> The Shy Driver II: Fluttershy's Return
>  by Wiz Ahmad
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Our Adventures
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun rose brightly as a new day started in Equestria. Things had returned to normal once more, with the sky devoid of any weird electrifying energy portals. Fluttershy had gotten back into her nature routine and had fully reconnected with her animal friends, while Princess Luna had cleverly exploited her newfound knowledge of the Arabic language to crack up jokes with her older sister, who clearly had no idea what the language was.

“Kayfa kaana sobaahun?” Luna said with a chuckle.

“What did you say?” Celestia said with a baffled look.

“Haha, hahaha!” Luna nearly fell over laughing. “I said, ‘Kayfa kaana sobaahun?’ It means, how was the morning?”

“Oh, it was beautiful!” Celestia replied joyfully, sighing with relief that her younger sister was finally speaking in a way that she could understand and comprehend.

It had been about a week since Fluttershy and Princess Luna’s return, and the rest of Ponyville and even Canterlot sipped up the news faster than freshly processed apple cider. They were all eager to know what had happened, as stories from such faraway and seemingly non-existent lands seemed very exciting to hear about. As such, Princess Celestia had organized an event on the outskirts of Ponyville, near the school, where everyone, including the little filly students and the teachers, could watch.

“…And now, let us welcome our storytellers, Princess Luna and Fluttershy!” Twilight Sparkle announced, blushing with admiration at Princess Celestia.

“Oh, welcome!” Princess Luna announced royally. “Thy princess of the night shall relate to you her stories. Da ‘ounaa nabda ‘ou—I mean, let’s begin.”

Princess Luna blushed a little at the slip of her Arabic tongue as the crowd began to whisper amongst themselves as to what she had just spoken.

“It all began on a rainy night,” she began. “I fell into a black night sky with pouring rain and thunderous noises. I nearly crashed into a tower, before waking up and realizing where I was. Once I got to grips with my mind and body I found myself in the courtyard of a grand building. Even by nightfall it was beautiful. I slipped into the building and rested there until the morning. It was hot in the morning. Like, really hot! It felt like dragons were breathing down my neck and back. Two men tried to capture me, and they were speaking in a language I didn’t understand.”

“Did you get caught?” Applejack said excitedly.

Princess Luna gave her a wait-a-moment-I’ll tell-you look. “I ran into the building’s main hall, where I hid behind a stairwell door and spoke with them. Now, humans consider themselves in a different manner than we do. As such, they weren’t happy with me not wearing clothes. Of course human clothes would not fit me. I agreed not to fight them if they could give me clothes. I was taken in by a kind couple, and they bought a custom-made dress for me. Later I ate at a restaurant and learned of Islamic practices as well as the Arabic language. To be honest I found it particularly interesting.”

So that’s the gibberish you were speaking, Princess Celestia thought with a sneaky nod.

“We all have different ways of going about our lives, human or pony. Islam is one of those ways, and it does appear to be one of the most – if not the most – perfect ways of all,” Luna concluded. “By the way, I took the dress back with me, and it remains one of my favorite dresses to this day.”

The audience cheered and clapped with happiness and joy, before Fluttershy, still nervous as ever, stepped up onto the stage and slowly turned to face the audience, roll of photos under her arm.

“Uh, um, hello,” she mumbled.

The crowd leaned forward, eager to hear more.

“So as I promised my best friends,” Fluttershy began in her usual quiet shy voice, “here is my story, and I apologize for how long it’s take me to tell you all as I’ve had to write up a bit of it. It mostly revolves around an iconic car. Many, if all of you, have never seen or heard of it before – it is a 1995 Mark 4 6-speed Toyota Supra.”

Fluttershy pulled out one of the photos and rolled it out for the audience to see. They gasped in shock. It was unlike anything any pony had ever seen.

Fluttershy smiled back at the audience. “Yes, it is a pretty good-looking car. Now, it all started back when I ended up on a forest-covered hill next to a row of houses. It was a little cold, so I went into the backyard of one of those houses and discovered the rear door was open. I snuck inside and settled down in an armchair for warmth. I awoke to the sound of a human family. They were initially shocked by my appearance and upset that I had broken in, but they reconciled and took care of me for a few weeks. To be honest, I…I…found my Special Somepony. Except…he’s a human. His name is Carter.” Her voice was barely a whisper at those last few words.

“Looks like somepony’s got a big crush on the hot guy, eh?” Applejack said teasingly.

Fluttershy blushed hard. “No! Um, yes, I do know him quite well, and we have had a brief but good relationship. I actually miss him a little. Now, one night I was really worried about seeing you all again, so I went for a late-night walk. While in a park, I met this young man – a few years older than Carter. His name was Justin Davis. He mentioned about an alternate universe portal project he was working on, and asked if I could be the test subject and thus send me home. However, I had to drive the Supra from a garage to his home. Realizing this was my only chance, I agreed.”

“Carter then taught me how to drive, and I soon got the hang of it and even got a license – which meant I could drive freely anywhere with permission given through that license. He drove me down somewhat near the garage, and I flew, walked, and hitchhiked from then on. Once I got to the garage, I had the car, and thus got to know it as I drove it hundreds of miles to Justin’s home. I succeeded, and we became instant friends. He invited me on an underwater dive trip before I finally left home. But…I had fallen in love with the car. I mean, it’s really powerful and frightened me at first, but I soon got used to it and adjusted over time. Justin sympathized with me and gave me the car. I could now drive it whenever I wanted, wherever I wanted. Even after successfully retuning home here, I do miss Earth. I miss Carter, Justin, and the Supra.”

As the audience clapped and cheered, Fluttershy’s friends were still in awe. Especially Rainbow Dash – who wouldn’t shut up about the Supra.

“Can it do a flip or twirl?”

“How fast is it?”

“What was it like driving fast?”

“Can it clear the sky in 10 seconds?”

“ENOUGH!” Fluttershy burst in a brief cloud of frustration. “Um, Rainbow Dash, could you please stop?”

Twilight Sparkle glanced over at the rainbow pony. “She means it.”

Rainbow Dash groaned. “All right all right! I won’t say anything more.”

“But the car can run the quarter mile in under 10 seconds,” Fluttershy said with a grin, as they all waked back to the Friendship Castle. “I’m not sure what a quarter mile is, but it’s a pretty long distance.”
> Chapter 2: A Friendly Return
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a few weeks since the storytelling event. Gossip was spreading like wildfire through the whole of Equestria about the human world. Thanks to StarSwirl the Bearded, Princess Celestia and her sister did know about humans, but weren’t too sure about trusting them. Fluttershy now had to be very careful when heading into town because of all the attention she would get.

“What is this all about?” Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration as she glanced down at the photos on a table. “I can’t seem to get any sense how this…this machine works!”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but let out a giggle as she passed by. Rainbow noticed.

“What are you laughing at!” she snapped angrily.

“Um, nothing really, just a joke I recalled,” Fluttershy fibbed, blushing.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes narrowed.

“Ah! Okay! I was just…” Fluttershy began, when Pinkie Pie cut in.

“Fluttershy was just thinking about how funny it is that you’re the fastest Pegasus in the whole of Equestria yet you can’t understand how a car works and what parts of it go together!” Pinkie pie finished up with a big proud grin.

Humiliated, Rainbow Dash grumbled and turned around, looking at the photos once more. Fluttershy continued on her way to one of the rooms on the lower floors of the Friendship castle, where Twilight was busy working on a crystal mirror, similar to the one she had used to chase after Sunset Shimmer.

“Um, hi Twilight,” Fluttershy whispered, gently pushing the door open. Inside was a mess of wires, machinery, and metal parts. At the room’s far wall was a horseshoe-shaped entrance that had yet to be hooked up to the electronic wizardry.

“Oh, hi Fluttershy,” Twilight said quickly, going over her experiment. “Just a minute, I’m crafting one of the important spheres containing an important element…”

“Oh, never mind,” Fluttershy replied quickly. After a brief glance around the room, it was obvious that Twilight was definitely going to take much longer than a minute.

“What’s bothering you, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, as Fluttershy shuffled down the Friendship Castle’s hallway and towards the exit doors.
“I’m torn between two worlds,” was all Fluttershy could get out, and flew away before Applejack could say any more.

“But…but…” Applejack stuttered as the yellow figure of Fluttershy disappeared off into the distance. Yes, publicity had become so bad that Fluttershy had to fly back to avoid all the pony paparazzi.

Back at her cottage next to the woods, Fluttershy held a conversation with her animal friends. She was happy to be back in Equestria with her best friends, but she also missed the human world. Yeah, as Carter and Justin had admitted, it sucked with its evil and gore side, but it had some positive and uplifting aspects to it as well. And having an amazing experience with the Supra, and knowing all about the act of driving, she wanted to share that with her friends. Besides, Justin seemed like a decent, friendly yet pretty rich guy with no friends living by himself in a big house. Knowing the power that friendship held, she thought it best to try to return and invite her friends to meet Justin and share the magic of friendship with him.

But how? There was only one little portion of the magical energy of Justin’s portal left, and Twilight had kept it in a special place in the castle. She was working on a portal, but when would it be completed? That was a question she had forgotten to ask.

The following day, Twilight Sparkle held a meeting with all her friends, including Starlight Glimmer.

“It came to my attention that during Fluttershy’s return that there was a considerable amount of a different type of trans-universe matter that came from the portal that opened up in the sky. I managed to capture a portion of it, and have discovered that if I could apply a certain spell to it, I could reach back out to wherever that trail or channel of matter came from, and connect to the portal!”

Rarity shot up an eyebrow. “Are you saying that if your spell goes as planned, you can reconnect that crystal mirror to Justin’s portal?”

Twilight nodded. “It’s almost complete, actually. It required a core concept, so it was fairly difficult.” Then she noticed that one of the chairs was empty. Fluttershy?

“Where’s Fluttershy?” Starlight Glimmer asked. “Anypony seen her recently?”

Applejack was just about to mention the event of the previous day when Fluttershy burst into the room. She had her sweater and was carrying Angel Bunny as well, who was holding a few cards and a few legal documents.

“Hi everypony,” she said happily, settling down into her chair. “Sorry I’m late. I was busy trying to prepare and set a few things up. Thankfully my animal friends are all safe and content with my long departure.”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie Pie asked with a puzzled look.

“I mean…I want to go back. With all of you,” Fluttershy stated.

“What? You? Go back to Earth?” Twilight’s face was literally dripping with shock.

“Yes,” Fluttershy snapped, then eased the tension in her voice. “I was a bit frightened of it, but I have respect and love for Earth despite its numerous shortcomings. Besides, I had a good time overall and I want you to meet my human friends. We’ll only be gone for a few weeks.” She turned to Rainbow. “After all, weren’t you the one who always liked new worlds and exciting adventures?”

“I guess I can help too,” Starlight Glimmer added, blushing slightly.

Twilight sighed and smiled. “Okay, Fluttershy, let’s go see your world. Everyone to the—”

“—Intadhar daqiqat!” a voice called out from the main hallway.

“What’s that?” Rarity said, bewildered by the absurd voice.

Twilight Sparkle caught a glance of the sparkly blue mane. “Oh, that’s Luna. She must have been caught in her Arabic tongue again.”

“Can I come too?” Princess Luna said excitedly.

“No, you must stay here and guard the night!” Applejack insisted. “It’s your duty!”

Princess Luna sighed sadly and walked out of the castle. “Okay.”

“Can I come too?” Spike said, eagerly jumping up from the chair where he had been reading an exciting book.

Twilight nodded without hesitation.

The seven friends, Spike, and Angel Bunny all gathered together as Twilight Sparkle prepared the portal for travel. Plugging in a few wires and flipping a few switches, the bluish-white swirl began to form. Soon, a white spark indicated that a connection had been made with that rare type of matter.

Once the light was bright enough, a flashing light indicated that the portal was ready to go.

“Let’s go,” Fluttershy simply said, holding onto her cards and legal documents tightly, and they all walked through the portal, Pinkie Pie and Starlight Glimmer being the last to do so.

Back on Earth, Justin had recovered from an arm injury and was relaxing in his family room when a loud crashing and zapping sound erupted from below.

The portal! he thought, and dashed down the stairs to the basement, quickly typed in the security code, and shoved the door open. Quickly fiddling with the controls, he reset them to the mode for Equestria. The portal lit up, the energetic matter amplified, and a blast of light grew. Out tumbled Fluttershy, Angel Bunny, Spike, and their six pony friends.
> Chapter 3: A Whole New World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin blinked a few times before jumping to his feet and shutting off a few switches on the machine, thus closing the portal. His face brightened at the sight of the colorful bundle on the arrival platform.

“Hello to you all!” he said with a happy, joyful voice, operating the platform controls to lower them down to the main ground level. “Welcome to Earth, and welcome to my home.”

“Hi, darling!” Rarity replied with enthusiasm, immediately sauntering over to Justin and standing up on her hind legs to give him a hug. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash soon followed suit, leaving Justin in tears as they jumped on him and wrapped their hooves around his chest in a warm hug. How he missed the times when his friends and him would welcome his mother home from her hard days at work with all the love and affection they could muster. Good old times…

“I’m Justin Davis, but you can call me Justin.” He pointed to the princess. “And you are?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight replied, and then pointed a hoof to each of her friends. “This is Applejack, this is Rarity, this is Pinkie Pie, this is Rainbow Dash, and this is my assistant, Spike the dragon. And the little white fluffball is of course Angel Bunny, Fluttershy’s pet.”

Justin shook hands with each one of them and gave each one a loving compliment and a stroke on the back. “It’s good to meet you all. I’ve got a lot to show you all. We’re gonna be the best of friends, me and you all!”

Fluttershy picked up her saddlebag, slid her documents and license card into it, strapped it on, and joined her friends as they formed a line behind Justin.

“Wow, this place is rather complicated!” Twilight Sparkle said with surprise, gazing around at the metal and concrete walls and control cubicle.

Justin chuckled. “It certainly is, for a basement. But the real sweet cake is upstairs. Let’s go!”

Pausing to give Fluttershy a welcome back hug, Justin led the way up the stone steps to a locked door. Fishing in his pocket, he pulled out a key, pushed it into the lock, and turned it.





The door opened up onto the small sheltered area of the large deck, and everyone burst out in eagerness.

“Stay close and follow Justin!” Twilight Sparkle firmly reminded her friends.

Justin smiled. “Just don’t break or dirty anything.” He led them along the deck beside the pool. Rarity cringed at the worry of her mane getting all wet by falling in, while Starlight Glimmer was content and fascinated by the architecture and layout of the property.

“Please, make yourselves comfortable,” Justin said as he pushed open the glass patio doors, ushering Twilight and her friends inside. They were starstruck as the place seemed so quiet, serene, and spotlessly clean. There were couches to sit on, a large built-in TV, a big grand dining table, and a huge fit-for-a-chef kitchen.

“So this is home,” Rainbow Dash said flatly.

