//------------------------------// // 4: New Cars for the Rainbooms! // Story: Road to Harmony // by Artthriller94 //------------------------------// That next morning, Charlie and Sunset drove off, in the '70 Charger, to meet up with the rest of their friends at Canterlot High. It was a great experience last night, for Sunset Shimmer, to be riding in a fast car, and she wanted to learn about driving her own car, with Charlie Johnson as her temporary mentor. Maybe soon, before Charlie and his team find a way back home, she'll get the chance. “Charlie,” she began, “I have written a message to Princess Twilight, about you guys in our world, Queen Chrysalis being in yours, and about last night, before I went to sleep.” “You did?” asked Charlie, innocently. “Yeah. Although, she didn't respond to me immediately, as I hoped she would.” Sunset sighed. “I guess she's having some problem back in Equestria, as usual.” Charlie placed his right hand on Sunset's shoulder. “Don't worry.” smiled Charlie. “She'll come through.” Presently, they drove up the a three-way intersection, and Charlie was about to turn right, towards the short straight road the the high school, when a familiar green, Bomex body-kitted, '96 Eclipse pulled up alongside. It was David Jefferson, and his new friend, Fluttershy. “Morning, you two!” Charlie shouted. “How did last night go for you?” “Oh, it was good!” David responded. “Fluttershy showed me all of the animals at the Animal Shelter, including Angel. They all seemed to like me, too!” “And I even got a new car, from David!” Fluttershy added. “Although, I'm a little nervous to drive it, since it has a lot of horsepower.” Charlie and Sunset gave each other perplexed glances. David gave Fluttershy a NEW car? But, he has so little money to buy one for her, so HOW is that possible? “Um, Fluttershy?” Sunset started. “What...kind of car?” “Well, it's a... a... um... what's it called again, David?” asked Fluttershy. “It's a yellow 2001 Volkswagen Beetle,” said David, “and it's got ED body kits, and 450 hp under the hood. And you won't believe what happened last night.” Fluttershy held her phone in her hand. “Even the others told us the same story over the phone.” “Then, we should get over to the school,” interrupted Sunset, “and figure out this whole thing. Something tells me that there is another magic problem to solve.” So, Charlie, Sunset, David, and Fluttershy drove off to Canterlot High, only to find the rest of their friends looking at the Rainbooms' new cars. Bobby and Rarity stood next to her new custom silver 2011 Ferrari Italia 458, with a special spoiler that resembles from a Ferrari F50, and she was admiring it a lot. Sam was surveying Applejack bright orange 2010 Ford F-150, which was modified as an off-road truck. Rachael and Rainbow Dash were taking pictures of her very own, bright blue 2015 Chevy Camaro Z28, with custom body kits, fenders and spoiler. Lastly, Lily and Pinkie were bouncing with joy over her bright pink 1999 Honda Civic Coupe, with ViS Racing Sports body kits. All these cars have the Rainbooms' Cutie Marks as decals, over each cars' rear fenders. The only ones left, without a car, were Twilight and Sunset. This was a surprise, to have happen all in one night. “Oh my gosh,” Charlie laughed, as he, and Sunset, stepped out of his car, “what's with all this?” “Well, last night, this is what we found out about, dear.” Rarity shrugged. “And I think Lily was the first one to suddenly give Pinkie this car.” Rainbow pointed out to the pink Civic. “Oh, it was quite a shocker, really!” chuckled Lily. “I was showing Pinkie my Honda S2000, when I wanted to check the time on my watch, but then I realized I don't have a watch! Still, I pretended that I do have a watch, then I tapped on my wrist, and all of a sudden...” Lily placed a finger on her wrist, and a small pink holographic screen quickly appeared. This made Charlie, Sunset, Twilight, and Spike gasp, in sudden surprise. “...this happens, from out of my wrist!” Lily finished her sentence. The screen contains a menu for Lily, from exchanging different cars, to customizing cars, and, to everyone's utter amazement, applying different abilities and weapons to her cars, and herself! “OMG!” gasped Sunset. “T-that's i-impossible!” Twilight stuttered. “I don't believe it.” gasped Spike. “I do!” Pinkie grinned. Charlie looked at his right wrist, then slowly tapped on it, and the same screen and menu popped out of it, except it was light gray. “Looks like she's not the only one.” Charlie implied. He tapped his wrist again, and the screen disappeared back to his wrist. “Wait a minute!” Twilight shouted, getting everybody's attention. “Does this mean that, you guys can give us these cars, and truck, by just tapping on your wrists, and pull up a weird, magical screen?” “Are you guys really, like, from Equestria, or futuristic human robots, or something?” Rainbow asked, suspiciously. Charlie, David, Rachael, Sam, Bobby, and Lily shook their heads. “No, we're not.” Charlie denied. “We don't have magic back home, and this kind of technology isn't even invented yet.” “Then, how did you guys get this kind of technology?” asked Fluttershy. Everyone scratched their heads and pondered. “Maybe it's because they're in this world, that has Equestrian magic,” Sunset theorized, “and that their