Quietly, he set down a basket to join many of its cousins, a great big pile of cherries waiting to be sorted and packed. A blast of the factory's horn meant... something?

"Shift's up," came Jubilee's thundering call. "Come on in with whatever ya got." She wasn't far away, watching ponies come in from the field. "Good work. Right good." She took the time to encourage each as they passed, seemingly pleased with the results of the day's effort. "And you." She was looking to Winter.

"Ya did right good fer your first day. But there's plenty left to learn." She waved another pony over without looking away. "This here's Lambert."

A slight stallion trotted up to about a foot and a half away from Jubilee, standing there patiently. It was a hunch, but Winter decided almost immediately that he was alright with Lambert. They were cut from the same cloth.

Jubilee threw a leg over Lambert's neck. "Lammie-kins, Winter here's new to things, but he listens. Can ya help bring him up to speed? Startin' tomorrow, obviously."

Winter inclined his head. Working with the quiet stallion didn't seem an awful possibility. Not that he said anything to agree with it specifically.

Lambert nodded, not as silent. "Sure thing, ma'am." His eyes were on Winter. "Nice to meetcha."

Winter nodded and offered a hoof.

Lambert met it with one of his owns, a little smile on his face. "I like 'em." The two soft stallions had decided the other was alright. "See you tomorrow, um, ma'am?" Only when she released him did he actually move.

Heading for home? Winter could but guess. "I'll see you tomorrow." Jubilee pointed past Winter at something. He turned to see Summer trotting up towards him.

"I miss anythin'?" She stood just beside Winter, touching lightly.

"Just told Lambert 'bout his new assignment." Jubilee inclined her head towards Winter. "An' ah think the two hit it off. Hard to tell sometimes with yer boy there."

"He seems happy." Summer pressed a bit more firmly against her stallion. "Thank you, for givin' him a chance."

"Everypony gets a chance, but not every one of those does somethin' with it." Jubilee's eyes wandered up and down across Winter. "Ya did good, fer yer first day. Better than some. Expect more feedback tomorra." She leveled a hoof at one of the baskets he had set down. "We'll be inspectin' yer harvest."

Winter did not look scared at the idea. He nudged back against Summer, then started walking away with nary a word.

"I think he's ready to go home," laughed out Summer. "'xcuse me, ma'am. See you tomorrow!" And off she went, hurrying to catch up with Winter and walk home with him.

A bright giggle caught Winter's attention. A group of foals were rushing up to greet their parents off of work, then running around wildly. A little colt had found him. "Yer funny lookin'," he noted with all the subtelty that foals were known for.

Summer looked ready to advance, but Winter leaned over, right in her way just enough to delay her. He nodded at the small pony child.

"Hi!" The colt waved a hoof a bit haphazardly. "I'm Tumbleweed! What's yer name?"

"He's Winter Flame," provided Summer. "Don't talk much, but he's a nice one."

"Hi Winter." The boy circled around Winter curiously. "Ya some kinda unicorn?"

He was, sorta? He willed his horn to glow, then popped the boy's hat back into place on his head.

That only made the foal giggle with simple delight. "Cool! But since yer not an earth pony--" Which he was. "--Gonna bet yer not so tough."

Winter shook his head lightly.

"Knew it!" Tumble bounced forward and back with a big happy grin. "Nice meeting ya!" And off he galloped back to his folks.

"That there's a bit of a lie." Summer softly pressed against him. "Only a little one. Yer plenty tough in my eyes."

A nice statement, but Winter could remember not long before when he got hurt and lost and made a mess of everything. Tough was not an attribute he could assign himself. But he didn't argue. He just walked with her towards home.

Summer reached the door first, grabbing the knob in her teeth and pulling it open. "Ah'll make dinner tonight."

Winter trotted past her, moving right for the kitchen. Summer dashed ahead of him and cut him off. "Ah said ah will make dinner." She thrust a hoof towards the couch in the living room. "Go sit down."

He inclined his head, then tried to move around her to the left... no. Right? No, she kept moving to be in his way. He wasn't mad. That wasn't a Kirin thing to do. He pointed at her, then himself, then onwards into the kitchen.

"Ya won't take the day off?" He didn't say anything, but he also didn't move. "You are somethin' else!" She reached up a hoof to bop him on the nose. "Fine, we'll share then. Ah'll make the main course, you work on dessert. Something sweet from my sweet kirin." She was smiling as she turned to get to work.

He joined her and they got to work. He may have lent a magical grip when he saw the opportunity, but he mostly stayed in his lane, preparing them a little sponge cake to enjoy, topped with cherries, of course.

Summer clopped her hooves as she settled at the table, food spread before them. "Ah had joked before, but ah'm actually kinda surprised Maple isn't already here."

He looked around, but no sign of the third member of their curious little social group. Well, that just made other opportunities. He grabbed a fork in his magic and carved out a bit of the oats that had been fried into little patties. He lifted the fork not to his mouth, but hers.

