Cutter

A choking, squawking gasp called my attention to the council. All the council ponies and I turned to a bespectacled mare on the right who was snapping her wings and sputtering.

"You waited?" She finally cried, rising in her seat and stamping her hoof. "The Edict was right in front of you and you just let it attack our fleet?!" My jaw dropped and I blinked a few times as I reeled from her outburst.

"Well, what the fuck do you think I could have done?!" I yelled back.

She clenched her teeth and jabbed a hoof at me. "You sank the Edict! Why'd you wait?!"

I threw my head back with a hard groan. "I didn't sink it in a straight fight, you fucking idiot!"

To our fortune, the massive ship eventually sailed off, seemingly on a course to wrap around the Griffish Isles entirely. The second it was out of the way we took off. Unfortunately, thanks to my spyglass I got a harrowing look at the ship's maneuvering capabilities. I chalked most of it up to the wind gem using the air to forcibly and safely rotate the ship, which only compounded the terror I felt at the sight of the thing. Throughout its assault, I spied a few pegasi attempting to get close only to be blasted straight into the water by sudden gusts which again sent chills dancing up my spine.

As a result, when we were finally clear of the Griffish Isles and rolling back to Naysow, I nearly collapsed from the tension being lifted. The entire cruise back the crew fell into nervous whispers and more often than not I caught them spying over the rail back north. The silver lining to their growing paranoia came when a half-dozen crew managed to spot the griffin ships that were suddenly chasing us.

"Brigs, all!" Our lookout declared. I hissed as I scanned the two ships hauling after us.

"twelve guns a piece!" I called before stepping to the quarterdeck's forward rail. "I'm in no mood. What say you all?"
"To hell with them! Let's get back to port before that monster pops up!" Bolt yelled, earning a chorus of agreement. Cast however came up beside me with a thoughtful frown.

"Not too often the griffins can spare the bird power to go out of their way and chase pirates," he murmured.

"That giant ship probably freed up a portion of their navy," I huffed, leaning on the rail. After a moment, I jolted and whirled around. "God! Where's Dreadless? He was up this way along the coast, wasn't he?"

"Captain Dreadless is sharp as a tack, he'll have found a way to survive, I'm sure," Cast retorted, patting my shoulder. "Let's focus on our own survival."

The little bird fleet that could soon discovered that courage can only get you so far when they got in range of our beach-front fortress. I stood on the quarterdeck leering back at the smoldering wreck one of their ships had been turned into just before the jungle weaved into view. As our ship turned into the Naysow harbor, a cry of surprise from my crew snapped my attention forward.

The Delight was floating in the harbor, but her main mast had been split and her crew was in the process of fixing it. To my horror, the rest of the ship wasn't in a much better state and had clearly been peppered with all manner of shot.

"What the hell happened?!" I yelled as we slithered by. Yas, Catarina's quartermaster perked up and darted to the ship's rail.

"Captain Cutter! The griffins are positively frenzied, Sir!" He yelled. "The captain is inland waiting for any of the other Merits to return!" I hung my head and sighed in relief at his report. Additionally, a familiar magical popping noise drew my attention behind me, where I found Amethyst looking up at me.

"There is no sign of the Commodore west of the Celestial Sea," she explained. "However, there is news which I feel is of equal importance." I glanced up and considered her ship that was just now rounding the corner into the harbor and hummed.

"You're not the only one, little lady," I sighed.

"Junior! Wait!" Amethyst cried as the giant slowly lumbered off into the jungle near the villa. In response, he held up a massive hand and just swept it at us before clasping it over his face. I watched him disappear into the trees before turning to Catarina who considered him with her ears back before shaking her head.

"Ben might've helped you get started on your career, but he broke Junior out of the hippogriff prison he was stuck in when he popped up on Mount Aris," she explained, folding her arms and slowly rocking side to side. "He's known him longer than any of us." Amethyst trotted back to us with her head hanging and I sighed.

"I wish I knew what to say to the guy," I murmured, rubbing my neck with both hands as I leaned my head back. "But I'm kind of emotionally shot at the moment myself."

"And sadly, I don't think we have time to spare," Catarina groused, her gaze drifting to the empty sofa in the middle of Ben's villa. "If my experience near the griffin colony in Abyssinia and the quartet that followed you is any indication, the griffins are letting that massive problem of a boat pick up the brunt of the war effort."

"Freeing the navy to finally focus on us," I hissed, clenching my eyes. "Christ."

"Something that huge shouldn't be able to move," Catarina cried, throwing up a paw as she began pacing. Her tail snapped to and fro as she walked.

