It was Hearths Warming Day and Twilight Sparkle was just utterly wiped. She hadn’t gotten to bed until late last night and had been awoken at the break of dawn. The later was not by her design but rather the result of a young and incredibly excitable dragon eager to open his presents as early in the morning as possible.
So, before the sun could even really crest the horizon, Twilight, Starlight, and Trixie had been ushered into the castle’s map room. During the holidays this acted as the nexus for Twilight’s festive decorations, and was where the holiday’s famous tree stood, with all their presents underneath.
They had then watched Spike open his gifts from various friends and family. It was a nice bounty of loot on his behalf and included clothes, sweets, comics, and most importantly, toys.
Holy crap did the dragon get a lot of toys. Twilight didn’t even know what half of them were. Heck, he even received an exotic gift of lego building blocks from Sunset and their other human friends. Twilight found these especially interesting
After the presents were opened Starlight and Trixie had snuck off back to bed. However, Twilight was not a pony who could easily fall back asleep. Instead she left Spike with his things and went to her study to get some work done. It may have been the holidays, but what really made today any more special than tomorrow or yesterday?
Well, two things.
First, one of her marefriends, Rainbow Dash, was going to be stopping by. This was never a bad thing.
And secondly, if they didn’t celebrate this holiday a group of mystic beings would likely push Equestria into eternal winter. Nothing like the threat of the apocalypse to get you in the holiday spirit, eh?
Still, she felt like she had generated more than enough holiday cheer and Rainbow Dash wasn’t even here yet. So, in her opinion, she figured she earned the right to relax and get a little bit of work done. Especially since she had left some unfinished from last night.
Twilight studied the chalkboard in front of her. On it were names and labels with various arrows pointing them at, around, and away from one another.
She hummed softly. “If General Ironside’s flank moves swiftly enough we can force Ember’s surrender in a matter of…”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Twilight looked over her shoulder and opened the door. The hallway on the other side was empty.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She looked around frantically.
Where the heck was that coming from?
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Twilight located the sound, following it up towards a window near the top of her study. Outside was Rainbow Dash in a…dress?
Had she passed out and this was just some weird dream? Rainbow Dash wasn’t exactly known as a pony who dressed up. Also, why was she in white? Was there a wedding that Twilight had forgotten about? No, that was stupid.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Oh right! Rainbow probably wanted to be let in.
Twilight reached out with her magic and pushed the window outwards, allowing Rainbow to slip inside.
“Holy shit, it’s freezing,” Rainbow said.
She settled upon the ground and proceeded to rub her hooves together, blowing warm air on them.
At closer examination Twilight could see that the “dress” was actually an oversized sports jersey.
Rainbow looked absolutely adorable in it.
“Hey Rainbow,” Twilight said.
Rainbow looked over. “Hey babe, how’s your Hearths Warming been?”
Twilight shot her plans a sideways glance. “Productive.”
“Are you really working on Hearths Warming?”
“Well, I mean I had some time to kill and…” She trailed off. “So! Where did you get that jersey from?”
“Oh this? Applejack gave it to me last night. Isn’t it awesome?”
Rainbow fluttered off of the ground and thrust out her chest, giving Twilight a chance to see that it was a Wonderbolts’ jersey.
“It looks cute on you,” Twilight said.
Rainbow looked indignant. “Cute?! It doesn’t look cute. It looks awesome, cool, rad...”
Twilight smirked and walked over, planting a kiss on Rainbow’s cheek.
“Yeah well, you’re cute so anything you wear is cute by association,” she said.
Rainbow blushed.
“I’m not cute,” she muttered cutely under her breath.
Twilight kissed her again. “Yes, you are.”
Rainbow looked like she was about to respond but instead let out an indigent little huff.
“So, did you guys already open your presents?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so. Spike had us up at like five in the morning.”
“Holy shit, he was up that early?”
Twilight shrugged. “It’s Hearths Warming. You can’t really blame him for being a little excited.”
Rainbow looked towards the chalkboard. “Hey, why is Spitfire’s name on this.”
Twilight forced a laughed. “It’s nothing sweetie. How about we go get you something to drink. You must be freezing.”
Rainbow reluctantly nodded. “Yeah, uh sure.”
Together the two of them left Twilight’s study, crossed through the crystal hall, and entered the nearest kitchen.
“So, what would you like?” Twilight asked.
“Do you have any hot chocolate?”
Twilight walked towards a cupboard and opened it, peering inside. “Yep.”
“With whipped cream?”
Twilight floated out the hot chocolate powder and then opened the fridge, pulling out a can of whipped cream.
“I do.”
“And little marshmallows?”
An opened bag landed on the counter.
“And would you like sprinkles too?” Twilight chided.
