Fool in the Rain

by Garbo

Petrichor

Chapter 3: Petrichor

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A mile or so outside of Ponyville sat a grassy hill. It wasn’t anything unique, given the hundreds of other hills that littered the grassy fields surrounding the town. It didn’t have the most beautiful views or vibrant flowers, but blended in with everything else around it, having no need to stick out or differentiate itself from the rest of the landscape. It was, after all, only a lump of loam and roots, and hills were as common as dirt in the rolling plains that surrounded the town.

Perhaps that was what drew Fluttershy to this particular spot. There was nothing special about it, but that fact gave it a charm of its own. It was free from the artificial feeling that comes from the more frequently visited, wondrous works of nature. It was untouched. It was hers to share with no one but the butterflies above her head and the worms below her hooves.

“Wow, this is a really nice spot, Flutters!”

Well, maybe one visitor wouldn’t hurt.

Fluttershy looked behind her to see Pinkie Pie, the infamous party mare, with a picnic basket in tow. The straw container remained perfectly balanced on her back, despite the slope of the hill and the unevenness of the terrain. Though it should have been, none of this was all that surprising to Fluttershy, who in only a few weeks of knowing the mare had seen far stranger things.

In no time at all, Pinkie had ascended the hill, making good use of leg muscles that had been toned from countless hours of dancing. She put down the supplies and went about setting up the blanket and all the food, her hips swaying hypnotically back and forth as she danced around the hilltop.

“Enjoying the scenery, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy mumbled absentmindedly.

“You know, if you just wanted to stare at my flank all day, we could’ve stayed in Ponyville.”

Fluttershy blinked, looked up, and saw Pinkie stifling a chuckle. And then the words sank in.

“No, I wasn’t … I mean, I didn’t …”

Pinkie’s wry smile only grew.

“You should see yourself right now. I can barely tell your face from your mane. You’re all pink like me!”

Fluttershy continued to stutter until Pinkie cut her off a second time.

“Look, I’d be more concerned if you weren’t staring at my butt, alright? We’ve got a thing going, you know. You’re allowed to do that.”

For a moment, Fluttershy thought about putting up some last ditch defense, but thought better of it.

“Fine, I was staring at your butt. Happy?”

“Not until you tell me what you think of it.”

Fluttershy shot fire into Pinkie’s eyes, but the mare was unfazed. With no other options available to her, she said the first thing that came to mind.

“I don’t think your butt isn’t attractive.”

Pinkie faked a hurt expression. “Well, that’s a little bit disappointing, but on the bright side, you didn’t say it was fat or anything.”

Fluttershy was about to say something along the lines of ‘no, of course it isn’t fat. In fact it’s incredibly attractive and I wouldn’t mind getting to know it better.’ However, she thought better of it.

If stallions think they’re the only ones who have to deal with loaded questions, they’ve got another thing coming. If she put as much effort into her career as she does making me squirm, she’d probably have her own pastry shop by now.

Instead of replying, Fluttershy opened up the picnic basket and pulled out the food she’d brought along: two muffins, an apple, and …

“Pinkie, are you sure we brought everything?”

Fluttershy looked up at Pinkie Pie, who was chewing on a mouthful of hay sandwich. The mare attempted a muffled reply, but failed. Rolling her eyes, she chewed for a moment, swallowed, and answered.

“Yep. I brought the two muffins from Sugarcube Corner, and I put in all the stuff you made before we left.”

“We’re missing a sandwich, though.” Fluttershy gestured to the now empty basket.

Curiously, Pinkie poked her head into the picnic basket. “Hello in there! Where are you hiding, Mr. Sandwich? Hello!”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile at Pinkie’s display. “Maybe we just left it behind.”

“Either that, or one of your animal friends ran off with it.” Pinkie stepped around the basket and held out the remaining half of her sandwich. “You can have this if you want—I’m not really that hungry.”

Fluttershy pushed her hoof away, making a look of disgust. “Pinkie, you bit into that!”

