Lunestia Trucking Inc: The Beginning

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

Late one Saturday night, Alex, a trucker, was driving on I-40 westbound. Exhaustion clouded his vision and made it difficult for him to follow a train of thought. His dispatch gave him this load out of the blue and completely disregarded his sleep schedule. This wasn't uncommon though it was very unappreciated.

Alex did what he could to stay awake, using all of the usual tricks. Stretching, drinking something cold, smoking a cigarette. He couldn't understand why he felt so sleepy. Sure he had slept the night before and stayed awake most of the day, save for a short nap, before leaving to pick up the load.

As he drove, he finally realized he have to stop and take a nap. He had passed the point of being unsafe and had become an accident waiting to happen. A quite deadly accident. He tapped on his GPS searching for a rest area or truck stop near by but to no avail. The next place to stop was another 120 miles away.

As he resigned himself to sleeping on an off-ramp he spotted a billboard advertising "Lunestia Truck Stop! Exit 250!" along with all of the usual markers for truck parking, showers, and free Wi-Fi, apparently. Alex felt a small rush at the prospect of getting to sleep and powered through the last 5 miles until he came upon the exit.

The blue information signs preceding the exit didn't have any emblems for a truck stop but in his haze, Alex didn't notice and took the exit without a second thought.

Immediately upon coming to the top of the ramp, Alex knew he was in trouble. There was no road, only a narrow dirt path and it seemed that turning left would send him crashing down onto the interstate below. There was no bridge.

Alex sat at the top of the ramp contemplating his options. On one hand, he could back down the ramp and continue on down the interstate. On the other, he could take this road and see if his GPS could get him out of this mess. Fearing the massive fine of being caught backing on a ramp, he opted for the latter option and swung his rig into a wide right turn.

He watched his right mirror as the trailer's tandem axels left pavement and nearly caught the red stop sign. As his rig came back in line and headed down the narrow dirt path, Alex tapped around on his GPS, zooming in as far is it could to see what road he was on. Seeing nothing but black indicating his GPS didn't have this road on it's maps he gave up, sighing loudly. This was going to be a long night. At least he wasn't tired anymore. Problems always help him wake up.

Two hours later Alex found himself with: A truck, a narrow path, and no GPS. Even his truck's satellite based computer and satellite radio couldn't get signal. It was strange because Alex had been in the middle of the Mohave desert and gotten perfect signal on all three. That was their whole purpose.

Alex looked out into the darkness stretching ahead of him. Even with all of the various lights on the truck and trailer, he felt a little scared of the dark. Even the darkness inside of the cab felt like it was pressing in on him. He didn't usually feel this way because of all of the different gauges and switches giving off light. The trees above blocked out all of the moon light and his headlights didn't seem to reach as far as they did a few minutes ago.

The darkness continued to grow until he couldn't see the trailer lights at all and his headlights looked more like a flash light. He could feel his stomach turn and heartbeat grow faster when he noticed the gauges were hardly visible. Finally, panicking, slammed on the brake pedal and a shiver ran up his spine.

The truck screeched loudly as the brakes did their best to stop the 80,000lb rig. Alex felt the tires begin to lose traction and the trailer threaten to jack-knife but he couldn't move. His foot was stuck on the pedal and the steering wheel jerked his arms as the rig struggled to stop and remain on the narrow path.

With a loud burst of air, Alex's foot finally came off of the brake pedal. He hadn't even realized he was struggling to move his leg so hard. Alex laid his head on the steering wheel eyes closed, breathing hard, and thanking the powers that be for not letting him run off the road.

After a few minutes of trying to calm his nerves and bring himself to face the darkness that waited behind his eye lids, he peeked an eye open to find all of the light had returned. He could see the trailer lights and the gauges glowed as bright as ever. As he lifted his gaze to the path before him, his blood ran cold.

At the edge of the light, he could see something moving. His stomach did another turn as the shapes began moving into the light. As the creatures stepped fully into the light, Alex began to question whether or not this was a dream. He didn't think there was anyway a small purple pony with a horn and wings could be standing in front of his truck.

He froze as the pony began to approach his door. Before he could free himself from his frozen state the pony had already walked to his door. Just as he reached for the door lock the door swung wide open.

