I am Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?

by The Loner

First published 3rd of September, 2021

Captain Jack Sparrow finds himself in a strange world after misfortune befalls him, his ship, and his crew

Captain Jack Sparrow survived his encounter with Armando Salazar, only to find himself being chased across the seven seas relentlessly. He is cornered and defeated, then left to die. With his ship intact, and what crew are left alive, he calls for aid which comes in an unexpected form. He finds himself in a world unknown to him, forced to start life anew knowing nothing of this world, with his ship slowly sinking into the sea.

Chapter 1: I must fight to run away

Captain Jack feels excruciating pain coming from his right hand and releases his grip on the wheel to clutch his hand in agony as he watches the Revenge keep pace on the starboard side when it fires another salvo at his ship yelling, "TAKE COVER!" and turns his head toward the Revenge briefly, shouting, "WILL YOU STOP BLOWIN' HOLES IN MY SHIP!" He then hears the incoming cannonballs and looks down at his hand for a moment, seeing that it is not injured at all thinking, 'Why is this happening to me?'

He then feels some of the balls strike the stern, seeing the opposite rail on the other side turn into splinters and fly towards him. Covering his face with his arms, he blocks most of the shrapnel, however, his body is peppered by the debris and a couple of pieces pierce his upper left thigh and his right forearm. He feels the ship rock from the salvo landing a heavy blow to the Pearl, sending him flying into the port side railing of the ship. He removes the pieces and almost shouts the order to fire when he starts to hear heavy cracking and looks around for what might be causing it when his eyes land on the center mast, watching as it slowly leans further and further towards the port side when he hears a crewmate he recognizes as Gibbs shout, "She's coming down!"

Jack gets back to his feet and shouts, "Prepare to defend the Pearl!" He draws his cutlass with his left arm and prepares for the inevitable fight he cannot seem to avoid and yells, "Fire!"

Angelica looks at the heavily damaged hull of the Black Pearl, impressed that it is still afloat after taking three broadsides from the revenge. Seeing the Black Pearl firing another salvo in return, she smiles sinisterly as she is about to finally avenge her father's murder saying, "I have finally cornered you, Jack. Will you leave behind your precious Pearl to save your own hide, or will you stay and fight to keep it though I have no interest in taking the Pearl from you."

Carina sighs looking at the battered Black Pearl's hull and looks to Angelica, feeling sad for what is happening to the beautiful ship saying, "Why are you so determined to avenge your father, Angelica? What did Jack do that makes you so angry?"

She looks to her and narrows her eyes saying, "Jack murdered my father when he tricked him into drinking from the wrong cup, just as he is responsible for your father's death as well! I will never forgive Jack for taking my father from me. Didn't you want to meet your father and have him be a part of your life?"

At the mention of her father, she rests her right hand on the hilt of her father's sword and says, "Yes I did, but I honestly think that Jack gave him the opportunity to save our lives as we clung onto the anchor chain as it was raised back up. Jack must have been concerned for you because he only tries to save those he cares for."

Angelica scoffs and looks away saying, "If he cared for me, he would not have lied to my father like that." She then looks to the crew and shouts, "Prepare to board, have your weapons ready!" She then watches the grappling hooks fly towards the Pearl and land on her deck, then drawn tight as they begin to pull her in closer.

Jack watches Queen Anne's Revenge draw his ship closer and yells, "For the Pearl!" He then sees the other ships' crew start swinging over on ropes when his eyes land on Angelica on one of the ropes, making her way to where he is, then says, "Fight 'til you can't fight anymore, I'd rather die than lose the Pearl again!"

Battle erupts as the sailors from the Revenge land on the Black Pearl's deck, looking forward to the thrill of getting into a sword fight that could very well be their death. The sound of swords clashing together and pistols being fired fill the air with the smell of gunpowder and the metallic scent of blood being shed, the atmosphere of intense fighting surrounds the Pearl as the sailors try to kill each other to claim victory.

Angelica exchanges sword strikes and kicks with her ex-lover for nearly twenty minutes, trying to avenge the death of her father at his hand. Annoyed with how evenly matched they are, she comes up with an idea to get the upper hand and changes tactics.

He parries her overhead strike as she quickly spins around and delivers a backward kick into his stomach, sending him back a few steps to land on his rear and coughs for a moment. He swiftly returns to his feet by using his legs to create the momentum to carry him upward, landing on his two feet once again then says, "Why have you been chasing me everywhere I go, Angelica? What could this poor sod of a man have done to wrong you?"

Without losing focus, she tosses her sword into the air and grabs the dagger hidden behind her vest with her left hand and the doll her father made of Jack in her right. She turns around to face him with the doll and dagger in either hand, holding them up for him to see saying, "Do you seriously not remember what you did to my father!? You tricked him with the wrong cup and forced me to take his years of life and watch the life be stripped from him and given to me! That is not all you did to me either, you then marooned me on an island with a sword and a pistol with only a single shot. You do nothing but ruin the lives of others that you come across Jack! You ruined Carina's life right when she had only just learned that Barbossa was her real father, you were selfish and thought of how to keep yourself safe and get rid of your enemy! You murdered her father, you bastard! Do you have any remorse for your actions, or do you just not care what happens to others?!"

Jack raises his pistol and aims it at her, then cocks it as he feels nervous about what she might do then replies, "I tricked him because he didn't truly care for you, but you could not see that because you were blinded by your love for him. Couldn't you tell that he did not care for how others looked at him, or that he actually enjoyed the misery he brought unto others? I knew you hated me for what I did, but thought that you would come around and see the fact that I did what I do best because I care deeply for you. As for Barbossa's death, it was unavoidable because he was the only one close and skilled enough to pull off such a move."

Angelica places the skinny dagger's tip against the doll's head and grinds it into it a little bit saying, "You do not get to ignore what you did! You must answer for all of the lives that you have ruined throughout every one of your schemes, and today is the day you will finally pay." She then drags the dagger's tip to the doll's midsection and drives it into it until the tip emerges from the back. Ignoring his screams, she turns the dagger around in her hand so the point is down, then raises it high above her head with the doll stuck onto the dagger. Using her strength, she brings her fist forward and drives the dagger into the aft mast as Jack shouts out in agony. She releases her grip on the dagger and lets it stay stuck into the mast and catches her sword by the hilt with her right hand, then spins to her left in a flourish and starts to drive the sword towards Jack's chest.

He cringes in pain and watches the sword tip coming towards him, shifting the pistol a bit further down and to the left to miss her heart and says, "I cannot bring myself to kill someone I care for, but I will give you something to remember me by." He then pulls the trigger as the tip of the sword pierces his skin, just missing his heart by an inch.

She hears the pistol go off and feels the round punch right through her chest and screams out in pain, taking a few moments to look at him saying, "Do you have any last requests before you die, Jack?"

Jack coughs as the hilt of the sword rests against his chest and says, "Just one Angie...don't take my ship from me, I wish to be her last captain."

Angelica clutches her wound and smiles weakly then replies, "Very well Jack, I had no intention of taking her from you. I just wanted to avenge my father, this is goodbye, Jack, may you find happiness in your next life." She then kisses his cheek and pulls her sword out of his chest and sheathes it while making her way back to the rope she swung over on, then returns to the Revenge to leave the Pearl to its fate.

Gibbs clutches his side and watches Angelica return to the Revenge with a few surviving members of the boarding party that came over. Hearing her give the order for the ship to sail away so they can escape the coming storm, he makes his way towards the helm where Jack was fighting Angelica and sees him holding his chest with his right hand and keeping himself upright with his left and calls out, "JACK! Are you going to survive long enough for us to try to get aid?"

He coughs and then shakes his head saying, "No mate, I'm determined to be the Pearl's last captain. I will stay with her until she goes down and takes me with her."

His eyes tear up at hearing that and says, "Then I am going to stay alongside you Cap'n. I prefer a life sailing the sea rather than a life on land."

Jack is about to protest when he starts to hear a few of the other crew elect to stay with the ship until the end and smiles at his crew and grabs a bottle of rum sitting beside the helm and raises it in a toast saying, "Here's to a great crew right to the end, may us be better pirates in the next." He then takes a swig from the bottle and then says to the crew, "Let us pray our luck is better in the next life. All of you return to your quarters to get some rest, I will stay here and man the helm."

Gibbs watches the crew head below decks for some rest and spots something stuck into the mast, then walks over to it and pries it free saying, "What in the blazes did Angelica do to you with this doll Jack?"

He sighs in relief from the excruciating pain and says, "She used that doll to get the upper hand in our fight, she really did learn from the best. I gave her a wound in return to remember me by, so the fight was not a complete defeat. Go get some shuteye, you look like hell mate."

He then nods to the captain and makes his way below deck to his bunk, then stops for a moment to say, "I wonder what awaits us in the next life Cap'n?"

Jack looks to his first mate and says, "I don't know what awaits mate, but we will be better prepared for it. Be it living dragons, gryphons, or any other such mythical creatures, we will be prepared for anything mate."

Gibbs continues on his way below and looks up at the sky, seeing it start to cloud over and says, "I hope the storm's not too rough Cap'n, the ship can't take much more if she's gonna ease back to the depths from whence she came."

He looks up at the sky and replies, "So do I mate, so do I. It would be best to batten down the hatches to be sure mate, I'll keep an eye out for bad weather." He then watches him go down and pass along the order to the men, hearing them close and secure all hatches and doors. When it all falls silent, he looks out to see that the Revenge has put quite some distance between them and looks to his starboard side saying, "If you're out there Dutchman, why don't you come on up and show yourself!" He watches for a few minutes when the Dutchman quickly rises out of the ocean a short distance behind the Black Pearl, sending water arcing forward past the prow.

Davy Jones chuckles and lets go of the wheel as the Dutchman comes alongside the Pearl, shaking his head at the state of the ship and makes his way towards the center of the ship saying, "Tie her off and lay a plank across the deck, I must have words with the Captain."

Jack places a hand over his injury, breathing heavily as he watches the Dutchman's crew bring the Pearl closer and lays a plank across her deck. He sees a very different person making his way towards the plank and asks, "Who's the captain of the Dutchman if Davy Jones is dead?"

He looks at Jack and says, "You bested me just off the coast of a sand bar after Calypso was set free, do you remember that battle?"

He sets his bottle of rum down and twiddles his beard saying, "You mean to tell me you saw that fight, tell me your name."

Davy Jones sighs and steps onto the Pearl's deck saying, "I won't tell you something you already know Jack, this ship might be in even worse shape now than when I raised it from the depths."

Jack figures out what he is saying and draws his sword then replies, "How are you alive after Will stabbed your heart, Jones?"

He continues to walk forward, with his tentacle-free beard swaying with each step. His peg leg raps out a slow rhythm on the planks as he makes his way towards Jack Sparrow and says, "It was you who killed me, you just made that boy's hand grip the sword hilt while you controlled his arm when it pierced my heart. I am thankful for you defeating me, it allowed me the chance to reunite with my beloved. After the Trident of Poseidon broke and released every curse it held, my beloved asked me to ferry souls to the other side. Now that I am free of the curse, I don't have to wait ten years to see her again. I do have one thing to ask you though, Jack. Do you fear death?"

The cunning pirate chuckles and takes another swig from the bottle then says, "Not anymore mate, and my crew elected to stay here with me til the Pearl goes down and takes us all with her. So we will not be joining your crew today, how is your beloved goddess by the way?"

Davy Jones smiles saying, "She's always been by my side wherever I go, only she can tell you how she is." He then looks out to the sea below the Dutchman and says, "Perhaps you may choose to come and greet Jack before he and his crew move onto the next life."

Calypso rises out of the sea in a swarm of thousands of tiny crabs, crawling up onto the Dutchman's deck to create the human form she desires, eventually saying, "I do indeed wish to greet the one who reunited us after a misunderstanding." As the last crab crawls into place, she makes her way over to the Black Pearl, surveying the damage she suffered as the Dutchman's crew all kneel or bow before her presence. Ignoring them all, she crosses over onto the Black Pearl and shakes her head saying, "The damage to this ship is severe, but it shall survive to sail the sea once more."

They both look at the approaching goddess as Davy Jones raises an eyebrow saying, "I thought I was to ferry them to the beyond, what is the meaning of this my love?"

She jerks her eyes to her lover and narrows them in warning saying, "Do not question my choices, you should be grateful that I gave you a second chance after you betrayed me." She turns her head back to Jack and says, "Your purpose is finished on this world, but your destiny lies in another."

Jack smirks and scoffs, sheathing his sword while saying, "Commitment is overrated, though love can be useful in getting what you want."

Calypso narrows her eyes at Jack and points a finger towards him and shouts, "Do not forsake commitment, for it is just as precious as love. You should not abuse love Jack for it makes you stronger, you have a lot to learn about being a noble man, as well as truly understanding what chivalry means when you love another. I hope you find its meaning before something bad happens to you, enjoy your journey to the next world Jack. Should you find something dangerous on your travels, keep it away from those that would use it for evil. Fare thee well Jack Sparrow, may the winds favor you." She then turns back into thousands of tiny crabs and returns to the sea to await her love to take Jack to the world she intends him to go.

He looks at Davy Jones and sighs saying, "Do all divine beings enjoy leaving mortals with more clues and questions than clear answers?"

Davy Jones chuckles lightly and nods his head saying, "Her father is even worse than she is, he hides his clues in riddles and rhymes. Are you ready to be on your way Jack, it is rude to keep a goddess waiting you know?"

Jack looks around at the horizon as it starts to rain and says, "I am ready for what lies ahead. I must say that you look much less terrifying this way, can you tell me where we're heading at least?"

He looks to the sea in front of the Black Pearl and shakes his head saying, "Thank you for the compliment, Jack. Unfortunately, I do not know which world she intends to send you. I have been to many worlds, and each of them is different. I was joking when I asked if you feared death, I have forgiven all debts that were owed to me before I fell, that includes yours as well. Let's be on our way then, I shall call the Kraken and have it follow me with your ship in tow. Enjoy this rare privilege of getting to go to another world still breathing, no other soul has ever had it before."

His eyes open wide as he says, "The beastie's still alive, I thought it was lying dead on the beach in the locker mate."

Davy Jones looks to Jack and says, "It is still lying there, the goddess has blessed me with another." He then turns around and makes his way back to his ship.

Jack watches as the captain returns to his ship's helm and shouts orders to get underway, the crew works swiftly to return the plank and untie the ropes. He continues to watch the Dutchman as it reaches a fair distance ahead of the Pearl when he hears a single, heavy thump and says, "And here we go again with being dragged into the sea. At least this time, we will be going to a new world rather than the locker for punishment." He watches an odd wave pass beside his ship as several large tentacles emerge, making their way along the length of the ship and wrap around the crippled mast lying portside in the water. He watches as the bow begins to drop down into the water and shouts, "All hands take a breath, we're going down!" He corks his rum bottle and holds onto the wheel as the ship continues to sink further into the ocean, closing his eyes to protect them from the seawater.

He looks behind him to see the Kraken still following him into the ocean, turning his head the other way to see his love standing beside him looking ahead. He looks ahead to see a swirling, shimmering wall of light and makes his way towards it.

---

Meanwhile, in Equestria

Celestia prepares to raise the moon as she watches her sun sink past the horizon when a flash of green shoots up into the sky and briefly illuminates it before quickly fading away, drawing her full attention as she did not cause that in any way and looks to her steward and says, "Find the subject that is responsible for tainting my sky with that green flash of light and bring them to me at once!" She then stomps a hoof and scowls in aggravation at how her beautiful sunset was ruined and quickly raises the moon, crossing her arms and huffing through her nose as she taps a hoof in annoyance.

Somewhere in the Celestial Sea, east of Horseshoe Bay

Lucky Catch and his ten crewmembers pull up the net to find it full of fish saying, "It's another great haul today stallions, so bring it up, and let's start prepping them for the journey to the Griffish Isles!"

The crew responds to their captain saying, "Aye aye sir!" as a couple of sailors start fetching empty barrels from below for the fish as the others begin removing the guts and tossing them inside another barrel to earn extra bits.

Honest bit looks up from the fish he is cleaning and notices a shimmering coming from somewhere beneath the water several hundred yards starboard of the ship, squinting his eyes to get a better look saying, "Something is shining beneath the water's surface Captain, I can't quite tell what it is." He then finishes cleaning the fish and puts it in a barrel and grabs another one to start cleaning.

The captain raises a brow in curiosity, seeing the same thing saying, "How curious, I do not think there are any magifish this far north. They usually stay pretty far south and are very rare to find around here, let's see what I can make out with my glass..." He then pulls out his spyglass and looks at the glowing area in the water saying, "I'm glad that tonight is a full moon, otherwise we would not be able to see much at all."

The pegasi notices something rise out of the water and create a large splash and says, "Sir, I saw a splash out there on the water! I...I think I see a ship, but it is hard to clearly make out from this distance."

Lucky Catch shifts his focus to the surface and scans for what his crewman saw and spots a large and unfamiliar ship, seeing that it has sails seeming to be made entirely from seaweed saying, "I-Impossible, it's just an old pony's tale..." He looks again and sees the intricate golden carvings along the side of the ship when he hears another large splash and looks around to see a massive creature with many long tentacles wrapped around something looking like a ship and lowers his spyglass as sweat drips down his face and puts his spyglass away saying, "Mother of Celestia, its the Dutchman and the Kraken! Make all the sail we can, we must get away from here or we're all doomed!" He then watches the crew scamper around the deck and raise the four sails of their small crayer, then heads to the helm and cranks the wheel hard to port to return to the port town of Baltimare.

Jack watches as the Kraken releases its hold on the ship and heads back to the depths as the Dutchman also returns to where he came from and uncorks his bottle of rum saying, "Now where might I find a safe place to repair my ship and find aid..." He takes a swig from it and returns the cork, then pulls out his compass and opens it saying, "A pirates life for me...we extort and pilfer, we filch and sack. So drink up me hearties, yo ho."

Chapter 2: A new adventure lies ahead

Jack puts his compass away and looks at the remaining fore and aft masts, seeing the sails are fully open, he shouts, "All hands! Open every gunport and slide cannons away from the openings. Then grab every bucket you can find that can hold water and start throwing it back into the sea to buy this ship more time, we find ourselves in a new world with Goddess Calypso's blessing and Davy Jones's help. Get to scooping out seawater mates, because tomorrow is going to be a new day in a new world for us all!" He hears cheers coming from below and opens the compass again and adjusts his course due west, then snaps it shut and looks at his wound to see how bad the bleeding is and says, "Hopefully, with a wind like this we'll reach our destination within a few days if the flooding is slow enough, I hope the men can last that long until we get to where this compass points.." Reminding himself of heading towards the unknown destination, he looks over at the flag in the water and says, "Bring in the Jolly Roger, we don't know the colors of any nations in this world!" He then watches a couple of crewmembers head up on deck, and cut the rope holding the flag to the top of the mainmast then start pulling it on board to put the flag away until the time comes to fly it again.

Gibbs makes his way onto the deck, then towards Jack to dress his wound saying, "You should consider yourself lucky Jack, if Angelica wanted you to die quickly, she would have struck your heart. It seems that the bleeding is not all that serious, so I think that we all may yet live to see the morrow." He then looks at the crippled mainmast and says, "Shall I have the men cut it free and get rid of the drag?"

He looks to his first mate as he starts to dress his wound and says, "No mate, we don't know if the inhabitants of this world understand us or even have the same kind of ships we do where we came from. We will have to put up with the drag until we reach where this compass leads, I do pray they can fix this ship though. How bad is the Pearl taking on water, mate?"

The first mate sighs saying, "Well Cap'n, it isn't terrible. The men are working to close up some holes to slow the flooding to keep the Pearl afloat by throwing the water back out, I have done what I could to aid the men in dressing their wounds but I am no doctor and a few do need to see a surgeon as should you to have any hope to survive."

Jack smiles at Gibbs and says, "Have a few men we can spare get some rest and switch them out after a couple of hours, it is going to be a tough journey until we get there. The men won't be happy about this, but have them switch to half rations to make the food and drink last until we can repair the ship, heal the men, and resupply the Pearl."

A couple of days later at the small port town of Baltimare

An elderly pegasi pony sits in a chair on the dock sipping his cider ale when he spots something in the distance, making him put down his drink and raise the spyglass to his good right eye and takes a closer look at what it is and says, "That is neither an Equestrian ship, a Griffonian ship, nor even Saddle Arabian. It's certainly not the ghost ship I've 'eard tales of, so which unknown nation in Tartarus do you come from?" He then looks to the dockmaster and says, "Ship of unknown nation spotted near the bay's outskirts, hold a moment and I'll have a better description." He extends the spyglass fully and gets a better look at the distant ship and says, "Holy Celestia it is huge! It is completely black, has three masts, one of which is crippled and is being dragged." He continues looking at the ship and says, "It is some kind of a warship because I see cannons on her deck, she appears to be heavily damaged and managing to keep afloat. I would not want to face the ship that caused such damage."

The dockmaster rushes over to the elderly pegasi and holds a board with a paper on it, writing a letter to Princess Celestia describing it to her and asks, "Can you see ponies, griffons, or any beings on deck?"

The elderly pegasi examines the ship for any crew and spots one at the helm, standing off to the side saying, "I see something bipedal wearing a frock coat and a Tricone hat. I can't make out any further details until it gets a lot closer, my eyesight isn't what it used to be."

Jack pulls out his spyglass to check out the land ahead and sees structures of some sort along with a wharf having some people on it and says, "Gibbs, come up here at once!"

Gibbs hurries to the captain's side and says, "Aye Cap'n, what ya be needin' from me?"

He looks at him and asks, "Do we have a white flag onboard?"

The first mate thinks for a moment before nodding his head saying, "Aye Cap'n we do, are ya intending to surrender to them without a fight?"

Jack thinks for a moment before saying, "No mate I do not, but the crew and I require aid. I only hope that they understand my intention and don't attack us right away.

Gibbs nods his head and goes to find the white flag saying, "I sure hope ya know what you're doing Cap'n, I don't fancy being in a cell again."

He watches as his first mate spends a few minutes to find a flag as he notices a handful of ships in the harbor, deciding to keep a close eye on them for any potential threats that may arise.

A half hour later, at the castle's throne room in Canterlot

Celestia listens to another noble petitioner complaining about the lack of respect from the commoners and sighs saying, "I am not going to do anything about that because all ponies have the ability to control their own fate and to earn the respect they receive through their accomplishments in life, next petitioner please." She then hears the doors quickly open and watches as a pegasi courier rushes into the room, then comes to a stop and bows before her breathing hard. She then spots a scroll sticking out of a pocket in the pony's uniform and says, "What do you have to report, my little pony?"

The courier tries to catch their breath for a moment and then says, "Your Highness, I have news to report to you from Baltimare about a large warship belonging to no known nations in Equis. The ship has not yet reached the harbor and flies a white flag, here is the scroll containing the details of the matter." He then pulls out the scroll and holds it in his outstretched palm for her to take, anxious to return to Baltimare with her response.

She hastily takes the scroll from the courier, anxious to have something exciting to pull her out of the boring routine she has fallen into. Opening and looking through the report, her eyes go wide at the size of the vessel having three masts saying, "This ship is big having three masts, but why is it completely black? I shall investigate this personally, Court is adjourned for today and tomorrow. Guards, prepare a royal escort and a chariot, I shall be there momentarily." She then gets up as the guards hustle out of the room to follow their orders and makes her way to her chambers to wear a different outfit, trying to decide which outfit to wear today.

After reaching her chambers, she opens up her wardrobe and looks at the various dresses hanging in it. She then chooses a soft yellow dress with the skirt almost reaching her ankles, having a decorative lace trim around the shoulders and on the top half of the skirt with white frills at the edges of the dress. She then pulls the dress out to look at it closer, seeing that it has a scoop neckline with a few diamonds forming a loose ring around the middle of the dress. Choosing the dress, she places it on the bed and takes off the blue floor-length dress she wears for court. She tosses the dress onto the bed for the staff to clean it and stands there in her silver underwire silk bra and panties, then turns to look at her figure in the tall mirror and sighs saying, "I should lay off cake for a while and work on tightening my body, my posterior is almost as large as the moon." She then takes off her flat-heeled shoes and sets them near the bed, then goes to her drawer containing her shoes and finds a pair of gold shoes with a three-inch heel at the back, a long pair of ribbons to lace up her lower legs, and a short guard that protects the bottom edge of the hoof as well as keeping it from sliding around. She calls in her maids to dress her and watches as they enter the room and begin to put the dress on her and says, "As for my mane, put it up into a ballet bun. I wish to make a good first impression on the unknown visitors." She then recalls the ship putting up a white flag and showed heavy damage and looks to one of the maids saying, "Go and gather the three best healers you can and have them go to the chariot, there may be wounded on board that ship."

An hour and a half later, at the dock in the port town of Baltimare

The elderly pegasi's eyes are wide with wonder and fear as a ship with a hull and sails black as night, and having a figurehead looking like a female pegasus holding a dove with outstretched wings in her palm makes her way into the bay surpassing all of the warships Equestria has and counts sixteen cannons per side. He gulps audibly and looks to the dockmaster, who trembles nervously at its appearance and says, "I hope that they do not intend to attack us when they arrive, only Princess Celestia and her guards have the power to fight that ship." He takes another look at the being at the helm and says, "The creature at the helm is neither pony nor griffon, it has no fur, horns, hooves, wings, or even a tail for what I can tell." He then watches as a few rowboats hit the water, returning to their ships to make room for the incoming vessel.

The dockmaster hears the flapping of wings and the sound of armor and looks to the sky to notice Princess Celestia's chariot coming towards the port and says, "Princess Celestia is here, everypony clean up this area so Her Majesty stays clean!" He watches as every pony in the area start doing what they can to make the area clean for her arrival, he then begins hurriedly walking along the wharf to ensure that the ropes and crates are out of the way.

Celestia ignores the ponies scurrying around on the ground and focuses on the dark ship making its way further into the bay, noticing that it does not belong to any nation on Equis saying, "I wonder where that ship came from? I shall have words with her captain when they come to shore."

Just inside of Horseshoe Bay, onboard the Black Pearl

Jack watches the strange bipedal creatures run about onshore and calls out, "How nice of them, they are making the area more presentable for our arrival lads! Let's make a good impression in turn and be on our best behavior and try not to borrow anything!" He then notices something shiny in the sky and brings his glass out to examine it, seeing a flying carriage with winged creatures pulling it and wearing some sort of official-looking armor when he sees a creature inside the carriage wearing a golden crown and shouts to the crew, "BELAY THAT, take nothing but what is offered! We will be in the presence of royalty, be respectful and behave yourselves or we all will face the gallows or worse." He watches as the other ships in the bay begin moving out of their way, adjusting his course as he looks for a decent spot to bring the Pearl and moor her. He spots an empty space at the end of the longest dock on the right side of the wharf, noticing that there is a drydock but is much too small for his ship and says, "We may have to travel to a different port to get the proper repairs, but how might I pay for them? I shall have to think of that when the time comes, I need to reach this wharf first or my men will regrettably die."

He carefully maneuvers the Pearl closer to the longest dock and says, "Furl all sails lads and prepare to dock!" He then releases the wheel and takes another swig of his rum before tucking it away under his coat as the men furl the sails and toss lines to a few of the creatures on the dock, then makes his way from the helm down the stairs as a long boarding ramp is hoisted towards the deck with the aid of a couple of strong ropes and then set down upon the deck. He then calls for his first mate saying, "First Mate, come here at once and look presentable!"

Gibbs then does the best he can to look good in his condition, holding his side while he climbs up the steps onto the deck saying, "Aye Cap'n, what can I do ya fer?"

Jack looks him over and nods saying, "You've done the best you could in your condition mate, come with me for the introductions. Only speak when you are spoken to, and ixnay on whence we came eh? I will handle the important bits, I want you to relay orders to the crew as I say."

He nods his head in understanding saying, "Aye Cap'n, I'll follow yer orders, sir."

The captain then starts his way down the ramp and onto the dock, then towards the crowd of strange creatures on shore saying loud and clear, "Ahoy there, strange beings, might you understand the words I make?"

Princess Celestia then steps forward, closer to the wharf replying, "Yes, I understand what you say as do all ponies here. Who and what sort of being are you, and where do you hail from?"

Jack looks at the attractive being and says, "I and my crew are all humans, and each one of us is male. As for where we hail from, we hail from another world called Earth. Before I introduce ourselves, am I to assume that you are royalty?"

She smiles and nods her head slightly saying, "You are correct, I am Princess Celestia. I am the ruling princess of Equestria, and you are in Horseshoe Bay in the port town of Baltimare. Now if you would kindly introduce yourself and your friend there, we can continue with questions."

He removes his hat and bows before the princess and straightens his posture saying, "It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I am Captain Jack Sparrow, the one behind me is my First Mate Joshamee Gibbs. I only brought him with me to relay orders to my crew, might it be possible for them to receive aid for their injuries?"

Celestia nods her head again saying, "They shall receive the aid they require, please bring them ashore so the healers can tend to them right away."

Jack looks to Gibbs and says, "Go and begin bringing the men ashore, when that is done be sure to join them. I shall join you once everything has been taken care of mate."

Gibbs nods his head and says, "Aye Cap'n, I shall get to it immediately."

She then looks to the captain and asks, "What kind of ship is your vessel, and what happened to leave it in such a state."

He looks at the princess and smiles saying, "She was originally an East Indiaman Galleon under the employ of the East India Trading Company called the Wicked Wench, but I made quite a few changes to her since then and rechristened her the Black Pearl. As of what happened, I shall tell you that it is a grand tale of survival against all odds. We were on our way delivering supplies to a colony when a pirate ship chased us down called the Queen Anne's Revenge and started attacking us, she had the advantage over us with her 38 12-pound cannons and her ability to spew flames from her bow. The Black Pearl only has 32 thirty-two pound cannons, but we had speed and agility to our advantage. We traded broadside after broadside with her when she got lucky and nicked our mainmast, which lasted a few moments before it began leaning to port and fell completely. After they boarded us, an intense swordfight ensued where we managed to force them back and chased her away. Unfortunately, we fell into a maelstrom shortly after that glowed bright white to find ourselves sailing back on the sea somehow and took a chance by sailing due west."

Celestia looks at the Black Pearl, then back to her captain and says, "I welcome you all to Equestria, it will take time to repair the extensive damage as she is too large for any drydock currently in Equestria. We have no need for ships of war because our nation is at peace with the other nations of Equis, and it will take time to build a drydock large enough to fit your ship." She smiles as she finds a reason to avoid returning to Canterlot and asks, "In the meantime, would you like to accompany me to my chariot? I have many more questions I wish to ask you."

Jack then looks around at all of the other beings standing around and says, "I would like to go with you, however, I need to find treatment for my injury. I have questions to ask you as well Your Highness."

She sighs and nods her head, understanding that the questions will have to wait, and says, "Very well then, the questions shall wait until you have received treatment." She watches as he bows to her again and is led away by one of the healers that have accompanied her. She then looks to the ship and makes her way towards it to get a closer look at it from the inside, walking up the ramp and steps onto the deck when she gets a sudden chill up her spine and senses something different about this ship. She walks around the top deck and sees dried blood and debris scattered around with a few cannons laying on their side away from the side of the ship, she then makes her way down the stairs from the forward deck and heads down the stairs into the level below. She then walks around the gun deck and sees several cannons pulled away from the side a fair distance with a few laying in pieces, then makes her way down another set of stairs to find the hold slowly filling with water. Unable to explore the ship more, she heads back to the top deck when she spots a room at the back of the ship and says, "That must be the Captain's cabin, I will wait until he is well enough to give me a proper tour of the ship when it is repaired." As she steps onto the ramp, she breathes a sigh of relief at being off the ship. Not knowing why she was feeling so uneasy being on the ship, she then heads down the dock to go find someplace to eat before returning to Canterlot.

A couple of hours later inside the Baltimare port hospital

The captain wanders around the hospital, looking for his first mate when he asks a passing nurse, "Pardon me miss, do you know where my crewmen are?"

The light blue unicorn looks at them and says, "Yes I do sir, they are just down this hall. There were so many that needed aid that we had to double book them in rooms to fit them all, have you been treated already?"

Jack follows her and watches her tail sway side to side with each step and clears his throat saying, "Umm...yes I have. I don't mean to be rude but I must ask, what is that thing protruding from your posterior?"

She looks back at him and chuckles lightly saying, "That would be my tail, and it is real. It helps us keep our balance as we walk, have you not seen one before?"

He looks up at her face and smirks nervously saying, "I have but it was on a four-legged horse, not a pony like you. What manner of pony are you, some kind of unicorn?"

The nurse nods her head and answers, "I am a unicorn, what were the ponies like where you came from?"

Jack continues to follow her down the hall and says, "Well for one thing they weren't able to talk, fly, or even make parts of their bodies glow."

She sighs sadly and says, "That is quite sad they haven't got any of those abilities, I couldn't imagine being unable to use magic. That is what causes our horns to glow, using our magical abilities granted to each of us before birth. What kind of a sailor are you captain, are you soldiers, merchants, explorers, or are you dreaded pirates?"

He smiles and half-chuckles saying, "We are certainly not pirates, but we are a sort of combination of the other three. We sail the seas looking for new places, trying to earn coin by plying our trade. Would you know if liquor exists in this world, my men and I rather enjoy a particular kind called rum?"

The nurse thinks for a moment and says, "I have never tried liquor before, but there is a brewery just south of the large warehouse on the south side of the port. If you look for an inn with a small keg hanging on chains called Open Bar, it is the building next door to the right. I couldn't tell you if they have rum or not, what does it taste like?"

Jack reaches under his coat and pulls the bottle out and says, "Thank you so much, would you care to try some lass?" He then uncorks the bottle and takes a small swig before offering it to her.

Curiosity gets the better of her as she accepts the bottle and sniffs it before taking a small sip, coughing a few times as the vapors rise up her throat. Taking another chance, she sips it again and exhales the fumes before saying, "It is rather delicious, I hope they do have it or at least know how to make it." She then takes a larger drink and hands it back, feeling a pleasant warmth slowly overtake her whole body as the liquor starts to take effect saying, "My name is miss Tender Care, your crew are on this side of the hospital and located on the floor directly below this wing as well. We weren't sure who the officers were, so you will have to check each room. Sorry sir, but I didn't catch your name handsome."

He then takes the bottle back and returns the cork, tucking it away under his coat. He then gets closer to her, and places his arms around her shoulders and lowers his voice saying, "Allow me to introduce myself miss Care, I am the one and only Captain Jack Sparrow." before pulling her in for a kiss.

As she watches him step away from her and make his way down the hall into one of the rooms, she sighs happily and says, "Oh he is so handsome and dreamy for a human...hic." before humming happily and wandering down the hall, adding a bit of sway into her hips.

Jack wanders through the rooms looking for Gibbs, finding him in the last room on the right in the second bed closest to the window and says, "You still alive there Gibbs?"

Gibbs looks to Jack and smiles saying, "Cap'n, this world is full of wondrous things that don't exist in ours! I find it quite interesting. With the Pearl out of commission for a while, how will we afford to pay for all the repairs and the treatment we received, sir?"

He looks to his first mate and smiles saying, "Worry not mate, have the men find honest work for the time being while I come up with a plan to make coin without causing any problems for us. We need to keep up the honest image I created for us, so no behaving like a pirate for the time being. If any tales are told by the men of our adventures, make sure they know to mention us as armed privateers. I must be off to continue learning more about this world, learn what you all can while you are here in the port town of Baltimare. We shall need to make new maps of this world since our old maps are useless here, so fold them up and put them into a drawer for sentimental value."

The first mate nods saying, "Aye Cap'n, I will relay the orders to our men. Do you know if there is a place where we can whet our whistles?"

Jack nods his head saying, "There is indeed mate, it is called the Open Bar on the south side of the port with a small keg hanging on chains as its sign. I am going there now to see if they have rum in this world, but if they don't have it I shall have to tell them how to make it. I shall let you know when I have figured something out, be sure to assist with the repairs and keep the ship's appearance the same, then replace all the sails as well as restoring the gold trim that she once had. Keep the men out of trouble until it is time for us to introduce ourselves properly to the world."

Gibbs smiles and nods saying, "Aye aye Cap'n, we will begin when we are fit enough."

He then turns and heads out of the room towards the Open Bar to see if they have rum and says, "It's a new day for us, let us not waste this chance eh?"

Chapter 3: An unexpected reunion

Jack enters the tavern to hear a familiar husky voice shout, "How many times have I told ya to keep outta the ale ya filthy bilge rat, it's fer the customers!" He then hears a sharp crack come from the back and calls out, "It's hard to get any service with no one out front you know!"

A gruff-looking earth pony with light brown fur, very dark brown eyes, and a black mane and tail with a scar over her left eye stomps out of the back and tosses a cane into the corner as she scans the room for the pony that just spoke. Not seeing any customers, she hollers, "If ya don't show yerself, I won't serve ya! Stop hiding and come out where I can see ya, or get lost, ya landlubber!"

He chuckles nervously and steps further into the light saying, "Is it just me, or did you get even more cantankerous you old bat? You surely have an interesting way to show love to others."

She looks quickly at the one who just stepped forward as her jaw drops open and says, "Jack? Jack...is that truly you before my very eyes?" Her eyes begin to tear up, hoping that she is really seeing her grandson before her.

Jack smiles and says, "Aye, it's me Grandmama. It's been some time since I saw you last, and you are just as harsh as I remember."

Grandmama quickly grabs her cane and rushes towards Jack with open arms, giving him a brief hug saying, "Oh it is nice seeing you again." Her tone swiftly changes as she pushes him away and raises her cane and begins whacking Jack on the head and on various spots around his body saying, "How could ya just run away from home like that ya miserable wretch, I had no one else good enough to beat on!" She then breaks down into tears and throws her arms around him saying, "Blast the magic of this world, forcing me to behave like this. Why are ya still human if ya died, what caused ya not to come here a pony?"

He rubs his aching head and says, "Well I was chased around the Caribbean by my ex-lover Angelica, who turned out to be Blackbeard's daughter. After I supposedly murdered her father and saved her life in the process using the fountain of youth, I marooned her on an island where a twist of fate led Barbossa's daughter Carina to captain the Queen Anne's Revenge. After she found Angelica on the island where they both started wanting revenge against me for ruining their lives, they caught up to me and left me for dead on my ship when Goddess Calypso appeared with Davy Jones and said my fate was not to die on that world. So she had Davy Jones bring me to this world instead, is the one you were beating back there still alive?"

She briefly looks to the back and says, "That explains the green flash my son saw a couple of days ago when he went to school, Tacky Jack get out here and say hello to yer nephew!"

A scrawny male pegasus steps out as his eyes widen saying, "JACKY BOY! Is it really you?"

Jack looks to the pony and smiles saying, "Uncle Jack? When did you get here?"

Tacky Jack chuckles and answers, "Well I am 8 years old now, but I think that time may be different here. What year was it when you were brought here?"

He thinks for a moment and says, "I last saw a wanted poster that offered no reward but demanded I be brought in dead or alive, I think it was 1765."

The scrawny pegasus colt nods his head and says, "Then time is different here because it is currently 1780, what brings ya to my mom's tavern in Baltimare Jacky?"

Jack then smiles and says, "I was hoping to find rum here, would you happen to have any? My bottle is nearly empty after I shared some with a friendly nurse, I kissed her after she called me handsome."

Grandmama grins and says, "Of course we have rum here, let me compare them to see what the difference is."

He pulls out his bottle and hands it towards her saying, "Here you go. Hopefully, the taste is the same and is just as potent."

She takes the bottle and heads behind the bar, setting it down then grabs a clear bottle from under the bar. Setting the clear bottle on the counter before pulling the cork out of Jack's bottle and taking a swig, coughing a few times before returning the cork and setting it back down on the bar. She picks up the other bottle and pulls the cork, taking a swig out of that bottle before returning it saying, "I hate to admit it but the rum ya brought with ya is much stronger in flavor and more potent than ours is, may I take the rest of this to a friend so he can match it and improve it?"

Jack nods and smiles saying, "It will cost you three bottles of rum if the taste is that different, I am quite sure you are going to be receiving more customers the faster you can match it."

Grandmama softly hisses at him saying, "Yer such a filthy pirate ya know, but I'm proud of how ya turned out. Be sure to stop by again if ya need to purchase more. I am called Rich Bit because when I was born, I almost bit the surgeon's thumb off as I was the first baby born with teeth." She then reaches under the bar and pulls out three fresh bottles of rum for him to take in trade.

He quickly waves a finger in the air and says, "That is quite amusing, but I wouldn't mention to anyone that the crew of the Black Pearl are pirates, the ponies here seem to dislike them. We are acting like privateers and earning coin to return her to her former glory, I will be searching for a way to make coin fast without causing much trouble. I will be sure to drop by again someday, I wonder if any others will come to this world when they die. Have you encountered Hector Barbossa yet, my old first mate?" He then quickly takes the bottles and stuffs them into his coat and waits for her answer.

She sighs and shakes her head saying, "Not yet, you are the first one I have encountered so far, ya best keep on moving. The princess is here and if she learns you are pirates, ya'll be going to Tartarus or fitted for a noose."

Jack chuckles and says, "Oh I've met her, she seems pleasant enough. Although she is royalty, I'm considering trying my charms on her, but if things go south I wouldn't have to worry about her chasing me through narrow doorways."

Rich Bit chuckles under her breath and says, "Beat it ya Bilge rat, or I'll beat ya black and blue!"

He nods and tips his hat to her and exits the tavern to see Princess Celestia making her way towards the hospital from a nearby restaurant looking a little worse for wear, he then walks towards her and says, "What a happy coincidence Your Highness, I was just about to come looking for you!"

Princess Celestia straightens her posture and looks for who just spoke and sees that it is the Captain from earlier and smiles at him saying, "It is nice to see you again, have you received treatment for your injuries?"

Jack removes his hat and bows gracefully towards her and replies, "I have indeed Your Highness, and I have given my crew a rundown of the situation and ordered them to find work until the Pearl can be repaired. Might we be able to talk in private to answer each other's questions?"

She nods her head and says, "We most certainly can, I was tending to a few matters while I waited for your crew to get the aid they needed before returning to Canterlot. Would you care to accompany me on a flight around Equestria's borders, then on to Equestria's capitol and see what it is like?"

He smiles and says, "I would indeed like to see what Equestria looks like from the air, there is no way for anyone to fly through the air of their own volition. Perhaps on the journey, we might get to know each other better?" He watches as a soft blush makes its way across her face, finding it adorable.

Celestia forces her blush to go away and returns to her chariot to send one of her guards back to Canterlot to fetch another chariot to take the healers back saying, "We will be showing our guest around Equestria from the air, we are going to have a private conversation inside a barrier. So keep calm and keep an eye on us to ensure we are both safe." She then enters her chariot and waits for her guest to enter the chariot and close the door.

Jack enters the chariot and sits across from the princess, shifting his sword to a more comfortable position, and closing the door as the chariot starts to move. He braces himself as the chariot starts to sway side to side saying, "This feeling is most unusual, it reminds me of standing on a ship's deck at sea."

She chuckles lightly and smiles saying, "It would take some getting used to if you don't have wings or sail on the sea, would you be able to tell me what is different about this world and the one you come from?" She then casts a silencing barrier around them and says, "There, now nopony will hear what we talk about.

He nods and replies, "Well first off, the only ones that can speak using words are humans like the crew and myself. Humans are not able to communicate with species other than themselves and are therefore treated as pets, food, or nuisances. There are many nations of different humans with a few having their own unique language, some indigenous nations aren't quite so civilized as your ponies are, and eat the humans of other nations. They are called cannibals and meet with some ships to trade items with them, one of which is called Long Pork. The other nations have not quite figured out that Long Pork is actually meat from other humans. The politics involving the nations and their relations with each other are very complicated and would take a while for me to fully explain. Magic does not exist in a regular manner in that world, the only magic I know to exist there is black magic which is very dangerous to dabble in due to the gruesome and terrible price you must pay for it. I have met a real goddess, so I do think that other gods exist. Curses are real there, as are ghosts. There are no ponies like you over there or other mythical creatures like unicorns, pegasi, griffons, or even whatever you might be. Those creatures only exist in myth and legends, the only creatures I have seen are mermaids and the dreaded Kraken." He then looks out the window at the ground below, then back to her and asks, "May I ask you something, Your Highness?"

Celestia blinks wearily and nods her head saying, "Hmm? Go right ahead, Captain Sparrow."

Jack then looks her over and says, "What kind of a being are you? I see that you have a horn and a pair of wings on your back, are you some kind of a cross between ponies? Why does your hair and tail flow in the air when there is no breeze."

She chuckles softly and shakes her head saying, "No, I am not a cross, I am what is called an Alicorn. My mane and tail have always flowed like this ever since I was chosen to raise and lower the sun each day."

His eyes widen with amazement as he then says, "Wait a minute, you actually have to raise and lower the sun on this world? What about the moon or the weather, does someone control that as well?"

Celestia's eyes get heavier as they start to slowly drift shut, she attempts to fight it by shaking her head and clearing her throat saying, "Umm...yes, the pegasi are in charge of the weather around Equestria. I only raise the sun for Equestria, as for the moon. There was somepony that used to do that, but they turned evil and had to be banished to the moon as punishment."

Jack notices a certain sadness in her voice and asks, "Did you know them well?"

She sighs sadly and looks out the window to where the moon rests beyond the horizon and says, "I thought I knew them very well, though I seem to have made a mistake somewhere. I wish they could come back, I miss her very much..." She then starts to softly sob as she remembers the big fight she had with her sister when she turned into Nightmare Moon.

He battles his discomfort being around an authority figure and forces himself to sit beside the princess thinking, 'Please don't hang me for this, but I don't enjoy seeing a woman cry.' He then places an arm around her shoulder and gently pulls her towards him saying, "Might there be a way to restore them to the way they were before, by using a magic spell or something to that effect?"

Celestia's head comes to rest against his shoulder when she hears that and continues sobbing and answers, "There is something that would do that, but they have long since turned to stone after using them to banish my friend." She then cries a bit harder at how she forced the elements to banish her saying, "It is all my fault they don't work anymore, now she is doomed to forever be in the moon."

Jack then pats her shoulder and thinks of something and asks, "Who exactly did you banish to the moon princess, I swear on my honor that I will ne'er tell another soul what you say to me." He then watches her break down completely and explains what happened 600 years ago, how her sister started to try to force the citizens into loving her beautiful night sky and refused to lower the moon, eventually transforming into the twisted form of Nightmare Moon. He continues to hold her and pat her shoulder, trying to comfort her saying, "Is there a way to get these elements to work again?" He then begins to hear a high-pitched ringing in his mind, gradually getting louder with each passing second. Forced to close his eyes and wince in pain, he finds himself in a pitch-black space and says, "Umm excuse me, is anybody here? I had no ill intent when sitting beside the princess to hold her."

A female voice calls out of the darkness saying, "Be silent pirate, I care not what your intentions are with the princess, her subjects, or even the inhabitants of this world. My concern is the fate that befalls my spirit from your arrival at the assistance of another higher being, to correct that I must ask you a few questions. Do you intend on helping her make amends for her past transgression against me regardless of how it benefits you no matter what?"

He looks around for the source of the eerily attractive voice and says, "Umm...what's in it for me if I do intend on assisting her to accomplish my own ends as well?"

The voice scoffs in disgust and says, "UGH...YOU PIRATES ARE ALL THE SAME IN NATURE! Always having to get some sort of reward for doing a good deed...no matter. If you do assist her, your reward shall be what you wish for most. If you fail in your task, your reward shall become your curse instead! Tell no other creature of our meeting or you shall be punished, now return and make a choice, pirate."

Jack opens his eyes to see Princess Celestia looking at him expectantly and says, "A thousand pardons Your Majesty, but I found myself wandering for a second or two. Would you mind dreadfully repeating yourself?"

Celestia looks eagerly into his eyes and says, "I said that there might be a way, but we will have to search through every piece of literature remotely mentioning the Elements of Harmony. Do you truly wish to find a way to save my sister?!"

He nods his head and holds up one hand with a single finger extended saying, "Yes I do, however, there are some conditions involved. Firstly, the cost of all current and future repairs to my ship must be paid by the current ruler or rulers of Equestria of the time. Secondly and lastly, the costs for the crew's current and future treatments be paid by the current ruler or rulers of Equestria at the time." He then watches as her face freezes at hearing the conditions and waits for her answer.

She pulls back from him a little ways and thinks about the heavy price he is asking and frowns saying, "That price is a very heavy one for wanting to charge me for your aid in searching for a way to save my sister..."

Jack grins and extends his right hand saying, "Do we have an accord, Your Highness?"

Celestia looks distastefully at the extended hand with a high price attached to it, growling audibly under her breath, looking off to the side growling, "Deal..." before taking it and giving it a firm shake to formally accept the deal.

He then smiles widely and says, "Well then, where do we begin searching, Your Highness?"

She thinks about it for a moment before saying, "Our best bet would be to start in the library at the old Castle of Two Sisters. We will have to check through every surviving book for anything useful, I don't think there will be much there though." She then dispels the barrier and calls out to the guards, "Take us to the old Castle of Two Sisters at once!"

A half-hour passes as they reach the hidden library through a hidden passage, Jack stands in the library and pulls out his compass underneath a lit torch. He looks at his compass arrow and follows it to a bookshelf in the far back corner, he then holds the compass in his hand and begins checking the books on the left side by pulling them out one by one and holding them next to the compass.

Celestia hears him toss a book onto the floor and shouts, "Be careful with them, some of these are older than me."

Jack continues to check the books with the compass and sets one down more carefully saying, "And how old are you per say, Your Highness?"

She blushes and says, "Don't you know that it is rude to ask a mare her age? If you really must know, I am 800 years old."

He looks up and turns his head in her direction with wide eyes saying, "WELL THEN, PERHAPS YOU COULD SHOW ME TO YOUR FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, BECAUSE THERE IS NO WAY YOU ARE OF THAT AGE!"

Celestia chuckles as the blush deepens and says, "I don't lie, and Alicorns have long lives. Thank you for your compliment, I appreciate hearing an honest answer."

Jack nearly drops a book at her reply when he looks back down at his compass to see it pointing to the book in his hand. He closes the compass and puts it away saying, "You are quite welcome love." then walks towards a torch to look at it when he hears that same ringing in his head again, closing his eyes when he hears the female voice from earlier say, "The first clue." then fades away with the ringing when he reopens his eyes to see the title page of the book reading, 'The theories of harmony.' and turns the pages to find the first chapter then starts to read it.

Celestia goes to another bookcase, not finding anything useful there when she turns her head to see him sitting in a chair near a torch reading a book intently and asks, "Did you find something Captain Sparrow?"

He looks up and says to her, "This is a book that talks about theories of harmony and how it might work, it is probable that the elements decide on their own who is worthy of wielding them and only allow those who possess certain natural traits. He then holds it out for her to read and says, "Here, you check into it more and I will see if there is anything else here that proves helpful. If you consider us friends Your Highness, you may call me Jack."

She takes the book carefully and looks at him saying, "Okay then Jack, you may call me Celestia when not in a formal setting." She then illuminates her horn to hide the redness creeping into her cheeks and turns away from him to read further into the book.

Jack pulls out his compass again as it points to the same side of the bookshelf as before and starts to check books with the compass, he tries to remove a book from the shelf and hears a click followed by a brief puff of air from around the edge of the bookcase. He grins at learning of a secret hiding spot, expecting to find some treasure with the clue, he pulls the bookcase away from the wall to reveal a small square stone piece blending in with the stone around it. He pulls out a dagger and pries on the stone, it finally comes out to reveal a hollow space in the stone with a bunch of rolled-up papers bound together by string. He removes it carefully and sets it on a small table and moves it towards a torch and looks at the cover, seeing it written in a strange ink reading, 'Tall Tales, Fearful Legends, and Wild Imaginations.' He opens it up to the first page and sees that it is written in blood and begins reading the book, 'Some say I am mad or have lost it, but I have been told of a great horror that is yet to be loosed upon us all. In my dream, during a bitterly cold winter, I heard a beautiful voice calling me out of my warm bed to receive a message regarding a future to be foretold. As I stepped into the cold snow in only a wool overcoat, all went dark around me when I heard a lullaby sang to me. It went as thus... Heroes vanish into thin air, the gift is taken to keep safe. One who cant figure plain truth, forcing the other to give a sad fate. Oh poor victor suffers from the grief, to raise hope she creates heroes. The lone savior, clever soul, hunts for coin and gold. They'll come with green flash of light, but suffer in pain...deep, deep, pain. A ship appears black as night, with no nation to be seen. This one soul may choose their fate, choosing well avoids a grisly and dark fate. Oh poor creatures suffer from great fright, dark shades are revealed by night's light. The one redeemed, fights their love, gains faith love and cheers. Foes run from the ghost, shades loosed to sea, they sail to claim what's...held...most...dear. And that is when I awoke from my dream and tried to find ink to write it down with, but had none and decided to use what I did have with me...my own blood. Thank my lucky stars I won't be around much longer to see it for myself, see you in the next life.' His eyes look to the name below and sees that it is written by Sirius Scriblius, then looks to Celestia and says, "Oi, I found something hidden in a brick over here, you need to see this for yourself. It is most unusual and disturbing."

Celestia heads over to the table and sets the book down to keep her place and leans down to look at the ancient tome Jack had found and gasps saying, "That is even older than I am, from the looks of it I'd say this was here long before my parents were even born." She takes a closer look at it then says, "I-Is it actually written in...blood?"

He nods his head and slides the book over to her saying, "It is indeed Celestia, do you mind if I call you Celly or Chelly?"

She picks up the book carefully and reads from the first page, not really paying attention to what he just said and responds, "Of course not, I permit it."

Jack pulls out his compass as it points to the other side of the shelf and quietly says, "Why are you so intent on leading me to more books, what happened to finding treasure mate." He sighs and starts to look for the right book.

Celestia finishes reading the book and looks over to Jack and says, "Jack, this book seems to mention your ship and you in this strange prophecy. Do you understand anything about what is mentioned in the latter part of the lullaby about the redeemed or the danger?"

He sighs and checks another book with the compass and lies to her saying, "Regrettably, I find the lullaby rather confusing and don't understand a single thing it talks about." He finally finds the book the compass points to and reads the title, 'Thoughts and Conjecture' He sighs and puts the compass away, then opens the book and begins to read through it, eventually finding an intriguing passage reading, 'This is just a theory, but what if we could manipulate our own harmony, or even control the future itself. I think that in order to do something grand in years beyond, dark things must be done in equal measure with the same value. For example, if I was to rescue a town full of ponies, I would have to endanger the lives of another town. It would not be enough if I was to threaten a colony of insects, as it would not have the same value as the other. I could never bring myself to ever consider doing such a mean thing, I am a proud pony of Equestria.' He looks to Celestia and thinks about showing her this book, but changes his mind and puts it back on the shelf. He pulls out his compass once more and looks at it to see it pointing to her and smiles saying, "Well, I think we have found plenty of information here to get started on some sort of plan. What say you to the idea of returning to our flight around Equestria, after we think of something you can show me your capital."

She hangs her head slightly and tucks the book into her dress and answers unenthusiastically saying, "Very well, let's return to the chariot and formulate a plan so I can return to being the ruler of Equestria...yay."

Chapter 4: Experiencing freedom

Two months later, in Celestia's chambers at Canterlot

Celestia sits at her desk and looks through various papers regarding matters she must deal with due to the griffons' increase of hostilities towards her ponies when she sees a scroll with the griffon's king's seal on it. She opens it up to see that it is a declaration of war, causing a tear to fall from her eye and onto the desk saying, "Can things get any worse than this, how are we going to win a war against their armada? Is there a way for us to match them in strength?" Just then she raises her head up as an idea comes to her and makes her way from her room to Jack's guest room in the castle when she hears moans and brief screams of pleasure, causing her to sigh in irritation and enters the room to see another staff member having intimate relations with her guest as her mane begins to smoke saying, "Captain Sparrow, must you have relations with every female staff member!?"

