The Cocoa Stand

Chapters

The Bereaved Family
Setting Up Shop
Get Your Hot Cocoa Here
Under the Moonlight
Happy Hearth's Warming

The Bereaved Family

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

That was the sound made under the hooves of a small, silver-coated colt, bundled up in a hat and scarf, walking on a frozen shore. It was a strange combination of the icy snow and hard sand breaking under the pressure of his steps. Even as short as the foal was, he was heavy enough that neither of those things could hold him up for long. The air smelled of salt, and its coldness was making his nostrils sting.

Right behind him, a smaller, yellowish cream-colored filly in a snowsuit hopped into every footprint, making crunches of her own as the prints became bigger. The frigid air was pierced by her laughter, and she couldn't help but sing, "Hoppity, hoppity, hop-hop-hop..."

The colt ignored her cheery tune, which managed to surpass the sheer loudness of the waves of the ocean pounding on the shore. Instead, his attention was toward the causeway that lead to the lighthouse. As he stared at it, his mind's eye formed a large stallion, with a steel gray coat and a mane and mustache of gold, marching along the path, whistling a merry tune all the while. The stallion proceed to stop, turn toward the colt, and give him a smile and a wave. Then, he called, "Hey, there, champ!"

The colt paused in his walking, and waved back, a bittersweet smile on his face.

And then his sister crashed into him from behind, sending him face first into the snow, and burrowing his head in the ground. The tiny filly gasped, and grabbed her brother's tail to yank him out of the hole. She tugged, and tugged, and tugged until the colt's head came out of the ground with a pop, and they both tumbled onto their haunches.

Gasping for breath and feeling his head, the colt discovered that his dark gray mane was exposed to the elements, and pulled his hat out of the hole. He turned to his sister, and said, "Goldie, can't ya stop when I stop?"

Comedy Gold stuck her tongue out at her brother. "I'm not the one waving at nothing, Silver."

Silver Shill turned back to the causeway, and the stallion was gone. He sighed and put on his hat. "Just thinking of Pop, that's all."

He continued to walk on forward, his mind still numb from the past couple months that had passed since he saw his actual flesh-and-blood father there. He didn't dare tell Goldie how jealous he was of her still having a spring in her step--but, knowing her, she was the type who'd rather keep her sadness locked inside and absolutely hated crying. While her temper had been quicker as of late, she was still as bouncy and peppy as she had been from the day of her birth.

Mom said it had something to do with her age. Six-year-olds couldn't really process death as well as an eleven-year-old like him.

That was when he bumped into somepony else that had been galloping at top speed. Both he and the other pony staggered back, and both fell into the crunchy snow. Both stared up at the sky in the daze before sitting up and holding their ringing heads.

Shaking his head, Silver looked at the familiar pout upon the light blue face of his neighbor. With a sheepish grin, he laughed nervously and stammered, "I-I-I'm so sorry! I, uh, I wasn't looking where I-I was going!" He bit his lip, and looked away as he rubbed his leg. "Please forgive me, Winter Mist."

Winter sighed, and said with a slight but noticeable edge, "Clumsy as always, huh? Why don't you watch where you're going, stupid?"

Goldie popped out of nowhere as she always did, and she helped her brother up. Glaring at Winter, she snapped, "Excuse me, you should watch where you're going, Miss Stupider! How dare you bump into him, now he's got snow and sand on his butt!"

Silver's face turned red as Winter burst into laughter. Giving Goldie a dirty pout, he started to wipe the snow crystals and grains of sand that had accumulated in the exact area that the little filly had mentioned.

That was when he heard another voice cry, "Winter! Are you okay?"

He turned to the source of the voice, and beheld the filly that it came from. She had an off white coat that was a peachy tint in comparison to Goldie's color, wore a purple jacket with a white trim, had her two-toned light blue mane tied in pigtails under her hat, which matched her jacket, and the loveliest pair of blue eyes that he had ever seen. For a moment, it seemed like the clouds above had parted, and the sun was shining on that very filly.

For some reason, Silver's cold face suddenly became warmer. "Uhh..."

The filly helped Winter up, and looked up at Silver. "I'm sorry about you two bumping into each other like that."

Silver blinked and mumbled, "It's, uh, it's okay..."

Once Winter was up, she scoffed and said, "Whatever. Let's go, Coco, I've got more things to show you around here."

As Winter was leaving, Coco smiled shyly and waved at Silver. Then, she turned around and followed Winter.

Silver still stared as they left. Tilting his head, he muttered, "Coco..."

Goldie tapped her chin, and repeated, "Coco?" She giggled, and chirped, "Coco!" Bouncing in place, she chattered, "Coco, coco, coco, coco, coco, coco, coco, coco..."

Later that night, at their house, a simple meal of sweet potatoes and spinach was served at the family dinner table. Silver was surrounded by girls; his eldest sister, Platinum Pen, sat on one end of the table, while Goldie, his youngest sister, sat on the other end, which was to his left. On his right was where his second oldest sister, Pearly Whites, sat, and across from her was where their mother, Sunny Crystal, sat. Across from Silver was an empty seat.

Goldie was continually chewing her potatoes with her mouth wide open, her lips loudly smacking, and mush oozing out of her mouth. The little filly had a huge mess upon her face, and bits of vegetables were gathered in her strawberry blonde mane, and the combination was making Pearl not just cringe, but lean back far enough for the threat of falling over. The older filly's normally pale blue face was tinted with green, and Silver could hear her gagging.

"Goldie!" Pearl snapped. "Stop that, that's disgusting!"

Goldie turned to her with a little scowl on her face. She opened her mouth wide and rolled out her tongue to present the glorious mountain of mashed sweet potatoes that rested upon it. That action was what finally made Pearl's chair fall over, making the young teenager crash to the floor. Silver winced upon seeing Pearl's head make contact with the floor, even if her sky blue mane somewhat cushioned it.

Crystal gasped, and immediately ducked under the table for a better look at her daughter. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

Rubbing her head, Pearl murmured, "I'll be fine, Mom... but please stop Goldie's display of filth! She's driving me crazy!"

Platinum Pen--or "Penny" as she was called--took up the role of chiding the youngest, saying in her usual flat tone, "Goldie, chew with your mouth closed. You're being impolite."

Goldie rolled her eyes. "Mmpowhitemess ish dummph! Woo mayybbe wools fer eaffing?"

Penny tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "I don't speak stuffed mouth."

Goldie swallowed the food in her mouth. "Politeness is dumb! Who made rules for eating?"

"Ponies tend to not like see chewed up food," Penny answered, rubbing a gray hoof on her chest. "Someone has put their mouth on it, and that means they put their germs on it. And getting germs from someone else makes a pony sick."

"Yeah," Silver said, looking down at his food with a pout. "You're spitting bits of food into my sweet potatoes... and you're kinda loud."

"Well, I'm not spitting on Pearl," Goldie said, crossing her front legs.

Pearl popped up from her spot at the table, her gold eyes in a glare. "You might as well have! You know I don't like icky mush!"

Crystal raised her head, lifted her pudgy, cream-coated body up with a grunt, and then took a napkin from the table. "Now, now, let's not devolve into an argument over nothing." She started to wipe Goldie's mouth, even as the six-year-old began to squirm. With a sigh, she said, "Goldie, don't you know how nice it is to feel clean? Having your fur clump together is uncomfortable!"

"Nooooo!" Goldie protested.

"So, you want to be itchy?"

Goldie shook her head. "Mmm-MMM!"

"All right, then hold still!"

"No!"

Crystal groaned. "So, you want a bath?"

"No!"

Penny put a hoof on her mother's shoulder. "I'll take care of this." Turning to Goldie, she said, "So, you'd rather be a dirty little filly?"

Goldie blinked, and then went back to crossing her front legs. "No bath!"

Penny tightened the ponytail that her dark blue mane was in. Gazing at her little sister with cold blue eyes, she said, "Very well. Then that means you won't go to the Halterside Hearth's Warming Festival."

Both Pearl and Silver put hooves to their mouths. "Oooooh..."

Goldie's light blue eyes widened. "What?!"

"They only allow clean fillies and colts to participate. They don't like all the holiday decorations being all... icky. Especially when a little filly spreads her germs all over the place. Now... do you want to be that filly?"

Goldie shook her head.

