As Captain Bob and I led the way towards the middle of the ship where we would show the Princesses the sights of the Texas's main deck before leading the tour down below decks, both Princesses were in awe not only of the size of the Texas, but also at the sight of her armament, and how large her main guns were.

"Look at the size of those main batteries, Sister." Celestia remarked in awe. "They're bigger than anything we have in our arsenal!"

"Yes, they are indeed quite impressive, Sister. And you said that they were 14in guns, and that the Texas has 10 of them, arranged in pairs in 5 turrets, correct?" Luna asked.

I nodded. "Yes, that is correct, Princess Luna."

"And it's been many years since these guns were last fired, correct?"

"Yes. The last time they were fired in anger was during the Battle of Okinawa way back in 1945, but I assume that they were fired at least a few more times since then as part of a gunnery drill before the ship was retired in 1946."

"And aside from her main battery, how many other guns does the Texas possess?"

I thought for a second. "Well, the Texas also has 6 x 5in guns, 10 x 3in anti-aircraft guns, 10 × quad 40mm Bofors AA guns, and 44 × single 20mm Oerlikon AA guns."

Luna was impressed, as no other ship in the Equestrian Navy had that much firepower, and she was even more astonished to learn that even by the standards of WW2, the then almost 30 year old Texas was rather obsolete, as she'd been surpassed long ago by larger, faster, and more heavily armed and armored battleships.

"But just because she was obsolete didn't mean that Texas didn't pack a punch. Her 14in main guns were nothing to sneeze at, and she demonstrated this when she pounded the beaches of North Africa, Normandy, Cherbourg, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. In fact, if you look at Normandy today, the craters created by the Texas, and the Battleship USS Arkansas are not only still visible, but are extremely prominent as well." I then showed Luna, Celestia, and the other Element Bearers this picture, as well as Rear-Admiral Sky Seas, and they were all aghast.

"You mean that Texas and Arkansas were able to do all of this?!" Spike asked.

"And this is what it still looks like today, almost 80 years later?!" Rainbow Dash asked with equal astonishment.

I nodded. "Yep. It's truly amazing how powerful Battleships are. And if this is what it looks like today, I can only imagine how it looked in 1944. I wish I had a picture to show, but alas, if any do exist, they've been lost to time."

The tour then continued on the upper deck, and the Princesses got to look up at the Texas's armored conning tower, bridge, and main mast, as well as Texas's smokestack, which was still venting smoke from the boilers, her main radar mast, her fire-control radar, her 3rd turret amidships, the Kingfisher Seaplane on top of it, Texas's 2 large cranes amidships, the aft mast, and looking back at the other 2 turrets of the ship towards the stern.

"So that's the seaplane that caused so much trouble over Fillydelphia?" Rear-Admiral Sky Seas asked.

"Yes, that's it." Captain Bob replied.

"It doesn't look so scary up close. It looks like an aircraft made for a utility purpose."

"Well, these were designed as scout planes, though they were also deployed for search and rescue missions. Almost all US Battleships had them, and the later battleships carried 2 of them at their sterns. They would be launched during battle to scout targets from the air for the ships to fire at. However, by 1945, Texas had her Kingfisher Seaplane, and its catapult removed, as they were no longer needed, and it wasn't until the ship was restored in Mobile that a Kingfisher Seaplane was brought out of storage in California, cosmetically restored, and then donated to the Texas to be displayed, mounted on top of a scratch-built catapult. Only a few Kingfisher Seaplanes still exist today, and ours is the only one that can still fly, and the only one to have been launched off of a battleship via catapult since the end of WW2, as they were removed from the battleships soon after the war ended in favor of a newfangled invention called a 'helicopter'." Captain Bob then went on to explain a bit more about that.

"And are these planes armed?" Princess Luna asked.

"Yes, they are, Princess Luna." Lt. Mike Watson, the pilot of the Kingfisher Seaplane, replied. "Kingfishers have 1 x fixed, forward firing machine gun for the pilot, and 1 x rear flexible machine gun for the observer. However, when we flew over Fillydelphia, neither of these guns were used by myself, or Lt. Gary Mitchell, as we didn't want to hurt the Pegasai attacking us, but merely scare them off."

"Hence the flares you fired?" Rear-Admiral Sky Seas asked.

"Yes, exactly." Mike replied.

The Princesses had more questions for Mike about the Kingfisher Seaplane, and he eagerly answered all of them, and eventually, it was time for the tour to move down below decks, which was something that the Mane 6 were eager to see as well, since they had yet to see inside of the Texas at the time. I then led the way down the nearest hatch, and the tour continued into the bowels of the Texas.

"Now for those of you on this tour who have served in the Navy, I think that a lot of what you're going to see in the lower decks of Texas are going to be very familiar to you, since the technological gap between it and your own warships isn't very wide, at least for the most part when it comes to basic ship functions. Or maybe not. I guess it'll be a learning experience for all of us."

"Yes, perhaps it will be, Ensign Gardner." Captain Hammer mused.

The first place we came to was the deck where the Texas's 5in guns were.

"As I said before, Texas has 6 of these 5in guns, 3 on each side of the ship. She used to have more, but during her first overhaul in the 1920's, these were removed, as gunnery sight technology was rapidly improving." I told the group, stopping next to one of the 5in guns.

"These look very much like the secondary armament on some of our own battleships, as they're breech-loading as well, and I would assume that they're manually operated?" Captain Hammer asked.

"They can be, yes. However, by the time of WW2, these guns could not only be operated via electric motors, but they were even controlled by fire-control radar, making them extremely accurate, even in rough seas, as seen on D-Day."

"And which gun was it that fired the warning shot at Fillydelphia?" Rear-Admiral Sky Seas asked.

I looked at some of the 5in gunners, and briefly conferred with them.

"It was 5in Gun #2, Sir, located here on the starboard side." The gunner who spoke up gestured to the 5in gun in question, which was then examined by the Rear-Admiral, the Princesses, and the Mane 6. All of them were in awe at seeing the very gun that had fired the warning shot from the Texas, which had intentionally fallen short of Fillydelphia.

"And how does the ammunition and powder needed to fire the guns come up to this deck?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, those are brought up via special elevators from the 5in shell magazines, and the 5in powder magazines." I then pointed to the elevators in question. "And you'll be able to see the actual magazines and powder rooms once we reach the lower parts of the ship. And yes, in case you were wondering, these elevators can be operated manually via crank handles, just in case Texas's power gets knocked out."

"Fascinating." Twilight muttered as she continued to take notes.

"Hey, what's this over here?" Pinkie Pie suddenly asked, pointing to an area near to the 5in guns. "Is this a bakery?"

One of the commissary cooks looked up from the bread dough he was kneading. "Oh yes, this is the Texas's bakery, Miss Pinkie. It's here that all of the bread for the entire crew of the USS Texas is made fresh every day, and where they used to bake cakes, pies, and other such things for special occasions."

