Songbird

by Acoustic Pulse

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Cherry Jubilee, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Second Person, Alternate Universe, Other, Romance, Original Character
Length: 17355

Buster Scruggs in Equestria. Why? I dunno.

"There's just gotta be a place up ahead, where men ain't low down, and poker's played fair. If there weren't, what are all the songs about?"

Buster Scruggs asked and he received just that.

Had this idea after watching the film and I saw that no one else had posted anything similar. Figured I'd attempt it.

Published 2023-08-04 04:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-07-24 00:35:11 UTC

When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For...Hooves?

Author's Note

There are elements of both 2nd and 3rd person here. I haven't written anything here in years so I'm testing myself.

When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For...Hooves?

The blazing sun shined over the San Palomino Desert, a beige stallion clad in a white shirt, white hat, tan pants, and boots that had splashes of white and brown was trotting slowly across the sand.

The stallion turned to face you, "Well, this is highly irregular. I'm sure y'all remember me being shot in the head by The Kid."

The cowboy took a look around, observing his surroundings before speaking to you again, "This still looks like the West, this ain't what I imagined Heaven lookin' like. I hope it's a better place than where I just left. Otherwise, I'd have died for nothing and that would be highly disappointing."

He looks at himself, "Wait a minute, are these hooves? Have I reincarnated as a horse? I suppose that wouldn't be such a bad thing. I can run wild and free for the rest of this new life the big man upstairs has blessed me with."

He sits and ponders, these new hooves he had reminded him of his loyal horse, Dan. He missed his friend and hated that being beaten in that duel meant he had to leave him behind. He was still reeling at the fact that he was no longer a human, but he came to his senses when he felt the desert sun scorching him. He decided he'd look for a town to get out the heat.

He turned to you again, "Even after living a rough life out in the West, I still never got used to this dadgum heat. Hopefully, I'll find some shade soon."

The stallion began the long trot across the San Palomino Desert. He sang a song to try and distract himself from the heat.

Been trudging through the desert all day long.
This heat ain't budging but my legs stay strong.
High spirits, good songs, nothing can go wrong.

"Woahhh!" he caught one of his hooves on something metallic and fell over. He was still getting used to his new legs and tripped. He looked down to see a railroad track. He had tripped over one of the metal rails.

"See? Nothing can go wrong. I found tracks. Where there's tracks, there's a train and trains lead to civilization. Let's follow these here tracks and see where they lead," the cowboy turned and started following the tracks.

He started singing to himself again:
Tracks in the sand, now I know where to go.
Rather be on the train, hear the whistle blow.
I'll die once more if I move too slow.
There's mirages in the desert, they've begun to show.
Cool Water mocking me, have to watch it flow.
But I can't drink none and it hurts me so.
My throat's getting dry, I better hit the road again.

He stopped singing to clear his throat. It was very dry. There was a breeze kicking up sand and the wind pelted the stallion with the grains. He had sand in his eyes, in his snout, and he even inhaled some of it, causing a coughing fit. Lucky for the stallion, the suffering was short lived as he stumbled upon the outskirts of a dusty little town.

He read a sign that said, WELCOME TO DODGE JUNCTION!

It was a tiny town with a few old wooden buildings bunched together. Way out on the other edge of it was a huge ranch with groves of cherry trees as far as the eye can see. He stepped off the tracks and up onto the steps of the train station. A few ponies were there waiting for the train to Canterlot. They stare as the stranger approaches them.

"Howdy," the stallion greeted them.

"What's your name, stranger? What brings you to Dodge Junction?" a bystander asked.

"My name's Buster. Buster Scruggs," he introduced himself.

"What's your business here in Dodge Junction, Buster?" another bystander wondered.

"I been trudging 'cross that desert over yonder and I was wondering if it were possible for me to procure a splash of water because that there desert and my throat are at comparable levels of dryness," Buster explained.

"You walked all the way across the San Palomino Desert?" a mare raised her eyebrow.

"Is that what that desert's called? I ain't never heard of it. I woke up there and just started walkin'. Didn't know what else to do, I just wanted to get away from that sun and find me some water," Buster said.

"There's a well over in the middle of town, you can help yourself," the last bystander pointed it out.

Buster turned and saw it, then nodded to the group, "Thank y'all kindly. Y'all been very amiable hosts to your humble houseguest."

"I reckon you must be from the city talkin' all proper like that," one of them laughed.

"Naw sir, I'm from Reata Pass," Buster corrected him.

"Re-who-ta What?" he hadn't heard of such a place.

"It's over in Texas. San Saba County, they call me the San Saba Songbird," Buster was confused as to why they didn't know who he was or where he was from. Everyone knew about the San Saba Songbird, the West Texas Tit (meaning the species of bird, of course), The Misanthrope, the Runt from Reata Pass.

"That don't ring a bell," the stallion shrugged.

He turned to you, "No one knows who I am here. I notice now lookin' at my belt that I no longer have my six iron. But neither do these other horse folk. This could mean that I got what I asked for as I left the land of gunslingers and outlaws."

He pulled up water from the well and drank nearly the entire bucket. The relief of that sandpaper feeling in his mouth and throat being gone was immense. He speaks to you once more, "Well, it's good to see these horse folk ain't low down. Now I wanna know if their poker's played fair. Let's mosey on over to yon' saloon and see what variety of recreation we can get ourselves into."

A dusty wooden shack with swinging doors stood nearby. The word SALOON was painted over the doors in a sprawling red font. He entered and took a look around. There was a small bar and a few small tables scattered about. All the way at the back was a card table. There were eight seats at the table but only seven stallions sitting around it, leaving a seat open for Buster.

Buster walks up to them, "Y'all mind if I join in?"

"Go ahead on, pardner. Take that empty seat there," the dealer pointed to the empty seat. Buster obliged and sat down to join them.

"You came in at a good time, I was just about to deal out new hands," the Dealer smiled.

"Any of y'all won big today?" Buster smiled and looked around.

The others remained silent, they were wary of the newcomer and kept their gazes fixed on their cards.

"Oh, I see, y'all got them poker faces goin' on. I respect it," Buster sat and waited for the Dealer to deal the cards and set the pot. Each pony received two cards. Three were set face up in the middle of the table. The two blinds began the pot by placing 6 bits on the table. Big Blind placed 4, Little Blind placed 2. The others called, each adding 2 bits of their own, bringing the total pot to 16 bits. It was Buster's turn and that's when he remembered he had no money.

"Uh, fellas, in my haste to engage in recreation with you fine folk, I neglected to mention that I am currently without coin," Buster said.

"Don't worry about that, partner, I'll throw in a couple for ya," a stallion sitting across the table threw a couple more bits onto the table so Buster wouldn't have to fold. This raised the pot to 18 bits.

"Thank ya kindly, sir. Tell ya what, if I win this, I'll split the earnings with ya," Buster promised.

"I'll hold ya to that," the other stallion smirked.

Once they all called, the Dealer added a fourth card face up on the table. A couple stallions folded because they didn't like their hands. That left Buster and five others still in contention for the money in the pot. They all decided to check. The pot was fairly small and nobody was losing too much if they did this. This intrigued Buster because in a game of luck like Poker, you have to take risks. None of these fellas were taking any risks in this game.

"If I may inquire something, why ain't y'all doing anything crazy like bettin' high or goin' all in?" Buster asked.

The Dealer placed the fifth and final card face up on the table and laughed at his question, "We've been playin' cards here for years. We tend to keep pots low because we're just here to have fun. I'm from Las Pegasus originally and I've seen mares and stallions throw away their entire life savings on this card game. One fella even bet the deed to his house and lost. Luckily, he had family to take him in. They got him the help he needed, which is more than most can say they got. He may have had bad luck at the card table but he was fortunate to have a family that cared about him. I know I'm rambling at this point, I just don't wanna see folks lose everything they have anymore. It's why I left Las Pegasus and moved here to Dodge Junction."

When the last card was placed on the table, this caused a couple more stallions to fold. This left only Buster and 2 others still playing.

"I seen folks up and kill each other over this game. I understand it. They lose big and feel they've been cheated, it escalates very quickly," Buster added.

"Wait. Die? Kill? I ain't heard of nothin' that awful happening anywhere in Equestria. Where did you say you was from?" one of the stallions who had folded asked him.

"Reata Pass in San Saba County, Texas," Buster answered.

"I ain't never heard of Texas. Where in Equestria is that?" he asked.

"Oh it's in another land, far off from here. Where'd you say this was? Equestria? Oh I get it. Equine, like horses and ponies. That would explain why we're all stallions here," Buster was starting to connect the dots.

"Well, yeah, I reckon. I never thought much of it before. There's more than just ponies in this land though. We got all kinds of folk," the folder explained.

"That's mighty interestin', I reckon I'll have to explore this land to see what else it has to offer. If they're all fine folk such as yourselves, life here might not be so bad," Buster was starting to feel a little optimistic about his new life with an extra pair of legs.

"Equestria's got a lot to offer, I think you'll enjoy it here," the stallion who paid for Buster to play added.

"Alright, y'all, it is time to reveal your hands. Let's see what y'all got," the Dealer announced.

The five cards laying face up on the table were the King of Spades, the Ace of Diamonds, the Queen of Hearts, the Eight of Spades, and the Ace of Hearts.

The first of the three remaining stallions revealed his hand, he had the Five of Diamonds and the Five of Hearts. His hand was a Two Pair, Aces and Fives.

The stallion who paid a little extra for Buster to play revealed his hand, he had the Jack of Hearts and the Jack of Diamonds. His hand was a Two Pair, Aces and Jacks.

The last to reveal their hand was Buster Scruggs. He decided to add a little drama by revealing his first card, which was just a Two of Clubs. The other stallions laughed at him.

The Dealer gave him a stern look, "Alright, quit foolin' about and reveal your other card."

Buster obliged and revealed his second card, which was the Queen of Diamonds. He won with a Two Pair, Aces and Queens.

"Looks like you win, new guy. You can hold onto these 18 bits and now you've got a little money in your pocket," the Dealer said.

"I think you mean I can hold onto 9 bits," Buster said, keeping his promise to split the earnings with the guy who paid for him to play. He slid the other 9 bits across the table to him.

