“Fluttershy!” A loud feminine voice called with a frantic knock on the bedroom door, waking the peacefully resting girl in the bed from her slumber.  “Fluttershy!” The voice called once again much louder than before with persistent nonstop knocking on the door.

“Ra…Rarity?” The gentle girl in the bed called back in a muffled whisper as she started to stir slightly under the covers.

“Fluttershy wake up!” The girl outside her bedroom shouted as she continued knocking on the wooden door to wake her friend up.

“Alright…alright…” Fluttershy said back in a much louder tone, so her friend could hear her and stop the continuous knocking.  The girl rolled over onto her back and slowly sat up with her long pink hair looking frazzled and messy.  She raised her hand up from under the covers and rubbed the sleep from her cyan eyes.  Then she moved some of her pink hair away from her face so she could look at her bedroom door.

“Is…Is something wrong Rarity?” She sleepily asked in a low tone as she struggled to keep looking at the door, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep.

“Yes…I’m so sorry Fluttershy…but…can you drive me to college?” Rarity responded in a very reluctant tone whist giving off a sigh.

Fluttershy moved her hand to the side of her face and rubbed it as her exhausted mind slowly absorbed what her friend had said.  “"But, I don't have…have classes or work today..." The pink haired girl tiredly pointed out while giving a small yawn.

“Yes, I know and once again I’m sorry…this is very rude of me to do this to you, but can you please drive me to my class?” She apologetically said from the other side of the door, understanding the position she was forcing her friend into.

“I thought your boyfriend was supposed to take you today…” Fluttershy asked as she started to wake up more and remembered that today was Blueblood’s turn to take Rarity to school.

“He bailed on me…again…so I have no way to get to school without you!” Rarity frustratingly said in a low tone as Fluttershy could almost hear the girl outside clenching her fists in anger.  This wasn’t the first time this happened and like so many times before all she wanted to do was go back to bed.

“My keys are on the table, you can just take my car and give it back later…” The kind girl suggested, offering her car as she moved her hand away from her face and gestured it in a vague direction as if the table and her friend were directly in front of her.

“I can’t drive stick!  You know that Fluttershy!” The loud girl frantically reminded her, much to Fluttershy’s dismay.  “Please!  You know I wouldn’t do this to you if there was another way!” She then pleaded sincerely in a soft tone.

“Alright…hold on.” Fluttershy replied as she started to move to get out of bed and get dressed.

“Thank you Fluttershy!  You’re the best friend I could ever ask for!  I swear when my fashion line makes millions, I’ll be sure to get both you and me chauffeurs, so we never have to drive again!” The girl happily thanked in a grateful tone followed by the sounds of footsteps walking away from the bedroom door.

Rarity held out a small carrot for the small rabbit in the cage to eat.  However, the bunny just sat there looking at Rarity unamused, refusing to take the carrot.  The purple haired girl bit her lip in annoyance as she continued to dangle the carrot in front of the small bunny, who continued to sit there motionless.  She was about to open her mouth and vent her frustration at the small white creature until she heard the sound of the bedroom door unlocking and opening.

She quickly put the carrot down and turned around to greet her friend, but was horrified by the appearance of girl standing the doorway.  The tall girl stood there wearing a white sleeveless shirt, a green skirt with butterflies on it, and green boots that went up to her knees.  The messy looking girl yawned as she started to walk over to the small table in the middle of the room, dragging her fee as she went.

“Alright…let’s go…” Fluttershy sleepily said in encouragement as she reached down and picked up her car keys.

“No.” Rarity simply stated in a dull tone as she started to walk over to her friend.

“What?” The quieter girl replied with a dazed look on her face as she turned to face the azure eyed girl right in front of her as she grabbed her hand.

“Absolutely not!  I refuse to go out in public with you looking like that!” She almost shouted in righteous fury as she started to pull the slightly taller girl back to her bedroom.

“Does it really matter what I look like Rarity?  I mean I just got out of bed so shouldn’t you cut me a little slack?” Fluttershy tried to say in her defense as let herself be dragged into her room.

“Looking like you just got out of bed is one thing, but looking like you just stepped out of a terrible children’s movie is just unacceptable!” The fashionable girl pointed out in a snarky tone as she turned around and made the pink haired girl sit down on her bed.

“I mean look at me!” She practically commanded in a proud tone as she backed away from the bed.  “The pinnacle of casual beauty!” She then stated with a quick twirl, showing off her fancy looking white long sleeved lace shirt and long purple skirt that matched her casual white and purple shoes.  She looked at her friend with a brief smile on her face before turning around and heading to the closet.

“Now let’s find something decent for you to wear.” She said to herself as she started to shuffle through her friend’s wardrobe.

“Is this really important Rarity?  I thought you were in a hurry to get to school or something?” Fluttershy tried to protest, trying to remind her that she should probably be more concerned about getting to school than what she was wearing at the moment.

“A proper lady should always take a few minutes to make sure she looks presentable no matter what the circumstance…and I only need a minute to make you look at least adequate.” Rarity refused in a sassy tone as she moved her head and moved her hand through her long elegant hair to illustrate a point to her.  Fluttershy sighed and closed her eyes, giving up and letting her friend continue what she was doing since she knew that once Rarity was focused on something involving appearances there was no way to stop her.

“Well…it’s not a fashion show winning look, but it’s at least a decent casual look that people would expect someone like you to wear.” Rarity commented unsatisfied as she backed away and eyed her slightly taller friend.   She was now wearing a yellow long sleeved sweater, casual fit jeans, and a pair of normal white shoes.

“So with that out of the way let’s get going!  We have to hurry if I want to be there on time!” The purple haired girl declared as she turned around and left her friend’s bedroom.

“Alright…” Fluttershy reluctantly agreed with a sigh, still feeling very tired as she left her room after Rarity, keys in hand and smartphone in pocket.

When Fluttershy left and shut the bedroom door behind her she saw Rarity collecting her things that ranged from her purse to her book bag to some folded up dresses she made for college.  The pink haired girl walked past her and opened the front door as her friend finished gathering her belongings.  She held the door open for her as Rarity’s hands were now filled with things and left her apartment as soon as the paler girl was through the doorway.

She locked her house and turned around to see her friend happily smiling and waiting for her.  Fluttershy forced a smile back at her, walked past her, and then down the stairs with Rarity right behind her.  When they reached the front door to the apartment, Fluttershy once again had to open the door for her friend who nodded at her as she walked through the opening.  The timid girl followed soon afterward and shut the door behind her exiting the building and getting out into the not very bright world outside.

The sun was just barely coming up and as such the visibility in the parking lot was low even with the overhead lamps still on.  However, she quickly found her white car in the parking lot from where she parked it last night and stared at the machine with the Acura symbol on the front hood.  She scowled at it for few seconds and then took a deep sigh, wishing she had any car aside from the NSX her father gave her.

“Come on Fluttershy!” Rarity shouted as she went out into the parking lot towards the white car with fixed headlights.

“R-Right…” Fluttershy responded simply with a shake of her head, getting focused back on the task at hand.  

She quickened her pace and jogged after her friend who was now reaching the passenger side door.  She put her key into the door, unlocked it, and then opened it up for her friend to get in.  Rarity quickly started to put her stuff into the floor board except her clothes and then sat down into the seat with her dresses in her lap.  Fluttershy reached the other side of the car and unlocked it as Rarity shut the door on her side of the car.  The timid girl quickly opened the door to her car and sat in the seat, putting the keys into the ignition.

“Honestly, I’m still not satisfied with your look…remind me to take you out shopping to get some real clothes because what you have in your closet is just unacceptable for a girl with your kind of looks…” Rarity commented in an unsatisfied tone as she looked at Fluttershy as she shut the door and started to buckle up, reminding Rarity to do the same.

“Well…usually when we do go out shopping you buy tons of clothes…for yourself…and I usually don’t get anything because the stores you take me to are either too expensive for me or the clothes just don't suite me…” The quiet girl reminded her softly as she turned the car on, making the engine come to life.

“Say no more Fluttershy…as thanks for this, I’m going to make you my first hand made dress that will dazzle everyone who sees you!” The paler girl said happily as she raised her hand up towards her friend as Fluttershy pressed her foot down on the clutch and reached over to disengage the parking brake.

“I’d rather you not…it…it’s just not me if you know what I mean…” She replied with a nervous smile as she moved the parking brake lever to free the car and then move her hand to move the shifter into first gear.

“Well I just can’t let kind act go unrewarded can I?  I have to show you some generosity right?” Rarity playfully asked with a teasing smile as Fluttershy gently let off the clutch whilst pressing down on the accelerator to get the car to move.

“Honestly you wouldn’t have to if you just knew how to drive stick…” Fluttershy responded honestly with a smile as she turned the steering wheel with her left hand and kept her right hand on the stick shift, moving the car to the parking lot exit.

“I’m going to be a dress designer dear…not a grease monkey…I’m going to college to learn how to make beautiful dresses…not learn how to properly drive a car.” The fashionista reminded her in a dry tone as Fluttershy stopped at the exit before turning right and getting onto the main road.  Thankfully, there wasn’t any traffic because of how early it was.

The driver gently pressed on the accelerator and gained speed as she drove down the road.  Eventually, she pressed down on the clutch and upshifted to second gear in a swift simple motion. “It’s really not that hard to learn…I mean isn’t your boyfriend a car junkie…couldn’t he have taught you?” She tried to reassure her friend as she moved her right hand up to the steering wheel.

“Ugh!  Don’t remind me!  It’s because of him that I’m even in this mess in the first place!” Rarity said in disgust as she folded her arms and looked out the window at the buildings they were passing, not really looking at them.

“Didn’t he sleep over with you last night?  I mean I saw his car outside when I came in yesterday.” Fluttershy questioned as she looked over at her friend for a few seconds before looking back at the road.

“He was…until he tried to…well...umm…wanted me to clean his jewelry…” She began to explain in slight discomfort as bit her lip and shifted slightly in her seat.  Fluttershy blushed lightly and nodded as she kept her focus on the road, understanding what she meant. “I told him I wasn’t ready for even that yet, then we had a small argument, and then he left…” She finished much more confident and loud as she threw both her hands up in the air.

“Honestly you don’t force yourself on a lady when she isn’t ready…and he could have at least made up for it by keeping his word and taking me to class today but no…he couldn’t even do that!” The azure eyed girl almost shouted as she turned and faced her friend with an enraged look on her face.

“I-I’m sorry…” Fluttershy apologized, feeling genuinely sympathetic for her and her personal life while also feeling a little afraid because her friend was very intimidating when she got like this.  She didn’t look at her and concentrated on driving, knowing that if she looked at her friend, her expression would probably scare her.

“Don’t be…rest assured we’re going to have a very long discussion about this later…he is on death row as far as I’m concerned...” The girl next to Fluttershy then said in an low tone as she looked back forward and clenched her fists.  Fluttershy gulped in apprehension as she saw a stoplight coming up.  She pressed down on the brake, shifted the car back into first gear, and stopped at the red light.

“On the positive side, at least I’m having a nice drive with my best friend…I like your car better than his anyways…” Rarity said happily as she moved around in her seat comfortably and smiled as the light changed to green.

“I wish I could say the same…” Fluttershy dully replied as she pressed down on the accelerator gently.

“Oh don’t be like that…so some ruffians don’t like your car for whatever reason…that doesn’t mean you’re a horrible person with a despicable car…” The azure eyed girl tried to comfort in response as Fluttershy shifted the car back into second gear.

“It’s not just ‘some’ Rarity…every person I meet automatically hates me for having this car…” She reminded her as she thought back over the past month since she came to this city and remembered every single horrible encounter.

“That doesn’t make any sense…you’re a very attractive young woman with a fancy fast sports car…guys should be lining up for miles trying to court you…” Rarity said with a huff as she folded her arms and pouted, trying to make sense of the situation in her head.

“I don’t know anymore…I thought the bullying would stop after we graduated from high school and left Everfree City…but apparently I just can’t catch a break…and it’s all because of this stupid car of all things…”  The gentle girl said softly as she lowered her head a bit, remembering all the times throughout her life she had to put up with stuff like this.  The only time she wasn’t bullied was back in grade school in Cloudsdale, but that was because of very special circumstances that would never be repeated again.

“Oh calm down Butterfly…don’t blame yourself or your car because of the stupid jerks in this city…trust me…things will get better soon…” Rarity comfortingly said, calling Fluttershy by her nickname as she reached over and put her hand on her shoulder.

“I hope so Rarity…I really do…” The shy driver simply agreed with a sigh as she focused on getting her friend to class.

“Alright…we’re here…” Fluttershy announced after stopping the car in front of the main building on campus.  “I hope you’re not going to be late.” She said in a worried tone as she looked over to see Rarity collecting her things.

“No we’re right on time!” Rarity reassured happily as she unbuckled herself and opened the door to the car. “Thanks Butterfly.  I don’t know what I’d do without you!” She gratefully thanked with a smile as she got out of the car.

“It’s no problem Rarity…I’d do this for all my friends…if…I had more than one friend that is…” She replied with a tinge of sadness in her tone as Rarity bent over and looked at her friend in the car.

“Oh please…your time will come my little Butterfly…in any case though…” She responded in a dismissive tone before stopping and reaching into her purse to pull out a fifty bit coin.  “Here…my way to show my thanks and also pay for the gas that you needlessly wasted…” She offered as she moved her hand into the car and to pink haired friend.

“No that’s ok Rarity you don’t have to-” Fluttershy tried to refuse but upon looking at the dashboard noticing her gas almost on empty she had to reconsider that offer. “On second thought, I think I’ll accept your offer given that I’m currently broke…”  She then said rather reluctantly as she reached out her hand towards Rarity.  Rarity smiled and giggled a bit as she put the coin in her hand.

“Thank you…” The timid girl thanked gratefully as she put the coin in her cup holder.

“I’ll keep in touch…be expecting a text from me later just in case something happens or if anything happens…” The purple haired girl advised as she gestured her hand towards the building behind her.

“Alright I will…enjoy your classes Rarity…” Fluttershy replied sweetly with a smile, prompting the girl by her car to give a grin in response.

“Darling…I put the teacher to shame.  If anything, there isn’t a class if I’m not there...” She boastfully replied in a confident tone before shutting the door to the white NSX.

“Bye…”  The cyan eyed girl said as she waved to her friend outside the car.  Rarity waved back before turning around and heading towards the front doors.  Fluttershy giggled and shook her head before looking forward and starting to move her car again.

