The Weather Phenomenon

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.

An Unexpected Surprise

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Fluttershy breathed in. Then she breathed out. Nothing seemed practical or sensible. Her head, wings, and legs were all sore and in considerable pain. Yet, there was no loud wind or energy zaps. It was quiet, with a gentle breeze, but also dark and lonely. That in itself was strange.

In her dazed state, Fluttershy regained consciousness, and almost immediately Princess Luna and the other ponies hit her mind.

“Ummm, hello?” she called out. “Princess Luna? Are you there? Anypony?”

There was no response at all, just the chirp of birds in the tree above her. It was then that Fluttershy noticed there was a considerable amount of light around her. Soft but luminescent lights glowed from behind various structures lined up to her right and left. She walked around, feeling and observing her surroundings. A rectangular area fenced off. One large building. Several items lined up next to a small shed with a lock on it. A smooth, well-kept deck with an array of pretty flowers and plants planted in neat rows in a large container on it. And was that…a door?

Oh, Angel, Fluttershy thought sadly as she recalled her happy times with her bunny friend. But, would that door be locked? I feel rather cold out here…

Fluttershy limped onto the deck and pushed at the door latch with her hoof. To her amazement, it moved. She undid the latch all the way, pushed the door open, and walked in. It was darker inside than outside, with just the LED lights from appliances dimly lighting the kitchen and accompanying family room. There was also a distinct hum from the fridge. However, due to light shining in from the open patio door, Fluttershy soon noticed a soft armchair with a pillow in the family room corner near the kitchen tiling, clambered onto it, and soon nodded off to sleep, her body still achy. Most of the pain had worn off, though.

The next morning came with quite a start. Fluttershy awoke to the buzzing of an alarm clock. Judging by its low, faint sound, it came from much further away than she would’ve thought. Then came the sounds of energetic, noisy creatures. Some spoke with softness, like her; others spoke with a deeper tone. It was a family.

“Ah!” Fluttershy stretched awake and darted behind the chair, just as the family members reached the bottom of the steps and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

“Did you hear something?” Carter asked his father, Jack.

“I didn’t hear much.”

“No, I heard it clearly. It was a quiet ‘ah’ sound, likely a sound of fear. In addition I heard the carpet rustle a little,” Carter replied.

Lorraine smiled. Her son always seemed to be the one who could pick up on things easily, even if they were faint or tiny. Carter’s little sister, Ashley, on the other hand, often took time to notice detail and often took time before she noticed the tiny details.

From her hiding place behind the armchair, Fluttershy watched as the family filed into the kitchen and began preparing a hearty breakfast of pancakes. It reminded her of the times that she’d plan a picnic with her animal friends, or Twilight Sparkle would invite her over to a picnic at Sweet Apple Acres. Will I ever see my friends again? she thought sadly, and began to sob.

“Ok, that’s enough guessing,” Carter declared as the rest of the family sat down to eat. “I hear crying and no one’s sad here. Someone is hiding in this house and I’m going to find him.”

At that moment, Fluttershy’s crying only amplified slightly. Then Lorraine, Ashley, and Jack observed a moment of silence, and heard it, clear as day. Repetitive sobbing and a few sniffles.

Even before he began to start searching, Carter regretted what he’d said, and softened his tone. “Maybe I should…just walk around, see what I can find. It won’t take long. Ok Mom?”

Lorraine sighed. “All right. But not more than five minutes.”

In fact, it took less than five minutes. Carter began by peeking behind the sofas and the couches. Then he looked behind the armchair…and saw the little pony, who had stopped crying.

“OH MY GOSH!” Carter yelped, jumping backwards.

Fluttershy gasped and wrapped her mane around her face and shrunk into a ball.

“Well, I…I now know wh-who’s hiding,” Carter stuttered, struggling to pull himself together. “But it’s nothing dangerous as far as I can tell.”

“Uh-hm!” Ashley huffed.

“Yes,” Carter shot back. “See for yourself.”

The family walked over, and they too tried to hold back their gasp as Fluttershy still quivered in fear.

Carter sighed and tried to reason with her. “Come on out, you’re already scared as it is.”

“There’s no need to be afraid,” he then said softly, repeating the sentence ten times.

Finally Fluttershy came out of her hiding spot, and cautiously approached Carter and the rest of the family.

“You can sit in my lap…if you want to,” Carter said softly, crossing his legs and sitting down. “By the way, what’s your name?”

“I…I’m, my name is…Fluttershy,” she said.

“How on earth did you get into our house, girl?” Jack demanded, and Fluttershy shrunk back a little as if she was about to cry.

Carter shot his father a nasty look and gently motioned for Fluttershy to come over. She then quietly walked over and settled in his lap.

“Boy, you’re heavier than I thought,” he replied with a giggle. “Are you hungry?”

“Uh, um, yes, I am,” Fluttershy replied in her quiet voice. She got off his lap and Carter turned to face his family.

“Well…”

“Can we keep the pony, Mom? Please?” Ashley begged.

Lorraine sighed. “All right, even if we don’t know where she’s from.”

Jack just grunted and turned back towards the kitchen, when he noticed the patio door behind the blinds, and managed a chuckle and a little squee.

“All this time I never realized I left that door unlocked. You’re one smart girl.”

Carter got out an extra chair and they invited Fluttershy to eat with them, in addition to learning their names. She’d never eaten pancakes before, but with some encouragement from Ashley, she tried it – and loved it. Jack was a bit disgusted that she had to eat off the plate, but Lorraine explained that she couldn’t grasp a fork, spoon, or knife. Jack grunted and agreed. After eating, Fluttershy helped with the dishes and swept the kitchen floor, holding the broom with her mouth. But as she proceeded to go outside, she noticed Ashley and Carter running back to the stairs.

“Wait! Um, where are you going?”

“To school,” Ashley replied.

“I see. Could I stay home here, upstairs?”

“Sure, come on up!” Ashley said excitedly.

Fluttershy ran excitedly down the hallway and darted up the stairs.

“Let me show you my bedroom first!” Ashley said excitedly before Carter could even say a word.

“Sure,” Fluttershy replied. Carter sighed, marched back into his room, and shut the door. He could care less about his over-excited sister and her pony friend. His kindness in the beginning was just to stop Fluttershy from being afraid.

“What was that all about?” Fluttershy asked as she walked through the doorway.

“Sorry about my brother,” Ashley replied. “He’s generally nice but can sometimes be a real pain when he feels he’s not getting any attention. Probably has to do with the bullying he was afflicted with at a younger age. But you know, he really likes you. Normally he doesn’t like anybody.”

Fluttershy’s face fell. She knew exactly what that felt like – not being able to stand up for yourself, being called names, being picked on, etc.

Ashley then introduced the various toys and hair accessories she had, and soon Fluttershy wanted her mane combed and styled.

“Sorry, Fluttershy, but I really have to go to school. Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Um, okay,” Fluttershy replied, and left.

Ashley changed a lot faster than her brother, who still had his door shut. Fluttershy ignored it and gently knocked on Lorraine’s bedroom door.

“Come in, Fluttershy,” she replied.

Lorraine sat on her bed, flipping through a magazine. Fluttershy kindly asked to sit on the bed, and she agreed.

“So tell me, Fluttershy, where did you come from?”

Fluttershy scratched her head and tried not to cry. “I can’t exactly recall, but it was horrible! I remember being pulled from the ground into the air, Princess Luna trying to save me, and…then…”

“Then what?” Lorraine pressed.

Fluttershy wiped a tear from her eye. “I can’t exactly recall, but when I woke up, I found myself behind your home, sore and in pain. It was a bit cold that night, so I opened the patio and slept inside.”

Lorraine’s eyebrows shot up. “We don’t have another pony around here, do we?”

“No,” Fluttershy replied. “I couldn’t find Princess Luna after I awoke.”

Lorraine sighed. Poor Fluttershy. You really must miss your home and friends, she thought, realizing there was no way to return back.

“Do you think there’s a way for me to return home?”

Lorraine choked up and sighed. “I’m afraid not. Portals do not exist here on Earth, and even if they did, I don’t think it would be possible to travel through them to a fantasy world.”

Fluttershy buried her head in a pillow and cried and cried and cried, nonstop, the reality of the situation hitting her mind and soul like a rock. There was no way to return home, and she was stuck here. Forever.

No matter what Lorraine tried, she could not cheer Fluttershy up, and it made her feel sad too, having uttered a sentence that spoke with truth and authenticity, but also crushed the little pony’s hopes and dreams.

“Fluttershy!” Carter called from the stairs. “I need to talk with you for a second.”

“I…I’m coming,” Fluttershy sobbed, getting up from the bed.

Carter could already tell she was in a sad mood, so he dumped the original topic. “What happened? You were sad and frightful one moment and another you’re happy and joyful, now you’re back to being happy again? Please, explain.”

“I…I’m not from around here. I landed in your backyard from my…world, and…I can’t return!” Fluttershy sobbed.

Carter’s face changed, and he became serious but gentle. “Look, Fluttershy, I know life sucks sometimes, but you have to accept reality and move with what life gives you. You’re lucky you survived that crazy storm. Get back up on your feet and welcome your new life.”

“But…my friends—” Fluttershy began.

Carter cut her off. “I assure you, your friends are not gone forever. They’re still with you, in here.” He pointed to her heart. “I’d bet right this moment they’re trying their very best to find you and bring you back home safely. Only Almighty God knows if that will happen though. But at least you landed with us. At least you landed in a place with family, care, shelter, and love. And isn’t that what matters the most in life?”

Fluttershy swallowed and nodded sadly. “Yes, Carter, I do agree.”

Carter then gave her a kiss on the cheek, threw on his backpack, and ran off to the front door. Ashley’s bus was already leaving. He and Ashley attended different schools, so Carter just rode his bicycle to school.

Fluttershy watched from the window as he strapped on his helmet and rode off down the road. While she still felt sad having “lost” her best friends, she was also content that she’d found a new, happy life with people who truly loved and cared for her, as Carter had said.

Dog Dealings

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Soon, Jack left to work as an engineer. Mom worked part-time from home on the computer, so Fluttershy was pretty much alone. To take some time off, she stayed in the backyard, observing and talking with the birds and the squirrels, and tending to the flowers on the porch.

A little while later, Lorraine came back out onto the porch with some lemonade, as the weather had warmed up quite a bit – it was late June, after all. She noticed the plant bed and gasped.

“Did you tidy up these plants and tend to them?” she asked Fluttershy.

Fluttershy, who was chatting with a blackbird at the moment, turned to see Lorraine on the porch. She came softly flying down. “Yes, I did tidy up those plants. You know, I couldn’t just leave them like that. Plants need care, love, and food, just like animals and humans.”

“I do agree,” Lorraine replied, handing a mug of lemonade to Fluttershy and pulling up a deck chair. “I actually like gardening, I just got caught up in sewing too much. I used to be a seamstress, until I retired to spend more time with my children.” Her face lowered. “I apologize for not taking care of the plants, I forgot all about them.”

“It’s okay, Lorraine,” Fluttershy replied with a reassuring smile. “I forget tasks, too. So, how did your family come to be, and what are your goals?”

Lorraine’s mouth formed a tiny O of surprise that Fluttershy, being her shy self, would ask such a question. But she went with it.

“Um…well. I once was a fairly popular seamstress, making fabulous dresses and jewelry. I briefly considered interior design as a second career path, but didn’t have enough motivation. Anyways this rich ditzy girl asked me rudely for the most luxurious dress I could make for her wedding. She married Jack, but he divorced her less than a year later when he found out that she was embezzling in her part of his business funds. He found me, and apologized for what happened. It was love at first sight. We then married and I later gave up my business to focus on raising my children.”

A tear rolled down Fluttershy’s cheek as she smiled. Interesting. Lorraine caught sight of the tear and opened her mouth, but Fluttershy responded before she could say anything.

“I was just recalling one my friends, Rarity. She’s just like you were. She loves fashion and high-ranking profiles. And she’s a seamstress – in fact, the top one in my hometown. I…I just wish you could meet her.”

After drinking up their lemonade, Lorraine and Fluttershy watched two back-to-back episodes of The Suite Life On Deck and ate a good lunch. As the noon hit, Fluttershy made one choice that would change her life on Earth completely.

“Lorraine – I mean, Mom?” she called out. “I’m going for a walk. Is that okay?”

“All right, Fluttershy, just don’t wander too far. You don’t know this area too well,” Lorraine replied from upstairs, then blushed. Did she just call me her ‘mom’?

“Um, thanks,” Fluttershy replied in her usual quiet, slightly timid voice. She opened the front door and stepped out onto the front porch, and for the first time got a good look at the world she lived in. Walking down the steps and onto the driveway, she couldn’t help but observe the intricately well-designed metal carriage parked on it. It was amazing, with shiny wheels and a large rear space. Except, there was no apparent way to drive it forward or backward. There were no rungs to attach to a saddle or any of that sort.

Leaving the “metal carriage” behind, Fluttershy stepped out into the street and looked up and down the block, trying to form a map in her mind. She turned left and walked down the sidewalk, trying not to step on any garbage she came across. As many people were away at school or work there wasn’t much to see, so she continued walking, until she came upon a much larger street. Here, lots of those “metal carriages” were out and about, zooming past her at amazingly fast speeds. Rather than run and hide, she simply sat on a bench, and observed the traffic for a full half hour.

Through this new “lens”, Fluttershy learned about how traffic lights work, how each group took turns to avoid confusion and collisions, and gave people chances to walk as well without getting hit.

Why can’t we have traffic lights in Equestria? she thought, walking back up the road to where she started from. She passed the house and proceeded in the other direction, getting a little excited upon seeing a park up ahead with trees and flowers and leafy bushes. However, it came to her immediate attention when she heard the sound of loud barking and shouting…and spanking noises coming from one of the houses.

Fluttershy sneaked over and observed quietly from a front first-floor window…and couldn’t believe what her eye were seeing. A woman had apparently gone crazy with her two Doberman Pinschers and was beating them with a wooden spoon because they wouldn’t stop barking and begging her.

“Get out there, and shut up, you annoying mutts!” the lady shouted and physically kicked the two poor dogs out the patio door into the grass. Then she marched out after them and began shouting again.

Fluttershy couldn’t take it any longer. She flew around to the back of the house and began stroking and comforting the dogs as soon as the woman turned to reenter her home. The Dobermans were in bad shape, with an untended cut in one ear for one and a painful toe for the other. Instantly Fluttershy’s concern turned to distress and anger.

“How dare you treat these poor animals this way!” she declared sternly to the woman’s back. The woman turned, noticed, and tried to close the door, but not in time.

BAM! Fluttershy launched a firm slap, flicking the latch open with such force that it nearly broke. She shoved the door open and stomped her hoof hard on the tiled floor with a loud bang! that made the woman twitch, just to show her strength and anger.

“Now listen up here, missus,” Fluttershy began, her voice thick as the blood filling her face. “If you really loved your dogs, you’d never treat them that way. It doesn’t matter what they’ve done to you, just look at your reflection. Look at it!”

Cringing, the woman turned to see her reflection on the shiny polished tiled floor, and her frustrated face was replaced with one of regret and thought.

“Do you see that?” Fluttershy continued, her voice lower but still serious. “That’s the root of all this trouble. Investigate yourself, and then you’ll find the true solution that will last for all time. When was the last time you did something for them that they enjoyed? Did you set proper limits for what they were allowed to do and not allowed to do? When was the last time you visited the park with them and played ball? How about controlling your love of cider?”

The woman sighed, sat up, and sighed, tears spilling out of her eyes. “I…honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve tried everything with them...Brian and Lily…I also am struggling with an alcohol addiction I’m trying to eliminate. I…I’m really sorry. I thank you for this actually, I kinda need it. You can take care of them.”

“No,” Fluttershy replied, softening her voice. “I’ll show you the best way.”

Over the course of about an hour, Fluttershy showed the woman (who introduced herself as Pat) the basics of dog handling, exercising her levels of kindness and demonstrating how to deal with energy levels, dominance, discipline, and exercise. After a few sessions were over, Fluttershy made one final statement.

“Um, can I take them to the park?”

“Sure,” Pat replied. “Just be careful, as they have a tendency to snap at people.”

“In that case, a socializing session is in order,” Fluttershy announced, grabbing the leashes from a hook on the wall and clipping them onto Brian and Lily’s collars. Holding a tennis ball with one hoof and the leashes in the other, Fluttershy flew out the front door, and headed off towards the park as she intitially wanted. But no sooner did a teenager walking home for lunch pass by them then Brian and Lily started jumping, barking, and snapping.

“Stop!” the boy pleaded, and Fluttershy had to use all her strength to yank on the leashes to pull them back. When they persisted, she had no option but to direct her infamous “Stare” at them to get them to behave and calm down.

Remaining calm yet assertive, Fluttershy continued on to the park, where quite a few of people were playing and running around nearby. That’s when she realized: the park was across from the school! This wasn’t going to be easy.

Leading the dogs into a wide open area of the park, Fluttershy then proceeded to begin training and teaching them how to behave. What began as a simple game of fetch soon turned into a learning process of assertiveness, submission, and psychology. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the school kids to notice and want to run over – even though trespassing outside of the school property boundaries during recess was strictly prohibited.

“Um, guys?” was all Fluttershy could get out as she hustled the Dobermans behind a large tree. But the kids kept coming. Thankfully there were two people who noticed – a child care worker…and Carter. Hidden behind the tree with the two dogs, Fluttershy’s ears pricked up at the conversation.

