Racing, New Friends, and New Rivals
I smirked a little as cameras flashed all around me, capturing the image of my insane ride. The 240SX that my parents had given be just before I moved. I drove carefully through the crowd until I got to a nice open spot, where I slammed on the gas, pulled the handbrake and spun the steering wheel, causing my car to start spinning around, throwing up a smokescreen. I rolled down the window and kept one hoof on the steering wheel as I stuck my head out the window and raised the other hoof into the air, rousing a large cheer to go through the crowd as I finally halted my car, the smell of burning rubber strong in the air.
Oh, sorry. I guess I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Silver Flare. I’m a silver stallion with a golden mane and tail, as well as a checkered flag that was on fire with smoke coming off of the right side for my cutie mark. Of course, some of my body is hidden beneath a black hooded jacket I wear all the time (along with a tattoo that I have), but that’s part of my signature style.
I started as a nobody in Equestria, but soon I grew to become quite famous as I made a name for myself quickly. While I was in school I competed in running events, and won all of them because no one could match my speed at that time. However, once I got out of school I found others who were faster than me, so I gave up competitive running and made it into more of a hobby of sorts. After that, my parents gave me a car; a 1994 Nissan 240SX S13, to be more specific. I loved the car and began to drive it around, and soon found a racing organization called the Import Knights that I could compete in, as the league was for Japanese imports only and I happened to own one. I easily won the beginning races, and I found myself making more and more money, but the races kept getting more and more difficult; therefore, I began tuning up my car and customizing the exterior and interior. It was around this time that I moved out of my parent’s house. I moved just outside of Ponyville, and the racing organization isn’t too far away, either. They set up about forty miles outside of town every weekend, and I often go down to race and to MC for them when I’m not racing that day.
Anyway, I eventually got such a reputation built for myself that eventually I found myself faced with the best racer in the league at the time; his name was Uri Fastback and he drove a Nissan 370Z. I faced him down the best I could, and I emerged victorious when the final race was decided when my 240SX did less than 7.5 seconds going down the quarter mile drag. I did win every race against him, which had been my objective anyway. After the races, he congratulated and tried to give me the keys to his ride, but I turned him down and told him to keep his car, saying he would be needing it when he faced me once more.
Today was one of the meets of the racing league, and I had showed up to race today. I stepped out of my car and smirked as the crowd cheered loudly. I then heard the MC for the day, whom we just called W (because no one actually knew his real name), up on the stage.
“Another epic entrance by our very own champion, Silver Flare!” he said as I trotted up onto the stage. “So, what’s new mate?”
“Not much, W,” I replied casually. “Just here to check out the competition and race a bit, you know how enthusiastic I am about racing.”
“Well, that is true,” W replied. “After all, you are the best racer in the league. Let’s see if anyone here can take ya today! There’s gotta be at least one person who wants a piece of you today!” He pointed with his right hoof out to the area where my opponent’s vehicles sat. I saw a Toyota Corolla AE-86, a Nissan Sentra SE-R SpecV, and a 2000 Honda Civic Si, among many other vehicles that were all customized.
“Well, I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” I replied, smiling.
“You bet we will!” W said. “Now get on outta ‘ere mate, the first race starts in five!” The crowd cheered as I then walked offstage and back to my ride, which was being crowded around by many other ponies, mainly mares. They all went crazy as I walked past, cameras flashing every second. I then stepped into my ride and headed out onto the first race; the kind of race I made my reputation off of; drag racing.
I drove up to the starting line and stopped as a race day attendant came up to me. I rolled down my window, as I knew the drill by now.
“Please pick a name from this hat, Mr. Flare,” the attendant said. I did, and the name I chose was Yang. I rolled my passenger side window down and waited for a few moments until I heard another engine come up beside me. I looked over and saw that Yang had pulled up beside me in a black and white Mazda MX-5 Miata. I nodded at him as he rolled down his window, and he nodded in response. I then turned my attention to the light tree, which was currently red. The light then flashed to the first yellow, and I began revving up my engine. The second yellow appeared, and I revved up my engine even more. The third and final yellow flashed, and I got ready to shift.
The light went green, and the race began. I slammed my hoof to the floorboards and immediately jumped ahead of Yang, my car going into a wheelie. I smiled as I shifted into second, then third, fourth and finally fifth as my car finally went back on four wheels. I then activated my nitrous and shifted to sixth gear, speeding across the finish line and then spinning my car around, producing a cloud of smoke from the burning rubber. Yang crossed the line a few seconds later, and we stepped out of our cars and looked at the scoreboard.
