Matt strode into the wardroom with Gray on his tail. The Chief was fretting over how he’d put Twilight on the gun so she could feel useful, but instead nearly killed her. The ship had secured from GQ, so naturally Silva and Tony Scott were there, too.
“Lieutenant, how is she?” he asked as he threw the curtain aside.
“She’ll live, Captain,” Sandra replied, “but I’m not sure how much beyond that. Her hands are burned so badly, she’s in danger of losing them. Her left leg is broken as well, and it’s such a messy break that she may never walk again. As far as I can tell from a few burned cuts, her blood nearly boiled with all the magic she channeled at once. It’s all I can do to keep her alive, albeit barely, but she’s worse off than Davis by a long shot.”
“Silva told me the container was empty?”
“Yes, sir.” The nurse gestured the corner where a tired Karen Theimer sat on it, treating a cut she’d received trying to move Twilight’s sleeves back. She’d resorted to cutting them off, but the scissors missed after a few shaky attempts.
“We owe her a great deal for saving the ship. Do what you can to keep her hands. All of us may need them in the future.”
“Yes, Captain, but no guarantees. There’s also the injuries in the engineering spaces and the aft deckhouse to worry about.”
“Did they already come by?”
“Yes. The more serious ones are in their bunks at the moment, but no fatalities. All of them should live. Twilight must’ve cast a shield to protect the men. If she hadn’t, the entire aft fireroom would be fatal, no injured. The deckhouse is also similarly lucky.”
Gray sighed in relief. No dead. He was about to ask a question regarding the gunners when Spanky came in.
“How are my firemen? We’re just about done putting the fires out, but I need my guys as soon as you release them.”
“Most are fine and should return to duty in a couple of hours, Mr. McFarlane. The men you call the Mice will need a day or two. Their burns are worse than the others.”
“Thanks, Lieutenant.” He walked back out to continue directing engineering and the damage-control parties assigned to his disposal, but mostly to shorten the time Laney could be a dick to the other snipes away from his glare.
Gray patted the worried engineer’s back as he left, then asked, “So Princess Twilight’ll be okay?”
“We can only hope, Mr. Gray.”
Matt nodded. “We’ll stay in our Menjangan anchorage for the day. That should give you a more stable chance to treat everyone, and give the men a break. Shift who we have on damage control, give everyone a few hours’ rest. And check our supplies. We may have lost some during the fight, besides the rounds we fired.”
“Yes, Skipper. I’ll have the ammunition count by noon.” Gray ushered Silva and Tony out, then turned to take one last look at Twilight. Her eyes were swollen shut now, possibly of dehydration, and her face showed the pain she was in. He could only hope she could forgive him for putting her in that position.
“Captain,” Sandra said after Gray was gone, “there was something I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure how everyone would react. Since you’re the Captain, you need to know, but…” She trailed off, unsure how to proceed.
“What is it?”
She lifted the cover off Twilight’s hand. A bubble of violet swirled around it, as if her own personal magic was trying to repair the damage. As Matt stared at it, he realized it wasn’t her own magic. Tendrils from all around the room, even coming through the bulkheads, were converging on her injuries.
“What do you think it is, Lieutenant?”
“Captain, my best guess is that there is magic in this world, and it’s being drawn to the nearest person capable of using it. Mr. Bradford may have a better theory, but this is still something he’s never even thought of before.”
“But we know for a fact that magic doesn’t exist.”
“No, we don’t, Captain. We assumed that since Twilight couldn’t use magic without draining her container, there wasn’t any. But what if we’re wrong? What if she just couldn’t find what magic was available?”
“That’s a big if, Lieutenant.”
“What else could explain this Nightmare Moon? We already know that Twilight disproves us being in any of the classic works, but that leaves the question ‘where?’.” She sighed, heaving her shoulders. “What am I saying? None of this makes any sense.”
“I know it doesn’t.”
“I just don’t want to be in the unknown. Back on the Langley, when the Japs were bombing us, we didn’t know what was going on. I don’t want to lose Walker because you and your crew took us on at Surabaya as passengers when you didn’t have to.”
