Chapter 59 (Back on the Farm)
Chapter 59
A few days had passed since Allen had woken up in the hospital following the timberwolf attack at his farm. In that time, his body had made good progress in healing itself, and as a result, Dr. Stable felt comfortable enough to discharge him from the hospital.
“Alright, Mr. Ross, now I want you to take it easy for a couple of weeks, alright?”
Allen rolled his eyes as he signed the discharge paperwork at the front desk. “Yeah, yeah I get it. No magic usage, even though I still don’t have the first idea on how to cast any yet.”
“And be sure to drink plenty of water and stay away from mana-rich foods. You do not want your thaumtic system to become overloaded so soon after magical burnout,” reminded Dr. Stable as he accepted the now-signed paperwork from Allen.
“Can I at least do physical work?” grumped Allen.
“You should be fine working, but if you start feeling unexpectedly tired, dizzy, lightheaded, or nauseous, stop what you are doing and come back here immediately, understand?”
Allen nodded, half listening. “Yeah, got it doc.”
“I’m serious, acute magical exhaustion doesn’t just strain your thaumatic pathways, it also puts a strain on the rest of your body. Right now, you are still healing, and overworking yourself will just make the healing process take longer or set you back, and by now I am sure that you are quite tired of staying here at Ponyville General,” replied Dr. Stable seriously.
Allen sighed and reluctantly nodded in agreement with Dr. Stable’s argument. “Alright doc, I’ll take it easy, and you’re right, even if the beds are comfy and the food is alright, I’m pretty tired of being stuck on my backside like a flipped-over turtle.”
Seeing that Allen wasn’t going to make a big fuss over his restrictions like some of his other, more rambunctious, and stubborn patients, Dr. Stable nodded and smiled gratefully. “Excellent, now, I’ll want to see you for a check-up early next week, how does Monday the twentieth sound?”
Allen shrugged. “Sounds good to me, I don’t think I have anything going on that day.”
“Excellent, then I’ll see you at ten o’clock Monday morning then,” replied Dr. Stable with a nod as he made a note in Allen’s file.
“Sounds good, see ya later doc,” replied Allen with a wave as he turned and left.
Stepping out into the hot mid-summer sun, Allen placed a hand on his forehead to shade his eyes from the oppressive sun.
“Whew, sure is muggy today,” he commented as he began the long walk home, sweat already starting to bead on his forehead.
As he was passing by the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres, Allen caught a glimpse of Applejack doing her chores. Making eye contact with her, he gave her a friendly wave, and she tipped her head in return, before resuming her work.
Walking a bit farther along, Allen suddenly heard a low buzzing sound quickly approaching. Looking down the road, he spotted Scootaloo on her signature scooter, pulling a little red wagon behind her with both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle sitting in it, dust billowing up behind them as they raced onwards.
Scootaloo, having noticed Allen, gave him a friendly wave as she slowed her wings and let her scooter coast to a stop next to him.
“Heya, Mr. Ross!” she chirped in greeting as she removed her purple and white striped helmet, her mane matted down with sweat.
“Hello,” replied Allen with a friendly smile
“Howdy, Mr. Ross, whatcha doing?” asked Applebloom curiously as she removed her blue helmet.
“Just heading home after getting out of the hospital,” he replied, “what about you three?”
“We’re heading to the lake to go swimming with some of our classmates,” piped up Sweetie Belle excitedly.
Cocking an eyebrow, Allen asked, “Oh really?”
All three of them nodded excitedly.
“Yeah! Since it’s so hot out right now, the best way to beat the heat is to go swimming!” replied Sweetie Belle happily, her voice cracking adorably at the end.
“Yeah or have a big bowl of ice cream!” added Scootaloo, a hint of drool forming at the corner of her mouth at the idea of eating a large bowl of cold, sweet ice cream.
Allen laughed. “Yeah, that does sound pretty fun.”
“You wanna come with us?” asked Applebloom suddenly.
Allen smiled but shook his head. “Sorry girls, but I’m afraid I have things to do right now.”
