For once, Amethyst Star didn’t know how she got roped into this mess. Normally it was her own fault. She had decided to not go searching for a quest anymore and one fell into her lap just randomly. Well, this was a little different. She wasn’t trying to prove anything here and she didn’t think she could win, and she told the little filly and her family that she wasn’t as special as she thought. But that filly really thought she had come as their savior. And it really was pretty darn coincidental, Amethyst Star had to admit. To think that none of this would have happened if she just went into the stands like every other pony, she would’ve just sat down and enjoyed watching a big race. It would’ve been a nice and fun little event that she could’ve enjoyed from the sidelines instead of throwing herself into it like everything else she had come across so far on her journey. She was so strangely lethargic and unenthusiastic about this compared to her previous adventures. Diminuendo had turned her optimism into biting pessimism.
The little filly, who’s name was Fernie, showing off The Amethyst Flame to her was more than excited enough to make up for any of that though. She was happy to explain every little thing in detail to the completely clueless Amethyst Star. It was something that was very necessary and while it should have maybe made Fernie worry that Amethyst Star was a complete novice with no knowledge about cars it didn’t end up shaking her confidence in the newcomer at all.
Celestia only knows why. Amethyst Star cynically thought.
Fernie’s grandpa on the other hoof did share thoughts much more in line with Amethyst Star than his granddaughter. “This is kind of… insane. Are we actually doing this?” He asked the others while Fernie took Amethyst Star around the back of the car to look at the engine.
“Yes grandpa, we’re doing this!” Fernie said back to him.
“She doesn’t know anything about cars...” Mary Belle said as she fanned her sick husband, his head was in her lap as he lied down on the ground.
“Well there’s no one else who can drive it half as good as dad anyways,” Fernie pouted. “Come on, have some faith!”
“I think your family is kind of right,” Amethyst Star said to her.
Fernie frowned and looked up at her. “You have some faith too!”
“It’s fine...” Dew wheezed from his position. “Would rather… it have one last race than sell it… even if something happens… or we don’t place.”
And how was Amethyst Star supposed to react to that?
“Alright,” she shrugged. “I mean if you really want me to I’ll do it and try my best to help you.” She then muttered under her breath. “Doing something a little selfless for once out here might even be good. Trying to do what I wanted and make myself look good never ended well.”
“Did you say something?” Fernie glanced at her.
“Nope, nothing,” Amethyst Star shook her head.
Fernie smiled. “Okay, let me show you the driver’s seat and tell you just how to handle our car!”
The filly hopped up on the big front-right tire of the car and used it to scramble up on the hood and over the windshield before plopping down on the driver’s seat and opening up the door with a handle that was on the inside that Amethyst Star was unable to see from standing right outside it.
“We’ve told you not to jump all over the car like that,” Mary Belle frowned at her daughter’s behavior.
Fernie just ignored her and beckoned Amethyst Star to look inside the driver’s seat. Amethyst Star was much taller than the filly and could easily see into it or hop inside it herself if Fernie wasn’t already there, so instead she put her hooves on the frame of the door and stuck her head in. Besides the steering wheel there were several buttons and dials on the dashboard and two pedals on the floor. She had no idea what any of this other stuff was for, good thing she was about to get a lesson.
“You see this?” Fernie pointed to one gauge with a red needle currently resting at one side that said “0” while going all the way up to “160” on the other side. “This is the speedometer. It’ll tell you how fast you’re going. Next to it is the fuel gauge, that tells you how much fuel you have, right now it’s at full cause we just filled it up. And then this-” She pointed at a light that was currently off. “This light is an indicator that’ll flash red if the engine is overheating, if that’s happening you gotta ease up on the speed a bit, got it?”
“Uh huh,” Amethyst Star nodded, following along well enough for now.
“That shouldn’t normally happen though. The car is made to handle going as fast as possible for long stretches, it should only flash once or twice during the race when you’re going up steep inclines or in a really hot spot. You just gotta be careful,” Fernie continued to explain.”Okay, now this yellow button right next to the steering wheel?”
Amethyst Star looked further in and saw the button in question. A large yellow button ringed in black sat just above the fuel gauge to the left of the wheel.
