Cherry Hill Ranch

The twenty minute walk out to the ranch proved a bit more arduous than Scarlet had originally imagined. About a mile out of town, they approached a steep hill, which they had to hike over.

“Why can't we just go around?” Scarlet asked begrudgingly.

“It's a precautionary measure to avoid getting lost. A rule of Dodge Junction is that you always stay on the trail when ya leave town.”

“It seems so tedious.”

“The extra effort is better than getting stranded in the vast desert, I assure ya.” Mr. Jubilee said.

As tiring as it was, they eventually made their way over the hill (which was more like a mountain really), and when they finally reached the summit, what came into view was entirely unexpected. A quarter mile away, the landscape transitioned from arid and desolate, to cultivated and luscious. In the distance, they could see an enormous collection of cherry trees, spreading at least a mile in each direction. The leaves on the trees ranged in color from a snowy white to a bubble gum pink, similar to Fluttershy's mane.

“That there's my orchard.” said Mr. Jubilee proudly, as they continued to approach the ranch. “My family has kept it going for generations, and I plan to uphold their legacy to the best of my ability.”

After another minute or so of walking, they found themselves in front of the actual ranch. In the center of the orchard was a small establishment made up of a few buildings.

“Welcome to Cherry Hill Ranch!” he said in a welcoming manner. “I know this may not be as luxurious as you kids are used to in Cloudsdale, but try to make yourselves right at home. What's mine is yours. Anyways, let me give ya a proper tour of the place.”

Mr. Jubilee led them to the largest building. Before they went inside, Mr. Jubilee insisted they go around back. There, he showed them a huge tub containing thousands of cherries. “When ya collect cherries from the fields, this is where ya bring them. You'll see why in a minute.”

He led them back to the front and inside the building. The room they now stood in resembled a factory. There was a conveyer belt, and a running wheel.

“This is the sorting room,” he stated. “After a long day of buckin' cherries and hauling them over here, ponies use this contraption to sort Red cherries from Yellow ones. When the wheel turns, it brings the cherries from outside onto the conveyer belt. One pony runs the wheel, and the others sort. Simple as that!”

“What's the 'pegasus-specific job' you had in mind for us?” asked Scarlet,  changing the subject, due to habit. Her mind tended to wander, and she was always craving an answer to whatever question currently occupied her thoughts. Unfortunately, this question came out in an unintentionally rude and demanding tone.

Mr. Jubilee turned towards them, a stern look upon his face.

Scarlet realized her folly and, not wanting to damage their situation, retracted her statement. “Sorry... I didn't mean to sound impudent. I was just curious.”

Mr. Jubilee chuckled. “Actually, I completely forgot about that! It's funny because that was the main reason I recruited you three! Thanks for reminding me. Come with me, and I'll show ya the job that I need the three of you, specifically, in order to complete.”

They turned to leave the sorting room, and Scarlet breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “That was close. I'll have to be more careful, and mind my manners from now on. The last thing I want to do is get us kicked out.”

When they were back outside, Mr. Jubilee led them to some trees that had already had the cherries bucked out of them. “No matter how hard some of my workers buck the trees, they can never manage to get the cherries at the very top. See for yourselves.”

They looked up at the empty tree, and true to Mr. Jubilee's word, there was still a small basketful of cherries remaining at the top of the tree.

“We've found that the cherries at the top of the tree are the hardest to buck out. We've also found that they're the most delicious. Don't ask why, 'cause I have no idea. What I need you three fillies to do is to fly up there and pick 'em by hoof. It's the only way. Can ya manage to do that each day?”

The three of them looked at each other and smiled. “You can count on us, Mr. Jubilee.” said Scarlet.

“Yeah! We'll have those cherries out of the trees faster than you can say cherry pie!” said Rainbow Dash with enthusiasm.

“I'm glad to hear it!” said Mr. Jubilee. “Not only will this increase our production, but it will also improve the overall quality. Your help will be much appreciated.”

Mr. Jubilee continued to show them around the ranch. He showed them where they made the cherry juice, as well as the bakery where they made treats such as cherry pie. He showed them the chicken coop, much to Fluttershy's excitement. He also showed them around the entire orchard, getting them familiar with the different sections and how they rotate jobs. While being shown around the orchard, they ran into his daughter, Cherry, while she was bucking the cherry trees. She looked like she was in her mid-thirties, give or take a few years. After making her acquaintance and exchanging pleasantries, they went on their way, leaving Cherry to continue her work. All this took about an hour and a half. Finally, he brought them to the house they lived in.

“Now for the easy part of the tour,” Mr. Jubilee said, hanging his saddlebag on a hook by the door. “This is my home. The kitchen is right over there. Help yourself to anything in the pantry or fridge when you're hungry. Please make sure to clean up after yourselves. Also, we have a few rules.”

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other nervously.

“First, Cherry always makes breakfast, and she always makes plenty. You can eat what she prepares, or you can fix yourself something. If ya want to get something from town, you're more than welcome to, but you'll have to get up extra early to get there and back. We start work at ten o' clock sharp, so please be on time.”

