We had let the day burn, and the night pass. With Red taking control over the Weeping Pegasus, it’d be foalish to push my own agenda just yet. She had a job to do, which included the rooting out of Carving Dolls loyalist, swiftly followed by their execution. By the end of the day, the ship was decorated with hanging corpses, and I was left as the only one left alive with the power of the evil eye.

I also needed the rest, as while my iron wool dress did protect me from the small arms fire, the shots still had cracked a few ribs. Even after a healing potion, it still hurt to breath for most of the day. Still, I had to say it was a small price to pay compared to those who weren’t among the living anymore.

Sunlight bathed the interior of the captain's room. Red sat holding me tight, preventing me from leaving. The mare had not gotten out of this fight unscratched, not by a longshot. Her body was covered in burnt pock marks from getting hit with an explosive, and she also had a few gunshot wounds in her flank. I had no doubt that given time, she would recover, and her fur would grow back to cover the damage, hiding the hurt mare underneath.

As it set in, the night had been oddly calm. Even with Red eventually becoming drunk, high, and horny, she passed out fairly quickly. I actually had to be the one to mount her this time, as she too exhausted to be in control, and with me trying to keep up our alliance, I had agreed to at least give things a shot. But it was clear that both of us were too hurt to be fucking, so I had to figure it was Red just trying to prove something, maybe that she could power through anything. I just gave up not long after she passed out, and just let her sleep. Why I was in her bed myself when I could have been anywhere? Well, it was too comfortable to pass up.

As for Reds fiance, the prince Circlet, she had him entertained by a few clean mares. She mentioned something about having a few backup royals for possible political marriages, which, I found the idea distasteful. But Red insured me that their lives at least will be far better then any foal in the fleet, and at least they will not be given away young like she had. Like before, I had to respect the alliance, even if I didn’t respect their ways.

The sound of a hoof and wood hitting the floor caught my attention, and in trotted Tarbarry. “Oy abomination, we got ta captains, and yar breakfast ready. Eggs, bacon, and fucking pancakes.” Along with him, came two somewhat happy looking unicorns pushing a cart.

I moved Reds hoof off my hip, and sat up. “You’re cheary today, Tarberry. Did you get fucked up the ass by a griffin?”

“Fuck you, bitch. I aint showing kindness to a heathen. Now wake up my lady, she's going to need the energy this meal will give.” He motioned for the two mares to set up a table, the smell of fresh food was mouthwatering.

It’s not like I didn’t understand why Tarbarry was being an asshole, I just didn’t care. Moreso, I knew he didn’t want my sympathy. Aside from those who were killed, he had gotten the worst of it when Carving Doll had her counter attack. Separated from everyone one else in the assault, the ship's crew shot off one of his back legs, and brutally beat him down. Another pony told me that he had been raped as well, but with how violent things were here, I somewhat figured that was not something completely out of the normal.

Personally, I wished they had just shot him in the head and put him out of our misery. But he was still here, and if only mildly important to Reds power, I at least had to tolerate him. But only just.

I waved to get his attention, and pointed down under the bed. “There's a half empty bottle of Lunas Shine down there, you can have it if you didn’t mess with my food.”

Tarbarry glared at me for a moment, and then trotted over to the table, taking what looked like some pastries, and passed them to one of the unicorns. “Go tell the chef to make a new batch of pastries, these ones are stale.” The mare nodded and trotted off with them.

I rolled my eyes, and shook Red, whom slowly stirred awake. “Breakfast time Captain Red Steel.” As Red slowly got up, I saw Tarbarry sneak off with the bottle of Luna Shine, looking a bit less miserable.

Not bothering to get dressed, we both got to the table with Red dragging her hooves a bit more than I was. Red cracked her stiff neck before picking up her silverware with her magic and looking over at the unicorn mare. “Right, one of Narwhal’s replacements. Now talk.”

She was young a pale pink pony, with a dark green mane and tail, and a cutiemark of a heart shaped lock. On her, she had a tattoo of the number six on her left cheek, and over her snout was a deep scar. Oddly, for some reason both her ears had been cut off as well, and I couldn’t think of a reason why anypony would do that. Then again with those in this fleet, it might have just been a drunken bit of ‘fun’.

