Chapters It was just an ordinary day in Equestria: the sun was out, non-nocturnal wildlife was out and about, the weather was the perfect balance between warm and cool, many were enjoying the leisurely weather, and, as usual, the Everfree Forest stood dark and imposing. Except, today was going to drastically become unordinary, more so than when the Elements of Harmony had to take action.
A white portal massive enough to span the entire Everfree suddenly opened up just above the forest's treeline before slowly descending on the forest, enveloping every last blade of its grass as it covered the entire ground. The mysterious portal paused for a few seconds, before beginning to slowly rise again... and revealing something much different as it did.
It began to reveal... buildings; buildings that appeared to be made of concrete. While concrete structures were relatively new in Equestria, these ones appeared to be much more advanced: though they also had windows, they were all varying sizes, with the shorter ones being fully revealed within 10 seconds, and the taller ones seeming to keep extending infinitely into the portal.
With the buildings came roads, ones that appeared to be composed of an unknown, black, stone-like substance (asphalt). Most of the roads laid flat against the ground, only rising and falling with the level of the ground underneath, but a number of them were in the air, held in place by cement pillars.
Additionally, there were railroad tracks, extra long roads (freeways), large, multilevel concrete structures (parking garages), and numerous alleys, warehouses, and bridges. Dotted throughout the mysterious city were oversized wooden boards (billboards), and black gates with red "RESTRICTED AREA" warning signs (security gates).
On the streets were countless large, moving, relatively loud machines that appeared to be made of metal... yet none of them looked like regular carriages or chariots, and they rode on metal wheels wrapped with black rubber (automobiles). Though unknown to all but one Equestrian resident, most of them didn't look special, being painted a single, glossy-but-often plain color. A much smaller number were painted black and white, decorated with numbers and words painted on their exteriors, multiple antennas, a brush guard on their front with one small red and one small blue light, and a light bar on their tops: one side was all red lights, the other side was all blue lights.
Finally, also dotted throughout the city were a number of other machines, in some cases, more than one of the same machine was in a different location, but all of them were unique... and they looked fast, sometimes adorned with different-colored patterns on their exterior, but all with badges that identified them as no ordinary machines of their type.
Vantage. SVT Raptor. SRT8. Countach. ZR1. Mustang. Lancer Evolution. Viper. R8. B2. Continental. M3. Carrera S. GT.
These were just some of the names of the dozens of beasts that silently laid in wait, waiting for the right pilot to come along and take control of them.
Finally, the tallest buildings were uncovered by the portal, which continued to slowly rise, before rapidly shrinking and disappearing in a brief flash of light.
And there was only one pony that witnessed this, who immediately bolted off towards Ponyville to inform the town's librarian after the whole spectacle ended.
* * * * * * * * * *
Very few were surprised to see a certain pink, poofy-maned earth pony mare streaking through the towns streets, and fewer, if any less, were alarmed by the urgency in her voice; she often made a big deal out of things not many viewed as being serious.
"Twilight! Twiiiliiight!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Twilight, who had been silently reading a book and jotting down notes on a separate piece of paper, was so startled that she drew the quill she held in the grasp of her magic in a large swiping motion; good thing she had lifted it off of the paper, otherwise it would have been a very bad day for her.
"Pinkie!" She snapped irately. "How many times have I told you to not startle me while I'm studying!?"
"I'msorryTwilightit'sjustIsawsomethingamazingandIdidn'tknowwhatIshoulddoso-" The hyper earth pony in question still spoke loudly, only now at a mile a minute, before being cut off by a purple hoof covering her mouth.
"Slow down, speak at a normal pace, and use your inside voice." The purple unicorn said flatly.
"I'm sorry Twilight it's just I saw something amazing and I didn't know what I should do so I came here to tell you!" Pinkie responded at a slightly lower volume and moderately slower pace.
This caught Twilight's interest.
"What did you see?" She asked with a hint of weariness.
"I saw this huge glowing portal open up over the Everfree Forest, and it lowered and covered the entire forest and made it disappear, and then it moved back into the air and revealed a whole city as big as the Everfree!" Pinkie still managed to keep the volume of her voice slightly below a shout as she excitedly explained what she had witnessed.
Twilight went dead still as her heart skipped a few beats and she stopped breathing for a few moments. The purple unicorn flipped back a couple of pages in the book she had been reading. Did it really?...
"No way..." She whispered softly.
"What way?" Pinkie asked in her usual humorously often-ignorant manner.
"I was experimenting with a spell that would open a portal between two different dimensions and bring through something from the other dimension, and what you just described matches the description of what the spell's effect should look like if it's cast properly. But I didn't intend to transport an entire city, nor did I intend it to do that..." Twilight explained. "Let's go check it out."
* * * * * * * * * *
When the two of them arrived at the site, it was unchanged: the sprawling city was unchanged, hadn't moved an inch, and still had those mysterious metal carriages idly cruising through the streets. It was one of the very rare times Twilight was struck speechless.
"We need to inform Prin-" Twilight finally spoke after a tense silence, but was quickly cut off by Pinkie.
"No we don't." She said simply, making Twilight sputter briefly.
"Why shouldn't the Princesses be the ones we inform?" She asked skeptically.
"Because I know one pony that's seen these things before, come on!" Pinkie said before racing off, forcing Twi to rush to catch up.
"What are you talking about?" The purple unicorn asked her friend.
"I know a pony that explores different dimensions and knows these machines like the back of his hoof!" The earth pony called out over the sound of their hooves thumping against the ground.
"This pony does WHAT?!" Twilight said with very clear shock.
