Detour

Chapters

Touchdown
Arrival
Close Encounters of the Pony-Kind
Getting To Know You
Automotive Art
The In's and Out's
Through the Fields We Go
Table Talk
Those Pesky Parasprites
No Sealant Required
Open Sesame
Side One
Side Two
Latin Class Was Worth It
Imprisoned
Clean Slate
Convoy
Scotch And A Manehattan
All That Jazz
Staring Contest
Relationships Are Complicated
The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time
Every Little Bit Helps
Wash Your Worries Away
Beacon of Guidance
Déjà Vu
Golf Balls and Magazines
Never Make Bets
Free Falling
Boogie-Woogie
JATO
Rational Thinking
Chain Reaction
Visions
Inhale
Take A Compliment
Tailgating
Beings
Restoration
Balancing Equation
Only In the Movies
A Crack of the Whip
In the Zone
A Little Patience
Cider+Cigar=Laziness
Clones
First Circle
Anticipation
Eclipse
Sequel
A Vector To Unexpected Places
Breakfast of Unfortunate Events
New Faces, New Places
Cursed
Catnapping On the Job
Fallen Comrades
Intact
Hey all you readers!

Touchdown

Jake was in shock from the sudden event that just occurred. He had almost killed himself and whoever was up there watching him. Not to mention destroying that tower as well. He took some more time to get his bearings straight and came to a conclusion in which he expected would be the best one. He had to land immediately. His fuel was critical and the warning light was flashing. The only problem was that there was nothing but woods and a river beneath him. In the distance he saw a small village and to the immediate east of it there was a large field. But then he realized he didn't have enough fuel to make it. Either he would stall out before he reached the town or he would wind up dead sticking it in. (Which is basically gliding without any power at all.)

As if things couldn't get any weirder, something caught his eye out of the left cockpit window and he turned to face it. If he hadn't caught himself he would've fainted for the third time today. For what Jake saw was astonishing: a white horse with a multicolored mane of various greens, pinks, and blues with a matching tail. She had a horn on the top of her head and on her back were two outstretched wings letting her effortlessly glide along with his plane. What scared Jake though, was the look on her face. He put two and two together and realized that that must've been the thing that was watching him as he narrowly avoided death a couple minutes back. She wasn't happy, and after a couple seconds of gliding beside him, she was gone in a golden flash of light.

Jake thought she was gone until the cockpit was suddenly illuminated with the same golden light that she had disappeared in a second ago. The flash blinded him, causing him to let go of the yoke momentarily, only to scramble for it awkwardly with his new appendages.

Then, as if instantaneous, she was beside him in the cockpit of his aircraft. Glaring at him menacingly.

"What is the meaning of that little stunt you pulled back there! Explain yourself at once!" She bellowed.

"I....I....where am I?!" he stammered.

Once again, she yelled at him with a voice only a person of power could posses, "Do you take me as a fool?! I am your ruler, and I try to be fair and just, yet your lunatic behavior almost got us killed! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Ok this is getting weirder and weirder! I don't know where I am. I'm not even supposed to look like this!" He gestured with one hoof up and down his new body. "I was flying in my own world, when all of a sudden I was hit by a bolt of lightning I think. I woke up and saw that I was flying in an unfamiliar valley and I saw myself looking like this. I passed out twice while my plane kept going on autopilot. I woke up again just in time to narrowly avoid hitting that tower back there, and now here we are. I swear that's what happened." He looked on with an honest face, yet Celestia wasn't fully convinced.

"You expect me to believe this? That you "somehow" transported through dimensions and now your in a different world. You look just like anypony else in Equestria. Prove me wrong then." She said.

"Fine. Uh, hold on I think I know what to get."

He reached back and got his flight log from behind him. Surprisingly, grasping things with hooves wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. He opened to the first page and took out his pilots liscense from the front sleeve of the logbook and handed it to her.

"See, that's what I looked like before I was somehow transported here." he said.

The sun goddess looked at the card in silence. Undoubtedly, there was a picture of Jake; tall, brown hair and brown eyes with rimless glasses on his face.

"I...I've never seen anything like you before. What are you?" She asked.

Jake replied, "Well I WAS a species known as a human before I came here. Now I'm a horse I guess."

Celestia let her anger fade and adorned a small smile. "Well first off your a pony, not a horse, and uh...it says here your name is Jake Weston, captain for an organization known as American Flightline. Is that correct?"

"Yeah that's about right. And who are you, and how can you fly and teleport just like that?!" He asked.

Celestia held up a hoof to silence him and relax. "I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, raiser of the sun. Ill explain the magic and flying later."

Jake however, was having a hard time processing this information about his new passenger. "Oh uh....well it's an...honor? To uh...meet you I guess."

Celestia let out a small laugh. "I understand your confusion. But lets get to the important issues at hand. I need you to stop this machine as soon as possi-" Celestia was cut off by the sound of a warning horn and a flashing light that read bingo fuel.

Jake sighed, "uh...I think that's about to be sooner than you think."

Celestia looked panicked, "What do you mean by that?!" She looked out of the right cockpit window to the two propellers on the wing. The engine closest to the fuselage began to sputter. Finally the prop slowed to a halt. Jake knew he had limited options, so he opted for the emergency landing.

"Ok look, we're almost out of fuel and we're gonna lose the other engines and crash if I don't set this thing down somewhere flat immediately!" He pulled back the throttle that controlled the now dead engine and turned off it's fuel flow.

"You should probably get off the plane right now. I'm not sure what's gonna happen."

Celestia replied, "Even though I don't know what this thing is, I feel like it would create a lot of damage if it goes down. So I'm staying aboard to see this through."

Jake sighed, "As you wish. Ok sit down and strap in, it's gonna get a little bumpy."

Celestia complied and sat down in the copilot seat and buckled the harness in. With the three remaining engines, Jake pulled back and went into a steady climb. He was about five miles away from the landing sight, and wanted as much altitude for maximum gliding distance incase the other engines went out.

Sure enough, the two engines on the left wing sputtered to a halt after a couple minutes. With one remaining engine, the C-130 no longer had the power to climb, so he leveled off at eight thousand feet and limped towards the village, praying for the best.

Jake planned out his landing. He would turn to the west and come up the right side of the town. Then he would make a sharp left turn, fly over the town, and touchdown in the field. He opted to land away from the town incase he went farther than he thought. He didn't want to risk the lives of anyone living in the buildings if he hit them.

He began to execute his plan as he explained to his new "copilot" the procedure.

"How do you land something like this?" She asked.

"All I have to do is line up the nose of the aircraft with the field, lower the landing gear, touch down at the slowest possible speed as far back as I can, then slam on the brakes and prey I don't run into the trees at the other end. Simple really." he chuckled to himself.

"It doesn't sound simple, but if this is your profession, I trust you'll make the right decision." she said.

Jake was losing altitude fast due to the one engine not being powerful enough to maintain level flight. As he rolled out of the final turn he was perfectly aligned with the makeshift runway. The only thing between him and safety was the village. It would've been easy if not for the red barn on an orchard of some sort straight ahead looming dangerously close to his intended descent rate.

Being that the entire orchard was raised on hilly ground, the barn itself was high enough to be in his glide path. If he could clear the barn, he could glide over the rest of the town just high enough to make it to the field. Jake knew he wouldn't make it though unless he did something now. He thought for a second, then turned to Celestia, "Ok I know what to do, take the reins for a second, I'll be right back."

"Wha-?! I don't know what I'm doing here! You can't leave me in control, I'll kill us both!"

Jake raised his voice over the warning signal indicating the last engine was about to die, "Look, just keep this yoke from moving around and just make small corrections to keep us aimed at that field, I'll be right back!"

She yelled back for him, "What are you doing?!"

He stopped and turned to look at her, "I'm going to 'lighten the load', so to speak."

With that he dashed out of the cockpit and down the ladder into the rear cargo hold, leaving the bewildered Princess to control this strange piece of machinery.

"Ok" she thought, "your the ruler of a nation, I think you can do this. If you fail, Ponyville will be damaged, it's your duty to protect your subjects and thats what I intend to do." She narrowed her eyes and took control of the yoke, keeping the now gliding aircraft steady.

Back in the cargo hold, Jake ran back to a red lever on the wall of the fuselage. He pulled down, and after much struggle, eventually freed the lever which let off a hydraulic hiss. Seconds later, the giant cargo ramp in the very rear of the aircraft began to lower, bathing the interior of the plane in the suns yellow rays. Jake squinted at the sudden change of brightness and made his way over to the many ammunition boxes being stored in front of the Ferrari. He had to shed weight to clear the barn, and being a gear head back on earth he would never push a brand new supercar out the back of a moving aircraft, so he opted for the ammo. It was heavier anyways.

The wind swirling around him from the open ramp was making this task a little harder. He managed to reach into his pocket and pull out his Swiss Army knife he always carried with him. He held the knife handle in his mouth and hastily cut the cords securing the boxes. He clambered up the stack, and one by one, with much effort and leverage, he was able to tumble them off the pallet onto another one sitting in front of the two automobiles.

The C-130 was equipped with pallets that slid along rails then flew out the back for when the military wanted to do moving airdrops. So he thought he'd do the same thing with the ammo boxes.

Getting as many crates as he could off by pushing them down from the top, he managed to load at least half of them onto the sliding pallet. He couldn't move any more because that would mean having to lift the crates onto the pallet, and each one weighed about five hundred pounds. Six were piled on the pallet as he began to push. He hoped that would be enough as he grunted and heaved with all his strength, slowly the pallet began to move down the cargo hold on the rail between the vehicles.

Celestia was worried now, the barn was roughly thirty seconds away and closing in fast. She didn't know what to do other than keep it steady as Jake had instructed her to do. "Jaaaaaaake!" She yelled, "Hurry up back there, we're about to hit!"

Back in the chaotic whirlwind of a cargo hold, Jake gained momentum as the pallet moved faster down the rail towards the ramp. Finally, the pallet slid free from his grip and coasted the rest of the way down the angled ramp and flew out the back, disappearing from sight leaving nothing behind. He felt the plane lurch upwards from the sudden decrease in weight. He ran back up to the cockpit, shutting the ramp on his way. He arrived back just in time to see the barn disappear under the plane, but there was a small steeple-like structure at the front of the roof sticking up, and the plane ripped through it like tin foil. It was weak enough that it didn't cause any damage albeit a few scratches were made. Jake jumped back into the captain's seat and quickly took command once more over the lumbering giant, and began the emergency procedure, ready to touchdown.

Five minutes ago:

Applejack had been in the orchard bucking apples all morning. The farm pony was tired and eager to get the days work done so she could have the rest of the day off.

She noticed her brother, Big Macintosh, out in front of the barn. "Hey Big Mac!" She yelled. "Gimme a hand with these here apple carts and take them inta the barn with me. I gotta get these things ready for sortin' tomorrow mornin', or else we'll be behind schedule."

"Eeyup!"

"Thanks Mac, ah sure do appreciate the hel....what in tarnation?.....Mac look out!!"

Without warning, a massive machine came out of nowhere and flew right over there barn. It missed the roof but shattered the steeple at the front of it. Sending wood cascading down on top of the red earth pony, knocking him out cold.

Applejack looked on as the machine continued its course for the field on the other side of town.

She ran over to her brother who was buried in wood and nails. "Mac?! Mac are you okay?!"

If anyone were asked to describe Ponyville on a normal day, some of the most common responses would be peaceful, or quiet. However, as everypony would soon find out, today was not going to be a normal day.

The shops were open for business, the townsfolk were going about their day to day tasks. A certain pink pony was frantically bouncing around, offering free samples of delicious cupcakes to the passerby. Nopony could predict what was about to happen, as a giant metal machine swooped in from the direction of Sweet Apple Acres and glided over the town, narrowly missing all the rooftops. It casted a dark shadow over the town hall as it passed over, stopping many citizens in their tracks to look on in stunned silence.

A rainbow maned pegasus was practicing her flight routines as the machine thundered in, it's left wing missing her by inches.

"What the hay was that?! Hey get back here! You've got some explaining to do buddy!" With that she took off after it.

A certain purple unicorn who had been walking through town with her head in a book, looked up in time to see the giant bird-like machine glide over. She stopped and spoke up, "I think it's heading for the meadow outside of town. C'mon everypony!"

Jake was seconds away from touching down. He started reciting emergency procedures to himself as he executed them. "Full flaps...spoilers armed...ok this is it, brace yourself, I don't know how rough this terrain is."

Celestia spoke up, "From what I recall, it's adequately smooth, you shouldn't have trouble here."

"Well that's a relief." he said.

The automatic voice in the cockpit started announcing the approach altitude. A robotic male voice sounded out in the cabin.
"Fifty...forty...thirty...twenty...ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two..."

They both braced themselves when he shouted out, "HANG ON!"

The C-130's landing gear hit the grass hard and began rolling towards the trees at the end of the field. Jake slammed the brakes on and prayed for the best.

Arrival

Twilight Sparkle led the throng of Ponyville citizens in the direction of the machines landing site. She hoped that whatever it was, it didn't have bad intentions.

All of the sudden, her friend Applejack ran up to her. Twilight could tell she was in a foul mood.

She yelled at Twilight, "Lets go an' sick that no good varmin! Why ah tell you when I get mah hooves on that no good low down piece of-"

"Applejack!" Twilight interrupted, "What in the hay has gotten into you?!"

Applejack retorted, "Ah tell y'all! That good for nothin pony flew his fancy contraption over mah orchard, smashed the roof o' mah barn, and the debris knocked out Big Mac and injured one of his legs! So like ah said, when I get mah hooves on that son of a-!" She was stopped by a purple hoof over her mouth.

She tried reasoning with the farm pony, "Applejack, has it occurred to you that maybe this was all an accident? That maybe whoever was controlling that machine had no options left?"

Applejack didn't want to hear it, "So his option is to take off the roof of mah barn?!"

"It could be a her." Twilight said, cringing at the rage she had just instilled in her orange friend by accidentally saying something smart like that.

"Arrrg! Ahm gonna get that swine!" and with that she was gone, running ahead of Twilight and the others to get to the landing site.

Rarity approached the lavender unicorn next, hoping she could shed some light on the situation.

"I say Twilight, whatever was that thing that just flew over the town?" she said.

Twilight responded, "I'm not exactly sure Rarity, but we're all going to find out now." She gestured back to the crowd in pursuit made up of about fifty ponies or so.

Rarity spoke again, "Well, I want to have a word with the owner of that contraption, because whoever decided to paint such a ghastly shade of grey on it clearly has no sense of style whatsoever and must be educated on the subject at once!"

Twilight just rolled her eyes and sighed at the fashionista's comment and continued on, only to be approached by a pink pony who seemed very hyperactive at the moment.

"Ohmygosh! A new pony in town! This calls for a super duper spectacular Welcome to Ponyville party! Yay!"

The party pony was stopped by Twilight, who was by now getting very annoyed, "Pinkie Pie please hold off on the party talk. We don't know what this thing is or what its reason for being here is."

Pinkie seemed a little let down at hearing this, but immediately resumed being her normal over-energetic self.

"Okie lokie dokey then! But after we meet him and ask them some questions, THEN I get to throw him or her my super duper spectacular Welcome to Ponyville party! Deal?!"

Twilight sighed, agreeing with her was the easiest way out of this situation, "Ugh, fine Pinkie. But AFTER all my questions have been answered, alright?"

"Mhmm!" she said. Then the pink pony proceeded to hop along with the rest of them, eager to welcome the new visitor.

"I...I hope he or she is nice..." Twilight recognized that voice only to be one of her other good friends, Fluttershy, who had caught up to the trio leading the crowd of ponies.

"Yes Fluttershy, I hope he or she is nice too, and I hope they're ok. It didn't seem like that was supposed to happen that way. I think the machine they're flying in is broken. It's just a hunch, but I've got a feeling I'm right on this one." Twilight said.

Fluttershy responded, "Oh...well I thought the same thing, so um...I brought my first aid kit I use on my animals that get injured just incase he or she is hurt...if that's ok with you." Sure enough, a white saddle bag with a red cross on the side of it was resting on her left side.

Twilight could only smile at her friend's nature of caring for ponies in need, "Yes Fluttershy, that's perfect. I do hope they're ok." Then she looked around and wondered aloud, "Hey, has anybody seen Rainbow Dash?"

Five minutes ago:

The wheels of the C-130 touched down with a heavy thud. Then the nose gear touched down. Immediately after, Jake applied full brakes and pushed the nose down, a tactic he learned in order to slow down quicker on soft-field landings.

He turned to Celestia and said, "Look, there's no sense in both of us getting hurt or killed. Do your teleport thingy and get out of here before something happens. You've helped me as much as you can."

As much as she wanted to argue, she knew he was right, she had nothing else to offer in assistance. She faced him and said, "Very well, as much as I hate doing this, you're right. Ill be back in a couple minutes I promise. Please be safe." She looked ahead to the trees which were only about two hundred yards away and closed her eyes. In a split second, a flash of golden light bathed the cockpit. As quickly as it appeared, it had gone, taking the Princess with it.

Princess Luna was sitting in the throne room up on the dais, grumbling to herself about her big sister making her leave the tower, speaking to nopony in particular.

"She thinks I'm a foal! She thinks I'm incapable of handling any situation! I'm the Princess of the Night! I raise the moon and set the stars! I am perfectly capable of dealing with an unwanted visitor!"

Before she had any time to go on, her sister appeared before her looking rather flustered. Luna was surprised and irritated at her, and had a few choice words to say to the Sun Goddess.

"There you are! Do you realize it's been an hour since you sent me down here! I shall tell you right now that I am not a foal and I am capable of handling myself in a situation like that!"

Celestia looked at her, puzzled. Not from Luna's words, but from her own actions.

"This isn't right." she said. "I must've not been paying attention when I teleported, and now I'm back here at the castle instead of the landing site. Luna, lets go! We need to get back to Ponyville immediately!"

It was Luna's turn to be puzzled now, "Sister whatever are you talking about? What was that thing, and who was in it? Was it an alien come to harvest our brains?! Ill have that scum put in the dungeon for eternity!" She violently slammed her front hooves down on the arm rests of the throne.

"Luna there's no time, ill explain on the way. My magic is much too drained to teleport us both there so we'll have to take the Royal Chariot. Come on!"

Luna complied and ran after her sister, leaving the throne room and heading towards the chariot landing strip on the castle grounds.

The C-130 was only fifty yards from the trees and closing in, still rolling at a fast pace. Jake closed his eyes and waited for the the impact. Immediately, he was viciously thrown forward and hit his head on the yoke, producing a cut above his left eye. The brown pony winced at the pain from the blow and expected the cockpit glass to start shattering around him from the impact with the trees, but it never came. After a couple seconds of silence, he fought the pain and looked up through the windshield, and breathed a sigh of relief. The plane's front landing gear had rolled into a very soft, wet spot in the grass and caused it to sink, stopping the plane abruptly only thirty yards from the tree line.

The aircraft's nose was sunk down to it's belly in the mud, and the tail end was still above ground, now tilted slightly upwards.

He laughed and spoke to himself, something he didn't do quite often, "Well Jake, you managed once again to come out of a sticky situation alive and unscathed. Well, almost unscathed." He looked up and felt his cut. He pulled his hoof from his forehead, which was now stained with blood. "I should probably get this treated now....what the?...uh oh...I think I might be in some big trouble."

He looked back through the mirror towards Ponyville to see a flying cyan pony with a rainbow mane, accompanied by an orange pony with a blonde mane adorning a stetson hat on her head, running along below her. Both were unmistakably making a beeline for his plane. The two didn't seem to have much in common except for one thing, they both didn't look too happy.

Close Encounters of the Pony-Kind

Jake reached into the center console of the cockpit behind the throttle quadrant and pulled out his pilots liscense he had put there after showing it to Celestia, he thought it'd be best to have it just in case.

The pain to his forehead commenced once again, and he answered its call by putting pressure on it with a rag he found in the console. Using his right hoof to hold the cloth, he used his left to unbuckle the harness he was in to get out of the aircraft before those mad ponies he saw a second ago got to him. Unfortunately, he wasn't successful as the rainbow maned pony slammed down on the nose of the plane, glaring at him with frightening eyes through the windshield. The glass was high grade, practically bulletproof material, yet he didn't feel to safe at the moment. Due to his window next to him being cracked open a little bit, he was able to hear her crystal clear.

"What the hay is your problem mister! You coulda killed me back there! Do you know who I am?! I'm the fastest flyer in all of Equestria, and that stunt you pulled back there almost took me down! Lemme in there so I can teach you a lesson you mother-" her rant was interrupted by a lasso swinging up onto the nose of the plane and tightening around a handle that was used to gain access to the avionic's components. He assumed this was the orange pony he saw running along side this crazy rainbow one now identified to him as Rainbow Dash. How she was that skilled in aiming the lasso he would never know. After a few seconds, she appeared over the front of the nose and joined Rainbow Dash in her stare-down.

"Do realize what you just done you low down varmit?! You destroyed the roof of mah barn and injured my brother! Boy when I getting hooves on you you'll be sorry you ever messed around with the Apple family!"

Jake could only sit there in shock, one hoof still over his bleeding wound, and the other on the buckle of the last strap keeping him in his prison of painful stares from the two ponies looking in. Finally, he got the courage to say something.

"Look, I'm sure you're very upset with what I did."

"Your darn right we are!" Applejack interrupted.

Jake continued, "But you have to believe me! What I did wasn't on purpose, my airplane ran out of fuel after being transported here by some weird bolt of electricity. I flew for a couple hours unconcious. It's a miracle I didn't crash THEN now that I think about it." He drifted off topic to think about his luck in surviving while knocked out, but blinked a few times to bring him back to the present and continued. "Anyways, I had to land. Seeing that this field was the only spot flat and long enough to land. I opted for it. It was just an unfortunate coincidence that your barn was in the way. I couldn't gain anymore altitude because I had no more engine power. So you see, I didn't want this to happen...hell I didn't want ANY of this to happen, I'm lost, tired, hurt, I don't even know what world I'm in! I'm somehow a pony now, and to be honest...I'm pretty scared." He let out a long sigh and leaned back into the seat, staring off past Applejack and Rainbow Dash, thinking to himself.

Being the Element of Honesty, Applejack could tell there was some truth to his rebuttal. So being the kind pony she was, she decided to give him a chance.

"Alright then mister, if what you say is true, then ahm willin' ta give y'all a chance. But I still don't trust ya as far as I can throw ya."

Jake realized this was the best he was going to get from her, and was happy with it.

"Very well, I'm sorry for the trouble I put you and your brother through." He turned to Rainbow Dash, "And I'm sorry for almost hurting you, I'll make it up to both of you somehow, but for now I need to get this head wound patched up and get out of this plane. Is there a pers-er um, pony, that I could talk to that has some authority around here. I need to explain the situation to them."

Applejack leaned off to the side of the nose and looked off behind the plane. Getting a full view of the rest of her friends followed by half the town closing in on the crash sight. She smirked and turned back towards him.

"Well mister, I think they're here already."

Jake pulled the window open enough to stick his head through. He looked back in the direction Applejack had been looking and saw what she saw.

"Gee, I wanted one pony, not the whole calvary. Guess I better go introduce myself and clear up the mess between us. Hop down and meet me in the very back of the plane, I'll open the cargo ramp."

He proceeded to unbuckle the last harness and rise from the seat onto his three new legs, the fourth still being occupied by the now blood soaked cloth. He started to get a little dizzy from rising so fast and had to regain his balance. The cut must've been deeper than he thought because it was bleeding more profusely than before.

Applejack clambered down from the nose and made her way to the back of the plane, Rainbow Dash hovered down next to her, floating just off the ground. Both observed the C-130's massive wingspan and huge engines as they walked under them into the long shadow they casted. They looked powerful.

"Y'all ever see anythin' like this before Dash?" she asked.

"Not in my lifetime, pshh I can probably fly faster than this thing."

Applejack rolled her eyes, "Yer probably right, but look at it, it allows an earth pony like him to fly without natural wings. And it's huge. I don't think I've ever seen a machine this big."

Their conversation was ended by their arrival to the planes tail end. A minute later, Twilight and everyone else joined them. There were quiet murmurs around the crowd on what this enormous contraption sitting before them really was. Twilight stopped the murmurs with a raised hoof and proceeded to interrogate the farm pony and the tom-colt pony about their encounter with whomever it was up there.

"So did you see them? What are they like. Are they injured?"

Applejack brought up a hoof and silenced the unicorn.

"Twilight, calm down. Yes we saw him and he said his landin' here was an accident." She proceeded to tell the studious pony everything about their encounter and what he explained to them as she took notes, using her magic to levitate a quill.

Back in the C-130, Jake was feeling very woozy, but made his way down into the cargo hold. He had trouble walking straight and had to constantly lean up against the Dodge still strapped down next to him. He made his way to the back and leaned against the front grill of the black truck to regain his composure.

"Ok, you can do this, just be calm, cool and collected, and everything will work out fine."

He slowly worked his way over to the red lever on the side of the fuselage and pulled down. The lever wouldn't budge. He gave it a second go, hanging almost all of his weight on it, until it freed and came down, releasing the same hydraulic hiss from before. He looked over as a crack of white light appeared where the ramp started to open and squinted into it. Not noticing the blood that had filled the rag and was now streaming down the side of his face.

Outside, everyone looked on in anticipation as the cargo door started to open. It slowly descended, the mechanism controlling the ramp making a high-pitched whine as it let it down. Seconds later, the door was down, and everyone looked at him and gasped. He was standing there, hoof still on his forehead, with blood running down his face.

"Uh, what's wrong?" He looked up and felt around his face with his rag-hoof. He felt wetness all around his face.

"Aw crap." Then, for the third time in one day, Captain Jake Weston fell to the floor, unconscious.

Getting To Know You

There was darkness all around Jake as he laid flat and motionless. The only sound he could hear was the constant beeping of a heart monitor. He concluded he was in a hospital, then it all came back to him. How he had hit his head on the yoke during the landing and then collapsed in front of everyone.

"Oooh goodie! He's ok! Now I can throw him my Super Duper Spectacu-"

"Shhhh! Be quiet girls, I think he's waking up." said Twilight.
He couldn't recognize her voice, but the next voice he CLEARLY recongnized as the orange pony from his little encounter a while ago.

"I reckon he is. Mister, hey mister, wake up!"
With that he opened his eyes and gazed up at the white hospital celing.

"Ugh, where the hell am I?" he said.
Twilight spoke up and turned to face the stranger.

"Ahem, uh hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal protigee." Rainbow Dash was sitting in a corner, and rolled her eyes at the statement.

"Anyways, you're in Ponyville General Hospital after suffering a small concussion and a deep cut to your head above your left eye."
Jake looked around at everyone else in the room. "These must be her friends." he thought. Then he turned back to Twilight and sat up in his bed.

"Um hi everyone. My name is Captian Jake Weston of American Flightline and I...." Then it clicked in his head. "Wait, Twilight was it?" She nodded. "You said you were Princess Celestia's student, well if you know her so well do you know where the hell she is? She said she'd be here when I landed. Unless she ditched me or something."
Twilight was stunned at this statement.

"Wait, why would she do something like that?!" she asked.
Jake was a little iterated at the Sun Goddesse's lie that she'd wait for him.

"Well she kinda teleported onto my aircraft before I landed here and helped me bring it down safely, she was pretty good at flying it considering she'd never seen anything like that before."

"I'm flattered to say the least."
Everyone turned and gasped. Before them in the doorway of the room stood Princess Celestia, accompanied by a grumpy looking Luna. Everyone bowed except for Jake, who felt very awkward at the moment. Then he cleared his throat and addressed the Princess in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"Well it's good to see you again, I thought you ditched me at the field. Well I guess you kinda did. But what happened? Why weren't you there?"
Celestia had a look of shame on her face due to the fact that she had let somepony in need down like that.

"Jake I am so sorry I left you. As I was teleporting I was so focused on the situation at hand that I didn't focus on WHERE to teleport to. My natural instinct just teleported me back to Canterlot Castle's throne room. After arriving, my magic was too drained to come back to Ponyville via teleportation, so I took Luna and boarded the Royal Chariot to get here as quick as possible. I'm sorry for any trouble I caused."

Jake felt like an idiot to assume she had just ditched him. He thought to himself, "she's the ruler of a God damned nation, do you think she'd revert to doing something assholes in high school do to each other?"
Planning out his apology as he went, he spoke in a very solemn tone.

"I...I'm sorry for assuming you of all peop-uh ponies 'man I have to watch that' would do something so low. I was a fool for doing so."
Celestia smiled and said, "You have nothing to be apologetic for, I made the error."

Jake turned to the other six ponies and spoke to them.

"Well I guess I'll be here for a while. The C-130 is bogged down to the belly, and even if it wasn't, I don't have enough room to take off again. But lets say I had both of those problems fixed. It wouldn't matter because I'm out of fuel. Not a drop left." He looked out the window and chuckled to himself. "Man the stuff that can happen in a day."

It was Rarity's turn to speak up now.

"Actually darling, you've been passed out for about sixteen hours now. It's nine in the morning."
Jake was stunned to say the least.

"What?! It was only a little cut!" Then he turned to Celestia.

"Wait, I thought you said you came back as quick as possible. Wouldn't you have been here by now?"

Celestia replied, "By the time we got back here, you had been emitted into the hospital and were still unconcious. Being royalty I wanted to lay low until I heard you were awake so I could actually talk to you. So me and Luna stayed on the outskirts of town until I heard you'd awoken."

"Well thank you then for your concern. Im stuck here for awhile I think. As I said, the plane isn't going anywhere."
Applejack's interest perked up at the reference of his plane again.

"What exactly is that contraption that we saw yesterday. It was like a giant metal bird of some sorts." she said.
Jake had a confused look plastered on his face, and Celestia caught wind of it.
"We don't have 'aircraft' here in Equestria. We have hot air balloons, but nothing like everypony saw back there. Please explain to us what it is. Even I'm not to sure and I'm curious to know."
Everyone sat down and directed their attention to the captain. Jake began his explanation.

"Well how do I begin. What you saw back there was a Lockheed C-130 Hercules, or just C-130 for short. Basically it's a machine that lets me fly myself along with heacy cargo long distances across the country. It uses fuel to power the four propellers on the wings. Two on either side. It's hard to describe exactly what it is without showing you. So when I get out of here, I'll show you the plane." He turned to the rest of the ponies in the room. "You all can come too I guess. But we haven't been properly introduced yet. You know my name, but I don't know any of yours."

Twilight took the role of introducer, and stepped forward.

"Well you've already met me. But these are my closest friends. This here is Rarity. She runs a fashion store in town called the Carousel Boutique." The purple maned unicorn batted her eyelashes and waved to him.

Twilight continued, "This is Pinkie Pie, she works at the local bakery, Sugarcube Corner." The party pony bounced up and down at her name being said.

"Yuppers, that's me! Ooh Im gonna have so much fun planning your Welcome to Ponyville party!"

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Er yeah ok, anyways, this is Fluttershy, she takes care of animals and is, well uh...shy." The pegasus had her face hidden in her mane and looked down at the floor.

"This is Applejack, she runs Sweet Apple Acres just outside of town, and from what she's told me, you two have already met." Twilight tried to suppress laughter at the thought of this new pony being attacked by her friend. She could be very "intimidating" at times.

Applejack however, looked the opposite of intimidating as she spoke to him.

"Ahm sorry for assumin' things when ah should've asked first and got the details. Mah brother forgives ya too after ah told him why that happened to you and that hittin' our barn was a mistake."

Jake was confused. "Wait, what happened to your brother?"

"Well when y'all hit our barn, some debris came flyin' down an' fell on top o' him. He has a bump to his head an' his left front leg was beat up mighty bad. But it didn't break, an' I'm assumin' he'll be right back up in a weeks time. Nothin to worry about."

The pilot opened and closed his mouth a couple times, unsure of what to say.

"I need to go apologize to him. I never intended for anypony to get hurt. 'Huh, their lingo is rubbing off on me already.' I'm sorry for any trouble I caused you. I also intend to work off my debt and pay you back for the damages somehow."

Applejack grinned, "Well thank ya kindly parter, it'd be nice to have someone to take over doin' Big Mac's chores while he's out."

Twilight spoke up again.

"Well now that's all settled lets continue. This here is Rainbow Dash, she's the weather captain here in Ponyville."

"And?"

"Oh yes, and she's the fastest flyer in Equestria."

"Darn right I am! And I'm sorry for assuming things too. But watch where your going next time got it flyboy?"

Jake rolled his eyes.

"Yes ill try to be more careful next time...if there is a next time." Jake sighed and turned to Twilight, who only had one more pony to introduce.

"And last but not least, is Princess Luna. She is Celestia's sister and the co-ruler of Equestria." Luna looked at Jake and spoke.

"Charmed. I heard all about your arrival on my way over here. I must say, you made my day hearing about how much you scared my sister by asking her to take control of your aircraft."

Celestia looked annoyed.

"Oh Luna, you would've been just as scared as I was. Anyways, now that we have the introductions out of the way, I would like you to show me that aircraft in greater detail than I saw before."

"Well I'd love to. But I'm stuck here in this hospital until they release me."

Celestia laughed and held up his release form in a yellow aurora of magic and said, "Jake, being the ruler of Equestria has it's perks." She stepped aside and gestured towards out the door.

"Shall we?"

Automotive Art

Jake led the group of eight ponies out of the hospital room and into the lobby. Princess Celestia turned to Jake.

"Luna and I will teleport to the landing site, as I said before, being royalty tends to attract some attention that I don't need at the moment. So we'll be waiting for you there. Twilight will show you how to get there from here."
With that the two Princesses were gone in a flash of golden light. Twilight got to the front of the group.

"Well then, c'mon and follow me. Ill lead the way."
Everyone followed Twilight out of the hospital into the hot afternoon sun. Jake looked around and was amazed at what he saw. The town now known to him as Ponyville, was colorful and full of life. Everywhere he looked ponies were smiling and greeting each other. Shop keepers and vendors were open and bustling with business. Jake turned to Rarity, who was walking next to him.

"Gee, is it this...happy everyday?"
Rarity was amused at this comment.

"Why yes darling, Ponyville is always in an upbeat mood if I do say so myself. Is it not as nice where you come from. Judging by your appearance you seem to be from Manehattan, am I correct?"

"Well I-" Rarity interrupted.

"Or Trottingham? Your mane style practically screams Trottingham."
Jake was rather embarrassed.

"I'm not from here, or Manehattan, or Trottingham."
Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"So where ARE you from then?"

The pilot looked around nervously and thought to himself. "Well I might as well tell them the truth, they probably won't believe me anyways."
Then he answered.

"Well to be honest, I'm not from this uh...world, really. I'm from a place called Earth. I actually wasn't a pony before, I was a species known as a human. And to answer your question Rarity, no, certain places back in my world aren't as nice as this."

Everyone looked back at him with a skeptical look, but then just seemed to shrug it off and keep walking with him.

"Well in that case, this calls for a Super Duper Double Party! A Welcome to Ponyville party AND a Welcome to Equestria party! All wrapped into one giant awesome mega super ultra party!!!" Pinkie kept bouncing circles around him smiling to herself. Jake was astonished at their reactions to his background.

"Wait just a minute. None of you are skeptical or shocked that I'm basically an ALIEN from another planet?! Or do you just not believe me and think that I'm crazy now?"
Applejack turned to face him.

"Nah, we believe y'all sugarcube, but it's just not as big of a deal as ya might think. No offense though. See we all have had some wild n' crazy things happen here in Ponyville, and this don't seem to much crazier than anythin' we've dealt with."
Jake blinked a few times to comprehend what she said.

"Well alright then, I guess I'm just like everypony else here. So I should make the best of it."

The conversation had taken up almost the entire walk. Soon, they had arrived at the edge of the field. The plane was visible about a half mile away, the fuselage gleaming off the hot sun, still angled from the nose being bogged down. They were approached by two white stallions in gold plated armour, Jake assumed these guys were some sort of authority, and after seeing each one wielding a sword in a holster, he thought it'd be wise to stay on their good side. The one on the right addressed them.

"Good day Miss Sparkle. Her Majesty informed me you would be arriving shortly. She is currently waiting at the uh, what was it?"
Jake raised his head up from the back of the small crowd.

"Airplane, it's called an airplane."
The guard looked at Jake.

"Ah yes, thank you, you must be the owner of said airplane." He nodded. "Well anyways, follow me Miss Sparkle. We're keeping this place off limits to civilians right now because we don't want everypony crowding the site and possibly damaging property."
Jake was impressed.

"Wow, thanks. That's kind of you guys."

"Just doing our duties sir, just doing our duties."

The group was escorted by the guard through the grassy field for awhile before arriving at the tail end of the C-130, the cargo ramp still down. The chrome grill and bumper of the Dodge was reflecting the suns rays, and lit up the tarp that was covering the Ferrari. Celestia walked out from the darkness between the two automobiles and made her way down the ramp towards them.

"Well hello again. Luna and I have been waiting inside the plane where it's shaded. She's still up in the front observing all the complex buttons and levers. I have to say, now that I have a closer look at everything, it is quite complicated. I hope you don't mind us being in here right now, it's incredibly hot outside."

"No I don't mind at all, you can't really harm anything in there."
Celestia nodded.

"Thank you. Anyways before you explain the aircraft, please tell me what exactly is this giant black carriage looking thing with wheels, as well as the one sitting next to it under the cover."

For the first time since his arrival, Jake was actually excited to reveal something he had brought along with him. Smiling to himself he walked over to the Ferrari and went behind it to where the main strap was holding the tarp down.

"So I'm assuming you don't have automobiles here in Equestria as well. It's basically a motorized 'carriage' powered by fuel, just like the plane, but made a different way. This particular automobile however, is truly an amazing piece of work."
He was out of sight while he was under the car undoing the straps. Rainbow Dash hovered above the car, keen to get a closer look. Jake saw her and shooed her off.

"No no, go down to the end of the cargo ramp, I think it's best if you see this in the light."

Everyone complied and backed down the ramp to the end, standing in the grass about ten feet away.

Rarity turned back before exiting.

"Well now I'm excited to see what this is."
She left leaving Jake alone in the cargo bay. He got up after unfastening the straps and ripped the tarp off. Sitting before him was the red Italia in all it's glory. Jake was drooling and ogling at the luxury vehicle.

"Trust me, I'm much more excited than you."
He walked around and opened the drivers door. Luckily it was unlocked. He got in and shut the door behind him. Being a pony, it was awkward sitting up at first, but with some quick adjustments, he managed to get seated comfortably. He looked around for a moment to savor the experience of being inside this work of automotive art. It still had that new car smell which he always loved. The keys were still in the ignition for when the owner picked it up on the tarmac upon his arrival. Jake laughed.

"Sorry for using your car buddy, but this is just too much fun to resist."
With that he used his right hoof to turn the key. After a second of turning over, the five hundred and seventy horse power V8 engine roared to life, vibrating the floor of the cargo hold.

Everyone outside, including the guards who were stationed there, turned their heads to see what the noise was. After a few seconds of revving, the car rolled down off the cargo hold and onto the ramp.

Everyone's jaws dropped at the sight of the red piece of machinery sitting before them. Rarity was the first to say something.

"Why, it's magnificent! Such a work of art! I've never seen a carriage so sleek and stylish! I must get a closer look immediately!"
Everyone followed her up to the drivers door. Jake took the opportunity to have a little fun, and revved the engine to the red line a couple times. Everyone backed off from the V8's sudden outburst of sound. Fluttershy cowered behind Applejack with her hooves over her ears. After his field day with the gas pedal, he reluctantly shut it off, not wanting to waste precious fuel. However, Rainbow Dash didn't look to impressed at the auto.

"Pshh, I can probably go faster than that thing!"
Jake stepped out and shut the door.

"Well I'm not too sure about that. From what I've heard, they've gotten this baby up to at least two hundred miles per hour. So just how fast can you go?"
All Rainbow Dash could do was laugh. She fell to the ground rolling while Jake stood there with a look on his face between confusion and amusement. Finally, she caught her breath to begin the mocking.

"Tough luck buddy! I can break the sound barrier. That thing of yours is a slug compared to me! Hahahahahahahaha-"
Jake stood there taking the abuse from the cyan pony, his mouth agape. He finally gathered himself to speak.

"Wha...I...that's impossible! The only thing in my world that can go that fast are the fighter jets we have! How can a living being move so quickly without like, breaking things and whatnot?! Since my arrival, I've come to terms with the fact ponies can fly and use magic. Hell, I'll believe almost anything considering where I am now. But supersonic speed by you? C'mon, you gotta be joking."
Celestia defended Dash in her statement.

"Believe me Jake, it's true. She performed a Sonic Rainboom at my niece, Princess Cadance's, royal wedding with Twilight's brother, Shining Armor."

Jake sighed and came to terms with his loss and looked at the Ferrari.

"Well then, I guess this isn't so fast after all."
Twilight thought for a moment.

"Well you know what Jake, now that I think about it, if this automobile is as fast as you say, it could very well break Equestria's land speed record of one hundred and fifty two miles per hour set by an earth pony named Festinatio Daimōn. He developed a hot air compression rocket that he fitted to the back of a modified carriage. He actually set the record not too far from here in the desert just west of Appleoosa."
Applejack spoke up.

"I remember my cousin Braeburn tellin' me 'bout it. He said it was the loudest darned thang you ever heard when that rocket went off."
For the first time, Fluttershy said something.

"Well Jake, I hope this automobile isn't too loud all the time like it just was. It might scare the animals away. Please keep it quiet...if you don't mind...or...you know."
Jake turned to the yellow pegasus.

"Don't worry I won't. Besides, I can't go anywhere with it anyways. The car, that's what we call them at home by the way, isn't designed to travel off roads. This soft grass and mud would have it bogged down just like the nose of this plane."

Celestia cleared her throat and looked at Jake.

"Well I think we've seen enough for now of your automobile. Can we please do what we came here to do in the first place and see the aircraft in greater detail now?"
Twilight agreed.

"Yes let's get on with it now shall we? Jake, if you don't mind, could you show us around."
The captain was staring at the cars features when he snapped back to reality and acknowledged her.

"Oh! Uh, yes let's do the tour now." He walked up the ramp as everyone followed. He turned back to look at the Ferrari. "It seems we did get a little...distracted."
He laughed and led the way out of the sun and into the shade of the cargo bay.

"Well then, where do I begin?"

The In's and Out's

Everyone stood in the cargo bay in the spot where the Ferrari was once sitting. Jake spoke up over them.

"Alright then, I guess I should explain what we're standing in right now. This is called the cargo bay. It's where we hold the cargo, hence the name. I was surprised they were actually able to fit two automobiles next to each other in here. This isn't the most adequate plane for the job due to its small size compared to some cargo planes we've developed now. Why, there's one plane called the Antonov 225 that has six freakin jet engines. It's incredible I tell you."

Everyone looked around at their surroundings while he continued.

"Anyways, this aircraft is basically used by the military, the Air Force to be exact. The only other organization than them to use this particular aircraft was The United States Forest Service. They used to use it to drop phosphate compounds on burning trees to extinguish them. They wanted to get rid of it after they upgraded to a jetliner. So the company I work for, American Flightline, bought it off of them. She's old, but she gets the job done right."
Celestia stopped looking around and turned to Jake.

"So now I know it's history, but how does it fly without its wings flapping like pegasi wings?"
The captain was in his comfort zone explaining to them his field of expertise.

"Basically, as I said before, the four engines turn the propellers. That movement pulls the plane forward. As it gains speed, the shape of the wing allows wind to flow faster over the top, and slower on the bottom. This creates the element of lift, which can take this thing up to at least forty thousand feet. But I wouldn't dare try going above thirty thousand feet."

Twilight was once again scribbling notes on a pad with a quill held by her magic.

"I wish I could see this aircraft fly again in closer detail. Do you think it's possible Jake?"
The pilot seemed let down at this question and sighed.

"I don't think that's possible. First off, I don't have enough room to take off."
Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"But you landed here. So why couldn't you take off again?"
Jake continued.

"Well it takes around three thousand feet for me to take off again depending on the weight. On soft grass that's extended a little because the rough surface drags down the wheels a bit. I can always land on a shorter distance than I can take off on anyways, and I cut it close landing here. So unless we extended the field, this plane doesn't have enough space. But, as I also said before, it wouldn't matter because I'm out of fuel."

Twilights face lit up with an idea.

"You know, I could perform a duplication spell and just make more fuel for you. All you need is about a cup of the substance and I can make more. How much do you need?"
Jake was ecstatic at hearing this.

"Seriously, you'd do that for me?! That's amazing! Ok, I need roughly...uh...lets see here...nine thousand gallons."
Twilights jaw hit the floor at hearing this.

"Nine thousand gallons?! How big is this thing? Well...considering the circumstances, I'll do what I can, but it's going to take a while to make that much."

"Thank you Twilight, I'll repay you somehow, I promise. For now though, let me show you the cockpit where I fly the plane."
Everyone followed him up the cargo bay towards the front, passing the remaining ammunition boxes. Celestia eyed these with suspicion.

"Jake, what exactly is in these boxes here. They're marked with a military insignia I know that much. So why is something like that onboard?"
Jake was starting to panic, should he tell the truth, or lie. He opted for the first one. Being the Princess, he figured she would find out sooner or later.

"Well, uh, those are boxes of ammunition."

Everyone looked at him with a blank, confused stare.

"Wait, you don't have guns here either, do you?"

They all shook their heads.

"Just what is a gun partner?" Applejack said.

"It's not important right now. All you need to know is that these things are harmless without a gun, which I don't have at my disposal. Anyways, lets see the front shall we?"

Jake let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and led them up to the cockpit. They entered to find Luna, still sitting there, messing around with a small rectangular device.

"See here sister, this device is ever so intriguing. All I have to do is touch the screen, and it obeys my commands immediately!"
Jake looked surprised.

"I see you found my iPhone. I forgot I even had it in here."
He took it in his left hoof and examined it. It had about seventy percent battery left. He shut it off, not wanting to waste it, and put it in his chest pocket of his uniform which he had changed back into after getting out of the hospital bed. Even though it was considered the norm here, he felt awkward not wearing anything.

"I'll explain this later. Anyways, here's the cockpit. This is where I fly the aircraft. I sit over here."
He walked over to the captain's seat and sat down in it.

"This thing in front of me is called a yoke. I use it to change the plane's altitude and direction. By pulling back, I raise the nose, making the entire plane ascend. By pushing forward, I lower the nose, making it descend. If I turn the yoke left or right, the aircraft banks accordingly."

He then gestured to the four throttles sitting between the two seats.

"These are the throttles. The more I push them forward, the faster the props spin, making the plane go faster. Vice versa if I pull them back. Each throttle controls a separate engine."

Pinkie Pie started pressing random buttons overhead on a panel while sitting in the co-pilot's seat.

"Ooh! What do all these do! These four large red buttons look pretty!"
Jake reached up and tried to stop her.

"No don't! That's the-"
PSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH. All four engines were engulfed in a white, frothy smoke.

"-fire suppression...ugh."

"Whoopsie! Sorry about that! I wonder if you could do that with confetti? That'd be so much fun!"

Twilight had had enough.

"Pinkie will you please stop! Sorry about that Jake. I hope that wasn't too important."

"Well it's not unless one of the engines catch fire. But since I can't start them anyways, it's no big deal for now."

Luna looked at the buttons the party pony had been messing around with.

"Uh, what exactly do all these buttons do?"
Jake just stared back and blinked.

"That would take us 'till the sun came up the next morning to explain."
Celestia laughed.

"I would know exactly how long that would take then."

Jake cleared his throat and got up from the seat.

"Well I think this concludes the 'tour'. If I went in depth any further I'd just be wasting your time."
They all exited the cockpit and made their way back to the cargo ramp where the Ferrari was sitting, being examined by some guards.

"Man this thing is awesome. I wonder what my wife would say if I brought this home, huh Crossblade?"

"Yeah it's pretty cool all right."
Both snapped to attention at the arrival of the two rulers. Celestia nodded.

"As you were."
Jake made his way around to the drivers door and got in. He started the Italia again. Once more, the V8 came to life, spitting short bursts of flames out the tailpipe as he revved. He backed it back up the ramp to its original parking spot and shut it off. Jake got out and made his way back down the ramp to regroup with the others. Celestia addressed the captain.

"Well Jake, it's been interesting. This isn't the last you'll hear from us considering we have to get this thing out of here sooner or later. I'll let you come up with how to do that considering you're the most knowledgeable on the subject. Twilight will make the fuel required to power it. It might take awhile considering the amount needed."

"You got that right."

"Yes well, in the mean time, you should stay in Ponyville. Get acquainted with the locals and develop a course of action. The guards will remain posted here except for Crossblade, who stays with me at all times. They'll make sure everything stays unharmed. They're trustworthy I assure you."
Applejack came up to Jake and slapped a hoof on his back.

"He's got a debt ta pay off. So he'll stay with the Apple clan 'till Big Mac is better and the barn is fixed up all nice again."
The Princess nodded in approval.

"Very well. Jake, the Apple family is very honest and kind. You should have no trouble over there. I guess that covers everything. If you have any questions, send me a letter. Twilight's assistant, Spike, will handle it. So farewell for now, and good luck."

Luna and her stepped away from the crowd and waved. Then they boarded the Royal Chariot along with Crossblade, and took off into the north towards Canterlot. Jake looked back at the six behind him.

"Well, I guess I'll be here for a while. I should probably close up the ramp before leaving."

"Yessir, and then we'll head over to the farm an' get you settled in and ready for some hard work."

Jake was walking up the ramp towards the red lever when he stopped and looked up.

"Wait...does this work require heavy lifting and pulling things?"
Applejack looked confused.

"Well yeah. You ain't gonna be doin' any applebuckin'. That's for the pros like me. You're gonna be haulin' wood for the barn an' plowin' the fields. Got a problem with that partner?"
He looked over to the lifted black truck, still strapped down and smirked.

"No...no I won't have ANY problems with that."

Through the Fields We Go

Applejack looked at Jake skeptically.

"Jes what are you smilin' at buddy?"
The pilot went around to the other side of the Dodge and began undoing the straps. As he did so, he answered the earth pony.

"You see Applejack, if I'm going to be doing a lot of heavy duty work, I might as well have the right tools to do it. Am I right?"

"Uh, yeah ah guess so."

"Good, I'm glad you agree. So what I'm about to do will make perfect sense when you see what this thing is capable of."
He walked back around and opened the door. Grabbing a handle, he hoisted himself up the running board and into the driver's seat. Applejack knew what he was doing and yelled at him.

"Ooohhh no, ain't no way no how we're gonna have that noisy thang on mah farm! Ah don't care how good it is at whatever it's capable of doing, ahm not gonna tolerate it. So get yer flank back down here an' lets go."

Jake stared quizzically back at her.

"Applejack, you don't understand what I'm capable of with this thing. It was MADE for farm work. It'll be in it's natural element. Sure it's kinda noisy, but once you see what it can do, you'll take back everything you just said."

The farm pony just continued glaring at him.

"Look, I'll make a deal with you. If this truck doesn't impress you with it's power and performance, I'll get rid of it and you'll never see it again. But if it does impress you, you let me keep it. Please, at least give it a chance. It'll make both of our lives easier. Trust me."

Applejack thought hard for a moment and then scowled.

"Fine. But listen right here! Ahm gonna give yer whatever this is ONE chance to prove itself on mah property. If it don't meet mah standards, it's gone like a tumbleweed in a windstorm. Got it?"

"I hear you loud and clear. Now stand back."
Jake shut the door and looked around for the keys. He finally found them after rummaging around in the center console. The interior had grey leather seats and a grey dash. Oak wood trimming bordered the radio and climate control unit. He put the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine started up and made a loud growl as it settled down to idle.

Twilight noticed that the engine was almost as loud as the Ferrari, but in a much different way. This was deep and menacing. It sounded powerful and she thought that for once in her life, Applejack might lose a bet.

The truck drove right off the ramp and into the grass. It had no trouble with traction being that it was four wheel drive and lifted about two feet higher than normal. Jake opened the door and got out, letting the truck idle. He walked back up the ramp to the red lever, and lifted it back into place, shutting the door. The captain jogged down the now raising ramp, and hopped down about three feet as it went up behind him.

Fluttershy somehow managed to project her voice above the engine noise, and spoke to Jake.

"So um, if you don't mind me asking. How are you going to get back in?"

He pondered for a moment and realized his keys were still in the cockpit. Jake turned around just in time to see the ramp shut for good, making a hydraulic hiss as it sealed itself.

"Well...this seems to be a predicament. Whatever, that's future Jake's problem. Lets get going alright?"
Applejack nodded in agreement.

"Ah take it we're ridin' in this thang?"

"You betcha, c'mon and hop in."
Instead of getting in the cab, she went for the back of the truck, and clambered up the wheel into the bed. Rarity backed away in disgust.

"Well I most certainly am NOT riding in that hideous contraption! I prefer to ride in style, like the other automobile you showed us earlier. When you have that back out, call me."

With that she turned and walked away, leaving her five friends and a confused Jake, who yelled after her.

"So...you'd rather walk through almost a mile of mud and dirt than stay clean in this thing?"
The fashionista stopped in her tracks and looked at the field before her. She almost fainted at the realization she had walked through it once before. Now she noticed all the details, like the muddy pits and dirt patches, and turned around to head back to the truck. She passed her friends and went around to the other side of the cab opened the door, and climbed in, sitting in the seat next to Jake.

"Point taken, lets go darling. I have business to attend to."

"As you wish."
He leaned out the window to the five still sitting outside.

"Ok, one of you can still get in the cab and sit in the middle. The rest of you will have to get in the bed."
Everyone looked at him confused. He facehooved.

"The back, the back is called the bed."

Rainbow Dash flew up above them and turned towards Ponyville.

"I'm just gonna fly back, I can get there much faster. How about you Fluttershy?"

"Well...if it's ok with you Jake, I'm just going to fly back as well."
She left with the cyan pegasus as they both made their way towards the town.

"How about you Twilight, are you comin'?"

"Of course, I'm always open for new opportunities."
She proceeded to get in the passenger door, making Rarity scoot over to the middle. Twilight took the window seat. The only pony left was Pinkie Pie. Jake looked back out the window, only to find her gone. He looked left and right, until he was startled by a knock on the back window. There was the pink pony, already sitting in the back with Applejack, who had been impatiently waiting the entire time.

"Yay! This is gonna be so much fun huh Applejack?!"
She responded with a dead-panned look on her face.

"Yes Pinkie, it's gonna be TONS o' fun."
Jake got comfortable and shifted into drive. He eyed the muddy field all around him and revved the engine. The guards at the makeshift outpost waved goodbye, he returned the gesture and addressed his passengers.

