Project Equestria Racing 4by Akula966
Chapters
Prologue: The Retirement Of A Champion
Prologue: The Retirement Of A Champion
Season 25
Canterlot, Equestria
Canterlot Masters
Event 6: Street Race
Central City Gauntlet
A-Class Vehicles
Lap: 3 / 3
Race in progress...
"Ladies and Gentleponies! Welcome back to Project Equestria Racing's Canterlot Masters! My name is Flim, and with me today, is my wonderful brother, Flam!"
"Why thank you, dear brother! It's such a pleasure to be commentating on this exciting race with you here, in Canterlot! Especially in these final moments!"
"Right! So, without further ado, let's get right back into the action of the final lap of the final event of the most prestigious championship in Project Equestria Racing! Right now, there is a extremely interesting battle going on for first place, between #5 Racer, Luna, on her blue Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 superbike, and our current #1 Racer, Celestia!"
"I'm looking at Celestia's cockpit cam right now, and she looks very confident behind the wheel of her white-and-gold McLaren F1 LM. And It's easy to see why. The F1 is one of the best cars ever to be made, with the LM version being built to honor the earlier F1 GTRs that completed the recent 24 Hours of Ponyville race, finishing in first, third, fourth, fifth and thirteenth places overall! That is an incredible feat!"
"Well then, let's see if any of that racing pedigree has survived, as the leaders approach Calamity Corner, right before the Restaurant Row chicane!"
For the first time in years, Luna finally felt like she was better than her sister.
Thanks to the Kawasaki's superior acceleration, she had gotten a early lead and she had lead for the whole race. But with only one lap to go, Celestia had fought her way through the pack and was now hammering on her tail. But she was foiling her older sister's overtaking attempts again and again. And Celestia was getting annoyed.
"Sorry, Celestia. But I am not finishing behind your tailgate again," Luna said to herself, turning the handlebars and leaning to the right, to take the right-hand Calamity Corner onto Restaurant Row and started taking the chicane. She leaned right, then left and continued that pattern down Restaurant Row, with Celestia right behind her.
"Luna is maintaining the lead as she slaloms down the Restaurant Row chicane, Celestia hot on her hooves! She leans left! She leans right! She leans left! Oh, goddesses! She's given it too much throttle! She's going wide! Celestia sees an opportunity!" Flim suddenly cries out, spotting Luna's critical mistake.
Luna had, possibly out of fear that Celestia would managed to catch her, accidentally gave it a little too much throttle and went wide heading into another right, creating a big enough gap...
...for a F1 LM to fit through.
Celestia saw her little sister's mistake, smiled and stomped on her throttle. She then sneaked through the gap to take first place away form Luna, yet again!
"This is the exact reason why I keep beating you, Luna. You always make poor mistakes," Celestia thought to herself, happy that she was in first for once.
"Celestia has capitalized on Luna's mistake, and has taken her on the inside! Can Luna get her spot back?"
Luna kicked herself for her mistake that had allowed Celestia to sneak past her, and started hunting her down. She wanted first place back, desperately. But she only had a few turns to do so.
The chicane mercifully ended and Celestia took the left off of Restaurant Row, with Luna chasing her down. She raced down the main street, and with her McLaren's top speed being higher than Luna's Kawasaki, she was able to pull away from her. The massive straight she traveled down led her right out of Canterlot's main gates and down the main road, before she eased onto the brakes for the hairpin ahead of her. Approaching the hairpin, she flicked the wheel and turned the corner. The F1 quickly snapped arount the corner, oversteer causing the back end to kick out during the exit of the corner. But Celestia counter-steered, and straightened out. But as Celestia raced back towards Canterlot, Luna was taking the hairpin, and was gaining on Celestia.
In fact, she had caught up to Celestia right after passing through the gates again. After taking a ferocious 90o left, leading to an equally ferocious continuous string of narrow 90o lefts and rights that led to the finish line, allowing Luna time to get past her. Just one problem.
The road was too narrow for any sort of overtaking maneuver, even for Luna's motorcycle.
But Luna tried anyway, desperately wanting to beat her sister for once.
"It looks like Luna is making a final attempt to get past, but the road is too narrow! She's not going to get past!"
Ah, hang on a bit there, Flam. She isn't trying to pass her! She's looks like she's setting up for an overtake on the last corner!"
Finally, the two sisters reached the last corner, a right that led to the finish. Celestia hit her brakes and Luna moved to the outside, looking to get past and reclaim her lead. Luna started to move to the outside, attempting her pass.
"Oh goddesses! Luna's having a- Look at this! Final go! But Celestia oversteers and forces Luna right up against up against the gutter!"
"Right up on the kerb!"
"Can't do anything about it! Celestia will claim it, from Luna!"
Celestia had given it a little too much throttle on the exit, suffered from oversteer and kicked out the back end again...
