Maple's dinner was good, if sweet. She couldn't resist using a little syrup on everything, even what wasn't dessert. Winter wondered silently if Cherry Jubilee put cherries on all her dishes. Did she cook? She was rich enough to just not do that. Hm.

He put those thoughts aside and enjoyed the dinner as the two mares chatted amiably without him. Being a kirin meant having a rich inner life! Distantly, he could remember he wasn't that much louder before. A little louder. But a kirin wasn't that. Loud wasn't their thing. He had been loud, and he hated it. He could do without that entirely.

Summer was looking at him expectantly. Did he miss a question? "Look at you off somewhere else." She waved off into the distance. "We're all done an' windin' down. Maple wants to sleep over, an' ah ain't got a problem with it. Do you?"

Winter pricked up his ears. Oh, that was the question? His magic scritched Maple under her chin gently, getting a giggle from her.

"That sounds like a 'I'd be jus' fine havin' her around'." Summer hopped down. "Let's relax. I feel better, so ah'm goin' back to work tomorrow, then we'll see about gettin' the time to visit those other kirin."

So it was said, and so it would be. They played games and laughed, well, two of them on that part, and eventually went to bed, all three snuggled in tight on the bed that was not made for three ponies. It managed though, so long as all three ponies were friendly. This turned out to not be a problem.

Winter awoke with his arms around Summer, and arms around him from behind. Peeking carefully, he could see Maple still snoozing against him, snuggled against his warmth. Kirin were good like that, like built in organic heaters that could keep the underside of a blanket toasty without a problem. He was a fire creature. A memory there. Like a fire elemental, though he was a lot more living than that, clearly. A fire aligned creature, yes. Kirin were those! He was happy that his warmth brought comfort to his mares, which he had two of.

He was still pretty sure that wasn't entirely normal. From what he heard, that wasn't normal even in the world of ponies, and he had no memories of that being normal before. He was being odd. So were they. An odd but loving family. Was that so bad?

He kissed the top of Summer's head and wriggled out from between the mares, managing a peck on Maple's cheek before he slid to the ground. It was morning! He had a job to do. He trotted briskly to the kitchen and got on that.

They came in time, drawn by the scent of breakfast. It was his pleasure to see them seated and filling their bellies with his efforts. "You are the best." Summer nodded at him firmly. "But ya don't have to handle breakfast all the time." He pointed at Maple. "Well, sure, she handled it last night."

Maple burst into giggles. "He's takin' a turn, ain't nothin' wrong with that. Let's all take turns." She hopped down. "Now, ya got work, an' so do I! Love to stay here and be with ya, but we all got places to be."

They spilled free of the house, two in one direction, and the third in another. Summer walked next to Winter. "Glad to be headed back. Ya talk to Miss Jubilee?" When he nodded, she let out a phew. "Figured ya did, but good to hear it. C'mon. Ah gotta talk to her today."

But not right away. The first part of their shift had them sorting, and she attacked that diligently. "See me when ya can." Oops, there she was. "Next time the line lulls." And there she went.

The line had little lulls, when new loads of cherries were being brought over to be run through or when the bins were full and needed to be removed. It was the time a pony could use to move without disrupting things. It was also when ponies tended to dash off to the little foal's room. Or went to see what the boss wanted, in that case.

She turned as a lull began, only to feel resistance at her shoulder. Her eyes found Winter's. He nodded at her, and the sensation faded. He was with her. That was the whole of the message, and one she got. She marched off with a smile. Summer knocked gently at the office door. "Ma'am?"

"Come on in," came Miss Jubilee's voice through the wood. When the door opened, she was already waving Summer in. "Come in, close that."

Summer kicked back on the door, knocking it shut on the way towards the desk. "Ya wanted to talk wit' me?"

"You." She pointed at Summer. "Ya got some mighty fine spokesponies."

Summer colored softly. "Winter didn't let me leave the house yesterday. Ah'm real--"

Jubilee set a hoof on Summer's face, quieting her. "Ah ain't mad a stallion's lookin' out fer his +1. Ya feelin' better today? Yer workin' like it."

Summer bobbed her head swiftly. "Oh, yes, much! Plan to make up fer lost time."

"Yer stallion did that fer you yesterday." Jubilee crossed her arms. "And he ain't even all the spokesponies ah was talkin' 'bout."

"O-oh." That matched with how tired Winter had looked. "Speakin' of that! Ah want to do somethin' right nice fer him."

Jubilee clapped her hooves together. "Aw! How nice. Now ah'm curious. Whatcha got in mind fer the fella?"

Summer dared a smile. A happy boss was more likely to say yes. "Ah was gonna take him on a trip to visit the other kirins. He's been away fer so long." Forever was a long time, right? "Deserves to touch bases."

"Hm." She sat up, tapping at the desk with thought behind her clever eyes. "That sounds like somethin' what ain't done in just a day. Ah'd be more annoyed than anythin' if ah went on a special trip to visit kinfolk and was told to pack it up as soon as ah arrived."

"Yeah... Ah was hopin' fer at least a few to let him enjoy it." Summer smiled hopefully, trying to discern what her boss was thinking. "Ah know it's a lot."