"Get ready for some fun. I've secretly always wanted to do this."
Rarity turned to him.

"Whatever do you mean dar-"
She was interrupted as she and Twilight were thrown against the back of the seat due to the sudden acceleration. Applejack slid back to the tailgate and slammed into it, bracing herself after recovering.

The Dodge's engine roared as all four tires threw mud from the back as they spun. Jake had gotten up to forty miles an hour when he whipped the wheel to the left, sending the back end fishtailing to the right. Once again, the farm pony slid, this time to the right, and held on to her Stetson hat.

The chrome stacks were belting smoke as the truck thundered on towards the quiet town. Twilight and Rarity were holding on to the seats for their lives when the unicorn yelled over the engine.

"Is this really necessary?!"
Jake looked over to her and laughed.

"Not at all!"
The truck continued to slide left and right through the mud, sending the orange pony in the back every which way. Pinkie Pie however, had somehow managed to stand on her hind legs and see over the roof of the cab, bracing her front hooves on the orange lights lining the roof.

"This is so much fun! Onwards to Ponyville! Onwards!"

After another minute of sliding around in the mud, the five ponies and the now mud covered truck made it to the edge of the village. The bystanders eyeing them quizzically.

The truck drove off the grass and onto the smooth roads of Ponyville. Jake stopped and shut the engine off. The two ponies in the cab were still clutching the seats and gasping for air, until Rarity turned to him.

"What...in Celestia's name...were you doing?!"
Jake smiled and answered.

"I was doing what we call back on Earth, off-roading. I'm sorry if I scared you, but I just couldn't resist."

Jake jumped as an orange hoof slammed on the window of his door. He rolled it down and looked at Applejack. The look on her face said she wasn't happy.

"Now ah don't know what in the hay that was you pulled back there! But lemme tell you somethin'!"
Jake braced for her outburst.

"...Wooo ee! That was the most darn tootin' fun a'hve had in ages! Ahm still skeptical 'bout this thing workin' on mah farm, but I'm up fer that again anytime!"

Twilight and Rarity got out of the cab and walked around to the other side. Twilight looked up at Jake, still in the drivers seat.

"Well Jake, that was...different. I'll see you around. Come see me when you have the fuel for me to duplicate. Bye everypony."

She turned and walked back towards the library, leaving the rest of her friends by the truck. Pinkie hopped down next to Applejack.

"That was so much fun Jake! I'm gonna head back to the bakery now and start planning your Welcome to Ponyville slash Equestria party! See ya!"
She bounced down the road, turned a corner, and was out of sight. Rarity looked at Jake.

"Well I however, didn't think it was that fun. But anyways, I need to get back to the boutique. I have a massive order to fill. Ta ta!"

With that she turned and left, leaving Jake and Applejack alone.

"Well I've had my fun, lets get to your farm so I can get to work fixing that barn."

"You said it partner. I'll show y'all the way. Lets go."
She went around and climbed into the other side of the cab and sat down.

"All you do is follow this road here an' take a left when ah tell ya to."
Jake nodded and started the truck back up.

"Got it."
He shifted into drive and set off to Sweet Apple Acres.

Table Talk

Lyra and Bon Bon were sitting out front at the local café having one of their regular debates.

"I'm telling you Bon Bon, have you ever used conditioner BEFORE you use shampoo? It works wonders!"

"It's called conditioner for a reason Lyra. Is supposed to condition your hair AFTER you use sham-"
She was stopped at the sight of a large black carriage rolling down the street. It was already attracting quite a lot of attention as it passed the restaurant they were at.

Up in the cab, Applejack was starting to become uneasy.

"This thing sure is attractin' a lot of attention."
Jake observed the curious bystanders.

"Yeah you're right. How far until I turn, this is getting uncomfortable."

"Ah hear ya, I don't like ponies starin' at me like this."

"No I mean the seat. The seat's hurting my back. I guess it's not designed for a pony. Damn you Dodge."
He laughed to himself. Applejack looked at him with an amused face.

"Well 'course it's uncomfortable. Look how yer sittin. Why don't you sit like me? It's much more comfortable."

"I would, but I have to reach the pedals to make this thing stop and go."
She looked at the floor where the pedals were being pressed down by his hooves. Then she noticed something.

"You know what ah just realized Jake?"

"What?"

"You don't have a cutie mark."
She gestured to the three apples as her insignia.

"Yeah I was going to ask why everypony had a tattoo on their flank."

"It ain't no tattoo Jake. Ponies magically get one when they discover their special talent. It's a permanent display of ones true self."

"Well considering I'm new here I guess it's only normal for me not to have one. I hope it's not weird that I don't."

"Nah you should be fine considerin' the circumstances. Oh, turn here."
He complied and turned the vehicle left and headed down a dirt road out of town. They rode for a minute before the path started running parallel to a white fence. On the other side were rows and rows of apple trees.

"Wow, you got yourself a nice farm here."

"Thanks. It's been in our family since they migrated here many years ago. They were the reason Ponyville was created in the first place."

"That's impressive. Should I turn in here?"
He pointed to a white gate that was open. A wooden arch was above the entrance that read "Sweet Apple Acres."

Jake turned in and rolled up to the farmhouse. He stopped in front of the porch and shut the engine off. Applejack opened her door and was about to step down when she turned back to face him.

"Look, mah brother is real nice, an' I'm sure you'll have no trouble whatsoever. Mah little sister Applebloom on the other hand, can be quite roudy an' loud. But she's sweet an' just needs some time for you to get used ta her."
She stepped down and shut the door. Jake did the same, and waited for her to come around to his side.

Applejack motioned for him to follow her into the house. He stepped up onto the porch and held the door open for her. She walked in before him and yelled upstairs.

"Mac! We got company, come on down here!"

"Eeyup!"
After a couple seconds, a large red earth pony appeared at the top of the staircase and made his way down to greet him. He had a bandage wrapped around his front left leg. Jake was nervous at first. He stuck out a hoof for him to shake.

"Um...hi. My name is Jake Weston. I'm the pony who kinda smashed your barn and injured you."
Mac shook his hoof.

"Let me start by saying I'm so sorry about all the trouble I caused here. My airplane was going down and I couldn't climb anymore. Fortunately I only took out a small portion of the barn. If your still mad at me I understand."
Big Mac laughed in a deep baritone.

"It's quite alright Mister Weston. Ah got over it a while ago. Applejack explained ta me what ya said when she first met ya, and ah believe y'all. Accidents happen. But yer right. At least you only took out a small part o' the barn."
Jake was relieved to hear that he forgave him for destroying their property.

"Well that's nice to hear. Thank you for taking me in as well. I intend to repay you by repairing the damage and then some."
Big Mac nodded and looked over his shoulder and out the window to the truck sitting out front.

"Now what in tarnation is that thing sittin' out there?"
Jake motioned for him to come outside with him. The red pony followed him out the door, his sister right behind him, to see the vehicle. His jaw dropped.

"What does it do? It looks like some kinda fancy carriage."
The three ponies were startled when a pony popped out from the bed of the truck and waved.

"Hey sis! This thing is so cool! Where'd you get it mister?"
Jake looked confused. Applejack spoke up.

"That's mah sister Applebloom ah told ya about earlier. Applebloom get down from there before you hurt yerself!"

The filly jumped over the side and landed on the dirt. Mac walked around to the front of it. Jake followed and began explaining it to him.

"This is called a Dodge thirty-five hundred. But where I'm from, we just call it a truck for short. It uses a substance called diesel fuel to power its engine, which is right here up front."
Mac looked at it with curiosity.

"So why did y'all bring it 'round these parts?"
Applejack walked over to them, Applebloom in tow.

"He says that it's gonna help get the work done faster an' more efficiently. Apparently is was 'born' for farm work."
Big Mac looked skeptical.

"So what yer saying Mister Weston, is that this thing can work an' haul more than we can?"

"Well I'm not saying that you ponies aren't efficient or anything. You probably are all very hard workers. But all I'm saying is that this truck can do it without the stress and labor required if you did it all by hoof, and you can just call me Jake by the way."
The red farm pony eyed the truck front to back, then he came to a decision.

"Alright, I'm gonna give y'all a chance with this thing. We start tomorrow mornin'. We're gonna go into town an' gather all the lumber needed to repair the barn. We'll haul it all in the back here."
He gestured to the bed of the pickup. Jake agreed.

"Alright then, can't wait to get started."
Applejack addressed the two.

"Well lets all go in an' get some grub. Ahm starvin'."

The four ponies made there way into the house, where Granny Smith was finishing up cooking dinner and putting out on the table. Applebloom introduced them.

"Granny we have company! This is Jake. He's...uh...what do you do?"

"I'm a pilot."

"Yeah that's it! He's a pilot...what exactly does a pilot do?"
Applejack interrupted.

"I'll explain everythin' to ya later Applebloom. Now go an' wash up for dinner."
Her little sister obeyed and scampered out of the kitchen and down the hall. Applejack turned back to her grandmother.

"Anyways, Jakes gonna be stayin' with us for a while until the barn is fixed an' he gets his airplane unstuck from that field out west o' town."
The elderly pony went up to him and shook his hoof.

"It's nice ta' meet ya sonny. It'll be nice havin' another hand 'round here while ol' Mac's leg is wrapped up. Make yerself at home while yer here."
She turned around and finished preparing the meal, which consisted of vegetable soup and apple fritters.

Everyone sat down at the table and began passing food around. Jake was seated between Macintosh and Applejack, who was sitting at the head. She passed him a bowl of soup.

"Dig in, this is an' old family recipe that my great grandma used to make."
He sipped the hot soup cautiously, his face lit up.

"Wow, this is really good. Much better than anything I've tasted back home."
Mac eyed him curiously.

"Where exactly are y'all from partner. Applejack told me you weren't from Equestria, but she didn't gimme any details."
Jake put down his spoon and cleared his throat.

"Well, I'm from a place called Earth, which is a different universe basically. It might even be just another planet lightyears away from here, and I just traveled a long distance. I never gave it much thought. All I know is that I woke up in the cockpit flying towards here. I was transformed into one of you guys. I never was a pony, I was a species known as a human. So anyhow, I ran out of fuel, and made an emergency landing in the field Applejack described. I'm originally from a country on Earth called The United States of America. I lived in a city called Saleen in a state named Michigan. It was a nice city, much bigger than Ponyville, but I still liked it. I went to school at a place called North Slate University about an hour north of where I lived. That's where I studied to become a pilot. After four years, I graduated and went to work for American Flightline. They get contracted to fly odd jobs around the country. My job, when I was transported here, was to fly two automobiles, one of which is the truck out front, to a city called Las Vegas for its two thousand thirteen Auto Show. I guess I didn't make it as you can see, and now I'm in a totally different world."
The red pony looked confused.

"An' your not scared or nothin' 'bout transforming into a pony an' bein' in a different place like this?"

"Well, I was at first, but I got used to it. I was going to crash and burn if I didn't land immediately. So extensively panicking wasn't an option. I guess I just got over it. But enough about me. What about you guys?"
He started eating his soup again as Macintosh spoke.

"Well lets see, there ain't to much ta say really. Our great grandparents started this here farm, an' kept it runnin' through Granny's generation b'fore mah parents took over. Sadly they passed on a while back, an' left the farm ta me an' Applejack."

Jake stopped eating for a second.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's alright, we've gotten through it. Anyways, now Applejack runs the farm, an' I do a lot of the work an' accounting."
Applejack laughed.

"Ya wouldn't think of Big Mac as bein' the brainy type would ya?"

"Very funny sis. Then there's Applebloom here, she gets into all sorts of trouble tryin' ta find her special talent and get her cutie mark with her two friends. No luck so far huh sis?"
Applebloom sighed and twirled her spoon in her soup, staring down into it.

"Nope. Ah haven't had any luck yet."
She perked back up and smiled.

"But tomorrow me and the gang are gonna try gettin' our cutie marks in music!"
Macintosh grinned.

"Well good luck with that then. So yeah Jake, this is our family. We ain't rich, but we ain't poor. Everything's fine the way it is, an' we're grateful for it."
The pilot looked around at the family who was nodding in approval. A sudden pang of envy came over him, and went away as quickly as it had came.

"Huh...well it's nice to see a family so together like you guys are."
He finished his soup and put down his spoon.

"Do you mind if I turn in early? I've had a long day and I want to be rested for all the work we're gonna be doing tomorrow."
Macintosh got up from the table and took both of their dishes to the sink. He came back to Jake, who had also gotten up from the table.

"Sounds good ta me. I'll show y'all to yer room. Follow me."
He said goodnight to the three still sitting at the table and followed Big Mac up the stairs. He led them past a couple doors, until stopping at the one at the very end to the left. He opened it and they walked in.

"Well here ya are partner. If you need anythin' don't be afraid to ask. Wake up call is at six AM sharp. Don't miss it now."
Jake walked past him into the center of the room and looked around.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be up and ready to go by then."

"Hmm, alright then. G'night to ya."

"Night."
The farmer shut the door and walked away, leaving Jake alone in his new room. The walls were a light green, and had white apple-marked borders at the top and bottom of it. The bed was a matching green with apples sewn into the center of the blanket on top. Jake chuckled.

"I guess they love their apples."
He took off his white uniform and hung it on the oak post at the foot of the bed. He climbed in and got underneath the covers. Once comfortable, the captain laid back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

"Yup. This is going to be an interesting next couple of days."
He sighed and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

Macintosh descended the staircase and went into the living room to find the rest of his family sitting around. Granny Smith was in her easy chair, playing solitaire, and Applebloom was coloring on the floor. Applejack looked over to him from the couch as he entered.

"Hey Mac, can I see you back in the kitchen for a moment."
They both walked into the kitchen, away from the filly's earshot.

"Mac, didn't somethin' seem off about Jake right before he went ta bed?"
Mac put a hoof to his chin in thought.

"Not that ah saw. Why? You think he's trouble or somethin'?"

"No, ah think he's a good pony with good intentions. Yet ah don't think he's lettin' us all in on somethin' about him. But it's just a thought. Ah don't wanna jump to no conclusions 'bout him already. Hehe, ah just hope he's a good worker."
With that she went back into the living room to rejoin the rest of the family, leaving the red earth pony alone in the kitchen. He looked out the window and saw the truck still sitting there. It's chrome stacks reflecting a bit of Luna's moonlight.

"We'll see sis. We'll see."

Those Pesky Parasprites

The sun was still hiding behind the horizon when Jake awoke around five forty-five the next morning. He had set his iPhone alarm to that time so he would be sure to not sleep in and disappoint Big Mac.

The captain sat up and turned to sit on the edge of the bed.

'Ugh, I haven't been up this early since college.'
He got out of bed, walked to the mirror, and flicked on the light hanging above it to straighten his mane and wipe the sleep from his eyes. As he got done, he heard a soft knock on his door. He answered in a raspy voice.

"Yeah...come in."
Big Mac creaked the door open and peered in.

"Oh good, yer awake. Jes makin' sure you didn't sleep in on me."
Jake smirked and walked over to him. He opened the door all the way and stepped out into the hall, shutting it behind him.

"I told you I wouldn't. Anyways, what the first item on our agenda?"

"Well the shop where we're gonna buy the lumber from ain't open fer a good hour yet, so I was thinkin' we'd go out to the back field and remove a giant boulder from the ground. Ah need ta move it so ah can start plantin' some new saplings for future harvests."

Jake thought for a moment until coming up with an idea.

"You know, I can use the truck for that job. That engine is a five point nine liter Cummins diesel."
Mac just stared back at him.

"What I'm saying is, it can get the job done without a hitch."
Mac chuckled and patted him on the back.

"We'll see 'bout that Jake. C'mon, were burnin' daylight."
Jake looked out a window at the end of the hall way up to the night sky.

"Uh Mac, daylight hasn't started yet."

"Y'all know what I meant. Now get yer hide down here an' lets move that boulder."

"Right behind you."
Both stallions made their way down the stairs, through the dark kitchen, and out the front door to where the Dodge was still sitting right where he had parked it. The air was cold, and a stiff breeze engulfed the pilot, making him shiver. He was glad he'd be in the truck where there was heat.

Jake opened the drivers door and climbed in.

"Ok Mac, go around and hop in the other side."
The farmer was hesitant at first, but eventually complied and made his way around the front to the passenger door. He opened it and stepped up on the running board.

"Sweet Celestia this thing is high off the ground."
Jake chuckled.

"It needs to be to prevent it from getting stuck in mud and other things trucks like these drive through a lot. However this particular truck is lifted higher than the standard model."
Mac finished the climb up and sat down in the passenger seat, shutting the door behind him. He looked around and observed the interior of the cab.

"This thing is nice inside. Don't look like no farm machine to me."
Jake started the engine. It released a loud growl on the initial start up, then settled back down to idle. Humming a deep sound that reverberated off the front wall of the house. Macintosh was stunned at the noise the vehicle made. Jake turned to him.

"On the inside, it's nice and clean. But on the outside, it's loud and mean."
He laughed to himself and turned on the headlights. The two beams illuminated the ground about twenty feet in front of them. He put it in drive and set off towards the back field. Macintosh directed him.

"Alright, jes go up here 'round the barn an' take the path behind it straight back an' we'll be there. But stop behind the barn first. Ah gotta get a couple things."
Jake stopped behind the barn so Mac could get the required items. The farmer got out and made his way around the back of the truck to the wall of the barn, where a heavy duty chain was coiled up. Next to it was a six foot long metal rod that was flattened at the end. It looked like a huge flat-head screwdriver without the handle. He picked up the chain in his mouth, and threw the bar up on his shoulder. Walking on three legs, he carried the items back to the tailgate. Jake was surprised as he opened the gate, threw the equipment in, and shut it behind him. Mac made his way back to the cab and got in.

"Ah tell you what, this thing ain't so bad. Sure it's kinda loud, but ah can already tell its gonna be a good workin' machine. Haulin' things is a breeze."
Jake was happy to hear this.

"Well I'm glad you think that. Your sister isn't to keen on it yet, but I think she'll come around, don't you think?"

"Eeyup."

"I'm surprised you knew how to open the tailgate. I was about to come back and help you."

"Jake, ah may be a farmer, but ah ain't stupid."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

"None taken. Now lets get on out ta that boulder."
They sat in silence as the Dodge rolled down the back road to their point of interest. He took the time to observe the fields bordering the road. On the other side of the field on his right, Jake could see the start of the rows upon rows of apple trees through the darkness. Mac spoke up.

"Yessir, these bare fields used ta be apple trees all up an' down. Unfortunately, a swarm of parasprites came an' gobbled up all the apples an' leaves on the trees. They left nothin but bare branches."

Somehow, over the noise of the engine, Jake heard the howl of wolves in the distance. He wondered how close they were, and got a little nervous at the thought. Suddenly, he slammed on the brakes. The tires slid across the dry dirt for a moment before the one ton truck came to a halt. Both ponies looked out the windshield in silence at what lay before them. Then it all came back to him. How he had shed weight by dumping some of the ammo crates off the back of the C-130. For there, sitting directly in the truck's headlight beams, was a beat up ammo crate with the U.S. Army logo on the side of a scratched plank. Mac turned to Jake.

"Like ah said earlier, ahm not that stupid. This has somethin' ta do with yer little flyby a couple days ago. Am ah right?"
Jake slowly nodded, the color drained from his face.

"Look, I can explain. I had to push these crates out the back of my airplane to make it lighter, otherwise I would've smashed into your barn head on. I guess I just never gave it any thought to exactly WHERE it would land. I'm sorry. I'll move this one and the remainder of the crates as soon as possible."
Mac sighed.

"Well ah guess ah understand why y'all had ta do it. Jes make sure this all gets cleaned up by the time ya get yer airplane unstuck an' ready ya leave. How many of them are there anyways?"
Jake thought for a moment.

"Um, I believe I was able to push out six of them. They should all be relatively close to each other. Look there's another one over there."
He pointed out the windshield to the field on his right. Sure enough, about forty feet away, was another one of the ammo crates, dug into the dirt from impact.

"What exactly is in them crates Jake?"
The pilot was a little nervous about answering him truthfully, but did it anyways.

"The crates are carrying a thing called ammunition. It's used to put into devices called guns. They use gunpowder, a substance that's very explosive, to propel a bullet through the air. They're very dangerous with a gun, which I don't have. However they still can be dangerous if left out in the hot sun to long and the gunpowder heats up. Or if they come in contact with fire. But please don't tell your sister that. I told all of them that they weren't dangerous without a gun so they wouldn't be skeptical of me. I only did what was best for everypony at the time, and I intend to tell them the truth very soon."
Mac sat in silence for a minute before answering.

"So yer not intending ta harm anypony with these?"
Jake was quick to respond.

"What? No! I would never hurt anypony here I promise. I was asked to haul those. I didn't want them on my plane in the first place to be honest with you."
The farmer eyed the box sitting before them before responding.

"Alright then, ah trust ya. Lets worry 'bout these later an' get out ta that boulder. Ahm surprised though that the crate didn't get smashed ta bits. From what ah remember, that must've been quite a drop for 'em."

"Those are special reinforced U.S. Army crates. They're designed not to break upon impact like that."
Jake shifted back into drive and set off. He steered around the crate and continued on. About five seconds later, another crate came into view. It was upside down on the right side of the road.

A minute later they arrived at the field. The sun was coming up over the hills and the orange glow spilled out over them and onto the fields, giving both stallions adequate light to work in.

Jake swung the truck around so the back end was facing the boulder. It was about the size of Big Mac himself, and jutted out of the ground pointing away from the Dodge. Both ponies got out of the truck and walked over to it. Mac went over to the tailgate and opened it.

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do. Ahm gonna wrap this chain 'round the boulder, and hitch the other end ta the truck. Y'all can tell me where ta put it since ya know this machine better than ah do. Anyways, while yer pullin', ahm gonna take this bar, an' go 'round ta the other side and wedge it out from the ground. Hopefully, between yer pullin, an' mah leverage, we'll get this thing out o' the ground and off this field."
Jake helped Mac tie the chain around the boulder. After it was secure, he walked the other end over to the ball hitch attached to the center of the truck underneath the tailgate. He hooked it on and gave it a tug to make sure it was secure.

"Alright Mac, I think this is tied on pretty good. I'm going to go back up in the cab. Just give me the signal when you want me to hit it."
Mac nodded and went around behind the boulder with the bar in his hoof. He stood up on his hind legs and wedged the flat end underneath the rock. The farmer was able to put pressure on the bar using his front hooves, leaning down on it with at least half his weight.

Jake got into the cab and shut the door. He put it in drive and rolled forward slowly. The chain began to unravel. The truck was about fifteen feet away when it lurched due to the chain becoming taught. The captain rolled down his window, stuck his left hoof out, and waved it at Mac, signaling he was ready. After a couple seconds, Jake saw a red hoof pop into his rear view mirror, telling him to go ahead. He complied and gave the Dodge some gas. The engine revved and all four tires started to slowly spin.

Back behind the boulder, Mac was pushing down on the bar with all of his strength. Slowly but surely, the rock started to rise out from the dirt. Jake saw this and gave the truck more gas. The dirt stared flying up from the tires, splattering the fenders with mud. If it wasn't for the mud flaps, the red pony would've been rained on by dirt and pebbles the vehicle was throwing up.

Finally, the boulder was high enough that Mac couldn't use the bar anymore to pry it. It was all up to the Dodge to get the boulder upright, then over on its other side. He signaled to Jake to give it more power. The pilot floored it. The engine roared and smoke billowed from the chrome stacks behind the cab. The sound rolled through the fields and wove through the trees. It bounced of the walls of the barn and flooded into the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres. It didn't stop there however, as it cascaded down said road and into town, turning the quiet morning sounds of Ponyville into a long drone of roars from the truck, a couple miles away in the field.

Back at the farm, the mud flaps on the truck weren't coping with the amount of dirt the tires were kicking up, as it arced out from the back, pouring down over Macintosh, still behind the boulder. He ran off to the side and watched in amazement as the black behemoth slowly moved forward, pulling the boulder upright. It stayed vertical for a couple seconds before the truck won the battle, and flopped it down on its other side, emitting a loud thump. A muddy crater where it once sat was all the rock left behind.

Jake stopped and turned off the engine. He got out and walked behind the truck to admire his accomplishment. He turned to Big Mac and smiled.

"Well I guess this work horse proved itself today, huh Mac?"
The red pony walked over to the boulder and examined its size. The boulder was a lot bigger than him. More precisely, twice his size. The ground had hidden half of it.

"Eeyup."
Jake was interrupted from his inner celebration as he realized something.

"Hey Mac. How are we going to get this thing off the field now? I don't think even this truck can just DRAG it out. We could try putting it in the bed, but I'm not sure how we'll get it up there."
Macintosh rubbed his chin in thought.

"Me neither. Ah wasn't expectin' it ta be this big. Ah don't know how we're ever gonna do this. But an Apple never set out ta do somethin' an' failed, an' ah don't intend ta start now. There's gotta be a way."
His train of thought was interrupted by a distant ring of a bell.

"Well that's breakfast a callin'. Lets get back up on ta the house an' we'll discuss this matter over a good meal. How's that sound."
Jake patted his stomach.

"Like music to my ears. Come on and hop in, I'm starving."
Jake quickly ran back behind the truck and unfastened the chain from the hitch. He went back around and got in the drivers seat. Mac was already in and ready to go.

Jake started the truck up and drove through the field to rejoin the road. The truck rolled down the dirt path back up to the farmhouse, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake.

No Sealant Required

The sun was fully up and shining brightly across the farm when the truck drove up to the house and stopped. Both stallions got out of the cab and made their way to the front door. The aroma of breakfast wafted over the pilots nose, and made his mouth water.

They walked inside to find the rest of the Apples up, sitting around the table. Applejack looked over to them.

"There y'all are. Ah heard that truck all the way back here an' it was louder n' blue blazes. What in tarnation were you two up to?"
Both of them sat down at the table and began to grab some of the pancakes that were piled on a plate in the center of the table. Jake answered her.

"Well, Mac here wanted to move a giant boulder out from the back field. It looked like it would be a heavy job, so I used the truck to pull it out, and he used a bar to pry it from the ground."
Applejack looked at Mac with a stern face.

"Now Mac, what'd ah tell ya about puttin' pressure on that busted up leg o' yours?"
Mac sighed.

"Sis ahm tellin' ya, mah leg is fine. Trust me."

"Fine, but when y'all go an' hurt it again, don't come a cryin' ta me."
The farmer rolled his eyes. Jake put down his fork and spoke up.

"I think I have a way to get that boulder out of there. I saw a large sled leaning up against the barn when we drove back. What if we got it up on there, and I just towed it away wherever you want it."
Mac thought for a moment.

"Ya know, that might not be a bad idea. Yer provin' yerself useful Jake."
The pilot laughed.

Applebloom jumped down from the table and ran over to a shelf by the front of the house. She got a green saddle bag off of it, threw it over her shoulder, and opened the door.

"Ahm off ta meet up with the girls now. Bye everypony!"
Everyone said goodbye as she bolted out the door, slamming it behind her. Granny Smith yelled after her.

"Y'all be on yer best behavior now ya hear!"
Applejack chuckled.

"Granny, ya know ya can't keep her outta trouble."

Mac and Jake finished their breakfast and got up from the table.

"Alright Jake, we're gonna go on in ta town an' get that wood fer the barn."
He nodded and followed Macintosh out the door and to the truck. They both got in and Jake started it up. He backed all the way up through the main entrance and turned out onto the main road, facing the town. Jake seemed nervous.

"You know Mac, I'm kind of hesitant about this. Last time I drove through Ponyville I attracted quite a lot of unwanted attention with this thing."
Mac laughed.

"Jake, Ponyville has seen much stranger things than this. It won't take no time at all b'fore everypony looks at this thing like its nothin'. Besides, when they see me, a regular citizen, ridin' in it, they'll think it's normal. Trust me."

"Well if you say so. Here we go."
He shifted into drive and set off towards the village, doing about twenty-five miles an hour. Jake didn't know what kind of speed limits there were, if there even were any, and didn't want to take any chances.

After a couple minutes, the vehicle made its way into town. As soon as it did, the same stares and murmurs from yesterday resumed.
Jake tried to ignore it as they rolled down the main street. But by the time he reached the town square, the pressure was too much. He stopped the truck right in front of the fountain in the middle of the square, and got out.

"Hold on Mac, I have to explain myself to them."

"Suit yerself. Ahm gonna wait in here."
Jake shut the door and walked to the back wheel. He stepped up on it and climbed over the wall and into the bed so he could address everyone now crowding around him out of curiosity. Some of the faces he recognized from a couple days before when he first landed. He cleared his throat and began his impromptu speech.

"Hello everypony. I know this is weird and all but I just want to inform all of you that this machine is safe. It was on the back of my plane when I landed here, and I'm using it to help out around Sweet Apple Acres. For any of you who don't know, my name is Jake Weston. I look forward to spending time here in your nice town, and I hope none of you will be uneasy around this vehicle. Like I said, it isn't harmful I assure you. Thank you all for listening. I have to be going now."
The crowd nodded in approval and murmurs of acceptance were made.

Jake stepped down off the bed, went back up to the cab, and sat down again. He put it in reverse and slowly backed up.

"Take a right here an' go up this road about five buildin's. You'll be able ta tell which one it is 'cause of all the lumber out front."
He complied and turned right to head down a busy brick road. The townsfolk were still eyeing the truck, but they didn't look as skeptical or worried. Jake was relieved to see this.

"See, if you just talk to them, they'll understand."
Mac rolled his eyes.

"Don't go tellin' me how ta talk ta folk. A'hve been here longer than y'all have."

"Yeah your right, sorry about that."

"Yer fine. Here we are."
Jake stopped the truck in front of a medium sized shop with lumber stacked out front. He shut the truck off and opened his door. They both got out and walked into the building. A bell rang as the door opened and the owner came out. He was an older, light grey unicorn stallion with a white mane, tail, and mustache. He wore a green apron around his front that was covered in saw dust.

"Ah yes welcome, welcome. I take it you're Jake Weston, the pony who gave us all that little air show a couple days back, am I right?"
Jake looked puzzled.

"Uh, yeah that's me. How'd you know?"
The carpenter laughed.

"It's not that hard to figure out son. I've never seen anything like that in this town."
He pointed out the shop window to the Dodge, being examined by some curious ponies. Jake turned back to the carpenter.

"I see your point. By the way, what's your name?"
The carpenter shook both of their hooves.

"Ah! Where are my manners, the name is Fritzer Mach. Weird name I know, but I am from a place called Sponsus Lake. It's very far from here. I didn't like it, it was to focused on the hustle and bustle, so I moved all the way over to this quaint little town, and began my profession as a carpenter. As you can see here."
He gestured to his cutie mark, which was two planks crossed with a hammer in the background.

"But, I digress. What is it you two fine gentlecolts need today hmm?"
Mac spoke up.

"Well sir, Jakes airplane smashed part of our barn the other day durin' his little stunt, an' we need ta buy some planks ta fix the damage."
Fritzer laughed.

"Well then, it appears you have your work cut out for you. Follow me out to the front, and I'll show you what you should get."
Mac looked confused.

"Well ah kinda know what I'm lookin for. They are jes planks you know."
The carpenter turned around and stopped the two.

"No no my dear boy! You need a special kind of lumber for this job. A kind that I myself have engineered."
The farmers confusion faded.

"Well then, lead the way Mr. Mach."

The three stallions made their way out of the shop and into the street where the truck was parked. Fritzer led them over to a stack of planks that were sitting on a pallet.

"You see, this particular lumber was enhanced with a spell I used. It's completely waterproof, and it will never lose its strength from rotting."
Mac looked impressed.

"That saves me the hassle of puttin' on a coat o' sealant. How much extra is this gonna cost me now?"
Fritzer smiled and patted the stack of wood.

"I'll give it to you at the the price for regular wood, considering that this whole barn incident wasn't your fault in the first place. Right Mr. Weston?"
Both Mac and the carpenter looked at Jake, who was trying to awkwardly avoid eye contact. Mac turned back to Fritzer.

"Well Mr. Mach, thank y'all fer yer kindness. If there's ever anythin' ah can do for ya, jes come a lookin'. An' don't worry 'bout helpin' us load it up. We got that covered."
Fritzer nodded.

"Will do my boy, will do."
Mac handed the carpenter a bag of bits and shook his hoof. He walked back into his shop and closed the door behind him. Mac turned to Jake.

"Alright, go an' swing the truck 'round so the back is facin' this pallet here. I'll guide y'all back safely."
Jake went over to the Dodge and got in. He started it up and let it idle for a second. The captain shifted into drive and cranked the wheel right. He slowly turned until he was about to hit the wall of the shop across the street. His little show he was putting on was attracting a crowd as they watched him try to maneuver the huge vehicle in the somewhat narrow street.

Eventually, after a six point turn, Jake had the tailgate facing the pallet about two feet away. He shut the engine off and got out.

Mac already had the tailgate open, and was standing in the bed, waiting for Jake to pass the lumber up to him.

For about fifteen minutes, they worked to load up the Dodge. By the time they were done, the bed was about half way full with planks.

Both of them got back into the cab and Jake started the truck back up. The passerby stopped to allow the vehicle to move, looking curious.

He performed his six point turn again, and was about to set off when a pink blur came out of nowhere and landed on the hood. He recognized her as Pinkie Pie immediately. She had an envelope in a basket on her side. Jake rolled down the window.

"Uh, Pinkie Pie, what are you doing on my hood?"
The party pony giggled.

"I'm here to invite you to your Welcome to Ponyville slash Equestria Double Party Extravaganza!"
She handed him the invitation through the window.

"Don't be late!"
With that she was gone in another pink blur. Mac laughed.

"Well looks like yer popular 'round these parts."
Jake opened the letter and read it.

YOU'RE INVITED TO JAKE WESTON'S WELCOME TO PONYVILLE/EQUESTRIA DOUBLE PARTY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Sugarcube Corner

Jake smiled, for the first time since his arrival, he felt completely and truly welcome in his new environment. He was going to make the best of it no matter what.

"Well I guess I'm busy tonight. Don't worry Mac, I'll work hard today and we can get most of the repairs done."

"It ain't a problem. Why, I reckon everypony who was new ta this town after Ms. Pie was here got one o' those parties."

"Really?"

"Why sure, it's a way of sayin' that yer welcome an' accepted here in Ponyville."

"Huh...I like that."
The truck shifted into drive and set off for the short trip back to Sweet Apple Acres.

Fritzer Mach came out of his store just as the truck rolled around the corner and out of sight.

"So...you're the one I've been looking for all these years."

He picked up the now empty pallet and drug it inside the shop, the door shutting behind him.

Open Sesame

Jake and Mac had made their way back to the farm and were unloading the wood to start on the barn when Applejack came out from the orchard to meet them.

"Startin' the repairs ah see. Ah know y'all are goin ta the welcome party tonight, as am ah. So at least try an' get the roof patched up. We'll worry 'bout rebuildin' the steeple tomorrow. It's gonna take some good craftsmanship to make it again, but ah think you two are up fer it."
Both stallions nodded. Jake finished loading the planks onto a pulley device to get them up to the roof.

"Alright Jake, climb up the ladder an' wait fer the wood. I'll send it up ta ya."
Jake did as he was told and climbed up the ladder to the roof, awaiting the lumber. After a couple minutes of Mac pulling back on the pulley, the pallet of wood reached the pilot. He pulled off each piece plank by plank, stacking it on a rather flat portion of the roof before it angled down too much, until he had a nice stack next to the hole he had created. He figured that when the C-130 ripped the steeple off, it took part of the roof with it. He just didn't think it was that big of a hole until he saw it. The hole itself was at least five feet by five feet, and was dead center where the steeple used to sit.

Mac came up the ladder and looked at the captain's handiwork. He chuckled.

"Eeyup, looks like we got our work cut out fer us. Lets get a move on partner."

For five hours, Jake and Mac worked to rip out the broken wood, and replace it with new wood. Once they had finished doing that, they had a nice straight edged opening to fill instead of a ripped up hole. They started patching that up, and after another three hours, they had the roof filled in completely. Jake wiped the sweat off his forehead and turned to Mac.

"Well, that looks ok in my book. How about you?"

"Eeyup."

"Glad to hear. Lets go get cleaned up for that party. It must be getting close to seven thirty by now."

They made their way down the ladder and started for the house. When they walked in Jake looked at the clock. Sure enough, it was five till seven already.

"Holy crap, we're gonna be late if we don't get ready now. Is there a shower I can use."
Mac showed him to the shower and left the pilot to his business. He walked back down the hall to his own room and sat down on the bed, staring out the window into the ocean of apple trees below. After a couple minutes, Applejack came in and went up to him.

"Yer nervous ain't ya."

"Eeyup. You know ah ain't a social kind of pony. I've never been. An' ah think Jake expects me ta go along ta this shindig as well. Ahm not too sure ah can."
His sister sighed.

"Mac, it's time you went out an' made some more friends. Sure Jake is a great pony, an' ah would consider him her friend as well. But jes try ta have fun tonight an' make some more of 'em. Ahm sure yer gonna like it."
They sat looking at the orchard for a couple minutes, Applejack making a mental list of all the chores that needed to be done the next day, until a now clean Jake passed the doorway to Macintosh's room and made his way down the hall to his own. The farmer took this as a signal the shower was open and made his way to the door. He stopped in the doorway, and turned back to Applejack, who was still sitting on his bed.

"I'll go...but jes this once."
He walked out and down the hall to the bathroom. Applejack smiled and turned back to the window.

'Maybe Jake will be a good influence on him.'

Sugarcube corner started getting busy by seven twenty. Everyone knew how good a welcome party by Pinkie Pie was, and didn't want to miss out. About a half mile away, Jake and the two farm ponies were walking towards the bakery. Applejack turned to Jake.

"Y'know, we shoulda taken yer truck. Ah kinda like ridin' in that thing."

"Well I didn't want the attention. Even if the party is for me."
Applejack looked him over.

"Well yer still gonna get a lot of it from wearin' that fancy get-up o' yers."
She had a point. Jake was wearing his full uniform he had on during his arrival. It consisted of a white button-down collared shirt with two blue shoulder boards on the side. Each one had four golden stripes running down it, signifying his position as a captain. There were also two gold collar pins that were diamond shaped. He had a black tie with a silver clip, and on the left of his shirt was his gold pilot wings, in the center of them were the letters A.F. for American Flightline, printed in black. The name, Cpt. Jake Weston, read across the right side, just above the company logo, which was a waving American flag in the background with the company's name in gold written across it. He had his mane combed up so it was spiked in the front. It was relatively short compared to most other male manes in Ponyville, but he looked the part, and Applejack noticed it.

"That uniform is quite the piece Jake. Y'all have ta wear that everyday?"
Jake nodded.

"Yup, whenever we're flying, or on the job period. It makes us look presentable to the companies who hire us. All pilots wear these uniforms though, my company isn't the only one who does it."
Applejack snorted.

"Ah could never wear somethin' that fancy ta work everyday. No offense, but it's jes not who ah am."

"None taken. But I don't think anypony who works on a farm would want to wear something like I do."

"Ah guess ahm jes tryin ta say that ah don't particularly like fancy clothin' an' all."

"Ah, I see. Well everypony has different tastes."
She nodded and looked over to Mac.

"Ahm surprised yer all fancied up for t'night."
He had his signature yolk removed, and had combed his mane.

"Ain't that big of o' deal sis. If ahm gonna be goin to an event like this, ahm gonna look nicer than usual."

The three walked in silence until they rounded the corner at the bakery. The place was packed already, and as Jake walked through the front door, many party goers waved to him, already having a good time. Pinkie Pie ran up to him, put a hoof around his shoulder, and yelled to the crowd.

"Ok everypony! Jakes here and ready to part-tay!"
Many cheers were heard throughout the crowd.

Jake walked up to the rest of Pinkie and Applejack's friends. Twilight was the first to speak up.

"Hello Jake, I was wondering when you'd be able to get me that sample of fuel so I can start to duplicate it for you. It will take time you know."

"I know, sorry I haven't been able to. I've just been so busy today helping at the farm that I haven't had the time to go back and get some. I will tomorrow morning. Is that ok?"
Twilight nodded. Rainbow Dash butted into the conversation at that time.

"Jeez Twilight, let Jake have some fun for a minute before you bombard him with questions."
She turned to Vinyl Scratch, who was set up and ready to go.

"Hey DJ! Crank up the volume on that thing and lets get this party goin' ok?!"
Vinyl put a hoof in the air and spoke into the microphone.

"Alright all you ponies! You ready to do some serious partying?!"
Shouts rang out through the room.

"Well then lets get this thing rollin' shall we?!"
The DJ pressed a couple buttons and got the records spinning. In an instant, the room was filled with a sound that Jake recognized as dubstep. He hated it. The sounds were just loud screeching over a droning bass track. Over the noise of it all, he still tried to converse with the now dancing ponies, who weren't focused in on anything but the music.

"So what is it like to live...how about the...can you even hear me?!...ugh, I'm sorry but I have to step outside for a moment."
He raced out of Sugarcube Corner and onto the street. Even with the door shut behind him the muffled bass of the "music" could still be heard. Then the noise got louder again as the door swung open and Mac came out, looking just as annoyed as Jake.

"Boy ah tell you what that noise is intolerable. Ah can't figure out why the hay anypony even likes that stuff."
Jake agreed.

"Yeah I can't take it either. Back where I'm from, I listen to classic rock and jazz. Sure rock is loud, but it has real instruments, and it makes sense."
Mac looked puzzled.

"A'hve heard o' jazz before. Ahm actually quite fond of it. But what's rock?"
The pilots jaw dropped to the floor in silence.

"You mean to tell me that they don't have rock here?"
The farmer thought for a moment.

"Nnope."
Jake immediately had an idea.

"Ok, come with me. I know your going to like rock when you hear it."

Back inside, Applejack looked out the window to see Jake and Mac walking away towards the field where the plane was at. She turned to her friends who were on the dance floor, except for Twilight and Fluttershy, who hated this kind of music too and were off to the side.

"C'mon girls, ah gotta see what they're up too. Why would Jake leave his own welcome party?"

All six of them left the party unattended and followed the two.

Ten minutes later brought the pilot and the farmer to the plane, still being watched by three guards sitting in a temporary tent, playing cards. They rose and came out after seeing the two approaching. The leader of the three spoke to them.

"Hello Mr. Weston. Your aircraft has been untouched since you left it. Although I think it might've sunk a little further into the mud."
He was right. The plane was about another foot down in the ground. Jake suddenly remembered something.

"Aw crap, I forgot I locked myself out."
The second guard in command spoke up.

"I believe I can fix that sir. I know a lock picking spell that should open up that door in an instant."

"Well that's a relief. C'mon, I'll show you to it."

They walked over to the left side of the C-130 towards the front where the main door was located.

"Ok here it is. If you would kindly do your spell that would be great."
The guards stepped back and pointed his horn at the door. The frame of it glowed in a magical blue aurora. After a couple seconds, it popped open and swung down slowly, revealing a small staircase leading up to the cargo hold.

Jake walked up followed by Mac and the two guards. Their leader snapped at them.

"Hey! He didn't give you permission to enter the aircraft! Now get back to your posts!"

The pilot turned around to the captain.

"Hey it's cool. I don't care if they come up here."

The two guards followed them into the plane. The captain staying back at the tent. They all stood in the dark cargo hold. Only a few dim rays of light came through some small windows on the right side. The Ferrari was somewhat visible, as well as the remaining ammo crates, reminding Jake that he still needed to pick up the ones on the farm. He turned around to the rest of them.

"Ok wait here, I'll be right back. In the mean time, one of you guys go to the back and pull down on that red lever to open the cargo door. We'll get some light in here. The artificial ones are too dim."
He walked away up to the cockpit. The third guard went to the back, watching his step as to not trip over anything. He made it to the lever and pulled down. The hydraulic hiss of the door commenced, and the cargo bay started to fill with the evening sunlight.

Jake came back to a now visible area, and went over to a small console at the front right corner of the hold. Mac walked over to him.

"What are you up to partner?"
Jake was pressing buttons, as lights came on on the control panel. Then, a disk tray popped out.

"We'll Mac, this plane was originally used by The United States Forest Service. They controlled wildfires by dumping chemicals on it to put out the flames. They also had an incredibly loud public announcement system on here. What they would do is fly over mountain towns blaring the sirens off of here to warn people to evacuate immediately. But here's the cool part. We never took it off when we bought it from them. So if you can put any type of disc in this tray, I'm sure you can blast music. So I'm gonna give it a shot."
He pulled out an album that had a black cover with a prism in the center. To the left if it was a solid white line running up to the middle, it flared out and became a rainbow, heading down the opposite direction from the prism.

"This is my favorite rock album of all time. It's called The Dark Side Of The Moon by a band called Pink Floyd. They were and still are a music icon. You guys gotta hear this."
He put in the disc and shut the tray. After some more button pushing, the loud speakers built into the bottom, wings, and cargo hold of the plane came on. The disc started to play. All that was heard was the start of the first track, which was a constant heartbeat produced by a bass drum. Jake smiled and turned around to Mac and the two guards.

"Get ready for the coolest forty two-minutes and fifty-nine seconds of music you'll ever hear."

Author's Note

For anyone who hasn't heard The Dark Side of The Moon, I would highly suggest listening to at least part of it. It'll make the following chapter much more interesting. If you don't want to listen to the whole thing the three tracks I reccomendation are Money, Brain Damage, and Eclipse. Brain Damage and Eclipse need to be heard together though in order. Thanks for reading!

Side One

The heartbeat got louder as the first track began, a male voice came in, talking in the background.

"I've been mad for freaking years, absolutely years, been over the edge for yonks, been working me buns off for bands..."

The beat got even louder as a low pitched drone came in. A different man than the one before continued.

"I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the
most of us...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."

Then the drone turned into a guitar whine and the album started its second track. Jake spoke over the loud music.

"This track is called Breathe."
The rest of them nodded and sat down to listen. The song was a medium tempo groove with a slide guitar in the background. The guards started tapping their hooves along to the steady beat when the lead singer came in.

Breathe, breathe in the air.
Don't be afraid to care.
Leave but don't leave me.
Look around and choose your own ground.

Two other voices came in for the chorus.

Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be.

An interlude started. Mac was now bobbing his head to the song, as well as the other two guards. The interlude finished and the vocals returned.

Run, rabbit run.
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
And when at last the work is done
Don't sit down it's time to dig another one.

The chorus came back in.

For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race towards an early grave.

The album immediately went into the next track, On the Run, which picked up tempo and had a sixteenth note hi-hat groove behind it. The song was all instrumental with an electronic synthesizer rhythm behind it all.

"This is my least favorite track because of the consistency, but it's still really cool to listen to."

"That first song was kinda catchy Jake, ah like this band already."

"Glad to hear. Glad to hear."

The fast-paced track was about to end when Twilight and all five of her friends came up the ramp at the back. Applejack ran up to Mac.

"There ya are big guy! Ah had no idea where y'all were headin' off ta. What are you and these guards doin' with Jake. An' what's with this racket?!"
Mac rolled his eyes.

"We're listnin' ta a new type o' music that Jake calls rock. It's very popular where he comes from."
Rarity looked confused.

"What is this...rock, darling?"
Jake answered her with a smirk.

"Just listen and find out."
He cranked up the volume as the track ended and went into the fourth one.

"This one is called Time, sit back and enjoy."
The crowd of now ten ponies including Jake sat down to listen.

The ringing of many different clocks began and continued to chime for a couple seconds before fading. A single guitar chord was played followed by a bongo drum rhythm. This went on for about two minutes, the chord being strummed, followed by the bongo drum beat. Then the vocals came in along with the rest of the instruments.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

The chorus came in, backed by four harmonizing female voices.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

All the ponies except for Fluttershy, Twilight, and Applejack were getting into it now as a wailing guitar solo started up at medium tempo. The third guard was head banging along with the beat. Towards the end of the solo the four female voices came in behind him. It ended and the last verse came in without the female voices.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

The female voices came in one last time with one of them doing some extra singing over the other three.

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.

A groovy interlude began. Applejack spoke to Jake.

"Ah understand this ain't from our world. But ah'd be careful 'bout all them references ta the sun considerin' our Princess symbolizes it an' all."
Rainbow Dash laughed.

"Pfft, c'mon Applejack, this music is awesome so far, I'm sure Celestia would love it."
Twilight rolled her eyes.

"I'm not sure even I'm liking this, let alone the Princess."
Jake put a hoof up in the air.

"Just wait until this next track here. This is my favorite one entitled, The Great Gig In the Sky. The vocals are amazing."
Time ended as a slow, quiet piano solo started. The sound was uplifting and suspenseful. The same slide guitar came in, slowly moving up and down the fret board. Then a quiet male voice spoke in the background.

"And I am not frightened of dying, any time will do, I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying?
There's no reason for it, you've gotta go sometime."

The piano got louder as the bass came in. Finally, after a minute, the drums kicked in and a female voice started wailing over the band. Twilight instantly went wide eyed at the sound of the singers incredible voice. The piano was heard in the background as the crash symbols rang out over it. The woman continued, getting higher pitched and more intricate with her sound. She never spoke any words, it was just a melodic wail and hum. After another minute or so, the tempo slowed down and every instrument save for piano and bass stopped. The woman started to do her thing again, this time much quieter and sadder sounding. The piano reprised the intro as she sang over it. Towards the very end, another female voice came in and spoke almost inaudibly.

"I never said I was frightened of dying."

The piano and the woman got quieter as she sang the ending. After a couple seconds, it stopped. Twilight looked over to Jake.

"That was amazing. I've never heard anything like it before! Who is this band."
The second guard spoke up.

"They're called Pink Floyd."

"Well they are truly amazing. I have to hear that again sometime. What's the next song?"
Jake opened up the disc tray.

"It's called Money. I have to put in disc two though. The original record had to be flipped over, and this is a CD, but the Classic Edition. So there's two parts, just like it was originally ma...what the hell?"
He turned to look out at the cargo ramp. There, he saw everyone who was at the party walking up to his plane, all followed by Pinkie Pie. In less than five minutes, tables were spread out on the grass behind the plane and drinks and food were being passed around. The cargo ramp and bay were now a dance floor, and ponies were conversing and carrying on like before. The party pony ran up to the pilot.

"After hearing this amazing music, I had to tell everypony to pack up and move the party out here! This is so much fun. Crank up the tunes again!"
Jake was stunned.

"But...how did you get everything out here...what?"
Applejack put a hoof up to silence him.

"Don't question Pinkie Pie. Jes go with it."
The captain looked at the events taking place before him, and couldn't help but smile. He turned back to the console and popped in the second disc.

"Well then. On with the show."

Author's Note

I would encourage everyone to listen to Brain Damage/Eclipse on YouTube.
If 6 minutes is too long for you, at least skip to 3:45 and listen to the finale. It'll make the next chapter much better. Thanks!

Side Two

The clinking of change could be heard through the loudspeakers, signaling the start of Money. Then a funky bass line came in. The song was in seven eight, and a medium tempo.

The crowd of ponies cheered at the sound of the beginning song, and some began to dance. Twilight couldn't help but move with the beat as well. Then the lead singer came in.
Money! Get away
Get a good job with more pay and your ooooookay!
Money! It's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and maaaake a stack!
New car caviar four star day dream thing I'll buy me a footbaaaaall team!

The party goers were loving every second of the foreign music.
Money! Get back
I'm all right jack keep your hands off of myyyy stack!
Money! It's a hit
Don't give me none of that do goody-good buuuullshit!
I'm in a high fidelity first class traveling set and I think I need a leeeeear jet! Woo!

A ripping saxophone solo came in. Applejack was starting to get into the rhythm, while Pinkie was already out on the dance floor, doing whatever crazy dance she came up with next. For a second, Jake thought he saw the guard captain from earlier throwing back a drink with a couple other ponies at a table outside. He made his way through the crowd and down the ramp, only to be stopped by the DJ from Sugarcube Corner. She didn't look to happy.

"So, you think you can just steal my thunder eh?! Take away my fans?! I'll show you a thing or two buddy!"
She reared back, ready to strike. Jake shut his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Then the mare broke out in a fit of laughter, leaving Jake startled and confused.

"I'm just messin' with ya dude! You shoulda seen the look on your face! Anyways, this music is awesome. I gotta get me a copy of this stuff!"
Jake laughed.

"I'd be happy to burn you a copy if I can find a place to do it."

At that time, the sax solo turned into a guitar solo as the song went into a fast paced four four time.

"Sweet dude! Look me up when you figure it out."
A group of seven ponies came up to them. It consisted of Lyra, Bon Bon, Noteworthy, Aloe, Lotus, Cheerlie, and Caramel. The musician of the group shook Jakes hoof.

"Noteworthy is the name. You must be Jake?"
Jake shook back.

"That's me."
The blue pony smiled.

"Nice to meet you. This is some set up you got here. I've never heard this type of music before, it's amazing!"
The others nodded in agreement.

"Thanks! I was originally just showing it to Macintosh and a couple guards stationed here. I had no idea that everypony was going to come."
Cheerlie spoke up.

"We all heard that incredible voice from the last song throughout Ponyville. Then Pinkie Pie ran back into Sugarcube Corner and told us all that we needed to high tail it over to Jake's plane to have the party there. I guess it was worth it!"

The solo ended and the lead singer came back in, reverting back to seven eight time.
Money! It's a crime
Share it fairly but don't take a slice of myyyy pie!
Money! It's the root of all evil tooooday!
But if ask for a rise it's no surprise that they're giving none away
Away...
Away...
Away...
Awayyyyy...

The tempo slowed down and the sound faded into a single organ chord. Jake closed his eyes.

"This one takes me back. It's called Us and Them. I remember first hearing it when I was sixteen in my jazz band class. We played a rendition of it, and I was hooked. That was about twenty five years after it first came out."

A slow saxophone melody came in on to of the soft-playing band. Bon Bon spoke up.

"Well, I'm thirsty, who wants to grab a drink."
Jake held up a hoof.

"Say no more."
All of them except for Cheerlie, who stayed back to dance with Mac on the cargo ramp, went over to the drink table and served themselves. They went to a table and sat down to enjoy the music.

The vocals came in. Slow and quiet.
Us...........and them............
And after all, we're only ordinary men.

Jake was singing along to the words.
Me...........and you..............
God only knows, it's not what we would choose to do

The music got louder as the chorus came in, backed by the four female voices.
Forward he cried, from the rear
As the front rank diiiiiiiieeeed!
And the general sat and the lines on the map moved from siiiiiide to side!

