Chapter 21: Industrial Evolution

“Alright,” Gearhead said into his communicator as he rapidly decelerated from full throttle to one-third speed, and then came about. “Control test complete. Are you ready to send the stabilizer?”

<Ready,> Snowbelle’s response came promptly, but to Gearhead’s mind instead of through his hood. It seemed that even after a couple of weeks together, she was still uncomfortable speaking aloud when others could hear her. Gearhead did not mind, since he felt she should come out of her shell on her own time. <Stabilizer unit reads as being at 100% readiness, and I can see the control fins responding to the guidance system on the monitor.>

“Remember, you are to take control only if the automatic system cannot handle it. Your primary purpose here will be to monitor everything and report any errors immediately, and to force an emergency abort if necessary.”

<Understood, Papa.>

Well, that was the way things stood. Gearhead was flying the single-core Alicorn Engine above the shop while Snowbelle observed from atop the roof. She had already mastered gliding, and could fly perfectly well over short distance. She had also grown to the point where she was better off leaning against the back of Gearhead’s head then lying on top of it when they travelled together – sort of like Gummy with Pinkie. Although Snowbelle loved to tease Spike about being too hot, she had grown more resistant to his heat, so they could stand together, but he still could not hold her without burning her.

A couple seconds passed, and then the stabilizer launched from the Laboratory’s launch tube in flight mode. It looked like a Pegasus that had been squashed flat, but bristling with swords and spears. The stabilizer circled as it climbed, only breaking out of its first flight pattern once the sensors locked onto Gearhead and the Alicorn Engine he was wearing. “[Unit lock acquired. Closing to docking distance.]” The system reported.

As part of the test, Gearhead continued to twist and turn in flight, but he held his speed steady. The stabilizer did as it was programmed, and kept aiming slightly ahead of Gearhead’s own nose to keep closing the distance until it was behind him by seven meters, and above him at an angle that was less than forty-five degrees. “[Docking distance achieved. Activating Docking Mode. Starting docking operation.]”

Now the stabilizer transformed in flight to Docking Mode, with the ring in the middle and the wings spread out on all sides. Light sensors sought out the receivers designated to them on the ring that surrounded the Engine’s core, and once they found them they stayed that way, even to the point of rotating the stabilizer when Gearhead rotated his own orientation. “[Guidance system locked on. Docking...]”

As the stabilizer came on, the panels around the core retracted away, opening up enough space for the ring on the stabilizer unit. Gearhead breathed in deeply as he watched the independent unit close, and thought it was coming in a bit fast.

<Should I abort?>

<Let us wait and see how it turns out,>

<Okay,>

The exchange passed before the stabilizer even closed a quarter of a meter. It connected with the Engine with a loud clang, and began to close up the connections to finish the link. “That was a little rough. Lets test the locks to make sure it did not get jammed.”

<Opening locks,> There was a slight whine, and Gearhead rotated back and forth five degrees.

“Release functional,” he reported.

<Closing locks,> Snowbelle said, and the whine came on again. This time the sound of metal on metal was much quieter. This time Gearhead let the collar close around the core. “[Docking operation complete. Stabilizer connected to Unit.]”

“Please run system scan and diagnosis,”

“[Running...]”

As the programs ran to check that everything was connected and working properly, Gearhead continued to turn and fly without pushing the unit. It was running well, however since the two parts had only recently connected the Engine was not showing any improvements in performance.

“[Operation complete. No errors detected. All boards: blue.]”

<I confirm readings,> Snowbelle said, looking at the display in front of her.

“Report stabilizer system status,” Gearhead said.

“[System standing by, all-blue.]”

“Activate system,”

“[Command confirmed. Stabilizer system activating... online.]”

The Engine’s whine suddenly intensified, and for an instant, light seemed to run along the lines of the seams in the stabilizer’s form, from the core to the wings. And then Gearhead felt everything lurch forward as he accelerated. His throttle still showed one-third, and he felt a confirming nudge from Snowbelle: his speed had indeed increased.

