"The second I saw snow blanketing the town of Ponyville, I knew immediately that it was nearing that time of year; Hearth's warming. Oh boy, I wonder what I'll do in my first hearth's warming celebration well...ever. Based on the context everypony is giving out, It should roughly be a few hours before Twilight dismisses the students for a break and when Gallus sabotages the tree. I don't know what will change based on my current alterations. But before worrying about that, there's some important business I and my sister had to join in when we got a phone call Discord."
Mobius and Radial both sat at the dinner table when his phone was already on a call with Discord. Making sure to put it on speaker mode for her to hear what Discord was going to say.
"First things first, we'll contact you both once we've located Scorpan. It may take a while, so just hold on until then. It's Hearth's Warming season, have you two made any plans."
"We honestly haven't made or thought about what we'll do..." Radial scratched her chin, "We were just going to piggyback onto Twilight's celebration with her family."
"That seems to be the plausible way, but before all else, you two need to look at this!"
Suddenly, an envelope appeared out of the thin air above them as it drifted through the air and landed flat on the table. Using his magic, he carfully broke the seal of the envelope to reveal a well-written letter with a signature he couldn't believe was created.
"This is addressed to...mom and dad!?" he gasped, skimming through the letter's contents.
"Not from your actual parents, of course, I've forged a letter addressed to your parents about not coming home for the holidays. I've used some references from your actual parent's penmanship to perform some precise replicas. You don't have to worry about being here when all the students leave for the holidays."
The colt sighed, "I guess that makes sense, maybe can I get Twilight to 'comfort' me for the rest of the winter break. Share a glass of hot chocolate, cuddle by the fireplace, read..."
"Ugh, I get it, you two are a thing..." barfed Radial in her seat, making some gestures of disgust, "How is the tree of harmony doing inside there? She seemed rather quiet since Chrysalis' reformation."
"I'm doing fine! Thank you! I just happened to use this spare time gathering knowledge about your world, browsing through the web and videos. I quite like it here, I don't mind spending the rest of my life inside this device!"
"We'll have to discuss that another time, now is there anything else I should be aware of?"
"Just answer me this Discord, Celestia mentioned you were busy with another client. Who exactly are you referring to?" He asked with a curious expression on his face.
"You don't need to worry about that! Just another poor soul that requires assistance from me! Anyways! Have a wonderful Hearth's Warming you two!"
The call ended leaving his phone to return to the home screen and back into the pocket dimension as Mobius reached out for the letter. He knew that he wasn't going to see his parents in his current situation, but it would be nice to see them once again. Just when he was preparing to head out, something still bugged him.
"Hey Radial, what was that thing Celestia was telling you about?" Mobius asked her straight up and got off his seat in the process. "She sent me back when she kept you around for a while."
"Well there's no point in lying so I'll tell you," she was content with giving him the truth and answered, "She found that I have an aptitude and I had to undergo some training for it!"
A smile grew on his face when he heard that news from her, "That's amazing! Looks like you're going to be put to speed with me! So, what kind of power do you have?"
"That part I'm not telling you yet!" She refused to answer Mobius, to which he responded in a reluctant grumbled.
"Alright...but can you explain where Lord Tirek's letter went?" Mobius went for another question on his mind
"Maybe I have, maybe I didn't..." Once again, she kept that dubious enough to raise suspicion from Mobius.
"Crap! Don't tell me she did what I think she did?!"
Mobius grunts followed by a slow sigh in his voice, "I hope you know what you're doing."
"Trust me, I don't know what I'm doing myself!" the forceful laugh coming from Radial gave him a dread of anxiety, "Don't worry, these things take like two episodes to resolve. Best case we'll keep him around for season 9, worse case he'll terrorize Equestria while growing exponentially."
The festive time in Ponyville was already showing itself as the blanket of snow covered the land and the citizens were setting up Hearth's Warming decorations at the local shops and around the light posts. All seemed well except for the empty expression on Mobius's face. He knew his parents weren't going to show up, but he was going to commit another fabrication of his life to Twilight and every creature in his peers. He just reached the main entrance to the school and roamed the near-empty hallways when he was interrupted by a familiar face who followed him from behind for a few seconds before coming right in front of him.