Fluttershy turned the steering wheel and moved the car into Sugar Cube Corner’s Gas Station.  She moved her car through the mostly empty lot and stopped her car next to one of the gas pumps.  She put the car into neutral, engaged the parking brake, and then turned off the car.  She sighed before unbuckling herself and opening the door to her car.  The nervous girl remembered to take the fifty bit coin out of her cup holder and then got out of her car, shutting the door after she exited the vehicle.

As she looked around the gas station, she saw that like always it was pretty empty.  It was a small gas station that was out of the way and was locally owned by a small friendly family.  Fluttershy smiled to herself from this fact.  This was the reason why Fluttershy would always come here to fill up her car; no bullies or tense atmosphere just a small little place that gives her enough time to gas up her car.  

However, she did eventually spot one car that she never saw before.  A fancy looking pink sports car parked to the side of the gas station.  She looked at as it was a car she’d never seen before both in looks and in design.  She couldn’t make out what kind of car it was and if she didn’t spot the Lexus symbol on the back of the car she wouldn’t even figure that out.  What was even stranger than the color was three painted balloons on the back fender.  A pink car is strange enough, but having one yellow colored balloon and two blue colored balloons was just too much.

“Oh goodie!  A customer!” A high pitched excited voice called, catching Fluttershy’s attention as she looked from the car to the gas station’s front doors.  Leaving the gas station and bouncing up towards the shy girl was another girl with a darker shade of pink hair, cerulean eyes, and an overly happy expression on her face.

“Hey!  How ya doing!?  What can I get for you?  Regular gas, High Octane, Diesel, ethanol, or how about all of them at once in your car?” The slender girl in a gas station uniform offered as she took the nozzle off the handle and pointed it to the car, getting only a nervous stare in response from the slightly taller girl.

“U-Ummm…s-sorrry…b-but…w-who are you?” Fluttershy eventually asked in a low stutter, avoiding eye contact with the girl she never saw before.

“Hmm?  Oh sorry!  I’m Pinkie Pie!” She gleefully introduced herself as she put the nozzle back on the handle.   “I just moved here from a rock farm because driving four hours to and from here was just too much boring drive time for someone like me!  So thankfully these kind people offered me a place to stay in exchange for working for them!” The happy girl explained as she took the gas station cap off of her crazy hair and gave a quick bow.  Fluttershy looked back at the girl more confused than ever.

‘Well that explains the car I’ve never seen before…’ She thought to herself as she looked over back at the pink Lexus parked outside the gas station.  ‘But how can someone who used to live on a rock farm have a car like that?’ She noted internally as she knew a car like that could not be cheap and affordable.

“Pinkie, leave her alone…she always pumps her own gas no matter what…” A loud male voice called from the gas station, making both the girls turn their gazes over to a very skinny and tall man wearing a gas station uniform to match Pinkie’s.  Fluttershy sighed in relief upon recognizing that was the kind owner of the gas station Mr. Cake, who was one of the few people in this town who didn’t bully her.

“Aww really?” She asked sadly asked in disbelief as a frown quickly formed across her lips.

“Yeah…she’s just that kind of person…” The gas station owner confirmed with a nod and a tip of his cap.

“Oh alright Mr. Cake…” Pinkie responded happily before turning around to face Fluttershy once again. “If you need anything just ask!” She offered as she put her cap back on and smiled once again at the girl in front of her.  Fluttershy looked at her for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and smiling back, now feeling much more comfortable with her since she’s living with the Cakes, and surely the Cakes wouldn’t let some mean bully live with them.

“No that’s ok…I’m just getting fifty bits worth of gas and that’s it…” She replied in a slightly louder but still very quiet tone as she held up the fifty bit coin in her hand.

“Okie  Dokie Lokie…” The energetic girl said as she reached and took the fifty bit coin out of her hand before turning and beginning to bounce back to the gas station.  Before she got too far away, the hyper active girl stopped and quickly turned around, pointing at Fluttershy’s car.  “Better make sure it’s High Octane though…your car hates it when you put regular old gas in it!” She advised with a grin before turning back around and bouncing away again.

“Ummm…Alright…” Fluttershy simply said in astonishment as she raised an eyebrow and watched girl bounce inside the gas station.  She then turned and looked at her white NSX.

‘How did she know I sometimes forget to put High Octane in my car…surely she didn’t know that by looking at her car could she?’  She questioned in her mind before giggling and shaking her head.  ‘No…of course not…that’s just silly…she’s just making sure I put the right kind of gas in my car…she probably does that to everyone around here.’  She reassured herself as she turned and picked up the nozzle from the pump.

‘Still…I’m just glad she didn’t automatically hate me because of what kind of car I’m driving…’ She said internally as she opened up the latch and then took off the small gas cap.  ‘Did I just possibly make a…new friend?’ She asked herself almost excitedly as she inserted the nozzle into the hole.

‘No, I most likely didn’t.  I don’t think there’s anyone in this city aside from Rarity who’d want to be friends with someone like me…’ She reminded herself, bringing herself back to the reality that she’ll never have that many friends.  She sighed to herself as she turned around and selected the High Octane option on the pump to start fueling her car up.

As she stared at the rising numbers on the pump, she heard a car pull into the gas station.  She turned her head to look at the car only to be in complete shock at the car she saw.  The car that pulled in was a dark brown Mazda RX-8 with a Dumb-bell painted on the back fender.  With that, she instantly knew who was behind the wheel and could do nothing but widen her eyes in terror as the car drove up and parked on the other side of the pump that Fluttershy was using.  As she heard the car’s engine kick off she bit her lip in desperation as she looked at the numbers on the pump only to find that the fueling wasn’t even half over yet.

As she heard the car doors open on the other side of the pump she stopped breathing and remained motionless, hoping that if she stopped moving she would somehow turn invisible. “See!  See!  I told you there was a gas station around here!” A low male voice happily declared as one of the doors shut, a voice that Fluttershy recognized and unfortunately knew that it wasn’t the owner of the car but rather one of his friends.

“Yeah great job…that means you get to pay for the gas.” Another slightly deeper voice responded that Fluttershy instantly knew as the owner of the car and one of her tormentors at college, Dumb-bell.

“Ah yeah!” The other voice happily agreed as the other car door was shut and footsteps were heard.  “Wait…” The voice then said in a much lower tone after fully comprehending what his friend said.

With each footstep Fluttershy heard, she could also hear the pounding of her heart as she desperately looked up at the pump numbers again only to find that it was barely two-thirds done.  The footsteps continued on the other side of the pump until she heard them come to a complete stop followed by a gasp.  Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut in a vain hope that maybe he saw something that wasn’t her car or maybe he was taking a deep breath.

“Is that what I think it is?” The low voice asked almost in disbelief followed by quick footsteps going around the pump.

“No…” Fluttershy whispered to herself as she heard the footsteps abruptly stop.

“Well well…look at what we got here Hoops.” The voice smugly called to his friend, prompting another set of footsteps to be heard.  “If it isn’t our friend Clutzershy!” The voice then said as Fluttershy slowly opened one of her eyes and looked up to see a shaggy haired burly guy standing next to the pump, looking at Fluttershy with blue eyes as a smirk was clearly plastered on his wide face.  Soon afterward a taller, bigger guy with even longer hair came out and looked down at Fluttershy with his eyes covered by his hair and smiled as well.

“Yeah, yeah!  Clutzershy!” He happily pointed out as he raised his hand and pointed at the frail looking girl.

“Still rolling around in a white NSX I see…I’m surprised you haven’t been run out of the city yet…” Dumbbell said smoothly as he started to walk up to the poor girl with Hoops following close behind.

“Yeah by like…angry drivers and stuff…” The bigger male added with a forced chuckle as he kept pointing at Fluttershy.

“I…I’m sorry…I…I don’t want any…any…” Fluttershy feebly tried to say as she stood there holding on to the nozzle, having half a mind just to drop the thing on the road and get into her car.

“You know…only one person in this city…no all of Equestria has the right to be driving that kind of car…” He began as he stepped over the black hose and stood right in front of the girl who was backed against her car that was the reason for all her grief at the moment.  “And it sure has hell isn’t a wimpy little waste of life like you…” He then said in a lower more threatening tone as I reached up and pushed his hand against Fluttershy, making her close her eyes and whimper in fear.

“Yeah…like you…” Hoops added as he bent over and poked her arm still pointing directly at her.  Dumb-bell looked up away from Fluttershy and at his dim-witted friend and merely gave him a disgusted look.  Hoops looked at him briefly with a goofy smile before looking at his pointing finger and slowly lowering it. The blonde haired guy shook his head looked at Fluttershy to continue his torment of the weak girl.

“Hey!” A high energetic voice called shifting everyone’s gaze over to the pink haired girl looking very serious and menacing.  “Do you guys want me to fill your car up?” The girl then asked happily and with a smile as she held up the nozzle from the pump.

“Huh…yeah sure whatever…” Dumb-bell agreed with a confused expression on his face before shaking his head and looking back at Fluttershy.

“Ok I’m going to fill your car up with diesel!” The cheerful girl declared before bouncing out of sight.

“Ok…” The dimwitted guy simply responded as he kept looking at Fluttershy intensely.  “Wait…what!?” He then shouted upon realizing what the girl was going to do to his car, letting go of Fluttershy and rushing over to the other side of the pump with Hoops in tow.

“No no no!  The car needs high octane not diesel!” He yelled frantically from the other side as Fluttershy took a deep breath in relief and looked up at the pump to see that it was thankfully done fueling her car up.

“What?  It takes ethanol?” Pinkie replied coyly as Fluttershy quickly put the nozzle back on the pump.

“What?  No!  High octane you moron!” Dumb-bell corrected in anger as Fluttershy put the cap back on her tank and then shut the latch.  “Don’t put the nozzle through my window!  I don’t want gasoline in my interior!” The angry RX-8 owner continued bellowing as Fluttershy quickly ran around to the other side of the car.

“Sorry…I just started here so I’m kind of clums-OPPS!” Pinkie tried to apologize before something sounded like it fell on the ground hard.

“Ahh my foot!” Dumb-bell immediately screamed, in pain rather than anger as his friend started laughing in glee.  “Quit laughing you idiot!” He commanded in fury as Fluttershy flung open her car door and got into the seat of her car.  She wasted no time; she slammed the door shut, buckled up, and started her car up.  In no time flat, she was screeching her tires as she moved away from the pump and towards the highway.  She didn’t even bother stopping; she just rushed out to get away from that place as quickly as she could.

Fluttershy lay in bed; the same place she’s been for the past couple of hours after that incident at the gas station.  She cried silently to herself as she rubbed her face against her now drenched pillow.  She rolled over and heard a small clanging sound in her pocket.  The upset girl sat up and carefully reached into her pocket, pulling out her car keys.  She stared at them for a few seconds as more tears welled up in her eyes.  She clenched them in her hand and raised it above her head.

“Stupid car!” She shouted as loud as she could as she threw the keys against her door, making them bounce against the hard surface and fall on the floor with a few clanging sounds.  She breathed heavily as she stared at the keys that belonged to a car that has caused her so much trouble.  She forced her eyes shut and lowered her head as she finally had enough.  

“I swear tomorrow I’m just going to call my dad and….umm…” She began, reciting her plan out loud before stopping and thinking about how to word the next phrase in her strategy. “Ask him very nicely if he’ll take the car back…” She said a bit softer as she couldn’t imagine yelling or rudely asking him to take back the gift he had gave her.  Although, she knew too well her father would refuse and insist she keep the car, which led her into another idea.

“And if he doesn’t, I’ll just never use it again…I’ll take the bus or something.  I’ll even walk if I have to…” She said out loud coming up with what sounded like her a full proof plan to never get inside that NSX again.

“I never want to get inside that car again!” She once again shouted as she laid back on her bed, convincing herself that she would never have get inside that vehicle ever again.  She took a deep breath in relief until she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

She sat back up and reached into her other pocket to pull out her phone.  She read the sender’s name to be Rarity’s.  She wiped the tears away from her eyes as she opened the message.  ‘Pick me up!  NOW!’ It read, making Fluttershy’s eyes go wide in knowing what that meant.  No sooner had she sworn to herself that she would never drive her car again; she was needed to drive her car again.

“But…I…”  She said out loud in weak defiance, as if addressing the text message she knew that wouldn’t answer.  She closed her eyes again and seriously began to think of what to respond to her.  She couldn’t really think of a reason why she couldn’t go pick her up and what if it was seriously important.  She couldn’t be mean and say no to her only friend that has helped her out so much.

She sighed, opened her eyes, and finally responded to the text.  ‘On my way.’ She put before clicking the send button.  She then took a deep breath and looked up at the keys she tossed aside a few moments earlier.  She bitterly bit her lip before getting up, walking over to them, and picking them up reluctantly to go get her friend.

As the sun started to set behind the many mountains surrounding Canterlot, Fluttershy finally arrived on campus grounds.  She slowed down to a crawl and leaned forward, looking around at all the college students arriving and leaving in a hope to spot her friend Rarity.  Some of the students were giving Fluttershy a glare that made her tremble in her car.  She bit her lip as she continued her search as she drove slowly and hoped she wouldn’t get picked on again.  Eventually, she spotted her only friend rushing up to her car looking not too happy to say the least.

Fluttershy barely stopped the car in time before her friend opened the door and flung herself into the seat, dropping all her things into the floor board.   She slammed the door shut and then began to weep openly while laying her head against the dashboard.   She raised one of her hands in a clenched fist and smacked it against the hard surface in frustration.

“R-Rarity…what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked in concern as she reached out and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, although knowing deep down what exactly the problem was.

“It…It’s Blueblood…he’s…he’s…” Rarity began in between her sobs of pain and anguish though not finishing her response.

Fluttershy sighed as she knew what it was she was trying to convey to her.  “Rarity…I…I’m sorry…” She apologized sincerely and truthfully as she felt bad for fashionesta.

“He’s a total bastard!” The purple haired girl then shouted at the top of her lungs as she looked up and glared at Fluttershy with an enraged expression on her face.

“R-Rarity!  L-Language!” Fluttershy responded as her eyes widened upon hearing Rarity shout an obscenity.

“I’m sorry for the crude outburst, but it’s true!” The girl then immediately apologized as she looked back at the dashboard and at her fist as it shook violently in anger. “He decided to ditch classes today so I couldn’t talk to him and when I finally text him to give him a piece of my mind.  All I got in response was a text saying ‘we’re through!’” She explained as she breathed heavily, recalling the events of her day.

“I-I’m sorry about-“

“He has some nerve dumping a fine catch like me and not only that but having the audacity to do it over text and not face to face!” Rarity continued to yell, once again cutting off her friend from saying anything back to her.

