In the Rain

Set in Stone
ImmaChangeling
~

The sun had just sunk over the shining horizon, and streaks of marigold and mauve painted the sky like a piece of brilliant artwork, splattered on a blue canvas. Delicate glowing stars had just begun to appear above Equestria, and they shimmered in the cool atmosphere. Amongst the empty streets and paddocks below, lonely lamps flickered and small trees swayed slowly in the settling wind. The large hills that make up the border of Equestria seemed to shake with the anticipation of the coming nightfall. The fluffy thin clouds above sparkled with the dying light of Celestia's sun, brought upon by weather pegasi as they worked on their cloudy creation.

Just outside of the small country town of Ponyville lay a desolate rock farm. To the average passerby, it would appear that the farm had struck some kind of economic crisis and struggled to stay afloat financially, with the crumbling silo and dilapidated farmhouse. Under the upcoming night's cover, a young fuchsia-coloured earth pony crept through tall patches of cracked rocks as the reclusive dead trees watched silently, towering overhead. The slight chill in the air sent shivers through the farm where the young mare walked alone, and she shivered from more than just the cold night breeze. She wasn't supposed to be out here, and she knew it. The cold dirt under her bare hoofs felt wet and rough, but still she kept her scared smile as she stumbled blindly through the once-so-familiar rock farm. Spotting a leafy green shrub, she slunk under it and cowered as her tail started to twitch. It had just begun to drizzle, and she hid deeper under the small patch of foliage with a growing sense of nervousness. The pegasi team above her tiptoed over the layer of clouds they had blanketed over the area, making it rain. Suddenly, a large lightning bolt struck the edge of her unprotected tail and she squeaked in fright.
"Oops, sorry Pinkamena." A small colt named Thunderlane smiled from a hole punched through the clouds. She smiled and yelled a thank you as she fled from the growing storm as her already scruffy mane and tail became more and more unkempt. "Nice cutie mark!" She heard him call from behind her, and her smile brightened just a little bit wider. Pinkamena Diane Pie was very proud; she only discovered her special talent, and thus her cutie mark, a few suns ago. She had decided to leave the rock farm in search of a new place to embellish her newfound abilities, let her love of parties bloom without the crushing depression of her home clouding her mind. She had to… even if her family didn't know what she was doing. They would never allow it, such strict parents with a strict way of parenting. She had already made them as happy as she could do for now, but there were more sad ponies out in the wide world of Equestria. Ponies that needed a bit of laughter in their lives, just like she once did before learning how to smile herself. She was off to find the town of Ponyville.

Pinkamena trotted though the darkness surrounding her feeling increasingly fearful. She had never gone this far in the rock farm before; all of this was brand new and fairly overwhelming for the poor filly. Her smile was faltering as she looked around her and realized that she had no idea where she was. Perhaps, if she kept walking, she'd eventually find the town she was looking for. Lost in her thoughts, she was galloping further away from her old home when a white unicorn filly crossed in the other direction, a large pile of gems levitating in front of her face. An older white stallion trotted behind, holding up a blue umbrella for her so she wouldn't get wet. Not looking where she was going, the two fillies collided head-on.
"Oh, so sorry darling." The small unicorn muttered before picking up her gems in her magic and the umbrella with her teeth and rushing off to avoid the rain staining her jewels. Pinkamena flattened her ears against her head as she lay in a crumpled heap on the ground, trying to gather what had just happened to her. She couldn't hear the stranger's mutterings due to water gathering in her ear.
"Sweetheart, that wasn't nice." The older unicorn scolded. Unfortunately, the purple maned filly had already gone. He sighed and grabbed Pinkamena by the scruff of her neck and set her on the ground again as the water rushed out. Pinkamena tapped against her head to get the rest out of her head, still confused about what had happened.
"I'm sorry about that," He muttered in an entirely different accent to the filly, "She's just so fascinated by these gems. Never any time for socializing when she's occupied, you know?" Shaking his head, he galloped off to catch up with the filly and left Pinkamena dazed and bewildered. The words she had just heard rang in her head like alarm bells. "Never any time for socializing"? How could anypony ever live without it? It was the highlight of her entire life! Pinkamena giggled and shook her random thoughts out of her head. Forgetting her fear, she trotted happily over a small hill to reveal the edge of a small town. She galloped as fast as she could to the edge of civilization, the wind and rain blowing wildly in her mane. Grass and dirt flew past her as she galloped as fast as she could. She didn't want to risk being spotted by one of her family members now, when she was so close to what she wanted. Out of breath, she panted heavily and her hoof steps started to slow. Her energy was draining fast, she had to move quickly. Pinkamena used as much strength as she could muster in an insane sprint to freedom. Finally realizing that she was not going to make it, she collapsed in the middle of an open field as her muscles cried out in distress. She whimpered pitifully, but refused to let her smile disappear as she filled her mind with happy memories to ward off the sadness. Suddenly, one of the weather pegasi spotted the mare lying on the ground and called an orange elder pony over to investigate. The elder's eyes widened when she spotted the small pink filly lying in the dirt.
"Pinkamena Pie, is that you?" The old pegasus flew down from the clouds and picked her up in her wrinkled hooves. "Oh my, you look much different from when I saw you last! What happened, did you get a haircut? Yes, yes you have! Oh, that beautiful mane of yours looks wonderful. And you're coat is shinier!" Pinkamena grinned with relief and wonder at this eccentric pegasus. After so many years of working the rock farm, she finally understood why this elder pony smiled and talked so loudly, so fast, so joyfully; because she had a reason to. It was a part of who she was. And now, it was a part of the small pink filly.
"Hi Granny Pie, I'm so glad you found me!"