"Good. Now take a bath once dinner is over."

Goldie nodded, and then let her mother wipe as much food off her face as she could. Then she resumed eating her dinner with little fuss, bringing about a slightly dimpled smile from Penny. Pearl breathed a sigh of relief, and Silver was carefully parting his sweet potatoes from the specks that had flown out of Goldie's mouth earlier.

Crystal set aside the napkin, putting it in the spot where her husband's plate would have been. However, after a few moments, she grimaced and tossed the soiled cloth onto the counter. Running a hoof through her curly mane of two-toned blue, she sighed. "You know... I'm not sure if I want to go to the Hearth's Warming Festival this year. It just doesn't feel right without your father."

Silver quietly lapped up small bits of sweet potato from his plate, still staring at the empty seat in front of him and expecting it to suddenly be filled by a big, hungry stallion. He would have liked dinner; sweet potatoes were his favorite food.

Penny took a sip from her cup. "It's all right, Mom. I'll take everypony this year; at sixteen, I'm capable of watching my three younger siblings."

Crystal smiled at her. "Oh, thank you, Penny. I may not feel like going, but I don't want my foals to miss out on the festivities if they want to go. Even if we can't make our usual contribution of his special mix of hot cocoa, you four deserve to at least try to get into the holiday spirit. He'd want us to be happy."

Goldie giggled and turned to Silver. "Coco..."

Silver raised an eyebrow. "Can't ya go an hour without saying that?"

"But it's fun to say!" She started to bang her hooves on the table. "Coco! Coco! Coco! Co--"

"Shut up!" Pearl snapped.

"Manners, Goldie," Penny said.

Crystal reached over and gently laid a hoof on Goldie's tiny fetlock. "Sweetie, I know you like Papa's cocoa, but we can't really provide it to the festival now. He never wrote it down, and I can't remember how to make it." She drew her hoof back and looked down. "If I did, perhaps it'd help preserve his memory in this town more. It feels like everyone's forgotten about him already."

Silver glanced at Goldie, who was looking at their mother in confusion. He knew that she was referencing that filly they met on the beach earlier, but he wasn't sure he wanted to tell that to Mom. She was already feeling down about not being able to preserve a fond memory of their father. After all, if there was anything that the entire town enjoyed from their family, it was that of Noble Metal's special mix of hot cocoa, shared between Noble's co-workers and his family on regular winter days, and served to the town at the Halterside Hearth's Warming festival. And now that he was gone, how long would it be until something else fills that little niche?

He sighed internally. If it hadn't been for that stupid Haunted Lighthouse attraction on Nightmare Night...

However, that was when he quickly realized that his father had shared the recipe with somepony: his only son, Silver Shill. He had told him the ingredients to use and how much for a single cup, and how many stirs were required for an even mixing. If he could multiply it by a certain number, then maybe he could make his own brew of the special cocoa.

He choked out, "Say, uh... Mom?"

Crystal tilted her head. "What is it, Silver?"

"Pop taught me the recipe. You think I could serve it this year?"

Author's Note

Here's my little Hearth's Warming fic, based on a throwaway line in Brotherly Bonding Time.

It was originally going to be a oneshot, but then I realized that it was getting way too long, so I opted instead to split it into parts. I'm estimating that it'll be five parts.

In other news, Pearly Whites and Comedy Gold behave like my sisters. My sisters argue a lot.

Setting Up Shop

And so it was that young Silver Shill was hauling a sled with stuff piled on it through the snowy streets of his hometown, with his little sister helping him pull the rope in front while his two big sisters pushed from the back and made sure that nothing fell out. Mini stoves, mixing utensils, kettles, jugs of water and milk (the latter provided by a generous neighbor cow), and boxes of the ingredients needed were perched atop a folded table at the bottom.

All were garbed in their winter attire, ranging from Silver's simple outfit of the hat and scarf, Penny wearing the same except with an added vest, Pearl also having a hat, but wearing a thick trenchcoat and boots, and Goldie's snowsuit. Their cheeks and the tip of their muzzles had already been nipped by the cold, and their huffs and puffs manifested into clouds as they towed their sled full of supplies.

"Silver..." Pearl groused, her hooves holding one of the stoves steady. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, they can survive without hot cocoa, and in doing this, you'll be missing out on a lot of activities... not to mention you're kinda prone to anxiety..."

"D'oh, what?" Silver replied. "Come on, Pearl, you know that ponies appreciate a warm drink on a cold day! We gotta give it to 'em, yanno? I'll be fine."

Pearl raised an eyebrow. "Would you listen if I said that chocolate gives ponies cavities?"

"Not if they brush their teeth," Penny deadpanned.

Goldie giggled. "And they get to use the yummy toothpaste!"

Pearl gave Goldie an incredulous look. "Goldie, most ponies use mint toothpaste. You use bubblegum."

"I know! It's the best tasting stuff ever!"

"...please tell me you don't eat it."

Silver sighed. "Pearl, you're overreacting. It's gonna be a simple exchange of three bits for a mug. Simple as that."

They walked past many of the houses of the Halterside residents, trudging through the snow as they pulled the sled closer and closer to the town square. All the while, Goldie had urged them to sing some Hearth's Warming carols as they walked, as well as catch some snowflakes on their tongues. They all laughed when Pearl complained that the tiny crystals tasted too salty.

When they had finally arrived, they all smiled at the sight of the festival.

The town square--or rather, as many residents jokingly called it, the town circle--was a thick ring of snow, beginning and ending at the two beautifully decorated Hearth's Warming trees set up at both sides of the town hall and lined with torches for ponies to warm up by. In the middle of the ring was an ice rink, where ponies skated, both in just gliding along casually, doing fantastic tricks, or playing hockey. Some foals were outside the rink, preferring to build a snowcolt or have a snowball fight.

Along the ring were stands run by residents, who served popcorn, cotton candy, gingerbread, candy canes, and other treats. A band was playing carols under some shelter, and several ponies were singing along to the beloved tunes. Finally, there were several other activities set up, such as a puppet show, a magic show, a snow fort making contest, the carnival games of the ring toss, bean bag toss, and fishing game, and of course, an igloo where foal could meet Santa Hooves.

Goldie bounced up and down. "Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh, boy! What should we do first? What should we do first?!"

Penny replied in a flat tone, "Help Silver set up his stand."

Goldie visibly deflated. "Oh."

From the point of view of little Comedy Gold, setting up the table and stoves took forever, especially the part where they had to make sure that the stoves worked. Silver had to stand on a stool thanks to being so short, while Penny and Pearl could check the kettles without even going on tiptoes. Seeing them shake their head indicating that the liquid wasn't boiling, she didn't quite understand why the water-milk mix--or just water for ponies who were lactose intolerant like she was--didn't boil instantly in any of the kettles. As she waited for her big siblings to finish organizing the remaining supplies, ingredients, and the bucket of warm water for washing the mugs, she idly made snow angels nearby, envying the other foals playing in the fair while she was stuck here. Oh, how she wished that her siblings would hurry up.

She raised her head, and she recognized her neighbor Winter Mist, and that cousin of hers with the name that was fun to say. Shooting up to sitting position, a big grin came upon her face, and she hollered, "Coco!"

The shout made Silver jump and stumble onto the ground with a yelp, and Pearl backed up and hit her head on a particularly tall tiki torch. Penny merely blinked, and shot a glare in Goldie's direction. The tiny curly top didn't notice; she was too focused on the annoyed Winter and the confused Coco looking her way.

She waved at the pair. "Hello!"

Winter and Coco trotted over to them, the former saying, "Geez, do you really need to be such a loudmouth?"

"Somepony in my family has to be loud!" Goldie replied.

Pearl walked from the torch, holding her aching head. "None of us are particularly quiet, Goldie, but why did you need to yell?"

Silver popped up from behind the table. "Don't scare us like that! Pearl could've knocked down the tiki torch and lit herself on fire."

Coco put a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, dear, that wouldn't be good."

Silver's eyes landed on Coco, and he sputtered, "Oh, i-it's you, that filly we met the other day, eh... what's your name again?"

Goldie jumped and shouted, "Coco! It's easy to remember! Gosh, Silver, you're so forgetful!"

Coco cleared her throat and said, "Yes, it is Coco. Coco Pommel."

