> Run That Race > by The Unseen > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > An Idea Takes Shape > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15TH SEPTEMBER 2023 ------THUNDERBOLT MOTORSPORTS HEADQUARTERS, CANTERLOT CITY------ It was a beautiful morning in Canterlot City, and the time was 9:00am. Most of the city was already at school or work, but some were only now arriving. Among these was the head of Thunderbolt Motorsports, Soaring Surfer, who was driving his recently acquired Lamborghini Urus, wearing a black three-piece suit with a red tie. They would be one of many new teams on the grid this year of the first season of the FIA's newest series, the Road Car World Championship. This series was basically a mix of Formula 1, World Endurance Championship, and Super GT. Here, the cars would be similar to those in Super GT, and also to the LMGT3 cars in the World Endurance Championship, but the races were only around two or three hours long, like those in Formula 1. It would have a total of 18 races, with the first race on 16th March 2024, and the final race on 16th November 2024, lasting exactly eight months. However, Thunderbolt was the first truly brand-new team that would enter the series, having been founded only two months earlier. All of the other teams had participated in at least one other motorsports series. One team had even raced in Formula 1, and another had won Le Mans. They had to make a statement, and Surfer had an idea of how to. He and his marketing team had been working on this idea for a long time now, and would pitch it to the representatives of a few automotive companies today. If all went well, the team would probably be able to race in the 2024 season. If not, well, he didn't want to think about that. Surfer pulled his Urus into his parking spot at the Thunderbolt Motorsports headquarters, and walked in. The headquarters was a modern building of 15 storeys, all glass windows. A sign at the top of the building, read 'THUNDERBOLT MOTORSPORTS', in large white letters, and emblazoned above it was the team's insignia, a yellow thunderbolt. He went in, and walked straight into the elevator, and pressed the button for the tenth floor. Despite him looking calm on the outside, on the inside, he was nervous. He was taking one of the biggest gambles in motorsports history, so he wasn't surprised about it. As he walked into the conference room, he was met by the representatives sent by the manufacturers. A lot of them had an annoyed look on their face, but some also had a curious look on their faces, wondering what the team had to pitch to them. Among them was also a familiar face. Among them was Hot Rocket, the team's only driver as of now. She was one of the few woman drivers to enter an official FIA series, and boy, she was good. Surfer had noticed her while on a scouting tour. He was in Brazil, and had witnessed a touring car race at the Interlagos Circuit. Despite all of the other drivers in that race being men, Hot Rocket had successfully taken first in that race, driving a humble Honda Civic. After doing a little research, he found that that Hot Rocket was burning up the racing scene in Brazil, but wasn't getting any offers into any FIA series, as she was a woman, despite having acquired an FIA racing license. Surfer had recruited her right away, as he could see high potential in her, and he didn't have any regrets. Apart from being a good driver, Hot Rocket also had the advantage of being very good-looking, with vibrant blue skin and amazing black hair, she always attracted attention at Thunderbolt's press events. Sometimes, Surfer thought that her beauty was what had made the FIA allow their team into the series once they had a second driver and cars in the first place. Anyways, time to get to cut to the chase, thought Surfer as he began speaking. "Alright, everybody. Thank you for having me. I'm sure you're wondering what this sales pitch I have to show you here today is. Well, here's the head of my marketing team, to show you." said Surfer, as the marketing head turned on a projector. Multiple video clips began playing. All of them were rather similar. They all showed streamers and content creators playing video games. All of them were playing only one game. It was definitely a racing game, due to the fact that the people on the screens were using steering wheel setups, and were driving cars in it. That was when one of the representatives asked, "Well, Surfer? Why are you showing us videos of people playing video games?" "Well, Sir, there is a reason why. You see, this one game, RaceWorld, is one of the top trending video games on the planet right now. Close to 100 million people play this game. It has given them a love for cars and driving. In this game, the experience of driving a real car has been meticulously recreated by its developers, along with close to fifty different racetracks, to give the ultimate driving experience to its players. Its the closest thing to racing a real car and living out your dreams in reality." said the marketing head. "Okay, but what does this game have to do with Thunderbolt Motorsports?" asked another representative. "Ah, that is a good question. You see, my first job relating to cars was repossessing from buyers who had defaulted on their payments. Most of them always said, 'Fine, take the car. I don't want it anymore'. That is still true today. Normal people don't want to drive their cars and waste gas. They'd prefer sitting in the back of a taxi, and be driven everywhere by someone else. Normal people don't regard their cars as fun and adventurous toys. RaceWorld players do. Majority of RaceWorld's players are die-hard gearheads, who regard a car as something to play with. Something to have fun with. It is a large untapped demographic of car buyers, that we can reach." said Surfer. That was when one representative asked, "And how do you propose we do that? "By creating a contest. We offer the best gamers in the world the chance to compete in real motorsports. Through a RaceWorld contest, we recruit one good driver from the virtual world, from behind their console or computer, put one of those gamers on a real racetrack, and turn them into a champion. If we can do that, whichever brand supplies us the cars for the 2024 season will basically have reignited the love of cars and driving, in 100 million people." said the marketing head. At this sentence, all of the representatives began talking among themselves. A few even started laughing among themselves. Surfer couldn't blame them. Who in their right mind would let a kid who played video games in his bedroom into a racing car? But it was the only way for Thunderbolt Motorsports to get some attention on the track. It was also the only way to get their cars and another driver, since all of the other good drivers had been swiped by other teams, and the only ones left were the bad drivers. They couldn't compete with only one driver. "Well, thank you for having me, gentlemen. Good day." said Surfer, as he left the conference room, and headed towards the elevator. He got in, and hopped in the elevator to the fourteenth floor. At 9:45am, he arrived at his office, and hoped that his plan would work. Just as he sat at his desk, his receptionist came in. "Mr. Surfer, one of the representatives would like to see you. Apparently, his company wants to make a deal with you." said the receptionist. "Alright, send him." said Surfer. The receptionist dutifully obeyed, and the representative walked in. His ID card wore the logo of Porsche. "Hi, Mr. Surfer. I represent Porsche. I was amazed by your idea. Do you really think that gamers can be real-life racers?" asked the representative. "Well, I played the game, and it's remarkable, actually, to see how close it comes to simulating driving a real racing car." said Surfer. "I'm sure you understand what might happen to Thunderbolt Motorsports if one of the gamers in your cars gets hurt? We would all be responsible." "Yes, I know. It is a big gamble for my team, but I'm willing to take the risk." "I just had a talk with my superiors, and the company sees some potential in your idea, to increase the sales of Porsche vehicles to car enthusiasts, and we are willing to supply you cars, in this case, the brand new 992 generation of the 911 GT3 R, for the 2024 season of the FIA Road Car World Championship. But there is a condition." said the representative. "What is that?" asked Surfer, happy that his idea had worked, and that the cars were being supplied by such a renowned brand like Porsche. "Well, we want you to recruit a certified chief engineer and training driver, to make sure that this is safe. Do you accept these terms?" said the representative, pulling out the contracts, and keeping them on Surfer's desk. "I accept." said Surfer. "Good. Let's sign the paperwork, and I'll let my superiors in Germany know." said the representative. Surfer let off a sigh of relief. He was happy that his idea had worked, and they would be getting their cars. But now came the big part. Getting the drivers, and training them. This was going to be a stressful next few months for him and the team. > The Student > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17TH SEPTEMBER 2023 ------B-202, SUNNY HEIGHTS, CANTERLOT CITY------ It was almost 10:00am here in Canterlot City. Since it was a Sunday, most people were still lazing in their beds, having breakfast, or had gone outside to the mall for some shopping. However, on the 2nd floor of an apartment building named Sunny Heights, a certain bacon-haired girl was doing some unpacking. Sunset Shimmer was especially pleased to receive this delivery, since she had been waiting for it for three months now. Sunset happily began unboxing the new simracing setup she had ordered. She had saved up quite a bit to buy this setup, but she felt it would be worth, especially since her old setup wasn't so great. If there was one thing Sunset loved, it was cars. When she had first come to the human world after leaving Equestria, after living in the school dormitories for a while, her ex-boyfriend, Flash Sentry, had invited her to a car race at the local track for a date. At first, Sunset was confused about why someone would want to see cars going around in circles for an hour or two, but after the event, she realised what the excitement was all about. The speed, the adrenaline, the noise of those machines, that was what it was all about. And now, Sunset had turned 17, so now that she had gotten a license and her own car, she could see why people liked these machines. Their cars were like the