//------------------------------// // A Bumpy Start // Story: Highway to Insanity // by SynthwaveHeart //------------------------------// Twilight was in the library, reading a book about mathematics. It was a rather calm day. The nerdy girl just flipped through page after page, going pretty slow. She wanted to sink in as much information as she could. Although it was summer break, for some reason the school remained open for anybody who wanted to come and visit the school or even just to study a little. Of course, she was one of the few students who would stay in Canterlot High in summer break. And she would probably spend most of the summer break in that library. But she did not care. She liked it. She liked the peace. She liked the quiet. Nobody to bother her. Nobody to break her focus. Nobody to- "TWILIGHT!" A familiar voice exclaimed, causing the A+ student to toss her book upwards and clumsily trying to catch it, almost juggling the thing, before she finally got it. Upside down. Twilight looked at her upside down book before she lowered it to reveal whoever was speaking to her. It was Rainbow Dash. She was with both her hands on the table with a rather huge smile. A smile that almost could rival one of Pinkie's biggest grins. ALMOST. "Rainbow Dash?" Twilight blinked twice, adjusting her glasses. She was surprised to see her friend there. Let alone her mostly laid-back friend. "What are you doing here? I mean, I am not upset to see you here... but its summer break! And you're normally-" "Doing something awesome?" Rainbow Dash said with a grin, turning around and sitting on the table, still looking at her friend. "Yes... you could say that." Twilight rolled her eyes, before looking at Rainbow Dash and closing her book for a minute, to hear what her friend had to say. "What do you need, Rainbow?" "Oh, you'll see!" Rainbow Dash said as she suddenly grabbed Twilight's hand and ran to the entrance of the library, causing the bookworm to drop her book, which spun in the air for a couple of seconds before gravity finally affected it, bringing it down, causing it to land closed on the table. Twilight hesitated, but figured she wouldn't be able to go back to her peaceful day unless she saw what her friend wanted her to see. As much as Twilight liked her friends, she had to admit, there were times she wished to be alone. For example, there are times she wishes she was alone with her mathematics book already preparing for the next year instead of being dragged around by her best friend who had a rainbow colored hair and the attitude of a fanatical stuntman that would jump a shark with a tricycle if there was a camera nearby, and once she failed and ended up in a coma for five weeks, she would just wake up and try again on the next day. To simplify: Twilight was not enjoying being dragged out of her little Safe Haven full of the things she loved the most. Books. "TA-DA!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she got out of the school, her free hand gesturing to something while she looked at Twilight with a bright smile. Twilight slowly looked towards the direction Rainbow Dash was pointing. And her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. That must have very well been... The worst idea Rainbow Dash has ever had since... ever. What Twilight saw was an old muscle car. But not just an old muscle car, no. That car was rusted from head to toe. Or grill to rear bumper all things considered. The entirety of the hood, and even the left front fender were so rusty that they looked like as if you ever so lightly touched them, you would end up with a few scratches on your fingers. No matter how lightly you slide your hand on them. The roof of the car was also quite rusty, but not quite as painful looking as the hood and the fender. Still, that did not change the fact that the rims seemed to be basically decaying each second they were looked at. The front bumper was completly gone. All that remained of it, was an empty space in the shape of what it once was. Yet, the liscence plate was still there. Rusty, bent and with it's numbers were almost scratched out. What made it worse, is how it had a a small trailer attached behind it. "Guess who's going on a road trip?" Rainbow Dash smiled, looking at her friend with a grin. "WHAT?!" Twilight's eyes widened. Was she for real? That was a joke. That HAD to be a joke! She stared at Rainbow Dash for a long moment. She knew that face. It wasn't a joke. It was not a joke at all."Rainbow, have you lost your mind?!" "No? Why?" Rainbow Dash asked raising an eyebrow. She did not know the reason of her friend's sudden negative reaction. "Rainbow Dash, you can't drive this thing! Its a-" Twilight was then interrupted by Rainbow Dash. "Geez, Twilight, if you wanna drive, we can take turns-" Rainbow Dash started, before she herself got interrupted by her friend. "What?! No, Rainbow Dash, I mean its too dangerous! Its a death trap!" Twilight explained as she walked towards the car. "Look at it! This car is not in conditions to go to a trip down the block!" "That's what you think." Rainbow Dash said calmly as she walked towards it as well, putting a hand on it's roof, looking at her friend with a smile. "Might not look DASHING on the outside, but I did make a few modifications on the engine. Its fully functional!" Twilight blinked twice. She knew Rainbow had experience with stunts. And also experience with Motocross. So maybe she could also know about car engines. But cars and motorcycles were extremely different from each other. One might say a motorcycle is but a smaller car with only two wheels. But their engine pieces were different. Their entire structure was different. It was not impossible for Rainbow Dash to know about cars, but it was still a little unlikely. "Are you sure?" Twilight asked a little hesitantly. She walked around the muscle car, holding her chin as she looked at the vehicle, which once must've very well been a shiny cream-colored beauty. What was front of her, was but a shadow of an once great machine. A ghost of a vehicle which must've gone through a lot and wished to have another chance on the road. "Of course I'm sure!