“We’re going east,” said Johnny.
“How far?” asked Lyra.
“A couple of hours,” said the man, continuing to play little tunes on the guitar. He glanced in the side mirror, seeing the small convoy of vehicles trailing behind. Fluttershy did not like leading the formation, but had put aside her qualms in order to help track down Chrysalis.
They had to stop for fuel again. Rainbow had slowly warmed to the idea of hybridness, and boasted that her tank wasn’t anywhere near empty. While they were stopped, Applejack distributed cupcakes again, attempting to regain some lost ergonomic space inside Pinkie’s cabin. Kris patiently pumped fuel for Twilight, as Rarity had refused to touch anything related to diesel ever again.
“Using top gear would extend your range by quite a lot,” Lyra was counseling Fluttershy.
“But-but that’s an overall ratio of 2.24!” protested Fluttershy. “Do you have any idea how fast I could go?”
Lyra sighed. This would be a long trip in third gear.
Back on the road, Johnny apologized for not being any more specific than just directing them to east. He didn’t sound like a man who said sorry very often, something that only added to his mystique and attractive badboyness.
“At least it’s east,” he said. “Could be worse. Could be Arkansas.”
Lyra did not know how to respond, and merely nodded politely.
The terrain began to pick up, turning into mountains and broad valleys. It was a range that Johnny called the Appalachians. Everything was quite scenic, and Lyra appreciated that she didn’t have to do the driving. A long line of motorcycles passed by in the left lane, a scruffy biker gang on their way to somewhere.
Stopping for gas once more, Luna spotted the same group of bikers sharing the parking lot. They seemed to be waiting for something. Beside her, Willie noticed, too.
“I wonder what they’re up to,” he said. “You should go ask them.”
Luna decided that was a fine idea and directed Rainbow to roll across the parking lot to meet with the bikers. A man clad mostly in leather and with lots unkept hair met her as Luna rolled down the window. “Something I can do for you, lady?”
“I was just hoping for some conversation on this fine day.” Luna smiled.
The man looked around at his fellows before turning back to Luna with an unpleasant grin. “You came to the wrong place.”
“I’m sorry, what do you mean?”
“The last weird-looking lady paid us to take care of you and your crazy cars. How nice that you just came to us.”
Without being told, Rainbow shot away as fast as she could. It took a few seconds for all the bikers to mount up and get their motorcycles started, buying all the cars a short head start.
Lyra jammed the gas nozzle back into the machine and jumped in Fluttershy’s driver seat. She trod on the accelerator and the rear tires left twin trails of rubber on the pavement while screeching almost as loudly as Fluttershy’s surprised shout.
A cacophony of voices came from the interconnected radios, hurriedly making plans for dealing with the biker gang.
“I’ve got an idea,” said Applejack. “Pinkie, get into place.”
The bakery van swerved into a trailing position behind the convoy. As the group of motorcycles closed the distance, the back doors burst open, spilling hundreds of cupcakes out onto the road. Pelted with baked goods, the bikers had no choice but to drop back.
The cars continued on. Shortly, Johnny announced that they were getting close to Chrysalis’ location. The group stopped at the entrance to a national park, located in the mountains of eastern Tennessee.
Johnny frowned in thought. “I think this place only has one main entrance. She’s expecting us to show up.”
“If we know she set up an ambush, is it still an ambush?” asked Twilight.
“It’s certainly a less effective one,” put in Kris.
“What if we sneak in to see what she’s up to?” said Rainbow.
“How are you plannin’ to do that?” asked Applejack.
“Watch this,” said the Prius. She engaged her electric motors and moved off into the forested park, quieter than the wind.
Luna and Willie kept their eyes peeled and before too long came upon a menacing-looking black car sitting in a parking lot among a small crowd of motorcycles. All were pointed away from the road, and Rainbow crept quietly by, unheard.
Luna caught a glimpse of Chrysalis talking with some bikers. Evidentially she had hired more than one group to help her.
The Princess discussed her options with Willie. A direct confrontation with a gang would not be a good idea. They would have to get Chrysalis alone.
