The day had already got off to a great start, with a quick celebration of gifts and whatnot. Yesterday evening I had pondered over my job and how my financial belt was tightening more and more. The option of selling my Subaru looked all the more promising, though all it needed was a quick transmission inspection.
Which I planned to do right here in my garage. But dismantling a Subaru engine is not an easy task, and I'd only done part of it once before with one of my old friends back when the car was stock. Would I remember all the steps and removal order?
Feeling uneasy, I hastily returned to my room and opened the closet. At the back was a box full of old books, some almost a decade old. I let out a big sigh – so big, in fact, my four-legged friends heard it.
"You okay, Brian?" Scootaloo called out.
"I... I'm fine," I replied. "Just...it's..."
I bit my lip, unable to say any more. I wanted to just brush it off and tell them that I was fine, but in truth I wasn't. I was about to dismantle my car's somewhat delicate engine single-handedly, and was unsure of all the necessary steps to doing so. In the box I was hoping to find some of my old repair manuals that my high school friend gave me, but so far, my search was in vain.
"You seem quite worried," Apple Bloom added, entering the room. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Well..." I began, pulling the box out to the edge of the bed and sitting down. "Come up, all of you."
With the Cutie Mark Crusaders by my side, I took out several books and placed them on the floor in a stack, then another, until the box was almost empty. Sure enough, right at the bottom of the pile, was a short stack of Subaru repair manuals and EJ-series engine and transmission guides.
"Found it!" I exclaimed, pulling out the stack and briefly flipping through them.
"Hey, this looks like your car!" Sweetie Belle noted, pointing to the front cover of one of the books. "Are you reading up on something important?"
I nodded. "Indeed, Sweetie. In fact, I think I'm going to need your help. All of your help."
Picking up the stack of five books, I threw on a sweatshirt and headed to the garage. "Hey Fleety! Gabby! Come on down, I need ya please."
Slipping on a pair of sneakers, I unlocked the front door and stepped out. Quickly checking for any passersby or prying eyes, I gestured to Apple Bloom and the others to follow me. Before I could even attempt to set down my set of books, Scootaloo
was already trying to unsuccessfully open the garage door.
"Sorry Scootaloo," I sighed, shaking my head. "Too heavy for you."
Using both hands, I heaved up the door and stepped inside.
"Looks quite organized," Gabby commented, flipping a light switch.
She was right. Ever since my yard sale, I'd managed to turn a tangled wreck into a neat masterpiece. All my tools and items were neatly arranged and the floor was almost spotless, apart from a couple super-stubborn oil and fluid stains that were embedded into the concrete.
I pulled a pair of keys from my pocket and unlocked the Subaru's driver door.
"Lift it by the edge", I told Scootaloo, pointing to the front edge of the hood. I reached down and pulled a lever. Scootaloo slipped the edge of her hooves under the edge and flapped her wings furiously, rising into the air and thus raising the hood. For a moment we were all star-struck with awe at how high she could actually fly. But then it all came to a crashing halt.
"I, I..." Scootaloo panted, her head sweating buckets. Without warning, her little orange figure dropped. I ran around and caught her while Gabby held up the hood.
"You okay?" I asked worriedly. She felt – and looked – like an adorable toddler in my arms.
"Y-yeah," Scootaloo panted, still exhausted from her flying ordeal. It became pretty clear to me that she wasn't fully capable of flight, and I wondered if it hurt her inside.
Gabby dragged over step stools and we all gathered around the engine bay. I took the transmission rebuild manual off the shelf and began reading through it extensively. I looked over every diagram and guideline list.
"By the looks of it, there shouldn't be any significant damage," I concluded. "Let's take it out for a quick spin just to be sure there's no actual grinding."
"I'll come!" Scootaloo requested.
"Me too!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle chimed in.
I sighed and smiled. "We all will."
Gabby took the front seat, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders sat back in the rear. With everyone buckled in, I turned the key and we set off.
I headed for the main neighborhood street to put the transmission through its paces. First, I cruised smoothly at low revs in second gear, then glided a little faster in third along the main freeway.
"How busy is it at this time, usually?" Gabby asked, peeking out from under the hood of her sweater to avoid being spotted.
"Usually starts to pick up at around this time," I replied with a sigh, stopping at the umpteenth red light. Usually driving manual in traffic can be stressful on the transmission, but so far there were no grinds or squeals.
Feeling confident, I decided to take the long way home via the highway and give my friends the ride of their life. There was just one thing I forgot.
I tweaked the tune and merged onto the highway. Finding a long open lane, I grabbed third gear and floored it hard, throwing it into fourth without slowing down.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The ear-piercing screams from the back seat were so loud they threatened to shatter the glass. I quickly rolled down the front windows to change the pressure and resonant frequency. Gabby was half-screaming, half-giggling. Looking ahead, the traffic that looked so far off seemed to almost be right in front of me!
"Woah woah, slow it, baby, slow!" I whispered, easing off the throttle as the bumper of the car in front of me seemed to zoom into view. There was not enough time...
Thinking fast, I swerved into the left lane, causing another driver to slam on her brakes as I narrowly avoided hitting her headlight. A slight sound came from the transmission being at such a high gear at low speeds, so I readjusted my speed and shifted back to second. Finally, I was in line with all the other cars in what had now become a jam.
"Uuuuuhhhhh, exactly the thing I was trying to avoid." I glanced over at Apple Bloom and her friends in the rearview. "You guys okay?"
"Uh... yeah, that was pretty scary," Apple Bloom replied, a little cross at me.
"But it was quite fun!" Sweetie Belle added.
"Quite... fast, and pretty alarming," Scootaloo concluded.
I shook my head. "I'm sorry, kids. I shouldn't have scared you like that. Perhaps next time when I install new performance parts and get a better race tune I may be able to get you up to speed properly."
Fifty agonizing minutes later, the traffic finally loosened and the highway opened out. We were finally free. I smoothly eased back on the throttle and turned off the highway, heading down the now less-congested freeways. Not a single grind or jitter came from the transmission.
The sun was well on its way to the horizon by the time I pulled into my neighborhood. A quick wave of realization washed over me. Had anyone seen Gabby or the CMC? With how thousands of drivers were slumped down in their seats, bored as heck with the highway jam, someone was bound to see them. Nonetheless, I would have to put up with it if it came in the best way possible.