The Runby RDgamer321ChaptersEscapeThe EmbacaderoThe Race BeginsOnto the HighwayPark DreamsEscapeThe darkness of the world became apparent, as Akula woke up from what seemed to be an unscheduled sleep. Slowly opening his red eyes, he could make out two other Equines sitting just ahead of him. And come to think of it, there seemed to be some sort of dashboard in front of the pony on the left. Somehow, Akula had passed out in a car. But that wasn't right. The last time he remembered being conscious, he wasn't anywhere near a car. It was at that moment that he realized that something was wrong. And it just got worse when he realized that he could not move his front hooves. It was at this moment that he saw that both of his hooves were duct taped to the passenger chair in front of him. And then, he was able to make out who was in the car with him. As it turned out, his two closest friends were unconscious in the front two seats. The daughter of Lightning Dust, Viral Velocity was taped to the glove box in front of her, as she rested her eyes against her will. And the British Speedfreak, Danger Dean was also there, taped to the steering wheel of the car. Akula also had the sensation that they were floating in the air. Something was horribly wrong. This was later confirmed when Akula looked out his side window. And he was horrified. The car that he and his friends were trapped in was being held up by a crane, dangling over a car crusher in a massive junkyard. There was no time for the changeling to figure out why they were in the position they were in. Immediately, his instincts kicked in and he stared to find a way to get free from his bonds. He quickly found the solution. Whoever had trapped them in the car had seemed to forgotten one thing. Unreformed changelings had sharp fangs, which could easily cut through anything... ...and duct tape was easy to cut through. It was clear what needed to be done. Without a second thought, he sunk his fangs into the tape covering his left hoof. Within seconds, his blood-stained sharp teeth tore through the tape, freeing his hoof easily. He repeated the process with his other hoof and freed it as well. Once he was free, Akula then grabbed onto Viral and began to shake her violently. "Wake up, V! C'mon! Wake up!" He silently cried out, increasing the violence of his shaking. This is where V began to stir, as her orange eyes slowly opened with a groan escaping her muzzle. "Uhhhhggg... what happened," V groaned out, as she quickly came to senses. But when she did, she flew into a panic. "Wha... Where am I?! What's happening?!" "Settle, V. I know just as much as you do. Let's just get out of here first," Akula stated, as he forced himself into the front of the car. Seeing where V's hooves were taped, he immediately bit down into the tape that bound Viral's left hood to the glovebox. And just as quickly, he tore through the tape and freed his friend. Using this freed appendage, Viral then managed to pull herself free of the tape. Finally, the last pony that needed to awoken was Dean. So, Viral did what she did best... and slapped Dean hard in the face. The impact instantly snapped Dean out of his unconscious state with a loud yelp. "Gah!!!! Jeez, OWWWW!!!! What the hell?!" He cried out, as he soon realized where he was, "Oh, great..." "Don't worry, Dean. Just let me squeeze in," Akula stated, attempting to reach his fangs to the tape that bound Speedfreak to the wheel. But as Akula stretched forward to bite into Dean's tape, all of a sudden, the crane then dropped the car into the crusher. The vehicle crashed down into the crusher, which then was activated. The massive metal walls of the device began to close in, beginning to squeeze the metal panels of the car as the trio sat in the car. And if there was one thing that the two pegasi and the changeling didn't want to die to, it was a crusher. The walls beginning to close in immediately prompted Akula to bite into Dean's tape and tear his left hoof free. And now that that was free, Dean began to pull on the final bit of tape as the changeling began to punch his way through the sunroof. It didn't take long for the male pegasus to free himself, now all the three needed was to get out of the vehicle. It wouldn't take long, as a massive blow from Akula then cracked through the sunroof and pulled himself out. "Come on!" Akula cried out to his friends, leaning back into the car with his hoof, intent on pulling them out. Viral was the first one out, closely followed by Dean. Now that they were out of the car, they needed to get out of the crusher. But that wasn't much of a problem. For some reason, whoever had out them in that situation had forgotten to bind both Dean's and Viral's wings. So, they just used their wings to make an extended jump out of the crusher, as Akula simply climbed his way out. Now free of meeting a horrible death by being squished to a pulp, they needed to get out of the junkyard. Thankfully, it appeared that there was a plan. As two stallions in fancy suits watched the compactor do its work, believing that the trio were dead, they failed to check up on the two cars that brought them here. And the white Audi RS 4 that was seemingly parked on its lonesome seemed like the perfect escape vehicle. With relative quickness, the three made their way towards the car with the intent of hijacking it. However, as they got ever closer to the car, their stealthiness was unsuccessful, as one of the stallions saw them going for the RS4 out of the very corner of his eye. "What the buck? They're out of the car!" he cried out, pointing at the three they were trying to kill. "Grab 'em! GRAB 'EM!!!!!" The other stallion boomed, as the pair rushed to catch their targets. This sudden screaming pushed the three to run faster. A millisecond later, they reached their destination. Dean took the initiative and hopped into the driver's seat. As Dean attempted to start the car, Viral joined him in the passenger seat, with Akula diving through the rear-right window and onto the back seats. With those two mobster-looking ponies approaching, Dean then tried to start the car. However, the engine would budge in the first two times that he tried it. But on the third attempt, success. The V8 engine roared to life and Dean slammed on the gas. The wheels began to kick up the dirt, before the all-wheel drive system kicked in and the car took off down the dirt road leading out of the yard. "Buck me, that was too close!" Viral exclaimed, falling back into her seat. "That was like some mobster shit, trying to kill us in the compactor!" Dean immediately froze his expression upon hearing the mare say that. "Well..." Dean began, "That's because it was," "Dean's right. I recognized those stallions," Akula added, "They're apart of the most powerful gang in Equestria. I should know, I've had to deal with these creatures before," "Well, that's just bucking great. Why are they chasing us?!" V exclaimed, slowly turning to Dean for an answer. "Dean? What did you do to piss these ponies off?" Dean swallowed and initially didn't answer. But after a few seconds of silence, he then gulped down some of his saliva and then sheepishly explained, "Well, I may or may not had made bedroom eyes at the boss' daughter," Well, now they knew why the Mob was after them. But neither of them were happy about it. "YOU DID WHAT???!!!!!" Viral exclaimed, seriously pissed off with her fellow pegasus. "Dean, for buck's sake!! What did I tell you about your sexual impulses?!" Akula snapped, handing V her MP7 (which he had found in the back-seat of the car with their other weapons). "I couldn't help it!!! She was tantalizing, okay?!" Dean fired back. Of course, when Dean fired back with his 'justified' reason, V then cried out for him to watch the road. Two black Porsche Cayenne Turbos emerged out of a side-street just ahead of them. Thankfully, Dean was quick to react to the new threat as he threw the wheel to the left to avoid shunting one of the Porsches and get past the fast left that greeted them once they had gotten past the Mob cars. This turn was quickly followed by another left turn, before the Audi busted through the front gates of the yard and emerged onto the main road, both SUVs still in hot pursuit. But as the raced down the street, the trio caught a shock as the back window was suddenly ruptured by a hail of gunfire, sending shards of glass onto the backseat and shocking all of the three. Akula and Dean recovered quickly, only to hear pained groaning coming from in the car. As it turned out, Viral had been hit in the shoulder by one of the bullets and was now in serious pain. Of course, that was the same mistake that these gangsters had made earlier, attempting to kill Akula's friends. And of course the changeling had an objection to that. Grabbing his AK-47 from the seat and cocking the rifle, he turned back through the broken window, his attention focused on the stallion sticking out of the sunroof of the nearest Cayenne, struggling to reload his MAC-11. Akula took a breath and fired a quick burst, which hit home. The stallion was hit multiple times in the chest, as he lifelessly fell back into the SUV. But Akula wasn't done. He then turned his attention to the pony in the front passenger seat, who had seen his gangmate fall back into the vehicle and was readying a revolver to take over from his subordinate. However, Akula squeezed of a few rounds at him, which punched through the windscreen and killed the pony instantly. The first Cayenne's driver, now seeing the seats and dashboard slick with blood, gunned it towards the much smaller Audi, intent on ramming it off the road. But as he pulled alongside, Akula fired upon the driver as he came into view through the other side window. This time, the Demon Lord was unsuccessful in killing the pony, but he did manage to injurie him quite substantially. Dean took this opportunity to side swipe the first Cayenne, sending the SUV into a wall and causing it to flip and crash, taking the first pursuer out of the chase for good. Seeing the Porsche crash into the wall, Akula put down his AK and moved forward to see how badly V had been hit. Thankfully, the bullet only grazed her and she only suffered a flesh wound. Akula cast a quick healing spell on his friend and grabbed his gun again. Dean then threw the car around a quick left, down a side street, before getting on the brakes for a tight right corner. But the lighter RS 4 could handle the turn, while the heavier Cayenne began to be left behind. But as the trio approached a junction, another black Porsche then slid out of the junction, a gunpony firing wildly with a submachine gun out of the sunroof. However, the spastic gunfire never hit the Audi, and instead hit a nearby pile of red barrels on a semi trailer, causing them to go boom. And the second SUV, unsighted, then