Summer trotted along, baskets rustling on either side of her barrel, filled to the brim with cherries. As her boss had predicted, she had been a storm across the fields and filled up those baskets nice and quickly. Thoughts of her stallion danced in her mind and a whistle lived on her lips.

"It's awful," said one mare to a stallion as she approached the main factory. "Stalking around town, looking for its next meal no doubt!"

The stallion nodded with a soft 'mmhmm'. "What'd it look like again?"

"A dragon pony," sighed out the mare, rolling her eyes. "Weren't you listenin' ta me?"

"Sure ah am. Oh, hey Summer."

Summer had tried to just walk past them and their gossip, but froze when addressed. "Hey... just turnin' in mah harvest."

"Looks like ya got plenty." He was looking over her baskets, and perhaps her. She could feel his eyes studying perhaps a bit too hard. "Good work. Say, you hear of this, uh--"

"Dragon pony," grunted out the mare, stomping a hoof. "Got a horn like a unicorn, but all big and nasty. It's got tufts of fur all over where a pony ain't got 'em. Ah hear if it gets a good look at you, yer doomed!"

Summer hiked a brow, imagining some strangely horned pony-dragon hybrid with uneven tufts of fur poking out in every which way. "Sounds... bad? Ah'll be sure to let ya know if ah see anythin' like that."

"Ya run first," advised the mare. "Get away, then worry 'bout tellin' us. Ain't no good if you holler and get chomped before we get there."

The stallion coughed softly into a hoof. "Is it that bad?"

"Worse!" instantly replied the mare, eyes wide. "So far ponies are avoidin' it pretty good, let's not have any mistakes, y'hear?"

"I hear." Summer scurried onwards, entering the cool interior of the factory. "Hey girls, got a big batch."

They weren't all girls, but most were, and all cheered as she marched over to the big input bin and filled them with cherries ready to be washed and inspected. She was doing her job and feeling proud of it.

Winter leaned back against the closed door. He was inside, safe and secure. That hadn't gone nearly as well as he had hoped. Would Summer find out? Would she be angry?

Worse, would she get in trouble? He raised a hoof to his chin, considering as he tapped his cloven hoof to his chin thoughtfully. He had to remain calm. Kirin were cool, collected, and stoic. He was a good kirin, which meant panicking was not an option.

He took a slow breath, regaining his calmness. He was home, Summer's home, his home. None had followed him, and he was safe. He rose to his hooves and trotted away from the door. He would clean up. Yes. He would tidy up the entire house for Summer, surprise her with a sparkling clean house when she got home.

Winter entered cleaning mode, occupying his thoughts with ways to make the house renewed instead of worrying about the town's negative view of him. That wasn't something he could deal with, but fixing up the house was! He found that his fluffy tail tufts were excellent dusters for what was low enough to the ground, and his magic wielded a duster to get to the higher points, slowly chasing away every dustbunny that was foolish enough to face him.

He suddenly stumbled, tripping over a box that had been tucked against the wall. Willing it open with a lifted ear, inside he saw a trophy, but it was dull and murky, the metal gone cloudy with neglect. With a faint frown, he brought it out and got to working over it with a rag and a dash of magic, buffing it to a brilliant shine.

"#1 Cherry Picker," announced the trophy once it was properly restored, showing a pony with their hooves reaching upwards, a cherry balanced on one of their flat hooves. He smiled faintly, imagining Summer winning the award. Why had she let such a nice thing go old and abandoned? He willed it over to a shelf in clear view so she and any other that entered the living room would easily see it. That was better. With a soft nod, he continued into the box, dusting, buffing, and displaying each thing he found in there until the box was rendered empty and he folded it up, making the hallway just a little less cluttered.

A job well done.

"Ya done good." Cherry Jubilee threw a hoof over Summer. "That's the Cherry Picker ah do remember. Is she back for keeps?"

Summer laughed nervously, her cheeks warming under her boss's affectionate touches. It wasn't that she was entirely opposed, but it felt odd, having a special somepony while receiving it. A thought struck her. "Reckon so, but hey, did you ever find a special somepony?"

Cherry hiked a brow high at that. "What a question! Ah got so many special ponies right here." She waved with her other forehoof over the factory. "One of 'em right here." She squeezed with the arm already around Summer. "Though if mah hunch is right, ya mighta gone and found somepony aside of me."

Summer's cheeks darkened faintly. "Ya say it like that. It ain't like we... did things."

Cherry suddenly backed away a step, her hooves on the ground. "Now ya look here, missy. Ya work fer me. Yer family, but not that kinda family. Ah mean, we never did that, like ya said. Still, family." She put a hoof to her chest. "Which is why ah care. Now, ya gonna keep playing coy, or are ya ready to spill the beans about where yer hiding your new flame?"

Her cheeks only darkened as Cherry got dangerously close with that word. "Ah'm not quite ready... ya know?"

"You keep yer secrets then." Cherry Jubilee leaned forward, fluttering her lashes. "You keep up the good work and yer in mah good books just the way ya are. Now, shoo. Enjoy yer lunch." She made a soft dismissing motion with both forehooves.