“I...I understand Rarity, but maybe you should try calming down now…you’re starting to scare me!” Fluttershy desperately asked as she recoiled and backed up against her car door in fear of what her angry friend might do.

“Fluttershy take me to the Gaira Mountain Pass!  I know that’s where he’s going to be tonight and I’m going to vent my anger at him to his face!” The heart broken girl demanded as she pointed in front of her, starting to grind her teeth in fury and terrifying Fluttershy to no end.

“Y-Yes ma’am!” The frightened girl agreed without a second thought as she looked forward, grabbed the steering wheel, and pressed down on the accelerator to get the car moving to its new destination.

The last light of the sun’s rays finally faded from the sky and in its place a starry night with a half-moon shedding little light on the city below.  All the street lights turned on at once along with building signs nearby lighting up, turning what could’ve been a dark street into a bright haze of colors.  Fluttershy made sure to turn her headlights on as did all the other cars if they didn’t have them on already.  The timid driver looked around at the other vehicles and took note that a majority of them were sporty or fancy looking cars.  A lot of them had emblems on the back fenders just like Dumb-bells car which started to give Fluttershy a very unsettling feeling.  She gulped as she let off the accelerator a bit and looked at her friend in the passenger seat.

“So…uhhh…where are we going again?” Fluttershy nervously asked as she shook lightly, fearful of the answer her azure eyed friend was going to give.  

Rarity looked at her timid friend confused and blinked a few times before slowly opening her mouth.  “I apologize Fluttershy, was I too deep in a froth of rage that you couldn’t understand me?” She asked concerned as she titled her head a bit, worried that she might have been a bit too scary for her friend’s liking.

“W-Well…you said Gaira pass and I just wanted to know where exactly where going and not just that vague destination.”  The driver clarified as she looked back at the road in front of her, noticing more and more exotic vehicles pass her like she was nothing and all heading in the same direction she was going.

“Oh right…silly me…I guess the destination I gave was a bit too unclear wasn’t it?” Rarity retorted with a slight chuckle as she shook her head.  After which, she took a deep breath and looked forward, ready to give her friend the exact details on where they were heading.  “We’re going to Soiree or whatever that Blueblood is attending tonight…I’m sure he’s going to be there because it’s where all the Racers gather to mingle and talk about complicated car things before they race and-”

“What!?” Fluttershy shouted at the top of her lungs as she stepped down on the brakes and turned the car to the side of the street, prompting a car behind her to honk their horn at the abruptly stopping car. “S-Sorry…” The timid girl weakly apologized as she watched the yellowish white Nissan 370z with a backwards double quaver on the back fender pass her.  Of course the driver couldn’t hear her and the white car’s engine merely roared as it sped down the lit up street.  It was also being closely followed by a grey colored Mercedes R172 with a violet treble clef on the back fender.

“W-What’s wrong…did I say something wrong?” The fashionista frantically asked changing Fluttershy’s look to her concerned looking friend.  She felt a little bad for abruptly stopping like that and scaring her friend but she had to or else she would drive right into a hornet’s nest.

“Ummm…N-No…”  She responded shaking her head ever so slightly before looking forward at the road or more accurately the side of the road next to the sidewalk and buildings.  “I….it’s just…I…I can’t go to something like that.” The apprehensive girl then explained softly as she closed her eyes, imagining all the horrible things that might happen to her if she just drove right in the middle of that gathering of racers.

“It will be ok…I won’t let anyone hurt my little Butterfly and I’m sure everyone will be too focused on their own agenda to notice you…” Rarity replied in a soothing tone, hoping to calm down her terrified friend.

“I…I can’t risk it Rarity…I was bullied at a gas station today…and I was only there for like five minutes…I can’t risk going in to a huge thing like that driving this car…I…I probably won’t even make it out alive…” The pink haired girl stated in a shaky voice as she gripped her steering wheel tightly.   She felt her body tremble in terror and her eyes start to water.  She was about to start crying until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her bringing her into a gentle hug.  She opened her eyes and looked at her friend who was comforting her with a smile on her face.

“I understand…” The thin girl simply said in a whisper as she let go of Fluttershy and reached for her door.  “You’ve done enough…I can just get out here…we’re close enough for me to walk and I promise I’ll find my own way home…” She then said in a confident tone as she opened the door.

“I…I couldn’t do that to you Rarity…I can’t leave you there by yourself!” Fluttershy refused as she reached over and shut the door before Rarity could get out.  The purple haired girl looked at her friend in surprise and saw her giving a very concerned expression on her face.  

“I’d feel horrible if something happened to you because some mean street racers decided to hurt you just for the fun of it!” She continued imaging all the horrible things those people would do to Rarity in her mind.  Like shoving her into the trunk of some car and driving around at high speeds breaking her bones or being run over by their cars until she dies a horrible death.  Or worst of all, calling her mean things that could hurt her feelings.  It was all too much for her for Fluttershy to handle.

“I…I’m going with you just in case you need me or if something goes wrong…I…I know I won’t be much help, but I still want to try regardless.”  She insisted as she looked back forward and gripped her wheel, determined to be there for her friend even though she wasn’t that much help at all.

“A-Alright…if you insist…you’re a good friend Fluttershy…a much better one than what I’m being right now…” Rarity replied in a reluctant tone, starting to feel bad for putting her friend through all this.

“It-It’s alright Rarity…I know if the roles were reversed you would be doing the same thing for me…” The timid girl shrugged off with a smile as she looked at her friend.

“In a heartbeat…” The fashionista agreed with a heartfelt look on her face as she nodded at her.

“Alright…let’s go…” The driver said as she looked back behind her to see if any cars were coming, when she saw that there wasn’t she moved her car back onto the road. “I’ll park a few blocks away from there and we’ll hopefully walk in and not gather that much attention.” She then said as she watched the road, coming up with a simple plan that would hopefully be the deciding factor on whether or not they get treated badly tonight.

“Normally I’m against long distance walking, but I guess I can take a brisk walk down a few blocks…” Rarity reluctantly agreed with a low sigh, not looking forward to the small trek she would have to endure.  Exercising was definitely not a part of her lifestyle.

Fluttershy reached over to her parking brake handle and pulled on it to put the car in park.  After that, she sighed and looked up at her friend.  “Alright you ready?” She asked quietly as she reached for the keys in the ignition to turn the car off.

“Oh yes…I know exactly what we’re going to talk about…” Rarity responded in a low tone as she unbuckled herself and reached over to open the door.

“Ummm…if you don’t mind…c-could you please not do anything violent…or anything that attracts attention…we’re going to try and stay unnoticed to avoid trouble…” The quiet girl silently pleaded as she turned off the car and then unbuckled herself as well.

“Yes yes Fluttershy I know…don’t worry…I’ll be a prim and proper lady…” The upset woman replied in a dismissive tone as she opened the door to the car.  “Until we meet Blueblood that is…then all bets are off…” She then reminded her as she got out of the car and shut the door.

Fluttershy sighed to herself before reaching for her door.  “That’s what I’m afraid of…” She said to herself before opening the door and getting out of the car.  After she got out of the car, she pressed a button on the car door to lock both doors to the car.  As soon as she heard the locking sounds, she shut the door to her car and put the keys in her pocket.

The reluctant girl then looked around the small alley where she parked her car and took a deep breath in relief that there was nobody else in the small quiet alley, nor where there any cars.  So nobody should associate her with her car and when she enters the meet up, she should just be an average girl that shouldn’t warrant any bullying…hopefully.  She turned around to see Rarity already walking out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk by the street.

The shy girl quickly rushed up to catch up with her friend.  As they both turned the corner and stared walking down the street, Fluttershy looked out onto the now fully crowded street filled with all sorts of cars varying in size, shape, color, and make.  They all appeared to have one thing in common; they all seemed to have a symbol of some kind on the back fender.  Fluttershy wondered behind the meaning to all these symbols but shook her head clear of these thoughts as they were not important, nor would they ever be important to someone like her.

She looked ahead as she continued walking alongside Rarity.  She looked up at the small mountain on the right side and then another small mountain to the left.  Between them were two roads that led through the mountain.  Both roads were one way, one led to the other side of the pass and the other was if you were coming back.  Fluttershy knew this because she went through the pass a lot in order to get to her part-time job at the animal rescues station and sanctuary, so she knew the pass very thoroughly and all the turns and bends.

As they both got closer to the pass Fluttershy finally noticed all the cars turning off right before the pass into a vacant lot at the foot out one of the mountains.  The lot they were entering was vast and wide; it was supposed to be for a large hotel, but it was canceled when most tourists wanted to visit for the downtown area and not the mountains.  Now, to her surprise, it was filled with huge masses of cars all gathered up for a meet up.  There must’ve been dozens of cars all gathered on that lot, possibly even a hundred.

And more cars were just entering through the entrance adding to the number.  Fluttershy gulped as she feared this would be harder than she thought if they were all highly aggressive bullies ready to beat up anyone for no reason at a moment’s notice.  She took a deep breath as both her and Rarity crossed the street and onto the sidewalk next to the lot and the metal fence separating the two.  She briefly looked over at Rarity who seemed more determined than ever as she started to walk faster towards the entrance where all the cars were entering.

The timid girl quickened her pace as well to keep up with her friend.  As they got closer to the entrance, Fluttershy noticed a short girl sitting down and leaning against the fence.  Her blue jacket was filthy along with her messy shirt, faded jeans, worn out running shoes, and her hair was mostly black except for a small yellow stripe that seemed to be faded by dirt.  As they passed her, Fluttershy couldn’t help but continue to look at her and her face; her eyes were covered by sunglasses and her features seemed really young.  She wanted to guess that the girl was around fifteen or fourteen giving how small and short she looked, but for some reason, she had the sinking suspicion that she was around her age.  There was something very odd about her.  Fluttershy couldn’t help but look at her even though she was well passed her.  It was only after the girl raised her head and turned it did Fluttershy face forward, afraid of the girl being upset at her for staring at her for so long.

She wanted to think about why the girl caught her attention, but she shook her head and cast aside those thoughts.  It wasn’t important nor would it really matter anyways.  Instead, she looked back at the entrance where all the cars were still entering and thankfully, there didn’t seem to be anyone there to mandate anything.  Anyone could enter if they wanted either by car or foot.  She sighed in relief as they both turned and entered the huge lot full of cars.

The area was lit up by some lights brought by some of the drivers and by car’s headlights.  To Fluttershy’s surprise, it was nowhere near as loud as she expected it to be.  Very few car engines were on and the few that were weren’t revving their engines like crazy.  Most of the drivers parked their cars in an orderly fashion and turned them off.  When they got out of their cars, they would usually happily talk to other drivers next to them or walk down to the end of a lot where a huge crowd was forming in front of a stage.

On the stage was a large white screen with the word ‘Standby’ on it along with two cars next to it.  One car was the Nissan that passed Fluttershy earlier and the other one was a black fourth generation Pontiac GTO; both cars were facing the crowd.  To the left of the stage was the pink Lexus that Fluttershy recognized from the gas station as it was parked with its nose facing away from the stage with its doors open.  On the right side was the grey R171 that followed the Nissan earlier, parked in the same manner as the Lexus with its doors open as well.

On the stage in the direct center in front of the screen was a large music set up with turntables and other equipment.  Behind the set up was a happy looking girl wearing pink tinted glasses with two toned blue hair.  She was sitting in a chair with her feet up, bobbing her head to some music she was listening to on her headphones.   She briefly looked down below the turntable and took her headphones off before nodding and standing up, picking up a nearby microphone.

“Sorry about this everyone…Neon Lights is being slow as usual…” She said over the microphone in both an apologetic and joking tone which garnered some laughs from the crowd.  

“It won’t be long before we kick this thing up to eleven I promise!”  The DJ then guaranteed with a smile as she put down the microphone and rushed over to her car.  The girl started to pull out some wires and there were also wires already leading out of the other black car hooking up to the center station.  Fluttershy looked over to the pink Lexus and saw Pinkie Pie bring out some wires as well.  She then noticed another girl with nice brushed black hair and in a sophisticated uniform of some kind getting onto the stage with wires in her hand leading to the grey R171.

Fluttershy titled her head slightly before looking back at her friend who had quickened her pace when she wasn’t looking and was about to get lost in the crowd in front of her.  The pink haired girl ran up to catch up to her as Rarity looked around with a fierce expression on her face, looking for her prey.  When Fluttershy eventually caught up to her, she was out of breath and stopped for a few seconds to take a breather.  As she breathed in the air around her, she caught a whiff of something cooking.  

She looked to her left and to her surprise; she saw a barbeque stand selling home cooked food.  What was even more surprising was the person serving food was an athletic looking blonde girl wearing a cowgirl outfit, complete with the Stetson.  Behind her was a very tall muscular guy with orange hair cooking food, an old woman looking over some fruit, and a smaller girl with red hair delivering things to the tall orange haired guy.  Fluttershy looked at the stand in shock that something like that was here and managed to catch the attention of the girl standing behind the stand.

“Howdy, want a free burger?” The green eyed girl asked with a thick accent as she raised her and pointed to one of the burgers on the table.

Fluttershy recoiled in fear and wanted to run away, but she knew that would be rude to do especially since the nice girl offered her some free food.  “N-No, that’s ok...I-I don’t eat meat…” The shy girl responded, looking away afraid of getting a nasty comment back.

Instead, to her further shock, the kind girl with freckles just chuckled in response which made Fluttershy look back at the girl who was now warmly smiling at her.  “That’s alright…If Ah’m bein’ honest here…Ah’m don like meat either.” The cowgirl responded happily as she reached over and grabbed a small plastic bowl full of fruits and vegetables.

“Take one of our famous apple salads then…” She then offered as she held out the bowl for Fluttershy to take.

The tall girl looked at the bowl and then at the shorter girl with her pupils shrunk to small dots.  “N-No I couldn’t…I...I just…” She struggled to say as she very frantically shook her head at the girl.

“No, Ah insist…now go on…take it please…” She kindly urged as she held the bowl out even more which caused Fluttershy to gasp in response.  She looked at the bowl full of food with a plastic fork in it and wanted to deny her again.  However, her growly stomach had other plans.

She weakly reached up and slowly took the bowl from the tan girl’s hands.  “T-Thank you…” She feebly thanked before turning around and rushing away.

After she fled the kind people giving away free food, she looked down at her small bowl of food and took a quick bite.  Her eyes popped open immediately upon the succulent food touching her tastes buds.  She could hardly believe how good the food is, not to mention that this didn’t cost her a single bit.  She looked back at the vendors and then looked around the place and took note of…how friendly everyone seemed to look and act.  The casual display on the stage, the smiling people around her talking about things she didn’t understand in a pleasant way, and the general laid back atmosphere.  It was the completely opposite of what she imagined.

