The Shy Driver

by Wiz Ahmad

The Weather Phenomenon

Author's Note:

Been quite a while. still got exams 'round the corner
Found some time and finished this up!
More to come in about 10 days' time!

P.S: You might wonder what happened to Luna. I'll write a separate fanfic about her aftermath once this fanfic is complete.

It all started with one sudden storm just outside Ponyville.

The Princesses were organizing an event for the ponies in faraway places, such as Baltimare, Vanhoover, and Yankistan, to come and meet Equestria’s royalty and discuss some political matters. Being a princess herself, Twilight Sparkle had invited her five friends along to the event, even though there wasn’t much to do. No parties were to be thrown, although there would be a few games and a couple of competitions to make voting more enjoyable and fun. (That was Luna’s idea by the way)

The afternoon before the day of the event, Twilight Sparkle arranged a brief meeting at SugarCube Corner to discuss about going with her friends.

“It’s a formal political event combined with a hint of enjoyable fun activities related to voting,” she explained.

“Does it have parties and awesome food?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly, her legs twitching.

“Haha, sadly no,” Twilight Sparkle replied. “There is a dinner, but it’s only for the Princesses and the political members who are attending. “But I guarantee that the competition will be fun and enjoyable, with a variety of strategies and procedures, including a flying time attack and…”

“AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash cut in with an eager, joyful expression.

“Uh….ummm…” Fluttershy thought.

“As for you, Fluttershy, the event will take place near a small forest on the edge of Canterlot, so the birds and all the animals will be eager to see what the fuss is all about. I’d bet you will be perfect at the task of keeping them happy and relaxed during this energetic…party.” Twilight kinda regretted using that last word, but it kinda was true, as the event’s atmosphere as described by Princess Celestia made it sound more like a party.

“I’ll attend,” Fluttershy said in her usual quiet, shy voice, though a trained ear could detect the happiness and excitement behind it.

“I’ll definitely attend!” Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash declared at the same time.

“I’ll be sure to come along, even if they ain’t got a top-notch apple bucking roll,” Applejack huffed with a grin.

“Count me in!” Rarity exclaimed, eager to meet royalties and hopefully make a mark in the higher ranks of Canterlot’s society.

“It’s settled then,” Twilight Sparkle finished, sharing a blueberry pie and a few drinks with her friends, along with a group hoofbump.

---

The following day everypony finished their work early because they were so excited. Rarity, however, began her preparations as early as the afternoon. Pinkie Pie zipped over to take some time off while a cake was baking in the oven. She knocked repeatedly in a musical fashion.

“Who is it?” Rarity asked, her hooves carefully pushing fabric through the dog-feed of a sewing machine.

“Hi, it’s Pinkie Pie,” Pinkie Pie replied politely in her usual cheerful voice.

“Come in,” Rarity said, not bothering to look up from the fabric she was sewing.

Pinkie Pie pushed the door open and cut straight to the chase. “I just wanted to check in on your progress…why are you making more dresses, Rarity? I thought we already had our own from when we went to the Grand Galloping Gala.”

Rarity stopped the sewing machine and sighed. “That was one of the worst nights ever, remember? And many of them were ripped or damaged in one way or another.”

“Whoops, totally forgot!” Pinkie Pie immediately replied. “So you’re making some new ones for us to wear during the event tonight?”

“Yes indeed, darling,” Rarity replied with a wink. “I’ll be basing them off the ones we wore to the Grand Galloping Gala, since I know we all liked the ‘version 2’ of those dresses.”

Pinkie Pie was glad but also a bit worried. Would her other friends be happy with Rarity’s decisions to just make similar dresses but not consult their respective wearers?

The normally fun-loving pink pony of Ponyville now had a hoof to her chin. “Bye, Rarity. See you at the bakery in a few hours!” Pinkie Pie walked out of Carousel Boutique wearing a mixed look of concern and doubt.

Rarity worked tirelessly all afternoon until the sun set, measuring, cutting, sewing, and styling six dresses, each with a distinctive theme, coloring, and pattern.

“Are we readi-aaaaaaaaah!” Twilight Sparkle’s eyes bulged in shock as Rarity walked into SugarCube Corner (which was fairly quiet by now). She was pushing a large rack, holding each of the six dresses. Twilight vaguely recognized them as refined versions of the Grand Galloping Gala dresses.

“What’s all these for?” Rainbow Dash asked with an awkward expression.

“Oh don’t be silly, Rainbow,” Rarity replied with a proud smile on her face. “These are dresses I’ve made for us to wear to the event! I took the designs I made for the Grand Galloping Gala and improvised them.”

“But don’t ya suppose that they are a bit too extravagant?” Applejack suggested.

“Oh please,” Rarity begged. “Don’t you just love them? I worked so hard all afternoon for you!”

Applejack laughed and rubbed her cheek. “All righty, Rarity. They may be a tad bit extravagant, but they ain’t that bad.”