...cutting off Luna from her overtake attempt and pushing her against the kerb!
No no no no NO!!!!!!!!!! Luna though as Celestia crossed the line in first place yet again, leaving Luna in second. Third place went to the #12 Racer, Night Light, in a dark-blue Toyota GT-One race car and on the back wheel over the line was the #4 racer, Rainbow Dash, on her red-and-white Ducati 999R Xerox.
Flim and Flam both were going wild at Celestia's final lap shock victory over Luna, but they calmed down easily. "What a race! That was an unbelievable effort by Luna to win there. But in the end, it wasn't enough!"
"Yes, what a way for Celestia to end her career here in Project Equestria Racing! You know, I've heard that when Celestia first got her F1 LM, she practiced with it three hours a day at the Neighburgring, on a special course known as 'The Behemoth'. Basically, The Behemoth is when you combine the long version of the F1 circuit, which is next to Nordschleife, and Nordschleife itself to create a massive super-circuit. And it didn't matter what weather it was, or whether the weather pegasi were on duty or not. She would practice in any weather. Rain, shine, snow, even in fog and at night! She just wouldn't stop practicing. As for Luna, she practiced on the streets on Canterlot whenever she could, which means she could only practice at night. So Luna is very good on night stages, but during the day, she gets sloppy,"
"Just like we saw today on the chicane,"
"Exactly! And-oh! Celestia appears to be having a celebration on the skid pan! And now, we are about to hand out the final result trophies at the awards ceremony! So stay tuned!"
Celestia had never felt happier.
After a moment, the presentation for the Top 3 Overall started. The announcer called out the names of Luna and Night Light who stepped onto the podium and received a wreath and a bottle of champagne each for placing 2nd and 3rd in the Masters. And for finishing in first place, Celestia was given the massive Masters trophy, a bottle of champagne and a massive amount of Kudos, which were converted into bits, due to her retirement from Project Equestria Racing. Then after the official announcement of the results and Celestia's retirement from PER, the three drivers popped their champagne corks and sprayed it everywhere and on each other.
After the celebrations ended, Celestia trotted back to the royal carriage she arrived in, to be taken back to her manor. Luna was already waiting for her in the carriage. But while Celestia trotted over to the carriage, she was being swarmed by reporters, asking her all sorts of questions. But as she kept getting barraged with questions, one caught her ears.
"Celestia, with your retirement from Project Equestria Racing, does that mean we won't see you on the track anymore?"
Celestia just stopped, turned to the reporter that asked her that, smiled and said, "Unlike when I handed over my throne to Princess Twilight, I do plan on continuing. Racing is the only thing I find fun, now that I have stepped down. It keeps my heart pumping and my blood flowing! So, I've been in discussion with the organizers, and they have allowed me to host my own Invitational events wherever I choose, whenever I choose, with whoever I choose. So you can be sure to see more of me and my F1. Also, remember that my sister hasn't retired yet, so be sure to keep an eye on her, too," Then, she turned away and entered the carriage without answering anymore questions. And amidst the massive crowd, the royal carriage left the city.
But with the retirement of Celestia from the #1 Position, meant two things. First, everypony on the leader-board moved up a spot, leaving Princess Twilight to take #1 Position. Secondly, it left #72 Position open for another driver to take...
The 72nd Racer
Project Equestria Racing HQ
Canterlot
Three weeks later...
When somepony announces that they are leaving PER and that the 72nd spot is available, the signing-up section of the PER HQ is usually overflowing amateur racers from all sorts of backgrounds, excited to compete with the best racers in Equestria and prove their metal.
That was all before the creation of the Central City Gauntlet. And the following accidents that ensued.
In fact, there were so many accidents, one of them even fatal, that the public wanted to shut down the Gauntlet, but after holding a vote, it was out-voted and the track was kept. But this led to a decrease in participants, due to fear that they will have to race on the infamous circuit. So the signing-up section remained the least active section of the PER HQ. Everypony who went there thought that it was a punishment.
Currently manning the front desk, was a pinkish-grey mare named Blossomforth. She sat at the desk, completely bored.
"Soooooo boooooooooooooooored!" She whined, twiddling her hooves.
"Ain't we all?" Another pony told her, "Just be patient. I'm sure something will come up!"
"That's exactly what you told me yesterday! And the day before that! And the day before that!" She snapped, when all of a sudden...
...the phone rang.
The pony that was talking with Blossom answered it, and after a lengthy call, leans out of his booth to look at Blossom with a massive smile. "We've got somepony coming up to sign up!"
"Finally!!!" Blossom thought as she made herself look more professional, such as brushing her mane and eating a breath mint.
After a few minutes, Blossom finally got a look at the driver coming to sign up. It was an unreformed changeling with red eyes, red wings, red shell, bloodied hooves and fangs and a Cutie Mark of the Soviet Air Force Roundel on his flank. He just calmly walked to the desk, with Blossom just staring at him in pure terror.
