Early the next morning, Taylor and the 8 engineers found themselves once again down in that basement workshop. Armed with the decals, their first task was to attach them to the plane. These included new American Star Insignias, as well as a few small ones, such as one warning individuals not to step on the ailerons.
In about 30 minutes, these new decals were complete, and all of them stood back one last time to admire their work. In front of them stood a freshly restored TBF Avenger Torpedo Bomber, as good as the day that it was made. Blue 1 was it's name, and it's pilot was Lt. Charles Taylor. However, as all of them were admiring their hard work, they were suddenly interrupted.
"Holy Cow! It's all done now?!"
"Whoa! so that's what it looked like before it crashed Taylor?"
All of them turned around, and there, standing inside the workshop with them, was Nurse Redheart, Nurse Starlight, and Princess Celestia.
"Well done, all of you." Celestia commended, "This has been a fine restoration job. This aircraft, even if it never will fly again, will prove to be an amazing engineering marvel. All of you have my greatest thanks."
Taylor nodded. "Yes, but the real ones that you should be thanking are these engineers. They're the ones who made this whole thing happened. I just directed the work."
"Yes, but you helped us out every step of the way. You showed us how to do everything, and it was such an honor to help you out."
Taylor smiled. "As it was my honor to work with all of you every step of the way."
Celestia thought for a moment. "I hoof-picked all of you to be the engineers for this project, and since all of you will be forever remembered for helping Mr. Taylor, I think that I will call you, 'The Airplane 8'. Do all of you like that?"
They all nodded. "Yes Princess!"
While this conversation was happening, Redheart and Starlight were looking at the plane.
"Hey Taylor?"
"Yes Miss Redheart?"
"Could you please show us how all of this works? I kinda would like to see what the inside of this plane looks like."
"Certainly." Taylor then made his way over to the plane. "This plane had space for three crew members; a pilot, a torpedoman/radioman, and a gunner. I was the pilot, Ensign James was my torpedoman, and my gunner was Sergeant Cole. He didn't fly with us that day, as he had unexpectedly fallen ill. James bailed out before we reached the portal."
Both of the nurses saw that they were about to tread on painful ground for Taylor, so they quickly changed the subject.
"Can we see the inside though?"
"Sure." Taylor then led the way over to the rear access door, and opened it up. "You guys can look, however, the interior space is rather cramped, and it was made for humans, not ponies, so it's up to you if you do come in, but I wouldn't advise it."
The two nurses did look in. What they saw really did awe them. They could see a small seat, with some radio equipment next to it.
"I see the equipment that looks like it might be the radio, but what's the stuff next to it?"
"That's the torpedo launch equipment. James would look through this black thing here, which has a target indicator on the end of it, and once we're over the target, he would launch the torpedo."
"And farther forwards, is that the turret where the gunner sat?"
Taylor nodded. "Yes. That's where Cole would have sat. However, during my last flight, James sat up there to do some spotting for me."
As Taylor was still pointing out the features of the aircraft's interior, there suddenly came another interruption.
"MY PRINCESS!!!!!!" A messenger suddenly burst into the workshop. He was completely out of breath, and looked like he was about to collapse.
"What is it, my servant?" What's wrong?"
All he could do was hand Celestia the message that he had been carrying. Celestia saw that not only was it marked "Urgent!" but that it also came from Doctor Stables, Head Doctor of the Ponyville General Hospital.
"Just like the message I recieved when Taylor arrived." Celestia thought. "I wonder what's happened?" Celestia opened the message and read it.
"What's going on Princess?" Taylor asked as he and the nurses made their way over to her.
"Um, Taylor, you might want to sit down before I tell you this."
Taylor was very confused. "What do you mean, Princess?"
Celestia showed him the message.
"Your Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Canterlot", the letter began,
"I write to you once more on a matter of extreme importance. Just moments ago, a massive shadow passed over the hospital. I got up from my desk to see what it was, and just as I did, something crashed into the side of the building, the sound of breaking glass was heard, and then something fell to the ground.