Silver laughed and said, "What a coincidence! You share a name with the thing I'm a-selling here!" He presented the stand and the stoves with a cheesy grin. "Of course, you're not made of chocolate--heh, or even look like chocolate! I mean, good thing you don't look like chocolatey deliciousness, because somepony might eat ya!"

As her cousin facehoofed beside her, Coco tilted her head in confusion. "Uh... thanks?"

His face red, Silver mumbled, "You're pretty, anyway."

Pearl stepped forward. "You'll have to excuse our brother, he's awkward." She ignored the glare that Silver was giving her and held out a hoof. "So... I'm Pearly Whites."

Penny leaned on the table beside Silver. "My name is Platinum Pen."

Silver's face once again erupted into a corny, nervous grin. "I-I-I'm Silver Shill."

Goldie leapt into the air with an audible sproing. "Comedy Gold!"

Winter Mist rolled her eyes, and stated, "Yeah, they're my neighbors. They've always been a bunch of weirdos." She narrowed her eyes at Goldie. "Especially the youngest one. I swear, she must be the biggest weirdo in Equestria." She shuddered. "She scares me."

Goldie stuck her tongue out at her.

"Oh, I've seen some strange ponies back home, she can't be that bad compared to them," Coco said, walking forward and stroking the tuft of curly strawberry-blonde hair poking out of Goldie's hood. "She's actually really cute."

Goldie grinned at her. "I like you! Where ya from?"

"Manehattan."

Silver blinked. "You mean you're from the big city? Well, a big city, because there's lotsa big cities in Equestria... Canterlot... Los Pegasus... Vanhoover... you know, stuff like that."

Coco giggled. "That's right. My family's just visiting this town because we didn't want to put up with the fast pace of Manehattan during the holidays this year."

"Yeah, you might slip and fall... on ice."

The silence as the girls stared at him was only broken by a cough from Pearl. He stood there, on the stool, holding his sheepish grin as long as he could, thinking that if he held it, he wouldn't embarrass himself even further than he had already done. Great was his relief when he heard one of the kettles whistle, and Penny was gracious enough to take it off the stove and put it on a heat pad on the table.

"Say, uh, why don't I show you girls my hot cocoa magic? It's my Pop's special recipe!"

Winter scoffed, while Coco looked on with fascination.

Silver started with grabbing a mug from under the green tablecloth, and then some measurements of some ingredients. He put some cocoa powder in the mug, followed by creamer, some chocolate chips, a little bit of caramel, a spoonful of sugar and a couple of marshmallows.

Winter raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to put the marshmallows after the cocoa's mixed?"

"Not the way Pop does it!" Silver said, adding a few drops of vanilla. Finally, he started to stir the mix within together. "So, you want peppermint or no?"

Coco shook her head. "Oh, no, it doesn't agree with my stomach."

"Same here! Besides, we didn't get any candy canes yet," Silver said. He stopped stirring, poured the hot water-milk mix in the mug, and then resumed his stirring. He continued to stir for a good thirty seconds, watching as the liquid became browner and browner, and the chocolate aroma begun to waft up to his nostrils. He looked at Coco, who still watching with fascination, then to Winter rolling her eyes, and then to a smug looking Goldie. Why she was so smug, he had no idea.

He finished the stirring, dropped three marshmallows in the drink, and pushed it to Coco. "Go on, give it a try!"

Coco took the mug with a smile, and then looked at it. With a deep breath, she took a quick sip. Her face turned red as the heat got to her, and she staggered back. "Oh, dear, it's hot!"

Goldie was suddenly on her hind legs, her front hooves holding a giant snowball above her head. "Let's add some snow to cool it down!"

"Goldie, no! You might knock her out!" Silver shouted. "Besides, adding snow would ruin it..."

Coco took another sip, and she was more visibly relaxed. "Okay... okay, I might have overreacted a little..."

"No worries, it's hot! As long as you don't have to go to the doctor for burns, it's just fine."

Pearl snickered. "Like you did when you burned your nose on the cocoa when you were eight?"

Penny glanced at her. "Pearl, no, don't embarrass him."

Pearl snickered some more, and then frowned when she noticed Silver pouting at her. "Oh, don't pout like that! Mom said you'd get an underbite if you kept up that pouting!"

Coco finished her drink, and sighed happily. She put the mug back on the table. "Wow... that was delicious! I'm happy I had it! You're a good cocoa maker, Silver Shill."

Silver blushed in response to that. "Oh, you know, my Pop's got a way of teaching..." He sighed and looked away for a moment, wondering what his father would think. Probably pat him on the head and call him "champ" for how smoothly things were going so far. After all, he was talking to a girl! That wasn't his mother... or any of his sisters... or Grandma.

Winter Mist stared at him with a dull look. "So, are we supposed to pay for the cocoa, or what?"

Silver's face broke into a frown, and in a panic, he grabbed the mug, thrust it in Coco's face, and said, "Throw it back up! You were supposed to pay three bits first!"

Penny, Pearl, and Winter all facehoofed, Goldie burst into laughter, and Coco just stared at the mug in confusion. Silver's already pink face flushed to red, and he wanted to buck himself in the face for saying something so stupid. He briefly glanced at the guffawing Goldie rolling around in the snow, and he looked up at other ponies who were now staring.

With a groan, Winter Mist shoved a hoof into her coat pocket, and set three bits on the table. "She already drank it, so I might as well pay for it. I gotta be a gracious host to her after all."

Silver silently dragged the bits across the table, pulling out the money box from under the table like a drawer and pushing the coins in. "Thank you."

Winter Mist shook her head, and then turned around. She grabbed Coco, and said, "Let's go, we've got other things to do."

Coco smiled back at Silver and waved goodbye to him.

Silver waved back with a forced grin. Once out of sight, he pulled his hat over his face, and muttered, "That was embarrassing. I can't believe I just told her to puke."

Goldie hopped back up, still laughing. "Yeah! Hee hee, what if she had done it?"

Pearl cringed. "That'd be disgusting!"

"If we did have peppermint, she might as well have thrown up," Penny stated. She walked out of the space, took Goldie's hoof, and said, "Now, I'm going to take Pearl and Goldie around so that they can do some activities. Can you handle the stand on your own?"

Silver took his hat off, and then fit it back onto his head. Waving a hoof, he said, "Easy peasy lemon squeezy!"

Goldie raised an eyebrow. "You're selling cocoa, not lemonade."

Pearl sighed as she walked to Goldie's other side. "It's an expression, Goldie."

Penny gave her a stare of slight annoyance. Then she looked down at Goldie and said with a ghost of a smile, "So, are you ready to have some festival fun?"

Goldie bounced up and down. "Yes, yes, yes! I've been waiting forever!"

"Then let's go." And with that, Penny started to lead her sisters to the puppet show.

Goldie turned and waved to Silver. "Bye-bye, Silver! We'll bring you some candy canes to mix in some cocoa!"

Silver waved back, and then slumped in his seat with a sigh. Here he was, all alone at this stand, watching all the other ponies have their winter fun. It was just him, some heating water and milk, and a bunch of ingredients under the table. And those three bits he already earned. Yep, the stallion of the house was selling hot cocoa at the festival, while the rest of the family was going around and having some fun.

Indeed, it was the stallion of the house. But instead of the strong and proud Noble Metal, it was his short and awkward son Silver Shill.

It didn't feel right for him to be sitting here. His Pop had been the big and friendly one, bearing lots of personality and wit, and making ponies laugh with a good joke. He was a stallion clearly proud to call his wife beautiful in all her roundness; all of his daughters sweet, even when they were clearly deadpan, fussy, and loud respectively; and his only son to him was a champ. Even though Silver was clearly a loser at school.

He wished his Pop was here, helping him ease into this cocoa stand thing he was doing. If he was, then Silver wouldn't have just asked that pretty filly to vomit out her recently drank hot cocoa, all because he forgot to have her pay first. Noble wouldn't have made that mistake.

He took a deep breath, and looked ahead at the festival. A couple of ponies were heading his way, and there was no turning back. They clearly wanted some cocoa, and he's going to give it to them. It was his family's tradition, after all.

Who knows, maybe he wouldn't be nervous enough to mess up this time.

