Perfect Shift

Chapters

Permanent Damage
Test Drive
Shifting Into First
Qualifying Catastrophe
Aquatic Alliance
Road Burner
Trinity
Upgrades and Exploration
Staring Death in the Eyes
Mach 3 Speed
Blindside Slide
Racing a Legacy
Performance Preview
Drift Training Montage
Caught In The Crosshairs
Superstorm Slide Show
The Shadow of a Star
Five Star Factor
The Black Project
Superstorm Forming
Classic Muscle
Carbon, Copper, and Chaos

Permanent Damage

Lightning Dust slowly forced her eyes to open, she didn't know how long she had been out for but she figured it should have been quite some time. Considering it was late afternoon when she last remembered she only assumed it had been a few hours at least. She was aware now that she was in the hospital, if the room she was in was anything to go by.

"Okay, what was the last thing that i remember... oh right the tree that I flew into at full speed." She thought, chuckling slightly at her inability to spot the biggest object nature could have created with wood. Suddenly the nurse, she assumed it was the nurse, came in to greet her.

"Good morning Miss Dust, I see your awake."

"Of course I am, I'm the toughest pegasus in the area! Can't keep me down forever." Lightning boasted.

"Yeah... of course!" The nurse replied, nervousness shown clearly across her face.

"Is there anything I need to know, before I leave I mean?" Lightning questioned. This made the nurse even more tense "Something wrong?"

"You might not like it."

"Oh come on you can tell me anything, It sure seems important."

Later that day...

If Lightning had never felt true pain before she most likely felt it now and then some. She had been told that after the tree she crashed into caused her complete black out, the way she had landed severed the nerve connection in her wings. She first thought it was a joke, until she realized she couldn't feel either one in the slightest. The next few hours were pretty self explanatory, with the mental breakdown rivaling Twilight Sparkles' when she was late on her friendship report. When she was discharged from the hospital all emotion had left her. She literally felt nothing, literally and figuratively, and was left with her only option being to walk the entire distance back home.

All her years living as a pegasus and flying at her hearts content, ripped from her as if she was only ever just an earth pony. It was humiliating for her and before she even walk could more than a quarter mile down the long road home, shecompletely lost it. She had no idea how long she had been there but it was quite some time, and she knew it was best to get home sooner than later.

As she continued the incredibly long trek home, she continuously was alerted to the sound of a vehicle passing by. Cars had been an entirely new thing for Equestria and only recently over the years had become more affordable for unicorns and earth ponies that needed to travel large distances quickly. Most pegasi however did not really favor these and Lightning was no exception. It was unnecessary for pegasi to need a vehicle because they already could fly! At least in Lightning's case used to fly.

The constant noise of the cars passing her every few minutes curbed her ideas of walking straight home. She took the chance on a longer, but more scenic and less noisy route. Edin Shores was a great place for exercise with such open air. Every vehicle that passed her was a painful reminder of what she had become, and what was her future. She didn't know if she could even consider herself a pegasus without being able to fly! Normally she would just fly over the bridge from downtown to the shore like any other pegasus. Instead she took the south exit and took a back road parallel to the highway.

She was so focused on her internal struggle over her own sanity that she had no idea she was coming upon an abandoned building until she just about walked by it. She wasn't sure why it caught her attention. It was no more than just an average sized garage, barely able to fit a single vehicle. It wasn't even like she cared, there was nothing special about it, however something compelled her to walk up to it and open the large door concealing anything that it may contain. It was as if some sort of magic had taken control of her mind. Finally giving into herself she trotted up to the large building and forced up the door revealing a worn out, rusted piece of junk. To her at least it would seem like it had been there since the dawn of time. For some reason though she felt like it looked sort of familiar, as if she remembered seeing a design for something like this years ago. It didn't take her long to remember, it was a model that had been announced back when cars were just starting to become in high demand. It had been revealed in Baltimare while she had been visiting the area shortly after being expelled from the academy a few weeks prior. She never saw them in Wing City though

"What was it called again? I remember it was made by a company called Toyota but I can't recall the name, did it start with an S?" She dismissed the thought as quickly as her 0 to 60 used to be when she could fly. It wasn't getting her home anytime soon. She knew of a pony in her neighborhood that was a mechanic for cars, though she never got his name. One thing she knew was that the stallion was good at restoring just as well as maintaining them. She would perhaps visit him tomorrow, see if he knew anything about it or could fix it up, not like she cared that much about it. It was just because she felt like it was something that could satisfy his itch for cars. She continued on her way home, shutting the garage door back down to make sure nothing happened before he got there.

The next day Lightning woke up to a very bright morning. She had most likely slept in because she no longer needed to do her morning routine to keep her wing strength up, given she couldn't even use them anymore. The only thing she needed to do other than keep herself fit, minus the wings, was to talk to the stallion about the abandoned vehicle. As she made her way over to the shop from her neighborhood she received a few curious glances from passerby, likely since they usually saw her in the air. It was more frustrating than anything to be reminded by others of her new disability. She decided to slightly quicken her pace to limit the amount of time she was outside.She crossed the south west bridge and minutes later her destination came into view and she entered through the push door. Thankfully for her the place seemed empty of any ponies minus the one that worked there, he most likely was somewhere at the back. She tapped the bell to notify him of her presence and seconds later the stallion arrived at the desk, dirty and covered in what Lightning assumed was sweat.

"Finally, about time some pony showed up. I was beginning to think nothing was going to happen today. Name's McClare, what do ya need today miss?" The Stallion, now known as McClare, asked.

"Well..." Lightning Responded " I spotted an old run down vehicle a few miles up the road form here, I heard about the fact you love old models and I thought I would like to show you where it's located."

"Really? You don't mind showing me where this is, I would like to get a good look at it. Maybe I can fix it up and keep in the back. You probably wouldn't need it being a pegasus and all that but I thank you for the offering. Lead the way, i'll get the flatbed out back an follow you there. Just remember to not get to fast, i'm limited to the road you know"

Lightning looked away from the stallion, visibly upset. The sentence, though unintentionally, made her even worse. She still hadn't gotten over the loss of her ability to fly. Even though her wings were still there to keep her dignity, it just served as a painful reminder of what it used to be.

"You alright kid?" The sudden voice brought her attention back to the stallion.

"Oh, it's not much just... i'm not really feeling myself today. Last night I was told i'll never fly again and everyone who doesn't know it just looks at me funny."

The weight of her situation gave her chills, but the stallion only brought his hoof around her body.

"Alright, sorry I didn't know, come on i'll let you ride with me. Just let me know where i'm heading."

His voice seemed to calm Lightning just enough for her to settle down and they went outside to grab the truck in order to bring back the vehicle that she had located just yesterday. Locating the garage once again, Lightning and McClare walked up to the garage and opened it up. McClare was quite impressed.

"You made quite the find here my friend, They don't make them like these anymore. Really old model, probably from the early days of this kind of thing. Know what it is?" McClare questioned.

"Not really, never really paid any attention to stuff like this when I was younger." Was Lightning's answer. McClare took a look around the vehicle taking in every detail.

"This my friend is a Toyota Supra, really old too. I can tell by the design, this was the earliest model of these things. This will look fitting with everything else I got back there. You mind helping me get this thing on the back of the truck?"

Lightning was silently thankful that the "Supra" still had it's wheels attached, it made it astonishingly easier to push it rather than attempting to lift the mid-sized vehicle. When the automobile was loaded up they headed back towards McClares's garage, they were a few miles short when two much smaller and quicker vehicles sped by one after the other, each one decorated with separate styles of paint. Lightning was momentarily stunned by the speed they passed by with, while McClare just shook his head.

"Street racers..." he acknowledged "I have nothing against them personally, but some are just flat out reckless. Though in my opinion, that RS4 has got nothing on the DB9." He commented, earning a glance from Lightning.

"What do you mean, what's a 'Street Racer'?" She questioned. McClare sighed, this wasn't the first time he had explained it.

"You wouldn't know because you're a pegasus, no offense, so I'll give you the simple version. Over the last few months unicorns and earth ponies have started using automobiles for illegal competitions around Equestria. Basically, If it has four wheels, an engine, and goes fast enough, it's fair game to race with."

"If it's illegal, doesn't that mean the authorities should be shutting it down? Surely they have cars too."

"They try Lightning, that doesn't mean it always works. Most of the time the racers are too fast and end up shaking them off or straight up running them off the road. Even if they do catch them another is bound to take their place anyway, the idea is spreading like wildfire."

Lightning didn't press further, she understood what he said to an extent. She had heard before that many vehicles could keep up with and even be faster than most slightly better than average pegasi, some of them going as fast as 250 mph or more. She could see why a unicorn or earth pony would get jealous, but to break rules just to get a thrill? She remembered where doing that got her last time. The pain still filled her heart from that day she failed to achieve her dream, not to mention even if she had ever been given another chance in the future it would not matter in the slightest.

"You know what Lightning, i'm surprised you considered that kind of stuff as wrong as you did. Maybe it's because your a pegasus, but I think you would get plenty of thrills from that kind of stuff. I know my friend Neon did, I help her build and maintain her car nowadays."

Lightning pondered the idea considerably. She had stretched limits before but she didn't feel above the law in any way. Thrills had always been part of her day to day life and flying was all she needed then, without it though what would she do for the remainder of her life? She didn't want it to become nothing more than wasted energy. She had been thinking about it so long they had arrived at the garage before she even realized. McClare jumped out an went around the back of the flatbed.

"Are you going to help me get this in the garage?" He asked, snapping Lightning from her thoughts. She quickly hopped out as well and the two of them rolled the newly acquired vehicle inside. With it inside the garage he thanked Lightning and turned to get back to his original work from before. After a quick hesitation Lightning asked a pressing question.

"How long do you think it will take to get it back to it's old ways?"

"Given the condition, I would say a week maybe two. It's in fair shape considering where we found it. Got a reason why?" Was his response. Lightning hesitated before replying back.

"I think I would like to take a look at it when your done. Might need to learn how to drive one soon anyway, given that I can't fly anymore." Her voice somewhat faltered but McClare either didn't notice or care.

"Fair enough, give me a week and check back. If i'm not done by then i'm sure i'll be done by two."

this was good enough for her as she nodded and walked out back towards her home. Had she never met McClare she wouldn't know if she would ever even attempt to get over the loss of the ability to fly, now she was somehow calm and collective, a striking contrast to herself the night prior. She wasn't sure why she had felt this way, it was something she couldn't quite comprehend herself at that moment. One thing she did know was that she was back to her old self, and she would stay that way, even without the ability to fly!

Author's Note

This chapter is just to get the story moving, and chapter two will mostly be a transition chapter. Once I make it to chapter three we will get into the racing that will highlight the focus of the story. The garage is in the same location as the one you get your first car from and the Supra is on the highway between Palm City Raceway, Mendoza Keys, and Edin Shores.

Test Drive

It had been only a week since Lightning had assisted McClare deliver the beat up automobile back to his garage in the outskirts of Wing City. For her time was almost always at a stand still and without flying to pass the time what was only a week felt like a decade to her. She was aware that it would likely take the blackish grey earth pony up to two weeks, but she was internally hoping that he had finished early. In her spare time over the week she had been looking up information on the vehicle she had discovered the week prior and was met with interesting photos and other descriptions about the car. Such as it's engine type, top speed, horsepower (which she thought was funny), and how fast it could reach 60 mph. It wasn't the only car she looked up as many others were present including names such as BMW, McClaren (Probably where McClare got his name from), and Audi. She was surprised to see how many cars could go even faster than 200 mph.

Upon arriving at the stallions garage she went behind the counter and out the door to the back as he had reminded her to do. It wasn't long before she spotted the Toyota Supra, freshly painted with a gloss white. It looked like it had never been touched before, the question was, where was McClare?"

"McClare, you in here?" Lightning called out, hoping to get a response.

"Under here!" He called back, from underneath the Supra that had been lifted from level floor. It appeared that he had been working on the underside of the car when she had arrived.

"I'm just finishing up the underside, adjusting a few things that were not responding properly."

"I thought you said this would take upwards to two weeks." Lightning responded.

"I had a good amount of spare time, no pony really came by this week. I was able to get most of the important work done in four days, I just got the paint done yesterday and now i'm just finishing up. Should be ready to test drive in no more than two hours." He explained.

The explanation was concrete enough for Lightning so she decided to wait around. His time was more accurate to his estimate and within two hours the two of them had the newly repaired Toyota Supra back on McClare's flatbed and on their way to his testing area down the road from his garage. They arrived at an long abandoned race track and once again unloaded the vehicle.

"So McClare, how much do you know about this vehcle?" Lightning asked, to which McClare smirked.

"The Toyota Supra, at least this model, has a top speed of 155 mph, with 320 horsepower at 5600 rpm. It can go from zero to sixty in..."

"4.6 seconds and will do the quarter mile in 13.1." Lightning finished.

"So you did your homework, i'm impressed. you want to drive it to?"

"You expect a pegasus to know how to drive one of these?"

"Fair enough, but your still going to ride with me then."

"That is fine by me"

"Good, there is an oval track not that far from here, i'll meet you over there if just want to walk."

"Sounds good."

McClare had been honest about the track. If anything it was in his backyard. Lightning admired the size of the oval, it had once played host to many autosport races. Now it had long since abandoned as ponies moved racing out into the streets. The low roar of the Supra came to life behind her as she opened the entrance gate allowing the stallion access to the track. Walking over to the car Lightning jumped in, silently thanking the fact that McClare installed hoof friendly door handles so she could actually open the door. As McClare instructed, Lightning Dust fastened her seat belt in place as he coasted the car onto the track. It was a simple oval track, no surprises were needed in order to see if the car worked. He just needed to see if the mechanics were functioning properly.

"I'm going to expect this feeling to be somewhat familiar to you, since pegasi are no stranger to g-forces."

Lightning was not sure whether that was a warning or not but nonetheless when McClare put his hoof on the petal she expected less than what she received. By the time they reached the first turn they were approaching 85 miles per hour and with how wide the corner seemed he didn't appear to slow down in the slightest going through and out towards the back stretch. Lightning could feel the g's, the only difference from flying being she was on the ground, technically, and she didn't feel any wind resistance since the car's windshield was doing the job. They topped 130 going down the back stretch and McClare only tapped the brake to make sure he didn't go up the track in turn 3 and 4. They crossed the line within seconds of exiting and McClare brought the Supra to a halt just past it. He glance at Lightning's expression with amusement.

"Liked the ride?" He asked, to which Lightning met his eyes and said

"Why didn't I ever learn about this before?"

"I hate to be blunt, but it's likely because your a pegasus." was his flat faced response.

"True, i'll give you that. I did expect you to be slower though, I mean from what I know you repair these things more than you drive them."

"My father did track racing back when that was still a thing many years ago. He mostly drove vehicles owned by Mclaren, which is where I got my name from. My friend Neon and I would always go to watch him race, well, we did until they stopped performing races because ponies were becoming uninterested in it. I'll admit, going in a literal circle for hours can be pretty weird to watch. Not for Neon though, that mare was always wanting to grow up and be like them. So when street racing became a thing she just couldn't resist the temptation, even if it mean't she had to be against the law."

With every sentence that McClare said as he continued Lightning could notice an increase in his regret, it was as if something was bothering him. She remembered him mentioning his friend as they were returning from picking up the Supra. Something about her was poking her interest.

"She seemed really close to you."

"She still is, she doesn't even know how to manage her car so whenever something comes up she asks me to do the work. I know she still cares, but I just wish I didn't have to do the dirty work for her own benefit..."

The pairs conversation is interrupted by a beeping noise emanating from inside the truck.

"Speaking of, that's probably her calling me from the garage since i'm not there. We better get going, besides I think you two will get along since she has a taste for thrills that would put most pegasi to shame."

They made their way back to the garage, with the Supra attached to the back. As they were pulling in Lightning spotted a vehicle she did not recognize. From her previous knowledge she believed it to be Nissan GT-R Nismo, a modern super car capable of nearly 200 mph. She deduced that this was McClare's friend Neon's choice of vehicle, taking notice of the body kit and custom white paint job with bright blue and green highlights.

'Good choice, but those things are expensive. How did she manage to get one?' She thought.

The two ponies exited the flatbed just as a third exited the garage to greet them. It was a white unicorn mare with a green and blue mane/tail with bright green eyes. Her cutie mark showed a wheel with two sparks, one green and one blue. Lightning deduced that this was McClare's friend Neon, if her coat, mane, and tail colors matching the paint work on the Nissan were anything to go by. She met them in the center of the parking lot and was the first to speak up.

"I guess I see why you weren't here, judging by the fact that you have something new on the truck today. I'm going to assume that you just received that recently and decided to test it."

Lightning could feel the confidence resonating of of her voice, it was like she was a unicorn version of Lightning herself. Maybe she could get along with this mare, but she would be cautious about it. She remembered the last time she put her trust in another pony, it didn't end well for her at least.

"Mostly true, I actually repaired it myself. Got a tip from some pony and they helped me bring it back to the garage. Just finished it this morning." McClare responded to Neon. Neon took a glance at Lightning which got Lightning's attention off of her own thoughts, giving her a quick look over, then faced McClare once again.

"New blood?"

"Pretty much, she was the one who showed me where it was."

"And she's still here? She's a pegasus, she can fly just like all other pegasi. what makes her different from the ones that don't care to drive a car like us?

The Supra could have fallen on Lightning at that moment and it would not have hurt as much physically as Neon's words did emotionally. She had been trying her hardest to get over the fact that she couldn't fly anymore for the past week and everything she had been fighting back was coming again all at once. She didn't wan't to have to explain it to every pony she came across, she would be able to handle it. It seemed that McClare either remembered what Lightning felt like before or just had a side ability of being a mind reader but he answered her prayers for her.

"Touchy subject Neon, let's just make the comparison of her wings being as useful as a car with no engine."

Neon's mode changed dramatically from that sentence alone, empathy written all over her face.

"Sorry about that, I... didn't realize. I'm Neon Shock, but I guess you can call me Spark. That's what i'm known by on the Street Racing community which i'm going to assume that McClare already told you i'm a part of?"

"Yeah, he did. Name's Lightning Dust." She responded, giving a nod. McClare spoke up interrupting their greetings.

"Well I'm sure you need me to do something Neon? You don't usually come by just to talk."

"Right, I got off track there. I'll get it inside and have you take a look once you take care of your new prize." She responded while gesturing towards the Toyota still resting on the flatbed truck behind them.

Once they had the Supra parked inside the garage Neon brought in the GT-R and parked in an available working area immediately exiting so McClare could get to work while Lightning sat in the corner observing.

"So what is it today girl? Is it the transmission again?" He asked, trying to get an idea of what to start with.

"I just wanted to make sure everything was taken care of for that big event coming up tomorrow remember? The Perfect Shift League? It's that thing that I told you about last month that Vitality was setting up."

If Lightning Dust wasn't paying attention to the conversation she was now.

"Oh right, the so called "Princess of Street Racing's biggest event in its history" seriously what has got you so obsessed over that?" McClare confirmed, then asked. Lightning's curiosity was peeking, but she remained silent.

"McClare they don't give her that title for nothing. No pony knows what she looks like, she's never been beaten either. She disappears for nearly 6 months and then shows up out of nowhere announcing that she is starting a new league that any pony, experienced in street racing or not, regardless of their reputation, is allowed to compete. As long as you have a car that can be considered race worthy your good, and if i'm going to do this i need to be sure my GT-R is running correctly!" Neon was basically shouting to McClare at this point and Lightning couldn't hold her questions anymore.

"Excuse me but, i'm at a loss of info here. What exactly are you talking about Neon?" She questioned. Neon gave her a look, but then likely remembered that Lightning was a pegasus and sighed.

"Never thought I would be explaining this to a pegasus but, i'm talking about this big event that is coming up tomorrow night that I'm planning on entering into. It's my big chance to get noticed by Vitality, the biggest street racer in Equestria today, and I'm planning on going all the way."

Lightning Dust noticed something in those emerald eyes that seemed very familiar to her. It was determination, something she felt many years ago back when her life mean't something. Neon's situation wasn't the same as Lightning's was, but the same feeling of purpose was still there. Lightning had been debating internally all week since learning about street racing while riding with McClare. This was her deciding factor and the final push towards her choice.

"Didn't you say any pony experienced or not can enter?"

"Your not implying this seriously right Lightning?" McClare questioned her.

"McClare, you know as much as I do that if i'm not feeling adrenaline, i'm not living my life right. If I have the chance to live a life of thrills the i'm taking the chance."

"The more the merrier I guess, but don't expect me to be easy on you girl. That is, if you make it far enough to even compete with my GT-R." An ever cocky Neon replied.

"Lightning, there's two problems with that. Number one, you don't even know how to drive and two, you don't even have a car! you can't expect to even attempt to try street racing." McClare at this point was using anything he had against her choice, in the end to no avail.

"I'm pretty sure between Neon and yourself I can figure it out, as for the car.." Lightning glanced at the Toyota Supra behind them. "I'm certain that's already taken care of."

"I think me and McClare can manage, as long as your a fast learner. Like I said it starts tomorrow night so we better get started soon. Get to working buddy, I need to show this rookie the ropes."

"Maybe I am the only sane pony here." McClare noted and set to work on the GT-R, leaving Neon and Lightning to themselves.

"Just saying though Lightning, I didn't start winning races in my first week. Don't expect to come out on top when you get there."

"I wasn't actually. After all no pony expects a filly to fly as fast as the Wonderbolts."

"Is that something that pegasi say a lot?"

"No, I actually came up with that just now."

Author's Note

Yes, I did look up the performance statistics of a 1998 Toyota Supra. I don't think that's a problem though is it? Anyway one more chapter before this get's into the main arc in the story. Time for Lightning to learn how to drive. :rainbowdetermined2:

Shifting Into First

Another night done and Lightning Dust was once again heading to the garage to meet up with McClare, as well as Neon. Neon was going to show her how to drive a car or more specifically, how to drive a car like a street racer would. She was a bit uneasy for two reasons, the first being she had no idea how to even work a vehicle. She had made glances at how McClare did it while he was testing the Toyota Supra but she only ever glanced once or twice. Secondly, she was already aware that once she started racing, she was considered a criminal due to the fact that street racing was indeed illegal. McClare had made that very clear the morning prior. She was no stranger to being reckless at the risk of others, although it pained her to think about those early days, never mention she hadn't ever considered doing anything illegal in her life due to her strive to become a professional flier. Now that was not only a thing of the past, but so was her ability to fly which made Lightning ever more willing to take risks. She arrived at the garage where Neon and McClare were waiting out front alongside Neon's GT-R, her new Toyota Supra, and what she recognized as a dark grey Nissan 180 SX which she presumed McClare would be driving. Neon spoke up first.

"Finally your here, i'm sure you're aware which one belongs to you. I'll show you how it works and then we'll make our way to the track so you can get the real feel for it, and by the way I asked McClare to add a little extra for you to try when you got a hold on the basics. We'll show you when your ready for it but for now let's get you situated in."

She and Lightning walked around to the driver side of the Supra while McClare entered the 180. Lightning entered the Supra for the first time on the driver side and got herself comfy in the seat while Neon buckled her in.

"Just remember to always buckle up whether your racing or not, it's a good habit. Not to mention it could save your life when it comes to crashing, especially at high speeds like how racers do it." Neon reassured. Lightning made a mental note of it and Neon handed her a radio.

"What's this for exactly?" She asked.

"Just so we can talk to each other without having to scream through an open window at high speeds, works wonders."

"I hadn't thought of that."

Neon closed the door and headed over to her GT-R, jumping in and fired up the V8 in the Nissan which roared to life, McClare followed suit in the 240 which made a slightly softer but nonetheless roaring sound. Neon came in on the radio.

"Lightning, McClare, check in."

"Read you Neon." McClare responded

"Loud and Clear." Lightning followed

"Now Lightning usually these things have keys that start them up like mine, however since i'm certain only unicorns can handle a key properly both you and McClare's cars have a push to start button located just off to the right and level with the steering wheel. Once you find it press the button and hold until it fires. When I hear your engine start up we'll move on."

Lightning didn't waste her time and quickly located the button in the exact location where Neon stated, then proceeded to press it as instructed, the engine coming to life at her hooves brought the old beast back from it's slumber.

"Good, alright to your right is where you shift gears, and since you have an automatic transmission you only have the four directive options. Each letter on the stick corresponds to the function with D for drive, P for park, R for reverse, and N for Neutral. To switch gears you have to hold the brake down first before you move the shift stick. The brake is the horizontal facing pedal beneath you. Keep the brake down after you shift into drive and let us know when you're ready."

She did as instructed, holding down the brake with her right leg and switched into drive leaving her hoof in position. She also noticed a concealed button a bit further forward that was labeled "NO2."

"All good, what's the other button for?"

"We'll be getting to that later, it's that little special addition McClare added. we'll go single file with you in between me and McClare, wait for me to pass by to the exit and then give it some gas. Not too much though, the pedals are very sensitive."

Neon then proceeded to pull up to the exit, waiting for Lightning to follow. Lightning didn't want to keep her waiting so she applied a mediocre amount of pressure to the gas, which in turn jerked the car forward suddenly much to Lightning's surprise and Neon's enjoyment.

"Like I said, very sensitive."

With the basic functions handled and Lightning finally getting a feel for the steering wheel in front of her it wasn't to far of a drive for the trio towards the abandoned oval. With Neon leading the three cars towards their intended destination is was a quite simple drive with Lightning in the middle and McClare behind making sure she kept pace with the unicorn in front. They pulled up to a four way intersection with a red stoplight intending to go left. Neon activated her blinker.

"Lightning, it's daytime so we don't need any any unwanted attention. That means we follow road rules, so don't forget your blinker."

When did you become so overly cautious?” McClare replied with heavy sarcasm.

“What, it’s not like I do everything illegally! Do you want Lightning in trouble before she can even go a day in that Supra?”

“Well it’s not like it will matter in the long run.” Neon could only sigh heavily before replying.

“McClare, I know what i’ve gotten myself into. In fact if I get caught out in the open with my GT-R i might have to jump ship. With all the heat I have I can’t risk pulling you both down with me. Now, let’s get on with…” Neon suddenly paused. She and Lightning both caught a glimpse of a vehicle pulling to the light on the opposite edge of the intersection. A Dodge Viper SRT10, with matte black paint and a red stripe with matching rim coloring. The pony inside wasn’t visible due to the heavy tint on the windshield, though Neon seemed to know exactly who the driver was as the Viper rounded a left and crossed in front of them. It took a second but eventually Neon pulled her own turn towards their intended destination while the Viper headed towards downtown. Lightning and McClare quickly followed, both unfazed and heavily confused as to why the standoff just occured. Lightning seemed to have the most curiosity between them and broke the awkward silence.

“Neon, who was driving that car? You went really quiet there?” Neon reply could have killed with how venomous she sounded.

“That Stallion is not to be mentioned again, nor trifled with dear Lightning for he is a sore loser… however i’ll give you the courtesy since you were polite. McClare, remember two weeks ago when I visited your place with a flat tire?”

“Yes, you had a hole punched in the left rear. Why?”

“That stallion is why there was a hole in my tire, well it was actually his friends but that is not the point. His name is Rogue Rush. He stopped by town no more than one month ago to sign up for the league and had the dumbest idea of challenging me in a best out of three sprint. Beat him twice in a row without much trouble and when we started the third race I come to find out his buddies have cut a hole in my rear just so he could get one over me. Lesson learned, he is an over confident brat who uses cheap tactics. So, I managed to get myself in a qualifier with him. They inspect the cars so foul play is impossible.”

“He deserves a kick in the teeth.”

“Mind your words Lightning. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, right now you have to get some practice in.”

The rest of the ride to the track was uneventful as the entered the long abandoned oval and into the pit lane where Neon and McClare parked their respective vehicles. Lightning continued to take slow rounds on the oval waiting for Neon to give her further instructions.

“Alright Lightning, next time you pass by us I want you to start increasing your speed to what you feel is the limit of your comfort. We’ll continue once your there.”

Slowly Lightning increased the speed of her Supra. 35… 45… 60… 85… she started getting uncomfortable around 90. The pace she was keeping gave her goosebumps, she had gone much faster before while flying but this feeling had no air resistance and she had little control over where the car would go. For a good twenty minutes or so Lightning attempted to increase her speed past 100, every attempt was met with her releasing pressure too much and having speed back up. It was starting to test Neon’s patience. What about Lightning was different when it came to driving. She hadn’t been like this on the road.

“Celestia dangit, Lightning what is going on with you?!” Neon was at the limit of her patience.

“Easy for you to say, you’ve been doing this your entire life!” Lightning’s response was cut short as she entered another left turn. “Just because I can’ fly anymore doesn’t mean I’m not used to flying. No wind resistance, i’m not even moving my body!”

Wind resistance? Neon didn’t pay attention much in school but pegasi seemed to know a lot about aerodynamics and how to use them to their advantage. Not much Lightning could do with herself sealed behind the windows, unless. An idea sprouted in the rational side of Neon’s brain.

“Lightning, I have an idea but you might want to stop over here before you try it.”

“Oh, now you tell me to stop?”