drove right into semi, mashing the front into the wrecked trailer, totaling itself in the process. Two down, but one to go. But the final Porsche would not be shaken. Mainly because, only a long straight separated the trio from freedom. And the final car was hot on them. Multiple rounds from the wilding gunning pony in the final car slammed into the body of the Audi, but given the fact that the gunpony was just firing wildly, none of the bullets actually hit any vital targets. All the while, Akula and Viral returned fire as best as they could, only having a limited firing arc on the SUV. But bigger problems lay just ahead, as the sound of a train's horn filled the air. Dean knew that the noise did not mean good things. A single looked confirmed what he was thinking, a lone train approaching the train crossing just ahead of them rapidly. Immediately, Dean put his hoof to the floor, as far as it would go. Viral felt the sudden increase of power being put on the engine, and she then saw why. "Drive, Dean! DRIVE!!!!!" She screamed, as the train began to close in. It was clear that the train was coming in hot and was well past the point of stopping safely. And it was clear that the train was coming in much quicker than the Audi. Dean knew that the train would make it to the crossing before he did, and began to move over to the right. It was going to be very close. Dean saw the front light of the train reach the intersection as he closed in. Then, the actual train entered sight and made a mad dash for the crossing. But Dean was also closing in. Just as the train began to cross, Dean rammed through the boom gates and made it onto the tracks, as the train closed in. But thankfully, Dean was going quickly enough to make it through the crossing, just inches away from getting sideswiped by the train. But, they made it. And even better, the close shave caused the final Cayenne to come to a stop to avoid hitting the speeding train, allowing the trio to make their getaway. Seeing the Cayenne stop at the tracks, immediately drew some loud whooping from all three of the friends. Dean added a few honks to the horn as they raced into the distance. The EmbacaderoThe Next Morning Dean walked through the door of the San Franciscolt coffee shop, but he wasn't looking for a cup of joe this particular morning. Even with how good the smell of roasted coffee beans was, he really wasn't there for any sort of caffeine flavoured pick-me-up. Rather, he was looking for one of his best friends. And there she was, the familiar Pegasus sitting at a little booth at the side of a wall. Of course, it was clear that Dean just trotted up and sat down at the table. Viral, for the first time in the pair's friendship, was the one who called him to meet. They, along with Akula, split and turned tail not long after they had cut their pursuers because of the well timed train. It was the smartest thing to do, so if one was recaptured, the other two would be able to escape or even rescue the captured other. But it didn't take long for that separation to end, as two of the three ponies from the previous day's events were reunited. "So, you are finally warming up to me?" Dean immediately went for Viral's emotions, which only frustrated Viral more than she had come to. "I didn't call you here for pleasure Dean, and I'm also not buying you breakfast." She clearly stated, not wanting really any of his seduction methods, "I'll buy it for you. It's only right after you and Akula saved my life," He offered, not listening to V. Viral could only sigh at the stallion's continuing urge to seduce her. "You know you made a pretty stupid move, trying to flirt with Mob connections." "No ponies are going to get a mare to sleep with them if they sit down on their flank and wait for them, V," Dean explained. "No pony from your block at least. You know, I've got something that can help you straighten that out, if only because you got me and Akula into this." V began to say, finally spilling the tea. "Really, and what do you need from me for that, my sweet?" Dean asked, reaching forward to touch one of Viral's hooves. The door to the shop opened with yet another ding, and with it the trio was once again reunited as Akula joined in on the negotiations. "V this better be important if you're bringing us together like this." As Akula was coming over to their table, he brushed shoulders with a well toned dark grey Pegasus stallion who was leaving from the back room, the stallion glancing over his shoulder at their table before leaving. "Sit, Akula. I've been working on a solution to Dean's...issue. But I need to know if you both are in on it. Right now, yes or no?" Dean and Akula took a moment to glance at each other before Akula responded for both of them. "I think you already knew that answer Viral. And I take it it's something about a race." Viral got out of her seat quickly, heading to the same door the stallion from earlier exited from with her two friends in tow, shoving both doors aside. "Hey V isn't this place for employees only…" Dean started before Viral gave him a disapproving glare. It was enough to quiet his complaint. "It's called The Run. The race is from here in Franciscolt to the Manehattan Docks, over 200 of the best racers ever assembled. We enter as a group and when one of us wins, Dean's problem gets resolved and whatever is left of the prize money, we split evenly between the three of us," "Woah, hold on V," Dean grabbed her by the shoulder, as his eye caught a dark pink Pegasus mare eyeing him up as she passed by. "I can respect splitting it evenly, but you do remember how much I owe those mobsters, right?" "I'm inclined to agree with Dean on this one Viral, are you sure that this prize pool is enough to pay off what we are trying to achieve here?" "The prize is 25 million, do the math, boys," V stated, giving both of them a cheeky smirk. The two just followed her, when Akula decided to strike up a conversation with Dean. "How much did you say that you owned the Mob?" "Quarter of a million bits," Dean replied. "Well, if the prize is $25 million, and we split what is left evenly between us after paying of the Mob," Akula thought, as he worked the calculations in his head, "That's about 8.25 million each," Upon hearing the amount that would be shared, Dean could only whistle. "I'll handle the buy-in for our spot, I just need you guys to stand and look nice for the camera." Viral stated. "Come on, you know that I'm always looking good for the camera," Dean stated, winking at the mare of his dreams Viral just sighed at Dean's antics and turned the corner into a small room separate from the buildings kitchen and employee only areas. Inside sat a mini elevator, which V placed a case onto and sent away. In the corner of his eye, Akula caught a glimpse of the literal camera taking a good look at them. After several seconds, the lift returned now holding three phones. Viral took one for herself, and tossed the other two to those behind her. On it was an overview of the entire race, with an entire route planned out. And the route was massive. All the way from one coast of Equestria to the other and through some of Equestria's most important towns and cities. "Damn...that's a long way to go, sweet. How do you suppose we achieve this?" Dean inquired, very concerned about how lengthy this Run was. "We do what we do best, go fast. Faster than anypony else. But, we have a problem. We need cars." Viral stated the obvious. "Cars? I can handle that," Akula noted. "So, how's about we get this started?" Viral nodded accordingly. "After you." 4 Hours Later The Embarcadero, San Fransicolt Akula lifted open the door to the garage, the closest one they had available, but he knew that it had what they needed. Both pegasi followed him in, and inside the garage sat tons of vehicles. But only three caught the trio's eyes. One, was Viral's personal favorite. The Chevy Camaro ZL1. It was a car she grew to love, and she had taken it for more laps than she could bother to count. For Dean, he had a Porsche 911 Carrera. While it was easily the fastest car of the three it was also the meanest to drive. But that was how Dean liked it, fast and wild. And Akula had something special, a BMW M3 GTS, matte black with crimson rims. On the driver's door, just above the handle, his own nickname "Demon Lord" was signed into the paint. "You've outdone yourself this time Akula." Viral praised her friend's work. "I know what you both like, but we need to get moving don't we?" Without another word, each pony climbed into their cars. It was time to start the race. Author's Note Special thanks to RDgamer321 for his help in writing this chapter! Be sure to check out his stories if you hadn't already. He is a really fantastic person! The Race BeginsThe Embacadero, San Franciscolt The enclosed space of the garage erupted, with the sounds of twin V8s and a Flat 6 engine revving to high RPM and warming up the cars ready for a race. Flames shot out of the exhausts, producing satisfying cracks, mixed in the roar of all three engines. “So boys, you ready?” Viral inquired about her cohort's status. “Fired up.” Dean answered, revving his Porsche's engine a few more times, to assert his dominance (that was really never there). “Locked ‘n loaded.” Akula seconded. “Fantastic, we need to get moving now. There's about 3,000 miles and 200 other drivers between us and that prize. The start line activated a few minutes ago and if we don’t make it we won’t get picked up on the tracker. Let’s get to Nob Hill before we miss the race.” Viral led out with her Camaro, followed closely by her companions as they climbed the hills in the bustling city. The streets had some early morning traffic, but nothing the trio couldn’t navigate as they made their way to the top of the hill. Akula took the point from Viral on a left kink, the M3 taking the corners much better than the muscle car. Dean, meanwhile, couldn't stop fishtailing his Porsche in an effort to showoff. Thankfully, neither Akula or Viral would see his attempts. As they continued, more cars began converging one them with the same destination in mind. But most of them were easy to keep ahead of. One in Particular, a Pagani Zonda, turned the corner ahead of Dean and caused him to swerve away to avoid the hyper car. “Bloody idiot!” He cursed at the driver of the car that could out speed his Porsche. But there was nothing that Dean could to to exact revenge, as the Zonda easily began to pull away, thanks to its 100 kph advantage over the 911 Carrera, the car with the highest top speed in the group. As the stallion continued on, Viral’s scanner began to pick up radio traffic. It wasn't anything to be worried about much at first, as the officer reporting was confused as to why so many cars were gathering at Nob Hill. But it wasn't lone before the lone cop, outnumbered