The song quieted back down and went into the second verse.
Black...........and blue...........
And who knows which is which, and who is who

The party was going great as sounds of conversation, laughter, and music filled the evening air. Aloe turned to Jake, who was finishing off a glass of cider.

"This song reminds me of the college prom. Remember that Lotus? The one you couldn't find a date for."
She broke out into laughter, while a now grumpy Lotus rolled her eyes and sighed. Noteworthy couldn't help but laugh as well.
Up..........and down........
But in the end, it's only round and round.

Lotus turned to Aloe.

"You know, I think I remember a certain somepony who tripped over her dress on the way to the dance floor and landed in a punch bowl. Am I not correct?"
Aloe blushed and hid her face in her hooves, prompting more laughter from everyone else at the table.

The chorus came back in.
Haven't you heard, it's a battle of words
The poster bearer cried
Listen son, said the man with the gun
There's room for you inside

The music came back down and another slow sax solo started up again as Mac and Cheerlie came over to the table, and sat down beside Noteworthy.

"This song is mah favorite so far."
He turned to the group of ponies at the table and said hello. They all recognized Macintosh and returned the gesture. They sat for a couple minutes, listening to the sax solo, until Pinkie Pie came up to them, followed by Twilight and Applejack.

"Ooh! There you are Jake. C'mon, you need to say a few words considering its YOUR party! The finale is coming up anyways."
Jake gave her a confused look.

"Uh Pinkie...you've never heard this album before. So how would you know when the finale is?"
She was about to go off on a tangent about her Pinkie sense when Applejack put a hoof to her mouth to silence her.

"Like ah said b'fore Jake. Don't question Pinkie Pie."

The solo ended and the vocals came back in.
With...........without
And who'll deny that's what the fightings all about

The last chorus came back in. The saxophone screamed over the vocals this time.
Get out of the way! it's a busy day
And I've got things on my mind
For want of the price of tea and a slice
The oooooold man died!

The song immediately went into the next track, which was a synthesizer solo.

"This song is called Any Colour You Like. The guitar is amazing on this one."

The song was all instrumental and consisted of two guitars trading solos. Noteworthy turned to Jake.

"You should come by my music store sometime and jam. You said you were in a jazz band. What do you play?"

"Trumpet, piano, and guitar."

"Impressive. Im a sax and drum player myself. Come on by and we'll play. It'll be nice to do something different."

"I just might have to take you up on that offer."

They sat listening some more, and as the song was about to end, the pink party pony started bouncing up and down in front of Jake.

"C'mon, lets go!"
The captain got up from the table and nodded goodbye to everyone. Noteworthy caught him as he was about to head out of earshot.

"And if you do come over, bring some more albums, I gotta hear more of this awesome music!"
Jake laughed and waved back to him.

"Will do, will do."
Applejack, Pinkie, and Jake walked over to the rest of their friends, who were standing around by the bottom right corner of the cargo ramp. Fluttershy was nowhere to be found, and Jake asked Twilight about it.

"She went home. This isn't her 'forte' if you know what I mean. Also, she has lots of animals that need watching. So it's just us now."

Any Colour You Like ended and went into the second to last song, Brain Damage.

Rarity looked over to Jake, who was watching the party play out.

"Jake, is everything alright?"
He blinked a few times and turned back to them just as the first verse started up.
The lunatic is on the grass
The lunatic is on the grass
Rememberin' games
And daisy chains and laughs
Got to keep the loonies on the path.

"Yeah everything's fine. It's just that where I came from, I've never had the pleasure to meet people this nice, or go to anything like this. I've only been here three days and I already feel welcome...this is definitely a nice little detour I've taken."
The lunatic is in the hall
The lunatics are in my hall
The paper holds their folded faces to the floor
And everyday the paperboy brings more

The first chorus came in with the backup singers.
And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
And if there is no room upon the hill!
And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too
Ill see you on the dark side of the moon!

The chorus led into the second verse.
The lunatic is in my head
The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade, you make the change
You re-arrange me 'till I'm sane
You lock the door
And throw away the key
There's someone in my head but it's not me.

As the last chorus started, the three guards along with Caramel and Noteworthy ran past Jake, drinks in hoof, swaying from side to side in a line up on the top of the cargo ramp, while everyone else cheered and egged them on.
And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear!
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon!

The last interlude before the finale started, and Jake walked up to the top of the ramp and stood beside the half drunk guards and his new friend. Pinkie somehow produced a mic. The captain cleared his throat.

"Thank you everypony for this amazing party. I'm truly thankful for being accepted into your society, and I hope to make the best of it. That's all I really wanted to say, so lets finish this thing off with a bang."
He turned around to the pony who was nearest to the console.

"Crank it!"
Just as the volume went full blast, the lead in to Eclipse started, and changed to three four time. Everyone was cheering and the alcohol influenced sway line commenced once more. An organ solo played over the band, then the vocals came in.
All that you touch
And all that you see
All that you taste
All you feel

Jake was mouthing the words as he joined the end of the line next to Noteworthy.
And all that you love
And all that you hate
All you distrust!
All you save!

Drinks were clacking together, and ponies all around were moving to the rhythm.
And all that you give
And all that you deal
All that you buy
Beg, borrow, or steal!

The four backup vocals came in.
And all you create!
And all you destroy!
All that you do
And all that you say

The music rang out over Ponyville, and rolled over the hills as it got even louder for the ending.
And all that you eat!
And everyone you meet!
All that you slight!
And everyone you fight!

Applejack threw her Stetson into the air and cheered.
And all that is now!
And all that is gone!
And all that's to come!
And everything under the sun is in tune!
But the sun is eclipsed by the mooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnn!

The crowd went nuts as the final chord was strummed and the music faded out, leaving nothing but the same bass drum heartbeat that was at the beginning of the album. Twilight walked up the ramp to Jake and smiled.

"Welcome to Ponyville Jake."

Latin Class Was Worth It

The sun had just disappeared under the horizon as the last of the crowd, except for Applejack and her brother, were heading up the field back towards Ponyville, still excited from the recent events. All of the tables had been picked up, and Jake was just about to close up the cargo ramp when he remembered something. He ran up to the cockpit and got a small jug attached to the end of a long rod he used to check the fuel for sediment with. He walked back out and shut the door, jumping off the rising platform as it went up. Mac looked at the device in the pilots hand.

"What's that for partner?"
Jake walked around to the left side of the plane and went under the wing.

"It's a container I use to check the fuel for sediment during preflight checks. Hopefully I can scrounge up at least a cup of it for Twilight to duplicate so I can get this thing running again."

He lifted the rod up and aimed the container at a small hole in the bottom of the wing. Drop by drip, the remaining fuel leaked into the jug. After a minute, Jake had the amount required for the job. He lowered it down in front of his eyes.

"Don't fail me now, you're my last hope."
Applejack walked over to him.

"Now that ya got what ya needed, ah think it's best ya head over ta Twilight's an' drop it off now b'fore she goes ta bed. That way you an' Mac can start workin' early tomorra. Her house is the large treehouse at the far end of the town square. Ya can't miss it."

"Yeah that's probably a good idea. I shouldn't have trouble finding the place."

Jake walked over to the third guard, who was the only one not passed out from alcohol, and said goodbye. The guard shook his hoof.

"Well that was certainly an interesting experience I never imagined I'd have when I woke up this morning. My names Silverstream by the way. I can't believe I went all this time without properly introducing myself."

"No problem. It was fun."
He looked over his shoulder into the lantern lit guard tent at the two out cold.

"Are they going to be alright?"
Silverstream looked back over him and chuckled.

"Ah they'll be fine. They could never hold their own anyways."

Applejack yelled over to him as she was walking away with Mac.

"Ya better get yer flank over there or she's gonna be asleep!"
Jake rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Yes mother!"
He turned around and headed for the town, glancing back at the guard.

"I'll see you around. Have a good night."

"You as well."
Silverstream walked into the tent and shut the flap behind him.

The two siblings had already crossed the field and were heading through town towards the farm as Jake was only halfway across.

The moonlight faintly lit the grass as it gently waved in the breeze, making a faint rustling sound. Then Jake stopped, and his body froze up as he stared at the faint silhouette of a pony about twenty feet away. Just far enough to be hidden by the darkness. The pilot was getting nervous.

"Who...who's there. What do you want?"

In an instant, the pony was gone without a sound. Jake slowly and cautiously walked forward to where the mystery being once stood, only to find a small slip of paper laying on the grass. He picked it up and read it. After a minute of processing, he finally pieced it together, and almost collapsed in shock. However, the captain overcame it and broke off into a sprint towards the town.

Twilight was in her room getting ready for bed when Spike came in.

"So how was the party?"
Twilight sat down on the edge of the bed and fluffed her pillow.

"It was one of the best Pinkie pie parties I've ever been to. We all moved it out to the field where Jake's aircraft was. He played this type of music called rock, which I didn't like at first, but I came around. It's actually really catchy."
Their conversation was interrupted by a fierce pounding on the treehouse door. Twilight was suspicious as she descended the staircase into the dark main floor, until she looked out the window and saw that it was only Jake. She opened the door, and he ran in and slammed it behind him, panting and gasping for air.

"You...won't...believe this. I...need your...help!"

Twilight flicked on the lights and led Jake over to a couch to sit down before interrogating him. He sat down and just stared at the wall, slowly regaining his breath. The lavender unicorn sat down in front of him and began asking questions.

"Ok first of all, what happened?"
Jake had regained enough air to talk normally now, but was still looking away from Twilight as he spoke.

"I was walking through the field on my way here to drop off that cup of fuel for you to duplicate, when I was stopped by a figure in front of me. I asked it who it was, but before I got an answer, it ran away. However, it left something. Something that scares me and makes me happy at the same time. I'm not sure what to think."
Twilight was getting impatient.

"What was it?! Come on and tell me!"
Jake turned to look at her.

"Twilight...I'm not alone."
She looked confused.

"What do you mean? Of course your not. We're all here as well. If you ever need somepony to talk to, we'll always be happy to-"
She was cut off by a raised hoof from him.

"No, I mean I'm not alone. As in, somepony else has visited this world just like me, and I know who it is."

The unicorn was stunned.

"Well, who is it then?"
Jake cleared his throat before answering.

"It's the carpenter, Fritzer Mach."

"Fritzer? How do you know for certain? If I remember correctly, he said he was from a small town called Sponsus Lake."
Jake gulped.

"Well...take a look at this. I guess my old Latin class payed off for once."
He handed her the piece of paper to read.

SPONSUS LAKE=GROOM LAKE A.K.A AREA 51

Imprisoned

The streets were empty and dark as Jake slowly made his way back to the farm. He wanted to confront Fritzer as soon as possible, but he thought that it would be best to wait until morning, considering he'd probably be asleep and not even wake up to talk.

After another ten minutes of quiet walking, he found himself at the front gates of Sweet Apple Acres. As he walked in the front door, Applejack was sitting at the table. She got up and went over to him.

"There ya are! What in Celestia's name took y'all so long?"
Jake had a blank stare on his face, the same one he'd be donning since he left Twilight's house.

"Fritzer Mach, the carpenter whom we got the wood from, is from my world just like me."
The farm pony had a confused look on her face.

"That's impossible. He said he was from uh...where did he say he was from again?"

"Sponsus Lake. But Sponsus is Groom in Latin. Groom Lake is the official name for a place called Area Fifty-One...the place I was flying by when I was sent here."

Applejack registered everything in her brain, and her confused look turned to one of shock.

"What does he want?! Ya think he's after y'all?"
Jake shook his head.

"No I don't believe so. He confronted me in the field as I was walking back. He never showed himself, and ran away before I could speak with him. But he left a note. The one that gave me the translation. I don't know what to do now. I think I'm just gonna go to bed and worry about it in the morning."

He walked past Applejack and went up the stairs.

"Well g'nite then."
She went into the living room to shut off the lights and go to bed as well.

His room was dark, with just a sliver of moonlight coming through the closed curtains. He took off his uniform and hung it up. Crawling into bed, he noticed the wind had begun to pick up, and the old window panes softly rattled whenever a strong gust came by. The captain laid his head down and closed his eyes, attempting to get some sleep after the hectic day he just had, unaware of the stallion that was emerging out of the orchard towards the house with a devilish look in his eyes.

Applebloom was running down a track, finish line in sight, in the lead by an entire bodies length. She approached the end. Twenty feet, panting for air. Ten feet, not stopping for anything. Five feet, two feet. Snap! The finish line tape broke as she came across first. The crowd went wild, chanting her name. The filly looked back to see a cutie mark resembling a pony's silhouette, angled forwards in a run with speed lines coming out of it.

"Awesome! I finally got my-"
Her dream was cut off as she snapped awake to the sound of a large thud outside. Applebloom slid out of bed and quietly tiptoed to the door. The hallway was quiet except for the deep snore of her older brother in the room next door. As she made her way over to the staircase, the floorboards creaked under every step. She reached the top and looked down to the front door just as a shadow moved from outside across the dim moonlight the window was casting.

Applebloom had always been one to not get scared easily, and normally she would have played this off as just a tree branch or a stray animal, but this was certainly a pony, and she knew Jake had come home already because she heard him come upstairs a little while ago.

The color drained from her body, she managed to overcome her shock and quietly but hastily go over to Macintosh's room. The filly opened the door and went up to the snoring earth pony and whispered to him.

"Mac...psst! Big Mac wake up!"
She started to shake him.

"Mac please wake up...ahm scared."
He started to grumble and rolled over, opening his eyes to look right at her.

"What do you want Applebloom? It's three in the dang mornin' an' ah gotta work tomorra."
There was a single tear from the panicking filly, and Mac saw it. He sat up instantly.

"What's wrong?"
Applebloom's breathing got a little heavier as the shock from before set in again.

"There's somepony outside. An' ah know it's a pony. They were right on the front porch."

Macintosh knew that her sister had a wild imagination at times, but the look on her face told him she was dead serious. He got out of bed and went to the door.

"You go an' wake up Jake right now. But stay up here an' don't come near the stairs."
His little sister nodded and walked into the hall, making her way towards the pilots room.

Mac went the opposite way towards the staircase, and upon reaching it, he froze. The front door was wide open, creaking back and forth in the wind that was picking up. A very tired Jake walked over to the farmer.

"What's the matter. Applebloom told me that-"
He was cut off as he followed Mac's pointing hoof to the open door.

"Oh crap. There's somepony in the house isn't there?"
The red pony nodded.

"So what do we do then?"
He sighed.

"Ah guess our best option is ta stay right here an' guard the upstairs. There ain't nopony except the intruder down there, so as long as he don't come near us, we'll stay out of his way."
Jake gulped.

"Are you sure?"

"Eeyup."

They sat there for a couple minutes. Then Mac went back to his room to get a club he used to use to hit rotten apples with like a baseball when he was younger, just in case things got ugly. He came back and sat down, leaning the club against the wall to his right.

"Ah just wanna say right now that if anythin' happens, it was a pleasure ta meet y'all. Yer probably one o' the first real friends a'hve made. Ah never get the chance ta get out much with all this work. An' yer the first pony a'hve actually enjoyed workin' with 'cept for mah sister."
Jake processed the information and nodded to him.

"Well it's been fun being here. When I first met you, I was a little scared to be honest. I didn't know how you were going to take the news that I was the one that destroyed your barn and injured your leg. But I guess it all worked out. I hope nothing happens to either of us. Maybe the intruder is gone. It is kinda quiet down there. You think one of us should take a look?"

Mac shook his head.

"Ahm stickin' ta the plan. Ah'll stay up here all night if it means ensuring mah families safety."
Jake suddenly realized something.

"You know, what if he came up the roof and went through an upstairs window? It's always possible."
Macintosh cursed under his breath.

"Alright, Jes to be sure, go an' check in on all the bedrooms. If they're up here, yell an' ah'll come a runnin'."

"Ten-four."

He slowly crept over to Granny Smith's room past the staircase at the opposite end from his own. He slowly opened the door and peered in. Nopony except for Granny Smith herself was in there. She was snoring quietly.

Jake passed Mac again and made his way to the farmers room. Once again, it was intruder-free. He went back and checked the bathroom between Mac and his grandmothers room, just to be sure. His next stop was Applebloom's room. He went in to find her sitting on her bed, a worried look on her face.

"Is everythin' alright?"
He nodded.

"Yes, I'm just making sure you're ok. Try to get some sleep now."
He closed the door and went over to Applejacks room. He debated wether or not to wake her, and decided against it. He made his way to the last door; his room. As he opened it, a heavy thump was heard at the top of the staircase. As Jake swung around to see what it was, he froze. Mac was in a chokehold with a knife to his throat. Behind him, a pegasus stallion, black with a short red mane, was the one holding it. He spoke in a quiet raspy voice.

"Shhhh, we wouldn't want anything to happen to your 'new' friend now would we. That's right, I've been right beneath you two the whole time while you were having your little conversation. I must say, this guy is a real family colt. To bad he'll be a dead one soon."
Jake spoke up, quiet enough for the rest of the Apples not to hear him and wake up.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, but please don't hurt him. I'm guessing this has something to do with my little encounter earlier and the note I received, right?"
The intruder nodded.

"My you're a smart one aren't you. Yes it's true, I'm from Earth just like you. But it's different for me, I don't like it here. Everyday I sit for hours and think of ways to escape, but I can't. I'm above killing myself. What good would that do? I'm trying to get home, not end my life and eliminate all chances of doing so. So for five years now, I've been going crazy. Day by day, I live in this prison I've transported to. You coming here and loving it made me snap I guess. Why should you have the opportunity to love your new life, while I never got the chance to in the first place? I try to find what's so good about it here, but every fiber of my being says its terrible. It's funny, I'm insane, yet I know it and accept it. It's strange what people do while they're insane."
He drew the knife closer to Mac. Jake tried to stall again.

"Who are you anyways?"
The mystery stallion chuckled.

"Here's where my story gets good. The reason I hate you is because you love this place and I can't. But it's weird...I'm the one who brought you here. So why shouldn't I love it too?"
Jake look confused.

"Ok, who are you? I need to know."
The black pegasus donned a wicked smile.

"Doctor Robert Draplen, at your service."

Clean Slate

Everything was silent as the three stallions stood in the hall. Jake and Draplen were in a stare down, while Mac was trying to keep calm in his position. Jake finally spoke up.

"This doesn't make any sense. First off, what good would it do to kill Mac? You have no business with him. Hell, you don't even have any business with ME. I get what you're saying about being trapped in this world, but why kill us?"
Draplen scoffed.

"You don't even know half of what it's like to be imprisoned like I am! You're a fool for thinking you do. That's why you don't deserve to be here. You simply were brought here by accident. I, on the other hand, spent half of my life developing the device that brought you here. It was supposed to be me in your position. I was going to be the first test subject. Who knows, maybe things would've turned out different. It's also that idiotic Docter Navorno's fault. If only he'd listened to me and not fired the canon until we had proper barriers set up so the beam wouldn't have hit you. Damn that fool! Too bad once I get done wasting you two, he'll be next on my list."

"I think not, Doctor."

Just as Draplen turned his head to look down the staircase, a grey unicorn sprang up and tackled him. It didn't do much, but it was enough for Mac to squeeze out of his hold and scramble over to the club leaning on the wall. The black pegasus was on the floor in a daze, and before he could get up, Mac swung the club down delivering a blow to the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

The grey pony got up and turned to face Mac and Jake, his left front leg had a long gash down the side of it, and it was bleeding badly. Jake saw his face for the the first time, and found that it was Fritzer Mach, the carpenter.

His horn glowed, and his face winced in pain. The cut on his leg slowly sealed, leaving a dry blood stain without a source. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry it had to happen like this. I've been trying to find him for years now. As he said, my real name is Doctor Fredrick Navorno, but please call me Fritzer. I don't want anypony else to know.
Mac went over to him and shook his hoof.

"Thank y'all fer tacklin' him when ya did. Ahm afraid ta think what woulda happened if ya hadn't shown up in time."

"No problem my boy."
He turned to the pilot standing next to Macintosh.

"Jake, it's time we have a little talk. Follow me. Oh, and you can come too Mac."
As they were about to walk downstairs, Navorno stopped next to Draplen.

"Almost forgot about him."
He levitated the unconscious body in front of him and led the two down the stairs. They made their way out into the cold night air, and sat down on the front porch. The carpenter cast a petrifying spell on Draplen, and threw him in the bed of the Dodge, which was parked in front of them about twenty feet away. Navorno began his explanation.

'He should be out for at least twenty four hours. You can turn him in before then. I can tell you that Doctor Draplen wasn't always like that. Nine years ago, we were both partners in a massive project to develop a canon that could teleport someone or something at the speed of light, thus sending them through time. However, I now know that that canon did much more. Not only does it let you travel through time, it lets you travel through dimensions."
Jakes was stunned.

"So you mean that this isn't some distant planet in the same universe?"
Fredrick nodded.

"Precisely. The beam managed to warp the fabric of space and time, and for reasons even I can't explain, open up another dimension."

The trees rustled in the wind as a small gust picked up, making Mac shiver.

"Why in the hay do we have ta be outside?"
The unicorn laughed.

"I always loved the night air, so deal with it lad. Anyways, we finished the canon seven years ago, and were going to test it at Area Fifty-One. It was the only place with a chamber large enough to hold it securely. It wasn't secure enough however, because when we fired it, the beam shot up and out through the roof, into the desert. That's what hit your plane Jake. That's what brought you here."

The pilot had a confused look on his face.

"I don't understand this. How have you been here longer than me, if I came here before you?"

"I'm getting to that my boy, I'm getting to that. So after the test fire went wrong, we immediately locked down the base and went up to the ground floor to assess the damage. As we got up there, the base commander told us that the beam had hit an aircraft that was flying nearby, and it vanished. Teams searched for hours for any debris from the wreckage, but there was none. The only conclusion was that it transported you. I was incredibly happy and sad at the same time. Happy that it worked, but sad that I had just sent however many people into an unknown location. I was sure that whoever it was, was going to die. For a couple days, me and Doctor Draplen tried to figure out a plan. The one we opted for was to go after you, and see for ourselves what it did."
Mac spoke up.

"But how did ya know that y'all were even gonna live if ya went through it?"
He doctor chuckled.

"As Draplen had already told you, we spent half of our lives developing the canon. I could even say I've spent my ENTIRE life. If it meant risking it to find out if my life's work payed off, it was worth it to me."
He looked around and out to the orchard, admiring the landscape, and sighed.

"And I think it did pay off."
Jake was getting restless.

"But that still doesn't answer my question."

"Ah yes. As I was saying, we decided to beam ourselves. But I had a theory on how to go about doing it. I assumed that if we were to put the canon on full power, the test was only seventy-five percent, we would travel faster, thus arriving at the destination years before you did. You see, the canon doesn't exactly need to travel at light speed to transport, just as close as you can get. I guess three quarter's power was enough to transport you into another dimension. When Draplen and I were beamed, we traveled at light speed. We got here seven years before you did. My theory had worked. The only downfall was that at the time, I didn't know exactly how far apart our arrivals would be staggered. But I was able to calculate the power difference, and conclude that it would at least be in my lifetime. I knew that wherever we entered the world, that's where you would enter as well. So we both settled down here in Ponyville to wait for you. I must say, it took us awhile to get used to our new forms. I have yet to discover why we changed upon entering this dimension. Anyways, after settling down, we lived quietly for about a year. I opened up my carpentry shop, and started my new life, eager to make the best of it. Draplen on the other hand, didn't like it here as much. Some nights I would walk into his room to find him talking to himself in a corner. I tried to help him, but he only got worse. Finally, after two more years of him slowly falling into insanity, he came into the house one day, yelling something about how we don't belong here. He started going crazy and throwing things at me. I managed to fend him off with a couple defense spells. He ran away to the south, and I never saw him again until earlier at the party. He was lurking around the outskirts of Ponyville, waiting to follow you home. I followed him, tackled him, and now we're here. Any questions?"
His audience of two took a second to process everything in their brains, before Jake spoke.

"Well I'm sorry about Draplen. I'm sure he used to be a great guy."
The doctor made a so-so gesture with his hoof, resulting in laughter from the three. Mac looked up to the sky, then back to Fredrick.

"Listen Frizter, ah can't even say it's gettin' late, 'cause its gettin' early already. Ahm gonna go back ta bed an' try ta get at least another hour o' sleep. Yer more than welcome ta sleep on the couch in the livin' room tonight considering it's a long walk back to yer home."

"Thank you for the offer my boy, but like I said, I enjoy the night air, I'll make the trip back."

"Well alright then. G'night."
He made his way into the house and up the stairs, leaving Jake and the doctor on the porch.

"Listen Jake, I want to also let you know that there's no way back. At least not in our lifetime. I know this might be hard to handle, but we're both here for the rest of our lives, so I would try to make it count."
Jake sat in silence before slowly nodding his head.

"I'm sorry, but even if I could build another canon, I wouldn't be certain it would take us back to Earth. This location was completely random."
He sighed.

"Well I best be getting home now. Are you going to be ok?"
The captain nodded again. Doctor Navorno patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave. As he was walking to the gate, he called back to Jake just as he was about to close the door.

“Jake, you only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

He left the pilot to think as he turned back and headed out to the road, lit by the faintest rays from the moon as Princess Luna was lowering it to make way for her sisters sun.

Author's Note

Quote by Mae West. Thanks for reading.

Convoy

Dark grey smoke billowed out of the Dodge's stacks as it dragged the sled forward. They had managed to shimmy it underneath the massive boulder, and were towing it off the field. Mac was walking alongside the convoy as it crawled at around five miles an hour. He yelled over to Jake.

"Ahm surprised this sled is holdin' up. Ah was expectin' it ta buckle under the weight."
Jake shifted into four wheel low, the engine tone lowered as the truck gained more power.

"It's not the weight that I'm afraid of, it's the possibility of me pulling too hard and ripping the sled up. I could go much faster than this if I wanted to. Where are we going with this thing anyways?"
Mac looked off past the barn to the front gate.

"Ah got ta thinkin' this mornin' while ah was walkin' back ta the farm from the police station. Ah think it would look quite nice sittin' next ta the front gate. Maybe it could have our name an' founding date chiseled on it."

Jake nodded.

"I think that would look quite nice. I'll pull it up there. Go on ahead and direct me to where you want it."

"Eeyup."
The farmer ran ahead past the barn and out of sight. After a couple minutes, Jake had passed the barn himself, and was in front of the house when Applejack came out to see the progress. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the boulder in tow. She walked up to her brother to wait for the rock's arrival. Both of them looked back at the truck.

"You know Mac, don't ever tell Jake this, but ah take back everythin' ah said 'bout that thang not being good on our farm. It gets the job done right ah'll tell ya that."

Jake was looking ahead to the gate when a sudden rainbow blur flew right over him and landed over by Applejack. Rainbow Dash joined the audience of two watching the tow in progress.

Without warning, the truck jolted and shot forward, and a loud snap could be heard from the back end. Jake slammed on the brakes as the Dodge skidded to a halt, a foot from the rainbow pegasus' face, staring right into the front bumper. She stood motionless for a couple seconds before the engine shut off, and Jake got out. He ran up to the front to see if she was ok.

"I'm so sorry! The chain must've snapped."
She whipped her head to meet his gaze, and put on a face Jake remembered from their first encounter.

"This is the second time you've almost hit me! You might wanna watch where your going flathead!"
Applejack tried to calm her down.

"Now listen here Dash. Jake didn't mean no harm. It was just an accident."

"Yeah look I'm sorry Dash. It's not like I was trying to hurt you."

Rainbow sighed.

"You're right. I'm sorry for yelling. But be more careful with this thing next time, ok?"

"You got it."
He went around back to inspect the damage. As he had assumed, one of the chain links had snapped open. Jake climbed into the bed to grab a spare one. After hooking everything back up, he went up to the front to talk to Mac.

"Ok where exactly do you want this thing, because I can't back it up or turn it around. It's too heavy."
Mac walked out of the gate and over to the right side of it. He pointed to a small grassy area right in front.

"Right here. Ah want it ta sit on it's side so it's horizontal."

Jake got in and started the truck back up. The engine got louder as it pulled forward slowly out the gate. He turned right and drug the sled right over the boulders future resting spot and stopped on top of it. The pilot got out and went around back to unfasten the straps. He turned to the three to explain his plan.

"Ok here's what we're going to do. I'm going to tie a chain around the boulder, then hook the other end to that big tree over there."
He pointed to a massive apple tree that was directly behind the sled about thirty feet away.

"The boulder is already sitting on the sled in the position you want it to be in when it's off, so if I pull forward, the chain should stop the boulder from moving, and it'll slide right off into the grass."
Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"Don't you have to like, dig a hole so that rock will sit right?"

"No. The ground is soft enough that the boulder's weight will make it sink down just right. Ok lets get this thing done."

They worked diligently to get it hooked up and ready. Rainbow took the chain in her hoof, and flew over to tie it to the tree. Once it was done, Jake got back in the cab, shifted into four wheel drive, and slowly pulled forward. The tires began to spin a little in the soft dirt, but after a couple attempts, the rock began to slide off the back, and after a couple seconds, it was completely off and in place on the grass.

Jake turned around and drove back in the gate. He stopped and got out. The other three met him at the truck. Mac looked back to the boulder.

"Yessir, ah think that's gonna look right nice sittin' there. Well it's almost time for dinner. That took us much longer than ah expected."
Rainbow Dash shot up and hovered over them.

"Yeah I've gotta go. See you around guys."
With that she shot off towards Ponyville, out of sight in an instant.

The three spent the remainder of the hour putting the sled back and filling in the hole where the boulder once was. When they finally got back in the house around eight o'clock, Jake started thinking.

"Hey Mac, what is there to do around here that's fun?"
He thought for a moment.

"Well the only place that a'hve heard of is a small joint in town called Trios. They got live jazz music there every weekend. Never been in there, but it's Friday, so it should be open."

"Hey that sounds cool. You wanna go and check it out?"

"Sure. Ah know the owner real well. He buys a lot of apples from us for the drinks and food there. He's always pesterin' me ta go sometime, so ah guess ah'll pay him a visit tonight. You wanna come too sis?"
She shook her head.

"Naw you two go on ahead. Ah got some work ta get done."

"Suit yerself. Well lets get cleaned up an' head out. It should be intrestin'."

In fifteen minutes, both of them were ready to go. They said goodbye and headed out the door. To their surprise, it started pouring rain, making the road leading into town wet and muddy.

"Eh, we can just take the truck. It shouldn't be a problem."

They got in and buckled up. Jake started the engine and turned on the headlights and windshield wipers. He reversed out of the gate and into the empty road. The Dodge set off, easily making its way through the muddy street towards Ponyville.

Applejack came to the front window just in time to see two red taillights through the rain drive off. Her little sister came into the room where she was.

"What'cha lookin' at big sis?"
The orange earth pony turned around to face her.

"Nothin'."

"Ok then."
The filly ran out into the living room. Leaving Applejack alone in the kitchen. She turned back to look out at the rain drops sliding down the window pane.

"Looks like Mac has finally made a friend. Good fer him."

Scotch And A Manehattan

The scene in front of Trios was busy. Ponies flocked into the club for a night of good music and food, running in quickly to get out of the rain. The building was on the main road, just south of the town square.

Many heads turned as the Dodge pulled up in front. The engine shut off, and both of them got out.

"Boy Mac, this place is busy."

"Eeyup. A'hve heard that this club is quite popular 'round these parts."

They left the truck sitting out front and walked in. Immediately, they were greeted by a yellow unicorn stallion in a white dress shirt and black bow tie.

"Good evening. Welcome to Trios. We are very busy tonight, so there might be quite a wait."

"How long ya thinkin' partner?"

"Around thirty to forty minutes."
Just then, a black earth pony stallion with a yellow mane came out of a door behind the front desk.

"Macintosh! I was beginning to think you'd never stop in. And you must be Jake. Am I correct?"
He shook the owners hoof.

"You bet. But how did you know it was me?"
He laughed in a deep baritone.

"I was in the crowd when you gave that little speech on top of your vehicle thing."
Jake smiled.

"Ah yes, now I remember. And you are?"

"Oh right! Where are my manners? My name is Brasstacks, and I own the joint. I'm glad you two could make it tonight. We have a jazz band here tonight that is one of the best in the Northern Equestrian region. It should be a hit!"
He looked over to the waiter.

"Mr. Strat, will you please show them to a table."
The waiter shuffled on his feet and gave him a nervous look.

"Um, I told them there's a thirty minute wait. We're very busy tonight sir."
Brasstacks chuckled.

"Not a problem at all! Show them to my personal table, and put them on my tab."
Mac raised his hoof.

"Now Mr. Brasstacks, ah thank y'all kindly fer yer gesture, but it's too much. Ah wouldn't feel right gettin' food and drinks fer free."

"Macintosh, you're the one that provides me with half of the ingredients to make said food and drink. It would be WRONG if you didn't get them for free. Now run along! The band is starting in ten minutes."

The waiter led the two through a wooden doorframe into the main room. The club had dark oak wood for the walls and ceiling, crystal chandeliers hung in various places.

They were standing on a raised platform overlooking the room. Two identical staircases on either side wall led down to the lower level. On that level, directly built in to the wall below the platform, was a U-shaped bar jutting straight out, then curving back around into the wall. The two bartenders were in the middle of the U, hastily mixing drinks for the crowd surrounding it.

Strat led them down the left staircase and to the center of the entire room where a round table with a white tablecloth was sitting amongst the others. It looked as if it could seat about six or so, and was the only empty table there.

They sat down and looked toward the stage. It took up about half of the back wall, leaving ten or so feet on either side. The red curtain was down, and behind it they could faintly hear the sound of the band setting up. The waiter cleared his throat.

"Can I start you two off with any drinks tonight?"
Mac looked at the menu, then came to a decision.

"Ah'll have a glass of the Scotch."

"Excellent choice sir."
He turned to Jake.

"And for you?"

"I'll have the Manehattan Cocktail."

"Very well. I'll have those for you two in a moment."
He walked away towards the bar to put their order in.

Jake glanced over to the bar and saw Noteworthy sitting there beside Twilight.

"Uh, Mac. I'm sure you don't get into the gossip, but is Twilight dating Notworthy?"
The farmer turned to look over to where Jake was looking.

"Hmm, ah'm not rightly sure. But it ain't none o' mah business either way."

Noteworthy looked over to Jake and waved. He got down off the barstool and made his way over to him with Twilight following. He went up to Jake and shook his hoof.

"I never expected to see you here! You sure did pick the right night I guess."

Twilight spoke up.

"How is everything so far Jake?"

"Great. I'm getting out on the town tonight as you can see. I'm trying to get more acquainted with the town since I'm going to be here forever."
The unicorns face turned to confusion.

"What do you mean Jake?"

"To make an extremely long story short, the man who sent me here followed me, but wound up getting here before me with some speed of light theory stuff. It was Fritzer Mach, just like I thought. He said there's no way back to Earth. So I'm here forever. But I'm past all the emotional stuff. I just have to live the rest of my life to the fullest I guess. Why don't you two join us."

"Thanks Jake. We weren't able to get a table anywhere."

They sat down across from the pilot and farmer. Just then, their drinks arrived.

"One Scotch for you sir, and the Manehattan Cocktail for you. Enjoy."

He walked away back to the bar. Noteworthy held up his drink.

"Well then Jake, if your going to spend the rest of your life here, better make it a damn good one. Here's to your new start."
All four of them clacked their glasses together. Mac looked over to Twilight.

"Ah didn't know y'all liked jazz."

"Well I didn't know much about it, but Noteworthy here got me into it, and finally convinced me to come here. This is my first live jazz experience."
Jake chimed in.

"Well you're going to love it. I remember playing in my jazz band back in high school. It was a blast."

Just then, Brasstacks walked up to the table.

"I see you have some friends here as well Macintosh. Very good! Any friend of Mac's is a friend of mine."
He turned to the two new ponies at the table.

"My name is Brasstacks, and I own the place. I hope you all have a great evening of entertainment. Speaking of such, the band is about to go on. I'll see you all around."

With that the black earth pony left and made his way up to the stage. As he approached the microphone, everyone in the club got silent. He cleared his throat.

"Good evening ladies and gentlecolts! My name is Brasstacks, owner of Trios, and I want to welcome you all here on this fine Friday night."
The audience applauded.

"Yes well, tonight we have a very talented band performing. Specializing in modern swing, and funky tunes that will leave your hooves tapping, they have done numerous gigs around Equestria, including being requested by Princess Celestia herself for her birthday a couple years ago. So sit back, relax, and take in the sounds of The Equestrian Music Repertory Ensemble!"

He ran off the stage just as the red curtain came up. A big band was set up, consisting of four trumpets, four trombones, five saxaphones, drums, piano, and bass. The conductor raised his hoof and started moving to the tempo.

"A one, a two, a one two three four!"

All That Jazz

The drummer came in with an uptempo swing rhythm. Then the trumpet line screamed their way in. When they stopped, the trombones responded. This went on three times before the melody came in.

Everyone in the crowd was clapping along, and some ponies standing around the bar were moving to the music.

A saxophonist came down to the front of the stage and started a solo. He moved through his notes quickly and effortlessly.

When he was done, a trumpet came up and started to solo. He held a long high note as his intro, then started flying through notes. He swayed back and forth to the beat, and hit more high notes, causing an eruption of cheering from the audience.

The band all came back in and finished off the song with the melody again. The trumpets went up an octave, and the lead was wailing over them. They paused on a single chord while the conductor held his hoof up high, then swung it down, cuing the last note. It rang over the club, and a loud applause started just as he gave them the cut off.

Noteworthy looked over to Twilight.

"So, what'd you think of that?!"
She stopped applauding and faced him.

"It was amazing! This type of music is so diverse and unique. Thank you so much for making me come here!"

"No problemo."
Jake eyed them curiously for a moment.

"Ok elephant in the room, I'll say it. Are you two dating?"
There was a short pause before the two both broke out in laughter. Noteworthy caught his breath and took a quick swig from his drink.

"No Jake, we're not. Me and Twilight have known each other since high school. Even though she was the Princess' student, she still went to normal school as well. We met there, and have been great friends ever since."

The unicorn nodded in agreement.

"Oh, shhh, the conductor is about to speak."

He went over to a microphone and tapped it once to test it.

"Hello everypony, it's great to be here tonight. My name is Clef. That first tune was entitled Won't Stop For Nothin', an original song written by Sticcato Marx, our lead trumpet player. I'm glad everypony was able to make it tonight. If you have to get out of this torrential downpour we're experiencing, you might as well do it here. While we're on the subject of rain and clouds, why don't we introduce our singer for tonight. She'll be performing an original tune called Kicking Clouds All Day. So put your hooves together for the one and only, Melanie Harmonic!"

A light green pegasus came out wearing a black dress that trailed off the back and down onto the stage. Ponies started applauding. A stallion at the next table whistled, followed by a swift punch in the arm from his wife.

The bass and drums started playing a medium tempo intro. The hi-hat tapped the two and four of the measure, and the piano started playing little blues riffs over them.

Melanie started to sing in a medium pitched voice. She had a jazzy rasp to it that made it perfect for the type of music she was singing.

"Kickin' clouds all day."
She paused for a measure before repeating herself, but with a little more embellishment.

"I said I'm kicking clouds all dayYyYaaaay. I've got no place to stay. No bed in which to lay, so I'm just gonna keep kickin' clouds all day."

The band came in for the bridge. It was low and moody, and the saxaphones were the main voice. They stopped, leaving nothing but the bass, drums, and piano again for about five bars before Melanie came back in.

"Well I once had it all."
A trumpet with a plunger mute filled the gaps between phrases.

"Thought I would never faaaaall!........I thought wrong baby yeah I thought wrong, cuz you left me high and dry so I could sing my song."
The entire band came in behind her for the chorus.

"Ooooooh well I got no place to stay!"
The trombones stopped playing and sang, echoing her voice.

"She's got no place to stay!"

"Not a bed in which to lay!"

"So I think I'm just gonna."

"So she thinks she's just gonna."

"Keep kickin clouds."

"Aaaaaaaaallllllll day."

"Aaaaaaaaallllllll day."
They resumed their playing and left her to finish up the song. She repeated the phrase but with higher notes and more variation.

"AaaAAaaaAAlllll dayyyy!"
The band cut out, leaving the rhythm section once again. She echoed her self, getting quieter each time for the outro.

"Aaaaalll day."
The trumpet with the mute came in between the first two gaps very quietly.
"All day baby all day."
She stopped singing and spoke the next line.

"Oooh yeah I'm gonna be kickin them clouds all day you know that's right."
She laughed lightly before singing her last line, fading out at the end.

"Kickin' clouds all day........ooooh ohoohoohoo yeaaaaaahhhh..."
A light crash cymbal was the last thing that could be heard as everything faded out.

Once again, an applause rang out through Trios. Melanie bowed.

"Thank you! Thank you very much. I'll be back out in a little bit. Don't go nowhere."
With that she walked off the stage.

Jake finished off his Manehattan and looked over to Mac.

"Good call coming here tonight. This is the best entertainment I've had in years!"

"Ahm glad we came here too. Like ah said b'fore, a'hve always been fond of jazz music. It's nice to see it live like this."

They sat back to listen to the next song. It was called Canterlot Class, and was an uptempo funk tune. It featured many soloists, and the band danced along to the music as they played.

After they were finished and the applauding had ceased, Clef made his way back to the microphone.

"Ok before we go any further, I'd like to do my favorite portion of the night: Free Jam! Anypony who's got some musical blood in them, come on up to play with us. The music isn't hard, and it doesn't matter what you play, just have fun with it! Any takers?"

Noteworthy looked across to Jake.

"C'mon dude! You can play trumpet, and I can play saxophone. It'll be awesome!"

"Uhh, I'm not sure Notewor-"
He was cut off by him standing up and waving his hoof in the air. Clef saw them and pointed. A spotlight came down on their table. Jake was trying to look as small as possible, but the musician went over to him and raised his hoof up with his. The conductor laughed.

"Well it looks like we have our volunteers! Come on up here you two."

Ponyville was a small town, so everybody knew everybody, which caused the crowd to start cheering Noteworthy's and Jake's name as they made their way up to the stage.

After walking up the side steps, they were standing next to Clef. He spoke off the mic to them.

"Ok so what's your names and what do you play?"

"I'm Noteworthy, I play saxophone. And Jake here plays trumpet."

"Glad to meet you both! Lets get you set up then."

Five minutes later found the two set up in the band. Noteworthy was on the end of the sax section, and Jake was in the trumpet line standing next to Sticcato Marx, the lead trumpet. He looked over to him.

"Hey buddy, just relax. It's easy stuff. You've played jazz before right?"

"Oh yeah plenty of times. I just usually had time to practice."
Sticcato laughed and picked up his instrument.

"It's gonna be fine, I assure you. Ok here we go."

Clef started counting off. Jake smirked and looked at his music. The first note was a high D on the staff, but he thought he'd have some fun. On the downbeat, he wailed a note two octaves up, drawing a loud cheer from the crowd. They had ten measures of rest before the trumpets came back in. Sticcato looked over to Jake who was laughing.

"I don't get it. You looked so nervous before we started."
He smiled and sighed.

"What can I say. I'm in my natural element I guess. Ok we're about to come back in. Lets do this!"

Staring Contest

Jake and the rest of the trumpets gave another short attack note as backgrounds. Noteworthy stood up and began the melody. The tune was upbeat and funky, and Jake thought the blue earth pony had practiced this a million times because he was playing it flawlessly.

The crowd was on their hooves clapping and stomping along. Noteworthy leaned back as he ripped a high note, cueing Jake and the trumpets to come in as well. They made a loud brassy sound that filled the background.

A different saxophonist stood up to continue the melody, playing just as well as Noteworthy. The lead trumpet looked over to Jake.

"You should go up there and solo. The key change isn't hard, and you seem like you know your stuff pretty well."

"I'm on it."
He gave a salute and stepped down off the risers in the back and made his way up to the front of the stage. The band stopped except for the rhythm section, and the soloist looked over to Jake.

"Alright buddy, lets see what you got."
The pilot counted down the measures until the beginning of the solo section again. He brought the horn up to his mouth and started on cue.

He played short and funky phrases, and swayed back and forth to the beat.

Mac and Twilight were up at the front of the stage in a small crowd that had gathered.

"Ah didn't know Jake would be this good!"

"I know! And Noteworthy is incredible!"

The tune was winding down after a couple more minutes, and Jake went back up into the trumpet line next to Sticcato, who patted him on the back.

"You sure know how to play that horn buddy!"

"Thanks. I started when I was only seven, and didn't stop until I graduated college. I guess being in this setting brought it all back to me."

They all came in together to hit the last few chords. The final one was short and loud. Ponies cheered and clapped for Jake and Noteworthy.

They were both making their way off the stage when Clef stopped them.

"Hang on guys. I've never had volunteers that were as good as you two. How about you stay on for a couple more songs after this intermission, hmm?"
They looked at each other and both thought the same thing. Jake turned back to the conductor.

"Thank you for your offer, but I've had my fun tonight. We both need to get back to our group."

"Ah well. I understand, but if we're ever in the area again, come on in and jam with us."

"You bet."
They shook hooves, then he and Noteworthy walked off the stage and back to their table. Mac saw them and slammed his drink down.

"That was the darnest thing you two! A'hve heard lots of jazz, but that's one o' mah favorites now!"

Jake took his seat, and took a sip of his topped off drink.

"Thanks Mac. It was good to get out there again."
Twilight and Noteworthy had gone to the bar to get new drinks, and Jake and Mac started talking about how he planned to get the ammo boxes out of the fields.

"So if we take the truck, and use the sled again, I can have those things out of ther-uh. Can I help you?"
Jake was now talking to a dark orange earth pony stallion with a red mane. He began to speak in an accent that Jake thought sounded Italian.

"Forgive the intrusion . My name is Festinatio Daimōn, but you can call me, Speed Demon. Word has spread to me that you have a carriage that is capable of traveling faster than mine, no?"

The pilot looked over to Mac, then back to the new guest, until he remembered what Twilight had told him earlier.

"Wait a minute. You're the land speed record holder aren't you?"

Speed Demon held his front hoof up and inspected it like someone would do to check for dirt.

"Sì. I have the record of one hundred and fifty two miles an hour."
He sat down across from the two and leaned back casually in his chair.

"I already know your name is Jake, but who might this be?"
He gestured over to the farmer.

"Mah name is Big Macintosh, but y'all can call me Mac."
The record holder slowly nodded.

"It is nice to meet you Mac. But forgive me, as I must get back on subject."
He looked back over to Jake.

"So as I was saying, I've heard rumors that you are capable of beating my record by fifty miles an hour. Am I correct?"
He gave the captain a look that made him think that this stallion may not be as nice as he appeared.

"Yep. I mean hell, I'm probably not even going to worry about breaking it. Right now I'm not even able to move the vehicle."

"And what is this, vehicle, Jake?"

"It's called a Ferrari 458 Italia. From my world, it's one of the most luxurious and fastest cars on the market."

"And you think this...Ferrari...is capable of erasing my title of record holder?"

"Well, if I wanted to, I could."
Speed Demon leaned forward, narrowed his eyes, and stared right at him. He spoke quietly as if telling a secret.

"You know Mr. Jake, I have something better now. Something that your little Ferrari will not be able to beat. And if you ever try to, I will crush you under my hoof, and make you look like a fool to all who is watching. So do you still want to try?"
Jake was ticked off that he'd been made a fool of from this hot shot. He leaned in as well, his face only a foot from the foreigner's.

"You know, at first I wasn't even going to bother. But you piss me off too much. So now, I'm going to do it."
He stood up from the table. Speed Demon followed suit. Jake spoke much louder now, attracting a small crowd.

"I, Captain Jake Weston, challenge you to a race for the title of Land Speed Record Holder."
Festinatio scoffed.

"Very well! Two days from now in the desert just south of Appleoosa. But prepare to be beaten! I will make sure of it!
Jake stuck out his hoof for him to shake, making the challenge official. The orange pony looked at it, back at Jake, then turned away to leave. He looked back one final time before ascending the staircase, shook his head, and turned away again.

Mac walked over to Jake with Twilight and Noteworthy, who were back from the bar.

"Ah don't like that fella. An' ah don't trust him as far as ah can throw him."
Noteworthy looked confused.

"Who was that, and what just happened?"
Twilight spoke up.

"That was Festinatio Daimōn! The holder of the land spee-"
Jake cut her off.

"Yes yes, I know. But not for long. You guys can stay, but I'm going home. I've got a race to prepare for."

Relationships Are Complicated

The rain had stopped over Ponyville, but the ground was still wet, and puddles were formed along the sides of the roads.

Jake walked out of the club's doors and went over to the Dodge. Twilight followed him out.

"If you're going to leave now, at least give me the fuel sample. You have it in the truck, right?"

"Yeah hold on."
He got in and opened the center console. The container was sitting there, still a quarter full with aviation fuel. He picked it up, got out, and handed it over to Twilight.

"Now be careful with this stuff, it's extremely flammable. One spark, and this entire container gets burnt up. When you have it all duplicated in a larger container, keep it well ventilated. And dear god, don't let a flame touch THAT. Because with that much fuel, you're looking at an explosion that could easily level your house and the entire town square."
Twilight just stared at him.

"O-ok. I'll get right on it. Have a good night Jake."

"You as well."
She walked back into the club looking flustered from the directions she had just received.

Mac walked out past her and up to Jake.

"Ahm gonna stay here awhile longer an' listen ta the next set. It was a great idea comin' here Jake."

"Yeah it was. Sorry I have to leave like this. I need to prepare though."

"It's fine. Ah understand. Ah'll be home a little later."

"Ok. Bye."
Mac walked back into the club, leaving the pilot alone on the street.

He got back into the truck, started it up, and shifted into drive. The vehicle rolled out down the street and back to Sweet Apple Acres. As he drove, he came up to a cafe that was pretty busy. There was music playing, and ponies sat at tables inside and outside in front in a fenced off area. He did a double take as he saw Rarity at a table with none other than Speed Demon.

The fashionista was sipping a drink, engrossed in the foreigners story of how he broke the record.

"Then, in the blink of an eye, I had broken...no no...shattered the record by fifty miles an hour."
She batted her eyelashes and sipped her drink again.

"Well I think that's incredible darling. You're accent is very exquisite as well. Where are you-"
Everyone including Rarity and Speed Demon looked over to the road as the large black truck skidded to a halt right in front of the outside sitting area. Jake got out and slammed the door behind him. He walked around in front of the grill and made his way to the fence.

"Oh heeeell no! Speed Demon you get your ass over here and get away from her before I make you!"
Rarity stood up to defend her 'date'.

"Now see here Jake! Speed Demon is perfectly acceptable. He has done nothing wrong here!"
The record holder held his hoof up to stop her. He called over to Jake.

"What have I done wrong here Mr. Jake? Can I not just enjoy the evening?"
Jake sighed.

"Ok first off its been like twenty freakin' minutes since I saw you. So how you already met her is beyond me. And if you say something smart-assy like good looks or charm I'm hopping this fence and killing you."
He looked over to Rarity.

"Look I don't know what he's trying to pull here, but don't listen to him. He's just using his 'moves' on you."
Speed Demon interrupted.

"Who says I was? I was simply talking to Ms. Rarity here about making me a flame retardant suit for the race. She is quite the designer, no?"
Jake narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"So that's why there's three empty drinks by her, and one full one by you. Something doesn't add up here."
The orange pony started to get nervous, shifting back and forth on his feet. Jake could see it.

"That's right. I've been around the block enough times to see where this is going. Now I'm not gonna say anything to anypony if you just get the hell out of here, and leave her and I alone until the race. Ok?"
Speed Demon looked around to the other ponies eyeing him with suspicion, and some with anger, for what he was trying to do. He scoffed and turned back to Jake.

"Very well! But you have made a fool of me, and you shall pay in two days with your embarrassing defeat. Arrivederci Jake!"
He turned to Rarity and gritted his teeth.

"Enjoy the rest of your night."
With that, the earth pony turned around, walked out of the fence gate, and up the road to the north.

At his departure, everyone else carried on with their meals and conversations. Rarity walked up to the fence and spoke to Jake.

"Thank you Jake. For your information, I knew what he was up to the entire time, and I was never going to go anywhere with him. I'm not dumb."
Jake chuckled.

"Good. He and I talked over at Trios earlier. He wasn't the nicest of ponies, and he challenged me to a race in two days to see who could set the new land speed record. So I said yes. Hopefully the Ferrari can take on whatever that self-centered prick is going to use."
He looked back to the truck.

"Do you need a ride home or something?"

"No thank you dearie. I live only two blocks from here. Ill be fine."

"Ok then. I've got to go now. I have to think up a way to get that car off the plane, across the muddy field, and onto the pavement. It's too low to drive through it. It'll get bogged down just like the plane."
Rarity thought for a moment.

"I know! I happen to be very good at levitation, it's my magical strong-suit. Perhaps it's possible if I can levitate the Ferrari across the field and onto the roads."

"It's possible. It weighs about three thousand pounds though. Is that too much."

"...maybe Twilight can help too."
They both laughed for a second.

"Ok then. Ill see you around. Have a good night Rarity."

"You as well Jake. You as well."
He got back into the truck and drove off. She looked down the road just as the two red taillights rounded a corner and were out of sight.

"I sure hope he can beat that Speed Demon ruffian."

It was quarter until ten when the truck rolled up to the front of the farmhouse. The engine shut off and Jake got out. As he was walking to the door, he started hearing faint yelling from inside. The first voice he recognized to be Applejack's, but he didn't know who the other one belonged to.

"Fine! Ah don't want ta see y'all ever again! Git out!"

"Applejack please, I-"

"Ah don't wanna hear it! Git out!"
There were faint hoof steps from inside, followed by the front door opening. Jake was caught in the beam of light the house cast from the doorframe, and he stared up at the stallion who was leaving. In the light, he recognized him instantly.

"Si-Silverstream? What are you doing here?"
The guard was nervous and darted his eyes back and forth. Just then, Applejack walked up behind him and looked over to Jake.

"What are y'all doin home early?"
She turned back to Silverstream.

"An' what are you still doin' here?! Git!"
He stumbled off the porch and passed Jake, making his way to the front gate.

Applejack sighed.

"Ahm sorry ya had ta hear that. Come on in."
She entered the house and went directly into the living room without a word. He followed her in and was headed for the stairs when he stopped himself. He could hear faint sobbing from the next room over, and knew it was her.

Nervously, Jake went in to find her sitting on the couch, head down, staring at the floor. He slowly approached her.