Lightning’s voice was irritated at best but nevertheless she complied and stopped on the pit lane next to her partners. She hopped out clearly rattled by the experience she had just underwent inside the Supra. McClare was concerned for Lightning Dust while Neon began overlooking the interior of the car. She seemed to be searching for something.

“McClare, was it really that bad when you learned to drive?” Lightning asked. She had no idea how the earth pony and unicorn were so comfortable behind the wheel of such high powered machines.

“Not even close, then again it was years ago. Not to mention My parents started me off slow. I practiced for months before I let everything pass. Still, I don’t know what it’s like to be behind the wheel of a car like Neon’s.”

Behind them a slow buzz could be overheard from where Neon was inspecting the Supra, slowly the windows that had been covering the view inside were winded down allowing one to see inside or outside.

“Found it. There you go Lightning, that should be as close as you can get to feeling the air.”

“The windows go down?! Why wasn’t I told this earlier?”

“I thought it was pointless since it didn’t give anything but a better experience. Personally I drive better with them up since it keeps my mane out of my eyes.” A smirk cracked across Neon’s face. “Want to give it a try?”

“Better than giving up now.”

With renewed confidence Lightning once again buckled up in the Supra and set off. With the windows down her cruising speed seemed much more reliable as she could feel the wind once again move through her mane like it used to not even a week ago. It was a new feeling for her, and her confidence grew exponentially. She began to increase her speed and as she did so the wind grow in strength against her, but i could not slow her down. Before she could realize it she was going 130… 140… 150… she was overcome with joy. She felt like herself again, sure she couldn’t pull an acrobatic tricks like before but she had the feeling of speed once again. Neon seemed proud of her and herself, Lightning kept going around the track every time getting slightly faster. It felt like she could go on forever, but Neon had one more thing to show her.

“McClare, keep an eye on her. It’s time I test her myself.”

Without even giving the stallion time to respond Neon quickly made her way into her Nissan GT-R and made her way out onto the track just as Lightning was entering the first turn. Neon knew that the size of the track would limit her speed just enough to make the impromptu race as even as possible. She caught Lightning by surprise on the backstretch and rocketed in front. As they got into the third turn she kicked the clutch and spin the rear tires, turning just enough to initiate a remarkable powerslide. Lightning was mesmerized by the maneuver as the smoke that came the the rear tires of the GT-R enveloped the high line of the course. Upon exit Neon relaxed the throttle and straightened out once again pulling ahead. Blue flames pouring out from the twin exhaust. McClare same through the radio.

“Lightning, I think it’s time to press that button you asked about earlier. I think you’ll like what I did.”

She need not be told twice. Of course pressing the button engaged the nitrous tanks that were installed in the trunk. The sudden boost of acceleration forced lightning back in her seat. She had felt alive again as the dual flames came from her Supra’s own exhaust. As quickly as it began the thrill was over and after a few more laps both the Nissan and the Toyota were parked once again. Lightning was as eager as a young filly and without hesitation hugged the breath out of McClare. Neon was amused by this but still had her trademark straight forward attitude.

“Lightning, don’t make me fight you for him.” It was an obvious joke, but in a serious enough tone to make Lightning Dust release the poor stallion from her grip.

“I think she like the addition McClare.” Neon claimed. McClare only chuckled at the mention.

“A little nitrous oxide never hurts any pony. Nice powerslide by the way.”

“Thanks bro, i’ve been practicing that one in particular for some time now. Just thought i show it to you and Lightning while we're still here.”

“Yeah, well we better get home before it becomes dark. We all have a long night tomorrow, you especially. You want to sleep at my place tonight?” McClare asked the unicorn.

“Of course, keep an eye on my ride for me will you?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

Lightning was far to distracted by her own thoughts to pay attention the the conversation that was occuring. She was only brought out of her mind by Neon saying her name.

“Lightning, take care of yourself tonight okay. Go home and get some sleep, we’ll be waiting at the garage for you tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks, i’ll see you both then.”

With that the two ponies parted ways from the pegasus as Lightning retraced the mental map in her head towards her residence. She parked the Toyota Supra out front making sure to lock it. She immediately made herself a meal and bathed. Entering her room once more but this time with renewed self confidence. She had made friends, she was content with what she had, but she needed plenty of rest. After all, qualifying was to begin the night of tomorrow and she would need to be fully focused.

Author's Note

That took a lot longer than I was expecting, though I'm glad I took my time. I worked out some inconsistency in chapter 2 and 3 before I put this up to make sure I had it edited properly. I did notice a continuity error so I made a subtle edit in chapter 2 :twilightsheepish:

However chapter 4 is already in editing stage and I should have it ready to go fairly soon. Thank you for tooning in. Next up is the big night for Neon and Lightning Dust. The qualifying races for Perfect Shift.

Qualifying Catastrophe

Lightning Dust was once again in the garage with McClare and Neon, the former checking the underside of the Supra, the ladder propped upright next to her GT-R. Lightning wasn’t completely confident with her driving ability, but she at least knew she could handle the Supra’s power. It felt like a perfect car for her to start off with, not quite a high power sports car, but just fast enough to not be boring. It’s rear-wheel drive setup also gave Lightning the ability to slide through corners if she was losing excitement.

It had been just over 24 hours since she last drove the Supra, McClare wanted to make sure it was all ready for the night ahead. They had just about two hours before they had to make it for the qualifier. Neon had informed Lightning of how it would work out. To make it fair each participant would have their vehicles ranked by class, those being classes A, B, and C. This was based on performance with faster cars being classed as A and slower at C. Neon’s Nissan GT-R was a mid-class A while Lightning’s Toyota Supra was a high C class, meaning she would be racing other C class vehicles.

Neon was planning on setting up a staged course for Lightning to see how fast she could push the Supra on the streets, since Lightning’s only practice had been on a private track. It was obviously going to be kept low so they wouldn’t attract and authorities, so only two times around was the limit. They were just waiting on McClare to finish up with his check. She and Lightning were in the middle of discussing the layout when said stallion retreated from under the vehicle.

“Alright, should be good to go. I’ll meet you both outside in a second while I clean up.” He said, then proceeded to lower the Toyota back to ground level.

Lightning hopped in and rolled the Supra outside with Neon trotting out behind her, radios in her magic aura. She hoofed one over to Lightning through her window for check, then waited for her to go out to the area she would start at.

“Alright remember, two blocks down then one across. Like a rectangle really. Only do what you can handle, I don’t want you scratching the paint.” She ordered, speaking into the radio.

“Got it, but this is technically my car so i’ll do whatever with it.” Lightning responded.

“Actually it belongs to McClare until he says otherwise, but that doesn’t matter. Just do the course as fast as you can the first time, we’ll try some drifting on the second lap if I feel your up for it.”

Lightning rolled up to the indicated point in the road and shifted into neutral to rev her engine, waiting on Neon’s signal to go. She remembered to keep as close to redline as possible for the best shift. Neon gave the signal and Lightning shifted into drive. Neon had noted it wasn’t perfect but still a decent launch. The automatic gears in the Supra made it to 4th at 125 mph before Lightning had to slow into the first corner as she eased her way into the second half of the temporary circuit. Flooring it down the next two blocks she barely made it to 155 mph before the incoming corner forced her to slow again. Neon came on the radio as she rounded back to the start.

“Pretty good for a rookie, in class C no less. You can do better though, try drifting into the next turn. Use the E-brake and remember to counter steer once you rotate, those rear wheels are going to spin wildly.”

Lightning focused in on her words as she clocked at 140 on the line, readying her right hoof for the E-brake. As she entered the turn she pulled up and throttled the gas, however she didn’t have enough counter steer and she spun out on the exit. She cursed aloud into the radio, though Neon didn’t respond. She knew it would happen at first, she remembered the first time she tried sliding a corner with rear-wheel. After a second though she decided to remind the rookie of her mistake.

“Not enough counter steer Dust, though I figured you knew that.”

“I did! I’ll get it this time.” Dust furiously responded.

“You sure? It took me hours of practice to get it right with half as much power in the wheels.” Neon questioned.

“Watch me.” was all Lightning said before going silent.

Neon was about to start laughing at Lightning’s blunt stubbornness when she overheard the distinct sound of rubber on pavement and looked over to see a white Supra rounding the corner sideways with a determined Lightning Dust in the driver’s seat. Said Supra straightened out before coming to a halt in front of the garage. Lightning Dust parked it and shut it off, it would likely need new tires. Neon approached her.

“What was that exactly, you not telling me something?” She questioned.

“I guess i’m just that good.” Lightning added, with a smirk.

“I think your just a fast learner, fits your personality anyways.” She glanced at the Supra “Might want to ask McClare to put a new set on, you might have already burned the rubber.” Neon added.

“Probably, don’t want one going off during the heats.”

“Precisely, maybe you do have a brain in there.” Neon remarked.

“Of course I do!” Lightning retorted, only to glance down at her completely motionless wings, folded onto either side of her body. “Doesn’t mean I think most of the time. These wings used to be the best things I had. Now they’re just a reminder of my past mistakes.”

“The accident that McClare told me about, I know.”

“It goes back farther than that. I used to be proud of who I was. I had a chance to be something better and I messed up because I was caught up in the moment. I put ponies in danger because I wanted personal gain, and ended up losing my dream, I got so worked up over it that I even lost my job and eventually just started flying whenever I felt like it. Turns out I lost that now too.”

Neon took Lightning’s face and forced it up, looking into her eyes.

“Look, i’m not the type of pony that will tell you the easy way to make your life better. I have taken the difficult road my entire life, that includes my street racing career. I’m sure McClare already told you the risks that this type of life has, I know them too. Do you know why I do this Lightning, it’s because it’s fun, it keeps my blood pumping. I don’t do this as a competition, that’s not me, and I can tell that’s not you either. You had a life that you liked, and piece by piece it was stripped from you, I’m in the same boat to an extent. So here’s what i’m going to tell you, just go with what your heart tells you. I won’t blame you if you feel that this isn’t for you in the end, but pouting on the sidewalk about your mistakes isn’t going to get you anywhere right now. You have two hours to make up your mind, either get in the Supra and come with me to the heats or you continue the road to a bitter life of sadness.”

And with that Neon left Lightning outside the garage as she went to let McClare know that the Supra needed new tires. She knew what Lightning’s answer would be she just needed to get Lightning back to the mare she knew Lightning was. She reminded her of when she was just getting into the scene.

“Who knows, maybe someday I’ll race her in her own supercar. Wouldn’t that be cool.” She smiled at the thought.

(Later that Night, Undisclosed Location in Downtown Wing City)

Night time in the city, a perfect place and time for a classic street race, or many in this case. The Heats for the Perfect Shift League, a tournament attracting racers of all kinds of skill from across Equestria. Many vehicles of different manufacturer, model, and speed. Everything from Mazda’s and Subaru’s to exotics such as Lamborghini, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and highly sought after Ferrari's. Even a wannabe hotshot in his beat up Golf GTI. Everything is here and ready to be pushed to the limit.

“Here we are girl, looks like it’s going to be a wild night.”

Neon Shock and Lightning Dust had just arrived in their respective cars, after signing up in their respective heat races. Just as expected, Lightning would be racing C-class with her Toyota Supra while Neon and her Nissan GT-R would be in A-class and race much later. Lightning saw many recognizable models. BMW, Porsche, and Audi all had multiple cars everywhere, all personalized to some extent. Lightning felt like her plain white Supra looked out of place in the sea of colors. They found side-by-side spaces and parked, with Neon’s Nissan getting some looks from passerby. She was no stranger to attention, she had made a name for herself in the area for some time now.

“Heavy crowd…” Lightning noted. “You sure are popular around here.”

“I’ve done some special things with this thing Lightning, you ever heard the saying “Super car's for breakfast”? This thing lives by that name.”

“Hey Spark, nice seeing you here!” Came an unknown voice.

“Window up! We don’t want you to draw any unwanted attention yet.” Neon ordered to Lightning before facing the newcomer. Lightning wanted to object but just rolled up her tinted windows that were being used as cover to who she really was. The voice belonged to an earth pony stallion with a black coat as well as a blue and red mane. “Shockwave, long time no see. Still driving that RS4?”

“Always, what’s with the Supra? I see you still have the Nissan so what’s this doing here?”

“New blood, wants to learn how to live the dangerous life.” Neon cocked a grin, which the stallion followed.

“Always welcome to have new faces on the scene, anything you know about ‘em?”

“Mare, likes to go by the name Lightning, though she is thinking about going by “Superstorm” once she really starts getting into racing. Young, not much older than I was and she really learns fast, it feels like she just learned how to drive yesterday.” She laughed, even though she knew it wasn’t a joke. The stallion didn’t pick up though as he chuckled a bit himself. “She is racing tonight actually, C-class. She’s got a lot of potential, maybe check it out yourself.”

“Why not, I’m not racing until B-class so it wouldn’t hurt. I’ll see you around.”

With that the stallion walked off towards the crowd, Neon motioned to Lightning Dust that she could roll the window down again.
“Why was that necessary again?” Lightning questioned.

“Remember how I reacted to you when I realized you were a pegasus? Yeah pegasi aren’t exactly accepted around here since they are against the idea of needing automobiles. I’m just keeping that part of your identity tucked away until further notice.” Neon confirmed. There was still one thing on Lightning’s mind.

“What’s with whole ‘Superstorm’ thing, I don’t get it?”

“Codename, almost every pony in here has one to keep their identity a secret from authorities that try to spy on us. Mine’s ‘Spark’, it’s simple and I like it. I came up with yours on the fly based on your personality.”

“You know, I like it.”

“Good then it’s settled, your Superstorm now. That means you call me Spark from now on, unless it’s just us and McClare. Good?”

“All good”

Just as they were finishing up, a voice came over an announcement speaker

“C-class races will be starting in ten minutes, all racers participating meet at the track as soon as possible. We will now be posting the race schedule on the live feed above the parking area. Check them to find out when and with whom your racing.”

Every one of the racers currently at the parking lot including Neon and Lightning looked up at the screen above them as the first race lineup was showed.

Lifeline- Honda S2000
Sledgehammer- Dodge Charger SRT8
Aqua Streak- Subaru BRZ
Lightning- Toyota Supra

Neon took a glance at Lightning, smiling.

“That’s you Superstorm, looks like it’s time to get down to business.”

They both rode in the Supra towards the starting line at the heat track just down the road. What Neon forgot to check was her race, which happened to be the last one on the screen. The final race of the night.

Stunner- Mclaren MP4-12C
Firewall- Aston Martin V12 Vantage
Spark- Nissan GT-R
Rogue Rush- Dodge Viper SRT10

As they arrived at the line, they found that one of the competitors had already arrived. The Subaru BRZ was already lined up and ready to go, it was the classic Subaru blue, although the rims were painted a slight teal color to match the ocean. It had a wing, though it was not quite mighty.

“Aqua Streak, she is somewhat new around here. Young earth pony mare, but has lots of heart. She races clean, but she knows every shortcut in the city from experience and will use it. She is probably you’re biggest threat today.” Neon informed Lightning.

“Where did you get that from?” Lightning questioned.

“I’m a veteran, and when you become that level, you start to realize what others are good and bad at, and what they tend to do. Like him.”
A grey Dodge Charger SRT8 rolled up beside Lightning on the opposite side of the Subaru, inside was an earth pony stallion.

“That’s Sledgehammer, he’s aggressive and that’s obvious. What isn’t obvious is that he over drives corners when he is behind. You can use that if your lined up behind him and another driver to get inside of him.”

Soon after a yellow Honda S2000 pulled up alongside the Subaru. Inside is a unicorn mare.

“Lifeline, she has a good launch but she can’t power-slide well, she takes corners slower than most so that’s where you can get past her. If possible you can line up behind her and Sledgehammer and take care of both at once. Then it’s just the Subaru.”

Lightning was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t speak, she was thankful that she at least understood what Neon had said. Neon opened the door to exit as Lightning needed to be alone inside to concentrate. With all of the racer lined up the light’s above turned red as they started to rev their engines to get the perfect launch. To Lightning, it had felt like forever until the light turned yellow as she and all around her continued revving. She waited just a fraction of a second to compensate for the redline and just as it made it all the way there… the light turned green.

The squeaking sound of tires spinning engulfed the surrounding area as each car launched off the grid heading northwest. Just as Neon suspected, Lifeline had gotten a great jump off the line with Sledgehammer not to far off. Lightning had got a decent jump but she had shifted late putting her in 3rd just ahead of Aqua’s Subaru. However that had put her in great position for the first turn, a 90 degree left coming quickly. The S2000 in the front slowed early as the driver took the easy way into the corner. The Charger behind reacted just in time but went towards the outside giving it a bad line into the corner as Lightning took her Supra towards the inside. Getting the preferred line was key and she took the lead coming out with the Subaru following her at neck and neck pace with the S2000, pulling ahead thanks to her superior top speed. The Dodge Charger would overshoot the corner and drop to fourth. Lightning soon came up to the 90 degree left heading south across another bridge on the west side of the city and took an easy line through to conserve speed. She glanced in her mirror to see the Subaru doing an overtake on the outside of the S2000 which surprised her a bit even though she was aware of how slow the Honda was. No time to dwell on it, she was getting ready for right that would bring her towards the city outskirts up into a long straight towards the freeway exit. As she was setting up she noticed the Subaru cut into the parking lot she had just passed, it took allowed the BRZ to cut onto the road in front of her. She had to adjust to this and quickly decided to power-slide the corner to save time. It payed off but she had lost the lead for the moment.

She gained some distance thanks to her top speed before a quick left followed by another, the freeway was just off to her right. Her top speed advantage regained her the lead as the passed the south port. Lightning took no chances heading towards the wheel corner on the southeast corner. The Subaru took a back road and cut the right turn in half again cutting off her momentum.

They were dead even now on the east beach another left turn and once again the Subaru cut the corner early taking another back road that cut the corner in half. Dust could not risk the time she would give up from this with the finish line across the bridge. She had to slide the corners to keep pace. The first left came quick, first e-brake then counter steer. The first turn worked well enough. Ahead of her the Subaru made its exit and took a slow turn to enter the bridge but Lightning was right on it. In a move only some pony as reckless as her would do she did another slide this time around the outside of the car taking the corner. It put her in neck and neck with the driver next to her, only one thing left to do.

Full throttle.

The pedal went to the floor as the Supra fought with the slower Subaru struggling to keep pace. Lightning pulled pulled in front once she cleared as she closed the distance to the finish. She could see it no more than 500 feet from her and she focused everything she had on keeping the car straight, as everything slowed to a crawl around her. Just as the finish was coming close she dared to glance at the vehicle behind her. She was ahead, she had it won. She crossed the line and while the finish was close it was clear to the crowd outside. Every pony there knew that Lightning had been one. She had done it, she qualified for the league. She did donuts to celebrate as The Dodge and Honda caught up to the line.

The crowd mobbed her Supra, everyone there wanting to know who the new hotshot was on the scene. Lightning wasn’t up for it though, she knew what Neon had told her and she wasn’t going to show her face yet. As they all cleared she searched for Neon, which wasn’t too hard to do as the Nissan GT-R was parked alongside the finish. She rolled down her window and motioned for Lightning to follow her. She led her back to the parking lot where she finally let her speak again.

“Oh my! You don’t how alive I feel right now. I could do this for the rest of my life!”

“Precisely how I felt after my first race, and I didn’t even come close to winning. Who knows, maybe you can set up a winning streak thing or something.”

“Unlikely, besides you helped me out with those tips, thanks.”

“You didn’t get those from me.” Neon said in a serious tone. Lightning wasn’t buying it and eventually they had a laugh, but it was short lived as a familiar Dodge Viper pulled up to them. Neon quickly motioned for Lightning to roll her window up again as Rogue Rush pulled up alongside Neon’s Nissan.

“So, your teaching a new blood? Not too bad for a first race considering the odds. She staying to watch me smoke you?” He spoke with a mischievous grin.

“Yes she is staying, but not to watch me lose to someone as inconsiderate as yourself. May I remind you this isn’t the first time i’ll be showing you my rear bumper, and I was taking it easy that time.” Neon smirked. Lightning was watching through the tinted windows on her Supra.

“You better watch where you put those words, or my tail lights won’t be the only thing your seeing by the end of the night.” He warned before driving off to spectate the other current races. Lightning didn’t wait to roll down her window again.

“Who bit into his rotten apple?” She asked Neon.

“He is, was, and always will be a sore loser. He knows i’m better than him but he won’t admit it, even though he races dirty no matter who he is up against. I pride myself on clean racing and he makes me sick, i’ll put him in his place eventually. You should go watch some of the other races, get some eyes on who is making it in while I get ready. It’s going to be a long night.”

Lightning decided there was no better option than that and made her way to the spectator area. She arrived just in time to watch the last C-class race finish. A Ford Mustang Boss 302 was the first to cross the line with a huge lead over the RX-8, Eclipse, and Focus RS. Lightning had a soft spot for the older muscles that she knew of, her favorite being the Camaro SS.

“I might get one as a bonus after i’m done here, might be nice to drive.” She thought.

She was interrupted by a tap on her tinted windows, through which she could see a unicorn stallion with dark shades on which fully covered her eyes. He was motioning for her to roll down her window. She complied, remembering to conceal her wings as to not give them away.

“Lightning, am I right?” the stallion said in monotone.

“Yes, that’s me.” Lightning replied nervously.

“I wasn’t able to get you this after the heats, we’re giving them out to those who qualify.” He handed her a hoof held device through the window. “This will help you stay in touch with the league, as well as monitor the rules and what races are scheduled. You’ll put your code name, gender, and car in and it will keep you up to date with everything the league has. Go ahead and fill in the info now.”

She went ahead and opened the info tab on the tablet and filled in the respective info boxes.

Codename: Superstorm
Gender: Mare
Vehicle in use: Toyota Supra Color: White

She tapped the confirm button and looked back towards the stallion who checked a tablet of his own.

“You’re in, good luck out there. Authorities are starting to crack down a lot and it’s hard for new drivers to make any moves around here. Welcome to Perfect Shift, Superstorm.”

*2 hours later*

Lightning felt like she had been watching the heats for days. It was one race after another with so many different cars and just as many different faces. She knew that the street racing scene was big but she had no idea that there were this many ponies that would be there.

“There all unicorns and earth ponies too, Neon wasn’t kidding about the lack of pegasi.” She thought.

She was fully aware of how much pegasi were against the thought of motorized vehicles, being one herself. They had completely boycotted the use and production of them in Cloudsdale and they never used them personally anywhere else. They didn’t really need them, they could fly great distances by themselves without the need for assistance. Lightning had been in the same boat for the longest time with her pride of her superior speed and acrobatics towering over everything else. She had been so prideful she made an attempt at living off of it. She glanced at her wings, folded behind her against the seat of the Supra and out of sight of any pony not looking for them. They had been in that position for nearly a week, with no movement whatsoever. The doctors had surgically positioned them there while Lightning was asleep so they wouldn’t be hanging loosely at her sides and become a hindrance to her new routine. She did not want to relive that day any longer. She had a new life that was just as exciting as any other she had lived before, and she had to focus on that life only.

She watched from her position as a bright yellow Mclaren 12C and an orange Aston Martin V12 Vantage rolled up to the line, they were followed closely behind by a distinctly familiar black and blood red Dodge Viper. She recognized it almost immediately.

“Rogue Rush, if he’s here that means…” Her thoughts were cut off by another familiar sound, this one coming from a Nissan GT-R that pulled up alongside the Viper in between the Mclaren and the Aston Martin. Neon had been waiting all night for her moment in the spotlight and she wasn’t going to let anyone take it away from her, Lightning knew that very well. She dare not distract her as she lined up with the other racers. Lightning had her moment of the night, this was Neon’s. Lightning could swear she saw Neon look with a genuine smile through her side window in her direction just before the lights came on to signal the start.

Red, Yellow, Green…

Neon probably had the best launch of the night as she pulled ahead very quickly in front of Rogue who wasn’t far behind. They had both gained distance on the other two long before they made it to the first left. It was all Lightning saw for the next few minutes or so as she waited for them to come back around. She managed to glance in her rear mirror just in time to see two flashes, one white then one black, come down the street behind her. Neon was still leading, but Rogue wasn’t far behind. It wasn’t long before Lightning heard the sound of tires screaming from her left as Neon came into view followed closely by Rogue’s Viper, lined up behind her. Lightning was aware of drafting and she knew that Rogue’s car had higher top speed but Lightning believed that Neon knew what she was doing. They were about a thousand feet from the line when Rogue pulled alongside Neon’s right side…. And turned left, into her rear bumper.

The contact sent the Nissan into a violent roll down the side of the road at high speed. It rolled no less than five times before coming to a halt on the side of the road as Rogue’s Viper crossed the line to win. Lightning was in shock, panic, and disbelief all at once, but something was for certain, she needed to make sure Neon was alright.

Without a moment to think she opened the door of her Supra and galloped from the other side of the crowded finish line all the way down towards the wrecked GT-R. As she was making her way there she recognized a smell of gas. the thought that the fuel tank had ruptured caused an increase in adrenaline in her system that she hadn’t had in weeks, but it was already too late. The Nissan caught fire in front of her eyes and she was forced to shield them from the light as a small explosion sent her backwards. She was too late, she had lost the one pony she actually trusted as a friend as long as she could remember. Neon was gone, along with her GT-R.

Then the sirens sounded.

Panic started everywhere as ponies got into their cars and fled the scene as police cruisers swarmed the area around. Lightning had no time to mourn Neon, she had to get out before she was caught. She ran back to her Supra and quickly restarted it, pulling off and heading south. If she could get to the garage she could hide out the night. She looked in her mirror to see if she was being followed, only to see the Mustang she saw earlier pull off to the left behind her heading the opposite way. It was followed by two cruisers one of which followed it, the other heading towards Lightning’s Supra. She floored it heading out of the city only to find her fastest route back to the garage blocked. No exit there so she took another hard right. Once again she crossed the west bridge now heading north .She could out speed her pursuer for sure, but she needed space and the city was far too narrow. Another right and she passed the north exit, also blocked. Head on traffic from an unrelated chase forced her left and towards Westside. She knew about a bridge that went through Edin Shores and took it since it wasn't blocked off. She changed into the right lane heading down what would have been considered the main street heading south. She gained distance throughout but the pursuer kept eyes on her at all times. She was fresh out of ideas when suddenly the Subaru that she had raced earlier suddenly appeared coming from the west bridge. It clipped the squad car tailing her getting its attention away from Lightning and her Supra. Lightning had no chance to react to the unwanted assistance before the Subaru turned hard right and drove off as Lightning exited the city through the south bridge. This connected to the freeway heading back towards McClare’s garage.

Author's Note

Yes that just happened, that is why I had the death tag. Regardless, Lightning will not let that go without retaliation.

Next time, Lightning imfroms McClare about Neon's fate, the beginning of the league races, and Lightnings first of many unlikely allies.

Aquatic Alliance

Lightning Dust arrived had arrived at the garage late in the day after finding no other races that night. Unfortunately for her, McClare had drifted into nap after coming to terms with the loss of Neon. Lightning decided to go home that night and sleep in her own room, something she hadn’t done in nearly a week. Unsurprisingly she didn’t sleep well, but it was enough to keep her awake the next morning. She arrived back at the garage not too much later. When she pulled inside she was greeted by McClare who looked like he managed to sleep off his troubles.

“Well, at least your still here. Where did you go last night exactly?” He questioned Lightning.

“Had to get started somewhere, I don’t want to let my emotions getting the better of me and make me fall behind.”

“You aren’t doing one of those personal crusades are you? I wouldn’t blame you honestly, though I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.”

“McClare I get that your upset, but don’t treat me like a filly because of what happened. I’m going to make this right for you, me, and Neon but I need you to be at your best in case I need you. You know more about these cars than me, if you can take care of that then I’ll do my job.” Lightning reassured. McClare closed his eyes for a sec and sighed.

“Yeah, I know. Neon was hard headed sometimes but she had a good heart in there. I can see it in you too actually, you’re like Neon if she was a pegasus.” He stifled a giggle.
“Right, if you’re taking the wheel i’ll make sure the wheel stays there.”

He stuck out his hoof for a bump, but Lightning instead embraced him. After a moment he returned it… until Lightning realized what she did and backed away blushing. McClare just chuckled.

“She used to do that too when we were younger.”

He opened the garage door for Lightning as she climbed back into her Supra. She decided to check the leaderboards for the league. She found her name on the lower half of the list passing through some names that already had 15 or more points. She would need to catch up if she planned on making a top 20 exempt spot. She then checked the GPS, but strangely found no available races in the immediate vicinity for the moment. With an annoyed sigh she decided to drive around to see if anything available was just outside of her reach. She pulled up to the light at the corner waiting for it to turn green so she could continue onward. As she waited for the light another car stopped across the street from her. She glanced towards it and immediately recognized it, a blue Subaru BRZ with lime green tires and a medium sized wing on the back. She attempted to recall who it was but came up with no answers. She knew the car, that much was obvious, but she didn’t know the pony in it. The Subaru on the opposite side of the road activated it’s turn signal, as if tempting Lightning to follow it. The street light turned green and the Subaru peeled left in front and across from Lightning’s Toyota. Lightning quickly followed behind attempting to keep pace with the BRZ in front of her. It was heading for downtown along the coast of the bay. It didn’t go far though, stopping just shy of the intersection and peeling right. The Subaru did a 180 in place and stopped in front facing the Supra head on.

