Winter shoved cherries with graceful sweeps of his magic, sending entire batches of good red cherries floating off into their assigned bin. He didn't catch all of them, nor was he expected to. The ones he did catch were good, and he got a lot of them. His presence reduced the pressure on the ponies further along on the line, allowing them to do their job better as they picked and sorted what made it past him, including the other colors.

It meant their line of production was running well, which meant a lot of filled bins. Other ponies hurried in every time a bin was getting near the top, replacing them with empty ones without any verbal prompting and allowing the work to continue without a pause.

They were a factory, cogs in it. There were no mechanical automations, however. Every part of that had a pony doing it. A pony ran to set the pace of the track. Ponies sorted. Ponies moved the bins. They were all living parts of that machine. Like an artificial machine, any one part failing could bring the whole system down, but they all knew their job and the line kept moving, allowing the cherries to get a step closer to arriving before the smiling ponies that paid for them.

When the lunch bell sounded, Winter did not join Summer for food. He stood before Miss Jubilee, to her confusion. "Somethin' up?" She looked him over curiously. "Ya look like ya want somethin' there, but can't quite put a hoof on the what of it."

Winter pointed at Summer, chewing a sandwich and ignorant of their 'conversation'.

"You treatin' her right?" He nodded softly. "Good. So, what about her?"

Winter pulled out a shining bit from his pocket, holding it up and pointing at Summer.

"If yer tryin' to buy her, she ain't mine to sell, truth told." Jubilee looked more amused than appalled at the notion. "I would say she's worth more than a single bit though."

Winter shook his head, producing another bit. He shook one bit at Summer, then clinked the bits together and put both bits over his own head, tapping against his own horn.

Jubilee drew a soft breath through her teeth with the resulting hiss. "Alright, now... Now we're gettin' somewhere. This way." She led Winter out of sight, to her office. "Now, just to be perfectly clear, are ya askin' fer a raise?" He nodded simply. "Now why should I give it?" She sat on her large chair, arms crossing as she took up the position of authority, a position she knew well.

Winter fidgeted just faintly. He floated the bit back behind himself, in the direction of Summer. He waggled it, then released it to clatter to the ground.

Jubilee peered at the fallen coin. "Is... Son, you make a mare work to keep up with you." She huffed in annoyance at the communication barrier between them. "That's her pay?" He nodded. "And you dropped it?" He nodded. "So she ain't gettin' paid?" He nodded. "Well, that ain't happenin'." Jubilee shook her head. "My little ponies do their work, they get paid. Not a promise I'd even consider breaking."

Winter nudged the coin, lifting it all of an inch before it fell to the ground.

"Is somethin' wrong with her?" He nodded. Jubilee rose to her hooves, standing on the chair. "What's wrong with my Summer?!"

Winter shook his head quickly, considering. He reared up and pointed at his own belly, cradling the child that would never be in it before he fell back to all fours. He pointed at the fallen coin, lifting it with his horn. It joined the other coin and tapped against his own horn as he pointed at himself.

Jubilee's ears pricked up straight. "Oh! Oh! You... stud." She said the word as if it were quite dirty, but she was smiling. "Why didn't she tell me the good news?! Now, look, yer new, I get that. But I pay mares expectin' little ones days off at 60% pay fer as long as they need while they're laid up bein' moms. Dads get days off too to spend wit' their new foals. We're a family!"

She looked powerfully proud of the measures she took to support the families within her family. "So if she feels bad, she can get time off, no problem. So there ain't not a problem."

Winter knew that he could possibly have to support two mares, not one, thanks to his actions. It was, ultimately, his own fault. Not one he even regretted. But he'd have to be a man! Er, stallion? He had to make more bits. His face remained calm, for he was a kirin, calm and collected. He tapped the two coins against his horn.

"You still want a raise?" She leaned forward, squinting just a little at him. "Why should I?"

He tapped the coins against his glowing horn, separating them to tap at different parts of that glowing projection of his head. Winter set the coins down and instead conjured the image of a tree, exploding with cherries raining down gently in all directions.

"Ah got you on the production line," noted Jubilee. "You're mine, sweet thing. I decide where you're best off."

Winter nodded firmly. He sat and moved his hooves like the other ponies did, sorting cherries as the tree exploded again with a fresh wave of spectral cherries.

Jubilee rubbed a cheek with the flat of a hoof. "Ya can't do both at once... Can't even see the trees from the line."

Winter dismissed the tree, instead continuing the sorting motion busily. He perked an ear and looked off at the clock that hung in Jubilee's office pointedly. Satisfied, he stood up and pantomimed walking in place. The tree appeared anew, and the cherries exploded.

Jubilee clopped a hoof on her desk. "Are you offerin' to work overtime hours?" He nodded. "Ha! And they said I weren't no good at riddles." She looked quite pleased with herself. "Now, see, the line has very specific hours. Need all the ponies workin' together for it to be any good. That ain't something we can even think about negotiating none. Done deal." She wiped her hooves clean of the very idea of it.

