//------------------------------// // Racers: Part 1 // Story: My Little NFS: Pursuit is Magic // by Uria the Sacred Beast //------------------------------// Let's Burn Rubber "Well, am I in?" A white earth pony with a blazing red mane asked for the millionth time. The tan unicorn with a thinning gray mane looked up from the application sheet to glare. "If you didn't ask every five seconds I'd be done by now. So sit down and wait." The earth pony sighed and sat back in the chair tapping his hoof on the arm rest at a quick pace. "Well then, Mr. Second. Everthing seems to be in order. I have to admit, I was genuinley suprised to see you sign up for this. You are one of the youngest to ever do so." "In that case I'll be the youngest to win, and please don't call me Mr. Second. Mr. Second was my father. You can call me Split." He replied with a grin. "Well, I have to admire you're enthusiasm Split. As for me, you can call me Jezza." Jezza smiled. "Now, before you run out the door jump in your car and take off, allow me to explain how this all works." Split sat back down from his running position and put on his best 'listening' face. "Ready when you are." "You have just been entered in the Roadsters Reborn race event. This will mark the begining of your racing career. In this event you and several other racers will unleash the true potential of the roadster on the winding seaside streets of Los Pegasus. Your reputation is measured in wanted levels. Currently, you are registering no activity, and are currently classed by the ESEU as a level one speeder. The greatest racers win the races and outrun the law with style. They are classified as level 20, Most Wanted. You're daily activity is measured as bounty. the harder, faster , and more dangerously you drive, the more bounty you will earn. Win races, beat your rivals, and stay one step ahead of the cops to increase your wanted level, get access to the bigger and better cars , and gain entry to the toughest events. "Your car is equipped with a race-spec nitrous system. Use this to gain a rapid acceleration increase. the nitrous tank will charge the faster and more dangerous you drive. Drive in oncoming lanes, near miss other vehicles, drift corners, take shortcuts, or wreck a cop to gain the most nitrous." Jezza finished. "That's a fairly large info dump. I'll try to remember all that." Split chuckled. "It's in your best interest not to forget." "About the bounty thing. How do I get the better cars? Its not like there gonna appear in front of me a poof of fairy dust or someting." "Tell ya what. You increase your wanted level and I'll get you access to those cars." Jezza smiled. "I've got friends in high places." "I appreciate it Jezza." "Yeah, yeah. Now get out there and win a race." Split gave a mock salute. "Yes sir!" He trotted outside to the parkinglot before hopping into his car. A carrara white Porsche Boxster Spyder. "Off to the races!" 1 Hour Later Just Outside Los Pegasus Split Second pulled up to the starting line of the eight and a half mile race with the five other drivers. They all began revving the engines. A gray pegasus with an electric blue mane hovered above the line holding a green flag in his hooves. He lifted it into the air. "On your marks! Get set! GO!" The flag dropped and they were off. Split quickly grabbed sliptream off of another black Boxster in fifth place, charging his nitrous as well. The road shifted downhill and Split began picking up speed, begining to overtake the Porsche. Suddenly, the road turned a hard right. The other boxster swerved hitting Split causing him to swerve off road. He quickly collected himself and got back on track. He hit a hill and activated his nitrous which was about half full. The sudden boost in acceleration got him to one-hundred forty five by the top of the hill. He drifted around a corner nearly missing a civilan. He actvated the nitrous again on a straight-a-way sending him up to his top speed of 166 MPH. He quickly overtook the Porsche in fifth and began trailing the Mazda RX-8 in fourth. the racers turned a hard left, staying with the coast. As they came to the next corner, the Mazda broke hard while Split broke slightly letting his car drift past, taking fourth. He activated his nitrous coming out of the turn. He stayed on the inside line on the next turn forcing the BMW Z4 in second to take the outside, passing him as well. "Alright. One car to go, two miles to do it. Easy." He hit the nitrous again only for the Nissan 350Z to do the same. The Nissan began driving defensivly, mirroring his movements