The World Race

by TheIronPone035

Second Leg (Part 1)

The loud sound of screeching tires echoed throughout the forest as a dark orange car with an exposed engine in the back zoomed through it. Scootaloo gripped the wheel with both her hands so tight her knuckles were white, beats of sweat dripping from her brow as she concentrated. She spun the wheel to the right, hit the gas, then twisted the wheel back to the left. She focused on the trees ahead of her, making sure to avoid each one with careful precision. Eventually, she was out of the forest and back in the small clearing with the large complex.

Scootaloo drove over to where the Deora ll was and put Spine Buster in park, her car exactly parallel to her idols. She cut the engine and stepped out of her new ride, a grin plastered on her face. She approached Rainbow with that grin, the other driver leaning against her car whilst watching the performance.

"What's my time?" Scootaloo inquired.

"One minute on the dime, not bad squirt." Rainbow stated as she walked past the young teenager and towards their car. She examined the whole body and windows, a smile spreading across her face as she noticed the lack of any dents or scratches. "It also looks like you didn't hit anything when you went through the forest."

"So did I make the team?" Scootaloo asked pleadingly.

"You did just as well as I knew you would, but are you sure you want to?" Rainbow asked. "It's gonna be dangerous, and i'm not gonna be able to catch you if you fall."

Scootaloo nodded. "I'm sure."

"Alright then, gear up. We're racing now." Rainbow exclaimed.

"Wait, right now?"

"Yep, listen."

The pair stood in silence for a few seconds, before the sounds of Twilight's voice echoed throughout the clearing. Her voice was slightly muffled due to the speakers placement, but her instructions came out crystal clear.

"Attention all drivers. The next leg of the World Race is in t-minus two minutes, please line up on the west side of the complex." Twilight explained.

Scootaloo looked at her idol, then at her car. She felt a fire inside her get stronger, fueling her eagerness. "Alright, let's go!"

Rainbow hopped into her own car and lowered the front panel down, waiting for the satisfying clicking sound of it locking before she shifted into first gear. She quickly drove over to the starting line, watching through her rear view mirror as Scootaloo pulled up right behind her. She knew Scootaloo had the skill, but she was still to young to drive on legal streets, let alone in a race through dimensions. Still, she trusted that kid. And if she said she wanted to race, then she'd race, with or without her permission. But deep down, no matter how capable she was, she knew that this could easily be one of the worst mistakes she'd ever make.

The rest of the drivers all lined up in rows of five, each one revving their cars engines while watching the hovering street light glow red.

Pinkie Pie finished a muffin, before putting the rapper in a bag and gripped the steering wheel. Applejack was dead focused on the flat land in front of her, her boot resting just above the gas pedal.

The red light dimmed, before being replaced with a yellow light from below it.

Rarity shifted from park and looked at the light. Starlight right behind her gripping the wheel a little tightly.

The yellow light dimmed.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, her eyes locked on the light. Behind her, Scootaloo gripped Spine Busters wheel tight. There was no turning back now.

The light turned green.

With a loud roar, all the cars took off, Rarity and Pinkie Pie quickly taking the lead.

Pinkie looked at the purple and green shaded car in front of her, before hitting the Nitrox 2 button and tightening her grip on the wheel. Balistik bounced onto its rear wheels, shooting past Sling Shot, which quickly followed with there own Nitrox 2 injection.

Soon, most of the cars had hit there Nitrox, speeding up to 300 MPH. Rainbow looked in her rear view mirror to see Scootaloo get left in the dust, not knowing what to press. Rainbow sighed before switching on her radio.

"Hit the yellow button to your right to activate the Nitrox system. But use it sparingly squirt." Rainbow instructed. She looked back in her rear view mirror to see Spine Buster quickly shoot back up into the pack of cars on it's rear wheels. This was followed by a "YAHOO!!" From the radio.

The purple portal at the end of the straightaway appeared, its colorful flames dancing through the air. Rarity and Pinkie Pie went in first, followed by the Crazy 8 and Applejack. It didn't take long for the rest of the drivers to enter afterwards, each vehicle getting engulfed in a white light as they went inside. The portal collapsed behind them, leaving only a few white flakes in its place which slowly dissipated into the air.

---

Sling Shot and Balistik shot out of the portal and onto a red track. The two drivers inside quickly turned the wheel, narrowly avoiding flying off the track. Balistik's rear left wheel practically hovering over the side of the road, but was quick to plant itself back on the track.

"Watch out for that first turn!" Pinkie called out through the radio.

The rest of the drivers shot out of the portal, quickly avoiding the turn. One of those being Sunset Shimmer, who shifted up and drove narrowly between two other cars.

Scootaloo frantically turned the wheel, trying to stay near the middle of the track, but it kept twisting and turning. It was like driving in a pot of pasta!

Rainbow Dash hit the gas, accelerating towards a turn. Scootaloo spotted this and followed her example, matching her speed. Soon, her car was drafting behind the Deora ll. Scootaloo smiled, this wasn't so bad. Just a twisty coa- the tail lights of the Deora ll suddenly shot to the left, revealing a sharp turn.

"CLIFF!" Scootaloo shouted, frantically twisting the steering wheel to the left. Even with her attempts, the car was still getting closer to the edge, its rear fishtailing towards the side.

Scootaloo braced herself, ready to feel the falling sensation of her car sliding off the track. However, instead, she felt the push of another car on her right. Scootaloo looked past the combustion compartment to see Crazy 8 slamming into the side of her car, keeping it on the track. Not only that, but it seemed to be driving right on the edge of the track, its right tires on the purple outer layer.

