Everything is Sound

Chapters

What if This Storm Ends?
Daybreak
The Sunlight Through the Flags

What if This Storm Ends?

How?

All alone, with water streaming off of her coat, trembling uncontrollably, she was, almost literally, a leaf in a storm. If she were a leaf of course.

None of that seemed to matter anymore, now that she was here. One thought remained, buzzing around in her head despite the pounding rain, howling wind, and inky blackness of the night, rendering any attempts to see utterly futile.

How did she find me?

Maybe she should count her blessings, not question them. She still had no idea how she let herself be caught, alone and far away from Ponyville, in what was sure to be stormy weather. She still had no idea where they were.

But she would lead the way. Fluttershy had enough trust in her friend to do that much for her, for the both of them. She had to trust her. Who knows what could happen otherwise?

How long had they been walking... no, blindly groping about by now? Already, it seemed an eternity ago that Fluttershy had been curled up, in a helpless, shivering ball, not too far away from the only tree that she could find in the pitch dark.

Then, a searing, blinding bolt had pierced the air, momentarily painting the sky a pure white. And standing above Fluttershy, illuminated momentarily by the lightning behind her, another pony stood.

Her mane was flattened against her face by the relentless rain, her tail the same, but the bright pink of her coat was unmistakable. It even seemed to flash along with the lightning in that brief second.

And right before the inevitable boom of the thunder, Pinkie Pie leaned in close to her friend, so that Fluttershy could feel the pink pony’s breath on her face, despite the pouring rain. In that one moment, Fluttershy heard Pinkie smile. And she said simply:

“Let’s go.”

A bellowing rumble resounded, enough to shake the earth. Too shocked by the thunder, Fluttershy didn’t even realize what was going on, until she felt her right hoof somehow draped over her new companion’s back.

And she felt the two of them start to walk, as one.

Another flash. The world was, again, blinded in that moment, the only time Fluttershy could look to her friend, right next to her.

She needed to. She needed to know this was real, that she wouldn’t be stuck out in this awful storm, that Pinkie was really there, walking right alongside her, and leading her to safety in more ways than one.

She was never let down. With every flash, Pinkie smiled her smile, staring right back at Fluttershy with her bright, blue eyes. The yellow pegasus had to smile back.

And with every flash, Fluttershy never heard the thunder that followed.

A new thought entered her head. They still pressed on, the only two figures of defiance in what Fluttershy imagined to be her defeated environment, surrendered to the storm.

What if this storm ends?

The rain, thunder, wind and lightning had almost taken her, just like it had everything around her.

Yet whenever Fluttershy looked to her right, she knew who was there. She didn’t really need to see her, as her very presence was known, and more importantly, needed. She knew Pinkie would always be there, by her side.

But would she?

So Fluttershy had to come back to that same question. What if it ends?

What if she won’t see Pinkie the same way again?

For as long as she had known her hyper friend, Pinkie Pie was essentially unreachable. Always (literally) bouncing off of the walls, full of energy, and as a result, Fluttershy could barely give her a “Hi” before Pinkie had rattled off ten or so sentences about sharks with laser vision.

What was she compared to that? Sure, her friends would reassure her that she was, no doubt, a great friend and a kind pony, but she couldn’t even rationally compare her own traits to that of her pink friend’s. In fact, she had spent much of her own, personal thinking time (something that she possessed much of, considering she lived with no one but her animals) dwelling on this very subject. And every time, she convinced herself that she shouldn’t be counting her blessings, that she should just accept Pinkie Pie’s wonderful friendship and leave it at that.

But then there was tonight. This Pinkie was almost... comforting. The kind that would sit down, listen to your problems, and make everything feel better with a smile and a hug. The kind that would stay with you until you smiled, knowing that everything would be alright. She managed to do all of that, and still be the Pinkie Pie that Fluttershy had always known: unreachable yet still always there for her.

And everything was going to be alright. For now.

For one of the first times that night, a thundering boom shook Fluttershy right through her ears and into her very core, almost literally shocking her out of her thoughts. Tearing her thoughts off of their current train, the thunder caused Fluttershy to reconsider, what with the rain pounding, wind howling, and lightning flashing in every direction.

Like every storm, this one had to end. So it wasn’t a question of “what if,” it was a question of “what will happen when.”

Fluttershy couldn’t bring herself to think about that. Right now, she didn’t want it to end. And when she stumbled upon that inevitable question, of why she would think something so crazy, her thoughts filled with the party pony who just so happened to be walking next to her right now.

Unfortunately, when her she tried her best not to think about it, that only brought her to think about it more. Such is the case for thoughts that the thinker is actively trying to avoid.

She could only imagine at this point. But her imagination was clear enough.

She caught sight of Pinkie Pie, her mane, tail, and body all bouncing at the same time, yet in different directions. After their accidental meetup on the street, which involved Pinkie Pie hurtling into Fluttershy mid-bounce, they would talk for as long as two completely opposite personalities would allow.

But Fluttershy saw no trace of the Pinkie that had so captured her interest on the night of the storm. Again, she was out of reach, her fast-talking and bubbly spirit were too much for Fluttershy could compare to, let alone match. And so she was only left with the distant echo of a memory, and she could only hope that Pinkie Pie still had that in her, just beneath the surface, and Fluttershy could only reach out and...

She paused. And then what, exactly? Maybe her imagination wasn’t as clear as she had thought.

The mud still sloshed under their hooves.

“Pinkie Pie?”

Oddly enough, she didn’t have to raise her voice to get her friend to hear her. That was the last thing she wanted to do, anyway.

She felt, rather than saw, Pinkie’s head swivel, and their eyes locked. Unbeknownst to the other, both of their gazes wavered slightly at the contact, before Pinkie spoke up.

“What’s wrong, Fluttershy?” As she spoke, the buffeting wind slowed its assault ever so slightly, allowing the yellow pegasus to hear her friend’s inquiry.

Fluttershy looked down, her cheeks suddenly heating up, as if they were ashamed to have doubted her friend. “Oh, um, I was just wondering where we’re going... and if we’ll be there soon.” She lowered her head even further as she finished her sentence, her sopping mane blocking what little vision she still had.