technology suddenly needed to be activated from it?” “I don't know about that,” said Twilight, “but what about that blue rift we saw? The one that brought them to our world? I don't think they did it on purpose, since they don't have any magic, or super-advance technology, in their world.” “This is quite a pickle, that's fer sure.” Sam agreed. “Also, there's still Queen Chrysalis. On the loose back in L.A.” “Did Princess Twilight wrote back about her, Sunset?” asked Applejack, hopefully. Sunset shook her head, in disappointment. “I guess she's a little busy at this time.” sighed Sunset. “I don't know, Sunset,” said Charlie. “Think of it this way. Maybe after she read your message, she went to the Royal Princesses, to talk to them about Chrysalis, and get some advice for us, so it might take a while to respond back.” This made Sunset smile a little. “Yeah, that's right!” agreed Pinkie. “We should try to stay optimistic, and hope for the best!” “Thanks, guys” said Sunset. Charlie smiled back. “So...” Twilight interrupted, “how did you get these cars to appear?” Charlie brought up his holographic screen again, and swiped through the menus, with his finger, until he saw the one for car customization. Everyone could see what's on the screen, as he looked at the options. He press on a button, titled 'Garage', and he looked through the many different licensed cars, from the real world, until he saw a red 2010 Ford Mustang GT, and tapped on it. Suddenly, a digital clock showed up on the screen, giving a countdown, and a warning to stand clear. Everyone didn't know what was going to happen, but Charlie stood back a few paces from his friends, as the screen shook slowly. Then, out of nowhere, a 3D wireframe shape of the Mustang appeared on the asphalt, slowly rendering the car to its final production. It was incredible, and the Mustang GT was real, as Twilight touched the gloss metal panel. “This... this is...” Twilight stuttered. “We're not done yet, Twi.” Charlie smiled, as he brought up the customization menu again. He looked at the options to change the bumpers, rims, spoilers, paint, and decals. Even the performance parts were customizable, but Charlie gave the Mustang GT 450 hp, for a start. As he changed the visual parts, Everybody could see all of the parts on the car change simultaneously, right before their eyes. Everything, from the brakes to the taillights, were also customized, making the car unique. Finally, Charlie changed the paint, from gloss red to metallic lavender, and decorated the rear panels with Twilight's Cutie Mark, and was done. Twilight's eyes were wide, with amazement, and Spike wagged his tail and barked. Twilight sat in the cockpit and looked at the ignition switch. She flipped it on, and the Mustang GT's new V8 engine roared to life, with everyone cheering. Secretly, Twilight felt a little tingle in her head. “Wow,” said Twilight, “I can't believe you can do all that. And I'm not even old enough to drive.” “Really?” asked Charlie. Twilight nodded. “Yeah,” agreed Spike, “but the weirdest is, after the girls got these vehicles, they suddenly know how to drive them.” Sunset raised a brow. “What do you mean by that, Spike?” “Well, it's really hard to explain, darling.” Rarity explained. “When we all sat in the driver seats, in each of our cars, we felt a slight tingling feeling inside our heads. Then, all of the driving knowledge, suddenly, popped into our minds. As if, something gave us the ability to know how to drive!” “So what?” asked Pinkie, “It's not like it's a bad thing, right?” “I guess not,” said Fluttershy, “but I think we should keep these cars in storage?” “Are you kidding? This car is awesome!” shouted Rainbow. “And it's begging for me to drive it!” “It is?” Pinkie curiously asked. Her head turned to the blue Camaro. “'Cause I don't hear it saying anything.” Everyone smiled and rolled their eyes. It was obvious that Pinkie Pie doesn't know how to take things seriously, sometimes. “What I still want to know is,” said Rachael, “how did we end up here? And who, or what, could do this kind of magic?” Coincidentally, Sunset's bag began to buzz and glow, and Sunset pulled out her magical journal. A new message from the Princess has suddenly arrived, as Sunset opened to the middle of the pages. She quickly skimmed through the message. “Guys, I think Princess Twilight has the answer for all of us.” She began to read aloud. Sunset, don't worry about me not answering you so soon. I have read your message, and the six new racers, that you mentioned, seemed like very good friends. I think I know how they got into Canterlot High, but I find it a little hard to believe they are counterparts of us, and that they know about all of us, unless I can see them in person. Also, about Queen Chrysalis, this is a most stressing situation that could happen to another world. I have spoken this with the royal princesses, and they are currently investigating of how she got into your new friends' world. So, all I can say is: don't worry. We'll find the cause of all this. In the meantime, Starlight Glimmer is on her way now to Canterlot High, to send me a full report about the six street racing friends. Princess Twilight. P.S. You should come up with a good team name for them, just to make it easier to tell the princesses about them. “Oh boy!” squealed