Jack lies under his recent romantic acquaintance and looks around her to the princess currently standing in the room near the door and smiles saying, "When I have so much love to give, wouldn't it be a crime not to share my love with other ladies? Would you care to join the other ladies and experience the love I have to share?"

The mare's face turns beet red in embarrassment as the princess stands in the room, seeing her in her naked state, and scampers off of him, collecting what clothing she can find before bowing to her and racing to the door squeaking out, "Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

She narrows her eyes at him and says, "I find it quite annoying to see that dopey, doe-eyed, love-struck expression on the faces of the mare staff throughout the castle. What happens when some of them become with foal, will you be there to help raise them?"

He twirls a black lace pair of panties around his right forefinger and grins saying, "Alas, I would never allow myself to be so foolish as to beget a child. Just one of me is enough for this world, or it would bring mayhem to this world. Besides, they don't complain because I make it all about them. Umm miss, I believe you are missing something."

Celestia's face turns into a scowl as the mare gasps and runs back to snatch her undergarment, then runs out the door and closes it behind her. She stomps towards him, placing her hands on her hips as she stands a few feet away from the bed and looks away saying, "I wouldn't dare to even try, for I may catch some disease you may have picked up from your previous relations." She looks at him from the corners of her eyes and says, "Did you know that mares are naturally drawn to the desire of raising foals? Denying them that makes them want it even more, but I am here because the griffons have declared war on Equestria. I would like to enlist your services in handling the threat at sea while I form an army to face them on land."

Jack places a hand to his beard and strokes it saying, "Trifles, what a predicament you find yourself in. What's in it for me?"

She looks back to him for a moment and says, "You're such a scoundrel, however, there is a reward of two thousand bits if you can influence them to call off the war or surrender. Does that interest you?"

He thinks on it for a moment and says, "It does indeed interest me, although I shall have to travel to Baltimare to see what the status of my ship and crew are." He gets off the bed and makes his way towards her, then stands next to her and wraps his arm around her back. He then turns his eyes to her and says, "You know, if you despise being cooped up in this castle all the time, you could take a vacation and experience the freedom of sailing the seas with us for a time. After my crew and I bring an end to this war, of course."

Celestia blushes and pushes him away, narrows her eyes and looks down to where his pants should be, and clears her throat saying, "I will gladly consider your offer if you would kindly obey my request to put your pants back on and clothe yourself.

Jack looks down at what the princess is looking at, and remembers that he is as naked as a newborn baby, and leans in saying, "Not ashamed of the goods love, but for you, I will clothe myself."

She looks away and coughs as a blush rises to her cheeks and says, "I would appreciate that and shall prepare a chariot for the two of us. I wish to see the progress being made on your ship, from how you talk about it I assume that it is a very beautiful sight to behold."

Jack looks to her and nods his head saying, "Indeed she is a beautiful sight to behold, do you know what a ship truly signifies to me, Celly?"

She cocks an eyebrow and says, "What is that Jack?"

He returns to the bed and starts to clothe himself and looks out the window saying with a sigh, "It signifies freedom, to do what you want and when you want. Not having to answer to anybody, or to obey their orders. You are free to make your own choices, take whatever you want because you want it and no one in the world can force you to think it's wrong."

Celestia looks away and rolls her eyes saying, "I shall consider it and give you my answer when you successfully deal with the threat from the griffon armada, so finish dressing and join me out front."

An hour and a half later, At the Baltimare port

Jack exits the chariot to see the Black Pearl sitting in the water beside a new dock with three masts once again, having gold trim around the ship and the windows where it used to be at one time before she burned saying, "There she floats, just the way she was at one time. Those griffons will end the war when she sails the seas and displays the power she holds." He then turns around to look at her and leans in closer whispering, "You know love, I can sense that you long for the taste of freedom. Once you get a taste of it, you will find yourself drawn towards it and unable to let go."

Celestia looks at Jack and asks, "Can you show me what your ship looks like fully repaired? I went onboard the day you arrived here when you left with the healers for your injuries. I apologize for trespassing on your ship, I stayed out of the room with the door and hope you can forgive my curiosity."

He chuckles and looks back to her and says, "Nonsense, no harm was done and you satisfied your curiosity. You show good judgment by staying out of the Captain's Cabin, for permission is required to enter or the punishment is five lashes. Follow me and I shall give you a tour of the nigh-uncatchable, infamous Black Pearl." He then makes his way towards the Pearl, looking over the sides of the ship more closely.

She follows him along the wharf to where the ship is moored, seeing the enlarged drydock beginning to craft the framing of a new ship design thanks to Jack's assistance. She looks to Jack and asks, "I must ask, why is the ship completely black except for the trim?"

Jack smiles and says, "Simply because I like the dark look, and it makes us nigh-undetectable at night." He steps onto the deck of the ship saying, "Normally it is bad luck to bring a woman on board, but I'd be willing to take a chance with you, Your Highness?" as he extends his hand out to her, looking deep into her eyes.

Celestia smiles and takes the offered hand and says, "You clean up pretty well when you want to impress, where does the tour begin?"

Gibbs carries a crate containing a weighted fishing net when he looks to the Black Pearl to see Jack leading the princess around the top deck as his eyes widen saying, "What in tarnation are ya thinkin' bringin' a woman on board Cap'n! I don't like it one bit, not one bit, 'tis bad luck... I sure hope Jack knows what he's doin'..." as he leads her down to the deck below when he grumbles to himself and returns to his task, and hurries along to deliver the crate to find out what the captain plans to do.

He gestures around the gun deck saying, "This ship carries 32 thirty-two pound cannons, which are used to fend off any attacking ship. It also serves as the crew's quarters at night, there are hammocks that are hung from the rafters above which are tucked away when not needed. We are able to fire a variety of munitions such as grapeshot, round shot, chain shot, or even shell shot. She has survived several battles in the other world, and I am determined to see her survive many more." He then leads her down to the lowest deck and says, "This is the hold where we use it mostly as storage for the munitions, food, and most importantly to us, rum."

She looks at the various crates placed around the cannons holding powder charges and empty trays to hold the shot requested, as she starts to imagine the devastation these could wreak against other ships and follows him down into the hold of the ship. She sees several barrels and crates sorted around the deck as well as a few cells towards the back of the ship and asks, "Are those jail cells at the back of the ship?"

Jack looks to the cells at the back and nods his head saying with a chuckle, "That is the brig back there, and they do lock Your Highness, would you like me to clap you in irons?"

Celestia narrows her eyes at him and says threateningly, "Thanks for the offer, but I am a royal princess of Equestria. I will permit that on the condition that you allow me to clap you in irons, then toss you into the dungeon under the castle in Canterlot, would you like to experience that?" She taunts him and starts to make her way towards the cells in a slow stride while waiting for his answer.

He takes her hand and pulls her toward him quickly, catching her around her waist to prevent a fall. He looks into her eyes and says in a low voice, "Right then, let's just forget I mentioned the irons love. Since there is nothing else of importance down here, allow me to show you to my cabin."

Her breath hitches in her throat at being spun around and held closely, briefly looking off to the side and replies, "I-I would like to see the inside of a captain's cabin from another world, you can l-let me go now."

Jack releases his hold on her and makes his way towards the stairs saying, "Let us conclude this tour of this marvelous vessel, shall we? Please follow me to the captain's cabin where I have dinner, look at charts as well as plan voyages and sleep."

Celestia follows him up the stairs as a soft smile makes its way onto her face thinking, 'I think it would be rather nice to get to know more about this human, some companionship is better than being alone my entire life.' As she follows him into his cabin, she sees that it has many fine, high-quality furnishings including a fair-sized dark oak table with golden trim and an ornate chandelier hanging from the rafters above. A long desk made of the same dark oak wood as the table sits along the left wall with a globe sitting in the front corner, she looks to the right side of the cabin to see a couple of chairs with leatherbound backs and cushions with a bed large enough for two occupying the opposite corner having a red duvet, a white top sheet partially folded over the top edge of the red duvet, a white base sheet with a couple of black pillows lying at the head of the bed. She turns her attention to the far back and sees a large desk with an inkwell and quill sitting on top along with a small stack of unused parchment, she remembers that he called the vessel infamous and asks, "Why did you call this the infamous Black Pearl, Jack?"

Gibbs makes his way onto the Black Pearl silently, wanting to figure out what the captain's intentions are and positions himself beside the open door to listen in on their conversation thinking, 'Alright Cap'n, let's see what your real intentions are...'

He runs over and jumps onto the bed in a stretched-out position on his side, propping his upper body up with his left elbow and looks into her eyes saying, "I have something I would like to share with you love, so come here and sit with me."

She thinks for a moment before curiosity gets the better of her, wanting to know more of the history surrounding this mysterious man. Finding herself captivated by his alluring and mysterious nature, she makes her way towards the bed and sits down at the end of the bed. She turns her head to him and looks into his eyes and says, "Okay, what is it that you wish to share with me, Jack?"

Jack sits up and takes off his hat, setting it beside him and says, "I have a confession to make love, I am a pirate. Not just any pirate, but a captain of a pirate ship. The reason I called this vessel the infamous Black Pearl is because of the many adventures we have endeavored on this ship. I find myself inexplicably drawn to you, are you able to look past the fact of me being an infamous pirate captain?"

Celestia is shocked by the revelation of him being a pirate, causing her to contemplate her feelings towards him and what she should do. She looks around the room trying to come to a decision and turns her head back towards him, looking into his eyes tenderly and says, "I am curious about where our relationship will go, however, I must be cautious and ensure that none of my subjects learn of our relationship or they will cause an uproar."

He then smiles and slowly moves his right hand to her cheek and strokes it lovingly saying, "Then we best make sure they don't learn about us and take the necessary precautions." He then slowly pulls her towards him for a kiss, tilting his head slightly to the left, and leans in towards her.

Gibbs stares on in shock at what he just heard and thinks, 'Ahh, now I understand his intentions, I'd best take my leave and give those two time alone. I do wonder if Jack plans to set sail sometime soon if we're going to start making the coin to pay for the extensive repairs.' He then quietly makes his way off the ship to return to his duties and for the captain to inform him of his plans.

She leans in the rest of the way and kisses him on the lips when she feels his lips part as his tongue touches her lips and parts hers in turn as she feels his right hand slide down from her cheek and around her shoulders, she lets out a gentle moan as he pulls her closer to him and slips his tongue into her mouth. She closes her eyes as she slides her tongue against his, turning her body to face him, and wraps her arms around his waist. As she feels his left hand slide up to her left ear and starts to gently massage the sensitive edge along the bottom, she breaks the kiss and heatedly breathes out, "Oh Jack, don't stop, my love."

Jack kisses along her cheek and pulls the tip of her other ear into his mouth with his right hand, beginning to lightly suck on it when he hears her gasp in pleasure and grip his back a little firmer. He then places his right arm behind her back and his left behind him and pulls away from her, romantically saying, "Come hear my love, let us continue the pleasure." and starts to lay back, pulling her towards the bed beside him.

Celestia feels him start to pull her towards the bed and puts her right arm out against his chest and stops her descent saying with a light chuckle, "Easy there casanova, I think this is a good place to stop and take it slow. We are just starting to get to know each other after all. Thank you for being honest with me, I look forward to spending more time with you...pirate. By the way, shouldn't you be gathering your crew and supply for your current task at hand?" She then sits back up and stands up off the bed, making her way towards the door with a little sway in her walk as she hums happily.

He then sits on the edge of the bed and returns his hat to his head saying, "Aye, that I do...my princess. Those birds won't have anywhere to run when the Pearl sails the sea. They shall tremble with fear at the mere sight of this mighty ship and the flag she flies." He then stands up from the bed and follows her out of his cabin, closing the door behind him, and makes his way to the Open Bar to visit his grandmama.

Rich Bit slides another bottle of rum down the bar to a customer and shouts, "That will be three bits ya drunken lout, pay up or I'll sic security on ya!" She then watches the bits fly at her through the air and catches them deftly with her left hand and sees her grandson stroll in through the front door and smiles saying, "Find yerself a seat ya miserable wretch, and I'll be with ya in a moment."

Jack strolls into the tavern and sees a few of his crew sitting around tables drinking the weaker rum, heading over to the bar and sits in the chair at the end. Turning his head to the crew in the bar, he asks, "Oi, any of you know where Gibbs is at?"

Pintel looks at his captain and nods quickly saying, "Aye sir, he is making his daily deliveries around the port, shall I go fetch him?"

He nods his head and smiles saying, "If you lot want to set sail today, I would recommend that." He watches as the portly man rises from the table and hurries out the door and waits for his Grandmama to finish with her customers.

Rich Bit tosses a bottle to another customer and catches the bits thrown to her, tucking them away into a pouch between her breasts and makes her way to Jack and says, "Okay scallywag, what can I do ya for?"

Jack looks to her and then asks, "How is the latest batch coming along Rich?"

She looks to her nephew and chuckles saying, "It gave my friend a little trouble at first, but it is coming along fine. It will be a year before it is ready to be tasted, my friend is working on a few different versions of the one you requested."

He then sighs and says, "Well bugger then, how many barrels and bottles of rum do you have ready to be loaded?"

Rich Bit looks up in thought and says, "With how much yer crew drinks, I would hafta say 300 barrels and 100 bottles. That would be 3 bits per bottle and 20 per barrel, so in total that is 6,300 bits. Anything else ya'll be needing?"

Jack nods his head and asks, "Do ya have anything that my crew can eat other than plants?"

She shakes her head no and says, "Unfortunately, we only have some bread available for our customers. Yer best bet is to check the market for the food ya need."

He then strokes the beard on his chin and says, "I guess we have an accord mate, please send the bill to Princess Celestia as she has so graciously agreed to pay for the expenses regarding the Black Pearl." He then hears the customers in the room start talking quietly amongst themselves at hearing what he said as Gibbs hurries through the door.

Gibbs stops before the captain and says, "Ya wanted to see me Cap'n?"

Jack then looks to Gibbs and says, "Aye I have, we are on urgent business for Her Majesty, therefore I need you to find us provisions for a potentially lengthy journey at sea, and gather the whole crew. I have acquired the rum for the journey already, so move like your life depends on it. We shall set sail before the sun hangs low in the sky."

The first mate then looks to the crew in the tavern and shouts, "Well, what are ya standing around for you dogs, snap to! There is a lot to do and less time to do it, off to yer posts ya filthy swine!"

The crew in the bar all stand up and say, "Aye aye, Sir." as they slam back their rum and simultaneously slam their mugs down onto the tables as Rich Bit tells them where the barrels and bottles are that need to be loaded.

He then watches as the crew races and shakes his head saying, "What a bunch of scallywags they are, I need to make my way to the market and find what provisions I can." He then looks to the Cap'n and says, "Did the princess really agree to pay all expenses, Cap'n?"

He looks to his first mate and says, "Are you calling me a liar, Gibbs? If so, take a good look at this mate..." He then pulls out a letter with a broken wax seal and holds it out towards him saying, "This is from Princess Celestia herself, show it to those you acquire goods from so they know it to be true."

Gibbs takes the letter and looks at it, gasping in shock for a moment before squinting his eyes in a sneaky look towards the captain saying, "And might I inquire as to how ye obtained such a good bargain?"

Jack raises one eyebrow to Gibbs and says, "Just leave that bit out and trust that ye olde Captain Jack Sparrow has got everything under control mate."

He puts the letter away with a chuckle saying, "Aye aye, Cap'n, I shall be off to my duties. Might we have a heading?"

The captain pulls out his compass and opens it to see it pointing west-northwest as Jack looks off to that direction thinking, 'Hmm...that must be where my princess is at.' He then bangs a palm against his compass and shakes it a couple of times and thinks, 'Oi mission first, loins later. We can't have the latter without the former, savvy?' He then watches as the compass points a new direction and says, "Aye we do, and it is north-northeast. Now what are you waiting for, why are you still here?"

Gibbs then nods his head saying, "Aye aye Cap'n!" and then hurries out the tavern to gather provisions first, then the men to load the ship.

Jack looks to Rich Bit and says, "I shall see you again some other day, ta for now." He then tips his hat to her and then heads out to wait for his crew on the Black Pearl.

Four hours later, on board the Black Pearl

The captain watches as his crew replaces the grates over the hold and smiles saying, "All hands, cast off and make half sail! A new adventure lies ahead of us, starting now."

The old pegasi watches as the beautiful Black Pearl sails out of port, then goes full sail out of the harbor saying, "I wish ya good luck and a safe journey, ye'll be needing it for the troubles ahead."

Jack watches the Pearl sail a fair distance from the harbor and looks back towards where Canterlot is and thinks, 'Have faith in me my love, for I shall destroy those griffons for you and return to your waiting arms.' He then looks back to his crew and says, "All crew on deck, I have exciting news for us all!" He then waits for every crewmember to be on deck and says, "We have been offered a reward for destroying the griffon armada threatening Equestria, so let's show them why us pirates are truly feared!"

The lookout in the crow's nest smiles as he hears the crew cheering excitedly when he spots a ship in the distance and pulls out his spyglass. After examining the ship's flag and silhouette closely, he grins and calls out, "War Sloop spotted on the northern horizon cap'n!"

He looks into the horizon and sees the ship, then looks up at the spotter and asks, "How's she set?"

The crewman watches the ship grow closer and calls out, "She's lightly armed with only 8 cannons and sitting low in the water!"

Jack waits for the ship to get a bit closer and says, "Half sail! Gun deck load round shot, main deck load Grapeshot! Listen closely for firing orders! Hoist the colors...GIVE NO QUARTER!!!"

The griffon captain hears cheers coming from the other ship and trembles as the large black ship finally raises its flag and gulps saying, "Of all the ships on these seas, why did this huge ship have to be a pirate ship..."

Chapter 5: The Griffon/Equestrian War

The griffon lookout counts the cannons on one side of the ship as his beak quivers in fear and shrieks out, "Captain, I count sixteen large cannons on just one side, which means she has 32 or more!"

Captain Grubor freezes up for a brief moment and recovers, turning towards his cabin and shouts, "Garella, come here at once!"

Garella comes out of her husband's cabin and looks at him with concern at hearing the fear in his voice and says, "It is not like you to scare easily dear, what is it that has you so afraid?" She then hears cheering coming from somewhere and turns her head to look, feeling a cold chill crawl up her spine and cause her to freeze in place asking, "What in the blazes of Tartarus is that?!"

He quickly looks to his wife and says, "I demand that you fly hard to Griffonstone, take our eldest daughter with you and take care of our children. That ship is a pirate ship, and we are outmatched in every way. Go now while we are not yet fighting, we will fight them to the end as you both get away!"

She gasps and stares at him for a brief moment before nodding her head saying, "As you wish dear, fight well and we shall remember you." She then quickly looks to the female standing at the bow of the ship, eager to fight the approaching ship and screeches, "GALANDA, GET YOUR FEATHERS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!"

The griffoness winces at hearing her mother's loud voice and hurries to her side and says, "Yes mother, what is our plan of attack?"

Garella then looks into her daughter's eyes and says, "We have been told to take our leave and fly hard to Griffonstone, the crew will cover our escape and take as many enemies they can with them."

Galanda's face freezes in shock at what she just heard and looks to her father and says, "With us by your side father, there is no way that we can lose!"

Grubor stares at his daughter firmly and reprimands her saying, "Do not fight the decision I have made and do as you both are told!" He looks at her face closer and sees tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes and sighs saying, "Here, take this to remember me by, find your own path in life." while pulling his gold and silver compass out of his pocket and holds it in the palm of his outstretched claw towards her. He then slowly blinks his eyes and returns to being captain of the ship saying, "Now go! Get off my ship while you have any hope to survive this encounter!"

The griffoness slowly reaches for the compass with her claw as it trembles with worry for her father, she then lets out a sad sigh saying, "Goodbye father, take as many with you as you can." before she reaches out and takes the compass from him and holds it close to her chest, and looks to her mother saying, "Shall we go, mother, I am sure that the twins are causing Uncle Graefeel a lot of trouble." She then follows her mother into the skies, holding the compass tightly in her claw, then catches up to her mother and says, "Before we return home, I think it would be good to at least know the name of that large enemy ship. Can we circle around to take a look so we can inform the others of that ship's description as well as her name so they can hunt her down and destroy her?"

Garella looks to her daughter and thinks for a moment before saying, "I think that would be good information to have if we are the only ones to survive, I will follow after you and keep watch for enemy attacks." She then banks to the left, following her daughter in a wide circle as she keeps the ship at a distance to get a good description of it while finding out its name in the process.

Galanda keeps a fair distance between her and the ship as she finally gets a look at the stern of the magnificent looking black ship with gold trim, seeing a name on the back of a black plaque with a gold outline along its edge and reads in gold lettering, Black Pearl. She then continues the circle around to watch the two ships engage each other, slowing down a little to shout to her mother, "Let's watch the battle until father falls, it is the least we can do for him before leaving."

She looks down at her husband's ship called the Isla Griffona, then back to her daughter and nods her head responding, "You are correct, let's watch him fight to the end honorably."

On board the Black Pearl

Jack looks starboard as the ship reaches the prime spot for the first broadside and yells, "STARBOARD SIDE, BOTH DECKS FIRE!" He then hears the cannons roar to life and send their volleys towards the other ship, watching as the broadside hits and sends splinters flying from the multiple impacts along with a spray of blood as several bodies are torn apart from the grapeshot striking them.

Grubor watches as several griffon sailors are ripped apart from the broadside and paint the golden yellow deck red with body parts scattered around, he hears a cracking and watches the mainmast lean to port and fall into the water. He turns to look behind him to see the ship starting to turn back around for another volley and shouts, "Cut her loose, we'll give her a taste of our firepower!"

Galanda watches the Black Pearl turning to port to fire on the seriously damaged Isla Griffona and sheds a tear for the suffering of the crew and waits for the fight to end.

He turns the wheel back around to steer straight ahead as the Black Pearl comes out of the turn and begins to close in on their prey and shouts, "Prepare to board her lads!"

The griffon captain watches as the ship starts to get close enough for a broadside and says, "Starboard cannons prepare to fire!"

Jack watches as the Pearl gets into position and yells, "Main Deck Portside cannons, Fire all!"

Grubor hears the other captain shout the order to fire and shouts in return, "Starboard cannons, FIRE!" To his dismay, he doesn't hear his cannons fire and sees that the remaining crew are lying on the top deck in pieces or screaming in pain.

He then releases the wheel shouting, "Furl all sails! Plunder to your heart's content, leave the enemy captain to me and...GIVE NO QUARTER!!" He then watches as a few men swing over and start fighting a few crew that come out from below, then grabs a rope to swing over and face the captain.

Garella watches the two captains start fighting each other, seeing her husband having difficulty matching the other's skill, then lets out a sad sigh thinking, 'At least you will die honorably as a warrior with the rest of the men.'

The griffon captain's swing misses as the other leans back to dodge it, hearing a few cheers for the other captain to finish him off. He then lowers his right hand to point the sword's tip towards the ground and to the left, then swings it upward to the right.

Jack sees his opening and ducks out of the way, then steps forward and left to run his sword through the other captain's chest. He feels his sword come to rest against the other's chest and says, "Count your blessings I chose to give you a chance to prove your skill, and you have made it this far. You would have had a better chance if you were more skilled with a sword, but a true pirate doesn't fight fair." He then pulls out his pistol and steps in front of him, then shows the pistol to him saying, "This shot is not for you mate, but I will be doing you the favor and end your life quickly."

Grubor smiles and struggles to continue standing and coughs saying, "I am grateful that you are choosing to show respect, I am ready for this fight to end."

He nods and removes his sword, then stabs him through the heart saying, "Thank your lucky stars I'm doing you this favor" twisting his blade as he steps in closer and lowers his voice as he says, "At...all." He then roughly pulls out his sword and returns to its sheathe, then turns to the crew and says, "Enemy has fallen, take what you can carry and leave nothing of value behind. Even the cannons may prove useful later on lads, so bring them aboard and we'll either sell them to the ponies or we'll store them on land somewhere." He looks back and sees the door open to the captain's cabin, then walks towards it to have a look around inside. As he is rummaging around in the room, he sees a framed picture inside of a silver picture frame and picks it up. Curious, he takes a closer look around the room, seeing a vanity mirror with different colored brushes, and lifts his head up to look at the picture again. With a half-smile appearing on his face, he turns around and walks out of the room.

Gibbs is looking through a sailor's pockets when he sees the captain exit the cabin and look up into the sky, watching something, and heads over to him saying, "What be ye looking for, Cap'n?"

Jack's eyes follow the two griffons in the sky and smiles as he recognizes the two faces in the sky out of all the faces in the portrait standing next to the captain saying loudly, "OI UP THERE!" as he gets their attention, noticing looks of fear on their faces as they try to fly away and shouts, "PLEASE DON'T GO, I HAVE SOMETHING THAT MAY BE OF GREAT VALUE TO YOU!" He then extends his hand with the framed picture in it saying, "I think ye'll be wanting this..."

The first mate looks at the picture, seeing that it is framed in fine silver, and says, "What are ye doing Cap'n, that there would worth a coin or two!"

The captain looks to Gibbs and raises an eyebrow saying, "Are you questioning your captain, and shouldn't you be searching for your own treasure mate?"

Gibbs quickly nods his head and says, "Aye Cap'n." then turns and walks away to return to searching for valuables.

Garella looks at the enemy captain suspiciously when she notices the item in his hand and looks to her daughter saying, "Remain to circle the ship, I am going to find out what the captain is offering to us."

Galanda looks to her mother worriedly and says, "Please be careful, that is a pirate after all." as her mother flies down to him.

She takes a closer look at the item he is offering, and gasps as she recognizes it as the family's portrait. She feels her eyes swelling with tears as she slowly extends a claw to take the picture, unsure if the captain will actually let her take it.

Jack waits for her claw to grab onto the picture and says, "Don't drop it." as he lets go of the picture, and lets her have it saying, "An item that priceless should be held near to the heart."

Garella then clutches it tighter and brings it to her chest tilting her head towards him as a few tears run off the tip of her beak saying, "I thought you just a heartless pirate, but this act of kindness proves that under all that darkness lies a heart. I will never forget this, thank you very much." she then turns around and hastily returns to her daughter and looks at the portrait in her claw says, "Now let us all go home, we have a family to care for."

He watches the two griffons fly away and returns to the Black Pearl's helm and addresses the crew saying, "Finish up lads and set fire to the magazine, we have some loot and cannons to either sell off or store. We return to the sea when our hold is empty of what we just took from that ship, there are many more ships out there for us to loot." He then listens to the cheers of the men and says, "Lower the colors, for we briefly return to Baltimare."

Mid morning at the Baltimare port

Jack looks to Gibbs and hands him a bag of coins saying, "Go find us a large warehouse to use and buy it mate, for I am planning something grand. We will need the space for what will be required to bring it to realization, savvy?"

Gibbs takes the bag of coins and cocks his eyebrows in confusion saying, "I beg ya pardon Cap'n, I have not a clue as to what is running through that head of yours."

He sighs and shakes his head saying, "Must I always simplify things for the crew? Let me put it this way, where is a place where everyone feels the happiest?"

The first mate thinks of an answer and says, "A tavern, Cap'n?"

Jack half-smiles and shakes his head saying, "No mate, try again." He then looks at him, eagerly waiting for him to figure out the right answer.

Gibbs looks to the ground then raises a hand to his chin and rubs it in thought, then raises his head back up and answers, "A brothel, Cap'n!" with a big smile on his face, expecting the answer to be correct.

He then chuckles and shakes his head saying, "Close mate, but where everyone feels the happiest is called Tortuga." as a cunning smirk comes to his face while he waits for the suggested idea to be discovered by his first mate.

A small smile comes to his face as he says, "Aye Cap'n, that would be the right place everyone feels the happiest. Tortuga is back in the other world though, so we can't get to it. Why would ye bring up Tortuga regarding a plan...unless...you-"

Jack grins widely and nods his head saying, "Indeed I do plan that mate, but there is much we must do in order for this dream to become a reality. After you finish your task, come find me at the Open Bar, I shall be conducting business with Rich Bit and her son, or as we know them, as Grandmama, and Uncle Jack."

Gibbs nods his head saying, "Aye Cap'n, I knew that ya'd come up with something!" and hurries off to find a warehouse that would suit their purposes.

He watches Gibbs run off to do his errand and heads for the tavern to find his grandmama and smirks thinking, 'I think Grandmama would enjoy running something a bit less honest, but let's ask her and find out what she thinks about it.'

Rich Bit wipes off the bar when she hears someone walk in through the door, smiles when it is Jack and says, "Did the big bad birds frighten you into returning here?"

Jack scoffs and says, "Hah, hardly. It was the other way around really, a few of them soiled themselves from fear as we devastated their ship and crew with just one broadside. Their ships are rather pathetic, you know."

She laughs and slams her hand down on the table and says, "Aye, that they are. Why are ya back so soon, did their cannons cause more damage to your precious ship?"

He shakes his head and says, "Of course not, they couldn't get a shot off at all because their crew was lying on the deck in pieces. The reason I am here is that I have a question to ask you." He then looks around the room and walks up to the bar, and lowers his voice saying, "Do you miss the pirate's life, and don't you long to return to it?"

Rich Bit raises an eyebrow and answers, "I might, what's the scheme ya have up yer sleeve?" She then pulls a bottle of rum out from below and uncorks it, taking a drink before setting it down on the bar to hear what he is planning.

Jack smiles and says, "I am planning to build a port town for pirates and run by pirates, it shall be able to easily defend itself against any attacks launched against it by sea or air. Are you interested in such a thing, Grandmama?"

She smirks and lightly chuckles at hearing the idea, her soft chuckles gradually get louder until she bursts out laughing and says, "That is the wildest idea ya have come up with yet ya crazy barnacle, I love it! Now come on and tell me the details of what we will be needing to do."

---

Three years pass by as Jack sails the Black Pearl into the Griffish Isles under a sky filled with clouds as he shouts to the crew, "Sink them all, and lay waste to any resistance!"

The harbormaster is abruptly woken by the sound of cannon fire in the night and hurries out of bed to see what is going on when he looks outside the bedroom window of his manor on a hill overlooking the port. He spots the muzzle blasts of a large ship's cannons, recognizing the sounds belonging to the Pirate ship known as the Black Pearl. He hurries to get dressed so he can head to the harbor and evacuate the civilian griffons living near the port, running out the door in a pair of breeches as he sees two ships explode as their magazines are hit. He shakes his head of the terrifying sight as screams of terror start to fill the air, he calls to a couple of griffon soldiers about to take to the air and yells to them, "Get every soldier you can find and get every civilian out of here, the Black Pearl is here to raid the port!"

Several minutes pass by as he continues to find more soldiers and tasks them to the evacuation when he hears the fort's batteries fall silent, making him gulp in fear as he knows that the harbor will be under attack soon and sounds out a shrill griffon call into the air and shouts, "EVERY GRIFFON CIVILIAN EVACUATE THE HARBOR, THE LANDING PARTIES WILL BE COMING SOON!" He watches carefully as he starts to see many griffons start to fly further inland, praying that no civilians are left behind.

Jack looks to his crew and shouts, "Kill those who wish to fight, but do what you can to drive all others from the island. Burn everything down once they are empty of inhabitants, no civilians die today! Other than that...raid, pillage, and plunder your weasely black guts out!" he then watches as his men head out in the boats to drive the inhabitants off of this island as a smile crosses his face thinking, 'One more nuisance out of the way, then I shall finish sinking their armada and hit their homeland then get them to surrender.'

One year later, at the port of Baltimare

Celestia stands at the start of the Black Pearl's dock, tapping her hoof rapidly in agitation at the actions that got the Griffons to surrender. She watches as the ship runs out oars and rows its way into the harbor, eager to speak to the captain as her mane lightly smokes thinking, 'I will most definitely be having words on how you conducted yourself during your travels, however, I am looking forward to seeing you after so long.'

Jack watches the ship row into the harbor and says, "Rack the oars, and throw the lines, men, we are back safe and sound in Baltimare for the time being!"

She watches as the ship is tied off to the dock and waits eagerly for the captain to come to her, continuing to tap her hoof impatiently when she sees him start to make his way from the helm. She sighs in relief that he is not injured at all as a small smile comes to her face and thinks, 'Now we can spend time together, perhaps we can see what the future holds for us.'

He strolls down the ramp and onto the dock towards Celestia, feeling happy to be reunited with his love and throws his arms wide as he reaches the end of the dock saying, "Come to me my love, and let us retreat to my cabin."

Celestia walks towards him with her eyes narrowed in annoyance and says, "Yes indeed, let us retire to your cabin, for there is much for us to talk about." She then walks past him and makes her way up the ramp towards the cabin.

Jack opens the door for her and enters the cabin, closing the door behind him, and turns to face his love when he is slapped across the face and asks, "Is this how all you ponies show you've missed someone?"

She sighs audibly in frustration and answers, "No, it is most definitely not, you earned that slap because of what you did at Griffonstone in the presence of their king! Do you not know how to conduct yourself in the presence of royalty?"

He raises both his arms slightly into the air saying, "Umm, I'm a pirate, I do believe I mentioned that. In my defense, he refused to surrender to me and end the war. I did offer him a chance to fight me as a pirate with the conditions being if he won, he could continue the war, however, if I won, the war would end and the Griffons would surrender to Equestria."

Celestia then huffs and says, "You still shouldn't have beheaded the king like that in front of his own daughter. I am angry with you for seducing the princess after you snuck into her room, how do you explain your behavior when you have feelings for me?!" as her eyes well up with tears.

Jack walks up to her and places his hands on her shoulders, then looks into her eyes saying, "I couldn't come with a plan to enter the castle without losing crew, my love, so I improvised when I saw an open window. It was unexpected that the room I entered belonged to the princess. I tried to sneak on through without her noticing, but she left her closet and saw me. She was about to scream, but I clamped a hand over her beak and held my sword to her throat. I told her that if she makes any fuss, I would chop off her wings and toss her to the crew. Things took a very different turn when she threw herself at me, I told her that I had feelings for another but she continued her actions. My feelings for you have not changed since the day I first met you, and I do want a future with you."

She begins to sob and wraps her arms around him as she starts to cry saying, "Oh Jack, I was so angry about that, anger turned to sadness when I thought that you might not love me anymore."

He pulls her against him and holds her close, using one hand to remove his hat and hang it on a hook softly saying, "Let's lie on the bed for a while and enjoy being in each other's arms, I plan on staying in port for a time before setting sail once more. Perhaps you could even come along with us and help build a neutral port where anybody can go enjoy themselves, wouldn't you like a break from your royal chores?" and gently starts to guide her towards the bed.

Celestia nods and follows him to the bed, then lays down beside him and rests her head on his chest as she continues to cry at how happy she feels to still be loved as herself by someone, being loved more than just a leader, an idol, a teacher, a celebrity or perhaps even a deity. She kicks off her golden-heeled shoes and takes off her crown and sets it on the table saying, "A place like that sounds like a pleasant place, where do you intend on building it?"

Jack smiles and says, "I plan on building it on the Griffish Isles, but renaming it Portuga to remind us of the port town we loved where we came from. You could use a vacation from all that work, how about you take a long one aboard the Black Pearl?"

She lifts her head quickly and says, "The citizens of Equestria would all panic if I were to just suddenly vanish, who would manage the affairs of Equestria in my absence?"

He then runs a hand over her back and underneath her wings, caressing her tenderly, and answers, "Well you would announce to the ponies that the war has left you feeling exhausted, and you need time to recover from it and enjoy life as a regular pony for a while. Have them write down any petitions they have and hand them over to your assistant, and order her to deal with what matters she's able. In case of emergencies, tell her where you can be found but not to reveal it to anyone else regardless of who they are, including the guards and stuffy nobles as well."

Celestia smiles widely as the idea is accepted in her mind and says, "That is a great idea and it will work, you are quite cunning at times when you actually try." She then leans in to kiss him as she slides her body on top of his.

Early the next morning, aboard the Black Pearl

Celestia crawls out of bed in her dress and sees that it is wrinkled, then stands up off the bed to put her shoes on and return the crown to her head. After returning herself to her regal appearance, she turns and looks at Jack as he sleeps. She then leans down and kisses him on the lips whispering to his ear, "I will be back once I have everything in place for my vacation, then you can take me sailing on the sea when I return. Be sure to get a decent cook, I do not want to starve."

Jack turns over in his sleep and mumbles, "Yes my love...get better cook, aye-aye."

She then quietly takes her leave and closes the door softly behind her, then heads towards the ramp and then flies towards Canterlot to prepare things for her vacation softly saying, "I will enjoy this vacation to its fullest, and learn more about my special somepony...rather my special somepirate."

After a few days of calming her subjects down before she is finally ready to take her leave and looks to her secretary saying, "Before I go, you do know where to find me in case of any IMPORTANT emergencies, right Swift Quill?"

Swift Quill nods to the princess and says, "I do Your Highness, and I will not bother you unless it is an emergency that threatens Equestria. I do have a question, though it may be silly to ask. Will you still be raising and lowering the sun and moon each day and night?"

Celestia chuckles and says, "That is a silly question, but don't feel ashamed for asking it. Of course, I will continue to raise and lower the sun and moon for Equestria, though it will be from the Black Pearl. I am off to enjoy a much-needed vacation, I might be back in a year...or it may be even a few years. So just deal with what you can while I am gone and save the rest for me, and I will handle them when I return."

The assistant nods to the Princess and says, "Enjoy your vacation, Your Highness." and gives her a knowing smile because she knows who she will be with.

She looks at her assistant endearingly, saying, "Thank you, you have no idea how much you help me do my job as my assistant and secretary." then turns and flies off from the balcony in her chambers, heading towards the Black Pearl.

Chapter 6: A Special Night Together

Jack watches his crew offload the goods they pillaged from Griffonstone when he notices a glint in the distance and pulls out his spyglass to check it out, he notices that it is Celestia making her way towards the ship on her own and feels excited as she gets closer thinking, 'I am very happy that you are on your way here, but I wonder what the purpose of your visit is.

Celestia then lands elegantly on the Black Pearl's dock and makes her way towards the ramp to wait for her love to come to her thinking, 'I bet you didn't expect me to be ready for my vacation so soon, now we can find out what will happen between us during this vacation.'

He walks to the bottom of the ramp and graciously bows to his princess with his hat in hand saying, "What an unexpected and pleasant surprise to see you again Your Highness, what is it that brings you here to grace us with your presence?" He then rises back up to his full height and returns his hat to his head and rests his left forearm on the pommel of his cutlass to wait for her response.

She puts her right hand over her mouth and chuckles lightly saying, "Oh what a charmer you are, the reason for my visit is that I have decided to take a vacation from my duties. With that being said, please just call me Celestia." She then removes her crown and puts it away in her saddlebags resting above her hips to prove it. She then looks back up to Jack and says, "Would you be willing to allow me to come aboard your ship during my vacation?"

Jack smiles and nods his head saying, "I shall indeed allow you onboard, you shall take my quarters while I stand guard. Please follow me and I shall show you where you will be staying, Your Highness."

Celestia continues to act like she is just being courteous towards the Captain and follows him up the ramp and onto the deck saying, "This truly is a magnificent ship to have defeated the Griffon Armada, are the rumors I hear about this ship true?"

He plays along with her act and says, "What rumors might that be, Your Highness?"

She then looks around the ship and says, "I have heard that this ship is an infamous pirate ship that has raided many ports and committed numerous crimes on the seas, it even managed to marenap the Hippogriff Queen and ransomed her back to her citizens." She looks around from the corners of her eyes to see a few knowing smirks on some of the crew's faces, then returns her gaze to Jack.

Jack scoffs and shouts, "HAH, THAT IS THE FUNNIEST VERSION I HAVE HEARD YET! The truth to that rumor is that we do like to fly a pirate flag just to terrify our enemies into submission, we aren't really pirates because we acquired the flag from an actual pirate vessel that we have defeated and sunk. As for kidnapping Queen Novo, the poor hippogriff couldn't handle our rum that well and somehow found her way into one of the empty brig cells in the hold when she fell asleep there. When she awoke, she wandered around the hold with a massive headache and hangover to boot, then tripped and fell down the stairs when she tried to get topside. We found her at the base of the stairs sniffling and requested us to take her home where she would reward us for our kind deed." He then stops before the door to his cabin and looks to his crew and shouts, "All hands on deck, I have news to tell you all!"

Gibbs stands up and looks to the captain as the crew all gather on the top deck and says, "Cap'n, may I remind you that bringing a woman on board, a princess no less is frightful bad luck!"

He watches as the men all nod their heads in agreement and shouts over them and says, "I do know that, though there are things out there that are far stronger than us, therefore, wouldn't it be good luck to have a being that is quite powerful among us to ward off said beings with just their presence alone?"

Celestia watches with great interest as the once worried crew thinks it over and calms down almost instantly, turning her eyes to Jack thinking, 'If we were to eventually marry, what a marvelous addition to the royal family you will make...'

Jack then looks to the crew and says, "To your places men, we cast off to find new lands once these goods are offloaded!" He hears cheers and looks to Gibbs and says, "First Mate, come to my quarters at once, I must have words with you." He then opens his door and lets the princess enter first saying, "After you, Lady Celestia." He grins as she blushes at being called a lady, then enters after her and closes the door to wait for Gibbs to arrive.

The first mate knocks on the captain's door saying, "It's the first mate Cap'n, you wished to see me?" and waits to be granted entry.

Jack sits on the edge of the table and says, "You may enter, and close the door behind you."

Gibbs then enters and nods his head to the cap'n and says, "What be it that ye wishes to disclose to me Cap'n?"

He then looks to his friend and first mate then says, "I wish to inform you that Celestia is on vacation, and will be spending it with us entirely. She also wishes to be called by her name minus her title, furthermore, we both will be staying in my cabin as we are together. A word of warning to the crew and including you, if any man so much as makes a pass or lays a finger on my lady, they will be punished by being flogged and then keelhauled. Do I make myself clear?"

The first mate then nods his head and says, "Aye Cap'n, crystal clear. I shall pass that along to the crew sir." He then turns and starts to head for the door.

Jack then smiles and says, "Wait to inform the crew of the relationship between Celestia and me when we are further out to sea away from the harbor, we don't want her subjects to find out and panic. Let us head for the destroyed port on the Griffish Isles. Once we are there, we will begin cleaning up the remains of the town and burning them to ashes. After that, we shall begin designs for a much stronger port that will be able to defend itself against attacks. Oh and go to the Open Bar to inform Rich Bit that we are ready to begin the next step, and shall set sail upon their arrival."

Gibbs then nods his head with a smile on his face saying, "Aye Cap'n, I will go at once!" He then hastily exits the cabin and closes the door, then looks to the crew and says, "Make haste in gathering the goods we need for the next step ya gobs, we are to set sail very soon!" He then watches as the crew hurries along to prepare for their journey and returns to his task of heading to the tavern to tell Rich Bit and her nephew the news.

Celestia looks to her love and walks up to him, then places her hands on either side of his face and sighs happily, softly saying, "We are alone and together at last my love, let us not waste this moment." She then looks into his eyes, wanting to express the love she feels towards him.

He then smiles at her and stands off the edge of the table, removes his hat, and lays down onto the table he sat on. Jack looks into her eyes and says, "It would indeed be regrettable if we missed this opportune moment, let me secure the door first so we shan't be interrupted." He then takes hold of her hands and moves them to over her chest and heads towards his desk and opens a drawer, then pulls out a thin board and makes his way towards the door. He then pulls the door open and hangs the board on the small, curved hook on the door reading, Any who enter will be shot dead and closes it then turns to look at his love saying, "Now where did we leave off, my love?"

THIS PORTION IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK, SKIP IF YOU DONT WANT TO READ A SEX SCENE!

Celestia smiles and saunters up to him, swaying her hips side to side slowly, then runs her hands up over his shirt to his cheeks and says, "We are here..." as she leans in to kiss him.

He runs a hand up her back over her silk, sleeveless coral dress with a scooped neckline and ankle-length skirt to the bottom of her mane. He feels each flowing strand pass underneath his hand as he feels the warmth coming from her soft, pearl white coat, reaching the base of her head and tilts his head to the right, and closes the distance between them. His lips land on her fur-covered lips, ignoring the light tickle from the fur as he parts his lips and extends his tongue to explore the inside of her mouth as he slowly guides them towards the bed.

Celestia's eyes close as her heartbeat starts to speed up as her tongue lightly runs against Jack's, caressing it tenderly. Their mouths briefly part and reconnect, allowing a blissful sigh to escape her as she moves her arms around his shoulders and moves one behind his head. She feels his long thick locks of hair brush against the back of her left hand as her right hand tries to shove his coat off of him.

Jack pulls away from her and pulls off the baldric belt over his shoulder and drops onto the floor with a clatter as the sword lands. He then slides his frock coat off of his shoulders then pulls out his pistol and sets it on the nightstand beside the bed along with his compass, and starts to remove the belts around his waist.

She lightly chuckles and softly says, "Is it necessary to wear so many belts, my love?"

He smiles and drops the last one to the floor saying, "If you are a sailor, one belt is essential, however, if you wish to be a good pirate...two is best." He then returns to where he was and then places his arms around her waist and runs both of his hands up the back over her dress, searching for what keeps the dress on her body. As his hands feel a line of buttons, his right hand follows them down to the bottom and finds the belt holding the bags to her hips. He runs one hand to the front of the belt and uses the other to flip the pin on the buckle back to allow him to remove the belt, letting it fall to the floor with a heavy-sounding thud as he moves on to start unfastening the buttons that are keeping the clothing in his way.

Celestia's breath hitches as she feels him start to kiss and lightly nip at her neck and softy moans out, "Not too hard my love, a hickey can permanently discolor one's coat." She then starts to feel around his waist, searching for what she needs to remove to get at the hidden skin underneath it. Finding something wrapped around his waist, she then looks for how to remove it by using her hands.

Jack feels his sash being removed as he gets the last button unfastened and smiles saying, "Shall we get this bothersome dress out of the way, my love?"

She breathes a little heavier, eager to be rid of her clothing, and says in a sultry voice, "Yes, hurry and strip this restrictive clothing off so I can breathe much easier..." she then tosses his sash into a pile with his frock coat, then attempts to wriggle her shoulders free from the article.

He slips behind her and helps her out of her dress, starting with her arms by kissing the base of her neck and gradually sliding the shoulder further along her right arm. As he continues to slowly slide the shoulder of the dress down her arm, he kisses along the top of her arm every inch of the way down until her hand is clear of the offending outfit. Taking her hand in his, he holds her arm out straight and kisses the back of her hand then makes his way back up it. He kisses under her neck as he takes hold of the other shoulder and starts to slide it down her left arm, kissing the whole way down to her other hand. With her other hand freed, he takes hold of it with his right hand and pulls it out straight, then kisses the back of it like before. He then releases the hand and wraps his arms around her back to begin untying her lavender corset and locks his lips onto hers in a deep kiss as she wraps her arms around him, and feels her begin to pull at his shirt.

Celestia feels him working on untying her corset and breaks the kiss gasping for a breath then says, "Oh just cut the accursed thing off, I hate having to wear it all day every day!"

Jack grins and slides the dress down her body to reveal a lavender underdress underneath the corset, then grabs the knife from his boot and holds it with the blade pointing down towards him. He then moves behind her and takes hold of the top of her corset and pries it a little ways away from her skin, then begins to insert the blade carefully underneath of it.

She feels him pull the dress away as the knife lightly touches her skin and says, "Don't you dare cut me, my wings or even my underdress!"

He leans towards her ear and says, "Worry not, my princess, I would never allow myself to so much as harm a single hair on your body. You can put your complete trust in me because I am your pirate." as he pulls the knife towards him suddenly while putting emphasis on pirate, creating a cut in the corset and then tosses the knife onto the nightstand. Using both hands, he spots an open space in the corset just above each wing with a string laced through brass eyelets tied in a bow. He sees how her large wings are able to fit into the corset and unties the bows on each opening, then pulls the strings out and tosses them to the floor. He then holds onto either side of the cut and tears it open all the way to the bottom, sliding the corset down her body, then releases the end held in his right hand and tosses the garment across the cabin saying, "It would be a wise choice to encourage females wearing these torture devices to enhance the appearance of their bodies to stop, due to the risks and restrictions that come from wearing them." He moves in behind her and lays his hands on top of the edges of her wings, then lightly runs them along the edges towards the tips of her wings. Getting close to the small of her back, he slides his hands over to her sides. Wanting to excite her more, he runs his hands up her sides lightly, then to the front of her body. He reaches her stomach and pushes his hands up through her coat, then cups her breasts to find the bra she wears under the dress.

Celestia gasps in relief at feeling the corset being cast away and feels him start to massage her breasts, causing her to lean her head back next to his and say, "How long are you going to tease me with foreplay until you make love to me?"

Jack whispers softly into her ear and says, "Be patient my love, I want our first time to be a night you will never forget." He then runs his hands down her body to her thighs, hiking her dress up by walking his fingertips along her fur. With the lower half of the underdress in his hands, he slowly lifts the dress higher up her body.

She feels the dress rise up her body higher and higher, raising her arms up over her head for him to fully remove it saying, "Then you are doing a wonderful job, my pirate. I certainly will not permit myself to ever forget this night, you should know that there is no risk of me becoming with foal because I learned of a special remedy that the Zebra tribes use to prevent unwanted births during the spring season for us equines. I believe they called it Moon Tea because it is made from a flower that only blooms during the light of a full moon, so there is no need for you to hold yourself back. I will give you my all if you give me your all, for I am yours as you are mine."

He chuckles and pulls the dress up over her head and twists his hand around to bind her hands and whispers to her, "I wondered if the ponies knew about it or not, I learned about it when I hit a line of griffon caravels escorting a brig and rescued a bunch of captured zebras that the griffons planned to use as slaves. The whole reason I chose to behead the griffon king is due to the fact he endorsed enslaving others."

Celestia gasps at feeling her hands be bound together by her dress and held above and behind her head saying, "You must really dislike slavery to do something like that to royalty."

Jack untwists his hand and gently pulls the dress off of her and let's go, then walks in front of her as he trails his right hand around her midsection with a smile on his face saying, "Aye, that I do because it is no fun for the unfortunate soul to be the slave that has their freedom taken away. No more of this unpleasant subject and let us return to our special night." He then kisses her lovingly once more and wraps his arms behind her, finding the clasp holding her bra together and unhooks it.

She quickly slips out of her silver bra and drops it to the floor, letting her c-cup breasts hang freely before her pirate while kissing him the whole time as she wraps her arms around him saying, "It's your turn to take things off you know, you have almost completely stripped me bare while you still have your shirt and pants on."

He chuckles and backs away saying, "Aye love, that is true." as he starts to remove his shirt and slips his pants off along with his long underwear.

Celestia looks at his member hanging between his legs as he walks back up to her and steps out of her dress, then uses a hoof to kick it away from her. She feels the silver shoes on her hooves and desires to be rid of them, she adjusts her weight to one leg and kicks the other back to get rid of the shoe. She hears it strike something wood first then metal, after changing her stance, she kicks out of the other one, hearing it strike wood with a couple of solid thunks as it lands on the floor.

Jack looks at where the shoe landed and sees that it landed on a hook near the door, he guides her to his left with her back facing towards the bow of the ship. He bends at the knees and runs his hands down below her rear saying, "Don't worry love, I will tend to your stern." and lifts her up above his waist.

She is shocked at feeling him lift her up suddenly and chuckles in surprise and wraps her arms behind his neck as her breasts sit to either side of his chin and looks into his eyes saying, "You really know how to treat a lady, my love, do you treat all females like this or just me?" she then wraps her legs behind his back and hooks her hocks together as he starts to turn towards the bed.

He smiles and looks into her eyes saying, "Only you will get this level of intimacy along with the love that I feel only towards you." He then lowers onto the bed slowly, and climbs up onto the bed with her saying, "Allow me to treat you to a few special things that I don't do for any female I don't love." He then begins to slowly kiss her lips, gradually making his way further down her body.

Celestia gasps as she feels him take her left nipple into his mouth and begins to suck on it, then lightly bite and pull on it while massaging her other breast as he rolls the nipple between and under his fingers saying, "Oh! Wha...What do you mea..." She then unlocks her legs and runs her hands along his back, feeling the muscles in his back and looks at the writing tattooed on his back, and attempts to read it.

Jack releases her nipple from his lips with a pop as he slips his left hand down her side and rests next to her thigh saying, "You shall see, lay down my love." He then runs his other hand down her right side and to her thigh, then uses both hands to grab hold of her silver panties and starts to slide them down along her rump slowly to allow her to lift her rear to permit him to completely remove them.

She breathes heavily and lays down saying, "O-Okay. You have my body heated up and eagerly waiting to make love." while lifting her rear, she feels him start to pull her panties past her cheeks.

He crawls his way to the foot of the bed, then kisses down her stomach and past her navel. He sits back on his lower legs, propping his upper body while he slowly pulls her panties off her hooves and tosses them to the floor. He then works his way further down the bed, then gently pushes her legs further apart, and kisses just above her clitoris. He slides a bit further down the bed as his mouth reaches its target and runs his arms under her legs, laying his hands on her stomach as he gives her southern lips a kiss first followed by a long lick. He notices she tastes sweet like fruit and opens his mouth, places it onto the top of her lips, and slips his tongue between her folds briefly.

Celestia's head slams back into the bed as she hisses in pleasure and loudly says, "Oh!" After hearing her louder voice, she quickly casts a silencing barrier around the room to prevent anyone outside from hearing their activities in here. She feels him slip his tongue further inside of her entrance as her hands caress the back of his head, starting to softly moan as he stays down there.

Jack takes his time giving her pleasure when he feels his love lock her legs behind his back, trying to pull him further towards her, grasping his hair firmly as her moans get even louder. He places the middle finger on his right hand against the top of her folds and moves it back and forth repeatedly until he starts to feel her really rock her hips as her lips part and clench shut again quickly when her loud moans gradually start to become screams of pleasure.

Her eyes open wide as her body begins to feel really hot and wound up, getting closer to some sort of an edge when her back suddenly arches away from the bed as her wings shoot out from her sides. Not hearing the loud thunk coming from the wall in her highly aroused state, her mind goes blank as she screams out her lover's name saying, "OH JACK...OH JACK...OH JAAAACK!!" unknowingly screaming his name in the royal voice as her vision goes blinding white with her eyes illuminating the entire room, causing the outside of the dark windows to glow a blindingly pure white light and catch the eyes of some of the crew.

He feels her legs dig into his back as her hand firmly grasps his hair and forcing his head to stay there as a couple of hot jets of liquid shoot into the back of his throat, catching him by surprise and swallows it when the squirts briefly gush into his mouth three times. He continues to swallow the fluid as the room starts to go completely white, forcing him to close his eyes as her body shudders and convulses against his mouth.

Celestia's whole body slowly relaxes after a few minutes and leaves her gasping to catch her breath and says, "Wha...What was...What Tartaroos was..." She shakes her head and tries again to speak saying, "What in...the Tartarus...was THAT!?"

Jack smiles and chuckles saying, "Well done love, that is called an orgasm. The female staff at the castle had orgasms too, though I only used my hands and my manhood to cause them. No other female has ever had the privilege of me going down on her as you just have, I must say I am impressed with how intense yours was. I will be seeing spots for a little while now due to you accidentally making this room turn completely white during your orgasm, I do wonder if anyone in Baltimare heard that very loud royal scream."

She looks at him and chuckles softly, not really registering what he just said due to the pleasant way she feels right now, and says, "Oh shut up and show me how much you love me, my pirate."

Gibbs stands at the helm, looking down at the water as they sail on the sea just beyond the bay to Baltimare and chuckles thinking, 'Ya sure have picked an interesting one to love Cap'n, I sure hope ya know what yer getting yerself into. At least no one saw the light coming out of the windows, count yer blessings that only we heard that cry of pleasure when she called out yer name. I'll be teasing ya both about this when it's just the three of us.'

