“So,” Korsan sternly speaks towards his capturer, “You’re the leader of Faction.”

Isyan pulls off his black hood and fluffs his blond mane before replying, “So I am.”

“I always knew something sketchy was going on with you, just didn’t know what it was.”

“Oh, and what gave you that idea?”

“I don’t know,” the trapped pegasus jokes, “your whiny attitude, your incompetence, the way you always get hissy whenever anypony talks with you-”

“Because I was always warning you, you daft bilge swiller!”

“Whoa, language! There are kids on this ship.”

“The only kid I see is you Korsan. You are by far the worst captain of a ship in all of history! You constantly throw all of our lives at risk for whatever ridiculous reason you can think of. And most of those reasons are beyond ridiculous. To have some fun, to study this pile of dust and rock, to see if this boat can go into a maelstrom, to test some dangerous toy you made in your little workroom, I’m sick of it! And so are the rest of us!”

“Well I’m sorry you can’t take a punch without crying your eyes out. And you call yourself a pirate?”

“Look who talking Mr. Pushover.”

“What?”

“Ever since that wench Rarity, mind you not even a pirate, showed up, you’ve basically turned into a pathetic slave. Look at who you’ve been letting join on your side, not to mention the ones that you should have axed off a long time ago. Two Earth ponies. After all we’ve been through, after all of this unrelenting, merciless power you boast yourself to process, and you don’t even follow through with it.”

“So what if I’ve been a little soft bellied recently?”

“No, not recently. Rarity’s only the tip of the iceberg. Do you realize how many of us nearly got killed from the unicorns that you never bat an eye at?”

“What? Isn’t that what our family wanted, to leave the superior be?”

“Not when we’re robbing them and they’re trying to kill us! Are you mad? No, you are mad. Why did I even have to ask? Heck, why am I putting up with this? Why am I even putting up with you?! You are nothing but a crippled pegasus with a thick skull, a dime a dozen in this world.” As Isyan continues to yell at his cousin, Juliana dives down from above and smacks into the beige pony. The two fall to the floor and tackle each other, both screeching at the top of their lungs. “Get this thing off of me!”

“Juliana!” A red magic aura wraps around the ice bird as it is lifted into a small metal cage behind Maria. “I’m sorry! I should’ve figured you knew Isyan was up to no good!” Quickly, the raging phoenix is locked into the tight prison and scooted back against the second mast far behind the gathering.

“Be sure to euphemize that parrot after we deal with this scum.”

“No! She’s one of the last ice phoenixes in the world! You can’t do that!”

“Oh I will. In fact, I’m going to turn her into the rarest dish on the seas.”

“When I get out of here-”

“How? You have no magic to free yourself. You’re just as low in power as the soil on this deck. Actually, no, you’re lower than dirt. How about you knock you down a few inches to prove my point.” In an instant, the trapped stallion is smacked down into the wood floor in front of his slightly larger cousin. Now pinned, Korsan can only glance upward as Isyan kneels down to his stiff head. “Much better.”

The brown stallion quietly mutters into the floorboards, “You’re getting a real kick out of this aren’t you?”

“You’re at the whim and mercy of me from now on. Now I’m getting to understand how your brother and sister felt. It’s glorious! Hey, do you want to play a game Baby Korso? It’s called Catch-Your-Favourite-Toy.” Carefully, the dominating stallion reaches underneath Korsan’s chains and pulls out the crossbow from his cousin’s back.

“No, please, not this again!”

“Already getting flashbacks eh?” Isyan then teasingly holds the contraption just above the stallion’s head, dangling it just in front of his eye. “Jump you mutt!”

“This mutiny will not go unpunished!”

“Are you even trying? Come and get it! Hahaha!”

“As you captain, I demand you release me!”

“Korsan the Inferior, Korsan the Inferior, Korsan the Inferior,”

“Let me go! Now!”

“I can already see that crying wimp inside of you coming out! This is rich!”

As Korsan begins to sense his eyes watering, a long familiar mare’s voice screams out in the distance. “Isyan stop!”

“It can’t be…” Silently, the maddening stallion turns back to see Rarity, Lilis, and Slasher, charging towards him from the other side of the ship, followed by the rest of the pirate crew. “Slasher?!”

