I remember that the PTO is still connected to the tractor and hop off the tractor before putting it into gear and say, "Almost forgot 'bout the dang PTO on this thing..." and start to walk around the tractor to disconnect it.

Twilight then looks at the back of the tractor for anything else connected, she spots the long cylinder pushed up against the back of the tractor and says, "Oh you mean this long tube? Let me try to do it, please tell me how."

I then stop and look at where the PTO shafts are connected and then cross my arms and say, "Hmm, alright then. Do ya see where the shaft on the tractor is inside the long driveshaft on the baler?"

She looks at it and nods her head saying, "I see it, what do I do?"

I look at the button on the head of the shaft and say, "On the front of that shaft closest to the tractor, there is a button that needs to be pushed to the other side before it is pulled off. It may take a little effort to pry off with yer magic due to the grease, so just keep tryin' and avoid getting grease on yer coat or mane."

Twilight's body cringes at hearing that, then turns her head around and looks at him nervously, and asks, "Is the grease dangerous if it touches me?"

I then shift my eyes to look at her, then chuckle and shake my head saying, "No it isn't, it's just a real bitch to wash out. If it gets on any clothing, it is nearly impossible to remove the stain from any oil-based lubricant."

She then sighs and smiles saying, Okay then, I will try to take this PTO off of the tractor's PTO." She then turns her head around towards the tractor and uses her magic to push the button to the other side and adjusts her magic to encompass the end of the shaft and attempts to pull on it.

I watch as she slowly gets the PTO shaft off and does a little dance after succeeding and say, "Great job Twilight, some other PTO shafts are much more difficult to disconnect. Such as the one on that mixer ah use to make the cow's food, ah'll hafta clean off the shaft and put fresh grease on so it slides on and off easier. That won't be today though, cus right now we need to git ready to pick up bales."

Twilight then smiles widely and says, "No problem, now let's go to the machine shed and hook this back up to the mixer."

I then return to the seat with a chuckle saying, "That sounds like a damn fined idea, let's git goin' then." and put the tractor into gear, then take off towards the shed.

She follows him to the shed using her wings as he starts to drive the tractor backward into it, then lands towards the corner of the shed to keep out of his way. While she watches him observe the tractor's movement, she enters the shed as it stops for a moment.

I then flick the tractor's lights on and look at the alignment of the pintle hitch, then turn my head towards Twilight as she shakes her head and ask her, "Are ya ok?"

Twilight's eyes are blinded by the bright light as she tries to recover her vision saying, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little bit blind from the sudden brightness hitting my eyes, but the purple spots will fade away in a few moments. Can I try to hook them up?"

I chuckle and idle the tractor back down and nod my head saying, "Sure, let's see how you do with a completely different style of hitch. This one uses a hitch called a pintle hitch, the hitch itself looks like a bird's beak that has a heavy metal arch that supports the towing part called a lunette ring."

She makes her way towards the back of the tractor, still blinking her eyes frequently and says, "Why is it called that, is it named after Princess Luna?"

I grin and chuckle again and say, "No, not really. It is just called that because it is round and it sort of looks like the moon, the hitch on the back of the tractor is just above the drawbar below."

Twilight gets to the back of the tractor and squints her eyes, barely making out the hitch and says, "I can sort of see it, how do I operate this type of hitch?"

I look down at her and say, "There is a T-shaped handle at the top of the hitch, the portion with a deep curve in it is the bottom part where the ring rests. There is a middle piece between the top and bottom parts, it is moved back or forward as the hitch opens or closes. Its job is to reduce the stress on the hitch from jerky movements because the hitch will break if the stress is too much for the metal to handle." The T-shaped handle has a spring connected to it, so the handle needs to be held back in order to move the top beak up or down. The pintle hitch on this tractor does rotate, so ya may have to turn it so it's the right way up. Think ya can handle it?"

She ducks her head out of the light to see it better and says, "Okay, I'm pretty sure I can handle that, this is closed right now. You need me to open it, right?"

I nod my head again and say, "Yep, when it's open, ah'll need to back up so the ring will rest on the bottom part of the hitch."

Twilight then uses her magic to turn the hitch upright, making sure that the T-shaped handle is above the lower part. She then uses her magic again to pull the handle, then lifts the top part of the hitch upwards. After checking to make sure it is correct, she then looks up to him and asks, "Is this how it goes Roger?"

I look down at the hitch and nod my head saying, "Yep it is, now ah need to back up a little until the center of the ring is over the end of the bottom jaw, so let me know when ah'm directly under it."

She looks at the hitch and the ring saying, "I think you may be a little far to the left."

I chuckle and say, "Alright then, ah'll readjust by pullin' ahead and slowly back up. So stand up on top of the hitch for the best view and tell me which way and how much ah need to move the hitch to be able to hook up to the mixer."

