The citizens of Ponyville were kind of accustomed to strange occurrences at this point. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Tirek, Parasprites, Bugbears, Ursa Minors. All of these incidents the townsfolk had witnessed and survived through. But not even their years of experiences with occurrences like these could prepare them for the arrival of Alex, as the S2000 buzzed over the bridge and into town. The residents watched the car burble past, all looking at it with fear. Some just turned and fled, fearing the worst.

The Dirt Prince didn't take must notice of this, however, instead choosing to keep his eyes focused ahead of him, humming Black Hole Sun as he drove. He liked that song.

In the passenger seat next to him, Fluttershy was now feeling much more comfortable about being in an alien vehicle. The vibrations had become more soothing now than anything else. Yet despite this, she still felt a little bit on edge, as if the vehicle would come alive and eat her at any moment.

Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, felt no such feelings, happily waving to everyone as they passed by.

Eventually, the car came to a halt just before the doors of a large crystalline castle, towering over the rest of the town.

"Huh. I guess that's the Castle of Friendship" Alex said to himself as he removed his helmet and dropped it into the footwell, not really taking too fondly to the name. He made a mental note to himself that it looked more like a giant treehouse than an actual castle as he switched the Fiesta off.

The group of three climbed out of the car and stepped up to the front doors, a crowd of ponies curiously watching from afar.

Looking over her shoulder, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at all of the eyes looking in her direction.

"Don't worry about them" Alex reassured her. "They're just staring. Just ignore them and everything will be fine".

He knocked on the door.

Initially, there was no reply, prompting him to knock a bit louder.

"Hang on, can you give me a sec?" Came a faint reply from within.

The three spent a short while after that waiting for someone to answer the door.

"Does Twilight usually take this long?"

Before either of the two ponies next to him could answer that question, they heard the sound of tiny feet running up to the doors before they flung open.

"Sorry about that. Had to send out a few more letters for Twi-"

An awkward silence descended over the group as Alex stared in shock at the talking purple and green dragon looking up at him.

Eventually, Alex brought himself to speak.

"Erm...hey, you two...is that-?"

"A dragon? Yuppers!" Pinkie replied happily. "Alex, meet Spike! Spike, meet Alex!"

The two stared at each other for a few more seconds before Spike decided to try and break the ice, clearing his throat.

"Sorry. I'm kinda nervous. It's just that I've heard so many myths about humans and now I actually get to meet one"

This prompted Alex to speak.

"I guess I can relate to that a little bit. Where I'm from, dragons are mythical as well....and apparently quite a bit bigger".

"Oh, much bigger dragons exist in other parts of the world. Besides, I was a big dragon at one point. It was not a good experience".

Alex was about to continue the conversation on further, when he noticed something. Fluttershy was still standing next to him, but Pinkie Pie had completely disappeared.

"Hey, where did-"

"I'M UP HERE, SILLY BILLY!"

Looking up, Alex's confusion was answered, as he noticed the pink mare standing on one of the balconies overlooking the town.

"HI!" She yelled down to them, waving with a big smile on her face.

This only served to make Alex even more confused. He hadn't seen Pinkie go through the doorway.

"But...what...how did she-?"

"Don't question it." Spike said to him, giving a dismissive wave of the hand. "It's Pinkie Pie. Even after all the time we've known her, she still confuses us."

Deciding to follow Spike's advice, Alex opted to simply not question it. Heck, after having met Fluttershy, Pinkie and Twilight earlier, he had stopped questioning the world he bore witness to.

The baby dragon led Alex and Fluttershy into the castle, closing the door on the crowd of onlookers behind them.

As he was led up the steps and through the corridors, Alex took in his surroundings. He had been in a handful of castles in his life (all in his home country), but none were quite as aesthetically pleasing as this one. Everything from the stained glass windows to the crystalline pillars seemed to have been crafted by angels.

The group of three finally stepped through a large pair of doors into the throne room, where Twilight and Pinkie Pie were looking over a large, seemingly holographic map, surrounded by six large thrones (and a seventh small one).