“That’s right!”

“How did you-”

“Let Korsan go!” Rarity declares. The massive group of over eighty unicorns surrounds the fallen sail, Faction, and their captain.

“Hey!” Isyan shouts to the approaching pirates. “Don’t any of you take a step closer!”

“Isyan, how could you?”

“How could I? All of you, look at yourselves. Think for once! What are we? We are pirates right? What are pirates? Terrors of the sea, unmerciful to anypony they come across in order to get riches beyond compare! Are we currently pirates? Are we?” The surrounding ponies at first remain stiff, with scowls painted onto their faces. However, one by one, the pirates break their glare and look to each other with growing doubt. “Exactly. All we’ve been doing for the last couple of years is just taking nature hikes and working our flanks off for nothing. Nothing! Remember what we just went through on this latest ‘quest’? Attacking Equestria, fighting Twilight and her gang, dealing with Rarity and that nose picking brat of a sister, fixing this blasted boat, nearly dying on far too many occasions, and for what? For some busted artifact and our ‘captain’ to expect us to move on? I’m not tolerating this, and neither should you!”

“Really? ‘Riches beyond compare’? Look at what you’re on! You’re standing on a giant floating airship that’s filled with some of the rarest and most luxurious artifacts I have even seen.”

“…Why? Why are you being so protective of this rat? He wants to destroy the lives of so many ‘innocent’ ponies, albeit he’s executing this desire very poorly, but he still intends to do such. He’s attempted to kill your friends on numerous occasions. He even stole you and your little sister away from your past life. Yet you still value his life over you and your sister’s potential freedom. Why?”

“I-I-I…”

“Is it love, Rarity? Do you love this monster as you’ve put it? As well as the rest of you fellow crew members, why do you all still support him? I hear your cries. You’re all hateful, untrusting, scared of Korsan. I just want to fulfill your wishes, and restore to you all the pirate names that you all desire so greatly, yet you attempt to resist me.”

“…”

“Let us hear it from our captain’s most beloved wench. Rarity, do you still love Korsan?” Hesitant to answer, the white mare looks over to the crushed captain, seeing his quivering eye look at her in desperation. She can almost sense him trying to speak to her, but too frightened to say the wrong thing. Rarity then looks down at her right hoof, seeing the fresh scars that the stallion can caused onto her.

“…”

“Do you?”

“…No. I don’t. We’re though.” Shamefully, Rarity lowers her head and shuts her eyes as Isyan cackles in joy. She can already see Korsan slowly lowering his head onto the cold wood and give up on himself.

“Even she admits it! This poor excuse of a stallion is a failed romantic as well as a failed leader. Been reading one too many romances of the sea he has, filling his imbecilic mind with fantasies of love.” Swiftly, the beige renegade turns back to the sulking pirate captain and lifts his cramped head up to his brown eyes with his magic. “You’ll never find love, love is imaginary for a pony like you. It’s a pity really.”

“…I hate you…” Korsan utters in his dying breath, cutting off his vision from the world with a stiff eyelid.

“I hate you too. Like they always say, you can choose your friends…” Without uncertainty, Isyan violently smacks Korsan’s left cheek with his free front hoof. The onlookers gasp and watch as the tortured pony’s cheek flares. “…but you can’t choose your family.”

“…” Korsan’s only response is his eye opening in a furious stare and a light hiss of his tongue.

“Now, where were we before?”

“I’ll wipe that dumb look off your stupid face once I get out of this…”