He crawls up her body kissing along the way, passing her navel, and continues to go higher as he lightly brushes his body against hers occasionally. He feels her lightly run her fingernails along his back then sucks on her neglected right nipple, then pulls away from it as it pops out of his mouth. He continues to kiss up to her lips as his member slides up her entrance and lies on top of her crotch, he kisses her briefly and pulls away asking, "Are you ready for this next part love?"

Celestia looks dreamily into his eyes and nods her head saying, "Yes, my love, I am ready."

Jack uses one hand to align himself at her entrance and says, "I shall commence with claiming for myself, love." as he takes her lips into a deep kiss and thrusts himself into her tight folds, enjoying the moist warmth of her depths as he starts to slowly rock his hips back and forth.

Her eyes shoot open as she feels him push into her deeply, reaching places no stallion has been before. She lays one hand around his back and places the other at the back of his head, letting out soft moans as he gets into a steady, slow rhythm of pulling his member out and pushing it further in.

He takes his time and paces himself to ensure she enjoys herself to the fullest as he also runs a hand to the back of her head, feeling the fine strands of her soft, ethereal mane pass underneath his palm. He then runs his other palm to the spot between the base of her wings, feeling where the fur turns into tiny feathers, and lightly applying pressure as he increases the frequency of his thrusts.

Celestia holds him close as he breaks the kiss to let her breathe for a little bit and moans out, "Oh Jack, I love you." as she feels him push into her once again and gasps in pleasure.

Jack loses track of how long he spends with his love as he feels himself get closer to his own orgasm and begins to drive himself into her and hilts as his hips meet hers, then pulls away and does it again while looking into her eyes saying, "I am close love, are you ready?"

She feels him swelling within her as his sack continuously slaps against her back door and gasps saying, "Y-Yes my love, give it all to me, make me yours!" she then drags her nails along his back as she suddenly feels his hips meet hers once more as he enters her womb. A moment later she feels a searing warmth flood into her as he reaches his orgasm and locks her legs around his back, her wings shoot out as another orgasm is triggered by his and opens her mouth and latches onto the meaty part between the base of his neck and his shoulder.

He feels himself shoot his seed into her as her folds clench tightly around him, wanting him to remain in her as her orgasm causes his to continue on for a bit longer. He closes his hand and grips her ethereal mane in it, then gently pulls it down as he tries to push deeper into her when she latches onto his shoulder and her wings shoot out to her sides.

Celestia's body slowly relaxes against the bed and settles into the pleasant sensation after and lightly caresses his back and where she bit him softly saying, "Sorry I bit you, that is something that ponies do when they are highly aroused."

Jack sighs blissfully as his body also relaxes as her folds stop squeezing him so tightly and lies down beside her as she folds her wings back under her. He rests an arm across her stomach and says with a soft chuckle, "I thought you might actually turn me into a eunuch with how tightly you gripped me at the end."

She rolls to her side and stares him in the eyes, smiling softly at him saying, "I was worried for a moment there from the searing warmth you filled me with, speaking of which, I need to clean up all of what spills out of me when I relax myself down there. I won't be walking properly for a couple of days, what time is it?"

He looks over at the clock and sees that it is 6:30 and says, "It is 6:30 in the evening love, why do you ask?"

Celestia gasps and tries to get up, but feels nothing as her legs refuse to cooperate with her and says, "It is past sundown, I need to lower the sun and raise the moon!"

Jack chuckles and says, "Then let us take care of that and return to embracing each other through the night, shall we?" He then gets off the bed and stands up, then picks her up in his arms and makes his way to the back three windows. He stops before the middle one and says, "Would you mind opening the middle window love, my hands are a bit occupied."

She smiles and flips the latch on the window, then pushes the locking arm out. The window is pushed away from the frame, revealing the vast seas behind the ship and says, "Okay, position me so that I can see where the sun is at so I can change day into night. You are quite privileged to be able to watch me do this, not very many get to see me do this."

He watches her move the sun and then the moon saying, "So regarding our plan to bring your sister back, how are you coming along with helping ponies find partners?"

Celestia sighs sadly and says, "With the war taking many of our stallions, it is going a little easier now. So far I have managed to help 300 ponies find love." She looks to the room and sees a long trail of white fluid that has spilled out of her onto the floor leading to a large pool on the floor under her, chuckling lightly and casts a small spell to clean up the mess and says, "And what progress have you made on the grand plan, my love?"

END OF SCENE, ENJOY THE REST OF THE STORY

Jack smiles at her and says, "I am following where my desires lead me, and they led me to each of the ships in the griffon armada. Now they lead me to the Griffish Isles where you, me, the crew, and a couple of friends will create a new port town that belongs to no nation where any and all can come to trade goods and have a good time." He then pulls her head back through the window as she closes and latches it, and makes his way back towards the bed with her held in his arms.

She looks at the bed and pulls the covers back on the bed as he sets her down gently and says, "I will take the spot closest to the wall, you take the spot closest to the door in case anyone forces their way into this room." She then lowers the silencing barrier she put up earlier and slides into her spot saying, "I will treasure our first night together forever, my love." She then pulls his face towards hers and gives him a tender kiss on the lips, then settles down into her spot and waits for him to join her.

He makes his way to the door of the cabin and opens it and calls to the crew, "Get some rest lads, keep one man on watch through the night and relieve him after three hours. Furl all sails and drop anchor, then douse the lamps. Goodnight lads, the hard work will begin when we arrive at the Griffish Isles." He then pulls the plank off the hook and closes his door, then returns it to the drawer he got it from and crawls into bed beside his love as she snuggles up against him and wraps her arms around his back, sliding her right leg in between his to ensure he doesn't go anywhere.

Chapter 7: Family Matters

A week passes them by as the Black Pearl sails into the destroyed and looted port town called Griffington located at the south side of the island as Celestia stands at the bow of the ship beside Jack. She looks over the extensive damage that was done to the buildings around the port and says, "You have done some serious damage to this port, I am amazed that no civilians died during the night attack you staged. Where does the clean-up begin with this harbor, and how can I assist with it?"

Jack looks at the masts sticking up out of the water and nervously chuckles asking, "Might you be willing to use your marvelous alicorn magic to move the sunken ships onto dry land, so they can be stripped down and reduced to nothing after the wood dries?"

Celestia looks at jack and narrows her eyes saying, "You wish to use my magic to remove the shipwrecks?! I surely hope that this is not all that I am good for, I do have other useful skills you know?"

He smiles and places his right arm around her shoulders and whispers, "Oh I'm well aware of those skills."

She blushes and then sighs and concentrates her magic on the first wreck, then slowly lifts it off the bottom of the harbor and moves it well inland. She lightly sweats from moving the one ship and releases her hold on it, then takes a short break saying, "I am surprised that moving one ship was going to be so difficult, I will continue moving the others after a bit of rest."

Jack nods his head to her and says, "I thought that it may be a little challenging for you, but I appreciate you sticking to the task. I shall then order the men to head ashore and start gathering the debris and setting it into piles and dousing it with oil, then set it alight. I shall take a few men with me ashore to gather the dead griffons that were left behind and find a spot further inland to build a graveyard so they receive a proper burial."

Celestia smiles and briefly rests her head against his saying, "You really are a good man for showing such kindness and respect for the fallen warriors, once I finish moving these wrecks to the shore so the water can run out of them, I shall come to join you and help clear an area of the palm trees."

He then smiles and says, "Very well then, I shall give the men their orders and head ashore. I will see you when you complete the task." He then looks to his men as they finish furling the sails and dropping the anchor saying, "Alright lads, let us head ashore and begin burning this debris away. After the port is all cleaned up of the old buildings and wharf, we shall begin with designing a new port and name it Portuga! Take a few barrels of whale oil ashore, and be sure to keep them far away from the fires.

Later in the day, near sunset

Celestia watches as the crewmen work on chopping holes in the bottoms of the ships, removing the remaining cannons still on board as well as what else they can salvage from the ships. The griffons still inside the wrecks are lined on the sand to be carried off and buried, bringing a few tears to her eyes at how terrified they must have felt knowing they were going to die. She then looks away at the setting sun as several piles of debris burn as the old port of Griffington slowly is taken down and put to the fire by the crew. Knowing that it is time to lower the sun and raise the moon, she looks up into the sky and begins to set the sun slowly towards the horizon.

Gibbs watches the princess set the sun slowly and says, "What a beautiful sunset Yer Highness, ya should do it that way more often."

She looks to the first mate and smiles, then gives him a nod saying, "I thank you for the compliment, I will consider doing that more often."

Jack looks to the crew and says, "You all have done a good day's work lads, you may choose to sleep on the ship tonight or sleep under the night sky. Goodnight lads, for tomorrow we finish cleaning up the remaining buildings as the shipwrecks are searched and burned." He then looks to Celestia and offers her his hand saying, "Shall we turn in for the night, my love?"

Celestia finishes raising the moon and takes his hand saying, "I think that we should, for I am quite tired from moving those ships to shore."

Six months later, at the newly finished wharf of Portuga

Jack walks Celestia down the wide dock and looks at her saying, "We are making decent progress, however, I think that more experienced building crews are needed if we are to have this port town finished before winter comes."

She smiles and looks at Jack and says, "I agree with you on that since we have all agreed on the layout and design of the town and its defenses, I can send a letter to my assistant to send the building crews needed to build it." She then pulls out a scroll and writes down the message to the assistant, then writes what is needed for the project on another scroll and sends it off with a flash.

Swift Quill watches as a scroll pops up before her in the princess's magic and smiles thinking, 'I wonder how your vacation is coming along, Your Majesty. Let's see what news she has from her relaxing vacation.' She opens it and reads it, her eyes go wide in shock at how she is enjoying assisting the Black Pearl's crew to erect a neutral port city for all creatures to trade goods and have fun. She turns to the other page to find the list of resources that are needed to get the port finished before winter comes, forcing them to wait to continue after spring comes around. She double-checks the numbers required and feels herself become dizzy at how much materials the princess is calling for, she looks at the bottom of the list to see the number of skilled craftsmen she is requesting and finally falls to the floor as the list lands on the ground over her head thinking, 'You want to erect a new port city with full defenses in five months using all of these materials?! That would be like taking Canterlot apart brick by brick and redesigning it and building it again in a year, but I shall follow your request Your Highness, and start immediately.'

Three months pass by as the port city quickly starts to take shape thanks to how the streets are laid out neatly, having a wide brick street running from the port north, then up and around a hill to the Governor's office, a series of scattered residences, taverns, restaurants, and inns sit on either side of the wide Mainstreet. A market sits near the harbor with a street extending further to the left of the wharf leading to several warehouses for various goods storage protected by an unfinished wall surrounding them all and connecting to the outer unfinished wall with stairs leading down inside the district. On the opposite end of the storage area sits open fields with pens for livestock to be kept and sold, just north of that sits a few butcher shops that make meat from the livestock or any animals brought in to be food. On the opposite side of the Mainstreet, north-northwest of the butcher shop a couple of brothels sit, offering services to either males or females. South of the brothels sits a couple of foundries and smithies for making weapons. A large drydock for building new ships is close to the storage area, having the harbormaster's office in the same place.

Three Months later, one week before winter comes to Equestria

Jack sits at the large oval table in the cellar of the large manor overlooking the newly completed port city of Portuga and looks around the table stopping at the Governor of the whole Island saying, "Now that this city is finished Governor Rich Bit, shall we discuss what is to be done next?"

Governor Rich Bit looks at the room full of pirates and sets her eyes on Celestia, then looks to her nephew and says, "Are you sure we can trust her with this information Jack? She is the Princess of Equestria after all."

He gets Celestia's attention by bumping his hand lightly against hers then looks into her eyes saying, "Before our relationship can progress further love, I must tell you something that only the ones here in this room know. Can you keep this secret from anyone not considered family?"

Celestia's eyes turn away and consider it for a moment, then look back into his eyes and says, "If it's for you, of course, I would keep anyone not my direct family. What do you wish to share with me, my love?"

Jack then nods his head and says, "I do have a couple of members of my family from the world I came from, Rich bit ais my Grandmama and her son Tacky Jack is my Uncle Jack. They both prefer to be called by their names to avoid unwanted attention." He then looks to his Grandmama and says, "Grandmama, I would like you to meet my better half, Princess Celestia." He then looks to Celestia and says, "Love, meet my grandmama who is responsible for me turning out the way I have. Would you wish to become closer to my family by joining us as a pirate yourself?"

Grandmama looks to Celestia with a hard look and says, "Am I to understand you are of royal blood? Then understand this, you will be getting no special treatment. If ya want to be treated like everyone else here and be part of my grandson's life, ya will have to either become a pirate or say goodbye to him. So make yer choice now, what will it be...princess.

She looks to Rich Bit as her mouth hangs open in shock at what she just heard, then spends several minutes considering what she really wants to do. She returns her eyes to her and says, "Then I shall become a pirate, for I do not want to lose what I have with Jack."

The governor grins and nods her head saying, "Very well then Princess Pirate, to make it official we will have to give you a tattoo to show your commitment." She then looks to her son and says, "Jack, go get the enchanted tattoo set as she works to earn herself a name."

Celestia cocks her head curiously and asks, "Umm...where is this tattoo going to be placed, and how big will it be?"

Grandmama smiles and says, "This tattoo goes on the underside of your right forearm, just behind your wrist. As for how big it is, you shall find out shortly when we begin shaving the fur away where the tattoo will be."

Jack takes hold of Celestia's hand and taps it reassuringly saying, "Be glad that you aren't being branded with a hot iron as most pirates were that ran afoul of the East India Trading Company, that hurts a hundred times more than just getting a simple tattoo."

Uncle Jack returns with the kit and places it in front of his mother saying, "Here ya go mum, shall we get started then?"

The princess watches as the governor makes her way towards her with the strange-looking needle, a wooden mallet, and inkwell, and watches as Captain Jack takes her right hand and lays it on the table with the palm facing up then holds it in place.

He looks the princess in the eyes and says, "Try to keep your forearm relaxed, it will make it less painful for you when the tattooing starts."

Tacky Jack takes a razor blade and some cream then smears it into the fur just past her wrist. He then unfolds the blade and sharpens it for a couple of minutes before wiping it clean and begins shaving off her white fur, dipping the blade in a basin of water to rinse it off a few times before finishing her wrist and cleans the blade off then folds it closed.

Celestia's heart begins to beat harder as she watches the needle get dipped into the inkwell, then is set against her skin when she grabs the wooden mallet. She gasps in brief pain as Grandmama begins tapping on the needle with the mallet, wincing in mild pain as she watches her dip the needle back into the inkwell to reload it.

Jack watches as a thick black P is tattooed on her wrist and says, "You're doing well love, just continue to relax and it will be over before you know it."

Grandmama finishes the tattoo and wipes away the excess ink saying, "Keep this clean or it may get infected, the tattoo is enchanted and will retain its shape and not blur. When your fur grows back, the tattoo will be visible underneath. It can be concealed with dye or paint, but will have to be maintained every month." She puts the items away and looks at the princess's face, then roughly slaps her on the back just above her wings saying, "Welcome to the family ya scurvy mongrel! Now we shall need to get ya accustomed to the good rum that we drink, after dealing with other important pirate matters first."

Gibbs then smiles and chuckles, saying, "I wouldn't be drinking and flying on our rum Yer Majesty, for it packs quite a punch."

Rich Bit then looks around the table and says, "Now first off, we need a Brethren Court and write a book stating the Pirate's Code. What do ya all think about holding a contest between pirate captains, set up in a series of duels where the winner of the last duel at the end of each set chooses where their domains will be? Before the contest, we will need to collect small trinkets for the captains to use as their proof of leadership."

Jack looks around, seeing them all agree with the idea, and says, "I think that the duels should be with any melee weapons with the exception being no pistols, and not to the death."

She looks at him curiously and nods her head saying, "That is wise, it would be bad to not have enough winners to be pirate lords. I shall remain here and begin getting this port in working order, so start emptying the warehouse in Baltimare and bringing it all here to be sorted."

He nods to her and says, "Very well Grandmama, we shall begin at once." He then looks to the crew in the room and says, "Alright lads, head back to the Black Pearl and set sail for the port town of Baltimare!"

Several months later, around mid-Spring in Canterlot

Celestia finishes the day's tasks as she sets the sun slowly, eager to go find the Black Pearl to continue discussing her desire to add to their family.

Jack sails the Black Pearl out towards the sea, feeling very pleased with claiming his position as Pirate Lord of the Celestial Sea. He puts away his manticore tooth when he hears a flapping sound approaching the ship and shouts, "Oi, who goes there!?"

She approaches the back of the Black Pearl after flying for nearly an hour from her room in Canterlot, saying, "It is Princess Celestia, I wish to have an important discussion with you regarding our relationship."

He watches her land on the deck near the wheel and says, "Anything that's of importance to you matters to me, what is it you wish to discuss?"

Celestia looks into his eyes and stops beside him and lowers her voice a little, saying, "About my desire to add to our family, and the fact that you keep trying to avoid talking about it."

Jack's eyes lock onto hers as he flinches and says, "Why do you have your heart so set on adding a child into our equation and becoming a mother?"

She tilts her head to the side lightly and says, "I have seen the way other mothers smile when looking upon the face of a life they helped bring into the world, and how much joy it brings them as fully realized women. I really would like to complete our beautiful family of pirates with you, my love, don't you feel the same way about raising a family?"

His face cringes as he then says, "I have seen many mothers where I came from, and the looks on their faces were most definitely not happy ones. Babies are quite bothersome, noisy, smelly, and ugly creatures that seem intent on making their parents suffer from bringing them into existence."

Celestia giggles lightly and says, "Well this world is different than yours is, there is a lot more love among us ponies than you humans. It is true that babies are a big responsibility, but after the first few years, they are much easier to care for once they learn to speak. Have you never thought of having a child with someone, or at least ever giving it a second thought?"

Jack scoffs and then says, "HAH! Me? Have a child with someone?! Perish the thought. If I brought a child into this world, it would be quite a terror to raise. You would have to conceal the child from the public's eyes or they would want to know who the parents are, and I do enjoy not being chased around by mobs of ponies demanding answers."

She saunters up to him and giggles again saying, "Awe, does the big bad pirate feel that they will lose their freedom and have to live on land?"

He turns and looks at the wheel like it is the most interesting thing in the world and blushes saying, "That is part of it, the other half is that I worry about being a good enough father to raise the child properly."

Celestia brushes up against him and coos in his ear saying, "Well I for one, think that you would make a marvelous father. With how roughly you were raised, you strive to be better with every task you take on."

Jack then looks past the bow of the ship for a few moments in deep thought asking, "If I do help in adding to our family, will you always be there for our child should I meet my fate at sea. I will always consider the sea my home, which means I won't ever buy a house nor live on land. For this child to have the freedom to do what they wish, the child must be introduced to the public as an orphan. When they are old enough to understand, inform them of why we chose to keep their existence hidden from the eyes of the public. I do request that you both spend the first few years on this ship, though for you to be able to get away for that long would require you to be kidnapped publicly while I am disguised as a pony."

Her eyes grow larger in amazement as she smiles widely saying, "Oh thank you, my love, you will not regret making this choice!" while throwing her arms around Jack and hugs him tightly. She then softly asks, "We shall have to wait two weeks for the Moon Tea's effects to wear off before we start trying, I understand the secrecy to keep the public from finding out they are our child. Though I will not be calling them an orphan, they will have you as a parent while I raise them until they are of age to understand why we raised them the way we have. How about you kidnap me during the dreadfully dull Grand Galloping Gala, that will make it more enjoyable for me to be there. You can then kidnap me when I greet you and shake your hand, though I shall need to cover my appearance to remain hidden from the guards' search parties."

He looks into her eyes and nods his head as a smile makes its way across his face saying, "Aye love, I shall steal you away from your shackles of leadership for a few years, which you can then claim to have made a miraculous escape and punishing them in the process."

Three weeks pass by as Celestia ignores the urges to present herself to a stallion, and forcing her tail to stay down and not flag and wave her scent around. She fidgets in her throne as she eagerly waits for the moment she can set the moon and raise the sun. After handing a scroll to her assistant Swift Quill she says, "I shall be away from Canterlot on important matters for a month, therefore day court is canceled during that time so be sure to follow the orders on that scroll to a T." and walks down the steps to her throne, then makes her way to the balcony and changes the night into day. As she moves the sun and moon together, she eagerly waits for the moment she can stretch her wings and search for where her beloved captain has gone.

Jack wanders down the streets of the populated city of Portuga, looking towards the city square to see a white flag with a black skull with black swords standing vertically to either side as their tips point straight up. Seeing that the pirate flag of peace is flying, he smiles and continues to wander down the street as he walks past the brothels to see a pure white griffoness making her way towards him swiftly with an angry glare on her face.

Galanda's feathers ruffle in anger as she spots the pirate responsible for her situation, she stops before him and slaps him across the face shouting, "I was hoping to find you one day, you owe a price in blood for what your attack on Griffonstone cost my family."

He cocks his head in confusion and looks at her while rubbing his cheek saying, "A thousand pardons, but I do not see how I am responsible for what you lost."

She gets a little closer to him and raises her voice saying, "Do you remember the female griffon that you gave a family portrait to that was in a silver frame, that was my mother. I was there when you sank my father's ship, I was hovering in the sky watching over my mother when she went to go claim it from you. I hold you responsible for my family because when you attacked Griffonstone, my mother and my uncle lost their lives and left me as the one responsible to provide for the twins that survived your attack. You are also responsible for the princess's newfound freedom when you beheaded her father before her, you ruined her life and drove her to come here to work in a brothel, hoping to forget seeing her father's head stop before her paws. So Captain Jack Sparrow, Lord of the Celestial Sea, you have a debt of blood to settle with me. I shall give you time to reach a decision, return here when you have found a way to satisfy the debt."

Jack sighs and looks away briefly and gazes into her pain-filled eyes saying, "A blood debt means that no amount of coin or treasure will appease it, the only way to satisfy it is by paying the price with my blood. I shall honor this and return when I have reached a solution to the blood debt, might six years be too long to decide such payment?"

Galanda nods her head at what he asks, saying, "Do not forget about the deadline or I shall hunt you down and take your life as payment." She removes one of her feathers and makes a small cut on her hand. She places the tip of the feather against it to stain it red, then hands it over to him saying, "You have six years from today to make a decision, Lord of the Celestial Sea."

He takes the feather and tucks it under his top belt, then nods his head to her and turns away. He walks down through the streets, looking up at the walls having newly finished 38-pound cannons with steel wheels and sighs thinking, 'Celestia will not be too pleased about this blood debt I have accrued suddenly, but she will understand it once I explain how it started to her.'

Three hours pass by when Celestia finally locates the Black Pearl in Portuga and smiles thinking, 'Not too much longer to wait until we can begin trying, my love.'

Jack sails his ship out past the two towers near the ends of the bay, looking at the great, spiked iron chain hanging from the middle of each tower. The chain is spelled against corrosion and damage from being underwater for long periods of time, preventing any ship from escaping the harbor or trying to enter it. He then sees a pair of white wings in the distance, instantly recognizing the pony they belong to as his love. He continues to sail the ship past the harbor as he watches the princess circle around the ship to land on the aft of the ship saying, "Full canvas lads, we begin our search for lost treasures!"

Celestia watches as the ship's crew opens up all the sails, bringing a grin to her face as she then narrows her wings and goes into a dive. As she heads towards the deck while making small adjustments to her approach, she follows the ship as it moves away from her. Finally reaching a position to land, she flares her wings out and flaps them to slow her descent. She comes to a smooth and elegant landing saying, "I am here to spend some quality time with you my love, have you missed me?"

He looks at her and smiles saying, "Like a sailor that has no legs misses the sea, of course, I have missed you love. After we furl the sails for the night, we shall retire to my cabin and prepare for the future."

She smiles and nods her head saying, "In that case, may I retire to your cabin while you sail the ship?"

Jack nods his head saying, "Go right ahead, there is something I must discuss with you tonight. I shall join you once the sun sinks past the horizon, love." He takes her hand in his and kisses the back of it lightly, giving her a gentle bow before returning to steering the ship.

Celestia curtseys in response and says, "Thank you, milord, I shall see you tonight my love." She then turns and makes her way towards his cabin to make preparations for their first attempt at increasing their family.

The day wears on and passes them by as the sun sets, turning it into night as the moon rises into the sky above the horizon when the captain says, "Furl all sails and drop anchor, get some rest lads for tomorrow we shall start to look for lost treasure!"

She hears the door to the cabin open and close as he enters the room, hanging his hat on a hook beside her shoes while he removes his compass and pistol. She watches him set them on the nightstand as he heads over to the desk to take the sign from the drawer, walks to the door and opens it, then closes it after hanging the sign on the hook. She watches him walks towards the bed slowly and starts to strip out of his clothing, piling it onto the floor beside her dress, then looks up at him from the bed in her underdress saying, "What do you wish to discuss with me, did you change your mind about trying for a child?"

Jack strips out of his pants and his shirt, then unties the wrap around his wrist and slips out of his skivvies saying, "Perish the thought, love. I do want to try for a child with you, the matter I wanted to inform you about is in regards to what happened during my attack on Griffonstone." He then sits down beside her and looks into her eyes saying, "During the war between the Griffon Empire and Equestria, I came across a griffonian ship and killed its captain. I rummaged through the captain's quarters and found a picture in a silver frame and made my way outside, I noticed movement in the sky and spotted two griffons circling us. They started to move away when I got their attention and informed them I had something of theirs they might want, one of them came to investigate and accepted the family portrait I had offered. I let them fly away and had the crew set fire to the magazine, and resumed my journey to Baltimare. Today I have learned that I had caused a family to really suffer after I attacked Griffonstone, I claimed the lives of the griffons that were providing for the other children. Because I ruined her life and made her responsible for providing for two children, I have inadvertently created a blood debt to her. I have six years to decide how I am going to repay the debt to her, I feel remorse at being responsible for her situation and ruining the griffon princess's life as well."

Celestia sits up in bed after hearing the story and pulls him into a close hug saying, "Don't even consider offering her your life, I would rather you repay the debt by conceiving a child with her instead. With that matter settled, let us begin trying for a child of our own. After all, you have to the end of spring to make me with foal, and six years to try for our first."

He pulls out of the hug and grins at her saying, "Aye love, that does settle the issue. I was worried you would be furious with me for the debt. Let us start our first night of love-making in hopes of completing our family with a child." He then pulls her in for a kiss as he starts to remove her underdress.

She giggles playfully and silently whispers, "Who says we shall stop at just one..." as she feels her dress being pulled over her head, and reaches around her back to take her bra off. She tosses it to the floor while laying herself down on the bed, then raises her hips off the bed so the matching silken, coral-colored panties can come off. She slips one hoof out of them and uses her other hoof to deftly sling them across the room, giggling as a leg hole catches on a candlestick and hangs at the bottom of the arch. She looks into his eyes and says, "Did you know that the game of horseshoes is extremely popular now, there is a tournament coming up in a few months. Perhaps you and I can go watch it together, or would you rather spread more tales about our first night together?" as her mane slowly starts to smoke in annoyance at when she first heard of the game's invention and the story behind it.

Jack chuckles and stops kissing down her stomach saying, "That was several months ago, how are you still mad about that? For the record, I did leave your name out when I told them part of the story about what happened when your horseshoe happened to land on the hook perfectly."

Celestia lightly scowls and mocks him saying, "And thus, the game called horseshoes came to be." She titters and calms herself down saying, "That's enough talking for me, let's get started with the lovemaking." and casts a silencing barrier to prevent anyone from hearing her screams of pleasure while pushing his head further down her body.

Chapter 8: Unexpected Discoveries

Jack stands at the helm and follows his compass as it leads him south across the Celestial Seas towards the extremely cold and frozen ice fields in the southern Neighdian Deep when it changes course to the southwest, adjusting his course to follow it thinking, "What treasures shall we find on this journey?"

Celestia sits in the cabin as another bout of sickness overwhelms her, making her grab the nearby bucket and throws up the contents of her stomach into it. When it passes, she puts the bucket back down on the floor and returns to laying in the bed with a groan saying, "Uuuggghhh...When will this sickness pass so we can continue trying for a child." Her eyes drift closed and slowly returns to sleep.

The day wears on when Jack spots an island in the distance shaped like the skull of a large dragon and snaps his compass closed and says to the crew, "Prepare to furl the sails lads, we have finally arrived at our destination."

Gibbs looks at the island as he watches smoke rise from the broken horn at the end of the skull's snout while lava trickles out of the nostril and eye socket, turning his head to the captain saying, "Are we really going to venture inside that rock, Cap'n?"

He looks to his first mate and nods his head saying, "Aye mate, this be where the compass points to. Are you telling me that you are scared of a smoking rock with lava running out of it?" He then looks to his crew and says, "Ready the longboat, we are heading to that rock shaped like a dragon skull to search for treasure."

The first mate watches as they sail into the mouth of the skull-shaped rock, and sees a cave at the back of the mouth saying, "Something don't feel right here cap'n, I get the feeling we should avoid this place and whatever treasure that lies within."

Jack steps onto the cave floor as the longboat reaches the end of the passage, holding a lantern before him as he takes the first step and looks back saying, "Mind the boat." and continues walking down the passage.

Not wanting to miss out on another journey at seeing the pirates call back to the one behind them to mind the boat, Mr cotton stands up and looks to the cook behind him and gestures with his hand for him to mind the boat and tries to say, "Migh ha hoa." and follows the others into the cave with a smile on his face.

Mr. Cotton's parrot flies ahead into the cave to scout for dangers within and squawks, "Steady as she goes." He continues to fly through the passage, darting around stalactites hanging down from the ceiling and a few large stalagmites rising up from the floor. He spots a glint in the distance and focuses on it as he continues flying through the cave, and spots a pile of gold that slowly turns into two large piles of gold. When he finally reaches the room, he looks at a vast treasure hoard and squawks, "Shiver me timbers!" and lands upon a stalagmite as he stares at the detailed stone chest before him.

Jack continues down the passage, following the squawks that Mr. Cotton's parrot makes saying, "I'm glad that you have that parrot, Mr. Cotton, he makes an impressive scout. Although he wasn't very clear on the danger we were in when we landed on that island inhabited by the Pentecostals, he still tried his best to warn us." He then continues down the long passage and draws his sword saying, "Best be on your guard lads, I do not fancy acting as a god for some crazy tribe of cannibals." He then hears his crew say aye and draw their swords as well, as he continues down through the wide passage, he finally spots a glint of light and tries to identify what it was.

A few more minutes pass when Jack is able to see a large pile of gold and jewels, more piles come into view as he gets closer to the room. He smiles when he looks around the room at all of the piles containing gold, jewels, and jewelry, his smile turns into a frown as his eyes land on a familiar stone chest saying, "No...I thought I was rid of you, why in the devil are you in this world?"

Gibbs follows the crew into the room and sees the same chest that Jack is looking at and says, "We all know about the curse involved with that stone chest, so I propose that we all help ourselves to the treasure AROUND that accursed stone chest. Do ya agree with that, cap'n?"

He walks up to the stone chest and sees that it is cracked open from when he and Will Turner placed the lid back on the chest, then places his hands on the far side of the lid saying, "I agree with that proposal Gibbs. After we load all this treasure into the hold, let us properly hide this chest away from the world so none shall ever find it. If there is room for all this treasure in the Pearl's hold, load everything else first and keep an eye out for any rings then set them aside for now." and pulls it completely shut, watching the cursed gold disappear as the lid slides closed and breathes a sigh of relief.

The first mate and the crew all agree and start looking for empty chests to fill with the coins first, Gibbs spots a large chest with a pile of clothes near it. He takes a closer look at the clothes in the pile, then looks to Jack saying, "Perhaps there may be something suitable to use as a gift to the princess cap'n?" For example, he picks up a coral ball gown having a scooped neckline with lace around the neck and on the ends of the sleeves with intricate gold designs on the dress. At seeing the intricate designs on the dress, an idea comes to his head, and thinks, 'This would be perfect for Princess Celestia.' turning towards Jack and holds it up against himself saying, "What do you think about this one cap'n?"

Jack quickly turns and looks at Gibbs holding a dress up against his body and chuckles saying, "Not your color Gibbs."

Gibbs then shakes his head and says, "Not for me cap'n, for your princess!"

He steps towards him as he raises an eyebrow in curiosity and takes a closer look at it then says, "Hmmm, I do not think she has a coral dress this fancy. Perhaps she may like this, though she will have to get it repaired and properly cleaned before she can wear it. I wonder if there may be something else among these clothes in fair enough condition that she may like. Well done mate, you may have found something that may encourage the princess to learn how to use a sword and come pirating with us, after we kidnap her of course."

The first mate looks to his captain in shock and confusion saying, "Why would you have to kidnap your own woman cap'n?"

Jack smiles and looks to him and answers, "Because we are trying for a child and she will be spending the first few years with us, therefore, I am planning on kidnapping her at the Grand Galloping Gala in front of all her peers and guards while in disguise as a pony. I shall inform you of the details later on, so let us all get started on loading all of this onto the ship." He then looks around and says, "Remember to keep the rings separated from the rest of the treasure so I can look through it to find the perfect one, you all can take what you want from it after I'm done."

Gibbs's eyes widen in surprise at hearing Jack say that and says, "Cap'n...do you mean to..."

He sighs as a gentle smile comes to his face as he takes the dress from Gibbs carefully and nods whispering to him, "Aye I do, but I am still trying to find the right moment to do it. I will take a little time and start trying to plan the most opportune moment, be sure you keep this to yourself or every creature on this world will freak out about the news." He looks to the pile of clothes and spots a red, white, and gold sash lying under a corset and removes it. After looking it over for any damage, he tucks it under his own sash and looks to Gibbs saying, "Destroy the rest of those clothes, they have no other value to us."

The first mate is about to set a torch to them when he sees a trickle of lava running down the wall to a gap and goes to investigate it, and discovers a small river of lava flowing at the bottom of the crack. Seeing a better way to dispose of the clothing, he returns to the pile and grabs what he can then begins to drop it piece by piece into the crack.

Jack slowly makes his way back to the ship to present the dress to the princess when he reaches the end of the dry cave floor, he sees the longboat make its way carefully out to the Black Pearl and waits for it to return while he tries to think up a plan for his surprise to the princess.

Celestia exits the cabin for some fresh air and to empty the bucket over the side when she sees a few crewmen sending a few sacks down into the hold and asks, "What is inside those sacks, and why are they being sent down there, have you found something?"

Pintel looks to the princess and bows to her saying, "Aye we have Yer Majesty, we found a grand treasure deep inside the cave of that skull-shaped rock over there. We don't have any empty chests to hold it, so we thought about using empty rum barrels instead. These sacks contain the loose treasure from inside the cave, we could take ya over so ya can see it fer yerself Yer Majesty."

She smiles and shakes her head saying, "No thank you, I appreciate the offer though. I do not feel so well, so I shall return to the cabin after emptying this bucket over the port side." She then heads to the side of the ship and dumps the contents over the edge and into the water and looks to the one that spoke and asks, "Pintel, would you mind using the seawater to rinse the inside of this bucket and remove the foul smell coming from it? I would do it myself but I cannot swim, and with me not feeling well, I dare not to fly or use magic."

He nods his head and says, "Not at all Yer Majesty, let me get a rope and take care of that for ya real quick." He then heads to the mainmast and pulls a coil of rope off of it, then makes his way to the princess and drops it on the ground while holding one end of it. He ties the rope around the handle to the bucket and takes the bucket from her then tosses it into the water, quickly grabbing the rope before the bucket sinks into the sea. After pulling it out of the water, then dumping it back into the sea and repeats the process a couple more times before untying the rope from the bucket and handing the bucket back to the princess saying, "There ya go Yer Majesty, all nice and clean for ya."

Celestia takes the bucket from him as he starts to coil the rope back up and return to his duty saying, "Thank you very much, you all are always so kind whenever I visit and stay on the ship for a short while."

Jack climbs his way up the side of the ship with the dress hidden under his shirt and sees the princess talking to Pintel and says, "Ahh, it is good to see you walking about, are you still feeling under the weather?"

She looks to Jack and smiles as she walks over to him, then wraps her arms around him in a hug saying, "Unfortunately, I am. I just came out to empty the bucket and clean the stench from it, did you find valuable treasure in that cave?"

He then backs out of the hug saying, "I have indeed found treasure in there, some of which certain ponies with ill intent would kill for. Let us retreat to the cabin, for I have a gift for you." He then wraps one arm around her waist and escorts her towards his cabin.

Celestia walks into the cabin and says, "Awwe, how sweet, you have some pirate treasure for little old me."

Jack chuckles and sits her down on the bed and stands before her saying, "The best kind of treasure a woman of your stature would love." He then pulls out the folded dress and holds it by the shoulders as it unfolds itself saying, "It desperately needs to see a tailor for repairs, cleaning, and to be adjusted to fit your body. I got this dress from inside the cave, Gibbs found it and thought it might be a nice gift for you. I thought it might look good on you as well, though you are certainly not little and neither are you old."

She narrows her eyes and glares at him suspiciously saying, "Are you calling me fat!"

He quickly tries to think of something to say to calm her down and says, "Not at all. What I meant to say was, you're not a little girl, you're all woman and this is a woman's dress."

Celestia sets the bucket down and takes the dress from him and carefully illuminates her horn to look at the dress a little closer saying, "A human woman has a waist that small, how are they even able to survive childbirth then?"

Jack chuckles and says, "The more fashionable human women over there have a trick to making their body appear smaller, they use corsets that were popular in France that have whale bones in the fabric to squeeze their bodies into a thinner form and push up their breasts. They were held together in the back by a very long, strong string and required a second or third pair to get it really tight. The previous owner of that dress wore such a contraption when she was standing in a high place and slipped over the edge and into the sea, I dove after her since no sailor I was around could swim. I tore off the heavy dress that was dragging her to the bottom and carried her to the dock where I quickly stepped in with my knife and cut it off of her, causing her to gasp for air and thus saving said maiden's life."

She feels a tinge of jealousy at how he mentioned saving her life in such detail, and asks, "And did you have relations with this maiden?

He smiles at her and says, "I once entertained the idea for a time and tried to charm her, but I stopped trying to charm her when she kissed me and drove me back against the mainmast. She then locked one of my wrists in a shackle and left me for the Kraken, where I managed to free my wrist in time to see the Kraken's mouth open up and bare its numerous rows of sharp teeth at me. It roared at me, covering me in stinking slime when my hat flew from its mouth onto the deck of my ship. After returning the hat to my head, I drew my sword and charged the Kraken. It then swallowed me whole and dragged my ship down to Davy Jones's locker, where I stayed for a time to suffer the punishment."

Celestia is shocked to hear that he survived facing the Kraken and says, "Davy Jones really exists? I thought it was just an old pony's tale, how did you escape?"

Jack shakes his head saying, "That's enough of my tale, for now, I shall tell you the rest another day. What do you think about the dress?"

She then looks at the designs on the dress and says, "I like it, though it really does need to see a seamstress for extensive alterations, thank you very much for this gift love. Perhaps the alterations will be done in time for me to wear it to the Gala when you kidnap me, though I will not be wearing corsets ever again because I have passed a law allowing them to be used only for events requiring fancy dress."

He then thinks of something and asks, "Say, how long was it since you first started feeling sick?"

Celestia then thinks on it for a moment and sets the dress down beside her and says, "Umm...I think it started about a week and a half ago, why do you ask?"

Jack then cocks his head and raises an eyebrow and says, "Because I think that you may be pregnant, not sick."

Her eyes dart up to his as she places a hand upon her lower abdomen and says, "Do you really think so, oh how I wish that is true. I will have to pay a visit to a private doctor and ensure they keep the results of the test secret or risk being sent on a permanent vacation to Tartarus."

He chuckles at hearing that and says, "I doubt that the doctor would allow the results to get out if you threaten him with that. I would love to stay here with you, but unfortunately, I have a treasure hoard to move and a dangerous chest to load onto the ship."

Celestia cocks her head and asks, "Many races avoid this skull-shaped rock because of the legend behind it, they say that this was once a member of a far older race of creatures called Dragosaurs. They roamed Equis many millions of years ago, they were divided into two groups. One was prey and the other was predator, they further evolved into smaller creatures with cohesive thoughts and were nearly wiped out when a meteor struck the planet somewhere. They were forced to work together to find a way to survive when they discovered magic, further evolving after several passing eons, they eventually turned into the beings that inhabit Equis today. What is so dangerous about this chest that makes you have to hide it?"

Jack looks into her eyes, "I must find a way to destroy the gold or hide it, for owning one piece of it is a curse worse than death itself." He then makes his way out of the cabin and looks back at her saying, "I really do hope that you are with child, for you're the only woman that's made me want to be a better man."

She watches him close the door as her eyes tear up in happiness at being able to improve someone's character and uses both hands to tenderly rub along her abdomen saying, "I pray that I am with child as well, for I find myself missing what family I had in this world."

He watches as the men scour the cave for every single piece of treasure for several hours before it is time to move the chest saying, "Alright lads, let's carry this god-awful chest to the longboat. It's rather heavy so only two of you will be able to accompany it to the ship, be sure to mind the tide."

Gibbs joins the crew as they all surround the chest and prepare to lift it up saying, "Alright, now heave!" He feels the weight of the chest as it rises off the floor and they start to make their way towards the cave mouth carefully and slowly.

The unicorn cook sees the crew make their way back carrying a large stone chest with them and says, "What's in the strange chest lads?"

Jack looks to the cook and says, "It's nothing that we want any part of, so kill your curiosity or I'll kill you."

He nods his head up and down quickly saying, "Aye aye sir!" then quickly looks away from the chest and waits to be given orders.

The captain looks to Gibbs and says, "Gibbs and Pintel, you will go with the chest back to the ship while the cook and I go back to ensure we got every single piece from the cave."

The first mate nods his head and says, "Aye Cap'n, c'mon lads let's get this thing into the boat."

Jack leads the cook into the cave and asks, "You have a spell for locating things right?"

The cook nods his head saying, "Aye sir, I do. What exactly is it I am searching for?"

He smiles and then says, "Anything of monetary value, such as coin, rings, necklaces, or even jewels. Look for anything that we may have missed, you do have a sack with you right?"

He nods his head and pulls it out of a pocket and says, "I always have a sack on me, sir, to carry anything I find sir."

Jack then looks around the room and says, "Well then begin searching every inch of this passage for what may have been left behind, we shall not return here again."

The cook nods his head and illuminates his horn and starts to search the passage for any treasure, finding a few coins strewn about the floor and jewelry buried under some silt. He then eagerly starts to hunt for each piece they missed, as he starts to wonder how big his share of the treasure will be.

The captain watches as the unicorn starts to eagerly search every inch of the passage for treasure and asks, "What is your name pirate, I don't really see you above deck much."

He continues to hunt for treasure and starts to dig up a necklace buried under a large pile of silt saying, "My name is Shining Belle, I am an only child and lost my home when the griffons attacked Manehattan. Therefore I told my wife and son that I was going to join a crew on a ship for a steady job to provide for them. I keep to myself but I'm a good cook and like to be left alone when I'm not keeping the boys fed. I have a real talent for locating things because I got my cutie mark when I was trying to locate a book I misplaced, so I cast a spell to guide me to the area it was at and the book itself lit up incidentally. A flash under my pants on my rump caught my attention, so when I checked it out, I discovered that I got my cutie mark which is a purple diamond-shaped gem buried under a pile of debris."

Jack follows the cook into the large chamber when he spots a reddish glowing light coming from the other side of the cave where a trickle of lava splits and runs down the wall in a large downward arc, piquing his curiosity and starts to approach it. As he reaches the far wall, he sees the light coming from a crack and pulls out his knife. He sets the knife's blade into the crack and starts to pry and widen the crack further when a piece of the wall breaks off and falls to the floor below, revealing an empty space behind it with a swirling red and yellow light illuminating it. He starts to work on opening the space up more when he puts his knife away and pulls out his sword, slowly managing to chip away more pieces of the stone covering the space. He finally pries enough of the pieces away to find a glowing egg with flowing red and yellow flames saying, "Now this is interesting...I wonder what this strange egg is." He then carefully picks it up to see if it is hot, shocked at finding it is just slightly warm to the touch saying, "Hey Shining, do you know what this might be?"

Shining Belle looks up from the ground to the captain and gasps at what is in his hands and says, "Oh wow, I have never actually seen one of those up close! That is a phoenix egg, but not from just any phoenix, that is from a very rare phoenix matriarch. I don't know anything else about it though sir, I'm sorry."

He smiles and tucks it under his sash and says, "That is alright, you were able to tell me what this thing is and that it is special. Return to searching for the rest of what the crew missed, we shall be heading back to the ship as soon as you're finished here."

The cook quickly returns to his task at hand and scours every inch of the cave for treasure, then adds them to his sack saying, "What do you plan on doing with that egg sir, if you keep it warm it will be sure to hatch."

Jack returns to the mouth of the cave and grins saying, "I might have something very special planned for it if I can get it hatched."

A couple of hours pass by as the crew readies the ship to set sail and search for a place to hide the chest as Celestia exits the cabin, then makes her way downstairs to look at what was found in the cave. She walks around the hold looking at the number of empty rum barrels filled with treasure, she spots the stone chest with a couple of chairs on the other side of it and heads towards them for a closer look. She ignores her curiosity about the chest when she notices an ornate, high-backed throne with red cushions and a gold frame and grins saying, 'This would be a much better throne to sit in than that polished marble one currently in the throne room, I shall talk with my love about it.' She then approaches the throne and sits in it, sighing happily as she finds it very soft and comfortable to sit in. Knowing that she needs to talk to Jack to find a way to get that throne for herself, she stands up out of the chair and makes her way towards the cabin.

He looks around his cabin for a place to keep the egg hidden from Celestia's eyes when he sees a closet that has a secret compartment in it, making his way to it and wraps it up in his frock coat then shuts the door as he decides that it will have to work for now. He sees the small chest full of rings sitting on his desk and heads towards it to set it under the desk, hiding it out of Celestia's view when he hears his door open and sees her enter.

Celestia smiles at Jack as he places a chest under his desk and closes the door behind her and says, "That is quite a haul you found inside that cave, I am surprised that this ship is still afloat due to the weight of all the gold in the hold. What do you plan to do with the two thrones down there?"

Jack looks at her and smiles saying, "Well love, I plan to sell them at Portuga. I'm sure they'll fetch a nice price, why do you inquire about them? Do they catch your eye?"

She moves to the bed and sits down on it, then grabs her bucket as she begins to feel nauseous and says, "I have seen them both, and have sat in them both. The one that I have taken an interest in is the red and gold one, I wish to inquire as to how I may acquire it from you."

He grins and places his arms on his desk, then leans forward on them saying, "Hmmm...how indeed."

Chapter 9: Future Plans

Jack lifts his arms from the desk and steeples his fingers in front of his chin and says, "I have a proposal for you love, would you care to hear it?"

Celestia cocks an eyebrow curiously and says, "Do tell, I'm all ears."

He smiles at her and says, "Much of this treasure is gold or silver coins, but it is not like yours so have a look for yourself." He digs out a gold bit having Celestia's cutie mark and a silver bit having the cutie mark of her sister Luna, then sets them on the desk and digs out two coins of the other currency having the EITC emblem on them.

She looks at the difference in the coins and picks up a gold coin then a gold bit and compares them saying, "You are right, this other coin is larger but thinner than this bit is. We can't use these as currency because the value of the coins is not the same, what is your proposal?"

Jack then steeples his fingers before his chin and says, "My proposal is this: How about after I talk to my grandmama and sell the coins to Portuga, having her melt them down into bars. Equestria buys gold and silver bars from Portuga then remints them into bits, thus showing the world that it is a neutral port not belonging to Equestria as well as opening up more business opportunities for the port. So, do we have an accord?" while holding his right hand out for her to shake.

Celestia smirks and shakes his hand saying, "That is a clever scheme you came up with my love, it improves the value of Equestria's currency and encourages trade between the nations. Very well then, I shall do that when I return to Canterlot." She then thinks about the other items mixed with the coins and adds, "What do you intend to do with the rest of the treasure that isn't part of the coins, since you are going to hide the stone chest somewhere?"

He then chuckles saying, "Why I shall sell that to any other nation that may want it, we will be finding somewhere safe and secure. Since you know this world better than I, perhaps you might offer a suggestion where said chest could be hidden?"

She taps her chin with a finger and thinks for a moment before saying, "Well there is a special treasury vault hidden within the hall of hooves, it's been empty for many years now since Canterlot was built using some of what was inside there and the rest was relocated to the new vault."

Jack then raises an eyebrow curiously and asks, "How well protected is this secret treasure room?"

Celestia thinks for another moment before smirking and says, "It is spelled to keep hidden from view until the proper mechanism is used, and only my sister and I know of it because I burned the blueprints. There is a book showing the various rooms and items in the castle, but it doesn't show the treasure vault or how to open it."

He considers it for a moment and says, "Hmmm...take me to it then and I shall determine whether or not it will work, how long will it take to get us there?"

She smiles and chuckles saying, "You won't be able to sail your ship there through the river, it is too shallow. We can get there in about ten seconds, so take a breath so the spell won't make you sick to your stomach." She then begins to cast a teleportation spell and puts the bucket down as she stands up off the bed.

Jack gets out of his chair and stands up as well, then takes a breath thinking, 'What is she trying to do, teleport us that far away in an instant?' He feels a shock run through his body as he finds himself inside of the old castle's ruins and says, "Wow, how shocking."

Celestia giggles and says, "It is like that for any unicorn that is first teleported with that spell, the usual feeling is a tingling sensation through your body so don't worry." and starts to make her way through the ruins towards the hall of hooves to show him the treasury vault.

He grumbles in annoyance and follows her saying, "I bloody well hope so, that shock hurt."

The two walk through the castle until they arrive in the hall of hooves as Celestia goes to a pair of hooves beside an alcove on the right side of the wall, moving to the hoof on the right and pulls the leg downwards with the torch pointing straight out, pointing down towards the ground before pulling the bent hoof up to be in line with the leg. She then pushes it upright, hearing a dull click come from behind the hidden passageway.

She then watches as the door swings open and says, "The treasury vault is through this narrow corridor and through a spelled door, be sure not to step on the tiny square stones scattered throughout the hall or we shall find ourselves in the dungeon."

Jack follows her through the corridor while avoiding the small, raised square stones when they reach the end that has a complex lock on a wooden door. He watches as Celestia pulls out a three-bladed key and inserts it into the door, and turns it completely to the right then to the left, and back to the center. He hears a click come from the door as she removes the key and returns it to where she took it from, he watches curiously as she pushes the door open to reveal a somewhat large and dusty room with light coming down through the roof in the center of the room and asks, "How is this room secure, there is a hole in the center of the ceiling?"

Celestia enters the room and walks up to the edge of the sunlight pouring in through the top and turns around to look at him saying, "There is no hole in the roof, and it is secure because this is just enchanted crystal that channels whatever light is available, be it sunlight or moonlight. Have a look for yourself, you will see I am right."

He strolls up to the center of the room and looks up, seeing that there is a thick layer of clear crystal in the roof, and says, "Now that is an impressive sight, I am surprised that you don't have this in the throne room." He then takes a look around the room and sees that this spot is indeed a good spot to hide the treasure then adds, "This would indeed be a good spot, however, I must know who all has a key to this area?"

She looks around the room at the dirty state of it and sighs saying, "My sister was the one who put that in, only she knows how to make this. As for who has access to this room, only my sister and I have a key to it. So is this room to your liking, my love?"

Jack considers it for a moment while running two fingers along his beard then says, "Aye, it will suffice. Though we will have to find a way to move the chest here in a way that nobody can see where we are headed, savvy?"

Celestia nods her head and smiles while narrowing her eyes slightly and says, "I shall arrange for a group of four guards I trust, and have them bring a large chariot for the chest. I shall hide us all from the eyes of the ponies by casting an invisibility spell, does that satisfy your desire for secrecy?"

He smiles widely and says, "It does indeed, be sure that they keep what we were doing secret. Now let us go back to the ship so I can start sailing for Horseshoe Bay, and you can return to Canterlot then meet me just outside the bay."

She smiles and leads them out of the room, ensuring to lock both doors behind them. She charges her horn and casts her spell, sending them back to the cabin on the Black Pearl saying, "I shall see you in a few hours after I get everything prepared."

Jack pulls her into a hug saying, "After the child is brought into this world, I shall introduce you to the rum we were used to from whence we came."

Celestia lightly caresses her abdomen with one hand saying, "When I get to Canterlot, I shall search for a doctor that will keep the results secret. If I am with child, I shall not indulge in drinking rum as you do. Doctors have recently learned that too much alcohol can affect the child, we wouldn't want to raise an addled child now do we?"

He steps away from her and says, "Alas, I will leave that for you to decide. I shall follow suit with however you wish to raise our child, but I most certainly will be teaching them about the sea, how to fight with a sword, and how to think of a plan on the spot."

She rolls her eyes and chuckles saying, "Great, so you are going to raise them up to be a pirate like you?"

Jack grins and holds his hands out to his sides with his palms up and says, "One could only hope they will be as good as me, but you will be the one to give them other important things such as a decent education, and teach them all that high society rubbish that your nobles are so fond of."

Celestia scoffs and whacks him over the head gently and chuckles saying, "HMPH, good manners are not part of high society rubbish, although the nobles are a little bit too much for my taste." She then starts to make her way towards the cabin door, eager to find a doctor to get the test done.

He watches her exit the cabin and says, "Farewell, for now, my love. I shall meet you a little distance from Horseshoe Bay." Then starts thinking, 'I will have Gibbs take the helm and take the ship to Horseshoe Bay, but anchor the ship a fair distance from the edge. That way I can begin to go through this chest of rings for the perfect one to give her.' He then exits the cabin himself and calls for his first mate saying, "Gibbs ya filthy toad! Come see me at the helm, I have orders and a heading for you."

Gibbs then heads up the stairs to the main deck, then goes to the helm and looks at his captain saying, "What can I do ya fer Cap'n?"

Jack looks at his friend and first mate saying, "Take the helm and head to Horseshoe Bay but drop anchor a fair distance from it so as to keep the ponies from watching us hide the chest."

He blinks a couple of times in shock and says, "Are ya plannin' on hidin' that infernal chest at the bottom of the sea or onshore somewhere Cap'n?"

The captain smirks and shakes his head side to side saying, "No mate, in a secret place inland with the help of Princess Celestia, you will be coming along with me so we can talk about future plans, savvy?"

Gibbs cocks his head and eyebrows in confusion and says, "Beg yer pardon sir, but I know not what you have in mind. Would ye mind explainin' it to me in more detail?"

Jack grins and then says, "In due time, when it is necessary. For now, just take us to where I mentioned. I shall be in my cabin searching through the rings for those I want, tell me when the Princess arrives at our side."

The first mate then takes the helm and maintains the current course as he watches Jack head back to his cabin thinking, 'I sure wish that Jack would recover from that vicious mutiny all those years ago by Hector, rest his soul.'

Two hours later in a sidestreet clinic in Canterlot

The doctor sweats as he pores over the test results, dreading the moment he has to inform the princess of the results as he finally gets them. His knees knock together with fear as he sees that the test reveals that she is indeed pregnant and makes his way to her from the lab with the paper rolled up, as he holds it close to his chest to hide the test results.

Celestia keeps up the disguise as she looks around the room at the other patients waiting to be seen as the doctor trembles while making his way towards her with a paper held tightly to his chest saying, "Well doc, did the results come in on why I am not feeling so well?"

He gulps and nods his head saying, "Y-Yes, they have, here you go m-miss." and holds the rolled-up paper out towards her to take.

