Chapter 2: Precipitation
Fluttershy didn’t remember closing her eyes, yet now she had to open them. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched her sore legs and back. She didn’t feel like she’d just woken up from a night’s sleep. It felt more like waking up after taking an accidental nap on the couch for a couple of hours. As she became more alert, Fluttershy began to wonder if she’d even slept that long . Memories flooded back. She’d run away from Pinkie like she was some bloodthirsty manticore, all because of one little kiss.
“That’s all it takes. One peck to set me off the edge.”
The only thing she couldn’t remember was where she’d ended up. She looked around and saw a sink and a bathtub in front of her. A few towels hung on hooks on the opposite wall, and a mirror was mounted on the right. She was in the bathroom. Half-heartedly, she pushed into the door behind her. It was locked.
“Oh, how original,” Fluttershy said with uncharacteristic sardonicism. She got up and, after locating the lock in the dim light, opened the door. What little light had been in the house before was gone. Most of the candles had burned out, but she could still see well enough to make her way around. The rain pattered lightly on the windows, a fraction of the torrential downpour remaining as the storm moved on.
The room was dark and cold, and Fluttershy found herself missing the fireplace. It was better than being outside, but not by much. She took a few steps forward. The faint silhouettes of tables and chairs could be just be made out in the dim moonlight. Everything was motionless and silent, like the word had disappeared, apart from some pieces of furniture.
At that moment a sound broke the silence, one so faint that Fluttershy thought she had imagined it. A moment later, she heard it again, a faint scratching that wouldn’t have been too out of place in her own home. The noise came a third time, now from her left. She looked over, and in a faint beam of moonlight saw something green. As quickly as it had appeared, whatever it was vanished into the dark as a dark cloud passed in front of the moon. Even with just a short glimpse, Fluttershy had a good idea of what she’d seen.
“Is that you, Gummy?” Fluttershy waited for an answer, realizing few moments later that Gummy couldn’t respond. She wasn’t even sure if he understood what she was saying. Most animals did, but when all she got was that kind of wall-eyed look in return, she couldn’t really be sure..
“I really hope Pinkie’s okay, Gummy. I don’t know if you saw what happened, but I did something really dumb.” Fluttershy took a deep breath, collecting herself.
“I guess I just can’t bond with other ponies like that. Ever since I was little, I’ve barely had any friends, certainly not a marefriend. And how could that work anyway? Me and Pinkie are completely different ponies. And I know they say opposites attract and all that, but everypony knows that’s not true. Sure, you might like somepony the for a few weeks, maybe even a month, but when it comes down to it and it stops being new, you really don’t love them.”
“Is that a reason not to try, though? Maybe if I don’t try this now, I’ll grow old and lonely without kids or anypony who cares about me. I’ve been trying to work up the courage to ask somepony out for years, but I never thought anypony else would be interested in me. And what does Pinkie see in me anyway?”
Fluttershy glanced down at the baby alligator. Gummy stared up at her blankly. “And I’m really wondering about what she said before about being shy as a filly. It makes perfect sense and all, but she couldn’t really be that shy, considering how she is now.”
“I wish I could just ask her all of this, but I can’t.”
Even as she said those words, she knew they were wrong, knew perfectly well that there was something she could do, and all she had to do was walk upstairs. She looked down at Gummy. The eyes she’d so recently seen nothing in now seemed to be urging her on, telling her what she was feeling was right.
“But I can’t just go up there, Gummy. I wouldn’t know what to say. I’d just make it worse.”
Gummy opened his mouth a little, and Fluttershy responded in kind.
“Well, what do you think I should say then? ‘Pinkie, you’re a great mare, but you came on too strong?’ I ran out of the room like she was a pack of hungry timberwolves! There’s nothing I can say to make up for that.”
Gummy blinked.
“Pinkie’s probably just asleep anyways. The worst of the storm is over, so I should probably just go home, right? I could let this whole thing blow over and talk to her when we’ve both had some time to calm down and think about it. What do you think?”
Gummy sat there.
“I’m not a coward! I could go up there right now and tell her what I think if I wanted to. It’s just not the best thing to do right now, that’s all.”
“You know, sometimes I wonder if you make up all your conversations with your animals.”
In a whirl, Fluttershy turned to see that somepony else was standing across the room. It was too dark to see who it was, but she recognized the voice.
“Pinkie, what are you doing down here?”
“What do you mean, ‘what am I doing’? I can hear you from upstairs.”
Flutershy blinked. “What?”
