It Takes All Kinds [private]

Along the long path, Sugary could have stopped by Appleloosa, but to him that would mean derailing from the path they set out for, and they really didn't know anyone there who might help them right away. He wasn't much of a gambling stallion, but if he had to bet big, he was gonna be in it for the long haul. And so, with the occasional breaks of drink and necessity along the way, he'd eventually manage to reach Dodge Junction with Kimi at his back.

The decision would wear him out as expected though, as by the time he could even see the location, his steps were slow and his eyes and breath were heavy as night had fallen by then significantly. Still, he walked on, deciding to hold back on his magic more and more to always have sufficient fighting power at an emergency. There were only two things that kept him going the long way before he saw the destination: One was the promise of having a place to stay by a well known trustworthy farmer, and the other was the fact Kimi was still stable in her condition, or else he would have stopped by Appleloosa to try and get her treated.

Time would further pass, but he would reach the border of the town. With a tired and somewhat raspy voice, he'd look to the nearest living being he could find to ask for one single favor of them. "... Excuse me... Where does Cherry Jubilee live...?"

The heat showed Sugary no mercy on his trek to Dodge Junction. It was long and arduous, but he could hoof it all the way, even with carrying Kimi. The Sweltering heat would soon turn to a shivering cold. Dodge Junction at this time of night was mostly empty. Ponies already heading to their homes after a long day of work. The only ponies that still wandered the street were the local drunkards, and night owls. Of course this also meant the patrol of Dodge Junction's Sheriff.

He had been approached by Sugary who was carrying an unconscious mare. "Eh? Cherry Jubilee? Well she be right over yonder. Jes' near the edge of town, just before the cherry fields. 'rvythin' alright, Sir?" the Sheriff had pointed in the direction near the edge of town, which was just, thankfully, a single stretch of road that went through the middle of the town.

Sugary smiled weakly at the Sheriff as he was pointed in the right direction. He and Kimi could use the good fortune being bestowed on them right now. "... Yeah... We just need a place to rest is all... Thank you..."

He walked down the single straight road, hoping for the cold winds to at least have the mercy to not blow constantly from up front on the short path. He didn't think the mare would still be awake, but he'd try to at least knock either way once he got there regardless if the mare had decided to stay up late or not. "Please let us in, please let us in, please let us in..."

The knocks would be met with nothing but silence. No creaks, no lights, no noise met Sugary's answer. This would last for at least five minutes before there would be a voice coming up from behind  them.

"I'm sorry ta' say, but the farm's closed at this time. Now shoo! If yah got business here at my farm come and see me in the morning." Her voice southern, much like applejack, except it was a slightly bit more sophisticated than Applejacks.

Dress in a rather lovely black and red outfit, with frills as it's tail would slightly just about hover a little off the ground thanks to the make of the outfit. Her hair this burning red color and done quite well, though the look on her cream colored face didn't look all to pleased to having visitors at this time of night. In one hand she held a hand fan that she flicked shut. She was quite a beautiful mare.

Deep down, Sugary felt quite disheartened after getting his hopes up seeing the rather lovely Cherry, almost crushed even. But he couldn't turn back now as he looked to her with pleading eyes. "... Sorry to bother you, Ma'am, but I'm actually here to ask for a favor... Me and my partner need a place to stay and rest, and Applejack from Ponyville said you might welcome us in... I'll do whatever it takes to make up for it, but please don't turn us away..."

Cherry Jubilee's ears would twitch at the word 'Applejack' and she would gasps. "Oh dear me! Applejack sent'cha?! Now why didn'tcha' say so, hun?" she would snap the hand fan open and cover the bottom half of her face as you can just tell she smiled. "Now how is that freshly ripe Apple doing now a days? She should send me more mail more often."

She would walk up to Sugary and walk past him. "Come on now, hun! Let's get'cha inside. I have spare rooms." She would giggle some as she unlocked her door and entered inside. "Now please be a doll and close the door behind yourself." She would walk into the darkened room and then reach up and pulled a switch turning on the light to the main foyer.

