Baalkpan, Borno
Princess Twilight Sparkle turned around for what seemed to be the umptieeth time after getting the feeling that someone was watching her. But as usual there was no one there, she sighed and massaged her temples. Events like this had started occurring to her onboard the aging “Wickes” class Destroyer, USS Walker DD-163 ever since she had used her magic to fight Nightmare Moon for the first time.
But they had really started to occur after the first battle against the Grik, actually, no. It may have been a battle before Walker got involved, but when the aging Four-Stacker destroyer had gotten involved it had been an absolute slaughter. The stout wooden hulled “East Indiamen” had been no match for the battered destroyer which despite being as Spanky had put it “If Walker was a person and not a ship, Twilight, she would be old enough to vote back home” had greatly outclassed her opponents in all respects.
Still, the Walker was an inanimate object, but then again considering the age of the ship and the fact she had seen combat. It was possible that the old warship was haunted by the spirits of those she had lost to enemy fire before she had been dumped in this strange world.
A weird feeling washed over her and Twilight shuddered, it felt as if someone had just yelled at her for some reason. Sighing, she went to the railing and looked out over the water at the city of Baalkpan. The city was incredible, it wasn’t Manehattan by any stretch of the imagination but it was at least as big as that city. If anything though, it reminded her vaguely of Shanghay back in Equestria at least in terms of the amount of color, building materials used, and the construction of the buildings themselves.
Still, there had been no sign of Mahan, which was Walker’s sister ship. Apparently both Walker and Mahan had been built to the exact same specifications, just two ships in a class that had at one point over one hundred individual members. Still, some aspects of how the crew treated the aging Destroyer was somewhat unexpected. They always referred to the ship as a girl despite the lack of feminine features and it was something that Twilight wasn’t exactly sure why that was.
“What’s on your mind, Twilight?” A gruff voice said to her right. Twilight looked and saw Chief Bosun’s Mate Fitzhugh Grey.
“Just really curious about a few things really and well, I’ve been having this strange feeling every couple of hours.” Twilight replied.
“Oh? What do you mean by strange feeling?” He asked.
Twilight thought about how to put the question. “It’s just that-”
“-I get the feeling I am being watched.” the princess finished. Ironically, standing in the shade of the amidships deckhouse, watching Twilight and Grey converse was a short young girl, the thing was though. She wasn’t visible to anyone aboard but she represented the spirit of the ship.
Her moderately tanned skin was close in shade to that of the Mess Attendant Juan. Her sea blue eyes glittered with intelligence as well as sadness and determination from behind a pair of brown-rimmed glasses. While her dark red hair had streaks of gold in it from the near constant exposure to the tropical sun fell to just past her shoulders in length. She was wearing a light grey blouse with a knee-length light grey skirt, the color of her clothes perfectly matched the color that her hull was currently painted as it always had. She was also wearing a khaki pistol belt with a Colt .45 pistol stuck in the holster while secured in a grey scabbard was a pattern 1918 Navy Cutlass, finally topping off the assemblage was a pair of light brown shoes and a stamped steel Doughboy helmet that was painted dark grey, stenciled across it in white was her hull number.
That said, her uniform had a number of frayed ends and more than a couple of hastily patched holes. While along her stomach, part of which came close to one such patch was a barely noticeable scorch mark from where magical lightning and the ensuing fire had ravaged her. She looked a damn sight better than she had a few weeks ago, at least in her opinion, back during that time freshly applied bandages had covered her.
The fire had hurt the worst, the strange sensation of burning from the inside and outside as the flames had ravaged her aft fireroom and the deck. A searing heat that was painful beyond recognition as it felt like she was getting cooked.
“So you're wondering why we constantly refer to Walker as a she?” Grey asked, which drew the young maiden out of her thoughts.
“Yes I am.” Twilight answered, Walker already knew the answer and she found herself whispering the words that her beloved Boatswain’s Mate told the young princess.
“The reason that a ship is called a ‘she’ Twilight, is because there is always a great deal of bustle around her; there is usually a gang of men about; she has a waist and stays; it takes a lot of paint to keep her good-looking; it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep; she can be all decked out; it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly; and without a man at the helm, she is absolutely uncontrollable. She shows her topsides, hiders her bottom and, when coming into port, always heads for the buoys.” Grey said.
“Another thing that I’ve heard some of the ‘Cats saying is that ships have a soul. Do you believe that is true Chief?” Twilight asked.
“Princess, you have no idea how correct the Lemurians are. Ships do have souls and even when they are apart of the same class, they are so different from each other even if they are sister ships.” Walker whispered, a rare smile crossing her face as she remembers her RON-mates, the Clemson class Destroyers of DESRON 29 and those of her DESDIV. From fearless Pope, to motherly Peary, to shy Pillsbury, to finally wise-cracking John D. Ford.
