As they made the drive home, Windy and Evershy knew that as much as was behind them now, even more was in front of them. Windy called Bow and gave him a brief rundown of what had happened so if he should see stories on the net or the news he wouldn't be worried about them; she also asked to spread the word to their family and friends and made it clear that they needed to talk when she got home. Evershy, on the other hand, remained quiet as she tried to rehearse just how she would explain all this to Cirrus. Before she knew it, Windy was driving through her neighborhood and she could feel her body actually shaking from the fear and anxiety.

"Shy." Windy finally spoke as they pulled into her driveway. "Are you ready?"

Evershy let out a short laugh and shook her head. "No." She felt Windy's hand take hers and immediately squeezed back; with a deep breath she smiled as best she could and nodded. Windy killed the engine and followed her up to the porch as she pulled her keys out and unlocked the door. "Cirrus?" Evershy called as they stepped inside.

"Evershy." Cirrus emerged from the hallway, smiling at the sight of her. "Welcome home, dear." He went to her with a tight hug. "How was your trip?"

"It was... interesting." Evershy answered timidly.

"Windy." Cirrus tipped his head.

"Hey, Cirrus." Windy smiled with a short wave.

"Well, how about I make some tea and you can tell me all about your cruise." Cirrus took her hand and started for the kitchen, halting as she resisted. He looked back and saw the distressed look in her eyes. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Cirrus... I have to talk to you." Her eyes began to dampen.

Her tone alone was enough to let Cirrus know that this wasn't going to be good. "Alright, did something happen?"

"A lot happened." Evershy nodded as she led him to the couch and sat him down. She dove straight into the long and sordid story of what had happened to her and Windy on the cruise. Holding nothing back, she detailed how they learned what the cruise actually was and about the bizarre Breath Of Fresh Air; she then told him about the mad stallion Solstice and his dangerous experiments. From there, she revealed what had happened between her and Windy; the revelation about her feelings and her own admittance to sharing them. Finally, she told him about Daydream and the night they shared after saving the ship. Cirrus could only sit in silence as she spoke, wave after wave of shock going through him as the tale unfolded. As his wife finished her story, he took a deep breath and reached up to remove his glasses.

"Well." Cirrus wiped his damp eyes with a shaky hand. "That... is quite the story." He took a breath to compose himself. "I'm glad you're safe, above all else. I can't imagine how terrifying that ordeal must have been. At the same time... I... I'm deeply saddened to hear that you would betray our vows like that."

Windy took a step closer to the couch. "Cirrus, the situation was..."

"Please, Windy." He looked to her sharply. "I think you've done enough."

"Don't be angry with her." Evershy called his gaze back to her. "She didn't do anything wrong. Everything that happened between us, between Daydream and I... those were my choices; and as cruel as it may sound to you I don't regret making them."

Cirrus looked at her with hurt eyes. "Do you truly mean that?"

"I'm so sorry, Cirrus." Tears ran down her cheeks. "I love you... and it makes me feel so horrible to hurt you like this; I've been terrified of this moment for days now and as much as I've tried to prepare it hasn't made it any easier."

Cirrus' own tears began to fall free. "You know, I've been worried about you for a while now. I noticed that things were growing... more distant between us over the past year." He thumbed a tear from his eyes. "I thought it would do you good to get out of the house for a bit. I figured that once you got home things would be different." He forced a smile. "I guess I was right." He sighed. "This is so much to take in at once."

"I know, Cirrus." Evershy nodded. "But I told myself I wouldn't lie to you about any of this; we've shared too much for me to ever be anything but honest with you."

"If that's so, then are you honestly unhappy with our marriage?" He asked. "Have I done something... or not done something to push you into the arms of others?"

"No, Cirrus." Evershy leaned forward. "This isn't about anything you've done, this is about me." She assured. "This is about parts of my life that existed before you and I even met."

He shrugged lifelessly. "These are things you never felt you could talk to me about? In all the time we've been together?"

