shysage quietly said something about grand central station, whatever that is. We got up and moved to a new spot on the far side of the lake. It was a lot further away from the wood, and so a lot quieter there.

Shysage and I had spent some amazing, intimate times right around here. But I think we were both hurting more and more, and that just wasn't possible right now. I think we cried ourselves to sleep that night.

Chapter 36, A Day like Any Other

The next day, Shysage and I woke up together on the far side of the lake. Like I said, Shysage and I had spent some amazing intimate times here on a number of occasions... There was just too much going on, too much uncertainty right now...

The Sun was just topping the nearby trees, and the warmth felt very nice. Still, we were surrounded by fairly tall rushes, and we could not see anything around us. This probably meant nopony else could see us, not that it really mattered. We rubbed noses a while, right there.

We finally got up, made our way out of the rushes, and walked slowly back towards Ponyville. We stopped and had breakfast together on the way. Still, from the sounds we were hearing, the mountainous woodpile was becoming a handy gathering spot for Ponyville. This was fine. Shysage and I just looked at our little hill next to the huge pile of wood and sighed at the same time.

Our goal was to wander to Princess Twilight's Castle and see about doing some more Canterlot Recording. Walking past Dawn's, we saw two holes in the ground, but nopony outside. It sounded like a full house inside, though.

As we neared Princess Twilight's Castle, the Filia and Fiona Twins ran out of the Castle and down the steps laughing, and almost ran us over. After apologizing, the four of them were quickly playing Cutie Mark tag in the grass, and ran quickly off to the meadow behind the Castle.

Up the stairs, down the hall, into the Library; we saw no sign of anypony in the Castle. Shysage and I both turned into people, found the Canterlot Recorder stuff, and were soon sitting down on the rug.

After recording the battle with Macabre yesterday, Shysage and I realized that the following day, both our Twins arrived in Canterlot. We should start Canterlot Recording there. Shysage reminded me though, that, aside from meeting our Twins, the yelling pony who had beat up both he and his Twin...

Well, it would be a strange chapter. Meeting my Twin again... Equestria Girls Fluttershy getting her sister back from the dead again... Then dealing with that yelling monster, who had no concern about the pain he caused my Stallion, his Twin, or anypony else for that matter...

Well, we got to work. I had put together the first sentence.

Shysage sighed right away. "Summer, we are out of ink..."

We both sighed together again. There would be no Canterlot Recording, not this morning anyway. Without moving at all, still sitting next to each other, there on that rug, we kissed briefly. I love my Stallion.

We got up, and put the Canterlot Recording stuff back where we had found it. We hugged tightly for a few minutes. Then we both changed back into ponies, and headed down the hall, and back outside. Still, we didn't know where we would go, what we would do. That seemed to be a recurring theme for us...

...

Once we were in the grass outside the Castle... There was just nopony around. Without anything else to do, we slowly made our way to the East meadow. What else...

Passing Dawn's on the way, we noticed a pony struggling to get a pole set in one of the two holes we saw this morning. Evidently, Dawn's was getting a porch!

Shysage immediately turned into a people, and grabbed the pole, and held it steady, while the clearly amazed pony slowly brought some carefully chosen stones, and forced them into the hole, down around the pole, to hold it steady. We realized that by himself, this pony couldn't do both tasks.

Well, I left. Actually, I ran off.

Shysage held the pole until the base stones were firmly in place. Still a people, he grabbed the second main porch post, and forced it in the second hole as far as he could. The other pony repeated his task again, and sunk carefully sized rocks down next to the wood, holding it steady and straight. Adding the rest of the porch roof would take care of anchoring the tops of these poles.

Shysage changed back into a pony, and led this other pony slowly to that little hill in the East meadow. The pony didn't question, but just walked with my Stallion, and sat next to him on that hill. Little was otherwise said between them.

Well, I don't know... I think Shysage quickly realized who this pony was, maybe from his Cutie Mark. I felt who he was right away... It was Desert Spring... And, just like my dream, he was also a Pegasus, from the dry meadow beyond Dodge City. His Cutie Mark was a shiny Blue desert stream on a light Tan, circular background. His coat was Brown, and his mane and tail were dark Red.

I ran quickly to Fluttershy's Cottage. My sister (Equestria pony Fluttershy) didn't even need to be told why I had come; she surely felt why. The Shyna Twins didn't need to be told either. The five of us hugged tightly and cried softly for a few minutes.

My Sis said to her Twin (Equestria Girls Fluttershy) "Twin, are you sure?"

Twin said softly "Of course", and both Fluttershys hugged tightly a minute maybe.

My sister, Equestria pony Fluttershy explained.

"Summer, we actually felt his presence three days ago when he arrived in town. I am pretty sure he felt ours right away as well.

"Still, we realized that we needed some sort of formal introduction before anything else. Fluttershy smiled at me. "Sis, that's where you come in" she said softly. "Can you bring him here?" she asked next.

I hugged my sister tightly a few minutes, trying to not cry. Then I went to fetch Desert Spring.

It took a little while, but I found him with my Stallion on that little hill in the East meadow. I really should have known to look there first. Well, maybe not any more, I don't know.

As soon as I got close, Shysage said quietly "Desert Spring, please come with us." With Shysage in the middle, the three of us walked slowly through town, then out to Fluttershy's Cottage. We weren't in a hurry, and the only thing Shysage said was "Desert Spring, this is Summer, my Mare."

I just smiled. I was pretty sure Desert Spring already knew, rather he already felt that. And I am so glad I am Shysage's Mare!

The three of us walked up the hill towards the clearing around Fluttershy's Cottage. In the warm Sun sat both Fluttershys, both Shynas and three huge Black Panthers. My sister was blushing. I expected no less.

Desert Spring walked up and sat down facing both Fluttershys. The Panthers crowded around him immediately, and purred loudly. He evidently got their seal of approval right away.

"Fluttershy, this is Desert Spring" my Stallion said softly.

Shysage and I then turned and walked back down the hill. The Shyna Twins quickly joined us. After we were clearly far enough away, the Shynas gave us a little more insight.

Equestria Girls Shyna said while crying softly "Both Fluttershys have talked about this a lot. Neither wanted to hurt the other, but my Fluttershy is still pretty battered from two bad husbands in the Equestria Girls world, and needs time...

Equestria pony Shyna smiled and added "And Shysage taught my Fluttershy that she absolutely had to wait for a kindred spirit. Well, as soon as he arrived in town, she knew he was that. Desert Spring is easily her equal in so many ways."

And I was pretty sure... Relationships with other pony types might be fun, but only relationships between such kindred spirits could ever last... Still, this was a family discussion if there ever was... And I couldn't help but cry at this point. "But what if we need to leave soon?" Well, nopony really knew if, when that would happen. I was just concerned for my sister...

Shysage had to hug me a little while.

Equestria pony Shyna smiled again. "Fluttershy will just wait until she can come back here. She is sure Desert Spring will be worth waiting for..."

It was quiet for a few minutes as we headed slowly to the Castle.

Equestria pony Shyna said quietly "I'm pretty sure he has already felt his way through the rest of our family. I think he is pretty amazed." Well, I guess I was not surprised at this. The deep Fluttershy sensitivity that we all carried, it really was rare, and for Desert Spring to find us all together like this...

Once we got near the Castle, the Shyna Twins bolted quickly away, and joined the Filias and Fionas playing Cutie Mark tag behind the Castle. I was tempted to join them, and I know Shysage would not have minded. There was just too much going on right now.

Shysage and I wandered over to my tree, not too far from the Castle. We sat down next to each other, and stared off across the meadow. Shysage hugged me right away.

Nothing was said for a little while... Then I quietly mentioned "Shysage, I don't think there is anything else keeping us here..."

...

Shysage got up, and I did too. Well, we walked together. Actually, we headed to the meadow to the East. We were barely at Dawn's when we noticed, off in the distance, that Desert Spring, both Fluttershys and three huge Black Panthers were relaxing together on that little hill; each pony was fussing with an animal friend.

Of course, we didn't want to interrupt them. And, I guess... Alyssa needed a good friend who would be here a while, maybe that was Desert Spring. It was just hard.

We turned around and walked some other direction. I am really not sure where we headed, which way. We were soon in some meadow around Ponyville, and we just kept walking. We didn't know what else to do... It seemed like, behind us, there was just one closed door after another. Shysage and I both cried after I said that.

We had walked quite a distance, away from Ponyville. We weren't paying much attention where we were going. We were basically just walking slowly... somewhere... together, because we had nowhere to go, nothing to do... Shysage saw a clump of pretty big trees off in the distance, and we decided to head there. Maybe we would find another nice hill to relax on together...

The closer we got to that bunch of trees, the more we realized how big they were. Once we got close, Shysage gasped and said they were Redwood trees, then said quietly "How could we possibly have missed these..." He explained that Redwood trees grow almost as big as Sequoias. This didn't make a lot of sense to me, except that Shysage was not surprised at how tall these trees were. And the diameter of the trees at their base was... big... They easily dwarfed the scraggly low Live Oak trees in the surrounding meadow...

We walked directly towards them, and soon saw the most beautiful ferns covering the ground around these trees. It was all very pretty. Shysage also realized the Redwoods were growing in a large circle. We walked around for a little while, looking for an easy way into the center of this amazing circle of huge trees. We found a gap between two trees, and headed inside.

This amazing circle of extremely tall trees was maybe 200 feet across, Shysage thought. On the inside of the circle, there were also ferns around the bases of the Redwoods. Towards the center of the circle, the ferns gave way to the lushest, pony knee deep grass. And the grassy area formed a natural, slight hill, with the highest point in the center of the circle.

It was near noon, and the Sun shone warmly through the arc of Blue sky past the top of this circle of very tall trees. Shysage said this direct Sun would only last maybe an hour or two.

The warm sunlight felt amazing. And there was a very calm breeze blowing slowly across. Shysage said this place looked like a fairy tale. The grass felt amazing, it was very soft. The grass tasted amazing too... We snacked briefly. This place smelled amazing too, because of the trees Shysage said...

We headed for the slight hill in the center of this circle of huge trees. We flopped down on our bellies in the grass at the top of that small hill, in the very center of this ring of huge trees. I was right next to Shysage.

We cried...

We had cried a little while, when I realized, rather felt, that my sister Fluttershy was right next to me. She gasped right away, and said quietly "Oh my." Fluttershy thought a moment, then said, again quietly "I guess it's time. Well, I told Desert Spring already, and he said he would wait."

Fluttershy gasped again as she looked around at this amazing sanctuary surrounded by trees that reached to the sky.

Heads buried together in the grass, the three of us cried softly together for a while more...

After maybe an hour, we abruptly lost our direct sunlight.

It wasn't because the Sun dipped past the trees...

Something big had walked up to us, blocking the sunlight. Shysage, Fluttershy and I, we all sat up at the same time. We faced a huge White Alicorn. He said what we all realized...

"I am Orbsah Tnuoc... I am the Keeper of Equestria...

And he really was big, the size of a large horse in the Equestria Girls world, Shysage said later. Like last time, and without being asked this time, the three of us stood up, then bowed. Well, we were wiping away tears too.

But it seemed... Maybe the Keeper was fighting tears too... He spoke slowly...

"I cannot express... You have done so much... Rescuing... Helping... Caring..."

It was quiet a minute maybe, then he continued. I guess he got right to the point.

"You three amazing ponies must leave now, and go back to your time. I will be there too, but no matter."

It was quiet a again. He was clearly thinking, but there was a lot at stake with us returning to our present.

Shysage was thinking too, and said quietly "Sir, we don't want to erase all this..." Shysage had to stop there, and just cried. Well, Fluttershy and I did too..."

But the huge White horse was crying too... Through tears, he said slowly

"The price for what you have done... You must never tell a soul... You can never tell a soul... You have all travelled to the Past, and so you understand why..."

He stopped here, but Shysage clearly realized that we couldn't say absolutely nothing. Well, he told me later he realized that. It didn't matter because Orbsah Tnuoc clearly understood our fears. He addressed them.

"Children, you may refer to my title, and indicate that, on my authority, you have been silenced about this."

He was thinking a minute, then he added this.

"Powerful young one, you were given a dream some years ago, the dream you have actually lived through these last weeks. You may mention to your Princesses that this is what you have been doing, but you must not supply any other details."

The Keeper was in thought again, then quietly said this.

"Your Princess wisely understood that dream as a warning. You may mention, from my mouth... That one warning is all they require. Another dream, more details, this won't make any difference."

Shysage just sighed, as Fluttershy and I wept quietly.

But Orbsah Tnuoc was weeping softly too. He spoke again.

"Dear ones, fulfill this, and at some point in the future, in your future, you will return to this very day, to this very place. This will become your present..."

Fluttershy stopped crying, and she, too sighed. Coming back to here and now, to Desert Spring...

It was quiet for a few minutes. We were still bowing before Orbsah Tnuoc. He asked us to stand up. Then he said quietly...

"I'm sorry... I can't make this part any easier..."

The Keeper... Our huge tree sanctuary... Everything faded from view...

Chapter 37, Just One

Well, the last thing Orbsah Tnuoc said to us made no sense...

...until Equestria Present, well our present, came slowly into view.

We felt right away, it was freezing cold...

We saw right away, the gound was covered in snow...

And that quiet, snow drift tune(1) was playing softly in the background again...

Coming back from maybe the middle of a nice, warm Summer, this felt very harsh...

We arrived back in our present on that little hill in the East meadow, just where each of us were when we had left here over four weeks ago, four weeks ago for me anyway. It was obviously Winter still, and sometime in the middle of the night. A full Moon lit the meadow up nicely, and the snowcover made it very hushed, very quiet.

There was no breeze, but we were freezing cold; we had no coats on, and absolutely could not stay here. And the three of us were quickly crying again.

Shysage said "Our home" and started walking.

Fluttershy said "My Cottage will be warmer", and so we walked there; well, we ran there instead. Fluttershy's Cottage made sense; since she lived in a tree, even with no fire, it would be warmer.

The three of us could barely even move when we started up the small hill to Fluttershy's Cottage. Fluttershy led the way, and we were quickly inside.

Wow, it was nice and warm in here...

...

Two ponies had been asleep facing a very low fire in the fireplace in Fluttershy's Cottage. When Fluttershy, Shysage and I burst through the door before we became frozen solid, we woke them up, and they were crying too.

It was Princess Twilight and (Equestria pony) Shyna.

Shysage and I, I think we both felt this... We stood back a little. For both our Princess and Shyna, it was Fluttershy's absense that had been the most deeply felt. Fluttershy was quickly on her belly between them, and the three of them cried loudly together for a while. Fluttershy, no doubt, felt their anguish too.

Shysage and I were very cold. Shysage turned into a people, and fed the fire some fresh wood. Then he was a pony again, and we were on our bellies next to each other facing the fire. The fire felt amazing, but we were crying softly too.

Princess and Shyna fell back asleep. We guessed that both may have spent a lot of sleepless nights... here... together... waiting... crying...

When it was clear both were asleep, Fluttershy said quietly to me, to us "Shysage, we will let you do any explaining necessary about our trip. I don't think we should all try..." Fluttershy was crying too...

With sleeping ponies on either side, I could not hug my Sis like I wanted to. "I love you, Sis" I said quietly instead.

"Oh Sis, I love you both too... Let's get some sleep, though" Fluttershy replied quietly.

The fire was back to life, and was warming the room nicely. Shysage hugged me a little while, and I tried not to cry.

Still, this wouldn't be easy... It wouldn't be easy at all...

Fluttershy woke me up early the next morning. Well, it felt like early, but it probably wasn't. We had gone from noon to midnight in the blink of an eye. We would be tired for a few days no matter what. Well, we went from the warmth of Summer to this freezing cold, too. It couldn't be helped.

I woke Shysage up, and, after waiting only briefly, Fluttershy said quietly "Shysage, Princess wants to know about our trip." Princess Twilight and Shyna were on their bellies facing us, some distance behind Fluttershy, waiting expectantly for some news. Fluttershy was fighting back tears.

I think my Stallion... I love the way he thinks stuff through, and figures things out like this. And Fluttershy knowing that Shysage should shoulder this, that was probably right too.

