"Look what washed up." Jubilee was atop her wagon, watching the two approaching. "Ah knew somethin' was comin' towards my factory I needed to be there fer."

Applejack took her hat in a hoof. "We ain't comin' to cause no trouble. We're here fer the opposite, in fact."

Twilight nodded in quick agreement. "We were entirely wrong that day. We both owe you an apology."

"I'd almost say you two owe a bit more than that." But she smiled just a little. "But that would be uncharitable of me. My daughter just got married, so I'm in a right good mood. You were there! I saw you both... Now, about that..." She leaned off the edge of her wagon. "About that... I saw the attention you were payin' to Winter. You stay away from that boy! He's magnet for trouble mares." She suddenly snorted. "Me included."

Twilight recoiled. "Me?"

Applejack snickered softly. "Twi, love you, but you are a trouble mare."

Jubilee leaned far enough that she was in danger of falling. "As if you aren't! I gave you a chance to earn some bits fer yer family, and look how that turned out."

Applejack darkened swiftly. "Ain't no excuse fer that... Why I'm here. Any way I can make up for it?"

Cherry Jubilee pulled herself back onto the wagon properly, arms crossing. "Now... that's a temptin' offer... That go for you too, princess?" Her eyes wandered up and down. "Nice look, by the way. Never did congratulate you proper-like..."

Twilight pointed at herself, but it was fairly clear who Cherry meant. "Um... yes. If I can make it right, I'd like to do so."

"Well... Good." Jubilee sprang to the ground, her stallions rushing to catch her just before she hit the ground, letting her down smoothly to reach it gently. "Then I have just the thing! Now... I heard how you fixed things up real nice with them buffalo, ain't that right?"

Twilight nodded with growing uncertainty. "We... did, yes. Do you also have a buffalo problem?"

"Nope." Cherry leaned forward with a waggle of her brows. "But I'd like one."

Applejack hiked a brow high at that, leaning in with one eye facing the wealthy pony. "Hol' on there. We usually aim to fix problems, not make 'em. Now... I know we... kinda did that last time, but that ain't a habit we want to keep goin'."

"I sell cherries." Jubilee gestured grandly to her factory. "One big use of cherries? Pies. Even better, when yer makin' pies, the cherries don't need to look perfect, just taste good. An' each and every one of our cherries tastes great." She licked her lips as if tasting those cherries. "Now, if we had buffalo stampedin' on through... We could offer them some pies... Are ya followin' me yet?"

Twilight crashed to her haunches. "But this isn't their migration path."

"Now, I hear..." Jubilee circled Twilight in a wide path. "I hear... You are quite the trouble solver. Almost as much of a troublemaker, when you set your little head to it, hm? Now... All I'm sayin' is a path of hungry buffalo would be mighty good for business, and they'll be mighty happy to get some of my cherries in their bellies. Everycreature wins!"

Applejack set her hat back on her head. "Now... I wanna make good, Miss Jubilee, but I don't want to go lyin' to nopony, or creature. 'Sides, they know which way they want to go. Family tradition. We both know how that is, don't we?"

Jubilee sucked on her teeth with a click to finish it. "Going for a sore spot... Yeah, I know how traditions go... All ah'm sayin' is if I could sell a lot of cherries, then I think I could forget the past problems, hm? That's a nice, fair, and honest deal, now ain't it? Won't even sweat the details." She made a gentle shooing gesture. "Yer clever ponies. You'll think of some way. Impress me."

Twilight turned to look down the street over the small town. "I imagine the market here is already saturated."

"Like finding somepony in Ponyville that ain't already enjoyin' one of my apples," agreed Applejack, the idea of selling fruit not a foreign one to her. "So we can't hope to just sell more to them."

"Now yer thinkin'!" Jubilee put a leg over either mare, drawing them close. "Always good to see. I expect something amazin'. I'll be watchin'. Now, jus' to be clear, we're not hurtin' anycreature, which includes you two. Don't go tryin' so hard you bust somethin'. That ain't the goal."

Applejack let out a strained laugh as she scooted away from the wealthy mare. "You got it, ma'am. We're on the case!"

Twilight closed with her, both moving away from the factory and the waving Jubilee. "Sales strategies is not my specialty... I almost wish Rarity was here. I bet she could think of something..."

"But she ain't here, and we are. So we're going to have to use what we got." Applejack tapped her head with slow thunks. "We're both clever ponies. Let's act like it. We got a bunch of cherries, and we want them to go away and become bits. That's the goal."

Twilight hopped in place with a bright smile. "What if we check Canterlot? This town is right on the railway, so if they need cherries, being able to supply them there would count, right?"

"Now yer thinkin'! You got some contacts. Ask Celestia." Applejack put a hoof by her ears, as if it were a phone. "She'll be able to tell ya real quick if they can use some of those up at the castle. They're always throwin' big parties an' what not. Bet they could make some cherry treats."

The two hurried away on their sudden new task as cherry salesmares.

