The Wheel of Ships

by Luminous Comet

Pillow Pie (Fluttershy x Pinkie Pie)

Fluttershy quietly gazed out of the window behind her couch, raindrops drumming against the glass. All her outdoor critters were huddled safely in their coops, most of her indoor friends were napping somewhere in the assorted dens and beds that made up so much of the corners of her living space. Even Harry must have retreated into his cave now, in the outer reaches of the forest.

She sighed, her head sinking on a cushion so she didn't put it directly on the backrest - the couch was old now and the padding had sagged, the top of the backrest was quite uncomfortable by itself - and continued watching the rain fall. A cup of tea sat on her table, untouched. She had wanted to let it cool first, but now she was no longer in the mood to drink it at all.

In fact, she was barely in the mood to do anything. Rainy days often had that kind of effect on her mood. Of course she knew that the rain was necessary, she had learned all about weather patterns and climate control in her foal days, but she still couldn't help the dullness setting in.

A heavy, rhythmic knock on the front door nearly had her jump out of her skin. She squeaked and ducked her head down, away from the window. She didn't invite anypony over and nopony had announced themselves, so who would possibly need to see her during a rainstorm like this? Maybe they would just go away.

At the second knock, she quickly slid off the couch and hurried to the door. She didn't want to be rude and leave somepony out in the rain, especially if it was an emergency. She unlatched the door and opened the top half first. As soon as she leaned out to see who it was, a pathetic wet sound sputtered out of her visitor.

Pinkie Pie looked down at the kazoo between her lips with parental disappointment, the instrument having failed to produce its usual shrillness in the rain. Her mane was wet and heavy, hanging straight down and sticking to her coat rather than remaining in the usual wild curls.

"Pinkie?" Fluttershy quickly unlatched the lower half of her door and pulled it open to let her friend in, who unceremoniously dropped her instrument onto the edge of the carpet, a spring in her step despite how much the rainwater aught to weigh her down.

"Heya, Fluttershy! It's your half-birthday!" the pink pony announced with a flourish, which evidently was supposed to send some streamers flying, which instead just flopped wetly onto the carpet. Again, Pinkie narrowed her eyes at the decorations, as if they had personally slighted her.

"Um... it is?" Fluttershy quickly closed the door to not let more rain in and spread her wings to fly up into her bathroom, quickly coming back with a towel for Pinkie.

"Uh-huh! Sure is!" Pinkie confirmed with a bright smile. "Ooh, cute!" she commented upon seeing the pattern of flowers and bunnies on the towel, before putting it over her head and rubbing it vigorously against her mane. It regained some of its springiness, though it still hung straight instead of poofing back up into its usual style. "And I looked outside and I said 'Oh, today is Fluttershy's half-birthday, but it's so rainy and gray-y, and Fluttershy gets all mopey and sad-y on rain days, but she shouldn't be sad, because it's her half-birthday!' So now I'm here!"

Pinkie grinned at Fluttershy while drying her haunches and tail, her flanks bobbing back and forth to a silent rhythm. Fluttershy stifled a giggle as she watched her. Even on gloomy days like this, Pinkie had so much energy, and so much of it to share. By contrast to the weather, her positivity seemed to shine so much brighter, too.

"I was going to bring you cake, too, but..." Pinkie snorted with casual annoyance. "it got wet."

The giggle rose into a snicker and Fluttershy dropped on her haunches, both forehooves covering her snout. "Rain tends to do that," she managed to say.

"So, I need to improvise." Pinkie put the towel aside, her mane and coat messy and fluffed up. "Thus, I am your gift today!" She proudly put a hoof on her chest.

Fluttershy tilted her head as heat rose into her cheeks. The offer brought to her vague memories of romance novels Rarity had insisted she borrow. "What do you mean?"

"You gotta be happy today. And cuddles make you happy!" Pinkie pranced over to the couch and rolled herself onto her side, pushing her back into the corner and opening her hooves. "And right now, I'm a warm, fuzzy pillow!"

Fluttershy hesitated only for a moment, before following her to the couch and carefully climbing onto it alongside her. She had to nudge herself closely into Pinkie's embrace to not have more than her hooves hanging off the side. She turned and shuffled, before finally settling halfway on her stomach, extending one wing over Pinkie's side instead of leaving it squeezed in between them, brushing the ends of her feathers gently over Pinkie's coat.

Pinkie adjusted herself again as well, entangling her legs with Fluttershy until they had found a position that was comfortable for both of them, despite the narrow space. As soon as they had settled and Fluttershy began to relax, a long, slow sigh escaped her and she found herself sinking closely against Pinkie's warmth.

"Thank you, Pinkie," she said softly, closing her eyes. "I needed this today."

"I know," Pinkie whispered, her breath tickling Fluttershy's ear.

The rain began to fall heavier, every drop thumping against the window, but it was a distant sound, compared to the rustling and the soft breaths right next to her. And the cold was completely banished from her mind, replaced by the steady, radiant warmth of the pony next to her.

Comments

[Mike_Tubapun]

These are all so thoughtfully made and well-written!! Love how well you captured each pony's personality and made the potential relationships/flirting make sense!!