There had been three other drag races going on at the same time as Yang and I were tearing up the strip. It showed the rankings; eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth, fourth, third, second, and finally first. Each showed a picture of the racer, their name, their car, and their time on the quarter mile.
Yang’s time was in fourth at 11.84 seconds. I looked a little higher and saw a pony who must have been Yang’s brother, as they looked nearly identical; the color scheme was reversed but that was all. Instead of being black with white spots around the eyes, the other driver was white with black spots around the eyes. The driver’s name was Yin (I had seen that one coming), and it listed the car he drove as a Nissan Sentra. It was probably the same Sentra I had seen earlier, and his time was in second at 9.74 seconds. I then looked at the first place spot, and I wasn’t surprised to see my own face there. It showed my time as having been 7.37 seconds total. I whooped in victory as the loudspeakers rang with W’s voice.
“And it looks like our very own champion, though this can’t be a surprise to any of you, has won the first race of today!” W yelled. “He even triumphed over Yin, one of the best racers we’ve seen here at the league other than Silver himself!” I turned to Yang.
“Great race, Yang,” I said. He looked at me.
“It was a great feeling to finally meet and race you,” he replied, nodding in agreement. “However, beware my brother. He seeks to race and defeat you, taking your title.” I snorted a little.
“I haven’t ever been beaten, Yang,” I said. “And I don’t plan on losing to your brother, either. But if he wants to race me, he’s welcome to it.” Yang smiled.
“I will make sure to tell him that,” Yang said. He then got back into his Miata and drove off of the track, with me following shortly after.
I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for the next race, so I just threw another bottle of NOS into my ride, drove out to the track and waited at the starting line. The next race was a two lap circuit race, so I was to have no trouble unless someone was to cheat.
My first opponent showed up to the starting line about twenty seconds after I did, and his car was a green Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX that was customized with a carbon fiber version of the stock hood, a spoiler and a body kit. There was no vinyl’s on the car; however, there was the number 25 on all of the windows. I looked it over for a few minutes before the driver got out and walked over to me. He looked at my ride.
“You’ve got a sweet ride,” he commented.
“Thanks,” I replied. “Yours is pretty cool too.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Looking forward to racing you today, I’ve been itching to race you. I think I’ve got what it takes, too.”
“Well, we’ll see,” I said as two other racers showed up to the starting line; one was a driving a Honda Civic CX and the other had to be Yin, as the car was a Nissan Sentra. They, too, stepped out of their vehicles and trotted over to mine. I got out of my car and looked at them.
“So,” I said. “You guys ready to race?”
“Yeah,” Yin said. “I’m ready to knock you down a peg or two.” I snorted.
“Well, I hate to say it, but you’re gonna have to settle for second, buddy,” I said. “I’m not losing to anypony, believe me.”
“Well, it looks like the race is about to start,” Yin replied, looking towards the starting line, where a starter was standing. “Prepare to be defeated, Flare.” I smirked.
“You get ready to be knocked down, Yin,” I said as the other two stepped into their cars. “There’s only gonna be one winner, and it’s gonna be me.” He gave me an evil stare before stepping back into his Sentra and I hopped into my 240SX, then we all lined up at the starting line. The starter raised a checkered flag, and we revved up our engines.
The starter dropped the flag, and we all flew off of the starting line, Yin starting out in front next to me. My car accelerated away from his quickly, but as I took the first turn he came up next to me. He then tried to get ahead, but dropped back at the next turn, which was a hairpin. Instead of slowing down, I simply dropped down a gear and drifted around the corner, keeping the lead against Yin. Suddenly, the Civic appeared next to me, but I accelerated and it was lost behind me. I turned the third corner of the track and kept my speed up, but Yin slowly crept up on me. I kept him in my rearview mirror and moved in front of him constantly, making sure not to give him any openings.
I turned the last corner, speeding up as I headed for the line. I looked in my rearview and saw Yin coming up very quickly on me, heading off to my left. I went to the left to block him, but he then caught me by surprise by shunting my car.
“What the?!” I yelled in surprise as my car jerked to the right. I kept control of my ride, but I angrily brake checked him. His front end slammed into my rear bumper, crumpling them both, but he dropped back as I laughed and sped up, crossing the line and starting the final lap. I drifted around the first corner, not losing any speed. His car came up next to mine, but I quickly dropped gears and drifted around the hairpin second turn again, which he had to slow down to take once again; apparently he didn’t know how to drift. I then sped away from him as I used a bottle of NOS to gain some space from him. Considering what he’d done to the back of my car already (granted that was partially my fault), I wasn’t going to let him get near me again. I sped around the third turn and headed towards the last, with Yin far back in my rearview. I sped down the straight toward the finish, using another bottle of NOS and then skidding to a stop after I crossed the line, the starter waving a checkered flag in signal that the race was over. I smirked and revved up my engine a few more times as Yin drove over the line and pulled up next to my car, rolling down his window. I did the same.