"Yo! Excited for winter break?" Sandbar gave him a wonderful greeting, but changed his expression when he saw his frowning face and lowered his head, "Huh? What's up with you? You don't seem like yourself."
"Everything's alright," he replied with an expressionless greeting, "Happy Hearth's Warming to you, I guess it's time you tell Silverstream your feelings?"
"Uh...y-yeah I will!" sheepishly, Sandbar cracked a smile, "But maybe on Hearth's Warming Day, It'll be special in a way."
"But she'll be at home by then, better to do it now than never." Mobius teased the sheepish earth colt as he staggered within the hallway
He left Sandbar stunned by his grim reminder that he won't be able to see Silverstream for a whole 14 days. He clammed up as he walked along the hallways.
He opened the twin doors to her office and no surprise, Twilight was very busy with stacks of paperwork on her desk. She noticed the one who came in unannounced and dropped everything on her desk to teleport right in front of him and gave him a warming hug.
"Oh! Happy Hearth's Warming Mobius!" she pressed her cheeks onto his, but before she noticed a strange behavior he was sporting, "Hmm? This isn't your usual self, you look sad! Why are you sad at this time of the season?"
"It's something that I'd expect to happen, but I never thought it would come true," the poor colt got out the opened envelope addressed to his parents and opened it up with his magic, "Take a look."
The letter Twilight grabbed with her magic had her curious as she read through the letter's content with her eyes completely shocked the whole way reading it. It almost made her tear up on the spot, but she was more worried about Mobius when he made a long sympathetic sigh. Her face began to frown as well.
"Your parents aren't going to show up for Hearth's Warming?" she saw Mobius almost teary-eyed while facing away from her, "Oh no, are you sure you're going to be alright with you and your sister?"
"It's going to be alright." he sniffed a little, "I'm happy that they're willing to take their time writing to me even in the holidays. I and my sister could manged with the two of us. "
"No-No-No...Don't feel sorry for yourself!" Twilight wrapped her front hooves around his neck and went over the top of his head to comfort him, "I'll make sure to plan something me and my friends could do for you to have the best Hearth's Warming ever!"
"Thanks..." Mobius rested his cheek on her soft chest, "I hope I won't be a bother to..."
"Excuse me, Headmare Twilight!"
The voice coming from the front door was from Chrysalis, who was accompanied by Ocellus as they witness the loving hug being shared by Twilight and Mobius from the distance. The two immediately broke off their long-enduring hug getting flustered by the changelings' unannounced arrival.
"It's you two! Happy hearth's warming to you!" Twilight smiled, "S-So what brings you two here at this time of day?"
"It's about Chrysalis," answered Ocellus, pointing to the queen looking sheepish than usual, "She wants one thing for Hearth's Warming, and It's virtually impossible to get!"
"What does she want then? Surely it isn't that expensive or convoluted for a Princess like me!" assured Twilight, confident in herself.
"You see Twilight, I only wish to see Jo Amon once more..." Chrysalis blurted out from her mouth, "I just want to greet to have a happy hearth's warming and tell him about my time at school."
Acting completely clueless, Mobius raised a brow in confusion, "That human who stopped you from stealing the elements of harmony? I still think he's sketchy..."
"You want to see Jo Amon again? That sounds sweet, but," the princess bit her lower lip as she thought about something, "We don't have a clue as to his whereabouts. Starlight tried tracking him down with some traces of magic he left behind, but she has no progress whatsoever."
"That's too bad..." Chrysalis turned her head downwards with a big sigh, "We tried deploying changelings out in the forest to locate him ourselves, but we couldn't find him."
She had to lay out the cold truth to her face, giving her some hope to believe. "I would love to try to locate him, but with the two-week break and my plans for the festivities, I don't exactly have much time."
Ocellus and Chrysalis both left the office disappointed by the heartbreaking news, but Mobius, carefully pondered to himself some very risky ideas in his head. If it means making Chrysalis happy at this special time of year, then he would gladly make her wish come true. He would have to add that part to his list of making the best Hearth's Warming ever.
"Yup, this is all familiar to me; the common room of the school's dorm, students chatting amongst eachother, and a huge tree decorated with tinsel ornaments, and that big ass flaming heart on top that I forgot the name of. It's all the same her, but how will I and Chrysalis's presence change the whole scene?"