The unicorn saluted. “Love Locket, former slave of the Weeping Pegasus! Today we will be performing a baptism for our new members, including your lover. After that, we’ll hold a selection of the new raiding team, as well as your selection of a new first mate.” Love Locket nervously poured syrup over our pancakes, and then passed us two cups full of what smelled like fresh orange juice.

I gave Love a polite nod before looking at Red. “So that's what Snowbird was talking about. You do know nobody will believe I joined your religion right?”

Red shoved a piece of pancake in her mouth, slowly chewing before swallowing. “Doesn't matter what they think.” She sipped her juice. “What matters is that you get baptised, then none can call you a heathen, and any creature that thinks you of heresy will need proof first.”

“I see, just like with the Corps Brigade.” I nodded right before biting into a thick piece of bacon, it tasting far better than it should. “And won't my being ‘undead’ become a problem?”

“As much as if you were a dragon or a harpy.” Red answered before taking another pancake peach into her mouth. “By taking the baptism, you are agreeing to fight for the goddesses, and in return you are to be accepted as one of us.”

I sipped my juice, and almost spit it up; it was not orange juice, but orange rum. Sipping my orange rum, I cut a piece of my pancake. “Right and what is exactly this baptism?”

She comped down on her strip of bacon, and cut into her eggs. “There's three steps to it. The first two represent the goddess, and the last, the prophet Rosland. Each step can vary from the different religious orders from the different ships, each having their own… flare. But generally it would involved drinking sacramental wine, announcing an oath, and receiving a branding.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Branding as in what? Burning a mark into a pony?”

“Sometimes.” She answered. Dipping her cut of bacon into the runny yolk of her eggs before ravenously biting down on it. I waited for her to continue, biting into my own piece of pancake. “But that’s a crude way to do it, and though enduring the pain is commendable for any of the chosen, it’s too easily done and over with.” She lifted her mane, and showed me the back of her ear, at its base was an intricate tattoo of a hourglass, with two cutlesses crossed behind it. She turned her head showing another tattoo at the base of her other ear, it of Roselands symbol. “Tattoos like this need time and skill to make, and are generally only done on important creatures. So any of the chosen who sees you with it will see you as their own, as it’s not something an outsider can easily get.”

I sighed. “So I have to get them then?”

Red nodded after shoving another piece of pancake in her mouth, and washing it down with the orange rum. “Now, since all this mess with the Corps Brigade is done, why don’t you tell me about your plan? I know your going after this nightmare, and the cunt is held up with the Republic assholes, but who else are you going to be killing?”

I scooped up a far portion of egg, bacon, and pancake, then shoved it in my mouth so to slowly chew on it. It was not that I didn't have a plan, or wanted to share it, but it was just not that great of a plan, along with the fact it was probably going to get lots of ponies killed. Swallowing, I washed the food down with the orange rum. “I’m going to blow Phobetor up with a megaspell.”

She blinked at me for a moment, and gave me coy smile. “Now I will admit that a megaspell would practically kill anything, but where are ya going to get one? And no, taking one from my mother is out of the question.”

I shook my head. “Don't worry about that part, the warhead i’m talking about is already set up and ready to be used. I just need to pick it up and lure Phobetor to it.” Red sat back, crossed her legs, and stuck her fork into the stack of pancakes as she shot me a look that read that she expected me to elaborate. “Right, as it turns out, Orthrus is planning to cut itself off from Republic territory if war breaks out. Their plan was to use one of their stockpiled megaspells to blow the tunnel as a last resort, which with the fleet of hovercraft they’ve got, won’t stop them for long anyway. But this is bigger than the war between Orthrus and the Republic.”

Red nodded. “Yar going to steal the bomb, an shove it up the nightmares cunt, correct?”

“Basically yeah, but there’s just one problem.” I took a deep breath of air, resigning myself to this path. “I need to draw Phobetor out, and to do so, I actually need the Republic and Orthrus to go to war.” I speared a strip of bacon and dipped it into the egg yoke like Red had. “But it can't just be any kind of fight. Phobetors control must be at risk of failing while having the opportunity to win it all. For that, I need the Republics emotions to go out of control.”

Red lifted a hoof as she finished chewing on her bit of breakfast. “I’m still a bit confused on this republic bullshit. Aren’t they the ones with the hivemind thing going on?”

