//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Prancing Horse Trials // Story: F1 Anon: Season 2 // by Serrated //------------------------------// START VIDEO AT 1:11 (Read along with music) What is Formula One? Is it an excuse for the wealthy to spend extravagant amounts of money in order to achieve immortality? An outlet for the crazies of the world who cant get enough adrenaline in their lives? Or, perhaps, is it the best of the best showcasing their top notch driving skill to adoring fans worldwide? Whatever your definition of the sport, no one can deny the insane skill on display. Anyone who willingly straps themselves into a fire breathing rocket of a machine, tames said beast, and then goes on to win a championship deserves every bit of recognition they receive. For this is no easy feat. Sixteen months ago, Equestria saw it's first sanctioned Grand Prix. A field of twelve drivers were cleared to enter. Ten of whom were hoof selected after their performance in Celestia's simulator qualifiers. Although the whole season only comprised of three events, the impact Formula One had on the entirety of Equestria was massive. Race weekends took over normal daily life. The cities that hosted the circuits where they raced became motorsports meccas. The drivers became icons of admiration. Formula One truly had become Equestria's sport of choice. After the first season ended and the first ever champion was crowned. The countdown began towards the next season of competition. All twelve drivers from last year are returning. Along with four new drivers comprising up two new teams. The hype leading up to the first roar of an engine has been huge. Which makes today a date that many have had marked on their calendars for a long time. Pre-Season Testing starts this morning at Canterlot Circuit. A day that Rainbow Dash has been eagerly awaiting since her championship victory all that time ago. F1 Anon: Season 2 Chapter 1: "The Prancing Horse Trials" (end song before continuing) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ November 20th, 1004 C.E. 12:24 PM Canterlot Circuit Partly Sunny w/ Distant Overcast. 5 mph NW winds. 59° F. The new cars are fast. However, that statement alone is not enough to put into perspective just how bonkers they really are. Very few individuals will get the opportunity to experience something even remotely like the PH-M1. If or when they do, most will describe the experience as one of the more exhilarating things they will ever do in their life. Currently flying down the front straightaway of Canterlot Circuit is Dash. Piloting one of these vehicles as fast as she is willing to take it. Her personal limit at the moment, nowhere near the actual limit of the car. <<"This car physically hurts to drive.">> Rainbow says over the radio after a late braking test going into turn one. Turn three offers no break from the pain as she hits the throttle exiting turn two. With the help of the car's aero and how sticky the tires are, Rainbow is able to guide the car through the increasing radius corner while keeping the throttle floored. Gravitational forces nearly hit 7.5G as she screams out of corner exit. Internal organs feel like they're being pulled apart at these speeds. Heading towards turn four, the second hardest braking point on the circuit, she says, <<"After this lap I'm coming back in.">> Sitting at the Cloudsdale Weather Racing pit wall gantry is Twilight Sparkle. As the teams Crew Chief, she overlooks all aspects of the vehicles telemetry during a run, formulating strategies and tactics for a race weekend. For now however, its all about how the drivers are getting along with the new equipment. How the cars act out on track will be the next hurdle over the coming days. Because, as Twilight can tell from the telemetry alone on the monitors in front of her, she is nowhere near seeing the full capabilities of this new car. <<"Roger that Rainbow. You've done forty three laps which is fantastic. You'll be able to do a full Grand Prix length stint soon enough.">> "Forty three laps is impressive for a first stint." Anonymous says to himself while standing next to his car in the garage and getting geared up. A monitor on the wall of the garage displays each cars current lap time, their sector times, and the amount of laps completed. Rainbow currently tops the time sheets with a 1:20.223. A time Anonymous looks to beat. ----- This is also where the team learned who their new competitors for this season are. As those new teams were the first cars to go out on track earlier in the morning. The first team to log in some track time didn't