Holiday arson: it's the reason for the season
“Surprise, silly!”
The door was hardly even open when Lime Tart decided that now was a perfect time to glomp Stargazer, who was totally unprepared and caught off-guard. She launched herself at him, bowled him over, pinned him down, and before he could say a word of protest, she reached out and booped him right on his cute little nose.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Stargazer! I brought presents. We’re gonna have a party and—”
“And you two are totally going to kiss under some mistletoe.”
“Yeugh, Daddy! No! No we’re not! Nasty!”
Rosie Ribbon laughed; it was such a rare sound that Lime Tart was shocked into total silence, and Stargazer, still pinned beneath her, was as well. The two foals both craned their heads to look at the mare in the bed, and neither of them made a peep. Rosie’s laughter was careful, hesitant, but it still counted as a laugh. It was really quite astonishing, and Lime Tart took it as a sign that all would be well.
“We have a lot of stuff to bring in. I’ll do that.” Blonde Roux pushed the two foals out of the way of the door with her hoof. “Don’t let the heat out. It’s cold!”
“We’ll need a place to set up the tree,” Pigeon Pie said as he stepped over the two foals. “Someplace where Rosie can see it, but not too close to the fireplace. Ah, maybe over there.”
“Lime, what did you do?” asked Stargazer.
“I saved Hearth’s Warming,” she replied as she looked down at the colt pinned beneath her. “You’re so cute right now, I almost can’t can’t stand it!”
Of course, as he always did, Stargazer retorted, “I’m not cute!”
A roaring, crackling fire blazed in the fireplace as the wind groaned and howled beneath the eaves. Everything was inside and the front door shut to keep out the cold. Blonde Roux busied herself in the small kitchen, arranging and preparing food. A tree now stood in the corner where the living room met the kitchen, and Pigeon Pie carefully placed the many boxes of decorations upon the floor.
Lime Tart couldn’t wait to decorate it, but wait she did.
“We’ll need to venture out for milk,” Blonde Roux said from the small kitchen.
“I’m sorry—”
“No, you don’t get to be sorry, Rosie. Don’t worry about it. Just enjoy the moment. Hang on, I have some fresh-baked bread and some butter. Let me get that out for you. I don’t normally bake bread, but I did.”
“Because of you, I have fresh-baked bread again. And food. And a holiday for my son and daughter… and I…” With a shudder, Rosie’s words trailed off into nothingness for a short time, but then she recovered. “You got others to help me. Thank you so much.”
“You just needed an advocate. Somepony to be your voice. Somepony had to organise the effort to help you, and I guess that somepony was me. Which reminds me, I need to come down hard on Noble Fir.”
“I can’t complain,” Rosie said. “I don’t dare complain. I’m so afraid that what help I get will just dry up. Mister Fir brought splinters and bark. He said he’d be back in a week.”
Lime Tart noticed that Stargazer seemed quiet and sullen.
“I’m so scared of seeming to be ungrateful for what I do get.”
“Well, this is my failure.” Opening a brown paper bag, Blonde Roux pulled out several loaves of uncut bread and then placed them atop the bag she brought them in. “After the holidays, I’m going to have a chit-chat with everypony involved and lay down some hard rules. I didn’t want to have to tell ponies how to help out, I wanted to trust in their natural goodness… and just look where that got us. You keep having to suffer for it… so I am going to lay down the law.”
“When you say that, it scares me. What if ponies don’t want to help me because they’re mad with you?”
“Well then, I publicly shame them with pictures of their faces on my bakery walls, and then I do everything myself, which I probably should have done from the beginning, rather than depend upon the so-called goodness of a small town. This place is rotten.”
“Stop looking so glum,” Lime Tart said to Stargazer, who was caught off-guard by her words. A cunning filly, she pressed her advantage. “I know what your presents are. I even helped to wrap one of them last night after we got home from shopping.”
“I didn’t get you anything,” the still-sullen colt replied.
