Adventures in The 6ix

by Wiz Ahmad

Chapter 19: A Completed Project and A Clever Prank

XAVIER POV

MAVERICK AND RODNEY’S MOD SHOP

“Are you all ready?”

“Ready, Xavier!” Twilight and her friends all chorused.

Since we were running a little late, I took the streetcar to the shop instead of walking, with Tempest and Skystar in tow. As I expected, every single face lit up in shock and wonder, but I briefly reassured them all. The driver was, too, taken aback by surprise, but immediately calmed down once Tempest and Skystar introduced themselves in a peaceful manner. Many drivers would be suspicious of even service dogs, but this guy just let my friends go. He really was nice.

During the ride, Tempest kept to herself, laying down across the front seats in a quiet, solemn state, not speaking a word. Skystar sat on her haunches and gazed out the window, her face alive with joy and anticipation as she watched the world go by.

Leaning out and looking back, I could make out the shape of Rainbow Dash flying along, using the streetcar’s slipstream effectively. She sure knew how to fly efficiently.

Down on the ground, Twilight and the others kept walking along at a slightly brisk pace, keeping an eye on the streetcar. Pinkie soon caught sight of Skystar and the two exchanged friendly waves. I just beamed, encouraged even more so to get to the shop and continue where I left off yesterday.

In just over ten minutes, Tempest, Skystar, and I arrived at exactly 9:03 a.m. Rodney had the shop doors open and Maverick was inside the office, already on the phone.

“Hello Rodney! Good morning everyone!” I said welcomingly, walking inside. Garrett, Kristen, and Marcus were all there, along with Brian.

“Hi Xavier, good to see you,” Rodney responded, setting down a torque wrench. Upon greeting me with a handshake he noticed the yellow hippogriff by my side in a dog wheelchair.

“You must be Skystar, right? Well I’ll be damned, you’re a freakin’ hippogriff!”

“Hahaha!” Skystar giggled. “I sure am! I know Xavier kept me at home because I was injured, but this should be my final day with these wheels of assistance.”

Rodney tapped his chin. “Alright so since you’re here, let’s find out what you can do.” He glanced down at the floor. “You got hands, and a lovely voice. Think you’d be up to handling phone calls?”

Skystar shook her head. “Tracking all them would be beyond my brainpower. Maybe some simple handiwork?”

“In that case, basic disassembly sounds great. Garrett, you’ve got a new assistant!”

“Uh… okay,” Garrett shrugged, clearly not comfortable having a hippogriff for a workmate.

I used a clean rubber band to tie Skystar’s mane and tail back so it wouldn’t get caught or pulled, and we set to work. Rarity resumed work on the Mustang’s upholstery, while Spike helped Garrett and I set to work on the Gran Torino’s subframe. Once it was done, we could sort out my suspension and tires, which Maverick had ordered the night before. To make the thick tires fit, Marcus suggested to roll and pull the fenders. I agreed, since many Honda owners loved that look.

“Gran Torino is now fully raised,” Spike announced in a mock announcer’s voice, jumping down from the lift’s support bar. “Ready for work.”

Garrett and I grabbed some power wrenches while Skystar held out all the necessary bolts. Applejack and Marcus brought over the new components, and Fluttershy held up the rebuild manual. Together, Garrett, Skystar, and I put all the parts together, before raising it up into the chassis. Marcus held it in place, while I aligned the suspension and Garrett put in the primary bolts to hook the diff back up to the driveshaft. In spite of her leg ailment, Skystar stood up on her hind legs – still in her dog wheechair – and gave an extra boost of support to the subframe so I could put in the necessary bolts.

“B-but…” I began, double-checking the torque settings to ensure everything was snug and even.

Skystar put a claw on my mouth and shook her head. “Because this is what I do.”

There wasn’t any argument to that – once Skystar had secured a friend, she wouldn’t hesitate to help them.

After one final check, Garrett and I then proceeded to re-installing the exhaust system, after which Brian would take over. It was a shiny chrome one, with a smooth freeflow design.

“Rarity would love this,” Spike whispered from his resting point on the lift’s support arms. I nodded with a sly smile and tightened all bolts.

Finally the car was ready. I gave Spike the signal and he slowly lowered the Gran Torino down. We then proceeded to work on some other projects, while Brian rolled up with his well-detailed rebuilt engine and properly organized electrical harness, ready to go.