Her cheeks darkened and she burst into laughter. "Silly thing, I can feed mahself!" But the fork remained in silent offering. "Silly thing..." Silly or not, she did snap up the offered food. "Mmm, not bad, but my opinion's only worth so much. You eat!" She pointed at his plate.

What he had not expected was a fork to come at him that he wasn't controlling. Attached to her hoof, she was returning the favor with a big smile. He opened his mouth, allowing her to drop the food in for him to chew on consideringly before he nodded and reached to have more.

She made a pleased noise, accepting his approval and launching into devouring her dinner. "Ya made a good impression." She spotted his glance. "Ah heard from the others. Not used to having a kirin 'round, but ya worked hard and didn't cause no fuss."

Things became companionably quiet a moment before she resumed, "Well, 'cept that stallion! Really, Slip..." She sank, cheek against a hoof a moment before she sat back up. "Sorry he bothered you like that."

But he was not bothered. Kirin were not easily bothered! Instead, he sliced something new and brought it towards her.

"Already time fer dessert?" She leaned forward and took the cherry and cream covered bit of cake, savoring it with an appreciative mmm of approval. "Right nice." She licked her lips clean with a swipe of her tongue. "Ah could get used to this... Maybe takin' turns isn't the right way."

He nodded softly, and it was settled. They would share cooking duties between them, as they shared the food afterwards. He pushed back with his hooves, satiated.

"Ain't gonna eat yer own cake?" She pointed at where plenty of it remained. "Go on. Ain't right not to have at least one little bite."

He stepped down though, away from the cake as he circled around and touched his nose into her side. "Oh!" She smiled down at him. "Lookin' fer a different kinda dessert?"

Winter nuzzled into her a bit more firmly, nudging her from her chair with her consent as he advanced, nipping at her fur and grasping with his hooves. "A-alright! Ya wanna big helpin' of Summer Pie, ah get it!"

Summer got his snout to her neck, nipping and tugging gently as he wrapped around her. Stiffness ground against her soft fur, showing just how he planned to celebrate the end of his first work day.

And she did not object, except to suddenly back away. "Not in the kitchen, ya silly thing." She trotted off towards the bedroom instead, her tail flagged along the way in a signal he could not miss.

He hurried after her, willing off the lights of rooms they passed through along the way. He stepped into the bedroom to find her on her belly, her back end raised a bit. She was looking at him over a shoulder, smiling at him with, quite fittingly, bedroom eyes.

A more clear invitation had yet to be invented by man or pony. Winter shook himself with a quiet snort as he advanced. As slight as he was in frame, he could feel the heavy weight of his arousal swaying beneath him with each step. He wanted his mare, and she wanted him. Winter climbed up onto the bed and nosed at her tail, draped over as it was, concealing his target. A tease?

She brushed the tail over his nose, almost making him sneeze. "Go on, make it lift," she invited playfully.

A challenge he would accept! He licked right where her tail ran into the core of her body, nibbling so carefully in a circle around it. The way her skin tensed and flicked, he could tell she was enjoying his attentions, her little gasps a hint. He nuzzled up under her tail, coaxing it up. There was her tight back door, just above his primary target. A clean pony, she smelled of a mare, a clean country mare.

He had never even really thought of it before, but he flicked out his tongue. She trembled with a squeak. "Did you just?!" He had licked her rear opening, and he did it again, making her squirm so delightfully. "Oh. Oh!" Her tail had flagged up out of the way, but he was distracted with the noises and motions she was making with the teasing he was doing.

He took hold of her rump, one hoof on either cheek as he buried his face against her, working down, tongue flickering just across the top of her damp folds. They winked open, startling him a moment with a huff. "That means come on," noted Summer, watching him over her back. "Not the first time ya saw it."

No. Not his first. He began to climb up onto her, advancing just far enough that the top of his flat-ended tool could find those winking lips, meeting the two in a wet kiss as he began to sink into her welcoming depths just as quickly as it felt she was ready for. The two were becoming one, both breathing heavily as they came together. "Mmmm, yes... Go on... make me yer mare."

Not that he had much doubt she was already his mare. And he, her stallion. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up and back, nuzzling her cheek gently with a kind smile that didn't quite match his rocking hips, working in and out of her like the horny stallion he was even as he so gently assured her of his love and affection.

"Yer... sending... crossed signals," she huffed with a silly grin of her own. "That ain't a complaint." She pressed back in time with his thrusts, the two slapping into one another with building passion. "Ah... forgot... how nice it is... ta have privacy."

That night, they were alone, and both were quite happy to make the most of that.

He couldn't quite tell what it was, but something about her just made him... horny. Well, she was a pretty mare to start, so it didn't take much, and she wasn't complaining.

Author's Note

And then lots more sex happened!

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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