“You’ve been shouting at Gummy for a while now. I didn’t know you could get so loud.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry Pinkie. I mean, I didn’t know that you… that I would…”
Pinkie stepped forward into a beam of moonlight, illuminating her face in ghostly white. Her mane was as straight as a ruler. “It’s fine, really. It’s not like I had anything better to do.”
Fluttershy nodded nervously, taking a few steps forward. She ran headlong into a table, knocking it and it’s contents onto the floor.
“Maybe I should light some candles,” Pinkie suggested, her smirk visible in the dim illumination.
“That might be a good idea.”
Pinkie Pie went off behind the counter to get the matches, and while she did, Fluttershy was alone with her thoughts. She couldn’t tell if Pinkie mad at her, or was she going to try the same act she’d used upstairs. A bead of cold sweat run down the back of her neck. Now she wished Pinkie really was a pack of Timberwolves. It would be an improvement.
A few moments later, Pinkie came back with the matches and a candle. She set the candle up on a table and struck the match, lighting the wick. The two mares sat down across from each other. The faint light from the candle flickered across their faces, giving them enough light to see each other’s faced. Fluttershy tried to read Pinkie’s face, but it was uncharacteristically devoid of emotion.
Pinkie opened the conversation. “I’m surprised you’re still here.”
“Really? why would I leave?” Fluttershy asked, hoping Pinkie hadn’t heard what she’d said a few minutes earlier.
“I’ll bet there are less reasons to stay than there are to go.”
Fluttershy looked down at the table, trying to avoid eye contact. “Well, it’s still cold and wet out, so I figured it would be better to stay the night.”
Fluttershy sneaked a look through her mane, which hug in front of her face. Pinkie remained silent, glaring at Fluttershy through narrowed eyes.
“Also, it’s dark out, and I don’t know what could be out there.”
“Don’t lie to me, Fluttershy. We both know you’re not afraid of any of the animals out there.”
Fluttershy gulped. She had to say something, and she had to say it now.
“Well, the other reason I wanted to stay is because I wanted to say… something.”
Pinkie’s stare was blank. “Mm-hm.”
“Are you mad at me?”
Pinkie seemed taken aback. “No, not really.”
“Then why are you staring at me like that?” You look like you’re trying to bore holes in my head.” Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to do the glaring. Was this Pinkie’s idea of a joke, coming down and making her feel bad for no good reason? She didn’t want any part of it.
“Yeah, I’m just not sure what to think right now. Or what to say. I was hoping you would… I don’t know, say stuff.” Pinkie’s frown stood out in the light of the candle, though most of her face was in shadow.
“Stuff?”
“Yeah, stuff. You’re sitting here talking after what I did. That’s really mature. And here I am, acting like I’m angry just to try and blame you for it. I wish I could be more like you.” Now Pinkie was the one trying to avoid eye contact. Fluttershy leaned across the table and put a hoof under her chin. Tenderly, she pulled Pinkie’s head up to face her own.
“After what you did? I’m the one who locked myself in the bathroom.”
Pinkie sighed. “Yeah, but that was the right thing to do. It was really bad of me to just kiss you like that instead of asking. I just thought that with what I was saying and what you were saying… I don’t really know what I was thinking.”
Fluttershy felt a bit of confidence well up in her. “How long have you known?”
“Known what?”
“That you liked me?”
Pinkie smiled nervously. “Oh, that. I think it was sometime after we got out of the Everfree. I’m not really sure. I mean, that wasn’t even a month ago, but you’re just really nice. More than nice. I just never stopped to think that you probably didn’t feel the same way.”
Fluttershy’s words caught in her throat. How, after all that had happened, had she not asked herself that same question? Her mind went back to the kiss, the part before she’d panicked. She remembered a rush in her chest, a feeling of warmth as Pinkie’s lips touched hers. She remembered Pinkie’s hoof on her side and a sensation that ran through her like electricity. Was it right? Was it wrong? She couldn’t decide.
“Fluttershy?”
And then she stopped thinking. She leaned over the table and put her lips on Pinkie’s. For once, she wasn’t worrying. She wasn’t thinking about what Pinkie would think when the kiss was over, wasn’t concerned with what she was going to say. For once, none of it seemed to matter.
When she opened her eyes again and pulled away, Fluttershy was greeted with a pony that didn’t seem to know how to feel. There was surprise, joy, calm, and just a hint of terror on a face that normally sported a simple, carefree grin.
“Well, I guess we’re even now,” Fluttershy said, breaking the silence.
All of a sudden Pinkie’s face lit up, the corners of her mouth turning up in her signature smile, and her mane returning to it’s regular cotton candy state.
“Yeah, I guess we are.”