Using a large (and mostly empty) storeroom as a changing room, everyone got outfitted, Princess Celestia’s royal chariot taxi arrived, Twilight handed out the tickets, and they all piled into the chariot.

“To the political party!” Pinkie Pie whooped, nearly knocking her friends off balance. “Oops, sorry guys,” she replied with a whisper.

---

At the event, the friends split into groups. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity walked down to the political group who were gathering and preparing for the grand royal dinner; Applejack and Pinkie Pie set out to examine the procedures and methods of the voting competitions; Rainbow Dash examined the flying time attack course, and Fluttershy, of course, headed straight into the tree-filled surroundings to observe and play with the animals.

“So, this is where it all happens,” Rarity said in awe as she walked down a red carpet that led to a large marquee tent. There, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and even Shining Armor (Twilight’s older brother) were all discussing amongst themselves while a group of more than thirty candidates and political figures from various towns and cities across Equestria.

“I’ll talk with Celestia and see if I can get you to be with the candidates and the political figures,” Twilight told her.

Rarity smiled, eager to meet some high-strung ponies. This could be her chance to promote her new dress styles to various cities in Equestria.

---

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had her head up in the clouds, observing the time attack course’s every turn, bend, and straights, trying to calculate her timing accuracy and how much speed would be sufficient through each corner. As she flew back to the starting line she saw an orange pony in a suit.

“Hey there, Rainbow!” she called out.

“Oh…hi, Spitfire,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Are you going to be partaking in the time attack competition?”

“No, but I’ll be supervising it and making sure no pony’s cheating,” Spitfire replied, changing into her military-style tone. “Last time we tried a competition to make voting fun for Equestria, several members cheated and there was a big scuffle. It got so bad that Celestia had to use her magic to seize the fighting ponies and bond them together with rope until they pledged never to fight in a competition ever.”

“Geez, that’s crazy,” Rainbow Dash replied, jumping back a little in shock. “I didn’t know political competition could get that intense!”

Spitfire sighed sadly. “It sure can sometimes,” she replied, gazing down at the arrangement taking place on the flat grassland far below.

---

Celestia agreed to let Rarity meddle with the political leaders of Manehattan, Baltimare, Los Pegasus, and Vanhoover.

However, just as Celestia was about to lead all the political leaders and round up the candidates for a formal speech and a series of announcements, Twilight Sparkle noticed the clouds were getting darker.

“Um, Princess, don’t you think there’s a storm coming?” she awkwardly asked Celestia.

“Oh don’t worry, Twilight, it’s only a series of clouds. I’ve seen them pass by like this all the time. We must get on with the plans and sermons!”
Celestia replied, obviously unaware of what Twilight could sense.

Being up in the clouds, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire noticed it too and dived down to warn the others.

But by the time they had reached the crowd below, Princess Celestia had begun her speech – and no one interrupts the leader of Equestria when she speaks, not even Twilight Sparkle.

“…and thus the voting competition shall begin, starting with the ground-based competitions. We shall begin with the ground-based activities. Each member who votes for or against the proposal of our new law governing the usage of wagons in the EverFree Forest, form a team! My sister, Princess Luna, will watch over you and manage the competition.”

As the teams of ponies, each with more than 500 members each, filed into position for the voting cast toss game, the sky had become much darker, and it became quite difficult to see more than a few tens of yards ahead of yourself.

“And throw, my beloved Equestrian citizens, throw!” Princess Luna announced happily. Just as the teams began to take their draws, the dark bluish-black sky above them rumbled like a snoring Tirek. Rain began to fall, and soon the ground became wet and the audience began to complain.

“I’ll put out another marquee!” one of the guards told Celestia, and ran to the storage unit, where Celestia and Luna had kept all the props and accessories for the event.

With the help of a few more guards and some of the members, two marquees were erected, and the voting cast continued.
“There’s nothing to worry about, Twilight. It’s just—” Celestia began, when one of the marquees began to flap wildly and shake as the wind grew stronger and wildly. The rain came down harder.

“We gotta get everyone back to Ponyville now!” Twilight Sparkle declared in desperation. “It’ll be safer there!”

“All right, hang on a second, Twilight,” Celestia replied. “I’ll send out a rally order.”

But before Celestia could even call out, an enormous gust came and blew the marquee off the ground, sending it crashing into the announcement podium. The two princesses ran out of the way just in time before they were hit.

A large bright bluish-white light started to illuminate the sky, and lighting flashed, with occasional thunder claps.

Fluttershy, who had been hiding in a tree hollow from the rain and wind, ran out of the woods in fear towards her friends. Some of the tree branches even began to snap from the intense wind. Princess Luna, who had been standing firm to protect the teams, noticed her and blocked her path.

“Fluttershy, thou must stay with me. I will protect you and keep you by my side!” she told her.

The teams slowly began to move across the field towards Ponyville, bracing the wind as it threatened to knock them off their feet.
“Keep moving!” Princess Luna told them, briefly catching sight of her older sister and Twilight cowering behind the announcement stage.