Blossom just shook away her fear, cleared her throat, smiled and asked, "Hello! How may I help you today?"
"I heard that the 72nd spot is avaliable in the PER Championship. And it appears that nopony else has taken it, so I thought I might take it," He replied.
"Ok... Well then, before I give you your sign up sheet, I need to ask you a few questions," She told the changeling, who just nodded, "Can I have your name?"
"Akula,"
"Do you have any experience in motor racing?"
"Yes. I have experience in amateur rally racing and amateur motorcycle racing,"
"Perfect! Just the racer we're looking for! If you could just fill out this form, please?" She then handed Akula a clipboard with a sign-in form on it. Akula took a pen from a mug that was on the desk and filled out the form, before handing it back. Blossom placed the clipboard on the desk and called out, "Red! Can you get me a digital calendar and a vehicle selector?"
"Comin' right up!" Red called back. Moments later, Red handed Blossom two black tablets. Blossom then tore a piece of paper, wrote on it then handed it to Akula along with the two tablets.
"The piece of paper is an access slip, you'll need to present it to the organizers at your first event. This is a digital calendar, informs you of all the championships and majors coming up, along with any invitationals that might pop up. And this is your vehicle selector, you use it to select the vehicle you wish to use after you've selected an event on the calendar. Once you've selected your vehicle, we'll have it ready for you at the event. That's all, welcome to Project Equestria Racing!" And with that, Akula thanked Blossom and walked out of the building, the next #72 racer.
But as Akula stepped out, he checked the calendar. There was a championship scheduled for tomorrow, and only one was available to him. So, he selected it and went to pick his car. Once he did, the vehicle selector shut off and the calendar lit up with a single message.
Scheduled for tomorrow:
Our Town Amateur Open
Author's Note
I forgot to tell you guys, if you have an OC you would like to see in this story, just send me a DM with the character's details! Any character is welcome! Just let me know! 
Our Town Amateur Open 1: Street Race 1
Season 1
Our Town, just outside Stalliongrad
Our Town Amateur Open
Event 1: Street Race
Equality Loop
F-Class Vehicles
Lap: 0 / 3
Race about to start...
"Well, hello Equestria! And welcome to the Our Town Amateur Open, a championship of the legendary Project Equestria Racing! My name is Feather Bangs and with me as always is the always beautiful, Sugar Belle!"
"Good morning, Feather Bangs! So happy to be here!"
"I've recently heard that your fiance, Big Macintosh, is actually a competitor in the PER series. Are you actually aware of this, Sugar?"
"Of course! He actually told me that he had signed up for the Project, I was so proud of him! In fact, he is currently the 33rd best racer in Equestria, so he is now a high-class racer,"
"Well, speaking of high-class racers, we've got some lined up for you here today! They're lined up on the grid right now, let's meet them!"
"Okay, first on the grid, we have #61 Racer, Gallus. One of the better racers of the list we have here for you today, he is currently the top ranked driver in the Amateur Division, behind the wheel of a beautiful Lamborghini Miura P400 SV. Apparently, he is also the Captain of the Royal Guard as well! What an impressive set of achievements! You know what? I believe that nothing will stop Gallus from absolutely running away with a victory here!"
"Ah, just hold your horses there, Feather! There is some other competitors that I think have a good shot at winning. Take our #64 and #66 Racers, Sandbar and Smolder. Sandbar, a pretty young and promising touring car driver at the wheel of a Lotus Esprit Essex Turbo. Smolder, a ferocious young dragon at the wheel of a fiery Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. I think they have what it takes to take out Gallus in this. Also, there's our #68 Racer, Silverstream, on a BSA Gold Star DBD34. She has been practicing with it so much, she knows how the best way to ride it! Finally, let's not forget to count count out our #69 and #70 Racers, Ocellus and Yona. Ocellus used to be this shy, little changeling, but not anymore! Especially behind the wheel of her Alfa Romeo SZ. Yona, of course being a yak, she picked the biggest car she could find! What she chose, was the powerful GMC Syclone. All of these drivers may be friends, but once they step onto the track, they become rivals!"
"Whoa there, you're forgetting our last driver! Our new #72 Racer, an amateur rally driver by the name of Akula. He's representing the Changeling Kingdom of old, which is a first. But I usually don't look at that too much, on the account that he is driving a nice looking Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500, one of the greatest touring cars of its day! And judging by the track he'll be racing on now, it might play to his advantage,"
"Well, we shall see. It looks like they are getting lined up on the grid now! Hold onto your seats, everypony! We are about to begin!"
Akula sat on the final spot of the grid, revving the Cosworth YBD engine of his Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500. He was ready to go, and was waiting for the others to signal that they were ready. And by signal, I mean revving the engine to say that you are ready.