“But you did,” she said to him. “My mark. My cutie mark. You helped me get that, and you’ve taught me to be a better pony. You’re my best friend and you’ve shown me what real friendship is. Which reminds me… we hafta save Upside-Down Cake. Any ideas?”
“Not at the moment.”
“But you will help me save her, right?”
He sighed, rolled his eyes, and tossed his head back. “I guess. If I have to.” Then, his eyes brightened and as he reached out with his left foreleg, he said to Lime Tart in a voice of near-excitement, “I got my sister to say a new word.”
“Really?” Lime Tart clapped her front hooves together. “I know she can say ‘brub-bub,’ what else can she say now?”
In response, Stargazer approached his mother’s bed, which sat in the middle of the living room, and he smiled at his baby sister. “Say it. Say your new word. Don’t be shy.”
“Brub-bub,” she said to her brother.
“No, not that one. The other one.”
She smacked her lips, tilted her head to one side, which caused her ears to flop over, and she said in a questioning tone, “Vegebubbles?”
“That’s the one. Good job, little sister.”
“Vegebubbles,” she said again, and then she blew a spit bubble.
“He spends hours trying to get her to talk,” Rosie remarked. “I don’t know where he gets his patience.”
“After I cut some bread, I’m going out for milk. Do I need to pick up anything else?”
“I’m surprised that we brought a jug of eggnog, but forgot the milk.”
“Oh hush, Pigie. Do we need anything?”
At this moment, Lime Tart felt inspired. She puffed out her chest, took a deep breath, and in a powerful voice she said, “I think all we really need is each other.”
Following Stargazer’s instructions, Lime Tart hung a wooden nutcracker ornament on the tree. The fire was now a heap of hot, glowing coals that cast warm, vibrant light throughout the room. Blonde Roux had already returned and she busied herself in the kitchen. The windows rattled as the wind hammered them, and moaned in protest of being kept outside.
Meanwhile, Pigeon Pie had ceased all of his activity so that he might cuddle Stargazer’s sister. Held in his forelegs, the quiet filly almost seemed as though she might go to sleep. She yawned, repeatedly, and fought to keep her eyes open. Pigeon Pie shushed her, rocked her, and tried to get her to nap—but she resisted his efforts with an indomitable will.
“Can we open any presents early?” Hopeful as always, Lime Tart glanced about and hoped to find sympathy for her plight. Even though she had some presents, she didn’t care about them—she only wanted Stargazer to open up the planetarium projector.
“You haven’t kissed under the mistletoe just yet and—”
“Dad, hush. Stop that. Let the baby go to sleep.”
“Pigie, did we remember the cameras?”
“I remembered the cameras, and packed them last night. And who remembered to bring along twenty rolls of film?” He waited for a moment with dramatic pause. “This pegasus right here. I came prepared to take pictures.”
“Such a pompous parakeet—”
“That’s a hurtful stereotype,” the offended pegasus said in hushed tones.
The soothing heat from the fire made Lime Tart drowsy, but she didn’t want to nap. What she wanted to do was open presents, but she didn’t dare make a fuss. A light meal was served, some sweets, a few treats, and some fresh fruits. She didn’t feel like eating at the moment, though she was tempted by some of the sweets. But hunger was no pressing concern for her at the moment. Her only desire was to see Stargazer’s reaction to his gift.
This dreadful anticipation might prove fatal, she was sure of it.
“Your dad loves babies,” Blonde Roux said to her daughter. “Just look at him.”
“They’re little dolls to him,” Lime Tart said to her mother.
“Well, Bubelah… here’s a gift that you can have right now. Your father, he’s getting back in practice. Come late spring, or early summer, you’re going to have a little brother… or a little sister. Just like Stargazer does.”
This revelation shocked Lime Tart to her very core. “Really?”
“Really.” Her mother nodded. “You’ll get a chance to see how your father was with you.”
“Congratulations, Blonde.”
“Thank you, Rosie.”