Lightning was unsure about the situation, on one hoof she could easily just back off if needed, not to mention the Subaru’s driver had pinned themselves between Lightning’s Supra and the end of the road, but something in the back of her head that told her to follow the BRZ was also keeping her there. She shut off the engine of her Supra with the BRZ following suit. Lightning got out of the Supra and walked up to the Subaru in front of her, assuming that if she recognized the vehicle than the occupant likely knew her and that she was a pegasus. Lightning didn’t go up to the window, instead she opted to wait until the other pony came out to talk, propping herself against the hood. She didn’t wait long as the driver door to the Subaru opened revealing the driver.

It was a blue earth pony mare with a green mane and tail of similar color to the wheels on the Subaru. She also had shades of aquamarine in her mane and tail giving it an ocean like look with her eyes being a similar kind of green to her mane. Her cutie mark appeared to be a tire that left a tidal wave behind it. She didn’t move any further than her door before Lightning interrupted her.

“Do I know you?” Lightning said curiously and in harsh tone.

“Personally? No. Practically? More than you think...”

“I don’t want you taking me long, I got things I need to do. Why have you been following me?” Lightning interrogated. The pony in front of her looked off to the side slightly and sighed before looking back at her.

“Because I think I can help you with your issues involving Rogue. I’ve been keeping my eye on you since the heats two nights ago and..”

“Did I ask for your help?” Lightning cut her off. “Because I don’t think I did. This is supposed to be my battle to fight for my friend and I don’t want other ponies getting in the way of this.”

“What about what Hotshot said then?”

Lightning had no argument for that, all she could do was stare blankly at the pony in front of her.

“Yeah I was there too, just uninvited. You know where I also was? At the heats, racing. You remember right, you beat me that night. I was that Subaru you were racing.”

A sudden realization hit Lightning in the face like a head on collision.

“You’re.. Aqua Streak, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me, and you must be Lightning then from what I know?”

“Pretty much, you never left after the race did you?”

“No, I was there the whole night.

League Heats, Two Nights Ago

“I had actually parked not too far from where you were after our heat. I was a little distraught honestly. I thought I had that race in the bag, so I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you. Nobody knew who you were that night except that you were with Spark and only stayed to watch her race. As I heard her and Rogue come around the corner I decided to watch the finish. Everyone saw what happened that night with Rogue but no one really saw what happened after. While everyone was paying attention to Rogue as he finished, I took a double take at your Supra just in time to see you jump out after your friend.”

From the Subaru, Aqua watched Lightning as she sprinted up towards Neon’s GT-R only to see it engulfed in flames. In the background sirens are beginning to be heard.

“I didn’t have time to hesitate when the cops got there so I booked it, but I made sure you made it back. I just managed to see you drive off the opposite way of me with a tail. I lost my heat going through the backroads and tried looking for you, only being able to just in time. I had to make sure you made it out of the city.”

Crossing the bridge, Aqua raced to catch up with Lightning. She turned in, made contact with the patrol car and floored it heading north, checking to see if her distraction paid off. Perfect, Lightning’s heat is now on her. making break for it, she drives away from the scene towards a safe house in Bayview Park.

Lightning wasn’t sure what to do with what she just heard. Aqua was willing to help her, but Lightning wasn’t trusting her fully. She would have to prove her to be trustworthy first.

“Okay I understand now, but how do I know I can trust you?”

“I know every back road, shortcut, and alley in this city. I know hiding places from the cops and I have locations for races that most ponies never find., if you got any heat, I can help you beat it. I can give my contact info if you want.”

Lightning hesitantly handed her tablet over to Aqua who put her number in the contacts list before handing it back.

“By the way, if you need a race I know of a place in Bayview Park. Group of racers take their rides around the city once in a while. I can show you the place, but just be careful because the area is crawling with authorities at the moment. They're expecting a race tonight.”

“Anything works right now. I'm not occupied with anything at the moment.”

“Good, alright i’ll take you there… I’m going to need to get out though.” Aqua spoke, glancing at the Supra between the road and her BRZ.

“Oh, right.” Lightning realized, quickly jumping in the Supra and pulling out of the alley. Aqua followed in her Subaru and headed north with Lightning following her.

Lightning didn’t trust Aqua Streak as much as she would have liked, but she felt good that she had some help other than McClare around. The only problem was Lightning didn’t know how she could help, Aqua knew many of the quickest ways in the city but that wasn’t much help at the moment and Lightning hadn’t run into cop trouble since the heats. She had an inner feeling though that there would be trouble that night, and that she would need Aqua Streak’s help with it.

They began to head north, passing over the central bridge. If Lightning knew where she was going she would have been tempted to race Aqua to the location. Not only would it be good practice but she had a good chance of winning. Her competitive nature was what made her get along with Neon so well in the first place. The had similar attitudes towards competition. Aqua, she was much more laid back. She played street racing like a game, and didn't care much for winning or losing. What Lightning did give her credit for was her drive to help. It had already been made obvious, Rogue didn't work alone and it was only a matter of time before he brought the rest of his crew down on her. She needed to build some allies, McClare had been a start and now Aqua was willing to join her cause.

A couple of turns brought them through Westside before making a right and crossing the bridge that lead to the northwest island of Bayview Park. It was familiar to Lightning, being directly north of her home, but she never bothered to memorize the roads for the most part. Once they were on the other side they headed straight for the shoreline . On a path off the main road They found the meet up location and there were three cars present. One stood out much more than the others, a black and red Ford Fiesta ST. It was heavily modified, sporting a massive wing, golden painted tires, and multiple vinyl paints adorning the entirety of the car including a white skull laying diagonal on the hood. It would make an artist awe at it's creativity, but Lightning was just i basic awe.

While Aqua spoke with a pony in the MX-5 parked off to the side Lightning eyed the window of the Fiesta, the heavy red tint blocking any view of the driver at the wheel. She must have been staring forever because she was still looking by the time Aqua had returned and even took the time to set her GPS while she was occupied.

"I see you spotted Zephyr, he's the pony to beat around these parts. Been on a winning streak, the silent assassin type. Never stays around for the celebration as if he always has somewhere to go. I think its likely he's from out of town. you're up in ten so you better get ready."

As if on cue, The Fiesta's engine roared to life. It may have well had a Mustang engine with how loud it was. What the pair didn't expect was for the window to come sliding down revealing Zephyr. A pure black unicorn stallion with a dark red mane and matching eyes which flashed for just a moment. Lightning did a double take, ponies eyes didn't do that but there were other creatures she knew of that did. What came to mind didn't make Zephyr seem any less intimidating.

"Don't focus on him, that's just what he wants. You, him and two others. I'll be waiting back here when your done. Good luck, Superstorm."

Soon Lightning was lined up on the starting grid, Zephyr to her left with a White Nissan Silvia in front of her and a Yellow Pontiac Solstice in front of him. Those two didn't stand a chance. A signal was given and soon they were off heading westbound off the island. Zephyr's Fiesta was quick off the line and easily took point with Lightning tailing him followed by the Silvia as they crossed the bridge. Just keeping pace with the stallion was pushing Lightning hard but keeping her opponent behind took priority. a shallow left was followed by a dive move from the racer behind her, she closed the door as they took a much sharper left now heading south. Lightning blocked but the Silvia stuck it in and clipped her ever so slightly. It was just enough to wiggle her free and get the advantage for the moment.

"Oh, you want to play hard ball then?"

Now that Lightning knew clean wasn't and option she sent it hard on the next left basically door slamming the Silvia and forcing it wide. It may have cost her time but it got her the position back. Now the only problem was Zephyr. He was already exiting the bridge by the time she was halfway down. It was a matter of catching up, she had to play it cool now. Another sharp left completed the circuit. Two laps, one down and one to go. Lightning took a glance to locate Aqua who was no where to be seen.

"No matter, let's get this done. Come on!"

The long bridge once again carrying her Supra she manage to make some ground on Zephyr before making the first left all over again. He made no mistakes, neither did she. they took the left in train formation, Lightning taking a more reserved line so she didn't lose time like with the previous lap. They crossed the bridge a final time, Lightning finally catching the Fiesta and running side by side with it. She had the preferred line on the final turn. They made the final run to the finish, Lightning had the edge across the line. She had no time to celebrate the upset. There were sirens in the distance.

Neither Lightning nor Zephyr had much time to react to the SUV unit blaring its lights head on towards them. They split the gap and continued on. By the time they crossed the bridge Zephyr pulled a near u-turn onto an adjacent bridge platform heading back the way they came. Lightning continued onward. Some units pulled off to give chase to the Fiesta while the remaining ones began chasing after the Supra. It was on, but company was about to grace Lightning's presence. Her tablet went off, it was Aqua contacting her. She barely even took her hoof off the wheel.

"Mind explaining why you left me out here!"

Suddenly and without a moment to spare Aqua's BRZ came sliding out from the adjacent road. She immediately took point for Lightning.

"Did you really think I would leave so soon? Follow me, we'll make a break for the freeway. I know a place we can lie down for the night."

Lightning really didn't have a choice in the matter, so she silently complied. The freeway intersection was dead ahead, Aqua pulled south with Lightning hot on her tail. Units began to converge on the freeway after them, one set its sights on Aqua and another went after Lightning.

"We need to shake these guys! They aren't going to let us go."

"I have an idea, and its quite simple too."

Aqua suddenly door slammed the pursuing vehicle knocking it of course. She followed with another more powerful hit sending the vehicle into a spin. Lightning reacted with just enough time to avoid the pursuit unit which collided with the vehicle tailing Lightning's Supra. It was a classic defensive move, one she had practiced before.

"That should give us some time, come on!" They continued onward, pushing limits and dodging light midnight traffic. It didn't take long for another, more serious problem to come up.

"Roadblock, break left!"

Lightning was quick on her hooves and swiftly changed course tucking in behind Aqua once again as they dodged the blockade and made their way down a twisty back road. It lead straight back to downtown heading south. Aqua pulled a right at the first intersection.

"In here, we can hide out while the heat calms down."

They quickly pulled into a hideout garage on the corner on the street. Aqua quickly jumped out and pulled down the large door to cover their tracks as Lightning exited her Supra. She began to catch a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Aqua began to inspect the paint on her Subaru where she made contact with her pursuer. Lightning in turn glanced at the spot where she bruised up the Silvia during the race.

"That's going to need to be buffed out when I get the time. You good?"

"Yeah, thanks to you. Nice moves out there."

"Authorities don't pull punches at night, with the public eye blind in the dark they are relentless. The only way to keep on racing is to punch back. I have a room in the back, you can rest up there..."

Without warning the vehicle entrance opened once again, lucky for them instead of police they found another pony. One they had already seen earlier.

"Zephyr?"

"Aqua, you seem tense. I need to pack my things and head out."

He gave a glance towards Lightning who had began to open the door to the room, the same room that Zephyr was approaching. He stopped at the entrance next to her.

"Good race, I like a challenge once in a while."

Without another word he entered the room, grabbed a bag that Lightning presumed belonged to him and left in silence. The last thing the pair heard was the sound of his Fiesta peeling out. They stared at each other for a second before Aqua closed the entrance once more and made her way to the door.

"I would stay, but my friend would be worried if I was gone all night."

"Alright, just keep it cool tonight. Try not to get into any more trouble and I will see you again soon."

"Yeah thanks."

"Don't mention it. It's nice to have a pony you can trust when you're in this business."

They didn't say another word. Lightning took her Supra and headed back to the garage luckily not finding any more trouble on her way back. She glanced at her tablet which flashed a notification and opened it up.

League Race, 2:00 PM
Restrictions: Muscle Cars Only

Author's Note

Finally its back. This chapter took days to finish with trying to figure out both the race and chase plus adding in some character development for Lightning at the end.

Thanks to Akula966 for letting me use his character Zephyr in this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed. Next up, Muscle time. :ajsmug:

Road Burner

Shortly after the results were finalized Lightning began driving westward through Cape Castille. She had never been this south in Wing City for how long she had lived there. It appeared to be a manufacturing port. She wasn’t interested in the place itself, rather the roads that lined it. If she could memorize the roadways she could start finding the fastest routes through certain parts of the map. Of course, Aqua knew the place much better. Lightning could not always rely on her to do everything, so she began to work the place out herself.

She entered the small town on the eastern most side of the area and began to take a slow drive through it. She did not notice the group of three matte black Dodge Charger SRT8’s bearing down on her from behind. Not until one of them shunted her at high speed, jolting her out of her sightseeing. Whoever these ponies were, they were not arriving for a friendly greeting. Lightning floored it immediately and took the first left she saw. The unmarked vehicles began to give chase of her Camaro as she took two more lefts now heading east towards the shore. The path took a curve as the road gave way to the shipping bay which she navigated relatively easily. Another Charger came from her right at the next intersection and attempted to ram her. She quickly turned left narrowly avoiding the head on collision. She was now heading north. While navigating the road she began to dial up Aqua in hopes that she would be close by to assist. These weren’t cops, but she had an idea of what was going on. Luckily she got an answer from the unicorn. She took another right at the next intersection as she picked up with her tail still hot on her.

“Lightning?”

“No time Aqua, I have unmarked Charger’s tailing me.”

“Buck, where are you?”

“I’m heading north out of Cape Castille.”

“Celestia damnit Lightning, i’m in Eden Shores right now. I’m sorry, I can meet you at Westside but until then you’re on your own.”

Lightning would have interjected but Aqua hung up on her before she could speak. So much for that assistance. Her best bet was to meet her at Westside a few miles north. She took another left and was door slammed by the closest Charger. The hit dented the frame of the door, and nearly knocked her silly. She somehow managed to keep control of the Camaro as she continued. The Camaro may have been durable, but it wouldn’t take many hard hits like that. As she continued to follow the road two of the vehicles attempted to box her in on either side. She tried to force her way out through the car on her right, but the much stronger vehicle was just too much. That’s when her suspicions were confirmed. She noticed the heavy red tint on the windows of both Charger’s, the same as Rogue’s Viper. They were bandits sent by him, he was making his move on her already. Now her drive was stronger than before, she slammed her brakes hard. The move opened her sides and she was punted by the third vehicle behind her. The impact knocked her bumper loose but at the same time caused severe nose damage to the vehicle behind. It began to slow and eventually lost pace with its counterparts. One down, two to go. Now that Lightning was fighting back the bandits got more aggressive themselves. One tried to copy the move Lightning attempted and nearly scored an impact before Lightning dodged left. By this point they were heading straight through the Sandino Ranches.

Lightning turned hard left unexpectedly, faking out the Charger ahead of her and began heading to the highway. The Charger behind her followed easily as she turned onto the freeway. She wanted to get to Westside as quickly as possible, but she made a terrible mistake. Her Camaro was not nearly as fast as the modern Charger’s. The Charger that had missed the corner had caught up with her as well as the one that was still trailing her. One of them attempted to spin her, a move that would likely wreck her car if done successfully. Thankfully she kept the Camaro straight. The Charger went for a second attempt.

This time before it could make contact it was shunted loose by another vehicle. Another hit sent it spinning into the ditch. Lightning checked her mirror expecting a Subaru BRZ in it. She was surprised to find a Ford Mustang Boss 302 there instead. The one that had won the race she had just been a part of. The dark crimson flames of the classic car were vibrant and shone brightly against its black gloss finish. It flashed its brights, a signal that said whoever was driving the Mustang was there to help her. Lightning shifted right, giving the driver of the Mustang room to hit the other Charger. It slammed the door of the Charger with force repeatedly until it was knocked off the road and across the divider. That was all Lightning needed to escape.

Curiously the Mustang stuck around as she took her exit and entered Westside. It never sped away or took a different turn. Even as she stopped at the meeting place where Aqua was sitting in her Subaru the Ford stopped alongside her and was turned off. Whoever this pony was wanted to stay for some reason and Lightning intended on figuring out why. First she needed to speak with Aqua. She had to climb over the passenger side of her Camaro now that the driver’s door was jammed in by the broadside she had taken previously. She trotted up to Aqua'a BRZ as the unicorn in question exited her vehicle, a look of concern plastering her face.

"You alright?"

"Sore, took a nasty hit when I entered onto the freeway. I'll be fine."

"Looks like your new car is a different story. May I ask what happened to your Supra?"

"Don't worry it's back at my garage. A friend of mine let me borrow his ride for a league race. He might be upset about what happened to it, but he'll forgive me when he finds out it was Rogue's doing."

"Wait, unmarked Charger's. That was what was chasing you right."

"Matte black, red window tint. All three of them."

"Call yourself lucky, if he actually saw you as legitimate threat he would have sent more." A third voice interjected. This one was a stallion. Lightning and Aqua turned around to find the driver of the Mustang out of his car. He was a well built earth pony stallion. His cutie mark depicted a similar style to that of Aqua's only instead of a tidal wave it was a burst of flame roaring out from behind the wheel. Despite his comment being directed a Lightning, Aqua was the first to respond to the new arrival.

"Who are you? I recognize the car, you were at the Heats just like us."

"Yeah, I was. I'm sure you're both aware that i'm racing in the league too. Name's Crimson Flare, you can call me Road Burner."

"Well, I guess I should thank you for having my back there."

"It's a little more personal than that. I've been fighting him off for months trying to drive his crew out of the city. He's too stubborn for his own good and now that he has powerful rides he's become unstable. Spark was competitive for sure and maybe a little bit rough on the edges, but she raced fair and clean and she had respect and a reputation to keep."

"So you knew her?"

"We weren't friends, but we were acquainted, and i'll be lying if I said it didn't hurt to see what happened myself. I saw potential in you when I watched you race, now I see a fire that won't be quenched until Rogue is dealt with. I like that, so call it what you want but i'm here to help."

Aqua was the first to notice the problem building itself in the background.

"Aren't you both in the league? I'm helping her too but in case you forgot I didn't make the cut, so i'm just playing my part. You both qualified, wouldn't you technically be rivals?"

"Not if we're working for the same cause. Besides, I prefer friendly competition." He turned his head towards Lightning. "I'm sure you saw what that Challenger got by putting his nose where it shouldn't have been."

Lightning may have cringed internally but she was glad this pony was on her side, and she was making progress. She now had two allies. With both Aqua and Crimson at her side as well as McClare helping at the garage it was looking more likely that she had a chance of pulling off the unthinkable. There was a long way to go, but progress was being made.

After a brief moment and a swift farewell the trio retreated to there cars. Lightning glanced at her tablet to check the time, it was just after 5PM A notification had also made itself apparent, another one straight from Vitality. It was a race notification, but this one was a mandatory event. One meant for the entire league.

Attention, Class B qualifiers will be taking place in 3 days.
Class C Restrictions in Place
Racers will be separated into groups of eight, top five in each race advances. I have already linked the grids for each race in an attachment with this notification. Feel free to check it to know who you'll be up against. May the best move on

Vitality, Head of Perfect Shift

Lightning arrived at the garage shortly after leaving the meeting with Crimson and Aqua. After a short explanation to McCalre as to why the door on the Camaro was caved in Lightning retrieved her freshly painted Supra from its place in the garage. McClare made sure to tell Lightning that he switched out the temporary Nitrous system with a full kit with recharge. Now she could use it more than just once, giving her a small advantage over some of her competition. Before leaving she checked her listings for the qualifier. Most of the list was normal, however when she looked at the list more carefully she found two outliers that had her concerned.

Qualifier Group D
Jackal
Vector
Ash
Road Burner
Ace
Rogue Rush
Super-storm
Bandit

More concerning of the two was Rogue, this would be the first time since the Heats that Lightning would not only be face to face with him, but also racing him herself. The second was that Crimson was also in the same race as them. He was obviously willing to help, but when a place in the next stage of the league was on the table... anything was possible. She might have to watch her back in the future. For now she only needed to look to the future, the race was still three days away and anything could happen in that time. The door opened and she once again brought her Supra into the open city roads.

Author's Note

The first true confrontation is coming up soon, but how will Crimson play his part in the upcoming Class B qualifier? That will become apparent soon enough, but first, Lightning needs some upgrades for her Supra and McClare knows just the place to get them.

Have a good day everyone and Merry Christmas. :twilightsmile:

Trinity

Author's Note

This Chapter is optional and doesn't heavily contribute to the main story, however there are some key events and character development in this part.

I designed this chapter with help from Akula966 using characters that he created. Zephyr, Blue Hornet, and Special K are his Original Characters and I would like to thank him for his involvement on supporting this story, go check out his stories. He is a real nice guy.

Enjoy. :twilightsmile:

Trinity

Lightning was surprised at how quickly time passed. She glanced once more at the time, noting that it was now 6PM and the sun was starting to set. Now with the increasing risk of cops and the added risk of Rogue's bandits she needed to be careful. With her Supra now being the only car available to her, being cautious once again became a priority. She exited the garage with her freshly painted Toyota Supra and made a left onto the road. She didn't get far before she heard an engine approaching behind her. She looked at her mirror, ready for anything. She was surprised to find a familiar looking Ford Fiesta ST, one which pulled around her and slid to a stop on the side of the road. She exited her vehicle, well aware of who she was speaking with.

"Zephyr? That's a relief. What is he doing all the way out here?" She thought as the unicorn stallion exited his heavily modified Fiesta.

Lightning was unsure of what to do. Aqua wasn't here, so what was she supposed to do? His expression seemed a little more relaxed than it did the previous night. Lightning stood beside her car as he approached.

"Just the mare I was looking for."

"I thought you were leaving town. You were in quite a hurry."

"I'm a busy stallion. After all, when you're a speed demon, you kind of have to be in many places at once."

Lightning saw that flash in his eyes again, just like when they raced a few nights prior.

"Alright, so you were looking for me. May I ask why?"

"You impressed me back there. Ponies usually only beat me when I let them. I have a few friends who are looking for a race here in Wing City. I think you're just the pony to give them a good running. So, how about a little race at Eden Shores. You, Aqua, and a pony of your choice versus me…"

Suddenly. Two more cars appeared alongside Zephyr's Fiesta. One, a Subaru BRZ with a similar vinyl style as the Fiesta only with a red on blue style and blue tinted windows. The third, a Mazda RX-7 FD. This one sporting a rose red and pink set of vinyls to match and pink tinted windows.

"And my friends from Trinity. Blue Hornet, and Special K"

Lightning had to stop and process what she was told. Crew on Crew, it sounded like a good time, and it was obvious Zephyr had Lightning in high regards. Why else would he deliberately search for her to ask her in the first place?

"Alright, your on. When?"

"I like your attitude, 9PM on the shoreline."

"I'll meet you there."

"One more thing before you leave, Special K?"

The window of the RX-7 FD rolled down and Special K tossed a small device to Zephyr who caught it in his magic before tossing it to Lightning.

"Police Scanner. City is crawling with cops at night so I thought it was only fair we give you one. It monitors all of the radio traffic cops keep here in the city. That way you're never in the dark about what is heading your way. We'll see you soon."

With a final farewell Zephyr, Blue Hornet, and Special K began to speed off presumably towards Eden Shores. Lightning wasted no time dialing up both Aqua and Crimson.

"Hey, something just came up. Can you both meet me at the south bridge to Eden Shores?"

"I'll be there."

"No problem."

"Great, I think you'll both like this. I'll be there at 9."

With that business taken care of, Lightning reentered her Supra. She had a race to prepare for, and a good one for sure.

Soon after Lightning had rejoined her crew mates, she found herself on a road parallel to the east shore of Eden Shores. This part of Wing City was her home turf and she knew it well thanks to her routine practices over the last few years. She, Aqua, and Crimson managed to find Zephyr and the other members of Trinity already lined up. Zephyr in the front followed by Special K and then Blue Hornet. Lightning wasted little time and lined up next to Zephyr's Fiesta. Crimson followed in his Mustang and Aqua took up the third lane with her fellow BRZ driver. They were facing north, and the grid was all set up.

Unbeknownst to the six racers, a seventh car was watching from the shadows. A Black Mitsubishi Eclipse, with a dark red tint and dark red Skull adorning the hood and matching wings along the doors. The occupant of the vehicle brought up a phone and dialed an emergency contact.

"Yes, I would like to report an unregistered street race with multiple wanted cars. Eden Shores, right now."

Just as the stallion finished his call the cars launched off the grid.

"Let's see how you handle this."

Lightning and Zephyr might as well have been equal off the line while Special K had gotten a much better jump than Crimson behind them, however Lightning could not see what was happening in the third row with Aqua and Blue Hornet. As quickly as they had launched Zephyr had activated his nitrous, the crimson glow of the fumes lighting up the road. Lightning and Special K were quick to follow, the former with stock blue lights and the latter with pink. As the Fiesta took point the group traveled north, making a quick left to get off the shoreline. As they made another quick turn Lightning could have sworn she heard sirens in the distance. She turned on the police scanner that she had been gifted and it immediately paid off.

"Reports of a code 6 with multiple wanted vehicles in Eden Shores, sending units to respond."

That confirmed two things, for one her gift from Zephyr worked properly. The other was that this race was about to get heated.

Another right set them on course for the Bayview Park South Bridge. By this point Special K's well built RX-7 FD had taken second from Lightning and was pushing for the lead while Crimson had managed to keep pace in his Mustang and The Subaru's behind began battling. The first of the units showed up in front of the leaders causing a diversion in the road. Zephyr and Special K went around the left as Lightning shifted right. This move saved her speed as the others had to adjust for the slight misdirection.

"Code six confirmed, requesting backup."

"Confirmed, sending units your way."

"Code six, heading north towards Bayview Park. Requesting roadblock."

"Confirmed, units setting up in Bayview park."

That had Lightning slightly worried. As Zephyr maintained the lead she managed to slip into second. cruisers had began to catch up to the lead pack, some focused on Zephyr, some on Lightning. Behind her Special K took a shunt from a pursuer. Crimson who had caught up fought off the attacker before attempting to take third from the Mazda. Up ahead the lights from the road block became apparent. three vehicles had lined up to block the road while they had made a hole for traffic to pass through. Zephyr aimed his Fiesta for the gap, Lightning followed. They cleanly fit through the gap one behind the other. Behind them Special K also passed through while Crimson clipped a car on his way through, widening the gap for Aqua and Blue Hornet behind them.

"Road Block ineffective, they went right through it!"

Up ahead they had a choice between two bridges heading in the same direction. Zephyr split left, Lightning kept right as did Special K. The Supra and RX-7 sliding through the wider turn easily thanks to their rear-wheel drive. They were side by side going down the bridge. Two Rhino units were coming ahead of the trio, one for each side. Zephyr dodged his while Lightning and Special K split the difference on theirs. They reached the end of their respective bridges with Special K inheriting the lead followed by Lightning then Zephyr. They turned left at a three way junction to avoid another roadblock, Zephyr's front wheel drive making him have to take the corner slower. He used some nitrous to catch up. As they got to the next intersection they were caught off guard by none other than the back runners Aqua and Blue Hornet appearing from Bayview's west bridge. The initial front runners scrambled to avoid the cars appearing from their alternate route. Now with the group heading south together another sound became apparent. Lightning had never heard the blades of a helicopter before, until that moment.

"Helicopter unit is deployed, code six heading south southwest towards Westside."

This race had become more than just a simple night race.

Despite the brief change in lead the stronger cars of Zephyr, Special K, and Lightning were still able to inherit the lead. As the chopper focused its spotlight on the trio they took a right at the end of the road and began to follow the river south. More units converged from roads to their right. The road they followed curved around towards Downtown. at the end of the road Zephyr and Special K were leading with Lightning trailing close behind. They took a left, one more turn to go. Then on the final set of turns another rhino came towards them at a perpendicular angle. The Fiesta and RX-7 pulled a very wide ark to avoid the charging SUV while Lightning had time to take a more reliable route through the corners. It set her up perfectly for the finish. With the spotlight still shining brightly on her Supra she crossed the line for another win, behind her Zephyr beat out Special K by mere meters. Fourth went to Crimson followed by Aqua and then Blue Hornet.

Despite Lightning winning the race she still had one giant problem, an entire escort of police plus helicopter to shake off. The rest of the racers scrambled in different directions as the spotlight fixated itself on the Supra and she peeled east, crossing the bridge to Eden Shores. The only way she could think of shaking a spotlight was to find a covered road so it couldn't spot which direction she was heading. She managed to out speed the ground units behind her. Through her scanner she managed to get chatter between the chopper pilot and dispatch as they followed her into Eden Shores. She knew of an underground tunnel that went south to Mendoza Keys. That would be her escape, after she crossed the bridge she took a right at the third street. This road led her into the tunnel.

"Suspect has entered the north end of the Eden Shores tunnel."

"Roger that, units converge on the south exit to the Eden Shores tunnel."

Just what Lightning was looking for. She came to a dead stop inside the tunnel and waited. She glanced in her mirror, noticing the spotlight had left her entrance likely looking for her exit. She smiled, and pulled a 180 heading back out, finding the spotlight completely gone. She continued to head north as the scanner picked up puzzled chatter, she crossed the north bridge to Westside as she heard the dispatcher call off the pursuit. She had managed to elude a helicopter for the first time. She took the long way back to the garage, through Blackwood Heights just to make sure she didn't pick up any more attention.