“It’s really neat and well-placed,” Applejack commented. “Even more well-placed than my sister’s room, to be honest.”

Without a word, Pinkie Pie dashed straight into the kitchen.

“Can I bake? Please?” she asked Justin excitedly.

“Sure, but not at the moment,” Justin replied, feeling rejoiced at Pinkie’s eagerness. “In the evening when we all have—”

“—a party!” Pinkie cut in with a happy jump of joy.

Justin’s mouth twisted for a second before snapping back into a pleasurable smile. “Actually that’s not a bad idea. Besides, I enjoy cooking and baking too.” He turned to the others who had found themselves comfy and relaxed on the family room couches. “What do you say? Party tonight?”

“Sure!” Twilight replied with a smile.

“I already ate breakfast, so…I’m not sure about you all,” Justin said, pouring himself a glass of juice and glancing at his silver bezel Ulysse-Nardin watch. “It’s almost 10:00 a.m., and I need to attend another meeting as well as monitor important parts of the stock levels for D & J Industries for the day. Will you all be okay?”

The seven pony friends nodded, and so did Spike. Angel Bunny had no comment (as usual). 

“Any activities you got out here?” Starlight Glimmer asked politely.

“You can use the TV over there,” Justin replied, already heading for his bedroom to get dressed. “Fluttershy can show you her car if she wishes so. Keys are on a labeled hook in the garage and Fluttershy’s stuff is in a labeled box in the other room.”

“What other room? Darling, this house is huge!” Rarity remarked with a shrug.

Justin sighed. Introducing his home to them all would be a lot harder than he originally thought. “Starlight, come here, I’ll show you.”

Starlight Glimmer walked over to the hallway, where Justin showed her his bedroom and the bedroom next to it. He also showed her the sports room and the living room, as well as a few other rooms.

“Okay…” Starlight said with a doubtful chuckle. “Looks like I could get used to this place. Thanks for showing me, I’ll gladly pass it on to the others.”

With that, Justin packed up his briefcase, buttoned up his suit, straightened his tie, slipped on his black leather shoes, and walked out to the garage. Even from the living room, the sound of the Huracan’s V10 was unmistakably loud.

“What in the hay is that noise?” Applejack asked.

“Um, that’s the engine of Justin’s other car,” Fluttershy replied with a proud grin. “I’ll tell you more about it later.”

With Justin gone for the day, the ponies were left to fend for themselves.





“Let’s see what this does,” Twilight Sparkle said with a smirk, using her telekinesis to lift up the remote control. With some effort, she pressed the red ON button.

The screen showed a brief commercial of a new McDonald’s salad, which made Fluttershy’s eyes bulge with eagerness. She loved salads, especially Caesar. 

“Wow,” Rarity gasped. “These companies sure know how to grasp attention. I can’t stop thinking about that salad now!”

Immediately after the commercial came a quick fast-paced intro sequence, which thereafter showed a man standing in front of a chart with some symbols and numbers on it, talking about the clouds and weather patterns for the next few days.

“How does he know about the weather so well?” Rainbow Dash blurted out. “It’s like he reads the future before it arrives!”

Starlight Glimmer laughed, leaning back in her seat. “That’s because he studies everything about the weather very closely and looks up to what will happen next based on the current events right up to when the next day’s weather events will happen.”

After some time the news got boring, so Twilight shut off the TV.

“Anyone hungry?” Applejack asked, as everyone got off the couches.

“I am!” Spike said excitedly, running into the kitchen.

“What about you, Angel Bunny?” Fluttershy asked her pet bunny kindly.

Angel Bunny threw his usual fit that spelled “I WANT A CARROT RIGHT NOW!”

Fluttershy sighed and entered the kitchen.

“Let’s see what we got,” Starlight said, using her telekinesis to open the fridge door. Spike opened up the cupboards and scanned the m for any food. Boy, did they find a lot!

Starlight found some pineapple juice, Fluttershy found a few carrots, Pinkie Pie found a small box of Oreos, Rarity found some bread and peanut butter, Applejack found a banana in the fruit bowl, Twilight Sparkle found a slice of leftover pizza, and Rainbow Dash found some sweet buns. Spike didn’t find any gems, so he simply slumped down in one of the chairs. With their meals found, everypony sat down at the table to enjoy their food.

“This is so awesomely sweet!” Rainbow Dash hollered, taking a big bite of her bun.

Rarity looked so relaxed and joyful as she spread a thick layer of peanut butter on her three slices of bread and stacked them together, forming a club sandwich. “Mmm, this is pretty sweet and creamy!”

“Have some pizza, Spike,” Twilight offered, handing out a piece to her dear dragon. “You’ll like it.”

Spike reluctantly took the piece of pizza and gave a few bites, smiling as the mixture of flavors from the toppings blended together on his tongue. “I like this, Twilight! It tastes so good!”

Pinkie Pie finished the Oreos – all forty of them – in a matter of minutes. She wasn’t exactly a respectful pony when it came to table manners.

“Never tasted tropical fruit before, but I’m already in love with it,” Applejack admitted as she took a big bite of her banana. “This is one of the best fruits I’ve tasted besides apples.”

“Talk about relaxing and soothing,” Starlight commented as she sipped her pineapple juice. “This is too good to be true.”

Fluttershy quietly enjoyed her washed carrot with Angel Bunny, who was looking pretty plump after eating half of the whole carrot. Fluttershy ate the other half whole-heartedly.

“Um, pretty delicious,” she said with a smile. “Shall we go for a walk now, girls?”
> Chapter 4: Blast Off
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Always the tidy and fastidious one, Rarity cleaned up all of the crumbs and dirt on the dining floor, and then washed the dishes.

“It is proper etiquette of a true regal pony to clean up after one’s self and make sure that the appeal is proper, neat, and clean-looking,” she complimented. “Rainbow dear, would it hurt so much as to put the sweet bun packaging in the trash can?”

“Um, no Rarity, it wouldn’t,” Rainbow Dash replied, quickly grabbing the packaging on the floor and shoving it into the trash bin.”

With the kitchen and the family room clean, Rarity headed to the door, while Fluttershy went to check out the guest bedroom that Justin had prepared for them. There was a large queen-sized bed, complete with a dog bed for Spike and a little box for Angel Bunny. He had also laid out a nice pink chest of drawers and a storage bin for them as well. In the corner was a cardboard box with a label that said FOR FLUTTERSHY.

Walking over, Fluttershy opened the box and pulled out the contents. She could barely believe her eyes. Inside were an assortment of items – a racing helmet for her, a flameproof racing suit in the blue-and-yellow style of the Wonderbolts, and the clothes that Lorraine had made for her. On top of the chest of drawers lay a stack of banknotes, the Supra’s registration papers, and an invitation letter complete with a ticket.

“You ready yet?” Starlight Glimmer called out from the hall.

“Ah! Sorry, Starlight, you scared me a little there,” Fluttershy replied. “Just a moment please.” She closed the door and slipped on the clothes, wearing her flowery panties, casual pants, and a T-shirt. Then she took her ID card, license card, and license papers and placed them on the chest of drawers before exiting the room.

“Everypony ready?” she asked kindly, opening the back door.

“Ready,” Rainbow Dash replied instantly, obviously the most eager.

They all filed out of the house, with Angel Buny staying in the family room, content with a nice nap.

Fluttershy led them around the deck towards the driveway, where they all gazed out to the breathtaking scenery that laid before them. The clear blue waters of the Californian bay could clearly be seen, due to the fact that Justin’s mansion was technically on a hill.

“Down here,” Fluttershy ushered, pointing to the white steel gates at the end of the driveway, which sloped down towards the angled road. There was a digital keypad on the other side, but thankfully, Fluttershy knew the code. She flew over the gates to the other side and typed in the code using her nose. The gates’ bolts clicked, and she swung them open, allowing her friends to walk onto the road.

“Watch for cars,” she warned, pushing the gates closed and retyping in the code.

With the house secure, Fluttershy and her seven friends set off, Pinkie Pie and Starlight Glimmer bringing up the rear as usual. They set off down the road to the main highway, where they could walk on the grassy hillside close to the road and enjoy the oceanic views. It was hard to hold a discussion because the cars and trucks that passed by at high speed were so noisy.

“What was that?” Rarity asked as they continued ever further from home, trying to pick up what Twilight was telling her about the coastline’s shape and structure.

Fluttershy was a little disappointed, as she wasn’t too familiar with the area either. In a bid to keep her friends entertained, she encouraged them to go up the hill, where there would be less wind and less traffic noise.

Much better, Applejack thought, as they settled down at the top of a steep hill to relax in the sun’s rays.

“We should have eaten our food out here,” Starlight Glimmer suggested. “I mean, no offense to Justin, but being up here seems so much better than in that dining room.”

Rarity nodded sadly. “At least we have the sunlight and the lapping waves. Fluttershy, you were right. I guess the earth really is a beautiful place if you view it from the right angle.”

Fluttershy nodded proudly. “Shall we go now?”

“I still got some steam,” Applejack said proudly, as they reached the bottom of the hill.

“I am just out!” Rarity said, huffing. “That was quite a climb and descent! But, the scene was totally worth it.”

Back at the house, Fluttershy closed the gates but didn’t lock them.

“Shall I show you the one thing you’ve all been waiting for?” she said excitedly, almost pacing.

“Yes please!” Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash said at the same time.

“Ok, just a moment please,” Fluttershy replied, and flew around to the back of the house. Angel Bunny had woken up from his nap and was resting in the grass near the pool, beside the deck. Opening the patio doors and dashing inside, Fluttershy headed into her room, pulled off her clothes, and slid into the suit. It wasn’t loose but there was enough room for her to bend and flex freely. Then she took her license card, license papers, the Supra’s registration papers, and stuffed it all into her saddle bag. Loosely strapping it on, she headed for the door to the garage and opened it.

There, in all its beauty and glory, was her beloved car. Or was it? Though still a Supra, it looked a lot different. Taped to the wall just below the key hook was a note. She pulled it off and read it.

I have given your car a few upgrades. I have upgraded the turbocharger parts, upgraded the brakes and brake fluid system, changed the seats, put in some new safety racing harnesses, changed the steering wheel, installed a roll cage, exchanged the boost controller pod for a simple adjustment knob, changed the exhaust, changed the rims, and gave the car a shiny black paint finish.

Hope you like it,
Justin Davis

Fluttershy sighed and smiled. She was happy with the upgrades, but felt it would have been better if he’d asked her about them first before doing so.

Grasping the key in her mouth, she waked over to the garage door behind the car, grabbed a handle, and shoved the door upwards.
Her friends were just lost for words. Even Rainbow Dash had her mouth agape in utter shock.

Fluttershy smiled proudly. “By the way, this suit was given to me by Justin. I didn’t have it before, so it looks like he made it as a welcoming return gift. And yes, the car has been modified a little from the last time I drove it.” She pushed the key into the hole in the door and unlocked the door. Opening the door, she noticed that the roll cage made it a lot harder to get in. She had to lean forward to be able to step into the driver’s seat.

“Well, it’s been quite a while, but here goes nothing,” she whispered to herself, pressing the clutch down. Then, with a deep breath, she pushed the key into the ignition, and turned it. The 2JZ engine roared to life, scaring her just as it had the first time she started the car. Letting the car idle for a few minutes, she took out her license card, papers, and documents, and slid them into the glovebox. Then she tossed the saddle bag into the footwell on the passenger side, before clambering back out of the car.

“So…”

“This is just the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed.

“Just fabulous, darling!” Rarity complimented. “I love the smooth lines and graceful curves of the bodywork! And don’t get me started on that gleaming, lustrous black paint…”

“Can I drive?” Pinkie asked quickly.

Fluttershy smiled and shook her head. “Oh no no Pinkie, this is no toy. Tens of thousands of bits have been invested in this machine.”

“Sweet Celestia!” Rarity exclaimed.

“What the hay?!” Applejack burst out. “How do you spend so much bits on such a thing?”

“The best quality comes at a price,” Fluttershy replied. “Rarity sure knows that from visiting Canterlot. Now, who’d like to go for a drive?”

Every single one of them put their hooves up. Pinkie Pie even made a puppy face.

Fluttershy smiled and sighed sadly. “Well, let’s see. Because of the roll cage – that’s that black metal frame you see inside – I can’t risk you hitting your heads. And there are only two rear seat belts. As such, only three at a time. Okay?”

The six friends nodded. “All right.”

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle elected to go first, along with Spike, who would sit on Twilight’s lap and grasp her chest for protection. Rainbow Dash and Rarity sat in the back, getting in via the trunk, while Twilight Sparkle and Spike sat in the front. Starlight Glimmer and the others headed back inside the house for some more chill-out.

Fluttershy shut the trunk, climbed back in, and shut the doors. She then showed Twilight Sparkle how to buckle the 5-point safety harness. Rainbow Dash and Rarity in the back buckled up too. Finally, everyone was ready.

“This car has one large turbo putting out about 40 psi at full power, along with a six-speed manual transmission. The roll cage prevents us from getting crushed should the car roll over in an accident,” Fluttershy explained as she shifted into reverse and rolled out of the garage. Shutting the garage door and the gates behind her, she gently drove out onto the main highway.

“Okay, so this car has many features as you can tell,” Fluttershy began, cruising at a modest 60 km/h, which still felt a little fast for Rarity. 

“Down here it has a touch screen head unit, and two gauges monitoring a few bits of information about the car, such as the air-fuel ratio and the boost level.”

“How do the levels change?” Twilight Sparkle asked, eager to learn more about the mechanics of the car.

“They change…” Fluttershy glanced in the rearview mirror for a final check, then changed lanes, remembering to flip on the indicator light. “…That gesture you just saw was to inform other road users that I’m changing lanes so they can adjust their speed to avoid any collisions. It’s called indicating, and is performed by simply flipping a switch on and off. Now, the gauge levels change according to how the engine and the parts it interacts with are behaving. So let’s start at a low boost setting of 20 psi, hit it, and see how it goes.” 

“No, wait, I—” Twilight began.

Fluttershy pressed the gas hard, spooling up the turbo and sending the car flying forward at mind-blowing speed, knocking her friends back in their seats rather painfully. She struggled to hold tightly onto the steering wheel and keep it straight as the speedometer needle shot up from 60 km/h to 180 km/h in few mere seconds. She shifted into third and then fourth as the speed increased rapidly.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Rarity screamed, almost outdoing the turbo itself for the loudest sound heard.

“Sweet Celestia!” Rainbow Dash yelped.

“T-t-this is cr-crazy fast!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed in a rather creaky voice, held in by her racing harness. Spike dug his claws into her fur, trying not to be thrown about.

The car felt like it rocked backwards a bit as Fluttershy threw it into neutral and let off the gas to let the engine slow down a little.

“Oh, how it still is a shocker after all these months,” Fluttershy said with a grin.

