Round 10: Britain
Final Race (26 laps)

Starting Grid

1. DangerDean (Scuderia Ferrari)
2. Viral Velocity (Mercedes-AMG Petronas)
3. Applejack (McLaren)
4. Big Macintosh (McLaren)
5. Spitfire (Scuderia Ferrari)
6. Twilight Sparkle (Mercedes-AMG Petronas)
7. Sandbar (ROKiT Williams)
8. Yona (ROKiT Williams)
9. Pinkie Pie (Aston-Martin Red Bull Racing)
10. Fluttershy (Red Bull Toro Rosso)
11. Cheese Sandwich (Aston-Martin Red Bull Racing)
12. Gallus (BWT Racing Point) - 5 place penalty

"Welcome back, all motorsports fans! We are in Britain for the Equestrian Series Final of the British Grand Prix, here at Silverstone! We are about to get underway here at the Home of British Motor Racing and joining me and Flam in the booth is current Bond actor, Daniel Craig! Let's have a look at the grid as our drivers set off on their formation lap,"

"Staring on pole for the second time in a row, is DangerDean. Viral Velocity is joining him on the front row in her Mercedes. McLaren had taken control of the second row, with Applejack and Big Mac just behind them,"

"Next row back, Spitfire in the Ferrari and Twilight in the Brawn-themed Mercedes. And the next row behind them is dominated by the Williams, Sandbar and Yona placed just behind them,"

"Red Bull has lined up just behind Williams, with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy on Row 5. Joining them at on the final row are Cheese Sandwich in the Red Bull and bringing up the rear is Gallus for Racing Point, with a 5-place grid penalty for taking out Celestia in his Duel,"

"The field is coming back around to the grid, my friends. We are about to get underway here in Britain,"

Earlier
Mercedes team trailer

Viral kept her orange eyes fixed to the laptop screen in front of her, as the video she watched showed the #9 Sun Energy Chevy of Chase Elliott holding the lead on the final lap of the 2018 Watkins Glen race from the #78 5-Hour Energy Toyoda of Martin Truex Jr. Many emotions washed over the pegasus, as the #78 ran out of fuel and Chase easily cruised to the line to take the win.

And something broke inside the mare, as the #9 Chevy took the chequered flag. Unprecedented levels of emotion built up in her. Emotions of anger, jealousy, hatred and resentment. "No..." She said to herself, as she began to pace about her room. She kept repeating it to herself, "No... no... no... no... no! That was supposed to be my win. That was supposed to me my car. That was supposed to be my drive! I should be driving that car, not that no-body, prodigal, daddy's boy PIECE OF S***!!!!!!"

She then snapped and punched the laptop screen with so much force, she actually cracked the screen. She backed away from the laptop, breathing heavily to try and balance some of her anger. But it was all in vain, she still felt her jealousy of Chase Elliott working it's way through her veins.

"I hate you," She whispered to herself, in another attempt to remove some of the anger.

But she didn't know that somepony else had heard what had happened. Or rather, someling. Viral was caught off guard when a familiar voice asked, "But why, Viral?"

Viral felt a shock go down her spine, as she turned to look who was there. Sure enough, Akula was standing right in the doorway, staring at her with an emotionless gaze. The mare then swallowed down some of her saliva and greeted her changeling friend. "Oh. Hey, Akula. You... heard everything, didn't you?"

"Every single word, V. Every single word," Viral just looked away in shame when the half-demon said this and said demon noticed this. "I sense quite an unhealthy amount of anger coming from you, Viral. Possibly the biggest amount of anger I've ever felt you have had. Let me help," He walked up to the mare and lit up his horn. Viral made eye contact with her changeling friend and found herself unable to look away, as Akula stated to inhale deeply. A bright red aura flowed out of Viral's chest and into Akula's mouth.

Eventually, the stream of haze ran out and Akula slurped up the remaining aura and licked his lips once it was all gone. "Ah, so filling. That was delicious," The changeling turned his attention to the pony and asked, "Feeling better?"

Viral simply nodded, but Akula knew that she wasn't feeling 100% percent. "Viral, what's going on? I know that you are still not feeling okay. Please talk to me, I want to help you,"

The mare knew that she had no other choice other than reveal what happened to her. Besides, when she arrived at the test track for her team, Akula told her what had happened to him. It was about time that she told him what had happened. Even if... it was terrible.

"Alright, you have me against a wall. It's about time I told you what happened," Viral said, sitting down on the bed he had been sitting on for a while. Akula joined her on the bed and sat next to her.

"What happened? I thought you were living your dream in NASCAR?" He asked, confused.