“Aw, that sucks,” groaned Applebloom, a disappointed look on her face.
Allen shrugged. “Just the joys of getting older, responsibilities often take priority over having fun.”
“Well that’s lame,” said Scootaloo while sticking her tongue out and making an ‘icky face’ at the idea of adult responsibilities.
Allen laughed. “Yeah, but that’s just the way it be sometimes, anyways, I need to get going, and you three probably want to get down to the lake sooner rather than later.”
All three of the fillies nodded. “Okay, see ya later, Mr. Ross!” they all said with a wave as Scootaloo buzzed her wings and kicked off, her scooter quickly picking up speed and effortlessly pulling the little red wagon behind as the trio quickly disappeared in a cloud of dust.
Allen waved goodbye before resuming his journey home. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and eventually, he reached the end of his driveway. Pausing at his mailbox, he opened the front flap and peeked inside.
Jeeze, the poor thing is stuffed full of mail, he thought as he carefully extracted the pile of mail that had been left inside. Suppose it’s not a big surprise, I never did tell anyone to bring the mail inside while I was laid up, oh well.
Closing the front of his mailbox, he idly leafed through the large collection of adverts, flyers, bills, and the occasional letter as he walked down the driveway. Clomping up the front steps of his porch, he fished around in his pockets for his keys, and after fumbling with them for a minute, managed to open the front door. Instantly, cool, dry air smacked his sweat-drenched face and he breathed a happy sigh of relief as he quickly shut the door behind him.
Setting the mail down on the counter, he fetched himself a plastic cup from a cupboard, filled it to the brim with cool, clean water, and greedily chugged it down. Once finished, he refilled it and drained it again. Repeating the process several times until he had his fill, Allen let out a contented sigh as he finally quenched his thirst.
Opening the fridge, he rummaged around inside as he hunted for a snack. Spotting a plate of apple fritters, Allen grabbed a couple and happily munched on them as he sat down and began to sort through the mail pile.
Bill, bill, bill, junk, advert, junk, junk, advert... hmmm a letter from Blueblood?
Tearing open the letter, Allen began reading.
Dear Allen,
I hope this letter finds you in better health, I came as soon as I heard about the attack. Unfortunately, you were in a coma and unresponsive when I came to visit that night, and due to my various duties, I am unsure of when I shall be able to visit again. While I was in Ponyville, I took the opportunity to speak with Lieutenant Palisade and asked him why the attack occurred in the first place. Even though Ponyville is a small village, its proximity to the Everfree Forest warrants the need for a sizeable enough garrison to adequately patrol the border and prevent these sorts of things from happening.
The report he gave me has left me upset. Not with him, mind you, but it appears that elements within the government and the guard have been left to fester and rot. As a consequence, resources meant for Ponyville have been diverted to other locations, which has led to Ponyville not being adequately defended from encroachment by the Everfree Forest and its denizens for some time now. It is a miracle that we have been fortuitous enough to avoid tragedy so far, however, to tempt fate is a fool's errand, and I shan't be a party to that way of thinking.
Lieutenant Palisade, and his ponies, along with the local Ponyville militia, are doing what they can, but they are stretched thin. As such, I would greatly encourage you to protect yourself as best as you can should you find yourself working near the Everfree, as I know that your farm is along the river that separates the settled lands from the forest, until such a time as these... issues may be rectified.
Rest assured, both myself and the princesses are both aware of, and working on correcting, these issues. Please keep yourself, Penny, and your workers safe. I will be sure to keep you informed as things develop here in Canterlot. However, as you can probably guess, correcting these issues will lead to the creation of political enemies. I find it displeasing that you may find yourself embroiled in a political fight due to my actions in correcting these problems. However, as I am your business associate, in addition to your patron, it will only be natural that my future enemies may come after you and the others as a way to try and hurt me. I pray this will not happen, and I shall do my best to protect you, but it is only fair that I alert you to these potential future dangers so that you may guard yourself adequately.