really worry them that much. Knowing their past history, Rainbow figured their attempt for the championship this year would be mediocre at best. "Super Speedy Racing" Car #15. Flim Car #16. Flam Their lap times were about what Rainbow, Twilight and Anon expected they would be. Around lower mid pack currently logging in 1:23s. Their car though was a sight to see. The amount of sponsors that car has almost negates even having a paint scheme on the car. The new drivers did make a living as somewhat successful sales ponies before entering the F1 circuit. Judging by the amount of sponsors on the car, they weren't chosen for their driving skill. This was a case of a team buying their way into the sport. Who could blame them? A single Championship point is worth multiple thousands in Bits. The amount of effort they put in to grab all those sponsors is sure to pay off. Granted if they place anywhere in the top ten. Eleventh through sixteenth place offers no points. Oh, you thought Rainbow was able to purchase a penthouse apartment in Trottingham on the Championship prize money alone? Oh no. Her main winnings came from the fifty two points she earned throughout last seasons three races. Rainbow earned more from the points that she was awarded than from actually winning the championship. She was awarded 200K for becoming the first World Drivers Champion to put it into perspective. Because of this lucrative perk, becoming an F1 driver has been the goal of many ponies after last season. Here in Equestria you can actually get in if you harbor the skills within you. For those who don't, buying your way in is an astronomically more expensive option. Each sponsor for Super Speedy Racing is making a huge gamble in this investment. Going by SSR's current lap times however, these two sales ponies are probably too persuasive for their own good. Although, the other new team did not leave a welcoming fuzzy feeling in either of the Cloudsdale Weather drivers upon seeing who they were. "Elite F1" Car #13. Lightning Dust Car #14. Trixie Sporting what is probably the brightest yellow livery ever seen on a Formula vehicle along with an ambitious team name. Elite F1 are no laughing matter. Lightning Dust is a short fused firecracker of a driver. She's fast, there's no doubt about that. The worry here comes from Dust's overtly aggressive driving style. Shes unrelenting, unapologetic, and very willing to ruin your day. However, because she hasn't interacted with anyone out on track so far, this driving style has yet to be observed. All of this is known from her Simulation qualifying runs before last season started. She would have landed a seat in one of the original twelve driver spots if not for nearly causing an accident after every attempt at an overtake. It seems this year, seeing as she has landed a ride, her driving style has matured. Because Celestia doesn't give rides away to just anypony. Trixie on the other hand, is alot of talk. She matches Lightnings arrogance, but not her driving ability. Lets just say she would be the fastest driver out there if there werent 15 other competitors this season. The one thing shes got going for her though is her consistency. She wont break the lap record, but she can get the same exact lap time lap after lap. Which on longer stints is very impressive, and could lead to a points finish. If she stays out of trouble, that is. ----- The sound of a 1000 Horsepower, Twin Turbocharged, 12 cylinder engine coming closer and closer to the Cloudsdale Weather garage gets Anon's attention. Rainbow Dash has finished her run for the day. Time for Anonymous to get his allotted seat time in. Rainbow's car is backed into the garage by the Cloudsdale Weather crew members. Followed by Twilight heading in from the telemetry station out on pit road. "Was it fun?" Twilight asks Dash as she hoists herself out of the cockpit. "Well. I'm left sore, out of breath, and wanting more. Basically it's better than sex." Rainbow states as she pulls her crash helmet off and sets it down in the vehicles seat. Anon looks over and scoffs, "Heh, and you didn't even reach its limit yet." "Yeah? Alright." Rainbow retorts, "Let's see you do better then." "You're on." _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1:26 PM <<”It’s looking like rain is in the forecast within the next 10 minutes.”>> <<”Copy that. Bring it on.”>> Vinyl Scratch has begun her 24th lap of the session. Today, the team planned on going for a full-length Grand Prix stint. However, with the weather heading in, and the so far unpredictability of these cars handling wise, Bass Cannon Racing’s crew chief sounded a bit apprehensive when he replied <<”Very well.”