Not For Now

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The sky was as bleak as ever now, but Pinkamena refused to let the weather dampen her high spirits. Seeing her grandmother gave her a new source of energy, and she expressed it by wiggling excitedly in Granny Pie’s hooves and wagging her puffy pink tail like a joyful animal.  
“Settle down, child.” She smiled and placed the enthusiastic young pony on the ground, “I wouldn’t want to drop you on your squishy little head!” As if to demonstrate, Granny Pie grabbed Pinkamena’s cheeks and squished them together gently, making her giggle.  
“You’re so fun, Granny.” She sighed contentedly. With her spirits renewed, she decided to keep on continuing her short journey into the young Ponyville, now in her sights. She called to her grandmother to follow her before bouncing away back into the rain in the direction of the town. Very confused, Granny Pie stretched out her tired wings and flew as quickly as the aching wind would take her, cutting off Pinkamena in mid-bounce and causing the dust underneath her to kick up into the air. One particular light purple Pegasus with a vivid rainbow mane caught a face full of brown dirt and he spat it out, glaring at the pair before returning to work on the clouds.
 “What’s wrong?” The innocent filly inquired. Now getting wet again, Pinkamena’s mane started to drip into her eyes. She quickly attempted to shake the water out, seemingly unaware of the weather around her, but the rain wasn’t faltering and simply refilled the pink mess of hair. Granny Pie only shook her head at the bizarre behaviour.  
“Why are you walking alone?” She asked, answering Pinkamena’s question with another. The filly only shrugged and muttered a reply under her breath, still not allowing her smile to disappear. Granny Pie frowned at the sight. “This isn’t like you, Pinkamena,” She lectured, “You need to go back home.”
 “I can’t, Granny! I need to make other ponies happy.” Pinkamena pleaded, “I can’t do that at the farm!” Granny began to protest, but Pinkamena cut her off. “It’s not fair; they won’t let me do anything except to chip away at rocks. It was so sad there Granny until I made it happy, I need to show Equestria my talent. It’s my destiny!” Granny Pie only rolled her eyes at her granddaughter’s statement. In pony society, one’s destiny was a cherished thing; you simply could not just shrug off what was written in the stars and branded on your butt. It was considered to be the ultimate failure if one did not live up to their cutie mark; the entirety of Equestria rested on the small, seemingly insignificant talents of the citizens. Granny Pie, being the happy-go-lucky mare that she was, thought that this notion was ridiculous.  
“No, Pinkamena. What’s wrong with you? You’ve gained some balloons on your flank, and suddenly you think that it’s okay to pack up and leave!” She exasperated. “What about your responsibilities on the rock farm?”
 “They lie elsewhere now.” Pinkamena stated matter-of-factly. That particular statement struck Granny Pie as incredibly odd. Pinkamena had never acted in this fashion before. She asked her if she was feeling alright, but Pinkamena nodded enthusiastically. Clearly, her physical health wasn’t the problem. 
“You’re acting completely different from the Pinkamena I know. You’re…” She paused for a fairly long time thinking of a word. “Happier.” Pinkamena grinned in reply and went on a tangent about rainbows and parties as the rain continued to envelop the two in a damp, opaque mist. Her attitude was a stark contrast to the cruel, unfeeling world going on around her.  “You’re not Pinkamena anymore.” Granny Pie reached her conclusion. The pink filly frowned and, confused, asked what she meant.  “You’re not Pinkamena anymore. You’re more playful, bouncier, more excitable... the Pinkamena I know wasn’t so enthusiastic about everything. And she would never,” Granny Pie cast a glance at a large crumbling silo in the distance, “leave the rock farm for the outside world.”
The two paused, deep in thought. Pinkamena contemplated what her grandmother had said. No matter her actions, she knew it was true; the old, pre-cutie mark Pinkamena would never have been so spontaneous and irrational in her decisions, especially on an issue as serious as running away from her family in order to “fulfil her destiny”. She would probably be punished somehow. Pinkamena frowned. She had never been punished before; she was a perfect, sad little angel. She always had been, up until she found her “special talent”.  Suddenly, she noticed that Granny Pie had begun to speak to her, and she was forced to snap back to reality.
 “Sorry, what was that?” She apologised as she kicked a loose rock out from underneath her hoof.
 “I’m not quite sure why you’re acting this way,” Granny Pie spoke, her voice faltering slightly; she couldn’t call her Pinkamena anymore. “But I think this new you deserves a nickname.” She smiled kindly whilst patting “Pinkie” on the head, “It sounds more fitting for the fun-loving little pony that you’ve turned out to be.”
 “Oh,” The pink filly smiled, “So, can I call you something different, too?"
"I think just 'Granny' is fine for now." She laughed and playfully nudged Pinkie in the arm.
"I thought you were bringing me back home. You’re not, are you?” Pinkie broke the happy atmosphere as her ears flopped down, expressing the scattered emotions and thoughts rolling around in her brain. She turned towards the mountains upon mountains of filthy rocks behind them, scattered across the desolate plains. The clouds were black as the night sky surrounding them, still pouring with their life-giving water. It would not be life-giving in this barren region. Granny Pie sighed at the wasted water, pouring down around them. Why is it that these weather pegasi decide to let it rain in this area? They know that it won’t bring the long-dead flowers and trees back to life. Still, week after week, they continue their futile efforts to breathe life back into the wastelands of Ponyville’s outskirts. She couldn’t let her granddaughter stay here; besides, it’d be too dangerous to head back now. The rain blocks the senses, and there could be timber wolves or manticores on the prowl. The two would not spot them until it was too late. The safest thing to do, she decided, would be to bring Pinkie with her to Ponyville to stay the night. Granny Pie squinted to see the soft glow of the town in between the bucketing rain. It couldn’t be further than a few gallops away.
 "Not for now."