Best of luck,
Prince Blueblood
Leaning back in his chair, Allen re-read the letter several times and sighed, shaking his head. “Looks like some things never change, no matter where you go.”
Setting the letter down, he finished off his apple fritter before placing the plate in the sink to wash later.
As he was drying his hands, he heard a knock on the door. Slipping the towel back through the fridge handle where it usually hung, Allen went to see who his visitor was.
Opening the door, he found Penny and Perfect Time standing on his front porch. The two mares were obviously hot judging by the fact that they were drenched in sweat and panting as if they had just run a marathon.
“Hey, how’s it going?” asked Allen as he quickly ushered the two overheated mares inside where it was cool.
Sighing in relief at being inside and out of the heat, Penny replied, “Well, other than the oppressive heat, things aren’t too bad, how about you? I just heard you were out of the hospital on our way over here.”
Allen nodded as he fished two more cups from the cupboard and filled them up before handing them to the two mares.
Both mares gave him grateful nods and quickly chugged the refreshing water down.
“Yeah, Dr. Stable released me today, though he told me to take it easy for a few more weeks, and that he wants to see me next Monday at ten in the morning for a check-up.”
Pulling a notepad from her saddlebags, Perfect quickly noted Allen’s appointment. Penny gave her a thankful nod, which she returned before floating Allen her now empty cup for a refill.
“You want some more too?” he asked, pointing at Penny’s empty cup.
“Yes, please,” she replied floating it over to him as well.
Refilling the both of them, he handed them back and waited while they drank their fill before asking, “So, did you find anything out about the oil barrels?”
Penny let out a happy sigh as she finished off her second cup of water and replied with a nod, “Yep, they told me they took the barrels back with them when they heard timberwolves were nearby. I can’t say that I blame them, but it is rather annoying to have to reschedule the delivery. Thankfully, they told me that they won’t charge extra for the missed delivery, but it might be a few more days before they can fit us into their delivery schedule.”
Allen shrugged. “Well, it could be worse. How is your leg doing by the way?” he asked, pointing at her encased leg.
“It itches, and it hurts, especially when a weather front moves through, but it is slowly getting better,” she replied.
“Well, that is good to hear,” replied Allen. Turning his attention to Perfect, he asked, “And what about you? You settling in okay?”
Perfect nodded. “For the most part yes, even if a few ponies in this town... concern me.”
“Ah, you’ve met Pinkie Pie I see,” guessed Allen at Perfect’s sudden discomfort.
“Yes, yes I have,” she confirmed with a slow nod.
“Care to share?” inquired Allen with a knowing smile.
Her face flushing red in embarrassment, Perfect shook her head and said, “I’d... rather not.”
“Perfect doesn’t really ‘do’ surprise parties,” supplied Penny helpfully.
“Ah, I see, yeah, I can understand what you’re saying. Pinkie takes some... getting used to,” replied Allen with a knowing nod.
“I would rather not get ‘used’ to her if I am being honest,” replied Perfect, in a matter-of-fact way.
Conversation died down for a moment after that, and Allen took the opportunity that the lull in conversation afforded him to refill everyone’s water again. Retaking his seat, Allen passed Penny, Blueblood’s letter and said, “Blueblood sent me this by the way.”
Grabbing the letter with her magic, she quickly skimmed through it while Perfect glanced over her shoulder and read along with her. After a few moments, Penny set the letter down, looked at Allen, and said, “Well, that might potentially complicate things.”
Allen grunted in annoyance. “I would rather it didn’t.”
Perfect shrugged and said, “As somepony who has lived in Canterlot their entire life, this is not the least bit surprising, and unfortunately, having Prince Blueblood as your patron, does make you an inviting target for his current and future enemies. It would be wise to heed his advice and watch your back for the time being.”
Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Allen shook his head and groaned, “I’m just a damn farmer! Who would bother wasting their time just to mess with me?!”
“It’s not so much about ‘messing with you’, Allen,” replied Penny gently, “It’s about getting to Blueblood. If somepony hurts you, they hurt him by extension. His Grace has placed money, time, and resources into your farm, and any damage to it or you would hurt him. Not to mention the hit his reputation would take from being unable to protect someone he has placed under his protection.”
