Many years ago...

It was a bright and sunny day down in the dusty plains of Dodge Junction. The balmy breeze blew tumbleweeds across the street, as a young pre-teen red Earth Pony colt with a black lunar eclipse cutie mark with a red eye by the name of Black Knight Paladin was standing by some tracks outside the town, waiting for something.

"Where are they?" He frowned. "Is a little punctuality too much to ask for?"

"Howdy, bro!" Black Knight's younger brother, a young white Pegasus with a golden solar eclipse with a blue eye cutie mark, White Knight, declared, "How's it hanging?"

"You're late." Black Knight deadpanned.

"I know, I know." White sighed. "I had to double-check my essentials."

"Again with the double-checking." Black sighed. "You're such a worrywart."

"Well, excuse me for wanting to be prepared." White rolled his eyes.

"I wish that was all I could excuse you for." Black snorted.

Then, coming behind White, were two other Earth Ponies. One was a pinto colt with a brown mane and a sheriff badge cutie mark, while the other was a very pale yellow filly with a rose-colored mane and a cherry cutie mark.

"Sorry, we're late, Black." The pinto colt apologized. "We had some chores to do."

"Some of us more than others." The filly frowned. "Right, Marshall Starr?"

"What's that supposed to mean, Cherry?" The pinto frowned.

"Well, from the way your ma's always yelling, you never clean your room." Cherry smirked.

"It's a waste of time!" Marshall shrugged. "It's just gonna get dirty again!"

"I didn't know this was a debate club." White chuckled, before looking around them, "Where's Red?"

"Guys, wait up!"

Waddling behind them was a pudgy red Earth Pony with a messy brown mane and a barrel of cherries for a cutie mark, huffing and puffing, running not being his strong suit. After catching up with everypony, he came to a stop, panting heavily.

"Big Red, so nice of you to finally join us." Black snarked.

"Sorry, Black..." Big Red wheezed, "...Oh boy... why couldn't we meet... down at the... watering hole?"

"Because the watering hole's boring." Black huffed. "Seriously, guys, I've been waitin' out here forever for you to get here."

"More like a few minutes." White countered. "Seriously Black, you need to get a better handle on the passage of time."

"Hey, what did I tell ya, Blue Eclipse?" Black frowned. "When we go out on adventures, we use our codenames, got it?"

"Got it... Red Eclipse." White sighed.

"That goes for the rest of you, too." Black rounded on the others. "Big Red, Juby, Marshmallow..."

"And why is my nickname 'Marshmallow' again?" Marshall asked.

"'Cuz ya look like one, a'course." Black shrugged. "Not to mention the similarity 'tween Marshall and Marshallow."

"Hey, I'm not fat!" Marshall growled. "Not as much as Red."

"Hey!" Big Red yelled. "Don't go there, pardner!"

"Yeah, leave him alone, Marsh." Cherry defended him.

"Either way, you do have a point, Marsh, but whoever heard of a red marshmallow?" Black declared.

"Yeah... but seriously, that would sound delicious." Big Red licked his lips.

"And now we're a food club..." White joked.

"Okay then, now that we are all here, Cherry Cavalry, let's get down these train tracks!" Black declared.

"You really think there's a dead body down along the line?" Cherry asked.

"Of course there is." Black nodded. "I heard it from a very reliable source."

"…Have you been talking to Crazy Mort again?" Marshall frowned.

"No!" Black snorted nervously. "Anyways, that body is definitely down there!"

"And we're going to find it, why?" White asked.

"Bragging rights, duh." Black grinned.

"Y'all'd think we'd do something regular folk do every once in a while." Big Red sighed. "Like go fishin', or play stickball..."

"Where's the fun in that?" Black snorted.

"At least mah idea of fun don't make mah hoof twitch..." Big Red declared, glancing at his twitching hoof.

The Present...

In the middle of the night, Big Red awoke up to feel his front right hoof twitching, which could only mean one thing...

"Cherry!" He gently nudged his wife awake. "Mah front right hoof's a-twitching! Y'all know what that means!"

"Celestia's pregnant again?" Cherry mumbled sleepily.

"Nah, that's when mah left back hoof twitches." Big Red corrected. "Front right hoof means somethin's wrong with the cherries!"

"That's... nice..." Cherry dozed off.

"Cherry?" Big Red frowned, as he nudged his wife again, only to get no response out of her. "Ugh, guess it's up ta me." Big Red climbed out of bed.

Big Red charged into the cherry orchard with a lantern around his neck. As he neared the east side, the twitching intensified. He was getting close to the source of the trouble.

