A Very Rainbow Hearth's Warming

by Fancy Mark

Rating: mature
Tags: Rainbow Dash, Romance, Drama, Twilight Sparkle, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe
Length: 1388

Rainbow Dash is scared of Hearth's Warming, and it's up to Twilight to help her believe once more.

Rainbow Dash has nopony but her friends now. Ever since the accident, Rainbow thought she could take it. But now, she's scared of being alone. She doesn't want to be alone.

Twilight Sparkle knows just the thing to help her see that Hearth's Warming has more love than she ever could have hoped.

This heart-wrenching story will pull you apart and sew you back together fuller than you were before. If it doesn't, you get your money back.

This was written for ZeroMonkey as a part of Jinglemas 2020! For more information about Jinglemas, check out the group!

Multiple chapters is for effect and not meant for breaking rules intentionally.

Mature Rating was added later after realising the absolute amounts of gore.

Published 2020-12-27 19:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-12-27 19:50:00 UTC

Chapter 1

"C'mon, Rainbow, let's go and play in the snow!" Scootaloo jumped up and down in front of a very unhappy-looking Rainbow Dash.

"No." she muttered.

"Aw, c'mon!" Scootaloo's face sunk into a frown.

"I said no." Rainbow turned away.

"But I want somepony to play with!" Scootaloo said sullenly.

"Oh, go play by yourself. What happened to the other Crusaders?" Rainbow grunted.

"AB's helping make Apple Cobblers, and Sweetie Belle is learning how to sew with Rarity."

"And you think that doing something with me is going to solve your problems?" Rainbow growled.

"Yes!" Scootaloo exasperated. She noticed Rainbow's eyes begin to water. "Rainbow, what's wrong?" She took a step closer. "Rainbow?"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" The blue pegasus snapped.

Scootaloo shrunk back in fear, and an appalled look flooded her face. "What's gotten into you, Rainbow? This isn't who I remember!" She quivered her lip, and ran off, crying loudly.

Rainbow sat there, hooves crossed, slouching further than the snowbanks outside. She began to cry. "You're right, Scoots... it isn't."

Chapter 2

Twilight sat at her desk, writing Hearth's Warming letters to everypony in town.

"Spi-ike," Twilight called, "can I have more cocoa?"

Spike ran off to the kitchen to prepare Twilight a cup of cocoa. A knock rang out from the door. Twilight stood, and opened it. Her eyes could not believe the sight she beheld:

Scootaloo was crying on her doorstep. Never before had Twilight seen her in such a torn state, so she knew something was wrong. "Scootaloo, what's wrong?" Twilight ushered her inside and sat her down by the fire. "R-Rainbow Dash... Th-there's something wrong... I... She yelled at me! Rainbow's never yelled at me before!" And with those words, Scootaloo broke, the dam of her tears rushing from their reservoirs.

Spike heard, and immediately fetched Twilight's cloak. "Thank you, Spike. Now, stay here with Scootaloo, I'm going to talk with Rainbow Dash." And with that, Twilight shut the door gently behind her, venturing out into the newborn storm.

Chapter 6

The funeral was the hardest part of Rainbow's life. She had faced off dragons and other beasts, but nothing could have prepared her for the monster that was death. Rainbow stood at the podium.... and cried. There was nothing more she could do. She had dragged her parents to see a show in Canterlot, and she got them killed. She had broken her father's back. Rainbow felt nothing but guilt as she sank to the floor, a heaving mess of tears and emotion. She thought to herself, in a fit of loneliness, "Why isn't anypony helping me?"

Twilight watched in heartbroken silence as she watched her strongest friend break. The podium blocked her view of what Rainbow had become, but she could tell that her friend was no longer strong. She wanted to stand, she wanted to help, but her mind was numb and denied her the ability to move. She thought to herself, in a state of disarray, "Why aren't I helping her?"

Rainbow's slumber was abruptly cut short by a crick in her neck. She stretched, and remembered Twilight's small body in her hooves. She hugged the little pony, and sighed. She was happy she had somepony to hold.

The couple snuggled late into the night, and Rainbow's soft snores woke Twilight from her light sleep. She felt every muscle of Rainbow's warm against her own coat, and snuggled in closer. She was happy she had somepony to hold.

Chapter 3

Rainbow found herself huddled in a snowbank. She found herself soaked, be it in tears or melted snow, she could not tell. A storm had begun to pick up speed, and in the howling wind, a voice called.

