Summer went off to work on time, and she came home without news of being fired or chase out of the town. It was as if the admission had never happened. She cared for Winter when she was there, and trusted in Maple to do it when she was not.

"Gonna have to start tendin' mah own trees soon," warned Maple. "But Winter's looking a might better now."

Winter nodded at that, on his hooves with a faint smile.

Summer kissed either of them on their right cheek. "Yer both doin' great. It's alright... Once Winter's working at full, that's when ah'll go talk to her." She turned away, trotting towards the kitchen. "'Till then, we recover."

Maple drew a worried breath, glancing at Winter before moving instead for the front door. "Ah'll go fer now. Be back later!"

"Not stayin' for dinner?" came Summer's voice. "Ya helped all day long, 'least ah can offer ya."

Maple's ears pinned on her head. "Tomorrow. Ya don't owe me nothin', promise. We're friends." She smiled awkwardly before fleeing out the front door, pausing only to make sure it was closed behind her.

Visions of Summer's righteous fury showing during the confrontation danced in her mind. If she wanted to help her friend, she had to cut that right off. Maple raced for the cherry plant, galloping down the town road and drawing curious stares of the few ponies about, wondering what all the rush was for.

No pony actually stopped her and she reached the factory where cherries were brought, washed, sorted, packed, and shipped. It was the economic center of the heart. Others did their businesses, varied, but smaller, all tiny compared to Miss Jubilee. Maple took a slow breath. She was a fellow orchard tender. They were peers, sort of...

"Sizing the competition?" The door to the outhouse swung open, allowing Miss Jubilee to emerge. "Reckon this ain't the year maple syrup overtakes cherries, Darling."

Maple smiled awkwardly, forcing a laugh. "Don't 'magine so. Just... admirin' the factory."

"Ain't she a beaut?" Cherry closed the distance at a casual walk. "Ya thinkin' ah expandin'?"

Maple glanced left and right. "Jubilee, I was hopin' we could talk, mare to mare."

Cherry hiked a brow at that. One could plainly see her surprise at her honorific not being used. "Somethin' important like?" When Maple nodded, Cherry turned began to walk towards her factory. "Walk wit' me then. Ah have an office that's private enough. What's on yer mind?"

Maple lurched into motion, hurrying up to Cherry's side before slowing into an easy walk. "Winter's recoverin' nicely."

"That's good." Cherry softly nodded as she pushed the door open, entering the factory floor where ponies labored to prepare her cherries for market. "He was lookin' mighty sore when ah first laid eyes on him. How's Summer? Poor girl's been workin' hard, real hard. But ah can tell somethin's up."

Maple raised a hoof, buffing it against her chest as she walked along with the other three legs. "It was actually just about that."

"Ah was hopin' it was." Miss Jubilee nudged open the door to a dark office, though a swat of her hoof summoned electrical light from above. "Head on in, let's chat about it."

Maple slipped inside, spotting a simple desk. It had papers on it, but they seemed organized into neat little piles. On one side was a large chair that looked quite comfy. The one across from it, less so. It was good to be boss. Maple went for the lesser of the two and hopped up, sitting on her haunches. "So... let me start with sayin' ah'm here to talk, not point hooves or yell at nopony."

Cherry hopped up into her larger chair, reclining comfortably. "Ah didn't think you would be, Dear, but now you've made me concerned. What is there to be yelling about?"

Maple ran one hoof up and down the opposing leg. "Now, don't get me wrong or nothin'. Ah really 'ppreciate ya rescuing Winter like ya did."

"He's doing well, yes?" confirmed Jubilee with a smile.

"Much better, yes..." Maple's eyes drifted towards a few hanging awards on the wall. "But there's somethin' ya did that made him... uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" Her brows raised as one. "It weren't no five star resort, hiding in a cave like that. Neither of us were comfortable, Dear."

"I can imagine... but..." Her cheeks began to get darker and darker. How did one... "Miss Jubilee, did you... have sex with Winter?"

Jubilee sat up so suddenly her chair almost fell over. "Of course not! Really, he is involved with Summer, is he not?"

Maple's ears flickered, confusion growing. "Did you... do... anything kind of like that?"

Suddenly her eyes half-closed, her posture relaxing. "Oh! Ohhhh, yes, of course." She waved it away as if it were nothing. "That stallion was shivering to death, possibly literally, so I cuddled in close, and what does he do? Go on, guess."

Maple inclined her head left and right and it hit her. She had been the one to even show Winter it could be done and she groaned loudly. "He was showin'."

Cherry squinted at Maple. "He do that to you too then? Ain't given a mare much choice. Either ah let him freeze or I make that go away."

"He's... not good at hidin'," awkwardly explained Maple. "An' now he thinks he cheated, and now Summer--"

"--Thinks I was stealing her stallion," finished Miss Jubilee, sitting up straight. "Tarnation! Ah figured he was the one bein' naughty. Weren't gonna say nothin' to avoid hurtin' Summer none. An' here we are." She suddenly shoved one of her piles aside, scattering the documents. "What a mess this is."

Maple let out a little breath. As annoyed as Miss Jubilee was, her anger was directed at not-her, and even sounded productive. Perhaps things could just work out.