"You're a strange guy, Buster Scruggs, but you're a stallion of your word and I admire that," the Payer smiled.

"Well, it was a good amount of fun playing cards with y'all. I appreciate y'all lettin' me into your game. Perhaps we can play again sometime," Buster rose from his seat. He put the 9 bits in a chest pocket he had on his shirt and started going toward the door.

He paused and turned back to the Dealer, "Are there any places I can stay around here?"

The Dealer pondered for a moment, "I believe you're lookin' for Cherry Hill Ranch."

"Are you sure they'd let me bunk up there?" Buster was dubious of that.

"Sure they will, if'n you're willin' to work. From what I hear, Ms. Jubilee's looking for a new ranch hoof since the one she hired only worked there for a short time. She went back home to Ponyville, last I heard. Her friends came out here trying to find her and bring her home, it was quite the spectacle. Speak to her and she'll fill ya in on all them details," the Dealer explained.

"Alright then, I'll have to head on over there and see if I can work that out," Buster thanked him for the help and then stepped back outside through the swinging doors. It took a bit for his eyes to readjust to the sunlight. Even with the hat shielding his eyes, it was awfully bright out.

The white-clad stallion started trotting toward the edge of town. As he got closer to Cherry Hill, it dawned on him just how massive the place was. Cherry trees looked like they stretched for miles, although they probably didn't go that far. He saw a big red barn and decided to approach it. Before he could knock on the door, it swung open, almost smacking him in the face. The mare exiting the barn didn't realize he was there. She was dragging a massive wooden bucket behind her. It looked rather heavy so Buster decided to grab the other handle with his teeth and pick the other side of the bucket up off the ground. This eased the burden on the mare as she was able to carry it.

"It feels lighter now, I must be getting stronger having to do this on my own right steady," the mare said aloud to no one in particular. The two of them carried the bucket to a nearby cherry tree and set it down. When the mare went to hit the tree and harvest cherries, she noticed a white blur in the corner of her eye. She turned to see Buster standing there and about jumped out of her coat.

"You 'bout scared me half to death, how long you been standin' there gawkin' at me?" she was angry.

"Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am, I ain't mean to startle you. That bucket looked awful heavy so I was just helping you carry it is all," Buster explained.

She dismissed him coldly, "Do I look like I needed help? I could've handled that well enough alone."

"No, ma'am, I have no shame in admitting that it's me that needs your help," Buster conceded.

"If this is your attempt at courting me, the answer's no," she shook the tree, causing cherries to fall into her bucket.

"I was told by the card dealer at the local saloon that I'd be able to have a place to stay here if I was hired to work on your ranch," Buster ignored the courting comment, he didn't even know this mare.

"So you're just lookin' for work? None of them other extracurriculars?" the mare continue to eye Buster suspiciously.

"Work and a place to stay, ma'am, that's it," Buster confirmed.

"Well, get you another bucket out the barn and start harvestin' these cherries. We'll talk about the rest when we're done," she still wasn't sure if she could trust him yet. She did know that a second pony harvesting her cherries will make her life a lot easier.

"Alright, sounds good," Buster went to the barn and found a bucket that was similar to the one he saw the mare dragging across the ground before. He dragged it to a different cherry tree and started shaking the tree to make cherries fall.

The mare stopped and watched Buster work for a moment. She thought, 'He just might be the help that I'm looking for.'

She focused her attention back on her tree. The last of the cherries fell into her bucket. It was nearly overflowing with cherries now and it was extremely heavy. She was still trying to move it herself because she didn't want to admit that she needed Buster's help. Luckily, she didn't have to bring herself to ask for it. Buster was already there, lifting the other side of it off the ground. They brought it to this massive wooden wagon.

They set it down long enough for her to drop the ramp. They lifted the bucket and carried it up the ramp and onto the wagon. She pulled her side of the bucket down while Buster lifted his side up. They were able to flip the bucket upside down and dump the cherries into the wagon. They climbed back down and repeated the process with the other bucket. The floor of the wagon was now covered in cherries.

"I hate to admit it but you're off to a good start. If you'll be working for me, I suppose I should know what your name is," the mare said.

"My name's Buster, Buster Scruggs. I suppose that means you're the Ms. Jubilee the card dealer told me about," he replied.

"That's right. I am Cherry Jubilee, owner of Cherry Hill Ranch. All these trees you see growing, I've planted them. I been in the cherry business for decades now. The Ranch has done a lot of good for Dodge Junction but employee turnover's been rough for me lately. I can't seem to keep help for long. I'm ashamed to say that as I start to get older, it gets a little harder for me to do all this heavy liftin' by myself. If you'll be working for me and staying on my property, I ask of you one thing," Cherry rambled.

"What can I do for ya?" Buster was confused but he had the right spirit.

"Stay here longer than a day. If some friends come here and whisk you back to wherever ya came from, I just might have to catch a train to come and beat your tail," Cherry wasn't sure if she was joking or if she was serious and neither was Buster. She wanted to keep it that way.

"Well, look here, darlin'---I mean ma'am---don't you be out here threatenin' me. I'm gonna put a moratorium on that right now. Don't let the white duds and pleasant demeanor fool you, I'm not one to take threats lightly. I just need a place to stay, if it means I gotta help around the ranch, I have no quarrel with that, but the next time you threaten me, I'm gonna hop on the next train out of town. Are we gonna have a healthy boss-employee relationship or are we gonna have us a problem? I've come to find out I'm pretty darned good at solvin' problems," Buster wasn't having it.

"Oh, quit all that dadgum fussin', I was just playin' with you. If it makes you feel any better, I am grateful for the help. When we get that wagon filled to the brim with cherries, which'll probably be close to dark, you can sleep up in the loft of the barn. It ain't the most comfortable spot, but it should beat sleeping in the hard desert sand," Cherry sneered.

Buster couldn't help but laugh, "You know what, I like you, I think we're gonna get along just fine."

"We're gonna have to if you expect to stay here long-term," Cherry noted.

"Duly noted, let's go round us up some cherries then," Buster took his empty bucket to the next cherry tree. Cherry Jubilee did the same with hers. They spent the rest of the day harvesting cherries. Just as the owner of Cherry Hill Ranch said, it took until sunset to get the wagon filled to the top with cherries.

"Buster, come help me throw this tarp over this wagon, we'll get the red and yellow ones sorted tomorrow," Cherry beckoned him to go to her.

He obliged and helped her lift the tarp up and cover the wagon.

"Alright, that oughta do it. Here, Buster. An honest day's pay for an honest day's work. Your rate is 10 bits an hour. You put in 8 hours, you get 80 bits. You keep doing this kinda work, I'll bump you up to 12 after 3 months and then 15 after 6 months. That's assuming, of course, you stay that long," Cherry paid him the 80 bits.

"Thank ya kindly, ma'am," Buster held the coin bag with his teeth.

"One more thing before you head up to the loft to lay down," Cherry added.

"What can I do for ya?" he inquired.

"You ain't gotta call me ma'am. Just call me Ms. Cherry," she told him.

"Alright then, Ms. Cherry. You have yourself a good night, I'll see ya tomorrow," Buster waved goodbye as she turned and trotted back toward her farmhouse.

Buster turned and entered the barn, climbing up to the loft. He pushed loose bits of hay into a pile and it became his makeshift bed. He took his hat off and laid it on top of one of the hay bales. He was feeling a little bit hungry but he was too tired to eat. He laid down on his bed and turned to face you one more time, "Howdy. Sorry I haven't said nothin' to y'all since the saloon. I been busy. I think I done made me a couple friends and I done got me a job. Maybe this second chance at life will do me some good. It definitely beats slingin' guns and runnin' from the law. I'm awful tired so I'm gonna get me some rest. I'll see y'all later on."

Buster drifted off to sleep. He had an unusual day and he wasn't quite sure what tomorrow would bring him. Only time would tell.

END OF CHAPTER 1!

Cherry Hill

Author's Note

Sorry the 2nd chapter was a little late getting out. I've been traveling.

Cherry Hill

Buster awoke the next morning to the sound of knocking on the barn door. He heard the sound of Cherry's voice coming from outside, "Buster. Ready to get to work?"

He sat up and turned to you, "Well, it looks like I got another busy day ahead of me. Let's go see what we can get ourselves into."

He got up and climbed down from the loft. He opened the door and stepped out, "Ready when you are, Ms. Cherry."

"Good. Today, we're going to sort red cherries and yellow cherries. Let's go get the tarp off this wagon and roll it on over to the sorting house," Cherry pulled the tarp off.

Cherry strapped herself to the wagon and motioned for Buster to do the same. He had watched her do that so he was able to mirror it. They were both ready to move the wagon now.

They start trotting, dragging the heavy wagon behind them. It was a long way across the ranch to get to the sorting house. Cherry unhooked herself from the wagon and went to open the door. She used a couple large stones to hold the doors open and let some breeze in.

Once the doors were propped open, she went and hooked herself back up to the cart. She turned to Buster, "Alright, let's get these cherries inside."

Buster nodded and they started moving the wagon into the sorting house. She stopped in front of a machine that had a cherry painted on it, "This here's the conveyor belt. The cherries will roll out through that curtain there. As you can see, there are two baskets. One has a red cherry and the other has a yellow one. It's fairly self explanatory."

"So how do we move that there conveyor belt?" Buster asked.

"I'll show ya," she trotted over to a wheel in the center of the room. She stepped onto it and started trotting forward slowly. The cherries of each color started rolling across the conveyor belt. She stopped when the belt was covered in cherries.

Buster started pushing the yellow cherries into the basket with the yellow cherry and the red cherries into the basket with the red cherry.

"Yep, that's all ya gotta do. I'll keep movin' this wheel and you keep sortin' them cherries," Cherry continued to trot and spin the wheel.

"You got it, Ms. Cherry, we'll get these cherries sorted in no time at all," Buster kept sorting them.

"We'll be here all day if I move this slow. Let me hurry on up and get to a canter, at least," she sped up to a canter.