“Hey can somebody here give me a lift through the pass?” She heard someone ask in a scratchy voice.  She looked to her right and saw the same girl from the entrance asking two girls in front of a light aquamarine 2000 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 with its hood up.

“No…I’m sorry…my car’s been acting up and we’re going to be busy fixing…” The taller gamboge eyed girl with pale cyan hair with white highlights said in response with a shake of her head.

“Oh…ok…thanks anyways…” The short dirty girl said in response before turning and slowly walking away.

“So like I was saying…” The slender girl said as she turned around and looked into the engine.  “I think the intake is messed up…my turbo isn’t getting any power!” She pointed out as she bent over and pointed her hand at an engine part.  The slightly shorter girl next to her with cobalt blue hair with fuchsia stripes going through her hair bent over and looked into the engine.  She reached into the back pocket of her pants and pulled out a small light, shining its rays onto the assortment of metal.

“No no…iz definitely ze intercooler…look here…” The sweet sounding girl pointed out in a thick accent as she reached her hand into the engine cabin and most likely pointed at the problem. “Thiz iz why your turbine iz not getting sufficient power.” She confidently said as the girl next to her looked closer at where the slender girl’s finger was pointing.

“Yeah you’re right…”  She agreed with a sigh as she stood up straight.  “Thanks Bon Bon…” She then thanked gratefully as she looked at the girl next to her with a smile on her face.

“I-Il avait aucun problème.”  The shorter girl said with a stutter in a foreign language.  “M-mon amour.” She then squeaked out as she looked away, a tint of red appearing on her face.

“Yeahhhh I have no idea what you just said…” The taller girl replied as she reached up and rubbed the back of her head.  “But that’s ok…let’s get started on getting my ride fixed ok?” She then said in a determined tone, which made the other girl look back at her and nod in agreement.

Fluttershy continued to watch the pair as they started to go around the back of the car towards the trunk.  She then finished her salad and walked over to a nearby trash can.  After she threw it away she looked around again until a light shined on her.  She looked in the direction and saw a car directly in front of her.  She eeped in fear as the grey car with one pop up headlight up stopped in front of her.  Almost immediately afterwards, a blonde haired girl stuck her head out and looked at Fluttershy.

“Hey, could you please get out of the way?” The yellow eyed girl kindly asked as she raised her hand gestured her to move.

“O-Oh…Y-Yes…sorry!” Fluttershy weakly responded as she got out of the car’s way, giving her a clear path.

“Thank you!” The pale looking girl gratefully said as she moved her head back into the car and drove past Fluttershy.

“No…problem…” The timid girl muttered to herself as she watched grey Mazda RX-7 FC3S pass her, her eyes as wide as saucers.  She was more or less expecting the driver to snap at her and call her names for getting in her way but instead, she politely asked for her to move and even thanked her when she did.

The grey car with bubbles painted on the back fender continued past her for a couple of feet before stopping in the center of the road.  Its reverse lights then turned on as the car started to back up and turn.  It backed up and moved next to a DeLorean DMC-12 with a bizarre blue paintjob and an hourglass painted on the back fender.  The tall slim brown haired guy in a brown suit leaning against the car watched the grey car back up next to his and park next to it.  The engine kicked off and the one head light turned off but didn’t retract back into the car and still remained popped up while the other remained tucked into the front end.  The car door opened and out came the blonde haired girl wearing a postal uniform.

“You really should get those flip up headlights fixed…it’s dangerous driving around with one headlight…not to mention it makes your FC look kind of cross-eyed…” The blue eyed guy suggested in a friendly tone, pointing to the one headlight sticking up as the blonde girl shut the door to her car.

“Oh you’re always so funny Doctor…” The FC driver sarcastically replied as she rolled her eyes.  “And I’ll be sure to get right on that as soon as you stop pestering me about your mail being three days early…” The mail girl then teasingly said as she walked around her car and to the side where the suit wearing guy was.  When she got there she leaned against her car and looked at guy, who was looking back at her.  Eventually they both broke out into laughter before giving each other a gentle hug.

“Good to see you again Doctor…” She said with a smile on her face as she patted the guy on the back.

“You too Derpy...” He replied back with a snicker.  

Fluttershy was amazed at the friendly display in front of her.  This certainly wasn’t what she had in mind when she thought about this place.  The timid girl continued to look around and everywhere she glanced; all she saw was smiling people happily helping each other or casually talking.  Nobody looked mean or unpleasant, just normal, regular, everyday people.

“Oh Fluttershy there you are!” A familiar voice called, catching Fluttershy’s attention as she turned to see her best friend running up to her.

“Oh!  R-Rarity!” The pink haired girl replied with a stutter upon seeing the girl stop in front of her.

“I couldn’t find him anywhere…he probably isn’t here yet.” Rarity explained with a groan as she looked at her taller friend, noticing that she wasn’t paying attention to her and instead looking around and then at the same small girl from earlier talking to a few other people.  

“Hey can someone drive me through the pass?” She asked nicely as she raised her right hand up.

“No, sorry…you’re going to have to keep asking around…” One person responded in a regretful tone as they shook their head.

“Alright…thanks anyways…”  The dirty looking girl thanked gratefully before turning around and walking off.

“Fluttershy?” She heard her friend called as a hand appeared in front of the shy girl’s face.

“Oh…s-sorry Rarity…” Fluttershy apologized as she looked back at her friend, then lowering her head a bit in shame that she got swept up in the casual atmosphere of the place and ignored her best friend right in front of her.

“Something wrong?” The purple haired girl asked in concern as she cocked her head a bit.

“N-No…I…I was just thinking…” She started as she looked back up at her friend and shook her head.  “All these people…they’re…they’re much nicer than I thought…” She then explained as she looked around at all the smiling people with their colorful cars.

“What did you think they were all big, burly, muscly drunks with tattoos constantly beating each other up or smashing each other’s cars?” The fashionistia teasingly asked with a smirk on her face as she arched one of her eyebrows.

“Y-Yes…” Fluttershy weakly answered with a slight nod before biting her lip, remembering all those imaginations about the scary racers in her head and how they’re nothing like the real life ones in front of her.

“Oh Fluttershy…I hate to break it to you…but the amount of ignorant, insufferable fools in this world are thankfully at a low percentage…and to have a high number here would be ludicrous…yeah there maybe one or two undesirables here, but for the most part these are just everyday people who share a similar passion…” Rarity detailed in a lengthy explanation as she smiled sweetly and put her arm around her friend.

“Y-Yeah…I…I guess so…I feel bad for thinking otherwise now…” She shy girl practically whispered as she looked down again, her hear covering her face and the regretful look on her face.

“Oh its fine…it’s just my typical little butterfly being afraid as usual…” The shorter girl playfully responded as she moved her hand to the top of Fluttershy’s head and rubbed it slightly.  “Now that that’s out of the way, I’m going to continue my search…you can wait by the entrance if you want since you don’t have to be concerned for my safety anymore…” She then said as she took a step away from Fluttershy, who looked back up at her with a calm expression on her face.

“Y-Yeah…there’s no reason for me to be here anymore…I’ll just wait for you close to the entrance…” The driver agreed with a small nod.

“Alright…I promise this won’t take too long…and if I don’t find him in thirty minutes, I’ll return to you…that sound favorable to you?” Rarity asked as she turned around and started to walk off, knowing Fluttershy would of course agree to those terms.

“Y-Yeah….Good luck Rarity…” The nervous girl responded with another nod before watching the girl in front of her continue to walk away.

“Darling…you should really know that I don’t need luck to get what I want…” The paler girl teasingly responded as she briefly turned around and gave a quick wink to her friend.

“Alright…bye Rarity…” Fluttershy said with a smile on her face as raised her right hand and waved to her friend.  The purple haired girl waved back before turning around and disappearing amongst the cars and people.

Fluttershy sighed to herself before turning around and heading back to the entrance.  As she got closer, she noticed a significant decrease in the amount of cars coming in.  No longer was it one after another with cars lined up for at least a couple of blocks but one every now and again.  Before she reached the entrance, she stopped in her tracks upon seeing a car at the entrance.  Coming through the entrance was the same dark brown RX-8 from earlier complete with the dumbbell painted on the back fender.  It was closely followed by a grey Honda Civic EJ8 Coupe with footballs painted on the back fender; another car Fluttershy unfortunately knew.  She also knew that if they saw her she probably wouldn’t make it out of this place alive.

The shy, pink haired girl quickly turned and moved out of sight of the two cars pulling in.  She ran between two cars and ducked slightly behind a white Acura RSX Type S.  She peaked over and saw the two cars slowly move closer to her; the pleaded internally that they would pass her, but to her horror, they both stopped and parked close to the entrance towards the much darker outskirts of the lot compared to the very lit inside where the party was.   Fluttershy bit her lip in agony as heard both of the car engines wind down and turn off.  Soon afterwards, the doors to the cars opened and to her dismay, three bullies she didn’t want to see appeared out of the cars.  

She ducked completely out of sight and sat down on the ground wanting to cry that life had placed her in a miserable situation.  Now she couldn’t leave until they left or at least gave her a clear opening. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping that they would join the rest of the crowd near the stage and give her a chance to leave.  She slowly peaked back over the white car to unfortunately see three guys talking with grins on their faces.   The frightened girl crossed her fingers in hope that they would start walking.  

Suddenly, a load booming sound was heard that almost made Fluttershy yelp in fear.  Thankfully, she managed to contain it and she quickly turned to face the source of the noise.  To her surprise, she saw the stage starting to light up along with the cars on the stage and next stage lighting up as well.   The large screen changed from ‘Standby” to ‘U Ready?’ as the blue haired girl appeared in the center of the stage with the microphone in her hand, closely followed by the taller black haired girl wearing a uniform complete with a pink bowtie.

“Alright, alright we’re all set and ready to go!” The cheerful girl shouted as she pumped her fist into the air, prompting applause and cheers from the crowd.  “I’m your DJ and host for the night PON-3!” The girl announced as she gave a quick bow, eliciting more cheers from the crowd.

“Although, you probably all know me better as Vinyl Scratch, the host of Canterlot’s radio station exclusively for racers!” She went on, giving her real name that she used on radio just in case people only knew her stage name.  “Remember…if you want to know about all the latest updates, races, and happenings in Equestria’s Racing Capital…or just want to listen to some awesome music while you’re drifting through the mountains, just tune into 1010.2010 AD, or visit our site on the interwebs!”  She finished, advertising for her station as she pointed to the screen now had the information of the station and the website name.

“Alright, now that the boring promotional crap is out the way…it’s time to get down to why we’re all here...” Vinyl said a bit more excited as she moved over to the taller girl next to her and putting her arm around her.  “Octavia, would you mind telling us where we’re at today?” She playfully asked with a smirk before moving the microphone over to the unamused looking girl next to her.

“Gaira Valley Pass.” She dully answered in a monotonous voice before Vinyl moved the microphone back to her lips.

“Also known as?” The DJ then asked still in an anxious tone before moving the microphone back over to the over-dressed girl.

“Beginner’s Pass.” She continued to unexcitedly reply in a bored tone before Vinyl once again moved the microphone back to her mouth.

“And why is it called that?” The shorter, blue haired girl asked a bit more playfully before placing the microphone back over to the taller girl’s mouth.

“Because the roads leading to and from are all one way, removing the risk of oncoming traffic; the roads themselves are also very wide throughout the entire course, making for some easy passes.  Finally, the corners are very forgiving and the straights are easy to plow through, which makes this place ample for new comers and beginners.” Octavia explained in lengthy detail, her monotone voice not changing throughout her explanation as she stared blankly ahead.

“Great!  Couldn’t have put it better myself Tavi!” The shorter girl then exploded in glee as she took her arm off the girl and reached into her pocket, pulling out a strange looking cookie.  “Here have a wub cookie!” She happily declared as she held the small food up to Octavia who looked at it a bit surprised for a few seconds.  Eventually, a small smile slowly formed on her face as she took the small strange looking cookie.

The DJ nodded back to her before jumping away and towards the crowd. “And tonight we have a whole list of awesome races in store for us!” She happily shouted as the spot lights on the stage started to move around the crowd of people and cars.  “For our first race, we have the challenger Bulk Biceps!” She began as one of the spotlights shined on a big, pale muscular guy standing in front of a second generation Dodge Charger SRT-8.

“Yeahhhhh!” The muscular guy screamed as he flexed his muscles to show off his strength.

“Settle down Snowflake…you don’t want to burst a blood vessel again…” Vinyl teased as she shook her head. “And the racer he’s facing off against is the ever clumsy and lovable Derpy!” She then revealed the second racer as the second spotlight moved near Fluttershy, over to the grey FC, and to the blonde girl who was about to eat a muffin.  Upon the light shining on her, she jumped a bit and fumbled the muffin in her hands leading her to drop it.  The Doctor next to her though, managed to catch it and give it back to her with a smile on his face.  The shorter girl smiled back and nervously took the muffin before looking away.

“Aww isn’t that cute?”  Vinyl commented with a snicker as she raised a hand to her mouth. “Anyways their race isn’t set to start for another hour, so if you want to get some practice runs in, now is your best chance…” She then informed as she walked over to the music station and sat down at the seat.

“And of course you’re going to want some awesome tunes until it starts right?” She asked in a rhetorical way as she smiled at the audience and put her free hand on one of the records garnering a huge cheer from the crowd.   “You know what I need to hear!” She shouted into the mic before holding it towards the crowd of fans.

“Yo Vinyl Scratch!   Spin that shit!” They all screamed at once in terrible unison.

“Hells yeah!” The DJ yelled as she put the mic down and started the music up, moving both her hands to the two records in front of her.  

A loud dubstep beat immediately started to play.  The lights on the stage started to change colors and even the head lights and interior lights on all four cars changed color and blinked in synch with the music. On the screen behind her, amateur video footage of random cars racing was being shown with corresponding cheer coming from the audience.

Fluttershy watched in amazement at the display in front of her and was even sucked into the footage of cars driving for a minute before she shook her head and concentrated on the task at hand.  She peaked back over to the two cars and to her dismay the group of bullies was still there at the dark outskirts of the parking lot, watching the show and bobbing their heads to the music.  Fluttershy sighed in frustration before she closed her eyes and ducked back behind the white RSX, just wishing that they would move.

“Hey dudes…can I get a lift through the pass please?” Fluttershy heard a familiar voice ask from the opposite direction.  She peaked over the car and to the right to see the same dirty, small girl asking for the same question to a small group of people in front of their cars.