"He'll explain it when we get there, right now, we've gotta move before some ponies get too curious and starts something bad!" Pinkie shouted back, which was enough to make Twilight really push herself.
After about 30 seconds of running, a lone house grew visible in the distance.
"There he is!" Pinkie shouted.
As they neared, Twilight noticed that the smallish, single-story house had a currently open garage, and sitting in the garage was... another non pony-powered carriage, but this one was different. It was small and painted a glossy red, though its roof was very dark gray, almost black. Its wheels were smaller than those on the carriages that were in the city, and as they got even closer, she could see its small cockpit had only two seats. And though it was far sleeker than even the Royal Chariots, it didn't seem to say "fast".
The large panel on top of the carriage's front end (hood) was currently propped open, and there was a brown pony with a black tail hunched over the mass of metal, wires, hoses, and pulleys (engine) that lay in the large cavity (engine compartment). But what made this pony stand out were two large, black, bat-like wings portruding from his back.
"Night Rider!" Pinkie shouted at a volume that was probably higher than necessary, but was still enough to get the pony's attention regardless.
They appeared to be slightly startled, but they turned towards the two rapidly approaching mares anyway. Twilight managed to not flinch at the stallion's (she could now confirm that it was a male) two small fangs and yellow, cat-like eyes.
Yup; this guy was a bat pony.
Twilight found her eyes drawn to his unusual cutie mark, two wrenches crossed behind a wheel, but quickly averted her gaze when she realized that she had essentially been staring at his butt.
"Yeah?" He said in a voice that, while on the deep side, was not nearly as deep as most male Royal Guards.
"We need your help!" Pinkie said, only slightly lowering her voice's volume.
"With what?" Night Rider asked, now sounding slightly annoyed as he laid his ears flat against his head.
"There's a mysterious city that's showed up in place of the Everfree Forest and there are hundreds of cars and trucks roaming the streets!"
The bat pony's ears shot up straight at this information.
"How'd this city get here?" He asked.
"I was trying out a spell that allows the user to bring objects from other dimensions into ours, it ended up being much bigger than I had anticipated, and I didn't know about the city until about a minute and a half ago." Twilight explained.
Rider paused.
"Well, I've heard of small things being transported here from other dimensions, but this is a new one for me." He said.
"I know!" Pinkie said. "You're the only pony I know of that knows anything about autos so we came here!"
"..."
"... Let's go." The bat pony said after a short silence, closing his car's hood and getting into the driver's seat.
"Why do you need to arrive there driving?" Twilight asked.
"Because you need to own and drive your own set of wheels for racers to even consider taking you seriously." Rider replied while firing up the motor. "Now let's move!"
Porsche 911 (991) Carrera S, Pt. 1
"So let me see if I understand this." Twilight said, voice heavy with skepticism as she, Pinkie, and Night arrived at the city's entrance. "You have a remote, made by Discord himself, that allows you to travel to and from other universes?"
"Yes." The bat pony said simply.
"How did you even get something like that in the first place?" The purple unicorn asked still disbelievingly.
"It's something that Discord gave to my very ancient ancestors before the first time he was sealed in stone, and it's been passed down through my family ever since." He explained happily as he stepped out of his car. "Autos and motor vehicles in general just happened to be our biggest interest, so over the years we brought back some as souvenirs, I practiced driving and then racing in my dad's car, then sometime later, I tried out a few that caught my interest in a world where vehicle handling and physics are essentially just like they are in some other reality, and I liked this one the most. And as a bonus, because it's such a popular model from the reality I got it from, it's easy to get parts for it."
That makes sense... kind of... Twilight thought to herself. But then again, this guy seems to defy reality in some ways... just like Discord.
By now, a hoofful of curious residents had arrived at the city's entrance; they were the remaining 4 Elements of Harmony, Spike... and, for some reason, Discord.
"What is he doing here?" Twilight asked flatly.
"Night here called me up on the way here." The draconequess replied plainly.
"Why?"
"Because," the bat pony in question stepped in, "Discord has been a wingman, or wingpony, for my family during our travels; he's guided us when we needed guidance."
"How, he's been encased in stone twice, hasn't he?" The purple unicorn pointed out.
"Twilight, I am a being of chaotic magic; even if I'm encased in stone in one universe, I'm free to explore any other universe if I please."
Twilight would have asked how, but the comment about him being an entity of chaotic magic stopped her; he could defy this universe's laws of reality in just about every way possible... much like Pinkie Pie.
"Can somepony please explain what in tarnation is goin' on here?" AJ finally spoke what almost everpony present was thinking.
"Twilight was trying out an inter-dimensional spell and accidentally brought this here." Night Rider gave a simple version of what happened.
"So why are they here?" The farm pony asked, obviously referring to the bat pony and draconequess.
"I've been to this kind of universe before, and Discord has always walked me through how things worked in each one." Rider responded. "But I've never seen this particular one before."
"So then what are those weird-looking carriage... things?" A hovering Rainbow Dash asked.
"They're things that normally don't exist anywhere on the planet in this dimension, but the good news is that they're only machines; they're not self-aware or alive or anything freaky like that. They only go like they do if there's somebody working their controls."
"But these things don't look like they're designed for ponies to operate." Spike chimed in.
"You're right Spike, they aren't; that's why they've never been made anywhere on this planet in this dimension, though that's also because they have some sizable drawbacks; I'd explain what they are, but there's no time for that."
"Wait, won't some of these pilots leave this place to explore Equestria?" Twilight asked, now sounding worried.