She felt an equally soaking, dripping, but still comforting hoof drape across her shoulders. “Fluttershy... You trust me, don’t you?”

The wind seemed to have completely faltered in its advances, as all but the endless rain seemed to wait for a response from the shy pegasus.

As the storm held its breath, Fluttershy looked up. Any remnants of a blush from earlier were gone, and her eyes now narrowed; not in anger, but determination.

“Of course I do, Pinkie.”

“That’s great,” came the uncharacteristically flat response. “Then let’s-”

Anything she still had left to say was cut off by the dark sky, suddenly illuminated by a silver fork of raw light.

Fluttershy didn’t even need to hear the thunder. Her pupils shrunk to pin pricks, her wings shot out to either side, and her legs sprung her a mile in the air (in reality, only a few inches). Instinctively, her right wing wrapped around the object nearest to it. Which happened to be soft, pink, moving, and talking. So why not?

The sensitive nerve endings on her right wingtip immediately felt the responding object tense up, and only then she realized what, or rather, who Fluttershy was wing-hugging. The offending limb quickly locked itself up at Fluttershy’s side, followed by an even quicker apology.

“Oh my goodness, I’m sorry Pinkie, I didn’t-” She stopped herself there as she took a closer look at her friend. What with the darkness, and Pinkie’s, well, pink coat, Fluttershy was almost positive she hadn’t just seen her friend blush. Fluttershy didn’t have any time to voice her thought, though, as Pinkie chose that moment to respond.

“No, Fluttershy, it’s okay. Actually, could.... can you do that again? It’s... nice.” Pinkie looked away.

Fluttershy only stared. It wasn’t polite to stare, and she didn’t do it unless the most dire circumstances called for it, but she couldn’t help herself.

What was going on with Pinkie tonight? Everything else that she had done deserved nothing short of a grand show of thanks, but this was just plain odd. Pinkie Pie never acted nervous, and she was never at a loss for words. That almost screamed “Fluttershy” herself, not her energetic friend.

More pressing matters were at hoof, though, and her friend needed, well, something that Fluttershy wasn’t even beginning to understand.

Without another word, she draped her wing over Pinkie’s back. The earth pony’s eyes widened for a second as she looked back at herself, and she turned back to meet Fluttershy’s curious gaze.

Pinkie smiled again, but this smile threatened to expand right past the corners of her face if she pushed it any further.

And of course, that kind of smile can never be resisted. Fluttershy smiled back, and they walked on.

The mud that seeped into her hooves only seemed to make her whole body heavier. As she walked, her rhythmic steps slowly degraded. She didn’t notice at first, but soon enough, Fluttershy realized that she was literally dragging her hooves through the mud.

And then, the inevitable happened. One of her dragging hooves stuck fast in the mud, one of the three hooves she kept on the ground while taking her next step. She tried to stop and focus on the offending leg, but what little momentum she had refused to stop for something as silly as a hoof in the mud. As a result, Fluttershy felt herself falling, and before she knew what was going on, her tail, underbelly, and the lower parts of her mane had caked themselves in thick, brown sludge.

She hadn’t realized they were walking downhill until she felt her body start to slide in the mud, much too fast for Fluttershy’s liking. Her surprised yelp was lost in the pouring rain, and it was all she could do to throw her forelegs in front of her face, and brace for whatever impact came at the bottom.

But it never came. After she felt herself stop moving, the pegasus pony dared a peek behind her. Another flash, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she clearly saw the silhouetted hill she had slid down level out into a flat space, with no danger involved. A pony-sized groove in the mud indicated her path downwards.

It really was amazing how much she could see from that one moment, one flash of lightning.

Right next to her, a splash, or rather, a plop sounded as something landed in the mud. Her eyes widened, but she couldn’t stay surprised for long as she saw Pinkie Pie in a very similar state to her own. She had somehow gotten the brown muck all over her body, but on what appeared to be her face, her mouth widened in a signature Pinkie-grin.

“Whee! That was so much fun! Let’s go again!” She managed to bounce up and down while still sitting next to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy, though lightly panting from the adrenaline rush that her impromptu mud-slide had given her, had to smile. She shook her head, flingling small droplets of water and mud alike in all different directions. “Pinkie... was that part of your plan?”

The party pony giggled, a sound that made Fluttershy’s smile widen ever so slightly. “Well, it is now!”

She still didn’t want this storm to end. She didn’t know if she ever would.

If she ever would...

It had been too long since that thought had crossed her mind. They had walked over hills, jumped over ravines, crashed into more than a few seemingly invisible trees, and even gotten themselves stuck in a particularly stubborn bush or two. Now her breathing was laboured, her mane, coat, and tail had various sticks, leaves, and maybe even thorns sticking out at various points and angles, and she could hardly drag one hoof in front of the other.

Yet the rain continued to pour down, the wind continued to shriek and howl, and the lightning continued to strike.

Every minute or so, the silver-forked sky lit up with a brilliant flash, assuring Fluttershy that her fellow pink-maned friend was still right in front of her, despite everything that the two were going through. Oddly enough, the thunder and lightning always seemed to flash and roar, respectively, behind the pair of ponies, almost as if they were following them.

When the lightning struck again, Pinkie wasn’t in front of her.

Fluttershy nearly jumped a mile for the second time that night when she felt somepony’s breath tickling her ear, as ragged as her own. The breath hovered in the air for a moment, lost in the storm, before its owner spoke.

“Almost th-there, Flutters... just a little bit longer...”

Instinctively, Fluttershy stretched out her wing, still weighed down by the water and mud from earlier, poking it blindly in the darkness that follows a flash of lightning. She finally found what she was looking for, and she draped her wing across her friend’s back, just as she had done before.

“I trust you, Pinkie Pie...”

She still trusted Pinkie, even as she felt her knees grow weaker with each step, even as her breathing verged on desperate, even as the shivers began to rack her body, the storm’s first warning signals to get out before their situation got even worse. Even as she realized she had no idea where in Equestria they currently were.