Buster was able to keep up with her. He turned to you, "Well, this is light work right here. I could do this all day. I'm sure there's tasks y'all carry out each day that are simple like this, you know how it is."

He went back to sorting the cherries. They stopped after awhile. He turned to Cherry Jubilee, waiting to see what this was about.

"We're gon' stop and grab us a bite to eat. You hungry?" she asked.

"I reckon I could eat. What have you got in mind?" he answered.

"I got a cherry pie bakin' in the oven. It should be done by now. We can split it and get back to work. You can join me in the farmhouse and help yourself," the ranch owner offered.

"That sounds right good to me, I'll see ya over there in a bit," Buster nodded.

Buster made his way up onto the front porch of the farmhouse and knocked on the door.

"It's unlocked, Buster, come on in," Cherry called.

He obliged and opened the door, stepped inside, closing it behind him.

"The pie's cooled enough for us to eat it. You can help yourself," she invited him.

"Well, thank ya kindly, Ms. Cherry and I do appreciate you having me in your home," Buster removed his hat, hanging it on a rack by the front door.

"Ain't no problem, Buster, I just figured we'd go and get us somethin' warm to eat and cool to drink after workin' out there in that sortin' house all mornin'," Cherry smiled.

"Well, that there sounds reasonable enough to me, Ms. Cherry," Buster smiled back.

"Here, I done set the table for us. You can eat what you want, leave what you don't," she had cut the pie into 8 slices, putting 4 of them on her side of the table and 4 of them on the other side for him.

He sat on the opposite side of the table from her. He picked up a slice of pie and took a bite of it. He gave an approving nod before taking another bite, "Ya know, Ms. Cherry, this pie is mighty good."

"I'd sure hope it is, considering how many years I've been baking," she couldn't help but laugh.

"It certainly shows. I ain't ate this good since I was—" he hesitated before saying, "alive."

"Alive? What do you mean? You don't expect me to believe you're a ghost, do you, Buster?" she teased him.

"I don't really know, to be quite honest with ya, Ms. Cherry. There's a lot you need to know about me since you've hired me to work here and have even gone as far as to invite me into your home to eat with ya," he was ready to discuss a topic he'd been avoiding before.

"Like what? What do I need to know about you?" Cherry was unapologetically curious.

"It's a long story. Maybe it could wait until after the cherries are sorted," Buster suggested.

"That's alright, Buster, them cherries ain't going nowhere. Go ahead on and tell me what you need to tell me," she coaxed him to start talking.

"Alright, but it'll be hard to believe. Just know that what I'm telling you is the honest truth," he warned.

"Well, I'll take what you say with a grain of salt since I still don't really know ya all that well, but I'll humor you," Cherry sat and waited for him to talk.

"Okay then. I'll start from the beginning. So, this here Equestria place you've known all your life, it ain't home for me. I ain't from here," Buster opened up.

"If you ain't from Equestria then where are you from? You sound like you'd be from around Appleoosa or so," Cherry raised an eyebrow. She was wary of Buster's tale.

"Ms. Cherry, I'm gonna look you right directly in the eye. I need you to look at me too. Does this look like the face of a liar? I need you to trust me on this and I also request that you listen to me while I'm talkin' to you. I feel as though it's important for you to know this. Okay?" Buster's blue eyes were fixed on Cherry's green ones.

Her eyes met his, she could tell the stallion was serious and nodded, agreeing to listen, "Okay, Buster."

"Now, to answer your question, I am from Reata Pass in San Saba County, Texas. It's in a land far off from this Equestria place. I wasn't always a stallion. I was a human being; a man. I once stood on two legs instead of four. My other two limbs were called arms. I didn't have hooves. I had hands and feet. I had a horse named Dan. He used to carry me across the Mojave Desert. He was a pet. It's a bit ironic that I ended up here and now I'm the stallion. Fate's got a funny way of running things sometimes," Buster began.

"You spin quite a tale there, Buster. So what did you do when you were a 'human'?" she asked.

"Well, as I was saying, I'd travel across the desert on horseback. I was singing songs and slinging guns. I was given the sobriquet, "San Saba Songbird". I was considered an outlaw but I only ever killed folks who challenged me," he continued.

"An outlaw? So you was a bandit? A criminal? I don't take too kindly to them kinda folks. Just how much of a fool do ya think I am?" Cherry eyed him suspiciously.

"You ain't no fool, Ms. Cherry. Criminal and bandit are mere exaggerations. Them boys back where I came from messed around and they found out. That's really all there is to it. I'd never go out of my way to bring harm to anyone. They'd challenge me to duels and I'd beat 'em. Simple as that," Buster replied.

"So how did you end up here?" Cherry was having a hard time trusting Buster even though he seemed genuine and carried himself with an air of confidence that was difficult to fabricate.

"A good question. So I entered the town of Frenchman's Gulch in Arizona, another town from the place I initially came from. I was just there to hit the saloon and play some cards. Maybe indulge myself in a couple drinks. I walk through the swingin' doors and some older fella was standing there. Told me to turn in my weapons at the door because it was house policy. I did so and then I was allowed into the establishment. Someone got up from the card table and I sat down. I asked to take his place, they said I could if I played the hand he was dealt. I looked at the hand and saw it was the Dead Man's Hand. I refused to play the hand because it was bad luck," Buster stopped to make sure Cherry was following. She nodded as if to tell him to continue.

"This feller across the table from me, we'll just call him Surly Joe, kept saying 'you seen em, you play em'. I continued to refuse and he pulled a concealed weapon on me. Threatened my life. I was unarmed at the time because I followed the no guns rule that the saloon had. My gun was over by the swinging doors. I ended up kicking a loose plank of wood on the table, the board flipped up, hit his arm, and the man hit himself with his own weapon. I did this a couple more times and he fell dead by his own hands. A pity, that was. All they had to do was deal me in the next round and all that coulda been avoided," Buster shook his head.

"What happened after that? I assume tensions were pretty high in that situation," Cherry was enthralled by the story but was still skeptical of its validity.

"They were, you could feel the tension in the air. I sang a song to try and settle everyone down. It seemed to work cuz they was all singing along with me. We was having a grand ol' time until that feller's brother walked in and saw what had happened to Joe. He challenged me to a duel to try and avenge his brother. I respected his decision, but he really didn't know what he was gettin' himself into. Heck, I didn't either. I got my gun back, went outside, I defeated Surly Joe's brother in that duel. That's when another cowboy rode into town on a dark horse. He challenged me to a duel as well, saying he'd been hunting me down because I was the one to beat. In a fit of overconfidence and arrogance, I told him I didn't need a count when he offered me one. He drew his gun and fired before I could even react. I heard the shot, took my hat off, saw it was all bloody. Checked my face in the mirror, saw the hole in my head. I said, 'Welp, that ain't good,' and I fell dead right there on the dusty street of that town," Buster was nearly done.

"This doesn't make any sense, Buster, how do you expect me to believe any of this?" Cherry was scratching her mane in confusion.

"Well, I just remember The Kid, that's what the feller who bested me was known as, kicking dust over my body. That allowed my soul to leave. I remember my soul growing wings and flying up into the sky. I figured it was over then so I said one last prayer. I said that wherever I ended up, I hoped that folks weren't low down and that poker was played fair. I woke up in the San Palomino Desert. I was a stallion, which is still bizarre to me might I add, and I just remember feeling really dehydrated. That's how I knew I was alive again, because the dead don't need no kinda hydration. I ended up tripping over a railroad track. I got up and followed the tracks to Dodge Junction," Buster finished.

"So when you entered town, you went straight to the saloon?" Cherry asked.

"Well, of course I did, that's what I do every time I visit a new town. I played cards with some fellas there, they was awful friendly. I had no money and one of 'em paid for me to play. I ended up winnin' and splittin' the earnings with him. Then they all cleared out and I asked the Dealer if there was any places for me to stay. He told me about your situation with your previous employee and said to come find you. The rest is history, I reckon," Buster answered.

"This sounds so outlandish, but my gut tells me you ain't lyin' to me," Cherry was reluctantly beginning to believe the story Buster told her.

"I ain't got no reason to lie, Ms. Cherry. What can I do to prove it to ya?" Buster sighed.

A wry smile flashed across her face, "You said they called you the Songbird right? Sing me a song then, Mr. Songbird."

Buster smiled and nodded, "That, I can do."

Cherry chuckled a bit, "Let's hear it then."

"You wouldn't happen to have a guitar, would you? Mine didn't come here with me," Buster asked, a hopeful gleam in his eye. He missed the sound of plucked strings.

"As a matter of fact, Buster, I do. It's in a spare room somewhere, I'll run and grab it for ya," Cherry disappeared and came back with an acoustic guitar.

"That'll do right nicely, Ms. Cherry. This one's called Cool Water, it's one of my favorites. You ready?" Buster took a sip of water.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Sing it, Mr. Songbird," Cherry teased.

He held the guitar for a bit. He strummed it with his hooves, "This is a bit unusual because I ain't got hands no more, but I reckon I'll manage. I need ya to do me a favor to help perfect the sound, Ms. Cherry."

"I ain't played in awhile, Buster, that guitar's just been sittin' around collecting dust these last couple of years," Cherry wasn't ready to play an instrument.

"Ya don't need to, just drum on the wooden floor with your front hooves to get me a rhythm goin'. It'll sound right nice, trust me," Buster coaxed.

"Alright, fine," she sighed and began laying down a metronome-style rhythm on the floor.

"That's perfect, now listen to this," he began playing the guitar and singing Cool Water. It sounded like this:

"Well, now I see why they called you the San Saba Songbird. I reckon I misjudged you, Buster," Cherry conceded.

"It's alright, I know it's hard to believe. I still can't hardly believe it myself. Thank ya for sharing your pie with me and for listenin' to my song. You're alright, Ms. Cherry," Buster smiled.

Cherry rolled her eyes at first, but cracked a smile in the end, "You ain't so bad yourself, Songbird."

They both laughed. Buster turned and looked out a window then back to Cherry Jubilee, "You reckon we should finish sortin' them cherries?"

"No time like the present, let's get back to work," Cherry trotted toward the door. Buster grabbed his hat off the rack and put it back on his head. He then opened the door for Cherry and followed her out. They made their way back to the sorting house.

