Visions
Trios was slow that afternoon. On a Tuesday, no one really thinks about going to a jazz club for drinks and music. The main room was empty, save for the bartender cleaning off glasses and a distressed Macintosh alone at the bar with a shot of whiskey in his hoof. He spoke low, and not really directed towards anyone.
"Ahm done for. Ah can't make it through this year."
The bartender glanced up at him for a second, not stopping his cleaning, then focused his dead panned gaze back at his work.
From out of the corner of the room, a stallion made his way across the restaurant. He walked up to the bar and sat down next to him.
"You look down. What's the matter?"
Mac waved him off with a hoof.
"Ah don't wanna bother ya with mah problems. Y'all probably got stuff ta do."
He looked around the empty room, then down at the drink the assuming bartender had poured him.
"...Nope. I'm free. The name is Blueslate. You're Big Macintosh, right?"
He raised his head to look at him for the first time. He was a dark blue earth pony with a short white mane and tail. He was only a little shorter than Mac, and had a grey slate rock as his cutie mark.
On any other day, the farmer would have shaken his hoof. But now, his mood forced him to stay still and just slink back down to the counter.
"Eeyup. That's me."
Blueslate took a long swig from his drink, polishing it off in one go, and slammed it down on the bar.
"So. What's going on in that head of yours."
Mac sat silent for a moment before responding.
"Well, jes a couple days ago, mah farm was attacked by a gang."
He continued to tell the story, the whole time gazing at the amber liquid in his glass. When he was finished, Blueslate slowly nodded his head in understanding.
"I see. So, if you beat them, why are you so down?"
"Because mah barn was destroyed, an' in that barn was all mah tools and equipment fer runnin' Sweet Apple Acres. The insurance will cover the reconstruction on the barn, but it won't replace anythin' that was in it. Hell, one o' mah friends vehicles got destroyed in that blast too."
"What caused the barn to explode?"
"Well the investigators said it was the...what was it again...oh yeah, fuel tank on the vehicle that caught from a stray bullet. But Applejack looked at it closer, an' said it was them barrels o' pesticides we had stored in the back. They're highly explosive. Ah agree with her."
Mac turned and looked straight ahead.
"Ya happy, readers?"
Blueslate took a sip from his second drink and continued.
"So you're worried you won't be able to provide for your family for the upcoming harvests because the tools required are much too expensive to replace. Am I right?"
The farmer slumped his head down onto the counter and sighed.
"Ya hit the nail on the head partner. Ya hit the nail on the head."
The blue pony chuckled.
"Well Mac, financial troubles aren't rare. I've been around a while. Let me tell you something. Are you listening?"
He rolled his head over to look at him.
"Eeyup."
Blueslate swirled the alcohol in his glass, and looked the red stallion in the eyes.
"Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? Always the answer is: "Love. They must do it for love." Farmers farm for the love of farming. They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors. They love the weather, maybe even when it is making them miserable. They love to live where they work and to work where they live. If the scale of their farming is small enough, they like to work in the company of their children and with the help of their children. They love the measure of independence that farm life can still provide. I have an idea that a lot of farmers have gone to a lot of trouble merely to be self-employed to live at least a part of their lives without a boss."
Mac raised his head and sat upright again. Blueslate continued.
"Macintosh, you farm because you want to. Because you're mind and heart says you NEED to. Nothing is more powerful than the mind and heart. No obstacle, especially something as trivial as bits, is going to stop you from being who you are, and doing what you love. That, my friend, I can assure you. So get out of this slump, and get back to your home. Your family needs you more than this place does."
A happier looking Mac stood up and pushed his stool in.
"You know what Blueslate, yer right. Ah need to stop sulking, an' find a way ta fix mah problems. Thank ya kindly."
Now, the farmer decided to shake his hoof. He was about to head out, but he asked one more question.
"Ah realize what ya said an' all. But do you have any ideas on how exactly ta go about gettin' the necessities replaced?"
Blueslate looked up at him from his seat.
"Mac, you have to envision the path in order to walk the path."
The red earth pony stared at him with a confused look on his face.
"Er...ok?"
Blueslate chuckled and took a swig of his drink.
"Just think that one over, ok?"