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed happily as she opened the driver door and turned the key. The car's engine started to roar. The sound was loud. Some of the vehicles' parts shook in individual directions. It was like seeing a metal corpse coming back to life. But not even close to it's former glory. "How do you think it got here in the first place?" "Wow... it does work." Twilight stared at the vehicle and blinked. Maybe Rainbow Dash was right after all. Maybe the car was indeed working close to perfectly now. Only looking like a mess. Sure, the noise was loud, the rear pipe was letting out some black smoke, but what else could she expect? She doubted a teenager would be able to simply transform this car into a racing machine, so just the fact that Rainbow Dash managed to make it switch on was almost amazing. "Well-" Twilight started, scratching her head as she looked at the "house on wheels" attached to the rear of the muscle car. "-What is the trailer for?" "So we can fit everybody! Duh!" Rainbow Dash smiled as she got out of the vehicle and closed it's driver seat door, resting her left elbow on the roof and her right hand on her hips. "That and so we can have somewhere to sleep if the trip gets too long." Twilight's eyes widened for a moment. She was a little calmer when she saw that the vehicle's engine was still alive, or perhaps got revived by some miracle mechanic work by Rainbow Dash. But that was only because it seemed like it could handle two people. But the entire group of friends were six. Twilight, of course, started to make calculations. Specially on how things could go wrong. So, two front seats and two backseats, although the backseats connected, so, it could count as one large backseat. The backseat could fit three people. Four if they really try. They would be almost squeezing each other, but it was possible. Each of the front seats could fit one person. If they only had three people in the backseat, that would make five. But with four people, it would make six. So the car itself could fit all six of them. The true question was... Could the car handle it? "Uhm... Rainbow Dash, I'm pretty sure that the car can fit all six of us. But what worries me is the weight." Twilight explained as she looked at the car. She looked into the windshield. The inside of the car was not much better either. The only thing that felt acceptable were the seats. At-least Rainbow Dash had the decency of installing new seats. Twilight couldn't help but start calculating again. Based on the car's design and state, it was made around the seventeens. So, about thirty years or so old. Taking this into context, the car was pretty lightweight, so that was already a red flag. The rust and the fact some parts were removed, also reinforce that idea. So, most likely, it would be rather fragile. It might, MIGHT be able to handle two people, but an entire group of SIX? That was extremely risky. Let alone the fact it would also be pulling a trailer, which was basically like a mini-house on wheels. "Rainbow, I don't think your car can handle it." Twilight said as she lightly tapped the right front tire with her feet. Part of her just expected the vehicle to literally fall apart by that simple little tap. She did not want to admit and she hated how much she felt that, but she secretly just wished the car would break down and fall into pieces right there, so she could just go back to the library and hopefully put some reason in Rainbow Dash's head. "Aw, come on! Sure, its not perfect, but it won't just disintegrate in the middle of the road!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, crossing her arms and leaning against the car, which surprisingly, didn't end up with two flat tires by the weight of Rainbow. "Come on, Twilight! It will be fun! You trust me, right?" Rainbow Dash asked a little more seriously now, before her expression turned to a rather... sad one. She looked at the car and then at Twilight, putting a hand on it's roof. "Just give the car a chance." Twilight looked at her friend for a long time. She was invested into this trip. And invested into the car itself. She realized that what she was looking at wasn't just a pile of scrap which made Rainbow Dash try another crazy stunt. The car was a lot more than that for Rainbow. Twilight still saw the rusty mess, but didn't see it so badly anymore. She saw something Rainbow Dash cared for and worked hard on. "Fine..." She said with a sigh as she adjusted her glasses. "... I'll give it a chance." "REALLY?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a huge smile, giving her friend a tight hug. "Thanks, Twilight! You'll see, it will be an awesome trip!" "Yeah..." Twilight replied with a nervous laugh as her arms wrapped around Rainbow Dash. "I'm feeling it will..." The next day was the day. The day Twilight would help gather her friends to go on this road trip. It was important for Rainbow Dash, which ended up making it important for herself as well. Twilight always had this instinct of helping a friend in need any way she could, and if a road trip in a rusty bucket would make Rainbow Dash happy, who was her to argue? It would probably be just a short tour after all. Maybe in the end they wouldn't even need the trailer. What could go so wrong in a simple car ride? Other than crashes, drunk drivers, road rage, brakes failing, faulty traffic lights, abusive highway patrols... never-mind. What matters is that Twilight and Rainbow Dash had finally gathered their friends for the trip. "Come on, you guys are being too slow!