As Gearhead continued to test the Engine’s flight capabilities, he twisted, flipped, and turned. Even as he pushed the throttle slightly higher to see when and if he would start to black out from excessive G-forces, the system compensated by enveloping him and his whole unit in a particle field.

<Amazing,> Snowbelle said. <If you had had this, Auntie Pri would not have had a chance.>

<It is too showy,> Gearhead responded. <But I cannot argue against the speed. Now let us test for weaponization.> Ideally it would not work easily, so nopony could take and adapt it to their own use, regardless of the safeguards Gearhead used. He took the Engine down, heading for a big pile of rocks that was sheltered and out of general view.

Gearhead hovered in front of the rocks and switched the ‘wings’ on the stabilizer from Thruster Mode to Blaster Mode. The wings bent, curving around so the ends faced forward, reshaping into barrels. He locked the targeting reticles for each wing onto one rock each, and fired. Bright green bolts bored into the rocks, scoring direct hits and creating damage equal to a Magic Arrow of Light.

“Targeting calibration and blast damage within expected parameters,” Gearhead said. “Switching to Railgun Mode.” Now the top two and bottom two wings changed their angles so their barrels were completely straight as they aimed directly ahead. The second-highest set of wings docked with the top rails, and the second-lowest set docked with the bottom rails. Gearhead targeted the rock directly ahead of him, and triggered the firing mechanism using the command linked into his HUD.

Massive blasts arced from each of the four barrels, their recoil pushing Gearhead back two meters before he managed to increase forward thrust enough to counteract it. His jaw dropped when he saw his blasts chew right through the remaining rock, leaving a deep furrow in the ground for several meters from the lower pair of barrels.

<Uh... is that bad?>

“Apply Emergency Lock to Railgun Mode,” Gearhead said, still shaking.

“[Confirm lock,]”

“Confirm application of Emergency Lock to Railgun Mode,”

“[Order confirmed. Railgun Mode is now in Emergency Lock. Vocal confirmation will be required to release lock. Code is 0-3-0. Confirm receipt.]”

“I confirm receipt of code oh-three-oh.” The wings returned to their default firing positions.

<Now what?>

“I need to shake off that feeling, and that is perfect for the last flight test: Let us see just how much faster this stabilizer makes the single-core. Thruster Mode!” The wings clicked back to their original position. “Time to take this to the maximum,” Gearhead said, and then he launched into a vertical climb.

The preliminary test had been about the connection between the stabilizer and the Engine, so Gearhead had not pushed the throttle far beyond the one-third mark, instead turning tightly enough to feel the G-forces at that much slower speed. Now he pushed the throttle forward as high as it could go. Again, the particle field kept him from losing consciousness, but this time he was turning at a much faster speed, which meant a far wider turning circle. Considering the state of the stabilizer’s weapon systems, Gearhead hoped not many ponies noticed him.

That thought in mind, Gearhead turned so he could scan the nearer streets and houses, and was stunned to find them empty. He scanned farther afield, and caught sight of the tail-end of a line at the other end of town, in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. “What is going on?”

<It is cider season, remember?>

“I suppose given the turn-out for Zap Apple Jam, I should not be so surprised that all of Ponyville drops everything they are doing for cider. Want to investigate, Snowbelle?”

<Is that alright?>

“Let us just stow the stabilizer first,” Gearhead said. He triggered the unlock and release cycles, and then waited while Snowbelle monitored the stabilizer’s progress back to the shop. She dropped down to the ground to stow the controller between some rocks against the nearest wall, and then started to fly back up to the roof. Even on a lower power setting, Gearhead swooped quickly down and scooped her up.

As Gearhead ascended again, Snowbelle crawled around so she was sitting just in front of the core. <Go!> She chirped, pointing ahead with her head and her right claw. The Engine leaped forward, as Gearhead took the throttle up to two-thirds power. They made quick work of the distance to Sweet Apple Acres.

