Race to the Finish

by DGJabberwocky

Homecoming: Part One

Author's Note:

So in my headcanon for this story, I'm going to assume that Canterlot is in California. I dunno, it made sense in my head.

"So you're Flash Sentry, right? Before I book the tickets, is it just you, or do you have some friends tagging along? If yes, then how many?... Got it! Just a tip though, it's going to be hot, so pack plenty of sunscreen and water. Also make sure that you book a decent hotel. I'll send someone to meet you by the entrance of the track to hand you some goodies, courtesy the team. We're giving you VIP passes so that you can hang out in our garage and watch the race. Oh, and before I forget, make sure that you buy ear plugs. Those bikes are loud, with a capital L. Glad you guys can make it. I'm assuming that you guys are flying over to Texas? I mean, Canterlot is in California, right?"

Slipstream suddenly sat up, ramrod straight, "You're WHAT! Are. You. Mad! That's going to take a full day! Come on pal, don't tell me that you're a cheapskate. Look, I'm telling you, air is the best option. Great! I'll see you on Saturday! These trackside tickets I'm booking are for two days. As for the rest, you're on your own there. Look for a someone wearing a light aquamarine gray T-shirt and black trousers."

He hung up, leaned back on his wheelchair and whistled, "Man! Sunset, this guy can be stubborn. Would you believe, the idiot was planning to drive all the way to Texas?"

Sunset rolled her eyes as she walked in carrying a soda in one hand and a rolled up sheet in the other, "He just wants an excuse to take that shiny new Camaro of his for a spin. He got it as a Christmas present."

She then unrolled the sheet, revealing a small circuit map on a table and inspected it. Sunset asked Slipstream, "So, what's special about the Circuit of the Americas? The shape looks pretty interesting."

The former champion grinned, "Oh this track is fun. The first corner is a tight left-hand hairpin, so watch out for dive-bombs. However, the tricky part about this corner is that it is uphill. And when you exit the corner, you go downhill. You gotta position yourself just right for this sequence of left-right corners. Then there's another short hairpin, and then a long back straight, perfect for drafting battles. That's why my folks named me Slipstream."

---

The next day in a small villa in Spain, Slipstream got a message from someone called Cheerilee, who happened to be one of Sunset's teachers. Apparently, the girl had a geography test in two weeks. He promptly opened his laptop and accessed his email. The young man read it, printed the syllabus and called out, "Hey kid! I got a text from one of your faculty. You've got a geography test in a couple of weeks."

He handed her the sheets, "You've got to study up on these topics. I'll tell you what, you've got gym in half an hour. When you get back, you can study up for a bit. We'll try and squeeze in study sessions in between gym, motocross and regular training."

Just then, the doorbell rang and Izzy raced over to answer. She called out, "Slippy! Special delivery!"

He wheeled out as fast as he could, "It's here already? Brilliant! Oi! Hitch! Sunny! I'm gonna need some help here! This thing's heavy!"

The two rushed over to help him carry a large cardboard box and they carefully set it down. Sunset came over as they began unwrapping, to reveal a strange device with various lights, "What is this?"

Hitch and his friends immediately went about installing the device on a nearby blank wall, before plugging it in. He explained, "Remember the tennis ball test for your reflexes? This is a more advanced method to test them. It's called a BATAK Board. It tests your reactions, stamina, peripheral vision. I'll give a demonstration before you and Zipp have a go. Sunny, can you set a timer for 30 seconds?"

What followed next was a study in concentration, as Hitch steadily jabbed at buttons, as soon as they lit up. By the time the timer ticked to zero, he had scored 42 points. Then Zipp Storm took her place, and when the timer started, her hands were a blur. Sunny counted down to zero and Zipp's score was 48 points. Finally, Sunset Shimmer took her turn, and when she ended, she was miles behind on 35 points.

She whistled, "Wow! This is hard! How often are we going to practice this?"

Slipstream replied, "When we're at home. Can't take it with us to each race because it is flipping heavy. The board stays here, and we can make do with the tennis ball test when we're travelling."