"The police and regular drivers, not a chance. As for the racers, they might exit the city, but I'd be surprised if they went more than a block away. Besides, from what little I know about this city, it looks like only a handful of the vehicles here are actually fast off road. Now, Discord," Night turned to face the obvious oddball of the group. "How experienced are you in evading the cops?"
"It's been at least 300 years since the last time I did that." Discord said bluntly.
"Okay then, how experienced are you in guiding somepony evading the cops?"
"It's the only thing I've done since the second time I was imprisoned."
"Good. You'll be my wingman." The bat pony said, prompting looks of surprise from everypony else present.
"I've been to more than a few universes where folks race these machines on public streets for sport, but this particular one is new to me. If I get in way over my head in a bad situation, Discord can get me out of there." Night explained blankly. "And anyway, it's been awhile since I drove something seriously fast, or at least faster than my car, and I'm the only one here that we know for sure will be able to handle whatever drivable vehicles lay in the city."
"Wouldn't racing in that manner on public streets be illegal?" Rarity asked.
"It is." Rider said. "That's why you've gotta be able to successfully evade the 5-0. I've done so more than 30 times, once, in a dumptruck."
All of them were then startled by three high-pitched voices shouting all at once.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS STREET RACERS YAY!!"
"Not gonna happen!" Night Rider shouted back in the direction of the bush the voices had come from.
"Awwwwww!" All three fillies emerged from the bush with their best puppy eyes on.
"I know the three of you want to earn your cutie marks, but that doesn't mean you have to try something extremely dangerous." The bat pony said without even the slightest hint of sympathy. "Besides, Discord and I are the only two here with any experience driving these machines, and he hasn't done so for more than 300 years; I, on the other hand, drive almost every day."
"But we can get the hang of it with practice!" Apple Bloom protested.
"Yes, but none of you are tall enough to be able to see over the steering wheel, even the slowest of these things I'm betting are still much faster than even Twilight anticipates, and we don't have that kind of time on our side."
That reasoning was enough to derail any excuses the trio could possibly come up with.
"And none of you can officially join me, either." Rider said to the Elements.
"Why not?" Rainbow protested. "I can beat these guys with all four of my hooves tied together!"
"In case you haven't noticed, these things don't have wings; the only way they can acheive anything even resembling flight is by either driving fast off a surface above ground level or driving at high speeds up a path angled upwards that then either levels off or ends abruptly. 'Sides, even the lightest ones are still a good deal heavier than ponies; they use physics vastly different than ours." Rider said, now starting to sound a bit impatient.
He turned to the draconequess.
"You picking up any magic signatures?" He asked.
"Actually yes, there's one coming up fast from the left." Discord replied.
Just as he finished, a colored blur whizzed by emitting a thundering roar that made almost everybody present jump; Discord appeared nonplussed and Night didn't even blink when the blur passed by only half a foot in from of him. A single white sheet of paper floated down and landed at the bat pony's hooves. He picked it up and began to read it silently.
Hello. We've lately become bored with only racing each other due to a lack of worthy challengers; for that reason, we extend this challenge to anybody that's capable: take every set of wheels we have, win every race, and ultimately beat us. If you can prove yourself, we'll race you whenever you're ready.
- Fairhaven's 10 Most Wanted
Silence filled the air.
"..."
"..."
"... Well..." Night spoke after a longish pause. "This just got much more interesting. You know where we're supposed to go, Disco?"
"Yes, I'm picking up an equally strong magic signature... that way." Discord said while pointing in one direction.
"Let's roll."
The two disappeared in a flash of white light.
* * * * * * * * * *
Welcome to the city of Fairhaven. Said an unknown female voice. Home to the most intense street racing on the planet.
10 drivers rule these streets; always on the run from the cops, they drive the best cars, and dominate the city.
They are the Most Wanted. To join this elite group, you need to earn the right to race them. Beat them all, and you'll be #1: Fairhaven's most wanted driver.
To do that, you'll need cars, lots of cars.
Spread out across the city are some of the hottest cars ever made. If you can find them, you can drive them; to own one, simply drive up to a jack spot, and jump in.
Follow the route marked on your map to your first car; the streets are waiting.
* * * * * * * * * *
Rider finally took control of a silver Aston Martin V12 Vantage, nimbly zipping along a freeway.
"Just when things couldn't get any better, huh?" The bat pony said.
"I've seen worse." Discord replied. "Anyway, your destination is 1.6 miles away, just stay on the highlighted route and you should be fine."
"How do I earn the right to race the Top 10?" Night asked.
"Apparently, winning races and performing certain actions will earn you 'Speed Points', or 'SP'; you have to accumulate enough of them to be able to race the Most Wanted. According to this, you need 60,000 to race #10."
"Alright, and how much for #1?" The bat pony asked as he continued along the freeway.
"One million."
... Woah. Then again, they were the top racer in the city; there wasn't a chance in Tartarus that they'd race just anybody.
Rider put the pedal to the metal as he approached a long straight that spanned a bridge, managing to hit 135 miles per hour before the wide left hairpin at the end. When he did reach it, a message popped up:
TAP BRAKE TO DRIFT
Alright then. He left off the throttle and tapped the brakes then got back on the gas, causing the car's back end to step out in a shallow-angled drift. But he didn't blame himself for taking it easy; after all, he had never been in this dimension before, so he had no idea what its physics were like.
It felt like they would have a steeper learning curve compared to other racing universes he'd been too, but he was sure he'd have it down with enough practice. He pulled a short drift in a wide right hander that followed, then raced down a straight, through a toll taking station, and into a tunnel that curved right, sharper than either of the first two turns.
That didn't stop him from drifting through it, though. The tunnel straightened out for a brief time, then ended just after the road began to curve left. The open air only lasted for just under a second before the road was again covered by a tunnel as the road curved right.