Twilight then carefully steps up onto the bars connected to the hitch and says, "Alright, I'm ready to start."

I nod and shift the tractor into gear, then pull ahead about ten feet and stop. I then push the clutch in again and shift it from the previous gear into the slowest reverse and talk over the fully throttled down engine, "Awright Twilight, here ah come so keep talkin' to me and say when to stop."

She pays close attention to where the hitch and the ring are as Roger continues backing up towards her, noticing after a little bit that the hitch needs to go right and says over the running engine, "THE HITCH NEEDS TO GO TO THE RIGHT."

I nod my head and turn the wheel a little bit as the tractor changes direction and hear, "That's good, now come straight back."

Twilight watches the tractor make its way towards her, noticing that the hitch is drifting slowly too far to the right and says, "It now needs to go to the left a little, it's drifting too far to the right."

I nod again and make the correction, then continue going backward and hear, "Okay, now straight back." and adjust the wheel again.

Twilight watches him continue to back up and says, "Good, now keep coming back. Just about two more feet until your there."

I continue to back up further, listening for her to say how much further when I hear, "Okay keep going...and...hold it!" and quickly press in the clutch and the brake at the same time, bringing the tractor to a quick stop.

She smiles and hops off of the bars and looks at the hitch saying, "It's a little too high, is there a jack on this one too?"

I nod and say, "Yep there is, go ahead and use the handle on the jack to lower it down. There is weight on it so if it is tougher to turn, yer goin' the wrong way."

Twilight giggles and says, "I realized that after that happened with the baler. I will raise this jack and then fold it up before closing the top part of the hitch."

I set the brake and turn the key off to shut the tractor down, then hopping out of the seat and make my way around to the back of the tractor as Twilight finishes folding the jack up and say, "Good job Twilight, now ah just need to hook these hoses up in the right order so we can go to the paddock..."

She moves out of the way and watches him grab a few of the small hoses and place them in certain spots on the tractor then asks, "Do those hoses have to go into a certain spot for the mixer to work properly?"

I chuckle and shake my head while I continue to hook the hoses up to the back of the tractor and say, "Nope, it's just the order ah like to hook em up." I then finish and step onto the left three-point bar and use it to reach the light switch on the front dash, then switch it off and say, "Could ya provide some light, Twilight?"

Twilight smiles and illuminates her horn then says, "Here you go Roger, is that better?"

I smile and return to the ground and say, "Yes it is, thank you Twilight. Now let's head towards the paddock to get Charlie and Angel." I then head outside to make my way towards the paddock where Charlie and Angel are at and see Applejack making her way to me with a frown on her face and sigh saying, "What did Rooster do to ya Applejack?"

Applejack stomps her hooves as she walks, remembering what happened when Roger's big dog saw her and says, "It's not what Rooster did, it's what yer dog did that's got me angry. Ah was putting the eggs away in the shed after ah fed and watered the chickens, when ah came out and heard the barking of a dog and quickly locked the door. I turned to face the dog and lasso him when he came tearing around the corner barking wildly, I turned to go find higher ground to lasso him but slipped and landed in the dirt. After that, he tried to bucking mount me! Ah did some fast thinkin' and stopped him though, and managed to hogtie him after ah shoved him off me."

I then sigh and shake my head and kneel down to say, "Ah'm really sorry 'bout what mah damn dog did to ya, come here pardner." and holds his arms out, offering her a hug.

She smiles and walks into his hug and wraps her front hooves around him saying, "Thanks fer showin' that yer there, but ya should send that varmint to Fluttershy for some trainin' or he might really upset somepony."

I nod my head and say "Alright, let's git Ol' Red on a chain then so he won't chase after other ponies that visit. Lead me to him Aj, ah'll put him on the cable so he can't chase after ponies. Is he bah the chicken coop now?"

Applejack grins and says, "Eyup he is, right next to the coop likely still gettin' chewed out by Rooster."

I chuckle and say, "Ya really know how to punish someone, don't ya Applejack."

She then trots towards the coop and smirks saying, "Eyup ah do, when somepony needs to be punished."

I follow after her at a fast walk as we head towards the coop and hear Rooster yelling, "YER A RIGHT WORTHLESS BASTARD GOIN' AFTER A GIRL AN' FORCIN YERSELF UPON HER YA ROTTEN MUTT, IF YA WERE ANY CLOSER AH'D PECK YA A NEW ASSHOLE!" I continue walking around to the other side of the coop, hearing a whine coming from the dog and sigh saying, "Alright Rooster, that's enough. Ah'm gonna hand him over to Fluttershy fer some training after what he tried to do to Applejack."