Get Your Hot Cocoa Here

After given some candy canes by his sisters so that he could add peppermint upon a customer's request, Silver went through the day mixing mug after mug after mug. The repetitiveness of the task was helping him memorize it better, though he wasn't entirely sure he got the measurements right each time. Sometimes he felt as if he had missed an ingredient, like a marshmallow, the vanilla, or some of the melted caramel, and had a brief bout of panic at the thought of somepony tasting the difference as easily as they could tell somepony forgot the pickles or onion in a burger. Luckily, nopony seemed to complain about it.

Still, the job was a little tedious with the mixing of the cocoa, receiving the bits, and then getting the mugs back so that he would wash them. But it would have been more tedious than it already was had there not been some colorful characters that had approached his stand.

One such character was the local dentist, Minty, who trotted along and asked for an extra minty mug of cocoa, reaching into her sock purse and paying him. As he had mixed the cocoa, he couldn't help but stare at the sock that Minty was using as a hat, and the ones she wore on her legs, and the extra long stocking that she was using as a scarf. It was strange enough that she used socks for decoration in her office, but as far as he was concerned, wearing them like she did was ridiculous. Curious, he asked the question about the socks that he couldn't during appointments when she was working on his teeth.

He regretted bringing about the explanation about how in poverty, Minty's family only had socks to help them survive. They carried everything with socks, kept warm with socks, dined with socks, cleaned their teeth with socks, played with socks, created temporary dolls out of socks, and just about everything under the sun was done with socks in her family. Silver felt queasy at the part that when her mother gave birth, Minty caught her newborn sister... with a sock. And then they cleaned up afterwards... with socks. And that was why she loved socks.

Finally, Minty had finished her cocoa and returned the mug. She gave him a present--which was, of course, a large sock--and trotted off, reminding him to brush his teeth, and to stop pouting, lest he develop an underbite. Silver forced a grin as he waved goodbye to her, and then went to the water bucket. Putting some hot water from one of the kettles in the bucket to keep it warm and adding a little more soap, he scooped some of the water and swirled it around in the cup. As he did so, he couldn't get the image of the foaling sock out of his head.

He glanced at his present and gagged. "I'll never look at a sock the same way."

Soon, he found a pair of twin fillies in front of his stand, and he grew increasingly annoyed with their indecisiveness.

"Stardust, we must get peppermint! It's a tradition for this time of year!" one twin argued.

The other twin rolled her eyes. "Sweet Tart, I'm not in the mood for peppermint. So... no."

Sweet Tart groaned. "We don't have time for this! We have to play the accordion for the talent show tonight!"

Stardust stuck her tongue out. "Well, maybe if you didn't insist on peppermint. I'm craving chocolate, and that's what we're gonna get!"

Silver tapped on the table. "Eh, excuse me?" When he got the twins' attention, he said, "Yanno, you both could have your own mugs."

The twins gasped in horror. Then, Stardust said, "No, no, no! You don't understand!"

Silver grimaced. "Understand what?"

Sweet Tart then said, "As twins, it is mandatory that we share everything. Whether it be our clothes, our toys, our bed, our toothbrush..."

Silver leaned back upon hearing that last one. It was disgusting, but it couldn't top the story of the foaling sock from earlier.

"...and of course, we share our accordion."

He blinked. "Wait... you girls only have one accordion?"

The two nodded.

Raising an eyebrow, he imagined the two of them each holding one end of the accordion, and just pushing and pulling towards each other. In that position, how did they not drop it? He wondered which one held the end with the keys, and the other with the buttons. The resulting image in his head made him snort in amusement.

Sweet Tart sighed. "You know, if I want peppermint, I'll just get a candy cane." She pulled some bits out of her coat pocket and set them on the table.

As Silver took the money and started mixing the drink, Stardust asked, "So, are you going to give us straws?"

He frowned. He didn't have any.

Much to his confusion, one pony left their ventriloquist dummy on the stand.

When the customer had told him that the dummy was thirsty, Silver had looked at him funny. Then, after he paid the guy left, saying that he needed to do something, and the dummy was left on the table. Rolling his eyes, Silver started mixing the drink, as he was sure the pony was going to come back for both the drink and the dummy.

He finished mixing, and then set the drink aside for the guy to come back. He leaned in his hoof, whistling a Hearth's Warming carol as he waited. His corner of the fair was quiet, and all he could do was just wait until that pony returned.

Then, suddenly, he heard a gulp, a sigh of delight, and a declaration of, "That was some good cocoa!"

His eyes widened, and he turned around quickly in order to give the cocoa thief a piece of his mind for stealing someone else's drink. He wasn't sure what he was going to do past that, since he was just a little colt that could be creamed by just about every other pony there...

He stopped once he saw that there was nopony there. It was just the dummy, still sitting there, with chocolate smeared all over it's fake grin. Its eyes were on Silver, it's little hoof on the mug, and the mug was empty. Dummy and colt stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like hours, with the latter's heart racing as he slowly scooted his stool away. The longer he stared at the dummy, the more wicked it's grin looked, the redder its eyes looked, and the more he expected it to leap at him and eat his face. He didn't know why, but there was clearly something possessing that doll.

Finally, the dummy said, "Hey, champ."

He screamed and fell out of his stool.

It was right then that the pony, a unicorn, returned and picked up his dummy, saying, "Did you like the cocoa, Mr. Chuckles?" He then levitated it to Silver's face, making the dummy say, "Oh, yes, it was de-lish! Mr. Metal would have been proud!"

Silver stared in silence from where he lay, not wanting to move out of fear of the dummy.

The pony laughed, and said, "Well, thank you, little guy, for helping quench the thirst of Mr. Chuckles. Noble Metal was always happy to oblige, and it's nice to see that his boy is taking up his mantle!" His eyes went soft. "He is missed very much."

As the pony left with his dummy, Silver got back onto his seat, and then looked at his most recent customer. He leaned in his hoof once again, and looked up at the sky, sighing. It was nice to know that his family wasn't the only one that missed Pop, even if an evil dummy was one who missed him.

Still, why couldn't Pop just have stayed longer, at least to celebrate one last Hearth's Warming before passing on? Why couldn't he be here to run the stand, or at least guide Silver in doing this? Why couldn't he stay long enough until he and Penny and Pearl and Goldie were all grown up? Why did that storm even happen on Nightmare Night? Why did the event committee even come up with that stupid haunted lighthouse?

Why? Just... why?

He shook his head and wiped his nose. Now was not the time for him to wallow in those questions; he had a stand to run.

Next, a black-coated teenage unicorn with a bright red mane and piercing yellow eyes was at the stand, wearing a saddle that was an ugly shade of green, bearing spikes, and bore a pair of nightmarish wings. He wore a spiked choker and anklets that matched the saddle, four pairs of earrings, and had pierced nostrils, eyebrows, and tongue. Silver scooted his chair back at the sight of the teenager, expecting the angry looking unicorn to try to hurt him. He was afraid to look at the cutie mark.

He put his hooves together and asked, "C-can I help you?"

The teen put a hoof on his chest. "I, Baron Von Bloody McLudicrous VIII, will request your finest choco-lot-tay garnished and flavored with the spiciest and hottest of chili peppers, imported from the land of dragons. Fulfill my request, or perish!"

Silver blinked, his mouth agape at the ridiculous request. Was this guy for real?

Clearing his throat, Silver answered, "I-I don't have any chili peppers. Would you like some peppermint instead?"

Baron Von Bloody McLudicrous VIII gave Silver an exaggerated sneer. "Peppermint?!"

Silver jumped and clung to his seat tightly, biting his lip so his teeth didn't chatter. "Please don't kill me! That's illegal!"

It was at that moment that Goldie bounced in, carrying a bag of candy canes and setting them on the table. She had one in her mouth, and she cheerily sang, "I brought ya more candy canes for peppermint cocoa!"

She then glanced at the Baron, and gave him a funny look. "What the hay?"

The Baron snorted. "Why do you not have chili peppers, you insignificant blubbering insect?!"

Goldie had no idea what he just said, but she was sure it was an insult. She glared at him. "Do you want me to buck you in the face, dummy?"

"Goldie, no, that's not nice," Silver said. He cleared his throat, and as he trembled, he answered, "W-we're not rich enough to import chili peppers from the land of dragons, mister. Besides, last I checked... uh, dragons didn't grow food. They eat gems. So... no, we don't have that. You either get plain or peppermint."