"Rainbow?" Twilight called, again and again. Fear began to freeze her bones. Or was it the cold? She could not tell. The snow around her on the roads grew in elevation with each passing moment, the temperature dropping with every step. "Rainbow!" Twilight saw her friend's despairing face lift from the snow, and she rushed to her side.

Rainbow lifted her head and let out a raspy groan. Twilight dashed from where she stood, and urged, "Come on, Rainbow, we need to warm you up." Twilight brushed the snow from her face. She refused, until Twilight pounded her hoof impatiently. Rainbow reluctantly and weakly stood, and she let out a few coughs, then collapsed as her world went black.

Blood streaked the snow. Rainbow screamed in agony as she pulled her cut hoof out of the broken seat. The train was tipped. "Mom? Dad?" Rainbow looked to where they once sat...

Twilight sat worriedly as Scootaloo curled up beside her. Rainbow was under a blanket, resting beside the fire. Scootaloo looked up at Twilight, looking for reassuring comfort that her idol would be okay. Twilight's heart stung, and she wrapped a wing around the little orange filly, and cried silently.

Chapter 4

"Mom? Dad?" Rainbow looked to where they once sat. "No... No! No, no, no! MOM!" Rainbow's voice broke as she screamed, rushing to the side of her bleeding mother. Blood was everywhere, sprayed on the seats, all over the windows... And bodies... Oh, the bodies... There were bodies everywhere... Rainbow heard her father cry out in agony as he tried to crawl out of the crushed seat. Rainbow looked and hobbled to help. She began to pull, and a loud SNAP sounded, her father's eyes glazing over...

"Dad! No!" Rainbow awoke with a scream, and Twilight immediately rushed to her friend's side. Rainbow looked at Twilight with shocked eyes, her body racking with silent, heaving sobs. "It's okay, Rainbow, it's just me, you're safe now."

Rainbow's silent sobs became audible, as her cries of anguish became fueled with guilt. "Why, Twilight? Why did they have to go?" Rainbow buried her muzzle in Twilight's neck, as Rainbow clung to her for dear life.

Twilight hugged her friend closer, as Rainbow squeezed back, letting out gasps in between breaths, as tears continued to pour from her eyes.

Chapter 5

She began to pull, and a loud SNAP sounded, her father's eyes glazing over as his spine snapped. "No!! DAD!" Rainbow held her dying father as he coughed up blood onto her hooves. "Please, Dad! Stay with me! Don't leave me here..." Her father went limp, and Rainbow let out a scream of anguish.

Twilight held Rainbow for almost half an hour, letting her friend's snot and tears splatter all over her fresh, lavender coat. Rainbiw gave a few sniffles, and pulled her head up. "I... I think I'm good now..." Rainbow tried to pull away, but Twilight had an iron grip on her. "T-Twi, let go." Twilight reluctantly let her blue friend go, and began to speak.

"So, um, Rainbow," she began, "do you have anypony to spend Hearth's Warming with?"

Rainbow looked at the ground and began to tear up. "N-no..." She looked up, tears flowing silently. Twilight hugged Rainbow once more, this time from behind.

She began to cry softly with her friend. Rainbow looked to the ceiling, and thought, Why, Faust, why?

After a few more minutes of comforting, Twilight began to speak.

"Do you," she blushed, "want to spend it with me? I know I'm not your parents, but I think it's time you finally get the love you need." Twilight kissed Rainbow's cheek, then blushed again. "S-sorry, I got a little... um... carried away..." Rainbow wiped her tears away and kissed Twilight's cheek.

"Thank you, Twi... It really means a lot to me. It really does." Rainbow looked down again. "But-" Twilight shushed her.

"It'll be alright. I'll be here to help you through the trauma, and give you the physical comfort you'll need." Twilight smiled. "I'm here, and I always will be."

The two looked each other in the eyes, and locked into an embrace. Twilight's slim frame fit in between Rainbow's muscle-toned hooves, and they snuggled. Rainbow, now realizing her friend's intent, squeezed her tight, and whispered, "I always believed in Hearth's Warming miracles..."

Twilight chuckled softly, slipping Rainbow's hair behind her ear. "That's a lie..."
The two slowly drifted off to sleep as the sun set, the snow outside illuminating the sky to a soft purple.