Navi woke to a slight swaying. From where she lay in the top bunk she could see most of the truck. She looked down at the seat on the left. There was a large wheel directly in front and three pedals below. She wondered what the stick between the two seats was for and what all of the various switches did. She leaned over the edge of the bunk and looked down to see Alex still asleep, apparently not bothered by the swaying. She thought about jumping down and waking Alex to ask him what everything in the truck did.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
Navi looked around for the source of the knocking. It seemed like it came from the door on the left. As she looked down to see if Alex had woken up, she was surprised to see him already up and moving into the driver's seat.
"Good morning, Alex," Navi said as she jumped down from the bunk.
"Huh? Oh good morning Navi, I guess last night wasn't a dream after all huh?" Alex said, dropping into the driver's seat. He turned the key to the left and rolled down the window.
"Good morning Sir Alex! We have finished unloading your trailer and are preparing to load the amplifier. Do you think you could line the truck up with that door to your right?" A tan pony said looking up at Alex.
Alex looked in the mirror to see the door the pony was talking about. He noticed there were several other ponies loading or unloading carts and pulling a few into the city. Occasionally one would steal a glance at the gigantic foreign object.
"Uh sure but can you get all of the ponies to either get up on the dock or a good ways away from the truck? I don't want to run somepony over."
"Sure thing!" The pony said running off and shouting to the other ponies.
Navi climbed up into the seat to Alex's left. "What was that about?"
"They need me to line up with a door. I guess it's hard to get something that long around corners."
Alex turned the key to the right and waited for the gauges to clear before turning it further and starting the engine. Several ponies who were moving toward the dock began moving faster while staring at the truck.
Navi watched Alex with interest. "It's kind of loud huh?"
"Not really, these new models are really quiet compared to the old ones."
"I see, I'm glad this is a new model then. I think that noise would get annoying very quickly."
"Yeah I guess so, if you're not used to it," Alex pushed the clutch to the floor and waited for the transmission to stop spinning before shifting the truck into low. "Do you see any ponies near by?"
"Nope I think it's clear."
"Alright here we go," Alex pushed the knobs for the truck and trailer brakes and let off the clutch as the hissing stopped. As the truck started to roll forward the turned the steering wheel to a hard right before turning back to a hard left a few seconds later.
Navi watched as he did this before asking, "How are you going to get it to line up with that door?"
Alex grinned "Just watch, it's easy. There's tons of room here, lots of docks where I'm from don't have nearly this much room."
As the truck made a 45 degree angle to the trailer again he turned the wheel back to a hard right then quickly let the wheel go straight.
"Look in that mirror," Alex pointed to a mirror on the hood of the truck. "We're lined up with the door and the truck and trailer are straight."
Navi looked at the mirror and squinted her eyes trying to see what Alex was talking about. "I don't see what you mean."
"I guess concave mirrors do take some getting used to," Alex shifted the truck into reverse and let the move backward slowly until it thumped lightly into the dock.
"It took me a while to learn what I was seeing in the concave mirrors too. When I first started driving the instructors kept telling me to watch the tandems in the concave mirror but I could never see what they wanted me to watch until I'd been driving for a couple months. Now I use the concave more than the flat mirrors." Alex said pulling the knobs out and releasing a loud whoosh of air.
"Why did it make that noise?"
"Well the brakes on this truck work by using air. There's an air compressor built into the engine. It fills up four air tanks mounted under the cab. When I push these knobs in, it lets air into the brake cylinders which compress a spring letting the brakes loose and allowing the wheels to roll. When I pull them back out, the air is released from the cylinders and the springs reapply the brakes." Alex pointed to the red and yellow knobs. "The red one is for the trailer and the yellow is for the tractor."
"I think I kind of get it," Navi said with an uncertain expression. "Either way I'm going shopping for some supplies."
"Alright I'm going to see about a shower. I haven't had one for a couple days and it sounds like there won't be a chance for one after we leave here."
Navi nodded and opened the door with her magic. She hopped neatly down to the ground below and trotted off toward the city proper. Alex went back into the sleeper and gather up some clothes and a towel and stuffed them into his shower bag that already had soap and a tooth brush.
Alex climbed out of the truck and headed for the dock. He climbed up and saw the same tan pony from before.