Speaking of the others, Akula had taken the time to analyse his opponents' cars and identify their strengths and weaknesses. And he already had a plan.
Since the Equality Loop was a small loop of the town (with the start-finish being in the middle of the row of buildings that formed the equals sign shape of the town) and most of the other cars having big engines and poor grip, Akula would easily shoot by and take top spot, while the GMC, Alfa, Corvette, Lotus and Lamborghini would be left at the line, spinning their wheels. But Akula's attention was mainly focused on the BSA Gold Star and the light pink, blue maned hippogriff riding it. He had watched Project Equestria Racing before and he knew that motorcycles we always the quickest off the line, and usually on short tracks like the one he was on now, motorcycles reigned supreme with their unmatched grip and superior acceleration. But Akula's Sierra Cosworth had surprisingly grippy rear wheel drive, meaning he could keep pace with the Gold Star off the line. But the race itself would be close.
Suddenly, all the others started revving their engines. He knew that the light sequence would begin shortly, and he started to redline the Cosworth's engine (meaning that he held down the throttle while stock still at the lights). Okay, here we go. First race! Let's make a good impression, Akula thought, as the red light started to come on.
"Here we go, everypony! The first stage is about to begin! We are about to get underway!"
The tree has been lit up! We've got one light! Two lights! Three lights! Four lights! Five lights! *slight pause* And the lights have gone green! We are under way!"
The lights went green and the race started.
As expected, Silverstream immediately shot into the lead on her BSA and all the others were left struggling for grip at the line, and Akula easily shot by them, into second.
The first event had immediately become a two-pony race.
"Silverstream and Akula have rocketed off the line! All the others are struggling to get grip as Silverstream charges towards the first corner, Akula hot on her hooves!"
As quick as they launched off the line, Silverstream and Akula reached the first corner, a sharp right leading the track into the mountains surrounding the town. Both of them took the right in train formation, neither of them making any mistakes. But as they started to climb the somewhat steep hills that turned in a long sweeping right, Akula then managed to spot the Gold Star's one weakness. As the incline got steeper and steeper, Akula saw that the bike started to struggle up the hill. Just what he expected from a bike made in the 1950's. And with his more powerful engine, he started to gain on the hippogriff. Finally, when they reached the peak of the hill and hit the top, they were side by side. As the two raced down the hill, Akula took a moment to get a look at his opponent. He was so close to the hippogriff that he could see the her fur blowing in the wind and the sparkles in her eyes. Then, Silver quickly looked at Akula, then did a double take and soon found herself staring right into the glowing red eyes of the Demon Lord. Akula could sense her fear and could see the terror in her eyes as she stared at him. Eventually, the two broke their stare...
...only to find that they were closing on the final corner, another sharp right that heads back into town and the start-finish line.
Panicked, both Silver and Akula hit their brakes, but Akula had hit his brakes later that Silver and he had the better line, so Akula slipped by Silver to take the lead!
"I don't believe this! The rookie, Akula has used the inside line and taken the lead away from Silver, who should've seen that move coming! What a move from the rally driver!"
"Don't get too excited. Remember, he has to hold the lead for two more laps to get maximum Position Kudos. And two laps is still plenty of laps to lose the lead,"
As it turns out, Sugar Belle was very wrong.
Not only had Akula managed to hold the lead, he had managed to lap the tail end of the field before the end of the race, easily taking the win. Gallus meanwhile, had managed to catch Silverstream in the hills and take second from her on the final corner, leaving the hippogriff in third. All the while, two battles were happening, one between Smolder and Sandbar for fourth and Ocellus and Yona for sixth. In the end, Sandbar managed to hold onto fourth, and the fish-tailing Corvette left in fifth. And Yona, despite some struggling on the hill, had managed to outlast Ocellus and take sixth and leaving the shy changeling in last.
Nopony in the entire crowd, the commentators, not even Akula himself could believe it. This nopony rally driver had taken down the Young Six in his very first race!
"What a race by our new 72nd driver! He has performed the unthinkable and beaten the Young Six! This could not happen, but it has happened!"
"And on that lovely note, let's check the leaderboard!"
Standings
Akula (Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500) K 12,693 Gallus (Lamborghini Miura P400 SV) K 10,269 Silverstream (BSA Gold Star DBD34) K 8,476 Sandbar (Lotus Esprit Essex Turbo) K 6,433 Smolder (Chevrolet Corvette Stingray) K 4,178 Yona (GMC Syclone) K 2,876 Ocellus (Alfa Romeo SZ) K 265
"Looks like our rookie Akula has taken an early lead, with 12,693 Kudos. Gallus is hot on his hooves, with 10,269 Kudos. Silverstream, Sandbar and Smolder complete the Top 5 and Ocellus completes the 7,"
"Okay, the racers are coming off the track now. We're gonna bring in one of the racers for an interview, while the others rest up and the next track is set up. You don't want to miss the next round of the Our Town Amateur Open, so as we always say..."