---

Over the next couple of weeks, Sunset alternated between training and studying for her test. Slipstream had fixed up an appointment to conduct a conference call with Cheerilee, 2 hours before the second practice session. So Wednesday found Sunset on her laptop taking notes in the airport before her flight to Austin, Texas.

During the flight, Izzy, Hitch, Pipp, Sunny and Zipp passed the time by quizzing her. The best part was that she nailed most of the answers, and her confidence grew. On Thursday, she got all her media duties done before heading back to the hotel and studying once again. Friday arrived and she finished third in the opening practice session. Since Practice 2 wasn't until 3PM, she wrapped up her programme early and then headed to the trailer.

The conference began sharp at 11:45 in the morning and Cheerilee watched through her computer screen as Sunset opened her email and got the question paper. Then she began scribbling away furiously, her face bearing a look of utter concentration. The moderate cerise-haired woman couldn't help but have a soft smile on her face. Sunset Shimmer was obviously in a better place, far away from the vitriolic cesspit that Canterlot High was becoming. She admitted to herself that she had doubts whether this plan of Slipstream's would work, but everything looked to be running smoothly. From her vantage point, it didn't look like Sunset was getting any aid for her test.

About a hour and 45 minutes later, the red and blonde-haired girl was done. She promptly had her answer sheet scanned and mailed to Cheerilee immediately. The woman smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Miss Shimmer. I shall let you know your test scores by Monday. I'm already in the midst of correcting your classmates' papers, and yours will be assessed after theirs."

By the time she exited the motorhome, she had an hour until the second practice session. As such, she headed for a quick bite to eat before returning to the garage. Soon afterwards, she rolled out her bike at the pit entry and waited for the lights to turn green. Just then, Slick Shifter rolled up next to her and called out over the din, "Hey Shimmer! We missed you after FP1! Me and some of the boys had gone to a nearby arcade for some bowling. We were hoping to invite you, but your team said that you were not to be disturbed."

She hollered back, "I had a test to take care of. I cut a deal with my school principal that I would keep up with my studies and not lose a year."

He shot her a thumbs up in response. Then the lights turned green and they were on their way. Once again, Sunset set off to continue her programme. Her first timed lap was nothing to write home about, because she made a mistake at the Esses and went off track. On the second lap, she outbraked herself at Turn 1 and went wide. So when she came around for Lap 3, Sunny leaned out of the pit wall with a message urging her to calm down. From that point onwards, Sunset's riding was flawless. When the chequered flag waved to end the session, Sunset had topped the timing sheets, and she returned to the hotel room in good spirits.

Saturday dawned and Sunset woke up in an extremely good mood. Topping the timing sheets yesterday left her in a great headspace, and then she remembered that Flash was coming over to cheer her on with a few friends. As had become her habit, she joined up with Zipp and Hitch and cycled to the track. They reached at around 9 in the morning and she helped set up both of their bikes for qualifying. Once the two juniors were out on the track, Sunset decided to just wander around in the paddock. Maybe she could meet up with Flash and the gang and give them a grand tour.

The redhead made her way towards the entrance of the track, stopping to sign autographs and get her picture taken, along the way. Close to the entry of the venue, she spotted Red Cross several hundred feet away, parking a minivan. She stepped out and opened the passenger doors, passing out VIP passes. Sunset spotted familiar spiky blue hair inside the van and recognised Flash. Then the other passengers started filing out slowly, Bulk Biceps, Microchip, a girl with forest green hair, who she vaguely recognised as Wallflower Blush. Then she saw the last person step out, and she stiffened.

Turning her back, she slowly walked back to her motorhome. Sunset resisted the urge to just run back, and instead walked back at a relatively normal pace. About halfway there, she heard a voice faintly calling out her name. She stopped and turned slowly. Red Cross stood, several meters away, with a sheepish smile. Flash and his companions had uncomfortable smiles. But the last occupant was about to run and tackle her into a hug. Just before she faced them, she schooled her features into and emotionless mask and raised a hand in a stopping gesture.

Bulk understood and restrained the person. Sunset turned slightly and gestured for them to follow her. The group silently followed her back to her motorhome. Flash tried to speak up, "Sun-"

She cut him off brusquely, "Inside... Now."

