The night sky hung high over the city of Ponyville, its cold stare seeming to loom and overbear on all who stand underneath its presence. The air was cold, its spine shivering chill making any and all shiver in fear. High above the ground hung something unexpected, from the magnet of an old, rusty crane, which creaked and groaned with every foot it moved, rotating its cargo towards a massive, steel contraption. High above hung the crane's not-so-precious cargo...a bright red sports car, known as a Porsche 911 Turbo, its bright white headlights colliding with the dust and dirt in the air as they illuminated the empty space before it, uselessly. On the ground below stood a group of four mares, each wearing a pair of sunglasses. The first mare, a purple maned unicorn with a bright white coat, stood in the center of the group, staring up towards the red sports car. The second, a blue Pegasus with a rather prismatic mane, leaned against a low sports car, painted a deep, metallic blue. She, unlike the others, stared at the ground, kicking up a slight amount of dust with her hoof, seeming awfully bored. The third was another purple maned unicorn mare, however, she held what looked to be a control box, seeming to control the crane before them. She was focusing hard on the crane, behind her dark shades. The final mare was a smaller, pink mare, with a long pink mane that drooped down towards the ground. Her eyes were locked on, not the car, but the mare behind the wheel.
Inside, an orange mare sat, limp and asleep. Soon, however, the mare began to stir, her eyes opening to reveal a startling sight. As the car swung to a halt, her hooves were revealed to be fastened to the steering wheel. She tugged at her restrains, grunting as the power of her pulling at her restraints increasing with every moment. She looked around, before suddenly, she realized one thing.
Suddenly, with a bang, the car began to fall, a yell escaping from the mare as the car slammed into its metal prison. At all sides of her vehicle, tall metal walls stood high, their yellow paint chipping off their faces from years of use. Suddenly, a loud, robotic groan filled the air, as the walls at either side began to close in, pushing against the car, beginning to squeeze its body. With a hard tug, the mare broke free of the first restraint, followed by the second in only a moment. Suddenly, the driver window popped, shards of glass flinging into the cockpit like miniature missiles, causing the orange mare to back away, shielding herself, before looking up to the sunroof. She recoiled as the car began to buckle, before giving the sunroof a hard punch, only for it to remain solid. she gave a second punch, to no prevail. With a loud yell, she launched her hoof into the glass one final time, with success, as the glass shattered from the impact of her hoof. She looked left and right, before dragging herself from the red sports car, or...what was remaining of it at the moment. She jumped up to the top of the wall, her fore-hooves clinging to the top of the traps wall.
She winced as she began to pull herself up and over the wall, the crusher's metal walls squealing and crunching as the Porsche was destroyed. Her hooves impacted the hard dirt below, the air filled with the sounds of a sports car being crushed, as well as a few faint voices. The orange mare stepped silently towards the edge of the machine, looking around the corner. A few hundred feet away sat a running car, but in between, in the space that lie between them, were the four mares. Although in the direct path to the car, they would spot her if they saw her run.
With a faint curse, she made the split second decision, and bolted for the silver sports sedan, known as the Cadillac ATS-V, towards the driver door. As she ran, the voices behind her rang out, calling out to run after her, as well as countless slurs of profanity. She threw open the door of the sedan, sliding quickly into the drivers seat, slamming her hoof down on the start button, before throwing it into reverse and flooring the gas petal. the car roared to life as it threw itself backwards, nearly missing two of the suited mares, before she threw its manual gearbox into first gear and speeding off, dirt and rocks thrown by its massive rear tires as its engine growled into power.
Soon enough, the orange mare found herself sliding down a bumpy dirt road, dodging piles of destroyed cars, as well as other debris strewn about within what seemed to be a massive junkyard. Soon, however, the orange mare was faced with a second problem. Behind her, two sets of headlights appeared, and began to catch up quickly, revealed to be a pair of two black SUVs.
Suddenly, with a hail of sparks raining onto the asphalt, her car burst through a fence gate, the SUV's following suit. The car growled down the road furthers, flames spitting from its pipes as the orange mare within shifted gears. The car sped down the road at a blistering pace, sliding around a wide corner, narrowly missing a passing truck. Suddenly, however, yet another problem surfaced. As the SUV's kept up, their windows seemed to roll down, before a hail of gunfire erupted from the windows, shattering the rear window and lights of the sports sedan that drove ahead of the other two vehicles.