“Nah sorry…we just got here and we’re not just going to hop into our cars and leave when the show just started.” The lead guy explained with a slight shake of his head, thankfully Fluttershy was close enough to hear their conversation clearly over the loud dubstep music.

‘Really?  She’s still here asking around for someone to take her through the pass?  With all these people here with cars, you would think someone would agree eventually.’  Fluttershy mused internally as she saw the short girl sigh in disappointment before turning to face away from the group.

“Oh…alright…enjoy the show, I’ll just keep asking around…” She replied in slight disappointment as she lifted her right hand up and started to walk away from them towards the talking group of bullies still in front of their cars.

‘Oh dear…please don’t ask them…’ The timid girl warned in her mind as she saw the girl lower her hand and walk straight up in front of them, making them stop their conversation and look at her in sheer annoyance.

“Hey…can any of you give me a lift through the pass?” The girl asked in her scratchy voice as she titled her head slightly.  Dumbbell blinked a few times with a befuddled look on his face before looking at the other two guys who looked equally confused.

“Why can’t you just drive up there yourself?” He then asked as he turned his gaze back down to short girl who seemed to be looking at their chests and not their faces.

“Uhhh because I don’t have a car obviously…” The dirty looking girl replied bluntly as she raised both her arms up slightly.  The look on Dumbbell’s face immediately shifted from bemusement to boiling rage as he looked down at the petite girl and clenched his fists.

‘Oh dear…’ Fluttershy squeaked in her mind as she stood up and wanted to run up to get the girl away from them.  Though, what could she possibly do but make the situation worse?

“Are you kidding me?  You came to a big event for racers without a god damn car and then just expect us to be your own personal free taxi service?” Dumbbell shouted in a furious rage as he grabbed the small girl’s jacket and lifted her up to his face.

“Look, I’m sorry.  It’s not a big deal; I’ll just ask someone-”

“Shut the hell up you little runt!” The big, burly guy shouted at the top of his lungs, cutting the small girl off as he turned around and tossed her to the ground; the sunglasses on her face falling off and bouncing on the very dark ground blending in with the surface.  “Who the hell do you think you are going around and requesting things from real racers when you’re too broke ass poor to get your own car?” He continued yelling as he slowly walked over to the girl lying on the ground as she reached around the ground for her sunglasses which were somewhere in front of her but Fluttershy couldn’t tell because it was too dark and due to the frantic situation she knew the girl in, the girl must really be having a hard time focusing to find her sunglasses.

“Yeah real racers have their own cars and don’t give each other free rides you little….ummm…runt!” Hoops added with a laugh as he smiled raised his right hand up.

Fluttershy bit her lip and clenched her hands into fists for what felt like the first time in her life.  Never before had she felt this angry at anyone or anything for any reason.  “You’re such a terrible hypocrite!  You’re giving rides to your best friend all the time, so why is giving a small lift to this poor girl such a horrible thing?” The pink haired girl said softly to herself as she wanted nothing more but to rush out there to help the girl.  But what could she do?  Make a fool out of herself and accomplish nothing?  Get beat up herself?  Make her presence known to everyone around to risk more bullying?   Fluttershy quickly looked around and noticed that there wasn’t anyone around as they were all too wrapped up at the performance by the stage to notice what was going on here.  She gritted her teeth and controlled herself from making the situation worse by running up there.

“Look I said I was sorry!” The dirty girl frantically replied as she crawled on the ground a bit, continuing to reach around for her sunglasses. “You don’t have to get violent!  Is it really that bad that I-”

“People like you make me sick!  You shouldn’t have even shown your face here!  Now you’re going to pay the consequences!” The infuriated Dumbbell bellowed as he stood right next to the girl lying on the ground.  He then raised his large foot and stomped down as hard as he could on her left leg.

“Ah~! God damn it!” The poor girl screamed in pain as the guy above her grinded his foot against her leg.

“Maybe that will teach you not to bother real racers with your stupid requests…” He threatened in a low tone before removing his foot off of her leg and walking back to the other two guys who were applauding his actions. “Come on boys…I don’t even want to be around this little pipsqueak anymore…” The tall, light grey hair guy then commanded as he walked past his car and his friends towards the party past Fluttershy.

“Yeah!  Yeah!  It reeks of…of…pipsqueak…ness!” Hoops agreed with a laugh as both he and Score followed their friend.  Fluttershy ducked out of sight and started move behind the RSX and the car next to it closer to the fallen girl.  She couldn’t hear the footsteps of the guys due to the music and peaked over the car she was hiding behind.  Thankfully, they safely passed her and were far enough away to make Fluttershy stand up and rush over to the girl on the ground grunting in pain.

“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy shouted as she reached the wounded girl, bending down next to her as the girl finally found her sunglasses on the ground.

“Who’s there?” The girl shouted frantically as she put her sunglasses back on and turned over to face upwards towards Fluttershy, grunting in pain as she moved.   “Are you going to treat me like crap too?” She then bitterly asked with a scowl on her face as she lifted her right hand up and pointed her finger, pointing nowhere near Fluttershy and up at the sky.

“Of course not!” The pink haired girl immediately replied with a shake of her head as she reached out and grabbed the girl’s hand.  “Are you ok?” She then asked in a softer, sweater tone as she looked down at the filthy looking girl.  As soon as she asked that, she saw all the tense features of her face relax along with her sighing in what sounded like relief.

“Aside from my left leg getting hurt, my pride being shattered, and the fact that those guys kind of have a point about me being a leech…yeah…I’m fantastic…thanks for asking…”  The small girl lying on the ground sarcastically replied as she lay her head back on the ground and stared directly at the starry sky above her.

“Oh no they didn’t…they’re wrong in every sense of the word…not to mention that they’re hypocrites!  The guy that did this to you always gives a lift for his friend who doesn’t have a car…” Fluttershy replied shaking her head frantically as she looked down at the girl and gripped her hand tightly around the smaller girl’s hand.  “And besides that, nobody deserves this kind of treatment…” She then said as she reached out with her other hand and gently put it on her shoulder, causing the dirty girl to gasp in shock and turn her head to look at the pink haired girl with her mouth slightly gapping open in slight surprise.

Fluttershy slowly smiled at the girl before removing her hand off her shoulder.  “Come on…I’ll give you a lift…if…if you know…you want me to…”  She offered gently and nervously as she started to get up from where she was, still holding onto the girl’s hand.

“R-Really?” The small girl asked in a stutter and disbelief before her mouth gapped open more in complete shock instead of slight surprise.

“Of course…I’d be happy to if...you want me to of course…” Fluttershy responded in glee as she stood up in front of the girl and started to pull her up off the ground.

“You…are…so…awesome!” The filthy girl on the ground said in a loud tone as she moved to get up off the floor with the help of the standing girl in front of her. “Thank you for this!  I promise I’ll pay you back for this later…and don’t worry.  I always keep my promis-AHHH…” She went on before screaming in pain upon putting weight on her left leg.  She proceeded to slowly fall back on the ground again before Fluttershy quickly went to her left side and put her arm around her, halting her fall.  She bent her knees and put the smaller girl’s arm around her neck to keep her from putting any weight on her left leg.

“I’ll help you to my car…” The much taller girl then said with a smile although in slight discomfort since the small girl’s head height, even when fully standing, barely reached Fluttershy’s shoulders forcing her to bend over slightly, so the small girl wouldn’t strain her arm around the much taller girl’s neck.

“No I’m fine!  I can walk fine on my owwwwwwnnnnnn.”  The dirty looking girl tried to resist as she put her left foot down, only to be met with a surge of agony causing her to moan in pain on her last word.

“It’s actually a pretty long walk…and I couldn’t bear hearing you moan in misery all the way there...” Fluttershy informed in a concerned tone which made the short girl quickly turn her head to face her.  She stared at Fluttershy through her sunglasses as she bit her lip slightly, thinking what she said over.

She then sighed deeply before smirking back at the timid girl helping her.  “Heh…alright…I guess I don’t have much choice do I?” The girl teasingly said back with a nod before turning her head and facing forward.

“Thank you…” Fluttershy gratefully thanked with a smile and a nod before looking forward herself.  “Alright…let’s go…” She then said as she started to walk slowly; the girl next to her following her lead and limping next to her, leaning against her so she doesn’t put any weight on her left leg.  They continued to walk at a slow pace like that all the way to the entrance before slowly turning and then walking down the street together towards Fluttershy’s car.

Rarity had been standing towards the edge of the lot, overlooking everyone in the party, and also keeping an eye on the entrance in order to spot her target.  She tapped her foot impatiently as she shook her head before folding her arms and groaning slightly.  “Perhaps he’s not going to show his face here…or perhaps he decided to stay at home…” She said out loud to herself with a sigh before looking down at the ground.  “Maybe I should just give up my search and call it a day...” She then said as she looked back up at the partying racers near the stage, still unable to find the person she was looking for.

“I guess I’ll just have to find and brutalize him another day…” The purple haired girl decided with a nod as she unfolded her arms.  “Alright…where’s Fluttershy?” She asked as she turned towards the entrance and stared walking towards it, now searching for her dear best friend instead of her not so dear ex-boyfriend.

As she headed to the entrance, a black car entered the lot.  Rarity’s eyes widened as she saw the car slowly pull in with its headlights dimmed.  “That’s…That’s the car!”  She said softly to herself as she recognized the car to be the same black Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 that her boyfriend was driving yesterday and for the past few days.

The pitch black Skyline slowly crawled its way towards the unassuming crowd before it abruptly stopped in the middle of the road.  Its dimmed headlights then flickered in between its low lights and its high beams rapidly as it faced the crowd and the stage.  The DJ on the stage took notice of the new flickering lights and looked up at the source to spot the black car trying to signal her.  As soon as she saw it, a smile appeared on her face as she abruptly cut off the music.  This caused the cheering crowd to go silent and look at the silent stage in confusion as the girl raised the microphone to her lips.

“Oh man!  Is that what I think it is?” Vinyl asked out loud to the crowd in excitement as she pointed at the car in the center of the lot, causing everyone in the party to shift their attention to the car along with spotlights to illuminate the black Skyline as its engine roared loudly. “Yeah it is!  It’s a black GT-R!” She confirmed in a scream of joy as she instantly recognized the car. Everyone else recognized it as well, though no one seemed nearly as enthused as the DJ was as they started to move away from the car.  

“Has the Princess of the Night decided to grace our little gathering tonight with her amazing presence?” She then asked in glee as the Skyline continued to rev its engine, causing the crowd to quickly back away more.  Then suddenly, the car’s engine kicked off and the lights went dead.  Everyone held their breath as the door to the black car slowly opened.  Out of the car came a tall blonde Adonis with light blue eyes.  As soon as he got out of the car, he flipped his relatively long hair, smiled at the crowd, and showed off his sparkling white teeth.

“Oh wait, nevermind…it’s not…” Vinyl declared dully with an unenthusiastic look on her face before turning the music back on.  A lot of people in the crowd gave sighs in relief before turning around and resuming the party.  Blueblood’s temper immediately flared as he gave a disgusted look and slammed the door to his car.  He was about ready to go up to the stage to remind those peasants who he was until he saw three familiar faces rushing up to him.

“Blueblood!” They all called in unison and with excited expressions on their faces.  Instantly, Blueblood’s expression lightened up as he smiled and fixed the red bowtie on his fancy, formal, white suit.

“Dumb-bell, Hoops, Score!  My fellow racing compatriots and loyal followers…how are you three doing this fine evening?” The confident looking male said in a high class voice as he leaned against the black car next to him.  The three burly looking guys all ran up and surrounded him with excited expressions on their faces.

“Oh just great Mr. Blueblood sir!  Being awesome and practicing hard like you said to even think of competing against you!” The smallest of the three with black hair said as he nodded over and over again.

“Well…who knows Score…maybe one day…after all the practicing you do…you might be able to catch a glimpse of my bumper and my fantastic driving skills…” He replied smugly as he raised one of his hands and patted the top of his head.  “Maybe…” He then added with a wink and a smile as he put his hand back down.

“I’m surprised to see you rolling around in a black R34…where’s your normal car?” Dumb-bell asked curiously as he looked over the angular black import that was rare to see in Equestria.

“It’s still in the shop receiving some personal modifications…it was supposed to be completed yesterday, but apparently the dullards at the filthy shop haven’t finished my perfect car yet…” The gorgeous man explained as he closed his eyes and put a hand to his head trying to look dramatic. “It’s a shame too…I so wanted to make my amazing debut here with that car and start to make my name widely known throughout all of Canterlot…” He went on as he opened his eyes and turned to face the crowd as with one his eyes slightly twitching in frustration upon remembering the reaction he garnered upon leaving his vehicle.

“Oh well…I guess I can wait another week to take my rightful place as Canterlot’s number one racer…but today I couldn’t just miss out on something like this so I decided to take one of my aunt’s old Skylines out for a spin.” He then shrugged off with a slight chuckle as he folded his arms and shook his head.  Immediately, upon hearing that it was his aunt’s cars, all three of the guys’ eyes went wide eyed as they all looked at each other.

“Dude you know how obsessive that girl is with her GT-Rs…if she finds out you’re here in one of them, she is going to be P to the IST!” Dumb-bell pointed out frantically as he looked at Blueblood with a concerned look on his face.

“Don’t worry Dumbbell…I have her permission to use her car tonight…I mean after all it’s only for one night so she’s not going to miss it for a couple of hours…” Blueblood dismissed with a smirk as he turned and patted the top of the black car.

“Aww, so I won’t see my gracious Princess of the Night?” Score said in disappointment as he looked down at the ground.  Then, a smile slowly formed on his lips as he looked up at the sky with a lustful look in his eyes.  “I won’t see her unblemished beautiful face, her magnificent blue hair, and perfectly sculpted body with her tight looking-”

“Score my friend...” The uncomfortable looking hunk said loudly, cutting off his friend as he raised his hand and put it on shorter guy’s shoulder.  “Shut up!” He then almost shouted as he patted his shoulder and returned his hand back, which made Score give him a disappointed look as he furrowed his brow.

“Your annoying obsession with my aunt is one of the last things I want to hear.” He went on with a sigh as he raised his hand to his face and shook his head.

“Blueblood!” A loud feminine voice called which made Blueblood look up to see a furious looking girl with purple hair storming up to him.

“Speaking of things I don’t want to hear…” He dryly said to himself before forcing a smile and moving away from the group of guys to greet the angry looking girl approaching him.

“Miss Rarity!” He delightfully called as he extended his arms out and tilted his head a bit. “How lovely it is to see you here!” He then lied as he clapped his hands and put them next to his chest as the girl stomped right in front of him and glared at him furiously.