“Yes, but I don't know how far the collective consciousness network has spread, so I’ll need to hit just the right nerve.” Now saying it out loud, it only made the task even more impossible.

A chuckle came from Red. “So let me get this all figured out; Phobetor, the nightmare, has embedded herself in the republic, whom have, or are in the process of turning themselves into a cybernetic hive mind. To draw her out, you need the Republic to get so emotional that she loses control, but not so much that it doesn’t ruin a real chance of victory in the fight, so much so that she tries to lead them and not just hide until things calm down. Then, you detonate a megaspell, of which you still have to steal from Orthrus, just to attempt to kill her with it.” Red pointed a fork at me. “Is that the plan?”

“Essentially, yes.” I confirmed. “But the problem I have is figuring out how am I to poke the preverbal twittermite nest. Nothing I come up with I like.”

“It’s because your going to need to sacrifice innocent ponies to do it, and you’re hesitant to do that.” Red said with a serious tone. “Getting a pony mad? That's easy. Blinding them with rage and hate, sending them into a suicidal furry? That will require taking something they care about away from them, and then dangling it in their face as you defile it.” She lifted speared my last strip of bacon, letting it hang in her fork for a moment before taking a bite out of it and swallowing. “You must become a real monster, the kind of thing that threatens to snatch their foals away.”

“But what's a threat without weight behind it.” I pushed my plate away, my appetite gone as the full weight of what I needed to do sank in. “If nopony dies, if nopony is there to rage, then it will never be enough. And all of that, it will need to be directed at Orthrus. I can look like a monster all they want, but I need to be Orthrus’ monster...”

Red sighed. “Just spit it out, otherwise were going to be here all day, and the nightmare will only get stronger.”

I glared at her, hating how easy it was for her to be cruel. “I’m going to need to kill a foal in front of a crowd, dressed as an Orthrus soldier.”

“My mother once said that cruelty can be a kindness. Like beating a foal because they almost got themselves killed.” Red then shrugged. “But then again, what do I know, my mother’s a heartless cunt. You on the other hoof, you’re hunting a nightmare. What's the life of one foal if it helps to bring her down?”

I slammed my hoof on the table. “How can you say that? What if it was your foal?”

Red rolled her eyes. “Would letting my foal live under the rule of a nightmare be any better? Or having their brain become part of some computer?” She took her orange rum and finished it off in one go. “Not just that, but how many are you going to kill with that megaspell? How many foals will die afterwards, from both radiation and from the inevitable starvation? Or how about all the ponies who will die if you fail? You think Phobetor will care about one life? No, it will be the same as the millions and billions she will kill if you can’t destroy her.”

Slumping back into my seat, I grabbed my orange rum, knocking back the cup. “How can you say that so easily, like being a cold blooded killer was natural.”

She got out of her seat, and trotted over to me. “I’ve said it before, haven't I? In this world, you either fuck over others, or you end up getting fucked. This wasn’t something I was told, I learned it firsthoof with the fleet. And I bear those scars of being weak inside of me every fucking day.” She looked me in the eyes, her own where cold, and full of pain. “To live life without such hardship, that might be the highest privilege, but nopony in the whole fleet has had anything close to that. For the rest of us ponies, we must live with such struggles, or be killed by them.” Red trotted off to the door, leaving me in the room.

I looked at my plate, still covered with plenty of food. My eyes drifted to the eggs and the half eaten bacon, two things that came from living animals. Is there a bird missing its egg, or a hog father, or mother. If this hog had not been killed, would simply another have taken its place? Or would it have simply fall victim to a paradise dragon regardless? If I had traded places with Harp, would she be in the same position, or would she have a better plan…

“Fuck it all.” I picked up my fork, and stabbed the eggs. “I’ll just cross that road when I get there. All that matters in the end is that Phobetor dies.” I forced the food down my mouth, finishing it as fast as I could, and followed Red out.

In the captain's main room, the mare with the pastries had arrived. Red was standing there, aggressively eating one as Love Locket was helping her get dressed. Red looked over at me and smiled “So, made your decision then?”

Another unicorn mare waved me over, my dress sitting on a rack next to her. “Not yet,” Shifting, I trotted over to get dresses. “but maybe I’ll get lucky, and all I just have to do is kick a robotic puppy.”

