As they stood in line, Sweetie Belle couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed as her older sister was very visibly holding her nose. "Can you not? People can see us."

"Darling, please, you know I wouldn't if I could help it, but I feel a bit nauseous with all these petrol fumes in the air! What city of the future reeks like a gas station spill?"

"I don't care much for it either, but if it's that bad, then why'd you even want to go on this ride?"

"For you, of course! I know how much you've been itching to drive a car yourself..."

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes so hard she nearly blew a blood vessel. "You can't seriously think this is the same thing."

"Well, pssh, no, of course not dear, but-"

"I don't get it! Why does no one in this family think I'm ready to learn to drive a real car? Just because you never bothered doesn't mean I shouldn't get to!"

Rarity stopped pinching her nose and got serious. "Look, Sweetie Belle, it's not my decision to make! And I apologize if my lack of interest in automobiles means our parents aren't prepared to handle yours. I... I can't speak for them, but I'll admit it does feel rather surreal to think of you as being old enough for something like that," she mused as the line moved forward.

Sweetie Belle looked indignant. "What do you mean?"

"Yes, you're only two years younger than me, but we're practically from different generations! You never even had a MyStable account, for heaven's sake!"

"That's because MyStable is ancient! It's just a bunch of old fogies spreading unbelievable rumors and laughing at recycled memes — I'm pretty sure you're the only one in your class who ever had an account there! No one uses it!"

Now it was Rarity's turn to look indignant. "Pssk — well, some of those old fogies happened to quite appreciate my designs!"

"And how many followers does @Rarity4U have on there compared to SnapGab and Ponygram?"

"Hmph. Point taken."

"And when you were my age, you were already fighting evil magic with your friends! But I can't drive a real car?"

"Oh, ffff, well, I didn't start doing that by choice..." Rarity sighed, her face fallen. "Look, Sweetie Belle, we're almost to the front of the line. I promise we'll talk more about this later. Let's just... enjoy the drive for today, okay?" She smiled hesitantly.

Sweetie Belle sighed a bit before returning the smile. "Of course, Rares. I don't mean to throw all this on you, I just... I just don't wanna be treated like a little kid anymore."

"And you're right to feel that way. And... for what it's worth, I did lie a little when I said this was for you. I'm still not very interested in learning to drive a real car, but... I wouldn't mind getting behind the wheel here." She pinched her nose again as she caught another whiff of ozone. "Even with the smell..."

Sweetie Belle giggled as they climbed down the steps, where they were ushered to their vehicles. Rarity was directed to the front car on the left track while Sweetie Belle was placed right behind her. Rarity leaned to look behind her, and the two sisters waved at each other before being motioned forward.

Even Sweetie Belle could admit that, if nothing else, it was certainly a pleasant ride. She'd never admit it to Rarity, but she was still having to figure out which of the pedals was which (not helped by the vehicle's seemingly superfluous third pedal), so it was nice to have a judgment-free zone to get a reminder. She followed along behind Rarity as the track weaved underneath the monorail and through a nice shaded garden area. Rarity's hand would pop up every so often and wave; with the stench of the fuel much less of an issue now that they were separated from the others, she was sure Rarity was enjoying herself. Her sister might prefer riding in limos, but she knew Rarity understood where she was coming from in wanting that freedom of being behind the wheel herself.

It was a nice several minutes of pseudo-driving, but all things must come to an end, and soon the two were caught in the traffic jam leading up to the ride exit. Sweetie Belle was careful in inching up behind Rarity's car, not wanting to give her an excuse to dismiss her vehicular desires by accidentally bumping into her. (Unfortunately, the driver that arrived behind Sweetie herself was not so considerate, giving her an upsetting jolt.) The fumes returned in full force, and at one point Rarity leaned over again and made an exaggerated gagging motion, making her sister laugh. However, she apparently let her foot off the brake in doing so, as her car rolled forward before banging into the one in front of it.

"Oh, so sorry! My bad!"

They eventually reached the exit and disembarked. As the two climbed back up to the rest of the park, Sweetie Belle turned to Rarity. "So did you have fun?"

"Oh, of course, darling."

"You know, we can save that chat for later. I'd rather just keep doing stuff with you here right now."

Rarity beamed. "Why certainly, Sweetie Belle. I'm always happy to do things together with you."

Next Chapter: W.E.B. Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure (Sunset Shimmer & Twilight Sparkle) Estimated time remaining: 52 Minutes