After the highs of Aragon, Sunset and the whole team were in pretty good spirits. The next race was in Misano in Italy and she was excited. The group drove in their motorhome from Aragon to Misano, since it was cheaper than flying there. On the way, Slipstream spread out the track map on the table in front of Sunset and Zipp. He spoke, "Hey Zipp! I know you were supposed to have your wildcard run in Austria, but we didn't expect your injury. You're okay now, right? Good! You're getting your chance this weekend in Misano."

She pumped her fist, "Alright! I love that track! And the best part is that it's a double-header, so we're back again a week later!"

Sunset Shimmer leaned forward, "So, what's special about it?"

He pointed, "Right... So this is the main straight, and it's important to get your braking correct. You have the right-handed Turn 1, leading into a left-hander at Turn 2, and straight into another right-hander at Turn 3. The double-rights at Turns 4 and 5 can catch you out, and that leads to the left at Turn 6. You got a long straight with a slight left curve which makes up Turn 7. Now, this is the part where you have to get your braking just right, because it is easy to run wide at Turn 8. Then you got Turns 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, which are all right handers. Those first five are very fast, and then hard braking for Turn 14 hairpin. Finally, there's Turns 15 and 16, both left-handers, and that last corner is a good overtaking spot. I've seen a lot of last corner lunges for the win, back in my day."

The days flew by and it was time for the first practice session. When the session began, Sunset Shimmer and Zipp Storm went out in tandem, familiarising themselves with the track. Sometime during the hour, Garble tried to mess with Sunset, but Zipp was able to squeeze in and get him to back off.

With about five minutes to go, Sunset was in the pit lane getting some setup changes, as she sat 4th on the timing screens. Zipp was further behind in 10th place, but soon moved up to 7th on her next lap. By the time the chequered flag dropped, she had slipped down to 10th, with Zipp in an impressive 5th place. In the second practice session, Sunset Shimmer was 8th fastest, with Zipp down in 11th.

Saturday arrived and Sunset Shimmer was a girl on a mission. During the closing minutes of Qualifying, she was as high as 3rd place, with Zipp in 7th. Then, she slipped down to 4th as Dynamo crashed out and Apex made a massive mistake. Then, she slipped down to 5th, but was on a decent lap. She briefly went down to 6th, but improved back up to 5th, where she would remain for the rest of the session. As for Zipp Storm, she slipped down to 10th, which was her final starting position.

Finally, race day dawned and Slipstream looked out of his hotel room window before exiting. Wheeling towards Sunset and Zipp's room, he knocked twice. He faintly heard Zipp's muffled holler, "We just got out of the shower! Give us five minutes!"

He wheeled back and waited, while Hitch Trailblazer, Sunny Starscout, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy joined them. Applejack grumbled, "Rarity's going to take a while. Said something about some exfoliating mask or some hooey like that. I swear to Faust, if she makes us late like last time, we're leaving without her!"

Soon, Zipp and Sunset joined them, but they were still waiting on Rarity and Pipp Petals. Slipstream grunted, "Sorry, but I can't wait for them. This is important. Did you all look outside? I got a feeling that it might rain today. It's going to be tricky."

Sunset gulped, "Shoot! I hope we do well! I'm not that experienced in the wet. Come to think of it, we haven't had a wet race so far. So, what's the strategy here?"

He shrugged, "Honestly, we'll get a better idea, when we're closer to the race start. It might start out wet or it could be a lights to flag race. That's basically a race that starts out dry, and then when it rains, people switch to a second bike with a wet weather setup."

She munched on a panini and swallowed her bite, "So when will you call me in?"

Slipstream replied, "That's up to you. All teams keep the second bike prepped, just in case, and the riders choose when to come in. Listen, if you think you can't handle how slippery it is, you take a call when to come in to pit."

Sunset nodded firmly, "Got it!"

The race grew closer and closer, and the sky grew dimmer and dimmer. As she settled on the grid, she saw a marshal walk out at the head of the field and hold up a sign board. It read, 'Dry Race', and she was already setup for dry weather. As Sunny Starscout prepared to leave, she whispered, "The boss said that the wet weather bike is ready. When you feel like it, you can come in. It's all on you."

The formation lap came and went and she focused on the lights. When they went out, Sunset got a great start and tailed Apex, following him to 4th and 3rd respectively. She made a move for 3rd, but went wide at Turn 8, dropping back to 4th. Meanwhile on the pit wall, Slipstream leaned back and stretch his arm out behind him while looking up at the sky. Sure enough, he felt a few sparse raindrops on his arm. He straightened back and focused on his TV monitor. He muttered, "Come on kid... Just stay calm and stay on the bike."

Then, it happened, Apex attempted a move on Slick Shifter, but was forced to sit up. That brought him into the clutches of a rider called Speed Demon, and Sunset herself. She tried to sneak through, but ended up colliding with Speed Demon, and losing a small piece of bodywork. On the pit wall, Slipstream threw up his hands in dismay.