Shysage got up, walked over to Princess Twilight, then bowed. Still bowing, he said this.

"Princess, I think it would be wise if you could summon Cel and Lu. We have been given specific orders about what we can and cannot say. It would probably be better to tell everypony about our trip at the same time."

Princess Twilight looked momentarily disappointed, then looked off into the distance. We hoped she was getting input from Equestria. After a minute maybe, she looked at the three of us and said quietly

"Ok, this seems very important, so we will try to wait patiently. It may be a few days though. This Winter storm needs to finish blowing through Equestria, so the Air Coaches can fly again."

It was quiet another minute, then Princess said "You three stay here. I'll have Filia and Fiona bring your coats, and we will move to the Castle."

Maybe half an hour later, we were in the Library in Princess Twilight's warm Castle. Shysage, Fluttershy and I were on that amazing rug, and the Portal was behind us. Other than the Portal, the Library looked just like... It was just uncanny.

Shyna and Fluttershy cried together a lot. Princess said we had only been gone less than two weeks, but that probably seemed like forever to Fluttershy's new sister. And maybe, Shyna was starting to feel what we couldn't say, I don't know. Well, for our whole family... We couldn't stop that... I didn't know how that would work out...

Shysage, Fluttershy and I were starved. Well, we came from a different time zone, Shysage said. And it was winter; we couldn't just go out and snack in the meadow... or the lake... The seasons were all messed up... Well, maybe we were.

Princess had her cooking staff make us some food, and it was very good. Eating there in the dining area, it just seemed strange to us to not see... nevermind... So much was the same, so much was different... The next few days would just be hard like that...

Still, we ended up back on the rug in front of the Portal. Princess Twilight cautioned us though. Evidently, the Equestria Girls were coming to Equestria this evening. It would be Saturday morning for them, and they would stay for a day or two.

My Twin... She wasn't even here yet, and I started crying... I cried for a while...

The day was a mess. Well, maybe I was a mess all day. Over the course of that day, everypony else ended up in the Library with us. Every time another pony would come in, I would hug them tightly, and cry. I guess, I had too. I think they were all very patient with me. Well, for the record, Fluttershy did the same thing I did...

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Filia and Fiona, Shyna, well, and Princess Twilight... I just couldn't...

Pinkie Pie was the last one to arrive, and after hugging her for a little while, crying, I hoped I was done with that. Late afternoon, Twins started coming through the Portal. I wasn't done... Well, Fluttershy wasn't done either.

Still, while we hugged, Equestria pony Pinkie quietly said the most amazing thing to me... "Aww, Summer, leave the future alone 'till you get there!" I would not forget that for a while. I felt like we were there, but not now, not any more. Like everypony else, now we needed to wait out the present until we got there. But that was a scary prospect, based on what little Shysage and I had heard. Pinkie was right, though.

I tried to not cry, but it didn't work very good. I deeply loved every pony around me here in the Library, but we had just left them... And... But... I was such a mess... I was glad Shysage would say what little we could. I would surely mess up...

While crying buckets hugging both Fluttershys, my sister's Twin, Equestria Girls Fluttershy said quietly that my Twin (Equestria Girls Summer) was helping her Shysage at the church he worked at, and she would come, probably tomorrow morning (end of Saturday). This weekend, her Shysage would be busy the whole time, and probably couldn't come at all. Still, seeing my Twin again...

Once everypony (Fluttershy and I mostly) had managed to calm down, Princess Twilight told everypony basically what Shysage had told her; Shysage would discuss their trip once Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had arrived, probably tomorrow. Then she invited us all to have some dinner together.

I ate some, but wept softly on Shysage most of the time. Sis did basically the same thing and cried quietly with her Twin.

Later in the evening found us all back in the Library. Everypony else was quickly Twin-Linking, with their Twins, of course.

This included the Fluttershy Twins... Then I realized... In the future, my Sis... In the future, both Fluttershys Soul-Linked a lot, just as much as everypony else. And now, both Fluttershy's would again know everything about... My brain hurt even trying to figure that out...

Until...

At one point, Equestria pony Rainbow Dash was being herself, not in an obnoxious way though. "Aw, come on Fluttershy. You would rather fly that walk any day, right?"

My sister Fluttershy answered slowly and softly "Gosh, I love all of you amazing ponies."

Both Fluttershys must have known... all along... How does that even work...

Most everypony else was soon asleep. Well, I didn't even know what time it was for Shysage and I, but we weren't tired. And I was still trying not to cry.

Shysage had us move some away from everypony else, and we laid back down on our bellies next to each other. I leaned up against him and worked on calming down. At least we were warm. And being next to my Stallion...

It wasn't long before Princess Twilight and her Twin got up, came over to us and laid on their bellies facing us. I think they wanted to talk to us or something. Still, from where we came... Both Twilights were separated from each other, then amazingly re-united... I just couldn't... I moved forward some and hugged each of them a few minutes... I cried pretty hard... I wanted to say... so... much...

After a while, I apologized, then tried to calm down, and moved back next to Shysage.

Princess Twilight mentioned quietly "Well, whatever you both have been doing, I am sensing from Equestria that it was, is pretty important. I don't want you to tell me anything you should not, but still..."

I don't think Princess Twilight knew how exactly to put what she wanted to say, to ask into words. I also think Shysage realized what she needed to know. Like I said, between the three of us, Shysage was definitely the one who should speak for us.

And he did then, and said quietly to our Princess "Princess Twilight, for the last month, we essentially lived through Summer's Dream." That was all Shysage said. He couldn't say much more anyway, but this was probably what Equestria wanted Princess to hear.

Princess Twilight's eyes got very big, then she calmed down quickly, and was staring across the Library off into the distance, probably listening to Equestria. Then Princess sighed. Well, both Twilights sighed at the same time, in exactly the same way. Then they looked at each other.

Tears came to both Twilight's eyes, and they moved forward some, and hugged me for a little while, and cried softly. I cried with them, and tried to not cry too loud.

After we calmed down, Princess and her Twin got up. Princess said quietly "Well, I can guess why... But I just have no idea what... And thank you both..." Princess and her Twin walked back over to the rest, and they were soon asleep.

I said quietly to Shysage "...I feel like, if we say anything, we will ruin everything..."

Shysage guided my head and nose down on his front legs, then put his head down right next to mine. "I think the Keeper will take care of that..." Shysage was clearly in thought a minute, then added quietly "otherwise, you are right... Saying anything will ruin everything..."

I don't know how, but we were both soon asleep.

I woke up the next morning to my Twin's amazing smile... Equestria Girls Summer Rain... She and I were quickly crying together, hugging tightly... We cried together for a while, at the same time, in the same way...

After a few minutes, I think I read my Twin's mind. Still crying profusely, I said quietly "Twin, we shouldn't, can't Soul-Link. I'll explain later..."

I don't think she thought much of it. That was fine, I was just... Hugging my Twin... We both cried together a while longer...

And everypony else was hugging their Twin now too, also crying... Well, I guess we started something. If only they knew... But I just couldn't... How could I...

Princess Twilight, brushing away tears herself, asked us to all welcome the Principal sisters, I hadn't noticed them before. Still, I had to fight really hard to not start crying again... Then Princess invited everypony that was hungry, to come enjoy some breakfast.

Shysage suggested we eat a little, even if we weren't hungry, and so he followed my Twin and I... The food was good again, of course. I just felt so torn up inside... Then... Now... I hurt so bad for my amazing friends... I guessed I would be a mess today, too...

We were soon back out in the Library, just visiting. Twin with Twin mostly, with a few groups talking together quietly. Some Twins were Soul Linking. I just hugged my Twin and sniffled as quietly as I could.

Before long, the two Fluttershys and the two Shynas joined us, and us six girls, we hugged tightly and cried softly together. The Soul Link wasn't active, or we could have probably all group linked. I wondered if that would ever, could ever happen again... But nopony could stop the deep sensitivity as it reached out between us...

At one point, my Twin asked quietly "Summer, what..." and I, well all of us knew exactly what she was asking. Shysage knew it too, and, from the outside of our tight circle, he said quietly "Summer, we will tell everypony at the same time, if that's ok..." Us girls just went back to crying quietly together.

Maybe an hour later, Princess Celestia (Cel) and Princess Luna (Lu) walked quickly into the Library. Both were shivering. Evidently they use their magic to insulate themselves from the cold, but it was too cold for even that to work today.

And I was going to wait, and see what Cel and Lu wanted to do, they are Equestria's Princesses after all. But both our girls headed straight for us, and Shysage and I, we were quickly hugging them tightly. They both were very cold, and so the Principal sisters, the Fluttershys and Shynas crowded around us, and we worked on warming Equestria's Princesses up. It was a group effort.

Still, both our girls knew I was crying, and they ended up crying too, and the rest of us, well... Maybe we would all be a mess today... I hoped Shysage knew what to say...

It wasn't a problem, until...

Cel said quietly "Dad, what..."

...

We guessed it was time. Shysage walked over to the rug in front of the Portal and sat down. He asked everypony to calm down and gather around. Tears were quickly streaming down my Stallion's face, but he was fighting hard to not cry. I walked quickly up and sat right next to him. I would have hugged him; I knew he was really hurting, but... My Sis (Equestria pony Fluttershy) walked up and sat right next to me.

Well, I was asking true friend to help my Stallion. We did NOT want to change the amazing future we had just left. A lot was at stake in the next few minutes, and what Shysage would say...

It was dead quiet. Well, Fluttershy and I were quickly weeping softly with our heads down.

Shysage explained very slowly, and paused a lot as he talked. Clearly he wanted to say more. We all did... But, as we agreed, yet quietly... haltingly... trying hard to not cry... Shysage spoke for us...

"Fluttershy, Summer and I went into... the... future...

"We basically lived through... Summer's... Dream...

"So many amaz..."

Shysage forced himself to stop mid-sentence...

And everypony gasped at this point. A dream that was real... And not the most pleasant dream... Most were quickly crying quietly... Shysage continued... slowly...

"We met the... Keeper of Equestria... a huge White Alicorn..."

Cel gasped at this, we found out why, later...

Shysage kept going.

"And it was he who forbade us from talking about the events of those four weeks... at... all... We just can't say anyth--"

Shysage couldn't keep going, stopped and cried briefly, then tried to continue.

"The Keeper said that we could tell you, on his authority...

"We only require just one... one... ... One war--"

Shysage could say no more. He couldn't finish, and just cried. Actually, he cried pretty hard, and for a stallion to do that... My Stallion couldn't finish...

...But Princess Twilight did. She said quietly, what Equestria had probably told her...

"...Just one warning..."

...

And, as soon as our Princess completed Shysage's thought, the music that flowed through the background, it immediately and abruptly stopped...

...

After that, it was completely silent, well, besides our crying. Then Cel added quietly

"I have seen the Keeper... We had best heed his words..."

I don't think anypony knew quite what to do next, what we should do next. Those of us who had come back from that future certainly didn't... So we all cried softly together for a long time...

Author's Note

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

Chapter 38, Promise

Shysage gave everypony the report on our last trip. We, well he only said what we had permission to say (mostly). It was very short; it took less than a minute. That was it... There was just nothing more we could say. We had to say nothing more, in order to preserve the amazing future we had just spent the last months helping to rebuild. We couldn't tell anypony that though.

We couldn't say anything else, beside what Shysage told everypony. That was very hard, on everypony, I think. It sounded so ominous, so chilling... There was just nothing we could do, except cry softly together for a while. That's what we did.

It was around noon when the second Air Coach arrived at Princess Twilight's Castle. The lead Air Coach stallion came in and mentioned to Princess Celestia that it had warmed up some, and a return trip to Canterlot in the afternoon (i.e. soon) would probably be best. It was the middle of Winter, after all!

Shysage and I walked Cel and Lu (Princess Celestia and Princess Luna), and their Twins (Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna) outside to the Air Coaches. It was cold, but not near as cold as yesterday night, or even this morning. But it was very quiet, not much was said. We spent a little while hugging Cel and Lu, then they and their Twins climbed into the waiting Air Coaches, and were gone.

Shysage and I still cried when they left...

...

The two of us walked back up the stairs, down the hall, and into the Library. Conversation was lively; everypony had some thoughts about how we should respond to the one warning we had all received. My sister Fluttershy and her Twin said little, but that didn't surprise me. Anyway, I think Princess Twilight had asked for suggestions.

Reading through Summer's Dream again... Well, that was a given, I just knew that would happen. This prospect didn't bother me too much. That dream... A lot came out right (which was amazing), and a lot did not, I don't know. It didn't really matter. Reading that would happen tonight, and Shysage needed to rustle up a copy to read.

New Shield Necklaces... I really liked that idea. True friendship was the core of Shysage and my life, and having new necklaces; Of course, Shysage and I would put them on right away.

True friendship means putting others first...

Besides, the future was basically rebuilt on this simple truth. And Dawn... I guess I would need to wait and find out how one of ours would end up next to Dawn's door in the future.

I thought this far, and began to cry... All of a sudden, I really wanted to visit our amazing neighbor. But I couldn't even tell her anything... I was sure I would just cry a lot around she and her amazing daughter, Camille...

Anyway, it was just a little past noon, and Princess said the afternoon was Twin time, with dinner back at the Castle later. Princess reminded everypony they would need their coats, and motioned to two huge piles of coats on reading tables nearby.

There was a lot of hugging as ponies slowly made their way off to their afternoons, Twin with Twin. Seeing both Applejacks in their coats made Shysage cry... Well, my Twin wanted to stay with me, and that made me cry...

Shysage followed us Summers as we headed off to the Canterlot Recorder's home. I was sure it would be freezing cold in there. And I really hoped that I didn't run into Dawn on the way, or I would have to cry uncontrollably for a while as I hugged her.

I was sort of glad; we noticed nopony outside Dawn's as we filed into Shysage and my home. Wow, it was warm in here...

Our amazing neighbor Dawn... Camille heard we were back, and Dawn came over and got the fire going for us. She was still fooling with it. But our home was warming nicely.

For a while, Dawn and I cried together, hugging tightly. I didn't expect anything different. I doubted she had any idea... And when Camille came over to be with her mom, I just pulled her into our hug and we cried together a while more. Still, it felt very good to see them both again. After a while, they headed back to tend to their own fire, so Dawn could work on some florals...

Shysage worked on bringing up the compy. For a while, my Twin and I hugged tightly and wept softly in front of the quietly crackling fire. Hugging my Twin, that felt very good. I guess being warm felt nice too.

Still, at one point... "Twin, why can't you say anything..." My Twin, Equestria Girls Summer Rain asked me this. All I could do was cry.

Shysage had heard the question, evidently. Still a people, he came over and sat on the floor next to me. He said quietly to my Twin "Summer, do you remember when my Summer and I took trips back to the Past... We had to be very careful what we said while we were there. Do you remember why we had to do that?"

My Twin thought a minute, then said "Because you didn't want to risk changing the future..." It was quiet briefly, then she said again "Oh, wow..."

That was probably all Shysage should or could say. Judging from my Twin's response, that was probably enough, though.

I love my Stallion... He bent slowly over, and kissed his Mare's pony nose (I was still a pony). "I love my Mare" he said. I stopped crying, and just melted, as he got slowly up and went back to work at the compy.

Well, after this, my Twin and I were back to chatting happily. She filled me in on what was going on with the bleacher girls. There is always tons to share. Twin talked a while about a new girl named Ann... She bonded with the group so quickly... I just sighed... Those bleacher girls... The magic of friendship flowing... I guess that is one part of the Equestria Girls world that I really miss...

At one point though, still talking about Ann, my Twin got very quiet, and almost whispered this...

"Twin, you gotta hear this... Futtershy and I were sitting in front of the Portal wall out in front of the School, one afternoon last week. Fluttershy was passing out flyers for a work day at the animal shelter. Ann came over to join us, and she accidently tripped over Fluttershy and fell.

"Well, I caught her, but her arm hit the Portal wall. Summer, it actually went in... I could see her front leg and hoof right before she quickly pulled it out... She sat down laughing. I don't think she even saw or realized...