The two ponies sat there for a while longer, just talking. The conversation had a sense of ease to it, as if something had drained all the tension out of the room, like a vacuum sucking up dust. As for the topic, whether it was the finer points of baking or debating what the cutest animal in Equestria was, it skirted the current situation for as long as possible. Eventually, despite the best efforts of the pair, it came full circle.
“Hey Pinkie?”
“Yeah, Flutters?”
“I suppose I should apologize for waking you up. I mean, it’s good we had this conversation and all, but I’m sure we could’ve had it in the morning just as well.”
Pinkie stared at Fluttershy blankly, but only for a moment. “Oh, you didn’t wake me up, Fluttershy. When I said you were being loud, I meant you were being loud compared to how you normally are. That’s still not very loud.”
“But I thought you said—”
“I said I could hear you from upstairs.”
Fluttershy’s face lit up with a realization. “So you were still awake. Why?”
Pinkie took a moment formulating her response. “There were a couple of reasons.”
“Care to explain?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” Pinkie replied, her words stretched like a rubber band. “But no saying sorry every time I say something. And no blubbering!”
“Blubbering?”
Pinkie voice held both a serious and humorous air at once, and her face struggled to keep pace. “Yeah, it’s a funner way to say crying.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Okay, fine, no blubbering.”
“Okay then. Now, where do I start?”
Fluttershy spoke without thinking. “Right after I left, I suppose.” She regretted saying it even before she finished. Pinkie frowned.
“Yeah, right… after you left. You know, I’m not really that sure how much of that I remember. I mean, you were there, then you weren’t, then I was running after you.”
“You ran after me? I don’t remember that at all.”
“Well, I didn’t really shout after you or anything. You got to the bathroom and closed the door before I could get there. I sat there for a while, not knowing what to do. I wanted to try and talk to you, but I couldn’t bring myself to do anything. I even thought of breaking down the door to see if you were alright. You looked so scared running away from me, like a wild animal.”
Gulping, Fluttershy tried to move the conversation into calmer seas. “What happened after that?”
“I chickened out. I should’ve done something, Fluttershy.”
“I’m not so sure. If I was really that scared, it was probably best to just leave me alone.”
Pinkie nodded. “That’s true, I guess. Anyway, I walked around a bit after that, you know, around the house. I didn’t know what to do or anything, and I felt like an idiot. It was the first time I’d ever tried to do something like ask somepony out, and at that point I thought you’d never want to talk to me again or anything. Eventually, I got tired of walking around the same rooms over and over, and I was thinking about what you said out in the rain.”
“What did I say?”
“Well, you said you were walking out there to clear your head and be alone, or something like that.”
Fluttershy was incredulous. “I didn’t say anything like that. And why do you care about why I was out there so much? This is the third time you’ve asked me now.”
“You wanted to say it, though. The second time I asked, by the fire, you almost said it. But you didn’t trust me. That’s both of our problems, really. We’re insecure. I cover it up with weekly parties and you cover it up with animals. Neither of us ever open up to other ponies like this, like we are right now.”
“But it feels nice,” Fluttershy said, picking up where Pinkie had left of. “I mean, it’s scary and all, but for once that’s not enough to deter me. That’s exactly why I was out in the rain. Being around other ponies is really hard for me most of the time.”
Pinkie smiled empathetically. “That’s what I thought. So, I was thinking about that and how I really needed to clear my head. So I went outside and I walked. I can’t remember how far I went. I can’t even remember what I was thinking about. The only thing I remember was how cold and dark it was.”
“Why did you stay out if it was like that?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well, it wasn’t much different than it was inside. It was dark in there, and I was just as cold as the rain, really. In a different sort of way, sure, but… I’m no good with this philosophical stuff.”
“It sounded pretty deep to me,” Fluttershy replied, chuckling. Her eyes met Pinkie’s. “You know, the first time I saw you was also my first day in town. I’d actually moved in a week ago, but I hadn’t worked up the courage to leave my cottage. When I finally did, the first thing I did was go shopping at the market. On the way back, I accidentally stumbled into one of your parties, or I should say the crowd carried me into one.”
Pinkie just nodded at this, remaining uncharacteristically reserved.
“I never actually ran into you at that party, but I did see you. How could I not? You were running around, being a part of at least a dozen conversations and games at once, like you always seem to do. I should’ve been impressed, but the only thought that went through my head was that you weren’t really thinking about anything. I kept thinking that for all this time, at least until tonight. What we’re doing right now… I mean, you’re just sitting there listening to me. Nopony ever does that, and I guess I was selling you short by thinking you’d never be the one to.”