Rooster turns his head to glare at Roger and shouts, "Do ya know what this mangy mutt tried to do ta Applejack!?! He don't need trainin', he needs a beatin'!"

I look right at him and frown saying, "Ah do know and ah'm not happy 'bout it, Ol' Red's goin' on the chain now until ah can git Fluttershy to train him about his behave better." I then make my way over to him and grab him, then throw him over my shoulder saying, "Come on boy, time fer ya to go on the chain." and make my way towards the back of the house.

Twilight gets curious about his dog and asks, "If I may ask, how long have you had him?" then continues to follow Roger towards the back of his house.

I step onto the grass around my home and say, "Well, ah got him 3 yrs ago from a southern state penitentiary in Georgia when ah was delivering cotton bales to a spinnery, ah was drivin' home when ah saw a sign at the corner of their grounds giving away free puppies." As I head towards the end of the cable on the ground, I look at the girls behind me and say, "Yall better stay back a little ways, this chain is hooked onto a cable that runs between two steel posts and has a little bit of reach."

Applejack watches him set the large black dog on the ground and asks, "Ah don't recognize what his breed is, what kind of a dog is he?"

I grab the snap hook and clip it to the ring on his collar, then move it to the back of his neck and say, "Well, he is a german shepherd. They are strong, intelligent, and mostly obedient dogs, ah've been wantin' to train him but the work kept comin' in and kept me very busy." I then start to untie the rope around his legs and say, "Ah'll bring yer bowls here so ya have food and water." I then coil the rope up and make my way to the front of the house, handing it to Applejack as I pass by her and Twilight.

Twilight watches him as he makes his way to the front of the house and disappears around the corner, then reappears a few moments later with a dog bowl full of water and another bowl full of food. She watches him set them beside the house and asks, "Now what are we gonna do Roger?"

I chuckle and say, "Now ah'm gonna put the harnesses on Charlie and Angel, then we're gonna pick up bales once ah git the team hooked up to the wagon." and start heading towards the paddock where Charlie and Angel are at. As I walk down the road, I look to Applejack and say, "Hey, do ya ponies really attach bands around yer midsection, or do ya have harnesses?"

Applejack chuckles lightly and follows him down the road saying, "Of course we have harnesses, unicorns use the metal band. They have a spell that keeps it in place as they pull a wagon or something, then pegasi have a different type of harness that utilizes their flying magic to pull things through the sky behind them. We earth ponies have our own harnesses that can fit any pony's body that doesn't have wings, ah'm curious as to how different yer harnesses are from ours."

I reach the paddock and see the two Clydesdales trotting around in circles and unchain the gate saying, "Alright ya two, head over by the barn doors and we'll git yer harnesses on!"

Angel hears him and trots towards the old hay barn saying, "I was sure hoping that you didn't forget about us, now hurry up because we need to exercise!"

I reach the sliding barn doors and push them open saying, "Alright ya two, give me just a moment, and ah'll go grab yer collars."

Applejack watches as he brings out two huge collars, one with silver accents on it and the other having brass accents on it. The two of them are big enough for her to fit her whole body in and says, "Wow, those are huge! They're so big, ah bet Big Mac could even fit his body through it."

I chuckle at hearing that and say, "Ah bet he could too, if ah held it upside down." I then shift my attention back to Angel and say, "Alright girl, here comes the collar so drop yer ears and close yer eyes." I watch her lower her head a bit, then close her eyes and drop her ears back as I bring the leather collar with silver accents towards her head. I then set it down at the base of her neck and make my way to the other side, and start shifting her mane out of the way so the collar is more comfortable while she and Charlie pull the wagon.

Twilight watches Roger place the collar around Charlie's neck and adjust its position when a light gust of wind blows across her face, catching her by surprise and causing her to squint her eyes closed as she feels her mane shift and lightly blow in the breeze. The gust dies down and says, "Do you want any help with putting the harnesses on Roger?"

I smile and look back at her saying, "Sorry Twilight, not this time but thanks for offering." and then start heading towards the barn again to grab the silver and brass traces to connect to the collars. After retrieving the two sets of tracers, I toss the brass set over my shoulder and start to attach the silver traces to either side of the collar. I then make my way over to Charlie and connect each tracer to each side and return to the barn for another part of the harness saying, "Now to get yer saddle and breeching Angel, ah'll go git yers once ah set hers in place, Charlie."

Charlie turns his head and looks back at his owner saying, "Okay boss."

I return from the barn once more with Angel's saddle and breeching, then stand at her side saying, "Alright here it comes over your back girl, ah'm throwin' it over now." and twist to the right to get it over her high back.

Angel watches him throw it over saying, "Thank you for letting me know." and feels it land on her back before being shifted into place a few moments later.