“Achoo!” Fluttershy sniffed once, wiping at her nose. A cold didn’t seem like a lot to worry about at this point. If they didn’t get out soon, though...

“Achoo! Achoo! Wah...choo!”

They were short, rapid-fire sneezes, but they seemed to rack her whole body, taking what little energy she had left right out of her weakened and battered self.

It was all too much. Fluttershy collapsed, making a splotch sound as she fell into the mud.

Through her blurred and wavering vision, she felt herself being lifted off of the ground, coming to rest on a very soft, if not wet, earth pony’s back. In her current worn-down state, she barely heard snippets of Pinkie’s worried voice.

“...worry... almost.... there...”

Realizing how much she was troubling her friend, Fluttershy tried her best to calm down her friend. She managed a weak “It’s okay,” but the mere act of speaking caused Fluttershy to flutter her eyes closed, drifting off into unconsciousness.

KA-BOOM!

She woke not twenty seconds later, almost bolting upright at the rude awakening, until she remembered where she was. Pinkie, somehow, was still rattling off reassurances. Now that she was jolted awake, she could hear her pink friend’s clearly distraught voice much more clearly.

“It’s right there, Flutters... just hang in there...”

She looked up, and was immediately reminded of the fatigue, the call for rest, that seemed to simply sit in her whole body, and she couldn’t move a muscle even if she tried. She closed her eyes again, not even able to gather the strength to speak-

And then, she no longer felt the rain on and all around her. She was no longer buffeted by the wind, like she was just moments before.

Her eyes were still closed, though, and just before she gave herself up to the call of rest, she felt herself being set down, stomach-fist, on a patch of unusually dry grass. Even as she felt herself falling away, she knew she wasn’t dreaming the foreleg that rested over her back, and the sopping yet comfortable body that pressed against her side.

Finally, she surrendered herself and slipped away into a warm, dry unconsciousness.

Overhead, the lightning still flashed, and the thunder still roared.

Daybreak

Fluttershy stirred, waking up without opening her eyes. The first thing she felt was something warm, soft, and fuzzy pressing against her right side, and she snuggled closer to it, letting out a content sigh. The feeling of something moving slowly across her back gave her pause, though, and she reluctantly opened her eyes.

Pink filled her vision. Looking up, she saw a bright, cheery face grinning widely back at her, her mane restored to its usual frizzy, untamed state after last night’s events. She looked back, and saw a hoof running through her coat, picking out the various sticks, twigs, and leaves poking out at random.

Finally it registered how close they were. Within snuggling distance, to be exact, and that’s exactly what they were doing. With a quiet yet sharp “eep!” she somehow leapt away while still laying down, knowing full well that her blush was easily visible across the contrasting yellow of her coat.

They both stared at each other for a moment, Pinkie somehow still smiling. Finally, Fluttershy looked down managing to say, “I-I’m sorry, Pinkie, I don’t know what happened last night, and I have no idea what came over me-”

She was cut off by a giggle, and before she knew it, Pinkie was by her side again. She retained her smile, yet spoke softly. “Flutters, after what we’ve been through, I don’t think that would be weird. Besides,” she added with a sly wink, “you were doing that all night, if that makes you feel any better.”

It didn’t. The poor pegasus’ blush deepened, and she was still unable to meet her friend’s bright gaze. “Oh... Sorry...”

Pinkie only let out another giggle, and she put a hoof around her sheepish friend’s shoulders. “No need to be sorry, silly! Your cold is gone, and I think I know why!” She added a sly wink to emphasize her point.

And with that, Fluttershy noticed for the first time her absence of sneezing, coughing, shivering, and whatever else it is that comes with staying out in the rain.

The pegasus looked up to see her friend’s wide grin. “You did it?”

“That’s what I like to think! Unless you heal super fast without anypony’s help! Hmm, would that be a superpower? That would be an awesome power to have! Actually, I’d rather have laser vision, or maybe super strength! Ooh, ooh, or maybe even...”

Fluttershy had to smile as Pinkie rattled on and on, like she always did, yet none of them really registered in her head. Instead, a single sentence bounced around in her head over and over again:

After all we’ve been through...

There was no denying it: they had gotten closer over the course of one night, and right now, Fluttershy wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world. With a quiet giggle, she reached over and gently placed her hoof over Pinkie’s mouth, instantly quieting her.

With a slight nudge of her head, she motioned towards the opening in the tree, their gate to whatever awaited them outside. “Come on,” she almost whispered, and in a brief moment of courage, she took off at a light, playful run.

She managed to cover all of three feet before she was overtaken by a giggling pink blur. She wasn’t surprised in the least, but that didn’t mean she would be beaten so easily. The exit stood before them, and the pegasus made a diving leap forward, her wings outstretched.

Fluttershy chose that very moment to stop and think, and time seemed to slow down just so she could. She glanced to her right, seeing the ball of energy right next to her, then took a look at herself.

When was the last time she ever did something so... silly? And yet so refreshing, so amusing. She couldn’t remember, but she only needed to look to her right to know why she decided to start now. And she didn’t regret a single thing.

Before she knew it, she had made contact with the ground, or, rather the muddy ground, still far from recovering from yesterday’s storm. She crash-landed with a splat, the mud once again covering her underside and tail upon contact.

She turned to the right to see who had emerged victorious from their all-too-short race, but she only managed to feel a sudden weight on her right wing, followed by a rather surprised, high-pitched yelp. Her eyes widened when she saw Pinkie, airborne for only a second, her position definitely not natural. That definitely explained the weight on her wing.

Pinkie landed with an even bigger splat, her collision splattering mud this way and that. Fluttershy could’ve sworn that Pinkie had even slid a few feet before coming to a stop.

Silence for a mere moment, before their eyes locked. They took in the sight of each other, mud all over their bodies, a fate entirely their own doing, and that was all it took for the both of them to burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

Pinkie was positively shaking as she rolled onto her back, occasionally letting a snort slip out as her laughter filled the morning air. Any sense of peace and morning quiet was immediately shattered. Fluttershy’s laugh, at first nonexistent due to fear for her friend’s (admittedly impressive) airtime, was more reserved, but she still shook with mirth as she put a hoof over her mouth, shocked at the damage they had caused.