Allen sighed tiredly and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “So what do I do?”
“Take some basic precautions. You’ve had your animal barn upgraded with various enchantments that will help protect it from fire and other natural disasters. Since we’ve managed to secure a healthy sum of bits from the recent hay sales, I believe now would be an excellent time to upgrade the rest of your buildings, and especially your home. I’ve noticed that you have no magical wards anywhere in here. I believe the time has come to remedy that oversight,” explained Penny.
Allen slowly nodded in agreement, though he wasn’t happy at the thought of having to spend a bunch of money because some jackass somewhere wanted to play dirty political games.
“Alright, I suppose the first order of business then will be to find a suitable pony to help us properly ward your buildings and home to protect them. Rune Chisel and his sons did a wonderful job with the barn, so they’re obviously a good choice,” said Penny as Perfect quickly began taking notes.
Nodding absently, Allen idly drummed his fingers on the table as he racked his brain to see if he knew of anyone else around who could do similar work to Rune Chisel. It wasn’t that he thought poorly of Rune Chisel or his work, but it was always a good idea to get different quotes for a job and see what someone else had to offer you in terms of goods or services.
After a few moments of pondering, Allen suddenly remembered the locksmith who had opened his dad’s gun safe shortly after he’d arrived in Equestria. Quickly standing up from the table, he muttered a quick, “Be right back,” and hurried over to his office. Rummaging around in his Rolodex, he soon located Lock Box’s business card and returned to the dining room.
Setting the card down in front of Penny he asked, “You know anything about this guy? Red Tape had him out to open my dad’s gun safe and he commented on the fact that my house needed some security upgrades. At the time I didn’t have any money, so I didn’t take him up on his offer.”
Grabbing the business card in her magical aura, Penny looked it over and replied, “I’ve heard about him. He’s a bit of a grouch, but apparently, he’s one of the best in the business.”
“Here in Ponyville?” asked Perfect.
Penny shook her head. “Nope, in all of Equestria.”
“Then what is he doing living in a small village like Ponyville?” asked Allen, confused at the idea of a world-class locksmith living in a small town rather than in a big city with lots of potential clients.
Penny shrugged. “I’m not exactly sure, but from what I’ve heard, he likes the peace and quiet of the country. Plus, he can charge extra for clients in places like Canterlot or Manehatten, which happens to be where a lot of his customers are.”
“Rich ponies with more money than brains?” quipped Allen with a small smirk.
“More or less, but at least they have a fairly good reason to want to spend top bit for the best. Those types of ponies tend to have a lot more to lose than your average citizen.”
Allen shrugged, conceding the point. “Fair enough. So, you think we should see what he has to offer?”
Penny nodded. “I don’t know how much he would charge, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. If the price is too high, we can always go with somepony else. After all, Rune Chisel gave us a fair price, and his work was excellent.”
“Alright, then I guess we’ve got a game plan then,” said Allen before pausing and cocking his head slightly to one side and asked, “Say, Penny, it’s been a minute since our last finance meeting, just how good are we doing?”
Perusing her lips in thought, Penny idly tapped the table with a hoof as she lit her horn and started rummaging around in her bags, looking to see if she had a recent financial statement.
“Well, obviously, I haven’t received the most recent hospital bills for you and me yet, but those shouldn’t be that bad, a few thousand bits at most I would assume between the two of us, maybe even less.”
“You should ask and see if they can get us a frequent patient discount,” joked Allen.
Penny glanced up at Allen over her glasses and fixed him with an unamused look. “That is not very funny Allen.”
“I thought it was funny, though my humor is pretty dark at times,” shrugged Allen, “I suppose dark humor is a lot like food... not everyone gets it.”
Penny’s eyes narrowed. “Still not funny.”
Another shrug. “I thought it was funny.”
“Moving on,” declared Penny as she returned her attention to the various financial statements in front of her. “It looks like we’ve got a sizable cash reserve sitting in the bank right now,” she said, passing the most recent report to Allen.