She quickly takes it and looks them over, immediately seeing that the results of the test read positive and forces down a beaming smile and then glares at the doctor saying, "I most certainly do not have that disease doctor, I have not lain with any stallion except my husband since we first met!" She quietly drops a scroll onto the floor thanking him for his part in the ruse and keeping her identity and the test secret, watching as he quickly takes it without being noticed by the others.

The doctor continues to play his part as he remembers the large bag of bits he was paid earlier to run this test and keep the results secret or else suffer Tartarus for eternity if they got out and says, "Oh my apologies m-miss, I am just so overworked that I don't have much time to relax. I shall re-run the test again, and this time I will make sure to pay closer attention to what I am doing."

Celestia rolls her eyes and scoffs saying, "Don't bother, I will just return on a day when you are not so busy. Enjoy the rest of your day doc!" She walks out and tucks the results away, making her way to a secluded alley where she can teleport back to her room and drop this disguise.

After arriving back in her room, she hastily pulls out the results again and sighs blissfully at the results she wanted so eagerly to see, and kisses the paper. She quickly hides the paper when she hears a knock on the door and says, "Who is it and what do you want?!"

Swift Quill then speaks up saying, "It's your assistant, Your Highness. I was just checking to see if you were back and feeling better, for there are a few things that require you to deal with them."

She then grabs her pot and throws up into it then says, "Is the matter on a scroll, or do I need to deal with it in person?"

The assistant pulls the scroll out and says, "It is on a scroll Your Highness, do you want me to slide it under the door?"

Celestia puts the bucket down and then says, "Come in here Swift Quill and close the door behind you, there is something I wish to tell you."

Swift quill enters the room and closes the door, then approaches her and bows while holding the scroll out for her to take saying, "Here is the matter that requires your attention, Your Highness."

She sits up and takes the scroll from her and says, "I will be taking a year-long vacation from my royal duties, but what I am about to tell you next must not be shared with anyone or there will be Tartarus to pay. So swear to me that you will keep this secret, or you will suffer the consequences if this gets out."

The assistant quickly nods her head and places a hand over her heart and says, "I swear on my life Princess Celestia, that whatever you tell me will not be told to anyone."

Celestia nods her head in acceptance and casts a silencing barrier and says, "I am with foal, I disguised my appearance and visited a doctor that ran a test on me and confirmed it. So I shall need to take a vacation until the foal is born, after that, I shall spend another year caring for the foal. I plan to get away from the palace to raise my foal for a time and in my absence, you shall keep the kingdom from going into complete and utter chaos and freeing Discord. I will continue to raise and lower the sun and moon during my absence, so fret not when the plan goes into effect."

Swift's eyes grow large as sparkles fill them at the news and a smile threatens to split her head in half then says, "OH I AM SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE A MOTHER, PRINCESS CELESTIA! Who is the father of the foal, is it that handsome stallion in the royal guard?"

She giggles lightly at how large her smile is and says, "If your smile gets any larger, you are going to need surgery to reattach your head to your body. As for who the father is, Captain Jack Sparrow is the father of this foal."

The assistant's smile fades away a little bit as she remembers the few nights she had with the handsome Captain during his brief stay in the castle and rubs her own stomach and says, "I envy you the chance to be a mother of his foal, but I am so happy that you are lucky enough to experience motherhood. Maybe one day, it can be my turn."

She smiles softly and says, "Come over here as a fellow mare, Swift Quill. I am positive that you will find the stallion of your dreams, perhaps you should try to get the attention of that handsome stallion called Sturdy Shield." while holding her arms out to the lavender pony with a sapphire blue mane and tail.

Swift makes her way towards the princess and hugs her back saying, "Oh I sure hope that I can get his attention, it is hard for a mare to get a stallion all to herself these days."

Celestia holds her close and softly says, "Which is why I shall authorize the formation of herds with one stallion husband and no more than 5 mare wives, the lead mare is the female head of the herd and the stallion is the male head of the herd. I plan on doing that before I take my vacation on the Black Pearl, send any important matters to me via secret courier. If anyone asks where I went, just tell them I am on an important diplomatic mission to ease tensions between nations."

The assistant smiles and says, "I think that will take time for the citizens of Equestria to get used to, I think that you shall have to make a speech in the cities and have couriers post flyers in every small village in Equestria."

She then slides her legs over the edge of the bed and smiles saying, "I have an urgent task that must be dealt with first, so we shall get started on getting things prepared for my vacation after I return."

Two hours later on the Black Pearl, sitting just outside of Horseshoe Bay

Jack hears someone knocking on his door and says, "Who is it and what do you want?" he then turns the silver sapphire ring around in his hand and sets it aside in the pile he is giving back to the crew.

Gibbs then stops knocking and says, "Cap'n, it be Gibbs sir, and Celestia is back with a large chariot in tow."

He closes the chest and sets it under his desk, then opens a drawer and slides the pile of rings into it and slams it shut again saying, "Ahh good, it is finally time to be rid of that accursed thing." He then rises from his seat and makes his way to the door, opens it, and then exits his cabin. He closes the door behind him and looks to the crew saying, "Alright you louts, pull the grates and bring that accursed thing up here while I speak to Her Majesty about loading it."

Celestia watches as the crew pulls the grates aside and starts tying ropes around the chest to hoist it up, then looks over at Jack and says, "Ok, how do we start to load it?"

Jack looks at the large chariot with a flat deck on the back and says, "Well because they have to hover in place with their wings, they shall need to align the chariot so the back is next to the deck. Perhaps you might use your strong magic to hoist the thing onto the back of the chariot, I must warn you that this chest is heavier than it looks."

She watches the crew carefully set it down and remove the ropes saying, "I can sure try to move it to the chariot." She then looks to the guards and says, "Relocate the chariot so its back is up against the deck, then be ready for a large increase of weight when I set the chest on the chariot."

He watches as she encompasses the chest in her golden magic and attempts to lift it, having to put a fair amount of effort into lifting it up saying, "Are you having difficulty lifting it Your Highness?" as a bead of sweat appears on her forehead and runs down her face.

Celestia widens her stance as she moves the chest over little by little, setting it down to adjust her position saying, "Why is this blasted thing so heavy?"

Gibbs looks at the struggling princess and says, "There's no greater burden to bear than sin and punishment, that's why ye're strugglin' with that chest."

She concentrates on holding the chest and says to her guards, "Here it comes, get ready for how heavy this chest is stallions." She then starts to slowly ease it onto the chariot as it groans in protest against its weight, noticing how the pegasi put more effort into supporting the load.

Jack looks at the stallions and says, "You picked a great team of stallions to bear a burden such as this, are you ready to head to the location and lock it away for good?"

Celestia breathes in relief at the chest being on the chariot and nods her head saying, "I am indeed ready. Guards, please arrange the chariot so we can get on and be on our way." She watches as they head away, turning to the left to circle around the back of the ship and pull the chariot up to the bow for them.

The captain looks to Gibbs and says, "Alright Gibbs, let's get going." He then looks to the crew and says, "We will be back lads, if the ship is gone I am going to flog each and every one of you, savvy?" He watches as every crew member nods their head and agrees, then turns and follows Celestia to the chariot.

She casts an invisibility spell after Gibbs takes a seat across from her and Jack, then says, "Now let's be on our way to our destination. Guards if you please, take us to the Castle of Two Sisters."

An hour later enroute to the ruins of the old castle

Jack smiles and looks at Celestia and says, "So love, can we have a word?" while glancing off towards the guards a few times for her to get the hint.

Celestia sees him glancing towards the guards and nods her head saying, "Of course, one moment." She then casts the silencing barrier and says, "What is it you wish to know my love?"

He then asks her, "Did you manage to find a doctor to run that test you wanted?"

She keeps a straight face and says, "I did indeed, and I got the results. Would you wish to know them?"

Jack turns his body towards her and takes hold of her shoulders, then turns her towards him and hastily shouts, "YES!" He then releases her shoulders saying, "My apologies." and coughs into a hand to calm himself down, then into her eyes saying in a softer voice, "What I mean love, is that I would want to know if I am going to be a dad?"

Celestia chuckles and smiles at him saying, "That is quite alright, and my answer to you is that you are indeed going to become a father." while nodding her head to affirm the answer.

Gibbs hears her answer and looks to Celestia and Jack with a shocked expression on his face, gradually turning into a smile, and says, "Now that is happy news indeed Cap'n and Your Highness, I didn't know that ye were ready for the pitter-patter of little feet. Does that mean you are going to look for land and build a house to raise them, and what are ya plannin' on doing with yer precious Pearl Cap'n?"

He whacks Gibbs lightly on the head and chuckles saying, "Of course not mate, I'm a pirate. I would rather die than lose this ship or live on land, the Black Pearl is my home. That means the child will spend some time with us on the seas and will also be spending time with its beautiful mother."

The first mate chuckles and says, "Well color me impressed Cap'n at how much ye've grown, congratulations to the both of ye. The young'un will come to love the sea as much as ye do Cap'n!"

She chuckles at their exchange and says, "Oh yes they will indeed, and will grow up knowing what freedom is."

Jack looks to the Princess and says, "Let us discuss our plans for getting you away from the castle in a few months."

Celestia smiles and nods her head, then leans herself against Jack softly and says, "Yes, let's continue planning my abduction by a handsome rogue pirate at the Gala..."

Chapter 10: Thinking ahead

Jack, Gibbs, and Celestia spend an hour discussing the plan to 'abduct' Princess Celestia from the gala as Jack feels the chariot land on the ground, then roll to a stop as one of the pegasi guards says, "We have arrived at your desired destination, Your Majesty. What shall our new orders be?"

Celestia lowers the shield and answers, "You are to wait here with the chariot as we go into the ruins, tell no one about us coming here."

The guard nods his head and says, "Very well Your Majesty, we shall remain on guard here." and starts standing at attention as the others follow suit.

Jack exits the chariot first and looks around at his surroundings, spotting the rope bridge in need of repair, turning his head to look at what is left of the castle saying, "Wow, if I didn't know you already moved the treasure here, I would have come here with my men to search for riches. The castle is most definitely a ruin, the details about that fight between you and your sister were not false. The power you two wield must indeed be great to cause such damage as this, but let us return to our current task at hand."

She smirks and looks at him with a half chuckle saying, "Obviously we have great power, for we move the sun and moon on this world, however, with her gone, I am left to do it by myself and it is rather tiresome." She then follows Gibbs out of the chariot, then encases the massive chest in her magic and maneuvers it carefully in front of her, and starts walking towards the entrance of the castle ruins.

Gibbs then follows Celestia into the castle ruins, gazing around him at how much damage the two sisters caused during their fight then says, "I count my lucky stars at bein' fortunate enough to always stay on yer good side Yer Majesty, for the strength ye have is frightful."

Celestia hears the two follow her down the corridor as she stops and sets the chest down, then looks to the wall beside her on the right saying, "Do you want me to hand my key to you, Jack?" She then moves to the hoof on the right of one of the alcoves in the middle and pulls the leg downwards with the torch pointing straight out, pointing down towards the ground before pulling the bent hoof up to be in line with the leg. She then pushes it upwards at an angle, hearing a click come from behind the hidden passageway as it opens up to reveal a dark-colored wooden door at the back with gold and silver designs set into the door.

Jack quickly turns his head to look at her saying, "You would give me the key to something that if I should succumb to its temptation, my body and soul will suffer eternal damnation? My answer to you is thus, my love...Hell no! Pray the day I have need of the contents in that chest never comes, or you may suffer greatly with the outcome."

The first mate quickly nods his head and says, "Aye, cursed be the day if that ever comes to pass."

She nods her head saying, "Alright then dear, I shall hold onto it for you. Remember not to step on the small, raised square stones on the floor." and walks towards the door with the key in her hand, then inserts it into the complex keyhole and unlocks the door with a loud click. She pushes the door open and briefly watches it swing open before turning around to retrieve the chest when she hears a bang come from behind her, informing her that the door struck the wall.

Jack watches her lift up the chest with her magic and chews on his thumbnail nervously, remembering how things went sideways when they were going so well. In hopes to prevent anything from happening, he says, "Do be cautious love, for you are carrying our child."

Celestia smiles at hearing him say that and says, "I know dear, that is why I am using my magic to lift it and not my arms." She then walks into the passageway with only a few inches of clearance to either side, hearing the chest scrape against the doorway into the vault and slightly adjusts the chest's position.

Gibbs enters the large room lit only by a few dimly glowing crystals and a bright whiteish-blue light shining down through a circular window in the ceiling and says, " Blimey, this room has a few interestin' fixtures in it."

He watches his first mate enter the room and wander off to the left, no doubt that he's examining the room's curious fixtures. Entering the room himself, he moves to the right and catches up to Celestia asking, "Does that crystal have any other purpose other than letting the light available into the room?"

She looks at the circular window and smiles saying, "Yes, it is an enchanted crystal oculus that activates a shield around an item of great importance whenever it is activated. Right now it is off but when it is active, the shield around the item is golden yellow."

Celestia moves the chest to the center of the pillar of light and sets it down, then releases a sigh of relief and asks, "Jack, my love, what exactly is in this chest that causes you to be so afraid of it?"

Jack sighs and approaches the chest, looking at it while running a hand along the top edge saying, "There are eight hundred and eighty-two identical pieces of Aztec gold coins inside this chest, blood money paid to stem the slaughter that Hernan Cortez and his army wrought upon the Aztecs." He turns his head and looks at Celestia, and continues saying, "Use your magic to lift the lid and set it to the side to get a good first and final look at the worst curse one could ever bring upon themselves."

She nods her head and encases the lid in her magic and sets it on the ground, leaning against the side of the chest. She looks at the chest and gasps at the sight of the solid gold coins about the size of her palm with an intricate pattern sitting below a raised golden skull. She takes a closer look and notices that there is an ancient dagger sitting atop the coins, two of which are noticeably different being stained with red, and averts her eyes from the alluring treasure to look at Jack and ask, "Why is there a dagger inside this chest, and why are there two coins with red stains upon them?"

He ignores her questions for the moment and returns his gaze to the treasure, then lays his hand upon the coins inside and slowly walks alongside the chest while dragging his fingers on top of the coins. As his fingers disturb the coins, he hears the sounds they make while shifting and continues the tale saying, "But Cortez's thirst for riches and fame was insatiable, therefore their heathen gods place a terrible curse upon the chest. If you were to take but a single piece from the chest, you would be cursed to a fate worse than death itself. My mutinous first mate Hector proved that curses are real, cause after he gained its location from me and then left me to die on a godforsaken spit of land. He and his crew of miscreants found the chest and spent them all on drink, food, and pleasure. As they spent the coins, they slowly learned that the drink would not slake their thirst, the food turned to ash in their mouths, they lost all sense of touch and feel. They also were cursed to suffer forever because they were neither living nor dead, so they could not die. The only way to undo the curse that was upon them all was to chant 'Begun by blood, by blood undone.' then cut yourself and spill some blood upon the treasure." He then removes his hand from the tempting treasure and turns to face her, looking up into her eyes and finishes the tale saying, "I was there when I planned to get revenge on Hector, I took a piece of the treasure and tucked it away without him noticing. Then a fight broke out among us and what crew that was there, ending with me slicing my palm and adding my blood to the treasure. I then quickly tossed it to Will who caught it and added his blood while I drew my pistol with a single shot and used it on Hector, who started to bleed once the two coins were dropped into the chest with our blood on them. He died from my shot, and I got my revenge. That is the end of the tale regarding this treasure, so believe me when I say there is a curse upon this chest, for I have briefly experienced it. Now if you would please return the lid and activate the enchantment so we can return to living our lives." He then takes a few steps away from the chest and stands beside her, waiting for her to do as he wishes.

She stares at the chest, feeling fear for the first time in her life about the full history of the chest. She backs away from it saying, "I-I understand now why you fear it so, I shall ensure that none ever find it. I can't believe that someone let their greed control their behavior, this Cortez sure sounds wicked." She then lifts the lid with her magic and sets it squarely on the chest, then releases it and casts a spell to activate the enchantment.

Gibbs then nods his head and says, "Aye Yer Highness he was, for he was a well-known Spanish Conquistador about two hundred years ago. He was a conqueror with a thirst for adventure and riches, he was cruel to the natives and helped build Mexico City."

Jack watches as a golden yellow shield appears over the chest and says, "At last, the chest is safe from all. The gala is in three months, so I suggest that we get back to the ship to get your new throne loaded and to get our plans underway." He then makes his way out of the room.

Celestia then follows Gibbs out of the room and locks the door behind her, then makes her way out through the passage. As she reaches the hall of hooves, she then steps on the raised, round, small stone that closes the hidden passage and says, "With the chest locked away, I shall take the dress you gave me to the best seamstress in Equestria and request the dress be ready for the Gala. You might not forgive me if I left the dress aboard your ship, and take revenge by shooting me."

He places his arm around her and reassures her by saying, "Trifles love, I wouldn't shoot you for leaving that ugly thing aboard my ship. The only time I would ever consider shooting you is if you were to take something precious from me such as the Black Pearl."

She giggles and leans against him lightly and says, "Do not worry my love, I would never dare take anything precious from you."

Gibbs returns to the chariot and waits for the two lovers to return, releasing a happy sigh thinking, 'We are finally rid of that accursed treasure, may God have mercy on this world should any poor soul find that blasted treasure...' and dozes off to sleep.

An hour and forty five minutes later on the Black Pearl's deck

Ragetti continues swabbing the deck while Pintel examines the shackles on the mainmast, ensuring each one has two keys to it and says, "What ya gonna do with your share of the treasure?"

Pintel pauses for a moment and says, "Coin from where we came from ain't the same as the coin used here, I guess that we will hafta find a way to exchange it. After we do that and get our share, I reckon I'm gonna invest it in a shop that has a promising future ahead of it."

The lanky pirate looks to his friend and scoffs saying, "Why would ya do that Pin, ya know nothin 'bout investing and neither do I."

He lets go of the manacle he's holding and stands up straight saying, "It would better ourselves if we were to learn how wouldn't it and make us richer pirates?!"

Ragetti thinks on it for a moment and chuckles saying, "I guess it would make our lives a little better, I might even be able to afford a nice glass eye. After that, I can get rid of this patch, clean myself up and find a girl I like, and maybe start a family like Jack is wantin' to."

Pintel grins and says, "There's the truth of it! Though I can't quite see Jack as wantin' to be a father, because having a child means being responsible for it. I'd say children ain't worth all that nonsense if you asked me, I'd rather keep to a pirate's life. We best get back to work, the princess's chariot is coming back."

On the chariot with Jack, Celestia, and Gibbs

Jack caresses Celestia's abdomen as she rests on the seat with her head resting upon his lap, sliding a strand of her mane away from her face to see that her eyes are closed, indicating she is sleeping and says, "Celly, my love, we may not be together forever. It seems that I am fated to be a villain, I shall always love you and our child."

Celestia hears dull mumbling and stirs awake asking, "Sorry love, I seemed to have fallen asleep. What was it you said?"

He smiles at her and places his hand on her cheek and softly says, "The only thing I said that matters love, is that I love you."

She feels the chariot start to turn as one of the guards informs her they are approaching their destination and says, "That is so sweet of you love, our future together begins today."

Gibbs wakes with a start and shouts, "Cruel bastard!"

Jack looks to Gibbs curiously and says, "What's gotten into you mate?"

The first mate calms down and looks out the window as he recalls the nightmare he just had and says, "I was bein' forced to twist me own noose by Hector."

Celestia gasps and says, "That is such a heartless thing to make one do!"

He then sighs and shakes his head saying, "It's in the past mate, don't dwell on what happened in the past. Dwell on the now and act accordingly, plan for the future that lies ahead of us."

Gibbs squints his eyes as he tries to understand what he is saying and responds, "Ya mean I should strive to follow your example?"

Jack grins and pulls a bottle out from under his frock, offering him a drink from his bottle and says, "If ya can mate, mine is a tough act to follow." He then takes a quick swig from the bottle and says, "Take what ya can." and raises it in the air as he holds it out towards Gibbs in a toast.

He takes the bottle and smiles widely saying, "Give nothing back!" and raises it in a toast before taking a swig himself and offering it back to Jack.

Celestia fights a bout of sickness as she smells the potent rum they are drinking and grumbles, "Excuse me, but there is a pregnant princess in the chariot with you. Could you both wait to get your rum-chugging pirate lives back on, till AFTER I LEAVE!"

He chuckles nervously and quickly puts the bottle away saying, "Sorry love, couldn't resist." He feels the chariot come to a slow stop and looks out the window to see the chariot right beside his ship and opens the door, looking down to see the deck within easy stepping distance. He then looks over to his love and says, "Well love, shall we get your new belongings loaded up so you can continue with your preparations for the Gala?"

She smiles and sits up saying, "Yes, for I am looking forward to taking a vacation once the Gala is over."

Jack opens up the door and steps out to hold it open for her saying, "Allow me to offer you a hand love, it would be bad if you slipped and harmed yourself or our child." then offers her his right hand to help her out of the chariot.

Celestia smiles at his offer and accepts it saying, "Thank you, dear. I appreciate your kind offer." taking his hand and standing up, then steps onto the deck of the ship to get her dress from Jack's cabin.

He leads her towards the cabin and says, "Bring up the Gold and red throne which sits beside the silver and blue one, Princess Celestia wishes to take her new throne to Canterlot." He then watches as his crew responds and starts pulling the grates aside, then leads her to his cabin so she can fetch her dress.

Gibbs exits the chariot and pitches in by going below with a few of the crew to help bring up Celestia's throne saying, "Ya gobs best not damage the chair or the princess will have yer heads!."

She follows Jack to his cabin as he opens the door for her, then enters it and spots her dress lying upon the bed where she left it. She quickens her pace to the bed, picking it up and carefully folding it to carry in her arms saying, "Ok my love, that just leaves the throne to load onto the chariot." She exits the cabin and feels the cool, crisp air hit her coat. Sighing pleasantly at the sensation before watching her throne be hauled to the top deck by a few ropes.

Jack follows her out of the cabin, thinking he smells something smoldering before hurrying back to the room and saying, "I will be with you in a moment love, there is something that I must check." before closing the door after him mumbling, "Oh no no no no no, please don't let my coat be burnt..." He hurries to the closet where the egg is hidden and opens the compartment door, seeing a pair of ruby red eyes and a small, flaming bird hopping around the compartment.

The hatchling hops around the small space while curiously looking at the creature before her while thinking, 'Who you?'

He looks at the hatchling for a moment before pulling out his coat and looking it over saying, "I sure hope you didn't damage my coat, or I'm going to have to find someone to fix it."

The hatchling looks at the creature before cocking its small head and chirps, thinking the creature is its mama, and starts to hop towards it nervously.

Jack hears it chirp and looks at the hatchling, saying, "Eh? What do you want?" before letting out a sigh of relief saying, "You're lucky that it is barely singed, but now what am I going to do with you?" He looks around the room for a solution, spotting a silver cage hanging from a beam as he gets an idea.

As he puts both of his hands side by side with his palms facing upwards, he slowly moves them towards the hatchling saying, "Does the birdy want to go for a short ride?"

The hatchling looks at what is coming towards it and hops over to it, lowering its head to investigate it.

Jack watches the hatchling check him out and says, "Come on, hop onto my hands. I am taking you to a cage that can tolerate your flames, I can't have you start any fires on my ship."

Deeming it safe, the hatchling hops up onto a couple of its fingers and chirps again. Thinking that the creature is its mother, it hops towards the larger place and lays down.

He expects to be burnt but is amazed at not feeling any heat from the hatchling at all and says, "Hmm, how curious. I was expecting to be burned by your flame, but to my surprise, you aren't. Let's get you to your new home, I need to find out how to take care of you." He then watches as the hatchling nuzzles into his palms and chuckles saying, "I'm not your father or mother, but I am a friend and will take care of you for now." He slowly turns around and makes his way towards the cage, eager to see Celestia off before heading to Portuga.

The hatchling looks to the thing the creature is going towards and looks at it curiously, wondering what it is, and chirps at it curiously.

Jack looks at the hatchling lying in his left palm and moves his hand towards the door on the cage, lifting the latch that keeps the door closed and pulls it open saying, "Alright little birdy, let's get you into your new cage so I can find someone to tell me how to take care of you and then return to my business in Portuga." He then raises his left palm up towards the entrance to the cage while holding it steady, not wanting the hatchling to fall and hurt itself.

Curious at what it is, the hatchling hops towards the cage. As the hatchling reaches the tips of his fingers, it jumps onto the small wire and grips it tightly with its feet, using its head to look around the inside of the cage.

He crosses his arms and waits for the hatchling to go into the cage saying, "Go on then, it's safer for you to be in there than in that compartment. Plus it will be easier for me to take care of you, but I shall have to find you something to give you food and water."

The hatchling hops onto the bottom of the cage and hears the door close behind them and turns its head to look at the creature longingly, wanting to return to its warm embrace, and starts to chirp nervously.

Jack shakes his head and sighs saying, "Sorry mate, I have to keep you hidden. You are going to be my gift to the one I love in a few months, so I will try my best to teach you something." He then gets a bright idea and locks the door to the cage, then tosses his coat on the bed and opens the door saying, "Mister Cotton's Parrot, come here at once!"

Cotton's parrot hears himself being called and loudly squawks before quickly taking to the air and flying towards the captain, then lands on a rail near the door saying, "Aye?"

He then looks to the parrot and steps out of the doorway saying, "I have a job for you, enter my cabin."

The parrot squawks and then jumps off the rail, taking flight, and passes through the open door. Landing on the desk a few moments later, he looks to the cage with a worried female hatchling in it chirping up a storm and squawks saying, "Shiver me timbers."

The female hatchling goes silent as she turns all her attention to the new arrival, wondering if that is her parent, and moves closer to the side of the cage to get a better look at it.

Jack closes the door behind him as he reenters his cabin and says, "Alright, Mister Cotton's parrot, do you mind if I call you Polly?"

He looks back to the captain and cocks his head for a moment in thought before nodding it up and down squawking, "Aye, anchors away."

The captain looks to the parrot and walks towards the silver cage saying, "I need you to tend to the needs of this little birdy here Polly, do you think you can manage that?"

Polly looks to the hatchling for a moment, thinking back several years ago when he was taken from the jungle and his family. He then turns back to the captain, looking forward to having the opportunity to raise a hatchling again, and squawks, "Aye aye, open the door."

Jack nods his head and unlocks the door saying, "Alright then, here ya go. I'll find something for water, but I should have something for you here somewhere to tie you both over for now."

The parrot walks to the edge of the desk and takes flight, making his way to the cage. He maneuvers near the cage and clings to it with his beak and feet, then works his way around the cage as the captain opens the door for him.

The hatchling watches the arrival make its way around the cage with its beak and feet with great curiosity, wondering if she could do the same thing as she then looks to her own feet.

He watches as Polly pulls himself up and into the cage, then waits for him to get into the cage so he can close the door again saying, "I have to admit that you are a crafty parrot, Polly. I hope that you can do a better job than I ever could hope to, mate."

Polly walks into the cage as the hatchling moves out of his way, eventually hearing a click as the door is closed behind him and squawks, "Aye Aye, much obliged, much obliged." before settling himself down on the bottom of the cage and turns to the young one and squawks, "Who be you, who be you?"

Jack scratches his head for a moment and says, "Ummm...sorry mate, you'll have to come up with a name 'cause I'm not great at thinking of names."

The parrot's eyes widen with shock as he looks at the captain and nervously squawks, "OI?!" He then blinks his eyes a couple of times, hoping that he is joking.

He chuckles lightly and says, "So mate, what name will you give her?"

The baby female hatchling looks at his face eagerly, wondering what he will say.

Polly looks at the flaming creature near him, surprised that he doesn't feel any heat from her, and squawks saying, "Philomena...Aye, Philomena."

Jack opens one of his drawers and pulls out a banana with a couple of brown spots on it and removes the peel, then tosses it onto his desk and breaks the banana in half. He puts both halves into his left hand and opens the cage door, then sets one half into the cage by Polly before taking a bite out of the other half as he closes the door saying, "Good choice mate, you did better than I. However, I need to see the princess off, I'll return once we're underway again."

Chapter 11: How the other half lives

Celestia uses her magic to set the chair down on the back of the chariot, then takes a coil of rope offered by Ragetti and ties the chair down saying, "Thank you very much for the rope Ragetti, can't have my new throne to fall off the back of the chariot now, can we?"

Ragetti chuckles lightly and shakes his head saying, "N-No ma'am we can't, it wouldn't be good at all. I hope ya have a pleasant flight home, Yer Highness."

Jack walks up to her and places his left arm around her shoulder saying, "As do I love, for I shall meet you again at the Gala dressed as a visiting pony."

She finishes tying the chair down and turns her head to Jack saying, "Thank you both, I shall look forward to meeting you at the Gala, Jack. It will be the most enjoyable one I will attend so far, but there are many things to tend to in the meantime. Pleasant journeys to all of you." She then turns around to face jack and smiles at him lovingly, and says, "Goodbye for now, my love."

He turns to face her and pulls her in for a kiss saying, "Aye, for we shall meet again when it is time to create my disguise for the Gala. After that, our lives together shall begin in earnest."

Celestia leans in and angles her head to kiss him, and feels his lips meet hers. Parting her lips for him, she feels his tongue dart in and out of her mouth teasingly. She moans softly as she feels his hands wander along her sensitive spots and breaks the kiss to whisper in his ear, "Don't get me riled up in front of your crew, my love unless you don't mind having an audience to our lovemaking."

Jack chuckles and stops his teasing and releases her, then backs away saying, "Fare thee well and have a pleasant journey, my love." He then watches as she turns around and graciously walks to the chariot, holding the folded dress in her arms like it is the most precious thing in the world.

Gibbs watches the chariot fly away from the ship, then changes its angle towards Canterlot and says, "What be yer orders now cap'n?"

He smiles and makes his way to the helm saying, "Weigh anchor lads and set sail, we head to Portuga!"

About a year and a half ago, one month after the surrender of the Griffon Empire in the streets of the ruined city of Griffonstone

Princess Lyrupa wanders the streets of Griffonstone in a dirty dress, having been forced to flee the castle two weeks ago due to the recurring nightmares of seeing her father's head land at her feet. She looks at the current state of the once beautiful city, seeing destroyed stone walls, homes, and businesses all around her when she spots a few griffons trying to put everything back together.

The workers pause momentarily when they look at the princess, noticing the dirty dress she is wearing as one of them scoffs saying, "Oh would you look at that, it's the daughter of King Failure!"

Another of the three workers laugh and point at her saying, "Oh and look, she's trying to gain sympathy by looking poor and hungry!"

The last worker laughs louder and yells out, "It's the Ragged Princess of Griffonstone, let's bow to her and throw her a coin!"

She turns and runs down a side alley to escape their laughter as tears run in rivers down her face while other griffons join in on the cruelty, calling her The Cowardly Princess, The Failed Princess, and other harsh names. Unable to take any more, she flaps her wings and takes flight.

---

Galanda hears the abusive comments made by the workers and sees the snow-white princess running away with tears streaming down her face as others join in, she starts to feel anger at how they are treating royalty and takes a deep breath. She releases a loud and shrill screech into the sky, causing everyone to go quiet and hold their ears. She waits for their hearing to recover before shouting, "HOW DARE YOU ALL TREAT OUR ROYAL PRINCESS LIKE THAT! SHE SAW HER FATHER AS HE WAS BEHEADED, YOU SHOULD FEEL ASHAMED FOR BEING SO CRUEL! WE ALL LOST SOMETHING IN THE WAR, SOME MORE THAN OTHERS. HER FATHER BRAVELY FACED THE PIRATE THAT DEFEATED OUR ENTIRE ARMADA BY HIMSELF WITH A SINGLE SHIP, EVEN MY FATHER WAS NO MATCH FOR HIM WHEN HE COMMANDED THE ISLA GRIFFONA AND ENCOUNTERED THE CUNNING CAPTAIN OF THE BLACK PEARL! YOU ALL SHOULD APOLOGIZE TO HER AND SHOW HER THE RESPECT SHE DESERVES!" She then glares around at the griffons around her to get her point across and spots the princess flying away, heading to the cliffs above the city. She is shocked when they just grumble and return to what they were doing, making her shake her head in disbelief as she takes off after the princess.

Lyrupa lies curled up on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably into her arms as she gets another urge to throw up when she hears flapping wings approaching and sniffles saying, "Do you hate me so much to want to beat me now? Go ahead, my life couldn't get any worse!" before returning to openly crying over how much her own people hate her.

Galanda lands near her and squats down towards the ground, softly saying, "No, Your Highness. I do not hate you at all, your father and mine both died warriors. You should be proud of that, though it was unfortunate that you watched your father get beheaded. I think that you should take solace in the fact that your father's life was honorable to the end."

She quiets down a little at hearing that, "T-Thank you, I am glad to hear that our fathers both shared that. What did your father do during the war?"

The deceased captain's daughter's breath hitches in her throat as she thinks about her dad and clears her throat saying, "My dad was the captain of the Isla Griffona until he died and the ship was plundered and sunk. Don't let those grouchy griffons get to you, they're letting their hurt pride get the better of them."

Lyrupa sobs a couple of times and wipes a few tears from her eyes before lifting her head to think about it for a moment before getting the answer and saying, "Ahh, that was the first ship we lost to the Black Pearl, do you mind if I ask how your father met his end?"

Galanda smiles briefly about her father's last moments before saying, "He dueled the captain of the Black Pearl and fell to his sword. The Griffon Empire needs their princess right now, I think you are strong in your own right."

The princess stops sobbing and offers her a weak smile and says, "Thank you for saying that, but the Empire is no more. The other griffon cities deserted us after my father surrendered, I guess they couldn't stand following a King that lost an entire armada to a single ship. I can't stand being in the castle at all because of the horrible sight of my father's head rolling to a stop at my feet and looking up at me keeps me awake all night, so now I am on my own with whatever coin I could take with me when I left the castle." She goes quiet as she feels a bout of sickness overwhelm her, causing her to hastily turn away from the other griffon and retch.

The captain's daughter looks at the princess and extends her arm, wanting to comfort her, but stops short and asks, "Y-Your Highness, may I offer you comfort?"

Lyrupa wipes her mouth and rises to her knees as her bout of sickness passes and says, "Are you sure that you want to comfort a pathetic ex princess currently suffering from some illness?"

Galanda approaches her on her knees and nods her head, then pulls the princess into a hug to comfort her saying, "It's alright Your Highness, let out your tears to get back on your feet and start a new life."

She smiles briefly, feeling some happiness for the first time in a month and wraps her arms around the kind griffoness that is showing her such kindness, her composure crumbles away as she finds herself burying her face into her shoulder while tears start to streak down her cheeks.

The griffoness holds the Princess and sits down to keep her balance better and gently pats her on the back just above her wings the way her mother taught her to, letting her cry over everything that has happened. As she sits there holding her and comforting her, she gently starts to hum a lullaby to help calm her down.

The princess's wails tone down slowly as she hears humming, finding it somehow comforting to hear and continues to quiet down further. As her sobs turn down to sniffles, she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, releasing her hold on her before slowly sitting upright asking, "W-Who are you and why are you so good at calming others down?"

Galanda lowers her hands to her lap and introduces herself saying, "My name is Galanda, my mother taught me how to care for baby chicks after my dad died, may her soul find peace. She did the very same thing to me I'm doing to help calm and comfort you, my mother had to rock me after humming her song just to get me to calm down. I was almost done humming, do you need me to rock you, Your Highness?"

Lyrupa gently smiles at her attempt to make a joke and says, "Thank you very much for that kind gesture, I really needed a shoulder to cry on. It is nice to meet you Galanda, please just call me by my name or Lyru."

She looks to the princess in brief shock before recovering and asking, "O-Okay, d-do you have someplace to stay, L-Lyrupa?"

The princess looks away with embarrassment and says, "I do if you consider 8 stacked stones for walls and a few boards across the top for a roof as a home."

Galanda sighs and shakes her head saying, "That won't do you any good, please come stay with us Your Highness, there's an extra room that you can stay in."

Lyru shakes her head saying, "I couldn't do that and increase the burden on your family, but thank you for the offer."

She stands her ground saying, "Sorry princess, I'm not taking no for an answer. Besides, you won't be a burden because my dad taught me how to fish, and I am better at it than he was so I can keep us all fed and happy."

The princess sees a look of determination in her eyes and sighs in defeat saying, "Oh alright, since I don't really have a choice in the matter."

Galanda chuckles softly and says, "Nope, I got my stubbornness from my dad...and my mother. Okay then, since that is settled, follow me." She then stands up and waits for the princess to follow after her.

Lyrupa stands up off the ground and says, "Okay, that means that you are twice as stubborn right?"

She looks back at the princess with a grin and says, "You betcha, is there anything you need to get from where you used to stay?"

The princess looks off in the distance and shakes her head saying, "No there isn't, but I do need to purchase some clothing because this is all I have for dresses."

Galanda nods her head solemnly and says, "Alright then, we will get you settled in after we buy you some everyday clothes. They are cheaper than fancy dresses, which will save you some coin for other necessities down the road until we both can find steady work. Let's get you checked out by a doctor, and luckily, I know of one that owes me a favor so we won't have to pay."

Lyrupa quickly turns away, feeling another bout of sickness hit her. As the bout passes, she wipes her mouth and looks at her new friend, and smirks saying, "I find it amazing that we both share almost identical colors, yours being all snow-white and mine is snow-white with black tips on my feathers. But that is a wise idea...my friend, lead the way."

She looks at her body, then at her new friend's body, and chuckles saying, "You are right, that is quite a coincidence."

In the clinic's private waiting room, 5 hours later

The princess sits on the cold bed in her dirty dress, waiting for the results of the test to arrive when she sees the dark brown griffon with greying fur enter the room and asks, "Do you know what is causing me to suffer these bouts, doctor?"

The elder griffon looks to the young princess and nods his head saying, "Indeed I do young hen, it is a very big deal now that the war is over. You are ill in a sense...but it will go away in 8 months when you give birth, so congratulations...or my condolences. Now if you would wait here, I have some prenatal supplements that you need to take to have a healthy chick or chicks."

Lyrupa's eyes go wide with shock as she hears that and panics saying, "B-But I can't have a baby, I don't have a man in my life or anyone really. I'm not ready to be a mother yet, so just give me an abortion!"

He looks to the young hen harshly and says, "Now stop your clucking! You most certainly can have a chick, because you are a very healthy 18 yr old hen. A little undernourished perhaps, but healthy enough to survive birth. Normally I would allow abortions, but with the war claiming so many including women, we doctors just simply can't perform any more abortions. So I am sorry princess, but you are most certainly going to have to carry it to term or be treated as a criminal for taking the baby's life. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get you your supplements"

Her eyes well up with tears as she hears what the doctor just said and falls back onto the table, then shifts to her side holding her abdomen while sobbing, "Wh-Why me...what did I do to deserve this punishment..."

Galanda sits in the chair in the waiting hall with the other patients, watching for her new friend to arrive and tell her what the results are when she spots her coming down the hall looking rather depressed for some reason. She rushes over to her friend as she holds a bag in her talons and grabs her by the shoulders asking, "What did the doctor say to you, are the results that bad?!"

Lyrupa looks up at her friend and pulls her into a tight hug and quietly sobs, "H-He told me...I'm pregnant."

She is confused for a moment and asks, "But that is a good thing, isn't it?"

The princess looks to her and shakes her head and continues, "Not when you have no choice but to give birth to it, He said the war claimed too many lives including women. That means that the griffon population took such a big hit, that we need to start producing offspring to save it."

Galanda pats her back gently and says, "I'm so sorry that you have to go through this, but who is the father?"

Lyrupa remains silent for a few moments and tries to recover enough to respond, eventually saying, "The father is the one who killed both our fathers, that devilishly handsome Captain Jack Sparrow."

Her feathers ruffle as she is riled up at hearing that name and growls, causing a few nearby griffons to move further away. After a few moments, she stops growling enough to say, "Worry not, for we both will find a way to make it through these troublesome times. If I ever see that bastard Jack Sparrow, I will be giving him a piece of my mind."

The princess shakes her head no, saying, "Don't put the blame solely on him, for the blame is partly my fault too. You see...when I was leaving my closet with a dress I was going to wear, I heard a noise and saw him trying to sneak by. I then dropped the dress and went to scream for the guards, but he acted quickly and clamped my beak shut and held a sword to my neck, then threatened me not to make a fuss or he would chop my wings off and give me to the crew on his ship. I don't know why, but when he held that sword to my neck, I found myself so turned on by it that I got aggressive and had my way with him."

She is shocked beyond words to hear the princess say that and remains silent for a minute before scoffing at it saying, "Even still, it is a crime to enter a hen's room, even more so a princess's room while she is changing. I will be having words with that barnacle of a captain, the very next time I see him..."

Eight months and a week later, at Galanda's home in Griffonstone

Lyrupa sits in the rocking chair while holding her baby chick lovingly, having snow-white fur and feathers with brown tips and green eyes. She rocks her gently as she breastfeeds her and looks to her friend with a gentle smile saying, "I will admit this to you, I may not have wanted you when I first learned I was pregnant, but I am happy to have given birth to such a beautiful baby as you." She kisses the top of her head as she hears the door open, seeing her friend put today's catch in the kitchen and says, "Welcome back! I see you have caught a few crabs today, that is a pleasant surprise!"

Galanda sets her bandana on the counter and smiles saying, "I figured that I should try to catch something different today, we all were getting tired of tuna. Tomorrow I am thinking of going after some swordfish, they are always fun to bring in and have more meat to them. Oh, and you will never guess at what I heard from a few sailors in the harbor."

She lifts her head up and cocks it slightly, then looks at her friend and asks, "What is that and where are the twins?"

The captain's daughter smiles at her and looks outside saying, "The twins are outside, cleaning the other crabs we caught on our trip. There is a new port town being erected where Griffington used to be called Portuga, I hear it is going to be a neutral port. That means that there will be several job opportunities available, what do you think about going there when the businesses are finished?"

Lyrupa smiles and nods her head saying, "I think it would be good because there isn't really any way to find work here, I just hope that there is a place for the twins to get an education."

Galanda smiles and gets started on cleaning her catch saying, "Alright then it's settled, we all will pack up and set sail once the businesses are built."

---

Two months pass by as they reach the port of Portuga, looking at the high stone walls and the drydocks in awe as Galanda says, "Wow, I sure wasn't expecting to see something this grand to be set up so quickly."

Lyrupa looks at the entrance to the port, seeing the great spiked chain hanging from the ends of two towers on either side, and says, "Yeah, me neither. This is going to be a well-guarded port, I'm sure, just look at how heavy and large that gate chain is."

She looks around at the chain for a moment before checking out all the other ships in the harbor, she gasps with surprise as her eyes fall upon the flag flying in the air just behind the port being white with a skull and crossbones in the center with two vertical swords to either side of it saying, "Oh no...this is a neutral port alright, but it is a pirate port."

The princess looks up at the flag and sighs saying, "So that means that HE will most likely come here..."

Galanda grumbles and says, "Very true, at least this will be a better place for us to live than in that rundown home back in Griffonstone. This will also give me the chance to speak with that no good scoundrel of a captain."

A pegasus on the docks spots a new ship coming in, identifying it as a fishing vessel and flies out to speak with its captain to direct it to the side for fishing boats and says, "That is what we'll be needing most right now, a fast vessel ta ferry goods ta and from the mainland as well as catching fish fer the hungry griffons that are starting ta arrive."

The captain's daughter watches a pegasus fly in the air near her and says, "How's the sky today, fellow sky jockey?"

The pegasus smiles at that and says, "The sky today is clear and free of clouds, though a storm has been making its way south from the frozen seas. If yer here ta sell goods or stay, make yer way ta the docks on the right. That is where the smaller fishing vessels are located."

Galanda then changes her heading, turning towards the designated area and nods her head saying, "Thanks mate, we will be looking for a place to stay, are there any job openings in town?"

He then sighs and says, "The taverns, hotels, and stores are all full up on help. Unfortunately, the only ones that're looking fer help now are the brothels. Ya should've come here a month an' a half ago when the shipyard was just finished, ponies and griffons alike were living on their ships while waiting fer it ta start receiving ships. The poor Pearl was stuck in the harbor fer weeks until she could sail out, due ta her size and the number of ships crowded into the bay and harbor. It was a real chaotic mess fer two weeks, we just got the last ship tended ta a couple of days ago."

She looks to the pegasus in shock for a moment before saying, "The only thing left is to work in the brothels, spreading our legs for customers!?"

The pegasus sighs and nods his head saying, "There's also jobs ferrying goods ta and from the main, or going out ta catch food for the hungry griffons. I must warn ya though, prices fer a place ta stay are at a high premium right now. I'm guessing that if you want to afford a place ta rest yer head, ya will need ta sell yer ship."

Galanda looks to her friend with a worried look before turning back to him saying, "Thank you for the information sir, have a good day and fair winds to you."

He nods his head and says, "Aye, and ta ya both. If I could offer ya advice, I'd have ta say that a boat is nowhere ta raise a baby." and takes off back towards the next arriving ship.

She looks back to her friend worriedly and asks, "What shall we do now Lyru? Should we try to earn enough to buy a place and live on this ship for now and take those jobs, or should we just sell the ship for a place now while one of us works in the brothel?"

Lyrupa sighs and says, "Let's make do for now by living on the ship and take a few of those jobs, we should let the brothel be our last resort."

---

Three months pass by as Galanda makes her way back from the docks, forced to sell her fishing boat out of necessity for the twins and the baby chick's health. She looks at the large bag of coins that was paid for the first vessel her father had and sheds a couple of tears at its loss, continuing on her way to see the owner of the small house she and her friend want to buy.

She arrives at the owner's place a few minutes later and knocks on the door, seeing it open up with a loud creak as a heavyset earth pony with a cream colored coat, and a bright auburn mane wearing a monocle steps forth and greets him saying, "Hello sir, I would like to pay for the house you have shown my friend and me earlier today, the one that has a view of the sea."

He grins and nods his head saying, "Oh yes. That one is on prime real estate, having such a nice view of the sea. Do ya have the 800 needed to purchase it?"

Galanda counts out 800 coins and offers them to him saying, "Here you go, I will need another key if there is only one for the house."

The landowner chuckles and takes the coins saying, "Of course it has two keys, for it is brand new and it's the custom nowadays to have at least one spare. Thank ya for yer business miss, now we just need to sign the deed and the deal is finalized." He then heads back inside to grab the rolled-up deed on the counter and heads to his desk to sign it, grabbing the quill out of the inkwell to sign his name. He then turns towards the front door and calls out to her, "Well come on in and sign yer name below mine."

She enters his home/office and walks over to the desk, then turns the paper towards her and sees where she has to sign near the bottom of the page. She picks the quill up and signs her name in the space below his and releases a heavy sigh thinking, 'Why did our lives have to come to this... I curse the day Jack Sparrow came into our lives.'

He blows on the wet ink for several seconds to dry it and lays the coins on the desk, then opens a drawer and reaches into it. He pulls out a ring with two keys on it with a tag reading Sea View House and extends his hand towards her saying, "Here are yer keys to yer new home, once the ink finishes dryin', ah'll roll the deed up and hand it to ya."

Galanda takes the keys from him and looks outside for a moment, waiting for the ink to dry.

The landowner looks at the ink again and picks up the paper and fans it in the air with one hand, ensuring that the ink is completely dry before rolling it up and handing it to her. He then rolls the paper up and ties a shiny ribbon around it with a bow, then picks it up and holds it towards her saying, "Here ya go miss, enjoy yer new home."

She takes the deed with her other claw saying, "Have a nice day Mister Apple." before turning and walking out the door, then goes to find where Lyrupa is.

Mister Apple watches her leave and thinks about his family and their way of life, then collects his bits and pulls a painting away from the wall and opens the safe behind it. After putting his bits inside of it, he closes it and returns the painting against the wall while thinking, 'I hope that my family can understand my wanting to see the world a little bit and find my own calling, I will stay here a while and see how things go.'

Lyrupa sits on the small porch of the house her friend went to buy and sees her on the path, walking towards her with a set of keys in one hand and a roll of paper in the other with a red bow on it and smiles widely saying, "We finally have a safe place to rest and keep out of the weather Gilly, oh what a wonderful day!"

Chapter 12: Peaceful Times, Part 1

Four months pass by as Galanda makes her way back from speaking with Jack Sparrow, wondering if he will actually go through with his promise to honor the debt. She returns home to see her friend in tears and hurries over to her worriedly and says, "What's wrong, did something happen?!"

Lyrupa is in tears as she tenderly rocks her chick, trying to calm her down, and says, "It's bad Gilly, she's got the measles and needs to see a doctor quickly!"

Galanda nods her head and grabs the coins she has been saving from under the floorboard and says, "Alright Lyru, let's go see the doctor. I wish that you didn't have to work tonight so you could stay home and care for your chick."

She gets up and nods her head saying, "Oh I know, so do I. I have to work though, the treatment for this is not going to be cheap and we have to afford food and keep the lamps supplied with oil. The twins are getting much better at helping out around the house at least, and I have you to look after my chick. So I know she is in good hands with you looking after her."

Presently, One week after hiding the chest from the world, in the neutral port of Portuga

Jack makes his way through town at sunset, heading for his grandmama's home to share his scheme with her thinking, 'After I talk to Grandmama about this plan and convince her to go through with it, I shall unload the coins and some gold so they can be melted down. After that, my men and I shall visit various nations in this world, and sell our treasures to them and be rich beyond measure.'

Lyrupa is walking down the main street towards the brothel she works in when she spots a familiar face belonging to the famous hero, Captain Jack Sparrow. She forces herself to smile while adding a little venom to her voice saying, "Well well well...if it isn't the infamous hero of the war, Captain Jack Sparrow. What brings a scoundrel such as you to Portuga?"

He spins around to spot a snow-white griffon with green eyes and black-tipped feathers standing before him in a red low-cut, off the shoulder, short-skirted dress and raises a hand to his beard, twiddling it between his fingers in thought for a few moments before saying, "You look vaguely familiar, have I threatened you before?"

She crosses her arms and narrows her eyes at him saying, "Oh you most certainly have, I am surprised you don't remember the day you beheaded my father before me. Perhaps you even forgot when I had my way with you a few hours before?"

Jack straightens his posture and takes a step back saying, "Oh...so you're her. I won't apologize for killing your father or beheading him, the things he said he'd do to Princess Celestia when they won the war were unforgivable. Aside from the ugliness of war, how have you been Princess?"

Lyrupa taps the talons on her feet against the cobblestone street in annoyance and says, "Yes I'm the ex princess that forced myself upon you and had my way, my life has been bad since the war ended. Where do I begin...well let's just start from the beginning shall we? I had nightmares every night after looking into the eyes of my father's head as it came to a stop at my talons, and after that, the kingdom broke apart. So I fled the castle two weeks later when I couldn't sleep with only one dress and whatever money I could carry with me, then another few weeks later I was ridiculed by my own people and learned later that day that I was with child." and continues to rant and tell her story.

He takes a step back, shocked to hear that he may have a child with another, and tries to figure out if he is the father saying, "Now are you dead certain that I am the father and not some handsome griffon prince out there?"

She sees him trying to find a way to escape and takes a step closer saying, "Oh no you don't, I know you want to run away from this but I won't let you. I don't know what princesses do in the world you came from but they do not sleep around here, we feel obligated to retain our honor and pride. Though I don't want to admit it, we are both at fault for what happened that night. You are partly to blame for being a scoundrel and sneaking in through an open window, and I'm to blame for forcing myself upon you after you threatened me." She then blushes and looks away briefly quietly whispering, "I didn't know that I enjoyed being threatened so." She then grabs him by the shoulders and drives him into a small, shaded, grassy square between two buildings.

Jack steps backward to avoid falling and feels his back hit some wall, saying, "Oh bugger." knowing instantly that the plan he was coming up with won't work anymore, and tries to come up with something new.

Lyrupa glares into his eyes and takes a breath before saying, "Though you are the father of my chick Captain Jack Sparrow, I do not want you to have any part in her life so stay away from Cliffside lane. Now get out of my sight you filthy pirate." She then pushes herself away from him and storms off down the street, feeling that same itch from before when he threatened her and grins thinking, 'Imagine that, I actually do like getting rough. Wonder if I can make extra money with this new knowledge...'

He takes a moment to register what just happened and lets out a sigh thinking, 'I can't believe that I fathered another child and can't have any part in her life. Belay that, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow and I shall have some hand in that girl's future.' He then thinks of how he could accomplish that and continues on his way to his grandmama's.

---

Rich Bit looks over some trade requests from various nations and shoves them aside with a sigh as she hears the doors to her office open and hears a rhythmic sound belonging to a pair of boots and says, "What brings ya back to Portuga ya scallywag?"

Jack looks at his grandmother as she sits behind the large oak desk with a smile saying, "Well Grandmama, I've arrived with a scheme to earn us gold and encourage other nations to trade with each other, and therefore I need your help in getting it started."

She half chuckles and looks up at her grandson with curiosity and says, "Hmm...and just what is this scheme of yers ya cooked up?"

He chuckles and pulls out a silver piece of eight and tosses it towards her saying, "I found a grand treasure that was lost due to Isla de Muerta being claimed by the sea. You know the story of when I was marooned at sea and finally reclaimed the Black Pearl with a little help right?"

Grandmama nods her head and catches it deftly, then harshly blows across it and holds it close to her ear for a moment saying, "Aye I do, get to the point ya bilge rat." Knowing that there is no danger now, she then places it back in her palm and closes her fist.

Jack sighs and says, "Fine then, I have the treasure hoard from that dreaded isle. Unfortunately, that accursed stone chest also came with the treasure but fear not, I have secured it in a nigh impregnable vault."

She nods her head and chuckles saying, "Good, that accursed treasure deserves to stay lost for I too know what misery it can bring. Now tell me what this scheme of yers is and why ya mentioned that treasure."

He shakes his head and says, "You are always straight forwards and to the point, you don't have a taste for theatrics. Whatever then, my scheme is to sell all the pieces of eight to you so you can sort them out and melt them down. After turning them into bars, we sell them to Equestria to open up trading opportunities with other nations...savvy?"

Grandmama rubs her chin curiously and says, "Aye...so how much treasure did ya find?"

Jack smiles and says, "Enough to set us both up for several years and turn this into a bustling and profitable port city, shall we walk and catch up on our way over to the Pearl so you can see it for yourself?"

She smiles and grabs her cane saying, "Aye, it's been several days since I last went outside."

He then turns around and starts heading for the door when he is whacked by his grandmother's cane and says, "Oww! What did you whack me like that for?"

Grandmama shakes her head and takes the lead, saying, "No reason other than age before beauty, and that ya annoy me with the odd way ya walk."

Jack dares not to ask about her age and says, "I rather like the way I walk, and how do you know what that treasure does?"

She fights the urge to stab him with a dagger and turns around, then uses her cane to beat on him saying, "It's rude to be so coy about learning someone's age ya filthy mongrel!"

He guards his head against her cane as she whacks him on the arms, legs, top of his head, and along his torso shouting ow repeatedly for several seconds before saying, "Sorry, I just couldn't help it! No one ever dared to wonder about it, and I wanted to know what you did in your earlier years...OW!"

Grandmama stops beating him for a moment and grumbles saying, "Ungrateful lout...If ya really want to know, I was somewhere close to your age when I had a brief fling with Hernan Cortes and 'borrowed' a piece of the treasure he was given. So a few years passed by and he was pulled away to deal with some trouble, I started to realize I couldn't feel anything such as heat, or cold. I could still feel the pain of being injured but could not die, or satisfy my thirst or hunger. I then went ashore and 'asked' them what they did to his treasure and how to cure myself. They told me after watching me torture a few of their tribal leaders, but I didn't care that much for Cortes and his men so I didn't pass on the knowledge and held onto the coin for a while to enjoy being able to survive a mortal wound. Maybe some other time I will tell ya more, let's go look at what we have ta work with." She then turns around and starts walking towards the docks, thinking back about what happened during Cortes's time among the Aztec people.

