Amethyst Star Isn't Prepared For This

by MagicS

Her Race VII

Ahead of them was a mountain, and one Amethyst Star recognized. High up on it sat the long bridge that went back to the stadium and that final big curve before the finishing line. Their race was nearing its completion. To get up there in the first place it looked like there was a road that started at the foot of the mountain and spiraled all the way to the top—where they’d then get right off onto the bridge. It looked like quite the ride up there, if she went as fast as possible she’d be squished against the side of the driver’s seat by the g-forces of constantly turning like that. That was just the name of the game though and Amethyst Star was willing to put some stress on herself if it meant winning.

She was still in… eighth place right now as she looked at the number of cars ahead of her. Wow! She really had made a ton of progress from where she started at the very beginning of the race.

“Fernie believed in me for some reason so maybe I can at least believe in myself a little,” Amethyst Star said as she drove to try and make up the distance to the car I front of her. The road was currently flat and unobstructed though, she didn’t have a way to get ahead of anyone else just yet with them all pushing their cars at full speed.

The mountain approached quickly and the cars began to shoot up the sloping road wrapped around it, far narrower than the wide plain they had been driving down right before it but still with enough space for three or four cars to drive beside each other if they were trying to get past one another. A metal railing along the edge was the only thing keeping them from careening off the side if they got too close. But Amethyst Star was confident enough now to not worry about that. She had driven this thing with a skill that really surprised her and she’d be willing to take the risk of heading to the outside if it meant she could pass another car.

Amethyst Star had to keep the wheel turned the right way to make sure she didn’t lose any momentum going up the road, the constant turning taking more of an effort on her limbs. She saw the first car in front of her ease up on the gas slightly so he wouldn’t spin out of control or drift to the railing. Well that only made her grin. Amethyst Star wasn’t slowing down for nothing. She kept her hoof on the gas and used his declining speed along with the outer edge of the road to go right past him, one down and only a few more to go. The unicorn didn’t bother looking over to see if he was surprised or angry to be passed by her, she kept her attention on the race.

Showing a lot more sense than she usually did.

Her near reckless driving was paying off so far. A glance at her fuel gauge showed it still around half full too, everything was going well for her on this last leg of the course before the return to the stadium. She made her first lap around the mountain and kept going up and up, the bridge still a few more levels of road above her.

The next couple cars ahead of her were still a ways away, she could just barely see them before the road curved, so she took the time to mull over her options and just what she could do to win this race from here.

One more press of the nitro button.

The bridge was a long and completely straight path, probably best to save the nitro and use it up there. In fact if she hit it now she’d have a very short trip right off the side of the mountain. That would not end well. If she could get out into first using the nitro right before the race ended there shouldn’t be enough time or space for anyone else to catch her after that. She had to use it on that bridge.

What else was at her disposal? A reckless attitude and that was about it.

And beginner’s luck.

“None of that has helped me before,” Amethyst Star cynically realized. “But things are different this time. I’m not doing this for myself, I’m doing it for Fernie and everyone else.”

She kept The Amethyst Flame going at full speed, the momentum tugging on her car and naturally making her take the constant turns at their widest point. She hugged that outer edge and licked her lips as she steadily approached the next couple of cars. Would they ever have guess that she was a total amateur? Were they the kind of drivers that would’ve taken the risk she was taking by pushing her car to the limit if they were in her situation? Probably not considering they seemed satisfied to take the safe route right now even though she was gaining on them.

Well if they weren’t willing to do that then they didn’t deserve to beat her!

“Snooze you lose!” She yelled as she passed by them too, not like they could hear her with all the noise their cars made.

She had made it up another level of the mountain, only a few more revolutions and she’d be at the top where the bridge was. It was at this point that a sudden rumbling reached her ears and she felt the car and ground beneath her begin to shake. Something was happening on this mountain.

“Oh great, not another obstacle?” She wondered, trying to keep her car steady as the rocky road shook treacherously. Now she was forced to slow down slightly too, fearing what the slightest forfeiture of control could mean. The rumbling got louder and louder and even the shaking got worse too, hearing it from above, Amethyst Star glanced up to see if she could tell what was happening.

And she screamed.

“Ahhhh!” She hit the brakes and swerved to the left, barely avoiding a boulder crashing into the road and continuing to bounce on down the side of the mountain. More and more boulders kept coming after that, forcing the unicorn to dodge between them all lest she get crushed.

