Fluttershy then drove off the highway, found a way around to the other side, and drove back the way she came, this time on a very low boost setting of just 8 psi. Even so, it still made Rarity scream like she was being raped and punched. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, quite enjoyed it – no surprise there. As they turned back onto the highway heading south, Fluttershy found a wide open space and tried out the technique she’d used before to get around a tight corner at high speed.
“What are you doing—” Twilight started to ask, as Fluttershy made a quick downshift to second gear, dropped the clutch as hard as she could, and spun the steering wheel around.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaah!” Rarity screamed, this time in pain as her head banged against the side of the car. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in shock as the car started to slide sideways slightly, as Fluttershy tapped the throttle to keep the rear tires spinning and ease the slide, leaving a large plume of smoke behind her. With some interesting hoof movements she had transformed from Fluttershy to FlutterAwesome.
“What is this?” Twilight asked, gripping the roll cage to resist the swishing force exerted on her body.
Fluttershy could hardly hear her due to her extremely high concentration levels.
“FLUTTERSHY!” Twilight screamed, unknowingly resulting in a situation she didn’t expect. Fluttershy jumped to attention, accidentally pressing the throttle too hard. The car spun a full 180 degrees while simultaneously rolling backwards towards the metal guard rail.
Thinking fast, Fluttershy upshifted into third gear, let off the throttle, then stomped on it hard in a desperate attempt to drag the car forwards. However, it was not enough, and the car’s rear bumper banged and scraped against the guard rail with a hard thunk and screech. Soon, Fluttershy managed to get the car moving – but in the opposite direction of the traffic. Ripping the e-brake she spun the Supra the right way round and accelerated hard down the highway once again.
“Um…I…” Twilight began, but Fluttershy just shook her head in disappointment, and wouldn’t talk. But Rainbow Dash did.
“What.Were.You.Thinking!” she began harshly. “You caused her to apply too much speed so she almost crashed!”
Not wanting to be left out, Rarity jumped in. “Please do be considerate. It could have been a lot worse, darling. I’m glad everypony is okay. While albeit scary I do quite admire this type of driving.”
After she’d calmed down, Fluttershy spoke seriously and sternly about what happened. “Twilight, please please please don’t do that. You startled me, so I applied too much throttle. What I was doing is called ‘drifting.’ It’s where you keep a little bit of control while getting the car to slide sideways. But if you apply too much throttle, you’ll spin out and undoubtedly hit something, which is exactly what happened. Besides, I’ve only done this once before and that was a long time ago.
“Now she’s gotta tell Justin that she damaged his car,” Rainbow snapped, clearly still upset.
Twilight didn’t stop to talk to her friends as Fluttershy drove up the narrow road and onto the driveway. She climbed out and headed straight for the back door.
“Twilight, wait!” Spike called, running after her.
“So, how did it go?” Applejack asked Rainbow Dash and Rarity as they climbed out of the trunk.
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Rainbow said with massive enthusiasm. “I love that car! It is bit difficult to control and rather loud to be honest though.”
Rarity wobbled a little, as she wasn’t used to sitting on her hindquarters like a human. “That was scary! Scary, yes, but also thrilling. I’m not one for crazy fast speeds, but once you’re going fairly fast in that machine, you feel fabulous! It really isn’t about the power, it’s the surprise of how the power hits you.”
Next it was the turn of Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Starlight Glimmer.
“What’s going on with Twilight?” Starlight asked, as Fluttershy showed her how to fasten the 5-point safety racing harness.
Fluttershy sighed and was about to tell her all about the near-crash experience when Applejack said, “Wait a second, sugarcube. I was sugar sure I saw a dent and a few nasty scrapes in the back corner. Did you—”
“—Yes, I did,” Fluttershy spat out in a sad voice. “I was showing Twilight and the others what drifting was, and then Twilight tried to tell me something, but I didn’t respond, so she shouted, and I got startled…and I ended up spinning out!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand you hit the guard rail,” Applejack finished. “It’s all right. If you’re honest and kind with Justin, I’m sure he won’t be too mad. Now let’s have a nice drive, shall we?”
Gulping with confession, Fluttershy restarted the 2JZ engine, made sure Starlight and Pinkie Pie were strapped in securely, and drove back onto the highway – this time heading south.