"I couldn't even admit them to myself." She confessed. "I buried so much in order to lead the type of life I thought I was supposed to, but on that ship... everything came out in one massive wave. It was so hard to deal with at the time given what was happening with Solstice, and the only reason I was able to come to terms with things was because of Windy and Daydream." She reached out and took his hands. "Please, don't think that I regret any of the life we've shared. I just can't keep pretending these other parts of me don't exist anymore."

"I see." He held her hands tighter.

"I came home not knowing what would happen after I told you all this." Evershy admitted. "I don't fully know what to do now. I suppose it depends on what you say next."

Cirrus looked down at their clasped hands with a mixture of emotion so potent he could hardly form words. After a long, quiet minute he looked back up to her. "I imagine... I need some time think." He finally spoke. "I feel so much right now, anything I say will be too skewed by emotion."

Evershy slowly nodded. "I understand." She glanced back at Windy. "Windy offered to let me stay with her if that was the case."

"I... think that would be best." Cirrus reluctantly agreed as he released her hands. Evershy slowly stood, her heart sinking as she saw the pain her husband was in. He stood as well and looked at her with a smile that was loving in spite of everything he had just heard. "I am glad you're home safe. As much as this hurts, it would have been a thousand times worse if something had happened to you on that ship."

Evershy could only smile back, relieved that not all the love between them had been destroyed. She quietly followed Windy back out into the driveway, glancing back one last time to see him slowly shut the door. As she rounded the car she finally broke down into tears and fell against the hood.

"Shy." Windy hurried to her, Evershy throwing herself into her arms as she sobbed. "Shy… I'm so sorry." She hugged her tightly. It took nearly twenty minutes for Evershy to finally regain her composure and was able to get back into the car. Windy once again took to the driver's seat and headed back for her home.

After another silent ride, Windy pulled into her driveway and hit the control for the garage door. She could see Bow's shadow in the master bedroom window that overlooked the front of the house; the form quickly vanished as he no doubt was heading down to greet her. Pulling into the garage, she cut the engine and sat back in the seat.

"Guess it's my turn." She looked over at Evershy.

"I'm not in much condition to be supportive." Evershy smiled, rubbing her reddened eyes.

"You don't have to do a thing , Shy." Windy assured. "Come on." They left the car and entered the house through the laundry room. As they passed through into the kitchen they found Bow, his face depressing as he saw the tear stained Evershy.

"This is worse than I thought, huh?" He asked.

"Oh yeah." Windy nodded.

Bow sighed and went to the coffee maker. "Good thing I prepared." He offered them a smile which brought Windy a great deal of relief. Windy got Evershy comfortable in the living room and headed upstairs into the bedroom with Bow. He closed the door behind them as Windy sat on the bed. "First of all." He stepped over to the bed and stood over her, quickly lowering to his knees and taking her shoulders. "I'm so glad to see you in one piece. That story you told me really shook me."

Windy wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh, Bow." After everything that had happened she finally started to cry.

"Hey, it's okay." He hugged her. "Just tell me what went on and what happened to Evershy."

"Might want to grab a seat." Windy ran her arm across her eyes as she pulled away. As Bow sat beside her she, much like Evershy had, recounted the entire ordeal of what had occurred on the cruise. She told him about what happened after she consumed Solstice's drink and how it led to the leap in her relationship with Evershy. She told him about Big Ben and the Twins as well as their showdown with Solstice. Finally, she told him about what had happened between Evershy and Cirrus.

Bow put his arm around her and pulled her into him, kissing her head. "That's a lot to go through in one week." He noted.

"Yeah." Windy looked up at him. "Look, I can only imagine how you feel about all this; but things between Shy and I are different now." She stood and faced him. "I told her I would be there for her from now on and I meant it... I love her, Bow... I love her so much and I can't keep pretending I don't. I know I'm asking so much of you right now, more than I have any right to; and if it's too much then I understand." She smiled at him. "I'm sorry I'm always putting you through hell with my drama."

Bow smiled and laughed lightly. "Life is never boring with you, honey; that's one of the things I love so much about you. If you were really too much, I would have run away a long time ago."