“But you still have to go.” Red took a bite of the pastry after pointing out that fact. “Here, if it makes it any easier, I do have some advise. Stop trying to justify your actions. Understand that what your doing is bad, and that other creatures are going to suffer. Then also come to understand that suffering is inevitable, but you can at least forcefully carve some peace into the world. Because just a slice of it is still better than none, even if it’s only for a brief moment in time.”

The mare helping me get dressed got a bit too touchy with her hooves, caressing my body before getting my dress on. “Is that what you’re trying to do, Red?” I already knew that she didn’t really care about peace, only that those she controlled were kept in line.

“Some days I do like it when nothing's happening.” Red shrugged. “But then there's the days that I want to get rutted by a bull. So don't mistake me for some idealist pretending to be a ruthless bitch. But on the task at hoof, all you need to ask yourself is if you can afford to have Phobetor win?”

The belts were fassend to me, and my guns were returned to my sides. “I get it, and this is why I asked you. If it was anypony else, then I have no doubt that Phobetor would see right through it. Or worse, predicted it, and set up a trap.”

Finishing her pastry, Red trotted over to me, and tapped me on the nose with her hoof. “I’m flattered. Well flattered in that you need a partner to do bad things with. Now I think it's best if you get ready for your baptism, otherwise we're going to spend all day talking.”

With that, I watched Red walk off as the assisting mares combed, braided, and styled my main into a bun. Looking at the three unicorn mares, each one young, cute in their own right, but all having a scar or two, I was starting to get why the pirates were so… Brutal. “Say, if there was a great evil out there, but the only path to end such evil involved causing the innocent to suffer, would you make the innocent suffer so to stop such evil?”

The three mares looked at each other, and Love Locket stepped forward. “Lady Echo, it has always been known that it is best to have ten of the faith fall than to suffer one sinner.” She pulled out a pendent, it a simple peace of wood with the symbol of Thorn Rossland on it. “In our greatest time of darkness, the prophet pulled us back into the light. But even one sinner could have, and eventually did, drag ships under the waves with them. Thousands of souls lost, stolen from the Goddess’ love. But those who remained under the prophets guidance, hunted down the sinners. We learned quickly that it's better to sacrifice hundreds of the faithful, if only to save thousands from the sinners plots.” Love Locke had a smile on her face that seemed too pure for what she was saying, holding the pendent close to her chest.

Maybe I had made a terrible mistake, entrusting the hunting of Phobetor to mad mares and zealots. But until now my every action had been too slow, too easy to read. I wanted to find a better way, but my time had run out.

“You know, among my kin, most of us believed that it's better to let the guilty go free then the innocent suffer.” I pulled out my sisters gun and looked over it. It was in rough shape, nicked and scratched in a dozen places, but still it shined with its silver finish. “But that option might be beyond my reach now. It might have always been beyond my reach.” They put my scarf around my non-existent neck, my head now comfortably resting on it.

“Lady Echo,” Love finished off my ensemble by adding two black pearl earrings to my ears. “I’m sure you will find your answer during your baptism. The goddesses never abandon those who have faith. I will even pray for you if it would bring you the comfort and knowlage you seek.”

I didn't have the same hope for answers, and all it was that I wanted was to keep them on my side of this conflict. But if Celestia or Luna were to contact me and give me a way to solve this without anypony dieing? Well, then I wish they’d fucking hurry up and show me already.

Turning to Love, I smiled, deciding to play along. “Thank you, and I’m sure the Goddesess will help, for my mission is noble. I’ll be trotting into the jaws of evil, and I’ll be needing every blessing and prayer I can get.”

Love backed up, and bowed her head with a smile. “Then you are ready, and I will not keep you any longer.”

I felt a little dirty doing that, but I was in too deep at this point. Stepping away, I left the room, and walked out to the ship. If I needed religious fury and zealotry to kill Phobetor, then I will get it. But like Red had said, I can’t and won’t make excuses for what I was going to do.

The ship was alive with activity. Most of it the normal maintenance, mind you, but the bow of the ship was being prepped for the baptism. Simple decorations mainly consisting of Thorn Roselands symbols were being hung about, and plenty of wine was being brought up in casks. An odd looking table with needles consistent with a tattoo parlor was placed near the front, and there was also a fire pit, with a large Radhog rotating over it.

