After a month at sea and two more raids, each yielding more loot than the bait ship, the Prickly Biter pulled into port on the island of Tortuga. As soon as the ship was secured and the gangplanks were down, the crew went to work, ready to sell their treasure, maintain the ship, and have a good time. Or, as Captain Chris described it, have fun, get drunk, and make loads of money.

Searing (who had started keeping Sharkbite with her at all times) had a task of her own: taking a list of various fabrics, materials, and some of the finer pieces of jewelry to a certain store. This led into Searing's personal mission: more clothes. Her one set was getting stale, and she was still blocked from her accumulated wardrobe. Fortunately, both issues could be addressed by going to one place and talking to one woman. Her name was Silver Belle, and there was no piece of clothing she couldn't make, if she had the materials and a design, and she had a lot of designs.

Searing found the shop and entered. "Hello?"

"One moment, please!" A woman shouted from the back of the store. E X A C T L Y one approximate moment later, she came out. Her skin was a silvery white, her curled hair was a bright purple, and her almond shaped eyes were bright blue. "What do you need?"

Searing took a moment to get over the fact that the woman looked so much like Rarity before responding. "I've got some things to deliver to a Silver Belle. Is that you?"

"Who do you work for?" A hand went under the counter.

"Captain Chris of the Prickly Biter," Searing carefully said. "I've been with him for just over a month. I'm Searing Victory."

"Oh, him?" She relaxed after a moment. "Well, come on over. I'm Silver Belle. What does he have for me this time?" Searing handed her the scroll and Silver Belle started drooling. "Ohohohoho! He did good! Come with me and we'll go get them!"

The wagon ride from the store to the ship was yet another odd experience for Searing. She wanted to talk to the stallion that was pulling the wagon since she'd been without equine contact for so long, but at the same time, she knew he wasn't the same kind of equine she was. A one sided conversation like that would just be venting or something.

Captain Chris met them at the pier. "Ms. Belle! What a pleasure it is to see you."

"A pleasure as always," Ms. Belle said as Searing got off to retrieve the goods from the ship. "She's one of yours?"

"Aye, and the lass proved herself in her first raid. It was a bait ship, so there wasn't much loot. Still, she got herself a fancy sword she calls Sharkbite out of it, and that purple silk bit around her knee. Lass says it reminds her of a friend from her past."

"A Princess, perhaps?"

"Nae, me dame. Kept her vague, somethin' about her friend being wealthy, but not flauntin' it. No jewelry, worked hard five or six days a week, tougher than iron, and ferocious as a mewling kitten."

Silver thought for a moment. "I don't know of anyone like that."

"May not be a real gal. Only talked about 'er when I asked. Clammed up and went to 'er cabin real fast after that. Only saw her in passin' to the poop deck the next day. That aside, she gets along well with everyone and pulls her weight on the ship."

"Meet me at Nancy's tavern tonight and you can tell me more about her. You've never told me any new crew stories."

"She's the first new one since the Prickly Biter was built."

Searing returned a moment later with Jabberwock. Between them were two long chests with three smaller ones riding on top. With Silver's assistance, they got the load loaded onto the wagon. It wasn't long before the ladies took their leave.

Silver, in her generosity, let Searing take a long bath upstairs while she washed the salty clothes downstairs. It wasn't anywhere close to the kind of bath Searing wanted, but it had warm enough water, decent soap, and just enough space for her to almost comfortably lay down in, so she wasn't about to be too picky.

After less than half an hour, Silver walked in. "Your clothes are clean, Searing. Some of them are rather. . . Interesting."

"Can we not talk about it?" Searing asked from her sunken posture. "Just. . . Can you make me some extras?"

"Do you want them to be the same?"

"As close as you can."

"You're talking to the Carribean's greatest seamstress. I'll have them ready before sundown tonight. You won't be able to tell them from the originals."

"Thanks."

A couple hours of waiting and lamenting the lack of internet later, Silver presented Searing with two of the velvet leggings, two of the light shirt, two corsets, three sets of the undergarments, and a belt with additional straps, one of which was for her thigh while the rest were for holding Sharkbite's sheath.

"This makes things so much easier," Searing noted as she tested the belt, then carefully drew Sharkbite from the secured sheath. "Thanks."

"Consider it part of my payment for the goods." Silver handed Searing a small pouch of coins. "And this will cover the rest. Find Nancy's tavern after you put your new clothes away. Your crew's going there tonight."