"The gem he stole from Galley is what's keeping it running," I explained. "It's also granted it unnatural maneuverability beyond just letting it move."

"How are we supposed to handle something like that?" She huffed, baring her teeth. "Because I refuse to believe Grover's going to let Naysow alone now that he's got such a vessel." Amethyst rubbed her chin but I spoke up first.

"Maybe we don't," I murmured with a weak shrug. "Maybe we cut our losses and run." The both of them paused and shared a look before Amethyst held her hoof out at me.

"Run where? Grover has colonies all the way to Abyssinia," she offered, shaking her head. "I think that old bird really intends to dominate the whole sea."

"If I were more rational, I'd suggest we find someplace inland to hide," Catarina added before adopting a scowl. "But I left Abyssinia for the freedom of the waves. I won't give that freedom up without a fight."

"I agree. I ran from Sombra because there was nothing I could do to stop him," Amethyst said with a firm nod. "This time's different." I recoiled slightly and shook my head.

"How so? It sure seems like there's nothing we can do," I said, waving my hand at the jungle. "Especially since Dreadless is still missing and Junior just took off." Catarina hummed as Amethyst took a step closer to me.

"Well, like I said, I have news to report. If you'll recall, I was sailing near Mount Aris looking for Ben. While I was out there I found out the real reason Gasparde was visiting the hippogriffs," she explained. "He was seeking to purchase Queen Aurora's amulet on Grover's orders." Her horn lit up and a rolled-up sheet appeared. Unfurling it revealed a simple drawing of a necklace with a winged pendant.

"They claim it can control the tides and waves," she added, causing my eyebrows to shoot up not only for the claim but as it matched what Ben had said about Grover seeking such an item. "It was stolen by Captain Eights, but they're not sure he even realized the power it holds." I took the sheet and looked it over.

"So, if we find this Captain Eights guy, we could get our hands on an item to counter theirs," I mused, looking down at her. "Any clue where he is?"

"He fled to the Meditermarean when he heard that Gasparde was inbound," she replied.

Sadly, as we'd discussed, we had no time to lose, and so we just left a messenger to talk to Junior while we went hunting. If any of us second-guessed that decision, we quickly thought better of it as the southern Celestial Sea was crawling with military vessels like never before. Granted, they were mostly individual pairs of sloops and the occasional brig, and so they largely didn't dare to cross our three ships, but right as we were passing Southpile, we realized the ships floating beside it were a blockade being held by the griffins.

Of the eight ships holding the place down, three sloops and a brig broke to pursue us. As the sloops were faster than my ship and we had no fortification to run to, we were forced to turn and fight.

Since my ship was the slowest and the best armed with thirty-two guns, I'd been the first to come about and line up a broadside. The Delight and Good Morning, both also being sloops, circled back around and attempted to hem our pursuers in on either side with cannon fire, forcing them to take my guns head-on. The enemy brig was the furthest back and so wasn't able to intervene just yet. Rather than attempt to outmaneuver Catarina or Amethyst, the griffins sailed straight for me in a narrow line before firing upon them before they were in range of my guns.

I winced as the lady's ships effectively passed right through a gauntlet of hellfire three ships long. Still, they sailed on battered as they were and circled behind the ships, spitting iron all the while before turning and making their way back. By the time they would have risked the sloop's guns, however, the three griffin boats were in range and began to break formation in an attempt to escape. As we hammered the three ships, Catarina and Amethyst slipped past me and both signaled for us to move.

While we hadn't sunk any of the ships, we'd managed to force them to turn around, giving us time to break away and by the time the brig had caught up to its three companions, all four ships were now turning to rejoin the blockade.

Once we were a safe distance away, the ladies slowed so they could report their damages. And not a second too soon either, as the Good Morning's boom, the bit that held the bottom of its mainsail, suddenly cracked.

"You alright?" I called through my speaking trumpet.

"They split my bucking boom!" Amethyst screamed back.

"We're taking on water here!" Catarina called. "Let's find somewhere to land for the evening!"

By sundown, it was evident that the Delight was beyond saving. By some joke, several balls had burst open the repaired wounds she'd suffered during Catarina's recent search around Abyssinia, resulting in a cascade of splitting planks that only worsened as we rolled away from the battle. And so, as our crews salvaged what they could and began repairing the Good Morning with bits from the Delight, Catarina, Amethyst, and I retired to my cabin.

Once they each took a seat around my table, I poured each of them a drink, and Catarina threw her head back with a frustrated growl. "Once we get the amulet we're coming back to sink that blockade, yes?" She asked as she sank against the back of her seat.