>> to Scratch’s statement. Not one to be outdone, her teammate Octavia will also stay out when the downpour hits. The cellist is acclimatizing herself very quickly to the new car. 2 purple sector times leading to the fastest time of the day. 1:18.445. That lap time was indeed relayed to Vinyl by her crew chief. As she rounds the second to last corner of Canterlot Circuit, she assesses her current situation. No traffic ahead, rain rolling in soon, tires at optimum temperature. It’s go time. Getting the best possible exit she can out of the final corner, Scratch carefully buries the throttle to the floor. Turbos whine, revs climb, and she launches like a rocket down the front stretch to begin her hot lap. Octavia may have just gotten the best lap time of the day, but as far as Scratch is concerned, that record will not last long. Scratch hits almost 8 lateral G’s through turn 3. Pushing the tires and suspension as hard as she thinks they can go. She brakes hard into turn 4, locking up the left front for a fraction of a second and sending a puff of smoke outwards. Accelerating out of the increasing radius bend, she balances the throttle. Power-sliding the car ever so slightly with its semi loose setup. A loose racecar is a fast racecar. Given how sleek the aero profile of the PH-M1 is, that statement is truer than ever. Vinyl careens through turns 5, 6, 7, and 8 with ease. Turn 9 is a full throttle right hand corner in these cars. No one has had the guts to test this, however. That is, until the fastest DJ in Equestria decided it was worth a shot. To keep her from second guessing herself, she retracts her left hoof as much as she can, so she doesn’t accidentally apply the brakes. *This lap is gonna be a flyer!* Vinyl thinks to herself as she enters the bend. Throwing the finely tuned racing machine through the almost blind turn at full send. <<”Yellow, Sector 2!>> “FUCK!!!” Blind corners. Quite the challenge. Especially when another driver decides to pull back out onto the track at the same exact moment another comes through at full speed. The margin of space between the two cars was only a single millimeter. Dust was saved from her car being rammed at nearly 150 MPH due to Scratches ‘lightning’ quick reaction times. The only way Vinyl could avoid her though was to turn left, directly towards the gravel runoff. Stones fly everywhere as the Bass Cannon Racing machine slides through the gravel. The IIPS (Imminent Injury Protection System) activating rapidly for milliseconds at a time, deflecting singular rocks away from the helmet of the now furious occupant inside. <<”YO! WHO WAS THAT!?>> Vinyl demands after grinding to a halt on the runoff. <<”That was Lightning Dust.”>> The crew chief replies. <<”Of course it was a newbie! You know, if you’re gonna give yourself such a wannabe team name like ‘Elite F1’, at least TRY to live up to it. Fuck!”>> Engine still running. Scratch clicks the gearbox into first and attempts to leave. The engine screams as the rear tires can only spin in place, however. Her car now beached in the traction-less gravel trap. <<*sigh* “I’m Stuck.”>> Vinyl says, annoyed. Knowing the procedures, Scratch exits her car and proceeds to walk towards the other side of the retaining wall to return to the garage. She stands by and watches from behind the fence as her machine gets lifted into the air and set on a flatbed. Rain begins to fall. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1:37 PM <<”Hey, we have a new problem.”>> Fleetfoot investigates the sky as the transmission from Spitfire came in over the radio. The rain is starting to come down heavily. Wonderbolts Racing’s crew chief is confused though, the rain isn’t new nor should it be a problem. She responds <<”I don’t understand, you just came in for a set of wet tires. Everything should be okay out there.”>> The sound of a racing machine decelerating down the front stretch, well before the braking zone, piques Fleetfoot’s attention Soarin then announces <<”Yeah well. For some reason, when we go above 60 MPH, we can’t fucking see.”>> Fleetfoot’s attention darts to the telemetry data in front of her upon hearing this revelation. *IIPS STATUS: ACTIVATED* “What? Why?” Fleetfoot says to herself. A notification then pops up on her info feed saying *RED FLAG*. She then relays this news to her drivers. <<”Seems we aren’t the only ones experiencing this problem. The sessions been red flagged. Head back to the garage.”>> <<”Roger that.”>> ----- Wonderbolts Racing Garage. 