After the turn, the tunnel ended in what was best described as a downtown area. As he raced down the street, a small station with a "KNOCKING BROTHERS" sign rotating on top passed by on his left. Moments later, a steering wheel showed up on the right side of the road on the map.
Rider braked hard and turned towards the wheel, with a yellow, seventh gen Porsche 911 (991) coming into view with its badge hovering above it. The lack of a body kit identified it as an ordinary Carrera, though judging by the acceleration of the Vantage, it was most likely a more powerful Carrera S model.
You found your first car. There are many out there waiting for you. Just look for the vehicles with badges above them.
The bat pony stepped out of the Aston, closed the door, and slipped into the Porsche.
Vehicle unlocked: Porsche 911 Carrera S
Every car you find has its own set of races. These can be accessed at any time using EasyDrive.
Keys To The City > Easy > Sprint Race > 12,000 SP for 1st
Off-road tires for 1st
Burn nitrous for 2nd
Distance to event: 0.0 miles
Choose 'Set Destination' to find your first race.
A route to the start line will appear on your map, follow it to the race start.
The race start was, at most, a block away; definitely not enough time for Rider to get comfortable with his new wheels, but he could adapt to driving new vehicles pretty quickly.
To start the race, pull up to the checkpoint and spin your wheels.
Rider did exactly that, and started the very first event.
* * * * * * * * * *
A silver Aston Martin V12 Vantage turned left onto another street, now rapidly catching up to an already moving yellow Porsche 911 Carrera S. The Aston moved to the left and pulled slightly ahead of the Porsche. The race was on.
Distance: 2.4 miles. On the long side, but his average speed would be much higher than that.
The two cars barreled down the street with a duet of racing motors, before the first obstacle came up: a right turn. It wasn't super sharp or anything, but with the speed Rider was carrying as he approached the turn, it would be tricky to clear; at least, until he got a good grip on this city's vehicle physics.
The bat pony tapped the e-brake and turned, getting the car to slide through the corner, and successfully passing his opponent on the outside. Distance: 2.1 miles. Even though Night was far from mastering the characteristics of this car (or any, for that matter), he should be able to hold the lead all the way to the finish.
The bat pony charged down the straight (only broken up by a gentle left), spurred on by the howl of the flat-6 suspended behind the rear tires, and blew through a checkpoint. As the left continued, he slightly eased off the throttle to give him more control over the car's direction, but only for a moment; he was back on the gas in under half a second.
The road straightened out, then curved right, though this time, Night didn't let off the gas at all. Ahead, the road straightened again, then curved left. As he cleared it, the route straightened, and this time stayed straight.
At least, until the route turned right. Thankfully, Night had no problem speeding through it. As he approached a bridge, however, he noticed a center route with a billboard suspended above the entrance, and a noticeable ramp rising from the ground.
What the heck, I've got time.
Rider steered the Porsche onto the center path, hit the ramp, and soared through the air...
SMASH
Flying right through a billboard before landing. That was fun. The route turned left, then right to stay on the road. Checkpoint. By now, he had pulled out a decent lead over the Vantage. But up ahead, the route turned left... a rather sharp left. Time to see just how well he had adapted so far.
The bat pony braked, turned, and cleared it without a hitch, before doing the same with the sharper right that soon followed. Afterwards, the road mostly straightened out, before making a wide left; when Rider cleared the checkpoint in the corner, he noticed that it was just half a mile to the finish.
The road went straight as it went under an overpass, continued on straight for a short time, then made a gentle left. In the middle of the turn, the distance counter went from fractions of a mile to yards. Almost there!
He put the pedal to the metal and barreled across the finish line.
Keys To The City
Finished 1st
Mods unlocked
Off-road tires available
Burn nitrous available
Finishing first or second wins Mods for your car. Fit these immediately for an instant upgrade.
Or use EasyDrive later to change your tires, nitrous, chassis, body, or transmission.
Burn nitrous (Standard): Increases engine power while active, improving acceleration and top speed.
Off-road tires (Standard): Improves off-road performance at the expense of on-tarmac performance.
Speed Points take you up the Most Wanted list and racing is just one way to win them. Pick up more by smashing through billboards, blasting past speed cameras, destroying security gates, or escaping the cops.
Autolog tracks every speed point you earn. The more you earn, the closer you get to taking on the Most Wanted Drivers, and dominating your friends.
Want to check your progress? EasyDrive is there to help you hunt down all the challenges across the city. What happens next is up to you...
"Disco." Rider finally spoke. "Just how many cars are there in this city?"
"According to this list," Discord said, "not counting the 10 Most Wanted, there are... 31. And there are at least 2 of every one, each in a different location."
"So, there are more than 62 cars to find?" Rider asked.
"Yes."
...
... Meh, this was a street racing city, after all.
"I have a list of the non-Top 10 vehicles if your interested, they're even in there proper classes." Discord broke the silence.
"Might as well, this way I'll know just what I'll be dealing with." The bat pony said.
Muscle:
BMW M3 Coupe
Dodge Challenger SRT8 392
Ford Mustang Boss 302
(Most Wanted)
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
(Most Wanted)
SRT Viper GTS
Sports:
Aston Martin V12 Vantage
Audi R8 GT Spyder
Nissan GT-R Egoist
Porsche 911 Carrera S
Lamborghini Countach
Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0
Lamborghini Gallardo
(Most Wanted)
Tesla Roadster Sport
Jaguar XKR
Marussia B2
Everyday
Subaru Cosworth Impreza
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
Lancia Delta HF Integrale
Audi A1 Clubsport quattro
Ford Focus RS500
Exotic
(Most Wanted)
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Ford GT
(Most Wanted)
(Most Wanted)
(Most Wanted)
(Most Wanted)
(Most Wanted)
(Most Wanted)
Grand Tourer
Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
Porsche Panamera Turbo S
Bentley Supersports ISR
SUV
Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
Race
Caterham Superlight R500
BAC Mono
Ariel Atom 500 V8
"This... could take awhile." Rider said after going over the list.