"Ah will. Thanks fer all yer advice."
With that, Macintosh left a tip on the the bar counter and ascended the staircase.
Blueslate looked up as he disappeared into the foyer, and out the front door into the warm afternoon sun.
"He'll do just fine. I know it."
The bartender, who was facing the kitchen, set down his glass he was working on and turned to the counter.
"Hey buddy, did you want a re-...what the?"
Where the blue stallion was a second ago was replaced by an empty barstool, a tip on the counter, and an empty glass, already cleansed to a shine.
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Whoa creepy vibe....
"Well the investigators said it was the...what was it again...oh yeah, fuel tank on the vehicle that caught from a stray bullet. But Applejack looked at it closer, an' said it was them barrels o' pesticides we had stored in the back. They're highly explosive. Ah agree with her."
Mac turned and looked straight ahead.
"Ya happy, readers?"
I couldnt stop laughing after that.
Mac must have really good insurance
My company would have said "well you should have gotten the alien weapon's package and gang violence package then your barn would be covered"
The explosion explanation is appreciated, and I'm sorry if I came on to strong about it last chapter, but exploding gas tanks is an old, overused trope in fiction, and in my opinion, is becoming like the snidely whiplash mustache twirl, a plot trope that does nothing but add predictable and unoriginal drama to a scene.
I just feel that it's less than optimal storytelling.
Having Big Mac speak directly to the audience was not a move in the right direction either. It comes off as overly frustrated.
As to the speech, a little more flowery than I think most farmers, being rather practical minded, would care for, but more or less correct.
But that said, bits still matter.
As Super Cider Squeezy 6000 showed, Equestria seems to be on the cusp of a magitech fueled industrial revolution.
And that is hell on small farmers. Especially resistant to change farmers like the Apples.
Their competition will modernize, making it cheaper to farm, which will in turn lower prices through lower cost and higher output.
Right now, Sweet Apple Acre's is running quite lean trying to support the farm and 4 ponies.
And it's not going to get better as time goes on unless they start changing how they do things. And expand to better take advantage of economies of scale industrial farming enables.
This is a great time for someone to convince the Apples to look into new farming equipment, since they have to replace so much anyway.
I'd suggest getting Twilight to research farm machinery, farming techniques, and government grants for small farmers, and then present those facts. This will probably be enough to sway Big Mac, what with his fancy mathematics and all, but an honest appeal to Applejack about what will happen if they stay their previous course should go long ways to sway her as well.
2655574 In real life, my mother worked at a tow yard, I have seen vehicles where it had exploded into flames because of a bullet, it is not common, bit not imppsible for a.vehicle.to explode.
P.s. sorry for random periods, keep clicking them instead of SPAAACE.
2655672 Look, Mythbuster's video taped tests has proven to my satisfaction that cars don't explode when a bullet hit's the gas tank.
If you want to convince me otherwise, you're going to need way more supporting evidence than an anonymous internet testimonial.
Haha,
Mac broke the 4th wall.
And a pleasant "F*** you" to you as well.
My problem wasn't with the explosion, but I may have a problem with something else. I'm not done fact checking yet though, so I'll be sure to be thorough before I make a Mule outta myself.
2655948 the world must be ending... either that or someone ran out of cupcakes
2656211 actually I apologize for the confusion. When I said brass casings strapped tot their sides I meant the gang members not the guns. Sort of like an ammunition belt. I wasn't intending for them to be automatic.
I've been meaning to ask... Why did the government have him hall 22 ammo
I didn't think 22 caliber weapons were used in the military.
Mac what have we explained to you and pinkie no breaking the fourth wall today ok?
2656445
Ok, but that still doesn't change the military inconsistency, as well as the stopping power necessary to cause the destruction of the barn and Ferrari. Was the shipment ordered by the US Military, or was it a civilian shipment that bought Army Surplus crates?
And usually belt style bandoliers are used for belt fed weapons, with the exception of shotguns...
2656502
Sorry buddy, Beat ya to the punch.
2657632
you could have just pointed out you asked the question in more detail
2657632 actually it went into a barrel and lit it up and in jets defense he didn't say if it included incinerate or tracer or not so......