The Baron stared at him for a moment, and then shouted, "VERY WELL! Provide me with the peppermintiest, hottest, and most extreme chocolate drink that you can conjure up! Work your dark magic, and please Baron Von Bloody McLudicrous the VIII!"

Goldie started laughing at the customer's loud voice and his funny wording, while Silver took some candy canes out of the bag, and mixed the drink together with the bundle for who knows how long, until it dissolved. Adding a bit more hot watery milk, he presented it to the Baron, who swiped the mug and dumped the entire contents of it into his wide open mouth.

The result was a loud, gravelly scream that turned heads and made them mutter in confusion.

His ears still ringing from the ordeal with the Baron and his burnt tongue, he was pleasantly surprised to see Coco Pommel pop up at his stand once again. With a smile, he asked, "Hey, what brings you here?"

Coco drummed on the table. "Oh, well... I, uh, just wanted to have some more of that cocoa. It's just really good."

"You have three bits?"

Coco dug into her pocket, and produced three bits. "I got some from my mom earlier... after the first time I drank the cocoa, that is."

"That's fine by me." Silver slid the bits into the money box, and then started to mix the cocoa once again. As he stirred, he glanced at Coco, who seemed to be in awe at how quickly he was making it. It felt nice to have this kind of childlike attention on him.

Coco looked up at him. "I have to wonder... is mixing drinks your special talent?"

Silver shook his head. "Psht, no, it isn't. I've been mixing stuff for a while now, and I'm still a blank flank. I don't know what my special talent is, so..."

"Mine's sewing," Coco said, pulling up her jacket to reveal her cutie mark, which was a purple, wide-brimmed hat with a red feather.

Silver looked at the mark with interest. "Oooh, nice hat."

Coco released her jacket and let it cover the mark again. "Thank you. And I'm sure that if you ever get your cutie mark, it'd be wonderful."

Silver gazed up at the sky as he stirred. "My Pop said the same thing. I just wish that he would have stayed long enough to celebrate when I finally do discover my talent... for that matter, make that when Goldie gets her cutie mark." He looked down at the swirling drink. "But, you know... being dead makes him miss important stuff like that."

Coco tilted her head, worry coming across her face. "Are you okay?"

He perked up and cleared his throat. "Oh, uh, I'm fine." He finished mixing the cocoa, and pushed it toward the filly, letting a grin come upon his face. "Here you go! Cocoa for Coco!"

Coco giggled, took the mug, and said, "You're being silly with the wordplay."

"Oh, uh..." Silver rubbed the back of his head. "Why don't you try playing with my name? I-it's Silver Shill, in case you forgot. Ponies always forget."

Coco tilted her head. "Silver Shill..." She sipped her cocoa, her eyes looking off to the corner as she tried to think of some sort of play on his name. Finishing her sip, she asked, "Uh, what's a shill?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Funny story, really... you see, uh, when I was born, Mom and Pop were planning on naming me Silver Shell, because, you know, we live by the ocean and there's a lot of seashells, and silver's a metal... because Pop's name is Noble Metal. Heck, it's why my second oldest sister's name is Pearl--well, Pearly Whites, but she's got a cutie mark that fits the name, don't worry--even though that's not a metal, but it comes with seashells and oysters and stuff. So yeah... my mom grew up here and wanted some beachy names..."

Coco nodded. "Okay."

Silver cleared his throat. "So... eh... the doctors misheard the name, and wrote down 'shill.'"

"Oh, okay. So, do you know what 'shill' means?"

Silver's eye twitched, and he squeaked, "Nope."

Coco blinked, and then shrugged. Then her eyes widened in an "aha" moment, and she smiled. "Oh, I've got one!"

Silver leaned forward. "Yes?"

"Silver Shill sells seashells down by the sea shore!"

They both laughed.

So, the hours continued to tick on by, and ponies came and went, asking for cocoa and watching as Silver mixed up the drinks and served them. In between that, refilling the kettles, keeping the liquid from boiling out of them, making sure the bucket of dishwater didn't freeze, keeping stock, and counting bits, he was a rather busy colt.

Like with Minty, the accordion twins, the dummy, and the Baron, Silver found himself either raising an eyebrow, cowering, or trying not to throw up with a few unforgettable customers. He had a repeat of the dummy situation, except it was a rubber chicken that time, and the chicken didn't seem as evil as the dummy. There was a stallion who snorted the cocoa up his nose, prompting Silver to rub his own nose, since it hurt from seeing that. There was a pony dressed up as a tree, another dressed up in a patchwork dress, and another dressed up in nothing but duct tape. At one point, Santa Hooves came up to the stand, asking for a nice and minty mug.

As he had stirred Santa's mug, he looked up with hopeful eyes and asked if his Pop could be brought back to life. Santa sadly replied that he didn't have that power, but he could bring him any toy he wanted.

With downcast eyes, Silver had replied, "I'm not sure I want any toys this year."

And so it went, pony after pony, having their hot cocoa, and Silver mixing the stuff until his front legs ached from the repeated action. His movement, being surrounded by steaming liquids, and his proximity to the tiki torch was keeping him at least a little warm. Not to mention that that Coco Pommel filly kept coming by to say hi, whether she had the excuse of "wanting more cocoa", or just making sure that he wasn't lonely.

Every time she came by, there was a question asked by either him or her.

"So... what's Manehattan like?" Silver asked.

Coco sipped at her cocoa. "It's big, and everypony's cranky and in a hurry. My mom gets pretty cranky too, and it gets annoying. Sometimes it even gets scary when ponies are in a hurry. Some carriages don't even stop for little colts crossing the street!"

Silver gasped. "You saw a colt get run over?!"

Coco shook her head. "Oh, no no no, just almost. He was pulled away by his... I think it was his big brother, but it was a close one."

She was called by her cousin to go ice skate, and left him alone for a bit.

After Silver dealt with a few more customers, she returned, with a question of how he liked living in a little seaside town.

Silver rubbed his hooves together. "Well, I very much like it here. I smell the briny air all the time, I hear waves pounding on the beach a lot, I get to play on the beach all the time! But... I have to watch Goldie so she doesn't get swept away by the tide. And I can't play in the water or build sand castles when it's snowing... because it's cold."

Coco simply blinked.

"...or... in a storm, since the waves get pretty tall and the water gets dark. It's always scary when a ginormous one crashes on the lighthouse."

Coco had a uneasy look on her face, glancing away and scrunching her nose.

Silver pouted, and then cleared his throat. "My uncle takes me and my sisters on boat rides in the summer."

"Ooh, that sounds fun. Have you seen any whales or dolphins... or maybe even sea ponies?"

"No, but the waves once threw seaweed in my face. It was disgusting!"

Coco laughed. "Oh no! How did they feel?"

"Blegh, slimy!" Silver scratched his chin and mumbled, "Maybe it was sea ponies... that didn't like me for some reason..."

Coco laughed some more. Then, her ears twitched as she heard her name being called, and she turned to see her mother there, pointing to the igloo that Santa Hooves was in. "Okay, Mom!"

She turned back to Silver and said, "Sorry, I gotta go now." She turned around and started running to her Mom, calling back, "I'll see you later!"

Silver waved back, and then let out a happy sigh.

That was when Goldie came trotting along with a skip in her step. She sneezed, propelling her into the air, and onto the table with a loud thump, startling her brother and making him fall back on the snowing ground. With a big smile on her face, she shouted, "Hi, Silver!"

Silver looked up at her with a pout.

Goldie sniffled and then sneezed again. Wiping her nose, she said, "I want some cocoa now! Some chocolatey yummy in my tummy will keep me nice and warm!" She narrowed her eyes. "And stop the sneezing. I don't like sneezing."

Silver got onto the stool, and then looked past Goldie to make sure their big sisters were there. Sure enough, Penny and Pearl were walking up to the stand, and it was not hard to figure out that Goldie's skipping brought her to the table more quickly than their leisurely pace. Nodding, he said, "Okey-dokey, I'll make you some."

He scooted his stool to the stoves, and tried to remember which one of the kettles had just water in it. The last thing he wanted to do was get Goldie sick thanks to her lactose intolerance, and he remembered quite clearly the instructions his Pop gave in making a dairy free cocoa. After all, Noble wasn't fond of making ponies cramp up or vomit during a Hearth's Warming celebration.