"It's probably none of my business. But are you alright?"

"Does it look like ah am?"
He mentally face hoofed for saying that.

"Sorry. Was there something going on between you and...uh...Silverstream?"
She raised her head, and an angry glare crossed her face.

"What do you think Jake?"
'God I have to stop asking obvious questions.'

"Ok uh...do you care to tell me what was going on?"
She motioned for him to sit down. He did so, and the farmer began telling him the story.

"You remember that night of yer welcome party when we all moved out to the airplane?"

"Of course. It was pretty awesome."
She rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, me an' Silverstream got ta talkin'. Apparently he grew up on a farm as well before he became a guard, an' we had a lot in common. We went out on two dates since then. One at the park, an' another jes tonight while you were at the club. Ah brought him back home to show him 'round the farm. Ah thought we'd have a lot to discuss. But thats when everythin' went to hell. He came in to use the restroom b'fore he left, and his wallet was sittin' out on the table for some reason. Ah don't know why ah decided to open it up. It ain't like me, but ah did anyways. Inside was a picture of his wife an' kids. He was married already."

Jake didn't know what to say. 'Jeez, just when you think you know someone.' Applejack continued.

"So there ah was, bein' taken fer a fool by an' even bigger one. Ah just thought fer once that things were gonna turn out ok. Ah guess ah was wrong."
She sighed and got up.

"Anyways, thanks fer listnin'. Ahm gonna go ta bed."

Applejack walked out of the living room and up the staircase, leaving Jake alone on the couch to collect his thoughts.

"I guess I have a couple things to say to Silverstream tomorrow."

The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time

Celestia's sun rose the next morning, bathing the field in its warm light. Silverstream's body clock naturally woke him up at seven o'clock sharp, and he sat up on the top bunk in the guards tent. Wiping his eyes clear of sleep, he remembered what happened last night.

'Shit, I need to go and set things straight right now.'

He tiptoed out of the tent as to not wake the other two, still snoring quietly.

The C-130 was still sitting there, sunk into the mud. It's fuselage reflected the morning sun, and it's left wing cast a shadow that almost reached the tent. As Silverstream looked out towards Ponyville, he cursed under his breath. The black Dodge could be seen thundering across the field, kicking up dust and mud in it's wake. It's engine growl could be faintly heard from a distance.

After a minute or so, it skidded to a halt, fishtailing slightly to the right upon stopping. Jake got out and started towards the guard. He raised a hoof to try to explain himself.

"Ok Jake listen, I can explain."
The pilot had an angry glare in his eye as he continued his approach.

"What is it then? Is it how you deceived Applejack like that? I thought you were better than that Silverstream. You're a Royal Guard for Christ's sake! You should have better morals than THAT."
He got right up in the guard's face and stared at him.

"But no, you had to lie to an innocent mare. The Element of Honesty herself! You're a lying sack of shit you know that?!"

"Look Jake hear me out PLEASE. I promise you it'll all make sense."
He eyed Silverstream suspiciously for a moment.

"You got one minute buddy. Hurry up."

The guard let out a long sigh and hung his head.

"My wife is dead."

"Spike come in here! I figured it out!"
Twilight was in her laboratory slash basement studying the contents of the fuel Jake had given her. The purple dragon descended the stairs and went up to the table where she was at.

"What is it Twilight?"
She held up a full gallon of the fuel and looked into it.

"I've come up with a solution that's much better than duplicating thousands of gallons of fuel. It's a replenishing spell. All I have to do is pour this gallon into one of the fuel tanks, another gallon for the other tank, and cast the spell. Once casted, the fuel will multiply itself until it is filled up."

"That's genius!"

"That's not all Spike. The best part about this spell is that when the fuel levels start to decrease from usage, the magic kicks in and duplicates more, thus giving Jake's aircraft an unlimited supply of power."
She set the container down and walked over to a graph chart on an easel.

"According my calculations, the size and volume of the fuel needed to fill the tank is immense. Therefore, my magical ability will only allow me to cast the spell to last for around three months. After that, Jake will need to give me another cup of fuel, and I will have to start the process all over again. But I think it's worth it. I'm going to take this out to Jake's airplane now. I talked to Applejack earlier this morning, and she said that he should be out there by now. You stay here and keep an eye on things."

He gave a salute and went back upstairs. The unicorn picked up the two containers in her magical aurora, and set off for the field.

Neither the pilot nor the guard said a word. The only sound that could be heard were the buzzards chirping in the grass. Jake sighed and sat down, putting a hoof to his forehead.

"I'm so sorry. I feel like a complete ass now. If you don't forgive me, I'll understand."

Silverstream put a hoof on his shoulder.

"It's fine. You were just looking out for a good friend. I would have done the same thing."
He sat down as well.

"She died about five years ago in an explosion. Her name was Arrowsheen. We were giving a demonstration of a new type of canon for Canterlot's defenses, and she was the city's defense coordinater. Hard minded, but she did her job right, and didn't get pushed around because of her gender. Anyways, while we were setting up the canon, the box of explosive powder sitting next to it caught fire from a stray spark off of the ignition fuse and exploded. She was the only one who died in the blast. Everypony else just had burns and small cuts. The investigators said she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The guard sounded choked up as he finished. Jake patted his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I really am."

"No worries. But I guess keeping her picture in my wallet kind of freaked Applejack out a little."
They both laughed lightly.

"I'll try to explain myself to her later. Things were really going well between us."

Jake stood up.

"I'm sure they were. She's a good hearted pony. Well anyways, I came here today for more than just to ream you out."
The guard chuckled.

"Silverstream, the day has come. I need to get this plane out of the ground and in to the air. I still have to wait on Twilight for the fuel, but in the meantime-"

"Jaaaaaake!"
He turned around to see the purple unicorn running towards him. He looked over to Silverstream with a confused look, but he simply shrugged and turned back to look at the approaching pony.

Twilight finally made it to Jake, still panting from the run.

"I...got...the...fuel!"
The captain was stunned.

"Already?! It's been one night!"
She finally caught her breath and spoke fluently.

"Yes. Here it is."
Twilight held up the two gallons in front of Jake, who began laughing.

"Twilight, it's going to take a LOT more than two gallons to fill this thing."
She rolled her eyes and spent the next minute explaining everything to him. At the end, his jaw was slack.

"So, your saying that this will give me a three month unlimited supply of fuel?"
She spoke flatly.

"That's what I just said."
There was a brief pause of silence before the pilot burst with joy, wrapping Twilight in a tight hug.

"Oof! Jake...you're...choking me!"

"Sorry!"
He let go and looked over to the plane.

"Ok then, what are we waiting for?! Twilight, you fill her up with fuel, and I'll think of a way to get her out of the mud."
He turned to the guard.

"Any ideas Silverstream?"
He raised a hoof and smirked.

"Already covered buddy. Princess Celestia set up a plan to get this out whenever you were ready. At least thirty Royal Guard unicorns will be here within the hour upon my call, which I shall do right now."
He turned around and walked back into the tent. Jake could hear his muffled voice from inside.

"You two! Get your lazy asses up and out of bed. We're getting the plane out today!"
Twilight went up to Jake, who was opening the main access door on the side of the plane.

"Why do you want to get it out now? Don't you have a race to prepare for?"
The door swung down, revealing the staircase leading into the cargo hold.

"That's just it Twilight. How else am I supposed to get the Ferrari to Appleoosa? The way I see it, I've got about twelve hours to get this thing up and running, and I'll spend all of it doing so if I have to."

He walked into the plane to start preparations, Twilight following.

Every Little Bit Helps

"Alright! On the count of three, give it all you got!"

Captain Crescenthilt directed the thirty Royal Guard ponies who had been tasked with getting the plane out. He was a white unicorn with gold plated armor, and wielded a diamond sword, signifying his rank.

Silverstream had only put the call in around forty minutes ago, and already there were twenty guards pulling from the back, and ten unicorn guards in the front attempting to levitate the nose gear out of the mud. The captain yelled at them again.

"Ok stop stop!"
The grunting ceased and the nose slowly sunk back into the mud about a half a foot. He walked up to the front and addressed them.

"What's wrong up here? Why can't we lift this thing?"
Jake trotted up next to him and intervened.

"It's because the mud is acting like a suction cup. The harder you pull, the more it holds the nose down. You need to dig some relief holes to let pressure out, then try again."

Crescenthilt turned back to his unit.

"Alright you heard him! Lets get those holes dug ASAP!"
They all shouted in unison.

"Sir, yes sir!"

Jake walked back up into the cargo hold and started climbing up a collapsible ladder that led to a pressurized hatch on the ceiling. When he opened it, he found himself standing on the roof of the plane.

Twilight was already up there out on the right wing finishing up the fuel spells.

"How's it coming?"
She jumped and turned around.

"Jeez Jake! You scared me."

"Sorry."

"No problem. Anyways, I'm finished. The spell has been cast, and all you need to do now is start up the engines and see if it works."
Jake paused for a moment to think.

"So the engines are functional now?"

"If the only thing wrong with them was a lack of fuel, then yes."
A large smile donned his face.

"I got it! Ok hop down off of here and stand back. It's going to get windy."
He ran up to the nose of the aircraft and looked down at the guards.

"Everypony listen up!"
All of their heads turned up to face him.

"Ok I have a new plan. Now that the engines are functional, I can change the propeller angle and reverse the direction of thrust. Hopefully all of you pulling from behind and the four engines will be enough to yank the nose out from the mud."
Crescenthilt addressed his unit once more.

"Ok, everypony to the back of the plane and grab a part of the rope to help pull! Double time let's move!"

As the guards complied, Jake clambered back down the ladder and ran up to the cockpit. On the back wall just to the right of the door was a large yellow crank handle. He began to rotate it counter-clockwise to reverse the thrust.

Outside, each propeller blade started to rotate and reverse its angle. Now, instead of pulling the air in from the front, they pulled it in from the behind.

The ten guards explained to the other twenty already pulling about Jake's plan, and they quickly got in position. A large crowd of at least fifty townsfolk had gathered to watch the events over the course of the morning. Once they caught on to what was happening, one by one, every stallion in the crowd began to walk forward towards Crescenthilt. He noticed them and held up a hoof to stop them.

"Hold on there guys. This is official Royal Guard business. I don't want anypony getting hurt."
A large red earth pony pushed his way through the crowd and approached the captain.

"Now listen here Mister. This here airplane is in our town, an' Jake is one o' mah friends. It may not be that way in Canterlot, but in Ponyville, we look out fer our friends. So let me an' these volunteerin' stallions help y'all pull this thing out o' the mud."

Crescenthilt sighed.

"Very well. I honor your dedication to helping a pony in need. Come on then! Find a spot and start pulling on my signal!"

Ten stallions including Mac ran up to the three ropes hooked to the rear of the plane and took their places. The farmer was standing between two other guards, and he dwarfed them with his size.

Up in the cockpit, Jake was frantically flipping switches and going through his pre-flight checks when Twilight came up behind him.

"I'm going to be up in front trying to lift the nose with magic. Every little bit helps."

"Your right. Go ahead and try that."

"Ok. Oh, and I also had a couple guards stick a large plank of wood down into the hole behind the nose gear. It should give it a solid surface to back out of instead of dragging it through the mud."
Jake smiled.

"Wow Twilight, you're well prepared for this."
She smirked and turned to leave.

"I'm not the Princesse's personal student for nothing Jake. I'll see you out there."
With that she left the cockpit and started towards her spot in the front of the plane.

Crescenthilt passed her and went up to the window Jake was sitting by. He opened it and leaned out to speak to him.

"Ok here's how I plan to do this. When you hear the engines rev up, start pulling. You'll definitely know when because the whine will get much higher pitched. Tell Twilight that as well."
The Guard Captain saluted.

"You bet."
He walked away after relaying the message to the lavender unicorn, then walked back to join the forty stallions pulling the ropes.

Jake reached his hoof up to the four ignition switches and let out a long breath.

"Ok here it goes. The moment of truth. Don't let me down now."

He had set all four throttles to the run position, allowing the engines to start up once the ignition buttons were pressed. Jake pressed down and held the buttons, and the propellers began to slowly rotate, producing a low whine.

After a couple of lingering seconds that kept everyone in the vicinity silent with anticipation, all four props sputtered to life. The C-130 was back.

Jake cheered and fist punched the air a couple times in excitement. Everyone else was doing the same thing upon hearing all of the engines roar. He regained his composure and grasped the throttles, pushing them slowly forward.

Outside, Captain Crescenthilt heard the engine pitch get higher, and yelled to his unit.

"Ok everypony, that's the signal! Put your back into it!"
Around one hundred and sixty hooves dug down into the dirt with a thud and began pulling. The inverted propellers were pushing out almost five thousand horsepower, causing the nose gear to start rising from the mud.

Jake backed off the throttles and let the engines idle. The plane stopped rising from the hole, but it didn't sink back down anymore. Crescenthilt ran up to him, his blue mane thrashing around in the wind the props were making.

"Why did you stop?!"
The pilot yelled back over the noise of the engines.

"If I give the engines too much power for too long while the plane isn't moving, I can cause structural damage to it! Lets try again!"
The captain ran back and readied himself.

Macintosh was panting along with the other guards from the last try, when suddenly, he heard the engines rev up again. He grunted as he pulled forward once more. As his head was down from the effort, he could see the ground slowly moving below him. It was working.

Twilight still had her spell cast, and the underbelly of the nose was covered in her purple magic aurora. The top of the wheel was visible now as it slowly rolled back and up the plank of wood that was bending and creaking from the weight.

Jake backed off again, and the props slowed down. He waited a couple seconds before trying again.

"Your almost there. One last try and it'll work, I know it."

The engines revved back up again for the last time. Twilight was beginning to get a headache from the intensity of the spell, and Mac along with the others were using the last of their energy to give it one final pull.

The wheel was half way out, making a suction noise as it slowly rose. Finally, with all of the pony's combined effort, the wheel popped out of the muddy prison. The C-130 rolled back off the plank and onto dry grass.

The forty stallions in the back dropped the ropes and cheered. Twilight dropped her spell and ran up to Jake, who was bolting out of the access door after shutting down the engines.

"Ha ha we did it!"
He hugged the unicorn, then released her as quickly as he grabbed her, and made his way to the back.

Crescenthilt along with Mac and Silverstream approached him.

"Well Jake, mission accomplished I guess."
He shook the pilots hoof.

"I can't thank you guys enough for your efforts. It only took us two hours to do this. I was preparing for an all day event!"
The four of them laughed. Sliverstream spoke up.

"Well now that the plane is free, me and the other two won't be needed here anymore. It was interesting Jake. It really was."
They shook hooves.

"Wait a minute Silverstream. What about Applejack?"
The guard chuckled.

"While you and everypony else were preparing the plane, I snuck off to go talk to her. I explained my situation, she said she was sorry, and we made up. But then we both decided that any sort of relationship wouldn't work out. I'm in Canterlot all the time except for rare occasions such as this. And I don't think any more planes are gonna come crashing out of the sky...unless you screw up again."
Jake smiled.

"Well then good luck to you Silverstream, I hope everything works out."

"The same to you Jake."
He turned around to group up with the other guards who were ready to leave. Four pegasi guards each pulled military issued carriages that could hold ten stallions. After they were all boarded, Crecenthilt gave the order to shove off, and they took to the skies. After a couple minutes, the carriages were out of sight, heading towards Canterlot.

The C-130, Jake, Mac, Twilight, and the dispersing crowd of townsfolk were all that was left in the field. Out of that crowd, the rest of Twilgiht's friends ran up to them. Rainbow Dash flew up over the group.

"That was awesome! Now you can get that thing back up in the air and fly with me. I could show you how to do a trick or two as well."
Jake chuckled.

"I highly doubt that Dash. The C-130 isn't made for doing high performance stunts. It's no F-18."
All six had a confused look on their faces.

"...never mind, how about you stick to the aerial acrobatics, and let me fly straight and level the way I like it. Anyways, now that the plane works, I need to be able to take off again. I think that if I position the plane in a corner of the field, and take off diagonally, I should be able to use the maximum amount of space possible. Hopefully that's enough distance to get it into the air. Landing shouldn't be an issue now that I have fuel. I can attempt a go-around if I need one, and I know where that stupid mud pit is so I won't run into it again."

Pinkie Pie bounced up and down in front of Jake.

"Ooh! What are we waiting for then?! Come on, let's go flying!"
The pilot looked over to the rest of his new friends, who just gave nods of approval. He smiled.

"Ok then. Let's go flying."

Wash Your Worries Away

The nose of the C-130 was lined up facing Ponyville. Jake had about two thousand feet to take off before hitting one of the town's buildings.

Twilight sat in the co-pilots seat, studying the countless buttons and knobs on the control panels. Applejack sat in the jump seat, situated between the two pilot's chairs directly behind the throttle quadrant. Mac and the other four sat along the back of the cockpit in small jump seats that folded out of the wall.

"Ahm gonna be quite honest with ya Jake. Ahm nervous as all get out."
The pilot laughed.

"You don't have anything to worry about. This will be fun and safe I assure you."

The four engines whined as he increased the throttle. The plane began to slowly roll forward, the heavy duty suspension keeping it riding smooth and straight.

Fluttershy shut her eyes tight, afraid of what could happen if the plane somehow didn't get airborne in time.

"Ok I'm at fifty knots. Sixty, sixty-five, seventy."
Dust was being thrashed around in the wake of the turboprops. Everyone except Rainbow Dash, who wasn't impressed at all, had a scared look on their face. Twilight started hyper ventilating.

"We're not going to make it!"
Jake had all of his focus on the speed indicator.

"Yes we will...come on come on just ten more knots."

Ponies in the town stopped and stared at the massive aircraft speeding towards one of the buildings. Back in the cockpit, the speed indicator read seventy eight knots. Twilight yelled over to him.

"We're at eighty knots! Pull up pull up!"

"We need to be at ninety!"
The unicorn panicked and grabbed the yoke.

"Eighty's good enough!"
She pulled back and the nose slowly lifted. Jake retook control and pulled even harder. The building was only two hundred feet away as the back wheels lifted off. The plane barely missed the roof as it soared over it, making a loud whipping noise that reverberated off the walls and windows of the town.

Everyone in the cockpit slowly opened their eyes, and all except Jake and Rainbow Dash's mouths dropped at the sight.

The C-130 was at two thousand feet and climbing. A majestic mountain range was directly in front of them, miles away. And Canterlot was sticking out of a different range to their right. Jake banked slowly towards the capitol city and started for it.

"See, I told you everything would be fine. Lets take a stroll over to Canterlot."
He mumbled under his breath.

"This time I'll be conscious."
Rainbow Dash yawned.

"This isn't as fun as the way I fly."
Applejack rolled her eyes.

"Can ya be a little more polite Dash?"

"Pshh, whatevs."
Jake sighed.

"Dash, this plane isn't meant for stunts and fast flying. It's meant for heavy duty work and flying into military zones while bullets are flying everywhere."

"Yeah I get that, but there isn't a SINGLE trick you can pull in this thing?"
He paused for a moment to think.

"When I don't have the Ferrari in the back, I'll do one that I think you might like. But not now."
She sat back and crossed her hooves.

"Humph, fine."

Twilight looked out the window to the approaching city.

"We're not too far away now. Only around ten more minutes and we'll be there."

"Cool. But I just realized something. The reason we didn't get off the ground sooner is because I forgot to use the correct amount of flaps. I'm kicking myself for not remembering it. You always need to use more on soft-field takeoffs. Jeez I'm an idiot sometimes."
The unicorn laughed.

"We all have our moments Jake. We all have our moments."

Soarin, the captain of the Wonderbolts, was sitting at his desk at their headquarters. The building was just north of Canterlot, and was a little higher up than the tallest castle tower. It jutted out of a cliff just like the city, and had a large rounded panoramic window just behind Soarin's desk.

"No Spitfire, we have to cancel the show in Fillydelphia in order to make room for the Manehattan show. The revenue will be much higher there than at Fillydelphia."
Spitfire rolled her eyes and sat forward in the chair in front of his desk.

"Is it all about the bits Soarin? We've performed in Manehattan more times than I can count. If you-...what the? Look at that."
She pointed her hoof out the large window to the south of Canterlot. Soarin followed her direction until his own eyes rested upon what she was seeing. The grey C-130 was five miles away, and closing in fast.

His eyes opened wide and he shot up from his desk.

"That must be it!"
A confused Spitfire stared at him.

"What is it?"

"It's the aircraft! The aircraft that the Princess told us about, remember? We were supposed to go down to Ponyville to help out with it, but the Royal Guards went instead. I've been itching to see that thing since I heard about it! Come on, round up the rest of the team. We're going for a little flight!"

He ran out of his large office, Spitfire following right behind him.

Jake popped in a CD and leaned back in his seat.

"This song is my favorite song to fly to."

Fluttershy spoke up.

"Um, what's it called? If you don't mind me asking."

"It's called Here to Stay, by The Pat Metheney Group. Get ready to be relaxed and at ease."

He cranked up the volume as the song began. (http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g6JlE_xRRes)

Instantly, everyone in the cockpit was engrossed in the smooth rhythm and style of the tune.

"Yeah, when your up thirty thousand feet, and there's nothing but you and your plane, this is the perfect music to listen to. It opens your mind and lets your worries wash away."
He started head bobbing to the tempo. Mac followed suit.

"Ah think this is mighty catchy."
They passed Canterlot, and Jake began to ascend. Rarity looked confused.

"Um, Jake dear? Aren't we supposed to be going TO Canterlot? Not past it."
He held up his hoof.

"Trust me, if you've never flown before, then your going to want to see this."
Fluttershy sheepishly cut in.

"But we all have Jake. We did in Twilights balloon to get up to Cloudsdale."

"How high is it?"
Twilight spoke up.

"About ten thousand feet in the air. Why do you want to know?"
He smirked.

"Trust me. You'll want to see this then."
The C-130 climbed higher and higher, the props emitting a drawling whine as the engines sucked in more of the thinning air.

Soon, nothing could be seen through the cockpit windows as the plane was engulfed in thick clouds that overcast the entire region.

Fluttershy got scared.

"We can't see anything! We're going to crash!"
Jake laughed.

"We're not going to crash. I know exactly what I'm doing. Just a couple more seconds...aaaand....voila!"
All of there mouths, this time including Rainbow Dash's, hit the floor at the sight before them. The plane leveled off at thirty thousand feet, and nothing could be seen except for the blue sky above them, and a rolling ocean of continuous white clouds below them. The sun was only a couple minutes from starting to set, causing its rays to bounce off some of the clouds giving a golden aurora to them. The rainbow mare was lost for words.

"I...I don't know what to say. I've never been this high before."
Jake nodded.

"I thought you'd say that. This cabin is pressurized, allowing me to go higher than any pegasus could I'm assuming."

"Yeah, you're right in assuming. The highest any pegasus has ever gone is like twenty thousand feet before they passed out do to oxygen deprivation and cold temperatures."

"We'll congratulations Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. You two are the highest pegasi in the world as of now."

"Oh my, what an honor."
Dash jumped out of her seat and hugged Jake.

"Omygoshomygoshomygosh! Thank you! I take back everything I said about this plane!"
She released him and sat back down.

"Your welcome. I guess ALL of us are the highest ponies on the planet."
He chuckled at his unintentional double entendre.

Pinkie Pie started bouncing up and down.

"How far are we going?!"
He thought for a moment.

"As far as I feel like I guess. I have unlimited fuel and no airspace restrictions. If its alright with you guys, let's just keep flying for a while."
Applejack nodded.

"Ah think that's a fine idea partner."
Everyone else agreed.

"Very well then. Enjoy the flight."
He turned up the volume as the song began to approach it's climax.

Everyone in the cabin leaned back and took in the scenery.

Celestia's sun began to set, turning the white sea of clouds into a glowing expanse of orange bluffs.

Beacon of Guidance

The flashing beacons from the wing tips and tail of the C-130 were the only things visible as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, making way for Luna's moon.

The cockpit became dark, and nobody could see anything. Applejack tapped Jake on the shoulder.

"Uh Jake, ya think y'all can turn on a light in here? Ah can't see nothin'"

"Yup, no problem. I have to anyways."
He reached over and flipped on the instrument panel light switch. In an instant, every gauge and knob on the control boards were lit up, making the cockpit glow bluish white.

He banked to the right and turned around, heading back to Ponyville.

"We best be getting back now. I've got to load up and get ready to go to Appleoosa tomorrow. Are you guys coming?"
Rarity spoke up.

"I think I speak for everypony here when I say that I can't miss out on seeing that ruffian Speed Demon get his flank handed to him. So yes, we're all coming."

"Good. We should be back in about an hour. Once I land I-oh crap."

"What is it darling?"
Jake scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, I just forgot, it's dark out and there's no lights on the field to tell me where to land. It'll be almost impossible."
They sat there in silence for a second before Mac broke it.

"Well we're up a creek without a paddle if ya ask me."

Rainbow Dash got up out of her seat.

"Not to worry Jake. I'll handle this. Let me out of here, and I'll fly back to Ponyville and figure something out."
He sighed.

"That sounds like the only option right about now, so yeah let's do it. Let me open the extraction hatch."
The pegasus was confused.

"Uh, what's that?"

"It's a small hatch in the cargo bay's floor. When you open it, you step inside, and it forms an airlock. Then you press a button and fall out the other side to the ground. It was designed so planes didn't have to descend to equal out pressure. However, this is still too high for you considering you're not in a jumpsuit with an oxygen mask."

"It's fine. All I have to do is hold my breath and curl into a ball to drop. Once I get low enough after only twenty seconds or so, I'll be able to fly again like normal."

"Ok. Just be careful. Twilight, make sure things are running smoothly up here. It's on autopilot so you shouldn't have to touch anything. Just warn me if something goes awry."
She grabbed the yoke and focused in on all the gauges.

"You got it."
Jake and Rainbow got up and headed out the cockpit door. Applejack called back to them.

"You be careful out there Dash! Don't go gettin' yerself hurt!"
The rainbow mare turned around and smirked.

"I'll be fine. I'm the best young flier in Equestria, remember?"
The farm pony rolled her eyes at that statement.

Jake led her over to the left of the Ferrari, and stopped at a square hatch about two feet by two feet. The perimeter was surrounded by a black and yellow striped caution border, and a large red twist and pull handle was on the bottom half of the door. A small glass window in the center allowed whoever was dropping the person to see them fall out safely.

He reached his hoof out and grabbed the handle. He turned it counterclockwise, then pulled up. The door rose with a hiss, then it swung open, revealing a compartment just large enough for a pony of Macs size to fit in. A small red lever with a little LED light above it that was sunk into the wall was the only thing inside.

"Ok, all you have to do is climb in, then when the little light above the lever turns green, pull it down, and you'll fly out. Be careful. Please."
Dash put a hoof on his shoulder.

"Jake, relax. I'll be fine. When I get to Ponyville, I'll enlist the help of some of the locals and we'll line the sides of the field with lanterns that we use on the streets. I remember the direction you took off, so I'll have them outline that particular area."

"Thanks Dash. You're really helping me out here."
She jumped down into the hatch, standing on her hind legs. She looked up at him one last time.

"I'm the Element of Loyalty Jake. It's what I do."
With that she closed the hatch door over her, and readied herself.

After a couple suspenseful seconds that felt like minutes, the little green light flickered on, giving the all clear signal. She let out a long breath and grabbed the lever.

"How do you get yourself into these situations Dash?"

She pulled the lever down, and was immediately sucked out of the plane. As she fell, the only sound that could be heard was the wind whipping around making her mane fly all over. Tthe temperature was freezing, and a little bit of ice began to form on the tip of her muzzle. Dash looked up behind her and saw the distant red and green strobes of the C-130 flickering on and off before plummeting into the thick layer of clouds and out of sight.

Jake returned to the cockpit and sat down again. He grabbed the yoke and turned off the autopilot, beginning a descent.

"I want to get down below this cloud layer before we get there so I can set up an approach. Normally, I'd have instruments that guide me exactly where I need to be."
He gestured over to the GPS, showing their location and altitude.

"But since there aren't any airports here, it's basically useless."
Mac chuckled.

"This'll be the second time in less than a week that you've come in fer a crash landin'."

"It's not a crash landing yet. Lets hope it stays that way. I hope Dash is ok."

"Come on let's get these lanterns up! They're gonna be here soon!"

Rainbow Dash was directing about ten ponies who were frantically setting up the lanterns to border the makeshift runway. She had been determined to get back safely, and didn't let the cold or lack of oxygen get to her. Because of that, she made it back in less than fifteen minutes.

Lyra, one of the volunteers, ran up to her.

"Dash, I don't think we're going to have enough for the entire length."
She scratched her chin in thought for a moment.

"Ok. Just line them up as far as you can. Jake's a smart stallion, and I think he'll figure it out. All we need to do is let him see exactly where he needs to come in."

"Got it."
Lyra ran back in a hurry to join the other nine.

"Celestia I hope this works."

"Oh, it should."

"What the? Who's there?"
Rainbow turned around to face the stranger, and almost fainted. For that stranger was none other than Soarin, accompanied by Spitfire and Fleetfoot.

"S-Soarin! What are you doing here?!"
He walked up closer to her.

"We saw the plane pass Canterlot. We were going to follow it, but it went to high for us to pursue. I figured it must be heading back at some point, so I came here to wait. I've been dying to get a look at that thing."
Fleetfoot looked over to the volunteers running about.

"What's going on here?"
Rainbow Dash explained the whole situation to them. Soarin had a worried look on his face at the end.

"Ok, I think I know what to do here. Is there any way to get in contact with Jake?"
She shook her head.

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"I needed to know, because I have a plan to help him. Ok Spitfire, you follow to the right, Fleetfoot on the left. We are now an escort unit."

The three of them pressed a small button on their suits, and flashing white strobe lights started up on the top of their head gear. Dash was stunned.

"Where'd you guys get those?! I've never seen them before!"
Spitfire spoke up.

"They're special issue for when we want to practice high speeds at night. We're supposed to always have them on."
She looked to the sky.

"Ok, where would we find the plane right now?"
Dash pointed to the capitol city.

"He should be north of here passing Canterlot by now."

"Ok thanks. Come on guys."
With that the three bolted off to the north to rendezvous with Jake and the rest of Dash's friends. She watched them leave and turned back to the now semi-lit runway.

"This...is so...AWESOME!"

Fluttershy was getting nervous by the time they passed Cantelrot.

"What if Dash got hurt? What if Jake can't land?!"
Rarity put a comforting hoof on her back.

"There there Fluttershy dear. Everything's going to be fine. Dash is an amazing flier, and Jake is a trained professional at this sort of thing. Right Jake?"
He nodded in agreement and started to flip switches to prepare for landing. He was reaching up for another one when he stopped at the sight before him. Three pegasi were flying in a V-formation about fifty feet in front of the C-130. The lead pegasus fell back to Jake's window and made eye contact with him. Applejack's jaw dropped.

"Sweet Celestia it's Soarin."
Jake turned back to her confused.

"Who?"

"Jes listen to what he says an' we'll all be fine."
He skeptically looked out the window to the Wonderbolt captain. He made a gesture to follow him, and immediately Jake caught on.

"Hot damn! It's an escort!"
He nodded to signal his understanding, and Soarin flew back up to his position.

Jake lowered the flaps to ten degrees and pulled back on the throttles.

"Ok everypony, everything's going to be fine now."

The three Wonderbolts began their descent towards Ponyville. The lights on their uniforms providing a beacon of guidance towards safety.

Déjà Vu

Soarin and his team began descending towards Ponyville. His plan was to pass over the town, then circle out to the right until they lined up with the runway.

The clouds obscured Jake's vision just enough to make a visual landing unsafe, so the escort was much needed.

"Flaps twenty."
He pulled the flap lever back another notch, and they dropped from the wings even lower.

"Gear down."
The wheels came down from the fuselage and locked into place with a loud clank.

"Speed one hundred and ten knots."
He pulled all four throttles back, and the engine whines lowered their pitch.

The Wonderbolts and the plane passed over Ponyville, attracting many stares at the behemoth of metal. Soarin looked back to Spitfire and Fleetfoot, who both nodded, signaling the start of the turn. Slowly but surely, they led Jake into a long right bank. They turned for three quarters of a full circle. And when the plane's wings finally leveled off straight, Jake was ecstatic. Directly ahead of him about a mile away was the semi lit runway.

"Thank the Lord they came when they did! Ok everypony, strap down and get ready to land."
He made his last preparations as the plane made its final approach.

Soarin fell back to his window one last time and saluted. Jake returned the gesture, and the three of them sped up and flew straight down the runway allowing the C-130 room to land. To him, they sounded like F/A-18 Hornets that the Blue Angels used for shows.

Twilight held on to the edges of her seat. The pilot looked back to see that everyone else also had a scared look on their faces, and he sighed.

"I must be having déjà vu."
The automated voice came on to announce the altitude.

"Fifty."

"Forty."

"Thirty."

Rainbow Dash and the volunteers had just finished putting down as many lanterns as they could. Each one was spaced about ten feet apart, and shone bright enough to stand out from at least a couple miles away.

She looked up to the sky just in time to see the three Wonderbolts streak down the length of the runway and split off at the end. Soarin pulled straight up, Spitfire cut to the right, and Fleetfoot to the left.

The rainbow pegasus looked back to the other end and saw the red and green beacons of the C-130 only about twenty seconds from touchdown. She yelled to everyone still out checking the lanterns.

"Get your flanks out of there right now! Here he comes!"

They all bolted off the runway and joined at Dash's side to watch if their worked payed off. Sure enough, it did. The plane touched down on the soft dirt very lightly, and immediately began to slow down.

"Twenty."

"Ten."
Jake let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and pulled all four throttles back, cutting power.

"Ok this is going to be quick and easy."
The back wheels were a mere two feet off the ground.

"Aaaaaaaaaand."
Thud!

"We're down."
He effortlessly touched the nose gear down and began slowing.

"See? Nothing to it."
Twilight looked impressed.

"Well that was certainly an experience Jake. Thank you for getting us back here safely."
He chuckled.

"Thank Rainbow Dash and the...who was it?"
Fluttershy quietly cut in.

"Wonderbolts."

"Yeah them. If they hadn't acted when they did, we'd still be up there flying around like a chicken with its head cut off."
The timid pegasus looked frightened.

"Oh my! That poor little chicken! Who would do such a thing?"
Applejack laughed.

"It's a figure o' speech Fluttershy. There ain't no chicken with its head cut off. Nopony is that mean ta do somethin' like that to an animal."
Jake heard this and got nervous. Explaining to them that the human race treated chicken as one of the most common meals, and that cutting their heads off was normal was probably not a good idea.

The C-130 slowed enough that Jake was able to turn around and taxi back over to Rainbow Dash. The other townsfolk had dispersed, and gone about their nightly business. The Wonderbolts had also landed, and were waiting to get a close up view of the plane.

It finally stopped, and Jake leaned back in his chair.

"Thank you for flying with American Flightline. We understand you have a choice of airline, and we are grateful that you chose us."
They all have him a puzzled look.

"It's what we say to clients when we land."
Rarity giggled.

"That's quite interesting dear. Now lets get out of here and back to town. I need my beauty sleep."

"As you wish."
He reached behind the throttles to the main fuel cutoff valve.

"Lights out."
With that the four props sputtered to a halt, and everything got quiet. The only sound the plane was making was the a tinkling noise from the engines cooling down. The main access door opened, and all seven of them stepped out. Jake was the last, and shut the door behind him.

He walked over to Rainbow Dash.

"Well Dash, I can't thank you enough for your help."
He turned to the three Wonderbolts.

"And you guys! I would've been lost without you. My name is Captain Jake Weston, pleased to meet you."
He shook their hooves. Soarin looked behind Jake to the dormant plane.

"So this is it huh? I obviously saw it up there in the sky, but I didn't get time to inspect it in close detail."
He looked over its wings and engines and after a minute or so, he nodded to himself.

"This is quite the machine Captain. I'm very impressed."

"Please, just call me Jake. You know, you guys remind me of the Blue Angels."
Fleetfoot spoke up.

"Who are they?"

"They're a group of stunt fliers just like you guys. Except they use a plane called an F/A-18 Hornet that can travel almost at twice the speed of sound. It's pretty impressive."

"We'll you'll have to come out and see one of OUR shows sometime. We just might give them Blue Angels a run for their bits, eh?"
This caused Jake to chuckle.

"We'll see. I would like to come out to a show sometime."
Rainbow Dash butted in.

"I could get us tickets and we can go Jake! They have their next show in Canterlot in about three weeks."
Spitfire nodded.

"Yup. One of our biggest ones yet. But we're still figuring out what to do for the finale. We need something that will really give the audience something to talk about."
Jake looked back to the C-130.

"You know...I COULD pull a couple tricks in this thing if you guys wanted me to."
Soarin's face lit up with joy.

"That would be amazing! Ok you're in for our next show."
Jake looked stunned.

"Well wait a minute! It was just a thought. I mean, I've only heard about them really, I've never had the opportunity to try them."

"Have you ever flown upside down?"
He sighed.

"Once. In a crash landing. I was flying a Boeing 747 cargo plane, and my elevators locked up, sending me into a dive. The plane rolled over belly up and I was upside down for a good ten minutes before I managed to right myself. I came down on a highway and almost killed fifty people that were in the way. Lucky they all managed to swerve out of my path."
He paused for a moment, trying to press the thought from his head.

Spitfire hung her head.

"I'm sorry Jake. We didn't mean to bring back those memories."
He held up a hoof.

"It's fine. I've gotten over it. It wasn't my fault, and there was nothing I could do about it. I'm lucky we all survived and that I didn't get fired or something. But every once in a while, I think back to those people who were driving on that highway unaware of what was about to come, and just imagine what would've happened if they hadn't moved. Anyways, it's pretty late, and I have a long day tomorrow. It was great meeting you guys."
Soarin yawned.

"Yeah you too. We have a long day tomorrow as well. We're going down to Appleoosa to witness the potential breaking of the land speed record. Apparently somepony said that they have a machine that could beat Speed Demon's rocket carriage."
The captain was lost for words.

"That pony would be me."
The Wonderbolt's eyes widened.

"That's you?!"

"Yup. I'm flying down there tomorrow morning around nine o'clock. You wanna fly with us?"
Soarin looked back to the other two who nodded in approval.

"You bet your flank we do! We'll see you here then bright and early."

"Very well then. See you around."
With that they flew up in to the sky and were out of sight. Jake turned around to the other six.

"Well lets head back into town and get to sleep."
Mac walked past him and started towards the town.

"Ah couldn't agree more."
They all said their goodbyes and parted ways towards their respective homes. Jake and the two farm siblings were walking up the dirt path to the gate, when Applejack started thinking.

"Ya know, I wish I could see all the things yer race has come up with Jake. Ah mean, if y'all can build a flyin' machine out o' metal, what other contraptions have ya come up with?"
He chuckled.

"Well, we have a space shuttle, which is a different type of plane that is capable of going into outer space. We've even landed on the moon before. Of course, in our world, the sun and moon move on their own. Oh, and we also have ships."
Mac cut in.

"Eeyup, we got them too. Sail boats an' what not."

"We have sailboats, as well as motor boats which don't need any wind to move. A propeller pushes it powered by a gasoline engine."
Applejack shook her head.

"It amazes me Jake. It really does."

The trio stepped onto the front porch and through the door. The orange earth pony sighed and made her way to the stairs.

"Ok, ahm goin' ta bed. Night you two."

"Night."

"G'night sis."
She ascended the staircase and was out of sight. Jake looked over to Mac.

"Well I think I'll do the same."

"Eeyup."
He stopped just as he was about to walk up the stairs, and looked back to him.

"Oh, and don't worry about the ammo boxes or the steeple. Those things are going to get done as soon as we get back."
Mac smiled.

"Ain't no rush Jake. Fer now, jes focus on beatin' that Speed Demon fella."
The pilot turned and started up the stairs.

"With pleasure Mac."

Golf Balls and Magazines

"Alright, we're level at twenty thousand feet and cruising. "Appleoosa, here we come."
Jake set the autopilot and sat back in his chair. Rainbow Dash sighed.

"I wish the Wonderbolts would've been able to fly with us."
Applejack turned around to face her from the jump seat.

"It's fine. You'll have plenty o' time ta hang out with them at the race."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."
The Wonderbolts had been called down early to do interviews and public appearances by their manager. Soarin was crestfallen he wasn't able to go in the plane, and had cursed out his manager behind his back.

Twilight looked out the window down to the ground just as they were passing the end of the Everfree Forest. The ground was starting to turn orange dur to the bare land, signaling that they were getting close to their destination. Jake looked over to the unicorn and scratched his head.

"Hey Twilght, where exactly is the race being held?"

"The San Palomino Desert I'm assuming. It's basically thirty miles of dried up lakebed that's perfect for something like this. It's where Speed Demon set the last record."
She smirked.

"But he won't have it for long."
Mac let out a deep laugh.

"Ah can't wait ta see him get beat."
Jake however, wasn't laughing.

"You know guys, the Ferrari can go about two hundred and two. Because we'll be on crusted earth I'd lower that to one ninety five. Speed Demon could very well have something faster than that, who knows?"
Rarity chimed in.

"I'm sure you'll be fine darling! That pristine automobile is sure to out-preform whatever he has in stock."

"Looks don't matter though. It's all about power. This isn't a race to the finish. It's a race to see who can set the top speed. I'm not timed or anything, so I'm going to take my time and focus in on getting as much traction as I can. If I apply too much power, I'll just spin out."
Applejack looked confused.

"There's a lot more ta this than jes floorin' it, ain't there?"

"Yup."
They flew for another fifteens minutes before Fluttershy pointed out the windshield.

"There's Appleoosa Jake. We aren't far now."

The small desert town was about ten miles away, and just to the southeast, the race strip could be seen. Jake and the rest of his friends looked out to the strip, and their jaws dropped.

"Mother of God...I guess the word got out, huh?"

"Eeyup."

Perfect background music. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pAgnJDJN4VA

The small town was packed with visitors. Vendors were set up around the area where the strip started. Bleachers had been erected to form a semicircle around the starting line, and rows upon rows of ponies lined the track side father down.

"Hello Equestria! I'm Darrel Stalltrip, and this is my partner Anchor Cast! Comin' to you live from the San Palomino Desert on Equestrian 98.1, the only station that gives you live coverage like no other!"

The two stallions sat behind a desk with the radio station's logo plastered on the front of it. Darrel was light brown with a gold mane, and wore a cowboy hat and a leather vest. He spoke with a country twang in his voice. Anchor Cast was the polar opposite. He was pure white with a black mane, and donned a black suit with a red tie.

"Well Darrel I cannot get over the crowd we have here today! Over eleven THOUSAND ponies from every corner of our nation have flocked here today to witness history. The Wonderbolts are even here! We held an interview with them a little earlier if you folks were tuned in then."

"You know Anchor, I heard that the Royal Family is on their way down here as we speak! That's right listeners, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armour will be in attendance today, and it's all right here on Equestrian 98.1!"
He pressed a button that let a warpy distorted sound effect take place.

Darrel spoke up again.

"Here he is folks! Speed Demon's competitor is arriving in his C-130 we were told thanks to Soarin. And the crowd is goin' wild at his appearance! Listen to this Anchor!"

The crowd was cheering and applauding as the C-130 was descending for touchdown at the far end of the track. From the starting line, the heat waves coming off the desert floor distorted the plane's image. As the wheels hit, dust and sand started swirling around the props, making any part of the plane behind the wings invisible. Darrel started laughing at the sight.

"Wooee! Sweet Celestia that thangs kickin' up a sandstorm!"

"You said it Darrel!"
After a couple minutes, Jake had taxied the plane to the end of the crowd on the side of the track and pulled off. The cargo bay door slowly started to open, and ponies with cameras and recording devices immediately swarmed the eight of them. Jake raised a hoof to calm everyone down.

"Listen up! Let me get the Ferrari off the plane and lock it up. Then when I'm down at the starting line, I'll have time for questions. Thanks."
The crowd immediately started asking more questions and taking pictures despite his little announcement. Mac steeped forward as Jake went back to unload the car.

"Ok everypony make way! Jake's gonna roll that thing off o' this ramp, an' ah don't want any of you gettin' hurt. Go on an' wait by the startin' line!"
His size made him look intimidating to the crowd of twenty or so, and they complied, falling back to join the rest of the audience.

The sound of the roaring V8 could be heard as Jake started it up. The seven of them made way for the car as it slowly backed down off the ramp.

Back up at the announcers desk, which was located at the top of the left bleacher, the two stallions craned their necks to get a look at Speed Demon's rival. Darrel spoke up.

"Ok folks! It seems like we have a visual on the competitor. It's a red carriage lookin' thing that-"
An assistant to the station ran up and gave him a sheet of paper.

"Thank ya kindly. Ahem, sorry for the interruption folks, but I have the details right here thanks to a pony by the name of Macintosh Apple. Apparently he had called in to the station last night. 98.1 thanks you Macintosh! Anyways, it's called a Ferrari 458 Italia."

"That name just SOUNDS fast Darrel!"

"It sure does Anchor! It's normal term is an automobile or car for short, and it has a top speed of...two hundred and two miles an hour!"

"Well Darrel, it may say that on paper, but we'll have to see for ourselves what that baby can really do! Here it comes now!"
Jake drove the Ferrari into the center of the starting line, and the crowd went nuts. The attention got the best of him, and he floored it and cranked the wheel left, making the car do five doughnuts before stopping. The V8 howled as he revved it one last time before shutting it off and stepping out. As he did, he waved to the crowd and they chanted his name.

Mac and the other six went to take their seats on the bleachers. Luckily, they had been able to find a spot. Applejack hollered to Jake.

"Go on an' kick that Speed Demon's flank Jake!"

All of them looked up as a shadow was casted over the starting area. The Royal Carriage descended and landed about twenty feet away from Jake and the Ferrari.

"There they are Anchor! Like I promised y'all, the Royal Family is here in attendance! Boy if you ain't here right now, I feel bad for you!"

Jake bowed as the four ponies of nobility approached him. Celestia smiled.

"You may rise Jake."

"What are you doing here?!"
Cadence chimed in.

"When we heard about this event, I persuaded her to let us come down here to witness history. I'm Princess Cadance by the way. I was informed that you aren't from Equestria. Where exactly are you from?"
Shining Armor stepped forward and joined Jake's side.

"Please honey, I'm sure he doesn't want to go into his entire life story at the moment."

"You're right. Maybe later?"
Jake nodded in agreement.

"Sure thing."

Luna turned around to see Crossblade standing there.

"Your Majesties, we've managed to clear an appropriate spectating area at the top of one of the bleachers."
He pointed to a roped off area protected by four Royal Guards at the top of the opposite bleacher that the two radio broadcasters were on.

"Very well Crossblade. Come Tia, lets get our seat before the race begins."

"Ok Luna."
All but Shining Armor left the starting line and went to their seats after wishing Jake the best of luck. The Guard Captain turned to the Ferrari, and his face got serious.

"So, how do you think your chances are?"
He sighed.

"Good I hope. I'm estimating I can pull two hundred miles an hour out of her, but that's about it."
Shining got nervous.

"I saw Speed Demon's carriage before they covered it up back there. It looks pretty fast. You might have harder competition than you thought."

"What did it look like."

"Well it was about-"
He was interrupted as a gate opened underneath the center bleachers, and Speed Demon walked out.

"I think I'm going to get to see for myself Shining."
They both turned to look at him as he approached.

"Here he is Darrel! Speed Demon! The current land speed record holder. It looks like he's approaching Jake now. This could get heated!"

"Wooee! I love me some tension in a competition! This is gonna be one hell of a race!"

Back at the line, the crowd was roaring as the Record Holder approached the pilot.

"Good day Mr. Jake."
He turned to Shining Armor.

"And good day to you Captain."
He nodded in response. Speed Demon shifted his glare to the supercar.

"So, this is the Ferrari that you were talking about, no?"

"You bet."

"Ha. We'll see how that handles MY mode of transport."
He raised a hoof to his assistant who was standing by the gate. The assistant whistled, and after a couple seconds, the front of Speed Demons rocket carriage appeared from the darkness. Slowly, the full length of it was in the light, and Jake got a good first look.

It reminded him of an American dragster, except where the engine would be, a large white rocket with a red tip was strapped down. The body was red, and the spoiler was a bright orange. Speed Demon smirked.

"I call it the Slipstream. It can reach speeds of up to two hundred and ten miles an hour!"
Jake looked nervous. He knew the Ferrari couldn't go that fast. Suddenly, Darrel Stalltrip's voice came on on the loudspeakers.

"Ok everypony! Since the two competitors are at the line, lets get this thing under way shall we?"
More cheers erupted from the eleven thousand spectators.

"Drivers, you have five minutes before you should be lined up! Get your final preparations in now!"
Speed Demon chuckled.

"Well Mr. Jake, I'll see you on the other side. Buona fortuna!"
With that he turned around and headed to the Slipstream. A sweating Jake turned to Shining Armor.

"Ok we have to make the Ferrari faster somehow!"

"How do you plan to do that in five minutes?!"
Jake pondered for a moment.

"Well I do know two things. Do you know a spell that can blow air?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Ok good, follow me."
He led him over to the back right tire. And pointed to the little valve where you filled it with air.

"Put some more air into these tires. I've heard rumors that when racing on the salt flats, thinner tires are better. The more air, the more they're rounded. That gives me less friction. Can you do that?"
Shining nervously nodded.

"Uh, I think so."

"That'll do. I'm going to try to shed some weight."
He ran up to the drivers door and began to rummage around in the interior. Soon, miscellaneous things were flying out behind him and landing out on the ground. One was a golf bag that was left behind the seats, then two bags of golf balls.

"Jeez, this guy must hit every water hazard."

He made his way to the front and opened the trunk. What he found in there shocked him.

"Playboys?!"
There were hundreds of them stacked up. Then he remembered exactly who the owner of this car was. He was the partial owner of the Playboy Mansion.

Shining Armor walked over to him.

"Ok Jake I'm doooone...what the hell are those?"
Jake's pupils were the size of pin tips.

"Don't ask. If you can, disguise them, levitate them out of here...and burn them. Burn them all."

"I can do all that, but why bur-"

"Just burn them and don't ask!"

"Uh, ok then."
He did what the pilot asked, disguising them so they looked like blank white magazines, and took them out of the trunk. Darrel's voice came back on.

"One minute 'till race time folks! Ooooone minute!"

Shining set the pile down underneath the bleachers, and came back to Jake, who had recovered from his shock.

"Ok, I think I managed to shed off a good one hundred pounds with all that stuff. If I would've had more time, I would've taken more stuff out such as the other seat. But I did all I can do for now. Lets just hope this thing pulls through."

"Well good luck Jake. I hope you win."

"Thanks Shining. You were a big help."

He ran back to join his wife and the two rulers in the bleachers, leaving Jake alone at the starting line.

He climbed into the car and started it up, the engine roared as he revved it a couple times. He turned around and lined up at the painted white line. The Slipstream was being pushed up by Speed Demons assistants. It stopped just shy of the line adjacent to the Ferrari. He looked over to Jake and nodded once. Then he lowered the visor to his helmet, and tightened his grip on the wheel.

Jake sat back and did the same, revving the engine a couple times. An official in a white collared shirt came up to the line and spoke into a megaphone directed at the two racers.

"Ok gentlecolts, as you know, this is a race for the speed record, not to the finish. The end is only when you've reached your maximum speed. Then you can back off and return to the start. We had a spell casted on both of your vehicles to display your top speed on those two large boards over there."
He pointed up behind the Royal Family, where two large screens sat side by side. Jake's was on the right, Speed Demon's on the left. Both read zero.

"This will be a clean race. There will be no bumping, rubbing, pushing, shoving, or trickery involved. Do I make myself clear?"
They both nodded. Speed Demon gritted his teeth and concentrated on the ten miles of flat track in front of him. The official smiled.

"Ok then, lets get this thing under way."
He backed up away from them and raised his green flag high above his head. The sight of this caused the crowd to erupt in cheers. Darrel and Anchor got excited.

"Well Darrel it appears as if the race is going to start at any second!"

"Hahaaa! This is gonna be the best race I've ever seen Anchor!"

Throughout the crowd, many pegasi including Rainbow Dash rose into the air, ready to follow the race as it happened. Celestia cheered Jake on, and Luna and Cadance waved a huge homemade banner that had his name on it in big red letters. Shining Armor, however, was hoping what they did to the car would be enough.

Time slowed for the pilot as the official readied himself one last time. He listened to the engine, every pitch it made, every cylinder spinning. But reality came back to him as the flag dropped, and his hoof slammed down on the accelerator. The engine screamed as sand flew up behind the tires.

The Slipstream's rocket blasted to life a second later, and Jake's chest was engulfed in the reverberations from it. Darrel laughed and yelled into the mic.

"Boogety boogety boogety boys! Lets go racin'!"

Never Make Bets

For the ponies who were looking at the racers from behind, all they saw was a cloud of sand and thruster smoke. And all anyone could hear was the deafening roar of the rocket, backed by the soprano howl of the Ferrari's engine.

Speed Demon got off the line quicker, and was already at eighty miles an hour, while Jake was a good fifty yards behind at sixty miles an hour. Both speed-display boards in the bleachers steadily increased with time. Up in the sky, the Wonderbolts were leading the group of pegasi following the race. Some flew ahead to the Slipstream, while some stayed back with the supercar.

Anchor leaned into his microphone to address the crowd.

"And it looks like Speed Demon has gotten a huge lead. It doesn't look good for Jake."

"Now hold yourself there Anchor! Don't be rightn' this Jake fella off just yet! That Ferrari looks like it's packin' a punch under the hood!"

"We'll see Darrel. We'll see."

As both racers passed the one hundred and fifty mark, they disappeared from the audience in the bleachers. All they had to go on was the display boards behind the Royal Family.

Two miles away, the Ferrari was slowly gaining on the Slipstream, but just as Jake got near it's back end, it sped up a little, widening the gap.

Rainbow Dash flew down to the car, followed by Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts who made a V-formation above him.

After three minutes of power, the Slipstream's rocket sputtered out, and Speed Demon laughed. He had achieved a top speed of two hundred and four miles an hour. He knew he had won. A yellow parachute deployed and slowed him down quickly. Just as he came to a halt, the Ferrari whizzed past him. The engine noise grew fainter as Jake sped up and out of earshot.

"Si perde, Mr. Jake...si perde."

"Well Darrel, it appears that Speed Demon has stopped due to running out of fuel. But only after shattering his previous record. His top speed was two hundred and four."

"But wait a minute Anchor! Jake is still in this thing. He's currently at one hundred and ninety five miles an hour, and it's slowly rising!"