2658443 Ok, that was a little hard to make out. From the looks of it, I think you meant to say that in the next chapter, Jet explains the explosion off as a fertilizer explosion. I was actually trying to defend the car being able to explode, and say that it was in fact possible.
My gripe was with the round used. Granted, as I said, I'm just a heavy nitpicker, but the .22 round does not have the necessary force to cause the damage described in the chapter.
If it were a military shipment, number one: there wouldn't be any .22 ammo inside, but there might have been .223, and number two: the military under many circumstances, will mix tracer rounds with normal ammunition. It's fairly standard.
2658504 Here's my theory behind the ammunition argument. The alternate universe of Equestria is different from earths atmosphere. The equation is BCphysics=M/Cd•a=p•l/Cd.
BCPhysics = ballistic coefficient as used in physics and engineering
M = mass
A = cross-sectional area
Cd = drag coefficient
ρ (rho) = average density
l = body length.
The composition of the air
((((((((Gas Volume
Nitrogen (N2) 780,840 ppmv (78.084%)
Oxygen (O2) 209,460 ppmv (20.946%)
Argon (Ar) 9,340 ppmv (0.9340%)
Carbon dioxide (CO2) 397 ppmv (0.0397%) going up ~2 ppmv a year
Neon (Ne) 18.18 ppmv (0.001818%)
Helium (He) 5.24 ppmv (0.000524%)
Methane (CH4) 1.79 ppmv (0.000179%)
Krypton (Kr) 1.14 ppmv (0.000114%)
Hydrogen (H2) 0.55 ppmv (0.000055%)
Nitrous oxide (N2O) 0.325 ppmv (0.0000325%)
Carbon monoxide (CO) 0.1 ppmv (0.00001%)
Xenon (Xe) 0.09 ppmv (9×10−6%) (0.000009%)
Ozone (O3) 0.0 to 0.07 ppmv (0 to 7×10−6%)
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 0.02 ppmv (2×10−6%) (0.000002%)
Iodine (I2) 0.01 ppmv (1×10−6%) (0.000001%)
Ammonia (NH3) trace
Not included in above dry atmosphere:
Water vapor (H2O) ~0.25% by mass over full atmosphere, locally 0.001%–5%))))))
on our planet gives a standard 22. round of ammunition a drag force (or ballistic coefficient) of 0.5BC.
Now lets say there was a different percent ratio in Equestria's atmosphere. There is no evidence of true scientific data. Lauren Faust didnt think about it that much I'm assuming. Anyways, that would give the bullets a possible lower ballistic coefficient, allowing them to travel faster and longer, and pierce through things that they aren't able to on Earth. There, I hope this settles it. Enjoy the rest of the story. Thanks.
2659309 well nitrogen can blow up
2659309
If you say so.....
Although I still think it would've been more efficient to say it was a .223 round instead......
2659345 That too might have worked lol. But I like physics and all that stuff so to me it seemed necessary.
2659359 seems ligit
2655937 Well, your entitled to your opinion, although, I never said it happens 100% of the time, But given the right circumstances, a exploding gas tank is possible. (Bullet grazes gas tank, fuel spills out, spilled gasoline starts to fume up, stray bullet hits area and BOOM the gas vapor ignites, and then the remaining fuel in the engine goes off) Same principle as a gas leak in someones house, a spark form a light switch can blow up the house. (P.S. did the Myth-busters shoot a Ferrari with a gun?!? I don't think so.)
Also, I don't recall if Twilight also enchanted the car to have unlimited fuel, or if it was only the truck/airplane... because (in real life) after a long drive the vehicles fuel tank would be fairly empty. Thus more vapors inside said fuel tank, so a hole in the tank and a spark would be enough to set it off.
Don't make me break out the ******** W.S.P. report on the real life incident...
Guess what...new chapter!
"Well the investigators said it was the...what was it again...oh yeah, fuel tank on the vehicle that caught from a stray bullet. But Applejack looked at it closer, an' said it was them barrels o' pesticides we had stored in the back. They're highly explosive. Ah agree with her."
Ah ok, makes more sense then.
I do believe that on an episode of mythbusters, it was proven that it is impossible to blow up a fuel tank with a bullet. Farming chemicals and fertilisers would most likely work.
Anyways, this is a fantastic story.