Jack is shocked to hear that and says "That is quite impressive to hear, I'm surprised you still look so youthful grandmama."

She smiles and silently chuckles saying, "SHUT UP YA BACKWATER BARNACLE!"

Ten minutes pass as Jack leads his grandmother down into the Black Pearl's hold and says, "There are two decks of gold and jewelry here to sort through, I plan on saving the rings, jewelry made with pearls, and gemmed necklaces and crowns to sell elsewhere. So anything here that is pure gold is to be melted down, though I shall give that silver and blue throne to you if you can give me a slightly better price on the loot. So grandmama, what say you?"

Granny walks through the hold and looks into the various sacks and barrels, taking notice of a golden chandelier with a few half-used candles still in their holders and chuckles saying, "I once heard a tale that this was stolen from the bedroom where the wife of King George the second shared a night of passion with a certain pirate while the king was tending to the needs of his kingdom, how did you manage to smuggle this out of the room with her not noticing?"

Jack grins and laughs at remembering that saying, "Why I simply knocked out a guard, switched his clothes with mine, hauled him before another guard, and informed him that he was to be taken to the stockade. After that, I simply unhooked the rope that secured it and dropped it to the floor quietly. I then simply picked it up and carried it out after informing the king it required some repairs and I was just doing as ordered, I then took it somewhere secluded and wrapped it in cloth before hiding it. I later found Gibbs and informed him of its location, and released the still unconscious guard and swapped clothes again before leaving him there behind the stables in a pile of horse dung, and finally returned to my ship. Unfortunately, I couldn't sell it off as I was viciously mutinied and marooned by Barbossa."

She cackles at hearing that and says, "Oh I see now, Barbossa was jealous of ya. Ya should keep that to remember yer adventures."

He considers it for a moment and nods his head while thinking, 'Oh...so 'that' is why he looked familiar, there was a portrait of him on the wall just past the end of her bed.' and then says, "It would be nice to have something to remind me of the past...okay, maybe I should hold onto it."

Grandmama moves to the deck above to look at the rest of the treasure and nods her head, liking what she sees with how much there is to be melted down, and says, "We have an accord, have yer crew sort out what ya want to be saved. After we weigh it in the smuggled goods warehouse, we'll git ya paid and ya can return to yer business."

Two hours later, in the captain's cabin aboard the Black Pearl

Jack paces back and forth in his room, talking aloud to anyone in the room saying, "What in the devil can I do to have a part in the child's life...hints...anyone?"

Polly then squawks saying, "Diamonds are forever."

He stops and stares at the bird dumbfounded and shouts, "I'M NOT MARRYING MY OWN CHILD YA FEATHERBRAIN!" He then huffs in irritation at the terrible idea and says, "If I think about the obvious and focus on items themselves, I might come up with something good."

The parrot squawks again saying, "Walk the plank."

Jack nearly pulls out his pistol to shoot the irritating bird saying, "Do ya want me to pluck ya and eat ya fer dinner?"

Polly then looks at the captain and squawks again saying, "Shiver me timbers. No, don't eat me. No, don't eat me."

He then nods with satisfaction and resumes talking to anyone in the room saying, "Now where did I leave off... Ah yes, women tend to like jewelry and such to make them look nice. I wonder what is appropriate for a child...hmmm...I do recall seeing some young boys fighting each other using wooden sticks like swords. Perhaps a wooden sword would be appropriate, but should I give her something that she could use later as she grows up?" He then resumes pacing but stops when he looks at his desk, seeing his cylindrical spyglass sitting between a candlestick and an empty bottle of rum. He stares at the items scattered on top of his desk and finally gets an idea, picking up his spyglass and looking it over saying, "Two gifts for her, one she can enjoy in her younger years and one she can use after she grows up." He then moves behind his desk and searches for the case for it, finding it stuffed behind a large captain's hat different from Barbossa's having two large, split peaks at the front and a long purple feather on one side. He pulls the hat out saying, "Maybe it will be three..." He sets the hat on his desk and grabs the leather case with a strap on it, opens it up, and lets the cap dangle by the string attaching it to the case. He then picks up his spyglass and puts it into the case with a sad sigh saying, "I have had you since I ran away from home, but I think I shall give you to someone else who might appreciate you more." and returns the cap to the top of the case, just now remembering that he will be having a child with Celestia and returns the case to the drawer.

---

Lyrupa gets off of her client, having finished servicing him for the past hour, and wipes herself clean. She then tosses away the cloth and gets dressed, holding up her paw saying, "Alright bub, pay up. That's 250 since ya wanted another half-hour." She then takes the bag from him and stuffs it into her top and saunters out of the room, making her way downstairs to stand outside in front of the brothel. She leans against the post of the building and releases a sigh thinking, 'Only two more hours before my shift is over and I can go home to my darling baby chick.'

Jack spots a familiar griffon and stuffs the large hat under his shirt, then tucks the wooden sword under his belt and underneath his frock. He then makes his way towards her and leans against the post saying, "It's a beautiful night lass, would you care to join me inside for a moment?"

She looks up at the next customer and sighs unhappily saying, "Follow me upstairs then sir and we will get started." She then stands up and saunters her way inside, then heads for the stairs to the private rooms thinking, 'Of all the customers I get, why does he have to be one of them... Maybe I should charge him extra for a session...'

He follows her up the stairs and into a room, then stands behind her and wraps his arms around her midsection just below her breasts, and whispers to her, "I do not actually want you to service me, lass. I just came here to speak to you savvy?"

Lyrupa gasps at feeling him press up behind her and starts breathing a little faster and whispers back, "Don't get rough or I will have my way with you again, what do you want then you filthy pirate?"

Jack lets her go and closes the door gently behind him and says, "I understand you not wanting your child to have anything to do with me, but might I trouble you for one little favor?"

She turns around and crosses her arms, narrowing her eyes and staring right into his, and says, "I do not want you to visit my child, so say what it is, though I may just say no anyway."

He then leans against the wall and pulls out a bottle of rum and takes a drink from it before offering it to her and saying, "Well firstly, I would like to give you something for your daughter, you are free to give them to her whenever you think she can handle them. One of which is a large captain's hat with a long feather, and the other is a wooden sword to play with so she won't be bored as a child."

Lyrupa shakes her head side to side and says, "No thank you, I would prefer to raise my chick free from such foul drinks." She then thinks on it for a moment before saying, "Show me what this hat and sword look like, then I will tell you my answer."

Jack tucks the bottle away and pulls out the hat to show her, then spreads the fingers on one hand apart and rests the hat on it and grabs the sword with the other and says, "And these are the two, one-time gifts I would like to give our daughter. Since you don't want me to be part of her life, just tell her that her father is a rum-soaked, villainous and ruthless pirate that would steal from his own family to get rich. Doesn't really matter to me if you mention my name at all, for it is likely I may be dead by the time she is old enough to search for me."

She looks at the two gifts and really considers the offer, eventually releasing a sigh and nodding her head saying, "Okay, you have a deal. So what else do you want?"

He then places his thumb and forefinger on his beard and thinks for a moment before saying, "Ahh yes. Secondly, I would like to know two things. How much longer will you be here tonight, and how much is a session with you?"

Lyrupa rolls her eyes and says, "I thought you didn't want my services, but to answer your question, I have two more hours until my shift is over and a session is 125."

Jack looks at her and grins saying, "I don't want that kind of service, but that price is agreeable, however. I would like to spend two hours with you, just lying beside each other."

She stares at him like he just grew a third head and says in disbelief, "You seriously want to pay me 500 just to lay in bed beside you?"

He chuckles and nods his head saying, "Aye I do, for I find myself feeling rather lonely these days. You could even sleep the whole time for all I care, I would just like to feel the warmth and smell the fragrance of a female lying beside me."

Lyrupa laughs and shakes her head and says, "You are a strange pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, but you are amusing at times. Okay, I'll take you up on your offer, you best not fall asleep yourself or you'll owe more than what you asked for. Is there anything else you wish to add to your favor?"

Jack then thinks about it and holds up a finger as he thinks it over then says, "No, that is everything lass. Shall we lie down and pretend to like each other's company?"

She softly smiles and nods her head saying, "Very well then, I will be sure to give her these when I feel like it." and takes the two gifts from him and sets them on the ground, making her way to the bed and undoing a couple of her top buttons to be able to get comfortable saying, "Aren't you going to join me, you scoundrel?"

He takes off his hat and hangs it on the bedpost, then climbs onto the bed after her. He lays his head onto the pillow as she gets comfortable and wraps his arms around her saying, "Forgive me but I'm cold." and roughly pulls her against him.

Lyrupa is caught by surprise with the sudden pull saying, "Oof, you could have just asked me to get closer." and ignores the itch begging to be scratched.

Jack rests his head near the back of hers as he feels her snuggle up against him, sliding one leg between his, and says, "I never ask for things when it comes to the bedroom, I just take what I want lass."

She feels the itching get stronger as she starts to rub her thighs together and thinks, 'Don't give in to the burning desire, don't give in...'

The two strike up a normal conversation about their previous lives as Jack tells her a few stories he had heard about fellow pirates from his world and the adventures he had, then listens to her as she talks about her life in the castle before the war started.

Two hours pass by as Jack trails a finger up her side saying, "You know, I could get you work elsewhere if you'd like?"

Lyrupa looks back at the clock behind her and sighs saying, "What would I be doing, is it better paying than this?" She then sits up and hangs her legs over the edge of the bed, then stands up and turns to face him and says, "This is the end of our session Jack, so pay up so I can go home to my baby chick."

Jack pulls out a sack and counts out 500 and hands it to her saying, "It wouldn't be as good as this, but at least you would not have to sell your body. You would be working for the mayor in charge of this port doing what? I don't know, but it could be running errands for her or keeping her place clean. So what say you?"

She takes the coin while seriously considering it and says, "Hmmm, it would be nice to get away from this life, can you tell me what she is like?"

He gets up off the bed and says, "She's a cantankerous old bat with a temper and tends to throw things at those who annoy her. She also uses her cane to beat those she likes, are you still interested?"

Lyrupa sighs and nods, feeling unsure about working in a hostile environment saying, "If it means getting away from here, I will put up with it."

Jack grins and says, "Good then, it's settled then. I will go have words with Grandmama, and whatever you do...don't say that I am the father of your child to her."

Her eyes go wide as Jack puts the hat back on his head and says, "Wait...What?! Why not?"

He then looks at her seriously and says, "Because lass, if she finds out I am the father, she will no doubt find a way to raise her. She raised me after my mum died, nearly beating me to death on three separate occasions. My father says that is her way of showing love, my family is rather peculiar because we constantly get into fights with each other when we get together. Though it's both fortunate and not that my entire family hasn't come here, for every one of us is a pirate."

Lyrupa sighs and hangs her head a little, saying, "Great...so you have a dysfunctional family too. Is there anything else I should know before entering the dragon's den?"

Jack chuckles nervously and says, "Yes, one very important bit of advice...NEVER ask about her age because it is unsafe to ask."

She then nervously gulps and then asks, "Why is that?"

He then says, "Because I have heard that she once beat a man to death asking what her age was...with just a tankard."

Lyrupa then looks at him saying, "O-Okay then, I will make sure to never do that. How will you find me after speaking with your grandmother?"

Jack then smiles and says, "I won't because you are going with me up to her home."

A few minutes later, the two leave the brothel as she carries the gifts for her child and says, "I need to take these home and put them away, I will meet you back at the street corner up ahead when I am done."

Jack's debate inside his head

He nods and watches her walk away and vanish from sight as she turns a corner, then heads down the street to the corner she mentioned and sits on a nearby chair. He then pulls out his bottle of rum and takes a swig from it thinking, "Way to go, Jack, you have just potentially ruined her little girl's life."

He then hears a voice come from his shoulder, looking down and to the right to find a miniature Jack standing there saying, "Oh don't listen to him, you are just doing what you think is best for her and the child."

Jack then answers back, "Of course I was."

He then hears another voice speak up from the other side of him and turns his head to see another miniature Jack standing there saying, "Right, Right. But you found a way to stay in the child's life, how long until you come up with a scheme to take the child away from her mother and keep her to yourself?"

Jack then looks up and sighs saying, "Unfortunately, I don't know. Perhaps I am just a rum-soaked, ruthless villain of a pirate after all..."

Confidence speaks up and says, "Ignore that nonsense, it's not like you want the child to be raised by that cantankerous temperamental bat of a grandmother. No, you actually gave her advice to avoid said outcome"

Jack then looks to his right and says, "I did what I could to offer her a better life."

Doubt then considers what to say next to win the argument and says, "How is her life going to be better with Grandmama being the way she is? She could slip up and the child will be raised by her instead!"

Confidence notices Jack considering it and peers over to Doubt and shouts, "Oi! It is quite low to use fear to win an argument you know?!"

Doubt then looks over at Confidence, saying, "Well it wouldn't kill you to let me win once in a while!"

Confidence chuckles and says, "Well you are supposed to use logic and intelligence to win an argument mate, it's not my fault that you're lacking in both departments."

Doubt crosses his arms in annoyance and says, "No, it's not, it's his fault for creating me this way!"

Jack then looks down at both of them saying, "Oi, don't get me involved in your little spat. The choices I make are influenced by the both of you, so why don't you both just shut it!"

Outside of Jack's head, in the real world a few moments ago

Lyrupa walks towards the corner as she spots Jack arguing with himself out loud and thinks, 'Okay, so he is a little bit strange. It is amusing to watch him argue with himself though, I wonder which one will win...'

She can't stop herself from giggling at the argument he had with himself and says, "I didn't know that fearsome pirates argued with themselves like that, so who won?"

He then blushes slightly at being caught and looks at her saying, "All the best ones do lass, and obviously I won by telling the others to shut it."

Lyrupa walks past him with a smile on her face and says, "Okay then, shall we get moving, Dread Pirate?"

Jack stands up and moves beside her saying, "Of course, follow me to the perilous manor of the Mayor."

Chapter 13: Peaceful Times, Part 2

Jack opens a door to the manor and takes a few steps forward when he hears the door close, glancing back to notice that the ex-princess just closed the door and turns back around to see his grandmama exiting a side room and says, "Pardon my intrusion grandmama, but I remembered that you were searching for an assistant. You are still searching for one, aye?"

Rich Bit turns right and makes her way down the stairs, then heads towards her grandson with a smile on her face for a few seconds. She forces the world's magic away and scowls saying, "What do ya want now ya thieving backwater barnacle!? To answer yer question, yeah I am so what's it to ya?"

He steps backward and to the right, revealing the snow-white griffon behind him and then gets right behind her, then places his hands on her shoulders and grips them lightly before guiding her forward saying, "Perhaps this young lass may prove useful to you, she is a one-time lover of mine and has come into some hard times after I had slain her father before her eyes. She knows about our peculiar lifestyle, and I told her that if she tells anyone about it, she's likely to wind up having breakfast at the bottom of the sea."

She grins and nods her head saying, "If my scallywag of a grandson can attest on yer behalf, ya must have done something to impress him. Ya start tomorrow, so be here by sunrise to begin learning what ya'll be doing strumpet. What be yer name hun?"

Lyrupa looks down nervously and says, "Umm...my name is Lyrupa ma'am, I am grateful for you giving me the chance to work for you."

Rich looks to her grandson who is trying to hide from her and says, "My name is Rich Bit, so either call me Mayor Bit or Rich. So tell me what ya were doing before that barnacle of a grandson of mine brought ya here, Princess Lyrupa?"

Her eyes go wide at being recognized and says, "Well Mayor Bit, I was looking for a way to get out of the brothel that I was working in after leaving Griffonstone."

The mayor narrows her eyes as she suspects that her grandson did something she wouldn't like and asks, "What happened before that lass?"

Lyrupa looks up to her with a sigh and decides to tell her and says, "Well it is a somewhat short story, but it began when I left my closet to go to my bed to sleep and saw a strange creature standing in my room looking like a pirate. I was about to scream for the guards but the creature got to me first and threatened to cut off my wings then give me to his crew if I did, that then led to our single night of romance. The next day came and I woke up hearing the sounds of fighting coming from down the hall, I was oh so fortunate to reach the throne room in time to watch the pirate lop off my father's head with a flourish with the head landing just before me. After struggling from intense nightmares for two weeks, I fled the castle with only one dress and what coin I could carry. I did what I could to get food to survive, I never had to steal to satisfy my hunger and thirst before. I got caught and was forced to make a deal with him to keep my hands, and after some time passed I found myself pregnant. After so many were lost in the war, I couldn't get rid of it. As it got harder to find food, I happened across another hen who had young to care for and she took me in. Things got tougher so we were left with no choice but to come here to find work when we heard that this port was finished, however, when we arrived there was no other choice but to live on the boat and run shipments. Eventually, things got tougher, and we were forced to sell it to get a proper place to raise them, leaving us no choice but to work in a brothel."

Rich becomes angered at hearing her story, and how difficult her life was. She glares daggers at her grandson as a tear rolls down her cheek, grabbing her cane in a swift motion and storms her way down the steps towards him saying, "You good-for-nothing gods-be-damned bastard! You know better than to steal yourself into a lady's room late in the evening, I don't know if you have no respect for women or if you just want to lose your manhood!" She resists throwing daggers at him and instead stops just beside him, grabs him by the collar and throws him onto the floor before raising her cane into the air saying, "MAYBE THIS WILL GET THROUGH TO YOU AND TEACH YOU SOMETHING!" then begins repeatedly whacking him with it on various parts of his body, changing to a new spot when he tries to guard against the hits.

Jack tries to guard himself against her vicious beatings with the cane for a while before spitting up blood saying, "I'm going to be a father, so stop beating me!"

Lyrupa sighs at the severe beating Jack is getting and feels guilt welling up at what she had caused for him and starts to say something, but is cut off by Rich Bit as she resumes shouting.

She continues the savage beating her grandson deserves and shouts, "HA, THAT IS REALLY FUNNY! YOU WOULD NEVER WANT TO BE A FATHER BECAUSE YOU WOULD NEVER GIVE UP THE SEA AND CLEAN UP YOUR ACT! EVEN IF YOU DID, THERE IS NO FEMALE ON THIS PLANET STUPID ENOUGH TO LET YOU GET THEM PREGNANT WITHOUT BEING THERE WITH THEM TO RAISE THE CHILD AND NOT BE MARRIED!"

He puts up with the beating a bit more and says, "I don't need to be there with the child all the time, we could take turns after the first few years of the child's life! My father did it, so why can't I?!"

Rich continues beating on her grandson and shouts, "THAT WILL NEVER WORK OUT LIKE YOU WANT, YOUR FATHER WAS AN UTTER DISAPPOINTMENT!"

Jack finally has had enough and draws his pistol with a single shot and cocks it back shouting, "STOP BEATING ME, WITCH!" He shakily gets up to his feet as blood trickles lightly down his cheek saying, "I hate how you raised me. I thought that perhaps you could change just a little bit so I could let your great-grandson or great-granddaughter meet you once Celestia gives birth, I was very wrong apparently. I must thank you for showing your true colors with this beating, for I will ensure that my child never meets an evil sea hag like you." He then keeps the pistol pointed at her, then starts to back up towards the door after returning his hat back to his head saying, "This will be the last you will ever see of Captain...Jack...Sparrow, may Davy Jones have mercy on your soul sea hag." before turning around at the last word and uncocking his pistol, returning it to its holster, and walking hastily towards the door.

She is stunned beyond words at what she hears her grandson say as her grip on the cane weakens to the point where it falls from her grasp, landing onto the floor with a loud noise. It then bounces along the floor a couple more times before rolling across the floor as Rich turns her eyes up to him, watching as he moves further and further away from her with each step he takes. She weakly raises her hand out in front of her as Equestria's magic continues to hold her, trying to reach out and stop her grandson saying, "D-Don't run away again my boy, come back!" and slowly begins reaching her other hand up to clutch her chest as pain takes hold of her.

Lyrupa starts to hastily make her way over to stop Jack, making it to the door when she hears something fall onto the floor. Stopping to look behind her, she sees that Rich Bit is lying on the floor with her hand outstretched on the floor towards the door when she hears the heavy door quickly open and slam shut. Unsure of what to do, she runs after Jack to tell him that his grandmother collapsed.

He continues his way down the steps of the manor, eager to get far away from it and back to his ship when he hears someone running towards him. Drawing his pistol and quickly cocking it, he aims at the one running towards him saying, "Stop unless you want to die, but this bullet is not meant for you hag." then turns around, expecting to see his grandmother behind him. He is mildly surprised to see that it is the griffon and lifts his head up slightly and cocks one eyebrow asking, "Why are you running after me, you have your job so leave me alone."

She pants and leans forward, resting her claws on her knees saying, "It's your grandmother Jack, she just collapsed."

Jack uncocks his pistol and puts it away saying, "Okay...what am I supposed to do about it?"

Lyrupa stares at him in disbelief saying, "Well, you need to go see if she is alright and care for her. Then you two should apologize to each other for what you both said."

He lets out a hmmph and turns around, then keeps walking away saying, "No I don't, and most certainly will not. She won't die unless she is damn well ready to, and besides, she has you to take care of her now."

She follows after him for a distance, trying her best to get him to turn around to go back to his grandmother. She gives up after he starts to ignore her completely, sighing as his mind is made up. She then turns around and hurries back to the manor with tears in her eyes as guilt wells up inside her.

Jack makes his way towards his ship, hoping his crew has the ship unloaded by now so they can set sail immediately. As he finally reaches the dock where his ship is at, he walks up the boarding ramp and calls out, "Gibbs, is the cargo unloaded with the exception of what we'll sell elsewhere?"

Gibbs walks down the steps from the aft deck saying, "Aye cap'n it is, what be our orders?"

The captain turns and heads up the stairs to take the helm saying, "Cast off those lines and row us out of here, it's time to do some...creative bartering."

As the Pearl exits the bay, Jack gives the order to hoist the sails saying, "Bring to me to the isolated kingdom of Aquastria..."

At the Grand Galloping Gala, three months later

Jack stands at the back of the line, waiting eagerly for the greetings to be over with so he can return to his beloved Pearl. He ensures that his frock is hiding his cutlass and pistol so the guards won't notice, discretely checking his outfit for anything that might give away his intentions.

Celestia sees her love making his way towards her slowly as the line gets shorter with each greeting when she looks down at the next guest, smiling as she says, "Greetings my loyal subject and thank you for attending the Gala this year, please enjoy your evening."

Ten minutes pass as Jack finally stands in front of Celestia as she stands at the top of a set of stairs, bowing before her and taking his hat off saying, "It is an honor to meet you once more, Your Majesty. It was about six years ago when we first met, it is rather remarkable at how time can pass by so quickly when you are entertained or not paying attention."

She smiles widely while keeping her lips together, not wanting the others to see how excited she is at this day finally arriving and says, "I appreciate the gesture, you may rise. I was taken by surprise by the arrival of your ship and the rough condition it was in when it sailed into Baltimare Port, I must once again thank you for assisting us during the war a few years ago. Thank you for being able to attend this year's Grand Galloping Gala Captain Sparrow, please enjoy your time at the Gala."

He stands up and returns his hat to his head saying, "I will most certainly do that Your Majesty, would it be inappropriate for a privateer to ask you for a dance?"

Celestia hears a few gasps around the room, shocked and surprised at what he just asked as she takes a few seconds to recover. Offering him a smile, she says, "Your request surprised me, forgive me for not answering quickly. I find no reason to deny your request, let's head to the dance floor."

Jack then offers his left arm as he saw the upper class do at a few balls he attended in disguise, watching as Celestia makes her way down the stairs towards him and says to her, "Thank you for granting my request Your Majesty, I only hope that I do not disappoint you due to not attending many occasions that require one to dance with another."

She reaches the bottom of the stairs as her heart starts to beat faster at the idea of dancing with her lover while in the early months of her pregnancy before the eyes of other important guests from around Equestria, placing her arm in his and says as her lips part a little due to her being unable to fully control it saying, "It would not bother me in the slightest unless you are very bad and cause me to trip or fall."

He smiles and then starts guiding her to the dance floor as all eyes are on them, with every guest watching them with dumbfounded faces with looks of shock on each one. He looks around at the shocked crowd thinking, 'After this dance, it is going to be quite amusing watching them panic when I take their beloved princess hostage.'

As they reach the center of the dance floor, Celestia discretely looks around at the ponies still staring at them in shock when she hears Jack say, "OI, are you lot going to continue playing music? It is rather hard to dance without any music you know." forcing herself to bite her tongue to keep from laughing out loud when the orchestra finally gets the hint and looks to the princess for instructions. Nodding her head saying, "Sorry for distracting you all earlier but Captain Sparrow is correct, it is rather challenging without a rhythm so please continue to play.

Everypony slowly recovers from their shock as the orchestra begin to resume playing. They watch with great curiosity as the two dance together without any slip-ups by either of them, finding themselves drawn in by how well they danced together and start to find partners to join them on the dance floor.

Jack finishes the dance by dipping Celestia, then brings her back up and stands before her, taking both of her hands into his, saying, "You dance very well, Your Majesty. Thank you again for granting my request."

Celestia has a gentle flush on her face as her heart races in her chest, taking a breath to calm herself before saying, "As do you. Thank you for requesting this dance, I enjoyed it."

He then releases her right hand with a wide smile saying, "I have only been here a brief moment, but I already feel very underdressed for such a glamorous event. I feel my home calling to me, so let us be on our way shall we, Princess Celestia?"

She hears the room go silent then acts like she doesn't know what is going on and giggles saying, "Well that is unfortunate to hear Captain Jack Sparrow, but I cannot accompany you there because I must remain here to lead my precious subjects."

Jack then scoffs and laughs saying, "Oh how silly of me to forget that you have your royal duties, allow me to reword what I said." He then takes a brief breath and drops the smile saying, "You shall be coming with me, whether you like it or not Princess Celestia." he then prepares to roughly pull her to him and draws his cutlass.

Celestia pretends to back away from him, keeping her wings close to her back as she sees him draw his cutlass shouting, "GUARDS, SEIZE HIM!" before being roughly jerked towards him and spun around so her back is against his chest, making her heart beat even faster from the excitement of the act they are putting on.

He hears guards start rushing into the room and start to surround him as he quickly brings his sword to her neck, putting a little force into it so they know that he is serious then releases her other hand and draws his pistol and cocks it before putting it to her head saying, "Uh-uh-uh....not so fast. Don't try to use magic to remove my blade or pistol, they are both enchanted against magic. If I see any horns light up or any aura start to surround my weapons, your beloved princess dies!" he then watches as the guests start to panic and run every which way while screaming in fear.

Her eyes go wide as she wasn't expecting him to be serious in this act and then says, "Guards hold your attempts to free me, I do not wish for any blood to be spilled this day."

A guard glares daggers at Captain Sparrow and then looks at the Princess briefly as he stands ready to attack her assailant saying, "Forgive me for saying this Your Majesty, but we cannot obey that order!"

Celestia looks to the guard, recognizing them and narrows her eyes saying, "Guard Sturdy Shield, do not disobey a direct order I have given you! If you or anypony try to rescue me and fail, who is going to raise and lower the sun and moon each day and keep the kingdom from falling into chaos and freeing Discord?! Obey the orders I have given you and speak to my assistant Swift Quill to organize search parties to find me. Do you understand me?!"

Sturdy Shield glares at the Captain and hesitantly nods his head, slowly saying, "Y...Yes...Your Highness, I understand and shall do as you command. The royal guard will not rest until you are found and rescued!"

Jack grins and then says, "Now that you have said your farewells Your Highness, teleport us to your old castle. Once we are there, I will have you take us somewhere else."

She sighs in aggravation and then charges up her horn saying, "Very well Captain Sparrow, but you are going to be hunted and captured, then thrown into the dungeon to rot for taking me hostage." then teleports them both to the old castle.

After arriving just outside of her and Luna's old castle, he quickly lowers his sword and returns it to its sheath while uncocking his pistol and returning it as well saying, "Forgive my roughness my love, but I had to make sure that they bought our act."

Celestia takes a couple steps away from him and turns around, then glares at him saying, "I know we planned for you to abduct me during the Gala, but I didn't know you were going to be that serious about it! What if something happened and my neck did get sliced open, or what if I did get shot!?"

Jack chuckles and raises his hands into the air saying, "The worst that would happen to you if the pistol would have fired is a powder burn as there is no ball loaded. As for the sword, did you even notice that I was holding the back against your neck?"

She then huffs and looks away saying, "N-No I didn't because I was too wrapped up in the excitement of it while it was happening."

He then walks up to her and places his hands on her shoulders, then softly says to her, "By the way, I love how good that dress looks on you. I wouldn't dare let any accident happen that might ruin the beauty of your white coat or that dress. Perhaps it would be wise for us to go to the ship now before they start hunting me?"

Celestia smiles and blushes at the compliment saying, "You are such a thoughtful pirate, I can't wait for our foal to be born. Where am I going to be teleporting us now my love?"

Jack then smiles and says, "The Pearl is due east of here, near the shore between the small town of Manetown to the north and Fillycity to the south."

---

After Princess Celestia teleports them both to the east coast, it takes them a few hours of walking to find the ship resting several yards away from the shore as Jack gestures to the dinghy saying, "After you, my love, I will push us out to sea."

Celestia climbs into the small boat as her heart refuses to calm down as she says, "We will finally get to spend some quality time together my love until it is time for me to return to Canterlot with our foal..."

Jack smiles at her and pushes the boat into the water, then climbs in and grabs the oars to start rowing out to the ship saying, "Yes we will, our foal is going to love the sea. But guess what dear?"

She feels the boat start to move as he rows then asks with a slight blush on her cheeks, "What's that darling?"

He keeps rowing and says with a smile, "Congratulations on gaining your freedom my dear, for your life as a pirate begins today."

Celestia's smile widens as the boat draws nearer to the ship where their life together awaits and says, "I am so happy and excited right now that I just want to fly over to the ship and crawl into bed then watch the coast shrink into the distance through the windows as you steal me away."

Gibbs watches Jack and Celestia row to the boat and throws a rope ladder over the side so they can climb to get on the ship saying, "Welcome back Cap'n, I take it the plan went well?"

Jack smirks and rows alongside the Pearl saying, "Of course it did, do you see any guards chasing us with their spears and swords drawn?"

He looks along the shore and in the sky where they got on the dinghy, seeing nothing over there saying with a chuckle, "Not this time Cap'n, what be our orders this time?"

The captain looks at Celestia and gestures towards the ladder with his hands saying, "Ladies and princesses first, my love."

She pretends to be insulted by that and huffs, "You just want me to go first so you can see what is under this skirt, you scoundrel. Some gentlestallion you are..." turning her head away as her frown turns into a smirk.

Jack smirks at her and says, "Of course I do love, and I am no gentlestallion... I am a pirate, as are you now."

Celestia smiles and starts up the ladder, taking Gibbs's hand as he offers it when she nears the top of the ladder and assists her onto the deck. She then moves to the side to wait for Jack to come on board next and faces Gibbs saying, "Thank you for assisting me Master Gibbs, it is greatly appreciated."

Gibbs then bows his head to the princess saying, "You are quite welcome, Princess Celestia."

She hears Jack and looks to the rope ladder, unable to see him yet, and turns back to Gibbs saying, "I shall be staying on this ship for a while, but in disguise to keep the royal guards from recognizing me if they find this ship. If it is okay with Captain Sparrow, could you notify the crew to not call me by my name or bow to me when I am around?"

The captain starts his way up the ladder and says, "I agree with her suggestion, no treating her like a royal. Instead, treat her like a privileged member of the crew...and with respect."

The first mate looks at her and then asks, "What shall we call you, Your Highness?"

Jack straightens up after climbing onto the deck and answers for her, "We shall let you know what her pirate name shall be, once we have decided on what her new disguise will be during her time with us."

Gibbs nods to Jack saying, "Aye Captain, what be our orders?"

He looks at his first mate and says, "We head to the Dragon Lands, I have 'acquired' something from the Storm King when we last visited him. We are to pose as merchants until the child is born, so we must avoid attacking other ships as it puts the child at risk."

The first mate's jaw drops in shock as he quickly says, "B-But Captain, we're pirates! We know nothing of trading."

Jack frowns as he looks at Gibbs and sighs saying, "Listen to me Gibbs, it is quite easy to be a merchant. Whenever you are trying to sell, buy or barter, you must speak or rather...haggle with the one you are dealing with for the best price you both want...savvy?"

Gibbs closes his mouth and asks curiously, "Really? Is being a merchant all about how well you can use your brain to negotiate a price?

He smiles widely and nods his head while raising his hands into the air and flipping his palms up to the sky saying, "Precisely. Simple yet easy is it not?" He lowers his hands back to his sides and looks at his love saying, "Let us head to my cabin and figure out a new disguise for you while the crew set sail for the Dragon Lands."

The first mate nods his head and grins saying, "Aye Cap'n it is simple and easy." he then turns to look at the crew and calls out their orders saying, "Make sail for the Dragon Lands ye gobs, we are to act as merchants do and use our smarts and words to haggle fer fair prices." and makes his way to the wheel as the crew starts to get the ship underway.

Celestia follows Jack to the cabin while watching the crew raise the anchor, hearing a clank each time a link strikes the metal around the hawse hole as the anchor is brought up. She feels relief at finally having her freedom and smiles blissfully saying, "So this is what freedom feels like..."

Pintel chuckles as he holds onto the handle on the capstan as the chain is hauled in saying, "You ain't felt nothin' yet poppet, this is just the beginning of true freedom."

She stops for a moment and cocks her head curiously asking, "What does that word mean, I've never heard of it before?"

Jack stops at the door to his cabin and is about to open it, then looks back at Celestia saying, "It is just a term of endearment the British came up with my dear, are you going to join me in our new quarters?"

Celestia smiles and looks at Jack saying, "Of course I am my beloved, I was just distracted by hearing a term I never heard of before." Then turns back to Pintel saying, "I look forward to finding out what true freedom feels like during my time here among you all, enjoy the rest of your day." and resumes her way towards her captain's cabin.

The captain stands at the door as Celestia stops in front of it saying, "I have a surprise for you, my love, close your eyes."

She closes her eyes and blushes asking, "I wonder what surprise you have for me, let me guess...you cleaned it up and replaced the bed and sheets."

Jack chuckles and opens the door after her eyes are closed saying, "I replaced the bed and sheets two years ago love, but guess again." then moves behind her and gently urges her forward with his hands on her waist to catch her if she trips saying, "I'm behind you, so walk forward and feel for the top of the doorway so your horn doesn't hit the edge."

Celestia's heart beats faster as she moves one hoof forward cautiously while raising her hands up to feel for anything in front of her, feeling her fingers touch wood after a few steps taking another guess and asking, "Umm, let's see...you got me another beautiful dress."

He smiles and continues to guide her forward as she ducks under the ledge saying, "Nice try, take three more steps and then stop."

She then takes three more steps into the room with her eyes still closed and stops, then asks, "May I open my eyes now love?"

Jack grins and moves his hands to her head and angles her head to where the cage is hanging in the back right corner of the cabin saying, "Almost, just let me get into position first." and moves just to the side of the silver cage, then says, "Go ahead and open your eyes love." He then watches her open her eyes before gesturing to the cage saying, "Let me provide you a gift to commemorate this joyous occasion of gaining your freedom, this here is Philomena. I found her egg in the back of that skull rock cave where we found that accursed chest, the cook Shining Belle advised me that if I could keep it warm it would hatch so I did. Now she will be your companion."

Celestia's eyes go wide in shock as she gasps at the sight of the creature before her, raising her hands to her mouth in shock saying, "A Phoenix Matriarch! I thought they had been extinct for many years now. W-Why are you giving me such a precious gift like this, I think that you would enjoy her company."

He smirks and glances back at her saying, "Not extinct, just very rare as the cook told me. I would rather have you take care of her, the main reason being that she would cause fires if she lived on this boat. Aside from that, I wanted to give you a gift to show how much I love you."

Her eyes begin to tear up in happiness as she rushes towards Jack and gives him a big hug saying, "OH JACK...THANK YOU, I LOVE YOU TOO!" then tilts her head and starts to give him a deep affectionate kiss while using her magic to close the cabin's door.

Chapter 14: A nervous introduction

In Discord's realm of chaos

Discord absorbs the chaos that runs throughout Canterlot after seeing Celestia abduct herself, chuckling darkly as he continues to attempt to break free from his prison saying, "This Captain Jack Sparrow is quite the interesting fellow, I look forward to meeting you once I break free of this wretched enchantment that those two pony princesses put me in."

Meanwhile, in Canterlot

Swift Quill is in her chambers at Canterlot with the captain of the royal guard as she does what she can to manage the frantic ponies in Canterlot and sighs saying, "With Celestia being taken by Captain Jack Sparrow, I need you and the guard to help me keep everypony in the city calm or Discord might break free."

Smooth Flight nods her head saying, "It would be a disaster if he broke free at this time... What are the ponies in the Royal Guard to do to maintain order?"

She looks at the captain and lets out a heavy sigh saying, "I am not sure, but there is one thing that I must tell you and you must only tell the royal guards this or Celestia will have our heads."

The guard mare nods quickly, not wanting to anger the princess saying, "Trust me, I don't want to make her unhappy so I will do as you say. What's really going on?"

Swift Quill sighs again thinking, 'Sorry Princess Celestia, I hope you can one day forgive me for doing this.' and then lowers her voice and gets close to the captain saying, "Celestia planned for that to happen at the Gala because she wants to take a vacation from the stuffy nobles that constantly try to get their way, she is safe with Captain Sparrow so there's no need to worry."

Smooth Flight's jaw drops open in shock as she closes it a moment later saying in a high-pitched whisper scream, "Seriously!!! Princess Celestia of all ponies, actually planned to be taken by some handsome scoundrel like Captain Jack Sparrow!?"

She nods her head, chuckling lightly at Princess Celestia's antics saying, "Do you remember the 'Royal Inquiry' that happened a while ago where the princess was away from Canterlot for a few weeks?"

The captain's eyes widen as she realizes what the assistant is implying and says, "Yeah, the nobles tucked themselves away making sure their records were in order. You mean she planned that as well, where did she go?"

Swift Quill smirks and says with a knowing grin, "Where else could she have gone...she only has eyes for a certain scoundrel."

Smooth Flight is at a loss for words at what she is hearing, finding herself only able to say, "Incredible."

She grins as she knows she has the captain in her grasp now and tightens her hold by walking up to her and looking the captain of the guard dead in the eyes, and suddenly drops her mirthful grin only to adopt a malicious, sinister smile as she eerily opens her eyes in a dead serious manner saying, "This next part I am about to tell you can never leave your lips or Celestia might seriously chop off your head along with mine... Celestia is with foal and Captain Sparrow is the father, so she intends to be away for a couple of years before returning with a poor foal that was turned away by him after its mother died."

The captain shrinks a little, feeling intimidated by the assistant's gaze thinking, 'Uh-oh...I'm trapped now...' then sighs in defeat and bows her head in submission saying, "Very well, I shall take this to my grave and never speak of it. How do we maintain control in Canterlot?"

Swift Quill drops the dark look on her face and beams a big smile as her eyes sparkle with happiness saying, "Well, we need a unicorn that can cast the spell Princess Celestia came up with to allow us to keep in contact with her by sending her reports rolled up into scrolls with her royal wax seal on it. After that, I need you to manage the search parties so that they don't go near the Black Pearl because that is where she is taking her vacation, or if they should encounter it...avoid getting too close or risk being killed and eaten by the pirates that are on the ship."

Smooth Flight's eyes go wide as her jaw drops once more, slowly recovering and closing her jaw saying, "You mean the heroes that won the war with the griffons have turned to piracy?!"

She grins and sighs dreamily saying, "Captain Smooth...they were already pirates when they came to our world, well...brought here to be exact. What do you know about the old tales of the sea?"

The captain then facepalms herself saying, "That explains how he was so good with his hands..." before blushing fiercely from saying what she was thinking.

Swift Quill chuckles and continues grinning saying, "So you've slept with him too, I won't think less of you because he is really skilled in the sack."

Smooth groans softly and asks, "I guess he has been with other mares too then?"

She smirks and nods her head saying, "He was with every single mare that is here at the Castle, Princess Celestia absolutely hates the dopey doe-eyed, love-struck face that is called the 'Oh...Jack' face. Each time she saw it her mane started smoking."

The captain then becomes curious about the war and asks, "Okay, those rumors about the Black Pearl flying a black flag during naval engagements were true. How did they manage to make the griffons surrender?"

Swift Quill then stops smirking and sighs saying, "I heard a rumor that he snuck into Princess Lyrupa's chambers and when morning came, he cut off the Griffon King's head."

Smooth then sighs sadly saying, "If that is true, that was so disgraceful but also unfortunate...I just hope that the princess didn't see that." Eager to change the subject, she then answers the assistant's question saying, "As for the old tales about the sea, I have heard of a legend regarding a ship called the Flying Dutchman and a great beast called the Kraken. The legend says that if any unfortunate sailer ever lays eyes on either of them and strays too close, get dragged to the bottom of the sea to a watery grave. Why do you want to know that? It's just an old pony's tale."

She then smirks once more and says, "Is it really? That is how the Black Pearl came to be in our world...they were dragged to the bottom of the sea by the Kraken, the ship and all her crew went with her." She then chuckles and says, "There is a lot that we have to do to keep the citizens of Canterlot calm and prevent Discord from breaking from due to the chaos that is running through the city."

On the Black Pearl as it sails to the Dragon Lands

Jack lays beside Celestia, kissing his way up her nude body as she sneezes again, making him pause to ask, "Everything alright, love? You have been sneezing a lot the past couple of hours."

She grabs a handkerchief from the desk with her magic and groans saying, "I am just fine dear, ponies are gossiping about me is all it is."

He trails a finger up her lower legs teasingly and says, "Is that actually true here love? Back where we came from it was just something that people claimed to cause their sneezing."

Celestia trails her fingertips along his head and smiles saying, "It is just one of the odd mysteries of the world is it not? Please ignore my sneezing and continue showing me your affections."

Jack smirks and continues kissing up her body, using his nose to tickle her coat saying, "As you wish, my love, however, I intend to do just that regardless of what you say."

She giggles with delight as she feels him continue to kiss and tease her lightly and says, "Oh...Jack, I love you so very much. I look forward to where we will end up when the foal arrives, perhaps someday we will walk down the aisle?"

He turns his head nervously and coughs uncomfortably, covering his mouth with his hand as he then turns back towards her with a nervous smirk saying, "One day...perhaps we will, although I have no intentions on being a prince or ruler, or anything else that will take me away from the sea. The sea will always be where I feel at home, and this ship is my home, my pearl of which I paid a great price for, which is why I chose that figurehead at the bow."

Celestia smiles and says, "I know that you would never leave the sea or your ship dear, I would never force you to do something that would leave you miserable. Could you tell me your life story, darling? You have told me about several of your adventures but never about what happened when you were young or your life in between."

Jack looks up at her and smiles saying, "Very well then love, this will take awhile." while trailing his fingers up and down her sides, then in a circle around her abdomen as he starts the story from his earliest memories.

Several hours later, the sun begins to set as the story comes to an end with Jack saying, "And that is what happened when I found myself in your world, love."

She caresses his head lovingly as she sighs saying, "I find myself unable to believe that a goddess named Calypso from your world had you brought here by the Flying Dutchman, I would have to see proof to believe it."

Jack sits at the end of the bed with a playful smirk saying, "Careful what you wish for love, for you may get more than what you bargained for."

Meanwhile, on planet Earth, on a small island somewhere inside of a lighthouse...

Davy Jones looks up at the lighthouse from his ship as it rests a short ways off the short and looks at his love asking, "Forgive me for asking, but are you sure about this my dear?"

Calypso stands beside him and caresses a crab she holds in her hand affectionately before returning it to her sea, then looks up at him and smiles, nodding her head saying, "As sure as I can ever be. from falling to darkness as this world is struggling against, the Die have been cast and I shall do what I can to change the outcome that young one does not yet see..." She then walks towards the side of the ship and then steps off, returning to the sea and shifting into her disembodied form then making her way up towards the house.

Elizabeth lies in bed, feeling so weak and drenched in her own sweat as her fever remains high, and looks at Will while he holds onto her hand. She tries to speak but is interrupted by a raspy cough that forces her to turn her head away from him, only turning her head back after coughing and saying, "This sickness is going to be the death of me. I want you to get away from here and keep living your life, get a boat and be the best merchant sailor you can be. Your father would like that, I believe. I only wish that our son had not been taken by this dreadful disease so you could teach him." She begins to feel tired and says, "I love you Will, I wish that we could have been together for several more years so that I could be a merchant sailor with you..." Her eyes slowly close as she lets out her last breath while her body relaxes.

Will's eyes well up with tears as he holds his wife's limp hand between both of his palms while her body relaxes. Hoping that she is just sleeping, he shakes her arm gently, attempting to bring her back around saying, "Elizabeth, wake up...wake up please!" Unable to accept that she is gone, he lets go of her hand and shakes her body as tears fall from his face shouting, "ELIZABETH, COME BACK...PLEASE COME BACK TO ME!" He feels a cool wind pass through the house, blowing the door open and making it hit the wall.

The sea goddess stands inside the home and calmly walks towards where she hears sobbing, seeing Will clutching Elizabeth's lifeless hand to his face as he mourns her passing. Feeling his grief, she sighs saying, "Hello, mister Turner. I understand your grief for her passing, and I am sorry she suffered."

He releases her hands and spins around reaching for his sword, stopping himself from drawing it once he sees who is standing before him and quickly gets down on one knee, bowing his head to her in reverence asking, "I beg your pardon, Goddess Calypso. I was not expecting any company and went to draw my sword to prepare for a fight, I did not mean to offend you."

Calypso smiles at him while holding her arms in front of her, just underneath her bust saying, "I appreciate the gesture, your reaction is fair to sudden surprise, please return to your feet. I have come to guide your wife to the other side. Listen to your wife's last words and live a life of peace, and free from the darkness that plagues the hearts of man. Let her be at peace and respect her wishes for you."

Will stands up, but keeps his gaze down at the floor and says, "May I go with her, Goddess Calypso?"

She walks forward and places the forefinger of her right hand underneath his chin, then lifts it up so he meets her gaze and shakes her head side to side slowly saying, "It is not yet your time to move on mister Turner, when your time comes we shall come to guide you on. If fate or fortune smile upon you, perhaps you may find her in the next life. I must go now, my time here is brief and there is much to do. Fare thee well, and fair winds to you." then removes her finger and then raises her left hand into the air with the palm up, using her power to call her spirit towards her by bringing her hand closer while curling her fingers gently.

He watches her start walking away as a faintly glowing blue mist follows her out the door and away from the house, causing him to fall to his knees and returns to crying over her death sobbing, "One day...I promise we will be together again."

Calypso returns to the ship and grants Elizabeth's soul a ghostly body and the ability to speak with a wave of her hand, waiting for the soul's eyes to open before speaking to her.

Elizabeth's misty, transparent form opens her eyes and looks around to see Goddess Calypso and Davy Jones standing before her and asks, "Excuse me for being rude Goddess Calypso, but what the bloody hell is going on, and how am I here when I should still be in bed?"

Davy Jones takes a couple steps closer and says, "That is quite simple to answer harridan, you are dead and my beloved Goddess Calypso wishes to talk to you before you are taken to your next life."

The goddess gives a side glance to her love as a warning, then turns back to Elizabeth saying, "I have brought you here to grant you some information, it would be wise for you to heed what I say. The world you are going to will be threatened by a great evil one day and must do your part to stop it, though you won't have a body of your own. You shall share a body with another, tell no one about yourself until you both reach the age you can think and act rationally. Are you ready to begin your new life?"

She then cocks her head in confusion and raises her arms into the air saying, "What do you mean, what or who will I have to fight? How will I be able to do anything without having my own body? There is more I need to know, please explain further Goddess Calypso."

Calypso smiles at her and chuckles lightly saying, "All will be made clear in time as you both grow up and learn. I must ask one thing from you though..."

Elizabeth huffs and crosses her arms in annoyance and taps her foot asking, "What might that be Goddess Calypso?"

The goddess grins and says, "No matter how much you hate him, please try not to kill your father."

She cocks her head again and asks curiously, "Okay...why would I do such a thing like that to my new father?"

Calypso begins waving her hand to return her to her misty, disembodied state saying, "You shall find out when you are born into the world, now rest...for we must locate your new mother." then looks to her love saying, "Okay my sweet, lets go find witty Jack and him precious Pearl."

During sunset somewhere in the Celestial Sea

Equis senses a presence she felt only a few times before and rushes forth in her disembodied state to confront the one that is meddling with her world, stopping when she spots a green flash in the west as she hears something rise out of the water. Turning to see that it is the Flying Dutchman and the higher being that brought her here long ago, she shifts into a translucent form and then floats towards the being with a scowl on her face saying, "What brings you here this time, Calypso? Why must you always meddle with the beings in my world!"

Calypso narrows her eyes and approaches the translucent pony spirit saying, "I do what I must to battle the darkness threatening this world, don't forget that it was I who sent you here all those years ago to guide them towards peace. It would serve you well to remember that I am Goddess of the seas and you are but a guardian spirit of this world, it would be simple to find another to take your place..." She then turns away and scans the horizon while heading towards her love at the helm saying, "The Pearl is south of us, heading east, catch her so we can do what we came here for.

The spirit sighs at being scolded in such a way for talking back to the one that gave her this noble duty in the first place, then turns around and heads back to the cave to resume watching over the beings all over the planet.

Moments ago, on the Black Pearl

Celestia looks out the back windows of the cabin when she sees a green flash race through the sky, gasping as she spots a ship rising out of the water covered in seaweed. As her heart races with shock and worry, she turns to look at Jack and shouts, "JACK, I SAW A GREEN FLASH AND THERE'S A SHIP ON THE WATER BEHIND US!"

Jack rises out of bed hurriedly and grabs his spyglass off his desk as he rushes to the window, extending the glass and raising it up to his eye to check out the ship when a smirk comes to his face after recognizing the ship saying, "It's her, love. Your wish has been granted, look upon her so you know the legends about the Flying Dutchman and the Kraken are true..." He then watches the Dutchman as she turns towards him and hastily returns his spyglass to his desk and rushes towards the door saying, "I will not let him take me away from you!"

Davy Jones looks through his spyglass and watches the Pearl puts on more sail, attempting to escape him that causes him to chuckle saying, "He thinks that he can outrun fate my love, I shall remind him that there is no escape from it...or me." He then looks at his crew and calls to them, "Call forth the Kraken, I must have words with the Pearl's captain."

Calypso watches as the Kraken races towards the Pearl, using her powers to wordlessly command it to grab the Black Pearl and hold her still. She then looks at the floating mist and removes the faint glow to it, then alters its color so that Elizabeth's soul looks like a small cloud of light fog and moves it closer to her lips as she whispers, "Now...go find the woman with young on that ship." and then blows it away, watching as it heads away at a swift pace.

Celestia grabs the ledge of the window frame to steady herself as the ship comes to a swift halt, making her body try to follow the direction it was traveling. She stares at the Flying Dutchman, seeing its pale, light green sails seeming to be made of seaweed and the green tint of the wood forming the hull when she hears a few shouts of fear come from the deck. Wanting to know what is going on, she steadies herself on the gently rocking ship and heads towards the door. As she reaches the door and pulls it open, not caring that she is just wearing a nightgown, she looks outside to see massive tentacles wrapping around the ship as the crew looks at them and ask the captain what they should do.

Jack looks at the tentacles as they don't attack his men and shouts, "Nobody panic! It is not attacking us, so let's see what it intends to do."

She is about to go outside when she takes a deep breath to calm herself, only to start coughing when something in the air tickles her throat. Looking down at how scantily dressed she is, Celestia shuts the door and returns to the bed in hopes that Jack will keep her safe from the Flying Dutchman and the Kraken.

The Flying Dutchman sails up beside the Black Pearl as the crew prepares to lay a plank across her deck when Davy Jones looks over the Pearl with a smile and calls to Jack, "I see you saved her Jack...it is good to see her back to her former glory." and starts to make his way over as the plank lands on the other ship's deck.

Celestia hears someone call out to Jack and finds herself curious as to what they look like, rising from the bed to find something decent to wear before opening the door once again.

Jack looks over to Davy Jones as he makes his way to the Pearl's deck saying, "I have you to thank for that, we would never have made it to a port for repairs in the state she was in when you came along with your beastie and brought us here. I hope you aren't here to drag us to another place, because my crew and I rather like it here and will fight you and your beastie to stay."

She cracks the door open once she ties the sash around her waist to hold her robe closed, attempting to see who Jack is talking to but finds the crack too small. Opening it wide enough to poke her head out, hearing a rhythmic tapping come from whoever is making their way onto the ship.

Davy Jones laughs as he hears that and steps onto the Pearl's deck saying, "Interesting, I take it you found something here that you love? I am not here to take you anywhere Jack, only here on an errand with my beloved and was curious on how you were faring."

He smiles and says, "I have indeed found something...rather someone that I care deeply for. Might I be able to come aboard your ship, I have a favor of a rather secretive nature to ask you."

Intrigued by what he said, he stands to the side of the plank and thinks about it for a moment, popping his lips saying, "A favor you say...very well then, come aboard Captain Sparrow."

Jack quickly makes his way down the stairs from the aft deck saying, "Furl the sails lads and watch for any other ships heading our way while I talk to the Dutchman's captain!"

Davy Jones follows Jack to his ship and then to his cabin, closing the door behind him asking, "Alright Sparrow, what favor do you wish to ask of me?"

He grins and then holds up his right hand with a forefinger extended saying, "Forgive me mate, but this favor involves you and your beloved. Would you mind asking her to join us?"

Calypso walks out of a dark corner of the room with a grin on her face saying, "No need to call for me, I am already here." earning a yelp of surprise from Jack as he spins around to look at her.

Jack takes a few breaths to calm himself down saying with a quick, but sincere bow, "Goddess Calypso, it is a pleasure to meet you again. What pray tell brings you to this world, if not to take me back?"

She smiles and stops a few feet away from Jack saying, "That is my own business, so I won't tell you. Perhaps...if I find your favor agreeable, I may provide you a hint. What be your favor, witty Jack?"

He looks at both of them while saying, "My favor is something of a somewhat unusual nature to request for a person such as I. What I wish to request is that you marry Princess Celestia and I together when I do propose to her, what say you to that?"

Calypso's smile gets even wider as she is thrilled at what she is hearing, taking a few moments to enjoy the moment before answering, "Your favor is fair... Why ask me instead of another, and when do you intend to ask her?"

Jack looks at her and smiles nervous saying, "I ask you for two reasons. Firstly, I do not want to become a king and secondly, I do not want to leave my ship and the sea that gives me freedom. I have not yet decided on that, how might I tell you when I have?"

She thinks for a moment before getting an idea and runs her hands behind her neck, underneath her hair then pulls a small, solid white conch shell from her hair and holds it out towards him in her palm saying, "With this."

He takes it from her hand and turns it over between his fingers and looks at her curiously, saying, "A shell...it's a white shell."

Calypso nods her head and answers him as her smile leaves her face saying, "Yes..."

Jack looks at it again and asks, "What am I to do with a shell?"

She then moves her hand toward him and says, "If you don't want it, give it back."

He then quickly closes his hand around the shell and holds it closer to his chest saying, "No, it's mine now."

Calypso's smile returns to her face as her mood brightens again saying, "Whisper into it and I will hear, then answer if I feel like it."

Jack then looks to both of them and bows to Calypso once more saying, "Thank you for granting my favor, Goddess Calypso, I should head back to the ship now." and then turns around to exit the cabin.

Eager to mess with Jack a little, she grins and says, "The reason I am here is about your future, however, before you go...I wish to meet the one who lives inside your heart."

He freezes in place and spins around nervously and cocks his head asking, "Eh?"

She continues to grin and stifles a light giggle with her determination and nods her head saying, "You heard correctly Jack, will you allow me to see the one who has captured your heart?"