Viral just let out a sigh, as she began to explain what happened. "I was only in NASCAR for three years, Akula. I signed with Hendrick Motorsports in 2013, to test the new Gen 6 cars that were starting to be used in the main series. My mentor was none other than Jeff Gordon, four-time Cup Series champion. Me and Jeff became really good friends, just like how you are with Lewis. However, I was shocked when I found out that he would be retiring at the end of the 2015 season. But, I also had a bit of excitement. I would get the chance to take over the #24 and compete with the big boys in the Cup Series! I would be the first Equestrian to compete in NASCAR! But..."

"But what?"

"But, Rick Hendrick went behind my back and signed fellow rookie Chase Elliott to the #24 at the end of the season. I... let my anger get the better of me and I quit the team. I was just jealous and angry, I didn't think things through. I'm pretty sure that I might've become a 'Nightmare Viral Velocity' or something if I wasn't careful, I dunno. Well, I went shopping for another sport to clear my mind and I found IMSA. I was signed to the Scuderia Corsa team and I drove the 488 GT in the GTD class for 2016. And I was pretty good at my new trade. 1st overall in my class. You already know that I then became a test driver for Ferrari one year later, and now I found myself being signed to the Mercedes team in Formula One, on your recommendation and the fact that my planned teammates do nothing but bicker with each other. And that's my tale,"

Akula just stared into his friend's eyes for a few seconds before speaking up, "I think I see the problem. Your jealousy of Chase getting your seat has finally taken over you,"

"That video showed his very first win in the Cup Series. But I know that I would have gotten way more wins well before would've!"

"Let me ask you this, V. Do you think that Chase would be able to do what you are doing right now?"

That really hit a cord with the pegasus. She had seen Elliott's racing background and she knew that he had never strayed away from the ovals. Not once had he competed in a sport that wasn't associated with NASCAR or oval racing. Viral had tested with Hendrick for a few years, won her class in IMSA, tested for Ferrari in 2017 and 2018 AND was now racing with Mercedes in the Equestria Series!

Besides, Viral was getting more media coverage in Formula One than she was in NASCAR. NASCAR, while internationally broadcast, had a more national-focused fanbase. F1 was a true international sport, with millions of fans over the world tuning in to each Grand Prix. Viral was in a much bigger spotlight now and she knew that.

"No," Was all that she could answer.

"Exactly," Akula stated, seeing that Viral was starting to see the light, "You've been in more sports that most drivers could. And now you are no longer nationally famous. You are famous all over the world. Don't forget that,"

"Yeah, you're right. Thank you for that, Akula," She thanked her changeling friend with a warm smile. Akula retuned the smile and gave her a quick hug before letting her head to the garage and get ready for the race.

But before she left the trailer, Akula called out to her. "Hey, V. Be sure to beat Dean, okay? If you beat him, I'm sure that it will knock his ego down a few notches. That'll be healthy for him,"

Viral just giggled and replied, "I'll be sure to. See you on the podium," And with that, she left the trailer and headed for the garage. Of course, she had her helmet with her the whole time. It was the same design of helmet she had in all her other forms of motorsport, coloured in bright red with blue flames underneath the visor and a bright-orange Double V design that started at the bottom and crossed over her visor as it reached the top of the helmet. Of course, there was room for the sponsors of the Mercedes team, including Mercedes-Benz, Petronas, Monster Energy, Puma, Bose, Epson, Tommy Hilfiger and Marriott Bonvoy.

Quite easily, she found herself in the garage. She hopped into her Crimson Arrow, which was then rolled out of the garage and placed on the grid, just beside and behind the hometown colt of Dean. His bright red Ferrari was to be Viral's toughest opponent. Still, she had a strong car and was very talented. So, she was ready for him.

'Okay, Milady V. Your car is ready to go out there and bring home the tea and crumpets!' Neon announced, once again in her British accent.

"Great to hear your voice, Neon. Let's get this done and give that Dean a proper thrashing!"

'Righty-o, V! Fifteen seconds to the light sequence. Good luck!'

Just as Neon had finished, the light sequence began. Viral engaged the clutch and gunned the engine. Soon, the British countryside was soon alive with the sounds of V6 Turbo Hybrids.

"It's one light! Two lights! Three lights! Four lights! Five lights! (...) And it's go, go, go, go!'

The lights flicked off and the race began. Dean and Viral immediately took off away from the main pack, going side-by-side through Abbey. However, Dean had the upper hoof through Farm and Village, taking the lead. But Viral was not ready to give up and stayed with the British Speedfreak down Wellington Straight.