When the majority of ponies were eager to leave the common room for their two-week break for the holidays, only seven students remained sitting around, including Chrysalis. They were simply enjoying themselves chatting about the holiday break, while Chrysalis tried to listen to their thoughts.
"Two weeks off of school, think you can handle it Ocellus?" Grinned Gallus.
"I'm fine...I'm worried about Chrysalis, however," she friends her head to face Chrysalis sitting right next to her, "She wants to see Jo Amon before we leave."
"Him? He's some strange dude." added Sandbar, "Does he even celebrate Hearth's warming?"
"He is not a pony from the looks of it" Smolder had to give him the news, "I remember Headmare Twilight saying that he was a...he-you-main?"
The bovine tried to correct her and her pronunciation "No, Yona think it's humane!!"
"That's not right either!" Cried Silverstream, "I think it's humid!"
"It isn't humid outside, It's snowing!" The annoyed look on Chrysalis's face as she sighed, "And it's not that, he's a human! But, I wish he was here before I leave for the holidays."
"I don't know Chrysalis, if Twilight mentioned she can't find anything she means it." Mobius carefully picked his words, "Looks like you just have to pray for a miracle."
Rainbow Dash hovered over the group as to abruptly stop their conversation. "Hey! You eight! Shouldn't you be going home to your families soon?"
"Augghh!" A sarcastic groan came out from Mobius's melodramatic voice, "Madame, you wound me!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight zipped past her to give her a big scolding, "How insensitive of you! Why do you have to act like that in front of my special pony?!"
"What?!" The flustered expression on Rainbow's face had her dumbfounded. "I just told them to go home to their parents—"
"—Hrrngh!", Mobius cried in agony like he was shot by an arrow to the chest
"I said stop it!" She came to the rescue and teleported next to Mobius to give him a comforting hug, "His parents aren't coming home for the holidays; he's going to be all alone for Hearth's warming!"
The group gasped in the room as they heard the shocking news coming from the headmare. Mobius on the inside was chuckling throughout this whole scene.
"Dude, that's a bummer..." Frowned Sandbar.
"That's terrible! Being without your family for the holidays is so heartbreaking!" Ocellus felt some sympathy for him.
"At least he has parents..." a faint monomer cane from the beak of Gallus,
"Well, I didn't know that!" Rainbow Dash was trying to prove her guilt with her. "You never told me that Twi!"
"Dashie...just go home..." Twilight seemingly pushed her out the door with her magic as she gave her some final words. "Alrighty! Time for your kids to pack up and go to the train station. Mobius will be staying with me of course~"
"Alright, the students are heading out to their dorms to pack while I'm just within proximity of the crime scene. At any moment now, Gallus is about to disrupt the flaming heart. I need to act like nothing's going wrong at all, or I'll draw suspicion. Here goes...any second..."
He slowly approached Twilight from the side, getting her attention away from the tree, "So Twi, what do you have planned for--"
"Ah-Ah-Ah!" she cutted him off with a foreleg pressing on his lips. "I'm planning a surprise for you! You better hold off until Hearth's Warming Eve."
After she pulled out her hoof from his lips, he slowly blushed. "W-Well...I hope it isn't something that will change our lives for the rest of our time..."
"So, do you have something to give for that foal Cozy Glow?"
"Huh?!" he blankly stared at her in confusion.
"I mean, she's a lovely little young mare! Our first time meeting wasn't the most ideal..." she cringed over at that part, "But she's quite nice when you get to know her a little."
"You've seen eachother after that...last meeting?" he curiously asked.
Twilight nodded. "Yeah, she was so nice when I visited the schoolhouse one day. It's like she forgets our first meeting like it never happened in her life."
"Well I guess Chrysalis did give her a little chat that one time, I no longer have to worry about two adorable ponies trying to claim me as theirs."
"That's amazing, I want you two to get to know eachother as friends. What else did she talk about?" Mobius curled up with a smile on his face.
"Hehe, it's sorta funny when she started spouting nonsense like your time is precious and enjoy the happy times while it lasts" she was seen giggle with her little laugh. "Such an adorable foal!"