"Maple, somethin' bothers me." Jubilee fixed eyes with her would-be peer. "How do you fit into all this? Ya know an awful lot 'bout each pony involved, even private thin's. He was with ya when things went south, and he bolted east. Ah take pride in knowin' my dear workers, but ya keep showin' up with all the answers. Ah kin put my hoof on everythin' else, but yer the piece that won't fit."

Maple went rigid. "Oh, well, ya see--"

"No, let me get it fer once." Jubilee leaned forward over her desk. "'Bout time ah figured you out some. Ya know 'bout his private thin's. Ya know what she's feeling. Yer right close to the both of them, and asked me a question..." A smile slowly spread over her face. "Did Summer go and herd with you? Are you sharin' that stallion?"

Maple's wide eyes were answer enough. Cherry burst into merry laughter. "How did I not put those together before. It makes too much sense... So yer not just here as a concerned friend. You were angry too. Were ya ready to teach me a lesson?"

"No! No no no!" hurriedly assured Maple, waving her hooves wildly across one another. "A-ah figured there had to be a reason, an' there was!"

"There was," agreed Miss Jubilee, letting out a final sigh of her own. "But we're still in a right mess, now ain't we? Ya heard my side. I weren't tryin' ta go takin' yer stallion. It made him stop showin', and put him to sleep. That was the goal, an' ah got him back in one piece."

"Ah heard... But they didn't." She rubbed at her cheek softly. "Ah'll talk to 'em..."

"Please." Cherry Jubilee hopped down to the floor. "The door's still open, so come on back, let me know what they said. If they need it from my own lips, fine. The sooner we can clear the air, the better. I just don't want no shouting matches in my factory, so I'll stop over there if she wants to put eyes on me."

"Yes, of course." Maple stepped down gently to the wooden floor. "Thank you."

"Yer quite welcome." She leaned forward a little. "So how long were ya plannin' on hidin' that yer part of the family?"

Maple's cheeks darkened anew. "Ain't nothin' official! I-I... should go." She turned away and hurriedly trotted for the door, almost crashing into it before she got her mouth on the doorknob and worked it open. "Good day, Miss Jubilee."

Jubilee watched Maple flee with a shake of her head. "Flighty little mare." She softly fanned at her face with a hoof as she approached her door. "What a mess." Hopefully one on the way towards being mended.

Winter lifted an ornate ear at the sound of the front door opening. He walked out of the kitchen to see Maple there, panting. With a little smile, he trotted towards the familiar mare, his friend.

Maple returned the smile on seeing him. "Hey, there you are. Did Summer already go?" When he nodded, she closed with him and touched nose to nose. "I went and talked, you know, to her."

He tilted his head quizzically.

"Not Summer, or ah'd already know she left." Maple walked past Winter, heading further into the home. "Miss Jubilee."

Winter's teeth set as he turned, the expression fading quickly. Good kirin were stoic. He was a good kirin... He followed Maple instead.

She led him towards the living room just to pause at the kitchen. She peeked inside and looked around. "Were you cleanin'? Yer still gettin' better. Ya don't--"

He stepped under her, his head and horn brushing against her as he slipped into the kitchen. The stripes on his horn glowed as he began resuming his cleaning chores, moving a wet dish into the drying rack and reaching for the next.

"I get the hint. If it makes you feel good, ah ain't gonna stop you..." She sat down, watching Winter work without actually putting his hooves on anything. "Watching a unicorn, or kirin, work is a strange thing, let me tell ya... So... she said what happened... 'tween you two."

He dropped a plate but caught it an instant later, only allowing it to lose a few inches of height. Winter glanced over at Maple without turning his head. He wasn't bothered at all, obviously.

"You were.... showin', when you were hurt... Ah can imagine, all cut and... bleeding an'..." Maple squirmed in place. "Ya weren't thinkin', and ya weren't used to it none... Ya didn't mean nothin'... but she didn't know that." She watched the soapy rag work over the plate far more slowly than it had at first. "She... thought you were comin' to her, not the other way. She... wanted you to go to sleep, and you were cold..." She adjusted her footing from hoof to hoof. "Were she tellin' the truth?"

Winter gently set the plate down. With a silent breath, he turned to Maple, looking at her properly, but there still weren't words. He thought back to the time, but he was in pain. He was hurt, and tired, and mostly hurt. He couldn't remember much of it, but then...

Maple suddenly hurried, scrambling to her hooves to get up to him. Her fore hooves touched his face, brushing at flowing tears. "I don't mean to hurt you!" she assured, her ears pinned back. "Ah'm so sorry... Why did I even listen to her?!" A sudden loud sniffle rocked her. "Here I am, makin' you cry all over again. Ah--"

Suddenly Winter's hoof was on her lips. He leaned in, replacing the hoof with his snout, touching noses with her. His eyes closed, then hers followed. They sat there in growing silence, his magic grabbing the water spigot and turning it off.

They just sat there together, feeling things, and making it clear, to each other, that they cared so much for one another, despite any other factor in that wide world.

The truth would wait a little bit, at least.

Author's Note

So how naughty was Jubilee in this?

Written early for patreons who got this ahead of everyone else. Want to get early chapters, or even your own story written? atreon!

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