Pinkie paused for a moment. “Well, I guess I figured you wouldn’t mind at this point,” she said coyly.

Fluttershy looked at Pinkie quizzically, her head tilted and her eyes narrowed.

“Do I really have to spell it out for you?” Pinkie rolled her eyes, and closed them soon afterward. And then they kissed. Fluttershy wasn’t prepared for the sudden salival onslaught, but did her best to catch up. Pinkie ended the kiss as suddenly as she had started it. The two stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments. Both of them were smiling, though Pinkie’s grin was more radiant than Fluttershy’s. Her lips trembled nervously.

“So do I have to use tongue this time, or do you get the point?”

While Fluttershy launched into another fit of stuttering, Pinkie grabbed one of the muffins and munched on it nonchalantly. She laid down next to Fluttershy, staring off at the field in front of them as she ate.

“If you don’t want any of the sandwich, you can just eat the grass. There’s plenty of it, you know. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet, free of charge!”

Fluttershy tried to slap on a quick smile, but her nervousness was still obvious enough for Pinkie to pick up on.

“You know, sometimes I wonder what got into you that night.”

“Um, what night, Pinkie?”

Pinkie frowned. “You know the one I’m talking about. That time where I randomly kissed you and we both freaked out about it?”

“Oh, that one.” Fluttershy smiled at the memory. It was a good one. “I was just scared of how sudden it all was.”

Pinkie shook her head. “No, I mean after that. When you were all, you know, confident, and stuff.”

“I don’t really know,” Fluttershy answered honestly. “I suppose I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to say, or at least what I thought. And now that I think about it, you helped a lot.”

“How so?” Pinkie nuzzled Fluttershy’s neck, and the tangled magenta hairs tickled her pale yellow ear.

“It was when you talked about how you felt. All of a sudden you stopped being the hyperactive party pony and started being … well, you.”

Pinkie rested her head on Fluttershy, who could feel the warm breath on her chest.

“That makes sense, I guess." Pinkie bit her lip, not as if she were holding something back, but more like a young foal would do while trying to work out a math problem. "You know, I really do like it when you’re confident like that. I get that you’re shy about things—everypony is sometimes. But I feel like there’s this whole other side of you that you don’t share enough, a really beautiful side.”

"That was really, uh, nice of you to say." Fluttershy tried in vain to think of something else to say, but couldn't. Instead, she chuckled. "How am I supposed to follow that up?"

“You don’t have to. I know how you feel about me.”

Fluttershy thought back to the night of the impromptu slumber party. She had gotten a lot of her chest that night, but she hadn’t said anything like that, if she was remembering it right.

“Now that I think about it, I have a question for you too.” Fluttershy moved her hoof a little bit closer to Pinkie’s.

“What?” Pinkie inched a little closer to Fluttershy. Their flanks touched.

“How did you know I’d be interested? I mean, I didn’t even know that.”

Pinkie sighed contently, sending small vibrations through Fluttershy’s withers.

Why do I pay to go to the spa and relax when I can have this whenever I want?

After a pause, Pinkie answered.

“I didn’t know, Fluttershy. That’s just how I do things; I don’t usually think them out before I do them, for better or for worse.”

Fluttershy moved her hoof a little more, touching pink to yellow. Pinkie’s head jerked at the unexpected contact, but she relaxed when she saw what it was. Fluttershy continued to stare at their intertwined hooves. There was something she wanted to say, but she held back.

“I guess that’s a bit of a bad habit, but it’s just how I am.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath. The air was warm, the setting was perfect, and Pinkie was snuggled comfortably at her side. She had nothing to be afraid of, but still something stopped her.

Nervously, Fluttershy ran a hoof through her mane. She’d always found the smooth texture comforting. The long, straight hairs fell just short of the ground, strikingly different than Pinkie’s, which wobbled on top of her head in a tangled mess. You couldn’t run a hoof through that.

“This really is a nice spot you picked out.”