“…Hmph,” he said. “I let you win.” I smirked.
“Just couldn’t handle my baby, could ya?” I asked him, patting the driver’s door with my hoof. “Well, maybe next time, Yin.” I stuck my hoof out to him. “Great race. Just one thing.”
“And what’s that?” he said.
“Next time we race,” I started, “if you don’t shunt me, I won’t brake check you, deal?” Yin finally smiled.
“Deal,” he replied, knocking his hoof against mine.
“Later, bro!” I said to Yin before doing a burnout and speeding away, leaving tire tracks on the tarmac.
A few hours later, the race day was coming to a close, but it wasn’t quite over yet. There was an extra prize for the winner of each race day every time there was one. The prizes ranged from extra money to performance to aftermarket visual parts like spoilers and rims, and then finally, cars. Of course, before that, the judges had to tally up scores and wins to determine who won the race day, and in the meantime, W or myself-depending on which one of us was the MC was that day-would interview a few racers about their life, hobbies, or how they thought the race day went. Today, W had interviewed Yin, Yang, another racer whom I didn’t know, and then I was up to the stage.
“So, my friend,” W said, “how do ya think that today’s racing was?”
“Pff, you already know my answer,” I replied. “But after today I’m gonna need some work on my rear fender, hint hint.” I swung my head towards Yin a couple of times, and the crowd laughed.
“Haha, well we can only hope that doesn’t happen again!” W said. “Kind of like how we can only hope your car doesn’t end up in the impound again, am I right? How many times has that 240SX seen the inside of a impound lot, anyway?”
“At least a dozen,” I said, smirking a little. “Cops don’t like that thing, lemme tell ya. They see my S13 rolling down the street, they’ve got their lights on and they’re coming after me. Even when I’m obeying traffic laws and going the speed limit. Now I obey all of the laws, mind you, but it has been impounded.”
“Ha, cops don’t like any fancy rides at ALL, mate,” W said. “I heard that your rival Uri Fastback’s 370Z has been in the impound more than a hundred times. Litrally.”
“Well, he’s got quite the reputation with cops then,” I said. “I don’t even know why my ride has been impounded as many times as it has.” I paused for a moment. “Maybe it’s because of all those unpaid parking tickets…” This roused another round of laughter from the fans.
“Well, that may be so,” W replied, still chuckling a little with that British accent of his. “Anyway, I heard from a little birdie that you’re in a garage band with a few of your friends?”
“That is true fact,” I said. “We’ve got the whole sh-bam going on with that band. A guitarist, drummer, bassist, and then the vocalists, as well as occasionally a synthesizer or keyboardist.”
“That’s totally awesome,” W said. “What are you in the band?”
“Well, I’ve got everything going on behind the scenes, so to speak,” I said. “I’m also-and you probably won’t believe this-the lead vocalist and keyboardist.” The crowd cheered loudly, and Yin and Yang looked at me with surprise.
“Whoa-ho!” W said. “That is kind of hard to believe! Do you have any sort of special clothing or anything that you ponies all wear during the shows you put on?”
“Actually, we haven’t had a show yet,” I said. “We just got this band started about a year ago in my parent’s garage. Funny story; the first time we practiced in my parent’s garage, the sound was up so loud that we attracted a crowd, broke the windows in the garage by accident, and got the cops called on us for a noise complaint.”
“Well, when you’ve got four or five ponies in one garage playing music like there’s not tomorrow, people have to expect that sort of thing,” W said. “How many are in your band?”
“Four,” I replied. “I, Shadow Soldier, Gold Star, and Takashi, but we just call Takashi ‘Blades’. Anyway, I got off track. I wear a hat that I have backwards so that part of my mane sticks out of the adjustable strap hole in the front. I think it looks cool. I also sometimes wear a pair of aviator sunglasses, but that doesn’t happen very often.”
“Well, can we get a sneak preview of what you look like, mate?” W asked me. I smirked.
“Sure, why not? I’ve got the hat in my ride.” I trotted down and grabbed the hat out of my car before going back up onto the stage and putting the hat on, turning it backwards and making sure some of my golden mane stuck out of the hole before I took the microphone from W. “So, as you can see, this is what I look like when I’m with the band,” I said, rousing a cheer from the crowd. “Hopefully one of these days we’ll get out and do a show somewhere. If we ever do, come straight to my place and I’ll make sure you get backstage access and you get to meet the whole crew!” More cheering as I smiled and handed the mike back to W.