“Come here now, kids! I told you not to—” the child care worker began.

“But there’s—”

“No buts! You come here now or I’m telling your parents about a good detention time!”

The kids ran back onto the school property, and Fluttershy peeked out from behind the tree. Carter was still standing there, his eyes wide with shock.

Fluttershy paid no attention and continued her routine with Brian and Lily, re-enforcing positive behavior and correct mannerism with each person that passed by. When another person came by walking their dog, Fluttershy then stopped to ask him to partake in her ritual. Slowly but surely, Brian and Lily stopped behaving in a dominant-aggressive manner.

Wow, Fluttershy, you got some animal talent, Carter thought as he took one final look before heading off back into the school building.

At last the sessions were over. Fluttershy, Brian, and Lily all drank water from a fountain, then they walked home. Now that Brian and Lily’s energy levels had been greatly reduced, they would be less likely to start an in-home riot.

“So you see?” Fluttershy proudly announced as she entered Pat’s home. “They’re now spent, so there is hardly any energy left in them to start a riot. It all really comes down to when and how much, concerning exercise, discipline, and the affection you give them – in that order. If you mix up the order, then it won’t work out properly and you’ll be back to square one again.”

“Thanks for helping me out,” Pat said, giving Fluttershy a box of cookies as a reward.

“Oh you’re most welcome, Pat,” Fluttershy replied with a smile. “Thank you for the cookies.”

With that, Fluttershy flew back home, just as the clock struck 2 p.m. Lorraine was sitting in the armchair in the family room – and she was not happy.

“I know, I…I was away for much longer than I expected,” Fluttershy said sadly. “I…I just…aw!”

Lorraine was not at all fazed by her cute shy voice. “Tell me what on earth you were doing out there.”

“Well, I walked down to the main road and stayed there for a while, then I came back up and heard some loud disturbing noises from one of the houses…” Fluttershy slowly rolled out the whole story of how she confronted Pat, shoved the truth of the matter in her face, and took a big first step to rehabilitating Brian and Lily.

Lorraine sighed and shook her head. “You should have done it in a nicer way. But actually, I do know Pat, and she has been a problematic person in this neighborhood. I guess that you sometimes must resort to tough love when push comes to shove. Thanks for caring for the dogs though, I was worried about their condition and how Pat would treat them. So it looks like your special talent is nature caretaking and rehab, right? And did Pat give you those cookies?”

Fluttershy nodded, still upset at her actions to speak.

“Come here, let me—” Lorraine began, but Fluttershy already climbed onto her lap and embraced her in a big furry hug. “Mom, I love you.”
Lorraine blushed and shed a tear at those words. Fluttershy actually called her as her mother, and even said that she loved her.

A Threat and A Talk

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By afternoon, the kids came home, tired and complaining of homework. Carter had a small scar on his cheek. Another nasty bullying incident, Fluttershy thought sadly. Ashley, on the other hand, was happy, bright, and eager to continue the day.

“How was school?” Lorraine asked, but Carter didn’t stop to answer. He ran upstairs to his room, threw his backpack in, ran to the upstairs bathroom, and shut the door.

“My day was great!” Ashley replied joyfully. “I learned a new multiplication strategy in math, and also about air currents in science!”

“Nice to know,” Lorraine said with a smile, helping Ashley out of her clothes. “Could you help me cook dinner?”

“Sure!” Ashley replied. “Once I get all that homework done.”

Lorraine was about to stir a hot pot of food on the stove when she heard a clanging and bang, as if something had dropped from a considerable height. From the storage room, out walked Fluttershy with a vacuum cleaner and a duster.

“Can I vacuum, Mom?” Fluttershy said, her voice slurred slightly with the duster handle in her mouth. “I wanna clean up the house.”

Lorraine let out a squee and smiled. It was hard to say no to Fluttershy, even if she knew that ponies couldn’t handle items made for humans very well. “All right, Fluttershy, yes you can. Ashley! Come over here. I need you to teach Fluttershy how to vacuum.”

Fluttershy found the appliance real awkward and was even scared of it for a while, but soon got used to the loud purring of the motor. She used her wing to manipulate the main unit while grasping the hose handle with her hooves. After sucking all the dust balls and scattered dirt from the carpets, Fluttershy used the duster to remove excess dust from the wooden floor and the shelves, bookcases, chairs, and other furniture.

As she walked down the stairs, Jack walked in the door, fresh from a hard day’s work.

“Hi, Jack! How was your work?” she called out, but Jack just looked back at her like she was a scuff mark on the wall and turned to take off his shoes. Fluttershy smiled sadly and walked down the hall towards the kitchen, where the delicious smell of a fresh chicken stew was stirring.

Fluttershy was rather disturbed by the presence of chicken, as she considered meat “non-sentient”. Thankfully, Ashley knew of this and made her a substitute – vegetable soup with cheese bread.

“Jack, honey!” Lorraine greeted her husband with a hug and kiss as he stepped into the family room. In the process he noticed how amazingly clean and dust-free it was.

“Well done, Carter,” he said quietly, then from the corner of his eye he noticed Fluttershy wearing a big grin…and his eyes widened.

“You did this? You, of all creatures, cleaned up this room?” he said rather loudly, causing Fluttershy to cower a bit.

“Um, yes,” Fluttershy replied. “I like homes that are clean and neat. And I figured that what I apply to my own house I should apply to others’ homes too.”

Jack pulled up a chair and sat down. “Good on you, ‘cause when it comes to chores Carter can be real stubborn.”

Fluttershy giggled. “I’m sure he’ll change once the dirt and dust overtake him. Then what he dislikes doing will become the only way to get him out of his own trap.”

Just as everyone was about to begin eating, Carter burst into the kitchen. “Sorry I’m late, I had to take a shower and shoot out a few Facebook messages. Crazy sweat from gym class.”

“Homework?” Ashley snapped rudely.

Carter stared right back. “I’ve got that covered.” He turned to Jack. “So you might ask, what did I learn? Well, I discovered the basics of Calculus, constructed some new French sentences properly, and beat the rival team by 6 baskets. Waaaaaaaaaaaay better than last time, remember, Ash? Speaking of which, I noticed something really weird…There was this little girl who passed by the basketball court and she was wearing a shirt with a picture of you on it.” He pointed to Fluttershy, who gasped in shock. “I’m not kidding.”

Fluttershy remained silent for the rest of the day, clearly shocked at what Carter had said. Was she that famous that someone had somehow got a photo of her and branded it on clothing for children? And what would people think of her now? Surely everyone who saw that girl would recognize Fluttershy if they saw her?

It became too evident after dinner as Carter washed the dishes and Ashley cleaned up the table and floor, while Lorraine and Jack chit-chatted outside on the back porch. Fluttershy just sat on the couch in the family room, flipping through pages of a recent edition of modernCat magazine, not saying a word and wearing a half-glum expression.

Even after Lorraine tried to convince her to come upstairs and sleep in bed with her, Fluttershy just murmured that she’d prefer to sleep on the couch.

“Suit yourself, pony,” Jack blurted, and walked down the hall after his wife to the stairs.

As night fell, Fluttershy closed the blinds, locked the patio door, and flipped the magazine shut. The house no longer seemed like a place of safety, but a prison. In her eyes, it served as a strong cage, blocking her from the outside world that seemingly would ooh and aah over her so much. She had a new caring family, but no real freedom. On top of that, she still missed her best pony friends back in Equestria.

“How can I ever get to be who I am with both a loving pony and a loving world together?” she thought sadly, shuffling up the steps. As she lay on the carpet in the upstairs hallway, a brief thought hit her and she tapped on Carter’s door.

“What?” The response was abrupt.

“Uh, um, it—it’s me, Fluttershy.”

“Come in.”

Fluttershy turned the knob and pushed the door open. Carter was sitting there, hunched over his laptop. Man, his room was messy. Dirty clothes were piled in a corner, and his bed was unkempt. There were three posters on the wall – all of popular movies. Crammed into a blue storage box were some old toys. On the screen: Facebook. Posted was a message with really foul language and an image with big bold letters that read:

ALL YOU DO IS SHOOT BASKETS. YOU'RE A F**** PEDOPHILE, YOU KNOW? I KNOW ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AND I WILL SEND THEM THE VIDEO. IF YOU DON’T WANT IT TO HAPPEN, GIVE ME YOUR LOCATION.

“How did this happen?” Fluttershy asked.

Carter stopped crying and sighed. “Please please please! I beg of you don’t tell Mom!”

“All right, I won’t. But please explain.”

Carter cleared his throat and belted out the whole story. “It all began with one misinterpreted incident. About a month ago a little girl, even younger than Ashley, slipped and fell in one of the classrooms while reaching for her lunch bag that she forgot in the classroom after everyone else had left. I happened to be passing by, and helped her up and gave her a hug and kiss. However, from the angle of the security camera in the classroom it made it look like I was kissing her on the lips. This freak on Facebook claimed to know all of my friends and hacked the camera and stole the footage. He sent it to me along with this threat that you saw. I don’t know what to do now. I want to call the police, but I’m afraid Mom will get angry and we’ll have to move and everything… it’ll be too stressful.”

Fluttershy sighed. “Sometimes it’s best to do the right thing to solve a problem, even if it means facing the worst or putting all your hopes in one shot. I suppose you’ll be taking care of all this mess, huh?”

Carter banged the desk in frustration. “Yeah. I was going to but then I got this message and…”

Fluttershy cut him off. “Ok, I see. Friends are hard to manage sometimes. Especially if they may not seem like real friends at times.”

Carter nodded sadly. “I’ve tried to make friends at school, but all I got are the top shots at the basketball team I play on. Yeah I hang out with them and stuff but I can’t really call them my friends, ya know what I’m saying?”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “But at least you gave me an opening to a new world where I was take in and loved. You helped me make friends.”

Carter’s eyes widened a little. “I never thought of it that way.”

Fluttershy smiled and put her hooves on his thighs. “I think you can solve this problem with help from the same friend who helped make a friend.”

Carter looked lovingly into her beautiful teal eyes. “You…want to be m-m-my fr-friend?” he stuttered in surprise.

“Of course,” Fluttershy then asked in a sweet voice. “You've proven to be stronger in such unexpected situations than most I've seen.”

Carter laid back on the bed in his PJs, knocking off his socks and pulling the blanket halfway over them. Their heads relaxed on the soft blue and yellow pillows that adorned the bed’s headboard. He looked into her eyes longingly. “Thanks so much.”

Fluttershy smiled with a cute shy blush. “You're welcome.”

Fluttershy curled up and gently closed her eyes, and Carter comfortingly wrapped an arm over her. For Fluttershy, it was an amazingly relaxing and peaceful moment, showing love to someone else she cared for and also who cared for her love and comfort. On the other end, Carter had discovered friendship in someone he’d never even dreamed was possible.

Conflicts and Resolutions

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Morning arrived with an alarming shout.

“CARTER!”

“Unghhhhh! Just a minute, Lorraine?” Fluttershy called out, yawning. “I…just need to wash off in the bathroom.”

Carter’s eyes shot open with fright at the sound. Normally he was a heavy sleeper, always late to the day’s events, but that shout had him jumping up like a cat poked with a broomstick. Neither he nor Fluttershy were in good shape. They both were a bit sore from such a long sleep.

Carter elected to use the bathroom, while Fluttershy grabbed a washcloth and a bar of soap, and flew out the window to the backyard, where she’d use the garden hose to wash off instead.

Carter washed up, before slipped on some new boxers and a new shirt with a picture of New York on it. Fluttershy set the garden hose to a shower mode and opened the valve half way for medium power. After about fifteen minutes, Fluttershy was cleaned up – and she had a sudden thought: if she was clothes-free like this, why weren’t her new family clothes-free like her? Who was in the wrong? Little did she realize that Lorraine would sort this out soon enough.

Once Carter and Fluttershy had finished washing up, they proceeded down the stairs…and saw Lorraine waiting for them, her arms crossed and wearing a frown. The front door lay ajar and behind it stood three policemen.

“Let’s get this over with,” Fluttershy whispered, and stroked his hand with her wing for reassurance.

“I…can explain,” Carter began.

“I’m listening,” Lorraine said in a voice that was almost reminiscent of a lion’s growl.

Carter spilled the lemon juice in the same way that he had with Fluttershy. Then he logged into Facebook on his smartphone, scrolled to the threat, and held it up for the police to observe. “See? Totally legit. I have been accused, and I need to clear myself before it’s too late.”

One of the policemen put his hand to his chin and huffed – in a doubtful way. “You’ll need to come with us for a moment.” He turned to Lorraine. “Miss, you cannot come, as seclusion is needed to bring out the truth in someone.”

Lorraine shed a tear, nodded, and tried to close the door, but Fluttershy pushed past her and ran up to the policemen, skidding to a stop.

“Well…um…I…”

“Sh-she’s my…” Carter tried to spit the words out as handcuffs were slapped onto his wrists.

“—best friend,” Fluttershy finished, and turned into her assertive self. “You can’t take him away like that!”

“I’ll be okay, Fluttershy, I’ll be back! I promise!” Carter spilled the words out quickly before he was ushered into the back of one of the police cars.

Fluttershy nodded sadly, and even waved the policemen good-bye, who in turn, flashed her a smile.

In the police station, Carter was sat down in a chair in a re-enforced room. Two men in suits with guns on their belts walked in and sat down at a desk opposite him. It was nothing new – Carter had seen scenarios like this on TV, but experiencing it himself was a whole new feeling.

“Tell me the story. Will you tell the truth?”

“Yes, sir,” Carter replied, his hands shaking.

Carter then cleared his throat. “It was just before lunch break. Class had finished early. At my school there’s this group of bullies who always pick on, beat up, and demand lunch money from the younger kids and others whom they deem unworthy of living. I slipped into the hall of the lower grades for the girls to avoid them as I headed to the back hall to eat lunch. All of a sudden I heard a slip and crash sound from one of the empty classrooms, followed by crying. I walked over and peeked in. There was a little girl who had slipped and fallen on the classroom floor while reaching for her lunch bag. I took pity on her and wiped the slippery stuff off the floor. Now, when I reflect back, it looked like it hadn’t been there for much longer than a quarter of an hour.”

“So you’re suggesting that it was a setup?” one of the men said.

“Probably,” Carter replied. “Anyways I picked her up like a mother, wiped her tears, handed her lunchbag, and gave her a comforting kiss. I was unaware that a security camera was installed in the classroom. Flash forward to just after dark that day at home on my laptop. An unknown guy by the name of Tyler Zeeba shows up with a message on my Facebook page. And what do I see? A videotape of me in that classroom. But when I looked closely, it appeared, from the camera’s angle, that I was kissing the little girl on the lips and not the cheek, as – I solemnly swear to God – I did not. Thus Tyler not only harshly bullied me but accused me of pedophilia. He claimed to have knowledge of all my Facebook friends, and said that he’d spread the video across the internet giving me a bad name if I didn’t send him my address. Of course I ignored that, but it looks like Tyler backstabbed me anyways.”

“No,” the other investigator said. “He didn’t. The school security saw the footage, mistook it like Tyler, and sent it to us.”

Carter nodded. “Ah, ok. Any other information you need to pull out of me?”

The investigators chuckled a bit. “Well, does your girlfriend have anything to do with it?”

Carter blushed. “I wouldn’t technically call her my girlfriend but no, not at all. In fact, she comforted me after I got worried and scared after I received that Facebook message.”

The investigators nodded. “All right, you can go. We’ll do our best to track down Tyler Zeeba as best we can. Would it be possible if you can give us any info on him?”

Outside at the reception desk, Carter pulled out his phone, logged in, and wrote down everything he could find from Tyler Zeeba’s profile, ignoring the messages, comments, and posts as there were too many to count. The police thanked him for his help and sent him on his way.

Carter took the bus back home, feeling relieved but determined. As much as the police had given him confidence, he knew he had to play his part in resolving the problem. But Lorraine was still ranting.

“How many times have I told you not to message or open messages from strangers!” she shouted as Carter entered the house.

“I only opened it to find the truth. I don’t want anything being hidden from me, especially if it concerns something this dangerous,” Carter replied, trying to calm her down. “Think of it this way: if you were the mayor of LA and scientists found a rip point in the fault line, you’re gonna keep your mouth shut and say to the people ‘that everything will be fine’ and issue no earthquake warnings at all? It wouldn’t be right.”

“You need to stop helping people, Carter! That little girl was just…argh! And isn’t it interesting that this occurred right on the day you let that damn yellow pony in your room!” Lorraine kept shouting, and Fluttershy even wondered if her “mom” had become a psychopath.

Jack noticed as he prepared for work and ran over, his eyes bulging with shock and anger. “Jeez, would you just cut this emotional nonsense already, Lorraine! Come on! It wasn’t his fault!”

Up in his room, Carter hurriedly prepared for school, and informed all his Facebook friends that he would be moving to a new account, and not to visit his old one anymore, in addition to giving a warning to ignore anything sent from Tyler Zeeba. That done, he ran down the steps, slipped on his shoes, trotted through the front door, hopped onto his bike, and pedaled like crazy towards the school.

Fluttershy spent most of her days in Carter’s room. She really wanted to clean it up, but hadn’t come around to asking him. On top of that, Lorraine’s freak-out had terrified her and she didn’t want to come out. It was like the beginning of her Earth arrival all over again. Only when Carter returned would she have that calm, happy, joyful feeling again.