extensions of their own body, something that they could control. The feeling couldn't be put into words. In fact, it was so much that Sunset hoped to become a racing driver. However, once she found that racing was a rich person's sport, she had to give up that dream, as she was relatively poor. Since Sunset was also a gamer, she had decided to also start playing car games. RaceWorld was one of the more recent releases, having come out just two months earlier. Despite that, it was still one of the top trending games on the planet. The game was still extremely popular among simracers and car people, and had more than 100 million players, including Sunset, who was pretty good. As Sunset continued unboxing, her excitement began skyrocketing. Her new setup included a direct-drive steering wheel, pedals, an H-shifter, and a handbrake. Her phone then rang. It was another player who she often played RaceWorld with. He went by the online alias of Thrustmaster. "Yo, Speed Queen. You got your new setup?" said Thrustmaster. They only knew each other by their online aliases. Sunset's online alias was Speed Queen. "Yup, Thrustmaster. It's finally here! I've been waiting a month for this! My old setup sucked! It's so nice to finally buy a new one!" replied Sunset. "So, you think you'll be able to beat some of the top players now?" asked Thrustmaster. "I don't just think, I know I will!" replied Sunset. "Anyways, gotta finish setting up this up, talk later!" said Sunset, hanging up, as she began removing the equipment from their boxes. Just as Sunset finished setting everything up, her phone rang. "Oh, shoot, must be the girls." said Sunset, doing a facepalm. They were supposed to be heading to the mall for a movie today. The movie would start in an hour, remembered Sunset, as she picked up the phone, having forgotten about it. "Sunset, where are you? We're all here, and doing some shopping before the movie!" came the voice of Rainbow Dash. "Sorry, Dash, I forgot, and I had to receive an important delivery. I'll be there soon." replied Sunset. "What? Come on, you never forget! Also, there's a lot of traffic, so the mall's pretty far from your place! How are you gonna get here in time? If you want, I can use my super speed to come get you!" said Rainbow. "No need, I'll be leaving in a minute, I'll be there before the movie starts. See you there." said Sunset, hanging up the phone, and running into the bathroom to change. It was 10:15am, as Sunset quickly left her house after changing, only stopping to grab her phone, wallet, geode, and car keys. It was hard to believe it had only been two months since their visit to Camp Everfree, and only two years since she had come to the human world. The movie would start at 11:00am, and Maps was showing that due to the traffic, it would take Sunset close to an hour to reach the mall. Well, Sunset thought she could bring that time down. Sunset ran down the stairs, as the elevator was under maintenance, to the basement, where her car was parked. As she reached the basement, only two cars were there. A neighbor's rather broken Chrysler Voyager, and Sunset's car, a red Toyota GT86 that she had bought used right after she had got her license a year earlier. She didn't drive it too much, since both school and her part-time job were within walking distance. Sunset liked this car as it was rather fun to drive, was cheap to buy, and was reliable, since it was Japanese. It had also had quite a bit of aftermarket customisation, which was something Sunset had liked. She had already done some minor modifications. She had replaced the stock rims with Konig Dekagrams, put on a cold air filter, and also put on a new exhaust, so that it sounded louder. Sunset climbed into her GT86, locked the doors, and switched on the engine. The car roared to life with a roar, thanks to the modified exhaust, so it sounded like a supercar, despite it having only 200 horsepower. Sunset drove out quickly, and drifted the sports coupe onto the main road, due to it being rear-wheel drive. Sunset vroomed the car, and began heading down the main road. The only thing was that the car took almost 8 seconds to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour, which was rather slow. But she wasn't surprised. It was a GT86, after all. Sunset continued driving with enthusiasm, her heart pounding in excitement as she pushed the pedal a little more. The sun shone brightly in the sky, casting a warm glow on the streets and the cars that whizzed past her. Sunset knew she had to be careful, but the adrenaline and the need for speed was too strong to resist. As she navigated through the city, Sunset's mind wandered to her new simracing setup. She couldn't wait to try it out and see how it would improve her gameplay in RaceWorld. She imagined herself zooming past other players, winning races, and becoming the ultimate champion. The thought fueled her determination, and she pushed her car a little harder, knowing she had to reach the mall soon. As she continued speeding down the streets of Canterlot City, she noticed a cop car coming from the side, and quickly hit the brakes, so that she didn't get pulled over. Thankfully, she slowed down enough so that the cop didn't pull her over, and he didn't notice her car either, currently interrogating a man in an Altima. Of course it was an Altima driver. As Sunset continued speeding through the city, she reached the main road, which was choked with traffic. The radio told her that there had apparently been an accident here, due to which there was now a traffic jam. Sunset noticed a large multi-level car park a couple of cars ahead, and realised she could cut through it, since it would save her some time and help her avoid the traffic jam. She quickly took the turn towards the car park and began drifting through it, recreating a scene from one of her favorite racing movies. Just as she was heading towards the exit, she realised someone was looking at her car and dialing numbers on a phone. Sunset realised that the man was going to call the police on her, thinking she was a street racer. Sunset quickly began driving towards the parking lot exit, which was on another road. She began driving towards the exit of the parking lot, and peeled out, hoping that the man hadn't taken caught her license plates. She drove out of the parking lot, and realised there was an alleyway that she could drive through to save time. As Sunset sped through the alleyway, her heart raced with excitement and a hint of fear. She knew she was taking risks, but the thought of reaching the mall in time to catch the movie with her friends kept her going. The narrow alleyway seemed to stretch on forever, with tall buildings on either side, casting deep shadows that danced along the walls. That was when she looked at her watch, and realised that the movie would be starting in just half an hour, as it was now 10:30am. She needed to get there faster. She pressed the gas pedal, and drifted the GT86 onto the main road. She continued speeding, and just hoped dearly that a cop didn't pull her over. The boxer engine roared, and just as Sunset's car passed 70 miles per hour, she realised that there was traffic ahead, and quickly drifted onto one of the side roads, in a move she had used in RaceWorld plenty of times. She continued speeding through Canterlot City, and as she continued doing so, she also started using moves from RaceWorld. Sunset wondered how well she could do on a real track. She thought about taking her GT86 to the local racetrack for a track day when it was possible. Sunset continued racing through the streets, enjoying the fun of driving, and the adrenaline coursing through her veins, as she neared the mall. She drove through a residential layout, hoping that no one was out for a walk at this time. She continued giving it the beans, hitting more than 90 miles per hour on one stretch before slowing down. The cost to fill up the car after this would be worth it. As she pulled up into the mall parking lot entrance, she noticed quite a few cars queued up, and just hoped spots were still available. Thankfully, despite the queue, there were still spots available, and Sunset drove into one lot, and noticed some familiar cars there. One of them was Rarity's dark purple 2010 Maserati GranCabrio. Rarity had bought the GT convertible for $30,000 on an impulse, thinking she had gotten a good deal by buying an Italian luxury car such as the GranCabrio for a cheap price. Well, Rarity was starting to suffer buyers' regret, after finding out first-hand how unreliable Maseratis were known for being. Sunset wondered how the car had even been able to get Rarity to the mall. Then there was Twilight's recently acquired bright red 2015 Ford Escape. Twilight had bought it as she had read a lot about cars before buying, and she had calculated that a small SUV such as an Escape or CR-V was the best first car, due to their fuel economy and safety. It was a rather boring looking car, though, and Sunset would not have noticed the Escape had it not been parked next to Rarity's Maserati. Next to that was parked a forest green Ford F-150, which was Granny Smith's truck, that Applejack had borrowed for the day. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy had probably taken a bus or taxi, due to the traffic today, and she couldn't blame them at all. Sunset went into the mall's lobby, and took the escalators to the floor where the movie theater was located. The girls were already waiting there. "Hey, Sunset! We thought you'd never show up!" said Rainbow. "Well, I did. Drove down here, a little recklessly, but I'm here. Don't worry, I didn't cause any accidents." said Sunset. "Oh, you brought down your GT86? Did you try any moves from that game?" asked Rainbow. "A few, yes, but nothing went wrong. Anyways, let's go and get the popcorn." said Sunset, as the girls all began walking into the movie theater. Soon, they were waiting outside the theater, with popcorn and snacks in head. As they waited, Twilight asked the girls a question. "So... what do you plan to do once we graduate?" asked Twilight. "Well, I'll probably just try and become a professional athlete, probably. If not, maybe a coach for a professional sports team." said Rainbow Dash. "Ah, probably move back to Sweet Apple Acres, and maybe run the place eventually." said Applejack. "Well, I'll probably go to college, get a degree, and a high-paying job." said Twilight. "What about you, Sunset?" "Well, I wanted to become a racing driver, but, racing is really a rich person's game. The cars are expensive, and the cost to compete is also expensive. I mean, it costs a hundred thousand dollars to compete in an entry-level touring car series." sighed Sunset. "Well, you could also go to college like me, and then, probably get a job at a car company or something, to develop and test new cars." said Twilight. "That's probably what I might do." said Sunset, as the girls all went into the theater, as the movie would start in ten minutes. As they went in, Sunset couldn't imagine the opportunity that would come her way soon to accomplish her dream. > The Teacher > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25TH SEPTEMBER 2023 ------RICH RACING HEADQUARTERS, LAGUNA SECA CIRCUIT------ It was now 10:00am here in California. Soaring Surfer was at the headquarter track of one of the rival teams in the 2024 season of the FIA Road Car World Championship. In this case, it was Laguna Seca, the home of Rich Racing. The team was owned by Filthy Rich, a Canterlot-based businessman who was known to Surfer as a spa magnate. He was also into heavily into motorsports. His team, Rich Racing, had also participated in Formula 1, Formula 2, and WRC. The team had won two WRC championships, three Formula 2 championships, and a lone Formula 1 championship, so they were pretty good. The team's star driver was Rash Rider, which, by his name, told everything about his personality. Rash Rider was known for being quite a dangerous driver sometimes, but he had driven for Rich Racing in the lone season of Formula 1 where they had taken the championship. He was quite a good driver. However, he also came from a rich family, and had pretty much bought his way into his first racing team, when he was still a rookie in Formula 3. He had also bought his way into Rich Racing as well. Rich Racing's other driver had also gotten into the sport the same way. Both their primary drivers were just rich brats who had bought their way into motorsports. This was the first foray for Rich Racing into racing sports cars, and for this, they had gotten the best. As Surfer drove his rented Lincoln Navigator into Laguna Seca, he saw Rich Motorsports' new cars taking their test laps. Rich Motorsports had gotten themselves some Ferrari 296 GT3s for this. However, they had been covered with the camouflage that car companies used when they road-tested new cars, so all that Surfer could tell was that they were Ferraris. They had been the first team on the grid to already get their new cars, despite the fact that the first race was in March. All of the other teams wouldn't be getting their cars until December or even January. The reason Surfer was here was because of the condition put forward by Porsche as part of the deal to supply cars to Thunderbolt Motorsports. He wanted to recruit a skilled racing driver as a training driver as part of their gamer recruitment program. However, all of the drivers he had contacted so far were not willing to join Surfer, because they felt his idea was either downright ridiculous or straight-up dangerous. Now, only one was left on the list, and he was working here, at Rich Racing. As he continued driving, meanwhile, in the Rich Racing pits, the man Surfer was looking for, was lying under the third Rich Racing Ferrari, which had suffered a transmission issue, and had been taken off track. He was currently trying to figure out why the car's transmission case had cracked. He had orange skin, and brown hair. His name was Comet Flash, and he happened to be a former Formula 1 driver. He was now working as one of the top mechanics for Rich Racing. As Surfer pulled his Navigator into the parking lot, he knew the reason why a former F1 driver was now working as a mechanic, at a team like Rich Racing, despite his apprehensions. Surfer knew that when he used to race, Comet Flash had hated rich drivers who had bought their way into motorsports. Surfer walked into the main building of Rich Racing, where he was greeted by the receptionist. "Hi, what can I do for you, Sir?" asked the receptionist. "Well, young lady, I'm here to see a man by the name of Comet Flash. He's one of your pit crew." replied Surfer. "Ah, I see. I'll inform Mr. Flash that you have arrived." said the receptionist, grabbing her telephone, and began phoning. In the pits, the pit boss got the phone, and called up Comet Flash from under the Ferrari. "Yo, Comet, some guy in a suit has come to see you. Make it quick. Rider wants that car fixed by the end of the day." said the pit boss. "Okay, tell him to come to the pits, I'll meet him there." said Flash, sliding out from under the Ferrari. He went off to grab a towel and wipe up, before meeting Surfer. At the entrance, the receptionist told Surfer that he could go to the pits to meet Flash. Surfer thanked her and went off towards the pits. At exactly 10:30am, Surfer and Comet Flash met up outside the pits, near the pit lane. They watched one of the Rich Racing Ferraris come back in for a quick change of tires and fuel, before it went out for another few laps. "Alright, what were you talking about on the phone yesterday? You seemed stressed." said Flash. "Well, yes, I am. My team is new, and I am taking a very big gamble with the plan I have in mind." said Surfer. "What is this plan?" asked Flash. Surfer quickly briefed Flash about the plan, and his eyes widened in surprise. "What is the team getting out of this, huh? More PR, and being called crazy?! You want to take some kid who plays a video game in his or her bedroom, and putting them in a machine capable of going more than two hundred miles per hour? It'll tear them to pieces!" "These players have clocked more track time than you have in your whole career. Plus, our plan convinced one car manufacturer. Porsche is supplying us the cars for the season, provided we hire a certified chief engineer and training driver, which is why I contacted you." said Surfer. "Damn, I can't believe you convinced Porsche to get you the cars with this plan of yours. You do realise that if someone messes up out on a track in real life, they can't just hit reset!" said Flash. "Well, that's where you come in. You're going to train them to drive real racecars, and the best one will be our second driver for the season. We can't get a reserve driver, however, as all of the wildcard slots for this season are filled." "Look, it's been almost nine years since I last raced, and I'm not sure I've got the skills to train someone, especially people who haven't driven a racecar before." "Well, you're my only choice. You were a pretty good driver back in the day." "Are you sure I'M your only choice? I've been a mechanic for almost nine years! Did you try any other drivers, ones who still race?" asked Flash. Surfer just sighed at that. That was when Flash realised. "None of the other drivers you called were willing, huh?" "Yes." sighed Surfer. "But look at this! Don't you want to take racing away from these arrogant pricks, who can just buy it all?!" asked Surfer, trying to motivate Flash. "Well, I'll have to think about it. I'll call and tell you my decision later." said Flash, heading back towards the pits. Surfer hoped that Flash would respond to his decision, or else, it was game over for Thunderbolt Motorsports. He thought about this as he walked out of the place, to his Navigator, which was parked outside, and drove back to his hotel in the city of Monterey, which was twenty minutes from Laguna Seca. Meanwhile, Flash headed back towards his place in the pits, and got back under the Ferrari, where he had figured out the issue. The transmission case on the car was cracked. It was due to Rash Rider cutting a track corner and hitting a cone. Despite the fact he hated rich kids like Rash Rider, the reason he was working at Rich Motorsports was to keep afloat in these times, as he had no intention of actually racing again. But still, he hated rich kids like Rash Rider. They had all just used their money to buy their way into racing without much actual skill, were hot-headed, drover recklessly, and always mistreated their cars. All they cared about was winning at all costs, even if they killed someone. Later that night, the main parts of Rich Motorsports, including Rash Rider and Comet Flash, headed into Monterey for dinner at a very fancy Italian restaurant there. Filthy Rich would be meeting them there to discuss how well the team's performance for the 2024 season was going. Flash drove there in his car, a brand-new bright blue Toyota Supra Mk. 5, while Rash Rider was chauffeured there in a black Rolls-Royce Cullinan, along with his teammate. They had also changed their clothes, from their work wear to suits. Flash was wearing a blue suit with a white tie, while Rash Rider was wearing a black suit with a black tie. On arriving at the restaurant, he noticed a few other fancy cars there, including a white Rolls-Royce Phantom, a purple Lamborghini Huracan, and a white and black Bugatti Veyron, which Flash recognised as Filthy Rich's car. Flash felt a little regretful, parking his humble Supra next to cars like the Veyron and Cullinan. It reminded him what he could have been, had he not quit racing. If not for that one fateful day, he would have been at this level. Fancy cars, a mansion in Malibu, probably running his own team. Almost nine years since that day. Flash remembered that day. Lying upside-down in his flipped car, with rescue staff gathering around. Just a few laps were left, he was in second, and had a pretty good lead on the guy in third. He could have just been satisfied with a podium finish. But no, he had to be too pushy for the win, didn't he?. Flash quickly blinked away the memories of that horrifying day, straightened his tie as he got out of his Supra, locked the car, and walked into the restaurant. Everyone was taking their places, including Filthy Rich, who was already waiting for them. He was wearing his classic apparel, a blue suit, and a red tie with a dollar sign emblazoned on it. "Alright, team. How is our progress for the inaugural season of the FIA Road Car World Championship?" asked Filthy Rich. "Good, Mr. Rich. Testing is going good. I still don't understand why you wanted us to get our cars now, even though the season doesn't start till March. Also, how did you persuade Ferrari to already deliver our cars?" asked the crew chief. "Well, I just paid them an advance to get the cars to us early. Also, I want you to get to know your cars better. The other teams will be getting their cars later, so we will have an advantage in knowing your driving techniques better. That way, we will have a chance at taking the championship. Last year, we didn't have that great a season in