“You know”—Rosie hesitated and seemed to struggle for a moment—“I can still take care of foals. Even if I can’t walk or move around. I could still foalsit, if ponies would just give me a chance. But nopony will. If you need a foalsitter”—again, she hesitated and fought to find her words—“I wouldn’t even ask for anything in return. What I wouldn’t give to feel useful again. To have value.”
Her voice was so fragile, so brittle, Lime Tart feared it might shatter.
She wanted to cry, but somehow held it all in.
“We can work something out—”
“Really?” This response from Rosie was a squeak of absolute surprise.
Shifting her body about, Blonde Roux turned to face Rosie Ribbon. “Yes, really. I’m about to take on more work. I could use the help. We’ll work something out, Rosie. Don’t you worry.”
A smile appeared on Rosie’s face at the same time as a flood of tears poured from her eyes. Raising her foreleg, Lime Tart wiped her eyes. The fire must have made it smokey in here, and it was difficult to see. She sniffled a bit, blinked a few times, and then lost the battle. The first hot tears squeezed their way out, and she felt them soak into her cheeks. Unable to bear it, she reached out for her mother, wrapped her forelegs around her mother’s foreleg, and buried her face into her mother’s fetlock.
Then, unable to hold back the flood, she sobbed.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Lime.”
Having just come out of the bathroom, Lime Tart paused. Just a yard away, Stargazer stood, and he had such an intense expression of warmth and… affection? It was obvious that he’d worried about her when she cried. He was so sensitive, and she felt so very ashamed for having once bullied him about that. Not teasing, as she had once thought, but actual bullying. She could tease him now, and he might react, or even smile, because she’d learned the hard way what playful teasing happened to be.
She took a step closer and was almost overcome with uncertainty. When she shivered, it wasn’t because of some chilly draught, but something else entirely. Just being near him gave her chills, and she wanted so much to glomp him again, just so she could warm herself. At the moment, she was tongue tied, and also a bit mortified because she had thoughts about mistletoe.
“You’re my best friend,” the colt said, his voice thin, creaky, and solemn. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. To be honest, I didn’t even know I needed a friend, but I did. So thank you.”
He drew in a deep breath, appeared to gather his courage, and Lime Tart wondered if he was about to kiss her. That would make things easier. Just a quick peck on the cheek, maybe. Something simple, short, and sweet. If he made the first move, then she wouldn’t have to. All she would have to do is react, maybe act surprised, or just kiss him back. What was he doing, and why did it take him so long to do it? Why did he struggle?
“Lime, do you want to drink eggnog and see who can burp the loudest?”
Colts. It was a struggle not to roll her eyes. “Do I? That’d be great. Let’s do that!”
After an entire day of snacking and doing a whole lot of nothing, little Lime Tart found herself quite sleepy. Too much cheese had been eaten and too much eggnog drank. There was also the fact that she was up before dawn and had too little sleep, just like her mother. She kept yawning, and each time it was against her will, but she could do nothing to stop them. The dreary day did not help, as very little light shone through the windows.
“What are we doing for supper?” asked Blonde Roux.
Supper was unthinkable. Absolutely so. Why, the very idea of eating supper made Lime Tart mightily uncomfortable. Unable to stop herself, she squirmed and wiggled about, and then allowed a tiny belch to escape. Well, she thought it would be tiny, but what actually came out was something so foul, so gurgly, and so incredibly disgusting that Stargazer’s little sister began to fuss.
It was hard to feel bad about disturbing the baby when you couldn’t make your smile go away.
“Goodness, Bubelah. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I did good,” she said in response to her mother’s question.
“Eh… that’s my girl.” A pleased proud parent pegasus, Pigeon Pie practically preened. “I don’t think supper is a worry, honey. The kids are fit to pop. Look at their little tummies.”
“Well, how about we open up a present or two instead?”
