“I can’t believe it’s come down to this...Cherry, you are good for staying beyond the call of duty. For that I can’t begin to describe my gratitude, I wish it were under better circumstances…”

It had been a rather painful process over the past months. The mistress, well. Despite repeated warnings from her husband she just hadn’t been able to stop herself. Even then, it wasn’t enough. At a massive twenty thousand pounds of immobile, jiggling mass the mare was still spending money she didn’t have.

The first downfall was the renegotiation of the fruit contract which had gone better than hoped. In fact Sundrop had offered an even better deal for Rotunda but at the cost of a higher price. Once she had quickly agreed, the weight had started to pile on rapidly. In a mere two months she had gained 5 thousand pounds extra and was determined to keep going. That was until the bank froze her husbands accounts and she simply couldn’t keep paying the bill for the shipments anymore. In fact the last one was but a mere few moments away. Obviously Sundrop had been disappointed, but had agreed to keep her place for when she didn’t fault on her payments.

The second was letting go of staff. The large mansion that Rotunda occupied had now become a shell of its former self. Cherry was the only member of staff left and she hadn’t been paid for over a month for her services. Waddling down the now empty halls made it seem so desolate. One by one they had let staff go who were quickly snapped up by other rich households that knew Rotunda only employed the very best. It wasn’t hard for them to find jobs. Cherry had considered doing the same, but conversations with Jock had convinced her otherwise. There was a reason she had stayed beyond what she had to. She also felt so sorry for Rotunda who had been so good to her over the years.

Thirdly was the ruination of Rotunda’s social standing in high society. With the lack of money and no staff to support her lavish parties she had quickly dropped off the social map and friends she had known for many years had abandoned her. Without her generous banquets, ponies saw no reason to visit a now poor and rather boastful lard ass who had become so utterly obsessed with her size it was all she talked about. They could tolerate it when they were stood at a buffet but without that the bragging was a little too much for them, even though they knew they were guilty of doing it themselves.

All in all, the maid who had gotten her start here under a rather lovely employer was sad it had come to an end like it had. She had been well looked after and given things that she never thought Rotunda would bestow upon her. Thinking back she had wonderful memories of all the parties, the trip and everything else that had happened. It seemed wrong to do what she was about to do but she had no choice, she had to look after number one.

“I do too mistress. The last shipment is arriving. I will go meet the pilot and bring it back for you.” was all she said, keeping a more stoic expression on her face so as to not give anything away.

“I’m going to miss those fruits, as hard as they are to swallow they’ve done wonders for my figure. Such a shame, I was getting so close to my desired size too…” the mare said wistfully. Leaving her to her words Cherry made her way outside and as per usual Jock’s ship was touching down. It was a larger vessel than the previous one, just about able to fit on the landing pad with some precision flying. With the upped delivery of the fruits and more of them he had been coming with a faster and better ship. As before, a light vrrr opened the door and from within she spied Jock sitting at the controls of the ship. The maid eagerly waddled her way inside and smiled at him as he turned around to get his pudgy rear out of the pilots seat. He stood up and hugged her, folds pressing against one another as they embraced.

“Did she suspect?”

“Not a thing, in fact she thanked me for going beyond the call of duty. I don’t knock Jock, is this right? She’s done so much for me. I’m the only one left. I feel so bad practically abandoning her…”

“Look we talked about this Cherry. There’s no place for you here anymore. She’s got no money, the mansion is probably going to be sold soon. Then what? She’ll be letting you go anyway. Heck she should have a month ago but only because you ‘kindly’ agreed to stay on free of charge. If you stay on Sleipnir you’ll be more wedged in place than she is.”

The maid chuckled a little, she needed to hear that. “I know, but...look can we do one thing? It won’t cause any trouble.”

“What?” Jock asked.

“Just let me use your ships broadcaster to send an anonymous message to the local police. Just to let them know that she’s alone and will need help. If I leave her without food well...I dread to think.”

“...I suppose it’s the least we can do. Just as long as nopony knows it’s us. Okay?” he replied.

“Okay.” Cherry replied, moving over the controls. She sent a simple message containing the address and that the owner was in distress, nothing more. Clicking a button, the message vanished. “Done, I estimate we’ve got about twenty minutes before an officer shows up. We need to leave.”

Jock started to make his way over to the controls that shut the rear doors. Before he could press it, Cherry pulled his hoof away.