Though she was being genuine, Fluttershy could sense the disappointment in her voice.

Maybe her hair’s always like that because she doesn’t know how to comfort herself.

“Pinkie?”

“Yeah, Fluttershy?”

“I really don’t think that’s a bad habit. If you hadn’t done that, I don’t think we’d have any of this. If you’d hinted at it, I probably would’ve just backed out of it before got to this point. You forced me to make a decision one way or the other, and I chose this. So yes, you made me uncomfortable, but it was really for my own good, and I’d go through that a hundred more times if I knew that I could have this at the end.”

Fluttershy felt Pinkie’s head leave her side, and then it was all she could see. Slowly, their lips moved closer, then came together. This time, Fluttershy wasn’t taken aback, and she returned Pinkie’s kiss passionately. Pinkie wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy’s neck, pressing them closer together, and Fluttershy pressed back as her body both tensed and relaxed from the sensations she felt. Unlike the last one, this kiss was not brief, but it did eventually end. Pinkie was the first to break the ensuing silence.

“Thanks for that.”

Fluttershy blushed. “What I said or what we did after that?”

“Both.” Pinkie started chuckling. At first, Fluttershy thought it had something to do with her joke, but as the laughter went on, she sensed that something else was going on. Fluttershy was Pinkie’s gaze travelling to a point just behind her head, and craned her own head to see.

“Oh, so that’s what you’re laughing at.” Fluttershy turned back to Pinkie, who had managed to contain her laughter, at least temporarily. Seeing Fluttershy’s scowl set her off the edge again.

Pinkie bit her lip, trying to hold back a powerful river of laughter with a few pebbles. “You should see your face right now; it’s killing me!”

Fluttershy sighed. “You act like you’ve never seen this before.”

“Oh, I have, but that doesn’t make it any less funny. And you know, they say those things are like a thermometer for passion in a relationship.”

Fluttershy didn’t answer, glaring at Pinkie in annoyance.

“What are you getting all huffy about? You get magical wings that let you fly around everywhere, and the minute they stop doing what you want them to, you get offended?”

Fluttershy smiled. Her defenses had been compromised. “Unicorns have the worst of it, though.”

Pinkie nodded. “Yep. They don’t call it horny for nothing!”

No longer able to contain themselves, the two burst out laughing, though Pinkie’s thunderous guffawing drowned out Fluttershy’s subtle giggles. After the two calmed down, they turned their attention back to the food in front of them. As they ate, Fluttershy looked over at her marefriend, who was currently devouring the last of her sandwich.

“Pinkie, do you know what else I like?”

Pinkie, having run out of sandwich, was taking her own advice by grazing just in front of the picnic blanket. As she chewed, small chunks of green grass stuck to her muzzle. She looked like a small foal eating food for the first time.

“Is it how good of a kisser I am?”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. “Not that. I mean the serious part of you. The one who said all that stuff about being unconfident and doing things anyway.”

Pinkie continued chewing her grass. If she was caught off guard, she wasn’t showing it.

“Why do you like that part of me so much?”

“The same reason you like it when I’m confident. It reminds me that we’re not as different as we seem to be.”

Pinkie nodded, finishing her last bite of food. Still standing on the grass, she closed her eyes, relaxing as a light breeze blew across the hill. Fluttershy did the same. The air was warm enough, but the wind was chillier, despite the heated glow of the sun. Every so often, the zephyr would pick up, sending wisps of her mane in all directions, tickling her nose and brushing her coat.

“How long has it been?”

“Three weeks, I think.” Fluttershy opened her eyes. Pinkie stood in the same place she’d been before, apparently having remained still for the last minute or so.

That has to be some kind of record, Fluttershy thought to herself.
There was another wordless pause. Pinkie stood still as a statue, only her tail moving in the breeze. Fluttershy’s body was equally prone, though her mind was fidgety.

“Pinkie, how do you think this will end up?”