"Hello, do you happen to know where I can find Twilight?" Alex asked, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
"I don't but I'm sure Gear can point you in the right direction," the tan pony pointed his hoof that the door Alex had lined the truck up with. "He's right through there."
"Thanks," Alex bowed his head before heading through the door. Inside it looked like many warehouses Alex had seen. The roof wasn't nearly as high but it stretched off into the distance with stacks of crates taller than himself lined up in neat rows. He wandered around catching ponies staring at him as he passed through row after row of crates.
Eventually he wandered out of the jungle of crates and saw his freight near the back wall of the warehouse. It was a large, slightly transparent crystal. It sat on a cart with several sets of wheels. It seemed to give off soft blue light and gave Alex the impression of humming. He couldn't hear anything but something about it made him think it was making a soft humming sound.
"Hello Alex, have you come to see your freight?" Alex snapped his head to his right to see Gear trotting up to him.
"Ah..uh... kind of. It seems...otherworldly," Alex rubbed his eyes as he tried to keep himself from staring at it.
"Indeed. Princess Luna oversaw it's development. She gathered the finest minds Canterlot and indeed, all of Equestria to help her complete the project," Gear had a small smile on his face as he watched the other ponies push it toward the waiting trailer.
"Hey um Gear? Do you think I could catch a shower before I head out? It's been a couple days and something tells me there won't be any truck stops along the way."
"Ah most certainly. The room Princess Celestia had prepared for you had a shower. I suppose I can understand wanting to sleep somewhere familiar though, follow me." Gear walked toward a door along the back wall and Alex followed behind him.
"Oh and one other thing." Alex caught up to Gear and walked along beside him as they made their way through the castle. "Do you think you could get a ramp or ladder built?"
Gear looked up at Alex with a puzzled expression. "I suppose so but what do you need one for?"
"Navi. It seems the steps on my truck aren't exactly pony friendly."
"Ah I see. No problem, Alex I'll have one made that will fit within the cab of your truck."
"Thanks, I don't need a repeat of last night," Alex felt his cheeks flush at the thought.
"What happened last night?" Gear looked at Alex with a suspicious grin.
"Oh nothing. When will the fuel tanks be installed?"
"It is already being worked on and it should be ready to go tonight. You can leave as soon as we're finished or wait until tomorrow morning."
"I think I'll wait for daylight. Nights are rough to drive and I'm not exactly on familiar roads."
"Very well. We will have your truck stocked with food by the time you finish your shower." Gear stopped next to a door and pushed it open with a hoof. "You'll find what you need in here. Enjoy your bath."
A few hour later Alex was back in his truck inspecting the food that had been stored under the bottom bunk. There were brown packages that looked a lot like the packaged meals the military used stacked in half of the space. According to the package each one was good for two meals and there appeared to be around 100 of them. The other half contained green packages. Upon closer inspection they were the same as the brown ones but were labeled 'Vegetarian'. Most of the meals seemed to be peas, carrots, and apples. Alex assumed the brown were for him and green for Navi.
He put the bottom bunk back down and sat on the bed to inspect the small fridge in the compartment to his right. It had been stocked with packaged bowls of fresh lettuce and small containers of yoghurt. It seemed they would have enough food to make the trip to the Crystal Empire, though they'd have to restock for the trip back.
The passenger door opened and Alex poked his head out to see what was going on.
"I'm back," Navi said. She had saddle bags on her back and a couple other bags levitating around her.
"Oh welcome back. Did you get what you needed?"
"Yes now take these so I can get in." Navi levitated the bags up to Alex.
"Sure but hold on a second, Gear gave me something good," Alex placed the bags on the top bunk and pulled the ramp Gear had given him from behind the passenger seat.
"Check it out, Gear gave us a ramp," Alex hooked the separated pieces together before poking it out of the door. Navi stepped back as Alex set the end on the ground and hooked the other end to the bottom of the door frame. "Good stuff right?"
"Much better," Navi gave a sage nod as she carefully walked up the ramp. Alex returned to the bunk sat pulling his legs up. Navi hopped up on the passenger seat and back down between the driver's and passenger's seat. Alex watched as she undid the straps on her saddle bags and pointed up to the top bunk when she finished.
"Your bags are up there."
"That's fine," Navi levitated her saddle bags to the rest of her stuff. "When are we leaving?"