Later that evening, Searing found the tavern. The storefront was a lot smaller than she expected, and the actual tavern was underground. As Silver had said, her whole crew was there, celebrating and getting drunk. After looking around, she found Spyglass off to the side on his own, and went over to him. "Hey, I have a question."

"Yes, Searing?" Spyglass asked.

"What exactly is Tortuga supposed to be? Aside from an island."

"The simplest answer is a haven for pirates. There are no Royal Navy people here anymore, and there's an agreed upon code among the pirates. Basically, you just have to treat the people here right. Save the raiding behavior for the high seas, pay for what you want, and don't cause trouble."

"And if the Navy attacks, help with the defense."

"That goes without saying. Pray it never happens, but be ready if it does. Go have some fun with everyone."

Searing took Spyglass's advice, relaxed, and joined the festivities. Just because she was so far from home didn't mean she couldn't celebrate, after all.

Searing woke up on the bar with a pounding headache and a coat over her body. "Oww. . ." At the very least, she could tell she was still clothed, thanks to the presence of her corset and belt, though her boots weren't on her feet at all.

"Oh, you're up," Jabberwock noted. "You've been out for a while."

"What happened?"

"It started after you decided to, for whatever reason, try to down a whole mug of the pegleg potion in one shot. And then you did it. Everyone was surprised."

"Ohhh. . . hhhhh. . . After that?"

"You were dancing like a loon, peppering your words with Japanese, and, I was drunk, but I could swear you turned into a unicorn for a couple minutes."

Searing was suddenly a couple steps closer to sobering up. "What?"

"Bright red hide, gold mane and tail, bright blue eyes, and definitely a horn on your head."

"Y-you must have been. . . Hallucinating from the booze or something."

"Rum don't do that, lass."

Searing was laying on the bar, but she still felt cornered. "And what about it?"

"If you have that kind of talent, you might want to let us know."

"I'll think about it."

Jabberwock shrugged. "Not like anyone here is in any shape to hear about it anyways. Captain Chris is on the ship. At least talk to him about it when you return his coat."

"Fine, fine. Where are my boots?"

"Behind the bar. Nancy always puts lost boots and shoes there. If you find a drink with your boots, have it."

"Alright." Searing rolled to the side -"GAH!"- and landed right on a barstool. "Owwwww. . . . . Okay, I'm awake." Remarkably, her little tumble didn't wake up anyone else.

One pair of boots, a recovered hat, and a tall mug of water later, Searing was on her way to the Prickly Biter, Captain Chris's coat hanging off her shoulders and dramatically flowing behind her as she walked through town.

After losing her way for a couple minutes (and being distracted by a smithy for part of it), she finally made it onboard and to the captain's quarters. "Captain Chris?"

The captain in question looked up from a map on his desk. "Morning, Searing."

She walked up to the desk. "Here's your coat."

"Hey, thanks." Captain Chris put the coat on a rack behind the desk. "Before I send ye off on some errands, I want to see if ye can confirm somethin' some o' the crew's been sayin'."

"Are they saying I turned into a unicorn?"

"They be sayin' ye turned into a unicorn."

Searing went over to a rug and turned into a unicorn. "There. It's true. I can turn into a unicorn. Happy?"

"Yes. And nae. So many o' me childhood fantasies have been ruined."

"Like what?"

"The legend tha' only a virgin maiden pure of heart can see a unicorn. I'm none of those and I see a unicorn."

Searing turned back to her human form. "Let's do the big reveal out at sea. Doing it here would make too many waves in town."

"Ha!"

"Wha. . . Oh. Just give me my quest."

"Out in the forest is a guy that has barrels o' clean water. We need three wagons o' the stuff. I've already got some men bringin' up the empty barrels, so just go talk to him."

"You need water?"

Searing skipped any niceties, ignored the odd enthusiastic greeting, and got to the point. "Three wagons of clean water, for the Prickly Biter. Captain Chris is getting empty barrels ready to exchange now."

"Alright. Come with me and we'll get to business. Go ahead and take a seat on one of the wagons while I get my horse over here." Searing did as she was told and found the wagons, taking a seat. Looking back, she counted twenty neatly stacked barrels of water, loaded and ready to go. It wouldn't be long before the man came over, hitched up the horse, and started for town. "So, what's your name? I'm Shady Oasis, but most people just call me Shade."

"Searing Victory."

A few moments passed. "Not much of a talker, are you?"

"Not in the mood."

