//------------------------------//
// Happy Hearth's Warming 
// Story: The Cocoa Stand 
// by Sketcha-Holic 
//------------------------------//

The waves pounded on the shore, turning sand into mud and whatever snow that had made its way onto the sand into slush. The muddy puddles were freezing when stepped in, and a wet hoof would quickly turn to ice once exposed to the frigid air. So, naturally, Silver Shill had to keep his little sister away from the puddles. After all, a little six-year-old cannot resist splashing in puddles. 

The pair were on the beach during Hearth's Warming Eve, scanning the shore for any seashells that could have washed up on the beach. Especially after the storm the day before, since that meant the waves were likely to have literally thrown the shells onto the sand. It wasn't what one would consider a usual Hearth's Warming activity, but Silver had a little plan with any shells he and Goldie could find. 

Goldie was taking an unusual approach to seashell hunting--diving headfirst into the sand and somehow tunneling underground, and then popping out like a gopher, revealing prizes of assorted shells that she had accumulated. Silver had no idea how she was jumping in without hurting herself, or how she was digging so fast, but he deemed it best not to question it. It was Comedy Gold; she was strange.

He picked up a quahog shell, a scallop shell, and what he was pretty sure was an oyster. He picked up shells of several colors, though they were mainly brown, or white, or some sort of yellowish color. There were a couple of grays here and there, with a bluish tint that matched the cloudy sky. Each of those shells, he placed in his bucket. 

At one point, he picked up a shell, and was disgusted to find some meat still attached to it, enough for him to throw it in the ocean. Gagging, he continued on his search, combing the beach and digging through sand and snow to find more seashells. He skipped over the broken ones and those that were still attached with its other half and likely having a mollusk--dead or alive--inside. 

He jumped when a muddy Goldie suddenly popped up in his vision, holding up equally muddy seashells. With a yelp, he ended up sitting in the mud himself. A shiver ran through his body, and he pouted at his sister. 

Goldie ignored him, and dumped her shells into the bucket. "That's a lot of seashells we got! What are we gonna do with them all?"

Standing up and wiping his bottom as much as he could, Silver replied, "Well, when I'm done choosing the shells I'm gonna use, you can do whatever you want with 'em!"

Goldie blinked, and then her face broke into a grin. "Sweet! I can build a go kart!"

Silver tilted his head. "Eh, wha...?"





Silver spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning off the collected seashells, and then sorting them to see which ones he could use. And then, once he had chosen the shells he thought would work the best, plus some spares, he began work on a little something for Coco Pommel. 

He was up late that Hearth's Warming Eve, and he was desperately trying not to wake his mother or any of his sisters up. He was sitting in his father's old workshop, at his father's old work desk, where Noble Metal once carved hoofmade presents for friends and family. It hadn't been his special talent, but Noble had been raised by woodcarvers, so he knew a thing or two about it. And now his son was occupying the seat, carefully drilling a hole in each shell. 

He remembered seeing his Pop drilling with the crank drill plenty of times, so he figured that it was easy. However, he jumped every time he missed the shell and scraped the desk, and he sat on his stool, cringing and peeking back at the door, expecting somepony to come in and find him. After about a minute of staring, he relaxed, and went back to drilling holes. 

He broke some of the shells, much to his frustration; he ended up stabbing his foreleg a couple of time, and had to hold his breath to keep himself from howling; he knocked the lantern off the desk and scrambled to get it back on; and finally, he nodded off a few times before shaking himself awake and continuing the work. He silently cursed the winter storm for preventing him from collecting shells earlier. 

No doubt in his mind that he really hated storms. 

Finally, when the night was darkest out, the holes were all perfectly drilled into the shells. Pleased with this, he slowly opened the drawer--so that it wouldn't squeak--and pulled out a ball of yarn.

"Silver?"