Pinkie's eyes lit up, and before anyone or anypony could stop her, Pinkie vaulted over the barrier separating the 5in gun area from the bakery, and after washing her hands, and putting on an apron, she began racing all over the bakery, quickly making up batches of dough, tossing them into pans, and then throwing them into the ovens, and not just bread, but she also whipped up batches of doughnuts, muffins, cupcakes, and other baked goods. The commissary cook, Daniel Morris, who was acting as one of Texas's bakers, was thoroughly amazed with Pinkie's speed and skills, as were myself, Captain Bob, Chief Engineer Dalton, and the other Texas crew, but the rest of the Mane 6 and the Princesses were used to it.

"I take it she does this professionally, in addition to planning parties?" I asked Twilight.

Twilight nodded. "Yep, she works at Sugarcube Corner, the main bakery in Ponyville, alongside Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who own the bakery."

"Oh, I see. And I know that Morris appreciates the help, as he and the other commissary personnel have been quite shorthanded lately....." I was about to continue, but a quick look from Captain Bob made me stop before I did so. Even though we were now friends, the Ponies didn't yet need to know just how badly undermanned the Texas actually was, just in case they decided to pull a fast one on us. The Texas was supposed to have a crew of 1,815, and we were barely 200, just barely enough for a skeleton crew, and our being so shorthanded was why we were only able to man selective guns when we first arrived in Fillydelphia.

Twilight however didn't seem to pick up on what I'd been about to say. "Oh, I see. I guess with when you all were brought here after the Texas's restoration was finished, you didn't have a full crew capacity."

"Yeah, that's right Twilight."

Behind us though, the 2 Princesses exchanged looks with Rear-Admiral Sky Seas. Ever since they all came onboard, they noticed that the Texas seemed to be far more undermanned than what it should have been. They thought that it was because most crew were at their stations, which did seem to be true, but yet, it also seemed that the Texas might be a lot more undermanned than what we were making it look like, and what I was maybe about to say to Twilight seemed to confirm it. None of them decided to say anything for the moment though.

After the 5in guns, and the Texas's bakery, the tour moved on to the Texas's officer's mess, also known as the Wardroom.

"And this is where all of the officers on the Texas would eat their meals, and where Captain Bob, myself, and other officers have eaten our meals while we were onboard the Texas. And it was also hear that visiting officers, dignitaries, and other VIP's have eaten. And come dinnertime, all of you will be invited to have dinner with us, right Captain?" I asked him.

Captain Bob nodded. "Of course! I've already notified all of the Commissary Personnel, including the ship's stewards that we were hosting our VIP's for dinner tonight, and they've promised to prepare something very special, which you'll see here shortly when we pass the Officer's Galley. If you all would accept our invitation of course."

Princess Celestia nodded. "Of course, Captain Hogan. We would be honored to be your guests for dinner tonight."

"I'm glad to hear it, Princess Celestia."

During this time, Spike was looking at something just outside of the Wardroom. "So this shell right here was the dud shell that struck the USS Texas's Wardroom off the coast of.....Cherryburg....however you pronounced it, France that you talked about earlier Ensign David?" He asked me, pointing to a shell that was sitting on wooden blocks outside of the Wardroom.

I nodded. "Yep, that's it Spike. It's quite an interesting piece of Texas's history, and the coastal town your were trying to pronounce is 'Cherbourg'."

"Oh, ok. Well, it's still interesting to see."

"Yeah, it certainly is." I agreed.

After the Wardroom, the tour continued to the Officer's galley, where Del, and a number of other cooks were beginning the preparations for dinner for the ship's officers, and the VIP's in the Wardroom.

"Wow, it smells really good in here!" Applejack piped up. The others of the Mane 6 agreed with her.

"I'm glad you think so, Miss Applejack. This is the Officer's Galley, where all of the meals for the ship's officers are prepared. There's larger facilities on the decks below for the enlisted crew, and it's quite a full-time job."

"And when the Texas was still in service, how many Commissary Personnel did she have?" Princess Luna asked.

Del thought for a second. "Well, as of 1935, the Texas had 26 commissary personnel, which included cooks, specialty cooks, butchers, and bakers, in addition to 38 mess stewards. This was before WW2 though, so those numbers could have gone up around that time."

Princess Luna nodded, and she and the others got to see some of the Officer's Galley, as well as the adjoining pantry, scullery, the big dishwashing machines, but then the group heard a gasp of fright, which they quickly realized came from Fluttershy. Her friends quickly came over to see what had scared her so much, and Fluttershy pointed to a room nearby, the words "Butcher Shop" were visible over the door, and inside, another cook was busy chopping up meat, and making sausages.

"You.......you all eat meat?" Twilight asked me, a mixture of nervousness, and suspicion on her voice.

I nod. "Yes, we do. Humans are omnivorous, and we do eat meat. This includes things like beef, pork, chicken, and fish primarily."

"And Ponies? Do you eat that?" Rainbow Dash asked, her face darkening.

I shake my head. "No, absolutely not. We don't eat ponies, horses, or anything like that. Some Humans have in the past, but they said that it tasted like leather, and there was hardly any meat on the bones. Here on the Texas though, the meat we have are beef, pork, chicken, and fish. That's one good thing about the sea, it's full of fish that can be eaten. My personal favorite is tuna, the 'Chicken of the Sea', as some call it."

"Oh, I see. Some creatures that the Ponies have contact with, such as the Griffons and the Dragons also eat meat, but it's not something we're used to seeing on a daily basis."

"Wait, you don't eat meat, Spike?" I ask him, a bit confused.

He sighed. "Yeah, I do, but away from the other Ponies. That's why Twilight's Castle has more than one kitchen, so I can cook and eat meat out of sight."

"Oh, ok. So I guess we'll be keeping meat off the menu for tonight for all of you. It won't be a problem, as there'll be plenty of other things to feast on."

I quickly informed Del and the other cooks about this new development. Ham was still going to be the main course for the Texas's officers, as well as tuna, but Del then asked Princess Celestia what would be ok for her and the other Ponies, and she informed him that anything was fine. Fluttershy had been escorted away from the Butcher Shop by this point, still in tears.

"What'd I do?" The cook asked, genuinely concerned.

"Nothing, Ensign. You didn't do anything wrong. Miss Fluttershy was just scared, as the Ponies don't eat meat." Captain Bob informed him.

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm still sorry for scaring you, Miss Fluttershy!" He called out to her.

"It's....it's fine." She told him. "I should be used to it by now, as I care for so many animals, some of whom eat meat, as they're carnivorous, but I'm just not used to seeing so much raw meat in one place."

The cook nodded, before going back to what he'd been doing. The tour then continued onward.

Once away from the Officer's Galley, the tour then wound its way to the enlisted galley, and the enlisted crew's berthing areas, as well as the berthing area for the embarked Marines.

"Gosh, this looks so cramped. Why're they all packed so close together? That doesn't look comfortable at all!" Rarity moaned.