“I guess we both need to work on our self-confidence, don’t we?”
“Yeah, I guess we do.”
“So, should I go back to the part with me in the rain or what?”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Oh, Pinkie, I’m so sorry for interrupting. Of course you can finish.”
“Flutters, didn’t I say no blubbering?”
“Yeah, right, I’m… I’m okay.”
“You were about to say sorry again,” Pinkie said, accusingly but playfully all the same.
“Okay, fine, I was. It’s not that easy breaking a habit like that in one day, you know.”
“I suppose,” Pinkie replied. She turned her head to look out the window at the slow drizzle. It was as if the storm was making one last laudable effort to last a little longer. She gave a small empathetic smile before continuing.
“So, there I was, walking around in the rain, feeling more rotten than, well, rotten stuff. I was muddy, shivering, but I didn’t really want to go back. It was like I had to figure out what I was going to do before I came back inside, but I’m not really sure. I was kind of out of it.”
A small part of Fluttershy wanted to point out how obvious that was, but the rest of her knew that it wouldn’t help, even if she had the nerve to say it. “Well, since you’re here, I’d assume you figured something out, right?”
In the reflection of the moon, Pinkie could see a set of hoofprints in the mud. Her hoofprints. “Well, not exactly. After I walked around for an hour or so, the only plan I could think of was to do nothing and see what you did.”
Fluttershy’s, who had been somewhat emotionless up until this point, frowned. “I feel like that should be offensive, but that kind of makes sense.”
“It does? I thought it was a bit crazy, even for me,” Pinkie said honestly.
“It really isn’t. I didn’t really know what I wanted. You gave me a chance to sort things out without interfering. If you’d tried anything at first, you probably would’ve just scared me more.” Fluttershy followed Pinkie’s gaze out the window. There was a pool of murky water in the middle of the road outside, and in it, two sets of hoofprints.
“Fluttershy, if you know all of this now, then why do you get so scared by things?”
Fluttershy smiled. “Well, have you ever had the feeling that you’re going just a bit overboard on the craziness at one of your parties?”
“Sometimes.”
“It’s the same with me. I can be braver when it really matters, but most of the time I’d rather crawl back into my shell, just like you’d rather bounce around than tie yourself down.” Fluttershy pushed out her chair and walked around to Pinkie’s side of the table. “Maybe the key to making us work as friends, and maybe… Well, let’s just go with friends.”
“Yeah, that works.”
“What I’m saying is we can make this work without changing outselves. I mean, look at how well being ourselves it worked out. In the end, all I needed was a little push from you.”
“I guess that’s true, but I still think you could stop saying sorry so much.”
Fluttershy chuckled. “I suppose I could say that a little bit less.”
“You think?”
“Okay, a lot less,” she clarified. “But one thing I do need to say sorry for is ruining this sleepover. We were supposed to be having fun tonight, or” —Fluttershy looked up at the clock— “Last night, I suppose. Either way, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m pretty sure it was both our faults, but at least it all worked out in the end. Also, is it really after midnight?”
“Half past,” Fluttershy replied. “You think it’s time we got to bed?”
“Bed? But we still haven’t had a super-fun slumber party yet!”
Fluttershy narrowed her eyes, “Pinkie, it’s almost one in the morning and you’re thinking about having a party? You might need sleep even more than I do right now.”
Pinkie pushed out her chair and stood up. “Sheesh, Fluttershy, I’m always thinking about having a party. I mean, how long have we known each other?”
“A few weeks.”
“Exactly! And you’ve been living here in Ponyville for long enough to know that when Pinkie says there’s going to be a party, it’s going to happen.”
Fluttershy felt like sighing, but grinned in spite of herself. “You know, Pinkie, for you, I think I can manage it.”
“Really?” Pinkie’s face lit up like a lantern.
“Yeah. You seem like the kind of pony who could show a mare a good time.”
Pinkie blushed. “Or we could just have a pillow fight or something.”
“Yeah, I was kidding anyways.”
The two laughed, sending an echo through the empty rooms of Sugarcube Corner. It may have been dark and wet, but they certainly weren’t alone. As they made their way upstairs, Pinkie Pie looked back out into the rain.
“I wonder how Applejack and Rarity are doing over at Twilight’s.”
“I’ll bet they’re not having as good a time as we are,” Fluttershy said, nuzzling Pinkie to emphasize her point.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
The friends made their way up the stairs and back into the warm light of the fire. There they played games, romped and laughed for as long as they managed to stay awake. Outside, the storm’s hold on the night sky slipped and the rain, at long last, stopped.