at least 20-to-1, called in for backup. She knew the cops would be on this one, but this quickly? This was going to be a problem. They doubled back, attempting to find the quickest way to their destination by following the trails of other cars that came before them. As they went back down the hill, a pair of Crown Vic patrol cars crossed the intersection responding to the calls over the transponder, the red and blues flashing. “V, what’s the status of cop presence?” Akula inquired, having spotted the cruisers as they continued. “Full swing, kicked up a hornet’s nest and stomped it for good measure. We need to get moving before shit gets too dangerous.” They were now on the adjacent road to their start location and with one more double left turn the start line was in sight. Just as they approached, two more cars swung out from the roads on either side. They weren't much trouble, except for a lone Audi R8. Each pony crossed the tracker line to start the race, as a secret camera watched them and added them to a massive list of competitors. D. Akula 211 V. Velocity 212 D. Dean 213 Just as they crossed the starting line, Viral saw the route of the Run added to her tablet and her current position to the screen. Same happened with her friends. “It’s on boys, and we’re dead fucking last.” Viral noted. “What’s the plan?” Dean inquired. “Las Pegasus, if we want to stay on pace to get to the front we need to be in 150th. We can’t do that and we’re fucked.” “Got it, game on!” Akula responded as his M3 took massive air and rocketed down the hill at top speed. But things were going insane in the city. The number of street racer in the city had sent the SFPD into a frenzy. Every single unit in the city was dispatched to stop the racers by any means necessary. But there was too many cars for the thinned out officers to deal with. "Where in the name of Celestia are all the guys coming from??!!!" “...full containment. I want all major roadways to the city shut down now!” “Shit...they’re shutting down the city. They’re never this fucking active.” Viral forwarded, complaining about the persistence of the department on this particular day. “Well that’s fucking brilliant.” Dean seconded the mare’s opinion. Onward they continued, passing by several patrol cars that had stopped on the shoulder either stopping traffic, blocking roads or even having stopped some would-be racers. They made their way towards the coast, cutting across a boardwalk and continuing north. Just ahead of them was the Magic Melody Bridge, which was busy with rush hour traffic being held up by the city lockdown. But then there came a radio report from an SFPD officer that did not being about any good news. “Units, be advised, stopped a Code Six with a police scanner in his vehicle. Keep all major roadblocks off the air.” Viral was not happy about that one. “Shit! Fucking morons.” “What’s the call V? We can’t just drive in circles like this!” “Uh…bridge. Head for the bridge, the northbound exit is under construction. Light traffic so it should be open.” After a sudden right turn, they pulled onto the bridge. A lone Crown Vic picked up their moves and followed them on. They weren’t the only racers with the idea, as along with some mild traffic several other cars were weaving in and out. On the bridge, Viral and Dean began to pull away with more power under their hoods, leaving Akula to deal with the patrol car giving chase. The thoughtless officer gave him a shunt as he called for the changeling to pull over, which only aggravated Akula more. And if there was one thing you didn't do, it was piss off the Demon Lord. He let off the throttle slightly, causing the officer to react and veer to the right. As this happened, the patrol car veered left to stay straight, and Akula turned into him to unsettle the car even further. As it spun around, it toppled over and began to roll down the bridge. “Good fucking riddance.” Akula, satisfied, as he gunned the M3 to catch up with his friends. He caught up to Viral and Dean at the tunnel, and immediately noticed the sign on the side of the bridge. Road Works Ahead But there was more than just road work. A blockade spreading across the entire motorway lay in their path, catching any and all cars that tried to exit the city. There was, however, one part that wasn’t covered, something only a desperate idiot would attempt... Or rather three desperate idiots. Dean inched over to the left shoulder, noticing the damaged section of bridge and a crane that just so happened to form a makeshift ramp. Viral would have complained if Akula didn’t mirror this exact action, both of them smashing through the roadworks signed that did a bad job at stopping them from taking the road. With little option but to silently agree, she too moved left. “Head’s up! Got some cars out of control here!” "Hold position!! HOLD POSITION!!!!" Dean smashed the “Road Closed” sign clear out of the way, and took air off the bridge over a bulldozer and out towards the open water with Akula and Viral following. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the sirens in the distance dwindled away and were replaced by 1 thud of concrete….then two thuds...then a third thud as the Porsche, BMW, and Chevy landed rather loudly onto the empty freeway section. “Fuck yeah! Wooooooo, that was fucking awesome!” Dean screamed in utter jubilation. “Yeah, keep going Dean...this is just getting started. We’ve got a long way to go before we start celebrating anything.” Viral responded, bringing the stallion back to earth. “Yeah Dean, don’t get too excited. We’ve got a long way to go before we reach Manehattan.” Akula agreed with Viral's statement, as the three of them leftvteh great city and continued on the Run. D. Dean 205 D. Akula 206 V. Velocity 207 Author's Note Extra thanks to RDgamer321 for his help on making this chapter! Onto the Highway20 Minutes Later Now that the trio had escaped the city, they found themselves far off their intended route. They intended on finding the freeway ASAP, one that led eastward into the hills that could put them back on their intended route. For now, they were on a hilly backroad, leading into the Equestrian countryside and Viral was struggling to keep up with the much smoother cars her companions were driving. While the M3 and 911 Carerra were easily suited to the windy roads of the country, her Camaro was struggling to cope with the corners. "Viral, you ok?" Akula inquired, noticing the mare falling behind slightly. "Just fine, but the car is not exactly happy with the road. Just keep going, I'll keep up as best I can." Dean and Akula kept going on without Viral, ahead a pack of cars coasting along. But as Viral did all she could to keep the Camaro at speed, suddenly Viral was blindsided by a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X and Pontiac Firebird overtaking her on either side. Not happy with being passed, she kicked into high gear, pushing the unhappy Camaro to its limits on this type of road. She got back past the Firebird going to a wide left corner, then passing the Lancer as they went under a train bridge. She continued to pick up the pace, shaving some time by cutting under another train line overpass and then blasting through a trailer park and likely pissing off some earth ponies in the process. Eventually she caught up to her companions, and not a moment too soon. Akula and Dean were merging onto the freeway amongst a pack of hatchbacks and tuners that had no chance of keeping up with their high end speed. The trio got into the fast lane and began overtaking the slower racers at an alarming rate. Viral closed in on a Renault Megane, but the opponent attempted to squeeze her over towards the emergency lane and into the barrier to defend. She backed off and cut around the other side, not wanting to deal with a dirty racer. Said racer had other plans as they turned right back into her and knocked her out towards the shoulder. The next time she got alongside, she gave a love tap back before pulling away. "Imbecile...if you can't keep up don't block like that." Now that she was back with the others, and on the freeway, her Chevy Camaro was once again in its favorite element. She blasted ahead, Dean able to keep pace, but again the top speed of the M3 was holding Akula back. His M3 was built for track times, not overall high-speed. Worse, a purple Dodge Challenger separated itself from the pack and began to close in. The changeling attempted to fend off the attacker, but the speed of the muscle car was soon too much to handle as it got alongside. He tried to force the issue, but the Dodge was also heavier. As they went under a bridge, the Challenger forced the BMW onto the shoulder and nearly off the road. Akula was forced to control the car and avoid crashing, while the Dodge made an evasive action to avoid him. However, the driver of the muscle car should have been paying attention to the traffic. The Dodge rear ended a box truck at an alarming speed and slowed to a crawl, which caused a mess of traffic behind them. Akula wrestled his car back onto the freeway, now seriously far behind his team. Thankfully they still had radio communication. "Akula? Are you still with us?" Viral inquired about her friend's whereabouts. "Fine, but I'm a bit far behind. Had to deal with some trouble." "Well watch out, there's some serious traffic up ahead. We'll be taking it easy so you can try to catch up." V. Velocity 195 D. Dean 196 D. Akula 197 Now that Akula had broken away from the pack of cars that had been giving chase, his current objective was to make up time lost when colliding with the Dodge. Dean and Viral were not too far ahead, having told their changeling accomplice they had planned on taking an exit that led to Mellowstone National Park. The exit was only a few miles ahead, but as Viral had warned traffic was indeed very heavy on the freeway. The Demon Lord used the nimble handling of the M3 to weave around the trailers and sedans, occasionally running on the emergency lane or shoulder to avoid collisions in congested sections of road. Of course, the catch-up wasn't without incident. One car in particular attempted to merge into a slower lane as he wiggled around, nearly cutting him off and honking as if it wasn't their fault. "Turn signal you fucking idiot!" He shouted, not expecting the driver he was mad at to even hear him. "Akula, you alright?" Viral asked, checking in to see if Akula had caught up yet. "Three clicks out from the exit, you?" "Oh fuck, you should be coming up to us just about now." Sure enough he was, a red Camaro and yellow Porsche cruising on the far right lane. They both gradually picked up pace, Akula blasted past, retaking point as they approached their destination. "Competition is going to get tight in the park, expect some proper fighting from some other drivers. Once