The CMC's New Wagon

After cleaning and repairing the Honda, Scootaloo made a Pinkie Promise never to race alone or at night, in addition to reading the books containing info about the Honda more often. The big day had come – the Summer Harvest Parade. It was time to showcase the Honda to all of Ponyville. Granny Smith had knitted a special cover for the car that had an apple design embroidered into it. Apple Bloom draped it over the car, while Scootaloo tied it down to stop it falling off. It was made to represent the Apple Family, its passion for farming, and its strong heritage.

“What do think, Crusaders?” Sweetie Belle said. “Will this really be able to blow everyone away?”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo huffed with confidence. “Cutie Mark Crusaders, hoofbump!”

Applejack and a few members of the Apple Family gathered together and headed out of Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all jumped into the Honda and drove down the road to Ponyville to join the parade.

Octavia had also been preparing a melody for the parade’s instrument players, which was a ponified version of ‘Scotland the Brave’.

As the parade started and the drums, bagpipes, and horns began playing, the Cutie Mark Crusaders prepped themselves to join the lineup. However, Scootaloo noticed something.

“Guys, all of the floats are shaped like food! Ours doesn’t fit in!”

“Yes it does,” Sweetie Belle replied. “It fits because it’s unique. Theirs are shaped like the fruits and veggies, but ours has a cover that symbolizes our top fruit. Just because it sticks out like a sore wingtip, doesn’t mean it’s not gonna be good. C’mon, let’s go and promote the Apple Family!”

But then the stinkers – Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon – showed up.

“What do you want?” Scootaloo demanded before they could even speak. “Where’s your float? Aren’t you gonna be in the parade too?”

“Nah, we’re just here to admire yours, since blank flanks shouldn’t be in parade for that matter,” Silver Spoon sneered. Diamond Tiara began to walk around to the back of the car, approaching Sweetie Belle in a threatening posture.

Scootaloo jumped into the Honda, turned the key in the ignition, and slammed her hoof on the gas.

VROOM-VROOOOBANG! The exhaust let out a ferociously loud scream and a backfire that sounded like a gun. Everyone jumped back, except for Diamond Tiara, who was literally knocked back by the blast.

“My ears are shaking!” Sweetie Belle cried.

“What was that?” Silver Spoon exclaimed.

“I haven’t heard anything like that before,” Scootaloo replied to them all. “But it has one—”

“C’mon, Silver Spoon, let’s leave these misers to be humiliated in the parade. They’re already late! Haha!” Diamond Tiara said with a cruel laugh, although she was still traumatized by the backfire and her legs were shaking a little.

Yeah! Owned you again! Scootaloo thought with a sneaky grin, before turning to her best friends. “We gotta go now, or we’ll be late! The floats are already making their way through the town!”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom jumped into the passenger seat and Scootaloo drove off to join the parade.

As they quietly drove through town, Scootaloo began to talk about the engine’s systems while Sweetie Belle waved to the cheering crowds.

“You see, there’s a little knob in the turbo kit that I installed. It allows more air into the turbo than normal, so you can control how much boost you want. Right now it’s fully open for maximum power.”

“Shouldn’t we be more focused on the crowd?” a reminder came from the back seat.

“Right. Sorry, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo replied, blushing. She then took her turn to wave to the crowd and blow them kisses and beam happy smiles.

After a while it became clear that the Honda Civic Type R EK9 was getting the most attention, with twice as many ponies surrounding it compared to the other floats.

“I told you it wasn’t bad,” Sweetie Belle teased. “This is great!”

At the end of the road there was a sharp bend, which was easy to turn on – if you had proper steering abilities.

As the first float turned the corner, ahead of the band players, its rear wheels moved sideways a little. Scootaloo passed it off as bad driving and continued forward with the rest of the floats. But as the float in front of them turned, its rear wheels slid sideways, the front wheels turned around…and it slipped over the steep edge and crashed.

By the time Scootaloo noticed as they turned, it was too late. The Honda’s rear wheels slid on the slippery road surface and slid sideways, getting ever closer to the edge.

Acting fast, Scootaloo gave it gas, spinning the front wheels, trying to straighten the car and keep it away from the curb. Then she yanked the handbrake and spun the car 180 degrees around, stopping just feet from the edge.

“Are you okay?” Scootaloo called out, leaping out of the car and running down the muddy cliff.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the pony in the now wrecked float replied, rubbing the mud and dirt off herself.