//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4--Apple on Cherry 
// Story: Of Apples and Cherries 
// by Astropony 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 4—Apple on Cherry

Whoa, what was that?  Why did the train jerk around and suddenly stop?  As I take a look out the window, I can see another set of rails.  I've traveled long enough to know that this should the rail that leads to Appleoosa.  As I deduce our location, I hear the conductor over the intercom:
“Attention passengers, I regret to inform you that we have experienced some mechanical difficulty.  We have contacted Appleoosa and they are sending help as fast as they can.  We will keep you informed on our situation as it develops.”
“Oh great,” Apple and I say in unison.  This means our trip is going to be delayed for some time—hopefully not for too long.  We don't have much time off for this. I think it's safe to say we both hope this is quick.  In the meantime, I see Applejack get out of her seat and head for the phone in the back.  It doesn't take a genius to know why.  I get out of my seat and follow my wife as she dials Ponyville.
“Hey Rarity, it's AJ.  Listen, our train just broke down and I don't know how long it'll be.  Yeah, I know Pinkie decorated the town, just tell her we're gonna be a bit late.  Oh, while I have you, how has  everyone been?  Wait, you're saying you and Fluttershy....?  That's great!  I'm glad to hear it.  We can talk 'bout that when me and Cherry arrive, ok?  Right now, just tell everyone we'll be late.  Okay, thanks Rarity, bye.”
“Well, hon,” AJ says to me, “Rarity says she'll let everyone know we're going to be late.  Hope we can get going again in time for the party.”  As I watch Applejack head back to her seat, I start to think what we would do if we didn't make it in time.  Would we stay anyway or would we just turn around go back home?  Oh well, there's no point in worrying about any of this. As my momma and papa told me, worrying doesn't solve anything, only makes things worse.  With that in mind, I go back to my seat and notice Applejack had started reading.  Well, I guess that's really all you could do while waiting to get moving again.  Meanwhile, I guess I can pick up where I left off.   
Now as you may have figured out by now, I don't stay at the ranch.  I live in a plantation just on the outskirts of town.  Just so you all know, it's been in my family for quite a few years now.  Sure, I have some helping hands to assist here and there, but at the time Applejack, arrived, I was living alone.  On that night, I arrived home, said my goodbye to the help, and went to bed earlier than my usual time—us old ladies need our beauty sleep, after all.  But on that night, it seemed the house felt even more empty than usual.  It was like there was a void in my life that only at that moment felt like it could be filled at long last.  As I laid in my bed, I had one thought going my head:
Why am I thinking about Applejack?  
Of course, I thought that it was because she was the new girl and wondering how (or if) she would fit in with everyone.  Would she get along fine?  Would she keep her distance?  I usually didn't have the issues to keep me occupied, but with AJ, that's all I thought.  Although I did admit she was one of the finer ladies I've laid eyes on, I refused to think it was nothing more than a potential friend.  The thought of her being more than that was quickly dismissed.  After all, there were more important things to concern myself with, like training the new girl.  But as I would learn later, this wouldn't be the first time I would have these thoughts.  After what seemed like an eternity, I fell asleep to prepare for the next day.
That next morning started with me hearing the usual sounds, my alarm clock buzzing and one of the help knock and say, “Miss Jubilee?”
“I'm awake,” I answered.  When I rolled out of bed, I tend to take a quick look in my mirror to see how frazzled my hair is.  Did you think that styling my hair the way I do is easy?  Well, depending on how I slept, can take up to....well, let's just say it takes a while.  Not only that, I also do the obvious morning rituals—showering, having breakfast, styling my hair and so on.  After I performed my usual duties, on this day, I decided to forgo my usual carriage ride for a nice walk to the orchard.  I do remember the sun beating down that beautiful day. It was one of the nicer days I recall in all my years.  I really did want my walk to last longer, but alas, I had a job to do and a new girl to train.
I got to the ranch at my usual time, about an hour before the crew was to start their usual duties.  They usually gather in the mess hall, so I made a beeline there.  Sure enough, I saw what was left of the usual guys and gals, the ones who didn't leave for whatever reason.  In particular, I looked for a certain blond haired girl and it occurred to me that I never told her to meet in the hall before the start of the day.  
“Excuse me everyone,” I quickly shouted, “I have to go get the new girl.  Be right back.”  As I walked out the door, I hear the mumblings of people asking what I was talking about.  I had to ignore that to get Applejack.  I will admit that I was worried that she was wandering around the orchard wondering what was going on or worse.  But when I got to her quarters and knocked on her door, I breathed the biggest sigh of relief I ever breathed up to then.  
“Applejack,” I said, “it's me, Cherry.  May I come in?”
“Sure thing.  I was just doing my morning stretches.  Don't worry, I'm decent.”
To say that my mind didn't drift toward imagining Applejack in that way would be a lie.  I readily acknowledge that I did think of her in that way and felt a blush creeping up on my face.  In fact, I recall being so embarrassed that I never noticed AJ opening the door and looking at me like I had a third eye or something. 