Meanwhile, I began unboxing the new parts for my Integra. The coilovers were ISR Racing, with Toyo RX tires. I’d worried about whether my shiny chrome grey rims would work, but Rodney reassured me they’d be up to the task.

Maverick showed me how to use a tire machine, and we removed the old Canadian Tire-bought “daily” wheels and added on the Toyo RX’s. Brian was busy using the lift, so Rodney and I used simple jack stands and took out the stock coilovers and installed the new ones, one by one. Then we re-bled the power steering pump and reattached the wheels. Marcus came over and spent all his time cutting, welding, sanding, and rolling the fenders until they were just right.

By the time it was ready for the dyno, lunch had arrived. Rarity elected to buy us all something, so Maverick handed her $150 in cash.

“Don’t buy anything too expensive!” I warned, leaning out the garage door.

“No worries, darling, I’ve got this covered. See you in half an hour!”

RARITY POV

QUEEN STREET WEST

With that, Rarity hit the streets, tucking the money under her mane, out of sight. There was not much difficulty in getting down Queen Street; the sidewalks, despite being narrow, were mostly empty, with only a few people getting in and out of various stores. It reminded her of Klugetown, only nicer. People came in all sorts of heights and skin colors, and they spoke various languages, though the one Xavier spoke – English – was the most commonly heard one.

After some time, her nose came upon an interesting smell – a pleasant mix of spices and vegetables. Eagerly, she chased after it, soon finding herself in front of a restaurant.

“Ali Baba’s Middle Eastern Cuisine,” she read aloud. “Well, sounds interesting enough.”

Upon walking in, she was greeted with sights and smells very similar to one back in Canterlot – Saffron Masala’s “Tasty Treat”. The seating design, the internal architecture, the presentation of the food – it all was very similar.

“Hmmm, let’s see…” Rarity slid onto one of the seats and flipped through a menu. “Soups and salads, appetizers… I’ll take twenty appetizers, two different types, and let’s see about what this… shawarma is.”

Rarity flipped to the next page of the menu, only to be shocked at the options presented before her. “Chicken, beef, and fish?! So, these… humans eat meat?!”

“Indeed. It’s not as bad as you think.” A large, brown figure walked over and sat across from her, looking rather like a human form of Coriander Cumin. “I’m not sure where you’re from, but here, the world is full of many creatures, who are of benefit for us. In our understanding, we consider them as non-sentient… creatures, which we feed upon. We are always breeding them, so there are always more to go around. If you wish, try it. There’s no need to feel overly compassionate or sad about meat. Chicken, cows, fish… they don’t really have feelings or a soulful, sentient state like you and I do.”

“We have vegetarian options available as well,” a man from behind the counter added.

Rarity then sat back and thought it through. In all of what she knew about its origins, the meat did look quite appetizing. It sounded like a good idea…

“And that is $142.37,” the cashier recited proudly. Rarity handed him the bills and slid the change into a small paper bag, then slipped it into one of the bags. She levitated the six bags and knotted the handles of two together to bring it down to three. Then she draped two knotted bags across her back, levitated the third pair, and walked out of the restaurant with her goodies. By now it was well past 12 pm, so she rushed back, taking care not to bump into anyone or drop any of her bags.

In just over ten minutes, she arrived at the shop, panting with exhaustion.

“Made… it!” she gasped, gently resting the bags on the office lunch table. “Let’s eat!”

“You forgot drinks!” Rainbow Dash pointed out, as everyone gathered around to eat.

“I got that covered,” Twilight announced, walking in with three two-liter bottles of juice and a 24-pack of bottled water.

“I’m not even gonna ask how you can hold all of that at once,” Maverick muttered with a chuckle.

Rarity had to use every muscle in her face to hold back a chuckle as she watched everyone eat. She’d ordered chicken shawarmas for herself, Applejack, Twilight, and Pinkie, but gave Rainbow Dash and Skystar a fish shawarma, and got a veggie one for Fluttershy. Xavier, Garrett, and the others got the regular chicken one, and beef for Maverick and Rodney. All the samosas were potato flavored, however.

Bracing herself for possibly the most unpleasant experience ever, Rarity unwrapped hers and took a little bite. Then she took another larger bite, ingesting the warm bread, grilled chicken, sauces, and vegetables. The way the flavors blended in her mouth was unlike anything she’d experienced before. It actually tasted… good.

“Do I… actually like… eating chicken?!” Rarity wondered, trying to keep her shock from being audibly recognized. “There’s no denying the wonderful taste of this.”

From the looks and sounds around her, everypony else was also enjoying theirs.