The orange mare inside screamed as the gunfire penetrated through the windows of the car, barely missing her, the sound of bullets flying over her filling her ears as she ducked. She turned the wheel hard right, sliding the car towards an empty warehouse, its rear tires spraying a wave of smoke, asphalt, and dust, before straightening out and speeding into the warehouse, white LED headlights lighting up the dark building, the car weaving back and fourth between the beams that held the building up above her and her pursuers. She looked forward, towards the exit of the warehouse, which got closer and closer at an alarming rate.
Soon, it was as if the world was in slow motion. Her eyes locked with the exit, her breathing becoming even, and the car slowly pulling out of its hectic slide. Her purple mane wove before her face, before being pushed away by a hoof. Soon, as if from nowhere, the car began to pick up speed quickly, the exhaust spitting flames once again. The sedan burst from the warehouse like a bat out of hell, sliding across the pavement, the SUVs beginning a struggle to keep up with the silver sedan.
The car continued to pick up speed, its rear tires screeching as it tore down the road, the SUV's soon pulling away, leaving the silver sedan in its own silence. Inside, the orange mare gave a sigh of relief. She looked forward once again, before driving off into the night, leaving the threat of death far behind....for now.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM
The heavy sound of bass filled the air, as lights ignited the space between two large warehouses, which have had better days, littered in graffiti and damage. In between their overbearing presence was a large group of ponies and cars, colored neon colors with wild and exotic aftermarket flares to them. Ponies would open their car's hoods to show off their engines, others were examining other's cars to check for competition.
This event, this gathering of machine and mind, was an underground racing meet, where racers challenged each other within the cover of night, racing for bragging rights, money, even for each other's cars. Engines revved loudly, electronic music blasted through the crowd, even some racers began trading smack talk. Among the crowd sat a very unsuspecting car, one that seemed to be the literal black sheep of the group, its brown paint standing out like a beacon in the night. The car was large, and very old looking, its large, boxy shape seeming out of place among the sleek, brightly painted tuners in the crowd. It body was painted a rusty brown, its right door a glossy yellow, and its hood a matte black, as well as its front bumper. Next to it stood a yellow mare, wearing a black jacket, as well as an unsuspecting bow in her red mane. She leaned against the car's body, looking to the crowd with a rather bored expression. Soon, a stallion moved towards her car, looking it over, before speaking.
"1980 Firebird...this hunk of garbage doesn't belong here."
"Neither do you, but do you see me complaining?" She gave a small retort, glaring at the stallion that continued closer towards the car. The stallion rolls his eyes, before speaking once again, getting closer to the mare.
"You sure talk hella fast, care to put your money where your mouth is?" He stops before the mare, seeming quite a bit taller than the younger mare. He looked as if he could snap her in half with a look. But, the shorter mare held her ground, glaring daggers right back at him, before speaking.
"Seven hundred bits...first one to th' corner of 1st and Green Mile wins." She retorts, her tone calm and collected. Her southern accent showed very clearly in her voice as the stallion nods in agreement, turning and walking off, leaving her with her car in the moment. She smirks and looks towards her car and opens its door, sliding into the driver's seat, embroidered in black leather all around the cockpit. She looked towards the instrument panel and turned a key, sparking the vehicle's ignition, causing the vehicle's engine to roar to life, the whine of its powerful supercharger heard in the air, the motor's sweet serenade of violence sounding out like music to its owner's ears.
With a tap of the throttle and a quick movement of the hooves, the car crawled forward, past the displays of neon and sound from the rows of decked out consumer cars and wild, vibrant paint jobs. Her car looked like a stain on the scene of the racers, as it crawled towards what seemed to be the starting line, at the very end of the alleyway. Several ponies had gathered here, many making bets against her, others making their opinions known in the air, slurs of profanity and sexism in the air. Her car slows to a halt next to another car, a white sports sedan, known as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. By the looks of it, It had several modifications done to it, from a racing body kit, to turbo modifications within. It was a serious machine. Within her own car, the mare rolled her eyes, revving her powerful V8 engine, its supercharger whining away, begging for the launch. She looks towards another stallion, who stood between the two, whom also began to speak.
"Alright, drivers! When I turn on this flashlight, you go, no exceptions!" He backs up a bit, pointing towards the four wheel driven monster, known as the Evo, who's driver gives a nod to the light holder. The stallion with the light then points to the mare, seeming to ask if she was ready. She nods, revving her engine, bringing it to around three thousand RPM, taking a deep breath. After what seemed to be an eternity, the stallion steps back by a few meters, before hitting the light.