"It's to save space, Rarity." I told her. "Texas isn't a very big ship, yet she has a crew in wartime of 1,815 officers and men. All of these men must be quartered somewhere, and yet still have all of the space for the ship's essential equipment, so the berthing areas must be like this, and it's the same for the low-level officers, but the more senior officers, such as Captain Bob, myself, and Chief Engineer Dalton have our own private quarters."

Rarity nodded, though then she asked about the Marines onboard.

"Well, at the moment, we don't have any Marines, but if we did, then they'd be berthed in the Marine Quarters you saw. US Marines are often kept on Navy ships, even today, to act as both a security force, and to be sent on missions should that be required. This was done a handful of times throughout Texas's career, though the Texas having Marines onboard is often overlooked in her history."

"Augh! Why the f@#k does that room smell like shit?!" Rainbow Dash asked, gagging as she staggered out of a nearby room.

"RAINBOW DASH!!!! LANGUAGE!!!!" Applejack yelled at her, as did Twilight.

"That's the head, Rainbow Dash." I calmly told her. "Which if you didn't know is the crew's toilets, and shower room."

"Oh, so that's why it smells like that."

After the tour group moved on, they got to see the Texas's onboard store, as well as one of its coolest features, an actual soda fountain.

"Whoa! The Texas has an actual soda fountain?! That's so cool!" Pinkie Pie gushed with amazement.

"Yeah, it totally is!" Rainbow Dash agreed, as did their other Friends, Spike, the Princesses, and Rear-Admiral Sky Seas and Captain Hammer.

"Some of our ships have areas like this, but nothing extravagant like this. A soda machine, soda fountains, ice cream coolers, I'll bet that this area was really popular."

"Oh, I have no doubt it was, Rear-Admiral." Captain Bob replied.

"Um, Captain Hogan?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yes, Miss Pinkie?"

"Is there any chance......."

"I'm not so sure that that's a good idea, Pinkie." Twilight interrupted her, knowing what she was about to ask. "We wouldn't want to intrude."

"Oh, don't worry, Princess Twilight. It wouldn't be any bother at all. You're our VIP guests after all. If you all want some refreshments from the soda fountain, go right ahead. Once I call down someone who knows how to work this old equipment anyway."

Pinkie Pie cheered, and soon she and the others were seated on the bar stools surrounding the soda fountain, and a Texas crewman was serving up refreshments. Twilight had a vanilla ice cream cone, Spike had an ice cream sundae with sprinkles, Rainbow Dash and Applejack both got rootbeer floats, Rarity had a chocolate ice cream cone, Fluttershy also had a vanilla ice cream cone, Pinkie Pie had an ice cream sundae loaded with all the toppings, Rear-Admiral Sky Seas and Captain Bob had a Coke, Captain Hammer got an Orange Fanta, Princess Celestia got a banana split with hot fudge sauce, Princess Luna got an ice cream sundae with sprinkles, whipped cream, and a cherry on top, and I had the same, just with chocolate sauce.

It was so surreal to get to see high-ranking naval officers sharing a glass-bottled soda, and chatting, while Princesses, and other VIP's all happily ate ice cream, but at the same time, I was happy to see them all so happy, and I was seated next to Princess Luna, chatting with her about her life, and she asked me more about mine. I was intrigued that she was banished to the moon for 1,000 years after turning evil, and becoming Nightmare Moon, only to be saved by Twilight and Co. using the Elements of Harmony.

"That's.....I'm not really sure what to say to that, Princess Luna. That must have been......unimaginably lonely. I can't imagine being all alone for 1,000 years on the Moon. I thought that being out on the ocean on a ship for weeks, even months at a time could be lonely and boring, but that has noting on what you experienced."

"And you'd.....you'd be right, David. It was the sheer loneliness, and boredom that eventually got to me, and drove me even more insane than I already was."

"I'm just glad that you were able to make it through that ordeal, and then be redeemed, otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"Yeah, so am I, David. It's nice to be able to talk to somepony who can sympathize with what I went through, even if only somewhat."

Unknown to either of us at the time, Princess Celestia was quietly listening to our conversation.

"I've never really seen Princess Luna be this chatty before." Twilight whispered to her.

"Neither have I, Twilight. Or at least, not for a very long time. When we were younger, Luna was more chatty, but that diminished somewhat when she became an adult, and then she became Nightmare Moon, and was redeemed, and while she talked some, and a lot to me, it wasn't quite like this."

"I'm not sure how to describe it, Princess. It's almost like....." Twilight paused for a moment. "....Almost like my Brother Shining Armor when he was on a date with Cadence."

Celestia chuckled softly. "Yes, it's exactly like that, Twilight. Not to presume too much, but I have a feeling that we may be witnessing the beginning stages of my Sister falling in love."

Twilight put a hand over her mouth, but was smiling a bit too.

We spent quite a lot of time at the soda fountain, during which time I explained to Princess Luna and the others that the Texas's store next to us was where Texas crewmen could purchase items like cigarettes, gum, candy, magazines, playing cards, writing utensils, stamps, canned food, and more, and they also got to see the Enlisted Galley, and the Enlisted Mess, which were larger than those for the officers, as they had to feed and sit a lot more men. They also got to see the Texas's post office.

"And it was here that the crew of the USS Texas could send and receive mail, postcards, and small packages....when the ship was close to shore, in port, or within range of a mail boat anyway. Which towards the end of the war was quite frequent for the Texas, as even while she was on-station, mail boats would come by to pick up and deliver mail, postcards, and small packages for/from the crew for/from their families and/or sweethearts back home. It was vital for them to be able to stay connected during the war. I would know, as my Great-Grandpa sent and received letters from his girlfriend, my future Great-Grandma, while he served aboard the Battleship USS North Carolina BB-55."

The Ponies all nodded in agreement, and then the tour continued.

After looking through the ship's laundry room (during which time Rarity marveled at the sheer size of the washers, dryers, and iron presses), the Ponies then got to see the ship's barber shop, and dental office.

"Wow, both a barber shop, AND a dental office, in addition to the soda fountain?! You guys really did think of everything when building a battleship!" Spike said in amazement.

Captain Bob chuckled. "Well, those who designed, built, overhauled, and maintained the Texas certainly tried, Spike. The US Navy had, and still has, strict regulations on how long your hair can be, and how it must be styled, and how you must remain clean-shaven at all times, and with so many men on the ship, they definitely needed a dentist, who was also part of the ship's medical staff, who could aid in the Infirmary if required. Like the rest of Texas, the dental office here was fully restored to how it was in 1945, but luckily, no one on the ship has had to use it yet. Dental technology has come a VERY long way since 1945, and I say thank God for that!"

"And where are the ship's barber and dentist now?" Twilight asked, noting that both rooms were empty of crewmen.

"Not onboard the Texas, I'm afraid, Princess Twilight. Our trip was only supposed to last a few days, and we were just delivering the ship to her new home in Galveston, so it wasn't seen as necessary to have them onboard."

"And how many crewmen are actually onboard, Captain Hogan?" Princess Celestia asked. "I know that you and your crew have done a good job of making the ship look inhabited, but I have a feeling that this is far from the case. Am I correct?"