As their laughter started to die down, Pinkie rolled onto her hooves, seemingly not giving any attention to her mud-caked self. She bounded over to Fluttershy, who still sat in the mud. She stopped right by her side, offering her a helping hoof. Before Fluttershy could take it though, Pinkie piped up, “So I won, right?”

Fluttershy shook her head, but couldn’t get rid of her smile as their hooves interlocked. “I was outside first, though...” she countered.

Pinkie grinned as she helped her friend to all four hooves. “Yeah, but I got more style points, since I slid farther. Besides,” she added, you tripped me, and that’s just playing dirty!”

The pegasus mumbled out a quick apology, before responding, “If you say so, Pinkie...” She couldn’t help but allow a small grin to cross her face, through.

“I know so! Now, don’t we have somewhere to go?” Pinkie asked, motioning towards the town they called home.

Fluttershy didn’t respond right away. Instead, she chose to look up, only meaning to contemplate her friend’s question. Instead, she was met with the sight of the vast sky stretching out before her, now seemingly only more expansive now that last night’s clouds had given way to seemingly endless blue, only interrupted by a cloud here and there. The sun had seemingly succeeded in breaking through the clouds, casting light in almost every place that could be seen. Fluttershy then looked back down, to her grinning friend, and as if it were out of a movie or a corny romance novel, a beam of light cast down right on her, making her shine. Her smile seemed even brighter in the light, and just as she had done many times last night, Fluttershy had to smile back.

“Actually...” The pegasus spoke up, “I don’t think we have to go yet... Is that okay with you?”

In an instant, Pinkie was by her side, wrapping her in her forelegs. “I was hoping you’d say that!” Fluttershy felt her pink friend’s breath playing softly across her ear, and she blushed at the implications.

As soon as she had felt it though, Pinkie was gone. Fluttershy turned around to see Pinkie standing at the base of the tree, looking up into its branches. Before she could ask what was going on, Pinkie had already taken a mighty bounce, and somehow, started to climb the tree’s trunk using only her hooves.

Instantly, Fluttershy was at the base, her eyes wide in fear for her friend’s safety. “P-Pinkie! Wait... that looks so... dangerous!” Fluttershy called out.

If her pink friend had heard, she gave no sign of it. Instead, she had already reached the branch closest to the ground, and started to hop nimbly from one branch to another, each leap getting her farther off the ground.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, could only chew her bottom lip as she nervously watched, as there was little she could do to stop her friend when she put her mind to something.

After what seemed like forever to the worried pegasus, she saw a pink mane, accompanied by a perpetually grinning face, poke out from one of the higher branches, much too high for Fluttershy’s liking. She could hardly see Pinkie’s features from this distance, all except for her smile.

“Come on, Flutters! You’re missing a great view!” Pinkie’s voice called down from the highest reaches of the leafless tree.

On one hoof, it was far too high up. On the other hoof, Pinkie was up there. Fluttershy weighed her two options, and for the first time in a long time, her common sense and fear lost the battle. She spread her wings, and began her ascent, making sure not to look down.

She had to admit, the feeling of the wind blowing through her coat, mane, and most noticeably, her wings, was quite enjoyable. What she didn’t enjoy, however, was the fact that she didn’t have solid earth resting underneath her hooves at all times.

Before she had much time to go over her last thought too much, she was face-to-face with her friend. “Good job! You didn’t even look down!” Pinkie added a cheerful giggle to accompany her words.

And, unfortunately, that was all Fluttershy needed to glance downward, almost casually. Simply put, it was a long, long way down from where she was. The poor pegasus’ eyes widened in fear, and with a terrified squeak, her wings locked up at her sides. She braced herself for the inevitable feeling of a hopeless fall...

But it never came. Her chest still rising and falling rapidly, she mustered the nerve to crack open one eye. Pinkie stared back at her, her blue eyes filled with worry, and her mouth pulled into an uncharacteristic grimace. Her eyes traveled down, and she saw their hooves being interlocked.

“Woah, Fluttershy, just because you didn’t look down before doesn’t mean you get to now! I’m sorry...” Her voice wavered slightly, her words the very essence of concern.

Fluttershy didn’t answer, as there wasn’t a better opportunity to simply stare back into her friend’s deep blues. They were a sharp contrast to the shocking pink of, well, everything else about her, and at the same time, they were a complement to the turquoise of her own eyes.

There was so much that Fluttershy hadn’t learned about Pinkie until last night. And today, it seemed that there was still so much more to learn, some of which could be discovered by simply looking into her eyes.

Just like so many others before, though, the moment was gone as soon as it came, and Fluttershy found herself sitting safely on the tree branch, with her friend’s forelegs tightly wrapped around her. She noticed, to her surprise, that Pinkie had her face buried in Fluttershy’s neck.

Instinctively, the pegasus reached out with a hoof, and softly ran a hoof through the pink pony’s wild mane. “It’s okay, Pinkie. I don’t blame you for that, since I was the one who looked down. And... and we’re safe now, right?”

Pinkie looked up, and their eyes met again. Pinkie’s expression slowly changed, as the corners of her mouth turned up into a small smile. “Right.” And with that, she withdrew her head from the pegasus’ neck. As she did so, her muzzle played softly across Fluttershy’s coat. The brief contact kickstarted Fluttershy’s heartbeat. She hoped it would never slow down.

Before they looked out to survey the world around them, though, Pinkie had one more thing left to say. “Hey Flutters, remember when you said that there’s a good view when you’re standing on the hill?”

Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin. “Oh, from when you found me with Gummy! Yes, I remember that.” Fluttershy nodded at the memory.

“Well,” Pinkie responded with a grin, “you’re gonna love this.” She swept a hoof out to the world, spread out before them, and as Fluttershy followed it, she gasped.