The night was still young as the happy pair ran into the borders of early Ponyville, Granny Pie's wing hovering over the dripping Pinkie Pie to keep her warm. The golden aura grew as the two drew closer, eventually revealing their true shape as lit lanterns hanging on wooden stilts. The ground underneath their hooves turned from mud to rock as they stepped onto a delicately-made cobblestone pathway. They walked along the road slowly and deliberately, quietly searching for a motel or another pony in the night to ask for directions. The clouds above them grew thinner and thinner as they walked further and further into the centre of Ponyville, and Granny Pie was grateful for the depleting rainfall. She ruffled her wing that was shielding her granddaughter from the weather and folded it against her back, allowing the cramped muscles to relax.
It's so different, Pinkie Pie thought to herself as she turned her head rapidly from left and right, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings with wide eyes and a pondering mind. So much to do, so much to see… so much fun to be had.
Next to the excited filly, Granny Pie stared down at her hooves, deep in thought. She knew that she couldn't take the small earth pony to her home in Cloudsdale, and the weather behind them was too harsh to go back the way they came; she had no choice but to look for a temporary lodge here. They explored Ponyville together as they continued to look for a place to rest.

With the sky above Ponyville now free of cloud cover, the pale moon shone down unblocked by the weather. The mysterious face of a mare imprinted on the natural satellite stared down at the world below, dejected and companionless in the lonely night.

