Applejack scrunches her nose and says, "It was alright, somethin like this sure would make farmin' more efficient. So that whole thing is the name of this tractor? That's quite a mouthful."

I laugh and get out of the seat and open the door, unbuckling the seat belt on Applejack's seat. I then get out and go down the ladder to the ground and say, "The company that makes it is called Case International, or Case International Harvester in older years. The name of the tractor itself is Steiger 620 Quadtrac, there are many different brands out there that make farm vehicles and equipment. Do ya need help gettin' to the ground or can you manage in the dark like this?"

She can't see much around her and says, "Uhm, ah think ya will have to help me down cus ah can't see anything in here."

I smack myself on the side of the head and say, "Duh, ya fergot about the lights ya idjit." I then look to Applejack and say to her, "Hold on one sec, ah'll turn on the lights in here. Ya'll be able to see much better then, ah can't believe that ah fergot to turn the lights on." I then jog over to the side door that is on the right side of the shed fifty feet from where I park the Steiger at and flip the switch on the box and discover the led lights refuse to come on. I then sigh and say, "Well shit, power's out. Guess ah gotta open the side door fer now til ah figure out how to git electricity to mah farm." I then return to Applejack and climb up the steps and say, "Sorry, but it seems to me that the power's out on mah farm. Thankfully, all mah fencers are solar powered. Ah'll git ya down to the ground now and help ya find yer way out." I then grab her and exit the cab, then set her on my shoulder again and make my way down the steps again. I walk around the tractor and stand in the center of the shed and set her down facing the large open roll up door and say, "There ya go Applejack, ah'm gonna be bringin a few things out. If ya wanna watch how ah feed mah cows, look for a pole shed with a roof and a few boards on the side of it west of this shed. Mah silage storage is just across the road from it, ah'm gonna be pullin' mah mixer over there to make TMR fer the cows." I then start to head over to the cabless John Deere 4240 and then stop when Applejack says something.

Applejack cocks her head and says, "What's TMR and Silage?"

I smile and say, "Well TMR stands for Total Mixed rations, it is comprised of 25% straw, 25% hay, and 50% silage, it is then blended together and gets fed to the cows. Silage is a crop that is chopped before it ripens to the point of harvestin' it. It should be a green or greenish brown in color. Silage can be fed to horses, but it is recommended to be high quality silage that has a pleasant smell ah heard. Ah only feed alfalfa to mah two draft horses, so ah never tried it. If yer curious, try a little. If the smell is ain't pleasant, it's somethin' a horse don't want."

She looks at him and says, "Huh, that is interestin' to hear, ah'll talk to Twilight about it when ah see her again today. Ah'll see ya over there."

I go back to walking towards the 4240 John Deere that is still connected to the mixer, climb into the seat and start it up. I turn the lights on, then shift it to first gear and slowly begin rolling forward and head for the door. Just then I see Applejack reunite with her sister and friends and lead them around the side of the shed talking about something. I shift into second gear and roll out of the shed and turn onto the gravel path and see the girls walking down the side of the path out of the way and come alongside of them and smile as they stare at what I have now and idle it way down so I can talk to them and yell out over the engine,"SHE THINKS MAH TRACTOR'S SEXY!!" I then watch as Pinkie Pie falls on her back laughing at my joke, I throttle the engine back up and pass by them and head to my silage bunker.

Pinkie chuckles and rights herself saying, "Wow, that was a good one!"

Twilight cocks her head and has a confused look on her face and says, "What were you laughing at Pinkie? What was it he said that made you laugh so hard, we don't get it?"

She giggles and wipes her eyes and says, "Oh, you would have to ask Discord to explain it so you can understand the joke he just made. It is so much funnier when you see the video and hear the song."

I set the tractor in its spot on the cement pad next to the bunker, put it in park and then idle it down so I can go get my Case 1455 XL loader. I walk past the girls and say, "Ah'm bringin' my loader next so, make sure to stay outta the way so ya don't git hurt by the bale spikes that are on it okay?"

Applejack wonders what 'bale spikes' are and asks, "What are bale spikes?"

I turn around and walk backwards for a moment saying, "You will see when ah bring the 1455 out. When ah start that other machine up that is hooked up to the green tractor, ah want ya'll to stay far back because there are blades in there that chop up and tear apart bales to mix them with silage." I then turn back around and continue towards the shop to get it.

