The Shy Driver II: Fluttershy's Return

by Wiz Ahmad

Chapter 9: Babs Speed, Bad, Bad Speed

Author's Note:

Ignore the title - I came up with it on a whim while listening to that dangerously catchy CMC song. All done now!

After hours of searching, Justin still had no lead on the “illegal contraption”, and was getting all the more frustrated.

“Hey Justin,” Rarity said, entering the room. “Found it yet?”

Justin frowned sadly and shook his head. Ignoring him, Rarity climbed on top of the ottoman and opened up the trapdoor in the floor and peered into the open metal safe. At first it seemed empty, until she noticed something – there was a tiny tear in the corner. It had a false bottom, which meant there was a secret compartment inside!

Using her magic, Rarity increased the size of the hole and pulled away the false bottom (which was made of colored molded plastic and glue). Then she eased out what it was hiding – a brown file folder – and set it down before Justin.

“Would this do?” she asked politely, flashing him a sweet smile.

“Wow, Rarity, I didn’t think to…I could just…just…”

Before Justin could stutter anymore, Rarity jumped onto the bed, literally cradled him in her arms, and gave him a big, yet sweet and soft kiss. He hugged her back, lost for words.

“Th-th-thank you, Rarity,” was all he could say. After she released her grip, Rarity sat beside him. Now that his mind had rerouted, Justin could now take in what the folder contained.

Some parts of it were missing due to rips and tears, but most of it remained. Justin was shell-shocked. “These are the final project designs of that portal project I made with the gang! I kept them for as long as I possibly could – and I’m glad I did. This is everything I need.”

Rarity’s eyes glowed as she realized how easy it would be. “All you need to do now is analyze each component and match them to any one you find in the binders.”

“Yep!” Justin replied. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

While he continued his binder search, this time with a higher level of positivity, Fluttershy and Angel Bunny had some time to themselves to enjoy the great outdoors, while Starlight Glimmer tried her hand at swimming.

“You can do it, Starlight!” Applejack said encouragingly. “Just ease yourself down. Once your legs break through the surface, move them back and forth in sync, and release your mid-air telekinesis.”

Starlight lowered herself downwards, her legs twitching upon contact with the coolness of the pool water. Then she developed a paddling cycle, before releasing her mid-air telekinesis.

PLOP! Starlight’s body hit the water, and she jerked in shock. With some help from Applejack, she began to move about in the water, and soon swam with ease.

By afternoon, Justin struck gold – and not fool’s gold. He had replaced all illegal parts of the portal with authentic and legally purchased components. However, upon seeing the Supra’s condition, his joy was swapped with disappointment.

“I’m sorry this had to happen, Justin,” Fluttershy whispered sadly from the garage door, her eyes welling up.

“It’s alright,” Justin replied in a serious voice. “Just remember to stay out of trouble. But with what we’re all getting into, that’s near impossible to be brutally honest. I’m going to have to replace both bumpers, the hood, the front wheel fenders, and the windshield. It ain’t gonna be cheap. Gotta get a pro to do it.”

Fluttershy gulped, as the reality dawned upon her that cars truly weren’t a cheap commodity. In fact, she was the next step to deal with on Justin’s to-do list.

For most of the trip, Fluttershy kept silent in the passenger seat of the Huracan as Justin drove down to the government services building to get the full specs on her fine and issue the adequate payment. She would not be able to drive for more than a month, having left a red mark on the law’s perspective of her. The total came to a hefty $401.32 for her “reckless and dangerous driving” (drifting), and speeding.

“I once had a friend named Barbara,” Justin said on the way home. “She used to be a street racer, until she ended up in prison and had her car confiscated, along with a huge list of fines and loss of license. Try not to become a ‘Babs Speed’ like her. There’s good speed and bad speed. It just takes time and knowledge to distinguish the two. Now, let’s go get some new parts for that car.”

Meanwhile, the rest of her friends were having a ball in the pool, splashing, giggling, and playing about in the pool with inflatable rings and balls. Starlight Glimmer was becoming more adventurous in the pool, having eliminated her fear of water. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, was causing somewhat of a conflict.

“Pinkie, stop splashing so much!” Twilight complained. “Water’s getting all over the yard!”

“Oops.” Pinkie blushed. “I really do miss being in that fast car though. It’s such a shame that these humans are so mean to Fluttershy. She really wasn’t being reckless.”

“Sort of,” Twilight replied. “The slightest false move could send that car spinning.”

“So you’re saying that Fluttershy’s car is a monster?” Rainbow Dash implied.

Twilight sighed in defeat. “Sort of. I mean, it really is powerful.”

