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Ren Tanaka Welcome back to Amarillo. Or, if it's your first time here, welcome to Amarillo!

    This instance of the Texas city on route 66 has been a hot spot of activity for a couple of months now due to all manner of weirdness. Crashed alien spaceships, the death of Elvis Presley, and troublemaking gangs of vehicular hooligans.

    And that's to say nothing of the weird environmental effect which will dress anyone who comes into the location in period-appropriate fashion.

    But more specifically, let's go back to talking about those gangs. They've been driving into Amarillo to cause a ruckus for a while now- violent but not out for blood, they seem to be driven by a collective need to uncover the truth that they believe is being kept hidden from them. Conspiracy mania is the impetus; but hooliganism and power keeps the wheel rolling.

    That's what bring you here.

    Palo Duro Canyon is a state park near the city: but right now, it's been taken over by a rowdy string of various customized contemporary cars, as the gangs reconvene after the holidays to ring in the new year.

    The group may well still be redeemable, but they won't listen to anyone unless you prove that you're worth your wheels. If you want to get anywhere in Amarillo, you're gonna have to win this race.

    Ren Tanaka is here in a converted open-top Chevrolet Corvette, wearing rose-coloured glasses and in a sharp white suit. Who else has made their way here today?
Finna     One of these oddball newcomer-Challengers happens to be a young woman, fit and lean but with some noteworthy leg muscles and upper arm strength a few notches beyond the average civilian. Juuuuuust a hint more muscle than one might expect from a woman in her late teens, maaaaaaybe early twenties.

    Finna's never been seen before in Amarillo in human form... but now that she has?

    Whoah.

    She's gone 60s alright. Full out 60s. Later 60s, but 60s. She's leaning against a Ford Starliner painted the color of the night sky, arms folded across the buttoned up, finely knitted, light blue polo shirt with a plethora of pockets she's wearing. It's tucked neatly into a navy blue pair of tight-fitting corduroy pants, held fast by a sizable leather belt. For footwear? Leather boots, admittedly, but sleek ones with slightly raised heels.

    "Don't you boys worry about a thing. You'll have a good look at my rear when I pull ahead! Not a bad consolation prize." As competetive trash-talking goes, it's pretty tame.

    Even a bit flirty.

    She's GRINNING at anyone who looks her way and oh, it's a somewhat disturbing looking grin. Looks normal. But also... just predatory enough to trigger a case of the willies.

    At the moment, her Tell is all but entirely invisible. No sign of the fox ears or tail even for those sharp-eyed enough to otherwise see them!
Twilight Sparkle      Soon another car pulls up next to Ren. It looks like...well, it looks a lot like one of Pinkie Pie's crazy contraptions. An elongated egg-shape serves as the main body, with a large housing behind the driver with what appear to be small rocket engines sticking out from the sides. On top is an intricate spire of metal and crystal. The cab is open to the air, with two seats and a circle-bound star shape for a wheel. There is only one dial on the dashboard, and it doesn't look like speed.

     The wheels are obviously adapted train wheels bound in rubber, with wagon struts and gigantic springs for suspension underneath the long body of the strange looking car. And who is driving this car? Why, it's Twilight Sparkle! After hearing about the situation, Twilight Sparkle came out to put her experience in negotiation and friend making to the test. It may seem strange for a pony to drive a car, especially with no hands, but she seems to be doing just fine with her hooves and magic. "Hello Ren!" she says happily after she arrives. She is wearing a helmet and even a proper racing suit, which might seem odd given that ponies don't even -have- racing vehicles last time anyone checked.
Deelel Deelel has come back she's looking the part of a 1970s biker chuick, though here and there a little give awya might be seen such as the lack of seams on most of her outfit. She's however carrying a strange looking baton in one hand and smirking.

"I'm going to owe Mara and Beck for this one."

She grins as she moves to take the bar out and hold it infront of her it takes a moment but soon wire frames form, about her she hunges over and soon she's well? in a light cycle which engine gives a strange whine a she guns the engine a few times.

"So I preume weapons are banned from this?"
Staren     The fact is? Car racing is just not a skill Staren has. Trying to pick it up in this amount of time, and either obtain or design a high-tech customized racing car /and/ learn to become good at it... It's just too much! Although, when he sees the locals are in modified stock cars, he realizes maybe he wouldn't have had to go /that/ far. Still, he hasn't car raced before! So today he's supporting Twilight, riding along in her passenger seat. He may or may not have helped with the car. Does putting rocket engines on a car sound like something Staren would do?

    Anyway, his safety gear has been turned into an early nomex racing suit and helmet. He waves from Twilight's roadster, and curiously observes the locals' response to it. That anti-weirdness field must be working overtime... Staren rolls his eyes slightly at Finna's trash-talking, and then looks at Deelel. "I would have... thought so... Otherwise, this is going to be an... 'interesting' race. And we'll win in no time."
Ren Tanaka http://safebooru.org//images/1291/a5b68dd220242713ae5a60f0408d0091fee67fe4.jpg?1344458

    Naturally, the boss of the gangs is here in a Pontiac Firebird, in fire engine red. Tobe, the red-haired man lights up a cigarette as he taps his foot on the car's accelerator. Leaning on the side, a short, surly-looking man with glasses and blue hair- Mike- looks at the competition.

    "Looks like we got a hefty turnout," Mike says.
    "That we have," Tobe replies.
    "Once everyone's hyped up by this, we can roll into the city and really do some damage, huh?"
    Tobe puffs. "I've been thinking about what that girl's been saying..."
    "You're kidding..."
    "...once everyone's finished with the race, I wanna talk to everyone."