"Well now, I guess it's something. But more importantly, why am I not being swept away in a gooey mess by now?"
"And we're all packed up and ready to leave!" Silverstream came bursting out the door and had her little bag on her when she flew out.
"I don't have to carry much, since I live kinda close by," said Sandbar, carrying a satchel bag on his back and peaking out his head through the door, "Yo Gallus! Are you there?"
"Yeah...I'm here..." the griffon mumbled as he walked at a snail's pace out of the doorway, "I assumed everycreature got their things packed as well?"
"Good you three, we'll see you off at the station after the rest are finished." The headmare reached over to see Mobius' neck angled seeing the flaming heart, "You alright Mobius? I know, the flaming heart of friendship is a sight to see, but you shouldn't strain your neck like that."
He blinked out of his trance at the same time he lowered his neck. "Y-Yes of course!"
"What the hell was that? Gallus didn't try to sabotage the tree? He still sounded bummed even when we saw each other off at the train station. I guess my presence here must have changed his mind on it, or something more sinister is at play. I must be very paranoid, I've still got a few days left until Hearth's Warming Eve— I have to give Twilight the greatest gift ever!"
Tomorrow morning was another day of snow in Ponyville and just a few days left until Hearth's Warming, Mobius awoke from his bed and sprang out to start the day. He grabbed a scarf to wrap it around his neck and a nice warm hat as he opened the door and went out to the town to scope the area. His first stop was checking out the market street for the stalls selling Hearth's Warming-themed gifts and knick-knacks. The crowd was bustling with ponies checking out each stall, but Mobius wasn't in a rush. However, the traffic of ponies cramped together kept him away from the stalls and just looking at the distance.
"Damn, I can't get a good look with these huge crowds." he huffed out his frustration with the crowd, before coming up with a bright idea in his head, "Unless..."
He had to walk discretely away from the crowd and into a dark alleyway with no pony insight to get some privacy, peeked into every corner to observe the scene, and got out his phone from midair. One tap of a button and Mobius was no more, Figure Eight appeared right in his place and stuffed the phone into his satchel bag flying off above the roofs of the town.
"Now we're talking! Let's go scout around the stalls for a while to find that perfect gift!"
Hovering around each stall to observe the nifty gifts displayed, Figure Eight took his time to find a suitable gift for his needs. But after enduring a few minutes flapping his wings in the air, he couldn't seem to find anything good. He softly landed on the thin layer of snow to think of another store.
"Most of the stuff there were plush dolls, figurines, and toys for foals. Not something I see Twilight enjoying as a Hearth's Warming gift. Maybe I'll check around the other stores if they have--"
*BUMP*
It caught him off guard, but a force strong enough to make him drop to the ground and fall to the snow on his side. Whatever bumped him, they seemed to be quite in a hurry when he spotted a pegasus filly wearing heavy snow gear with her light blue curly mane poking out of her beanie sheepishly embarrassed by her run-in with the older colt.
"Oh! I'm so sorry about bumping into you mister!" she apologized, "I need to hurry to get in line for a book!"
"It's Cozy Glow! I never actually met her in this form, but I need to keep it like this is my first time meeting her. She looks like she's in a rush for something?"
"I should be the one apologizing for standing in the middle of the road kiddo!" he smiled back at her, "You mentioned something about a book?"
She nodded, "There's this new novel that was just released for the season, and there are only limited copies at the bookstore here! It's super popular, and I want to give it to...somepony for Hearth's Warming..."
"Holy crap! I'm an idiot! A rare book is a perfect gift for Twilight, well anything she can read is the perfect gift for her. That should've been the first thing I searched."
"The bookstore?" he turned his face to the east side of the market street, "I'm going there myself, want to join me?"
"Umm..." she began to turn her gaze away from Figure Eight, "My dad tells me not to go with strangers, but my name is Cozy Glow..."
"Wait for just a second...you're Cozy Glow?!" he gave her time to nod silently to confirm his suspicion, "You must be that same Cozy Glow Mobius was telling me about a long time ago!"
"Y-You know Mobius!" Cozy gasped from her discovery, "D-Does he talk about me now and then?"