Rarity was speechless, huffing and gasping with relief. She almost looked dead from Fluttershy’s viewpoint in the rearview mirror.
“That was crazy!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, a hint of anger in her voice. “You could have gotten killed!”

Fluttershy shook her head and shifted back into second gear. “Oh no, Twilight, I’ve driven this car even faster. It has been a while though since I did so.”

“That was…AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, jumping up and down in her seat. “Whoooooooooooo-weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Fluttershy beamed. “And that’s only low boost!”

“What?!” Rarity and Twilight exclaimed at the same time. “You mean, the Supra can go even faster?!”

Fluttershy nodded proudly. “Remember I said that it was around 40 psi? That pull was at just 20 psi.”

Twilight’s mouth dropped open as Fluttershy drove them further down the highway at a modest 90 km/h. It was her first time performing a pull in her Supra in five months, and the first time a few of her friends got to have the same experience.
> Chapter 5: Another Highway Run
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy then drove off the highway, found a way around to the other side, and drove back the way she came, this time on a very low boost setting of just 8 psi. Even so, it still made Rarity scream like she was being raped and punched. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, quite enjoyed it – no surprise there. As they turned back onto the highway heading south, Fluttershy found a wide open space and tried out the technique she’d used before to get around a tight corner at high speed.

“What are you doing—” Twilight started to ask, as Fluttershy made a quick downshift to second gear, dropped the clutch as hard as she could, and spun the steering wheel around.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaah!” Rarity screamed, this time in pain as her head banged against the side of the car. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in shock as the car started to slide sideways slightly, as Fluttershy tapped the throttle to keep the rear tires spinning and ease the slide, leaving a large plume of smoke behind her. With some interesting hoof movements she had transformed from Fluttershy to FlutterAwesome.

“What is this?” Twilight asked, gripping the roll cage to resist the swishing force exerted on her body.

Fluttershy could hardly hear her due to her extremely high concentration levels.

“FLUTTERSHY!” Twilight screamed, unknowingly resulting in a situation she didn’t expect. Fluttershy jumped to attention, accidentally pressing the throttle too hard. The car spun a full 180 degrees while simultaneously rolling backwards towards the metal guard rail.
Thinking fast, Fluttershy upshifted into third gear, let off the throttle, then stomped on it hard in a desperate attempt to drag the car forwards. However, it was not enough, and the car’s rear bumper banged and scraped against the guard rail with a hard thunk and screech. Soon, Fluttershy managed to get the car moving – but in the opposite direction of the traffic. Ripping the e-brake she spun the Supra the right way round and accelerated hard down the highway once again.

“Um…I…” Twilight began, but Fluttershy just shook her head in disappointment, and wouldn’t talk. But Rainbow Dash did.

“What.Were.You.Thinking!” she began harshly. “You caused her to apply too much speed so she almost crashed!”

Not wanting to be left out, Rarity jumped in. “Please do be considerate. It could have been a lot worse, darling. I’m glad everypony is okay. While albeit scary I do quite admire this type of driving.”

After she’d calmed down, Fluttershy spoke seriously and sternly about what happened. “Twilight, please please please don’t do that. You startled me, so I applied too much throttle. What I was doing is called ‘drifting.’ It’s where you keep a little bit of control while getting the car to slide sideways. But if you apply too much throttle, you’ll spin out and undoubtedly hit something, which is exactly what happened. Besides, I’ve only done this once before and that was a long time ago.

“Now she’s gotta tell Justin that she damaged his car,” Rainbow snapped, clearly still upset.

Twilight didn’t stop to talk to her friends as Fluttershy drove up the narrow road and onto the driveway. She climbed out and headed straight for the back door.

“Twilight, wait!” Spike called, running after her.

“So, how did it go?” Applejack asked Rainbow Dash and Rarity as they climbed out of the trunk.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Rainbow said with massive enthusiasm. “I love that car! It is bit difficult to control and rather loud to be honest though.”

Rarity wobbled a little, as she wasn’t used to sitting on her hindquarters like a human. “That was scary! Scary, yes, but also thrilling. I’m not one for crazy fast speeds, but once you’re going fairly fast in that machine, you feel fabulous! It really isn’t about the power, it’s the surprise of how the power hits you.”

Next it was the turn of Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Starlight Glimmer.

“What’s going on with Twilight?” Starlight asked, as Fluttershy showed her how to fasten the 5-point safety racing harness.
Fluttershy sighed and was about to tell her all about the near-crash experience when Applejack said, “Wait a second, sugarcube. I was sugar sure I saw a dent and a few nasty scrapes in the back corner. Did you—”

“—Yes, I did,” Fluttershy spat out in a sad voice. “I was showing Twilight and the others what drifting was, and then Twilight tried to tell me something, but I didn’t respond, so she shouted, and I got startled…and I ended up spinning out!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand you hit the guard rail,” Applejack finished. “It’s all right. If you’re honest and kind with Justin, I’m sure he won’t be too mad. Now let’s have a nice drive, shall we?”

Gulping with confession, Fluttershy restarted the 2JZ engine, made sure Starlight and Pinkie Pie were strapped in securely, and drove back onto the highway – this time heading south.

“So, what is it about this car that makes it so enjoyable?” Starlight asked, eagerly observing the dashboard and the gauge cluster.
Fluttershy then explained all the details of driving, and how the boost controller worked. Like Twilight, she learned fast, and locked onto the key facts quickly.

“It’s all down to how much you want,” Fluttershy concluded, talking about the boost controller. “Maximum amount is 42 psi, and Rarity almost passed out from 20 psi, so I’m tuning it down to 8 psi.”

Just then, a red 1987 Buick Grand National came roaring past them at high speed. Before anyone could make a compliment, Fluttershy threw the car into third gear and chased after it.

“Hey, hold your hooves!” Applejack commented as she was sharply pushed back in her seat from the acceleration force.
Starlight, however, wasn’t screaming from the power – she was just plain shocked. Pinkie as usual, let out a “Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” of delight and fun.

It took a mere minute to catch up to the Grand National – and the guy in it noticed Fluttershy. Normally one would be shocked to see a cute yellow pony driving a Toyota Supra, but the guy just kept going, pushing his V6 harder and harder, trying to go faster. Clearly he wasn’t going down without a fight, so Fluttershy switched lanes and accelerated, spooling up the massive turbo and flying (literally) once again.
Pinkie Pie shot the Buick a mocking wave and wink as the Supra rolled past. With a few cars travelling rather slowly down the road, Fluttershy then slowed down to 110 km/h.

“I think I might want to become a mechanic,” Starlight Glimmer said with an eager smile. “Seriously, there is a ton of interesting and intriguing parts, mechanisms, and more to this car. By the way, what’s that?” She pointed to the large display below the A/C controls and the boost gauge.

“That’s a headunit,” Fluttershy replied proudly. “It’s like a computer. You can play movies, music, radio, and more on it.” She pressed and held a button on it, turning the display on. Logging into the main administrative account, she flipped on the radio. None of her favorite songs were playing, so she switched to the main music library stored on the headunit’s internal storage drive. It took some time, but she recognized a few titles, tapping on one to try it out.

The song started out solemn and sorrowful, before breaking into a crazy and catchy dance-type rhythm. Pinkie Pie started dancing so much that her legs started to bang against the roll cage, making rather loud bangs and clanking sounds.

“Um, could you stop please?” Fluttershy said, her head and upper body still struggling not to bounce in sync to the rhythm. “It is getting rather annoying.”

However, Pinkie Pie ignored the shy comment and continued dancing in the back of the Supra, minimizing her movements ever so slightly. Until the song stopped, and then she stopped.

“I haven’t heard anything like that!” Applejack exclaimed. “Who sang that? His voice is sweeter than sugar cubes.”

Fluttershy’s mouth twisted as she tried not to mess up the name. “A young singer from up north, in another country – a country is like another empire, if you can think of it that way. His name is Justin Bieber. I came across this song on the radio when I first drove the Supra, and instantly fell in love with it, even though I didn't expect to. Here’s another one.” She tapped the next song on the list. This one wasn’t as hardcore when it came to the beats, but overall was just as catchy. What was ironic was how Justin was describing how he worried if it was too late to say sorry for acts of wrongdoing he had done earlier in life, yet the song had a catchy dance beat. The lyrics suggested a solemn, sad tone, yet the music projected an upbeat, dance-oriented atmosphere.

“I love this music!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I’m definitely using it for our party tonight!”

Fluttershy smiled, happy that the music from her favorite singer would be known to all and enjoyed.

“Can you what you did with Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.

Fluttershy sighed with a chuckle. “All right.”

Easing out onto an open stretch of road that curved slightly, she dropped the clutch hard, briefly ripped the e-brake, and spun the wheel, being touchy with the throttle. The car slid sideways, kicking up a trail of smoke in the process at slightly over 70 mph.

“Yee’haw!” Appplejack whooped.

Fluttershy grinned with joy at her friends’ delight of drifting. It was a task that took a lot of dedication and accuracy, but once perfected, it was a sweet thrill.

Unfortunately, the four friends hadn’t taken into account the inconspicuous cops up the road, who were dealing with a small accident. Fluttershy immediately yanked the Supra out of drifting line and slowed down. But one of the officers still noticed and took off after her.

Starlight Glimmer slapped her face with a hoof. “We’re in big trouble now!”
> Chapter 6: Cops and a Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy got a glance of the cops in her rearview mirror, but decided to keep going at the speed limit.

“Give it up,” Applejack snapped. “Either you give in or…”

Starlight cut her off. “Can’t keep running, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy swerved into the rightmost lane adjacent to the guard rail and slowed to a stop, as the cop car came up from behind, sirens ablaze. As the officers approached, Fluttershy pushed the door open and stepped out, looking very timid and frightened.

One of them grinned and laughed. “Relax, little one, I’m not going to hurt you. My name’s Officer Mark, and there’s a few reasons why I’m stopping you today. First of all, you’ve been driving rather recklessly and also at dangerous speed. How long have you had this car?”

Fluttershy was too shaken to speak. All she could do was stutter a few words.

“Well?” Mark pressed, trying to look friendly as possible. Finally Fluttershy spoke, albeit quiet and fearful.

“Um, it’s not my car. It belongs to one of my best friends, Mr. Justin Davis. However, I have been given full permission to drive it, complete with license and registration. Would you like to see them?”

“Most definitely,” Officer Mark replied.

Fluttershy jumped back into the Supra, popped open the glovebox, and grabbed a short stack of papers, and presented them to Mark. “Here they are.”

Mark took the papers and rifled through them with scrutiny, checking every bit. “You’re perfectly legit. However, you’ve still got a good $350 fine on your license, and the money has to be paid within 24 hours by Justin Davis. That means two points on your license.”

Fluttershy gasped, recalling what Carter had warned her about driving, and her face fell in disappointment. “I was simply drifting, as well as demonstrating my car to my friends.” She pointed to Pinkie Pie and Applejack in the back.”

Mark’s eyes went wide. It was the first time he’d seen anything like it – a little talking yellow pony taking her pony friends for a drive. In a Toyota Supra.

“You’re good to go, but remember what I’ve said,” Mark told Fluttershy sternly. “See you all later, and stay out of trouble.”

Still disappointed, Fluttershy hopped back in, tossed the documents back into the glovebox, buckled up, and drove off.





Back at the house, Starlight, Applejack, and Fluttershy got together to try to fix the damage on the car using various items in the garage.

“Let’s see, polish…scrubbing agent...wheel washing cleaner…sandpaper…” Starlight Glimmer went through the list of car care items on one of the shelves. 

“—The sandpaper!” Applejack exclaimed. “I’ll use that.”

Applejack then took the sandpaper and scrubbed the scratched area of the bumper until all of the marks were gone. Fluttershy then got a hose and some soap and washed it down, then dried it out with a hair dryer. Finally, Starlight Glimmer used her unicorn magic to buff the dent out, and Applejack gave it another scrub to remove the chipped paint. The job was not completely done – a little buffing and a fresh coat of paint were still needed. But for now, it would have to do.

Still heartbroken that she had clearly disobeyed the law whilst trying to have fun and amuse her friends, Fluttershy pulled off her suit and put the documents back on top of the chest of drawers, before snuggling into the warm bed that Justin had prepared for her and her friends. Angel Bunny hopped into the room to join her.

“Fluttershy, dear, would you please come out and join us?” Rarity asked, and Applejack tapped on the door. “We’re watching a really exciting movie with animals in it.”

“Um, no, I don’t feel too good,” Fluttershy responded, and turned over in the bed.

Applejack thought back to the pullover incident. “Suck it, Fluttershy! We all make mistakes, and it will be easier on you and us all if you just released it from your mind. We’ll work it out, I promise. Don’t you want to see how this exciting story is going to turn out?”

Fluttershy sighed and sat up. “Okay, I’ll join you in a moment.”

After relaxing and talking with Angel Bunny, Fluttershy regained her confidence and stepped out into the hallway, and sat down next to Rarity on the family room couch. The movie was titled “Secret of the Wings”. It was an enjoyable and heartwarming story about how a forest fairy discovered she had a sister, and later tried to fix a seemingly unfixable error caused by their “forbidden friendship” over two vastly different lands.

I wish fairies were real, Fluttershy thought as the movie ended blissfully. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was busy in the kitchen, baking cupcakes and a large pink-and-white cake. Rarity had found some paper and a few pens and markers, and was busy drawing out a few designs for the walls and doors. Applejack, on the other hand, was fiddling with a piece of machinery that had a long thin hose attached to it, along with an even thinner black cord with metal prongs at the end.

“How in the hay does this work?” she ranted. “I can’t make out a head or tail!”

Twilight Sparkle walked over. “Let me try, and I’ll see if I can sort this out.” Lifting the plug with her telekinesis, she examined the plug, then saw an outlet in the wall. “Looks like it should fit in here.”

With a simple push, the plug slid in perfectly. Applejack pressed a button, and the vacuum’s motor spun to life. It didn’t take long to figure out that the machine sucked things up.

“You’re better at this than I am,” Applejack said honestly.

“We’ll clean this place up together.” Starlight Glimmer joined in, holding up a duster and two cloths. Together, the three of them dusted, wiped, and vacuumed the house spotless, making sure there was no dirt on the ground, and no dust on the shelves, desks, or furniture.

“Cake’s ready!” Pinkie Pie called out. 

Starlight gasped as she entered the kitchen to wash her hands. The cake was perfectly crafted and styled like a wedding cake, but rectangular.

“You made this?”

“Yep!” Pinkie Pie said proudly. “Took me a few hours though, and I’ll need to cover it until eating time. But I’ve still got those cupcakes to make!”

With the home clean, Applejack and Starlight Glimmer headed outside to relax on the deck chairs by the poolside, while Fluttershy spent more time with Angel Bunny on the main grassy area of the backyard. Justin’s house didn’t have much grassy area, but it was enough. Over time, though, it had been neglected, and the grass had grown rather tall, tangled, and filled with pesky insects.