At the very end of the bow, stood Mayall. She was looking over at the water, with two other lurkers stood next to her that I’d never seen before. I was a bit confused by the two new lurkers, but they had a habit of getting around. Trotting over, the two lurkers noticed me, and gave Mayall and I some space.

“So…” I offered, pulling her from her seaward gaze. “I’m guessing they're from the sub?”

Mayall nodded. “They came around last night, wanting to know what our next move was.”

I avoided looking down over the edge of the ship. Being around so much water wasn't bothering me as much as it had before, but still, I didn't want to test my luck. “You do have that deal with Orthrus, so maybe you can continue helping them?”

She shook her head, and lifted her pipbuck. “No, I need to leave, mother made that clear. If the nest is working with Orthrus, then it will only cause problems for every creature if I stay. So i’m going to look for Harp. That’s what friends do, right?”

I felt a bit of a twinge in my heart. “But where will you go when you don't have even a direction?”

“Old Equestria.” Mayal said as she looked over the horizon. “Even if I can't find her there, there's still a few submarines ports that… that my nest can colonize.” She tapped at her pipbuck. “So as I help make the new nests for them, I’ll wait for her signal. It's the best I can do.”

Deep down, I wanted Mayall to be right, that there was a happy ending to all this, that we will all get to see the rainbow at the end of the journey. But... all I could see was death, fire, and war. Still, maybe she could be spared from further tragedy, at least from these islands.

Placing a hoof on her shoulder, I gave her a smile, one as honest as I could muster. “That's a wonderful idea, and I know Harp would love to see what you have made while you wait.”

She looked over at me, her muzzle claws forming something similar to a smile. “Maybe after finding her, we can look for you, where ever you have gone.”

I took a step back, a wave of confusion hitting me. “What do you mean, I’m right here?”

“Part of you is.” Mayall looked back to the water, and sighed. “But most of you is, different. I...I don't mean you look different, that happened, I mean just look at me. But you, it's like much of you has gone missing, and something else is in its place.”

I took a deep breath, and lifted my head off my shoulders. Holding it up I turned my head to look at my own body, and I had to agree, what I was looking at, it wasn't me. Turning my head back to Mayall, she was giving me a worried glance.

“I know what you mean. And maybe I already have known, for a long time now.” Placing my head back on, I stepped up next to Mayall again. “I think I’ve been losing myself for awhile now. And in its place, a new me has been filling what was lost.”

“But this new you is not pony.” Mayall sighed. “I feel I lost bits of myself, but what took its place was still lurker. Harp too. Of what she lost, and of what she gained was still pony. But not you.”

I nodded. “Back in the republic, after your sister attacked, the republic tried to turn me into a machine. At the same time, Phobetor tried to shove my mind far away from everything, and keep me as some sort of puppet.” The memory of that nightmare version of myself still sent a shiver down my spine. “Maybe that's when it happened, when I started becoming something else. Some pony colder, angrier, less… me.”

Mayall pulled out a picture frame from a pocket of her sailor uniform. On it was a younger Harp with a proud looking Stratus Dancer, both with big smiles on their face. “I thought Harp would want to keep this, so I took it from her room before we left.” A drop of water landed on the picture, and rolled down the glass. Mayall wiped a tear from her chitin cheek, and put the picture away. “So if Harp is lost, then I just have to find her.” She looked me in the eyes, with a sad, but determined look in her own. “And if you have lost yourself, then once I have Harp again, we will go and find you.”

I looked away, a feeling of shame washing over me, but also a warmth. It was small, barely noticeable, but it was still warm and comforting. “Then go… go and find our friend. And when you do, I’ll be waiting for you to come and find me… wherever I’ve lost myself at.”

Taking a long deep breath, and slowly exhaling I turned back to Mayall, only to see that she was gone, as were the two other lurkers. Strange, how despite how much attention they could bring to themselves, those funny glowing crab ponies could just vanish like ghosts, or like how Mare-do-well did in the oldworld foalish comic books.

I stopped myself from looking over the edge of the ship, knowing that even if she was down there, I would unlikely see her before she dipped under the water. Like many things in my life recently, another piece of it was simply gone in an instant. At least with this piece, I could hold on to some hope of maybe some day ever seeing it again.