Formula 1 and WRC. This year, in this new championship, we will. You're a good driver, Rider." said Filthy Rich. At that statement, Flash had the 'I ain't so sure about that' face, which Rash Rider noticed. "You got something to say, mechanic?!" asked Rash Rider, angrily. "Well, you were a little slow coming out of Turn 8. You had to push it there, that, and you managed to crack the transmission case by going wide and hitting that cone. Look, you're a good driver, Rash, but, you get emotional, and that messes up your perf-" said Flash, as Rash Rider banged the table angrily, shaking the plates, and making everyone look at him. "Look, if I want racing advice, I'll talk to my crew chief, not some old man who couldn't make it out there all those years ago!" shouted Rash Rider angrily. That made everyone except for Comet Flash laugh. Instantly, he got up from his seat. "I quit. I got a job offer, and I'm taking it. I'm done at Rich Racing." said Flash, as he put on his suit jacket, and stormed out of the restaurant. As he headed towards his Supra, he called Surfer's number on his phone. The second Surfer answered, Flash spoke. "Hey, Surfer. I'm taking up your offer. I'm training your gamers. Just show me what they can do. I'm going home to pack up, and then book the first flight to Canterlot City." "Oh. What changed at Rich Racing?" asked Surfer. "I'll tell you at the Thunderbolt Motorsports HQ. I'm just sick of rich kids in motorsports." said Flash, hanging up, as he climbed into his Supra, and turned the car on. The car's BMW-sourced six-cylinder engine roared to life, and Flash peeled the Supra out of the restaurant's parking lot, heading towards his house in Monterey, as if he were reliving his days as a racing driver. Flash had one goal now. To show the world that you didn't need to be rich to enter the world of motorsports. > A Contest Begins > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15TH OCTOBER 2023 ------B-202, SUNNY HEIGHTS, CANTERLOT CITY------ It was now 3:00pm here in Canterlot City. Sunset had just returned to her house after school. It had been quite a day, with a decent amount of homework being assigned, and three tests next week. Sunset decided to play a bit of RaceWorld before getting to her first assignment. Sunset turned on her setup, and opened up RaceWorld. The RaceWorld logo came up, but however, instead of the main menu of the game, something else came up. It was a video. That was not that odd, since videos like this one usually played after a major update to show whatever new features and cars had been added to the game. However, it had been only two weeks since the last major update to RaceWorld. Such updates usually came once every few months. Sunset decided to take a look anyways. As the video began playing, she realised it was definitely not an update. It showed a man standing in front of four Porsche 911 GT3s. He was speaking into the camera. "Hello, lucky player! You've been selected as a candidate for RaceWorld Academy, where you'll learn to race a car in real life! We're holding a series of qualifiers, to select ten lucky young people to join RaceWorld Academy! If you get first place on the leaderboard in one of the final qualifiers, you're going to RaceWorld Academy! The first qualifier is on the 17th, so start practicing now, racers! Good luck!" said the man, as the video ended. Sunset couldn't believe her eyes. Was this real, or were the developers giving them a belated April Fools joke? That was when her phone rang. It was Thrustmaster who was calling. "Yo, Speed Queen, did you see that video?" asked Thrustmaster. "Yeah, Thrustmaster, but it just feels like a very late April Fools joke." said Sunset. "Nope, it's real alright. That video only came to some of the RaceWorld players, not all. It's all over the news in the motorsports world. It's an actual contest, being sponsored by both RaceWorld and Porsche. Its part of that new FIA series that begins racing next year, the Road Car World Championship. Apparently, a new Canterlot City-based team, Thunderbolt Motorsports, will take one of us as a main driver!" said an excited Thrustmaster. "I heard about that team! Aren't they new to motorsports entirely?" asked Sunset. "Yeah, their owner, Soaring Surfer, is an adventure sports magnate. He also owns a private jet charter airline. The guy's quite the gearhead, so he's finally decided to get into the world of motorsports." "Huh. I've heard of him, but I never knew he was a car guy. So, he's the mastermind of this?" "Yep, he's the guy behind this entire plan. There is quite some skepticism in the pro racing world about this, though, which is not surprising." "I know, right? Anyways, I'm going to quickly check the news, see you later, Thrustmaster!" said Sunset, hanging up the call. She opened up a news app on her phone, and went to the sports section. The trending article read, 'THUNDERBOLT MOTORSPORTS TO TRAIN GAMERS TO RACE CARS IRL'. Sunset opened the article, and read the whole thing. She was surprised at how big a gamble Thunderbolt was taking, being so new to motorsports. Sunset realised this could be her chance to become a real racing driver. She realised the only reason why the video had come only to some of the players was that they were some of the best players of the game. Sunset instantly selected a car, and joined one of the online lobbies. She had to practice, if she wanted to get this chance to be a real racer. The starting lights appeared on her screen, as the race was about to begin. Sunset thought to herself, how amazing it would be, to race on a real track. The race in-game started, and Sunset, along with all of the players, zoomed off the starting line. In this case, the track chosen was the Fuji Speedway in Japan, a track Sunset dreamed of racing at in real life, due to it being a very underrated track, and its views of Mount Fuji. Sunset quickly passed most of her opponents, gunning towards the player in first place. It was a player who she had raced against multiple times in the game. A person whom she also happened to know IRL. It was Lightning Dust, Rainbow Dash's old rival. Lightning Dust was a car girl, unlike Rainbow Dash. Even in a video game, she was extremely reckless. Some people never changed, no matter if they were in the real or virtual world. As Sunset attempted to overtake Lightning Dust, Lightning Dust dangerously blocked her, causing Sunset to almost rear-end Lightning. Somehow, Lightning Dust had made loopholes to work around some of the game's rules, so that she didn't get banned for being reckless. Oh, well. Sunset began accelerating towards Lightning Dust again, getting on Dust's virtual rear bumper. Sunset wondered what kind of setup Lightning Dust had, since she was not lagging at all, while some of the other players were lagging a bit. The virtual duel continued between the two players as they accelerated their cars, leaving the other players eating their exhaust fumes. Sunset then tried to overtake from the outside, as they entered the final lap. It was a short race, only two laps. As they entered the final turn, Sunset quickly slammed the brakes, and overtook Lightning Dust successfully from the inside, as Dust locked up and went too far outside. As Sunset accelerated towards the finish, she could imagine Lightning Dust probably screaming at her computer screen, and probably even breaking her setup. Sunset didn't waste much time on the awards menu, and went straight to the schedule of the RaceWorld Academy contest. The first qualifier was in two days, on the 17th. There were two more qualifiers after that, and then, a final eliminator round on the 30th, so it would last just under two weeks. Sunset instantly got ready to run a few more races. This was the only way to fulfil her dreams of becoming a real racing driver. > The Eliminator > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30TH OCTOBER 2023 ------CANTERLOT HIGH SCHOOL, AMORE AVENUE, CANTERLOT CITY------ It was now 12:00pm here in Canterlot City, and since it was a working day, most people were at school or work, including Sunset Shimmer. Sunset was in her Algebra class at CHS, and she was a little annoyed about it. She wanted to stay at home, to prepare for the final Eliminator of the RaceWorld Academy entry contest. She had managed to qualify after finishing in the top 3 spots in all three qualifiers. The eliminator was this evening, and Sunset hoped to be back home before it started, so she could participate. The decision that Thunderbolt Motorsports had made to put gamers on a real racetrack was extremely controversial, and arguments were being made about this through the world of racing. Some, including popular content creators, influencers, and even some now-retired racing drivers were towards this, but others were against this. A lot of them felt that they would just crash since they couldn't handle a real steering wheel. Thankfully, Sunset's friends, who were the only ones who knew that she had entered this contest, were supporting her. Sunset was eagerly waiting for this class to finish so she could rush to her next class. Ms. Cheerilee was sure taking a while to explain the current concept. Lunch break was soon, thankfully. Sunset had thought about skipping school for once, but there was a Chemistry test in the next period, so she couldn't afford to skip school today. The bell rang a few minutes later, and all of the students ran for the cafeteria for lunch. Sunset pretty much ran to the cafeteria, so that she could get her food first and study for the test. Thankfully, Sunset was able to get there first and do so, and just as she got to her seat, her friends joined her, having brought their own lunches. "Wow, Sunset, you're going quite fast today! I thought the eliminator of the contest was in the evening?