“I wasn’t expecting you to see you here!” He pointed out with a chuckle as he returned his hands to his sides. “Then again I was sort of hoping deep down that I wouldn’t ever see again to be honest.” He then muttered to himself as Rarity reached into her pocket and pulled out her smartphone.

“Do you mind telling me what this is all about?” The angry fashionista asked as she held out the phone to his face, forcing him to read the message that he had sent to her earlier that day.

“I’m pretty sure you can figure out what the contents of that text mean…you can read after all right?” He dryly responded as he raised his right hand and lowered her hand so he wasn’t getting a face full of a smartphone screen.

“So that’s it…just like that…you’re breaking up with me…no serious talk, explanation, or even a face to face break up…just a random simple text!” Rarity shouted back at him as she put the phone back into her pocket and shook her head at the much taller guy.

“It was the easiest way and honestly Miss Rarity…that was the kindest way for me to break up with you!” He explained with a grin and slight snicker which almost made the shorter girl lose what’s left of her temper and smack him in his smug looking face.  Instead, she took a deep breath and smiled at him.

“May you at least indulge me with the wonderfully sound reasoning behind this break up so that I may, more thoroughly, know how profoundly my seething contempt for you should extend?” She politely asked in an eloquent way as she folded her arms and titled her head, expecting a proper explanation as to why he broke up with her.

“Very well if I must…I shall convey my copious distain for you and the motives behind my pronouncement in that memorandum…” He replied in an equally sophisticated manner as he nodded and once again fixed his tie.

“Man…I’m so confused right now…” Dumb-bell said to his companion as he scratched his head in bemusement.

“Yeah me too…” Hoops said as well with a nod.  “He called his message a ‘memorandum’ when he should’ve called it short message service text or maybe a telecommunication message…” He pointed out in a serious manner.

“Yeah….” The dimwitted guy agreed as he nodded a few times.  “Wait what?” He then said even more confused than ever as he looked as his taller friend in complete shock.

“Geez why did you park your car so far away?” The shorter girl complained after what felt like hours of walking to her.  Fluttershy turned her head away and looked at the ground as she bit her lip trying to think of how to respond to that.

“U-Uhh…th-there wasn’t any parking space left at the gathering…”  The soft-spoken girl answered in a quiet voice as she looked back to the girl she was still helping to her car.

“Really?” The limping girl replied in obvious disbelief as she turned her head to face the taller girl she had her arm around.

“Y-Yeah…” The pink haired girl simply said in response as she looked forward to focus on where they were going, noticing that they didn’t have that much far to go until they reached the alley her car was parked in.

“So you’re not leading me to a dark secluded way to like rape me or anything?” The much shorter girl teasingly asked with a smirk on her face.

“W-What?  N-N-N-No!  Of course not!” The now frantic girl stammered to get out as she looked at the dirty girl with a look of shock and embarrassment on her face.

“Well I’ll be honest with ya…it’s been so long since I’ve had any kind of action that I’d be perfectly fine with whatever horrible thing you’re planning on doing to me.” The short girl remarked with a chuckle as she was clearly enjoying Fluttershy’s reaction.

“I…wh-…uh…I…you!” The now stunned girl tried to respond as her entire face started to glow red from humiliation; she had no idea how to respond to something like that.  This girl was strange and unusual but at the same time…familiar and kind to the point where Fluttershy never felt uncomfortable or terrified.

“Relax I’m just joking…you don’t sound like the kind of girl to do that sort of thing.” The girl then explained while chuckling to herself as she patted the girl’s shoulder that she was holding onto for support.

“U-Uh…Th-Thanks?” Fluttershy weakly thanked in confusion, wondering if that meant that while she sounded innocent, she looked like someone who would do those kinds of horrible things.

“You’re car better not be too far away…otherwise I think I would’ve just walked through the entire mountain pass…”The pint-sized girl then complained with a groan as they kept walking slowly towards the car.

“We’re almost there…it’s just around the corner…” The cyan eyed girl reassured as she pointed to the corner in question with her free hand.  Then, reality suddenly hit her upon getting closer to the car that she knew nobody in this city liked.

‘Oh no...she’s going to see my car and then…and then she’s going to hate me!’ She began to panic internally as they moved ever closer to the small alleyway.  ‘Oh how could I forget about the dumb car I came here with…I really should’ve stopped and thought this over!’ She continued as she felt herself start to sweat in terror.

‘Well…w-who knows…maybe she’ll be so grateful she’ll overlook the fact that my car is perhaps the most hated car in Canterlot!’ The now terrified thought reassuringly, thinking that since she’s helping the small girl, she should ignore the fact that she’s driving the worst car imaginable. ‘Oh who am I kidding?  I wouldn’t be surprised if she called me some names and then ran as fast as she could even with her bad leg!’ She then broke down as she started breath heavily, knowing that certain doom lurked around the corner they were now turning.

“W-Well…t-there it is!” She said out loud in terrified whisper as she pointed to her white NSX neatly parked in the dark alley.  She immediately shut her eyes and expected all sorts of crude comments, insults, and swears to come flooding out of the girl’s mouth.

“Awesome, let’s go get going then.” The small girl she was supporting said happily with a smile, sounding very thankful that they reached their destination so they would stop walking.

“W-What?  Yo-You don’t care what kind of car it is?”  Fluttershy asked in disbelief as her eyes popped open, and she looked at the smaller girl in completely astonished.

“As long as it has an engine, four tires, something for my butt to sit on, and a place to kick my feet up on…then I don’t care what it is…” The dirty sunglasses wearing girl replied with shrug causing Fluttershy’s eyes to widen to their max and her mouth to slowly gape open.

“T-Thank you…” She muttered in a completely hallow voice, still recovering from the shock of the whole ordeal to sound like her normal self.  

The girl turned her head to face the taller girl and tiled her head a bit at what she said.  She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something but instead closed it and faced forward again.  The pink haired girl finally came back to her senses and faced forward herself and began helping the girl to the passenger side door.  As they got closer and closer to the door, a smile on Fluttershy’s face began to appear ever so slowly until it stretched as far as it could go to both sides of her face.

“Hold on let me unlock the car!” She declared in an overly happy tone which caught the small girl by surprise as she turned her head to face the girl again as she reached into her pocket and scrambled around for her keys.

“Why didn’t you just unlock it as we were walking towards it?” She curiously asked as she knew most people would just automatically use their small remotes to unlock the car as they were approaching it.

“Oh sorry…my car clicker thingy broke a long time ago…so I have to unlock the car by hand.” Fluttershy answered her as she pulled out her keys, briefly holding it in front of her face to show that the small remote that came with it was no longer on the key chain.

“Gotcha…” The girl replied with a nod in understanding as Fluttershy put the keys into the door and unlocked it.  “Next time call it a car remote instead of a ‘clicker thingy’…that’s just weird…”  She then informed her in a joking manner as Fluttershy removed the keys from the door and put them back in her pocket.

“I’ll try to remember that…”  She happily replied as she reached back to the door with her free hand and opened it.  “Here let me help you in…” The kind girl then offered as she removed the girl’s arm around her neck and supported her with both of her own hands, fully standing up and feeling relieved after doing so since she walked for a good ten minutes bent over awkwardly.

“I’m not helpless you know…I’m pretty sure I can get into a car despite my little problem…” The small girl complained in a low growl as she let herself be directed into the bucket seat into the car.

“Oh I’m sorry…but if I helped you walk all the way here I’m sure not going to let you get into the car by yourself…” Fluttershy replied a bit softly as she sat her down in the seat and started to move her hurt leg into the car.

“Alright, fine!  But I can at least buckle up myself…” The short frustrated girl declared as she reached out and felt for the seatbelt buckle. “Oh and…thanks for the help I guess…” She then reluctantly thanked after finding the seat belt and bringing it around her body.

“No problem…” The pink haired girl happily said back as she backed away and shut the door upon seeing the girl safely and comfortably in the seat.

The Pink haired girl then walked around her white NSX to the driver’s door and got her keys back out to unlock the door.  She quickly opened the door and got inside the after unlocking the door.  After she sat in the seat and shut the door, she put the keys into the ignition and then reached behind her to grab the seatbelt.  As soon as she heard the clicking sound notifying her she was now buckled, she heard another clicking sound and looked up to see her passenger just now getting buckled as well.  She titled her head a bit in concern that it took her that long to buckle up, but merely shook her head and put her hand on the keys to start the car.

“Alright are you ready to go...uhhh…” Fluttershy began to ask before stopping and realizing that she didn’t know the small girl’s name yet.  “I’m sorry…what’s your name?” She then asked a bit guiltily since she should’ve asked that as soon as they met.  She also extended her right hand away from the ignition to politely shake the young girl’s hand.

“Dash…” The girl responded simply as she tightened her seatbelt so she would firmly stay in place during the drive.  “Just call me Dash…” The dark haired girl with a small strand of yellow in it then reiterated as she faced the driver with a smirk on her face, seemingly ignoring the hand that Fluttershy was offering.

“Ok…Dash…” The NSX driver replied in an uncertain tone as she moved her hand back to the ignition.  She was a little confused by her response, not because she outright disregarded her kind gesture, but because her name reminded her of someone in her past.  She shook her head clean of that thought as it was just a coincidence that her name was Dash.  There must’ve been lots of girls with the same name as her; nothing to seriously think over.

“And what’s your name?” Dash then asked curiously as Fluttershy started to turn the key to start her car.

“Ummmm…it’s…uhhh…F-F…Fluttershy…” The shy girl softly answered in a whisper as her car’s engine directly behind them roared to life, overpowering her weak voice.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get that…which is surprising since my hearing is amazing nowadays…” The shorter girl replied as she leaned closer to the driver to better hear her.

Fluttershy recoiled in fear and moved closer to the door, accidently pressing on the accelerator a bit with her foot.  “I…I… name is…utter….hy…” She tried to say again even softer than before and being once again overshadowed by the engine behind them revving up.

“Uhhh one more time…this time just say it normally for crying out loud!” Dash said once more, this time clearly frustrated as she leaned in closer to Fluttershy as far as her seatbelt would let her.  Fluttershy closed her eyes, recoiled in terror, and sunk in her seat as far as she could.  Her long pink hair moved in front of her face as she muttered strange noises that couldn’t even be interpreted as a human language.

Dash made a groaning noise as she sat back in her seat.  “Nevermind…forget it…let’s just go!” She almost shouted in frustration as she folded her arms and kicked her feet up on the dashboard.

Fluttershy remained motionless for a few seconds before nodding back at the short girl.  She sat back up in her seat and took a deep breath.  She turned the headlights on, disengaged the parking brake, and put the car into first gear.  She quickly released the clutch while pressing on the accelerator and got the white NSX moving from its spot in the dark alleyway.

“Woah woah woah…what did you just do?” The passenger said in what sounded like an insulted tone.

“Uhhh get the car in gear so we can move?”  Fluttershy meekly responded, thankfully in a tone that Dash could hear as she moved the car towards the end of the alley.

“But you didn’t rev the engine or making an amazing start!” The short girl declared as she pointed behind her towards the now gently sounding engine as Fluttershy slowly stopped the car at the very end of the alley.

“O-Oh…I-I’m sorry…did I have to?” Fluttershy questioned curiously and somewhat guiltily as she turned on the turn signal and looked over at the girl next to her to see her shaking her head at her.

“Of course you have to!  What’s the point of racing around in an awesome car if you don’t get the engine going?  It’s to get you pumped for the hot racing action you’re going to be doing and to get an amazing jump start!” The girl practically shouted in disbelief as her face turned to one of shock, making it seem like Fluttershy’s question was one of the last things in her life she expected to hear.

“But…we’re not racing or anything…we’re just going to drive through a pass…” The driver pointed out as she recoiled a bit in her seat again.

“I know but…you know.....” Dash started as she pointed at her with one of her fingers, oddly enough pointing nowhere near her.  “Ahhh forget it!” She then shouted in defeat as used both her hands and pulled on her hair to try and vent her frustration.  As she pulled on her hair, some of the dirt fell out of her hair and onto the seat, revealing what looked like a small patch of green in her hair.  Initially, it made Fluttershy a little unhappy since her car was now getting dirty.  She sighed to her as it wasn’t really a big concern nor did she truly care.

She had a more pressing issue to get done, getting this girl through the pass and then back to pick up Rarity.  Fluttershy pressed her foot down on the accelerator and pulled the car out of the alley and onto the road.  She quickly accelerated the car and shifted into second gear and quickly started to reach the gathering.  She gulped in fear, but reminded herself that everyone was most likely focusing on the stage and wouldn’t notice her horrible car passing by.

As she passed by, her assumption was correct as there where very few people at the entrance and they were huddled around a black car not paying attention to the road she was on.  She sighed in relief as she passed them and then entered the pass which let through the two mountains.  She looked to the passenger next to her briefly and noticed that she was leaning her head against the window facing forward which seemed rather odd to her.

She quickly shook her head and focused on the now narrowing road in front of her that was signaling the start of the pass.  ‘Ok calm down, you’ve made it through the rough parts and now it should be smooth sailing…you’re just driving through a pass that you go through almost every other day on your way to work…so just pretend like it’s a casual drive…yeah just a casual drive…nothing earth shattering or eventful just a normal day for me…’ She reassured herself mentally as she saw the first small turn coming up and moved her steering wheel accordingly.

“You’re dumping me because I won’t have sex with you?” Rarity said out loud in total shock as she looked at the taller man with mixture of disgust and murderous rage.  She was so angry she barely noticed that a white car had just passed her and had entered the pass.

“I didn’t say that…” Blueblood nonchalantly corrected as he smiled, folded his arms, and leaned against the black Skyline behind him. “I just said that I can’t be with a girl that won’t even be bothered to let me pass first base is all…and even getting to there is too much trouble than it’s worth.” He explained again as he shook his head disapprovingly at the girl in front of him who was getting angrier by the second.

“I told you I wanted to take things slow and ease into it!  We’ve only been dating for over a month!  That’s not enough time for me ease into the idea of doing mature things!” She screamed at the top of her lungs as she clenched her fists and did her best to retrain herself from decking the smug guy in front of her.  The three other guys started to back up slowly in fear that if they interfered or said anything they would feel the purple haired woman’s wrath instead of Blueblood.

“It’s way too slow!  Why should I wait for a girl who can be quite insufferable, especially when it comes to pleasing me?   So tell me, why should I wait when pretty soon I can have any girl I want whose equally, if not more, attractive than you?” The blonde haired Adonis pointed out as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Excuse me?” Rarity simply said in a deadpan voice as she narrowed her eyes at the soon-to-be hospitalized man.

