For the ponies who were looking at the racers from behind, all they saw was a cloud of sand and thruster smoke. And all anyone could hear was the deafening roar of the rocket, backed by the soprano howl of the Ferrari's engine.
Speed Demon got off the line quicker, and was already at eighty miles an hour, while Jake was a good fifty yards behind at sixty miles an hour. Both speed-display boards in the bleachers steadily increased with time. Up in the sky, the Wonderbolts were leading the group of pegasi following the race. Some flew ahead to the Slipstream, while some stayed back with the supercar.
Anchor leaned into his microphone to address the crowd.
"And it looks like Speed Demon has gotten a huge lead. It doesn't look good for Jake."
"Now hold yourself there Anchor! Don't be rightn' this Jake fella off just yet! That Ferrari looks like it's packin' a punch under the hood!"
"We'll see Darrel. We'll see."
As both racers passed the one hundred and fifty mark, they disappeared from the audience in the bleachers. All they had to go on was the display boards behind the Royal Family.
Two miles away, the Ferrari was slowly gaining on the Slipstream, but just as Jake got near it's back end, it sped up a little, widening the gap.
Rainbow Dash flew down to the car, followed by Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts who made a V-formation above him.
After three minutes of power, the Slipstream's rocket sputtered out, and Speed Demon laughed. He had achieved a top speed of two hundred and four miles an hour. He knew he had won. A yellow parachute deployed and slowed him down quickly. Just as he came to a halt, the Ferrari whizzed past him. The engine noise grew fainter as Jake sped up and out of earshot.
"Si perde, Mr. Jake...si perde."
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"Well Darrel, it appears that Speed Demon has stopped due to running out of fuel. But only after shattering his previous record. His top speed was two hundred and four."
"But wait a minute Anchor! Jake is still in this thing. He's currently at one hundred and ninety five miles an hour, and it's slowly rising!"
"You think he can do it Darrel?"
"Aw shoot! Of course he can! He just needs a little bump draft or somethin'!"
Anchor looked at him confused.
"I'll never understand you Darrel. Anyways, Jake is currently at one ninety eight. Lets see what happens."
"Wooee! Only six more to go! It's a shoot out to the finish boys!"
Twilight and her friends looked at the display board in anticipation, and everyone else did the same. As he reached two hundred, ponies started chanting his name and cheering him on. Everyone wanted to see the 'new guy' take home the gold.
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In the middle of the San Palomino Desert, a thundering snake of sand was moving across the ground. The Ferrari's wake was so immense that the pegasi had to back off and return to the start in fear of being blinded or choked out by the sandstorm. It was only Jake and the machine now.
He looked at the speedometer, and it read two hundred and one. He only needed three more to win. He lost hope for a moment when the Ferrari reached its maximum speed of two hundred and two. He knew he couldn't go any faster, and he was about to give up. But then, the little red needle surpassed its boundary and rose by a half a mile an hour.
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The crowd was going nuts as the board read two hundred and two point eight, then rose to two hundred and three. Rarity yelled at the top of her lungs.
"COME ON JAKE! PUT THAT THING INTO HIGH GEAR AND KICK SPEED DEMON'S ASS!"
Everyone within a five pony radius stared at her with blank faces. She slumped down in her seat after her display of uncouth behavior.
"...sorry."
The Sun Goddess rose and began screaming along with all the other spectators, and her sister quickly joined in. Shining Armor just stared at the board and prayed. His wife turned to him and yelled over the cheering.
"You don't seem too energetic!"
He sighed and hung his head in shame.
"I can't lie to you...I placed a bet on Jake."
Cadance's innocent look turned into a glare of evil.
"How much?!"
Her husband started getting nervous.
"Well I-"
She grabbed him by the mane and stared into his eyes.
"How much?!"
His eyes darted back and forth, and he could've sworn a Royal Guard was laughing at him. He gulped.
"...Five thousand bits."
The Ruler of the Crystal Empire let go of his mane and let out a long breath. She smiled as her tone changed from angry to sweet.
"Well honey, you better hope Jake wins. Or else-"
She leaned in and whispered the rest in his ear. His pupils slowly dilated from normal to the size of an atom, and she slowly backed away and cantered back over to her seat looking very content. Shining slowly looked up at the display board.
"Sweet mother of Celestia Jake. You have to win this race."
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The engine screamed as it propelled him through the desert. He only had a half a mile an hour to go, and it was slowly rising.
203.5
203.6
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"I don't believe it Anchor! His speed is STILL climbing!"
"He just might pull this off Darrel!"
Applejack spun her Stetson around in the air and hollered.
"Come on Jake! Show him who's boss!"
203.7
The pegasi who had been following the race returned and joined the rest of the spectators, immediately joining the cheers and chanting.
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Jake locked his eyes on the ground ahead and sunk back into the seat, tightening his grip on the wheel.
"Come on! Just a little bit more!"
203.8
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"Yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh!!! Come on Jake!"
Pinkie Pie bounced up and down in the stands, cheering him on.
203.9
Even Fluttershy was getting loud as she stood up and pointed at the board.
"Come on Jake! You can do this!"
204.0
The crowd erupted louder than they had been all day as the pilot matched the current record. However, he still had to surpass it.