"Ahh!" Alex yelled, trying to unbuckle his seat belt and get away from the creature. It wore a large grin, highlighted in evil detail by the orange marker lights.

"Hello Alex! My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm here to welcome you to Equestria!" The pony said.

Alex froze upon hearing the creature's voice. It didn't sound evil or like it was trying to hurt him. How did it know his name? A few tense seconds of Alex staring at Twilight and Twilight staring back, Alex finally found his voice.

"Um hello?" He said. This had to be a dream.

"I understand you have a delivery for Princess Celestia?"

"What? No it's for..." Alex said as he reached for the deliver receipt. "It's for... how is this possible? I know for a fact this load was headed for a Walmart distribution center in Arkansas."

"Nope, we've been expecting you. You're even earlier than I predicted."

"Um... alright? I'm just going to operate under the assumption that this is a dream." Alex said rubbing his head. "Do you have a dock or something to unload this stuff?" Alex looked around. He seemed to be on a small path in a clearing. A ring of trees ran around him in a 100 foot radius. "I don't think you want this stuff sitting in the woods."

"No of course not. Just a little further up the road and you'll arrive at Canterlot. Everything we order will be unloaded into the Royal Vault." Twilight said point further down the path.

"Uh alright then. Why would you unload 40,000lbs of chocolate into a Royal Vault?" Alex asked, utterly confused.

Twilight turned back around to face Alex and put her front hooves up on the first step. "Princess Celestia loves her chocolate, that's why."

"Oh alright then," Alex said, peering into the distance trying to pick out anything in the darkness.

"Mind if I come aboard? It's cold out here and I don't relish a walk back to Canterlot."

"Yeah sure why not? Talking purple ponies riding in my..." Alex began to say as a bright flash of light and a loud "Pop" nearly made him fall out of the truck.

As his vision cleared, Alex saw the pony was gone. Sighing heavily as he sat back down in the seat, he started reaching for the door.

"Well let's go then!" Came Twilight's voice from the passenger seat.

"Holy...!" Alex said nearly falling out again. He slammed the door closed and whipped his head over to see Twilight sitting on the other seat. "How did you..."

"I teleported. Those steps looked like they'd be difficult for me to climb so I took the easy route. Is that a problem?"

"Teleported huh? Alright well whatever, lets get this load delivered." Alex pushed the clutch to the floor and waited for the transmission to stop spinning before he put the truck back into gear and started down the road.

Chapter 2

"Ok do you see that dock over there?" Twilight said, putting her foreleg up on the dash while pointing with the other.

"Yeah I see it, and would ya mind not getting my seat dirty by standing on it?" Alex glanced over at her hind legs standing on his seat.

"Don't worry, when I teleported all of the stuff that wasn't a part of me was left behind. See?" She said lifting a hoof to show Alex. He shook his head and turned the steering wheel to begin setting up to back into the dock.

"Going to be a little tight I think. Why are there so many carts in the way?" Alex complained looking at the abandoned carts scattered in front of the dock. It was still dark outside, his truck's clock showing 2:00am. Not that he trusted it at this point.

"Normally we don't have shipments coming in that need so much space. Do you want me to move some of them?" Twilight asked, her horn giving off a soft purple glow.

"What and tarnish my honor as a trucker? I don't think so. I'll park this big girl in there one way or another. Besides, even if I hit one of the carts, I doubt it would hurt my trailer. Wood doesn't stand up well to steel," Alex said with a small chuckle.

"Oh alright then," Twilight gave a small sigh and sat back down in the seat. If Alex didn't know any better, he'd think she wanted to show him something.

The truck hummed as it lined up with the dock and finally with a small shudder the bumper pads came to a rest against the open air dock.

"Did you really have to hit it that hard?" Twilight asked as Alex pulled the parking brakes, letting out a loud rush of air.

"Well I suppose not, but it's dark. Anyway, it felt worse in here than it actually was. With all the air suspension stuff my girl has, she's a bit of a drama queen when it comes to bumps."

"If you say so. Come on, the Princesses are waiting for us." Twilight said, using her magic to open her door.