    There's one more person here who doesn't quite seem to fit with everyone else- in a simple, totally uncustomized Morris Minor, http://imgur.com/YZBUcAC a tiny woman with surprisingly piercing green eyes- Maria Smith- nervously wrings her steering wheel. She's here because she thinks if she wins, she can convince the others to listen to her. She's startlingly out of her league, and only she hasn't recognized it.

    Ren eyes her from behind his glasses warily. But when Twilight pulls up next to him, he finds plenty of reason to smile. "Now that's the kind of car I wanted to see," he says with a laugh, giving Twilight a thumbs-up.

    Finna's certainly managed to get a fair share of male attention, as the wolf whistles and cheers can attest to. Clearly, some men think they're tough enough to not be intimidated by her expression, but to be fair, they're also the ones who are driving the loudest, ugliest cars. Most people think better of it, though.

    Deelel's got some interested expressions for being one of the few bikers here- there's only one or two others, and they're the bearded Harley-Davidson type. More than them are asking her what model her bike is and where she got it.

    The nebbish man with a big checkered flag looks at Staren, and answers his question- "Mmmyeess, there must be rules. We're not here to put anyone in the hospital, no, they're probably not going to like that. No seriously violent gestures, everyone. No guns, if you don't mind, no no no. Boss Tobe's request, yes yes. If you can get close enough to chain-whip someone, more power to you, I say."

    Mike spits on the ground, digs his hands into his pockets and walks away. "He's gone soft..."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMbATaj7Il8
    Born to Be Wild - Steppenwolf
    1968 - Mars Bonfire


    Ready, set, GO!
Twilight Sparkle      Twilight Sparkle looks around at the competitors, then blinks as Ren compliments her car. She smiles happily. "Thank you! With Pinkie's knack for building things out of seemingly mundane materials, it was a cinch to put together, and Staren decided that magic-powered rocket engines would be good . No explosive fuels to worry about."

     Twilight takes a moment to turn her head toward the strange metal and crystal spire on top of her car, then her horn glows and she fires a beam of magical energy into it. The spire glows brightly as it absorbs her magic, and the gauge on the dashboard goes from half to full rapidly. Then, after the rules are listed...the flag is waved! GO!

     Twilight puts her hoof to the floor! She has no racing experience either, but a quite read through a racing guide has her confident that she can win, and even more confident that she can at least place in the top ranking. When she stomps on the go pedal...nothing happens for a second, but there is a sound that can only be described as sparkles before 'kapow!' Her rocket car takes off like a shot, spewing purple fire from the rockets! Twilight hangs on for dear life, not realize how powerful the magic rockets were when you stomped on them like that! Her teeth clench, her lips flap a bit and her mane and tail flutter wildly in the rapidly increasing flow of air over the car. With its streamlined design and rockets, she is sure to give the other competitors a run for their money!
Finna     Male attention? Oh Finna's just SOAKING IT UP. Anyone who's NOT intimidated earns a more winning smile. All the cheers even win a moment of hand-on-hip posing while she casually FLICKS the car's door open... only to then SWING herself nimbly inside and buckle in, slam the door... and get that engine revving.

    Ready, set GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

    She's NOT at all sure if she can keep up with all these cars, but...

    Nobody said she's gotta win this gang's respect just by crossing the finish line before they do.

    With folks like these, it's all about the COMPETITION ITSELF.

    Putting them on their toes and showing off enough gung-ho spirit will certainly get the job done!
Staren     "Chain whips, huh? Like for tangling their wheels? Got it." Staren nods to the man with the flag, then watches Twilight charge up the car with a smile, and then, as 'Ready, set...' is announced, Staren braces himself.

    Nothing happens. "Uh," Staren starts to turn towards Twilight, and then KAPOW! "Okay, I guess we need to work on the variable thrust function!" Staren shouts over the wind. "Man, look at us go! Imagine if you put these on your balloon, or a plane! You could really fly!" He checks the mirror and looks behind them to see how the competition's doing. Now that he's seen what cars they're using, he almost feels bad for showing up with a rocket car. It would almost be a shame if they pulled ahead so much there was just no contest...

    Overconfidence much Staren?
Deelel Deelel is smirking all teh while, she gets that okay no light walls, fine with her. She however rezz her helemt over he head tuns the engine and she's now ready to go.

"All right then I'm ready to go."

Then the race goes, there's a whine from the light cycle and then she takes off gunning the ening dfor all it's woth. She seems to have a plan and humm no direct weapons but her light wall was more of a stage hazard wasn't it? Either way she takes off.
Hoshi Amakasu      Speaking of 'that girl', Hoshi Amakasi too has made her way to the races in this Texas, once again dressed up in a old 60s era high school uniform, blazer and all. She makes her way past the various gathered people slowly, occaisonally stopping to ask the people she was passing a couple questions: who'd they think would win? How was the mood? You guys aren't really going to tear up stuff again, right?

    It's probably good that she'd asked other people to do the driving, here. One who does not even have a driver's license should not be put behind the wheel of a muscle car.

    She manages to get to the head of the crowds to see everyone at the track. Finna, Staren, and Deelel are all known to her. Twilight isn't so much--it's actually her first time seeing a pony up close. She gives a wave to everyone and smiles nervously. Tobe and Mike recieve the same greeting, though she doubts Mike is really that pleased to see her.

    As the countdown began, the crowd behind her started to swell towards the track, and suddenly the kendo girl is in a precarious position. "Wha--hey, stop pushing me! H-hey!" She tries to shove back against the press, but as the countdown begins, they start to get a little... fiesty, and Hoshi is shoved onto the track, right in front of Finna's car. "Gaaah! Whoa, hey, take it--" Time. Hearing the roar of the cars, Hoshi does the only sensible thing she can figure to save her skin; she dives into the seat next to Finna! And she's not very pleased about it, because now they're picking up speed. "Gaaaah! F-finna! Let me off! Craaaaap!..."

