Cherry Red

“What is it?”

“I don’t know sweetie, let’s get it inside, it seems pretty banged up.”

“Is he awake? I saw his eyes move a bi-”

“Hold on! We’re losin’ him!”

I drifted in and out of consciousness, and all I remembered was being moved... somewhere, and a few voices, but aside from that it was all blackness and pain. After what seemed like weeks I finally came to, and found myself on a bed, covered in an abundance of blankets and bandages. I looked around the room, and saw that it was a plain, country style house, with the morning sun shining through the large window across the room from me, illuminating the pink wallpaper, dotted with cherries, and the old, faded photos framed on the walls. Next to me was a nightstand, with nothing on it but a roll of bandages, and a porcelain lamp. I tried sitting up, but was met with a sharp pain in my side, and let out a little yelp, assuring myself this was no dream. I heard rushing clip-clop footsteps, similar to what you’d hear from high heels, and a sweet, sing-song voice with a clear hint of a southern accent, called “Coming, coming!” I looked over to see a woman with dark red hair, a beauty mark and- Wait, this wasn’t a woman, I rubbed my eyes and looked closer to see it was a small creature with a small, four legged body, and long flowing red mane walk in with a smile on her face, and a tray of food on her back. I layed there, speechless and in awe of the little... pony. She was the look on my face and smiled. After setting the tray of pancakes, eggs, strange tan bacon strips, and juice down on a nearby table she started talking.

“Well I reckon this is a might bit confusing for ya, ain't it?” I nodded. “Well, you eat up, then I’ll go on and do some explainin’.” She finished and, ran, or galloped rather, out of the room. I was at a loss for words, and my stomach was rumbling, so I decided to eat up. Breakfast was great, the pancakes were soft and buttery, the eggs were warm and scrambled, but the “bacon” was strange, tasting more like toast than bacon, and the jelly was absolutely divine, thick and gooey, but sweet and tangy. Cherries, those seemed to be in everything, the jelly, the pancakes, and even the juice was made of- you guessed it, cherries. Just as I was finishing up, she walked into the room, with a bag on her back, and a smile on her face.

“Good idn’t it? Everything made fresh, from mah crops here on the farm. Why, I’ve been working on this farm since ah was just a little filly.” She said, staring out the window, reminiscing. With a sigh she trotted over to me, letting out a sigh. “Where are my manners, I’m Cherry Jubilee, owner of these orchards,” she explained, gesturing towards the seemingly endless pink treetops. “A farmhand of mine found you in one of the open areas we have for gathering cherries and such. You were in mighty bad condition, but still kickin’’, so we brought you up to the house. Ah’m no nurse, but I reckon I did a pretty good job bandagin’ you up, tell me if anything hurts, okay sugar?” I stared at her for a few seconds, trying to understand the situation, when she piped “You sure as shoot ain’t like any ponyfolk around these parts, what are you?”

“Erm, I’m a human,” I stammered “Excuse me if I’m a bit shaken up, the past... how long has it been since you found me?”

“About two weeks, judgin’ by the wounds and amount of blood you lost you’d only been out there for a few hours. Any longer and we woulda lost you.” She explained, shaking her head.

“Wow it seems like just yesterday...” I said, but was interrupted , when she sat on the bed next to me. I felt her warm, slender body pressing against mine through the blanket, relishing every curve and taking note of how soft she was near her... flanks? She wasn’t plump or anything, but she had curves, and was oddly human. I slowly looked over her form, trying not to stare, yet still taking in her light tan coat, beautiful and flowing crimson hair, with streaks of light red in it, and ending in an equally attractive tail, sprouting from her flanks, both of which had cherries displayed on them. I panicked a bit when I realized I stopped talking, and blushed when she giggled at me, hoping she wasn’t offended, or thought less of me. I sat up a bit straighter, and continued.

“I lived a simple life, I went to work, payed the bills, but beyond that, nothing interesting really happened. I got home from work, and I was really, really tired, so I just threw together something to eat, and went straight to sleep. After that I remember this dark, shapeless mist surrounding me, and I wasn’t sure where I was. I noticed a light in the dense blackness, and followed it, since I had nowhere else to go... I caught up to it, and the fog cleared, and I remember being in a clearing, surrounded by trees. In front of me was a weird creature, a bit taller than me, with a body made up of all sorts of different parts, from different animals. It started talking about chaos, and me ruling... something, with it. His eyes started glowing, and I felt strange, like I was losing control of my mind, but I shook away the feeling and told him no. He slashed me with one of his claws, then I hit him as hard as I could in the face. We fought for a little while, then he grabbed me by the throat, threw me, and I blacked out. I could’ve sworn he said his name, but when I try to remember, everything goes by too fast.”

Her eyes went wide, and she cleared her throat. “Discord. The creature you described was chaos himself, ruler of all things evil. I knew you must have a strange story to tell but I never coulda’ guessed...” She said, looking down, shaking her head and letting out a sigh. “I oughta write to Princess Celestia about all this commotion, she’ll know what to do. In the meantime I’ve got a few books for you that might help you make your way around here until it all gets sorted out.” She hopped off the bed, and walked out the door, before returning a few minutes later with a saddle bag on her back, loaded with books. “I’m pretty sure you can read Equestrian, being as I’ve seen it written all over your clothes.” She said, pulling out a few books, titled “Pony Anatomy for Foals,” “History of Equestria,” “Magic and Marvels of Equestria,” and “A Foal’s Guide to Grammar.”

“Those wounds look mighty bad, so since you’ll be bedridden for a while, you might as well read up. I’ve got a lotta free time from day to day, so if you ever need anything just holler, okay sweetie?”

“Yes ma’am.” I replied, pleasantly surprised with her southern hospitality. She smiled, and trotted off, humming to herself with that sweet and smooth as honey voice.