A multitue of paintings hung along the walls that showed the many family members of the Cherry family. A couple awards hung on the wall in plaques here and there. A main staircase that led to a second floor. A Door to the right that led to a large dining room, a door to the left that led to a large living room. Cherry Jubilee did live in quite the furnished home, it was fairly obvious she did quite well in life. "Let me just show you to your rooms and you can put your marefriend down on a bed and rest for the night, in the morn' we can talk. Hope quickly now, it's late and I need my beauty sleep."

The heavy weight of dread present on Sugary's chest was blown away as Cherry helped him and Kimi into her home with her lighthearted giggling. He was all too happy to do as she told and closed the door for her as he was nowhere near tired enough to fail to return gratitude. "Heh... Miss Applejack seemed well... Business as usual for her I'd say... Caught her fixing a carriage of theirs like it was nothing... Shared rather nice apple juice with me too..." It was soothing to enter a warm and luxurious home to talk about casual things. It did good for his spirits.

He then chuckled quite a bit once they went up the stairs when Cherry spoke of his relation to Kimi. "Haa... Marefriend is a strong word... We're really just traveling partners... Not that I'll treat her unkindly either... Ah, my manners are horrible... The sleeping beauty on my back is Lotus... And I'm Sugary Market... Pleased to meet you..."

When the time came, and the available rooms were showed, he would gently place Kimi upon her own bed after removing the cape and placing it away in the Inventory, arranging pillows and the like so as to leave her in a semi-sitting position. He'd also try to check her temperature, but then thought it was pointless as he had no idea what temperature she was supposed to be at given her mutated form, and instead relied on the fact her breathing has remained unchanged.

Once he was done, and closed up for Kimi, he'd move over to the nearest room available he could use, closed the door without even bothering to lock it, took off his robe and shorts and placed them in his Inventory as well, dropped the magical item next to the bed, and flopped bare upon it face down with all the grace and poise of a bumpy boulder diving into water with a pained groan. Soon the pained groan would be replaced with a pleased humming as the bed was exceptionally welcoming to him as he drifted off to sleep...

"Somepony seems a bit bashful." she teased about Markets defense against the Marefriend comment Cherry Jubilee said. "It's might nice to meet you too, though I would have preferred if you came at a much more appropriate time, but a friend of Applejack is a friend of mine. Now here you can put her down in this room, and you can take the next room over. Should there be any problems....hold off on it until the morning. I'm going to bed. Night, night." She stated in a cheerful southern manner as she would head downstairs after showing Sugary to the room's, turned off the light to the foyer, and then went back up stairs to head to her own room which was the furthest down the hallway on the right side.

When Sugary was checking Kimi's temperature, he would be able to take note that she felt rather cold, but otherwise she was still breathing fairly normally.

Night would pass by quickly and before the sun would rise, Cherry Jubilee opened the door to the room that Sugary was in and loudly proclaimed, to purposely wake him up. "Rise and shine, Suga'!" Much like the night before she was dressed in quite a lovely outfit, pretty similar to the one she had on the night before, but it's color scheme was more gentle with yellow and white.

"We've got work to do and sleeping around all day isn't gong to get it done any faster."

Sugary had been sleeping quite peacefully, having a pleasant dream about lessons from back in the day, so when Cherry announced her wake-up call loudly, he'd dart to his knees on the bed, still bare, looking into nowhere in particular as if answering a pop-quiz. "R-Rise for fallen pals, and Shine for wabblerghbl...!? Er..." He'd look towards his hostess as he blinked, gears in his head spinning faster by the second. He blushed mildly, and sat with his legs crossed as he rubbed his eyes. "... Good morning, Ma'am... I'll get right to work as promised, but where's the bathroom again so I can shower...?" Then something else clicked and he looked at her more intently while rubbing his face. "Ah...! By the way, has Miss Lotus woken up yet?"

Cherry Jubilee would look at Sugary and raise her hand fan and open it to cover the bottom half of her face as she turned her head slightly and grinned behind her hand fan. "Lotus? Ah, right yah' Marefriend. Well she's still out like a light, no reaction what-so-ever. What exactly did you do to the poor mare? Did you buck her too hard or somethin'?" she would then laugh. "I kid, I kid. Now hurry along, the bathroom is down the hall second door on your left." She stated as she pointed down the hall that was the opposite direction to where her room was located. After that she would turn. "When you are finished showering and getting dressed, come down stairs to the dinning room. We'll talk then about what you need to do." With that she would walk away heading downstairs to the dinning room.