An arrant tear shook free as she chuckled. "Fair point." She went to him and held his cheeks. "Are you really okay with this?"

Bow reached up and took her forearms in his heavy hands. "Honestly, I'm not sure." He smiled up at her. "All I ever know for sure is that I love you, I just wing it from there."

Windy quickly pulled him into a kiss. "I love you too, Bow." She laid her forehead to his as their lips parted. "Thank you... you don't know how much this means to me."

"You two must be exhausted after all this." He surmised. "For now, let's just focus on the immediate; we can talk more about where we go from here later."

"Alright." Windy kissed his forehead. "Let's get Shy set up for the night."

"Okay." He nodded as he stood from the bed. "I'm going to call work and let them know I won't be in tomorrow, I'll let Sky Star know about what happened with the cruise... that alone is more than a sufficient reason to take a day for us." They headed back downstairs and Evershy looked over the couch to see Windy coming to join her.

"Shy, I'm going to get you set up in Dash's old room." Windy informed as she sat beside her.

"Wait." Evershy set her cup down. "Are things with you and Bow... okay?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "He's... understanding of what's going on at the least."

"You're lucky." Evershy conceded.

"Believe me, I know." Windy scooted closer and laid her hand on Evershy's leg. "If you need anything special, just let me know and I can run to the store."

"No, you're already doing more than enough."

"Hey." Windy reached up and held her cheek. "I told you that from now on I'm at your side 100%. There's no such thing as enough I could do for you, Shy."

As they stared into each other's eyes, Bow returned with his cell phone in hand. "Okay, he says he understands the situation and is filling out a vacation form for me. I'll be able to get a paid week off and he says he's glad you're okay."

"Best boss in the world." Windy laughed.

"Bow." Evershy looked up at him. "I don't know what to say."

"Look, you and I have been friends a long time now." Bow sat across from them in the arm chair. "As much as Windy always joked about liking you, I had a feeling she was being more serious than she was letting on." He looked to his wife with a knowing smile. "I love and trust her more than any creature else, so I know that when she tells me how serious this is for her I know she means it."

"You aren't angry with me?" Evershy asked.

"No." Bow shook his head. "But I'm certainly not saying this isn't weird, awkward and confusing... because it is." He chuckled. "But like I told Windy, in situations like this I always start with what I know. Windy is the most important creature in my life and now I'm getting a sense of just how important you are to her; and I know you well enough to know that whatever this is... it's important enough to compromise your entire life." He gently shrugged. "I love Windy enough and care about you enough to know that I want to help... that's about all I can say right here at the moment."

"Thank you, Bow." Evershy nodded, deeply moved by his outlook and understanding.

"It's been a long day." He stood. "How about I run out and get us dinner."

"Sounds perfect." Windy agreed.

"Ok, be back soon." He grabbed his keys and wallet, heading out into the garage.

Windy got up and pulled Evershy with her. "Come on, let's get you settled."

"Alright." Evershy followed her into the guest room which was still furnished with the fundamentals. "We've still got our luggage, so I'll throw your stuff in the wash so you'll have some extra clothes."

"Thank you." Evershy sat on the foreign bed and ran her hand over the sheets.

Windy glanced back and saw the distant look in her eyes. "Shy?"

"I was just thinking how much easier this was when we were getting chased around by a maniac." She managed to laugh.

"Ha... got that right." Windy joined her on the bed. "Hey." She gently took Evershy's chin. "No regrets, right?"

"No." She gladly accepted a loving kiss from her.

"Then how about we get that laundry started?" Windy asked. "Don't want Bow getting a peek at your unmentionables now do we?"

"Preferably not." Evershy laughed as they headed back out to the car to get their suitcases.

Author's Note

Finally getting to the next part of this story. I originally intended for each tale to focus on a different pair of MLP moms that would weave into one larger plot, but I realized I left so much hanging at the end of part 1 that I simply couldn't gloss over this important part of the story. So this will maintain a focus on Windy and Evershy, with the next story working to further develop this world as a whole.