    Well, so much for staying on the sidelines.
Ren Tanaka      As everyone knows, the overall makeup of the canyon is ... well, pretty much what you'd expect. Lots of red soil and red stone, scrubland and low-laying plants, and various shallow rivers winding their way through the canyon. On the maps you could get from the government, this is called the Juniper Trail, but fortunately because it's January there aren't an awful lot of the public around. That's good, because these vehicles are going to go tearing past- and through- the canyon and nothing's gonna stop them.

    Naturally, Maria ends up bringing up the rear when everyone sails off the improtou starting line. She is absolutely eating a lot of dust. Surprisingly enough though, it's also Ren who ends up at the back of the pack to begin with. He can drive, but... you know, not /well/...

    The finish line is at Capitol Peak, but some people would be better suited keeping their eyes on their competitors rather than the peak in the distance. After all, it's going to be important to outperform Twilight and Staren after that blistering start! The motorcycle riders are going to be able to cut ahead of the pack to begin with, and begin crossing the magical racer up, but it seems as if some of the other racers are waiting to see others burn out their early lead.

    Finna seems to take a position in the middle of the pack, which is probably where she likes it. She's trying to integrate herself to as many people as possible, after all. For a moment, Tobe even seems to give the two of them that 'haven't I seen you somewhere before?' sort of look. They'll be hard pressed to squeeze ahead with about five other vehicles around her- a fact that should give Hoshi no end of trouble as well.

    Deelel will probably be able to move past the public facilities and denser scrub with her light cycle. Most people will be taken by surprise by her showing off so much bright light to begin with, but enough racers also have tinted goggles or shades on that the lightshow might not faze them. Indeed, already she's going to find herself squeezed on the left and right by two racers- both with exposed-engines and impressive brass trim on their vehicles.

    Once you've made your way over one of the rivers, the stream bends so that the best course is to drive parallel to it. But will some more canny racers try to shove their competitors into the water? Will YOU try to?
Twilight Sparkle      Twilight returns the greeting to Hoshi when it is given, but that is all before the crazy race starts.

     One thing about going fast on a not exactly flat area is that you need good suspension. Twilight's care has...well, it is heavy spring suspension being pushed along by rockets. Which means that when Twilight hits a large hill her car tends to go flying for a short distance before landing again, or when it lands it bounces a few times. This makes for hazardout steering, and Twilight has to use her magic to keep from crashing almost constantly.

     But, since they are using rockets and not typical wheel-driven engines, it also means that when Twilight leaves the ground her car doesn't slow down...it speeds up. More airtime = more speed! But, after nearly flying right into an overhead stone pillar that had fallen over across a low point in the canyon, Twilight decides that sticking to the ground is better. "Nng...we should have installed a device to produce downforce!" she says to Staren as they bounce along. Twilight doesn't try to pass up those motorcyclists for now. She just tries to keep up with them. As she learned in her first Running of the Leaves, flat out speed isn't everything.
Deelel Deelel knows she's going to have some major repairs to do on her lightcycle after but it's going to br worth it, she's just going to owe more favours to the programs at Abel's Garage. She guns the engine more and she speed ahead, she notices the two craft and damn. Those are nice example of what users can do once they stop thinking inside the box. She us about speed today and rtakuing off fast, she does catch sight of what happened to Hoshi, this race is going to get, very interesting.
Finna     And then there's a Hoshi in the car just as Finna gets going! Pedal to the medal, engine roaring and shining, freshly painted car sailing down the trail!

    "Woooooooooooooooooooohoooooooooo!"

    Finna's buckled up and everything, but what she wasn't expecting is... someone in the passenger seat! THAT gets a boggly blink. "WHAT? Where'd you come from, girl?! ... well, doesn't matter now. Only the destination does! Finish line!"

    Oh boy.

    She MIGHT be lying about this 'never driven before' thing. Probably. Hopefully.

    Hard to tell with Lunars, for Finna's been known to bullshit her way into accomplishing complex things like this by the seat of her pants before.

    Even now she's leaning forward, fussing with the wheel. Tiny adjustments. The car wobbles and swerves by minute amounts while the Steward, intensely focused, appears to be getting a 'feel' for it...

    "So if it balances like THAT..."

    But as Tobe's car nears, she gives the familiar man a GRIIIIIN! Maybe they have. Maybe.

    "Hooooold on tight! We're gonna give 'em the slip!"

    She's -BEHIND OTHER CARS.- there's NOWHERE TO MANUEVER. How does she intend to give ANYONE the slip?

    Well. that's when two strange things happen. First, her skin glows with a luminous silvery hue, the shade deepest where her Moonsilver Tattoos are hidden by illusion. Those with strong wills can maybe once again see her fox ears and tail - the tip of which is currently brushing Hoshi's hip!

    "Oh feeeeeeeeeeeeeellas~!!"

    With a YANK of wheel at just the right speed she manages to veer its momentum JUST so... so that the ENTIRE PASSENGER'S SIDE OF THE CAR LIFTS OFF THE GROUND, resulting in just two wheels driving it forward.. but a MUCH slimmer profile. It's a bumpy-as-hell, PRECARIOUS ride on the razor's edge of balance. The car shakes and rattles as if it could go tipping over completely at any split second!

    But Finna somehow manages to manuever this ridiculously balanced vehicle between the gap of the cars in front of her!

    Provided nobody tries to KNOCK HER OVER (dangerous, given her car could fall on theirs) It's a simple matter of settling the car again, JUST in front!
Staren     "Woooooooah!" Staren shouts as they go FLYING and nearly hit an overhang. "Yes, I guess sometimes 'no spoilers' is a bad policy!" he shouts over the wind.