Rainbow blushed. “No…”
Twilight turned and cocked an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Rainbow muttered.
Twilight smirked and a shaker of chocolate sprinkles joined its companions. With that done Twilight grabbed a pot, poured a couple cups of milk into it, and placed it upon her gemstone oven to warm.
“Did Applejack enjoy her gift?” Twilight asked.
She looked over her shoulder and saw the way Rainbow smiled. That would have been an answer in itself.
“Yeah, she did,” Rainbow said. “You… you know how I’m not very good at romantic gestures, right?
“I’m familiar.”
Twilight wasn’t in much of a cocoa mood so she grabbed herself a mug and poured what remained of her morning coffee into it.
“Well, I think...I think it was worth it this time around. Like I wish you could have been there Twi. Just to see her breath taken away. It was like something out of one of Rarity’s love books.”
Twilight walked over and gently nuzzled Rainbow. “I’m glad I could help.”
“Help? Twi, you did way more than help. I would never have thought up anything this awesome on my own. Your idea was fantastic.”
Twilight grinned. “Yeah, I guess it kinda was.”
Rainbow kissed her on the cheek. “How in Equestria did a mare like me ever land an egghead like you anyways?”
Twilight returned the kiss, though this time upon the lips.
“Well, you’re an incredible friend, kinda like reading, absolutely gorgeous, and you know being a bit of a dork never hurts.”
Rainbow balked. “Me, a dork! That’s rich coming from you, Princess Dorkus Malorkus.”
The milk began to bubble. So, Twilight mixed in the cocoa powder. The contents of the pot were then transferred into a ceramic mug, bearing an image of the periodic table, and topped it with whipped cream, a hoofful of marshmallows, and a few shakes of chocolatey sprinkles.
Twilight swore she saw Rainbow’s eyes twinkle in amazement as she handed her the mug.
The second it was in Dash’s hooves she took a sip. It was, of course, still far too hot for consumption and she swallowed hard, waving a hoof over her mouth.
“It might be a little hot,” Twilight warned.
Rainbow shot her an indignant glare. “Thanks.”
Twilight snickered and gestured towards the door. “Come on, let’s go check on Spike. I made him swear not to open your present until you got here.”
Rainbow nodded and the two of them walked through the palace until they reached the map room.
When Twilight claimed that the map room was the nexus of her festive decorations she did not lie. Ribbons and holly were tied to every surface and wreathes of pine branches and brightly coloured bulbs hung from the walls. In the centre of the room was a fairly large, and completely natural, tree with all manner of ornaments affixed to it. Some were traditional like the balls of coloured glass and strands of white lights. Others were from things that reflected the diverse interests of the family that lived under this roof. There were comic book characters for Spike, literature references for Twilight, little fabric kites for Starlight, and a very gaudy Great and Powerful nameplate for Trixie.
Under the tree were a couple of wrapped presents. Then around that was a sea of tattered and torn wrapping paper, stretching out in every direction. The perpetrator of this carnage, Spike, currently laid upon his belly in the middle of the room. He held a candy bar in one hand and was flipping through a comic book with his other. All around him were various other toys and treats.
“Hey Spike,” Rainbow said.
Spike looked over and waved. “Hey Rainbow, nice jersey.”
Rainbow grinned. “You like it?”
“Yeah, it looks really cool.”
“I know, right!”
Twilight trotted over, peering at Spike’s comic. It was pretty hard to tell what exactly was happening but it appeared that some brightly coloured mare clad in golden armour was bearing a shield against a horde of changelings. Like the old horrifying changelings, not the new peaceful ones.
“Whatcha reading?” Rainbow asked.
Spike looked at his comic. “Oh this? It’s uh… Captain Equestria, a friend in Fillydelphia got it for me.”
Rainbow beamed and cantered over, taking a look at the comic herself. She looked so excited, it was kind of adorable.
Actually… it was very adorable.
“No kidding? I used to read that in flight school. Is she still Commander Hawk?”
Spike nodded. “They brought her back.”
“Wait, brought her back. What happened to her in the first place?”
“She uh got…”
Twilight cleared her throat. “I think we still have a couple of presents that need to be opened, you two.”
Spike and Rainbow looked up and grinned sheepishly.
“Sorry,” Rainbow said.
Spike closed his comic, got up, and together with Rainbow made his way over to the tree. In total three presents remained. Two were neatly wrapped while the last was very shabbily done. Twilight selected one of the neatly wrapped presents and slid it over to Spike.
“This ones from Rainbow to Spike,” Twilight said.
She looked to Rainbow, who mouthed the words ‘thank you’.
Spike looked at the present and in a matter of seconds tore the paper to absolute shreds. Behind it was the Action Headquarters playset for the League of Equestrian Action Heroes™ series. It was apparently the must have toy, according to Spike.