"She worked herself to the bone... And will do, Ma'am..." Sugary wasn't quite sure what to make of Cherry as she left the room to let him prepare himself. She was a ravishing beauty in his eyes, but came off as fickle and a tease, especially about his own relationship with Kimi. "Buck her...? As if... She's a beauty too, but her thorns are sharper than knives. Or did she mean kick her...?" He then grumbled to himself as he thought about his luck with mares lately, and decided to just get whatever clean clothing he had left from his inventory, and make his way to the bathroom for a much needed refresher, but not before going into Kimi's room to make sure she was stable still at least. He knew her recovery would take time, but knew not how long. And so he'd shower once he was ready.

While his body did still feel a bit heavy, he was still good to perform as needed as he made his way to the dining room. His legs were sore, but he'd gone through tougher training himself as is, so he'd be fine as long as he didn't try to do a marathon everyday of the week. He'd seek out Cherry herself as he currently wore a simple pair of blue shorts and a long sleeved white tunic, having dried most of his mane by now as well. "Miss Cherry...?"

Cherry Jubilee would be sitting on the far end of the table that was located in the dinning room, the 'head' chair, which is the chair furthest from the door that Sugary would enter the dinning room from. The dining room itself was fairly nice, a large table with many chairs. Cabinets along the walls filled with glasses, porcelain plates. some were decorative places. A few paintings here and there to give the room some culture. At the table she was having breakfast. There was another plate with food on it in the seat that is nearest to hers.

When Sugary made himself away, Cherry Jubilee would lift her gaze to him and then she would motion for him to sit in the other seat that had food. "Please, no need for the Miss. Cherry is jes' fine."

She would grab a napkin and wipe her lips. "Come now, Suga. Sit down and eat sometime. It's going to be a long day for you. So enjoy your meal and let's talk a little bit."

Sugary couldn't help but admire the dining room for what it was; Partially because he had no proper on in his ship, and partially because he briefly reminded himself of times eating with friends and family where as the room now was rather peaceful and quiet by contrast. He thought to ask Cherry something before he sat down, but she was rather persuasive on just taking things easy. Then again, he was quite hungry. "Alright. Thank you, Cherry." He smiled a bit, and sat down to eat.

Perhaps he didn't eat as slow he probably should have, but he ate well nonetheless and enjoyed every bite. It all tasted so fresh to him and put him at ease even more so now. "Mmm~..." He'd wipe his mouth with a napkin after he ate a fair bit, and would try to make conversation. "So, Cherry... What exactly will I be doing for you?"

"Oh it's nothing too difficult, just separatin' the cherries." she said. "Separate the red cherries from the yellow cherries. Not difficult at all." It was a simple job, even a monkey could do it. "So tell me, Suga', what exactly brings yah to lil' ol' me? You come a trotin' in the dead of night, and sayin' Applejack sent'cha, though yah don't look like a farmin' pony. I sure hope you didn't bring trouble with'cha."

It was easy enough to agree and nod at the job itself, as even Sugary knew what it was like to do simple but tedious work. His face would contort mildly though as Cherry asked for his reasons to be there. "Hm... Well... No, and yes. I can assure you, I don't intend to cause trouble, but I do have troubling matters I simply must attend to. As does Lotus for that matter... We were set on traveling further ahead onto the Badlands so as to try to retrieve stolen property. Of course, there's no guarantee we'll even find what we're looking for, and I'm personally running very low on money and supplies right now, not to mention I can't very well just leave Lotus here, so setting out on my own is out of the question until she recovers." He sighed, and continued with a weak smile. "... Like I said, I'll do whatever it takes for the stay here. I have no intention of slouching about, but I'd also like to try to further prepare for when Lotus recovers and for more traveling... Is that fair enough?"

Cherry would look at Sugary over for a moment as she listened to him and was thinking some things to herself a she quietly munched her food. Taking her sweet time munching it. She would swallow and then clean her lips with a napkin. "Well I can allow yah' to stay here for three days the latest, but anymore than that you'll be freeloadin' and I don't like freeloaders, though even staying for these three days, you're still gonna have to work ta' earn yah keep. Hopefully yer friend wakes up soon."