Alex looked around at the dark, empty streets. He couldn't see anyone or anything else. The streets were dimly lit with small lanterns. Getting in here hadn't been hard. The truck had taken up the entire street but they didn't have to make any turns until the arrived at the back of the castle. Cobblestone streets were a bit rough to drive on but Alex didn't see a reason to drive fast down such narrow roads anyway.

"Twilight, are you sure I'm supposed to be here? If what you said earlier is true, and you ponies are the main residents of this land-"

"Equestria," Twilight cut in.

"-then why do you need me here?" Alex finished.

"We have a job for you. The Princesses will explain when we get inside. Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to you here. From what I understand, our world is much, much safer than your own." Twilight gave Alex a reassuring smile then neatly hopped down to the ground.

"If you say so," Alex muttered climbing down himself. Making his way around the truck he gave a wistful look at his truck and the bed within.

As the pair made their way around the castle, Alex couldn't help but feel even more out of place. There were flower beds lining the small walkway they followed and every shrub and small tree was manicured to perfection. Looking further out past shrubs, Alex could see the lawn was equally well manicured. Not a single blade of grass stood taller than the rest and the lanterns placed along the walkways gave the area a magical appearance.

Normally, the places Alex delivered to or picked up from were gigantic warehouses the size of small cities. The grass was always brown with many bare patches and there were rarely any trees. It was a nice change but certainly one that would take some getting used to.

As they neared the main entrance, Alex had to consciously keep his mouth closed. The entire castle was perfectly white. It appeared ghostly against the night sky. The wide front stairs were white as well, not a single piece of dirt marred it's perfect surface.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Alex noticed a couple of ponies wearing armor. He assumed they were guards. Twilight walked up to them and the brown pony with wings, a Pegasus Twilight had called them, spoke.

"Good to see you made it back safely, Princess Twilight. Princess Celestia and Luna will see you now. They're waiting in Princess Celestia's study." He said.

"Thank you sir," Twilight said as she walked past the two guards. No knowing what else to do Alex followed along behind her. As he passed them they never broke their forward stare and let him pass uncontested.

They made their way down several short hallways until they came to a small wooden door. Twilight knocked twice before pushing the door open to reveal four ponies. They all sat around a small table that was littered with papers and maps.

"Glad you made it back, Twilight," the larger white pony said. Like Twilight, she had a horn and wings, though her mane was rainbow colored and flowed in a breeze that didn't exist.

"And Alex, glad you came on such short notice," the dark blue pony said. She was nearly the size of the white one but not quite. Her mane seemed to be the night sky, several small points of light against a black background.

Alex stood at the door looking around as Twilight took a seat opposite the two larger ponies. "Uh yeah no problem. I didn't really seem to have a choice in the matter though," Alex said as he took a couple of steps into the room.

"Please sit," the white pony said. "My name is Princess Celestia and this is my sister Princess Luna," Celestia said, using a hoof to indicate herself then the darker pony next to her.

Alex, feeling more confident, took up a seat next to Twilight. On his left at the end of the table was a dark brown unicorn with a white mane and tail. A couple of brown streaks stood out against the stark white of the rest of her mane.

"Now we can begin. Luna, would you mind explaining to Alex why we've brought him here?" Celestia said.

"Certainly sister. Alex, we have need of your service and the service of your truck," Luna began.

"Oh well it's not exactly my truck. I drive for a company you see, and they're the ones who actually own it, I just drive it."

"Indeed well we actually purchased your truck from the company you used to work for three days ago."

"You what? Wait used to work for? What-"

Luna held up a hoof. "Do not worry Alex, you will be paid for your time here. By our estimates you will earn a year's salary within the next two months. We believe that will be more than enough time for you to find a new job since we turned in your resignation for you. Not to mention, your truck was officially yours three days ago."

Alex realized his mouth had been hanging open. "You bought my truck and made me quit my job? How could you have done that from here? Have you been to my world? Why wasn't that on the news?"

"We have been aware of your world for about 1500 years. Once every month, a gate opens between your world and ours. Star Swirl the Bearded found a way to force the gates to open in one location in our world. In yours however, they appear randomly. By our best estimation equestria sits in the same location in our world as your United States does in yours," Luna said, pausing to take a sip of tea.