Celestia looks around and sees a large farm around her and ponders and what she is going to do to try to help him out and says, "Applejack, what else have you learned about Roger while you were riding with him?"

I get into the 1455 and start it up and raise the loader off the ground, turn the lights on, then put it into gear and pull out of the shed and drive it to the polebarn to grab a hay bale first. I pass by the girls and smile as I continue on my way to the bale shed.

Applejack continues walking and says, "Ah haven't learned anythin else about what he does Princess Celestia, ah'm sorry but that's all ah know right now." She then looks to Twilight and says, "Do ya think ya can find out if that silage is safe fer ponies to eat? Ah'm gittin kinda hungry, how about ya'll?"

Twilight smiles and says, "Of course I can do that Applejack, I am curious as to how it tastes too." She watches as the tractor begins to back up with something on the front end.

I back the tractor up and lower the front end and set the brake after taking it out of gear, I then hop out of the cab and pull my knife out and cut the strings on the bale and pull them off and throw them into a barrel for trash. After ensuring I got all the strings, I get back into the seat of the 4240 and throttle it up a little to engage the PTO. I slowly engage the PTO until it is fully engaged and hear the machine start working and idle the motor up to the appropriate level, then hop back off of it and return to the 1455 to drop the hay bale into the mixer first.

Her ears turn back away from the loud sound as she watches him move the object on the front of the tractor above the device that is running. She then watches as the front end tilts and the object slowly slides off and falls into the device, causing it to rock from the impact. The noise drops down a bit as it does something to the object, causing it to slowly sink lower into it and disappear as he drives into a different spot on the pole barn and pulls out another object. She then watches him return to the device and then says, "Those must be the bales he was talking about, they gotta be heavy because the front drops down as it picks one of 'em up."

I then lower the bale closer to the ground and set the brake while it's out of gear, then get out of the tractor and cut the strings on the straw bale, roll them up and toss em in the barrel for trash. I get back into the tractor and continue to dump the straw bale in, when it falls into the mixer I back up and pull up beside the loader bucket. I step out of the tractor and open up the clamps that are holding the bale spike on and pull forward a little and tip it forward and drop the back on a chunk of an old railroad tie. I then return to the tractor and back up and pull up to the loader bucket, then get out and check to see how far I am from it. I then return to the tractor to pull up a little further and feel the loader hit the bucket and stop, then tilt it back and see the bucket tilt with the loader. I step out of the tractor and ensure that it is set fully onto the mounts and close the clamps, backing up and then drive into the silage bunker. I tilt the bucket forward until it hits the ground and drive into the pile, making sure the bucket is full, I tilt it back and raise it up. I then back up and drive to the mixer and dump it in, watching it fall from the bucket and into the mixer. When the bucket is fully tilted forward, I know it is empty and tilt it back and back the 1455 up. I drive forward into the bay with the small alfalfa bales and lower the bucket to the ground fully, setting the brake and turning it off before getting out. I then walk to the group of girls and say to them over the sound of the mixer running, "Ah'm goin to feed mah cows now, follow me if ya wanna watch." I then turn around and head towards the 4240 and climb into the seat, then turn west to head to my field of cows.

Rainbow dash turns to Applejack and says, "That thing sure is really loud, do ya know what it is?"

Applejack looks at Rainbow and says, "That is the mixer he was talking about, having blades that chop up the bale and stir it with the silage." She then jogs after the tractor to watch as the girls all follow after her.

I drive down the wide road I made so one tractor could go around me if they needed to. Pulling over to the right set of feed bunks, I look at the screen and make sure the feed is coming out the proper side and turn the auger on and watch the levels of the feed in the bunks. As I watch the bunks as I fill them, I notice the dairy cows quickly making their way over with their lips moving. I sigh and say, "Oh ah sure hope that my own damned livestock isn't able to talk, this world is weird enough as it is." I roll my eyes and continue to fill their bunks, when I reach the end of the bunks I turn off the belt.

One of the dairy cows trots up to the bunk and says, "It's about damned time that boy got here with our fooood, the sun is just over halfway in the sky and we haven't gotten fed yet! Whenever he is off that damned contraption ah'm gonna give him a piece o' my mind!"

Another dairy cow walks up and talks to her saying, "Easy there Bessy, I'm sure there is a really good reason for him tooo be this late. Last time he was this late, he was hurt pretty bad yooou know?"