She of course was worried about whether they brought trouble or not. This town was a simple pony town that didn't cause trouble to no one. They had to go to the Badlands, nothing good ever came from the badlands. "I'll tell yah what. Do some work fer' me around the farm, sorting the cherries, maybe some cherry picking and possibly fixing up a few things and I'll provide you room, food and I'll throw in a few supplies for your trip, but...one the condition that you must leave in three days time, or sooner." She stated as she looked at Sugary.

"This is a mighty fine town with nothing but peaceful lovin' ponies and I don't want trouble to come to them."

Sugary listened, and listened well to Cherry. He knew exactly what she was asking for and why. He smiled a bit more, nodding understandably. "... Fair enough. Like you said, it ain't nice bringing in trouble where it don't belong, and I'd rather none of mine scattered about..." Then sighed softly, looking at her square in the eyes with a more lively stare. "So! When and where does work begin?" He wasn't about to waste his nor her time if he could help it. It helped to keep busy.

"As long as we have an understandin' then." she would proceed to go back to her meal and finish it off. When she was done she cleaned her mouth, placed the napkin on the plate and got up from her seat. "Well follow me then. I'll show you to where you'll be workin'." she would step out from behind her seat and push it in and then lead Sugary outside. "Don'tchu worry about your friend, Suga'. I'll keep a good eye on her while yah workin'."

Leading Sugary out the house and around it. "Here at Cherry farms, I have many workers. I can't do it all by myself, there's just too much to do with just lil' ol' me and a simple buck can't knock out cherrys from our trees like they can do with apple trees. So I have pickers, I have collectors, and seperators. Today, you're going to be on seperatin' duties. Unfortunately a couple of our seperators had gotten sick so they're takin' the day off, so you'll be replacing them."

They would head out back which led to the cherry farm itself, acres and acres filled with cherry trees. Though the difference in the tree's could be noticed as they aren't as thick as apple trees, so these had to be carefully harvested or else a buck would be able to rip the tree itself in half. She would lead him through a pathway between the tree's. Eventually she would lead Sugary to what looked like a warehouse of sorts. "Here is where we do the seperatin' "

Once inside Sugary could see a couple conveyor belts, most of the conveyor belts were empty due to the sick workers. Though there was couple other works on a few conveyor belts. Cherry Jubilee would lead Sugary inside, the workers that were inside would notice Cherry and all smile and say their hellos. "Mornin' to yah!" she responded. "We have a fresh pluck today, just thought you'd all need a helpin' hoof, so treat 'im nicely." she stated to the workers that were there. Cherry would lead Sugary to a conveyor belt that did have some cherries on it. He would spot an oddity, red cherries and yellow cherries. "It's very simple." she'd stated as she would show sugary what to do. "The red cherries go here." she'd pick up a red cherry and place it in a tube that had a picture of a red cherry on it. "And the yellow ones go here." she'd pick up a yellow cherry and drop it into another tube that was next to the red tube, except this one had a picture of the yellow cherry on it. "That's all you gotta do."

The tubes were arranged that workers could simply just push the cherries in and they didn't have to worry about accidentally dropping the cherries in the wrong tube. "Got it?"

Glad in knowing things with Cherry were cleared up, and gracious in knowing he'd have help in looking after Kimi, Sugary would smile and follow her to get to work. "I can hardly ask for more right now..."

It was hardly possible to admire the grove of cherries well at night, but walking through the vast property while being led by the cheery Cherry during the day put him further at ease to just find himself surrounded by green again instead of empty harsh railway land. His mind also drifted to his youth and home town were farming was also done for self-sufficiency and for marketing. Just like at Sweet Apple Acres, he felt at home here as well. Working in the location would hardly be a problem. "... You have a very beautiful grove here, Cherry..." A heartfelt compliment, and a nice change of pace from the day before as he breathed the morning fresh air in.

The working area for him itself would be surprising though. He'd never seen yellow cherries as far as he remembered. "Curious little things... Wonder how they taste...?" He had also not expected machinery in the area to be worked in such an old fashioned manner, but he thought it had a certain charm. He also had no reason to doubt the quality of the work being done there, and so he just made do with waving to the would-be co-workers. "Good morning." Looking round once more, Sugary his eyes on Cherry while rubbing his hands together with eagerness in his eyes. "And got it. We start right away, right?"