“Mmmm, dhis tashets delicious!” Pinkie declared through a mouthful of bread and vegetables.

“I’m not entirely sure of it, but it’s got well-balance flavor,” Twilight noted.

“I haven’t had anything like this before, but it sure tastes mighty good!” Applejack noted, licking her lips clean.

“Never would I think there’d be a day where I’d say that fried dough would be as good as gemstones!” Spike chuckled, reaching for his fifth samosa.

Rarity finally broke loose and giggled. “Um… ahem. I’m off the bathroom to wash up so we can continue working.”

XAVIER POV

MAIN SHOP

Back in the shop, Rarity, Twilight, and the others continued working, while Brian and I got to grips with my Integra. We strapped it down hard and I checked all the electrical systems. Finally, I poured in 94 octane gas and Brian hopped into the driver’s seat.

“Start! Start! Start!” Pinkie suddenly appeared at the side of the dyno room door, cheering us on like a football fan in a stadium. Brian smiled back, encouraged. He gently feathered the gas pedal, trying to get the fuel to flow properly. The first few tries had the engine shutting off and cutting out after less than a minute. Twice I had to siphon excess fuel out the head. But eventually, we got it running consistently with some tweaking.

“Now let’s put this car through the paces, with all the precision possible,” Brian announced, tapping away on the gas pedal and his laptop. After the fuel/air ratio was calibrated and the gauges were confirmed to be working according to the readings directly from the ECU, he put the car through its paces, working up through first gear, then second, and eventually third.

The room screamed with over 100db of ear-splitting whine as the turbo spooled. Even with my weight on the rear and the straps, the car threatened to jump off from the insane power it was making.

“Let’s see… 342.51!” Brian declared. “Still more room in that turbo housing, let’s tweak it more!”

Brian rowed the gears again, and Pinkie squeezed her ears from the insane hiss of the engine’s scream. This time the jolt of throttle release felt more aggressive, and the car took more time to slow down.

“402.13!”

All through the early afternoon, Brian kept pushing the Integra, trying to efficiently squeeze as much power out of it as possible. On the fifth run, we tightened the straps a little more and added another fan, and this time Garrett sat in the back while I stood on the passenger frame rail for extra support. Brian tweaked the setting again on his laptop and put the Integra through its paces. The scream was so atrociously loud we all wore earmuffs, but poor Pinkie and Rainbow Dash at the doorway had no protection. The car jolted so much I very nearly fell off, and I could see the engine shaking in its bay from the insane forces of power rushing through the head.

“FIVE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO!” Brian yelled in joy. “532 horsepower!”

“Wow, Breezy! You weren’t kidding when you said these Hondas had potential!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, gawking at the engine bay with the turbo still spinning, its outlet sticking straight up like a mini smokestack.

“And with that, the project is all done!” Marcus declared, walking in. “I’ve just finished work on a neat custom hood that’ll fit over that turbo pipe.”

“Woo-hoo!” Twilight cheered. “A mission successfully completed!”

I smiled so much my cheeks hurt, and my eyes became watery as we – Brian, Marcus, Garrett, and my pony friends – all shared a high-five, celebrating our victory at successfully building a turbocharged Honda Integra GSR with over five hundred horsepower. From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Rarity was out near the Gran Torino – also completed – looking rather proud and a little smug. I’d have to talk with her sometime later.

Author's Note:

Finally, the Integra is done. Here's a dyno clip of a similar project:

EDIT: DERP I FORGOT TO MENTION SKYSTAR IN THE LUNCH SCENE

Comments

[BestinDworld]

…..erm what was the prank?

[Toa from Siberia]

9124261

9124255
Rarity made her friends eat meat and they are none the wiser.

[Captain Morgan]

9123233
Huh, well i learned something new about Canada!

[Captain Morgan]

Found an error in this chapter

[Wiz Ahmad]

9168979
Where? Let me know so I can correct it.

[Captain Morgan]

9170386

In just over ten minutes, Tempest, Skystar, and I arrived at exactly 9:03 p.m. Rodney had the shop doors open and Maverick was inside the office, already on the phone.

“Hello Rodney! Good morning everyone!” I said welcomingly, walking inside. Garrett, Kristen, and Marcus were all there, along with Brian.

9 p.m in the morning?

[Wiz Ahmad]

9170451
One small thing doesn't seem like a lot, but it soon affects everything around it in ways you can't perceive until you actually see said small thing.
FIXED! Alhamdulilah