“Well, that’s certainly an awesome look you have going there,” he said, smiling and shaking his head a little. “May I ask what the name of your band is?”
“Right now the band name is just ‘Garage Stallions’, but we hope to have a better name soon when we get a writer in the group,” I said. “You see, we don’t exactly have anypony that’s good with words in the band, so we haven’t written any actual songs. We just do cover songs of our favorite songs by our favorite bands. I actually have a tattoo of my favorite band’s logo-“ W cut me off.
“Hey, hey, why haven’t we seen it mate?” he asked. “We’re usually the first ones to see anything new about you!” I smirked a little.
“I got this tattoo before I got my car, W,” I said. “It’s hardly new at all, but I guess I’ll show it to you.” I lifted up one of the sleeves of my black hoodie until it reached the top of my leg, and there it was in black. The logo of my favorite band; simply a GC that stood for something else. The crowd whooped and cheered for a few seconds before I pulled the sleeve back down, laughing a little.
“Well, that certainly was new to us,” W remarked, still looking at my leg. “I think I’ve only got time enough for one more question, so I must ask; is there anypony you have a crush on? I know you’re single right now mate, but there’s gotta be somepony out there!” I felt my face grow hot as I thought of the one pony.
“Yeah, but I don’t have a chance with her,” I said. “I already know that.” The fans made a sound that seemed sad and sympathetic.
“Well, I feel for you, mate,” W said. “But don’t give up! There’s somepony out there waiting for ya! Now, let’s see who won this weekend’s first race day! Though I already think I know who won!” He winked at me and I smirked. Everyone in the crowd and on the stage went looked to the giant projection screen on the other side of the lot, and it projected an image of me, my ride, and my name before saying that I was the winner. The crowd cheered and I stuck my hoof in the air in victory. It also showed the runner-up of the day, Yin, who was only 580 points in total score behind me.
“Not a surprise as usual!” W said. “Our own champion here at Import Knights has won the race day once again! The runner up was Yin, who gets a consolation prize of an extra 5000 bits!” Yin smirked like crazy and collected the bag of money from an attendant who walked onto the stage. “And for the winner, we have a NEW CAR!!” I was shocked for a moment, and then jumped in the air with joy.
“WHOO-HOO!!!!!” I yelled. “I finally have a backup!” This had been the first race day that I’d raced in with the prize being a new ride. Two car engines were heard coming up next to the stage, and I looked over and saw a silver Nissan Silvia S15 and a coal black Acura RSX.
“Take your pick mate!” W said, patting me on the back. “But when you pick one, we need a reason as to why you chose it!” I smirked.
“You got it, W,” I said, “and I already made my choice. Where’re the keys to the Silvia?” An attendant trotted onto the stage and handed me the keys.
“So, what’s your reason for picking the Silvia?” W asked.
“Well, my friend, when I got my first car, my parents were originally going to give me a Silvia,” I said, “but they couldn’t find one in time for my birthday. But they found the next best thing; my 240SX.” Suddenly, another car engine was heard, but this one wasn’t an import engine; it sounded more like a muscle car.
Right then, a flaming red 1966 Ford Mustang GT tore around the corner and parked by the stage, right next to the RSX. The driver stepped out, and he looked at me.
He was a blue stallion with a brown mane and tail. He had on an adventurous hat, like the one that I’d seen Applejack wearing when I had seen her in town. He also had a set of gears with a flame covering them slightly on his flank; his cutie mark.
“Are you Silver Flare?” he asked. I was surprised.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Who are you?”
“Name’s Swift Gearheart,” he told me. “I’ve heard about you. They say you’re the best racer around. Well, that may be true when it comes to imports, but not with muscle cars, buddy!” He patted the hood of his Mustang. “I’m looking for a race. You up for it?” I smirked.
“You bet!” I replied. “I just love to race. Be warned, though; I ain’t taking it easy on ya.”
“Same here,” Swift said, smiling. “Where’s your ride?” I pointed to my slightly damaged 240SX, and he looked at it. “Sweet flame vinyls! Looks like it took a beating, though.”
“She did,” I said. “But let’s not worry about that right now; what kind of race are we gonna race?”
“How about a quarter mile drag?” he suggested, smirking. “One of my specialties!”