Maple knocked on the door. "Ya in there?" She put an ear to it, only to find a pony in front of her on. "Oh!" But that wasn't a pony. That was a kirin. Her husband to be exactly. "There ya are. Yer usually inside yer house, ain't ya?" She hurried to where he stood next to the house instead of inside it. "Still glad to see ya."

He hugged her without words, as was his way. The two embraced for a quiet moment before he gently released her. He pointed back where she had come from, and inclined his head gently.

"Just came from home, yep." She nodded in the direction of the house. "And, please, don't start yellin' at me to move out too."

Yelling was not a thing Winter was in the market of doing often, so he just nodded and pressed his nose to hers in warm acceptance instead.

Maple warmed in her cheeks a little. "That's playin' dirty... If I was here, I could get more Summer and Winter time... But it ain't that easy... That house... My parents lived there. Their parents lived there... Their parents before 'em! Um, lose track past that, but that's still three generations at least... Just... Givin' it up... I'd be betrayin' them!"

Winter looked to Summer's house, then off in the direction of Maple's. Both mares wanted to hold tight to their places with large emotional value... A pity they weren't... He clopped his hooves with a thought, and rushed off without a parting word, not that one was often expected.

Maple blinked at his receding form. "Did I say somethin'?" She quickly decided that was unlikely, shaking her head. "He must have some kinda idea... Hope it's a good one."

"Comin'! Hold yer horses." The large stallion reached the door and threw it open to find a slight kirin gazing up at him patiently. "Huh? Winter? Today ain't card day. Why are you stoppin' by?"

Winter waved away from the house and took a step in that direction. He looked over his shoulder and gestured with his head.

"You... want me to follow ya?" When Winter nodded, the stallion emerged and his tail lashed the doorknob, closing it behind himself. "This better be good."

Winter led the stallion to Maple's house, where the other members of the poker gang were already gathered, some looking more confused than the others. "Hey," greeted the newest large stallion. "Any idea what Winter wants? He ain't much for jus' sayin' what he's after."

Ten Gallon nodded forcefully for his hat to jostle. "I think I know. He seems to want to move this." He pointed to the house. "And if I had to guess, he wants it with the house he lives in." Winter was nodding furiously. "Yep, got it. Make one bigger house?"

Another stallion shook his head. "A fine idea, but I ain't moving nopony's house without their go ahead. This is Maple's house, not yours, even if yer married. That's just polite." The others murmured in argument, but seemed to be largely in agreement with the basic concept. "We just need to talk to her, make sure she's alright with it. This ain't a surprise or nothin'?"

Ten Gallon laughed suddenly. "If it is a surprise, a hint, it's a bad one. You don't do things like this without tellin' a mare first, or she'll chew your ear off, after she makes you wish it would happen from all the yellin'."

Stronger agreement came from the crowd. One stepped forward. "Well, now that we know what ya want, how 'bout we go an' talk to her? You know where she's hiding?"

Winter brightened. He did! He hoped? He led the way back to his house at an energetic walk that wanted to become a trot. His glowing horn threw open the door and he went inside, looking around as he did. Calling to her was not an option, but his eyes worked fine. It wasn't that large of a... Oh there she was, in the kitchen, enjoying a sandwich.

She spotted him about as soon as he had, the two perking, but her eyes went right off him, ears dancing. "Who else is in here?" She hopped down, abandoning lunch to emerge and find all the other stallions. "Oh! Hey fellas... Ain't ya the ones Winter hangs out with sometimes?"

Even as Winter wrapped a leg around her, Ten Gallon was stepping forward. "Sure are, ma'am. Yer husband has a big idea and we thought it'd be safer to check with ya before we go doin' anythin'."

Maple inclined her head slowly. "Right appreciate that... So what's the big idea?"

The largest of them pointed at Maple's house, which was a wall blocking the view. "He wants us to move your house. Here." He pointed down. "Think he wants to make one bigger house out of the two."

Maple blinked once, then twice, and three times rapidly, processing that. "Winter!" She bopped him one. "Glad yer friends thought to ask first! That's a big thing! Um... Um, wow... Hm. I like the idea of bein' closer... I like the idea of keepin' the house in one piece... Don't much like leavin' the land behind... But..." She danced in place with uncertainty. "Is it alright if I think about it?"

Ten Gallon casually thwapped Winter with that large hat of his. "Told ya it's better to ask. C'mon!" He and the others moved to depart. "Let us know if she says alright. This ain't a no from us, but a mare's wrath ain't worth even a friend fer."

Winter gently closed the door behind them and turned back to Maple. She sighed as she walked not back to the kitchen, but the living room. "I know yer tryin' yer best. That... is even kind of romantic... Our houses are comin' together... figuratively, and you want to go and make it literal! But ya got one more mare to ask about this." She snickered at his confused expression. "Sometimes yer brilliant, and sometimes yer thick as a rock. Winter! Summer, she's the head mare anyway, and if we don't ask her, we'd both get in mighty big trouble."

Author's Note

Winter has ideas! But are they good ideas?

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