"You think he can do it Darrel?"

"Aw shoot! Of course he can! He just needs a little bump draft or somethin'!"
Anchor looked at him confused.

"I'll never understand you Darrel. Anyways, Jake is currently at one ninety eight. Lets see what happens."

"Wooee! Only six more to go! It's a shoot out to the finish boys!"

Twilight and her friends looked at the display board in anticipation, and everyone else did the same. As he reached two hundred, ponies started chanting his name and cheering him on. Everyone wanted to see the 'new guy' take home the gold.

In the middle of the San Palomino Desert, a thundering snake of sand was moving across the ground. The Ferrari's wake was so immense that the pegasi had to back off and return to the start in fear of being blinded or choked out by the sandstorm. It was only Jake and the machine now.

He looked at the speedometer, and it read two hundred and one. He only needed three more to win. He lost hope for a moment when the Ferrari reached its maximum speed of two hundred and two. He knew he couldn't go any faster, and he was about to give up. But then, the little red needle surpassed its boundary and rose by a half a mile an hour.

The crowd was going nuts as the board read two hundred and two point eight, then rose to two hundred and three. Rarity yelled at the top of her lungs.

"COME ON JAKE! PUT THAT THING INTO HIGH GEAR AND KICK SPEED DEMON'S ASS!"
Everyone within a five pony radius stared at her with blank faces. She slumped down in her seat after her display of uncouth behavior.

"...sorry."

The Sun Goddess rose and began screaming along with all the other spectators, and her sister quickly joined in. Shining Armor just stared at the board and prayed. His wife turned to him and yelled over the cheering.

"You don't seem too energetic!"
He sighed and hung his head in shame.

"I can't lie to you...I placed a bet on Jake."
Cadance's innocent look turned into a glare of evil.

"How much?!"
Her husband started getting nervous.

"Well I-"
She grabbed him by the mane and stared into his eyes.

"How much?!"
His eyes darted back and forth, and he could've sworn a Royal Guard was laughing at him. He gulped.

"...Five thousand bits."
The Ruler of the Crystal Empire let go of his mane and let out a long breath. She smiled as her tone changed from angry to sweet.

"Well honey, you better hope Jake wins. Or else-"
She leaned in and whispered the rest in his ear. His pupils slowly dilated from normal to the size of an atom, and she slowly backed away and cantered back over to her seat looking very content. Shining slowly looked up at the display board.

"Sweet mother of Celestia Jake. You have to win this race."

The engine screamed as it propelled him through the desert. He only had a half a mile an hour to go, and it was slowly rising.

203.5

203.6

"I don't believe it Anchor! His speed is STILL climbing!"

"He just might pull this off Darrel!"

Applejack spun her Stetson around in the air and hollered.

"Come on Jake! Show him who's boss!"

203.7

The pegasi who had been following the race returned and joined the rest of the spectators, immediately joining the cheers and chanting.

Jake locked his eyes on the ground ahead and sunk back into the seat, tightening his grip on the wheel.

"Come on! Just a little bit more!"

203.8

"Yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh!!! Come on Jake!"
Pinkie Pie bounced up and down in the stands, cheering him on.

203.9

Even Fluttershy was getting loud as she stood up and pointed at the board.

"Come on Jake! You can do this!"

204.0

The crowd erupted louder than they had been all day as the pilot matched the current record. However, he still had to surpass it.

Darrel's hat came off as be stood up and yelled into the mic, slamming his front hooves down on the desk at every word.

"ONE! MORE! ONE! MORE!"

Jake was seven miles out as he approached the record. Every joint in the engine was whining. Every bolt was vibrating. But the Ferrari thundered on.

He had his hoof down so hard on the accelerator that it began to hurt him, but he didn't let up at all. Then, it happened. The little needle slowly increased as he broke the land speed record.

204.1

"I don't believe it Anchor! I do not believe it! Jake Weston is the new holder of the land speed record!"

Everyone in the crowd jumped up and went crazy. Shining Armor slumped back and sighed in relief. Candance turned to him and shook her head.

"You got lucky this time honey. By the way, just so you learn a lesson, I'm using the winnings on a new dress and a hooficure. You should think before you do something that stupid again."

"You're right honey, I'm sorry. Let's just enjoy this amazing moment in Equestrian history, shall we?"

"Sounds good to-"
She was cut off by a cheering Luna who grabbed her and hugged her. She sang her words in a mocking tone.

"He diiiiid it! He diiiiid it!"

Across the way, Twilight and Rainbow Dash started dancing circles around each other in celebration. Mac calmly looked up at the display board and chuckled.

"Well I'll be damned. He did it."

An hour later found Jake, Mac, Twilight and her friends, the Wonderbolts, and the Royal Family by the cargo ramp of the C-130. Jake had put the Ferrari back and strapped it down, ready for the return ride home. Celestia looked at the vehicle and smiled.

"That's quite the machine Jake. This had to be the most exciting thing I've seen in a LONG time."
Luna nodded in agreement.

"Our day is usually all paperwork and foreign affairs. We don't get to do things as fun as this very often."

Jake laughed and turned to Twilight.

"Thanks for convincing me to do this. If you wouldn't have said anything a couple days ago, the thought wouldn't have even crossed my mind."

"No problem Jake. I'm glad you did do it."

Fleetfoot spoke up.

"Ya know Jake, the offer still stands if you want to be a part of our finale show in Canterlot before the season ends."
He looked over to his plane, and studied it for a moment. Then he smiled and came to a conclusion.

"I'd love to."
This caused some small cheers from the stunt flyers, and Rainbow Dash lost her cool.

"Oh. My. Gosh! You get to perform with the Wonderbolts! That is so cool!"

Spitfire laughed and looked over to her.

"You know, Jake might need someone in there to help him."
The Wonderbolt turned to him with raised eyebrows in order for him to catch on.

"Oh, yeah! You can be my co-pilot."
She grabbed him and twirled him around in the air before letting him drop back to the ground with a thud.

After a mutual laugh throughout the group, Shining Armor turned to Celestia.

"It's getting late. We should probably go."

"You're right. Even though this was fun, I have to get back to official business."

Shining turned to Jake and shook his hoof. As he did, he spoke quietly so nobody but the pilot could hear.

"Thank you for winning. You've done me a great service."
He had a confused look on his face.

"Uh, yeah no problem....what did I do exactly?"

"You don't need to know. Just know that I will forever be in your debt."

"Uh, ok then. Great to meet you."
He turned to Cadance, who had just approached. He bowed slightly and shook her hoof.

"And it was a pleasure meeting you ma'am."
She laughed.

"Oh just call me Candance!"

"Well then Cadance, thanks for coming out to support me."

"It's always a pleasure."
With that, the Royal Family bid their goodbyes and walked back to the chariot.

The Wonderbolts took this as their cue to leave as well. They said farewell and flew off towards Canterlot, leaving Jake and his friends at the plane. He turned back to them and ushered them inside.

"You guys go on ahead and get strapped in. I have to do one last thing."

They complied and entered the aircraft, as Jake walked back behind the center bleachers. There, he saw the Slipstream sitting in a pit area, and a very calm Speed Demon leaning up against the large rear tire smoking a cigarette. He saw Jake and nodded to him. The pilot walked up and reached out a hoof to shake.

"That was some race Speed Demon. I'll never forget it."

The Previous Record Holder looked skeptical at first, but then reached out and shook Jake's hoof.

"Nor will I Mr. Jake. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be back with something bigger and better."

"And I'll be here waiting with something bigger and better as well."
They both laughed. Speed Demon smiled and shook his head.

"Well, wherever you go, and whatever you do...good luck."

"The same to you."

Jake walked away, and before he rounded the corner, he looked back one last time to see Speed Demon as he took a long drag from his cigarette, tossed it to the pavement, and quietly walked away behind the wheel of the Slipstream.

The wheels of the C-130 lifted off the sand, and it banked to the north to begin their journey home. It flew over the clearing stands and off into the orange evening sky.

"Well Anchor, this has been one hell of a day!"

"You said it Darrel. Jake Weston, a stallion that nopony had heard of just yesterday, has set the land speed record! History has been made here today folks."

"You bet Anchor! And remember, tune in to Equestrian 98.1 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays for all of your news and updates. And whenever there's something big goin' down in the neighborhood, tune in as well and we'll have ya covered!"

"I'm Anchor Cast."

"And I'm Darrel Stalltrip. Good night Equestria!"

Free Falling

Out at the C-130's landing field, the entire Wonderbolts team was eagerly awaiting their first session with Jake.

After a couple minutes of standing around goofing off, Spitfire came out from the cargo ramp and stood in front of the other team members.

"Alright listen up!"
They all snapped to attention and focused their attention on her.

"Today you'll all be getting to know this machine here."
She pointed back to the aircraft behind her.

"You need to know EXACTLY how this thing works if you're going to fly with it. Understood?"

A mutual nod from the team was her cue to continue.

"Now, I want to introduce you to the stallion who will be flying it. I want you to treat him as one of our own, because from this moment until the end of the show, he is an official Wonderbolt. Please welcome Captain Jake Weston."
They lightly applauded as the pilot stepped down off the cargo ramp and walked over next to Spitfire.

"Thank you, thank you."
Their applause stopped, and they snapped back to attention.

"Ok first off I want to say that I'm honored to be performing with you guys. I haven't had the privilege to see one of your shows yet, but I'm sure is incredible."
Soarin made a shooing motion with his hoof and spoke in a higher girlish voice, batting his eyelashes as he spoke.

"Why thank you sweetie, you're so flattering!"
Spitfire glared at him.

"Soarin, cut it out or I'll buck you so hard you'll always talk like that again! Understood?!"
He snapped back to attention and gulped.

"Y-yes ma'am."

Jake looked at her and she nodded for him to continue.

"Anyways, here's the basics. This machine is called a C-130 Hercules. It's capable of reaching a top speed of roughly three hundred and seventy miles an hour, and can go as high as thirty to forty thousand feet. I've been informed on the finale stunt you want to pull with this thing, and let me tell you that I'm very excited, yet skeptical. Allow me to explain."

He began to slowly pace back and forth as he spoke.

"I'm aware that all of you are capable of breaking the sound barrier, and to fly double the speed of this plane takes little effort. So you'll have to be patient with this big bucket of bolts, because it's not really designed for stunts."
Rapidfire gestured over to the aircraft.

"Can you pull any though?"
Jake looked over at him and stopped pacing.

"I'm sorry?"

"Stunts. Can you pull any stunts in that thing?"
He thought for a moment, then smirked.

"Well, there is one that I know pretty well. You want to see it?"

Everyone except Spitfire, who shook her head and laughed, nodded eagerly.

Twilight was sitting with Rarity at the same café where Jake had confronted Speed Demon more than a week ago. The white unicorn took a sip of tea and delicately cleared her throat.

"Well anyways dear, I think that more advertisement for the library will surely bring in more customers. It worked for me and my boutique."
Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Rarity, we live in a town where everypony knows everypony. They all know where the library is. It's a treehouse for Luna's sake! It's just that some ponies don't care enough about reading to...to..."
She trailed off and stared up into the sky, jaw-dropped.

"Whatever are you looking at darling?"
The fashionista turned around and donned the same facial expression as Twilight.

"Sweet Celetia."

They had a front row seat to Jake's little stunt, and what they saw amazed them. The plane was flying towards them about five hundred feet up constantly doing slow barrel rolls. The Wonderbolts were emitting smoke trails in a circle around him, and they moved in a circle around the plane as it turned, making their smoke streams look like a spiral strand of DNA.

Everyone in town had their eyes locked on the scene as Jake pulled up and went into a ninety degree climb. The Wonderbolts stopped and watched it as it climbed higher and higher. Soarin turned to Rapidfire.

"This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time!"

Inside the cockpit, the speed indicator dropped to ninety, and the stall warning started buzzing. At the last moment, he shut off the fuel valve and the buzzer, and all four props came to a halt, engulfing him in complete silence.

"And here...we...go."
Jake felt weightlessness for a split second as the plane stalled out. The wings shuddered as the aircraft lost it's fight with gravity, and he began falling. In less than six seconds, Jake had the nose pointed down and went into a dive.

Back above town, the Wonderbolts were looking on in awe as he began his dive for the ground. The plane started falling faster and faster, and some of them were getting worried. Whiplash called out to him.

"Pull up! Pull up!"
Spitfire turned to her.

"Stop it Whiplash! I'm sure he know what he's doing...I hope."

The tension began to rise as he got closer and closer to the ground. Finally, with only one thousand feet to go, Jake yanked the yoke back and deployed the spoilers, his head being pressed down from the g-force.

The plane then leveled out in perfect alignment with the runway, and it touched down with the delicacy of a swan landing on water. It rolled to a halt, and the Wonderbolts gathered around the cargo ramp. As it lowered and Jake got out, he was greeted with an applause from the stunt team. Spitfire stepped forward and shook her head.

"You sure know your stuff flyboy. We'll have no trouble at all with this performance."
Jake smiled and shook her hoof.

"Thank you Spitfire."
He looked around to the rest of the team.

"Thank you all for this opportunity. I won't let you down."

For the next hour, Jake showed them around the aircraft, and even took it for another flight with the team all aboard, until Fleetfoot got the idea to start jumping off the back ramp at ten thousand feet trying to perform stunts as he was whipped back from the sudden wind.

As night fell, they said their goodbyes and headed back to Canterlot. But Spitfire stayed back for a second to talk to Jake. They both sat down on the end of the cargo ramp in the middle of the field, and she looked back at the airplane.

"This is quite the machine you have here Jake."

"Thanks. The final stunt of the show is going to be amazing."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Remember how I said Rainbow Dash could fly with you in the plane?"

"Yeah, is there something wrong with that?"

"No not at all. It's just that I re-choreographed the stunt, and it's even better."
Jake looked at her confused.

"And what does that have to do with Rainbow Dash?"
She chuckled and put her hoof on his shoulder.

"Jake, bring her to the practice on Friday. Her sonic rainboom will be much needed to do this right."

As Jake laid in bed that night, he contemplated on what a sonic rainboom was like. He imagined a sonic boom like the military jets back home, but bigger and louder. And he also assumed there were rainbows involved somewhere down the line. But he stopped thinking and drifted off to sleep, still eager for Friday's practice.

Author's Note

I apologize for the delay in updates, or if you find that this chapter is too short. Work has been so busy lately and I haven't had time to sit down and think. Ill try to get some longer chapters out this week. Thanks for reading!

Boogie-Woogie

Thursday morning was overcast and rainy. The weather team had had a huge thunderstorm in the making for days, and now it was time for them to 'show off their work' so to speak.

Mac and Jake walked through town, trying to get to Noteworthy's before the downpour began. He thought it would be a good opportunity to take up the musician's offer at a jam session in his music store. Jake had convinced Mac to come, even though he had lots of farm work to get done.

The bell to the store's front door rang as the two stallions entered. The shop was average sized with a counter down the left wall with spare instrument parts and accessories under the glass counter, and guitars hanging behind it on the wall. Across on the far wall, there were brass and woodwind instruments ranging from the trumpet to the piccolo, and the far right wall was a huge collection of records for sale. The center of the store was an open floor with a band setup display containing a baby grand piano, drums, an upright bass, and a trumpet, trombone, and saxophone on stands in front.

Noteworthy came out from the back room to greet them.

"Hey you guys! It's been a while hasn't it?"
He shook their hooves and continued.

"I heard about your race Jake. That was quite an impressive show you put on for everypony."

"Hehe, yeah I guess it was. Thanks."

He walked over to the Bari sax that was sitting on the display stand in the center of the store and picked it up.

"So I take it you two came to take me up on my little offer?"
He blew a jazzy phrase then lowered it from his mouth.

"Hop on an instrument and lets get crackin'."
He turned to the red stallion.

"You play anything Mac?"

"Ah dabbled in bass a little bit in mah school years. But nothin' much."

"That's good enough for me! Pick up that bass and have some fun. What is your weapon of choice Jake?"
The pilot immediately walked over to the black piano and sat down. Noteworthy nodded, then turned back to the empty drum set.

"I'm gonna get Jade out here. She's my assistant, and she plays drums."
Noteworthy yelled to the back room for her, and after a couple seconds, a black mare with a white spiky mane came out to meet them. She had a dyed strand of red on her mane and tail, and wore spike bracelets on her front legs. She approached the trio and shook the two newcomers's hooves.

"Noteworthy told me you guys might stop by sometime. Pleased to meet you. My name is Jade Sharp, drummer and singer extraordinaire. Well, somewhat extraordinaire. What's you're guys' names?"

"I'm Jake Weston."

"An' I'm Big Mac, ma'am."
She laughed.

"Just call me Jade. None of that ma'am stuff ya hear?"
He nodded slowly.

The drummer went over to her instrument of choice and sat down. She picked up the sticks and got ready.

"Ok, what are we playing?"
Noteworthy looked over to Jake.

"Got anything that's easy to learn and fun to play?"
He pondered for a moment before coming up with the perfect song.

"Ok I got one. It's a classic where I come from called the Mess Around by Ray Charles. He was a blind pianist who became an instant legend."
Jade Perked up at his description.

"He was BLIND?"

"Mhmm. But he was amazing at singing and playing the piano despite that. Anyways, the song is in the key of G, and it's a stride piano kind of thing like this."

He started playing the riff of the song, and the other three started bobbing their heads to it. He stopped and instructed them.

"Noteworthy, every time the lyrics pause, you give a little riff that goes like this."
He played it on the piano, and the saxophonist nodded and repeated it perfectly.

"Good. Ok Mac, all your doing is walking. Just up and down the changes in G. Can you do that."

"Lemme think a minute."
He fiddled with the fingerings before figuring it out, and walking perfectly in G.

"Awesome. Jade, it's just a simple beat with the hi-hat on two and four. You shouldn't have any trouble. How about you sing too. You said you can."

"Ok sure. Ill take a verse."

After a couple more minutes of figuring out their parts, they were ready. Jake counted them off.

"A one, a two, a one, two, three, four!"

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S1zKlKTLnqU

Jake started playing the intro, then after four bars, Jade and Mac came in on cue. The pilot stared singing.

"Well you can talk about the pit barbecue! The band was jumpin', the people to! Ahh mess around!"
Noteworthy played a deep line on the Bari whenever Jake paused.

"They doin' the mess around! They doin' the mess around. Everybody's doin' the mess around!"
Mac was swaying the bass back and forth as he walked up and down the strings, and Jade, for being a rocker, was loving the new type of music. Jake came back in.

"Now everybody was juiced you can, bet your soul! They did the boogie-woogie, with a steady roll! They mess around! They doin' the mess around. They doin' the mess around. Everybody's doin' the mess around!"

Jake had written down lyrics and had given them to Jade so she could sing a verse. She had a voice that he compared to Tina Turner, a popular jazz singer from the 80's, and she wailed in a higher octave.

"Well when ah say stop don't you, mooove a peg! When ah say go just, shake yo leg an' do the mess around! I declare! Do the mess around! They doin' the mess around! Everypony's doin' the mess around! Ok Jake you got it now!
He came in with a trill on the piano, and started a twelve bar solo. Once he was finished, Noteworthy came in with a Bari sax solo. He leaned back as he approached the end, then Jake came in again, leaning forward and singing louder as the song progressed.

"Well this band's gonna play from, nine to one! Everybody here's gonna, have some fun doin' the mess around."
Mac got a little more confident, and spruced up his lines with some gliss notes. Jake began the final verse.

"Well you see that girl with that, diamond ring? She knows how to, shake that thing! Mess around! I declare! Mess around! They're doin' the mess around. Everybody's doin' the mess around!"
Jade hit the last two notes on the crash symbols, and Noteworthy held it while Jake soloed over the chord. They all came to a close, and Noteworthy began to laugh.

"That was the most fun I've had in a long time here! It's usually pretty boring. Great job guys."

Jade stood up and patted Mac on the back.

"You can really play that thing Mac. I was impressed."

"Ain't nothin' compared ta yer singin'."
Noteworthy turned to her.

"Yeah, about that Jade. I've never heard you sing like that before. Why the change?"
She shrugged.

"It just came to me I guess. I'm a rocker at heart. But this type of music isn't like that, so I just fit the style."

"Well it was really good."

"Thanks. You're singing wasn't that bad either Jake."

"Eehh, it was ok. I'm not a vocalist really. I just play."

"It was still good. Hey I know, let's play the Pegasus Freefall."
Jake looked confused.

"I assume it's a rock song?"

"Yup."

"I thought you guys didn't have rock and roll here."
Mac looked over to him, while picking up an electric bass.

"Ah guess we do. Ah just haven't ever heard none of it b'fore until yer welcome party."

"Ah. I see. Well anyways, lets get going. What's the song like Jade?"

They spent the next two hours playing songs at random and goofing off while the rain poured down over head. When they were about to leave, Noteworthy said his goodbyes and retreated to the back room to close up shop, leaving Jade alone with the two of them.

"Thanks for coming guys. It was certainly an experience I won't forget."
She turned to Mac, and handed him a little slip of paper.

"What might this be?"
She pawed at the ground before answering.

"I-It's just some new bass models that are coming out incase your ever looking to purchase one in the future. You could go far with your talent Mac."

"Why thank ya kindly Jade. I jes might do that when ah get the time."

They said their goodbyes, and the two hastily made their way back to the farm through the rain. When they finally got back, they sat down at the kitchen table for a glass of cider. The paper Jade had given him was laying on the corner of the table, and Jake picked it up and unfolded it. Immediately, his blank face lit up, and he started laughing. Mac was confused.

"What's so funny on that paper Jake? Lemme see."

"Have you ever heard of a bass like that? I don't think I have!"
He continued laughing as Mac eyed the paper. It wasn't bass models, it was a phone number.

"Looks like you caught her eye buddy. Up top."
He motioned for a high five, and Mac responded half way while still staring at the paper.

"Sh-should ah call her?"
The pilot held up his hooves.

"Not yet. That'll make it look like you're crazy or desperate. Wait at least two days."

"Ok, ah'll wait. Ya think y'all can help me out with this Jake. Ahm not to sure what to do."

"Yeah, Ill be gone for practice tomorrow though. But Saturday for sure. You won't fail, I assure you!"

"How do ya know fer certain."

"Mac, she GAVE you her number. Most guys have to jump through fire to get some girls number. But you my big red friend, have achieved the impossible!"

"Well...if ya say so."
For the next fifteen minutes, they both sat back and finished their cider in silence, listening to the rain pounding down on the roof, and contemplating on how to approach the farmer's situation.

JATO

Spitfire and Soarin were sitting in the headquarter's main office discussing the practice that was to happen that day. Soarin had been somewhat opposed to having Rainbow Dash participate in the performance. Not because he didn't think she could do it, but because her lack of training with the team and flight show experience could put her in harms way. He leaned forward on the desk and rubbed his temples with his hooves.

"Spitfire, I just don't think it's a good idea to have her perform with us. This stunt is probably the most dangerous thing we've ever attempted. Noponys ever been able to do more than three in sync. The brute force of the shockwaves could kill us if we don't time it to the millisecond. The MILLISECOND, Spitfire! This is serious stuff we're dealing with. Sure Jake's fine because he knows what he's doing behind the wheel of that plane. Hell I have no clue what I'd have to do. But I know what I have to do when it comes to flying, and let me tell you, one month is not enough time to train an inexperienced pony to the level of being able to pull off the hardest stunt we've ever attempted."

Spitfire sighed.

"Then this will be her test."
He raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"What do you mean?"

"If she can pull this off, then she's in the Wonderbolts."
He stood up and glared at her.

"What?! Look Spitfire, I want her on the team as much as you do. But we can't risk her life just because you think she's capable! I don't think she is."

"Well you can think all you want, but I'm sticking to my guns on this one. She's on the team for good if she can pull this off."
Soarin shook his head and raised his voice.

"Look, you made me the captain of this team two years ago and I thank you for that. But I'm the head of this team now!"
She sat forward and crossed her hooves.

"Yeah, but I'm the neck. And I can turn the head any way I want."
She leaned back in her chair and smirked.

"Rainbow Dash is performing with us. That's final."
He stomped the ground in annoyance.

"Fine! But when she hurts herself, and can't be on the team at all, don't say I didn't warn you."
Spitfire stood up and walked past him to the door. She turned around as she opened it.

"Ok, agreed. Now lets get over to the practice area. Jake should be here any minute."

"So Starfyre, ya think these rockets are suitable to strap on to the back o' that plane?"

Fleetfoot and Starfyre sat at the end of the makeshift cloud runway where a larger tarmac had been erected to set things up and give Jake enough room to turn around. The rocket technician looked at the two Sabre Mach I rockets sitting on their stands to the left of the tarmac.

"Sure. All they are is the engine and thrusters without the warheads on them. I made the calculations, and these should fit perfectly below and behind the wings on either side of the cargo ramp. If they're too low, they'll throw the nose of the plane up. So this has to be perfect."
Fleetfoot looked down the runway into the distance to see a speck with wings flying towards them.

"Speak of the devil, there he is."
He looked back to see the rest of the team assembling in uniform at Soarin's command.

"Ok guys listen up! This is our first real practice for the finale show, and we have to make this count. We have limited time, so lets use all of it we can. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good. Ok, we'll give more details when he lands."

They all turned to watch the massive aircraft touch down at the far end of the strip. White smoke billowed from the rear tires as they hit the asphalt with a screech, then the nose touched down. A minute later brought the plane to their end, and it turned left to angle it on the tarmac. The engines shut off and the access door on the other side opened, revealing Jake with black aviator sunglasses on.

Before he could take one more step, Rainbow Dash bolted out from behind him and landed in front of Spitfire, puffing out her chest and saluting.

"Rainbow Dash reporting ma'am!"
The co-captain chuckled and saluted her back.

"As you were. Listen, this isn't the Royal Guard. You don't have to salute me. Nopony on this team does that stuff."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Meh, it's cool."
She looked over to Jake, who had made his way down the stairs and was now conversing with Soarin and Starfyre.

"Hey, Soarin! You wanna get this show on the road?"
He walked back over to her and cleared his throat, ready to address his team.

"Ok listen up."
He turned back to Starfyre and Jake, who were laughing over a joke the technician had told.

"Ahem. Guys?"
They both stopped and looked over to him.

"Sorry. Continue."
Soarin mumbled under his breath.

"I never started."
He raised his voice once more.

"Anyways, we have a lot to get done today. For the first hour, Jake will be working with Starfyre to get the Sabres attached safely. Then once that's finished, we'll start practicing some of the easier maneuvers. Also, I want to see a takeoff with those rockets, Jake."

"Oh, you mean a JATO?"

"A what?"

"JATO. Jet assisted takeoff."

"Oh ok. That's a good name for it. So yeah, perform a JATO by the end of practice. What other stunts can you do?"
The pilot thought for a second. He wasn't a stunt flyer, that much he knew. But he had been known throughout his company to be one of the best flyers when it came to large aircraft. He could maneuver them better than anybody else, and took chances that most other pilots wouldn't even think about doing.

"Well, I can do one called a Nose Touch, where I come down and fly the length of the runway while only the front landing gear is touching the ground. Also, with the rockets, I can do a JATO with a high performance climb out, where I can go from zero to one thousand feet in a matter of seconds. But what do you guys want me to do?"
Soarin eyed the plane as he spoke.

"Well, what I'm thinking is that you'll perform a JATO with the high performance climb thing, then do a low pass over the audience. Come back and do the Nose Touch, then fly off and wait for the finale trick."
Jake nodded in approval.

"Sounds good to me. So what exactly am I doing for the finale stunt."
Spitfire smiled and walked over to him, putting a hoof around his shoulder.

"Oh, it's gonna be awesome I can assure you. You really don't need much training, because your part doesn't require a lot of stunt flying. It's just the precise timing of the rockets that is crucial for this to work. That's why we have Starfyre here."
The pegasus turned around upon hearing his name.

"That's me!"
He gestured over to the two white Sabres.

"Lets get these babies on there, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me."

For the next hour, the team including Rainbow Dash, ran drills and practiced for the finale stunt. Just as Jake and Starfyre were finishing with the rockets, the Soarin came over to speak with them.

"Jake, I heard you had a lot of good music on you from Rainbow Dash. I was wondering if you had anything to sync up the finale of the show with. Do you?"
The pilot smirked and ran into the plane. About thirty seconds later, Eclipse by Pink Floyd was playing. He ran back out and yelled over the intro.

"This is the finale song to The Dark Side of the Moon! I think it would be perfect, just listen!"
And all you create!
And all you destroy!

Spitfire and the rest of the team had landed at the end of the tarmac to find out where the music was coming from.
All that you slight!
And everyone you fight!

Soarin nodded and smiled in approval as the ending approached.

"This is awesome!"
As the last chord struck, the Wonderbolts began to applaud. Spitfire walked over to Jake.

"I think we've found our finale song. It's perfect! It has everything we need to complete the show."
She turned back to her team.

"Ok, lets get back to work."

Fifteen minutes later, Jake and Starfyre were sitting at the end of the runway in the C-130 cockpit, ready to test out the Sabres, which had been strapped on just above the rear landing gear on either side. Starfyre sat in the co-pilots seat holding a small, silver trigger device with a red button on the end of it. He looked over to Jake, and a sly smile donned his face.

"When I hit this button, you're gonna see some real shit."
Jake gulped and adjusted himself in his seat.

"So...you're SURE this is safe?"
Starfyre rolled his eyes.

"Yes Jake, I told you that. What's wrong? Does wittle baby Jaky need his bottle and bwanky?"
The pilot stared at him as he cracked up.

"I'm just messing with you!"

"Yeah ok. Fine, I'll take your word for it."
Starfyre tightened his grip on the edge of his seat and thrust his hoof with the launcher forward.

"Onward my friend! We're going for one hell of a ride!"

Rational Thinking

Mac, Jade, and Jake were walking out to the barn to show the drummer the Dodge.

The farmer opened up the barn doors, and the intruding sunlight lit up the front half of the truck. Jade's jaw dropped, and she slowly walked up to it.

"This is awesome! I've never seen anything like this. It must have a lot of power I take it?"
The pilot nodded.

"It's a farming machine alright. I've never encountered anything that this vehicle can't do. If you'd like I can show you the interior."

"Yeah, that'd be great!"
He opened the door and let her up into the drivers seat, explaining all the controls and buttons to her.

"And if you look...over...here..."
He trailed off as he looked back to the corner of the barn where the ammo crates should have been. Only one remained along with a few pieces of timber. He turned back around to Mac with a confused look on his face.

"Where are the rest of the ammunition crates?"
The farmer shuffled his hooves and his eyes darted from side to side.

"Well...ah meant ta tell ya 'bout it right when ya got home, but ah guess ah got off track. Ah kinda sold it ta-"
He was cut off by the sound of glass breaking followed by a shrill scream from Jade. She was still sitting in the drivers seat, frozen in place and shaking. A small bullet hole had gone through the windshield and out the back window, making another hole identical to the first. A distant voice called out from the front of the house.

"Mac, come on out here! We jes wanna talk ta ya!"
Jake glared over to the red stallion, who was now nervously sweating.

"What...did...you...DO?!"

Three months before Jakes arrival:

Midnight on Sweet Apple Acres was calm and quiet at that time. The trees had just begun their growing cycle, and applebucking season was on the horizon. In the farmhouse, Mac leaned over his desk with his head in his hooves and sighed. Applejack came in and saw him like this, immediately knowing something was wrong by his facial expressions.

"What's the matter Mac?"
The pony in question looked up to her and shook his head.

"We're goin' under Applejack. Last years harvest was a bust, an' we lost loads o' bits on it. Ah had ta delve into our savings ta make it through the year, an' now it looks like we're short on bits for this harvest's budget. We need equipment, farmhands, and loads of other stuff that we jes can't afford."
He leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

"Ah don't know what ta do sis."
She walked over to him and put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Mac. We'll pull through this. We Apples always find a way."

"Ah hope so Applejack. Ah really hope so."

The day of Jake's practice in Canterlot:

Macintosh was alone in the barn cleaning out useless junk to get ready for the harvest. The Ferrari had been stored in there along with the Dodge since the race because Jake had shown the farmer how to drive the supercar. They had done doughnuts and burned rubber out in front of the house until Granny Smith came out and put a stop to it. The car sat to the left of the truck towards the front of the barn, and they took up a lot of space. Mac knew, unfortunately, that Applejack or him had to tell Jake he couldn't stay with them any longer. He hoped the pilot would take the news well.

Just as he was about to finish up, a stranger appeared at the barn door. He was an earth pony stallion almost as big as Mac, and had a golden coat with a brown mane and tail. He spoke with the same accent as the Apples as he introduced himself.

"Good day Mr. Apple. Mah name is Baron Westra, an' ahm from Dodge Junction over yonder."
Mac approached him and they shook hooves. Baron smiled as he continued.

"Ah have recently been observing this fine piece o' land y'all have here, an' ah was wonderin' if you an' ah could talk some business."
The farmer narrowed his eyes with skepticism.

"What kind of...business?"
Baron let out a deep chuckle and draped a hoof over Mac's shoulder.

"Sales Mac. Sales. How would you like ta sell this here farm for a mighty generous sum of bits?"
The red giant immediately shook his head and backed out of Baron's hold.

"Sorry Mr. Westra, but the farm ain't fer sale. It's been in mah family fer generations, and ah ain't about ta let it slip away jes like that."
He didn't notice it, but Baron became irritated. His first plan was ruined, so he opted for plan B. He put on a fake smile, and turned back to Mac.

"Well that's mighty sad ta hear. If yer ever lookin' ta sell, ah'll always be available."

"Ah don't think ah'll ever be lookin' ta sell. Sorry partner."

"No problem. Ah'll jes be on my way now."
As he shook the farmers hoof, something in the corner of the barn caught his eye. The ammunition crates sat stacked with the labels facing out, and the words "Danger, highly explosive projectiles. Do not store in heat" intrigued him.

A sly smile donned his face, and he released Mac's hoof and slowly walked over to the crates.

"Uh, Mr. Apple, what are these?"

"Those? Those are ammunition crates. A pony by the name o' Jake Weston crash landed here about a month ago, and those were onboard his airplane."

"Yes yes, ah've heard of him. He's the fella who broke the land speed record ain't he?"

"Eeyup."

Baron looked over the boxes closely before his alternate plan clicked into place.

"So...what else can ya tell me about these crates here?"
Mac pondered a moment trying to remember what Jake had told him.

"Well, they're brass casings that when fired out of a...what was that thing he called it again?"
He rubbed his chin in thought before Baron spoke up again.

"Don't worry 'bout it. A'hve heard enough."
He developed a lie on the spot, and presented it to Mac.

"Ah could melt the casings down in mah shop, an' use them ta make fine sculptures fer the townsfolk back home. Are ya interested in selling them?"

"Ah ain't sure. They're not mine ta sell."
Baron became desperate to fulfill his operation.

"What about ten thousand bits? And I'll even let you keep one of the crates."

Macintosh Apple had always been a calm stallion. He had never overreacted to things, and he tried his best to keep a rational process of thinking. However, hearing those words come out of Baron's mouth took all of his morals and ethics and threw them out of his brain. If you listened closely, you could hear them hit the dirt with a thud.

Mac knew that ten thousand bits would be more than enough to get them through the applebucking season and save the farm from bankruptcy. But he also knew that he was in the wrong to sell them to a pony he had just met. Let alone they weren't even his to sell.

Something deep inside the farmer made him say it. Something that took control of his body and used it to do it's bidding.

He smiled and shook Baron's hoof once more.

"Sold."

Present:

After Mac's story, Jake facehooved and yelled at him.

"They're crates full of deadly ammunition! Wasn't it curious to you why they would need all of that?! Where did they even get a gun?!"
Another bullet came through the side wall of the barn and shattered the right headlight on the Ferrari. Jade jumped out of the truck and hid behind a hay bale. The two stallions followed suit and hid there as well. The stallion up at the house called out again.

"Ahm gonna say this one more time Mac! Come on out here!"
His brain reeled to come up with a response as quick as possible.

"You go an' git off mah property this instant Baron! We ain't got nothing ya want here!"
There was silence for a second before he called back again.

"That's where yer wrong Mac! Bring her out boys!"
More hoofsteps could be heard, then a muffled voice that sounded distressed. Mac's eyes widened at the conclusion of who that was.

"Applejack!"
Baron chuckled.

"That's right. We got yer sister, an' this next bullet is gonna find a nice new home in her head if y'all don't show yerselves right now!"

"You wouldn't dare!"
Baron raised his voice in anger and slammed his hoof down.

"Oh ah most certainly would dare! Ah want this land Macintosh, an' there ain't nopony who's gonna stop me!"
Jake decided it was time for him to intervene.

"And what do you think will happen if you kill us and take the land? You think that you're just going to live happily ever after in Ponyville? You're gonna have everypony in Equestria on your ass!"
There was silence as Baron came up with his answer.

"Oh...don't y'all worry 'bout that. We ain't gonna stay long. Jes enough time to strip this place clean of its value, an' sell it all on the black market. That many apples could rack up a fortune. Let alone all the equipment and other crops ya got here. This place is a gold mine, an' it's been on mah hit list fer ages. So git on out here so we can do our jobs!"

Jake turned to Mac and spoke quietly so no one else would hear his plan.

"Mac, you need to think rationally here. I know they have Applejack, and I know we need to do something about it...but we can't go out there."
The farmer got angrier and grabbed the pilot's shoulders, shaking him back and forth as he spoke.

"They're gonna kill Applejack if we don't come out! How in Luna's sake do ya think that ahm just gonna sit here an' wait fer the inevitable?!"

"Mac, listen to me! They're not going to kill her. They need her as leverage. If they killed her, there would be nothing keeping us from taking them down."
Jade spoke up for the first time.

"Except for whatever those weapons are!"

"They're guns. And I have no idea how they got any."
Jake looked over to the remaining crate that Baron had let Mac keep.

"Unless there's guns in the crates."
Barons voice called out to them once more.

"Ahm gonna give y'all three minutes ta decide on Applejack's fate! If ya don't come out by then, ahm shootin' this barn ta smithereens, then ahm shootin' yer sister! What's it gonna be Mac?! What's it gonna be?"

Back inside the barn, Jake's brain reeled to come up with a plan.

"Ok, I got it."
He ran over to the crate and began prying it open.

"Mac, gimme a hoof here!"
With both of their combined strength, the crate lid came off, revealing its contents. Inside were cardboard boxes full of ammunition, but on the sides of the crate were long range twenty-two rifles mounted on hooks.

"Those motherfuckers who sent for this stuff don't tell us anything! They said there were only bullets in here, no guns. Oh well, I guess this works out anyways."
He got one out and began loading it.

"Ok, here's the plan."

One of Baron's accomplices held a little timer in his hoof. He turned to his boss to relay the time.

"They got thirty seconds Baron."
He looked at Applejack, who was being held by two other stallions, and had a cloth tied around her mouth.

"Looks like yer brother ain't comin' out."
He raised his rifle and took aim at the barn. The other two who weren't holding their captive followed suit. They had learned to use the foreign weapons in a matter of days. Baron had originally intended to design something to fire the bullets with, but the included guns made it all much easier.

"Ok, Mac! Yer time is up! Goodbye forever."
He cocked the rifle and looked down the sights, speaking under his breath as he lined up his aim.

"Sorry we couldn't do business, partner."

Chain Reaction

The sun blazed over Sweet Apple Acres, causing the buzzards to sound. There was no wind, and every tree stood still like a soldier at attention.

Applejack had never been so scared in her life. She watched hopelessly as Baron and his two accomplices raised their weapons and took aim. All she could think of was her family coming to an abrupt end right then and there. She was certain she wasn't going to live to see another day.

Her heart stopped, and all other sounds were drowned out as the three rifles began open firing at the barn. Gun smoke went everywhere, and the front wall of the building immediately began getting riddled with bullet holes.

Inside, the Ferrari was getting trashed. The windshield was blown out along with all four tires, and the body panels looked like Swiss cheese. Both headlights shattered along with the mirrors and rest of the windows. Then, it happened. One stray bullet hit the fuel tank, creating a spark. In a spilt second, the luxury supercar exploded, taking a portion the barn with it. Debris went flying everywhere.

Applejack, with tears streaming down her face, tried to pry free from their grasp as she watched the barn settle and begin to burn. Baron chuckled as he looked at the column of rising smoke.

"It looks like mah work here is done."
He slowly turned to Applejack and donned a wicked grin.

"Well...almost done."
Baron's partners laughed as he raised the rifle to her face and slowly pressed the barrel onto her forehead.

"It's a shame ah have ta do this. But ah can't risk y'all runnin' yer mouth to anypony."
He cocked the gun and pressed it against her harder.

"Adios, Applejack."
People have said that before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. In Applejack's case, it wasn't all the things she's done, but all the things she's wanted to do.

"Ahm sorry ah wasn't there Applebloom."
She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

A loud roar sounded behind the smoke, and all five stallions turned to look just as the massive Dodge driven by Mac, with Jade in the passenger seat, darted out of the smoke in reverse and barreled straight at them. Baron jumped out of the way just in time, but for the two other stallions holding the rifles, they weren't so lucky as they were mowed down by the truck and killed instantly.

Mac slammed on the brakes and cranked the wheel, sending the vehicle into a 180 degree spin. The truck swung around so the back end was facing Baron, and the tailgate dropped revealing Jake with a loaded automatic 22 rifle.

"Surprise!"
He began firing at the two stallions holding Applejack. The one closest to the truck got shot multiple times and dropped dead, giving Applejack a chance to turn and buck the other one in the face. Once she ran free, the exposed captor got shot by Jake as well.

Mac jumped out of the cab and hugged his sister as she ran to him.

"Ahm sorry Applejack! Ah never wanted this ta happen!"

"Don't worry Mac, it's all over now. We're safe."

"Not jes yet."
The two siblings both turned around to see Baron, who had tried to run, standing in front of the burning barn with a raised rifle pointed at Jake, who had his gun pointed back at him. They were in a standoff.

They turned back to the house at the sound of multiple hoofsteps. All five of Applejack's friends were there accompanied by the local police force which consisted of the sheriff and his four deputies. Twilight ran forward to Applejack.

"We saw the smoke from the barn! Is everypony ok?"

"No. Look at Jake."
The lavender unicorn put a hoof over her mouth in shock at the sight of the standoff between the two stallions. The sheriff, who was also a unicorn, charged his horn with a defense spell and gave out a warning.

"Ok Baron, drop the weapon! I've been looking for you and your gang for a long time!"
Baron didn't take his eye off Jake as he spoke.

"Is that so? Well congratulations sheriff! Y'all found me! Haha, ya expectin' a prize now er somethin'?"

"Very funny Baron. Drop the weapon and this can all be over. You don't have to hurt him! He's innocent."

"Innocent!? He killed all four o' mah gang members! Ah should kill him right now!"
He addressed his speaking towards the pilot.

"Ain't that right?!"
Jake calmly responded.

"Nothing you've done here is right Baron. Drop the weapon, or my face is the last thing you'll ever see."
The fire blazed in the background, illuminating Baron's devious eyes with flames.

"This ain't over till yer six feet under!"

"What do you plan to do once I'm dead? You're caught either way."

"Listen here, ah don't care 'bout this land anymore. Ah know I'm done for, but if ahm gonna do one last thing b'fore ah get caught, it's gonna be puttin a bullet in yer head."

The sheriff had had enough of this, and he aimed his horn at Baron. He fired off a single blast, and it hit the criminal on his right side, making him stumble over. Jake took the opportunity and shot his leg, crippling him and sending him down screaming in pain.

"You bastard! Ahm gonna kill you! Ah swear ahm gonna kill you!"
The pilot walked over to him and pressed the gun to his head. The sheriff and his deputies ran over to them, stopping behind Jake.

"Don't kill him! I want that bastard alive."
The captain glared down to Baron, and pulled the trigger. No blast was heard, only a click signifying that the gun was unloaded. He chuckled and shook his head.

"You're one lucky son of a bitch, you know that?"
He raised his head to look at the authorities.

"Get him out of here."

Two of the deputies cuffed him and dragged him away. The sheriff stayed back to speak with Jake, Jade, Mac, and his sister, who had walked over once it was clear.

"Are you four ok?"
Applejack nodded her head.

"Yeah, ah think we're ok. But our barn aint."
She looked up to the five pegasi led by Rainbow Dash finishing off dousing the blaze with rainwater. All that was left was a smoldering heap of wood, and the charred frame of the Ferrari. Jake noticed this, and almost fainted.

"NO! Why that?! Why did it have to be that?!"
He ran into the wreckage and collapsed on the frame with outstretched hooves, completely ignoring the heat still lingering.

"Of all the things that could get destroyed, it had to be this!"
Mac was deciding wether or not laugh or sympathize. To him, it wasn't a big deal, but he figured that to the pilot, it meant a lot more. He decided to go half and half. He put a hoof on his shoulder as he slumped back from the supercars grave.

"Ahm terribly sorry about yer car. Ah was beginnin' ta like that thing."
He slowly craned his neck back to the Dodge, still sitting there unscathed, and sighed in relief.

"At least we still got the truck."
The sheriff looked confused.

"Yeah, how did you guys get out of that blast in that thing."
Jade spoke up.

"Well, we got in, and the minute they began shooting, Mac reversed and drove through the back wall and waited outside. Once we knew it was over, we floored it and drove through the smoke and ran two of those bastards over. Then Jake shot the other two, and that's when you came along."
The sheriff slowly nodded his head.

"I see. Well you guys are lucky. You managed to take down the Westra gang. They go around and pillage farms. Once they've 'eliminated' the owners, they take all the assets like leeches and sell them on the black market. If you wouldn't have done what you did, you all would have been dead by now."

Applejack shuddered at the thought of her family and friends perishing like that. The sheriff continued.

"As for the barn, your insurance will cover all the damages. I can even get a crew together to help with the repairs."
Mac looked back to all his friends standing around waiting for any news. Then he looked next to him at the pilot, the drummer, and his sister.

"No. Ah think we all can handle it. Thank ya kindly fer all yer help."

"No problem at all. I'm sorry for all this, but one of the worst gangs in the region has been put down as an outcome. You gotta look on the bright side of things, you know?"
Jake nodded, and pointed to the Ferrari.

"Yeah, I don't see a bright side to that, but if you say so."
The sheriff chuckled.

"I saw that thing in action a week ago, I have to say, it's a shame that had to happen. But at least you all were ok. That's what matters."

"I know. I'll get over it."
They shook hooves, and the sheriff tipped his hat.

"I'll see you guys around. If you have any questions, just come by the station, I'm always there if I'm not on call."
Applejack nodded.

"Will do, partner."
With that, he and his deputies walked away off Sweet Apple Acres, dragging a hogtied Baron who was squirming and screaming under the cloth they had put over his mouth. Jake chuckled at the sight and looked over to Applejack's friends.

"Well, we better go and group up with the others. I'm sure they'll want to know what happened."

"Good idea."

For the rest of the day, they explained what happened, and began cleaning up the debris from the fire. Rarity walked over to the charred remains of the Ferrari, and sighed.

"It's just a shame such beauty had to be destroyed by those ruffians! I never even got to ride in it."
She kicked the front right tire a little, causing it to flop over on it's side. It caused a chain reaction, and both doors fell off as well. The fashionista sat down and pouted.

"Humph!"

Visions

Trios was slow that afternoon. On a Tuesday, no one really thinks about going to a jazz club for drinks and music. The main room was empty, save for the bartender cleaning off glasses and a distressed Macintosh alone at the bar with a shot of whiskey in his hoof. He spoke low, and not really directed towards anyone.

"Ahm done for. Ah can't make it through this year."
The bartender glanced up at him for a second, not stopping his cleaning, then focused his dead panned gaze back at his work.

From out of the corner of the room, a stallion made his way across the restaurant. He walked up to the bar and sat down next to him.

"You look down. What's the matter?"
Mac waved him off with a hoof.

"Ah don't wanna bother ya with mah problems. Y'all probably got stuff ta do."
He looked around the empty room, then down at the drink the assuming bartender had poured him.

"...Nope. I'm free. The name is Blueslate. You're Big Macintosh, right?"
He raised his head to look at him for the first time. He was a dark blue earth pony with a short white mane and tail. He was only a little shorter than Mac, and had a grey slate rock as his cutie mark.

On any other day, the farmer would have shaken his hoof. But now, his mood forced him to stay still and just slink back down to the counter.

"Eeyup. That's me."
Blueslate took a long swig from his drink, polishing it off in one go, and slammed it down on the bar.

"So. What's going on in that head of yours."
Mac sat silent for a moment before responding.

"Well, jes a couple days ago, mah farm was attacked by a gang."
He continued to tell the story, the whole time gazing at the amber liquid in his glass. When he was finished, Blueslate slowly nodded his head in understanding.

"I see. So, if you beat them, why are you so down?"

"Because mah barn was destroyed, an' in that barn was all mah tools and equipment fer runnin' Sweet Apple Acres. The insurance will cover the reconstruction on the barn, but it won't replace anythin' that was in it. Hell, one o' mah friends vehicles got destroyed in that blast too."

"What caused the barn to explode?"

"Well the investigators said it was the...what was it again...oh yeah, fuel tank on the vehicle that caught from a stray bullet. But Applejack looked at it closer, an' said it was them barrels o' pesticides we had stored in the back. They're highly explosive. Ah agree with her."
Mac turned and looked straight ahead.

"Ya happy, readers?"
Blueslate took a sip from his second drink and continued.

"So you're worried you won't be able to provide for your family for the upcoming harvests because the tools required are much too expensive to replace. Am I right?"
The farmer slumped his head down onto the counter and sighed.

"Ya hit the nail on the head partner. Ya hit the nail on the head."
The blue pony chuckled.

"Well Mac, financial troubles aren't rare. I've been around a while. Let me tell you something. Are you listening?"
He rolled his head over to look at him.

"Eeyup."
Blueslate swirled the alcohol in his glass, and looked the red stallion in the eyes.

"Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? Always the answer is: "Love. They must do it for love." Farmers farm for the love of farming. They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors. They love the weather, maybe even when it is making them miserable. They love to live where they work and to work where they live. If the scale of their farming is small enough, they like to work in the company of their children and with the help of their children. They love the measure of independence that farm life can still provide. I have an idea that a lot of farmers have gone to a lot of trouble merely to be self-employed to live at least a part of their lives without a boss."
Mac raised his head and sat upright again. Blueslate continued.

"Macintosh, you farm because you want to. Because you're mind and heart says you NEED to. Nothing is more powerful than the mind and heart. No obstacle, especially something as trivial as bits, is going to stop you from being who you are, and doing what you love. That, my friend, I can assure you. So get out of this slump, and get back to your home. Your family needs you more than this place does."
A happier looking Mac stood up and pushed his stool in.

"You know what Blueslate, yer right. Ah need to stop sulking, an' find a way ta fix mah problems. Thank ya kindly."
Now, the farmer decided to shake his hoof. He was about to head out, but he asked one more question.

"Ah realize what ya said an' all. But do you have any ideas on how exactly ta go about gettin' the necessities replaced?"
Blueslate looked up at him from his seat.

"Mac, you have to envision the path in order to walk the path."
The red earth pony stared at him with a confused look on his face.

"Er...ok?"
Blueslate chuckled and took a swig of his drink.

"Just think that one over, ok?"

"Ah will. Thanks fer all yer advice."
With that, Macintosh left a tip on the the bar counter and ascended the staircase.

Blueslate looked up as he disappeared into the foyer, and out the front door into the warm afternoon sun.

"He'll do just fine. I know it."

The bartender, who was facing the kitchen, set down his glass he was working on and turned to the counter.

"Hey buddy, did you want a re-...what the?"

Where the blue stallion was a second ago was replaced by an empty barstool, a tip on the counter, and an empty glass, already cleansed to a shine.

Author's Note

Part of Blueslate's speech is a quote from Wendell Berry. I give him all credit for that section. And for anyone who didnt get the 4th wall breaking part, it was because alot of people started arguing on wether or not the fuel tank explosion was possible. So I resolved it. (And i wont break the fourth wall again lol) Thanks for reading.

Inhale

A light breeze whistled across the apple trees, causing the leaves to shiver, and the ripe apples to bob up and down on their branches. Applejack walked out onto the front porch of the house just in time to see her brother coming through the front gate. He didn't look happy, nor sad. He had a face that was deep in concentration, as if his body was walking on autopilot and his brain lost in another dimension of thought.

The farmer walked up to his sister and sat down on the wooden porch swing their cousin Braeburn had made for them last Hearths Warming Eve. He sighed and looked out at their expanse of land.

"Ah need an answer Applejack. Ah need to find a way ta get through this applebuckin' season. Our wagons, wash tubs, an plows are all destroyed."
His sister sat down beside him and thought about their situation.

"Ya know Mac, ah could always go back ta Dodge Junction an' work fer Cherry Jubilee."
He got up and stepped off the porch, turning back to face her.

"No Applejack. We need y'all around here."
She began to get somewhat irritated at him.

"Why do ya think ah can't make mah own decisions?"

"Ah never said ya can't. Ahm jes stoppin' ya from makin' a bad one. It's not necessary."
Applejack stood up and stomped her hoof down in anger.

"Damnit Mac! If it's bits we need, then it's bits ahm gonna get!"

"You are not going to Dodge Junction! That's final!"

The two siblings began to argue back and forth about their farms fate. Jake, who was returning from one of his practices, walked in on the scene just in time to see Applejack curse at Macintosh and storm into the house, slamming the door behind her.

Since Jake has known Mac, he had always viewed him as an independent pony who always knew what was best, and remained strong at the worst of times. But his perception was skewed for the first time as the farmer sat down on the gravel and sobbed. Jake immediately walked over to him and sat down beside him.

"What happened."
Mac, noticing Jake for the first time, dried his eyes and simply shook his head. His sadness turned to anger again as he pointed to the area where the debris from the barn once was before being cleared.

"Look at that! That's what's wrong Jake! Sure, in mah heart and mind ah want ta farm, but unless they're gonna burst out o' me an' produce tools and equipment, they're useless!"

"Listen, Mac. It's not as bad as it lo-"
He was cut off by another shout from the red stallion.

"Not as bad as it looks?! Are y'all kiddin' me right now?! Of corse ya wouldn't understand! Everythin' is all perfect in Jake Weston's world! Nothin' ain't ever gonna happen ta him!"
The pilot turned on the defensive side.

"Hey, lets not forget that I lost everything of mine when I came her too! Everything I once knew was simply snatched up from me in the blink of an eye! So don't go preaching to me about how my life is perfect!"
They both sat in silence for a few seconds as they calmed down. Another gust of wind came across the fields, causing the tree branches to sway again.