Pinkie was right. The bottom of the hill didn’t even compare to this. In every direction, the Whitetail woods was spread out before them, its leafless trees given the appearance of foal’s toys from their view from up high, just as Pinkie herself had noticed earlier that morning. Ponyville still sat in the distance, its houses and other buildings more visible from high up. Fluttershy noted the smoke rising from the chimneys, and wondered, if only for a moment, what her other friends were thinking right about now. The thought was gone, though, as she turned to the east. Past the woods, rolling hills spread out as far as the eye could see, the endless green almost making up for the lack thereof in the woods that lay before them. In the distance, a massive mountain rose up from the ground, a regal city seemingly hanging off one side: Canterlot. Fluttershy then looked up to the sky, which seemed so close, now that there was nothing standing between her and the blue that stretched out above them. The sun had passed its peak, and had begun its descent to the horizon that awaited it.

As she took it all in, Fluttershy found, with some degree of amazement, that she could see every place that she and Pinkie had been just the night before. A look into the woods, and she swore that she could see Pinkie, along with herself. They both had water streaming off their coats, mud matting their fur in places, yet they both smiled as they looked into each other’s eyes. The pegasus turned her head to the right, and again, she saw the two of them, laying in the mud, yet at the same time their faces were bright, and they shook with laughter, not fear. Another turn of her head, and she saw an unconscious pegasus on a pink pony’s back, determination in the latter’s eyes.

Everywhere she looked, Fluttershy saw memories of last night, and with each memory they saw, she saw the two of them taking comfort in each other, trusting in each other. She knew it was all in her mind, but she saw all of the memories come together like broken pieces taking their true form.

As the memories came together, Fluttershy had to smile. Right in front of her eyes, sitting on one of the trees in the forest, a pink earth pony and a yellow pegasus sat together, their bodies pressed against one another. They wore expressions of pure contentment, both of them perpetually smiling, and the pegasus had a wing draped across the other’s back. As Fluttershy watched, the earth pony leaned in, and planted a light kiss on the pegasus’ cheek. Both of their smiles grew wider, and the shy pony leaned in and rested her head on the pink mare’s shoulder as they both stared off into the distance.

It was a perfect picture, a perfect memory. Even though it hadn’t actually happened yet, Fluttershy knew it was there. She just had to let it happen, and it would just come to her.

After all, something was bound to go right sometime today. But then again, maybe the events of the last twenty-four hours had gone right, in their own way.

Neither of them knew how long they stayed like that, revelling in the presence of each other. And, well, neither of them cared. They sat and watched time pass in front of them, seeing the forest come to life, and other simple things, like watching smoke rise from the chimneys, houses in a distant town.

The sun had started to dip below the horizon, casting warm colors across the otherwise blue canvas of the sky, painting the horizon with pink, orange, and a bright red, perfectly complementing the fiery yellow orb.

Fluttershy was only allowed a short viewing of the grand spectacle, before she heard a yawn coming from the mare next to her. She turned to see a very tired-looking Pinkie, as her mane drooped ever so slightly, her eyes were half-lidded, and she smacked her lips together repeatedly after letting out a large yawn. The pink mare then closed her eyes, and within moments she was already snoring. The pegasus smiled, knowing that a day like the one they had just gone through could be draining for even the most energetic of ponies.

Unfortunately, nopony simply lies (or in this case, sits) perfectly still while sleeping, and Pinkie was definitely not an exception. She positively swayed in her sleep, her head hanging to one side, and then to the other as she snored away. And inevitably, she leaned forward just a little bit too much. Fluttershy couldn’t even react as she saw her friend lean forward in slow motion, her balance forsaking her as all four of her hooves left the branch they were sitting on.

And just like that, Pinkie fell.

Fluttershy gasped, but she couldn’t let her fear overtake her. Not now. In an instant, she flared her wings and leapt, the branch swaying slightly as it no longer had to handle two ponies.

Her wings flapped harder than she could remember, and thankfully, she found she was catching up to the falling pony. How could she still be snoring while plummeting to what would most certainly be an unpleasant fate? Fluttershy was catching up, thanks to gravity being aided by her own wingbeats, but the ground was coming up unsettlingly quick. She reached out, knowing she almost had Pinkie in her hooves...

And before she knew it, she was holding Pinkie like a mother would hold their sleeping foal. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief, before realizing the ground was still rushing up to meet them. And fast, too.

It was all she could do to flap her wings even harder, to do as much as she could to slow their fall...

They crashed with a THUD, careening over each other as their momentum carried the two down the hill. Fluttershy vaguely heard, as she tumbled head over hooves, that Pinkie was awake, judging from her surprised yelps and winces.

They rolled over each other again and again, until their speed finally slowed. The two mares came to a rest at the bottom of the hill, with the pegasus laying on top of the earth pony, their chests rising and falling rapidly, thanks to the adrenaline still coursing through their veins.

Pinkie, now definitely wide awake as she was staring into Fluttershy’s eyes, was the first to regain her breath. “W-what happened?” She asked, searching the pegasus’ turquoise eyes for an answer.

She was met with a glare, and she shrank away as best she could, since Fluttershy was on top of her. When she was angry, which she almost never was, the normally shy pony was a sight to behold... and to stay away from. Now, Pinkie was directly in the line of fire. “Pinkie! You should have told me you were getting tired! Oh, I knew it was dangerous up there, and I don’t know what would have happened to you if I hadn’t caught you...” Fluttershy looked away, though her eyes were still narrowed.

“I-I’m sorry, Fluttershy... I promise I won’t do that again...” Pinkie looked away as well, her expression full of shame.

Instantly, the anger faded from the pegasus’ eyes, and her expression softened. She couldn’t stay angry at such a remorseful Pinkie. “It’s okay, Pinkie. You... you just scared me, that’s all.”

“I’m sorry for that too.” Their eyes locked again. “But.. what’s important is that we’re safe, right?”

Fluttershy nodded, while still staring into Pinkie’s eyes. “You’re right.”

Nothing was said after that, and neither of them were willing to admit it just yet, but they both enjoyed the closeness of their situation. After they had both calmed down, Fluttershy found her face heating up, knowing her blush was easily visible. She looked down to the mare beneath her, and found that she could see the redness on either side of Pinkie’s face, though her pink coat usually did a good job of hiding it.

“What’s with us and falling today?” Pinkie piped up with a grin.

