Zipp hates her life. She's living a lie. Queen Haven keeps saying that only the royals can fly, when in reality they can't. You'd be surprised what some wires and good lighting will do.
She would do anything to really fly. Well, almost anything. But sadly, it never clicks. She hates it. She hates the way her mother forces the lie upon her, she hates how her sister doesn't care in the slightest, preferring to focus on social media which just sucks in general because ponies on there are all telling lies and acting like something they aren't, she hates it all. Sometimes she wonders if she was born at a very wrong time, born into a place of lies instead of truth.
Though, there is one thing. One thing that keeps her going, that keeps her sane, that keeps her from ending it all. A thing that is in no way a lie. A hobby that requires genuine skill, one that pushes adrenaline through you, and makes you feel like you are about to fly.
And that hobby involves only her, a mountain pass, and a
"And we're doing it because reasons?" Zipp asked as she watched her mother, Queen Haven, brush her hair.
"You know your sister loves performing. This could be a real career bump for her." Haven dismissively replied.
"Oh yeah, sure, you say that about everything." Zipp rolled her eyes. "And let me guess, I don't have a single spot in the performance?"
"I didn't think you wanted one."
"I don't. I'm not 'performing' fake flying maneuvers in front of a crowd."
"They aren't fake. It takes time and effort to create those movements with the cables."
"No, it doesn't. All you have to do is spend fifteen minutes typing a bit of code. And that's from scratch. They just slightly modify presets." Zipp became a little more aggressive with her tone. "There's no life to it. It's artificial."
"And what makes you so sure?"
Zipp stamped her hoof down. "Because It's a lie!" She suddenly yelled. "WHY do we keep lying to them? We can't fly and you know it! Why do we say we can?!"
"Because we make sure we are giving them hope." Haven was becoming more aggressive herself.
"Oh yeah! Hope! And what happens when they find out we CAN'T fly? Huh?"
"They won't find out."
"Yes, they will! And if they don't, what am I supposed to do in life? Become queen, and teach my foals to lie as well?"
"It. Gives them. Hope."
"All we ever do is lie! All ponies ever do, is lie! On the internet! Ponies are always lying about themselves! They talk about how they did this yesterday, they did that last week, bragging about what they did, forcing ponies that don't do much to lie!"
"Zipp, you can hardly say that the Internet isn't helpful. They have been plenty of ponies who have been driven out of anger and depression because of it."
"No! That is NOT true! They're just living vicariously through others, constantly watching memes or keeping themselves entertained by video games! They never do anything productive! They all snap at some point!"
"As long as they don't kill themselves, they will be fine."
Pain shot through Zipp's heart upon hearing what her mother just said.
Her tone turned cold. "So you want them to live a lie? You want your daughter to live a lie?"
"Zephyrina!" Haven turned to glare at the princess. "Do not say that! What about your life is a lie?"
"You wanna know what part is a lie? Let's see, I'm a PRINCESS. Everything just gets handed over to me! If I ask for a rare item, I get it almost immediately! And guess what? It's always some hastily put-together knockoff of the item! Plus there are the reasons I just listed!"
"Zipp, I hope you understand that you can't get everything that is 'rare'."
"That's not what I meant. I me- you know what? Nevermind! How about my own sister? She's the most disconnected out of all of us! She always slaves over her fans, barely acknowledges the world around her, I can name several things she's broadcasted about ME that I didn't want her to!"
"She's just trying to be a good sister. Zipp, you know we love you."
Zipp felt attacked. Genuinely attacked. Haven had put zero emotion into that sentence, having barely cared at how she tried to comfort her daughter. Just as long as said daughter shut up.
"No... you don't..." She said, coldly. She unfurled her wings and took ok a defensive pose. She didn't know why. It felt like instinct.
"What's going on in here?" A new, younger voice asked. Zipp didn't need to know who the technology-addicted pegasus was.
"Nothing, Pipp. Your sister is having a little blowout is all." Haven reassured.
"Oooooo! Somepony's angry!" Pipp teased, suddenly turning around and taking a selfie with Zipp's angry face just behind her.
Zipp growled as she watched her sister scroll through whatever social media page she was using, probably about to upload the picture.
"Zi-"
No sooner did Haven try to get Zipp's attention, the white pegasus swiped the phone from Pipp, holding it up with a hoof.
"Hey! Zipp-" Pipp tried to say.
"You two DISGUST ME!" Zipp interrupted. "You are ALWAYS on your phones, browsing whatever dumb thing you browse, making other ponies do and buy whatever you say they should, just because YOU LIKE IT! Why can't either of you just turn off the internet for one day? ONE. DAY!"
"Zipp, give me my phone back!" Pipp reached for her phone, but Zipp batted her away.
