//------------------------------// // 17: Clash of the Hypercars // Story: Road to Harmony // by Artthriller94 //------------------------------// At the moment, all of Nightmare Moon's shadow forces have been vanquished, thanks to Team Furious and the Rainbooms. But there was still the issue of her, and King Sombra, causing all sorts of chaos upon Los Angeles, and most of its citizens have evacuated out of the city, or gone into hiding. Every law officers were doing everything they can to maintain peace and order, but even they were powerless against the three villains' abilities spreading terror in every corner of L.A. Meanwhile, back in the secret underground lab, even Akira was horrified of what has happened to his home city. He then watched a male reporter, from earlier, giving an update of the situation on a monitor. "As you can see, folks, L.A. has become a disaster area, with so much devastation and property damage everywhere! Most of the residents are still evacuating out of the city, but traffic in both directions on the 10 Freeway are packed. And if you can see what's behind me in the distance, one of those skyscrapers is still giving off a mysterious green glow around it. The FBI has been called in to investigate, but so far, they had no success in trying to enter the building." "I guess Chrysalis has put up a force field to keep them out." Akira commented, as the reporter continued on his report. "In all my years as a reporter, I have never seen such a..." Before he could conclude his sentence, the reporter stopped and turned his head to his right, while the camera shift to the left. They heard the loud sounds of hypercar engines coming towards them, and soon, they saw a metallic purple and teal-striped 2019 McLaren Senna being chased by a matte black Lamborghini Veneno, which then zoomed past the reporter and cameraman with great speed. "Folks, if you saw what flew right by me, it was a McLaren and a Lamborghini, both with very unusual colors than what you normally see on a hypercar!" Akira knew that the Senna and the Veneno belongs to Starlight Glimmer and Queen Chrysalis. Soon, he turned his attention to another monitor, with a live footage of both vehicles battling against each other. "Be careful, Starlight Glimmer." Akira ominously spoke. Sparks were flying off the sides of Starlight's Senna and Chrysalis's Veneno, as they roared through the empty streets of Downtown L.A., with neither one giving each other room to back off. As they rounded a corner, however, Starlight quickly gained the lead ahead of the Chrysalis. There were only a few scratches and dents on their vehicles from where they were both side-swiping. "You have taken everything from me, Starlight Glimmer!" Chrysalis growled. "I had the perfect army, until you interfered with my conquest, as well as poisoned my subjects' minds with your lecture about friendship!" "I only wanted to show you and your subjects what it would be like if you give love, instead of taking it for yourselves." Starlight responded, knowing full well that Chrysalis wouldn't see reason. "I never meant to ruin your life." "But you did! And now, I shall return the favor, one way or another!!!" That is when she shunted the rear of the McLaren Senna with full force. Due to the sharp, low angle of the Lamborghini Veneno's front end, it picked up the Senna's rear diffuser, and slowly lifted it up from the ground. Starlight found herself being caught in a different angle, but quickly assessed the situation, and turned to the right, removing her car from the Veneno's front bumper. Starlight glared out from her left side window. "So, that's how it's gonna' go down?" Starlight didn't want to fight against the former changeling queen, but she knew she had to, in order to stop her latest conquest on this world. Using her magic, as well as some information given to her from Akira earlier, Starlight summoned an electro-static field on her car. Steering hard towards Chrysalis's Veneno, Starlight side-swiped her foe again, causing a sudden burst of energy, which sent the Veneno flying into a spin, along with some damage on the right side. Amazed by this, Starlight slowly stopped her Senna, and quickly contacted Akira. "Hey, Akira. This ESF thing really does pack a punch! Where did you learned this stuff?" "I've learned it from the video game, Need for Speed Rivals." Akira answered. "That game has some interesting Pursuit Tech weapons and devices that could prove useful to our cause." "Oh." Starlight was slightly perplexed. She didn't know what this video game was about, but decided to not question it. "Well, that's good to know." Then, she heard Chrysalis scream with frustration. "Aaah!!! Not again!" Chrysalis was losing patience over her vehicle's struggle to ignite her car's engine again, but once it was back on, she scowled at Starlight, and revved her engine. Then, Chrysalis used her magic to materialize some sharp, long blade-like weapons, and mount them on the sides of her Veneno's front bumper. Starlight was surprised of this sudden weapon choice from her enemy, and Akira witnessed two vehicles approaching them in different directions on his monitor. "Heads up, Starlight! Two cars are heading your way!" "Who are they?" Starlight asked nervously. Typing on his keyboard, Akira quickly identified the unknown cars, and gasped with fear when he looked at the information of their drivers. "It's King Sombra and Nightmare Moon!" Starlight also gasped upon hearing those names, and quickly reversed away from Chrysalis, performing a 180 degree spin. But she couldn't drive away now, as a black and dark purple 2012 SRT Viper GTS-R, and a dark grey and silver 2015 Audi R8 LMS, both with sinister looking body kits, surrounded her Senna. Then, Nightmare summoned a dark blue aura-like force