Matt remembered the Langley. Converted from a collier and nicknamed Covered Wagon, she’d been ferrying P-40s to Java when a flight of Japanese planes caught her seventy-five miles short. She was bombed so badly that two precious torpedoes from one of Walker’s sisters (the Clemson-class destroyers Whipple and Edsall had been her escorts) were expended to scuttle her. Afterwards, Sandra, her ensigns, and two P-40 pilots named Kaufman and Mallory were accidentally left adrift, winding up in Surabaya just as Walker, Mahan, and their little fleet sailed to Ceylon.
“None of us want to be in the unknown, Lieutenant, but sometimes that’s where we are. What I can guarantee is that this crew won’t abandon you. You’ve started to become part of our extended family in a way.”
“Thank you, Captain. If you’ll excuse me, I need to sleep. I don’t want my drowsiness to cause more harm than good. You should get some rest, too.”
Matt smiled. “In a few minutes. I need to check on the galley. Do you want me to send you something? Ensign Theimer?”
“A sandwich, if you please, Captain,” Karen said. “Some water, too, sir.”
“I’ll get Juan. If the princess wakes up, thank her for me. We all owe her for driving away that Nightmare Moon.”
“Yes, sir.”
He left the wardroom, not noticing Jamie Miller (Pharmacist’s Mate) carry a small medical box past him. He made his way aft, stopping by Mt. Sandwich on the galley counter. “Pretty impressive, Lanier, but how are we supposed to get a sandwich?”
The bloated cook poked his head from behind the stack. “Oh, no, Skipper, these are the rejects! Nothing else to do with them, I guess, but the men will eat anything that doesn’t have Vienna sausages. Here, have one of these, fresh out of the oven,” he replied, placing a tray of steaming sandwiches beside the rejects. “Have two!”
Matt smiled and took a couple. “Lanier, have some sent down to the wardroom, will you? Fresh water, too. Nurse Theimer requested it.”
“Of course, Captain. Juan! Bring these down to the starving nurses!”
Juan, who’d appointed himself the officer’s steward early on, immediately whisked the tray and disappeared down the ladder. A few moments later, he came back for the water. By then, Matt had already gone to the aft deckhouse to talk to his exec.
“Mr. Dowden, I thought you were in your bunk, recovering.”
“Well, sir, I have a job to do. Lieutenant Tucker cleared me since my burns weren’t all that bad. Just a bad sunburn is all, sir.”
“Don’t stress yourself until that heals, Larry. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir. How’s the princess?”
“She may lose her hands and leg, and she burned herself on the inside. Lieutenant Tucker isn’t sure, but she certainly hopes she lives.”
Larry gulped. “That’s bad, sir, but something the crew needs to know at some point. Silva, particularly, has become somewhat protective of her, I’ve noticed, and so has Mr. Scott. Maybe an official statement, or feed the scuttlebutt through Juan.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He yawned. “I need some more coffee.” As Matt walked back to the bridge, he contemplated that. I didn’t even notice Silva’s protective nature over Twilight, he mused, but then again, Larry’s known him longer. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Larry was right, to be honest. With that oddly comforting thought, he returned to his pilothouse chair until the end of the watch.
-------------------------
Twilight heard the conversation around her, but her pain-muddled mind could make little sense of what was said. She only had a vague idea that they were talking about her. Maybe they said something about her hands. They hurt beyond anything else she’d ever felt. As she turned her head to rest again, a familiar tale crept into immediate memory:
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there lived two sisters…
The tale faded into blackness. Her mind’s eye looked around. There was no one to see, no sound to hear, no object to feel. After a moment, the black faded in splotches, revealing a lone form sitting over a puddle of her own tears.
“Nightmare Moon?” Twilight asked carefully.
“If only Princess Celestia understood the true power of the Caldera, she would have wielded something not even the pitiful Star Swirl the Bearded could ever hope to fully understand. The power under her control would have been beyond. Simply beyond.”
That voice was not Nightmare’s electric rasp. It was softer, like Luna’s. Twilight sincerely hoped that this wasn’t bait. “Are you alright?”