“So, what is it about this car that makes it so enjoyable?” Starlight asked, eagerly observing the dashboard and the gauge cluster.
Fluttershy then explained all the details of driving, and how the boost controller worked. Like Twilight, she learned fast, and locked onto the key facts quickly.
“It’s all down to how much you want,” Fluttershy concluded, talking about the boost controller. “Maximum amount is 42 psi, and Rarity almost passed out from 20 psi, so I’m tuning it down to 8 psi.”
Just then, a red 1987 Buick Grand National came roaring past them at high speed. Before anyone could make a compliment, Fluttershy threw the car into third gear and chased after it.
“Hey, hold your hooves!” Applejack commented as she was sharply pushed back in her seat from the acceleration force.
Starlight, however, wasn’t screaming from the power – she was just plain shocked. Pinkie as usual, let out a “Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” of delight and fun.
It took a mere minute to catch up to the Grand National – and the guy in it noticed Fluttershy. Normally one would be shocked to see a cute yellow pony driving a Toyota Supra, but the guy just kept going, pushing his V6 harder and harder, trying to go faster. Clearly he wasn’t going down without a fight, so Fluttershy switched lanes and accelerated, spooling up the massive turbo and flying (literally) once again.
Pinkie Pie shot the Buick a mocking wave and wink as the Supra rolled past. With a few cars travelling rather slowly down the road, Fluttershy then slowed down to 110 km/h.
“I think I might want to become a mechanic,” Starlight Glimmer said with an eager smile. “Seriously, there is a ton of interesting and intriguing parts, mechanisms, and more to this car. By the way, what’s that?” She pointed to the large display below the A/C controls and the boost gauge.
“That’s a headunit,” Fluttershy replied proudly. “It’s like a computer. You can play movies, music, radio, and more on it.” She pressed and held a button on it, turning the display on. Logging into the main administrative account, she flipped on the radio. None of her favorite songs were playing, so she switched to the main music library stored on the headunit’s internal storage drive. It took some time, but she recognized a few titles, tapping on one to try it out.
The song started out solemn and sorrowful, before breaking into a crazy and catchy dance-type rhythm. Pinkie Pie started dancing so much that her legs started to bang against the roll cage, making rather loud bangs and clanking sounds.
“Um, could you stop please?” Fluttershy said, her head and upper body still struggling not to bounce in sync to the rhythm. “It is getting rather annoying.”
However, Pinkie Pie ignored the shy comment and continued dancing in the back of the Supra, minimizing her movements ever so slightly. Until the song stopped, and then she stopped.
“I haven’t heard anything like that!” Applejack exclaimed. “Who sang that? His voice is sweeter than sugar cubes.”
Fluttershy’s mouth twisted as she tried not to mess up the name. “A young singer from up north, in another country – a country is like another empire, if you can think of it that way. His name is Justin Bieber. I came across this song on the radio when I first drove the Supra, and instantly fell in love with it, even though I didn't expect to. Here’s another one.” She tapped the next song on the list. This one wasn’t as hardcore when it came to the beats, but overall was just as catchy. What was ironic was how Justin was describing how he worried if it was too late to say sorry for acts of wrongdoing he had done earlier in life, yet the song had a catchy dance beat. The lyrics suggested a solemn, sad tone, yet the music projected an upbeat, dance-oriented atmosphere.
“I love this music!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I’m definitely using it for our party tonight!”
Fluttershy smiled, happy that the music from her favorite singer would be known to all and enjoyed.
“Can you what you did with Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.
Fluttershy sighed with a chuckle. “All right.”
Easing out onto an open stretch of road that curved slightly, she dropped the clutch hard, briefly ripped the e-brake, and spun the wheel, being touchy with the throttle. The car slid sideways, kicking up a trail of smoke in the process at slightly over 70 mph.
“Yee’haw!” Appplejack whooped.
Fluttershy grinned with joy at her friends’ delight of drifting. It was a task that took a lot of dedication and accuracy, but once perfected, it was a sweet thrill.
Unfortunately, the four friends hadn’t taken into account the inconspicuous cops up the road, who were dealing with a small accident. Fluttershy immediately yanked the Supra out of drifting line and slowed down. But one of the officers still noticed and took off after her.
Starlight Glimmer slapped her face with a hoof. “We’re in big trouble now!”