Time stopped. It actually stopped and Lime Tart felt it. Or maybe her heart had stopped, and she no longer had a way to count the seconds as they passed. Asking about supper was just a setup. A ruse. Which presents might be opened? Now, she found herself fretting about it. Should Stargazer get his coat tonight, and his big super-important present tomorrow? That would be the practical thing to do. The really nice presents should happen on Hearth’s Warming Day.
Oh, she was torn now.
Her parents would have to decide.
“Rosie, do you have anything to say about this?” asked Blonde Roux.
“We opened everything on Hearth’s Warming Even. But Stargazer is older and more patient now.” Then, after a brief moment lost in thought, she added, “This is her first Hearth’s Warming. Still haven’t named her. Nothing has come to mind.”
“A name will come in time, they always do,” Blonde Roux said knowingly.
“It will probably be Stargazer who names her.” With a gentle, careful turn of her head, Rosie glanced at her son, and her eyes returned to the unicorn filly in the bed beside her. “He’s making progress on getting her to interact. So he’s earned that right, if he comes up with something.”
Beside Lime Tart, Stargazer’s blue face turned somewhat purple.
“Hey, kid… you should open that square box. The one with the wrinkly wrapping paper—”
“I did my best.” Flustered, Lime Tart folded her forelegs over her barel and then fumed in silence. But her anger didn’t last for very long, it burned out in mere seconds, and then she was ready to help Stargazer open his gift.
It was the gift.
The little blue colt crawled beneath the tree and then began to push the present across the floor. An extreme giddiness overcame Lime Tart, so much so that she actually felt dizzy. It didn’t stop her from leaping to her hooves though, and she went to Stargazer’s side to help him, should he need it. After he pushed the gift out into the open, he sat down beside it, and then spent a moment just staring at it.
How agonising.
Didn’t he understand how important it was to open it?
Rosie and Blonde Roux both had cameras now, but Lime Tart failed to notice. At the moment, her world consisted of herself, Stargazer, and his present. She gave herself a hug, but it failed to help, and that infuriating colt still hadn’t tore off the wrapping paper. He was slow and careful, just like he was with everything else, and it was excruciating. To keep herself from shouting, she stuck her left front hoof into her mouth and bit down.
Her hoof tasted an awful lot like floor.
Floor didn’t taste good; not in the slightest, which was perhaps the reason why her mother insisted that she didn’t eat anything off of the floor.
“Do you think he’s aware of the frustration he’s causing Tarty?”
“He has to be, Pigie.”
“They sure are cute together.”
“They are, Rosie. Oy vey.”
Unable to bear another second of this, Lime Tart yanked her hoof out of her mouth and then said, “Open it. Just open it!”
“The wrapping paper has stars on it,” the colt replied.
“It does.”
“I recognise some constellations.”
“I could show you some constellations if you’d just open the box, Stargazer.”
“Are you going to show me your butt?” the cautious colt deadpanned.
All of Lime Tart’s air escaped in one prolonged wheeze. He had her dead to rights. She was slain. Finished. Done. Pressing her front hooves against her face, she fell over backwards with an exasperated sigh of demolished defeat. It was all over now. She rolled back and forth, she rocked herself but found no comfort, and so she then rolled over onto her belly. Once on her stomach, she groaned.
“He’s so much like his father. All dry wit and quiet dignity. I am so thankful I have him.”
“Just open the present,” Lime Tart begged whilst she writhed on her tummy and flailed her legs about. “You’re killing me. Make the hurting stop.”
With slow, deliberate movements, the colt took an end of ribbon in his teeth, gave it a tug, and undid the bow. Meanwhile, Lime Tart flopped about on the floor like a fish, until there was a brief, brassy pealing note, a bit of trumpeting fanfare to celebrate the opening of Hearth’s Warming presents.
“Whoops.” Mortified, everything was made worse by the snickering of the adults.
“Be careful of brown dwarfs,” Stargazer somehow said to her with the ribbon in his mouth.
