Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.
This was the old fillies rhyme that would always come to Fluttershy's head on stormy days like these. Not exactly a good or interesting rhyme, but it stuck in her head nevertheless.
Unlike many other ponies, Fluttershy hadn’t heard this rhyme when she was a small filly, as living above the clouds meant she never experienced rain. Had it not been for her school or farther teaching her about weather making, she wouldn’t have known rain existed.
It wasn’t until she moved to the surface that she had the rhyme sung to her. And while she was old enough to be in the strange town that is Ponyville without her parents, she was still very much a child.
It was during one such stormy day, much like this one, that Fluttershy had experienced rain for the first time. And, as she’s still embarrassed to say, she was absolutely terrified.
It was then, as a scared child crying for her parents in a new and confusing place, that she first had this rhyme sung to her by a certain pink filly who couldn’t stand to see someone so upset.
Her name was Pinkie Pie, known to practically everyone in Ponyville as a fun-loving party pony, but known to Fluttershy as the dear friend she was. The friend who many years ago now helped Fluttershy through her most difficult day since she left her home.
Sitting in her chair by her cottage window, staring out at the rain violently falling on everything around her, she concluded that she definitely still disliked the rain. It gave her a feeling of entrapment, familiar to the feeling in her old cloud house when she was scared of heights.
But, at the very least, the rain reminded her of that small filly who was also miles away from her family, singing and dancing in a desperate attempt to cheer up a crying older filly who was meant to be looking after her.
Fluttershy glanced down at the book in her hoof. Rainy days tended to not have much work to do, and she had already finished everything hours ago. Reading was what she normally did on days like this, but her mind was unable to concentrate.
Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day
A small smile crept onto Fluttershy’s face. She couldn’t help but remember the rhyme as Pinkie had sung it. Squeaky, enthusiastic, slightly panicked at the crying filly in front of her, it was certainly an adorable memory.
Regardless, she still tried to force her mind back to the book. Spending her time thinking about Pinkie Pie, while fun, wasn’t the best idea.
The two had been spending a lot more time together recently, with Pinkie treating her friend to random visits more and more as the days went by. Fluttershy had seemingly become Pinkie’s go-to pony whenever she felt like hanging out, having a cup of tea with someone, or simply staying in for a quiet night—as quiet as you could with Pinkie, that is.
These events had become so common that Fluttershy was beginning to get suspicious. She’d noticed that every so often, without realising it, Pinkie would stare at her intently. One time when she was doing this, their eyes met and Pinkie looked away with a blush.
These developments worried Fluttershy. She cared about Pinkie and wanted to spare her feelings, but that seemed harder as the days went by.
And so, she forced her mind back to the book.
Knock-knock
Fluttershy jumped slightly at the sound of someone at the door. She frowned, as the rain was still pelting down, so whoever was outside was bound to be getting soaked. It was that thought that made her quickly jump up and rush to the door.
“Sorry, I’m coming,” Fluttershy called.
Fluttershy swung the door open, ready to welcome the wet pony into her home, but she was instead greeted by the wide, and dry, smile of the pink pony who had just moments ago occupied her thoughts.
“Hiya Flutters,” Pinkie said, her enthusiasm startling the yellow mare.
Fluttershy stared at her, very confused by the fact there was no rain on or around her, and the path instead looked as sunny as a summer's day.
Fluttershy glanced at a window on the opposite side of the cottage, seeing the heavy rainfall continue undisturbed, and then back to Pinkie Pie with an even more confused look.
“Pretty neat, huh,” Pinkie said with a grin before pointing to the sky. “Check it out.”
Fluttershy paused, but as Pinkie extended her hoof to her, she reached out to it and let herself be led outside by Pinkie. Upon walking outside and looking up, she gasped.
The clouds in the sky had a long line cut through them, producing no rain and letting through the sunlight. The line matched up perfectly with the path, keeping it, Pinkie, and Fluttershy perfectly dry.
She turned to face Pinkie, who was giving her a proud grin. Fluttershy could only continue to look stunned.
Pinkie giggled. “Well, seeing how I know you hate the rain, I pulled some strings with the weather ponies and had them do this surprise for you.”
Fluttershy mouth went slightly ajar. “B-but why?”
Pinkie giggled again. “I already told you, silly, because I know you don’t like the rain.”
Before Fluttershy could do anything, Pinkie bounced along the path, signalling Fluttershy to come with her. “Come on. Don’t you want to see where the path of sunshine leads?”
