//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: My Little Destroyermen: Walker on Water // by The Atlantean //------------------------------// Dear Princess Celestia, Magic works surprisingly well in this alternate world. As long as you know how to access it, there is almost an unlimited store in the very ground itself! Refined tar, or as Captain Reddy and his crew call it, oil, is particularly potent. Through my various experiments with Mr. Bradford, I have found that this petroleum product is, quite literally, liquidized magic. The magic of life, to be precise, can be found in abundance, and its basic building blocks can be broken down into tiny pieces that then combust, producing fire. Walker and Mahan already utilize this extensively. There is one particular, though, that may be of even greater concern. If I know this, then there is no reason for Sunset Shimmer, wherever she is, to not find out herself. If she falls into the hands of the Grik, we could be facing the possibility of a mage war. I know you have experienced this firsthoof during the beginnings of Equestria. Do you have any advice you can give me on the subject? Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle ------------------------- My Dearest Twilight, A mage war is the worst kind of conflict that a world can experience. It occurs when two opposing mages, usually powerful Unicorns, come into conflict by leading similarly opposing sides that have no access to magic. The war typically ends in mass devastation and loss of life. The more technologically advanced these peoples are, the less will remain at the end. Despite not knowing fully the context of your situation, I remain wholeheartedly convinced that you will do everything in your power to prevent a possible mage war, and that you will succeed. If the supposed conflit does come to a mage war, do be safe, and bring Sunset Shimmer home safely. Only a madman would provoke such a devastating confrontation, and even so, he would never start unless he did not understand the reality of weaponized magic. I understand that you have used certain spells to create mage-swords. This is not uncommon; in fact, I have a few myself. I warn you, though, that the materialization of such weapons implies other uses as well… for instance, the ammunition you once wrote to me. Weaponized magic is highly explosive, highly regenerative, and extremely dangerous to sane morality. It can conjure your deepest fears or old enemies and use them to teach you its ways. If what you write is true, then your entire world is soaked in weaponized magic. Do not attempt to negotiate with its conjurations for any reason. Stay safe, my former student. There is restricted information on weaponized magic, but once I realized that you could still use magic of some sort in that world, I pulled some strings. We are scouring every book in the Archives for anything we can find. Perhaps it is time I told you what is truly in store. As I recall from my own studies on the subject, weaponized magic is not a special form of magic at all. Rather, it is exactly the same as normal magic, but with different uses. As you have no doubt discovered, it can be used for normal tasks. However, when utilized for combat, weaponized magic lives to its name. It is… corrupted, Twilight. It twists the mind. Remember Nightmare Moon. She was the result of my sister’s experiments with weaponized magic. Granted, there were other factors in that particular situation, but the form itself was the magic twisting Luna’s body to fit its needs. I repeat my command: do NOT experiment with it. Such actions may spell the end of the world in which you are trapped, or others. Princess Celestia ------------------------- Twilight set the scroll under her pillow when someone knocked on the door. It was Juan. “Ma’am, Cap-tan Reddy has requested your presence in the wardroom.” “Of course.” She stood and stretched. Her back-and-forths with Princess Celestia were always conducted in her shared quarters with Sandra and Karen, with the curtain closed, and never when either was around. That way, she had privacy. She entered the wardroom a minute later. “You wanted to see me, Captain?” Matt gestured to the seat opposite him. Greg Garrett, the gunnery officer, sat uncomfortably to his left, while Sergeant Alden leaned against the bulkhead to his right. “It’s about the gunnery,” he began as she sat. “Mr. Garrett has convinced me to allow you to conduct some preliminary tests relating to magic. He believes that you could apply a spell similar to the one that created your… swords… to naval ammunition. As a matter of caution, I’ve decided to remove the three-inch gun from the stern, negotiate you two a secluded, uninhabited area, and use that as your testbed. Is this sufficient, Mr. Garrett?” “Yes, Captain, it should be. We can begin as soon as the gun’s set,” Greg practically stammered. “Twilight?” “It’ll work, Captain.” “Excellent. Now, there is one other thing. Sergeant?” Pete Alden perked up. “How well can you fight with those swords of yours?” “I’m decent. I helped my brother practice when I was a filly, so I got pretty good. I’ve lost most of it, though.” “How are your teaching skills?” “Not as good as learning, but I’m not terrible.” “Great. I need you to help Chack and me teach the Lemurians how to fight like an army. Captain Reddy, Mr. Keje, Mr. Nakja-Mur, and I have already discussed this. We’ve already been training the regulars and whoever else shows up, but after the Grik came the other day, we’ve run out of teaching capacity. Everyone is now required to drill, which is fine by me. But even after we turn the more promising recruits into NCOs, we’re still short. We don’t have enough guns to go around, so we’re using swords and shields, which I figured you’d be good at. They already know the drill, so you’ll just be making sure they’re doing it right.” She blinked. “Me? Teaching people military stuff? What about Mr. Garrett?” “You can experiment in the morning and train in the afternoon.” “It’ll work, but how will you do in the morning?” “Training is only in the afternoon right now. It gives them a chance to get things done without being exhausted. My standards for them are high, but I can’t expect them to completely drop their entire livelihoods when all we have is a militia.” Twilight remembered her journeys through alternate realities. In one, all of Equestria dropped everything to support the war against Sombra. “You’d be surprised.” “Well, as soon as the command structure is formed, Chack and I will have two regiments-in-training of Marines. If you can handle it, I’d like you to take those who can’t keep up with the rest as your own regiment.” Matt’s eyebrows rose. “You trust her with a regiment of recruits? I mean no offense, Twilight, but you have quite the dangerous reputation with your magic and all.” “A Marine’s recommendation does not come lightly, Captain. Her abilities may be unnerving, but I think we would do well to give her a command.” “Mr. Garrett?” “Can’t hurt, sir. I might join them myself if I wasn’t needed on Walker.” He patted the table. “My place is with gunnery.” “Twilight?” “If Mr.--” “Not a ‘sir.’ I’m enlisted,” Alden interrupted. “Sorry. If Sergeant Alden wants me to, then I’ll do it, but I’m the Princess of Friendship, not a soldier. I won’t have a clue as to what I’m doing,” she shrugged. “You’ll be training alongside them for a while before you take command. They need to see that you’re just as capable of doing these things. Don’t try magic, though--you may scare them off. If everything goes to plan, you’ll command the Third Marines in a month.” “Great. When do I start?” she asked, standing. “In half an hour, if you don’t mind.” She stopped. “What?”