we get into the mountains the corners are going to be sudden and sharp." "Is that going to be a problem?" Dean inquired. "You especially Viral. That Camaro is going to be a ride." "I've got a trick under my wings." The Pegasus mare explained. "While I was overviewing our route I mapped out some rest stops for us to take advantage of, and had a friend drop off some wheels at marked locations which I highlighted for all of us. Remember when I asked you both about your favorite cars in specific environments?" "You had this planned out in full didn't you V?" Akula pondered, asking the crimson mare. "I'm not one to be unprepared for anything, let alone the kind of shit Dean got us into…." "Hey!" "We'll be able to hot swap with minimal delay, and if we wish we can also refuel the cars we are already using. This is a marathon, we'll need to take a breather whenever we can get it. That's our exit." They took a right onto the 140 highway, heading for the hills. This race was well underway. There was no backing out now. Park DreamsMellowstone National Park Distance to Manehattan: 2,799 Miles After a relatively lengthy uneventful drive, the trio crossed over a bridge into the hills of the park with Viral taking point from Dean and Akula. They flew past a Subaru for position and kept going. Ahead were a few more compacts, but while Dean and Akula made stellar progress Viral's Camaro was struggling through the bends. She caught up a little on a straight road, and ahead a Lotus pulled onto a mining road. Dean and Akula followed and Viral, sighing, refused to follow and stayed on the twisty road that her car could handle. It was a massive shortcut, and after pulling back onto the main road the M3 and Porsche rocketed by the remaining sports car ahead of them, Viral eventually catching it. "You guys are insane." She stated matter of factly. "You gotta do insane things to succeed Viral, if we don't take risks we'll be at risk of failing." "Fine, but we need to keep pace through the hills. We can't lose any time here or we'll fall like rocks. Pedal to the floor boys, we've got to pick up some time...me especially." While the Camaro wasn't exactly the smoothest car in the corners, Viral was no stranger to its habits. "Okay, gotta pick up some time." She got into form, putting the hoof down and weaving through the valley. There was some difficult road ahead, but it was a chance to pull back on her companions if she could get it right. She came up fast on a hard right corner, slamming down into fourth and kicking the rear of the Camaro out, as she came into a tunnel she was making good time. Exiting the tunnel she was met with a quick left and another winding right. Again, using the rear wheel drive and sheer power of the ZL1, she slid around the corner whilst doing her best to not oversteer or spin out. The road ahead curved through the valley like a snake, but rather than follow the paved path she cut through the bends to shave Amy time she could. Once back onto a relatively straight piece of road it kinked left over a bridge. The time she was making on her group was good, but with how much faster their cars were in the bends she would need something drastic. Ahead was an offshoot road that diverged from the main highway. It was the only option, she needed to catch up now. The Camaro responded to the sudden terrain change as she expected, the bumps in the gravel doing a number on her flank. Gritting her teeth, and taking some air over a crest, she was just barely on pace to catch up now. It was a long road ahead before she would return to the highway, but if she kept up the speed she would merge in the vicinity of Dean and Akula. "Viral, you've been awfully quiet." Akula said as the Camaro dipped into a pothole sized bump. "Just trying to focus." "You alright?" Dean inquired. "Fine, watch out on your left up the road." "Did you take the hiking trail on the west side?" "Yes." "Shit V, that road is meant for trucks. You're gonna have a hell of a time handling that." "Gotta take risks or risk getting left behind." She blew past the campgrounds stationed for the hikers present in the park, luckily no ponies were present at that time of year. With subtle inputs, she managed to coax her Camaro into a relatively stable ride as she flew under the campground sign. "Head's up on your left boys!" The highway merged over from the right of the pathway, Viral pulled onto it right in between the Porsche and BMW with a loud screech from her tires drifting onto the pavement. "Nice to have you back with us." "I'm never gone for a long time mate. Not a moment too soon, our first stop is just up the road. Coming up on your right Dean." The two pegasi swapped the lead, Viral now pointing them in their intended direction. It wasn't long before she spotted what she was looking for. A stupidly convenient location for a gas station, and in the parking area sat three undisturbed cars for three fast equines. The three of them merged into the area, stopping abruptly. "Are you for real right now? A petrol station? Viral, this isn't a family vacation." "While you are correct on that observation Dean, thanks to a close friend of ours, these stations can be the perfect place to stop, swap, and stay for as long as we need to catch our breaths." "And who exactly is this friend that you pulled into this?" "The only pony I trust as much as I trust the both of you." As they swung around, they got a better look at the three cars waiting for them. A Black/White Corvette Z06, a Dark Crimson Nissan GT-R, and a Maroon Aston Martin V12 Vantage. However, inside one of the cars a pony was waiting. Out of the GT-R stepped a white unicorn mare, whom the three were well familiar with. "Neon Shock, wanted to make this one personal?" "I'm just here to make sure this shit is legit Viral, can't have you using my connections for another one of your eccentric movie stunts." "It's not a movie stunt Neon, but I'm glad You're on board." "Mhm, I figured I'd take the trip from Cloverland just to make sure you weren't pulling my strings. But, looks like you've really gotten yourself into some shit then. Alright, I'll make sure the cars are taken care of. From now on, whatever you take will be ready to go when you arrive...and I'll make sure whatever you arrive in is taken away. No traces." "That seems oddly suspicious." Dean noted with a puzzled expression. "Neon's got some connections even I don't know about, but at least this way we'll have rides for the journey." "I'm not even taking a cut, not like I need the bits anyway." It was at that moment that 6 cars flew by the rest stop. "You should bet going though Sheila, You're burning time right now." "You heard the mare, let's get going before we fall behind." The pale unicorn stepped out of the way as the trio piled into their new rides. Viral was on her way out first, Akula and Dean following. It took some time for them to catch up with the cars that had overtaken them whilst they took a breath, but the Aston, Nissan, and Corvette were an easy match for the Mustang's and JDM's in front of them. It didn't take long before they saw the open road again. Viral was much happier with the GT-R, it had a much better response to the corners. That trait was very useful for the bends that led them up the mountain. Two such bends presented themselves in front of the trio, but the traction of the GT-R provided an easy way up the hill whilst the Corvette and Vantage took some time to bite in. This allowed the pegasus to pull away slightly. She was the first through the tunnel, Akula soon following with Dean. Though they were unaware of a fourth car, one much more powerful than any of the new toys they had. A Pagani Zonda flew up to and NY both the Corvette and Vantage, disrupting a civilian commuter in the process. Akula had weave out of the way of the car as the Pagani flew past. "Fuck, Dean we need to keep up with that Pagani." "You expect us to keep up with that?" "Viral is ahead, we should be keeping up anyway." "Akula I recognize that Pagani, and if I'm right the pony driving it is nothing but trouble." "You two alright back there?" Viral inquired, having started to fight through some slower racers ahead. "Yeah, watch your mirrors V. Fast company on the way." "I can handle it." Dean and Akula made an attempt to follow the Zonda through the hills. It quickly began to catch up with the traffic Viral had recently passed. Both Dean and Akula did their hardest to keep up with it, despite its massive advantage in outright speed. Luckily the cars they were up against at that moment had no right being this high up the board. The two split overtakes on either side of a Ford Focus as they passed under a waterfall. "Hey guys, would this Zonda behind me be the fast company you were talking about?" Viral asked, confirming a suspicion. "Yeah, don't let it get too far ahead." "It won't be getting by me." They passed by a Firebird and an Impreza on their way to catching up with Viral. Up ahead Viral was doing a good job of making it difficult to pass. Though it seemed this only angered the driver of the Zonda. Coming up to the edge of the mountain, the Pagani sped up suddenly, hitting the Nissan and lifting up its rear. Viral caught it the first time, but the Pagani hit her again, this time causing her to spin into the run-off with a 360. She gathered up the car and continued on. "Son of a bitch!" "You alright V?" "Fine, just pissed off." "The turns down here are sharp as knives, you should have no problem catching up. We'll worry about dealing with that driver when it becomes a problem." "That may be sooner than we would like." Dean remarked. Viral gathered the car up and took off down the mountain. As she got back up to speed an MX-5 passed her. She scoffed at the tiny sports car as she blew past it into the first hairpin. The back road down the mountain cut through like a snowboard slope. Weaving back and forth as it descended down into the valley. She made a lot of use of the GT-R's advanced traction control going through the corners. And that's all it was, tight hairpin turns one after the other. As she rounded one she spotted an Impreza making the bends. She didn't take long before she snuck up the inside of the sports hatchback and passed. There was a healthy straight bit of road, so she got a short breath before more hairpins came. The road was a snake, and up ahead was another caught in its grasp. This time a Lancer. It cut across lanes into an observatory post, but the GT-R had no problem following it. Once she was past, the road opened up for her. "I'm at the bottom of the mountain. What about you guys?" "Merging into the 190 now, Las Pegasus isn't very far." "How are we doing?" "170 through 172. We've got to pick up the pace. The desert should be wide open for most of the way there. We can still make it there on track, hammer down." D. Akula 170 D. Dean 171 V. Velocity 172