“This is for the nitro. If you press that button you’ll get a big boost of speed and power, but there’s only enough in the car for two uses, so you gotta make em count,” Fernie told her.
“Nitro?” Amethyst Star asked.
“Think of it as an explosion going off in the gas tank. Except safe,” Fernie told her with a big smile on her face.
It did not fully reassure Amethyst Star. “Yeahhh...”
“Aw don’t worry about it, it’s safe, I can vouch for it,” Grandpa said with a shake of his head at Fernie’s less than stellar explanations.
“Last thing is the most important!” Fernie kept going and pointed at the pedals on the floor. “The pedal on the right is for the gas that’ll make the car move once it’s on and go faster the more pressure you put on it and the pedal on the left is for the brakes.” Fernie chewed on her lip and furrowed her brow for a second. “What else? Oh, duh!” She pointed at a black button on the right of the steering wheel. “The ignition! This starts the car in the first place. All you gotta do is push it, probably won’t need to except the one time when we get the car ready for the race and coast it out onto the course but if the engine ever stalls you’ll need to press it again after letting it rest for a minute.” She scooted over to the door and looked down at her grandpa. “I get everything?”
Her grandfather raised a single not quite happy eyebrow at her. “Seatbelt?”
“Oh yeah,” Fernie blushed and pulled on a seatbelt from the other end of the seat, showing the tongue to Amethyst Star. “You insert it into a little buckle over here right next to the door. Make sure you wear it at all times when you’re driving.” She smirked at her grandfather. “Did I get everything now?”
Grandpa nodded. “Yeah that just about does it, sugar. I’d say you’ve helped prepare her for the race as best as any of us can.” He glanced over at Amethyst Star with a worried expression on his face.
Amethyst Star could only shrug. “Like I said, I’ll do my best for you guys.”
“Thank you for that...” Dew painfully called out from the other side of the car.
“So like, how long is the race and everything?” Amethyst Star asked as she walked around to see him and his wife, along with the other ponies of their group she hadn’t been introduced to.
“Miles. And it’s not just the length but some of the track is really rugged and difficult to get through, there are all kinds of areas,” Mary Belle told her. “You’ll need to stop for refueling about midway through, our pit crew will meet you at the designated spot and take care of that for you.”
“How will I know what the designated spot is?” Amethyst Star tiled her head.
“There are signs,” Fernie said as she hopped down from the car to join her. “I’ll be there too along with our crew.” She nodded at the other ponies. “We’ll head there once the race begins.”
That made Amethyst Star fairly confused. “Wait, hold on. You’ll meet me out there? How are you going to get to wherever the halfway point is before me?”
“Teleportation rig. It’s used to transport staff and team members to multiple parts of the course,” Grandpa explained.
“Oh. Well. I guess there’s no better way to use something like that,” Amethyst Star flatly responded. “Er, so is there anything else I should know about the race? And if the racecourse is so big how come the stands and all the ponies are just right here?”
“More magic that could probably be used in better ways,” Grandpa rolled his eyes. “You see, we’ve got ponies who’ll be floating in hot air balloons above the whole course, along with others on the sidelines at spots, that will be watching the race. They’ve got these magical cameras that’ll transmit everything they see to a huge magically projected screen above the stands. That way the ponies there can see everything for the entire race.”
I really should’ve just walked into the stands. Amethyst Star frowned.
Fernie poked her shoulder a couple times to get her attention. “The only other thing you need to know about the course is that there are different branching paths you can take at certain parts. You’ll see the other cars all go off on different ones, it’s okay cause they’ll all end up at the same place eventually but some paths might have rougher terrain or more turns than others, stuff like that. Don’t get worried if you end up on a path no other cars are on, it’s impossible to actually get off the course and even though some paths might seem longer or make you think you’ve fallen behind there are tons of chances to make up for it.”
“So I shouldn’t get discouraged if I’m in dead last place. Got it,” the somewhat cynical unicorn nodded.
“That’s the spirit!” Fernie cheered with a smile, completely oblivious to Amethyst Star’s pessimism.
Amethyst Star decided not to rain on her parade so instead she was going to ask when the race actually started. That was when the sounds of a number of ponies walking into the car lot reached their ears, Amethyst Star and the others looked to see the racers from the tent beginning to file in and make their way to their own cars, getting prepared for the beginning of the race.
