//------------------------------// // Chapter 31 // Story: My Little Destroyermen: Walker on Water // by The Atlantean //------------------------------// Twilight watched Phoenix’s crew load supplies aboard, lifting some of the heavier boxes with her magic as needed, but generally staying out of the way. Most of it was food and tools, but a fair amount of space was taken by a crane for the magic containers still aboard the sunken Friendship. Kansas stood next to her, tail twitching. “Ma’am, are you sure this is a good idea? We won’t have you when we land in Aryaal.” “Not at all, but we need that magic. Imagine if the Grik had it--and they could use it. Equestrian magic is like the ‘Holy Grail’ of war material, as the destroyermen would say.” She paused as a familiar stomp reverberated through the pier. “Mr. Silva. I thought you’d be with Risa.” “Naw, Purple, the Skipper said I’m commin’ with you. Be your personal bodyguard!” “As much as I appreciate the gesture, Mr. Silva, I think I can handle myself.” Kansas nudged her. “I would rather he went with you, ma’am. It’s better to be safe than it is to be killed.” “Alright.” She gestured for Silva to board. “I’ll be there at Aryaal, just not at the start. I’m sure you can handle it.” “Good luck!” Kansas called as Twilight stepped onto the gangplank. “Thanks. I’ll take as much as I can.” With the last supplies and crew aboard, Phoenix dropped her topsails and let the wind and outgoing tide carry her away from the dock. A farewell toot toot whistled from Walker in a small burst of steam. Twilight cast a firework spell in reply, showering the bay in beautiful violet fragments of magic. As Phoenix cleared the mouth of the bay, her main sails dropped from the yardarms and filled with wind. Twilight smiled at the sun/moon embroidery on the flag, which flapped off the stern in the breeze. It was an alternate version of the Equestrian flag (one that wasn’t used often) but certainly easier to explain than how to draw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Silva joined her behind the steering wheel, his BAR slung over his shoulder and ammo pouches adorning his belt. Not for the first time, Twilight noticed how he carried the heavy rifle with ease, and she suspected that he would carry man more weapons if someone let him. “It’ll take a few days to get there,” she said. “I don’t know if anything’s left of her, given what lives in this sea.” “Your old ship ain’t gone nowhere ‘cept the bottom, Purple,” he replied. “Magic gives everyone the heebie-jeebies. Wouldn’t be surprised if the fish didn’t like it either.” “You’re right. But…” She stopped. “You feel that? Someone’s watching us.” “Yeah, the ‘Cats.” “No, not them. It’s magical.” She scanned the sky. “Damn. Whatever it was, I don’t feel it anymore.” Silva glanced around. A sinking feeling crept into his stomach. If that Nightmare Moon person showed up while they were separated from the others, they were screwed. Oh well, he thought. At least we haven’t heard from that Jap battlecruiser since we got here. If anything could make their situation worse, it would be Amagi. ------------------------- Several days later, Phoenix dropped anchor a few miles north of Menjangan Island, where Walker’s crew found and rescued Twilight from her sinking ship. The little island, next to Bali (where Twilight killed something for the first time) and Java. somewhere up the Java coast, Aryaal awaited the arrival of Matt’s Allied Expeditionary Force, already en route. From her scrying, she could tell Mahan was there too. “So, uh, how are we gonna find your ship?” Silva asked. “It ain’t exactly stickin’ out of the water.” Twilight closed her eyes and reached out with her magic. A slight purplish glow emanated from her, through the deck, and into the water. After a fashion, it coalesced into a large circle about three hundred yards off the port beam. Twilight grunted and scrunched her face in an effort to raise the waterlogged ship. The strain on her mind was obvious: sweat stung her eyes and her arms trembled. Silva took a rag and wiped her face, but she was too focused to notice. Eventually, a snapped mast poked through the waves, quickly followed by sopping sail fragments, dripping yardarms, and the poop deck. It seemed to pause just before the main deck emerged, as if the ocean itself fought the unnatural reversal of fortune trying to escape its grasp. Twilight won, though, but at a serious cost to her mental stamina. Water coursed from many holes throughout the hull, waterfalling back into the sea. “Get us… closer… to land…” she managed. “I-I can’t… keep her up… forever.” Phoenix’s captain got his crew to work as fast as they could. As soon as the anchor lifted from the seabed, she began to drift. Her sails came down--luckily, the wind was in their favor--but it wouldn’t be enough. The drag induced by the rising anchor slowed them too much. Acting on instinct, Silva bounded down the length of the ship to where several crew turned the anchor crank with all their might. He pulled one of them out of the way and took his place, offering only a determined scowl in reply to the surprised yelp. With his help, they pulled it up in record time. Stowing it was a cakewalk compared to raising it, so he left them to their tasks. They sailed closer to land. After what felt like an eternity, Twilight finally felt the silty-sandy bottom near the shore brush against Friendship’s hull, and she gave one final push to beach her. Her arms fell, and her breathing came in ragged gasps. Sweat drenched her face like a squall. She looked to shore, expecting to see Friendship slide off the bottom, but the ship merely sat at a janky angle, her mizzenmast standing alone above the wreck. A pretty big hole on the port side showed where she’d struck apparently something and begun to founder, likely while Twilight had been knocked out. From the tooth marks surrounding the gap, though, it was Friendship that had been hit. “The remaining water in the hull should keep her weighed down while she’s there,” Twilight finally said once she’d regained control of her lungs. “Without a radio or a precise location, it might be a couple of days before the plane shows up. Let’s get to work.”