It was like a bomb went off. Both cars exploded in a roar of sound, tires kicking up dust as both cars launched hard off the line, leaping forward like a pair of racing dogs. Both hunks of metal flew off the line like bats out of hell, towards the finish line. Off the line, the Evo's all wheel drive allows it to pick up speed fast, getting a slight lead from the Firebird. However, after nearly a hundred feet, the muscle car does something remarkable. As it seems to keep pace with foreign sports car, the mare smirk and finally puts her foot down, as if she was giving the false illusion of losing. Soon enough, he car began to pick up speed, gliding past the Lancer Evolution as if it had a pair of rockets strapped onto the back, as if the car was shot right from a gun. Its engine roared louder, flames spitting from its tailpipes with every gear shifted, flying further and further away from her opponent.
Suddenly, from one of the side roads connecting to their route, a silver sedan flings itself into a corner, turning directly towards the two racers. The yellow mare had no choice but to slam down her brakes, the heavy muscle car lurching forward as inertia takes hold, the car's forward movement continuing to propel it forward against the friction of her braking. She cuts the steering, the rusty muscle car rotating, as the silver sedan slows to a halt before her. The Evolution rips past, its loud exhaust interrupting any silence that hung in the air.
For what seemed like an eternity, the two vehicles sat before each other, side to side. The soft rumble of both engines filled the air, as the yellow mare stared at the rather badly damaged sedan, recognizable as a Cadillac of sorts. Soon, the driver door of the sedan swung open, an orange mare stepping out, her messy purple mane moving slightly in the breeze of the night. In the distance, the white Evo from before could be seen doing doughnuts, celebrating his unearned victory. The orange mare remained silent, as the yellow mare stared, seemingly in disbelief. Slowly, she opened her door, sliding out and standing behind the car door, leaning against it as she stared, speechless. Soon enough, the yellow mare spoke, a shocked tone in her voice.
"...Scootaloo?" She said, as she stepped from behind the heavy car door, swinging it shut. She walks towards the other mare, who looked bruised and beaten. There was one particular cut, underneath her eye, that was bleeding rather badly. The orange mare remains speechless, as the white Evolution passes again, revving its engine loudly as the two seem to lock eyes. Soon, the orange mare sighs and speaks.
"Yeah, its me, Apple Bloom...I dunno if you can tell or not, but i'm in so-" Suddenly, out of the blue, the yellow mare's hoof swings, smacking the mare known as Scootaloo square in her damaged face. Apple Bloom, the yellow mare, curses loudly at her.
"Where in the fuck have you been!? Sweetie Belle and I thought you were DEAD!" She yells, glaring daggers into her eyes. But, her look faded, as she pulls the mare into a tight hug. Scootaloo pauses, still reeling back from the painful smack, before sighing and embracing the hug. Apple Bloom sighs as well, before moving away, looking to the silver sedan that her friend arrived in, as well as nearly killed her with. Scootaloo speaks, coughing a bit.
"I'll spare the details, but I can say that I'm in some deep shit." She says, looking to the other mare, who returned the look. Apple Bloom shakes her head, motioning to the car.
"Get in the car, we'll talk about this back at the farm." She says, walking back to the driver's seat of the rusty hunk of metal she called a car. She opens the door, as well as Scootaloo doing the same, before sliding into her respected seat. Scootaloo, of course, follows suit, leaving the broken and mangled silver Cadillac where it lie. Apple Bloom shuts her door and starts the monstrosity of an engine, shifting into gear and turning around, leaving behind the silver car.
As the two drove along, Apple Bloom speaks. "Hoof over that bag of bits, will you?" She points to the bag, which lie on the dashboard. As Scootaloo does so, the car slows to a halt back at the alleyway, next to the white four door sports car from before. Without a word, she drops the bag before the group of ponies near the car, before stepping on the gas, driving off down the alleyway and towards the highway.
~One Hour Later~
Apple Bloom slow her car to a halt, before the ever so familiar Apple Family farm house, where the family used to control nearly all apple production for Ponyville and Canterlot. Now, fifteen years later, it was only a vast, empty field, with very few apple trees left. Scootaloo looked around in pure awe, as the car slowed to a halt in the dirt.
"What...where'd the orchards go?" Scootaloo asked, a fearful and concerned tone in her voice as she turned to her old friend. Apple Bloom shook her head to the question, sighing softly.