“Korsan, Korsan, don’t be violent to your cousin. I’m going to have to discipline you.” Gently, Isyan runs his thin hoof over Korsan’s eyepatch, feeling the indent of the scar peaking above and under the black strip of cloth and giving his victim an idea of what he plans to do to him. “May two of my ponies please remove the sail? I want everypony onboard to see this, the dethronement of a foal and the coronation of a grand leader.” Quietly, the two ponies at the edges of the Faction line walk over to the large black sail and roll it off of the ponies underneath, careful not to rip it. “In the meantime, who here knows how mummies are preserved? Anypony?” Silence follows. “It’s very simple, as my cousin would put it. First, you dry up the body, using spices, herbs, salts, sands, and chemicals to make sure that the skin and everything underneath has no moisture whatsoever. Then, you wrap it up tightly with linen, for if one droplet of mist or foreign particles were to seep into the body, rot would immediately follow. So what would happen if this was to happen to a pony still living, perhaps one who hasn’t removed an eyepatch for over seven years? I would imagine it would hurt like Tartarus.” With Alexander and the eight prisoners finally free from the sail, they gasp out for fresh air immediately. Eventually, they all turn to see the confrontation between Isyan and a chained Korsan, having heard all that was said before. “Are you ready for this, Cousin? Are you ready for the world to see you in your truest form?”

“…Bring it on.” However, before Isyan can even touch the eyepatch, a sudden jolt hits into his side, causing Korsan’s crossbow to leap from Isyan’s grip and fall against the captain’s hind hooves.

“What the?!” Snapping his head around, the boatswain sees Slasher tightly grabbing onto his side.

“Let him go!” The brown mare screams before immediately being pulled off by one of the ten leading followers of Isyan and restrained to the deck. Another pony of Faction quickly comes to his partner’s aid and attaches an anti-magic strap to her small horn.

“Are you mad?! I’m about to free you Slasher, yet you still side with him?”

“You locked me in the brig!” Slash Gutzoult proclaims, continuously kicking and flailing against her captors.

“You were getting to close to us. I tried to convince you on a number of occasions, but you were still adamant for whatever reason.”

“Whatever reason? This isn’t just ‘overthrowing a corrupt leader’ as you’ve been claiming this mutiny is. This is just a way for you to get back at your cousin.”

“Mind your tongue Miss-”

“Quit denying it! Face the fact, you couldn’t stand your cousin, a pegasus, getting all of the money and glory while you were stuck in whatever rut you got yourself into.”

“Bite it!”

“Never! Korsan may not be the best captain, his ideals may be vile, he may not be the most sane, he may not be the most ruthless pirate, he may not be the most safe, but what he is, is better than whatever type of captain you call yourself. You know why? Because he cares about us. He’ll listen to our problems and have an answer in time. Despite his dedication to his works, he’ll always go down into the galley for the sparring. He has given new life to criminals like me, and has given us the greatest adventure imaginable. You? All you want is money and power. You’ve been pushing us around ever since you got on this boat. If it’s a choice between two evils you want, then I choose Korsan!”

“…” Isyan’s grin grows wider as he silently looks down at the kicking girl.

“What? Cat got your tongue?”

“No, I’m just a bit shocked how much my cousin has traumatized you. All of what you just said there, was out of fear. No, not respect because he is a good captain, but respect out of fear. Most of you were so ready to leave this crew as soon as that fateful day came three years ago. But then, Korsan made an example of Nitin Gale and his daughter November, and you immediately began to fear leaving him. Isn’t that right Ryan?”

“Yes Isyan.” The named pony proclaims.

“So you see? There is no need for fear. All of you surrounding me and Korsan, ready to protect him. There is no need to. He doesn’t have any tricks up his cape to get out of this. He won’t lash out at you when you turn your backs to him anymore. You hear that?” Isyan returns his focus to his prisoner and carefully cups the black patch in his hoof. “No more Korsan!” As the beige stallion pulls the eyepatch away, Korsan immediately screams in pain. His scarred eye and surrounding skin suddenly sting and burn as thousands of salty air particles burrow themselves deep inside. Moisture seeps into the dry flesh, boiling upon contact. Rarity gasps and covers her eyes from the sight before peeking under her hoof.

“Isyan!” Korsan cries. Despite his efforts, his right eyelid stays stiff and solid, having not moved for years. Everypony else stares at the exposed eye in horror, speechless out of sheer shock. Korsan’s right eye is revealed to be entirely glazed over, with barely any sign of a pupil, and instead a glossy scar than runs across the white from top to bottom.