“Uh, Miss Jubilee, you alright? “
My mind popped back to reality upon those words.  I couldn't believe I would think those thoughts over someone I had only met for a few days.  “Oh, yeah,” I said with a bit of a stammer, “Uh, I wanted to let you know that, uh, we tend to meet in the mess hall about an hour before start time.  That's when I let everyone know what's going on and let them go about their day.  C'mon, let's get going so you can meet everyone.”  As we walked towards the hall, I let her in on the other policies on the ranch.  “Oh, breaks are at 10 and 2 and lunch is at high noon.  As I said before, I'll be helping you out for the start so you can get the hang of this.  So Applejack, you think you're ready?”
“Yeah, I'm ready.  I think I'm gonna like it here.  It reminds me of home.”
I was going to ask her about her home, but I figured there would be another time for that. For the time being, I had to get her introduced and on the job.  Despite my interest in AJ's life, there was the remainder of the cherry crop to be picked and harvested.
After what seemed like hours, we got to the mess hall and as everyone's attention turned to me, I started my daily pre-harvest speech:
“Everyone, this is Applejack.  She's new here and will be helping out with the rest of the harvest.  As she's new here, I'll be helping her so if anyone needs me, that's where I'll be.  As you all know, the cherry harvest season is almost over.  Soon, you all will be going back to your homes doing whatever you like to do.  I don't know if I'll be able to say it, so I'll say it now.  I appreciate everyone of you for helping me out during this time and thank you for all your help.  That's really all I have to say, so let's get to work.”
I waited for the workers to get to their work then escorted Applejack to where we'll be working.  As it turned out, it was the southern field where, due to many of the workers leaving, I had no choice but to leave it unattended.  To this day, I am thankful of this decision, not just because it allowed me to actually sell my wares beyond cherry season, but it was the place where a certain event happened that paved the way to a life I never thought would happen.
“Your job is simple, just get the cherries off these trees and get them into the baskets.  You can find the baskets in the storage shed, which I'll show you in a bit.  After the baskets are full, take them to the edge of the road where they'll be picked up and sent to the mill for harvest.   After that, we'll head to the mill and I'll show you how to process the cherries for shipment.  Follow me and I'll show you the storage shed.”  As we walked for the shed, I couldn't help but feel a burning sensation on my face as if someone had put a flame near it.  It didn't help that Applejack took notice of it and asked me, “Miss Jubilee, you're blushing again.  You sure you're okay?  I'm sure I can do it myself.  Heck, I do this to apples back home.”
I know it sounds weird for a lady of my age, but I will admit that it felt nice having AJ next to me.  But as I said before, I couldn't think of her that way for many reasons.  My brain would say no, but my heart said something else entirely differently.  But we all know what ultimately won out in the end.
Snapping back to my senses, I tell her that I'm okay and proceed with getting the baskets.  We got the baskets and lay them at the base of the nearest cherry tree.  I remember about to demonstrate to Applejack how we get the cherries off the trees by either shaking them, which I started to do, or by getting what we call a “whacking stick”.  AJ, however, decided to use that moment to show me how she get the apples off her trees back on her farm.
After delivering a hard punch to the tree, not only every cherry fall, but so did the rest of the tree—well okay, the tree didn't fall, but it did bend.  Both of us stared in awe at the sight;  AJ from what happened and me from realizing I'd likely have to uproot the tree.  
“Uhm, Applejack,” I ask while still looking at the bent cherry tree, “what did you just do?”
“Uh, sorry,” AJ replied. “I thought I could hit them like the apple tress back home. I didn't think this would happen.”
“Well, now you know cherry trees aren't as strong as apple trees.  Now let's get these cherries into the baskets.” As we started to pick the cherries on the ground up, that's when the moment happened.  It played out just like you'd see in a comic book or a cartoon.  Applejack stepped on some cherries and slipped.  She stumbled toward me and before I knew it, she had run into me and we fell to the ground with her on top of me.  To this day, I still can see AJ's face turning the brightest shade of red I hadn't seen before or since, not even with my cherries.
This also was the time that my heart won out.  While I could feel my face turning red as well, I had enough to give her a smile back. “Why sugar, I had no idea,” I reply to a still startled Applejack.
“No, wait, you see..”  I didn't give her the time to finish as my instinct kicked in and gave her a peck on the nose.  If there's one thing I remember from that is seeing her eyes widen farther then I've saw to that point.  “While I don't mind, I really do need you to get off me.”  
I had to every ounce of willpower not to laugh at the way Applejack staggered to get up and away from me.  When I get up, I could feel the squished cherries on my back and knew I would have to give my outfit a wash when this was over.  From the corner of my eye, I could ass AJ touching her nose  as if it had disappeared from her face and then re-appeared.  I knew that she was gonna ask why I did that, but I thought to wait until I could come up with an answer.  
“Attention passengers, we are happy to announce that the help from Appleloosa has arrived and we should resuming within the hour.  We apologize for the inconvenience and we will inform you when we get moving again.”
Well then, we should be moving along shortly.  I'm going to try to get some rest and let Applejack pick it up here.