Cherry Jubilee had graciously accepted the compliment of her grove. She did work quite hard in keeping the farm going, much like her family did before her. "Yep. Oh and no sneaking samples." she stated as she would walk away. As she did she would wave to everyone. "You all know the drill. Get the machine's started, Lift Lever!" A much older stallion would nod his head and adjust his glasses before he pulled the lever thus causing the machines to come to life. The conveyor belts would start to move and the cherries would be carried down the conveyor belt to be sorted by the workers. After that Cherry Jubilee would leave.

Sugary's ears dropped mildly as he was outright told he couldn't taste any of the cherries, but he had expected that to be the case. "Aw..." Nonetheless, he got to work as soon as everything began. Fortunately work would go smoothly for him as all he had to do was to keep up with the rest, and he was plenty good at hand-eye coordination to tell red from yellow with ease.

The job itself was also relaxing enough that he considered chatting with the others a few times, but decided against it in favor of consistent work, and letting his own thoughts entertain him as time went on. He also grew ever more hungry for the delicious looking cherries at Cherrie's, but orders were orders. "Just hold till the next meal, stomach. Work with me here!" Time would go on, and so he'd continue, unsure of when the shift would end as he'd only been asked to work... But the time would come for a break, and so he ate. And then it was back to work until they were done for the day as it had all been as expected: simple but tedious work as there were many cherries to separate.

Once he gave his farewell to a few of the workers, he'd wash his hands, and seek out Cherry once more to see if she needed him to do anything in particular, or if he was effectively work free for the day. "She did say there was much to do... Unless she just meant the cherry placement?"

The day on Cherry jubilee's end would be fairly simple, rather it was routine for her. Check the farms, check the workers. Settle disputes and work on paperwork and occasional business meetings. She did sell to stores supplies of cherries, so she needed to make certain they put their orders in, they got their right amount, and got the readied cherries shipped out on time. Just the usual thing she does most days. Of course she also had a maid take care of Kimi, while Kimi was still unconsious.

By the end of the first day and Sugary finished his first work day. Cherry Jubilee would be in the living room area reading a book. The book labeled 50 shades of cherry. So the living room area is where Sugary would find Cherry.

Sugary would at some point bump into the maid, and with the quick meeting he would get an idea of how well Kimi was being treated and only asked for where to find Cherry instead. Once he got the answer he sought, he'd go and join her in the living room.

Since he saw she was reading a book of an as of yet unknown nature, he decided to be quick and to the point so as to not take up much of what looked to be her leisure time by walking into her view range. "Excuse me, and good afternoon Cherry. Sorting is done for the day. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Cherry would look back toward's Sugary when he made his presence known to her and she gave him a smile. "Ah, Suga." she rested the book open against her chest. "There isn't a need to report to me, but thank ya. and nope, just need you to rest up, tomorrow's going to be a busy day. Here you go." she stated as she would pull from underneath her corset. "This is a list of what you will need to do tomorrow. I'm giving you this now as I will be heading out soon and I will not show up until tomorrow night, but if you need anything please speak with the maid. She will tend to your needs and will keep an eye on your friend." She would smile. "Unfortunately, she still hasn't woken up, but she does appear to be getting better, though it's rather strange. She feels rather cold to the touch. And her coat seems nice, but when you touch it, it feels unnaturally smooth." This was all in reference to Kimi's snake like abilities, rather how her, as Sugary puts it, mutations affect her body.

Sugary took the note as it was given, curious to know what it entailed as he kept listening to Cherry for what was to come and about Kimi's state. His tail briefly flicked at the mention of Kimi's more permanent conditions though, trying to explain it so as to give the mare before him some peace of mind. "Glad to hear she's doing okay... She already felt like that when we met by the way, so I tend to assume she's just fine that way. Trust me, she really did work herself too hard, but as long as she's resting and breathing peacefully, I'd say she'll be back to being her spry self." He was also assuming a fair bit, but he also did believe Kimi would recover. "Well... Thanks for the letter then. I'll just leave you be then. Good night, Cherry." He'd give her a light curt bow, and gave her back her privacy and quiet as he began to read the letter he was given while searching for the maid this time...