Pinkie stole a glance back at Fluttershy, a faint smile on her face. “Well, I figure we’ll pick up all the food, go back home, and give the leftovers to your animals.”

A solitary cloud passed over the sun, and the picnic was covered in its shade. Between it and the breeze, Fluttershy couldn’t help but shiver. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.” Pinkie strained her neck to the right, and an audible pop came from it. Fluttershy winced, but didn’t say anything.

“If you had to ask me right now, I would say that our relationship will probably fail someday.”

Fluttershy squinted as if the movement in her eyes could improve her hearing. “Why do you say that?”

“Because we’re two very different ponies, Fluttershy. We don’t enjoy the same things, we have very different sensibilities, and at the moment, we don’t have much more than a mutual attraction to each other to go on. We have to act a bit out of character to get along: I have to restrain myself, and you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone.”

Fluttershy took a moment to process what she was hearing. She hated every syllable of it, but for some reason she wanted to hear more.

“So is there any real reason to keep doing this if it’s just going to fail?”

Pinkie chose this moment to move her hooves. She turned around, looking directly into Fluttershy’s eyes. There was an uncharacteristic look of seriousness about her, and if Fluttershy had any doubt as to whether she was kidding, it was gone now. It wasn’t the angry look she would have expected, either. It was softer and more sincere, not as if she was delivering bad news, but more like she was just being honest.

“Of course there’s a reason to keep going, Fluttershy. Guesses don’t mean anything. I could say that all of Equestria is going to flood with cheese fondue tomorrow, but it’s not going to happen. The only thing worth thinking about it what’s happening right now.”

Fluttershy just nodded, though she couldn’t understand the relevance of cheese fondue to the situation at hoof.

“You can’t spend your whole life preparing for the future, Fluttershy. If you do, you’ll never enjoy what you have. That’s why I think this is all worth doing. Even though there’s a good chance we won’t spend the rest of our lives together or anything like that, the part before that is still just as good. I don’t know the future, Fluttershy, but what I do know is that what we have makes me happy. And you know, even if it does end, I’m sure we’ll still be friends at the end of all of it.”

“So, um, what you’re saying is that it’s—”

“A compromise,” Pinkie finished. She cracked a smile, and Fluttershy returned it. At that moment, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, splashing warm radiance over the two mares.

“But this isn’t why we came out here. We came to have fun!”

In a flash, Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy’s hoof and dragged her up off the blanket. Then she took off. She turned her head as she ran, and shouted back a taunt.

“Last one back to the cottage is a rotten egg!”

Frantically, Fluttershy looked at the picnic spread, then back up to Pinkie’s slowly receding pink puff of a tail, then back to the spread again. She sighed, though she couldn’t hide her exuberance, even from herself. She ran after Pinkie, a smile on her face and her heart lighter than a cloud. The supplies weren’t going anywhere; she had a race to win.

As she took off, gliding just a few feet above the ground, she had time for one last thought:

You know, I don’t really mind this side of her, either.

Comments

[Basic Information]

Holy crap! Is this an update?!

[Garbo]

5836254
Yes, long overdue, but it's here, and finally done.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

It's been over a year since this updated, and it's well worth the wait.

*Sigh* It's sad that FlutterPie is pretty much a sunken ship at this point for reasons that have nothing to do with this fic. "Filli Vanilli" just killed all of the ship's potential.

[Garbo]

5836947
The feasibility of all the mane 6 ships is next to nill. The odds that any two of them would be lesbian/bisexual and interested in each other are minuscule, if we're assuming Equestrian society is at all similar to our society. Also, screw the canon, I have fanfiction.

[HucktheCentaur]

5836947

Tho they could have thought more on the matter, as couples can fight too, and one of them could easily accidently did something that another don't like when they are in early dating stage... I still ship Pinkieshy, even if it's a really tiny ship in huge ocean lol

[PatRoison]

This was very sweet. It's nice seeing Pinkie and Fluttershy having a serious talk while still being cute. More PinkieShy is always a joy.