She found the garage inactive, McClare was likely sleeping for once. She parked the Supra in its designated location, and shut it off. She needed to rest now, she had a big day coming up soon.

Upgrades and Exploration

Lightning Dust woke drowsy in the morning, she had spent most of the night in her Supra both racing and running. She checked a clock that was close by, it read 11:37 AM. It was a far cry from her usual sleep schedule from months before, but then again she usually would have been asleep by 9 at the latest. It was to keep her energy up so she could exercise. That had passed her by without notice.

After finally deciding to get up from her spare bed, she found her way to the garage where McClare was just finishing up repairing the damage to his Camaro from the day before. Lightning was about to pass right by him and start up her Supra when he interrupted her.

"Hey before you go, I was thinking you might want to get some upgrade parts for the Supra. You're going to be racing some talented drivers tomorrow. There is a place not too far, still in town. Maybe you should stop by and see what you can get, bring the parts back here and i'll fit them for you."

Lightning, with no plans for the day involving racing, took him up on the offer. she left in her Supra following the directions he gave her. Indeed it wasn't far, only about two blocks south of the garage. Unfortunately she found the place to be locked. Around that same time, a red Chevy Camaro ZL1 with blue stripes pulled up to the lot next to her Supra. Out stepped a crimson red mare with a blue and orange mane.

"Just letting you know they don't open up for just any pony."

Lightning turned around and looked the mare in her bright orange eyes, she was wearing headphones on her neck and had a cutie mark of a stage microphone. What caught Lightning by surprise was the crimson wings adorning the side of the mare, this mare was a pegasus. She acted like she didn't notice.

"If you want parts from this place you have to make a name for yourself around this city, win races and escape cops. However, I can vouch for you just this once."

The mare walked up to the door and knocked herself. Without hesitation it opened allowing entry for the pair of pegasi. Lightning eyed up the ZL1 that was parked alongside her Supra.

"You sure have a nice ride."

"You don't say. It's not mine it belongs to a friend out of town. I'm just stopping by here to get a new nitrous kit for it. Honestly I would be flying but it is hard to carry one of those things just by yourself."

"No kidding, i'm picking up some parts for a big race coming up. Perfect Shift is running wild around here."

"So I've heard. You know I thought I recognized that Supra from somewhere. You're Superstorm right?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"I've heard about what happened, you have my condolences. Best of luck tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. I'd recommend a turbocharger and some street tires if you can afford it. If you got any credits left over maybe some better brakes too."

The pony swiftly bought her nitrous kit from the automated system. That left Lightning to get her parts as well, she had enough credits for the turbo and tires but was just short for getting the brakes.

"I'll get it for you. Trust me, it will be worth it."

She bought the brakes, then transferred them to Lightning afterward.

"Whenever you pick up parts they are automatically sent to your garage. You can fit them in or replace them whenever you are there."

"I actually have some pony doing that for me. However I don't really have much to do today afterward, no cars."

The pony she was with pondered this revelation for a short while before responding.

"Tell you what, i'll follow you back to your place then you can ride with me for a while. I'm heading to the garage in Downtown to drop the ride off for my friend. If you have some pony available you can have them meet us there."

"That sounds great, can I drive?"

"While I don't mistrust your skills, I also don't want any unwanted attention or scratches on it. Sorry."

Lightning frowned slightly at that. The pair returned to their respective vehicles and took the short trip back to the garage. Lightning went inside and parked her Supra letting McClare know that the parts would arrive shortly. She returned to the ZL1 and climbed into the passenger seat.

"By the way, you can call me V. I've got some time so we'll take the scenic route. I got some things I can show you."

V took control of the Camaro and joined the road heading east, then began moving south after passing the first intersection. When they went by the raceway she spoke up again.

"Ever been in the raceway before?"

"Yeah of course."

"Well, I know a somewhat secret entrance."

They went slightly further south, before V spun the Camaro in a 180. Now they were heading north, and reaching 170 on tarmac. Before Lightning could question why this was happening the Camaro leaped off a dirt ramp and into the inner part of the raceway landing with a sudden thud before coming to a stop. While Lightning was shaking off the ordeal, V made a remark.

"Two stars? I know i could do better than that!"

"Excuse me, didn't say you didn't what this car scratched up?"

"Oh well, they have repair shops where this is going. I was just showing off an activity. If you don't have any racing to do just search around town for them. They can range from Speed Traps to Jumps, Billboards and other collectibles. Completing all of them in a certain category and I heard the League gives out rewards. Anyway, let's head to downtown proper. I don't have much time actually."

The pair exited on the north side of the raceway. They began heading out towards the highway and taking a right headed for downtown, crossing one of the many bridges and finally making their way to the garage in Downtown Wing City. V parked the Camaro ZL1 next to a wrecked car along the side of the building. As Lightning got out of the car Aqua pulled up in her BRZ ready to bring Lightning back to the garage at the raceway. Lightning thanked V for the ride as she left in Aqua's vehicle and V stepped inside the garage.

Once the Subaru had left she once again excited the garage and went back into the Camaro. She turned it on and revved the engine. As soon as it started it disappeared along with her in it. All that was left was the wrecked car that had been next to it. The license plate on it read...

TAS-SAL1
Paradise City

Author's Note

This is a short, but important chapter for Lightning. These upgrades will prove important soon enough.

But what is up with V, who is she? :rainbowlaugh: Who am I kidding you probably already know. You'll see her again soon, but not here. Also that wrecked car is an actual easter egg in the game.

Until next time readers, coming up is the big race for Class B qualification.

Staring Death in the Eyes

"Yes!"

Night had fallen on Wing City as Lightning along with Crimson and Aqua had just finished a race involving 5 others. Lightning had won with no contest, Crimson had come second, and Aqua had managed a fourth thanks to some new parts she added to her BRZ while she was with Lightning during the day.

Lightning was quite pleased with her improved Supra, the turbocharger giving new life to the retro engine while the tires and brakes played their part in keeping her in control of the power she now had. She was grabbing the attention of the local spectators at the races now, her consistency paying off with now three wins in one night. She, Crimson, and Aqua were pushing it hard in preparation for the next Perfect Shift event scheduled for the following night.

As the celebration quieted down the trio took to the street once more driving through Blackwood Heights.Thier destination being the observatory in Cloudbank. Lightning was enjoying her company. Aqua had become a good friend, giving her advice for the fastest routes to certain parts of the city. Crimson, while not exactly a friend making type, was at least a good driver. He had in a way become Lightning's friendly rival, pushing her to be better every time they raced together. Whenever she was leading he was right behind her and vice versa. Despite how little they shared Aqua and Crimson got along well and even had a shared interest in drift builds. The only difference they had was what car they thought was best for it. Lightning could only guess what any of it meant.

They arrived fairly quickly, stepping out of their cars to take a nice look at the view of the city below them. Lightning enjoyed seeing the city from above and this was the best place to do it. They sat there for some time before Aqua decided to take off. Lightning didn't fuss about it, instead she took it as an opportunity to challenge Crimson to a one on one. He didn't even hesitate.

Within seconds they were in their respective vehicles and off at high speed. Lightning led the pair up north towards the forest. They ran side by side as they took a wide u-shaped turn. As they exited the turn they were ambushed.

Three Chargers came from up front and blocked them in, allowing no room to move. As they all came to a stop a fourth vehicle approached. It was a black Mitsubishi Eclipse. The door to the Eclipse opened and out stepped a pony all too familiar to Lightning.

Rogue Rush.

He approached the pair of vehicles that had been boxed in. Crimson stepped out of his vehicle to confront him, Lightning soon followed. Rogue approached Crimson first.

"It would seem you met the new face. I heard about the stunt you pulled a couple days ago. You still got the nerve to interfere with what I'm doing here?"

"I've got all the reason to, we're all looking for the same thing here right?"

"Indeed, but I have no quarrel with you right now. You're just a has been who thinks he has what it takes to run with the real players."

Without warning or hesitation Rogue's left hoof met Crimson's jaw at full force. It sent him sprawling. Lightning was helpless to do anything but stand and witness. She pretended like she wasn't paying attention. Now that Rogue had dealt with Crimson he turned his attention to Lightning who stood solid still and stared to the sky.

"So rookie, how have you been?"

Lightning did not respond.

"Talked with Spark lately? I haven't seen her in some time."

Lightning shifted her glance to his face, said nothing and looked back up. He walked right up to her face.

"You've got a lot of nerve trying to run from me. There won't be no running tomorrow you hear? We'll see who really is number one here when the race is over."

Lightning met his eyes with hers, and smirked.

"You gonna hit me?"

Rogue simply raised an eyebrow to the mare.

"I'm pretty sure physical strength and driving skill aren't the same thing. If you want me, then let me show you what I got... sir."

Rogue refused to take any more, he returned to his Eclipse and, along with the Chargers, sped off once again. As they did this Crimson got back to his hooves.

"You've got nerves of steel to talk to him like that."

"His death stare doesn't have anything on a mare I know, maybe if he was wearing sunglasses."

"Why would some pony be wearing sunglasses at night?" He questioned. Lightning simply shook her head

"You wouldn't get it. We should get going, you alright?"

"I'll be fine, not the first time he's hit me."

The pair returned to their cars, Crimson opting to return to his home in Mendoza Keys. Lightning however had one more race in her. With a farewell they went their separate ways for the night. The race Lightning was looking for was quite a distance in Edgewood Valley. She sped off to make it before the race could begin. She made it just in time as the rest of the competitors were lining up. She took the final place on the grid. As she was revving her engine one pony took out a camera and began to video her exhaust fumes. She hadn't customized hers yet, but she was planning on it for the future.

The starting line was right beside a billboard on the left with a makeshift ramp and was right before a highway crossing. The finish was located in Cape Castille, three and a quarter miles away. 3...2...1...

Lightning's Supra was out in a flash, she cut left to avoid the RX-8 ahead of her that had an agonizing start off the line and she made up a few positions doing so. By the time she crossed the highway intersection she was fourth. Ahead of her was a Silvia S15 in third, a Focus RS in second, and a Golf GTI Clubsport leading the race.

She caught up to the Silvia as they passed underneath a bridge and completed the pass after making a left. The race crossed over another highway intersection before ending up in a winding hairpin right. the leaders including Lightning made few mistakes on the corner despite the serious banking on the hilltop road. They made a left passing under a highway sign letting them know they were in Sandino Ranches. By this time Lightning had caught up to the Focus and passed it at another right as they continued through Sandino Ranches. Coming up was a major highway intersection. Lightning activated her nitrous to gain ground on the Golf that was leading the race.

At the intersection everything went downhill. Two Highway Patrol police cars converged on either side. The Golf pounded one in the door leaving a dent and immobilizing both vehicles. Lightning saw what happened and managed to swerve out of the way in time to avoid the second vehicle which picked up the chase. It would need some time to catch up as Lightning was already long gone.

The path for the race brought her through several downhill s-turns before crossing another intersection where Lightning dodged yet another roadblock. The original patrol unit had caught up, giving her Supra a shunt to let her know it was there. She took a quick right at the next intersection. Two more winding curves and a final left brought her to the final straight. She crossed the finish line for her fourth straight win that night. Now the problem was getting the cops off her bumper.

She made a quick left and went full throttle, she knew there was a hideout in Cape Castille but it was far too close to be reliable. There was a hideout just north of it near Mendoza Keys. If she could lose her tail quickly enough she could take the night off and rest there. McClare wouldn't mind, better than being busted.

The highway she was on was very narrow and she had to constantly swerve between traffic to keep her speed and outrun the cops. It payed off, they eventually lost sight of her when she got to the bridge. She saw a billboard and without hesitation took the blind leap. She was lucky that the unfinished bridge beneath caught her. Had she misjudged her jump she would ended up in the water stuck in her car, an almost certain death.

She brought the Supra to a stop. What had she just gotten herself into. First, treating a willing killer like he wasn't more than a high school bully, then barely dodging what would have been a very nasty head on collision with an armored vehicle, then cheating death by taking a blind leap and almost drowning by doing so. Being this reckless was what got her wings clipped in the first place, did she really need to add her life to the list of things she could just throw away? She threw her chances at being a Wonderbolt the same way.

There was a difference in all the doubt, before she was doing it for herself. Now she was doing it for some pony else's sake. Neon, who's life was cut far too short. That's what this was for. For once in her life Lightning was still herself, but she was doing all these reckless acts in the name of a pony she called a friend.

She would have gone further into thought but she needed to get off the streets before the cops found her again. The hideout was just up the road on the left. She pulled in and parked the car before immediately heading to the bed. She needed some time to sleep if she was going to be ready for the big race the following night.

Lightning had decided to sleep in the following day. She had managed to contact McClare about her absence sometime around eight in the morning. Now it was well past that time, close to one in the afternoon. Lightning awoke after a well deserved nights sleep and felt great. Once she found something to eat she set off once again in her Supra, which had a dent in the rear end from the previous nights chase. It was no problem to her at the time.

She took the quickest route back to the main garage. When she arrived, she found Aqua and Crimson parked on the curb not too far from the entrance. Crimson still had a noticeable mark on his muzzle from the previous night, he wasn't even trying to conceal it from Aqua. Lightning pulled alongside the pair and had a quick chat to catch up what she had missed during the morning.

The race wasn't until ten at night, so the trio had plenty of time to find something to do. The problem was that none of them were simply in a Sunday driving mood. Lightning however did have an idea, she knew she would need a new ride and she had heard that the Dealership was the best place in town to check out new cars.

Aqua was alright with the idea and agreed to come with her, while Crimson wanted to do some sanctioned daytime races. Apparently races during the day gave out huge payments for winning and he wanted some time to get new parts for his Mustang. The three ponies went in directions, Crimson headed towards Eden Shores while Lightning and Aqua went towards the Dealership just to the south.

The pair arrived at the showroom in a matter of minutes and opened the door to find a plethora of different cars from all sorts of different manufacturer's. Aqua's eyes immediately were set on a Nissan 370z. It was one of her dream rides, and she knew a friend who had an amazing drift build that she tested in the hills. As she was eyeing up the Nissan, Lightning took some looks at more serious cars. She spotted a few that peaked her interest for sure.

First was the Nissan Skyline (R-34). It was an old model for sure, but one that stood the test of time and was the predecessor for the Nissan GT-R (R-35), the car that Neon had driven. four-wheel drive made it very stable in corners and despite the old design it could keep pace with many modern sports cars. But it lacked straight line speed without extra parts.

Next in her mind was the BMW M3 '10. It was the most recent rendition of the M3 series that BMW had kept alive for several years. It was rear-wheel drive just like her Supra and had incredible handling. It's speed was about on par with the Skyline but the acceleration was quite high in comparison. Despite it's flaws it was a solid choice.

Her final decision was the Ford Mustang GT Fastback '15. The modern take on a classic muscle car that had lasted for years. rear-wheel drive traction just like the M3 but lacking in the grip that the BMW had. However being a muscle car meant it outclassed both her other options in acceleration and top speed. With the skill she had acquired from driving the Camaro she was sure she could handle it's modern rival with firm hooves.

She looked over the three cars for several hours and could not quite come to a decision. She would need to think on it in her spare time. For now, she needed to prepare. She asked Aqua if she wanted to come back to the garage with her but she didn't take up the offer. Instead she was planning to go up to the hills to meet her friend Emerald. She wanted some advice on how to make a proper drift build. Lightning waved her off and headed back to what was now her temporary home at the garage. It was half after four, still plenty of time to get a little more rest in.

Lightning slowly awoke to find a darkening sky over the horizon. Panicking she checked the time, she had overslept. The race was in less than five minutes. She would surely be disqualified if she no showed the race. That was not something she wanted to happen.

Silently cursing herself for sleeping in, she made haste for her Supra and quickly started the engine. The gate barely had time to open before she peeled away, leaving skid marks on the floor of the garage. She quickly marked her destination, it was in Mendoza Keys on the upper platform of the bridge. This was a fair distance away, and she didn't have much time. She made a quick right turn onto the road before hitting the freeway heading west. Luckily for her it was a straight shot from there.

She stayed on the correct side of the road, hitting top speed as she blazed a trail down the road dodging late night traffic at well over 180 MPH. She had a few close calls, even a couple scrapes but nothing that slowed her down substantially. By the time she made it to the beginning of the bridge she could see the other cars, both Crimson's Mustang and Rogue's Eclipse as well as a host of other vehicles were already lined up. With less than one minute to spare before the race Lightning pulled the e-brake hard sending the Supra into a sudden skid as the tires caught while attempting to slow down.

She successfully stopped the Supra before pulling it alongside the only car in the final row, Crimson's Mustang Boss 302. Rogue's Eclipse was in the second row on the right, two positions ahead of Lightning. Also on the grid were a Honda Civic and Mitsubishi Lancer X in the front. In the second row next to Rogue was a Pontiac Firebird. In the third row were a Mazda RX-8 and a Lexus IS300.

A running grid appeared on Lightning's GPS alongside the route that had been set for the race.

Jackal
Ace
Ash
Rogue Rush
Vector
Bandit
Road Burner
Super-storm

All Racers Present:

The race was ready to begin.

3...2...1...

Lightning had no such luck getting a jump on the launch as every car on the grid launched fairly well save for the RX-8 and IS300 in front of her and Crimson. Crimson forced his way through the middle and managed to fight for both positions. Lightning decided to be patient and wait for an oppurtunity. Ahead of them The Lancer beat out the Civic on its launch and took the lead. Rogue followed behind it and managed to take second. The Civic settled in third and the Firebird maintained fourth place. The bridge was long and allowed plenty of space for the racers to get to top speed. This was a good thing for Crimson, his Mustang's horsepower being put on display as he caught up to and passed the Firebird without trouble. Lightning first picked off the RX-8 then the IS300 but had yet to catch up to the Firebird as the group finally passed over the bridge.

A couple wide curves provided little opportunity for passes. Then the route abruptly made a sharp right, most of the cars made the corner fairly well, the only exception was the Firebird which locked up while trying to slow down for the turn. This gave Lightning the position without it fighting back. She was now in fifth, a transfer position, but she wanted more. Rogue was gunning for the lead on the Lancer, and Crimson had caught the Civic in third. It was time to start making moves.

Now the pack was heading west through the Grenada Wetlands. Lightning caught the Mustang and Civic as they were battling. Coming up was another right, she took the inside three wide. The Civic was forced the farthest outside and backed off. Crimson did not, he held the outside firm and managed to keep pace with Lightning's Supra as they excited the turn. Lightning completed the past after a wide left curve.

Up ahead was another sharp right. Rogue's Eclipse and the Lancer entered it side by side. Rogue had the preferred line, but he also gave the Lancer a slam. The force sent it through the wooden fence and onto the wet dirt. Lightning took the corner well and passed the Lancer before it regained traction. The Civic passed Crimson again and both of them also took position from the Lancer. Lightning was now in second. One pony stood between her and another win, and she didn't plan on backing down.

Another right turn at a large intersection led up to a long downhill straight. It would gives Lightning's superior straight line speed a chance to help her catch up. She did quickly, and stuck her bumper along Rogue's right fender. He shifted and blocked. She shifted to the left and brought her Supra alongside. She began to pull ahead, right before the Eclipse made a sudden left.

The movement was an exact mirror of the heats, the same event that caused Neon's crash. He caught the right rear fender of the Supra. Lightning attempted to correct the sudden change of direction but it only sent her car spinning in the opposite direction. She did a full 360 degree rotation before attempting another correction. The tires caught, but the timing could not have been worse.

The Civic in third slammed her right front fender, sending a sudden jolt through the vehicle and shearing the front bumper loose from the Supra. The impact also damaged the Civic, leaving a large dent in the front of the car. It continued on, leaving Lightning's Supra stalled on the side of the road.

Lightning attempted to restart the Supra, only to find her right shoulder dislocated from the impact. She forced it back into position, doing her best not to scream out as she did. Then the Lancer passed by, followed by the Firebird, then Crimson's Mustang. Now she was sixth.

She got the Supra fired just as the RX-8 had caught up. She paid it no attention, it was nowhere near fast enough. She needed to catch the pack ahead. One position was all she needed, but the finish line was in Downtown and was approaching fast.

She raced ahead, bringing the wounded Supra back to full speed. She entered downtown like a rocket and made the left turn at almost full speed, but there was little hope. She could see the finish from the bridge she was crossing. Rgoue's Eclipse and the Civic had already finished. The Lancer was crossing the line as she crested the bridge and both the Firebird and Crimson's Mustang were not far behind. This was it, all hope of advancing was gone just because of one simple spin.

Defeated, she still wanted to cross the finish even if it didn't matter. She went full speed on the straight road leading up to the finish. The Firebird crossed the line, now it was Crimson's turn.

Suddenly Crimson's Mustang began to skid, he locked up his brakes. Just a few dozen feet from the line he came to a complete stop. Lightning went right by him and crossed the line. She was dumbfounded, did Crimson just give her the key to Class B?

"He's not answering." Aqua noted as she and Lightning pulled up once again to the Showroom.

"I know that, but I still want to know why. He has just as much reason to hate Rogue as I do, so why he just stopped is a mystery to me."

"Same here, so what are we doing back here?"

"Well I have to get a new car. As soon as I got back to the garage I found out that the crash ruined my front suspension, partially knocked out the radiator, and did some partial engine damage. It didn't help that I went full throttle right afterwards. Besides, I've got spare credits on me after all those races the night before and I've got a couple options on my mind."

Lightning entered the Showroom on her own this time, Aqua Streak deciding to stay with her BRZ for the time being. Lightning came in to look over her options one last time. She had three.

The BMW M3 '10, The Nissan Skyline (R-34), or the Ford Mustang Fastback '15. She thought carefully for several minutes before finally coming to a decision. It was time to move up to Class B.

Author's Note

Big chapter here, I had planned on making two separate chapters but I ended up compounding both the confrontation and the race into a bigger part.

There is a callback to Lightning's debut in Season 3 early in this chapter, but can you find it?

Now my readers you have a choice, for one week you decide on which car Lightning should use in class B. The Nissan Skyline (R-34), The BMW M3 '10, or the Ford Mustang Fastback? This choice will only affect the car she will be driving in the next few chapters until the next class. Vote in the comments on the car you want to see in the upcoming chapter.

Mach 3 Speed

The beautiful sound of The BMW's 414 hp, 4 liter V8 engine could satisfy the need of any pony looking for a moderately priced luxury sports car. For Lightning Dust, hearing the sound of the M3's legendary legacy was enough to bring joy to her heart. The rear-wheel drive of the modern coupe fit well with her driving style she had acquired using the Supra.

With Aqua following her, she brought the M3 the short distance to the track and began laps. The Subaru BRZ may have been able to keep pace with the Supra on a good day but it stood no chance against the M3's speed. It wasn't leagues above what the Supra could do, but it was enough for Lightning to feel the difference in power between the vehicles. Something was missing though.

Even with the BMW being faster than her Supra, it was still a street stock ride. It needed a nitrous kit, some new tires, and some better parts. Lightning had talked with McClare about this. He had the parts ready, but he would need time to fit them all in.

This left Lightning with no rides to race in. She found herself in the passenger seat of Aqua's BRZ. They were riding due north through Sandpiper Forest at a brisk pace. Aqua was meeting up with her former mate. Lightning had heard Aqua speak about this pony, a unicorn nicknamed Sidewinder. She drove a black/green Nissan 370z tuned exclusively for drifting. Aqua was fully expecting her friend to be throwing smoke somewhere in the hills today.

Lightning was quite surprised in the difference in elevation between the city and the hills on the outskirst of Wing City. The bridges stretching through the gaps in the hills providing wondrous sights of the city below. Aqua turned right as they passed by a gas station and crept onto a bridge. That was when they spotted it.

Sidewinder's Nissan was coming hard out of the tunnel up the road. As it exited the back end shifted out to the left as she turned right kicking up the green smoke as it did so. As Aqua's BRZ came onto the bridge on the opposite end the Nissan held its line. Sidewinder kept the car at just enough of an angle to keep giving off smoke as Aqua pulled her Subaru off to the shoulder. As she did The 370z blazed pass as the driver kicked the end out once again to make the corner. As the car sped past Lightning and Aqua, the green smoke engulfed their windshield for a few seconds.

Lightning was impressed by the maneuver for sure. The Nissan had been sideways for several hundred meters. Surely only a pony with years of skill could pull off such a stunt without any mistakes. The Nissan 370z circled around and parked on the adjacent side of the road. Aqua rolled down her window.

"Just as flashy as ever Emerald. how's the car."

"Oh, just brilliant sweetheart. It think I finally figured out the setup for it. I'm just about to head home, you want to stop by?"

"I was just about to ask, i'll follow you."

Just going off of the mare's voice alone, Lightning figured Emerald, or Sidewinder, was from Canterlot or somewhere nearby. She seemed to be the high class type and her car was meticulously detailed right down to the stickers on the windows and the camber of the tires on her Nissan.

"I have no idea how you became friends with a pony from Canterlot."

"Try first cousin, I was born in Canterlot but I have lived here since I was a teenager."

"You were born in Canterlot?!"

"I only lived there until I was four, that's when my family moved out. Emerald lived there for about 17 years before she moved out. For a high class pony she sure does like cars. She just moved into Wing City last year but she is a little shy with locals. Don't be surprised if she looks at you funny, especially since your a pegasus."

"She wouldn't be the first one."

"I don't tell many ponies this. Think you can guess what my name is?"

"I've only known you as Aqua Streak. So, I really don't have anything else to call you."

"Aquamarine Stream, and Sidewinder's real name is Emerald Moon. We come from a family of ponies with talents related to gems. As far as I know i'm the only member of the family to have a vehicle related cutie mark. I mean, I have a distant relative that lives in Ponyville of all places and she has a specialty in diamonds. Diamonds!"

Aqua's rambling was interrupted by a buzz coming from Lightning's tablet. Another notification, likely a message. Lightning opened it, giving Aqua an apologetic glance.

Members of the Perfect Shift league, welcome to the second stage of events. First off I must mention that Head Organizer Vitality is currently away on a business trip. She has asked me to keep you all informed of what to expect. You may call me Flash.

Class B races are now under way, but we also have a unique opportunity for those who want to get ahead of their competitors. We are now opening drift events, and these events do not hold any restrictions. You may bring any car you wish to drive. In drift events you are to beat a predetermined score set by the league. Beat the score and you will be rewarded accordingly.

Best of luck to you all, I will be making sure Vitality is informed on progress. In the mean time. Race hard, and don't get caught.

"Well... what a coincidence."

"What?"

"The league is opening up drift events, with no restrictions. I can bring any car I want regardless of performance."

"Huh, that's good news for sure. Oh, we're here."

Sidewinder pulled her 370z behind a gas station and into a garage. This was the farthest north Lightning had ever gone in the city. Before she started racing she rarely left Eden Shores unless she was flying out of town. Aqua parked her Subaru outside of the garage and the pair exited the vehicle.

"So then, you're thinking about learning to drift?"

"I already know how though, I do it all the time in races."

"Trust me, don't say stuff like that around Emerald. To her there is a major difference between the art of drifting and power-sliding, which is what you are talking about. You can't just bring a car set up for racing and expect to show off, ponies like her build their rides from the ground up."

"And we work hard to make sure they are the best at what they do."

Lightning finally was able to get a good look at the mare she now knew as Emerald Moon. A unicorn mare with a coat as black as the night. Her mane was a triple tone of green and shone bright just like her name implied. She also bore a green shade of eyeliner that contrasted heavily with her coat, and her eyes were giving Lightning a stare that would have made you think she just told a bad joke.

"You're not the first to give me that look."

"You're not the first pegasus I've had the pleasure to talk about cars with. What is it going to be? Bragging that your wings allow you to fly faster than any car I own, or are you just going to shun me for needing a means of travel other than my own hooves."

Lightning stared into the black unicorn's eyes and gave her a cold look that would make any normal pony bow in fear.

"You talk about my wings again and you won't be able to walk on your own hooves anymore. We'll see how far you get when I shove my M3's front bumper into your tailpipe at mach 3."

"Both of you cut it out! Dear Celestia it's like raising children."

"Aqua, don't you dare pin this on me. She started it by bringing up my disability." Aqua stared directly at Lightning Dust

"She doesn't even know yet! I've told her nothing, this is the first time she has heard of you."

"Modern or Retro?"

The pair of bickering crew mates returned their attention to Emerald. Lightning was slightly bewildered by the sudden question.

"Uh... wait what."

"Is it Modern, or Retro?" Emerald repeated. Aqua seemed to finally catch on.

"Modern, she just bought it."

"With her own bank?"

"Yep"

"Is it her first car sweetheart?"

"Second, she also owns a Toyota Supra."

Emerald took another glance at Lightning, who had seemed to calm down after the heated argument. She walked up to the pegasus... and extended a hoof. Lightning took it with grace.

"So, disability huh? Something with your wings I presume?"

"Yeah, bad accident. the short version is my wings are paralyzed."

"My apologies dear. If I had known I wouldn't have been so rude. I've had a few scuffles with others about these kind of opinions and I get defensive easily."