“Darrrrling, the force of the boost was so strong, I thought I was gonna die!” Rarity added, taking a sip of her fruit juice.

“Holy guacamole that thing is fast!” Spike exclaimed, jumping in on the conversation.

As to prove him right, the loud yet smooth sound of the Lamborghini’s V10 came roaring up the drive. Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie dropped their water toys, shook their water-coated bodies, quickly dried off with a few towels, and ran to the front door.

Justin and Fluttershy had returned – but Fluttershy wasn’t as happy as they’d hoped. She still felt a little sad after the outcome of the brief court case and the license penalty. With a couple grand dropped in, Fluttershy’s license had one point removed, the fines were paid, and her driving suspension was halved. Still, it would be four weeks before she’d be allowed to drive it again.

Justin, on the other hand, was rather happy, as he’d managed to find new bumpers and a cheap but strong and clean hood for the Supra, along with a few tools.

“This place is riddled with a lot of old stuff,” he ranted, tossing the installation screws, nuts, and bolts, along with his newly bought tools onto a desk in the garage. “Some of it I can barely remember, being so busy with this business of mine.”

“Why don’t you set up a sale?” Rarity suggested, her bright, charming eyes twinkling. “It would make good profit for future projects in your business.”

Justin’s face lit up with a smile. “That…would actually be a great idea.”

Applejack then interjected and tapped his shoulder gently, wearing a rather adorable face. “Um, sugarcube, may I kindly ask, what exactly does D & J Industries produce?”

Justin was more than happy to tell them the whole story. He began the company alone, earning friends along the way. The main driving force behind D & J Industries, despite its name, was not musical instruments; rather, it was focused on the production of electronic circuitry and mechanical structures used in specialized hospital surgery and advanced organic farming. The company was worth nearly $400 million USD, but most of the money Justin sent overseas to anyone who needed it – African villages, natural disaster victims, and schools who needed support. He was wise however, and was always on the lookout for cheaters and fraudsters. In total, the business took nearly ten years to rise to its current position.

“Wow, dude, you’re like the Fancy Pants of Earth!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, before blushing as she realized he had no idea who that was and probably considered it an insult. But Rarity cut in and explained it all.

Justin just laughed. “None taken, Rainbow. But we need to organize this garage over the next few days. Get all my old stuff organized. Once that’s done, I’ll invite you over to my workplace and then we’ll handle a few ‘work-ish’ stuff. Then we’ll get down to the portal and make sure of its authenticity, and then we’ll go and get some more parts for it. I need to expand. Oh, and deal with that gang that Fluttershy found.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rarity said excitedly, already using her telekinesis to lift stuff off the shelves and arrange on the garage floor in a neat pattern. Applejack grabbed a few clean rags from the kitchen, a roll of paper towel, and a small bucket of soapy water. Starlight Glimmer, who had finally gotten out of the pool, sauntered over to join them.

“Maybe I can do the laundry,” she suggested with a suggestive grin.

Justin gave a smiling nod of approval. “Just don’t mix the wrong colors! My hamper’s in my room in the corner near the window.”

After many hours of cleaning, drying, polishing, and organizing, the job was complete. Most of the 300 or so “pieces of stuff” were worn-down stock parts of the Supra, such as the differential, the brakes, and the front radiator fan. Even the stock motor was still there, old, grimy, and dusty, but Rarity wasn’t giving it up.

“But it’s…it’s a pile of junk! Even a few components are broken when I excessively hooned the Supra as a silly 16 year-old,” Justin insisted. “Why bother repairing it?”

Rarity shut her mouth – he had a point. Would it really be worth it?

“How much would the motor be worth?”

“Around $900 to $2100, depends. Fixing, though not necessarily upgrading it, would add on a good $300 to $600.”

Rarity stopped, set down her rag, and sighed. This really was a tough decision. “So roughly one-third of the actual selling cost would be removed, which is…ah! It’s still worth the shot. If you can find some good quality cheap parts, that is.”

Justin shook his head. “Are you seriously suggesting that this is reasonable?”

Rarity gave a sheepish shrug. “Money’s money, once it’s earned more than it’s spent.”

Justin dusted off his pants, dashed into the house, pulled on a clean shirt, and took a quick look at the motor. Then he made a quick list in his notebook, hopped into the Lamborghini, and zoomed off.

Meanwhile, Rarity and Applejack worked hard on the motor, cleaning off all the dust and dirt, removing the drivetrain belt, unscrewing bolts, and carefully unplugging any wires.

“You know, AJ,” Rarity said as she wiped the motor drive belt dry, “I think this sale is gonna fly, once we do it right.”

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