It was raining.
Not the windy, loud, violent rain of a summer thunderstorm, or the pounding rain of an autumn downpour. No, this was the soft, steady, misty rain of spring, that gently soaked the earth, watering the newly-sprung flowers and filling the ponds and puddles that would soon hold tadpoles.
Fluttershy loved the quiet spring rain. She'd been delighted when Rainbow Dash had told her about today's scheduled shower. She sat now within a cave-like shelter in her animal sanctuary, leaning against the warm side of the resident bear, and watched the rain fall.
She hummed a tune to herself, almost inaudibly. Her mind wandered as she watched the softened, grayed-out world beyond the shelter's entrance. Having the animal sanctuary built at last was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. After getting her cutie mark, Fluttershy had envisioned her future. She'd seen herself surrounded by animals, in a sanctuary very much like the one she'd finally gotten built.
She'd also pictured a home for herself, a comfortable cottage where her closest animal friends could stay, including those few who would never be able to live in the wild again. Lastly, she'd pictured a strong mate by her side, a stallion who could be her other half, supporting her in her work, and getting support for his work in turn, and lovingly held between them would be a little foal, maybe even three or four of them. She would teach them to take care of animals, and help them learn and grow.
The softly pattering rain couldn't quite hide Fluttershy's soft sigh. The comfortable home could be checked off that mental list, she'd gotten that not long after she'd come to Ponyville. The little house by the forest had been cheap, for it had been run down and far too near the dangerous Everfree for most ponies. She'd worked for several years to fix it up, but had eventually gotten it just the way she had always pictured it.
Building the sanctuary had taken longer. She'd needed funds she hadn't had access to in her early life. Fortunately, modeling had paid well, and since she lived very frugally, she'd been able to invest all that money. Those investments had slowly accumulated what amounted to a modest fortune. All her liquid assets were gone now, spent in getting the sanctuary just right, but she didn't mind. She still had her stock portfolio, and it would produce enough money to keep the sanctuary running for a lifetime. Perhaps even beyond, if she managed things well.
A small smile crossed her lips. She had sometimes felt that the sanctuary was just a dream, never to be realized. Sitting in it now, seeing the animals all around her, sheltering with her from the soft, drenching rain, filled her with a quiet joy. It was truly wonderful, and she was grateful for the opportunities that had made it possible.
The smile faded away as she thought about the rest of that old dream. The stallion by her side... That hadn't been a dream, it had been a delusion.
It had been a very natural delusion, of course. That was what fillies did; they grew up to become mares, and they married stallions and had foals. What other possible life path could there be? Her childhood self hadn't known that there were other options available. Though "options" was probably the wrong word. The stallion her sheltered filly self had imagined hadn’t ever been a real option.
Fluttershy had wondered for years what was wrong with her, why she never found any stallion attractive. Perhaps it was as one of her aunts had once said, that being with one's husband was a duty rather than a joy. Yet Fluttershy couldn't bring herself to seek even the duty. She wanted the joy, though she often thought she would never have it, since she didn't seem to like stallions at all. She had resigned herself to being an old mare, alone with her animals.
Then she had found that joy in the most unlikely of places.
That thought sent her scanning the damp, grayed-out afternoon, looking for a splash of cream and red. She saw nothing, but still the thought of one special mare made her smile return.
It had started with a rose. Fluttershy had stopped at Roseluck's flower stand to buy herself daisies, as a simple treat after a hard day. Roseluck had tucked the rose in with them, with a blushing smile and a flustered line about how a beautiful mare should have roses.
The gesture had been so sweet, so genuine, that it stuck in Fluttershy's mind. Weeks later, she finally gathered the courage to talk to Roseluck, and find out if the rose really did mean what it seemed to.
It did, and they'd had their first date that same evening. Two reserved, quiet mares had turned out to have so much to say to each other that they'd talked the whole night away, and been kicked out of the restaurant almost an hour after it normally closed.
Fluttershy's smile broadened. She never would have thought she'd have so much to say, but something about Roseluck loosened her tongue and let her speak endlessly about every subject under the sun. So even though Rose wasn't the stallion she'd once fantasized about, still Fluttershy felt that she'd found the mate she had always wanted, the one who would be by her side, always supporting her in everything that she did.
A squirrel resting tucked against her side stirred, peeking out from under his fluffy tail, and Fluttershy paused to stroke him gently. She cooed soft reassurances at him until he curled himself up again and went back to sleep. A tiny sigh escaped her as she petted the squirrel. There was something very maternal about the way she felt towards the animals under her care, but it wasn't the same.
Blurry movement out in the misty afternoon drew Fluttershy's eyes, and she smiled once again as she spotted her marefriend picking her way across the little valley that cradled her sanctuary. The rain soaked her mane and tail, making them both hang flat and limp, but she didn't seem to mind. Indeed she splashed cheerfully in a small puddle as she passed it.
As Rose neared, Fluttershy weighed her foalhood dream against this reality. She had her home, and the sanctuary, which she'd never really thought she'd have. She didn't have a stallion, but she had Rose, and even if she could somehow choose to undo whatever it was within her that made her indifferent to stallions, she wasn't sure she would. Rose was so wonderful in so many ways.
But she didn't have a foal, and it was entirely possible she never would.
The squirrel shifted, nuzzling against Fluttershy's side warmly. She stroked its fluffy tail and thought about the future, as embodied by the mare walking towards her through the rain.
Was Rose worth it? Could Fluttershy be happy even if it meant giving up that final foalhood goal?
"Hello in there!" Rose called out cheerfully as she approached the shelter. She seemed to be in a particularly good mood, despite being soaked by the steady rain. The squirrel, a particularly shy creature, bolted upright and scurried to the back of the artificial cavern, then turned and sat watching Rose warily.
Rose smiled at him, but stopped just inside and didn't make any move towards the squirrel. She wasn't an expert with animals, but she was learning fast. The bear against Fluttershy's other side, meanwhile, didn't even wake from his doze.
"Hello," said Fluttershy quietly.
Rose ducked her head and nuzzled Fluttershy's cheek. "How are you this dripping day?"
Fluttershy smiled. "I'm fine," she said, and despite the wistfulness of her earlier musings she meant it. The warmth she felt at having Rose here, by her side, convinced her that the answer to her earlier question was yes. This was worth it. She could be happy forever with nothing more than what she had now.
Rose settled next to Fluttershy, who put a wing over her, warming her soaked coat, and the two sat for a while in silence. The squirrel approached them cautiously. Rose watched him from the corner of her eye, and smiled when he decided to pretend she wasn't there and climbed up on Fluttershy's back to curl up between her wings.
"Cute little critter, there," said Rose. The squirrel's head popped up again, and he gave her a brief, scolding chatter.
Fluttershy chuckled. "Now, now, Mr. Squirrel. Be nice."
The squirrel scolded Rose again, gave Fluttershy a defiant look, and then curled himself up again on her back.
Rose just chuckled softly and turned back to watch the rain. "It's awfully pretty out there."
"Yes. I love spring rain. It's so peaceful."
"Yeah. Looked like you were thinking some deep thoughts. Does the rain make you all philosophical? It does me, sometimes."
"Mmm Hmm. There's something about the rain that makes you think about life."
"Thinking about anything in particular?"
Fluttershy considered her earlier train of thought. She'd concluded that she'd be happy with three-fourths of her life goals. Perhaps it was time to find out if the fourth one would be possible or not. "Roseluck?"
"Yeah?"
"How do you feel about foals?"
Author's Note
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