"No! As long as I am part of this family, you two are THROUGH with this tech! I'm tired of living a lie!" Tears began to well up in her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to fight them.
"Zipp, calm down, now." Haven sternly demanded. "Give your sister her phone back."
Zipp back up and looked between the two. From Pipp, to Haven, back to Pipp, before staring at the phone. Using a wing, she deleted the dumb photo Pipp had taken.
crack SNAP!
With zero warning, Zipp smacked the phone into the ground and stomped her hoof on it so hard it broke in two. The other two pegisides were shocked as the phone crackled a bit before losing power. Zipp just glared before walking out of the room.
"You've never loved me." She said, not looking back at them.
Zipp walked through the halls, refusing to let her tears fall. A few guards took note of her look but paid her no heed.
Until one piped up.
"Princess? Is everything alr-"
"I'm fine." Zipp interrupted.
"You seem put off-"
"I said I'm fine." Zipp glared at the guard, shutting the guard up.
About an hour later, the sun had set. Zipp was nowhere in Zephyr Heights, instead, she was on a small nearby mountain ridge. Not many knew exactly what it was called. Not because it was obscure, just because, who would care about the name of a mountain ridge? It wasn't in Zephyr Heights.
Zipp came over here partly because she was able to practice her athletic moves around the place, but also partly because of the mountain road it housed. The tarmac road was one way, narrow, and believe it or not, used to be one of the highways that allowed the Unicorns and Earth Ponies to come to Zephyr Heights. This road went by one name and one name only.
Iroha Pass
Something about it just sort of... spoke to her. Like she was meant to be here. But all she was really able to do was walk up and down it and examine the fine details of the road.
The road itself wasn't a straight line by any means. It features tight 180 degree turns with hard elevation change, straightaways, and at the end, three bridges went over three rivers. Driving on the road was nice, but there was switchback after switchback after switchback after switchback after switchback- no seriously there were TWELVE consecutive switchbacks or 'hairpins' as Zipp preferred, just in the middle part of the road.
This particular part of the road went one-way downhill. The other part of it went one-way uphill and met up further in the ridge, but it had been put out of commission long ago by a landslide. The uphill itself was probably completely fine. It's just that nopony wanted to clear the dirt.
Zipp looked down at the pass from the top, wishing she could fly just above the course, diving into each hairpin before rocketing out like a slingshot.
Sighing, she turned around and walked away from the pass, away from the fog-obscured Zephyr Heights.
Why am I the only one who thinks sensibly around here? She wondered. Everyone else is just using their phones, listening to whatever social media tells them, living vicariously through others, it's all just a lie. Nopony should be like this, yet they are. Everyone is. As a princess, I should be happy for them, but I know they aren't happy. They just act happy.
She walked through a narrow trail. Well, not narrow, but about seventy inches or so wide. Basically the width of a road lane.
"Why do I even bother..." She quietly said. "Something tells me I wasn't meant to be born in this day and age. Why can't I just travel back in time to when ponies were actually happy? Instead of this stupid life?"
She kicked a small rock into the wall. "It's not like anyone cares about me. The heiress to the throne. All they care about is Pipp because-" She put on a mocking voice. "Oooo she's so down to the ground and quirky and cool! And she sings and writes songs!" She scoffed. "I can sing too. And write songs. But unless I gain the ability to fly, I'm not gonna show anyone..."
Her pace slowed. "Maybe I should just end it all... I doubt anyone would really care after a week. It's not like I do much than to just sit there, stay out of the way, and let the 'adults' talk. I'm more mature than both Haven AND Pipp, yet nopony cares..."
She stopped upon seeing a bit of broken glass on the ground one that was sharp enough to cut through stuff if one tried, not to mention it was sturdy. She sat down and picked the shard of glass up with a wing, examining it further. It really could cut through something.
"Nopony would care." She slowly said, tears beginning to fall down her face. "I could do it, right now... and nobody would care. Everything about my life is a lie. Everything about... my life... is a lie... nobody loves me..."
She put the shard to her neck, lightly pressing it in. It was very sharp, sharp enough to where it hurt to even do this. She pulled it away, looking at it again.
Her eyes drifted up to the area in front of her as she readied the shard of glass. The area wasn't big, but it was a dead-end that had simply widened a bit. Enough to fit a small limousine.
She stopped upon seeing the machine parked a dozen feet away from her, her turquoise eyes widening.
It was a car, but not the kind she was used to. It was small and had a boxy wedge-shaped design. Zipp dropped the shard of glass and stood up, wiping the tears off her face before walking over to the car.
It was painted Holographic White, the plethora of rainbow colors dazzling her eyes as she lightly changed her point of view of the car. She had only ever seen one car with Holographic Paint, but it was an advert for one built by Unicorns. TVR Tusc... something. So seeing another car with such a paintjob was a real treat.
