Winter’s Howl
Chapter 3: The flakes danced as they fell
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Snowstorm had made it to Sugar Cube Corner by 8, but had certainly worked up a sweat doing so. He stood outside the door, hearing the dull bass of the music thud within. He straightened his mane and wiped the sweat from his brow. Finally he caught his breath and knocked on the door. The Pink earth pony he met earlier quickly opened the door with an enthusiastic grin, blowing a party horn. It unfurled and tickled the tip of his snout, the loud and strident sound rattling his ears.
“Hi! I’m so glad you came Snowstorm! This party would have been just silly without you!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed
“Heh, yeah no problem. It’s good to met new people...I suppose." He looked around the room and saw familiar faces. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack stood around the room looking at him. A few less familiar ponies stood around the room, a pair of mares, one a cream colored earth pony with a pink and navy blue curly mane, the other a unicorn with a pale green and a white and pale blue mane. The music was coming from a DJ table, being operated by a white unicorn with a blue and electric blue mane. She wore purple steampunk goggles to hide her eyes, and blasted various techno tracks from towering speakers.
Another knock at the door shortly followed his brief examination of the room. Pinkie answered the door and greeted the new guest with another horn blowing. Fluttershy walked in, smiling softly and greeting her friends. It soon became apparent that the five of them knew each other, as they began chatting fluidly. Snowstorm couldn’t pick up any of their conversation; the music was too loud. He trotted toward the snack table, grabbing some chips and punch. As he wandered through the party, he chatted with some of the ponies he hadn’t met before. He found out that the cream-colored earth pony was Bon-Bon, and her pale green friend was Lyra. When the DJ had set up the next record, she stepped down from the stage to briefly introduce herself. Her stage name was DJ PON-3, but her actual name was Vinyl Scratch.
Snowstorm raised an eyebrow "Huh, Vinyl Scratch sounds like a better stage name to-"
Suddenly there was a loud bang as the door slammed open.
“The party…has…. ARRIVED!!!” Cheers erupted amongst the small crowd. Snowstorm stopped, and turned to locate the source of the bang. He recognized that voice saw the object of his affection swaggering into the party, her sky blue flank swaying with each step. For the first time, Snowstorm saw her cutie mark. It was a multi-color lightning bolt coming from a white cloud. Well…that’s rather vague, he thought. He watched as she approached the gang of 5 friends and quickly joined in their conversation. Strange, he thought, quite a coincidence that they would all know each other. He heard Rainbow’s voice come from within the group.
“So where is the lucky guy this party is for?” Rainbow asked, grinning at her friends.
A voice rang through Snowstorms head. Do something, if you don’t ask the answers always no. Snowstorm approached Rainbow from behind.
“Looking for me?” Snowstorm asked, tapping on Rainbow’s shoulder.
“I thought it might be for you,” She started, “you know you have work tomorrow, and instead your out late partying?”
“Oh…uh…well” Horseapples, he thought, she had a point.
“Relax ya big oaf, I was just messing with you! I’m here too aren’t I?” Rainbow chuckled
“Oh…right.” Alright, Snowstorm thought, snap out of it, you can do this. “Anyway, I’m glad you came. It’s great to feel so welcomed in such a short time. I’ve already met all your friends here.”
“Wow, you must have had a busy day. And now a late night party? Maybe we better start at 10.” Rainbow smiled at him. She had a gorgeous smile, warm and inviting.
“That’d be awesome, actually.” Snowstorm replied, feeling at ease once again, he asked “Busy day for you too?”
Rainbow gave an awkward smile and brought a hoof to the back of her neck, “Define...‘busy’” she said while bending her hooves at the ankles, indicating air quotes.
“That means she’s been nappin’ all day,” Applejack interrupted with a grin.
Rainbow turned to her friend, “That is totally not true! I was up for like, at least 4 hours today! After I finished the weather and met this guy, I had lunch!” The rest of the group stared and raised an eyebrow as if to say ‘….and?’ Rainbow blushed. “Heh, ok no….I wasn’t busy. But that doesn’t mean I like waking up any earlier.”
Twilight spoke up, ‘Remember Rainbow, you may be in charge of Snowstorm here, but the mayor tells you when your shift starts.”
“Yeah, yeah…alright. So you’re name's Snowstorm huh? I was wondering how long it would take you to introduce yourself, but I guess Twilight took care of that.” Rainbow gave a smirk.
Twilight looked at Rainbow, “You mean you hired a guy without even knowing his NAME?” She asked with only a small amount of surprise.
“Would his name have mattered?” Rainbow shot back. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but on this unusual occurrence, Rainbow had a point. It really didn’t make any difference what he was called.
“Wait…I never told you my name?” Snowstorm asked in shock. It dawned on him that during their brief conversation earlier that day, his name never had come up.
