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."
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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."
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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."
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"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."