On Friday, Twilight told her friends about the plans for the race, and on Saturday night, they all came out to cheer her on. Sunset and Pinkie accompanied Twilight to the starting line, Rarity and Fluttershy stood on the coastal road, and Rainbow and Applejack would watch from the bridge over the interstate. They were all excited for the race, but not every girl approved of the location.
“I cannot believe Twilight agreed to race in that grimy industrial park!” Rarity remarked.
“I don’t like this part of the city either.” Fluttershy agreed. “But as long as she beats those bullies, I’ll be happy.”
Sunset and Pinkie rode in Twilight’s car as she drove into the industrial park. “You’re a great driver, Twilight. You can do this!” Sunset said encouragingly.
“I believe in you, Twilight!” Pinkie cheered. “Those three meanies have nothing on you!”
“Thanks.” said Twilight. “I’ve got a tough race ahead of me, though.”
Twilight pulled up to the starting line, and Sunset and Pinkie got out of the car. Scarlet, Chrome and Capri had already been waiting for a while. They glared at her and revved their engines, but Twilight ignored them.
Sunset and Pinkie walked up onto the footbridge and found Lemon Zest standing there with a pistol and a checkered flag. “Hiya, Lemon!” Pinkie called. “Whatcha doin’ here?”
“Chrome asked me to be the grand marshal.” Lemon replied. “First time any of those three contacted me in years! I agreed to do it because I wasn’t busy tonight, and I really want to see Twilight pull an upset victory.”
“We’d love to see that too.” said Sunset. “How long until the race starts?”
Lemon checked her watch. It was 8:57pm. “Three more minutes!”
Down on the road, Scarlet, Chrome and Capri had rolled their windows down and were talking to each other. “Three against one.” Chrome said smugly. “Twilight doesn’t stand a chance.”
“And if she does challenge us, we’ll run her off the road!” Scarlet growled.
“I doubt we’ll need to, though.” said Capri. “We’ve got this one in the bag.”
Lemon Zest’s watch struck nine. “All right, here we go!” Lemon said excitedly. Sunset and Pinkie stood back as Lemon pointed the gun into the air. She counted to three, then fired. All four racers slammed on the gas and took off. “Woohoo!!! Go Twilight!!!” Sunset and Pinkie cheered.
The four cars sped toward the first turn in a flash of red, silver, blue and purple. They were all side by side as they began braking, but it was Scarlet who took an early lead ahead of Twilight, Capri and Chrome. Twilight was pleasantly surprised to find herself in second place. There was no room to pass on the narrow road, but when Twilight arrived at the next turn, Capri was all over the back of her. Capri quickly dove down the inside and made the overtake. Twilight took a deep breath and began speeding up the ramp to the elevated road.
Twilight had made a better start than she’d expected to, but it was becoming clear that her car was no sports car. Scarlet and Capri were starting to pull away from her, and Chrome was drawing alongside. Chrome then began moving to the left, pushing Twilight closer and closer to the railing. Chrome eventually got past, and chased after Scarlet and Capri. Twilight was left sweating and breathing heavily, having come within inches of being pushed over the edge. She shook her head and decided to hang back for the rest of the race. She didn’t want to risk an accident, and hoped that the street racers would have their own.
Scarlet and Capri streaked around the gas tank side by side. Capri was on the outside of the curve, but took advantage of Scarlet’s slipstream to sail into the lead as they came out onto the coastal road. Chrome then drew alongside Scarlet, and she got past as well. Scarlet seethed as she was demoted from first to third within a matter of meters.
Several seconds later, Twilight rounded the curve and set off along the coastal road. Rarity and Fluttershy clapped and cheered as she came into view. “You can do it, Twilight!” they shouted. “Come on!”
“Do you think Twilight can catch them?” Fluttershy asked after Twilight had passed.
“It’s only the first lap, darling!” Rarity replied. “There’s plenty of time!”
As Capri, Chrome and Scarlet reached the end of the coastal road, they began to bunch up again. Chrome swerved to the inside of the turn and took the lead, while Scarlet also got past Capri. By the time Twilight arrived at the turn, the street racers were already onto the big bridge. Rainbow and Applejack booed and hissed as the three sports cars whizzed past.
When Twilight came zooming across the bridge, Rainbow and Applejack clapped and cheered. “Let’s go, Twilight! You’re awesome!” Rainbow called.
“Yeehaw! Go get ‘em!” Applejack shouted.
Twilight smiled and flashed Rainbow and Applejack a thumbs-up as she passed by. She then held her breath as she reached the opposite side of the bridge and began the descent back to ground level.
Chrome emerged from the tunnel in the lead, followed by Scarlet and Capri. All three ran line astern as they passed under the footbridge and began the second lap of the race. “Dang… looks like they’ve got a big lead on Twilight already.” said Sunset.