    And now there's motorcycles. Twilight's not the sort of pony to bump them into the river. Staren, however...

    Well, the guy said it was allowed, right? Sort of. While right now they may not need the extra advantage, it doesn't hurt to get every advantage they can in case something else goes wrong!

    However, Staren's original plan of trying to use rope to tangle up a wheel isn't good against such a good idea against motorcyclists. Even if he does stop them, they'd go flying...

    So he'll have to improvise.

    Staren pulls some smart rope from his bag, and when one of the racers gets close (not Deelel, of course,) he throws one end, the rope curling in midair to try and snag them. If he misses and hits the ground, he pulls it back to try again. If it gets caught in a motorcycle... oops! He'll have to let go. But if he successfully snags a driver...

    Staren pulls out a small rocket, sticks the rope to it, and sends them flying out into the river! The rocket detonates once they're in the drink so as not to drag them endlessly, and the rope will slacken after a few seconds for safety so they can slip out and swim normally.

    If that works, Staren attempts to repeat the process if any more of them come near!
Hoshi Amakasu     Welcome to one of Hoshi's personal hells. The others being the Mirror Forest and Drachenblatt, of course.

    As soon as Hoshi was in the seat and the pressure of momentum was pressing against her, she'd started going for the buckles and other such things because /holy crap she wants to come out of this alive/. The Autobahn was one thing, everyone there knew how to drive sanely on something that was made for them to move quickly on. Now they're on freaking dirt, in a canyon, in Texas. "I didn't want to! I was going to get run over because everyone suddenly decided to start pushing! J-just let me off real quick, I'm sure it won't be too bad if you just slow down and let me..." She stops that train of thought. Ducking and rolling was probably a /horrible/ idea. So Hoshi just kind of sinks miserably into the seat. "Ugggh, just let me know when this is over..."

    So the kendo girl tries to close her eyes and get up in a ball so maybe she can just... pretend it's not happening. She doesn't get that chance. As the vehicle tips, Hoshi looks at Finna with dread, then grabs ahold of the handy-dandy oh shit handle. "Gaaah! Finna...! You're going to get us killed!" Which may or may not be just a better way of ending this.

    Tobe and Mike get another wave, a miserable one from a girl hanging for dear life with her other arm. "S-sorry about this, guys..." Is all she can mumble.
Ren Tanaka     "Didn't expect to see you here!" Ren shouts over the sound of the engines, calling out to Maria.
    "I've got to do my best! These thugs won't listen to reason! I have to try and win!" Maria yells back at him, already in a cold sweat.
    "Just leave it to us!" Ren shouts back.
    "Stop distracting me! I have to concentrate!" Is there a bit of a buzz in her voice?

    Every time Twilight and Staren's car goes into the air, the racers around and behind them watch for a moment to take advantage. Everyone's got a good idea about the right direction to go to make their move, and the vehicles that are coming up on first place begin to spread out. They see an advantage coming, and soon they'll have all sorts of problems to deal with beyond their shaky suspension. Staren does more than his share of helping- providing he can deal with the wild leaps he'll be able to take at least one motorcyclist out with Dope-on-a-Rope Power. One of the harley drivers never sees it coming, and soon he'll be wishing he packed some soap on a rope. Splash!

    Tobe laughs in sheer, amazed glee as Finna's car does something VERY surprising. It's enough that some of the pack are just so dumbfounded that they're taken completely by surprise! Finna has her moment to slip forward, and when the race is over it's sure that she's going to be getting more than a couple boy racers pleading with their new idol to teach them her trick. Tobe, on the other hand, just toggles a helpful injection of the nitro after giving Hoshi a cheeky thumbs-up. He really wants to compete! He's going to go neck-and-neck with them!

    It may be obvious, but this place was absolutely not made for people to race in it. The terrain gets even rougher up ahead, and the river meanders from left to right in lazy curves that mean that inevitably, you're going to end up crossing it once or even twice as the race moves past the shadow of Fortress Cliff. Watch out for falling rocks! I mean, there's not going to be anyone INTENTIONALLY pushing rocks down at you, but it might be a risk at the best of times...

    "Let's do our best to discourage them, Bricktop." "If you insist, Edelweiss." "We have to thin them out somehow." "So long as they don't come after us..."

    Scratch that. Courtesy of the two men in brown suits and shades, watch out for intentionally pushed falling rocks! Deelel's bright and fragile-seeming cycle seems to get the lion's share of the first shower, but don't worry, there's enough for everybody!
Twilight Sparkle      As the 'road' gets rougher and rougher, Twilight has no choice but to do some quick magic work, Her car's springs and struts get thicker, soaking up more of the bouncing but slowing her car down a bit. Then, the axels stretch, giving the car a wider base and more stability. After that...falling rocks!!

     Twilight hopes her co-pilot can take care of them, because she is too busy keeping the rocket car on the road! She zigs and zags as much as she can in the narrow canyons, then they come up to a river. With a mighty splash the rocket car sails across like a jet ski, sending a wave of water out either side and splashing the two inside. At the front of the pack, at least she doesn't have to worry about hitting other racers as much. And, as Twilight usually goes with the safest route, she takes the widest available path toward the finish line.
Staren     "Can't you push us down with telekinesis when we go flying?" Staren suggests. Then he sees that she's already using magic for something else, as rocks are coming down! Other racers will have to look out for themselves, Staren can only shoot so many! He pulls a rocket pistol from his bag and shoots any rocks coming too close -- Blowing them up would just result in slightly smaller rocks, so instead he tries to hit them on the edge and use the explosion to make them fall to the side so Twilight doesn't have to dodge as much.