There was a knock at the door. “Flutt—”

“Go away!” Fluttershy snapped, instantly recognizing it as Lorraine’s voice. “You’re such a meanie. I know the truth behind your deceiving behavior, and we’re done! Now go!”

“B-but—”

“I SAID GO!” Fluttershy repeated herself, gulping back a sob. Lorraine sniffled and walked away, while Fluttershy leapt onto Carter’s bed and threw the blanket over her. Only it’s dark, encompassing character could match the way her heart felt.

It was only when she stretched a little after an awful crying session did her hooves touch something under the pillows. She slid it out and flicked on a nearby flashlight…and gasped. It was a photo – a family photo of Carter, on his fifth birthday, at the beach with what Fluttershy guessed were his early childhood friends, and his mother.

She pushed the photo back under the pillow and cried herself to sleep. Lorraine felt alone and crushed, as Fluttershy seemingly no longer viewed her as “Mom” or even family, but as a plain enemy. For the first time she truly felt left alone in the house.

At last Ashley and Carter returned home from school. Carter was in a more positive mood, though this time Ashley was the one who felt sad and upset. She’d been bullied – a little, and it seemed as though Fluttershy was dumping her.

While Lorraine was on the phone, Carter dashed upstairs to his room. Fluttershy was there, sitting on the swivel chair and flipping through an old National Geographic magazine.

“Flutters!” he exclaimed, dropping his backpack and approaching her. “Boy, am I glad to see you!”

Fluttershy blushed. She usually didn’t like nicknames, but the way Carter said it was fine. She closed the magazine and embraced him in a big hug, balancing herself on her hind legs. ‘I’m so happy you’re back, Carter. I need to ask you a question though.”

“What’s that, Fluttershy?” Carter eagerly asked.

“Why was Lorraine so angry before?”

“She didn’t like me using Facebook, but I persuaded her and she eventually said yes, setting certain rules. Now, I didn’t really break those rules, but when this incident happened, I honestly don’t know why she went psycho. Maybe she’s too overprotective of me, as we’ve had some pretty tough times, especially in my early childhood days at school with bullies and stuff. But give her some time, and hopefully she’ll calm down.” Carter explained.

“Oh, because when she came to your door while I was here, I…I exiled her. I told her I didn’t want to be with her anymore,” Fluttershy confessed. “I really have messed up, haven’t I?”

Carter chuckled. “No, you haven’t. Suck it and go apologize to her and console her for the feelings she has for me.”
Fluttershy returned to the first floor and apologized for her mean behavior.

“I’m sorry that I screamed before,” Lorraine said, stroking Fluttershy’s head. “I was just too freaked out over Carter’s safety.”

“I understand, considering your past,” Fluttershy replied, recalling the family photo she’d seen under Carter’s pillow.

Later, after dinner, Fluttershy knocked on Ashley’s door.

“Come in,” she replied.

“I need to tell you something,” Fluttershy said quietly but seriously. “I’m sure you’re wondering where I’ve been. It is true, I’ve been spending a lot more time with Carter, and there’s a reason for that. Your life is smooth, happy, and complete. His isn’t. You’ve heard about all his bullying stories and his troubled friendships, right? There’s a lot of holes, cracks, and gaps that I need to fill up and assist in the healing of. Just because I’m always by his side, doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned yours.”

Ashley gave a slight nod. “I see. But could you at least spend time with me? Please?”

Fluttershy sighed and nodded. “Promise. By the way, I’d like to know more about that metal carriage outside the house.”

Driving Lessons

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Eventually the weekend arrived and finally the family could spend some happy, joyful time together. Fluttershy had made an exception and slept with Ashley that night – having informed Carter beforehand. She didn’t like unequal love. Jack gathered everyone in the family room for a meeting to discuss how the 48 hours they had together would be effectively spent. He started as usual, by collecting ideas.

“I wish we could visit Disneyland,” Ashley said dreamily.

Carter rolled his eyes. She said that every weekend, and Jack always responded with a firm no. However, he had wiser opinions. “I think a movie night with some cold soda and bubbling popcorn sounds good. Camping at Pike’s Peak would also be pretty awesome, although it would most definitely take up much more than two days.”

“Um…I’d like to know more about the metal carriage outside,” Fluttershy said, rather excitedly.

“You mean the blue Mazda 5?” Jack replied.

“Oh, is that what it’s called?” Fluttershy asked. “How does it function? How—”

“—Thanks for asking, Flutters,” Carter interjected. “I’ll scrape out some time and teach you all about it, okay?”

Fluttershy nodded happily.

“Well, I’m going with Carter’s idea, but on a lower scale,” Lorraine suggested. “Instead of going out camping, why don’t we visit the larger recreational park in the south of the city?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jack, Ashley, and Fluttershy all said excitedly at the same time.

That day was a bit of a rush. As everyone prepared and packed, Lorraine called Fluttershy over into her room.

“Can I measure you?” she asked excitedly.

“Sure, Mom,” Fluttershy replied.

Lorraine measured the little pony’s legs, head, neck, and body, taking precise measurements and documenting them down.

“Thank you,” she told Fluttershy, and set to work.

While Ashley finished packing, Carter (who was dressed in a running jersey and shorts) and Fluttershy headed down to the car.

“Ok, Fluttershy, here’s the first step,” Carter began, handing her the keys. “You have the remote start buttons. One is to alert in case of emergency, while the other two are to unlock and lock the doors. You identify them by the lock symbol. See?”

Fluttershy soon caught on, and used her nose to press the ‘unlock’ button, since it was too small for her hoof. Carter then introduced her to the doors themselves, how the doors opened, closed, and locked; basic car symbols for heating and cooling, entertainment system icons, how to move and reposition the seats, and also what the engine was and how it powered the car. Fluttershy learned fairly well, as Carter was patient and repeated anything that she had trouble understanding. From what Carter had explained, cars were very interesting and were very complicated pieces of machinery indeed.

Back in the house, Lorraine had finished up after more than two hours of hard work. She had made several items of clothing for Fluttershy: long-sleeved shirts, a sweater with a hood, a long skirt, a saddlebag, and a dress.

Carter’s mouth dropped open. “You gotta be kidding me. This is just too much.”

“Oh, I think it is just right,” Lorraine said happily. “Are you ready?”

Just then, Fluttershy walked in and when she saw the clothes she was super happy. Carter and Lorraine left to let her try them on. Fluttershy loved the clothes, especially the dress. The saddlebag was her favorite, as it reminded her of her friends in Equestria. She strapped on her saddlebag and Ashley filled it up with some snacks and the newest issue of modernCat magazine.

“Are you ready everybody?” Jack asked as he got into the Mazda’s driver seat.

“Yes, I’m ready,” Fluttershy said, hopping into the back seat, where she could be safe and relax during the long trip. Ashley showed her how to buckle the seat belt, and then Carter hopped in, sporting his new “swaggy” style. That was Carter – the goof who always liked to dress by his own accord, sporting a different style each time. At last everyone was ready, and they drove off.

“Why do you always touch that stick in the middle of the center console every so often?” Fluttershy asked as they proceeded towards the highway.

“That’s the gear stick,” Carter explained. “You can also call it the shifter. Cars have gears. Each gear produces a different amount of speed, strength, and torque.” He then went into details on what those three terms meant before returning to the topic of cars. “The gear stick allows you as the driver to increase or decrease those capabilities. To do so requires another pedal besides the brake and gas. Brake is to stop, and gas is to move forward. The third pedal is the clutch. That pedal is kind of like opening a door. When you press the clutch, the door opens. You can then shift into a gear, and then continue moving forward and release the clutch. However, to move effectively without stalling out, you need to do it smoothly and quickly.”

“What’s stalling?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s when you end up pressing the clutch and the gas at the same time and in the wrong order. The car’s engine then cuts out, and you have to start all over again,” Carter explained. “Anything else you’d like to know about cars?”

Fluttershy was more than happy to request, and Carter explained as much as he could.

“Where did you learn all of this?” Ashley asked as they neared their destination.

“From various sources. I drove this Mazda a few times, as well as my old friend’s Honda Civic EM1, and also from books and videos sent from my Facebook friends.”

But as they all ran out of the car in excitement upon parking, Fluttershy asked Carter a question he wasn’t prepared to answer.

“Can you teach me? I wanna drive too!”

Jack laid down a colorful mat and started to set up a picnic with food that he had made and cooked himself. Lorraine decided to try her hand at a free drop-in track event that was about to take place, while Ashley was eager to swim in the large outdoor pool. Carter and Fluttershy also wanted to take their dip as well.

“Just be careful and don’t get too rowdy out there!” Jack called out as Ashley, Carter, and Fluttershy ran off to the change rooms. Ashley had a bright pink one-piece with yellow flowers all over it, Carter wore a sleek black/white/blue wetsuit, and Fluttershy just wore a fresh pair of panties.

“Want to try a dive?” Ashley said excitedly. “Watch me!” She ran up to the edge of the pool and did a flip and whirl, landing side first in the water with a large splash.

“Uh, um…” Fluttershy whimpered, clearly getting cold feet.

“How about we go together?” Carter said in his low, encouraging voice. “You and me. I’ll be with you. By the way, do you even know how to swim?”

“Yes, just haven’t done so in…so long,” Fluttershy replied. “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

Together Carter and Fluttershy approached the side of the pool and slid in together. Carter practiced his freestyle strokes on the surface, while Fluttershy dogpaddled after him. Many other people in the pool began to notice the two. So Fluttershy did the impossible: she took a gulp of air and dove beneath the surface, propelling herself along the bottom with her hooves among the maze of human legs. The chlorinated water stung her eyes a little, but she didn’t mind –in fact, it actually felt calm and peaceful under the water. But her little lungs soon began to beg for oxygen.

Fluttershy swam up and surfaced in the middle of a crowd of people whose eyes widened and their mouths dropped open.

“Uh, I…um, hi,” Fluttershy said in her usual shy voice, spitting out a little water.

The little kids all gathered around her, feeling all excited and joyful to have a cute pony swim with them. At least they’re kind of like my animal friends back home, Fluttershy thought, as she helped the very young kids overcome their fear of diving and played water games with the older ones. Ashley also had quite some fun with her new kicks and stroke methods. It turned out that Fluttershy was the best when it came to breath-holding. While most of the kids could just about handle a minute and a half, Fluttershy could do three.

After a good energy-consuming swim, Fluttershy, Ashley, and Carter wiped themselves down thoroughly with a towel, changed into fresh dry clothing, and then ran over to Jack to join him with his picnic (which he was sharing with a workmate who also had come to the park for the weekend).
“Hi, kids,” Jack said as they sat down and grabbed paper plates. “This is one of my workmates, Lester.”

“Oh, hi Lester,” Fluttershy said softly with a smile. “I…I’m Fluttershy.”

“Name makes sense,” Lester replied, smiling warmly. “Nice to meet you.”

They all tucked into some sandwiches of their choice. Jack had made four different types – grilled cheese, tuna salad, jam, and egg salad. Fluttershy had two jam sandwiches and drank a tall glass of orange juice. Nothing tasted so good after a great swim.

Carter observed as Jack began to relax and chat with Lester. This was his chance.

“Uh, I need to get something from the car that I forgot, as well as put away the empty containers and stuff,” he asked. “Is that okay with you?”

“Yes,” Jack briefly replied and handed him the keys. Clearly he was too caught up in talk with Lester.

“Come on, Fluttershy,” Carter called, gathering up the empty containers and dropping them into a plastic bag. “Can you help me out?”

“Um, yes,” Fluttershy replied, picking up an empty basket.

Together they walked back to the car, where Carter revealed his hidden plan.

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy whispered, clearly having no idea that her possible chance of returning to Equestria and reuniting with her friends would be enlightened by this venture.

“You asked me, and here’s your chance,” Carter said, his voice deepening with seriousness. “Take it or leave it.”

Fluttershy sighed. “As you wish. But if we get in trouble, I take no blame.”

Carter shrugged. “All right, I think I do remember the basics,” he said unlocking the doors and opening the trunk. Fluttershy climbed into the driver’s seat while he put the picnic stuff in the trunk. The “thing” he needed to get from the car was just a trail map stowed away in the glove compartment.

“All right. First off is the pedals and the handbrake, which is that thick short rod you see right beside you on the right,” Carter said, hopping in the passenger seat beside her and handing her the keys. “Right now the handbrake is up. You push the button at the tip and then push it down when you’re ready to move. When you park, you pull it back up. More on that later.”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Ok, so now let’s get to those pedals. As I had aforementioned, the clutch is the one furthest to the left. Can you reach it?”
“Yes,” Fluttershy replied, stretching her hind legs and sitting upright like a human. “I can reach the other pedals too.”

“Good,” Carter said. “Now press the clutch all the way down.”

Fluttershy stretched her left hind leg all the way down as far as she could reach. The clutch pedal was fully pressed halfway through her stretch.

“Not bad,” Carter replied with a grin. “Rock the gear stick from side to side. Can you do it?”

Fluttershy used her right hoof to grasp the gear stick, and wiggled it. “Yes, I can.”

“All right, let me explain something important here,” Carter began. “Before you start the car, always make sure you can wiggle the stick. If it’s in a gear when you start it, the car will jump forward and cause harm and damage – and it’s not good for the engine. So always make sure it’s in neutral – that’s the ‘wiggle position’ and then start it. Now, with your hoof still on the clutch, put the key in the ignition and turn it.”

Fluttershy took the keys in her mouth, gently pushed them into the ignition slot and turned it. The car’s engine hummed and purred.

“All right!” Carter said happily. “You’ve success fully started the car. Now, let’s get on with movement. A gear stick has what’s called an H-pattern. You see that?”

“Yeah,” Fluttershy replied, noticing the numbers and letters on the top of the gear stick.

“Good. Now, those are the gears,” Carter explained. “You always start from the ‘1’, which obviously is first gear. It’s the one to start off with and get going, with maximum torque. Then as you build speed, you can shift into the next gear. So move it into the ‘R’, which is reverse, since we want to go backwards…nicely done! Now, gently on the gas, the pedal furthest to your right.”

Gulping in fear, Fluttershy gently lay her right hind hoof on the gas, and the car smoothly moved backwards. Carter smiled at her like a father.

“Now, grip the steering wheel and turn it to the right so we don’t hit anything.”

Amazingly, Fluttershy could grip the steering wheel quite well, and caught on to turning it almost by instinct.

“Now, let off the gas, and shift into first,” Carter instructed. “Any time you want to move that gear stick, let off the gas and hit that clutch. Then you can shift, and then return to moving forward or backward again. While you’re moving forward, you just have to put the shifter in the ‘wiggle position’ and press the brake. So let’s go through those steps.”

Fluttershy shifted into first gear and slowly drove down the length of the parking lot, practicing her reversing, steering, braking, and reverse/first gear shifting routines several times over the course of half an hour, all the while guided by the patient and caring Carter.

“You ready for the open road, Flutters?” he asked, as she reversed into the same parking spot where they started. “Or would you like to do it tomorrow?”

Fluttershy’s face fell. “Um…driving seems scary. I’ll need some time to get used to doing it, and even then, I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”

Carter took hold of her chin and turned her head to face him. “Hey. I was scared too, the first time Jack put me in your shoes two and a half years ago. I was shaking, stuttering, and crying. Damaged his precious Honda back then. Took me many months before I could even get to go out on the open road alone. I do agree with you that it can be a bit scary, but it’s not. You need to get used to paying attention to many things occurring simultaneously around you, and stay focused all the time. That’s what driving is all about, practically.”

“But, I can do this, right?” Fluttershy replied with a sad face.

“Yes, you can do it, Flutters,” Carter replied with a warm smile. “Learn at your own pace. And I’ll always be there with you every stage of the way.”

When they returned to the picnic site, Fluttershy and Carter noticed that everyone was gone. However, it didn’t take long to notice Jack and Ashley standing near the track field, along with Lester. It looked like a competition was in session.

“Come on, Flutters! We don’t wanna miss this!” Carter declared, running through the grass towards the track field. Fluttershy flapped her wings hard and flew after him.

However, upon settling down to watch the competition, the two were met with rather disappointed faces.

“Where on earth have you two been?” Jack demanded.

Carter gulped. “It took an awful long time to organize those containers in the trunk, and also had to look over the map. Observed some nice trails and cool spots.”

Fluttershy nodded with the cutest, most convincing face she could. It wasn’t technically a lie, as Carter had found the map and read it.

“So, where’s Mom?” Carter then casually asked.

“She’s finished her training rounds, and is taking a break. For now though, we’re watching the real runners compete in the oval track race!” Ashley announced excitedly.

Fluttershy covered her ears and whirled her mane across her face, as she wasn’t fond of loud, noisy, intense events.

“Can I wait by the trail for you?” she asked.

“Yes you may, but try not to attract too much attention,” Jack replied loudly over the cheering crowd.

Fluttershy gave her thanks and flew over the crowd and towards a large tree, where she could blend in and hopefully enjoy the company of some friendly birds.

After the running competition was over, Fluttershy spent the rest of the afternoon walking the trails with her family, but the prospect of driving still nagged her mind. It was fascinating yet somewhat difficult.

The Biggest Decision

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That evening, Jack and his family went out to the movies, while Fluttershy stayed home. Lorraine was concerned for her safety, but Carter insisted that keeping a shy person (er, pony) in a loud, noisy place wasn’t the best idea.