"Ok so if I understand this correctly, I can't go home for a month whether or not I take this job."

"I'm afraid so," Luna finished looking to her sister for help.

Celestia spoke up, "Alex, you must understand that we are desperate. The freight you will be hauling is important to the well being of all of Equestria."

Alex rubbed a hand over his face trying to grasp what the ponies wanted from him. "So for two months' worth of driving, you're willing to give me a truck and a year's salary?"

Luna nodded her head, "Indeed."

Alex sat back in his chair. The year's salary was nice but the truck was a much bigger deal. It would take him another five years at least to be able to afford his own. Being away from the world for a couple months might not be bad either. It wasn't common for him to stay on the road for three or more months at a time. He didn't have much reason to go home, nobody was waiting for him.

"What's the catch?" Alex finally spoke up after a minute of silence.

"Well I suppose we should tell you about what you will be moving. As we told you it's important to the wellbeing of Equestria and carrying something that valuable isn't without it's risks," Luna said levitating a paper to Alex. It was a drawing of a tower.

"This will be your freight. It is a kind of magic amplifier that must be taken to the Crystal Empire in the frozen north. Without it, an ancient evil will be able to reclaim that empire and eventually spread to the rest of Equestria," Luna finished.

"Ancient evil sounds pretty ominous and ambiguous," Alex said eyeing the paper. According to the measurements listed it was 50 feet long and weighed 55,000lbs.

Celestia closed her eyes and made a face like she was remembering something unpleasant, "His name is King Sombra. A year ago, Twilight's brother and another princess drove him from the Crystal Empire. He was the former ruler but turned to dark magic and turned his subjects to solid crystal."

"That sounds dangerous, but what's the danger to me?" Alex asked, feeling his stomach tighten.

This time, Twilight spoke up, "Well this amplifier has the ability to, of course, amplify magic but it also repels dark magic. The only problem is the amplification effect extends much further than the repelling effect. At least until it gets placed under the Crystal Heart in the Crystal Empire."

"I still don't understand the danger," Alex said giving a blank look to Twilight. "If it repels dark magic, won't he be unable to touch me?"

"Well yes however, we expect him to follow you for your entire journey. He will be able to gain strength by staying in range of the amplification. We estimate it would take him two months to be able to over come the repelling effect and attack you directly."

"Ok how far are we talking here because in a month I can do 10,000 miles without really trying," Alex said.

"Yes in your world however, in ours we don't have the same roads you do. In fact the road to the Crystal Empire is considered one of the most dangerous roads in Equestria. It's rarely traveled these days since the railroad was completed. It will probably take you a month to get there and a month back," Celestia said.

"Are you sure my truck can even fit down it?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Alex jumped. The pony to his left had been the one to speak.

"I see and what makes you so sure?"

"Because I traveled that road myself to scout it out."

"I suppose we should introduce our other two guests. This-" Luna extended a hoof toward the dark brown unicorn, "is Navi. She's one of the best navigators and cartographers in Equestria. And this-" Luna extended her hoof toward Alex's right indicating a steel gray unicorn with a dark green mane, "is Gear Wrench. He's one of Equestria's fore most ponies on mechanical engineering."

Gear left his chair and walked over wearing a grin and extended his hoof. "Nice to meet you Alex, I'll be taking care of any mechanical needs you may have."

Alex took the offered hoof and gave it a shake trying to figure this odd pony out.

"I just love the machines of your world, everything about your trucks sings to perfection I could never hope to attain. I've spent quite long time working on trucks from-"

"AHEM!" Celestia cleared her throat loudly.

"Right, um, first off we shall begin work on installing additional fuel tanks to your trailer for the long trip. We expect to have ten more 75 gallon tanks by tomorrow night. I understand your truck has two 150 gallon tanks?"

"Er yeah, mine is one of the few that does though I'm down to about 150 gallons between them."

"No problem we will fill them up along with the 750 gallons of additional fuel."

"How are you getting fuel exactly?" Alex asked raising an eyebrow toward the sisters.

"We have contacts in your world and several of them are high up in your government," Celestia clarified.

"I see well if you'll give me a map and some time to sleep I'll get rolling as soon as I can," Alex said, giving a small yawn.

