A Chance of Rain

Rainy was awoken by the bustling of ponies outside her window. She was lodging in a small room above the market square and had yet to adjust. She crawled to the other side of the bed and gently lifted the corner of the curtain to peer outside. She looked out with squinted eyes, noticed the overcast sky and quickly widened her gaze. It was still early, the sun had barely begun to rise and with the cloud cover it could easily be mistaken for evening.

Rainy felt a mental sigh of relief, welcoming the weather she had grown accustomed back home. The warmer climate of Ponyville was beautiful in its own way but Rainy would always prefer a cloud filled sky. She turned back and slumped down to the floor, stretched her legs and arms with a yawn, and walked over to the breakfast tray, where her oats were waiting after their overnight soak. She prepared them into a quick oatmeal breakfast with blueberries and maple syrup. It was after the last spoonful the realisation had sunk in. Today was the day. She looked at the flyer on poking out beneath her tray, and felt a sinking feeling that dragged her mood down.

The only way she was going to get through this was to just swallow her anxieties and force herself outside. Then take it one step at a time. She grabbed her hat and scarf, took a deep breath and made her way through the door. She hula hooped her scarf around her neck as she trotted down the stairs, as she passed by the innkeeper pony with whom she exchanged a meek smile before exiting with haste.

She hurried down the cobbled street with a restrained cantor, panning her gaze to make sure she wasn’t sticking out too much. Thankfully the merchant ponies were all preoccupied setting up their stalls. Out of the market she passed by town hall where there was none but one bespectacled pony unlocking the front door.

Rainy noticed this at the exact wrong moment as the pony happened to turn and see her. With the key still in her mouth she waved to the anxious pony. “Good morning!”

Rainy spoke before she could think. A slightly too long “Hi.” Was all that came out, and she immediately followed by biting her bottom lip in a grimace. Then the thoughts crept to the front of her mind. “You sounded so awkward!”, “You’re meant to say ‘good morning’ back!”, “You weren’t loud enough, how was she supposed to hear you ?”

Once she was clear of Ponyville proper she began to gallop down the country road. As if she could run away from her worries. She attempted to turn her attention to her surroundings. The autumn leaves stood out against the dim grey canvass of sky and every so often she could feel the crunch of one that had fallen beneath her hoof. There were tiny puddles down the length of the road with even larger ones to the side trailing into little streams down the embankment.

“It must have rained last night.” She thought, sad that she had missed her namesake weather while she slept. She noticed a lack of birds chirping in the trees, and began to worry that her near-gallop would disturb the sleeping creatures. She quickly slowed down to an amble; paying close attention to the weight of her hooves with each step. Her stare fixed to the ground to make sure she didn’t accidentally snap a twig and startle anyone. With that she almost didn’t realise she was already at her destination: Sweet Feather Sanctuary.

You could forgive her for barely noticing where she was. There was no sign to mark the entrance, nor any defining border at all. Rainy only recognised the sanctuary from her earlier, less successful attempts to complete her business here. She stood under an incongruous palm tree, taking in the surprisingly immense sanctuary.

There were plenty of resting animals to see in their hammocks, nests, and burrows but not the pony she had come to speak with. Then she spotted the slightest movement of a door being opened by the waterfall. Out came a yellow pony, with full, bulging saddle bags hanging low from her back. She shut the door behind her and made way to begin her duties. She hadn’t noticed Rainy in the distance. Rainy thought of calling out to her, something to at least make her presence known. But naturally opted against it. Instead she sauntered across the open meadow toward her unsuspecting target.

Rainy was still treading lightly from before, and Fluttershy was preoccupied with her charges. Leaving them each a special breakfast to aid in their recovery. Eventually they came upon a moderate cave; Fluttershy set down a large bag and unwrapped it, revealing a bundle of roots, berries and an assortment of grasses. “Good morning.” Cooed Fluttershy. “I have your favourite breakfast here for you.” She finished. A rustling was heard preceding the outcome of a large black bear, who immediately swooped up Fluttershy into a tight embrace. “Oh I missed you too. But come on now, it’s time to eat your breakfast.”