"No worries, you're not the first and you won't be the last."

"Finally, now that we know each other and are not mouthing off let's get down to business. I'm heading inside."

"So, you want to learn the art of drifting dear? Well i'm honored to give you the opportunity to learn such an art."

Lightning had asked the question as soon as the trio had entered the garage. Emerald was simply flattered. The thought of being able to teach her skills to others was a genuine positive to the mare. Aqua wanted to get in on the action as well. She recently replaced her street tires on her BRZ with drift tires. Not much else had changed on her ride though. Lightning, however, was still without a car.

"Well, of course. I've heard a lot of good things about it and from what Aqua has told me you're the best around."

"I appreciate the complement. There is one problem, you don't have any of your cars with you. From what you'vr told me your M3 is tuned for racing so that won't do at the moment. Where is your Supra?"

"Back in the shop at the moment. Suspension took a beating when I got spun last night. It's out of action for the time being."

"You crashed? are you at all hurt dear?"

"It's nothing serious. I dislocated my shoulder but I know how to deal with those types of injuries."

"Hold on, Lightning you never told me you got hurt in that race, let alone dislocating your shoulder."

"Aqua, I'm fine. Look." Lightning rolled her shoulder around in a circular motion. She hid the grimace that was appearing, her shoulder definitely wasn't fully healed. The two ponies with her were satisfied enough.

"Alright fair enough."

"Back to business. If you don't have any vehicles available I can do something for you. The only thing is you're going to have to earn the right to keep it."

Emerald Moon trotted over to another side of the garage. In the corner a drape was covering another vehicle. When she pulled off the covering it revealed a fully kitted vehicle. Specifically a Nissan Silvia S13, tuned for drifting. It sported a Showcase suspension and differential making it suited for road drifting. The tires were still in good shape. It sported a black finish with green detailing similar to that of Emerald's 370z. The entire engine had been upgraded as well, giving the normally sluggish street vehicle a top speed of 185 and a 0 to 60 of 5.6 seconds. Lightning was definitely impressed.

"My first car, a gift from home that I built myself. For now it's yours. Here's the keys." Emerald tossed the ignition keys to Lightning who swiped them up with her hoof. Just as she got into the car she received a direct message. McClare was finished putting all the parts on the M3. He had worked fast to get Lightning on the road again.

"Just got word Aqua, M3's ready to go."

"Sounds good, let's hit the road."

"Good luck keeping up in the corners dear. I'll lead the way so you can watch and learn."

Each of the ponies got into their respective vehicles. Sidewinder was off like a missile as she exited the garage heading for Lightning's place. She had directions from Aqua so she knew where to go. Lightning was out second, the Silvia racing out to keep pace with the 370z. Aqua had to race outside to get back to her BRZ. As she did so The two Nissan's drove off into the forest, neither one of them bothering to wait for her.

"I'm genuinely surprised they got along so well. Here goes nothing."

She fired up her Subaru, knowing well enough she was going to have to catch up.

Author's Note

I took a lot of extra time to make both Emerald's 370z as well as the Nissan Silvia for Lightning. originally I had a different car in mind for her new drfit ride but them I changed my mind in order to give it to a different pony instead.

Regardless, thanks for being patient. The M3 is getting a brand new look next chapter. The storm is picking up. it's time to shift up once again.

Blindside Slide

Aqua was struggling to keep pace with either of the Nissan's Lightning and Emerald were driving. Lightning, true to her nature, was learning how to handle a drift build quite fast. The fact that she kept up with Emerald proved it. This left Aqua's BRZ with insufficient power to keep up. She crossed the bridge one more time going the opposite direction from before. Her companions were long gone by now but thankfully she knew her way back to Lightning's place. She hit the speed trap going 155, a personal record, and continued on. She passed by a gas station on the left, however she didn't notice the black and red Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX that had been parked in the lot.

She passed through a series of shallow curves. Coming into a four way intersection she intended to blaze right through it. She never saw the matte black Challenger Concept coming. She took the full front of the collision on the passenger door. The impact of the much heavier muscle car sending her off the intersection and down a hill into a back road. Her Subaru lay on the edge of the road with a dent the size of a fridge in her door, the impact knocking her out but for only a moment. The driver of the Challenger came down to admire the work. As they did so Aqua came back to, a large cut on her head where she hit the dash. The Challenger parked on the side of the road just a few feet from the BRZ.

Rogue stepped out of his crew car, he only used it for jobs. He casually walked up to the door of the BRZ and opened it. Aqua, dazed from the collision, put up no resistance as he pulled her from the car and threw her to the road. She went limp once again, with her belly flat across the road like a new born filly. Rogue had so much more planned.

Suddenly from up the road a Mustang flew by dangerously close, Rogue was forced to roll into the ditch to avoid taking a direct hit as it parked itself immediately. The door flung open as the occupant scrambled out of the car. As Rogue regained his bearings and got back on his hooves he was met with a full force hoof to the muzzle. He was sent sprawling into the ditch, rolling like a tin can. He would be out for a few minutes at least.

"Punk." Was all Crimson Flare needed to say. Hey took a second glance at Aqua. She wasn't getting out of here under her own power.

He opened his trunk and retrieved a hitch and cable, attaching one end to his Mustang and the other to the Subaru before placing Aqua on his shoulder and settling her gently in the passenger seat. She was still out cold, but alive. He began to gently drive the Mustang back to where he expected her to be heading. Lightning's place wasn't that far, but he needed to slow down with the extra weight his car was carrying. He left Rogue in a heap, it was all he wanted anyway.

Lightning was getting used to the Silvia quite fast. The only problem was its unnatural desire to jump out at every opportunity. It was a drift car, but it was only really meant to be a drift car. Emerald had replaced everything to make the car go sideways in the corners. The name Sidewinder was quite fitting for the unicorn.

They had been nose to tail for most of the journey back to the garage. Emerald had gotten ahead as she brought the 370z through the corners much more efficiently than Lightning could, but Lightning never fell to far behind. The same could not be said for Aqua, who had fallen behind them rapidly.

They had arrived at the garage, McClare waiting patiently for them. However, he mentioned a few finishing touches needed to be equipped to the M3, a surprise he added. Lightning would have to be patient for just a few more minutes. Emerald gave her an idea. Since Lightning needed some extra practice with drifting, perhaps she could enter a drift trial to get some time to adjust to the Silvia.

And so Lightning found one, on the small island between Downtown and Eden Shores. a three lap circuit event with a total goal of 175,000. It seemed imposing, but if she could string together multipliers like Emerald had mentioned it wouldn't be that much of a challenge, and it was a three lap event which meant plenty of time to get a line running.

Plenty of ponies in the crowd too, all of them excited to watch the display. Lightning began to rev up the Silvia as the countdown started.

3...2...1...

A good launch, but speed was not the objective here. No pony to race, just a show to put on. She went through the shallow right turn and kicked out the rear before immediately releasing the throttle and pulling hard left. She didn't get many points for it but she was just starting. A wide right under a walking bridge gave her a good sum of points and a multiplier. Another quick left and right caught her slightly off guard and she went off the road a bit. She recovered the Silvia quickly and continued on. Yet another pair of alternating turns followed up by a very wide right. She kicked the rear as far as she could hold it, and with a 3x multiplier it gave her serious score. Another right followed by two lefts, the 3x multiplier still holding up strong. One more right turn, a good one too. She went to boost out through the corner but her tires were still sliding she had to use the e-brake to slow down fast and not impact the wall. She righted the Silvia and kept the multiplier going, but she had lost all the speed she had built up. One lap down, she glanced at the score she accumulated.

83,592

A solid lap, she went on towards the second. She did not take the shallow first corner sideways. Instead, she lined up the second and got a solid drift out of it. Once more under the bridge and she boosted out. It was timed much better and it set up for a very wide arch into the next left. She got close to the wall, but that gave her bonus points. Once more through the series of alternating turns. She took a very smooth line and set up the wide right. Perfect entry and she kept the car stable. The corner granted a temporary 4x multiplier and gave her ten thousand points. A right once more and two more lefts. She gave the second left an extra kick to add on to the score. The final right was a solid one, she did not boost out of it this time. One lap left.

173,648

Oh yeah, she already had this one down. But extra points are just that, extra. Lightning loved putting on a little extra. Again, smooth entry into the first corner to set up the second. she hit the target score, now it was time for the extra. The third run through the third corner was her best. A perfect slide kicked up plenty of green smoke. She passed the left with no problem, then hit the double corner and into the wide right. Not as good of a corner than her previous time around but it worked. She put the throttle down a bit early and had to release it to stabilize the car. She powered on. Not enough speed for the right but plenty for the pair of lefts. Once more through the final right turn and past the line.

Final score, 271,819

A solid run all the way through, a few minor slip ups but nothing that hindered the run at all. She was about to celebrate when she got a call from... Crimson?

He had completely vanished yesterday, and was only now calling her? She answered quickly.

"About time you called."

"This isn't about last night Lightning, it's about right now. Meet me back at your place. I'm already here."

He hung up without letting her answer. Judging by only his voice it was more of a command than an invite. Lightning sighed and began the short drive back home. When her tires began to slide she decided to make it a slow trip back.

As she parked her Silvia she did see Crimson's Mustang parked in the lot along with Emerald's 370z and McClare's 180SX.
Crimson was standing at the doorway.

"What's this about if your not here because of last night?"

"Come inside, you'll figure it out soon enough."

She followed the stallion into the garage. They found McClare still working on a car, but it wasn't the BMW. The BMW was covered up in the corner of the garage. McClare was checking on Aqua's BRZ, which had a massive dent in the passenger side door. Lightning was astonished, Aqua had just been with her 30 minutes ago and that damage surely had not been there. Aqua had fallen behind her and Emerald on their way home but she never expected this. The pony in question however was not present in the room and neither was Emerald.

"Where... where is Aqua?"

"In the bedroom with her friend." McClare was the pony who answered her. She didn't miss a step on her way to the room, Crimson following her back. She found the two ponies she was looking for. Emerald sitting on the side of the bed looking over Aqua, almost in tears. Meanwhile Aqua was belly up on the bed, and in pain. Lightning could see why, a large gash on her head where she had impacted the dash during the incident. She was conscious and no where near death but the sudden severity of the situation put every pony present on edge. She had been just fine an hour ago, now she was out of action. That put everyone on notice.

"She's damn lucky I was passing by, if I wasn't she'd already be knocking on deaths door. And no, it wasn't an accident. It was a fucking ambush."

Lightning gave Crimson a knowing look.

"Rogue?"

Crimson nodded, before having to hold Lightning away from the door. She was fully intent on getting out and finding that stallion. Crimson put her on her hind before she got the chance.

"Don't you dare go out and looking for that bastard. We all know what he's gonna do if you come looking for him."

"He's already doing it behind our backs! Neon was a racing incident. This is deliberate sabotage. If he wants a damn fight i'm gonna give him one."

"Lightning! calm yourself. I'm not going to just let you throw yourself at the stallion. He'll eat you up and trash you after. We have to stick together, or else this shit is going to keep happening."

Her was right, and Lightning didn't want to admit it. She was so close to losing a second companion to Rogue and if Crimson had not been present it would have happened. Lightning turned back to Emerald and Aqua.

"She's going to fine right?"

"Yes, i'll take car of her dear. She'll be back in no time. Why don't you go talk to your friend. He says your ride is ready."

Knowing the M3 was ready completely erased the thought of Rogue from Lightning's mind. She made her way back to the garage. That was when she finally saw it.

the BMW M3 had gone through a complete conversion. A brand new body kit, spoiler, and rims. The white coat of paint had been replace with a bright shade of green, one which matched Lightning's coat. Along the side of the car were golden wings and along the hood was a pair of twin lightning bolts. above the bolts was the word "SHIFT". The front window had a white sticker that read "Fastlane" and the back also had a much larger sticker that included stars and the words"Perfect Shift". Finally a custom license plate, it read "SUPRSTM" and had a tag that said "I Excel Then Prevail".

The entire car had been given a completely new look, and Lightning looked like a filly in a candy store.

"Looks like I outdid myself this time." McClare commented as Lightning entered the M3 once again. She started the engine again and gave the car a few test revs. The exhaust began spitting flames as the cars engine gave its new parts a good test. Now fitted with a turbo charger and a 9lb nitrous tank, the engine now cranked out 635 horsepower with a 0-60 of 3.37 seconds and a top speed of 214 mph. A supercar in a coupe's body.

"I think it's time to take this to the streets."

"Sounds good Superstorm. Just watch yourself out there. We know he's out there now, if you need me you know where to find me."

And with that, Crimson went to his Mustang and took off heading east. Lightning exited the garage as well. She intended on heading north for Westside. There was some competition there she wanted to test her new ride against.

Author's Note

Bet that brought some one out of their seat, perfect time to utilize the swearing tag. :twilightsheepish:

I did the entire drift event by myself with the recreation of the Silvia by scratch and did the entire run myself, pausing to write and check scores. I also have been planning on showing off the M3 for some time now, every part is fully recreated on NFS Heat in Game and the stats match up perfectly.

I hope you all are excited for what's coming next. :rainbowdetermined2:

Racing a Legacy

Night had begun to fall once again over Wing City. Lightning's BMW M3 was flying down the streets of the downtown area. Her destination was a race on the northern area of Westside near Bayview Park. She has grown confident in her new ride, but she was anything but unprepared. She had her head on a swivel looking for any signs of Rogue or his crew. He wasn't making any attempts of hiding his tactics anymore and so she had to always watch herself out on the streets. This wasn't any less true now that night had befallen the city.

She turned left onto a residential area. The race marker was on the end of a dead end roundabout. When she arrived she expected to see 7 cars. She only found one, coincidentally it was another M3, a matte black M3 to be exact. The driver of the vehicle motioned Lightning over with a extended hoof out the driver window. The license plate on the M3 read...

"The Run"

As Lightning pulled alongside the other BMW she finally got a look at this racer. An orange earth pony stallion with a jet black mane cut unnecessarily short.

"So, looking to race?" The stallion's voice was very raspy, he also had visible scars on his face. He looked like he had been through Tartarus and back.

"Why else would I be here?"

"Good point, name's Rourke. Word is you've been conjuring up a storm around here. I've got some company that needs a good challenge. They're set up just west of here. Follow me, and try not to gather too much attention. We attract enough heat as it is."

"What kind of heat are we talking about?"

"Sometimes cops, sometimes worse. I'm the one who usually brings along the latter."

Judging by the scars on his face, Lightning assumed he had been on the wrong side of a gang. She had never seen the stallion in the City before, he was most likely from out of town.

Rourke cut the conversation short, and he led Lightning out of the residential street and to their intended destination. several minutes later Lightning found herself in Cloudbank. She and Rourke lined up their respective M3's behind the group of cars in front of them. Lightning checked the car list as every pony prepared for the start.

"Kamikaze" Mercedes CLK 500
"Earl" Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII
"Baron" Porsche Cayman S
"Jewels" Ford Mustang GT '05
"Payback" Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34)
"Showdown" Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
"Rourke" BMW M3 '10
"Superstorm" BMW M3 '10

Lightning was able to get a good look at most of the cars in front of her. Rourke's M3 was obvious enough, in front of her was "Showdown" driving a Lancer Evo X. This specific lancer was mostly red and black, but bore a series of sponsor stickers and large decal on both doors. The Skyline driven by "Payback" was red with carbon fiber parts and also has several stickers adorning the hood and various places. "Jewels" had a white and rose red Mustang, on the side of the Mustang was the name Jade. "Baron" had a pure black Porsche with flame decals, pure old school. "Earl" had a silver, red, and blue Evo VIII. Vinyl's covered the entire frame of the car. Finally, "Kamikaze" with a silver CLK 500 that had a snake climbing the branch of a tree, ready to strike any that crosses its path.

Lightning could easily tell every single driver in this race was experienced. In fact, she was likely no match for any of the cars in front of her. That wouldn't stop her from trying. 3...2...1...

The entire pack shot off like a bullet. Kamikaze taking an early lead followed by Earl and Baron. Payback picked up 4th from Jewels while Rourke and Lightning split Showdown, each taking their respective positions. The pack continued west, Earl and Baron fighting among themselves as Kamikaze began to increase her lead. This allowed Payback to catch up, he was followed closely by Lightning who had pulled away from Rourke and passed Jewels. They entered Rockville and took a sharp right turn. It was followed by wide winding s-curves. Most of the packs rear-wheeled vehicles made through the corners swiftly. Payback made a double move on Earl and Baron, Lightning soon followed on Earl but was blocked by Baron's Cayman S. Rourke passed Jewels to take 5th.

They took a left onto the highway, heading straight for Fort Callahan. Kamikaze blasted through the gates and the pack followed. She held left, opting to go straight through the holding area. She honked the horn of her CLK 500 as if she knew an occupant in the fort. Payback went by, Lightning followed in third. Baron and Earl Honked as well, Rourke did not but behind him Jewels did. Showdown at this point was too far behind to mater. This move of property damage and blatant harassment was responded to in kind by sirens blaring off in the distance.

The pack of racers was intercepted by a series of Charger patrol units. Most of the units took control of the leader Kamikaze while other units converged on various racers in the pack. They pack raced through Frontera Hills. As they did so, Showdown backed off from the race. He was not in the mood for cop trouble, and so the ex-professional ditched and fled. Kamikaze was doing the opposite, fighting off the units with precision only a long standing racer could have. Payback caught up and passed her cleanly. Lightning soon caught up as well, and Rourke managed by get by Baron.

They continued further east, towards Edgewood Valley. Payback now held most of the heat in the lead, Lightning forced her way into second as a very aggressive Kamikaze was hard to pass, and Rourke began to catch up to them both with the remaining racers fought for a top five. They passed by the south side of an abandoned mall and hung a left around it. Then they turned right onto the freeway. Rourke Passed Kamikaze, and Lightning began to fight for top spot with Payback. He was no slouch, and ferociously defended the lead as if racing for a bet. Ahead of them a armored Rhino unit approached, bearing the full weight of a SWAT van. A head on collision meant serious injury, perhaps certain death.

Lightning pulled along the left side of Payback just in time to see the van cresting the hill. Payback shifted to the right and went off the road as they went under an overpass. Lightning however was in full blown panic with no where to go. Except one place.

A makeshift ramp on the far side of the embankment. It was her only option. She pulled hard left to avoid the rampaging van and took flight. Time began to crawl as the M3 became a makeshift aircraft for several seconds. She came crashing down, but maintained control. With no injuries other than a sore hindquarters she continued on. Rourke had passed Payback for second and was closing fast.

Lightning was stuck in oncoming traffic. While it was night, traffic was still moderate on a freeway and she needed to keep her eyes on the road while dodging oncoming cars. As they entered Wing City's Raceway area she cut back into the correct lane, cutting off Rourke in the process. With cops still chasing she, Rourke, and Payback made haste through the tunnel to Eden Shores. At the end was the finish line. They crossed almost simultaneously with Lightning taking the win Rourke in second and Payback in third. The rest of the pack nowhere to be seen.

Now it was a matter of escaping.

Rourke immediately pulled off towards Downtown. Lightning and her temporary companion continued north. A roadblock was waiting and they pulled off towards Westside. Another roadblock was waiting, they had to double back. As they did so they played chicken with head on units. No collisions were made and Lightning let the Skyline ahead of her.

Suddenly a blue M5 punched a vehicle sized gap in the previous roadblock. Payback took his Skyline straight through the new opening as did Lightning. The three cars proceeded into Bayview, with no further resistance from units Lightning pulled off onto an access road and split away from the Skyline and M5. Not too far away sat a hideout, she parked her M3 there and began to lie down.

"What a night." She proclaimed, exhausted from the effort she put in to win the race.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait guys, lockdown has me in shambles. :fluttershyouch:

This chapter was in the works for two weeks, but I hope it does well. Can you recognize every character and easter egg mentioned in this chapter, subtle or otherwise? Have a good day and please stay well.

Performance Preview

Despite it being 4 in the morning, was awoken from what was a peaceful slumber. She shifted over under the covers to look for the source of the noise that awoke her. She found the tablet, which only meant one thing. A notification regarding Perfect Shift. Begrudgingly she moved the covers away and stood up. She gave herself time to adjust her eyes by turning on the lights in the room and eventually turned on the tablet to read the notification. This one was different from the rest, it wasn't an announcement. It was a direct message, coming from the mare herself.

Superstorm

Due to your ability to exceed expectations regarding your spot in Perfect Shift you have been granted limited access to a high tier vehicle for an upcoming preview event. I will be personally shipping the ride to you, from my own collection. It will arrive for you in the morning. The event will be held during the day at 4:00PM. You are permitted to test and tune the car, but you may not upgrade or customize it while in possession of it. If the inspectors find any changes you will be penalized accordingly.

Win the preview race, and you get to keep the car. You're opponents are as follows

Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 "Special K"
Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR "Zephyr"
McClaren MP4-12C "Ravager"
Ferrari F40 "Marksman"
Aston Martin One-77 "Psycho"
Ford GT '17 "Blue Hornet"
Saleen S7 "Silber"

Cheers, have fun with it.
VItality, Head of Perfect Shift

Again, she was mixing it up with Zephyr. Vitality called him out by name, as well as the two others in his group Special K and Blue Hornet. Did they know each other? No time to think about it now, and no chance of going to sleep with the amount of excitement brewing in her. The sun was just now coming up, meaning the night patrols of the police force were heading in to switch with day shifts. A perfect time to explore while she waited for her ride at the garage.

After a shower she entered the M3 and began to head northwest before turning onto the bridge connecting Bayview Park to Westside. On her right, a golf course. It was rarely ever in use, mostly because of dangerous racers using the walkway as racing pavement. She parked alongside it and brought up the map. Collectibles, they were scattered throughout the city. So to were jumps, speed-traps, and billboards. The jumps were named, and everything was distributed into sections corresponding to the areas of the city. They were a good time filler, Lightning would spend some time doing them while she waited.

As she began to make her way back to the garage she decided to go out of her way to hit every billboard and jump that she found. Each one giving bonuses as she did so. As she finally made her way to the garage she found no indication that her ride had been delivered. With no info on when the ride would arrive she entered the workshop.

Crimson and McClare were working on the Mustang Boss 302. The stallions liked interacting with each other and their common interest in building classic card was always on display. In the back, she found Aqua and Emerald. Aqua was once again on her hooves, the mark on her head scarring over.

"Nice yo see you standing again."

"I'm just happy to be alive, I owe Crimson my life at the moment."

"Why yes dear, but you have a more pressing issue. Your car is completely totalled."

"Yeah, I'll have to get a low budget replacement I guess."

"Hey cheer up kid, you'll figure out something."

"You've been out on the streets for two weeks and you're already calling me kid?!"

"I'm just playing with ya. You want to walk around a bit?"

"Better than sitting in...."

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud engine roar. It came from the front of the garage. Lightning knew exactly what was making that sound. She was the first to investogate. What she found was astonishing.

A fully kitted silver Porsche 911 GT2 RS with lime trim. Along the front bumper were SpeedHunters sponser stickers and along the top of the windshield lay text that read "Speed Academy". The GT2 RS was a track built car made for the road, unmatched in pure power by an 911 before it. This was a racecar by design, made for the streets. It had once been Vitality' s ride, now she was lending it over to Lightning.

Lightning entered into the 911, finding the push to start button. The engine was brought to life, but this was not the Flat 6 that the 911 was known for. It was much louder and more dominant. She brought the ride inside.

As she entered the work area with the loaner car, she received a whistle from McClare, clearly he was impresses by this new addition. Aqua and Emrald also joined the floor with Crimson to check out the new set of wheels. Lightning was not the only pony to notice that different sounding engine that brought the car along.

"Lightning, mind if I take a look under there? That is not a Flat 6 under that hood."

"As long as you don't change the parts, Vitality doesn't mind."

"Hold up, the... Vitality."

"Yes Crimson, it's on loan for now. I've got a race at 4 today."

As Lightning explained the reason she had acquired a new vehicle so suddenly McClare got his view of the specs under the hood. What he saw was completely unexpected.

"So Dust, did you know what you were getting when you received this?"

"No, it was a complete secret."

"Well, this is the first time I've seen a 7.0l V12 in a Porsche."

The entire crowd of ponies looked at the stallion with mixed expressions of shock, excitement, and confusion.

"And apparently I'm not the only one either."

As he closed the hood on the Porsche, Lightning examined the interior of the ride. Fully customized, designed like a try race car. It was time to get some driving in. It was now 9AM, she had plenty of time to get a feel for the car. She marked a destination, the safe house in Mendoza Keys. Soon she was off.

The Porsche's steering was very responsive. Lightning liked that, though the very grippy tires meant it was unlikely to spin out. When she turned past the upgrade shop she was able to kick the back wheels out. So it could drift, just no reliably.

She noticed something as well, the nitrous system had four charges. She pressed it once, unleashing the beast. Then when pressed it again. Two charges and now she was going well over 200. Her body whil le used to the G-forces was getting battered into the seat. She pulled over on the intersection curb and rolled down her window in an attempt to reduce the strain she had put on herself.

She then continued onward turning left at a reduced speed, 150MPH to be exact. She passed over a small bridge, then upped her speed again. She turned right once again then entered the bridge. She overtook a black Camaro SS on it's left. She did not expect it to be an undercover cop. The unit flashed it's siren much to her surprise and disdain. With nothing to lose or gain she pulled over. She wasn't racing, she had nothing to be busted for.

The Camaro parked behind her, stepping out was a dark blue earth pony stallion. Without hesitation he stepped to The window of the Porsche. Lightning already had the window rolled down.

"Any idea how fast you were going dear?"

"Faster than your car can go."

"See, I don't take well to small talk. You're lucky I didn't catch you out here at night. Otherwise you would be getting more than just a warning. The last time some pony came down this bridge at night their call ended up in the drink."

So, this was a cop that was proud of his job. Lightning was unfazed by his bragging.

"Neat story. Tell me, are you familiar with how many street racers there are out here. Because there doesn't seem to be any change in how the city has been."

"Ah, just wait. One day, the police will own the night. Take care."

With that, the black Camaro continued on its patrol. Lightning decided to commit to the speed limit, until the Camaro was out of sight. Then she pulled an immediate 180 turn. She expelled all of her nitrous in one go.

"Good luck sir, you're gonna need all of it."

It was now 10 minutes until 4, and Lightning was already at the meeting point. Parked in the lot by an auto parts shop near the mall in Edgewood Valley. She had now been waiting for several minutes. Just as she was getting bored, a vehicle arrived.

She could easily make this out as Zephyr, his Mercdes CLK GTR Super Sport was styled to match his Fiesta ST. He did a quick circle around the lot, and Lightning pulled away to follow. They were on a time crunch and needed to get to the start line. Lightning received a voice call from him as he drive away.

"Fancy meeting you again."

"Likewise, since Vitality called you out by name I assume you know her?"

"We are well acquainted. She gave you a nice ride. You're going to need it to keep up."

She followed him southeast, heading towards Cape Castille.

"So, how was the vacation?"

"It wasn't much of a vacation so to speak, but it turned out well. Made friends with a princess."

"Lucky you, so why are you back?"

"Vitality's request. Besides, can't just leave this place to rot. Plenty of competition around."

They got up to speed on the freeway. Zephyr's CLK had great acceleration and was good in a straight line, but so to was Lightning's 911 GT2 RS. After a quick series of turns they found themselves in Cape Castille. He lead her into a small district. Passing by an open security gate and into a parking lot where the 6 remaining vehicles were.

Blue Hornet and Special K were easy to pick out, their respective Ford GT and Lamborghini Gallardo were painted just like the BRZ and RX-7 from before. Silber in a Silver Saleen S7 with the same decals. In fact, Psycho's white and black One-77, Ravager's purple and black MP4-12C, and Marksman's black F40 all shared the same exact vinyl style.

Lightning quickly realized she was racing all members of Trinity at once.

"We best get going, I bet the crowd is waiting for us." Zephyr noted.

One by one the members of Trinity pulled away from the lot in a two by two formation. Going around the buildong and through the other security gate. A little further up the road and Lightning noticed the crowd in question. They pulled a left and every car lined up underneath a toll booth.

Marksman and Psycho on the front row, Silber and Ravager behind them, Special K and Blue Hornet holding the third row, and Zephyr and Superstorm at the tail end. Engines began to rev as the racers awaited the countdown. Off to Lightning's left she noticed a familiar face step out from the crowd. A Red pegasus, with a mobile camera, coming in to admire the rides.

Soon enough the race was ready to go, this was going to be important for Lightning. If she could win, she had a free ride when she made it to the next class. Lose, she would have to buy one out of her own bank.

3...2...1...

Every launch was admirable. Silber got the best one, and gave a slight shunt to Marksman before ducking between him and Psycho. Ravager was content with fourth while the racers behind got jumbled up. Zephyr got alongside Special K while Lightning's attempt was blocked by Blue Hornet. Instead of backing off, she pushed him forward. The makeshift bumpdraft got them both by the pair alongside them.

