Cutter

After confirming Ben's death, our fleet parted ways. It was agreed that if we saw each other again we were still on friendly terms and could thus consider aligning to take a big score, but we were no longer held to each other. Catarina, Amethyst, and Blood Orange, along with their surviving crew mates had joined the Night Terror as they were all three invested in operating alongside me, especially as I told them I knew of a new place to turn into a hideout. And thanks to my matching magic items, we made phenomenal time getting there.

"This place is cozy," Cat declared as she paced the grounds of the crystal compound. She purred and basked in the chilly morning air. "And I see what you mean about the climate." Amethyst and Orange trotted beside me as I examined the forest in the distance. The former wore a simply prosthetic leg and a headwrap to hide her broken horn we'd ground down the sharp edges of.

"Will the deer be a problem?" Amethyst asked.

"If they are we can hide in the trees and ambush them!" Orange chirped, drawing an annoyed leer from the unicorn.

"I'm going to have a chat with them," I declared with a smile, my thumb gently rubbing the surface of the crown tucked in my belt and hidden under my coat. "If we give them a fair deal I don't think they'll object to our presence." I turned my smile to my companions.

"And if they don't, we can consider this our new headquarters," I declared at which point Cat folded her arms against herself and fixed me with a wry smile.

"You haven't explained how you're going to get Trottingham to trade with us though," she huffed, earning a wink from me.

"Same way I'll get us a nice flow of capital," I said, jostling my amulet and the crown. "The wind and sea are ours, ladies." Amethyst and Cat shared a look as Orange just hummed in appreciation of the trinkets.

"Are you still smoking?" The unicorn asked, fixing me with a leer. I frowned and shook my head.

"What's that matter?" I demanded.

"You know why," she pressed in a dire tone, narrowing her eyes. Cat folded her arms with a hum as Orange frowned and looked between the three of us. I stared at the pair for a while before sighing and holding up my hands.

"Look!" I grunted, offering them a firm look. "Naysow's finished and if Greg is right, we've got a long and profitable future ahead of us. Let's not spoil it by having you nag me, alright?" Amethyst recoiled with a gasp.

"Nag!" She huffed before sticking her nose up and trotting away back to the ship where the crew was still unloading. Cat sighed before offering me a meager smile.

"I'll go talk to her," she offered before slipping away. Orange tilted her head before looking at me in confusion. I shrugged and jabbed a thumb inland.

"And I'll go talk to the deer," I declared before setting off. With my power over the wind, I wasn't concerned about who I might bump into, friend or foe. And so, I made an all too familiar journey that was abruptly brought to a halt when predictably, Pine Needle and his companions, including my former crew surrounded me.

"Captain Cutter. You make yourself a frequent visitor," he declared evenly, raising an eyebrow. "And things always seem to go strangely when you do." I furrowed my brow as I looked over his group and the ponies. Most of them were glaring at me with an ashamed look in their eyes. I sighed and held up my hands.

"How's this for strange? I'd like to rent that crystal compound from your people," I said, sweeping an arm back the way I'd come. The deer shared a look while the ponies recoiled.

"Rent?" Needle murmured, tilting his head. I approached him and nodded.

"Naysow's cast us out and me and my companions need a play to lie low during our operations," I explained, at which he hummed in understanding and nodded. "I'd like to use the compound. In exchange, we'll give you-"

"No," he suddenly declared. I nearly stumbled from how suddenly he'd said it.

"No?" I murmured, looking at him in mild surprise as I processed his declaration.

"As I said, things go strangely when you are present," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "And the sole constant I have observed is your increasingly cruel demeanor." I blinked and then twisted my head as the ponies murmured in agreement.

"You've changed, Captain," Jingle suddenly declared. "You-"

"I'm not your fucking captain anymore," I spat, my expression unchanged. "You decided that." He furrowed his brow as the entire group just stared at me. I glanced at each of them before snorting and throwing my hands up.

"And frankly, who wouldn't change? Hey?" I huffed before giggling and slapping myself in the chest. "I watch everyone I care about, everyone I love get ripped from my hands time and time again, I watch my foundations get kicked out from under me." I gestured to the whole group.

"And here I am, once again trying to lay some foundations and get a little stability and you spit in my face," I laughed, letting my arms drop and slap my sides as I stared at them with a bemused leer. I shook my head as they looked back before adjusting my coat and turning. "Fucking hell."

"Hey!" Galley suddenly cried, jumping forward and pointing at my hip. "What's that?" I stared at her for a moment before glancing down, finding that the crown and its gem were now visible. I laughed again and pulled it out of my belt.

"Oh! See, if we had come to an agreement, I might've told you all!" I held it up and jostled it at her. "I killed Ben! I paid him back for getting our friends all killed!" I knelt and held it out to Galley as she wilted.

"And I took this from him," I said, rattling it at her. "I promised it to you, didn't I?" She blinked and furrowed her brow, looking past the crown at me. I snorted and stood up straight, snapping it away from her.