"Ah swear, if it's them dang timberwolves again, Ah'll turn 'em inta sawdust." Big Red muttered.

Soon, he saw what was causing the disturbance: A pudgy young green, blonde-maned Unicorn with blue eyes and a globe Cutie Mark, and a lanky tan, brown-maned Earth Pony with green eyes and a hat-and-wheat-stalk Cutie Mark eating lots of cherries (the fat one eating more).

"Whoa, slow down, pal. The cherries ain't going anywhere." The Earth Pony scolded.

"I'm sorry, but I'm so hungry!" The pudgy unicorn muttered with his mouth full…

"Well, Ah'll be hornswoggled." Big Red let out a frustrated sigh as he called out to the two. "Hey, yew two! Whaddaya think ya'll are doin' here?"

"Eatin' cherries, what's it look like?" The Earth Pony snarked.

The Unicorn belched.

"Oh, that's the stuff!" He smirked.

"Well, Ah hope they taste good." Big Red smiled pleasantly.

"Good?" The Earth Pony smirked. "Try 'great'!"

"Best cherries ever!" The Unicorn added.

"Well, Ah'm glad ya'll've enjoyed 'em... 'Cause they'll be the last fresh cherries you'll have for a good while once Ah run ya both into the jailhouse!" Big Red growled.

"W-what?! Dude, we were just eatin' cherries!" The Earth Pony stammered.

"And that Ah don't mind... what Ah do mind is ya two trepassin' on private property!" Big Red grunted. "Now why don't ya make things easy on yerselves an' come with me…"

Big Red stepped forward, ready to grab them both, when he was blindsided by a feathery blur.

"Ah! What the buck?!" Big Red clutched his head.

"Time to go!" The Earth Pony yelped.

"Right behind ya!" The Unicorn followed.

The two colts fled, the blur flying above them.

"Why ya back-stabbin'..." Big Red made to follow, then decided against it. "Ah, ferget it. T'ain't worth the bother."

Nursing a scratched head and a bruised ego, Big Red returned to the homestead, slipping back into bed beside his wife.

The next day, Big Red went into town, making a beeline to the sheriff's office. As he entered, the chair at the sheriff's desk turned around, revealing none other than Marshall Starr, now a rather nice-built stallion, wearing a black and red Stetson hat, and a sour expression.

"Redwall Barrel-Roll." Marshall said flatly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Ya can call me 'Big Red', Starr." Big Red told him.

"Ain't you outgrown that ol' nickname yet?" Marshall asked.

"Can't rightly outgrow a nickname with the word 'big' in it, Ah reckon." Big Red countered.

"Just get to the point, Red." Marshall sighed. "Did the timberwolves get into your orchards again?"

"No, if that were the case, Ah wouldn't be here." Big Red frowned. "I'm here ta report a trespassin'. Three colts snuck inta mah farm last night an' started chowin' on mah cherries. One of 'em was an skinny Earth Pony, the second a pudgy Unicorn, and the third musta been a Pegasus, seein' as how he got me from above."

"Do they match your description?" Marshall pointed over to the jail cell, where the Unicorn and Earth Pony from the day before were, looking sullen... but in there with them was a gray-furred, black-winged, white-feathered griffin, looking downright furious. "I caught 'em stealin' bread this morning."

"Griffin..." Big Red glanced at the feathered felon. "That explains the scratch on the back of mah head..."

The griffin glared at Big Red.

"Yeah, this hooligan really gave my guys the business bringing him in." Marshall glared back at the griffin.

"Just had to have some bread, didn't you?" The Earth Pony glared at the Unicorn.

"I was hungry!" The Unicorn whined.

"Quiet, you two." The griffin snarled.

The Unicorn and Earth Pony stopped talking.

"Well, that's what ya'll get for breakin' the law!" Big Red declared. "So, what happens ta them now, Marshall?"

"First, I'll be giving them a little interrogation, just to see if there are any other crimes they've commited." Marshall told him. "Then I'm having them sent up to the juvenile correctional facility."

"Juvie?" Big Red frowned. "Ain't that a bit much fer pilferin'?"

"They've committed crimes, and they have to answer for them." Marshall proclaimed, "It oughta straighten the birdface and his followers out."

"Yeah, but juvie?" Big Red gulped. "They ain't even that old! They'll be eaten alive in there!"

"W-what?" The Unicorn gulped.

"I don't like the sound of that..." The Earth Pony frowned.

The griffin narrowed his eyes, and clenched his talons.

"I suppose you have an alternative?" Marshall asked.

"Well..." Big Red thought for a moment, glancing at the three boys, when an idea came to him. "Give 'em ta me."