*ding dong, ding dong*

Looking back, I saw Tarbarry ringing a bell. He was dressed in thick black robes, and had a large medallion of Thorn Roselands symbol hanging from his neck.

“Come now ya heathens, time for ya to be brought into ta hurd!” He shouted, and six mirage ponies shuffled over to him. One of them was Brass Clarinet, and next to her was a colt I assumed was her foal. I joined them, giving Brass a nodd.

Many of the pirates came around, taking seats along the edge of the ship, and others finding high spaces further up, with a few even sitting on the vertibucks. Before long, we were surrounded by the pirates like a wall of creatures, all looking at us. Then the mass split, and Red trotted in, accompanied by the three unicorns, and two heavily cybernetically modified mares.

Red trotted all the way to the end of the ship, to where I was, and turned around, head held up high. One of the cybermare stood next to her, and opened her chest, revealing a speaker. Red taking the cybermars hoof spoke into it like a microphone, and her voice was amplified through the mares chest.

“Greetings every creature, I, Captain Red Steel of the grand fleet, hereby approve of this baptism and will act as its witness.”

There was a cheer from the pirates, but they quickly settled down as Red motioned for them to be quiet.

“Now before we get to our holy duty, I will inform you that due to the feasting and drinking of yesterday, this baptism will be kept short, and all of you are expected to get back to work after its done, ya hear me!?” The mass of pirates groaned. “Enough of that ya spoiled lot. Next, due to the special situation of this baptism, I have asked the head Wrench Mare mother Cog Grease to perform the branding. They will represent the first of many who will join us from this island, a glorious honor.”

One of the wrench mares stepped forward. She looked quite old, at least old enough to be my grandmother, and her entire left side of her face was metal, with a large red eye bulging out from it. She was clearly a pegasus, as she had two cyber limbs coming out of her back, moving around almost like a cat's tail with a claw on its end. “Right, the good captain has promised that half of you will join my coven, of which I am looking forward to seeing what you can do fer yer new home.” Her voice was more synthesized than natural, making me worried about how augmented the wrench mates were, and if I was sitting on a potential reaver nest.

Tarberry stepped up, and placed himself in front of us all. The wrench mate with the inbuilt speaker stepped over to him, and offered Tarberry her hoof. He looked at each of us, giving me a smile before speaking. “Watch now as a miracle happens. Six lost heathens, six ponies whom had known nothing of the prophets words, nor the goddesses love, will now become part of the chosen. They shall accept the goddesses into their heart, and in doing so, help bring salvation to this forsaken world.”

The pirates burst into applause, and Tarberry waited for them to calm before continuing. “Today, they will be reborn as part of the goddesses chosen followers. Taking on both a new life, and a new name. Freed from the chains of blood, land, and the past, through the goddesses, we all become one family, united by the strength of our faith. To fight evil is our calling, and to save the lost by bringing them into our family is the highest honor. And once together, we will no longer fear death, as it will only bring us closer to the light of the goddesses. Now, you six, step forward, and we will speak our oath. It is time to accept the light of the goddesses, and be given your new name.”

Each of us stepped up, and two small cups were placed in front of us, each filled with a clear liquid that smelled strongly like the luna-shine alcohol ponies in Charon’s Stop were always brewing up themselves.

Tarberry trotted over to the first mare, which if done in order, left me as the last one. The old cyberpony Cog Grease trotted over as well. Standing to the other side of Tarberry, she was the one to speak.

“Now repeat after me. Under Celestia's day, under Lunas night, I commit my soul to thee.”

The mirage pony mare hesitated at first, but then repeated after Cog Grease. The old mare then continued, only to shortly be copied by the younger mare.

“I announce through all my conviction in the goddesses, never shall I deny them my faith.”

“For the goddesses love is unconditional, and their love of me must be met in kind.”

“I will not be swayed by words, or turned by spears.”

“I will not be tricked through coin, or tempted by flesh.”

“For this oath I make is my virtue of faith, the goddesses banner I hold true.”

“And so, I commit my soul to Celestia's glorious day, and Luna's sacred night.”

The old mare lifted up the cup in front of her, and waited for the young mare to do the same. “Now drink of this sacramental wine, and receive your new name.” The young looked at the cup for a moment, and then locked back the Luna Shine spirit, giving a noticeable shiver as she put the cup down. Cog grease slowly poured her cup over the young mares head before announcing loudly. “I now name you Overcharge Symfony, and accept you into our family. May you share in our love, our hate, and most of all, our faith.”

