//------------------------------// // Third leg (Part 2) // Story: The World Race // by TheIronPone035 //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash accelerated as she approached a neon blue ramp. The Deora ll soared off it and through the air, landing perfectly on the other side. She gripped the wheel as the Deora ll entered a tunnel, however, this tunnel wasn't any ordinary one. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she watched electrical currents flowing through clear pipes that were surrounded by clouded walls. It looked like she was driving right through a cloud with lightning flowing through it. But Rainbow Dash couldn't get lost gazing at the scenery, she had a race to win. With a quick shift up, the Deora ll sped through the tunnel. The tunnel eventually ended, revealing a sharp incline on the other side. Rainbow Dash floored it, driving up the incline and towards a turn. Rainbow Dash was so focused on the turns ahead of her that she didn't notice a few other drivers driving on another track above her. Those drivers included a stone faced Maud Pie, who pulled next to Brittle Clicker. Maud looked over at the driver, before back to the track. She shifted up, passing the car and began closing the gap between another car. This car however, didn't look like the others. Its paint job was pure black with red windows. Its black tinted windows concealed the interior and the driver. "Just another racer to pass." Maud told herself blankly, drafting behind the car to catch up quicker. Maud was about to pull to the side of the car, but it cut her off, keeping Maud behind it. Maud tried again on the other side, but the car repeated its moves and blocked her. Maud's expression remained the same, but in her mind, she was frowning. That was, until she spotted a curved tunnel approaching. She drove side by side with the wall, before slamming the gas pedal down and turning onto the wall. Her car quickly passed the black car, before ending back on the track in front of it. Maud looked in her car's rear view mirror at the black car, then back to the track. Once again, her expression remained blank, but inside, she was grinning. Her mental grin faded as her car was jerked forward due to the black car smashing into it. Maud looked back in the mirror, seeing the black car accelerate and hit the back of her car again, before turning to pass. "Hmm, so you're gonna be that kind of driver." Maud said, cutting the other driver off. The other driver watched Maud's movements carefully, before slamming down on the gas. The driver drove right up alongside Maud's car, wheels screeching against the track. The two cars drove in near perfect unison, both trying to gain the upper hand on the other. Their speed was quickly increasing, other cars that had been behind the duo were trying desperately to keep up. Eventually, the mystery car had finally had enough. The car slammed against Maud, sending her car into the wall of the track. Sparks flew from where the car had made contact, scratching away the paint and breaking off one of the side mirrors. Maud tried to get her car off the wall, but the mystery driver kept her stuck against it. Maud was about to try and use the Nitrox booster, but spotted what looked like a jump that was quickly getting closer. With only one option left, Maud slammed on the brakes, letting the mystery car take the lead. The car soared off the ramp and onto the track on the other side, leaving Maud to get passed by the other drives as she backed up to get more speed in order to even make the jump. Applejack gritted her teeth as her car landed with a thud onto another track, ahead of her was Crazy 8 who was already accelerating away. "You ain't gett'n away this time." Applejack stated, slamming her foot against the gas pedal. Road Runner quickly caught up to the other car, closing the large gap that had been made. Applejack twisted the wheel to the left, attempting to pass as they entered a turn. The two quickly ended up side by side with each other, right as the track split in half, making both cars drive on two different roads. Applejack spotted an approaching loop and hit the Nitrox, boosting her car around the loop and off a jump that was on the other side. Road Runner flew through the air, landing back on the track with enough force to nearly break the cars suspension. Behind Road Runner, Crazy 8 landed on the track, the entire car bounced back into the air for a second before landing back on the track. Applejack was in the middle of shifting up when, to her shock, another car landed right in front of her. She slammed on the brakes, narrowly slamming into the back of Balistik, Pinkie Pie shifted up within the cars cab. "Pinkie Pie! Where did ya even come from!?" Applejack questioned, glancing into Road Runner's rear view mirror, not spotting any sort of track that Balistik could of jumped from. "Ooh! That's easy! I took a shortcut through town and ended up finding this really good bakery. I would recommend trying their ice cream." Pinkie Pie answered. Applejack looked up at the few buildings that were around the race track. The only buildings in sight were a few lone skyscrapers, no track leading to any of them. What kind of road had Pinkie even taken!? Turns out, Applejack would have to put that thought in park, because Crazy 8 had just overtaken her, quickly gaining ground on the new leader. Applejack bumped her fist on the wheel out of frustration, before shifting up in an attempt to take back the ground she had lost. Rainbow Dash did her best to hold back her breakfast as the Deora ll spun around in a set of loops, each one seemed to drag on longer than the last. Once she had finally reached the end of the final loop, she relaxed again and glanced in her cars rear view mirror. "Who's that?" Rainbow Dash questioned out loud, not recognising the car at all. The pitch black car accelerated, attempting to close the gap between the two vehicles. Rainbow Dash hit the gas pedal, eyeing the speedometer which was quickly going to the right. The track began to twist to the right, then back to the left. Who in their right mind thought this would be a good race track!? The Deora ll and the mystery car shot off a ramp and onto another track, this one twisting to the right and declining. Rainbow Dash kept the Deora ll in 5th gear, not giving the other car a chance at passing her. She spotted what seemed to be another track which was linked up to theirs. "Merging point... and the end!" Rainbow Dash quickly added, spotting the final jump that lead to the now open purple portal. Rainbow Dash was definitely not letting this driver pass her now! She was practically home free! Because Rainbow Dash was so focused on the portal ahead of her, she didn't notice a compartment from the other car open up, launching a piece of machinery which struck the engine block of the Deora ll. Sparks began to fly from the console, quickly breaking Rainbow Dash's focus on the portal. She watched as sparks flew from the blank monitor into the speedometer, the needle flicking back and forth between 80 and 90 mph. Rainbow Dash tried to turn the wheel of the Deora ll, but it had locked up. A spark of electricity brought her attention over to the right oval window, managing to make her spot several other tracks link up to the main one. Multiple cars landed on the track, each one driving right towards her. Rainbow Dash hit the brakes as hard as she could, managing to stop the Deora ll right as she reached the merging point between the main track and the one she had been on originally. The mystery car shot past her and vanished from sight into the first pack of cars. Rainbow Dash felt anger quickly boil over as she slammed her fist against the wheel, causing the horn to go off. She watched as all the cars went into the portal, all except the other Prism Riders, who quickly drove back to see what had happened.