EscapeThe darkness of the world became apparent, as Akula woke up from what seemed to be an unscheduled sleep. Slowly opening his red eyes, he could make out two other Equines sitting just ahead of him. And come to think of it, there seemed to be some sort of dashboard in front of the pony on the left. Somehow, Akula had passed out in a car. But that wasn't right. The last time he remembered being conscious, he wasn't anywhere near a car. It was at that moment that he realized that something was wrong. And it just got worse when he realized that he could not move his front hooves. It was at this moment that he saw that both of his hooves were duct taped to the passenger chair in front of him. And then, he was able to make out who was in the car with him. As it turned out, his two closest friends were unconscious in the front two seats. The daughter of Lightning Dust, Viral Velocity was taped to the glove box in front of her, as she rested her eyes against her will. And the British Speedfreak, Danger Dean was also there, taped to the steering wheel of the car. Akula also had the sensation that they were floating in the air. Something was horribly wrong. This was later confirmed when Akula looked out his side window. And he was horrified. The car that he and his friends were trapped in was being held up by a crane, dangling over a car crusher in a massive junkyard. There was no time for the changeling to figure out why they were in the position they were in. Immediately, his instincts kicked in and he stared to find a way to get free from his bonds. He quickly found the solution. Whoever had trapped them in the car had seemed to forgotten one thing. Unreformed changelings had sharp fangs, which could easily cut through anything... ...and duct tape was easy to cut through. It was clear what needed to be done. Without a second thought, he sunk his fangs into the tape covering his left hoof. Within seconds, his blood-stained sharp teeth tore through the tape, freeing his hoof easily. He repeated the process with his other hoof and freed it as well. Once he was free, Akula then grabbed onto Viral and began to shake her violently. "Wake up, V! C'mon! Wake up!" He silently cried out, increasing the violence of his shaking. This is where V began to stir, as her orange eyes slowly opened with a groan escaping her muzzle. "Uhhhhggg... what happened," V groaned out, as she quickly came to senses. But when she did, she flew into a panic. "Wha... Where am I?! What's happening?!" "Settle, V. I know just as much as you do. Let's just get out of here first," Akula stated, as he forced himself into the front of the car. Seeing where V's hooves were taped, he immediately bit down into the tape that bound Viral's left hood to the glovebox. And just as quickly, he tore through the tape and freed his friend. Using this freed appendage, Viral then managed to pull herself free of the tape. Finally, the last pony that needed to awoken was Dean. So, Viral did what she did best... and slapped Dean hard in the face. The impact instantly snapped Dean out of his unconscious state with a loud yelp. "Gah!!!! Jeez, OWWWW!!!! What the hell?!" He cried out, as he soon realized where he was, "Oh, great..." "Don't worry, Dean. Just let me squeeze in," Akula stated, attempting to reach his fangs to the tape that bound Speedfreak to the wheel. But as Akula stretched forward to bite into Dean's tape, all of a sudden, the crane then dropped the car into the crusher. The vehicle crashed down into the crusher, which then was activated. The massive metal walls of the device began to close in, beginning to squeeze the metal panels of the car as the trio sat in the car. And if there was one thing that the two pegasi and the changeling didn't want to die to, it was a crusher. The walls beginning to close in immediately prompted Akula to bite into Dean's tape and tear his left hoof free. And now that that was free, Dean began to pull on the final bit of tape as the changeling began to punch his way through the sunroof. It didn't take long for the male pegasus to free himself, now all the three needed was to get out of the vehicle. It wouldn't take long, as a massive blow from Akula then cracked through the sunroof and pulled himself out. "Come on!" Akula cried out to his friends, leaning back into the car with his hoof, intent on pulling them out. Viral was the first one out, closely followed by Dean. Now that they were out of the car, they needed to get out of the crusher. But that wasn't much of a problem. For some reason, whoever had out them in that situation had forgotten to bind both Dean's and Viral's wings. So, they just used their wings to make an extended jump out of the crusher, as Akula simply climbed his way out. Now free of meeting a horrible death by being squished to a pulp, they needed to get out of the junkyard. Thankfully, it appeared that there was a plan. As two stallions in fancy suits watched the compactor do its work, believing that the trio were dead, they failed to check up on the two cars that brought them here. And the white Audi RS 4 that was seemingly parked on its lonesome seemed like the perfect escape vehicle. With relative quickness, the three made their way towards the car with the intent of hijacking it. However, as they got ever closer to the car, their stealthiness was unsuccessful, as one of the stallions saw them going for the RS4 out of the very corner of his eye. "What the buck? They're out of the car!" he cried out, pointing at the three they were trying to kill. "Grab 'em! GRAB 'EM!!!!!" The other stallion boomed, as the pair rushed to catch their targets. This sudden screaming pushed the three to run faster. A millisecond later, they reached their destination. Dean took the initiative and hopped into the driver's seat. As Dean attempted to start the car, Viral joined him in the passenger seat, with Akula diving through the rear-right window and onto the back seats. With those two mobster-looking ponies approaching, Dean then tried to start the car. However, the engine would budge in the first two times that he tried it. But on the third attempt, success. The V8 engine roared to life and Dean slammed on the gas. The wheels began to kick up the dirt, before the all-wheel drive system kicked in and the car took off down the dirt road leading out of the yard. "Buck me, that was too close!" Viral exclaimed, falling back into her seat. "That was like some mobster shit, trying to kill us in the compactor!" Dean immediately froze his expression upon hearing the mare say that. "Well..." Dean began, "That's because it was," "Dean's right. I recognized those stallions," Akula added, "They're apart of the most powerful gang in Equestria. I should know, I've had to deal with these creatures before," "Well, that's just bucking great. Why are they chasing us?!" V exclaimed, slowly turning to Dean for an answer. "Dean? What did you do to piss these ponies off?" Dean swallowed and initially didn't answer. But after a few seconds of silence, he then gulped down some of his saliva and then sheepishly explained, "Well, I may or may not had made bedroom eyes at the boss' daughter," Well, now they knew why the Mob was after them. But neither of them were happy about it. "YOU DID WHAT???!!!!!" Viral exclaimed, seriously pissed off with her fellow pegasus. "Dean, for buck's sake!! What did I tell you about your sexual impulses?!" Akula snapped, handing V her MP7 (which he had found in the back-seat of the car with their other weapons). "I couldn't help it!!! She was tantalizing, okay?!" Dean fired back. Of course, when Dean fired back with his 'justified' reason, V then cried out for him to watch the road. Two black Porsche Cayenne Turbos emerged out of a side-street just ahead of them. Thankfully, Dean was quick to react to the new threat as he threw the wheel to the left to avoid shunting one of the Porsches and get past the fast left that greeted them once they had gotten past the Mob cars. This turn was quickly followed by another left turn, before the Audi busted through the front gates of the yard and emerged onto the main road, both SUVs still in hot pursuit. But as the raced down the street, the trio caught a shock as the back window was suddenly ruptured by a hail of gunfire, sending shards of glass onto the backseat and shocking all of the three. Akula and Dean recovered quickly, only to hear pained groaning coming from in the car. As it turned out, Viral had been hit in the shoulder by one of the bullets and was now in serious pain. Of course, that was the same mistake that these gangsters had made earlier, attempting to kill Akula's friends. And of course the changeling had an objection to that. Grabbing his AK-47 from the seat and cocking the rifle, he turned back through the broken window, his attention focused on the stallion sticking out of the sunroof of the nearest Cayenne, struggling to reload his MAC-11. Akula took a breath and fired a quick burst, which hit home. The stallion was hit multiple times in the chest, as he lifelessly fell back into the SUV. But Akula wasn't done. He then turned his attention to the pony in the front passenger seat, who had seen his gangmate fall back into the vehicle and was readying a revolver to take over from his subordinate. However, Akula squeezed of a few rounds at him, which punched through the windscreen and killed the pony instantly. The first Cayenne's driver, now seeing the seats and dashboard slick with blood, gunned it towards the much smaller Audi, intent on ramming it off the road. But as he pulled alongside, Akula fired upon the driver as he came into view through the other side window. This time, the Demon Lord was unsuccessful in killing the pony, but he did manage to injurie him quite substantially. Dean took this opportunity to side swipe the first Cayenne, sending the SUV into a wall and causing it to flip and crash, taking the first pursuer out of the chase for good. Seeing the Porsche crash into the wall, Akula put down his AK and moved forward to see how badly V had been hit. Thankfully, the bullet only grazed her and she only suffered a flesh wound. Akula cast a quick healing spell on his friend and grabbed his gun again. Dean then threw the car around a quick left, down a side street, before getting on the brakes for a tight right corner. But the lighter RS 4 could handle the turn, while the heavier Cayenne began to be left behind. But as the trio approached a junction, another black Porsche then slid out of the junction, a gunpony firing wildly with a submachine gun out of the sunroof. However, the spastic gunfire never hit the Audi, and instead hit a nearby pile of red barrels on a semi trailer, causing them to go boom. And the second SUV, unsighted, then drove right into semi, mashing the front