"Ah, good! You made it!" Twilight exclaimed as she noticed the three standing before her. "I take it you didn't have too much difficulty finding the castle"

"None whatsoever. It's literally the tallest building in the area. Plus, since cars haven't been invented here, I can just park pretty much anywhere".

"Not if you were in Manehattan, you wouldn't. Anyway, I've taken the liberty of contacting Princess Celestia, who we should be hearing back from anytime soon. Spike and I have also contacted some friends of ours and they should be here-"

A distant knocking sound echoed from the way Alex, Fluttershy and Spike had come.

"Well...now, would you believe?" Twilight finished as Spike scuttled off to answer the door. "In the meantime, would it be alright if I...well, ask you some questions?"

"Oh, not at all. I've had quite a few interviews in my life, so another one should be a breeze".

It was at this point where the doors opened again and Spike re-entered the room, followed by a palomino earth-pony in a stetson, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and a light grey unicorn with a purple mane.

"Ah, good! You made it!" Twilight said to the three as they entered. "Thank you for coming here on such short notice".

"That's quite alright, Twilight" The light grey unicorn replied, Ryan making note of her posh accent. "We wouldn't want to miss out on a situation quite as important as this one".

The rainbow-haired pegasus didn't say anything, simply hovering over to Alex, eyeballing him, obviously suspicious.

"So you're the human, huh?" She asked, trying to sound as tough as possible.

"Uhh...Yes." Alex replied, a bit taken aback by the aggressiveness of the pegasus. "Hi".

The pegasus didn't reply. She just hovered around him, suspicious of the newly arrived human.

"Don't mind her, darling" The Unicorn said to him reassuringly. "She's just being a bit protective"

She extended a hoof.

"The name's Rarity. That's Rainbow Dash. Pleasure to meet you".

It took Alex a few moments to realize that this was essentially the pony equivalent of a handshake, gripping the mare's hoof and shaking it.

"Thanks. Name's Alex".

No sooner had he released the unicorn's hoof, he found his hand caught in the grip of the Applejack's hoof, as the palomino shook it. Like, really shook it.

"Howdy, partner! I'm Applejack and on behalf of the Apple family of Sweet Apple Acres, I bid y'all warm welcome to Equestria!" She declared happily in her typical southern drawl. Eventually, mercifully, she released Alex's hand before it ended up coming off.

"Uh, yeah...thanks....Ow...Nice grip" He muttered, nursing his wrist.

"Hey, Twilight, not that I don't want to be here, but this can't be the only reason you called us out here, right?" Rainbow asked, clearly unimpressed with the human.

"Actually, it's exactly why I asked for you. Alex is apparently from another dimension and will need our help to get home. Until we can help him, I thought that it would be best if we got to know him a little better. Besides, this may be the first time that a human has actually been seen in this world."

She produced a parchment and quill, before pulling up a stool for Alex. As the six ponies (and Spike) sat down on their thrones, Alex placed himself on the stool, right between Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

"So, what? Is this like an interview or something?"

"Effectively, yes. It's just a way for us to get to know you and perhaps gleam a little bit of knowledge about humanity. Don't worry about telling us how you got here, we'll discuss that with the princesses if we get a reply from them".

"Alright then. So where do you want me to start?"

"Well, tell us about yourself. Name, gender, where you're from, things like that".

"Okay, I'll...I'll see what I can do".

Alex cleared his throat as Twilight readied her quill.

"Hi there. I'm Alex. Alexander Charles McKraken. I'm a human male, aged 24 from a country known as the United Kingdom. Currently, I live in the Alpes-Maritimes region of a nation known as France on a ranch all by myself. I had formal education at school from the age of 4 until I was 16, at which point I went off and studied four subjects for my A-Levels: Technology, History, IT and Maths. Once I had finished A-Levels, I spent about a year doing a university course in Mechanical Engineering before realizing that it really wasn't for me, dropping out to focus on my career."