When my staff and I went to investigate, we found two broken windows, and a large, white lump in the remains of a flower bed. When one of the nurses tried to move the lump, it moved! We then realized that it was some kind of sheet, and so we removed it, and underneath, we got the shock of our lives! IT WAS ANOTHER HUMAN! Yes, you read that right!
He is dressed much like Mr. Taylor, and has reddish hair, and blue eyes. He was unconscious when we found him, and was suffering from a number of cuts from when he collided with the hospital. We are currently taking care of him, but we need you and Mr. Taylor to come back to Ponyville immediately!
Your Faithful Doctor,
Dr. Stables, Head of the Ponyville General Hospital."
When Taylor read those words, he literally fainted! Luckily, the two nurses caught him before he landed on the cold, hard concrete floor of the workshop. However, they were just as shocked as he was.
"Another human?!" Redheart cried.
"How is that even possible?!" Starlight added.
Celestia was unsure. "I don't know. From what Mr. Taylor has told me, two of the planes crashed immediately, and two more crews bailed out of their planes. I saw one more plane fly to pieces, and another burn up before crashing. Whoever this other human is, he must be from Taylor's crew."
"But who? Who is he?"
Celestia shrugged. "I don't know. Only Mr. Taylor could tell us that."
A few moments later, Taylor did revive somewhat.
"Are you ok Taylor?" Redheart asked.
Taylor nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I, just, don't even know what to say right now. One of my crew members is alive! He survived too! But how? It's been almost 4 days since I arrived here! How is he even still alive?! And most importantly, who is he?"
Redheart shrugged. "I don't know Taylor, but what I do know is that we must get down to Ponyville right now!"
Celestia handed something to the messenger. "Here. This should help you a bit." The messenger saw that it was a cupful of water. He drank it gratefully. "Thank you, my Princess."
"You're welcome. Now then, to Ponyville, as fast as lightning!"
Celestia made ready to leave. Taylor was confused. "Um, don't we have to take the train Princess?"
Celestia shook her head. "Not this time. This time I can get us all there instantly."
"How?"
"Like this!" Celestia's horn glowed yellow, and then, a bright flash of white light engulfed everypony in the workshop, and in the blink of an eye, they all vanished! Moments later, they all found themselves in Ponyville, just outside of the hospital. Celestia saw Taylor, Redheart, and Starlight, like she planned, but then she saw something unplanned. Behind them stood the messenger, as well as the 8 engineers.
"Whoops. I guess I slightly miscalculated that teleport jump."
"What? 'teleport'? What's that?" Taylor asked.
"Teleportation is a magic spell that allows it's users to move from one place to another almost instantly. It's a rather difficult spell to master, but Alicorns can use it, as can unicorns. And the user can also bring others with them, if they so choose."
Taylor nodded, but then looked at the hospital. "Yeah, that does make sense Princess, but shouldn't we be finding the doctor? We need to see him right away!"
Celestia nodded. "Yes, My Dear, you're right!"
As quickly as they could, all of them went inside of the hospital. Once they were inside, Redheart and Starlight went up to the front desk, with Taylor and Celestia right behind them.
The nurse on duty looked very surprised when she saw them. "Redheart, Starlight, you're back!"
Redheart nodded. "Yes, we are. Now then, could you please tell us where this new human is? We need to see him right away."
The nurse saw Taylor and Celestia standing behind them. "Yes, he was taken to room 114. Dr. Stables and a few other staff are taking care of him there."
Redheart thought for a moment. "Room 114? That's the same room where Taylor was taken care of when he was brought here 4 days ago!"
The nurse nodded. "Yes. He was moved in there, because as with Mr. Taylor, he was too tall to fit in a normal bed."
Redheart nodded again, and as quickly as they could, Redheart, Starlight, Taylor, and Celestia all made their way to Room 114. The messenger and the 8 engineers, decided to stay in the lobby waiting room, as there were too many of them. However, they constantly waited for any updates on the situation.
A few minutes later, they all arrived outside the door of Room 114. Redheart went up to the door, and knocked on it gently.
"Dr. Stables? Are you in there?"
"Who is it?" A voice from inside asked.
"It's Nurse Redheart Sir. I'm here with Nurse Starlight, Mr. Taylor, and Princess Celestia, just like you asked."
There was the sound of hooves on the floor, and a few moments later, the doctor opened the door, and peaked out into the hall. He looked first at Redheart, then to Starlight, Taylor, and finally Celestia.
"Oh, well, I'm glad that all of you could get here so quickly."
"How bad off is he Doctor?" Taylor asked.
"Well, his cuts and bruises are slightly worse than yours, due to his impact with the hospital building. He also managed to crack several of his ribs after his landing, as the windows that he collided with were up on the second floor. A few of his cuts were severe enough as to require stitches, and he is unconscious, but it does appear that he is going to be ok."
"Any idea who he is Doc?"
The doctor shook his head. "I was hoping that you could tell us that Mr. Taylor."
The doctor then opened the door, and let them all in. Once they were all inside, it did take a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dimness of the room. When Taylor could fully see though, he quietly gasped in shock! On the floor, was a sort of bed made from two mattresses put together. On the bed was the human in question. He had reddish-brown hair, and somewhat pale skin. Two nurses were still tending to his injuries. Once Taylor reached his bedside, he knelt down to get a better look at him. When he did though, he gasped in shock!
"W-wh-wha...? How....?"
"Who is he Taylor?" Redheart asked.
"I-it's, it's James!"
"WHAT?! Ensign James?! Your torpedoman?!"
"Yes. The very same." Taylor whispered. "Ensign William "Worrying Will" James. My torpedoman/radioman. I thought for sure that he was dead!"
"Well, obviously, somehow he survived!"
While Taylor and Redheart were in shock, Starlight and Celestia looked over James's records.
"Hmm. Height, 5'7". Weight: 152lbs. Reddish-brown hair, with blue eyes. Age: About 20. Injuries: Serious lacerations on face, head, and arms, due to impact with windows. 3 cracked ribs due to fall from a height of two stories. Minor concussion, plus a few other cuts and bruises."
"I just still wonder how he survived", Celestia whispered. "I swore that Taylor was the only survivor. Plus, I even sealed the portal not long after Taylor entered."
"Well, maybe he made it partway through before you sealed the portal up."
Maybe", Celestia whispered.
Once Taylor had recollected himself again, he examined a few items that were sitting on a table off to the side. "Hey Doc, what are these?"
The doctor looked. "Oh, those are things that we found on him when we brought him in. And that white sheet-thing that he got caught in is leaning next to the table."
Taylor examined it. It was indeed a white sheet-like object, and it was attached to a sort of backpack. "This thing is his parachute. It's what he used when he bailed out of my plane. Maybe he crashed into the hospital, and when he hit those windows, his parachute completely deflated, and he fell to the ground."
The doctor nodded. "That's a very high possibility Mr. Taylor. However, I don't think that we'll know for sure until he wakes up."
"And how close do you think that he is to waking up?"
The doctor shrugged. "It's hard to say Mr. Taylor. You were here for about 2 hours before you woke up, however, your injuries were a lot less severe."
Taylor nodded, and then turned to face the wall. After a few moments, he turned back to the doctor again. "I think that when he does finally wake up, I think that it would be best that he sees me first, as the shock of seeing a talking pony could really do some harm to him; physically, mentally, or both."
The doctor nodded. "Yes, I do believe that you're right Taylor."
As they were still talking about this, there suddenly came a groan from the bed.
"Doctor", one of the nurses looked up, "I think that he's waking up!"
Taylor and the doctor looked. Sure enough, Ensign James did indeed appear to be waking up.
"Ok everypony, just like we did with Taylor, let him wake up, although unlike Taylor, we'll let him see Taylor first, and have him introduce the whole 'talking pony concept."
Everypony nodded, and Taylor knelt down next to James's bed. Sure enough, a few moments later, James's regained consciousness.
"Wh-wha....? Where.....am I?' He mumbled faintly.
"Ensign? Ensign? James, can you hear me?" Taylor asked.
"T-T-Taylor? Is, that.....you?" Moments after this, James opened his eyes. At first, he had no clue where he was. All he could see was his commanding officer, Taylor, bending over him.
"Yes James, it's me. I'm right here. You're going to be ok. You had a nasty accident, but you'll be ok."
"Where am I? Back at Fort Lauderdale?"
"Um..." Taylor really wasn't sure what to say. "Well, I can say that you're in the hospital, however......well, I know that this is going to be hard for you to swallow, but um.......we're not on Earth anymore."
James looked confused. "What? What do you......." Then he looked behind Taylor. He saw what appeared to be a doctor and several nurses, but they were all ponies! "WHAT?!?!?!?! What are those things!?!?!?!"
"Those, are Ponies James. You're in the Ponyville General Hospital, here in Ponyville. Oh, and let me be the first to welcome you to the Magical Land of Equestria. You're new home."
James didn't know how to take that. "No, no, no! None of this is real! I have to be dead. I died in the Triangle, and now I'm in Hell!"
Taylor shook his head. "That's what I thought too James, but no, all of this is real. I crashed here 4 days ago, and was taken to this very hospital, to this very room, and yes, to the very bed that you're lying on right now."
James looked back to the bed, and then to Taylor, but he didn't say anything. He shook his head. "Ok, so I'm in a strange world inhabited by ponies who wear clothes. Can any of this get any stranger?"
As if in answer to his question, one of the nurses asked, "So, is he ok with all of this Mr. Taylor, or is he going to freak out like you did?"
That did it, James's nerves were gone. "WHAT?!?!?! DID THAT PONY JUST TALK?!?!?!?!?!"
Taylor nodded. "Yes. Yes she did James. They all talk in this world. I know that you're probably going to freak out, but please don't. You have absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Nopony means you any harm. We're all just so glad that you're ok."
It was then that James asked the question. "So, is it just you and me, or is anyone else here too?"
Taylor shook his head sadly. "No James, it's just us. Everyone else went down back on Earth. However, that begs the question, how did you get here? I crashed landed 4 days ago. How did you get here? Most importantly though, how did you even stay alive for that long?"
James sighed. "Well, I'll tell you everything that I remember. Back when we were still on Earth, my nerves got worse and worse. My Shell-shock kept coming back, and I knew that I was going to die. I couldn't take it anymore, so I exited the turret, grabbed my parachute, opened the door, and bugged out.
Unfortunately though, I opened my parachute too soon. It got snagged on the left elevator. So there I was, caught in a potential death trap, just dangling behind the plane as you dragged me along. I was soaking wet in seconds, and still convinced that I was going to die."
"Snagged on the left elevator? Well, that might explain why my controls suddenly got stiff for a while. What happened next?"
"Well, Behind the plane, one by one, I saw our comrades either crash, bail out, get smashed into pieces, or like Blue 3, burst into flames. Moments after this, I was suddenly surrounded by a blinding white flash, I felt my parachute come loose from the plane, and then nothing. I must have passed out, and I didn't wake up until just now."
Taylor nodded. "Ok, now all of this is starting to make sense. That blinding white flash of light was the inside of the portal, or doorway, that we got here by. It was closed just after we entered, and I guess that while I flew through and crash landed, you must have just been hanging there in your parachute, drifting through the portal."
"Eventually, he must have exited the portal, flew for ways, and then crashed into the second floor of the hospital. His parachute device must have deflated, and he fell to the ground, where my staff and I found him a few moments later." The doctor finished.
Taylor looked back at James. "Does any of this make sense to you at all?"
James nodded. "Yeah, I was dragged through the doorway, I came loose, lost consciousness, drifted for a while, came out somewhere, hit the hospital, my parachute deflated, and I crashed to the ground. I'm also extremely lucky to be alive, especially after all that's happened."
Taylor nodded. "Yes, you certainly are."
And with that, Taylor sat down on a nearby chair, as he prepared to help James adjust to this new world.