“Let’s make this image a little more clear…” Careless about his victim, Isyan slides the patch across Korsan’s face and places it over his other eye. Now accepting the gruesome pain, the captain’s bays slowly begin dying. “Much better… This is you, ‘dear cousin’ Korsan!” Consumed at his growing personal power, Isyan manically laughs, nearly destroying his lungs as he wildly proclaims his dominance. The other pirates remain silent, and instead stay focused on the now slowly breathing mass of chained flesh, swimming in his own pool of tears. “Don’t you just love it, being squished by the boots of the ones you’ve tortured?!”

“…”

“What? Got nothing to say?”

“…” Finally recovering from his facial cramps, the pirate pegasus softly closes his destroyed eye.

“…Very well then. I’ve had my fun with you. Time to put you out of your misery.” With a flick of his horn, a long pointed sabre hovers out from the back of Isyan’s suit in a shiny brown glow of magic. “Release the chains, I got this.” Listening to their leader, the ten ponies release the chains. Isyan then grabs a hold of several lengths of metal at Korsan’s chest and hoists him up to eye level. With the brown pony’s hooves barely touching the floor, Isyan sets the blade to his throat. “Any last words?”

“…”

“How about the rest of you all? Final words to give to your ‘dear’ captain?” Only the soft breeze of the dark clouds above responds. Even Juliana remains silent, as if she knows the full magnitude of what’s about to happen to her master. As Isyan glances around, he sees everypony bowing their heads, trying as hard as they can to avert their eyes from the inevitable. “Fine then, I guess you all won’t really miss him.”

“…”

“From this moon forward, The Perfection and its crew of one hundred unicorns will no longer be run by the tyrant Korsan Maden. Instead, a new, better leader shall take the title of captain, I, Isyan Maden! As soon as blood has been shed, we will be going to the nearest kingdom and burn it to the ground! We shall take their treasures, and slaughter any pony we see, no matter if it’s a pegasus, Earth pony, unicorn, alicorn, whatever! Stallions, mares, colts, foals, elders, rich, poor, we will show no mercy to any of them! We are pirates, terrors of all ponykind, and we will do whatever we want to do! Starting now!” Suddenly, Korsan’s limp body springs back to life. His hind boots extend into claws and grab the nearby crossbow. He pulls away from the incoming sabre. He aims his hind legs at Isyan with the trigger set. Without any hesitation or time for his cousin to react, Korsan fires. The crew gasps and leaps in shock as the sound of the metal bolt accelerating from the crossbow shatters the silence. The green and grey bolt strikes Isyan directly in the horn. The stallion releases a bloodcurdling shriek as thousands of the shattered bits of horn rain down onto his face. From under the thick lays of iron cable, the sound of gears rapidly whirring roars across the ship. With all of his might, Korsan rips out of the chains that once held his body stiff. Broken links and shards of steel shower down onto everypony, turning their sights into nothing but chaos and panic. Isyan, seeing the free stallion now charging at him, releases another scream of terror. Korsan swiftly snatches his captor by the throat and barbarically smashes him into the mast behind them. He then pins Isyan’s back to the tall tower of wood and stares at the scared-white pony with his warped eye. A small smile forms on the captain’s mouth as well as a menacing chuckle that croaks from his throat. “Korsan!”

Korsan hysterically barks at the shriveling relative, “Hahaha! Oh yeah, I love it! More!”

Isyan can only stamper as the mad pirate holds his body, still riling in pain, “K-K-K-”

“What are you waiting for? Summon your followers again! Squish me! Choke me! Put me to the blade again!”

“Y-you’re a monster! More than a monster! A-a demon!”

“How may I ask?”

“Y-you’re supposed to be blind! It’s impossible for you to see!”

“This eye right here’s blind you say? I see the truth in this eye. And do you know what it sees? All it sees are monsters! You’re a monster, they’re monsters, I’m a monster! We’re all monsters, and I’m terrified out of my life! I love it! I love it all!”

“You’re ludicrous! Please let me go!” As the hornless unicorn weeps and pleas, Korsan’s tone begins to apparently calm down, but the grin on his face grows even wider.