Fluttershy smiled too, recalling their short race from eariler thanks to the brown patches of mud still left on her coat. “I don’t know...” Their muzzles were so close. Fluttershy could feel Pinkie’s breath on her snout, and she knew that the pink mare felt the same thing. “But... maybe we’re falling in more ways than one...” She felt her blush spread, the heat across her face even more prevalent now. That sounded awful in her mind, and awful when she said it out loud. Apparently, Pinkie knew it too. The smile had vanished from her face, and she stared up at Fluttershy, seemingly without expression. Fluttershy looked away, blushing up a storm. Had she said the wrong thing? As it was, though, she didn’t have much time to think about it before Pinkie spoke up.

“Flutters?”

“Y-Yes, Pinkie?” She still couldn’t look.

“That was the corniest one-liner I’ve ever heard. Don’t ever try anything like that again.” And with one smooth motion, she wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy’s neck, bringing their faces into contact with each other, and then she pressed their lips together.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened, but she quickly closed them as she realized what was going on. She now knew, without a doubt, that this was what they had both wanted. And with that last thought, she surrendered herself to the rush of new sensations as she cradled Pinkie’s head in her forelegs. She kissed Pinkie back with fervor, the two mares feeling the other’s breath in their mouths, as their lips were parted just enough to allow their airy breaths through. The party pony tasted sugary and sweet, and cotton candy was the most prevalent over the other sugary sweets that Fluttershy caught hints of. Pinkie pressed their bodies closer together, feeling the pegasus’ wingbeats above her. They kissed as one, as if they both knew what the other wanted. The pegasus angled her head slightly, leaning more into the kiss, as she was overwhelmed by these new feelings.

This definitely wasn’t in Fluttershy’s memory. It was better. As the reality of the situation sunk in, tears welled up in her closed eyes, soon overflowing and spilling out as they streamed down her cheeks. But they were tears of joy, not sadness, anger or fear. After all, she couldn’t remember a time where she had been so overjoyed, so at peace. Everything that had happened, everything they had enjoyed and struggled through together, had been leading up to this moment. In that way, everything had gone right, in its own strange way. And now Fluttershy didn’t want this moment to end, not like the other ones that she had let slip by.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity bliss, Pinkie withdrew her lips. She kissed away the tears dripping down Fluttershy’s cheeks before resting her head on the grass, her chest rising and falling rhythmically as she breathed in the winter air. Fluttershy panted lightly, once again staring into Pinkie’s eyes, their noses still touching.

“F-Fluttershy?” Pinkie managed in between her gasps for air.

“Yes, Pinkie?” Fluttershy could hardly speak herself, still recovering from what she already knew was the most amazing sensation she had ever felt.

“That was perfect.”

They sat on one of the tree’s branches, though this one was much closer to the ground. It still offered a great view, though not as magnificent as the one from at the top, but it posed little to no risk if either of them fell. Neither Fluttershy nor Pinkie were planning on falling, asleep or otherwise, anytime soon, though. How could they, after what had just happened between them?

One more night here, and they would go back to Ponyville, ready for whatever adventures their time together would inevitably throw at them. But just for tonight, they would let time pass without them, What was one more night, anyway?

Fluttershy had her wing wrapped around her new marefriend’s back, pressing their bodies together. Pinkie’s head resting on Fluttershy’s, the pegasus reveling in the feeling of the pink mare’s breath, across her cheek.

“You know, we should go back here more often.” Pinkie spoke up, once again wearing her signature grin.

Fluttershy smiled back, and leaned in to give Pinkie a kiss on the cheek. When she pulled back, she saw her marefriend’s cheeks reddening, and they both giggled, though for different reasons. “I think we should, too.”

Pinkie reached over as a response, and they wrapped their forelegs around each other, once again resting their heads together in their embrace.

WIthout warning, a cold wind blew across Fluttershy’s back, and she saw the sky darken even behind her closed eyes. She looked up. When had it gotten so cloudy, so cold, so dark? She shivered ever so slightly, but Pinkie tightened their embrace, so that they could share their warmth. They would need it, after all.

Without further warning, the rain started to fall for the second time in two nights. The pounding of the rain against the ground slowly grew in frequency and volume, and soon, Fluttershy could only see the two of them, their view of the world now gone. She looked up, expecting the rain to fall down on them just as it was with everything else around them. She smiled when she saw that they sat just below another, fortunately larger branch, the rain falling in all directions around them, but not on them. She looked back to Pinkie, who grinned wildly at the eye contact.

“Do you think there’s going to be more lightning? It’s not safe out here if there is...” Fluttershy thought aloud.

Pinkie surveyed their environment, now consisting of only sheets and torrents of relentless rain, as if she knew this storm top to bottom. After a few seconds, she turned back to Fluttershy and declared, “Nope!” As if to emphasize her point, she leaned in to give the pegasus a quick peck on the lips.

Fluttershy giggled. Somehow she knew Pinkie was right. They were safe here, due to both the tree they sat on and the company of each other.

As the rain flooded the ground, neither of them broke the embrace they had. They sat in the middle of the storm, their heads resting against one another, and their forelegs wrapped around each other. Even their tails met, twisting around and around as pink met pink.

Pinkie held onto Fluttershy as if she were her little life raft in the flood, never wanting to let go. And in all honesty, she was Pinkie’s life raft. If she let go... She didn’t finish that thought. Pinkie needed her now, and that was all that mattered.

And so she held onto Pinkie, because Pinkie was her life raft as well. They both knew what the other wanted, and they would never let each other down. Not now, as the rain fell around them, and not ever.

The Sunlight Through the Flags

Two pink and yellow ponies lay in a heap, their chests rising and falling in rhythm to each other. Together, they formed the shape of a crescent moon: the earth pony allowing her yellow pegasus friend to snuggle up against her, her right wing draped still draped over her friend’s back, even in their slumber. Their tails had wrapped themselves around each other, but whether it was through coincidence or conscious action, neither pony had yet to know.

Pinkie Pie stirred, shifting her position before opening her eyes. She was about to throw her forelegs in front of her and give her limbs a much needed stretch (like she did every morning), but the grass she was laying down on was all she needed to trigger the memories of last night.