That’s when the lightning hit. Even with the wind, it was crazy loud – so loud Fluttershy pulled the flowers off her headband and pushed them into her ears in fear of deafness.

Twilight Sparkle shifted slightly in her crouching position and caught sight of a circular wall of clouds, with the bluish-white light at its center. More and more lightning flashed, and due to the light, she could now see small objects being sucked upwards towards the center of bright light and clouds. The wall of clouds then began moving – straight down towards the ground. And if it moved, it was going to suck all the ponies up.

Looking up, Princess Luna noticed an interesting phenomenon not from the circular wall of clouds, but from just above the storm itself. A spiraling tube of light was flashing through the screen of thick, puffy, bulbous clouds, just above the circular wall.

The storm then zigzagged across the sky with a swerve of violently moving air, and Fluttershy, still walking beside Luna, lost her footing altogether and began to float upwards. She twirled and flailed her legs and wings, fighting for any opposing force against the strong current of air.

“Lunaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” she screamed out, hoping that her quiet voice would ring out loud enough over the ferocious wind for the sharp ears of the night Princess to hear.

“Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” Princess Luna noticed the yellow pony being pulled up into the storm. Without the slightest ounce of hesitation she turned tail to the crowd of ponies and flew up to save Fluttershy.

Luna wrapped a hoof around Fluttershy and tried to fly back down towards the group, but the sheer force of the wind sucked her and Fluttershy into the wall of clouds towards the brightly glowing center. Before Celestia could realize what was happening, the wall of clouds receded back up to the storm and closed up. All what could be seen now was an “inflated” portion of the stormy clouds where the bright bluish-white ball of energy and power was still raging with lightning strikes erupting from it.

“Don’t let me go!” Fluttershy screamed as the two ponies spun around in a mess of lightning, energy zaps, and strong air current pulls. It was near impossible for them to hear each other.

“Thy Princess of the Night will not—”

Before Princess Luna could even finish, a much stronger pull of energy erupted from behind them both. A dark tunnel formed behind each of them, and the sheer force ripped Luna’s hoof from Fluttershy’s.

“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” Luna yelled as Fluttershy was sucked into the tunnel of energy and lightning, and vanished from view. Luna herself also was pulled down through a tunnel of energy and lightning, and it took just three big zaps for her to drop unconscious.

Comments

[Wiz Ahmad]

Just a note for those who might wonder: whp = wheel horsepower, which is the amount of horsepower generated at the car's wheels. It is generally slightly less that the amount of horsepower from the actual engine as there is slight loss of horsepower in the clutch, transmission, and differentials due to friction and other factors.

Watch this video to understand more:

[Luyten]

Tbh we need more car stories on fimfic

[Rocky S]

I LIVE IN CO. SPRINGS COLORADO!!!!!!!!!! MORE SPECIFICALLY MANITOU SPRINGS BUT THEY ARE 1 MILE APART!!! DO YOU LIVE HERE TOO?

[Wiz Ahmad]

6856352 lol no I live in ontario, Canada but if u like u can tell me about that area it would really help with descriptive details in the story thanks

[Rocky S]

Well first of all we have an amazing view of Pukes Peak. A.K.A America's mountain.

[Rocky S]

Manitou middle school has an amazing view of all of Manitou. Manitou is located in a valley and is what I call the "Hippie Town." And one thing is what is it like in Canada?

[Wiz Ahmad]

6857735 It's very nice and lovely, a lot of nice mountains and coniferous forests in British Columbia and Alberta. Plenty of wildlife (deer, bears, geese, ducks, skunks, songbirds) national parks, the first and most famous being Banff National Park in Alberta.
Other Canadian stuff:
- the CN tower and the Rogers Centre Sport stadium
- 15 year car import law
- Justin Bieber (yeah he's changed for the better recently so drop any prejudice/hate)
- Beautiful lakes and beaches (especially lake superior)
- Orca families off the west coast of British Columbia
- Large number of I.T. (computer tech) colleges/universities as well as careers in Ontario

Thanks for the info. SPOILERS AHEAD
Here's the millionare's mansion that I'll be featuring in the story: (link)
The mansion in my story is actually for sale...for $5.75 million.

The Supra on my fanfic cover was actually sold to a lucky anonymous owner in not sure where in the southern US (I think Texas) for around $60,000. it was fully tuned, customized, and built by an Orlando, Florida company called Real Street Performance. I'll be modifying the car's actual specs to suit my personal tastes for the story.

[Rocky S]

One last thing. Do you know about Vanossgaming? He lives in Toronto or something and is one of the top 10(?) Youtubers in the world. Just let me know if you know him or see him. You can see him in one of his vlogs. But also about Colorado, I honestly think it would be humorous if Fluttershy sees a movie set because literally nobody films movies in Colorado because it costs I don't even know how much.

[Rocky S]

And also Holy Shit that mansion is cool!

[Wiz Ahmad]

6864097 Movie set in Colorado...sounds like a great idea for one of the chapters! and no I haven't seen or heard of VanossGaming. I'm not into those types of youtube channels. thanks though