The 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!