“Mr. Cole, I’d like to ride next.”
The comment wasn’t unexpected, but still, Cole had figured that the Pegasus with the eye issue would probably not want to ride in enclosed box for an extended period. But, he was glad that someone had volunteered, it made things easier. Even though both the Sergeant, and Earth Mover had rode with him before, the rest of the class wasn’t privy to that fact, and so he had actually been trying to think of who to invite along next.
Balance Wheel had the good grace to hide his disappointment, but also perked up at the thought of finding out what a Pegasus, a notoriously open-space loving group, would think of the experience. As the human and pony made their way over to the still purring Elantra, the earth pony put his mind to figuring out just how the ‘transmission’ the human had showed them in the presentation earlier worked in practice…
As they stepped closer to the Elantra, Cole turned his head, and looked at his new passenger. Although he couldn’t read the Equestrian’s emotions as easily as he could a human’s, Cole could tell the mailmare was both excited, and a bit nervous.
With a few brief movements, the human demonstrated how to board the vehicle, and get strapped in. As Ditzy Doo settled herself in, she looked across to the human driver.
“It’s bigger on the inside than I thought.”
The human looked down and smiled, “Actually, this vehicle is on the smaller side. Its size and relatively low weight make it pretty maneuverable, compared to larger machines.”
“You mean like how a small, powerful flier is more maneuverable than a powerful, but large flyer?”
“Pretty much… ”
Without further ado, the human took a look around to ensure their path was clear, and then regarded his passenger once more.
“Ready?” After a short nod from Ditzy, Cole threw the Elantra into gear, and they were off.
Ditzy had to admit, the human knew his way around his machine, wielding it with the same instinctive control she used with her own wings. The sudden jolts when the machine turned were easy to anticipate, since as a flyer, she was used to similar events when flying. As the all-too-brief ride came to a close, Ditzy vowed to take her little muffin along for a ride someday.
As they pulled back into the starting position, Ditzy turned to Cole, and thanked him warmly.
“I hope I can take my Dinky for a ride in one of these someday,” she said, excitement clear in her voice.
The human regarded her silently, and then nodded. “I’m sure she would find it a lot of fun.”
After the Pegasus dismounted, Balance wheel got his turn, Sunny Skies also took the opportunity to inform the group she wished to ride as well, “For research”. Cole could tell she was more nervous than she let on, but the human kept his counsel, and didn’t press the issue.
Almost before he was strapped in, Balance Wheel began asking questions.
“Mr. Cole, does this vehicle have any extra safety systems?”
The human was impressed at the clockmaker’s observational skill, and let it show on his face.
“Yes, this vehicle is equipped with an airbag system. Basically, that means that if we hit something hard enough, large cushions will inflate, and protect us from the impact.”
“How hard, exactly?”
“Far harder than crashing into something at a full run could account for.”
“I see. This is a pretty sophisticated system…” Here the earth pony began looking around the Elantra’s interior, in an effort to locate the hidden airbags. With a small grin, Cole pointed them out to Balance Wheel. After inspecting the panels with ‘SRS’ embossed on them, the earth pony regarded the human. “Shall we?”
“Let’s.” The human put the Elantra into gear, and the machine moved off.
As they sped through the course, Balance Wheel found himself pushed against his straps, and could feel his organs shift a little each time the Elantra cornered. His vision slewed from left to right, and he had to fight inertia just to keep his head and eyes focused on which direction the vehicle was headed. The entire experience was intense. Between the roaring of the engine, and the scraping and squealing of the tires, it was all Balance Wheel could do to avoid panicking. At the same time, the sheer newness, and novelty of the experience caused him to be unable to wipe an exhilarated grin from his face.
As the human machine accelerated, braked, and turned, the clockmaker listened intently to the noises the engine and transmission made. It was clear that while the engine itself produced a predictable range of power, the transmission of that power involved a very complex system. The images of a torque converter the class had seen earlier only gave a hint of what was going on under the hood, but Balance wheel’s special talent was all things mechanical, so he could practically feel how the Elantra behaved under Cole’s deft touch. The human was skilled, no doubt about it. But Balance wheel was convinced that if he had a chance to get his hooves on a human engine, he could make it sing.
Outside the car, the observers took note of how Cole threw his machine into the corners of the obstacle course, practically turning the machine sideways in some of the tighter corners.
Sergeant Stormcloud noted how the course roughly emulated the evasion pattern Cole had used to escape the changeling swarm back when the human had first come to Equestria. The seemingly wild swerving ensured that the vehicle’s path of travel was always in a forward direction, yet very difficult to track, especially when seen from the air.
Earth Mover thought back to that first frantic chase, and thought that things had turned out pretty well, all things considered. Still, the wild maneuvers the human vehicle was making made it pretty clear, at least from the outside, that it would have been very difficult to stop the human and his machine that night.