“I swear if this was supposed to happen I’m really going to let whoever plans this race here about it!” She angrily screamed as her eyes snapped wide open, focusing her entire body and mind on the very simple desire to not be crushed by a falling boulder. They kept tumbling and tumbling all around her, some the size of her car and others just the size of her head, a true rock-slide that was causing chaos on the racecourse.

It felt like the mountain was practically being torn apart by an earthquake the more she drove up it, cracks even started appearing in the road. Was that bridge even going to be safe? Should she be driving across it while something like this was going on?

“Woah!” Another boulder rolling right in front of her car put an end to those thoughts, for now she just had to survive.

Thanks to each turn around the mountain getting shorter the further up you went she already made another full rotation even with having to dodge the falling rocks or adjust her speed. Now she could see some more cars in front of her, they as well doing their best to not get in an accident. That scene gave Amethyst Star an idea. If she was counting her reckless attitude as a plus in this race she might as well go all out with it, right?

Amethyst Star smiled and sped up. Boulders? What boulders? She was dodging those like they were nothing. The shaking was hardly enough to throw her off her game either. Let the whole mountain fall apart around her, she was not losing this kind of opportunity. A lot of rocks had come to a stop on the road, becoming just as much of hazards as the ones still falling. Her big tires were enough to chew up or knock around some of those but for the most part she had to avoid them too. But that meant the ones in front of her had the same problem and they were going slower than her to begin with.

This time she didn’t say anything as she came up close behind them, only staying hunkered down in her seat and focusing on the act of passing them.

She was starting to sweat again and it wasn’t from heat this time. Pure adrenaline was flowing through her veins as she shot around and through the cars, using the brief openings they would make to avoid the falling boulders in front of them to squeeze through the gaps and take up a superior position. Amethyst Star had lost track of what place she was in now but if she had to guess it would be second place.

The reason for that would be that now the only car she saw ahead of her was Watts’s black vehicle.

It also looked like she was close to the top and only needed one more very short lap around the peak before they’d turn onto the bridge. A few rocks were still coming down but not as many and the shaking of the mountain had grown weaker, Amethyst Star’s gamble had paid off nicely, if she didn’t use that opportunity to force her way ahead she likely would have never gotten one. All the cars were likely to start speeding up again now that most of the danger had passed. Watts was able to keep his lead since he had enough of a gap but it looked like he didn’t take any risks with the boulders either, Amethyst Star had gotten too close to him for him to have been speeding like she was.

“You’re gonna regret that,” Amethyst Star said. Oh yeah, she was the one who deserved the win if she was the only one willing to put it all on the line. “You all thought you could just race like normal, but I’m here to win it for those ponies. I don’t care about myself, or glory, or whatever the prize is, so I’m trying harder than any of you.”

She had to dodge one more falling boulder before both her and Watts’s cars rounded the top and ended up on a straight path right to the log bridge.

This was it.

Watts’s car rumbled over the logs as he hit the bridge first, but Amethyst Star was hot on his tail and not only that the bridge was more than wide enough for her to pass him once she used the speed boost of the nitro. She almost couldn’t believe it. That she was actually in this moment. Luck or latent skill or whatever else might have been responsible, she didn’t care. In the distance beyond the bridge she could see the final huge turn and the stadium with the stands of ponies ready to cheer for the race’s victor.

It would be her. She knew she could do it. She knew she could finally do it.

The moment her tires hit the logs she pressed the nitro button.

That familiar burst of speed hit her again, pushing her flat against the driver’s seat as The Amethyst Flame rocketed across the bridge. She kept her hooves glued to the wheel to make the car stay straight as she passed by the black vehicle of Watts. Was he shocked that he had just been passed? The force of the car kept her from even attempting to look, not that he wouldn’t have been anything more than a blur anyways. The end of the bridge quickly approached at the insane speed she was going and the last bit of nitro-power fizzled out just as she got over it, her wheels touching down on the ground and her car beginning to return to its normal top-speed while the momentum from the nitro fell off.

Here she was at the very last part of the big racecourse. And she was in first.

She was in first place.

She was in first place!

“Time to cross that finish line and win this thing,” Amethyst Star narrowed her eyes, feeling a steely sort of resolve that was unlike her. Her hoof kept the gas pedal pressed flush to the ground as her car entered the last turn.

Comments

[Alondro]

Hmm... a story with a character I don't recall reading as a the lead before.

Well, I guess I'll read it!

(ALONDRO IS HERE.)

[redmar]

This is surprising I hadn't expected Amethyst Star to end up in first place. Maybe the universe has decided to reward her for deciding to be selfless for a change.

[RoboRed]

You start thinking of others rather than just yourself and things start to change.