He grinned from ear to ear before bolting to his feet and giving Rainbow a nice big hug.
“Thank you so much!” he said. “This gift is incredible. I wanted it so badly.”
Rainbow chuckled and gently patted him on the back. “Well I mean a mare as awesome as me would only get the most awesome gifts. You should know that by now.”
Twilight levitated the box to herself and looked at the fine print. “Hmmm, it says here that batteries are not included.”
Spike paled. “Wait, what!?”
He pulled away from Rainbow and rushed over to his toy.
“Don’t worry,” Twilight said. “We have some in the dungeon.”
Dungeon was only a technical term. It was really just a big basement…with barred cells…and an abnormal concentration of cast iron shackles.
“Twilight there’s literally tons of stuff down there. Where exactly are they?” Spike asked.
“Spike, I left a very detailed inventory sheet down there. All you need to do is follow the floorplan laid out on page three.”
“Alright. I’ll be right back,” he said.
He swiftly walked out of the room.
“We’ll be waiting,” Twilight called after him.
Once he was gone Rainbow grinned. “You did that on purpose.”
Twilight smirked. “Did what?”
“You bought him a present that required batteries and conveniently forget to bring any upstairs.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Do you honestly think I’m so mischievous that I’d send my little brother on a twenty-minute errand so we’d get a little personal time to open presents?”
Rainbow plopped down intimately close to Twilight. “Hmm, you’re right. I guess it’s just a happy little accident then.”
She placed her foreleg over Twilight’s and nipped at her ear.
“It’s a shame there’s no mistletoe,” Rainbow whispered.
Twilight levitated over a bundle of holly. “Are you sure about that?”
Rainbow looked up and chuckled. “Nice try babe, but I still remember that forty-minute lecture you gave me the last time I made this mistake.”
Hey that wasn’t even close to forty minutes! It was barely even twenty.
Twilight huffed. “Can’t you at least pretend?”
Rainbow smirked. “Wellllll”
She ducked forward and pressed her lips against Twilight’s. Twilight inhaled sharply but then closed her eyes, leaning into the kiss.
They held it for a few seconds.
“Happy Hearths Warming, Twi,” Rainbow said.
“Happy Hearths Warming, Rainbow,” Twilight said.
The holly was discarded and Twilight offered the second neatly wrapped present to Rainbow. It was very book shaped.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I wonder what this could be?”
“Just open it,” Twilight said.
Rainbow tore open the paper, revealing that it was in fact a book.
“Huh, this isn’t Daring Doo,” she said.
“I know, I know, but you’ve run out of new Daring Doo books to read. Trust me, this series is really good and it has a lot of elements similar to Daring Doo. I guarantee that you’ll love it.”
Rainbow nodded. “Well, the cover looks really cool, so I’m sure it’ll be awesome.”
She placed her book down before reaching under the tree and grabbing her own present. It also looked very book-like in appearance.
Twilight grabbed it with her magic and began carefully opening it.
As she did this she looked to Rainbow who was grinning from ear to ear. Obviously, she was very proud of what she bought her.
Inside was a trade paper book with a solid white cover. The title upon it read ‘250 Facts You Didn’t Know About Unicorn Magic’.
Twilight smiled. “I love it Rainbow.”
Rainbow nuzzled her neck. “I’m glad. I uh… I had trouble figuring out what to buy you, but then I remembered that you love learning about magic. So, this seemed perfect.”
Twilight flipped through the book and landed upon fact 59. It began with the preface ‘Unicorn Magic is not Decided Exclusively by Cutie Marks’.
Sure, the book wasn’t likely to teach her anything revolutionary, but it was the thought that counted. Rainbow had gotten it for her and as such she would read and cherish it.
Twilight looked to Dash, who in turn stared intently back. She placed her hoof a top of Rainbow’s and leaned in to kiss her. This wasn’t going to be some little smooch either.
The moment was interrupted as the chamber door opened and two ponies walked in.
“Good morning, Twilight,” Starlight said.
Rainbow and Twilight separated, both of there cheeks tinted red.
Starlight and Trixie froze in place, also blushing.
“I think we interrupted something,” Trixie said.
Starlight grinned sheepishly. “Sorry girls, me and trixie will just, uh, leave you alone.”
Twilight stood up. “No, no, stay. Me and Rainbow were just opening presents.”
Starlight and Trixie looked at each other, unsure.
“Come on girls, I insist. Spike should be back any minute now.”
They nodded and walked over, settling down next to Twilight and Rainbow. All of them then chatted amongst themselves, waiting for Spike to return. Once he did, the family of five spent their holiday together.
As any family should.