Her eyes noted the lack of headlights. She only saw the square indicators, a styling choice long since lost to time and trends. Who cares about simple designs when you could have overly complex curvy sequential lights?
The rims were of star-like design, being the same Holographic White Color as the rest of the car. Zipp's eyes widened as she recognized the name in the center of the rims.
HRE
"These are HRE 505s's..." She murmured, bending down and rubbing her hoof on the center of the Front Right Rim. "These haven't been made in... I don't even know how long. Centuries maybe..."
She stepped back and noted the vents situated just behind the doors. She tilted her head a little as she noticed how short the front was. It was far too small for any good engine unless it was a sub-one-liter three-cylinder with a powerful turbo.
"Is this car... mid-engined?" She wondered.
Noticing the wording on the door, small chrome letters, she tilted her head in wonder.
TwinCam Supercharged
Superchargers were more of an earth pony thing. Or at least, it wasn't a Pegasus thing. You would never see any cars in Zephyr Heights with Superchargers. Only Turbo's. Twin, and Single Setups alike. So this car was a complete enigma.
The rear was again, simple. Rectangular Taillights above rectangular reverse lights and indicators, sat upon a black rear fascia. The rear pedestal spoiler held a single wide brakelight. Zipp liked it.
And in the center of the fascia, in between the lights, was the all-important license plate.
Canterlot
SCR1979
"Canterlot?" She wondered. "Why do I feel like I should know that name? Hm..."
She noticed some wording just above the fascia, on each side. Her jaw dropped.
TRD Supercharged
Toyota MR2
And directly to the left of the license plate, were even more words.
TwinCam 20V
"No way..." She was almost totally speechless. "Toyota... that company hasn't existed in... in... centuries..."
Toyota would have been nothing but a myth if two cars hadn't been sitting in that museum. She thought. That one beat-to-crap red pickup truck, Hilux I think it was, and the other blobby sports car. Supra? Yeah. Supra.
She put a hoof on the spoiler and looked at the car. "That's why I recognized you... you're an Ancient Antique... A Toyota MR2 SC Group B, one of one hundred models equipped with a 4A-GZE 20 Valve Silvertop directly from the Toyota Racing Division... You produce 280HP from a supercharged 1.6 Liter Inline 4 that revs up to 10000RPM..."
She walked around the right side and glanced at the interior. It was Right Hoof Drive and in immaculate condition, with original upholstery and analog gauges to boot, this car was a real classic. No, Ancient Antique as the pegasus had already put it.
"Lightweight with a rigid body..." She murmured, rubbing the body. "The perfect combination for Group B Rallying..."
Curiously, she put her hoof to the right door handle and pulled. And to her surprise, it opened easily.
"How... how are you here..." Zipp asked the MR2, hoping for an answer. "You're so old, yet you're completely original. And you're just... sitting here. You had to have been parked here recently. I came to this exact place the other night and you weren't here..."
The Flightless Pegasus slowly got in and sat in the bucket seat, feeling the Recaro Seat grip her fur. The car didn't smell new, nor did it feel new. It felt like someone actually used the car. It felt great. It felt anything but a few centuries old.
Her eyes drifted to the odometer, curious to see how original this car really was. Those same eyes widened.
21770
"No... How..." She looked around the car. "How can a car so old... have so little miles..."
For some reason, she let her wing shut the door. She didn't know why. It felt like instinct. She was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of safety. She felt like with this car, she was immortal. She didn't even feel like it technically wasn't hers. It felt like she had just picked it up from the used car dealership.
She glanced down to the center console, once again surprised at what lay there.
"Sweet mother of... It's a stick shift..." She whispered, staring at the 5 Speed Stick Shifter. Five forward gears, one reverse gear. The emergency parking lever sat next to it, angled up.
Zipp put her hoof on the shifter, feeling it. She looked down at the hoofwell, spying the three pedals. She couldn't even smirk, preferring to feel the clutch with her rear left hoof. After giving each pedal a good feel, she rested her hoof back on the clutch and pushed it in.
She grabbed the stick shift and glanced at which gear was which. Then, she put it in first gear. A sense of happiness filled her as she shifted into second gear. She went through the last three.
"Up the mountain, across the stream, and down the river..." She looked down at where the stick had ended up, not knowing why she said what she did. She smiled as she brought the car out of fifth gear and left the shifter in the center.
She looked forward and relaxed into the seat, placing her hooves on the original steering wheel, bearing the letters MR2 in the middle.
A cheeky smile appeared on her face as she peered down to look for the ignition and was, again, left confused.
"Where's the button?" She asked.
Where she'd expect a button to start the car, she found only a small keyhole. It was silver.