"How about we give you a navigator instead?" Navi said moving over to stand next to Alex.

"That would work too I guess but is it really necessary?"

"Yes I believe it will be. From what Gear has told me, people in your world use automated maps. Do you think you could read this?" Navi said, picking up a map from the table in her mouth and handing it to Alex.

He considered the map for a moment before giving up. "Fair enough. This doesn't even look like a road map. To me it seems like a topographical map they told me about in school."

"Thought so. I'm very good at what I do so you'll be in save hooves." Navi finished, a smile on her face.

"Gear, can you make sure to pack a lot of food while you're working on my trailer? There's a small fridge in my sleeper so some small snacks would be nice along with a lot of stuff that doesn't need to be cold. There's plenty of storage under my bed."

"Certainly, we acquired some ready made meals from your world in preparation for this trip. I'm not sure how I feel about one who consumes meat but I suppose you are what you are."

Alex gave a nervous laugh as he realized he was in a world of herbivores. "Yeah I guess not." He suddenly felt very out of place and wanted to get back to his truck. "Well I don't know what time it is but I'm pretty tired."

"I have a room prepared for you to sleep in," Celestia said as she stood up.

"Oh no that's fine I'd feel better in my truck," Alex didn't think he could stand to be in the suddenly uncomfortable castle anymore. He stood up from his chair and walked over to the door. "Well if you need something from me knock on my door, I'll probably be asleep for a good ten hours."

"I shall come as well," Navi started walking toward the door.

"T-tonight? We're not leaving yet," Alex opened the door and slowly backed out as Navi approached him.

"Well if I'm going to be living in your truck for the next two months I might as well start now," Navi pushed a hoof against Alex's leg moving him out of the way.

"Fine then but you're taking the top bunk, bottom's mine."

The two made their way back to the truck. Alex opened the passenger door for Navi. She didn't move as she stared in amazement at the huge rig.

"Now I understand why Celestia was so specific about the road's width. I never imagined a machine this large could exist," Navi said, looking the truck and trailer over.

"Having seen this are you still sure we can make it in this?"

"Yes I believe so," Navi sat down on her rump and closed her eyes as her face wore a look of concentration.

Alex watched her for a moment before speaking up. "Um are you alright?"

Navi stood up. "Yeah I'm fine. My talent lets me visualize anywhere I've seen before. That includes large areas, such as the road we'll be taking."

"Oh ok. Well teleport on in, I'll get you a blanket." Alex said, gesturing to the open door.

"I can't. Or well, I can but it would exhaust me."

Alex furrowed his brow. "Twilight did it and she seemed fine."

"Yes but her talent IS magic. Normal unicorns can't do what she does."

"Oh ok well climb in then? I'll give you a boost."

Navi walked over to the open door and considered the steps on the side of the truck. She put her forelegs on the second steps and placed each of her real legs on the bottom step in turn. Just as she tried to bring one of her rear legs up to the top step she began to fall backward. Alex rushed forward and put a hand on each of her flanks.

"Hey watch where you're touching!" Navi yelled as Alex pushed her up into the truck. Finally she made it inside and hopped up on the seat, giving Alex a hard glare. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Uh keeping you from falling? Should I not have done that?"

Navi's expression softened and she turned back into the truck. "I'm watching you, Alex."

Alex felt his face reddened as he realized what he had done. He remembered the soft feel of her coat and the firm feel of her-

"What are you doing?" Came Navi's voice from the sleeper.

Alex pushed the thoughts away and climbed into the truck pressing a couple of switches on the dash. As the lights in the cab and sleeper came on he saw Navi sitting on the driver's chair looking at all the various switches and gauges.

"Ok so getting into the top bunk is going to be a bit easier." Alex said as he let the top bunk down from it's stored position. "These black pads are steps for you to get up there."

Navi jumped on the bottom bunk and inspected the steps. Eventually she made her way, ungracefully, onto the top bunk.

"Does this thing have heat?"

"Yeah hang on," Alex sat down on his bed and pushed the button for the bunk heater. "Just give it a minute and it'll be nice and toasty."

Alex opened one of the compartments and pulled out a blanket laying it on the bed in front of Navi who was watching him.