"Let's get this done while there's still daylight. I'm gonna sort the cherries, I just want you to run on the wheel and move the conveyor belt," Cherry ordered.

"Sounds like a plan. How fast do you want me to move?" Buster stepped onto the wheel and awaited further instruction.

"A brisk trot, maybe a canter. Don't go full gallop because it'll spill cherries everywhere," she warned.

"Alright, get ready," he broke into a canter and cherries started rolling across the conveyor belt at a steady pace. Cherry Jubilee was able to sort them fairly quickly because she had been doing it for so many years. After awhile, the red and yellow cherry baskets were filled to the brim.

"We gotta do one last thing and then we can call it a day. It's starting to get dark anyhow," Cherry told Buster.

"What do ya need me to do?" Buster asked.

"We need to roll these into the farmhouse kitchen. I'll begin using them to bake goods like that pie we shared today. I'll teach ya how to bake so expect to spend a lot of time with me in the kitchen," Cherry plotted out the game plan for tomorrow.

"That don't bother me none. I'll be ready," Buster started pushing one of the baskets out the door.

"Good. I'll get the other basket," she pushed the other one outside as well. She stopped long enough to push the rocks out the way, causing the sorting house doors to close behind them.

The duo began to push the baskets toward the farm house. Luckily, these carts had wheels, which made them a little easier to move. They had a bit of trouble because the wheels would get caught on rocks from time to time and they had to fix it. Other than that, they didn't have much trouble.

When they got back to the farmhouse, Cherry held open the door and Buster pushed each of the two baskets into the house. Cherry shut the door behind them. The two of them took their cherry baskets and she led Buster to the kitchen, where they left them.

"That'll do, Buster. Thank you. Since you're already in the house, you can stay here tonight. I got a spare room you can stay in," she offered.

"Are ya sure?" Buster asked.

"Well, if ya wanna trudge all the way across the Ranch to the barn and then climb all the way up to the loft again, be my guest. I figured a resourceful stallion like yourself would take the path of least resistance," Cherry was confused.

"Naw, I don't mind staying here at all. I just wasn't sure if you trusted me. You said yourself that you still didn't know me very well. Granted, it's only been a couple days. We'll have plenty of time for that since I'll be working for you long term," Buster explained.

"I have a hard time trusting anypony, Songbird, it ain't just you. Now go ahead on and get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow," Cherry went up to her room.

"Have a good night, Ms. Cherry," Buster went and found a room on the first floor to crash in.

END OF CHAPTER 2!

Kitchen Antics

Buster awoke the next morning to the sound of clanging metal. He figured that meant Cherry was up and stirring around in the kitchen. He got up and left his room, making his way there. The light was on in the kitchen, which confirmed his suspicion.

"Good mornin', Ms. Cherry," Buster greeted.

"Good mornin', Buster," she waved.

"Didn't you say we'd be working on somethin' in the kitchen today?" Buster inquired.

"Yeah, we can't sell baked goods if we don't bake any, you know?" Cherry couldn't help but laugh.

"I reckon that wasn't the brightest question to ask," he shrugged.

Cherry had some dough out that she was kneading. She asked Buster to help her with it. The stallion obliged and trotted over to the counter. She turned to him, "Do exactly what I do. We can't make pies and pastries without dough."

He mirrored her and they were both kneading the dough together, "Like this?"

"Exactly like that," she nodded.

She grabbed two circular pans she uses to make pies. She covered the inside of the first pan with dough and placed the other pan in front of Buster.

"Do what I just did, remember to press it down so it clings to the pan. If it slides around too much then it won't bake properly, all the filling will fall out when you go to cut it," Cherry instructed.

He took the dough and made sure it circled the entire pan and had a bowl shape. Cherry gave an approving nod.

"Very good. Now we need to pit them cherries. This here's a good way to do that," she picked up a wooden skewer with her teeth, she took some cherries and left them sitting sideways on the counter. She poked through each one with the skewer and pushed forward until the cherry pits fell out the bottom of each cherry. She pushed a bin up to the edge of the counter, she slid the cherry pits and stems off the counter and they fell into the bin.

Buster attempted to do the same but he ended up squishing one of the cherries, sending cherry juice flying into Cherry Jubilee's eye. She knew it was an accident, but in the heat of the moment, she grabbed a loose strip of dough and slapped him with it.

Buster grabbed a rolling pin and was about to throw it at her. Cherry had a saucepan and was ready to hit him upside the head with it. They were about to start brawling when Buster stopped and said, "What the heck are we doin'?"

Cherry took a deep breath, putting the saucepan back on the stove, she needed it for the next step. Breaking it over Buster's head wasn't exactly the best course of action for her. Buster placed the rolling pin back on the counter.

"I'm sorry, Buster, when that cherry juice got in my eye, I reckon I started, uh... seeing red," she shook her head at herself for saying that.

Buster couldn't help but laugh, "That was terrible."

"I know, now before we kill each other with kitchen utensils, I'm going to demonstrate again how to properly pit the cherries," she picked up the skewer and pitted another cherry.

Buster did the same and got it right on the second try. Cherry gave an approving nod, "Looks like there's still hope for you after all, Songbird."

They eventually had enough cherries pitted for two pies. They used two bowls to hold the cherries. Juice from the cherries was leaking into the bottom of the bowl. Cherry Jubilee used a spoon to scoop the cherries into the pie crust. Buster did the same, using another spoon to scoop his cherries into the other pie crust. Cherry went on to demonstrate the next step, "What you have to do next is put the stove on low heat. You see all that juice building up at the bottom of the bowl?"

Buster nodded.

"Good, so we're gonna pour the juice from the bottom of the bowl into the saucepan. Then, you put the stove on low heat for about 3 minutes. Once it's good and warm, you'll see it has an almost jam-like texture. That's normal," Cherry instructed.

Buster used a different burner on the stove to heat up his cherry juice. After another 3 minutes, he turned the burner off and picked up his saucepan.

"That's perfect. All you do in this next part is pour this over the cherries. You see how it's all stringy and caramelized?" she asked.

"Yeah, I see it," Buster answered.

"That's exactly what you want to happen there. All that juice will melt in the oven and give the pie filling a little extra thickness as well as some extra flavor," she was almost proud of her new culinary student.

Buster poured the cherry juice over the cherries and awaited further instruction.

"Next step is some things to add more flavor to the pie. We're gonna throw a little butter in there first. Small cubes should dot the pie filling. Little dots of butter in the cherries," she demonstrated and showed Buster the end result.

Buster did the same. Cherry inspected it and nodded, "Excellent. You're gonna be a mighty fine baker by the end of today."

"Other than being slapped with dough and almost catching a saucepan upside the head, I've actually been having fun with this," Buster laughed.

Cherry cracked a smile, "Alright, next is egg wash. We're gonna crack a few eggs and then add milk and whisk it 'til your hooves fall off. This is to add some color and flavor to the dough. Baking is 50% flavor, 50% presentation. If it don't look good, nopony's gonna wanna find out if it tastes good. If you can get your pies to look good and taste good, you'll be well on your way to success in this business."

"How do I apply the egg wash, do I just pour it?" Buster lifted the bowl of egg wash and tilted it.

Cherry nearly had a heart attack, "NO! NO! Don't pour it! I'll show you. Grab a basting brush. This pie is your canvas, the egg wash is your paint. Now, we're going to use what's called a Lattice crust. It's eight thin woven strips of dough. Four of them evenly spaced vertically, then four horizontally. You will have them overlap with each other. It'll look like a basket when it's done."

Cherry finished the woven pattern and then used the basting brush to apply the egg wash to each strip of dough as well as the crust going around the pie. She topped it off with coarse sugar. It was now ready to go in the oven. Cherry checked to make sure Buster did the Lattice crust and applied the egg wash properly. When she deemed it satisfactory, she then went to preheat the oven.

"You will have to preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Once it reaches that temperature, you'll need to let it bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, lower the temperature to 375°F (190°C) and let it finish baking. When it's a beautiful golden brown, you can take it out the oven. You'll have to let it cool for 3-4 hours before you can serve it. Add some whipped cream, add some vanilla ice cream, whatever you want!" Cherry explained the final steps.

"Is it ready to bake?" Buster asked, showing the pie to Cherry.

"Yes, we'll bake them both together," Cherry put them both in the oven and let them bake.

She took them out when they were done and let them sit on the side to cool off.

"Now that you've followed my instructions step by step, I'm going to let you do one completely from scratch. I got the other one started for you and let you do the rest. Now you have to do everything on your own. You may refer to my recipe, I just request that you don't go around telling everypony what it is," Cherry sat down in a chair.

Buster looked at the recipe. It was written on a scrap sheet of paper. It said the following:

Ingredients:

Pie Crust

4 and 1/2 cups halved & quartered pitted fresh cherries

2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (28g) cornstarch

1 Tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 Tablespoon (14g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk

optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling on crust

The instructions were a little vague. Cherry Jubilee did so intentionally. Luckily, she had already explained the full step by step process to Buster. He just had to do what she said for the parts on the recipe that seemed vague. The instructions said the following:

Instructions:

Prepare Crust

Make Filling

Roll Dough

Filling in Saucepan

Preheat Oven

Arrange Lattice

Apply Egg Wash

Bake

Cool

Serve

Enjoy ♡

Buster was able to get the pie done on his own this time. He turned to Cherry Jubilee, "What do you think, Ms. Cherry?"

She inspected it carefully, "Crust looks good. Filling looks good. Egg wash was applied properly, coarse sugar was applied properly. I think you're ready to bake this thing. Go ahead and get right to put it in the oven. I'm impressed that you learned this so quickly."

"I won't take all the credit, I had a mighty fine teacher," Buster smiled.

"That's flattering, Songbird," Cherry laughed.

"What's next?" Buster asked.

"Now that you've gotten the Cherry Pie figured out, we're going to make Cherry Fritters," she said.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's get it done," Buster was ready.