Bessy looks to her best friend and vice head cow Bertha and says, "Ah know that Berty, but ya knooow how ah get when my stomach gets tooo rumblin'!" She raises her head and bellows to the herd, "TOOO THE TROUGHS ALL O' YOOOU LADIES, THE FOOOOD'S FINALLY HERE!"

Applejack hears a rumble coming from the field to the right of them when she heard that and says, "What's goin' on, what's that sound? Can somepony fly up and find out what it is? Cause it sure sounds like a stampede, it would be bad if that happened again while we are here."

Rainbow flies up and looks at the large herd of hungry cows rushing their way to the food and says, "HOLY COW THAT'S A LOT OF COWS! There must be a few hundred large hungry cows in that field."

Her eyes widen and she runs to the end of the line of troughs and looks into the field and her jaw goes slack and falls open at the biggest herd of cows she has ever seen and just stands there staring at them and says, "So many mouths to feed, how does he have any time to tend his fields or any of his other animals?"

Celestia smiles and stands beside her and says, "I think that he has time to do all of that because humans have tractors and other tools that make it much more efficient to get things done quicker. I do believe that, with his help, Equestria may put this food shortage behind us."

I drive around the corner to the next line of bunks on the right side and start filling them, keeping an eye on the levels of the TMR in the mixer. I make it to the end of the line and head for the next one, knowing that I will be out halfway through it and continue.

Bessy watches him start filling the third set and says, "Well, that boy will have tooo go back and fill it again soooon." Her attention is caught by someone saying something and turns to look at them, noticing that it is a strange new creature.

Twilight smiles and looks at the cow and says, "Hello there, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I was wanting to talk to you a bit while Roger is filling your troughs with food, do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

Bessy smiles and finishes chewing, swallows and then says, "Go right ahead little missy, ah ain't goin nowhere anytime soooon. My name is Bessy and ah'm the lead heifer of this here herd of dairy cows, it's a pleasure to meet ya youngster. He will be turning around tooo fill that contraption again in a few seconds, he usually has tooo fill it up twice to feed us all."

I then turn the belt off as no more feed is coming out of it and then shift to a faster gear to reach the spot to turn around. I shake my head and slow the tractor a bit as I start to make the turn to go back and fill up again and smack myself upside the head and say, "Ya idjit! Ya've forgotten that ya can't feed em anymore cause they have to git the food outta their systems before they go to slaughter. What am ah gonna do about the electricity situation though." I scratch my head in thought and sigh saying, "Ah guess ah'll hafta ask them if they have it here but ah doubt they do, but ah still hope they have some sort of technology. Otherwise, if somethin' breaks down and magic can't fix it, ah'm screwed."

I idle the 4240 down and put it in park and hop off and go to the group of girls, and stop before them and say, "Ah have a question fer ya gals. Do ya have electricity at least? Ah'm hopin ya do cause ah need electricity to run a few things here on mah farm."

The group all giggle as Celestia answers, "Of course we do, do you need AC or DC?"

I sigh and say, "Thank god you ponies don't live in the stone age, ah need AC fer mah farm. The sooner ya can git someone out here to hook me up, the better it'll be fer me to survive and use the things ah have. Water's not a big issue though cus ah have an antique windmill that pumps water and still works amazingly, even though it is nearly a hundred years old. Those things have been around since 1888 ah think."

Applejack's and Twilight's jaw falls open as Celestia smiles and says, "I shall get in touch with the business and have them come out immediately to get you power, is there anything else that you can think of that you need?"

I think for a moment and then say, "Yeah, do you know of anyplace that buys pigs for meat? Ah have a lot of pigs ah need to git sold."

She sighs and then says, "Yes I do, either the Hydras or the Griffons would. But the Hydras don't really have any land to put them on like the Gryphons would, I shall get in touch with their king and see if they could send somepony to talk with you about it. Any other urgent matters I can help you with right now?"

I smile and then chuckle saying, "Sorry fer not showin' respect Princess Celestia, ah just had those two matters that ah absolutely need to deal with before ah even worry about the land right now. Ya see, on Earth we have to stop feedin' pigs when they are ready to be sold. They need to go two days without food so it's outta their system, they've gone one day without feed already. The rest of mah issues can wait to be discussed later after mah chores are finished, ah shall return to mah chores now though. ah have horses that need their alfalfa, and chickens that need their trough filled, eggs collected and their water filled."