"Losin' the two of you'll slow down the line." Jubilee crossed her arms meaningfully. "Only he needs to be there..." Summer tensed at that line of logic. "But ah get it. Really. Two young lovers." She sighed with a happy smile. "Ya don't want him wanderin' off to who knows where without ya. And he likely wouldn't want to go if it meant leavin' ya." Her eyes dipped. "'Specially with what ya got comin'."

Summer went a bright red. A mare's pregnant status was not a fact that was shared outside of close relations. It wasn't like Equestrian mares got big and slow during the event, so they could keep it to themselves if they wanted to, and it became the default. The husband, maybe family, and the closest of friends...

Not your boss, unless you were using it as a reason to call off a day. Having that fact brought up made her feel naked, which she was, minus her hat. "Yuh-huh."

"Look at you, red as one of my cherries." Jubilee stepped down and over to Summer, grabbing her by the cheeks in her hooves. "Darling thing. We are a family! Ah'm tickled pink, but not as pink as you are, that yer part of the family's gettin' bigger! Now, our mutual friend stopped by." She could see Summer looking confused. "Maple, fellow orchard tender? Ya two are friendly, last ah knew."

"Y-yeah! We're friends." She nodded, still trapped in Jubilee's hooves. "What'd she say?"

"Same thing you were, mostly." Jubilee leaned in, noses almost touching, but not quite. "An' one other little thing. A tiny thing, barely a speck."

"What was that?" Summer frowned, trying to guess what it was. "Can't think of much else she'd--"

"She explained why she might be around the two of ya."

Summer went cold and stiff. She might have collapsed, if not held up in her bosses' grip as she was.

"An' she asked fer mah blessin', as the head matriarch of the town." Jubilee suddenly released Summer, letting her flop backwards to her haunches. "That just tickled me somethin' fierce. Head matriarch. Ah like the sound of that." She tapped at her chin. "Well, if ah'm everyone's mom, than I got words for you, young mare." She set her hooves on her hips. "Really, polyamory? It ain't 'gainst the law, but..."

Summer squeaked in horror. "It just kinda worked out that way. Ah was tryin'... And..." She sank in misery. "Ya think ah'm some kinda wierdo, don't ya?"

"A little," she admitted. "But yer my wierd little mare." She smooched the top of Summer's forehead. "But ah'm drawin' a line, right here! This little herd of yours? It ain't gettin' any bigger. Some other pony or other creature comes batting their lashes, you send 'em packin'!" Jubilee nodded firmly with her words. "And that's that. Ya already got plenty. Don't get greed...ier than you already are!"

"Promise!" That felt like an easy promise to make. "It's already a thing keeping the three of us balanced."

"How do you even manage that?" Jubilee circled with a kind smile. "Ah've tried that, little mare. It's a tricky thing. So easy to hurt feelin's. The way she was talkin', she's right happy with the setup. You just as pleased?" Summer quickly nodded at that, even if her neck felt too stiff. "Good. Your boy seems mighty pleased, so, right now, seems ain't nopony gettin' hurt. That's what matters in the end."

Jubilee ended up back in front of Summer. "So ah'm givin' it. Ah'll be the one announcin' how things are."

Summer felt joints locking anew. Their secret! "B-but..."

"Ain't havin' ya try to play coy about it." She crossed her arms. "We're bein' honest, and if anypony gives you flack, well, they'll have to get through me first. But that's only true so long as you do the one thin' ah asked. No more! Three's already a lot, Summer."

"Three's plenty!" squeaked out Summer. "I don't want more."

"Good. We're in agreement then." She began to pat at Summer, dusting her with a waving hoof. "Now, take a moment, deep breaths. Walk out there like you ain't just been told ya pa just died."

Summer hurried to a large mirror that Jubilee kept in her office, desperately straightening herself out. "Ah wasn't expectin' half of this today."

"The best things come as a surprise." Jubilee was smiling, watching Summer fuss over herself. "Now just 'magine the surprise the rest of the town will feel when I gather them 'round and lay the news on 'em. Oh, I can't wait to see their faces." She began to clap slowly. "Worth it just fer that if nothin' else. Now, just to sort one thing. Y'all a traditional herd, right?" Summer nodded, eyes on the mirror. "Which means there's a stallion, we got that picked out. And some mares, we got those. But of the mares, there was usually an alpha mare, the mom of the family." She began to dance a hoof in the air. "Which of you two is that? Now, hold on! Lemme guess... Maple's nice, right nice. Sunny little mare, good rival. Ain't no bad blood there. But ah don't see her climbin' to the top... No... Summer, yer the big mare, ain'tcha?"

With bright cheeks, but otherwise assembled, Summer turned towards the door back to the factory floor. "Yes, um, ma'am."

"No." That drew a curious expression from Summer. "No," repeated Jubilee. "Yer wife done invoked the mom clause, and ah'm takin' it, so call me mom." She grinned, clearly taking some enjoyment from the situation. "Won't take no fer an answer there, an' ah want to see my grandfoals the moment they're breathin'."

Author's Note

I liked this chapter. Jubilee can be real precious at times, I say.

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