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.