The bear gently set down his caretaker, locking eyes with Rainy as he did. He looked back to Fluttershy and let out an inquisitive growl. “Who’s my new friend? What do you- Oh.” She said, turning to face behind her. “Uhh, hello there, can I help you with something?” She said with a smile, bringing the rest of her body around to face Rainy.

“Yeah, sorry, I’m here about-” She rummaged around in the crevices of her scarf to find the flyer. “I thought I had it-” The flyer drops down and floats to Fluttershy on the breeze. She looked down and read the familiar words:

‘Winter Volunteer Wanted. Please enquire at Sweet Feather Sanctuary by the first week of autumn for training.’ “Oh I was worried no one was going to respond.” Said Fluttershy with delight. She looked up with a smile and endearing eyes. “When can you start?”

Rainy was dumbstruck. She had expected some sort of vetting process, an interview at least. She hadn’t even asked for a name. “I uh- Whenever you need I suppose.” Replied Rainy.

“Oh that’s wonderful. We can get started right away.” Said Fluttershy, approaching Rainy, eyes closed with a smile.

“Don’t you need to-” Fluttershy trotted past Rainy.

“Oh sorry, did you say something?”. Fluttershy turned back.

Without thought Rainy replied. “No. Nothing.” Fluttershy smiled as Rainy proceeded to catch up with her.

The two ponies trod along the beaten path through the forest. Each devoting their attention to the wild scenery surrounding them. Occasionally making awkward eye contact as they peered their gaze to look at the other side which they brushed off with amused smiles. Rainy wondered if she should try and make conversation, but things felt good the way they were. Their brisk pace brought them to a clearing, and Fluttershy guided Rainy to the store room she’d come out from before.

Fluttershy opened the door for Rainy and followed her in. She walked past to a makeshift desk made from a stack of crates with a cloth tarp drawn over it. “So, this is where we keep all the supplies the animals need. There’s a chart over here on the back wall that shows where everything goes.” From a shelf she fished out a light green saddle bag, with Fluttershy’s cutie mark embroidered on the pouches, albeit much more luminescent and vibrant and in a striking high-quality thread. “This should be able to hold everything you’ll need, your to-do-list is already inside but I’ll help you out for the first few days of course.” She said while filling the bags with medicines and food. She handed the filled bag to Rainy who quickly threw it on. “Perfect!” Sang Fluttershy, who then clopped over to the door, with Rainy following suit.

The pair trod through the sanctuary and Rainy received her first taste of training. Although, she was acting mostly as a pack mule as it were. Fluttershy explained that “It’s probably best you just observe for now. A lot of these critters are very nervous around new ponies and some of their treatments are very complicated if you haven’t had experience with them before.” Rainy could sense that Fluttershy was more anxious about a new pony taking care of her critters than the animals themselves. There was a slight nervousness in her voice, and she never took her eyes off the burrowed mice they were leaving food out for as she spoke.

They finally began engaging in small talk as they travelled between duties. “So, would you like to tell me your name? It’s okay if you don’t.” Asked Fluttershy.

Rainy was puzzled by the end of her question, but responded with haste. “Rainy, Rainy Day. But you can just call me Rainy if you like.”

Fluttershy softly replied. “Oh that’s a wonderful name. You must be new to Ponyville?”

Rainy felt struck, as she’d been caught committing a crime. “Uhh yeah. How could you tell?”

The two stopped as Fluttershy flew up to feed some bird hatchlings. “I remember what it was like to be new here and also your accent is very unique.” She floated back to the ground. “I don’t suppose you’re from Trottingham are you?” She said with a curious look.

“Uh, north of Trottingham actually. Trotland. Ponies there kinda really care about the difference.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened with embarrassment. “Oh no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.”

Rainy’s eyes too widened in embarrassment. “Oh no, it’s not a big deal honestly, no one really cares that much. It’s just a sort of joke back home.”
Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. “Oh phew. I was worried I might have offended you.”

Rainy responded in kind. “I was worried I made you feel bad.” The two ponies stared at each other for a second, then began giggling.

“I think you’ll get on just fine here.”