Author's Note

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

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?

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."