This sure could do with some cutting, she thought.





By sunset, the house was fully decorated. Pink, blue, yellow, and purple streamers adorned the walls, with helium balloons in every color taped to the back of the sofas. Pinkie Pie’s large cake lay neatly atop the counter, in all its pink-and-white glory, adorned with a shiny external layer of icing. Twilight and Starlight Glimmer had conjured up a few enjoyable party games, while Fluttershy had got a brilliant idea. She parked the Supra right in front of the front door, opened the boot, and used a long audio cable to hook up the Supra’s headunit with a large stereo speaker in the family room.

At about 6:50 p.m., the Huracan’s unmistakable sound loomed from the road below. Justin had returned, with some good news…and some uncomfortable messages.

By now, the house was blasting with music playing from the Supra’s stereo. The raspy sound of the turbocharged 2JZ reverberated in the background, as if it were one of the song’s backup instruments.

Beaming with happiness, Justin parked his Lamborghini and headed through the front door.  

“Hi Justin!” Pinkie Pie was right there to greet him with all her enthusiasm.

“I’ll be there in a second, everypony!” he replied loudly over the music. “Keep it rollin’!”

Being as fast as he could, Justin put aside his briefcase in his bedroom and changed into lighter stylish clothing, washing up in the bathroom, and a few little gifts he had bought.

“Welcome!” Rarity said welcomingly, wrapping a tender hoof around Justin’s leg, ushering him into the family room, where all of the ponies were getting up and down to the song blasting from the speaker box. Pinkie Pie’s cupcakes were all laid out neatly on the tables.

Justin’s mouth twitched in suspicion, and he rather awkwardly danced through the crow of ponies to the small open area in front of the rear patio doors. “Fluttershy!”

“Um, yes?” Fluttershy replied, still dancing along with the EDM beat.

Justin just chuckled. “Seems like somepony’s a Bieber fan.”

Fluttershy blushed. Hard. “Don’t be silly. I don’t even know this guy, but I like his voice. It’s so smooth and loving, while having a streak of maturity.”

Of all those present, Justin was the one who felt awkward – he hadn’t partied since he was 15. But Pinkie Pie soon showed him the way.

“Who wants to play Pin the Tail on The Pony?” she said excitedly, shutting off the music.

“ME!” everyone shouted with excitement.

Justin immediately took his chance to engage in some fun and games that he had enjoyed as a child. Now, as a 27-year-old millionaire, he could relive it and feel happy for doing so.

While everyone tucked into the cake that Rarity was now cutting into big squares, Fluttershy took a peek out the patio window and caught sight of something she wished she didn’t see. She noticed a few movements at the bottom of the backyard.

Sneaking away from the group, she pretended to visit the bathroom but instead went to her bedroom, slid her papers into her saddle bag, flipped it shut, strapped it on, and crept outside to investigate.

Sure enough, she spotted one of them – a large, muscular man dressed all in black, identifiable by a small shiny piece on his pants. The guy bolted and ran.

“Wait!” Fluttershy called out, but it was too late. A few minutes later, she heard the loud sound of a car’s engine starting up, and tires squealing. 

Running around to the front of the house, Fluttershy yanked the audio cable out, shut the Supra’s boot, restarted the engine, and drove out onto the open road.

There was not too much difficulty in tracking the guy. Previously it was a lot harder to see the road at night, but Justin had given the Supra an HID headlight kit, which now made it easier to see. As Fluttershy approached the hairpin turn, the masked man was already turning onto the highway.

Making a rather risky move on the tight turn, Fluttershy eased out of the bend and zoomed down the hill after him. His supercharged BMW M5, also black, was fairly easy to spot.

“Come back here!” Even over the wind and engines, Fluttershy’s voice when pushed hard enough, was distinctively loud. “Who are you?”

The man only answered with a hard acceleration. So Fluttershy turned up the boost and took off after him, easily catching up. It looked like she was in for her first street race since the Buick – and it wasn’t looking good at all.
> Chapter 7: A Dangerous Mission
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the race continued, Fluttershy soon realized that the masked guy wouldn’t give up. So instead of trying to overtake him, she followed him closely but kept her distance, checking the GPS on the headunit from time to time so she wouldn’t get lost.

Where are you going? Fluttershy thought, as the BMW driver made a rather violent exit off the highway and headed straight for a backroad near the downtown area of south Los Angeles. As the roads became more isolated and narrow, it soon became clear that this BMW guy had more than spying in mind – he had a hideout somewhere amongst the old dirty buildings.

Finally the black BMW came to a rest at the end of a short alleyway littered with debris, rags, and ripped garbage bags. It stank, the peeling lead paint and rust chips from the old buildings notwithstanding. This was clearly a hideout.

Half-cocking his gun as he stepped out, the masked man in black rapidly glanced from side to side, checking for any signs of movement or sound. Fluttershy carefully eased the Supra into reverse and backed up down the street a little. With noisy footsteps indicating that he was moving and thus reassured by the silence, Fluttershy carefully opened the car door, stepped out, and peeked down the alleyway.

The masked man climbed a rusty iron ladder and squeezed through a hole in the building (which was actually a broken window). Hovering over the ground to avoid making noise from her hooves on the dirty ground, Fluttershy followed, then hid below the windowsill and listened closely. It was fairly windy and there was only whispers, but the sound was close by and thus traveled clearly out the window.

“Where have you been?” one of them demanded. By his loud, deep voice, Fluttershy could tell that he was the boss. “We’ve been rotting away in this godforsaken place for over eight hours!”

“I’m sorry there were delays,” another voice replied sheepishly.

Fluttershy tried not to laugh at the way it was said…so obvious and so blatant. The conversation continued for another ten minutes or so, until some final plans were confirmed by the leader. From the tone and variation of voice levels, she guessed there were at least five members of the gang, including the leader. And they had one goal in mind…to infiltrate D & J industries. Apparently they weren’t happy with the way Justin had set deals and broke ties due to injustice, and they wanted it back. But the most shocking thing of all was that the gang mentioned Jesse – and that he had been brutally beaten up and left to die.

“Jesse?!” Fluttershy gasped, losing her grip and falling down, screaming briefly before grabbing a hold of herself and flapping her wings to stay airborne. Still a little dazed, she tried to snap back to attention of what she’d just heard, but the gang had fallen silent, evidently having heard her. After a while their confidence rose and they continued talking more about Jesse and his circumstances. 

It turned out, Jesse had served jail time but had it hard. Many of the other prison inmates had beaten him up, started a riot, and later ended up in a lone cell. Mostly it was because he told them about Fluttershy had stood up to and defeated him. As such, the prison inmates had seen Fluttershy as inferior and mocked Jesse for being a weakling who couldn’t defeat a little pony. The gang mentioned about their new ammunition shipment – Fluttershy winced, recalling how Jesse had shot her wing – and then trailed off about other dealings and contracts, but Fluttershy paid close attention to that section of the discussion.

As the gang’s talk wrapped up, there was only one conclusion: these guys were up to no good – and she and Justin were the main targets.
Having gathered all the information she needed, Fluttershy carefully flew back down to the dirty ground next to the BMW, but bumped a garbage bin lid in the process due to the almost total absence of light. She tried to catch the lid but it hit the ground with a loud clang. Footsteps instantly shattered the silence. Her cover was blown. One of the men came plummeting down from the windowsill above.

Fluttershy ran down the alleyway for her life as the guy pulled out his gun and fired a few shots, before the other gang members jumped out of the window and ran down the alleyway after the yellow pony who’d been spying on them.

Perpendicular to the narrow alleyway was another alleyway, slightly wider. Where had I come from? Fluttershy quickly thought, as the gang closed in on her. Making a quick judgement call she glanced both ways and noticed the main road, dashing left, narrowly missing another bullet.

Jumping over trash cans and piles of broken boxes and crates, tripping twice, Fluttershy came upon the main road…and saw her shiny black Toyota Supra, still waiting beside a shabby townhouse driveway.

“Get her!” another shout came from close behind. The road was long and wide open, with little trees or fences. Now Fluttershy was truly scared – she had no place to hide. Screaming with fright she ran down the cracked sidewalk to her car as fast as she could. She pulled her keys out and unlocked the door, just as the gang approached, their guns cocked and ready to fire.

Jumping in, she shoved the key into the ignition, turned it, threw the car into reverse and slammed the gas, hurling the car backwards down the bumpy road as the gang fired at the Supra’s bumper and hood.

Swerving out into the middle of the road, Fluttershy ripped the e-brake and spun the Supra round, and drove off down the road, heading straight for a hiding spot. Quickly checking her map, she soon found the route back to the highway and went for it as fast as possible before the gang could catch up in time. 

Back at the house, Justin and the rest of the ponies were increasingly concerned about Fluttershy’s disappearance. She turned up about an hour later, but the bullet holes in the bumper and the hood were an obvious sign of her ordeal.

Fluttershy simply shut the engine off, put the car into neutral and eased it into the garage, before popping the holey hood and propping it on its kickstand. Then she walked back into the house from the garage door and crept into the living room, where everyone wore anxious and frightened faces.

“You look just as scared as I was,” Fluttershy replied, cracking the silence.

“You’re okay!” Starlight Glimmer exclaimed, running over and squeezing her in a big hug. The others followed suit. Everybody that is, except Justin, who now wore a serious frown.

“What in tarnation were you thinking?!” he demanded, before being met with an equal frown from Twilight, who used her magic to bond his lips together.

“You promise to keep silent?” she snapped. Justin, disabled and hopeless, gulped and nodded. Twilight released her grasp, and sat Fluttershy down on the couch.

“So, what’s the story?” Rainbow Dash asked. 

Fluttershy wanted to unravel the whole story, but thought it would be too much for her friends to bear, so she decided to give a summary instead.

“While you all were having fun, I noticed a man – muscular, wearing all black and covered face – hiding in the bushes at the bottom of the backyard. I rushed at him, but he noticed me and ran. I heard an engine, so I hopped into my Supra and gave chase. He refused to pull over, so I followed him to a small two-storey building in the run-down area of southern Los Angeles. There, I picked up some disturbing news. Now I know it could well be lies, but I’m holding the talk that I heard true and authentic until proven otherwise. Thing is, I’ve been hiding a few things from you, Justin. Listen to me.”

Justin nodded with a serious face. 

“Justin, I was caught speeding, and my license now has two points. Thankfully the car hasn’t been impounded, but I’ve racked up four tickets – three of them on my journey from New Mexico, and one here when I was drifting to demonstrate it to my friends.”

“And Twilight made her crash. That rear bumper now has a big dent in it,” Spike blurted out.

Fluttershy continued. “Since I am not a citizen with a job the burden is on you. In addition, I was caught in the act by the gang, but managed to get away unharmed. But the car’s hood and front bumper are full of holes.”

“So they shot at you,” Justin replied, his face full of displeasure.

“Yes, they did,” Fluttershy replied. “While driving the car from New Mexico to here, I encountered Jesse and his bikers. They mentioned about your relationship with them and how they deemed it to be unfair. I raced them, then brake-checked them to get them off my tail. But later they caught up to me, so I blew up their bikes, alerting police, who arrested them. In prison Jesse was beaten up badly and left for dead. Long story short, the gang I spied on now blames me for Jesse’s death and claims that you, Justin, are a fraud and have cheated on them through that contract.”

“That’s ridiculuous!” Rarity spat out in disgust.

“Those guys are gonna give it all they got to rip your head off, Fluttershy,” Starlight Glimmer announced. “We gotta get out of here.”

“Wait,” Justin said in a big voice, but his eyes were a little watery. “I’m partially to blame for all of this. I didn’t tell you all my backstory. Ten years ago I used to be part of that gang. We stole electronic equipment and tried to make them cooler and fancier, then sell them, along with drugs, for some quick cash. I was the most innovative and tech-savvy of all of them. One masterpiece I made had the ability to form holes through space and time, as well as direct energy through a circular shape. It was so amazing I didn’t want to sell it. The boss of the gang and I got into a fight. Jesse was my best friend, and together we escaped one night. Since he had a way with the law, we exposed the gang, and I redeemed myself. With a new life and help from Jesse, I attended college and began a project with the contraption, and got some funding, which I then used a portion of to legally purchase the same electronic equipment that I had used to make that contraption of mine. With help from Jesse, we tracked down the people we had stolen the equipment from and ‘returned’ the stolen goods.”

“Of course we both felt happy. With my project approved, I also studied business and became quite successful in it. I graduated and started up D & J industries. Jesse went about his own way and got into aftermarket parts for performance cars. It so happened that I was halfway through building that Supra when I needed a few parts – and he was the only one whom I could obtain them from. At the time, Jesse was going through hard times, and had to take out a loan. Now, I am religious and do not believe in interest. So, when I found out later that Justin had taken out a loan I knew that the money I spent on those auto parts was going towards paying back his loan. I returned the parts and managed to import identical ones from overseas. Unfortunately the two sets of parts looked exactly the same, and Justin used this to his advantage and lied to his accountants, the bank, and the government. I cut off my business ties with him, and we never talked again. However, it looks like he has returned to a life of crime, and so ended up the way he did. Meanwhile, I finally felt free and happy once again. I finished building the Supra and upgraded the ‘electronic contraption’. With the college project gone well with other ventures and concepts, they had no need for it. So I took it home and started making the portal off of it. However, it soon grew so big that I had to hide it away in the basement. Now, it looks like my past has come to haunt me. First things first, though. I need to get you clean, Fluttershy. Then I’ll made sure my crime record is clear and my portal is not using any remnants of that little piece I made in my thug life. Then we’ll deal with the gang. It’s not easy, though, as they’re larger than you think.”

“But what about the portal?” Applejack asked.

“That must remain top-secret. A few elements of it have been approved by the law, but not necessarily as a complete project as it is now.”

“So whaddya sayin’?” Applejack continued. “That that mega contraption of yours in the top-secret basement is against the law?”

Justin blushed. “Not necessarily. But it could be, since I built it over many years. I cannot recall exactly if I used parts from that illegal component I first made when I was part of the gang.”

“Did you have anything that could prove the existence of certain parts of the portal?” Rarity asked with tender, eager eyes. 

“Um…yes! Of course! A log. In fact, several binders. I kept a few of them in my safe somewhere in a secret floor panel in my room, but I can’t recall exactly – last time I went in there was before a bad accident around a few months before I met Fluttershy. Can you help me look?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Rarity said eagerly. “I have a unique talent for finding gems!”

Justin’s mouth formed a little O of surprise. “Good. I may have left some jewelry in there a long way back…”

“Let’s find ourselves some documents!” Pinkie Pie announced, darting into the bedroom and shoving the door open.

“Hold it!” Applejack snarled, gripping the pink pony’s tail in her teeth. “No pony enters one’s bedroom without valid permission.”

Justin smiled. “It’s okay. Let her go, so long as she doesn’t take or touch or break anything.”

