//------------------------------//
// Her Race V 
// Story: Amethyst Star Isn't Prepared For This 
// by MagicS 
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Amethyst Star came out of the forest onto another wide road that sat on the side of a mountain, a wide valley going down the other side, thankfully a barrier separated the road and all the cars on it from the slope. She looked around and saw a number of other cars emerging from different forest paths onto the big road at the same time as her. Had she gotten ahead or fallen further behind? She had absolutely no idea but all she could do was keep driving at this point. The nitro boost had long since ended, the button now only good for one more press so this time she really wanted to save it for the best moment, another place that was completely straight. This mountain road curved and snaked around the mountain, a boost here would probably send her right over the edge. And if she was as far behind as she probably was then it would be doubly pointless to use it here.

As she joined up with all the others on the mountain road she saw a billboard on the side of the mountain:

HALFWAY PIT-STOP COMING UP!

She looked at her fuel gauge to see it had fallen to basically empty. “Guess this thing really eats up gas fast. Fernie said there would be plenty of signs showing me where I need to go so I guess I’ve just gotta drive along here for now.”

Things were now back similar to how it was before the cars hit the forest, they all fought for dominance on this one road as they traveled around the mountain. Some tried to muscle ahead of others while Amethyst Star was stuck in the middle of the pack, too many cars in front of her and to her sides for her to get anywhere, just like before. She was making sure absolutely no one passed her though. Amethyst Star had gotten a good feel for the car and was confident in her ability to maneuver in the massive throng of the other vehicles. Having to go through that tight forest with all its twists and turns gave her the experience she really needed. And not crashing or hitting anything so far gave her the boost of optimism about this race she also really needed.

She noticed that the road they were traveling on slightly declined the longer it went around the mountain, if it went all the way down to the bottom they’d need to drive up another mountain later on to get back on the same level with the stadium and finish line. At least with the halfway point coming up she knew she would be on the back end of the course soon. She was starting to get really hot and sweaty from driving this thing. But would the back half have the same kinds of obstacles as the front? Maybe it would be even more extreme.

“Yeesh, I hope not,” Amethyst Star grimaced. “Almost hitting a bunch of cows and careening through a forest at full speed was enough for me. Just give me a dirt road and a direct path to the end already...”

Thankfully this mountain road didn’t have any obstacles that she could see yet. Maybe they figured it would be dangerous to put that kind of stuff here, the cars simply had an uninterrupted journey to the bottom of the mountain. The vehicles took another curve and Amethyst Star saw a second billboard placed on the side of the road:

MUST STOP AT YOUR DOCK- LOOK FOR YOUR REGISTERED NAME

I really hope that means The Amethyst Flame cause otherwise I might be in trouble. Amethyst Star bit down on the inside of her cheek when she saw that.  

Coming out of that curve the road started to angle down sharply and all the cars sped to the foot of the mountain, wanting to get to their stop and refuel and refurbish as quickly as possible. Amethyst Star hadn’t been thinking about it but depending on how good a team’s pit crew was it could actually decide  the race. If the pit crew of the second place car was just a little bit faster than the first place that might be all the difference they need to get out in front. How good were Fernie and the others who had come here?

Amethyst Star gazed ahead down at the bottom of the mountain, she saw a large area of paved asphalt that started right where there mountain road ended. It contained dozens of concrete berths and carports for everyone to go to for their stop and she could see ponies milling around them, the pit crews. At the front of the racing cars the first few made it to the bottom and sped towards their ports. Amethyst Star narrowed her eyes as she tried to look for a sign of just where she was supposed to go.  

Getting closer to the asphalt she saw that each berth had a banner over it. At first it was still difficult to read them but all the cars had to start slowing down so they could safely get to their berth instead of just crashing into them. She let off the gas and gently touched the brakes while the swarm of vehicles hit the asphalt and her eyes searched for any sign of her team. All the cars around made things a little hard for that but there were just as many others that had to slow down with her and look for where they needed to go, all of them navigating around each other.  

In the middle of the berths she saw it, a banner with the words The Amethyst Flame boldly written on it.

“Yes!” She grinned and quickly pulled her car over to it. Sliding the vehicle right into the spot and stopping, where Fernie and the rest of the pit crew were already waiting for her.

“Alright, just like we practiced, do it as quick as possible!” Fernie yelled and the others jumped into action.

One of them carried a huge red jug full of some sort of liquid that he carried to the back of the engine, Amethyst Star craning her neck around the driver’s seat to see him opening up a panel on the car and pouring the liquid into the engine. Another went around tapping and checking the air pressure of the tires while more inspected parts of the engine and the frame of the car. Fernie meanwhile grabbed a water bottle and hopped right up to the driver’s seat to hoof it over to Amethyst Star.

“Here, drink this. You’re doing great out there!” The filly told her with an ecstatic smile.

Now that was a surprise. “I am?”

Fernie nodded. “Yeah! You’re in the top half now. Look, other racers are still only just making it here!” She pointed to the mountain road where, sure enough, multiple cars were still coming down it, not even having gotten to their pit stops yet.

“Huh,” Amethyst Star looked on in surprise. Was she… was she actually doing good? Could she even… win for them?

“We’ll finish up here in a minute and then you can head back out there!” Fernie saluted her.  

“Uh, thanks for having all this confidence in me. I guess?” Amethyst Star shrugged and took a drink of the water, giving it back to Fernie.

This time Fernie smiled and shook her head. “No way, I gotta thank you for helping us and doing such a good job!”

Just as she said that the sound of a few engines roaring reached their ears. Amethyst Star and Fernie looked over to see a few cars already heading out and back onto the course. Among them were Loxy and Watts that Amethyst Star could see. Meaning she was still behind the front-runners by too long, she’d have to make up for that in the next leg.

“We’re almost done down here!” The pit pony with the tank said, tilting it up higher to get the last bits out and into the car’s engine. “Full tank of gas soon!”

“Great!” Fernie waved down to him and hopped off the car. “Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.” She said to Amethyst Star. “We’ll be using the teleportation pad to get back to the stadium, once we’re there we’ll be watching you the rest of the way! And we’ll be waiting for you at the finish line, I know you can do it!”

“Yeah, I-” Amethyst Star couldn’t help the grin from appearing on her face. Her attitude and confidence bolstered greatly by her recent successes on the course and from the infectious positivity of Fernie. “I won’t let you down.”

She dared to say it.

Now she just needed to follow through.  

“Good to go!” The pony filling up the gas tank said, pulling away his now empty jug and closing the panel with a snap. The other ponies working on and inspecting the car all got up and away from it, giving nods to Fernie and Amethyst Star.

The Amethyst Flame was ready to hit the racecourse once more.

“I’ll see you at the finish line!” Amethyst Star waved goodbye to them and drove out of the pit. Everything on the car looked good and it felt a bit smoother than right before she had the tune up. Gas tank was full, engine light was off, nitro still had one more press, and Amethyst Star the driver was ready and determined to get even further ahead in this race. She’d push herself and the car to the limit, but she’d make it up to Watts and Loxy. That was a promise.