Taking the paper in his hand, Allen felt his eyebrows rise, and he let out a low whistle. “Whoa, that’s a lot of zeros.”
Penny smiled and leaned back in her chair, a satisfied look on her face. “What can I say, I’m pretty good at my job.”
Allen nodded absently as his mind processed the sizable amount of bits that he now possessed.
Man, if only we had this kind of money back home, then maybe things would have turned out differently with Mom. Giving his head a shake, he dispelled those old and dark thoughts.
Instead, he passed the paper back to Penny and said, “Okay, go ahead and reach out to Lock Box and Rune Chisel and see what they can offer us, and what it will cost. Now that the farm’s finances are in the black, this would probably be the best time to get this done.”
Perfect quickly noted down Allen’s wishes. Looking up from her clipboard, she suddenly asked, “Even though I’ve only been here a few days, Penny has filled me in on a lot of what has been going on, and I was wondering if you two had looked into additional sources of income once this hay season is finished.”
Allen rubbed his nose and shook his head. “We’ve both been too busy trying to get this place back in the black that we just haven’t had the time to look into anything. I think Penny mentioned something about getting some cows, but I’ve slept since then, so I don’t really remember what we talked about.”
“Ah yes, I remember that,” responded Penny with a nod of her head, “I was telling you about the various cow herds that provide milk products for Equestria and how farmers make deals with them, by providing them food, shelter, and money in exchange for their milk. That would be a good idea to look into, especially for when winter hits and there isn’t any more grass to turn into hay.”
“Even though it won’t help now, another option would be to plant crops for next year,” suggested Perfect, “from what Penny has told me, you could cover a lot of acres with your machines, and I’m sure that quite a few local farmers wouldn’t mind a helping hoof if it meant getting their crops planted or harvested on time.”
“Yeah, I could,” replied Allen with a nod, “the problem is that until my fuel scarcity problem is fixed, and I find alternatives for hydraulic fluid, engine oil, and coolant, among other things. Doing hay is going to be the easiest, and least resource-hungry way for me to make money using what I have.”
Perfect hummed disappointedly to herself. “A shame, I could think of a few potential clients right off the top of my head, but I suppose that can wait till you have things sorted.”
“Speaking of sorted,” said Penny,” have you had a chance to look around since you returned?”
Allen shook his head. “Naw, I was too hot and thirsty, so I just came straight inside, I’ll have a look around once it gets a little cooler outside.”
“I see, well, in that case, I feel I should tell you that nopony has been able to move your mower or tractor out of the backfield yet.”
Allen nodded in understanding. “Yeah that doesn’t surprise me, without power, you’re going to have a hard time moving it.”
“Why is that?” asked Perfect, her head cocked to one side in confusion.
“Everything on that tractor is run with hydraulics, and if the engine isn’t running, then the pumps aren’t pumping, which means, no brakes, steering, or lubrication. I’ve managed to stall that tractor once at the very top of a steep hill with a full grain wagon behind me, and the only reason I’m still here today is that my dad was right behind me in the grain truck with a sturdy bumper and brakes. Scared the everliving shit out of me and him when I rolled back into the front of the truck. The truck needed a new radiator, and I needed new pants.”
“Oh my, that sounds bad,” gasped Penny.
Allen shrugged. “It could have been a lot worse, considering that if my dad hadn’t been there, I’d have rolled back down the hill and jackknifed the tractor and wagon. Probably rolling it in the process, and since that tractor doesn’t have a cab, I’d have been turned into a bloody smear on the pavement or if I was lucky, would have received numerous broken bones after having been thrown from the tractor. But, he was there, and so I got lucky. But it made me very nervous driving up that hill for a long while afterward.”
“I can only imagine. How old were you at the time?” asked Penny.
Allen rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before replying, “I think I was about ten, maybe eleven years old? It’s been so long since it happened, but I’m pretty sure it was before I was a teenager.”
“That seems a bit young to be operating something as big as your tractor,” commented Perfect.