Morning in Ponyville Square

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More than eight long hours had passed since Pinkie had left her old home and a new day was dawning upon Equestria. The clouds that were blanketed over the wastelands behind Ponyville had been long since kicked away by the pegasi workers and the sun coated the land with soft warm rays. In a quaint, dilapidated little cottage just out of sight from the small town, the creatures inside were beginning to stir. In the only window facing the rising sun, a brilliant sunbeam illuminated the dusty glass and lit up the room inside. The two small fillies that were sleeping peacefully seconds earlier began to stir, and one of them lazily opened an eyelid. She groaned halfheartedly and turned towards her sister lying next to her, kicking the thin pink blanket on the bed off of herself with a restless back hoof.
"Blinkalilly, are you awake?" she asked. The light grey filly nudged her sister sleeping beside her. Blinkalilly buried herself deeper in the rough pink sheets and pretended to snore in a futile effort to ignore her.
"Blinkalilly?" She repeated in a louder tone. The only response she received was an annoyed grunt.
"Shut it, Inkaline." The ashen-purple pony with a light grey mane mumbled and rolled her still-closed eyes, her left hoof covering her face to block out the early-morning light.
"Come on, wake up. It’s time to work the fields." Inkaline whined loudly in response and began to rock the bed by wiggling her body. The poorly-crafted wooden bed creaked under the stress.
"Stop it."
"Blinkalilly…"
"Shh, I'm sleeping."
"But Blinkalilly..."
"..."
Inkaline growled and crawled up to her stubborn sister's face. She slowly inched closer and closer, up to the point where her muzzle was almost touching Blinkalilly's ear. "Wake up!!" she barked as loudly as she could. The shout startled the resting filly and she instinctively jumped off the bed. She then clutched her aching ear in an effort to calm the waves of radiating pain that Inkaline had inflicted upon her. Now that she was forced awake, the pony stretched by arching her flank in the air and stretching her hoofs out in front of her. A satisfying click was heard and now that she was limber, she leapt onto the bed and attacked her sister. Inkaline was taken by surprise and she let out a little squeal. It quickly grew into a growl as their harmless argument escalated into a fight. For a bitter few minutes, the two sisters fought angrily together, getting tangled up in the covers of the bed they were forced to share.
They soon grew tired of expressing their hostilities towards each other. Both fillies knew that their energy should best be spent outside on the farm, and their depressed moods made it hard to keep spirits high. Inkaline sighed as she flopped clumsily off the bed and trotted around the room, her hoof steps echoing in the darker pony's ears. She turned and smiled apologetically at her sister with sadness glistening in her small, delicate eyes. Blinkalilly only shook herself in an effort to rid her small body of the excess adrenaline still coursing through her veins. Suddenly, Inkaline noticed something missing; there was no insatiable laughter, or hyperactive pink ball of energy bouncing on the bed. There was no… happiness in the room. The light grey filly’s ears flopped and her frown disappeared, replaced with an expression of confusion.
"Where's Pinkamena?"

Suddenly, the tension was broken with a knock at their door. The two siblings sat in silence, staring at their hooves and thinking about the missing emotion. They could hear murmured voices in the next room over, and hoping to find Pinkie outside, the two siblings left their bedroom. They were confronted with a white unicorn filly and presumably her father, another white stallion with brown hair and a moustache, talking to their mother.
“What’s happening, mama?” Blinkalilly asked timidly, wary of the strangers standing in their house. Their mother stopped and turned coldly to her daughters, a cruel expression on her face and anger hidden behind her thick, old glasses.

“They want our farm.”