"Tomorrow morning. They're working on the fuel tanks for now and should be done by tonight. I don't really want to drive this beast down small paths at night so we'll wait a bit."
"Fair enough. Mind moving so I can climb up? It's kind of embarrassing climbing up with you watching from there," Navi's cheeks reddened slightly as she avoided Alex's eyes.
"What do you..." Alex felt his face redden too as he caught on to the logistics of what she meant. "Yeah I think I'll go check the progress."
Navi turned and stepped back on to the passenger seat and Alex sat down in the Driver's seat and climbed down the driver's side. Alex walked to where Gear and several ponies were working under his trailer. Five tanks had been mounted on the passenger side already and the first one for the driver's side was being installed.
"Ah Alex, we're nearly finished with the additional tanks. We'll mount an electric pump as well. You'll have to have the trailer lights on for it to work though. Also, there's a manual one in the baggage compartment."
"Thanks. How are you going to fill all of these tanks?"
"With that," Gear pointed a hoof at a cart with a large tank. The words on the side read 'Not for Drinking. No magic within 20 feet.'
"I still don't understand how you guys have all of this stuff."
"Well Celestia has been aware of your world for a long time. Upon their first discovery, the gates seem to lead to unclaimed land so their study was dropped. Later a great unicorn by the name Starswirl the Bearded came along and began exploring their function once again. He found that the land had been settled by your people, your technology at the time was below ours. Starswirl found a way to stabilize the gate and make it appear in only the location you first met Twilight. The other side however, seems to follow a random pattern. We can tell where and when it will open in your world but we can not control it."
Alex nodded, "So I guess Celestia recently decided to check in on us?"
"Yes and she has built many contacts within your government. She only shares the location of the gate with those she trusts however. Your leaders seem interested in the gold and gems of our land so they have agreed to give us diplomatic and trade rights."
"Ok so was it necessary to kidnap me?"
Gear gave a sad look. "You must understand, Celestia and Luna are desperate. Even now, if you decided you didn't want this job they would let you go."
"Nah I take this load. Taking a break from my world is too good of a chance to pass up. Maybe they'll have more loads for me after this one."
"They wi-" Gear looked startled "I mean, perhaps."
Alex couldn't help but smirk "Well anyway, have I been loaded?"
Gear quickly regained his composure. "Yes and several measures have been taken to keep it from shifting."
"The ride should be pretty smooth. We've come quite a ways with the air suspension."
"Indeed, it is quite the masterpiece!" Gear looked at the tandems with an excited look. "Oh how it must be to work with such ingenious machinery."
"Eh it's alright. You do know that I'm overweight with this load right?"
"Yes your gross weight is approximately 90,000lbs. Is that a problem?"
"No, just as long as you are aware. I'm not worried about DoT inspecting me here so if you say it's ok then there's no problem."
Gear nodded. "Very good, your truck won't have a problem with power. I will come back tomorrow morning to see you off. I would suggest you leave before dawn, the streets can be busy in the morning."
"Agreed, see you tomorrow Gear."
"Good night, Alex" Gear turned and knelt under the trailer to inspect the mounts.
Alex climbed back into the truck and spotted Navi on the top bunk reading a book. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, Gear is taking care of things very well. I think he knows this truck better than I do."
Navi chuckled while turning a page in her book. "It wouldn't surprise me. I don't know him well but I do know he loves machines from your world."
Alex noticed the ramp and been disassembled and placed on the passenger's seat. He collected it together and placed it back behind the seat.
"Yeah I wasn't sure what you did with that."
"No problem, I just stored it behind your seat. Is that what you went to town for?" Alex said indicating the book Navi was reading.
"Pretty much."
"Think I could borrow one of those? All of my entertainment requires a cell phone signal and there's none here."
"Sure I brought the entire Daring Doo series, here's the first." Alex took the book Navi offered him and shut the curtains closing the sleeper off from the rest of the cab then settled into bed.
"Need some light here," Came Navi's voice from above.
"Try that switch next to your head."
He felt Navi move as she searched for the switch finally flipping it on and turning a small light on. "That works. This truck is pretty convenient."
"Yep," Alex said flipping a switch next to him as well and opened the book and began to read.
The two spent the next couple of hours reading and occasionally making small talk until night fell. Eventually they both went to sleep for the night.