"Jes get away from me right now Jake. Ah need time ta think."

"Fine."
With that, he left through the front gate, leaving Macintosh alone in front of his house. He looked over to the ground where the barn once stood and sighed.

"Where is that path y'all were talkin' 'bout, Blueslate?"

The Carousel Boutique, just like Trios, was extremely slow considering the day. Rarity sat upstairs in her inspiration room trying to come up with a new line of suits for parties and other social events. It was rare that she worked on stallion's clothing. Most of the time it was dresses and other related wear. She hummed to herself while staring at a collage of fabric that was pinned to a mannequin when the bell on the door rang, signaling the arrival of a customer. She eagerly cantered down the steps and out into the main room to find Jake looking around the place with a stunned look. He turned to look at the fashionista and chuckled.

"This place is amazing. I've never seen a more lavish place of business than this."
She beamed with pride at the complement.

"Why thank you darling! What can I do for you today."

"Well, me and Mac kind of got in a small fight and he told me to basically screw off. So I did and I wound up here...hi."

Rarity, have always being one for gossip, took him to the kitchen in the back and sat him down at the table. Seconds later, a cup of tea was placed in front of him. Rarity sat down across the table and started.

"So, what happened between you and dear Macintosh?"
The pilot took a sip, testing the heat, and spoke.

He explained to Rarity the small argument they had in full detail. When he was done, the unicorn sat her cup down and thought.

"Yes, well. Macintosh values his farm a lot. It isn't unusual that he would overreact to a statement such as the one you made."

"You really think he overreacted?"

"Quite. You were simply trying to make him feel better. However, your choice of words might've been poorly made. I'm think it made him feel as if his life wasn't as important as yours. But I'm sure you don't actually feel that way."

"Of course not. Mac is my friend, and I want to keep it that way."
He took another sip after the tea had cooled off enough.

"What should I do, Rarity?"

"I'm flattered you would come to me for advice like this Jake. I think you should simply go back, apologize, and help him and Applejack find a way to get through the harvest season."

"Thanks. That's what I'll do right now."
He stood up and began to make his way out into the main room of the store. Rarity called out to him as he opened the door.

"And remember darling, they have five other friends who will be at their side if they need help."
She winked at him, and Jake smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Thank you. Ill keep that in mind."
He walked out and stepped into the town square, taking a long inhale of the fresh evening air.

The captain turned to the south and made his way down the street, bound for Sweet Apple Acres.

Take A Compliment

With one felled swoop, every apple fell off one of the trees and into the bed of the Dodge that was parked underneath it. Applejack backed away to admire her work. She and Jake had managed to crank out half the orchard in one day due to the truck being able to carry so many apples at once. They no longer had to make a lot of trips to empty out the baskets and wagons. Applejack jumped up onto the running-board for the ride back up to the house.

"Ah think this is comin' along swell Jake. Thank Celestia fer that truck o' yers."

"I know. This thing has proven itself very useful. I think Mac is almost done husking the corn we harvested yesterday. When he finally is, all three of us working together can finish the job by tomorrow."
Applejack chuckled.

"Ah hope, Jake. Ah hope. If we can't meet our deadline, then the apples will start to become unsuitable for sellin'."

The truck pulled up to where the barn used to be in front of a giant wooden washing bin already filled up with water. Applejack jumped down, and Jake followed her to the bin.

"Then in that case, we need to get a move on."
She nodded.

"Ah was thinkin' that you an' Big Mac could go into town today an' start sellin' some o' these already. Ah should be done washin' them in an hour or two, so until then, help him husk the rest of the corn."
The pilot saluted.

"Yes ma'am."
She gave him a deadpanned look and shook her head.

"Get a move-on captain dunderhead."

Over by the house, Mac was whistling to himself as he husked the corn. After a while of doing this, his brain went on autopilot and continued the job. He could think about other things and multitask whilst doing the job correctly. However, his train of thought was shaken off the rails as Jake approached him.

"Hey, Mac. I'm here to help you finish the husking job."

"Nnope."
The captain cocked his head and gave him a confused look.

"Why not?"

"Because..."
He held up a stalk and stripped it clean of it's husk, letting the lush, yellow piece of corn drop into an already full tub.

"That was the last one, Jake."

"Nice."
The farmer stood up and started walking towards Applejack at the wash bin. Jake followed suit.

"You know, your sister wanted you and me to start selling apples today before it gets too late."

"Is that so?"

"Mhmm. I suggest we load up the truck, drive into town and just sell them off the tailgate. I've seen people back home do that at farmers markets before."

"Well then, if we're gonna do that, we should help Applejack finish the washin'. She's worked hard enough today."
Mac stopped in his tracks, making Jake stop as well and swing around to face him.

"What's the matter?"

"Thank you, Jake. If y'all didn't have that there machine, we would be bankrupt fer sure."

"Well, considering if I wasn't here in the first place, none of this would have ever happened."
He gestured over to the flat ground where the barn once stood. Mac started walking again and thumped him on the back of the head for fun.

"Jes take a compliment fer once."
Jake smiled and started walking with him again.

"Eeyup."
Mac looked over to him with narrowed eyes for mocking him, but quickly resumed his normal composure. He knew that Jake was just screwing around as usual.

Applejack had just begun the washing process, and like her brother, immediately went on autopilot. She would throw a hoof full of apples in the bin, scrub them good, and toss them into white cardboard boxes that had their farm logo on it. It was a large, red apple with a green leaf waving in the background. She would put a dozen in each box, and place them neatly in order. Jake jumped up on the tailgate and started handing her apples.

"Ok, I suggest we do an assembly line kind of thing. I'll hand you guys the apples, then you two wash them, and I'll take the boxes and start loading them up in the bed as we make room."

"Sounds good ta me."

For the next hour, the three worked diligently to wash and package the remaining fruit. Once it was all loaded up nicely in the truck bed, Jake and Mac got in and started it up. Applejack shut the tailgate and trotted up to the front next to her brothers window, prompting him to roll it down.

"What is it, sis?"

"Jes make sure y'all sell a lot today...and Mac, don't worry about you-know-who."
The farmer rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Like ah said Applejack, if it happens again, ahm gonna do somethin' about it. End o' story."
She sighed.

"Jes don't go startin' fires ya can't put out, Mac."
He stared out the front of the windshield at the boulder they had moved a while ago.

"Ah know. See ya later, sis."
He rolled up his window, and Jake pulled out onto the main road.

Once they got going, the pilot looked over to Mac, who was looking discouraged.

"What did Applejack mean when she said don't worry about you-know-who?"

"Ah'll tell ya later. It's a long story. We shouldn't have any problems today. Jes keep a smile on yer face, and be polite to customers. You'll do fine."
Jake donned a huge, sarcastic smile, and spoke through his teeth.

"Like this!"

"Jake...yer a piece o' work ya know that."

"Eeyup."

The Dodge pulled into town, and turned on to the main road leading towards the square where their apple stand normally was. When they stopped in front of it, Mac nodded and looked over to the captain.

"Let's make some bits, Jake."

Tailgating

"Ok, we're open."
Jake hung the sign up on the lowered tailgate and sat down. They had the truck parked so the bed was facing the town square, letting the passerby see all of their produce.

After an hour and a half, they managed to sell a quarter of the stock, and still had a small line waiting to buy the fruit. Jake handed the last one in line their change, and turned to Mac, who was sitting on the tailgate.

"How are we looking so far?"
The farmer pulled out the small bit box and studied it for a minute.

"Pretty good so far. We could be doin' better though."
Jake looked up to the sun's position in the sky to tell the time.

"It looks to be around five or so."

"It's five eighteen."
The pilot looked at him confused.

"How do you know?"
Mac pointed up to a clock tower about a quarter of a mile away.

"Oh. I see."

"Eeyup."
Mac chuckled.

"Fer bein' a pilot who has ta pay attention all the time, y'all don't do a good of job of it."

"Yeeeeeah, I need to work on that."

Business was slow for the next fifteen minutes or so, causing Mac to get tired. He yawned and shook his head.

"Ah think that's a wrap for today, Jake."

"Don't give up so easy. I have an idea to attract customers."

He walked back to the cab of the Dodge and got in. He opened the center console to find his iPhone still sitting there. After powering it up, he plugged it in to the auxiliary port on the dash and turned on the stereo system. He selected a song and got out of the cab as it started, leaving the door open so it could be heard.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cA46ZNjrzeY

The pilot sat back down next to Mac, and waited.

"Music always livens the mood. Now we sit here and watch the customers pour in. We'll sell all these apples by tonight. I guarantee it."

"If ya say so."
An opening harmonica solo ended, giving way to the vocals.
How many of you people out there
Have been hurt in some kind of love affair?
And how many times do you swear that you'll never love again?

Mac nodded with the beat, and looked over to the captain.

"What is this, Jake?"

"It's called Brand New Day by Sting and the Police. A very popular song where I come from."

"Huh. There's a lot of things that we don't know about yer old culture. Maybe we should blast ourselves over there and take a look. Maybe turn into a human to see what all the fuss is about."

"Ha! Good luck with that. Could you imagine? All of you guys turning into humans. I'd love to see the looks on your faces. I know I was scared shitless when I first saw myself as one of you."
The music went into the chorus, attracting attention from nearby ponies.
Turn the clock to zero honey
We'll sell all the stock, we'll spend all the money I'm starting on a brand new day!
Turn the clock all the way back!
I wonder if she'll take me back!
Thinkin' in a brand new way.

Jake nudged the farmers shoulder and pointed to the drawing crowd.

"See! I told you that music livens things up."
Mac laughed.

"Whatever, Jake."
Despite the farmers denial, Jake was right. The line grew again, and they were out of stock in thirty minutes. After the last customer left, Mac shut the tailgate. Jake turned the music off and walked back
around to help clean up the area.

The town square died down as the sun started to set, leaving an orange glow in the fountain water in the center. Across the way, three stallions could be seen walking towards them. Mac looked over and sighed.

"Oh no. Not these idiots again. We should leave right now Jake."
He looked up from wiping down the truck bed to get all the apple residue off.

"What? Why? Who are those guys?"
A second later, they approached Mac. The middle one stepped forward. He was a large orange stallion with a grey mane and tail. He stood maybe an inch shorter than the farmer, and glared at him with mischievous eyes.

"Sup, Big Macintosh."
He replied with a sarcastic tone.

"Hello, Sledge."
The one on the right looked up at Jake, who was still in the bed.

"Who's this shithead?"
The pilot was at first taken aback. But then he got angry.

"Whoa! Who the hell are you to come trotting over here and call me that?"
Sledge looked over to him.

"We're the stallions that want your apples."
He directed his attention back at Mac.

"Now, where are they?"
The farmer rolled his eyes.

"We're all out, Sledge. Go home."
He snorted and stomped the ground.

"I don't believe you."
Mac gestured towards the tailgate with his head.

"Check fer yerself."
The one on the left went over and looked in. Sure enough, the bed was empty except for Jake and a cleaning rag.

"Damnit Sledge, he's telling the truth."

"Well, we want some. I know you have more back on the farm."

"Now look here. Why y'all wanna come up in here and start trouble?They're jes apples. Its not an expensive item, so why do ya want ta steal them so badly?"
Sledge chuckled and jabbed a hoof into Mac's chest.

"Because we can. We know your sister made you promise to behave and not start trouble. So we can do whatever we want. Now, show us where there's some good eats for free."
There was silence before the farmer responded.

"Yer right. Applejack told me not to start trouble. However, YOU started it."
With that, he punched Sledge in the face, sending him stumbling back. He walked over and grabbed the thief by the neck, looking him right in the eyes.

"So ahm gonna finish it."
Mac slammed him down and turned to defend himself as another one attacked. He quickly sent him down as well with one uppercut to the jaw. Meanwhile, Jake was looking on in confusion and hesitation on what to do. He had never been one for fighting, and wasn't sure how to go about this situation.

The third one got Mac on the side of the head and sent him down on his side, prompting the pilot to jump off the tailgate in a split decision and land between the two. He stomped his hoof down and glared at the thug.

"Ok stop! This has gone wayyy over the top! They're just freaking apples, so get over it! Go away, or else."
The assailant smirked and cracked his neck with a hoof.

"Or else what?"
Jake gulped, immediately regretting his choice of words towards the stallion who was notably larger than he was.

"Uh. Or else...I'll...uh...make you go away."
He shook his head and walked towards the captain. Jake swung once, but missed as the stallion ducked. Upon righting himself again, he punched Jake in the face, sending him back and falling over Mac who was just now recovering from his previous blow.

The rest of the fight was a blur to Jake as he watched from the ground. After it was over, he and Mac staggered back to the truck and got in. The farmer had managed to scare off the thieves long enough to make an escape.

The ride home was quiet. Jake drove with one hoof on the wheel, and the other clutching his black eye.

"Well...that sucked."

"Eeyup."

"What should we tell Applejack?"

"Ah don't know. I suggest we jes tell the truth."

"She won't be mad?"

"Nnope. We defended ourselves. They started it, so we'll be fine."

They pulled into the farm and parked in front of the house. Upon entering the kitchen, Applejack was waiting there. When she saw Jake's black eye, and a cut by Mac's left ear, she didn't look too happy.

"What. Happened."
Jake sat down at the table and chuckled.

"Well, it's a funny story actually."

Beings

The two stallions sat at the table with their tails between their legs as an angry Applejack reamed them out.

"Now ah told you Mac! Don't start nothin'! An' what do ya do?! Ya go against me an' start fightin' in the street like a common hoodlum!"

The farmer had his head down, unsure of what to say. His sister continued.

"Now we're better than that, Macintosh. We Apples don't do that kind o' stuff."
He raised his head to apologize.

"Ah know, but ah just got tired of them givin' me a hard time when all ahm tryin' ta do is make an honest livin'. Ahm sorry, Applejack. It won't happen again."

"Ya know it won't. Now get some rest for tomorra. We're finishin' the rest of the orchard."
With that being said, Jake snapped his head up in realization.

"Uh...I know this is going to sound bad, but I just remembered that I have my final Wonderbolts practice tomorrow."
Applejack looked confused.

"Tomorrow's the last one? When exactly is the show?"

"Saturday."

She raised her hoof up to stop him.

"Whoa whoa, ya mean ta tell me that we have three days ta finish the harvest?"

"Well...yeah. I mean, you have four if you count tomorrow, but since I won't be here, we won't be as productive."
He turned to Mac.

"Hey, I know! Why don't you just use the truck on your own? I've shown you how to drive the Ferrari, and it's basically the same concept, except a lot less power."
The farmer looked skeptical, but after thinking it over, nodded in compliance.

"Eeyup. Ah think that would work out. Jes know that the day after yer practice, we're workin' double time ta finish up the harvest before the air show."
Jake stood up and saluted.

"Got it! Now, I'm going to go into town really quick to find Rainbow Dash. I need to talk to her about the practice."
He walked over to the front door, and stopped just before he opened it.

"Oh yeah. Where does she live, anyways?"
The two siblings looked at each other and laughed. Applejack spoke up after she calmed down.

"Up in a cloud house that only pegasi can get to. Good luck, buddy!"
The pilot sighed and stepped out into the evening air. He started up the truck and pulled out of the farm. As he was driving down the dirt road, he started to scan the skies, looking for anything that resembled a house made of clouds.

"Damn. This is going to be impossible."

The Dodge stopped on the side of the street in the middle of town near a closed shop. He figured it'd be fine to leave it there while he searched around.

Jake began walking down the main road towards the town square. In the distance, he could see the large treehouse that Twilight lived in, and opted to ask her for directions.

He walked across the square and up to her doorstep, knocking twice. After a minute or so, Spike opened the door, prompting Jake to look down due to the dramatic height difference.

"Sup, Spike. Is Twilight home?"

"Yeah. She's right here. Come on in."
He opened the door wider to let the pilot pass. Upon entering, he found piles of books scattered about on the floor. In the middle of it all sat the studious unicorn, engrossed in her reading. Upon seeing Jake, she raised her head and waved.

"Oh! Hey there Jake."
She walked over to him, stumbling on some strewn about literature mid-step.

"Sorry for this mess. I've been so busy lately with this new study that I haven't had time to clean."

"No worries. I've never been much of a neat freak, so I know EXACTLY what it's like."

She smiled and ushered him over to the table. He looked at her work, which was scrolls upon scrolls of hoof-written notes and ideas. In the middle of it all sat a blue bound book entitled: Beings of Guidance. Jake looked at the page she was on, and started asking questions.

"So this is talking about angels and stuff, right?"
She nodded once and flipped the pages.

"Your close. They aren't angels thought. We have classified them as Beings. It's something that I've been curious about for a while now. And up until now, I haven't had any time to study it."
She shut the book and arranged the papers in a neater looking stack.

"So, what brings you he-"
She was cut off by the sound of a large thud at the door, followed by a dazed Rainbow Dash slowly opening it up to reveal herself.

"Hey Twilight. Ugh, my head."
She rubbed the point of impact in pain. The lavender unicorn waved her in, and magically shut the door behind her.

"Rainbow Dash, are you alright? This is the fourth time you've come crashing through my door this WEEK. Surly you must be getting used to it by now?"
The pegasus shook off the pain and sat down on a couch.

"Yeah yeah Twilght, whatever you say. Oh, hey there Jake."
The pilot waved back, still unsure if Dash's meeting with the front door was something to worry about. Twilight turned back to him and sat down as well.

"Sorry about that, Jake. Now, what was it you wanted?"

"Actually, it just bashed its way in."
He pointed to Rainbow Dash, who was trying to un-frizz her mane from the crash. She stopped upon seeing his outstretched hoof, and pointed to herself.

"Who, me? Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow's practice. You do realize that this time you'll have to actually perform one."

"Yeah, I know. I've been working on it since day one. I can definitely do a Sonic Rainboom on command."

"Good. I just wanted to make sure that you're ready."

"Ha! You should know that I'll be ready. Question is, are you?"
Jake nodded.

"Yup. The C-130 is ready to go, and I've worked out all the kinks."

He sat down as well, and picked up a piece of paper that had fallen off the table earlier. He held it up to examine it.

"Hey Twilight, what is this?"
She took it from him, and read it over.

"Part of my current study. It's a list of different Beings that have been known to appear for guidance in different situations. For instance, if one is trying to find love, and they deserve it, they might experience an encounter with a Being that takes the form of an average looking pony. That disguised pony would help them out in a certain way so their pony in need succeeds at what he wants. For love, the Being is called Arrowheart.

Jake chuckled.

"Kinda like Cupid."
Twilight looked at him with a confused look.

"Who?"

"Oh, it was made up character that flew around shooting arrows in to people's butts. When they'd get hit, they'd fall in love with the first person they saw."

"Ah. Well that's not really how Arrowheart works."

"Yeah, I figured that."
Twilight read down the scroll a little bit before giving another example.

"Another one is when a pony is in a lot of trouble financially or struggling to survive. He is the Being of honesty and a working attitude. His name is Blueslate."

The cogs in Jake's brain began turning as he tried to remember something Mac had told him a while ago, but soon lost his train of thought as Rainbow Dash hovered over and plopped down in between them.

"This stuff is boring. Why don't we do some night flying, Jake?"
The pilot shook his head.

"Uh, no not tonight. I'm pretty sore from a fight earlier. These idiots tried stealing some of our apples we were selling in the square. When they found out we didn't have any more, they were going to attack. Macintosh stopped them though. Heh, I really didn't do much except play the role of punching bag."

Rainbow laughed when she saw the bruise on his front leg, and a cut on his snout.

"You got your flank kicked, didn't you?"

"...eeyup."
Twilight giggled and set the paper down.

"I think the farm life is getting to you, Jake."

"That it is, Twilight. That it is."
He stood up and made his way to the door.

"Ok Dash, I'll see you bright and early out by the plane as usual."

"You bet. I can't wait for the show Saturday. It's gonna be so awesome!"
The captain nodded in agreement.

"It's going to be one hell of a show, that much I can guarantee."
He opened the door, letting the cool air drift in. The sun had fully set, leaving a calm night sky sprinkled with stars to loom overhead.

"See you guys later."
They waved goodbye as he shut the door behind him.

Jake started back to the truck, having to walk across the square once more. When he approached the truck, he reached for the door handle, and stopped as something caught his eye. He backed up to examine the right side of the pickup. It was scratched from the door all the way back to the tail light with one long, white mark.

"Oh come on!"

Restoration

Morning came along, bringing a sunny sky and warm air with it. The C-130 sat out in the field, it's fuselage reflecting the bright sunlight. This gave a certain rainbow-maned pegasus a perfect place to lounge.

She was laid out on the right wing of the aircraft, fast asleep enjoying the Celestial rays. However, her world of relaxation was cut short by a small stick coming up over the prop and landing by her face. She snapped up and looked over the wing to see who threw it, and saw that it was none other than Jake. She rolled her eyes and floated down, landing between him and the access door.

"What gives? I was trying to sleep."
The pilot walked passed her and opened the door, letting the staircase drop down.

"Sleep later. We have a big day ahead of us."

A couple minutes later found the two strapped in in the cockpit, and ready to go. Jake fired up the engines and aligned the nose facing the town. Rainbow, who was used to taking off over the Everfree Forest, looked over and pointed out the windshield.

"Why aren't we taking off the other way?"

"The winds are against us if we did that. It's easier to go this way now."
Without another word, he slowly pushed forward on the throttles, letting the engines whine with power. The lumbering plane sped up, and about fifty yards from the closest building, lifted off the ground with ease.

Jake quickly banked left and headed for Sweet Apple Acres, and within seconds, he was able to see Macintosh and Applejack working the orchard below. The black dodge was seen parked right behind them full of apples, it's chrome stacks reflecting off the sun.

After making his pass, he turned around and headed for Canterlot, ascending to twelve thousand feet, which was just about how high the Capitol City was perched on its cliff.

Several minutes passed in silence between the two. Finally, Rainbow Dash turned to him with a concerned look.

"You don't look ok. What's the matter?"
Jake looked over with a raised eyebrow, then turned back to the windshield. After a couple more seconds of silence, he sighed and told her the problem.

"Some idiot scratched the Dodge last night. I think I know who, but I'm not too sure. It's not that big of a deal, really. It's a work truck, not a supercar like the Ferrari was. But still, I really liked the black gloss look. That scratch just ruins it. Sorry for being a stick in the mud. It just got to me is all."
Dash waved it off with a hoof.

"Pssh! No worries. I would be mad to if somepony defaced my property like that."

"Thanks for understanding."

"You bet. Hey, lets turn some music on to liven things up. What'cha got?"
Jake un-fastened his seatbelt and got up, leaving Dash at the controls, even though it was on autopilot. He came back a minute later with a CD album in his hoof. The cover was white, with the title Pat Metheney Group: The First Circle, printed in what looked like crayon. He popped it in and put on the song the album was named after, and cranked the volume up. He sat back down in his seat and turned to Dash.

"This is kind of different. You need to really listen to appreciate it."

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dcXEkg26d-I

An intricate clapping rhythm started the song, followed by some heavy piano chords in the background. Rainbow Dash concentrated on the music, and started to let the sound take over.

A nylon guitar solo started. It was smooth, and worked its way up and down several scales very fast. Jake played along with the drums using his yoke as an improvised set.

"Here we go."

Applejack bucked the last apple tree in the row, sending its fruity contents tumbling down into the bed of the Dodge, where Mac was sitting ready to pull ahead to the next row. They stopped for a quick break, sitting down under the shade of a tree. Applejack looked around at the almost-completed orchard, and nodded to herself.

"Yep. Ah think if we work our flanks off, we'll have it done by tonight."
Mac was surprised at hearing her say this. He had intended to wait until Jake returned the next day to finish.

"Are ya sure about that? With nopony else ta drive the truck, yer left buckin' trees on your own. Now ya remember what happened the last time ya tried doin' all this by yerself, don't ya?"

"Yes Mac, ah do. But there ain't much more to go. Ah know we can do this."
Her brother chuckled and stood up.

"If ya say so. Break time's over. Lets get back ta work."

Twelve thousand feet up, Jake and Rainbow Dash were really getting into the music as it progressed.

It finished with a bang, leaving Dash amazed at the unusual sounding tune.

"I've never heard anything like that before. What was it even called?"

"The First Circle by Pat Metheney. Besides Pink Floyd, he's one of my favorite artists. All of his music is intricate, and he never seems to run out of ideas."

They finished off the album just as Jake touched down on the cloud-based runway. When he came to a stop, he was surprised at the sight of The Wonderbolts and Starfyre, accompanied by Celestia and Luna.

"I wonder what they want?"

The engines shut off, and they both exited the aircraft. Dash bowed down before the Princesses, prompting Jake to do the same. The Sun Goddess smiled.

"Rise."
The two did as told, and Jake spoke up.

"What brings you two here?"
Luna stepped forward and handed Jake an envelope.

"We want to invite you to the pre-show party Friday night in Canterlot Castle. It's obvious you all would attend no matter what, but the tickets enclosed in the envelope will prove to the guards your authenticity."
Jake lit up at the thought of a pre-show party.

"So this is a big deal, I'm assuming."
Soarin walked over and put a hoof on his shoulder.

"You bet! Because its our last show, we want to celebrate before hand and give the team a chance to say thank you to our fans for all of their support. Also, a lot of big-wigs who have donated generous amounts to the team will be there. So it's also a thank you to them. There's gonna be food, drinks, and music. Make sure you look the part, because anypony who's anypony will surely be there."

"Alrighty then. I can't wait."
The pilot turned back to Celestia and smiled.

"Thank you for the invite, and including my friends as well."
Luna spoke up.

"Not a problem, Jake. We couldn't expect you to go and leave them behind."

Celestia donned a sly look on her face, and looked over towards an empty patch of tarmac.

"Also, this isn't the only reason we came here today. After hearing about that incident at Sweet Apple Acres, we worked many hours to pick up the pieces and put them back together. We tried many spells, and only one worked, but I think it turned out ok. Take a look for yourself."
Her horn began glowing with a yellow aura, and in seconds, it caused a massive golden orb of energy to be suspended above the ground. It slowly lowered itself down, and faded away, leaving a sight that almost caused Jake to go unconscious. For there, sitting in front of him, was the red Ferrari in all it's glory. The two Rulers had managed to restore it with powerful magic.

"I...I don't believe it."
Luna started to say something, but was cut off by a giddy pilot running over to the car and jumping in. He started the engine and red-lined the RPM needle. The noise flowed through him, and vibrated the ground around the car.

After several more minutes of Jake playing around with his newly restored toy, he shut off the engine and got back out.

"I can't thank you two enough! I am forever in your debt."
Celestia laughed.

"It's our pleasure, Jake. After seeing it in action back in Applesoosa, I was devastated to hear about it's destruction."

Spitfire walked over and nodded at the Princesses. She turned to Jake and pointed to the plane.

"Listen, Jake. I understand that this is a big moment for you, but we need to stick to the schedule. This is our last practice before our biggest show in the history of Equestria. Lets not screw it up, ok?"

"Right. Lets get to work."
Luna outstretched her wings and turned to her sister.

"She's right. Let us leave and allow them to return to their work."

"Very well. Goodbye for now, everypony."

With that, the two Rulers of Equestria took off into the sky, bound for the Royal Castle.

Spitfire walked over to Rainbow Dash, who had been conversing with Starfyre about the Sabre rockets.

"Ok, Dash. This is it. Lets run the entire stunt and see if all these hours of practice payed off."
She saluted and lifted off the ground, striking a heroic pose.

"I won't let you down, Spitfire!"

Balancing Equation

Rainbow Dash was ecstatic. She had flown many times before, but this time was much different. She hovered at twenty thousand feet, surrounded by Soarin, Spitfire, and four other team members. She was the center of attention.

Down below, a team of top-of-class unicorns from the Canterlot Magic University had been asked to set up a silencing shield, keeping the stunt a secret from the public. Without it, there was simply no way to hide the extravagance of this trick. When they got done casting it, it formed a white, glossy barrier around the runway and half of the valley next to the city, extending thirty thousand feet up. One unicorn almost passed out from the amount of magic it took, but quickly regained his posture and sat down to watch the feat unfold.

Hundreds more feet down, Jake and Starfyre sat in the cockpit of the C-130, which was circling so low it was almost skimming the treetops. Starfyre held the small launching mechanism to the Sabre rockets, which were strapped on and ready to go.

Thanks to magic yet again, they were able to communicate through a spell that had been cast on them. For Jake, it came through his headset. Soarin's voice could be heard by all as he gave his final address before the attempt.

"Ok, team. This is it. We have worked countless hours preparing for this exact moment. It has never been fully attempted before, I realize that. But we have to try it once before the show. We have the precise timing down, so lets finish it all the way this time. Jake, be ready when you need to be. Make a bang. Starfyre, thanks for being here with us. You put in a lot of effort, and I am truly pleased. As for the rest of my team, I also want to thank you all for a job well done this past month. And finally, Rainbow Dash, I've thought long and hard about this, and I've made my decision. If you can pull this off right, you'll be a permanent member of the Wonderbolts team. None of that honorary stuff. You get the real deal...Dash, please stop hugging me. Dash!...whew. So, I ask of you to all become one, and make a show that will go down in history. It's our last show of the season, but lets do it like its our last show ever."
There was a pause as he got situated, then spoke one final time.

"Maestro...music please."

The first chords of Eclipse blasted through the air, allowing them to hear for perfect timing. Rainbow Dash dove, followed by the other six Wonderbolts.

Down below, Starfyre looked over to Jake and chuckled.

"Let's go for a little ride, shall we?"

Jade looked up at the white sign that read Sweet Apple Acres, and smiled. It had been awhile since she was at the farm, and was glad to be returning. Despite her as being known for a "rocker" type, she often enjoyed the simpler things in life. This apple orchard was one of her new favorite spots to come when she wasn't working, and a certain pony working on said orchard made it that much better.

Jade walked down a row of already-bucked apple trees, and admired the way they were so perfectly and delicately lined up. Like ranks of soldiers in the army.

When she got to the end of the row, there was a small clearing, allowing her to see over to the next orchard towards the back of the property. At the end of one of the rows , she saw the black Dodge parked, with a larger red body that was unmistakably Macintosh, standing beside it.

The drummer took off in a steady gallop towards the scene, and in minutes, found herself right behind Mac, who had since then turned and was looking at the apple count in the bed. She tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to whip around.

"Oh! Hey there, Jade. Ya startled me."
She sat down in by the trunk of a tree and smiled.

"Sorry. I just came by on a walk and thought I'd say hi. How are things?"

"Good. Me an' Applejack almost have the harvest done thanks ta this here truck."
He patted the vehicle on the rear tire.

"Eeyup. It can carry twice the amount than our old baskets and wagons could."

"Well that's nice."
She looked around at the trees, which had all but one row been stripped of their contents. All that was left were the branches and green leaves.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to grab a bite to eat tonight after work. How's that sound?"
Mac smiled and walked over to another un-harvested apple tree.

"Eeyup. That would be nice. When we get this here orchard finished, ah'll come an' pick ya up. Ahd say its gonna be 'round seven o'clock. That ok?"

The musician nodded and stood back up.

"That'll be alright. I'll see you then!"
With that, she turned and trotted away down the row of trees, and was out of sight in seconds.

Applejack walked around from the front of the truck and confronted her brother, donning a smirk on her face.

"Tongue-tied there, Big Mac?"
The farmer snapped back to reality and whipped around to look at his sister.

"Uh...uh...eeyup. Wait! I meant nnope!"

"Uh huh. Lets get back to work so you can go on your little date later."

Mac rolled his eyes and bucked another tree, letting the fruit cascade down into the Dodge's bed.

The magical barrier fell as the trick came to an end. Jake circled around and lined up for approach on the runway. He was speechless at what had just happened. The stunt was flawless, and was to him, the most amazing thing he had ever experienced at the controls of an aircraft.

Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts touched down on the tarmac, awaiting the plane's arrival. Soarin walked over to the cyan pegasus, and without word, outstretched his hoof for her to shake. She did so, almost fainting in the process. Spitfire came over and addressed Dash.

"Congratulations, Rainbow. These hours of practice payed off, and now, we want you to become one of us. So, from this moment on, you are an official member of the Wonderbolts team."

"Oh. My. GOSH! Omygoshomygoshomygosh! My dream has finally come true! I am officially the happiest pegasus in Equestria right now!"
She shot up and did three loops, landing within seconds of taking off.

"And not to mention, the coolest!"
Fleetfoot laughed.

"Don't get ahead of yourself there, lass. We still have to actually PERFORM the show in three days. That'll be your true test. To see how you manage in front of a crowd."
Spitfire finished his statement, putting a nervous Rainbow Dash at ease.

"Don't worry. You're still a member regardless. But he does make a point. You also have to show us that you're capable of performing live shows. But I'm sure you can handle it."

BANG! Everyone was startled at the sudden noise, and whipped around to see the C-130 with a left rear tire blown out, and skidding off the side of the runway. Jake had misjudged the height, and come down too hard. It would've been fine if it hadn't been for the extra weight of the rockets strapped to it's sides. The impact was just too much for the now shredded tire.

Everyone jumped to the side as the plane roared passed them, dangerously close, with sparks flying from the underbelly.

They watched in horror as the aircraft slid closer and closer to the end of the cloud runway, which was suspended a good ten thousand feet. A straight shot down to the valley below. It finally slowed, and the nose dropped as the front wheel slid off and hung limp over the edge. The weight of the fuselage scraping against the cement caused the C-130 to come to an abrupt stop, the front half teetering on the brink of destruction.

Spitfire led the pack as they ran over to see what could be done. Upon arriving, the cargo bay door opened, revealing a blank-faced Starfyre and a nervous Jake.

Fleetfoot hovered over, only to be stopped by a now frantic pilot.

"No no no! Stop! The slightest change in weight could send this thing over the edge. Where are those unicorns from the University?"

"Not sure, lad. I think they left already. Why?"

"Why? Because they can magically lift this thing back up is why!"
Fleetfoot narrowed his gaze and landed by the ramp.

"Don't get pissy with me for tryin' to help out!"

"You're right. Sorry. I'm just in kind of a predicament right now. Basically, my LIFE is balancing on a magical runway seconds away from doom. This plane is my favorite thing in the world, and I'm not about to let that go."
The Wonderbolt sighed, then hung his head and nodded.

"I know. I can't imagine how important it must be."
He looked back at the rest of his team, then spoke over their murmurs.

"Alrighty, lads! I got an idea. We're gonna get underneath the belly of this beast, and heave!"

A wave of confusion washed over the group, causing Fleetfoot to facehoof.

"Get underneath it and fly up!"
The Wonderbolts, now understanding, nodded and ran over to the very edge of the runway, standing under the shadow of the plane's wings.

The aircraft shuddered and slid forward a little, catching on an uneven surface and halting even further over the edge. Jake and Starfyre cautiously stepped off, and went over to join them at the edge.

"This won't work. The plane is way to heavy for you guys. We need magic."

Fleetfoot looked up at the mammoth aircraft, and hung his head once more, but this time in defeat.

"I think you're right, lad. I'm sorry."
Rainbow Dash pointed to Canterlot, which was a mile or so south of them.

"I'm gonna fly over and get some help from unicorns! Maybe somepony will be able to help!"
Jake held up a hoof to stop her just as she was about to jump off.

"Don't waste your time, Dash. They won't get here quick enough. This plane is going over the edge soon. It's only a matter of time before whatever is catching it gives out."
Fleetfoot snapped up and smiled, having just thought up what he believed to be a brilliant plan.

"Wait a minute. How could I have not seen this before? It's a plane for Luna's sake! We can just push it off, let it glide down, and you fly back up here and land!"
Jake shook his head.

"How am I going to land again with no right gear? I'd belly land, but that means that all wheels would need to be up. And with that mangled tire and wheel, the mechanism would eat jammed up trying to raise it."

Starfyre squinted down to the end of the runway where to white carts with four large rubber wheels were sitting. They were used to haul the Sabre rockets, but the technician now had other plans for them.

"I know how. Jake, get in the plane. Shove off and do your thing. I'll take care of the rest."
He turned around to the stunt team, and yelled out his commands.

"Ok everypony, follow me to the other end of the runway! I'll give you further instructions when we get there."

Jake ran around to the ramp, and looked back one last time at the team who was following Starfyre.

"God, I hope he knows what he's doing."

There was a sudden lurch as the edge gave way, allowing the plane to make its plunge. The back end slowly swung up as the nose tilted down towards the valley.

Jake grabbed ahold of the cargo ramp in a final attempt to board, and was flung up with the aircraft. He shouted back for help at the top of his lungs just as he, and the C-130, disappeared over the edge of the runway and began the ten thousand foot plunge to the ground.

Only In the Movies

In all of Jake Weston's natural life, he had never felt the way he did now. He watched hopelessly as his prized aircraft, and himself, toppled over the edge towards their inevitable end. Why had he grabbed the plane? Impulse? Bad choice? An attempt to save the one thing that reminded him of home?

All these thoughts clouded his mind, as tears blurred his eyes from the wind as he sped up in a free-fall. His hooves were clasping the end of the cargo ramp, desperately trying to hang on to the last inch of metal.

The plane was a mere fifteen seconds from impact, and gaining speed as it fell. He thought this was the end. Well, at least he died doing what he loved. Did he? Was this considered actually flying? Whatever it was, it was the last thing he was going to be doing. At least, that's what he thought until the nose of the C-130 started to pull back up.

The g-force was incredible. The pilot could barely hang on. One hoof started slipping back, ready to fall off, but Jake quickly pulled up and regained his grip, panting for air as he used all his strength to hold on. Right at around two hundred feet, the plane leveled off, barely missing the dense trees at the bottom of the valley. How this was happening, Jake didn't know. He used all his remaining energy to pull himself forward, flopping over on his side at the end of the ramp to catch his breath. The ground raced past him below, motivating him to get up and shut the ramp. When it was secure, he staggered up the hold and stopped at the cockpit door in thought. What had pulled the nose up? Who the hell was in the cockpit?

He slowly opened the door to find both chairs empty, and the autopilot light on, keeping the aircraft in steady flight. He slowly approached his captains chair, and looked down. What he saw confused and shocked him. For there, sitting on the center of the chair cushion, was a small, rectangular, blueslate stone.

It took Jake a second to comprehend the situation, but finally, he decided to wait until after he landed, and moved the stone and jumped into the seat, taking hold of the yoke.

"Are you out of your mind?! This'll never work!"
Fleetfoot yelled over to Starfyre, who was unlocking the wheel brakes on one of the carts. It was a long, white carriage with four large rubber wheels on it. The top of it was a long inward-rounded holder that was perfect to house a rocket....or let a plane land on and use for makeshift landing gear.

The technician prepared the cart and looked back over to the stubborn Wonderbolt.

"You got any better ideas, Fleetfoot?"
The stunt-pegasi snorted and shook his head.

"No! But this definitely has to be one of the most dangerous ones possible."

"Well you're a Wonderbolt! I'm sure you've done much more dangerous things than this!"
He walked over to the waiting stunt team and belted out his directions.

"Ok, since Rainbow Dash, Soarin, and Spitfire are the fastest, no offense to anypony else, I want them behind this thing pushing it down the runway on my go. The key is to match the speed of the plane and let the broken wheel land right in the center of the cart."
He pointed over to Fleetfoot and Hotshot.

"You two are gonna be in front of it, steering by using your wings as rudders to make sure Jake touches down in the center."
Hotshot spun around and looked out at the incoming aircraft.

"Roger that! Lets go, he's coming around!"
Starfyre leaped up and pointed to the rest of the team.

"You guys are gonna make sure everything goes as planned. Keep watch and tell them how close Jake is to touching down."

With one understanding nod from all of them, they broke off and got into position. Rainbow Dash and the two captains got behind the cart and pumped their wings, sending it off in a slow roll. Fleetfoot and Hotshot jumped in front and grabbed ahold of the sides.

A mile back, Jake lowered the flaps and slowed the throttles to idle. He wanted to make sure he touched down as slow as possible to lower the chance of any more damage to the landing gear. He looked out at the runway, squinting to try and make out what was going on down there. Then, he saw the white cart being pushed down the runway on the right side, and immediately knew what was going on.

"...You gotta be fucking kidding me."

The three pegasi flapped as hard as they could, and quickly got the cart up to speed. They looked back just as the massive aircraft flew over them, engines roaring even though they were idling. The prop-wash shook the convoy around a little bit, but Hotshot quickly righted it with a flap of his wings.

The C-130 leveled off a little bit ahead of them, prompting the three to speed up even more. Fleetfoot arced his wings to the left, causing the cart to drift in the according direction. It was placed right behind the broken wheel. All they needed to do was have Jake slow down.

Rapidfire flew up to the cockpit window and gestured for Jake to do so. The pilot took a long breath and grasped the speed brake.

"Here goes nothing."
With that, he yanked the lever all the way back, sending the spoilers up and slowing the plane down drastically. In three seconds, it stalled, and Jake shut his eyes and braced for impact as it fell. However, all that was heard was a loud thump, and the rolling of the landing gear.

Outside, the team broke off and began cheering as the belly of the C-130 came down right on the cart, the broken wheel nesting comfortably in the center. It seemed to take the planes weight just fine as it slowed up.

The aircraft finally came to a stop a minute later, and Jake lowered the ramp. However, he looked puzzled, rather than thankful, which is what the rest of the team expected. Soarin landed next to him and laughed.

"You won't see anything like that again in your lifetime, I bet!...Jake?"
Soarin's smile faded as he saw the look on the pilot's face.

He held up the blue stone just as everyone else was landing, prompting them to fall silent.

"I was going to die."
Rainbow Dash cocked her head and smirked.

"That's why we were here, silly! We helped you land!"

"No, I meant when you all turned around and headed down the runway, the plane tipped off the edge, and I grabbed ahold of the ramp and went down with it."
Spitfire looked confused.

"Sooo...you made it though. Why are you upset?"
He thrust the stone out to emphasize it's point.

"I was seconds from impact, and the plane suddenly leveled off. I climbed back up and ran to the cockpit. When I got there, nopony was flying the plane. All I saw was this stone sitting on the chair."

"It's Blueslate, lad."
Everyone turned to face Fleetfoot as he spoke.

"I've heard of him. He's a Being that intervenes when one is in a bind or in danger. If its important, and you deserve it, he'll come down and help you. Many moons ago, before Ponyville was even on the map, the slate stone was a symbol of power and hard work. The slate miners in the Canterlot cliffs told tales of a blue stallion that would come around every once in a while and simply wander up and down the tunnels as they mined. Some say he was lookin' for cracks and wear in the support beams, and would magically fix them to prevent the hard working miners from falling victim to cave-ins. After the word got around, ponies began to see signs of other Beings that would help out in different situations over the years. But I think it's just Blueslate, and all the other Beings were simply fantasies made up by ponies wanting their fifteen minutes of fame. However, I've never heard of a Blueslate helping this directly. I mean, he saved your life! Normally he would simply give little tips and advice to help the pony through their troubles."

If it wasn't for the stone as proof, Jake wouldn't have believed his explanation. So instead of denying it, he simply smiled, and tossed the stone into the cargo hold.

"Well then, thank you, Blueslate."

He turned and sighed when he saw the busted wheel sitting on the white rocket cart.

"I gotta hand it to you, Starfyre. That worked perfectly. I've only seen shit like that done in movies. Now, we need to fix this thing up and get it ready for the show. I'm assuming that there's a unicorn SOMEWHERE in Canterlot that knows restoration spells. I'd ask the Princess, but she's done enough already."
He smiled when he saw the fixed Ferrari, still sitting at the end of the runway where the Sun Goddess left it.

Rainbow Dash pointed towards the city.

"Well, we better get a move on and fly over there to find somepony capable of fixing it."
Fleetfoot nodded.

"She's right. Lets go."
They all rose up and took off towards the Capitol City, leaving Jake alone on the tarmac.

"Uh...hello!?"
Soarin looked back and facehooved as he yelled out to Jake.

"Sorry! Forgot you couldn't fly!"
He turned back to his team.

"Fleetfoot, Starfyre, Rainbow Dash, and Spitfire, you guys come with me. Everypony else, stay back with Jake."

When everything was settled, the five pegasi flew away, bound for Canterlot, leaving Jake back with ten other Wonderbolt team members.

"Well, this'll give us time to get to know each other."
Hotshot nodded and smiled.

"I guess it does. So uh, are you married?"
The pilot looked back with a blank face and sarcastically sighed. The Wonderbolt cringed when it left his lips, and immediately regretted asking that.

"Sorry."

A Crack of the Whip

Sweet Apple Acres was calm that evening. Every tree had been harvested of it's apples, and the delicious fruit was now being put into the empty washtubs until Applejack and Macintosh bought crates in town.

Mac wiped the sweat off his forehead and sat down, having completed his task and finally being able to catch a breath. He turned to Applejack, who was shutting the tailgate on the parked Dodge.

"Ya know, ah think this whole situation worked out fer the better."
His sister looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"How so?"
The farmer stood up and gestured over to the rows of empty apple trees.

"You an' ah got this entire orchard done in TWO days. Of course, Jake helped as well."
He turned back to look at the massive truck, apples piled high in the bed.

"And this. This machine made it all possible. Sure, our barn got destroyed, but we pulled through. Jes like us Apples always do."

Applejack donned a smile and chuckled, adjusting her Stetson hat.

"Ah guess you're right, brother."
She walked over to their stash of fruit, and examined it.

"Now all we need to do is get these into crates and on the freight train to be distributed. Ah reckon that Fritzer guy that Jake knows can help us out. He's a carpenter, after all."

"Yer right. Ah say we go down there now an' place an order fer at least a hundred crates."
The orange mare gazed out to the front gate, and then back at Macintosh.

"Well, lets get a move on then."

The sun beat down on the tarmac above the valley, making the wait to find a pony capable of repairing the plane very uncomfortable. They took refuge in the cargo hold, but it didn't help too much.

The pilot sighed and looked around at the aircraft, hoping it would be able to fly in the show that weekend. All of his hours of practice wasted. For what? He had made an error when landing, and this was the price he had to pay. All pilots knew that there was no room for screw-ups. When one happened, you either got killed, injured, or, in Jake's situation, not able to perform in an awesome air show.

Up by the cockpit door, two team members started smoking, causing Jake to get irritated. He pointed up to two large, red words right above the two that read 'NO SMOKING'.

"Ahem, can you read the sign, please?"
One of the Wonderbolts looked up and read the sign. After one long drag he dropped it and stomped the flame out, prompting the other pegasus to do the same.

"Sorry. When I'm not flyin' I get a little on edge."

Jake was about to speak when he was stopped by the sound of landing hooves outside. He walked out into the sun and shielded his eyes from the intense rays. When they finally adjusted, he saw Starfyre, Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Rainbow Dash standing in front of him. Jake looked puzzled at the absence of a unicorn.

"Well?"
Fleetfoot raised a hoof and smiled.

"Calm down, lad. He's on his way."

"Who is it?"
Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled, obviously hiding something from the pilot.

"Well, he's not a unicorn, or a pegasus. I think you're gonna find it funny!"

Just as she finished, a long orange chariot pulled by six black pegasi shot up from the clouds behind them and circled the runway. It touched down a little ways down, and rolled to a stop just in front of them.

The rest of the Wonderbolts had come out from the cargo hold to see what all the noise was just as the door opened from the back of the enclosed chariot. It reminded Jake of a stretch limo in Vegas.

An orange hoof stepped down onto the pavement, followed by the appearance of a stallion with the same orange body, and red mane. He smiled upon seeing the pilot, and held up a welcoming hoof.

"Long time no see, Mr. Jake."

Dr. Navorno sat quietly at his work bench, toiling away at an old wooden cuckoo clock that needed new siding. He had recently gotten word that his old partner, Dr. Draplen, had been moved to an asylum in Manehattan to be treated. He had mixed feelings about that. On one side, they used to be partners. They worked on probably the biggest scientific accomplishment of mankind together. He was his friend. However, on the other side, he was insane. He no longer could mingle with normal society anymore. He was a danger to himself and everyone around him.

"Things change", is what the carpenter thought. All he could do was move on from there and make the best of it.

His train of thought was derailed when the little bell on his shop door rang, signaling a customer had entered. He walked out of the back room and instantly recognized the massive red stallion.

"Macintosh! How good to see you again. How did that treated lumber for your barn repair work out?"
All the farm pony could do was smile. Finally, Applejack spoke up.

"Well uh, Mr. Mach. It's kind of a long story."
She began with the Baron gang, and ended with the Ferrari explosion.

"So now, we're using an old washtub and the back of the truck to store the apples in. That brings us here, to place an order fer one hundred crates approximately two feet by two feet in width, and one foot tall."

"Not a problem. I'll put that at the top of my priority list. I understand the situation you two are going through, and want to help you in any way I can."

Mac stretched out a hoof, and Dr. Navorno took it.

"Thank ya kindly, Mr. Mach."

"You're welcome. I'll send for you when they're completed."
He walked over and sat down at his bench, and began to tinker with the clock again.

"So I hear there's a big air show happening in Canterlot on Saturday. Jake is to take part in it, correct?"

"Eeyup. It's gonna be amazin' is what ah heard."
Applejack nodded in agreement.

"It's the Wonderbolt's last show of the season, so they're doing something that's never been attempted before. One o' mah friends, Rainbow Dash, is flyin' in it too."

"That should be a spectacle. I will try to make an attendance if my work slows down."

"Well, ah hope ta see ya there."
Applejack turned and made for the door, prompting her brother to follow.

"Have a good one, Mr. Mach."
He waved as they walked out the door.

"The same to you two!"

With that, the siblings stepped out into the street. The sun was starting to approach the horizon, telling them they should probably get home.

Just as they were about to walk off, a pegasus stallion dropped down in front of them. He had white fur, and sported a letter as his cutie mark. He looked tired, as if he has flown a long ways in a short amount of time. After he caught his breath, he addressed Macintosh and Applejack.

"Mr. and Mrs. Apple?"
The two just stared back. Mac finally spoke up after a moment of awkward silence.

"Uh, not quite. We're not married. She's mah sister."

The messenger looked embarrassed, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ah...my apologies. Anyways, I have a message for you two. There was an incident in Canterlot with Jake and his plane. Apparently a tire blew out upon landing, and the wheel is mangled. They're fixing it now, but he won't be back until tomorrow. He wanted me to let you know, and apologize for not being able to help you two with the farm work."

Mac knew how important the show and the plane was to Jake, and was very understanding when he heard the news.

"That's fine. Tell him ah understand, and that we'll be here whenever he gets back."
Applejack looked worried.

"Jakes alright, right?"

"Oh yeah, he's fine. Just a landing gone awry. I gotta get back quick. Have a good night."
With that, the messenger sprang up into the air and bolted off towards the Captiol City.

Mac turned to his sister.

"Well that was sudden. We'll jes have ta finish up the harvest without him. All we have ta do is pack up the apples once the crates are finished, an' get half o' them on the train ta be distributed."
Applejack smirked.

"Eeyup."
Her brother rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Come on. Lets get home before dark."

"Ok, the tire is off."
After many minutes of prying with a crowbar, Speed Demon managed to pull the two shredded tires off to the side and began examining the rest of the landing gear.

"Ok, Mr. Jake, give me your thoughts on this."
The pilot looked at him with a raised eyebrow, then studied the gear himself.

"Uh, it's bent to shit. That's all I can see. The mechanism that raises and lowers the wheels is fine, it's just the axel and struts they were connected to that collapsed under the force of the impact."

The landing gear they were working on consisted of two tires side by side connected by one axel. It reminded Jake of a dually wheel on semi trucks back home. The suspension was bent, along with the axel and strut. They were lucky the moving lift mechanism wasn't bent. That would've cost him the show for sure.

The way the plane sat on the cart provided an excellent working space as well. The landing gear simply hung down in the middle of it, allowing them easy access.

Speed Demon took a long look and nodded.

"Ok, lets start taking this stuff off and see if we can re-bend it with magic."
Jake looked confused.

"Wait, magic? If you have somepony who can use magic, then why don't they just do it now? Why take everything off?"

"Because they're not able to perform a restoration spell, only a manipulating spell. If I give her one piece that's bent, she just needs to force it straight again, then have us put it back on. It's simple."

Jake turned around to look at Soarin, who was sitting around looking quite bored.

"Uh, why didn't you guys just find a unicorn who was capable of the spell I needed? No offense Speed Demon."

"When we landed in Canterlot, nopony on the streets knew one. Or they were just too busy to help out, even though we were the Wonderbolts. So we made our way to the university, but as we turned the corner, Speed Demon was coming out of a restaurant and saw us. We started talking about our situation and he volunteered to help."
The Former Record Holder spoke up from behind.

"And it is help you need, Mr. Jake. I know we had our differences, but I know how you feel right now. All your hard work and effort is balancing on a tightrope, and I want to help you finish the walk to the other side. So let me introduce you to the unicorn who will solve our problems. Ms. Sleek, will you please come out here."

A dark blue unicorn exited the carriage with a clipboard in her hoof. She had short, business-like, neon green mane and tail, a cutie mark of a line graph that showed profits, and wore a red suit complete with red reading glasses.

She looked up from writing her paperwork to address her client.

"What is it, Speed Demon?"
The racer looked over to Jake to make his introductions.

"Jake, this is Sleek Jennings, my manager. She will be performing the spells necessary to fix the landing gear."
The agent looked surprised, then a scowl donned her face.

"Um, excuse me? What spells am I doing? I'm a manager, not a mechanic!"
The pilot chuckled and patted Speed Demon on the back.

"Great plan."
Sleek Jennings looked over to Jake, and for the first time got a good look at him. Something sparked in her brain at the sight of the pilot, and she didn't know what it was. But whatever it was, it caused her to change her mind. Her expression mellowed out, and she sighed.

"Ok, I'll help you."
Jake looked stunned.

"Really? Just like that you'll change your mind? What did it?"

"Uh, nothing. I just want to help out so we can get out of here and get to Speed Demon's next photo shoot. So get those bent pieces off and let's get cracking. I still have paperwork to do."

"Um...ok. Lets start removing the struts then."

The two stallions began loosening the bolts with tools Speed Demon brought from his shop where he built the Slipstream. After fifteen minutes of prying and unscrewing, they managed to get one strut off. They threw the bent piece down on the tarmac right in front of Sleek Jennings, who was filling out more paperwork on her clipboard. She dropped it and snapped her head up at the sound of the bang when it hit.

"What?!"
Jake gestured to the broken strut.

