Detour

by Jetset0099

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."

Comments

[myhe01]

Refreshed and this came out! Yay!

[myhe01]

Also, the civilian (civilian defined as everybody else except the military) version to the C-130 is called the L-100.

[TangoForce141]

Well stupid guy screwed with the wrong pilot and giant red stallion well whose gonna be six foot under them.

[Rain_Bow_Dashie]

2620099 I also have a old DOS box, (before windows), and on each of my HDD's is a different OS (i got Linux, Mac OS, Windows, Ubuntu, i got windows from 95-windows 8, and mac from beginning to end, and Linux... i have no idea... i also play Atari.

Throws Nokia at Abrams tank, *Nokia ringtone* Sound waves destroy everything.

Oh, I also found the pic for the fic on google :p

[myhe01]

2623095 iirc, the C-130 is exactly the same as the L-100. If it were decommissioned, then it'd stll be the same as the C-130.

[Jetset0099]

2623102 I have no idea what we're all talking about lol.

[myhe01]

2623811 I'm saying that the C-130 and the L-100 are exactly the same. FYI, the L-100 is the civillian version of the C-130, civilian defined and everyone except the military. This is what Jake should have in the story. You don't have to change it, I'm juts trying to be realistic.

[Jetset0099]

2624768 No I got it. It was just that you guys went from talking about nokias and computers to L-100s. It was 730 in the morning when I read all of it so I was tired and confused lol

[Jetset0099]

Sorry for the delay in chapters. I went out of town this past weekend. Ill have the chapter posted sometime tonight. Thanks!

[Boss_Hoss1]

Yep, it came back to bite him in the tail all right! Still trying to place what these rifles are and why .22 Long Rifle specifically. I can only guess they were a special consignment of fine tuned Target Rifles and special ammo for a shooting match. Las Vegas gets a lot of high visibility and high dollar matches.
At least .22 is dinky enough that they'll get their tails handed to them if any Royal Guard Unicorns or Pegasus archers show up. Unfortunately, at touching range, that's not going to be much help or comfort for bare-skinned AJ.
I hope Jake's plan works...

[The outcast]

Still trying to figure out WHY the military asked/told him to carry itty bitty .22 ammunition...