When Gearhead touched down beside the cart-table set up outside the gate to Sweet Apple Acres, there was still a large crowd, although some of the ponies were already returning to Ponyville. Granny Smith, Big McIntosh, Applejack, and Apple Bloom were all standing around the table with Twilight, Dash, and Fluttershy.

“Don’t worry, Applejack, I’m sure Flim and Flam weren’t serious,” Twilight was saying.

“They sure sounded serious, talkin’ about running us out of business.”

“This is a foul mess, but now we got no choice but to see it through,” Big Mac said.

“Coulda left well enough alone, if ya asked me,” Applejack said, agreeing.

“Not after all that,” Granny said.

“Granny’s right: we gotta do this!” Apple Bloom said.

“What did we miss?” Gearhead asked, pushing his hood and goggles off of his head.

“Oh, just these two running their mouths and accepting a bet with a couple of no-good Unicorn stallions over the farm,” Applejack said.

“I am afraid we will need more context than that,” Gearhead said.

“Why’s that?” Granny asked.

“I mean, if you want some help..?”

“If we’re gonna take this seriously, I don’t know if you can help,” Applejack said.

“That depends on what you need to do to win this bet you mentioned.”

“We bet we could make more cider than they could,” Apple Bloom said.

“I don’t care about more cider,” Dash said, close to tears despite herself, “I just want to drink some cider!”

“It is that good, huh?”

“Not that I’d know, since I didn’t get any. Why not ask Pinkie Pie and her gajillion cups?”

“How much is she exaggerating?” Gearhead asked Twilight quietly.

“Not as much as I’d like,” the Unicorn admitted.

“Okay. If these Bamboozle Brothers –“

“Flim and Flam,” Applejack said.

“Well,” Gearhead and Snowbelle exchanged a quick glance. “That is what 'flimflam' means.”

“A bit on the nose,” Big Mac said.

“It must’ve been a disappointment to their parents the day they started livin’ up to their names,” Granny said. “That or they could have been named something else. Anything else.”

“Anyway, if they were making cider they must have brought equipment. What was it all like?”

“It was all on a wagon that they moved with their magic,” Granny said. “Cider-making machine was mostly wood. Also runs on their magic.”

“They had a big funnel on a long hose that went to a tree to suck up all the apples,” Applejack said.

“And some barrels on a spinner for the mixing,” Apple Bloom said.

“And a long conveyor with a window in front to show it only letting the good apples past,” Applejack said.

“The barrels came out the back all full,” Big Mac said.

“Did they do anything while the machine was working?”

“Not really,” Twilight said. “They just put some of their magic into it to turn it on, and...” Here Twilight stopped, and looked down at the ground.

“And... what?” But none of the Apples would answer, and neither would Dash.

“They sang,” Fluttershy said, into the silence.

“They got everypony singing,” Pinkie said, popping up out of nowhere. “It was great!”

“With a window in the machine where none was necessary and a song-and-dance routine, these two definitely sound like they have a good sense for showponyship. Whether or not it is as a distraction from something else, I will have to see for myself. But if the bet is to make a quantity of cider between a family and a machine, then how about I throw in my wrench to better optimize the family’s production?” Gearhead delved into one of the pockets he always had with his tail, and took out a mini-wrench, looking sly.

“I’m sure you could out-gadget these two,” Applejack said, “but if we don’t stick close enough to our methods for making cider, we’re as good as admitting that the Flim Flam Brother’s are right, and the way to go is their Cider Squeezy deal on wheels.”

“Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000,”

“Thanks, Twilight,” Applejack said, deadpan.

“No problem,”

“Well, at least they are acknowledging the number of tries it took them to get where they are, unless it is just for the naming’s sake. But I think I can give you the help you will want me to give you in the one attempt,” Gearhead said. “If you want me to.”