The rest of the trip was silent until they got to the pier. A second gangplank was in place, empty barrels waiting up top. Searing, eager to do something, followed the lead of the crew and started rolling the barrels up to the main deck. It was not easy, and she found herself wishing for some kind of mechanical system to move the barrels, or even just a cart of some kind. As much as she wanted to try using some levitation to make her task easier, she wanted more to keep it secret.

Searing wound up going back and forth with Shade two more times, helping move the full barrels each time. Only once Captain Chris had paid him did he leave them. Meanwhile, she pulled herself up onto a shroud, got somewhat comfortable, and let out an exhausted groan. "That wasn't fun."

"Never is, Searing," Captain Chris agreed. "Take a few minutes to rest and I'll see about gettin' ye another task."

Searing wouldn't have time to rest. "NAVY SHIP SIGHTED! BATTLE STATIONS!" Spyglass shouted from above.

"Oh come ON!" Searing shouted.

The crew moved about like a well oiled machine, drawing up the gangplanks and distributing arms while other men on the pier got ready to push the ship out and sounded alarms. At a signal, they pulled out and, along with a few other pirate ships, went to face the enemy.

Searing, frustrated, got on deck and waited with everyone. Sharkbite, as always, was ready. "Why are they attacking?"

"The Royal Navy hates us pirates, and wants to extend the King's reach so that they have more power," a crew member said. "It's not the first time they've tried to take Tortuga. We've faced them down three times before and won."

"Is there a plan?"

"Same one as always. Take out their cannons, board, kill, loot, and take the ship to the hidden dock."

"So we're not sinking it?"

"Tortuga's a bit short on wood and other stuff. These deck rails actually came from a Navy ship."

Spyglass updated them. "MORE SHIPS SIGHTED! FIVE TOTAL!"

"They've never sent that many. Well lass, if we don't make it, it's been fun knowing you."

Searing felt more determined. "I'm not backing down. Even if I have to face a whole ship of them alone, I will not lose. We will make it." A crazy idea came to her and she acted on it, heading straight to the figurehead and standing there, arms crossed and death glare in full effect.

"What are ye doin' lass?" Captain Chris asked. "We're about to go into battle, and here ye are just standin' there instead of not making ye visible."

"I refuse to hide." Her voice had enough steel in it to make any manly metal band shed a single manly metal tear in pride. "Against these kinds of odds and worse, my friend would not back down, and there's no way I could show myself to her without doing the same. I would not be living up to my name or my talent. Besides, if just standing here is enough to distract them, then so be it." She could swear she heard the sound of Dizzy clapping his wings. Somehow.

"THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING ODD, CAPTAIN!" Spyglass shouted. "TWO ARE COMING TOWARDS US! NO CANNONS, AND THEY HAVE GANGPLANKS READY!"

Captain Chris looked between Searing and the two ships headed their way. "I think they want ye, lass." He turned back to the crew. "MEN! IT LOOKS LIKE WE'LL BE FIGHTING TWO ROYAL NAVY CREWS AT ONCE! GET READY!"

In some kind of unspoken agreement with the enemy, the three ships lined themselves up, the Prickly Biter sandwiched in the middle. On the main deck, the fighting began. On the gun deck, the pirates fired their cannons because pirates don't fight fair. Searing turned around and got in on the action, swinging Sharkbite at all foes who tried to get her. Occasionally, one of the shark teeth would break off, but like the sharks it was themed after, the teeth grew back.

It became clear very quickly that the Navy were after Searing like she was some kind of treasure, probably to take to their king. She decided it was time to get into the thick of it and crossed over to one of the other ships, the sailors there surrounding her. One had the audacity to speak. "You are surrounded. Surrender, and you will live."

"Why should I?" Searing retorted. "Over here, there's no way I can miss." She went on the offense, moving with great speed through the sailors.

As she worked through the swarming sailors, she started putting some of her magic into the sword, shaping the matrices to do what she wanted. It took about twenty seconds of focus for her to remember the spells she wanted and channel them into Sharkbite. Once it was ready, she changed her technique and took a risk on a new strategy.

A sailor that charged her would be her first test subject, landing a couple of the teeth in his ribcage and twisting the blade, breaking them off. After Searing had put ten feet between him and herself, the teeth exploded, making the sailors pause. "Groovy," Searing cooly said before going back into the fray with her new technique and a smirk on her face.

It wasn't long before she fell into a rhythm. Swing, break, move. Swing, break, move. Swing, break, swing, break, move. The sailors were quick to catch onto her pattern and start prioritizing themselves over capturing her. They weren't necessarily the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they quickly learned that trying to shoot a fast moving target in the middle of their crew was a bad idea, as they started taking themselves out. Searing was not bothered by them taking each other out like idiots, since it made her survival that much easier each time they did.