“Nope. But now I know. So tell me, Snowstorm, where’d you get your name?” Rainbow inquired
“Well, for a couple reasons. One, I love to ski,” he raised his flank and unfurled his wings slightly, showing his cutie mark in full glory, “and two, I can whip up a mean blizzard, and rip one apart.” It was true. He got his reputation in Cloudsdale as being the only weather pony who could make entire snowstorms, and not have to create each individual flake. Yet somehow, true to the meticulous art of other pegasi, they were all different.
“Hm…” Rainbow seemed unimpressed; “I never learned how to make snowflakes, so I guess that could be useful for winter.”
“Oh, you misunderstand me,” He said with a grin, “I’ll show you tomorrow, but for now, let’s enjoy the party.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” replied Rainbow, her curiosity now somewhat piqued by just what it was this pegasus could do. She looked him over. He was tall, standing just higher than Big Mac. He wasn’t quite as muscular, but his body was well toned. She looked for the first time into Snowstorms eyes. They we’re icy blue, and sent a chill down her spine, causing some of the hairs on her coat to stand on end. There's something different about this colt, she thought, but she still found herself being drawn to him.
Snowstorm watched idly as Rainbow seemed to simply look him over with a complete poker face. He blushed slightly. He had absolutely no idea what to do in this scenario, as he'd never encountered it before. One thing was certain though; he was terrified at what might be going through that cyan pegaus’ head. If he didn’t impress her, he’d be unemployed, and worse yet, heartbroken.
“Is...uh…something the matter?” He asked nervously, sweating slightly.
“Hm?” Rainbow snapped back to reality, now wearing a blush of her own. She had decided to ask him to dance, but somehow, words escaped her.
HER! Rainbow Dash! She wasn’t scared of anything, we was she getting caught up on such a simple question? Her blush intensified. “Uh, I was just…trying to decide…if you looked like a good dancer!” She finally spat out. It sounded stupid, but it was easier to say for some reason.
It was Snowstorms turn to be in the spotlight. Did she just ask me to dance? He asked himself. Well, technically no, but she gave him the perfect opening to ask her. This was his shot, and he was going to take it. He prepared to ask a simple question, and felt nerves bubbling beneath his skin. But this time, he had a weapon. Sage words that calmed his nerves. If you don’t ask, the answer’s always no. Well, here goes nothing.
“Well, we can find out. Care to dance?” The words escaped his mouth and listened to them again in his head. That was…not bad. Kinda smooth actually. Whatever controlled his blush disagreed, and intensified to show it’s protest.
The question hit Rainbow hard. It was exactly what she wanted to say, but couldn’t. This guy just laid it out as though he were asking the time. This guys braver than I thought, Rainbow realized, I like brave…Now it was her turn. She mustered up a little courage and gave a simple “Sure.”
Snowstorm smiled. Whether it was simply her manners or a good omen, he had won a victory, and planned to reap its reward. He held out a hoof, and Rainbow simply starred at it, unsure of what to do. She looked up to Snowstorm, with a questioning look. Snowstorm rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Well, are you coming? I promise I won’t bite.”
Rainbow Dash finally reacted, grabbing his hoof with her own. She felt a sudden jerk as Snowstorm pulled her to the middle of the dance floor. When he stopped, inertia kept pulling Rainbow and she began to fall. Snowstorm quickly caught her with the hoof not in hers, and brought her upright. She met his eyes, somewhat shocked by his strength, and instantly smiled. Either this guy was lucky, or he actually was a good dancer, not like most colts who simply attempted to grind their flanks against hers.
As the music played on, Snowstorm proved himself as not only a good dancer, but a magnificent one. His speed and coordination almost matched that of the legendary Rainbow Dash, and she was impressed. As the party began to slow, quiet, more romantic songs began to play, Snowstorm demonstrated a quiet grace about him, leading Rainbow in an assortment of waltzes and tangos. Snowstorm looked at the nearest clock. It was 11 o’clock. They had spent nearly three hours dancing, but to both, it had felt like minutes. As the last song winded to a close, they met eyes and starred.
From Snowstorm’s perception he saw the most beautiful eyes starring back. Their magenta hue was warming, and brought a fire with them. He could see burning passion in those eyes, and he could feel their power. Yet, simultaneously, they had fragileness to them, He never wanted to see them break, and watch as sapphire tears escaped from ruby eyes.
From Rainbow’s perspective, she saw something awesome. Snowstorm's eyes had a hidden power behind their icy blue surface, and they had a wondrous ability to chill her very core. They seemed to put her under their control, hypnotizing her with quiet intricacies.
Finally the song ended and Snowstorm released Rainbow Dash from his embrace. Both smiled and looked away from each other’s eyes, scratching the backs of their necks with a hoof. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak.
“You’re…uh…you’re a pretty good dancer.” She laughed sheepishly.
“You’re not bad yourself,” Snowstorm replied.
“So…uh…I guess I’ll se you in a few hours, huh?”
“Yup, bright and early.”
“Alright…so…yeah!”
“Yup!”
The two nodded and separated, Rainbow Dash headed for her group of friends who greeted her with gossipy “OOOooooo!”s. Except for one blond farmer pony, who faked a smile, before allowing her face to morph into a glare…