"Is this a key for the button?" She noticed a silver key sitting on top of the steering column and wasted no time grabbing it. She was surprised to find that it had a Toyota badge on it. "Huh.."
After hesitating for a second, Zipp put the key in the keyhole. It slipped in perfectly, equivalent to a hot knife through butter. And finally, ready to look for the ignition button, she turned.
Zipp yelped as the engine roared to life, all the gauges shooting up except for the RPM gauge, which flicked up to 2000RPM before moving down to rest at about 950RPM.
A second after being filled with fear, she felt invigorated. She didn't know why, but there was something about literally cranking a car to life that felt... amazing. No, that was the understatement of the year. There was no word that could describe it.
She placed her hoof on the gas pedal and revved it a little. She could feel the engine behind her, rumbling with power. She was in control of a beautiful machine. If she were to really try to put the feeling of revving an engine into words, well... She felt great and powerful, she felt safe, and she felt invincible.
vrooooOOooommmm-vrrOOOooommmmm...
"Oh... yes..." She whispered as she listened to the Roots Supercharger whine with the engine, producing the most satisfying sound. "You can never get this tone with a turbo... that's for sure..." She found herself smiling like a goofball. Something she hadn't done in a long time.
Noticing the lack of interior lighting, and that there were no headlights present, she looked around for the light switch. She found it immediately and turned it to full bright mode, a little excited to see how the MR2's lights worked.
Oddly enough, she did see lights flick on outside, along with the interior lights, but the way they turned on was strange. It was like they had popped out of the hood.
Curious, Zipp got back out of the car and walked to the front. The MR2 continued to show surprise as it was revealed to have pop-up headlights. Pop. Up. Headlights.
"Retractable Headlights... Ohhhh... I think I'm in love..." She continued to smile as she got back in and closed the door.
Her adventurous side caused the pegasus to put the clutch in and push the parking brake down, releasing it, before grabbing the stick shift.
"Take to the sky..." She whispered as she put it in first gear, stepping on the gas and letting off the clutch. The MR2 began to move forward and through the narrow crevice she had used earlier.
She cruised along at around 5 miles per hour for a few before slowing down as she exited the crevice. She now faced the Iroha Highway.
"Pipp..." She began. "Oh Pipp Pipp Pipp... you will NEVER get your crummy hooves on this car. I will never allow you to use my Ancient Antique as a marketing product for your stupid social career. This is my car. Nopony is allowed to take it from me..."
Instinctively putting the left blinker on, she pulled out onto the road and listened to the supercharger quietly whine behind her as the revs climbed to 4000RPM.
"Down the valley..." She said as she shifted into second gear, accelerating to 25MPH. The speed limit of the road. She remembered to quickly put her seatbelt on before steering through a gentle left curve.
The car felt great as she drove around a few soft chicanes. It was responsive, the Mid-engined, Rear wheel drive layout was a real treat, and felt much different to the Lamborghini Reventon she had the pleasure of driving a few months back. She, again, didn't get it.
This car was different then any modern sports car, or supercar. It had no ABS, no Traction or Stability Control, Hydraulic Power Steering, she loved it. She felt connected to the road.
She slowed down and turned around the first of many many hairpins, 27 over the whole course to be specific, feeling the tires out. They felt brand new and built for performance, showing no signs of losing traction at this slow speed. Upon exiting, she blipped the gas and shifted into first gear, bringing the revs up to 3500RPM.
"Ohhh I'm in love... your short wheelbase let me take that corner with zero issue." Zipp said, rubbing the steering wheel.
As she drove around a few curves, she couldn't help but wonder why cars hadn't evolved very much since their invention... however long ago. Along with technology in general. It felt weird. Heck, she heard that the Honda Civic FK8 is a carbon copy of the same car from who knows how long ago! And computers had been around for, again, however long. Computers were far older than her, Pipp, and Haven combined.
What made Toyota go defunct so many moons ago? She wondered. Honda, Lamborghini, heck, even that one Earth Pony Manufacturer, Ford, have all been around for centuries. So how come they've made no progress?
She daydreamed about the first time she sat in a car. She was a filly, and if she was correct, the car in question was a Nissan Skyline C10 Station Wagon. She had only sat in it because she had admittedly gotten lost and wound up on a sweet old mare's property, who happily let her steer the car as they made their way back to the castle. She couldn't help but smile as she refocused on the sharp left hairpin just in front of her.
"Wait- OH SHOOT!" She yelped as she jerked the car to the left, severly upsetting the balance. Tires squealed as the car slid around the inside, exiting as Zipp countersteered and let go of the throttle and brake. She stabilized the car and slowly continued, realizing what she just did.
"I just... did I just drift?" She chuckled. "I just drifted a century- no, multiple-century-old car around a hairpin. Isn't this road layout as old as this car? Maybe older? Hm. Heh, that... actually felt pretty good."