“That’s how I made my name, Swift,” I replied. “I’ll meet ya down there!” He then smiled and hopped back into his car before speeding towards the drag strip, with me close in pursuit.
A minute later, we were lined up on the strip, waiting for the tree to light up. We revved our engines as much as we could until the first yellow light came on. I then started doing a burnout, and then stopped as the second yellow flashed. The third one came on, and I revved my engine all the way.
The green light flashed. I slammed down on the gas and threw my car into first as it popped into a wheelie, but so did Swift’s car, jumping ahead of mine due to its acceleration. I then shifted into second and then third and fourth soon after, catching up quickly. My car went back on four wheels, as did Swift’s, and I used my NOS, shifting into fifth and then sixth. Swift’s Mustang stayed right next to my car, and we both crossed the line. I stopped on a dime, and Swift had to drift and turn around. He pulled up next to me, and we both got out of our cars and looked at the huge screen, waiting to see who had won.
Our times were displayed. Both of them were at 7.17 seconds. This was the fastest time I’d ever done with my 240SX, and the fastest time recorded at any Import Knights race day or weekend was 7.18 seconds. I had broken a record. But I hadn’t defeated Swift.
“Holy Celestia,” I said. “How did you keep up?”
“Like I said, Silver,” Swift said, grinning like a maniac, “you just can’t top muscle. I’m surprised you kept up with ME. That’s some ride you’ve got there. Whatcha got under the hood anyway?”
“A custom-built engine, pretty much,” I said. “Twin turbo system with 80 PSI total, 40 for one turbo, Cold Air Intake, six-speed transmission, custom exhaust output, custom headers, custom clutch and flywheel, custom ECU and racing chip, and direct port NOS output system. All in all, it comes out to an output of about 460 to 470 horsepower. Not a ton, but that’s quite a bit for a 1994 import.” Swift whistled.
“Celestia, you know a lot about engines,” he said. “And a lot about cars in general.”
“Thanks,” I said, hearing the crowd roaring in disbelief and excitement. “That was one of the best races I’ve had in a long time. We should race more often, competitively and non-competitive.”
“You got it,” Swift said, tipping his hat to me. I nodded at him. “Hey, you still need your fender fixed?”
“Nah, I got it,” I said. “I’ll fix it back at my place while I’m tuning up my S15.”
“Well, if ya ever need anything fixed up, come to my place. It should be pretty easy to spot; just look for the blue barn about two miles from Sweet Apple Acres.”
“Thanks,” I said. “If you ever want to race, come to my place. I don’t live to far outside of Ponyville, so I should be pretty easy to find. And if you can’t find my place, just listen for the music.”
“Music?”
“I’m in a garage band with some of my friends. We play a lot of music all the time, plus we all live in the same house.” I smirked a little. “It can be a little crazy sometimes, especially with Takashi and his swords, but for the most part it’s cool.” Swift laughed. “It does irk me that I have to fix the holes in the walls from Tak’s swords though…” Swift laughed more.
“Haha, well good luck with that!” Swift said.
“Ah, he’s probably made about four or five new holes of some sort by now,” I said. “Shadow’s the only one who can keep him from making them, and that’s cause of his magic.”
“Wow, he goes crazy with those swords, doesn’t he?” Swift asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “But he’s also foreign and swore to his family that he would keep up his practice. See, he’s used swords and blades since he was a colt, and so has his family.”
“Well, that does make sense. But I’ve gotta scoot, so I’ll catch up with ya later, alright?”
“Gotcha. See ya, Swift. Great race.” I stuck my hoof out to him, which he bumped with his own.
“See you around, Silver,” he said. He then hopped into his Mustang and roared off the track. I smirked.
“No room for second, but enough for a tie,” I said to myself. “Can’t wait to race him again.” I then got back into my 240SX and drove back to the crowd, who was screaming my name. I leaned out the window.
“Silver!” W yelled. “How do you feel about that mysterious challenger?!”
“I think he’s gonna make a good rival,” I replied, smiling as I stepped out of my car. “Especially in bigger races.”
“You mean…?” W asked.
“That’s right,” I said. “I’m moving on to larger race competitions. That doesn’t mean I won’t keep racing here though, I could never leave the place where I made my name!” The crowd cheered. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna get headed home, I’m Silver Flare, and I’m outta here for the day! PEACE!” The crowd absolutely went wild as I then hopped back into my 240SX and handed my new car keys to W. “Ya mind driving that back to my place for me? I can’t drive two cars at once you know!” W nodded and ran over to my S15 as I drove away, doing a burnout before heading out of the front entrance for racers, with W in pursuit.
The End