"Hurry up!" Goldie shouted.

Red. It had to be the red kettle. He grabbed the red kettle, and set it on the heat pad on the table, shooing Goldie off in the process. Bringing out another mug, he mixed in the other ingredients, but left out the caramel and halved the creamer. As he poured the liquid, he asked, "So, do you want some peppermint?"

Goldie nodded happily, so Silver obliged by stirring with a couple of candy canes.

Penny and Pearl were at the table, with a latter asking, "You poured the one with the water, right? Not any of the ones with the water-milk mix, or worse, the one that's entirely full of milk? Because we don't want to make Goldie sick!"

"I-I'm taking steps to make the cocoa good for her," Silver said, looking at the mix and seeing nothing but brown. "I'm pretty sure I got the water one."

Penny took a candy cane and took a bite out of it. "Are you doing all right? Have any crowds come along and overwhelmed you?

Silver finished stirring, shaking his head, and then gave the mug to Goldie, who squealed and started to chug the cocoa down. "Nah, it was just one or two at a time. Nothing I can't handle. And there haven't been any complaints... or sick ponies..." He looked up at the tiki torch. "Or fires..."

Penny had a small crease of her brow, and she set a hoof on Silver's. "Perhaps I should take over from here. You should go out and have some fun before the day is done."

Silver frowned. "Penny, I'm the one that knows the recipe, so I gotta stay here and mix it for the ponies who want it."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "Silver, perhaps you should write it down so that the rest of us can mix it." Her expression softened. "Besides... I don't want you to be alone back here."

"Oh, I'm not alone. I met a bunch of weirdos that kept me from being bored, not to mention that Coco Pommel keeps coming over and chatting with me."

Pearl tilted her head. "Winter Mist's cousin?"

"Yep."

Penny shook her head. "Silver, you know Pop would want you to go out and have fun."

Silver pouted at her. "Well... well... Pop's not here! And since he's not around to watch the stand, I'm doing it! I promised myself I'd continue this tradition for him, and I'm going to keep it!"

Penny sighed. "Silver... we're his family, too."

Silver turned his back on her. "Just go. You deserve to have fun more than I do. After all, I'm more of a 'champ' right here than out there, where I'll slip and fall on the ice, or embarrass myself in some other way."

Penny was silent for a moment, looking at a concerned Pearl, and the oblivious Goldie still drinking her cocoa. With a shake of her head, she said, "Very well, have it your way. At least Coco was talking with you." She tilted her head. "Perhaps she keeps coming so you wouldn't be lonely."

Once Goldie had put the mug back on the table, Penny took both her and Pearl, and left to do something else.

Silver grabbed the mug, hopped down, and started washing it in the bucket. He sniffled and wiped his eyes, and looked in the bucket, where the image of his Pop appeared. Noble Metal grinned at him, and said, "You're doing great, champ. Those ponies do appreciate some nice, hot cocoa on a cold winter day."

Silver smiled at the image. "Yeah... they do."

It was about a half hour before Coco returned, her trots seemingly light as a feather. She set three bits on the table, explaining that her mother wanted some cocoa. Silver was more than happy to oblige, and began that same mixing that he had been doing all day.

As he stirred, she asked, "So... do you collect seashells?"

Silver shook his head. "Nah, I've seen just about every kind you see on our beach. It gets kinda old. It doesn't stop my sisters from making necklaces with them."

"Aww, I'd like a seashell necklace. But, Winter doesn't make necklaces, and she hates the beach and the ocean."

Silver shrugged. "Eh, ever since I met her in school, she's liked snow stuff more than beach stuff. She's the one that complains all the time about sand and how it gets in her fur. Believe me, I've seen her pouting on the beach more times than I can count."

He finished stirring, and pushed the mug toward Coco. "Okay, be sure to bring the mug back!"

Coco took the mug, and said, "Thanks." And thus, she turned around, and carefully walked back to her mother with the mug in hoof.

Silver leaned in his hoof, and smiled. That was a really nice filly, and he was glad she came down from the big city, even if the reason she was here was because she was visiting her cousin. He liked making a new friend, especially a filly like her.

All of a sudden, the unusual sound of his eldest sister yelling in a sharp tone rang out. "Silver Shill!"

Jumping and tipping his stool yet again, he managed to swim back to place and regain balance so that all four of the stool's legs were on the ground. His relief in having avoided crashing to the ground was brief, and he was face to face with the glare of Platinum Pen. He gulped, knowing that Penny breaking out of her austere demeanor meant he was in big trouble. The problem was, he didn't know what he did.

Her glare unyielding, she snarled, "Did you give Goldie milk?"

His eyes widened, and he leaned to look behind Penny, where Pearl stood, Comedy Gold on her back. Little Goldie was sobbing and moaning, her eyes red with tears, her mouth wet with spittle, and a hoof clutching her belly. She whined about wanting a bathroom, and that holding it in was painful. There was no denying what he did wrong now.

He looked at the red kettle on a cool part of one of the stoves. He bit his lip, any words that he wanted to say were caught in his throat.

Penny glanced at the kettle, marched toward it, and then took off the lid for a good long look at what was inside. Looking up with that same glower on her face, she snapped, "Did you forget to check the kettle before giving her that cocoa? This one's entirely full of milk!"

Silver blinked, and then sank his muzzle into his scarf, muttering, "Oops."

Penny groaned. "That's all you have to say? 'Oops'? You should know better, Silver! Don't neglect checking just because you think you remember which kettle had which liquid! I thought you'd be extra careful about this when our baby sister is involved!"

"I'm not a baby!" Goldie protested.

She then hiccuped, and retched out only drops of saliva, making Pearl shudder from one end to the other. Seeing the drops hit the snow, Pearl said, "I... am just going to take Goldie home now." With that, she shuffled away and started the trek home, with another pony coming in and taking her place, watching Silver and Penny.

Penny shook her head. "You know what? I'm taking over the stand, and you're going home."

"But... b-but... but," Silver hopped down from his stool. "You don't even know the recipe!"

Penny narrowed her eyes. "Gee, that problem could be solved by you telling me or writing it down."

"You watched me make it earlier!"

"Doesn't mean I have a complete memory of all the things you put in, the measurements, and how much I need to stir. What's wrong with just writing it down or at least telling me what you know?"

Silver brushed his hoof on the snow. "You know I'm not very, uh, elo... elo... what's that word again?"

"Eloquent," Penny replied bluntly. "So take a pencil and paper and write it down, and then you can be on your way. You do have those under the table."

"But what if somepony steals it?! It won't be Pop's special recipe anymore!"

Penny massaged her forehead and sighed. "Silver, don't be so paranoid. Why are you even arguing? You know very well I can't just let you get off scot-free after you were so negligent in mixing Goldie's drink. So, just write down the recipe, and then go home."

"But... but... but..." Silver snorted and growled, "What makes you think that you'd do better than me? I was the one that was taught personally by Pop!"

Coco squeezed herself in between some ponies that had gathered in the area, who were waiting for the two to stop arguing and make them some cocoa, and then set the mug on the table. She was followed by her cousin, who grumbled under her breath. Looking up with bright eyes, Coco said, "Okay, Mom's all--" She blinked at the sight of the siblings, and backed up a little. "Uh... is this a bad time?"

Winter tilted her head. "Looks like it to me."

Silver glanced at her and waved a hoof. "It's fine, Coco, it's fine. Penny just thinks that she can run this stand, even though she's never done anything like this or a lemonade stand."

Penny shook her head. "I don't know what is making you argue for staying here; your friendship with our neighbor's cousin, or just you being wrapped up in being the 'stallion of the house' ever since Pop died. Either way, it's time you go home."

Coco sighed. "Aww... that's a shame. I like coming over here."

Winter turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "How many times have you been over here and why?"

"I lost count. Still, the cocoa's good, and he's sweet and fun to talk to. I'm just sad that he was all alone over here and hasn't had any fun in the festival today."

Silver growled. "It's not like I can, Coco! I would have just embarrassed myself out there and tripped or slipped or said something stupid or got pelted with snowballs by the local bullies and Pop's not around to make anything better! I just want to be here where I can still feel him nearby, hear him call me 'champ', and not feel like a spineless loser!" He bucked away his stool, feeling a lump in his throat.

