Life was like picking cherries. You pluck each berry from the bush with care, yet enough force to remove it from the vines connecting them. She felt the intense heat of the sunlight shining down onto her blonde mane. She reached up a hoof to brush the sweat drops off her forehead.
Picking cherries might seem like easy work to most ponies, but if you were a good cherry picker you had to know the ripe from the rotten. To see the good and the bad in all life’s wonders. But Cherry Berry hated picking berries.
Day in and day out, she picked the berries. It was her cutie mark; this was what she was meant to do, so then why was she so unhappy? She sighed heavily, hanging her head in shame, covering that stupid mark with her tail.
Cherry glanced up towards the sky from the spot she was sat at. It was a soft shade of blue, and it felt so vast. Horizons opened up before her very eyes, and for a soft second, she imagined what it would be like to be up there in the sky. To fly away from the cherry picking life, and become something more than herself. She wanted to be something more than just another cherry picker. She was Cherry Berry. Her eyes beamed, as she felt the beginning of a spark.
“I’m going to find a way to reach the sky. I don’t care if I don’t have wings or magic. I’ll find a way. I’ll be free from this life of nothingness and become something greater than myself. Now...where do I even start?”
Cherry Berry stood up from the ground, dusted herself off, and picked up the basket of cherries. She’d deliver them back to her parents house. They had been picking berries for as long as she could remember. They had been so proud when she had gotten this cutie mark. She’d be just like them.
“They don’t even know me. They don’t even see how miserable I am. Sure, they’re okay with this life, and that’s fine, but there’s so much more to me than just cherry picking.”
“Hey Cherry!” shouted a voice from behind her, and she turned to see who it was. Standing there was a familiar face, Strawberry Sunrise. The way the natural light of the sun framed those luscious strawberry colored locks of hers made her almost look like she was glowing. Her smile was infectious as she approached her friend, and she embraced her in a warm hug.
“What are you doing here?” asked Cherry. She looked to her left and to her right to ensure no pony was around. “You know if dad finds out you’re here, he’ll kill me.”
“Relax Cherry. He won’t find out about us. Promise. Now come on. I know you don’t wanna pick cherries. I have just the thing to cheer you up and put a smile back onto the face of yours.”
Cherry Berry took a moment to simply breathe, nodding and following Strawberry along. She had no clue what her marefriend was planning, but she was certain whatever it was, it was twenty times better than cherry picking.
She looked up to the sky as they walked. The clouds looked like bunnies if you looked at them in just the right way. She watched as pegasus soared through the horizon with ease. Nothing held them back from reaching that beautiful blue oasis, and that seemed to taunt her. It was like it was calling to her, saying fly to the sky, go to the stars. Be free from this life of nothingness and cherries, and become something greater than herself.
Strawberry Sunrise halted in her steps, and looked back towards Cherry.
“Hey, are you going to stare at the clouds all day, or join me?” Strawberry asked, with the hint of a smirk pursing at her lips.
The way she smiled brought a certain warmth throughout Cherry’s entire body. It was like she was the light in the darkest of days.
“Yeah, I’m coming. Sheesh. Always so impatient, hun,” Cherry retorted with a huff, before her eyes widened at the sight before her.
Sitting there on the ground was a hot air balloon. She found herself at a loss for words, her mouth gaped open, and she starred biwilderly at the sight before her. She saw her cutie mark on the balloon. Had Strawberry got this just for her? Why? She shook her head and fought against the doubts in her mind that she didn’t deserve any of this.
“Cat got your tongue?” asked Strawberry, coming up beside her and gently nuzzling her snout against hers, before pulling back ever so slightly. “I know how much you hate cherry picking, so I thought we’d get away from it all. Discover what it means to be one with the sky.”
“How? Why? When?” asked Cherry, stuttering, and she felt Strawberry getting behind her and pushing her towards the hot air balloon.