"Alright, so there's two types of glaze, a vanilla glaze where we'll use vanilla extract and a cherry glaze where we'll use cherry juice. We will never use them both at the same time. We'll have to fry two batches separately and use each glaze. I will handle the cherry glaze because it requires a lot more time and energy. The vanilla glaze is much easier to make. While you're still learning, I'll have you handle the vanilla glaze. I'll talk you through the cherry glaze as well, but I'll handle that myself," Cherry instructed.

"Alright, so I need vanilla extract and what else?" Buster surveyed the kitchen.

"You'll need 1 and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, half a teaspoon of almond extract, and 3 tablespoons of milk to make the Vanilla Glaze for the Cherry Fritters. That is probably the simplest step so I want you to go ahead and get that done first," Cherry added.

"That seems simple enough," Buster did as instructed. He was confused when the mixture seemed lumpy.

Cherry looked at the mixture and poked at it with a spoon, "Too much sugar, not enough milk. Pour a little more milk in there and it should smooth itself out."

Buster added some more milk and whisked it again. It smoothed itself out, just as Cherry said it would, "Thank ya kindly."

"It's all a learning process, Buster, you'll get to a point where you won't need my help and you won't need to look at the recipe either," Cherry encouraged him.

"Hopefully, we'll work together long enough for that to be the case," Buster smiled.

"We'll see," she replied.

"A lot of preparation is required for the Fritters. We will not be able to get these done today, but we'll be able to get the prep done," Cherry added.

"I assume it'll be something to do with dough since we're making pastries," Buster deduced.

"That's right. so we'll start with the basics. We need to make dough, I'll talk you through it," Cherry said.

Buster observed quietly and waited for her to explain what to do next.

"We will need 2 and 3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 3 tablespoons of extra fine sugar, 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of instant yeast, and half a teaspoon of salt. When you get all that into a bowl, I want you to mix it up real good," she explained.

Buster added them to a bowl and mixed them together. He looked up at Cherry who was ready to give the next set of instructions.

"Next, you will add a cup of milk, 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, half a teaspoon of almond extract, and then crack one egg in there. Once you do that, I want you to add it to the other mixture with the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. When it's all in the bowl together, get a whisk and beat it up. After you do that, you'll have to knead it with a dough hook for 6 minutes," she told him.

Buster did as she told him and was kneading the dough as Cherry gave the next instruction.

"After you're done kneading the dough, I need you to spread butter around the sides and in the bottom of a bowl. After you add the butter, you'll dump the dough into the bowl. That's basically it. Once you do that, wrap the bowl in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. We'll let it chill overnight and finish the Fritters tomorrow," she explained.

Buster and Cherry put their bowls in the refrigerator. They decided that was a good stopping point and washed their hooves. They went to bed in their respective rooms afterward.

The next day, Cherry and Buster met in the kitchen again. They opened the refrigerator, removing the bowls of dough.

A huge baking sheet was stretched across the counter like a tablecloth. Cherry had thrown down some flour onto it to make it easier to roll and flatten the dough. She turned to Buster and explained what to do next, "The next part is simple. You have to press the dough into a rectangle shape. It needs to measure about 12 inches by 8 inches, a little bigger than a sheet of loose leaf paper. You will scatter the cherries across the rectangle surface but you need to leave about half an inch at the edges. Once you do that, you'll have to roll it into a log shape. I'll stop here and let you catch up."

Buster flattened the dough into a rectangle and made sure it was the right measurement. He added the cherries, leaving the half inch of space on the edges, as instructed. He rolled it into a log and waited for further instruction.

"Now that it's rolled up in that log shape, you gotta cut it into 12 equal rolls. Put each slice on a cookie sheet that's been dusted with flour. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes," Cherry said.

Buster did as she said.

"Ms. Cherry, what do we do now that the 30 minutes is up?" Buster asked her.

"We're gonna use this huge pot. We're gonna pour vegetable oil in it and heat it up to 360°F (182°C). I need you to watch that pot while I get the fritters ready. The pot has to maintain a temperature of at least 350°F (176°C) and it shouldn't go any higher than 370°F (188°C). Monitor the temperature while I grab the fritters," she instructed.

Buster kept a sharp eye on the oil in the pot as Cherry brought the fritters over. She told him, "You gotta be real quick about this. Take two fritters at a time and fry each side for 1-2 minutes. It shouldn't take more than a couple minutes, but if it does, just make sure to take them out when they're a golden brown color. When they're all fried, you need to move 'em to a metal rack. I went and got a couple racks out of a cabinet. So they're not too greasy, you need to dab each one with a paper towel. If we give our customers heart attacks, they won't be able to buy any more."

As Cherry fried each fritter and moved it to the metal racks, Buster dabbed them with the paper towel. Once the two dozen fritters were on their metal racks, Cherry let it be known that it was time to add the glaze to them.

Buster removed the plastic wrap from the vanilla glaze he made the previous day. Cherry told him he needed to dip the top of each fritter into the glaze and let the glaze settle for a few minutes. Once it settled, they'd be ready to serve.

"Now that the vanilla glazed cherry fritters are done, we can focus on the cherry glaze for the other batch of fritters," Cherry said.

"Do you want me to make it or are you gonna handle it yourself?" Buster asked.

"I'm still gonna make it, but I wanna talk you through it as I go. Pay close attention," she answered.

"Alright, Ms. Cherry," Buster watched carefully.

"So, for the cherry glaze, you're gonna need 2 pounds (0.9 kg) of powdered sugar, half a cup of tart cherry juice, a tablespoon of butter, and 3/4 of a teaspoon of vanilla extract," Cherry gathered each ingredient as she named them.

Buster continued to observe quietly.

"You're gonna grab yourself a big ol' bowl like this and dump the powdered sugar in it. You will then pour the cherry juice in with the sugar and whisk it up real good. Once you're done with that, you're gonna get a pot of water and boil it with the tablespoon of butter. Once you get the water and butter to a boil, you're gonna pour it over the powdered sugar and cherry juice. You'll stir in the vanilla extract at the very end. If you want a thicker glaze, you'll have to add more powdered sugar but there's so much in this mix already, adding more don't seem all that necessary to me," Cherry had explained the entire process of making the Cherry Glaze.

She let Buster dip the other batch of fritters into the cherry glaze. Now both batches of Fritters were done.

"Now you know how to bake Cherry Pies and Cherry Fritters, Songbird. We'll bake a Cherry Cheesecake another time. You can take the rest of the day off. I'm gonna take these into town and try to sell them. I'll give you half of whatever I make from that since you did half the work. I'll see you later on. Stay outta trouble while I'm gone," she added.

"If you need any help with anything else, ya know where to find me, Ms. Cherry. I'm at your beck and call," he took a mock bow.

Cherry laughed and said, "I'll see you soon. If you could clean up the kitchen while I'm out selling these desserts, I'd be grateful."

She loaded the pies and batches of fritters into plastic containers. She placed them in a saddlebag and slung it over her. She left the farmhouse, trotting toward Dodge Junction. Buster cleaned up the kitchen and washed the dishes that they used. After that, he went back to the room he'd been staying in and spent the rest of the time Cherry Jubilee was gone playing his guitar.

END OF CHAPTER 3!

Author's Note

Source of the Cherry Pie recipe: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/cherry-pie/
Source of the Cherry Fritters recipe: https://www.imperialsugar.com/recipes/cherry-fritters

Realized after I wrote this that the whole "Don't tell nobody the recipes." thing is kinda silly because everyone who reads this will know the recipes. Just go with it. Let her believe her recipes are secure from prying eyes.

Bull Headed

Author's Note

I'm sorry I took so long to drop this next chapter. My last semester of University started on August 21st so I've just been getting settled into my final stretch of classes before graduation.

Hopefully this will be worth the 2-week delay.

This chapter was inspired by Issue #33 of the MLP:FIM comic book series known as Friends Forever.

Bull Headed

Cherry Jubilee's eyes fluttered open as the sun poked its head over the horizon. She looked outside and across her orchard. She smiled, taking pride in the successful business she had built over the years. Every cherry on every tree represented the blood, sweat, and tears she put into it. Her unwavering work ethic allowed Cherry Hill Ranch to be a name known all throughout Equestria. She stopped reminiscing and got out of bed. She got one good stretch in before she descended the stairs.

The smell of something sweet hit her snout as she got to the bottom of the stairs. Somepony was cooking something. Cherry had a feeling she knew who it was. She started moving toward the kitchen and stopped at the door to peek inside. Buster was standing in front of the stove flipping something in a pan. Cherry observed quietly from the doorway at first.

Buster turned to see her standing there, "Good mornin', Ms. Cherry."

"Mornin', Buster. You never told me you could cook," she smiled good-naturedly.

"May or may not have feigned ignorance to spend some time with ya," Buster chuckled.

"Was wonderin' how you was able to pick up on that stuff so quickly," Cherry raised an eyebrow.

"You'll find out I'm full of surprises," Buster quipped.

"Not sure if I appreciate that. You lied to me," Cherry joked.

"I didn't, Ms. Cherry. You didn't ask me if I knew how to cook. I never said I could or couldn't," Buster retorted.

"So that cherry juice that hit me in the eye, that was on purpose, wasn't it?" she scowled at him.

"No, that was an accident. I honestly ain't pitted cherries before," he turned his attention back to his pan.

"What're you makin' there, Songbird?" Cherry inquired.

"Pancakes. Do ya want any?" He turned to face her again, flipping a pancake nonchalantly. He turned back to the pan to make sure it didn't fall out.

"That sounds mighty good. I look forward to 'em," she nodded.

"They're about done, I'll go ahead and plate em for us. I fixed 6 of em, so we can each have 3," Buster plated the pancakes.

Cherry was sidetracked by what she saw outside the window above the kitchen sink. A covered wagon rolling toward her Ranch from Dodge Junction. The wagon looked familiar to her but she hoped it was not who she thought it was.

"Is 3 not enough? I can give ya 4 and just eat 2. I don't mind," Buster went to move his third pancake over to Cherry's plate.

She didn't respond, her eyes were fixated on the covered wagon outside. Buster hadn't noticed it yet.

"5? You must be hungry this mornin', did you eat supper last night?" He moved another pancake onto her plate.