I just answered quietly "Twin, there's no rush; there are others at Canterlot High that have Twins here. Let's just play that by ear."

We were quickly talking again, and about other amazing girls too. Still, it was cold outside in the Equestria Girls world now too, so the bleachers in the Gym were where the girls met. I remembered that. There was still no jogging afterwards though...

Shysage had to run to the Castle and see if Princess Twilight had volume 2 of the chronicles. He doubted his raspy printer would survive typing it all out. He was soon back, and he did have to run! Princess did have that volume. Shysage shut the compy down, put another log on the fire, adjusted some pillows, then laid on his back (as a people) on our nice couch. He was soon asleep.

Twin and I talked about how she and her Shysage were doing. I didn't really need to ask -- they are just so totally... so completely devoted to each other... Just like us... And Twin said again that it was really a miracle she wasn't pregnant yet. Well, I told her I could relate to that. She laughed, and said she wasn't surprised. We hugged tightly for a few minutes after that. We are so much alike...

Still, Twin said a baby wouldn't be a huge problem, they were married now and all. Still, raising a foal, well a child, in my Stallion's cubical there in the Equestria Girls world... I couldn't imagine... But I absolutely knew my amazing Twin could make that work!

The Fluttershys and Shynas joined us soon after that discussion. We all hugged and cried softly together a little while, then we all laid on our bellies facing the fire, and just talked. My family... I had to work hard to not cry. Maybe I wasn't the only one.

It was soon time to go back to the Castle. I got up, and gently kissed my sleeping Stallion. He was a people, and I was a pony. But I am getting the hang of kissing as a pony. Just a gentle kiss; it is not as easy as one would think. It woke him up anyway! Besides, I would have changed to a people otherwise, but surrounded by family...

Still a people, Shysage checked the fire, then helped us girls each get our coats on. Then he changed back into a pony, climbed under his coat, and we all walked quickly back to the Castle. It was getting very cold already!

...

We weren't the only ponies heading into the Castle. It seemed like, all at once, a bunch of Twins arrived at about the same time! Everypony seemed happy enough. Maybe, just maybe I could do this without crying tonight. I was doing pretty good...

...until the Rarity Twins worked their way around the group in the Library, and helped everypony put on new Shield Necklaces... I just cried... TF MPOF... Past, present or future... Equestria or Equestria Girls world... We all needed that...

We went from there to dinner. It was good, of course, and I guess I was hungry. I still kept looking for Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake though... Both are a little young for that just yet.

We all ended up back in the Library. I guessed the reading would happen in here. I sat on the rug next to the Portal. Shysage changed into a people, picked up Volume 2 of the chronicles from a nearby table, and sat next to me. I realized it would be a lot easier for him to manage the book as a people. Hands do that so well...

Still, I was a little concerned. There were some chapters that, well... I quietly asked Shysage. I had not even finished trying to explain, when Shysage smiled, then said quietly "I have my orders. Princess put it this way. This dream was a warning to this group, the only one we will get. She didn't think we should skip any of it."

But that wasn't my real concern. For Shysage, Fluttershy and I, we were actually there... We knew how all this worked out; well, how it would work out, off in the distant future. I was pretty sure Fluttershy and I would have a lot of trouble even hearing this. Well, I guessed we would find out soon.

When everypony and their Twin were comfortably on their bellies facing Shysage, Princess said this quietly and slowly "Girls, this may not be easy. But if it is the only warning we get, we need to pay attention." Princess paused briefly, then said "Shysage, please..."

Shysage opened Volume 2 of the chronicles, and started reading from the beginning. Shysage told me later that Princess told him to read up through chapter 15. The first 15 chapters cover a vivid dream I had one night. Shysage and I worked at recording that dream, over a week maybe, as we fell more and more in love. Early on, my recollection was very vivid. Towards the end, I think we were trying to arrange details that I remembered as little pieces at a time. That aspect couldn't be helped. There was just so much...

I haven't told anypony this before, but my Stallion increasingly occupied more and more of my thoughts as that week passed. It was just... That dream literally threw us together... We really couldn't not bond... I was pretty sure he realized this, and probably felt the same way. And neither of us would ever trade that...

Chapter 1 made all the Equestria Girls cry. And I have to say... My memory of this chapter was so vivid... But the expanded way this all unfolded in the real future; I could not say anything about that... But it was so clear Equestria was at work in BOTH Twilight's lives... I cried too...

Chapter 2 made Shysage cry, just like the last time he read this. Neither of us like being away from the other. And in the real future, Shysage still had to wait maybe 6 months for me, not the 37 years in my dream. I know just six months was hard on him.

Chapter 3 made me cry some. I had to choke back a lot of those tears... Seeing Dawn, very old but still alive, in the real future... And I saw her earlier today, too... That just...

The chapter where I found Shysage there in the future (4) was next. And he proposed to me in that chapter. He and I having to originally record that; that was awkward! But now... Shysage wrapped one of his arms around my neck as he read. Neither of us cried.

Both Twilights hugged tightly and cried softly as Shysage read chapter 5. In a dream, or in the future, this was not our Princess at her best...

My Twin came up next to me as Shysage read chapter 6. We cried buckets together... In my dream, my Twin had died years earlier in the Equestria Girls world... Even though a dream, the spectre of losing a Twin... It was just very hard...

In my dream, the train trip to Dodge City finding Equestria ponies Pinkie Pie and Applejack; this was recorded in two chapters (7 and 8). This trip included both Shysage's record about the decay of both Equestria and Princess' circle, as well as me reading part of Shysage's rather personal thoughts about it. Like last time, it was very quiet as he read these chapters.

Still, Shysage didn't flinch, and clearly read everything, even the stuff about abusing intimacy. I think he still feels strongly that taking advantage of another pony, for any reason; this is just so blatanty disgusting. True friends don't do that, only monsters do that. I agree with him.

The next chapter (9) covered our first encounter with Eschate Zumulus. Everypony cried because our Princess Twilight died... It took the tears of devotion to amazingly bring her back... I think we all love our Princess...

Chapter 10 covered the process of coming clean, from the viewpoint of my dream. A bunch of us still cried. I cried a lot, and I think Fluttershy did too; the fractures between the relationships of the ponies even now in this room... In the future, the problems were so much deeper... That part was just scary to me... And that all seemed inevitable...

Chapter 11 covered everypony returning, together, back to Ponyville. Fluttershy and I were the only ones who cried. We had seen this really happen...

The next 3 chapters (12-14) covered the slow rebuilding of Ponyville. Shysage and I were officially married early on in that record, and I couldn't not cry at that. My sister Fluttershy wept softly while Shysage read about Desert Spring. I was pretty sure she wept because she knew he was waiting for her...

And after Shysage had read about Big and Beau... Equestria pony Rarity said quietly "Shysage, can you please stop a minute?"

Shysage stopped, then Rarity looked at me and said "Summer, in the real future..." I guess Rare realized I couldn't, shouldn't answer that question, and so she stopped there. "Oh, never mind..."

But I knew exactly where she was heading, and even before I knew what I was doing, the hugest grin washed quickly across my face. I quickly looked down, and started weeping softly. I shouldn't have done that... But I could not have stopped it...

I guess both Raritys saw enough though, and both smiled, then sighed, at the same time, in the same way...

I hoped... Surely such an innocent mistake couldn't erase...

"Summer, dear, there were aspects of your dream I rather like, you know." Equestria pony Rarity said this... Wait... What???

Chapter 15 was where my dream ended, at the exact moment as I killed Phantasma and Cel (Princess Celestia), in order to preserve the rest of Equestria. The night I had that dream, I woke up screaming, right at that point.

I cried buckets as Shysage read this chapter; NOT because I had killed Cel, I knew this didn't, wouldn't really happen. I cried buckets because my brave Rose would give her life for Equestria... I couldn't say anything, although Fluttershy probably knew. Losing Rose, that was only maybe two weeks ago for me. It still hurt...

Shysage stopped reading at the end of Chapter 15, and closed the book. Very quickly... A bunch of ponies, both Twilights included, said quickly but gently, something like "Shysage, please..." Everypony wanted us to read the rest. Shysage picked up the book, opened it to chapter 16, and kept reading.

That chapter started out with me waking up from that dream, and at the most terrible spot (having to kill Princess Celestia)... Like I said, I woke up screaming... Dawn and Shysage tried to calm me down, but I think I already knew we had to record as much of my dream as possible. I really felt that urgency, I don't know.

This chapter covered Shysage and my efforts to record that dream. And, again, that whole process threw he and I together. Some of the more personal sections of that chapter revealed the tip of that iceberg. With each passing day, I just knew... I knew I needed him more than life itself, maybe. I am sure he felt the same way. I think we both still feel that way about each other!

The chapter about Princess Twilight connecting with Equestria (17) made all of us cry. Maybe it is easy for us all to forget that special bond she possesses with the realm. We all love our Princess. And it really was uncanny that Applejack had basically the same dream I did, just from Applejack's perspective. And Princess Twilight knew that without even being told...

And the next short chapter (18)... Our Princess just knew how to deal with Eschate Zumulus. Well, Equestria told her, so... I am glad nopony tried to find out if we had to kill him again in the future. I still think it seems so unfair that we had to.

In her own way, Princess Twilight sought to try to make sure that everypony was, well, devoted to each other. Princess did this via the group link, which she pursued until the devotion of these amazing ponies was restored. At that time, just a few years ago now, it didn't take much (chapter 19). And we have done the same thing a few times since.

Chapter 20 still amazes me. Our amazing Princess Twilight... She actually goaded Eschate Zumulus and Phantasma to a confrontation! I guess Macabre (in the future) alluded to this early failure...

My Twin had been right next to me since chapter 6. Well, as Shysage read chapter 21, both us Summers cried buckets together. We had both been viciously abused sexually, and it took a good look, deep inside my Stallion's honest heart for both of us to see we were precious beyond words. This is what it took to undo the lies the monster's actions flooded into both our souls.

And this is really amazing... It was the Group Link that allowed this. And Princess Twilight actually orchestrated this whole thing! I mean, Princess Twilight found out about the Group Link from my dream, and assumed (or just knew) it was real, and worked with us until it happened! Our Princess Twilight is amazing...

And the second time through, there was also a pathway home (chapter 22). And, our precious Equestria Girls Twins learned that once they came to Equestria, they would no longer age. Shysage and I called this whole volume "Homecoming"; Our Equestria Girls could someday come home to Equestria, for good, and start over. Well, three of us had actually seen that play out, and couldn't stop crying...

Chapters 23 and 24 covered amazing Twin Time, well and a rather personal discussion about how steeply Shysage had paid for being able to rescue me from monsters who abused me, years ago now...

These Twin chapters also included us all getting amazing Shield Necklaces! They were just like the new ones we got today...

Neither Shysage nor I could read the last chapter (25), so my Twin did. It covered a brief trip to the Equestria Girls world so all us Twins could say our goodbyes there. When everypony else came back to Equestria, Shysage and I didn't return to Equestria Present.

He and I, we were sent deep into the past, and within less than 2 minutes, we had rescued Cel and Lu from certain death. Only we didn't know who these two girls were then... Shysage and I cried together for a little while after my Twin read that short chapter.

After the reading of Volume 2 was done, it was quiet for a little while, and those of us still crying, we tried to calm down.

It was late, but Princess Twilight had all us girls circle up, Twin next to Twin (Shysage sat this out). And, besides Princess Twilight and her five girls (Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and my sister Fluttershy), and us two Summers, we now had the Filia, Fiona and Shyna Twins. It was a big group!

Still, over the course of an hour, we worked at reestablishing our devotion. It wasn't easy; some apologies had to be made. Still, the Group Link was Princess' goal.

I felt bad, but I was pretty sure I absolutely could not be a part of that. I broke the circle, and us Summers backed out as soon as the Group Link went active. Staying linked, everypony else could easily see everything...

Us Summers hugged tightly and wept softly together as everypony else melted into the Group Link. Still, they didn't stay Group Linked very long. Even so, being able to all link like that; devotion was restored, and that was evidently Princess' goal.

After that, Princess had us Summers turn the rest of the girls into people (which took a little while), and we all stood in a circle, as people, there in the Library, weeping softly, hugging tightly.

Of course, somepony started what we often say...

We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria...

And Princess managed to say her part.

And I am only a Princess with you all at my side.

I think we all cried more after that...

...

Well, it was very late by now. After changing back into ponies in as organized a way as possible, everypony was soon fast asleep on the floor in the Library, Twin with Twin, of course.

Well, us Summers, the Fluttershys and Shysage, we weren't sleepy, and so the five of us moved some distance away from the rest, laid on our bellies together, and just talked quietly.

Sounding as dejected as I felt, I said quietly, and to nopony in particular "I think today just erased everything..."

My amazing sis, Fluttershy, she almost didn't let me finish.

"Aww, Summer, relax... My Twin now knows everything, but that was inevitable. And re-reading your dream, we knew that would certainly happen, too."

Fluttershy stopped briefly, and looked off across the Library.

"Besides, Orbsah Tnuoc made a promise to us. We have tried to stay within the bounderies he mentioned. I'm sure he will take care of the rest."

Nopony said anything for a few minutes, then Fluttershy quietly said this...

"And 35 years from now, that is a very long time... A lot can happen..."

We were all soon asleep together.

Chapter 39, Normal, maybe...

This next day was just wierd...

We had come back from maybe 35 years into the future, where we helped heal serious fractures among our friends, and also helped liberate Equestria. We could say very little upon our return, and seeing everypony here again; that was a very jolting transition...

But today it was like... Everything seemed fine again, I don't know...

I woke up with Shysage on one side of me, and my Twin, Equestria Girls Summer Rain, on the other... My two Fluttershy sisters were facing me, already awake and talking quietly together. And, I guess at some point during the night, the Shyna Twins had moved over next to the Fluttershys. How could I not smile!

Most everypony else was awake, spread around the Library, Twin with Twin, talking happily. That was a wonderful sound...

I realized that it was still probably the middle of Winter. We had only been gone from our present for about a week. I really missed the warmth of Summer that we had left, though. I'm not really fond of cold... Plus, I wanted to fly...

I guess I was one of the sleepyheads, and soon after I woke up (and rubbed Shysage's nose briefly with mine), Princess Twilight invited us all to breakfast.

Breakfast was nice, and I was hungry. Still, I sighed not seeing the Cake family here doing what they do best... I realized they were doing that, but in their shop.

Well, this was our present. I would have to just accept that.

After breakfast, we gathered in the Library.

Princess asked us to all gather around her. We did that, then we all bowed. Princess surely didn't expect this, and tears came to her eyes as she asked everypony to get up. Still, somepony started what we often say...

We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria...

And Princess barely managed to say her part...

And I am only a Princess with you all at my side.

We all took turns hugging our amazing Princess! She just cried the whole time... I don't think she expected any of this, but we really do love our Princess. And everypony hugging her, this took a while. Nopony minded. Most of the ponies that weren't hugging Princess Twilight were hugging somepony else.

Princess Twilight said today was another Twin Day, but that dinner was back at the Castle, and the Equestria Girls needed to go back home after that. We all had the whole day together, though.

A bunch of us were still hugging, but the Library slowly emptied out, and happy Twins headed off to enjoy their day, as much as possible, since it was cold.

I guess us Summers and Shysage were the last ones left. Shysage was a people, helping us Summers get our coats on. I really appreciate that! Princess and her Twin walked over, and Princess said "I think the Canterlot Recorders need to get ready for Volume 5 of Princess Celestia's Commentaries!"

Shysage read my mind, pulled my coat off, and I hugged my amazing Princess. I worked hard to not cry...

Still, Shysage and I, we weren't really sure where we were with that...

...

As we headed down the steps and outside, we all realized it was going to be a warmish day. The Sun was out, and the sky was clear, and there was little wind. A few brave birds were chirping away.

It wouldn't be warm, we would still need our coats. But it wouldn't be so unbearably cold that we needed to run from one warm place to the next.

Shysage, Twin and I, we all decided to go for a nice, long walk together. We couldn't fly, it was still too cold for that. But we could walk, and stay comfortable with our coats on.