He stopped for a moment, trying to gauge the reactions of the group. Twilight was rapidly writing notes down, seemingly intrigued by what he had studied back at school. Rainbow seemed as bored as all hell. Rarity seemed less focused on what he was saying and more focused on the suit he was wearing. Applejack, Fluttershy and Spike just seemed to be listening in. As for Pinkie Pie, she wasn't even looking in Alex's direction, seemingly distracted by a fly on the wall.

"Erm...where do you want me to go from here?"

"How about diet? What does a Human like yourself consume to live?"

Alex stopped. He knew that what he was about to say would not be something the six would want to hear. Regardless, he pressed on anyway.

"Well...I guess you can consider humans as Omnivores, as in we eat both meat and plants. I personally prefer the former over the latter".

He stopped to gauge the reaction of the group. As expected, all six of them (plus spike) carried horrified looks on their face.

"Don't worry, I don't eat ponies" He reassured them, chuckling. "I did try it when I went to Thailand, mind you. It was alright, but I'm not in any real hurry to eat it again".

This helped them to calm down a bit.

"I also like junk food"

This helped them calm down a bit more.

"Anything else?"

"Ah'd like to know about that mighty strange contraption outside. That's yours, ah presume"

"It is indeed. It's called an automobile or "car" for short. It's basically like a carriage, but with an engine instead. The general purpose of a car is to allow the driver and passengers to get from Point A to Point B like most other forms of transportation. Some cars do have a different purpose than others, though. Some are made for luxury, whilst some are made for speed."

"What about yours, darling?"

"Oh, my car? Competition. It's called the Ford Fiesta S2000. Ford is the company that built it, Fiesta is the model it is based on and S2000 is the classification of car it is part of. It weighs 1.2 tonnes and produces about 280 horsepower - that's a measurement of power, I might add - from a 2.0 litre engine."

The talk of competition had piqued Rainbow Dash's interest.

"How fast does it go?"

"Top speed...honestly, I don't know. I've never actually found out. All I can say is that the acceleration is nuts".

“Do they have-”

“No, Spike, they do not have laser cannons. Sorry”

The dragon’s face fell in disappointment.

Alex looked over at Twilight. The alicorn had stopped writing notes and appeared to be pondering something.

“Is something wrong, Twilight?” Fluttershy

“Hmm? Sorry, I was just trying to remember something. It’s just... I think I’ve seen something like Alex’s...erm, car...before. I’m just trying to place a hoof on where-”

The answer dawned on her very quickly.

“Horseapples!” She declared. “Of course I’ve seen them before! They were everywhere in Sunset’s world! How could I have missed them?!...No, it’s fine. We all make mistakes. Anyway, does anyone else have any other questions, or do you want me to continue?”

“Oh, I’ve got one, darling. Alex, why do you-”

Before to presumably ask about Alex’s racing suit, Spike let out a small yelp, clutching his stomach.

“Hang on...I think a letter’s com-BUUUUUUUURP!”

With a loud hearty belch, Spike launched a small jet of green flame out of his maw. Much to the surprise of Alex, a sealed scroll materialised out of the fire, dropping onto the table.

“Okay, that’s pretty cool”. Alex said to no one in particular.

Using her magic, Twilight picked up the scroll, opened it and began to read.

Dear Twilight,

Thank you for bringing this to my attention as soon as possible. My sister and I have been well aware of the myth of Humanity, but are still very much surprised by this revelation. If it is true that this human comes from another world, then we must do everything in our power to help him return home. Please bring Alex up to Canterlot Castle as soon as possible, so we can meet him in person.

Also, I recommend caution. Whilst it may seem like Alex isn't particularly violent, this is the first proper encounter any Equestrian being has had with a human, so we are not sure as to what facts are true or false.

I wish you, your friends and Alex a safe journey.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia.

"Good news, Alex! The Princesses want to meet you in person."

“And they can help me get back home, right?”

“Should be. Like I said, they are the most powerful beings in all Equestria.”