I then head to the back and pull her tail over the strap, and move on to fastening the crupper into place. As I get it in the right notch so that it doesn't pull the tail up or pull on the saddle, I then fasten the straps around her barrel that goes just behind her front legs, below the base of her withers.

Twilight watches him curiously as he continues to work on the harness, then retrieves another piece of the harness and places it around Angel's head after taking off the, and asks, "Doesn't it bother you when he places that thing on your head Angel?"

She waits to respond when the bridle is fastened down and chuckles lightly saying, "Its scary when you don't know what its purpose is, because you think that it might hurt you. That all passes once you learn it won't and that your owner wants help to do something, it helps them speak to us and say what they want us to do."

I finish guiding the reins through the loops and pick them up, then stand behind her and say, "Alright girl, hup." then snap the reins lightly to get her going.

Angel then starts walking forward when she feels a gentle pull on her right rein and starts walking to the right saying, "Now it's time to check if the harness needs adjusting." and feels another snap, then starts to walk a little faster.

Applejack watches with curiosity at how well they work together and briefly thinks, 'Wow, those two must have a lot of skill at this.'

I watch for excessive movement in the straps as I get Angel to a swift walk, moving in a clockwise circle around me. When I don't notice any unwanted movement from the straps I pull on the left rein to straighten her out and jog along with her and gently pull on both reins saying, "Easy girl, yer ready to hook up to the wagon. Now just hold on and ah'll take ya over there so ah can finish Charlie's harness."

Angel follows the signals he gives her and sees the wagon behind the barn and says, "Finally we'll be able to do some work around here."

I pull back on the reins and say, "Whoah girl, that's far enough. Now wait here while ah drape these reins over yer hip, then ah'll go put Charlie's harness and bridle on." I then take the reins and hang the right one over her hip to the left side, then drape the left one to the right side over the other rein.

Twilight watches Roger as he makes his way to the barn for the other harness set, wondering herself what it would be like to learn to do that, and asks, "H-Hey Roger, is it hard to learn to do what Charlie and Angel can?"

I stand beside Charlie and say, "Here it comes boy, ah'm throwin' the saddle and breech over yer back." Then bring my arms back and swing it onto his tall back as he stands still and say, "Good job Charlie. Twilight, all it is is just learning to know what each signal means when it is given, and obey that request. All ah do is tell ya which way to go, yer responsible for where yer hooves go." while also adjusting his saddle and breech into the proper position before moving on to the crupper.

She then watches him pull the tail through the loop and adjust the buckles, then asks, "Is that all there is, because it looks a bit harder than it sounds."

I chuckle and fasten the girth strap first before moving on to the traces then say, "It just takes a little bit of time to learn it is all, Angel has been doing this for about eight years. Charlie here's been doin' this fer ten, mah dad and grandpa raised these two from foals. Mah neighbor then trained 'em when they were old enough, may he rest in peace." I then finish up with the traces and make my way back to the barn for the bridle and reins.

Several minutes pass as Charlie finally walks around in a circle as his owner checks the harness when he feels a pull on his left rein and says, "Is anything wrong with the harness boss?"

I shake my head and follow him as he walks saying, "Nope, everythin's fine. Let's go over to the wagon and get ya both hooked up to it." I then walk backward, making sure to guide him to the right side of the tongue. I carefully direct him close to the fence and watch where I need to go and stop pulling the reins back saying, "Alright boy, now just move yer whole body to the left two steps." then watch as he takes two careful steps while I give him rein. It takes a few more steps to get him into place before hooking his collar to the front tree first and say, "Alright, now ah'll hook up to this swivel tree right here before hooking up the back tree chains."

Angel watches impatiently as Roger hooks Charlie up to the wagon, and paws at the ground with her large hoof. Eager to be hooked up to the wagon, she turns her head and looks at him to notice he is coming towards her and says, "Finally, it's my turn to be hooked up. Let's go already, I want to work."

I grab the reins quickly and trot after her as she quickly makes her way to the front of the wagon, then line her up and pull on her reins while walking backward. I spend a few moments getting her to the right spot and finally start hooking her chains up, then attach the leather straps around the tongue. I then make my way up to the small seat at the front of the wagon and rest my boots on the footrest, then reach over to grab Charlie's reins and make sure they are in the proper hands before saying, "Alright ya two eager beavers, let's git to work." I then snap the reins and loudly say, "Hup!" I then call out to the two girls and say, "Twilight, Applejack! Open those gates up wide, ah'm comin' yer way!"

The two girls shout in unison, "OKAY, NO PROBLEM! GOT YA LOUD AN' CLEAR PARDNER!" and make their way to the gates to open them both up as wide as they can.

Next Chapter: Chapter 28: A long day's evening Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 4 Minutes