Love is...

Feeling Cold in the Back of Vans

Rainbow Dash remembered only sensations, no words.  Vaguely she could hear the sound of cold winter wind lashing against the windows of the cab, wriggling its way through the rubber seals.  Her hands burned with the cold, and she tried not to move them.  The air in the cab felt no warmer than the wind that drove the snow outside.  She shivered, and Fluttershy leaned against her, already warm.  Rainbow Dash recalled holding the door open, letting Fluttershy in first.

One of them, she couldn’t say who, gave the driver the address, and the cab rattled off down the road.  She had clasped her hands tightly together and breathed into them.  Fluttershy continued to lean on her.  Rainbow Dash leaned right back, her head sinking into Fluttershy’s pillowy overcoat.  Then she felt the gentle weight of Fluttershy’s head resting against hers.

In the rearview mirror she had seen the driver smirk, and heard his chuckle in her stinging ears.  She felt Fluttershy blush; the warm cheek against the side of her head grew suddenly warm.  Rainbow Dash grinned, and some frivolous, silly comment left her lips.  What exactly it had been, she couldn’t recall, but the driver guffawed, and Fluttershy blushed more.  Likely wishful thinking in the guise of jest.

There had been a conversation at some point.  She had done most of the talking, if not all of it.  They weren’t from around here.  No, we’re from Ponyville.  What brings you to Manehattan?  Bringing a friend out for her birthday; we’re scouting out a fun dance club for the party.  When’s the big day? Two days from now.  Are the two of you a… the driver made a hand motion as he tried to think of the word.  Fluttershy stiffened and finally said something.  The driver had chortled.  Rainbow Dash had laughed along.

After that, the ride was quiet, and Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to Fluttershy.  She was warm.  Fluttershy was always warm.  It was a warmth that flowed, from where Fluttershy’s hot cheek pressed against her head, pouring down into her chest.  The back seat of the cab became a sofa in front of a roaring fire.

The next thing she remembered was the cab crunching to a halt at the curb, and a bright pink glow on the other side of the frost-smeared window.  The moment where she forced herself away from the warmth was nowhere to be found, it was a small mercy that she had forgotten.  Her fingers felt like ice as she gripped the door handle and opened the door for Fluttershy to step into the inch of slush on the street.  Fluttershy lingered, tipping the driver.  Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but smile.

Her nose and ears were numb already, and her cheeks were sure to follow shortly.  A snowy gust of wind caught Fluttershy’s hair as she stepped into the evening.  It curled around her face, hiding her eyes.  Fluttershy slipped on the slick street, and Rainbow Dash had caught her.  Even in the midst of the violent wind lashing at her body, Fluttershy was still warm.