"Stay tuned!"
Author's Note
Season 25
Canterlot, Equestria
Canterlot Masters
Event 6: Street Race
Central City Gauntlet
A-Class Vehicles
Lap: 3 / 3
Race in progress...
"Ladies and Gentleponies! Welcome back to Project Equestria Racing's Canterlot Masters! My name is Flim, and with me today, is my wonderful brother, Flam!"
"Why thank you, dear brother! It's such a pleasure to be commentating on this exciting race with you here, in Canterlot! Especially in these final moments!"
"Right! So, without further ado, let's get right back into the action of the final lap of the final event of the most prestigious championship in Project Equestria Racing! Right now, there is a extremely interesting battle going on for first place, between #5 Racer, Luna, on her blue Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 superbike, and our current #1 Racer, Celestia!"
"I'm looking at Celestia's cockpit cam right now, and she looks very confident behind the wheel of her white-and-gold McLaren F1 LM. And It's easy to see why. The F1 is one of the best cars ever to be made, with the LM version being built to honor the earlier F1 GTRs that completed the recent 24 Hours of Ponyville race, finishing in first, third, fourth, fifth and thirteenth places overall! That is an incredible feat!"
"Well then, let's see if any of that racing pedigree has survived, as the leaders approach Calamity Corner, right before the Restaurant Row chicane!"
For the first time in years, Luna finally felt like she was better than her sister.
Thanks to the Kawasaki's superior acceleration, she had gotten a early lead and she had lead for the whole race. But with only one lap to go, Celestia had fought her way through the pack and was now hammering on her tail. But she was foiling her older sister's overtaking attempts again and again. And Celestia was getting annoyed.
"Sorry, Celestia. But I am not finishing behind your tailgate again," Luna said to herself, turning the handlebars and leaning to the right, to take the right-hand Calamity Corner onto Restaurant Row and started taking the chicane. She leaned right, then left and continued that pattern down Restaurant Row, with Celestia right behind her.
"Luna is maintaining the lead as she slaloms down the Restaurant Row chicane, Celestia hot on her hooves! She leans left! She leans right! She leans left! Oh, goddesses! She's given it too much throttle! She's going wide! Celestia sees an opportunity!" Flim suddenly cries out, spotting Luna's critical mistake.
Luna had, possibly out of fear that Celestia would managed to catch her, accidentally gave it a little too much throttle and went wide heading into another right, creating a big enough gap...
...for a F1 LM to fit through.
Celestia saw her little sister's mistake, smiled and stomped on her throttle. She then sneaked through the gap to take first place away form Luna, yet again!
"This is the exact reason why I keep beating you, Luna. You always make poor mistakes," Celestia thought to herself, happy that she was in first for once.
"Celestia has capitalized on Luna's mistake, and has taken her on the inside! Can Luna get her spot back?"
Luna kicked herself for her mistake that had allowed Celestia to sneak past her, and started hunting her down. She wanted first place back, desperately. But she only had a few turns to do so.
The chicane mercifully ended and Celestia took the left off of Restaurant Row, with Luna chasing her down. She raced down the main street, and with her McLaren's top speed being higher than Luna's Kawasaki, she was able to pull away from her. The massive straight she traveled down led her right out of Canterlot's main gates and down the main road, before she eased onto the brakes for the hairpin ahead of her. Approaching the hairpin, she flicked the wheel and turned the corner. The F1 quickly snapped arount the corner, oversteer causing the back end to kick out during the exit of the corner. But Celestia counter-steered, and straightened out. But as Celestia raced back towards Canterlot, Luna was taking the hairpin, and was gaining on Celestia.
In fact, she had caught up to Celestia right after passing through the gates again. After taking a ferocious 90o left, leading to an equally ferocious continuous string of narrow 90o lefts and rights that led to the finish line, allowing Luna time to get past her. Just one problem.
The road was too narrow for any sort of overtaking maneuver, even for Luna's motorcycle.
But Luna tried anyway, desperately wanting to beat her sister for once.
"It looks like Luna is making a final attempt to get past, but the road is too narrow! She's not going to get past!"
Ah, hang on a bit there, Flam. She isn't trying to pass her! She's looks like she's setting up for an overtake on the last corner!"
Finally, the two sisters reached the last corner, a right that led to the finish. Celestia hit her brakes and Luna moved to the outside, looking to get past and reclaim her lead. Luna started to move to the outside, attempting her pass.
"Oh goddesses! Luna's having a- Look at this! Final go! But Celestia oversteers and forces Luna right up against up against the gutter!"
"Right up on the kerb!"
"Can't do anything about it! Celestia will claim it, from Luna!"
Celestia had given it a little too much throttle on the exit, suffered from oversteer and kicked out the back end again...