“Why take a chance on losing, simply because we have more patience than they do?” Big Mac said.

“I ain’t gonna take no chances to lose,” Granny said. “If’n you can do it without changin’ our methods too much, I say ‘do it!’”

“Here, here,” Apple Bloom said.

“Okay, do it. But make sure us Apples are what makes your machines go.”

“Understood,” and it will be your mechanisms, not mine."

Gearhead worked on the Apples’ cider-making equipment for most of the rest of the day, with a little help from Snowbelle for precision, and Applejack and Big Mac for muscle when needed. The stallion did his best to give the Apples a better edge against Flim and Flam’s all-in-one machine, based on the descriptions the others gave him. Spike and Twilight were even able to furnish those descriptions with some drawings, which let Gearhead guess what happened where.

Gearhead figured that Applejack and Apple Bloom would be involved in harvesting the apples. He considered making a conveyor belt system, but quickly realized that the amount of material that would be required to make it long enough to make any sense was stupidly ridiculous – not to mention that once it became long enough, the trees would get in the way of the turning mechanism at Big Mac’s end, limiting the belt’s range to one direction. If Gearhead made the belt out of smaller parts that could be lined up together, the Apples would have to be able to factor in the time to set it up, break it down and then set it up again in a different direction. And then there was the complexity involved in connecting the belt to Big Mac’s treadmill to power it, on top of the cider mill. Talk about being needlessly complicated!

Gearhead went with a simpler method, which he thought the Apples would appreciate: he built four simple rigs consisting of large apple baskets on wheels. The baskets were large enough that Applejack and Apple Bloom could empty several of their normal-sized baskets into it, but not so large they could not be pushed or pulled between the trees. A system of rods and wires allowed a pony to steer the wagons easily, and locks on two of the wheels would keep them stationary during collection or transfer of the apples to the central collection hamper near Big Mac’s rig. The wagons were well-oiled, so moving them would be effortless.

For Granny Smith, who would be inspecting each apple to ensure none of the bad ones were used, Gearhead created goggles with special lenses that would make imperfections on the apples’ skins easily-visible. She could also click lenses with higher magnification into place, and avoid overstraining her eyes looking for bruises and such. Additionally, the goggle’s seal against her coat would keep the sweat out of her eyes. A variant on this goggle would let Apple Bloom and Applejack spot trees with more ripe apples, so they could set up under them before using the apples that were not so good.

Gearhead took the millstone and shaved it down so its weight would still work effectively on the apples, while being easier for Big McIntosh to turn. He also used the ‘topological defect’ idea from his Alicorn Engine to tweak the surface area until he got closer to an ideal pattern for processing the apples more efficiently. He put an eighteen-speed gear system on Big Mac’s treadmill (plus a back-up set just in case), and added a large tank with a heating system to mull the cider as it sat, ready to be poured into barrels. A slight change to the tap system would allow a pony to shut it effectively between barrels without losing much more than a drop or two.

When Flim and Flam rolled up, Gearhead was placing a case next to the Apples’ booth (also for ‘just in case).’ The Apples themselves were practising and getting pumped up for the contest. This was Gearhead’s first chance to get a good look at the Cider Squeezy for real, and he did not waste it. Instead, he approached it immediately, Snowbelle gliding over to land on his head and do likewise.

“Seems we’ve attracted some extra attention, oh brother of mine,” Flam said.

“Right you are, brother of mine,” Flim said. “How may we help you, sir?”

“Would you like a mug of cider?”

“That would depend on whose apples you used,” Gearhead said. “But for now, if you do not mind, I would like to acquaint myself with your machine.”

“Ah yes, the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. A most marvellous machine!”

“And also mode of transport,”

“If I may ask, why six thousand?”

“Trial and error,”

“Error and trial,”

“It takes awhile to get to such pure perfection.”

“Is the number rounded up somewhat?”