“Worth a shot then, I guess. When are we heading out?”

“Shoot, how ‘bout now? The princesses did ask to see us pronto” Applejack replied.

‘Sounds like a plan”

Twilight produced a piece of paper, writing a few things down before handing it to Spike.

“This is a list of things that I need you to do while I’m gone. We shouldn't be too long, probably just a couple of hours. But still, please try and get them done before we come back, alright?"

Spike smiled happily. "Glad to be of help. Good luck in Canterlot!" He said to the group before scuttling off to get his jobs started.

"Wait, I just though of something. What do we do about my car? I can't just leave it here"

"How 'bout y'all store it at Sweet Apple Acres? We've got plenty a space and we're always happy to help".

"Great. That works. Thanks, A.J."

"That's settled then. Alright everypony, let's make tracks".

The seven got up from the table and began to head over to the door. However, as Alex stood up, he saw something out of one of the windows that caught his attention.

Quite far off in the distance seemed two rather large groups of mountains on either side of the view, with Ponyville being placed right in the middle. However, this wasn't the thing that caught the human's attention. High up on one of the mountains on the right side sat what could only be described as a castle (and one that looked like a castle) built into the cliff face. It didn't actually seem that far away, either. Probably just a few miles at best.

"Uh, Twilight? Don't mind me asking, but who's castle is that up there?"

"Oh, that's Canterlot Castle. It shouldn't take to long to get there. The express train usually takes about half an hour if it's running on time. We'd better get down ther-"

"Hold on a minute!" Alex exclaimed, stopping everyone in their tracks. "Let me see if I've got this right: our destination is right there. It can't be more than just a few miles away...and we have to take the train?"

"Well, yeah. Pretty much, sugarcube." Applejack said to him. "The railroads 'round these parts are the fastest mode of transportation for us pony folk".

Before Alex could say anything else, an idea came to him.

"Is it at all possible to get to Canterlot by means of land-based transport?"

"Yes, but-"

Applejack got no further. The very moment she said "yes", Alex bolted to the doors, crashing through them as if he was a rugby player before running on.

Almost instantly, Twilight knew what he was doing.

"Uh oh". She uttered before lighting up her horn and disappearing in a flash.

She re-appeared in front of Alex at the bottom of the main stairwell, just as he was about to open the main doors.

"Alex, I know what you're thinking of doing and what you're thinking of doing is a bad idea!"

"Wait, what's he thinking of doing?" Called out Rainbow Dash as she quickly caught up to the two, ahead of the others.

"He was going to drive his car to Canterlot".

"And that's exactly what I plan on doing". Alex replied. "Look, I've got nothing against steam trains. I actually like them. They're absolutely magnificent, the technology is remarkable. But the thing is, compared to my car, they're about seventy or eighty years out of date. Besides, I'm pretty sure my Fiesta can get to our destination much faster than an express train can."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Yeah, right. I may be the fastest in Equestria, but even I know how fast the express can be on a good day".

"Right, and how often are these "good days"?"

"That doesn't matter. There is no way that a box on wheels is going to be faster through the mountains".

The human couldn't help but smirk. "Is that a challenge, Miss Dash?"

Rainbow thought about it for a moment. "You know, I guess it is".

"Please don't encourage each other" Twilight groaned.

"Too late" They both replied at the same time.

"So, Dashie. Since you're so confident that I can't win, how about a little race?"

The pegasus raised an eyebrow.

"A race? Well, now you're speaking my language! What's the deal?" She asked, followed by an audible groan from Twilight as she promptly face-hoofed.

"Simple: You and your friends on the train against me in my car. The winner is the first one to reach the Canterlot Train Station".

The other four had arrived on the scene at this point and had picked up on Alex's proposal.

"Darling, I don't think it's entirely wise to challenge someone like Rainbow to a race" Rarity interjected. "She can end up getting incredibly competitive in these kind of situations".

"Well then, you've never met anyone quite like me".