Scootaloo corrected her car, now driving parallel with the cliff. She let out a sigh of relief, before locking her gaze back on the track ahead of her.

Crazy 8 accelerated past Spine Buster, quickly closing the gap between it and the car ahead of it. That car happened to be the Deora ll. Instead of driving right past it however, the car screeched along the side of it. Rainbow Dash looked out her left window, seeing sparks fly from the contact, before Crazy 8 took off.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash shouted, shifting up and chasing the car.

---

Ahead of the other drivers, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were battling for first place. Pinkie tried several times to swing past but Rarity shut the gap she was trying to drive through, causing her to be pushed backwards and once again behind Sling Shot.

"Come on! At least give me some room here!" Pinkie Pie said, trying again on the other side. Rarity blocked her again and continued to drive.

"I'm planning on winning this race, not lose to a girl on a sugar rush." Rarity responded.

Pinkie grunted, before shifting and managing to drive side by side with Sling Shot. She eyed the driver through the window, before looking back to the road, and gasped.

Ahead of the two were several miniature loops that rolled around until they cut off at a jump at the end.

"Wow, now that's a roller coaster I wanna ride!" Pinkie exclaimed, before slamming on the gas and taking off on one of the loops.

Rarity had already taken the other loop, making sure to keep her eyes locked on the road. The two cars quickly began to twist around, narrowly missing each other as the two tracks connected at the top. After five of these loops, the two cars were face to face with a jump. They ran it, soaring through the sky, until the two bumped each other mid air. The two cars landed with hard thuds and spun out on the track below.

"Really? You just had to hit me mid air huh?" Rarity complained.

Pinkie rubbed the back of her head, before looking at Rarity. "You think I wanted to do that?"

"Never mind, I've got a race to win." Rarity emphasized, before shifting and hitting the gas pedal. Sling Shot took off down the red track, before the track turned and was covered by some rocks.

Pinkie was about to follow, but spotted another track to the side. This track was purple and led down to a large thick forest below.

"Hey Candy Crushers, I think I found some sorta shortcut." Pinkie exclaimed over the radio to her team.

"Shouldn't we stick to the track?" Colgate, one of her new team members questioned.

"That is a track, just a different color and I bet a baker's dozen that it's a shortcut." Pinkie stated.

A pack of cars landed behind her, each one sporting the Candy Crushers logo quickly slowed, until Pinkie took off and onto the purple track. They followed suit and soon the whole team wound up on the purple track which began twisting around massive trees.

---

The Deora ll landed a little harder than it should have as it hit the track after the jump. Rainbow kept her eyes on the road, her focused glare only challenged when the radio switched itself on.

"Hey, the Candy Crushers are taking another route." Starlight exclaimed, looking at a monitor in her car.

"So? We stay on the track and win this race." Rainbow instructed.

"Come on, it looks like a shortcut," Scootaloo stated, before shifting up and driving side by side with Starlight until the two cars jumped from the red track to the purple track.

Rainbow Dash hit the brakes and twisted the wheel to the right, stopping the Deora ll in its tracks. "Hold on squirt!. We need to stick together!"

"What do we have to lose Dash?" Soarin asked, before shifting up and letting his car jump from the red track to the purple one. He was followed by the other two members of the Prism Chasers.

With a groan of annoyance, Rainbow drove back up the red track and pulled over to the purple one, following her team through the forest.

Unbeknownst to them, a pure black car sped right past the purple track, it's driver gripping the wheel with determination.

---

Applejack shifted up, twisting the wheel to the left on a turn, managing to catch up with the group of drivers ahead of her. She looked in her rear view mirror to see Crazy 8 in hot pursuit of her. No matter what she seemed to do, that car wouldn't fall behind.

"What do ah have ta do ta shake you!?" Applejack questioned, shifting up.

Ahead of her, a large group of drivers from several teams were battling for first place with Rarity still leading. However, one driver tried to make a quick pass around another, only to hit them and send both cars spinning. This caused the car behind them to crash, and a chain reaction caused the entire group to start spinning out.

Applejack was quick to notice the newly made blockade of cars and hit the brakes, slowing down so she could carefully avoid the cars. However, Crazy 8 didn't seem to have the same plan.

The car shot past Roadrunner way to fast, causing an alarmed Applejack to ignite her radio and switched it to the cars signal. "Ah don't know who's driv'n that car but y'alls crazy to think ya can avoid all these cars at that..." Applejack trailed off as she watched in disbelief as Crazy 8 dodged each car like it was from an action scene in a movie her younger sister had watched with her friends.

"speed..." Applejack finished, her eyes widened in amazement at the skilled maneuvers around the spun out cars.

Crazy 8 shot around a halted car before accelerating past an incoming sliding car, its large spoiler narrowly missing it by mere inches. The engine rattled loudly as the car turned sharply around another stalled car and drifted so close to the edge of the track the rear end tire flew over the edge for a split second. But Crazy 8 kept going.

Applejack snapped out of the trance as she saw a line of cars form at the end of the crash, completely blocking off the track.

"LOOK OUT!" She shouted through the radio.

Crazy 8 didn't slow down. If anything, it sped up. The car spun around once more time, before driving towards a parked car. The said car happened to have a ramp shaped front end. So when Crazy 8 came up to it, it ramped off the car and over the line. It landed back on the track with a loud THUMP before continuing on its way down the track, leaving an extremely shocked Applejack in the dust.

Comments

[Teraunce]

Crazy 8 is Fluttershy. I just know it.