“Second, you're on your own for lunch. Once again, you're welcome to fix something for yourselves in the kitchen, or you can go into town to get something. We break for lunch at one, and that break lasts two hours. As long as you can make it back to work by three, I won't bother ya about lunch.”

“Third, eating dinner as a family is mandatory. We eat dinner together every night at six-thirty, and we always eat as a family. This is very important to me, and I'd appreciate it if you three would abide by it, seeing as how you're being treated like family.”

The three fillies nodded their heads. The expectations were perfectly reasonable, and Scarlet had no problem respecting them.

“Other than those three, I'd say I'm quite lenient. I'll let ya make your own bedtimes, as long as ya don't wake up anypony in the middle of the night, and as long as you're able to get up the next morning ready to work. If you're punctual with meals and work, I won't bother you three. Does that sound alright to ya?”

“Yes, sir.” Fluttershy said.

“Yup!” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Sounds great.” Scarlet affirmed.

“Fantastic,” Mr. Jubilee said, satisfied. “I'll show ya to your room, then.”

[][][][][][][][]

Scarlet sat on a bed lined with wool sheets. Contrary to what Mr. Jubilee assumed, this was actually MORE luxurious than anything she was used to. Instead of sharing a room with fifteen other fillies, she was only sharing it with two others, and they were both her friends. Plus, she had her own bed, instead of a bunk.

After showing them to the room that the three of them would share, Mr. Jubilee told them to relax for the duration of the day, and they would start work tomorrow morning. Considering it was only half past noon, they had plenty of time to do whatever they wanted.

Rainbow Dash was lying on the bed, bored out of her mind. She looked out the window next to her, and saw Fluttershy sitting against a tree and interacting with the birds and squirrels in the vicinity.

“I guess she's enjoying herself, isn't she?” Rainbow suggested sarcastically.

Scarlet, who was lying in the bed across from her, looked up from her reading to glance briefly out the window. “I guess so.” she responded.

Scarlet was reading a book titled “The History of Dodge Junction”. It told of how Mr. Jubilee's ancestor, Van Stalwart Jubilee, who lived in Canterlot, made a bet with his brother that he could propagate an orchard of apple trees in the middle of the desert.

As it turned out, Van Stalwart had already found an unusually large patch of fertile soil right in the middle of the desert, and he had a plan. He made the day-long journey into the desert. If he hadn't marked his trail, he never would've found the location again. Fortunately, Van Stalwart Jubilee had thought ahead. When he arrived at the fertile land, he began planting his orchard immediately.

He had bribed his pegasus friend to bring rain to his orchard every other day. This way, he would be able to return to Canterlot so his orchard could grow. After several months of waiting, he once again returned to his fertile soil, only to find a full grown orchard of Cherry trees! Apparently, he had switched the seed types by accident!

Technically, he lost the bet with his brother, because the orchard didn't consist of apples, which meant he owed him two hundred bits. However, after all the planning and bribing that Van Stalwart had done, he was completely broke! He was forced to move with his family to the Cherry orchard, where they built a new house, and started to harvest the cherries. He would try to sell the cherries, and make enough money to pay his brother.

When he and his wife brought the cherries to Canterlot to sell, they were a huge success! Ponies commented that the cherries were more delicious than any they had tasted before, and begged for more. Perhaps it was that patch of soil that made these cherries so delicious. Perhaps the soil's existence in the middle of a desert was a magical occurrence in and of itself!

After a matter of time, ponies started returning with Van Stalwart and his family to the Cherry orchard, where they settled and started building houses and shops on the other side of a hill. They eventually built railroad tracks connecting the newly settled town to Canterlot and many other places in Equestria. This town came to be known as Dodge Junction.

“Weird,” said Scarlet to herself as she closed the book, and placed it on the nightstand next to her bed. She had picked the book from Mr. Jubilee's disappointingly scarce collection.

“What?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Umm, nothing. So, do you think there's a bookstore in town?” asked Scarlet, changing the subject.

“No idea.” replied Rainbow Dash. “It wouldn't surprise me if there's not. This town is so dinky.”

“So you don't like the town?” asked Scarlet incredulously.

“I never said that!” replied Rainbow Dash. “I just meant that this town doesn't have as much stuff as Cloudsdale.”

After a bit of silence, Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Hey Scarlet, what does 'punctual' mean?”

Scarlet looked up. “Since when are you interested in learning new words?”

“Since never,” retorted Rainbow Dash, “I just want to know what Mr. Jubilee was talking about so I don't mess anything up tomorrow.”

Scarlet smiled. She was impressed, to say the least, that Rainbow Dash was taking this seriously enough to ask a question that was so out-of-character for her.

“ 'punctual' means prompt. You know, like, when somepony is 'punctual', they're always careful to be on time.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks Scarlet.” Rainbow Dash said as she laid down on the bed, hooves behind her head, without a care in the world. She obviously intended to relax for a little while.

Scarlet pulled another book from her limited choices and looked at the cover. It was titled “Egghead's Guide to Cherries: The Controversy Between Red and Yellow”.

Scarlet sighed. Giving in to her naturally insatiable curiosity, she opened the book, and began to read.