Captain Bob sighed. "Yes, that is true. Since our mission was just a quick delivery of the ship, there were only 200 men onboard Texas when she was displaced, most of whom were either retired US Navy personnel, like myself, and CE Dalton, or US Naval Reservists, like Ensign Gardner. So we now have a fully-restored battleship, but just barely enough crew to man her."

The Princesses, Element Bearers, Spike, and Equestrian Naval Personnel were all surprised to hear this. Now it became clear why only 3 of Texas's 5 gun turrets turned towards shore, and why the ship seemed so sparse during the tour thus far. However, they were quick to forgive the Texas crew for their deception, considering the circumstances, and assured them that they had no ill intentions for them, or for the Texas herself. Captain Bob and I, as well as other Texas sailors within earshot were still slightly skeptical of this, but for the time being at least, we had no reason to distrust the Ponies, so we continued to the tour to one of the most important parts of the ship, the Infirmary.

"The infirmary was one of the most important parts of the Texas." I told the group. "Every time a Sailor or Marine was sick or injured, they came, or were taken here to be looked after by the Texas's medical staff."

The Ponies looked around the infirmary, which was full of white bunk beds, fitted with white sheets, various cabinets for medicines, and other medical equipment, various other medical equipment was scattered around, and they even looked into the Texas's operating room.

"Wow. This really isn't all that different than the sick bays on our own capital ships. Our military technology may be different, but all of this medical equipment looks nearly identical. Granted, I'm not a ship's doctor, so I can't say for sure, but I'd be interested to hear what one of our medical officers would have to say about this." Rear-Admiral Sky Seas then sent for a medical officer to come examine the Texas's infirmary, with permission from Captain Bob.

Meanwhile, Applejack noticed a room off to the side of the infirmary that was very dark. "Hey, what's this room for?"

I looked over. "Oh, that's a darkroom, Applejack. That's where technicians would develop X-rays from the X-ray machine."

"And why's this medical room so separated from the others, Darling?" Rarity asked.

"That's the Quarantine Room, Rarity. That's where sailors who had infectious diseases, and those with STD's were sent so that they could recover, yet not infect the whole ship with their diseases."

Rarity looked appalled, and recoiled from the room, but then Fluttershy spoke up. "Um....what're 'STD's?" She asked.

I shifted uncomfortably. "Um.......it stands for 'Sexually Transmitted Diseases', Fluttershy. Whenever the Texas would make a port of call somewhere, inevitably, at least some of the crew would come back with STD's from local women. There were so many posters made warning about this, not to mention condoms being made readily available, but it happened. Either that, or women would get pregnant, but that's a whole 'nother topic for a whole 'nother time." I finished quickly.

Fluttershy's eyes went wide in shock, while the rest of the Mane 6, Spike, and the Princesses also looked visibly uncomfortable. Only Captain Hammer and the Rear-Admiral kept their composure, as they'd seen what I'd just been talking about before with their own sailors.

"Well, we've gotten to see a lot of the Texas's domestic aspects, but could we see some of her more mechanical, and wartime aspects now? Such as the engine room, boiler room, radio room, etc?" Captain Hammer asked, eager to change the subject.

Captain Bob, and the rest of the Texas crew had no objections to this, and the tour continued, though a bit smaller now, as Rarity and Fluttershy went back up onto the main deck for some air, and Pinkie Pie returned to the Texas's bakery to help Daniel, leaving Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, the Princesses, and Captain Hammer, and the Rear-Admiral to continue the tour.

Our next stop in the tour brought us to Texas's radio room, where Lt. Walt was all too eager to talk to the Ponies about Texas's radio equipment, and tell them the story of how Texas finally made contact with the Fillydelphia Naval Yard, and even about the incident with the blown out vacuum tubes. Captain Hammer remarked that this equipment was nearly identical to what was used on their own ships, and Twilight was taking so many notes.

Next up was the Texas's radar rooms, and this was an object of great interest to the Ponies, since radar was a relatively new invention for them, and to date was only in use on shore installations, and a few select test vessels. It had yet to be rolled out to most of the Equestrian Navy, and it still only had about a 50 mile range.

"As old and primitive as the Texas's radar is, both her air search, and surface radars have about a 100 mile range on them, while later battleships had even longer ranges, and our tugboats can see several hundred miles with their radars. We used the Texas's radars extensively when we first arrived here, especially once we entered that fog bank, as the last thing that we wanted to do was hit anything, or have anything hit us. And we did spot various vessels, a lot of whom I believe reported back to you on our position, and what our vessel looked like, but they kept darting in and out of radar contact range."

"I believe that that's because most of the vessels who encountered you were small fishing vessels, but other ships were destroyers, and at least one minesweeper, Ensign Gardner." Captain Hammer informed me.

"This radar technology is incredible. It's more advanced than what we have, but it definitely proves the concept, and shows that it can be an invaluable asset to a modern navy. I do believe that we definitely need to ramp up our efforts to create better radar sets, and install them on all major naval vessels in the Equestrian Navy." Rear-Admiral Sky Seas remarked. "Granted, it will take time, and a lot of resources, but it will definitely be worth it. And what's this 'fire control radar' I was hearing about that could guide the Texas's guns?"

"US Navy battleships in WW2, as well as cruisers, and most destroyers were fitted with fire control radar, which enabled their guns to be radar-guided, and hit their targets accurately, even in storms, or rough seas. No matter how the ship moved, or bounced around, the fire control radar kept the guns as close to being on target as possible."

"And where was this all done from on the Texas?" Princess Luna asked.

"That was done primarily from the Main Battery Plotting Room, which we can show you next if you want."

The Ponies eagerly agreed, and we led the way there. When we arrived, they all gasped in awe. The room was large, and full of various equipment, from banks of switches, radar screens, electrical equipment, wires snaking around all over the place, and more.

"Holy cow, this place is massive! How do you even know what to do in here?!" Rainbow Dash asked in awe.

"Well, that's why some of the most skilled men onboard the Texas worked in here." Dalton replied. "All of them had to work together to not only keep this room operating, but also maintain constant contact with all of the Texas's gunnery officers in the turrets, and secondary batteries, give them accurate and up to date information on targets, and most importantly, keep their guns on target. During combat, especially if going up against other warships, this would have been absolutely vital, though for Texas, she never had to engage another warship. But even so, with her guns pounding shore targets, accurate firing information was still vital for hitting land targets, especially in rough weather. Whenever the Texas was in action, this room was nothing short of a beehive, always abuzz with activity, and full of noise. And I assume that since you don't have fire control radar, that your ships don't have a plotting room like this?"

Read-Admiral Sky Seas shook his head. "No, not even close."

"And would you believe me if I told you that even by the standards of WW2 that Texas's fire control radar was obsolete when compared to that of more modern battleships and heavy cruisers?"

"Well, considering what I've seen so far of the Texas, and what you've told us about her, yes, I could believe it. But the technology you have here is still some years ahead of our own, but if we could add it to our own vessels, it could be such a boon, especially with the war going on."