"Pardon?" Marshall gaped.

"What?" The Earth Pony frowned.

"Huh?" The Unicorn gulped.

The griffin unclenched his talons, and stared at Big Red, his beak set in a suspicious sneer.

"I'll take 'em in." Big Red declared. "Put 'em to work as farmhands. Teach 'em how ta do an honest day's work, an' keep 'em outta trouble ta boot."

"Well..." Marshall mulled it over. "It's not exactly an official sentence..."

"C'mon, Starr." Big Red urged. "It'll be community service!"

"It ain't regulation." Marshall added. "I can't just release three young offenders on a whim."

"Then do it as a favour ta me. Fer old time's sake?" Big Red pleaded.

Marshall sighed. "Okay, fine. Whatever gets the four of you out of my mane."

"Thank ya kindly." Big Red nodded.

"The three of you are hereby remanded to the custody of this here gentlepony." Marshall told the three delinquents. "If there are any problems, just send them right back, Red."

"Ah don't think that'll be necessary." Big Red smiled. "Ah got a feeling the four of us will get along jes' fine..."

"Really?" Marshall raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Really." Big Red nodded. "Ah got me a way with kids..."

Not so many years ago...

Big Red and White were returning home from work.

"Another day, another bit." White smiled.

"Eeyup." Big Red nodded. "The simple, yet rewarding life of a farmer."

White's wife, Silver Wind, was waiting outside their house, with their son, Shine Paladin, and foal, Mist.

"Dad! Big Red!" Shine called, rushing out to meet them.

"Hiya, sport." White hugged his son. "Have you been a good colt for your mom while I've been out?"

"Yes, dad." Shine nodded.

"Not too good, Ah hope." Big Red winked. "A colt without mischief is like a cherry without skin."

"Whatever that means." White frowned.

"Hello, darling." Silver smiled. "How was your day?"

"Terrific." White kissed her. "We got a bumper crop today."

"Daddy!" Mist squealed.

"Hello to you too, my little sugar pie." White nuzzled his daughter, causing her to giggle happily.

"Well, let's not just stand around outside." Silver chuckled. "I've got a fresh cherry pie, ready for dinner."

"Mah favorite." Big Red grinned.

"Any food with cherry in it is your favorite." Silver chided.

"So, what's yer point?" Big Red shrugged.

After dinner, the family (plus Big Red), laid back in their chairs, digesting their meals.

"Hey, Red, can we ask you a favor?" White requested.

"Sure." Big Red nodded. "What's up?"

"My cousin over in Vanhoover is getting married." Silver explained. "White and I have been invited."

"We need you to look after the kids for a few days." White added. "Could you do that for us?"

"Say 'yes'!" Shine piped us. "Please, Big Red!"

"Ah'd be delighted." Big Red chuckled. "Anythin' for you guys."

"Thanks, Red." White smiled.

"You're a lifesaver." Silver added.

White and Silver departed the next morning, sharing hugs and kisses with their offspring

"Be good, you two." White declared.

"And mind Big Red." Silver added. "He's in charge until we come back."

"You got it." Shine nodded curtly. "Come back soon, okay?"

"Of course we will." White smiled. "But in the meantime, you still have that locket your mom and I gave you?"

"Sure do." Shine nodded, opening the locket to reveal the picture of his parents on their wedding day.

"It's a very important locket." White declared. "I got it from a dear old friend, Rookie Blue. I passed it on to you so that you could carry on his spirit."

"Keep it close, honey." Silver smiled. "Keep it close, and it'll be like we're right there with you. Can you do that for us?"

"I will." Shine nodded.

"That's my boy." White hugged him.

"Goodbye, my darlings." Silver kissed Shine and Mist on the cheeks. She and White then headed off to the train station.

"Bye..." Mist waved plaintively.

"Buck up, kiddos." Big Red hugged them. "Yer folks'll be back before ya know it. In the meantime, let's have us some fun!"

"Yeah!" Shine and Mist cheered.

Big Red proved to be a fair-minded babysitter, having plenty of fun with Shine and Mist, while still leaving time for the serious things. A few days later, as they returned from a game of catch in the cherry orchard, Big Red spotted an unfamiliar pony in a black suit outside the house.

"Can Ah help you, sir?" He asked.

"Are you 'Big Red'?" The stallion asked.

"That Ah am." Big Red nodded.

"You are familiar with White Knight Paladin and his wife, Silver Wind?" The stallion continued.

"Yep." Big Red nodded. "And you are?"

"I am Skullen Bones, professional coroner." The stallion declared. "And I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news, regarding your friends..."