Under the cold cover of night, the bright colours of Granny and Pinkie Pie’s coat were somewhat hidden; now as the sun rose, they were not so lucky. The early-morning moisture clung to their fur and glistened in the light, making their coats glimmer as the delicate sunlight became entrapped in the water droplets. Unsuccessful in finding a place to stay for the night and not wanting to disturb any other ponies in their own homes, the two had taken refuge under a muddy picnic table, underexposed to the elements and yet still susceptible to the dew of morning.
Pinkie stirred, nestled in under her grandmother’s wing. She slowly opened her eyes and licked her lips, tasting the sweet spring air. Without wasting another minute resting, she scurried out from under the table to explore her surroundings, and in the process accidentally kicked Granny Pie in the snout. The old pony awoke at once with a start and whacked her head against the picnic table. She groaned loudly as two small blue bruises began to appear on her head.
“Oh Granny, I didn’t see you there! I’m so, so sorry for kicking you.” She apologized enthusiastically, and delicately prodded the bruise at the end of her grandmother’s snout that she had made.
“It’s fine, dear.” She brushed off the small pink pony’s apology and crawled from out of the table. Her bones creaked and her joints ached as she made her way out, and she cursed under her breath. Why did she agree to spend the night underneath a park bench? She cast a glance at Pinkie Pie, wide blue eyes glistening with wonder. Seeing the tired expression on her grandmother’s face, her ears flopped and her eyes turned to the ground. Granny Pie realized that the young filly had been hurt by her actions and grabbed her delicate head in one of her orange hooves. Pinkie turned to look her in the eye and she noticed that her lips were quivering. Unintentional tears began to sting the old pony’s eyes at the sight of her young grandchild so forlorn and she embraced her, whispering in her ear that it would be okay. This seemed to make Pinkie happy, and she instantly regained her previous composure.
“C’mon Granny, there’s an entire town out there to explore! No time to lose, so many ponies and so little time…” Pinkie laughed somewhat forcefully and skipped out of the park and out of sight. Granny Pie sighed in frustration and ran after her, using her large feathered wings to propel her body forward. When she had caught up with the precocious young pony, she scolded her for galloping off. Pinkie only muttered a small, insincere apology and dashed off again in the direction of the town hall. Granny Pie could only cry out in frustration and continued to chase her down in a futile attempt to calm her down and control her.

Soon enough, Pinkie arrived at the center of Ponyville. Her tail and mane was completely wild, eye-catchingly unkempt. Her bright colour-scheme along with her messy fur caught the attention of several ponies trotting through the town, and they eyed her with some suspicion and amusement. One particular dark-blue stallion couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh at the ridiculous sight as he made his way through the crowd and into a small bakery shop. She could feel their eyes on her, and she felt increasingly nervous. Living on the rock farm her entire life, she’d never been exposed to crowds like this, and she decided that she didn’t like it. She shrunk down in an effort to make herself smaller and spotted the cutie mark on her flank. For the first time since it appeared, she really considered what she was doing. “Does this mean that my cutie mark is…” She paused and her small blue eyes glistened with tears as she took another glance at the ponies around her, “wrong?” She thought harder. “Maybe this isn’t my destiny, to make the ponies around me happy. How did I get into this mess?”
Suddenly, she remembered the rainbow that shook the sky and made her feel so much joy. She remembered how she felt, and how badly she wanted to make other ponies feel the way she did. The memory brought a smile to her face and she wiped away the tears. With this new burst of confidence, she clambered back onto the stone pathway and made her way to a tall stone statue of Princess Celestia frozen in flight. She climbed onto the top of her head and grabbed onto her horn for balance, and noticed that other ponies were now giving her much more attention.
“Come on, ponies,” She shouted to the bundles of tired, obscure ponies below, “I want to see you smile!” she threw her hooves back and giggled. The crowd around her stared in amusement and before long began to snicker, laughing at the out-of-place pony.
“What a friendly town,” Pinkie thought happily, oblivious to the intentions of the laughter that she had inspired. Suddenly, she was picked up off the statue and found herself dangling, hundreds of hoofsteps above the ground. It took her by surprise and she foolishly swiped at the hooves now wrapped around her stomach. She glanced up to challenge her attacker and came snout to snout with her grandmother.
“Sorry sweetheart, but you should never leave my sights.” Granny Pie growled, flying higher out of the sight of the ponies below. She settled on a low-hanging cloud, still holding the small filly in her arms. “It’s a tough world out there. I don’t want you learning that the hard way.” She gently chided Pinkie as she wiggled helplessly. Eventually, she sighed and realized that her grandmother would not let her go.
“Okay, Granny.” She relented. Satisfied, Granny Pie stretched out her wings and glided gracefully back down to the ground. They settled down once again in the middle of the throng of ponies. Granny Pie spotted the bakery on the other side of the street.
“How about some breakfast?” She smiled warmly at Pinkie, and she grinned back in return. They walked together to the small colourful building, and Granny Pie put one wing over the filly’s shoulder. Pinkie sighed contentedly as she trotted to the bakery, unaware of the dark blue stallion staring confusingly at the two travellers through the bakery window.