Credit to @Emma_Fejervary for the idea! Thank you so much!
This chapter is a Mario Kart 64 version of go karting, with a bit of a Discord twist on it! I hope you enjoy!
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Maria mentally prepared herself. She would beat Discord!
The track was a simple dirt path-easy for beginners like her to drive on. She took in a few deep breaths, going through the track in her mind. It was a simple oval dirt track, with several sets of cotton candy clouds. She was reminded of a childhood game she used to play with her dad, a game called Mario Kart 64. Her kart was a simple green, with a floral pattern on the side. Discord's kart was a dark blue with cotton candy clouds on the side.
A mini Discord look-a-like sat perched on top of a high cotton candy cloud.
"You're going down, Discord," she smirked.
He tisked. "We'll see about that,"
The mini draconnequs held up a flag with Discord's face on it. Maria rolled her eyes when she noticed it had an encouragement for him. Nonetheless, she revved up the engine, shuddering in excitement when the adrenaline kicked through her. She paid no attention to Discord, though he was watching her curiously, noting how competitive she was.
The flag was brought down and the two karts sped off. Maria's form was hunched over a bit, allowing air to pass over her, letting her gain a little bit of speed. Discord's posture was similar, though due to his height, it gave Maria the advantage. The two karts came across the first set of cotton candy clouds. Maria smirked evilly, swerving her vehicle just so, stealing the cotton candy cloud from in front of Discord. The cloud disintegrated to reveal a speed boost.
A thought crossed his mind that this wasn't exactly his greatest idea, but the thought was dashed when he saw how excited Maria was. Discord smiled fondly to himself, losing his focus on the race. Only when Maria was speeding off did he realize his mistake.
"Get yourself together, Discord!" he thought. He pushed harder onto the gas pedal, almost driving it into the engine. He chastised himself for promising Maria that he wouldn't use his magic to win. At this point, he'd never win!
"So what if you use your magic?" a voice said. He glanced at his shoulder to see a miniature version of himself with a pitch fork and devil horns. "She wouldn't know if you used a temporary speed spell..."
Discord shook his head abruptly. "I promised her that I wouldn't!" he said. "I can't lose her again,"
"But she'll never know.."
He clenched his fists around the steering wheel. As difficult as it was to admit, he was close to giving in to the shoulder devil. The same cursed beiing that encouraged him to break his first promise to Maria. Without hesitation, he flicked the being off his shoulder, hearing a tiny scream as it blew away in the wind. He smirked, noticing that while he was debating with himself, he had caught up with Maria. They came across the second group of clouds.
Learning from the last time, Discord swerved to the opposite side of the track, obtaining his own little speed boost. He cruised past Maria with ease, earning a growl from her., which was blown away with the wind. She tossed the useless banana obstacle over her shoulder and dug her hoof into the gas pedal, though it was already pushed down to it's limits. If she continued to drive her foot into it, the pedal would get lodged into the car and she wouldn't be able to use the breaks.
But she was determined to win.
The last group of clouds came into view, and his grin grew wider. Maria was coming up fast, grinding the sole of her foot into the gas pedal-permanently lodging it into the ground without realizing it. All she felt was a sudden burst of speed as she flew past Discord. His eyebrows furrowed with determination as he too slammed on the gas pedal, though he was careful enough not to drive it past it's limits.
This time, neither draconnequus bothered to steal one another's special item. Maria received another banana peel, but she tossed it aside, believing that she didn't need it. Discord received a speed boost, leaving him neck and neck with Maria.
Anxiety built up in Maria's gut. She grunted in a desperate attempt to force her kart to go faster. In her periphial view, she saw that Discord was in a similar position. The roar of the two engines was almost deafening. The finish line came up quickly, and they leaned forward to urge their karts forward.
A blur of green and blue raced over the checkered finish line, and a camera flash went off. Discord pulled the breaks, checking the image. His hands quivered in suspense as he lifted the picture.
It was a tie.
"A tie?!" he growled, not noticing that Maria was speeding off around the track. She pushed desperately on the breaks to no avail. She began to panic.
"DISCORD!"
The male draconequus looked up briefly, locking eyes with a terrified Maria. The kart was picking up momentum, making it nearly impossible to turn. She turned the steering wheel abruptly, unaware of the oncoming banana peel she had discarded. The front tire slipped underneath the peel, making the kart spin. The kart did a few 360's before slamming into the side of the track, launching Maria from her seat.
Discord teleported into the air, catching Maria-though the force of the impact sent them both down. A large cotton candy cloud was summoned, and they landed in a graceful heap onto it's plush, sugary center. Both were stunned for a moment, until Maria latched onto her savior, sobbing quietly. Discord held her close for a while, and, in an attempt to calm her, he began to run his fingers through her mane.
"I think that's enough excitement for one day," he muttered. Maria said nothing, still in shock from the terrifying experience. Her thoughts were jumbled, and she could barely feel herself easiing into a dreamless sleep.
***
A/N: So..what'd you guys think? It was kinda hard to write this, since I've never been go-karting in my life. But I figured I'd borrow some ideas from that old video game and add my own little twist to it.
And another note, I will be starting school on Wednesday, so be prepared for some slow updates. Thanks!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!
-Jasmine