Laughing, we told Shysage he was the navigator, and Twin and I talked happily as Shysage led the way. My Twin suggested seeing if the Fluttershys wanted to join us, and our navigator quickly changed course for the Cottage. Fluttershys and Shynas joined us, and off we went together.

Well, the six of us walked together, and were following Shysage, who was in front of us. All we had to do was follow him. Us girls talked together the whole time, as Shysage led us aimlessly in the meadows around Ponyville.

I don't think we were really wandering aimlessly. Us girls didn't care, but I realized Shysage was walking us on a wide circle around Ponyville. I think he was looking for a strange stand of majestic Redwoods. The day we found them in the future, Shysage said they were maybe 500 years old. Walking most of the way around Ponyville, we saw no trace...

Around noon, it was pretty warm. What little breeze there was had died away, and the direct sunlight... Even though it was the middle of Winter, it was, well, warm! Shysage cautioned us it wouldn't last long. But I think we all got the idea at the same time.

We weren't far, and Shysage led us to that little hill in the East meadow. We left our coats there on that hill, and we were quickly flying together. We stayed over Ponyville; in case it got cold again, we wanted to be near our coats. Still, it felt amazing to fly.

I knew that our group flying, this would not escape the keen eyes of Equestria pony Rainbow Dash. The sky over Ponyville was her domain! The Rainbow Dash Twins quickly joined us. Princess Twilight joined us a little while later, but said she couldn't stay long. Shysage assured her it would be too cold to fly soon, anyway. Still, flying together like that was amazing...

Maybe half an hour later, the cool breeze picked up again, and our flying was done. Princess Twilight and the Rainbow Dash Twins headed back to the Castle, and the rest of us headed for that little hill in the meadow. Shysage helped each of us six ladies get our coats on, and by then we needed them!

For a little while, we laid on our bellies together on that hill, and looked off across the meadow. After a few minutes, Equestria pony Shyna started crying and said "Fluttershy, please don't leave me again like that..." Fluttershy hugged her new Sis tightly, well, we all did. Shyna worked on calming down. Even so, we decided to not stay there.

Instead, we headed to Fluttershy's Cottage for the afternoon. Shysage just followed us as we talked together on the way. Once inside the Cottage, Shysage turned into a people and helped us all get our coats off. Then he worked on the fire some to warm the Cottage up. We talked together, mostly oblivious to what he was doing. Twin time... Family time... Shysage backed off and let me enjoy both...

We could have Twin Linked together, all six of us. I didn't want to do that, because it would be so easy to see... I know the Fluttershy Twins had already Twin Linked a bunch. I just couldn't though, so we didn't. I don't know, maybe the passage of time will help with that... Not being able to Twin Link with my Twin even... That seemed harsh...

But we did spend a while hugging tightly and weeping softly together. And every one of us could feel quite a bit about everypony else around us right now. Maybe the Twin Link wasn't necessary, I don't know. We were all Fluttershys.

As the Sun dipped behind the trees, it suddenly darkened substantially in Fluttershy's Cottage. That was our signal to head back to Princess' Castle. Shysage helped us girls get our coats on, and we were on our way.

...

When we arrived at the Castle, Air Coaches were dropping off the Celestia and Luna Twins. The Air Coaches immediately took off again, probably returning to Canterlot. The Princess sisters were staying the night at the Castle, evidently.

Cel (Princess Celestia) told us later that Shining Armor requested that Shysage and I spend the night at the Castle with Equestria's Princesses. Shining Armor expected no attacks or anything, especially in the dead of Winter. He just wanted to be cautious. Taking care of Equestria's Princesses, that was his job.

As we all walked over to the Celestia and Luna Twins, Principal Celestia asked to speak with me privately. We walked some distance away from everypony else.

"Summer, I, uhm... Will my sister and I be allowed back into Equestria? I mean into the future you saw? I think my sister and I really want to know where our home really is..." Principal Celestia asked this, and was crying by the time she finished. I realized this meant a lot to her, and maybe she needed to know, I don't know.

Well, I didn't want to erase the future... Everything we worked for... And Shysage and I both felt everypony was so much better off then... Still, I said quietly "Your home is here..." then I hugged her tightly, and we cried together for more than a few minutes.

I found myself hoping that the Keeper wouldn't be mad at this. Then I realized that this very discussion... This might be the exact reason why the Principal sisters would come back to Equestria, years down the road from today. Being a part of the future... That whole prospect... Where did the present end, and the future start? I don't know...

Principal Celestia and I cried together for a little while. Nothing more was said, and we walked back to the rest, when the cold finally made us shiver! We were all soon in Princess Twilight's warm Castle enjoying a nice dinner together.

After dinner, we gathered back in the Library. We all knew what that meant; the Equestria Girls needed to leave, through the Portal, and head home (for them right now anyway) to the Equestria Girls world. It would be early Sunday morning for the Equestria Girls.

The Principal sisters (Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna) made it a point of both hugging me tightly before they left. I think knowing where home was -- that was very comforting to them! I was sad to see them go, though... In the future, I knew they would never again need to leave Cel and Lu's side...

The Principal sisters went first, followed by Equestria Girls Fluttershy then Shyna... Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie... The Equestria Girls red-heads (Filia and Fiona) went, then Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle followed to make sure everypony was ok (which made Princess Twilight cry).

That left my Twin. About to go through the Portal, my Twin (Equestria Girls Summer) said quietly "Princess, please let Summer come visit for a day maybe. I think she needs some Bleacher Girls time!" My Twin disappeared through the Portal, and I burst into tears. I knew she was right. A one day trip for that sounded like heaven to me...

I was a wreck, and Shysage hugged me as I cried. But, I guess everypony else was having the same feelings, and for a while, we all hugged and cried together. I felt so torn in half by the Portal... In the future, that wouldn't... I had to stop doing that... I just cried...

As we all calmed down, it wasn't too late, which meant it wasn't too cold. Everypony tried to hug everypony, then Rainbow Dash went to the farm with Applejack. Fiona hugged Rarity for a little while, then Rarity and Pinkie Pie left, Rarity to her Boutique and Sweetie Belle, and Pinkie Pie for the Cake's. Cel stopped Fluttershy and hugged her briefly, as I stood in line. After hugging my sisters, Fluttershy and Shyna headed back to Fluttershy's Cottage. Filia and Fiona disappeared into their room.

That left Cel, Lu, Princess Twilight, Shysage and I. We found comfortable spots sort of in a circle facing each other on the thick rug in front of the Portal. We somehow ended up spread around the circle near the center of the much larger picture of Princess' Twilight's Cutie Mark that decorated this rug.

Cel didn't waste any time, and she didn't mince words.

"Mom, dad, I'll be honest, I was a little put out with you both that you didn't tell us more about your Trip. You mentioned the Keeper, and that was fine, but still... We are the rulers of Equestria. I felt we of all ponies should be told more...

"I have since remembered, well Lu helped point this out... The many times you came back to the Past, you were both so careful to avoid doing or even saying anything that might change the future. Well, that works here as well, and I realize that now.

"Honestly, I would like to know a lot more about the future. But, like everypony else, even the rulers of Equestria, we need to wait and deal with the future as it becomes our present."

Cel sighed.

"I guess I should know... I have been doing that for centuries..."

Cel and Lu cried together, and we hugged them and cried with them. Just another reason why being Equestria's Princesses wasn't easy.

And, honestly, I really wanted to tell Cel more. Quickly surveying what we could say, I started putting some thoughts together...

...and evidently Shysage knew that, and gently put one of his front legs over mine. I knew instantly he wanted me to stop. I would not ignore that. I would not ignore him.

It didn't stop there... I have written before I think, that Lu, well Princess Luna, is very sensitive. I think that suits her perfectly for watching over Equestria at night. She needs to be able to feel what cannot be easily seen. Lu must have also sensed the wheels turning in my thoughts...

"Mom, no..." Lu said softly.

I just cried...

But Cel started crying too... "I want so bad..." she started to say softly...

Well, making no sense to Shysage nor I, Lu must have sensed something else...

"Sister, no..." Lu said softly.

Cel stopped and just cried...

We all cried together for a while more.

We were all soon asleep, there on that rug.

Chapter 40, Friend-space

Shysage and I woke up at about the same time. Cel (Princess Celestia), Lu (Princess Luna) and Princess Twilight were already talking together, quietly. I think Shysage and I both realized right away... Volume 5 of Princess Celestia's Commentaries. I just smiled. That meant Friendship was still Magic among Princess Twilight and her girls. Well, of course it was! Still, I don't know how that works; I mean when things start...

Cel noticed we were awake right away. "Oh good, you are both awake. I hope the Canterlot Recorders will be ready for new material in a month or so!"

Well, it was the middle of Winter, but it didn't matter how we felt; that was our job. We would be ready. Still, I think this would be the first time Shysage and I would be able to do that together. We were very excited about that!

"Princesses, Shysage and I will be honored to help with that." I said this quietly. I knew Shysage felt the same way.

Still, Shysage was deep in thought. Then he spoke his mind.

"Cel, there is something... I... Summer and I worked a lot on the record for our time in the future. We had a lot of it done before we came back, but we didn't finish. And all that has happened since our return... This all really needs to be recorded, and one day, the two combined..."

Shysage paused here, then continued.

"But... What we write now... This shouldn't be read... by... well, by anypony. It really should be kept locked up for 37 years maybe. I don't know how to do that. If it can't be kept buried, Summer and I really shouldn't write it..."

Cel didn't even blink...

"Dad, finish the record... We have a magically time-locked vault in the restricted wing of the Canterlot Library. Even Lu and I, we can't get anything out early, once the lock has been set. It will be safe there. And I don't think anypony here in this circle wants to see the future ruined."

Cel sighed, and maybe even chuckled. "Every so often, something I put in there years ago, centuries ago, it will pop out. I usually cannot even remember why I put it in there to begin with. But your record will be very different!"

Cel stopped in thought a minute, then said quietly "Once you finish it, bring it to Canterlot, and the four of us will lock it up. There is no reason to leave this with a courier."

Official business done, we enjoyed a nice breakfast together. Princess Twilight apologized that she had Princess stuff to do herself, but that really worked out fine.

Shysage and I, we spent the morning in the Library with our girls. We talked a lot, we laughed and cried a lot, we hugged a lot, too. That time was amazing, and felt way overdue.

A little before noon, an Air Coach lead stallion walked into the Library. It was time for Cel and Lu to go.

It was cold, but we walked Cel and Lu to the waiting Air Coaches. They were soon gone. Shysage and I cried...

...

The next three days, we spent most of our waking time working on the final chapters for our trip to the Future. We had a lot more to do than we first thought, but we worked almost non-stop on getting it done. Shysage and I both knew we really needed to clear our decks so we could be ready for Volume 5. It sounded like weeks away yet, but still... Everything worked out fine; it was Winter, and usually too cold to do much else. We sat in the Canterlot Recorder's house, in front of a nice warm fire, and wrote together. Shysage did most of the typing.

A bunch of the chapters we had to do involved our time in the future. Thinking about our time in the future, that was really hard. Shysage and I cried a lot working through some of the chapters covering time when we were still there. And towards the end, we felt so out of place...

Our amazing neighbor Dawn came in at one point, she had heard us crying, and wanted to make sure everything was ok. We did a poor job of explaining what we were doing, recording our last trip, but absolutely nopony could read it; this clearly made no sense. I hugged Dawn tightly and cried pretty hard. I guess that was enough for her.

And the recording that we had to do also included another By the Moonlight chapter. That evening, buried in the future this time, it was amazing... I love my Stallion so much... That brief time couldn't remove the fear of the unknown... But Shysage and I, we forgot it for a few hours that night as we played together. We both cried and hugged after that chapter... And it was too cold here and now...

...

And Shysage wanted me to add this. On one of the rare afternoons when we could, we took a short break, and snacked some in the East meadow, and ended up on that little hill. The warming of the sunlight just barely took the edge off the cold breeze. We didn't stay there long, and were soon back to work in our home (next to the fireplace!).

Still, while sitting on that hill, we were talking about the Bully Culture chapter we had already written in the future (that sounds strange, I know). Shysage sighed and said that was a growing problem in the Equestria Girls world, and we guessed it was here in Equestria too. Well, it would be soon if not...

It was quiet for a little while, then I said the word that came to me: friend-space. I explained that we couldn't stop bullies from being bullies, not all by ourselves anyway. But what we could do: we could be friends, and act friendly, and pursue true friendship in that little space our lives occupied.

We both quickly realized this. The space our lives occupy isn't much, but still, we should try to make it a friend-space, even if it wasn't very big. But... Just think what would happen if more and more ponies did that! That prospect is amazing!

...

Anyway, after those three days, the final chapters of our record were done. Shysage and I decided to call the whole record "Future Perfect", because we went to the future, and just helped... And, as far as we could tell, everything came out perfect! I guess... When both pieces of this record finally get joined together, it will be Volume 9 of the chronicles.

Well, it was done...

And we were both exhausted...

It was the middle of the afternoon. Shysage saved our last chapter, and moved everything into what he called a 'hidden folder' on his compy. I asked him if all our hard work just disappeared. How does that even work? Shysage tried to explain it. There are parts of the Equestria Girls world I just can't comprehend...

Shysage checked the fire once more, then asked me to turn into a pony, and he helped me get my coat on. He was quickly a pony too, and got his coat on. We headed out the door. I wasn't sure where we were going, but Shysage led us to Princess Twilight's Castle.

Up the steps, down the hall, into the Library. We were soon on our bellies on the rug in front of the Portal. That rug is so comfortable... And, as I think I've mentioned before, Princess Twilight's Castle must be magically heated or something. It doesn't matter what the weather is like outside. Inside the Castle, it is never too cold, or too hot. Shysage and I, we were both comfortable without our coats on.

There was nopony in the Library, and Shysage and I, I think we were both so drained. We were side by side on our bellies, as close to each other as possible. We said little, and pretty much just stared off across the Library. It was very relaxing. We both fell asleep.

A few hours later, we heard softly "Sleepyheads, wake up!" It was Princess Twilight. She was on her belly facing us. Still waking up, I told her that we got the rest of our record of the future done, but we hadn't printed it yet. She smiled.

Shysage waited for the first lull in the conversation. "Princess, can I take Summer to the Equestria Girls world for the afternoon? We would leave tonight at midnight, then come back before noon tomorrow. Do you think that would work?"

Princess Twilight sighed, then said right away "Aww, Bleacher Girl time... Well, ok. The only problem is that the rest of us can't come. I think we all miss our Twins alrea--"

I felt bad, Princess was trying not to cry. Finally, she managed to say "Tell everypony we miss them, and you both please hurry back."

Then Princess excused herself.

Shysage and I agreed... That was probably her way of dealing with not being able to come... We felt bad, but there was nothing we could do about it... We soon fell back asleep.

...

Hours later, we heard softly "Sleepyheads, wake up!" It was Princess Twilight again. She was on her belly facing us, and she was smiling now. I quickly saw why; everypony else was in the Library now too... Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash... And my sister Fluttershy was right next to me! Filia, Fiona and Shyna... So, everypony else was coming with us for Bleacher Girls time! Hugging my sister, I just cried. I think we all treasure that...

Before we got up, Princess smiled and said "Princess Celestia said we needed to hug their Twins for them." That would not be hard at all.

A little after midnight, we started going through the Portal. It didn't take long for all of us to get to the Equestria Girls world, and nopony fell coming out. But most of us did start crying right away; the Twin Link went active the minute we stepped into the grass in front of the Portal wall. Shysage said his Twin was asleep. That was expected, he generally worked nights.

In the Equestria Girls world, it was cold and raining softly, and we moved quickly up the stairs and into the Canterlot High School lobby. The clock said 12:45, so we had a little over 2 hours to wait until classes were out, Shysage said. We just knew our Twins would have a tough 2 hours...

Maybe ten minutes later, Vice-Principal Luna walked into the lobby, trying to not cry herself. She led us to the Gym, to the bleachers in there, and then we took turns hugging her. She cried then. Principal Celestia joined us a little later, and we all hugged her too.