Allen laughed. “Ha! I was driving farm equipment younger than that!”
“You were?” she asked incredulously.
Allen nodded. “Yeah, Dad had me out working on the tractor when I was old enough to reach the pedals and push them in. Most farming families are like that. There is a lot of work to do, so it’s not uncommon for kids to be drafted to help out. Many hands make light work after all.”
“Still, that seems a tad dangerous, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I suppose, but if you can do the work, then you do it, simple as that,” replied Allen with a shrug.
“So, what are you planning on doing with that tractor then?” asked Penny.
“I’ll wait until it cools down a bit and go down there and take a look at it. See if there is any damage to the radiator, and if I don’t see anything, I’ll try and start her up and drive her back to the sheds. I’m really hoping I didn’t punch a hole in the radiator. If I did, then that tractor isn’t going to be doing any work going forward until I can find a way to fix it.”
“Why is that?” asked Perfect curiously.
“Cause if there is a hole in the radiator then the coolant will leak out and the engine will overheat, which can damage the engine,” explained Allen.
“That wouldn’t be good.”
Allen shook his head. “No, it wouldn’t,” he paused, glancing up at the clock on the wall for a moment before saying, “I’ll probably go and check on things around six or so, it should be a bit cooler by then, in the meantime, are you two hungry?”
“A little bit,” admitted Penny with a nod.
“Alright, then I’ll go ahead and make us some lunch and we can catch up on things while we wait, sound good?”
The two mares nodded as Allen stood up and began making them something to eat.
After a filling lunch, the group reviewed finances and plans for the farm. There wasn’t much they could do beyond general ideas, as many of the ideas they had come up with required additional research before they could commit to a plan. However, they all agreed that with the political situation brewing in Canterlot, that improving the farm’s security was a high priority. In addition, securing additional sources of income for the farm over winter would be critical.
With the clock reading a little past six in the evening, Allen pushed himself away from the table and said, “Welp, I reckon that’ll do for today, ladies.”
Nodding in agreement, both Penny and Perfect began packing up their things.
“I’ll see about reaching out to Lock Box and Rune Chisel tomorrow and see what they have to offer us,” said Penny as she stood awkwardly from her chair and settled her saddlebags on her back.
“Sounds good, let me know what they say,” replied Allen as he escorted the two mares to the front door.
Stepping out into the early evening sun, Allen felt the oppressive heat hit him square in the face, sweat instantly beading on his forehead.
Turning and shutting the door behind him, he asked, “Do you two need any help getting back to town or anything?”
Penny shook her head, a thankful smile on her face. “No thank you, Perfect acquired a small cart for me to sit in while she pulls it. We should be alright.”
“Are you sure, it’s a bit of a walk to town,” replied Allen as the trio walked over to the barn where a small, two-wheeled, cart was sitting out front.
Lighting her horn, Perfect removed her saddlebags and placed them in the bed of the cart before shimmying into the harness. Once she was satisfied with the fit, she gave Penny a nod, who in turn carefully climbed into the back and settled herself into the most comfortable position she could manage with her cast.
“Like I said Allen, we’ll be fine. Perfect managed to make the trip out here with minimal difficulty, and she’s had several hours to rest,” replied Penny.
Nodding, Perfect chimed in, “I’ll be fine, Penny isn’t that heavy, and while I’m not an earth pony, I’m still in excellent physical shape. Pulling her is no issue.”
“Alright, I was just asking. I wouldn’t want either of you to get hurt or over-exert yourselves when you didn’t have to.”
“We’ll be fine, now go, we’ll see you later Allen,” replied Penny with a shooing motion of her hoof.
“Alright, I’ll see you later,” laughed Allen good-naturedly as he watched the two unicorns leave until they were halfway down the driveway.
Turning away, Allen took a deep breath and muttered, “Alright, let’s get evening chores done first and then see what the damage is.”
Working quickly, Allen was able to get everyone fed and watered before turning his attention to the tractor and mower. Walking down the laneway between two of his fields, Allen soon caught sight of the two machinery pieces sitting alone in the middle of the field.