Davy Jones grins as he watches Jack squirm from Calypso's request thinking, 'She is in a really good mood today, I wonder if he will dare to ruin it...'

Jack blinks a couple of times, still frozen in place as he tries to think of what to do and smiles nervously saying, "Since you have been so kind to grant my favor, it would be rude to not grant your request. Let's go to the Pearl so I can introduce you eh?"

Celestia watches for Jack to return nervously as she sees the tentacles slide off of the ship, making the ship rock gently as whatever held the ship lets go. She holds onto the door frame for balance when she sees a woman following him with black hair, brown skin and wearing a strange brown dress with a beaded necklace hanging around her neck as she hears the tapping rhythm from earlier draw closer. As she watches from the doorway, she sees the crew kneel or bow before her when she sees someone following her with tan skin, a full beard hanging around his shoulders and down to his chest, wearing a large captain's hat, a deep reddish brown coat that is to his knees and is tattered at the bottom, a thick belt with a square, silver buckle with a pearl in the center and a red sash around his waist hanging down along his wooden right leg, and having a medium brown shirt over a pair of leather pants the same color as the coat with a black left boot.

Jack stops in front of his door, seeing Celestia looking out of it curiously and chuckles while looking at the door saying, "Come on out love, don't be shy. These two wish to meet the one that I love."

She nervously straightens herself and tries to look her best in her robe, then pulls the door open and walks through it with a nervous smile on her face saying, "Hello, my name is Celestia and I am a Princess of Equestria."

Calypso steps forward beside Jack as her love moves to stand beside her and introduces herself first saying with a gentle nod of her head, "I am Calypso, goddess of the seas. It is a pleasure to meet the one who has Jack's affections, there is a touch of destiny about you...Princess Celestia. Worry not, for everything will work out."

Davy Jones looks at Princess Celestia curiously with a smile on his face, then takes off his hat and bows gracefully to her, then returns it to his head saying, "I am Davy Jones, captain of the Flying Dutchman and ferryman of the seas. I am pleasantly surprised that a pirate such as Jack managed to fall in love and with a princess no less, that is no easy feat for any man to do."

Celestia then bows to Calypso as a nervous blush crosses her face and turns her cheeks a light red saying, "It is a pleasure to meet you both as well, Jack told me all about his adventures and that you two brought him here with the Kraken."

The goddess then grins saying, "I fear we may not stay to get to know each other, for there is much for us to do." She then tilts her head ever so slightly as her smile gets bigger when she looks at her abdomen for a brief moment saying, "Fare thee well on thy experiences in life, Princess, for each moment is precious, as is each gift granted to us." and turns around and heads back to the Flying Dutchman.

The Dutchman's captain smiles and nods his head saying, "Good fortune to you both in life." then turns and follows his beloved back to his ship so they can return to their duties.

Calypso steps onto the plank and turns her head to look at Celestia's abdomen again as a smile comes to her face, deciding to intimidate her a little out of her own jealousy by asking her child to show how large and powerful he is by jumping into the air.

The Kraken listens to his mother and travels a short distance from the Black Pearl, then swims up from the bottom of the sea. He builds up his speed as he shifts his angle so he travels the same direction that the ship is, letting out a roar as he nears the surface to announce his arrival.

Celestia and everyone onboard the Pearl hear the roar of a big beast and turn to the starboard side when a large beast rises out of the water, soars two hundred feet through the air and then returns to the sea with a spray of water hitting the Pearl's deck.

She blinks in disbelief at how massive the Kraken is and looks at Jack who is not nearly as shocked as she is and says to him, "Is that behemoth the Kraken?!"

Jack looks at her with a smirk on his face saying, "Pretty big creature isn't it?"

Celestia's eyes are still wide with shock when she looks at where the Kraken was, then back to Jack saying, "Big doesn't even do it justice. Your ship is big, but that beast has to be about a thousand feet long. It is certainly child's play for it to throw boulders at Canterlot from shore."

He chuckles and then scoffs saying, "That beastie wouldn't do a thing like that unless you attack it or make it mad." He then turns his head to find Gibbs and says, "Gibbs, get us back on course to the Dragon Lands!" and heads to his cabin as Celestia enters first.

Gibbs looks at Jack from beside the wheel saying, "Aye, Cap'n." then looks to the crew saying, "C'mon lads, let's return to sailing to the Dragon Lands!"

Chapter 15: Journey to the Dragon Lands

A day passes by as Jack and Celestia try to come up with a disguise that will hide her appearance while in the presence of other ponies not on the Black Pearl, managing to agree to hide her wings and alter the rest of her body's looks to allow her to not stand out.

Celestia summons forth a tall mirror so she can examine her body while she focuses on making changes as Jack watches with fascination, and casts a spell to temporarily remove her wings. Moving on to her body, she looks at her flowing mane and tail and sighs while casting a weight spell to it and changing its color to a brilliant amber. Shifting her attention to her coat, she changes it to a light sapphire blue when she notices her magenta eyes. Thinking of the options, she casts a spell to make them look draconic with yellow eyes. As she turns to look herself over, she sees her cutie mark and sighs while trying to think of what to do change it to.

Jack looks at her cutie mark and then says, "Hmm...perhaps making it look like a long sword similar to a cutlass and a short sword that are crossed."

She then thinks of the image and uses a spell to mask her own and place the new image over her cutie mark asking, "Okay, so how does this look my love. What shall we say my name is?"

He then looks at her and twiddles his beard for a moment before raising up his finger saying, "Hmm...let's see here." while looking her over a little closer, trying to think of something when a name comes to his mind and says, "How about Rose Blade?"

Celestia then looks her new appearance over saying repeatedly, "Rose Blade..." to get herself used to it and then smiles, turning to Jack saying, "I like it. I really do, it sounds like a pony who grew up with a tough life."

Jack grins at her and says, "And could also be the name of a legendary pony pirate..."

A week later, just off the shore of the Dragon Lands

He stands near the side of the Pearl's aft deck on the starboard side, looking at the long trek that lays ahead of him and a few of his men saying, "Alright, I need ten of you fearsome lads to accompany me to where the dragon's hang out. Gibbs, you stay behind and keep the Pearl safe from any who might try to take it, I have business with the Dragons. Those of you who are coming with me be sure to arm yourself with muskets, extra shot and powder in case we are forced to prove our strength in a fight."

As a few of them start to lower the longboat, Celestia walks up the stairs to where Jack is standing at the wheel then asks, "May I go with you into the Dragon Lands, dear? I never had the opportunity to journey here before due to my duties and studies keeping me busy for so long."

Jack sighs and shakes his head saying, "Terribly sorry love, perhaps next time when you are not carrying our child? I do not want to risk something happening to you and cause you to lose it."

She caresses her abdomen affectionately and reluctantly agrees with a nod saying, "Very well my love, I don't want anything like that to happen. I shall stay here with the ship, do you mind if I take Philomena to the shore and let her have a little freedom from her cage?"

He nods his head saying, "Of course, just take a few of the crew with you for protection in these lands. I have no real idea what manner of beasts call these lands home so keep a wary eye on your surroundings."

Celestia smiles and returns to the cabin to go get Philomena from her cage, then makes her way to join them on the longboat. When she gets outside, she sees the men lowering the muskets into the boat and start to climb down into it.

Jack sees his love make her way towards the longboat and says, "Sorry love, you will have to wait for the boat to come back. I'll be leaving a man here to look after it, so don't worry about being stuck on the boat the entire time I'm gone."

She sighs and nods her head slightly disappointed, but understands and says, "Very well then dear, I wish everything goes well for you when you meet the dragons."

Several hours of walking later, just outside of the gathering place

As Jack and his men follow his compass as it leads them due east, they finally exit the forest that surrounds the large smoking volcano that can be seen from the sea saying, "I wonder why dragons like to hang around volcanoes, I'll have to ask them once we get there. Onwards and upwards men, our trek through these lands are nearly over."

Torch sits on the outer rim of the caldera that the dragons gather during the summer, watching the other young drakes as they wrestle each other in the lava pools. Utterly bored of the day-in-day-out squabbling over whose treasure hoard is bigger, he looks to the forest behind him and is surprised at seeing strange creatures approaching the top. Deciding to get in their way to make them turn around or become dragon food, he takes flight and heads towards them.

Jack stops as he hears a flapping of large wings and looks up to see a dragon with blue scales, orange eyes and spikes on his back matching his eyes and the color of the underside of the skin on his wings, with a pair of horns growing out from behind his skull that curl downward and hang below his jaw before curving forward and point up slightly. Wondering if the dragon can speak, he asks, "Pardon our intrusion, but are you capable of speaking?"

He lands a few feet away on their path, blocking the way past and crosses his arms while narrowing his eyes rudely saying, "Of course I can speak, I am a dragon. What exactly are you, besides an idiot?"

The captain fights the urge to grab a musket and rests his hands on his sword and pistol to look intimidating and says back, "I am a human pirate and my men and I have traveled here to trade with you. Will you hear us out or will you prove to be just an unintelligent, fire-breathing dragon dumber than the ponies are?"

Torch huffs out black smoke in aggravation and shouts, "How dare you insult a dragon that breathes fire! I could sneeze and you would turn to ash..." He lets his last statement hang in the air and narrows his eyes as the human does not flinch at the threat, mildly impressed at his foolish bravery and cocks his head saying, "What could you possibly have to offer us dragons, we have vast treasure hoards? I might permit you to leave here unharmed if you 'donate' to my hoard..."

Jack grins as the dragon warms up to him and says, "Well, I originally came here to see if you dragons have a leader. Unfortunately, not much is known about your kind other than being ruthless and greedy. As I am a pirate, I too share that trait...making me somewhat like you all, with being hated and despised by the world just for being who I want to be."

He smirks back and relaxes a little bit answering his question and asking his own, "We do have a leader, Grayscale, who is the current Dragon Lord. What really brought you to our lair, pirate?"

The captain quickly thinks something up and says, "Knowledge mostly, how do you all decide the next Dragon Lord, Fire-breath?"

Torch chuckles at the name and says, "Through a challenge to the death, making the victor the new Dragon Lord. What else brings you to this place?"

Jack sighs and chuckles saying, "Can't sneak anything by you, can I. Very well then, how would you fancy a more enjoyable, peaceful way to decide the new Dragon Lord, Scaly?"

He chuckles again, reaches up to his cheek, and scratches it with his claw, saying, "I might be interested, but it depends on if I think it sounds entertaining. My name is Torch, what is your name, Pirate?"

The captain smiles and says, "My name is Jack Sparrow, and I am the captain of the Black Pearl, which is my greatest treasure. What I have in mind to decide the new Dragon Lord is a different kind of challenge...using a variety of dangerous obstacles along a path through deadly areas among this volcano."

Torch is intrigued by the idea and says, "If you somehow find a way to get an audience with the Dragon Lord, he would never agree to your proposal."

Jack grins and says, "Allow me to pass, and I will show you what a pirate such as I can accomplish mate."

He stands there as his curiosity and loyalty to the Dragon Lord battle for victory as he reluctantly steps aside when his curiosity wins and takes off into the air saying, "I need to go look after my hoard."

The pirate smiles and continues up the path thinking, 'This is going to be quite interesting if I can figure out what exactly I am going to do about the current Dragon Lord.'

Grayscale lays atop his plateau with his arms hanging over the edge as he slumbers when a commotion wakes him up, causing him to growl angrily at whoever caused it and uses his title and magic as Dragon Lord to raise his voice shouting, "WHO'S SCALY HIDE AM I GOING TO HANG IN MY CAVE FOR DISTURBING MY SLUMBER!"

Jack watches all the dragons instantly stop talking and look fearfully at the large grey dragon on a plateau at the center of the volcano with ivory spikes along its back, and two horns growing out the sides of its head, one of which is broken. He looks back to his men and grabs one of their muskets, then turns to the big dragon and starts walking towards him shouting, "OI, YOU BIG UGLY LIZARD UP THERE! I WANT TO FIGHT YOU, SO DRAG YOUR SMELLY POSTERIOR DOWN HERE!"

He glares down at the creature that has challenged him and roars angrily, then says, "HOW DARE YOU COME TO OUR LANDS, THINKING THAT YOU ARE OUR EQUAL AND CHALLENGE ME! I DO NOT ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE, BUT I WILL COME DOWN TO YOU ALL THE SAME AND TURN YOU INTO A PILE OF DRAGON EXCREMENT!"

Torch watches from his cave opening with wide eyes as his jaw drops open in shock, along with many other dragons as they clear a large circle with the pirate at one end thinking, 'Is that pirate insane or just stupid?'

The captain sets the musket on his shoulder with the barrel pointing up as he cocks it back saying, "I WOULD ADVISE AGAINST THAT, MATE. YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO HANDLE HOW I SMELL AND TASTE, BESIDES...YOU WOULD CHOKE ON MY BONES IF YOU TRIED." He watches the grey dragon leap off the plateau and land inside the cleared area, cracking the ground under his weight and insults him further saying, "I THINK YOU SHOULD LOSE SOME WEIGHT, EVEN THE GROUND YOU WALK ON IS CALLING YOU FAT!"

Grayscale huffs fire from his nose as he roars out in anger, "I AM GOING TO ENJOY EATING YOU!" then starts running towards the creature faster.

Jack grins as the dragon makes a beeline for him, keeping his head relatively still to present a target. He raises the musket to his shoulder, aiming for his right eye and waits for the perfect moment to fire.

Torch watches with shock as the stick in the pirate's hands spew smoke and fire as it makes a loud boom, making him and several other dragons jump in surprise at the sudden sound when he hears a wet squishing sound followed by a roar of pain. He turns to look at the Dragon Lord, seeing him holding both claws against his eye while roaring in pain.

Not missing an opportunity to attack his distracted foe, Jack drops the musket and draws his sword, then charges toward him. Seeing his tail lying on the ground, offering a way up to his head, he jumps onto it and starts to climb his way up as Greyscale swings his back to and fro in an attempt to throw him off.

Greyscale growls and forces himself to ignore the pain as his right eye is gone, learning that swinging his back isn't working as he feels something climbing up his back. He then pulls his claws away from his useless eye as blood slowly oozes from the destroyed eye, using them to begin grasping at whatever is climbing up his spines.

Jack manages to avoid his wildly grasping claws as they attempt to grab him and then stands up and runs up to his head, grasping his sword with both hands holding the blade downward saying, "It's over for you now, beastie." then raises the sword into the air and begins to drive it down when he is grabbed in a firm grip and pulled from where he was standing.

The Dragon Lord scowls and glares at the creature that took his eye and says, "You are mistaken, little snack...it is over for you." then opens his mouth wide and then hurls the creature towards his mouth.

The captain looks at the wide open mouth of the dragon managing to say, "Oh bugger..." as he passes by the sharp teeth thinking, 'It's funny how I'm having a sense of deja vu right now, I wonder what could be the cause of that. Oh right, when we were swallowed by the Kraken and taken to the locker. This time, though, I will fight until my life leaves my body. At least this beastie is on the ground.'

Torch sighs as his head drops down and rests on his forearms, saddened by having a brief moment of hope that the pirate would defeat Greyscale and slightly improve the lives of dragons. A few moments later though, he hears Greyscale grunt with discomfort and start coughing, drawing his attention back to him as he wonders what is going on.

The dragons watch curiously as Greyscale claws at his stomach, seeming to be attempting to scratch a deep itch when he starts to yelp in pain. They watch as he uses his sharp claws to tear at his scales for some reason, drawing blood in some places as he then starts roaring out in absolute agony as he falls to the ground while continuing to try to dig his insides out madly.

Greyscale roars out in a bloodcurdling roaring scream of agony as he starts tearing holes into his thick skin, attempting to remove the pain that started from his stomach. His left eye's vision fades away as he suddenly loses the strength to move his arms when his scream ceases suddenly and his head and body become limp and fall to the ground.

Torch flies out of his cave and lands at the edge of the circle, watching with great curiosity at what is going on when he looks at the Dragon Lord's body and sees his stomach twitching. He watches the twitching intensely when something long, thin, narrow, and pointy erupts out of the dead Dragon Lord's stomach, then moves back and forth while slowly making it's way further down. The object stops and goes to the center of the gash it made when a blood-coated claw suddenly appears from it as more of its body follows it through.

Some dragons gasp in horror at what is happening as the creature their Dragon Lord ate, pulls itself free with blood dripping from it's body while leaving a trail of bloody claw prints leading away from the dead dragon.

Jack slowly stands up from his hands and knees after crawling free from the Dragon Lord's stomach and then looks at all the dragons staring at him and says, "You really should be careful of what you eat, for it might just claw its way back out as I just did." He then swings his sword in a large arc, slinging the blood off of it and accidentally splattering some on a slender white-scaled dragon saying, "Oh, sorry bout that." He looks at his cutlass, still having some blood on it and returns it to his sheath before feeling for his hat. Learning that his hat is not on his head anymore, he turns back to the dead dragon saying, "Oi, you ain't keeping my hat, I want it back." and starts to dig around inside for his hat, finding it after having to come out to take a couple of breaths before succeeding and then swings it down towards the ground in an arc before returning it to his head saying, "Hmm...I will have to get a good scrubbing later to get all this blood off of me, I must look like something right out of a nightmare." He then looks around at the deathly silent dragons and reaches inside his frock for the staff he brought to trade them saying, "I came here to offer you all something if you could refrain from hunting ponies and other sapient beings, now where did I put it..."

The dragons back up a bit further in fear as he searches for something when Torch steps forth and says, "We will do as you command us, Dragon Lord. LONG LIVE DRAGON LORD CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!"

The captain freezes and looks nervously at Torch as the other dragons follow suit, finding himself in an unexpected position saying, "EH?!" He then pulls out the staff he was looking for when he notices the large diamond at the top start to brightly glow and start to absorb the blood that soaks his entire body.

Torch watches with fascination as the object he holds starts to glow brightly after absorbing the blood covering the new Dragon Lord's body, then transforms into a reddish-purple crystal staff holding a large bright red crystal with a faint glow to it as the brightness fades away.

Jack looks his body over and sees that all the blood on him is gone now and that the stone staff with a large diamond has transformed into a crystal staff with a large, blood-red gem at the top between two claw-like points. Not sure what to do next, he then holds it with his left hand and raises it into the air and shouts, "All of you listen up! As your Dragon Lord, I hereby decree that all further challenges to the death to be Dragon Lord are no more! I will think of a new way to decide who will be the next Dragon Lord, which I shall inform you all when I decide what it will be!"

He looks around at the other dragons as they all smile and cheer, joining them as they chant, "DRAGON LORD JACK SPARROW! DRAGON LORD JACK SPARROW! DRAGON LORD JACK SPARROW! DRAGON LORD JACK SPARROW!"

Several frustrating hours later, Jack explores the caverns when he looks to the north and sees a strangely formed volcano. Curiously, he pulls out his spyglass and looks it over. Wanting to get a closer look at it, he looks around for Torch and calls out, "OI, TORCH, COME HERE A MOMENT!"

Torch answers the Dragon Lord's call and bows his head saying, "I am here at your service, Dragon Lord. What can I do for you?"

Jack looks at the large dragon and says, "I need you to lend me your wings and take me to that strange volcano over there."

He looks at the volcano and says, "Very well Dragon Lord, hop on my shoulders and hold on tight."

As they fly over the water towards the volcano, Torch bobs and weaves around water spouts that are created by a few large water serpents that live under the water saying, "Just so you know Dragon Lord Jack Sparrow, the volcano where we are going is called a Flamecano, it is a place that has many dangers inside of it."

Jack watches curiously as Torch makes his way through the maze inside the flamecano, eventually making it towards the top where he sees a group of crystals at the top of a pillar connected to the wall by a jagged path. An idea forms in his mind as he then looks at Torch and says, "Alright, I've seen what I wanted to see here. Take me back now Torch, I have an idea of what I'm going to do now."

Torch makes his way back through the maze, wondering what the Dragon Lord plans on doing with this place. He dodges around various obstacles in his way as he heads out of the flamecano's entrance and dodges the water spouts once more.

The captain looks at the plateau that the previous Dragon Lord was on and says, "Land on the plateau and listen to what I say."

The dragon makes his way towards the plateau saying, "Yes Dragon Lord." then prepares to land on it as he gets closer. As they reach it, he glides in and lands on the ground smoothly, then waits for the Dragon Lord to get off and speak to them all.

Jack walks to the edge of the plateau and holds the staff in his hand and shouts, "ALL DRAGONS QUIET DOWN AND LISTEN! I HAVE DECIDED ON HOW THE NEXT DRAGON LORD WILL BE CHOSEN. IT SHALL BE THE DRAGON THAT BRAVES THE DANGERS AND BRINGS THIS BLOODSTONE SCEPTER BACK TO THIS PLATEAU FROM THE PEAK INSIDE OF THE FLAMECANO. I DO NOT DESIRE TO BE YOUR LEADER, FOR I HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES ELSEWHERE, SO A NEW DRAGON LORD WILL BE CHOSEN TODAY!" He then looks back at Torch saying, "Torch, carry me to the top of the flamecano so I can put the scepter there, and return me here then join the others."

Torch is shocked at hearing this and nods his head saying, "At once Dragon Lord, please get onto my shoulders once more and we will be on our way there and back."

The captain and Torch return several minutes later without the scepter as Jack gets off Torch's back and heads to the edge of the plateau, seeing the dragon that carried him there join the others down below. He then draws his pistol and looks out over the gathering dragons and shouts, "LET THE GAUNTLET BEGIN, AND MAY THE BEST DRAGON WIN!" while raising his pistol into the air, cocking it then pulling the trigger to start the competition.

He watches as all of the dragons take off towards the flamecano, wondering who the next Dragon Lord will be, then begins reloading his pistol while he waits for the victor to return with the scepter.

Several minutes pass by when Jack hears the labored breathing and flapping of a dragon returning, looking in the direction the sound is coming from when he recognizes the returning dragon as Torch. A grin crosses his face as he looks at him saying, "Congratulations on your victory to the prize, let us wait for the others to return before announcing your succession."

As the other dragons return, Jack looks at the dragons and shouts, "ALL DRAGONS HEAR ME! I NOW PRESENT TO YOU, THE NEW DRAGON LORD...TORCH!"

Dragon Lord Torch looks at Jack with a gentle smile quietly saying, "Thank you for helping us move forward, Captain Jack Sparrow." He then adopts a serious look and says, "NOW FORMER DRAGON LORD JACK SPARROW, YOU MAY LEAVE THE DRAGON LANDS. SHOULD YOU EVER RETURN, BE SURE TO BRING TRIBUTE!"

The captain nods and removes his hand and bows with a flourish saying, "All went according to my plan, be sure to hold another competition after a while, savvy?" then turns and walks away from the new leader of the dragons thinking, 'I'm on my way home, my love.'

Sometime later that evening, at the shore of the Dragon Lands

Celestia watches Philomena as she flies around happily, free of her cage on the ship when she sees Jack and his crew return unharmed. As tears fill her eyes, she rushes up to him and gives him a big hug crying out, "I was so worried that something happened to you! I heard a roar so loud that the crew on the ship heard it, I have been so worried that you might have died!"

Jack hugs her back gently, and says, "Come now love, my enemies will have to try really hard to actually kill me. That roar you heard was just me chopping my way out of the previous Dragon Lord's stomach after he swallowed me alive for destroying his right eye with a shot from a musket."

She pulls back and stares at him with horror all over her face as she squeaks out, "YOU WERE SWALLOWED WHOLE AND SURVIVED!?! IS THE DRAGON LORD ALRIGHT?!?"

He chuckles and places his hands on her shoulders saying, "No love, it is as I said...the previous Dragon Lord named Grayscale. I was named the next Dragon Lord after they saw me standing there soaked in his blood head to toe after crawling out of his insides, even had to go back in and search for my hat. Anyways, there is a new Dragon Lord now and his name is Torch. Shall we be on our way to posing as merchant sailors until our child is born, love?"

Celestia sighs with relief that he is okay and gives him another big hug as she nuzzles into his shoulder nodding her head saying, "Yes my dear, let's return to my vacation on the sea. I expect to hear all about your 'exciting trading journey to the Dragon Lands after I raise the moon and set the sun. Just so you know, I think you need to bathe because you stink."

Jack smiles and walks towards the longboat with her as Philomena lands on his shoulder saying, "As you wish, love. This smell is not near as horrid as the Kraken's was when I was taken to Davy Jones's locker, I assure you. Try if you might, imagine the last thing you see, hear, and smell is the Kraken's mouth facing you when it opens it wide. Roaring directly into your face and covering your whole body with slimy drool, revealing dozens upon dozens of circular rows of sharp teeth. After it stops roaring and breathes normally, you smell the stench of a thousand rotting corpses when it then swallows you whole and takes you to the locker for eternal punishment."

Her mind conjures up an image of what that could be like, making her gag and shudder as she holds him tighter saying, "EWWW! That must have been so awful for you to experience, I am very glad that you came back to me intact and unharmed."

He smiles and helps Celestia into the boat as the crew start to push it out to sea saying, "Of course it was love, I was given the sense of deja vu when I was sliding down the Dragon Lord's throat. Today was the day that he almost ate...Captain Jack Sparrow."

Chapter 16: Burn after reading

A few miles to the west off the Dragon Lands coast, sailing north out of the Neighdian Deep

The months pass with winter turning into spring as Jack and Celestia continue to sail the seas together while her abdomen gets bigger and bigger, eventually reaching the point where she is mostly stuck staying in bed as her robe doesn't completely close anymore. She begins to raise the sun and lower the moon still heavy with child, suffering from discomfort as she thinks, 'Oh I can't wait until this foal is born, then I will be free of these constant aches and pains, be able to actually close my robe, then walk about the ship. I'm so sick of being stuck in this cabin...I would cherish the opportunity to be able to stretch my wings and fly for a little while.'

---

APOLOGIES, THIS SECTION TALKS ABOUT CHILDBIRTH...READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION OR SKIP THIS TO CONTINUE WITH THE REST OF THE STORY

---

As if reading her mind, she finishes raising the sun while lowering the moon and turns around, heading back to the bed when something wet gushes out from between her legs and soaks her coat, then splatters all over the floor. Gasping at what she just felt, she looks down to see a puddle on the floor and then looks up at the door and shouts in her royal voice, "JACK! GET YOUR FLANK IN HERE NOW!!!"

Jack steadies himself as the ship rocks slightly from Celestia using the royal voice and lets go of the wheel, then races down the stairs, then turns and heads for his cabin. As he throws open the door and rushes inside, he looks at his love as she stands in a puddle of something saying with slight curiosity, "What's wrong darling, did you have an accident?"

She frowns at him and shouts in her normal voice, "NO I most certainly did NOT! If you don't realize what has just happened, let me tell you." Shifting to her royal voice to punish him for suggesting she peed herself and shouts, "THE FOAL IS COMING YOU, IDIOTIC PIRATE, NOW TAKE US TO WHERE THE SHIP WAS WHEN YOU ABDUCTED ME AT THE GALA SO THE DOCTOR CAN DELIVER IT OR THERE WILL BE TARTARUS TO PAY!"

His face pales as his ears ring, using his fingers to try to get rid of the ringing and quickly nods saying with wide eyes, "At once darling." then spins around quickly and runs out of the cabin, closing the door behind him and shouts, "ALL HANDS FULL SAIL, MAKE THE SAILS CATCH EVERY BIT OF WIND POSSIBLE! OUR LIVES DEPEND ON HOW QUICKLY YOU MOVE SO SNAP TO AND SCURRY!"

Celestia hastily grabs parchment from the desk along with a quill and inkwell from a drawer with her magic, then hastily writes a letter to her assistant and sends it off to her in a flash of magic.

---

THIS SECTION IS SAFE TO READ, PLEASE ENJOY UNTIL THE NEXT SECTION IN THIS CHAPTER

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In Canterlot's Throne room a moment later

Swift Quill is preparing to open day court and write down the ponies' petitions and send them to Princess Celestia later when a parchment appears in front of her face, taking her by surprise and making her yelp briefly before grabbing it and looking at it. As she notices the ink is still wet, she begins reading it, 'Swift Quill, my diligent assistant. My water has broken, so that means I need the doctor I visited in secret to come to the Black Pearl in a regular carriage instead of a royal one pulled by two pegasi royal guards NOT WEARING ANY of their armor that can be trusted with this secret. The ship will be near the coast, due east of Canterlot somewhere south of Manetown, and north of Fillycity. Have them wait if they arrive before us.' She looks up from the letter as her eyes sparkle with happiness as she then looks back to the letter, noticing a bit at the bottom she missed, 'P.S. BURN THIS LETTER AFTER READING, LEAVE NO EVIDENCE BEHIND THAT I AM GIVING BIRTH!' With a nod of her head, she memorizes the letter and then incinerates it with a spell while ensuring no scraps of paper are left behind and scatters it across the floor. She looks to the closed doors and calls out to the guards outside, "Bring Captain Smooth Flight to my quarters at once!" She then hears the two guards say, "Yes ma'am!" and take off down the hallway, then quickly makes her way towards the doors and opens one to see a guard walking past the doors and saying, "Guard, I want you to stand in front of these two doors and tell any who wish to enter that Daycourt will be delayed an hour due to a light layer of dust being on the floor. I will have some staff come clean it so Daycourt can resume."

Smooth Flight quickly follows the guards to the princess's assistant's room as her voice calls out, "It's about time you got here, come in and close the door!" She then opens the door and enters the room, closing it behind herself asking, "What has happened, is there word about Princess Celestia?"

She looks at the captain and uses a finger to urge the pony closer with a smile on her face saying softly, "There is indeed, come here so I can tell you."

The captain eagerly steps closer, curious as to what the news could be and stops in front of the assistant curiously asking softly, "Is this close enough?"

Swift Quill's eyes sparkle with glee as she gets close to the captain's ear whispering, "A special day has arrived. Get a royal guard that can be trusted to keep a secret, you two are to act like normal ponies and leave the castle without any of your royal guard gear, then locate Doc Hoofwood in the city. You are to then tell him to gather what he needs for a birthing and nothing else, secure his secrecy about this birthing by threatening to throw him into the deepest part of the Canterlot dungeon should he tell anypony. Once he has everything he requires, get a carriage that is not royally marked and depart with all haste due east of here along the coast between the cities Manetown and Fillycity. Travel back and forth along the coast if you do not see the Black Pearl, that just means that you arrived before them. Now get to your task and quickly find a trustworthy guard to take with you, time is precious and there will be Tartarus to pay if you are not there when the Black Pearl and Princess Celestia arrive."

Smooth Flight's eyes grow wide as she figures out what is happening and quickly nods her head, then rushes to the door, opens it hastily, and rushes down the halls to find the pegasi guard Sturdy Shield.

Sturdy Shield sits in the barracks polishing his helmet when he hears the door thrown open roughly, drawing his attention and notices the captain standing in the doorway breathing heavily. Snapping to attention and putting his helmet on his head saying, "Forgive me, Captain, I was polishing my helmet!"

She looks at the stallion and calms herself down, then enters the room and closes the door behind her saying, "At ease Sturdy Shield. Remove all your royal gear and come with me, we have been selected for a secret mission. I will fill you in on the details when we are alone, remember to act like a normal pony when we are out of our gear for the duration of this task."

They quickly get out of their gear and make their way out of the castle and into the city as the captain leads the way to the doctor's place of business as she pulls him into a side alley and quietly fills him in by whispering the details of their mission into his ear.

His jaw drops open as he is dumbstruck at what he just heard and whisper screams back, "Really! That was why he made such a scene of kidnapping the princess?! I had no idea that they were involved."

Smooth Flight clamps her left hand around his muzzle and glares at him saying barely loud enough for him to hear, "Keep your voice lower or other ponies will find out and Celestia will have both of our heads mounted on her wall! Neither did I at first until Celestia's assistant trapped me and swore me to secrecy, now don't you dare tell anypony about this or we are all dead."

Sturdy Shield quickly nods his head in agreement humming, "MM-HMM!"

She then lets go of his muzzle and leads him out of the alley saying, "Come on, let's get going."

Six hours later, several miles from the coast

Jack watches as the Black Pearl cuts through the water as every sail on the ship is at its fullest and angled to catch the most wind when he hears the lookout in the crow's nest finally call out, "LAND HO!" letting out a nervous sigh, hoping that they reach the coast sometime soon.

Smooth Flight and Sturdy Shield turn around and start flying south once again as the doctor calls out, "Are you sure the pony is on this coast, I don't see any pregnant mares down there along the shoreline?"

The two royal guards out of their armor under orders from Princess Celestia and her assistant breath heavily as they begin to tire from traveling up and down the coast between Manetown and Fillycity for the past four hours as Smooth Flight snaps back, "We were told to come to the coast and keep watch for a pregnant mare until she gets here, so shut up and keep searching!"

Sturdy Shield looks to his left at the water, panting from the prolonged flying while pulling a plain carriage beside his captain. Something on the ocean catches his eye and shifts his gaze over to where he thought it was and sighs saying, "Where is she for pony's sake, we have been up here so long that my eyes are starting to play tricks on me."

The captain chuckles and says, "That tends to happen when flying a dozen feet above the ground and look at the sea for too long, just wipe your arm against your eyes and give your head a shake to clear your vision. Then go back to check the sea if the mare is swimming in the water somewhere."

Doc Hoofwood pokes his head out and looks at the two pegasi in disbelief saying, "She shouldn't be out swimming at this stage in her pregnancy! What if she were to get a cramp and couldn't stay afloat, she and the foal would both be in great danger!"

As they fly further south, Sturdy Shield's eye catches a shifting speck on the sea. Wiping his eyes and then giving his head another shake, he looks again and focuses more on the speck.

Smooth Flight notices him looking at something intently and notices the speck herself, thinking that it is the ship they are looking for and asks, "Do you see something out there Sturdy?"

The stallion keeps staring at the speck as it becomes larger, turning his head to his captain saying, "I think I see something big out there, shall we go check it out?"

She looks out at the spot and looks at him nodding her head and saying, "Yes, I think that we should. If it isn't her we will return and continue searching the coast for her."

The two pegasi turn together and fly towards the distant object, flying a good six miles before Sturdy Shield focuses on the spot on the sea and smiles seeing black sails on a dark ship saying, "It's her! She's finally here, let's go!"

Smooth Flight smiles as she is relieved at the Black Pearl's arrival and puts her remaining strength into getting to the ship as quickly as she can saying, "Race you there, last one there is a rotten egg!" Seeing him look at her and grin as they both take off towards the ship.

The lookout on the Pearl's crow's nest sees something flying towards them and extends his spyglass to identify it, saying a few moments later, "Captain, there are two ponies pulling a carriage our way! What be our orders sir!"

Jack sighs in relief at their arrival and calls out, "Furl all sails, haul the lines and drop the anchor after that, then get the longboats into the water so the ponies pulling that carriage can unhook and get some rest."

As the two tired pegasi get closer to the ship, the crew scurries about the ship bringing in the sails and lines. Smooth Flight looks at what they are doing and says, "I suggest we circle the ship until they finish with what they are doing before trying to drop the doctor off, we don't want to catch a wing on one of their ropes and fall into the sea."

Sturdy Shield nods his head saying, "I agree with you on that, catching a wing on a rope hurts and really bends the hell out of your primary feathers."

The doctor pokes his head out the window and looks at the ship, seeing a large warship black as night with sails to match. As the carriage passes the back of the ship, he reads the gold lettering on the back of the ship reading Black Pearl and gulps saying, "The mare is on the Black Pearl?! This is the ship that handled the entire Griffon Armada on their own and her captain even got them to surrender!"

The two pegasi continue to circle the ship as the crew sets the longboats into the water when Smooth Flight smirks and calls back to the doctor saying, "Yep it is, get ready to meet him and the mare that is carrying his foal."

Gibbs and the crew finish tying ropes to the longboats as the crew clears a path for the pegasi to land the carriage and then makes his way to the helm saying, "Cap'n, everything is done. What should we do next?"

Jack looks at Gibbs and says, "Tell them they can land the carriage there where the longboats were, but don't let them block the stairs."

He then nods his head saying, "Aye Cap'n." then returns to the top deck, waving an arm to get the pegasi's attention. He stands near the side of the ship and brings both hands to his mouth and shouts, "Ahoy up there, ye can land the carriage where the longboats were at just behind the main mast."

They both nod their heads, acknowledging what he said, then circle around and approach the center from the port side. Having to rely on the crew to make sure that they get into the proper position before landing on the deck, finally able to rest for a while.

Gibbs heads over to them and starts to help them out of their harnesses and says, "There are hammocks below that ye both can rest on until the foal is born, so follow me."

Jack hurries down the steps towards the carriage as the doc exits the carriage saying, "You've finally arrived, get your things and come to my cabin at once before she screams again and destroys what hearing I have left."

---

APOLOGIES, THIS SECTION TALKS ABOUT CHILDBIRTH...READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION OR SKIP THIS TO CONTINUE WITH THE REST OF THE STORY

---

Doctor Hoofwood grabs his big bag of birthing equipment and follows the captain to his cabin as he opens the door for him, entering the cabin while looking to his right saying, "Hello miss, I am here to deliver your foal..." when he notices that it is Princess Celestia who is giving birth and yelps in surprise, "P-Princess Celestia! W-Why are you giving birth on a ship out here at sea instead of Canterlot, the citizens of Equestria would throw a celebration at such a joyous occasion!"

Celestia glares at the doctor and says, "Precisely, which is why I am doing it out here. So they don't know this foal is mine and spoil it by treating it like royalty, turning it into a high-minded, self-absorbed pompous, puffed-up noble and therefore ruining the possibility of the foal experiencing a normal life!" Her mane then starts to smoke as she narrows her eyes at him threateningly and saying, "Now you better take this secret to your grave without telling anyone including your family or you will suffer a punishment worse than Tartarus." switching to her royal voice to finish, shouting, "DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!"

The captain once again tries to get rid of the ringing in his ears saying, "And there goes the rest of my hearing..."

Hearing what her love said causes her to whip her head to him and narrow her eyes further asking, "Pardon me...but what did you say dear?" adding a little venom to her voice, daring him to repeat himself.

Jack smiles nervously and says, "I said, I am so eager for our foal to come into this world!" Trying to assuage her anger, he sidles up next to her and holds her left hand in both of his hands saying, "Oh darling, this is the happiest moment of my life. Would you do me the greatest honor in becoming mine in holy matrimony?"

The question causes both Celestia and the doctor to gaze at the Captain in utter shock and disbelief at what they both heard, their jaws hanging wide open and threatening to hit the floor.

Slowly, Celestia starts to recover from the mind-blowing question as her eyes grow wide and sparkle wildly while her jaw rises up and the corners of her mouth curl up into a big, ecstatic smile as she cheers up saying, "YES!" and yanks Jack towards her and gives him a big french kiss when another cramp hits her, making her clench her hand around his while hissing in pain.

Doc Hoofwood hears her hiss in pain, jumpstarting his brain into working properly again as he says, "Okay then, well congratulations and all but let's see how far along you are in labor. Please raise your legs up and spread them please so I can get a good look."

Jack pulls his left hand out of Celestia's grip and draws his pistol, cocking it in a single motion and aiming it at his head while giving the doctor a death glare saying, "I don't think that would be in your best interest, mate. It would not bode well for your health if you catch my meaning."

She sees the doctor staring down the barrel aimed between his eyes then looks over at Jack and smiles saying, "Calm down dear, it is normal for a doctor to need to check a mare down there. It is important for them to see because that is how they know when the mare can start pushing to deliver the foal. So please put your pistol away or this foal will not survive the birth."

He hesitantly nods his head and uncocks his pistol unhappily saying, "Very well darling, but if he gets any funny ideas I am going to hang his head from the bowsprit."

Celestia chuckles nervously at that and sighs saying, "Don't worry dear, this doctor is a professional. I promise you he won't get any weird ideas while helping me give birth to our foal, so do your best to not make the doctor too scared and just hold my hand, or watch our foal come into this world."

Jack then puts his pistol away and smiles at her saying, "After our child is born, when would you like our secret wedding my love?"

She then raises her knees and spreads her legs apart so he can examine her while looking at Jack with happiness in her eyes saying, "I would love to say the day after tomorrow, but we will be quite busy after our newborn foal is born so we will have to wait a year for the wedding. Who are you going to get to marry us, my love?"

He grins and then says, "I can't tell you that because it would ruin the surprise, love, invite whoever you wish to attend it once you decide on the day."

Doc Hoofwood makes his way to the end of the bed as she chooses to get married this day next year then lifts up her skirt to see how far she is dilated, taking a look while illuminating his horn saying, "Everything is going splendidly so far being your first foal, a few more hours and then you can start pushing. Would you like some opiates to help with the pain, Princess Celestia?"

Celestia shakes her head side to side saying, "Absolutely not, I do not want to be out of my mind on drugs when this foal is born. I want to be right here and feel every moment of it right to the very end."

Jack looks at the doctor incredulously and asks, "Oi, pardon me, but how long is this going to take exactly?"

The doctor looks at her and sighs, nodding his head saying, "Very well, Your Majesty. I must warn you that you will feel great pain as you push the foal out." he then shifts his gaze to the captain and says, "A mares first foal always takes the longest we have noticed, through observations of various births we have learned that the first foal could take as long as two days. Although there is no specific time a birth takes, as each mare is different."

She looks up and groans with irritation saying, "Are you telling me that I might be here for even longer?!"

Doctor Hoofwood gulps nervously and nods his head saying, "Our intimate knowledge of the birthing process is rather limited Your Highness, due to males being allowed to deliver the foal only ten years ago."

Celestia looks at him incredulously and asks, "If things are that bad, why do you never come to day court to request further studies on the birthing process in mares?!"

He sighs and hangs his head saying, "I try to attend day court when I have time, but whenever a noble sees me...they tie me up and dump me back into my clinic."

The princess growls under her breath as her mane smokes saying, "This is exactly why I despise those insufferable nobles, if I could do anything to deal with those nobles without ruining the image that the citizens of Equestria have of me." She then groans with sad frustration and looks at Jack asking, "Dear, do you have any suggestions that might be of help?"

He smiles and nods his head saying, "Aye love, I do have a couple, however I think that you would frown on said nobles losing their lives. There is a better one that is a bit...unprincess-like so I shall have to tell it to you when you are finished giving birth."

Celestia looks at her love and studies him curiously for any hint of what he might be thinking, sighing as she can't figure out what he is planning and says, "Oh alright love, I guess you leave me no choice with how unpredictable your actions are."

As they wait a few more hours for the moment to arrive, Doctor Hoofwood takes another look to see her progress using a silver scoop-shaped tool he dipped in alcohol and smiles saying, "Alright Princess, I checked your progress with these new forceps that I came up with and had a skilled toolsmith craft them for me. Though normally Undertakers use something similar to this in the embalming process, I saw their scoop-like shape and wondered if they would help me with my study of pregnancy. It turns out that the design did provide a better look at what goes on down there on a mare during pregnancy, but the design needed to be improved so it didn't damage the insides. So after a few attempts, this one works much better at not damaging the sensitive inner lining of the mare's genital region. Sorry for rambling Your Highness, but you aren't quite there yet. So while we keep waiting, let me get your hooves raised so you can have some extra stability so you can concentrate on pushing the foal out." He then looks around the room, then up at the ceiling and sees the beams saying, "There we go, that beam will work just fine to fasten the straps to."

Jack watches the doctor use his magic to fasten a couple of straps on the beam a little further apart than her legs, and then takes her hooves in his hands and fastens the padded straps around her legs just above her hooves saying, "Alright, now for the last couple of pieces." and pulls out a long rod with a couple of rings on each end of it and attaches it to the straps around each ankle, before finally grabbing a piece of leather and offers it to her saying, "This is for you to bite down on Princess when the pain starts."

A couple more hours pass when she feels him check her again and look up at her saying, "We are ready to begin, Your Highness." she nods and folds the strap a couple of times before placing it into her mouth when she hears him say, "Alright...now push Princess." then squeezes her abdominal muscles to begin her first push, biting down onto the leather hard as she screams around the leather. Feeling her vagina start to stretch wider through the push causes her to squint her eyes closed from the pain as the doctor says, "Okay Princess, relax and just breath for a moment."

The captain holds Celestia's hand as she grips it tightly saying, "Just breath steadily my love, our foal will be here before you know it."

Celestia breathes through her nose, listening to Jack asking her to remain calm when she hears the doctor say, "Okay, take a big breath and push again." then takes a breath, and starts to push.

Doctor Hoofwood watches the foal's head start to show and says, "I see the foal's head starting to come, which means that you need to stop pushing and relax. I have noticed that several mares which push at this point tear the skin between your vaginal entrance and rectal exit, so don't push at all and just wait until the foal's head comes out on its own."

She listens to the doctor and relaxes, breathing normally while sweat drips down her face while holding Jack's hand tightly from the pain that feels like her insides are being ripped open.

Curious at what he is missing, he leans just past her hips and uses his free hand to move the robe to either side. He looks down at where her lower lips are and sees something large slowly making its way out of her, slowly forcing the skin to stretch more. He sees the top part of a head having a black coat with a blonde mane saying, "So far, I see the top part of a black-coated head with a blood-soaked blonde mane."

Celestia fights her urge to push even harder just to see her foal faster as she hears Jack say, "I see a tiny horn on its head, though I will never forget how gruesome of a sight it is to see something so small stretch that much, it is amazing how a mare can even survive birth." and yanks him back to her, not wanting him to know more about the foal before her.

The doc watches as the head takes a while to come out, placing a sterilized hand underneath the foal's head to support it and looks up at the princess and sighs saying, "Okay, the head is out, you may resume pushing whenever the urge comes."

She waits a minute or two until the next urge comes, screaming around the leather between her teeth as she attempts to push the foal out as her coat is drenched in sweat from the effort it is taking her to push the foal out. The urge to push passes and then comes again a little later, making her scream again until the urge passes as the pain fades away. She then relaxes and takes a few breaths when she hears the neighing cry of a newborn foal as her eyes start to grow wide with anxious curiosity and asks, "Well doc, what is the foal?"

Doctor Hoofwood stares in disbelief at what he sees before his very own eyes, blinking a few times as he holds the little filly in his arms before shaking his head and looking back up to Princess Celestia with shock-filled eyes saying, "It's a beautiful little filly, Your Majesty."

Eager to see her filly, Celestia weakly attempts to sit up but fails and asks, "Well, is there anything wrong with her? I want to see and hold my little filly!"

He slowly starts to rise up and says with amazement and wonder all over his face and shock in his voice saying, "Well...umm...see this for yourself, Your Highness. It's unbelievable, impossible even."

She watches while holding her breath as he slowly rises from the floor when she sees a unicorn filly with a blonde mane and tail, a painted, two-tone coat with the more predominant color being snow white with black patches around her flank, running up her back to cover the base of her neck and most of her right shoulder, coming together in a strip going up her throat and completely covering her head minus her left ear and a stripe with a snip down her forehead and mouth. Her eyes nearly bug out of her head as she notices one other detail, stealing her volume away as her throat constricts causing her scream to sound like a gentle screech saying, "SHE'S...SHE'S A...AN...AN... IMPOSSIBLE! THERE'S NO WAY SHE CAN BE REAL!! TOUCH THEM TO MAKE SURE I'M NOT SEEING THINGS JACK!"

Jack walks up to his daughter with eyes wide with wonder as he carefully runs his hand along her back, feeling each wing before tugging very lightly on one and lets go of it quickly, then looks at Celestia with a nod saying, "It be true love...she's indeed an alicorn like you." then makes his way to her and helps her sit up against the headboard so she can hold their daughter.

Doctor Hoofwood makes his way around the bed, carefully making sure that the cord does not catch on anything until it stops pulsing, and starts to hold her out for the princess to hold, saying, "H-Here is your baby alicorn filly, Your Majesty. What shall you name her?"

Celestia tenderly takes her daughter from the doctor and cradles her in her arms, looking up at Jack with a shocked smile and asking, "Do you want to pick the first or second part of her name darling?"

He looks at Celestia as she cradles the foal and thinks for a moment saying, "I shall choose the second part of her name, what's the first part of her name going to be love?"

She looks at her foal affectionately as the shock starts to slowly wear off, then looks to Jack saying, "I think Summer fits her perfectly, what name will you choose to give her?" while silently hoping that he chooses a decent name for their filly.

Jack looks down at the filly with an affectionate grin as he looks up at Celestia and says, "The name I want her to have, is...Poppet, my love."

Celestia smiles at the adorable name and looks down at her filly cooing at her name saying, "What a beautiful name you have...Summer Poppet, your father has a talent for picking good names. We are going to have such wonderful times together as you grow up..."

The doctor recovers from the shock and asks, "Could I get her back so that I can sever the cord, clean her and wrap her in a blanket, Your Majesty?"

She then sighs and hands her little filly back to him saying, "Very well, but don't take too long."

Doctor Hoofwood takes the filly and lays her on the bed, bending down to grab some thick surgical thread from his bag and taking a short length from it before returning it to the bag. With the thread in his hand, he holds one end of it in his hand while the other is about halfway up the thread and lays it on top of the umbilical cord a few inches away from the filly's stomach and releases the hand holding the end of it and uses a small pair of surgical scissors to snip the thread in half. He then passes the thread underneath the cord, then back over the top, and fastens the ends together. Before tying the knot, he pulls on the thread to stop the circulation and loops it around one more time to be sure. Repeating the process again, he ties the last knot before moving a couple of inches down and uses the second half of the thread to tie the other end securely. With both ends tied off, he uses the scissors to snip the cord between the two ends and starts cleaning the filly up. He then pulls out a pink blanket and wraps the filly in it, then hands the filly to her mother saying, "Here you go, Your Highness."

Celestia takes her filly back eagerly, cradling her in the soft pink blanket as she sighs happily while nuzzling her daughter saying, "Our little girl is finally here. With Summer here, our family is complete...well almost with one member absent but will return one day. Sadly, due to how long your lifespan is as a human, I know you might not be around for when that day comes and will keep you in my heart."

A couple of hours pass as the doc looks at the princess saying, "Alright Your Highness, all that is left now is for the afterbirth to come out." then makes his way to the end of the bed to wait for the process to be complete.

Jack then looks at the doctor with mild curiosity, asking, "And when does this cord detach itself from the baby, er...foal?"

Celestia then chuckles and looks at Jack saying, "It will fall off on its own after a little while, so do not worry dear." feeling a slight bit of pressure in her lower abdomen and feels the urge to push.

The captain watches as she pushes for a few minutes before something sack-like flops onto the bed and asks, "What in the world is that?" pointing a finger at the sack still with some blood still in it.

Doctor Hoofwood looks at him and says, "This is the placenta where the filly just came out of, which can be discarded."

She looks at the doctor as he starts to put it into a bag and narrows her eyes saying, "What do you think you are doing with that? Set it beside me so I can dispose of it."

The doctor quickly does as he is told and sets it near her on the bed saying, "There you go, Your Majesty."

Celestia charges a spell and blasts it with a bright yellow beam, watching with a smile as it vanishes in a fraction of a second and says, "Now all that is left to deal with are the bedsheets, but it gets cold at night on the sea so we will have to wait to replace them."

---

THIS IS THE END OF THE SECTION INVOLVING CHILDBIRTH, ENJOY THE REST OF THE STORY!

---

Jack looks outside and then turns to her asking, "Hey love...when is the sun supposed to set?"

She looks outside and sees it is day, then casts a spell to check the proper time and gasps saying, "Oh no, it was supposed to be down a half hour ago!" She then attempts to lower the sun, but can't find the strength to do move it past the horizon saying, "I...need...to get...the cycle...changed..." grunting with great effort to try to force it past the horizon, only to exhale roughly and try to catch her breath.

The captain looks at her and shrugs his shoulders saying, "Well love, you could always claim today as a new holiday and have the sun stay up longer today than the rest of the year."

Celestia smiles as she catches her breath, an idea forming in her head as she looks at Jack saying, "Yes, and it could be called the Summer Sun Celebration! Oh you are the greatest Jack, thank you for that idea." Remembering that someone else is in the room, she turns to the doctor and narrows her eyes threateningly at him saying, "Oh, one more thing Doctor Hoofwood before you take your leave..." Letting her words hang in the air for a moment as the doctor looks up at her curiously and continues quietly, "If you give anypony so much as a hint about anything you learned or seen here today on this ship, I promise you and them a fate far worse than Tartarus..."

For a split second, Doctor Hoofwood swears he saw a fire burn deep within her eyes and gulps nervously, then quickly nods his head up and down rapidly, saying, "Y-Y-Y-Yes Y-Y-Your H-H-Highness, I will take this information to my grave!"

She then calms down and yawns saying, "That is very nice to hear, thank you for your assistance today. You are free to leave whenever the guards are rested up." then looks to Jack and frowns saying, "Jack, my love, could you wake me up in an hour so I can finish lowering the sun and raising the moon?"

Jack nods his head and smiles as the doctor gathers his things together including the straps and rod holding the princess's legs in the air saying, "Of course I will my love, is there anything else that I can do for you?"

Celestia thinks for a moment and says, "Yes, could you bring up the bassinet that you traded some of your goods to make?"

He hears the cabin door open and close, then nods and starts heading towards the door himself, saying, "I will have Gibbs assist me, that way it is much less likely of being damaged."

She glares at his back and says, "If that bassinet is damaged by either of you, I will send you to Tartarus to play with Cerberus for a week."

Chapter 17: A smelly surprise

As Celestia watches Jack leave to get Gibbs, she thinks about her assistant in Canterlot. She levitates a piece of parchment towards her, then a quill and inkwell and starts writing, 'My diligent and dutiful assistant, I have succeeded in birthing the foal. It is a filly and surprisingly an alicorn, we both chose a name and her name is Summer Poppet. Sadly, she cannot remain as one, or she will not get an everyday life, therefore something will have to be done about them. I have decided to make today a holiday called the Summer Sun Celebration, where I allow the sun to stay up longer than any other day in the year. This way, Equestria's citizens will unknowingly celebrate Summer's birthday and the anniversary of Jack and I's wedding set for the same day next year, June 21. Let's get started on making today an official holiday, so send me whatever necessary documents I shall need to sign. Also, make sure to find the best crafts pony to make a jewelry box with a hidden compartment inside to allow me to hide Summer Poppet's birth certificate in it. Need I remind you not to mention the filly to them? This is supposed to be a secret, the more ponies that know about it mean more ponies for me to threaten with severe punishment if it gets out. P.S. Burn this after you read it.' and teleports it off to her, feeling drained from using magic to write that letter and send it off. She then hears some grunting outside as the door opens to reveal Jack walking backward slowly into the room carrying a beautiful walnut bassinet with golden designs around the flat sides at the bottom with round spindles at the sides to keep the filly from falling out of it.

Covering her mouth from how beautiful it is, her eyes water as tears trail down her cheeks saying, "Oh Jack...it is so beautiful! I know you made sure to get what I told you we needed, but you kept me from ever seeing any of it."

Jack continues walking backward when he backs into his table saying, "Ow, you've run me into the table Gibbs." Then shuffles to the side so they can set it down in front of it.

Gibbs shuffles to the side while keeping a firm grip on the heavy bassinet saying, "Apologies, Cap'n. This thing weighs more than a cannon!"

The captain chuckles and grins saying, "Aye mate, but it was necessary to have for the filly, and it was worth every bit of gold I gave for it and the crib. The crib matches this bassinet, love. Is there anything that we might have forgotten, love?"

Celestia thinks it over a moment before saying, "Ah yes, the most important things of all. We will need enough diapers to get through the first four months, after that we will have to get bigger diapers but we can wait to get those. We will also need wipes to clean her whenever we change the diaper and baby powder. We will need to get that at Manetown in about three weeks, however, I think it would be best if I go with you because it would be a good experience for us and you to learn how to care for a baby." She then looks down at her little filly and sighs happily when she looks at the wings on her back and says, "I think that it would be for the best if I used a spell to seal her wings within her body so when other ponies see her, they will think she is a unicorn instead of royalty. What do you think dear?"

