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.