Silber managed to take the lead with his wild move, his Saleen S7 rocketing ahead. Marksman took second leaving Psycho to defend third from Ravager. Blue Hornet and Lightning were dead locked for fifth and Zephyr took seventh from Special K

They took the first left, Ravager getting the better of Psycho with a clean love for third. Blue Hornet relentlessly defended his position from Lightning and she was unable to make a move. On the exit Zephyr began to set up a slingshot on the duo. He waited for straight road and made the move work.

A series of s-curves awaited them. Marksman began to put pressure on Silber and Ravager began to close as well. Zephyr pulled away intending to join the fight for the lead. Lightning had plenty of grip in the corners and Blue Hornet was hugging the inside. Using the power of the newly modeled Ford GT to power-slide through the tight corners. Lightning used an opportunity to pull around the outside on the third corner. Her grip held and the move worked. Showing off had cost Hornet the position to her.

Ahead Silber was trying to hold off a pair of charging opponents in Marksman and Ravager. Zephyr caught up to Psycho and Lightning pulled away from Blue Hornet who was now in a battle with Special K. The road pulled off to the right and led down a long straight road. Silber's S7 gained some breathing room from it's crazy acceleration. Ravager's modern MP4-12C outclassed Marksman's retro F40 and he inherited second. As the three of them continued straight Psycho peeled right onto a downhill curve. Zephyr followed and Lightning was close enough to see this happen. On her map, she saw that they were taking a different route than which was marked. However, this looked like a shortcut. She followed suit. Blue Hornet and Special K stayed on course.

Psycho inherited the lead on the other side, Zephyr now in second. Silber managed to hold third as Lightning gained two positions following the shortcut. Silber defended the position relentlessly. Every move Lightning made was blocked. Ravager and Marksman caught up and suddenly there was a four way battle for a third place finish. Lightning didn't need third, she need to win.

Ravager looked to her right and she let him go. His move prompted Silber to move over to block him, which opened the door for Lightning. That option was quickly shut however by Marksman having the same idea. Silber soon realized the mistake and went to close down this move. He went to block, and ended up door slamming the F40. Marksman powered on, almost spinning as he got clipped by the S7's fender. Lightning kept her line, running side by side with Ravager. At this point Psycho and Zephyr were long gone. Marksman now needed to defend from Silber and he was defending from both Ravager and Lightning.

She needed to make something work and fast or there was no hope in catching the two leaders.They were now on a land bridge in Mendoza Keys. It was here that Lightning found an opportunity. She cut her line well onto the embankment of the second turn. It was a rough transition, but neither Silber nor Marksman attempted a wild block. Finally she acquired third and managed to pull away. Now it was a matter of catching Zephyr and Psycho.

Zephyr was now ahead of Psycho heading north out of Mendoza Keys. Lightning hooked a sharp left. She was now heading north as well. She drove this exact road in the Camaro, just in the opposite direction. By the time she reached the tunnel connecting Mendoza Keys and Eden Shores she had caught up to Psycho.

Psycho preceded to jump a ramp and smash a billboard. Now running along a jogging trail meant for ponies on hoof. Thankfully it was raining and no pony was outdoors. Lightning decided it was best to stick to the road and try to keep pace with Zephyr.

Without warning Psycho launched off another ramp at full speed, leaping over the two to retake the lead before making a sharp left. His One-77 survived the landing but it appeared as if it was limping. That's when Lightning noticed the reason, a punctured left rear. There was no way he could keep up without it. That left her and Zephyr to fight for the lead. They crossed the bridge leading towards Westside. It was now on, the race was almost done.

Two track cars, repurposed for the streets, and only a mile to go. All that was left between them and the finish was a final series of s-curves. Lightning looked left, and was blocked. They entered the first left and both racers used e-brake to stop quickly enough to make the corner. If either of them crashed Marksman, Ravager, or Silber were close enough to take advantage. On the second corner Lightning went for a risk. She held a solid line when Zephyr attempted to slow down. Her Porsche went tight and she needed to slow for the exit. She was ahead, but Zephyr's CLK quickly caught up. One more corner, and Zephyr pulled alongside for it. They were dead even coming out but Lightning had the inside for the final run.

She held the line through and the Porsche held its ground. By no more than half a car length she beat the Mercedes to the line. Ravager was not far behind followed by Silber and Marksman. Psycho limped across just ahead of Special K and Blue Hornet.

She won the race, now the Porsche was rightfully hers to keep.

Author's Note

Wow this chapter was a chore to write. Pretty long too, but I needed to make this race seem big and important since it was. Hope you enjoyed! :rainbowdetermined2:

Drift Training Montage

Author's Note

This chapter does not contribute much to the upcoming story, it was a blast to write. :rainbowkiss:

I hope you enjoyed, but next chapter this gets much more serious. One does not live the life of a racer without attracting the cops, but what is a racer to do once you get caught? :pinkiegasp:

Drift Training Montage

Lightning brought the Porsche to a stop as quickly and methodically as possible. Zephyr had the same idea as they pulled off to the side of the road out of the way of the oncoming herd of racers still finishing the race. She exited her car, momentarily exhausted from the stress she had put on herself to win the race. Zephyr's driver door also opened up as well.

Lightning brought her head up to look at the stallion, or what was supposed to be a stallion. Instead she was now face to face with a red unreformed changeling.

"You seem shocked, but don't worry i'm not gonna kill you. Vitality wouldn't like that."

"You're a..."

"Changeling? always was. You know how to handle that set of wheels for sure."

"Uh, thanks. Sorry i'm just... I thought changeling's could only take the form of a pony they see."

"More or less, but some changeling's have a pony form unique to them." The voice came from a third pony, one that Lightning barely recognized.

"V, nice to see you show up." Zephyr acknowledged her presence.

"I'm always here for the show, you should know that by now. Oh it's you, hey good job out there. I got some good airborne shots, this will do great for the montage."

Lightning was slightly dumbfounded to find the red Pegasus hanging around a street racing scene. It also didn't help that she was supposed to be out of town. Then again, so was Zephyr.

"Wait, hold on. Weren't you the pony that I met back near the racetrack? Weren't you leaving town?"

"Oh I did, Vitality needed me on her business trip. I'm basically her messenger, no pony expects a Pegasus to be in association with a street racing community." V explained, eliciting an eye roll from Zephyr.

"Well, I can't say your wrong." Lightning chuckled.

"Eh, your the exception. Zephyr, I still need that drifting footage for the video I'm making soon. You want to go get your cars and meet me at the spot?"

"I'll be there shortly." The changeling responded, retreating to his CLK and taking off with the rest of Trinity.

"Hold on, what's this your talking about?"

"I'm making a montage video for Perfect Shift and I still need some drifting shots. Zephyr promised me he would help me out with that. You know, maybe you can help me out too since you know him so well. I'll send you the location, since I have your League ID and all that I can send it to you directly. If you want, bring some friends along. The more ponies we have the better shots I can get and the more diverse the footage."

Lightning considered the invitation, Emerald would be overjoyed to join the gathering. Aqua could probably tag along as well.

"Sounds like a good time, I should get my drift ride before I head that way. When are we meeting?"

"Not too long from now, couple hours at most. We need to get the shots before nightfall or we risk getting heat. Try drifting when getting chased by a wave of cops. That's a challenge for another day."

"Alright, I'll see you soon. Try not to start without me."

"I wouldn't think it would be complete with Superstorm herself. Catch you there." V responded, turning her back to Lightning and taking off with the grace of a well practiced pegasus. Lightning would have lied if she said she wasn't jealous at all.

She returned to the Porsche, which now belonged to her, and made her way back to the garage near the racetrack.

When she arrived, Crimson was the first pony outside to welcome her. She parked the vehicle next to the M3. Her Supra was still in the shop, now covered by a tarp which concealed the broken body of Her first car. She found her three remaining companions near her Silvia. McClare working on the tires of the drift car while Aqua sat in the seat chatting with Emerald.

"I'm home girls." Lightning greeted the ponies.

"The fact that you are calling this your home now concerns me greatly" McClare deadpanned. Emerald seemed a bit uneager to speak with Lightning as did Aqua.

"You two ok? I know things are tense right now after... You know"

"That's not what's bothering me at the moment Lightning..." Aqua answered. "What's bothering me is I don't have a car now and I also don't have anything saved up to get a new one."

"We were going to ask you if she could borrow your Silvia while we looked for a replacement." Emerald finished Aqua's statement.

At first Lightning seemed hesitant, but it would be rude of her to decline the request. She already had both her M3 and now a 911 GT2, she could do without the Silvia. There was the problem however that she wouldn't have a car for the meeting she was heading to.

"It's fine, I've got all I need for the moment with the M3 and 911. You can keep it Aqua, I know how much the BRZ meant to you."

"Thanks Lightning, I'll make sure to take care of it."

"Alright, one set of new tires.... check. I'll get to work on the suspension shortly so we can have this car road worthy."

"Um, about that..." Lightning interjected.

Emerald, and to a lesser extent Aqua, was thrilled about the invitation to the meetup. While Aqua insisted Lightning could keep the Silvia for the time being, she declined. Instead, she opted to send a message to V, asking if she had anything available. V promised something worthy of Superstorm herself, saying it would be at the meeting point when she got there.

And so, she found herself in the passenger seat of Emerald's 370z watching Sidewinder work her magic. The fluidity of her movements was evident of a pony who had practiced the art of drifting for countless hours.

The plan was to meet at the observatory in Cloudbank and the group would spread out in different directions in 2 groups. One going north, the other south. And they would converge at the West entrance to Downtown.

Aqua was following close in the Silvia, getting used to the handling difference between it and the BRZ. Meanwhile Lightning was eager to see what V had been able to provide her with. As they pulled up to the observatory they were met with a massive group of cars. Lightning recognized the RX-7 FD and BRZ that Special K and Blue Hornet had been driving before, as well as the rest of the group with completely new rides.

Silber's HSV Commodore GTS stood out like a sore hoof, the massive engine uncovered and on full display. If Crimson would have been there he would have been jealous.

Ravager sported a Nissan 370z just like Emerald, though the Battle Machine design was much different and the purple tint contrasted heavily with Emerald's green tint.

Psycho had brought along a fully kitted Mitsubish Lancer IX, a car meant for rally and track racing. Then again, only a Psycho could turn a all-wheel drive rally car into a drift machine.

Marksman had also joined the Nissan club, bringing along a Skyline R-32. A true blood drifting machine and one most ponies would be jealous of.

And finally, Zephyr, sporting the legendary Hoonicorn Mustang. A car that had an image that would last a century. Every car was of its respective color, just like the cars they had raced before, with the exception of this one. It was true to the Hoonicorn image. One of these cars was out of place. It was the car V was leaning up against as Emerald parked next to her and let Lightning out.

"Good to see you finally show up. I had to pull some strings to get you this, so you better deliver. I can only let you use it this once. Once we are done I have to take it back."

Lightning was taken aback by the car before her. In front of her stood a Chevy Corvette Z06 '13. One of the most recent renditions of the Corvette lineup. The patterned mettalic red/blue finish was coated with sponser logos and a set of black wings along the doors that looked like they were made by a professional artist. Whoever had made this car, had put plenty of time into the image it gave off. As she circled around she noted the rear wing and custom bumpers. The side mirrors had been moved to the front fenders as well.

All in all, Lightning was more than impressed. It was a shame she would only get to drive it for a short period.

"Vitality was an active drifter as well, but she didn't do it nearly as much as actual racing. Still, this is one of her best drift tuned vehicles. Her cars are really important to her, so don't make me take it back to her as a wreck." V stated.

Lightning entered the Corvette and got a feel for the interior design. A few test revs yielded promising results. V motioned with her head over towards the bridge. All of the other cars were beginning to line up double filed. She filled up a spot third in line on the right side behind Zephyr and Psycho with Emerald and Silber behind her. The left side was led by Marksman who was followed by Ravager, Special K, Blue Hornet, and Aqua. Ten ponies divided by two.

"Alright mares and gentlecolts, I've only got time for one take so make it count. Passing is allowed but only if you can do it cleanly. The tighter the pack the better the train, so try to keep up with the car in front of you. Group 2 led by Marksman will start first, then Group 1 will play catch-up. Meet at the rally point, and do your best not to cause any accidents. We're here for a show, not a demolition derby. I'm talking to you Silber." V informed the group.

Lightning could see the grouping now. The line of cars she was paired with had much higher power than the cars next to her. Within seconds, V took to the sky with her camera in possession and as she did so the Skyline and it's followers pulled away and broke right.

Aqua had been positioned between Blue Hornet and Special K, fourth in the line. She followed the line that pulled away led by Marksman. She turned right to follow the pack as they began to speed up to set up the train. The downhill straight led into a winding right. Marksman, the lead car, got there first and the Skyline started throwing up white smoke. Ravager and Blue Hornet soon followed dropping Purple and Blue smoke respectively.

Aqua set up the slide just as Emerald had shown her, the green smoke of the Silvia mixing in with the rainbow of colors left behind by the cars in front of her as well as Special K's pink smoke.

The pack piled into The tunnel ahead with the 370z and Skyline holding off to allow the others to keep pace. The tunnel exited into a wide right, heading towards the rendezvous. Ravager pulled inside of Marksman and the pair did twin drifts as Ravager took the position of lead car. A shallow left lead into another wide right, this one elevated. Blue Hornet was a bit unsteady on entry and went wide. He was able to recover the drift and make it seamless but Aqua pulled it off flawlessly and assumed third as he pulled back in line. One set of snake shaped turns followed as the rally point near the gas station came into sight. As it did, Zephyr's Mustang blazed right by kicking up a heavy red smoke cloud. Ravager pulled right in behind him and Marksman was not too far behind. Psycho's Lancer also soon followed. Then as Aqua went to take the turn she caught a glimpse of a Corvette kicking up a dust storm around the corner. She crossed paths right in front of it as it passed the rally point.

It took all of 5 seconds after the first group left for Lightning's group to pull away. Instead of following the pack they went to the left. The path took them uphill around the observatory as a red smoke cloud began to build behind Zephyr. Psycho soon followed with blue smoke. As Lightning rounded the corner she glanced at the side mirrors which were positioned in a way to watch the display behind her. The orange smoke resembling a dust storm you would find in a desert. Emerald's Nissan also had it's trademark green, but most shocking was not the color but the sheer amount of smoke Silber's HSV was giving off. It could have blinded an eagle.

As they went around the first corner and crossed over a bridge a series of snaking hairpin turns followed. Lightning was partially blinded by the mix of red and blue in front of her. If Emerald had any trouble seeing she didn't let it stop her. She was lucky Silber was in the back, there was no way any pony could see past that cloud.

Zephyr began to pull away due to the sheer power the Hoonicorn Mustang had under the hood. He handled it like a true champion though and not once did he make a mistake. The hard left turn was followed by another series of hairpins which led to the rally point. Zephyr got there first, he was followed by an oncoming Ravager and Marksman. Psycho pulled in behind them.

As Lightning rounded the corner. She barely caught sight of Aqua's Silvia passing right out in front of her.

She had just enough time to adjust the course of the Corvette, missing the earth pony by mere inches. The mix of green and orange building up like a toxic cloud. It was brilliant, and above V was witnessing the show below her.

"Oh yeah, she was definitely worth the risk of that Corvette. Even I couldn't drive it as well as she is."

Back on the ground, Aqua rejoined the pack that was entering Downtown. Emerald was next to follow. Then Blue Hornet, Special K, and Silber. One more hairpin turn was done perfectly by every driver.

The road split into two sections. Zephyr stayed on the higher road which was more straight as did Ravager, Marksman, and Psycho behind him. Lightning pulled right, her companions following her. Emerald pulled alongside Aqua as they took the set of extra turns. The pattern was perfect, one set of orange smoke flanked by a pair of green smoke clouds. It was a work of art. An acrobatic like show made by three cars throwing up smoke and burning rubber... and Lightning enjoyed every second of it.

They rejoined the pack, Special K and Blue Hornet passing them. Ahead the rainbow of colored smoke was taking the final run into downtown. Zephyr led the pack down the long hill into the city. They entered the city off an exit ramp from the freeway. As they pulled into downtown they parked on the sidewalk a couple blocks down with V landing on the sidewalk next to the Corvette. Lightning opened the door to greet the red pegasus.

"How did I do?"

"You just made my fucking day."

Caught In The Crosshairs

Lightning may have been a bit surprised at the quality of the video V had made and shared with her before posting it. The camera shots were perfect, and the music choice fit the scenario very well. Her only question was, who the heck was TobyMac?

Lack of knowledge in music artist's aside, she had caught glimpses of a lot of cars she recognized when racing on the streets and even saw some glimpses of her own Supra or M3 every now and again. After she finished watching for about the fifth time she finally put the tablet away in her M3. She was about to jump in when Aqua interrupted her.

"I don't know about going out tonight Lightning. Downtown is crawling with patrol cars tonight. Try to stick in the mountains if you can help it but I wouldn't dare play the game myself." She warned Lightning. While Lightning didn't seen bothered by the warning she at least took it to heart. She gave Aqua a light embrace before entering the M3.

The word had came out that morning. Class B finals were happening tomorrow. It was a sudden revelation and one that Lightning had not been prepared for. She hadn't driven the BMW for a few days in between drifting with the Silvia, racing in the Porsche, and the film shoot with the Corvette. If any time was going to be used it had to he now. She said a final goodbye to Aqua as she exited the garage.

She listened to the mares warnings. However, she didn't head towards the hills. Instead she headed further southwest towards Port Murphy. A place she had been so far largely unfamiliar with. She had seen the place momentarily when meeting up with Trinity, but she had yet to familiarize herself with the area. She had marked a race that started right at the cargo container storage station. As she arrived at the spot she could see that the cars had already lined up. She passed the pack on the left side and swung the M3 around to join in the start. She would once again start the race last.

She eyed up her competition, a few cars stood out. In the front of the pack was a white Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. A rare car to find on the streets, but a precious luxury nonetheless. Also in the pack was a blue Audi RS4, a car she recognized as Shockwave's from the Heat's. Another pony who recognized and respected Neon Shock. The car that caught her eye the most was a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. The car was largely unfamiliar to her, what wasn't was the decals that it displayed. The same decals that were on two particular cars, a Mitsubishi Eclipse and a Dodge Viper.

Rogue was here, Lightning would need to be weary.

Also completing the lineup were a silver and red Porsche Targa 4S, a forest green Jaguar XKR, a silver Maserati Gran Turismo S, and a black Aston Martin DB7. Lightning was lined up beside the Maserati, Shockwave was in front next to the Porsche, the Aston and Jaguar filled row 2 and Rogue was lined up to the left of the Alfa Romeo.

3...2...1...

Lightning got on the gas hard following the launch and pulled alongside Shockwave in the RS4. He seemed to recognize her, and backed off as they exited the container storage onto the road heading east. Rogue's Lancer was simply not powerful enough to take on the 8C and fell to second followed by the DB7 while the Porsche and Jaguar fought behind them.

It wasn't long before the pack left Port Murphy and found themselves heading for Cape Castille. They turned right at the second intersection and followed it with a quick left. Rogue used the 8C as a set of brakes on the second turn and forced the much smaller car off the road. The car would recover but would be mitigated to the rear of the pack. Meanwhile the Porsche completed the pass on the Jaguar and Lightning's M3 soon followed. The Porsche and Aston Martin rocketed ahead on the straight road ahead of them as they passed under a shuttle launch zone that was thankfully inactive. The pack circled back around, taking the north exit. The DB9 forced its way past Rogue's much slower Lancer as they headed northeast. Of course, racing through a restricted area would lead to immediate police presence. As they sped onto the bridge several Dodge Charger highway units converged ahead. The pack exited the bridge at full speed with the Aston leading them off. It got by unscathed as did Rogue. The Porsche in front of Lightning wasn't so lucky. It was T-boned at the intersection following the bridge. The impact clipping the car and sending it on its side for a couple rolls. Lightning was forced to dodge to the right or be given a face full of sparks and sheet metal. Aqua had not been kidding, this race was going to be a mess.

A couple units began to catch up to both the Aston Martin and Mitsubishi ahead of Lightning. a set of cars attempted to box Rogue in but he was having none of it and forced his way out by knocking the car to his right aside. While this did allow him to escape, it also gave Lightning some time to catch up. Coming onto the bridge they were side by side, with Lightning on Rogue's right. Up ahead of them was trouble.

The police had called in a fully armored Rhino van. The Aston Martin dodged the block by faking to the right and pulling left. It left the van against the wall barreling on towards the next set of cars. Lightning could see the van barreling right for her. She attempted to move to the left, but Rogue's Lancer body slammed her M3 against the barrier. Now she was pinned between a rock, a hard place, and an unstoppable force. The inevitable was fast approaching, and Lightning could do nothing but brace as the multi ton behemoth slammed into her sports car at 150 mph head on. She blacked out on impact.

Lightning awoke in a heap of twisted metal and shattered glass dazed, disoriented, and partially blinded from the lights in the distance. The airbag had deployed and saved her life by a certain miracle. Her head felt like a hammer had repeatedly been bashed into it and her body was about to turn over. She found herself still in the driver seat of the M3, but she had no idea where she had been prior to her awakening.

A single siren was indeed audible, and very close by. Soon enough, a pony began to approach. Said pony opened the door and retrieved Lightning from what should have been her death bed and subdued her. It was a unicorn mare, not much younger than Lightning herself. She was a copper orange and had a black mane with streaks of red in it. Lightning was immediately brought to her senses as the mare brought her to the pavement to secure her.

"Don't even think about trying to resist punk. It won't be healthy for you."

"Heh, you don't look much older than I do kid."

"Shut it. You're under arrest."

"Yeah, let's see how long that lasts for Rookie. Hope you know how to use that horn of yours."

Lightning's words caught the young officer by surprise just enough for her to power herself up to her hooves before she fully subdued the pegasus. Eventually she mustered up enough power to move, and backed the unicorn into her own cruiser. This broke the hold she had and allowed Lightning to get some separation. She turned around and, despite not being able to properly use her wings, delivered a flying kick to the unicorn, knocking her against the car one more time and down on her flank. She wasn't knocked out, she wasn't broken, Lightning had made sure she didn't injure the poor pony, but she needed to put her out of commission in order to escape. The unicorn laid down groaning in pain.

"You poor little rookie, you have my condolences."

Lightning immediately made a break for it on her hooves. She was still on the bridge and began to head north along said bridge. It wasn't long before she was faced with a problem. That problem being a familiar Chevy Camaro SS heading towards her at a reasonable pace. She didn't have anywhere to go. Nowhere to run, except for one crazy option.

She glanced over the side of the bridge. The drop had to be a couple hundred feet at least, but survivable for a durable pegasus like herself. Without a second thought, she climbed the railing mean't to keep vehicles on the road and took the plummet.

She hit the water with a dull thud, but wasn't knocked out again. the piling on of both a severe car crash and a high fall into water was wearing her out quickly and now she needed to swim. She swam the entire length from the bridge to the shore near the residential area of Mendoza Keys. A feat only an extremely athletic pony such as herself could pull off. She pulled herself ashore and began to run through the field, eventually crossing the highway that lead towards the Raceway. She was largely in the clear. Purely on adrenaline she made her way for the garage. While the walk was short, it took everything left out of her.

She barely made it through the front door before she collapsed again, right in front of several of her friends.

Author's Note

Yes, I used TobyMac's Ignition. I'm sure it was implied enough.

Sorry about this taking so long to finish. I got a new job a few weeks ago and I'm just starting out. I want to make sure I do a good job there to keep my role on the team. Thank you for waiting everyone.

What will Lightning do without an applicable car? The Porsche is too powerful, the Silvia is far too slow and not built for racing, and the Supra is also slow and out if commission. There is a solution, and it will found next chapter. :pinkiegasp:

Superstorm Slide Show

Lightning was having a bit too much fun with Emerald's Nissan. Yes the suspension, tires, transmission, and differential had all been completed gutted to make the car race ready....but it was still a rear wheel drive sports car. So as she cruised up into Downtown she didn't let the new interior take her mind off what was really at stake.

One, this was a one time deal. If she didn't qualify, then she was done. That, and she would be giving back the car. The last time she drove in a qualifier her Supra had been trashed.

She followed the lights all the way into the northmost part of Downtown, about where it met Westside. It didn't take her long to find that the starting line had been set up on the bridge right where a Gas Station was located. How they managed to set up a spot here without gathering attention was any pony's guess.

However, as she pulled up further all attention suddenly found it's way to her. Conversations stopped, and heads began to turn. Lightning couldn't tell what did it more, the car, or the pony driving it. But all who saw the plate knew, it was unmistakable.

Despite the new ride being completely foreign to ponies that recognized her, a quick check over confirmed that the Nissan was in fact hers. As she was cleared to the start line, a crowd began to form around.

Once again, 8 cars including her. But this was a qualifier, and us such she would only move on if she finished third or better. As always, she would aim to win anyway. It was a diverse field for sure. An Alfa Romeo 8C Spyder led the grid alongside a Jaguar XKR. Behind that pair was a rose Porsche Targa 4S and an orange Dodge Challenger SRT8. In front of Lightning was a fellow Nissan, a blue Skyline R-34 and next to it a white M1 Model BMW. Then alongside her was a jet black Chevy Camaro SS with green stripes.

Despite the beautiful cloudless night sky, Lightning had no time to admire the rare occurrence of no rain in the city as the engines around her began to rev up in anticipation.

Her launch was not the best, she had yet to find the sweet spot for the redline in the car. She would need to play catch-up as the mess of cars cruised down the bridge picking up speed.

As she finally caught up to the pack they turned right and quickly made a mad dash through Eden Shores. Lightning got alongside the BMW M1 and made a clean move around it's left. Ahead, the Jaguar darted right and crossed the nose of the Alfa and caused it to turn much farther into the corner. They collided with the light post of the intersection and knocked it over. A few cars cut through the parking lot on the corner to avoid the falling post, but the BMW held its line and went further around sending Dust up onto the curb and nearly into the highly flammable gas pumps.

She gave the BMW a love tap, causing it to back off her. Crossing the bridge gave her a little bump, however she needed to pick up her pace. The Camaro and Challenger were side by side as well ahead of her. They tore through a section of downtown, the muscle cars ahead barely keeping ahead with the straight line power they possessed. The two cars split the Skyline ahead of Lightning passing it on either side.

The Camaro dodged into the incoming lane as some traffic came along in the busy streets. Up ahead, the Porsche caught up to the two lead cars. It looked to the right of the Alfa but was forced back in by some traffic. It took another look but then the Alfa moved right to dodge traffic in its lane. The resulting bump pushed the Porsche onto the curb as it ran over several palm trees and lost control. As it went to regain pace it cut out in front of the Challenger and forced it and the Skyline off into the grass on the left side of the road. The Camaro got away clean and with some expert judgment Lightning navigated the mess that took place with a couple touches of the brake.

The Jaguar began to pull away onto the freeway and head north, the Alfa giving chase with the Camaro catching up. Lightning used up one of her Nitrous tanks to close the gap on the three cars ahead. She needed at least one of those spots. They passed over the river and some wind turbines down a fast section of road leading into the forest. The Camaro's top speed advantage allowed it to take the spot from the Alfa and close the gap on the lead car.

Lightning sat in wait however, as she knew that the corners in Sandpiper Forest were wide and long. Perfect for drifting. It was a long uphill climb to the first right turn which was followed quickly by a set of S-Curves.

The Alfa struggled to maintain speed in the turns, but Lightning's car did just fine as she kicked in the clutch and took the corner sideways. Emerald had left on her smoke effect and as such the poor Italian sports car was coated in a shade of green as it was literally left in the dust.

The Jaguar and Camaro ahead of her were battling for the lead, but it was not much of a fight between them. The race was closing in on the finish line and after what happened in downtown with the other racers there was not much of a doubt, but Lightning still had some cards to play. She took a peak around the left side of the Jaguar, but it moved over to block. Just as it did, some oncoming traffic pulled along. The driver of the Jag panicked and immediately jerked the wheel back right and unintentionally clobbered the Camaro hard, though both kept going. Lightning moved into the shoulder, and managed to keep out of the ditch and keep most of her speed.

She once again pulled ahead, confidence rising. She had grown some experience, noting that the Jaguar had been aggressive the entire race, and using it to her advantage like she had been taught by Neon. It was a good race, and with another win to her name she was beginning to make a case for her rise to stardom.

As the cars around her began to pull away in their own directions she continued on into the tunnel, only to have panic set in quickly. The exit was barricade off...by Dodge Chargers. She attempted to back up, only to have her progress impeded by a Dodge Viper, Audi R8, and Lamborghini Huracan. The Lamborghini and Audi blocked the road behind as the Viper pulled in front and spun around so that her drivers door faced it. In the tunnel, there was nowhere to run.

Rogue stayed in his car, then again it wasn't as if Lightning could go anywhere.

"Well look here, we have a dead mare walking. What do I have to do to get you to learn? This is my city now, and nothing you have done or will do can change that. So I'm only going to say this one more time, you cross me again and I'll make you regret it. You have no idea what's coming, only that it...will...hurt."

He pulled away quickly, the Audi and Huracan making way for him as he did so. Soon enough, the barricade cleared out and Lightning was free to go. She simply continued on ahead, completely unaware that instead of turning around and following Rogue, the Audi and Lamborghini began to follow her back to her garage.