...cutting off Luna from her overtake attempt and pushing her against the kerb!
No no no no NO!!!!!!!!!! Luna though as Celestia crossed the line in first place yet again, leaving Luna in second. Third place went to the #12 Racer, Night Light, in a dark-blue Toyota GT-One race car and on the back wheel over the line was the #4 racer, Rainbow Dash, on her red-and-white Ducati 999R Xerox.
Flim and Flam both were going wild at Celestia's final lap shock victory over Luna, but they calmed down easily. "What a race! That was an unbelievable effort by Luna to win there. But in the end, it wasn't enough!"
"Yes, what a way for Celestia to end her career here in Project Equestria Racing! You know, I've heard that when Celestia first got her F1 LM, she practiced with it three hours a day at the Neighburgring, on a special course known as 'The Behemoth'. Basically, The Behemoth is when you combine the long version of the F1 circuit, which is next to Nordschleife, and Nordschleife itself to create a massive super-circuit. And it didn't matter what weather it was, or whether the weather pegasi were on duty or not. She would practice in any weather. Rain, shine, snow, even in fog and at night! She just wouldn't stop practicing. As for Luna, she practiced on the streets on Canterlot whenever she could, which means she could only practice at night. So Luna is very good on night stages, but during the day, she gets sloppy,"
"Just like we saw today on the chicane,"
"Exactly! And-oh! Celestia appears to be having a celebration on the skid pan! And now, we are about to hand out the final result trophies at the awards ceremony! So stay tuned!"
Celestia had never felt happier.
After a moment, the presentation for the Top 3 Overall started. The announcer called out the names of Luna and Night Light who stepped onto the podium and received a wreath and a bottle of champagne each for placing 2nd and 3rd in the Masters. And for finishing in first place, Celestia was given the massive Masters trophy, a bottle of champagne and a massive amount of Kudos, which were converted into bits, due to her retirement from Project Equestria Racing. Then after the official announcement of the results and Celestia's retirement from PER, the three drivers popped their champagne corks and sprayed it everywhere and on each other.
After the celebrations ended, Celestia trotted back to the royal carriage she arrived in, to be taken back to her manor. Luna was already waiting for her in the carriage. But while Celestia trotted over to the carriage, she was being swarmed by reporters, asking her all sorts of questions. But as she kept getting barraged with questions, one caught her ears.
"Celestia, with your retirement from Project Equestria Racing, does that mean we won't see you on the track anymore?"
Celestia just stopped, turned to the reporter that asked her that, smiled and said, "Unlike when I handed over my throne to Princess Twilight, I do plan on continuing. Racing is the only thing I find fun, now that I have stepped down. It keeps my heart pumping and my blood flowing! So, I've been in discussion with the organizers, and they have allowed me to host my own Invitational events wherever I choose, whenever I choose, with whoever I choose. So you can be sure to see more of me and my F1. Also, remember that my sister hasn't retired yet, so be sure to keep an eye on her, too," Then, she turned away and entered the carriage without answering anymore questions. And amidst the massive crowd, the royal carriage left the city.
But with the retirement of Celestia from the #1 Position, meant two things. First, everypony on the leader-board moved up a spot, leaving Princess Twilight to take #1 Position. Secondly, it left #72 Position open for another driver to take...
Project Equestria Racing HQ
Canterlot
Three weeks later...
When somepony announces that they are leaving PER and that the 72nd spot is available, the signing-up section of the PER HQ is usually overflowing amateur racers from all sorts of backgrounds, excited to compete with the best racers in Equestria and prove their metal.
That was all before the creation of the Central City Gauntlet. And the following accidents that ensued.
In fact, there were so many accidents, one of them even fatal, that the public wanted to shut down the Gauntlet, but after holding a vote, it was out-voted and the track was kept. But this led to a decrease in participants, due to fear that they will have to race on the infamous circuit. So the signing-up section remained the least active section of the PER HQ. Everypony who went there thought that it was a punishment.
Currently manning the front desk, was a pinkish-grey mare named Blossomforth. She sat at the desk, completely bored.
"Soooooo boooooooooooooooored!" She whined, twiddling her hooves.
"Ain't we all?" Another pony told her, "Just be patient. I'm sure something will come up!"
"That's exactly what you told me yesterday! And the day before that! And the day before that!" She snapped, when all of a sudden...
...the phone rang.
The pony that was talking with Blossom answered it, and after a lengthy call, leans out of his booth to look at Blossom with a massive smile. "We've got somepony coming up to sign up!"
"Finally!!!" Blossom thought as she made herself look more professional, such as brushing her mane and eating a breath mint.
After a few minutes, Blossom finally got a look at the driver coming to sign up. It was an unreformed changeling with red eyes, red wings, red shell, bloodied hooves and fangs and a Cutie Mark of the Soviet Air Force Roundel on his flank. He just calmly walked to the desk, with Blossom just staring at him in pure terror.