She didn't know why, but she found herself accelerating a little. The engine revved right behind her, the supercharger literally whining for more. She smiled as her speed increased to a brisk 30MPH, the engine now revving to 6000RPM.
As the second Hairpin approached she braked and steered left, then jerked right to drift into the hairpin. The tires echoed through the Iroha Pass as they were pushed past their limit of grip. Zipp countersteered and pressed the throttle, yelping as the MR2 suddenly oversteered and spun around. She hit the clutch and brakes and brought the MR2 to a stop.
She breathed for a few, wondering what she had just done. She had, for the first time ever, spun out. And for some reason... she couldn't help but smile.
"Heh heh... ha..." She laughed at herself. Even though it was scary at first, it felt nice to learn the limits of the car. She felt at home on this pass. No screens broadcasting her every move, nopony trying to act all cool or professional around her, it was just her, a multi-century-year-old car, and the Iroha Pass.
"Ohhhohohh..." Her eyes narrowed, and her smile broadened. "Let's do this."
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
The tires squealed as Zipp put the pedal to the floor, straightening out the car and speeding down the pass and into the night.
"Two weeks!" Pipp excitedly said, sitting atop her throne. "Two weeks till I sing my new song at the Royal Celebration!"
"Cool..." Zipp replied dismissively, sitting on her own little throne. Her mind was on the time she found her MR2. She wanted to get back out on the Iroha Pass and practice more. She wanted to refine her technique further, become the fastest Pegasus in Zephyr Heights. If she couldn't do it in the air, she would do it on the ground. In her MR2.
"Zipp? Zipp!" Pipp squeaked.
Zipp laughed as her sister blushed, embarrassed at her accident. "What?" She asked.
Pipp pointed to the space in front of Zipp. The white pegasus looked to find Queen Haven standing in front of her.
Her smile faded. "Oh. Mom." And here's miss buzzkill.
"Haven, to you," Haven said sternly. "Is something wrong?" She curiously turned her head. "I've noticed you've been much more absent as of late."
Zipp smirked. "You actually noticed something about me?"
Haven was unamused. "Zipp, really. You seem to be thinking about something."
"I am always thinking about stuff."
"But you barely acknowledged what we were doing here. What are you thinking about?"
Zipp sighed. "Nothing much. Just some of my royal duties."
"...hm."
Haven sat back on her throne. Zipp watched as her mother sneakily put the wires back on before pulling on them, allowing her and Pipp to be hoisted back up. Acting like they were flying of course. Zipp shook her head and got off her throne, glancing outside to see the sun begin to set.
She scoffed. Why can't the night just last forever? At least then I could practice almost all the time.
To clarify, no, Zipp had not told her mother and sister about her MR2. She had originally planned to tell them, decided to not do so. Despite hating lies, she never told them because, frankly, they would probably want to put it in a museum or advertise themselves with it or something.
As she rose, Pipp watched as her older sister walked down the red carpet and into the elevator, eyeing the pegasus suspiciously.
As she and Haven unhooked the wires, she watched Zipp disappear down the elevator.
"Hey, mom?" She began.
"Yes Pipp?" Haven asked as she looked into a mirror and began to brush her hair.
"Ever wonder what Zipp gets up to at night?"
"A small bit, yes. Though she always comes back just before sunrise. And yes, I've asked, she is still a virgin. Thankfully..."
Odd thing to mention. Pipp thought. "I know she always comes back before sunrise, but she's always gone at night. She's done this for like, what? Two years?"
"Have you ever asked?"
"A few times but she always says she just sleeps somewhere else from time to time and never tells me where."
"Hm. You could just follow her. She what she does."
Pipp looked at Haven for a second, tilting her head and nodding. "Hm... yeah. Alright. I'll try it."
The 4A-GZE Silvertop rumbled as Zipp drove out of her personal garage. She looked out over the horizon as she accelerated down a bridge. The sun was just barely poking out of the horizon. This made her smirk.
"Headin' into Twilight, spreadin' out our wings tonight-night-night~" She quietly sang before looking back ahead. "We're gonna hammer downhill, and shove it into overdrive- drive-drive~ Ok that does not... I'll need to work on that."
She finally made it to the Iroha Pass and was now driving uphill. In the wrong direction of the one-way road. It's not like anypony was going to be approaching her. The highway was sealed off when the Pony Races were divided.
As she slowly drove around a hairpin, preferring to save her tires, she increased her speed again to get up to the mountain quicker. The Silvertop rumbled behind her, pumping gas through its cylinders with unmatched efficiency.
In the three years she's had the MR2, the exterior had undergone zero changes. It was perfect the way it was, and she didn't want to destroy the heritage that was the original Prismatic Paintjob. The car even continued to bear its 'Canterlot' License Plate.