Summer wandered off with a little smile, happy to have weathered the encounter. Another worker wandered towards Cherry almost immediately. "She's been acting weird."

Cherry hiked a brow at the other worker mare. "Ah think she's gone and found a boyfriend."

"I don't think it's that." The mare put a hoof to her chin, looking off in the direction Summer had retreated. "Ah ain't seen no stallions around her. And did ya hear about the dragon pony? Maybe it has her!"

"Has her?" Cherry squinted faintly. "She almost had a record day today. If it has her, it can keep her." She turned away. "Now stop fretting an' get back ta work. Those cherries ain't handlin' themselves."

The mare allowed the conversation to die, but wandered off with a grumble.

"Want a walk home?"

Summer lifted an ear at her coworker, an anxious looking mare. "Ah don't live far from here," she demurred. "Not like ah feel nervous in this little town."

"Didn't you hear about the dragon pony?" The mare glanced left and right before fixing her gaze on Summer. "Ain't right ta be walkin' 'lone right now."

"I think I'll be fine." Summer waved a hoof left and right. "I'm going straight home, promise."

"If ya say so..."

Summer fled at an easy trot, thinking the matter closed. But the other mare trailed after her, keeping just out of sight. When Summer vanished into her house, the other mare crept up, pressing against the wall and sneaking along to a window to have a peek inside and see what was going on.

Inside, Summer was looking around with wide eyes, looking surprised.

There! The dragon pony! The mare drew a distressed gasp of air, ducking low a moment before daring to peek up again, seeing the dragon pony's unnatural horn was glowing with likely terrible magic, holding Summer in place. The dragon mare touched her nose to Summer, saying something the spying mare couldn't hear.

The dragon gestured around, but at what? The mare couldn't tell. They went into the living room, leaving the sight of the window she had been using. Poor Summer was being carried along, floating in magic, helpless! "She really has been captured," fretted the mare, rubbing her forehooves together. "Do I go fer help, or keep an eye on her...?"

Making a snap decision, she scurried around the house to reach another window and peer inside, barely getting an awkward side view of Summer. She was crying! The mare gasped with alarm, clopping a hoof over her snout.

The dragon was pointing to something, but she couldn't see what. Whatever it was, it was making Summer upset. Summer lashed out at something just out of sight and the dragon took a step back, then advanced on her, saying something. It looked so menacing. It never frowned or smiled, always so neutral.

Summer said something, wiping her face with an arm.

They wandered off into the house, out of sight. The mare sank to her haunches. What had she just watched?! One thing seemed clear to her. Summer was in trouble. Summer needed help! Help that only her neighbors could provide, if they didn't want to see her get chomped by a weird dragon mare thing.

With building confidence, she trotted away from the house, looking for others to gather for the cause.

Inside, oblivious to being spied on, Winter nodded to the house. "I've cleaned."

"Ah kin see that... Ah appreciate it, really, ah do... Just wish ya left that box closed." She smiled awkwardly, still wiping at the tears that refused to stop. "Ah didn't win that. That was fer mah brother, Celestia rest his soul."

Winter froze, staring at her evenly for a pregnant moment. "I did not know."

"Ah know ya didn't know!" she snapped before glancing away. "Ah know... Ah ain't even angry, not really. It was... just a reminder ah wasn't expectin' none..."

"I thought it was yours. I didn't want you to hide your victories like that." With a glowing horn, he plucked the statue from where it rested and brought it over. "I'll put it--"

She suddenly swatted it right out of his magic grip, sending it sliding along the floor. "Just leave that alone! That's enough touching that... Ah'll never be quite as good as he was, but that ain't your fault none."

He watched her silently a moment before Winter turned towards the kitchen. "I started dinner."

"Yeah... that sounds good." Summer followed him towards the theoretical meal that waited for them. "Look, ah'm sorry. Ya did good. Ya did a lot of good, just fer me. Ah kin appreciate that. House looks better than it has for a while, real nice job."

"How was your day?" he asked as he approached the table, several trays floating beside his head as he willed them to land on the table. "You looked happy when you first came in."

Summer pushed side dour other thoughts, smiling gently. "It was a good day. I was a storm in the cherries." She made a sudden shooing motion. "Ponies... that reminds." She frowned a little, slipping a hoof into the fork holder. "Anythin' botherin' you around here? There's word of some dragon pony makin' the rounds. I don't want you getting in any trouble."

Winter would have panicked, but being a calm kirin was the default state and he just nodded softly, hopping up onto his seat and relaxing. "I will keep an eye out, but I don't think there is such a thing as a dragon pony." He considered coming clean about his excursion, but Summer seemed stressed enough. "Eat up. A hard working mare like you need her fuel."

"Pfft, thanks." She chomped a forkful and sighed with happiness. "Who taught you how to cook pony cuisine? Ah mean, yer a kirin, and... you weren't that before..." She sounded awkward admitting that, but they both knew it. "But ya make such nice food."

"You have cook books." He pointed. "I had time to read and experiment while I waited."

Author's Note

Ponies care about Summer. Can this end well?

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