"I ain't worried 'bout them pancakes right now, Buster," Cherry stormed out of the kitchen, heading toward the front door.

"Okay, I'll wrap 'em up for ya. You can have 'em later," Buster sat em aside and followed her to the door.

The wagon had stopped in front of the farmhouse. It was being pulled by a couple out of towners she ain't seen before. Banners with the words BUFFALO BULL'S AMAZING WILD WEST SHOW were hanging on either side. This confirmed her suspicions.

A wave of anger she hasn't felt in a long time washed over her. She shouted, "BUFFALO BULL! YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF NERVE SHOWING YOUR FACE 'ROUND HERE AGAIN!"

A mare traveling with the show attempted to calm her down, "Ma'am, he's sick. We was just hoping to camp out here so we don't get folks back in town sick. We'll steer clear of your house, we don't wanna get you sick either. Lot of us came down with the flu."

"I don't give—" she stopped herself before she said something she regretted.

She sighed and said, "That ain't none of my concern. Y'all need to pack up and move on out to Appleoosa or somethin'. Y'all ain't welcomed here."

"Please, ma'am, just for today. We'll move on first thing tomorrow morning," the mare promised.

"Alright, fine. But only for today. If I come out here tomorrow and y'all are still out here, we're gonna have us a problem," Cherry warned.

Buster had followed the commotion outside, "What's got you all worked up, Ms. Cherry? You tore out the house like a twister ready to go on a rampage."

The unknown mare opened her mouth to speak but Cherry put up a hoof as if to tell her to stay quiet.

"This ain't none of your business, Buster, this is between me and them," she shot back.

"Hey. Look here, now, don't be catchin' no attitude with them. You might be able to boss me around cuz you're payin' me but they don't work for you. You need to act like you got some sense. That ain't no way to treat our guests," Buster tried to reason with her.

The mare and Buster shared a brief smile before Cherry resumed her tirade, "Guests? Them? When Tartarus freezes over. You think I'll let him stay on my property after what he'd done?"

"Clearly, y'all got some history. What is all this about?" Buster attempted to coax her into opening up about it.

Cherry scoffed, "I don't have time for this. I'm gonna go sort cherries. I want y'all gone by tomorrow. Buster, I need you to be on that wheel again for me."

"Alright, I'll be with you in a bit, Ms. Cherry," Buster nodded and she trotted back toward the sorting house.

He turned his attention back to the other mare, "So what's all this? What are y'all here for? I came out here and heard her fussin' at y'all about somethin'."

"We're a traveling wild west show. We tour Equestria doing performances and stuff. We draw in crowds, it's a lot of fun," the mare smiled.

"So what's your name there, darlin'?" he asked.

"You can call me Calamity Mane," she answered.

"A fine name," Buster said.

"What about you?" Calamity inquired.

"My name's Buster. Buster Scruggs," he introduced himself.

"Good to meet ya, Buster. It's nice to see there's still some hospitality out here in the desert," Calamity joked.

"Oh, don't mind her. Ms. Cherry just overworks herself, she's a little stressed. She didn't mean no offense by it," Buster tried to reassure Calamity that she didn't do anything wrong.

"The way she spoke about my boss, it seemed like she knew him. Do you reckon if you asked her about it, you'd be able to find out?" Calamity asked.

"I reckon so. I've gained her trust in the time I've been here, to be sure she'll talk to me about it," Buster replied.

"Please do. Keep me posted," Calamity pleaded.

"Trust me, she'll come around. You can count on that," Buster waved goodbye and turned to head back to the sorting house.

Buster entered the sorting house. Cherry was throwing red cherries into one of the bins.

"Howdy, Ms. Cherry," Buster greeted her.

"I was wonderin' when you were gonna come in here and help me. Having to turn the wheel and sort the cherries slowed my progress way down," she sighed.

"I beg your pardon, I was talkin' to one of them folks from that caravan," he explained.

"Did I or did I not tell you to come and help me with these cherries?" Cherry glared at him.

"You did," Buster conceded.

"So, why were you out there jaw jackin' instead of helpin' me work?" her glare intensified.

"Ms. Cherry, I'm gonna need you to come correct when you talk to me. I ain't done nothin' to you. Whatever this Buffalo Bull fella did to you in the past ain't got nothin' to do with me. I'm startin' to gain a lil bit of an understandin' as to why he left," Buster's mouth outran his brain this time.

Cherry's eyes welled up with tears, "Just go on somewhere, Buster. If you say another word, I'm gonna end up swingin' on you and I don't want it come to that."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Cherry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," Buster trotted over to her.

"I done told you to leave me alone, Buster Scruggs, don't make me tell you again," she was still visibly upset.

He wrapped her in an embrace, "Ain't no need for all that. It's okay to be vulnerable, Ms. Cherry, that don't make you weak. You ain't gotta be the indestructible boss lady all the time."

She was unable to keep her composure and wept, leaning into Buster, "He left me. Found a younger mare and gave her my stage name. How could he do that to me? Am I that easily disposable? Am I no better than trash? How dare he cast me aside like nothing? Then he has the nerve to show his face on my property."

"I'm awful sorry that happened to you. You can lash out at me as much as you need to. If I get to see that smile again afterward, it'll all be worth it. You ain't no trash, you ain't never been trash, and you never will be," Buster wiped a tear from her eye.

She took a step back and Buster gave her some space, "Why are you so good to me? I've been so cold toward you and you just put up with it."

Buster shrugged, "Well, you could've told me to jump in a creek when I first arrived on your property but you gave me a chance to prove my worth."

"So you just feel indebted to me, this ain't sincere? Here I am thinkin' chivalry wasn't dead. You almost had me fooled," she couldn't help but laugh at herself.

"Of course it's sincere, Ms. Cherry. When I first ended up in this Equestria place, I didn't know what to do. I didn't where to go or who to talk to. Since I stepped foot—hoof here and started working for you, everything just made sense. You made adjusting to this new life easy. Heck, I'd even go as far as to say you gave it purpose," Buster opened up.

"Do you really mean that or do you just hate seeing me upset?" Cherry sniffled and dried her eyes with the green bandana she wore around her neck.

"Both," Buster answered without a moment's hesitation.

"I hate to admit this, but I've been happier since you arrived here," she gave the faintest hint of a smile.

"Good, that means I'm doing my job properly," he replied.

"I reckon that's true," Cherry's smile grew a little wider.

"Feeling better?" Buster's eyes met hers.

"Yes. Thank ya, Songbird," Cherry trotted toward the door of the sorting house.

She turned to Buster again, "Come on back to the farmhouse, I'll tell you more about my past since I told you a decent chunk of it already."

"Lead the way, Ms. Cherry," Buster followed her out.

"One more thing, Songbird," she turned to face him once more.

"Anything," he looked up at her again.

"Call me Cherry," she started trotting again.

"Consider it done, Ms.—I mean Cherry," he laughed.

She rolled her eyes and smiled.

The two of them arrived back at the farmhouse. They sat together at the kitchen table.

"You asked me about my history so I'll tell ya," Cherry began.

"I'm listenin'. You can skip over any details you don't feel comfortable sharin'," Buster sat, listening intently.

"I grew up on a Cherry ranch, very similar to this one. Cherries were all I knew, I enjoyed that kinda work. They ended up being my life's calling. I reckon it made sense, considering where I was born and the name I was given. As I got older though, I felt the desire to travel. I wanted to see what else Equestria had to offer. I yearned to see new places and meet new faces," she continued.

Buster continued to listen.

"Along comes Buffalo Bull and his Amazing Wild West Show. He gave me that opportunity to travel so I joined his show. He gave me the name Calamity Mane. I fell in love with traveling, with performing, but most of all, with him. To my surprise, he felt the same way about me. He asked me to marry him but I was young and dumb so I panicked. I ran away and ended up going back to what I know, cherries," she gestured to the farmhouse they were sitting in.

"He didn't try to find you?" Buster asked.

"No. That mare you met outside today is the new Calamity Mane. That's where Buffalo Bull and I went our separate ways. I ended up here, I worked my way to the top and eventually bought this place. Cherry Hill Ranch wasn't always my business but it is now and has been for a long time. I worked awful hard to get where I am. Buffalo Bull found another pretty young face, slapped the name he gave me onto her, and kept traveling. In my naïveté and arrogance, I assumed I was irreplaceable and that he'd come and find me. Try to win back my heart, but he never did. He went his way, I went mine. Now here we are crossing paths again. I ain't happy 'bout it either, I thought I left that chapter of my life behind me," she lamented.

"Well, to run off like that probably broke his heart, ya know. It ain't like you was the only one who got hurt by this," Buster pointed out the obvious.

"I gathered that, but when he kept traveling and found somepony new to perform with him, I figured he didn't want or need me anymore. When I had finally moved on and chalked him up as a distant memory, he comes rolling up to my house with his troupe. His audacity hasn't changed a bit, I see. The name Buffalo Bull never really made much sense to me either. He ain't no Buffalo and he ain't no Bull. It just felt like he didn't love Cherry Jubilee, he just loved Calamity Mane. How quickly he moved on pretty much confirmed my suspicions. It is what it is tho, I reckon," Cherry shook her head.

"Do you think talking to him will help? Holding grudges like that ain't healthy," Buster suggested.

"Naw, I don't want nothin' to do with him. We made our beds, it's time for us to lie in 'em now," she dismissed it.

"Would you rather me speak to him on your behalf?" Buster offered.

"No. Don't nobody speak for Calamity M—for Cherry Jubilee except me," she scowled at him.

"Well, Calamity Mane, ya might not get another opportunity to smooth things over," Buster removed his hat and scratched his head.

"You're right. I suppose it's now or never," she got up and went outside.

She took off in full gallop toward the caravan.

Calamity Mane looked up from her campfire, seeing Cherry Jubilee galloping toward her, "Here we go again."

She mentally prepared herself for whatever amount of yelling she was about to hear from her.

"Watch out, young lady, the real Calamity Mane's coming through," Cherry barely acknowledged her and climbed into the back of the wagon.

There he was, curled up in the fetal position and wrapped in a blanket. He looked pale from the sickness that ailed him.