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in enthusiasm as she ran towards the school's front doors. She had gathered them all in the library to surprise them. Which is why she also took long, since she had to get them there first, THEN get the car. With her two hands, she pushed the doors open and gestured towards the car. "Ladies, meet our awesome road trip vehicle!" Everybody stayed quiet. Applejack's eyes widened as she took her hat off and held it close to her chest. She felt as if she was staring at a metallic dead body that was dug up. Fluttershy gulped and cowered a little. She couldn't help but think about all the horrible things that could happen in that. Let alone all the possible road kill and the pollution. Rarity just looked at it in pure disgust. Something with basically no class at all. A vehicle way below her standards. Her eye even twitched a little. "Oooooh!" Pinkie Pie said with a huge smile, running towards the muscle car and inspecting it curiously. She must've very well been the only one who actually had a positive reaction. She was just about to get in the passenger seat, but froze and looked at her friends with a huge grin that went from ear to ear.. "Oopsie! Sorry for being rude, who wants to go on front??" "Erm... Rainbow Dash, darling." Rarity started, walking beside Rainbow Dash, who was with her fists on her hips, looking proudly at the scrap metal pulling the trailer. "It was a very funny joke, truly hilarious, you got us, now where is the real car?" "What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash's smile disappeared as she raised an eyebrow and looked at Rarity. She then pointed at the car. "Its right there!" Twilight felt the tension between the two and quickly ran towards them to intervene. As much as she knew Rarity had the right to not like Dashie's new ride, she couldn't end up letting this all be for nothing. Again, Rainbow Dash put a lot of work in it. Right? "Mind if I talk to Rarity really quick, Rainbow?" Twilight asked with a nervous smile, suddenly grabbing Rarity by the arm. "Uh... Yeah, sure, I don't see why-" Rainbow Dash began, scratching her head, before Twilight suddenly spoke again, interrupting her. "Alright, we'll be right back!" Twilight happily said, that nervous smile still on. Before Rarity could object, she was already dragged away from Rainbow Dash and spoken to in a very low toned whisper. "Rarity, do not ruin this for Rainbow Dash." "Darling, have you seen that... THING?" Rarity asked, pointing at the car, which Pinkie Pie was still examining in pure curiosity and fun. "Yes, I have." Twilight nodded, slowly taking off her glasses to look at Rarity in the eyes. "But Rainbow told me she worked hard to make the car work. And she even managed to get a trailer for it. This trip is extremely important for her, Rarity." "Twilight, I cannot be seen riding that bathtub!" Rarity whispered a little louder. "Just think about my image!" "How would you feel if somebody called one of your dresses a dirty unoriginal rag because you worked with what you had?" Twilight asked in a very serious tone, arms crossed and an eyebrow raising. Rarity's eyes widened for a moment. Twilight was right. She was being insensitive. She looked back at the car. Yes, it was a rusty bucket. Yes, it was horrible looking. Yes, it seemed dirty and foul. But if it was important for Rainbow Dash, she could do one exception about her image. For this one time she would get into a vehicle that was way below of her standards. She just couldn't let her friend feel bad. "Very well... I will get into Rainbow Dash's rusty bucket." Rarity sighed, defeated. "What are you guys talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked, just standing right behind them. Thankfully, she arrived when the conversation was just ending. "Oh, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity suddenly turned around, a nervous smile on her face. She was almost sweating. "We were just talking about how excited I am for the trip!" "Oh, yeah!" Added Twilight, an equally nervous smile. She chuckled as well. "Can't wait to put my foot on the road!" "Alriiiight then?" Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow and scratched the backs of her head. "You girls are acting kinda strange. I'm getting the engine running." With that, she went back to the car. The two girls sighed in relief that Rainbow had believed their story by some miracle. Finally, they all got in. Twilight got into the car's passenger seat, while Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were squeezing themselves in the backseat. Rainbow Dash gave them all a smile as she turned the engine on. The vehicle's engine roared proudly as Rainbow grinned looking foward, both hands thightly grasping the steering wheel. "Alright, lets hit the road!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a wide grin as she pressed her foot against the accelerator. And off onto the streets the car went, dragging the trailer along. Little did the girls know, this car had so much more story behind it than just being a scrapyard find.