into the wrecked trailer, totaling itself in the process. Two down, but one to go. But the final Porsche would not be shaken. Mainly because, only a long straight separated the trio from freedom. And the final car was hot on them. Multiple rounds from the wilding gunning pony in the final car slammed into the body of the Audi, but given the fact that the gunpony was just firing wildly, none of the bullets actually hit any vital targets. All the while, Akula and Viral returned fire as best as they could, only having a limited firing arc on the SUV. But bigger problems lay just ahead, as the sound of a train's horn filled the air. Dean knew that the noise did not mean good things. A single looked confirmed what he was thinking, a lone train approaching the train crossing just ahead of them rapidly. Immediately, Dean put his hoof to the floor, as far as it would go. Viral felt the sudden increase of power being put on the engine, and she then saw why. "Drive, Dean! DRIVE!!!!!" She screamed, as the train began to close in. It was clear that the train was coming in hot and was well past the point of stopping safely. And it was clear that the train was coming in much quicker than the Audi. Dean knew that the train would make it to the crossing before he did, and began to move over to the right. It was going to be very close. Dean saw the front light of the train reach the intersection as he closed in. Then, the actual train entered sight and made a mad dash for the crossing. But Dean was also closing in. Just as the train began to cross, Dean rammed through the boom gates and made it onto the tracks, as the train closed in. But thankfully, Dean was going quickly enough to make it through the crossing, just inches away from getting sideswiped by the train. But, they made it. And even better, the close shave caused the final Cayenne to come to a stop to avoid hitting the speeding train, allowing the trio to make their getaway. Seeing the Cayenne stop at the tracks, immediately drew some loud whooping from all three of the friends. Dean added a few honks to the horn as they raced into the distance.
The EmbacaderoThe Next Morning Dean walked through the door of the San Franciscolt coffee shop, but he wasn't looking for a cup of joe this particular morning. Even with how good the smell of roasted coffee beans was, he really wasn't there for any sort of caffeine flavoured pick-me-up. Rather, he was looking for one of his best friends. And there she was, the familiar Pegasus sitting at a little booth at the side of a wall. Of course, it was clear that Dean just trotted up and sat down at the table. Viral, for the first time in the pair's friendship, was the one who called him to meet. They, along with Akula, split and turned tail not long after they had cut their pursuers because of the well timed train. It was the smartest thing to do, so if one was recaptured, the other two would be able to escape or even rescue the captured other. But it didn't take long for that separation to end, as two of the three ponies from the previous day's events were reunited. "So, you are finally warming up to me?" Dean immediately went for Viral's emotions, which only frustrated Viral more than she had come to. "I didn't call you here for pleasure Dean, and I'm also not buying you breakfast." She clearly stated, not wanting really any of his seduction methods, "I'll buy it for you. It's only right after you and Akula saved my life," He offered, not listening to V. Viral could only sigh at the stallion's continuing urge to seduce her. "You know you made a pretty stupid move, trying to flirt with Mob connections." "No ponies are going to get a mare to sleep with them if they sit down on their flank and wait for them, V," Dean explained. "No pony from your block at least. You know, I've got something that can help you straighten that out, if only because you got me and Akula into this." V began to say, finally spilling the tea. "Really, and what do you need from me for that, my sweet?" Dean asked, reaching forward to touch one of Viral's hooves. The door to the shop opened with yet another ding, and with it the trio was once again reunited as Akula joined in on the negotiations. "V this better be important if you're bringing us together like this." As Akula was coming over to their table, he brushed shoulders with a well toned dark grey Pegasus stallion who was leaving from the back room, the stallion glancing over his shoulder at their table before leaving. "Sit, Akula. I've been working on a solution to Dean's...issue. But I need to know if you both are in on it. Right now, yes or no?" Dean and Akula took a moment to glance at each other before Akula responded for both of them. "I think you already knew that answer Viral. And I take it it's something about a race." Viral got out of her seat quickly, heading to the same door the stallion from earlier exited from with her two friends in tow, shoving both doors aside. "Hey V isn't this place for employees only…" Dean started before Viral gave him a disapproving glare. It was enough to quiet his complaint. "It's called The Run. The race is from here in Franciscolt to the Manehattan Docks, over 200 of the best racers ever assembled. We enter as a group and when one of us wins, Dean's problem gets resolved and whatever is left of the prize money, we split evenly between the three of us," "Woah, hold on V," Dean grabbed her by the shoulder, as his eye caught a dark pink Pegasus mare eyeing him up as she passed by. "I can respect splitting it evenly, but you do remember how much I owe those mobsters, right?" "I'm inclined to agree with Dean on this one Viral, are you sure that this prize pool is enough to pay off what we are trying to achieve here?" "The prize is 25 million, do the math, boys," V stated, giving both of them a cheeky smirk. The two just followed her, when Akula decided to strike up a conversation with Dean. "How much did you say that you owned the Mob?" "Quarter of a million bits," Dean replied. "Well, if the prize is $25 million, and we split what is left evenly between us after paying of the Mob," Akula thought, as he worked the calculations in his head, "That's about 8.25 million each," Upon hearing the amount that would be shared, Dean could only whistle. "I'll handle the buy-in for our spot, I just need you guys to stand and look nice for the camera." Viral stated. "Come on, you know that I'm always looking good for the camera," Dean stated, winking at the mare of his dreams Viral just sighed at Dean's antics and turned the corner into a small room separate from the buildings kitchen and employee only areas. Inside sat a mini elevator, which V placed a case onto and sent away. In the corner of his eye, Akula caught a glimpse of the literal camera taking a good look at them. After several seconds, the lift returned now holding three phones. Viral took one for herself, and tossed the other two to those behind her. On it was an overview of the entire race, with an entire route planned out. And the route was massive. All the way from one coast of Equestria to the other and through some of Equestria's most important towns and cities. "Damn...that's a long way to go, sweet. How do you suppose we achieve this?" Dean inquired, very concerned about how lengthy this Run was. "We do what we do best, go fast. Faster than anypony else. But, we have a problem. We need cars." Viral stated the obvious. "Cars? I can handle that," Akula noted. "So, how's about we get this started?" Viral nodded accordingly. "After you." 4 Hours Later The Embarcadero, San Fransicolt Akula lifted open the door to the garage, the closest one they had available, but he knew that it had what they needed. Both pegasi followed him in, and inside the garage sat tons of vehicles. But only three caught the trio's eyes. One, was Viral's personal favorite. The Chevy Camaro ZL1. It was a car she grew to love, and she had taken it for more laps than she could bother to count. For Dean, he had a Porsche 911 Carrera. While it was easily the fastest car of the three it was also the meanest to drive. But that was how Dean liked it, fast and wild. And Akula had something special, a BMW M3 GTS, matte black with crimson rims. On the driver's door, just above the handle, his own nickname "Demon Lord" was signed into the paint. "You've outdone yourself this time Akula." Viral praised her friend's work. "I know what you both like, but we need to get moving don't we?" Without another word, each pony climbed into their cars. It was time to start the race. Author's Note Special thanks to RDgamer321 for his help in writing this chapter! Be sure to check out his stories if you hadn't already. He is a really fantastic person!
The Race BeginsThe Embacadero, San Franciscolt The enclosed space of the garage erupted, with the sounds of twin V8s and a Flat 6 engine revving to high RPM and warming up the cars ready for a race. Flames shot out of the exhausts, producing satisfying cracks, mixed in the roar of all three engines. “So boys, you ready?” Viral inquired about her cohort's status. “Fired up.” Dean answered, revving his Porsche's engine a few more times, to assert his dominance (that was really never there). “Locked ‘n loaded.” Akula seconded. “Fantastic, we need to get moving now. There's about 3,000 miles and 200 other drivers between us and that prize. The start line activated a few minutes ago and if we don’t make it we won’t get picked up on the tracker. Let’s get to Nob Hill before we miss the race.” Viral led out with her Camaro, followed closely by her companions as they climbed the hills in the bustling city. The streets had some early morning traffic, but nothing the trio couldn’t navigate as they made their way to the top of the hill. Akula took the point from Viral on a left kink, the M3 taking the corners much better than the muscle car. Dean, meanwhile, couldn't stop fishtailing his Porsche in an effort to showoff. Thankfully, neither Akula or Viral would see his attempts. As they continued, more cars began converging one them with the same destination in mind. But most of them were easy to keep ahead of. One in Particular, a Pagani Zonda, turned the corner ahead of Dean and caused him to swerve away to avoid the hyper car. “Bloody idiot!” He cursed at the driver of the car that could out speed his Porsche. But there was nothing that Dean could to to exact revenge, as the Zonda easily began to pull away, thanks to its 100 kph advantage over the 911 Carrera, the car with the highest top speed in the group. As the stallion continued on, Viral’s scanner began to pick up radio traffic. It wasn't anything to be worried about much at first, as the officer reporting was confused as to why so many cars were gathering at Nob Hill. But it wasn't lone before the lone cop, outnumbered at least 20-to-1, called in for backup. She