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, but I want to be out of here before the contest starts. This is the only way for me to become a real racing driver!" said Sunset. "I know, Sunset, but if you don't make it, you do need a backup plan, so you have to get a decent academic score for that reason." said Twilight. "Sure. Let's memorise for this test. Mr. Cranky Doodle's gonna make it hard, I know that." said Sunset, grabbing her Chemistry book and beginning to revise the chapters. At exactly 1:00pm, Sunset and her friends, having revised for the test, entered Cranky Doodle's classroom for the test. Ten minutes later, the test began, and the whole class went silent, and only the scratching of pens was heard, as everyone tried to figure it out. Twilight was the first one to finish the test, finishing it in only ten minutes, followed by Micro Chips five minutes later. Meanwhile, Sunset was still writing the test. However, the memories of racing still kept coming to her in the middle of the test. She could hear the roar of engines, smell burning rubber, see clouds of exhaust fumes and tire smoke... oops, she was getting carried away, realised Sunset, as she focused on trying to get a good score in the test. However, Sunset seemed to have trouble trying to focus, being so fixated on trying to get home soon to get in the eliminator, and enter RaceWorld Academy. Sunset could only think about the adrenaline of racing in a real car, on a real track, oh, it was so amazing, but that was when Cranky Doodle shouted, "Only fifteen minutes left, everyone!" That shocked Sunset, who instantly began writing faster to complete the test. She had somehow forgotten the last three answers, and couldn't remember them, no matter how hard she tried, so she just wrote some random things that she hoped were close to the answers, and then submitted her test. As Sunset left the class after the test, her friends followed her. "Sunset, darling, what happened? You seemed awfully distracted during the test." said Rarity. "I know, but I just couldn't stop thinking about what life would be like if I got into RaceWorld Academy. Fame, fortune, living out my dreams on a real racetrack, oh my, that would be amazing!" shouted Sunset. "I know, Sunset, but you do realise you might not have gotten good marks on that test." said Twilight. "I actually got everything except the last three questions, so I'm getting decent marks on this test." explained Sunset. "You still should have gotten higher marks on the test! You shouldn't have been daydreaming so much!" said Twilight. "I know! Anyways, the next period is the last class, then I can go home!" said Sunset, running to her next class. She was a little annoyed at her friends, for rubbing it in that she had been daydreaming during the test. It was annoying alright, but she just couldn't stop thinking about what life would be like as a real racing driver. Right after the last class ended at 3:00pm, Sunset hopped into her GT86, and sped off at very high speed, almost running over someone who stupidly tried to cross the road, despite seeing Sunset's car coming. Sunset didn't care about much else right now, apart from making it home in time to play the Eliminator. She began speeding up, going over 50 miles per hour, and drifting quite recklessly. Sunset didn't want to get pulled over, but she didn't want to go slowly either. The adrenaline coursed through her veins as she raced through the streets of Canterlot City, just as she had done last month. She swiftly did so, arriving at Sunny Heights barely twenty minutes after she had left school, which was a record for her. She quickly drifted into her spot, almost avoiding her neighbor's Aztek, and switched off the car. Sunset ran if she was in a gunfight, quickly grabbing her bag, locking her car, and running up the stairs at high speed. She quickly opened the door, threw her bag onto her bed, and quickly turned on her computer, as she went off to change. At exactly 3:30pm, Sunset, now changed into home clothes, got on her setup, ready for the Eliminator. Sunset selected her car, which was going to be the recently-added 992 generation Porsche 911 GT3. The rules of the contest said that the competitors only had to use the 992 GT3, that too, only in stock form. Sunset hadn't customised the car in any way, except for its paint, which matched her shade of yellow. This race would be held on a virtual version of the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It would last only a single lap, since the Nordschleife was such a long track. Sunset spawned into the Eliminator lobby, which was still a few minutes from starting. She would be starting in fifteenth place, and there were 20 drivers in this lobby. Whoever came first would be the one of many drivers who would join RaceWorld Academy. There were 20 eliminators being held, if Sunset remembered correctly, so 19 others would join her at RaceWorld Academy if she won. The other drivers began spawning into the game, and a few minutes later, it was time for the Eliminator to start. Sunset and all of the players revved their virtual engines, as the race start lights appeared on the screen, and their distinctive beeping sound began as they counted down. For Sunset, everything went into slow motion, as the lights went from red, to green, and she could hear nothing but the growl of flat-6 engines on her headphones, as all of the racers launched their cars from the starting line. Despite it being in a computer screen, Sunset felt as if she was there, in the seat of the car, as they slowed down almost immediately for the first turn of the Nordschleife. The racers continued out of the corner, through Hatzenbach, speeding towards Flugplatz, the first dangerous corner on this track. Sunset remembered that Flugplatz in German meant 'airfield', which was due to how many cars literally flew in the air here, due to it being quite a sharp crest. Now, it wasn't so, since it had been renovated a while back. As all the cars drove out of the virtual Flugplatz, Sunset had successfully fought to twelfth place, and it was going to get harder as they headed onto the fastest part of the Nordschleife, Kottenborn. This was a downhill straight, and all the cars accelerated as they went through it. Sunset's speed rose, from just 100 miles per hour, to 110, 120, 130... her speed kept increasing as they all went through Kottenborn, before entering Schwedenkreuz. Everyone was still flat out, going almost 200 miles per hour. They could hear nothing but the scream of the engines, as they continued through this section. Most of the cars were a while apart from each other, but Sunset was busy in a battle with a blue GT3 for 10th place. This guy wasn't letting up, thought Sunset, as the cars entered Aremberg, before heading into Fuchsöhre, the next main corner. This was where Sunset would strike. It was another fast downhill, and just as they entered Fuchsöhre, both cars sped up, and Sunset was the first one to pull ahead. Man, that was fun, thought Sunset, as she entered 10th place with the blue car on her exhaust pipe. It then entered a series of switchback turns through the forests. The whole road began to climb uphill, and the blue car stopped accelerating, just as he realised that they were about to go over the crest, which could be a jump if too fast. Sunset began hitting the brakes, as they both went over at the same time. Sunset's car went all four wheels off the ground for a split second, before it hit the ground thanks to her hitting the brakes just as they went over the crest. She could feel the jolt of the car hitting the ground through her setup, just showing the realism of the game. Her opponent wasn't so lucky. He went over the crest way too fast, and his car went airborne, flying through the air, smashing into the ground hard on all four wheels. He lost control of his virtual car, and smashed into the barriers. Realistic damage and no reset were enabled, so his car was quite damaged, and he was out of the Eliminator. Sunset could imagine from screaming at his computer, wondering why he had been so stupid. Sunset was starting to catch up to the rest of the top 10, as the cars headed towards Bergwerk. This was the most notorious corner on the track, as multiple fatal crashes had occurred at this corner. It was a pretty tight right-hander, right after that long fast section and a left-hand kink, which require for quite some hard braking from all the drivers. Sunset also braked, and during this, she successfully overtook one of the drivers from the inside, as he locked up his brakes and went outside, putting Sunset in ninth place. Sunset was now quite close behind the top 8 drivers, but they weren't going down without a fight, as they hit the gas again, and sped towards Kesselchen. This part was relatively fast, but the pace slowed down as they arrived at Steilstrecke, which was a long hairpin, where all of the drivers were forced to slow down, as they entered the hairpin, where the battle continued, as the guy in tenth tried to regain his place from Sunset. Just as he tried to overtake, Sunset slammed the door on him, keeping him back in tenth place. As they reached the top of another crest, they entered the banked turns, Caracciola Karussell. It was quite a bumpy section IRL, due to it being made of concrete, and Sunset could feel the vibrations through her sim setup. She felt quite bad for drivers who had to race this section of the track IRL. It reminded Sunset of the NASCAR tracks she had raced in the game, albeit much bumpier and less steeper. All of the drivers successfully exited Karussell at the apex, and the race continued, as the tenth place guy continued to try and retake ninth from Sunset. However, Sunset kept blocking him, and continued accelerating towards the top 8. It was quite a steep section that they passed through next, and soon after that, they were headed towards Brünnchen, aka the video corner of the Nordschleife. It was called also as majority of the Nürburgring videos online had been filmed from this corner, which was the main spectator area of the track. Sunset overtook guys in a battle at once as they passed that corner, putting Sunset in seventh place. Just a few more cars to pass now. They were just reaching Pflanzgarten, which had two big jumps. The guy in sixth place messed up on the very first jump, and his car went airborne. Well, he was out of the eliminator, thought Sunset, as she went into sixth. On this section, there was no room for error. They then passed through Schwalbenschwanz, where Sunset made another overtake, and got into fifth place. From there, they entered Klein's Karussell, which would lead to the final main straight. Here, Sunset passed the drivers in third and fourth as they were in a battle, putting Sunset in third. As the cars began to enter the final main straight, everyone hit their virtual gas pedals, and the scream of flat-6s was heard again as they all began accelerating. This was where they could hit their top speed. It was about to turn into a 200mph high-speed battle, realised Sunset, as the roar of the naturally aspirated V6 filled her ears. Just two more cars to go, and she would enter RaceWorld Academy. Sunset easily overtook the guy in second place, as his virtual engine overheated. Must have forgotten to disable the engine failures setting, though Sunset. Now only one guy was left, the leader. He was