Meanwhile, things were heating up in the mid-field. Multiple drivers going wheel to wheel in the first sector. However, the closest battle was between the two Williams for 7th. Yona was trying to outpower and outbrake her teammate, but to no avail. Both FW42s were too even. And that would be their undoing.

On the exit of Aintree, the two Williams touched wheels. It was unclear who had caused the incident, as both drivers were suffering from control problems. Thankfully, Yona and Sandbar weren't at each other's throats. They were quite the opposite and apologised profusely, thinking that they had done each other in.

However, both Williams had punctures and needed to pit for fresh rubber. But things were worse for Sandbar, as the punctured tyre had caused the Williams to drop down. As he moved forward, the tarmac was destroying the floor. And as he pulled into the pits, he was given the order to drive into the garage. And he did, voluntarily retiring from the race.

And while Yona was able to make it to the pits, she was now 19 seconds behind the pack. She would need to driver hard in order to catch back up.

But as that was happening, a compelling battle between the McLarens had caught the attention of the cameras.

Applejack held the through the first sector, but Big Mac was hot on his sister's hooves. Heading through Copse, the bulky stallion pulled alongside Applejack and went wheel-to-wheel with her on the run-up to the chicane. However, Applejack managed to outbrake her brother at Maggotts and kept her position.

Also, the move left Spitfire with a chance to sneak past Big Mac. But he held his position and kept after his sister.

Speaking of Spitfire, the Wonderbolt Captain and Twilight were locked in a battle for 5th for about 3 laps. For most of the while, Spitfire held the lead against the Mercedes. The better power of the Prancing Horse easily keeping the Brawn-Mercedes at bay.

However, on Lap 4, Twilight gained a massive run down Wellington Straight thanks to the DRS and made a move to the outside at Brooklands. However, Spitfire had the better line and held her position. That is, until she went wide on exit and allowed Twilight to sneak past on the inside. Twilight used her traction to hold it while on the outside through Luffield.

However, Spitfire used the Italian power she had at her disposal and regained 5th on the inside through Copse.

Not much happened for the next few laps. However, on Lap 9, Gallus tried to make a move on Fluttershy, who had just dropped a position following a wheel-to-wheel engagement with 00174. However, the griffon came in too hot at Brooklands and clipped the back of 00174's Red Bull, knocking off the front wing.

This meant that Gallus would have to pit for an order of front wings. And since he was so far back with the Red Bulls, that means he would be put far behind the main pack. But he needed the wing and pitted.

Dean and Viral were still at it at the front. For the duration of 14 laps, the British Speedfreak and the Crimson Arrow went at it. The two great rival teams of the decade were at it on the track. But it seemed that Dean had the upper hoof, as he had led 12 of those 14 laps.

However, salvation came for Viral. On Lap 16, the yellow flag was shown and the SC was deployed. Just behind them, Big Mac had lost the back end and went into the gravel at Vale (Turn 17). While Mac was unharmed and the McLaren was undamaged, he was stuck and the marshals needed to fish him out.

With the yellow flag out, both Dean and Viral pitted for fresh rubber. Dean's pit was closer to pit entrance and was able to get into his box first. However, Viral pulled into her pit, her worn Mediums were replaced with fresh Softs in record time. Just as she pulled out of her pit, she found herself wheel-to-wheel with Dean.

However, Dean pulled back and allowed Viral to take the lead at the pit exit. This allowed Viral to pull away, the lead well within her grasp as she caught the SC and settled in.

After just 3 laps, the Safety Car pulled back in and the race went green again. This time, Viral got the upper hoof and pulled away easily from Dean, her softer tyres giving better grip.

But it was the Red Bulls in the back that had the best start. With 00220 leading the charge, all three Red Bulls were abel to make some ground and advance just below the Top 5, just behind Twilight and Spitfire. And once they were past, Twilight caught Fluttershy's draft and used it to pass Spitfire and 00174.

Lap 22 and the Red Bulls were pushing for 3rd, with Twilight in tow. Quite soon, they had caught the McLaren and began trying to force Applejack into an error. However, as 00220 tried to make a move on Applejack, her front-left tyre suddenly got a puncture.

The pink mare was forced to slow down and pit that lap for new tyres. But she wasn't the only pony that suffered from that problem. One lap later, both 00174 and Twilight suffered from front-left tyre failures, as a result of delamination. They both pitted for fresh rubber, however they had dropped down the running order.

With two laps to go, Dean then pulled into the pits for new tyres. Having gotten the word about the tyre failures, it was decided that Dean should be brought in, just in case. So, he did. And he was taken off his okay mediums and replaced them with hards. The reasoning behind this was because all of the tyre incidents had been with the soft tyre and Dean was on the medium. So, he was on the hards.

