A variety of thoughts rushed through Viral's mind, as she pulled up at the massive house. The same one owned by her best friend, teammate and partner in crime, Akula the Changeling.

But it was out of place for her to turn up at a changeling house that had been built in the middle of nowhere, out in the state of Queensland in Australia. Why was Viral 14,540 kilometers away from her home in America, and at a very late hour? And even still, why was she even in Australia at all?

Well, ever since Equestria first appeared on Earth, the Equestrians begun to adapt to many of the popular pastimes of the humans. And that included the world of sports. And one such sport was motorsport. And Viral, Akula and their third friend, Danger Dean, had all jumped on the opportunity to showcase their talents in the world of racing cars. And they quickly proved themselves on the world stage.

Within years, all three of them had claimed many titles in the world of motorsport. Viral had managed to achieve massive success in both NASCAR and IMSA, Akula was in it with Formula One and Dean really seemed to enjoy some time in the European Endurance series. But bit by bit, all three of them saw much success and earned much money through their racing exploits.

However, a few things changed come 2022. And it all started with the 2021 Formula One season. For the first time in many years, the title battle when right down to the wire. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton and title rival, Max Verstappen were tied in points doing into Abu Dhabi. However, the race was controversial to say the least. near the end of the race, Nicholas Latifi binned his Williams into the wall and brought out the safety car with 5 laps to go. Verstappen pitted and was stuck behind 5 lapped cars. However, in a shock decision, race director Michael Masi allowed the five cars past the Safety Car, which put Verstappen right behind Lewis. And as the safety car pulled in on the very last lap, Max (who was on fresher and softer tyres) easily pulled by and won the race, becoming 2021 Formula One World Champion.

But while Red Bull celebrated, Mercedes was pissed.

They had just seen their No.1 driver get beaten by Max. Which would have been fine in most cases. But given that Max was seemingly just handed the title, Toto Wolff immediately protested the result. But out of all the Merc personnel, no-one or pony was more pissed than Akula.

Akula HATED Red Bull with a burning passion. Seeing his mentor, Sir Lewis Hamilton, lose the championship to Max and Red Bull was bad enough. But seeing a corrupt race director pretty much just handing the Dutchman the championship, he was outraged.

In a post-race press conference where both Red Bull and Mercedes were allowed, Akula went ballistic. He called out Red Bull and Masi with fiery language and explosive anger, to the point where Hamilton, Toto and Equestria Series teammate Twilight Sparkle had to physically stop him from beating Helmut Marko into a bloody pulp.

It was after that, something broke within the changeling. After what he had witnessed, he had lost all faith in the sport. And with that faith, went all his passion too. Akula was done with Formula One for good.

Moments before the cars were scheduled to go out for the Equestrian Series finale, Akula announced to the press that we would not be participating in the race. He also stated that he would leave F1 and never come back. He didn't have the passion for F1 anymore and he was done.

But he wasn't alone in leaving. Moments after Akula announced his leave, his best friend, ES title rival and Aston Martin No.1 driver, Viral Velocity said she would also not be participating in the race. Having heard the news from her mentor and friend, Sebastien Vettel, she was heartbroken. She loved F1, but seeing her best and closest friend leave the sport after the rollercoaster of a season they have had left her speechless. So, she didn't have the will to race either and left, out of respect for her best friend.

And that was that. Akula and Viral, the two best Equestrian F1 drivers ever to grace Earth, went to their trailers, packed up their stuff and left not just the circuit, but F1 entirely.

Dean stayed for the race (which he won), but he was affected by the departure of his friends. He even raced with a sticker that commemorated the leaving of his friends from the sport.

Also, the championship was decided in Abu Dhabi for the Equestrian Series. Since both drivers refused to race and the points were tied, the championship went to Viral, given she had the most wins of the season. But when it came time for the F1 Awards Ceremony one week later in Paris, where Max was given his Championship Trophy, neither Viral nor Akula showed. Viral never collected her championship trophy that night and neither could anyone contact her.

Dean decided to stay with Ferrari in the F1 Equestria series, as he wanted a championship of his own. But while Dean played his life racing for an entire day, Akula and Viral had gone dark. They didn't post on their social media anymore, they wouldn't answer their calls or emails. No one, except a select few, could reach them. But to themselves they had, decided to settle down a bit and just not participate for a full-season of racing. F1 had done a number on them and they needed some R&R.

That was the plan. But of course, sometimes those plans change.

But as the year started coming to an end, Viral was enjoying some quality time at home. She had even invited her mentor, Jeff Gordon over for dinner one time. But soon, the itch to race came back. And an opportunity to race again seemed to as Christmas/Hearth's Warming was closing in, she had received a phone call from Akula, telling her to come to his house in Australia.

The pegasus was initially confused as to why the Demon Lord needed her, but he would explain why once she got there. And with that, Viral packed up her stuff, locked up her house and took the first flight available to Brisbane. When she arrived, the sun had already set in that part of the world. Of course, due to jetlag, Viral wasn't tired at all. Within no time at all, the pegasus fetched her luggage, hopped in the rental car that Akula hired for her and began the journey to his house.

Viral soon arrived at about 3 in the morning (according to Australian time) and pulled up. Hopping out and grabbing her luggage, she trotted up to the door. Unlike many other sports starts, Viral and Akula didn't live in fancy mansions. Sure, while Akula's house was much bigger than any normal one, it wasn't enough to be considered a mansion. He didn't have massive stone lions out the front. The main door wasn't a twin door and wasn't laced with gold or silver. He didn't even have a massive hedge maze or a tennis court. In fact, the only thing that Akula did have that was like a mansion was a massive gate at the front of the house with an automatic opening function, but that was it.