"Well you'll at least have plenty of upgrades to help get the job done." Discord responded while giving his buddy a different list.
Upgrades:
Off-road tires: Improves off-road performance; drift for a cumulative total of 5,000 yards with Standards equipped to unlock Pro version.
Track tires: Improves on-tarmac performance; drift for a cumulative total of 5,000 yards with Standards equipped to unlock Pro version.
Reinflates: Allows burst tires to re-inflate. Only unlocked by finishing 3rd or higher in every event with a vehicle; hit 5 spike strips with Standards equipped to unlock Pro version.
Burn nitrous: Increases engine power while active; use for a cumulative total of 300 seconds with Standard equipped to unlock Pro version.
Powershot nitrous: Uses full nitrous tank for an acceleration burst (only useable when nitrous bar is full); use 25 times to unlock Pro version.
Lightweight chassis: Improves acceleration & control; get a cumulative total of 60 seconds of air time with Standard equipped to unlock Pro version.
Reinforced chassis: Reduces damage taken from impacts and strengthens vehicle; get 10 cop takedowns with Standard equipped to unlock Pro version.
Aero body: Improves ability to reach top speed and increases jump distance; get a cumulative total of 120 seconds of slipstreaming to unlock Pro version.
Impact protection body: Stabilizes vehicle during impacts and strengthens vehicle; get a cumulative total of 2 crash escapes with Standard equipped to unlock Pro version.
Long gears: Improves top speed; drive a cumulative total of 10,000 yards in oncoming with Standards equipped to unlock Pro version.
Short gears: Improves acceleration; get a cumulative total of 25 near misses with Standards equipped to unlock Pro version.
"Anything else I should know?" Rider asked after finishing the list.
"Just the four race types."
Circuit Race: A multi-lap race against multiple opponents.
Sprint Race: A one way race against other drivers.
Speed Run: Maintain a certain average speed throughout a sprint; there are no opponents, but there can be cops.
Ambush: You're ambushed by the 5-0; evade them within a certain time limit.
"I know I'm gonna enjoy this." The bat pony said after finishing the final list.
Porsche 911 (991) Carrera S, Pt. 2
Night had taken the time to wander the sprawling city and find some more vehicles. Among his findings: an Aston Martin V12 Vantage near the spot he had come across the Carrera, a Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 (early 911 Turbo, fast in a straight line, but required a lot of bravery to drive fast on a winding road) also nearby, an Ariel Atom resting on a metal grate above a freeway bridge, and one of his personal favorite all time vehicles (in terms of sheer awesomeness), a Ford SVT Raptor, in a small parking area on the side of a 2-way, 2-lane street.
The bat pony's cellphone rang as he zipped around in the Atom.
"Yeah?" He said casually while enjoying the feel of the wind rushing by him.
"Night, you need to come back to the city's entrance." Discord replied. "It sounds like you'll have to do some talking."
"Let me guess, Twilight wants to call the princesses in?"
"I've been telling her that doing so will make things worse, but I think she's close to ignoring this and calling them in anyway."
Of course.
"Think you can keep her busy for at most, five more minutes?" Night asked.
"That'll be easy. Just don't dawdle and get back over here ASAP." Discord replied.
"On it."
With that, Night jumped back to the Carrera, got in, and zipped off.
* * * * * * * * * *
...
Back outside of Fairhaven, six ponies (plus one draconequess) waited, though the purple unicorn looked particularly frazzled.
"Twilight, I'm telling you, it's simply impossible for logic to explain my magic. Fact is, somebody who has chaos magic like me finds it impossible to explain it without sounding like a four-year-old foal." Discord concluded.
"I still don't believe it!" Twilight snapped. "There has to be an explanation as to how your magic works!"
Rainbow Dash facehoofed.
"Well, I'd give it a shot if you could at least figure out how Pinkie Pie can do things that even you couldn't do." Discord said.
"That's because she's Pinkie Pie!" Twilight shot back.
"Then why can't you just accept that my magic is what it is like Pinkie is who she is?"
The purple unicorn looked like she was going to spontaneously combust like she did when trying to figure out the pink earth pony's peculiar (for a non-unicorn) abilities, but was thankfully stopped by an approaching sound.
The sound ended up belonging to something none of the ponies had seen before. It was yellow, and looked like a carriage, but at the same time, it didn't. It was much lower than an ordinary carriage, for one, and it was far too small to be pony-powered, on top of its sound being far from what a pony, or anything on the planet, could make. And the way it moved when it rounded the corner was different from even a flying pegasus.
The strange machine stopped shortly outside of the city's border and its sound fell to a level that made Twilight assume it was on a standby mode of some sort.
And a familiar brown and black stallion stepped out.
"Alright." Night Rider said while removing his helmet. "What's the problem here ponies?"
"I just don't see why I can't bring the princesses here!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Twilight, just relax and think rationally." Night said calmly. "Yes, you seven have dealt with some crazy things, and so have Celestia and Luna, but none of you have ever encountered one of these." He motioned to the yellow Porsche. "I've been playing with these things since I was four years old, and even then it was clear that I had a lot of potential. It's been eighteen years, and I've driven hundreds of these things and have reached a level of skill that can't be achieved overnight."