    Bricktop and Edelweiss are right to worry -- if Staren sees them and has a free moment, he draws his laser pistol and tries to shoot them. "There's people up there /pushing/ the rocks!" he informs Twilight, who, after all, has to keep her eyes on the road. Or the offroad, as the case may be.
Hoshi Amakasu     Despite the situation, Hoshi lets out a breath of grateful relief when they finally have all four wheels down on the ground again. It's only a slight improvement to the overall hell, but at least they're not going to flip over, or become a twisting, tumbling wreck in the sand. For now, anyway.

    She's also starting to get used to it... sort of. It's enough that she can look around at the terrain that they were passing, maybe to try to get a feel out of the course. Only, there really wasn't one, was there. All these people were just racing across expanses of desert. So of course, they'll be a bit jumpy and shaky. Not /too/ drastic.

    But that's about the time that another problem arises. Hoshi gapes at the rocks that start to tumble from up above and points a shaky finger. "Ohhh crap! Rockslide!" A quick glance behind them and around them shows that there's way too many people that could potentially be injured by this. Certainly the other Elites might be able to handle it, but... "... Guuuuh... Ms. Finna, hold the car steady please."

    Seatbelt is undone, the window cranked open, and Hoshi grits her teeth grimly as she forces herself to sit halfway out of the window and the dust and wind hit her face. It doesn't stop her from digging her locket from under her blazer and clicking it open. Despite the roar of wind and cars, the sound of glass shattering fills the air as Hoshi calls out, "PERSONA!"

    BURNING UP!

    The cloaked and hooded form of Rosamond the Sword Bride appears from the blue mist that has exploded from Hoshi's locket, floating in the air next to her. When she's fully formed, the Persona flies forward rapidly until she comes to a dead stop. The light of the sun gleams on her giant broadsword as she points it up towards the oncoming rocks. In the air, many golden prayer slips and talismans form--and detonate with weaponized Light. Apparently, the idea is to either blow the debris away or at least make them small enough that they're not as much of a threat.
Deelel Deelel is pressing hard and she's quite agressive in how she's drying she's able to evad rthe ropes he's tossing out hwoever she smirks.

"Oh so that's how you want to play? Okay Staren!"

A plan starts forming in Deelel's mind and she's getting very agressive in her driving now as she moves to get close to him she's not moving to do anything hostile just yet. However if people do start playing more dirty she's got some nasty tricks for everyone to deal with, which Staren might be the only one remotely aware of.
Finna     NITRO?! Finna's car ISN'T terribly souped up. If it is... she isn't aware of such features. The only advantage she's gonna have is steady driving and quick reflexes, shaving off bits of distance and squeezing everything she's got out of the terrain.

    On foot, there'd be no problem... but...

    "Oh..." FALLING ROCKS!

    THankfully, HOSHI has an idea here. Finna's grinning like a WILDWOMAN at her audacity. ANd she thought HER display was a bit ridiculous!

    "Can't let that guy get the better of us!"
Ren Tanaka As things get rougher and the race gets weirder... sufficed to say the more mundane racers in this contest are going to be seeing some really weird stuff.

     Later recollections of the race may vary as to just what the specs of Twilight's custom-made car were, or just how many people were in Finna's, and what kind of heat were they packing? Is there a mysterious explanation for this, or were the racers just not paying attention to the right things?

    Bricktop and Edelweiss duck for cover- this isn't the first time the Men in Brown have run afoul of the multiversal visitors and it won't be the last, clearly. Being shot at was exactly what they weren't hoping for- and unlike most of the racers, from this position they can see the Union's racers and their crazy abilities for exactly hat they are.

    "You haven't heard the last of us..."

    Hoshi monopolizes the handling of the falling rocks, and Rosamond makes an exceptionally graceful dismount from a moving vehicle to split, deflect and blast the falling rocks for the sake of protecting everyone. Finna's going to get people who wants to study under her, and Hoshi's going to get people who want to... date her after this is done.

    This is where it's gonna get tricky.

    In order to reach Capitol Peak, you're gonna have to actually... well, reach Capitol Peak. And that means you're gonna have to start climbing.

    The full splendor of the stone canyon peaks, with their distinct bands of white amidst the red, may be lost on the racers as they tear up the trail. These trails are meant to be for mountain bikes and horses, and some cars aren't even going to be able to make it up here without their undercarriages slamming into a jagged rock or something on the way up. This will be the ultimate test, as one wrong move could mean a wipeout.

    This is going to be where things get tight- in more ways than one. With less and less room to overtake- unless you can make a wild, gravity-defying pass- this is moving into the final strait of the race, or as good as, as positions become locked up due to lack of room to maneuver. And for those who try- well, the risk keeps getting higher and higher as the altitude climbs.

    Deelel and Twilight will find themselves jockeying for position first- perhaps for the program the need to win runs a little too deep? Well, if you can manage it, more power to you, I suppose...

    And Tobe is willing to give Hoshi a less-than-gentle nudge if it means locking up a place in front of her! He just turns on his wipers as the gravel and stones bounce off his bodywork!
Twilight Sparkle      If Twilight couls see what was going on behind her, she would be amazed. Unfortunately, when one is driving a rocket car where the engine pods are behind you, you can't really see behind you that well even if you looked.

     Twilight could probably use magics that would just take her and Staren to the finish line, but this is a car race! Twilight has never been one to cheat, and she isn't going to start now. She must not consider altering your car mid-race to be cheating. She is going to have to really pay attention to her driving now if she doesn't want to crash. As cars jockey for position, she is careful not to bump anyone. And she actually pushes herself out of the safety zone by pushing her car to its limits.