Celestia then pulls out a letter and a quill and writes a letter to the power business in Canterlot, requesting them to come out and bring power to an isolated farm west of Ponyville. She then writes a letter to Spike asking him to get an express courier pony to deliver the letter to Canterlot Power in Canterlot, and an express pony to deliver the other letter to the King of the Gryphon Empire. She then sends them both after writing Spike's name on his letter and the power business's name on theirs. She then smiles and then writes the last letter to the king and sends that to Spike too after writing the king's name on that letter.

Applejack smiles and says, "Ah could do that fer ya if ya'd like as a thank you fer lettin' me ride wit' ya on the tractor?"

I grin and say, "Thank ya kindly Applejack, ah'd greatly appreciate that. It would save me some time having to do it mahself, make sure to take Twilight with ya so none of 'em sneaky devils escape the pen they're in. Go north on the road past the house, they're by the old hay barn. There's a shed near the chicken coop where ah keep the feed and butcher a chicken or two when ah hafta. The feed for em's in a red five gallon bucket, there's a smaller pail there that ya can use to feed 'em. There is a wicker basket that ya can collect the eggs with and be sure to set it up on the bench when yer finished ok?"

She looks at Twilight and beams a wide smile then says, "Shall we git to tendin' 'em chickens Twi?"

Twilight chuckles and smiles saying, "Yes, let's git to it pardner."

Applejack chuckles and says, "Great accent, ya'd make a natural farmer if ya ever gave it a try."

I turn around saying, "Thanks ya two, yer a big help fer me taday. Watch out for the rooster though, his name is Cogburn, Rooster Cogburn and he is feisty ah tell ya." I then return to the tractor to put the mixer away and take care of the horses next.

Applejack and Twilight wander around the farm looking for the chicken coop, when they find it twenty minutes later in the northern corner of the farm by an old wooden hay barn a little bit bigger than the one at home and says, "Well Twilight, shall we get started by gittin the feed or gatherin' the eggs?"

Twilight ponders the question and then says, "I think we should feed and water them first so they are out of the nests while we gather the eggs."

I head to where the 1455 is and get up into the cab after returning the 4240 back to its spot in the shed. I then start it up and drive to where I leave the bucket, then lower it down and set the brake to get out and open the clamps to drop the bucket off. I return to the cab and lower it down onto the ties and tilt the loader forward to get it off of the rail, I then back up and pull forward to get the forks back on. I pick up the forks with the empty loader and set the brake to close the clamps, then return to the cab once it is done. I back up and drive into the bay where I keep my alfalfa bales, spearing one and lifting it up and turn east to head to the yard where my horses are.

Passing by the shed I turn north to the yard where the two horses are at, driving past the house I can see Applejack come out of the chicken coop with a few scratches and covered in feathers. I stop the tractor and set the brake and get out to see if she's ok saying, "Hey are ya awright there pardner? Ah hope ya didn't eat any of 'em chickens." I laugh as she frowns at me and starts walking over.

Applejack frowns at him and says, "Ya never said anythin' bout him bein' so mean! Twilight had to use her magic to hold him while ah hogtied him!"

I chuckle and say, "Sounds like ya made a new friend, heh heh. Yep, Rooster Cogburn's a right pain in the ass on some days. Ah got him from a vet facility that took him from some bastard that used him in a cock fight, he was the champion until it got shut down and they took him to rehome him."

She cocks her head and asks, "What's a cock fight?"

I sigh and say, "It is where spectators bet on a fight to the death between two male roosters, it's not a very nice thing to watch."

Applejack looks to the strutting rooster in the pen and says, "That is unfortunate to hear, ah feel sorry for him. Well thank you for telling me that, ah gotta fill their feed next while Twilight watches the gate fer me."

I smile and say, "Yer welcome Applejack, ah gotts to git this alfalfa over to Charlie and Angel." I then return to the tractor and call back to Applejack laughing, "Ya look good in feathers!"

She then frowns and says, "Rooster's mean! Ah'm gonna tell Fluttershy about him if he continues actin' like that!"

I then continue laughing as I drive the 1455 down the road to the lot where the two horses are at, then open up the gate to enter it. I return to the tractor and then drive into the pasture, stopping the tractor and setting the brake to go close the gate. I then return to the tractor again and resume carrying the square bale to my two draft horses to feed them and check their water saying, "Ah can't wait til the power company comes out and hooks me up, mah animals need their water, but ah need to clean the tanks out."

Next Chapter: Chapter 8: Finishing up and waiting for power Estimated time remaining: 17 Hours, 30 Minutes