Walking up to them, he spared a glance at where the old oak tree had been and gave a low whistle when he saw how much of it had been removed.
“Damn, they work fast,” he muttered when he saw how little remained. A few large branches and several piles of smaller ones were all that was left of the once mighty tree.
Rubbing his chin, Allen pursed his lips and thought, I’ll probably just burn the branch piles where they are. They aren’t big enough for anything more than kindling and I don’t have the time or energy to move them elsewhere anyways.
Turning away from the branch piles, Allen focused his attention on the old 806 and mower.
Walking up to the old tractor, he quickly set to work inspecting it for any obvious damages. Pulling the radiator cap off, he looked down inside and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the coolant level hadn’t noticeably changed since he last looked at it.
Thank god, it looks like those timberwolves didn’t poke any holes in the radiator after all.
Jumping down, he moved around to the front and looked at the bent and mangled grill. “Well, at least you did your job protecting the radiator, still, I’ll have to see if I can’t bend you back into shape or at least as close to shape as I can with what I have,” he muttered as he pulled several twigs and small sticks from between the bars that had gotten stuck in the mesh screen just in front of the radiator.
I’ll need to replace that old mesh screen, the poor thing looks like Swiss cheese now. Shaking his head, Allen continued his walk-around inspection.
Finding nothing obviously wrong, Allen climbed up in the seat and reached for the key out of habit. However, as his fingers closed around it to turn it to the ‘on’ position, he realized that it was already ‘on’.
Shit, thought Allen as he mentally kicked himself for leaving the key on in the ignition. Glancing at the instrument cluster, he noted that none of the lights were lit, which meant that more than likely his battery had run down. However, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to try the starter, so pushing the clutch in, he advanced the throttle a bit and mashed the starter button.
*Click* went the starter solenoid but other than that, nothing. The battery was as dead as a doornail.
Letting out the clutch pedal, and turning the key to the ‘off’ position, Allen leaned back in his seat and groaned. “Damn it, the battery’s dead.”
Rubbing his face tiredly, Allen grabbed the key out of the ignition and pocketed it. Jumping down, he resigned himself to the long walk back to the barn to get the other tractor to pull the 806 and mower out of the field.
Leaving the two machines behind, Allen hustled back to the machine shed and quickly climbed up on the 706. Turning the key on, he let the glow plugs warm up for a minute, before hitting the ignition and bringing the tractor to life. While letting the engine warm up, he jumped down and went looking for a tow bar to pull the 806 out of the field.
A few minutes later, he found what he was looking for and after wrestling with it, he managed to get it out to where he could back the tractor up to it and hook it up. Getting it attached to the 706 took a couple more minutes of grunting and swearing, but eventually, Allen had it attached. Climbing back up, he easily put the tractor in gear and headed for the field.
When he arrived, Allen pulled up in front of the broken-down 806 and carefully backed up until he was close enough to hook the two tractors together. Leaving the 706 running, he engaged the park lock and jumped down, expecting the hook-up only to take a minute or so.
Wrapping a chain around each side of the axle, Allen quickly secured the two tractors together, and after double-checking that everything was snug, he went to check and make sure the 806’s park lock wasn’t engaged. Once he found everything in order, he returned to the 706 and climbed up. Pushing the clutch in, he put the tractor in low range and let out the clutch smoothly, allowing the tractor to move forward slowly.
Carefully, he guided the three machines back to the main machine shed. Pulling up in front, he stopped and hopped down. Unhooking the mower from the 806, he then returned to his seat atop the 706.
Pulling forward and straightening out, he carefully backed the two tractors into the shed until both were inside. Once more, he jumped down and unhooked the two from each other, before then removing the tow bar from the 706 and setting it off to the side. With that task done, he then hooked up to the mower and backed it into the shed as well, as he remembered that he still needed to fix it.
Throttling down, Allen turned off the tractor, the machine shed falling silent save for the faint tinking sound of metal cooling. Climbing down, he headed over to the wall of tools in search of a battery charger and prayed that there was no damage to the 806’s battery that would prevent it from holding a charge.