"Oh, for sure," I replied before bringing them their glasses. "Of course, there's an awful lot of other things we could do with it if it does what the hippogriffs claim." They both paused as they took their glasses and gave me a curious look.

"Once we deal with that massive pain up north and track down Ben, we might consider turning Grover's scheme for dominating the waves against him," I explained with a knowing smile as I took a seat, causing them to share a look.

"Careful James," Amethyst finally urged, raising a hoof at me. "Magic needs a careful hoof to guide it. If you abuse it, it will turn on you eventually." Catarina nodded with a quiet hum.

"And I'm not sold on the idea of ruling anything," she added, tracing one claw around the rim of her glass. "A money scheme is one thing, but-"

"But what?" I urged after a few seconds, earning a weak shrug as she stared into her glass.

"Well, I knew if it fell through I still had other seas to ply," she explained with a meager smile that quickly melted away. "You talking about ruling and dominating, I dunno."

She looked up at me with a wary frown. "Sounds like being tied down," she murmured. I snorted and tipped my glass to her.

"Maybe, but it'd certainly be a hell of a bargaining chip," I explained with a grin. "'Do what I say or your ships don't go.' That sort of thing." As I sipped my drink, Amethyst tilted her head.

"Who would you be pressing in such a way?" She asked. "Celestia?"

"Don't see why not," I said with a chuckle before scowling. "Once this business with Ben is settled, she and I still have business to conclude."

The icy water grew colder and darker as I sank deeper and deeper below its surface, but the shadow that had me entangled was darker and colder still. But despite that, I wasn't afraid.

"Find him. Punish him. Destroy him," she whispered. "Make him suffer for what he did to you."

"I will," I replied in a strained voice as the water threatened to crush me. The shadows before my face lit up suddenly and a pair of slit-eyed eyes appeared and stared into my own.

"And when you rule the waves?" She asked.

"I'll force her to let you out," I growled.

"Good," she hissed.

"James?" Catarina suddenly asked. I blinked and gasped before losing my balance as a coughing fit took hold. She caught me and slowly helped me to a sitting position on the floor. "Easy! Easy." I looked around in a daze, finding I was toward the back of my cabin aboard the Night Terror, near one of the windows.

"Cat? When-" I huffed as she knelt beside me with a concerned frown.

"I thought you were awake, but you must've been sleepwalking," she explained looking me up and down. "You climbed out of bed and wandered to the window." I furrowed my brow and looked up to see the moon looming through my window.

"That's a first, as far as I know," I murmured, dragging a hand down my face. "Sorry if I woke you."

I should have been used to sweltering heat by now, but the region of the Meditermarean was still a shock. Our voyage was a lonely one until we first spotted land.

"Saddle Arabia," Amethyst declared after teleporting aboard my ship to discuss making port while we resupplied and pried for any news of Captain Eights. "Most of the kingdom is dominated by sandy desert and is populated by the horses with a single minotaur city toward the north." I frowned and lowered my spyglass to face her.

"Horses?" I murmured, raising an eyebrow. "Not ponies?"

"Correct," she replied drawing a shocked huff from me. Catarina and I shared a look as she pointed at the distant coastline. "The Prince is not allied with Equestria nor Griffinstone, so we are unlikely to be known here."

With that knowledge in mind, we sailed onward without fear and closed our gunports. After another hour, we spied a port at the southern tip of the country, with high sandstone walls and a massive golden domed castle at its center. As we moved toward its docks, Cast called our attention to the many ships decorating the harbor.

"Look there. A three-masted junk, in the style of Mount Aris," he explained pointing to a low, flat ship currently docked with its sails folded. "This far west is strange for such a ship."

"Unless of course, our Captain Eights stole it," Catarina appraised, wagging her eyebrows at me. Retorting with a smile, we conveyed our discovery to the Good Morning and made our way to the port.

Under the guise of explorers from the east and with a hefty bribe paid by Amethyst, we managed to anchor without issue and now entered the city of Mulebai. The inside of the wall was packed from corner to corner with multi-storied buildings, most made from sandstone, but a few fashioned from white stone bricks or astonishingly thick plates of glass set between metal bars, almost like the skyscrapers back home.

We didn't have time to really take in the city as we set all three of our crews into smaller bands and sent them searching. Most were tasked with gathering and loading supplies, while others, such as the three we were each leading, were hunting for information on Eights.

The sun had just crested the highest point in the sky when Catarina's group of five and mine bumped into each other.
"I've almost been mugged twice before they realized these lads were with me," I explained as we both scanned the busy street around us. "But that's all I've found. What about you?"