"I'll tell you another time, Scoots..." It was very clear to her that it was a sensitive topic, and she had no intention of explaining at the moment. Scootaloo nodded and turned to the house, which had a few lights on, signalling that other residents were inside. Apple Bloom walks ahead, after shutting off the car and locking its doors. She moved to the door, sighing. The farm house that was once home to the apple family, as it seemed, looked old, worn, and near abandoned. It wasn't exactly a welcoming sight. With a shove, the door gave way, revealing nothing but darkness and the scent of dust and cigarette smoke. Scootaloo reeled back from the heavy scent, waving a hoof before her face to try and move the scent away. Apple Bloom sighed, stepping inside, flipping a switch to turn on the light in the living room. She coughs, shaking her head before speaking angrily to herself.
"Damn dragon...If I had a bit for every time I told him to quit smoking in the house, i'd buy my own place by now." She grumbles, moving to an old, worn couch colored an ugly green. She looks to the orange Pegasus, speaking again. "Make yourself at home, I'll call Belle and wake the dragon."
"Wait, Spike's here?" She asks, seeming to perk up a bit, contrary to the depressing farm house she was standing in at the moment.
"Yeah, but to hell with him sometimes. The beast is a rude mess, after what that bitch of a princess did to him....One hell of a mechanic, though." Apple Bloom chuckles a bit, her previously harsh and angry tone seeming to disappear gradually. She smiled, looking around and sighing in what seemed to be happiness. She speaks again, turning to the new face in the home.
"You might wanna cover your ears." Apple Bloom commands. Scootaloo does as told, giving the other mare a strange look, before Apple Bloom releases a loud yell, loud enough to wake the dead. She winces as she yells for the dragon.
"SPIKE, GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE, WE GOT A GUEST!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, and soon after, a loud thud was heard on the floor upstairs, as if something, or somepony, had fallen to the ground. The yellow mare coughed a bit after her commanding yell, shaking her head as the sound of claws dragging across the floor was heard, the sound making its way from one end of the house to another, to the top of the stairs, followed by the thumping of steps, as well as creaking wood, as the being made its away down the steps. Then, she saw him, the baby dragon she once knew, one of her few friends when she was a filly. Spike.
He'd grown quite a bit, to nearly double his size, and was finally walking on all fours, rather than on two feet. He was roughly a head taller than Apple Bloom, about the size of a standard stallion. The dragon grumbles, shaking his head before freezing, as his eyes locked on the new guest in the home, the orange Pegasus known only as Scootaloo. The Pegasus stared right back, amazed at the sight before her as well. Soon, she stepped forward, eyes still locked on the purple and green dragon before her.
"S-spike..?" She says, weak with emotion as the dragon nods, a tear sliding down his face. Suddenly, as if a gun had gone off, Scootaloo leaped forward, hugging the dragon tightly as she whimpers in joy. The dragon wraps a claw around her in return, as the two simply stand in silence, holding each other. After a few moments, Apple Bloom cleared her throat, forcing the two to separate, leaving them to stand there, still in silence.
Apple Bloom speaks once again, smirking a bit. "Okay lovebirds, I've just shot a text to Sweetie Belle, and I'm sure she'll be just as happy to see you, Scoots." Scootaloo nodded, turning to face Apple Bloom, before speaking.
"So.." She paused, thinking of her words, before choosing the blunt route. "..Street racing, huh?"
Apple Bloom simply nodded, sighing. "It pays the bills. Repairs, Food, Electricity, all that shit..." She says, her voice seeming raspy still, clearly from yelling so much before and recently. She looks out towards the window, to the rusted beast of a muscle car, in all its discolored and beaten glory. Apple Bloom sighed, before turning to her old friend once again, simply smiling a bit, but weakly at that. Suddenly, the lights from the headlight of a car appeared in the window, as a blue hatchback of foreign origin slid before the home, before shutting off, and a white unicorn mare stepping out, locking the car with a remote, before sprinting towards the door. The door was ripped open, nearly off its hinges, as the white mare charged inside, embracing the orange Pegasus without hesitation, speaking frantically as she did so.
"By the princess Scootaloo! Where have you been!? Its been years!? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you ne-" Scootaloo put a hoof over her mouth, before pulling away, sighing in happiness.