The girl was not playing around, she was really angry. Slipstream was inside the motorhome, just going over some notes, when he noticed that they had company. He was about to greet them, when he recognised the frosty atmosphere. The wheelchair-bound man asked Sunset, "Should I leave? I'm just a visitor, this is looking personal."

She shook her head, "Stay. Just in case I do something stupid."

Finally Sunset levelled a neutral gaze at a nervous Flash and spoke oh-so-calmly, "I'm in a good mood today because I had a good couple of sessions yesterday. I'm being nice, so you have one minute to give me a damn good explanation as to why SHE is here. For all I know, she's probably here to accuse me of stealing secrets again. The only reason why I called you all inside here is because I don't want my dirty laundry aired in front of all the cameras. I've worked hard for several months to build up a decent fanbase. I will not let HER ruin everything in one day."

Flash knew that she had an explosive temper, but somehow, hearing her speak calmly was even scarier. He knew that she was REALLY pissed and her voice had a dangerous edge to it. He hesitantly spoke, "Listen... It all started when Bulk was sitting on the bleachers and watching the practice session yesterday. It was live, and Fluttershy happened to be passing by when she saw your face on the camera."

Bulk pipped up, "Yeah, just sort of sneaked up on me and damn nearly startled me. She said something along the lines of 'I knew it! I knew it wasn't her! There was no way she would be doing this, all the way in another continent'. When she found out that Flash was buying tickets for us, she literally got on her knees and begged to get her a ticket. She said that she wanted to make it right after betraying you."

Sunset sarcastically drawled, "Only took her two full months to realise the truth."

She addressed a shame-faced Fluttershy for the first time, "I want... no, I NEED to know one thing and I want the truth. Were you and those girls every truly my friends, or did you do it because Twilight ordered you to."

The light-pink haired girl stammered, "I-I In the first week, it was because of Twilight. B-but after I got to know you better, I genuinely w-wanted to be your friend. S-Sunset, I am so sorry for b-betraying you. I-I-I should have spoken up and defended you-"

Sunset interrupted her, "But you didn't, did you? You were scared that those girls would turn on you like a pack of wolves, just like they did me. I appreciate that you came forward on your own to apologize personally. If you had texted me, I would have ignored you, because texting is just empty words. A face-to-face apology means that you are genuinely sorry. But I want to make one thing clear. We are not friends... Not yet... Maybe sometime later, I would like to start over with you, and you alone, though I could make an exception for Pinkie, if she apologised in person, and of her own volition. Those girls... I am way beyond forgiveness, because they REALLY meant what they said when they yelled at me. For the record, I am NOT coming back to school with you guys, this year."

Fluttershy's eyes widened, "Why!"

Sunset arched an eyebrow, "Really? I am still persona non grata, and you expect me to come back to a place where I could potentially get lynched? Possibly even literally? Don't you dare try and deny it, Rainbow Dash and some of her old friends, Gilda and Lightning Dust, are perfectly capable of doing it. Hell, I'm sure Applejack would gladly help out. Even if my name is cleared, I still can't come back. I'm on a one-year contract. I struck a deal with Principal Celestia, where I would take some time away to focus on this gig. I'm still keeping up with my studies, as Slipstream here, has been teaching me. Heck, I just appeared for our geography test yesterday. My point is, when I come back, I won't lose a year."

Then she checked her watch, "Look, let's just not talk about it. Not today. Enjoy the weekend. I've got qualifying shortly. Flash, you and the others explain how this works to her. You all got your ear plugs? Follow me, I'll take you to the garage. From there, you guys can watch from the TVs inside."

Just like that, her emotionless face morphed into a more cheerful one. Sunset made her way to the door and beckoned, "You coming? I'll give you a small tour on the way to the garage."

Flash was the first one to act, followed by the others. Fluttershy was the last to move, but Slipstream called out to her, "Hey! Fluttershy, right? Could you help me down and wheel me back to the garage?"