On the other hoof, the handling and power were given some serious upgrades. Zipp spent almost all her free time perfecting the engine to run as efficiently and powerfully as powerful.
The first to be tuned was the Natural Aspiration. With the absolute highest quality parts, she managed to raise it to a whopping 240HP with maximum power efficiency. That may not sound light much, but coming from a 1.6 Liter Four Banger? That's a lot.
Next was the Supercharger. All it needed was fresh internals and it was raising power to an excruciating 320HP. And that was it. She physically could not raise it higher without making it power-inefficient. It was perfect.
The Handling was a breeze. After lightening the engine internals and some clever weight reduction (though not so much as to ruin the heritage of the car) she managed to achieve 50/50 weight distribution, and the suspension was so finely tuned you'd think it was a professional time attack car.
Zipp sighed and rubbed the steering wheel. "Oh Prismira... How I wish you and I could really show off what we are made of. Show that you're not some ancient piece of metal that belongs in a museum, and show that I'm not some weak princess who needs guards to protect her."
She continued uphill, the MR2 responding to her every move. "I am not like my sister. I don't post about every little thing in my life. I'm fearless, and I'm fast. Both on the ground and, hopefully soon, in the air. You and I-" She rubbed the dashboard. "We're gonna do great things together. I'll never hurt you. I'll never let anyone hurt you. You are mine."
Unknown to Zipp was that Pipp was currently running uphill trying to follow the MR2. She wasn't on the road. She was on a trail that cut up the mountain next to the road. Not parallel, but it somewhat followed the edges.
"Sheesh... heh..." Pipp was breathing hard as she ran. "Why couldn't I have taken that... running class..."
Finally reaching the top, having passed the MR2, she sat out on a viewing deck and watched the headlights of the MR2 cruising up.
"Well well well..." She snickered. "Seems like my big sister is a lawbreaker. She's driving uphill on a one-way road. But, wait hold on, what car is that?"
Pipp grabbed her phone and turned it on, turning on the video camera. She wasn't allowed to stream at night, so she would simply record it and upload it later.
"Hey everypony." She calmly said, slightly afraid Zipp would catch her. "Pipp here. And tonight, I am going to expose my sister for what she does at night!" She pointed the camera to herself and waved before redirecting it back on the pass.
"I am currently standing at the top of the Iroha Pass. I only know the name because Zipp told me. And that car right there?" She zoomed in on the White Prismatic MR2 as it slowly cruised uphill. "That right there is Zipp. And look at her. She's driving the wrong way on a one-way road. Look at that! Where does she expect to go anyways? It's blocked off."
Zipp steered around a curve before slowing down. "Alright, Prismira. Are ya ready to put the hammer down?"
She playfully revved the engine and listened to the Supercharger happily whine. She chuckled and made a three-point turn-around, now facing the downhill.
"What's she doing?" Pipp wondered.
Zipp was about to go when she noticed a certain not-so-sneaky pegasus on a viewing deck a bit higher up. She initially grimaced before sighing.
"It was bound to happen eventually." She calmly whispered. She took a deep breath in, then let it out. "Well, if she's streaming, I guess it's time I give everyone a show." She smirked. "Time to show them what their princess can do, and show them that she has been captured by Midnight and It's Spell." She paused. "Once again, that could have sounded better."
Pipp saw the MR2 begin to rev a little. First to 3000RPM, then a bit higher, then up to 8000RPM.
"Why is she doing that?" Pipp listened to the revving a little more. "Huh. I have to admit... that actually sounds pretty nice."
She looked down at the road, then back at the MR2. Her eyes widened.
"Wait, she's not gonna do what I think she's gonna do, is she?"
Zipp held the car at 4000RPM for a few seconds before suddenly letting of the clutch. The tires barely squealed as the gears perfectly grabbed each other and launched the MR2 forward with no sense of wheelspin. Zipp quickly ran through the gears. Initial Takeoff, down the valley, up the mountain, down the steam, and through the river. Her car revved all the way up to a staggering 11000RPM as she rocketed along the road.
Pipp looked at the speeding MR2, then the first ultra-tight hairpin, then back at the MR2. "What is she doing? Does she not see the hairpin?!"
Fearing for her sister's life, Pipp could only watch as the MR2 sped towards the hairpin like an unstoppable force, unable to do anything. She couldn't jump from her vantage point without risking severe injury.
Zipp took another deep breath in, calming herself.
"Alright, lil' sis." She calmly said. "Time to show you what happens When The Sun Goes Down."
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
All four tires squealed as Zipp swerved into the hairpin, sliding around the inside before putting the pedal to the metal on the exit. Everything from the Gearbox, Engine, and Steering perfectly responded to every little move.