knew the cops would be on this one, but this quickly? This was going to be a problem. They doubled back, attempting to find the quickest way to their destination by following the trails of other cars that came before them. As they went back down the hill, a pair of Crown Vic patrol cars crossed the intersection responding to the calls over the transponder, the red and blues flashing. “V, what’s the status of cop presence?” Akula inquired, having spotted the cruisers as they continued. “Full swing, kicked up a hornet’s nest and stomped it for good measure. We need to get moving before shit gets too dangerous.” They were now on the adjacent road to their start location and with one more double left turn the start line was in sight. Just as they approached, two more cars swung out from the roads on either side. They weren't much trouble, except for a lone Audi R8. Each pony crossed the tracker line to start the race, as a secret camera watched them and added them to a massive list of competitors. D. Akula 211 V. Velocity 212 D. Dean 213 Just as they crossed the starting line, Viral saw the route of the Run added to her tablet and her current position to the screen. Same happened with her friends. “It’s on boys, and we’re dead fucking last.” Viral noted. “What’s the plan?” Dean inquired. “Las Pegasus, if we want to stay on pace to get to the front we need to be in 150th. We can’t do that and we’re fucked.” “Got it, game on!” Akula responded as his M3 took massive air and rocketed down the hill at top speed. But things were going insane in the city. The number of street racer in the city had sent the SFPD into a frenzy. Every single unit in the city was dispatched to stop the racers by any means necessary. But there was too many cars for the thinned out officers to deal with. "Where in the name of Celestia are all the guys coming from??!!!" “...full containment. I want all major roadways to the city shut down now!” “Shit...they’re shutting down the city. They’re never this fucking active.” Viral forwarded, complaining about the persistence of the department on this particular day. “Well that’s fucking brilliant.” Dean seconded the mare’s opinion. Onward they continued, passing by several patrol cars that had stopped on the shoulder either stopping traffic, blocking roads or even having stopped some would-be racers. They made their way towards the coast, cutting across a boardwalk and continuing north. Just ahead of them was the Magic Melody Bridge, which was busy with rush hour traffic being held up by the city lockdown. But then there came a radio report from an SFPD officer that did not being about any good news. “Units, be advised, stopped a Code Six with a police scanner in his vehicle. Keep all major roadblocks off the air.” Viral was not happy about that one. “Shit! Fucking morons.” “What’s the call V? We can’t just drive in circles like this!” “Uh…bridge. Head for the bridge, the northbound exit is under construction. Light traffic so it should be open.” After a sudden right turn, they pulled onto the bridge. A lone Crown Vic picked up their moves and followed them on. They weren’t the only racers with the idea, as along with some mild traffic several other cars were weaving in and out. On the bridge, Viral and Dean began to pull away with more power under their hoods, leaving Akula to deal with the patrol car giving chase. The thoughtless officer gave him a shunt as he called for the changeling to pull over, which only aggravated Akula more. And if there was one thing you didn't do, it was piss off the Demon Lord. He let off the throttle slightly, causing the officer to react and veer to the right. As this happened, the patrol car veered left to stay straight, and Akula turned into him to unsettle the car even further. As it spun around, it toppled over and began to roll down the bridge. “Good fucking riddance.” Akula, satisfied, as he gunned the M3 to catch up with his friends. He caught up to Viral and Dean at the tunnel, and immediately noticed the sign on the side of the bridge. Road Works Ahead But there was more than just road work. A blockade spreading across the entire motorway lay in their path, catching any and all cars that tried to exit the city. There was, however, one part that wasn’t covered, something only a desperate idiot would attempt... Or rather three desperate idiots. Dean inched over to the left shoulder, noticing the damaged section of bridge and a crane that just so happened to form a makeshift ramp. Viral would have complained if Akula didn’t mirror this exact action, both of them smashing through the roadworks signed that did a bad job at stopping them from taking the road. With little option but to silently agree, she too moved left. “Head’s up! Got some cars out of control here!” "Hold position!! HOLD POSITION!!!!" Dean smashed the “Road Closed” sign clear out of the way, and took air off the bridge over a bulldozer and out towards the open water with Akula and Viral following. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the sirens in the distance dwindled away and were replaced by 1 thud of concrete….then two thuds...then a third thud as the Porsche, BMW, and Chevy landed rather loudly onto the empty freeway section. “Fuck yeah! Wooooooo, that was fucking awesome!” Dean screamed in utter jubilation. “Yeah, keep going Dean...this is just getting started. We’ve got a long way to go before we start celebrating anything.” Viral responded, bringing the stallion back to earth. “Yeah Dean, don’t get too excited. We’ve got a long way to go before we reach Manehattan.” Akula agreed with Viral's statement, as the three of them leftvteh great city and continued on the Run. D. Dean 205 D. Akula 206 V. Velocity 207 Author's Note Extra thanks to RDgamer321 for his help on making this chapter!
Onto the Highway20 Minutes Later Now that the trio had escaped the city, they found themselves far off their intended route. They intended on finding the freeway ASAP, one that led eastward into the hills that could put them back on their intended route. For now, they were on a hilly backroad, leading into the Equestrian countryside and Viral was struggling to keep up with the much smoother cars her companions were driving. While the M3 and 911 Carerra were easily suited to the windy roads of the country, her Camaro was struggling to cope with the corners. "Viral, you ok?" Akula inquired, noticing the mare falling behind slightly. "Just fine, but the car is not exactly happy with the road. Just keep going, I'll keep up as best I can." Dean and Akula kept going on without Viral, ahead a pack of cars coasting along. But as Viral did all she could to keep the Camaro at speed, suddenly Viral was blindsided by a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X and Pontiac Firebird overtaking her on either side. Not happy with being passed, she kicked into high gear, pushing the unhappy Camaro to its limits on this type of road. She got back past the Firebird going to a wide left corner, then passing the Lancer as they went under a train bridge. She continued to pick up the pace, shaving some time by cutting under another train line overpass and then blasting through a trailer park and likely pissing off some earth ponies in the process. Eventually she caught up to her companions, and not a moment too soon. Akula and Dean were merging onto the freeway amongst a pack of hatchbacks and tuners that had no chance of keeping up with their high end speed. The trio got into the fast lane and began overtaking the slower racers at an alarming rate. Viral closed in on a Renault Megane, but the opponent attempted to squeeze her over towards the emergency lane and into the barrier to defend. She backed off and cut around the other side, not wanting to deal with a dirty racer. Said racer had other plans as they turned right back into her and knocked her out towards the shoulder. The next time she got alongside, she gave a love tap back before pulling away. "Imbecile...if you can't keep up don't block like that." Now that she was back with the others, and on the freeway, her Chevy Camaro was once again in its favorite element. She blasted ahead, Dean able to keep pace, but again the top speed of the M3 was holding Akula back. His M3 was built for track times, not overall high-speed. Worse, a purple Dodge Challenger separated itself from the pack and began to close in. The changeling attempted to fend off the attacker, but the speed of the muscle car was soon too much to handle as it got alongside. He tried to force the issue, but the Dodge was also heavier. As they went under a bridge, the Challenger forced the BMW onto the shoulder and nearly off the road. Akula was forced to control the car and avoid crashing, while the Dodge made an evasive action to avoid him. However, the driver of the muscle car should have been paying attention to the traffic. The Dodge rear ended a box truck at an alarming speed and slowed to a crawl, which caused a mess of traffic behind them. Akula wrestled his car back onto the freeway, now seriously far behind his team. Thankfully they still had radio communication. "Akula? Are you still with us?" Viral inquired about her friend's whereabouts. "Fine, but I'm a bit far behind. Had to deal with some trouble." "Well watch out, there's some serious traffic up ahead. We'll be taking it easy so you can try to catch up." V. Velocity 195 D. Dean 196 D. Akula 197 Now that Akula had broken away from the pack of cars that had been giving chase, his current objective was to make up time lost when colliding with the Dodge. Dean and Viral were not too far ahead, having told their changeling accomplice they had planned on taking an exit that led to Mellowstone National Park. The exit was only a few miles ahead, but as Viral had warned traffic was indeed very heavy on the freeway. The Demon Lord used the nimble handling of the M3 to weave around the trailers and sedans, occasionally running on the emergency lane or shoulder to avoid collisions in congested sections of road. Of course, the catch-up wasn't without incident. One car in particular attempted to merge into a slower lane as he wiggled around, nearly cutting him off and honking as if it wasn't their fault. "Turn signal you fucking idiot!" He shouted, not expecting the driver he was mad at to even hear him. "Akula, you alright?" Viral asked, checking in to see if Akula had caught up yet. "Three clicks out from the exit, you?" "Oh fuck, you should be coming up to us just about now." Sure enough he was, a red Camaro and yellow Porsche cruising on the far right lane. They both gradually picked up pace, Akula blasted past, retaking point as they approached their destination. "Competition is going to get tight in the park, expect some proper fighting from some other drivers. Once we get into the mountains the corners are going to be sudden and sharp." "Is that going to be a problem?" Dean inquired. "You especially Viral. That Camaro is going to be a ride." "I've got a trick under my wings." The Pegasus mare explained. "While I was overviewing our route I mapped out some rest stops for us to take advantage of, and had a friend drop off some wheels at marked locations which I highlighted for all of us. Remember when I asked you both about your favorite cars in specific environments?" "You had this planned out in full didn't you V?" Akula pondered, asking the crimson mare. "I'm not one to be unprepared for anything, let alone the kind of shit Dean got us into…." "Hey!" "We'll be able to hot swap with minimal delay, and if we wish we can also refuel the cars we are already using. This is a marathon, we'll need to take a breather whenever we can get it. That's our exit." They took a right onto the 140 highway, heading for the hills. This race was well underway. There was no backing out now.