"You mean the war against this 'Black Baron' fellow I keep hearing you Ponies mention?" I asked.

Princess Luna nodded. "Yes. And this is a topic that needs to be discussed, but we'll save that for another time, perhaps during our dinner tonight."

"Yes, that would work fine." Captain Bob replied.

After spending more time looking around the Plotting Room, it was time to move on once again.

The tour continued to meander throughout the ship, and the Ponies were shown the various armories spread out throughout the ship, containing a mixture of M1 Garand rifles, M1 Carbines, M1911 pistols, Thompson SMG's, Winchester 1898 Trench Guns, Browning BAR's and M1919 Browning Machine Guns (none of us were sure why these latter 3 were here, as they weren't used by the US Navy) and US Navy helmets, as well as boxes upon boxes of shells and bullets, as well as the various engineering spaces, full of various electrical switches, electrical boards, and various generators and dynamos.

"When we powered up the USS Texas for the first time following our arrival on Equus, it was done so at power switchboards just like this." Dalton was telling the Ponies. "We powered off our modern generators which had been supplying all power to the ship up until this point, before turning on the ship's power plant, which quickly came to life. Then we packed up our modern generators, and put them away for emergency use."

Just then, Rainbow Dash had a question. "Hey, I don't know why I or anypony else didn't ask this earlier, but how come all of Texas's hatchway doors are off the ground? Is there a reason for this?" She asked.

"Ah, a very good question, Rainbow Dash, and yes, there is a reason for it, and it relates to the ship's damage control. If the ship was filling with water from damage, the raised metal underneath the door was designed to slow the flooding of water into the next compartment long enough for someone to close and lock down that door."

Rainbow Dash looked at the door. "Oh, I see it now, David. Thank you."

I nodded, smiling a bit. "You're welcome, Rainbow Dash."

By this time, the tour reached the very bottom of the Texas, where her engine rooms, boiler rooms, magazines, and the motors for the turrets were. Our first stop was to see the ship's magazines, which Twilight had inquired about earlier. The Ponies got to see the 14in, and 5in magazines, as well as the 3in magazines, and the magazines for the other AA guns, and the powder magazines for the 14in and 5in guns as well.

"Wow, these rooms are huge! And they're stuffed to the brim with shells!" Spike exclaimed. "Though why're the shells stored separately from the powder bags? Isn't that a waste of space?"

"It's a safety measure, Spike." Twilight told him. "The reason the shells and the powder are stored separately is because the powder is highly flammable, and if there were to ever be an accident, or Faust-forbid, a fire, then the explosion would be contained within the powder magazine, rather than the shell magazine, which could trigger a chain of explosions powerful enough to completely tear the ship apart."

"That's exactly right, Twilight." I told her. "Luckily, nothing like this ever happened on the Texas during her long career, but the risk was always there, as it did happen to other vessels, such as the armored cruiser USS Maine, the Battleship USS Arizona, and the destroyer USS Shaw to name a few, and both the Maine and the Arizona were sunk with huge losses of life."

The Ponies looked on in horror, but then Rear-Admiral Sky Seas sighed, and admitted that a few Equestrian Navy ships had also fallen victim to magazine explosions, usually with high losses of life.

Moving on from this unpleasant topic, we also showed the ponies the elevators for the shells and powder bags, as well as the hoists used to move the shells over to the elevators.

"Weren't you saying something earlier about how the US Navy upgraded the 14in guns on other battleships to enable them to shoot farther, and extend the barrel life, but not those on the USS Texas and her sister ship, due to the shell hoists not being strong enough to accommodate the new shells, and it not being economically feasible to replace them?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I did say that. However, what was done for the Texas and her sister-ship New York was to instead give them modified, shorter armor-piercing, and high-explosive shells to enable them to stay up to par with the other 14in gun battleships, increasing their maximum firing range from 23,000 yards, to 34,300 yards, which is just shy of 19 1/2 miles. However, it remains unclear if the Texas ever actually fired a shell to this range, since most of her duties involved shore bombardment, which had her only a few miles offshore. Records on this are quite sparse."

"19 1/2 miles. If the Texas could actually shoot that far, then she would beat out the current record for an Equestrian naval gun, which currently stands at 13 miles." Twilight reported with a mixture of awe and surprise on her face.

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash's mouths were hanging open, while Captain Hammer, Rear-Admiral Sky Seas, and the Princesses were in equal shock, but they were quick to see the advantages of being able to hit a target accurately from such a distance, and wondered if the guns of their own ships could be modified someday to shoot shells that far.

After leaving the magazines, the Ponies then got to see the mechanisms used to move the massive 14in gun turrets themselves, and they weren't quite to surprised here, as the technology was almost identical to what they had on their own ships. However, they were quite surprised when we reached amidships, and showed them (with pictures), Texas's torpedo blisters. Only a few of their ships had torpedo blisters, and those ships tended to be unwieldy in rougher seas do to their increased beam. And it was also here that Princess Luna noticed what seemed to be the remains of some old machinery.

"Ensign David? What's this old machinery for? Were they part of something that no longer exists?"

I looked at what she was pointing at, stared for a moment, before nodding slowly. "Yes, indeed they were, Princess Luna. What you're looking at is all that's left of Texas's old torpedo tubes, and the mechanisms used to load, and fire them. From the time she was built, until the early 1920's, the Texas was equipped with 4 x 21in torpedo tubes, with space nearby to store 12 x Bliss-Leavitt Mark 8 Torpedoes (3 per tube), as well as 12 naval defense mines. However, when Texas underwent her first overhaul, the torpedoes, their tubes, and the mines were all removed, and replaced with the torpedo blisters, but some of the equipment used to launch the torpedoes was left behind, and still remains here today. Why they were left behind I don't know, but they're a piece of US Navy history, so here they remain."

"Wow, that's interesting that despite being mostly removed, parts of them were left behind. Though why were the torpedo tubes removed?"

I sighed. "It happened to almost all US Battleships that had been equipped with them at this time, while no new ones were made with them. Multiple tests showed that while it looked good on paper, it was almost impossible for battleship-launched torpedoes to be aimed accurately, with destroyers and submarines able to do the job much more effectively, and in actual combat, ship-to-ship engagements that involved battleships always took place beyond torpedo range, making them effectively useless, so they were removed during the 1920's on most battleships, and no new battleships were built with them."

"Oh, I see. As far as I know, no Equestrian battleships were built with underwater torpedo tubes, though some do mount torpedo tubes on their upper decks, though the effectiveness of this arrangement is still in question."

"Hmm, torpedo tubes mounted on the upper decks you say? That could work, provided of course they're placed correctly to prevent the ship from losing stability." Dalton mused.

"And did you know that Texas has the most famous torpedo blisters in the entire US Navy?" I asked the Ponies.

"Really?" Spike asked. "Why's that?"