Even though she was oblivious to them, she would soon find that it was good that they had found her.

Author's Note

Back again, here's that race I promised but never got to. Hope this settles things for what is happening next. Time to hit the next level of competition.

The Shadow of a Star

Lightning was eager to pull into an open door, where Emerald and Crimson awaited her behind the door. She popped open the door of the Nissan, tossing the keys to Emerlas who caught them seamlessly in her magic.

"Pristine, you did well." She commented, noting a lack of any scratches on her car.

"You set it up very well." Lightning praised the unicorns quick work.

"I know it inside and out, it was a matter of finding the right parts. Your friend made that job easy. Of course, now I need to reinstall my setup. Shouldn't take long."

"You didn't crack under pressure Dust." Crimson added. "You've got will power even I struggle to stand with, I'll give you that."

"How is Aqua doing?" Lightning inquired on Emerald's relative.

"She's looking into a new car, problem is she put a lot into that Subaru of hers. She's having trouble finding something in her price range that can actually keep pace."

"I'll look into helping her with that, in the meantime I'm going to get reaaquinted with the Porsche."

Finding it in the far corner, she went to open the door when she received a call. She pulled it up, but it was an unidentified number. Seeing it as intended spam, she declined the call. It was only to have the same number call her again immediately after. She accepted this call with a haste tone.

"Yes? What is it?

"Yes, is this Lightning Dust.?" The tone was of a stallion for sure.

"Your speaking with Lightning Dust, yes. What the fuck do you want?"

"Just to have a talk, but not on here. I'm outside waiting. Don't bother telling me where you are cause I already know."

"Hold up, first off. Go fuck yourself freak. Second, how do I know you aren't bluffing?"

"Does Rogue bluff?"

"..."

"No answer? Fine, then I don't see any reason you should decline. I'll be waiting for you to come out. I have all the time in the world." The mystery caller hung up immediately, leaving Lightning no time to recover and fire back.

She stepped out of the open door she had gotten into, and made haste to the exit. Crimson noted her an easy look coupled with her unusually high pace. She eyed him up as she walked by, morning with her head over to the door, beckoning the stallion to follow. He obliged, as both ponies excited into the night sky.

As she had feared, the were cars waiting outside. What made her even more tense was she recognized these cars immediately. An Audi R8 and Lamborghini Huracan, both of which were present when Rogue had stared her down not too long before. Leaning against the Audi was a stallion setting down his phone onto what Lightning presumed was his car.

They locked eyes as Lightning drew closer, but she approached cautiously. This stallion was obviously in it with Rogue, so Lightning was prepared for anything that might happen.

"Miss Dust, sorry to keep you from resting tonight."

"Yeah, very fucking funny. I know who your in it with and would you kindly get lost!" Lightning got well into the stallions muzzle, but he kept his cools without flinching. Oddly, it was Crimson who pulled Lightning off. He took control of the conversation.

"After all these years Carbon, you still haven't shaken his influence."

"Not much of a choice, he keeps me under close watch."

"You should have gotten out when we had our chance."

"I couldn't take any risks, he would have killed us both. If anything I saved your life."

Crimson locked eyes with Carbon.

"So why are you showing up now?" He questioned. Carbon glanced over at Lightning once again, and met Crimson' s gaze.

"It would seem some pony has stepped up to make him pay for what he's taken, I've made my move. He doesn't even know I've jumped ship."

"Yeah very funny, how the fuck did you get my number then. I don't give that thing out at Heartswarming parties."

"Well, turns out residents are well documented in police databases."

Right on queue, the Lamborghini's door opened up. A unicorn mare stepped out, one that Lightning recognized quickly.

"Of course, say how's those ribs of yours?"

"You managed to not break them, despite me being more of an IT pony than an officer."

"She pulled your records for me, she has quite the way with tech. It was just a matter of tracking you down without Rogue following us."

"Yeah, I don't see how I'm supposed to believe this. A lacky of Rogue and a officer trying to get help from me. Yeah sure, I'll follow you into a double ambush and have you pay that bastard a bounty. Look, at least you were pleasant but I have bigger fish to fry."

Lightning turned away from the pair and immediately felt a shock resonate through her body as she went completely limp. Crimson was caught off gaurd, and fell into Shadow's hooves. He didn't struggle, knowing his old pal would be easily capable of doing far worse. Lightning, still conscious, layer on the tarmac in brief paralysis as Copper pulled her along in her magic.

"I, or rather we, don't want any part of that punk. And as for your bounty, I may have been dishonorably discharged but I'm not afraid of breaking your legs and chucking you into the..."

She was cut off by the sound off the hammer from a 1911 going into battery behind her. Lightning barely caught a glance of a black unicorn standing behind Copper, a Gold plated pistol in his magical grip.

"Drop her, before I drop you." Zephyr's voice echoed his intentions clearly.

"You know...who You are messing with?" Copper attempted to use her background to her advantage.

"A discharge in over her head in high water. I said let go of her."

Without much of a fight, Copper cut off her magic and let Lightning down gently. Zephyr withdrew his pistol, and as the situation calmed Carbon and Crimson released each other.

The scene was tense, but as every pony began to dial back Lightning spoke up.

"If your still in Rogue's pocket I will personally make good on my promise to Spark."

"That's the whole reason I'm here. My name is Carbon Shadow."

"And why are you here?"

"Because Rogue has gone too far."

The drive to Port Murphy's dockyard was tense for Lightning, but she found herself ridding passenger in Zephyr' s Fiesta ST as they rode along the south shore.

"Seems like I showed up at a good time." He commented.

"Remind me, what are we doing?"

"V, asked me to pick up a driver for a job. Vitality has a new shipment of exotic cars coming in tonight. Problem is that they're black market. Can't find these things in any dealership, and they are hot. We pick up the packages and run for the quarry fast as possible. The better the condition, the more we get out of it."

"Any word on what we are looking for?"

"V has the details, she'll bring us up to date."

They pulled into the dockyard long after hours. Zephyr parked his Fiesta alongside the Chevy Camaro V was leaning against.

"Good your here..." She tossed them each a set of keys. "Zephyr your car is in a blue container on the far side, Storm you are in a silver just off that direction."

With a quick nod of acknowledgment, the trio set off to different areas. Lightning got to her container first and forced the door open. She found something she could only ever dream of.

A W Moters Lykan Hypersport. A true monster, with 3.7 Liter Twin-Turbo Flat-Six. A car that was only in production for four years. She squeezed her way into the car and sure enough the key matched and the car fired up. She peeled out quickly, not wanting to waste any time.

"Got my car." Dust confirmed. The sun was beginning to rise over the sky as she pulled away.

"Pulling out now." It was Zephyr, who spun in a quick 180 to catch up with V.

They had equally as powerful and collectable cars. For Zephyr. A Radical RXC, which was his Mercedes CLK after a month of steroids. As for V, the highly sought after next gen McLaren. The Senna, a car dedicated to a racer who made a name for himself with the company's racing team many decades before. As a train, they pulled away from the scene.

"Ladies and Gentlecolts, welcome to horizon!" V went ecstatic over the radio chatter as they made their way to the drop off point.

The ride was hazard free. They bypassed morning traffic with ease and had no cop presence as the shift change was right on schedule for them to go without being noticed. V and Zephyr shared a hoof bump as the rides were transfered. After some time, V was able to give Lightning a ride back to her garage. The day had well and truly begun and there was much to do for her as she exited.

"Hey Storm, you've been doing great out there. I keep my eyes on a lot of drivers looking for some great moments and you have been promising. Take care."

"No problem, thanks for the ride."

As the Camaro pulled away, Lightning finally had some time on her hooves. It was time to put the Porsche back into it's paces.

Five Star Factor

It was unusually quiet this night, far too quiet for Lightning. This time of night normally would be full of races for her to build even more of a name for herself. Tonight there was nothing. Only midnight hour traffic littered the streets, and that was pointless to even speed by. Lightning's cruising speed was above the speed limit anyway.

She had kept telling herself to look and look, hoping there was something she could commit to doing. She may have continued driving for hours until the sun came up if she felt like doing so but she was just burning gas in the Porsche. So, after no luck anywhere she departed from Bayview Park and began heading south.

She breezed past the barren streets of Eden Shores, heading back for the garage to rest and look for things to do in the morning. As she passed by a gas station, a Chevy Corvette Pursuit vehicle pulled out to follow her. It did not speed up to her, nor flash it's lights. Rather, it snuck up to the Silver 911 GT2. By the time Lightning had glanced in her mirror to find the unsuspected pursuer it had already flashed the Porsche with an experimental EMP. Lightning was initially disoriented and to her dismay the entire system shut down on the car as the Electro Magnetic Pulse fried the dash.

The Corvette pulled alongside, but as it parked the 911 GT2 seemingly re-fired. Lightning pulled away without a moments hesitation, and began racing away from the scene. The Corvette gave chase, calling on some more to back it up.

Lightning blasted through the south tunnel, and began heading for the large suspension bridge. Her Porsche easily outran the unmodified Corvette Pursuit vehicle and she ducked low around a manufacturing building on the other side of the bridge.

It was a close call, but now she needed to find a place to hide for the night. The garage was a no go, the cops were between her and it. She pondered her options for some time, but eventually an answer presented itself. It was a stretch, but she gave a chance at getting Carbon Shadow to come. but, she didn't want to risk blowing his cover so instead she called Copper.

"Lightning?"

"I didn't think you'd answer."

"I didn't think you'd fucking call me, let alone this time of day."

"Look, can you put that to the side. I've got shit going down. I just got tagged by an officer who somehow electrically shut down my fucking car. I was lucky it fired quickly enough for me to bust out of there."

"Electrically? Oh fucking hell they've started using it already?"

"Using what?"

Copper sighed heavily.

"That EMP they had me working on, it's a remote fired pulse that was supposed to be used as a sort of...off switch. Fry the electrical systems rendering the car unable to properly operate. Of course they got some pony else to work on it. Where are you at?"

"I'm just south of the suspension bridge, down by the industrial district."

"Okay, I'm sending you the location of the shop Carbon hooked me up with. I need to look over your car, see if anything is permanently damaged. If your car re-fired they obviously still have some things they need to work out but there is likely some lasting effects."

It did not take long for Lightning to find the place, not too far off a bridge that was under construction along the eastern seaboard of Wing City. Lightning Parked right alongside the black Huracan inside, but didn't step out until she saw Copper who already had some tools in her magic. Not long before Lightning stepped out of the Porsche the unicorn got to work looking at the electricals of the 911.

"Celestia's crotch Lightning, where the fuck do you get parts like these? V12?! Those don't even fucking fit in these cars!"

"Don't look at me, I didn't build this."

"Then who in Tartarus did?"

"Vitality."

Copper immediately stopped working and broke into a fit of laughter that confused Lightning as much as it concerned her.

"That fucking ghost? Yeah sure, I checked your record Lightning. Your history in racing is only a couple weeks old, and there is no way you talk with her. Vitality has been on the run for so long she's considered a ghost to the WCPD. She shows up, races for maybe a day, then drops off the face of the map, and you expect me to believe you own one of her cars?"

"Oh she's a real pony Copper" Carbon surprised the pair. "Did no pony tell you about Perfect Shift?"

"Oh shut up about that Carbon, I'm a discharged officer and a mechanic not some know it all street racer."

Carbon didn't even retaliate to her rant, rather turned his attention to Lightning.

"I'm surprised you're even here, I would have thought you'd be up at the quarry by now."

"Why?"

"Your telling me you didn't get the message? Rogue did, and your name was on the list too."

This took Lightning by surprise, and she reached for her tablet that she had left in the Porsche. She had left it in for far too long, the battery was dead. Lightning deadpanned at her own stupidity, before slapping herself with a face hoof.

"Yeah, Vitality has a sort of...invitational going on. It's up at the quarry, and it will be starting soon. You might want to head up there soon before you miss it."

"Yeah, thanks. Are you almost done Copper?"

"The systems seem to be functioning normally, no long term damage to the components...seems like everything is in order. Count your lucky stars I'm not working on that thing or they'd have it done by now."

Lightning got back in the seat of her car.

"Be careful around Rogue today, he intends on creating a spotlight around himself. Whether or not it's a good one I've yet to figure out, but be ready for anything."

And with that Lightning blasted out Northwest for the quarry at the northernmost part of Wing City. It was mostly abandoned having been mined dry of all the resources it had once been home to. However, off-road races and the occasional drift showcase often happened in it's abandoned dirt trails. What Lightning was expecting she didn't know, but if it was an invitational that likely meant something big. She made haste, cutting several hairpin corners to make sure she made it on time. Her arrival at the quarry was met by a few other cars and she slide to a hasty stop alongside another car.

A black and red Dodge Viper ACR.

Lightning steeled herself for a talk that never came, for it seemed many ponies had their eyes on a different car. Or rather a hauler, that was beginning to unload a car. As the door flopped down it revealed a Chrome Coated Red Ferrari 488 Pista. As the door became a ramp for it to drive off of onto the concrete, and it pulled a 180 right in front of her Porsche. Lightning got her first good view of the license. "VITALITY"

The Ferrari in question pulled away quickly onto the main road, taking position in the center. It was followed by several other cars, including Rogue's Viper. It soon became apparent to Lightning what was going on and she found a spot at the end of the grid, but Vitality wasn't quite ready. She pulled a 180, and drove down the line of cars behind her, and they in turn began moving a spot up as she did. The racer then swung the car around one last time to line up at the back right alongside Lightning's Porsche.

The field was big, 24 cars of varying makes, models, and designs. Whatever this was it had big implications, and the fact that the head mare herself was in it made the stakes seem that much higher.

Rogue in turn was a decent length ahead of them 13th on the grid. Lightning did not expect to win this race at all being so far behind, but it didn't mean she wasn't going to try. They had a large crowd on the scene, but Lightning had a bad feeling about everything. The Corvette that had caught her off guard earlier. Surely they knew something this large was taking place. But, the time to worry was not then, the race was starting.

3...2...1...

Lightning got a perfect launch, but the Ferrari next her blazed a trail of nitrous right from the start and rocketed to the front. After a small kink right, the pack jostled for position on the road heading south. several cars traded paint as they did so with Lightning cutting her Porsche in between two Lamborghini's a Murcielago and Reventon.

An Aston Martin Vulcan was forced off into the grass and fell down the order, and up ahead was a very wide semi circle right turn. Near the front, a Pagani Zonda got hard on the brakes and sent a ripple effect down the order but both Lightning and Vitality were able to react quickly enough to avoid the brake checking and soar up the order. The Ferrari was very quick in a straight line, even pulling away from the Porsche.

Lightning used a bit of her own nitrous as they continued past Fort Callahan, but Lightning's police scanner picked up some radio chatter. Sure enough, a squad of the Corvette's came from the west leaving the fort. They intercepted the lead group of cars just ahead of where Lightning was, the first discharging and EMP on a Mclaren 12C. The game was on, but not many wanted to play.

Several car behind them bailed, taking alternative roads or backtracking entirely while the cars in the lead were hauled in by the Corvette's.

It left Rogue and Lightning the lone rivals to chase the Ferrari through Frontera Hills and into Port Murphy. By now, the pursuers has turned their attention to the three remaining racers. A Helicopter had also been called in, but had been critically low on fuel. One Corvette took it's first shot on Vitality, hitting the Ferrari with an EMP. Though the lights of the car initially flashed, the car kept going much the surprise of all the cars around it. But, it made sense to Lightning. Her Porsche had also survived the EMP, so it could be that Vitality's cars had some defense for it.

Rogue did not, and when a second Corvette lined up he brake checked it. Smashing in the radiator of the pursuit vehicle and disabling it soon after. He peeled off into an alternate road as the chopper began to flee to refuel. The two remaining vehicles seized an opportunity and dove into the dockyard to shake off the remaining cars.

They came out the other side, the Ferrari just ahead of the Porsche. Suddenly Rogue reappeared, giving the Ferrari a harsh bump onto the curb. Vitality did not take this lying down and began rubbing her car with the Viper. This gave Lightning a chance to level the field, and she pulled up along the other side of Rogue and forced her Porsche against him to box him in.

Seemingly outmuscled, he slammed the brakes causing both cars on either side to inadvertently hit each other and skid to a stop. By the time both drivers regained their composure he had begun to flee north with his tail tucked under.

For the first time, Lightning had gotten the better of him at his own game. But she didn't get to admire the victory for long. Her phone was ringing.

"Hello"

"You impress me kid, you didn't crack under pressure. Takes a lot of guts to face odds like that. Glad to have you in the series. I'll be in touch."

With that, the Ferrari pulled away to shaked off heat, Vitality once again becoming a ghost in the night. Lightning also took her leave, having made an impression on the boss. She was going places, but she knew it wasn't going to get any easier.

Author's Note

It's back! and it's heating up, but Rogue won't take too kindly to being roughed up.

The Black Project

Aqua Streak took a long sigh as she lay sprawled out in the spare room of the garage. She was healthy enough that she could walk around just fine, but she lacked any motivation to get on her hooves and do something. Her Subaru had meant everything to her, and without it she felt useless. Emerald had tried to coax her to come out for a ride but nothing was moving the oceanic earth pony from where she lay.

That was until Lightning Dust walked in, dreary eyed from the long night she had partaken in.

"This spot taken?" She inquired. Aqua frowned, but rolled off for the tired pegasus, who promptly fell onto her backside.

"You look like you drove through Tartarus." Aqua stated matter of factly.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Lightning replied with her own factual statement.

"Must be nice being able to do that every night..."

"Yeah, living on the edge of life and death. You have any luck finding a new car?"

"Nothing worth it with what I have...Perfect Shift was supposed to be my big break you know. Make a name for myself, I put everything I had into that Subaru. Now I have nothing but you and the others."

"Right..." Lightning pondered what to say next. "So was the BRZ all you ever wanted?"

"Fuck no Lightning. I mean I loved it to death, it was a great car. But I'm an aspiring driver. I want to move up, find something fast."

"Mhm..." Lightning knew exactly what to do. "You know what, get up and come with me."

"Lightning just let me..." Aqua started, before Lightning repeated herself more assertively.

"Get up, and come with me."

Reluctantly, Aqua followed the pegasus out of the room and towards the main work floor. The pair passed by McClare who was working on a car with a drape over it.

"Working on a project?" Lightning asked, intrigued by the stallions sudden increase in productivity.

"Just a job for a client of mine, I wanted to treat it with special care. With some work it'll look good as ever."

Passing by, they moved over to the Nissan Silvia that Emerald had given to her. Lightning drove, with Aqua riding shotgun. She left the garage and began heading south.

"So where are we going?"

"Not far, just around the corner. I wanted you to see for yourself."

As they passed by the speedway, Aqua decided to keep the conversation going.

"So why are we riding in the Silvia?"

"I need a moment of downtime, do some drifting, I need a break from all the high stakes right now."

"You? needing a break?"

"Even reckless daredevils need some time off. Besides, I'm dropping you off with Crimson."

That caught Aqua's attention, even making her blush slightly.

"Why Crimson?"

Lightning waited until they pulled up to the dealership to answer that question. Crimson and his Mustang were there, as was another car. Aqua squinted, almost unsure if she was seeing correctly. The Silvia pulled in on the other side of the car, it was an Infiniti Project Black S. Just as the Silvia was parked, Lightning opened up the compartment in front of Aqua and fished out a set of keys that bore the Infiniti logo on it, giving them to Aqua. The sea colored earth pony was hesitant at first, but took the keys and both mares got out.

"You almost made me wait." Crimson remarked sarcastically. "Here I was thinking you were quick."

"Sorry buddy, but that fire your spitting doesn't burn me. You don't mind pulling our friend around in her new car do you?" Lightning inquired.

"Been itching for it, see if her blue is cold enough to put out my fire."

"I don't know, you are red hot...in more ways than one." Aqua remarked, in a flirtatious tone.

Crimson blushed, Aqua held her hoof to her mouth realizing she said that out loud, and Lightning awkwardly backed out of the way.

"Great talk you two, I'm going to head out for some drifting." Lightning retreated to the Silvia, now visually reacting to what was to her...obvious flirtation.

Aqua momentarily turned her attention to the Project Black, the car was a pretty penny for a sedan, but it could hold it's own on the streets. It's ride height also meant that she could still use her knowledge of the city without having too many unhealthy bumps in her rump. It wasn't much, but the fact that Lightning went out of her way during this whole situation to replace Aqua's car with an equal if not better ride really felt special to the earth pony.

"So, word on the streets is you aren't afraid of being dirty." Crimson continued.

"Afraid? being dirty is part of my driving style."

"We'll see about that. I hooked some off-road tires to my ride, try and keep up."

"Beat me? at my own game? Try me. There's a spot just around the corner."

Aqua led Crimson to the highway on the eastward stretch leaving the neighborhood and soon turned off onto a stretch of gravel road. The two cars stopped beside each other, lining up for a muddy experience through the cities marshlands near the southern coast.

After a moment of hesitation, The Mustang bolted. It's off-road tires and tuned engine giving it a noticeable jump compared to the Project Black, but Aqua was in her element, she knew her prowess would carry her in this race. Their race took them south just outside the Mendoza Keys, and despite the new tires Crimson's Mustang was noticeably uncomfortable over the bumps.

There was a break in the road ahead, the pair careening over across a paved road. Fortunately it was quiet in the early morning hours, and traffic was not a worry. Aqua got as close to Crimson's tail as she could without getting alongside him. She knew there was a parking lot just ahead, a patch of pavement where her road tires could grip in and allow her to pass. The transition was coupled with a sharp bump, but with traction on her side she pulled alongside and around the Mustang just before rejoining the dirt.

They were in the wetlands now, the ground was damp and swamp vegetation grew all around as they weaved around small bushes and darted through small marshes. Not too far ahead was a small acces tunnel that ran under the main road. They could only go through it oneby one, so Crimson conceded and followed the Infiniti through without argument.

"Alright, I'll leave you to the backroads from now on." Crimson admitted defeat to the Infiniti, wanting no more of the wild ride. "I think I'm better off running the roads."

"Suit yourself, sometimes getting dirty can be a bit relaxing. We're coming up on Cape Castille, let's get to the main road and head back."

Aqua and Crimson turned left at a fork in the path and saw a break in the trees where Cape Castille's foundry buildings poked through, but just before they could rejoin on the paved road the familiar Carbon coated Audi R8 came to a sudden stop right in the path of the two earth ponies.

With the Audi having suddenly occupied the space Aqua's Infiniti was heading towards she slammed on the brakes and locked the wheels of her car. It stopped just before plowing into the side of the car in front of her. Crimson came to a more gradual and smooth stop, but did not hesitate in stepping out of his car to once again meet face to face with Carbon. Carbon was also eager to jump out of his car and seemed to be in a hurry to get face to face with Crimson.

The two earth pony stallions pressed their snouts up against each other, Crimson with confusion and anger, Carbon's blank expression unusually absent from his demeanor.

"You were following us again." Crimson bluntly assumed, considering Carbon had not only been doing such work often, but just so happened to stop right in the path of their race. "Stay out of our business, or I will bury you in the bay with your partner in crime."

Aqua only dared to watch the two butt heads, but she was definitely weary of trouble. She had been blind sided once, she would not fall victim to a surprise again.

"Crimson, so far the only time I have shown myself to you was with good intentions."

"The only time you showed yourself your unicorn cop friend tried arresting one of my friends and put us in a stand off, speaking of which, where is that little unicorn. You've seemingly been dragging her around like an adopted pet for the last few days."

Carbon and Crimson remained with their eyes locked for what seemed like a century, Carbon didn't want to back down from Crimson, even though he needed his trust. Crimson didn't dare step down knowing what Carbon could do if he showed any weakness. Not to mention the threat of Rogue being possibly anywhere nearby.

"How much do you trust me Crimson?"

"I don't trust you long enough to run a quarter mile."

"Then at least get off the line with me here."

Carbon matching Crimson's drag race metaphor with his own similar statement got into his head just enough for his eyes to widen ever so slightly, but Carbon could see it. He very slightly backed off from the standoff.

"I've been trying to work with you for days Crimson, we're on the same side here. I just needed to convince you." Carbon's tone was not of his standard, flat, matter of fact nature. There was some genuine emotion in his words. He was trying to get Crimson to see that he was telling the truth. Aqua was seemingly moved by the conversation as well. She too got out of her car and joined the two stallions. Carbon nodded in her direction, acknowledging her presence. "Glad to see you in once piece."

"I've seen better days, so you know then?"

"The Snake leaves his den and comes back battered and bruised, that can only mean he went hunting and lost a fight." He nodded in Crimson's direction "Burn marks all over his skin, had to hide my smile."

"You can smile?"

"I do have emotions Crimson, I'm just really good at putting them aside. Let me ask you again. Do you trust me?"

"Convince me." Crimson demanded. "Where's your unicorn friend?"

"Copper...yes. That's what I was hoping you'd ask. Rogue's using her as a bargaining chip."

Crimson couldn't make sense of this.

"So what, one minute he opens the entire world up to her and next he has her hostage?"

"I made the mistake of disclosing that she was a wanted discharge. That she stole her car from the impound lot and was on the run from her former employers. So he took her and held her ransom to the authorities, saying he'd turn her and the car to them for two favors."

"Sick bastard." Aqua chimed in.

"One of the many reasons I turned my back on him, if the blatant vehicular assault wasn't already enough. Anyway, he ransomed himself protection from being arrested until the police can prove two bounties to him. Only then did he agree to turn Copper over to them. One of them was Vitality..."

"He's trying to get the organizer taken down?" Aqua was stunned that an active participant in the league was for some reason trying to get it shut down.

"Turns out that sending him with his tail between his legs was enough to get him to forget about the league and focus on making sure that he takes care of any pony that can outrace him."

"He can't beat them on the street, so he stacks the..."

"...deck in his favor, now you're catching on Crimson."

"I always knew he was a backhand dealer Carbon, if anything it was you who took forever to catch on."

"Little does he know I already flipped his deck and dealt the aces to myself. He still thinks he has me in his pocket."

"You clever old bastard Carbon."

"Sorry to cut in gentlecolts, but you said there were two bounties Rogue set. One of them was Vitality...who was the other?"

"Well I think it should be quite obvious to both of you, but if you don't mind me asking, have either of you seen Superstorm recently?"

Aqua and Crimson locked glances, knowing exactly what he was referring to. Meanwhile, in the distance to the northeast on the Mendoza Keys bridge, the faint sounds of sirens and screeching tires could be heard as a Nissan Silvia came to a sudden stop along the bridge. Ahead, four Dodge Charger pursuit vehicles converged to form a blockade, forcing the Nissan to stop it's forward momentum.

Lightning took a second to assess her situation, four cars ahead, two behind, and not a lot of space to maneuver.

"Well, this is going to be an experience." She remarked, throwing reverse and spinning the wheels. "But who's to say I don't live for these kinds of experiences?"

Superstorm Forming

Lightning Dust had not slept the night before, she couldn’t stop reliving the events in her dreams. She had arrived at the garage late at night while McClare was asleep. He knew that she would be late but he didn’t expect her to be alone. Lightning hadn’t told him about Neon until he brought it up. His face was a mix of recognition, anger, and regret. He went to his personal room shortly after where Lightning could swear she heard him sobbing, but could she blame him? Neon had been his friend since they were foals and she had been killed in cold blood over a race.

Now Lightning was sitting down in the maintenance area of the garage next to her Supra, the only car now occupying it. She had been there for the whole morning blaming herself for Neon’s death and the state of McClare.

“If only I could still fly, I could have pulled her away. Why does it have to be this way!” She thought aloud, stomping her left fore hoof in anger.

Her anger was interrupted by a buzz like vibration coming from the Supra. The tablet she had been given the night before was sending notifications through to her. She put aside her anger temporarily and picked it up opening the notification, text appeared as she did so.

C-Class Rules and the League Schedule

Congratulations to those who qualified for the Perfect Shift League, as well as escaping that ambush from the authorities. That obviously wasn’t planned for the night.

Anyway today marks the first two weeks of the league, the C-Class stage. First off if you are not currently using a C-Class vehicle, you must acquire one in order to participate in the first stage, those who do not within the next week will be automatically eliminated. Now there will be 5 league events in the upcoming days we have marked on each of your calendars, the first one is two days away, the event is optional and has restrictions to enter. Feel free to participate in any unmarked race that you wish, we will keep track of your records using your tablets info.

Points will be given to racers based on their performance in and out of league events. 5 points if you win the race and 2 if you place top 3. We have supplied a map of the city with event locations for those who are uninformed. The 20 racers with the most points will be exempt from the last chance races for B-Class. Each of your tablets have been updated with leader board stats. Of course everyone is at zero but feel free to check your place and competition. We are currently at a dead set 100 participants but we plan on limiting that to six for the final race. We will also set bonus points for those who can outrun the law successfully. I will be tracking bounty in a separate leader board and the racer with the highest bounty at the end of the stage will receive a free gift, one from my personal collection.

Lastly make sure that if you ever change your current vehicle, update it in your info tab so that we are aware, We can’t give you points if you don’t have the listed vehicle. Best of luck to all racers and remember, don’t get caught!