Even with all the bags she carried on her, Viral was still able to raise her hoof enough to knock on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened. But it wasn't Akula who had done it, for standing inside the house in front of the mare, was Queen Chrysalis.

"Viral?" The former queen asked, half-asleep, "What are you doing here at this hour?"

Before she could answer her, Akula then appeared behind her. "Viral, you made it! So glad that you could!" He then turned to his queen, "Please, my love. I'll handle this. You just get yourself some sleep,"

Chrysalis just smiled at Akula's caring words, giving him a quick peck on the lips before retreating back upstairs to rest. With that taken care of, he then turned back to Viral. After standing around for a second, he then beckoned his friend inside. And the moment she stepped inside, her body was met with a sudden warmth that completely paralleled the cool night air of the Australian countryside.

"Just put your bags here, I'll sort them out for you later," The moment the changeling said this, Viral immediately relieved herself of said weight, carefully placing her bags on the floor.

"Yeah, thanks," Viral said, as she put all of her bags down, "It's great to see you again," She then lunged at Akula and wrapped her front hooves around him, embracing her changeling friend. Akula was initially caught off guard by the sudden squeeze, but quickly realized what was going on and returned the hug.

After a few minutes of holding each other together, the two then separated. Viral, now free of the changeling's embrace, immediately got to the chase. "Okay, now that I'm here, you mind explaining why?" She kindly asked.

"Of course, V. I always keep my promises. Follow me," Akula beckoned, beginning to walk into the lounge room, V right behind him. Passing through the room, with a nice couch and moderately sized TV above a fireplace that currently provided the house with warmth from a unearthly green flame. "How much do you know about the V8 Supercars series?" Akula asked out of nowhere.

This caught V by surprise. The V8 Supercars? What in Equestria and Earth was that? Although, saying that she didn't know it existed would be a lie. Back in her NASCAR days, she knew that Marcos Ambrose had come from the V8 series to compete in NASCAR, but other than knowing that Marcos Ambrose had raced in the series and it was held in Australia, she didn't know anything about it.

"A bit," Viral replied, not sure where her friend was going with this.

Akula let out a sigh, as he began to explain. "Okay, lemme explain. Basically, the V8 Supercars is the premier touring car championship in this part of the world. It runs under FIA regulation and is classified as an international series. Some of the best drivers in this part of the world take to this series, and even has seen a few stars of international talent cut their teeth here. Started off in the 1960s as the Australian Touring Car Championship, before becoming the V8 Supercars in the 90s. Usually, only two manufactures have maintained a duopoly over the series, those being Holden and Ford. And now, we are going into it ourselves,"

That last line really got Viral's attention, as Akula opened a door to a dark room. Akula more than cleaned up his intentions with that line, and the mare started getting idea. But there was no way that he would be planning what Viral was thinking. He wasn't THAT ambitious!

Right?

Well, Viral would soon find out. Heading down a hallway that seemed to never end, Viral gave in to her curiosity. "Okay, I gotta' know what you're up too! Can you just get to the point?"

Akula just turned to his friend and flashed a fanged smile. "Trust me. We are already there," The changeling stated, as he flipped a nearby switch. There was a sudden flickering, soon followed by a harsh hum as massive columns of light pierced into the darkness. And out of the blackness, came the kicker of Akula's plan.

Two cars sat at the very far edge of the tiled room. But these weren't just any cars, they were racing cars. Specifically, they were both Holden Commodore ZB V8 Supercars. But the liveries of the two cars... one was bright red with blue flames and the other was a darker red with black Spades all over. There was something about them that was familiar to her. But what really triggered her memory was the numbers placed on the cars.

24 and #98, respectively.

Viral froze up upon seeing them. She knew those numbers. Those were the numbers she and Akula had used in F1.

"No, you're not thinking of..." Viral began,

"Yes, I am," Akula finished for her, nonchalantly. Viral just slowly trotted up to the two cars, her mind not comprehending what she was seeing. Sure enough, the cars were real. And to make things ever more real, on the #24 car, on the rear-side windows was the word 'VELOCITY'. Her last name.

It was clear that Akula was serious. Having said that, Akula was always serious anyway.

"These are our rides," Akula explained, as he approached the shell-shocked pegasus, "I've entered our own team into the 2022 V8 Supercars championship for this season. You and me will be the drivers and we will be racing for the full season,"

"I already see a problem with this plan," Viral suddenly interrupted, "Yeah, you've got the cars and the team, but what about everything else? Where's our sponsorship, our pit crew? Hell, I'm don't even have an idea of what it's like to drive a V8 Supercar!"

"Don't worry about that, V," Akula responded, placing a hoof over her muzzle, "I have that all sorted out. As for your lack of experience, I'm going to take you to my local track for some practice," He then took his hoof off of Viral's muzzle, as the pegasus in question began to settle down.

And Viral then had a thought. Of course Akula would have this all planned out. Why wouldn't he? He was always the careful one of the trio.

Upon realizing what exactly was his reason for calling her all the way to the land down under, Viral took a second to ponder the idea. Akula had fully banked on getting her as the second driver, enough that he had already put her name on the car. She couldn't back out on him, he wouldn't have done all this if he didn't trust her as a driver and a friend. Plus, she was always willing to give something new a try. After all, she didn't know how to drive a Formula 1 car and in less than a year she was one of the hottest names on the grid.

"Okay, you got the cars, you got the team and you got me interested. But there is one very serious issue. How do we expect to run a two car team full time without any sponsorship?"

"We've got a few small-scale sponsors curtsey of me, but a large-scale title sponsor would do wonders, but let's deal with that later. So, You're in?"

"I'm in." Viral raised a hoof up, to which Akula eagerly returned the gesture.

"Knew you couldn't turn it down, but you've had a long journey and it's really late. We should probably rest before heading out to the track."