"Um...also, if you don't mind me pointing out...racing up those mountains could be a bit, well...dangerous and after, you know, what happened to you when I found you...I-I don't want anything bad to happen to you".

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I'm a professional. Driving on dangerous roads is pretty much second nature to me. What happened there was just one of those rare things. "

"Beg pardon, but what are y'all talkin' about?"

"Oh, I went and crashed my car a short while back. Fluttershy pulled me out, Twilight fixed my car. No big deal". Alex replied before turning back to Rainbow. "So, you in or what?"

She couldn't help but smirk.

"Is grass green? Is water wet? Of course I'm in!"

"Before you two go and do something that you're going to regret, Alex probably doesn't even know the way to Canterlot." Twilight went and pointed out.

"True" The Dirt Prince replied "But I think I know who does".

He stared at Twilight, with the princess instantly picking up on what he was saying.

On the one hand, she wanted to say no. She could tell just how dangerous Alex's car could be, judging from the aftermath of his crash. She knew that if he had an accident travelling along that road and ended up going over the edge, that would be curtains for the human. On the other hand, however, her curiosity was getting the better of her. She wanted to see firsthand just how Alex's car worked. Besides, if Alex did go off, she could easily teleport him back onto the road again.

"There's no dissuading you, is there?"

"Not really, no".

The alicorn sighed.

"Alright, fine. I'll come with you up that mountain".

"Sweet!" Alex exclaimed, grinning. "Okay, change of plans: Rainbow, it's now you, AJ, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie on the train against Twilight and I in my car. The race starts...how about now?"

"Sounds good to me" The pegasus replied confidently before quickly blurting out "READYSETGO!"

With that, Rainbow Dash burst through the doors and took off towards the train station as fast as her wings could carry her.

"Wow" Alex said, stunned at the sheer speed of the rainbow pony. "Do all pegasi travel that fast or is that just her?"

"Just her....oh, and a few others as well. But mostly just her".

As Rainbow Dash rapidly disappeared, the other four trotted off after her in nowhere near as much of a rush as their friend. They knew the express wouldn’t leave for another few minutes.

Alex, on the other hand, bolted out of the door and went straight for his car, with Twilight in hot pursuit.

Unfortunately, they found that the Fiesta had been swarmed by the townsfolk, crowding around it and curiously murmuring as to just what the vehicle was.

“Alright you lot, move it!” Alex declared, causing the crowd to jump back several yards. “Move along, move along! Nothing to see here!”

As the crowd parted nervously, Alex clambered into the driver’s seat, pulling on his helmet.

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this” Twilight muttered, jumping up into the passenger seat before recognising the safety harness, using her magic to buckle herself in.

“Oh, don’t be like that” Alex reassured her, flipping the switches on the dashboard. “Think about it this way: you’re about to be the first pony to travel in a car at speed, so that’s something.”

Now completely set up, Alex’s hand hovered over the starter button. However, before he could press it, an idea came to him.

“One moment, please” He muttered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his mobile phone. “Could you hold this please?”

As Twilight gripped the phone with her magic, Alex turned it on, navigating the menu.

“So what is this thing? Will it get us to Canterlot faster?”

“Hmm? Oh no, nothing like that. Just a little something for the journey”.

Just as the Dirt Prince hit one final button, music began to come blaring out of the phone at maximum volume.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE

Twilight was confused.

"Music? Why music?"

"Just a little something to help me drive. Alright, which way will get us to Canterlot?"

"Well, you're going to want to go right by these buildings over here and then continue on to the-"

Before Twilight could finish, Alex jammed his finger on the ingition, with the sudden roar of the car causing the crowd to seemingly leap back several feet. He then depressed the handbrake and jammed his foot against the accelerator, with the g-forces of the sudden launch forcing the alicorn against the back of the seat.

As the Fiesta went roaring away, Alex sent it sliding around past the buildings to their right. This led to an almost straight run past Town Hall and up to one of the bridges leading out of town.

No sooner had the car finished swinging round, Alex slammed the throttle back down again, launching the car towards the bridge.

