Motorization

Cider was running through the empty streets of Canterlot. The time was 6:20 a.m., according to his wristwatch. He was wearing his military clothing, along with a helmet, body armor and pouches. Also, he carried a big backpack that was stuffed with different military and personal things, and his good old AK-74 rifle. All the equipment that he was carrying, was rattling on him and the sound was echoing across the street, along with heavy steps of combat boots.

"Heh-whooh, heh-whooh, heh-whooh..." Cider was panting heavily. Going through his morning routine everyday was a hard task, but he had his own reasons. First -- to kill the boredom. Second -- to keep himself fit for the upcoming race against Rainbow Dash. A single thought about that mare drove Cider's mind crazy, and with every surge of adrenaline, he could run faster and farther. However, even a military person has its own limits -- as Cider reached the hotel where he lived, he started walking instead of running. And as he got inside the building, he saw that Chocola has been already behind the counter.

"Morning, Chocola," he said, "Why so early?"

"Morning, Cider. Same for you," the mare giggled. "For some reason I woke up earlier than usual, and couldn't get back to sleep. You?"

"Just going through my routine, I guess. I run every morning, you know," the man answered and got rid of his backpack with a grunt. "You just couldn't notice since you're a sleepy one."

"Not today! Alright, since both of us are up, would you like some coffee?" Chocola offered, while holding a couple of cups.

"Would love to. Just give me some time to shower," Cider replied while heading back to his room.

As the man finished his morning routine, he came back to the counter, where Chocola was waiting for him with a couple of steaming cups of coffee. As both made themselves comfortable, Cider took a sip from his cup.

"Strong stuff," he commented, "But good enough to wake up. What sort of coffee is this?"

"We call it the "Equestrian Classic". Not many ponies like it, but eh, it's quite popular among businesscolts. Like it?" the mare asked after taking a good gulp.

"I'm not a strong coffee type, but eh, it's quite good. Reminds me of Americano from my world," Cider commented.

But, the chit-chat has been cancelled by a ring of the door bell, as someone came inside from the street. Both Cider and Chocola looked from behind the counter to see a yellow mare with the mane, that looked like a torch.

"Hello there, miss! Have you seen..." a pony, who happened to be Spitfire, was ready to ask Chocola about something, but then she saw Cider, sitting nearby. "Oh, hello Cider. Up and boosting early, huh?"

"Nah, that's just a routine. Though, I would love to sleep for another couple of hours, but hey -- in a military, people must keep quality," the man chuckled. "And what brings you here, Spitfire?"

"Oh, there's a lot of stuff on my mind... Can I have a seat?" the pegasus asked, and after recieving a nod from Chocola, moved one of nearby chairs closer to the counter. "First of all, this situation with Rainbow Dash is sort of ridiculous, must admit. She pissed you off that much?"

"Sure thing she did! Or else I would never want to shove my boot deep up her fat ass!" Cider commented in annoyed tone. However, Spitfire and Chocola only laughed.

"Easy there, soldier-boy, or you'll have to find another opponent to compete!" the earth pony mare stated, while holding onto her belly in attempt to not lose her balance.

"Well said, miss Chocola! However, I wonder how deep the boot will go -- RD recently became a sting for me. She's totally obsessed with the race," Spitfire said after she stopped laughing, "She literally pushes berself to the limit right now! And that becomes dangerous. She tries to reach the speeds that even exceed the speed of reaching the Sonic Rainboom."

As Spitfire said her last phrase, Cider's face became stern. "Totally not good. Even for her, not mentioning the upcoming race. She dives when trying to do a Sonic Rainboom, right?"

"Nope. She has managed to reach the speed in a horizontal flight," Spitfire stated.

"But... What about her endurance?" Chocola said in a hopeful tone.

"Usually our airshows last for an hour, and I've never seen RD being tired after them. And why do you ask?" Spitfire asked with confusion.

"The race will last for three hours. And the big time limit is our only hope to win," the man said. "I can't outrun her, so I am going to outlast her."

"Well, good luck with that, I guess..." the pegasus hummed, thinking abot something. Then, she asked: "Anyway, where are you going to race? Any ideas?"

"It will be a race around Canterlot. The start-finish line will be at the main strip, then we'll go across the University's territory, following the mointain road uphill, then the road back to Canterlot and towards the main gates of the castle. After that, a sharp right turn towards the finish line. That's all."

"And it looks like that you're basically making up a street race. Uncool, Cider. Very uncool. You may hurt somepony on your way," Spitfire sighed. But then, something clicked in her mind. "Unless you let me help yourself."

"Well, since you're right about everyone's safety... But I bet this is no charity, eh?" Cider smiled in realisation.

"Exactly. Well, I can arrange you a great racetrack and a good show. In exchange, I want my top Wonderbolts on the track along with you and Rainbow Dash. You can put someone in a racecar too, if you want," Spitfire proposed her offer. And after a quick thinking, Cider shrugged and agreed.

"Okay, let it be, then. I have nothing against your other fliers, so it will be a good chance to test their metal. And what about another racer in a car, I have a pretty good idea who would want to drive..."

