A crisp spring breeze gusted in through the open window and ruffled Rainbow awake. Snapped to consciousness, she pulled her head off of the covers of the bed with a start. A cursory glance outside revealed a dimming sky hearkening in the evening. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out but the moist patch of blanket from her drool implied at least a few hours of restless slumber.
The other occupant in bed, Twilight, breathed shallowly while buried under several warm layers. Her cheeks reddened from an unnatural heat and her forehead speckled with droplets of sweat. Wordlessly, Rainbow scooped up the lukewarm towel resting in the bedside bowl and dabbed away the signs of fatigue, but the condition remained.
The cool towel elicited a quiet gasp from Twilight and the unicorn briefly opened up her eyes. Rainbow smiled just a little and moved her hoof away to return the towel to the bowl. A slight whine of discontent filled her ears and she returned her hoof. Soft. Twilight’s cheek nuzzled against her hoof ever so slightly, her reddened cheeks blushing further.
“T—Thanks Dashie...” The words came slow and strained, each syllable punctuated with a pained pause which Rainbow quietly endured. For Twilight, but mostly for herself.
“Heh, anytime, Twi. You did the same for me when I caught the ponyflu a couple months back.”
“This isn’t the ponyflu, though...”
Rainbow shook her head. She could never get over how silly Twilight was sometimes. Even in times like these, the little details still mattered to Twilight. It always put her in the most difficult of positions, since, she never knew how to respond afterward.
“Yeah, that’s true.”
A passable response at best. Not wanting to dwell on her lame response, she moved on to the next step of a routine established by days of practice. Fetching a nearby thermometer from the nightstand and she gently eased it into Twilight’s mouth. The viscous red fluid pooled in the base slowly rose up the marked tube. Her smile fading from her face as the red liquid rose higher and higher.
Twilight nuzzled Rainbow’s hoof once more, oblivious to the escalating value of her condition. The nuzzling gradually gave way to quiet gasping breaths as the red liquid came to a rest.
“One-Oh-Six.” Rainbow breathed out quietly and tugged the thermometer from Twilight’s mouth. In the back of Rainbow’s mind, something nagged her about the temperature, it just seemed a little off. Like another one of those little details Twilight would insist upon explaining.
“Dashie...”
Rainbow looked to Twilight and found the unicorn on the verge of tears. The moisture budding at the corner of her eyes. Even odder, Twilight sported the happiest smile she’d ever seen.
“I...I do, Dashie...”
A spark of realization filled Rainbow’s face, and she couldn’t help but smile a little herself. She leaned down and wrapped her hooves around Twilght’s neck in a hug. She held Twilight until the dream passed, a happy dream she would fulfill in the not distant future.