“I’m going to be famous…I’m going to be the best racer in all of Canterlot…if not all of Equestria!  And if you aren’t willing to do what I want; then, I can easily find at least twenty thousand other girls just as attractive, if not more attractive than you, that will!” The light blue eyed man further elaborated as he moved one his hands and patted the top of the black R34 he was leaning against.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!  You’re going to try and be a famous street racer?  That’s not even a real profession or pathway to real stardom…not to mention impossibly hard to actually do and even harder to maintain!” The purple haired girl exploded as she walked right up to him and grabbed the collar of his formal suit, ready to send this guy into through the window of the black car he seemed to be fondling.

“It’s going to happen, and it’s going to be soon…” The man calmly responded as he gently removed her hands from his suit, pushed her away, and then fixed it so it didn’t look ruffled.  “As a matter a fact…Dumbbell…Score…let’s get going…let’s get some practice drives in to further enhance and prove my superiority!” He then said as he pointed to the two other drivers and then to Beginner’s pass.

“You got it Blueblood!” Dumbbell immediately responded with a nervous smile as both he and the other two turned around and left heading to their cars. He smiled as he watched them leave and then turned to face the girl in front of him who was grinding her teeth and had her hands up as if ready to choke him.

Blueblood honestly felt a little intimidated and coughed nervously as he opened the door to the black Nissan he arrived in.  “Do go away now Miss Rarity…I’m afraid we’re done here…” He dryly said to her as he quickly got into the car and shut the door, immediately locking the doors just in case.

“You are the most unbelievable man I have now officially ever had the displeasure of knowing!” Rarity shouted at the top of her lungs as she wanted to smash the window and punch his face, but punching glass would damage her hand as opposed to punching an idiot.  “Not to mention brain dead!  You’re not even a good driver!” She then declared as she pointed at the driver in the black car.  After doing so, the window immediately rolled down to expose his offended looking face.

“You dare say that I, one of the elites of the Canterlot Regals, is a poor driver?” He asked back with a look of shock on his face not expecting someone to claim that about him.

“You’re driving is horrible Blueblood!  The way you accelerate, shift, brake, everything!  It’s a complete travesty!  You’re a poor driver, and there’s no way you’re ever going to achieve that fake ideal world you created in your head!”  Rarity explained with a smirk on her face, happy to know she was now pissing him off, “Even Fluttershy handles her car better and she’s not even-”

“Shut the hell up you bitch!” Blueblood shouted at the top of his lungs, cutting her off as he pointed of her with a look of rage on his face. “You think you can just stand there and mock my incredible driving technique when you yourself can’t drive a stick?  Or use any kind of stick for that matter?” He insulted with a smile returning to his face, now feeling confident once again in his abilities.

“You’re just upset and regretting the fact that you let the soon to be Legend of Canterlot slip right through your fingers!” He finished as he returned the hand back inside the car and then moved his other hand to the keys that were in the ignition.

“You’ll be a legend all right…a legend for how incredible you failed to prove you had anything aside from basic driving skills!” The fashionista insulted as she folded her arms and shook her head at him. “You’re most likely going to lose the first freaking race you ever try to run!” She then theorized as she saw the headlights of two cars driving over that belonged to Dumbbell and Score.

“Oh yeah right…and how can you prove that?  Are you going to race me?  With what car?  Are you going to make your little, useless friend try to race me?  With the car she has, she wouldn’t even make it to the starting line before being booed out of this city!” Blueblood debunked with a grin as he started the car; the engine immediately coming to life and roaring loudly.  “Face it!  You’ve got nothing!  And you’re going to have even less now!” He went on as he disengaged the parking brake and put the car into reverse.

“I’ll be sure to drive past some of the gutters you’re going to be living in soon and splash some water in your face when I become bigger than anyone has ever been before!” Blueblood then finished in one final smug prediction before rolling up the window, reflecting Rarity’s furious look back at her.

“Ugh!  I can’t believe I had a crush on you and wanted to date you!” He yelled as loud as she could as the black R34 backed up out of the entrance and onto the main street, being closely followed by the two other cars.  “I hope you crash and burn so hard that not even your bloated ego can cushion the impact!” She continued to scream, hoping that Blueblood would somehow hear her from within his car as it roared with ferocity and entered the pass.  She continued to look at the spot where the car vanished as the two other cars followed suit and clenched her fists in rage.

Eventually, after a few minutes of angrily glaring at the spot where she last saw the car leave, she took a deep breath and finally started to calm down.  “Ok…time for me to get out of here before my blood pressure gets any higher…” She said to herself as softly as her still flaring temper would allow.  She looked around the entrance to try and find her pink haired friend.

“Ok…where’s Fluttershy?  She said she would be around the entrance but…did she run off or something?” The casually dressed girl asked herself as she failed to spot her friend that drove her here.  “Oh, where did that girl go?  I hope she’s ok…” She then said with a concerned look on her face, worried that something might have happened to her and that’s why she wasn’t seeing her near the entrance.

Fluttershy gently let off the accelerator as she turned the steering wheel to the right to make the wide turn through the corner.  She couldn’t go too fast or too close to the inside as she knew that the dirt from the sides of the road commonly cluttered the inside at times and made for a rough ride.  As she exited the turn, she didn’t immediately press back down on the long pedal, knowing that there was a small dip directly after the corner that would catch you off guard and possibly send you out of the control if you were going too fast.

As soon as she felt the car glide smoothly up and down like a rollercoaster, she knew she cleared it without any issues and once again pressed back down on the accelerator to keep her slow modest speed up.  She was on a very lengthy, straight road that would last for a while before leading into a wide S turn.  She briefly looked over at the girl in the passenger seat to see her having not moved a muscle since she started their trip.  She didn’t want to take this entire small trip in complete silence and decided to try and strike up a conversation with her.

“So umm…Dash.  Why exactly do you need a lift through the mountain pass?” She asked quietly as she kept looking at the girl and watched her slowly turn her head to face her with a confused look on her face.  “If…you don’t mind telling that is…you don’t have to if you…you know…don’t want to…” She then fearfully suggested as she looked back forward to focus on the road, seeing the start of the S curve she knew was coming up.

“Nah it’s cool I can tell you…” Dash replied with a smile before taking a deep breath and turning her head to face forward as Fluttershy turned the steering wheel to go through the start of the S curve.  “I’m looking…for the rest of my soul that I lost a long time ago…” She began to say very dramatically as she held up one of her hands and slowly turned it as if emphasizing something.  Fluttershy briefly looked at her and her over-dramatic pose and started to silently giggle to herself as she faced forward again and kept going through the turn, letting off the accelerator slightly again to keep the drive smooth.

“A piece of myself that was abruptly taken away, and now I have to find it to get it back to restore myself to what I once was and-hey!”  She went on before stopping upon hearing Fluttershy’s giggles get louder throughout her speech.  “I hear you giggling over there!” The dirty girl then shouted a bit insulted as she faced the girl with a scowl on her face.

“O-Oh I’m…I’m sorry…it’s just…it’s just…” Fluttershy tried to apologize as she had a hard time controlling her laughter; it was almost making it affect her driving. “What you said was sounding so umm…not…great…that I…I couldn’t help but giggle…” She then said still lightly giggling as she straightened the car out and then began to turn to go through the next corner to complete the S curve.

“You’re just freaking jealous because you know that what I’m saying is awesome and that there’s no way you could ever be as cool sounding as me!” Dash replied with a smirk on her face as she folded her arms and nodded to herself as Fluttershy continued to giggle. “Stop laughing!” She then almost shouted in irritation that the driver was still snickering at her.

“Sorry…sorry…I’ll stop now…” Fluttershy apologized again before taking a deep breath to stop her persistent giggling.  She was finding it increasingly difficult to hold her laughter in and decided to talk about something else in a vain hope to get her mind off of it. “Ok…so…so why are you looking for…whatever it is your looking for late at night…I mean wouldn’t it make more sense to look for something when it’s daylight?” She inquired curiously as she exited the curve and straightened the car out, pressing gently back down on the accelerator to keep the ride as smooth as possible.

“Oh is it that late at night…it’s not like I can really tell anymore…” Dash replied in uncaring tone as she shrugged her shoulders and turned her head to face forward.  Fluttershy blinked a few times in confusion as she turned her head to look at the girl next to her.

‘How can she not know it’s late at night?  Is she used to it being dark or is like nine o’clock normal for her?’ She asked in her mind as she titled her head a bit at the dirty girl.  She opened her mouth to further question the girl but stopped as she saw something reflect in her rearview mirror.    She looked in it and saw a pair of headlights come around the corner behind her.  After it finally straightened out, it then started to wildly accelerate closer to her.

“Oh-Oh dear…a car is coming up really fast!” Fluttershy commented in slight panic as she saw it get closer and closer.  She looked forward and saw the next turn coming up and quickly turned the steering wheel to go through the turn.

“It’s probably some racer running the course…most likely practicing…” Dash explained in a calm manner as she waved her hand dismissively.  The girl didn’t even to bother to look into the rearview mirror to try and see the car.  As they went through the turn the car disappeared from rearview mirror and was replaced by trees. “You should totally dust his ass!” She then encouraged in an excited tone as Fluttershy exited the small turn and entered another short straight.

“Wh-What!  No!  I-I can’t…I mean I couldn’t…I…I…” She nervously tried to respond as she looked back into the mirror and saw the headlights of the car behind her starting to appear around the corner.

“Of course you can!  Your car sounds like it can dish out a lot a pain, and I can feel that you know this course pretty well seeing how smoothly…albeit slowly…you’ve been taking it!” The short passenger tried to urge her on as the car finally peered around the corner, shaking slightly as it tried to straighten itself out.

“No! I can’t…I…I don’t want to get in the way and frustrate them…especially since I’m in this car…” Fluttershy continued to deny as she started to breathe heavier and heavier, looking around and thankfully seeing a turn off head that led behind a couple of trees.

“Are you messing with me or something?  Just smash down on the accelerator, and you won’t have to worry about frustrating them when you’ve essentially blown their doors off!” Dash now said in a louder tone as Fluttershy looked back into the mirror to see the car behind her finally straighten itself out and speed up to her, getting closer and closer to her white NSX.  “I mean that’s the whole point of racing and being a racer!  Outrunning fools and winning awesome bat-”

“No!”  Fluttershy practically shouted at the top of her lungs as she suddenly turned the steering wheel and violently jerked the car off the road.  

She slammed on the brake and brought the car to a screeching halt behind a few trees, hiding her car from the driver on the road.  The smaller passenger had to grab hold of the door and put her feet down off the dashboard and onto the floorboard.  She struggled to keep herself and place and grunted a bit in pain as her injured left leg reminded how badly she was hurt.  After the car came to a complete halt she relaxed and started to fight back the surging pain that was in her leg.

Fluttershy immediately engaged the parking brake, turned off the headlights and shut off the car; silencing the engine completely to not make any kind of noise.  She held her breath as she looked out through the gaps between the trees to barely see a black, angular looking car pass her and rush up to the corner ahead of her with its loud engine roaring the entire way.  Its red brake lights lit up as it braked and then violently turned very closely to the inside, shaking as it started to go over some of the dirt that poured out onto the road.   As it went through the turn it lost some traction due to the dirt on the road, and the rear of the car slid out almost making it go into a spin.  It braked again and slowed down to try and regain its traction.  When it finally did and the car came back under control it once again sped up through the turn.  As it disappeared from sight, Fluttershy saw another glimmer in her rearview mirror and looked up to spot two more cars coming out of the corner.

The two cars struggled to come out of the turn, getting very close to each other and actually tapping each other slightly, almost sending the car in front spinning out of control.  Once they both finally regained control, they slowly accelerated and passed where Fluttershy was hiding, their engines sounding nowhere near as loud as the black car way out ahead of them.  They seemed like they were going at a slower speed than what Fluttershy was going earlier.  Fluttershy took notice that it was the two bullies’ cars that just passed her and also noticed how they both braked and turned even worse than the car ahead of them.  They both tapped each other again, the RX-8 in front almost spinning out again as the Civic behind it flew to the inside and scrapped against the metal guardrail, leaving behind a trail of sparks.  They both struggled to regain control as they went through turn.   After they slowly disappeared from sight, Fluttershy took a deep breath in relief that they she wasn’t spotted.  It would have been especially bad if she was seen by the two trailing cars.

“What the hell!  You just let us get passed!” Dash immediately started complaining as the sounds of the cars’ engines faded away.  “Why did you do that?  You shouldn’t ever let anyone pass you!  Especially when you’re in a freaking sports car with the engine located in the middle of the car!” She continued to almost shout as she pointed behind at the car’s engine.  Fluttershy didn’t look back and instead stared at her hands gripping the steering wheel, now starting to breath heavily like earlier.

“It would’ve been easy for you to put those punks down!  This car could’ve made those front engine cars cry oily tears with what it can do on this kind of course!  But no you just let them go!” The passenger went on incisively as she shook her head disappointingly.  Fluttershy shut her eyes and felt tears start to well up as this is exactly what she wanted to avoid; she didn’t want to be yelled at by another person for anything, and for some reason hearing her yell at her was making her feel much worse than if were Rarity.  “Seriously what kind of racer are you to just-”

“I’m not a racer!” Fluttershy corrected almost shouting and cutting off Dash from continuing as she gripped the steering wheel as hard as she could.

“You…wait…what?’ The now baffled girl next to her struggled to say as tried to comprehend what the taller girl had blurted out.

“I…I don’t race cars…I don’t even go anywhere near the speed limit in fear of passing other people…” The pink haired girl explained as she slowly shook her head, telling her how she never passes other cars but let’s herself be passed instead.

“But…why the hell were you at a racer’s meet up then?” The sunglasses wearing girl pointed out as this was what was hurting her brain.  If someone wasn’t a street racer and didn’t even like going above the speed limit; then, why was she at a place that was meant for people who do that exact thing?

“I…I was there for a friend…that’s the only reason…if I wasn’t I’d be at home safely in my bed most likely…I don’t like racing…” Fluttershy answered softly as she leaned forward and rested her head against the steering wheel.

“S-Seriously?  I mean…really?” Dash said still in disbelief as she still felt unconvinced.  “You’re driving a freaking fancy sports car with an engine that sounds like it can trounce most other common cars on the road, and you’re telling me you don’t like to drive fast?” She also pointed out as she raised her hand and smacked the back behind the seat as if using the car’s engine as proof to her statement.

“I hate this car…I…It’s caused me nothing of problems and…and I don’t even want to drive anymore because of it…I just….I just can’t take it anymore…I hate this stupid car so much…” Fluttershy explained now in a hurt tone as she felt the tears start to fall from her eyes.  Dash wanted to say something, but the muffled cries of the driver silenced any other vocal criticism she had.