The form turned. Luna’s voice in Nightmare Moon’s body? This was getting weirder all the time. “For my entire existence, I have been divided. During my waking hours, I am Nightmare Moon, but asleep, I am closer to Luna. This is my true punishment for betraying my sister, and even after you and your friends used the Elements of Harmony, my situation has not changed. The Elements merely stripped me of Luna’s body and cast me into this world, where I would not be able to hurt anypony ever again.”
“But if what you said to me earlier is true, then the Caldera’s magic surrounds us.”
“Yes. And that is the reason I have a physical form at all now. It coalesced out of the very magic of the Caldera, which seeps to the world it originated from to bring balance to the system.”
Twilight sat next to Nightmare Luna. “Can you teach me to use it?”
The older alicorn sighed. “If it was only that simple. I cannot teach you to use magic through a shared dream; it is impossible. But there is one way.”
“What is it?”
“Eager to begin, are we? I can teach you the theory behind it, but you must learn the practical application yourself. Caldera magic is not like Equestrian magic in that everyone can wield it the same. It is more of a universal force in physical form--that’s what fills the chamber beneath the island. But you must feel it for yourself. It should be easier since you’ve actually used it before, and you should be able to feel it even now, as we share this dream.”
Twilight scrunched her eyes shut and concentrated furiously on any magic at all. After several fruitless attempts, she shrugged. “I don’t get it.”
“You’re trying too hard. Relax.”
Twilight did so, letting her mental strings feel around her like a spider’s web. She could sense Nightmare Luna’s presence as a deep pit in which magic flowed in but not out except for a single point: her horn. It was surreal. “It’s there. I can feel it.”
“Tell me how if feels.”
“Like it’s always been there, waiting for me to find it. It has a warm aura, like an old friend. Like fond memories. Like home.”
“And that is my lesson to you. Magic is always there. In the beginning, in the now, and at the end. Once you find it, you must never let go, lest you forget everything. It connects us all to time, in time, and through time. Its limits are easy to remember, as Equestrian magic is but one of its many forms. Here, it is magic; in your friends’ home, witchcraft; beyond the stars, a force. Do not forget, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. What’s the next lesson?”
“At the moment, there is none. You must learn these things for yourself, without guidance. In time, you will see why I cannot help you, and then you will know magic as it truly is.” Nightmare Luna began to fade away. As she did, Twilight reached to her outstretched hoof. “Remember this, Twilight Sparkle, and you will never be lost.”
“But how am I supposed to make my own lessons? I’m the student, not the teacher!”
“You are always your best teacher, Twilight Sparkle.” With that, Nightmare Luna was gone, and Twilight was alone with herself once more.
-------------------------
Sandra was leaning against the corner of the wardroom, eyes closed as Gray stole through the companionway with surprisingly light steps. She’d taken the night watch to give Karen a break, but had fallen asleep on the empty magic container. Silver moonlight shone softly through the porthole beside her, illuminating her smooth, young face and shapely uniform.
He carefully walked to the table where Twilight still rested under a scratchy but comfortable blanket. The princess’ violet face had regained some of its purple grape-like luster and radish blushes, which meant she was well on her way to a full recovery. He lifted the blanket to check her burned hands and was surprised by the purple-black tendrils of magic wrapped around the wounds, slowly but surely healing them. Her fingers had already gone from charcoal black to a light eggplant hue, and her palms were the color of lilacs.
“Amazing, isn’t it, Mr. Gray?” Courtney asked as he looked up from his near-invisible post behind the table. “Nobody from our world has ever seen anything like it! Actual, physical magic at work.”
“It is, Mr. Bradford,” he agreed. “Even her hands looked okay.”
“Indeed. I’ve been watching all day, and I noticed that the rate at which her magic was reaching her accelerated over the course of the day. Perhaps it started subconsciously, but she then discovered how to use it.”
“Keep working that brain of yours. You’re bound to figure something out.”
“I wish it was only that simple, Mr. Gray.”
“I have a question for you, and Skipper probably has the same one. Do you have any idea where to find fuel?”
“Captain Reddy wants oil deposits? Allow me to consult my books, and I shall find numerous locations for your drilling pleasure, provided that we can build such a contraption.”