"Can you please do the spell now?"
With a roll of her eyes, her horn glowed green. After not more than three seconds, the strut was perfectly straight again, allowing her to go back to her work. Jake, Speed Demon, and the rest of the Wonderbolts who hadn't flown back to headquarters looked at it in silence. Finally, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"That was quick. What spell is that?"
Sleek Jennings smirked, still looking down at her papers.

"It's a manipulating spell. In my line of work, you have to be very manipulating."
She stopped and looked up at Speed Demon with a look of annoyance.

"Very. Manipulating."
The racer turned around without a word and began to take the other strut off. Jake joined him and smiled when he saw the look of distress on his face.

"Dude, you're whipped."

In the Zone

Night fell over Equestria, and the Royal Sisters were sitting on the tallest balcony in the castle just after Luna finished raising the moon. Apart from breakfast, the Changing of Shifts was the only time the two got to spend together on a normal week.

They sat quietly and watched the stars flicker in the sky, until Luna looked out to the north and saw a dim light on the cloud runway just two miles away.

"Sister, what do you think is going on over there?"
She pointed out to the light, and Celestia pondered it for a moment.

"Well surely their practice would've ended by now. Unless there was a problem, I'm not too sure what could be going on."

"Should we go investigate?"
The Sun Goddess smiled.

"No. Lets leave them to their business. I'm sure that with the show coming up they're too tied up to bother with us."
Luna raised an eyebrow.

"But we're the Princesses. The rulers of Equestria. I don't think they'd ignore us."
Celestia rolled her eyes playfully and sat down by the edge of the railing. If she squinted, she could see the plane's silhouette through the darkness.

"That aircraft amazes me, Luna."

"How so?"

"Well, it's a huge flying machine. It can carry more weight than any pegasus I've ever seen. I'm sure that whatever Jake is planning with that thing on Saturday is going to be spectacular."

"I can agree with that, Tia."
The balcony fell silent for minute before Celestia sighed and continued. Her happy mood seemed dampened a little.

"However, I feel sorry for him."
Luna looked confused.

"Who?"

"Jake."

"Really? Why?"
Celestia took a moment to word out her answer before speaking.

"Imagine a puppy that's just been born. It lives its entire adolescent life on a wide open farm where it can run and play. Then, one day, somepony adopts the puppy and brings it home to a small apartment lets say. The owner is happy they have the puppy, but is the puppy happy that it has the owner? It was taken away from its home to be in a new strange one. Over time, the puppy will grow into a dog and adapt, but deep down it will always want to run through those fields on that farm one more time."
Luna walked over to her sister and followed her gaze out to the plane.

"I'm assuming the puppy is Jake?"
She nodded.

"Even though Equestria is a great place to live, he grew up in his own world. His family, friends, and everything he knew all went away in the blink of an eye. Well, almost everything. That plane and those two automobiles are the only things he had. That's why I went through all the trouble to get him the Ferrari back."
There was a pause, and Luna snickered.

"When will you tell him that there isn't an engine anymore, and its really a magically charged powerhouse."
She smiled.

"I'll let him figure that one out eventually. We simply couldn't rebuild that after the amount of burn damage done to it. Anyways, I'm sure one day he'll truly recognize this place as his new home. But right now, I think he's still subconsciously harboring his memories of his world."

Celestia fell silent, and looked back up to the stars her sister had placed so carefully and delicately.

"This is quite a display tonight, Luna. Is there a special occasion?"
The Moon Raiser shook her head.

"No, not really. I was just in a really good mood tonight, so my night sky reflected that."

"Very nice, Luna. Very nice."

They sat quietly for another fifteen minutes, enjoying each others company. Finally, Celestia yawned and stood up. She said goodnight, hugged her sister, and walked into the tower and down the long spiral staircase to retire for the night.

"Will you two hurry it up!"
Sleek Jennings scolded Speed Demon and Jake as they worked into the night. She had gotten angry when Jake told a joke, causing them to stop working and laugh. To her, this meant she had to wait around longer.

The Wonderbolts had long since said their goodbyes and went back to headquarters for the night. Soarin was adamant that they stay together as a team until he finished the repairs, but Jake insisted they get some rest.

Rainbow Dash was passed out on the floor of the cargo bay, fashioning a bed out of jump-seat cushions. To her, it was actually quite comfortable.

The six pegasi that were pulling the chariot had unharnessed themselves and formed a poker game on the tarmac. If they were going to be here a while, might as well have some fun. The biggest one out of all of them turned around and waved to Sleek Jennings.

"Hey, Jennings! How about you come over here and join us!"
With out hesitation, she whipped her pen at him without looking, causing the chariot pullers to laugh. She pulled out another pen and continued with her paperwork.

"Damn idiots."

Jake, who had heard the whole conversation, whispered over to Speed Demon as they unbolted one of the last bent pieces.

"What's with your manager? She's really on edge."
The racer rolled his eyes and sighed.

"She's always like that. In public, she's really nice. But when you go behind the scenes, she can be really bossy. But let me tell you, she does a good job. She's tough, and ponies respect her for it."

The agent looked up from her paperwork to see their progress.

"Hey, are you guys about finished taking that stuff off? It's eleven o'clock at night, and I have work to do in the morning!"

"We understand, Ms. Jennings. Jake and I are almost finished taking the last one off. After that, you can get some rest in the carriage while we re-attach the struts and axels."

"Whatever. Just hurry."
Jake smirked and whispered over to Speed Demon again.

"I think she likes me."
The racer stifled a laugh, making it sound like a sneeze and cough combined. The agent stopped writing to try and listen in, but continued on after she heard nothing.

Speed Demon regained his composure and whispered back.

"In your dreams. Not saying you're not capable of getting somepony like her, it's just that she doesn't date ANYPONY. The only relationship I remember her having was with a higher-up business stallion that owned a metal manufacturing company. He cheated on her, and after that, she stopped dating. So she doesn't like you."

"If you say so. But I think she does. She hasn't looked at me more than twice."

"And that tells you?"

"It tells me that she's interested."

"What have you been learning where you come from?"

"That when a girl acts distant, she's interested."

"That logic confuses me. Anyways, lets focus on getting the last piece off. This bolt is a pain."
Speed Demon used all his weight to unscrew the remaining bolt from the strut end. Finally, they got it off and threw the heavy piece down.

Sleek Jennings rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Finally! Took you two long enough."

With a burst from her horn, she un-bent the strut and walked off to the carriage. She got in and shut the door without a single word. Jake smiled and turned to Speed Demon.

"I think she just needs to loosen up a little bit. Have a night out on the town or something."
One of the stallions playing poker spoke up.

"Yup. Maybe she'll stop being such a bitch."

"What did you say?!"
Her muffled voice from inside the carriage startled all of them, and the stallion who had to get his two cents in sprang up and flew off in fright.

Unfortunately for him, Sleek Jennings was out on the tarmac before he even got a hundred feet away, and pulled him back with her magic. His five friends were on the ground laughing at the scene.

She held the frightened stallion by the neck and yelled in his face.

"What did you call me?!"
The chariot-puller was scared beyond speech. All that came out was "uh".

"That's what I thought you said!"
She dropped him and looked around at her little audience.

"Now what were we all talking about?! Come on, spit it out!"

For some reason, Jake thought it was a good idea to speak.

"Well..."
Speed Demon shook his head. 'He's dead.'

"We were talking about how maybe it'd be a good idea if you relaxed a little bit and tried to have some fun. I mean, I've known you for three hours now and I can already tell you're very stressed. Why he called you that, I have no clue. That was uncalled for. However, maybe you should just take a little time off and enjoy things. Which leads me to my next point."
Jake took a deep breath.

"Would you like to accompany me to the Pre-Show Party Friday night at Canterlot Castle? I'm sure you're already going, but why not go with me? I know some stallions might say 'oh, it's not a date, it's just two friends at a party.' But I'm just going to flat out say it, I want it to be a date. So how about it?"

Everyone's mouths except for Jake and Sleek's hung open in disbelief. Did he really just ask out one of the most hard-headed mares in Canterlot? Even a small part of the pilot regretted asking that. However, all of his doubt was shattered when she answered.

"...ok."

Mac and Applejack walked down Mane Street as the night sky covered the village. Applejack yawned and looked over to her brother.

"How long you reckon the crates will take to get done?"
Mac shrugged.

"Not to sure. All we can do is wait. Shouldn't be too long though. That Mr. Mach is quite the carpenter."
Applejack nodded.

"Ah can agree with that. Ah just wish he woulda given us a date when it'd be close to ready."
Her brother stopped in his tracks, and his face contorted into one that read, "I'm dead". Applejack looked confused.

"Um, you alright there, Big Mac?"

"Date."

"Yeah, what about i-...uh-oh."
Applejack immediately knew what had slipped her brother's mind.

Like a flash of light, the farmer ran off down the street, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

Applejack smirked and let out a chuckle.

"He's toast."

Noteworthy's music store went dark as the lights went off after a long day of business. The clock struck eleven as Jade locked up the door behind her and stepped off into the street. They only stayed open this late on Wednesdays so they could stock the albums and re-tune all of the instruments. It took quite awhile.

Noteworthy came around from the back after emptying the trash, and saw the glum look on his employee's face.

"I'm sorry he never came to pick you up."
She simply shook her head.

"It's fine. I guess he had more important things to do."
Noteworthy tried to comfort his friend, however, he thought that maybe his other friend, Macintosh, needed some defense as well.

"Listen, Jade. Macintosh isn't like that. I'm sure whatever came up that made him forget about tonight was a good one. In all my years of knowing him, I've never seen him turn somepony down that he made a promise to."

Jade paused to think about what he had just said. Maybe there was a good reason. It was the busiest time of year on the farm from what he said. Surely he wasn't ignoring her, was he?

All of these thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy, fast moving hooves around the corner. Seconds later, Macintosh rounded a building and slid to a halt right in front of the two musicians. He took a moment to catch his breath, then explained himself in front of Jade.

"Before ya go an' get mad, ah jes have ta say I'm sorry. Ah got caught up in mah work an' completely forgot. Ah ain't sayin' that ah don't wanna be with ya or nothin', it's jes that us Apples are so devoted to our work, that we...ok me...sometimes forget about the other things in life that make it worth livin'. So if y'all wanna be mad at me, go ahead. Ah deserve it."

A smile slowly crept up on Jade's face.

"It's ok, Mac. I understand."
The farmer raised an eyebrow.

"Ya do?"

"Of course. I get that you're extremely busy with your farm right now, and that a relationship is probably at the bottom of your to-do list. So how about we just stay friends for awhile? When the work slows down, and we both have a little free time, then we'll see what happens. How does that sound?"
Macintosh mulled this over for a second. He had heard of something known as the friend zone once when he was with his friends. Was this what it was?

"...am ah gettin' friend-zoned?"
All Jade and Noteworthy could do was laugh.

"No Mac, you're not getting friend-zoned."
The red stallion looked relieved.

"Alrighty then, Jade. Ahm fine with that."

"Good. I'm glad you see it my way."

"There is jes one more thing. How would you like to come with me to see the Wonderbolts air show that Jake is in? It ain't a date, jes two friends at a party."
The drummer nodded.

"I would love that. Ill see you Saturday morning then."

They said their goodbyes and parted ways to head home for the night. .

A half hour later, Mac crawled into bed and shut the light off on his nightstand. He rolled over and tried to fall asleep. After five minutes of silence, he shot up in realization.

"Ah jes got friend-zoned!"
Granny Smith snapped at him from the next room.

"Will y'all shut the heck up in there! Ah don't care what zone you're in right now! Go to bed!"
Mac's ears tucked behind his head.

"Sorry, Granny."

Three AM rolled around, and Jake and Speed Demon tightened down the last strut on the landing gear, completely fixing the plane and making it airworthy once more.

A now happier Sleek Jennings sat her paperwork down and admired the aircraft for the first time.

"You know, I have to say this is one amazing machine. I could see potential in this. I'm talking shows, parties, photo shoots. You name it!"
Jake chuckled and set his wrench down.

"Please, Sleek. Lets just focus on the party on Friday, and the show on Saturday for now, ok?"

"It's Seline."

"What?"

"Seline. My real first name is Sleine. The corporation I work for just thought that Sleek would be a better business name than Sleine. They said it had more, 'pizzazz.'"

"Well then, Seline. I want to thank you for putting up with me and Speed Demon's antics for the past five hours, and thank you for accepting my offer to the party."
Seline smiled.

"You're welcome. You made a valid point earlier. I'm a stick in the mud sometimes. I get too focused on work and forget about other things that are important too. You seem like a really nice stallion, and I want to get to know you better. So when will you pick me up?"

"How about seven o'clock in the evening at the castle gates. That should give us plenty of time to get in before the crowd gets huge."

"Sounds like a plan. Until then, Jake."

With that, she turned around and entered the carriage. The six stallions had ended their card game awhile ago, and the last one awake was kicking the other five back to life so they could hook up to the harness and go.

Jake stuck out a hoof for Speed Demon to shake.

"Thank you for all of your help. I can't imagine what would've happened if you hadn't shown up."
The racer smiled.

"It was no problem, Mr. Jake. I had fun. And I will see this thing in action at the show on Saturday. Knowing that I had a hoof in making it able to perform will make it that much more exciting. I'll see you then."
He walked past the pilot and got in the carriage. He waved once more before shutting the door, and within seconds, the luxury ride was off the ground and out of sight.

A content smile donned his face. He had solved his problem, and scored a date while doing it. How he ever managed to pull that off, he would never know. But it was best not to question things.

His smile was gone when he turned around and saw that the C-130 was still jacked up on the rocket cart, and still had the two Sabres mounted on it's sides.

"Well this sucks."

While he thought of an idea on how to take off, he walked down to where the Ferrari was sitting and got in it. He was very grateful that Celestia had managed to restore it and give it back to him. He started the engine, but didn't want to rev it considering that Rainbow Dash was trying to sleep.

However, he thought it wouldn't hurt to give it just a little power down the runway. He tapped the accelerator, and was thrown back as the car shot off much quicker than anticipated, engine roaring. He glanced at the speedometer and saw that it read one hundred and eighty five miles an hour. He slammed on the brakes, and came to a stop right at the bottom of the cargo ramp.

He got out and popped the trunk, which is where the engine was. Everything looked normal as he stared it down with a bewildered expression. How in the hell did it go that fast so quickly?

He thought it'd be best to wait until morning when he had daylight to work with, and slowly drove the supercar up the ramp and strapped it down in the cargo bay. He walked back outside and examined his predicament with the cart still holding up the right wheel.

He finally came up with a plan, but wondered if it was smart or not. He opted to do it anyways, and walked back up the ramp and shut it behind him. Rainbow Dash was right in front of the cockpit door, causing him to tiptoe over her. He sat down and started the four engines. Surprisingly, the rainbow pegasus didn't even stir at the sound of the car or the plane. Jake sighed and set the throttles to full power.

"Sorry about your cart, Starfyre."
The plane sped up, but because it was already halfway down the runway when he started, he had to use full flaps and all the power he could suck up from the whining engines. The cart on the right landing gear made the plane want to pull to the left, and he had to compensate with a lot of rudder.

Finally, the plane leaped off the end of the runway and up into the night sky. The rocket cart, however, didn't follow suit as it came out from underneath the C-130 and plummeted down to the valley below.

Jake pulled the throttles back to cruising speed and set his altitude. He whizzed by Canterlot, which was still shining bright with lights and activity considering the time of night. It reminded Jake of New York: The City That Never Sleeps.

He sat back in his chair and relaxed as he flew home, one hoof on the yoke, eager to get some rest after a long, strenuous day.

A Little Patience

Thursday morning rolled around in Canterlot, and the castle was alive with servants and guards preparing for the Pre-Show party the following night. Apart from the Grand Galloping Gala, it was turning out to be the biggest event of the year.

The halls of the Royal Castle rang out with a high brassy note as Sticcato wailed the last chord of the song. With a crash of the cymbals, it ended, causing Luna to jump up in applause.

"Bravo! That was incredible!"
She turned to her sister and gestured towards the band who was set up in the large ballroom.

"They're perfect for the party tomorrow, don't you think?"
Celestia nodded in agreement.

The conductor, Clef, walked over to the Rulers and bowed.

"Your Majesties, I am honored you simply gave my band a chance to audition for you. If we're not whom who choose, we are still thankful."
He raised his head and backed off, allowing Celestia to ponder the decision.

"Now don't get me wrong, Clef. I think the band is simply marvelous, just like my sister says. However, the vast majority of the crowd attending the party are going to be younger ponies in their twenties and thirties who don't appreciate the music you play because they haven't grown up around it like Luna or I have."
Clef smirked.

"I figured you might say that. No problem. We have loads of modern music that's been adapted into a big-band style. I guarantee you, your Highness, that we will not disappoint anypony tomorrow night."
Celestia, ignoring Luna's persistent begging, thought to herself in silence. After a brief moment of suspense, the entire band fell into relief as the Sun Goddess nodded her head.

"Alright. I'm officially pronouncing the Equestrian Music Repe-..."
Celestia bit her bottom lip in embarrassment.

"I apologize. I forgot the band's name. What was it again?"
Clef chuckled.

"The Equestrian Music Repertory Ensemble. It can be a mouth-full."
Luna smiled and gestured towards the band.

"Well now that we have that situation settled, play us another one!"

The conductor bowed.

"As you wish, your Highness."
He stood up and whipped around, raising his right hoof to ready the downbeat.

"One, a-two, a-one two three four!"

Rainbow Dash rolled over in her sleep, and smashed her face right up against the wall dividing the cockpit and the cargo hold of the C-130. This caused her to slowly resurrect herself from a deep slumber. She pulled her face away from the wall and wiped the sleep out of her eyes. Once her vision was clear, she looked around at her surroundings in confusion. It took her a minute to finally realize where she was. She stood up and turned to face the cockpit door, where a small crack of sunlight was coming through where it was ajar. She pushed it open just enough to poke her head through, and saw Jake, who was slumped over to the right of his chair and snoring heavily.

Rainbow Dash chuckled and opened the door the remainder of the way. She crept up to him, and without hesitation, punched him in his right shoulder and yelled in his face.

"Jake wake up! We're gonna crash!"

He snapped awake and sat upright in his chair. The first thing he saw out of the windshield was the ground in front of the parked plane, causing him to grasp the yoke and pull back.

"Brace! Brace for impact! We're going down!"
He caught his breath and took a minute to observe the ground, which was not moving. Then he remembered last night, and slumped back in his chair and sighed.

Once Rainbow Dash got up off the floor from her laughing fit, she wiped the tears out of her eyes and sat down in the co-pilots chair.

"Oh you should've seen the look on your face! It was priceless!"
Jake turned and stared at her with one of those "are you serious?" looks.

"That wasn't funny."
The rainbow pegasus finally calmed down, getting up from the chair and darting out of the cockpit.

"Open the ramp and let me out, buddy! I got things to do today."
Jake, the sleepiness coming back to him after a short burst of adrenaline, forced himself to get up and slink back to the cargo hold. He pulled the lever and let the ramp slowly drop, shielding his eyes from the sun as it invaded the plane's dingy interior.

Before the ramp hit the ground, Rainbow Dash flew out and hovered out at the end of it.

"Well, last night sure didn't go as planned."
Jake raised his eyebrows and nodded sarcastically.

"You don't say."

"Anyways, I have to get to work. Weather duty calls. Ill see you tomorrow afternoon before we leave for Canterlot."

"Alright then. See you around, Dash."

With that, she flew away towards the town and out of sight. Leaving a tired Jake to figure out what to do with himself. After standing around like an idiot for a couple minutes trying to gather himself, he decided to head back to Sweet Apple Acres. He shut the ramp again, making sure the newly restored Ferrari was locked up very securely, and walked off towards Ponyville.

The walk through town was quick. Everyone was busy, giving the quaint village lots of life. The pilot was amazed at how such a small town could be host to so many turning points in history. He had read up on the Elements of Harmony one night before bed, and how they defeated Nightmare Moon after being imprisoned for one thousand years on the lunar rock. That shocked him to say the least. Nothing like that had ever happened in American history. There was no magic, and there weren't any people that when six of them came together it formed the most powerful weapon on the planet.

Upon entering the front gate of the orchard, Jake saw a large wagon pulled by Macintosh and Applejack stopped in front of the house. In the back were stacks upon stacks of wooden crates that had their red apple logo on it. Jake ran around to face them, and upon seeing the pilot, Applejack smiled and unhitched herself.

"Glad ta see you back, Jake! We were startin' ta worry when ah woke up at five this mornin' to start work and y'all still weren't here. Ah take it ya got the plane fixed up?"
The pilot nodded.

"We did. And I managed to get a date for the party on Friday."

This caused Macintosh to burst into laughter. His sister punched him in the shoulder, making him to come to an abrupt stop. She continued with a smile.

"Really? Now who might that be?"

"Seline Jennings. She's Speed Demon's manager. Remember him? The pony I raced awhile ago? When the plane got damaged, he came over and helped me fix it. Seline was there too, and although at first she wasn't too happy about having to help us by using her magic, she eventually came around to the idea. So I asked her out after we were done."
Mac chuckled again.

"Well good fer you, Jake. Can't wait ta meet her someday. In the meantime, let's get some work done. Mr. Mach worked double-time an' got our entire order done already. How, ah'll never know. But he did it. So now, all we have ta do is box up the apples and get them down to the train station ta be distributed."
Jake took a look at the truck and wash bin that were filled to their brims with the red fruit.

"It's about time we get them out of there. That Dodge is going to smell like apple juice for days."
He started to laugh at his own joke. Mac shook his head.

"Y'all confuse me, Jake."
The captain shrugged.

"What can I say? I crack myself up sometimes for the dumbest reasons."
He trotted over to the truck bed and observed the mountain of fruit up close. The rear suspension was showing signs of strain from the weight. The pile was so big, it looked impossible how it could stay in place. It was taller than it was wide. Jake's confusion was put to rest from an explanation by Applejack.

"It looks crazy, don't it? Ah had ta get Twilight over here and cast a spell that would keep the apples in place because the pile was getting so high. We didn't have anywhere else ta put 'em. Otherwise they would get dirty again after all that cleaning."

The three of them pulled the wagon up and parked it next to the apples. Mac dropped the tailgate on it, and with some effort, climbed up on top of the crates.

"Alright, ahm gonna throw these down to y'all one at a time, and Applejack is gonna put the apples in. Remember, sis, that there are thirty apples per crate. Trust me, it took a long time ta git all the math done in findin' out how many apples we got, and how many crates ta get. Ya put any more or any less in one, we're gonna come up short or over. Jake, you take the hammer and nail on the lids once she loads them up. Lets get this done by dinner. Ahm already hungry."

Mac tossed a crate down to Applejack, who immediately began putting apples in. Once thirty was counted, Jake took the lid and set it in place. He then used a hammer she gave him to pound in the eight pre-set nails. Two on each side. He set it aside, and already had another one at his side waiting to be shut. This wasn't going to take long at the rate the two siblings could work.

An hour went by, and the pile was halfway gone on the truck, letting the suspension ease up a bit. Jake had started arranging a neat stack of filled crates. Four wide, four long, and six high. Once one stack was done, he made another right up against the first. So far, he had six of them already done, and was finishing up the seventh when Rarity walked through the front gate and waved to him.

"Good day, Jake!"
The white unicorn cantered over to the three, causing them to stop production. She looked up at Mac, who was on top of the pile of crates, and gestured for him to come down. Applejack smiled and greeted her high-class friend.

"What brings ya here, Rarity?"
The fashionista smiled and set a blue bag down she had been carrying in her saddlebag.

"Well, I know that we're all attending a big party tomorrow night, so I took the liberty of making Jake and Macintosh suits to wear. After all, you simply can't go to a party at the Royal Castle and not look the part."

Jake took out the suit and examined it. It consisted of a sleek black jacket, and a grey collared shirt. A black necktie finished off the ensemble, along with a golden tie clip.

"I love it, Rarity."
The designer batted her eyelashes and shrugged.

"I took the colors from your airplane, and used them to make a suit. Also, look on the shoulders."

Jake held up the jacket, and for the first time noticed that right on the shoulder blade area, were four golden stripes sewn into the fabric, resembling the shoulder boards from his uniform. A huge grin donned his face at the sight.

"I still wanted everypony to know who you were, darling. Your a captain! And ponies need to know that. So I incorporated your uniform into the suit as well."
Jake simply shook his head in amazement.

"I can't express how thankful I am right now. This is perfect."

"And Seline will love it too."
She winked at him, causing Jake to go from happy to confused in an instant.

"How do you know about that already? It's only been a day. Not even."
She giggled and put the suit back in the bag.

"This isn't a large down, dearie. Gossip travels quickly."

"O...ok then."
He turned his focus to the bag she brought.

"Let's see Mac's suit."
Rarity gasped.

"But of course! How could I forget you, Macintosh? Here it is!"
She pulled out another suit. It consisted of a dark green jacket with a white shirt. A necktie matching the green jacket hung on the collar of the shirt, and it had a golden tie clip as well.

"I thought it'd be perfect for you because of who you are. The green and white are some of the colors of nature. I would've given you a red shirt to symbolize the apple, however it would've looked like you had no shirt on at all considering your fur."

The farmer chuckled.

"Ah love it, Rarity. Thanks a lot."
She smiled in appreciation.

"You're very welcome."

She put the suit back and shut the bag.

"Well, I'll leave you three to your work. I have plenty to do myself. I'll see you all tomorrow before we leave. What time, Jake?"

"I would assume around four o'clock out at the plane."

"Very well. Four o'clock then. I'll let the others know too. Ta-ta!"

With that, Rarity turned and trotted out of the farm, heading down the road into town.

Jake took the bag into the house, then came back out to finish the job. For the two and a half hours, they worked non-stop to get the apples boxed up and and full crates back onto the cart. Once they were finally done, they had the wagon filled with boxes, along with the bed of the Dodge. Since the crates were now filled, the load was much too heavy to put all on to one cart, so the truck helped out yet again.

As the sun set, Jake dropped the hitch pin in to place, securing the cart to the back of the pick-up. Tomorrow morning they would get all the fruit delivered to the train station in one go.

That night, Jake came out of the bathroom and was walking down the hall to his room, when Mac opened his door and stopped him.

"Ah wanna thank ya fer all yer help this harvest. Ah know ah've thanked ya already, but I'm gonna a second time. We couldn't have done it without y'all."
He held out his right hoof for the pilot to shake. Jake did so and smiled.

"It wasn't a problem, Mac. Hell, half of it was my fault anyways."
They both broke out into laughter.

"Ahm sorry about yer Ferrari though."
Jake lit up like a Christmas tree.

"I forgot to tell you! Celestia salvaged it, and with magic, restored it to mint condition."
The farmer looked surprised.

"Well there ya go! It seems as if the universe always works itself out in some way. Ya just gotta have a little patience."

"I couldn't have worded it any better, Mac. Well, goodnight. We have a busy day ahead."

"Eeyup. G'night, Jake."
The pilot walked down to his room and went in, immediately falling limp onto the bed and getting under the covers. All the hammering from earlier was starting to catch up to him as he slowly drifted off into a deep sleep. Outside, the timberwolves could be heard, and their howls echoed through the hundreds of harvested apple trees.

Cider+Cigar=Laziness

Steam hissed and covered the platform in a thin layer as the freight train sat at the station. It was a large, black engine with a brass bell and whistle. It looked much different than the normal express train that always ran through. Behind it was a long line of flatcars, boxcars, and tanker cars all filled with various freight ready to be shipped cross-country.

The sun was just coming up over the horizon as the two headlight beams from the Dodge swung around and shone against the wall of the station. Jake and Mac got out and walked over to the platform, trying to find which freight car was theirs.

A station-hand approached the two and held up a clipboard.

"I'm assuming you're Mr. Apple?"

"Eeyup. We're here to load up the apples from this years harvest."

"Very well. Your assigned freight car is right down there."

He pointed to a brown boxcar sitting with its door open about four cars lengths down. Jake went back and pulled the truck around to the door and parked it and got out. Mac went over and stood next to the wagon the truck was pulling, eager to get the job finished quickly.

For the next two hours, the two quickly unloaded the crates and stacked them neatly onto the train. The clock struck eleven AM when it was finally finished, and Mac slid the large door shut and locked it.

"Well Jake, we're finally done with the harvest. All we need ta do is go home an' put this cart away. Then we can finally jes relax."
Jake shut the tailgate on the cart and began walking up to the cab.

"I like the sound of that."

At the Royal Castle, the grand ballroom was all set up for the party. It had a bar area with many small high-tables to stand around surrounding it. The stage was set up for the big-band, and there was a large dance floor in front of it. On the left side of the room was a roped off VIP section for members of the Wonderbolts and other celebrities who were on the list of names.

A couple paparazzi were already there craning their heads in and taking photos of the empty room to publish in whatever magazine or tablet they worked for. The castle guards were already working full time to ensure no one got past the entrance to the ballroom and messed anything up.

The photographers had to make way as three castle servants rolled out a long red carpet starting from the main entrance to the castle all the way down the grand hall and into the ballroom. Luna stepped out of the throne room only to have to jump back as the large roll came flying by her and down the hall. One of the servants stopped to apologize, and after a "it's no big deal" shrug from the Ruler, he was back at it.

Celestia came out and stood next to her sister, watching as banners for the show that read 'The Wonderbolts: A Tribute to the Sun and Moon' , were being hung down from the ceiling. Underneath the red lettering, they were black on the top half, and bright blue on the bottom half. The sun was in the dark half, and the moon in the light half. It sort of resembled the Chinese Ying Yang symbol. In the middle was the official Wonderbolts logo with the wings and lightning bolt clearly recognizable.

The name and theme for the show had been decided by Soarin after hearing Jake's idea for the finale song: Eclipse. He thought it'd be a great way to show their loyalty to their country. What better way than a spectacular air show, right? So far, the party looked like it would be a big success.

Bob Marley played out of Jake's phone as he and Mac sat back on his front porch with cider in one hoof, and a cigar in the other. The farmer never smoked except for rare occasions, and this was definitely one of them.

Jake held his glass up and proposed a toast.

"To a successful harvest."
Mac lifted his mug as well.

"Eeyup."
They both took a long swig, and continued listening to the music.

A little while later, Twilight walked up from the road, and looked at the two in confusion.

"Uh, hey there, guys. What are you doing?"
Mac chuckled and took a puff of his cigar.

"It's weird seein' me not workin', ain't it? Ah'll tell ya what we're doin'. We're finally relaxin' after a long and strenuous harvest. Eeyup, ah have no more work that needs ta be done fer at least a week. Then of course we have ta prepare fer winter. But fer the time being, ahm just gonna sit back and simply do nothin'."
The unicorn smiled.

"Well it's nice to see you finished with your work."
Jake sat up and put his cigar down.

"Is there a reason you came over, Twilight?"

"I came to visit Applejack. We were all going to go to Rarity's and get ready for the party tonight. I'm sure you two don't want to be bothered with it."

"Nah. Not really my cup of tea. I'll just throw on my suit and go. That's kind of how I've always done it."

"You're a last-minute kind of stallion, aren't you?"

"Pretty much."
He took a sip of the cider and picked up his cigar again. Just then, Applejack came out, and shook her head at the sight of the two in their state of laziness. She noticed Twilight and waved.

"Hey, Twilight. We goin' over to Rarity's now?"
She nodded.

"Yup. Thanks for coming with us. I know you're not one for these kind of 'girly' things."
The farm pony shrugged.

"Ain't no big deal. Y'all are mah friends. It'll be fun."

"Ok then. Lets go."
With that, they turned and headed out the gate and down the road, leaving Jake and Mac still inert on the front porch.

Jake lazily looked over and puffed his cigar.

"You know that eventually we'll have to gather the motivation to get up and get ready. It's almost three and I said we'd be out there at four."

"Eeyup. We got plenty o' time."

The Wonderbolts' headquarters were alive as the team rushed around getting ready. The rookies wore their regular suit, while Soarin, Spitfire, Fleetfoot and a few other veterans wore their blue dress uniforms complete with a black tie and golden shoulder boards.

Soarin tightened his tie and turned to Fleetfoot, who was just finishing buttoning his uniform.

"You all set?"

"Yep. You're supposed to say a few words tonight, aren't you?"
He nodded.

"You got anything prepared?"
The captain pulled out a small piece of paper containing his speech and showed it to him. After reading it over, Fleetfoot nodded in approval.

"That's good, mate. Definitely the right choice of words. Lets get going. We only gave two hours and I don't like being one of those celebrities who show up 'fashionably' late. We should be early if anything."
He turned and headed for the door of the locker room. Soarin waved him off.

"Go on ahead. I'll catch up."

"Alrighty, mate. But don't take too long."

"Yeah yeah. I'm your boss, you know. Remember that."
Fleetfoot chuckled and shut the door behind him. He walked out to find the rest of the team all suited up and ready to go.

"Listen up! We just have to wait on our 'boss', and we'll be good to go."
Spitfire smirked.

"He's probably putting on his makeup so the bags under his eyes don't show."
Just then, Soarin came out of the locker room and joined the group.

"For your information, I was going over my speech one last time thank you very much."
The former captain rolled her eyes.

"Ok. Whatever you say. Lets get out of here."

With that the team, led by Soarin and Spitfire, flew out of the headquarters and down the mountainside towards the Capitol City.

The field outside of Ponyville was empty except for seven impatient looking ponies and a large docile airplane. Applejack tapped her toe and looked over at the clock tower.

"They're ten minutes late already."
Pinkie Pie bounced up and down and started to panic.

"If they don't show up then we can't go to the party and if we can't go to the party then we can't find the dessert and if we can't find the dessert then we can't eat the dessert and if we can't eat the dessert then we can't taste how good it is!"
Twilight facehoofed and turned to the energetic pony.

"Pinkie Pie, we'll be fine. They'll be here soon."
Rarity sighed.

"I hope so. My dress is beginning to get a little dirt on it."

They were all wearing the same dresses from the gala a couple months ago except for Jade of course, who was wearing a modern black dress. The fashionista said it fit their personalities so well that they couldn't be topped, so that's what they always went with.

Just as Rainbow Dash was about to fly off and try to find them, two figures could be seen racing out of town and across the field.

Jade, who had been sitting quietly the whole time, rolled her eyes.

"It's about time. Now we can go."

The two finally arrived at the plane, and surprised everyone with their looks. Mac, who had never been one for fancy clothes, wire the suit very well and had his mane combed over.

Jake had his hair spiked at the front, and the black suit with golden shoulder boards went perfectly with it.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack, being the only two not eyeballing them, snapped their friends out of it and gestured towards the plane.

"Uh, Jake?! Can y'all get this thing in the air now? Ah don't wanna be late."
The pilot nodded and opened the access door, waiting for everyone to pile in.

"You'll have to find whatever seat you can since there's so many of us."
Dash raced past everyone and was immediately sitting in the co-pilot seat.

"Shotgun!"

After some situating, all of them were buckled in and ready to go. Jake fired up the engines and spun the plane around. He lowered the flaps and throttled up, making the four Allison Turbo-Props whine with power.

Within a minute, the C-130 had lifted off and was headed for Canterlot.

Jake leveled off and pulled back power to cruising speed, taking off his seatbelt as to not wrinkle his suit too much, causing everyone else to do the same.

Rainbow Dash looked back to the rest of them sitting in jump seats and threw a hoof in the air.

"You guys ready to party?!"
Jade shared the same enthusiasm as the pegasus.

"You know it, Dash. It's gonna be off the charts! VIP passes, paparazzi, anypony whose anypony is going to be there!"
Jake chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"I've been to a lot of parties in my day. But I have a feeling that this one will be the most awesome one I've ever been to."

He throttled up a little, eager to touch down as soon as possible, and set course for the runway. If he squinted, he could already see the spot lights swaying back and forth into the air in front of the castle.

Author's Note

I'm sorry for all the delays with the chapters. My grandpa hasn't been doing too well health wise, and I'm trying to register my car and take my test to get my drivers lisence. I have a lot on my plate right now, but Detour will not stop, I can assure you that. Thank you for reading.

Clones

As evening began to poke its head over the horizon, the castle entrance became packed with a long line of ponies eager to get into the party. Only ones who were on the list, or received a personal invitation from the Wonderbolts or the Princesses themselves were able to get in. However, that didn't stop a lot of hopeful ponies who thought they could smooth talk their way through. Security definitely had their hooves full that night.

As the line shuffled on outside in the front lawn, heads began to turn at the sound of four whining engines. One stallion jumped up and pointed over a rooftop at a large grey machine lumbering into view.

"Look over there!"

The C-130 blasted over the crowd, engines roaring, to make its appearance. Then, as quick as it came, it disappeared behind the castle and lined up for landing on the cloud runway.

Murmurs were scattered throughout the crowd as they discussed and argued over just what the hell that was. Most of the ponies there had seen or heard about the race between Jake and Speed Demon, and were informed about a massive flying machine that was used to transport Jake and his Ferrari. To them, it wasn't as big of a shock.

Inside the ballroom, the guests were just now starting to file in, and the bar was already halfway full with ponies who wanted to get started a little early.

Clef and his band were all set up, and he raised his hoof to strike the downbeat.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HDKKIDArmVk

As he did so, the room was filled with a synthesizer opening, followed by saxophones with sound dissorting devices on their bells. The drummer began an upbeat tempo right when the soloist came in and started the melody.

The dance floor was already beginning to fill up from couples who were just moving to have fun to others who were going all out with their moves.

Luna entered the ballroom, and immediately gravitated towards the bar for a quick drink. The guests had been informed to treat the royalty like any other guest that night. They were not obligated to bow or "make way" for them. It made the two sisters feel more included in the event rather than being the center of attention all the time.

It was this rule they instilled that allowed the Moon Goddess to stroll right up and order a martini without any intimidated stares or bowing loyal subjects. She thanked the bartender and levitated it back to their reserved table in the VIP section with the Wonderbolts to wait for her sister.

Celestia, however, had said she had wanted to wait at the entrance for Twilight and her friends, as they would be arriving all together with Jake on the plane.

Fleetfoot had already downed two shots of whiskey and was going for a third when Soarin grabbed his hoof, laughing at his carelessness.

"You need to watch yourself there, Fleetfoot. We have a big show tomorrow and I wouldn't want you hungover like that one time in Fillydelphia. Remember?"
The stunt pegasus chuckled as he recalled that days events.

"Yeah. I still can't believe that I pulled it off, though."

"You're one lucky son of a bitch. You could've downed yourself and the rest of us in that last stunt the way you were swaying from side to side."
He waved Soarin off like it was no big deal.

"Lets forget about that, mate. Anyways, how about we get some partying in before we're occupied with photo shoots and autographs?"

"Sounds good to me, Fleetfoot."
With that, they stood up and headed out to the dance floor to join up with some other team members who were already in a groove with the music.

Out at the front gate, Jake and the rest finally made their way over from the runway via pegasus chariot that had been waiting for them by order of Celestia.

Seline was waiting at the gate, and had on a sleek white and red striped dress with her signature reading glasses on. Even though she wasn't working at the time, her outfit told everyone that business was what she preferred, and nothing got in her way.

Jake was impressed, and approached her immediately.

"You look amazing, Seline. Much different than back at the runway. I'm not saying that was bad or anything!"
He kicked himself for that last part until the business pony reassured him.

"Don't fret. I get it. I can't even remember the last time I went to a party to actually have fun and not just to convince some young hotshot into becoming a client. This'll be fun."

Mac and Jade were the first ones to walk past and through the gate.

"C'mon, y'all. Ah don't wanna jes stand here while all the fun is inside."
His sister sprang forward, followed by the other five.

"Right behind ya, Big Mac."

As the group approached the entrance, Celestia was waiting for them with a smile.

"Ah you finally made it! I saw the plane fly over, and was hoping that the chariot I sent wasn't late in picking you up."
Twilight smiled.

"No, they were right there when we landed."
Without warning, Pinkie Pie suddenly bounced forward through the small crowd and down the hall towards the ballroom.

"Where are the sweets!?"
Rainbow Dash shook her head and looked up at the Princess.

"Sorry about that. She's crazy when it comes to sweets."
Celestia simply let out a laugh.

"It's quite alright. If anypony were to expect that, it would be me. Now, lets get to the party! There's dancing, drinks, and more dancing. And you all have access to the VIP section. I've seated you all at our table as well."
Rarity beamed and gave a small curtsey.

"That would be wonderful, your Majesty!"

"Alright then, follow me."

The band had moved on to some popular Equestrian hits as the entourage walked in and headed for the VIP section. As they sat down, Soarin came over and said hello. He looked over to Jake and smiled.

"So, you ready for tomorrow?"
The pilot simply smirked and nodded. Soarin was confident in Jake, knowing that an experienced captain like himself would surely know how to handle himself in a situation like tomorrow's show.

Before sitting down, Seline gazed over to the bar across the room.

"I'm going to go over there and get us some drinks. You want anything, Jake?"
Being the well mannered stallion he was, he stood up as well and offered to go with her. They left the roped off section and headed across the dance floor to the bar.

Jade was glancing over at the dancing ponies for a couple minutes, and eventually nudged Mac in the ribs.

"Hey, lets go dance."
The farmer shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Uh, ah ain't really the greatest of dancers. Why don't you ask Starfyre to dance when he gets here. Ah know ya haven't really met him, but he's a nice stallion and probably a much better dancer than me."
Twilight looked over from her conversation with Celestia in confusion.

"Yeah, what's up with that? I thought he would've been here by now."

Applejack shrugged.

"Ahm sure that he's jes runnin' a little late. Nothin' ta worry about."

Just then, a loud, high pitched revving sound could be heard in the Grand Hallway. The crowd of party goers stopped their conversations and dancing to try and figure out just what the heck it was.

Jake, who was sitting at the bar with Seline, looked behind him just as the red Ferrari rolled into the ballroom, causing the near crowd to want a closer look. The paparazzi were snapping photos left and right while it slowly drove up to the stage. It stopped right at the front and shut off. The drivers door opened, and to Jake's surprise, Starfyre got out.

As the technician was waving and posing for pictures with the car, a furious looking Jake pushed his way through the throng of onlookers, and marched straight up to him.

"How in the hell did you get this here?!"
Starfyre chuckled and put a hoof on his shoulder, leaning in to tell him a secret.

"Yeah this isn't yours, buddy. When Celestia and Luna finished restoring yours, which by the way was simply magically charged since they had no idea how to fix the engine, they cloned like thirty of these things. There's an entire abandoned mineshaft under the city that was converted into a secure garage filled with them. And get this! They have like all different colors, too! It's crazy. So I simply went down there, and with my security access codes, got in and drove one over here. I thought it'd make a nice display, and I wanted to arrive in style. You know me."
Jake, who was still processing the information, was bombarded with press asking questions about the car and tomorrow's show. He did his best to try and answer some about how the plane worked and what they could expect to see in the show. He finally had had enough, and walked away in the middle of it all and rejoined his table with Seline and Starfyre. The Ferrari had been lifted with magic up on stage to the right of the band by some of the caste guards, and became a hotspot for the press and ponies wanting a good photo or two.

Jake, after digesting the information about the cloned cars, lifted his drink into the air and smiled, causing Celestia and his friends to do the same. He'd remember to have a word to the princesses about their secret garage filled with supercars later.

"I propose a toast. To one hell of a party, and one hell of an air show."
They clinked their drinks around the table and all took a sip.

Mac however, finished his off in one go and sighed in defeat. He looked over at Jade and stood up with an outstretched hoof.

"Alright, lets go dancin'."
Applejack laughed as the two made their way out to the floor.

"Get ready for a show, everypony."

First Circle

After a couple hours, the party was in full swing. Many guests were simply milling about talking to each other, and a few were still taking photos with the Ferrari. The band had moved on to some lighter pieces, causing the mood to go from hyped up to laid back and casual.

Jake finished his third drink at the table and sighed. He turned to Mac, who had just finished his dance session with Jade, making him tired and in need of a good sit-down.

"You know, Mac, I never knew you could dance like that. Most guys back where I come from would kill to have that talent."
The farmer chuckled and took a swig from his drink.

"Ah never advertised it too much. Mostly 'cause ah don't go out anywhere where ya can dance. This is the first time ah've been to a party in a long time. That night at Trios was the only outing ah've had."
Fleetfoot chimed in from across the table, his slurred voice allowing no doubt that he had had one too many.

"Now I think...I think your *hiccup*...dancing was...was....was hot. Hehehe....hot...the sun is hot. Princess Celestia...controls the *hiccup*...sun. Therefore Princess Celestia is-"
He was cut off by a hoof-in-the-mouth from Soarin.

"Ok there, Fleetfoot, I think you've had enough."
He slid the drink out of his reach and sat back in his chair again. The inebriated Wonderbolt felt around for the glass for a second before giving up and passing out on the table.
Just as Jake was about to comment, Celestia walked over to the table and playfully shook her head at the sight of Fleetfoot.

"Even though I'm flattered, I must say, he really needs to watch his drinking."
Spitfire sat motionless from what the Princess had just said.

"D...did you hear what Fleetfoot was saying, your Highness?"
Celestia laughed and waved it off with a hoof.

"Please, think nothing of it. I've been around long enough to know how things get when you've had one too many. Anyways, I came over here to tell Soarin that it's time for him to say a few words. Good luck."

The Wonderbolt Captain finished off his drink and cleared his throat. He stood up and nodded to the table before he quietly walked up to the stage.

The band hit a soft chord to signal the end of the ballad, and Clef waved him up. As the applause died down, the director turned to the crowd and bowed.

"Thank you! Thank you very much. Now, before we close out tonight with one last piece, the Captain of the Wonderbolts, Soarin, would like to say a few words."
He handed him the mic, and the crowd cheered and applauded at his appearance. He nodded a few times in thanks before they calmed down enough so he could speak.

"Ok. Well, what can I say. Fleetfoot is drunk and I'm on my way there so it looks like everything's covered already."
The ballroom rippled with laughter before he continued.

"We've had a great season this year. Probably one of the best since I've been on the team. I was appointed captain a couple years back by the former captain, Spitfire. She wanted more time for herself and to not have the stress of leading the team anymore, so she passed it on to me knowing how bad I wanted it. I can't thank her enough for that."
He waved to the table, and she waved back with a look of embarrassment on her face. He cleared his throat and continued on.

"The name of the show tomorrow is called The Wonderbolts: A Tribute to the Sun and Moon. Why, you ask? Well, it's not just because our two Leaders represent the celestial bodies, even though that is a big part. It's also about unity. It's about the fact that even though two things may be completely different, the world cannot function without them. It's about pulling together as a team and creating one last show that will leave the audience in awe. If we aren't united, we fall. If we fall, we die. Well, at least in our case we die. You guys probably just get a scrape and a bandaid."
Again, laughter filled the room.

"Unity is what makes the world go 'round day after day. It's what allows a weather team to keep the sky in order, or a chariot team to get where they need to go. It's what lets a massive aircraft soar into the sky without pegasus wings or magic...and it's what lets a stunt team do what they were born to do. So I hope that you all can appreciate the meaning of unity, because without it, we would fall."
There was a long pause before he went on.

"You might wonder: why is Soarin giving a speech like this? Well, I'll tell you. Not only is this our last show of the season, it's our last show forever."
There were gasps and uproars from the crowd, and Soarin had to raise a hoof to get them to be quiet.

"Listen, we've all talked this over many times, and have come to a mutual agreement. We're getting older now and some of these stunts are going to become much more challenging. We've had a good run, and are stepping down and letting a new era of Wonderbolts fill our spots. You'll find out whom next season."
Rainbow Dash fainted at hearing this, and had to be supported by Pinkie-Pie who swooped in from the dessert table just as she was about to hit the floor. Soarin spoke up once more.

"So, I am here to bid all of you a formal farewell. The show tomorrow may be our last...but it will definitely be our best. Good night, everypony."
With that, he stepped off stage with a look of content and quickly made his way into the VIP section. Security had to constantly bar off reporters and other fans whom wanted to ask questions and take pictures.

All the captain did was sit back down and smile. Spitfire walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"You handled that perfectly, Soarin."

"Thanks. I'm glad this is happening. I love being a stunt flyer, but I want to do more with my life. It's time to let somepony else take the reins. Whaddya think, Fleetfoot?"

"I...I think...toads..."

"Very well put, my friend."
Around the table, there were mixed emotions about his speech. Jake for one, was astonished at the news.

"Wow. I can't believe you're doing this. I mean, I understand why, it's just that its such big news you delivered so suddenly. How come I wasn't informed sooner?"
Spitfire shrugged.

"We hadn't really made a final decision until yesterday. We thought it'd be best to keep it a secret. In today's media-hyped world, you know how rumors can spread like wildfire."
Seline chuckled at the thought.

"Trust me, in my line of work, half my job is keeping those rumors at bay to keep my clients reputation intact. It's worse than you think."
Twilight and the rest, who had been over at some other tables talking with Shining Armor and Cadence, walked over to talk about what they had just heard. Rainbow Dash, whom had awoken from her shock, looked at Soarin and begged him not to quit.

"Please! Nopony else will be as good as you guys! You need to keep flying for Celestias sake!"
He simply shook his head.

"We've made our decision, Dash. Trust me, it'll all work itself out in a couple of months."
Applejack nodded in agreement.

"Well, ah support y'all's choice. It's yer life anyhow. You should be the one that controls it."
They all turned to the stage as Clef got up to the microphone and nodded to the band.

"Alrighty then! I want to thank you all for coming out here tonight and giving us the opportunity to share our music with you. We're going to close it out tonight with one of my personal favorites. This one is dedicated to the Princesses of Equestria. Take it away, boys!"

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PF2Uf4T1PPk

An intricate clapping rhythm opened the song, followed by a saxophone and flugelhorn solo.

Jake instantly recognized it as The First Circle by Pat Metheney, but wondered how the hell they even knew about it. He made a note to ask Clef later.

Everyone sat around and took in the music as they played. The song went all over, taking the listener on a journey through their own imagination. Celestia and Luna were sitting at the table next to them, and were entranced in its sophistication and sound.

After nine minutes of musical ecstasy, Sticcato led the trumpets in a loud uptempo wail as the songs finale ended, leaving the audience cheering and applauding.

Clef turned and addressed the crowd one last time before exiting.

"I found that one on Jake's music device thing, and loved it so much I had to transpose it for our band. That was called The First Circle. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you all, and have a wonderful night. And to the Wonderbolts: good luck with the show tomorrow. I'm sure it will be spectacular."

Clef, followed by his band, exited the stage and out the back door of the ballroom. Jake stood up and let out a yawn.

"Well, this party was great. Seline, thanks for coming with me. It was really nice getting to know you."
She smiled and gave him a hug.

"The feeling is mutual, Jake. I'll be at the show tomorrow, too. You can't get rid of me just yet."
They both laughed as Celestia walked over to them.

"Everypony except for Jake and Rainbow Dash is welcome to stay at the castle tonight."
She turned to the pilot and the pegasus.

"You two are needed at the headquarters for the night since you need to start getting ready early in the morning. A guard will be waiting outside for you all to escort you to your respective rooms. I'll see all of you bright and early tomorrow for breakfast in the dining hall. Goodnight!"
She turned and walked away, joining up with Luna and making their way out as a duo.

Everyone waited as the rest of the guests filed out, leaving just them and a couple of servants who were cleaning up. Jake looked around and sighed.

"Well, we better get to sleep. It's a big day tomorrow."
Twilight chimed in.

"One that definitely won't be forgotten."
Spitfire and Soarin counted to three and lifted Fleetfoot up in unison. They hovered up and nodded to Jake and the rest.

"We'll see you back at headquarters. We need to get him to bed. Night."

"The...word *hiccup*...bed...actually looks like...a...a bed. Hehehehe *hiccup*."
They flew out the door and back to headquarters, wasting no time in the process. Jake and Rainbow Dash said their goodbyes and walked out as well, getting in a pegasus chariot to take them back on the account that Jake simply did not have wings.

Twilight and her friends were shown to their rooms, and settled in for the night around twelve AM.

Luna's moon shone brightly, and the stars danced on the sky causing one of the clearest nights in a long time.

Author's Note

Song: The First Cirlce originally by Pat Metheney. Video performed by Bob Curnow's LA Big Band.

Anticipation

The morning air was crisp and cool as it blew through the mountainside. Celestia's sun rose over the horizon, creating an orange glow along the valley.

In the Wonderbolts headquarters, a very nervous-looking pilot tightened the tie on his Captain's uniform in front of a locker mirror. Fleetfoot came up behind him and patted his shoulder.

"Ya nervous, mate?"
He cleared his throat, still having a hint of sleep in his voice.

"Yeah, a little bit. I've flown for most of my life, but never have I performed in front of a large crowd like this."

Rapidfire, who had just finished putting on his uniform and was making his way out to the main foyer, overheard and stopped by the two to put some reassurance into the pilot.

"Don't worry, Jake. On my first show, I screwed up and took out Spitfire in a nosedive. I'm not saying you're going to mess up, but it can happen to anypony."
Fleetfoot gave a deadpanned stare at him.

"Yeah you're not helping, lad. Move along and go through your moves in your head so something like that doesn't happen again, alright?"
He rolled his eyes and walked away.

"Fine."
Fleetfoot directed his attention over to the back door of the locker room, where Spitfire and Soarin were entering after getting ready themselves. They joined the two, Soarin offering a reassuring nod to Jake.

"You'll do just fine. This is going to be the best show Equestria has ever seen."
Spitfire bobbed her head in agreement.

"We're going to go out in style, for sure."

The four walked out into the foyer to meet up with the rest of the team. The remaining nine members, along with Starfyre and Rainbow Dash, turned their attention to their Captain, awaiting his orders.

Soarin gulped, not out of nervousness, but of anticipation for the coming events. He waited until the room fell silent, and began.

"My fellow Wonderbolts, this will be the last time we perform together. I know I gave some closure at the party last night, but I wanted to tell you guys in person, just us, as one brother and sisterhood. Over the years I have had numerous amazing experiences with you. Wether it was performing a show, hosting a charity event, doing kid's birthday parties, or simply hanging out in the lounge and shooting a game of pool. No matter how important or unimportant the event was, it was still meaningful to me because it was with all of you."
He turned to Jake, who was beside him dressed in his full black uniform with the shoulder boards and golden wings on his chest.

"Jake, even though we haven't known each other for a long time, the same applies to you. I can't thank you enough for your efforts this past month. I know things have been hard for you in the past, but you pulled through and remained right with us the whole time. I tip my hat to that."
He then addressed Rainbow Dash, who was dressed in her own Wonderbolt uniform.

"Dash, just like Jake, I want to thank you for your efforts. You have accomplished in one month what a normal pegasus would take at least a year to do. So go out there and show Equestria what you're made of!"
He faced the rest of his team and yelled out across the room in a loud, demanding voice.