He looked up at the mare who entered the wagon. He almost couldn't believe it, "Am I dreamin' again or is that really the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria standin' there in front of me?"

"Don't push your luck," she deadpanned.

"Alright, it's definitely you," he sat up to face her.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for leaving you the way I did. I was young and dumb; I wasn't ready for that kinda commitment. I imagine it must've broken your heart. It was selfish of me to do that and then blame you for all these years. I just felt hurt that you'd keep the name and give it to somepony else. It's like you just replaced me. In my mind, it felt like you didn't love Cherry Jubilee, you just loved Calamity Mane. You loved the fame and fortune my name and performances helped bring you and that you didn't love me for who I was," Cherry finally found the strength to look him in the eye after all the years they'd been apart.

"I ain't innocent either, Cherry. I should've shown more commitment myself by trying to find you after you ran off. I squandered the opportunity to be yours. And I'm awful sorry I hurt you by passing the Calamity Mane name off to somepony else. I didn't think you would care because I never saw you again. I figured you just wanted to leave that life behind. I loved you, I wanted you to be happy, even if it meant losing you in the process," he shared his side of the story.

"Well, look, you and your troupe can stay here as long as y'all need to. I've come to terms with everything now and I'm still proud of what I accomplished even without you. You should be proud of what you've accomplished without me as well," Cherry got up to leave.

"Before you go, I just want you to know my heart still belongs to you. There ain't no replacing you, that mare outside may have your name, but she'll never have that fiery spark you brought to every show," Buffalo Bull's handlebar mustache twitched as he smiled.

"She's the one taking care of you while you're sick. I'd choose my next words real carefully. Besides, I'm content leaving this past behind me. I'm gonna head on back to my farmhouse before I end up breaking your heart a second time," Cherry climbed down from the cart.

"I could accompany you if you'd like," he offered.

"Not happening. I ain't tryna catch whatever it is you got. I've got work to do around here," she turned to trot away.

"Worth a shot," his laugh turned into a hacking cough and he laid back down to rest.

Cherry trotted back to the kitchen table, Buster was still sitting there.

"How'd it go?" he asked when she sat down.

"Better than I thought. We settled our differences but I made it clear that I'm leaving that chapter of my life behind me. I don't hate him anymore but I don't love him either. I can't. Every time I look into those sad blue eyes of his, it fills my heart with guilt that I walked out on him like that. I can't bear it," she hung her head.

"You should probably get some rest, Cherry, you had a long day," Buster said.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna head on up to bed, Songbird," she got up to head upstairs.

"Good night, Cherry," he stood to head back to his room on the bottom floor.

She turned and kissed him softly on the cheek, "Have a good night, Songbird. I appreciate you putting up with my mess all the time. You're a real trooper."

He blushed, "Well, hey, someone's gotta keep you grounded."

She went up to bed.

Buster sat back down at the kitchen table and turned to face you, "I don't even know where to begin. I ain't talked to y'all in a long time. I guess I'll say that I'm getting used to my new life out here. Starting to feel comfortable in my new skin, I'm starting to feel loved and appreciated, and I'm beginning to feel like I belong. Wherever you are and whatever you do, just remember that you belong. You are loved and appreciated. Also remember that if you got any problems that have yet to be solved that there's always time to fix things. Don't let little things fester into big ones. Don't play big things off like they're little things. I just wanted to touch bases with y'all. Have a good night."

Buster got up and went to his room. He shut the door behind him. He laid down and went to sleep. Today was a little more eventful than he'd like and he held out hope that tomorrow would be a bit less chaotic.

END OF CHAPTER 4!

Familiar Faces

Author's Note

I'm sorry I've had this story on hiatus for so long. I was only gonna leave it on hiatus for a short time and then some things happened in my personal life that caused this hiatus to be almost a year long. I'm trying to get back into writing again but it's taking some time.

I had an idea for this fic that might make it a little more interesting though because I really had no idea where to go with the story after the previous chapter. I don't want to rush it but I also don't want it to drag on because it'll become boring to read and I don't want that. I've decided to just have Buster meet up with his homies at the saloon and engage in some poker-fueled tomfoolery.

I'll quit rambling now and just write the dang chapter. I appreciate y'all.

-AP

Familiar Faces

Buster awoke to the sound of knocking on his door.

Cherry's voice could be heard from the other side, "Get on up, Buster, it's time to get back to work."

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"Too long," Cherry sounded pretty disgruntled.

"Oh, heck, I'm sorry. What do you need my help with? I'll get on it right away!" Buster jumped out of bed and threw his gear on. He had never overslept before. A combination of shame and embarrassment washed over him.

"I took care of most of the cherry pickin' while you was restin' but I'm gonna need your help getting these buckets into the cart and getting the tarp over it. Let's go," Cherry turned and trotted out.

The door flung open and Buster cantered out to catch up to her. He jokingly asked, "Why'd you let me sleep so long?"

"You seemed like you needed the rest. I'm also still getting used to the fact that I ain't gotta do all this by myself anymore. When it got too much for me to handle, that's when I finally admitted defeat and went to go get you," she explained.

"Well, hey, I'm here to help. That's why you hired me. I ain't tryna take advantage of your hospitality," Buster felt guilty.

"Don't worry about it. That being said though, I don't want you make a habit o' that either," Cherry said sternly.

"You got it, boss lady," he had received her message loud and clear.

The two of them made it to the cart where the buckets of cherries sat waiting to be dumped. Cherry dropped the ramp and then Buster helped her lift the buckets up into the cart and dump them. When they were dumped into the cart, she then directed him to the trees she had not picked cherries from yet.

"I need you to shake up them trees. I took out bout half the orchard myself but I'm exhausted. I can't do anymore. I let you sleep as long as I could but while there's still daylight, I want you to get this done," Cherry's boss lady persona was on full force today.

"Consider it done," Buster went to work filling the buckets with cherries and moving them back to the cart. When he'd get there, Cherry would help dump them. When the cart was full, they threw the tarp over it.

"Alright. What do you need help with next?" Buster asked.

"I need you run into Dodge Junction and pick up a few things for baking," Cherry handed him a list and some bits to pay for the items.

He looked at the list, which said:
All Purpose Flour
Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Extract

"Alright, I'll head on over to the general store and grab these. I'll be back soon," Buster turned to leave.

Cherry stopped him and gave her saddle bag to him, "Hang on, you're gonna need this."

"Thank ya. I'll see ya when I get back," Buster started making the trek toward Dodge Junction.

He made it into town and stepped into the store. He hadn't been in here yet. Other than the saloon and the ranch, he hadn't fully explored Dodge Junction like he had originally planned to. He decided he would do that after he took care of his work on the ranch.

"Howdy," the storeowner greeted him.

"How ya doin', sir?" Buster tipped his hat to him.

"I'm alright. If'n ya need help findin' anything, you let me know," the storeowner offered his assistance.

"I'll be sure to do that. Thank ya kindly," Buster tipped his hat to him.

He picked up a bag of flour and carried it to the counter. Once it was there, he marked it off the list.
All Purpose Flour
Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Extract

He was able to stack the regular sugar and powdered sugar and place them both on the counter. He marked them both off the list.
All Purpose Flour
Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Extract

Lastly, he grabbed the vanilla extract.

"I think that's everything," he said to the storeowner as he marked it off the list.
All Purpose Flour
Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Extract

"Alright, your total's gonna be 10 bits," the storeowner replied.

Buster fished out 10 bits and paid for everything. He packed them into the saddlebag and walked toward the door.

"Thank ya. Have a good day," the storeowner waved to Buster.

"You too, sir. I appreciate it," Buster waved back and left the store.

When he got back outside, he had to briefly stop and let his eyes adjust to the sunlight. Once that was done, he decided he'd visit the saloon again to play some cards. It had been quite a while since the last time he visited. The Dealer greeted him when he entered.

"Buster. I was wondering when you'd come visit us again. It's good to see ya," he said.

"Yeah, it's good to see y'all too. I been mighty busy workin' at the Ranch but I was sent to the store to pick up some supplies and I got some time to play a little poker before I bring back the supplies,' Buster sat with them.

"How's work at the Ranch been?" the Dealer asked.

"It's been alright. The work ain't hard, it's just time consumin'. I've harvested cherries, sorted 'em, baked some pies and fritters, almost mended a splintered relationship with my boss and her old flame, it's been quite the adventure so far," he gave him the rundown.

"Sounds like it. I never did introduce myself and my friends last time you were here. My name's Flush. Royal Flush. This here's Dusty Trail, he paid for you to play last time," Royal patted his shoulder.

"Howdy, Dusty. I got some good news for ya, buddy. You won't have to spot me this time because I done got my own money now," Buster smiled.

"That's good to hear, Buster. It's nice to see ya again," Dusty waved.

"So you've met Dusty. This here's Buck Wild, he was here last time," the Dealer looked over at him.

Buck nodded at Buster and he nodded back.

"That's my good buddy, True Grit," he motioned to him.

He grunted and tipped his hat to Buster. Buster nodded.

"This is Deep Pockets. He's the teller over at the bank but you'll see him here with us quite a bit," Royal said.

"That's right. If you're lookin' to open up an account, let me know and I'll be glad to get ya started on that," Deep Pockets offered his services.

"I'll keep ya posted on that. I might need to do that later on," Buster didn't trust banks but remained cordial.

"Two more friends I'd like to introduce to ya. Sittin' to your left is Full Steam, he's an engineer. Drives trains all over Equestria. You've been fortunate to see him out of that train more than once. He's almost always travelin'," Royal joked.

"Last and most certainly not the least, you got my pal sittin' to your right, Quiet Grave. He's got the unfortunate task of undertaking at the cemetery as well as groundskeeping. Don't let that scare you away from talkin' to him though, he really is a nice guy," Royal Flush finished introducing the other ponies at the table.

Quiet Grave's eyes met Buster's and a chill ran down his spine, "Well, uh... I'm glad to have formally met all of you. I'm not the best with names but I'll try to remember. Deal me in next hand and I'll play with y'all for a bit. I'll probably be able to stay a couple rounds before I have to take these supplies back to Cherry Hill."

"You got it," Royal Flush focused his attention back to the table.