Darrel's hat came off as be stood up and yelled into the mic, slamming his front hooves down on the desk at every word.
"ONE! MORE! ONE! MORE!"
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Jake was seven miles out as he approached the record. Every joint in the engine was whining. Every bolt was vibrating. But the Ferrari thundered on.
He had his hoof down so hard on the accelerator that it began to hurt him, but he didn't let up at all. Then, it happened. The little needle slowly increased as he broke the land speed record.
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204.1
"I don't believe it Anchor! I do not believe it! Jake Weston is the new holder of the land speed record!"
Everyone in the crowd jumped up and went crazy. Shining Armor slumped back and sighed in relief. Candance turned to him and shook her head.
"You got lucky this time honey. By the way, just so you learn a lesson, I'm using the winnings on a new dress and a hooficure. You should think before you do something that stupid again."
"You're right honey, I'm sorry. Let's just enjoy this amazing moment in Equestrian history, shall we?"
"Sounds good to-"
She was cut off by a cheering Luna who grabbed her and hugged her. She sang her words in a mocking tone.
"He diiiiid it! He diiiiid it!"
Across the way, Twilight and Rainbow Dash started dancing circles around each other in celebration. Mac calmly looked up at the display board and chuckled.
"Well I'll be damned. He did it."
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An hour later found Jake, Mac, Twilight and her friends, the Wonderbolts, and the Royal Family by the cargo ramp of the C-130. Jake had put the Ferrari back and strapped it down, ready for the return ride home. Celestia looked at the vehicle and smiled.
"That's quite the machine Jake. This had to be the most exciting thing I've seen in a LONG time."
Luna nodded in agreement.
"Our day is usually all paperwork and foreign affairs. We don't get to do things as fun as this very often."
Jake laughed and turned to Twilight.
"Thanks for convincing me to do this. If you wouldn't have said anything a couple days ago, the thought wouldn't have even crossed my mind."
"No problem Jake. I'm glad you did do it."
Fleetfoot spoke up.
"Ya know Jake, the offer still stands if you want to be a part of our finale show in Canterlot before the season ends."
He looked over to his plane, and studied it for a moment. Then he smiled and came to a conclusion.
"I'd love to."
This caused some small cheers from the stunt flyers, and Rainbow Dash lost her cool.
"Oh. My. Gosh! You get to perform with the Wonderbolts! That is so cool!"
Spitfire laughed and looked over to her.
"You know, Jake might need someone in there to help him."
The Wonderbolt turned to him with raised eyebrows in order for him to catch on.
"Oh, yeah! You can be my co-pilot."
She grabbed him and twirled him around in the air before letting him drop back to the ground with a thud.
After a mutual laugh throughout the group, Shining Armor turned to Celestia.
"It's getting late. We should probably go."
"You're right. Even though this was fun, I have to get back to official business."
Shining turned to Jake and shook his hoof. As he did, he spoke quietly so nobody but the pilot could hear.
"Thank you for winning. You've done me a great service."
He had a confused look on his face.
"Uh, yeah no problem....what did I do exactly?"
"You don't need to know. Just know that I will forever be in your debt."
"Uh, ok then. Great to meet you."
He turned to Cadance, who had just approached. He bowed slightly and shook her hoof.
"And it was a pleasure meeting you ma'am."
She laughed.
"Oh just call me Candance!"
"Well then Cadance, thanks for coming out to support me."
"It's always a pleasure."
With that, the Royal Family bid their goodbyes and walked back to the chariot.
The Wonderbolts took this as their cue to leave as well. They said farewell and flew off towards Canterlot, leaving Jake and his friends at the plane. He turned back to them and ushered them inside.
"You guys go on ahead and get strapped in. I have to do one last thing."
They complied and entered the aircraft, as Jake walked back behind the center bleachers. There, he saw the Slipstream sitting in a pit area, and a very calm Speed Demon leaning up against the large rear tire smoking a cigarette. He saw Jake and nodded to him. The pilot walked up and reached out a hoof to shake.
"That was some race Speed Demon. I'll never forget it."
The Previous Record Holder looked skeptical at first, but then reached out and shook Jake's hoof.
"Nor will I Mr. Jake. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be back with something bigger and better."
"And I'll be here waiting with something bigger and better as well."
They both laughed. Speed Demon smiled and shook his head.
"Well, wherever you go, and whatever you do...good luck."
"The same to you."
Jake walked away, and before he rounded the corner, he looked back one last time to see Speed Demon as he took a long drag from his cigarette, tossed it to the pavement, and quietly walked away behind the wheel of the Slipstream.
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The wheels of the C-130 lifted off the sand, and it banked to the north to begin their journey home. It flew over the clearing stands and off into the orange evening sky.
"Well Anchor, this has been one hell of a day!"
"You said it Darrel. Jake Weston, a stallion that nopony had heard of just yesterday, has set the land speed record! History has been made here today folks."
"You bet Anchor! And remember, tune in to Equestrian 98.1 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays for all of your news and updates. And whenever there's something big goin' down in the neighborhood, tune in as well and we'll have ya covered!"
"I'm Anchor Cast."
"And I'm Darrel Stalltrip. Good night Equestria!"