Blossom just shook away her fear, cleared her throat, smiled and asked, "Hello! How may I help you today?"
"I heard that the 72nd spot is avaliable in the PER Championship. And it appears that nopony else has taken it, so I thought I might take it," He replied.
"Ok... Well then, before I give you your sign up sheet, I need to ask you a few questions," She told the changeling, who just nodded, "Can I have your name?"
"Akula,"
"Do you have any experience in motor racing?"
"Yes. I have experience in amateur rally racing and amateur motorcycle racing,"
"Perfect! Just the racer we're looking for! If you could just fill out this form, please?" She then handed Akula a clipboard with a sign-in form on it. Akula took a pen from a mug that was on the desk and filled out the form, before handing it back. Blossom placed the clipboard on the desk and called out, "Red! Can you get me a digital calendar and a vehicle selector?"
"Comin' right up!" Red called back. Moments later, Red handed Blossom two black tablets. Blossom then tore a piece of paper, wrote on it then handed it to Akula along with the two tablets.
"The piece of paper is an access slip, you'll need to present it to the organizers at your first event. This is a digital calendar, informs you of all the championships and majors coming up, along with any invitationals that might pop up. And this is your vehicle selector, you use it to select the vehicle you wish to use after you've selected an event on the calendar. Once you've selected your vehicle, we'll have it ready for you at the event. That's all, welcome to Project Equestria Racing!" And with that, Akula thanked Blossom and walked out of the building, the next #72 racer.
But as Akula stepped out, he checked the calendar. There was a championship scheduled for tomorrow, and only one was available to him. So, he selected it and went to pick his car. Once he did, the vehicle selector shut off and the calendar lit up with a single message.
Scheduled for tomorrow:
Our Town Amateur Open
I forgot to tell you guys, if you have an OC you would like to see in this story, just send me a DM with the character's details! Any character is welcome! Just let me know!
Season 1
Our Town, just outside Stalliongrad
Our Town Amateur Open
Event 1: Street Race
Equality Loop
F-Class Vehicles
Lap: 0 / 3
Race about to start...
"Well, hello Equestria! And welcome to the Our Town Amateur Open, a championship of the legendary Project Equestria Racing! My name is Feather Bangs and with me as always is the always beautiful, Sugar Belle!"
"Good morning, Feather Bangs! So happy to be here!"
"I've recently heard that your fiance, Big Macintosh, is actually a competitor in the PER series. Are you actually aware of this, Sugar?"
"Of course! He actually told me that he had signed up for the Project, I was so proud of him! In fact, he is currently the 33rd best racer in Equestria, so he is now a high-class racer,"
"Well, speaking of high-class racers, we've got some lined up for you here today! They're lined up on the grid right now, let's meet them!"
"Okay, first on the grid, we have #61 Racer, Gallus. One of the better racers of the list we have here for you today, he is currently the top ranked driver in the Amateur Division, behind the wheel of a beautiful Lamborghini Miura P400 SV. Apparently, he is also the Captain of the Royal Guard as well! What an impressive set of achievements! You know what? I believe that nothing will stop Gallus from absolutely running away with a victory here!"
"Ah, just hold your horses there, Feather! There is some other competitors that I think have a good shot at winning. Take our #64 and #66 Racers, Sandbar and Smolder. Sandbar, a pretty young and promising touring car driver at the wheel of a Lotus Esprit Essex Turbo. Smolder, a ferocious young dragon at the wheel of a fiery Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. I think they have what it takes to take out Gallus in this. Also, there's our #68 Racer, Silverstream, on a BSA Gold Star DBD34. She has been practicing with it so much, she knows how the best way to ride it! Finally, let's not forget to count count out our #69 and #70 Racers, Ocellus and Yona. Ocellus used to be this shy, little changeling, but not anymore! Especially behind the wheel of her Alfa Romeo SZ. Yona, of course being a yak, she picked the biggest car she could find! What she chose, was the powerful GMC Syclone. All of these drivers may be friends, but once they step onto the track, they become rivals!"
"Whoa there, you're forgetting our last driver! Our new #72 Racer, an amateur rally driver by the name of Akula. He's representing the Changeling Kingdom of old, which is a first. But I usually don't look at that too much, on the account that he is driving a nice looking Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500, one of the greatest touring cars of its day! And judging by the track he'll be racing on now, it might play to his advantage,"
"Well, we shall see. It looks like they are getting lined up on the grid now! Hold onto your seats, everypony! We are about to begin!"
Akula sat on the final spot of the grid, revving the Cosworth YBD engine of his Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500. He was ready to go, and was waiting for the others to signal that they were ready. And by signal, I mean revving the engine to say that you are ready.
Speaking of the others, Akula had taken the time to analyse his opponents' cars and identify their strengths and weaknesses. And he already had a plan.