I smirked. "It's because of what happened on D-Day, and in the following days. After shelling her primary targets at Normandy, the USS Texas was called in to move danger-close to the shore to continue to provide gunfire support for the US troops pushing out from Utah and Omaha Beaches, and the Texas closed in to about 2-3 miles from shore, and continued to pound German targets with her 14in guns, all while her hull was almost scraping the rocks not too far offshore. However, the Germans kept retreating inland to more fortified positions, beyond the range of Texas's guns, but then the Texas's captain had a genius idea; flood one of the torpedo blisters to intentionally cause the ship to list. This list increased the elevation of her main battery, allowing her to shoot even further inland, breaking apart these German fortifications, and allowing the US Troops to push even farther. Eventually though, the Germans were just simply too far inland, and the Texas was running low on ammunition, so after pumping out the water in the flooded torpedo blister, she withdrew, having done what very few, if any battleships before her had ever done; intentionally flooding herself to allow her guns to shoot farther."

When I finished, all of the Ponies, and Spike stared at me in absolute shock and disbelief, as had some of the Texas's crew who'd been nearby, and overheard my story who were unaware of it. Never had they ever heard of a battleship doing anything like this before, and none of them had any words at all.

Eventually though, Princess Luna was able to utter, "By the Moon, you Humans never cease to amaze me with your ingenuity, even if it's during wartime."

Captain Bob chuckled a bit. "Well, we try, Princess Luna. It's just part of our nature to overcome adversity, even if it means employing absurd methods to do so."

The Princesses and the Mane 6 talked about this for a little bit longer, as did Spike, the Rear-Admiral and Captain Hammer, and then the tour moved on to Texas's boiler rooms.

When we arrived, the area was still a bit noisy, and there was steam in the air, as while most of Texas's boilers had been shut down for the time being, one was kept idling, just in case it was needed to power the ship, should the strain of keeping the Texas's power on prove to be too much for the Equestrian shore-based facilities.

"One thing's for sure, Rarity would sure hate it here. All this steam, soot, grime, etc, it would be 'god-awful for her mane, and what about my brand new dress?!' as she would say!" Rainbow Dash laughed. Applejack and Spike also chuckled, and even Twilight smiled a bit.

"Yeah, I can imagine." I said with a slight laugh. Then Chief Engineer Dalton had the floor again.

"Now then, as you all can see, we've arrived at the very heart of the Texas, her boiler rooms. Currently, the Texas is powered by 6 x Bureau-Express oil-fired boilers, each with 8 x burners, which she received during her first overhaul in the 1920's. As built, and up until her first overhaul, she was powered by 14 x Babcock and Wilcox coal-fired water-tube boilers, and back then, the Texas had 2 smokestacks, but when these original boilers were replaced with more efficient oil-fired boilers, all 6 boilers were trunked into a single smokestack, as you see today."

Dalton then went on to explain more about how the boilers worked, their output, how Texas's 6 boilers were spread out over 4 boiler rooms, and more, all while a few engineers passed by as they kept Boiler #2 running idly, and Rainbow Dash snickered about Texas's original boilers being "Babcock and Wilcox" boilers, and Twilight gave her a glare for her dirty mind.

"I can't imagine how unbearably hot it must have been in here with all of the boilers operating at peak capacity, especially in a tropical area." Princess Celestia said quietly.

"Neither can I." Captain Bob replied. "I've heard a few testimonies from relatives of those who served in the boiler rooms on other warships, some during WW2, and they said it was often unbearable, even with the vent fans running at maximum capacity. I even heard some stories of engineers passing out from the heat, and having to be carried to the Medical Bay to be treated for heat exhaustion. It wasn't a glamorous job, but one that was absolutely vital for the Texas's operation."

"And it seems that oil is indeed the future for warships, and we were right to begin to convert some of our warships to burn oil instead of coal." Rear-Admiral Sky Seas remarked. "And these boilers look almost identical to the ones we use on our ships, though ours are shaped more like a hexagon rather than a triangle."

"And when the boilers are running, most of the power goes to the ship's engines, while the rest is used to provide electrical power to the ship via the generators and dynamos, correct?" Twilight asked as she looked up from her notes.

"Yes, that's correct, Princess Twilight." Dalton replied.

"And can we see the engine room now?"

Dalton nodded. "Certainly. Though because we're in port at the moment, and only have one boiler active, we won't really be able to demonstrate the engines operating."

"That's fine, Chief Engineer Dalton." Princess Celestia assured him.

He then nodded, and led the way there, with the rest of us following close behind him.

When we arrived at the Texas's engine room, the Ponies weren't too surprised, as they'd seen this before.

"I had a feeling that the Texas had triple-expansion steam engines. Granted, they don't provide the most power, not to mention the vibrations they can cause while operating at high speeds, but they're certainly reliable."

"And you were right, Princess Luna. Texas is indeed powered by triple-expansion steam engines, two of them to be precise."

"And what about turbines?" Captain Hammer asked. "Recently, some of our shipbuilders and engineers have been experimenting with steam turbine engines to power our ships instead of the triple-expansion steam engines. Since you all know future technology, will these turbines be effective?"

Dalton nodded. "Oh, indeed they will. It'll take some time, and you'll go through a number of experiments in the process, but once you perfect the geared steam turbine engines, your warships will be faster, and more powerful than ever before. In fact, after the Texas, only one more US Navy Battleship was powered by triple-expansion steam engines; the USS Oklahoma BB-37. After this, all other future battleships, (save for a few that had electric drive systems, but that's a topic for another time) had geared steam turbine engines, which were powerful enough for the last battleships built, the Iowa-Class, to have 4 of these engines, driving 4 propellers, for speeds of up to 33 knots."

"33 knots for a battleship?!" Captain Hammer cried. "That's impossible!"

"It is without geared steam turbines. With engines like what the Texas has, her max speed is only about 21 knots, though during our trip across the Celestial Sea, we were able to get 24 knots out of her engines, and in an emergency, we might be able to get 26 or even 27 knots out of her engines, but that would come at a severe risk. Anyway, my point is, the only way you're going to get speeds like that out of a battleship the size of the Iowa-Class would be with geared steam turbine engines. And of course you'd have to cut down on the armor to achieve that speed....." Dalton then went on to explain more about the differences between regular battleships, and fast-battleships.

While this was happening, Princess Luna was looking at the Texas's engines up close, and marveled at their size and power. I walked over to her.

"The engines on the Texas are very special, as they're the last of their kind still mounted inside of a ship. They were declared a National Engineering Landmark because of this, though due to Texas's deteriorating condition prior to her most recent overhaul, people didn't really get to see the engine room very often, as it was usually an active construction zone for trying to keep the Texas from sinking at her berth. And because her engines hadn't been used in so long, rumors began to circulate online that Texas's engines had permanently seized up, but this simply isn't true."

"It isn't?" Princess Luna asked in surprise.

I shook my head. "No, it's not. The moving parts of Texas's engines are kept lubricated, and then about once a month, the engines would be cranked over manually. This done specifically to keep her engines from seizing, though now that Texas is fully restored, we can just run her engines normally without having to crank them over."

"You really do seem to know a lot about the Texas, David. All throughout this tour, you've mostly been the one to explain everything, and how it works."

