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// Viper of the Mountain Pass 
// Story: Friendship is Magic: 1st Gear 
// by Akeno 
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Numerous cars lined up on the pavement. Ponies of all kinds gathered on the Canterlot slope, leaving the only ground uncovered was the road in front of a Dodge Viper. An older model, possibly from the early 2010’s judging from the body style. The windows were tinted, the only thing visible through them were the gleam of scales.
“It’s starting!” said somepony from the lot. “She’s here!”
Sure enough, the squeal of tires became increasingly louder, until they ceased. No noise from the engine, though. Finally, the crowd cleared, and a yellow BMW i8 rolled through. The driver of the Viper stepped out to greet them.
“Heya Fluttershy. You ready to race?” asked Spike.
Oh, I don’t know. There are lots of other cars here, and I’m sure they're very fast,” said Fluttershy, getting out of her i8.
Come on,” said Spike, rolling his eyes. “You agreed to this just a few hours ago. Besides, I’m sure you’d smoke me out here.”
He climbed into his car and started the ignition. Fluttershy, anxious with the countless eyes following her, got into her car, too. Sassy Saddles stepped between their cars.
“Are your engines ready?” she asked.
Fluttershy and Spike nodded.
“In five, four, three, two, one… Go!!”
They took off, with Spike in the lead, darting down the mountain. His Dodge Viper had almost twice as much hoofpower as Fluttershy, and he was going to use as much of it as he could. In his mirror, he could see her headlights. She was getting closer, and it wasn’t much time before she overtook him. He looked at the tank of NOS in his center console. Enough of it to blow his car off of the mountain. His plan was to jump on the nitrous as soon as he managed to countersteer from the last corner, and propel to the finish.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy maintained a solid gain on Spike. While it was true that he had almost double of what she had in hoofpower, it was also true that she had a much higher top speed, around a hundred kilometers more. She only raced for fun, mainly because Rainbow Dash wouldn’t stop talking about it, but was still a complete noob. In the desire to get a car that was both fun to drive, as well as environmentally friendly, the 2020 i8 was an obvious choice. However, with no real knowledge of cars, Fluttershy didn’t really know what she was racing against.
They tore through the few corners on the pass, and with each corner, Spike managed to shake the i8. Unfortunately for him, Fluttershy made up the distance on each straightaway. One corner left, and it was a mostly straight road from Canterlot to Ponyville. As they entered the corner, Fluttershy entered even more aggressively, drifting centimeters from Spike. As they exited the corner, Spike got nervous. He forgot about recovering from the oversteer, and activated the nitrous, shooting into the guard rail, his Viper grinding to a halt. Fluttershy flew past him, securing her victory.
Spike rolled down to meet his victor, mainly glad that his car only suffered cosmetic damage.
“That was a very good race, Spike,” said Fluttershy, seeing his disappointed face.
“Yeah… I guess,” said Spike. “I’ll see you in Ponyville.”
“Oh… Bye, then.”

He finally rolled into Ponyville. The streets were completely empty, which made him feel a little better; no one would be around to see the side effects of a losing streak, at least until morning. He parked in front of the castle, and walked in. As soon as he did, a purple alicorn shot toward him.
“Spike!! Where were you? I’ve been worried sick!” she screamed.
“Sorry, Twilight… just left to get my scales handed to me again,” he said dejectedly.
“Don’t tell me you were out racing again,” said Twilight.
“Yeah. I went against Fluttershy,” said Spike. “I lost. Again.”
Twilight looked out of the window at the street, and saw Spike’s Viper SRT. The paint on the right side was scratched off, and the front right fender and grille were caved in.
Twilight sighed. “I just don’t understand why you like racing so much that you break your car over it.”
“Come on!” said Spike. “What I don’t get is how you don’t like it! The feeling of powering through a track at top speeds, modifying your car for the race… It gets my scales shivering just thinking about it.”
“But all of that, and you still lose,” said Twilight.
“Ouch,” said Spike. “But it’s not the car’s fault. It’s mine. I’m just not skilled enough as a driver.”
“Hmm,” Twilight said. “Well, let’s get you a good night’s rest, I’m sure you’ll feel better in the morning.”
She carried Spike to bed. As she closed the door, she thought about what Spike said. Was driving really all that he cracked it up to be? Why would she get a car if she could just fly everywhere? She went to bed, thinking about Spike’s banged-up Dodge Viper. She decided to ask the most race-obsessed Pegasus she knew, first thing in the morning.
“I can wait until morning,” she said, staring up at her ceiling.
Twilight turned over in her sheets, trying to rest, but the question was eating her alive.
“Rainbow is probably still awake, right? At… 11:23?” she asked herself, already picking up her phone to call Rainbow Dash.
“Howdy, Twilight!” said Applejack.
“Oh, I’m sorry, AJ. I was trying to call Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight. She looked at the caller ID. It was definitely RD.
“Yeah, I can wake her up for ya,” said Applejack. Twilight heard rustling from AJ’s side of the phone. “Pardon me, Rainbow. Twilight wants to talk to ya.”
“Hey Twilight,” said Rainbow. “What’s up?”
“Wait, are you at Applejack’s house?” asked Twilight.
“Yeah. We’re having a slumber party,” she said, yawning. “Maximum slumber, minimal partying. Anyway, what do you need?”
“I want you to tell me what’s so great about cars,” said Twilight.
“Seriously? Okay,” said Rainbow, taken aback.
“You’re obsessed with flying. With the Wonderbolts.” said Twilight. “Why would you drive cars when you can just fly everywhere?”
“Well, not everyone can fly, but anyone can drive. My opportunities to race have grown since I got my car,” said RD. “I’d win any race in the air, but in cars, I get real challenges.”
“Huh,” said Twilight.
“But don’t get any ideas. I’m still the fastest flier in all of Equestria, and I’m still just as passionate about it as I’ve ever been,” said Rainbow.
They said their goodnights. Twilight lied in her bed, thinking about what Rainbow Dash said. Rainbow’s passion was winning, and racing let her do that on a scale triple the magnitude that Flying had. She eventually went to bed, dreaming of races. Roaring cars, the friction of the tires scorching blacktop. Spike’s Viper slamming into a guard rail. Applejack and Rainbow Dash wearing matching pajamas. In her subconscious, her mind made up her mission: to gather the perspectives of her friends on cars, and maybe, get one herself.