Jack looks at his daughter and nods his head saying, "Won't that affect her at all, love?"

The princess then chuckles and says, "No it won't bother her because she won't know she has wings until I release the seal on her body, what the spell does is it turns her wings into magical particles that she won't be able to use, know of, or feel."

The captain trails his fingers along his beard and thinks about it for a moment before saying, "I agree to your suggestion, then she will be able to experience a somewhat normal life, what with having a pirate father and a princess for a mother and all."

She then smiles and looks at Jack saying, "She will have one interesting life, I'm sure of it. Oh could you have the cook make me some food, I'm starving after all that effort."

Four hours pass by when Smooth Flight wakes up and hears a neighing cry coming from above, bringing a wide smile to her face as she excitedly gets out of the hammock she is laying on. As her hooves land on the wood under her, she quickly rushes up the stairs to go see the foal.

As she reaches the top deck under a night sky, she looks around the deck, lit up by a few lanterns hanging from the main mast and a couple of rails as she sees a cabin at the back of the ship. Knowing that it is the Captain's cabin, she walks towards it and knocks on the door saying, "Excuse the interruption Captain, but I wish to see the foal. May I have permission to enter?"

Jack rises up from laying his head on the table and looks at the door before looking at Celestia and asking, "Is it okay to let her in, love?"

Celestia looks at him while holding her filly in her arms saying, "Of course it is dear, go ahead and let her in to see our foal."

He then looks at the door while striking a match and lighting a couple of lanterns above his table saying, "Come on in, she says it's alright."

Smooth Flight opens the door and enters the cabin, closing the door behind her as she looks around the dimly lit room saying, "How can you see in here, it's so dark."

The princess then chuckles and says, "Well, my little pony, it takes a little longer for a pony's eyes to adjust than it does a human's. So just stand there for a couple of minutes and you should have an easier time to find your way about the cabin."

She then looks towards the right corner and sees a light grey figure in the corner saying, "Yes, Your Majesty. I'm sorry for being so eager to see your little filly."

Celestia chuckles again and says, "It is alright, I'm not upset. It's only natural for a mare to want to see another mare's foal, it makes us want to have our own foals."

Jack then looks at his love and says, "It's madness."

The princess then grins and says, "It's how a kingdom grows."

Smooth Flight stands there for a little while until her eyes adjust to the dim light and sees Princess Celestia leaning gently against the headboard with a little unicorn foal cradled in her arms, having a black and white painted coat with a blonde mane and tail. Her eyes grow large as she gasps and puts her hands over her mouth as her eyes sparkle with wonder, then looks up at Celestia and asks, "M-May I hold her, Y-Your Highness?"

Celestia smiles and nods her head saying, "Of course you can Smooth Flight, come over here and meet Summer Poppet."

The captain watches as Celestia instructs her on how to hold her correctly, then gently passes the filly to her thinking, 'Oi, I haven't held the baby yet...'

The pegasus captain's sparkle as she looks at the little filly in her arms and coos, "Oh she is just so adorable, princess! Now I must have one of my own."

The princess lets her hold Summer for a couple of minutes before raising her arms to take her back asking gently, "Alright now, can I get her back please?"

Smooth Flight carefully hands her back to her, delighted in how adorable she is and says, "I can't wait for the season to come around next week." She then looks at the filly's back and says curiously, "I am surprised that she isn't an alicorn like you, Your Highness."

Celestia chuckles nervously and sighs saying, "Well...you see...she......is, I just used a spell to keep them hidden for a time until the public won't give her the royal treatment and spoil her life. I want her to grow up and experience a normal pony life, not restricted like I am. So you cannot, under any circumstance, tell any other pony about this filly being an alicorn or my daughter. I take it my assistant filled you in on everything you needed to know about my plans involving this filly?"

Smooth flight nods her head and says, "Yes, Your Highness, she did. You plan to take about eight years off and then make your grand return to Canterlot, claiming to have found a filly that has been neglected by him and take her in. I must ask though, do you plan to escape or be rescued from Captain Sparrow?"

She nods her head, confirming the plan saying, "That is indeed the plan, however, it slipped my mind to think of that part. Besides having Sturdy Shield with you, I think that it would be best to have six other guards in full armor with you that can all be trusted to keep the truth a secret. The truth is that I was never a hostage and they will have to bring a carriage or wagon big enough to hold everything we will be bringing back when we leave the Black Pearl. Make sure to bring enough chests to hold Summer's belongings." Thinking about where she will be staying, she then sighs and says, "I can't believe I almost forgot to have Swift Quill start expanding the castle and add a few more rooms for guests to stay, along with building a royal storage room that only a few staff, my sister, and I have access to when she returns one day."

The pegasus nods her head saying with a smile, "I will be more than happy to do that for you, Your Highness."

Celestia smiles and nods her head slowly saying, "I would appreciate that, Smooth Flight. Thank you very much for offering, make sure that you have a safe journey back to Canterlot when you depart the ship."

Smooth Flight bows to the princess and says, "You're very welcome, Your Majesty, and we will keep watch as we head back to Canterlot." then turns around and exits the cabin to go wake up Sturdy Shield.

Gibbs is on watch and yawns from boredom when he sees the pegasus head to the carriage and looks inside before heading below, hearing a dull thunk a few seconds later followed by an audible, 'Ow' when they return as the other pegasus rubs his head. He chuckles and makes his way down to them as they start strapping themselves in to pull the carriage saying, "Fare thee well on thy journey home, ponies."

Sturdy Shield looks at the first mate and nods his head saying, "Thank you, same to you on your journeys, wherever they may lead you. Make sure to take great care of our princess while she is in your care."

He looks back at him with a smile and nods his head saying, "Aye, we will. We'll look after her as if she was one of our own."

The two pegasi then channel their unique magic to keep the carriage hovering in the air behind them and then flap their wings, watching out for any ropes that might be in their way.

Gibbs sighs happily as the two make their way from the ship, wondering if he would make for a decent father before waving the thought away saying, "Nah, I love sailing the sea, but a little fooling around won't hurt nopony."

---

Three weeks pass by as the Black Pearl arrives in Manetown's bustling port from Portuga, with Celestia accompanying Jack in her disguised form. Making sure that they get everything they need before leaving port as she chuckles saying, "I'm glad that they agreed to bring everything to the ship for us, that should be enough to get us through the first four months. After that, we will need to come back and prepare for the next few months."

Jack walks with her back to the ship saying, "Well that wasn't too bad for everything you got for our filly, I'm looking forward to being a father to our filly, my love."

Celestia walks down the pier the ship is docked, looking at him with a grin saying, "Oh? Well that is wonderful to hear dear, because our little filly is going to be needing a lot more as she grows up. Meaning that she will be needing clothes, more toys, bigger diapers until she gets to be twelve months old then the potty training begins."

He stops walking for a moment as what she says dawns on him and says, "Eh? Did you just say that she is going to need even more as she gets older?!"

She chuckles and looks back at him with a grin on her face saying, "Oh, didn't you know, Jack? Raising children is an expensive part of life."

Jack looks at Celestia and his daughter for a moment and swears he sees his daughter smile at him before looking at a bird as it flies away thinking, 'Oi, did...did she just...laugh at me?'

Summer Poppet's POV, three weeks ago

FYI Elizabeth is an observer at this point and has no control of the filly's body (Sorry for the long, confusing paragraphs)

Elizabeth watches through Summer's eyes as she opens her eyes briefly for a moment, catching a blurry image and dark colors with a blinding brightness that hurts her eyes, forcing her to close them again. Opening them again to see strange shapes all around her, Elizabeth watches the eyes look at a white creature with wings on her back and a horn on her head as the creature talks about her being her daughter and what names to give her. She listens as the female creature names her Summer, then hears another voice belonging to a male say Poppet. Not knowing why that voice sounds familiar until the female nuzzles her, allowing her to get a good look at who her father is a few seconds later. Seeing an all-too-familiar face looking at her wearing a tricorn hat with a red bandana under it with a couple strings of beads in his hair, smokey eyes and wearing a frock coat.

She stares at Jack in disbelief and gasps saying in the foal's mind, 'No...it's not possible. How can Jack Sparrow be my father, and why did he have to pick Poppet for my name!?' She then hears the foal cry again, sounding like a cross between a human baby's cry and that of a horse's neigh, making her think to herself, 'Just what the bloody hell is this child I'm inhabiting?!'

A few weeks pass as Elizabeth learns that the filly is a pony and an alicorn but has her wings sealed away to help her have a normal life when her mother speaks about how costly it will be to raise a child and looks at her father and says to herself in the filly's mind, 'Oh I am going to make you pay for saddling me with the name Poppet...father.'

---

The Black Pearl a few months later, sailing into Lost Manes on the western coast of Equestria

Jack watches the crew as they haul in the sails and toss lines to the ponies on the pier so they can pull the ship in and tie her off saying, "Alright lads, go into town and get what we need for a few more months at sea. My love and I will get what we need for the baby, then come back to wait for them to bring it all here."

Celestia holds her little filly in her arms as she stands outside the cabin breathing the sea air while the ship is tied off and a plank is laid onto the deck, turning to look up at Jack as he stands to her left on the stairs saying, "Well dear, shall we go get what we need in town? We will also need a variety of fruits and vegetables so we can get her started on solid foods because she will be teething soon."

He makes his way down the stairs and says, "Yes love, let's go fill the hold with what we will need for our darling filly. After we are done here and are on our way out to sea again, I have an idea to dispose of those diapers that are starting to pile up by the brig."

She raises an eyebrow curiously and asks, "Do I want to know if your plan is nefarious in nature?"

Jack smiles and places his hands on her shoulders as she cradles Summer in her arms saying, "I swear that no one's life will be in danger whatsoever."

Celestia watches him suspiciously for a moment saying, "Very well, you can hold Summer for a while because I need to find the little filly's room."

He reaches forth and takes Summer from her in his as she makes a funny face and feels his arm get warmer saying, "OI! Each time I hold you, I have to change your diaper. Did I do something to earn your wrath?"

The little filly just giggles at him as Elizabeth says to herself in Summer's mind, 'Of course you did...you named me Poppet! So henceforth, you are sentenced to change my diaper until I get lavatory training!'

She looks at Jack and smiles saying, "Well perhaps she does that because she likes you and is going to be a daddy's filly. Just remember to clean front to back, she is not a stallion."

Jack nods his head and says, "I did that twice, I didn't know that before, love. I will get her changed and cleaned up, where do we meet up?"

Celestia then says, "Let's meet over by the fruit vendors, we will need a fair amount. The crew can eat some of the fruit and vegetables, that way it doesn't spoil and go to waste."

He nods and then starts to head into his cabin to change Summer's diaper saying, "Aye, love, we will see you there once I finish with her."

The princess then makes her way off the ship to go find a lavatory herself thinking, 'He is definitely going to be a good father, I wonder when we should start trying for another foal...'

As Jack enters his cabin and closes the door, then sets Summer down on his table and lights a couple lanterns before getting started on changing her diaper. He then looks at her and starts humming along to a song he knows as 'hoist the colors' while changing her diaper.

The filly cocks her head curiously as he takes care of her, listening to the song he is humming. Finding it strangely comforting, she smiles and starts giggling as Elizabeth recognizes the song and sighs saying in the filly's mind, 'Really, he is humming that song to her. He is going to be a great father indeed for teaching and raising us to be a pirate.'

Several hours later, about four hundred miles south of the southwestern edge of Equestria

Jack looks ahead at a distant land he heard a few rumors about being ruled by a storm king and looks to his first mate with a grin and says, "Gibbs, come here man."

Gibbs makes his way up the stairs and stands beside Jack and says, "Aye, Cap'n?"

He looks at Gibbs and grins saying, "Let's have a little fun with the inhabitants ahead, unload the round shot from the cannons, and grab the filled diapers that are beside the brig. Wrap them in wadding and load them into the cannons, savvy?"

The first mate cocks his head and asks, "What be the point in this Cap'n?"

Jack chuckles and says, "We are going to play a smelly prank on them and also get rid of all of the accumulating diapers that are stinking up the ship."

Gibbs smiles widely and nods his head with a chuckle saying, "AYE, Cap'n! We'll give 'em a really shitty shelling, hahaha!" then goes to pass on the orders to the crew to get started.

The Storm King's Realm, at the southern port sometime during the night

Stephen Storm wanders through the southern part of the city along the docks when he hears cannons fire in the distance and shouts, "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!! EVERY SATYR TAKE COVER!! GUARDS TO YOUR STATIONS!!" Several satyr guards rush towards their ballistae to return fire when he starts to hear wet splats all around him, not understanding what is going on until he steps in something wet and very smelly and then calls out, "DOES ANY SATYR HAVE A REPORT ON WHAT THEY ARE ATTACKING US WITH?!"

A satyr picks up a wrapper of some kind and holds it to the light calling out, "YES PRINCE STEPHEN, THEY ARE FIRING WHAT APPEAR TO BE FILLED DIAPERS AT US!"

He cocks his head and says, "They're firing what?" he is then suddenly knocked out cold when something strikes his head.

Morning comes as Stephen finally comes to with a groan and a dull headache and rubs his head groggily asking, "What happened last night..." before recalling what happened and shouts, "WHO ATTACKED US, AND WHY DID THEY FIRE DIAPERS AT US!"

The Storm King laughs heartily and says, "Stay calm, my son. They were not seriously attacking us as no one was seriously injured, they were pulling a prank is all. It was just a smelly prank, there's no need to hunt them down and bring our anger down upon them." He then starts laughing and says, "When I first learned that we were being attacked, I was about to send our fleet to sink the ship that was trying to take our home from us until I found out that they were only pranking us with used diapers. You were brought in unconscious and I thought you were seriously hurt, but the healers told me you were just knocked out cold from the diaper that hit your head. Once I learned you were okay, I laughed so hard about it all that I cried tears."

Stephen sighs and looks away in embarrassment saying, "Yeah...that is pretty funny dad. Let's get them back next time if they try to do that again."

The King lays a hand on his son's shoulder and shakes his head with a smile saying, "Sorry son, but if we do that, it may cause some issues between our nation and theirs."

On the Black Pearl, a hundred miles away from the Storm King's Realm

Celestia taps her hoof agitatedly on the aft deck as she holds Summer saying, "You did what to the Storm King's Realm?"

Jack looks to his right at an annoyed Celestia and chuckles saying, "We found a way to get rid of the diapers stinking up the ship, so we loaded them into the cannons and fired them all at the port."

She sighs and shakes her head saying, "This better not have any repercussions on Equestria's trade with them..."

He then waves his hand at the air saying, "Fret not love, it was just a harmless, but smelly prank. No trouble will come from it at all."

Chapter 18: The wedding

The next few months pass by quickly as Celestia tries to get details from Jack about where and who he plans to marry them, with Jack refusing to divulge any information at all saying, "As I said my love, it is a secret. Invite whoever you want to the wedding, for it will be somewhere and the only people I am inviting to the wedding are those here with us along with Davy Jones and Calypso."

Celestia puffs out her cheeks in childish frustration and pouts saying, "Why are you so mean to me, my love?"

He chuckles and sees her pouting then says, "I am not being cruel darling, I am merely making sure that the surprise isn't spoiled. So be sure to tell whoever you wish to invite to meet us on the sea thirty miles east of Fillycity, we will then sail to the location where our wedding will be."

She huffs in annoyance and makes her way back to the cabin with her daughter in her arms as she plays with a grey doll shaped like a four-legged pony with two button eyes and a pair of blue pants with white polka dots Summer calls 'Spotty Pants' grumbling to herself mumbling, "You're no fun, keeping me in the dark like this..."

As Jack watches her return to their cabin, he hears the cabin door open and close saying with a sigh, "Finally, now the time has come to fill them in on the date." and pulls the shell out of a pocket and holds it up in front of his face saying skeptically, "I hope this works, because I look rather silly talking into an empty shell." Pulling closer to his lips, he lowers his voice to a whisper and says, "Goddess Calypso, I pray this reaches your ear in time. A date has been chosen for the wedding as well as the place for it to happen, June 21^st at the top of the world where the lights dance across the sky during the day and night. As for the finer details of the wedding, allow me to enlighten you, Goddess Calypso."

Moments later, somewhere on the pacific ocean on Earth

Calypso is among the sea, in the Flying Dutchman's shadow when she hears a whisper flowing into her ear from somewhere and listens to a shell to hear what the whisper is saying, when a happy feeling makes her take human form and climb up the side of the Dutchman.

Davy Jones looks at his love as she crawls onto his ship in the form of thousands of crabs asking, "Hello again, my beloved. What brings you onboard my ship this time?"

She holds a white conch shell in her hand and smiles, lifting her head up from gazing at the shell to him saying, "The time for us to return to Equis is nigh upon us, the date and location have been chosen. They are to be wed June 21^st at the top of their world where the lights dance throughout the day and night, we should decide what gifts to bestow upon them."

He cocks his head in thought for a moment, wondering what gifts they could give and says, "What about some crew for his ship?" then turns his head to her for her answer.

Calypso smiles at the idea and then runs the fingers of her right hand over the musical locket hanging around her neck and picks it up, then looks at it with a grin and asks, "That be a fair gift, as for the other...how about a musical locket of another design than what we have?" She then turns her gaze to him and continues, "My reason is due to the knowledge I have about the future, and that they are much like you and I. The song may help to keep alive some tiny hope or affection they have, and offer them salvation when they need it most."

Davy turns and looks at her with a smile saying, "That is agreeable, my beloved. Shall we begin gathering the gifts then? The date is only a few weeks away and I shall need to locate one member to gift him."

She smiles and nods her head saying, "Aye we should, as I must gather what I need to create the lockets. Let us meet again two days earlier, for it shall take that long to reach the place witty Jack has in mind."

---

A few weeks later, due west of Fillycity

The Assistant dances giddily in place after hearing Jack's plan for the wedding as Princess Celestia was told to stay aboard the Windy Gale she and six other guards came on, with two large moving carriages and a royal chariot to bring her home the next morning after her wedding night.

Jack looks over at the other ship, quite a bit smaller than his ship as he calls over to its captain, "Follow us to our destination and do as I told you, savvy?!"

Swift Quill takes the helm and waves her hand saying, "Loud and Clear Captain Sparrow!" then waits to see the Black Pearl get underway.

He looks to the left as he hears the sound of rushing water, seeing the Flying Dutchman rise from the sea a few yards on his port side between his ship and the Windy Gale and looks to his crew saying, "Alright lads, full canvas!"

Celestia waits on the Windy Gale for a full two days in her undisguised form, locked inside of the Captain's Cabin until the start of the ceremony at the insistence of her love, pacing back and forth in the room as uneasy jitters start to make her nervous from trying to figure out what Jack intends on doing.

As they arrive at the location, Jack helps guide the ships to their positions around the floating platform dragged behind the Windy Gale. Placing the Black Pearl at the bottom right corner with the bow pointed to the northwest, the Windy Gale at the bottom left corner with her bow pointed northeast, and the Flying Dutchman at the north side of the platform facing south between the two ship's sterns.

It takes about an hour to get things into the perfect position when he sees the Kraken's tentacles appear in a circle around the sterns of each ship weaving a ring around them all and looks at Calypso before checking his cleaned-up outfit and returning his gaze to her and saying, "Okay Goddess Calypso, we are finally ready to begin." He then looks to the bow of the Windy Gale and waves his hand in the air as the signal for them to have Celestia get into position, then moves to his place beside the arch and waits for it to begin.

Calypso then smiles in her golden silver dress with tiny white seashells adorning it and nods her head and whispers into one of the shells in her hair, letting her love know that it is time for him to begin playing.

Davy Jones watches the crab sitting to the side on a ledge of the organ on his ship as it raises its claws and lacks them twice, bringing a smile to his face as he gets the opportunity to play his favorite instrument he enjoyed playing after meeting Calypso. He then begins to play a song he learned when he was going to play for his love.

The video does not belong to me, all rights belong to the one that made it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4sNsGePgs8

Celestia hears a song start to play on a large organ, able to easily hear it through the wood of the door as it opens with her assistant looking at her with a large smile on her face as the assistant tells her its time. Taking her first steps out of the cabin wearing a flowing white dress with tiny white pearls sewn into a lace attached to the dress and a short train following her, looking through a white, heavy lace veil running back behind her head past her back and over her face. She tries to see what everything looks like, but can't see anything past the bow besides the positioning of the ships.

Swift Quill carries the train behind the princess as she guides her to the ramp leading down to the dock below that floats on the surface of the sea saying, "Mind your steps, Your Majesty. It would be awful if you were to fall in and get your beautiful dress wet on your special day."

She smiles and clutches a red and white bouquet with baby's breath mixed within it, her hands quivering with excitement as she would like to just race down the dock and say I do already. Managing to force herself to keep a steady pace to enjoy the moment to the fullest, she steps onto the dock and turns to walk down it to see a large, square platform with a large white arch at the northern edge with white and red roses woven throughout the arch. When she starts to see red, white, and pink flower petals rain down upon the path, she looks up to see crewmembers standing in the crow's nest of each ship holding a basket of petals. Her breath is taken away when she spots just who is presiding over the wedding, causing her heart to skip a beat as a gasp escapes her lips saying, "Jack asked the sea goddess Calypso to marry us, he really wanted this wedding to be special."

The assistant chuckles and then says, "You have no idea how much he wanted to make this day special for you, just look at the sea just behind the ships, what do you see?"

Celestia gasps again as tears trail down her face as she sees the Kraken's tentacles surrounding the ships in a woven ring, making her face flush as her eyes sparkle from how much Jack cares for her and saying, "Perhaps in a couple of years, Jack and I can try for another foal..."

Jack watches Celestia as she makes her way down the aisle, practically shining like the sun as she struggles to not rush towards him thinking, 'I am eager for us to be married so I can go do some pirating when she returns to Canterlot with Summer.'

Calypso watches as Celestia reaches the arch as the song comes to an end, waiting for a few seconds so her love can stand next to her as she begins the ceremony.

The princess hears a familiar thunking noise and sees Davy Jones making his way down the dock towards them, stopping to stand beside Calypso as she smiles and starts to speak.

Equis stands at the back of the platform, watching the ceremony with a smile on her face as the ceremony start when the wind shifts and gently circles the three ships, whipping the rose petals into the air and creating a beautiful setting as she hears the goddess speak, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today before the masts to celebrate the union of Captain Jack Sparrow and Princess Celestia, who have come to the decision not to be made lightly and be joined in holy matrimony. As this state be before them now, standing for honor, respect, loyalty and love, let them come unto it."

The goddess pauses for a moment and looks at the small gathering of crew on the back of the platform then continues, "If there be any among you who have just reasons for them not to be joined together, come forth now and speak, or hold thy tongue forever!" She waits a few moments, waiting for anyone to say something before looking back at the couple continuing, "Marriage is a union of husband and wife, bound together in heart, body, and mind. It is meant for them to share mutual joy, help, and comfort required by the other, offered in fortune and poverty. More importantly, it be a means through which they may attain a steady and endearing life together. In marriage, Captain Jack Sparrow and Princess Celestia enter a commitment to handle their disappointments, pursue their dreams, discover their hopes, and welcome each other's failures. Jack and Celestia shall encourage each other to follow these ideals during their lives together through mutual understanding, honesty, and tenderness to each other. We are here today before the almighty creator of all worlds, with marriage being one of their most sacred of wishes to witness the union of Jack Sparrow and Celestia in marriage. This joyous occasion marks the celebration of their love and commitment where this man and woman start their life together. Now, through me, they join you together in the holiest of bonds." She then looks at the crowd and asks, "Who here gives this woman in marriage to this man?"

Swift Quill stands aside and addresses Calypso saying, "Through sad circumstances leaving her surviving family unable to return, her friends gathered here this day do."

Equis steps into the aisle and looks at the goddess saying, "I may not be direct family or any sort of a friend, I too give her to this man."

Calypso looks at the featureless white pony-like blindingly white shape before them as there are a few gasps from the crowd and nods her head then continues, "This marks the beginning of their continued growth as individuals. From mutual care, respect, responsibility, and knowledge...comes the validation of each other's happiness in life, growth, and freedom. Having respect for individual boundaries comes with the ability to love unconditionally. In the safety of a deeply loving relationship, the knowledge offered to each other by each other turns into great potential for continued growth. Showing care and responsibility towards themself and each other comes with the potential to have full and happy lives. Gathering the wishes of happiness and our fondest hopes for Jack and Celestia from all present here, we show them that our hearts are in tune with theirs. Moments such as these are meaningful to all of us, what better thing is there for two souls than to feel that they are joined together to strengthen each other in every labor, tend to each other in every sorrow, and share with each other in every gladness. The relationship before us stands for love, loyalty, honesty, and trust...but most of all being friendship. Before they knew love, they were friends. It was from this seed of friendship that shapes their destiny. Do not think that you can control love, for it shall guide you if it deems you worthy. Marriage is an act of faith and a personal commitment as well as being a moral and physical union of two people. It has been described as the best and most important relationship that could ever exist between them. Marriage is the construction of their love and trust into a growing energy of spiritual life. It is a boundless commitment requiring and deserving daily attention. Marriage is a life-long sacred vow of the ideal of loving kindness, supported by the will to make it last." She then looks to Jack and Celestia and says, "You may exchange your vows now."

Celestia goes first and takes a breath saying, "Jack, I was not thrilled to meet you at first, but after a while, I started to think of you as a friend. Time passed and we eventually became lovers and produced our darling filly Summer Poppet. I will do whatever I can to show you how happy you have made me from our first meeting."

Jack then smiles and says, "Love, I must admit that I was frightened when I saw your royal chariot coming to greet us. For some strange reason I know not, I began caring for you which is not easy for me to do. I certainly have my flaws, but you always accept me for who and what I truly am. For that, I am constantly thankful and will always do whatever is within my power that's best for you or Equestria's sake, regardless of what it costs me."

The goddess then looks at Jack and asks, "Do you Jack Sparrow take Princess Celestia to be your wife, in holy matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor her and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish her and continually show her your deepest affections as long as you both shall live?"

He looks at Calypso with a smile on his face and nods his head saying, "Aye, I do."

Calypso then looks at Celestia and asks, "Do you Princess Celestia take Jack Sparrow to be your husband, in holy matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor him and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish him and continually show him your deepest affections as long as you both shall live?"

Celestia smiles widely and nods her head saying, "Aye, I most certainly do."

The goddess then looks at Gibbs saying, "Now bring forth the rings, please."

Gibbs moves from Jack's right side and stands behind the two with Summer in his arms saying, "Alright now Summer, do as we practiced together..."

Elizabeth watches happily from Summer's eyes as she remembers her own wedding day on the Black Pearl's deck while Jack and Celestia turn to face each other and look at her. Summer slowly recalls what uncle Gibbs was showing her and raises her two hands, then turns them over and opens her fists to reveal two rings in her left hand, both slim and gold with one having a diamond-shaped magenta gem embedded in it and a wider gold one in her right hand.

Calypso looks at the couple being married and asks, "What token of love, do you offer? Would you place the rings in my hand?"

Jack and Celestia both nod to Gibbs, wishing him to do as she says and watch Gibbs as he steps forth while Calypso reaches forward with her palm up to accept the rings.

The goddess watches as Summer places the rings in her palm and draws her hand back to her and holds the wider ring in between her fingers and the other two rings in between the fingers on her left hand saying, "May these rings be blessed as the symbol of their unity. These two lives are now joined in a single, unbroken circle. Wherever they go in life, may they always return to each other. May these two find in each other the love which all men and women seek. May they grow in understanding and compassion. May the life which they establish together be a place many can find a friend. May these rings on their fingers symbolize the touch of the spirit of love within their hearts." She then looks to Jack and hands him the ring saying, "Jack Sparrow, place this ring on Princess Celestia's finger and repeat after me."

Jack turns to Celestia and repeats her saying, "Princess Celestia, you are now bound to me as my wife from this day forward, I give you these rings as the pledge of my love and the sign of our unity. With this ring, I be wed to you."

Celestia raises her left hand and watches him slide the engagement ring on her ring finger first, then the wedding band. As he lets go of her hand, she turns to Calypso as she hands the ring to her to place on his finger.

Calypso then pulls her hand back after giving her the ring saying, "Princess Celestia, in placing this ring on Jack Sparrow's finger, repeat after me."

The princess then repeats after Calypso as she speaks, saying, "Jack Sparrow, you are now bound to me as my husband from this day forward, I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and the sign of our unity. With this ring, I be wed to you."

Calypso watches as she puts the ring on Jack's left hand and looks at them both saying, "May you always share the gifts of love with each other, be one in heart and in mind. May you always create a life together that puts love, generosity, and kindness in your hearts." She pauses a brief moment before continuing and says, "As Jack Sparrow and Princess Celestia have consented together in marriage before this company of friends and family, and have pledged their faith. Declared their unity by giving and receiving a ring, are now joined. You have pronounced yourselves husband and wife, but remember to always be each other's best friend." She then raises her hands, keeping her upper arms at her sides and looks up to the sky saying, "What god and I have joined, let no man put asunder." She then calls forth a roll of thunder followed by a brief flash of lightning racing through the distant clouds for effect.

She then looks at the two couple with a smile saying, "And so, by the power vested in me as Calypso, Goddess of the Seas, I now pronounce you man and wife...rather, Pirate and Princess. May your days be good and long upon the world, you may now kiss the bride."

Celestia lifts her veil and flips it back over her head before leaning forward after Jack, tilting their heads to their left to give each other an affectionate kiss before pulling back and facing the crowd. After kissing, Celestia places her arm in Jack's as he offers it to her and then walks down the aisle as the organ starts to play once more.

Again...the video does not belong to me, all rights belong to the one that made it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uMzfeett0s

Celestia walks up the plank to the captain's cabin on the Black Pearl as her smile threatens to split her face in two as she asks, "Is there anything else that you have planned, or is this it?"

He looks at her and smiles saying, "Alas love, I do not, however, your assistant insisted on having some sort of party afterward with dancing, so you might wish to change clothes to something a little less...troublesome to dance in."

After changing into a better dress, she and her husband Jack make their way back to the platform to see a long table already set up with another table set up across the top of it forming a T. Not sure where they are supposed to sit, she walks towards her assistant to find out.

Swift Quill smiles as the princess heads her way with a big smile on her face saying, "Welcome to your reception, Princess Celestia. The table across the top is where you two will sit but first, I need you both to come over here so the guests can greet you and give you their blessings. The next event to take place after the last guest has spoken to you is the cocktail hour where the guests will socialize as your portraits are taken."

Celestia and Jack follow along with the order of events as she continues to inform them about it in detail, then follow her to the left side of the platform where a table is set up for gifts to start it off.

Davy Jones and Calypso make their way down the reception line as they prepare to greet the bride and groom, bringing each of their gifts to the couple with them.

Jack and Celestia stand there and welcome the guests in turn as Calypso stands before them, thanking Jack for giving her the honor to wed them and giving her blessings to them for a long and happy marriage, telling them her gift to the both of them before walking to the side and placing the lockets on the table before joining the others at the table.

The princess watches Davy Jones approach with two others behind him and smiles at him when he greets her and Jack, wishing them to have a happy life together, then gestures for the two to come forth as his gift is two new members for his crew. Learning that their names are Bootstrap Bill Turner and Hector Barbossa, shocking both her and Jack with his gifts to them both.

Jack looks at Davy Jones and says, "I'll take Bootstrap Bill mate, but you can keep Hector."

Davy Jones chuckles darkly and grins saying, "You'll be accepting both or I will have the Kraken take you to the locker for all eternity, mate."

He smiles, greatly disliking either idea and sighs in acceptance and says, "Very well mate, thank you for your generous gifts to us as well as giving our marriage your blessings."

Barbossa chuckles as he watches Davy Jones make his way to the table and sit beside Calypso, turning his gaze back to Jack saying, "Congratulations, Jack. I never knew ya had the stones to make a commitment such as this one. Which brings to mind one question...what will become of the Pearl?"

Jack looks at Barbossa and smiles saying, "I intend to continue being her captain and take us all over the oceans doing what we do best, mate. Though we will have to control our nature when Summer Poppet is among us a few months out of the year, with her mother."

He looks at the tall, white princess mare, who narrows her eyes a little and nods her head slightly in a warning. Taking the hint, he smiles and nods his head saying, "Very well Captain, I look forward to our adventures together and where they may take us."

The captain smiles and throws a clue to Hector with a wink saying, "To eternity, mate...Savvy?" then grins for good measure.

Hector catches the wink and smiles, making sure to ask him about his meaning later when they are alone saying, "May your venture together in life bring you both boundless happiness, Jack and Celestia Sparrow." then flourishes with a bow and then walks over to the gift table and sets a jug of rum on the table with Bootstrap following him a few moments later.

The reception continues on to the next event as the assistant guides the couple to a side platform on the starboard side of the Black Pearl where a painter sits with an easel and two canvasses with one sitting on the platform, resting against the easel's leg.

The artist spends a minute getting the two positioned right before getting started on their first portrait, taking him an hour to get to the point where he looks at the table and calls out, "Umm...Goddess Calypso, if you would be so kind as to have the Kraken hold the ship still as her sails are opened full so I can finish this portrait?"

She smiles and nods, then pulls a shell hanging from her hair to her mouth and whispers to her child saying, "It is done, will take but a moment for her to do so."

Flawless Stroke nods his head and gulps nervously when he sees a large tentacle wrap around the ship lengthwise, waving to the Black Pearl's crew to signal them to open up the sails. As they fully open up, he continues to paint the rest of the picture.

Celestia and Jack shuffle their hooves and feet around, anxious to see what the painting looks like when the artist calls out to them, "Alright, I am finished. You can come see it and tell me what you think." then waves to the crew for them to close the sails.

Jack walks with Celestia as they walk around the easel to look at the finished painting, with their jaws falling open at how beautiful they look with the ship behind them, its sails fully open with no dock around it or a tentacle holding it in place. Seeming to be cutting through the sea as a blue sky is above it, a few clouds scattered throughout the sky randomly while a few rays of light shine down upon the happy couple.

The painter looks at them nervously and asks, "So...what do you both think of the piece, is it good...or is it horrible?"

Celestia and Jack turn to the painter and answer simultaneously, "It's breathtaking/It's stupendous and magnificent!"

Flawless stroke smiles and bows his head to the couple saying, "Thank you both, please enjoy the painting and let it remind you that no matter how dark things get, they are bound to get better. Shall we move to the main platform and finish the last portrait?"

The married couple nod and make their way to the main platform as a couple pegasi arrive with one moving the painting to a place for it to dry as the other folds up the easel as the painter carries the rest of his things as he thanks goddess Calypso for her assistance with holding the ship still.

Another couple of hours pass as the painter creates another painting of the couple standing at the head of the table with Celestia seeming to be giving a speech to the guests seated around the table. The couple is then ushered away by the assistant to the dock leading from the two ships at the south side of the platform when someone begins to play a cheery tune on a Hurdy Gurdy, signaling the grand entrance of the Bride and Groom.

The couple then heads to an area beside the table for their first dance, lasting a few minutes when they are later guided to their spots at the head table for the speeches as Jack looks to Celestia and has her go first. Celestia smiles and then goes first saying, "Thank you all for making this day so special for us, there aren't enough words to say how grateful I am for the effort you all put into doing all of this." She then continues on with her speech, eventually reminding everyone here that this is a secret wedding and there would be consequences if word of it got out, earning a few nervous chuckles and nods from the guests seated at the table.

As the meal is served, with ponies getting a delicious vegetable meal and the human crew receiving a rich fish meal, a few ponies stand up and deliver speeches as the mysterious pony from earlier makes a brief appearance saying, "I have always known that you would find happiness one day, Princess Celestia and Captain Jack Sparrow. I pray you both enjoy the time that you have together and build a happy environment for your expanding family. Before I take my leave, I wish you all a happy life together and know that I will always be watching over you all." then vanishes into a wisp of air and races away into the horizon back to the cave which is her home.

Still confused at who that strange pony was, they all look to each other questioningly and either shake their heads or shrug their shoulders as Calypso claims to not know them. After the meal is finished, they all enjoy a dance together as Calypso dances with Jack and Davy Jones dances with Princess Celestia.

Once the dancing finishes, a massive, three-tier cake is brought over to the table as Jack and Celestia cut the first slice together, then move it to a plate and proceed to feed each other one bite at a time.

Celestia enjoys the double-chocolate cake with white frosting and gold sprinkles on it, moaning softly in silent joy at the rich flavor of the cake as her husband feeds her another bite of it thinking, 'Oh how I just love this cake, I will definitely be having two more pieces after this.'

After the cake is cut up, handed out by the couple, and eaten by the guests, Celestia finishes the remains of the cake after everyone has their fill of it.

Swift Quill then guides them both to the side of the platform saying, "Alright mares, gather around for the Bouquet toss!" and joins the large group of gathering mares to see who catches the bouquet as a sign of who might be getting married next.

Celestia turns her back to the crowd of mares, then tosses the bouquet backward over her head with both hands to the mares. Hearing a brief squabble before hearing a shriek in delight, she turns around to see that Smooth Flight caught it and smiles saying, "Congratulations, it appears you are to be the next lucky mare to be wed..."

The assistant grins with delight as her plan continues with this happy circumstance of her catching the bouquet, then makes her way out of the group and looks at Jack saying, "Alright men and stallions, gather around for the garter toss!" and giggles while the mares hurry out of the way of a stampeding group of males. She then looks to Jack and says, "Alright Jack, now take the garter off with your hands or your teeth and throw it back over your shoulder to them."

Jack grins and then removes his hat, setting it aside as he crawls under her floor-length dress and kisses up her right leg slowly. He then takes the top of her panties into his teeth and starts to slide one edge down her hips.

The princess gasps and blushes, then whacks the top of Jack's head saying, "Don't you dare take those off here! You know that is not my garter, if you attempt that again I shall stomp on your hand!"

He hears the group laugh at hearing that and chuckles saying, "Ow, apologies love, but I couldn't resist." He then returns her panties to where they were and then starts to take her actual garter off this time.

Celestia huffs in annoyance at his teasing while the blush is still fiercely on her face as she feels her garter slide slowly down her thigh, then down past her knee when Jack emerges from under her skirt.

Jack moves in front of her, facing her while taking a knee and placing his hand on the back of her lower leg. Lifting her leg up and onto his other knee, he resumes taking the garter off of her leg. He then holds her leg out and slowly pulls the garter off of her, then sets her hoof back down and stands up with his back to the group saying, "Alright lads, are you ready for it?" Hearing them all roar yes together, he then flings it back over his shoulder with his right hand. He then turns around and hears a brief brawl break out among them and chuckles when he sees Barbossa hold it above his head victoriously and shouting, "Nice try ya cack-handed deck apes, victory be mine as I hold the prize with me hand!"

Barbossa then holds it to his cheek and chuckles saying, "Mmmm, still warm..." then places the black lace garter around his hat and over the top of the long plume in it, wearing it with pride to show his victory.

Davy Jones then sees Calypso nod to him and calls out, "Alright, it is high time for the final dance of the evening. Here is one last gift to the new couple from Calypso and I." He then looks to the one playing the Hurdy Gurdy and says, "You there. Play the song that I played for you on our way here."

The musician nods his head to the captain of the Flying Dutchman as the crowd clears the floor and starts cranking away on the instrument, then begins playing the song.

For the last time in this chapter...the video does not belong to me, all rights belong to the one that made it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE7xLz9f6xg

Jack looks at Davy Jones and Calypso curiously, wondering, 'Why they would share their song with us, when it is special to the both of them?' Unable to figure it out, he guides Celestia to the floor once more as Davy Jones and Calypso join him along with a few others.

After the last dance comes to an end, Jack and Celestia say their farewells to the guests and make their way toward the Black Pearl for their wedding night.

As Celestia reaches the plank leading up to the Black Pearl's deck and gasps when she is suddenly lifted up in Jack's arms in a princess carry, blushing as he carries her all the way up the plank, down the deck and to his cabin. She opens the door for him saying, "Allow me to get the door for you, honey."

The captain then walks into the cabin and says, "Welcome home, my love..." kissing her deeply before heading towards the bed and kicking the door shut with the back of his boot.

Chapter 19: The journey 'home'

As the crew of the Black Pearl carries the gifts onboard and down into the hold, Barbossa and Bootstrap set their gifts beside the captain's door when it opens and Jack steps out, closing his door behind him and puts his hat onto his head saying, "How close are we to be getting underway?"

Gibbs smiles and calls forth, "Just about there cap'n, the last of them are being taken below now. Where might we be heading now sir?"

Jack turns and heads up the stairs to the wheel and gestures for him to come to him saying, "Barbossa, Gibbs, come up here both of you for a quick word before heading back where we came from."

Barbossa makes his way up the left side of the stairs as Gibbs follows him and says, "Aye Jack, what might ye be needin' from me?"

He then leans forward a bit and lowers his voice saying, "I once heard a voice speak to me about a grand reward if we fulfil a request for them, however, it shall become a curse if we should fail." He then looks to Barbossa and says, "I know you want to be captain of your own ship Hector, I promise to help your dream to come true one day if you follow my orders...for now. I have been planning and improvising to realize said beings' request of me almost from the first day we got here on the Black Pearl. My question to you is, will you and Gibbs assist me and convince the crew to commit to the plan when the time calls for it, no matter what needs to be done?"

Gibbs nods his head quickly and says, "Aye Jack, but what be ye talkin' bout?"

The former first mate crosses his arms in thought and nods his head curiously saying, "I thought ya might be thinking something up with what ya said earlier, I be curious to hear this plan of yourn a bit further in detail if you would."

Jack then nods and says, "Aye, but not when my wife is here among us with our daughter, savvy? What I can tell you now is that when she returns to Canterlot today sometime for a week or a month I don't know, but she will come back for a good two or three years. After that, she will go back to the capital of Equestria to stay for a few months at a time and come visit us with Summer for a month or two, and repeat the same pattern again."

Barbossa is quite intrigued by how Jack manages to keep his wife from learning the truth saying, "Yer a curious man, Captain Sparrow, but Aye. What be our orders in the meantime?"

The Captain smirks and looks at Gibbs then says in his normal voice, "We are to act like privateer merchants to take cargo back and forth from port to port, meanwhile hauling a little gold from Portuga to Equestria to encourage peaceful relations between them even though it is a pirate port I helped build with Celestia and Grandmama, who I have since parted ways with once again." He then hears the cabin door open and heads to the wheel saying, "That is the current plan gents, prepare to open up the sails. We head to pay another visit to the Storm King's Realm to 'rain on his parade' so-to-speak, savvy?"

Gibbs chuckles and smiles saying, "We be doin' that again cap'n, aye that was lots of fun."

Barbossa follows Gibbs and asks, "What's he mean by that, what we be doin'?"

He smiles and looks at him and says, "I'll fill you in, we need to prepare wadding for the 'presents' we will be firing at them."

Celestia yawns while watching the crew take the last few wedding gifts down into the hold and makes her way up the stairs asking, "Well, husband, shall we get started on checking our gifts?"

Jack smiles and looks at Barbossa saying, "Barbossa, man the helm and prepare to take us south when the sails are full."

He looks at the captain and nods his head saying, "Aye Captain Sparrow." then heads towards the wheel while chuckling at what Jack intends to do to the Storm King's Realm.

Jack and Celestia look through everything they got, some of which are a large globe with a golden arm holding it with a rod through the top of the planet, a large gold and silver telescope, a long red feather with a golden center to use as a quill, a large golden cage, and quite a few books. Jack looks around a bit more at the items and finds a couple of golden lockets shaped like a sun with a silver ship sailing towards a silver sun off to the side, accidentally pressing a release that opens the top of the locket with a space for a small image to go. He looks at the main part of the locket and sees that it is a music box, making him look for the mechanism to wind it.

Celestia is looking at a book written by Star Swirl the Bearded when she starts to hear a familiar tune play from somewhere, turning to see Jack holding a couple of lockets with one of them open as he looks at it curiously. She puts the book down and says, "That song...they played that during the end of the reception. Does it have some important meaning to them?"

He smiles softly as he understands why Calypso gave them the lockets and looks at her saying, "Aye, it is very dear to them because it shows how devoted he was to her before he cut out his heart and hid it from the world. Calypso gave these to us to remind us to always stay true to each other and never forget our bond. Should we ever forget or lose sight of it, all we need is to be with each other or listen to this song and we will remember what is most important to us both." he then holds one out to her as the song continues to play, saying, "No matter what fate lies ahead of us dear, just know that I will always keep you in my heart and mind."

She takes the locket from him saying with worry in her voice and on her face, "Why do you say that as if something bad will happen my love? It would be torture for me to have to live without you around."

Jack sighs and says, "That is the thing my dearest, I will never know what is ahead of me. You will know if I am gone because you will feel a deep pain in your heart, similar to how you felt when you sent your sister away. Worry not love, because I am the one and only Captain Jack Sparrow, and I am always able to find a way out of any bad situation not in my favor. I have every intention of being around until I am old, wrinkly, and grey while you are still young and beautiful and taking care of me as my health declines due to old age."

Celestia smiles as a tear falls from her eye, making her put the locket around her neck and hug him saying, "Oh Jack, you know just what to say to make me feel better. I look forward to taking care of your aging body, though I will search for a way to help you live as long as I. Is there anything here that you wish to keep on the ship with you when I return to Canterlot and catch up on my duties as a slave to the kingdom?"

He chuckles at that and shakes his head saying, "Aside from the jugs of rum, there is not love."

She backs away with a smile on her face, then cocks her head curiously and asks, "Darling, would you mind if I tried some of it?"

Jack grins and puts his locket around his head saying, "Of course not love, let me grab one of the jugs for you." He then looks around the gift pile and finds one of them and lifts it up and holds it out to her saying, "Here you go love. Take a breath before you take a swig, then exhale it through your mouth and breath through your nose. Repeat those steps as needed and you will eventually start to enjoy it as we do."

Celestia takes the jug by the handle with her left hand and removes the cork with her right hand, then raises the opening to her nose and takes a short whiff. The strong smell causes her to turn her head away and sneeze saying, "That was rather silly of me, let me try that again." This time she doesn't sniff it first and takes a breath before lifting the opening to her lips and slowly tilts the jug back as a small mouthful pours out, then closes and lowers the jug at the same time while swallowing the liquid down. She waits for herself to become sickened by the beverage but is surprised when her body lightly shudders at the oh-so-sweet and sugary flavor, then craves more. Taking a bigger mouthful this time and swallowing it, she starts to feel a warm sensation throughout her body as her vision becomes ever so slightly foggy. Her head tilts back slightly as she sighs with delight at how warm it makes her feel, then looks back to Jack and holds the jug close to her asking with a light smile on her face, "May I take this jug with me to Canterlot, honey? It will make dealing with those pesky nobles less irritating..."

He grins and nods his head saying, "Aye darling you may, but be wary of the effects of said drink such as addled thoughts and a drunken state. When you wake up, you shall suffer from a headache until you get used to it over a few years. Do you still wish to take the rum with you?"

She looks at him with a serious look and nods, saying, "Yes I do. Pretty please my loving husband?"

Jack hesitates for a second before giving in to her pleading face with a nod saying, "Very well dear, but please don't drink it in front of your citizens when you hold court."

Celestia looks at him with a frown and says, "You can't tell me what to do in my courtroom just as I can't order your men to sail somewhere without your approval or command." She then grins and says, "I would so love to see the look on those stuffy nobles' faces though, it would be so amusing to watch them squirm with disapproval and disgust." Wanting to thank him properly, she takes a mouthful and pulls her husband in for a kiss.

He opens his mouth to french kiss her, only to get a small mouthful of rum as a reward. Sealing his lips around hers, he swallows and places his right hand behind her head and grips her mane firmly to deepen the kiss.

She moans through her nose at the taste of rum dancing around within her mouth and down her throat, igniting her tastebuds as well as a burning in her loins. Wanting to push him down and have her way with him, she starts to walk him towards the wall while returning the cork to the jug and setting it ontop of a barrel.

Jack runs his hand up her back over her dress, caressing the edges of her wings and then breaks the kiss to nibble on her ears saying, "Pardon me, my darling, but don't you need to be getting back to Canterlot about now?"

Celestia is shocked when she realizes what her instincts were about to make her do in the hold where anyone could catch them and pulls away from him saying, "I'm sorry about that dear, when I get to Canterlot I will have my assistant take a sample of this rum and have it inspected. Our honeymoon will begin in a couple of months after I get things settled in Equestria."

He looks at her affectionately and grins saying, "It's quite alright love, I quite enjoyed that. While you are back, could you discreetly look into the nobles and see if they have any 'off the books' business deals that involve shipping? If you find anything, I will help you learn how to be a pirate like us."

She then smiles and says, "I look forward to our honeymoon, dear husband."

Jack gives her a short bow saying, "Aye my darling wife, as do I. Let's start loading all this booty onto your carriages so I can go offload some 'cargo' at the Storm King's Realm again and fill my hold in the meantime you're away, have to keep up appearances aye?"

Celestia chuckles and rolls her eyes saying, "Yes we must, just be sure there aren't any casualties okay?"

He nods with a smile and then starts heading for the stairs saying, "That there's our treasure, but it is going to your home so the order is yours to give to have it loaded, my loving wife."

She smiles and then calls out to the crew above, "Load all these gifts onto the carriages so we can be on our way to Canterlot."

A few unicorn guards in royal armor look over the edge and down into the hold, nodding their heads saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, at once." then pull away from the edge to go about their orders.

THIS PORTION IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK, SKIP IF YOU DONT WANT TO READ A SEX SCENE!

Jack hears a guard coming down the stairs, finding the opportunity to have a little fun, and moves just behind her. He then grabs her with one hand and puts his other hand over his wife's mouth then pulls her into a corner behind some stacked barrels whispering softly into her ear, "Don't make a fuss or a single sound love..." then runs his hand down the front of her body and uses his fingers to walk her dress up her legs.

Celestia's eyes go wide with shock and surprise at Jack's sudden action as a blush colors her face red thinking, 'Really, you want to do it here while the guards are loading the carriage! We are going to get caught!' her thoughts are then interrupted when Jack's fingers start to enter her lower lips, beginning their search for her pleasure zone.

He continues to work his fingers inside of her as he moves his hand away from her mouth and takes hold of her breast with his right hand and kisses along her neck, feeling her clamp down on his fingers after passing over a certain spot. As the guard makes his way down the stairs a short ways from them, he whispers into her ear, "A princess is supposed to remain calm in any situation, aye? So prove to me that you are worthy of said title." and starts to quickly curl his fingers against that spot.

She fights to keep herself from moaning at his teasing and thinks, 'You are ruthless, honey, but I will show you how that I am worthy of that title!' then starts to grind back against him.

Jack feels her grind up against him and smirks thinking, 'So you want to make it harder, do you? Very well then...' and pulls the shoulders of her dress down her arms to reveal her breasts, taking her right voluptuous double d's nipple in between his fingers and rolling it between them while giving a light kneading squeeze to her breast with the rest of his hand.

Celestia's mouth opens as her knees and legs wobble and quiver from his ministrations, letting out a husky breath before turning back to look at him whispering softly, "If you keep doing that, milk will start coming out!"

He then chuckles softly and whispers back, "No worries love, did you know that rum tastes even better with a mother's milk?" then twists her upper body so he can put his mouth onto her breast and starts to suck on it, tasting the warm, sweet liquid trickle into his mouth with each pull.

She is forced to bite her lip to keep quiet and looks over the barrel to see the guard's back turned to her as he uses his magic to levitate the large golden cage up to the top deck, then looks over to the jug of rum on the barrel and pulls it over. Noticing the other jug of rum laying on its side beside the wall, she pulls that over as well. As she looks at the jug she took a drink of, she finds herself craving more of the liquid and uses her magic to lift it up so she can grab it. Pulling the cork out as quietly as she can, she takes a bigger drink of it. The liquid flows down her throat, making her body even warmer. Her plan to get back at him backfires as she finds it much harder to keep quiet as she feels a burning desire coming from deep within her. Returning the cork after taking another drink, she pulls Jack's head off her nipple with a light pop and brings his mouth to her lips and shares some of the rum in it with him as she jumps up and locks her legs around his back.

Jack is taken off balance and stumbles backward, bumping into a thankfully heavy barrel that only slightly wobbles as he swallows the rum given to him along with the milk he was taking from her breast. He then slides his pants down just far enough, then moves his hands to her hips and starts to guide her down.

The guard hears a thump and looks back to a bunch of stacked barrels and calls out, "Are you okay Your Majesty, do you require aid?"

Celestia pulls away from the french kiss and turns to where the guard's voice came from as she feels her husband's cock enter her, trying to remain calm and keep control, saying, "No thank you, I am just looking for somethi-hnng I dropped. Go back to what you were doing so we can return to Canterlot by-hy the end of the day-hay."

The guard nods his head, not really noticing how odd she was speaking just now and says, "Very well, Your Majesty." and returns to levitating the gifts up to the guards above.

Jack slams his hips up into his wife's and sees her bite her lip again and runs her hands around his back, then grips it firmly as she moans softly through her nose and whispers softly to her ear, "Unlock your hooves dear and I shall give you more pleasure that will make you scream my name..."

She does as he asks and returns to standing on the ground, releasing her hold on his vest and turns around at his guidance. Placing her hands on the edge of a crate with a couple of barrels stacked on it when her upper body is pushed forward, her legs are then slid apart by a nudge from Jack's boot. Her eyes go wide as she figures out what he intends to do and bites her lip harder to keep quiet.

He then lifts her skirt up and flips it over her rear, then grabs her hip with his left hand while guiding himself into her with his other. As he feels his tip start to enter her lips, he drives himself into her hard with a soft thump when their bodies meet.

The guard hears some shuffling going on as the Princess keeps looking for something and asks, "After I'm done with lifting these gifts to the others, do you want me to help you search Your Highness?"

Celestia briefly gasps as she feels his cock press past her inner wall and grips the crate harder saying, "No-ho I'm fi-hnn focus on lo-hoading the gi-hifts."

Jack grins and moves his left hand to her left leg and starts to raise it up, forcing her to twist her upper body to follow the twisting of her hips as she watches him with wide eyes when he places her outstretched leg up against his chest. He kisses along her leg as he picks up the pace as she resorts to stuffing her skirt in her mouth to keep from making a sound. Making him want to make her shout in pleasure, he holds her leg with his left hand as he grabs a fistful of her floating mane and tail together in his right and winds them around it until it pulls her head back.

She groans in pleasure around the skirt stuffed in her mouth, wondering if she is going to bite right through the cloth from how much this is turning her on as she feels herself start to climb to the top of the mountain to get the orgasm sitting on the tip. Her wings shoot out behind her in arousal and are prevented from fully opening by a wall behind her with a soft thunk as she thinks, 'What is he trying to do to me!? If the guard sees this, they all will lose respect for me. Why is this turning me on so bucking much?!' She then moves her left hand to the skirt stuffed in her mouth and stuffs a little more in, but is interrupted and forced to grip the edge hanging from her mouth hard and pull on it in reflex while her jaws clamp down on the cloth as she reaches the peak.

He hears her inhale sharply and clamp down hard on him as her body starts to shudder and go wild while her eyes squint shut. He keeps her orgasm going and keeps driving into her hard, accidentally knocking one of her golden hoofshoes off and landing in the crook of her arm.

The guard then lifts the globe up when the stack of books falls over due to lack of support as he hears something rip, he sets the globe down and begins scanning the books saying, "Apologies, Your Highness, but the stack of books fell over. I fear some of the pages may have ripped, I'm checking them now to see which one it is."

Celestia's mane smokes as she moans moderately around the cloth while clamping down harder on him and looks at the guard in annoyance and says, "The pages are fi-hee-ee-eeeen, it was just my stupid skirt tha-hat ripped. Go back to what you were doing and pay no attention to anything el-helse unless-hess I tell-hell you otherwi-hise, do I-hy make myself-helf clear?"