Pinkie. “Starlight Glimmer's coming back?!” “She sure is, Pinkie.” Sunset confirmed. “I think I know the best name for our team.” Charlie declared. Everyone looked at him, waiting for something. “Team Furious!” Charlie shouted. “YEAH!!” screamed Charlie's friends. They liked the new team name, reminding them of the Fast & Furious movies. “Team Furious. I like the sound of that,” said Sunset. “Me too.” Rainbow agreed. “Because of their cars, that would totally make sense!” “Forgive me for asking,” Bobby changed the topic, “but who is Starlight Glimmer?” “She's Princess Twilight's pupil in Equestria,” said Sunset. “She came here before when I returned to Equestria, to get a new book like this one. As far as she told me before, she was once a villain, who tried to manipulate an entire town to give up their Cutie Marks. But, Princess Twilight did reformed her, and now she's learning all about friendship.” Then, Sunset gave a warm smile. “In a way, she kinda' like me, and not just 'cause of our names.” “Well then, we should head over at the school's statue, and wait for her to show up.” Rainbow suggested. And so, they all walked to the statue, and just before they reached to it, a figure flew off the side of the wall. Everyone ran toward the person, and all suddenly gasped at who it was. The mystery figure is female, has lilac skin color, purple and teal hair, wearing a pink and white stars beanie, teal and pink highlighted shirt, with a dark gray vest on top, slightly torn dark gray pants, and dark gray boots. It was, indeed, Starlight Glimmer, in human form. She began to stand up, still finding it mildly difficult to do so. Then, she turned around to face the Rainbooms, and six new humans that she had never met before. “Starlight!” shouted the Rainbooms, in unison. “Girls!” Starlight replied. She walked to them and they all gave a group hug. Charlie watched with a smile, seeing as how the girls hadn't seen Starlight for quite some time. “So,” Sunset began, as they disbanded the hug, “did Princess Twilight tell you about what's going on here?” “She sure did,” said Starlight, nervously. “Knowing that Chrysalis is in another place, other than here or in Equestria, is downright scary, and a big problem. She also told about your new friends, and wanted me to, sorta', interview them. That's them, right?” She pointed to Charlie, David, Rachael, Sam, Bobby, and Lily, who they all waved hello to her. “Yes, that's them.” Rarity nodded, happily. “They are Team Furious, from another world, and they all know about us, Princess Twilight, and Equestria.” Starlight raised a brow, in disbelief. “Really?” “Yeah, we didn't know how to react to that, at first, either.” Sunset replied. In suspicion, Starlight walk towards Team Furious. She looked all over them, seeing how they look, and found them, sort of, attracting. Still, she wanted to know how they know about Equestria, so... “How much do you know about them, and Equestria?” Charlie sighed, and looked at her in the eyes. “Well, it all started like this...” For a few moments, Charlie explained everything about the My Little Pony franchise, the events that happened during the show, and how much popularity the pony fandom has gained over the years. Starlight took in as much information as she can, and she smiled, with fascination. “Wow,” said Starlight, “I had no idea how much popular we really are. And you guys street race?” “Yeah, It's not exactly a safe, and legal thing to do, but we only do it to help support our families.” David answered. “Back home, we try our best to become street legends. The best of the best.” “I see. And what are those?” Starlight pointed to the cars. “Those are the cars we race in.” Bobby said, with pride. “We drive them everyday, and everywhere we go.” “But then, as we were driving to our hangout, a blue swirling vortex suddenly appeared, and dragged us in, and into this world!” Lily added. A blue, swirling vortex? thought Starlight, furrowing her brows. Then, her eyes grew wide, as she remembered something about the vortex, and became nervous. “Yeah, I might be responsible for that.” The six teenagers, and the Rainbooms, were suddenly shocked, to hear that coming from Starlight. “WHAT?!?!” they all screamed together. Starlight winced and began to explain. ***(Flashback)*** “A few days ago, I was practicing a few complex spells in Equestria, when I saw a new kind of spell, from a book in Twilight's castle library, that can teleport somepony from one dimension to another, via a vortex. So, I gave it a shot, and when I was done, nothing happened. At first, I thought the spell was a dud. But, after Sunset wrote to Twilight about six racers, who appeared from another world and into Canterlot High, I knew that the spell did work, after all.” ***(End of Flashback)*** “I just didn't expect that Queen Chrysalis was now in your world, causing all sorts of problems.” Starlight continued. “If the spell can send one creature to another place, then it would need another creature to replace it!” “Okay,” Rachael interrupted, “now that is a serious problem.” “And the worse part is,” said Starlight, nervously, “after I checked to book again, for any reversible spells, it only said that the spell can be used once for a week!” Everyone groaned. That would mean that the street racers are stuck in another dimension