The pirates that surrounded us broke into a chant, loudly repeating Overcharge Symfony for nearly a minute. It felt like the air was filled with energy, as though their fervent excitement was a magic all it's own, and if it was, I wouldn't be surprised.

The next two mares followed suit, repeating after Cog Grease, and receiving their new names. Each one followed by the pirates chanting their new names. Once the pirates had settled down, Cog Grease stepped back, and Red walked up next to Tarbarry, standing in front of Brass’s colt.

The colt looked nervous, but calmed when Red smiled. “Now just repeat after me, and you will become part of our family.” He looked to his mother, whom gave him a nod and a smile to reassure him.

The two repeated the same words Cog Grease had said before, but when the colt drank from the cup, he balked and nearly threw up. The colt received the name Brave Shank, of which he immediately blushed, and looked at his mother, who looked away from him with a coy smile. Brass’s name didn't change much, becoming Brass Scissors, obviously alluding to her profession as a main dresser.

Last was me, of which Tarbarry sneered at me, and I smiled back at him, just to further get under his fur. Red cleared her throat, getting our attention. “Lets not sour this moment, for it's a happy day… for all of us.”

We waited for everything to become quite, only taking a short moment for not just the pirates to silence, but even the birds stopped squawking “Under Celestia's day, under Lunas night, I commit my soul to thee.” I repeated after Red, knowing that this oath was as hollow to me as it was to her.

“I announce through all my conviction in the goddesses, never shall I deny them my faith.” It was not like the alicorn princesses were not seen like goddesses, the two possessing great magical power, or so the historical books say.

“For the goddesses love is unconditional, and their love of me must be met in kind.” And Celestia was known to have ruled for a thousand years, keeping Equestria relatively peaceful, and prosperous.

“I will not be swayed by words, or turned by spears.” Ironic as that was how they were converting ponies, but then they are just another in a long line of hypocritical groups.

“I will not be tricked through coin, or tempted by flesh.” Maybe if they were not like a group of brutish savages, then I could see myself agreeing with them.

“For this oath I make is my virtue of faith, the goddesses banner I hold true.” Even if by force, if they could return the world to a time like the Celestia era, It would be better for everypony.

“And so, I commit my soul to Celestia's Day, and Luna's night.” I just hope I haven't made a terrible decision. If Celestia and Luna are out there, I really could use a sign.

We both lifted up our cups, and I slammed the foul alcohol in mine down my muzzle. The pungent spirit burned on its way down, causing me to burp a blue flame. Red then proceeded to poor her cup on my head. “I now name you Cold Iron, and accept you into our family. May you share in our love, or hate, and most of all, our faith.”

Again the pirates burst into chanting, repeating my new name over and over. Red trotted up next to me, lifted up my hoof, and shouted with a magicly amplified voice. “I hereby announce that Cold Iron, the bicorn dullahan, the dragonslayer of the Marewaii Islands, as this ships new first mate!” The chanting continued, but this time it was louder, and accompanied by heavy stomping.

The celebration continued as the pirates yelled ecoragment to us, and a few of the pirates making blatant propositions to some of the mares. But the crowd quickly dwindled as the pirates began to break away, likely returning to their jobs on the ship. Leaving the ten of us with some drinks, and a large roasting pig being attended by three pirates in chef hats.

I swear that pork never tasted so good before, though I did try and avoid meat before, as us ponies were normally herbivores. But it was just so juicy and thick that I couldn't help but love biting into it. It helped that with the changes my body had gone through, my teeth turned out to be serrated, much like the harpies. Whatever had changed my body seemed like it wasn’t finished, with each day a piece of me replaced by something different. But also, each day I felt less worried about it. Maybe it was just that I was coming to accept this new me, and that's all it was.

It wasn’t just me either, but the other mirage pony mares seemed to be accepting of this new life as well. They still seemed apprehensive at first, but after Cog Grease tattooed a branding to the back of their neck, they started to enjoy themselves, smiling as they enjoyed their food and drink. I could only wonder what their lives were before. Scavengers maybe, or more likely bandits. Going from barely surviving in the dark metro, to feasting in the sun among a crew of sailors who were as brutal and tough as anything else they’d ever known? I doubt their lives will have actually changed all that much, only replacing one set of hardships with another. Yet, even so, maybe here they can actually live a life worth living.