“I’ll be fine,” Fluttershy reassured her. “I have a quiet, safe neighborhood to live in and if I get scared I have Pat, as well as my animal friends. Besides, I should keep a tab on any missed phone calls.”

With the family gone at the movie theater, Fluttershy had the house to herself. To begin with, she fixed herself with a bowl of fresh fruit and flipped on the TV to see if any late episodes of The Suite Life On Deck had started yet. She enjoyed it for its interesting and slapstick humor that Pinkie Pie would crave. But nothing was on yet, apart from boring old news and the newest Colorado Rockies baseball game.

Shutting off the TV, Fluttershy walked back upstairs to Carter’s room, and suddenly remembered how messy it was. Wouldn’t it be nice if I cleaned it up as a surprise? she thought. It would make him happy…

Fluttershy followed her instincts and began sorting out the room. She filed papers by various categories and arranged them in neat piles on the desk. She used a cloth to wipe down the dirty laptop and used an old fork to scrape gum and gunk off the desk itself, and then tossed all the dirty clothes into a hamper and carried it down to the laundry room. Later, she changed the pillowcases and vacuumed the whole floor, then sprayed rose-scented Febreeze everywhere. The room now was fit for both her and Carter.

She wanted to wash the clothes, but didn’t know how to operate the machine. From what she had seen back in Equestria, clothes were washed with soap and water. Maybe it would work if I used the hose, she thought.

Fluttershy set to work washing the stinky clothes. She dragged a large plastic basin out to the backyard, dumped some of the dirty clothes into it, poured some detergent and baking soda over it, then unscrewed the hose faucet and gave the clothes a real hard spray. As she sprayed, Fluttershy used her hooves to scrub and toss the clothes about in the basin until they were thoroughly covered in the soap. After more than five minutes of continuous washing and scrubbing, she rinsed them until no more soap was left, disposing of the dirty soapy water in the laundry room sink.

Finally, after a full half hour, the clothes were fully washed.

“Hope everypony will appreciate my efforts,” Fluttershy thought, as she wrung the wet, clean clothes tightly over the laundry room sink and hung them on a rack. To help the clothes dry a little faster, she dragged over a portable heater from the garage, plugged it in, turned it up to medium, and placed it near the clothes rack.

Darkness had fallen by the time the family arrived home, and Fluttershy was right there to greet them.

“Hi everypony!” she said happily, fighting back a yawn. “How was the movie?”

“Oh, it was great!” Ashley said excitedly. “There was this big dinosaur that escaped, and the kids running and a woman trying to handle a big situation and—”

“—It was an amazing and epic movie,” Carter cut in, clearly annoyed by his little sister droning too long on one topic. “How was your evening?”

“Well, I read another magazine, and then ate some fruit. Mostly just chilled out,” Fluttershy replied, smiling.

“You look quite tired,” Lorraine said, putting away her shoes. “You should get some rest.”

“What’s that warm draft I feel?” Jack asked, his face full of concern and suspicion. He turned to Fluttershy. “Did you fiddle with the thermostat?”

“No,” Fluttershy replied in her best I’m-being-one-hundred-percent-honest-with-you-sir voice.

Heading to the family room to catch a spot of TV before bed, Jack soon realized what she had done. “Ah, Fluttershy, what would I do without you? Now I don’t have to worry about those stinky clothes of Carter’s.”

Fluttershy laughed so hard she almost tripped on her own tail. “I promise they weren’t perfect, but I tried my best.”

“And I say you did a pretty darn good job of it,” Lorraine replied, smiling.

“Thanks, Mom,” Fluttershy said, giving her a warm hug.

Later as everyone settled down for the night, Fluttershy slept through the first half of the night, but by the second half, just after midnight, she felt a little restless and the stinging flashbacks of Equestria’s beauty and joy made her feel sad and lonely inside. She couldn’t help but think back to the times when Rainbow Dash saved her from bullies in Cloudsdale, or when she had hope in an evil threat – Discord – when no one else had. How she wished to see her pony friends again.

In spite of a slight rainy drizzle, Fluttershy pulled on her hoodie, sneaked out the patio door and went for a walk up the sidewalk she had come to know over the last week or so. She walked up to the intersection that she’d visited only once before, and this time she sat on a bench in a bus shelter and watched a few late night drivers pass by. Then she decided to try something that would change her life: she pressed the crossing button and waited for her green walk signal, as she had seen with other people the week before. Upon crossing the lights, she continued walking – this time westward – down a tree-lined street, before coming upon a parkette. She curled up under a tree, and settled down, tears spilling out of her eyes as she became increasingly concerned for her friends back in Equestria. What if yet another threat came up and she wasn’t there to help them? The Elements of Harmony would not function properly without her.

It was at this moment that a long luxurious black car drove by, carrying a VIP on his way to an event. Observing the parkette, he instantly saw Fluttershy’s swishing pink tail.

“Pull over!” he told his chauffeur. “I need to relax for a moment and let my legs stretch.”

The chauffeur opened the back door and the VIP guy – dressed in a grey suit and black tie – got out of his car, pulled out the titanium umbrella and walked around, while the chauffeur waited inside the Rolls-Royce.

The man walked into the park and approached Fluttershy. His noisy footsteps alerted her, and she looked up in fright.

“Relax,” the man said with a slight chuckle. “There’s nothing to fear. In fact, you seem quite familiar. Now, can you come over to the bench, please? I’d like to have a word or two with you.”

Fluttershy followed him, feeling eager yet nervous. Soon she sat down on the wooden bench and prepped her ears and her mind to analyze whatever was thrown at her.

“Let’s start with names. I’m Justin Davis, owner of world-renowned D & J Enterprises. And you?”

“I…I’m Fluttershy. I really miss my friends in Equestria. I wish I could go back home…to where I belong.”

Justin’s heart melted. He himself had once been reported missing by the police once as a child after a hide-and-seek game with school friends went horribly wrong. The furry, cuddly pony’s adorable face and her shy nature were almost too much for his heart to bear, and he had to reveal his biggest secret. “Listen, Fluttershy, um, I have this top secret project that I’m making, and it’s nearing completion. It’s a portal that can transport people to various alternate universes and fictional dimensions. You said you were from Equestria, right?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied.

“So, if I can find a way to fine-tune the portal to have one of its fictional time movement tunnels direct to Equestria and effectively control it so it doesn’t break or distort, there’s a good chance I could send you home,” Justin explained.

“REALLY?! ARE YOU SURE?” Fluttershy’s mood spun from sad and worried to shocked and excited, like a bullet bouncing off a metallic rock.

“I hope so, and I’d like to ask if you will be the test subject for my portal. However, you must also play your part as well,” Justin told her.

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked, her face now one of concern and enthusiasm.

“Well, I have a car in Albuquerque, New Mexico. You know where that is, right?” Justin asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, but I could look it up. My friend here on earth has a laptop.”

“Okay.” Justin’s voice grew serious but still had a hint of gentleness. “In a garage at a certain address in Albuquerque I have a Toyota Supra that I’m keeping there. I need you to drive it from there to my home in Malibu, California, in five days. Be there before 8:00 p.m. at the least. Can you do it?”

“Um, I do know how to drive,” Fluttershy replied, her voice dripping with doubt, “but I don’t think I can do that. I mean, such a long way to go, and—”

Justin cut her off with an ultimatum. “If you don’t do this for me, I can’t complete the portal – and you won’t be able to get home.”

Fluttershy stiffened, gulped, and let out a big determined sigh. “Okay, Justin. I’ll do it. For you. For me. For my friends. For Equestria!”

Justin smiled and gave her a hug, then ran back to the limo and returned with a clear sealed plastic sleeve and a small box. “Here’s the legal documents for the car, the garage's address, my home address, $10,000 in cash, the key and card to the garage, a cell phone for you to use in case you need to contact me, and a headset for your ears. The keys will be in the garage on a hook. Oh, and if I don’t pick up after three tries, I’m most likely in a meeting. Remember, I’m a busy man. See you in Malibu on Thursday!”

With that, Fluttershy waved with a smile as the chauffeur drove Justin away. And he waved back.

Farewell to Family

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“Are you really going to put all your hope, faith, and focus in one guy?” Jack asked Fluttershy the following morning over breakfast, after Fluttershy told her family (partially) of what happened last night.

“You don’t know that fool!” Carter snapped loudly. “He—”

Ashley took a slice of banana and threw it at Carter’s face. “Knock it off, bro!”

“Carter, there was a time when I didn’t know who you were. I didn’t even know who humans were to begin with, let alone trust!” Fluttershy shot back. “Now you’re gonna automatically say Justin is an arch enemy just because he has more money than you ever will?”

She ended her rant by sticking her tongue out, snapping up the rest of her meal, and darting into the bathroom to wash up without even offering to help out. Having calmed down after brushing her teeth and washing her face, Fluttershy returned to the family room and gave a serious speech to her loving family.

“Guys, I know we’ve known each other for quite a long time, but I’ve only stayed here until such a time would come. I know in your eyes it’s risky and doubtful, but it’s all I got. When I arrived here, all I wanted was to return home to my friends and to Ponyville, and I briefly lost hope in being able to do so. Now, thanks to Justin, my hope has increased once again, and I’m willing to do this for him, and also for Equestria.”

Carter’s eyes started to well up. He ran over and gave her a big hug. “Ah…I don’t really know what to do. I want you to be happy, but I also don’t want to lose you.”

Fluttershy looked straight back into his eyes. “I know. I’ll see if I can come back sometime in the future.”

“But for now, though, let’s practice some more driving, shall we?” Carter replied, sniffling.

Carter whipped up an excuse to go out and buy something “necessary”, and Fluttershy tagged along. It was quite heartwarming to see them being so close together.

“I think my brother had gotten himself a girlfriend all along,” Ashley teased.

After buying the items from the store, Carter continued to teach Fluttershy more about driving – advanced reversing techniques, how to rev match, driving in closed conditions (such as in traffic), and also starting, accelerating, and reversing up and down a hill. Furthermore, he taught her what stop signs, traffic lights, and certain signals meant, in addition to counter-steering techniques and how to fill up the car’s tank with gas at petrol stations. It took some time, but Fluttershy soon mastered manual driving and the world of the roads.

“The thing is, Flutters,” Carter told her as they drove home. “Even though you’ve been through all of this, the law still won’t allow you to drive.”

“Why won’t they let me?” Fluttershy asked, looking a little sad.

“Actually they will, but you have to go through a series of tests – pretty much like I did for you – and then a series of background checks, then you receive a license with points. If you drive incorrectly, such as blowing red lights and stop signs, or going faster than the safe speed limit, you’ll be fined, which means money will be charged on you, and also sometimes points will be deducted from your license. As such, it’s best to abide by rules and regulations,” Carter explained.

“Can I get a license please? Pretty please?” Fluttershy said, flashing pitful eyes.

Carter smiled sadly. “I’ll have to reveal what we’ve been doing together to Dad.”

As Carter and Fluttershy entered the house, Jack had that I’m-not-pleased-with-your-late-return look. But Carter smiled and explained. “Dad, Fluttershy actually wanted to drive, so I taught her. We went through every step of the way, just like you did with me. Now she wants a license. Will you let her obtain one?”

“Actually, Justin didn’t just let me off the hook or something,” Fluttershy said, her voice shy and quiet with painful confession. “He gave me a task. I have to drive one of his cars – which is currently in a garage in Albuquerque – to his home in Malibu. I have to complete my task by the end of next Thursday.”

Everybody’s mouths dropped open with shock, especially Lorraine, who knew that Fluttershy wasn’t going to push aside an opportunity like this so easily, even if she was swayed or convinced.

“But, I wanted to drive before I even met Justin. I found it interesting,” Fluttershy admitted. “Yeah, it was rather complicated and I had a lot to adjust to, but I quite like it now.”

Jack swallowed and his face fell. “I…I know we had a rough start, but I gotta say it, I’m going to miss you, Fluttershy. You’ve been one of the kindest and most helpful people – I mean, ponies – I’ve ever met. Let’s get you that license you deserve.”

With Carter’s help, Fluttershy created her own photo ID card, and then she went with Jack to the government services. However, they saw her as more of a pet than a citizen.

“We both got hair,” Fluttershy hissed under her breath as Jack raved and argued with the employees. Finally, Fluttershy was put to the driving test – and easily passed thanks to her training with Carter. It took some work, but finally, finally, Fluttershy was awarded her license after a week. She had her photo taken as well, since she was above the minimum legal driving age.

Fluttershy was so happy that day that she kept flying and prancing about in the backyard. Now she could finally drive again – without worry or fear. She then prepared to leave, pulling on her skirt and shirt, then pulling on her sweater.

In her green saddlebag, she packed a small first-aid kit, her headset and cell phone, a notebook and two pens, a small blanket, the plastic sleeve Justin had given her, a flashlight, a rain slicker (also specially made by Lorraine), a small container of sliced fruit, a few chocolate bars, and a map of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Arizona, and Los Angeles. Then she headed out the front door and gave a farewell goodbye to her family.

“Don’t forget me!” Lorraine cried, rather excessively.

“I…I won’t ever forget you, Mom,” Fluttershy replied, crying herself. “Thank you for all you’ve done for me.”

“Can we exchange numbers?” Jack asked, a tear dripping from his eye.

“Sure,” Fluttershy said, pulling the phone out of her saddlebag.

Carter hopped into the Mazda 5, while Fluttershy took the back seat.

“See you again…hopefully sometime,” Fluttershy said quietly as they drove off.

Carter’s plan was to drive as close as possible to the south border, where Fluttershy would sneak over into New Mexico.

“Here we are, this is as far as I can go,” Carter said sadly, pulling in front of an old shabby shop in the small town of Trinidad, just west of Highway 25.

“Thanks for all the love you’ve given me,” Carter said.

“And thanks to you too, for showing me how to love, trust, and stand up for myself,” Fluttershy replied with her typical heartwarming smile.

Fluttershy gave him a good-bye kiss, and then she headed for the hills, where she’d rest and sleep for the afternoon.

The Odyssey Begins

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After Carter had left, Fluttershy waited out the daylight, sleeping and gathering energy for the night that laid ahead of her. Covering herself with the blanket, she decided to sleep in one of the shops in the town.

It was about an hour before midnight when Fluttershy made her move. Clicking on the flashlight, she ate half a chocolate bar and headed towards the hills. Only then did she realize how difficult it would be. In pitch blackness, with only a little light from the town, she had 600 feet of sheer rocks and boulders to face. But it was her quickest path to freedom.

“Up we go, up not down, go careful not sloppy or slow,” Fluttershy hummed to herself as she climbed up the rocks, flying over any rocks that were too big or difficult to pull herself up. Having to hold the flashlight in her mouth made the job even trickier. One slip of her lips or teeth, and she’d lose her only source of light – and the climb would be impossible.

That’s why you don’t look down, Fluttershy thought.

But as she pushed herself up one last large slippery ledge, she could see the glow of what she was aiming for – New Mexico. She flew down into a large valley and walked, jogged, and ran across it to the other side, avoiding any obstacles in her way. She passed a group of burrowing animals, an abandoned rusty car, and several boulders.

After a long series of walks lasting an exuberating seventy minutes, Fluttershy made it to another series of hills, this time much easier to climb. When she reached the top, the beautiful yellow, green, and blue lights of Raton, New Mexico, were waiting for her.

“I have arrived!” she announced happily, and flew down towards the outskirts of the city. Big mistake.

“Hey! Over there!” a voice shouted.

Uh-oh. Fluttershy thought. She should have been more thoughtful on the scrutiny of border patrol. Thinking fast, she flew straight down onto the rocky ground and hid behind a large boulder, quietly waiting for the law enforcement officers to pass. Once they were out of sight, she crept out and continued her flight to Raton.

Unlike Manehattan, Raton was actually quite quiet, though fairly busy, especially downtown. Fluttershy finished up her half-eaten chocolate bar and soon found a quiet area inside a hotel lobby where she could assemble her thoughts.

Her plan was to find a truck that would be travelling south on Interstate Highway 25, and stow away all the way to Albuquerque, where she’d get out, then follow the map to the garage. Then she’d drive back onto Interstate Highway 25 south, turn onto Interstate Highway 10, then follow it all the way to California. Approaching Los Angeles, she’d take a shortcut through the mountain roads to avoid LA itself due to the high crime rate and thick traffic. Finally, she’d turn onto the Pacific Coast Highway and drive northwest to Justin’s home.

“How hard could this be?” she thought, heading towards the industrial area of the city to look for trucks. Soon she began to filter out some talk amongst the truckers and their coworkers.

“…yeah, gotta get this load down to Santa Fe…”

“See ya later, good luck getting your packages east to Texas…”

“New shipment is coming to Albuquerque…”

“Yes!” Fluttershy thought, and raced towards the truck from above, on the factory’s rooftop. She peered down at the truck’s open rear doors, waiting for her chance.

As soon as the loading assistant looked the other way, Fluttershy flew down into the trailer and hid behind a pile of the shipping. The doors were shut and locked, and soon, the truck began to move. Through a tiny hole in the truck where rust had eaten through, she could get a tiny glimpse of the road – but that was it. The doors were locked. All she could do now was sit back, wait, and hope that her ears hadn’t fooled her.