"Why not?" Twilight asked, now sounding curious.
"Because there's a difference between reading how to do something and actually doing it. You've gotta be able to react on a dime, know how your ride behaves, know what you're dealing with, and be able to make moves on instinct. And above all, if you're getting frustrated, you've gotta be able to figure out just what it is that's frustrating. If it's just the level, keep practicing and you'll eventually complete it. If it's the universe in general though..."
The bat pony paused.
"... Then you've gotta decide whether or not it's worth it to continue. Everything's inevitably going to get hard, but it's a matter of if you like the challenge it presents, or if it ruins the whole experience for you. If it's something that you feel you can eventually do, then maybe just take a break and come back later. From what Pinkie's told me, that's something that's not easy for you."
Twilight suddenly found a tree a short distance away to be particularly interesting.
"I know that Celestia and Luna are both more than a thousand years old, but if this problem is going to be solved quickly, I'm going to have to do it solo."
"Problem?" Twilight turned back to Night.
"I received a letter from the blur that went by me." The bat pony explained. "The city's racers have gotten bored with racing each other, and they want somebody tough to take them on in all of their challenges."
"Meaning... ?"
"Meaning that I have to find every vehicle in the city, beat all five of its events, beat the 10 Most Wanted, and win all of the challenges available to their cars. And it sounds like they aren't leaving until it happens."
...
Silence.
"... You sure you can do it?" Twilight spoke after a pause.
"Yeah. Normally Discord would help me out, but it's been more than 300 years since he got chased by the police." Night replied.
"Wait, you're breaking the law to do this?" Twilight now sounded surprised.
"In a way, yes. But I've successfully evaded the police dozens of times, so I don't expect to be caught again anytime soon. I'd normally stay and explain more, but I've got a job to do."
Night put his helmet back on, got back into the Porsche, reversed, pulled a J-turn, and drove back into Fairhaven.
"..."
"..."
"... I'll get the popcorn." Discord said finally.
* * * * * * * * * *
Continental Drift > Easy > Sprint Race > 12,000 SP for 1st
Track Tires for 1st
Lightweight Chassis for 2nd
Mods currently equipped:
Burn nitrous
* * *
A bird's eye view of the large, gazebo-like building in Hughes Park. An upside down view from inside the park, then of a road that went around the park, before zooming along the road. An upside down view of a repair shop as a car raced by. An upside down view that included some of one of the park's arches, then a shot of most of the arch, then some of the trees. An upside down view of a 911 Carrera drifting around a corner by a repair shop. A moving, upside down view, then tilted to reveal the asphalt and a small group of cars, then tilted to a normal, chasing view.
Right off the bat (no pun intended), as the group raced by a repair shop, Night slammed a silver Alfa Romeo next to him, forcing it to slow down to avoid wrecking. Having moved up one position, small, steady blue flames spouted from the red Porsche's (the color had been changed at a repair shop) quad tailpipes as the bat pony activated the nitrous, sideswiping a white Carrera and moving up into 6th place.
As the 911 continued to gain momentum, Rider swiped a silver M3 and snatched its 5th place position. As he sped past another silver car (with the speed he was carrying, Rider wasn't able to get an ID on it), a notification popped up:
SLAM TAKEDOWN +275SP
He had just managed to take down his first racer in this city. The upside: he had an additional 275 SP. The downside: assuming that Beemer caught up with him, it would likely try to take him down as retaliation.
...
Meh. He'd deal with that when and if it happened.
Anyway, with the pedal down and the N2O active, Rider managed to slide into 1st place; if he kept this up by maintaining his speed and not crashing, the bat pony had a very high chance of winning this.
The road began to curve left, forcing Rider to revert to just using the throttle for forward propulsion. The road finally made an actual left turn, and the Porsche cut the corner to streak through a repair shop; in a very brief flash of white, the car was then painted a dark metallic blue just before he stampeded through the checkpoint. As the road quickly straightened out, the bat pony reactivated the nitrous and began to extend his lead, soon topping 180 mph as he barreled down the road.
The road turned left again, so Night let off the N2O to regain vital control over the Porsche, cutting the corner and slipping through a space made by a fence on the left and a fenced off tree on the right. When the route became straight immediately afterwards, he got back on the nitrous, again propelling both him and his car to speeds that were pretty intimidating on a racetrack, but were downright terrifying on ordinary, open public roads.
The route turned left again, and Rider cut through a repair shop, repainting his car (it appeared to be black, it was kind of hard to tell in the shadows of the buildings and the angled reflections of the sun) as he stayed on the pedal. The bat pony stayed on the left side of the road, catching some airtime when the road quickly sloped upwards and then flattened out, then resumed using burn nitrous when the 911 landed.
The road made a gentle curve right, straightened, then made a sweeping left hairpin; the bat pony stopped using the speed enhancer and pulled a long, easily controlled drift, hitting a checkpoint as he did so. The road went straight, and Night spotted a repair shop just to the right of the road, which he promptly drove through, changing his car's color to a metallic red.
Lap 2/3
He steered the Porsche back onto the road (sort of) and hit the nitrous (noticing a pattern here?); despite hitting multiple sidewalk objects, he was within throwing distance of 200 mph(!). Again, Night let off the N2O to reduce his chances of wiping out, and cut through the repair station, painting his car metallic silver-gray, before reactivating the boost as he continued charging down the road.
He steered his car to the right, then steered left to avoid crashing head-on into a building; he succeeded despite not letting off the speedy stuff (nitrous). The bat pony then temporarily stopped using said speedy stuff to cut between the two fences on the inner (and much faster) part of the upcoming left corner, and got back on it when he cleared the corner and the road straightened.