“Those chopper-type bikes aren’t so great in the turns,” said Willie. “They don’t have a very long range, either. Rainbow, you could probably make circles in the park with them following you until they run out of gas.”
“Let’s do it!” The hybrid turned around and passed by the parking lot again, this time revving her gasoline engine to make a somewhat louder noise than before. As predicted, Chrysalis ordered the gang to give chase.
The other three cars and their passengers rolled into the parking lot after the motorcycles and the Prius had departed. Johnny stepped out of Fluttershy’s passenger seat. He approached the woman leaning casually on the black Corvette. “Queen Chrysalis, I presume. Tell me why I shouldn’t beat you to death with this guitar."
“Then you’d never know where I hid the High Energy Matter Integrator.” She smiled at him in a decidedly uncharming way.
Johnny considered that. “What if I told you that this is Willie Nelson’s guitar?”
“Get it away from me!” shrieked Chrysalis, jumping through the Corvette’s open window. Waylon Jennings would have been proud, as he was the original performer of the Dukes of Hazzard theme. Chrysalis spun the car in a half-donut towards the exit of the parking lot and zoomed away.
Johnny got back in the car with Lyra. “Follow her.”
The yellow Viper made small noises of fear. “I don’t want to do a high-speed chase.”
“Please trust me Fluttershy,” said Lyra. “I’ve read a lot about car handling and performance driving at high speed.”
Johnny shot her a look that clearly said he preferred experience over reading. He spoke to Fluttershy. “I know this is going to be difficult. I know you’re afraid. But this is very important to both of our worlds, and I know that you’re built to handle it. Let’s see some speed. Please, for me.”
The shifter slammed forward into first gear and Fluttershy took off like a shot. Chrysalis and her minion had a head start, but the roaring V-10 under the former pony’s hood seemed determined to catch up.
The two sports cars dashed through the narrow roads of the park, each pushing their limits. Lyra watched Fluttershy’s gauges, giddy with excitement at the speed. She glanced at Fluttershy’s gearshift as it climbed higher into the range than it ever had before.
The twisting roads made for strenuous tests of the brakes, tires, and suspension of both cars. Fluttershy clung tenaciously in the race, practically glued to the rear bumper of the Changeling, not giving an inch. Lyra and Johnny Cash hung on for dear life, getting tossed around by the g-forces. The guitar almost fell out the window, but Johnny held onto it.
Both cars made a rocketing loop of the roads in the park. They might have passed a group of stationary motorcycles, but there was too much speed for Lyra to be sure.
Chrysalis steered back towards the entrance of the park. Out on the highways, the chase would become more complicated with a higher volume of traffic. The front gate came into view. It was blocked and rendered impassible by two large trucks.
With a cry of frustration, Chrysalis and her minon slid to a stop, boxed in by Fluttershy and the other three cars that had been lying in wait.
“Thank you very much, gentletrucks,” said Twilight. With a little flirt-coaching by Rarity, she had found it easy to get some help from passers-by on the highway.
Johnny and Willy stepped around to the driver side of the Corvette. “Miss me, Chrysalis?” asked Willie.
She shrank back in fear as Johnny passed Trigger to Willie. He gave it a quick strum and launched into his signature hit. “On the road again…”
It didn’t take more than one refrain for Chrysalis to give in and hand over the device. She was still sobbing when the others met up to discuss what happened next.
“I want to thank you all for your help,” said Luna.
“Just doing what we love,” said Kris. “Out here making music and hunting aliens.”
“It was fun,” said Johnny. “But it’s time for me to go back now.”
Willie nodded sadly and stepped back. He swung the guitar and knocked the other man over the head with it. Johnny Cash died for the second time.
The Equestrians said their goodbyes and Luna beamed them home back to their old bodies. Chrysalis and her minion were taken away by the Royal Guards.
“Did you have a good time?” asked Celestia, greeting the group of them.
“I learned something important,” said Lyra, looking at the Princess intently. “Cars, music, and the open road. That is what made America great.”
“I’m canceling your magazine subscription,” said Luna.