“It might be,”

“And it might not be,”

“I see it is powered by your Unicorn magic, by the collection devices up there, but I do not see any controls for the cider mechanisms other than the switch buttons for the quality control section. What if you wanted to make it go slower?”

“Slower?”

“Why, whatever would we want to do that for?”

“Indeed, the whole idea is to make more cider more quickly. Slow down?”

Gearhead tilted his head in acknowledgement. On his head, Snowbelle sat up straight and nodded to the hose-mounted funnel. “I think so too,” Gearhead said aloud, loudly enough for Flim and Flam to hear. “Say, how often must the extending intake line be repaired or replaced?”

“Every so often, as can be expected,” Flim said.

“But what is that?”

“My daughter is a ‘who,’ not a ‘what,’ gentle-stallions.”

“’Daughter?’” Flam said, aghast.

“Adopted, obviously,”Flim said, recovering a little more quickly. “I do remember noticing another, larger, dragon somewhere around here.”

“That would be Spike. He is a Firedrake. This is Snowbelle, an Arctic Dragon.” The silvery serpent blew out a puff of frost vapours, and then extended her wings slightly and puffed out her chest. “She is asking you if you think she looks pretty.”

“Iridescent,”

“Dazzling,”

“Shiny!” Snowbelle sat back down on all fours and folded her wings back.

“That will do, thank you,” Gearhead said. He then turned around and walked back toward the others.

“Wait a moment: who are you?”

“My name is Gearhead. I am the proprietor of one of Ponyville’s shops, and as such, a friend and ally to the Apple family.”

“We have to watch out for that one, brother of mine,” Gearhead heard Flam say. “He’s the same one who made a flying machine and strapped it to his back!”

“That’s okay, brother of mine,” Flim said. “There’ll be no flying from him today.”

I do not have to be the one flying, Gearhead thought. That Cider Squeezy has a couple choice flaws built right into the design. If these brothers get to feel the pressure instead of putting the squeeze on their competition, they might even trigger it themselves.

<Do we need to take action?>

<That will most likely become unnecessary. Also, the Apples would frown on our cheating on their behalf. Let our current contribution stand, unless further requested.>

<Okay,> Snowbelle had gotten a slightly closer look at the funnel-and-hose assembly. It was pretty solid, but if she wanted to she could have frozen it. But of course, that would have been cheating, and she knew how everypony felt about that.

“Ladies and gentlecolts,” Mayor Mare began, “thank you for joining us for this contest.” As Gearhead looked around, he spotted a good number of the same faces from the previous day. He wondered if they had turned out for more cider, or for the competition. And if it was the latter, who were they supporting? “In this contest, the Flim Flam Brothers and the Apple Family will be competing to see who can produce the most cider in one hour. The prize is exclusive rights to sell apple cider in and around Ponyville.”

“Madame Mayor, if I may suggest a slight change to the rules..?” Gearhead said, raising a hoof.

“What might that be?”

“I believe the contest should be to determine who can produce the most drinkable cider. After all, there is little point in making a product that others are not willing to consume.”

“Yes, I believe you are right, Gearhead. Are the contestants agreed?”

“Absolutely,” Applejack said.

“You betcha,” Flam said.

“We’ve got no worries on quality,” Flim added.

“Well then, if everypony is ready,” Mayor Mare looked between the two contesting teams, and received their nods. “Let us begin!” As soon as she finished speaking, Time Turner flipped a large hourglass. The Apples lowered their goggles and launched into action, while Flim and Flam zapped some magic into the Cider Squeezy to power it up. The hose stretched out toward the South Field as previously designated by Granny Smith, and started to suck up apples. The Unicorn stallions themselves simply sat back on their steering couch with mugs of cider and relaxed.