The Porsche tore down the straightaway (with a slight right curve), hitting 196 mph before Night slowed (slightly) and cut through the repair station on the inside of the next left corner, painting his car orange this time around. He again caught some air when the road made a short upwards slope before leveling out abruptly, and only had to glance at his minimap to see that he now had a huge lead over the others.
The road dipped, again netting the bat pony some airtime, before the route curved left. As the orange 911 howled down the straight, there was a brief flash of white. Night Rider was so focused on the first lap that he hadn't realized that he had triggered a speed camera. The bat pony wondered if that would affect his heat level.
No time for that now.
Right. Up ahead came the sweeping left hairpin, so he let off the nitrous and performed a long drift through the corner... at about 173 mph, hitting a checkpoint along the way. He had dealt with some interesting physics during his travels, but with the exceptions of Burnout 3 and Burnout Revenge, he had never been to a world where he could successfully drift while moving at that speed, or anything close to it, for that matter.
Night turned the speedy stuff back on, feeling the g-forces push him back in the driver's seat, as he slipped through the repair station right next to the finish line, painting the Porsche silver-gray metallic...
Lap 3/3
... And starting the final lap. Small, steady blue flames emerged from the 911's quad tailpipes as Night's nitrous use resumed, sending him careening down the lightly curved road at a frightening velocity. Through a checkpoint; next, through the repair station that lied on the inner part of the high speed left corner, painting the Carrera yellow.
As he raced down the straight, the bat pony triggered a speed camera that he had somehow failed to notice on his first two laps, then stopped using the N2O, cleared the corner between the two fences, and resumed using the N2O when he straightened out. To his surprise, however, he then actually caught up to the racers currently at the back of the pack.
Night riskily maneuvered through the repair station on the inner area of the left corner as another racer appeared to be aiming for it, but he got through with no problems, and got his car painted a snowy white. When the road crested, he caught more airtime than before, but still managed to successfully land without crashing immediately afterwards.
The Carrera caught some more airtime when the road dipped, before screaming down the straight towards the sweeping left hairpin that was the course's final turn. As he drifted through the hairpin, Night moved to the right to slide around a few more cars; a quick glance at the minimap showed that he had just lapped the entire field. From there, it was merely a short sprint to the finish line.
Continental Drift
Finished 1st
Mods unlocked
Track tires
Lightweight chassis
Track tires: improves on-tarmac performance at the expense of off-road performance.
Lightweight chassis: improves acceleration and control, but reduces vehicle toughness.
* * * * * * * * * *
"That was really something." Night said after he had driven through yet another repair shop before cruising into and stopping in Hughes Park, then got out of his car so he could properly view the attractive park. "I'm getting the hang of this pretty quick."
"Yeah that really was impressive." Said Discord, proofing into existence next to him. "I'm actually starting to want these fellows to stay here as long as they can."
"You think when I beat the city's number one racer they'll let me keep his ride as a souvenir?" The bat pony asked while taking in the scenery before him.
"I'm assuming they will, since you technically will own it then." Discord said. "But I can't see any place on the planet where you'd be able to push it, or even drive it."
"I'll probably find someway to create a replica of Fairhaven and put in in my house." Night replied plainly. "'Course, I'd need your help to do that."
"You're family and I have been close for a long time." Disco said. "And I can warp the laws of physics and reality here; I'd be obliged to help you do something that insane."
"Thanks buddy; that means a lot."
* * * * * * * * * *
Having completed his first two races in Fairhaven, Night had wandered around more to find more cars, in some cases, wandering quite far. Some of his new findings: a BMW M3 Coupe, Bentley Supersports ISR, and Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale in Hughes Park (the Maserati was more on the border of the actual park), a Chevy Corvette ZR1 in Hodges Airfield, a Marussia B2 in Callahan Industrial, and a Jaguar XKR on the top floor of a parking garage.
And, of course, he had triggered some speed cameras, smashed some security gates, and blown through more than a few billboards.
As fun as all of that was, he was still a man (or rather, pony) on a mission, and that mission was to complete the Most Wanted's challenge. And naturally, things wouldn't stay at easy forever, quite unlike that Dragon Quest game on a portable console that had, at most, only three particularly hard moments if you were properly prepared.
Cold Burn > Medium > Circuit Race > 12,000SP for 1st
Reinforced chassis for 1st
Long gears for 2nd
Mods currently equipped:
Burn nitrous
By now, it was nighttime, or at least very early morning.
"Time to step things up." Night said as he brought his 911 to a stop at the race's location. "You know what I'm going to be dealing with Disco?"
"I've been consulting a walkthrough on the internet," the draconequess said, "and it sounds like this race is primarily asphalt, but there are going to be a few off-road moments; however they're entirely optional, the the person that wrote this says that they can help."
"Hmm..." The bat pony searched through his mental filing cabinet labeled 'strategies'. "... I'll equip track tires for this one; if that's not enough, then I'll swap 'em for off-road tires." He said finally. "And of course, if I have to, I'll take the offensive approach and take down anybody that stands between me and the 1st place position."
"How can you succeed with plans that are shallow in detail?" Disco asked his friend.
"You mean all those times I faced a boss without any prior planning?" Night replied, getting a nod from his wingman. "I can't explain how or why, all I know is that winging it and improvising if I need to often works out well for me."
"Could you at least guess why?" Disco asked.
"Probably innate skill and a bit of luck." Night replied plainly before spinning his car's tires.