While in her “metal coffin”, Fluttershy had a late breakfast of fruit, along with a lunch of chocolate. Soon the trailer felt like a prison. But just as she was about to despair, the loud hiss of the truck’s air brakes came on hard and the loud noises of warehouse machinery filled the air outside.

“Howdy! Welcome to Albuquerque, sir!” a few voices called out.

The trailer doors opened. Fluttershy firmly closed up her saddlebag, slung her pants over her front leg and flew out as fast as she could.

“WHAT THE—” the workmen screamed, but they could not catch her. In a flash she had vanished.

Away from the warehouse, Fluttershy eventually found a road with stores lined along it and headed straight for the nearest pharmacy.

“Hi there,” the cashier said with a friendly smile.

“Good day to you,” Fluttershy replied with her cute smile.

Fluttershy headed directly to the baby section and picked up a small box of tissues, a new blue toothbrush, and a cash pouch. She paid her amount and left, her saddle bag bulging a little.

“Mmm…” she thought, heading inside a restaurant to use the bathroom, glancing at the delicious meals advertised on the screens above the counter. Before leaving, she rinsed the toothbrush in warm water and brushed off all the remnants of the chocolate and rinsed out any acid juice from the fruits she ate. She also noticed the toilet and she soon realized it. So that’s where all the unused stuff goes.

Having dealt with a rather unpleasant situation, Fluttershy walked up the streets of Albuquerque, following her map of the city. Soon she discovered an Internet café. Carter had told her about these places where people who didn’t have computers could use one for a small fee.

She darted in, paid a fee for just half an hour of usage, and sat down in front of the first computer available, next to a young guy.

“Hey, you’re quite cute, girl,” he said with a smile.

Fluttershy blushed. “Um, could you help me find an address?”

“Sure,” the guy replied, moving over and guided her through the process. “Here, in Google, you click the little group of squares. That brings up this pane. Choose ‘Maps’, and then type in your address in the little white box.”

Fluttershy pulled out the plastic sleeve and took out the paper with the addresses Justin had given her. She typed in the garage’s address, and lo and behold, the precise location came up. Scrolling, she soon pinpointed where it was.

“Sweet Celestia, that’s quite a distance!” she whispered to herself.

Fluttershy thanked the man, marked down the location on her paper map with a little star, quickly put everything neatly back in her saddlebag, and exited the café. Further down the road, she pulled out her phone, connected it to the headset, and called Carter.

“Hello?”

“Fluttershy! I’m so happy you called! How are you?”

“Good. I’m in Albuquerque now, heading to the garage near the city’s heart. It’s going to be quite a long way. We’ll talk later, okay?”

Carter smiled and even cried a little knowing his special somepony was happy and safe. “Sure. Thanks for letting me hear your voice again.”

“No problem. Talk with you soon,” Fluttershy replied, and hung up.

Fluttershy then decided to take the stowaway option once more – this time in the back of pickup trucks. She rode through the main city streets, staying away from the highway, and flying from vehicle to vehicle if the current one she was travelling in strayed away from her direction. While stuck in traffic, she began to notice several people observing her with their eyes wide open in shock. One little girl even rolled down her passenger window and tried to reach out.

“Be careful, little one!” Fluttershy called out. “You’ll hurt yourself!”

The little girl soon got an earful from the driver, and Fluttershy crouched down to avoid the gaze of the pickup driver who glanced in the rearview mirror.

Down the road, Fluttershy began to get hungry, but she’d finished all the fruit she’d previously packed, and there was only one chocolate bar left. While all the restaurants in the plaza were very alluring, she knew that she couldn’t divert from her path towards the location. Added to which, the day was leaning on, with the late afternoon fast approaching. And there was still about 3 miles to go.

Screaming Down The Road

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Darkness had fallen by the time Fluttershy had reached the center of Albuquerque, and it was getting fairly cold.

Pulling on her sweater and shining her flashlight on the map, she now saw how close she was – just a few more traffic lights to go. Soon, the bright lights shinign on the red garage doors came into view just down a side road. Fluttershy flew out of the pickup truck bed and landed on the sidewalk. But not before being noticed by the truck driver himself. Whilst still in traffic, he pulled to the side and ran down the sidewalk after her, his voice roaring with fury.

“Come here, you little thief!” he screamed. “You stole something from the back, didn’t you? You stowaway!”

Fluttershy simply flew up and rested on the metal ornate curves of a lamppost, where he couldn’t reach her, and then she spoke up. “I didn’t steal anything from you. I just needed to get somewhere quickly, so…yes, I did stowaway. You’d make more friends with people if you just showed a little more kindness and stopped being so mean. How would you even know if I was stealing if you never looked in the back of your truck to begin with? You’ll be really lonely if you assume the worst from people without asking them nicely before stating something about them. And if you don’t mind…I’m sorry I stowed away. I didn’t mean any harm to you or to anyone.”

The muscular man was left speechless for several moments. Finally he blurted out, “I’m sorry I accused you of theft. But please don’t go hiding in the back of people’s trucks without asking them. Are you lost?”

Fluttershy’s face relaxed, and she smiled. “I was lost at one point, but I finally found the right track and I’m on my way.”

“Good,” the man replied, and turned to walk back to his truck. “Well, good luck on your journey. Have a good night!”

“You too,” Fluttershy replied with her typical cute smile, sliding down the pole and resting her hooves on the ground. Once the man was gone, she continued on to the garage, which in fact turned out to be a storage facility. She flew around the lot until she came to the main office building, and walked in – five minutes before closing time.

“How can I help you?” one of the employees asked, her nametag identifying her as Katie.

“Hi,” Fluttershy said, smiling. “I need to know where the garage door for Justin Davis is.”

“That would be number 355,” Katie replied. “Gates will be closing soon.”

“I’ll be out soon,” Fluttershy promised. Swiping her card through the electronic slot check-in point, the gates to the storage area opened. It wasn’t too hard to recognize the garage doors with their bright red paint and big white numbers. Fluttershy wasn’t too good with numbers, though, unlike Twilight Sparkle, who could solve a three-point trigonometry problem in ten seconds flat. After three minutes, she finally spotted it near the end of the third aisle.

Fluttershy ran over to the door, rummaged for the key, pushed it into the lock, and used her teeth to turn it; the lock opened with a click. She then took off her saddlebag and pushed the big red door up with all of her strength, then flipped a few switches, illuminating the garage with light. It was only then that she saw the significance of the car. It was a 1995 MKIV Toyota Supra, with sleek grey paint, shiny chrome wheels, and a large rear spoiler. Not to mention the focused, intimidating look it had.

“Closing in three minutes,” a loudspeaker somewhere nearby announced, and some red strobe lights by the gate started to flash.

I gotta get out of here now! Fluttershy’s eyes widened. She spotted the keys on a hook on the wall, grabbed them, and unlocked the door. Pushing the door open, she jumped into the seat, slammed the clutch, shoved the key into the ignition, and turned it. The Supra’s turbocharged straight-six engine roared to life, flooding the garage with a loud sound.

“Aaaaaaaah!” Fluttershy covered her ears, trying to muffle the sound. After a few moments she got used to it.

“The gate will close in two minutes,” another announcement came out over the loudspeaker.

Fluttershy ran out of the car, grabbed her saddlebag, tossed it onto the passenger seat, and then tossed three old pillows into the car as well. She held the garage key in her mouth, and carefully drove the car out of the garage. Afterwards, she quickly shut off the lights and yanked the garage door down, causing it to hit the concrete floor with a thundering bang! that made her jump a little, before locking it up.

“One minute to closing time,” the loudspeaker announced again, just as Fluttershy was locking up the garage. It was now or never.

Fluttershy jumped back into the Supra, not even bothering to put on her seat belt or lock the car door. She dropped the garage key on the dashboard, pushed the stick into first gear and took off down the aisle as fast as she could. But as she veered around the corner, the gate was just beginning to close. Pressing the gas harder, Fluttershy engaged the Supra’s turbo, sending her rocketing towards the only exit. She cleared through it, the side mirror missing the gate by a few mere centimeters, hitting the brakes just long enough to avoid hitting any traffic. She parked by the side of the road, and swiped her card once more to check out.

That was seriously dangerous, she thought, still breathing heavily from her close call. Now that she could move freely again, Fluttershy set things up in the Supra. She properly laid her saddlebag on the passenger seat, put the garage key back in the saddlebag, and pulled out the Supra’s license, insurance, and registration papers and put them in the glovebox. Then she laid her headset and cell phone on top of the saddlebag for easy reach in case of a call. Finally, she stacked up the pillows behind her back on the seat to allow her to be closer to the steering wheel, as well as for her hind legs to be able to reach the pedals and press them to their full extent.

With a cockpit around her, a warm sweater, and comfy pillows supporting her back, Fluttershy buckled up in the racing harness, checked her map, firmly gripped the TRD steering wheel, and drove back onto the open road. Now at last, she was on the move once more – but this time with no sneaky border crossings or stowing away in the back of an 18-wheeler or jumping from pickup truck cargo bed to pickup truck cargo bed. She now had a car that she could drive.

Or could she? This was no ordinary manual car; it was really complicated. There was a button to select traction control, a gauge to measure the amount of boost, and a small circular pod with some buttons and a little digital display that Fluttershy didn’t know about. It even had a touch screen head unit. The steering felt solid and controlled, while the steering itself was precise yet a little stiff. But was most astonishing for Fluttershy was the gauge cluster. The Mazda 5 she had previously driven revved to only 8k, while the Supra revved all the way to 10k. The speedometer went all the way to 320 km/h.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. Could the car really go that fast?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the cell phone. Fluttershy slipped on her headset and picked up.

“Um, hello?” she said in her cute shy voice.

“Hi Fluttershy!” This time it was Ashley, and by a stifled yawn Fluttershy could tell she was in bed. “How are you? Just wanted to say good night.”

Fluttershy blushed with a little giggle. “Actually I have finally found the garage and picked up the car. It’s not an ordinary one, I can tell you that. It looks, feels, and sounds like a racing car. Scared me the first time I started it up. Anyways I’ll be heading down to the highway and continue on through the latter half of the night after I get something to eat and get a good rest. Bye for now, Ashley. I miss you already.”
Ashley smiled and teared up a bit, just like her brother. “I miss you too. Bye, Fluttershy.”

“Bye.” Fluttershy hung up and continued through the night traffic without hitting anyone. Carter had taught her well. With the time so late at well past 8:00 p.m., it was hard to find a restaurant that was open. Just when she was about to give up, she stumbled upon a pizza parlor on her way back to the main road.

Fluttershy stepped inside and let her little nose soak up the beautiful smell of fresh baked pizza dough, stir-fried vegetables, and sizzling fried chicken. It felt great to be in a place full of food once again. She ordered one medium-sized vegetarian pizza, a slice of apple pie, a small container of fries with ketchup, and three bottles of water. She ate a quarter of the pizza and a bit of the fries. Carrying the items back to the car was not easy, and took two trips. But soon, Fluttershy was on the road once more, this time with a food stash that she could eat later.

With her belly full, Fluttershy pulled into an old parking lot, parked the Supra, shut it off, and walked around for a while to let her stomach relax, then she pulled out the blanket, settled down in the Supra’s boot, and curled up to sleep, keeping the boot propped open slightly with a small stick.

Some eight hours or so later, Fluttershy awoke to the sound of loud banging and knocking. It turned out, she had parked in a construction site, and the workers were just starting their new day.

So was she. Having achieved a good length of sleep, her body felt energized and ready to drive.

“Aaaaaaaah,” she yawned, stretching and gently flapping her wings. “Another good day, even if it’s a bit noisy.”

Fluttershy tossed away the stick, closed the boot, and hopped back into the driver’s seat, just as one of the construction workers approached her.

“What are you doin’ here?” he demanded. “This is a construction site, not an RV campground!”

Fluttershy cowered and her face fell. “I…I’m sorry, I didn’t know. It was earlier in the night when I came here and I couldn’t see the signs well. I’ll be on my way soon.”

The construction worker nodded and walked away. Fluttershy pushed the clutch and turned the ignition key, awakening the engine once more. She gave it a few good startup revs up to about 4ooo rpm. With her window down, it was loud.

Fluttershy took a brief drink of water, drove out of the construction site, and rejoined the main road. It became rather boring, even though there was less traffic. Finally, she noticed what she’d been looking for: a sign that pointed towards southbound Interstate Highway 25.

“Back onto the highway, here we…um…go!” Fluttershy squealed with last-minute fear as she drove down the ramp and joined the main highway. She’d only driven up to 70 km/h in the Mazda 5, and she’d never driven on the highway. All she knew about the highway was that there were a lot of cars that constantly changed lanes, and that the left or right lanes often branched out to return to main roads in the city or to join other highways.

Fluttershy’s fear overpowered her, and soon she was going only about 80 km/h, forcing many cars behind her to slow down or change lanes quickly. One even blared his horn loudly in frustration.

“Let’s just go through this again,” she told herself, pulling over to the side and flipping on her hazard lights. Flicking on her flashlight and opening the map, she looked at her route more closely in detail, and saw that it was a very long route with two checkpoints at the borders of Arizona and California. But most of it was just long, straight highways.

Pumping her courage back up, Fluttershy folded up the map, shut off the flashlight, shifted back into first gear, and slowly increased her speed, watching her gauge cluster and counting.

“That’s 4000 rpm, and 60 km/h. 70, 80, 90, 110. Good.”

However, once she stepped really hard on the throttle, the turbo spooled up and the car just took off like a rocket, the engine almost screaming with fury as the revs shot up to 8000 rpm and the speed increased to 130, then to 150, then 180. Fluttershy’s head was pushed hard back against the pillows and her soft fur waved slightly. It took all of her self-control and strong grip on the steering wheel to hold on and not lose control as the Supra kept accelerating as she shifted up into third gear. Soon the cars that previously seemed almost on the horizon suddenly seemed so near.

“Woah!” Fluttershy said, releasing her right hoof and downshifting into second, lowering her speed down to a modest 95 km/h.
For once, the car seemed smooth and a real joy to drive as Fluttershy changed lanes and continued out west into the night, desparately trying to tolerate the feel of boost. It was a real shocker, and even after five brief pulls, it still frightened her.

“Just…amazing,” she whispered to herself as she increased her cruising speed to 110 km/h.

The miles and the hours rolled by, with the traffic congestion increasing a little as she neared the Elephant Battle Reservoir, roughly halfway between Albuquerque and the city of Las Cruces. The sky was a dark purple, signaling the arrival of daylight. And already the Supra’s fuel gauge needle was getting ever closer to the red line.

So Fluttershy pulled over and rested by the side of the road for a while, then relieved herself discreetly behind a large leafy bush, out of sight. With that discreet act done, she washed her hands with the second water bottle and the hand sanitizer and ate up the apple pie. Having finished eaten, Fluttershy got back on the road, this time trying to be more careful with her fuel economy as she continued on to the small town of Hatch, where she could refuel.

Hopefully they’ll have 98 octane gas, she thought hopefully, turning off the highway as the sun finally rose, blanketing the earth in a lovely bright yellow light.

As the sun continued to rise, Fluttershy scoured the petrol station, observing each of the gas options.

“Regular, Plus, Ultra…Super Octane. Yay!” she exclaimed, and opened up the gas tank. Then she unscrewed the gas cap and started pumping smooth succulent eco-friendly gas into the Supra’s tank until it was completely full. As she entered the store to pay for her gas, her eyes caught sight of a TV on the wall. On the screen was a picture of her in the back of that very pickup truck.

She gasped and ran towards the door, fearing for her life.

“Wait, please!” the man at the counter called out. “I won’t let anyone harm you, I swear! You pose no harm to anyone.”

Fluttershy froze halfway through the doorway, hearing the man. She turned around and re-entered the store cautiously. Carter had taught her to be careful with whom she trusted with information.

“It’s been quite some time since a pony came here,” the man teased as Fluttershy handed him a few banknotes. In return for the change and his promise, Fluttershy gave the man a comforting hug before leaving.

Back on the road, Fluttershy began to feel more confident at driving the Supra. But something was nagging her about the little circular pod with the little digital display. So she called Justin.

“Wassup, Fluttershy?” Justin’s smooth informal voice flowed out.

“Hi, Justin, I was just wondering about this small circular pod with a digital display just to the left of the steering wheel. What is it and what’s it for?”

“That’s the boost controller. You can control how much water is sprayed onto the intercooler, and how much boost you want at certain RPM ranges.”

Fluttershy slowed down and pulled over to the side.

“Okay, so first press the MODE button,” Justin explained. “Then…let’s see…from that, choose your boost unit.”
“I’ll take PSI,” Fluttershy said. ‘What’s next?”

“Now, press the mode buttons to adjust the PSI. The digital display will show the number. The higher the number, the more PSI you have – and the faster you’ll go. It’s best to map the boost to be activated fully after 6000 rpm. Maximum is 40 PSI – which I would not recommend.”

As she pushed the buttons, the display showed the boost level at 20 PSI! No wonder her socks flew off during that pull the day before.

“Thank you, Justin,” Fluttershy replied, and hung up. Flipping through the files and papers in the glovebox, she came upon the gauge’s instruction sheet. After following the instructions carefully, she had the settings that she’d be comfortable with: 11 PSI at 6000 rpm. In other words, the lowest boost setting possible.