     As they move through the narrow canyons, she finds that with the extra stability from her wider wheel-base and the rocket car's propulsion give her an edge in turning! She starts drifting her way around turns, her car often sliding almost sideways in sharp turns, and when her car leaves the ground she starts using her magic to push it down, maintaining traction as much as possible. The racers behind her would be driving through a wake of purple flames and magical sparkles, not to mention the dust kicked up by her heavy tires. "Hang on, Staren! I think we just might win this!" Twilight exclaims excitedly, then her tongue sticks out cutely as she concentrates on driving, avoiding obstacles, and making clean turns.
Deelel Deelel is pushing ahead hard she is trying to win, yes you never do anything half compiled after all. She keeps pressing ahead as she's clearly agressive in how she drives. Then again Twilight might hve heard something from Staren about Deelel's world and her people. Which might explain a little bit of it, or is she just having fun in her own way? Who knows but she's pressing the crasft hard as she attemts to keep up and she's honestly impressed with Twilight's driving.
Staren     And Amakasu deals with the falling rock problem! <<Nice job, Amakasu!" Staren radios.

    Narrow, rocky roads... This could be bad! "Be careful! If we go flying, we may not land in time! Use your telekinesis to keep us on the road if you have to!" he shouts, but it seems she's already had that idea.

    Power-sliding is a /liiiiiitle/ bit more scary when you're just a passenger. "Oh shit! Twilight, we're sliding off!" She's got it though, and he sighs in relief when he realizes what she's doing. He looks back to check on the others. "If anyone manages to get ahead of us, do you think you'd be able to drive on the side of the mountain to get past them?"
Ren Tanaka Birds and coyotes go leaping out of every bush and tree! Thank goodness Fluttershy's not here to disapprove of all of us. Finna, no eating anything while it's trying to recover from the trauma afterwards.

    Eventually, it all becomes a little too much for the mundane racers- some of them do indeed snag themselves on the odd rock, some have already dropped out or purposefully lagged behind, but even those who try to keep going find themselves flummoxed by the huge wake Twilight's car and Deelel's bike are kicking up as they compete for first place. Deelel's maneverability vs Twilight's speed and control- who will win as this race goes down to the wire?

    Meanwhile, Tobe just won't quit. He's just become more and more convinced as this race goes on that there's something special about these out-of-town racers. No matter what the outcome of this race is, he's determined to let them have their fair shake of involvement in whatever comes next with the gangs- whether that's forcing the city to reveal the truth, or figuring out what's happened in this city by means more to their discretion. But that doesn't mean he's willing to give up on this race!

    You're going to run out of horizontal space before you run out of gas in your tank, let's put it this way.

    Capitol Peak proper is where the trail sort of becomes impossible to do anything other than climb up- it resembles the capitol building in Washington in size as well as silhouette, after all. It's like someone put a vaugely White House shaped rock on top of the trail. When you see a guy with a checkered flag- the same nebbish fellow who started this off, or maybe it's his twin brother- people may be more inclined to stop before their bumpers end up kissing the rock face rather than anything else.

    This is the conclusion of the race. It looks like the Union's win is a lock- so, what are you going to have to say to everyone now that the gangs are willing to listen?
Finna     Given her ride's not too souped up, Finna's falling behind the nitro-boosted Tobe and the car's BATTERED by dirt and stones.

    Yeah, there's just no keeping up. Finna's car's slipping behind... DESPITE how she starts pulling all kinds of crazy tight turns and weaving around obstacles with ever-increasing precision and risky slides!

    "Grrrrr!! Should've practiced more!"
Hoshi Amakasu     Once the rocks had been cleared and nobody was going to be hurt, Hoshi slinks back quickly into the Starlighter with a pale face and wide eyes. "Yeah," is all she can give in response to Staren. Without Hoshi's focus to maintain Rosamond, the Persona quickly begins to fade away into blue mist, like she was nothing more than a mirage.

    Which brought the kendo girl back to a less pleasant reality. The bump from Tobe earns one mighty death glare, while Hoshi's hand was gripping her handle so tightly that her knuckles are white. It forces them back as he pulls ahead, but really, this should just be freaking over already.

    It takes a little while for that to happen, though, and as the space goes smaller Hoshi curls up a little more tightly in her chair... until finally it was all over. A Union victory! Hooray.

    While everyone else might be celebrating, Hoshi kind of just oozes out of the car and lays down on the rock and dirt underneath her without a care. "I... am never doing this... again." That's a stern and solemn vow! That somebody's probably going to make her break eventually.

    Given that she wasn't actually a racer here, Hoshi decides to let the others tell what they want to the pack of hooligans. The thought of potential admirers isn't one that occurs to her--though eventually she'll get up and sulk over to Tobe to punch him in the arm with all her strength. "I told you there was weird stuff happening."
Ren Tanaka     Staren and Twilight finish in first, with Finna and Hoshi managing to place ahead of Tobe. Most of the remaining racers eventually make their way to the sheer point, with Ren (and Maria) bringing up the rear. When their cars finally come to a halt, Ren gets out and taps on the driver's side door- Maria scowls at him and begins to wind the window up, but he puts his hand in the way and she's too much of a milksop to keep going.

    As such he manages to cajole her out, convincing her to edge behind him as he begins to walk the rest of the way up.

    Many racers are likewise getting out of their cars and coming together into loose groups of threes and fours to compare, talk about their experience or taunt one anothers' poor performances. For his part, Tobe doesn't speak to anyone but stands at a distance from the multiversal visitors. Even without approaching them, his body language- leaning up against his car with his hands in his pockets- makes it clear he's not going to step forward and call for attention any time soon, but given the expectant expression on his face, he wants them to know that he /will/ if they don't say something first.
Twilight Sparkle      Once the race is over and Twilight has hopped out of her rocket car, she goes to congratulate the other races with a happy smile. Then, she offers a nod to Tobe before she approaches Ren and Maria. "So, you guys wanted assistance. I will follow your leads here. What is safe to say, and what should we avoid saying?" she says to them in a hushed tone.
Finna     In the span of time it takes to blink a few times, the moments of cognition it takes to recognize who is where and take stock of things...