Shysage headed off for about an hour with Principal Celestia; they went to the Computer Lab and Shysage performed a little computer first-aid, he said when he came back. The rest of us just sat on the bleachers and talked, as much as we could while brushing away tears. Twins... Bleacher girls... The Magic of Friendship flowing... The next few hours would be absolutely amazing...

...

The last bell couldn't ring soon enough, but it finally did, at 3:00. It didn't take long for girls to start streaming into the Gym. We could easily spot our Twins; they were the ones running to us... Twins hugged and cried loudly, and bleacher girls quickly filled the bleachers and cried with us. After maybe ten minutes, we calmed down, and the Magic of Friendship took over.

Like I said, all these bleacher girls, we filled the bleachers on this whole side of the Gym. That was ok, both Shysages were on the bleachers across the Gym, surrounded by a bunch of guys. They needed the Magic of Friendship too!

Principal and Vice-Principal were standing at the door wiping away tears. These were their students. The Principal sisters cared about their students. This was amazing for their students, and both were just overjoyed...

A lot of the afternoon was a blur. I cried a lot. I hugged a lot. I met a lot of new friends. My Twin and I, we talked together to some very needy girls. (The other Twins were doing the same thing.) Being able to cheer up and encourage... maybe even to help girls just decide to face another day... This was true friendship. Being a part of this... Like I said, I cried a lot... I hugged a lot... and I usually cried and hugged at the same time...

Who in Equestria would not treasure the healing, loving and care, the Magic of Friendship happening here in this Gym?

My Twin introduced me to Ann, another Red-head. Such a sweet girl, even if her skin looked a little pale. I also met Claire who was making an amazing come-back after a brutal date-rape experience. Helping Melissa survive a difficult home life... There were other girls, other stories, other needs...

The most amazing thing... We would cry and hug and encourage some of these girls, then watch in amazement as they were soon giving, loving, caring and encouraging some other girls, also going through a hard time... That is true friendship... Twin said she sees that a lot. Twin said that is what makes bleacher time so special... Helping others learn to help others... Like I said, I cried a lot... Most everypony else was crying too...

And Princess Twilight and her girls... With their Twins, our precious pony friends were all right in the middle of all this, sharing, loving, giving, caring, crying... I could only hope this made it into Volume 5... Friendship truly was Magic that afternoon, and in the Equestria Girls world, no less...

In the middle of the afternoon, somepony shouted loudly "Summer!" Well, I didn't recognize the voice...

...but my Twin did right away. "Julia!" she said with a smile.

Wow, ok, Julia and Rick, I think...

Julia said quickly, from right where she was sitting... "Rick just texted me and said we need to have your Twin tell us all about friend-space! What is that?" Julia really sounded enthusiastic about this, even though she probably didn't know what it meant. Well, I had only told Shysage...

My Twin, Equestria Girls Summer Rain, she got me up and guided me down to the Gym floor, and over towards the center of the bleachers, so everypony could hear. Standing next to me, she didn't yell loud, because she can't. But she said loud enough for all to hear "Everypony listen up!"

Wow, this was scary. It was quiet right away, and everypony was looking at me! And I could tell there were people walking up behind me now too...

...Two hands on my shoulders briefly... That was Shysage... He had walked up behind me, and he whispered quietly to me "Tell them, amazing Mare!" I heard him back away, and melt into the crowd of guys. But I knew he wasn't far. Well, I guess I could do this.

It was quiet briefly, as I tried to decide what to say. Then, I started slowly putting some sentences together. I knew it didn't come out great, but that didn't matter so much...

"I... Well... ...It just seems like we have been running into a lot of bullies lately. I guess it is the same here."

A few sniffles confirmed this right away. I kept going.

"I came up with the word friend-space because I realized that, by ourselves, we usually couldn't, can't do anything about the bullies around us...

"Well, as we live our lives, we walk about, and in the space that we walk, and move, and live, we need to be friendly there, wherever we go. We need to be caring, loving, helpful; we need to be true friends to the ponies and people around us as much as we can, in our space. And when we do that, we are making the space we live in, well, friend-space. And like you, I don't think the space I live in is very big, but that's not the point. We need to work on being true friends wherever we are, wherever we go. That's friend-space"

The quiet weeping I was hearing... I finished with this, though.

"Listen, this is the really neat part. I don't think my space is very big. But, as more and more of us make our space into friend-space... I mean, when a lot of people and ponies do this..."

Well, I couldn't go on. I just cried; this whole concept so amazed me... I could make the space where I live, into friend-space. And a lot of us doing this together...

All I could do was cry. I guess I wasn't the only one; everypony moved down to the floor in the Gym, and we all hugged and cried together for a while.

And, I don't know... Maybe I gave it a name, but I was pretty sure most of these girls hugging and crying with me... They were already doing this...

And, Pinkie Sense... Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie told me later that she got video of my whole talk on her cell. It was already on her Facebook page, and Vice-Principal Luna would add it to the High School web site later tonight. I'm not sure how all that works. But if a lot of people made their space into friend-space, just think...

...

At 6:00 on the big clock, most of the bleacher girls had to go. In groups, they headed out the big Gym doors, and off into the cold, wet night to finish their days, and probably their homework. And Shysage's Twin hugged his Mare (my Twin) tightly, then left to go to work.

There was a lot of hugging and crying still, but soon enough it was the Principal sisters, Shysage and ten sets of us Twins. Still hugging, we worked our way around the amazing ponies left.

We made sure Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna got plenty of hugs too. Princess Celestia had asked us to do this for she and her sister (Princess Luna). When we mentioned this to the Principal sisters, they just cried. We did too.

A little later, Principal Celestia told the Equestria Girls to keep this quiet; Equestria Girls Fluttershy had ordered Pizza for the group, and we ate in the Gym, sitting on the bleachers. I guess the PE department frowns on that. We cleaned up after ourselves, of course! The Pizza was good. I wonder if the Cakes could make it too?

9:00 came too soon, and it was time to go. We thanked the Principal sisters for giving us a comfortable place to visit. There were 23 of us, and we could not all fit in Fluttershy's apartment. And it was really too cold to walk very far anyway.

We were soon standing in the Canterlot High School lobby, hugging and crying with our Twins. It was still raining lightly, and now very cold. One at a time, somepony would go out the doors, down the steps, and through the Portal. And their Equestria Girls Twin, still in the lobby, would start weeping softly. Soon enough, most of our precious Equestria Girls friends were crying...

When just Shysage and I were left, I hugged my Twin tightly. "Twin, I don't know when we will be able to Twin-Link again..." I said this much, then just cried.

My amazing Twin... "Aww, Summer, it's ok." She eased me back a little, looked at me with her big blue eyes... "We really don't need it..." We hugged tightly and cried softly together... in the same way... at the same time... She was right.

After we both hugged Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna, Shysage and I headed for the Portal wall together. Before we went through, I asked him if he was ready. I guess I really wondered if we might end up somewhere or sometime else. I guess I was asking about that.

Shysage must have understood this. He stopped in his tracks, turned to face me, pulled me close, and hugged me tightly. In his embrace... Even in the freezing rain, I just melted... "Summer, as long as I am with you..."

We held hands and went through the Portal together.

Chapter 41, Only Time...

After going through the Portal, Shysage and I did end up back in the Library in Princess Twilight's Castle. Everypony else was already on their bellies next to each other, weeping softly. We had just come back from visiting our Twins in the Equestria Girls world... It was amazing, just far too short; we all felt that. We cried together for a little while.

It was around noon in Equestria though. Princess Twilight put her head up, wiped away some tears, then said "Oh girls, go spend some time at home. Let's come back here for dinner though. And don't forget your coats!"

Before leaving the Library, Shysage and I both hugged Princess Twilight. She had arranged for everypony to come, and that made our trip absolutely amazing, and we both thanked her for that.

Princess looked off across the Library, and said slowly "Our amazing Twins... I don't want that to ever end..."

Well, I didn't say anything. I just wanted to cry...

...

Shysage and I headed outside, down the stairs and into the grass. The Sun was high, but we felt the cold breeze immediately. It was the middle of Winter, after all.

I was still battling with my emotions, so I just followed Shysage. We headed into town, and greeted a few ponies that we knew on the way. I tried to smile, it was just hard. Knowing the searing loss the future would probably hold...

Our first goal was the Cake's shop. We found Pinkie inside, at one of the tables, of course. Pinkie was smiling, so life was good for Ponyville. We joined her briefly. "Aww, Summer, leave the future there!" Pinkie hugged me tightly. I don't know how she knew, but she was right. I smiled.

All of a sudden, Pinkie got this real concerned look on her face. "You two... are going... ...on... ...another trip!" Pinkie stayed concerned, and began to scan around the room, as if looking... Pinkie saw the Cup Cakes on the table in front of her. "Cup Cakes!" she almost shouted. The concern was quickly washed away by a broad smile as she took a bite. "I don't know when though, sorry!"

We all laughed together. Well, sooner or later, Shysage and I knew that would be true. Maybe we hoped it would be later. Maybe we hoped we would be able to see Volume 5 to completion together.

Shysage asked Pinkie to talk to the Cakes at some point about making something like Pizza Pies. Pinkie laughed some more, and said "I'll take care of that! ...Well, after I finish these Cup Cakes, that is!"

From there, we went outside, and sat in the Equestria pony bleachers outside the Cakes for a little while. If only... But I did notice that it looked like these wood bleachers had seen substantial use, so I don't know...

These bleachers were getting good Sun, and the cold wind was blocked by the backs of the bleachers, so it was very comfortable on the bottom step. Shysage and I ended up on our bellies on the bottom step of one of the pony bleachers.

For a while, we said little. Just being next to Shysage...

"Shysage, I wonder if we will ever be able to settle down, and have our own family..." I didn't cry when I said this, but I wanted to... Shysage and I had talked about this before. We doubted there would ever be a good time for the Phantom Alicorn to have a foal. That didn't keep me from wanting...

Shysage thought a minute, then answered quietly "Well, I just hope we can stay here long enough to record Volume 5. Working on that with you, that really will be amazing!"

I guess only time will tell...

Chapter 1

I should have known something was up. From the moment I woke up that morning, I clearly discerned a slow, calm tune weaving faintly through my thoughts(1). It never stopped...

The tune was not laden with portent by any means. It seemed best suited for a calm, snow covered night after a blizzard had blown through.

I told Shysage about it as soon as he woke up.

Well, we hugged, rubbed noses and cried together some for a while first. After all we had been through, even recently, just waking up in the morning next to him is amazing.

He got up, changed to a people, and put some well placed small logs on the fire, and was soon back right next to me as a pony again. I told him about the tune while he was a people. He stopped a minute and listened, then said he couldn't hear it. Then he smiled, and asked me if I liked it.

We both didn't think it was that important.

After spending a little more time laying next to each other and hugging, I got up and started in on some breakfast. I don't know that I will pick up making stuff like this very fast. My sister Fluttershy does a way better job, and is a lot quicker too.

It had not even been a week since the Equestria Girls left. They quickly dove back into School, I'm sure. New year or no, School just kept going. Still, those bleacher girls... Just thinking about them made me sad...

"Shysage, can we..." I started to say, as I looked over at him.

My amazing Stallion... Shysage was smiling at me with the most loving look on his face. I completely forgot what I was going to say. And I just had to put the food down, and lay next to him and we hugged some more.

What did my Twin say? We were acting like a bunch of newlyweds, I think that was it. Well, maybe... Not counting my dream, Shysage first proposed to me maybe four years ago, buried in the Past. But we actually had our wedding in the Equestria Girls world less than a month ago. Wow, I don't know. Well, I know I love him a lot, and I will never... could never leave him. He feels the same way.

In some ways we were on pins and needles waiting for the material for friendship being magic among Princess Twilight and her girls. This would be volume five, and we had absolutely no clue when that material would begin to come in. Shysage had researched and roughed out the material for volumes 1-4 by himself, but I really was excited to be able to help with that this next year! With Princess Twilight and her girls, how could it NOT be amazing!

I think Shysage and I could have hugged and kissed in front of the fire all morning. We actually had done that a few times recently. It felt heavenly.

After we ate, Shysage suggested that we do some walking though. We would need to get our coats on for that.

When Shysage can, he changes into a people, and helps me get into my coat. I really appreciate that. Otherwise I have to kind of crawl under it, and hope it falls down over my back where it should. It usually does, but not always. Sometimes it is very difficult. And when you are cold already, or when it is cold outside...

This is another job that Unicorns have so easy. The rest of us struggle. Shysage says he's taking care of his Mare when he helps me like that. He is always looking for little ways like that to show me I am special to him. I really appreciate that. He really makes me feel like a Princess.

Oh wait, we still need to... Well, it's just hard during the Winter, for a lot of reasons. He will when he can. I'm not too worried.

We walked over to the Castle first. Princess Twilight, Rarity, Filia, Fiona, Dawn and Camille were all together in the Library working on magic. It was nice and warm in here anyway. And it looked like a lot of fun, well if you were a Unicorn. And I tried hard to not cry as I hugged everypony.

Princess Twilight asked out of the Blue "Summer what was that phrase everypony used during your dream? They were describing words that we couldn't say?

Honestly, I was drawing a blank. Maybe I was still crying with Dawn and Camille.

"Good words, I think, Princess" Shysage said quietly. I'm glad he remembered.

"Oh that's right. I had a dream about your dream last night" Princess said with a smile. "I kicked you or something." Princess laughed.

Shysage and I laughed, too. Like that would ever happen.

I hugged my Princess again, and wept softly. "I really love you Princess Twilight, I hope you know that" I said quietly.

"Oh Summer, I love you too. I don't think that will ever change."

I hugged her tightly once more, then Shysage and I headed out of the Library.

Our next stop was Fluttershy's Cottage. I love my sister, well both of them now, and sister time is always so special.

Fluttershy brought us quickly in, then closed the door. It was warm in here too. Fluttershy, Shyna, Shysage and I hugged tightly and wept softly for a little while. We all love our family.

Fluttershy made us a nice lunch. It was very good. Wow, I wish I could make food as good as she can! Still, I doubt it...

As we were eating, Fluttershy got this serious look on her face, and asked quietly. "Sis, the Portal has, uhm, taken you places, well a bunch. Will that happen to me now, too?"

I was next to Fluttershy, and I hugged her. I could tell this was troubling her. I also suspected that the amazing ankle band that Cel (Princess Celestia) in the Past had given to Fluttershy, Shysage and I; this was maybe behind Fluttershy's concern at this point.

"Sis, I don't know... I don't think any of us knows..." I answered quietly.

Shysage explained a little more though, and his explanation made more sense, and probably helped Sis the most. "Fluttershy, you carry an Element of Harmony. Equestria already has the right to call on you when that is necessary. I don't know if that ankle band makes that much difference. And if we get called to the Past again, we should probably take you anyway."

Fluttershy thought for a minute, then said quietly "Ok, I guess. I really don't like the idea of just disappearing." Well, she hugged Shyna when she said that, and I think that was her main concern, and I agreed with her there.

It was quiet for a minute, then Shysage added quietly "Fluttershy, every time the Portal has taken us, it has seemingly already set everything up. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

After another minute's silence, Fluttershy just laughed. "Well, maybe it will be ok if I get to have a big Black tiger for an animal friend."

We all just laughed together. That was so Fluttershy.

After lunch, we just talked at the table. Shysage mentioned we were just getting out and doing some walking. It had really been too cold for much else.

Fluttershy said she was getting cabin fever too, so the four of us got our coats back on, and went for a walk together. Well, my gentleman Stallion changed into a people and helped us girls get our coats on first.

We set off from Fluttershy's Cottage, and walked randomly in the meadows around Ponyville. We were just enjoying being together, it was amazing. But I think really, we walked where the Sun wasn't blocked; that is what determined our path.

Early afternoon found us on that small hill in the meadow to the East. The four of us just relaxed together and talked. Shysage and I were on our bellies next to each other, and Fluttershy and Shyna were on their bellies facing us. It was so restful, so peaceful. We talked together for a while.

The Sun was high, and there was no breeze at all. Before long, we all had our coats off. Well, we all knew what that meant! The four of us were soon in the air, flying lazily, well slowly over Ponyville. Flying like that felt absolutely amazing to these four Winter-bound Pegasi. I guess it was an unusually warm day for Winter, and we flew for over an hour.