Twilight then came into view. “Oh, there she is!” Pinkie cried. “Go Twilight! Go Twilight!”
“Do you girls think she can still win this?” Lemon asked.
“I’m sure she can.” Sunset said thoughtfully. “Scarlet, Chrome and Capri may be faster, but Twilight’s a lot smarter.”
As Scarlet rounded the gas tank for the second time, she moved out of Chrome’s slipstream and took the lead back. Capri remained frustrated behind. All three sped down the coastal road and were out of sight by the time Twilight came around the curve. Twilight was taking a smooth line, but her car’s rear wheels suddenly slipped and she spun around.
Rarity and Fluttershy gasped. “Oh no!” Fluttershy cried. “Twilight!”
Twilight fought to regain control of her car. Facing backward, she turned the wheel hard and completed a full 360-degree spin. Once the purple sedan was facing the right way again, she sped off down the road once more. This time, Rarity and Fluttershy cheered for her even louder.
“That save was simply divine!” Rarity lauded. “Keep it up and you’re sure to win this race!”
Twilight waved to her friends and breathed a sigh of relief. She had nearly crashed into the water, but her great save had emboldened her to push her car’s limits. She flew down the coastal road much faster than she had ever gone before. “Scarlet, Chrome and Capri, here I come!” she said.
Scarlet remained in the lead as she flew across the bridge. Just behind her, Chrome and Capri were running side by side. Capri was determined to get past, but Chrome would not yield. As they descended toward the tunnel, Capri was about to overtake when Chrome suddenly cut across her. The left-rear corner of Chrome’s car made contact with the right-front corner of Capri’s car, and Chrome lost control. The silver car smashed into the wall just before the tunnel, spun around and then hit the wall again. Pieces of metal flew everywhere, and one of the tires broke off as well. While Scarlet and Capri continued on their way, Chrome was out of the race and her expensive sports car was destroyed. Battered and bruised, Chrome weakly climbed out of the wreckage.
Twilight was hurtling down toward the tunnel when she saw the cloud of smoke, and the silver debris strewn across the road. “Ow… that’s gotta hurt!” she remarked. She slowed down and carefully made her way around the accident zone. Once she was past and into the tunnel, she went full speed ahead once more.
Sunset, Pinkie and Lemon watched the red car rush under the footbridge, followed by the blue car. “There go the meanies – wait, there are only two of them!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Where did the third one go?”
Sunset then got a text from Rainbow, and she showed it to Pinkie and Lemon. “Chrome crashed before the tunnel!” Rainbow’s text announced. “One down, two to go!”
Pinkie and Lemon burst out with laughter, and Sunset found it hard to contain her own, as Twilight passed under the footbridge in hot pursuit.
On her third trip along the coastal road, Capri out-dragged Scarlet and moved back into the lead. Capri then began to pull away, while Scarlet maintained a large gap to Twilight. Chrome sadly watched as her two friends raced on without her.
Twilight could feel her car shaking and vibrating. The little purple sedan wasn’t used to going at such high speeds for such a long period of time. Nonetheless, Twilight pressed on, making sure that the tail of Scarlet’s red car didn’t leave her sight.
Capri maintained a comfortable lead over Scarlet as she began the fourth lap. The blue car whooshed through the first two turns and onto the elevated road with ease. Scarlet had taken the lead around the gas tank curve once before, and she aimed to do so again. She ran within Capri’s slipstream through the turn, then moved to the outside and drew level. Capri began moving to the right to defend, but Scarlet refused to back off. She moved further to the outside in response, and then she ran out of room. Scarlet drove straight off the road, crashed through a fence, and tobogganed down into the ocean. She climbed out of her partially submerged car, swam to the shore, and cursed Capri’s overly aggressive defense.
“Bye bye, Scarlet.” Capri said as she looked in her rear view mirror. “Guess it’s just me and the egghead now.”
Fluttershy and Rarity had seen the whole incident unfold. “There goes Scarlet!” Rarity laughed. “You know, this is poetic justice at its finest. Scarlet splashed Twilight with water the other day, and now she’s the one who’s all wet!”
“You’re right!” Fluttershy chuckled. “I’d better text Sunset about this.” She pulled out her phone and began composing a message.
Capri was now the only sports car driver left in the race. Her shiny blue car was performing perfectly, and she was well out of Twilight’s reach. With a large lead and only one more lap before the checkered flag, she began to kick back and relax. Her car’s V8 engine purred comfortably as she glided out of the tunnel and into the industrial park to start her final lap. This win is in the bag, she thought to herself. I’m the fastest girl in the world!
Some time later, Twilight tore under the footbridge and her friends cheered for her again. “Come on, Twilight!” Pinkie squealed. “One lap left, one meanie ahead! Go get her!”