"Yes, Sweetie Belle, I'm fine. I'll explain later, but for now, we should catch up. All of us should really." She said, looking to the others optimistically, but not before Apple Bloom brought up something she had said earlier, something Scootaloo hoped she had forgotten.
"Actually, Scoots...why not tell us, hm?" he looked to her, narrowing her eyes. Her mood seemed a bit sour at the moment, but not before Spike seemed to remember something, turning and digging in a stack of mail. He soon reveals a black envelope, which was rather heavy with a piece of technology, and nothing more. It seemed to be a tablet of sorts, but with no buttons or anything close. Spike speaks up, holding the envelope.
"Now, I'm glad you're all happy and dandy with each other, everyone's here, blah blah blah, but we've got mail." he chuckles, setting the device on a table, Sweetie Belle swiftly picking it up and looking at it, a bit curious. Spike, as well as everyone else, seemed curious as well. Suddenly, the screen flickered to life, revealing a suited mare of unknown origin, standing before a blue background, which looked like some sort of office. Within seconds, the mare began to speak in a digital voice.
"Congratulations. If you are seeing this, you've been selected among several other drivers, to participate in a race known as The Galaxy Run. This race holds a 25 million bit prize for the winner, and will begin on the 1st of the next month, and will end in Canterlot. A route has been attached to this tablet, and will appear in five seconds. There are no rules, and the race must be done in street legal vehicles. No exceptions." The mare says, the map appearing instead of her face. The map extended from Ponyville to Manehatten, then down the coast before turning towards Appleloosa, through the desert and up towards the Crystal Mountains, then straight towards Canterlot, which seemed to be the finish line. The group looked to each other, then back to the screen, where the mare spoke again. "There are no other rules. Good luck."
As the tablet switched itself off, the group stood in silence, before Apple Bloom spoke up. "Well, I'm in! What about you two?" She says, looking to the other two, who looked to her like she was crazy. Spike then spoke, glaring to her.
"What do you mean, you're in?" Spike glares to her. "Your car is falling apart, and you know damn well that you racing bothers me."
"And? 25 million is a TON of money! Imagine what we could do with that!" She says, nearly yelling in disbelief. She couldn't understand why Spike didn't want to take this opportunity. However, suddenly, Scootaloo looks to Spike and stands next to her friend.
"She's right, Spike. You guys could even split the money. By Tartarus, we could even split this four ways and race as a team, and you would still have enough left over to spend some on yourself." She says, giving him a glare in return. Sweetie Belle then moves to the other side of Apple Bloom, speaking as well.
"And not to mention, seeing as how much you love tech, you could hook us up with radios and monitor the road ahead for us, to ensure both victory and a safe race on our part." She says. Spike backs up and looks to the three, who stood tall. After a few moments, he shakes his head.
"Celestia, why do I listen to you three...Fine, but I expect a quarter of the winnings. Understand?" He says, and Apple Bloom practically jumps in joy, nodding before speaking.
"Absolutely!" She says, before turning to the group. "Alright, So...we need to figure out what cars we'll take. I've got my secret weapon, the Super Snake, which Sweetie Belle knows all too well."
Sweetie Belle rolls her eyes and chuckles, speaking up to state which car she'll be bringing. "I have Rarity's BMW, which she left me. Its got a good amount of power, so it should hold up. What about you Scoots?"
The two look to Scootaloo, who began to think. She thought long an hard of a possible vehicle for herself, before it dawned on her. "I've got one. I loaned my yellow RUF to Featherweight. I hope he's kept it in good condition." She says, looking to the two, who held a confused look on their faces. In the past, Scootaloo always stuck to tuners and cars capable of going sideways, so a Ger-Mane sports car was odd, to say the least. The other two shrugged and, after a few minutes of chat, they each parted ways, Scootaloo setting off to claim her vehicle, whilst Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle went off to prepare their vehicles. It would take days to prepare for such a massive race.
Author's Note
Hello all! If you've made it here, Thank you for reading. If you skimmed down here to find pictures of cars, You're in luck! I'll be including links to images of the cars belonging to each character in further chapters, as well as here.
The Evo: http://cdn.pinthiscars.com/images/white-mitsubishi-lancer-custom-wallpaper-1.jpg
Apple Bloom's Firebird: http://bondospecial.smugmug.com/1980Firebird/SOLD/i-4Gbkzgw/0/XL/Selling-the-80-Firebird-001-XL.jpg
Again, thank you for reading! Stay tuned for Chapter 2, The Journey Begins!