"You want to help out before the line, or after it, that's somethin' else." She set a hoof under her chin, eyeing Winter appraisingly. "Now, just to be clear, this ain't a charity. You want my bits? I'll make you work for 'em. Yer signing up for long days. Or maybe comin' in on yer off days? Either way, yer givin' up time off, and I expect it to be good time. You slack off, I kick you right back to yer usual hours. You think you can handle that?" But he nodded without even a hint of hesitation.

She hopped down, circling her desk and coming up on him in a flash. "You." He didn't shrink, just watching her placidly. "You are a good pony." She patted his shoulder. "Lookin' out for yer partner like that. Tell ya what." She turned away, returning to her seat. "If she calls off, I'll give you another shift to make up fer her lost bits. How's that?"

He shook his head, tapping his horn with his coins. He made the sorting motion, pushing phantom cherries off, then drew his hooves away, allowing more phantom cherries to roll into view before his magic banished half of them in a clean sweep. He pointed at himself.

"Shoot." She frowned at him. He had realized he was doing more work than some of the other ponies with his cheating magic ways. He had learned the job and was operating at about 160% the expected efficiency of a given worker, and he wanted a raise, clearly. This was all perfectly understandable without a word. "There's politics," she warned. "If I promote you, there are ponies who have been here longer."

They would be angry. It wasn't 'fair' that a kirin could get the job done faster with less time on the job. "They won't be calmed down telling them that you'd be awful on the belt driver." She laughed at the very idea. "I'd almost like to see that little girly body of yers even try that. Bet you'd cry before we got half a bin out of it. But quickly sorting and picking? You got that down..."

She tapped at her chin thoughtfully. "So, we can't do that, but that don't mean you walk out of here with nothin'. Ah can give raises without promotions." She snorted. "Ah can give promotions without raises. Both have happened. Promotions, ponies know of. Raises... That's between you an' me. And if yer smart, ya won't share." She rolled her eyes suddenly. "Not that you're a chatty sort."

A third coin joined the two, tapping his horn.

"Are you askin' what the raise is, or already asking fer more?" She set her hooves together with a smirk. "You'll just..." she trailed off. "No... Take that back. You got a mare expectin'. You want some good news to bring her." She grabbed a quill in her mouth and scratched out something on a paper she flipped over. She pushed the paper across the desk. "Will this do?"

Winter set the coins away and took the paper in his magic, peeking at the number written there. It was an hourly figure, it had to be, but it was higher. He nodded and tucked the paper away in acceptance of it. He turned back to the factory floor.

"I expect to get that value out of you," she warned as he walked back to his position.

Winter worked with renewed vigor, sorting cherries even harder than usual.

"Where were ya?" Summer thumped against his side. "We usually eat lunch together-like, and ah didn't see you nowhere."

Winter raised a hoof to his lips.

"A secret?!" Summer frowned at him.

But he just nodded, repeating the gesture as he reached into his pocket with his magic and drew the paper. He tapped his lips a third time.

"Oh! It's a secret right now. That's different." She sat with a thump. "Alright. Ah won't tell nopony. What is it?"

He willed the paper right into her view and her eyes scanned over the number written there. "Huh, what's this?" She looked up to see an equal number of bits floating beside Winter's horn. "Ya... Ya got a raise?!" He nodded. "Oh!" But he was in on her, nuzzling her belly warmly. He backed up a step and pointed at himself, then at her belly again.

"Oh..." Her smile was slow in growing, but profound. "Oh." A single tear escaped her. "You wonderful creature. Yer workin' hard for this nutso herd... Ya didn't make no unreasonable promises, did ya?" She closed in, nose to nose, nuzzling with love and concern together. "Don't want you runnin' yerself ragged."

He shook his head and sat up proud and tall. This only got a laugh out of her. "That's our stallion. Ya know, tradition-wise, the mares look out for their stallion. But then, tradition-wise, the mares don't all... let the stallion have their way at the same time if they're any smart." But she was being nuzzled, and was soon returning it, which turned to kisses, then snuggles as they both flopped to the floor.

"Ah'm... not used to another pony carin' for me," admitted Summer as she held him tight. "This is gonna take some gettin' used to, ya know?" She ran a hoof up and down his side in slow circles. "But if it were anypony, yer a good one fer it to be." Their lips met in a soft kiss, celebrating their increased financial security with all the hugs that could be fit into making dinner for the evening.

"Now, just to be clear." She was gathering the plates to set in the sink. "Ah'm not quitting. I don't plan on it. If I get sick, that's one thing, but plenty of mares are jus' fine to the big day."

Author's Note

Winter does what he can do to secure the future of his family. Jubilee is a nice boss, but still a boss. She will make the numbers balance out. Typos on the financial report are not acceptable.

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