We guessed everypony else was busy today, because no other Pegasus friends joined us. Still, after that hour, we all landed in the East meadow near that little hill, and were soon back in exactly the same places on our bellies. Shysage was right next to me, and Fluttershy and Shyna were facing us.

We just talked some more. Well, we talked a long time.

...

Well, for no reason that I know of, Shysage gently put his leg around my neck and hugged me. I love him so much...

I was about to ask him...

Equestria Present faded from view right then...

...

...

...

This is Shyna.

I... We were all visiting together, and had spent a wonderful afternoon together. I love my new family... We even got to fly some, and that felt so good. I think my wing muscles needed the stretch. I could have flown a lot faster, but I just stayed with the rest. Fluttershy especially can't fly very fast, but that's ok. Having family to fly with, that means so much to me. Well, even having a family now...

We talked most of the afternoon away. Fluttershy was next to me, and I was facing Shysage and Summer.

I mean, we are just talking together, and next thing I knew the three of them were gone! I didn't see them get up and leave, and I did see them faintly but quickly, well, disappear, right there on the ground where they were as we talked.

For a minute maybe, I just sat there looking around in disbelief. My entire new family had just disappeared...

Well, I was quickly crying. I didn't know where they were, or what to do. I think I cried there for a little while. Well, I guess I was slowly crying more and more.

...

I got up and ran to the Castle, to Princess Twilight. I was pretty sure she would know what to do. I had no clue anyway. I heard Summer say she was mush once, and now I was too.

I ran quickly into the Library, and Princess was there. I bowed immediately of course, then, without even getting up, I was crying hard. It was a while before I could say anything. I laid on my belly and just cried.

Filia and Fiona were soon at my side, and that really helped. They are my best friends... They cried with me for a while, and I started to calm down.

Well, Princess was concerned too, and really needed to know what happened. I don't remember my exact words, but I managed to get out that Summer, Shysage and Fluttershy just disappeared while I was talking with them. I missed them already, and cried some more.

I think Princess had Spike send a letter to Princess Celestia, then Princess came over, laid on her belly next to us, and tried to get us to calm down. I think this took a while. Fluttershy is my world...

Well, I guess Princess Twilight didn't like the looks of this either, and she was soon crying softly herself.

We all worked on calming down.

Princess Twilight, brushing tears away, said quietly "Shyna, I need Fluttershy back too. I am pretty sure that the Portal took them... somewhere... to a different time and place, maybe."

It was quiet a minute, then Princess continued.

"I don't think we should be too concerned yet, because when the Portal has taken them from us before, they have usually returned within a day or two, often within a few minutes. We will just need to wait and see."

We were all still working on calming down. Princess Twilight moved, then hugged me, then said softly "Shyna, please stay here at the Castle with us, and we will wait together. I don't want you alone at the Cottage."

Well, I didn't want to be alone right now anyway, and I quickly agreed.

We all went together back to that little hill, and nopony was there still, and I was crying again. Filia helped me get my coat on. Fiona picked up Fluttershy, Shysage and Summer's coats, and carried them back into the Castle with her magic. The Sun was going down, and it was very cold already.

Feeling the biting cold... I just hoped they were ok...

After dinner, Filia, Fiona and I ended up on our bellies together on the edge of the rug in front of the Portal, and I tried not to cry.

I wanted my family back. But all I could do was wait.

Author's Note

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

This story builds amazingly on Summer's Dream, recording in the early chapters of 'Homecoming', Vol. 2. You should really read this first!

Chapter 10, Twilight in the Rough, Part 2

The three of us slept well, probably because four huge Panthers helped keep us warm. I guess they didn't mind that Shysage and I were next to their Fluttershy.

I woke up next to my smiling sister, and was soon weeping softly. Ever since we were very young, that has been so comforting... I woke Shysage up with a kiss, then Sis and I cried together for a few minutes.

We didn't want to get up just yet, so we talked.

Shysage said first thing, that Fluttershy, he and I were the only ponies that came here from Equestria Present (for us), that he knew of. And he summarized that he had been here six months, and Fluttershy had been here a month maybe.

I added that I arrived in the Crystal Palace yesterday.

Shysage mentioned quietly that what we did here would not be a problem, but after we returned to Equestria Present, we would probably need to be careful what we said and did, in order to avoid changing the Future. Although Shysage wondered if it might need to be changed.

And we all realized that we didn't know a whole lot about what we needed to accomplish. Well, Equestria was clearly a gutted shell, and we didn't know anything about any of Equestria's Princesses. We guessed Princess Cadance and Shining Armor had just taken the Crystal Empire somewhere else. Or maybe the Crystal Empire was long since dead.

We were pretty sure that Eschate Zumulus, the big, flying magic casting Black Bear, and Phantasma his daughter, were again the main problems. Shysage also felt that was so wrong. Oh, and saying good words was still not a good idea until we were ready.

Still, this was no dream. There was a lot we didn't know, and we would just try and decide what was best, dream or no.

We had no clue where to start looking for the rest of the Equestria ponies. And from my dream, it seemed like just a fluke that the Equestria Girls had arrived in Ponyville via the Portal, the very day we needed them. We honestly doubted that would happen again. Shysage mentioned the Shyna Twins, but there was still Filia and Fiona. And... Cel and Lu...

Well, we just didn't know. But we realized Equestria needed help, and we would start doing what we could today.

And, together we decided finding Princess Twilight first was a good idea. Still, that was just scary. We really didn't know what we would find.

...

We got up after it warmed up some.

Right away, Fluttershy spent some animal friend time with her girls a while.

Shysage walked over to a piece of wood, pulled his clip thing and some ink out of his ancient shoulder sack, put a piece of paper on the wood, and started writing. I watched him write, and realized he was making some very cryptic notes about our meeting yesterday, then this morning.

I also quietly mentioned that the events that I have gone through since my arrival here should also be recorded soon.

Shysage thought a minute, then said quietly "I think we will need more paper..."

It was clear he was trying to conserve space, since his paper supply was limited. We really would need to deal with this soon, it looked like. I am a Canterlot Recorder too!

After he was done, Shysage thought briefly, then decided to leave his writing stuff here in the barn for now.

Then us three ponies from the Past headed back down into the valley, to the Oats and the lake. Fluttershy's girls ran off, and found themselves breakfast (Fluttershy said), then the four of them came back.

Fluttershy spent a little while more fussing over her girls. Shysage used that word, and I think it fits so well! Then we walked across the overgrown fields of Sweet Apple Acres to the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Well, we couldn't put this off... We headed into the forest, then found the path to Zecora's hut. Fluttershy and her girls led the way, and Shysage and I followed. I walked right next to him. Wow I had missed that...

I think we all hoped we would find Princess Twilight, and soon... But again, we really didn't know what we would find. This wasn't a dream.

I think we basically knew the way to Zecora's hut and to Dethwell. Dethwell was in my dream, but Princess Twilight in the Present just knew it existed, and we faced these monsters there. Well, that was decades ago now...

Part of the way through the forest, Fluttershy stopped us and showed us her home. It was a small cove inside the stump of a big tree. Shysage said it was a Redwood tree, but that made no sense to either of us. He mentioned that he thought they smelled nice.

Well, we kept going. This part of the trip was just hard... We needed to press forward. But we just didn't know what we would find. But we needed to find out... But we may not want to find out...

...

Thirty minutes later, we walked into the clearing next to Zecora's hut. Fluttershy fussed with her girls some more, and sat them down in a row, and told them to stay put.

All three of us went inside.

Princess Twilight was there, minus her crown, sitting in front of the fireplace. The fire wasn't roaring, but she was clearly keeping it going.

Our Princess was facing the fire, facing away from us. She looked dangerously thin.

It was quiet for the longest time...

Nopony moved...

...

...

...

This is Princess Twilight... Well, no... I used to be a Princess...

...

I guess... I knew this time would come...

...

In reality, I forgot completely about Summer's Dream...

...until the day Eschate Zumulus marched me here, and told me I would die if I had any visitors. That big Bear shouted loudly "Friendship is magic? Bah... Banishment will be far better punishment for you..."

I knew he was right...

For some really amazing years, friendship really was magic... Well, it was anyway... And so now, instead of that magic, instead of those friendships... I just have gnawing loniless. Each day is it's own nightmare for me. And at night, I just sleep. I have no dreams, because, I have no hope... I have nothing left...

...I just have absolutely nothing left...

...

Actually, until today, Eschate Zumulus' taunting was the last words I heard...

And after he left, Summer's Dream came blasting back... It was a warning... But, apparently, we had all ignored the warning, and all Equestria had paid the price. Well, I knew it was a little more complicated, but the end result was still the same.

That was maybe 30 years ago now, I think, and since then I had remembered a lot more of that dream. I didn't have much else to do...

...

The main thing I remembered though, was that some day, Summer would probably come back. Her dream was a dream, but still. Summer was the Phantom Alicorn, and any dream that she had; I just couldn't ignore that.

Well, actually, I guess we all did...

But I was pretty sure that some day... ...Summer would walk through that door like she just did.

I had plenty of time; I had thought a lot about this, and had carefully planned these words...

And I knew it was her. I didn't even need to turn around. I just talked slowly.

"Emissary from the past. I'm sorry but you need to leave..."

It was quiet for a minute maybe, then Summer said softly "Princess, dream or no, we are here to help... to help you... to help Equestria..."

I had planned this part out too.

"Summer, I don't want to be helped. All my girls... Something changed us... It was terrible. I can't even be around any of them any more... Even Fluttershy drove me craz--"

I hadn't planned this part... Evidently Fluttershy was with them, and she burst into tears right then...

I wheeled around quickly (which was hard) to see Fluttershy close the door behind her, and hear her crying... Then, I said this without even thinking "Fluttershy came with you?"

By then, I knew the answer, and realized what I had just done... Almost thirty years had changed nothing... I was broken. I just couldn't say... I couldn't even apologize...

Well, then I was facing Summer and Shysage, and quickly noted the Shield Necklace that Summer still wore...

TF
MPOF

True friendship... Putting others first? Bah...

And I had no treasures left, not any more...

I just sighed, and looked down steeply at the ground...

It was quiet for a few more minutes. Well, I knew Summer was weeping softly.

"Princess, please..." Summer said as she cried.

I snapped. I didn't plan this part, but it didn't matter. I yelled.

"Summer, look around you... Equestria is lost... I can't stand to be around the most important ponies in my life... I was only a Princess when... They are gone... We don't even have our elements any more...

"Honestly, you drawing Eschate here would do me a favor... I don't deserve to live. Every day here alone is turture. I don't want to live..."

It was quiet a few more minutes.

I could tell that Summer, still crying, was struggling to get something big out of one of the pockets of her coat. I remembered that part too.

"Summer, I don't want your book either..." I said sharply without even looking up.

Summer finally managed to work the book out, and it fell flat onto the floor, loudly.

Summer just said quietly "Princess Twilight, this is not my book... It's yours..."

It was quiet a few more minutes, then Summer said this. "Princess, you told me you would never stop loving me. I don't know what I have done to deserve this... But Princess, I still love you..."

Summer walked out the door, just like her sister had, and probably felt the same way...

...

It was quiet a minute.

Shysage sighed, then said quietly. "Princess Twilight, I still love you too. True friendship can explode forth and blossom anew... ...at any time... ...in any place..."

Then he walked slowly out too.

Well, Shysage stopped at the door, looked back some.

"Princess, Equestria is worth rescuing. You are worth rescuing. Summer, Fluttershy and I will do what we can. We would appreciate your help. Actually, I think we will need it."

Then he was gone.

...

I can't describe the turmoil I felt inside that afternoon. I had not planned that part at all... These emissaries from the past had done me no wrong, and had only paid dearly for even being around me briefly. I still knew that was so very wrong...

...

And the Volume of Princess Celestia's commentaries Summer had left... It was Volume 3; I had been made a Princess at the end of it... "And all for this?" I actually said out loud...

...

I guess I concluded overall that this just sealed my doom. I no longer wanted to live. Well, I wanted my girls back, but definitely NOT the way they all were... the way we all were, when we last parted ways.

And I knew it was just a fairy tale that the Equestria Girls showed up at all in Summer's Dream, let alone when they did. The Equestria Girls world is so huge... It eats up the people there. I doubted they even cared about Equestria any more, even IF they remembered... They were all probably scattered hundreds... thousands of miles way...

I guessed I could change myself if I needed too, but I honestly doubted that the eleven other ponies would ever... There was just no way I could get them back.

We had our chance... We squandered it, even though we were warned... The cost was huge...

Under these circumstances, death would be welcome.

It was just a matter of time.

Chapter 19, The Pathway Home, Part 3

Over the course of that day, the fog slowly cleared, and we could see across the clearing.

Princess Twilight was, I guess trapped, in the center of her girls.

And I found out later that, over hours, Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle had worked on following her dream from this morning, which had slowly walked everypony back together, herself and Princess included...

Still, time slowed to a crawl...

They had all been separated for over 30 years... Watching them stay together, there in that circle, for hours...

Shysage and I just cried...

...

There was a lot at stake in that small circle... The only ponies around for miles...

And just one pony running off in anger... That alone could have spelled defeat... But I guess they all wanted... this...

As the afternoon wore on, we could hear them all... crying...

Shysage and I cried with them...

...

And I have no idea why, but Fluttershy's girls stayed right next to us the whole time. These four cats didn't even try to leave, or go bother the Fluttershys, or run off or anything. The girls just laid on their bellies or sides next to us, and mostly napped, all afternoon.

The bleeding had stopped, but my hind legs, right above the hoof, felt terrible. I wasn't sure how I would get back to Dawn's.

Well, Shysage was with me. I knew everything would be fine. He could easily carry me if we were both people, and I knew he would do exactly that if he needed too. But he stayed by my side all day. I needed that. I needed him.

After a few hours, maybe early afternoon, Shysage and I were both laying on our bellies, right next to each other, facing the center of the clearing... facing amazing friends... watching... waiting...

...

Nine hurting Twins... Eighteen amazing ponies... working on recapturing... long lost... devotion...

Shysage and I, we said little... I think we both were silently asking true friend to help them though...

And I think we were both pretty sure... What was happening right now... This was probably one of the main reasons we had come... To help this happen...

This thought made me cry for the longest time as Shysage hugged me...

...

...

...

The Sun was down past the trees when the circle broke, and 18 precious ponies headed towards us.

Princess and her Twin led the way, right next to each other again...

I couldn't help it, I sobbed uncontrollably when I saw this...

They were clearly heading our way, Shysage and I sat up.

...

Princess came up to me and started to say

"Summer, I'm so sorry for--"

I didn't even let her finish...

It hurt like mad, but I jumped up quickly, and hugged her neck tightly and just cried...

...

"Princess Twilight, I love you so much..."

I said this a bunch. I was almost hysterical. And that was all I could say...

...

Princess and I cried together for a while, and her Twin soon joined us. I don't think we were the only ones crying though.

...

I hadn't been a part of what needed to be resolved (I didn't think), but I had felt everyponies' pain... I hurt for them.

And, in spite of what she had done to me, I really love my Princess..

And to see her 'back'... To see them all back together...

I couldn't stop crying for a while...

Well, Shysage asked me to calm down, and I worked on that.

"Princess, Summer and I should fly back to Ponyville before it gets dark" he said quietly.

It was quiet for a minute.

"Summer, we can hug more, but we are heading for the Castle. You can fly ahead and wait for us there" Princess said.

I would not question either Shysage or my Princess.

It hurt a lot, but Shysage and I were quickly in the air.

Well, at least flying didn't hurt at all.

The fog had cleared earlier. Even though it would be dusk soon, we didn't have any trouble finding our way back to Ponyville; the Castle Spire was easy to see from a long way off. We landed in the grass near to the Castle.

We quickly saw that the shield around the Castle was still White, and we didn't even try to get through.

Still, landing hurt a lot. I just laid down on my belly right where I landed.