After a few more screeching turns, Cole brought the Elantra to a halt back where it had started. As residual dust from the trip around the track wafted past, the human dismounted from the vehicle, and helped his passenger out as well.
“That was… Quite a ride,” the earth pony was a little unsteady on his hooves, but recovered quickly. “Cole, does this machine use multiple clutches in its transmission?”
The human paused for a moment, then recalled what he had read up on Cutie Marks, and what that meant for their owners. Clearly, Balance Wheel’s special talent allowed him an advantage when it came to engines.
“Actually, it’s not so much multiple clutches as it is a multi-plate clutch, but I think you get the general idea.” The pair continued to discuss this as they returned to the group.
The Sergeant, and Earth Mover’s trips around the course passed without incident, with both ponies keeping their familiarity with the Elantra, and what it could do to themselves, and expressing appropriate sentiments when they shared their experiences after their respective runs.
Finally, it was Sunny Skies’ turn.
The unicorn looked up at Cole as he approached, and gave herself a mental shake.
“So, Mr. Cole, I trust you will treat this just like the previous runs?” She asked, working to mask her nervousness.
The human chuckled, seeing her attempt at bravado for what it was, and not pushing too hard. “We can go slower, if you like.”
“No, Mr. Cole, I insist you provider the same experience for me you have for your students. If I am to provide a full and accurate report to my superiors, I wish to have the same experience they do.”
The human regarded her for a beat, and then raised his estimate of her a notch. “All right then, Miss Skies. I’ll make sure your boss had a good account to review.”
They took their seats inside the machine, and Cole adjusted a setting on this control panel. Outside, the Elantra settled almost a full inch. Turning, the human regarded his passenger. “I took it easy on the class since this is their first day riding in a machine like this, but if you want, I can really put on a show.” The unspoken question lingered between them.
“Mr. Cole, impress me.”
The human gave a curt nod, and flexed his hands on the steering wheel. “Yes ma’am.”
Cole took a moment to think about how he would attack the course with the Elantra’s new configuration, and then mashed the accelerator to the floor.
With a mighty roar, the machine took off like a scalded cat, startling the onlookers before what the human intended sank in. As the ponies looked on in amazement, Cole hurled the Elantra through the course, faster than he had before, and causing the tires to howl in protest. As the machine swung around the corners, it was practically sideways in a few spots, smoke curling off the front tires as they clawed at the paving stones. After the first lap, which was over in far less time, the machine swung out onto the course for a second lap.
In the passenger seat for this experience, Sunny Skies took note of the harsh, yet graceful maneuvers the human was putting this machine through. He was composed, even though the demands placed on his concentration were significant. She took especial note of how his eyes were in constant motion, swiveling from the instruments, to the course, and back again. He moved his alien limbs with great dexterity, and precision, calling upon his machine’s abilities as though they were his own. One thing became clear in that moment: The human was a master at his chosen profession. She could almost forget the stresses the vehicle’s passage was having on her body, and instead observe how the machine and the human’s movements synced up.
As they came around the last corner for the second time, Cole threw the Elantra into a slide that let them come to a stop exactly in front of the class. Turning, he regarded his passenger.
“So, Miss Skies, how did you enjoy your hot lap?”
The unicorn regarded the human evenly. “Mr. Cole, I enjoyed it very much. The Crown will be looking on your class’ accomplishments with great interest.”
With a slow mental shake of his head at his passenger’s calm, collected demeanor, Cole nodded his thanks, and unstrapped, making his way to the other side of the Elantra to let his passenger out. As he approached, he saw her just finishing opening her door in a sparkle of golden magic. “Thank you, Mr. Cole, but I think I can do at least this much,” the mare stated, as she closed the door, and walked beside him, as the human changed course, and they made their way back to the class.
As they approached, Ditzy Doo was the first to comment on what they had witnessed: “That was Awesome!” The others chimed in, and made their own observations.
“Well, I didn’t expect you to go quite that fast, but good show,” the Sergeant commented.
“How exactly did you do that last maneuver?” Balance Wheel asked.
“I knew you were keeping a few things up your sleeve, but now you’re just showing off!” Trixie commented.
The human offered the ponies a small smile. “Guilty as charged,” he replied. “I knew the machine could do it, and I think our visitor was suitably impressed.”
“Indeed,” Sunny Skies confirmed. “It appears this program will be well worth the resources allotted to it. You can expect regular visits from me, and possibly other observers in the future. As I already stated to Mr. Cole, the Crown will be following the activities of this program with great interest. And now, I must take my leave, as I have a report to file.”
And with that, their unexpected visitor took her leave.
As Sunny Skies made her way out of sight, Cole turned to regard the class. “So, let’s begin going over your individual impressions, and observations.”