While everypony watched, Applejack chose a tree and started bucking. Apple Bloom sped around it, catching apples in the bucket she balanced on her back, and picking up the ones that missed. As soon as she and Applejack filled the first cart enough, Apple Bloom pulled it over to the big hamper and emptied its contents for inspection. Granny started saying “good ‘un” and “Bad ‘un,” tossing the apples that passed the mark onto a tough that led to the milling stone, which Big Mac had started driving. Apple Bloom ran the emptied cart back out to Applejack, and since the elder sister had already filled the second card, Apple Bloom simply switched carts, and ran the second full one to the hamper. Big Mac flicked the tap open, and quickly filled the family’s first barrel.

“Alright, one down!” Apple Bloom cheered, and turned to check the brothers’ progress. Her jaw dropped when she saw that they had three barrels already full. “Oh no!”

“Focus, Apple Bloom. We need ta keep all our attention on what we’re doin’ if we’re gonna keep up.”

“Sorry, Applejack!” Apple Bloom shot back into action, but Gearhead saw that she was clearly worried. Glancing over the Apples’ progress, he saw that she was right to be concerned: even as the hamper-and-tank system’s flow came up to the optimal levels, the Apples continued to lag behind the Cider Squeezy by a barrel, and with each round of barrels that gap would open up, giving Flim and Flam an exponentially larger lead.

“Let's put on the pressure, Big Mac!” Applejack called. The big stallion grunted in acknowledgement, and then clicked some levers to drive his treadmill up a gear. For a moment he was running against a higher resistance, but once he had it going at the same rate Big Mac was running fine. More to the point, he could still go up several gears, and he did.

“Madame Mare,” Twilight said, “would it be alright if honourary family members helped?”

“I don’t know. Flim? Flam? Would that be alright with you?”

“We don’t care if all of Canterlot helped out,”

“It’s a lost cause,” Flim added to his brother’s scathing remark.

If they are referring to Canterlot’s elite, they might not be too far off, but then that also includes three princesses and the Royal Guard, unless they forgot. And that insult will not stand, Gearhead thought. Besides, we are in Ponyville, not Canterlot. “So they say,” Gearhead grinned, taking the case beside the booth where he had placed it earlier, and opening it up to reveal extra goggles for himself, the rest of the Elemental Six, and even smaller sets for Spike and Snowbelle.

“Now you’re talkin!’” Dash said, putting hers on.

“Okay,” Twilight said, as her friends formed up in front of her. “We’re not going to let anypony take our friends' farm away from us, are we?”

“No!”

“And that means we’re going to do what with this bet?”

“Win!”

“That’s right. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, could you two help AJ and Apple Bloom collect the apples?”

“We’re on it,” Pinkie said.

“Rarity, you’ve got a discerning eye. Please help Granny Smith with the quality control.”

“Consider it done,”

“Rainbow, with your speed added, Big Mac should be able to process those apples in no time.”

“Right!”

“Gearhead, you take Spike and Snowbelle and shore things up anywhere you see the rest of us falling short.”

“Aye, sir.”

“I’ll coordinate our efforts from here. Everypony, move out!”

First Gearhead connected the spare treadmill to the mill assembly. No sooner did he signal that it was ready did Dash jump on and start running. Pinkie was jumping back and forth with a basket, while Fluttershy zipped from tree to tree. Gearhead did not have any idea what she was doing hidden from view within the leaves, but she was making the apples fall from the tree.

There were already more apples to sort than there were sorters, but Gearhead could see two places at which to plug holes where efficiency was concerned. “Spike, please go make sure at least one cart is moving at all times.”

“Roger!” The purple dragon shot off, pushing an empty cart out to where the apples were being harvested, and pushing a full cart back to the hamper. As soon as he had emptied that cart, he pushed it back up to the trees.

“Snowbelle, how do you feel about a little QC?”