Silver jumped, dropped the yarn on the floor, and spun around, finding his older sister Pearl standing at the door. His heart stopped at that moment, and all he could think about was all the questions of why she was awake and what he did wrong to wake her up. 

Pearl rubbed her eye. "Ugh, I was up to use the bathroom and I saw the light on. What are you doing up this late? It's Hearth's Warming Eve." 

Silver twiddled his hooves. "I was just... uh-uh, I was making a present for somepony special..."

Pearl blinked, and smiled knowingly. "I think somepony's got a crush."

Silver's face flushed. "Uh, uh, uh... don't be silly! W-what kind of silly idea i-is that?"

Pearl giggled. "Well, Winter Mist's cousin is cute, don't you think?"

Silver only squeaked in response. 

Pearl walked toward him, and noted all the seashells with holes in them. "Well, you got the hard part done... you can do the easy part after we open our presents tomorrow." She took Silver's hoof and led him off the stool. Taking the lantern, she muttered, "It'll be quick, since we don't have as many presents as we did last year..."

She glanced at the puncture wounds on his foreleg. "Okay, let's clean and bandage that before you go to bed."

As he was silently led out of the workshop, Silver looked back inside, hoping that the shells would be there the next morning.





After opening his presents of a couple of Spider-Colt comic books and some superhero trading cards, downing his breakfast, and watching Goldie hoist the Equestrian flag up on their humble little flagpole, he hastily went back to Pop's workshop, and returned to the shells. Picking up the ball of yarn, he unraveled some of it, cut it off, and then threaded it through the holes in the shells. 

Tying the ends together, he held up the sea shell necklace up, admiring the pattern of grayish-blues, brownish-pinks, and yellows that made up the necklace. The shells were horribly uneven, and a shells in a few spots clanked together, but it was nonetheless colorful and pretty in his eyes. And in the sunlight coming through the window, it seemed to sparkle. 

He ducked under the desk to pull out a little box, which he put the necklace in. Then, after setting the box on the desk, he opted to find some ribbon. 

However, he paused when he noticed some spare papers on the floor. As he picked them up, he thought about the week before, when he had been running that hot cocoa stand during their town's Hearth's Warming festival. It had been ruined because he had argued with Penny about  writing down the recipe. That argument was rather foolish on his part, even though he was only clinging onto it out of grief. 

Still, maybe he should write it down. It would be his present to his eldest sister.

Then he looked at the box, and figured that writing down a few copies wouldn't hurt.





He walked across the street, carrying the box on his back. He had first walked out of the house with bold confidence, knowing that Coco considered him a friend, and that she'd be happy to see him. However, as he walked closer to the house, he found his steps going slower, his gut twisting, and his heart pounding. All the while, the thoughts of possible responses were cropping up in his mind, and his sense of dread grew. He could just hear her saying that she was already given a sea shell necklace, that the necklace was ugly, that she'd turn her nose up at it because it didn't match her coat or mane or whatever, or some other reason that she wouldn't like it.

He made it to the front door of the neighbor's house. He knocked upon the door, and soon enough, there came Winter Mist. The moment she saw him, she sneered. 

Silver cleared his throat. "Uh... hi. Is, uh, Coco there?"

Winter raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know?"

Silver glanced at the box on his back. "I just want to give her something... wish her Happy Hearth's Warming..." He backed up at Winter's glare. With a gulp, he turned around, thinking it wasn't worth it. "Yanno, I think I should go."

Then, Coco Pommel popped out of the house from behind her cousin. "No, wait!"

Silver froze, and looked at the little cream-colored filly, walking out to meet him. He looked at the box once again, and he said, "Oh, hi! I've got a present for you, if you don't mind."

"I see," Coco said, just glancing at the box. 

Silver sat and let the present slide down his back. He didn't turn around as he said, "G-go on. Open it."

Coco complied, untying the bow and taking the lid off the box. As she stared at the contents within, Silver's mind was bombarded with those responses he had imagined earlier. Already, he regretted giving her a gift, and he was preparing himself for disappointment. 