As it drew closer, the car continued to rapidly build speed. 40 miles per hour became 50 became 60 became 70, pushing Twilight deeper and deeper into her seat, with her friends just blurs as they went roaring past them. Any pony that just so happened to be in the way of the Fiesta ended up having to leap out of the way.

"THIS IS THE WAY, RIGHT?!" Alex yelled, trying to be heard over the sound of the engine.

"YES!" Replied Twilight, now fearing for her life.

"ALRIGHTY THEN! HOLD ON!"

With the alicorn trying as hard as possible to follow Alex's instructions, the Fiesta launched itself over the bridge. The two inside were lifted out of their seats, leaving them suspended in midair for what felt like an eternity, despite being only a few seconds before the car came crashing back down on all four wheels with a massive thud, jolting them.

No sooner had the car landed, Alex slammed his foot back onto the throttle, launching the car up the road once again. With the aftershocks of the jolt dying off, Twilight looked out of the windshield, gazing up at the mountains looming over them.

Her blood began to run cold. Her she was in a metal box on wheels, hurtling towards said mountains, driven by an apparently mythical being with seemingly no regards for safety.

Alex didn't seem to feel the same sense of dread, opting to yell along to the music instead.

Whilst Alex and Twilight blasted towards Canterlot, Rainbow Dash sat in her seat, watching the landscape as it rolled by, trying to catch sight of the Fiesta.

When she had stepped onto the train, she had been dead certain that the train would win. For several years, there had never been a network of travel faster and more reliable than the Equestrian Railroad.

However, as she had been waiting for her friends, she had spotted the Fiesta flying past.

Suddenly, she had been feeling a lot less certain.

On the one hand, the train generally had less distance to cover than the car. The road seemed to wind its way around the mountains, whilst thanks to more up-to-date technology, the railroad could cut right through it. On the other hand, she had no idea how fast the Fiesta could go. The express was usually capable of a handy 70mph. However, this was usually on a more safer part track, usually in a wide open area with no sharp bends.

Currently, it was travelling nowhere near 70. Roughly 30 or 40mph would have been a closer estimate at this time.

Plus, from what she had seen, she could guess that the car was capable of going quite a bit faster.

As she continued to watch, the other four were sat on the other side of the carriage, eagerly chatting about their new friend.

"-AND THEN IT WAS ALL LIKE NEEEEEYOOOOWWWW!"

"Erm, Kinda loud...isn't it?"

"That thing was goin' faster than Rarity when she wants ta get to one a those fancy fashion shows".

"Very funny, Applejack."

Rainbow didn't say anything. However, if she had, she would have probably made a comment in regards to the sound. Quite simply, no one in Equestria had ever heard a sound quite like what the Fiesta made. To the pegasus, it sounded like an Ursa Major gargling bees.

As the train rounded another long bend, continuing to gain altitude, it passed by a section of pathway on Rainbow Dash's side. It was a short straight section, with a tunnel at either end.

She began to hear the noise again. It was quite distant, but she could hear it getting closer.

Then, sure enough, she finally caught sight of the car again as it came blazing out o the tunnel, doing a speed that she could see was clearly much faster than the express.

"HEY, THERE THEY ARE!"

The other four bolted over to the other side of the carriage just in time to watch the Fiesta disappear into a tunnel, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

The others were in awe. Not just with the speed of the car, but with Alex's bravery. The Ponyville to Canterlot road didn't seem like the safest road in the world, so someone who had never been up it going along at that speed was simply extraordinary.

Rainbow Dash, however, couldn't help but feel worried. As much as she herself was impressed. She really wanted to win this race.

"Please don't let me down now, train".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pnlm1Ky_sA

Another track came blaring out of the phone as the car raced through the rock tunnel.

Unfortunately for Twilight, this did very little to help take her mind off the fact that Alex was driving DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO THE CLIFFS ON EITHER SIDE!