The younger Dragon trilled. <I can do that,> she said. Snowbelle flew into the hamper to do her bit. Soon she was flicking apples into the trough with a wing or a tail. Gearhead went to stand by the spout, ready to flick the tap off, move the barrel out, and put a new one in place before opening the tap again. Twilight used her magic to stack each full barrel. “At this rate we’ll have six barrels for the brother’s every three,” she announced. Gearhead felt that would more than make up for the Apples’ earlier shortfall.

By Flam’s spit-take, they agreed. “We’ve got to do something fast, brother of mine!”

“Just add more power, brother of mine,” Flim said.

“Right!” They shot the magic collectors with more of their magic, and the Cider Squeezy went into overdrive, even to the extent of ripping apple trees out of the field by the roots.

“You will pay back the Apples for every tree you destroy, will you not?” Gearhead called.

“We won’t have to, because the farm’ll be ours!”

“May I remind you that the bet is over cider selling rights, and not the farm itself? Even if you do win, the Apples will still own it until the winter. So about those trees..?" Twilight asked.

“Oh, fine!” That was quickly settled, but the higher power setting brought its own issues, as Gearhead had foreseen: the Cider Squeezy was sucking the apples up with such force that they were mush by the time they got to the windowed conveyor belt, where everypony could see them getting dropped into the garbage hamper – not to mention the roots and rocks that were also going through the machine.

“More trouble, brother.”

“I’ve got it, brother.” And Flim switched the quality control function off. The mushed apples, roots, and rocks passed through and were barrelled faster than ever before.

“Why those..!” Dash nearly launched herself from her conveyor belt.

“Stop it, RD! It’s not worth it.”

“Yeah! One bad apple spoils the bunch!” Granny said.

“Besides, they just costed themselves the whole thing,” Gearhead said quietly.

“Oh, the rules,” Twilight said. “Clever change.”

“I just had to look at their design. The brothers will do the rest for their part themselves.”

“So lets do the rest of our part,” Applejack said, and the others cheered and resumed their efforts.

Everypony ran as hard as they could until the last grain of sand dropped from the hourglass, and Time Turner announced “time!” Everypony who had been moving at any pace immediately collapsed. Granny and Rarity wiped the sweat from their brows, and gratefully removed their goggles.

“Great job everypony,” Applejack panted. “We did the best we could.”

“And effort like that will always be rewarded,” Twilight said.

Over by the hourglass, the Mayor thanked Time Turner. “Always glad to help,” he said, “as long as there are no pears.” He immediately started looking around.

“What are you looking for already?”

“Oh, I’m going to need Rose’s assistance to move this out,” Turner said. “Ah, there she is.”

Mayor Mare rolled her eyes, then she turned to started counting the barrels in the very impressive stacks. “Hm. As far as quantity goes, Flim and Flam win,” she said.

“What?!”

“Yes! The farm is all but ours now,” Flam said.

“But I can clearly see some trees and stones in some of those barrels. We’ll have to discount all of the ones that have anything like that. We’ll have to go through them all!” Mayor Mare groaned. “Who is going to help?”

Fortunately, getting volunteers was not a problem. They quickly sorted out the barrels that had wood or non-apple sediment floating near the top and dumped them out on the ground. Another group similarly went through the Apples’ barrels, but thanks to Applejack’s strict policy on quality control, none of them were dumped.

“But! They’re still drinkable,” Flim wailed.

“Yes? Then why not try them yourselves?” Gearhead asked.

“Uh, no thanks,”

“Why not? You were quite content to sip away during the contest,”

“That’s right: we’re all full on cider!”

“Too much cider? Are you crazy?” Pinkie said. She went bobbing for apples into one of the opened barrels, which had first seemed to pass muster. And came out only to spit a rock nearly the size of her head onto the ground. “Wow, even a sip of this would be ‘too much!’”

“This from the pony who was drinking mugs by the leg-full,” Dash said. “Wow, you know it’s gotta be bad when she won’t have even a cup.”

“I’ve seen enough,” Mayor Mare said. “After discounting the spoiled barrels, the Apple Family wins the wager!”