“Mad? Hehe… Aren’t we all? You’re a fair share of madness as well. Shall I tell our audience of how you got here? I’ll tell them. You were locked away in a dinky prison for the murder of one of our own family members. Isn’t that something? I only thought of you as a mere punching bag when I picked you up, a toy I can vent my frustrations onto. However, you ended up being a bigger pain than I ever imagined, a thorn to the eyes and ears.”

“Please, I beg for forgiveness!”

“Oh, but aren’t pirates supposed to be ruthless? Hm? You said so yourself.”

“You know what, you-you’re right! I was an idiot. Yeah, let’s all have a laugh. Hahahahaha-” Immediately, Korsan snaps back into his deranged state and slams the back of Isyan’s head into the mast, laughing upon seeing his cousin black out for a second.

“Laugh it up! That’s right! Laugh at me! Humiliate me! Scare me! It’ll be all the more rewarding when I spill your guts!”

“No-no-no-no-no-no! I’m not laughing at you! I’m your cousin! Please! Spare me!”

“Now’s about time that we finish this.” Slowly, the pirate pegasus drags Isyan to the edge of the boat, not even paying mind to the crossbow still clenched in his hind hooves. The other ponies watch in horror as their leader holds Isyan over the edge by the neck, not even daring to take a step towards the snapping pirate.

“You wouldn’t do this to your cousin would you?” Frantically, Isyan paws at the bipedal stallion as tears pour from his eyes and fall into the ocean a kilometre below his hanging hooves. Seeing his boatswain struggle causes Korsan to break out into laughter before eventually returning into his calmer tone.

“Farewell, dear cousin, Isyan Karsi Maden.”

“Please don’t kill me! I’ll do anything you want!”

“Oh, I’m not going to kill you. The water will, either shattering your bones into millions of bits and turning your organs to mush, or causing you to exhaust your energy and slowly drown, a far worse result.”

“Please! I’m begging you! Let me go!”

“…Very poor choice of words.”

“No!”

“Adieu.” With one twitch of a muscle, Korsan lets go of Isyan, dropping him off of The Perfection and to his death. The screams of the traitor painfully echo throughout the entire sky for an endless minute before fading away. The onlooking ponies can only stand and take in what they have all seen and heard. After watching Isyan fall into the rolling waves below, Korsan slowly turns his head back towards his crew, all of them speechless. Korsan’s voice turns to a serious character as his grin disappears, “Anypony else?”

“No sir, Captain Korsan.” The ten ponies of Faction quietly reply in unison.

“Figures.”

“Can I get you anything Captain?” Horus nervously asks, almost yipping as the scarred eye darts to his direction.

“Nothing for now, I just need some room to ease up for now. Oh yeah, free Chopin from the boom pole.”

“Is it true what you said?” Slasher asks, slowly sliding her away out of Maria’s frozen stance. “Are we monsters?”

“…We all are. The only thing we can do about it is to put ourselves closer to the divine and pure. Isyan just wanted riches, he didn’t care about who was in his way nor how dirty his hooves would’ve become from the blood of the pure. He was one of the worst monsters.”

“Sir?” Yu hesitantly asks, “What about Faction-”

“I’m now taking care of that. Ryan Aran, Butch Taylor, Maria Vanshwitz, Clara Rosebud, Lazarus Lazuli, Jack Cauld, Fawnswa, Salty Bob, Anton Chugs, Blackgate Beardsworthy,”

“Yes Captain?” The named ponies reply in shame.

“Are you all loyal to me?”

“Yes.”

“Have you disassociated yourselves with Isyan Maden?”

“Yes.”

“Are you telling the truth?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to listen to everything I say and follow my command without second thoughts?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I expect you all to clean up your mess. As for the rest of you, proceed with your own business as usual.”

“Sorry to bother you Korsan,” Lilis sheepishly speaks, “but are you well?”

“…I don’t know. I don’t know.”

“Is there anything I can do to-”

“No. Anything else?” A silent response is given. “I’ll be in my quarters.” Quietly, Korsan makes his way back to the quarterdeck. On his way, he kicks up his crossbow to his top hooves, which tuck the weapon into his cape. Without a word, the other crew members slowly return to their normal business. Eventually, only Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Slasher, Alexander, and the eight prisoners remain, alone at the bow.

