//------------------------------//
// Chapter 88 - "Men of Few Words" 
// Story: My Little Caboose II: Friendship is Fragmented! 
// by DarkWing 
//------------------------------//

	Lopez traveled back to the farmhouse at a slow pace, thinking over the situation which he believed, for good reason, would escalate pretty fast. He had hoped that he would never have had to deal with O'Malley again, let alone deal with ones who are siding with him. And having both of them living near him didn't help. He knew that they'd be back, and since they're so close, they'll be back a lot. He was even having a hard time deciding who he disliked more; the humans or the fragments. The humans are stupid and love to hear themselves talk, which Lopez realized, now that he could physically get headaches, made them worse here. He then stopped in his tracks, realizing that he shouldn't really call them humans now. They are ponies. And now that he was thinking about it, he realized that he could probably add the new ponies to that list of things that were annoying. During the train ride to the town, they struck him as overly friendly, in the same vein as Doc and Donut. And as for the fragments are... well, for the most part, they also seemed stupid. But they were also trouble. At least, the ones who he had met were. But it wasn't unfair for him to assume that the rest are just as bad as them, considering their origins.

It was only when Lopez emerged from the acres and began walking towards the farmhouse that decided that he hated everyone equally.

And, as if summoned by his hatred, Lopez closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh as Sarge burst out of the farmhouse, followed by the red stallion that he had met the day prior. At this time, he couldn't recall his name. But since Sarge seemed chummy with him, Lopez could only assume that he wouldn't like him. He was also hoping that he would never have to find out. Sarge talked to the other stallion for a brief moment, then began walking towards Lopez. The stallion, however, continued down the path.

"Lopez, just the guy I wanted to see," Sarge boomed enthusiastically, trotting over to the brown stallion with a wide smile. "Say, how do you feel about doing me a little favor?"

"[I'd say no, but you'll just volunteer me anyways,]" Lopez stated.

"Heh, knew I could count on you," Sarge said, throwing his right foreleg around the nape of Lopez's neck. He cleared his throat and pointed his hoof forwards. Two dozen yards away, the stallion neared a large, wooden wagon. "Do you see that strong, well built stallion walking just ahead of us?"

"Si."

"What with winter coming soon, we here at the Apple farm are scouring the acres for every last apple we can get before they stop growing. Gotta get every bit we can for these so we can look after ourselves during the cold season ahead. You're included in that little 'looking after' group. And then I remembered, that next to the fact that you're the newest guest staying here, you were a workhorse back home. And as luck would have it, you're an actual horse too!" Sarge said with an added laugh, making Lopez groan. He already knew where this was going. "Y'see, I had promised Big Mac and the others that I would help him do this last little run, but wouldn't ya know it, after that little ordeal with the Director and whatnot, I need to rest. Take up more of a managerial role, if you know what I mean." Lopez wanted to remark that Sarge was a terrible leader, and that he too was there for the Director ordeal, and that that would mean that he too needed rest. Mostly from the others, but rest nonetheless. "And as a manager, I came here to enlist you for help with wagon pulling duty. What do you say?"

"[Again, you'll just volunteer me anyways,]" Lopez grunted, walking towards Big Mac.

"That's the spirit!" Sarge said. Bringing his right hoof to his mouth, Sarge yelled, "Told ya he'd help, Mac, didn't I?"

Big Mac nodded at Sarge, then waited for Lopez to catch up to him. Sarge continued and told them that he was going to go see Simmons about something, but neither of them said anything in reply as he left the farm. Lopez waited for Big Mac to say something, but the stallion simply nodded at him. He then turned and walked to the front of the cart, Lopez following a few feet behind him. Once at the front, Lopez noticed there were two harnesses made out of some thick rope that connected to the wagon laying on the grass by the front of it. Lopez watched as Big Mac lifted the harness towards him and put it on. Before Big Mac could say anything, Lopez moved towards it. He slowly picked it up, careful not to drop it, and looked to Big Mac. Big Mac said nothing, but merely nodded at the harness and looked forwards. Lopez shrugged and repeated what Big Mac had done. When Big Mac was satisfied that he was strapped in, he slowly began to walk towards the trees. There were not many apples left on the trees close to the farm, so they had to venture deep into the orchard. After roughly five minutes, Big Mac lifted up his right hoof briefly, and Lopez stopped. Big Mac turned to Lopez and began to open his mouth.

But then a thoughtful look crossed his face, and he closed his mouth. He lowered his head and got himself out of the harness, letting it drop onto the grass with a light thud. As Lopez began to get out of his, Big Mac started towards a tree that was practically covered by apples. Slowly, he walked around it, tapping it lightly with his hoof. Lopez raised a brow and stepped closer, curious as to what he was doing. After a few more seconds of that, Big Mac turned to Lopez and looked pointedly at the cart, then motioned his head, willing Lopez to bring it closer. With a shrug, Lopez went with it. He quickly put the harness back on and trudged the wagon towards Big Mac, up until he stopped him right next to the tree. Big Mac then turned around slightly so his back faced the tree. Lifting his legs in the air, he quickly and forcefully hit the base of the tree. Splinters and pieces of bark flew off the tree and scattered onto the ground. A moment passed with nothing else happening, but before Lopez even entertained the thought of asking what he was doing, dozens of apples fell from the tree and fell right into the wagon. Big Mac then motioned for Lopez to follow him to the other side of the tree. Once there, he kicked again, and then another bushel of apples fell into the wagon. 

Big Mac then looked to Lopez and his brow raised ever so slightly. Lopez looked to the cart, which now had about a layer of apples covering the bottom. He then looked to the tree at where Big Mac had connected with it. To Lopez, this looked like an awfully inconvenient and slow way of doing this. But right now, he couldn't think, nor convey in English, any better alternative to how they did work. Looking back to Big Mac, Lopez gave him a nod to continue on. Big Mac then walked towards another tree, Lopez following without any words. They continued doing this for about three hours without breaks, Lopez slowing slightly with each tree emptied, up until the cart was filled with apples. Big Mac then put the harness back on himself and tilted his head down a path. They followed the trail for about fifteen minutes until they came out of the trees into the clearing near the farmhouse. Slowly, Big Mac lead Lopez behind it, carrying the wagon with them, and they stopped by a small building near the back of the home. Taking the harness off once again, Big Mac disappeared into the building and came back out, rolling a few lidless barrels in front of him.

Big Mac quickly set to work, emptying the apples into the barrels. Lopez followed his lead once again, now growing curious as to why Big Mac had said nothing so far. He hadn't really met anybody who could go three minutes without saying anything asinine, let alone hours. Soon, as Lopez contemplated this, the cart was emptied and Big Mac went back into the shed and came back out with a few lids on his back. He quickly put them on the barrels and twisted them on. Even after all this work, Big Mac didn't seem to be slowing at all. The only sign that he wasn't a machine was that he was sweating slightly. After all the barrels were closed, Big Mac did a small stretch, then sat on the grass. He let out a small sigh as his body relaxed and he gently massaged his left shoulder. They both remained there for ten minutes in complete silence.

"[You really don't say much, do you?]" Lopez asked curiously. Big Mac stared at him vacantly, showing next to no emotion. This led Lopez to believe that Big Mac, obviously, didn't understand him, much like he expected. But what's more is that Big Mac didn't even care. Big Mac simply got off the ground and went back to the wagon and looked at Lopez. Big Mac wanted nothing more than to go back to work. Lopez sighed. Not because he had to do even more work, but because, to his surprise, somebody had no desire to talk to him. "[I think we'll get along just fine.]"