Park DreamsMellowstone National Park Distance to Manehattan: 2,799 Miles After a relatively lengthy uneventful drive, the trio crossed over a bridge into the hills of the park with Viral taking point from Dean and Akula. They flew past a Subaru for position and kept going. Ahead were a few more compacts, but while Dean and Akula made stellar progress Viral's Camaro was struggling through the bends. She caught up a little on a straight road, and ahead a Lotus pulled onto a mining road. Dean and Akula followed and Viral, sighing, refused to follow and stayed on the twisty road that her car could handle. It was a massive shortcut, and after pulling back onto the main road the M3 and Porsche rocketed by the remaining sports car ahead of them, Viral eventually catching it. "You guys are insane." She stated matter of factly. "You gotta do insane things to succeed Viral, if we don't take risks we'll be at risk of failing." "Fine, but we need to keep pace through the hills. We can't lose any time here or we'll fall like rocks. Pedal to the floor boys, we've got to pick up some time...me especially." While the Camaro wasn't exactly the smoothest car in the corners, Viral was no stranger to its habits. "Okay, gotta pick up some time." She got into form, putting the hoof down and weaving through the valley. There was some difficult road ahead, but it was a chance to pull back on her companions if she could get it right. She came up fast on a hard right corner, slamming down into fourth and kicking the rear of the Camaro out, as she came into a tunnel she was making good time. Exiting the tunnel she was met with a quick left and another winding right. Again, using the rear wheel drive and sheer power of the ZL1, she slid around the corner whilst doing her best to not oversteer or spin out. The road ahead curved through the valley like a snake, but rather than follow the paved path she cut through the bends to shave Amy time she could. Once back onto a relatively straight piece of road it kinked left over a bridge. The time she was making on her group was good, but with how much faster their cars were in the bends she would need something drastic. Ahead was an offshoot road that diverged from the main highway. It was the only option, she needed to catch up now. The Camaro responded to the sudden terrain change as she expected, the bumps in the gravel doing a number on her flank. Gritting her teeth, and taking some air over a crest, she was just barely on pace to catch up now. It was a long road ahead before she would return to the highway, but if she kept up the speed she would merge in the vicinity of Dean and Akula. "Viral, you've been awfully quiet." Akula said as the Camaro dipped into a pothole sized bump. "Just trying to focus." "You alright?" Dean inquired. "Fine, watch out on your left up the road." "Did you take the hiking trail on the west side?" "Yes." "Shit V, that road is meant for trucks. You're gonna have a hell of a time handling that." "Gotta take risks or risk getting left behind." She blew past the campgrounds stationed for the hikers present in the park, luckily no ponies were present at that time of year. With subtle inputs, she managed to coax her Camaro into a relatively stable ride as she flew under the campground sign. "Head's up on your left boys!" The highway merged over from the right of the pathway, Viral pulled onto it right in between the Porsche and BMW with a loud screech from her tires drifting onto the pavement. "Nice to have you back with us." "I'm never gone for a long time mate. Not a moment too soon, our first stop is just up the road. Coming up on your right Dean." The two pegasi swapped the lead, Viral now pointing them in their intended direction. It wasn't long before she spotted what she was looking for. A stupidly convenient location for a gas station, and in the parking area sat three undisturbed cars for three fast equines. The three of them merged into the area, stopping abruptly. "Are you for real right now? A petrol station? Viral, this isn't a family vacation." "While you are correct on that observation Dean, thanks to a close friend of ours, these stations can be the perfect place to stop, swap, and stay for as long as we need to catch our breaths." "And who exactly is this friend that you pulled into this?" "The only pony I trust as much as I trust the both of you." As they swung around, they got a better look at the three cars waiting for them. A Black/White Corvette Z06, a Dark Crimson Nissan GT-R, and a Maroon Aston Martin V12 Vantage. However, inside one of the cars a pony was waiting. Out of the GT-R stepped a white unicorn mare, whom the three were well familiar with. "Neon Shock, wanted to make this one personal?" "I'm just here to make sure this shit is legit Viral, can't have you using my connections for another one of your eccentric movie stunts." "It's not a movie stunt Neon, but I'm glad You're on board." "Mhm, I figured I'd take the trip from Cloverland just to make sure you weren't pulling my strings. But, looks like you've really gotten yourself into some shit then. Alright, I'll make sure the cars are taken care of. From now on, whatever you take will be ready to go when you arrive...and I'll make sure whatever you arrive in is taken away. No traces." "That seems oddly suspicious." Dean noted with a puzzled expression. "Neon's got some connections even I don't know about, but at least this way we'll have rides for the journey." "I'm not even taking a cut, not like I need the bits anyway." It was at that moment that 6 cars flew by the rest stop. "You should bet going though Sheila, You're burning time right now." "You heard the mare, let's get going before we fall behind." The pale unicorn stepped out of the way as the trio piled into their new rides. Viral was on her way out first, Akula and Dean following. It took some time for them to catch up with the cars that had overtaken them whilst they took a breath, but the Aston, Nissan, and Corvette were an easy match for the Mustang's and JDM's in front of them. It didn't take long before they saw the open road again. Viral was much happier with the GT-R, it had a much better response to the corners. That trait was very useful for the bends that led them up the mountain. Two such bends presented themselves in front of the trio, but the traction of the GT-R provided an easy way up the hill whilst the Corvette and Vantage took some time to bite in. This allowed the pegasus to pull away slightly. She was the first through the tunnel, Akula soon following with Dean. Though they were unaware of a fourth car, one much more powerful than any of the new toys they had. A Pagani Zonda flew up to and NY both the Corvette and Vantage, disrupting a civilian commuter in the process. Akula had weave out of the way of the car as the Pagani flew past. "Fuck, Dean we need to keep up with that Pagani." "You expect us to keep up with that?" "Viral is ahead, we should be keeping up anyway." "Akula I recognize that Pagani, and if I'm right the pony driving it is nothing but trouble." "You two alright back there?" Viral inquired, having started to fight through some slower racers ahead. "Yeah, watch your mirrors V. Fast company on the way." "I can handle it." Dean and Akula made an attempt to follow the Zonda through the hills. It quickly began to catch up with the traffic Viral had recently passed. Both Dean and Akula did their hardest to keep up with it, despite its massive advantage in outright speed. Luckily the cars they were up against at that moment had no right being this high up the board. The two split overtakes on either side of a Ford Focus as they passed under a waterfall. "Hey guys, would this Zonda behind me be the fast company you were talking about?" Viral asked, confirming a suspicion. "Yeah, don't let it get too far ahead." "It won't be getting by me." They passed by a Firebird and an Impreza on their way to catching up with Viral. Up ahead Viral was doing a good job of making it difficult to pass. Though it seemed this only angered the driver of the Zonda. Coming up to the edge of the mountain, the Pagani sped up suddenly, hitting the Nissan and lifting up its rear. Viral caught it the first time, but the Pagani hit her again, this time causing her to spin into the run-off with a 360. She gathered up the car and continued on. "Son of a bitch!" "You alright V?" "Fine, just pissed off." "The turns down here are sharp as knives, you should have no problem catching up. We'll worry about dealing with that driver when it becomes a problem." "That may be sooner than we would like." Dean remarked. Viral gathered the car up and took off down the mountain. As she got back up to speed an MX-5 passed her. She scoffed at the tiny sports car as she blew past it into the first hairpin. The back road down the mountain cut through like a snowboard slope. Weaving back and forth as it descended down into the valley. She made a lot of use of the GT-R's advanced traction control going through the corners. And that's all it was, tight hairpin turns one after the other. As she rounded one she spotted an Impreza making the bends. She didn't take long before she snuck up the inside of the sports hatchback and passed. There was a healthy straight bit of road, so she got a short breath before more hairpins came. The road was a snake, and up ahead was another caught in its grasp. This time a Lancer. It cut across lanes into an observatory post, but the GT-R had no problem following it. Once she was past, the road opened up for her. "I'm at the bottom of the mountain. What about you guys?" "Merging into the 190 now, Las Pegasus isn't very far." "How are we doing?" "170 through 172. We've got to pick up the pace. The desert should be wide open for most of the way there. We can still make it there on track, hammer down." D. Akula 170 D. Dean 171 V. Velocity 172