She shuddered as a memory flashed through her mind, the final words that Pope had ever told her. “Walker, Mahan, go! Get the hell out of here, I am done for! You two get to Australia and live to fight another day!”
Ironically, she had lived to fight another day. Just not against the unrelenting juggernaut that was the Imperial Japanese Empire, but against a menace that she knew very little about: the Grik. Still, regarding the Grik, she was starting to feel like no Four-Stacker had before, she was starting to feel invincible. But one thing worried her, what had happened to Amagi? Had she sank? She hoped so, that great big battlecruiser could cause an enormous amount of damage and considering the last few torpedoes she had and how much luck she’d been having with them. She knew that it was unlikely that she could sink the damned thing.
“So wait, you mean that all ships might have a soul or spirit? Just because of things that could be considered happenstance and just plain good luck?” Twilight asked.
“I do, but us sailors have always been a superstitious bunch. But, if you ask any two chief engineers, they’ll go on and on for hours about how their ship is different or better than other ships even if they are apart of the same class. Some will even say that they believe that the ship is alive somehow.” Grey replied shrugging.
“It still doesn’t make sense though, I mean how can one-” Twilight said before the General Alarm began to wail, a somewhat off rhythm Gong! Gong! Gong! Gong!
“What the?” Grey wondered before the announcement came over the ship-wide as the horns that the Lemurians used to send warnings began to bray in alarm.
“General Quarters, general quarters! All hands man your battle stations, this is not a drill! I repeat this is not a drill! Set traffic down and aft on the portside side, up and forward on the starboard side! Set Condition Zeta throughout the ship! There’s a hostile ship in the mouth of the bay!”
“Oh hell.” Twilight muttered.
It was well after dark once USS Walker DD-163 came in under tow, her fuel bunkers empty. The spirit of the proud destroyer was exhausted and hungry, which was a new feeling for her. But at least she had defended the city from the Grik, keeping the city of Baalkpan safe for a while longer.
“You sure about this Princess?” Her captain asked.
“I am sure, it won’t harm anything. It’s a spell used to detect the ghosts of others back in Equestria and it should work here.” Twilight said, although Walker felt uncomfortable around her mainly because she was a destroyer not a goddamned submarine.
“Alright, you have my permission.” Matt said in weary tone but regardless himself and others gathered at the wardroom table stood up and went to the edge of the table to give her some space.
Walker watched as Twilight stood up and started muttering something her hands aglow with energy and then it flared out briefly blinding the destroyer. When the light cleared from her vision she noticed something unnerving, mainly it seemed that everyone was looking at something, or more specifically her.
“Okay, who's that?” Twilight asked in shock, surprise written across her face.
Walker let out a squeak unlike herself and scrambled out of the chair she was in and dove behind it before peeking out, looking at the assembled group. Her helmet and glasses were somewhat askew but that didn’t really matter now did it?
Twilight started forward and Walker hid behind the chair again. “Princess, let me handle this.” Spanky said.
“But-” Twilight began.
“Trust me, something tells me that she’s just spooked is all. A familiar face will likely help with her getting used to this.” Her Chief Engineer replied.
“What I don’t get is why is she a youngling? She’s over twenty seasons in age right?” Chack-Sab-At asked, the manner that his eyes were blinking indicating confusion.
“I wish I knew, Chack. This is the first time I’ve ever seen her, so maybe we can find out a little bit more about her and what other souls look like.” Spanky said.
Walker poked out again as Spanky came closer she felt more comfortable. He crouched down and extended his hand. “It’s alright, we’re not going to hurt you.” he said in a surprisingly soft voice.
Reassurance welling up, she carefully moved forward although still timidly before extending her hand and placing it in Spanky’s who promptly grasped it. “You Walker?” he asked.
She nodded vigorously. “Yes Chief I am.” she whispered before asking the question that had been gnawing at her for months. “Think we'll ever be able to go home? I miss my sisters and RON-mates.” she asked, her voice carrying a noticeable Massachusetts accent.
“I don’t know.” Spanky whispered in response. “Think you can handle talking to the crew for a couple of minutes?” he asked.
Walker nodded. “As long as I get to tell Twilight my thoughts on her attempt to repair number one?” she asked.
Spanky had to try to hold back a snicker. “Sure.” he said.
Author's Note
So, a bit of clarification as for my design choices with the soul of USS Walker DD-163. The reason she has a Massachusetts accent is because she was built at Fore River Shipyard located in Quincy Massachusetts.
The reason she has a Pattern 1918 Navy Cutlass was because she was commissioned in 1919 and it's mentioned in the Destroyermen Series that they found several crates of the things in the hold of the Wickes class. While she has an M1911 because well, standard issue sidearm at the time.
Next time, Twilight learns a bit more about Walker.