Since the Equality Loop was a small loop of the town (with the start-finish being in the middle of the row of buildings that formed the equals sign shape of the town) and most of the other cars having big engines and poor grip, Akula would easily shoot by and take top spot, while the GMC, Alfa, Corvette, Lotus and Lamborghini would be left at the line, spinning their wheels. But Akula's attention was mainly focused on the BSA Gold Star and the light pink, blue maned hippogriff riding it. He had watched Project Equestria Racing before and he knew that motorcycles we always the quickest off the line, and usually on short tracks like the one he was on now, motorcycles reigned supreme with their unmatched grip and superior acceleration. But Akula's Sierra Cosworth had surprisingly grippy rear wheel drive, meaning he could keep pace with the Gold Star off the line. But the race itself would be close.
Suddenly, all the others started revving their engines. He knew that the light sequence would begin shortly, and he started to redline the Cosworth's engine (meaning that he held down the throttle while stock still at the lights). Okay, here we go. First race! Let's make a good impression, Akula thought, as the red light started to come on.
"Here we go, everypony! The first stage is about to begin! We are about to get underway!"
The tree has been lit up! We've got one light! Two lights! Three lights! Four lights! Five lights! *slight pause* And the lights have gone green! We are under way!"
The lights went green and the race started.
As expected, Silverstream immediately shot into the lead on her BSA and all the others were left struggling for grip at the line, and Akula easily shot by them, into second.
The first event had immediately become a two-pony race.
"Silverstream and Akula have rocketed off the line! All the others are struggling to get grip as Silverstream charges towards the first corner, Akula hot on her hooves!"
As quick as they launched off the line, Silverstream and Akula reached the first corner, a sharp right leading the track into the mountains surrounding the town. Both of them took the right in train formation, neither of them making any mistakes. But as they started to climb the somewhat steep hills that turned in a long sweeping right, Akula then managed to spot the Gold Star's one weakness. As the incline got steeper and steeper, Akula saw that the bike started to struggle up the hill. Just what he expected from a bike made in the 1950's. And with his more powerful engine, he started to gain on the hippogriff. Finally, when they reached the peak of the hill and hit the top, they were side by side. As the two raced down the hill, Akula took a moment to get a look at his opponent. He was so close to the hippogriff that he could see the her fur blowing in the wind and the sparkles in her eyes. Then, Silver quickly looked at Akula, then did a double take and soon found herself staring right into the glowing red eyes of the Demon Lord. Akula could sense her fear and could see the terror in her eyes as she stared at him. Eventually, the two broke their stare...
...only to find that they were closing on the final corner, another sharp right that heads back into town and the start-finish line.
Panicked, both Silver and Akula hit their brakes, but Akula had hit his brakes later that Silver and he had the better line, so Akula slipped by Silver to take the lead!
"I don't believe this! The rookie, Akula has used the inside line and taken the lead away from Silver, who should've seen that move coming! What a move from the rally driver!"
"Don't get too excited. Remember, he has to hold the lead for two more laps to get maximum Position Kudos. And two laps is still plenty of laps to lose the lead,"
As it turns out, Sugar Belle was very wrong.
Not only had Akula managed to hold the lead, he had managed to lap the tail end of the field before the end of the race, easily taking the win. Gallus meanwhile, had managed to catch Silverstream in the hills and take second from her on the final corner, leaving the hippogriff in third. All the while, two battles were happening, one between Smolder and Sandbar for fourth and Ocellus and Yona for sixth. In the end, Sandbar managed to hold onto fourth, and the fish-tailing Corvette left in fifth. And Yona, despite some struggling on the hill, had managed to outlast Ocellus and take sixth and leaving the shy changeling in last.
Nopony in the entire crowd, the commentators, not even Akula himself could believe it. This nopony rally driver had taken down the Young Six in his very first race!
"What a race by our new 72nd driver! He has performed the unthinkable and beaten the Young Six! This could not happen, but it has happened!"
"And on that lovely note, let's check the leaderboard!"
Standings
Akula (Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500) K 12,693 Gallus (Lamborghini Miura P400 SV) K 10,269 Silverstream (BSA Gold Star DBD34) K 8,476 Sandbar (Lotus Esprit Essex Turbo) K 6,433 Smolder (Chevrolet Corvette Stingray) K 4,178 Yona (GMC Syclone) K 2,876 Ocellus (Alfa Romeo SZ) K 265
"Looks like our rookie Akula has taken an early lead, with 12,693 Kudos. Gallus is hot on his hooves, with 10,269 Kudos. Silverstream, Sandbar and Smolder complete the Top 5 and Ocellus completes the 7,"
"Okay, the racers are coming off the track now. We're gonna bring in one of the racers for an interview, while the others rest up and the next track is set up. You don't want to miss the next round of the Our Town Amateur Open, so as we always say..."
"Stay tuned!"