field around Starlight's Senna, trapping her inside of it. "Uh... Akira?!" Starlight quivered. "Please tell me help is on the way?!" "Ummm..." Akira, nervously, looked at his monitors, and found that Team Furious and the Rainbooms are approaching Starlight's position from 3 miles away. It would still take them a little bit of time to arrive to help her. But, Akira knew of another Pursuit Tech trick that could work. "Use the Shockwave, Starlight!" Starlight knew what he meant, and without hesitation, used her magic to create another burst of energy, which was powerful enough to break through Nightmare Moon's force field, and repel the two villainous race cars with great damage. This repelling force surprised both Nightmare and Sombra. "What was that?!" Sombra asked. Starlight only smirked. "That is my ticket out of here!" Slamming her foot on the throttle, Starlight drove off towards a different direction. Chrysalis, on the other hand, wasn't going to let her escape for a minute. "After her!!!" Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon, and King Sombra chased after the McLaren Senna, but Starlight was already starting to disappear out of their sight. Then, Starlight quickly turned to the left, and upon seeing a tire shop, she pulled up behind some piles of tires to hide. The three villains roared by the tire shop, and before they could stop and check their surroundings, they were suddenly hit by fire blasts head-on, causing them to roll over a few times. Starlight saw all this, as she slowly pulled onto the empty street, and smiled. Team Furious and the Rainbooms had arrived just in time to help. "You okay, Starlight?" Sunset asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." Starlight confirmed. "I'm just glad you guys showed up. I was almost captured, until Akira help me out of a tight spot." "You know," Pinkie scratched her chin, "seeing how smart he created all those gadgets and device in his lab, Akira should be out here with us. He saved us back at that graveyard. Maybe he could help us defeat those villains." Akira heard what Pinkie Pie said through the com-link system and began to feel a little nervous. Akira has never been involved with combat situations. He'd rather be behind his computer and aid his friends from the safety of his laboratory. Needless to say, he would consider joining them to the end, should the situation be any dire. Suddenly, everyone saw that the glowing green skyscraper was starting to flash a couple times over. The FBI agents backed off from a few feet away, afraid of what might happen. In her Veneno, Chrysalis expressed a big smirk, for that flashing building meant that something was done inside. She spoke to her accomplices via her own com-link system. "Listen, you two. I need you to stall those meddlesome brats. I must return to the fortress to retrieve something I've been building." "And what would that be, dare I ask?" Sombra asked snidely "Ask no questions! Just trust me." "I only trust myself!" Nightmare remarked. "At least, we're on the same page on that subject." Sombra agreed. Without another comment, Chrysalis only groaned and drove her hypercar towards the skyscraper. Akira overheard their conversation and was worried of what Chrysalis was "building" at this moment. He quickly alerted his friends about this vague info. "You guys! I've just heard Queen Chrysalis talking about something that she was building in that skyscraper! I don't know what it is, but I'm betting that it's got something to do with it flashing a few times like that." Charlie furrowed his eyes. "Then, we can't let her get to it! We have to stop her, before she gets the chance to do whatever she's planning!" "Little problem with that, Charlie." Taylin pointed out. "We'd have to lose King Sombra and Nightmare Moon first. I'm sure they won't let us get to Chrysalis that easily!" True to Taylin's statement, King Sombra and Nightmare Moon revved their race engines, and equipped some blade-like weapons on their race vehicles, showing them to heed their warning. That is when Starlight suggested something that might work out in their favor. "I'll go after her! But I'll need you girls to come with me." "Are you talkin' 'bout us, Starlight?" Applejack raise a brow, nervously. "Yes, I am." Knowing what she is thinking, the Rainbooms agreed. But, Fluttershy had her doubts. "Oh, I-I don't know, Starlight. I don't think I'll be of much help in a fight." "Don't worry, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash reassured. "We'll keep an eye on each other, at all times." Fluttershy began to feel a little better. "What about us, Starlight?" Lily asked. "We'll need you guys to fight those two for us," Starlight instructed, "then meet us at the building, as soon as possible." Rachael cracked her knuckles loudly and smirked. "Consider it done!" Team Furious agreed to Starlight's plan. "Just be on your guard when you get inside." Akira warned, as he typed on his computer keyboard. "I'm unable to hack into the building's interior camera system, so try to stay alert. Chrysalis could set some traps for you girls." "Thanks, Akira." Sunset nodded her head. "We will." With that, Starlight led the Rainbooms to chase after Chrysalis, while Team Furious stayed behind to deal with the other two villains. Then, Charlie instructed to his friends to change into their battle outfits, and to fight King Sombra and Nightmare Moon without the use of their cars. Agreeing to Charlie's plan, from within their cockpits, Team Furious magically changed their outfits, and climbed out of their vehicles. All the while, the two villains saw that their opponents outside of their cars, and so, they did the same. As the wind began to blow, the two opposing factions stood there silently, thinking of their own strategies.