With a fair amount of hard work, the car was looking more like a real car. Apple Bloom had cleaned and removed a good amount of rust from the dashboard in addition to applying a new layer of aluminum to restore its original shape; Scootaloo had removed every bit of vegetation she could from the interior and wiped it down thoroughly.
As the CMC were taking a bath outside the farmhouse at Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight Sparkle arrived, this time with a wagon full of items.
“You…have no idea what you’ve just found,” Twilight told them, panting, though she did sound a bit excited at the same time.
“What is it?” Sweetie Belle asked eagerly, jumping out of the tub and drying herself off with a pink towel.
“Crusaders, you’ve found a Honda Civic EK9 Type R. Sunset Shimmer is very proud of you. Even in her world it is hard to find a car like that – only one she’s ever seen. She and I have agreed to try and send you car parts from her world to fix and customize it properly. She sent me a few tools and three books already to help you understand how it works. I’m not sure if ponies can drive human cars though.”
Scootaloo’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm. A Honda Civic EK9 Type R. That name sounded cool, awesome, and…fast.
“So, crusaders, are we ready to begin the next stage of our project?” she announced.
“You bet, Scoots!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said simultaneously.
The team split the workload amongst themselves. Scootaloo would read the books and papers that Sunset Shimmer had given them, Apple Bloom would ask around in Ponyville for a metal specialist, and Sweetie Belle would try to convince Rarity to design a new interior for the car.
Over the next three weeks, the three fillies spent all the bits and labor they could into restoring the Honda. Applejack hired a welder, and with advice from Scootaloo (who was addicted to reading the books), polished and reinforced the important parts, such as the drivetrain support braces, the A-pillars, and the suspension framework. Twilight helped too, sending messages with progress pictures back and forth so Sunset Shimmer could guide them through the hard parts.
Rarity immediately agreed to produce a new design for the car’s interior, although she was not fond of having to completely remove all the old rotting leather and moldy sponge foam. The Cutie Mark Crusaders agreed to keep the interior to its original blackish brown color, although the seats and carpets would be a different color – red for the seats and pink for the carpets. The dashboard would be one of her special tan-colored fabrics that would be fairly thick and strong, in addition to being water-resistant.
With the dashboard successfully repaired and the car’s floor panels polished and reinforced with new, stronger metal, Rarity installed her new special fabric covering and carpets.
“There’s still one big thing, though,” Apple Bloom said with a yawn as they relaxed in the clubhouse before heading off to sleep.
“What’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked with concern.
“The engine, clutch, drivetrain components, wiring, fluid lines, and fluid containers,” Scootaloo finished. “We might have to replace a lot of parts, and these ones are not easy to get. Twilight said that the Crystal Mirror only opens once every thirty moons!”
“We’ll have to just wait and see,” Sweetie Belle replied sadly. “Without Sunset Shimmer, we can’t fix this car.”
After school the following day, Scootaloo applied more rust remover to the Honda’s rear floor panel, and then took another look at the Honda VTEC engine repair book while the chemicals settled in. There, she noticed in a drawing that the engine wasn’t permenantly attached. It could be removed and re-installed! After a quick look under the car, she saw some nuts and bolts.
“Hey Apple Bloom!” she called out. “Could you get that power drill and the wrench from your sis’s shed?”
“Sure!” Apple Bloom replied. “Just gotta ask permission.”
Applejack agreed, and even brought the tools over for her little sister. With some effort, Scootaloo pushed the drill tip onto a bolt and squeezed the power trigger on the drill. The bolt began to ease out. Soon the front bumper was removed from the car, and Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened with joy. Now they could reach right inside the engine bay and remove all those vines and branches they couldn’t reach before!”
The engine service book was beyond the comprehension abilities of the little fillies’ brains, so Applejack and Twilight Sparkle pitched in to help. Big Macintosh jacked up the car, Scootaloo did most of the mechanical work (with some assistance from Apple Bloom), while Sweetie Belle read out the instructions.
“And…last large bolt of size 2.5 on the far right!” she called out. Scootaloo undid the last bolt, and the engine came loose with a jolt and it began to slide a little.
“Get a scooter board!” Scootaloo yelled, and Applejack ran out of the barn and was back in less than a minute. She rolled it underneath the car’s front, Scootaloo gently pushed the engine…and it gently moved onto the board. Applejack pulled on a rope attached to the board, and the engine came free from its container.
With the engine removed, Scootaloo could now eliminate the vegetation that was not previously accessible. More rust remover and patch metal was added to the body behind the engine, as well as the wheel arches. Now came the challenge of repairing and tuning the engine itself. Sweetie Belle wanted to keep it stock, while Scootaloo wanted to turbocharge it so it could go faster and therefore be really awesome.
The argument continued until Sweetie Belle was about to throw a punch, when Scootaloo spoke loudly.
“If we want this car to be awesome and eye-catching, we need to make it fast and powerful.”
That made the other two shut up, and they agreed. Just then, Twilight Sparkle flew in with her book bag.
“Crusaders, the portal to Canterlot High has opened. It will close tonight. Sunset Shimmer has agreed to buy you all the parts you need, but you’ve got just this week before the portal closes,” she told them, handing out a few magazines and a few sheets of paper.
Sweetie Belle grabbed the magazine and began flipping the pages. There were so many to choose from, she had to ask Twilight about what Sunset Shimmer had suggested. After many hours of fussing, they narrowed down their selections and wrote out a long list that was almost as long as the engine itself. Still, Sweetie Belle was pleased to see that it was shorter than the list made when Babs Seed became a Cutie Mark Crusader.
The list consisted of more than twenty different engine parts, engine oil, various fluids, a few head gaskets (in case of blow-ups), a new radiator fan, suspension parts, 949 6UL racing sport rims and corresponding street tires, a steering wheel, a gauge cluster, brake fluid lines, sealant paste, a carbon fiber hood and spoiler, Brembo brakes and brake calipers, a complete Greddy single turbo kit, new waste gate manifold, new drivetrain mountings, a new fuel pump and fuel filter, a HKS exhaust and air filter for the turbo, Bride racing seats, new pedals, various electrical wiring, new high-power headlights(front and rear), three gauges to monitor the car’s conditions, and a C-West body kit to give the car a cool look. Not to mention some car-related tools and equipment.
“That’s…quite a lot,” Twilight said, surprised. “Are you sure this is all you need?”
“We’re sure of it,” Apple Bloom replied confidently. “And if we have forgotten anything, I’m sure Sunset Shimmer will notice and inform you.”
As noon struck, the Cutie Mark Crusaders set out to Ponyville to buy some nice smoothies for lunch, while Twilight Sparkle headed to her castle to send the list to Sunset Shimmer and assemble the convoy of helper ponies, who would deliver the items from the castle to Sweet Apple Acres.