This wasn't an exaggeration either. If Alex turned too much when negotiating one of these bends, the car would end up crashing into the rock face on the inside of the turn. However, if he didn't turn enough, they would end up flying over the sheer drop on the outside.

Not that this really seemed to phase Alex, who continued to drive the Fiesta as if he had sat on a wasp, kicking the back end of the car out at each turn.

However, even he knew that the route was becoming more dangerous, his loud yelling in time with the music being replaced by quiet mumbling, as his face bore a look of concentration.

He briefly glanced down at the fuel gauge. It read as being just a little bit under half full. This was of no major concern at the moment, but could become something major if left unchecked.

"Since they don't have cars, chances are that they haven't gotten around to refining petrol. Perhaps I can ask Twilight to replicate some of the fuel in the tank". He thought.

His focus quickly returned to the path ahead, as the car continued to blast up the mountain towards Canterlot. Turn after turn, miles after mile, they continued to gradually gain altitude. They also began to see less and less of the train as well. Sightings of the express went from "Up close and personal" to "way off in the distance", to just stopping entirely. Alex didn't know how to call this. Either the car was ahead or the train was but either way, one of them was winning.

Besides, Canterlot was now much more visible than it had been a while back. In fact, there were literally just a few more bends to negotiate and they would be right outside the-

"STALLION!" Yelled out Twilight, as the Fiesta slid around yet another turn.

Sure enough, stood right in the path of the car was a dark green stallion, who had just recognized the danger he was in and had begun rapidly backpedaling, looking as if his life was flashing before his eyes!

Before the stallion could become a squishy mess on the windshield, Alex suddenly jerked the steering wheel away. The direction change wasn't much, but it was enough to allow the Fiesta to narrowly miss the pony.

This didn't, however, prevent the left rear wheel from dipping over the edge of the cliff, sending a jolt through the suspension when it left the road. Whilst Twilight let out a loud scream in shock, Alex remained unfazed, turning the wheel again and allowing the wheel to hop back up onto the road again when the turn came to an end.

"WOO-HOO-HOO, HOLY CRAP! MY HEART KIND OF SKIPPED A BEAT THERE!" Alex declared, grinning like a madman.

"ALEX...ALEX, YOU MIGHT WANT TO THINK ABOUT SLOWING DOWN!" Twilight said to him. "WE'RE GOING TO START COMING UP ON A LOT MORE PONIES!"

"DON'T WORRY, I'LL SLOW DOWN WHEN WE'RE HEADING INTO CANTERLOT!" He replied confidently.

"Oh sweet Celestia, what did I do to deserve this?!" Twilight thought, seriously regretting her decision to ride with the human.

Unfortunately for the princess, things didn't get particularly better as they closed in on their destination. As the got closer, the amount of ponies on the road became greater and greater. This did at least prompt Alex to slow the car down significantly, but even then he was still travelling at a speed greater than what Twilight would have found comfortable. Any ponies that didn't leap out of the way in fright forced Alex to weave around them.

"'SCUSE ME! PARDON ME! DIRT PRINCE COMING THROUGH! OUT OF THE WAY!"

As the weaving continued, Twilight started to feel a bit queasy. If this continued much longer, than she would end up hurling all over the place.

Until, at long last...

"Is this it?"

"Ye...Yes!"

Finally, Alex slammed the brakes on. As Twilight went flying out of her seat and into the harness, she feared that if it wasn't held together as well as it was, she would have been sent flying through the glass in front of her. Thankfully, everything held together and the car finally came to a stop right outside Canterlot Train Station, with Canterlot itself just a stone's-throw down the road.

Not wanting to hang around to find out the results, Alex rapidly switched off the car before pulling off his harness and leaping out of the car, bolting up the steps and onto the platform. He hoped that the train hadn't arrived before him. Judging by Rainbow, she wouldn't let him forget it if this was the case.

Eventually, the results were finally revealed.

Empty. The tracks before Alex were empty.

He looked over at the rest of the platform. No sign of Rainbow Dash or the others. Just a few bystanders, looking at Alex with fear in their eyes. Either that or they simple didn't notice him.