Which just so happened to crash down on her like a brick wall.

Her eyes flew open, and she whipped her head to the left. Instantly, her heart skipped a beat when she saw who was there.

Fluttershy was pressed against her side, her right wing the reason for the warmth on Pinkie’s back. She had rested her head so that her forehead lay on the back of Pinkie’s neck, while her snout showed up in front. In this position, Fluttershy’s mane, usually used to hide her face, had gotten tangled with the part of the earth pony’s mane that usually hung off of the side of her neck. The pegasus’ mouth hung open slightly, each breath she took tickling Pinkie’s neck before it disappeared into the air.

But on closer listening, Fluttershy’s breath came in short, shallow puffs, and a shiver ran through her body in her sleep, a shiver that Pinkie could feel herself, given how close the two mares were. And on closer inspection, her coat was paler than usual, brown splotches of caked mud matting her fur in many places.

The pink mare’s heart skipped another beat, but this time for a different reason. Pinkie carefully reached up with a hoof and wrapped it around Fluttershy’s neck, pulling the two even closer together. As if in response, Fluttershy let out a happy sigh.

Normally, nopony would be able to tell if Pinkie were blushing, due to her pink coat. In this case, however Applejack could take one look at her and deem her cheeks a color similar to an apple ripe for the picking.

For the first time since she woke up, Pinkie turned her attention away from her friend. Her ear swiveled as she strained to hear the sound outside, or rather, lack thereof. Was it still raining?

Pinkie was always a pony who easily got distracted, yet it was with great care that she removed her hoof from around Fluttershy’s neck. With equal caution, she slid out from under the yellow pony’s wing, freezing for a second as Fluttershy shifted in her sleep, murmuring something about lightning. Pinkie frowned, her worry having a strange effect on her usually bright and cheery face. She put her hoof to Fluttershy’s forehead, her eyes widening when she felt how undeniably cold she was. Without a second thought, she produced a warm, wet towel, seemingly from out of nowhere, and covered Fluttershy’s head with it. Another second was all she needed to have her under-the-weather friend resting comfortably on a pillow. It probably wasn’t as soft, fuzzy, or pink, but it would have to do for now.

She walked outside, feeling the fresh air on her face. She took a deep breath, and opened her eyes.

She stood on a hill, offering her a view of everything around her. Right below her, a sea of leafless trees stood, occasionally interrupted by a dirt path here and there.. If it had been any other season, their branches would be decorated with leaves of all colors, but as it were, the trees stood barren and dead.

Looking farther to her left, a few unassuming houses poked their heads out. She absentmindedly closed one eye, raising a hoof. Her tongue poked out of her mouth as she concentrated, until her hoof was at eye level. At this distance, the houses in Ponyville were mere foal’s toys, and she could pretend like she was holding many of them in the flat of her hoof. No smoke rose from their chimneys, leading Pinkie to look up at the sky. What time was it, anyway?

In the east, the sun had just begun to show its head over some hills. It found its way through the cloudy sky, the clouds that it showed through resembling ripped flags. The rest of the sky was still painted grey, and it wasn’t bright enough to see the patches of unobstructed sky. If there were any.

Despite all this, Pinkie still felt something was off. She wiggled her nose, flicked her tail, and shifted from side to side, before she realized the absence of raindrops all around her.

It wasn’t raining anymore.

A wide grin grew on Pinkie’s face, another one that threatened to split the corners of her mouth if it grew any wider. She glanced back at their hiding place, seeing it correctly for the first time that day.

It was a large tree, its dead branches still stretching up towards the sky even in the middle of winter. Its trunk was old and gnarled, some of its massive roots poking up from out of the ground here and there. Looking inside, one was offered a view that stretched all the way to the top of the tree, as it had been hollowed out long ago, and neither of the two ponies that knew of this hiding spot had any idea of how, or when, this tree had been converted into a hiding spot. Pinkie stole a glance at her still sleeping friend, remembering the first time she had found this little gem of a hiding spot.

“Gummy? Gummy!”

Pinkie’s brisk trot disturbed the otherwise noiseless Whitetail Woods, other than the whispering wind, rustling the leaves on the trees and bushes. Her normal bounce was gone, replaced by her frantic run, looking for her lost alligator.

Gummy’s never run away before... Pinkie thought to herself as she ran.

She had been doing, well, Pinkie things before she had realized she realized she hadn’t seen her pet alligator all day. After some frantic searching, she had caught a glimpse of the little gator, disappearing in the very direction she was running now.

No sign of him since then, but she knew that she couldn’t give up. What if something happened to him? He was just a toothless, defenseless, cute little gator. Which doesn’t get anyone very far, without the proper care from others.

She was sure that every bush, leaf, and tree trunk had been searched thus far. And so far, nothing.

Eventually, she had found her way to a hill, with a single, massive tree rising from the top, as if it were watching over the rest of the woods. Looking up, she saw leaves and branches protruding from every which way, providing a canopy of sorts... and a good source of shade.

That was the last thing on Pinkie’s mind, though. For her, it was a great lookout spot, if she were ever to find her lost gator. She rested her back against the massive trunk, her eyes surveying each part of the woods. She was momentarily distracted, though, by a sound that disrupted the silence she was now used to.

K-K-KRAAAAK

Too late, she realized what it was, and before she knew it, she felt no support on her back, and the undeniable feeling of falling.

She landed on her back with an “Oof!”, splinters of wood falling around her. She looked up first, seeing the pony-sized gap she had made in the tree trunk. Finally realizing the oddity of falling into a tree, she turned around and gasped.

A pink-maned, butter-colored pegasus sat there, her eyes wide and her mouth open in surprise.

“Fluttershy? What are you-” she couldn’t finish her sentence as her eyes drifted to Fluttershy’s mane, where a very familiar, toothless gator hung by its mouth.

“GUMMY?!”

“Um, Pinkie, you could’ve just used the-” as the pegasus motioned to the correct entrance, a door shaped hole on the side she faced away from, she found she couldn’t speak, enveloped in a crushing hug by her pink friend.