“None of that matters right now. Get in.” Strawberry insisted. Strawberry gave a gentle yet firm push towards her marefriend’s flank.
Cherry hesitated before she flopped right into the basket, landing head first and letting out a groan.
“Hey. That wasn’t fair. I’m supposed to…” she began, before Strawberry hushed her with a hoof to her lips.
“You’re supposed to not worry, and let me take charge right now. I know you always pride yourself on being able to handle anything. But, you’re stressed. I can see it, and so can all of Ponyville. We both need this, not just for you Cherry. For us. Let us just escape together for a while.”
“But...we’ll have to come back eventually. I can’t just leave,” Cherry Berry said. She hated her father. He was a drunk, and had left their family in shambles. The cherry farm was everything to him, but it wasn’t her life. She knew she had to forge ahead, to find her own path, her own way. Getting a cutie mark with cherries had naturally meant she was supposed to be good at picking cherries, but she didn’t want to live like this. Not when there was so much more awaiting her above the farm, up there high above the clouds. A light beamed down onto her marefriend, and she saw how the light made her glow.
“Yes, we will. I know it’s not a permanent thing, and I know it’s going to be tough. I just know as long as we are together, we’ll get through anything. Now come on, let us escape together. Just for awhile. Please, Cherry, I know how much we need this, and I really wanted to surprise you.”
“I don’t wanna know how much you spent on this,” Cherry stated with a long drawn out sigh, shaking her head. This mare was crazy, and she didn’t mind that one little bit. It was part of what made Strawberry amazing.
“Don’t worry about it, just get in,” Strawberry insisted, urging her marefriend into the hot air balloon. She snorted slightly as she heard that low murmur that made Cherry adorable. “I heard that.”
Cherry Berry grumbled, and muttered to herself, and blinked at hearing her marefriend’s words and found a helmet inside. She picked it up, noticing it had her cutie mark engraved on it. She sighed heavily, and turned her gaze back to Strawberry who hopped into the basket and put on her own helmet.
The basket was hoof made and well crafted It appeared to be made of wicker, and every line was crossed over into little x’s over and over, connecting them all together into the little square holder. It felt strangely soft to the touch. She looked to Strawberry, who was lighting up the balloon with some propane, causing it to gain buoyancy and begin to lift off the ground.
Cherry Berry flinched slightly and let out a slight yelp of surprise when she felt the basket move away from the ground, away from the earth. Away from the burdens of the world. It felt that with just a flicker of fire, she was free from everything she was stressed about.
Life was like picking cherries, but Cherry Berry hated picking cherries. There was so much more to her than just cherry picking. So much more than just a mark. She beamed at Strawberry. Her smile always makes her feel this flaming desire in the midst of the darkest of nights. She wasn’t alone when she was with her. She didn’t have to pick cherries. She only had to be who she was, Cherry Berry.
Slowly lifting more and more into the sky, she could feel the breeze whipping against her mane, and she lidded her eyes and allowed the wind to hit her straight on. She didn’t shiver, nor tremble. She felt something warm against her.
She opened her eyes to find Strawberry was holding onto her, clinging to her marefriend.
“Woah. We’re really doing this honey. We’re really flying!” Strawberry chirped, excitedly, her voice almost as shrill as a filly. However, that voice was always sultry and genuine. Strawberry was her mare, and she couldn’t be happier to have her here right now, to savor this moment with. The freedom this hot air balloon would bring them. Together. At last. Far far away from the life of cherry picking and listening to her father ramble on about his business and how she had to be a success, how she HAD to pick cherries for a living.
Life was like picking cherries.
Cherry Berry hated picking cherries.
Clinging to Strawberry, Cherry Berry took a deep inhale of her bright red mane, taking in her scent and how sweet she was. All hers. Strawberries and cherries were both red in texture, but not at all similar in flavor. Yet, the two of them got along like they were practically on the same page. Both mares wanting to have more than life had decided to give them, and they found a solace in one another’s embrace.