“Oh, hah-hah. You’re a funny colt, you know that?”
With the ribbon out of the way, Stargazer pawed at the present, poked at it with a hoof, and failed to tear the paper. So he took a more aggressive swipe, and when the paper peeled away, the wooden box beneath was revealed. She wished that he would hurry, and her consternation was such that she failed to notice that the adults took pictures of her impatient agitation. Slowly, the starry paper was peeled away, and the wooden box within revealed itself.
The reflection of firelight could be seen in the brass hinges.
In anticipation of the grand opening, Lime Tart sat up, and her horn blazed with piercing light as she readied herself to help—if her assistance was needed. Using the edge of his hoof, Stargazer pressed the spring-loaded latch, which made a muted click, and then he lifted the lid of the wooden box so that he might peer inside. She leaned in close—too close—and her cheek brushed his.
Electric tingles flowed down her spine as her horn cast some light into the depths of the box.
“Is this a—”
“Yes,” Lime Tart squealed, unable to hold in her excitement for a second longer.
A second latch was pressed, and the front panel of the box opened, which allowed the projector to be lifted out. Stargazer did so, held it up in front of his face for a moment to examine it, and then he put it down upon the floor. Trembling, Lime Tart pressed up against him, and was immediately assaulted by The Frizz. But she didn’t care about The Frizz, she only cared for Stargazer’s happiness.
“It’s magic,” she said to him, almost whispering. “No need to plug it in. Just press the button on the base to turn it on.”
He did so, and the living room underwent a breathtaking transformation. A swirling galaxy appeared above the planetarium projector, which grew in size until it filled the room. There were so many stars—an uncountable number of stars—a galaxy’s worth of stars and other cosmological phenomenon. It slowly turned, whirling the way that galaxies do, and Lime Tart focused upon the stars directly over her head.
It was beautiful.
“Three-armed spiral galaxy…” The colt breathed these words, and when they tickled Lime Tart’s ear, it flickered. “That’s our galaxy.”
“Yes,” she said to him. “Our galaxy. Mine and yours. Ours to study.”
“I can see stellar nurseries.”
“We have the whole winter to stay indoors and watch the stars,” she said to him, almost whispering.
Quite unexpectedly, she found herself embraced by Stargazer, and he squeezed her so hard that he left her breathless. With her body pressed against his, she could feel his heart beating. It pounded against his ribs so hard, and it made her own heart beat faster in response. It was a happy, perfect moment, one that she hoped that she would never forget.
It was a memory captured on film.
Emboldened, she could only think of one thing to do. With a grunt of effort, she twisted her body around, wrapped her forelegs around Stargazer, squeezed him back, and then, before her courage failed her, she planted a clumsy peck upon the hard angle of his jawbone. It wasn’t the place she had aimed for, but it would have to do. She clung to her best friend, felt his warmth, and she felt her heart ignite with inner-fire.
Such a precious fire it was, it consumed her being, and she hoped the flame would never be extinguished. What could be said? This moment was too perfect to spoil with words. She, a filly, had somehow saved Hearth’s Warming. Of course, she had the help of her parents, who made this possible. Oh, how she was thankful for them. How grateful she was for her wonderful, loving parents, and the fact that she still had both of them.
The fire that burned within filled her with hope.
If she could save Hearth’s Warming, then maybe, just maybe, she could save Stargazer from his grief. She dared to hope, to dream, to believe. Beneath the stars, the swirling, revolving galaxy overhead, she clung to him and was not embarrassed. It didn’t feel awkward, or icky, or gross. The fire felt right, good, and pure. It sustained her, filled her with joy, and buoyed her spirits.
Anything was truly possible.
“Thank you, Lime,” he whispered into her ear.
“You’re very welcome, Stargazer. Happy Hearth’s Warming.”
“Yes,” he replied. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.”
And so it was, indeed, a happy heartwarming Hearth’s Warming.
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first
<3 I loved this story. A wonderful continuation from the last one :) Thank you!