She faced forward and sat silently as Fluttershy continued to quietly cry into her steering wheel.   The shorter girl felt guilty now that she had yelled at her and chewed her out over something like this.  Especially since the kind girl was the only willing to give her a lift through the pass.  She turned her head back over to the girl and slowly reached her hand out until it finally made contact with her shoulder.   Fluttershy gasped slightly and froze in place upon feeling the contact on her shoulder.

“I’m…I’m sorry…I…I didn’t know…and I understand what it feels like to do something you hate…” The passenger apologized in a sincere and understanding tone as she slowly rubbed her shoulder in a comforting way which instantly made Fluttershy feel ten times better and actually made her stop crying.

“Look…I-If driving is really that big a problem for you…” The dirty looking girl began as she removed her hand from the NSX owner’s shoulder.  “I-I’ll drive for you…” She then offered in what sounded like a nervous and unsure tone.

“W-What?” Fluttershy immediately replied in shock as she leaned back up in her seat and stared at the girl in shock as the other girl turned her head away.

“I know!  It sounds complete stupid and crazy but…for some reason I can’t just sit here and let you cry over this…so…” She admitted in a slightly more frantic tone as she faced outside of the window.  “C-Can I please drive?” She once again offered much quieter than before as she kept staring outside the window instead of at the girl she was asking.

Fluttershy stared at the girl in complete shock as she didn’t know what to make of the girl’s offer.  She honestly wouldn’t mind if Rarity asked to drive her car or something she knew but a complete stranger?  Every part of her wanted to kindly deny her request, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn’t say no to her offer.  She struggled to understand why she couldn’t refuse her, reminding herself that not only was this girl someone she just met half an hour ago but an injured one as well.

“But…But what about your leg?” Fluttershy pointed out as she looked at the poor girl’s leg, worried that her using it to drive might hurt her or worse get possibly even more injured from the drive.

“Seriously…out of everything to be worried about you worry about my leg?”  Dash replied with a slight chuckle as she turned her head back around and faced Fluttershy with a smile on her face.  “It hurts yeah…but it’s not like pressing down on a clutch is going to be that much of a strain on it so it should be fine…” She reassured as she reached down and gently patted her left leg, feeling some pain but not showing it to prove a point and not worry the girl next to her.

“I don’t know…” The cyan eyed driver responded still unsure as she looked back at her steering wheel honestly considering letting her drive despite the logical part of her mind saying otherwise.

“I know…it really sounds crazy knowing what kind of problem I have but…please…let me drive…” Dash persisted in a gentle voice as she once again reached out slowly and touched her shoulder, making Fluttershy turn to face her again.  “Trust me…we’ll be fine…” She then said in a confident tone and with a smirk on her face.  Fluttershy held her breath and stared at the shorter girl with her eyes quivering slightly and her lips trembling.

Whatever small shred of resistance and reason her rational mind was giving had now vanished as she slowly opened her mouth to give her answer.  “A-Alright…” She agreed in a quiet whisper and with an ever so subtle nod.

“S-Seriously?” The passenger responded with a slight stutter, now bemused and shocked than ever as she recoiled all the way against her door and had her mouth dangling open.

“Y-Yes…I…I trust you…” Fluttershy said once more a bit louder and more confident as a smile slowly formed on her face.

“W-Wow!  You’re really going to let me do this?  You’re going to let a complete stranger drive your freaking sports car?” Dash replied, still completely surprised by the fact that this girl she met today was letting her drive her undoubtedly expensive sports car.

“Y-Yes…” The NSX owner once again reiterated this time with a giggle as nodded her head again.

“You’re much cooler than I thought you were!  At least twenty percent cooler!” The now excited little girl shouted as she fumbled her hands around her seatbelt and almost broke it to get it undone.  “Trust me this is going to be amazing!  It’s going to be an experience you’ll never forget!” She confidently yelled with a smile on her face as her hands frantically ran across the door until it reached the handle.  She pulled on it and flung open door, causing her to fall out onto the ground.

“If you say so…” Fluttershy replied with a slightly giggle as she undid her seatbelt and watched the girl outside quickly get back on her feet as if the fall never happened.  

The Pink haired girl opened her door and got out of the driver’s seat.  She looked over the other side of the car and saw the shorter girl start to limp slightly around the car, tracing a hand along the hood as she went around the front of the car.  She looked back to the driver’s seat and realized that since she was much taller than Dash it would be awkward for her to drive in the seat that wasn’t set for her height.  She leaned back into the car and moved the seat closer to the pedals so the girl’s short legs wouldn’t strain themselves to reach the pedals.  She also readjusted the steering wheel accordingly to make it as easy to use for the short girl as possible.

After she was done, she leaned back out of the car and barely saw the short girl’s head peaking over the door with an excited grin on her face.  “Alright, I’ve adjusted the seat and the steering wheel so you can be completely comfortable while driving.” Fluttershy informed with a slight giggle on her face as she got out of the way, amused by the look on the shorter girl’s face.

“Thanks, but as long as there’s three pedals, a stick shift, and a steering wheel for me to use it doesn’t matter how comfortable I am!”  Dash enthusiastically replied as she quickly went around the open door and began to get into the seat.  Fluttershy moved towards her and put her hands around her to help her in like last time only for them to be removed by the girl she was trying to help. “You don’t have to help me into the car…I can get in by myself.”  The shorter girl said to the taller girl in an annoyed tone as she turned her head and faced Fluttershy’s general direction, seeming to look at the trees behind her though.

“Oh…sorry…”  The shy girl apologized a bit guiltily as she moved away from the short girl and started to walk around to the other side of the car.

As she walked around to the open passenger side door, she noticed Dash had some trouble get into the car do to her leg.  She managed to do it on her own and shut the door as Fluttershy went around the passenger door.  The owner of the car leaned in and got into the passenger’s seat which was a surreal experience to her since normally she’d be in the driver’s seat.  She quickly got over it and shut the door, then buckling herself afterwards.  

She looked over and noticed the short girl have some problems buckling up like last time but eventually managing to do it. She smiled to herself and cracked her fingers before moving her hand around behind the steering wheel until it found the keys. After which she immediately turned the keys and started the car, bringing the engine to life again. The short girl moved her feet to the pedals and started to aggressively mash down on the accelerator, making the engine roar with intensity. Fluttershy never heard the engine to her car get this loud and honestly never thought it could; which, she now learned was good thing because it was too loud and almost to the point where Fluttershy wanted to cover her ears as Dash continued to rev the engine up.  

"Oh yeah…that's right…this cars sounds lethal!" The girl shouted in excitement as one hand moved to grab the stick shift and the other fumbled around behind the steering wheel, turning the headlights on in the process. "Oh and six speed manual! I haven't driven one of these yet…this is going to be interesting!" The girl commented happily as she moved the stick shift around as she still revved the engine to ridiculously degrees. Reality started to hit Fluttershy as she realized she let a racer into the driver's seat of her car, meaning she was most likely going to go at speeds Fluttershy had never been at before.

“Please tell me you’re not going to go too fast…” The scared girl asked almost in a pleading tone as she looked at the shorter girl with a worried expression on her face.

“Oh, it will be nothing you can’t handle…don’t worry…” The driver dismissed in a confident tone as she moved the shifter into first gear.  “After all, you’re going to be helping me right?’ She then asked the taller girl next to her as she moved her hand away from the shifter and began to feel around for the parking brake.

“Helping you?  How am I going to help you?” The cyan eyed girl curiously asked as she watched the shorter girl’s hand continue to fumble around until it eventually found the lever she needed to pull to disengage the parking brake.

“Well, what’s in front of me?  What do I need to do to get back onto the road?” She more thoroughly asked as she pulled the lever up then back down to take the car out of park.

“Just…go straight…there’s nothing in your way, and you’ll be on the road heading towards the left turn…” Fluttershy answered more confused than ever as she looked ahead and saw the clear path to the road and to the first turn.

“Awesome…thanks…” The dirty looking girl thanked with a smirk as she moved her hand back to the shifter and revved the car some more.

“Ok but what did you want to know th-AHH!” The passenger began to say before being cut off by the sudden movement of the car launching forward; the tires squealing as it quickly drove out from behind the trees and onto the road.

“Alright first turn…what does it look like?” Dash questioned as she quickly shifted the car into second gear and accelerated the car more.  Fluttershy shook her head to regain composure from the earlier shock and looked forward at the road and at the incoming left turn.

“It’s a normal wide left turn…a hundred and seventy degree angle turn at most…and I wouldn’t go too close to the inside…it gets pretty rough there thanks to dirt getting on the road.” She described out loud, also warning her about the inside that she knew was always kind of rough.

“Awesome…thanks…just tell me when…” The driver said back with a nod as she continued to accelerate faster towards the turn.

“Tell you when for what?” The befuddled girl next to her asked as she looked over at the driver looking straight ahead.

“Tell me when to turn of course!” She answered in an almost annoyed tone as she acted like this should be normal or common for Fluttershy.

“H-Huh?” Fluttershy simply muttered as she titled her head a bit.  Before she could say anything else, she looked forward and saw a metal guardrail quickly approaching their front end. “Turn now turn now turn now!” She frantically shouted in terror as she recoiled back in her seat in terror.  Dash smirk as she quickly moved the steering wheel left and turned the car just before it hit the metal wall, making the tires squeal against the pavement.  The movement was so sudden and abrupt it made Fluttershy slide in her seat, forcing her to move her legs to stiffen against the floorboard and her hands to grab to door to keep her in place.  Fluttershy looked out of the car and noticed that they were so close to the guardrail that it they were almost scrapping against it.

“You’re too close to the outside!  Turn towards the inside more!” She instructed in horror as she pointed to the left towards the inside.  Dash nodded and turned the steering wheel more, bringing them closer to the inside.  Fluttershy felt a little bit safer now that the outside wall was away from her car but didn’t have much time to relish in that safety.   She realized the turn was now straightening out, but Dash was still holding the steering wheel at an angle bringing towards the metal guard rail on the inside.  

“You’re coming out of the turn now!  Straighten yourself out!” Fluttershy again shouted in terror as her car got close and closer to the wall.  Dash nodded again and turned the steering wheel back to its natural state and brought the car out of the turn.  Once again, Fluttershy had a brief moment to take a breather as her car was again safe from hitting anything for the moment.

“Well that certainly wasn’t my best turn…but considering it was the first turn I’ve made in like three months, and the first turn I’ve made with a co-driver…I’d be surprised if it did go pretty well…”The driver stated a bit arrogantly with a grin as she car continued to accelerate, forcing her to reach over and shift the car into third gear.   “Anyways…next turn…what is it?” She then asked with a smile, bringing Fluttershy out from her temporary relief.

“W-What is wrong with you?  Is this some kind of joke to you or something?” Fluttershy practically screamed at the driver as she turned to the driver, starting to immediately regret letting the small girl drive her car.

“Joke…what the hell are you talking about?” Dash replied, now sounding confused like Fluttershy earlier as she turned her head to face Fluttershy, keeping the car straight as she held the steering wheel firmly in place.

“Why do you need me to describe the turns to you?” She questioned the shorter girl as she arched an eyebrow at her.

“Well duh…isn’t it obvious?” Dash asked back in sarcastic sounding voice.  “I’m blind…” She then informed her in an unconcerned tone as she moved her right hand from the wheel and pointed to her sunglasses.

“Y-You’re…You’re…” Fluttershy struggled to say as her eyes widened to their max, and her irises shrunk to small little dots.

“Yeah…I’m blind genius…I thought you figured it out beforehand…” The blind replied in an unconcerned tone as she moved turned her head back to face forward, even though it didn’t matter. “Anyways, can you tell me the next turn please?”  She then asked politely as she gripped the wheel tightly in anticipation for the next corner.

Fluttershy shut down, of all the types of people to be driving her car she would have never expected a blind person to be behind the wheel.  “W-What?”  She muttered to herself as she continued to stare at the girl who most likely would crash into something and kill them both.

If she lived through this, she would make a mental note to never give hitchhikers a lift ever again.

“Hey I’m Pinkie Pie and I’m going to be your guide to the cars used in today’s act!  So let’s not waste any time and get right into the…umm….”

“Uhhh…Twilight what car am I talking about now?”

“Oh goodie, the Acura NSX!  Particularly the one Fluttershy uses!  I’m so excited!”

“The Acura NSX…which means New Sports car eXperimental…wait…that’s not right…experimental starts with an E…so shouldn’t it be NSE?  New Sports car Experimental?  Wait…that also doesn’t even make any sense now that I think about it!  How about we call it the New Experimental Sports car…or NES?”

“Oh that reminds me!  I had an NES growing up!  It was fun!  Except for that one game where you died after like two hits and had to beat it twice in order to really beat the game…man that was a pain in my-!”  

“Wait…what did you say Twilight?”

“Oh right...heh…sorry…getting back on topic now!”

“The version Fluttershy has is the second generation ‘Refresh’ model which differs from the original model by having a slightly better engine, giving it almost three hundred horsepower!  To complement the boost in power, the car‘s transmission was changed from a five speed to a six speed.  Not only that, but the car is slightly lighter and its suspension has been tweaked to accommodate the changes.  Most noticeable of all is that the body has a new fresh look with different sized tires, a slightly new rear bumper look, and fixed headlights to replace the old pop up ones.”

“Even with the changes and upgrades the spirit and essence of the NSX remained intact keeping true to its awesome legacy that it started back when it first came out!”

“The NSX that Fluttershy has is from 2005…the last year the NSX was in production and sold in Equestria…”

“Unlike most other racers…Fluttershy didn’t purchase her car…I mean how could she?  She was probably like eight or nine when the last car was sold right?”

“Huh I’m giving away too much too early?  I’m sorry Twi…ahem…anyways…”

“Instead, it was a gift from her father after she graduated high school and went to Canterlot for college.  Now isn’t that a strange gift to give you daughter?”

“Of course Fluttershy isn’t a racer…so why would she need a sports car anyways?  Why couldn’t my father give me an awesome car when I got out of high school?”

“Huh?  What?  Oh right…the topic…”

“Hmmm…I don’t think there’s much more to discuss is there?”

“Oh wait I know one last tidbit to give!”

“The Acura NSX is the author’s favorite car of all time!”

“Wait…why are you looking at me like that Twilight?”

“What do you mean I shouldn’t have told them that?”

“Oh…that’s why…oh well…I’m sure it won’t be THAT bad right?”

“…Right?” Next Chapter: Birth of a Legend 1: Beginnings Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 48 Minutes