“Not long now,” Grandpa said, half to himself.
One of the racers came up to the car right next to The Amethyst Flame and looked over, raising an eyebrow at the odd situation.
“Ya still sick, Dew? Not gonna be racing today?” He asked.
“We’re still participating, Loxy!” Fernie puffed up her cheeks and frowned at him.
Loxy, a brick red earth pony with a deep brown mane and tail, grinned. “Well good luck I guess. Considering how y’all usually do I figured you might just take the excuse to bow out today. Aint no sense risking your health for no reason.” He chuckled.
“Shut up, Loxy,” Mary Belle snapped at him.
He kept chuckling as he started looking over his car with his own pit crew. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just I can’t remember the last time your team won anything. When was it? Oh yeah, never.”
Loxy and his crew started guffawing while Amethyst Star and the others glared at him. Now she may have not wanted to get involved in something like this, and she knew how her temper and bullheadedness could really mess things up for her, but if there was one thing Amethyst Star couldn’t stand it was a jerk. These ponies that owned The Amethyst Flame had been really nice and she didn’t like seeing someone insult them like that. It reminded her too much of herself. She was about to step forward and tell him what for when someone else beat her to it.
“Oh and when was the last time you won anything, Loxy? Cause it certainly wasn’t whenever I was racing.”
They all looked to the source of the voice, a pony standing in front of a jet-black car directly across from The Amethyst Flame. He was an older pale green pony but not elderly like Grandpa, a pegasus with a snowy white mane and short beard that was wearing a white jumpsuit with wing holes in the side. The expression on his face was an unimpressed stare as he looked through lazy, half-lidded eyes at the formerly laughing Loxy.
“Yeah well maybe that’s changing today?” Loxy scowled at the interloper and didn’t wait for a response, nodding at his pit crew to get to work on his car.
The older racer just shook his head at Loxy’s attitude and walked over to Amethyst Star and the others. “Hope you feel better soon, Dew. And what’s this I here about you still participating?”
“Thanks, Watts,” Dew said as he tried to sit up. “And uh, you can thank Fernie for it I guess but we’ve got a substitute for me right here.”
As he pointed a shaking hoof at Amethyst Star, Watts looked over and politely nodded and smiled at her. “Why hello, I don’t believe I’ve met you before. So you’ll be driving in Dew’s stead, Miss-?”
“Amethyst Star,” she smiled back at him and put a hoof forward for a shake.
“Pleasure to meet you,” he grinned. “And what a fortuitous name so it seems. Well, I am Watts as you have just heard, I’ll enjoy seeing you out on the course. It’s quite nice of you to help a team out like this.”
Amethyst Star blushed and sheepishly looked away. “If I’m being honest I was kind of roped into it...”
“She’s just being modest, she’s our big ol’ savior!” Fernie said to Watts.
“Hahaha!” Watts laughed. “Well regardless of why, you’re still doing a good thing. Good luck out there, I must tend to my own car now.” He waved himself away and jumped up into his car’s driver seat, when he pulled the door open Amethyst Star saw a pair of silver wings painted on the side.
“So uh, who was that guy?” Amethyst Star asked as she turned back to the others.
“Big veteran of the races,” Grandpa answered. “He’s won more than anybody else. Stand up fellow too.”
Amethyst Star had to nod in agreement. “Yeah, he seemed nice.”
“Obviously not everyone is like that but most aren’t outright mean like Loxy either,” Mary Belle said.
The screeching sound of a whistle blew out over the entire lot, down by the entrance stood a pony with a black hat and a white and black striped referee’s uniform. He took his whistle from his lips so he could shout an announcement to all of the racers. “Alright everyone, you know how it goes! We’re gonna start getting you out onto the course so hurry up and get into your vehicles. No more last minute adjustments, pit crews need to head over to the teleportation pad, drivers suit up if you haven’t and start your cars. We’ll lead you out onto the track in order in two minutes!”
The unicorn from out of town blinked and looked over at Dew. “Do I have a suit to wear?”