Free from AJ’s grasp, Pinkie then began looking through every drawer, cupboard, and shelf, desperately trying to find a secret compartment or a small panel that would hide a lever or button. Starlight Glimmer used her advanced magic to see through the drywall on one side, while Twilight Sparkle and Rarity scanned the floor.

“Got it!” Rarity exclaimed, pointing to a barely visible thin black square on the floor behind an ottoman – a clear indication of a secret hinged panel within the floor.
> Chapter 8: Cleaning and Investigating
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“If I remember correctly…yes. There’s a switch hidden behind the main light switch to open this,” Justin said, observing the floor carefully, before giving out an order. “Twilight, can you get a few screwdrivers from the garage, please?”

Twilight nodded and dashed down the hall, while Starlight Glimmer simply lay down on the bed, looking rather…relaxed.

With his tools, Justin then spun the flat-headed screwdriver and removed the main switchplate, before realizing he’d forgotten an important safety measure.

“Don’t touch it!” he warned his pony friends, pointing to the exposed wires and metal switch bracket. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Justin headed outside and down into the basement, where he opened up a panel in the wall, and flipped a few switches, shutting off all electricity that flowed to the bedroom.

“Now let’s see…” he began, unscrewing a few small gold screws as his friends watched closely, especially Twilight. Soon the electrical components came loose from their metal housing. Setting them aside, Justin then used the flat end of one large screwdriver and broke the metal switch housing out of its rectangular hole in the wall. Behind it lay pitch blackness, but upon shining a flashlight inside, Twilight noticed a small, perfectly hidden lever.

With a gulp and a head bow of hope, Justin reached in with his fingers and jammed at the lever, pushing it up. The panel in the floor opened with a jerk. Rarity lifted it up to reveal a metal lid with a number keypad.

“What’s that for?”

“Security,” Justin replied with a smile. He typed in a complex number and the metal lid popped open. Inside lay a stack of zippered binders. There were only a few of them, but each one was thicker than any book in the whole of the Friendship Castle.

“The logs,” Applejack breathed.

“You bet,” Justin replied. “But we gotta do this strategically. Starlight, Rainbow, you stand guard outside at the back in case those thugs come back to snoop. Rarity and Fluttershy, patrol the driveway and front entrance area. Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, stay here with me. No one must know what’s inside these binders, so we must be quiet in our conversations.”

Bending over, Justin lifted out the binders one by one and placed them on his comfy big bed in order, only to realize something.

“So you have three binders?” Twilight said excitedly. 

Justin shook his head. "I remember I had seven, but there are only three here. I think I may have hidden the other four in various places, but I can't recall exactly where."

Justin chuckled and gave her a kiss before unzipping binder #1, causing an eruption of dust in the process.

“These records sure have been down there for a long time,” Applejack commented in a low voice, wiping down the other binders with a slightly wet rag.

“They sure have been,” Justin replied, carefully flipping through the pages of the first few pages. “Let’s see. If my predictions are correct, the most likely place I might have used the illegal components have to be in the first two binders, since that illegal part was a sub-segment of the larger segments that make up the core of the portal.”

“So how exactly does this work?” Twilight asked inquisitively.

“With lots of scientific magic,” Justin replied with a grin. He then explained, via the binders, how he constructed the portal, starting with the internal core. It used a high-density core ring made of an element called twilidya, which was formed from a mixture of several elements and atomic fragments from other natural earth-based materials. Once that was done, electricity and other chemistry-related aspects were added until the variable of electricity and power from the energy core ring could be adjusted as need be. Later, a rotational force was added, until the epicenter of the portal could then break the seal of space and galaxy matter, allowing for travel and journeying to various alternate universes.

The one problem with the portal was the immense amount of electrical power it required to run. Most of Justin’s personal money had to go towards the bills, which were five to eight times above average.

Also, after a few test runs, the twilidya would decay and have to be replaced. It was an element that took many months to produce, and required only the best and most advanced of everything – particle accelerator, amounts of the right periodic elements down to the molecule, energy conditions, atomic bits from other rare natural earth-based materials, and more.

“Last time I checked when you all entered Earth, the twilidya had decayed by about 40 percent. As such, when you return, it will decrease even more. The larger the object that goes through the portal, the more the twilidya decays.”

“And if the twilidya decays then the portal’s broken, and if the portal’s broken, then it won’t work anymore and then you’ll be in really really big trouble!” Pinkie Pie quickly said in a flash.

Justin nodded, a sad I-know-that’s-the-reality look on his face. “However, the decay is not a big concern for now. I should be fine reading these binders without intervention, as the memories are all coming back to me now, bit by bit. For now, though, it’s late, and we should all get some sleep in shifts. “Three of you will stand guard, while the rest will sleep. Then we switch. All right?”

Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie Pie all nodded.

“I second that,” Applejack said with a yawn. “I can barely believe I hardly did any work ‘round here and mah body’s already givin’ out on mah legs!”

To ensure no one felt that they were favored or had jealousy – even in the slightest – Justin made them all sleep in the guest bedroom together, while he slept in his own room.

Rarity, Spike, and Rainbow Dash took the first shift, checking for any intruders. They patrolled the property border, looking for any footprints or fingerprints on the glass panels that formed a little fence between the pool and the patio deck tiling. But nothing was to be found, not even one. Even the roads were empty, and the blacked-out BMW was nowhere to be seen or heard.

Morning came and Justin returned to the serious business of reading through his binders of documented planning, drawings, and notes on how he constructed the portal and its mechanisms. Every detail had to be read thoroughly.

“Aren’t you comin’ for breakfast, sugarcube?” AJ asked, her head peeking in the doorway.

“Just a moment, Applejack,” Justin replied, and continued looking over the pages. After another five minutes he finished half of the first binder, with no trace of the “illegal contraption” or any of its parts mentioned or shown. Feeling a little upset, he flipped the binder shut and walked out of the room.

“Did you find anything yet?” Pinkie Pie asked hurriedly, clearly disregarding the look on his face.

Rainbow Dash shot her a nasty look. “Be more considerate, Pinkie!”

Pinkie Pie blushed. “Um, I…I guess not.”

Justin nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t find it—yet. But I’m seeing how the portal came to be what it is now, and the key parts to its capabilities. And that is one key step to getting down to the heart of this situation.”
> Chapter 9: Babs Speed, Bad, Bad Speed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“How much would the motor be worth?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

> Chapter 10: A Hair-Raising Feud
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the evening, Justin soon returned, discovering that his pony friends had been quite busy. Rainbow Dash had gotten some old tables, cleaned them up, and laid them out in a row. Rarity had set many small boxes containing all the tools, parts, and odds ends on them. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was busy baking again in the kitchen, and Starlight Glimmer had finished all the laundry, hanging them outside to dry on an old clothes rack. Some of them she put in the dryer. Thankfully Justin had written down his laundry procedures on a piece of paper taped to the wall – which meant the job was a piece of cake for Starlight.

“Got ‘em,” was all Justin could say, as his mind was already racing. “We gotta leave early tomorrow to visit the headquarters office in Burbank, which means a long drive. So let’s get this motor done quickly. Hey Pinkie!” he called out as she extended her neck unrealistically wide out of the front door. “No party tonight. Busy work tomorrow.”

“Got it!” Pinkie quickly replied and dashed back into the kitchen.

“Got it too,” Rainbow Dash boasted, holding up a small grey book, before dusting it off. “It says 1995 Toyota Supra Owner’s Engine Service Manual.”

“Then we most certainly will need it,” Rarity replied with a snicker, using her magic to pull it from Rainbow’s hooves and flipping through the pages to the part that explained about the motor, before presenting it before Justin.

Having finally finished her baking, Pinkie Pie soon joined the group in the garage, and revealed that she did know one important thing about car engines – oil. Quickly examining the engine all over, she soon found the motor oil drain cap.

“May somepony please get me a drain bucket please?” she asked, and Rainbow Dash was in and out with one in just 10 seconds.

Easing the bucket under the motor, she unscrewed the cap and let all the oil flow out. It looked like burnt honey, with black flecks in it.

Justin shook his head. “We’re gonna have to open it up and clean the insides of any traces of old oil, as well as scrape away every single trace of residue. Could be an hour-long task from what I’ve observed.”

Rarity wiped her hooves with a spare rag, sighed, and headed inside the house.

On the table, Pinkie Pie had served lasagna, chocolate vanilla cookies, and fresh juice.

“Wow, Pinkie,” Justin said in surprise as he bit into a big square of lasagna. “I didn’t know you knew how to cook pasta.”

“Ah, I just found a recipe card in the back of the cupboard. It was pretty easy to follow.”

After everyone had eaten to their fill, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Starlight Glimmer all headed off to bed, while Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight all returned to the garage to finish cleaning and fixing the stock 2JZ motor. Justin showed them how to disassemble it and how to scrape off the residue without damaging the internal components. It took a lot longer than they anticipated, and finishing time came in at about 10:37 p.m. But the motor now glistened in the driveway lights like a crystal gem, having been polished, cleaned, and all broken or faulty parts replaced.

The morning began at the crack of dawn, as everyone ate a hearty breakfast of fruity oatmeal, gladly cooked up by Justin himself. He smiled, watching them eat as he quickly reviewed his notes and schedule for the day. It seemed like each of their personal interests and personalities seemed to fit quite well with his lifestyle. Rarity had an eye for value, organization, and cleanliness, Pinkie Pie loved his kitchen, and Rainbow Dash had an eye for detail and understanding of dealing with a situation. Starlight was still a rookie, but she was getting a good hang of the ropes. Twilight clearly fitted in with her intelligence and her love of reading.

Having finished eating, Rarity, who would normally be elaborately prepping herself in the powder room or fussing over which dress to wear, headed straight for the bedroom, grabbing some tape, paper, and a few colored markers. Then she dashed out into the garage as if her life depended on it.

“Uh…I…ah, I don’t get it,” Rainbow Dash mouthed. “Back in our world she was the happy-go-lucky, generous, and charming fashionista we knew, and now she’s become an obsessive businessmare. Has your car injected her with OCD, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy shrank back and pulled a sad face, but Rainbow responded before she could breathe a word. “I was just joking. Lighten up a little, will ya?”

Justin giggled as he brought up the rear, heading into his own room to change into his formal outfit. It had been two days since he’d been at the headquarters, and he was eager to know how D & J Industries was coming along. Third-party company dealings hadn’t gone well, as Justin was a man of firmness and core decision. If another company tried to tempt him into a cheating scheme or an interest-based investment to gain extra profit in down times, he’d slap them on the wrist, say NO, and turn his back. Word spread, and quite a few companies now turned their back on him, and worry began to rise that D & J industries would become a bad smell in the network room of major computer engineering, medical, and agricultural companies.

After getting prepped up, Twilight and her friends lined up at the front door, patiently waiting for Justin. He soon appeared, dressed formally in a suit, blue-and-white tie, and a crisp dress shirt, complete with his briefcase (which he had adorned with a flower and three butterflies).

“You all ready?” he asked, and they nodded. “Let’s go.”

They all stood in shock after walking up onto the front porch. Rarity had laid out five tables, complete with price tags, neatly organized boxes, and a clipboard to top it off.

Justin smiled but shook his head in disappointment. “Rarity, this is a great effort, but this is a digital age. It would be better for you to sell them online or somewhere else where people would be interested in them. This isn’t a house you can set up a lemonade stand on, you know what I’m sayin’?”

Rarity blushed and her face fell in thought. “Does that mean I have to go to the big city to sell all this?”

“Not exactly,” Justin replied. “Since you don’t know much about the digital world – well, Fluttershy knows, a little – I say, take it to a mechanic, or a used auto parts shop. They would be more than happy to have all of this for some good cash.”

“What’s cash?” Applejack inquired.

“It’s like bits,” Fluttershy explained. “But in this universe, coins are too big and bulky, so apparently they use thin rectangular strips of fairly durable material.”

Rarity nodded with understanding.

“The only thing is, not all of us can get there at the same time, and the Lamborghini doesn’t have much trunk space,” Justin said. “And Fluttershy can’t drive, so it looks like I’m gonna have to drive the Supra this time.”

“Which is a little odd since you’re always seen in that luxurious green whip of yours,” Applejack commented with a snicker.

Justin blushed. “Yeah. How about you, Fluttershy? Would you like to come?”

“Um, I think I’ll stay here with Angel Bunny, he really needs some handling,” Fluttershy replied in her usual shy voice. “But…I – okay, I’ll come, but Angel Bunny stays in the car.”

Justin nodded. “Makes sense, that guy is one small strong handful. I always wonder how you keep him under control.”

Rarity packed all the organized boxes with their respective price tags into the Supra’s trunk, while Starlight, Applejack, Spike, and Pinkie Pie all squeezed into the back seats. Rarity sat in front, with Fluttershy and Angel Bunny. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle would fly and follow the car from above in the sky.





Out above the Pacific Coast Highway, Rainbow Dash didn’t find it hard to understand why Fluttershy loved this road so much – it was mostly straight and peaceful, with a breathtaking view of the ocean, complete with the warm shining sun. As she flew higher, Rainbow Dash could see the rest of western California, and saw how densely packed this area of the state was. Even with the sun rising well into the sky, the cities and towns looked significantly brighter than their countryside surroundings.

I could really get to like this part of Earth, Twilight thought, grinning as she dashed forward with a burst of speed to catch up with Rainbow.

Down on the road, things weren’t going so well. Justin grinded the transmission three times from lack of practice. “I’m so used to the flappy paddles on the Huracan!” he admitted for the millionth time, as they turned off the highway. In the back, Applejack’s neck felt like it was about to snap off from all the sudden boost kicks Justin had accidentally pulled off. At a stoplight, they came alongside a minivan with a family inside. Justin noticed.

“Get down!” he instructed the ponies.

“Why?” Fluttershy asked with a hint of complaint. “If we are here on Earth than why hide? You’re a fan of us, so what makes them different?”

Justin sighed. “Because they would become obsessed with you.”

Fluttershy gave a slight nod, recalling how everyone in Ponyville kept chasing her after she’d agreed to become a dress model.

“Mommy, look, look!” one of the little girls exclaimed, pointing at the Supra. Justin groaned in defeat. It was too late. Fluttershy and Rarity let loose, rolling down the window and waving at the little girl. Just then, the light turned green, and Justin sped away, blasting the sound of the 2JZ engine behind him. And then Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash arrived, entertaining the girl without Justin noticing. (Pinkie Pie had left her party cannon behind at home, under strict orders).

Finally, after an hour or so of driving, Justin arrived at his business headquarters. It was as Rarity had expected – a shiny office building on the corner of a busy downtown street.

“I’ll find a place to park, while you guys can go inside. D & J occupy rooms 181 to 210 on the twelfth and thirteenth floor.  Just let ‘em know you’re on behalf of me,” Justin told his friends. “Take these documents with you,” he added, handing a rather thick manila file folder to Rarity.
Rarity eagerly hopped out, with Fluttershy calmly following behind. Pinkie Pie burst out with a happy hop of joy and freedom, followed by Applejack, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash soon flew down from the sky high above, and joined them.