However, this sudden pit stop had put him 30 seconds behind Viral, with one lap to go.

Viral was confident that with a massive gap on her nearest rival, she would be able to easily have the win and the Fastest Lap. And with her slightly worn softs, V pushed her Union Jack Mercedes to the limit, trying to set the Fastest Lap.

However, a sudden message from Allison would put a hold to those plans. 'Viral, it's James. You have major degradation to your front-left tyre. Please do not push for the fastest lap, just get the car home.'

Viral wasn't too upset with this and immediately complied. Besides, she still had a massive lead and Dean probably would catch her if she drove moderately quickly.

However, Lady Luck would soon play V a bad hand. Going through Luffield, the front-left tyre suddenly went. Now, her Mercedes was scraping the front-left corner of the floor on the track and she was slowed right down.

"Ah, s***!!! Tyre puncture! Tyre puncture!" Viral cried out.

'Copy, V. Go to mode punc, mode punc! You still have a 30 second gap to Dean, just keep going!'

Viral immediately did so and kept pushing, passing through Woodcote, down the original start/finish and through Copse. Dean was now 27 seconds behind and closing fast.

Now through Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel. Dean, 22 seconds behind.

Down Hangar Straight and into Stowe. Dean, 16 seconds behind.

Out of Stowe and towards Vale. Dean, 10 seconds behind.

And into Vale, the shredded tyre locked into position. Viral lost more time to Dean, who was now 8 seconds behind.

'7 seconds to Dean,' Neon reported, as Viral nursed her Mercedes round the final two corners. 'Now 6 seconds to Dean. (...) Five second to Dean,'

Viral came around the final corner and saw the chequered flag flying. Dean was closing in rapidly... but not fast enough. Viral crossed the finish line and took the win.

'YOU'VE DONE IT!!!!' Neon cried out, the surprise of the win evident in her voice.

All Viral could do was let out a deep breath. "Holy s***, that was too close!" Viral stated, as she caught her breath. "Oh, goddesses. I think I nearly soiled myself! *sigh* What a race and what a finish. Ah, I love Silverstone,"

'I'm glad I don't have to clean that up! Hehehe! See you on the podium!'

Viral pulled her damaged Mercedes into Parc fermé, the front-left tyre only just holding itself together. Dean and Applejack had already beaten her there, with Dean waiting for the arrival of the winner and Applejack celebrating her first podium with her team. And when Viral stopped and got out, Dean looked at her destroyed front-left tyre and just shook his head, as if to say "How you held onto that, I have no idea,"

The stallion then winked at her before embracing the pegasus, happy for the mare that she had won. And what a finish she had.

Author's Note

Results

1. Viral Velocity - 25 points
2. DangerDean - 18 points + 1 (Fastest Lap)
3. Applejack - 15 points
4. Fluttershy - 12 points
5. Pinkie Pie - 10 points
6. Spitfire - 8 points
7. Twilight Sparkle - 6 points
8. Cheese Sandwich - 4 points
9. Yona - 2 points
10. Gallus - 1 point
11. Big Macintosh - 0 points (DNF)
12. Sandbar - 0 points (DNF)

Driver's Championship

1. Viral Velocity - 137 points
2. Akula - 115 points
3. DangerDean - 98 points
4. Celestia - 89 points
5. Fluttershy - 68 points
6. Gallus - 52 points
7. Pinkie Pie - 43 points
8. Rainbow Dash - 41 points
9. Twilight Sparkle - 37 points
10. Oscura Galaxia - 34 points
11. Applejack - 32 points
12. Suri Polomare - 31 points
13. Rarity - 30 points
14. Chrysalis - 30 points
15. Sandbar - 28 points
16. Big Macintosh - 24 points
17. Lightning Dust - 24 points
18. Ocellus - 21 points
19. Spitfire - 20 points
20. Luna - 19 points
21. Silverstream - 17 points
22. Yona - 12 points
23. Cheese Sandwich - 11 points
24. Gladmane - 10 points

Constructor's Championship

1. Mercedes-AMG Petronas - 290 points
2. Scuderia Ferrari - 171 points
3. Alfa-Romeo Racing - 122 points
4. BWT Racing Point - 105 points
5. Red Bull Toro Rosso - 84 points
6. Aston-Martin Red Bull Racing - 84 points
7. Renault F1 Team - 61 points
8. McLaren F1 - 56 points
9. HAAS F1 Team - 41 points
10. ROKiT Williams F1 Racing - 40 points