“Ohmigosh ohmigosh YOU FOUND HIM!” Pinkie positively squeed with delight. “Oh, I was so worried and I thought Gummy was lost forever and I was looking everywhere and I thought I could never find him and where was he?” Pinkie barraged the poor pegasus with words without pausing to take a breath.

She didn’t get a response, only realizing that the gasps and airy pleas were coming from the pony in her grip. “Oh. Sorry.” The party pony immediately dropped her shy friend, who fell back on all fours with a gasp. Pinkie rubbed the back of her neck as she waited for a response.

Once Fluttershy caught her breath, she began. “Um...” she paused, choosing to address the last of Pinkie’s rapid-fire sentences. “I don’t know, actually. I was just sitting here, watching the sun go down, when I saw him on one of the paths nearby. He seemed lost” - at this, she crossed her eyes to look at the gator in her mane, wondering how that was if he never changed expressions - “and I decided to bring him here. I was just about to bring him back to Sugarcube Corner, and then you showed up.” Fluttershy had slowly retreated behind her mane as she spoke, but motioned to the new hole in the tree, a reminder of Pinkie’s unexpected entrance.

Immediately she felt herself being wrapped in a hug again, but this one was, thankfully, not bone-crushing. “Thanks, Flutters...” Pinkie’s words had lost their bubbly energy, and she now spoke softer. “It means a lot.”

Fluttershy’s face reddened, flustered at the pink mare’s words. “Oh... it was nothing, Pinkie. I, um, find lost animals a lot.”

“And you found mine, too.” Pinkie pulled back from the hug, still smiling.

They sat together in comfortable silence for a few moments.

“What are you doing here anyway, Flutters?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head.

Fluttershy jumped slightly at the sudden inquiry, but answered anyway. “Well... actually, when I’m not doing anything, and nopony wants me to do anything either, I just go here for a walk in the woods. It’s so peaceful and quiet, usually, and, well, I love natural things...” The shy pegasus looked down, her blush contrasting sharply with her yellow coat, but continued anyway. “Anyway, I found this hill on one of my walks. I’m not sure how this happened” - she waved a hoof at the hollowed-out tree they sat in- “but it offers a great view, and now I just go here to enjoy the quiet...” she trailed off, idly dragging a foreleg along the ground.

She squeaked when she felt a hoof around her shoulder, and looked up to see her pink friend grinning at her. “That sounds pretty nice, actually.” Somehow, she didn’t sound like she was joking.

“R-really?” How could Pinkie Pie, of all ponies, be interested in something like this. Or, at the very least, not wave it off as “Bor-ring!”

“Yeah! I mean, nature can be real pretty at times like these, and sometimes I don’t mind some peace and quiet either. Sometimes you just have to think about things, y’know?”

Briefly, Fluttershy thought about all the times it seemed Pinkie didn’t think about things, then immediately scolded herself for thinking something so mean. “Y-yeah, I guess you do.”

They both turned to the setting sun, knowing nothing more needed to be said between the two. As the party pony turned to see the view, however, her eyes widened. “Ohmigosh! It’s getting dark, so I need to close up the shop! Sorry Flutters, but I have to go, but thanks for everything!” She gave her shy friend a quick hug, and just like that, she and Gummy were both gone.

Fluttershy had to smile, even as her friend disappeared down the hill and into the woods. “Bye...” she murmured, though Pinkie was no longer there to see or hear it.

A smile crossed the pink pony’s face as she recalled the memory. If she hadn’t remembered it while they were out in the storm the night before, who knows what could have happened to them. This was the safest place that Fluttershy had found for who-knows-what-distance, in any direction around them. Without the rain, wind, and thunder, the only noises that disrupted the still morning came from the two pink-maned ponies.

Seeing her breath coming off in clouds from her face, Pinkie decided to go back inside. Careful to not disturb the still-sleeping pegasus, she snuggled up against her for the second time, once again wrapping her left hoof around her friend’s neck.

Her thoughts, naturally, drifted towards her friend, sleeping the dawn away right next to her. Their situation was definitely a rare occurrence (neither pony had been caught in a storm before, and most certainly not with each other), but storms were a part of nature. At least, before the pegasi could control the weather. But weather still belonged to nature, and it could always act of its own accord. The earth pony knew, somehow, that last night’s storm wasn’t planned.

But those were thoughts for later, and the pink pony’s focus returned to her friend as she ran a hoof through her now unkempt, but still soft mane. Pinkie knew that nature was, usually, Fluttershy’s friend. She lived with it, helped it when she could, and it had become a part of her as a result.

Nature was never perfect, though. It made mistakes, just like every other living thing. And where was Fluttershy when nature made mistakes?

Pinkie looked down at her fellow pink-maned friend. Her hoof faltered on Fluttershy’s mane, taking out a twig that had somehow wormed its way in there. She looked at the other various leaves, sticks, and even thorns that jutted out here and there all along the pegasus’ coat, mane, and tail, her eyes taking in the sight of the caked, dried mud, and lastly, her paled coat.

That was all she needed to answer her own question. A look at herself, and she knew she wasn’t any better off.

Fluttershy suddenly murmured in her sleep, before letting out a soft yet content hum. She snuggled up closer to Pinkie, resting her head on her friend’s neck, the towel resting on her forehead sliding off slightly. Pinkie smiled as she both felt and heard the now more rhythmic rise and fall of the pegasus’ chest. Maybe just for now, Pinkie could hope that the shy pony was no longer shivering, all thanks to her. She no longer had any doubt that Fluttershy would get over her cold.

She pressed closer to Fluttershy, as close as they could be, sharing her warmth. As she took the now cooled towel off of her friend’s head, tossing it away to be dealt with later, a thought crossed her head. One that made her grin from ear to ear.

Sure, maybe they had just gone through the storm of a lifetime. Maybe that storm had almost taken them, like it had taken so much around them, if only for that night. But as she tried to remember this moment, where it was just the two of them, alone and together, she knew that it was all worth it.

Pinkie leaned in to give her pegasus friend a light nuzzle on her cheek. She never stopped smiling as she breathed in the cool winter air, drinking in the sight of the cloudy sky above them.