Christ, thanks so much for this, Kudzu! You are a word machine, but you are our word machine!
Happy holidays to all!
And to all a good night. Thank you for a very good pony story, it is a gift unexpected but happily found under our tree.
Aww I loved it great gift this winter season :) Hope you have a nice Christmas Kudz
This was fantastic. I love the way that you write Equestria, how all of the good and bad of life is reflected through these characters. Thank you for another wonderful story, and happy holidays!
If one is to invade someone's house, they might as well bring food and merryment :P
This was a goodun.
A heartwarming Hearth's Warming story. And a great story in and of itself.
Thank you Kudzu, it's a great gift.
Merry Christmas and a Happy Hearth's Warming.
Merry Christmas
A Happy Hearth's Warming
and Frohe Weihnachten
to you all
Thank you Kudz. I needed this. I cant even tell you why, but I did.
These two are precious beyond belief.
I have a problem with winter holidays, and as such, i almost skipped this one. If you hadnt already enticed me with your expansive library of amazing works... I'd have scrolled on.
I very much like this story, and while i remember the fleeting moments of disappointment between updates in your work, it was well worth the wait twice over.
I have a problem with winter holidays, but thank you for this literary gift.
Yay! Diabeetus for Yule!
Excellent job as always, Kudz. Loving the development you're doing with this pair.
10003292
There was no wait with this one. It was released as a completed story.
10003330
This story seems to be missing something. like 5000 likes
10003330
I meant the wait between this and updates on your other stories. I dare say ive read asbout 90% of your weedverse.
Still relevant. I’m on SSI, and need a support team. I could work part time, but the way the system is set up, if I do so, I lose my support team, so I can’t work even the 60 hours a month some people are allowed.
Regular insurance in the U.S. doesn’t cover case management, home health care, ride services (I have a walking disability & a service dog, Uber/Lyft are terrible at accessibility), etc.
But you never lose the desire to be useful. To be valued by people. To not be labeled a ‘taker’, or have people tell you ‘Oh, I’d die if I had to live like you!’, never mind I’m actually pretty happy on a daily basis.
Anyway, great story, I enjoyed it. A wonderful way to spend Christmas Eve and morning while knitting and mending!
This is the best Christmas present I've gotten this year. Thank you, Kudz.
A day late but no shorter for it, I'm so glad to have these words grace my eyeballs. Merry Christmas/Hearths warming
oh snap, Snogblocked by the nog
A reminder if what the holidays should really be about. Happy belated hearth’s warming everypony. Happy Hearth’s warming.
A wonderful story. I really enjoyed it.
Thank you Kudz!
Heartwarming indeed <3 <3 <3 Watching these two grow up will be a real treat!
This story is criminally under-read.
This is, in my opinion, some of your best work, and that is already quite a high bar to clear. This story has made me FEEL for the characters and their situation, non-stop. I have cried, laughed and hated. Every single one of these chapters brought with it so much emotion and so many feelings. I honestly have a hard time expressing how good of a writer you are, your ability to make us feel for your characters and their situations.
The entire Weedverse is nothing short of a masterpiece, and while I can't deny the appeal of the stories that are more closely related to the main events, I don't think the Weedverse would be what it is without it's Constellation Prizes, it's Number Two Assistants, or it's Blank (Though I can't wait for that one be referenced sometime in some other fic. You weave a complicated web, and I'll admit it's hard to keep track of it all, but, without being spoilery for anyone who might not have read it, I can't wait for Written Word to show up again, if she ever does.)
But with this story here, you truly have tugged my heartstrings.
Thank you.
A small, but very sweet story. Satisfying as ever.
this is such a cute story. after the punch to the gut that was the previous story before it’s resolution, this was the nice treat. thank you for this c:
Revisiting this after a year and a bit just to enjoy the emotional coaster again. Still such a lovely story.
Man, this was a good story. When're you posting the sequel? Really feels like you could post a sequel.