1:42 PM "What's the deal?" Spitfire asks Fleetfoot as the rain coat clad crew chief walks into the garage from the pit wall gantry. Soarin's car meanwhile being backed into the stall next to the both of them as the rain continues to fall. Fleetfoot asks, "You said you couldn't see anything past 60 Miles per hour?". "Yeah." Spitfire responds, "Is that the 'IIPS' thing we've been hearing so much about in our driver meetings?" "Yes it is." Fleetfoot answers. She motions toward a television screen to the right of her on the wall. "Take a look, every car that was out on track was plagued by it." The feed shows a replay of a few cars accelerating out of a corner in the pouring rain. Once they reached a certain speed, the protective forcefield canopy of the IIPS activates. Rendering their vision useless. "Does the car really think the rain is gonna kill us?" Soarin inquires, eliciting a shrug from Spitfire. He then continues after a short pause "On top of that, why does this 'protection system' make everything fucking blurry when its on?" "Good question! I have no idea." Fleetfoot says in a somewhat comedic tone. Soarin retorts, "Well you're just useful, aren't ya?" causing Spitfire to snort attempting to hold in a laugh. "Wow okay. You better watch yourself, driver number two" Fleetfoot throws back. "Ladies please." Spitfire interjects, "As much as I love banter, I would really like to figure out a solution to this issue we're having that's keeping us off track right now." She says, looking at both her teammate and crew chief. "Seeing as this is a grid wide issue, we might have to wait until we hear something from the higher ups." Fleetfoot says. Just then, an announcement over the live feed on the television reports that the session for today has been cancelled. Groans and boos are heard from the few ponies in attendance on the grandstand. Visible dissapointment appears across Soarin's face. "Oh COME ON!!" he exclaims. Spitfire just looks annoyed. "Well that's that then." Spitfire says, throwing her racing gloves on top of a nearby toolbox. "14 months of waiting just to have the first session back cancelled because of malfunctioning new tech. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Spitfire exits out the back of the garage in defeated disappointment. Fleetfoot says "See ya Spits." as a monitor next to her in the garage shows a popped up urgent message. Soarin notices Fleets rapid attention switch to the screen and walks over to see what it could be. He reads aloud "All teams, effective immediately, transport all PH-M1 vehicles to Parc fermé for repairs. The Imminent Injury Protection System has been deemed too sensitive as it has been shown to activate from rain at speeds above 60 miles per hour, and must be readjusted by a certified tech pony approved to perform the work by Celestia herself." Soarin looks puzzled after reading this. He inquires to Fleet as he turns his attention towards her, "Why can't our team adjust it?" Fleetfoot explains, "Apparently you have to be trained to work on that shit. Seeing as if we mess with it, and it malfunctions in the opposite way, i.e:" she holds a hoof out in front of her and widens her eyes "doesn't activate." "Fuck, yeah okay." Soarin says, suddenly aware of his own mortality. "Lets get these cars over there eh?" "Yeah, lets." Fleet says, rounding up her crew to start getting the cars ready. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Testing Session #1 Lap Times Octavia - - - - - - - - - - 1:18.445 Anonymous - - - - - - - 1:19.978 Spitfire - - - - - - - - - - -1:19.981 Rainbow Dash - - - - - 1:20.223 Vinyl Scratch - - - - - - - 1:20.412 Soarin - - - - - - - - - - - - 1:20.765 Lightning Dust - - - - - - 1:21.342 Thunderlane - - - - - - - 1:21.843 Lotus - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1:22.111 Flim - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1.23.438 Aloe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1:23.612 Flam - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1:23.951 Blossomforth - - - - - - - 1:24.489 Cloud Chaser - - - - - - - - 1:24.999 Flitter - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1:25.276 Trixie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1:26.577 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Restaurant in Canterlot City Center, 3:30 PM Rain, 19 MPH NW winds, 53° F The heavenly aroma of fresh baked savory pies fills the air. The restaurant where we can find the three prominent Cloudsdale Weather members was rated the highest out of any in the nearby area on food quality alone. Atmosphere isn't too bad either. In other words, Rainbow Dash made them go. Didn't even give them a choice. Especially after the testing session today was cut so short. "Holy shit fatass." Anonymous exclaims as Dash's food order is brought to her at their table. Rainbow's tongue hangs and her eyes widen at the jumbo sized pie placed in front of her. Twilight and Anon's orders are dwarfed in comparison, as they only ordered the small sized dishes. Before she digs in, Rainbow sneers towards Anon, "I don't wanna hear anything from you, Mr. 