> Rain
>  by WannaBeLaika
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Rain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rain.

So many ponies see rain as something depressing or sad, something unpleasant that they'd be better off without.

The sky goes dark, the air goes cold, you hear thunder, see lightning, and it begins to pour. Everything gets all wet and soggy, and everypony has to go inside. You feel like all you can do is sit and stare out the window at all the mud, feeling let down and sad. Everything you had planned for the day is no longer available to do since the weather Pegasi decided that today it was going to rain. You simply sit there, alone, and sad. But you don’t have to.

That's when the best part comes. Everypony goes to their rooms to mope, but not me. I stay. I sit at the window and take in the wonder of the rain. 

It seems so sad to so many ponies. Not me, though. It makes me feel warm and cared for. The way the rain begins to gently tap the window, making little bitty dots of water, slowly collecting, then slowly trailing down the smooth glass pane, leaving pretty stripes on the window. The soft dripping of the water, quiet like white noise, soothingly falling against rocks and roads and roofs of houses, making that little noise that you only really hear when you notice it.  

Then there’s the thunder, that low, warm rumble, like a hum, that comes after the lightning. It sounds almost like the storm is telling you it wants to see you, to lure you out into the rain, to get you wet with the rainwater and show you that it’s not all that bad, that it just wants to play, have fun outside even if the weather isn’t what you usually go out in.

The lightning is like a bright beaming smile, flashing across the sky, cheerfully calling out, “Hey, I’ve never met you before, come outside, it’s nice!” and giving you that confident grin, silently asking for a friendly puddle jumping competition. It wants a friend to be with, so the rain can feel less lonely, and more fun, and you can really get to appreciate it. 

I never leave my friends lonely. I don’t want anypony to be sad. I love happiness and joy. And the rain is one of my best friends. So naturally, when the rain calls, I go. I give it the playmate it wants, so it won’t feel lonely. I splash around in the puddles, soaking myself through and through. I bounce, jump, and play with the rain, smiling and giggling like I’m a filly again. I love the feel of the cold water flying up around my hooves as I wade and prance through puddles and gutters, playing for hours and never getting bored. 

Everypony looks outside and sees me springing about in puddles, in the middle of a heavy thunderstorm, acting like a child, and go, “Oh, she’s doing it again. It’s to be expected though, isn’t it?” and go back to being sad and despondent and lonely, waiting for the weather to look clear and pretty again. 

But the weather doesn’t have to be clear to be pretty. Look at the ripples in the puddles. Look at the branches of the lightning. Look at the streaks on the windows. Look at all the patterns that come with the rain, how the beauty of nature changes, and transitions to a cooler, calmer scene, one where the rain brings out the woodland animals from their hiding to feel the rain on their coats. 

Why can’t we be like that? Come out of our burrows, our hiding places, and fully experience the wonders of the storm as the animals do? Why do we have to be-- no, why do they have to be so scared of a little rain, getting a little wet, when it’s just water, and it’s harmless? We would all be so much happier if we stopped our silly, petty distractions for just a minute and took a little time- just a moment- to take it all in. 

The rain seems so sad on the outside. But when you really think about it, it’s only sad because of the silly distractions that rain prevents. The foals all love the rain, jumping in puddles, collecting worms to show their friends, making mud pies. Having fun. Rather than shopping, or gossiping with friends, or being a silly workaholic like ponies are nowadays. Foals are innocent and genuine in their fun, loving the little things like milkshakes and hopscotch and puddle jumping that no one in this day and age appreciates anymore. 

Except me. I've never let go of my inner child. Because as a child, I never got the freedom to play as other foals did. I grew up on a farm. Not any farm, though. A rock farm.

My family didn't believe in laughter or happiness. They believed in hard, consistent work and keeping ongoing till the job got done, no matter what that meant. No play, no chitchat, no pause, no excuses. Then it happened. The most beautiful thing I ever goshdarn saw. I smiled for the first time that day. I ran home to tell my family. I threw a surprise party. They loved it. They were happy for me, happy for my effort, happy I was happy... so very happy. They all smiled the first time that day too.

I still visit them often. They visit me. We’re as close today as ever before. We love each other and embrace happiness. We try to make the best of every situation. Especially me. 

Everypony else finds the rain unpleasant or sad, but I find it happy. It reminds me of my family, our happiness, and not just the rain. It isn’t the rain that I love most. True, I love it more than anyone, and I find it beautiful and inspiring- But it’s what comes after.

The rainbow. 

Just like the one that changed my life.