Shysage landed and was quickly laying on his belly right next to me. He hugged me, and I cried some more... I was a mess, and I knew it. He knew it too. I was glad he was here.

It slowly got darker. I wasn't worried, not with my Stallion next to me. And it wasn't too cold either.

Fifteen minutes later, Rose and Alyssa found us, and quickly laid down in the grass next to us. Shysage and I petted our amazing animal friends as they purred. I guess they didn't like it that we had left them. My sister, well Equestria pony Fluttershy, said later that these two ran ahead as soon as everypony headed down the path, away from the clearing.

...

...

...

I guess...

I guess neither Equestria, nor my amazing friends were done with me being a Princess... Their Princess...

Well, with them all back, I guess I could do this again.

That was what I really wanted, after all... I wanted them... I really wanted them... This made me cry again.

And to think that, after over 30 years...

They wanted me...

I cried a lot at that too...

...

After our devotion as a group was restored, we all had our Elements of Harmony slowly above our heads, those of us that had them, anyway.

And from that point on, I realized that Equestria had re-connected with me or something. That made me cry a lot too...

It was clear that Equestria was really hurting. I felt that. I really felt that...

Equestria had actually been reaching out to my Twin for months, I guess, even though she was on the other side of the Portal. That was just... I mean, I remembered a lot of Summer's Dream in the decades that I was banished alone. And I realized that a lot of her dream was just fairy tale stuff. Still... My Twin coming here... Through the Portal... With everypony... At exactly the right time, 3 days ago... That was just amazing...

...

Still, the first thing I had to do was apologize to Summer. I knew I had hurt her very badly, and not just her legs. I was angry about what I had lost, for decades. She bore the brunt of that anger, since I first saw her. That was so wrong...

Before we started walking over to them, I noticed those four huge Black felines. It looked like they were just lounging around Summer and Shysage, but still.

The Fluttershy Twins felt my fear immediately, and said quietly, together "Princess, they are our animal friends."

After she, well they said that, I remembered our conversation from the distant past... This was a part of Summer's Dream, and Fluttershy was very interested in friends like this... Well, I guess she had them now.

I didn't worry about them at all, after that. And I learned later that these four Panthers had been a huge help.

...

During our time together all that day with the girls, I realized that I had not seen Summer even get up at all since she took care of Eschate Zumulus. I was not surprised. I was mad, and I kicked her pretty hard. She was a people when I did this, and her people body is slight, I think my Twin said.

I probably hurt her pretty bad.

And I felt really bad, too.

I walked over to apologize, and she did not let me get very far with that. Even though I knew it hurt her a lot, she jumped quickly up, then she pretty much fell apart as she hugged me. That was so like Summer, she was so quick to forgive...

All Summer could do was cry. I hugged her tightly the whole time. I really love her a lot...

Well, I cried too. Hugging and crying with such an amazing friend... And I don't know why, but I was able to cry out a lot of pain from the last 30 years, crying with Summer. I needed that. But as soon as I realized this was happening, I motioned my Twin over, and she joined us, and we cried together. I think my Twin and I both needed that.

Still, Summer never ceases to amaze me. "Summer, you are an angel..." I said this a few times as we cried together. Equestria Girls Fluttershy's mom says that a lot about Summer. I think she is right.

We cried together for a while, and soon, everypony else was crying too, Twins together. But I think crying actually felt good to all of us now, it wasn't because we were hurting any more...

After a while, our crying did slow some, and Shysage suggested he and Summer fly to Ponyville. I realized this would hurt Summer the least, and there was some light left. They were soon on their way.

Well, the rest of us needed to get back to the Castle.

We all knew the way, and the growing darkness didn't stop us. The Filia and Fiona Twins gave us all plenty of light as we headed down the path away from the clearing.

I thought at one point that I saw some sort of Black apparition or something streak by in the shadows. It was a Panther animal friend.

...

Our first stop was Zecora's Hut. I needed two very important things from there. The rest didn't matter. Zecora was long gone.

I went inside alone, and told everypony else I wouldn't be long. Well, my Twin came in with me, and she cried the whole time. We actually spent a few minutes inside together, hugging, crying...

I really love my Twin...

I used my magic to pick up my crown from a dusty shelf, and I put it back on.

Then I used my magic to pick up Volume 3 of Princess Celestia's commentaries. It was a very special book. It was the book that wouldn't die. I needed to give it back to Summer.

Twilight and I headed out the door of that hut...

To freedom...

I really can't describe how that felt...

I cried...

...

...And everypony else was in the clearing outside the hut; they bowed immediately to me when we came out...

Maybe we all never expected to see me, Princess Twilight, with her crown on again...

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

...

The walk through the Everfree Forest, back to the edge of the orchards didn't seem to take long, even though it was pretty dark by now. The Filias and Fionas gave us light, and spread out among all of us. I had to fight back tears the whole way, though.

...

Then walking through overgrown orchards... Both Applejacks were already sizing up their chores... laughing...

And EVERYPONY insisted that I stop at the lake and eat some Oats. I really had let my body dwindle, and my friends were just concerned.

Well, I was very hungry anyway. I ate a lot!

I think the rest snacked some, there in the dim light from four Unicorn lanterns.

It had been a long day.

...

The walk from the farm back to the Castle was very strange. It really looked like it always had, even at night.

Well, we walked straight to the Castle. We weren't in a hurry, but that was our destination. Well, it isn't that far, and so it only took 20 minutes maybe.

We all walked together. Being together again felt amazing...

...

Summer and Shysage were resting together in the grass near the Castle, and I asked Summer where she wanted her book.

Summer started crying right away...

A few minutes later, she explained where it had come from.

I knew what I needed to do.

...

Summer mentioned that Dawn and Camille had already seen everypony else. I just took my Twin, Twilight Sparkle for this special trip.

Summer also mentioned that her amazing neighbor Dawn was very old, and probably would not be able to get up.

I could also tell that Summer really wanted to come. I felt pretty bad, but Summer assured me she would go visit with Dawn in a day or two.

...

The walk to Dawn's was pretty quick. It took a little longer than it should because it was hard to not notice how run down Ponyville looked.

The two of us were soon knocking at Dawn's door.

Camille and her daughter bowed immediately, and wept softly. I quickly had them up, and walked slowly in, and over to Dawn (the elder, Summer said, I think).

Camille also had my Twin put the book back on the table next to the door.

I laid down next to Summer's amazing friend, and hugged her briefly as she cried. I doubt she ever thought she would see me again. Camille and her daughter joined us.

I told them about their amazing book, and the fact that it had put the fire out in my fireplace when I tried to burn it. I wasn't proud of what I had tried to do. But still, I explained that their book was a very special book.

Dawn the elder smiled, and said quietly "I already knew that. It is about our amazing Princess..."

We all cried a little while after that. I was still adjusting to everything that had happened that day, after all. And Dawn clearly had more faith in me than even I did, and after all these years.

Twilight and I got up to leave, and I think we both quickly noticed the Shield Necklace next to the door. I was pretty sure it was the one Summer was wearing the first time she came to see me.

I managed to not cry until we were a good distance away from Dawn's, then my Twin Twilight and I hugged and cried pretty hard for a little while.

We both knew... We had to make more of those...

We walked back to the Castle, and it really was pretty late by now, and dark.

I could barely tell that everypony else was laying in the grass, in the dark, talking quietly together.

Well, I didn't even hesitate, but I walked straight for the Castle. It was my Castle.

Shysage started to say something about the shield, but stopped as I walked right through it.

And as soon as I walked up the steps, it seemed like the Castle just came to life, all by itself.

The outside lights came on... The inside lights came on too, I could tell. Everypony was squinting; the lights on the Castle walls are pretty bright. They are magic or something, and operate all by themselves. We could easily see everypony in the grass now.

I could tell that the faint Purple magic shield was still in place, and of course, everypony still had their Element of Harmony out still. Equestria was in distress, after all.

...

I warned everypony that there may be some bad memories inside this Castle, but that we needed to look forward, and move on from here. Then I asked everypony to gather in the Library.

The Portal was gone, but the rug was still there. I didn't think we needed the Portal any more, anyway. My Twin had already told me none of her group had any interest in ever returning to the Equestria Girls world.

Shysage and Summer turned into people, and Shysage easily caried his Mare up the stairs, into the Castle, into the Library. They were soon resting together, back as ponies, on that nice rug.

I think everypony else moved, and just spread out around them. Well, both Fluttershys and both Shynas were family, and they moved right away to join them. I think everypony else just followed. I agree with Summer; we really are like a big family now.

...

Ok, so we were laying on our bellies, gathered together on the floor in the Library.

It had been decades since we had been together. I should give a nice speech, right?

Realizing everything above, and all that we had been through today, I burst into tears, put my head down, and just cried...

We all did...

No speech... We just cried together, devoted again, back in our Castle... We cried for a while...

...

I needed to tell these precious ponies the story of my Crown. I had actually tried to throw it deep into the forest a number of times. It always came right back.

We all cried some more...

I also told them about the book that I tried to burn, yesterday, I think. I told them it put the fire out in my fireplace...

We all cried some more...

...

Still, I did have some plans for the next few days, and I let everypony know.

Equestria pony Fluttershy had mentioned to me about Shysage and Summer running out of paper for recording.

Tomorrow would be dedicated to getting the Canterlot Recorders caught up. I knew that there was a lot to be done, and one day might not be enough. Still, I wanted to make that a priority.

And I had plenty of paper here, and would task some helpful ponies with finding some berries for ink. And I knew a bunch of amazing Unicorns who would be delighted to help with the writing. This would be far faster than Shysage's clip thing. In the dim and distant past, this had always turned out to be such an amazing experience for everypony.

I wanted this all... everything, written down. And we would do all this together.

Working hard not to cry, I explained that my other goal was to allow Summer's legs to heal.

Just as soon as we could, I wanted more than one magical double reverse Sonic Rainboom, which required the Phantom Alicorn. I smiled at both Rainbows and asked that they practice up for that, starting tomorrow. I didn't think these special Pegasi would have any problems working towards that.

Still, Summer started weeping softly right away, She said quietly and very slowly "...But that... ...will bring... ...Phantasma..." I think only Shysage caught, and understood the significance of this... Well, he was fighting back tears too.

I walked slowly over to Summer, and laid on my belly right next to her, and hugged her tightly.

"Summer, we need the rest of Equestria's Princesses back as soon as possible...

"And I can feel Equestria's pain, and the sooner we start putting Equestria back together, the better..."

Summer just cried, and I knew why. And I don't think many of the others remembered this...

Summer's Dream, really a nightmare at this point, had ended as she killed both Phantasma and Princess Celestia, in order to be able to preserve the rest of us around her, to be able to rescue Equestria. It really was try to rescue our Princess, or be able to rescue Equestria.

That was a terrible choice for Summer to have to make. And this was all before the Portal sent Summer and Shysage to the distant past, where they quickly rescued our two Princesses from certain death, and then invested two years in their lives. There was a lot more at stake now. Cel and Lu were family.

I knew Summer was scared. And I knew this part was happening far sooner than she had anticipated.

"Summer, Equestria will work it out." I said this a number of times as she cried. I kept hugging her tightly. After a little while, Summer calmed down. I think Shysage helped with that.

I returned to my Twin, and said quietly that we should all get some sleep. Equestria was a mess, and we had a lot of work to do together.

I think most of us were soon asleep.

...

...

...

I was so glad Shysage was right next to me. Having to face Phantasma so soon... Cel and Lu... I just couldn't...

Shysage hugged me a while, and I tried to relax.

Shysage said simply this.

"Summer, I think Princess Twilight has recovered the Bond of Knowing with Equestria. I think we can trust Equestria to work everything out when the time comes, even if it is soon."

Shysage and I both sighed at the same time.

Both Fluttershys and both Shynas were very close.

I heard Equestria pony Shyna say something that I don't think they had said in decades...

"I love my family..."

I'm sure we all did.

...

Still, I put my head down in front of me, and tried not to worry.

Shysage put his head down right next to mine...

"I love you, Summer" he whispered softly.

I just melted...

We were soon asleep.

Chapter 26, Trip to Canterlot

We woke up in the morning as the Sun shone brightly through the trees at the edge of the meadow. Shysage and I just hugged and sighed together. The warm sunlight felt very nice. Being together and alone felt even nicer...

Yesterday, late in the afternoon, Princess sent everypony off to find some food. Shysage and I came here to the East meadow with the Fluttershys and Shynas, and four Panther friends, like we normally do.

Well, Shysage and I never went back. We sent the Fluttershys and Shynas off to the Castle with the Panthers. Shysage and I, we spent a quiet evening together and alone, just us! It was a nice warm night, and the Moon was high and bright...

Well, maybe we did a little more. And we finally crashed on this hill late, and slept as close to each other as possible. It seems like every day with my Stallion is even more amazing... I love him so much...

It was morning now, and there were four Panther friends spread around us. They were waking up too, and yawning and stretching. Well, stretching still hurt Rose, anyway. Her leg looked a lot better. She had cleaned most of the blood off, and we could now see the long gashes Phantasma's teeth had made. They were healing though.

Both Fluttershys wandered over a little while later, and we all hugged together briefly, then everypony fussed with their animal friends. Panthers headed off together for some breakfast, and us four ponies ate and drank some too.

While we were eating, Sis pulled me aside. Evidently, some of our friends were concerned that we were gone last night. Princess Celestia smiled, and asked "Is there a lake nearby? They are probably there."

I blushed, and Sis just hugged me.

I was thinking though, and am not sure how I got here, but Fluttershy knew exactly... She said quietly "I know, we will wait and see..." I hope I never have to keep a secret from my family!

Once four Panther friends came back, we did a little more fussing, then we headed slowly back to the Castle. Rose was walking quite a bit better today.

We stopped briefly to hug Dawn and her family. Dawn (the elder) was sitting outside, enjoying the Sun! Well, she had to walk out there by herself. That was just so very good to see...

Equestria's Princesses were sitting together, waiting for us when we arrived back at the Castle.

My sister... She said quietly "They were at the lake", and Cel and Lu smiled. I just blushed. Shysage hugged me tightly. I think Cel and Lu expected nothing less.

Still, Cel (Princess Celestia) addressed us officially.

"Mom and dad, the Shyna Twins have been tasked with flying to Canterlot and making contact with Shining Armor. We want you both to accompany them this time in case they need any sort of protection. And I would prefer that you all leave soon, and come back before dark tonight."

I... This was fine, but I asked timidly "Can I hug Lu for a little while first?"

I guess this was ok, Lu and I hugged and cried together some. Cel and Shysage hugged briefly too.

Both Fluttershys had us wait as the two of them led all four Panthers to her Cottage for some animal time and napping in the Sun. None of us wanted our animal friends to try to follow us.

And listening to my Sis sing to her animal friends... Both Fluttershys were equally talented at this!

And Fluttershy's Cottage seemed to have weathered the years well enough, except for a few windows needing attention, and some walls that needed adjusting as the tree grew over the years.

The Shyna Twins were ready to go, and we were soon on our way. We made sure to skirt Fluttershy's Cottage by a long distance.

It was a nice warm day, and flying a long distance really felt very good. We didn't have a strong wind, either to fight or to help. Still, it was a very good workout. Well, it was the middle of Winter in Shysage and my present, when the Portal moved us here over two weeks ago, and we really couldn't fly there. But here...

And flying up over Ponyville was just sad... Almost no ponies, and a number of collapsed roofs. But once we were away from town, the trip, the countryside of Equestria looked a lot like it always had. That part was just strange.

The Shynas let Shysage and I set the pace. I am positive that the Shyna Twins could have made the trip in maybe half the time it took us. Still, it was just fun to fly together like that.

On the way though, I realized that the Weather Works in Cloudsdale was certainly not operating, and had been off for decades. Well, Cloudsdale depends on the rest of Equestria for food, and so Cloudsdale was probably totally vacant. That was just sad for a number of reasons.

...

I put a question to Shysage as we flew. I have occasionally thought about this, but kept forgetting to ask him. Well, he was here, and I don't think the Shyna Twins being with us mattered. Plus, I remembered the question!

"Shysage, I remember from Princess Twilight's description of her first fight with Sunset Shimmer, it was clear that Sunset wanted to bring a zombie army to Equestria and take it over..."