"Well, I am the Texas's XO, so knowing all about the ship is part of my job. Beyond this though, I used to visit the Texas a lot when she was still a museum ship, and I learned so much about the ship during that time, including the sad fact that they cut Texas's propeller shafts when they made her a museum ship, meant to prevent her from ever running again. Why they did this I don't know, but this travesty wasn't rectified until Texas arrived here on Equus, and she finally had her whole propeller shafts, and propellers again."

Princess Luna's eyes widened a bit in shock, as did Twilight's who overheard our conversation.

"That's....I'm not sure what to say about that, David, aside from I'm glad that Texas has her propellers and propeller shafts back again, as you said."

"I have a question. How loud would it be in here with the engines runnin' at full speed? And what 'bout the vibrations you talked 'bout earlier?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, when the Texas was running at full speed, the noise of her engines could be almost deafening, and the vibrations felt like a small earthquake at times. At the time, the crew had no hearing protection, but today hearing protection is mandatory, and the only reason you aren't wearing earplugs right now is because the engines are idling." Dalton informed her.

"Well, if/when the Texas is brought out of Fillydelphia Harbor to provide a demonstration of her skills, I'll be very interested to see, and hear this."

"Chief Engineer Dalton?" Twilight suddenly asked him.

"Yes, Princess Twilight?"

"Are the engine rooms as far astern into the Texas as one can go below decks? Or is there anything else aft down here?"

Dalton thought for a moment. "Well, there is the Aft Steering Room, though that's located a bit further up." He then looked over at me. "Ensign Gardner?"

I knew what he was trying to ask me. "Yes, that'll work very nicely, CE. We'll conclude our below decks tour of the Texas by showing our guests the Aft Steering Room, and then we'll make our way back above decks, checking on Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy once we're up there, and then we'll conclude our tour by showing our guests the conning tower. Then we can all meet up again on the main deck, and we'll see how much time we have before dinner in the Wardroom, if any."

"Very good, Ensign Gardner."

I then looked over at Captain Bob, who nodded in approval at what I'd laid out, and the tour below decks reached its last main point of interest.

Pretty soon, we reached the Aft Steering Room, which was actually pretty sparse.

"There's not a whole lot to this room." I told the group. "The wheel up on the bridge is connected to mechanisms that run through here, and then these huge motors here move the ship's rudder. For a long time, US Battleships only had one rudder, and this remained unchanged until the North Carolina-Class at the end of the 1930's. Only having one rudder gave the ship a much wider turning radius, and if that rudder got hit or jammed, then you were in trouble. But I digress."

"What're those huge wheels for?" Rainbow Dash pointed to what seemed like 4 large ship's wheels attached to a single column.

"Oh, those are the auxiliary steering gear wheels. If the Texas ever had her power knocked out, then her rudder could still be turned with those wheels, but it took a number of men to move them, as they were extremely hard to turn, due to the amount of torque required for the task of manually steering such a large ship."

"And was that ever done while the Texas was in service?" Applejack asked.

I shrugged. "I would assume so as a test, however, there aren't any surviving records to indicate if it was ever done because the ship lost power."

Applejack nodded, and soon after, we all left the Aft Steering Room, and began to make our way back through the ship, and to the upper decks again. On our way though, the Ponies did get to see the officer's cabins, including the cabins that belonged to the Texas's Captain and XO, which were inhabited by Captain Bob and myself respectively.

"Wow, these are smaller than what I was expecting, especially for the first and second in command of a ship." Princess Celestia remarked.

"Well, some of this is because of how little open space there actually is on a ship, Princess Celestia." Captain Hammer piped up. "Every bit of space has to be allocated for something, and while the high-ranking officers do get their own quarters on ships, they're often rather small, save for admirals, who do have more luxurious accommodations."

"Yes, exactly right, Captain Hammer." Captain Bob replied.

"And while Captain Bob has gotten the chance to live in his cabin a bit, I haven't yet."

Princess Luna looked at me. "Why not, David?"

I sighed. "Well, because while we were making the journey from Mobile, and ended up here, I slept in one of the crew bunks, as my role as Texas's XO was more ceremonial than anything else. Once we arrived here, I moved my things into here now that my role as XO became concrete, but I spent almost all of my time during our journey to Equestria on the bridge, and haven't slept here yet."

"Oh, I see."

I nodded, and pretty soon, we reached the main deck again, and it took our eyes a bit to adjust to the sunlight, since we'd been below decks for so long. I then glanced at my watch, and saw that the time was now a little bit past 4pm.

"Wow, today really has flown by." I muttered to myself.

Waiting for us on the main deck were Rarity and Fluttershy, and we were joined a short time later by Pinkie Pie, who proudly reported that the VIP dinner in the Wardroom would have all the fresh bread, muffins, cupcakes, donuts, and other baked goods we could want, and we all thanked Pinkie Pie for helping out in the Texas's understaffed bakery.

"And how did you two do while we were finishing the tour?" Twilight asked Rarity and Fluttershy.

"Oh, it was lovely Darling. I got to help out down in the Texas's laundry room, washing drying, ironing, and pressing all these wonderful uniforms. It was so incredible!"

"And I got to help the crewmen up here keep the main deck clean by keeping away the seagulls so that they wouldn't poop on the Texas."

Twilight smiled. "That's great to hear, Girls!"

Twilight, Spike, and the rest of the Mane 6 then began to compare notes on their experiences during the tour, while Captain Bob and I led the final leg of the tour up into the Texas's conning tower, to show the Princesses, Captain Hammer, and Rear-Admiral the Texas's bridge, and battle bridge.

"Wow, so this is where you all spent most of your time while the Texas was underway?" Princess Celestia asked once we reached the main bridge.

I nodded. "Yes, that's right, Princess Celestia. Captain Bob was in charge, Dennis and I alternated steering the ship, Ted manned the engine order telegraph, and Adam served as our navigator. It was a bit cramped with the 5 of us in here, but we made it work."

"This all looks very familiar, though our ships have wooden wheels, rather than the thin metal wheel you have here." Captain Hammer remarked.

"I think the wooden wheels are more iconic, but yet, metal wheels like this are easier to replace due to how minimalistic they are. It looks like a bicycle wheel, and is only made up of a few components."

"I can see that. There's also no risk of anyone getting hit with wood splinters if the bridge takes a hit, and the wheel gets blown apart."

I agreed with him, but then the Rear-Admiral asked about the battle bridge. "What's this I hear about the Texas having a second bridge?" He asked.

"That would be the so-called 'Battle Bridge', located about a deck below us, deeper in the conning tower. It looks just like this bridge, except it only has little slits to see out of, and is much better protected. It could also be used in the event of the main bridge being rendered inoperable."

I then led the way down to it, and opened the heavy metal door leading to it, and turned on the lights.

"We haven't really been in here since we did our inspections of the Texas when we first arrived here. This bridge hasn't been in use, to my knowledge, since 1945 when the Texas was last in combat off Okinawa."