With the boost at minimum, Fluttershy started to handle the boost, and soon managed to adjust her seating position and body movements with the power of the Supra. That was one thing that Fluttershy quickly learned about driving a Toyota Supra: it was powerful beyond limits, maybe even more powerful and faster than Rainbow Dash. If you didn’t pay complete attention when putting your foot down, it would wiggle dangerously. And the engine was tougher than all of Big Macintosh’s legs put together. Even after countless highway pulls, it still ran smoothly and swiftly and pulled strong every time, with practically no boost leaks.

Outlaw Or Not?

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Just before noon, Fluttershy reached the city of Las Cruces. With its quiet yet popular white sand beaches, tall mountain range, and semi-desert climate and surroundings, it was one of the most beautiful places she’d ever seen. It looked so good, she decided to write down a journal entry in the notebook she’d brought along, planning to collect them all and ask Justin to mail them to Carter when her journey was over.

After checking her map, Fluttershy soon figured out a quick route to the westbound Interstate Highway 10. Little did she suspect what was awaiting her.

Stopping by an open desert landscape on the outskirts of the city, Fluttershy made a small fire to reheat her pizza and fries, and finished them up. With a full belly, she threw the packaging and the chocolate wrappers away in a recycling bin, took a brief walk through the desert landscape, observing and enjoying the company of lizards, birds, and even rattlesnakes.

“Goodbye New Mexico,” she whispered to herself, turning onto the highway and heading west towards Arizona. She had only about forty hours to her deadline, and she still had an hour or so to go before she reached the Arizona border.

But that’s where the trouble started. With the sight of the border crossing nowhere appearing on the horizon, loud noises started coming from behind Fluttershy. Glancing in her rearview mirror, she spotted several single headlights and one pair. It was a group of three bikers and a Corvette.

And they sure didn’t look like they were just out to cruise like her. They were after something.

Two of the bikers lined up beside Fluttershy and pulled out guns.

“Pull over!” they demanded. Fluttershy picked up her speed a little and veered over to the side of the road, hit the brakes, flipped her hazards on, and got out. The bikers and the Corvette stopped behind her and took off their helmets.

“I thought that Justin punk was done with me, and that we had an agreement,” one of the bikers, Jesse, said, walking around the Supra and observing it. “He gives me the greater share back, the parts fit together, and the car runs like a dream. Everyone’s happy.”

“I was asked to drive this to his home, what else do you all wanna know?” Fluttershy said, clearly annoyed by their presence.

“Justin paid me for a few parts in this machine over a certain deal that he would pay me a greater amount on a fixed rate. But now he dropped it and broke the deal. He broke up with me, and now I want my fair share.”

“As a matter of fact, Justin is being fair,” Fluttershy snapped. “You’re the one who’s being unfair by demanding more than what you deserve. Each side should get the same amount, so there’s no advantage on either side. Anyways I have nothing to do with it. However, I’ll tell Justin about it, and you and he can battle it out later however you wish.”

“Fine,” Jesse huffed, turning to his fellow bikers. “Let’s go. I’ll see you later. Be ready to have that furry yellow flank of yours handed to you.”

Fluttershy snickered and bit back a giggle. “You’re gonna need more than that crotch missile to deal with Justin.”

“Pffft, I got something for ‘em,” Jesse replied, hopping onto his bike.

Fluttershy leapt back into the Supra and drove away, wondering what on earth a guy like Jesse would want beef with her?

Down the road, Fluttershy relaxed, thinking that she’d eluded them, and that her troubles were finally behind her. But just a few minutes later, the hooligan bikers and the Corvette were back on her tail. It didn’t take long to realize what they wanted to do: race her as a test.

Prepping herself, Fluttershy fiddled with the boost controller and turned the boost up to 30 PSI.

The three bikers lined up beside her, jumping a little for encouragement, while the Corvette brought up the rear.

“Fine. Here we go,” she said, slamming the gas in second gear, launching the Supra forward with incredible power. The bikers gained speed, and for the first time, she witnessed just how powerful they were. Determined not to lose like her friend Rainbow Dash, she brought the revs as close to the redline as she dared and quickly shifted into third gear, trying not to lose control as the Supra’s speedometer jiggled around the 140 km/h mark. As the bikes began to walk away, Fluttershy accelerated once more and just kept going faster, trying to keep her shifts as quick as possible to avoid losing boost.

Soon she finally passed the bikers at 240 km/h, trying not to lose control. Up ahead lay some traffic. But that anger and love in her heart for Justin caused her to whip up an idea to get rid of Jesse and his henchmen. While still travelling mind-blowingly fast, she swerved in front of the bikers and gently tapped the brakes. Jesse and his gang crashed into rear end of the Supra with a series of bangs and hits and crash sounds. With the bikers and their bikes scattered along the rightmost lane, Fluttershy then continued along. But the guy in the Corvette witnessed the incident – and angrily took off after her.

Fluttershy now had to use strategy to lose the Corvette guy. She didn’t want to hurt them, she just wanted them off her tail.

With the traffic spaced apart a little, she squeezed down partially open lanes, swerving and putting down as much power as she could in any stretch of open road. She made a risky move behind a large truck, but the Corvette went too fast while swerving to catch up and clipped the truck’s rear bumper and spun out, hitting the concrete barrier at high speed.

Fluttershy winced as she noticed it in her rearview mirror. But that was his fault of going too fast, not hers. Relieved with her escape, Fluttershy joined the traffic jam that slowly advanced at a crawling space.

Finally, by late afternoon, she reached the Arizona border, where there was a checkpoint, as all border crossings had. Fluttershy watched as people handed stuff to officers to inspect and came out of their cars to have other officers check them all over for any foreign items. They also scoured the cars for any illegal items. Finally it was her turn.

Fluttershy came to a stop, got out of the car, and opened the trunk, hood, and doors. “Hi there. You may search, I haven’t got anything bad in here.”

The officers also filtered through the glovebox and her saddlebag.

“You got any ID?” one of them asked.

Fluttershy gulped. “Um…I do have a card,” she said, pulling out her ID card she had made. I’m not even from Earth to begin with.”

The officer ruffled his beard in doubt.

“And here’s my license,” Fluttershy said, pulling out a smaller card. “It’s a universal license which means I can drive anywhere in any state.”

It took some time, but Fluttershy and the Toyota Supra soon successfully passed through the checkpoint. The Supra’s license and registration papers were thankfully completely legal.

Just a kilometer from the checkpoint in Arizona, Fluttershy put the Supra into third gear and took off down the highway once more, heading northwest for Phoenix as the sun began to set on the second day.

Fluttershy smiled at the feat of her fast driving. In the 35 hours since she left the storage garage, she had covered over 400 miles across New Mexico and nearly half of Arizona.

The sun set as she continued on her way down Interstate Highway 10, whispering a goodnight to Princess Celestia, even though she couldn’t see or hear her. With little or no buildings or large rocks in the way, the sunset was clear, vivid, and strikingly beautiful. Photo Finish would have made a fortune off fashion photos with it as the background.

“All right, Phoenix coming up…soon,” Fluttershy thought, noticing a sign indicating how far away the city was in kilometers.

Bored with doing nothing but driving, Fluttershy started to fiddle with the Supra’s touch screen head unit, trying to figure out what buttons did which. It had a login screen, but the administrative account had no password, so she was able to get in.

The head unit was like Carter’s computer, and could access almost the same things – Internet, video streaming, and even Facebook. Soon she found an icon that said “Maps”. Instantly it showed her a map of where she was and where she was headed.

“Okay, so that gives me my current location and how far away I am from the nearest accommodations. Then the MODE function gives me the map in three different modes…” Next, she discovered the radio function, and soon began to sift through various channels.

“All the best deals from Phoenix’s best Kia dealership, with 0% down payment…”

Pulling a face, Fluttershy skipped to the next channel, which was about sports, which she wasn’t much of a fan of either. Tapping the frequency buttons on the screen a few more times, she came upon a brief loud news announcement, followed by a chill-style intro. This preceded the soft voice of a young man over a repetitive yet smooth piano roll. The singer continued, singing sadly about how he had helped someone, loved them dearly, and how she had given him faith, then she left and he felt sad and lonely. He asked out where she was now when he needed her the most.

Finding the tone of the song relatively calming, she navigated to the volume controls and turned the level up to around 40.

I could get used to this type of singing, she thought. Suddenly after repeating the chorus line, the song broke into a crazy bass-banging rhythmic mix of drums, a flute-like sound, and several other musical effects only Vinyl Scratch would know of. Normally Fluttershy would enjoy various types of tunes, but this part of the song was considerably louder, and she hurriedly turned the volume down a little.

As the song progressed, soon retuning to its somber state, Fluttershy soon felt sad again, as the song’s significance was an instant reflection of her heartbreaking experience of leaving the family she had known, trusted, and loved. It wasn’t long, however, before the bass-filled rhythm returned, but Fluttershy actually began to break into it, not even realizing her head and shoulders were bobbing and shaking along to the beat. The song was very concluding and solemn. Several other songs played, but Fluttershy didn’t care for them much. That one song she heard was one she wouldn’t forget so easily.

Just as she approached Phoenix, another song came up that caught her ears, and she turned up the volume. It began with a hard piano note and a hollow voice calling out: ooooh woooooah oooooh woaaaaaah, ooooh woooooah oooooh woaaaaaah. This was followed by a rhythmic drum beat, which preceded some vocals describing how the singer felt bad about his numerous mistakes and how those around him would get angry at his honesty and wouldn’t accept his apologies.

But it was the song’s chorus that really stood out. Not only was it seriously catchy, but the meaning of the lyrics was something that struck Fluttershy hard in her heart: was it too late to say sorry to the family she had left behind in one doubtful bet to try to return home?
With tears in her eyes and a slight smile, she kept repeating the song’s chorus. Even after the song ended, she still kept singing it to herself solemnly. Was it too late to say sorry to Carter? To Ashley? To Lorraine? And to Jack?

Yet another thought ran through her mind as she entered Phoenix, and that was back to Jesse and his gang. Would they recover and come back for revenge? And would Justin be okay, now with a knife literally coming towards his head? And what about herself? Was she the outlaw, sneaking through the law by attempting to do things that were only meant for humans?

Onwards to California

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At last Fluttershy entered Phoenix. After legally parking the car in a small parking lot, she undid the racing harness and clumsily climbed out. She could hardly walk after sitting inside the Supra for so long. Stopping at a late-night McDonalds for a bathroom break, she then took a short walk down the long roads on the outskirts of the city, observing the other cars drive by and the tall leafy trees gently blow in the calm wind. After such a long drive, walking did feel very relaxing indeed.

However, just up the street, she noticed a group of men on bicycles. However, there was no Corvette, so she didn’t suspect anything really, and drew ever closer to the intersection.

But then she saw a familiar face behind his red and black helmet visor. The bruise above his left eye clearly showed that he had fallen badly – and thus had to be Jesse. She looked a little harder – and then Jesse noticed her.

Without even a single shout-out, he gunned the motor and headed straight for her, even though traffic was still speeding by and the light was clearly red. His men followed.

“Aaaaaaaaah!” Fluttershy gasped and ran, aiming for the trees behind her, hoping to gain a height advantage, but Jesse pulled out his gun and shot her wing, causing the tips of several feathers to snap, producing considerable pain. Fluttershy squealed in pain and fell to the ground.
Jesse and his gang dismounted their bikes, pulled off their helmets, and gathered around the helpless pony.

“I warned you,” Jesse hissed. “But you didn’t listen. Or perhaps you didn’t understand my clear words.”

Her head still spinning from the fall, Fluttershy stroked and shook her injured wing. “How did you all survive?”

Jesse sneered and kicked her hard in the stomach, knocking her backwards on her back. “Just a few bruises. You should be smart enough to know we’re not eggs.”

In the midst of her daze, Fluttershy noticed a few things around her. There were a few rocks lying about, and a length of black cord was hanging from one of the bikes closest to her, and it had a bottle of nitrous attached to it.

Fluttershy swallowed and sighed in pain and sadness. She didn’t want to hurt or severely maim these people, but their ruthlessness and cruel behavior left her no choice.

Acting fast, she punctured a hole in the hose line attached to the bottle of nitrous so it leaked, and yanked out a line of the cord all around to the other bikes. Then she pretended to be weak, lying down and moaning excessively.

“Look at this weakling girl,” Jesse scoffed, laughing along with his men. “She can drive a car but she can’t defeat us. Come on, let’s go claim our trophy.”

“Not today,” Fluttershy snapped, and struck two fragments of the rocks she had seen together. Sparks flew, the line ignited, and the bottle of nitrous oxide caught fire and blew up all the bikes, knocking Jesse and his men back with the blast, and also sending a wave of heat across Fluttershy’s back.

Acting fast like she had done with her bear friend back home in Equestria, Fluttershy attacked Jesse head-on, kicking and punching him until he was out cold. It took just a slap and a face kick for his men to pass out too.

With the men unconscious, Fluttershy called the police, and watched over the men until the sirens signaled the cops’ arrival.

“What on earth is this all about?” one of the cops asked.

Fluttershy shrank back, but soon opened up her mouth and told the whole story – how Jesse threatened her, the physical actions he did, and what she did to defend herself. It took some convincing, but the cops decided not to press charges against Fluttershy for her near-lethal bike blowup.

With Jesse and his meanies finally out of the way, Fluttershy could finally roam the streets in peace. As she travelled by day and entered cities by night, many stores were closed. So, she decided to go and spend some time sleeping with the animals in a nearby park. Although there were only chipmunks, blackbirds, pigeons, and squirrels around, it was enough for her to feel happy and relaxed during her night sleep.

After a good night’s sleep, Fluttershy woke up to a bright lovely morning, only to discover that her time was running out. It was Thursday, and she had to be at her destination before sundown.

“I…hope I won’t be too late,” she whispered worryingly to herself.

“Um, thanks for keeping me company, guys,” she quietly told the birds and squirrels, “but I really have to go. I mustn’t be late.”

Ensuring that her bladder was completely empty before leaving, Fluttershy raced back to the Supra, hopped in, started up the engine, and drove through Phoenix, filling the Supra up with more gas, picking up a few food refreshments on the way, and cleaning out the passenger seat.

Heading back onto westbound Interstate Highway 10, she turned the boost up to 25 PSI and went for it, increasing her speed. The revs climbed, and so did the speedometer needle.

“That’s 140, 160, and now 200 kilometers an hour!” she exclaimed with happiness, whizzing past the other cars and trucks as if they were standing still as statues. The loud exhaust of the turbocharged 2JZ straight-six cylinder engine roared as Fluttershy drove the Toyota Supra through the lanes of Arizona’s western highway at mind-blowing speed.

After a mile-and-a-half long 220 km/h run, Fluttershy slowed down and turned the head unit back on, this time checking her map information tables.

“Right, so I am roughly two hours from Quartzite, on the western border,” she thought, analyzing her time gaps. “That should give me approximately six hours to drive across California once I get across that border.”

However, when she switched back to the radio, all she got was a crazy whiz of electronically stitched notes, occasionally interrupted by cuts of voices. Switching to another station, she found a nice soft love song with a strong drum beat and atmospheric backing vocal effects. The singer described how he would feel content and close to his love as they made out, and also about annoying the neighbors in a place that was clean yet dirty at the same time – the bed. He also mentioned a notable line, stating that such a place was a paradise yet at the same time, it was a war zone.

Fluttershy quietly sang along, thinking back to the marriage of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, and how Queen Chrysalis attacked, as well as the story that Carter told her about his break-up with his first girlfriend. How ironic and sad it was that love and intimacy was something so loved and enjoyed by many that they would fight each other for it and also break apart from each other due to it.

As the afternoon drew ever closer, Fluttershy finished eating up the last of her meal and approached the border crossing checkpoint.

This ought to be quick, I’ll be at the other side in no time, she thought.

However, the officers were even stricter then the ones back in New Mexico.

“Please don’t scratch the car!” Fluttershy begged them, as they opened up every nook and cranny of the Supra’s interior. They even looked underneath the car for any signs of foreign objects.

Fluttershy’s ID did appear to be pretty legitimate, and her driving license was fully approved, despite the points she received earlier in New Mexico for speeding. To earn a bit more respect from the officers, she cleaned out the small mess she had made from eating, and also threw away the packaging, placing the trash in a garbage bin and anything recyclable in a recycle bin.

Having gone through all the background checks, the Supra thoroughly investigated, and registration and insurance approved, Fluttershy finally started up the straight-six engine once more, and drove into the welcoming arms of California, the Golden State.

The Final Run

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By now it was the afternoon, and the sun was preparing for its descent towards the horizon.

“Five hours and a few hundred miles to go,” Fluttershy thought, navigating through lanes of traffic to get in front, where the road would be clear. “I can still do this. Oh my friends, I am coming home.”

After twenty minutes of flicking the indicator lights and swerving, she finally found an opening, and with the boost set to a high setting of 30 PSI, hit the gas hard, flying down the highway, smashing the speed limit as the speedometer needle passed the 170 km/h mark, then the 220 km/h mark.

Oh Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy thought with a giggle, amidst the crazy speed and the screaming sound of boost from the huge turbo. You’d be sooooooooooooooooooo jealous if you knew what I’m doing now.

After another long high-speed run, she slowed down to a modest 105 km/h and kept going. Down the highway, however, she faced a big problem. Interstate Highway 10 split into two highway: the main going northwest and the other heading slightly south.