    Ever-sneaky Finna has managed to not only leave her car, but cross the grounds (without leaving footsteps in the dusty soil?!) and sneak up behind Tobe!

    She's still dressed to kill - kill men's inhibitions anyways. Form-fitting tight clothing of corduroy and other old materials, a pocketed shirt.. and Tell still suppressed with all her might.

    "Not one to hang with the crowd?" She asks, moments before putting her hands on both his shoulders!
Staren     Staren climbs out of the car as Twilight does, removing his helmet and dropping it on the seat before running over to give her a quick congratulatory hug. "You did it! That was awesome!" He smiles, and then he stands to her side, turning to face the others with his hands behind his back and a more neutral expression as he tries to hold back from blurting out the truth. Other people can handle this situation better. He knows this. He has allies for this. He just...has...to let them...do...their thing... evenifit'stechnicallylyinganddecievingthesepeopleit'sokaybecausetheycan'thandlethetruthlikethatreallymakesitanybetter buthis way just goes nowhere and he trusts Twilight.

    Trusting Twilight is always the right move.
Hoshi Amakasu      Aaaand... it was over. Somehow, Finna's car had managed to take second place! Yaaaay.

    Hoshi's not really joining into the celebatory feelings, though. In fact, when the car finally comes to a stop the distressed teen slowly reaches down to take off her seatbelt, then equally slowly open the door... And then she can't quite get her legs to move properly right now, so she kind of has to just crawl out of the car and lay on the dirt without a care for her uniform. "I have... the worst luck," she bemoans into the open air.

    After a few minutes of laying there, she finally manages to get up and wobble on her feet. She doesn't really talk to anyone at first, instead pacing around near the edge of the cliff and trying to take calming breaths. But wait! There was Tobe, and he... He tried to bump her car when she was /hanging from a car window/!" So a scowl sets in on her face as she starts making her way over, only to catch Finna... Hitting on the poor guy. "Wha--Ms. Finna, please. We're here for official stuff, aren't we?" So tried to half-heartedly pull Finna off of Tobe, only to whirl around to try to slug him in the arm. It's... actually pretty painful, she has minor superstrength. "You suck. Rggh, you suck."

    She folds her arms irritably as she levers her best kendo captain glare at him, but eventually sticks out a hand. "Good race. Also... Didn't I tell you some weird stuff was going to happen?"
Ren Tanaka     Maria doesn't bat an eyelid as Twilight walks up to her. Which is unfortunate, because she probably could use it- her face is kind of pink and puffy from where she's been crying at the wheel before she got out.

    "M-me?" she asks, before giving her head a bit of a brief, sharp shake. "A-ah, well, darling, are you s- I mean, that is to say I had- but they won't-"

    Ren puts a hand on her shoulder. "Just because you think they won't listen to you, it doesn't necessarily mean they won't listen to other people who just so happen to have the exact same ideas as you. Now, let's hash some things out briefly..."

    Tobe raises an eyebrow at Finna. "A little more something like waitin' for the right moment. I'll let them do a little playground kid's meeting first, and once the post-race high's a little burned off, that'll be the right time to talk to them."

    Not that he specifies who is going to be doing the talking, but it's yet another sign of how Tobe sees and knows how to treat the accumulated gang members. Hoshi moves over to slug him in the arm- which helpfully gives the two lovestruck guys who were floating behind her pause. However, Tobe just gives her a chuckle.

     "You certainly gave them more than they came for. I'm surprised. Reckon you guys are almost as weird as some things I've seen. But in a good way... so, how do you wanna handle yourself?"

    Ren notices Staren from across the gathering- since his voice can't carry across the distance, he uses his radio a moment. "Remember. Big rowdy gang of about thirty-five troublemakers." "And thugs!" "Yes, thank you ma'am. Discretion and need-to-know is more valuable than absolute truth."

    To Twilight, he explains: while we can't shock these people, it's not exactly cheating to present them with a version of things they can understand. If we can explain that there's foreign (but not what kind of foreign exactly) what-nots interfering with life in Amarillo that are the cause of a lot of their problems, but that what they've been doing has been more harm than good, it'll give them pause. None of them'll want to think that they've been making things easier for a Third Party Enemy, which is technically true, if not exactly.

They can think the Reds bombed Elvis' bus if they also think we're trying to get to the bottom of it and it'd be a lot easier if we didn't have to worry about them causing trouble.

    Of course, that still poses the question of 'what do we do with these guys now?'
Staren     "We could take 'em..." Staren mutters over the radio, although he doesn't make any agressive moves. "Oh, sure. /That/ lie could /never/ go wrong," he says, a bit louder and more sarcastically. "And if word gets out and a witchhunt starts for Russian immigrants or accused Communists, how would you make it right? I don't just have some arbitrary affection for the truth. Lies can be just as dangerous if not more." He still doesn't /do/ anything, though.
Twilight Sparkle      Twilight's ears splay a bit as she is asked what she would like to do. "I am uncomfortable with deceiving anyone, but...if it will cause more trouble to tell them the whole truth, then..." She sighs and scraches her head with a hoof. "Maybe you two should talk to them, with us for support so that your words will carry the weight of the race victors?"