“So what do we do here?” Rainbow Dash asked as she landed on the concrete sidewalk.

“We are here, silly,” Rarity replied with a chuckle, pointing to the tall office building. “Justin says we can go inside to the offices.”

As usual, Twilight Sparkle led the way with Spike and Starlight by her side, and all her friends in tow. They walked through the front doors, only to realize that the doors opened as they approached.

Neat to have them automatic like that, Starlight thought.

The place was clean and crisp, with polished tiling, intricately woven carpets, and polished chairs. Instead of settling down in the lobby, Twilight headed straight for the elevator.

“Hey!” a voice called out, rather angrily. Applejack whipped her head round to see a man, also in a suit and tie, walking towards them, a look of fury and shock all over his face, as if the ponies were thieves or terrorists. But Twilight stood her ground and took a step towards him, her face focused but soft. “We come in peace, and on behalf of Mr. Justin Davis. He has given us permission to enter."

“You going up to the HQ?” the guy then asked. “I’ve never seen any creatures like you…are you ponies of some sort?”

Spike nodded with confirmation, and the guy smiled – he was just too cute. “You can go. But please ask next time.”

Twilight nodded. “I will, promise.” She then pressed the up arrow button, and the elevator doors slid open. It didn’t take a minute to figure out how the elevator operated, and they all crammed inside. Twilight pressed the “12” button, and the doors shut. The elevator then whisked them all up to the top, albeit fast. So fast in fact, that Spike ended up belching from the drop of gravity, releasing a wisp of fire into the air. Thankfully Twilight used her magic to put it out before anything dangerous could happen.

At the 12th floor, the doors slid open, and they all walked off into the main hall of the headquarters of D & J Industries. There were so many people, it was hard to make out who was in what position. Thankfully, Rarity’s business mindset flicked into the “on” position, and she soon made out a few ranks.

But not before being spotted by the staff, who instantly gasped in shock, before cooing, oohing, and aahing (mostly over how cute Rarity and her friends looked). Twilight held out her hood with a pleading smile.

“Peace?”

But instead of replying with a helpful answer, the staff only replied with screams of horror. 

“Omigosh, she can talk!”

“Can they play with us?”

“I don’t even…”

Rainbow Dash smack her forehead and groaned. “I can’t take it from you all anymore!” she yelled. “Just calm down for Pete’s sake! We’re living creatures with a mind, heart, and soul, just like you all. And we are just visiting.”

“And we haven’t come to disturb you at all, pr-promise,” Fluttershy added with her low voice.

“I can understand why you’d be so freaked out but this is just crazy,” Pinkie Pie added, her face full of disgust and disappointment.

“My friends and I have come here on behalf of Justin Davis,” Twilight finished, announcing it clearly so everyone heard and understood without being offended or hurt. 

Just then, the elevator doors opened, and Justin himself stepped out, all prim and proper. He looked down at his pony friends. “Argh! I should’ve known. I’m sorry you had to go through all this.”

Justin then calmed down his teams of employees, and briefly explained to them why Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Fluttershy, and the other ponies had come. One of the investor chiefs of another company was also there. Instantly, Applejack could tell by Justin’s facial expression that he didn’t like the presence of that guy. She immediately stepped between Justin and the investor, glaring at them both seriously.

“Pfft, that’s cute,” the investor, Mark Wolf, snorted. Applejack took her hoof and stomped on his foot. Hard.

YEOW!!! 

“Good,” Applejack replied with a snicker. “Now, what’s with the feud between you two? We should settle this fairly and with practical, sensible methods. It just seems somepony doesn’t think that way, so I had to teach him a little lesson.”

Justin couldn’t stop a smile from playing across his lips as AJ ushered him and Mark into an empty cubicle, and then brought in Rarity, who held up the documents Justin had given her.

“Now, what’s the issue?” AJ then asked, acting almost like a judge in court.

Justin revealed the whole story – how he’d brought out a valuable stock share to Mark, but withheld it upon learning of Mark’s interest-based investment tactics.

Applejack then turned to Mark. “Why did you do that? You may have your own methods of running your business, but when you’re dealing with this guy—” she pointed to Justin “—you need to switch off that capitalist-freak light and switch on the non-interest, fair, and money-wise light.” Realizing that he wasn’t going anywhere with Applejack’s seriousness, Mark gave in and spoke up, with Applejack’s ears twitching, indicating she was in lie detector mode.

“Because I am better than him, and he knows that.” Mark blurted, clenching his jaw.

“How can you say that?” Rainbow Dash retorted. “I may be the fastest Pegasus in the sky, but I don’t diss other pegasi for not being so. We’re all equal. What is wrong with you humans?”

Justin then took his stand. “I simply do not agree with your business standards, Mark, and I kindly ask that I withdraw what is rightfully mine. I have many great buyers out there who are more…fair, than you.”

Mark then smirked as he discovered a weakness to his opponent. “You’re getting a word from my lawyers, and mark my words, metal bars will be between you and your godforsaken pony friends.” And he turned and marked out of the room, leaving a legal document on the table.

Justin sighed sadly, but kept a straight face. “Go ahead,” he called out at Mark’s back. “I’m sure the judges will be delighted to hear the story of how you swindled $135,400 worth of forensics computer circuitry components from my share and charged unpayable interest on your share loans.”

“Take that, mister!” Fluttershy said in a mean voice, almost casting her “Stare” at Mark as the elevator doors shut.

Justin slumped down in his office chair and skimmed the document as his pony friends looked on. “I think you should leave now while I try to sort Mark out legally. I’m sorry you had to witness all of this.”

“Ah, it’s nothing big,” Twilight replied kindly, giving him a gentle shoulder pat.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash added confidently “We’ve faced a lot of stuff worse than that meanie. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

> Chapter 11: Deciphering a Network
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin continued his office work and prepared to file up his documents, ready for submission. While filtering through his bottom desk drawer, he found a large old, folded-up piece of paper with a bit of writing, diagrams, small maps, and symbols on them. It looked like a sort of puzzle, and a very complex one at that. It rang a little bell in his head, though it would take time before he’d know what it truly meant.

“My stomach’s feeling rather dry,” Twilight Sparkle announced with a chuckle. “Shall we head out for lunch?”

“Sure!” one of the workers replied, and gave Twilight a little pat on the head. She smiled in return.

Justin folded the big sheet of old paper up and shoved it into his briefcase, before walking out of his cubicle.

“All right, everybody,” he declared in a serious voice that was miles away from the soft, tender voice his pony friends normally knew him by. “Has everyone completed the production of the new low-energy laser detection system that had been verified by the New York security agency and the FBI?”

“Yes, sir!” they replied, although not in unison. 

“We have gone through the design process once more, and it looks like assembly and testing are ready for implementation,” one employee added.

Justin nodded in a confirmatory manner. “Good to know. We shall now begin the process of importing materials and components necessary for creation. But as one of our workplace guests has mentioned, energy must be obtained for production to begin.”

The workers all chuckled and filed out of the office floor, later splitting up to head to the nearest restaurant or extract what they could of the candies, chocolate, soft drinks, and chips from the vending machine down in the lobby.

Rather than take her car, Ellie, a long-time co-worker of Justin, offered to treat him out for lunch at her favorite restaurant.

“Not without my little friends,” Justin remarked with a huff.

“Awww, of course they can come!” Ellie replied with a sweet smile. “Who wouldn’t love these cutie pies?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and flew up into the air, hovering behind Justin while the others formed a line behind her. Spike preferred to stay by Rarity’s side this time, rather than beside Twilight – which was a little odd.

Ellie’s favorite restaurant was, actually, a reasonably-sized Tim Hortons on the corner of a busy downtown street – and it took just a five-minute walk to reach it. Rainbow was so starved she nearly pushed past Ellie in desperation.

“So, what would you like to order?” Ellie asked each of the ponies kindly.

Twilight had a vegetable sandwich, Fluttershy had a Caesar salad, and the others had similar, non-meat items. Starlight, being skeptical yet inquisitive, decided to try out some latte with sprinkled cocoa powder. Pinkie Pie had two frosted cinnamon rolls.

“Hmmm, this actually tastes quite nice,” Starlight admitted, calmly sipping her coffee amidst the loudness of the bustling people still waiting in line.

“I love this cake!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly, digging into her cinnamon roll, rather unpleasantly.

Justin and Ellie chatted on and on about their work, with Justin being careful not to let out any details of his portal or how the ponies ended up in his life. Using all the word-tastic tactics in the book, he carefully swerved Ellie out of and away from the topic altogether.

Fluttershy, who was normally quiet with her voice and actions, let out a rather excited “Yay!” before catching herself. “Um, I actually really love this salad.”

After everyone had eaten their fill – all, that is, except for Spike, who had to deal with some garlic bread since restaurants don’t sell gems – they all returned to the office building. However, instead of heading back up to the office headquarters, Justin sent them into the Huracan.

“Are we going home already?” Rarity pouted. “I was just getting to enjoy this place in town!”

Justin smiled and stroked her mane affectionately. “You and your friends will. I have to overlook the activities of my company’s latest and most incredible mechanical achievement, and it takes place…rather far away.”

“Does that mean you’ll be gone for quite some time?” Spike said, his little dragon eyes drooping in sadness. To his shock, Justin picked him up and kissed him like a little child.

“I’ll be gone for about a day or two, but I’ll be back before you know it, I promise. Then we can go and get that Supra fixed up, and proceed to solving the mystery behind that portal of mine.”

“Okey dokey loki!” Pinkie Pie replied, hopping up and down as usual.

The ride home was mostly quiet, and long, apart from Twilight and Rainbow, who flew back, following the car from above, as best they could. As they approached the Pacific Coast Highway, Rainbow Dash caught sight of a helicopter approaching them at a rather suspicious angle.

“Get down!” she urged, grabbing Twilight’s hoof. “We’ve been spotted!”

They dove down sharply and hid in the shadow of a tree as the helicopter passed overhead.

“What was that for?” Twilight demanded.

Rainbow Dash slapped her forehead. “Has it not occurred to you that we are basically aliens? The world doesn’t know us yet. Sure, a few dozen people have noted our presence, but they don’t really care. However, the government does care, and if they know of us they’ll lock us up and run us through tests and whatnot! Didn’t you recall how Mark behaved back at the office? With his ‘power’, who knows, he could have set up that whole helicopter flying if he wanted to.”

Twilight nodded in confession. “You’re right. We aren’t known to the world just yet.” 

Once the coast was clear, the two continued their flight, this time keeping a low profile, so as not to be easily spotted. Finally they arrived at the house. But instead of just dropping them off, Justin unlocked the front door and headed inside, to his room.

“I don’t get this,” Starlight said to her friends. “One minute he says ‘drop off’, the next he’s – oh.”

Justin reappeared, carrying a few documents and a small book with golden-colored letters on it.

“What’s that for?” Starlight asked.

“Identification purposes,” Justin replied. “Just in case. I must go know, before I am late. Have a good day or two!”

Twilight, Starlight, and their friends all happily waved him good-bye.

As Applejack proceeded to clean the floor, she noticed a large, folded piece of paper that was lying on top of the bedside table in Justin’s room.

“Everypony come over!” she called. In an instant Twilight and the gang appeared.

“What’s that?” Spike asked, pointing at the folded paper.

“That’s exactly it,” Applejack replied. “I know it’s some paper, but what does it contain?”

Twilight took the paper from her and unfolded it on their bed. What was revealed was a very complex system of lines, numbers, symbols, mazes, and messages. It made sense, but at the same time was a complete incomprehensible jumble.

Fluttershy also entered the room, along with two little birds and Angel Bunny. Upon seeing the paper, she then got out a pencil, and hit the play button on a Bluetooth speaker, turning out the distinctive notes of “Sorry”, but on a low volume.

Applejack rolled her eyes. Fluttershy had become a fan of this music, no doubt. And she wasn’t "sorry" about it. Pinkie Pie was the opposite – she was dancing along to the song rather than helping out her friends, which caused Twilight to snap.

“Pinkie! Come over and give us a hand please!” Twilight snapped angrily. “This is no time to be partying!”

Pinkie dropped to the ground from her mid-air dance move, and her hair half-deflated. Then she walked over to the map, and they all started to try to make whatever heads or tails they could of the symbols or maps on the paper.

“It’s no use,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “My brain is fried with overload. The only way to answer this is with the contents of those binders.”

“I don’t think so, darling,” Rarity replied, pointing at the paper. “Look, here’s a map. There appears to be a few symbols on it that symbolize the binders themselves. In addition this map also has pathways and other navigation-like symbols.”

“So that’s it!” Starlight exclaimed. “This is a complex network/map that directs you to all of the locations where he has hidden these binders.”

> Chapter 12: Troubled Waters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Having understood a part of the complex map, Twilight Sparkle and her friends folded up the old paper and put it back on the bedside table, before heading back into the living room. They were starting to get a bit bored, without the comforting possessions of their homes back in Equestria. 

“I miss my comfy clouds of Cloudsdale,” Rainbow Dash whined, flopping down on the sofa. “I mean, I could definitely handle the clouds here, but there’s just not any other pegasi to keep me company or play around with. No offense, Fluttershy.”

“Ah, it’s okay,” Fluttershy replied with a slight blush. “Angel Bunny can be a real handful, but I’m glad he’s here. Still, it doesn’t feel the same without all my other animal friends. I wish I could go diving again.”

Rarity shot up so fast she hit her hoof on the coffee table. “Fluttershy, you went…diving…in the sea?”

Fluttershy nodded with a smile. “Why yes, Rarity. It was…rather brief, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I just wish I could go back to see all those creatures again. They’re just so amazing and colorful and fascinating to watch and communicate with.”

“What are we waiting for?” Pinkie Pie said excitedly. “Let’s go splashing!”

Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, however, were not as amused.

“I’m not so sure about us going out and about on our own,” Starlight said, the seriousness in her voice considerably notable.

“Come on!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “We’ve gone out for that walk along the highway before, remember? If we can go that far, we can go the distance.”

Twilight sighed. “Okay. But we must be responsible and cautious – remember that Justin said that the government would do anything to get their hands on foreign, unrecognized, or abnormal items?”

“Well, we sorta fall into that category,” Starlight Glimmer added. 

Fluttershy and Rarity headed to the closet where Justin stored the scuba gear, and carefully pulled it out.

“Wow, this is…complicated but interesting,” Rarity complimented. “However, it’s gonna take time for me to make heads or tails of it.”

Fluttershy giggled and showed Rarity the basic components of the scuba gear, when Rarity thought a little more on the situation. “Fluttershy, this is all too big to carry in their saddlebags.”

“You’re right,” Fluttershy admitted, her face falling as her mind glanced rapidly for a solution. Just then, Applejack came over and noticed the pile of black, yellow, blue, and clear on the floor.