There was a moment of hesitation, as the sensible part of Fluttershy’s mind questioned whether this was a good idea, but the rest of her had already decided that it was. She promptly joined Pinkie along the path with a slight skip in her step.
Walking together, Fluttershy could still see how everything around her was still being rained upon. It was so close to her, and she knew that even a slight mistake would end in her getting soaked.
Being stuck on such a small path of safety should really have made her worried, like walking on the cloud paths back in Cloudsdale when she was little.
And yet, she felt perfectly calm. Being next to Pinkie, the knowledge that she knew exactly where she was taking her put Fluttershy’s mind to rest, knowing that as long as she stayed with her she’d remain dry. If at any point she was even slightly worried about getting wet, moving closer to Pinkie was all she needed.
As they trotted along together, the path of sunlight brought them off the main road and onto the green field. Fluttershy, no longer able to clearly see the path, instinctively got closer to Pinkie, almost nuzzling up to her.
From this point on, Pinkie became uncharacteristically quiet. Her trot had exchanged her normal bounciness for a calmness that allowed Fluttershy to stay close as they continued through the field together.
Every so often, Fluttershy would glance up to Pinkie, who would always give her a smile which she returned. The air between them was nice despite the silence, if not because of it.
It didn’t take much longer for Fluttershy to see where Pinkie was taking her. Up ahead, under a big patch of sunshine from a large hole above them, was a perfectly arranged picnic.
The light red and white blanket was spread out on the grass, taking up most of the space in the sunlight. On top of it lay a basket, plates, and a jug of lemonade.
“Surprise!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing over to the site. “I thought to myself, ‘what does Fluttershy love, but can never enjoy on a rainy day?’ Then it hit me: Picnics!”
Fluttershy joined Pinkie by the Picnic with a wide smile, not moving quite as fast as Pinkie, but a lot faster than she would normally.
She sat opposite her, enjoying Pinkie’s energy as she excitedly looked through the basket.
“I even made your favourite picnic food,” Pinkie announced proudly. “Cucumber and daffodil sandwiches, extra daffodil.” She took them out of the basket and placed them on Fluttershy’s plate. “Ta-da!”
Fluttershy stared at the food in front of her, her stomach suddenly reminding her that she had forgotten to eat lunch. She gave Pinkie a thankful smile and moved to pick up her tasty treat.
The sandwiches were only a couple inches away from her face when she stopped. She looked back at Pinkie, who was watching her happily, and a wave of guilt spread over her. Placing the sandwiches back down, she gave Pinkie a firm look.
“Why are you doing this?” She asked.
Pinkie giggled, only looking slightly confused. “Because I know you hate the rain and love picnics, silly.”
“No, that’s not the reason, Pinkie, you know that. There’s something more, isn’t there.” Fluttershy was doing her best to stay strong as she witnessed Pinkie’s happiness fade. “There are plenty of ponies who don’t like the rain, why haven’t you done this for any of them?”
Pinkie stayed silent. Her face hung down, no longer facing Fluttershy.
“Please Pinkie,” Fluttershy persisted, “All this, the picnic, the path of sunshine, it must have taken so much time and effort for you.” Fluttershy found herself moving closer to Pinkie, but she shuffled back. “I want you to be honest with me. I care for you Pinkie, I care so much, so I don’t want you having to lie to me.”
Pinkie sniffed. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice shaky. “I didn’t realise you noticed. I thought I was keeping it hidden well. Please... can’t we just stay the same as we were? I can be happy with that. I don’t need anything else. Please.”
Fluttershy froze, suddenly confronted with such a question. “I, er…”
A flash of panic spread across Pinkie's face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. I know it could never—that you don’t—I’m so sorry.” She stood up, legs shaking, and turned away. “I just want you to be happy.”
Seeing Pinkie about to leave, Fluttershy’s heart began to race violently. She tried to get up after her, but she was already moving too quickly. Already heading out of the sun and into the storm.
“Pinkie, wait!” Fluttershy managed to call out.
Pinkie continued going. She glanced back but continued forward, her mane deflating as it became soaked through.
“Pinkie, please wait!” Fluttershy again called. Standing up, she leapt into the rain.
The cold and wet hit her hard, knocking her off balance, but she continued going. She hadn’t been able to tell in the sun, but the storm was wild and strong, throwing her around as she tried to follow.
Using her foreleg to get her now very wet mane out of her eyes, she managed to find where Pinkie was in the storm and galloped after her. It quickly became obvious how muddy it was, making it considerably harder to pick up speed, but she pushed through regardless.