“Wait...I. I have to say goodbye to her. I can’t just not leave it at going to inspect the shipment like always.”

“WHAT!? Then she’ll definitely know you’re running off. Bad idea seriously!” Jock shouted back, going for the controls to shut the door once again, with Cherry following his motions and pulling back at his hooves once more. “Will you stop that! You said it yourself, we’ve got maybe twenty minutes! If you get into some long goodbye then we’ll be caught for sure!”

“LOOK. Just let me do this okay? She’s done a lot for me over the years. I won’t be that obvious to say ‘Okay bye mistress, abandoning you now. Enjoy the weight loss!’ but I just need to at least thank her for everything she’s done.” Cherry said, glaring down on her future partner.

“Alright, alright. But if you’re not back in the next twenty minutes I’m leaving!”

“I’ll be ten, keep that door open.”

As fast as her tubby hooves could carry her, Cherry made her way back inside and to the bedroom Rotunda was situated in. Opening the door she heard a rumbling from within the immobile mass of her Mistress.

“Cherry? Everything okay with the final shipment I hope.”

“Everything is fine ma’am. We’re offloading it now.”

“Oh good, good. At least I have something to look forward to. There is so little these days…”

She could hear the forlornness in her voice. To be such a valued pony in high society and have it all stripped in a matter of months must be heartbreaking. Cherry wasn’t going to say goodbye, but she had to say thank you.

“I know Mistress. Hopefully better times will fill this household with joy once again.”

“Indeed...ah the banquets. You are such a skilled cook Cherry. If it wasn’t for those fruits I’d be enjoying your delicacies so much more. I wonder what Honey Drops and Sugar Tart are doing these days. I never hear a peep from either of them.”

“From what I hear, they are still mingling, just at other parties mistress.”

“Expected I suppose. Anyway, please finish unloading the fruits. My stomach growls for sustenance.”

“I shall...thank you Mistress. For everything. It has been a pleasure serving you over these years. I’m going to miss it greatly.”

“Me too Cherry, more than you know. Even though I can’t afford you as of this moment there will always be a place for you here. I hope you know that.”

“It is...appreciated. I will see you soon Mistress.”

Cherry had to leave before she burst into tears. She managed to make it halfway back to the ship before she almost flopped forward onto her stomach and cried tears like she had not cried since she was a filly. Of the twenty minutes she had she had spent a mere few moments talking to Rotunda for the last time and then ten minutes sobbing uncontrollably on the floor. It just felt so unfair to her. This pony had been nothing but almost a mother to her. Cherry was always the maid, but clearly Rotunda had favoured her since the beginning. She dried her eyes, knowing that at least she wouldn’t be left totally helpless. In her head, she made a promise to one day return and make amends for what she was about to do but she had to do it. It was best for her.

Limply waddling her way out to the ship immediately she got a scalding for Jock. “Bloody hell. Only a few minutes left, I was about to leave. What took so long!? I knew you’d get into a long goodbye.”

“Not now Jock. It wasn’t a long goodbye.” Cherry said, wiping her eyes, sad faced and leaning into him and burying her head in his shoulder.

“Oh...well, there there.” he said, trying his best to give her a reassuring pat. “We’ve got our whole lives ahead of us. I’ve got a stable job, a place on Haizum. You’ll fit right in. Besides, you won’t have to be a maid anymore. Isn’t that something?” he asked as she pulled back and dried her eyes for the final time.

“Yes it’s...something to look forward to. Especially with you.” Cherry said. “B-but...what about all this, won’t your bosses be upset if you return having not delivered the fruit?”

“Well yes, but I know one way to get rid of them...open wide my cutie pie.”

“Jock what are you...mffff!”

For the first time, Cherry indulged in something she thought she would never have the opportunity to. The fruits were as hard to eat as Rotunda always made out, but she couldn’t say no. Being fed them was absolutely divine. Perhaps now for the first time without the overseeing eyes of Rotunda, Cherry could really begin to indulge. She wanted nothing more than to fatten up for Jock. With the ship now speeding back to Haizum on autopilot, they both had quite a while to dispose of all that fruit. Cherry hoped Rotunda would be okay, but for now not knowing her fate was probably best. She’d be taken care of at least even if it meant having to drop a few thousand pounds. With a smile on her lips she laid back, thinking of the bright future before her and for once, just how big she might get.