"A few times yeah," he answered back, "Sadly, we don't usually see eachother a lot since he got that new job as the Teachers assistant at the school of friendship. The princess said he was so good, that he was immediately promoted. Isn't that crazy?"
"Yes, new job." Cozy mumbled with an irritated glare on her face, "I guess if you're good friends with him, it should be alright."
"Okay, let's hurry up!"
"This is fantastic, me and Cozy flying side by side to make our way to the bookstore and buying a gift for Hearth's Warming. I have a warm feeling I know who's the lucky pony getting her gift. Just as soon as we made it to the front of the book store..."
They were immediately landed on the ground when they gandered upon the long line of ponies circling the bookstore. It left the two biting their lips overwhelmed by the number of customers. He noticed the poster on the window about a limited edition book with 200 copies available.
"Woah, look at that line!" he exclaimed, "This book must be very popular if it has this many ponies waiting out the door."
Seeing the crowd of ponies had Cozy loath in self-pity, "Oh no, there's no way either of us could get a copy of the book...that line is way too long!"
"No-No! You shouldn't give up before you even tried." The figure looked down at her saddened expression and gave her some, "It may seem that all hope is lost, but there could be the lucky Hearth's Warming miracle that could strike upon you any moment."
"Maybe so, but..." she muffled her soft voice as she looked at the line once more, "My dad told me not to take too long before we take the train to Manehatten in an hour. We were supposed to meet up with my mom..."
The colt raised his brow, seemingly 'interested' in her bad news, "Hmm? Your dad and your mom don't live together?"
"They're divorced," she answered muffling her voice, "But this is our chance to spend the Hearth's Warming together! I can't waste time trying to get a book that's way out of reach now!"
This predicament was troubling Figure Eight, seeing a poor filly trying to buy a Hearth's Warming present for 'somepony' he may or may not know only to be stopped by an overly large line out the doors and a limited time. The guilt was wavering on him, so it only took a few seconds for him to respond with an endearing gesture he thought of on the spot.
"...Perhaps I could buy the book for you?" he suggested to Cozy.
"Thanks, but it's only limited to one per customer from the poster..." she felt appreciated by his friendly gesture, but still defeated inside, "I could find the book in Manehatten, but the lines are probably even longer!"
"Crap, how can I make her feel happy during the jolly time of the year? The book is probably popular around every part of Equestria, and the lines are heaping long. Why can't online shopping be invented in Equestria already? Get your shit delivered in 2 days. Maybe I should give her a lecture on what it means to celebrate Hearth's warming."
"Listen to me kid," he slowly cleared his through as Figure began to educate her, "While you may not be able to get the gift you wanted to give, that isn't the meaning behind Hearth's Warming. It's all about cherishing time with family and friends. It doesn't have to be a particular item that was bought, it has to make you feel happy giving the gift to them as much as they receive said gift. What I'm trying to say is that they'll appreciate anything you give them even though it wasn't intended. Do you understand that at all?"
Mulling over his little pep talk as Cozy pondered deeply from her mind, she then opened up her opinions on it while chuckling, "...I guess you're right, I know for a fact that they'll love whatever I give them! Maybe I'll come up with something to give him after my trip to Manehatten."
"That's the spirit!" Figure playfully shook the top part of her head to rustle it up a tiny bit, "I'll wait in line to get the book, you go back to your dad and spend time with your family."
"Alright, mister, good luck on getting that book!" Cozy happily waved goodbye as she trotted back the other way.
"I'm not anticipating what she'll give 'Mobius' at all, as long as it makes her happy I don't mind getting anything. Speaking of gifts, I see the most daring challenge I've ever faced in this world; waiting in line!"
The castle of friendship was graciously decorated head to toe as Twilight held a meeting with her friends inside the cutie map chamber. All wearing their personalized winter wear and sitting in their assigned seats around the map. Pinkie had her trays of cookies around the table as she passed each of them to her friends. The main focus of the meeting of Twilight, seemingly in a state of panic with her hyperventilating and heavy panting.
"Girls! It's just horrible how Mobius is going to be all alone in Hearth's Warming!" she huffed out, dragging her forelegs across her face, "I said I had something planned for him, BUT I DON'T! This never happened to me in all of my life planning Hearth's Warming, I don't know what to do!"