"Oh sorry! I remember now," I said, bringing a hand to my forehead and shaking my head. "I said I'd put my vote in with the crew to let you keep it if the crew found it on a treasure hunt." I blew a huff of air through my pursed lips and shook my head.

"Hm, well, that does," I hummed and leered down at her. "That does sort of frame it differently, doesn't it?" I pointed down at her as I folded my arms, tucking the crown out of her sight.

"See, you're not part of the crew anymore, so," I frowned and rocked my head back and forth. "So you're not really entitled to any part of the crew or its plunder, are you?" I pursed my lips at her as she scowled.

"That's a rough one," I hummed before smiling at her and holding the crown up. I jabbed my thumb at Needle. "Tell you what. You convince him to let us rent the compound and it's yours. How's that?" She held her scowl for a moment before shaking her head.

"Keep it. I don't need it," she declared causing me to wilt. She nodded her head at the ponies and deer. "I've got more family to make up for losing him." She turned and trotted back to them before looking at me with a sad frown.

"I hope you find somepony to fill the hole in your heart, Captain," she said. "And I'm sorry it can't be us anymore."

My head spun for a little while as I processed what had just happened and when I finally recovered, I realized I was alone again. Blinking, I turned and strode back to the compound where I found Cat and the rest waiting. As I entered the compound, they and our officers approached only to flinch upon seeing my face.

"I was wrong. The climate here is God-awful," I murmured as I made my way to the ship.

There was no small amount of grumbling, but eventually, we were underway again and sailing south from the strait. We'd elected to anchor in the same place I'd camped back when we invaded the Isles and abducted Gasparde's daughter. At the insistence of my companions, we would wait until morning to decide our next course.

And so, I found myself scooted off to the side of my bed, staring at the ceiling, while the three of them snoozed beside me. My head was spinning again and my eyes kept darting around the dark cabin. The sight of Galley and the rest walking off just kept rolling through my mind's eye, until finally I decided to sail for happier shores.

I quietly and slowly set my feet down and crept across the cabin floor until I found the table. Standing on one of the chairs, I reached the boards that made up the ceiling and the hidden compartment in which I hid my pipe and my laurels.

"You're really that desperate to see her?" Amethyst hummed quietly, causing me to hesitate. Looking back over my shoulder, I could see her one eye staring at me through the dark. We held each other's gaze for a short while until I finally drew out my pipe and set it on the table. Looking straight at her, I began the process of lighting it up, at which point she slowly adjusted and closed her eyes, leaving me alone in the dark with my bad habit.

My gaze had drifted to the side again. There in the darkness and floating on the bloody waters was a raft. Three little baubles of light were set upon it and beyond it, another bauble of light was drifting away.

"Wonder what that means," I murmured.

"Pay attention to me," she hissed, drawing my attention back to her. Her eyes were as harsh as ever, but my continued absence-mindedness seemed to have drawn an extra degree of fury from her.

"I'll ask you again: when the seas are yours?" she demanded. In response, I just stared at her. "James."

"Amethyst says you're not real. Says you're just a product of my mind and the laurels," I huffed, at which point the sea of blood became a little colder.

"She's trying to separate us. Divide us," she hissed, leaning in close. "Punish her." I winced. She stared hard into my eyes and I slowly felt myself sinking further and further away from her.

"See, now," I finally quailed, clenching my eyes shut. "Now, I'm praying to whoever will listen, that she's right."

"Destroy her," she reiterated, though her voice was faint and distorted.

"I'm praying this is just the laurels," I murmured, dragging my arms up out of the sea and holding them over my eyes.

"Ruin her," she added.

"Praying that I can make this stop," I huffed, rubbing my eyes and focusing on what I wanted the dream to become.

"Make her suffer," she hissed.

"Because I need to believe that if you were real, you wouldn't be telling me to hurt one of the only friends I have left," I whimpered. I clenched my teeth and dug my fingers into my face as I strained and heaved a few breaths.

All of a sudden, I gasped and opened my eyes. She was gone and the sea was still surrounding me. But as I looked over, the raft was still there, and I turned over before swimming out to grab ahold of it.

Orange was the first to react and jumped out of bed with a scream. As her head darted around the other two slowly sat up, with Cat drawing a knife she kept under her pillow.

"The heck was that?" She grumbled, blinking away the daze of being suddenly awoken. She narrowed her eyes when she saw me sitting in my chair, staring at the floor. "James?" The other two noticed me then, but Orange looked down at where I was staring.

"Your pipe," she murmured. "What happened?"

"You were right," I whispered, looking up at Amethyst with a weary, weak expression. "Sorry." She furrowed her brow before adopting a sympathetic frown. Cat looked between us before bringing her paw to her mouth. I folded over onto my knees with a sobbing huff.

"I'm never going to see her again," I squealed, clutching either side of my head as I broke down. I'd barely uttered my first sob before all three surrounded and latched onto me.