A few laps flew by, and Sunset looked like she was settling in. She had built up a nice gap to Powerslide, though Zipp was struggling in 11th place. Then with 25 laps to go, Sunset threw her bike down the inside of Speed Demon again at Turn 8, and made the move stick at last. The girls cheered in the garage, while Slipstream pumped his fist. However she was overtaken again, two corners later.

On the next lap, disaster struck as Sunset Shimmer lost the front end of her bike. She had already run wide a little bit at Turn 13, and then dropped the bike at the hairpin. Luckily, she was able to pick up her bike and continue the race, but a lap later, the white flag was waved.

Moments later, Fluttershy crossed over to the pit wall and spoke in Slipstream's ear. She asked, "What's the white flag for?"

He gestured around him, "It's starting to rain a little bit, so the white flag means that the track is a little moist."

"So, should Sunset come in?"

He shrugged, "At this point, it's out of my hands."

Moments later, there was a chorus of groans as Speed Demon also crashed out. Minutes later, Slipstream gasped, "What the hell!?"

Sure enough, Apex was diving into the pits, followed by a handful of riders. Slipstream peered at his monitor and murmured, "Looks heavy."

Suddenly, Feedback tugged on his T-shirt sleeve. Slipstream turned to see Sunset Shimmer also trundling down the pitlane. She swapped bikes at went back out immediately. The tactic worked for a bit, but a few laps later, the rain stopped. Slipstream clutched his head in despair, "Ayeyeyeyeye! This is a disaster!"

Sunset Shimmer was down in 20th place and struggling on her wet tyres. On the bright side, Zipp Storm was up to 8th and looking competitive. She was among the riders who did not swap bikes, and Slick Shifter was one of them as well. A few laps later, Sunset, Apex and the other riders who swapped bikes, ended up swapping back. On the pit wall, Slipstream was losing his mind, "No! No! No! No!"

Then he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Okay, okay... It's still a long race. We can salvage this. Come on kid! Don't give up!"

Sure enough, with 16 laps to go, she had clawed her way up to 18th place. Zipp was also hanging on in 8th place, but was in the leading group. Three laps later, Sunset was up to 17th and still fighting to recover. Finally, the race ended with Dynamo winning from Slick Shifter and Bullet. Zipp Storm was delighted with 7th place, but 10 places behind her was a forlorn Sunset Shimmer.

After crossing the finish line, she stopped to congratulate Dynamo and get a comforting hug from Zipp. The pair trundled back to the pits and stopped in their garage. As soon as she was off the bike, the girls swarmed her and wrapped her in hugs.

She trudged to the back of the garage and took off her helmet, her red and gold hair matted and messy, and her cheeks had tear stains. Slipstream rolled up in his wheelchair, a sympathetic look on his face. He reached over and cupped her cheeks, bringing her face close, "Talk to me, kid... What happened out there? Listen, I'm not mad at you. The conditions were tricky out there, and you couldn't have predicted that the rain would stop so soon."

She blubbered, "I-I'm sorry! I p-p-panicked! The bike wasn't the same after the collision, and then when the rain came, I just panicked!"

He stared at her briefly and sighed, "Well... I guess it's so easy. As in, you've been performing so well in these last few races, that it's easy to forget that you're still a rookie. God! I'm so stupid! You haven't had much experience in the wet, so it was easy for you to panic a little."

A new voice sounded behind him, "He's right, you know... About you just being a rookie."

They all turned to see Apex standing there. He walked over and crouched next to her, "How are you holding up, chica? Look, it's okay. I made the same screw up too. Only thing is, my screw up has bigger consequences. I've lost a chunk of points in the championship. I'm more experienced, so I should know better, but I made a bad judgement call. It's okay to make mistakes, Shimmer. That's how we learn from them, and do better next time. Besides, there's always next weekend."

He left, with a swarm of reporters flocking around him. A few hung back to get a word from Sunset, but Slipstream intercepted them. He said, "Look... We had a bad day today. Sunset has been so impressive this year, that its easy to forget that she's still a rookie. I'll be honest... This was her first race in wet weather conditions, so she understandably panicked. On the bright side, she at least stayed on the bike and brought it home, and Zipp Storm also got a nice points haul."

One reporter asked, "Suppose we get more wet races, does that mean that Sunset Shimmer will struggle again?"

He smiled, "We'll work on it. Now we know what went wrong, we'll work on that. No further questions, thank you!"

After the reporters left, Sunset had calmed down a little, and they all gathered to pack up the bikes and leave the track.

Author's Note

Right... So this chapter has come out quicker than usual, because I'm fully focusing on this story. I'm aiming to finish this story by March, so I'm going as quick as I can