He looked at the timetable, posted on a wall before looking over positioned right next to it. The next train wasn't due in for a few more minutes.

A smile formed on Alex's face. They'd done it. They'd won.

He chuckled.

"Damn, I'm good". He said to himself as he headed back over to his car.

Twilight had now managed to unbuckle her harness and was now lying on the dirt, staring up at the sky as she panted heavily, the feeling of queasiness slowly subsiding.

Alex knelt down next to her.

"It's alright. We did it. Good job, co-driver" He said, patting her belly.

The Princess groggily waved a hoof.

"Please...please don't do that." She groaned.

“Come on, come on, come on!” Rainbow Dash muttered as the train began to slowly come to a halt. Canterlot station was literally right outside the carriage door.

“Rainbow, honey, take it easy” Rarity reassured her, giving a dismissive wave of the hoof. “It’s not like it’ll be the end of the world if the...erm, what did he call it again...?”

“Car”

“...Car (thank you Fluttershy) got here first”.

“I know that, Rarity. But I still want to win! It’s part of who I am!”

Rainbow’s attention returned to getting off the train as quickly as possible. As the train continued to slow down. It was now at just a crawl.

Finally, the train came to a stop.

“Canterlot!” Called out the guard.

As this last syllable left his mouth, Rainbow Dash threw the carriage door open and leaped out onto the platform. She began to look around rapidly, trying to catch a sight of either Twilight or Alex, but struggling to do so as several other passengers disembarked from the train.

By the time her friends had joined her on the platform, she had already scanned over the station several times.

A smile slowly crept over her face.

“I...I think we won...I-I mean of course we won. Didn’t I tell him that the express was the fastest land transport in Equestria?”

“You did, but you still lost” Called out an all-too familiar voice, attracting the attention of the group.

“Oh no. Surely not”.

The smile on the face of the cyan pegasus faltered as Princess Twilight Sparkle trotted over to the group. Her mane was a mess and her tail was frayed. But regardless, she was here with them.

"DEAR CELESTIA!" Rarity cried. "Twilight, darling, what happened?!"

"Well, if you must know, I've been bounced around, thrown from side to side and was nearly sent both flying off a cliff and crashing into a rock face, both at nearly 100 miles an hour. As far as I can tell, Alex is both brave and crazy to drive a vehicle as dangerous as that car like he did on that road."

The others were about to start asking questions. However, before they could do so, they began to hear music playing not too far away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1D9wWxd2w

"Is that-"

"Probably"

The reunited group of six headed round the side of the station and onto the pathway. Sure enough, sat on the bonnet of his dirty Fiesta was Alex, phone in hand, nodding along to the song playing out of it, basking in his victory.

"Shoot! When y'all said it was fast, you weren't kiddin'" Declared Applejack.

This managed to attract the attention of the human.

"Oh, you're here!" He replied, standing upright and turning off the music. "I was starting to fear that something had happened. Must've had a greater lead than I thought".

"Weren't you...um...scared?"

"Who, me? Oh no, I've been on roads much more dangerous than that. Heck, I've literally driven to the top of a mountain before".

As Alex answered the questions from the others, she had a question of her own formulating in her head. She just needed to wait for the right moment to ask it. The very moment the human finished, she decided to go for it.

"How long have you been here?"

Alex checked his phone.

"Oh, about ten minutes."

Rainbow Dash just stood there in shock, mouths agape. For years, they had known that the Express train had been the way to go. To them, there hadn't been a mode of land transport quicker or more reliable.

And it had just been soundly thrashed by a box on wheels, driven by a madman.

Alex smiled.

"You looked a bit shocked there. That's normal, but I just want you to remember something: today is the day that your world was turned on its head. You wanna know why? Because you're currently in the presence..."

He suddenly through both his arms into the air, his hands clenched into fists as he drew in a deep breath.

"...OF A WINNAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the wait (depression's a bitch). Hope this chapter is worth it.