The buck was stronger than he thought it would be, and the stool crashed into the nearby tiki torch, which snapped in half and fell on the table. Within seconds, the torch had lit the tablecloth on fire, making Coco and the waiting ponies shout in dismay.

Penny's eyes were wide as she scooted away from the flames. "Silver Shill!"

Silver turned to the table and jumped. "Oh my stars! Put it out, put it out!"

Staring at the fire, Penny quickly took the kettle of milk and tossed it onto the fire. She heard sizzling, but the fire was barely deterred, so she backed up, grabbed another kettle, and threw some of the water-milk mix on it. She did this again, and again, her body language barely indicating what she was feeling. The only expression she held was that of her wide eyes staring at the fire.

Silver was quickly at work, panicking and screaming as he jumped by the stoves, grabbed kettles, and threw the cloudy fluids inside onto the fire. Each jump knocked the kettle into his hoof, and he swiftly dodged the hot water that spilled out. His heart racing and his muscles filled with an urge to tremble, he tossed the liquids on the fire, mentally pleading for the flames to die before they spread to under the table, where dry ingredients lay.

At one point, he took a blue kettle, and threw the water that was inside. Blinking upon realizing that it was the water he was supposed to use for Goldie, he shouted, "Dang it! It was the blue one!"

The other ponies took to gathering hooffuls of snow, and throwing it on the fire in order to smother it. Coco Pommel and Winter Mist were in on the action, and watched as their snowballs melted in contact with the fire, making at little difference on the burning table . The ponies continued to try to imitate a snowdrift, and heaved as much snow as they could onto the flames, backing up from the attempted hot licks of the fire.

Finally, out of kettles, Silver considered joining the others in throwing snow, but then spotted the water bucket that he had used to clean mugs. He quickly grabbed it, and tossed it onto the table, and the resulting sizzle and the erupting steam was met with sighs of relief and satisfaction. A couple of stallions from the crowd took to removing the blackened tiki torch, and carrying it elsewhere.

Breathing heavily, Silver dropped the bucket. Staring at the ashes that were left of the tablecloth, and the charred marks on the table, he felt an awful pit in his stomach. Right there was his second screw up in a row, right after making his little sister sick. Why had he been so obtuse as to argue with Penny about whether or not he should have just given her the recipe and then went home? If he had just obeyed her, this fire wouldn't have happened!

Stupid, stupid, stupid... he chided himself. He looked up at the other ponies, and realized that he had just made a fool of himself again. His eyes met Coco's, and he stared for a moment before turning away, seeing as he could have hurt somepony, whether it was her, or Penny, or somepony else.

Finally, in his mind's eye, he saw his Pop leaning against the wall, shaking his head in disappointment at those moments of carelessness that resulted in a sick filly and a burnt table. His eyes welling up with tears, Silver knew that he had no right to be called "champ" right now.

Penny was looking under the table, where she checked the ingredients. With a sigh of relief, she went back to her usual impassive demeanor, and said, "It's a good thing it didn't spread to the ingredients; the powders would have made the fire worse."

Winter was staring at the burnt top of the table. "No kidding. This fire was bad enough."

Coco looked under the table as well. "I'm glad it didn't spread. Somepony could have gotten seriously burned."

"Luckily, nopony did, the ingredients are safe, the money is safe..." She stood up. "Don't worry, Silver, I know it was an accident, so I won't hold this one against you."

As she turned her head to face him, she realized he wasn't there. Blinking, she wondered when he left.

Coco was beside her. "Where'd he go?"

With a crease in her brow, she answered, "I better check if he went home."

Author's Note

I do not know now to answer the question about socks in Equestria. For that, I am sorry. :ajsleepy:

I imagine Baron von Bloody McLudicrous VIII's scream sounding like this:

The discussion that Coco and Silver have about the latter's name is based on me mishearing his name as "shell" instead of "shill" the first time I watched Leap of Faith. It didn't occur to me until later that there was a character in My Life as a Teenage Robot called Silver Shell.

And of course I decide to light the table on fire. Nothing says "I messed up" quite like a fire. Then again, Silver messed up with not checking what he was pouring into Goldie's mug...

Under the Moonlight

A trip home had told Penny that Silver was not there, and thus, she and her sister Pearl decided to go out and find him. So, they returned to the town square, so that Penny could show Pearl what had happened to the stand. Pearl jumped upon seeing the burnt table, illuminated by the street light that had turned on in the dimming daylight and blinked, imagining the fire that had taken place there.

"Yowza, no wonder he ran off," Pearl said.

Penny sighed. "I wonder if I was being too harsh on him."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Pearl said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, he obviously overreacted to you just telling him to go home. He did make Goldie sick after all, to say nothing of starting a fire."

Penny walked forward to the table. "The fire was an accident. He got emotional and kicked the stool, knocking over the tiki torch in the process."

Pearl followed her until they arrived at the table. She brushed her hoof on the charred wood and looked at the ashes that stuck to her hoof. "It's just a stand for selling hot chocolate. He didn't have to act the way he did."

"It wasn't just that, nor was it just a continuation of the family tradition..." Penny looked at the stoves surrounding the, and then gazed up at the sky. "It was his way of keeping our father close."

Pearl turned to Penny and blinked. Gazing downward, she said, "...oh."

Penny turned to her. "He really misses Pop."

Pearl nodded. "Don't we all? I know I miss playing Tooth Fairy with him. It didn't feel right taking a tooth from under Goldie's pillow last week, because he wasn't there. And polishing my tooth collection felt incomplete without him joking about it being a beautiful smile or how he wished he could get his teeth to be that white."

Penny wiped her eyes. "I miss our walks on the beach... how we'd talk about what I'd learn in school, how funny you guys are, and how I've been turning the heads of all the colts in town. I hid his special ties in my room; I plan on wearing them in the future... the lucky green one, the fancy gold one for special occasions, and the white one especially, for when I get married."

Pearl wiped her hoof on the snow. "I wonder if Silver is trying to live up to the nickname Dad gave him."

Then, a soft voice piped up, "What is that nickname?"

The girls turned to see Coco Pommel at the table, blinking at them with wide, doleful eyes. They stared at each other for a minute, the silence only permeated with their breaths and the rest of the festival-goers ignoring the corner of the square where they stood.

Finally, Penny answered, "'Champ.'"

Coco nodded. "That's a great nickname. It sounds like your dad was an amazing pony."

"Oh, he was," Pearl said. "Though you wouldn't believe our brother was his son; Silver's kind of... uh... awkward. Pop was not. Still, Pop made sure to make Silver feel like he was important to someone...like he was a winner, and that there'd always be someone for him to turn to when everyone else decided to pick on him. Silver was absolutely shattered when Pop died."

Coco nodded. "Oh. I see. So... is he at your guys' house?"

Penny shook her head. "He went elsewhere."

"Oh. Well, uh... can I help look for him? I wanna see if he's okay."

"If you wish; just let your mother know." Penny scratched her chin. "Though, I have a guess on where he is."

On the outskirts of town, there was a cemetery. Bearing gravestones of every shape and size, serving as memorials to those who have passed on, the combination of snow and moonlight made it eerily beautiful. The gradual rise of the white hill sparkled like the stars above, and there was a sense of peace in the field. Under the darkness of Nightmare Night, the graveyard would have been creepy; but the snow seemed to have made it warmer and more inviting.

"A graveyard?" Coco asked.

Pearl turned to her. "Well, we did say Pop's dead; we figured that Silver would probably visit his grave."

Penny nodded. "Now, if he's here, he can't be that hard to find."

"Unless he's hiding under the snow," Pearl deadpanned.

Penny rolled her eyes, and the three girls went out into the cemetery, the snow crunching under their hooves. They weaved between the gravestones, making their way up the rise. Coco casually glanced at each of the names and cutie marks on the gravestones, briefly wondering what their lives were like and how their families missed them. One such gravestone was a small foal that died recently, which saddened her, for they hadn't lived long enough for one last Hearth's Warming. Much like Silver's Pop.

"There's Pop's grave," Pearl said, pointing further up the hill.

Coco looked up, and she beheld a gravestone. Carved in the stone, there was an emblem, resembling a shield with a big M in the center. She knew instantly that it was the cutie mark of their father, and she couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to meet him.

