Home for the Holidays
Razz Berry and his wife Blue Berry were just putting the finishing touches on Hearth's Warming dinner when they heard a knock at the door.
“Dew, Cloud, could you get the door?” Blue called to her twin foals. The two pegasi gave cries of agreement before racing each other to the front to the house. They opened the door to let in their visitor, and gasped.
“BIG SISTER! YOU CAME HOME!”
The small foals, only six years old, shot out the door like rockets and tackled their elder sibling. Juniper smiled, engulfing the pair in a big two-winged hug that could only be described as adorable.
“Juniper!” Her mother came trotting over from the kitchen, welcoming her firstborn in the door and joining the hug. “I haven't seen you in months! How are things up north in Rainbow Falls? And not to sound rude, but didn't you write and say you were planning to stay with your mentor over the holidays?”
Juniper shook off her little tagalongs before replying. “Well, yeah, I was planning on it. I wanted to get him a good present for Hearth's warming since I didn't think he was doing anything for the holiday. But, it turns out he has a family member he was going to visit. He closed the whole shop down for a week, and insisted I spend time with my family too. So here I am!”
Razz emerged from the kitchen to welcome his daughter home, allowing his wife to return to the food in case it needed tending to. “Well, that's fantastic. I didn't know the boy even had a family.”
“As far as the town knows, he doesn't. Nopony even knows how old he is! It was quite the shock, but apparently he still has one living relative, and wanted to spend Hearth's Warming with ‘em. How are things here?”
The family of five sat down for dinner, a hearty cornucopia of different fruits, grains, and of course, berries. They were a family of bery farmers, after all, their residence right next to a massive berry field. The warmer climate, as Razz reminded Juniper, meant that they had plenty of crops, and plenty of money coming in.
“Not that I'd expect farming to be something you remember too well, sweetheart,” Her father continued as he took a bite of his meal. “I still remember the day that Arcane fellow came into town, lost and looking for food, and stayed here for a week. You two hit it off so well I wasn't even surprised when he invited you to be his apprentice in alchemy.”
“Yeah. Actually, speaking of Arca, he sent a gift along with me!” Juniper dashed over to her saddlebags and carefully removed a softly-glowing bluish white potion with a snowflake emblazoned on the tag tied to the neck of the bottle. “He said to make absolutely sure not to open it until I got here, and not to open it indoors under ANY circumstances.”
“Oh boy! Mama, can we open it now? Please please please please?” The twins begged in unison.
“Isn’t it a little late for going outside, my little angels? Let's wait until tomorrow.” Blue Berry always appreciated a surprise gift, but it was pretty dark and even with a few magical torches outside to light the paths to the village nearby and their berry fields, it wouldn't be safe to play outside.
“Actually, mom,” Juniper cut in. “Arca said it would be more fun at night. I think he would prefer we do this now.”
“Alright, but no dawdling! Unless you can see out there, I don't want you out in the dark like this! In fact, I'll come with you all.”
Razz chuckled at his wife's actions. “Overprotective as always, love? I might as well join in.” And so, the Berry family trotted outside. Juniper checked the little tag on the bottle for the instructions.
“Well, all it says is ‘open outdoors, do not drink’, so I guess I'll just…” Juniper placed the bottle on the ground in the center of the path from the house, and in a single practiced motion removed the cork with no issue.
As soon as Juniper was clear, the potion shone with a brilliant light and blasted a swirling beam into the sky, exploding into a firework of brilliant blue-white, mysteriously hanging in the warm night air and stubbornly refusing to dissipate. When the ponies looked back at the potion, it was empty.
“WOW! That was so cool! Big sister, tell mister Arca we loved it!” Cheered Cloud Berry. “It was so pretty and sparkly!”
“Well,” Blue began, “I can see why he didn't want us opening it in the house. I have to admit, it… huh?” The matriarch of the house stopped as something landed in her nose. And then another. And more floated down from the sky, each gleaming with a small spark of magic. “Is… is it snowing? That's impossible, it's too warm this far south for snow… and there's not a cloud in the sky!”
“Snow! I've never seen snow before!” Dew berry stuck out her tongue to catch a few flakes on her tongue, watching in awe as the glow above illuminated the snow collecting on the ground. “It's a Hearth's Warming miracle!”
Blue Berry shook her head, mumbling to herself. “But that's impossible…”
Blue felt a wing drape over her back, that of her eldest daughter. “Mom,” Juniper began, “there's a certain pony I know who has a penchant for doing the impossible.” Juniper turned her head to the sky, looking at the shining stars beyond the snow. “Wherever you are, Boss, thanks. And happy Hearth's Warming.”
Not too far away, beyond a nearby hill and out of sight, Arca adjusted his position in his travel tent to get a better look at his crystal ball resting atop his extra lab coats.
“Happy Hearth's Warming to you too, Juniper,” he said to himself. “After all, I look out for my family, biological or otherwise…”
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That ending
Indeed that ending
Arca found the secret to immortality, calling it right now.
urk! hit me in the feels
feels: Hey whatcha thaink you're doing
share, it's Christmas
feels: no!
Arca: I brought coco
feels: ... Alright he's in.
9367044
Make sure it's the color changing mug, otherwise odds are he laced it with a potion
Well... that's both uplifting and depressing.
Touching ending
Goddamnit... now I’m starting to cry....
9366890 The poor fool created a Philosopher's Stone inside himself.
He became his own homunculus.
9367052
Color changing is cool and all, but what does he think about mugs that reveal secret images or phrases like the Harry Potter Marauders cup or that one DBZ cup where Goku changes into Super Sayain?
Aw...Poor Arca...CRASH THE PARTY. SPEND THE HOLIDAYS WITH YOUR FAM.
Wait: That potion WORKED?! What madness is this?
D'awwwww!! <3
My actual, verbal response upon finishing the chapter: "ahh shit..."
Why must I feel things.
OH MY GODD!!! The feels!! its too much
"Then go and spend Hearth’s Warming with them, go on"
Touching
Very sad to know he has noone left but Juniper...
9436681
Might end up killing a nontrivial amount of the berry bushes from frost? (But not so many as to not be totally worth it anyway!)
And he DOES sell potions that work, I think? Its just that many things cause disaster rather than make it to the shelves? Maybe Juniper knows how to run QA on them to see if he followed the recipe? If only by asking him the correct questions?