Instead, Coco gasped and said, "Oh, my gosh, a sea shell necklace? Did you make this?"

Silver held his breath, glanced back, and nodded.

Coco lifted the necklace out of the box, stroking the shells and hearing them clink a sad melody. She giggled and put the necklace on. "It's so cute. I didn't know you had necklace making in you."

Winter, still at the door, rolled her eyes. "It looks awkward to me."

"Oh, hush, Winter, he worked hard on it!" Coco retorted. "It's holding together really well, and he chose some pretty shells, so I think it's good." She turned back to Silver, and said, "So... thank you."

Silver turned and smiled at her. "You're welcome. Oh, uh, there's another thing in the box."

"Oh?" Coco looked in the box again, and spotted the folded piece of paper. Taking it and unfolding it, she read the contents of the paper and blinked. "Is this the recipe for your dad's hot cocoa?"

Silver nodded and twiddled his hooves. "I was originally just writing it down for Penny, but I thought I'd write it down for Mom, Pearl, Goldie... and well, you, so that you could share it with your family and Manehattan friends."

Coco read over it. "But... it wouldn't be special anymore."

"Oh, that depends on if it's made with love. That's why Pop made it; he was a loving stallion, and he made the cocoa for this town because he loved our neighbors, and wanted to warm them up on a cold winter day with something delicious. I... I... figured that Pop would want me to share the recipe with friends and family, and since you're a friend..."

Coco gave him a sweet smile. "Well... I'll take good care of it. Well, both the necklace and the recipe. I'm just disappointed in two things."

Silver felt a sharp pang in his heart. "And those are...?"

"One is that you didn't get your cutie mark for making the necklace," she answered. 

Silver looked at his flank, which was still blank. "No worries, I'll get it some day. So... what's the other thing?"

Coco kicked at the snow. "That I didn't get a present for you."

Silver stood up and turned to face her. "It's okay. You don't have to get me a present. I'm just happy you like mine."

Coco scratched her chin and muttered, "If only I could have sewn something quickly..." Then, she glanced at him, and said, "Would you like a hug?"

Silver blinked. "Oh, I, uh... okay."

Smiling at each other, the two stepped forward, and slung forelegs on each other's backs for a warm hug. They held each other just long enough to feel the other's warmth, defying the chilly air of the winter day. Silver's heart fluttered during the embrace, and he felt like he was floating. Never had a hug made him feel this way, even with Winter Mist watching and most likely judging him. 

They broke the hug, and Coco said, "Happy Hearth's Warming."

Silver backed up. "Happy Hearth's Warming to you too."

Coco turned around, and went back inside. Winter was still at the door, and she took one last look at Silver, and said, "I'm amazed you gave the recipe to her, considering you were so possessive of it at the festival."

Silver shrugged. "I thought she'd like it."

Winter rolled her eyes. "Everypony likes your dad's hot cocoa. We all thought it died with him." Looking at him, she gave him a small smile. "But, I guess as long as somepony knows it... he's not really dead."

Silver gave her a sad smile back, and muttered, "Yeah."

She went back inside, saying, "Happy Hearth's Warming."

Once the door was shut, Silver turned around, and walked across the street back to his house. He breathed a sigh of relief, happy that it went much better than anticipated. He'd probably never see Coco Pommel again, but it was nice to have a friend, even for a short time, and he at least got the chance to give her something to remember him by. 

He got to the front door, and then looked back. Beyond the houses, he could see the hill at the cemetery where Pop's grave was, and the snowpony that Coco had built was still beside the gravestone. He was amazed that the winter storm didn't wreck it, as it still looked pretty good. The sun was shining on it, giving it a sparkle to remind him that even though Noble Metal was gone, his memory was living on. Silver could have sworn he saw the snowpony wink at him, even though it was a good distance away.

Silver sighed happily. He certainly felt like a "champ" now.