“Whoooaaaa! Holy Sweet Celestia!” Lyra Heartstrings cries as the crimson Plymouth takes a right turn. The rear swings. Christine stays on course. The radio turns on. It plays “You Could Be Mine” por Hooves ‘N Roses.
Christine races out of Ponyville. The lie of the land is flat. Ideal. Open fields. The gas pedal travels downward por itself. The engine’s roar becomes louder. Lyra grabs the leather assento as Christine passes through the 100 mi/hour speed without any struggle. Lyra’s eyes widen as she looks at the speed-o-meter. The Fury still accelerates.
105… 110… 115… 120…
Barns, trees, fences, bushes skim rapidly as Christine races through the land like a scarlet bolt.
Hehehe…You were saying?
“Oh my goodness! Please stop!!!” Lyra screams in horror. She has never experienced such speed. The regal voice taunts.
What’s the matter? You’re not enjoying yourself? But this is fun!
“Oh, por the Creator please, STOP!!!
Another song from Hooves ‘N rosas comes in the radio: “Welcome to the Jungle!”. The voice giggles.
Hihihihi! I’m just getting started!
The front of the car prances, like a wild filly. The tires don’t even touch the ground.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry I called you ridiculous! I’M SORRY! You’re the fastest, just STOP, PLEEEEASE!!!! I BEG YOU!!!!” Lyra cries in horror.
The brake activates and Christine slows down. She idles. Turns off her lights. A greenish glow illuminates the features of Lyra. It comes from the control lights of the dashboard. The V8 engine murmurs. Puffs of smoke float up from the exhaust.
Lyra recoils in fear as the green control lights unite into a pair of esmeralda dragon eyes. And those lifeless eyes were watching her. Piercing into her soul.
It’s good that you’ve apologized. I accept it. Now, we can start over.
“Let me out!” the turquoise pónei, pônei demands.
The locks click on both doors. Lyra is sealed inside.
We need to talk first.
“I have nothing to say to you! You’ve ponynapped me!!!” Lyra declares sternly, crossing her arms.
Hahaha! Did I? You’ve made your choice when you got inside.
“Why are you doing this?” Lyra asks.
Quid Pro Quo. This for that. You’re not the only one with a lot of questions. So what we’re going to do is this: You ask a question, and then I’ll ask a question. We’ll both answer honestly or the whole game is up and I’ll get mad. Trust me you wouldn’t want that.
“Fine.” Lyra agrees. “What are you?”
A car. My turn. What is this place?
“Equestria.” the turquoise pónei, pônei grins evilly, thinking: two can play that game!
Christine’s engine revs up angrily.
Okay… this is getting us nowhere.
“I agree. Let’s forget what happened and start over.” Lyra suggests.
What do you have in mind?
“The polite thing to do is to introduce yourself. I am Lyra Heartstrings. What’s your name?”
Fine. I’ll play along. Call me Christine.
*** ***
It’s almost dawn. Bon-Bon’s pacing around. She’s nervous. Her friend left with that… thing. She came home. Did not know what to do. She’s been up all night. She’s been drinking all night.
Suddenly she hears noises. Bon-Bon trots to the window. She peeks out. That thing came back. The left door opens. Lyra gets out… Unharmed! She talks to herself. The door closes. The thing goes away with a rumble. Dust. Smoke. And a strange smell.
Lyra comes inside, trots upstairs. She grins.
“You won’t believe me if I tell you what happened to me! That thing… is called a car and it’s alive…” Lyra looks into the pale, bloodshot eyes of her friend. “Oh I’m so sorry about this Bon-Bon…”
“Yeah, you’re sorry…” the earth pónei, pônei taunts, mimicking Lyra’s gestures. “Where the feno were you?! I’ve been worried sick all night! Do you have any idea what time it is?!”
“Bon-Bon, listen to me! This car is alive! You hear what I say? Her name’s Christine. I’ve told her to come por tomorrow night.” Lyra explains excitedly.
“You did WHAT?! Let me tell you, I’ve got a really bad feeling about this… car of yours! And you are certainly not going to keep it on our lawn!” Bon-Bon refuses sharply.
“Didn’t you hear me?! I’ve got a talking, thinking machine! This is HUGE!”
“I’ve heard you loud and clear. Perhaps you are the one who’s deaf! I won’t allow that thing near our house!”
“What’s the matter with you?” Lyra asks, sniffing the air. “Have you been drinking?!”
“Maybe a few glasses, who cares?! You certainly don’t! You were too busy talking to a piece of metal the entire night! I’m going to hit the hay.” Bon-Bon declares and trots into the bedroom.
“Fine!” Lyra shouts and crosses her arms on her chest.
Christine idles outside, just a few feet away from the house. She brought Lyra home. She cruised around the block for a bit. She returned to the house. The sounds of wrangling amused her. The grille deforms and distorts. It looks like a cruel grin. Or an evil snarl.
It seems it does not matter if it’s a human or a pony… I ALWAYS get what I want.
The Plymouth backs out of the front lawn and heads toward the Everfree. She’s much mais clever now. She got the information from Lyra. She knows more. She knows what matters. What’s important.
Hmm… Celestia’s about to raise the Sun.