“Cold Iron!” Brass called out to me as she trotted over, having just finished getting her bransing. “You look deep in thought?”

“A bit.” I honestly answered. “Do you think that your sister would have loved it here?”

Brass chuckled. “Reed would have been happy anywhere, it's who she is. And... it's why we left her there. I couldn't risk her happiness, even for our own. But I would have loved to have had her and the foals here with me, seeing the sky without a mask on.”

I looked up at the sky with her, finding it nearly completely clear except for one small cloud over Friendly Island. “If everything goes right, then everypony will get to see the sky without a mask on.”

“Maybe we can just burn down the jungle, that would solve a lot of problems.” Brass joked.

I scratched my chin at the idea, and remembered something I read once. “I think Orthrus tried that once. But it rains so much here that no major fire could be sustained.”

“That sounds like Orthrus in a nutshell. Just trying to help, but not really doing anything.” She had a bot of disdain in her voice. “Well, I’ve got to make sure my little Brave Shank doesn't eat himself sick again, and doubt that Luna Shine he had is helping.”

As Brass left, I watched Red trot over, joined by Snowbird. When she got close, I shoved a small piece of pork in her mouth. “Cold Iron? Naming me after my legs are you.”

Snowbird chuckled. “Half right, half wrong. In ta old folklore books, iron has a way of warding evil spirits, but loses this magic if forged. So to keep its magic, it must be hammered into shape without a forge, molded through sheer brute force alone. It says that cold iron tools and weapons were common in ancient times because of this innate property, and the practice has since been lost to time.”

“Plus, you're going to fight a nightmare also thought lost to time, so we thought it would be appropriate.” Red swallowed the peace of pork. “And on that note, I'm guessing we're heading to this Orthrus place first to ‘borrow’ what you need?”

“We?” I cocked an eyebrow. “Don't you have a ship to run, Captain?”

“Please,” She waved her hoof at me dismissively. “I’m sure you know that any of these sailors can't talk their way out of an open sack, and this ship practically runs itself. Besides, you're going to need me, I know it. Snowbird and her coven will keep the ship afloat and in line in our absences. Anyways, I want to see all this fancy Orthrus tech you've spoke about the other night.”

“Do not forget that this is also to establish a dialogue with this Orthrus faction, captain Red.” Snowbird spoke up. “As requested, we’ve prepared a strike team for you. Not the best available, as we killed dem all in da fighting, but they won’t just accidentally shoot off their guns.”

Red nodded, “Right, and while I make with the diplomacy, Cold can start on her nightmare hunt.”

I pulled on my scarf, and looked at one of the throwing knives. Clever enough to get passed a guard, or any mook, but any experienced Orthrus member will see that I’m hiding a shit ton of knives. “All easier said than done. They already know what I’ve become, and won't be keen to just let me do as I please. I’m going to need them to look the other way, and have it in their best interest to ignore me.”

A smile formed on Reds face. “That I can do, but I’ll need you to tell me everything about the Orthrus’ leadership on our way there. And I mean everything.”

“Alright,” I didn't want to admit it, but for any of this to go smoothly, it was a going to depend on Red, even though her ego was already getting bigger by the moment. “but promise me that you will not try to sleep with any of the council representatives.”

“Jealous, are you?” Red spoke coyly, “Don't worry, I’m an expert diplomat, not just some plucky whore. But enough of that, it's time for you to get your tattoos. I’ve told Cog Grease to give you the same as mine, as we don't want the fleet to think you’re just a normal sailor.”

I nodded to her with a nervous smile. There was already no going back, and this was just the solidification of it. Phobetor had played Vibraphone like an instrument, robbing her of nearly everything. But Cold Iron will be different. I will be vicious, unpredictable, and I will stop her by any means necessary.

And I mean any.

-Footnote

Quest Perk Obtained: Chosen of the Grand Fleet. (The zealot seafaring civilization of pirates have taken you in as their own, and as one of them you now walk with a dangerous swagger, and have a gaze that makes others uneasy. When attempting to intimidate, you get +15 to persuasion.)