     She smiles gently to Maria as she sees how distressed the young woman is. "Don't worry. They will listen. I don't think they are bad people, they are just confused and don't know what to do. Perhaps we could redirect their efforts? If they like cars, they could hold races like this on a regular basis for entertainment and profit while at the same time encouraging healthy competition and cooperation."
Finna     "Mmmmh. I'm not too big on the waiting game. Except when I have to be!" Finna answers, letting her agitation show. How anyone wants to interpret that... well that's up for grabs. But she gives Hoshi the biggest, most soul-sizzling grin ever. "Enjoy the ride? Didn't think the car could handle a trick like that! Think we did pretty well."

    Oh boy.

    Regarding the current issue though... "Well. There's savvier people around than me. Gonna follow their lead."
Hoshi Amakasu     Almost as weird? A small snicker slips out of her mouth as she shakes her head. "Well, you're starting out better than I did, then... But it's only going to get weirder from here on in. So much weirder." When it gets to the point that weird things start becoming normal. Yeah, it'll happen.

    How and why she'll leave up to the others. If it were left up to Hoshi she'd probably just end up blurting out everything about the events in Amarillo anyway, and that's probably not the best thing to do here. "Well, it'd probably be better if you talked to Ms. Sparkle and Tanaka. Just... try not to cause too much trouble, okay? We're looking into what's going on here, and we'll find the answer somehow."

    That does remind her to lean in a bit. "And be careful. Try to keep your friends safe, okay?... Not quite sure what's going to happen from here on."

    Turning to Finna, Hoshi's scowl returns in full force. "I am never getting in a car with you again. Nope. And you driving on the Autobahn is verbotten!"
Ren Tanaka     "Well this is why we don't specify who the Other is, just that we've got Top Men handling the situation," Ren insists, broadly to both Staren and Twilight, doing that thing where you emphasize certain words, albeit not in a Lowellian way.

    Yeah that's an adjective now. "We're just omitting certain facts that they don't need to know. Because if they knew then there would probably be anarchy. In the streets. On the radio. HG Wells, anyone?"

    Maria makes an 'I understood that reference' kind of face. When Twilight speculates on possible better directions for things, she begins to nod enthusiastically! "Like that NASCAR stock racing business. I heard that David Pearson's won three years in a row."

    Tobe rubs his chin. "You reckon I'll get the unabridged version or the sanitized one?" Man, his ears are sharp.

    And so, through some sort of collective thrash, the story is indeed explained... sort of... to the assembled gang. Sufficed to say the group is indeed instilled with a feeling of implicit shame which is offset by the fact that a lot of people are pretty happy to know that there really IS something secret and clandestine and eerie going on beneath the surface. Thankfully, there's probably enough separate theories as there are cars here, and it probably won't result in any knock-on damage, at least if everyone knows what's good for them. The speechin' goes on for a little while.
Ren Tanaka     And that's when something horrible happens.

    A skinheaded young man on a motorcycle peels up the mountain at incredible speed, weaving through the crowd of people and screeching to a halt in front of Tobe, Finna and Hoshi.

    "Boss! It's--"

    Wipe cut. Back to Lingreo, the gang's holdout settlement.
    Or, well, at least it was.

    Most of it is on fire, now.

    There's a burning, snapped remnant of a door covered in locks outside of the hotel that housed an assortment of the gangers. A car is also on fire. Pieces of brass are embedded in a stone wall.

    "...Mike came back... said you were going to just let everything slip through y'fingers. That magic box... the thing we used to make parts for our cars. He took it... headed out down Interstate 40."

    It seems as if the danger is far from over.
Staren     Staren almost /screeches/. "You had a 'magic box' the whole time and we're not allowed to talk to you about anything weird?! Why didn't you tell us?!" He facepalms. "No, I know... 'we didn't ask'. Still, what the hell, guys? Oh, is weirdness 'okay' when it helps you? Well /we're/ here to help you and we're pretty damn weird! Buncha fucking hypocrites... incompetent... Come on." He turns to head back to the car. "/We/ are solving this and /they/ can come along when we can talk without their heads exploding... You wouldn't want to have them around during a sensitive, possibly violent conflict if what the magic box really is should happen to be revealed and they can't handle it, right?"
Finna     Finna... ends up WINCING as her sharp ears pick up Staren's over the top yammering. In combination with the sudden report from nowhere that had her twitching and pressing her index fingers together uncertainly...

    "Well. There goes plenty of cats. Right outta the bags!"
Twilight Sparkle      "Likely the sani...wait, you could hear us?" Twilight says, blinking in surprise at Tobe. Once all the explaining is done and questions about her car are put to rest with things like 'it is simply a special car' and 'it is a secret'. Then...that man rides up, startling Twilight. She listens to what he says, ears splaying as it sounds like they have some sort of conjuration device.

     When Staren explodes, Twilight is startled again. "Staren! Language!" she chides as he makes his way back to the rocket car. She then turns to the others and sighs. "Sorry about that. Staren is a bit...um...strongly opinionated when it comes to things like this. But, you really should have alerted the authorities. Unknown magic boxes can be quite dangerous."

     With that, Twilight holds up a hoof to shake Tobe's hand. "We'll try to get this all sorted out. You and your boys should concentrate on rebuilding. Try to stay away from the weirdness and let us weirdos handle it." She smiles brightly before looking around. "Despite what has happened, it was fun racing all of you! I hope you had fun, too!" Twilight waves goodbye with a forehoof then trots off after Staren. She can be heard reprimanding him some more for losing his temper and calling people names.
Staren     Staren flinches slightly when Twilight chides him on language...

    He nods in agreement when she suggests the elites handle it while the gang rebuilds, and the fun racing.

    The anger's gone out of his voice though, as he replies to the reprimands to the effect that this is a rough and tough street gang.