Vitality, Head Organizer of Perfect Shift

Lightning processed the information as she read the text, and noticed the new tab on her tablet labeled “Leader Boards” She pressed it and was brought to a list of names of each racer she was up against, as well as their current vehicle and the number corresponding to their points acquired. She scrolled through the list of names and found herself along with the info she put in the night before. She also saw the “Change Vehicle” option and noted it for when she would need it.

She opened up the map of the city she had received and found many events that were going on. Most of them were either in progress or already full on participants.

“Makes sense, there are a hundred racers looking for points right now.” Lightning noted

She had to look for a bit before she found a race that had an open slot, it was towards the west side of the map outside the city, a sprint race out in Rockville. No other league members had entered it but the limit was six with five already present.

“A small group looking for some competition, sounds like an easy one. Better get going.”

She had wanted to let McClare know but it was best to leave him to his emotions, he likely had a busy day already. She hopped in to the Supra, bringing the tablet with her, and drove of towards her destination that she had marked.

She arrived 20 minutes later, driving at standard pace to not draw any attention from anyone else. She was met with 5 other vehicles, most of which were Volkswagen's except for the Orange Mazda RX-8 line up behind them all. An orange mare with a black mane and tail got out and approached her Supra as Lightning rolled down her window. The mare called back towards the other racers.

“Get ready girls, we got a taker!” She ordered, then turned towards Lightning.

“Who might you be?” Lightning asked

“Name’s Hotshot, me and my friends here usually come around here to race twice a week. We heard that the Perfect Shift league is starting up so we sent out a request, looks like you were the taker?”

“Yeah, call me Superstorm. Just got into this gig last week actually.”

“You don’t say. Well then, why don’t we'll see if you can keep up. I’ll take your tablet and lock your info in so we can send the results.”

Lightning handed Hotshot her tablet. After a few seconds she handed it back and Lightning set it next to her.

“Alright your good, let’s get this show rolling!”

As Hotshot climbed back into her RX-8, Lightning’s tablet changed to show a GPS model with a map of the sprint race and the total distance of said race. It was a relatively short race, mostly on the west outskirts of the city and finished in the Sandpiper Forest near the freeway junction. The red lights came on and Lightning, Hotshot, and the other racers began to rev their engines. Lightning prepared for a perfect launch as the lights became yellow and as she hit redline on her final rev the light became green. She got the best launch she had ever previously gotten, immediately getting alongside the R32 in front of her. Hotshot had similar success and got around the other R32 in front of her. Lightning was able to block coming into a wide right turn to secure third ahead of Hotshot and soon caught up to the other two Volkswagen’s in front. Just down the road was a very long straight road. Lightning was able to easily out perform every opponent except Hotshot's RX-8 which tailed her still even as she cleanly passed the other opponents in front of them. It was a long road ahead until the next set of corners, though the road was very curved. Lightning couldn’t get the top speed she needed to widen the gap. She found Hotshot’s RX-8 in her rear view as they were coming up towards a very wide right near the north river. All that was left were two corners, a long and wide left that could likely be taken flat out followed by a sharp U-curve just before the finish straight. Lightning ruled out the possibility of turning the turning the corner without sliding, but the problem was the left turn before it. Then she remembered something that Neon had told her about the day before the heats.

“This won’t happen very often but if you find a corner that comes before another sharper corner, you might be able to inertia drift. It takes practice but all you need to do is slide the first corner then hit the brake, change direction and re-apply the throttle. It takes some practice but it helps save time in tight spots.”

“Who needs practice when your gifted.” Lightning gloated to no pony in particular.

She knew she had only one chance. Mess up and she would lose all the time she gained on the other racers. The first part of the corner was simple, slid the tires out to get some spin, then hit the brakes. It was only a tap before she turned the wheel the other way and then applied gas. It worked for a second until she got too much wheel spin into the corner. She was able to slow down enough to stop a spinout, but the time lost was enough for Hotshot to catch up on the final straight. Lightning barely managed to keep in front before crossing the line. She won, but it had been closer than she would have liked. After the other racers finished she met back up with Hotshot to send results back to the league.

“Nice run you had there, by the way the girls think you’re crazy.”

“What, Why!?” Lightning asked, both annoyed and confused.

“Really, you’ve been racing for a week and you try to inertia drift. I’ve seen ponies who win races every day try and fail to do that same stunt you just tried to pull. I could have easily passed you there but I gave you the benefit of the doubt because I knew it wouldn’t work.”

“I like to try new things, what’s wrong with that. I thought i could make up some time on the last two corners.” Lightning explained.

“You sure, or is it part of that inner pegasus spirit that still wants your friend back?”

Lightning was dumbfounded, she had her wings still hidden behind her in the seat. Could this pony somehow see them? Before she could answer her own internal question, the pony before her answered it herself.

“Just because I wasn’t there that night doesn’t mean word won’t get around about what happened. Spark was killed in an accident during the final race of the heats, and her friend, who qualified earlier and just so happens to be a pegasus, jumps out of her white Toyota Supra to be the hero only to watch the car in front of her ignite. The same Supra that happened to show up today to race us….”

“It wasn’t an accident!” Lightning screamed furiously, her anger not being able to be withheld. “I saw it happen, I know who took her life, and I will not let him get away with it.

“I’m aware of that rookie!” Hotshot interrupted. “Rogue Rush isn’t known for playing nice. Honestly though, that’s the final straw in my book. Racing dirty is bad enough, but you don’t wreck another racer like that, especially if it puts their life in danger.”

Hotshot paused, then sighed and began again.

“I have to tell you something. Rogue isn’t a stallion to poke at. I’ve heard he has backup in a crew called “Blackout”. If you’re going to take him on, you’re going to need help. I can’t do anything personally, but there are others who can. Find ponies you can trust that will have your back.”

Hotshot finished uploading the results and placed the tablet beside Lightning.

“Trust me, once he realizes you’re after him, he won’t be afraid to put you in the same place he put Spark. I got to go, but you got my support. Good luck.”

With that, Hotshot left in her Mazda along with her friends leaving Lightning Dust to comprehend what she had just heard. One thing was clear though, she knew now that she couldn’t take down Rogue alone. As she drove back to the garage she thought hard about one thing, who out there could help her. McClare was the first to come to mind but she needed more, some pony who could actively be of assistance when she was in need. Little did she know, a Subaru BRZ had started following her back to the garage, inside which was the first of many ponies that would become her friends.

Author's Note

Finding the right place to set this race was a challenge at first but it worked out in the end. I hope you all are ready for chapter six coming soon.

Classic Muscle

When Lightning had pulled into the garage she fully expected McClare to be asleep. After all, it was well past midnight and he was hard working as any other earth pony she knew. So saying she was surprised when she found him working on his Nissan 180SX would likely be an understatement. She made sure to close the door behind her before she propped herself against her beat up Supra and began to wait patiently for the stallion to finish his work. It took him several minutes to reveal his face which appeared to be exhausted. He had likely been working for some time. He seemed to gaze at Lightning as if she was a ghost before jumping out of his stupor.

“Your back? I thought you would be gone until morning.”

“Yeah, trying to hide out for a bit. Heat is pretty strong right now.”

“Makes sense, I have noticed the amount of patrol cars has been going up recently. They might be getting word of what is going on around here. Perfect Shift is drawing all sorts of attention wanted or not and it’s causing the authorities to ramp up their tactics.”

“Yeah, speaking of which I may have scratched up the paint on the Supra while I was gone.” Lightning smiled sheepishly and rubbed her neck with a hoof. McClare simply deadpanned.

“I’ll go get the paint, unless you want it to stay that way.”

“No, it’s fine go ahead. I’m going to check out back and see what you’ve been working on.”

“Any particular reason?”

“I’m still thinking about something, I’ll let you know if I need anything else.” With that she opened the door to the showroom area of the garage. This was where McClare put up any vehicles that had been either abandoned or were never returned to their previous owner, vehicles that he had repaired, and his own personal vehicles like his Nissan. Most of these vehicles he would sell to other ponies to make a profit in order to keep his business running.

There weren’t many cars on display. A couple street cars that were nowhere near competitive on the street racing scene. There were a couple that could have worked but weren’t within bounds for the requirements she was looking for.

“I can tell you’re looking for something Dust.” McClare’s voice had caught her completely off guard and she nearly jumped onto the hood of a nearby Mazda.

“Yeah, you could say that.” She replied, trying to sound innocent since she had been peeking at his collection. He resisted the urge to put his face in his hoof.

“You don’t have to hide the truth from me Lightning, I’m only trying to help you. Neon would have trusted you so it’s only fair I do the same. So, what are you looking for?”

“Wait, you’re just going to let me have one?”

“You’re a friend, just like Neon. I may be a stallion of business but I am also willing to do favors. Just don’t abuse it like Neon did, I can only do so much as one pony..”

“Well in that case…”

Lightning had been eyeing the notification the whole drive back to the garage from Aqua’s hideout. She let McClare take a glance at what it had said, as he read the message his expression began to shift to one of deep thoughts.

“You know Lightning, I may have something that will suit your needs. Come on, let me show you something.”

He lead her out of the showroom to his personal garage. This room only held four spaces, one for his 180SX, one for his street car he used for casual drives, an extra space for his work truck, and a fourth. In the fourth spot placed right next to the 180SX was a Classic Chevy Camaro SS. Black with a white racing stripe and in pristine condition. Lightning was taken aback by the condition of the vehicle despite it likely being older than she was.

“It originally belonged to my dad when he was still young, he placed it in my hooves when I moved out to start my own life and I kept it just the way he liked it. Sadly I haven’t taken her out for a drive in years. I’ll need to replace some parts but as long as you don’t wreck it, it’s yours.”

For the second time in a week Lightning hugged the stallion far more compassionately than was normal for her, thankfully she let him go quickly.

“Is there anything I need to make up for it?”
“No, as long as you don’t total it. It’s the same drive as the Supra so you’ll get it down quickly enough, but it’s much faster in a straight line. Earth pony muscle is unmatched in top speed.” He proclaimed.

With Lightning’s help McClare was able to maneuver the vehicle into his work shop. As he began to work on it Lightning used her tablet to check the time as well as the other restrictions in the race and it’s location.

League Race
2:00PM, Mendoza Keys

Classic Muscle Cars Only
Class C Restrictions in place
8 spots available
1 taken, 7 remaining

She was lucky, no need to hurry since there was both plenty of time and spaces left. She decided it was the best time for a nap. She would need the energy for the upcoming day, and if McClare was constant he would have the car ready by morning.

Lightning arrived at the track at eleven that next morning and began to take practice laps. She mentally kept track of her laps and after each one tried to get a little more out of each pass through. However every time she went around the track something caught her eye. A large makeshift jump leading out the track through a gap in the busted fence that was used during races in the racetrack's prime. She had counted up to twenty laps now and was going well over 150MPH on the track constantly.

The next time she passed by she cut into the infield and took aim for the jump. She was going fast but the lack of care that the infield had received caused it to be incredibly rough terrain making it hard to steer. Even after taking all the time to line up the jump, by the time she reached the base of the ramp she locked up her brakes and came to a dead stop before she could take flight.

Suddenly she began to question herself. If she had been in this place a few years ago she would have taken that jump no matter what risks were in place. What had changed? She glanced at her wings, now a couple weeks after her initial realization and only now figuring out her mistake. Being that old pony had been what got her injured in the first place. Being that pony would have made her take that jump that she might not have made. Meaning would she have not only totaled the car she had been gifted, but she would have injured herself further.

But that Lightning Dust was what was needed to race against her opponents and the law. Take it too far however, and she might not make it back. She needed to find a balance between her old self and her new found self control.

She exited the track, through the main entrance, and found her way back to the garage. It was now a quarter to two, fifteen minutes before the league sponsored event. She entered the maintenance shop and found McClare finishing up with the tires on the Camaro. She was right on time. The Camaro may have been a model if the past but in the garage it looked brand new, a piece of history brought to the future. Now that it was ready to go Lightning Dust parked her Supra in an open slot designated for her and exited it. She took a glance over the Camaro before opening the door to reveal the retro interior. Once she was comfortable in her seat she started the legendary engine which roared to life inside the building, much to McClare's satisfaction and Lightning's joy. She made sure to make the time to edit her profile on her tablet so that she was tagged with the correct vehicle before opening the door.

"Take good care of it, I'll see you by nightfall?"

"Likely, but no promises."

"You're becoming more like Neon every day, you know that?"

"How do you think we got along so well? I'll be back tonight, promise."

With that she open her tablet one more time and confirmed her place in the event before heading out the garage and easy towards her desired destination. She turned left onto the highway and kept right heading to the coast. At a four way intersection she took a left following the road towards the coast as her destination was right at the bridge. Once she arrived she noted the seven other racers driving cars including Dodge Chargers, Ford Mustangs,a Challenger, and Chevy Camaros just like hers. She also found a familiar Ford Mustang Boss 302. A car she remembered seeing at the heats a couple days prior. She had made it with a couple minutes to spare before the start and some racers had yet to line up. She settled her Camaro on the grid in the third row behind a Green Charger R/T and a Blue Camaro SS. Shortly afterwards another Charger lined up beside her, this one red with black stripes and two more Mustang's behind them. The Boss 302 took the lead role on the grid next to the Challenger. With the grid locked in it was time for the race to start. Red lights came to life as the grid revved their muscle engines. Lightning used her previous practice with the Supra to judge her revs. The lights shifted yellow, the revs got louder.

Green!

Lightning was not prepared for the wheelspin that she was caught in as the Camaro struggled to find grip on the launch. She managed to defend her sixth place from the Mustang's behind her as they crossed the bridge in a large pack. The bridge crossed an overpass and then shifted left. Ahead Lightning could see that the Mustang Boss had managed a substantial lead while just ahead of her second through fifth were battling for position. The two Chargers in front of her collided and brushed against the wall of the bridge. With careful maneuvering she managed to grab both spots simultaneously. She had caught up to fourth.

Once again the road shifted to the right, now Lightning was understanding the much more wild handling that the Camaro was prone too compared to her Supra. She had to make a substantial correction exiting the turn in order to keep pace with the Camaro in front of her. The road connected with a much larger one as the racers continued to head south. A series of shallow curves gave Lightning an opening on the Camaro in front of her. She kept speed on the first and made some ground, then cut inside on the second which forced the racer to give or risk an accident. It was a textbook racing move, one she was able to take advantage of. McClare had tuned the Camaro well and it outpaced it's twin on the straight.

Up ahead was another bridge. Lightning was now in third with the Challenger and the Mustang Boss battling for the lead. Entering the corner the Mustang put a block on the Challenger, it responded in kind by shifting to the other side and gained momentum. The two cars proceeded to beat each other down the entire length of the bridge as Lightning did her best to not get tangled in the mess that would inevitably happen.

At the end of the bridge it occured. The Challenger now with a nose lead attempted to block off the Mustang's path. The Mustang did not give and spun the Challenger which in turn collided with a metal post, right next to a gas station parking lot. Lightning managed to dodge the rebounding vehicle by mere feet before continuing on. Second place, but she was running out of time and will. The driver of the Mustang was just as likely to attempt to wreck her if she was too aggressive. She decided it was best to play it cool and hoped for a mistake, it never came. The finish was just up ahead at the entrance to Cape Castille. She would have to settle for second. A promising finish, and it counted in the long run for League points, but the satisfaction of winning would not come this time.

Author's Note

I would have finished this sooner but college is a big undertaking and takes commitment. This is missing a chase that I promised with Rogue's crew, that will take place in the second part which will be finished sometime this week. Please be patient I'm doing all I can, I hope that you like the story so far.

:twilightsmile: :rainbowdetermined2:

Carbon, Copper, and Chaos

Lightning awoke the next morning sore all over. In fact her entire body was screaming from her massive migraine, which made her think this was a hangover, to all four of her legs having fierce aches all over. She would have thought she had gotten mad drunk last night, but she wouldn't have remembered how or why she was here if that was the case.

At the door, Aqua stood staring away from the pegasus. Seemingly staring off into space. None of the others were present, that was until Emerald revealed herself walking up to greet her relative. She caught sight of Lightning awaking and pushed Aqua aside. Aqua was a little rough at first, but softened up when she too saw Lightning awake from her involuntary rest.

"Oh dear, so glad to see you awake. Are you feeling alright?"

"I feel like I was hit by a truck." Lightning responded dryly.

"The condition you were in when you arrived makes me think that isn't far off. Well, if the story wasn't all over the headlines this morning." Aqua replied equally as dryly. Lightning could only chuckle.

"What can I say, you had a reason to worry." Lightning replied in between her nervous chuckling. Aqua rolled her eyes.

"Look dear, we're just happy you're back in one piece. But, you need to rest up for some time."

"Emerald, the series ending race is tonight. I can nap for a bit, but I at least want to be woken up in time to get in my M3 and...oh...well buck me."

"Let me guess, M3 is totaled too?" Aqua deadpanned, eliciting a glare from the unicorn next to her that she ignored. Lightning sighed deeply before responding.

"Yeah, completely dead. Guess there is no point in waking up early. I'll, wake up on my own time I guess. You two go on ahead and let the stallions know I'm OK. I don't think there is any need to rush, not like I have a car to race in that meets the requirements."

With that, Lightning turned over and began to rest on her side in a more comfortable position. Aqua found her way to the door first, Emerald following behind her.

"Well, I hope she learns from that. She needs to find the balance between notoriety and heat. Yes, the races she was winning are putting her name out there but she was getting to the point where the risk was outweighing the benefit." Aqua noted.

The two mares made their way out to the garage area where Crimson was taking a look at his Mustang. McClare was out working with a client, but would be back shortly. Crimson noticed the two ponies walk in and dropped the hood on his car.

"she finally wake up?" He questioned.

"Yep." Was Aqua's simple response.

"She's a little distraught about the situation, now that her M3 is totaled." Emerald clarified.

"So, that's it? I gave up my spot to her...and now she can't even make use of it?"

Crimson walked around the side of his car, and smacked it with a foreleg in frustration. Emerald glanced at her Nissan, it was a very well built car. One she built and tuned mostly by herself for her perfect build. It was good at drifting yes, but it was also fast. Suddenly and idea struck the unicorn, one her relative in Ponyville would have been proud of.

"Idea!"

Both her companions looked at her in bewilderment as she moved over to the rear of the 350z

"Help me get this into position, if you please."

Copper Comet had been escorted back to base by who could be loosely described as her commanding officer. The mare was incredibly sore, and it was bothering her almost as much as the disapproving look the captain had been giving her the entire way back to the station. She knew she wasn't supposed to be out on patrol, especially not the night patrol, but she refused to stay idle while the streets were consumed by the racers that lit up their nights.

There was one problem, she wasn't on the night patrol, she wasn't even an officer. She was little more than a desk jockey that helped in the R&D department. She had acquired a ride from a sick officer after she had clocked out for the day in order to see some action. That decision left her with a couple bruise ribs, and some broken pride. Now she was getting reprimanded to boot.

"...now a racer that would have been caught is on the loose again. Why? Because you didn't do your damn job!"

"She had been in a head on collision with a fully armored rhino unit. The fact she was still conscious surprised me when I found her. How was I supposed to know it was a pegasus? We never see them on the streets ever."

"She was a cripple Copper, which makes it that much more disappointing that you let her get away. Now, you're dismissed. I don't want to ever see you in a patrol car again. We need you and the team to get back to work on the kill switch prototype."

With that, Copper Comet was released from the office and escorted towards the Research and Development area of the department. Yes, her special talent in electric engineering meant she was well versed in handling such an area. Her cutie mark was a copper coil that was glowing red. However, she preferred a hoofs on way of solving problems.

Now she was starting to question her role in the department. Her superiors were treating her as more of a machine made for building than an actual pony. They were more focused on stopping the racing in the streets than anything else. It bothered her. She did initially join the police as an enginner, but she had hoped to be a patrol officer by now.

The enjoyment of the job had all but blown away. Copper was a thrill seeker, she had been a rock climber as a juvenile, but a job she thought would have given her a taste of such a thrill on the right side of the law now gave her no such enjoyment. The one time she did get to go out she had been unfortunate enough to be caught off guard and was punished by her superior. She was bored of waiting, and out of ideas. She was sick of being a desk pony. She had spent a few days scouring the information in the department and found what she was looking for, the impound lot. It was the place where cars that were retrieved from wanted racers were repaired and redistributed to those who were more responsible with such rides.

It would be her next stopping point. If she wanted a thrill, this side wasn't gonna give her what she wanted. She didn't have the money to buy her own car, but who said she needed to buy one? She managed to find the access key for the lot and made her way to the other side of the city. She began the walk from Eden Shores to Mendoza Keys where the lot was located.

Nearly an hour later she had made the walk to her destination. Getting a car would start off easy, she had a legitimate key that wouldn't set off an alarm. Once she took a car however it was time to flee. She needed to make a good choice if she was gonna make away with the car. There were cameras on site. They would know it was her, and what car she had taken. She would instantly be terminated and have to find somewhere to lay low.

The gate opened without struggle as Copper made her way into the impound lot. There was a car she was looking for, but it was a matter of finding it. It took her a few minutes, but the car she was looking for stood before her.

A black Lamborghini Huracan, freshly repainted and ready to be shipped to its newest buyer, except that wasn't where it was going. Copper had already stolen the keys from the storage area, one less hurdle to deal with. The door to the hyper car opened like her front door and she entered without a moment's hesitation.

She turned the key in the ignition, and the beast of an engine lit up like a star over the night sky. Copper did not stick with subtlety. Instead, as a giant 'fuck you' to her boss, she floored it through the lot and out the front, knocking the gate over in the process before making a break for it to the south. It was only a matter of time before the tracker was marked and located, but she had something for that as well. She inserted a chip into the tracker implant located under the dashboard and it immediately got to work, it would be a few minutes before the tracker was manually disabled and she was home free. First, she needed to escape the cars that were likely converging on her position at that very moment. It wasn't long before she caught sight of a few units attempting to catch up.

"Oh hey boys, you're right on time." Copper taunted to no pony in particular before flooring it.

The Huracan was no slouch, getting up to well over 175 MPH as the turncoat officer attempted to flee from her former coworkers. After a substationally short Chase over the bridge she slammed the brakes and went right.

Once she was in the wetlands, she used her cars superior acceleration and 4 wheel drive to out maneuver the pursuers. Once she was out of sight, the tracker was finally disabled and she pulled off the road, stopping by an abandoned ranch house and parking out of sight within an overhead steel roof near a small pond.

After a few minutes of catching her bearing and making sure she was clear of any heat she drove away.

By the time she had left her hiding spot the rain had begun to lightly come down, and slowly it began to pour. Her only option for a long term safe spot was to find a suitable place to set up.

After several minutes of aimless driving Copper pulled onto the side of the road in the Fort Callahan area, pulling into the parking lot of a small motel. Not too far away sat a Carbon Black Audi R8 V10 Plus. A wide body kit and large wing were coupled by blood red claw mark decals along the hood and rear wheels. The license plate simply reading "KNIGHT".

It pulled away from a garage and up towards the same parking lot, parking right alongside the Huracan that Copper was driving. Copper was unfazed by this stranger parking right next to her, he wasn't a cop and therefore wasn't a immediate problem.

The racer rolled down the window of the Audi and revealed himself as an earth pony stallion with a Black coat equally as dark as his car and a ghost white mane with red eyes.

"I'm not used to seeing cops around these parts, let alone driving our cars." The stallion was very coy, almost seemingly threatening Copper with just his words.

"I'm...not one anymore. I jacked this from the impound lot after I quit." Copper responded nervously, almost shivering in fear.

"Hm, fair enough. You don't seem like one anymore, the only reason I know is...well, that's my job. To know what's happening in the city for my acquaintances. But, I'm a racer first and foremost and I'm not afraid to show some pony willing to get into the scene. What's your name miss?"

"...Copper...Comet." She replied hesitantly.

"Carbon Shadow, but a lot of ponies call me Black Knight...follow me, I got some place where you can get your name spread out."

Copper was hesitant, but as the R8 pulled away he reluctantly followed in her Lamborghini as Carbon lead her further north into Rockville. As they created the hill they caught glimpse of a set of three other cars.

One was a silver Porsche 918 and a second was a '05 Ford GT. The third was an eye catcher. A McLaren 650s, painted red and covered in several decals. The most prevalent detail was the license.
'SPEDFREK'

"I was gonna take part in this race..." Carbon noted to Copper as they pulled up. "...but perhaps you can try this one, see what you have to show."

He had put her on the spot, but she wasnt just gonna back down. Holding her nerves, she lined up behind the Mclaren as the cars got ready to take off.

As the cars pulled away, the Mclaren rocketed ahead of the competition, with no chance of any of the others catching up to it. Copper, with some understanding of how a clutch worked, managed a serviceable start as the GT and 918 began to pull away.

The race was very short, more of a top speed contest. Lucky for Copper, top speed was something her car had. Keeping control of the car allowed her to maintain second place as they raced through a series of winding curves before the finish line neared. While not a spectacular performance, she had held her own finishing second.

Carbon caught up with her at the line. Just as they began to talk, the Mclaren pulled back up to them. The stallion driving the car pulled off his shades, winked, then placed them back on as he drove away.

"Ah don't let him get ya, he does that to every mare he races. He has one already." Carbon informed her, much to her disspointment.

It was around this time that a Mitsubishi Lancer rolled up and parked nearby. Out stepped a furious looking Rogue Rush.

"Black, what have I been telling you about playing games with strangers?" He scolded his crew member, to which Carbon only rolled his eyes.

"Not much to do with you settling everything yourself. You dealt with that Superstorm pony you had me looking after so what else am I supposed to do? Be bored?"

"Maybe be helpful and keep watch out for any other racers that have a shot at beating me?" Rogue suggested in a way that sounded like an order more than anything.

"Maybe I will then, seems like it would help you a lot." Carbon replied sarcastically, to which Rogue could not take a hint. He was in his Lancet and gone before anything else could be said.

Copper had been completely mute up until the moment Rogue made haste to leave.

"What's up with him?"

Carbon sighed.

"That was my crew's leader, and he always has a hoof up his ass. He's beyond dirty, a far cry from my clean act of racing, and basically uses me as a tool rather than letting me take part in my own races. I'm just a good a driver as he is, but he'd wreck me if I tried to actually race him. He's already killed two ponies. One only just last night."

"Last night!?" Copper responded, taken aback by this appaling revelation.

"Yep, a Pegasus who just wanted to have some fun... before he killed another pony who just so happened to be her friend...he makes me sick. I don't like working for him, but he has my head under his hoof and Celestia help me if I tried to do something about it."

"A pegasus...odd. I just so happened to run into and arrest one last night on the bridge in Mendoza Keys. She escaped."

Carbon's mood shifted from red hot to chilling cold in seconds.

"Was it an M3?" He immediately questioned.

Copper instinctively nodded her head. Carbon looked off into the distance.

"Fucking tartarus that mare is made of concrete. Rogue, he has no idea she is still alive..."

Carbon raced back to his R8, leaving Copper puzzled behind belief. He pulled alongside her.

"Get in your car and follow me, I have somewhere I need to go. I don't know if she'll trust me, but this mare might be my ticket out."

Without questioning, like she even could, Copper followed he new companion south. It was starting to get late, and the finals for Class B would be starting very soon.

"Emerald...what did I tell you about waking me up early?" Lightning whimpered, a dull pain still in her head. Emerald Moon had practically dragged the Pegasus out of bed without much warning and Lightning had not taken it kindly.

They found themselves in the garage not much later, the 350z facing the exit. It was not completely as Lightning had remembered it. The camber in the tires was all but gone, and the tires themselves were definitely not drifting tires but more akin to track tires. The car was significantly closer to the ground as well.

Lightning was a bit taken aback by the sudden shift in the car. What was once a drift monster had suddenly become a street ready racer in little more than a few hours. But, the finishing touch was something special. The license plate, still scratched up from it's experience with the car it had previously been applied to. Her old plate from her M3, with her name and everything there.

She was stunned, Emerald has stripped her car of all her parts and redid the gears, suspension, tires, and all of her special touches just to give Lightning a chance at partaking in the race.

"Emerald...you..."

"It's just generosity dear..." Emerald snickered before continuing. "...something my family is known for."

"We all pitched in for you." Aqua added in.

"You think we would let you just give up after all you have done to get this far?" Crimson continued.

"It's what Neon would have wanted." McClare finished.

Lightning was quick to get into the seat, firing up the engine which responded immediately. Emerald tapped on her window before she left.

"Whatever you do, don't wreck this one. Or it's coming out of your pocket ya hear?" She warned before continuing. "Go get it done darling."

McClare opened the garage allowing Lightning to exit, the sun was beginning to set and the race would be ready in a couple hours. Lightning had some time to get her bearing in her new car before she had to put it out on line.

Author's Note

Finally! It's here. :pinkiegasp: :pinkiehappy:
Ok yes, I know I did promise the race would be here but I've made you all wait far too long for this. We have been introduced to the last of the characters in this story. Three new faces, one I'm sure some pony here recognizes, and next chapter I'll finally be able to get this final race done and go into Class A. Thank you all for sticking by this and waiting. It makes me so happy to write for you all.