Cherry let go of her lover as she pointed towards the clouds in the sky.
“That one looks like a bunny,” she stated, giggling, her eyes lidded as her smile beamed when Strawberry turned to look up to the sky. Now was her chance. She wrapped her forelegs around her, and tackled her against the front of the basket.
It made the basket rumble slightly, causing them to change course. Not that Cherry seemed to even notice, or even care. As long as they were together they could do anything they sought out to do.
Strawberry gasped, and flinched when she suddenly felt Cherry tackling her from behind. It was rare to see her in such high spirits. She couldn’t help but giggle and shake her head at how silly she was. It was part of what made Cherry the most delicious mare of them all. Her cutie mark was two cherries, but Cherry wasn’t sour like a cherry. She was sweet, and kind. There was so much more to her than picking cherries.
Cherry Berry nuzzled against Strawberry, leaning more into her now as she put her head on top of her bright red mane. Her hair always smelled like real strawberries. She had this way of bringing joy into her life. Cherry didn’t know what’d she do if not for Strawberry. Having her in her life made her feel whole.
Cherry remembered days and days of filing baskets of cherries from the bushes. Picking them one by one, she’d fill up the baskets and take them to her father. He was never pleased with her. It was never enough for him. They needed more berries, and she spent all of her time picking the berries. Life began to feel less and less meaningful the more she was at the bush, plucking each cherry and sighing. Looking up to the sky, wishing she could find a way to soar up to the big blue yonder in the sky, and discover what it meant to fly.
“Cherry!” he shouted from behind her.
Cherry Berry skittered out of the bush she had been plucking the berries from. She fell backwards onto her rump, and groaned as she looked up to see her dad there looking at her. His muzzle was snorting out some sort of smoke. She didn’t know anything about it. Her wide eyes looked up to him, a sparkle gleaming in her precious violet hues.
“How many times must I tell you? You need to pick all the bushes and collect all the berries. How can you possibly expect to make anything of yourself if you only bring home the bare minimum?” he asked, snapping at her. His tone was harsh, and he stood there firm, not moving a single muscle. He never hit her. He never had too; his message was all too clear. She would never be more than just a cherry picker.
Silently, she whimpered, and lowered her head towards the ground. She shuffled her hoof against the dirt of the earth. Trying to find a reason not to linger in his demeaning and cruel gaze.
There had to be more to life than simply doing the same thing, over and over again. It felt futile to try to argue with him. Daddy was wise, older, and a business stallion. Nothing she could say would ever sway him, so she never spoke up or tried to fight back. She just picked the cherries. All throughout the day, one by one. Filling basket after basket. Moving from one bush to the next. It was tiring work, and it took most of the daylight away from her childhood.
But, Cherry never complained.
She had gotten her cutie mark picking cherries, her father thought it was a sign that she was destined to take on his cherry picking business and run the company someday. Cherry didn’t want to run a business. She didn’t want to pick the cherries, but none of what Cherry wanted ever mattered to daddy. Daddy was always right, daddy always knew what was best for his daughter.
And yet he didn’t know her at all.
Life was like picking cherries.
Cherry Berry hated picking cherries.
Sulking and moving on, she tried to find some sort of hope that she could get away from the troubles of the world. Away from this bush. It was while she was picking cherries that she had first met Strawberry.
Strawberry had come to get cherries. She was a fan of them, and needed them to bake a pie. A cherry pie didn’t sound bad to her, but Cherry always had a dislike for cherries in general. She was always plucking them from the bush, but she never actually tasted one before.
Not until she tasted that pie. It was just one cherry pie, and yet the smell of it wafted throughout the entire room. She remembered the first bite as if she was still tasting it right now. She savored the flavor of the cherry pie; bitter at first, like a sore memory, but then came this hint of something else. Something sweet. It reminded her of a strawberry. Red like a cherry, but the flavor, the texture, everything about it wasn’t at all like a cherry. She found herself loving this new flavor, this new thing. She looked up to the red maned mare who had come by for some cherries.