“That means we get to keep the farm!” Apple Bloom said, hugging Spike. Snowbelle trilled.

“Time to exit, brother of mine.”

“Indeed. Another town, brother of mine?”

“Another town,”

“Hold it, you two!” Gearhead called as they jumped up into the Cider Squeezy. As they tried to pull away, though, Snowbelle breathed a sheet of ice down around their wheels, bringing their retreat to a halt before they could build up any momentum. Seeing their quandary, the brothers attempted to abandon their gadget by jumping down so they could cut and run. Unfortunately for them, Dash tackled Flim and Pinkie tripped up Flam.

“We agreed to let ya use the apples in our south field for the bet,” Granny Smith said, walking up. “We never agreed to let ya destroy our trees. Now, pay.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The amount Flim and Flam had to pay to reimburse the Apples for their trees would have been negligible if the Cider Squeezy had not been so thorough in chewing them up, too. Replanting them then would have been comparatively simple as well. Unfortunately, the trees the brothers had uprooted were now so much spilled cider, and needed to be replaced. That would cost them money.

To make things easier on them, Applejack agreed not to lay any further charges against the brothers. What made things more difficult for them again was when Gearhead told them of the damage that processing the wood and rocks had done to the Cider Squeezy. “I am quite surprised the intake hose has not already started leaking, and the inner workings have not started to fall apart. This gadget of yours deserves better.”

Flim and Flam insisted on taking the Cider Squeezy to try to repair it themselves, and they left Ponyville poorer than when they had arrived. “Like I didn’t already know that hard, honest effort was better than cheatin’ in the first place,” Applejack said.

“Oh, let it go already,” Dash said. “How ‘bout that cider?”

“Thanks to this contest, we’ve got enough made for everypony!” Apple Bloom said.

“Now that’s what I wanted to hear,” Dash said, and soon she got to enjoy her cup of cider with everypony else. After a sip, even Gearhead had to admit that it was well worth the wait and effort. He shared a cup with Snowbelle, who purred happily afterwards.

Despite having tasted it many times just during the first few days, Ponyville kept turning out at Sweet Apple Acres for ‘another taste of cider.’ Gearhead could not readily blame them, seeing as how the apples changed and the brew seemed to mature, gaining a heavier and more saturated sensation, both as it hit the tongue, and as it went down.

Ponies from out of town also came to get a taste of Sweet Apple Acres. None of these visitors was more surprising, or more welcome, than the princesses, Celestia and Luna.

“We have heard much of your cider, have we not, sister of mine?” Princess Celestia said.

“Indeed we have, sister of mine. In particular, there have been boasts that what we will find here is the best apple cider in all of Equestria,” Luna said.

“Made with the best apples in Equestria, sister of mine,” Princess Celestia finished.

“Forgive me, Princess, but Flim and Flam..?” Applejack asked.

“They have been dealt with fairly, fair Applejack,” Luna said. “We even issued them a small grant to start a new business. Hopefully they shall take it in a better direction.”

“It is a shame,” Gearhead said. “Their Cider Squeezy worked.”

“But not by the time we saw it,” Princess Celestia said. “Truly, it could not hold a candle to your inventions.”

“I thank you for your high praise,” Gearhead said, bowing.

“And now, let us drink to the Apple Family’s success!” Luna announced. “You fellows too,” she said, gesturing to the Royal Guards who had accompanied the royal sisters.

“But Your Highness, we’re on duty!”

“Your Princess of the Night bids you to drink,”

“I would do it if I was you,” Princess Celestia said. Standing on her other side, Gearhead and the others could see her wink.

With a poorly-hidden sigh, the guards joined in, and within moments of tasting their first cup of cider, they fell right into the revelry.

Note to self, Gearhead thought, when attending a peace summit, bring Apple Family cider. Next Chapter: 22. A Well-Read Life Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 8 Minutes