Sandra stirred, and Gray held his finger to his lips as Courtney opened his mouth to blabber on. “You’ll wake the lieutenant.”
“Right. If you don’t mind, I need some fresh air.”
Just as he stood up and stretched his legs, the ship rocked with a sudden impact below the waterline. It was a large thump that threw Sandra from the container, and she woke dazed on the floor as Gray raced up the ladder. She crawled up to the deck, dazed, as Matt strode into the pilothouse ahead of her. “Damage report!”
“Mr. McFarlane’s shut down the engines, sir. We must’ve hit some kind of whale.” Norman Kutas replied, keeping his white knuckles on the wheel as the ship began to roll sickeningly, her speed dropping.
Matt grabbed the talker’s headset. “Captain here. Any damage down there?”
“Nothing serious, sir.” Spanky’s voice was thick--he’d been asleep, too. “Couple of loose plates we’re sliding back, maybe a popped rivet on the bottom.”
“A popped rivet is serious damage to my ship, Mr. McFarlane. That’s lost hull integrity that we can’t afford to lose.”
“Sir, her steel’s two-thirds as thick as on the specs. We’ve bypassed and spliced most of the wires on the ship. Her boilers are choked with muck from burning oil for thirty years straight. If a rivet was gonna actually sink us, I’d tell you it would.”
“I’ll trust your judgement, but have the watch get a full report. Can the current watch handle it?”
“They should, sir.”
“Then get some rest. That’s an order.”
Gray waved at Matt from the starboard rail. He nodded and walked over.
“It’s one of those plesiosaurs. A young one, by the looks of it.” Matt exhaled, relieved. “It appears that Courtney found something to gawk at.”
“It’s simply astounding, Captain! We simply must recover it!” the naturalist called from below.
Matt looked again. “Take your notes, Mr. Bradford, before those fish eat it.” He let out a snort and smiled as Sandra shook her grog and joined him. Meanwhile, Gray reverted to his fearsome status, roaring at the deck crew to return to their duties before the ship capsized. For a moment, they watched the frothy water. Then a second, larger plesiosaur surfaced and chomped down on the dead one. The machine guns immediately hammered to life, firing down onto it. It bashed the ship as it flopped in panic, shaking Walker’s thin hull to its core. With a gigantic splash, it retreated underwater for a moment, apparently deciding that food was more important than possible danger.
The wave came down on the starboard side, soaking Matt and Sandra with bloody red water. He spat into the sea and said, “Sorry. Got a bad taste in my mouth. All engines ahead one-third. Let’s get out of here before he decides to sample the side dish, if you please!”
The two came down to the wardroom, where Karen had resumed caring for Twilight. The princess was up and alert, having been nearly thrown from the table. She was also aware of the magic around her hands, and smiled at it.
“Twilight, you need to rest!” Sandra cried when she saw her patient stand.
“I haven’t stood all day.” She arched her back and pulled her arms toward the wall behind her in a classic stretch. “I feel much better now.”
“You’ve been asleep for the last twelve hours because you needed to heal!”
Matt watched this exchange heartily. He sympathized with Twilight, but he also understood that Sandra’s word was law when it came to the crew’s health--Twilight now included. “Princess, it would be best if you did what the lieutenant asks. Just for now. Maybe she can let you get some fresh air tomorrow morning?” He prodded Sandra playfully, but his question wasn’t a joke. It was an order.
“Yes, Captain. I’ll let her back on limited duty tomorrow as long as she heals properly and fully until then.”
Twilight’s shoulders slumped. “It was worth a shot. Say, what hit us?” It was then that she realized that both Matt and Sandra were soaked in watery blood. “Was it a big fish?”
“Yes, and a second gave us a good smack.”
“I can see that. Oh! Before I forget, Captain, I think I can use the local magic now. All I need to do is figure out how.”
“That’s good news, Twilight. The sooner you learn, the sooner we can all benefit.” As he turned to head to his quarters, he could’ve sworn he saw her blush. Maybe it was her will to learn or that she was sweet on the crew. He’d probably never know.