“Hmmm,” she thought, slowing down to give her mind more time to stir up a good solution. Finally she decided to stop. But as she pulled over to the side, a little scraping sound came from the rear of the car.

Upon stopping, Fluttershy gasped in horror as she realized why the car was making that noise – the rear tires were almost completely shredded and worn out from so much hard driving over a distance that was now several hundred miles.

“I’ve got to get these changed!” she said to herself. “As soon as possible.”

With the uncertainty feeling rising within her, Fluttershy popped the hood and looked over the engine bay. Many of the parts were covered in dust and sand from the winds back in New Mexico and Arizona, which gave the turbo and the intake manifold a pale look. On top of that, a battery fuse had blown out. Thankfully it was just the air-con fuse and not a performance-related fuse.

Checking the map and nearby locations via the Supra’s ever-helpful head unit, she figured out the best way would be to take the smaller Highway 60 and from there join Highway 215, then go a little northwest, and then head down south along Highway 91 to the small town of Corona, where hopefully she could get some new tires and a new battery fuse.

With her route planned out, Fluttershy drove back out onto the highway, driving no faster than 80 km/h. After half an hour she reached Corona, and found a tire and oil change facility.

“Hi there,” Fluttershy said in a sweet voice to the employees. “I really need to get my tires changed. Do you have any racing performance-spec tires in stock for my rims?”

The workers just smiled back but also wore “WTF?” looks.

After checking the Supra’s chrome CCW rims, the tire specialists hoisted the Supra up and carefully removed the shredded rear tires and performed a full-on inspection.

“It still intrigues me how you manage to drive that thing without crashing. How long have you been driving this car?” one of them questioned Fluttershy, who was looking so cute and innocent sitting on the sidelines observing the Supra’s underside.

“Um, about two and a half days now. I’m actually in quite a hurry, because I need to arrive at a certain location soon.”

“Two and a half days? Without any accidents?” the man exclaimed. “Non-stop? You don’t look like much of a truck driver.”

Fluttershy let out an adorable giggle. “I sure sugar ain’t. I drove for about fifteen to eighteen hours at a time and took brief naps in between. As a matter of fact, I’ve driven all the way from Albuquerque. Nothing’s like a Supra, this car is just amazing. It was scary, that big turbo, but I got used to it after about a day of driving. In spite of being rather nervous and shy, I found it a real joy to drive.”

“You look pretty worn out,” one of the workmen said, working the pneumatic system that lowered the car back to ground level. “You drive like you’ve done this before. Are you a racer?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “It isn’t even my car, I was given a task by the owner to drive it. It was really scary at first, but I love it now…I wish I could have it as my own.” She whispered those last words.

After the tires were fixed and the wheels polished, Fluttershy had them change the oil for a racing-spec synthetic Pennzoil oil, and paid her full amount of money. Then she reversed out of the shop and waved the workmen goodbye.

Next, Fluttershy bought a bottle of water and a small cloth from a home décor store, pulled over by the side of the road, and wiped down the engine bay. Thankfully many of the major parts, such as the intercooler, turbo, intake manifold, and head were all warm and not boiling hot, and thus she was able to wipe many of the parts clean of New Mexico dirt and Arizona dust.

Working out another route to get to the Pacific Coast highway, she shut the Supra’s hood, buckled the racing harness back across her chest, started up the engine and drove straight for the nearest auto shop, bought a new air-con fuse, and with help and guidance from one of the employees, she pulled out the old one and installed the new one. Next, she had an auto repair shop wash the car down (including the rims) and polish the bodywork, removing scuff marks and any would-be scratches. Her total tire and oil change and repair spending came to well over six hundred dollars.

The afternoon was fading fast. But now that she was on fresh rubber, smooth oil, a replaced fuse, and a gleaming grey painted bodywork, Fluttershy could now put the hammer down.

With all the bravery she had left in her desperate bid to return home, Fluttershy drove back down the road and hit the highway yet again. Her plan was to travel down Highway 91 all the way to Highway 110, and then head north to Interstate Highway 10, where she would head west again until she reached the Pacific Coast Highway.

“For my friend Justin, for me, and for my pony friends,” Fluttershy whispered determinedly to herself, shifting into third gear and pushing 200 km/h on the highway, swerving between cars and trucks. She had no care for the speed limits – all she wanted was to reach the coast in time.

“That’s…Sweet Celestia! 250, 270, 284 km/h!” she exclaimed, accelerating hard on a wide open stretch of Highway 90. After slowing down due to the front of the car starting to lift up a little, Fluttershy sat back and enjoyed the bright warmth of the sun at a modest speed of 130 km/h. Within less than half an hour she had reached Highway 110, and took a right, heading back up north. For a moment, it looked like it was going to be a one-pony race. But then she ran into Los Angeles famous evening rush hour near Interstate Highway 10.

“Um, excuse me guys, but can you move please?” Fluttershy said politely for the millionth time, desperately trying to navigate through the maze of cars heading up north to the all-famous city of Los Angeles.

Another thing that Fluttershy began to notice was the attitude of the people. Occasionally one person would get out of his or her car and start mindlessly yelling and screaming, sometimes even punching the other person’s car.

If only you’d just show a little kindness to each other, and realize that fighting isn’t the solution to happiness, she thought sadly, passing by a yelling man at the side of the road.

As the sun went down, Fluttershy finally turned onto Highway 10, and drove as fast as she could, heading towards the ocean which she could now just about see, a thick bluish-black line on the horizon.

Just as all daylight ceased, Fluttershy was so happy she was nearly ready to just jump out of the car and fly in circles in the air. She had reached the Pacific Coast Highway! It had taken her more than 70 hours, but she’d done it!

At that moment, Carter called her up.

“Flutters?”

“Ah, hi Carter!” Fluttershy’s voice was joyful as ever.

“Where—where in the hell are you?”

“I’ve reached the Pacific Coast Highway!” Fluttershy exclaimed with excitement, almost yelling.

Carter’s eyes flooded with tears – both of liquid pride and concern. “I normally wouldn’t say this, but it’s 7:50 p.m., you’ve got an appointment with destiny.”

“I know, but the traffic just below LA was such a handful, and I did get caught speeding about three times,” Fluttershy replied in a yeah-I-know voice. “Oh Celestia, am I glad to have that behind me now.”

“How’s the car?”

“It’s running well, never had any problems with it, except a blown fuse which I replaced, as well as changed the tires and the oil. I’ve got a good feeling my luck might change. Bye, Carter,” Fluttershy replied, a tear dripping from her eye.

“Bye, Flutters,” Carter said, and hung up.

Fluttershy swallowed and sighed. That was the last time she'd ever talk to him. She wanted to just stop and relax, but she was so close now. Taking care that there were no speed traps or cops around, she went for it, bring the speed back up, for one last 200 km/h run.

Throughout her journey across three states, Fluttershy had changed a lot. She still felt shy and nervous, but found confidence and bravery through driving the Supra. Feeling the g-force generated by boost was incredibly scary, but having the ability to adjust it allowed her to experience it in stages, until she was able to handle a large amount of it. The LED lit gauges were also fascinating to observe and have that sense of being able to accurately know what was happening to the engine’s turbo. Added to which, the racing seats’ curving design felt much like her bear friend back in Equestria, with its “hugging” feel, which helped give her a feeling that the car was forgiving, strong-willed, and secure. That it would be protective and comforting for her. Last but certainly not least was the incredible strength of the straight-six-cylinder engine. Even with a big turbo attached to it and all the endless pulls and speed runs Fluttershy had done over the course of her journey, it still ran strong and delivered that characteristic boost feeling every time, sending the car rocketing forward with ease and precision.

It was amazing to think that Fluttershy, for all her shyness, timidness, and exceptional bravery, had fallen in love with a 1995 Toyota Supra, and didn’t want to leave it.

“There it is!” Fluttershy exclaimed, and turned off the highway onto the twisty Rambla Pacifico Street. Up ahead lay a U-bend, and she decided to do one of the most daring things she’d ever do in her entire life.

Gaining speed in third gear, she approached the corner, downshifted to second gear, then briefly yanked the handbrake, dropped it back down, then dropped the clutch, spun the steering wheel around, and gently tapped the throttle. As a result, the car began to slide sideways and produce a fair amount of smoke.

In this seemingly out-of-control circumstance, Fluttershy tried maintaining control as best as she could, and despite accidentally pressing the throttle a little too hard at the end, causing the car to nearly spin out at the turn’s exit. Had she not quickly corrected it with her steering, the Supra would have smashed into the metal barrier. She had drifted – for the first time ever! (All from one video she’d watched on Carter’s laptop.)

Returning to a regular driving manner, Fluttershy drove down the twisty road and turned right on Deerpath Lane making her way up the narrow bendy road. And up at the top, there was one hell of a surprise. Justin’s house was there, and the gates had been opened. Fluttershy carefully drove through them at exactly 7:59 p.m., and neatly parked the car in the driveway. She pulled out the key with her mouth, unbuckled herself, pushed the door open, and jumped out, flying in circle in the air with joy. She’d been given one task, and she’d done it! All by herself!

And finally, finally, she’d be able to go home to her friends and see Equestria again.

Heading to the front door, she cautiously knocked. The house was enormous, with two large garages and a beautifully crafted porch and front deck.

No one answered, but just then another car, this one even louder than the Supra, pulled up. It had a much more aggressive engine sound and appearance than the Supra as well. Yet it had a lovely bright green color that reminded her of her little cottage back in Equestria.

The car stopped beside the Supra and out stepped a man in a crisp, smooth black suit with dress pants and shiny leather shoes. Rarity would have adored him. It was Justin Davis.

“Pretty impressive, I must say. You just about accomplished it. How about we spend some time together tonight as well as tomorrow?” Justin’s voice was seriously formal yet happy and charming.

Fluttershy looked down. “I…I really want to go back to Equestria, I miss my friends so much.”

Justin knelt down and stroked her mane smoothly and reassuringly. “Aw, Fluttershy. You don’t have to leave right away. Besides, aren’t you going to give thanks to the one who gave you the one shot at actually being able to return home when no one else did?”

Hearing this, Fluttershy jumped up and gave Justin a big hug, nuzzling his cheek with her muzzle. “Thank you, Justin. I also need to tell you something important.”

Justin smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “That can wait a moment. Let’s have some dinner. I’d bet you’re hungry.”

Fluttershy nodded and smiled. Justin locked the Huracan and together they walked up to the front door.

A Scuba Trip

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The first things Fluttershy noticed were the white walls and the smooth hardwood floors. The interior of the house was spotlessly clean and immaculately detailed. The family room, which also served as a dining area, had large glass windows that gave a clear view of the sea and the backyard outside. The living room was quaint and quiet, with three sofas and a beautiful marble fireplace. The kitchen was absolutely huge, bigger than the kitchen in SugarCube Corner. It had two ovens and a huge fridge, not to mention an island countertop with a second sink. The main countertop had its own double sink, and there were big windows which also looked straight out to the backyard and the sea.

Behind the family room were French doors that led out to the backyard. Fluttershy decided to explore that area of the house later. There was also a meeting room, a bedroom with a fireplace and glass doors that led out into the backyard; a large bathroom with a big sink, a large shower room and windows facing the rear of the house; and a large pool (Fluttershy didn’t get to see that yet).

“Okay,” Justin began, as they settled down in the family room. “You can put your stuff in the master bedroom, then head over to the adjacent bathroom and get freshened up. I’ll start cooking a late-night dinner for the two of us.”

Fluttershy nodded and walked down the hall to the bedroom. She’d been in here only once before but the sheer size of it was almost overwhelming. Laying her saddlebag on the floor beside the bed, she pulled out her only spare fresh set of clothes, trotted over to the bathroom, closed the window blinds and door, stripped down, grabbed a towel from the drawer, and climbed into the shower, setting the water to warm and adjusting the shower mode to a soft, rain-like setting.

Meanwhile, Justin set to work. Unlike many other millionares and billionares in Malibu, Justin had been properly raised by his mother, who taught him strictly. He learned how to cook, how to clean properly, what procedures to use when house cleaning, how to repair a house, how to drive, how to socialize properly, how to establish a successful business, how to avoid fraud, lies, and treachery – all from a young age. With his culinary skills, Justin whipped up a meal of spaghetti, garlic toast, and even baked a chocolate cake with icing.

Fluttershy took quite a while too. After her long shower, her body felt relieved yet still achy from all the driving she’d done. Furthermore, sitting upright like a human had caused considerable hip joint soreness. But at least her warm, furry body was clean and shiny. Quickly and thoroughly drying herself with a big white towel, she then used a brush and comb in the bathroom drawer to smoothen out some parts of her fur. Finally, she changed into some new clothes, set the Supra’s insurance and registration papers, as well as the leftover cash, on the bedside table. Then she combed her mane and headed back to the family room, walking on all fours, where Justin was eagerly waiting with a glorious banquet of food for him and her.

“What type of food do you prefer?” Justin asked Fluttershy as she got into the chair opposite him and tied a large white sheet around her neck.

“Um, I’d rather not have the meaty spaghetti,” Fluttershy said, leaning back in refusal.

Justin smiled. “I should’ve known you were vegetarian,” he said with a huff. “Here, you can have the noodles if you wish, as well as the salad.”

Fluttershy felt as if she hadn’t eaten in ages and savored every mouth in silence. Justin had to force himself from constantly looking at her as she ate – her eating faces were too cute for his heart to bear. After eating, Fluttershy cleaned up the table and wiped up every stain and pieces of dust, while Justin washed the dishes. Later Fluttershy walked around to calm her stomach down and let her muscles slowly flex and recover from her long-distance driving ordeal. Then she sat down on the master bedroom bed, looking over how much cash she’d spent over the course of her journey.

Justin peeked into the room. “Yo Fluttershy, want a drink with some cake?”

Fluttershy nodded and set the money down.

“So, how is Equestria like?” Justin asked, as they each ate a slice of cake and sipped bottles of apple cider out on the back deck, gazing up at the stars, the moon, and the wide open California bay.

Fluttershy’s lips squirmed at the strength of the cider, but after a few more cautious sips, she got used to it, and then introduced Equestria.

“Well, we have several cities and towns. There’s the Crystal Empire, Baltimare, Manehattan, Appleloosa, Ponyville, and Canterlot. I live in a little cottage just outside Ponyville near a forest with all my animal friends. In Canterlot lies a large castle, where our rulers and leaders, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, watch over the day and night. Recently we had a really powerful villain by the name of Starlight Glimmer. One of my best friends, Twilight Sparkle, couldn’t defeat her, no matter how hard she tried. But in the end, Starlight ended up realizing the error of her ways and reformed.”

“Each one us are friends with one another and learn from each other’s mistakes. When evil comes, we deal with it seriously and effectively, using practicality and strategy. Everyone accepts each other for who they are, and there’s little to no fighting. Yes, bullies are present now and then, but we manage and deal with them in a helpful and reasonable manner. Karma is hardly ever carried out.”

Justin smiled and sighed sadly. “Very interesting. Makes me feel sad how this earth is full of so many of us yet we humans are so messed up. We’ve got betrayal, lying, unrealistic hatred, gangs, murder – it’s just crazy. That’s why I moved here. One little hill, one big luxury home, no one to disturb me. All the best high-tech security at my disposal. I kinda hate to say this, but I wish I could visit Equestria, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy nodded sadly and took a swig of her cider. “Yeah, I do recall seeing a few instances of road rage when I was stuck in traffic just below LA on Highway 10. It was quite sad and shocking to see.”

Justin’s eagerness kicked in again. “Any other special things about Equestria? Like, how it looks and how the ponies go about their lives? Do they perform jobs?”

Fluttershy smiled and rolled out all the info – about Rarity’s love for fashion and her seamstress business; the marketplace, what items were often used and how much each one cost in bits; as well as Applejack’s farm and her family, the apple harvest, and the Summer Harvest Parade; furthermore, she discussed about her relationship with Discord and how she was the only one to be able to reform him when everypony else gave up.

Justin swallowed and gazed out to the horizon. He was more jealous of the lives of ponies than ever.

“You seem to have quite a way with animals,” Justin said, finishing up his slice of cake and taking another swig of cider. “Is that why you have a butterfly mark on your flank?”

Fluttershy touched her cutie mark and blushed. “Y-yeah. Animals are my best friends and helpers. I help them out too, with all the love and care I need.”

“Man, you’re basically Equestria’s vet and animal behaviorist,” Justin proclaimed. “Speaking of which, do you mind if you stayed for another day? I have a day off and would really like to have you as my dive buddy.”

“Really?!” Fluttershy’s eyes and ears shot up with surprise.

“Yes,” Justin replied, bubbly with enthusiasm. “We can explore the underwater world together, observing and meeting all kinds of fish, clams, and other amazing water creatures, big and small. Afterwards, I’ll show you the completed portal and you can go home.”

Fluttershy could hardly sleep that night because she was so excited. But before tucking in for the night, she revealed the one thing that had come out of her near the end of her journey.

“Uh, um, Justin?” she whispered.

“Yes?” he replied, turning under the large blanket to face her.

“I…I…I actually like the Supra. It was rather scary, but I got used to it and soon it became so much fun to drive.”

Justin cocked an eyebrow. “So whatcha sayin’? You’re shy, timid, and not a fan of loud or scary things, and yet you like my Supra?”

Fluttershy’s face fell. “Yes, I do like it. It’s a really reliable and enjoyable car.”

Justin smiled. “It’s okay. We’ll talk later tomorrow.”