for a week, and there's no other means of returning until then. “I'm sorry about all of this.” Starlight apologized. “I didn't know that this would happen, to you and your families back home. So, I will go back, and tell the princesses what really happened.” “Actually,” Charlie intervened, “I think we'll go with you.” Starlight was confused. “You do?” she asked. Charlie nodded. “We want to see Equestria, its landmarks, and meet the ponies of Ponyville. And when we save our home, and that vacation here is over, we are going to Canterlot High, to be temporary students. We wouldn't want to disappoint anyone, if we didn't go there. Right, guys?” Everyone agreed. Starlight rubbed her chin, and considered. “Well, if you're sure you want to do that.” Charlie and his friends all nodded. “It would be fun to go there,” said Sam. “What could happen to us?” “I don't know.” Starlight was still unsure about this. “You don't have any magic to protect you, from any enemies in Equestria. I wouldn't want you guys to get hurt.” “I think these guys got the best kind of 'magic' they could have.” Sunset smirked. “Huh?” said Starlight. One by one, the members of Team Furious tapped on their wrists, each bringing up their colored holographic screens, while Starlight was in surprise to see all this. She never seen any kind of technology like this before. Charlie showed her the different, harmless, yet very powerful, weapons that he could use in a battle. Then, he looked up the menu for “Special Abilities,” but he didn't press on it. “So, that's basically it.” said Charlie. He closed his screen down with his hand. “Well,” Starlight was still amazed, “That was... amazing! Your... um... technology is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen! But still, I think you guys should wait here, and have fun with the girls, for a while. I'll go back to Equestria, and give them my full report. I'll notify you all, via Sunset's book, if the princess want to see you guys. Okay?” They all nodded. Starlight said goodbye to the Rainbooms, and Team Furious, and walked through the statue portal, as she waved goodbye. They were a little disappointed that Starlight had to leave so soon, but they know that she'll be back to help. “You know,” said Rachael, “I kinda' like that Starlight.” “Me too.” Charlie agreed. “Now, we should head on over to Sweet Shoppe, just like we planned yesterday. Starlight's right. We should just have fun for a while.” This made the Rainbooms smile, knowing that Team Furious are looking for fun, with them in Canterlot City. So, they went toward their cars, and the Rainbooms sat in their new cars, except Fluttershy, who rode with David, because she left her new car at her driveway; And Sunset, who thought it would be cool, to drive her own car. “Charlie?” asked Sunset, to Charlie. “Yes, Sunset?” Charlie replied. Sunset began to blush. “Can you... build me a new car... just like you did with Twilight?” Everyone stopped to look at Sunset and Charlie. At the same time, Charlie smiled. “Sure, why not?” Sunset quickly hugged him, with great joy, and then released him. Charlie brought his screen again, and picked out an orange 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 from the Garage menu. Then, he customized it with different custom parts, and colored the base gloss black, and added a special phoenix flame job, along with Sunset Shimmer's Cutie Mark, above the rear fenders. Sunset was watching Charlie work his creative magic, but what really surprised her, is that he gave the custom Mustang Boss a unique hood scoop on the hood, and exhaust pipes near the front fenders. To Sunset, it was a beauty to see a Mustang Boss that represent her personality. Finally, Charlie added a sunflower scented car air freshener, hanging on the rear view mirror. When he was done, Sunset gave a big grin and hugged Charlie tightly, which was something that everyone could expect from Pinkie Pie. “Oh, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, Charlie!!!” Sunset screamed, while Charlie was coughing for air. Everyone else laughed quietly. “Y-y-our welcome, S-Sunset!” Charlie gasped. Sunset, finally, let go of him. “Sorry about that.” Sunset blushed. “It's just that you have such an amazing customization skill. Do you do that as a hobby, back in L.A.?” “Yeah,” said Charlie, “we do it all the time, as a job at a local car body shop. We customize every car the best we can, and we even test drive them, for errors.” Sunset sat down in the driver seat, and she turned on the ignition. The sound of the Mustang Boss's engine was music to Sunset's ears, and she felt the tingle inside her head. “Well, we should get going,” said Sunset. Charlie nodded, and walked to his Charger. Suddenly, Sunset gave a little sneaky smirk, and pounded her right foot on the pedal, and her Mustang Boss's tires screeched on the asphalt. In surprise, Team Furious, and the Rainbooms faced towards Sunset's car, which was driving further away. “LAST ONE THERE IS A ROTTEN CUPCAKE!!!” screamed Sunset, in the distance. Charlie smirked as well. “So, you want a little race, huh?” laughed Charlie. He floored the throttle down, and chased after Sunset. The rest of Team Furious, and the Rainbooms followed his lead, while cheering and laughing in the horizon. “I hope I'm not the rotten cupcake!” screamed Pinkie.