“He’s snapped.” Alexander solemnly remarks to the others. “Insane that stallion has become, a real pity it is. I hope that it doesn’t affect us in anyway.”

“What if he’s right?” The brown mare replies.

“Who?”

“Isyan. What if we do respect Korsan out of fear?”

“…Yes.”

“Oh…”

“It’s better to fear and live the good life than to rebel and die, that’s for certain.”

“What?” Twilight exclaims, “That’s the opposite of ‘better’.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you ashamed of the ponies you have made to suffer, even killed, just for this’ good’ life?”

“You don’t think I am? It’s an unfair world. A little shame is worth it.”

“It doesn’t have to be an unfair world Alexander.”

“It can be a beautiful place of harmony.” Fluttershy replies.

“If you fight for what’s right, it will be.” Rainbow Dash adds.

“But it won’t be easy.” Applejack proclaims.

“Sacrifices will have to be made.” Rarity declares.

“But it’s all worth it in the end.” Spike responds.

“Yeah!” Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle cheer.

“You really think so?” Slasher asks, a hint of hope begins to spark inside as she sees these ponies so optimistic in the face of danger.

“We know so.” Twilight answers.

“…”

“As your friends, we can help set you on the right path.” Rarity voices.

“But why? What have we done to deserve this respect from you?”

“Because we’re friends.”

“We are? But we-”

Twilight calmly interrupts, “Seeing as how Rarity is so keen on protecting you all, I am more than certain that all of you are good ponies inside. As Princess of Friendship, it is my duty to uphold the magic of friendship in all ponies.”

“But the letter-”

“Do you honestly think that I’d give up that easily?”

“Yeah,” Spike adds, “it was merely a trick to send an emergency notification to Princess Celestia.”

“And Korsan bought into the whole thing.” Pinkie cheers.

“So expect help to come any day now.” Applejack concludes.

“Reality check,” Alexander frantically retorts, “did you not just see what Korsan did to Isyan? He’s going insane! At any moment, Korsan will be going from a calm pony into a bloodthirsty lunatic. If he finds out about this, we all might be thrown over. I suggest that we don’t start anything and just stick to our old ways.”

“What about Celestia?”

“Whatever sized armada she’s bringing, it won’t be enough to stop Korsan. Not to mention that he has Princess Twilight as a prisoner and valuable ransom piece.”

Twilight replies, “As long as he doesn’t know, or isn’t about to do something dramatic, we should have enough time to think of something.”

“Who said I was joining in this rebellion?”

“Are you going to tell us off to Korsan?” Slasher asks intimidatingly.

“…No, I’m just, curious.”

“What should we do?” Rarity asks.

“First, gather as many pirates as you can, get them to join our side.” Twilight answers, “The more team members we have, the less Korsan will when Celestia arrives.”

“So,” Alexander questions, “another Faction?”

“Yes. Only this time, it’s for the right reasons.”

“Count me in!” Slasher declares.

“What about Korsan? Aren’t you one of his loyalist members?”

“As much as I respected him, I’m realizing that all that was, was fear. I no longer want to be part of that fear and start my life right.”

“Well then, welcome to Faction Two.” Suddenly, a loud hum roars across the massive airship. Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Slasher, and Alexander immediately recognize the sound as the captain testing his speaker pipe.

“It’s Korsan, he has an announcement.” Three metal taps sound off throughout the small channels. Everypony onboard quiets down from their activities and turn their attention to what’s coming next.