“What in tarnation is this?” she demanded.

“Oh Applejack, haha, it’s not so bad. It’s just one of Fluttershy’s new outfits that Justin gave to her,” Rarity replied with a short chuckle. “However we need help moving it. It’s rather heavy, so we can’t carry it. If only we had something with wheels.”

Applejack offered to search for such a thing, and came back with an old wagon from the garage’s storage cupboard. “I think this should do.”

With some effort, the three of them lifted the scuba gear onto the wagon successfully, sharing a high-hoof for achieving so.





Meanwhile, Twilight and the others had prepared themselves for the trip, taking a good shower and brushing their manes and tails well, free of any dirt or grime. With some assistance from Rarity, everypony had two towels – one large one to dry their bodies, and one smaller one for the face, mane, and tail. At last, everyone was ready.

“Uh, who’s got the keys?” Spike asked, as they all walked out the door.

Fluttershy held up the spare key, given to her by Justin. Twilight used her magic to turn it in the slot and lock all the doors securely. Then she slipped it into her saddlebag, and they all continued.

“You sure you know the route?” Applejack called over the sound of the crashing waves as they walked down the side lane of the Pacific Coast Highway.

“I do recall, from the last time I went with Justin. It was rather long, so it may be around afternoon when we arrive,” Fluttershy replied.

We’re now counting entirely on you, Fluttershy, Twilight realized as they walked ever further down the road. After about two kilometers Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Starlight Glimmer all began to feel tired and sore from so much walking. For Applejack and Rainbow Dash, however, it was as if the journey had just begun. 

“Are we there yet?” Pinkie Pie asked for the millionth time as they headed down a road that led off the highway, towards civilization.

Fluttershy couldn’t take it anymore and decided to fly, using her front hooves to block out all the painful whining behind her. All her friends had to do was keep their confidence and hopes up, and everything would be fine. Little did the eight friends suspect what awaited them in the coming hours.





It took another half hour of navigating through a small neighborhood before Fluttershy finally found what she’d been looking for – a short road near the water’s edge, with a large park, a boat club, restaurants – and yes! A dive shop and scuba center. This was it. The place where Justin had been before.

Instead of announcing to her friends that they’d actually arrived, Fluttershy simply pointed to a far end of the park’s parking lot. “That’s where Justin parked the last time I was here with him.”

Twilight beamed and shot the rest of her friends a See? I told you so look. The long trip was finally over.

“I’m hungry now,” Rainbow Dash moaned. “Did we pack any food?”

“I did bring two of my cupcakes!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly. “Would you like some?”

“Sure!” Rainbow Dash replied. “But, I was hoping for something more…conventional.”

Fluttershy clicked her tongue to get their attention and pointed again, this time at a little building near the parking lot. “I got that covered.”

They all shared a small vegetarian pizza, being careful not to eat too much, as swimming wasn’t a reasonable activity option immediately after eating. Once eating was over, Twilight and her friends headed out to the park, where they saw three kids and a dog playing ball together.

“Reminds me of the times I used to spend with my mother,” Twilight said quietly, sitting down on a bench and watching them run and jump and giggle. “I should pay her a visit sometime.”

Family’s always the best, Applejack thought, smiling in agreement.

Just then, the ball came flying towards the two of them. Twilight caught it with her magic, and Applejack kicked it back, instantly catching the attention of the kids, who started to jog over to the bench.

“Don’t get too close!” their mother warned.

As the kids got closer, Twilight got off the bench, and Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all jumped off the rock they were sitting on, admiring the water view. The kids – one teenager and two little girls – looked at Twilight, frozen in shock. Twilight looked right back, but with a calm, composed smile. However, Fluttershy gasped and yelped upon seeing the kids.

“FLUTTERSHY!” the teenager shouted, but his tone was clearly one of joy and surprise.

“Carter!” Fluttershy exclaimed, and ran to him faster than she’d ever run in her life. They met in a tumble of tickles, hugs, and happy tears.

“No way!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, swooping down from above and flashing in front of the teen. “You’re the kid Fluttershy told me she was best friends with?!”

“Y-yes, that’s me, Carter!” Carter replied. “I guess you deserve a hug too, Rainbow.”

“How did you know my name?” Rainbow Dash asked, giving Carter a little smooch on the cheek.

“Well, your tail’s colors speak for themselves, to be honest,” Carter said with a giggle.

Twilight then introduced herself to Ashley and her friend, Lily, and they too all shared a lovely warm hug.

For a while, the ponies, the kids, and the dog played together in the park, taking turns throwing and catching the ball. It look some time before the mom, Lorraine, noticed the commotion, yet was pleasantly surprised and delighted when she saw Fluttershy.

“Omigosh, I can’t believe you’re back!” Lorraine exclaimed, and Fluttershy flew over and gave her a warm hug. “I…I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Neither did I,” Fluttershy admitted. “I brought my friends too. We came here to go swimming and to enjoy the relaxing beauty of nature.”

“So did us,” Lorraine replied. “Well, the latter. I thought this place wasn’t for swimming.”

Fluttershy glanced around at the park. There was a dock, but no diving board or rope fence. You’re right, but the dock should do.

As the afternoon set in, it was parting time. Lorraine had only been to the park as a brief getaway while her husband, Jack, was out on a business trip in California.

“Don’t forget to come back soon!” Twilight and Applejack said, giving everyone a good-bye hug and wave.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash added. “Next time we’re gonna bring the Supra! Right, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy nodded with a smile, but her real attention was now to the water.

With Lorraine, Ashley, and Carter gone, it was now time to get wet – the real reason why they’d come this far from home.

Twilight, Applejack, Starlight, and Pinkie Pie all took off their saddlebags and jumped excitedly into the water with consecutive big splashes. Rarity and Rainbow Dash, however, stayed on the dock with the wagon, each one holding an end of the scuba gear.

“Lift it, Rarity!” Rainbow Dash commanded. “One, two, three!”

The two ponies lifted the gear up and set it down on the wooden dock. With patience and slow steps, Fluttershy guided them through each component – where it was to be attached, in what manner and order, and its function.

“Wetsuit first,” Fluttershy said, slipping into it. Rarity then pulled up the zipper and fastened the Velcro flap. 

“Next is the weight belt and the fins,” she ordered kindly. Rainbow Dash helped slip the fins on and strap them to her hooves, while Rarity attached the belt snugly, but with room to move and flex.

“Now the buoyancy jacket,” Fluttershy said. “Be careful with all the air hoses, don’t wanna break those.”

Working together, Rarity and Rainbow Dash lifted up the buoyancy jacket and carefully slipped it onto Fluttershy, who then tightened the straps for a secure fit.

“Finally, the mask and the mouthpiece,” Fluttershy said, pointing to the yellow mask with a cone-shaped piece attached just below it. “The thick strap goes behind my head and the front see-through part slips onto the front of my face. And the mouthpiece goes in…well, my mouth.”

Rarity suspended the mask in mid-air while Rainbow Dash carefully stretched the mask’s elastic strap andplaced it over Fluttershy’s head, before adjusting the second strap. With the breathing apparatus now in place, Fluttershy could no longer speak, but could still hear.

Last part is to test the breathing apparatus, she thought out loud. But obviously, all Rarity and Rainbow Dash heard were funny-sounding muffles.

“What do you mean, darling?” Rarity asked. “Is the mask too tight?”

Fluttershy shook her head and pointed to the small knob on the tank with her hoof, then made a counter-clockwise motion. Luckily, Rarity understood and opened up the tank valve fully. Fluttershy then made a gesture to turn it back clockwise, but only partly. Rarity understood and did as shown. Finally, Fluttershy checked her regulator gauge, and set it to the right pressure before taking a few breaths. Then she gave her friends a tail gesture to say that everything was OK.

Rarity smiled with a blush at her friend Fluttershy, looking so awkward yet so cute in her scuba gear. Without another word, Fluttershy waddled like a duck towards the edge of the dock, and flew into the air for a moment, before sliding into the water as smooth as an eel from a bucket, making barely a splash.

“Are we gonna go see if she’s okay or what?” Rainbow Dash asked. The two of them ran along the dock and hit the water, leaving the saddlebags unattended. 

> Chapter 13: Taken
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Under the water, Fluttershy blinked and flailed her legs, moving forward in doggy-paddle style strokes, the flippers aiding her all the while. She moved aside just in time before two more figures hit the water right where she’d been just a minute ago. Turning around, she saw Rainbow Dash and Rarity in the water, holding their breath.

Not the best method, Fluttershy thought, shaking her head. She swam towards them and pushed them up to the surface. Rarity gasped and spat out a mouthful of salty water. “Eee-yew!” she mouthed. “I don’t think I like swimming after all.”

“Oh, I think you will, Rarity,” Fluttershy replied in a bright voice, pulling out her mouthpiece so she could talk. “Just relax and keep those legs moving. One leg forward and push back with the rear. Then with the other front leg. Repeat it.”

Rarity did as she was told, and was soon moving through the sea with ease, though she decided to stay on the surface and practice different strokes, so she could get the hang of moving through water in general.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy reattached her mouthpiece, adjusted her mask, and dove back under the surface. Rainbow Dash took a few breaths, expanding her lungs, and then dove down after her friend. Nearby, Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Spike, and Applejack were having some splashing fun, in addition to making silly moves.

“We should’ve brought a beach ball and some rubber rings,” Pinkie Pie said, and swam back to the dock to try another jackknife dive.

“What’s happened to Rainbow and Fluttershy?” Applejack asked suddenly, to which Starlight shrugged with uncertainty.

Just then, Rainbow Dash’s colorful mane bobbed up on the surface, and she pushed off all the water with a rough headshake. “Here I am! Fluttershy’s okay; she just wants to have some fun with the sea animals below.”

But Fluttershy wasn’t just “below”. In her excitement, she’d ventured further out to sea, and started exploring the rocky edge which formed a border between the shallow water and the very deep, open water that stretched all the way down to the abyssal plain. Peeking around a truck-sized rock that loomed out from the main, she noticed a flash of color in the distance, about 200 m out and a half mile to the south. Little specks danced about here and there – fish! This was what she’d been looking for – a coral reef.

Kicking her legs once more, Fluttershy took an excited breath and swam straight for it, forgetting to inform her friends about her absence.

Slowing her kicks and treading water, Fluttershy closed in on the coral reef, moving slowly and trying not to breathe rapidly, so as not to scare any of the inhabitants. There was slightly less light here than near the surface, but she could still see quite well. Fish of more than twenty different kinds moved about, picking at substances embedded into the rocks, or snapping up large plankton in the water. Down below inside crevices in the rock, crabs scurried about, preparing for a hunting trip. Eels slipped in and out of holes, their gaping mouths scaring anyone who came near. It was a complete beauty of relaxing color and harmony amongst various creatures of all kinds.

Fluttershy was about to talk with a large parrotfish when a loud sound split the silence. She looked up. Near the surface, a shark swiftly swam by overhead.

While Twilight and Starlight dried off, Rarity was now having fun in the water, splashing about and annoying the apples outta Applejack. She could even dive, but only briefly. Being a dignified pony she still worried about the damages salt water and plankton could do to her hair.

“So, how did you like the water?” Rainbow Dash teased Rarity, who was still shaking on the edge of the dock.

“I…it…it w-w-was f-fine,” Rarity stuttered, shaking all the water off her like a dog. Then she wrapped herself in a towel, trying desperately not to mess up her hair or fluff her delicate coat.

“Hang on, where’s Fluttershy?” Spike asked.

“Good question,” Stalight replied. “Where did you last see her, Spike?”

The little dragon shrugged. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Pinkie Pie said with a giggle, going off the side of the dock for a final splash, knocking one of the saddlebags to the edge and spilling its contents into the water.

“Nooooooooooooooooooooo!” Twilight yelled as three towels and the house keys spilled into the water, instantly becoming saturated and sinking down into the depths.

“Um, oops?” Pinkie said, blushing. 

“Can’t you see when fun needs to stop?” Rainbow Dash shouted, looking like she was about to explode. “Now, thanks to you, we’ve not only lost our friend Fluttershy, but we’ve lost access to home, too!”

Pinkie winced, sighed, and flopped back onto the dock.

Well, this day just got a lot harder, Starlight thought, as she observed the sun nearing the horizon, ready to set and remove all light. Two of the most important things in our life here on Earth have been taken.

> Chapter 14: Recovery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Out on the reef, Fluttershy was enjoying herself, frolicking in the water, playing tag with the octopi, and feeding the larger fish, clearly having forgotten about her friends. After leading her whole life on land, it was an amazing experience to be able to explore the sea and see what animals lived in it, how they behaved, and what assistance or healing they might require. After another hour, however, the water began to get colder, and the one brightly shining corals started to look dull. Fluttershy broke the surface and shivered. Was it really that cold?

She glanced at her scuba display. Only thirty bars of air left, which meant that she had barely enough air to swim underwater for about another fifteen to twenty minutes. Before she could think about the situation too deeply, a ripple and a small splash nearby alerted her. Briefly ducking under the surface, she expected to see some sort of rock that had been thrown from the shore by somebody. But instead, she caught a glimpse of a large, grey slender creature, briefly making its way past the reef.

Excitement building inside of her once again, she adjusted her mouthpiece, tightened the strap on her mask, and swam slowly and carefully towards the creature.

Observing the animal’s shape, she could start to make out its feeding and lifestyle habits. The creature, was, practically, an arrow. With its breathing hole on top of its head, a sleek top-mounted fin, and slender, flat front limbs, it was also rather unusual.

Using her telepathic skills, Fluttershy gently called out to the creature, who replied with a series of sounds – chirps, whistles, squeaks, and even short screams.

“How are you? In fact, what are you? Um, if you don’t mind me asking, that is,” Fluttershy whispered, relaying her thoughts.

Less than half a second later, a response came back in the form of a series of chirps and squeaks, as well as a unique whistle. Fluttershy then mentally ingested the response and read it. “The name’s Bubbles, and I am a dolphin. Fully adapted for life here in the sea, where every creature is happy and free.”

Bubbles then cheekily blew a bubble ring, causing Fluttershy to fret about. She instantly shot a message out. “Relax, it’s just air in the name of good fun. I’m sure you got a friend who enjoys having fun, don’t you?”

Fluttershy nodded and replied. “Um, my name is Fluttershy. Oh yes, I do have a friend who loves to have fun all the time – Pinkie Pie. Not a day goes by without a party of some sort being thrown by her.”

That’s when she realized that she’d been away from her friends for too long. All the realism of the world hit her like a ball. Where was she? What time was it? Which direction was the dock that she and her friends had jumped off from?

Instantly Bubbles noticed her anxiousness and worry, and sent out a message. “You okay, Fluttershy?”

Feeling the voice in her head, Fluttershy replied, albeit shakily. “Y-y-yes, I am worried. I came out here from a dock quite some distance away to view a coral reef, and I forgot which way I came. And I lost track of time, too! The day’s almost—”

Bubbles cut in. “So you’re lost, and you’re afraid of the dark?” she asked, turning to face Fluttershy head-on.