From that day forward, I was no longer interested in Celestia's opinion. No longer interested in seeking a pardon. Because it was never for me, it was for her.

But now, as Galley had hoped, I had three someones to take her place. And my full dedication was to those three.
Any flag and any ship were free game. Equestrian, hippogriff, griffin, minotaur, Saddle Arabian, it didn't matter. From the Trottingham point of the Griffish Isles to the coasts of Farasi we plied our trade, using magic and rumor to pound our victims into submission and dragged their cargo back to Naysow, where in spite of myself we made nice with the locals to fence our goods. All to keep the three most important people in my life comfortable.

Months rolled by faster than I could have believed and with time came news. Grover had passed away, dying of a stroke believed to be a result of rapidly deteriorating health brought on by the Edict absolutely devastating his kingdom for who knows how long. Of course, we certainly didn't help their attempts to recover, and we toasted to his passing with a keg of stolen wine taken from a ship transporting a former colonial governor back to Griffinstone.

But news of Grover wasn't the only thing that came to our attention.

Like something out of an old Western story, the building had two floors and a balcony that wrapped all the way around and provided shade to its porch. However, as I strode down the dusty dirt road toward the swinging double doors at its entrance, the zebras hanging out on the balcony shared a look before galloping away. On the porch, a pair of mares in silky dresses wilted before trotting down the road and out of my way. In one of the windows on the side of the door, a cackling diamond dog caught his breath upon spotting me and then vanished from sight before popping out the door and running off.

As I stepped onto the porch, the doors swung again, and a few ponies and dogs squeezed past me as they fled the building. I pushed inside, adjusting the poncho I had on as it got caught in the door hinge. I scanned the barroom as those who hadn't fled, including the bird person bartender, looked at me in fear.

Then I spotted him at the bar and marched up before taking a seat beside him to his right.

"Cutter," Dreadless hummed as he rotated his glass between his fingers.

"Dreadless," I hummed back. I leaned forward with my left arm resting on the bar top. After a moment he threw his drink back and sighed.

"I suppose this explains why I've been sitting here alone. What's become of my crew?" He asked.

"Amethyst and Catarina spotted them and Orange got the drop on them as they were making their way from the port," I replied, rubbing my finger across the bar. "Not that you had much of a crew left."

"Most of my boys jumped ship ages ago after the Edict sunk and word spread that you were responsible," he huffed, giving me a sideways leer. "They said operating alone would draw your attention and you'd be keen on revenge." I nodded at his words.

"Well, they were right," I said, drawing a snort from the minotaur.

"Of course, some of them demanded we sign on with Stain, but I would not have that," he added, shaking his head. I tilted my head.

"Charcoal? Yeah, I heard that fleet he founded out of Colombuck has been picking up steam along Abyssinia and beyond," I hummed, leaning on the bar again.

"Certainly," he replied. After a lengthy pause, he again leered at me. "Aren't you going to ask me 'why?'" I frowned and shrugged.

"My assumption is you did it because, like you once told me, you refuse to operate under the rules of engagement that everyone else holds themselves to," I looked up at him. "And in your head, part of those rules is not betraying your friends." He gave a weak smile as he looked away.

"You guess correct, but you got one thing wrong, Cutter," he met my eyes, still with a smile. "We were never friends."

"Not to you," I said. The silence of the bar split as the blunderbuss I had hidden under my poncho, pointed at him, and lying across my lap fired. Following the bang, a scream rang up and the patrons all fled the scene just before Dreadless fell from his stool, gurgling for a moment before going silent.

I furrowed my brow as I considered him before clenching my eyes and rising from my seat. Before I made it to the door, the barkeep yelled. "Hey!" I turned back and looked at him, at which he swallowed and looked around. "Typically, guys who off other guys in the bar leave a tip and say, you know, 'sorry for the mess.'" I fixed him with a confused look before he reached over and slid a jar labeled 'tips' into view.

I rolled my eyes and pushed through the doors outside. There, I found the girls waiting for me. Cat sighed and tilted her head at me, earning a nod.

"Well, that's that," Amethyst huffed before we made our way to the port. "Where to next?" I frowned and stepped ahead of them before turning to look at all three.

"I dunno, what do you feel like for dinner?" I asked as I slung my gun on my shoulder. All three hummed in thought.

"Something with that spicy vinaigrette they make in Prance," Amethyst offered with a steady nod. I jabbed a thumb west.

"I think there's a shipping lane they send barrels of that shit down near here," I said before wagging a finger at her. "And I think I spotted a hippogriff captain running for the dock when he saw us, so he might have some meat for me and Cat."

"Or fish, I could go for some fish," Cat chirped with an even smile.

"I want mangos!" Orange cried, snapping her wings out.

"Bleh!" Amethyst gagged.

"Bleh!" I mocked before nodding my head toward the port. "C'mon."