Pipp was stupefied. She had never seen a car go around a hairpin so fast. It was like watching somepony tether themselves to a pole and strap a rocket to themselves.
"Oh my gosh..."
Without missing a beat, the Pop Star Princess took off back downhill, using a special device to hold her camera up and track the MR2. She watched as it braked and swerved into a left hairpin with unmatched efficiency, gliding around the inside before exiting and speeding down a straightaway.
Pipp crossed a hoofbridge over the road before stopping in the shadows, capturing the MR2 as it flew past. She kept running.
Zipp remained calm as she guided the MR2 around a set of high-speed curves. Left, right, left, the suspension responded beautifully. The engine roared behind her, its supercharger working wonders to improve the power.
Ding-Ding, Ding-Ding, Ding-Ding, Ding-Ding
She smiled as the speed chime came on, telling her that she had exceeded 60MPH. On a mountain pass like this, this was ludicrous.
All four tires squealed as Zipp lightly drifted around a large right sweeping curve, using little countersteer and controlling the drift with throttle control only. She skillfully flicked the MR2 into a left corner, brakelights suddenly lighting up as she swerved into a tight right hairpin.
The MR2's short wheelbase and nimble chassis allowed it to take corners faster than you would believe, and easily. The MR2 was an unpredictable car no longer. For as long as Princess Zephyrina Storm was at the wheel, her control over it was absolute.
Pipp couldn't believe what she was seeing as she continued to run along the path. Her own sister, who was seemed to prefer honesty above all else, was secretly racing on a mountain road. In an Ancient Car no less.
"You guys... are gonna... get a kick... out of this..." She panted, watching Zipp tear around yet another tight hairpin.
Zipp accelerated hard without wasting any more tire grip than she needed to. The speed chime blipped again before she braked and steered into a tight right hairpin, leaves and shrubbery whipping around in the wind the pegasus created before exiting.
She smiled as she focused on the road, knowing her sister was watching as she sped towards another hairpin. The MR2's brakelights stalled behind her as she braked, leaving beautiful trails as she braked all the way into the corner.
The entire mountain ridge seemed to rumble as Zipp pressed the throttle all the way down, letting the engine rev higher and higher before shifting up a gear.
Pipp watched her sister take corners with ease, coming to a stop as she saw the MR2 take a hairpin faster than she'd expect such an old car to take. Her eyes widened.
"Check it out guys." She said before continuing down the path. "My sister is secretly a street racer."
Zipp could swear she was hearing someone whisper in her ear. A mare telling her to go faster, to show Pipp what she could do. Show Pipp why ponies musn't shun the night. The pegasus could only smile.
"As a loyal servant of the night, I am happy to oblige."
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
She kept the MR2 steady as she tore around the inside of a hairpin, all four tires sliding before she exited mere centimeters from the guardrail and quickly shifted to a higher gear.
Despite Iroha's incredibly steep hairpins, Zipp was refining her downhill technique as much as possible. With all four cylinders firing, she shifted up to fourth gear and accelerated down another straightaway before approaching a somewhat wide hairpin. Wider than 95% of the other hairpins.
Zipp then straddled the edge of the road as she approached. She braked, downshifted, used a light countersteer to balance the car, and slid. The resulting hairpin was so fast that he made Pipp gasp from how close to the Guardrail she was. As the back of the MR2 zipped out of the turn, Zipp was already returning herself to the best gear possible.
In third gear, Zipp was in a perfect position to both clear the straightaways with ease and downshift for her Drift Run.
Shifting back down to second, the Prismatic MR2 flying so fast downhill that tree branches whipped by in her direction, Zipp braked and steered to the inside of the next hairpin. She once again accelerated hard.
Unknown to Zipp, a white glow began emitting from the MR2, its edges dark red. It was like fire in a light breeze despite her speed, and though it provided no light to the surrounding area, it was both beautiful and intimidating.
"To think." Pipp began as she watched the car. "My own sister, the heiress to the throne, is a street racer."
She continued running as Zipp flicked around another hairpin, exiting before momentarily disappearing into a tunnel. The amount of Temerity and Skill Zipp was showing felt like magic. The white glow around her car almost seemed to signify that.
"AND she's using an old car." Pipp continued, barely examining what Zipp was really doing. "You'd think she would use a Lamborghini."
Crossing a bridge, adrenaline rushed through Zipp as the road dipped harshly, causing her car to leave the ground. She felt like she was flying for two seconds before landing back on the road, the tires feeling the full force of the MR2's lightweight reinforced chassis before Zipp stabilized the car and pressed on the gas.
She chuckled as she approached the second bridge, putting her hoof to the floor.
To think nopony else takes to this pass to do this. She thought. Street Racing is my life. It's the only thing keeping me sane, the one good thing about this world. Racing. And nopony can take it away from me.