Twilight knew that she was running out of time to catch Capri, and resolved to make her last lap her fastest lap. She attacked the next corners at an incredible speed, late on the brakes and early on the gas. But try as she might, she couldn’t quite reel Capri in.
Capri thundered across the bridge, the lights of the whole city sparkling in the distance. In just three more miles, she thought, she would take the checkered flag and win by a huge distance. She’d driven flawlessly all night, and although her two friends would both be footing heavy repair bills, she and her car had conquered some of Canterlot’s most fearsome streets. Best of all, she would firmly put Twilight in her place. She became so caught up in her dreams that she forgot to be careful around the site of Chrome’s accident.
Capri sped through the debris field, and as she did so, a piece of metal from Chrome’s car punctured her right front tire. She didn’t notice anything at first as she raced into the tunnel, but then she felt her car beginning to vibrate rapidly. She found herself slowing down and drifting to the right, and then realized she had a flat. She jerked at the steering wheel and hit the gas even harder, but it was no use. She would just have to struggle to the finish, but she figured she still had a big enough lead over Twilight.
Twilight remembered to slow down as she made her way around Chrome’s wrecked car, and as she rushed through the tunnel for the last time, she could see Capri’s taillights getting closer and closer. How is she slowing down that much?, Twilight wondered. Well, I may just have a chance to beat her to the finish!
In the industrial park, Lemon Zest got ready to wave the checkered flag. She saw Capri come out of the tunnel first, but then noticed the shredded tire on the blue sports car. “Capri has a flat!” she yelled to Sunset and Pinkie.
“Capri has a flat?” Sunset exclaimed. “Then that could mean –”
“GO TWILIGHT!!!” Pinkie cheered, louder than ever before. “YOU CAN WIN THIS!!!”
As Capri crawled along the last stretch of road to the finish line, Twilight came flying out of the tunnel. “Here I come!” she shouted. She was reeling Capri in at an incredible rate, but the end was coming up fast. With only a few meters to go, she pulled alongside Capri and then drew just ahead as they arrived at the footbridge and passed the checkered flag. It was an extremely close finish, but by half a car length, Twilight Sparkle had won!
Sunset and Pinkie ran down from the footbridge and straight to Twilight’s car. A speechless Twilight rolled down her window. “YOU WON! YOU WON!” Pinkie squealed with delight.
“What a way to win it, too!” Sunset added.
“I am so relieved!” Twilight finally said. “And shocked! I can’t believe I won!” She opened the door and got out of her car, feeling very sore. Sunset and Pinkie hugged her anyway.
A dejected Capri got out of her car and bent down to inspect her right front tire. Sure enough, it was completely shredded, and the front suspension would probably need repairs too. She muttered several profanities, then stormed over to Twilight. “You only won because I got a flat!” she protested.
“Hey, a win is a win.” Sunset retorted. “Flat tires can happen to anyone.”
Capri sighed. “All right, you have a point. I guess you won fair and square, Twilight.”
“Thank you.” Twilight said with a smile.
“By the way, are Scarlet and Chrome okay?” Capri asked.
“I think so.” Twilight replied. “Scarlet’s pretty wet, but she looks fine. Chrome’s got some bruises, but I think that’s all.”
“Oh, good.” said Capri. “I guess we’ll reconvene at the sports car repair shop.”
As Capri pulled out her phone to call for a tow truck, Twilight drove home with Sunset, Pinkie and Lemon. Fluttershy, Rainbow and Applejack rode home with Rarity. They all hoped that Scarlet, Chrome and Capri had learned to not be so reckless.
Twilight took her car to a repair shop the following day as a precaution. She got it back just two days later, and the following Saturday, she and Sunset were on the road to the mall once again. They found a spot near the food court entrance, and headed inside to get lunch. Scarlet, Chrome and Capri were sitting together at a small round table. All three looked miserable.
“Well, if it isn’t you again.” Scarlet muttered.
“What’s the matter?” Twilight asked.
“My car’s going to be in the repair shop for at least another week.” Scarlet replied.
“And my car was completely totaled.” Chrome groaned. “And I had just gotten that thing. It’ll take a long time for me to win enough money to buy a new one.”
“It’s no fun when only one of us has a car.” Capri admitted.
Sunset smiled knowingly. “How about you save your fast driving for the racetrack from now on?” she suggested. “Take it easy on the roads.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” Scarlet agreed. “And we’re sorry we bullied you last week, Twilight.” Chrome and Capri nodded in agreement.
“I forgive you.” Twilight said with a smile. “I have to admit, you did bounce back from getting expelled. You three can really drive!”
“Thanks.” Capri said modestly. “Do you… want to be friends?”
Twilight grinned. “Sure! Maybe one of these days, you can take me to a racetrack!”
Scarlet, Chrome and Capri agreed, and the five girls ate lunch together that day, happy to have smoothed over all of their bad blood.