The light-pink-haired girl dutifully helped him out and tailed the group, while wheeling him. Slipstream spoke, "Listen, I wanted to talk to you in private. She'll come around eventually. I've only known her for 2-3 months, but I think I've got her figured out. Sunset's a friendly girl, but with stunts like these, she doesn't trust easily."

The girl just gazed sadly at her former friend, "She's changed so much. Honestly, I was hoping that we would be friends again, but that's just me being naive."

He chuckled, "I bet you were expecting her to blow up at you, right? I wouldn't blame you, as she does have a bit of an explosive temper, and this Anon-a-Miss business really upset her. From what she told me, it took her a damn long time to earn you and your friends' approval. All it took was one bad day and everyone just turned on her immediately. Considering that she was innocent, I wouldn't blame her for lashing out when you guys would eventually come crawling back. We've been working on that for a bit. It'd be a PR nightmare if our star rider is a massive hothead with the temperament of a volcano. This time around though, YOU, are really going to have to earn HER friendship. Honestly, I'm really glad that I intervened when I did."

She spoke up, "What do you mean?"

He replied, "About a couple of weeks after we whisked her away, she came forward with a confession. When she met me at the diner where we ran into each other, she was having suicidal thoughts. She stopped at the diner to have a sort of last meal before she jumped off the Canter Bridge."

Fluttershy paled and looked ready to faint. Slipstream continued, "When I heard that, I sent her to Red Cross, our team doctor and psychiatrist. Sunset is a lot happier now, and this motor racing gig is really good for her. She enjoys the riding, and the fact that she gets us decent results, is a bonus, its a win-win."

At this, the teenage girl calmed down and they eventually reached the garage. Sunset immediately got to work and banished the conversation with Fluttershy to the back of her mind. She rode out, did a few exploratory laps and returned to the pits. After conferring with Gearwrench, he and the team got to work with setup adjustments. Meanwhile, she shot a look at Slipstream and he got the message. He turned around, his eyes darting everywhere, before locking onto his target.

The team boss whistled sharply, "Hey you! Wallflower, right? Could you toss me those two tennis balls?"

The green-haired freckled girl complied and he snatched them from the air. From there, he and Sunset put their heads close together, maintaining eye contact. He held up his hands, with a ball in each, and she placed her palms over his own. Off to the side, the visitors were looking in fascination. Fluttershy murmured, "What are they doing?"

Micro Chips grinned, "This is my favorite part! It's a reflexes test, designed to test Sunset's reflexes."

He pointed, "See! He dropped one ball and she caught it, while still maintaining eye contact... There! She's done it again... And now she's caught both..."

This carried on for five minutes, and when she was done, Sunset Shimmer had only fumbled twice. The girl went back out and set a few banker laps. The minutes ticked by, and everyone just alternated between setting lap times or testing setups. However, with five minutes to go, things got serious. By then, Sunset was in 6th place and just heading out of the pits. The lap times began to tumble, and then, Sunset Shimmer banged in an insane lap that placed her in second place, on the front row of the grid, alongside Velocity. A cheer erupted from the garage, and everyone began hugging and back-slapping.

When everyone went home, it turned out that Flash, and his friends were at the same hotel. Just before they all went to their rooms, Slipstream called out to Flash, "Hey! Buddy! Make sure you watch the other two races before Sunset's. Your tickets are for all three races."

---

The next morning, Sunset, Zipp and Hitch cycled to the track as usual. Two races passed by quickly, though there was an amusing scene when Hitch got taken out by another rider, and when he went to rejoin the race, he had to stop his fellow crasher from grabbing the wrong bike.

Finally though, it was time for Sunset to go racing. On the grid, she performed her usual ritual of saying a prayer before the race. The riders had one final sighting lap and then sat on the grid, waiting for the lights to turn green. At the race start, Sunset got the best launch from the middle of the front row and led for the first time in her career. Pole-sitter Velocity got barged out of the way by another rider and dropped to the tail of the Top 10.

Once she hit the front, Sunset knew that her job was to control the pace. However, Apex was hunting her down and breathing down her neck. She managed to fend him off for an entire lap, and when she rounded the last corner to end the first lap, the team were egging her on. Meanwhile in the garage, the boys were all jumping up and down, and the girls were cheering. On the second lap, Apex dive-bombed, but went too wide on the exit. Sunset wasn't about to decline an open invitation and retook the race lead. Apex made another attempt, but Sunset overtook him back again.