"Now who are we?!"
They responded in unison.

"Wonderbolts!"

"What are we?!"

"The best of the best!"

"And why are we the best of the best?!"

"To beat all the rest!"

"Who are we?!"

"Wonderbolts!"

"Who are we?!"

"Wonderbolts!"

"WHO! ARE! WE?!"

"WONDERBOLTS!"
He raised his hoof in the air and pointed to the front door.

"Then let's prove it to Equestria!"
The now energetic team ran out the front door into the sunny morning, eager to get flying. The massive C-130 sat at the end of the runway, ready to go.

The team landed by the plane, six on each side positioned behind and outward from the wings, Soarin up front leading the pack. Jake and Starfyre ran to the access door, which was already opened. The technician went ahead, but the pilot stopped. He took one long look at his aircraft, slowly pulled out his captains hat, and put it on, twisting it into place. He then unfolded a pair of black aviators sunglasses from his pocket and put them on, giving a sly smile in the process.

"Ok, now I'm ready."
Soarin chuckled with amusement as Jake made his way into the cockpit and shut the door behind him.

In a matter of seconds, the four props fired up and were whining with power, creating a windstorm behind them.

The two Sabre rockets were positioned and ready when needed whenever Starfyre pressed the ignition trigger in the cockpit.

Soarin took one long breath and focused his attention to the valley ahead where the show would take place. In one swift motion he kicked off and began the flight to Canterlot.

Jake throttled up, and slowly increased speed as he followed Soarin down the runway. The Wonderbolt captain took his time, knowing that the plane simply could not keep up with a full speed pegasus takeoff.

In a minute or so, Jake was up to full speed, the team bringing up the rear on either side. He pulled back on the yoke and lifted off the tarmac, which quickly ended and left nothing but the valley far below.

The Wonderbolts on the sides kicked their back legs together, activating a blue smoke trail. Six jets were formed all parallel to each other, as the aircraft formed the centerpiece. They were on their way.

In Canterlot, ponies of all ages lined the edge of the city to look out at the valley beyond. They sat on roofs, wagons, and any other perch they could find. The main crowd was at the center of the cliff in a large courtyard area that had been converted to house rows upon rows of spectators.

Celestia and Luna sat in the very center in the back row, perched upon a throne surrounded by the Royal Guard. At their sides were Shining Armour, Cadance, and in a special raised bleacher just to their right, Twilight and her friends. Mac, along with Selina and Jade were there as well.

Applejack, who was sitting next to her brother, shifted around in anticipation.

"Ah can't wait one more minute! This has ta start soon!"
Mac chuckled.

"In good time, sis. Ahm sure they're jes getting ready and what not."

Pinkie Pie jumped up, sending popcorn flying over some of the ponies below.

"She's right! I'm going insane just waiting here! When will it start?!"
Twilight rolled her eyes and tried to talk some sense into the party pony, which, being the intelligent unicorn she was, should've been obvious it wasn't going to work.

"Pinkie, just wait and relax. It's going to start very soon, I know it."

Suddenly, a deep bass note rang over the entire valley. Instantly, the crowd went wild, knowing it was about to begin. Then, a soft, mysterious female voice spoke over the crowd and bass note, narrating the intro.

"In the beginning, our planet was formed with earth, air, and water. It sat inert, in the cold depths of space. However, there were two important elements that completed this concoction. Two essential items to sustain life as we know it. They were...the sun...and the moon."
The crowd roared at the mentioning of the celestial bodies. The voice continued.

"It doesn't matter how young or old, rich or poor, or tall or short you are. In the end...we all live here...together. So look to the pony beside you, and realize that we are all one. All one spinning 'round and 'round on this planet. Now...look out to the valley beyond...and enjoy the show."

Author's Note

In the next chapter, I would encourage you to listen to at least the first song to get an idea of the mood and setting for the show. Thanks for reading!

Eclipse

"Here they come!"

"Look over there!"

"That's awesome!"

The crowd roared as the formation came into view, making a large arc from a good distance to show off the C-130's impressive wingspan. Suddenly, the music started.

http://ww9.mp3juices.com/download/4259v4/28900585/61174288/0dbed92ba0d4/pat-metheny-group---we-live-here-(s.-jam)

A fast-paced jungle rhythm began, and the two Wonderbolts on either end broke off and make a huge loop, forming a double circle with their smoke trails.

Jake banked left and began a go-around at high speeds. Rainbow Dash, Soarin, and Spitfire circled back and formed a triangle. They flew right through the circles that were made and headed right towards the audience.

The other four stayed below and circled, waiting for their cue to come in. Suddenly, out of the left side of Canterlot, the C-130 thundered past in a complete ninety degree wide banked turn. It's belly faced the crowd, and they drew back in awe of the massive aircraft.

Then, right on cue, the trio of pegasi rocketed forward right towards the crowd and pulled up and twisted into the sky. They were blocked out by the suns glare as the four below made a wider corkscrew upwards in their wake.

Out of no where, a long, thin stretch of cloud with a thin strip of concrete was conjured up by some unicorns who were positioned below the audience on a perch of the cliff.

Jake pulled back the throttles a little and came back around to face the city. Starfyre laughed in amusement and held on to the edges of his seat.

"Ok here we go, Jake! Don't mess this one up."

Without hesitation, he dropped full flaps, lowered the landing gear, and tilted the nose down.

Shining Armor, along with Cadance and some if the guards there, yelled in amazement as the plane delicately touched its nose gear down on the concrete strip and flew down the length of it.

Mac laughed and shook his head.

"Ah tell ya, Jake is crazy sometimes!"

As the music built up, the synthesizer melody became more intense with it. Jake pulled out of his nose touch and raised the flaps and gear, banking off to the right to set up for his next trick.

The first songs ending was coming up, and as the volume increased, all seven pegasi changed course and started flying towards a single point. At first, it looked like they would hit, but as the last notes blasted the audience, they made a seven pointed cross with their smoke and all banked out to the valley for the second part of the show.

The crowd went wild at the first display of aerobatics. Pinkie Pie could barely be contained in her seat as she jumped and screamed the loudest out of anyone there, prompting some of the more "up-tight" residents of Canterlot to turn in bewilderment.

Without warning, a heavy rock song began to blast through the valley. It was a medium tempo backbeat with heavy electric guitar, setting up the mood for some more intense stunts.

In the cockpit, the music rang throughout. Jake, one hoof on the throttle, one on the yoke, looked over at Starfyre and smirked.

"This is where shit gets crazy."
Starfyre held his hoof in the air and spun it around in the "go ahead" gesture.

"Hit it, buddy."
Jake banked hard left, and rolled the plane over completely. The crowd went nuts as the six Wonderbolts formed a single file line on the upright belly of the aircraft and struck a surfing pose. The plane headed straight for the crowd, and just as it was about to get too close for comfort, the team jumped up and, in single file line, arced skywards while Jake pulled back and started diving since the controls were inverted. As he rumbled underneath the cliff, he left the audience on the edges of their hooves at the anticipation of a crash, however, the skilled pilot barely missed the cliff face and started leveling off heading back out towards the valley.

Starfyre had his head in his lap from the g-force, and was hysterically laughing at the thrill of the ride.

Up in the sky, Rainbow Dash hovered above the rest of the team as they formed a tight circle and started flying down. She quickly caught up and formed the center piece.

As they were coming down, they started leveling off slowly in the direction of Canterlot. Jake, on the other hand, was still coming up from his dive. The two groups headed straight for each other, and just as they were about to collide, Rainbow Dash and the top half of the circle split off from the bottom half just as the C-130 sailed right through the middle, the props missing Soarin's hooves by mere inches.

Fluttershy covered her eyes and shook her head in fear.

"I don't know if I can watch anymore!"

Mac looked over to Jade, who was head-banging to the music. He raised an eyebrow at the sight. Without stopping she yelled over the rock.

"It's called The Pegasus Freefall! My jam!"

Back in the sky, the song hit its final beat as the team rose into the clouds and out of sight. The plane was all that remained as it circled out in the distance. The mysterious female voice suddenly broke the silence.

"Day by day...hour by hour...minute by minute...second...by second......we live our lives under the strict law of time. Always moving forward, propelling us...advancing us through the continuum. What will happen when time stops? Our bustling world runs off of time. Without it, there wouldn't be any order, nothing to stem from. We'd be lost in a continuous monotony of confusion and emptiness. Thankfully, just as the sun rises everyday, time keeps on ticking. Out in the valley beyond, there's something else that's ticking, however, it won't keep ticking for long."
She gave a quiet, ominous laugh.

"I would cover my ears if I were you."

In the cockpit, Starfyre was bouncing up and down with excitement as he eyeballed the rocket detonator along with the countdown clock mounted to the dash board for timing purposes. Jake got into position, which was to the far right of the crowd, and looked over to give the go ahead.

"Just remember to save enough fuel for the end. Please?"
He simply nodded and, as the clock struck zero, clicked the button.

BOOM! The entire crowd whipped their heads to the north as the Sabres shot fire and white smoke out the back of the plane. Jake and Starfyre were pressed against their seats from the force. They quickly accelerated to over 450mph, which was in the danger zone for stress levels. However, Jake knew the plane could take the beating as he approached the city.

The two princesses watched in awe as the aircraft whipped across the sky and right by the city in a high-speed pass. The audience went nuts as the noise became deafening.

As he completed the pass, Starfyre shut the rockets down and they slowed. Jake banked out right and flew out in the distance to set up for the next trick. The voice came back on.

"That was exciting! Was it not?"

For the next hour, the crowd was entertained at the sight of flips, barrel rolls, and the plane performing all sorts of maneuvers. It was something that Jake was proud of. Something that he would never forget. Finally, he pulled out of his last roll and dove down to the bottom of the valley to set up for the next trick. The finale.

The Wonderbolts flew down from the clouds and hovered in a long line, Rainbow Dash in the very middle. The voice rang out over the crowd.

"The planet we live on is a strange place. It does not yield to the doings of pony-kind. We are it's guests, and must treat it as so. It doesn't try to erase us, it welcomes us. The sun and moon spin 'round in harmony, keeping our planet happy and full of life. Maybe that's why it's let us stay here for so long, because our great leaders have control over its most important asset. Is it possible that WE have power over our planet?........Well....look upon your world.....what do you see?"

The first chord of Eclipse blasted through the valley as Soarin, Spitfire, Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot, and Rapidfire all shot up into the clouds to get set up. The two team members remaining stayed down below to entertain while the trick was being prepared. The song was in three four time, and sounded like a rock/waltz. Therefore, their tricks were long, arcing motions that went along with the timing of the music. The lyrics began as the crowd swayed and cheered.
All that you touch.
And all that you see.
All that you taste
All you feel

They flew towards each other and locked hooves as they passed, spinning around in circles and releasing going the opposite direction.
And all that you love
And all that you hate
All you distrust
All you save

Up above, the rest of the team reached their altitude. They were almost twenty thousand feet above Canterlot. They had been magically charmed to not freeze in the cold temperatures. Soarin came over the radio and spoke to everyone before the trick began.
And all that you give
And all that you deal
And all that you buy
Beg, borrow, or steal

Twenty-five thousand feet below, the C-130 was almost skimming the treetops it was so low. Soarin's voice was audible over the music as the two listened in.

"Ok Jake, you're in position, right?"

"Yeah I'm all good."

"Ok team...lets do this."
As the music picked up, the five above began to dive in a wide square. Soarin, Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Rapidfire made up each corner, while Rainbow Dash was positioned right in the center. They were all distanced about a hundred yards from each other, as the end result would need plenty of room. Her head was spinning with thoughts of failure and disappointment, but she quickly shrugged it off and picked up speed.
And all you create
And all you destroy
And all that you do
All you say

Her eyes began to water as she neared her target speed. The other four followed right with her as five separate sonic cones began forming on each of their hooves.
All that you eat
And everyone you meet
And all that you slight
And everyone you fight

Jake pulled up and entered a vertical climb, aimed right for the rapidly descending Rainbow Dash. Starfyre held his breath waiting for the right time to hit the rockets again.
And all that is now
And all that is gone

The sonic cones became bigger as they appeared from the clouds, only having another eight thousand feet to work with. The crowd cheered as they approached near supersonic speeds.
And all that's to come
And everything under the sun is in tune

Starfyre hit the rockets and they blasted up even faster.
But the sun is eclipsed by the moooooooooooooon.
And as the last note was struck, it happened. All five pegasi at once broke the sound barrier, causing five separate sonic rings to form. The four on the outside were blue, while Rainbow Dash pulled off the Sonic Rainboom and made hers all colors of the spectrum. They all pulled up and hovered as Jake corkscrewed the plane upwards and thundered right through the center of the rainbow colored ring.

They bowed as the crowd went nuts. Jake leveled off and turned back to land at the airport. He'd meet up with the others later.

Twilight and her friends went wild and yelled out Dash's name over and over again.

The sonic rings dissipated just as the voice came on one last time.

"Never forget to look around once in awhile. You might miss something."

Sequel

Here's the link to the sequel. Enjoy!
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/151647/the-road-to-uprise

A Vector To Unexpected Places

The engines roared as the wheels lifted off of the runway. The pilot looked out at the blue sky above as he pulled back and ascended.

"Salt Lake tower, I am clear of airport airspace, turning south to one eighty degrees."

"Roger Whiskey One, you are clear to proceed. Have a nice flight."

Captain Jake Weston was one of the best. He had graduated top in his class at North Slate University's School of Aviation and landed himself a comfy job as a private pilot for a private contracting company who does odd jobs for the highest bidder. He was about 6" 1' with black hair. He wasn't overweight but knew he should probably get out and about a little bit more. He had always taken flying seriously when he was working. When he was in his own aircraft, a Piper Cub, he was not as "serious", if you would say.

This "comfy" job found him sitting in the cockpit of a C-130 Hercules bound for Las Vegas. They had been contracted to fly a couple of automobiles out there for the 2013 Las Vegas Auto Show. A pristine red Ferrari 458 Italia was sitting in the rear cargo hold covered and secured twice over by the over-protective owner. But hey, if you owned a 240,000 dollar car you'd be a little protective too. To the left of it, for reasons Jake couldn't quite grasp, was a 2013 black Dodge Ram 3500 with a lift kit and custom stacks behind the cab. The polar opposites of automobiles in the back amused him, and he wondered who decided to put the two together on the same flight. It was not taken well by him at first however, due to the extreme weight differences between the two cars extra weight needed to be added to the right side where the Italia was sitting. What was even more confusing, was why the extra weight was created by using 22. ammunition stored in official US Army crates. The flight plan told him the Las Vegas armory needed the ammo and used his aircraft as a free ride to get it out there. He didn't ask questions though, he just flew wherever they told him to go.

His copilot was absent. Being a small company consisting of only 20 pilots they couldn't afford to use two per flight, so they flew solo. Jake didn't mind however, he enjoyed the time to think and the silence, except for the constant drone of the four turbo prop engines gracing the wings of his aircraft. The silence was interrupted though when the controller on the radio spoke up, "Whiskey One, this is Shelby tower in Nevada to Whiskey One, do you copy? "

Jake replied, "Shelby tower this is Whiskey One, I read you, what's the matter?"

"Whiskey One you are approaching restricted airspace near Area 51, we request that you vector out to the southeast to a heading of two four niner degrees and descend to ten thousand feet."

"Uh, Shelby tower I read you. Why the descent though?"

"Whiskey One you have been spotted by officials here at the airport and they just wanna keep an eye on you while you pass considering you're flying an aircraft commonly used by the military. When your past the next NDB your cleared to continue your previous course and altitude."

"Shelby tower, I read you, descending to ten thousand and turning to two four niner. Whiskey One out."

"Whiskey One acknowledged, have a good day."

In the depths of Area 51, nobody on the planet except for the five men in the room and the President of the United States himself knew what was going on. The five men stood in a semicircle around a grey canon aiming straight up, glowing with an electric blue charge and humming a deep droning sound that gently vibrated the floor of the room. The canon resembled a flak gun used in WWII, but three times as large and more powerful than anything ever imagined.

"Safety off." Said the leader of the group. He was what any "mad" scientist would be portrayed as. Short, crazy white hair, and goggles perched atop his head. "Good, the accelerator is stable, crank up the power and prepare the canon for its test fire!"

One of the other men spoke up, "Sir are you sure about this? The atom transporter isn't certified yet and I don't think this shaft can withstand the power this canon can wield." He was right. The shaft that went straight up for a mile to the desert in order to concentrate the contents of whatever they were testing at that time wasn't built to withstand that much power. But Dr. Navorno didn't want to hear of it.

"No! The shaft will hold I guarantee you. Dr. Draplen, begin the firing sequence! When this is successful, humans will have mastered the art of bending the space time continuum. All this canon needs to do is focus a beam of energy on a test subject, and the energy will warp time by reaching the speed of light, and virtually teleport it into the future!"

One of the men spoke up, "Doctor we know how it works, why are you explaining it again?"

"To remind you of it's greatness my boy! To remind you of it's greatness. However I do value the life of anything. So before we put in a test subject, lets do a dry fire and just test the beam itself."

Dr. Draplen acknowledged, "If you say so doctor. Ok men get behind the barrier and put on the eye shields...this is gonna be one hell of a blast."

The men all got behind a steel barrier with triple-layered bullet proof glass, and awaited the fate of the canon in front of them.

Dr. Navorno shouted "Ready............for the love of Newton I hope this works.........FIRE!!!" The entire room was illuminated with a piercing blue and white electric light and all thoughts were drown out by the immense sound of the canon. The blue beam shot out and up the shaft, reverberating off the walls. It was holding. However, the multiple layers off pads to absorb the shot a mile up didn't, and the beam ripped through them like tin foil and through the crusted desert earth, up into the blue yonder.

Ten thousand feet up Jake was listening to Pink Floyd, his favorite band when the shit hit the fan.

"High fidelity first class traveling think I need me a leeeeear jet! What the?!" Jake turned off the stereo to look out at the blue beam rocketing into the sky from the ground. He was only about a half mile away and the blinding light forced him to bank hard to the left and shield his eyes.

What was forgotten by Jake, was the fact that the C-130 was made out of aluminum, which made it a virtual lightning rod to stuff like the beam now behind him. The beam flailed around as it reached its maximum altitude and immediately found the massive aircraft unintentionally in the way of its random course. The entire airplane shuddered and Jake was thrown forward, banging his head on the yoke and taking him to the magical land of unconiousness.

Back at Shelby tower, the controller was sitting at his desk when he looked at his radar and saw it. His hand trembled as he set his coffee down and looked over to his co-worker, "Um, Andy? I...I think you might wanna take a look at this. It appears that Whiskey One has disappeared off the map."

Deep in the bowels of the secret base, Dr. Navorno, Dr. Draplen, and the other three scientists looked on in quiet shock as the canon stopped its firing and sat there, sizzling. The only thing that was different was the dim light that seemed to illuminate the barrel of the canon as well as the walls of the shaft. The five men walked underneath and looked up, expecting to see nothing, but instead gazing up at a blue speck which was unmistakably the sky. Dr. Navorno stood motionless as he looked up. "Well...shit."

Author's Note

Thanks for reading the first chapter everyone! Many more to come. Song: Money by Pink Floyd

Breakfast of Unfortunate Events

Jake slowly regained consciousness as the C-130 lumbered on with it's autopilot, seemingly unscathed. "Ugh, what the hell happened?" He sat up and looked around the cockpit, until he got to a mirror that was mounted on the control panel. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! What the hell happened to me!?"

Jake expected to see his face when he looked at himself, just like anyone else, instead he saw what seemed to be a brown horse with a black mane in his place. He looked down, and saw he was still wearing his uniform, and it fit his new body perfectly for some reason. He examined his hands which were now brown hooves. He looked out the window and saw nothing but a valley with woods below him, bordered by a mountain range. "I don't think I'm in Nevada anymore..." he whispered. Then once again, Jake was taken to the magical land of unconciousness. The aircraft continued its course. Disturbing the quiet valley with it's engines filling the valley below with a quiet hum, headed straight for a distant castle perched on the side of a mountain where the valley curved.

The royal pony sisters were sitting out on the deck to the tallest tower of the castle enjoying breakfast, the one time they got to see each other other than royal duties. With Celestia raising the sun in the morning, and Luna raising the moon at night, their schedules didn't allow them to interact that often except for this one meal.

"Sister I'm just saying, if we got the guards to comply, being the rulers of Equestria I think it shan't be difficult; we would have enough ponies to break the record for the longest wave in the world!" Luna spoke confidently of this idea to her sister, who didn't see it as importantly as her.

Celestia put down her toasted bagel and laughed, "Luna, you need to stop worrying about that record. What would you accomplish anyways? You're the co-ruler of our great land. How would the citizens of Equestria look at you if they knew you were wasting time on things like that instead of our nation's issues and state? Luna are you listening to me...Luna?"

Luna stopped listening to her sisters reasoning halfway in to focus her attention on a black speck heading straight for them in the distance. "Tia, look out there. What is it?"

Celestia turned around and followed her sisters hoof pointing north up the valley until her eyes fell upon what looked to be a dot with two extensions on either side jutting straight out. "I don't know for sure Luna, but it doesn't look like a pegasus, nor a griffon. I'm going to find out right now." Celestia got up from their meal and walked into the tower room to summon a guard with the telescope they use to watch over Canterlot. A white, armored Royal Guard pony ascended the spiral staircase with haste, telescope in hoof.

"Thank you corporal. Alert the other guards in the immediate facility to be on high alert just incase this 'thing' is dangerous. I don't know what it is yet or what it's capable of."

The guard bowed and replied, "Yes your highness, it shall be done immediately."

"Thank you corporal." And with that he left and descended down the spiral staircase immediately to follow through with is new set of orders.

"Tia hurry with that telescope! This thing is much faster than I anticipated!" Celestia ran out to Luna who was right in saying so. The black dot was no longer a dot, and it was much closer than before. She raised the telescope up to her eye and looked on. She saw a clear image of a cylinder with a window at the front and wings on either side with four spinning rotors, two on each one. In the back, there were two smaller wings arranged in the same orientation as the wings up front, and one wing standing vertically in the center between the two smaller wings. The entire thing was a dark grey and had a weird symbol on the vertical wing that appeared to be a flag with red and white stripes and a blue square adjourned with white dots in the top left corner. On the side of the main cylinder there was white lettering that read 'American Flightline'.

"What is it Tia? Let me see!" Luna snatched the telescope away from her sister and looked out at the same thing she saw. "Is it an airship? It doesn't have a balloon on it though." she said.

Celestia was worried now. "Luna, go downstairs and wait. This thing looks suspicious. If it gets too close I'm going to have to label it a threat. It's not something I like to do, for I am not one to quickly jump to conclusions without evidence. Yet I can't risk the population of Canterlot, or even Equestria on a whim."

After a short argument, Celestia managed to get Luna to go to the throne room and wait, while she waited to see how the "thing" was going to proceed on its course. She walked into the tower to explain to her personal guard, Crossblade, the situation. "This may or may not be a threat, but if I do label it one I need you to run as fast as you can to alert the other guards and put them on code red."

Crossblade looked puzzled. "But your highness, we've never been on code red. Even when the griffons invaded ten years ago we were only on code blue."

"That's the thing Crossblade."
Celestia exlaimed. "When they invaded I knew what they were and what they were capable of. In this situation I don't know either. I don't know how much protection we need against this thing. We may need none and this might be an experiment gone awry. But for now I need to do my duty as ruler and protect my nation by whatever means necessary."

He bowed, "Understood, your majesty."

Once again, Jake came around and looked down at his new hooves. "Ok" he thought, "I'm now a...a...ok, this isn't the craziest thing I've seen. Wait, of course this is the craziest thing I've seen! Get a grip on yourself and asses the situation. I'm now some kind of horse, and I have no flipping clue where the hell I am. My fuel is low for some reason and I have no communication." He knew he had no communication due to the radios being fried from whatever had hit his airplane. He also tried to figure out why his fuel was so low. The only conclusion that he came to was that he must've been out for a lot longer than he anticipated and his plane just kept flying on.

For the first time since his awakening, he looked out the windshield to an astonishing sight. There was a castle to the south surrounded by a city with elegant architecture. What really amazed him the most was the fact that it was hanging off the side of a cliff while streams of water bathed in transparent rainbow spectrums cascaded off the side down to the valley below, which formed a river that flowed south to a very distant and tiny village. Then it hit him, he was heading straight for it. "Oh crap, ooooook how the hell do I do this with hooves!?" He was desperately trying to turn off the autopilot button with a hoof. But being a small button it was hard to press without hitting all the other surrounding buttons i. A random state. If this was a game of simon he would've lost immediately. The castle almost took up the entire windshield as he quickly approached it. Finally, he managed to turn it off and used both hooves to awkwardly grasp one side of the yoke and press down. Banking the aircraft in a hard right angle and narrowly missing a tall tower with two ponies standing in awe of his sudden appearance on the balcony of it.

One minute ago:

Celestia walked back out onto the balcony only to be shocked at the sight before her. The thing was a mere quarter mile away and closing in on the balcony. The engine noise was apparent now and drowned the balcony in a deep hum. Crossblade ran out to see what the noise was.

"Princess, get back it's not safe!" he yelled.

Celestia could only stand there in shock as the thing banked hard to the right and flew right by them, narrowly missing them. The engines roared and the rotors emitted a piercing wind behind them, knocking Crossblade off his feet and blowing Celestia's crown off her head and over the balcony railing, falling hundreds of feet until meeting it's unfortunate end with its rival known as gravity.

Celestia looked at the thing, now flying away from Canterlot and unmistakably towards Ponyville. Now, being any other town in the world, she wouldn't have been as concerned. But remembering Ponyville's past and all the danger it attracts, Celestia knew that whatever that thing was, it wouldn't pass over the town without something happening.

New Faces, New Places

Jake awoke two hours later in his room. The sunlight was coming through the windows, and the aroma of an apple based breakfast was filling his nostrils. He looked over to his clock and saw that it was nine thirty-eight. Mac had let him sleep in.

Down in the kitchen, Applejack was finishing setting the table. Her brother came in through the front door and sat down. His eyes had bags under them, and his mane was frayed. His sister looked at him with concern.

"Y'all right there Mac?"
He grumbled.

"Ahm fine, jes didn't get a good nights rest is all."

"What happened last night anyways? Ah heard you an' Jake up in the hall talkin' ta one o'nother."
Mac shifted nervously in his chair.

"Uh, nothin happened. Ah had forgotten ta lock up the barn b'fore ah came in, so ah went ta do it. Jake jes happened ta be up gettin' a glass o' water, an' we got ta talkin'."
Applejack gave her brother a skeptical look. Being the element of honesty, it wasn't hard for her to tell if someone was lying.

"Mac...the barn locks been broke since last month. You did it, 'member?"
They both looked over to the stairs to see Jake descending into the kitchen. He walked up to them and read the look on Applejack's face.

"Uh, what's wrong?"
She stared at him right in the eyes.

"Ah wanna know what was goin' on last night."
The pilot looked over to Mac for some help, but he just widened his eyes in a "what do you want" sort of way. Jake gulped.

"Look, I guess the truth is the best option. Is Applebloom gone right now? She shouldn't hear this."

"She's off at school...what in the hay happened?"

The two sat down at the table with Applejack and began explaining everything from the time Mac woke up until they went back to sleep. When they were done, she sighed and looked out to the truck.

"Is he still in there?"

"Nnope. Ah went an' got the sheriff this mornin'. Told him what happened, an' they took him down ta the station."

"Good. Lets jes keep this between us three ok? Ah don't want anypony else worryin' or nothin'."
Mac nodded and turned to Jake.

"What did you an' that Doctor talk about after ah went on up ta bed?"
For the first time since he was told, Jake remembered what Dr. Navorno had said. He looked down and sighed.

"I can never go back to Earth. I'm stuck here for the rest of my life."

Both siblings had a look of sympathy on their faces. Mac patted him on the back.

"It's gonna be ok partner. Y'all said ya wanted to make the best of it, right?"
The captain put his head in his hooves, and a single tear ran down his face.

"I...I can never go home...I can never see my family or friends again.
I'll never be able to see what I've wanted to see, or do what I wanted to do. It's all gone...all of it. Just because of one STUPID MISTAKE!"
He slammed his hooves down on the table. His heavy breathing calmed down as more tears fell.

Applejack tried to calm him down.

"Look sugarcube, ah can't say ah understand, 'cause ah don't. But lemme tell y'all somethin'. If you had ta pick a place ta wind up forever, anyplace from yer front door all the way to the edge of the universe, Equestria is the place you should pick. Even though y'all left yer old life behind ya, you can give yerself a fresh start. You can re-invent yerself, be who ya always wanted ta be. You can meet new faces an' see new places. You can get yer airplane runnin' again an' go out flyin' with the pegasi, or witness the power of magic from the unicorns. You can settle down, an' even start a new career. An' guess what the best part is. Y'all got us ta help ya, every step of the way. So Jake, get on up, walk yer flank right out that front door. A new world awaits ya, ready to be explored."

The captain dried his tears and stood up.

"You know what, you're right Applejack. I may have left my old life behind, but now I get a new one. If this isn't a chance from God himself, I don't know what is."
He started to walk to the door, only to be stopped by Macintosh.

"Now ah know what mah sister said an' all, but we got lots o' work that needs done. Such as movin' that boulder, or gettin' them crates picked up. So all that explorin' stuff is gonna have to wait until later."
Jake could only smile.

"Very well, lets get to work."

Author's Note

I'm sorry if anyone is disappointed at the length of this chapter. The main idea of this chapter is that it's telling you what's to come of this story, and seal up Jakes fate. Thanks for reading.

Cursed

Macintosh pounded the last nail into the base of the barn steeple, finishing the week long project. Ever since the race, Jake had grown quite popular around Ponyville, and even some Canterlot Nobles had invited him to a celebratory dinner. But he respectfully declined due to his priorities being set on paying off his debt to the Apples.

"There we are Jake. It's all finished. The only thing ah need ta get now is a new weather vein."
The pilot looked at their creation. It looked exactly like it did before with the red base and white roof, except they had inscribed the outline of an apple on all four sides of it.

"Yeah, I think we really came through on this one."

They both packed up their tools and set them in the barn. All of the ammunition crates had been cleaned up and stacked in the back right corner of it. He also managed to haul the rest that were in the C-130 over to the farm and store them there as well. Jake had had Twilight put the same fuel spell on the Dodge and Ferrari, and wouldn't have to worry about it for a good eight months.

Dinner was already on the table when the two stepped into the kitchen. Granny Smith was gone visiting her sister Aunt Applesauce for the week, and Applebloom was having a sleepover with her friends at Rarity's. So it was only the two older siblings and Jake that night.

They sat down and served the vegetable lasagne, to which Jake immediately lit up at it's taste.

"Love at first bite. You really outdid yourself Applejack."
She waved a hoof in the air.

"Nah, it's nothin'. Jes an' old family recipe."
He took another oversized bite.

"Well it's a good one none the less."

After dinner, the three decided to play cards in the back den. They were seated around a folding table playing Five Card Draw, and Mac was winning. After a couple seconds of silence and concentration, Jake threw his hand down in annoyment.

"Damnit! That's the fifth time in a row you've won Mac. What fuckery is this?!"
The workhorse let out a deep laugh.

"Now where'd y'all hear a word like that?"
The captain shrugged.

"I heard it once way back and thought it was a good one."
Applejack smiled and sat down her cards.

"Ah normally don't curse. Ah use substitutes like horseapples an' consarnit."
Jake held a hoof to his mouth and made a farting noise through it.

"Laaaame. You mean to tell me you've never cursed?"

"Well ah have a couple times. But ah don't feel good 'bout doin' it."

"...Well you gotta fucking get the fuck over those gay ass feelings. Cursing is assloads of fun when used in the right context."
The farm mare was taken aback by his choice of words, while her brother was in tears across the table. She decided to join in on the fun.

"Ah don't...fucking get you Jake."
He raised his hooves up in the air.

"Hu-fucking-zzah! You did it!"
She laughed and tried again.

"Yer damn fuckin' right ah did it! Hey, this IS kinda fun."
He held up a hoof in a correcting manner.

"ASSLOADS of fun my dear Applejack."

Mac got over his laughing fit and joined the cursing war.

"Y'all need ta shut yer damn mouths! Yer makin' me laugh to hard!"

The three went on like this for another ten minutes before they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Mac stood up to go and answer it. Applejack calmed down from her fits of laughter and sighed.

"That was fun. Got a lot of stress out o' me in the process as well. But don't be using that kind of language 'round Applebloom ya hear?"
He saluted.

"Loud and clear ma'am."
After a minute, Mac walked back into the room, behind him were two guests. The first one was none other than Soarin, and the other was still unidentified to Jake.

He was a black pegasus just a little shorter than Macintosh with a mane and tail that were black as well, except there was a dark red streak down the middle of each one. He had purple eyes, and the leading edge of his wings were covered with red steel plating that matched the color of his mane and tail streaks. Jake assumed they were used as a weapon of some sort. The mystery stallion reached out to him for a hoofshake.

"Hello Jake, my name is Starfyre. I work for the Royal Guard building and testing new cannons and other defense mechanisms. I also do a little bit of guard work for Princess Luna whenever she goes on long distance trips."
Starfyre turned to Applejack.

"Excuse me, where are my manners. Who might you be?"

"Mah name is Applejack. Ahm Macintosh's sister."
They shook hooves too.

"A pleasure to meet you Applejack. May we sit down?"
She gestured them over to the couch.

"By all means. Make yerself at home. Would y'all like anythin' ta drink?"
Soarin spoke up.

"Nah were fine. We just came from dinner thirty minutes ago."

The two sat down, and Jake turned his chair around to face them.

"So what brings you two here?"
Starfyre smiled.

"Well Jake I think your going to like it. Soarin and I were talking a couple days ago about you in the Wonderbolts show next month, and it gave me a good idea. You see, I was at your race last week, great job by the way."

"Thanks."

"Yes well, I got a good look at your aircraft, and I think this will work."
He reached into a saddlebag that Soarin had set down and pulled out a picture. On it was a white, slender rocket sitting horizontally on a stand. It was about ten feet long and a foot wide. Jake looked at it with confusion.

"Uh, what can I do with this?"
Soarin took the picture back.

"You can fly faster and be twice as entertaining to the crowd. Let Starfyre explain."

"Anyways, this rocket is called the Sabre Mach I. We were originally testing it for long distance defense protocol because It's capable of breaking the sound barrier. It has immense power."
He smirked.

"Of course, it won't be going that fast while two of them are strapped to the sides of your airplane."
The pilots eyes widened and he held up his hooves.

"Woooah there. What do you mean?"
Soarin explained the stunt to him, and at the end, Jakes skepticism turned into ecstasy.

"Are you serious?!"
The Wonderbolt nodded. Mac chuckled and shook his head.

"That's the damnest thing ah ever heard."
Starfyre looked back to Jake.

"So I take it you're in?"

"Hell yeah I'm in! This will be the best thing I've ever done in an airplane in all my life! When can we start practice?"
Soarin handed him a piece of paper.

"Here's a schedule of the practice times. The first one is tomorrow evening, but we'll be coming here so you can explain to us in greater detail the inner workings of the plane. If we're going to be flying with it, we need to know what we're dealing with. Anything after that will be at the Wonderbolts practice field which is a restricted airspace just north of our base. Part of the weather team and a couple unicorns with pegasi assistance are assembling a long cloud with a runway on it so you can land the plane. Don't worry, it's safe. Just stay on the concrete and you won't fall through."

"Right, because I'm not a pegasus and I'll die. Got it."
He chuckled to himself at the though of him falling through a cloud to his demise.

"Well that pretty much covers everything Jake. I can't wait for the show."

"Yeah it should be fun."
Starfyre rose from the couch.

"Assloads of fun."
He and Jake shared a laugh and shook hooves once more.

"I'll see you at the first practice at the Headquarters on Friday to show you the Sabre. Have a good night."
They all said their goodbyes, and Starfyre and Soarin left Sweet Apple Acres.

That night, Jake was laying in his bed not getting any sleep due to thinking about how amazing of a stunt he was going to try to pull off. If it worked, it would surely be the best thing that anyone has laid their eyes on in a long time.

Author's Note

All credit for the idea of the OC Starfyre goes to Rain_Bow_Dashie. Thanks for your help! And to all the rest, thanks for reading.

Catnapping On the Job

"Ok, fifty knots."
Jake tightened his grip on the yoke, preparing for what was to come as the plane sped up. Starfyre held his breath as the speed indicator needle rose towards the launch mark of eighty knots.

"Almost there!"
The engines whined as they propelled the giant down the runway. Finally, the needle hit eighty, and Starfyre held up the launcher and turned to Jake.

"Shall we?"
He over dramatically clicked the button, and instantly, they were both thrown back from the force of the Sabres.

Outside, the Wonderbolts all turned their heads to the direction of the massive bang as the rockets went off. The plane immediately accelerated to one hundred and sixty knots, and Jake pulled back hard.

The nose shot upwards to an eighty degree bank as Starfyre was hanging on and laughing beyond control. The yoke was vibrating in Jake's hooves as he held on for control. He felt like his inner organs were being pushed down to his hooves from the force, and in under thirty seconds, they were five thousand feet high and still climbing. He leveled off at eight thousand as the rockets sputtered out, and hung silently at the C-130's hips. The pilot was white in the face and had a death grip on the yoke, while his 'co-pilot' was still cracking up.

"That was awesome! I've never done anything so exhilarating in my life! What about you Jake?"
He turned to the stone faced captain.

"Jake? Oh come on it wasn't that bad!"
He broke out of his trance to respond.

"I thought the wings were going to rip off! That was scary as all get out!"
Starfyre rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but it was still pretty freaking awesome you gotta admit!"
Jake sighed and started to chuckle.

"Ok, I'll admit that WAS pretty cool. I've never done that before in an airplane."
The technician settled back in his chair and propped his back hooves up on the dash.

"Well get used to it buddy. That's not the last one we'll be doing. Now lets turn around and land again. It's almost time to end for today."

Jake circled back and landed the plane again. As they got out, Soarin greeted them with a huge grin.

"In all my years of stunt flying, that had to be one of the coolest things I've ever seen!"
The pilot shrugged.

"It was nothing really."
Starfyre turned to him and shook his head and laughed.

"You were scared shitless up there!"
He rolled his eyes and waved him off with a hoof.

"At first. But then I got over it. Anyways, it was a great practice Soarin, and I can't wait until we do this again."

"Well, that'll be next Tuesday at the same time. We'll see you then."
They shook hooves, and Soarin and his team took off towards their headquarters, leaving Rainbow Dash and Starfyre with Jake.

"Well, I should be returning to Canterlot by now. I have lots of paperwork to fill out."
He patted Jake on the back and stretched his wings out, ready to take off.

"See you two on Tuesday. Maybe you won't be so scared next time Jake!"
Before the captain had time to react, Starfyre was gone. Rainbow Dash turned to him with a confused stare.

"What's he talking about?"
Jake facehooved and sighed.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Lets just get back to Ponyville, ok?"

Jake and Applejack sat at the dining room table the next night, both with the same thing on their minds. Mac had called Jade during his practice yesterday, and they were currently out together.

"Ah hope he doesn't screw anythin' up. Ah'd hate ta see him rejected."
Jake chuckled and sipped a glass of cider. The farm mare glared at him.

"Ya think that's funny?"
He put his glass down and tried to contain his remaining laughter.

"No Applejack, I don't think him screwing up is funny. I'm just imagining all the ways it could happen. Not saying that it's going to of course."
She narrowed her eyes and continued.

"Uh huh. Anyways, ah never woulda thought that Mac would ever associate himself with a pony like Jade. Ah ain't sayin' she's bad er nothin'. Hell, ah don't even know her. It's jes that from what he described, she's not that much like him at all."
Jake shrugged and held up his glass.

"Well you know what they say. Opposites attract."
He drank some more.

Applejack looked out the window at the apple trees that were ready to be harvested. Their fruit was bright red and ripe, waiting to be picked and eaten.

"Ya know Jake, the past month has been quite a ride fer all of us."

"Ha. You could say that again."
She still averted her gaze as she spoke to him.

"Well, what ah'm tryin' ta say is...shoot, how do ah put this."
Jake set his glass down and looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"What is it?"
She bit her bottom lip and tapped the table with her hoof repeatedly.

"It's jes that...with the upcomin' harvest an' everythin', ah can't have ya stay here much longer."
She hung her head and sighed.

"Ah'm sorry Jake. But ah can't afford another pony 'round here with all the expenses of applebuckin' season."
Applejack expected Jake to get upset or frustrated, but instead, she got the opposite.

"No problem. I understand."
She lifted her head to look at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, of course. The Wonderbolts are paying me a very generous amount for the show at the end of the month. More than enough for a house, and I also plan to find work somewhere. But until I do find a place, I can just sleep in the C-130. It's warm and comfy."
Applejack chuckled at his absurd idea.

"How do you know it's comfy?"

"Well...I might've taken a few catnaps on the job. Let me tell you, that chair is like floating on a cloud."

"If ya are gonna do that, ah'll give y'all some proper bedding. It's the least ah can do. Ah feel like ahm sendin' ya off ta live in squalor."

"Don't feel that way. That plane is basically a second home to me now. I'll be just fine."

Just as he stopped, the door swung open for Mac and Jade to enter.

"Well there he is! How was your day on the town?"
Jade laughed as Mac's face turned red. She spared the farmer by answering for him.

"It was great! We went to lunch, then Mac showed me your plane. After that we went to the park and just walked around. It was nice."
Applejack stood up and shook her hoof.

"Ahm Applejack, this big lug's sister. Ahm glad y'all had a nice time."

"It's good to meet you."
She turned to Jake, who was downing the last drop of cider from his glass.

"Mac told me about this cool vehicle you have called a Dodge. Is there any way I can see it?"
He stood up and walked to the door.

"Yeah, sure. Follow me."
The three made their way out the door, heading towards the barn. Applejack, who remained up at the house, watched them walk away from the window. She was about to return to her business when she stopped at the sight of five burly looking stallions making their way down the road from the south. They didn't look to happy, and she noticed each one was carrying a long metal rod with a wooden stock at the end. The other ends of the rods were open, and they had a lot of brass casings strapped to their sides.

"They don't look to welcoming."

Fallen Comrades

Night settled over Ponyville, and the timberwolves howl's could be heard in the distance. Macintosh pulled off his yoke and hung it on his bedpost. Over the years, it had become worn from all the abuse it had been out through. But it never failed him despite all that.

Just as the farmer was about to fall into bed and pass out, Jake knocked on his door.

"Come in."
He creaked it open and stepped in. They both stared at each other for a moment, contemplating on what to say. The pilot spoke up first.

"Uh. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. My choice of words earlier wasn't the best."
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the floor. Mac sighed and hung his head as well.

"Ahm sorry to Jake. Ah shouldn't of snapped at ya like that. Y'all had good intentions. It's jes that ah need a way ta get through this harvest. Otherwise ahm gonna go bankrupt."

"The Dodge."
The red stallion raised his head.

"The truck? Ahm not sure that could do everythin'"

"Hear me out. You gotta buck the apples. YOU can do that. Then you have to haul them. There's a big bed in the back of that thing that could do it. It's perfect."

"Ah guess that could work."

"I KNOW it could work."
Mac shook his head.

"But then there's the harvestin' of the corn. Mah harvester was burnt up."

"We'll have to do it by hoof."
The farmer let out a hearty laugh.

"Good luck. That there field is a square mile. It'd take forever ta do that."
Jake looked out the window to the corn stalks waving in the wind under the moon.

"I bet we could do it in a day."
Mac stopped his joking and looked at him with a straight face.

"Y-yer serious?"

"Unless you have a better idea, yeah I'm serious."

"Huh. Well then y'all better rest up. It's gonna be a loooong day."
They said goodnight, and Jake left the room, leaving Macintosh to think.

"That pilot don't know what he's gettin' into."

With Jake's luck, he had to pick one of the hottest summer days to start the harvest of the corn fields. Even at six thirty in the morning, it was at least eighty degrees and rising. He and Mac stood at the edge of the field, staring into the rows upon rows of crops. The experienced farmer handed the newbie a corn knife, which looked like a scythe, but shorter and had a fatter blade on it.

"Alright, here's what ya gotta do. Jes walk up to a stalk like this."
He went over to one.

"An' swing low ta slice it off."
He swung, slicing the stalk off just two inches from the ground.

"Then leave it there. We'll pick 'em all up after we're done."
He looked around once more, then back at Jake, and nodded. They both knew what it meant, and without word began slicing away at each individual stalk.

The pilot, who had never farmed in his life, found it difficult to keep up with Mac. He would sometimes have to swing two or three times at one stalk to get it to come off right.

"This was a bad idea."

Late noon came around, causing the sun to be directly over the field beating down on the two. Jake was drenched in sweat as they made it to the halfway mark. The harvested corn lay in heaps down the rows they had been previously standing in.

Mac stopped and looked at their progress. He turned back to the captain, who was fatigued and out of breath.

"Jes push through the tiredness Jake. It's better if we get this done now. If y'all wait 'till tomorra ta finish, yer gonna be sore as hell."
Jake leaned against his corn knife, trying to regain his breath.

"I guess...you're right."
Even Macintosh, who had years of experience under his hooves, was wiped out.

After a ten minute break, they got back to work. The pilot seemed to be getting the hang of it by now, and was locking into a rhythm. For the next four hours, they whittled away at the rest of the corn.

Finally, as the sun began to set, Mac swung at the last stalk and severed it from it's root. It fell, joining its other fallen comrades in the piles. Jake sat down in the dirt and dropped his knife.

"It's over. Thank Celestia it's over."
Mac chuckled.

"We got through the hardest part. But it ain't over yet. Get the truck an' lets pick up all this corn."
The captain looked confused.

"Now? But it's getting dark."

"That thing has headlights don't it?"
After a moment of silence, Jake reluctantly stood up and started walking to the truck's parking spot.

"...damnit."

By eleven at night, they were almost done. The Dodge sat in the middle of the field while the two piled corn into the bed. Every once in a while, Jake would have to move the truck down the field as they progressed. And occasionally, he would drive it over to the side of the house to unload it all to get it ready for husking.

By one in the morning they were done, and two tired stallions walked into the kitchen of the house. Mac opened up a bottle of whiskey and poured two glasses. They both held them up to each other.

"To a full days work."

"Eeyup."
They clanked their glasses together and downed them in one go.

"I don't think I've ever worked that hard in my life."

"This is the busiest time o' year fer us. Work is all we do. Tomorrow, we'll have to start buckin' the apples. Me an' Applejack will handle that part, but you need to use the truck to haul them to our washing bin. Fortunately, ah managed ta salvage one o' them. It'll be slower, but we'll get the job done."
Jake refilled his glass and drank from it.

"And don't worry. I'll be out of the house after the air show."

"It ain't a big deal. If y'all manage ta pull yer weight, you can stay here."
The pilot shook his head.

"As much as I appreciate that, I have to decline. I want to get my own place. I'm living the rest of my life here, so I want a place that I can call my home."

"Ah understand."
He screwed the lid back on the bottle and put it away in the cupboard. The farmer let out a long yawn, causing Jake to do the same.

"That's the signal to clean up and go to bed."

"Eeyup."

After a good shower, Jake got into bed and pulled the covers over him. The expression "asleep before your head hit the pillow" was taken literally at that moment, as the pilot drifted off while still sitting up, causing him to ungracefully flop down onto the feathery pillow.

Author's Note

Due to the long hours at work, I haven't been able to write as much. I apologize for the delays, and ill try to continue posting more often. So don't worry, there will be more Detour soon! Thanks for reading.

Intact

1 Year Later

Seline exhaled into the crisp winter air, watching the steam drift away. She brought a mug of cider to her lips and took a sip before continuing on with her story.

"Anyways, I'm not saying he's a bad pony, he just isn't a good client to work with. He's rude sometimes to his fans, and he's always late to our meetings and interviews. He's just a young colt who thinks he's a big-shot. That's all."

Jake, somewhat amused by her clients antics, smiled and took a sip from his cider as well. They were sitting out at one of the cafe tables in the town square on their normal lunch breaks in between work.

Seline had moved her headquarters to Ponyville, and worked with the local talent and some clients from Canterlot as well. It didn't pay as well, but for her, the quality of the job was much better.

Jake on the other hand, had a couple of different jobs. He had been payed a great sum for his performance with the Wonderbolts, and was able to buy a small house out on the edge of town by the field, and could see the C-130 from his bedroom window, which had been enchanted by Twilight yet again so that it would not freeze or damage while sitting out in the elements.

Still needing a continuous source of income, he was employed during the harvest season at Sweet Apple Acres, and in the winter, flew short cargo runs to various cities when it was too valuable to be put onto a boxcar and shipped by rail. Because stuff like that didn't happen everyday, he also worked with Dr. Navorno at his shop, creating and repairing wooden furniture, tools, and other various items. He had finally settled in, and couldn't have been happier.

For the two automobiles, they had taken up their own roles in the community. The Ferrari had been donated to the Canterlot Museum of History to display its engineering capabilities and teach ponies more about modern technology. The Dodge stayed with Mac on the farm, and was used for the harvest in the warm seasons and plowing snow in the winter. Jake had no more need for them, so he thought that donating the two to the different causes was the right thing to do.

He blinked a few times to get the lightly falling snow off his brow, and tightened his red scarf a little bit. Even though there was a place to sit inside, they both enjoyed the patio seating because it was quiet. Nothing but the sound of a rare wagon or passerby at that hour.

The Hearths Warming tree had been raised by Macintosh and Jake, and was still awaiting the decorations. It sat about thirty yards away from them, and cast a faint shadow, blocking what little sunlight got through the thick overlay of clouds. He looked up at it and didn't move for quite some time, prompting Seline to give him a concerned look.

"Are you alright, Jake? You seem kind of detached today. Is work going alright? Heck, we've sat here for fifteen minutes and I've only gone on about myself! Any flights lately?"
He broke away from the tree and looked back at her.

"Yeah, one last night to Phillydelphia. Delivered crates of preserved vegetables and herbs. Other than that, nothing."
Despite his response, she still discerned something off about his mood.

"What's the matter? I know something's up. You're not you."
He sighed and finished off his cider before taking a long look at her and speaking.

"It's just kind of all coming back to me. How I instantly left behind everything I knew at the blink of an eye, and wound up here. Sometimes I wonder if I'm going to just wake up, and it was just a long dream. But it's weird, whenever that happens, sometimes I wish I wake up, and sometimes I don't. I'm afraid this is not real, and I'll just go back and live my old life. No matter how much of me loves this place; the residents, the scenery, the happiness, you...there's a small part of me that always is aching for a way back. Sometimes it finds it's way into my mind somehow and I get like this for a while. All in all, I'm fine, and I love being here. I hope you know that."
She took it all in and thought out her words carefully before speaking.

"I'm happy that that's how you feel, and I'm glad to be here with you. Jake, no matter how big of a change you go through in life, you're still the same. Even though you changed the way you look, you're still the same Jake that you've always been. The only thing that's changed is your surroundings and your appearance. So whenever those thoughts slip into your mind, just remember that you're still you. The soul who you've always been is intact."
She looked off to the clock tower through the lightly falling snow and stood up.

"I have to get back to work. I'm already a little late. I'll see you for dinner tonight, right?"
He simply smiled and nodded.

"Just remember what I said, Jake."

"I will."
With that she turned and trotted away down the main road to her office, leaving Jake alone in the town square except for a few passerby here and there. As he was about to stand up, Mac and Applejack came around the corner pulling a cart full of firewood they were distributing amongst the citizens of Ponyville. They stopped when they saw Jake and waved.

"It's been awhile, Jake! Ah thought ya mighta skipped town er somethin'."
The pilot, having his mood lightened from the previous conversation, chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

"No, not me, Mac. I've just been really busy with work. You two out of anypony in this town should understand that."
Applejack smiled and nodded.

"That we do, Jake! Y'all are still gonna visit us on the farm soon, right?"

"Absolutely. Don't think I've forgotten about the bits I need to win back from last months poker game."

"You ain't seein' any of that. Ah guarantee it. Come on over this Saturday night and we'll get even!"
He laughed.

"You're on."
Mac adjusted himself in the harness so it wasn't too tight.

"Jes came from Mr. Mach's shop. He's got a lot of neat stuff in there. Ah made sure ta give him extra firewood as a thanks fer generously rebuilding the barn fer free."

"Yeah that was really nice of him. It was also nice of him to offer me that job. It's fun working there."

"Ahm sure."
Jake stood up, ready to leave, and looked over at Applejack.

"How are your friends doing?"
She shook her head in a "why ask" sort of way.

"Twilights the same as usual. Studyin' all day and writing letters to Celestia. Fluttershy is still takin care of animals, Rarity is in Canterlot right now at some fashion thingy, Pinkie Pie is...well just Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash is busier than ever now that she's a Wonderbolt."

"Well it's good to hear everyponys doing all right. I'm glad everything worked out for Dash in the end. She got what she wanted. She deserved it."
Mac nudged her sister and pointed to their next stop up ahead on the road.

"We best be movin'. Don't wanna keep them waitin' too long."
He looked over at Jake and nodded.

"Take care now."
The two siblings heaved forward and began the trudge up the street to their next stop.

Jake walked out of the cafe patio, into the road, and set off for his house before heading back to the shop. As he walked through the town, he began to think about all the things he had accomplished in this little town in such little time. He truly was content with himself, and harbored no regrets. He felt as though it could only get better from there.

He turned the corner and reached his front door, which was at the end of the road where it cut off and turned into the landing field where it all started almost two years ago. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, eager to get back to work.

Outside, the grey aircraft sat docile in the meadow, as the light flurries of snow danced around it's wings.

Fin

Author's Note

I want to thank you all for taking the time to read Detour. It's been quite a ride the past 8 months. Thank you for all of your patience for this chapter, as I was uncertain of how to end it. I hope it works with you guys, since you're the people who make the story worth writing. In the future there will possibly be another story, but it wouldn't be in the Detour world, and I don't even have any ideas yet. Thank you again, and have a wonderful day.

Hey all you readers!

Hey everyone! No new chapter, I just felt as if this was the best way to reach all of you. In the next couple weeks I will be starting a sequel to Detour. I'm not sure of a title yet, but get ready for a whole new adventure with Jake and his C-130, lots of new characters, and a chilling plot that will have you wanting more with every new chapter. The first couple should be posted within one or two weeks if you find yourself wanting something to read. Thanks!