They arrived at the grave, and she read the name under the symbol: Noble Metal. She tilted her head curiously, wondering how much he fit his name. Was he really as noble as his name said?

She turned around, and saw that the hill was high enough for a view of the ocean on the other side of town. The moon provided a white streak on the dark water, while the lighthouse shone below, being a beacon in the cold night. Coco's breaths puffed out in cloudy wisps as she stared out, taking in the view.

Pearl looked around. "Well, we're at Pop's grave; where's Silver?"

Coco turned to a tree, and she saw a tuft of dark gray hair and pair of blue eyes peeking out from behind it before hiding again. She tugged on Penny's vest and pointed, saying, "I think he's right there."

From behind the tree, someone choked, "Eh, uh, n-no he's-- no, he's not."

Penny and Pearl turned to the tree, and then looked at each other. Then, Pearl said, "It's okay, you can come out from behind the tree."

"Ple... please... just leave me alone."

Penny then said, "Silver, we don't want you to catch your death out here."

"Let me catch it. I'll join Pop, and you don't have to deal with the family embarrassment anymore."

Penny sighed. "Please don't bring us any more pain. Losing Pop was bad enough... we don't want to lose our brother before we even have Hearth's Warming."

Silver sneezed. "Just let me freeze. I was such a doofus back there, and I shouldn't have argued. I'm not worth your pity."

Without skipping a beat, Coco walked to the tree where Silver sat, going around to see him behind it. She blinked at the sight of him shivering, his hat and scarf not enough to protect him from the chilly night. Without saying a word, she took off her coat, revealing a pink sweater, and then put it on his shoulders. That made Silver stop shivering, blink in surprise, and then turn to her with a confused look.

"I don't like seeing ponies shiver like that," she said. "I'll be fine without it."

Silver blinked, and then twiddled his hooves. "W-w-why are you here? Don't you--" He coughed and wiped his nose. "D-don't you have better things to do than search for some awkward idiot that you barely know?"

"I just want to see if you're okay. You looked upset and scared back there."

Silver turned away and pouted. "I'm not worth your pity either."

Penny and Pearl came around to his side of the tree, and sat down. The former then said, "Silver... don't disregard your new friend like that. She's really concerned about you."

Silver raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I thought she just liked the hot cocoa."

"Well, it is good," Coco said, blushing. "But I found it a lot of fun talking to you as I waited for you to finish stirring, and you're kind of funny. It made me sad to see how upset you were about what happened with the fire back in town square. Your sisters say you missing your dad was part of the reason it happened. Is it?"

Silver looked down at the ground for a moment, and nodded.

"Is it... okay to ask what happened?"

Silver turned to the ocean in the distance. Staring at the lighthouse, he said, "It was Nightmare Night. There was a Haunted Lighthouse activity for the foals. It went well at first, with us getting candy as prizes for being brave in each room. But... then a storm happened, and we were on lockdown, hearing the waves crashing against the building. Not only was I scared for my life and Goldie's, I had no idea where Pop was. When it was over, I learned that he had been outside. He was struck by a big wave."

Penny added, with a slight growl to her voice, "Some of my classmates who are pegasi decided to make the lighthouse more scary by adding storm clouds. They didn't quite make the connection between wind and waves until it was too late. Their actions could have killed more ponies if the lighthouse keepers weren't fast thinkers."

Pearl nodded. "At least the punks are being punished now."

Silver stood up, and walked around the tree, and straight to the grave. Putting his forehead and a hoof on the stone, he breathed heavily. Tears seeped out of his eyes and dropped onto the snow. Sniffling, he choked out, "I-it's not fair! I thought he'd be there when I finally get my cutie mark! Or when Goldie gets hers! Or see all of us grow up! Or at least be here to serve cocoa instead of stupid, lame, awkward me! But... that... stupid... storm!"

His sisters were behind him in an instant, and he turned around and threw himself at Penny, who hugged him tightly. She patted his back, and let Pearl lean in and give him a back rub as well. They were still, with only Silver's soft sobs piercing the frigid air. The group of siblings were huddled together, with little Coco Pommel watching.

Brushing her hoof on the snow, she felt that she shouldn't intrude on the family group hug, but wanted to somehow make Silver feel better. She rubbed her chin, wondering what she could do. Seeing the snow around her, an idea crept into her head. She made a snowball, and started to roll it on the ground.

Meanwhile, a still tearful Silver looked up at Penny, and said, "I'm sorry for arguing with you. I shoulda just told you the recipe."

Penny patted his back. "Don't worry about it. We all get set off from time to time; I wasn't in best form either."

Silver sighed. "It wouldn't have happened if Pop was here. He'd hate to see us fight."

Pearl then added, "He'd prefer hugs." She looked up and tilted her head curiously. "Coco, did you build that?"

Silver turned, and blinked at the sight. Right by Pop's grave, Coco had built a snowpony resembling a large stallion. Breaking out of Penny's grip, he approached the snowpony, gaping at it in awe. He leaned to the side to see its flank, where the exact emblem on the grave was etched. He glanced at Coco, who was kicking at the snow.

With a smile, Coco asked, "So... any details I missed?"

Silver stared for a moment, and then cleared his throat. "He had a mustache." Then, he took off his scarf, and then tied it around the snowpony's neck in a way that resembled a necktie. "And he wore a tie."

Coco dug through the snow, ripped some blades of grass from the ground, and then patted them on the muzzle. "Like that?"

Silver nodded. "Exactly."

He smiled at the snowman for a moment before his face fell. With a single sniff, he trotted forward and hugged the snowpony. Pressing his cheek against the cold sculpture, he whispered, "I miss you," before breaking the hug. Then, he turned to Coco, and said, "Thanks for building it."

Finally, after a few seconds more of staring at the snowpony in the moonlight, he turned to his sisters and said, "I'm ready to go home now."

Coco's mother had told Penny and Pearl that they were to bring Coco back to her cousin's home, just across the road from their house. They brought her back to the house, and Silver returned her jacket.

"You didn't have to come with us," Pearl said as Coco put the jacket back on.

"I told you, I wanted to see if he was okay," Coco replied.

"Well, he's all right," Penny said, with a small smile. "It was nice of you to lend your jacket to him."

Silver chuckled nervously. "I guess I need my own. Anyway... uh, maybe, we could, uh, go play in the park while you're still here? Unless, of course, you've got other plans..."

Coco beamed. "Sure, I'd like that. I'd like to see how you play in the snow."

The door of the house opened, and Winter Mist yelled, "Come on, Coco! You've been out for a long time! Get inside before you catch a cold!"

Coco glanced at her cousin, and then back at Silver. With a little smile, she waved. "See you later." With that, she turned and ran inside the house, and her cousin gave them a sour look before slamming the door.

Silver sighed. "She's so sweet. I think Pop would like her."

He and his sisters turned around. Prancing happily across the street, he said aloud, "Yanno, I kinda want to give her a present. A nice present, but not expensive, and something she'd like. After all, Hearth's Warming is just around the corner so I might as well give her something."

"What are you going to give her?" Pearl asked.

Silver bit his lip. "Eeeugh..." Scratching his chin, he tried to recall any of the conversations they had earlier that day. What would he give her?

Cocoa? No, wait, he already did that a few times.

Ice? Too cold.

A carriage? She was too small to pull it, and it most likely cost a lot of money.

Seaweed? Ew, no.

Finally, he got an idea that he deemed good enough. With a smile, he shouted, "Aha! I've got it!"

Before either Penny or Pearl could ask, he started to sprint toward the house. Jumping in alarm, Pearl shouted, "Wait, Silver, ice!"

Before he knew it, Silver found himself slipping across the road and straight to the front door. He screamed as he slid on forward, and then collided with the door. Pearl cringed, while Penny gave a small grimace.

Silver peeled off the door and onto the ground. With a goofy laugh, he said, "Oopsy, I slipped... on ice."

The girls looked at each other and shook their heads. Then, out of nowhere, Pearl asked, "So, uh... what are we going to do about the burnt table?"

Happy Hearth's Warming

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.

Author's Note

THE END

And thus, Hearth's Warming fic #1 has been completed! I at least finished one before Christmas rolled around, and this one was the best bet (Hearth's Warming is Merry In Our Town is a longer one that would probably be done sometime in January).

Anyway, have a very Merry Christmas, folks! :pinkiehappy: