By about 10am, Taylor was, with help, getting ready to go to the workshop again. He was able to take a bath for the first time since the accident, with his cast encased in Starlight's magic to keep it from getting wet. His clothes were cleaned once again by the hospital's laundry, his leather jacket was repaired after it had been burned, and after brushing his hair, teeth, and shaving his face, he was almost ready to go.
"Darn it."
"What?" Redheart asked.
"Oh, I just came to the conclusion that I can't wear my jacket with my arm in a cast. The sling just doesn't work."
Redheart looked, and sure enough, he was right. He was just able to pull the sleeve of his tan shirt over the cast, but not his jacket sleeve. "Well, it's warm outside, so I don't think that you'll need it Taylor."
Taylor shook his head. "It's so weird. This is December back on Earth, it's supposed to be at least a little bit cold, and possibly snowing in some places. However, Equestria seems to have weather like that of Florida, pretty much warm year-round."
"Oh, but it does get cold here Taylor. Winter is coming, but it's still about a month or so away."
Taylor looked like he was going to maybe say something, but he wasn't sure how to phrase it. Finally, he said, "Man, I've been here for about three weeks now, and I STILL can't wrap my head around the fact that weather doesn't just fall naturally around here! It's made in a factory, and then sent out. It's just, so weird."
"Well, I'm sure that you'll get used to it eventually Taylor."
Taylor looked over at her. "I hope so Redheart, I really hope so."
About an hour or so later, after being cleared for temporary release, Taylor and Redheart found themselves walking down the streets of Ponyville.
"Feels so weird to be walking these streets again", Taylor murmured. "It's only been about two weeks, but it feels like it was an eternity."
"I know, but I can only guess." Redheart was trying to find the right words to relate to what Taylor was saying.
The citizens of Ponyville however, were not too much at a loss for words, and were so relieved to see Taylor walking around town again.
"Mr. Taylor!"
"It's so good to see you again!"
"It's been too long Mr. Taylor. How are you feeling?"
"Are you glad to 'see' us again?"
Taylor smiled. It felt good to be missed, and to see how much Ponies cared about him. "It's so nice to see all of you again too. I'm feeling ok, aside from my broken arm of course, and my eyes still do hurt a bit, and I'll have to keep taking eye drops for a little while longer, but overall, I'm fine." Then he smirked a bit. "And yes, yes it is really nice to be able to 'see' all of you again too!"
Some ponies laughed at that. Taylor continued to talk with them as he walked, all the way back to Drywood Workshops.
When Taylor saw the workshops again, he was rather surprised. "Wow, they've really done an amazing job at cleaning this place back up again. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that there never really was an accident here at all."
Redheart agreed. "Well, I only saw the damage from the papers, but yes, I can say that those responsible for cleanup have done a remarkable job."
Taylor then went to the front doors of the workshop, and finding the left door adjar, he pushed it open, and stuck his head inside. What he saw, shocked him a bit. Inside, he saw Metalwork, Oilcan, Blueprints, Dusty, Fly, Iny, Squeaky, and Royal, all hard at work. Some of them were putting together workbenches and tables, others were building shelves. Blueprints and inky seemed to be drawing up what appeared to be engine designs, and Squeaky was working hard to keep everything as clean as possible.
"Wow", Taylor thought, "They've really done a fine job at transforming this place since the accident. Now it looks like a true workshop."
Just before he walked in, Taylor decided to have a little fun. He pushed open the door, and walked inside.
"Um, hello? Excuse me? I was told that there was supposed to be 9 members of this workshop team, but I only see 8. Where is Mr. Taylor?"
Dusty coughed a bit. "Well, he would be here, but he's still in the hospital. However, hopefully he'll be back soon."
"Are you so sure about that?" Taylor smirked. "Are you so sure that he's not standing right in front of you?"
When Taylor said that, all work in the workshop suddenly came to a stop. All eyes went up to meet Taylor's. When they all saw him, they were both shocked, excited, and happy at the same time.
"Taylor!"
"You're back!"
"How are you feeling?"
"Did you come back for you plane?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! One at a time guys, one at a time! I'm glad that you're all so happy to see me. And to answer your questions, I'm feeling ok, aside from my broken arm, and my eyes do still hurt a bit from time to time, hence the reason that I will have to keep taking eye drops for a while longer.
And also, yes, I have come back for my plane. Where did you guys put it?"
Blueprints pointed to a corner. "During our cleanup, we pushed it, as well as all of the pieces that we could find of it, back there. The damage wasn't as bad as we originally anticipated, but it's still pretty bad."
Taylor went over to look. Redheart was right behind him. When Taylor saw the plane, he was both relieved, and deeply saddened. As James had told him, from the cockpit on back, aside from a few burn-marks, everything seemed fine. From the front of the cockpit forwards though, everything was a horrible mess.
Most of it was just twisted steel, and burnt, shattered parts. Most of the plane's frame was still intact, but the outer skin was completely gone. The engine was also on the ground in pieces.
"Is, um, this even a viable option for repair Taylor?"
Taylor shrugged. "I'm not sure. This damaged section amounts to somewhere close to 18-20% of the plane. Aside from the propeller, and the plane's skeleton from the cockpit front to the engine cowling, everything else is going to have to be repaired, or outright replaced. The engine is little more than junk, the plane's skin is shrapnel, and other parts are bent and warped because of the heat."
"And if it was repairable, what would it cost to do so?"
Taylor put his right hand over his face. "A fortune. It already cost one to fix it the first time, and most of that was body damage. This time around, we're looking at a full engine overhaul, refitting the skeleton, completely rebuilding the plane's exterior skin, fixing/replacing the engine cowling, and full priming, painting, and decals. And none of this is even counting fuel production.
If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that the last time cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000. This time around, it could be in the neighborhood of up to $15-20,000, including the cost of re-fabricating all new engine parts, and metal skin."
"And, is that even feasible?"
Taylor turned to look at the Airplane 8. "Um, what do you guys think? Assuming that money wouldn't be a problem, could we fix the plane again?"
Metalwork looked like he was trying to smile, but was not succeding very well. "Um.....well....." He too was in mild shock after Taylor revealed his best guess for the cost figures. "To be perfectly honest Taylor......no. Probably not."
Taylor was crestfallen. However, it was then that Redheart remembered what she and Taylor had been slaving over for hours on end the previous night. "Well, wait! What if you guys had an operations manual? Would that help any?"
Metalwork shrugged. "Maybe, but where would you find one of those?"
"In my room at the hospital! Of course! Good thinking Redheart! But yes, as she said, we have the TBF Avenger Operational Manual. It has everything; parts, listings, how to build, fix, and maintain.....everything."
Metalwork sighed. After a few moments of silence, he finally said, "Still, I would say that under normal circumstances, you would just be out of luck Taylor. However, you're in luck. We're the best mechanical engineers in all of Equestria! Provided of course that we would have funding, yes, we would help you restore your plane once again!"
Taylor was so exicted he could burst. "What?! Really?! You guys mean it?!"
"Yep!"
"Yes!"
"Of course!"
"Certianly!"
"Totally!"
"Sure thing!"
"Absolutely!"
"We're all in this together, Mr. Taylor, so yes!"
Taylor hugged them all. "You guys are the best. Now you have a real challenge to prove once and for all that you really are the best mecnahical engineers in all of Equestria! And, I also have a meeting with the Princess a little later on today, so I can ask her about possible funding. And even if she says no, there's no harm in at least sorting through all of the parts, right?"
They all agreed with him, and got to work.
Even though Taylor had a broken arm, he still helped as best he could. With help, the plane was once again moved over to the center of the room. Once it was there, the engine and it's components were moved over to one set of workbenches, all exterior skin parts were moved to another workbench, and the few good parts, including the propeller, were placed on wooden pallets.
Then, after Redheart pulled her notes that she'd written on the book, as well as the book itself from the saddlebag that she'd brought with her, and under Taylor's direction, all damaged pieces that still remained on the plane were unbolted, and the task of preserving the structural integrity of the plane's forward skeleton began. This involved first scrubbing down the skeletal frame, rinsing it, and allowing it to dry. Then, using torches to heat the metal hot enough to be bent back into position, the components were lined up again, before being gently welded back into place.
By the time work stopped for the time being, the second restoration had at least gotten off the ground. Now, the damage didn't appear to be as bad. All of the damage to the skeletal frame had been stabilized, and all broken bits had been welded back into place. With the skeleton frame done, the next bit would be the most challenging of all; rebuilding the engine. This is where the money would come into play.
"It's getting late, and I have to go meet with the Princess, but good job today guys. We made some real progress. Even if this is as far as we go, you should feel proud of yourselves. You've once again proven your metal."
Metalwork smiled. "Thank you Taylor. And even if the Princess does say no, you were the best supervisor that we've ever had. You helped where you could, even with your broken arm, and for that, we say thanks."
Taylor nodded. "Thank you. That really means a lot to me. Now then, we have to hurry back to the hospital, but I should be back sometime before dinner to tell you guys about what happened."
"Ok. We'll just be working here until then. Goodbye!"
"Goodbye."
On another end of things, while Taylor and Co. were hard at work, James was happily making his way to Flutters's cottage once again.
"I know that she and Missy'll be very happy to see me. I wonder how much we'll be able to get done in the cemetery today?"
James continued to ponder this as he kept walking. Eventually, he found himself once again at the door to Flutters's cottage.
He knocked on the door. "Hello? Flutters? Are you there?"
At first, there was only silence. Then, James suddenly became aware of excited barking. "Just a minute James!"
A minute or so later, the door opened, and James was greeted by Flutters. "Hello James." She hugged him gently.
"Hello Flutters."
Once James had finished hugging Flutters, Missy jumped up into his arms for a hug as well.
"Hee hee! And hello to you too Missy!"
Missy barked happily, and licked James face.
"Yep, I missed you too girl!" James then turned to Flutters. "So, um, what tools would you have for cleaning up the cemetery?"
Flutters pointed outside behind James. "Um, out there, I have a wheelbarrow, a rake, a hoe, some trimmers, a hammer, nails, and scrap wood, some twine, as well as a small lawnmower."
James looked outside, and sure enough, there was a wheelbarrow with all of the before-mentioned items inside, as well as an old-looking reel lawnmower standing next to it. "Wow. Um, yes, that'll be just fine. Shall we go now?"
Flutters looked at him. "Um, would you like to have some tea first? I just made a pot."
"Is it that caramel tea?"
"Would you be happy if I said yes?"
James laughed. "Of course! I love the caramel tea!"
Flutters smiled. "Well then, hurry up before the tea gets cold!"
"I'm coming!"
One delicious cup of tea and a few cookies later, James and Missy were outside getting the wheelbarrow and supplies ready for the tip to the cemetery.
"Are you coming Flutters?"
"Um, j-just a minute James. I, um, have to check something really quick!"
James nodded. "Ok, take your time. We're in no hurry."
Flutters didn't answer. Instead, she looked back at James's empty tea cup. Then from a cupboard in her kitchen, Flutters pulled down a small bottle. The bottle had a pink liquid inside, had a heart on the label, and the bottle itself was heart-shaped.
"Oh, I hope that I didn't use too much of this stuff. After what I was told by my birds, and that psycho nurse Freckles just kissed him like that, I had to do this. Now he'll fall for me, and I'll love him as he was meant to be loved!" Flutters then put the bottle back on the shelf that she got it from, and quickly made her way outside to where James and Missy were waiting, and as they walked back to the cemetery, she was daydreaming about the future, one that she planned on spending with James.
A few hours after this, Taylor and Redheart made their way to a small cafe close to the hospital where they were going to meet Celestia. The meeting had been set for 3:30, and they arrived at close to 3:20.
Once they were seated, they waited for Celestia to arrive. Sure enough, a little while later, their patience was rewarded.
"Mr. Taylor!"
Taylor stood up. "Princess!"
Sure enough, there was Celestia, accompanied by several guards. The two of them hugged, albeit, slightly more difficult for Taylor, as he could only hug with his right arm.
"I've missed seeing you Mr.....er, um, Taylor."
Taylor laughed a bit. "And I've missed seeing you too Princess. It's been a while since we last talked. I'm glad that we could meet here today."
"So was I Taylor. I was always so worried about you while you were in the Trauma Ward. I was always waiting for any word on how you were doing. When I got the letter from Dr. Stables that you had regained your eyesight, I was beside myself with joy. I was also very excited to get your letters yesterday."
They all sat down, at it was here that Celestia noticed that Redheart was there as well.
"Oh, hello Nurse Redheart. It's nice to see you again."
"Hello Princess. It's an honor to see you again as well."
"Likewise I'm sure."
Celestia then turned to Taylor. "So, according to your letters Mr. Taylor, you showed a great interest in the USS Cyclops. What was the reason for this?"
"Well Princess, I was told about the ship by James, who heard about it from his business partner, Miss Flutters. It's become something of a legend back on Earth since it's disappearance without a trace back in 1918."
"You mentioned in the letter that it was a US Navy Freighter. And I know that you told me some of the story in your letter, but could you please tell it again?"
Taylor nodded. "Certainly Princess. Well, as I previously stated, the USS Cyclops was a US Navy bulk carrier, or freighter. It was built in 1916, and it's primary job was hauling raw ore. It's services were greatly needed during the Great War, or, (as I guess it could be called now) 'WW1'. However, in March of 1918, with a crew and passenger count of 306, the ship set sail, and on March 9th, entered the Bermuda Triangle, and was never seen, or heard from again.
After search crews, and Navy divers tried and failed to locate the Cyclops, or even any wreckage, she was declared lost with all hands, and has since become the most famous legend of the Bermuda Triangle." Taylor paused for a moment. "And when James told me that the ship was here, and has been moored up in Manehattan for the past almost 30 years, it just sounded too fantastical to be true."
Celestia nodded as Taylor finished his story. "I know that that must have been hard for you to believe, but yes, the USS Cyclops has been with us for almost 30 years now. As I stated in my reply letter, the ship was found drifting in the Celestial Sea on what I guess for you would be March 12th, 1918. A boarding party was sent over, but as I stated, no life was found on the ship. However, all of the cargo was still there, as were items belonging to those on board."
"Were any traces of the crew ever found?"
Celestia shook her head. "Sadly, no. In all of the time that the ship was studied, no traces of the crew were ever found. The official conclusion was that the ship was evacuated while still on Earth, as no lifeboats or rafts were found. As you stated, the crew all perished back on Earth, but the ship survived to arrive here in Equestria."
"Has the ship ever been moved on it's own power?"
"No. Although our engineers and mechanics were able to at least put together a rudimentary knowledge of the ships's steam engines, they never attempted anything, aside from a quick test of the boilers. In fact, up until that point, nopony had really ever seen a steam engine on a ship before. There were a few previous steamship designs, but they were few and far between. Suggestions for using the Cyclops's engine system as a guide to modernize the Equestrian Navy and merchant fleet were put forwards, but alas, as we still lack the knowledge of how the engines work, it's never really gotten off the ground."
Taylor thought about that. "Well, I don't know if I would be any help there, as I'm a pilot with some engineering and mechanic skills. I'm no machinist, or really know anything about ship boilers or engines."
Celestia sighed. "Well, do you think that James would?"
Taylor shrugged. "I doubt it. Like me, he was in naval aviation. However, he did study military engineering, so there is a chance that he might, but I would have to ask him. I'll have to do that later on tonight though, as he's currently working with Miss Flutters to clean up a cemetery."
Celestia nodded. "Certainly. It's no rush."
Taylor nodded, and it was then that he remembered his plane.
"Um, Princess?"
"Yes Dear?"
"Um......" Taylor was unsure how to continue. "T-there was something else I wanted to ask you about."
"And what was that?"
"Um, well......" Taylor did his best to explain the whole situation. ".....And that's where it all currently sits. We've done everything that we could without more funding. Most of any funding would be put towards the engine, which would be the most vital component of all."
Celestia was very surprised when Taylor told her this. "And here I was thinking that he wouldn't be interested in rebuilding the machine that's nearly claimed his life twice now", She thought, "I guess that I was wrong." To Taylor, she said, "Well, you were certainly correct about the plane being somewhat expensive to repair the first time around. This time though, if I were to fund this project, it would have to be in stages. How many stages do you think that it would take?"
Taylor thought about that. "Well", he said at last, "We've already done all of the work on the plane's frontal skeleton frame, so that just leaves the engine, exterior shell, engine casing, and of course the painting and priming. Out of all of this, the engine is the most important right now, and unfortunately, this will be the most expensive. Very little of the original engine can be salvaged. We have the design blueprints, but fabricating all new parts, will be expensive, and time-consuming."
"And, what are your cost estimates?"
"That's what concerns me. The engine alone could cost up to 3/4's of the cost of the original repairs. These were special engines that have no Equestrian equivalents. They had a number of exclusive parts that will not be the easiest things to replicate."
"But you do have the original design blueprints?"
"Yes, all thanks to James actually. He had brought along a copy of the TBF Avenger Operational Manual. It was stashed under his seat apparently."
Celestia nodded. "Yes, that will certainly help with creating any new parts. Overall, I could maybe see about providing the funding for the engine restoration, but after that, we'll have to see where we stand."
When Taylor heard that, he was very surprised. "What? Do, do you really mean that?"
"Of course Taylor. I would love to see your plane fly again as much as you do, but yet, we have to fit everything into a budget this time. I'll provide what funding I can, but as you yourself said, this time around, the repairs will have to be done in stages."
Taylor hugged Celestia again. "Thank you so much Princess. You really don't have to do this."
Celestia hugged him back. "Maybe not, but this is what I want to do. Machines like your plane's engine, and the USS Cyclops, could possibly revolutionize some aspects of Equestrian life. I want what's best for my subjects, and you and Mr. James seem to be the best course of action for this. So it would be my genuine pleasure to fund your plane's restoration."
Taylor smiled, but he didn't say anything; his face spoke volumes enough.
Once he and Celestia were done hugging, Taylor had one more more question.
"Um, Princess?"
"Yes?"
"I have one last question regarding the Cyclops."
"And what would that be?"
"Um, w-would it be possible for me to see the Cyclops at some point? Or is it quarantined until further notice?"
"Actually, although it is closed from time to time for study/maintenance purposes, the ship has become something of a unique tourist destination. In fact, I have a little bit more time before I have to return to Canterlot, so would you be able to come and see it right now?"
Taylor turned to Redheart. "It's your call Redheart. Can we go right now, or do we have to be back at the hospital?"
Redheart thought for a moment. "Well, actually, we do have a little bit more time, so yes, we can go see the Cyclops if you want."
"Yay!"
Celestia smiled. "Ok then, hold on tight!"
Celestia worked her teleportation magic, and in the blink of an eye, she, Taylor, Redheart, as well as her guards, vanished into a bright flash of light.