on the track. Split couldn't get past. They were now only one mile from the finish line. Split checked the course on his GPS. "There's one turn left before the finish. i may be able to get past there if I can pull off a clean drift." With a half mile left in the race, Split drifted the turn getting him neck and neck with the Nissan. He could now see the finish line. He fired his nitrous off at the same time as the Nissan. They jolted forward seeming to pass the line at the same time. The others caught up a few seconds later. They all got out of their cars with the same question. "So who one?" The stallion from the starting line landed by a mobile scoreboard. "The time will be given in a moment. Let me get the info." Split finally got a chance to meet his competition. He started with the Nissan. The driver was a pegasus mare. She had a yellow coat and Streaked mane with two shades of cyan. her cutie mark was three fire balls. "Wait a sec. Aren't you Rapidfire? Of the Wonderbolts?" Rapidfire smiled. "glad to see somepony recognizes me. Usually its Spitfire and Soarin' who get all the attention." "Split Second. Big fan." They shook hooves. Rapidfire gave him a look. "What? Can't an Earth pony be a fan of the Wonderbolts?" "No, don't take that the wrong way. its just that usually we just have pegasi fans. Nice to see it extends beyond that." "So what're doing down here, racing cars?" "Its off season right now. I really didn't have much going on, so I thought I'd give it a try. I fell in love with it. I guess you could say racing's in my blood." "I can understand that. Racing is an addictive sport..." "What?" Rapidfire asked, wondering why he had just stopped. "What's up with those two?" Split pointed at a a brown unicorn and brown pegasus that were claring at each other from a few inches from each others face. They're marks were both gear shifters. One facing up, the other down. "Oh, them." Another voice spoke. They turned to see a griffin casting an annoyed glance at the arguing ponies. "They're the Shift Brothers. Upshift and Downshift. They're supposed to be a team, but they always end up arguing with each other." "And you are?" Split questioned. "I'm Gilda." Split and Rapidfire continued staring as if they were expecting more. "What?" "That's it?" "What else do you want?" "Nothing." Split quickly said. "What about them?" Split pointed to the RX-8. Just as he said that the door opened and a white unicorn with a striped blue mane stepped out. Her mark was a mirror image of two bridged eighth notes. The pegasus going through the times waved a hello. "Oh, hey Vinyl!" " 'Sup Thunderlane!" She looked around, bobbing her head to an unheard beat. "How's everypony, and griffin doing?" The Shifts continued yelling at each other, Gilda just 'hmphed', Split and Rapidfire mumbled a fine. "Alright! I've got the times." Thunderlane announced. they all crowded around. With a times of 3:59:93, Up and Downshift. The twins went back to blaming each other for tying in last place. "With a time of 3:58:34, Vinyl Scratch." "Sweet. Not to bad." Vinyl continued bobbing her head. "With a time of 3:56:02. Gilda." "Meh. Coulda done better." Gilda mumbled. "With a time of 3:55:51..." The others leaned in to see who got second." Rapidfire!" "WOOHOO!" Split cheered "I WON!" "Nice job kid, but you got some serious beginners luck." Thunderlane mentioned. "Your time was 3:55:50." "Don't expect yourself to get that lucky again." Rapidfire warned. "I won't hold back next time." "We'll see then." Split agreed. "I'll see ya on the track." "Ya, let's get out of here. A cop could show up at any moment." Thunderlane agreed.He put the leaderboard in the back of a pickup parked to the side and drove off. The otheres followed suit. Split's Garage Two Hours Later Knock Knock Knock] "Who is it?" Split called. "Its me." Jezza said throught the garage door. Split opened the door and Jezza walked in."I heard you won your first race." "Barely. Rapidfire gave me and my Porsche a serious work out. I did manage first though." Jezza pulled out a small electronic device."According to this that earns you eight thousand bounty." Jezza smiled. "That give you access to the Mazda RX-8 and Dodge Charger SRT-8." "Thanks for your help Jezza. I really apprciate it." "Not a problem. Anything to help out a fellow Petrol-Head." He walked out of the garage and stepped into his Ford GT. "See you later." He stomped on the gas. "POWERRRR!" Split smiled. this was only begining. A/N: I recently replayed the first Cop mission. I beat my brothers time by 13:37 seconds. Go figure.