“What’s your name?” Cherry asked as she batted her eyelashes at her. She found herself staring, even if she knew it was rude to do so. She found herself lost in this mare.
“Strawberry Sunrise, and who might you be? I see you have been quite busy with cherry picking. That has to be a lot of work. Don’t you ever take time to simply enjoy the simple things in life? Like this pie?” Strawberry asked, her voice lingered, and she starred at Cherry, with concern. She was so young, younger than her, so why had she never had a cherry pie, if she lived on a cherry farm?
“I’m Cherry Berry, and I don’t have time for pie. I have to pick all the berries from the bush. Father doesn’t like when I come home with just the minimum.”
“What? Why would he make you pick all those berries by yourself? Shouldn’t he help you?” asked Strawberry, as she reached out a hoof and gently patted the top of my mane.
It was just a simple gesture, and yet she felt this warmth radiating through her with just the one touch. She was greedy, she leaned into her hoof, and sighed happily.
Strawberry stopped petting her mane, and looked once more at her, shaking her head. She pursed her lips like she was about to speak but she said nothing.
Cherry Berry went home after enjoying that pie with her. The taste of it still lingered on her touch, that sweet aroma still smelt like fresh berries. For the first time in a long time, Cherry Berry didn’t hate herself. She trotted back home with her baskets of cherries to take to her father. He was always pleased to see her come home with so many baskets full. This time she had filled almost fifty baskets all by herself. The brief affection she had received from Strawberry had made her all the more eager to start working at the bush again. Strawberry said to her, on that day;
“Life is like picking cherries. You didn’t choose your mark, nor did you choose your father. But there’s more to you than just cherries. Cherry Berry, someday I will return for you, and we’re going to discover the horizon of what life truly means to be free. To be together. To be whole. Cherry Berry, I want you to know, I like you. I know it’s crazy to like a pony you just met, but you’re truly something special. So let’s escape our pasts together, and discover a better future together.”
Cherry Berry hated picking cherries, she didn’t even really like cherries, but yet it was cherries that had connected them together. She couldn’t hate her mark, nor herself. She couldn’t live like this any longer. So that day, she decided she would wait for Strawberry to return. She’d pick the berries, just like father wanted. Just the way he wanted. But she’d always look up to the big blue horizon above her, and know it wasn’t going to be her life.
Life isn’t about picking cherries. Life is about choices, and that day, Cherry chose to believe in something greater than herself. She believed in hope, she yearned for affection, and desired nothing more than to feel the love and warmth of that Strawberry maned mare once more. Cherry Berry beamed wildly as the bright sun seemed to shine down right onto her, almost as if it was giving her its approval. She wondered if Celestia knew about love, or if it was just a warm day. It didn’t matter really. All she needed to know was that what she felt in her heart was real, and not just a fleeting feeling.
Cherry Berry felt Strawberry there against her. With her forelegs wrapped around Strawberry, she cooed into her mane, taking in her warmth in her hooves, and inhaling the pure sweet hint of strawberries. It was hard to believe it had been so long ago.
Here they were in the clouds together. It felt like it could all just be a dream. Some grand illusion she made up to make life on the cherry farm easier. To make dealing with father easier. She heard the thump thump thump of her own heart, and knew that it was real.
This wasn’t something that could be faked. Love was real. Cherries were real, and she finally realized she didn’t hate cherries. She could never truly hate the very thing that brought them together.
Life was like picking cherries. She didn’t choose this life, she didn’t ask for any of it, but the more and more she picked at the bush, the easier things would become. As long as she believed it would work out. She’d continued to live her life full of happiness, as long as Strawberry was right there by her side.
And no longer did she have to pick the cherries. No longer did she have to wait. No more. She could finally fly up in the big blue wide sky, and the two of them found solace in each other’s arms.