not going easy, blocking Sunset everytime she attempted to overtake him. Sunset tried from both the left and right sides, but he kept blocking her. He was definitely a pro, that was for sure. Sunset thought of an idea, but couldn't use just yet. They had to reach the end of this straight first. Sunset kept attempting to overtake him as the end of the straight approached. Just as he was about to slam his brakes, Sunset slammed on them, pretty much, causing smoke to come from her tires. Thankfully, she didn't lock up. Her opponent braked a little later, but the speed difference was huge, and he oversteered, as Sunset overtook from the inside. Her left wheels were almost off the track, and the right side of her car was almost touching him. Sunset instantly hit the gas, and sped past him, as he tried to catch up. But now, there were no more opportunities to overtake, as Sunset zoomed through the final turns, and towards the finish line, now in first. As Sunset passed the finish line, a video played on her screen. "Congratulations, lucky player! You've won the Eliminator, and now you're part of twenty lucky players who are off to RaceWorld Academy! Details will appear on the screen, so get to packing! You're heading to RaceWorld Academy on the 1st of November!" said the man on the screen from the announcement video. Sunset instantly took off her headphones, and began dancing in her room. She was going to RaceWorld Academy. She would finally become a real racing driver, and fulfil her dream. Nothing could make her sad right now. She was over the Moon. > Welcome to RaceWorld Academy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1ST NOVEMBER 2023 ------ROAD AMERICA, WISCONSIN------ It was 10:00am here in Wisconsin, which meant it was 9:00am back in Canterlot City. Sunset was sitting in the back of the taxi that had brought here to Road America. This was the track where Thunderbolt Motorsports was doing their testing, as the closest track to Canterlot City was three hours from the city, and mainly catered to go-karts, Formula 4 cars, and the occasional track day by supercar owners. Thunderbolt had paid for a ticket to Appleton Airport, which necessitated a layover, which had annoyed Sunset. From the airport, she had taken a taxi to Road America, which had taken more than an hour to reach there. This track had hosted races from the NASCAR Cup Series till 2022, but still hosted NASCAR Xfinity races. It also was known for hosting races from IndyCar and IMSA SportsCar Championship. Sunset had raced this track a few times in RaceWorld, as she wanted to see one of the few tracks where NASCAR cars could turn right, so she was familiar with some of the track. As Sunset got out of the taxi, and paid the driver, she noticed a sign saying, 'RaceWorld Academy Candidates', with an arrow marking the direction of where to go. Originally, Sunset was a little annoyed that she would be missing school due to this, but CHS had temporarily closed down after Snips and Snails had snuck in on Thanksgiving and planted stink bombs around the place to attempt to close the school for some time, enough that it smelled like a sewage treatment plant. On top of that, to celebrate Thanksgiving, someone had lit fireworks, and one had gone haywire and caused a small fire. So because of that, CHS was closed for two weeks, while the smell was removed, and the fire damage was fixed. When Sunset's friends had heard that she had got into RaceWorld Academy, they were actually happy that one of them would get the chance to become famous on the global stage, and had felt that it was the perfect opportunity for Sunset to fulfil her dream of becoming a racing driver. Sunset walked over towards the sign, and saw a large building in front of her. It had the logos of RaceWorld and Thunderbolt Motorsports on it. Sunset walked in, rolling her suitcase with her. There, she noticed a few other people there, mostly people like her, ranging from the ages of 16 to 20. One of them asked her, "You got into RaceWorld Academy as well?" "Yep, placed 1st in my Eliminator." said Sunset. "Where you from?" asked another. "Canterlot City." replied Sunset. "Oh, cool! I'm from the UK!" replied one of the guys. There were a decent number of girls in this contest. Quite a few of them seemed to come from other countries. As the other RaceWorld Academy candidates poured in, there were quite a few of them from other countries, including India, Ukraine, Japan, and Canada. Soon, all twenty of them were assembled. The youngest of them was just 14, and the oldest was 29. That was when Sunset heard a familiar voice. It was coming from the one of the guys. This fellow was well-built, around 18 or 19. He had green skin, and reddish hair. Sunset went up to him and tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me, isn't your online game ID Thrustmaster?" Sunset asked him. "Huh, I thought I recognised your voice, Speed Queen." said the 19 year old, as he turned around, smirking. "Well, if it isn't you, Thrustmaster. So, what's your real name?" asked Sunset. "Nah, you tell me yours first." replied Thrustmaster, still smiling. "No, you first! It's being a gentleman, you know!" said Sunset, smirking. "Fine! My real name's Powerslide. I got into the world of simracing, and now, I'm here, with a chance to become a real racing driver." said Powerslide. "All right! My real name's Sunset Shimmer, and I'm just a car girl, I guess. Used to be a school bully, now one of the well-most people there, in a good way!" said Sunset. "Just wondering, do you own a car IRL?" asked Powerslide. "Yeah, I own a Toyota GT86, in red colour. It's got Konig Decagram rims, a cold air filter, and a modified exhaust." "That's cool! I have a friend who has, or rather had, a GT86. It got totalled in a wreck, but it was a pretty cool car." said Powerslide, rather sadly. "Currently, I drive a BMW 128i, in white colour, that I picked for cheap." "Oh, wow! I really want a German car one day!" said Sunset. "Well, we'll get to drive them here, and maybe race them, if we're lucky enough!" said an excited Powerslide. That was when another trainee came in. This one was familiar to Sunset. She had fought this trainee. It was Sonata Dusk. Sunset was extremely surprised to see Sonata and here, and vice versa. The second they saw each other, it led to a confrontation. "What are YOU doing here?" asked Sunset. "I suppose I could ask the same to you." said Sonata. "Well, I'm here to attend RaceWorld Academy." said Sunset. "Yeah, everyone here is, Shimmer! You're not the only girl who's gotten into the world of cars and racing!" "When did YOU get into cars?" "Well, after you caused use to lose the Battle of the Bands and our powers, we had to go around looking for jobs, since we couldn't sing for money anymore. I got a job at a tuner, and I didn't really understand at first why people would want to make their cars more dangerous to drive, until my boss decided to show me, by taking me for a few laps in his 1,000 horsepower GT-R, and that's when I got my love for cars! So, I got into simracing so I could drive on iconic tracks and be a racing driver without being one! I don't have money to compete, for Faust's sake!" "Well, same story here, except that I got into cars and racing after my ex-boyfriend took me to a car race. I'm surprised that you're so into cars. When we met in the Battle of Bands, I don't think you could tell the difference between an exhaust pipe and a sewage pipe." "If that was meant to be an insult, it wasn't a great one. Anyways, let's see how you feel when I defeat YOU for once." said Sonata, smirking, as she went off to join her fellow trainees, who were wondering what was the beef between Sunset and Sonata. As they all got to know each other, they all wondered where they would be led, when Soaring Surfer, the head of Thunderbolt Motorsports came in. "Hello, everyone! Welcome to RaceWorld Academy! The twenty of you, hailing from 12 different countries, have won the Eliminator trials, and now, you're going to learn how to race real cars! It's going to be your job out there to prove yourselves that you belong on a real racetrack, that gaming is useful after all, that you can take racing away from the rich kids, who can buy it all! The winner here, gets a seat on Thunderbolt Motorsports, and a place in racing history. I'll give you a quick tour of the place, and then, we'll meet your teacher here. He'll show you how to race a car in real life." said Surfer, as he motioned for the trainees to follow him. As they walked through the facility, the first stop was a room full of bunk beds. Enough to hold exactly twenty people, to be precise. "This, trainees, is where you'll live while you're here. There is a common room with a TV here, and each bed has a charging port next to it, for your phones. There is Internet, but as long as you're here, you cannot post on social media at all. Anyone who posts on social media will be disqualified from RaceWorld Academy and sent home. Got it?" asked Surfer. All of them nodded at that. In fact, a few people took out their phones and disabled their social media accounts, to prove that they were serious about this. "Drop off your bags here, and we'll continue." said Surfer. Everybody dropped off their bags, some only after Surfer assured them none of the cleaning crew would steal their belongings. The tour then continued. The next room was the cafeteria, where they could get dishes personalised to their tastes, diets, and religious sentiments. After that was the simulator room, which they would use to practice their driving skills off-track. Finally, it was time to meet their teacher. He was waiting on the track. As they reached the track, they noticed quite a total of five brand-new Porsche 911 GT3s, the 992 generation, of course. The cars were all parked on the track, for a promotional shoot. All were painted different colours: one shark blue, one Guards red, one jet black, one white, and one racing yellow. These would be the cars they would train on. It would be too risky to train on the actual race cars, so they were using the road cars instead. As they arrived at the pits, they noticed a man waiting for them. Some of the racing fans in the crowd recognised him as Comet Flash, a former Formula 1 driver. Powerslide mentioned to Sunset, "Comet Flash was quite the driver back in the day. He even won a World Championship, until his sudden retirement back in 2015. His career was also going quite well when he retired." "What? Why did he retire at the peak of his career?" asked Sunset. "No one really knows why he retired. He was involved in