"There's a lot of headroom in here."

"Yeah my truck is a high roof model. They make mid and low roof models as well but they don't have the top bunk. My truck is meant for a team of two drivers but I don't get along with others that well."

"I can understand that feeling. I'm happiest when I'm on my own exploring places and creating maps."

Alex sat down on his bed and grabbed one of the extra pillows and tossed it onto the top bunk without looking.

"EEP!" Came his reply. "Watch where you're throwing things!"

Alex chuckled as he flicked a couple of switches next to his bunk turning out the lights. "Good night, Navi."

"Night Alex."

Author's Note

This chapter came out much earlier than I was expecting. Everyone who favorites or gave a like really got my motivation going. Honestly, when I started writing this I wasn't expecting much. Maybe a few views and a thumbs down or 30 but you guys surprised me. Thanks for the love and I hope you enjoined this chapter.

Chapter 3

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.

Author's Note

And here we have another chapter. Thank you so much for the favorites, likes, and comments! I'm still looking for someone to proof read by the way.

Chapter 4

*Knock Knock*

Alex awoke quietly and pulled the curtains apart as quietly as he could. Navi didn't seem to have been awoken by the sound and Alex wanted to let her get as much sleep as possible. As he pulled the curtains apart slowly, the Velcro holding them closed made the usual obnoxiously loud tearing sound.

"What's wrong?" Navi had moved to sitting on her flank watching Alex's futile attempt at being quiet.

"Someone knocked, I bet it's time for us to go."

"Alright well quit messing around with that thing and move so I can get down."

Alex ripped the curtains the rest of the way apart and pushed them back behind the front seats. He then moved into the driver's seat and snapped the truck's key into the 'Accessory' position and rolled the window down.

"Good morning Alex! I trust you slept well?" Gear was standing with his forelegs on the bottom step of the truck, grinning up at Alex.

"Yeah I suppose so, what time is it?"

"It's 3AM," came Navi's voice from the sleeper.

"So I guess you're ready for us to get out of here?" Alex asked Gear.

"Indeed, in a couple of hours the town will wake up and you'll have a hard time making it down the streets. I wanted to let you sleep and have the guards clear a way but the princesses though it best if you left earlier." Gear moved away from the window and started walking toward the back of the truck.

Alex shrugged and started the rig up, putting it into a high idle to warm up faster.

"Think you can warn me before you do that next time? I nearly fell of this bed. Why's it so high anyway?" Navi called from the sleeper.

Alex chuckled, "You'll get used to it I hope. It's high so I don't hit my head when I sit up, besides, there's plenty of room up there, why not put it to some use?" Alex glanced back into the sleeper and saw Navi going through her various packs. He shrugged again and climbed out of the truck and headed to Gear.

"Well I guess it's not that early for me anyway, you get used to waking up at crazy hours as a trucker anyway." Alex said as he came up to Gear, who was inspecting his tire chains.

"Glad to hear it. Hey, how many tire chains do you have?" Gear poked a hoof at the chains hanging from their place on two rows of hooks with a locked piece of metal running over the top.

"Oh I just have what the DoT requires. Four double sets for my drive tires and a set for the trailer."

Gear turned to face Alex, "They seem to be in good shape, do you know how to put them on? You'll be needing them once you get further north."

Alex looked up toward the top of the trailer. He had never needed to chain up before. If it got so bad he would have to, he always decided it was time for a break and stopped driving until the roads cleared up. "Mostly? I mean they showed me how to during training and I'm pretty sure I still remember. The little metal tool to twist the metal things on the chains is in the baggage box."

"Yes those metal things on the chains are called Cams. Are you sure you know how to do it?"

Alex felt his face turn red from embarrassment. "Yeah...probably. I mean I have a book on how to do it in the truck. I figured if I needed to use chains some day I'd just wing it with that."

Gear sighed, "I'd love to show you how to do it right now but I'm afraid we don't have time. You need to get going."

Alex nodded then turned to climb back in the truck.

"Before you go, slide your fifth wheel further toward the front. You're overloaded as it is but having the extra weight on the steers will help you out. There aren't any weight limits here so don't worry about that."