"Nothing yet, but that could be about to change," she explained, grabbing my shoulder and whispering in my ear. "You're being followed after all." She gestured with her eyes to a nearby alleyway. When I glanced that way, I just barely caught the literal tail of a figure slinking into the shadows. Sharing a nod with her, we parted and I continued leading my band down the road. With a careful bit of estimation, I navigated toward the opposite end of the alley I watched the figure vanish down and then scanned the market we found ourselves in.

Something changed then. The horses, minotaurs, and zebra that populated the market began frantically scrambling to clear the space directly around us. As I considered them, I then noticed a ring of hippogriffs with scimitars closing in around us.

Cast at my left gave me a nod before he and the others drew weapons and moved to engage the hippogriffs while I scanned the crowd for anyone else. Someone screamed as the first clash of steel rang out and a few bystanders went running. The whole scene was so intense, that I almost didn't notice the tall figure sprinting toward me through the crowd.

"Hey!" Bolt screamed as the figure somersaulted over him, a pale silver saber slipping into view as they did, but the sight of him alone was more terrifying to me. I just barely had time to draw my sword when he was upon me and weaved his sword at me. I narrowly parried it as he raked his sword across and then back, sending sparks into the air. He snapped it up and then back down and I managed to catch it against my own at the hilts before struggling and swinging them both down, at which point he slammed into me, shoulder to shoulder. I heaved an anxious and angry breath as I finally got a good enough look at his face to confirm my fears.

"Well, hello again" Arnoso purred with a smile, tilting his head to give me a better look at his cloudy-blue glass eye and new set of metal teeth. "Surprised? Have you not heard? Cats have nine lives, yes?" He giggled in that loopy fashion that set me on edge before tilting his head against mine.

"Of course, getting fished out by a kind little sea pony from Mount Aris helps too, after you brought me down to just eight," he half-hummed half growled. "You been busy, eh? Dear Catarina sure seems to have gotten along with you." His smile brightened.

"I been busy too," he craned his neck and stuck his tongue out to snag the chain of the necklace he wore before holding it up. "Stole this from Aurora, the hippogriff queen!" I snarled as he boasted.

"Thought it was just a trinket until a shaman in Farasi told me the truth!" He cackled as he let the jewelry drop. "Now with this, I'm gonna take back what was stolen from me by the Flying Gang! And you." He narrowed his eyes with a wicked smirk.

"I'mma gonna make a nice pair of-" He paused, blinking before shaking his head. "Nice pair of something out of your hide." He tilted his head back in thought before huffing.

"Gloves or something, I dunno!" He added before shoving off of me with a feral yawp. I caught myself and slipped my foot back before leveling my sword at him. He stood up straight for just a moment before lurching to the side and then darting toward me. When he was in reach, he snapped his right foot over his left and twisted his whole body to the left, raking his sword at me and forcing me to leap back.

As he came back around his sword snapped out and would have cut through my mouth had I not dragged my sword back to catch it. He bent back at the hips, pulling his sword with him until it left contact and then he snapped forward in a cobra-like lung. I narrowly slammed my sword down and to the side, smacking his aside before pulling back and thrusting at him. As he tumbled to the side, I leaped after him, swinging at his left side, the side with his glass eye.

He fixed me with a feral snarl as he barely parried my swing. As his one good eye was busy, I snapped my foot out and kicked at his left paw. He yelped and lost his balance but rolled away from me as soon as his back hit the ground, causing my furious downward swing to only cut the dirt. As he rolled to his feet, he quickly adopted a pouncing stance and I took a fistful of the dirt in my free hand.

He lunged again and I threw myself to the side, flinging dirt as I did. I clenched my teeth with a pained hiss as the tip of his sword found purchase and pushed violently through my hip, producing a rattling and disabling sensation as it cut down to the bone. However, before I fell, he let out a frustrated yelp from the dirt striking his good eye, blinding him. And so, I managed to hack my sword into the side of his stomach. The blade passed right through, cleaving a nasty canyon in his flesh nearly all the way to the opposite side of his body. He gasped and his legs buckled immediately before we both hit the dirt.

"Eights!" One of his hippogriffs screamed.

"Cutter!" Bolt yelled. Due to how close we'd collapsed, I managed to swing my arm over and snatch the amulet off of Arnoso as he lay gurgling and hissing, having dropped his blade in favor of clutching his paws against his wide-open gut.

As soon as I had the amulet, both gangs split apart and scrambled to recover myself and Arnoso. As the hippogriffs hauled him away, the last I saw of him was his one good eye staring death my way as he trailed blood, bile, and torn bits of internal flesh behind him.

Huffing and wincing as Cast hastily tied a bandage across my hip, I considered the amulet before my head dropped against the dirt.