a fatal crash before his retirement, where a spectator was killed. Three months after that crash, he quit racing. No one knows the reason behind his retirement." replied Powerslide. "I wonder if it had anything to do with that crash..." said Sunset, as they all assembled in front of Comet Flash, who was about to introduce himself. "All right, everyone. My name's Comet Flash. I'm your teacher here, I guess. All these people at Thunderbolt Motorsports really want to prove that you can do the impossible. I'm here to prove that you can't. Here's the thing. This ain't a game. Racing, it takes strength, tremendous will, intelligence, and sensitivity. There are only a handful of people on this planet who have what it takes to do something like this." Flash paused, and continued his talk. "In a real racecar, the G-forces will be TWICE, what an astronaut feels on liftoff. Under these conditions, you'll have to make split-second decisions that could cost you or life. Or worse... you could kill someone else. It's emotionally and physically demanding, and if you feel that you can't handle it, pack up and go home. There's no shame in that at all, because, if you stay, I'll push y'all more harder than you've ever been pushed before. Because I'm going to do everything to prove that YOU don't have what it takes, because just by looking at you, I can tell you don't." said Flash, finishing his talk, which did not please Surfer. "Nice pep talk, Flash. I think they got the point." said Surfer, talking to Flash as he came back towards the crew. Surfer then addressed the trainees. "Today, training will begin from 2:00pm. Tomorrow onwards, your training begins from 7:00am. Now, you're gonna head to the locker room. You'll be fitted for your racing suits and helmets there, and those will be your uniforms here." It was now 12:30pm. All of the trainees nodded, and began to walk back towards the main building. This was not going to be easy, they had already realised. Just as they were going to get fitted for their racing suits, Comet Flash showed up. "Alright, I want to know something. Majority of you are at least 16, right?" Most of the trainees, including Sunset, nodded at that. "Okay, so, how many of you have driven a car in real life?" asked Flash. Most of the trainees, except for the three of them who were under the age of 16, and a person who hadn't gotten his license yet, raised their hands at that. "Okay, so the four of you, you're getting real driving lessons from tomorrow onwards. Rest of you, driving a racecar is not like driving a BRZ or RAV4 or any other car. It's a different thing altogether, so, get ready to enjoy this." said Flash, as he left the room. "Oh, and by the way, I am the one who chooses who gets eliminated." said Flash, popping back in quickly with a smile, and then leaving again. The younger fellows were extremely excited, as they had heard that many racers begun their journeys from young ages, so they felt like this would make them real racers, if they were able to get through this. However, most of the trainees were already nervous, as Flash had mentioned that he chose who got eliminated, so if they slipped up even once, they could get sent home. The fitting for the racing suits and helmets finished, and soon, the trainees were getting ready for their first lesson. They were all dressed in their new racing suits, which hadn't taken too long to prepare, while the helmets had to be custom-made, so those would take sometime to get here. Sunset and Powerslide were chatting about their personal lives, happy to meet up in real life for the first time, after talking to each other on RaceWorld for so long. They were just chatting, when Comet Flash came in. "Alright, we're heading to the simulators today. You're gonna compete in an exercise so we can see whose gaming skills translate best to driving a real car. You're gonna play all together on one track, with no reset and full realistic conditions, including damage, enabled." said Comet Flash. "Mr. Flash, isn't that a not-so-good idea, considering that if we mess up, we can't really show you our skills?" asked one of the other trainees. "Well, that's the problem you'll have to deal with. That's the main difference between racing in a video game and racing in real life. If you mess up in the game, you can reset! If you mess up out there... you could die." said Flash. "Hence, when we do sessions on the simulator, you're playing with reset disabled, and realistic damage." "Got it, Mr. Flash." replied the trainee. "Okay, get on the simulators before I get too old!" shouted Flash, as all of the trainees ran onto the simulators, and turned them on. They all selected the 911 GT3 as their car, and joined one race, which would be on Road America. All of them spawned into the lobby, and Flash began walking behind their seats, to see how well they could drive virtually. This race would last only 30 laps, less than half the length of a real race, which would be around 60 to 80 laps. Sunset would be starting in 8th, while Powerslide would be starting in 15th, and Sonata would be starting in 1st. At exactly 1:00pm, The race started, and all 20 virtual cars began speeding down the recreation of Road America. The roar of flat-6 engines filled the speakers, as the trainees zoomed down Road America Straight, speeding past 100 miles per hour. They began slowing down a little for Turn 1, and all of them zoomed through it. "Good, looks like you can actually do something!" said Flash. The first few laps were uneventful. During these few laps, Powerslide was able to make his way from 15th to 11th place, and Sunset was able to make it to 6th place. However, on the 6th lap, one of the other trainees, a South American, braked too late and hard on Turn 5, causing him to lock up and go off the track. Flash, who saw this, said, "All right, you're going home. You're eliminated." The South American furiously banged his setup, feeling like an idiot for making such a stupid mistake, that had made him the first one to get eliminated. As the race continued, in lap 10, Susnet managed to make a pass, moving from 6th to 5th place. The top 10 drivers were really putting up a fight, trying to defend their own positions, and overtake at the same time. This was their way to prove to Comet Flash that they could actually do something. However, on lap 12, it was getting worse. This race had been set in rainy conditions, for an extra challenge. On the main straight, doing high speeds, and with tire wear enabled, pretty much every trainee was hydroplaning, causing a few skids. Most of them were able to regain control, but one of the trainees spun out fully, and his car slammed into the wall separating the main track from the pit lane. "Well, you're eliminated, pack up and head home!" said Flash. This trainee took it more lightly, and didn't really get as mad as the previous guy who had been eliminated. He just walked off in silence to get his things. As the race continued, the slippery track and the wearing-out tires made things more difficult for the drivers, who were skidding quite often. On the Carousel corner, the slippery track caused Sunset to skilfully drift the whole way through. "What, do you get extra points in the game for drifting?" asked Flash, who had watched her drift the whole thing, with a bit of a twinkle in his eye that no one noticed. Soon, at around lap 16, everyone was coming to pit for fresh tires, except for a trainee who felt his current tires would last a little longer, and one trainee who was a bit of a daredevil. Most of the trainees who pitted, including Sunset, went for full wet tires, while some went for intermediate tires. Most of them had very good pit stops, and all of them were back out on the track within a few minutes. Sunset had dropped back to 6th place from the pit stop, but she was determined to get a podium, or even a win. At around lap 21, the guy who had run on his old tires for a little longer finally pitted, after he spun on his previous lap, but recovered, dropping him down from 3rd to 7th place. The daredevil, on the other hand, was still running his old tires, which would not be a good idea, since the rain in the game had been set to be a little more intense now. Sunset had a feeling there was going to be an accident involving him soon. Even Flash had said, "Hey, you do realise those worn-out tires can't handle your daredevil personality forever?" He had just replied with an 'uh-huh', as if he wasn't even listening to Flash. On the very next lap, he spun the car and dropped from 5th to 13th place. He recovered, but not before he got an earful from Flash. "You're eliminated! I told you those tires wouldn't handle well much any longer! You're going home!" He rather silently got up from his setup, and went to go get his stuff. The rest of the race progressed uneventfully, except for an amazing overtake Sunset made, where she overtook both the guys in 3rd and 4th, which put Sunset in 3rd. However, the trainees in 1st and 2nd were putting up quite the fight. They were not going to let her pass, that was for sure, as they entered the final lap. Sonata had somehow maintained her position in 1st since the beginning of the race, and she had not been overtaken even once. In fact, when the 2nd place guy attempted to overtake Sonata, she had violently slammed the door on him, almost causing him to spin out. Sunset knew that beating Sonata would not be easy, considering the way Sonata was driving. The wet conditions still hadn't let up, and that was annoying, but it wasn't too much of a disadvantage for the remaining 17 trainees. As they sped through the Kettle Bottoms, Sunset inched towards the 2nd placer, and as they slowed down for Canada Corner, dive bombed from the inside, pushing him towards the outside, and overtaking him. Now, only Sonata was ahead of Sunset. As they sped through the Thunder Valley corner, Sunset was basically on Sonata's rear bumper, but everytime Sunset attempted to overtake Sonata, Sonata kept blocking her. She was not giving up the win. It was now 2:10pm. As the cars entered the final turn and the main straight, Sunset hit the gas, and so did Sonata, as they came out of the turn side-by-side. As the two virtual Porsches sped towards the finish line, they were at the same speed, both next to each other. Flash was intently watching them from behind, wondering who would win, or if it would be a tie. However, Sonata managed to nose ahead a little, and her car passed over the finish line first. As the game read that Sonata had won, while Sunset had come second. Sonata give Sunset a smug smirk at