Alex had opened the door and was climbing into the truck but looked over at Gear. "You sure know a lot about trucking." Alex said with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well these machines fascinate me. I've studied them quite a bit."

Alex decided that was a fair explanation and climbed into the truck. He then flipped a switch, released the truck's spring brakes, and put the truck in reverse.

"What does that do?" Navi asked. Alex looked over to see she was sitting in the jump seat in a way similar to how he was sitting; rump in the chair with her legs splayed out dangling over the edge and the seat belt buckled around her. He didn't see how she was comfortable.

"That released the locks on the fifth wheel. We're gonna slide it so we have more weight on the steer tires. Helps with traction."

Alex eased off the clutch and let the truck roll back very slowly until it hit a stop then flipped the switch back. He put the truck into low and tugged on the trailer to make sure the pins in the fifth wheel were locked in.

"They're locked, you're good to go," Gear called from below his window.

Alex looked down at him, "Alright we'll see ya later Gear."

"Safe travels my friend!"

Alex released the trailer's spring brakes as well and looked over at Navi. "Are you comfortable?"

"Not particularly. These seats were not designed with ponies in mind."

"Well if you want you can slide the seat forward with that bar under you hooves and then twist that nob on the left side of your seat to lean the seat back. That might let you sit in a more...natural way?"

Navi released the seatbelt with her magic and leaned forward to look for the bar. Once she found it she pulled it upward with her magic and wrapped a hoof around a handle near the windshield and slid the seat forward. Then she leaned to her left looking for the knob.

"I don't see what you were talking about," Navi said as she leaned further looking for it.

"Here let me...." Alex reached over to turn the knob and Navi lost her balance and fell off of the chair. Alex quickly wrapped an arm around just behind her forelegs and the other just before her hind legs. He tried to stop her from falling but was pulled off balance by her sudden weight and they both fell on the floor between the seats.

"Ouch..." Alex shook his head and found himself on his hands and knees above Navi. Her forelegs were sticking up on either side of his rib cage and her hind legs were on either side of his hips. Alex felt his face flush immediately and stared down into her eyes.

"Are you going to get off of me or kiss me?" Navi said narrowing her eyes.

"Oh um I'll move," Alex quickly scrambled back up and into his seat. Navi got up and found the know to lean the seat back, the climbed into her own seat.

"You uh...smell nice." Alex said as he put the truck into first gear and eased off the clutch. He didn't want to look over at Navi so he preoccupied himself with the gauges and driving.

Navi blushed hard, "Thanks? I guess? You're going to make a right the first chance you get then follow that straight out of the city."

Navi found the she was more comfortable. She rested with her rump in the seat but since the seat back wasn't in the way she could keep her back legs under her and he forelegs resting either on the seat or the dash in front of her.

"This seat is terrible. The seats on the trains are more comfortable." Navi complained as Alex made the right on the cobblestone streets.

"Oh you need to put some air in the seat, it'll ride smoother then. Just push that button next to the knob you twisted earlier."

Navi felt around with a hoof and found the button. She pushed it and a hissing sound came from her seat, which caused the seat to lift up. "How much do I put in it?" Navi asked as the seat rose slowly.

"However much it takes to make you comfortable really. Just don't fill it all the way up, it'll be even less comfortable if you do."

Navi played with the button and found a comfortable position. As they moved down the road the truck shook from the rough streets but she didn't feel any of it.

"Ok I take that back, these seats are nice."

"Yeah, they're made to be as comfortable as possible. Truckers spend way more time in their seats than anyone else so they go the extra mile on the trucks."

Navi nodded and wrapped the seatbelt back around herself and clicked it in.

Alex glanced over at Navi. He was glad that she seemed more comfortable now. "Well got a long trip ahead of us right?" Alex asked.

"Indeed we do. It'll take us a month or so to reach the Crystal Empire. In a few days we'll reach the snow and ice so you better be prepared."

"It's probably nothing I haven't seen before," Alex said as he grinned.

"Oh no, this is definitely something you've never seen before,"

Author's Note

Alright another chapter done! My tablet died on me so I got a brand new one, woo hoo. Also a picture of the cab of Alex's truck from the sleeper. Perhaps a picture of the sleeper coming soon.