The pot was 30 bits. Dusty Trail, Buck Wild, and True Grit had already folded when Buster got there. This left Full Steam, Deep Pockets, and Quiet Grave playing to win.

The King of Clubs, Three of Hearts, and Six of Hearts laid face up on the table. The three remaining players closely guarded their hands. Deep Pockets betted 4 more bits, raising the pot to 34 bits. Quiet Grave called 4 making it 38. Full Steam folded. Royal Flush laid the next card on the table face up which was the Seven of Diamonds. Deep Pockets folded. Quiet Grave revealed his hand, which was a Queen of Diamonds and a Six of Clubs. That Six along with the Six of Hearts on the table meant he had a Pair of Sixes.

"Alright, Quiet, looks like you win this round," Royal Flush took back all the cards and shuffled them. Quiet collected the 34 bits.

Royal Flush passed two cards face down to everypony at the table. Big Blind was Full Steam and Small Blind was Buster. Full Steam placed 4 bits on the table and Buster placed 2. This started the pot at 6 bits. Everypony called 4 raising the pot to 34 once again.

Royal Flush laid the first three cards face up on the table. They were the Three of Clubs, Two of Diamonds, and Six of Diamonds. Everypony checked and the pot remained at 34 bits. The next card was revealed, which was the 5 of Spades. Full Steam betted 4 raising the pot to 38 bits. Buck folded. Dusty and Buster both called 4 raising the pot to 46 bits. True Grit folded. Quiet Grave called 4 and the pot had reached 50. This caused Deep Pockets to fold.

Buster, Full Steam, Quiet Grave, and Dusty Trail were left to play for the win. The final card was revealed, the Seven of Diamonds. Full Steam checked after the most recent call. Dusty checked as well. Quiet folded. Buster bet 8 raising the pot to 58 bits. Full Steam raised to 12 which increased the pot to 70 bits. Dusty folded.

"Take it easy, fellas, the pot's starting to get a little high," Royal warned.

"It's all part of the game. Don't worry about it," Full Steam dismissed.

"Exactly," Buster agreed, raising to 20 and making the pot 90 bits.

"Alright, time for you both to reveal your hands," Royal Flush called off the bets.

The five cards on the table were the Three of Clubs, Two of Diamonds, Six of Diamonds, Five of Spades, and the Seven of Diamonds.

Buster revealed his hand. He had the Four of Hearts and the Two of Spades. His hand was Straight to the Seven, because the cards counted from two to seven.

Full Steam revealed his as well. He had the Three of Diamonds and the Four of Diamonds. Full steam won because his Three was higher than Buster's Two. He collected the 90 bits.

"Well played, I thought for sure I'd won that," Buster couldn't help but laugh.

Full Steam cracked a smile, "Much obliged."

"What do y'all think? Got time for another round?" Royal Flush asked.

True Grit got up from the table, "I have to go now. I'll see y'all next time we meet up here."

They waved goodbye to him. Deep Pockets saw that as an excuse to go back to the bank so he left as well.

"Where's he goin'?" Buster whispered to Royal.

"Don't mind him, he's just scared to lose," he chuckled.

"I believe it," Buster nodded.

"So who's staying and who's going? True Grit and Deep Pockets have called it a day," the dealer asked.

"I think I'm gonna mosey on home. Planned on cookin' tonight and I need to pick up a few things. I'll see y'all later," Buck got up and left.

The others remained seated. Royal Flush shuffled his cards and passed out the new hands. Dusty was Big Blind and Full Steam was Small Blind. They started the pot out at 6 bits. Quiet, Buster, and Full Steam each called, raising the pot to 18 bits. Royal Flush revealed the first three cards. They were the Ace of Spades, the Two of Hearts, and the Four of Diamonds. Dusty betted 4 bits, raising the pot to 22 bits. Quiet folded. Buster and Full Steam checked. The next card was revealed, the Four of Clubs. Dusty and Buster checked. Full Steam betted 4 and the pot was up to 26 bits. Dusty and Buster each called raising the pot to 34 bits. Royal revealed the last card, the Queen of Clubs. Full Steam betted 4 again and the pot was 38 bits. Dusty called and the pot stopped at 42 bits. Buster folded.

"Alright, time to reveal your hands," Royal said.

The five cards on the table were the Ace of Spades, Two of Hearts, Four of Diamonds, Four of Clubs, and Queen of Clubs. Full Steam revealed his hand first. He had the Queen of Hearts and the Seven of Hearts. His hand was Two Pair, Queens and Fours.

"Not bad. Now for your hand, Dusty," Royal turned to him.

Dusty revealed his hand. He had the Five of Spades and the Ace of Clubs. Dusty won with a hand of Two Pair, Aces and Fours. He collected the 42 bits.

All the cards were passed back to Royal and he shuffled again, "Y'all still playing?"

They nodded.

"Alright, here we go again," Royal passed out new cards.

Quiet Grave was Big Blind and Dusty Trail was Small Blind so they continued the tradition of starting the pot at 6 bits. Buster, Full Steam, and Dusty each called 4 raising the pot to 18 bits. Royal placed the first three cards on the table. they were the Six of Spades, the Eight of Diamonds, and the Nine of Spades. Quiet immediately folded. The others checked, the pot remained at 18 bits, and Royal placed the fourth card on the table, the Ten of Spades. Buster bet 8 and raised the pot to 26 bits. The other two called 8 apiece and pot was now 42 bits. The last card was placed on the table, the Five of Spades. Buster bet 8 again and the pot was up to 50 bits. Full Steam called and it raised to 58 bits. Dusty bet 12 and then Buster bet 20 so it went from 58 to 70 to 90 bits. The pot was at 90 bits. Full Steam called and the pot was at 102. Dusty bet 24 and Buster bet 32. The pot was at 158, the highest pot of the day so far.

"158 bits is a lot, are y'all sure y'all wanna keep doing this?" Royal raised an eyebrow.

The others remained quiet, eyes fixed on the pile of bits that laid on the table. Full Steam called and the pot stopped at 178 bits.

"Time to reveal your hands," Royal looked at each one. The five cards on the table were the Six of Spades, the Eight of Diamonds, the Nine of Spades, the Ten of Spades, and the Five of Spades.

Buster revealed his hand, he had the Seven of Spades and the Queen of Hearts. His hand was a Straight to the Ten.

"Not bad. Full Steam?" Royal motioned for him to reveal his cards.

Full Steam's hand was the Ace of Hearts and the Jack of Spades. His hand was a Flush, Jack High.

"Alright, Buster looks like your hand's been beat. All that's left is Dusty's," Royal waited.

Dusty's hand was the Ace of Spades and the Ten of Hearts. His hand was a Flush, Ace High. Dusty won again and he collected the massive pot of 178 bits.

They passed the cards back to Royal Flush.

"Are y'all still playing?" Royal asked.

The others nodded.

"Alright then," Royal dished out new hands.

"This will probably be my last one. I need to get these supplies back to the Ranch," Buster said.

"That's fine. It's been good having you back with us, Buster," Royal replied.

Buster was Big Blind so he had to place 4 bits on the table. Quiet Grave was Small Blind so he had to place 2. As per usual, the pot started at 6 bits. Full Steam, Dusty, and Quiet called raising the pot to 18. Royal laid the first three cards face up on the table. They were the Ace of Clubs, the Nine of Hearts, and the Seven of Hearts. Buster bet 4 and Full Steam folded. Dusty called making the pot 26 bits. The fourth card was revealed, the Ace of Diamonds. Quiet folded. Buster bet 8 and raised the pot to 34 bits. Dusty called and made it 42 bits. The last card was placed on the table, the Six of Diamonds. Buster bet 8 again and made the pot 50 bits. Dusty called one last time and the pot stopped at 58 bits.

Royal breathed a sigh relief, "Glad the pots chilled out. Them high pots were reminding me of Las Pegasus, I was a little worried. Let's see them hands."

The five cards on the table were the Ace of Clubs, the Nine of Hearts, the Seven of Hearts, the Ace of Diamonds, and the Six of Diamonds. Dusty revealed his hand. He had the Two of Diamonds and the Four of Hearts. It didn't match anything. His hand was the one provided by the pot. Pair of Aces, Nine kicker.

Buster revealed his hand. He had the Nine of Clubs an the Queen of Spades. He won with a Two Pair, Aces and Nine. Buster collected the 58 bits and got up from the table.

"It was mighty good playin' poker with y'all again but I need to get back over to Cherry Hill. Boss lady's probably gonna be annoyed with me for getting sidetracked," he dropped the bits in the bag with the baking goods he bought.

"Dang, I saw the Pair of Aces in the pot and thought I might win for the third time in a row," Dusty laughed.

"Yeah, my intention was to stay til I won. Took a lil bit longer than I woulda liked but it's alright," Buster waved goodbye and left the saloon.

"Songbird!" he heard Cherry call his name. He looked and saw her leaning against the wall by the saloon's swinging doors.

"Howdy, Cherry," Buster tipped his hat to her.

"Had a feelin' you was hangin' 'round there when you didn't come back with what I asked for," she teased.

"Don't worry, I picked all that up before I went to play poker," he gave her the bag.

"Let's see. Flour, sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Yep, that's exactly what I asked you to get. I fully expected you to forget," Cherry laughed.

"I took care of the task you assigned me with first, you know you can count on me. Better yet, since I made ya wait, you can keep the 58 bits I won in there. Consider it compensation for makin' ya wait all day," Buster nodded toward the bag.

"I reckon that's a fair trade. Let's head on back," Cherry chuckled and turn to lead the way back to Cherry Hill.

Buster followed. He was glad he got to meet his friends again. It had been too long. He held out hope that he could meet up with them more often. They made it back just before dark and Buster asked Cherry, "Is there anything you need me to get done around here while there's still a lil bit of daylight?"

She thought for a moment, "No, we can worry about bakin' goods another time. We ain't on nopony's time schedule but our own."

"Alright. Think I'm gonna get some rest then," Buster trotted toward his room.

"Have a good night, Songbird," Cherry went up toward her room.

"You too, Cherry" he called back.

END OF CHAPTER 5!