The Supercharger whined as Zipp brought the MR2 centimeters from the concrete wall of the third bridge, using all four tires to turn through. She countersteered and flicked into a right corner, Pipp having no time to properly see how efficiently the pegasus was stabilizing the car.
Pipp skidded to a stop on the left side of the road, having taken a wrong turn on the path and coming to the end. She gasped as Zipp's MR2 charged at her, the headlights blinding her.
Zipp saw her sister on the side of the road. She was surprised, but soon smiled and swerved to the left lane, her left, before smoothly jerking the car to the right and arcing right past Pipp, coming to a stop facing the opposite way. The ghostly fire faded.
She noticed Pipp's bewildered face as the light pink pegasus stared, her phone lowering. She smiled and unbuckled, getting out.
"Well?" Zipp asked, looking at her sister. "Did you like the show?"
Pipp said nothing for a few seconds before smirking.
"Pipp?"
"To think..." She quietly said. "To think you actually race."
Zipp chuckled. "Well, it wasn't easy to get to the point of driving that fast. What you just saw was the run of the fastest Pegasi in Zephyr Heights."
"Uhuh."
Zipp's smile faltered. "You didn't pay attention to any of my driving, did you?"
"What do you mean? Sure it was impressive at first but you were just driving fast."
Zipp deadpanned. "Wow. Just wow. You don't care, do you? " She began slowly stepping toward Pipp as she spoke.
"Listen. This is something completely different then what you probably think. Something I don't think you could understand. Racing fast on a mountain pass isn't something you can do within a few days unless you've trained on professional circuits. It's nothing like changing a flat tire or learning some new software to please your fans." She stopped in front of Pipp, smirking. "It's an art form."
Pipp was speechless at Zipp's attitude. Is she even my sister anymore? I feel like I'm talking to a complete stranger...
"Now, what have you got there on your phone?" Zipp asked, glancing at the phone in her sister's hoof.
Pipp looked down.
"Can I see what you recorded?"
"Why?"
"Because I want to see."
"Fine." Pipp restarted the video and let Zipp watch.
Zipp was surprised when the white glowing fire appeared around the MR2. "Woah... it looks like Unicorn Magic." She commented.
Pipp gasped. "You think a Unicorn messed with your car?"
"Nah, I would've been moving way too fast." Zipp watched as the car came to a stop. The windows were tinted, which didn't allow Zipp to be seen in the car, but she was seen when she got out.
Zipp glared at her sister. "I haven't surprised you at all, have I?"
"Only in that, I can't believe Princess Zephyrina Storm is a secret street racer." She sneered.
Zipp couldn't believe it. She had given that run her all, probably smashing a record, yet Pipp didn't seem to care. "Idea. Give me the phone for a second."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
Pipp reluctantly gave Zipp the phone, who immediately changed two things about the video. She first cut off the part where you could see it was her, and then cut any audio where Pipp spoke. She stopped suddenly and stared, debating on something.
Did she really want ponies to know about what she did? What would happen to her and her MR2 if Pipp were to actually release this video? Would ponies shun her forever? Would Haven take her MR2 away-...
No. She would not let that happen. Not now, not ever. Nothing would ever take her MR2 away. She would let them know, just not right now.
"There." She said, handing the phone back. "I want to show Zephyr Heights that there's more to life than fancy smartphones and social media. That there are ponies out there who can put it all behind them to pursue a bigger goal. A dream." She began walking back to her MR2.
Pipp grimaced when she saw that Zipp had deleted the video.
"Wait."
Zipp stopped and turned to face her. "Yeah?"
"How can a car so old, be so fast?"
"Well first, any car can be fast when you put the time, money, and passion into it. But this car was built for the Touge. It's short wheelbase and Midship Layout allow it to corner like it's on rails. And, heh. You know that really old saying? 'They don't build them like they used to'? Well, I can tell you now that they really don't build 'em like they used to."
"That doesn't mean anything. You're still a street racer."
Zipp's eyes widened before narrowing. Without a word, she got in her MR2, buckled up, and slowly accelerated. She looked at Pipp who quickly faded from her mirror.
"She doesn't know." She said, a tinge of agitation in her voice. "None of them understand right now. Nopony knows the art, the precision, the tenacity, the sheer skill and reflexes required for this level of driving. Soon, they'll all know. They'll all know the sheer power a Pegasi can have."
The MR2 responded with a 3000RPM Growl.
Zipp smiled. "Yeah. I know what you mean. Soon, they'll all know our name. They'll all know of Iroha's MR2. There's gotta be a few daring ponies ready to come to this pass and battle us. When that happens, you and I will go by one name and one name only."
Another voice echoed with hers. A low female voice, calling from the night.