Korsan’s voice then echoes from the speaking pipes with a foreboding message, “My friends, it has often been said between you crew members that I like war. Rumours that sneak under my nose, yes? Thought that I wouldn’t catch on? Well I did, and I wish to dash these rumours. My friends, I like war. No, friends, I love war! I love it all. I love blitzes, I love defensive lines, I love sieges, charges, I love mop-up operations, and retreats. Wars across prairies, in streets, in trenches, in grasslands, in frozen tundras, through deserts, on the sea, in the air, I love every act of war that can occur upon this world. I love the thrill, the power, the scale, the rewards, the action, the peril, the risk, the risk of death! Every time I am one sword swing away from demise, I enter euphoria. I love blasting the enemy to smithereens with artillery salvos that thunder across the lines of battle in every direction. My heart leaps with joy whenever a pony is tossed high into the air and blown to pieces by well-placed explosive rounds. And there is nothing like my grand galleon using its one hundred guns to destroy enemy ships, and the feeling that comes when an entire crew runs screaming from their blazing brig, only to be swallowed by the ocean below, is such an exquisite feeling. Like when ranks of infantry brandish their blades and rushing into the enemy’s territory. It moves me deep within my heart to watch a fresh recruit stabbing over and over into the bloated chest of a long-dead unit of resistance, filling the blood-lust that had been empty for all of his previous years of a life of contained anger and rage. The sight of deserters being captured and held for ransom is an irresistible pleasure, especially when a little torture is involved. And there is nothing more arousing, than the sounds made by soldiers of defense dropping like flies, screaming in agony as they're mowed down by ear piercing cannons! When a band of pitiful resistance fighters makes their final stand with nothing but their own hooves, only to have their city smashed to mites of dust block by block by solid lead balls, I'm in ecstasy.

Now, don’t call me crazy, but this next part, the part that I love most, is a bit of a doozy for the easily sickened. But, what I love even more, is my crew, all of you, under attack. I love it when my forces are ravaged by an entire armada of war ships. It intrigues me, like a good book, to see the character I have been rooting for my entire life, throwing their safety out the door and facing up to the massive enemy, and perhaps even be killed. I love to be squashed under the hooves of the nation’s strongest soldiers. The humiliation, as my crew crawl around like vermin, ducking from arrows and balls of metal flying overhead. But be rest assured this is not merely for some sort of masochist’s enjoyment inside of my soul, merely. When the time is right, those who squashed us get squashed back, a reward that’s completely worth the cost and risk. In its entirety of rewards, costs, risks, and power, I love war with all of my heart and soul. Gentlecolts and mares... All I ask for is war, a war so grand as to make Tartarus itself tremble. Sea artists, I ask you as fellow brothers and sisters under my infinite wisdom, what is it that you really want? Do you wish for further war as I do? Do you wish for a merciless, bloody war? A war whose fury is built with iron, and lightning, and fire? Do you ask for war to sweep in like a tempest, leaving not even ravens to scavenge our target’s remains, from this Earth? ...Very well. Then battle is what you shall have. We are a clenched hoof, ready to strike down all who oppose us, with our might. But... After having our ancestors’ legacy enduring over many centuries wallowing in the darkness by these inferiors, for us, a simple "ordinary" war will no longer be sufficient. We need a massive war! A war beyond any other that pony's history has ever known! One that shall alter the course of history and restore all of our future descendants to the glory we as an entire species deserve!

Yet, I can sense doubt still among you gazing upon me, for good reason. We are but a single battalion. We are the remnants of a long defeated cause now numbering merely a hundred strong. However, I believe that each of you warriors is equal to a thousand of their inferior might! We represent a force that could easily defeat an army of a million and one ponies, one hundred thousand fully rigged brigantines, ten thousand factions, and a thousand countries combined! It is time for them to awake the ones who sent us screaming into madness, to obscurity, and who now lie sleeping. Let's drag them out of bed by the mane, and remind them of what we are! We will remind them of what it feels like to live in fear, in inferiority, in pain. We will remind them of the sound of our ancestors’ greatest powers grinding against their throats. We will remind them, that there are more things between birth and death than are dreamt of in their philosophy. Our legion of one hundred mighty unicorns is going to burn this wretched world down to ash. Yes, my friends! We shall begin a assembly of new eras, starting with the war against all of the known world! But first, we shall strike Equestria, the leading country of this old world, and turn it into a beacon of our new world. Soon, Equestria's charred remains will illuminate the night sky! I have brought you all glory, riches, and power, just as I promised I would. All that now remains is your cooperation in this final campaign, our greatest campaign! Back to our favorite battlefield. Back to our beloved war! At last, the sea lion has crossed the ocean and is heading up the hill. Attention, all soldiers of The Perfection! This is a message from your captain, Korsan Arasinda Maden. …Friends, let’s bring them Tartarus.”