And I stopped there, because the thought of our fight with whoever we thought was Sunset Shimmer, here in Equestria, that just made me... I was fighting back tears. Whatever it was...

We were flying, so Shysage couldn't hug me or anything. But he did think for a few minutes, then tried to answer my question.

"Summer, I don't think that would have worked...

"As far as I can tell, the Portal will only allow passage, in either direction, if a Twin exists on the other side of the Portal. The Portal wall granted me passage when I fell against it, because I had a Twin here in Equestria, even though I didn't know that. And your Twin had a similar experience..."

Remembering my Twin, Equestria Girls Summer Rain, that made me cry though... Shysage paused briefly, then continued.

"I don't quite understand why the Portal brought Equestria Girls Shyna through, even though her Twin was alive almost 1000 years earlier in Equestria..."

Both Shynas wept softly at this, and I don't think that was his goal; he was just trying to explain. Still, the Shyna Twins were originally allowed contact across this 1000 year chasm by the Twin Link through the Portal. That was just amazing... Shysage worked on continuing.

"I... It is very unsettling that the pony Sunset Shimmer was allowed passage to the Equestria Girls world. This strongly suggests that her Twin, Equestria Girls Sunset Shimmer, probably does exist somewhere in the Equestria Girls world. That could be very scary..."

This really was a scary thought. Still, I appreciate how my Stallion carefully thinks through stuff like this.

"I think the Portal has a certain amount of sentience. This is why we don't see a huge flow through the Portal in either direction. Most are just not allowed to pass."

Shysage was done, and after this, it was just very quiet for a while as we flew...

The Shyna Twins wept softly together for a while. They had both bonded so closely, as Twins do, and we all were so amazed at them just being together in the same time.

I just wanted my Twin, and spent most of that time trying to not cry. But I was sure my Stallion knew this.

We could soon see Canterlot off in the distance. Whether Past or future, that strange stepped mountain is striking, and very hard to miss in the air.

And I gotta say, the upwards flight, almost 1000 feet up maybe, to the top deck of that mountain, where the Library and the Audience Hall are located -- that was a good workout. Shysage said quietly as we were almost to the top that he was glad we did not have to do that again. I think he let me set the pace, and he felt pushed.

Seeing Canterlot from the air was also strange. Very few of the buildings had collapsed roofs. The upper crust used to live in Canterlot, and they could afford the best materials. After three plus decades, this showed.

But everything was so clearly overgrown... Untended grass, weeds, huge untrimmed trees... Many trees had fallen over due to age, and were rotting right where they fell. It was clear nopony had been tending to this amazing city, the seat of Equestria's rulership.

Shysage decided we should land in front of the Audience Hall, and just wait there, to see who we could find, well who would find us. And as he guided us all over the large Commons lawn in front of the Audience Hall, the picture changed dramatically...

The word Shysage used was macabre... We could easily see the deeply rutted low spot where Phantasma likely spent the last 30+ years, presiding over a dead kingdom... And the Commons lawn was littered with bones from countless ponies... It was hard to not weep softly at this ghastly sight... Equestria in all it's glory... reduced to this graveyard...

Almost at the same time, all four of us had to turn away...

...

"I'm sorry you ponies had to see this..." It was Shining Armor. "Probably tomorrow, a huge group grave pit will be dug, and every single bone here will be placed in it, and a full military funeral will be performed for them all... That's the best we can do right now..."

Still, it was quiet for a few minutes. Nopony could talk.

After those few minutes, Shining Armor led us to the Canterlot Library, which did not directly face the Commons, and we all worked on calming down.

The Library really was sealed off, and it looked like the lobby was currently the primary command post for Shining Armor and his men.

Shining Amor himself quickly led us into and through the bulk of the Library. Overall, it looked like the Library had endured the years well. The building was fine, and we guessed neither Phantasma nor anypony else cared about reading once Canterlot fell. If any books were missing, Shysage couldn't really tell.

Just Shining Armor and Shysage went into the restricted wing, and Shysage saw basically the same thing. If any books were missing, it wasn't very many.

I guess having Shysage available for this evaluation proved very helpful for Shining Armor. Shysage had spent a lot of time here some years ago, and had visited off and on since then (and got kicked across... never mind...), so he was in a pretty good position to offer his input. When we came back to the lobby, Shining Armor used his magic to pick up both a piece of paper and a quill, and quickly made some notes on that paper.

That same piece of paper was then rolled up and placed inside one of two matching bags, also on the table. The material on the bags was dark, some form of animal skin. A single draw-string pulled the bags closed.

Before Shysage and I even knew what was going on, one of the bags was slipped around each of our necks.

"Equestria's Princess will appreciate having their crowns back. Needless to say, guard them carefully until they get where they belong." Shining Armor said this, and did not have to explain further. He wasn't done. "The paper I inserted into one of the bags includes a status report of our findings regarding Canterlot up to this point, along with some recommendations. I would prefer that our Princesses read this first, but I doubt you both will pursue any other course anyway."

"Of course" Shysage answered quietly.

"And Shynas, I think you flying here to the Library Lobby every two days will be helpful for now" Shining Armor said.

Both Shynas bowed a little. I guessed that was a yes.

...

I think our official visit was done at that point.

"Please come with me, and I will show you to a meadow for some food and water prior to your return to Ponyville" Shining Armor said a little more calmly. "You four may rest there some before you fly back."

Our walk to this small meadow was fairly short, and it was away from the Commons, which we appreciated. We passed a few ponies as we walked. Evidently, Canterlot was already getting repopulated.

Shining Armor told us to take our time in the meadow, but he asked us to wait for his return before we left for Ponyville. Shining Armor was soon off about his duties.

The four of us stayed close together, but found plenty to eat, and a small lake too. We were still surrounded by Canterlot though; this meadow wasn't anything like the seemingly endless meadows around Ponyville.

After we ate and drank, we just sat together in a line, looking across the meadow, at a basically empty Canterlot... Nopony said much. This was just heartbreaking. Hopefully, this city would soon change though. Well, the good news was now that it could change...

"Oh, my goodness... Shyna!"

The four of us got up and quickly turned around. A mare was quickly crying, hugging both Shynas. It was Mildred... A simple, amazing mare with just the knack to keep Princess' lives simpler... This was very good news...

The five of us cried together for a while.

Shining Armor found us like that.

"Who?" Shining Armor asked.

Shysage pulled away from the rest of us and answered quietly. "Shining Armor, this is Mildred, who was our Princesses' secretary."

Well, that was clearly 35 or so years ago. Mildred should be very old by now...

"How???" Shining Armor asked again...

Shysage quickly and quietly explained. "This is not widely known, and should stay that way, but Mildred used the Portal briefly, and so has not aged, well, for a long time..."

Shysage thought a minute, then added quietly "I think our Princesses will be overjoyed at her return."

Well, evidently Mildred was sure she would never see Princess Celestia or Princess Luna again... "They are alive???" Mildred clearly knew the answer now, and was sobbing as the Shynas and I hugged her and cried with her.

After a little while, Shining Armor said we needed to head back to the Library, and we tried to calm down. On the way, he spoke officially with Mildred and asked if her allegiance to Equestria was such that she could be trusted with her old position back.

Mildred started crying again, which was probably a yes.

Shining Armor discussed a detailed evaluation of the Audience Hall, focusing initially on the food stock in the kitchen, followed by Princess Quarters etc.

"I can easily do that" Mildred said quietly. Mildred wasn't bragging... Keeping track of everything in the Audience Hall was her job. Well, it used to be.

I think Shysage wanted to help bridge this gap. "Shining Armor, Mildred was our Princesses' trusted secretary over a thousand years ago. This will work out very well. I don't think you need to worry. I think you will find Mildred a big help."

Mildred just cried.

Once back at the Library, Mildred cried with the Shyna Twins some more.

Shining Armor asked me "May I?"

I nodded, and he carefully pulled the bag from my neck with his magic, opened the bag, and took the paper out. He was clearly adding some notes, probably about Mildred. Shysage and I both knew Cel and Lu would be overjoyed.

The bag was soon back around my neck for the return trip.

Shysage warned Mildred about the Commons, and Mildred said she knew already.

Mildred asked when she should begin her evaluation of the Audience Hall. Shining Armor called another guard over. I guess the answer was now.

"The guard is for your protection, please allow him to accompany you, but we need the information you are after, so be as thorough as you can."

Mildred and the guard were soon on their way.

Shysage and Shining Armor hugged briefly, and Shysage, both Shynas and I were on our way too. We tried to avoid flying over the Commons lawn, but that was pretty hard due to it's location.

Still, the long glide down from Canterlot was amazing, and we made good time back to Ponyville, arriving maybe in the middle of the afternoon.

We still skirted Fluttershy's Cottage by a good distance because we didn't know where Rose and Alyssa were.

When the four of us landed together in the grass outside the Castle, we were surprised to find nopony else there.

Still, I noticed my Stallion, well, looking at me. I didn't think much of that, I am his Mare, after all, and he always tells me I am beautiful. I just smiled back at him.

"Summer, that was amazing, what you just did!" he said softly. Shysage didn't wait for me to ask what... "After you landed, you stood up straight, put your right foot forward some, stretched your wings out all the way, with the ends curved up just a little... Then you stretched your head and neck straight, and up at an angle towards the sky, closed your eyes, and smiled..."

The Shyna Twins were with us, but I realized that Shysage really appreciated what I did. I looked into his amazing blue eyes. "Shysage, I am a Pegasus, and I love to fly. Is that ok?" I asked back, also softly.

Shysage smiled, and hugged me tightly. I guess it was ok. He suggested it was a "Pegasus Mare Curtsy", whatever that is.

Both Shynas were smiling too, and Equestria pony Shyna said "She's been doing that since she got here, Shysage. And now that we know why, Twin and I are gonna start doing it too. It's a Pegasus thing!"

I guess it is. Shysage and I had discovered quite a few Pegasus things. I just wondered if Earth ponies and Unicorns had stuff like that. I don't know...

And I showed the Shynas what I actually do. It was not like the day they taunted Dark Melvain. That was definitely a menacing gesture.

This is so different. And I had to explain that it is done in motion, over maybe 5 seconds. With my wings stretched out flat, I arch my back, curl my wing tips up some, stretch my neck towards the sky, then after a few seconds, I reverse everything. I don't stop along the way, it is just a constant, fluid motion.

They understood, and tried it too, and couldn't help but cry. We all did. Well, we all love flying!

...

There was still nopony outside the Castle, so we walked inside, and headed for the Library. Both Twilights and both Filias were there, surrounded by a few open books about magic. Unicorn fun, the rest of us guessed. Maybe books about magic is a Unicorn thing.

Still, I had to interrupt, and said quietly "Princess, these bags around our necks are Cel and Lu's crowns... Can you find a safe spot for them for a while?"

"Of course, Summer" Princess said with a smile. "I am sure our Princesses will appreciate these!" Both bags were quickly off Shysage and my necks, and Princess assured us she would find a nice place for them.

Our next destination would be Fluttershy's Cottage, and our animal friends. As the four of us headed out the door of the Castle and down the steps, we found two Fluttershys and four Panthers lounging in the grass, in the late afternoon sunlight.

Rose and Alyssa got up quickly as we made our way down the steps. Rose seemed to be walking even better today. Still, Rose and Alyssa cried briefly. They had missed us.

"I think Rose knew you were back" my Sis said quietly. Well that was ok, we were glad to be back.

Animal friend time was next. Of course, the Shyna Twins helped us with that.

Soon after, the Applejack and Rainbow Twins walked up, probably from the farm. Equestria pony Applejack didn't bother waiting for anypony to ask. "Got the main roof beams back up for the house."

Both Applejacks then said together "Thanks R.D.!"

The four of them laughed, then hugged together.

"Applejack, how are your trees?" I asked quietly.

"I think the first decent harvest will be in a few months. And we definitely need to trim more trees... I guess we need to ask Princess Twilight about helping with that. She and the Filias and Fionas trimmed them far faster than I've ever seen..."

Applejack paused a minute.

"Well, we still need to get the roof weathered back in. But the farm seems to have stood up fairly well."

Everypony talked together quietly.

A little while later, the Fiona and Rarity Twins wandered over. I guess the Pinkie Pie Twins were helping them too.

Both Raritys were moaning over the material that was ruined...

Equestria pony Pinkie Pie smiled and said "Aww Rarity, how much of your material is fine?"

Both Raritys stopped moaning a minute. "Well, ok, a lot of material weathered the years ok. But to even watch one beautiful piece of fabric get ruined... Just terrible..."

That was just Rare. A few of us hugged them both briefly.

"Rare, is your roof doing ok?" I asked.

"Thankfully yes, otherwise a lot more amazing material..."

At that point, everypony was back from whatever their days held for them.

Princess, her Twin and the Filia Twins came out, and said we should all grab some dinner, then return to the Castle. As we usually do, the Fluttershy and Shyna Twins came with Shysage and I to the East meadow. Oh wait, the Pinkie Pie Twins came with us.

And, of course, our animal friends came too.

We all stopped at Dawn's briefly, and hugged our amazing neighbor, who was again sitting outside enjoying the Sun. "Summer, don't even open the door, there's barely enough room. I think Camille and Dawn have their helping hands full!" Dawn the elder said this, so we just headed out to the meadow.

Four Panthers streaked quickly across the meadow and were gone. The rest of us headed towards the lake, and had some dinner.

We were surprised to find the Celestia and Luna Twins on the little hill we often relax on. Well, they were relaxing there now!

Everypony walked quickly over to them, and bowed. Cel and Lu surely didn't like this, but smiled, and got us quickly back up.

Cel told us to finish eating then come back and fill her in on our trip. I don't think we ate a lot. After Cel, Shysage, Lu and I hugged briefly, we all laid on our bellies around Equestria's Princesses and their Twins.

Still, Shysage jumped in right away, and said this. "Cel, I am not sure how much we should tell you. Shining Armor sent back what is surely a status report, and you should probably read through that first. Then, we can fill you in on any other observations."

Cel realized this was best, but wasn't real happy. "Well, ok, I guess you are right." After pausing briefly, Cel said "Let's head back to the Castle."

We all got up, but Cel quickly called Equestria pony Fluttershy over.

"Fluttershy, I haven't forgotten your amazing help to me in the distant Past... Thank you so much..." The two of them hugged tightly and cried softly together for a little while.

I think Cel had recently remembered this again, I don't know. Well, Fluttershy came with us from our present, and Sis was still wearing that amazing hairpin that was an exact copy of her Cutie Mark; Cel (Princess Celestia) had given that to her, buried in the distant Past. That might have been a hint!

Lu and I hugged too. She said she was doing a lot better. She was even smiling. I just cried...

As the Sun headed through the trees to the West, we walked back to the Castle. We were soon in the Library, relaxing on our bellies, waiting for everypony to gather. I could tell Cel just wanted to know what was going on!

Soon, everypony else had joined us, and we were talking quietly together.

I think Princess Twilight was feeling better. She called Princess Celestia and Princess Luna over, and quickly got their crowns out! Cel and Lu worked on not crying, and used their own magic to place their crowns where they belonged. Equestria's three Princesses cried together. They were all Princesses again...

When Cel and Lu turned around, the rest of us were all bowing before them both. This just made them cry more... Cel got us back up, then she and Lu cried together for a while...

After that, Princess Twilight got the status report, and gave it to Cel. She and Lu were still standing, and the rest of us just watched.

Cel started reading, clearly from the top... Lu must have started at the bottom... "Sister, Mildred is back already!"

Cel and Lu cried together again. Having the Master of Details back and helping them, this would be a huge help...

The rest of the evening was fairly calm, even though most everypony wept softly at some point.

I think Princess Twilight was right. My dream made this part, the rebuilding of Equestria, well, it looked so easy as Shysage and I wrote it. But now, actually living through this process... We needed all the help we could get, and Equestria was certainly helping.

But more, I sensed among the devoted friends and family around us, a growing gratefulness for the chance to start over. The past was gone. The future could be amazing, and we needed to work towards that. I think we all were.