"Hmm. Some naval engineers have proposed our warships to have an auxiliary bridge just in case the main bridge got knocked out, but others weren't convinced that it was worth the space it would take up in the conning tower. However, I would like those engineers to be shown this bridge to see that not only is it possible to be done, but how to do it." Rear-Admiral Sky Seas remarked.

"I think that they would find that to be very beneficial, Rear-Admiral." Captain Bob replied. He could already tell that in the coming days, a number of more tours of the Texas would be conducted by Equestrian Naval Personnel so that they could study the Texas's technology, and hopefully apply it to their own vessels.

After leaving the battle bridge, we climbed up to the level on top of the main bridge, known as the Admiral's Flag Bridge, then up to where the Mark 6 Gun Director was.

"Up until recently, this was the highest deck that visitors were allowed to climb up to while the Texas was a museum ship, and while there were ladders to climb higher, they were removed. However, like everything else, these ladders were restored when the Texas arrived here." I told the group.

The group, which now consisted of just myself, Princess Luna, and Captain Hammer, as Rear-Admiral Sky Seas and Captain Bob didn't feel physically up for the climb, and Princess Celestia was taking time to write a report for her niece Princess Cadence, and her husband Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, and inform them of the current state of things involving the Texas, as she wanted to finish it before dinner in the Wardroom, all began to climb up, though then we were joined by Rainbow Dash, who flew up to where we were, as she wanted to see the "Big Blue House", as she called the top of the Texas's mast.

"So what's the deal with the 'Big Blue House'?" She asked once we'd all climbed up into it.

I chuckled a bit. "You're not the first one to call it a 'house', Rainbow Dash, and I doubt you'll be the last. A number of battleships of the time had these, however, once they were overhauled in WW2, these were removed when the conning towers were rebuilt. By the end of WW2, only the Texas, New York, and their predecessor the USS Arkansas BB-33 still had them, though the one on the Arkansas wasn't nearly as prominent. And now the Texas is the last ship to have it. But far from being a 'house', these large boxes actually had a lot of uses."

"Like what?" Princess Luna asked.

"Well, aside from hosting lookouts, this box also houses one of the Texas's radars, one of her main radio antennas, her main battery control secondary battery control, and several gun directors as well, which is quite a lot, and is also why these boxes were considered targets by the enemy, though Texas's box was never hit. Nevertheless, once battle alarms sound, any lookouts up here immediately evacuate to the conning tower below. That's what they did as soon as your warning shot hit the water near the Texas."

While Captain Hammer and Rainbow Dash marveled at how much was packed into the main mast's box, Princess Luna was looking out of one of the many windows of the box, also called the observation tower.

"Wow. I'll bet that on a clear day, and you're out at sea, you can see quite a lot from up here. I can definitely see why you would post lookouts up here."

"I can't say for sure, as I haven't been up here yet while the Texas was underway, but based on how high up we are, I'd say that the view would indeed be amazing."

All of us chatted about this for a little while longer, before climbing back down again, and then climbing back down to the main deck, where our group was fully formed up again. Princess Celestia had finished her report, the Mane 6 and Spike were all present, as were Captain Hammer and Rear-Admiral Sky Seas, and of course Captain Bob. Everyone and Everypony was still talking about the tour of the Texas, and it was just then that Del, the leader of the Texas's Commissary Personnel, came up to tell us that the food was all ready, and if we were ready then to head down to the Texas's Ward Room.

"Very good. Just give us all a chance to wash up, and then we'll be right there." Captain Bob informed him.

Del nodded, and made his way back down into the Texas, and we all began to follow him, all talking excitedly about the upcoming VIP dinner, completely unaware that we were being watched by somepony with ill intentions.

While those of us on the Texas were heading down to dinner, the crew to their galley, and the officers and VIP's to the Wardroom, various Ponies were bustling around the docks where the Texas was moored. Some were still marveling at the size of the ship, while others were simply passing by on their way to somewhere, and various carts of cargo were being moved back and forth as well. However, from an alleyway between two warehouses, a Pony wearing an Equestrian Navy uniform stood in the shadows of the setting sun, looking at the Texas through binoculars, and snapping pictures with a camera. They'd been here for quite a while now, but unlike the others, this particular pony, a mare named Snapshot, wasn't there to just see the Texas. She'd been wandering around, snapping as many pictures of the battleship as she could, and from as many angles as she could, as well as eavesdropping on any and all conversations that she heard about the ship, which she both wrote down, and secretly recorded. After snapping a few final pictures, she retreated to the alleyway, and after looking through a pair of binoculars to make sure that the VIP's had gone inside the ship, she pulled out a communication device, and turned it on.

"Blackshore Island, Blackshore Island. This is Agent Watcher, reporting in."

After a few moments, a voice responded. "Agent Watcher, this is Blackshore Island. Do you have something to report?"

Snapshot nodded. "Yes, I do. Something pretty major happened here in Fillydelphia, and it's important enough that I'm requesting a pickup for a package to be taken back to the island immediately."

The operator responding to Snapshot was surprised. If Snapshot was requesting a pickup for a package, then that meant that she had a lot of highly-valuable intel that needed to be brought back to Blackshore Island for study immediately.

"Copy that, Agent Watcher. I'm sending a courier to your location now, and he'll meet you at the usual pickup spot. But I must know, what is the nature of your information?"

Snapshot smirked. "It's something that the Black Baron will be VERY interested to know about. It seems that a new battleship has arrived from another world, one that's far more powerful than any ship in the Equestrian Navy, or our own fleet. Under normal circumstances, this ship would be a major threat, but yet this ship could be quite a valuable asset to us, as it's also horribly undermanned........"

Author's Note

And, that was Chapter 6 part 2. I know that some of you probably weren't expecting it to come out for another few years, but I recently thought to myself, "Wait a minute. If I can crank out short stories in only a few days to a few weeks, then why can't I write Chapters to popular stories in a timely manner? This gave me the motivation required to finish Chapter 6 Part 2, and I think Chapter 7 will also go smoothly, as it'll be shorter than this one, and not nearly as technical, so stay tuned for that.

So what did you all think of Chapter 6 Part 2? Did I do a good job of giving a tour of the USS Texas for the characters? I really hope so. Did you all learn anything new from this? If so, then I'm glad. In the meantime though, what's going to happen at the dinner in the Ward Room? What kind of food's going to be served? What will the discussions be, aside from the Ponies finally telling the crew of the Texas all about the Black Baron. And what about Snapshot? It's clear she's a spy for the Black Baron, but what's going to happen when the information reaches him about the USS Texas? How will he respond? And what could possibly happen next? Well, you know the drill, stay tuned and I'll tell you

In the meantime though, as always, Comments, Questions, Feedback, as well as spreading the word about this story are always appreciated, and I'll see you all again in Chapter 7!

ScarFox out for now!

(Also, in case you wanted to see what a tour of the Texas could look like, here's a video of one, taken a few years ago

And I also think that this Chapter may also now hold the record on FIMFiction for the most pictures in a single Chapter, at 31. If you know of any Chapters with more pictures, please let me know)