The next morning, Justin cleaned up around the house after breakfast. Because he was the only one living there, many of the rooms were uninhabited for many weeks, even months. Fluttershy could hardly wait as she sat on the deck chair next to the pool, while Justin went to retrieve a few items.

Opening up the garage door, he gently pushed the Toyota Supra inside. Using a set of tools, he pried open a secret compartment in the center console, and pulled out a poker card-sized metal unit, similar to an external HDD, with metal pins in the bottom and a few wires sticking out of the side. This was the final electronic piece needed for the portal to function properly.

Carefully stashing it away in a drawer in the garage, he headed back inside the house, opened up a closet, and got dressed up in his scuba gear. Next he took out a smaller set of gear, in the size range of a 6 to 8 year old child. It was a gift from one of his diving instructors – and it would now be Fluttershy’s.

“Pleurgfthrright,” Justin said, spitting out his mouthpiece. “Let’s get started on the basics, shall we?”

Fluttershy smiled with enthusiasm.

“Now, let’s start with the jacket – it’s more of a backpack, really. Since you’ve got warm fur, I guess you won’t need a wetsuit. Right?”

Fluttershy nodded. “So how do I breathe?”

Justin held up the mouthpiece and explained. “This goes in your mouth. As you breathe normally, the air flows from the tank you wear on your back.”

As Fluttershy eased into the jacket and slipped her mask on, she noticed a small rectangular pod.

“What’s this?” she asked Justin, holding it up.

“That’s the display. It shows you your depth – in other words, how far you are below the surface – the pressure of the air, and other useful information. Kind of like the boost controller gauge in the Supra,” Justin explained, neatly arranging the air hoses so they wouldn’t be in the way.

Finally, Fluttershy slipped on her fins, but due to her having hooves and not feet, Justin had to use string to secure them to her hind hooves.

Once Fluttershy was fully suited, she and Justin sat by the pool’s edge, while he taught her how to breather properly through the mouthpiece without gasping or having a sluggish breathing rate.

Finally came the hand signals, which weren’t too difficult to remember. However, Fluttershy had to tweak one of them a bit for her hooves. The thumb and forefinger circle became an inward curve made by her wings, but everything else pretty much fell into place.

Justin checked to make sure everything was working properly, then he back-flipped into the pool with a splash. Surfacing, he called out to Fluttershy.

“Come in, the water’s warm!” he said welcomingly, but Fluttershy grabbed her tail in fear. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been underwater (apart from her pool adventure with Carter).

Justin made a sweeping gesture with his hand. “If you can handle the boost from a turbo, you can handle this. Now come on in!”

Fluttershy opened up her air valves to the appropriate level, took the mouthpiece in her mouth, took a few breaths, and using her wings, flew over the water, then lowered herself into it. For a while, she floated, then slowly began to sink.

“You ready?” Justin asked, and she hesitantly nodded.

Once Fluttershy had been in the water for a couple minutes, she began to swim, just as she had before with Carter. Soon her memories of various strokes and kicks came flooding back, and she started to swim gracefully back and forth across the pool.

“I’m ready,” Fluttershy confirmed, slipping on her diving mask and taking a few breaths. Closing her eyes, she gave a kick and ducked under the surface. Opening her eyes once more, she observed the sparkly blue world around her. She made out the edges of the pool as well as the bottom, and then gave a few strong kicks, using her wings for extra propulsion, and soon began to swim underwater smoothly.

Breathe in, breathe out, she told herself. Just like on land. It will flow.

Relaxing her breath, she began to breathe normally, and the air began to flow. Being…well, Fluttershy, she began to relax under the water and didn’t surface for about five minutes, leaving Justin rather worried. Eventually he could take it no longer and dove under the surface, giving her the “are you okay?” signal.

Fluttershy replied with her “wing circle” to signal that she was OK.

And so, after a few more rounds, Fluttershy was perfectly comfortable with scuba gear. She knew how to operate it, how to breathe from the tank with the right pressure, and how to read the little information display.

“I think…we’re ready to go,” Fluttershy said happily, as Justin packed his scuba gear and hers into the Lamborghini’s little front-mounted trunk. Justin started it up, pulled out of the driveway, and drove off down the road.

“This feels…different compared to the other car,” Fluttershy said, noticing all the digital and shiny aspects of the Lamborghini’s interior. “There’s no gear stick, no key to start the car, and the interior is all smooth and precise. Rarity would love this.”

“One of my best friends,” Fluttershy said when Justin pulled a face of confusion. “She loves fashion and beauty, but she does it from her heart. She’s caring and very generous.”

Justin cruised down the Pacific Coast Highway, heading for a beach resort where they could explore the coral reefs.

“What’s your favorite hobby?” Justin asked, as they pulled into the parking lot, where quite a few people had already gathered to spend their joyous day at the beach.

“Mostly I just like to spend time with myanimal friends,” Fluttershy replied, getting out of the car and walking around to the front-mounted trunk. “I tell them stories, I give them their daily meals and drinks of water, and I also cook sometimes.”

“Have you ever been in the ocean surrounding Equestria?” Justin asked, as they headed off to the dive shop to check in.

“No, never,” Fluttershy said, waving to the receptionist behind the desk.

After all the requirements had been met, Fluttershy received a diver’s certificate and headed down to the boat with Justin, where a group of other divers were waiting as well.

“I thought you said we were diving together,” Fluttershy said, pouting.

Justin smiled and let out a tiny laugh. “We will be together, just with other people as well. Besides, it’s good to get to know others too.”

Fluttershy’s knees knocked with nervousness as she and Justin approached the boat. Grasping her certification document in her mouth, she held it up for the other divers and the leader to see.

“Wassup guys!” Justin said in his usual friendly, jolly tone. “Good to see y’all today. Max and Leslie! I recognize you both from the second dive school I attended about a year ago. How was your last H2O exploration?”

The bright yellow of Fluttershy’s fur caught Max’s eye as she stepped onto the boat.

“Who... is that?” he asked, wearing a face of astonishment.

Justin grinned sheepishly. “That’s…Fluttershy, my friend. She loves animals, and was eager to meet the animals of the sea, so I invited her along for the dive. Boy, does she sure learn new things quickly.”

It literally took half a second for the other divers to start cooing and aahing over her, and Justin had to intervene.

“She ain’t called Flutter ‘shy’ for nothing,” he huffed, as the boat began to speed out to sea.

Fluttershy sat and watched the land get smaller and smaller in the distance, while Justin chatted with his old dive buddies. She clearly wished she could do this by herself, but her Equestrian friends had always shown her that safety and fun was best in numbers.

So, picking up her courage, she turned back to face the divers and spoke up.

“Um…my name is Fluttershy. I’m not familiar with this area, but I’d love to learn more. Not a lot though. I only recently took up diving as, like driving, I found it interesting. Besides, who can resist all those amazing sea-dwelling creatures! Also, this is my first time diving in the ocean. I practiced in a pool before. How long have you all been diving?”

“About five years,” Max replied.

“Three and a half,” Leslie said. Then came the other responses.

“Ten.”

“Two.”

“Around seven.”

“Fifteen.”

“You’re pretty much a rookie,” one of them said. “But no worries, sweetie. You’ll get it down-packed in no time. It just takes time.”

Once the boat reached the diving point, everyone prepped themselves – sliding on their masks, opening up their tank valves, and running brief minor checks. Then they leaned over the edge and flipped headfirst into the blue ocean waters.

“Uh…um…let’s not…go!” Fluttershy said with a hesitant squee as the last diver flipped over.

As he kicked and swam his way down towards the brightly colored coral with his old dive buddies, Justin had clearly forgotten about her.

Just as the lead diver was about to give a warning signal to indicate that one member was missing, a yellow object hit the water up above them. It was Fluttershy. With her hind hooves kicking and her wings spread out, moving like a kayak’s oars for extra propulsion, she swam down towards the group, forming a circle with one of her wings to indicate that she was OK.

The lead diver held a good-you’re-okay look, and Fluttershy joined the group. It was hard for the other divers not to wear an excited expression or smile broadly due to Fluttershy’s intense adorable looks as she gazed in awe and amazement at the colorful, dazzling world around her, and somehow managed to communicate effectively with several species of medium-sized fish.

As it turned out, Fluttershy could swim a lot faster than Justin and the rest of the group, with her incredible strength and her wings as added propulsion. She soon left the lead diver in her wake, heading straight for a sea turtle she’d spotted a while back. Even as the lead diver made a few serious sweeping gestures, urging her to come back, Fluttershy ignored him, staying near the surface with the turtle, talking to it and even caressing it a little on its left flipper.

Justin struggled not to smile as Fluttershy continued to spend ample time with the turtle, even swimming alongside it and pointing out a few small groups of jellyfish.

After a happy moment with the turtle, Fluttershy swam back down to the reef, this time observing octopi and angelfish amongst the rocks and variety of corals. Her dedication to viewing and making friends with wildlife was beyond anything Max, Leslie, or even Justin himself had ever witnessed.

It took more than forty-five minutes for Fluttershy to finally finish her dive, and even then she didn’t want to leave. It didn’t help that the lead diver gave her a mean earful as soon as they all were back on the boat.

“It’s all right, sweetie,” Max said, wiping her tears away. “Some assholes just don’t understand the meaning of kindness and the joy that nature truly can bring. I will say though, you did take some big risks back there.”

“And you can always come back on our scheduled days,” Leslie added with a motherly smile. Justin glanced over and smiled, causing Fluttershy’s face to light up with excitement.

“I’ll explain at home,” Justin replied as the boat’s motor revved up and the convoy headed back towards land once again.

The Portal Back to Equestria

View Online

“What did you mean by ‘always being able to come back’, Justin?” Fluttershy asked as they got out of the Huracan.

Justin shut the driver’s side door and opened up the trunk. “It means, that if my portal works, and if your friend Twilight Sparkle can connect to it, then a complete connection is made between Equestria and my portal. And that means you can come back if you wish so.”

Fluttershy snapped to attention with glowing eyes. “Really?!”

Justin looked straight back at her with his most convincing smile. “Really.”

After putting away the scuba gear, Justin sat down on the couch in the family room with Fluttershy as they both gazed out to the wide open Californian bay.

“I was thinking, it would be nice to wash down after your adventure in that salty ocean,” he said. “Meanwhile, I’ll install that last part from the—” He stopped abruptly.

Fluttershy caught on. “The Supra?”

Justin nodded. “My portal project is top-secret. I had recently done a collaboration project with a few friends to finish one vital component. But a few details ended up getting leaked. To keep the component safe, I hid it in the Supra. That’s why I asked you to drive it all the way here.”

Fluttershy gasped. It all made complete sense. She headed off to the bathroom, thoroughly washing the fishy smell and the ocean salt off her furry body.

Meanwhile, Justin grabbed the last vital component and headed down to the basement. It was rather damp and eerily dark, with only one small fluorescent light fixture. He typed in a secret code, and a panel in the wall slid back to reveal a large room full of gadgets, controls, and gizmos of a million types. It was like a mix of a musician’s room and NASA’s Mission Control.

“After all these months, finally. I have the last part,” Justin thought happily to himself, sliding the last component into a slot in the machine’s panel. The pins slid into the holes…a light came on, wires were hooked up according to a set configuration…and a swirly light from the portal began to appear.

“It’s working!” he said with joy. “It’s finally working, yes!”

With trembling fingers, Justin typed in a block of code that would direct the portal’s alternate universe navigation to Equestria. Sure enough, after the component that had been taken out of the Supra worked seamlessly with the rest of the computerized electronic scientific system, the end of the portal began to sway, as if it was searching for something. Soon, it locked onto one target. From where he was, however, Justin couldn’t see the end of the portal’s tunnel – it was riddled with lighting sparks and bright blue light.

“Equestria = target == confirmative,” the code display read.

Justin was so happy he could just jump up and down. He did it anyways, letting the spirit of a little child having accomplished something great and wonderful slip into his manly body once again after such a long time.

Fluttershy was outside, sitting on the porch, with her saddlebag full of items.

“Um…is it ready?”

Justin nodded, and together they headed down the steps to the basement, and through the secret doorway. There, Fluttershy saw the portal, buzzing, whirling, and spinning with a hairdryer-like sound. It looked terrifyingly similar to the circular storm that had sucked her and Princess Luna up back in Equestria, and that made her all the more nervous. Justin, however, was the total opposite, feeling all hyped-up and joyful.

“Well, Fluttershy, there it is. Your gateway back to home. Your one-and-only home of Equestria.”

Fluttershy swallowed and gave a sad sigh. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to leave. It looks rather…difficult.” She didn’t want to offend or insult Justin for all the hard work he’d put into the contraption.

Her eyes already welling up with tears, Fluttershy stripped down from her “humanized, clothed” form and back into her “nude, pure, pony” form.

“Wait,” Justin called out as she took a step towards the portal. “I need to do something important.” He ran out of the room, and returned about ten minutes later with a small stack of papers and a key.

“My last gift to you,” he said with a smile, kissing her. It was the Supra’s license and registration papers, Fluttershy’s driving license, her made-up ID card, a few photos of the Supra, and the key to the Supra.

“You’ve shown such amazing bravery and boosted your social skills since you came here. As such, I can understand why you’re having a hard time deciding. It’s extraordinary to think that it’s been only about two days since we met and we’ve become the best of friends. I know you don’t want to leave me, but Equestria is your true home. Here on earth you haven’t got any other ponies to relate to. As such, I’m giving you the Supra as a gift. I’ll keep the key, license, and registration papers here at my home, but you keep your license and ID card. If you have any thoughts about driving, don’t hesitate to return and take the Supra out for a spin. It’s yours. Besides, I hardly drive it anyways.”

Fluttershy smiled and kissed him back, tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much, Justin. Thank you for everything you’ve given me and taught me. I love you.”

Justin started crying himself. “I love you too, Fluttershy. Now let’s fire up this machine.”

Fluttershy tossed her saddlebag and the clean clothes Lorraine had made for her into a small box next to the wall on the room’s far side.

“Just stand right there,” Justin ordered, walking into the control section and pointing to a triangle shaped section of the floor. As soon as Fluttershy stepped onto it, it began to rise with the hiss of hydraulic piston beneath.

Flipping a few switches and adjusting countless knobs, Justin prepped the portal, aligning it up and increasing the power to 80% for the strongest signal. The portal whirled, buzzed, and lit up with a dazzling blue light. The floor shook and trembled with the power of the extreme energy.

“You’re ready to go,” Justin shouted over the loud noise of the machinery behind the portal and the loud electrical wind noise the portal itself was making.

“Goodbye, Justin. See you again sometime…hopefully,” Fluttershy said, crying all over again. Grapsing the rolled-up photos securely in her hooves, along with her license and ID card, she spread her wings and kept flapping them until she could fly well enough. Closing her eyes in agony, she rose into the air and flew straight into the epicenter of the circle of blue energy, Justin sobbing all the while. Once a faint white light indicated that Fluttershy had indeed reached Equestria, he slowly adjusted the portal until it was completely shut off.

Back in Equestria, Starlight Glimmer had managed to successfully perform a cloud-walking spell, and was prancing through the clouds near the Friendship castle. All at once, a large bluish-white ball of energy started accumulating and formed a tunnel of some sort that appeared to connect with the sky. It flashed, sparkled, and buzzed with magical energy as the sky appeared to split open for a moment before quickly closing again and dissipating. Out sprang the dazed Fluttershy.

“What’s happening?” Twilight Sparkle said, coming out on the balcony. Using her horn’s magic she fired a thin blast at the opening, capturing a portion of the energy in a ball – and nearly dropped it upon seeing Fluttershy fall out of the hole in the sky.

“Gotcha!” Starlight exclaimed, reaching up and catching Fluttershy in her arms, then carefully setting her down on the cloud.

“Yay! I’m back!” she exclaimed, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of Equestria once again.

Starlight Glimmer then helped Fluttershy across the clouds back down to the Friendship Castle’s balcony, where Twilight Sparkle was waiting.

“You’re back!” Twilight exclaimed, embracing her friend in a big hug.

“I missed you so much, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, tearing up just like she’d done with Justin.

“I missed you a lot too,” Twilight Sparkle replied, noticing the large photos, documents, and cards her shy friend was holding. “What’s this?”

Fluttershy backed off and blushed. “I'll tell you in a second.”

“I’m back!” she called out, entering the main room of the castle. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all ran over to hug and greet her, before they all sat down in their respective seats. Meanwhile, Twilight sent out a letter to Princess Celestia stating that Fluttershy had returned and Starlight Glimmer was the one to rescue her from falling.

With the letter sent, out sprang a load of questions.

“Where did you end up?”

“Did you have a lot of fun?”

“Anyone you met?”

“What’s the rolled-up photos for?”

Everypony gasped in surprise as Fluttershy unrolled the papers to reveal high quality photos of the car she’d driven. Then she set down her license papers, her license card, and her ID card on the table.

“Well,” she said, turning to face all her friends, “It’s a long story.”

The Shy Driver

by Wiz Ahmad

The Weather Phenomenon

An Unexpected Surprise

Dog Dealings

A Threat and A Talk

Conflicts and Resolutions

Driving Lessons

The Biggest Decision

Farewell to Family

The Odyssey Begins

Screaming Down The Road

Outlaw Or Not?

Onwards to California

The Final Run

A Scuba Trip

The Portal Back to Equestria