Dew shook his. “No, but it’s fine. We’ll give you a scarf and you can wear my helmet and goggles, they’ll fit you just fine.”
And they did. Amethyst Star adjusted the strap of the goggles and hoofed over her saddlebag to Mary Belle as she climbed into the driver’s seat of The Amethyst Flame while the others watched her. Fernie had eagerly waved her goodbye and headed off to the teleportation pad with the rest of the pit crew, leaving Amethyst Star alone with her parents and grandfather.
“Are you three sure you’re okay with me doing this?” She had to ask them one last time. Looking at the steering wheel and everything else in front of her she was starting to get a little panicked. Unlike her past self who would’ve believed she could drive this thing no problem, she was worried that she’d crash almost immediately.
“I suppose,” Grandpa shrugged.
“Might as well try to make Fernie happy,” Mary Belle sighed.
“Try… your best,” Dew wheezed.
Amethyst Star figured that was that. Whether it turned out good or bad she was participating in this race. It would be nice if she could help them but… who knows for now. “Alright then.” She said and pressed the ignition, the car’s engine coming to life with a loud rumble. The metal frame of the vehicle gave a jolt underneath her before settling into a steady rumble. Now all she needed to do was tap the right pedal and she’d start moving. But it wasn’t time for her yet, she had to wait for the officials to get the others ahead of her out onto the track first. Putting her seatbelt on she gulped down all of her fears and reservations and waited.
“Good luck, we’ll be back here watching,” Grandpa said to her.
“Thanks.”
In a minute it was her turn to be led out of the car lot and onto the track, she put the slightest amount of pressure on the gas and was rewarded by the car moving forward, far smoother than she expected too. With a bit of sweat on her forehead being sponged up by the soft interior of her helmet she turned the wheel to follow the car in front of her out of the lot. Being extra careful to not make any sudden movements or jerk the wheel too hard. She could feel the power in this thing, her hoof was hardly depressing the gas pedal at all, it was practically just coasting along but she knew if she pressed it any harder the thing would go flying.
When she left the fenced off area and went to go get lined up on the course she couldn’t help but notice how some of the racers in front of her were waving to the crowd and cheerfully smiling as they drove their cars into starting position. Amethyst Star meanwhile had her eyes locked deadset ahead of her and her hooves clamped over the steering wheel.
“Not getting in an accident before the race starts. That is not happening,” she said to herself.
But things were largely going well for now, the crowd had gotten louder and started cheering more as the cars got into position and it actually made Amethyst Star a little excited to hear too. By the time she ended up in position and was signaled by one of the officiators to put the brakes on and stop her car it seemed like she was in the back half of the cars lined up. She could see the starting line that sat at the midpoint of the stands and it looked like a good thirty cars were ahead of her while maybe only about fifteen or twenty were behind her.
“I get that they need to stagger us all to make room but this is kind of unfair isn’t it?” She frowned. “Oh well, I guess it must not matter too much considering how long the course is.”
Just past the stands and out of the stadium grounds it looked like the course went into a pretty rough and mountainous area, beyond that Amethyst Star couldn’t tell what else was coming, it was too far. She remembered there was a forest somewhere right out of the city but she couldn’t see it like this. But whatever else there was it was certain to be one crazy racecourse that she was about to drive on. She just hoped she wasn’t making a huge mistake again by agreeing to this.
“Not like I have any delusions this time, I’m just trying to help some nice ponies. Forget about proving anything.”
She bit her lip, trying to shoo out any thoughts that didn’t have to do with the race. “Just start already...”
Maybe Celestia felt like answering her prayers, because a referee pony walked out onto an alcove on the stands right above where the starting line was carrying a checkered flag. The cheering from the audience grew louder and she saw the drivers in the cars next to her getting ready, leaning forward and narrowing their eyes, just waiting for that flag to fly. She didn’t mimic them but kept her focus on that flag. Fernie and the others hadn’t told her what the sign was for the race to start but she couldn’t be the first to slam her hoof on the gas anyways and the way everyone reacted to that flag made things obvious.
Amethyst Star took a deep breath and gulped one more time. “Let’s go.”
The referee raised the flag high over his head. The crowd was roaring but it was silent to Amethyst Star.
Dropped.
And they were off.