that. As the remaining drivers passed over the finish line, Flash spoke up. "Okay! That's the end of today's simulator session. Tomorrow, cupcakes, we'll do some real-life exercising, as physical fitness is paramount to be a racer. When was the last time any of you moved your legs? To grab a chips and soda from your fridge during all-night gaming session? I'll tell you right now, again, if any of you can't handle the physical demands, there's no shame in heading home. Back to your rooms for now. We start real-life training tomorrow." said Flash, walking off. At that sentence, some of the trainees felt a little offended. Most people saw gamers as people who stayed indoors all the time, who rarely touched grass, and who rarely walked. They were here to prove gaming, mainly simracing, could actually give you real-life skills. So far, apart from the three Flash had eliminated, no one else had been sent home yet. This meant Flash was pleased with their skills so far. But that wouldn't be for long. This would be a hard journey, and for those who made it, it would be even harder. For now, all thoughts of such were forgotten as Sunset and Powerslide began chatting with the trainees, including Sonata, who was telling them how Sunset had beaten her in the Battle of the Bands, thankfully leaving out the stuff related to magic. So far, Sonata didn't really seem to hold much of a grudge against Sunset for making Sonata lose her powers, except for the fact that she was intent on beating Sunset for once. So far, so good, thought Sunset, as she and the other trainees went off to the cafeteria to get some lunch. That was how it would hopefully go. > Training (Part 1) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14TH NOVEMBER 2023 ------ROAD AMERICA, WISCONSIN------ It was 6:30am here in Wisconsin, which meant it was around 7:30am back home in Canterlot City. Sunset Shimmer and her fellow trainees were already up and awake, and they were dreading what Comet Flash had in store for them today. He had been physically training all of them, very brutally. He made them run or jog down the track, and he would make them until they had almost collapsed. The reason that he gave for such hard training was simple, "I'm just building your endurance. The thing is, if you get tired, you get sloppy. You get sloppy, you lose concentration. You lose concentration, you lose races!" For Sunset, Sonata, and some of the other trainees, who regularly hit the gym, it was a little easier, but a lot of the trainees weren't really into sports or physical activity, so it was quite hard for them, because they frequently ran out of energy, and cramped out. Right now, only 15 trainees were left. Two had quit, after one of them had puked on the track after a run, and the other had been pulled out by his parents, after he had told them that he had suffered leg cramps while running. Plus, Flash had been making them take reflex tests, to test their reflexes and reaction times. It seemed simple. On the wall, he had placed a few lights, and when one lit up, you had to press it, and another would light up. It seemed simple until you realised that the lights came on very fast, so you had to be quick to press one, else you would lose your score. Sunset and Sonata had been in enough hairy situations to have great impulses, so it was a battle between the two girls everyday for the high score. The others, however, weren't as good, and Comet Flash always was chewing someone out, which made it worse, but the trainees were determined to prove the world wrong, that simracers could actually race a car IRL. Now, the others were relatively better, but Sunset and Sonata were still on top. Today was a day all of the trainees were excited about. Today was the day they would get to drive real sports cars for the first time. For now, it would now be on the main track, but a slalom course had been set up in the large empty parking lot of Road America, just next to the pit lane. Despite this, they were all excited to drive cars that they could only have dreamed of driving before RaceWorld Academy. The trainees, after a quick protein shake, went out for their usual 7:00am jog, which took them much further than they had been on the first jog a couple of weeks earlier. Around 8:30am, they got back to the Academy, where they quickly washed off all the sweat, which was plenty despite the cold weather, had some breakfast, and then, went off to Comet Flash's theory class. Here, they had to learn about various penalties, racing strategies, pitting strategies, and other things about racing. This was probably the only class most of them would ever pay attention to, but it also did bore some people a little. This class would last till 12:30pm, at which point the trainees went and got lunch. After lunch, it was time for the fun part. It was now 2:00pm. This was the moment they had all been waiting for. They would all finally be driving real sports cars for the first time ever. They stepped out to the parking lot, where the course had been set up, and the cars were all parked up. They would be using 911 GT3 road cars, as it would be too risky to train on the actual race cars. The five GT3s were standing there, spotless. The cars, even though they were not even on, seemed to be calling to the trainees, to be driven. Comet Flash and the other staff were there, ready to supervise them, and get ready in case of an accident. Comet Flash was the first one to speak. "Alright, you scrawny kids are finally going to drive a real race car. This will be a pretty simple slalom course. All you have to do is stay within the cones from start to finish, and also, pass through that hole in the wall shaped like the car. In racing, if you see a window, TAKE IT, no matter how small it is." said Flash, pausing to catch his breath. "That's why I've put that challenge in here. Also, try not to wreck the cars already, else our main sponsor's gonna back out. So that it's fair, all the cars are bone stock, with fresh tires, and fully fuelled." Again, Flash was also quite annoying, something the trainees hated about him. "Okay, you'll be paired with some of our crew members here, as I'll be watching and rating your performances." said Flash, as he went off to the observation point. In the meantime, the pairs were assembled, one crew member per car. The first one up was Powerslide, in the red GT3. The trainees watched as he drove up to the starting point, followed by four other trainees. Powerslide was given the signal, and he vroomed off. He went through the slalom course pretty well, not hitting a single cone. He also made it through the tougher obstacle, where the driver had to fit the car through a hole in a wall. This hole was shaped exactly like the car. Somehow, he didn't even manage to damage the car, not even a mirror. Sunset decided to ask him later how he had managed that. The next two trainees also managed it. However, on the fourth trainees try, during the hole-in-the-wall section, as he passed through the wall, he managed to pass a little too left, and ended up breaking off the Porsche's mirror. The second that happened, Flash used a bullhorn to deliver quite a harsh one to him, "Wow! You broke your mirror! Extra points!" said Flash, sarcastically, through the bullhorn. All the drivers were ordered to drive with windows down for safety reasons, so they could see the trainee banging his head against the steering wheel in anger and humiliation, as he brought the sports car, now minus it's left mirror, back towards the waiting area. The fifth trainee also was able to do it successfully, without damage, although he hit a cone during his run. The next set of trainees included Sunset and Sonata. The car with the damaged mirror was temporarily pulled out to have the mirror fixed. In the meantime, the spare car was rolled out, and the next set of trainees got ready. She was the first one to roll up to the start of the course, in the shark blue GT3. Sunset's crew member told her not to be nervous and just take a deep breath. Sunset, however, wasn't really that nervous, just a little excited, and when the light turned green, she punched the gas, and the sports car shot forward, with a roar from its engine. The G-forces pushed Sunset back into the seat, and she would have hurt her neck had she not been wearing a seatbelt and her helmet. This was nothing like the simulator, or her own car. Sunset quickly began turning the car, as she reached the slalom course. Thankfully, on the turns, Sunset didn't hit any cones. However, the big obstacle was ahead. The hole in the wall. Sunset made a quick calculation, and went through it doing past 80 miles per hour, without damaging the car at all. The second she passed through it, she quickly hit the brakes, locking them up in the process, for the braking zone set up ahead. She stopped well before the barricades because of that. Pleased with her performance, Sunset began turning the car back towards the waiting area, only to get chewed out by Comet Flash. "Okay, that was good, but try NOT to lock up next time, you don't get points for that." Sonata went after Sunset, and she did the whole thing, without hitting any cones, or locking up any brakes. As Sonata pulled up back at the waiting area, she was giving Sunset a smug grin. it was now 4:30pm. Once all of the other trainees had done their tries, albeit with a few hitting cones, Flash had said through the bullhorn, "All right, I want you to all go again until you've made it through the course at least TWICE, WITHOUT HITTING A SINGLE CONE OR LOCKING UP YOUR BRAKES! Again, the cars are now on fresh tires and a full tank, so we may be going at this until night time. Get on with it!" The trainees, although tired, continued the session, until around 7:30pm, when every single trainee had managed to do exactly that, albeit with some puking, due to the violent motions of the car. After that, Flash called it a day. "Alright, that's enough for today. Tomorrow, we'll do some more, and then, after a few more days, we'll start doing actual laps. Off to your rooms now." said Flash, as he headed back towards the RaceWorld Academy building. The trainees were now a little more nervous about this, know that they knew what a real sports car felt like. Yet, they were still excited, and daring, willing to prove this. Also, the rivalry between Sunset and Sonata was heating up, as Sonata had outperformed Sunset in this one, making it through the course 4 times without locking her brakes or hitting a cone, while Sunset had only managed it twice. This was going to be more exciting soon, the trainees felt.