* * * * *
A shot of a street. A view of some raised train tracks next to some shipping crates. A short shot moving along the tracks. A view from under the tracks. A view of an industrial complex. A stack of shipping crates with mountains in the background. A billboard. A split second shot of a flashing road sign. Finally, a street with a downward slope that was invisible from the current viewpoint. And two silver Porsches roared into view. The two raced down a freeway. In quick succession, a shot from under the train tracks, moving down the oncoming (left) side of a multi-lane road, and the edge of an overpass, looking straight down at the road below as a yellow Carrera raced by. A brief shot from beneath the overpass as two cars sped by. Finally, a far view of the back of the pack, which then zoomed in, and started the race.
Night made no effort to hide his grin as the flat-6 behind him wailed. Yes, the fifth-generation and onwards 911s may have lacked the thrilling sound of the old air-cooled models, but the sounds they produced while closing in on the redline was exciting nonetheless.
But that wasn't important; what was important was that it had rained earlier in the day and the pavement was still wet, which would in turn make controlling the car more difficult, particularly during drifts. Still, it didn't bother Night, who had raced in the rain many times over the years.
Silent, he knocked over a street sign as he partially drove on the sidewalk, following close behind the car in seventh place as the flat six propelled the yellow Porsche along. The brown bat pony kept the right pedal floored as lightning flashed twice overhead. On his map, the first checkpoint neared.
Braking hard, Night drifted left, going onto the dirt on the side of the road but narrowly avoiding sliding into the side of an on-ramp. Moving back onto the asphalt, he had to strain to see a bit due to the spray coming off of the tires of the cars ahead of him, but still managed to avoid the first freeway pillar on the left side of the road.
Remaining full throttle, he gradually closed the gap between him and seventh place as visibility somewhat improved, passing multiple freeway support pillars along the way, before braking a bit to stay on course for the mild left curve that was part of the route.
Scraping against a white 930-generation 911 Turbo, Night moved up into seventh place, before switching on the boost briefly and scraping a gray car while entering sixth, then smoothly drifted through the left corner on the road, hitting the checkpoint halfway through. Straightening back out, he switched the boost back on and rammed a red car from behind, moving up into fifth place as it wiped out moments later.
Charging down the road beneath some train tracks, lightning again flashed twice overhead as the brown bat pony began to move to the right of a gray Porsche 918, only to use his own Porsche's brakes to their full advantage as he turned hard to clear the sharp left that came up suddenly. But he was still able to pass the 918 on the outside and slide into fourth place before the end of his turn.
Looks like they aren't used to that ride's speed yet. Night observed as the Spyder accelerated at a pace much slower than what it was ultimately capable of. Once the road became straight again, he resumed boosting, easily opening a gap between him and his opponent. Speeding across the start/finish line into lap two, the brown bat pony sideswiped a dark gray (possibly black) Porsche Panamera and snatched third.
With no spray from cars ahead obscuring his view of the road, Night was able to take the left before the on-ramp smoother and faster this time around, and was also able to keep the throttle mashed against the floor without having to worry about going head-on with a support pillar. Despite the wet pavement, the brown stallion took the following left at full throttle, being slowed only by the friction between the Carrera's tires and the asphalt.
Still silent, as he often was during races, Night caught some airtime by running across a curb before passing a car that he was unable to identify to grab second place, before using a brief stint of nitrous to pull away and close the gap between himself and the driver currently in the gold trophy position, switching the laughing gas off just as he passed through a checkpoint.
After straightening out, he used another quick burst of N2O to regain some speed as the distance between him and his next opponent shrunk even further. Lightning flashed overhead as the yellow Porsche barreled down the route that went beneath the train tracks, before tearing through the left at the end at a speed that was surprising when it was dry, but was flat out frightening in the rain.
The brown stallion used another brief nitrous boost to get himself closer to first place as he entered the third and final lap. But then he entered the left at the end of the straight while moving too fast. Night swiftly braked hard and steered sharply, managing to eliminate most of the understeer and narrowly avoided crashing into the side of the on-ramp.
It was a close call, but he was still okay; but his target had gotten further ahead. Not to be left behind so easily, the brown stallion made good use of his car's boost to get back up to speed, but he ended up using the last of it in his effort to catch up. That didn't bother him, though, as the 911's flat six still provided good forward thrust.
With the right pedal floored in a very Jeremy Clarkson-esque manner, Night sped along the road beneath the freeway, keeping his trajectory as straight as possible to maximize his acceleration, before cutting across the left corner at the end. In the interest of preserving speed, he instead aimed for the service station on the right side of the road.
Coming out, his car was pristine and painted white, but was still just as fast. Screaming through the checkpoint, the brown stallion switched the boost back on mid-corner and began to catch up to the first place car.
With the throttle mashed, Night roared into first place, tore through the final checkpoint, steered left, and blasted across the finish line.
Cold Burn
Finished 1st
Mods unlocked
Reinforced Chassis
Long Gears
Reinforced Chassis: increases vehicle toughness, but comes with a penalty in acceleration and control.
Long Gears: raises ultimate top speed, but reduces acceleration.
Night wore a big grin (unseen due to his helmet) as he lifted off the gas and eased onto the brakes, bringing the 911 to a gradual halt.
Yes, that was a lot of fun. But now, he's have to deal with the hard races.
"..."
The idea of such a challenge while piloting such a beautifully balanced ride really excited him.
Author's Notes: I was finally able to rediscover the motivation to write this story! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because next up we're going into the hardest events this ride has got!... And depending on what way the gameplay videos I'm watching go, the first Most Wanted race might also happen in the next chapter. This set of Notes is shorter (for me), but that's because I really don't have much else to say... so I'll see all of you next time!