'I got to drive the car before anyone else'." Anon retorts while picking up his fork, "Here we go. Explain Octavia's time then." Much to Dash's chagrin, Anon did manage to score a faster lap than Rainbow before the storm arrived. She was bewildered at first. But when Octavia scored a lap time over a second faster, it made her realize just how much further these cars can be pushed. "Alright alright." Rainbow says. "These new cars are a lot harder than I thought they would be." Twilight pipes up after swallowing a bite from her meal, "Which is why we are in the testing phases right now. So you guys can get acclimatized with the new car, And I can learn how they work with both of your driving styles. You guys have barely scratched the surface of the cars potential by the way." "Are you sherioush?" Anon asks, mouth full of food. To which Twilight answers, "Dead serious." Already a quarter of the way done with her pie, Rainbow Dash looks up and asks, "How fast do you think these things can go?" Twilight leans in towards the center of the table. Anon and Rainbow follow suit, listening closely. In a hushed tone, Sparkle says, "According to my calculations. In qualifying trim, they might be capable of low 1:10s." "Fuck..." Anon and Rainbow say simultaneously while looking to each other. "There must be a certain way you have to drive these things," Anon ponders, "Because I was driving it similar to how I drove the old car*. It felt like I was putting my all into it!" --- {*Anon was competing in the 2012 F1 season back on earth when he was teleported to Equestria. The cars from the last Equestrian F1 season were all based on Anon's car he was teleported with. One similar in appearance to the 2012 McLaren MP4-27, as it did not sport a step nose. It was also not the McLaren.} --- "I have a theory." Twilight states, attaining Anon and Rainbows undivided attention. "I'm going to need to see some kind of power graph of the engine. I don't think you guys were shifting at the right points in the rev range." Rainbow lets out an "Ooohh yyyeeeeeaaaaahhh" remembering what she learned about engine powerbands from the season before. Anon however looks confused. He inquires, "Wait. What do you mean?" "Do you really not know what shes talking about?" Rainbow replies. Reaching the halfway point of her meal in the process. Anon retorts. "Do you?" "Yeah duh." Dash responds, "There's a point in the rev range where we reach max horsepower right? Its usually not at the rev limiter, so if you keep climbing up in revs past max, you're basically just wasting time." Twilight continues "Exactly, so say that point was at 12K RPM, and you were shifting at the 15K RPM limit, everything past 12K is slower than if you just shifted at the earlier point. That way you're always in the powerband. " A long awkward pause fills the air around the Cloudsdale table, Anon starting blankly at his food in front of him. the two ponies staring at him awaiting a response. Finally, Anon says, "I knew that." "Sure you did." Rainbow says, scarfing down her last bite of pie. Twilight, noticing Rainbow has finished her food in record time, looks down at her own unfinished meal, then back up at Rainbow's. "How did you..." "So how are we going to acquire one of these power graphs?" Anon interjects, "And how is it not already in our teams telemetry data?" "That's the thing, it might be." Says Twilight, "I Just didn't have the thought come across my mind until now. But just in case it isn't there. I know of a place where we can dyno the car." "Wouldn't that be against the rules?" Asks Rainbow. Twilight responds. "Not during pre season testing it isn't." This elicits a giggle from Dash. The thought of doing some sneaky testing away from the other teams entertains her a bit. After she takes a drink from her cup, she asks Anon, "You gonna finish that?" switching her eyes from the half eaten pie to Anon's face. All Anon does is slowly bring his face to right above the pie, and proceed to let out a single loud *COUGH*. Rainbow then gives Anon a deadpan look. "Oh like that's gonna bother me. Don't act like I haven't guzzled your-" "CHECK PLEASE!" Twilight interrupts. End Chapter 1