"So, you're asking me to drive for you, so I could improve my skill?" Twilight asked Cider, as she made herself comfortable in the seat in the middle of the hall of the hotel.

"Basically, yes. You're the one of not many ponies, who's learned how to actually drive a car. I need a company for the show, you need something to practice on. Win-win!" Spitfire shouted from the nethers of the fridge, while searching for anything to drink.

"Well, you have a point there... Still, I think it would be sort of embarassing, if I'd be far behind everyplny else."

"Exactly. That's why we are going to train you!" Cider said proudly. "If we practice before the race, it will be easier for you to keep up."

"Well, if you put it that way... But, who is going to manage your spare parts, cars and fuel in case if anything goes wrong?" the princess asked with a look of confusion.

"I will handle that," the yellow pegasus answered before Cider, "I'll get the rest of the Wonderbolts up and running. So you better start your training today."

"Alright, you have my word, then," Twilight replied confidently, and with a flash of the horn, her outfit has changed to the purple firesuit and lavender open-face helmet.

"Awesome. We'll get going, I guess. See you later, Chocola," the man said, while picking up his own gear.

"Later, pals! Show'em what you've got!" Chocola shouted, as Twilight, Spitfire and Cider left the hotel and headed towards Cider's old GAZ-69.

The pair of prototype racers was going through the streets of Canterlot. Cider was going first, riding in a Porsche 956, and Twilight was going right behind him in a Peugeot 905 Evo. The first lap was a warm-up, so nor Cider or Twilight were testing their metal. They were going in a steady pace, keepeing the speed just above 120 kilometers per hour, and Twilight was copying the trajectory of Cider's car. As the first lap went quite smoothly, Cider decided to speed up a little for the next one. When he and Twilight drove to the main street after finishing the first lap, he slowly raised the speed up to 200 kilometers per hour. And without any hesitation, Twilight's car accelerated as well. However, as the pair reached the first corner, the alicorn's car spun around and stopped in a middle of the street, causing Cider to stop his car as well, while he waited for Twilight to regain her bearings and catch up on him. As he got out from his car, the white Peugeot has already been positioned behind his Porsche. So, he quickly got to Twilight's goor and opened it.

"Your main task is to not lock the brakes, Twilight! Especially in corners!" Cider shouted, beating the noise of two engines, and recieving a blush from embarassed Twilight. "And don't be embarrassed -- this is only a training! Now we will try this again, but please try to work smoothly! And when I say "smoothly", I don't mean "softly", this is a racecar, remember?"

After recieving a nod from the princess, the man closed her car's door, and headed to his Porsche. After buckling himself, he got the car moving. "This is going to be fun," he chuckled to himself.

And Cider was right -- because of being a newbie, she did a lot of mistakes. Her most common mistake was a corner-braking, but there was also the lack of control on the gas pedal and the steering wheel. However, with each lap Twilight's skill rose, and after a midday break Cider decided to give Twilight a full-speed lap, to see how she could handle it. However, he did his own lap in a Peugeot first, so he could compare his and her times. As the man got out of the car and switched places with Twilight, he spoke to her:

"Alright, Twilight, it's your chance to prove yourself. We've done a lot of work today, and I can see your progress. When I'll show you the sign, you'll go on your own. I'll measure your time with my stopwatch. Any questions?"

"No, Cider. I'm ready!" the princess answered with confidence. After recieving the answer, Cider grinned and closed the door of the car. After walking to the starting position, he took out the stopwatch and lifted his free hand. The prototype's engine immidiately revved up, being ready to send the car forward. And, as Cider thrown his hand down, Twilight shot forward down the street, hiding from Cider's eyesight. "This thing is loud," he mumbled to himself, listening to the engine sound, even after Twilight passed the first corner a few kilometers away from the start line.

Minutes felt like being glued to Cider. He could hear the engine sound of Twilight's car far away in the distance, thanks to Canterlot's acoustics, but the waiting itself was hard. The stopwatch was ticking, measuring minutes and seconds.

"Come on, Twilight," he mumbled, "You can make it."

And right after he said this, he noticed that the sound of a racecar engine was closing up. It grew louder and louder, until it heard like a furious scream. As the man took a quick glance on the road, he saw that Twilight was coming closer, with her car reaching its limit.

"Don't forget about the brakes," the man said to himself, as the car reached the last corner. And, after a proper braking, it turned around the corner and shot through the start-finish line. As Cider stopped his stopwatch, he took a look at Twilight's time and compared it with his own. So, when the princess parked the car near him, shut down the engine and got out from the vehicle, his face beamed.

"Congratulations, Twilight! Your result for your first day of driving an actual racecar is outstanding!" the man reached the alicorn and hugged her tightly. "Your time is only a half of a second worse, than mine! Someone's learned the trajectory well, huh?"

"Yeah, I felt like that you follow special patterns for a good reason," Twilight replied, returning the hug.

"That's good. Of course, we still have a couple of days before the race, but we need to train hard, if we want to win. So, what about a friendly one-on-one?" Cider proposed, grinning.

"I'm on!" Twilight replied. And, as the sun was still high, Cider and the princess got inside their respective cars.