"Uhh...ain't it obvious Twi?!" asked Applejack, leaning on her seat with her forelegs behind her head and legs pushing on the edge of the map, "Do what others do together in Hearth's Warming."
Gasping for a split second, Twilight blushed over her friend's indication, "N-No! I can't do that to him! I mean, I've only gone far as sleeping with him that one night in his bed--"
"YOU DID WHAAAAAAT!?" in unison, the girls gasped in utter horror with their eyes shocked and staring directly at Twilight.
"I mean...nooooooo, I never did that silly!" she sheepishly tried to save her from a total scandal, "I mean, what are you implying I do, Aj?"
"...Well, I was thinkin' you do what he does during the Hearth's Warming time..." Applejack slowly shrugged whatever Twilight just spilled out of nowhere, "He has a sister, why not ask her about their traditions?"
"That's an excellent suggestion Applejack!" complimented Fluttershy, but she quickly turned over to one mirror discrepancy she discovered, "However, she mentioned she went out to do her own thing when he was young. That could work out, assuming she visits them every Hearth's Warming."
"Excellent idea Fluttershy!" Twilight got up from her seat as she firmly stood tall, "I'll talk to her sister about giving him the best Hearth's Warming ever! I just need to ask her about everything they do during this jolly good time of the year! I'll go straight to her house and--"
"--There's no need for that your majesty!"
The voice was echoing just outside the doors connecting the main hall to the cutie map room, it opened to reveal Radial inviting herself in as her horn held the door handle and pushed them forward. She had a bright smile on her face which gave the girls in the room a peculiar expression.
Rarity turned her neck over to see the heterochromia unicorn walking closer to them. "Radial darling! We were just about to discuss what you do for Hearth's Warming with your family. You must be aware of the letter from your parents?"
"Yes I know, sucks for them not seeing their future daughter-in-law for the holidays." she poked at Twilight, seeing her all red on her cheeks, "I just came here today to talk about what our Hearth's Warming traditions are and how you can incorporate them with your schedule."
"Oh! Do tell! I must know everything!" Twilight shrieked out at the top of her lungs.
"There's this game we play with family members, it's a nice twist on the concept of gift exchange." Radial grinned when she answered Twilight.
"Ooooo! Is it who gets the best gifts out of all of us!" pinkie pie couldn't contain her anticipation over this game Radial mentioned.
She answered putting a hot on her chin, "Something like that, but with a little twist to add that some spice. You'll have to pitch in a present if you want to play that is."
"If it will make Mobius have the best time of his life, we'll all do it!" Twilight was dead set on committing to the game when she brought a little notepad and a pencil out of thin air, "Give me all the rules and stipulations of this game of yours! Pronto!"
"Well actually..." she slowly walked over to Twilight's side of the map, "There's another game we could play, but I don't think but I'm not quite sure if you six are up for it!"
"Come on! If it's a game, then there's surely no way I'm backing down on it!" Clenched Rainbow's hoof to the air when she had a face of determination.
"We'll do anything to make dear Mobius have the best Hearth's Warming with all of us!" Rarity smiled.
"Alright, but don't say that I don't warn you."
"Wooo! That was the longest time I've had to wait in line to buy that book for Twilight. Luckily, I was only 198th in line and scored one! Still, why does a novel titled 'Days of our Daycare' garner so much attention? I've read the synopsis on the back and it's about these two foalhood friends who see eachother again 15 years later working at a daycare and they catch up together as their relationship gets tested. It's critically acclaimed to be the most heart-drenching teen drama of the year. That's the corniest and cheesiest description I've ever read! Was this the book Cozy was trying to give me? And apparently, this is the first entry of the trilogy!"
Entering inside his house coming from the back door, Figure immediately reached out to his phone to switch back into Mobius in a flash. His gift excursion was a long, but worthwhile journey. He did some final preparations wrapping the book with wrapping paper his sister bought yesterday and neatly covering it with a red and green striped design. Slapping the sticker label on the front and writing the recipient's name and his own when he finally finished. Mobius cleaned up from the kitchen table and placed his present in his room for safekeeping.
"Just a few more days until Hearth's Warming Eve, and a day after that for Hearth's Warming day..." he said to himself, "I wonder what crazy antics I'll get myself into..."