Fluttershy gulped and nodded.

Bubbles caressed the little pony with her flipper. “I have a pod to get back to. Luckily, I know this area of the California coast quite well. I’ll help you locate the dock, no matter what it takes. Alright?”

Fluttershy nodded with joy and gave Bubbles a hug, causing her to blush slightly. Together they took off into the ocean of blue, Fluttershy swimming on the surface to save air in case of issues down the road.





Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle and the rest of her friends were having an epic, frantic, and even more worrisome time. They’d agreed to split up: Rainbow Dash would scour the ocean surface, while Applejack would scout the rocky coastline further down for any signs. Rarity decided to simply wait out the cold air inside a garage that was left open. Pinkie Pie had simply one job – to stay still, keep silent, and not jump in the water at all. 

“See anything yet, RD!” Applejack called out from the rocks.

Rainbow Dash quickly made a rainbow trail that spelled “Nope”. Applejack smiled sadly and hopped further down the rocky terrain, closer to the water, hoping to find Fluttershy, or even just some evidence of her having been in that area.

Having “borrowed” a small blanket from the open garage she was hiding in, Rarity finally stopped chickening out and tied the blanket around her like a cape, warming her shivering body. As Twilight kept using her magic to pick random objects off the seafloor in hopes of finding the saddlebag or its contents, Rarity came running onto the dock at blinding speed, her horn glowing brighter than normal. 

“I think I know how!” she exclaimed, leaving Twilight, Spike, and Starlight frozen in shock as she pulled off her blanket and plunged into the water. Down Rarity went through a bottle of bubbles. As she neared the bottom, a large rock suddenly came into view, and she hit it head-on, knocking her dazed for a few seconds. Following the lead of her horn’s magic, she soon located a tuft of fabric underneath a pile of rocks. But as she started to dig, her lungs began to scream, and on instinct she fought for the surface.

Without even talking, she grabbed a big breath and dove back down again as fast as she could. Returning to the same spot, she began to paw and dig at the pile of stones and rocks, slowly uncovering the tuft of fabric. After ten dives she finally unearthed it, revealing the key as well. It was wedged between two large rocks, but Rarity managed to pull it out. Holding the saddlebag and its contents with her hooves, she swam to the surface, rather slowly due to the weight.

Breaking the surface, she levitated the key up in the air, and handed the soaked saddlebag to Starlight. Some of its contents were crushed, though most of it was intact.

“YES!” Spike screamed in excitement and relief. Rarity climbed out of the water and shook her body like a dog, and Spike hugged her with joy and love.

As if to back up the moment, Fluttershy appeared in the distance, along with another creature Twilight had never seen before. The two swam right up to the dock, and Fluttershy hopped from the dolphin’s back up onto the dock.

“You’re back!” Starlight exclaimed, giving Fluttershy a big hug.

“I’ve never been so worried,” Applejack admits, hopping over from the rocks she’d scoured earlier.

“It’s good to have you back with us, Fluttershy,” Twilight added, giving the rest of her friends a group hug. “But we need to get warm fast, before we get sick from this cold.”

Fluttershy undressed from her scuba suit, while Spike and Applejack worked together to make a fire in the park. With her superb creativity, Starlight made a frame out of large branches to hang Fluttershy’s wetsuit and buoyancy jacket from, as well as the saddle bag and its contents. With the items successfully salvaged, the eight friends all settled down to sleep under a nearby tree, exhausted from their ordeal. Bubbles also stayed with them, taking her sleep in the calm shallow waters beside the dock.

> Chapter 15: Hotline Bling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning came with a splash and the distant sound of cars driving off to work. Fluttershy blinked and saw Bubbles splashing in the water. While she looked to be simply fretting about, Bubbles really just wanted to wake her up.

Having recovered from their ordeal, the eight friends rose up, and, without even having breakfast, checked to make sure they had all their possessions with them, and then assembled by the rock where they’d met Lorraine and her kids the day before.

“All right everypony,” Twilight Sparkle began, wasting no time. “We all have had quite a bit of fun today, but unfortunately some of it didn’t go well. Now it would be so easy and convenient to blame each other for the mishap of the saddlebag’s dip and the sinking of the house key, but it won’t get us anywhere. The party is over, and we need to get back home before those “government thugs” see us. We’re still considered aliens, you know.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, and Pinkie Pie’s hair sagged like a balloon with a hole in it. Starlight appeared to be paying attention, but she was really observing the water next to the dock.

“Hey Starlight!” Applejack nudged her. “You still there?”

“Oh…yeah,” Starlight jumped out of her trance. “I was just wondering about Fluttershy’s new animal friend. She seems quite interesting.”

After the discussion, Twilight and her friends put out their fire, cleaned up the fire pit, and began the long walk home, taking shortcuts to avoid being spotted. As much as she wanted to fly, Rainbow Dash stayed on the ground to prevent aerial detection – she was the most colorful of all her friends.

As Twilight Sparkle came around a bend, Fluttershy, of all of them, jumped up and pointed excitedly. 

“Look! There’s the Pacific Coast Highway!”

“I can’t believe we made it!” Spike exclaimed. “I miss my gems…sapphires, rubies, oh my…”

They all ran excitedly down the sloping road to the highway, and walked on the paved shoulder. With the atmosphere opening up, Rainbow Dash and Twilight could now fly freely.

“That was a great adventure in the water!” Rarity admitted as she, Fluttershy, Applejack, Starlight, Pinkie Pie, and Spike walked down a bend of the Pacific Coast Highway. “Speaking of which, how was your underwater journey, Fluttershy?”

“It was great!” she said excitedly. “I met so many new species of fish, talked to eels and crabs, and played with Bubbles. She’s so amazing and graceful.”

“I think I might want to come back some time soon,” Rainbow Dash said eagerly as she flew alongside Twilight. 

“I really want to write more on dolphins and their ability to communicate with Fluttershy and all about their life!” Twilight exclaimed in her typical speedy adorkable voice.

Rainbow huffed. “I’m sure Princess Celestia will be very excited to hear all about it.”

After a good hour or so, the team finally reached home. Twilight turned the rusty key in the lock, and it successfully opened.

“I’m tired,” Pinkie Pie groaned, flopping down on the floor.

Starlight Glimmer was beaming with joy. “We made it! We’re finally home!”

Applejack was smiling with contentment. “Well, we’re back.”

Spike and Twilight exchanged grins of joy, while Rarity pranced about with bliss.

“I wonder if Justin has any idea about the crazy storm of events we just went through,” Rainbow Dash added.

As if on cue, Fluttershy’s iPhone starting ringing.

“Sounds like a bling,” Spike said.

“That can only mean one thing…” Rarity thought, her ears snapping straight up at the sound.

“Something’s up!” Twilight and her friends exclaimed in unison.

They all ran into Fluttershy’s bedroom at once, causing a big build-up and a big crash and tumble. Rarity broke free and picked up the phone.

“Hello, darling?” she said in a sweetly charming voice that made Rainbow facehoof.

Justin responded almost immediately. “Hi, it’s me, Justin. Just wanted to let you know that things haven’t turned out exactly how I wanted them to. I do need you to do something though, before I return.”

“And would that be, dear?” Rarity replied in her charming voice.

“Stop it, you’re making me blush!” Justin snapped, holding back a giggle. “I need you to crack – or should I say, decode – the map I left on my table. It tells you where all the binders that document the building process of the portal are located. In addition, I need you to find and locate a few minerals from mines and some earth-based elements. Later this evening I’ll give you the full rundown.”
“Okay, sounds…good.” That was not the news that Rarity had hoped for, but it was good to hear from him at least. She put down the phone and told her friends what Justin had asked of them.

Twilight’s eyebrow cocked. “Are you serious?”

Rarity nodded firmly.

“Imma guess we gotta get right back on what we left off, y’all,” Applejack announced.

“Back to the map!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed in a singsong voice.

Rarity rolled her eyes and snatched the paper from the table with her telekinesis and unfolded it on the bed. After some time, they had it all figured out.

Leaving the room briefly, Rainbow Dash flew out and returned with a world map.

“Let’s see…” Fluttershy began, looking at labels and names on the map. Soon she matched them to a few on Justin’s binder map – and shook her head. Pinkie also wore a “WTF” face at the same time too as she realized what the name matching meant – three of the seven binders were located overseas – and two of those three were in Africa. (The other one was on an island in Indonesia.)

“Cheer up, guys!” Starlight said, fighting back a giggle at how much her friends were freaking out over the prospect of having to travel to countries so far away. “We did agree to want to discover this new world, so why not explore a larger deal of it?”

Twilight gave a nod. Starlight was right – they were too nervous.

“You’ve stopped a massive centaur before, Twilight,” Spike huffed. “I’m sure you can find a binder hidden in the depths of another country. And as Rarity said, we have yet to be filled in on the details.”


> Chapter 16: Splitting Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a nice supper and some good cake, Twilight and her friends settled in for the night, with a big day ahead of them. Just as Fluttershy was about to shut her eyes the phone rang, and she picked it up without hesitation.

“Hello?”

“Fluttershy! Nice to hear ya. Listen, I’m coming home right away so we can talk this over. It looks like my goals are going to require us to travel a lot more – and a lot farther – than I anticipated. See you in a couple hours. We’ll talk things over then. What I will say now is this: This is gonna take a good four to ten months.”

Fluttershy said thanks and hung up, collapsing back on the bed at the prospect of what she and her friends would have to undergo travelling across the world. Would they find what they need? Would the people be friendly? Or would they target Fluttershy and her friends, capture them, and lock them up? The possibilities were almost endless and most did not sound nice.

Morning arrived with the sound of sizzling from the kitchen, and Pinkie’s ever-hyper sensitive nose picked it up instantly. So did Starlight’s.

“Argh…” Applejack began, stretching and sitting up in bed. “Sure smells like somethin’ good ‘s goin’ on in that kitchen.”

Pinkie burst in the door, the others clearly having no idea that she’d been gone while they’d been stretching awake. “You sure right about that! Justin’s back and he’s making some deliciously fantastic apple pancakes! Who’s up for a syrupy breakfast?”

Everyone’s eyes widened in excitement at the sound of that and they all rushed out to the kitchen, but not before taking a visit to the bathroom to wash up.

“Glad to be back with you all—” 

But before Justin could get his sentence through the cute cuddly ponies were all over him like a bunch of overzealous puppies. Fluttershy even blew a raspberry on his cheek, causing him to cry from utter joy. Never before had his life been so joyful and uplifting.

As everyone ate, Justin and Twilight discussed their sides of the information regarding the binders. Justin then explained that he had taken such extremes to protect the data because of the insane possibilities that could come out of the portal should it fall into the wrong hands. But Rainbow Dash still stood firm.

“Why should we have to travel all the way around the world and search an entire country just for two little binders? And who knows, they’re probably already long-gone, rotted away by the elements.”

Instead of punching her, Justin just released a hearty laugh. “Huh. Says the girl who obviously has all the capabilities of flying there, locating it, and returning within 10 seconds flat.” He turned to the others. “Am I right, fellas?”

Applejack, Spike, Starlight, and even Pinkie Pie couldn’t help but laugh. Defeated, Rainbow sat back down, not uttering a single word. A smug smile played across Justin’s lips as he began the next part of his discussion. “So, basically what we need to do is to travel to a secluded farm on the outskirts of Kampala, in Uganda.” Justin whispered that last part so low that even Fluttershy could barely hear it.

“I-It’s okay, I understand why,” Fluttershy whispered back to him.

Starlight gulped down the last of her pancakes and pushed back her chair. “To be honest, this doesn’t sound so bad after all!” she said with a positively enthusiastic smile.

For once, Twilight, who was considered the “leader” amongst her large group of friends, didn’t look too excited about the prospect of travelling around the world to find something ery important.

“And,” Justin added, “After that, we’ll head over to the mines of South Africa to get the minerals and elements we will need to form the special element for the portal. However, it won’t be easy. There will be lots to extract and even more to filter to find the perfect fragments.”

Rarity smirked, trying not to roll her eyes. It sounded easy – at least in her eyes.

As everyone finished eating, Justin explained that his business was running well and that any potential problems were only likely to pop up in the next week or so, so time was not a big worry. After some dishwashing and housework it was finally time to pack. Justin had previously gotten the idea of smuggling them on board, but decided it’d be better to make them act like pets, rather than going the illegal route. Rainbow Dash agreed to follow the plane from a distance, since being cooped up in cabin would simply “kill her by mere boredom”, as Pinkie Pie put it.

“We’ll all go with you,” Twilight offered, but Starlight stopped her in her tracks.

“I must say, with the behavior of the people Fluttershy ran into a couple weeks back, and the fact that your portal is still down there and still has the potential to function if coded right, I think merely abandoning this house is not a reasonable option. Let’s split up. Fluttershy, Angel Bunny, and I can stay here and patrol the estate, making sure no one tries to break in or attack. Meanwhile, the rest of you can go off to Africa.”

“Awww, but won’t you miss us, darling?” Rarity asked, pouting slightly.

Starlight chuckled and put a comforting hoof around her friend. “Yeah, I will. I mean, I’d love to visit Africa and see the animals and taste exotic food and stuff, but the security of Justin’s home means the world to me.”

Justin closed up his suitcase. “I’ve thought of it, and your idea makes sense. We’ll do it. Okay guys?”

“OKAY!” Twilight and all of her friends replied loudly at the same time. 

It was only after Justin, Twilight, and the others had hopped on a bus and zipped off to the airport that Starlight Glimmer and Fluttershy realized the severity of their choice. If anything happened to the house, it would be their responsibility.

“Want to drink some juice and chill on the pool deck?” Starlight asked kindly. “You look a little anxious, Fluttershy.”

“Y-y-yes, I am,” Fluttershy replied timidly in a low voice, frustrating Starlight, who bounded over to her.

“Listen, Fluttershy,” she said, putting a protective arm around her scared friend. “No one is going to harm us here – and even if they do, we will defend ourselves and protect this estate. Isn’t that why you offered to stay here with me? Or were you simply too scared to go out with your friends halfway across the world?”

Fluttershy’s face fell. “I’ll try. But I just can’t bear with the prospect of being all alone here with—”

“—You’re not alone!” Starlight blurted with such force that her eyes rolled, before calming her heart. “Listen, Fluttershy. You need to be stronger than this. You’ve faced a dragon, fought several changelings, and even revealed the truth about me when I didn’t know better about cutie marks! I’m pretty confident you can have at least some conviction that you can defend yourself and Justin’s home against any evil. Please can you live here with me in contentment and protect this house and the possessions within it?”

Having been hit with the truth, Fluttershy let out a sigh. “Okay, Starlight. I’ll stay here and be strong. Together with you, we’ll keep this place alive, clean, beautiful, and protected.”