As the race continued, Apex made yet another overtake on Sunset, but she snatched the lead back on the cutback. Finally, at about the fifth time of asking, Apex finally made the move stick. In the garage, Flash clutched his head as Sunset lost the lead. Meanwhile, a nervous Fluttershy hugged a stuffed toy tighter and tighter. Back on the track, Sunset tried to get the place back, but went wide and dropped to 3rd.

A few corners later, she dropped to fourth. Slipstream raised his hands in despair and moaned, "Ayeyeyeye! Should have known that this was too good to last. Come on Sunset! Just try and regroup! You've got medium tires."

Almost as if she heard him, Sunset got herself under control and closed in on the podium places. Just then, the two leading riders collided, with one of them coming away worse than the other. Slick Shifter and Sunset, quickly moved up a spot to sit in 2nd and 3rd respectively. With 14 laps remaining Sunset divebombed down the inside of Slick Shifter at Turn 1 and took 2nd place. Elsewhere, Velocity was slowly coming back into contention, and had clawed his way up to 4th.

With 11 laps to go, Sunset took the lead with a robust move on Apex. However, a threat soon arrived in the form of a rider called Dynamo. He muscled Sunset out of the way at the first corner and took the lead. However, a few corners later, disaster struck, as Dynamo crashed out of the lead on his own, and Sunset re-inherited the lead. With nine laps left, Velocity had sneaked up into 2nd and the comeback was on.

By the next lap, Velocity overtook Sunset and relegated her to 2nd. From there, Sunset decided to just ease up and save her tires. Meanwhile, Apex was under attack from Bullet and the latter snatched the final podium position. Finally, Sunset figured that 2nd was the best that she could do. Soon, the chequered flag waved, and Velocity and Sunset popped a wheelie in a synchronised manner. The pair did their victory lap and soaked in the atmosphere from the cheering fans.

Once in parc ferme, Sunset charged at her team and tackled them in a big hug. Then she noticed Flash and the others standing to the side and grinning. She gestured for them to join the group hug, and they eagerly did so. Fluttershy was a little hesitant, but Sunset dragged her in, anyway. Before she headed to the cool down room and the podium, she brought herself nose-to-helmet with the girl. She whispered in her ear, "Listen Fluttershy, I'm going against my better judgement here. But you're getting a second chance with me, don't waste it."

Fluttershy nodded and let go, allowing Sunset to join Velocity and Bullet. Bullet raised an eyebrow in the cool down room, "So... What was that thing with the pink-haired girl? She your girlfriend?"

Sunset shook her head, "Nah, I don't swing that way. She's a former friend of mine. Long story short, I had a fight with her and some other friends. They accused me of spilling some secrets on MyStable and broke off our friendship. I was innocent, but they didn't believe me. Fluttershy was the first and only one who figured out that I was innocent and now I've patched things up with her. I was really pissed because they were my first friends."

The other two nodded in understanding. They all filed out to the podium, accepted their trophies and waiting for the ceremonies to end. Once again, only Velocity and Bullet received champagne bottles and they sprayed each other. Down below the podium, Fluttershy asked, "Why didn't Sunset get one?"

Wallflower replied, "She's underage. Champagne is alcoholic, and she'll need to be 18 or above to be allowed to spray champagne. Don't worry, the other two will compromise."

Sure enough, Bullet and Velocity resumed the celebration with soda, and this time Sunset also took part. After the celebrations, the Top 3 stuck around for the post-race press conference and then rejoined their respective teams. The next day, it was time for Flash and the others to leave for the airport. Before they left, Sunset approached Fluttershy. She spoke softly, "I need you to promise me one thing. Do not tell the other girls where I am. If or when I am proven innocent, I want them to find out on their own and apologise in person, without you prompting. I'm forgiving you, but I won't forget. Have a safe trip back home. I'll see you, most likely by November, or in the worst case scenario, I'll probably have to transfer schools."