Hearth's Warming with the Yakushis

12 PM, Hearths Warming Eve, 2023, Yakushi Residence, Ponyville. Four young adults approach the house from a tour van parked in the driveway. 3 carry a significant amount of gifts, and food, while one carries a single gift bag, and plate of cookies. Of course, these four young adults are the members of Attack on Mango (plus one past member.) As the group approaches the front door, Ruby slows, and falls behind the rest of the group. "Guys." The others stop, and turn to listen. "Are you really sure this is okay? I don't want to ruin the holiday for your parents if this is supposed to be a family thing." At this, Nar strolls up beside her, and does his best to wrap her in a side hug after shifting all the gifts he's carrying. "C'mon Ruby, we invited you, and our parents understand that we aren't just inviting anyone to spend the holidays with us. You're one of our closest friends, and we aren't about to let you celebrate Hearths Warming alone!" At this, Juno speaks up, "Yeah. I mean, I spend almost every year with these guys, and I'm not in the family." Ruby is quick to retort. "But you've been around them practically your whole life. I know their father calls you his 'second son.' You're different. You didn't abruptly move away, and lose contact with them like I did." Asuka can see Ruby growing more, and more unsure, and upset as the conversation continues. She begins to set her items down to go comfort Ruby, but Nar's already on it. He wraps Ruby up in a tight hug, while rubbing her back to help comfort her. "C'mon Ruby. We don't fault you for that. It's not like you did it just to get away from us. You had plenty of good reasons to move, and we were happy to hear that you were doing well after the move. We invited you to come with us so we could spend time with you, and so you could have a family for the holiday. And well, every other day too." Things go quiet for a few moments before Asuka manages to get in on the hug. "As far as I'm concerned, Ruby, you're our sister, and nothing will change that." Before the waterworks can begin, the front door opens, and an excited Kisho steps out of the house. "You made it! Please, come inside! It's freezing out here!" As the group picks their things back up, and files inside, they are all stopped to receive a hug from Kisho. When Ruby reaches the door, Kisho gives her a hug, and a warm smile. "Ruby! I'm so glad you decided to spend your Hearths Warming with us. You are always welcome in our family." Before Ruby is able to respond, she hears a squeal from Asuka inside the house. When she is released from the hug to check what caused the squeal, she finds Asuka and her sister in a tight embrace, with Nar moving in to make it a group hug. She doesn't quite catch what the two sisters are saying to each other, as they're talking incredibly fast, but she doesn't mind. After taking some time to get all the food into the kitchen, and the gifts arranged, the family sits in the living room to exchange gifts. To start, Kisho opens a few of his gifts. A new 'Hug the cook' apron, an exclusive, signed Attack on Mango poster (which hasn't been publicly released yet), and a framed picture of he, Nar, and Juno on a fishing trip from last year. The family then goes around, with everyone opening one gift at a time. To her surprise, when it comes to her turn, Ruby receives a gift from everyone present. Each member of the family had gotten her their own gift. A set of fancy utensils from Kisho, a VERY nice quilt from Betty, an expensive makeup set from Hiari, a CD of her (third) favorite band from Asuka, a nice winter coat from Juno, and some signed memorabilia from her favorite farming sim game from Nar. For the first time in years, Ruby feels welcomed during a Hearts Warming celebration. It had been so long since she'd been to a Hearths Warming with her own family, and the Yakushis were showing her what the holiday was truly about. Sure, the gifts were nice, but they were actively engaging in conversation with her, genuinely curious about her travels, and were even dreading when they'd eventually have to part ways again. It made her feel... Warm, and fuzzy. She liked these feelings. When it finally gets to Asuka's turn, she, Juno, and Nar are instructed to open their gifts from Hiari all at once. All three pull a shirt from their gift, with each featuring different text. Nar's says "Best Brother" on the front, and "If lost, return to Asuka" on the back. Asuka's says "Best Sister" on the front, and "Asuka" in big, bold letters on the back. Juno's, well... It just says "Dork" on both sides. After some back and forth, the gift opening continues until eventually, all of the gifts are opened. Then, about an hour later, after everything has been cleaned up, and the gifts put away, the family gathers in the dining room for lunch. The family shares a homemade meal, with food made by every member of the family. Kisho cooked 3 different kinds of meat, Betty made a few different kinds of salad, Asuka made an apple pie, Nar brought homemade garlic bread (Ruby's personal favorite), Ruby brought cookies, and Juno had some sort of casserole. "Hey, pass the mashed potatoes!" Nar calls out from one side of the table. "Dude, really?" Says Junio, from beside him. "This is like, your 4th serving!" "Hey! It's not my fault Hiari makes the best mashed potatoes!" Nar then turns to glare daggers at his sister. "And she STILL won't give me the recipe." Hiari responds by sticking out her tongue. "I agree. I'm on my third serving, but I know I'm going to get more." Ruby concurs, with a nod. This is followed by Asuka shaking her head. "You're going to get fat." "Fat?" Nar seems puzzled. "Why would we get fat?" "Because, you're eating 5 pounds of mashed potatoes. Do you know how much butter Hiari puts in those things?" "A little?" "Like, a whole stick." "Well, if I'm gonna get fat, at least it's because of my sister's cooking." At the end of dinner, everyone works together to clean up the table, and wash the dishes. During one trip, as Ruby is bringing dishes to Kisho, she stops after setting them in the sing. "Uh, Mr. Yakushi." Kisho looks over, while still scrubbing a particularly stubborn pan. "Yes Ruby?" "I was wondering. Could I help you guys with the restaurant tomorrow?" Kisho's face lights up. It's almost as bright as the tree in the living room. "Of course you can! We would love to include you in our Hearths Warming tradition!" Kisho's smile causes Ruby to beam back one of her own. "Thank you Mr. Yakushi. I promise I'll do my best to help out." At the crack of dawn the next day, everyone enters Kisho's restaurant to begin setting it up for the day. For the majority of the day, the Yakushi family, and their close friends will invite the people of Ponyville to spend their Hearths Warming with them. They provide food, and family for those who do not have any for the holiday, free of charge. Though it's hard work, the smiles they bring are worth it all. Despite the work, at the end of the day, Ruby is happy she spent her Hearths Warming with the Yakushis. It's near impossible for her to talk when the time comes for everyone to part ways. As Ruby tries to say her goodbyes, she begins to quietly sob. Then, in unison, the family moves in to envelop her in a group hug, with Nar dragging Juno to be a part if it. The Yakushis may not be Ruby's birth family, but now, they were her found family.