But, even with the mud, wind, and cold, Fluttershy managed to chase down the wobbly Pinkie. Closing in, she gave one final push and jumped into Pinkie, knocking them both to the ground.
“Fluttershy?” Pinkie managed to say, now entangled with Fluttershy.
Fluttershy pushed herself up so she was standing above her, looking down at the pink pony. She was soaking wet, but Fluttershy could still just about tell she was crying.
Fluttershy tried to say something, but her lack of breath stopped her. All she could do was breathe heavily as she stared down at Pinkie, realising how much her legs were beginning to hurt.
Pinkie looked as though she was about to say something else, but was caught off guard as Fluttershy’s legs collapsed and she fell next to Pinkie.
Now, next to one another on the muddy ground, Fluttershy managed to gain control over her breathing and looked at Pinkie with a calm smile.
Pinkie, for once being the one more aware of the situation’s cold, wet realities, stared at Fluttershy with a perplexed expression. “Fluttershy? What are you—why are you—”
Fluttershy simply placed her hoof on Pinkie’s mouth with a little hush. After removing it, she let out a little giggle when she realised her hooves were a bit too muddy to have done that. “You go so fast sometimes, Pinkie. I can barely keep up.”
Pinkie, even with her now muddy mouth, still looked very much confused by what was going on, but she stayed quiet.
“Pinkie,” Fluttershy said calmly, “are you in love with me?”
There was a hesitation. Pinkie nodded slowly.
Fluttershy let out a little sigh and a giggle. “You really can be a silly pony sometimes.”
“But you said you didn’t—”
Pinkie was stopped once more by Fluttershy’s hoof. “I didn’t say anything. To be honest, I don’t know. You didn’t give me time to think.”
“Oh,” Pinkie said, voice slightly muffled by the muddy hoof. “Do you want me to give you a minute.”
“That would be nice,” Fluttershy replied, shuffling slightly to get as comfortable as she could in the cold mud. “Sorry about this. I’ve thought you might feel this way for a while now. I probably should have thought about it a bit more.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Pinkie said, doing her best to seem casual as she also shifted into a more comfortable position.
It was in the next moments—as the numbness in her legs began to turn into pain, and the heavy drops of rain began to wear down on her chest—Fluttershy realised that this may not be the best place to have a calm thought.
And yet, as she looked into the distant fields and buildings all being battered by the rain, a certain memory of a certain rhyme got stuck in her head.
“Pinkie, this might sound like a weird question, but do you remember the first time I saw the rain?”
Pinkie, despite the situation, laughed. “Yeah, how could I forget. You were so scared. I didn’t know what to do except try to cheer you up.”
Fluttershy giggled, wiping away water from her eyes with her even wetter foreleg. It didn’t work.
Despite her blurry vision, she could still just about make out their sunny picnic. She, for a moment, thought about going over there to think, but she thought leaving Pinkie any longer would be cruel. She needed an answer or, at the very least, a little bit of reassurance.
“Rain, rain go away. Come again another day.”
Fluttershy turned back to Pinkie. She, despite everything, had a wide smile on her face and was jiggling about while whistling the tune to the nursery rhyme.
Fluttershy stared at her. Every detail of that stormy night flooded back to her. The confusion, the panic, but most importantly, the pony she was with that reminded her that she was, in fact, safe and sound.
A smile crept onto her face. With a little push, she managed to get back up straight, only a little wobble when her numb hooves realised they would have to support her weight.
She turned to see Pinkie had stopped humming once she saw her get up, and held out her hoof to help her up. While she wasn’t much help, Pinkie still gave her a thankful smile for the gesture.
“Do you want to head back to the sunshine?” Fluttershy asked, turning to face the right direction.
Pinkie, after a flash of panic, forced a firm nod and a brave face. “And, erm, whatever decision you make, I want to say thanks for coming after me.”
Fluttershy gave her a smile, starting her slow and slightly painful walk back. “Pinkie, no matter what, you will always be someone I’m willing to run through the mud and rain to catch.”
“Thanks,” Pinkie said with a giggle, “though it would probably have been better if I hadn’t rushed off into the rain.”
Fluttershy let out her own giggle, but paused. “Pinkie, that moment when you turned to leave, as stupid as it sounds, was one of the scariest moments of my life.”
Pinkie gave her a confused look. “Why?”
“I’ve never told you this, as it’s a little embarrassing, but whenever it rains I think of that time you sang for me when we were little. I used to think that was because it just happened to bring back that memory, but when you sang it just then, I realised something.”
Fluttershy looked at Pinkie, she was wet through, mud everywhere from her hooves to the tip of her mane, and she was looking back at Fluttershy seeing the exact same image, if not slightly worse. Yet, so close the sun, Fluttershy stopped to give her a hug.
Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around Pinkie, bringing her into a tight embrace that she, after the initial confusion, hugged back just as tight. Fluttershy opened her mouth to carry on, but faltered when she realised tears were beginning to build up in her eyes, and instead just squeezed harder.
“Pinkie,” she managed to say, “I realised that I don’t just remember that because it’s a nice memory, but I need that memory. The truth is I still only get through those stormy days because of you singing in my head.
“I don’t know how long it’s been like this, but I’ve always felt safer when I’m around you. I feel silly thinking about all the times I’ve suddenly had the confidence to do something because you said I could or gave me a song and dance.
“I’m a stronger, happier, braver pony because of you. So when I saw you leave, I thought I’d lost you and what you made me. That was terrifying.” She let out a little whimper but forced herself to carry on. “Pinkie, even without knowing it, I think I’ve been in love with you much longer than you’ve been with me.”
Fluttershy spent the next few moments squeezing tighter and tighter onto Pinkie, who tightened her grip in response. But, after Fluttershy was confident she wouldn’t break down into more tears, she loosened up so she could see Pinkie.
Moving into a face-to-face position, Fluttershy saw that Pinkie was also crying. Crying her eyes out with one of the happiest smiles she’d ever seen on her face.
“Y-you really mean all that?”
“Every word.”
Fluttershy felt like collapsing into a pile on the ground with Pinkie, but as the sunlight was so tantalisingly close, she began to turn towards it. Pinkie must have had a similar idea, as she also began to move.
They made their way to the sunlight together, nuzzling up to each other as close as they could get without tripping over one another.
They could still feel the water beat down on them and were still covered in mud, but they weren’t cold anymore.
As they neared the end of the rain together, they stopped. Giving each other one last rain covered smile, they held each other's hooves and, with one final push, they leapt out of the rain together.
Now in the dry, they collapsed.
They both found themselves to be mangled messes on Pinkie’s once clean, now very wet and muddy rug. The sudden lack of rain gave a feeling of weightlessness, and their muscles, no longer hard at work, rested with only a slight tingle of pain.
Then they began to laugh.
In the minutes that followed, both Fluttershy and Pinkie laughed together. Laughed as their wet coats dried in the sun and the pain healed. Every so often they would glance at each other, suddenly find themselves overcome with a filly like blush, and return to their laughing.
They didn’t know how long that lasted, and frankly, they didn’t care. The sun was bright and warm, and they were left together with only the sound of now distant rain that they couldn’t hear over their laughter.
But, as every moment does, it did end. They couldn’t laugh forever, and they did eventually stop and begin to get up.
“So, er,” Pinkie began, being the first one to say something, “did you want that sandwich I made?”
Fluttershy giggled, remembering her now angry stomach. With a nod she whipped most of the mud from her hoof on the rug and went to pick the sandwich up from where she had left it.
Pinkie watched with a content smile as Fluttershy started to eat her sandwich.
After a little rumble from her stomach, Pinkie also began to look through the basket for something to eat herself. She quickly found the sandwiches she packed for herself and returned her attention to Fluttershy.
“Fluttershy, I just want you to know that now that we’re a couple—wait, we are a couple right?” Fluttershy gave her a reassuring nod. “Oh, good. I just want you to know that I’m perfectly happy taking it slow. I don’t want to rush anything you’re not ready for. I can go as slow as you need me to—”
Pinkie continued to explain to Fluttershy how she wouldn’t take it faster than Fluttershy was comfortable with. Fluttershy, on the other hand, found herself distracted by a piece of mud still on Pinkie’s lip.
After finishing her sandwich, amending her stomach for the time being, she leant backwards to stick a hoof back into the rain, washing off all the remnants of the mud before drying it with a serviette and moving over to Pinkie.
Without giving Pinkie a chance to react, Fluttershy whipped away the mud with her clean hoof. “You had a little bit of mud on your lip,” she explained.
“Oh, thanks, but why didn’t you just—”
Then she kissed her.
Author's Note
Written in a day using the prompt 'Sunshine' for the new Pinkie Pie fanpage, link here.
Check it out for lovely admins and the most adorable of ponies 