I really should have replaced that battery months ago, but I was hoping we could nurse this one another season, considering how expensive batteries are these days, thought Allen regretfully to himself as he wheeled the battery charger over and hooked it up.
Checking the various dials, he saw that the battery seemed to be accepting charge correctly, so he hoped that it hadn’t been run completely flat and that there just hadn’t been enough juice left in it to crank the starter over.
“Well, I guess since I’m going to be waiting for a bit, I might as well work on the mower,” muttered Allen to himself as he went to go and grab various tools and parts.
Humming to himself, he quickly set to work, not noticing the 806’s headlights starting to glow a dim yellowish-green behind him for several moments before going dark again, nor did he hear the clicking of the starter solenoid attempting to turn the starter over either.
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Herbie moment
I take it that a set of 100 amp jumper cables for battery to battery transfer aint common equipment? Then again, you need some serious electrical power to turn over those class of starter motors, and given the size of the cables direct to the motor, if you wanted as much a drop on the long leads, theyd have to be that much thicker.
Many years ago I saw a farmer jumper start a small tractor with car jump leads. Fortunetely the lead whose insulation melted with the heat of the power was the ground side so it didnt do something spectacular when it slumped onto the framework.
I used to have a large SLA that claimed to have up to 500 Amp short circuit cranking current, and 800 amp terminal short. Thats a Very melted wrench.
806 be sparking.
11890669
Or Christine....
It lives...
Ah crud he is going to loose that tractor isn’t he. Since that is technically old iron it will not be easy to put down.
Oh crap this is going to be like that one fic where the Anon character burns a bunch of Timberwolves ands gets possessed by their ghosts except it happening to the tractor.
Don't you just hate it when your tractor gets haunted by a ghost?
11890685
It really shouldn't be an issue. Allen's tractors all use 12-volt batteries, the same as most car batteries, (originally they would have been two 6-volt batteries hooked up in series.) But yeah, Allen can simply hook up a battery charger like normal and let it charge like you would a dead car battery. On the other hand, if you need to jump-start a dead tractor quickly and get it running, just hook the positive cable up to the positive post on the starter and the negative to the frame and jump it that way as the starter motor is a 12-volt system, so no issue there either.
This will either go like Herbie, Christine, or Maximum Overdrive.
... good, bad, or ugly.
11890669
Given its destruction of the Timber wolves?
Herbie Cide?
Oh boy, what will happen next?
Ghost in the machine.
awesome chapter.
Great chapter, once again.:D
“Okay. Show me.”
11890871
Well, either he has solved his fuel issue or he's going to be chased around by his own farm equipment.
Either that or he'll get to train a tractor how to hay a field without him :D
"Good boy! Who's making bales? Yes, you are! C'mere, have some diesel. That's a good boy."
I'm also surprised he didn't use jumper cables, or pull the batteries and charge them at home. Intriguing developments though...
11891700
Charging is safer, and lugging that heavy battery from the field would be a pain in the ass, (ask me how I know.)
Hopefully the Tractor... Wolf? *Shrug* ANYWAY I hope the Tractor won't be feral and will let Allen keep using it.
11890854
Ow, critical hit. You win...
11892026
BALEALITY.
Shan't instead of shalt in Blueblood's letter.
11892695
Fixed, thank you.
I guess the tractor --is-- possessed now, the key was removed
11893063
No problem your spelling errors are few and far between.
11893063
Allen's gonna find out his tractor is possessed soon, isn't he? Also can't wait for the next chapter.
Soon...
i.pinimg.com/originals/e4/c3/80/e4c3806817881029d5dc9049bba650db.gif
Just read it all. I really like it and have learned a lot about farming.
11898518
This is barely the surface. If you want to know more, might I suggest watching a YouTube channel called, (Cole the Cornstar)? He farms two thousand acres of corn and soybeans in Iowa with his family and goes into depth about how the behind the scenes of farming goes. (Also, I am not related to him in anyway, I just enjoy his content.)