She felt a rush from the thrill of the fight, outnumbered so badly but still winning. She didn't pay attention to who she fought beyond friend or foe. At some point, she fought and killed the captain, but he just flowed with the rest of them in her assault.

"Oy, Searing!" Salty said as he, cutlass and pistol in hand, crossed over to the ship Searing had cleared and looked at the bodies on the deck. "I'm glad we're your friends."

"Are there more?" Searing asked with an unusual degree of bloodlust.

"No, we cleared out the other ship. We have some wounded, but nothing we can't handle."

"Ah. Well, that's good." Searing promptly fainted from exhaustion.

Searing woke up in her cabin. "Oww. . ." Her everywhere was sore, but she had to get out of bed. She was thirsty, hungry, and had to use the outhouse.

When she stepped on deck, she saw that they were still at port, and the sun was low on the horizon. The crew looked at her with a mix of concern and relief as she passed them, not exchanging any words.

After relieving herself, Searing saw Captain Chris leaning against the main mast. "Good evening, Captain," she said.

"Good morning, Searing," Captain Chris greeted. "And yes, it is morning."

Bewilderment crossed Searing's face. "Huh?"

He turned her head to face the sun. "That way's east."

"Oh. Oohhhhhhh."

"Ye did real well, lass. One Navy ship turned tail and fled, but we got the rest. There was some treasure, and after word got out about how ye cleared out nearly a whole ship alone, the rest o' the crews decided to get ye somethin' nice."

"If it's supper-"

"Breakfast."

"-I'll be fine with that."

"That's what Nancy has for ye. Ye other reward is at her tavern."

Searing shrugged. "I guess I'll go get it. Make everyone happy and all that."

Nancy the tavern wench saw Searing enter and got one of the bar patrons to vacate his spot for her, which he eagerly obliged. "Good morning, dear," she greeted. "Breakfast?"

"Please," Searing groaned out as she gracelessly sat down. "A big breakfast with all the good stuff."

"Can do." Nancy went to the kitchen to start on the order.

As the breakfast was cooking, the pirate to Searing's right turned to her. "So, you're Searing Victory, are you?"

"What of it?"

"You have a reputation. Taking on a whole ship of Royal Navy sailors and leaving none alive is something nobody's done without blowing up the ship."

"Thanks, I guess."

After a few minutes of no conversation, Nancy came back with a platter full of eggs, meat, bread, fruit, and potatoes, causing her eyes to widen. "Is that all. . ."

"All yours, Searing."

"Except for this bit." The pirate she had talked to speared one chunk of seasoned potato and quickly ate it.

Searing, in spite of her ravenous hunger, couldn't help but chuckle. Once the laughter was done, she picked up her own fork. One would be forgiven for thinking there was treasure under the massive mound of food with how quickly she was shovelling it in. One would also be forgiven for wondering just where it was all going.

Finally, and with a bit of offered help from the pirates on either side of her, the plate was cleared off. "Aaaahhhhh. . . Is nice."

"There's something else for you." Nancy came out from behind the bar and led Searing to a table with something covered by a white cloth on it. "Go ahead."

Searing pulled the cloth off and saw a treasure chest. She opened it and saw a folded up long coat made of black leather and yellow fabric, its pattern being reminiscent of hazard stripes, especially on the lapels. She put it on immediately and discovered a few features. There were a few metal clips inside that fit neatly on her belt and the top of her corset, and the lower half, on the left side, had an opening through which she could fit the straps that held Sharkbite. The bottom of the garment came down to just above her ankles, longer in the front than the back.

The coat fit her very well. It wasn't a perfect fit, but it was still very good, and most importantly, she felt awesome. "I have no complaints." At the statement of her opinion, a cheer filled the tavern. One of the patrons near her looked her over again, paused, and started laughing. "What?" The tavern grew silent.

"Sorry, sorry," the patron said. "I just realized that the coat doesn't go with the nickname you've gotten: The Red Mist."

"The Red Mist?"

"It was all anyone could see on that ship that you were clearing out. Not sure how you did it, but we're glad you did."

Searing considered the nickname. "Well, I like it." She turned to the rest of the tavern. "Thanks, everyone." With a tip of her tricorn and no further words, Searing left the tavern with a smile.

Author's Notes:

Searing's new technique is sponsored by TORGUE. Why? EXPLOSIONS, that's why.