He nods his head instinctively and says, "Yes, Your Majesty, sorry for bothering you." then returns to lifting the gifts.

Jack chuckles silently in his throat as Celestia looks up at him with a lusty glare that could almost kill and then leans forward to her ear and whispers, "Imagine what it would be like if you were in day court and it was filled with ponies with petitions for you while you were on a brief break, leaning against the back of the throne as I was driving into you like I am now with nothing separating us from the eyes of your subjects...but the back of your throne."

Her mind instantly goes there and imagines what it would be like if she was getting pounded in front of everyone in the throne room just behind her throne, clamping down on him as she climbs the peak rapidly and repeatedly.

He grins as she has a major orgasm that triggers a chain reaction of 5 orgasms in a row, causing her arms and legs to nearly buckle as he feels himself release inside of her, making him drive into her fully and hold himself there.

Celestia opens her mouth and sighs out loud saying, "There we go, finally...haaa."

Thinking she is talking to him, the guard asks, "Did you find what you were looking for, Your Majesty?"

Her whole head turns beet red in realizing she said that out loud and quickly recovers and says with a slight stammer, "Y-Yes I did, got my skirt free from this stupid broken board. M-My husband needs to fix the stupid boards because I now have to have this dress mended.

The guard then curiously asks, "If I may ask Your Highness, is Captain Sparrow the King of Equestria now?"

Jack grins and lets go of her mane and tail, then grabs onto her hips with both hands and pulls back, then thrusts into her as hard as he can thinking, 'Of course I bloody am not, I'm a pirate that loves the sea more than land.'

Celestia opens her mouth to reply when she feels him thrust hard and says, "Hnn! N-NO! Of course he is not, I would never let a miscreant like him make important decisions regarding Equestria's citizens." She then turns her face to him again with a death glare as her free hand reaches up and pulls hard on his hair as she goes through another orgasm.

As he comes down from his climax, he smiles at her while ignoring the pain when his member starts to soften and retreat from her.

Not wanting to let him win, she casts a barrier on her lips just as he retreats from her depths to keep from making a noticeable mess. Noticing her shoe still in the crook of her arm, she uses her magic to return it to her upraised leg as her hoof sticks above the barrel in plain sight of the guard.

Jack then returns her raised leg to the floor so she can stand, making her stand uneasily for a few moments.

END OF SCENE, ENJOY THE REST OF THE STORY

Celestia then wobbles a bit as she pulls the shoulders of her dress back up, finally able to fold her wings up and keep them near her back. She then tries to force herself to stand straight up, and gets a bit light-headed when she straightens up too quickly. She is quickly kept from falling to the floor as her husband holds her body close to his, her vision swims for a few moments before returning to normal as her strength returns with a mild headache. She tries to stand again and succeeds, with her legs still a bit wobbly as she barely manages to keep them steady enough to keep them from giving out. Her eyes gaze into his as he grins with amusement and then whispers to his ear, "I look forward to our honeymoon and my vacation from Canterlot...for we will be having more experiences like this. Make sure to keep well stocked on rum, dear husband for I find it rather enjoyable..."

He grins even wider and whispers back, "Aye, dear wife, I shall. I look forward to it just as much as you do."

She then pulls him in for a deep kiss before pushing him away while holding his lower lip between her teeth and whispers silently, "You better, for you have ignited a flickering flame into a raging inferno inside of the princess of the sun."

Jack's back lands against the wall as she walks away, her hips swaying to hide her still wobbling legs with a smile still on his face as he starts to pull his pants back up. He waits a few moments for her to get up the stairs and then grabs the jug she was drinking from, popping the cork and taking a drink from it before returning the cork saying, "Oh right, I better make sure she doesn't forget her vegetable juice." he then starts to head out from behind the barrels and return to the top deck.

The guard turns his head to see Captain Jack Sparrow making his way to the stairs and asks, "I didn't notice you were down here Captain Sparrow, the princess was just down here looking for something. She just went up the stairs a few moments ago, in case you didn't know sir."

He smiles and nods his head saying, "I heard her rummaging around for something but I was busy checking the rations, thank you for letting me know." and continues up the stairs.

Celestia stands beside the door to Jack's cabin and sees him making his way to her and notices the jug she was drinking from and smiles saying, "Oh silly me, I forgot my juice in the hold. Thank you for bringing it up, dear. Would you mind allowing me in so I can grab a few things to take back to Canterlot with me?"

Jack smiles and looks at her, then nods his head saying, "Of course love, you are my wife now. That in turn makes you the Captain's wife, therefore granting you permission to enter freely with or without my permission. In that regard, after you, my dear."

A big smile crosses her face as she reaches for the handle and turns it, then pushes the door open and walks into the cabin. She makes her way to the back for her beloved phoenix saying, "Are you ready to come to your new home, Philomena?"

He follows her in as she opens the cage and lets her out, with the phoenix flying around the room briefly before perching on her shoulder with a happy caw.

Celestia then looks around the room and says, "Well, that should be all for now aside from the bassinet and the crib, which will be returning when I come back." She then uses her magic to effortlessly lift the crib off the floor and guides it out of the room, then follows it saying, "I shall remind the guards to bring it up to keep it from being damaged."

Jack watches her walk away with a glow of happiness about her and smiles saying, "Aye love, I shall count the days, weeks, or even months until you return to us aboard the Black Pearl."

Minutes pass as the guards get everything loaded onto the carriages including the bassinet as Celestia looks over the side of her chariot with a sad smile on her face as a tear trails down her face saying, "Goodbye for now, dear husband. I too am eager to return to our home on the sea."

He then looks at his wife and says, "Fare thee well on your journey to your temporary torment, for the Pearl will always be a home for our family. Be sure to have a close look around if you catch my meaning, love. For we will make a grand party of it should your search prove fruitful." Making his way to the helm while shouting, "All hands cast off the lines, bring the plank onboard and mount all sails!"

Her sad smile turns into a happy one as she giggles lightly and nods her head saying, "I will be sure to look really hard for the both of us dear, I love you." then starts to wave at him while looking to the guards saying, "Let us be on our way back to Canterlot." and watches as the team starts to take off from the platform as the ship gets underway.

Jack returns the wave shouting, "I love you too my love!" watching her as she apparently orders the team pulling her chariot to circle around the ship while it gets underway.

Celestia watches as Smooth Flight and Sturdy Shield circle the ship again as it sails away from the platform, seeing the Dutchman a short distance away when she spots a ring in the water race outwards from the ship. Moments later, a large tentacle rises straight up out of the water and falls down on the mostly empty platform, crushing the beautiful arch and turning the platform into splinters. More tentacles rise out of the water and smash the docks attached to it, reducing it all into shattered wooden debris. Tears fall from her eyes as she watches the Kraken destroy the remaining bits of the platform she was married on before the Dutchman sails down into the sea, leaving no trace of it being there but a brief wake where it once was before fading away among the vast sea. She then looks to the two guards and says with a little sadness in her voice, "Alright, take me home so I can look after Equestria. I really look forward to the years ahead though, Jack and I could have so many children..."

Chapter 20: Truths, plans & nasty surprises

Celestia's chariot flies over the streets of Canterlot looking at the citizens below, all eyes in the city below look up as smiles cross each and every face when they see her returning. The citizens then start to make their way towards the Castle to greet and welcome her back from her 'captivity.

Summer looks at her mother as she sighs with an angry face, making her wonder and ask, "Mad?"

She looks at her locket and tucks it inside her dress as her wedding and engagement rings rest on top of it, then turns to her daughter and smiles saying, "No sweetie, I'm not mad. I'm just missing your father, and wishing I was anywhere but in Canterlot..." then looks wistfully at her barren fingers on her left hand, really wishing she could wear her marriage bands.

The chariot lands in front of the loaded carriages as the guards all stand ready to keep the crowd back, waiting for their princess to ready herself to deal with the crowd as the ponies start to gather around. The ponies all gasp and look in shock at the little filly held in her arms, causing them all to start talking to each other, wondering when she became with foal.

Celestia stands up tall and calls out above the crowd saying, "Please quiet down my little ponies, this little filly is not mine. I was held captive by the pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, and the guards succeeded in tracking me down even though he had placed a magic nullifying ring on my horn. The guards then engaged him to buy enough time to get me onto the carriage and back to safety in Canterlot, out of his vile clutches when I passed over a burning ship that he and his crew attacked a few days prior. Thankfully, I was well treated as a prisoner which allowed me to rush to the aid of the ship, where I found its crew all slain when I heard a crash from inside the captain's cabin." To make the story believable, she forces herself to shed tears and sob while turning around to pick up her daughter before facing the crowd once more and continuing, "I went to investigate it and found it on fire with a burning heavy wooden beam trapping a mare and her foal under it, she told me to save the filly and keep her away from Jack Sparrow, who is her father. Without hesitating, I lifted the beam enough to get the filly free but could not get the mare from under the beam. I continued attempting to free the mother, but she told me the ship could blow at any moment due to black powder being on board. So I was then forced to leave the mare behind in order to save this little filly's life, before I left the cabin she told me the filly's name was Summer Poppet." She then looks down to the ground before taking a short breath to pause her fake crying act, she then sniffles and looks back up at the crowd and says, "Even though I may not be her real mother, I shall take the filly in and take care of her. Summer's father may be a pirate, but she is still an innocent foal so be compassionate and don't show her any disrespect, please."

Meanwhile, on the Black Pearl as it heads south

Jack looks at his compass as it still points south and snaps it shut saying, "Gibbs, Barbossa, come here a moment."

Barbossa makes his way towards the captain, standing a little ways from the stairs as he crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow asking, "Aye, Captain Sparrow? What ye be needin' now, huh?"

He looks at the two of them and lowers his voice and holds the wheel saying, "Gather 'round the helm closer if ya would, I'll finally tell you everything I know and allowed to share..."

Gibbs and Barbossa get much closer and listen intently as Barbossa says, "Alright, now start talkin' Sparrow."

Jack then says, "Let me start at the beginning of how I got here, it started a few years after Poseidon's Trident was broken and you died saving us all from the pirate hunter Salazar whatshisname..."

Barbossa listens intently as Gibbs sort of ignores this part of the story, hearing how Jack's past lover chased him down with the help of his daughter Carina, then bested with the help of the voodoo doll that Blackbeard made of Jack, then stabbed through the chest and left to die on his ship. His mouth hangs open in momentary surprise at how he came to be here with the help of a returned Davy Jones reunited with his beloved goddess Calypso, and the Kraken.

He then tells Barbossa how he managed to sail the crippled Pearl into some port, met the princess for the first time, went to get treatment for his wound and learned about ponies and magic. He then continues on with how he came to meet Grandmama and how you become a pony if you die and come here, then tells Barbossa his second meeting with the princess when he heard a strange voice make him a deal he couldn't refuse for his own safety and says, "The voice told me that the reward for assisting them would be what we wish for most, but would be our curse if we fail them. After I was pretty much forced to take the deal, I noticed the princess looking at me as if wanting an answer. So I asked her to repeat herself so we then went to her old castle where she and her sister had a major fight which destroyed pretty much the whole castle. After we arrive and enter the old library to search through the books there, I learned that Alicorns like her are long-lived. I looked at the book in my hand my compass led me to and it was about theories involving the Elements of Harmony, guessing that they might choose who is worthy of them so I then handed the book to Celestia to further investigate. I then was guided to a hidden cover, after finding the opening mechanism, I found a book instead of treasure. The book mentioned a great horror to be unleashed on the world in the future, then told of a strange lullaby sang to them which I didn't understand. Some of it was about vanishing heroes and vanishing gifts which involve the Elements of Harmony I think, a pony getting a sad fate which would be her sister being banished to the moon, a winner grieving and making heroes which is Celestia missing her sister and trying cheer her subjects up with the Wonderbolts. What I did understand, however, is this next part of the lullaby which I keep to myself and play dumb about to her. It went something like this...The lone savior, a clever soul, hunts for coin and gold. They'll come with a green flash of light, but suffer in pain...deep, deep, pain. A ship appears black as night, with no nation to be seen. This one soul may choose their fate, choosing well avoids a grisly and dark fate. Oh poor creatures suffer from great fright, dark shades are revealed by night's light. The one redeemed, fights their love, gains faith, love, and cheers. Foes run from the ghost, shades loosed to sea, they sail to claim what's...held...most...dear." He then pauses for a moment and asks, "Do either of you understand what exactly that lullaby said?"

Gibbs shakes his head as Barbossa speaks up with slight confusion on his face, "I know it spoke about the Pearl's arrival, the injured crew being pirates, and there was a choice to be made."

Jack grins and nods his head saying, "Aye. You see, it foretold of their savior, meaning me being a pirate. Then our arrival with the green flash telling of someone's return from death, with me facing the possibility of losing the ship and its crew. The Black Pearl arrives in a port showing no nation's colors. I shall be responsible for choosing our fate, the wrong choice causing us to suffer greatly. This next part I am not looking forward to experiencing..." He then continues to explain the rest of the lullaby to them.

Barbossa backs away with fear on his face as he says, "NAY! That can't be true, can it Jack?"

He looks at him with a sad sigh saying, "Aye mate, it is. IT has been found and hidden away, though it will be needing guarding when the time comes."

He looks at Jack as if he has gone mad and says, "Are you of sane mind, or have you lost it? You've no idea the suffering that accursed treasure inflicts on those it affects but I have, and I can attest for its ills. Don't ask me to suffer through that again, or I'll kill ye where ye stand." He then draws his pistol and cocks it back, aiming at Jack's head.

Jack draws his and cocks it as well saying, "Think of what it would be like to live and sail the seas forever, mate. I wish there were a way around this and to bring her sister back from the moon, but Celestia is doing her part in this plan by playing cupid. The ponies do not truly understand how fearsome pirates can be, and I don't want you to go through this again because you deserve a little peace after what you have gone through. I'm willing to offer you a fair deal if you go along with my plans, I swear it will work out for us all."

Barbossa hesitates in responding, greatly disliking the idea of going through it again and adjusts his grip on his pistol a bit before narrowing his eyes suspiciously at him asking, "What could you offer me that might win me favor?"

He sighs and answers him, not really liking it himself, "Fifteen percent of me share of the hoard we found with the chest and of whatever spoils we take from the ponies, along with..." Pausing for a few seconds as he battles with himself over actually including it with the deal before barely saying, "The Pearl."

Gibbs and Barbossa look at Jack in complete and utter shock at what he just said as Barbossa asks with wide eyes, "Apologies Jack, could ye say that again?"

Jack blinks his eyes and maintains his stare at Barbossa while saying, "As I said...and the Black Pearl. Did you hear me that time, mate? That is how seriously I am taking this plan and making such an offer to make sure it succeeds. I do not wish to miss a single second of my own daughter's life, but if it offers me the chance to unite my beloved wife's family...I would do anything for it, even selling my soul to Davy Jones if he so desired."

Barbossa is so shocked and surprised at his offer, he almost accidentally drops the pistol he is holding and says, "Y-You'd really give me the Pearl to see this plan through?" and continues staring into Jack's eyes with surprise still on his face.

He stares right back at him and says without flinching a muscle, "Aye mate, I would."

Taken aback by how he actually would sacrifice the one thing he loves most in the world, he squints his eyes and looks down for a brief moment. He then rolls his eyes and uncocks his pistol, returning it to his belt and then extends his right hand saying, "I may find meself regretting this later...very well Jack, we have an accord, though you may keep the Pearl out of the arrangement if ye can put a good word in with her sister fer me if ya would when she does return."

Jack half chuckles and uncocks his pistol, then returns it to his belt with a grin and claps his hand against Hectors in agreement saying, "Okay then mate, but fair warning, I've never met her sister and know very little about her, so no promises mate but I will at least introduce you."

Barbossa then unclasps his hand saying, "Thank ye, Jack. This time I am talking to ye and not the monkey named Jack. What is our next step in this plan?"

He smiles nervously and says, "I have naught a single clue mate, I'm waiting for a voice to give me a hint or even a lick of a hint."

He huffs in minor annoyance at hearing that and says, "Fine then, let me know when that 'voice' answers ye."

A month later, nearing the Storm King's Realm near sunrise

Jack stands at the helm guiding the Pearl to his destination when he hears a ringing in his ears when his mind is pulled to a familiar dark place and sighs saying, "It's really annoying when you do that."

Equis grins and walks towards him in the darkness saying, "Would you rather I give you a headache or talk to you while you steer your ship while you only hear an incessant buzzing in your ears?"

He winces and says, "N-No thank you, the former would be quite inconvenient and the latter might drive me crazy."

She then drops the grin saying, "Then stop complaining and shut up already." She then sighs and continues, "That was a very lovely wedding, thank you for letting me watch it."

Jack smiles and nods his head briefly, saying, "You're welcome, mate. So what business you have for me this time?"

Equis stands several feet away and looks off to the side, looking at the pirates sailing the seas as they talk amongst themselves, and answers him, "I have been hearing a rumor spreading like a wildfire across the seas to each and every pirate that sails them, claiming that if they are driven from the seas they will sound the call for aid." She then looks at Jack with a serious look on her face asking, "What is this call and who are they asking to aid them?"

He thinks on it and plays dumb saying, "A call? I know naught what you mean love."

She sees through his act and narrows her eyes saying, "Don't try to fool me you bucking pirate! Now answer the question or you and the Pearl wind up in Tartarus for angering me."

Jack winces again and says, "Alright, alright...don't get your knickers in a twist. It's just a song that only pirates like me and the crew sing, fully understanding what it means. It is a song that is sung when we are driven into the corner and our fate hangs in the balance, it signals when we will gather and make our final stand together...to the last."

Equis cocks her head in confusion before sighing in relief saying, "Oh ok, so it won't bring anything dangerous to this planet..." She then finds herself wanting to know the song saying, "Ok, what are the words to this song?"

He turns and looks back at her over his shoulder saying, "It's a dangerous song to sing, for any who is ignorant of its meaning. I wonder if you will be able to understand it as I do?"

She watches his back as he starts to sing it, with the song telling of someone's binding. As Jack continues the song, her instinct makes her start to back away slowly and tries to stop herself from going any further. Unable to ignore her instinct, she backs away a little further when the song stops and allows her instinct to calm down saying, "I don't understand why I couldn't stop my body from backing away when you were singing, why did my instinct tell me to get away?"

Jack turns back around and faces her with a smirk on his face saying, "It is because you have known peace and kindness for too long, but deep down in your mind somewhere you grasp what that song really means." Seeing her uneasy like this eggs him to press his advantage and creeps closer to her one slow step at a time saying, "Because of those facts, you all have...a...heightened...fear...of...death." He then quickly grabs her mane and pulls her into a kiss, feeling light shocks run through his body.

Equis is taken by surprise as he steals a kiss from her, causing her eyes to widen when she reacts a few seconds later by biting his tongue as it dances with hers. She tastes blood trickle down her throat when he refuses to back away, realizing what she must do to push him away, forcing him back with a blast of magic from her horn.

He lands on his ass with a grin and asks, "I've been wanting to do that. So was it good for you too love?" while ignoring his bitten tongue and aching chest.

She glares at him for doing that to her and says, "Do you have any idea how rude it is to steal a kiss from a spirit?!"

Jack returns to his feet with a smile on his face saying, "I enjoyed it meself, those tiny shocks were quite amusing."

Equis is taken aback by that as she cocks her head in confusion and thinks, 'What? Tiny shocks?' She then gets lost in thought until it finally hits her, causing her to blush thinking, 'I can't believe that it is that time already...Oh crap, I tasted his blood already...ugh...' She then turns around with an indignant huff as she raises her nose into the air and swings her tail lightly back and forth saying, "Enjoy a few brief years of peace Captain Jack Sparrow, for they will seemingly pass quickly before trouble starts."

He watches her walk away with a light sway to her hips and asks, "OI, how will I know to continue the plan?!"

She grins and continues walking while swaying her tail lightly saying, "Don't worry, just think like you and it will come." Then sends him back with her magic, also cursing him to suffer from a mild headache while groaning with annoyance saying, "The last time this happened was with Celestia and Luna. Ugh, I shouldn't have bitten him...this is going to be a long wait to give birth to her. Perhaps I should tell Jack about her...hmm...on second thought I'll just tell him later, a few years after she is born. That way we will be even for him stealing a kiss from me."

He rubs his aching head saying, "Why did she have to word it like that, it wasn't helpful at all!" He looks to the east and watches the sun break the horizon thinking, 'A beautiful sunrise dear, and what a beautiful way to pester the neighbors eh?' He adjusts his course to the southside of the large island nation and calls out, "All hands to the cannons, prepare the special packages for our friends! This time we shall get a bit closer so we can shell the castle as well..."

A couple hours later, at the Storm King's Realm's Castle on the royal balcony

Stephen storm sits across from his parents as they enjoy their breakfast of blueberry pancakes and pork sausage links when he hears cannons fire in the distance, causing him to jump up from the table and rush to the edge to look at who is attacking them. He sees a ship sailing just on the edge of the harbor, still too far for their cannons to reach. He then looks at the town below, seeing brown spots appear in various places, and turns to his parents growling for a moment before saying, "There's a ship just on the edge of the harbor out of our cannon's reach. It is that ship that attacked us with diapers the last time father, what do we do?"

Queen Storm looks at her son and sighs saying, "Come back to the table dear, they won't hit the castle."

King Storm looks at his son with a chuckle and a grin saying, "As long as there are no casualties, we will not pay them any mind."

Stephen groans and makes his way back to the table saying, "Very well, Father." while reaching for his chair when something slams into the back of his head, sending him flipping end over end until he hits a stone column. Dazed for a moment from the strike, he turns around to go back to the table when he sees white, circular packages flying through the air over the balcony railing and says, "Father, take co-" when he is suddenly cut off by a diaper striking his head, a small amount going into his mouth as he hears a splat behind him.

The king looks over at his son and chuckles saying, "I told you to never speak with your mouth full son, don't you listen to what I try to teach y-" when a few more diapers strike his son and glue him to the stone column, causing him to start laughing when he is also struck in the back of the head.

The queen watches her husband turn around to look at the railing still laughing, and prepares to tell him to sit back down when he is suddenly silenced by a diaper splattering all over his head. Stray bits also splatter her robes, causing her to look down and growl angrily and shout with her royal voice, "ALL CANNONS PREPARE-" only to be cut off by a diaper nailing her in the head and knocking her out.

Meanwhile, a few minutes later on the Black Pearl

Barbossa laughs heartily saying, "Those fool's mouths were open lads, how unfortunate for them."

Jack chuckles as well and says, "Great job at silencing the one using that royal voice, you bought us more time to shower them with gifts!"

The crew laughs along and continues to fire their presents at the town and the castle until they run out, with the captain then giving the order to fill all sails as Pintel looks to Ragetti laughing while saying, "What fools they are, trying to give the order to fire back at us when we are firing full diapers at them!"

Ragetti helps Pintel reload the cannon with regular shot saying with a grin, "Stupid fools indeed to try to talk during a shit storm."

An hour later, on the royal balcony

Queen Storm fumes as she is completely covered with feces and bits of exploded diapers and looks at her husband with a fire raging in her eyes shouting, "Let us get revenge on that damned ship, just look at what they have done to us all!"

King Storm chuckles and looks at his son, still glued to the column as the guards start to pry him from it and says, "Have there been any casualties from this attack, dear?"

The queen huffs and puts her hands on her hips with a glare at her husband, who is also covered in feces and says, "My dress is a casualty, just look at it! It's completely ruined now!"

He looks at his wife with kindness in his eyes as he asks, "I know dear, that is very unfortunate because I liked how that dress accentuated your curves. Have there been any injuries or losses of life with this attack, besides our dignity?"

Queen Storm huffs and blushes underneath the feces coating her face and says, "...No."

King Storm walks towards her with a smile on his face and places a hand on her cheek, then wipes some of the feces off of her saying with a sweet tone, "In that case, we shall do nothing. See how easy it is to remove the filth, let's go and wash it off each other..."

The queen smiles and moves beside him, then leans into him saying, "You really are too kind dear, it might be the death of you someday." She then starts to walk with him towards their bathing area and chuckles saying, "We should get there before this stuff dries and glues us together as our son was to the column, he is going to develop a hatred for that ship you know?"

He wraps his arm around her shoulder saying, "I wouldn't mind being glued to your side... All we can do is try to educate and guide our son towards a path of peace between us and the other nations."

Queen Storm smiles and lays her head on her husband's feces-covered broad shoulder saying, "You are such a smooth talker dear...since my dress was a casualty of this latest attack, how about you buy me a new dress the next time you travel to Canterlot?"

King chuckles and continues to head towards the bathing area saying, "Very well, it sounds like a fair request."

Chapter 21: A change

Author's Notes:

Sorry readers, this chapter will be skippy because I would like to move the story along and also because I don't want this story to have like 50+ chapters detailing Jack's family's life together. Hope you all aren't too angry about this!

Another month passes as Jack arrives at the meeting point he and his wife chose after paying a visit to Portuga to pick up more rum, food, and other necessities when he releases his hold on the wheel and says, "Furl all sails and drop the anchor, we wait for my family to arrive!"

Several miles east of Canterlot

Celestia holds her filly in her hands, playing with her as two guards take them to the meeting location. She lifts her above her head and blows another raspberry on her stomach, sending her filly into a fit of wild giggles while kicking her legs with glee.

Summer and Elizabeth enjoy the attention for a while until their mother holds her in her arms, allowing her a look out to where they are going when she sees black sails on the sea below the chariot and points her tiny hand at it and says with happiness in her voice, "Papa!"

The princess smiles and says, "Yes sweety, there's daddy! We are going home for a little while, to get away from those stuffy nobles in Canterlot."

The baby filly looks at her mother and points at the ship asking, "Home?"

Celestia nods as her smile gets a little bigger, saying, "Yes sweetie, the Black Pearl is our home for a little while."

An hour later, on board the Black Pearl

Jack watches as the chariot lands on the deck, with his wife and child getting off a few moments later as Celestia uses her magic to move the trunks holding Summer's clothes and diapers onto the deck. He makes his way to her from the aft deck saying, "Hello dear, how was your trip from Canterlot?"

The princess looks at Jack with glee as she makes her way to him, her hooves clack on the wood as she hurriedly walks toward her husband saying, "It was wonderful because it brought us home, to you and the Black Pearl. I have learned a few rather disturbing things about the 'nobles' in Canterlot, shall we begin dealing with them after we get settled back in?"

He grins and nods his head saying, "Aye love, we shall. Then, we shall begin your training as a pirate, which you shall participate in attacks occasionally when not looking after our daughter."

Summer and Elizabeth reach for their father and try to grab him with their fingers saying, "Papa!"

Celestia hands her over to her husband and says, "I look forward to having our honeymoon dear, will you tell me what you have planned?"

Jack grins and holds his daughter with his right arm, shaking his head saying, "Of course not love, it would ruin the surprise. Let's finish unpacking your things so we can begin training, you are going to need it for our honeymoon..."

She narrows her eyes and frowns with disappointment, then looks at the rest of the items on the large chariot and encompasses them in her magic, then brings them all onto the pearl. She then swings her hands beside each other, brushing any dirt off of them and looks at the team pulling the pegasi saying, "Thank you very much guards, you all may return to Canterlot until I notify my assistant that I am ready to return."

The captain watches the team look at Celestia and nod, then take off quickly. He then looks at the crew and says, "There, now we can get underway lads! Weigh the anchor then unfurl all sails!" He then looks to his wife and says, "I shall take us away from here so we can continue posing as privateer merchants, and you can get yourself settled back in darling."

Celestia smiles as she watches her daughter make a funny face and then start crying as she needs her diaper changed saying, "Oh sweetie, you really do love your daddy, don't you?"

Jack turns to his daughter and grins saying, "Oi, I'm going to start training you to use the proper facilities so you stop making me change your diapers. Just so you know, I will be remembering this so that I can embarrass you when you become a teen and look for a boyfriend."

Elizabeth gasps as Summer makes large puppy dog eyes at her father, begging him for mercy while Elizabeth says in Summer's mind, 'Oh no you will not, I will not allow you to embarrass me in front of a man I'm interested in!' Summer hears what she says and begs her daddy, "No, papa!"

He sees her begging and tries to fight against it, but ultimately fails and sighs saying, "Fine then, if you behave and stop making me change your diaper all the time...perhaps I will be merciful and occasionally tell your friends if you tease me too much."

Elizabeth sighs and says in Summer's mind, 'I suppose I can live with that, because I can always get around it.'

Three months later, in the South Luna Ocean

Gibbs holds Summer as they watch Celestia and Jack spar, trading blow for blow until Jack sends her off balance, then trips her up and holds his sword to her neck. He then looks to Summer and says, "Yer mum has improved quite a bit the past few months, soon she'll be able ta hold her own in a fight."

Celestia sighs in frustration and says, "Ugh, I can't believe how skilled you are with a sword...it is so unfair."

Jack then returns his sword to his sheath and offers her his hand saying, "Aye, but I fight like a pirate. We do whatever we can to get the upper hand in a battle as we see fit, so you need to adapt your mind and your training to be a little more flexible. Just remember that your wings are your biggest liability because they are delicate and easily damaged. It would also benefit you to improve your footwork, think of the swordfight as a dance of sorts like I do."

She takes his hand and is helped to her hooves, letting her get her balance before asking, "What do you think of the progress I have made so far?"

He then puts the thumb and forefinger of his right hand on either side of his chin and thinks for a moment before answering, "Well, to be honest, you are learning quickly. I would guess you are about as skilled as Gibbs is darling. Could you bring yourself to take the life of one of your subjects if it means you survive?"

Celestia is shocked by the question and looks out at the sea, utterly shocked at being asked such a thing and asks, "Why would you ask such a thing from me, my dear? You know I am a princess, I don't know if I could handle taking one's life even then..."

Jack then looks at her and says, "Aye, my love, it is not something that should be asked. Life as a pirate means that if you want to claim something that doesn't belong to you, you will most likely have to fight the other to get it. Taking one's life definitely changes you, which is why it must never be taken lightly or without a good enough reason."

She continues thinking it over and asks, "So, that means it would be okay to kill someone to make it back home to my little girl?"

He then smiles gently and says, "Of course it would be, love, if it was unavoidable. If you could find a way to avoid such situations, then that is great. Life's greatest gift is the choice, the chance to choose your own actions and path to follow in life. What are you trying to achieve, why are you trying to achieve it? What purpose does it serve? Decide on a goal in life and formulate a plan to achieve said goal, improvise for it if you must."

Celestia then smiles and looks at Jack with half-lidded eyes and says, "Oh Jack, I'm so glad I married you."

Jack looks at her and then asks, "About these nobles' dealings, how do you view them with Equestria's well-being in mind? Would you spare the lives of those involved in them, or would you condemn them?"

She then thinks about the list of their dirty dealings and says, "It would depend if they would willingly surrender and give up their life of crime and spend some time in the Canterlot dungeon as punishment, however, I would rather deal with them harshly if they refuse the offer."

He then grins and says, "Welcome to the crew, love. I do believe that you have earned your first taste of piracy, shall we get our honeymoon started and deal with those corrupt nobles, my dear?

Celestia smiles widely as her eyes sparkle with delight saying, "You mean that our honeymoon will be for the good of Equestria?!"

Jack then chuckles and nods his head saying, "Of course love, it is also to give you a taste of what it is like to be a pirate."

She then blinks away tears of joy and says, "I would love that very much, let's go destroy some of those corrupt nobles..."

*Timeskip covering the first years of Summer's life*

Summer's life on board the Black Pearl is relatively peaceful as she learns how to walk on a ship, to the dismay of her mother and father as she nearly wanders off the sides of the ship several times before her mom casts a short barrier to make the ship safer for her. Normally she is permitted to wander the ship under supervision, except during the times that she is confined inside the cabin within a small golden shield that blocks out sound. She watches curiously each time a couple of crew members come into the cabin to pull a small square door up, and push the long metal object forward where it produces a brief flash of light after a stick with a brightly glowing end is lowered to a spot on the rear. After producing a brief flash, it shoots back a short distance before being stopped by two thick objects attached to the side of the ship. A piece at the back is replaced as some cylinder is slid into the end followed by a big ball.

As the months go by, she is spanked by her father for putting a stick with a glowing end to the long metal object, scaring her and hurting her ears by the loud noise it produces. Her mother and her return to a big castle every once in a while, but her mother is not happy there. She notices that she is always happiest when on the ship with daddy, so she figures that the ship is home to her. She always has someone taking care of her while her mother is attending some kind of court, managing to elude her watcher long enough to find her way there on a few occasions. Every so often her mom would take her on a flight around the city, then visit a few candy stores there before heading back to the big place that makes them both unhappy.

Months turn into a couple of years when her father takes her to a place called Portuga for the first time, finding the place very different from where her mother takes her. She holds her father's hand as he visits a shop in town, then buys her a bag of candy to enjoy while he does business. After he finishes at the shop, he goes someplace different that smells like the stuff the others enjoy drinking. He gives her a sippy cup filled with apple cider made by someone with apple in their name while he talks to a few others, making his way back to port after visiting a couple more shops. By then, she is too tired to walk anymore and is carried back to the ship in her father's arms.

On her third birthday, her mother gets her a small dollhouse, a few dresses and of course striped peppermint sticks that she has loved since she first had them when she turned one. Her father gets her a small hat, a frilly shirt, a pair of colt's breeches, and a wooden sword which makes her happier than the dresses as Elizabeth sighs saying to Summer's mind, "I had a feeling that you would be happier about the clothing your father got you, he is definitely raising you to be a pirate instead of a lady...oh woe is me.'

Summer then turns to her left and talks to the voice, "Quiet Lizzie, or I put you in the naughty chair!"

Jack then looks to his wife and asks, "Who's Lizzie?"

Celestia giggles and says, "Oh, that is her imaginary friend that she made shortly after she turned two."

Three years later, nearing Portuga

Celestia and the crew hustle about the ship, furling all the sails as the hurricane causes the ship to tilt dangerously to the port and starboard sides as Jack fights to maintain their heading. Her heart pounds in her chest as she listens to the howling wind as the rain blows sideways, pummeling her coat, and drenching her mane and tail. She and Gibbs barely manage to get the mainsail secured when she hears a heavy crack, looking around to see what is breaking.

Gibbs looks around as well and sees the foremast wobbling dangerously from side to side when another crack is heard and calls out, "WE MUST SECURE THE FORE OR SHE'S GONNA BREAK!"

Jack fights to control the ship, watching his crew struggle to get the rest of the sails down, barely managing to keep the foremast from breaking completely and coming down on the ship. As the crew keeps a couple sails open, the foremast settles as it is braced to maintain their heading into the waves.

In the cabin, Summer trembles with fear as she has a hard time keeping in one spot due to the motion of the ship. Scared of what is happening, she holds onto Shining Belle in hopes that the ship will calm down soon.

---

The storm finally passes as the next day arrives, the crew starts scooping out the water in the hold of the ship as Jack, Celestia, Gibbs, and Barbossa look at the foremast when Jack says, "There's a month in damages including needing a new foremast, let's get to Portuga and get started. I also need to get the crew paid for these last few years."

Celestia watches Summer as she plays on the deck saying, "It is unfortunate what happened at the Storm King's Realm six years ago, I still feel sad for what happened during our last trip there..."

Jack looks at his wife and sighs, thinking back on the accident saying, "It was unfortunate indeed, but we had no control of how the Queen was crushed by a stone column."

She sighs as well, still feeling guilty at their last diaper pranking. She then turns to Jack and says, "I know that dear, but I can't help but feel sympathy for what they lost."

He places his left hand on her left shoulder and says, "All we can do now dear, is to let them know somehow that we are sorry for their loss." He then looks around to Gibbs and Barbossa then says, "Unfurl the sails on the main and aft masts, go easy on the fore."

---

It takes a day for the Pearl to arrive at Portuga, with a couple of weeks passing as the repairs get underway. Celestia sighs and looks to Jack saying, "Honey, can we please go visit grandmama just once and introduce our daughter to her?"

Jack grumbles under his breath and then asks, "If I agree to take you both to see that seawitch, will you stop asking?"

Celestia smiles and says, "If you pretend you're glad to see her for Summer, I'll even do 'that thing' you like..."

A smile splits his face in two as he cheers up instantly and says, "REALLY?!? You'll do that little dance on the pole for me?"

She blushes and places her hand over his mouth to shut him up, nodding quickly saying, "Yes! Will you keep it down, I don't want everypony to know that I learned how to pole dance...it is unfit for royalty to do such things."

Jack smiles and says, "Okay honey, let's go pay a visit to Grandmama's house and introduce Summer to the wicked witch of the east."

Celestia cocks her eyebrow suspiciously and says, "Really now, is that how you are going to let our daughter remember her?"

He crosses his arms defiantly and huffs saying, "She would be so lucky if she did, for that woman is a cantankerous old bat that is nearly as old as you are."

She chuckles and whacks the back of his head as a warning saying, "It's rude to talk about a mare's age you know, but let's go and introduce our little filly to her."

The governor's manor, looking over the port a few minutes later

Lyrupa is bringing Rich her dinner when she hears the doors open and turns her head to see who it is, her jaw drops open in shock as she recognizes Jack as a mare walks beside him with a little filly holding her hand. She recovers just enough to manage to say, "J-Jack, you...came back."

Jack groans and continues walking towards Lyrupa saying, "My wife bribed me into coming here, so I must act like I care for our daughter's sake."

She smiles saying, "Wait one moment and I will go let her know you're here." and turns around hastily and makes her way towards Rich Bit's bedroom.

Rich Bit is at her desk, looking over the documents pertaining to operating the port when the door opens. She turns her head to look at who it is and sees Lyrupa coming toward her with a plate of food, unable to give her a happy smile due to her continued depression saying, "It's Lunch time finally?"

Lyrupa looks at the depressed mare with a warm, tender smile and says, "It is Ma'am, but there are some guests outside that I think might be able to lift your spirit."

The depressed mare sighs and says, "Oh I highly doubt that anyone could cheer me up, I drove away the only family that I truly care about aside from my son Tacky. I may as well do my duty and greet them, then hear their request." She then grunts from the effort as her depression drains the strength from her, and heads for the door.

Jack watches a tired, depressed shell of a mare trudge her way up to her chair and says, "Wow, I had no idea that you let yourself turn into a hollow shell...you cantankerous old bat."

Rich Bit's eyes go wide at the voice, recognizing it instantly as her neck nearly snaps with how fast she turns her head to look at her grandson. Not caring about the world's magic forcing her to feel this way, she ignores it as her eyes start to water and grow to the size of saucers. Her throat closes up, rendering her unable to speak like she wants to. With no other option, tears stream down her cheeks as she drops her cane to the ground and starts walking towards him with a few staggering steps at first.

He watches his grandmother start jogging towards him without her cane, making him wonder if she had gone insane, and says, "What's wrong you old bat, did you lose your mind after I left?"

She starts to sob with joy at seeing him return and barely manages to choke out, "...Jack...you...back..." before finally reaching him and wrapping her arms around him tightly as she begins to cry openly.

Jack nervously pats his grandmother on the back as she cries and buries her head in his frock coat, sighing as he then says, "Not by choice Grandmama, you have my wife Celestia to thank for me coming to visit you."

Rich Bit continues to cry for a few more minutes before what he said registers in her brain. She then looks over to see Princess Celestia with two bands around her left hand and hurries over to her, grabs her right hand, and places a rapid succession of kisses on it saying, "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I thought that I would never get to see my grandson or his family ever again." She then breaks down into more tears and hugs her tightly.

Celestia smiles warmly at her as Summer cocks her head in confusion at what is going on and rubs the crying mare's back affectionately saying, "I understand that you have a peculiar way of showing your love to others, which is through violence. I will not tolerate this behavior anymore towards our daughter, or my husband... Do you understand? If you continue expressing your affections through such a manner, I shall have no choice but to punish you by keeping my family and away from you."

Jack then sighs and says, "Look Grandmama, I know the magic of this world is affecting your emotions. What is actually occurring is that the magic is bringing your buried affections to the surface. I learned that while I was entertaining a mare several years ago during my stay in Canterlot, funny thing is that it is the spirit of this world who made it this way."

Equis glares at the image of Jack and stomps her hoof saying, "Don't you dare blame me for how this world operates, I just look after it you bloody, rum-soaked, wobbly-legged pirate!"

The governor's crying calms down into sobbing as she then asks, "Y-You mean, the feelings were already there?"

He grins and nods his head saying, "Precisely, if they were not there to begin with, you would not be depressed as you were."

Rich Bit starts crying again in relief, saying between sobs, "I-I thought...that my...emotions were...being...forced so...I fought...to keep...it at bay." She then manages to turn her head towards Jack a little and sobs saying, "I-I-I'm sorry...for how...badly I...treated you...my boy."

Jack looks away and says, "Thank you for apologizing, you cantankerous old bat. It will take some time for me to be able to forgive you after the way you raised me and treated me afterward. I just hope that no one else from our family winds up here or this world may be in grave danger from our dysfunctional family of pirates."

She laughs at hearing that and lets go of Celestia, then stands on her own with a smile saying, "Don't worry, I'll do what I can to keep 'em in line." while straightening herself up.

He then mumbles to himself, "That's what worries me..."

Celestia then clears her throat and says, "Okay, with that issue dealt with..." then guides her daughter out in front of her and continues, "Allow me to introduce you to our daughter, Summer Poppet."

Rich Bit's head snaps around to look at the little unicorn filly and sees that she has a painted black and white coat with a blonde mane and emerald green eyes. A smile crosses her face as she tries talking to the little filly, "Hello sweetie, I am your great grandmother Rich Bit."

Jack rolls his eyes at her and says, "Yes, she is your great-grandmother, but you can just call her nana or wicked witch."

Summer giggles and reaches out for her saying, "Nana!"

She reaches out and pulls the little filly in for a hug, sighing at Jack's choice of names and glares at him, quietly saying, "So what brings you to Portuga this time, you barnacle?"

He watches her hold Summer carefully with his hand on his pistol, prepared to shoot her should she try to beat her saying, " That bloody hurricane damaged the Pearl's foremast, among a few other things so we are here until everything is finished.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the market of Portuga

With one more place left to sell, a heavyset earth pony with apple green eyes, a cream coat, and a bright auburn mane and tail wearing a monocle bumps into someone while checking out some seeds at a visiting trader's stall. On instinct, he turns to look at them so he can apologize when he meets a slender, sea foam green mare with a butter yellow mane and tail. The most attractive thing that he sees on her are the three freckles on her left cheek that compliment her rose-colored eyes, making him accidentally say, "So beautiful..."

She gasps at the sudden contact and turns to the one she accidentally walked into and says, "Oh, I'm sorry for bumping into you. Are you okay?" She then remembers what he said and cocks her head as a light blush colors her cheeks saying, "Uhm, what did you say?"

He then looks at her and clears his throat, straightening his monocle and says, "No, fergive me, ma'am, I just think that ye're beautiful. My mane is Mister Apple, what might yer name be?"

The mare then blushes a bit deeper saying, "M-My name is Money Pear, I-It's nice to m-meet you. Are you enjoying your day?"

Mister Apple then smiles at Money Pear and says, "I am now because I have met ya. How is yers?"

Money Pear smiles sweetly and then says, "It is a bright and lovely day, is there anything that you might need assistance with?"

With the smile still on his face, he says, "I was taking a look at these apple seeds and wondering if I should buy them now or later after I sell the last place I own, then request a ship to transport me to Baltimare so I can find something that I enjoy and extend my family's line by finding a good mare and raising a large family with her."

She then smiles as her heart beats a little faster, a fantasy flashes through her mind of her being an older mare surrounded by hundreds of children, grandchildren, and her grandchildren's children. She then chuckles and says, "That sounds like a marvelous idea, I was thinking of doing the same thing when I find a good stallion. Perhaps we could both wander the world together in search of something that we like to do, what do you think of that idea Mister Apple?"

Mister Apple then smiles and thinks about it for a moment saying, "Why that sounds like a very fine idea, I think that we should do just that once the last place is sold. Is that alright with you, Money Pear?"

Money Pear smiles and nods her head saying, "I have no argument with that, let's buy a few things once we are ready to begin exploring various lands."

Chapter 22: Trouble arises

A few days later at the docks in Portuga, in the dark hours of the early morning under a new moon slowly making its way towards the horizon...

A heavy fog saturates the sleeping port of Portuga, soft creaks of the wooden ships sitting in the bay can be heard as a few lay at anchor, waiting for space to open up at one of the docks.

A snow-white griffon wearing a dark, hooded cloak makes her way toward the dock where the Black Pearl is moored, holding a small magic nullifying ring in her hand as she quietly makes her way across the planks towards the boarding ramp while a dark scowl is on Galanda's face.

Mister Cotton is on watch as his parrot is perched on top of the wheel asleep while he makes his way from the bow down the port side of the Black Pearl's deck. He yawns sleepily and makes his way up the stairs on the port side, then heads to the back of the ship to look at the sea between the two tall towers thinking, 'I look forward to when the ship heads out to sea once the repairs are finished.'

She sees her chance and heads towards the captain's cabin, then quietly opens up the door and sneaks inside before the guard comes back around.

Closing the door quietly, she looks around the room as a gentle glow illuminates the room. Her eyes look around for the source when she spots a black and white filly lying on a small bed with her elbows propping her upper body up as she reads a book while holding a small crystal in her hand, allowing the filly to read it. A smile crosses her face as she sees her target and starts making her way toward her.

Summer smells a strange perfume in the air as she continues to read her book, trying to find out what happens to the daring stallion that has challenged the brave heroic mare trying to protect her village from bandits. She hears a board creak near her bed, startling her and making her turn her head towards it expecting to see the angry face of her mother about to scold her for staying up way past her bedtime, only to find a griffon with a snow-white face wearing a hooded cloak and starts asking, "Umm...no one is allowed in here without permission. What are you doing in..." when she is struck on the back of the neck and knocked out.

Galanda watches the filly collapse onto the small bed as the crystal's light fades away, engulfing the room in darkness as she starts to look around for a match to leave a note to tell the pirate that has ruined her life what she has done.

A few hours later...

Jack is eventually woken from his slumber by a dim, flickering light that strikes his eyelids. As he cracks his eyes open and looks around, he sees that his daughter's bed is empty and sighs thinking, 'She better not be getting into the rum again or Celestia's going to scold me in the royal voice...' He then sits up on the edge of the bed and makes his way towards the door, blowing the candle out so it doesn't wake up his wife, then exits his cabin and heads below deck to look for his little filly.

As he holds a lantern, he checks the rum storage for the filly but doesn't find her there. With a sigh of relief, he then starts to check around the rest of the deck to see if she went to get something to snack on. Not finding her there either, he scratches his chin curiously and grins thinking, 'Ahh, she must be down in the hold playing with the gold and pretending to be a pirate like me...'

Jack then goes down into the hold and looks around for his daughter but doesn't find her, which confuses him into quietly wondering out loud, "Odd...if she isn't here, where might she be?" He then wonders if she might be hiding under her bed and then returns to checking his cabin for her.

As he closes the door quietly, he grabs a match and lights a couple of candles on his chandelier and turns to head for her bed to check under it when he spots a book on top of her pillow with a familiar feather stuck between the pages along with a piece of paper. He heads towards her bed and picks up the book she was reading, learning that it is an adventure book that grandmama had gotten her then pulls out the feather.

Once he sees the feather in the light, he cocks his head curiously and thinks, 'Hmm, I know I remember this feather, but what from...' It takes him a couple of minutes before he finally remembers and his eyes go wide with realization as he says, "Oh bugger...has it really been that long since then?" He finds a letter with it, then sighs and sets the book back onto the pillow, and turns to his bed to start getting dressed to deal with this matter once and for all.

In a dark alley, somewhere in Portuga...

Galanda holds the filly as she struggles to get free, having bound her hands together and gagged her to keep her quiet. She continues to wait for the pirate to arrive when she spots a familiar figure making their way towards her through the fog as a nearby torch illuminates them, revealing them to be the pirate known as Captain Jack Sparrow and smiles saying, "It took you long enough to get here, your time is up...Sparrow. You have a debt to pay...how do you intend to settle it? With your blood, or hers."

Summer listens as Elizabeth complains about how Jack always manages to cause trouble for other people through his actions but ignores her as she tries to rush toward her father as tears of happiness trail down her cheeks.

Jack stops a few feet away from her as she draws her sword and holds it to his child's neck threateningly, looking at the nullifying ring around her horn before raising his hands up in the air in a placating manner and saying, "Neither if at all possible, for it is my intention to willingly offer to provide you with a child of your own through intimate means."

She cocks her head curiously before scoffing at the idea and moves the blade closer to her throat and shouts angrily, "You actually think I want your disgusting body to get that close to mine?! You ruined my whole family, and destroyed any possibility we will have to achieve a happy future! I do not want to bear any of your children to satisfy this debt...so decide how you are going to pay. Will it be with your blood or...with your daughter's?"

Summer's eyes widen with fear as she trembles, the blade against her throat threatening her life while she wonders what choice her daddy will make.

Elizabeth watches nervously, wondering what choice Jack will make, thinking, 'What will you do now, Jack? Will you offer your own life to save ours, or will you let her take it from us?'

He looks at the crying face of his daughter and takes a breath saying, "Take mine, for I should have been dead many times before. I have taken my life for granted way too long, but I have since learned something important which you wouldn't understand so I shall be keeping it to myself."

Galanda's mouth drops open in shock at hearing that, but she regains her composure quickly and nods her head while slowly taking the blade from the filly's throat and pointing it toward the ground saying, "Very well then, step forward and accept your fate." then shoves the filly aside.

Summer hits the ground and slides a few inches from the griffon, then curls up and starts to sob over her father being taken from her.

Elizabeth sighs in the filly's mind as the filly has given up and says to the filly, 'He is not dead yet, child, so stop crying and look for a way to save him. Captain Jack Sparrow, the infamous pirate lord of the Celestial Sea is your father...so act like it.'

The filly then gasps in the realization that she is right and hastily turns around to start searching for a way to save her papa when she sees a curved handle of the griffon's pistol sticking out of her cloak's pouch, creating a glimmer of hope to save him if she can get it from her. She then watches the griffon as she draws her sword back with both hands, then scrambles to her hooves and rushes toward her while attempting to get the handle.

The griffoness feels the filly bump into her roughly and grab her, causing her to chuckle and kick her away from her saying, "Get off me you stupid filly, your daddy has decided to save your life...so be thankful or I might just kill you if you keep trying to stop me." As the filly rolls around on the ground for a moment, she sees something in the filly's hands and focuses on it saying, "What is that you have there?"

Summer feels the pain where she was roughly kicked and holds the barrel of the pistol between her knees with the handle between her left upper arm and her side while using her whole right hand to try to pull back the mechanism that makes the weapon work as she saw the crew do many times before through a peephole she found in the wall behind the headboard of her parent's bed on the ship.

Jack turns to look at what his daughter is doing and sees her trying to pull back the flint striker of Galanda's pistol as the griffoness reaches to snatch the pistol away from her, then starts to make his way over to stop her when it fully cocks back saying, "NO SWEETIE, DON'T TOUCH THAT, IT'S DANGEROUS!"

She then grips the handle with both hands and aims it at the griffon as her hand is a few inches away from the barrel of the gun and then moves her right forefinger to the small piece of metal that makes the weapon fire and puts all her strength into making it move.

Jack tries to hurry to his daughter to stop her and says, "NO DARLING, DON'T...." he is cut off by the pistol firing, punching a hole right through Galanda's skull and creating a fountain of skull fragments, brain chunks, and blood shooting out the back of her head as his filly's arms fly backward quickly. The pistol flies out of Summer's hands and skids across the stones behind her as Galanda's hand falls limp while her body quickly follows and collapses lifelessly onto his daughter.

Summer's ears ring as the griffoness traps her underneath her, her arms aching from the pistol firing. Not having seen what happened, she feels something warm and wet touch the back of her mane, head, and neck. She struggles to move with the griffoness on top of her, using her legs and hooves to try to move out from under her.

He leans over and rolls Galanda's body off of his daughter saying, "Sweetie, SWEETIE! Are you alright?" as he finishes pushing her off his trapped daughter, he looks down at her to see a pool of blood forming around her, soaking into her mane and coat as tears stream from her eyes.

The filly looks up at her father, tears of happiness running in rivulets down her cheeks at having saved her father's life when he removes the gag from her mouth and unties her hands saying, "Papa, are you mad at me? I saved you from that mean griffon."

Jack bends down and picks her up, then holds her in his left arm with his forearm under her rear to support her weight and huffs saying, "No darling, I am not mad at you. I am thankful that you saved me." he then sighs mentally and thinks, 'Your mother is going to skin me alive when she learns what happened.' He then chuckles and says, "You are getting too big for me to carry you like this my darling daughter, but you had a frightful experience so I shall carry you back home. You know what darling, I think that you are finally old enough to start learning to handle a sword. Tomorrow I shall get some wooden ones so I can start teaching you to protect yourself from others with ill intentions."

Summer looks down at her father's face and sniffles then hugs her father saying with a gentle smile, "O-Okay papa."

As they make their way back to the ship, Jack thinks about his daughter's abduction and what he could have done to prevent it from happening.

Celestia lies awake on the bed when she hears the cabin door open, revealing her husband and her daughter with something off about her mane. Curious, she uses her magic to light the chandelier candles and looks a little closer at her daughter's mane, gasping and then slamming the door shut then hastily casting a privacy barrier, and saying in the royal voice, "What in Equestria happened!?! Why is there blood in our daughter's mane and coat?!"

Jack sets his daughter down and then rubs his ears to get rid of the annoying ringing in them and says, "Do you want the long version or the short version dear?"

She thinks about it for a moment and narrows her eyes, then sighs and says in her normal voice, "The long version, please...honey."

He sighs and begins telling the story with what their daughter was doing when someone came in and knocked her out then abducted her, leaving a letter telling him what Galanda did.

Celestia glares at Jack, blaming him for how things have turned out due to his actions as he finishes the story and says to him, "At least our daughter is unharmed physically, but her mind is a whole different story. You should have found another way to satisfy the blood debt, Jack."

Jack then looks up at her and raises his forearms up, leaving his upper arms at his sides while turning his palms towards the sky saying, "What else could I have done, love? Galanda gave me only a couple of choices and she said she didn't want to bear my children, would you rather I have forced myself upon her or should I have dueled her and risked her being better than me and leaving you to raise our daughter alone?"

She then continues glaring at her husband and says, "I would have preferred anything that would keep our daughter from experiencing such dark things like the taking of a life."

He then narrows his eyes back at her and lowers his left arm and holds his right hand in the air, making a loose fist and putting his forefinger into the air saying, "Firstly, I am somewhat of a decent man, raping someone is a line that I refuse to cross as it would make me a monster." He then raises his middle finger up and continues, "And secondly, I will never let our daughter grow up fatherless without a very damn good excuse."

Summer listens to her parents argue back and forth for several minutes before using the royal voice that she learned while at Canterlot and shouts, "WILL BOTH OF YOU BE QUIET AND STOP FIGHTING ALREADY!"

They both stop fighting and rub their ears and look at their daughter with surprise on their faces and say, "I'm sorry dear/Apologies sweetie." Then Celestia cocks her head to the side and asks with a gentle smile, "What do you need dear?"

She huffs and says, "I've had a rough day, my mane and the back of my neck and head are soaked with blood that has now dried thanks to you two spending more time arguing than helping me get clean again!"

Elizabeth chuckles in the back of Summer's mind thinking to herself, 'Oh those two definitely have a handful with the two of us, I wonder if they will learn about me being here...'

Two years later, onboard the Black Pearl, somewhere in the Celestial Sea

Jack is at the helm when he hears a buzzing noise as someone whispers, "The time has come, Jack." Startling him and making him jump slightly and look all around himself for who said that saying, "What?" but doesn't see anyone on the aft deck. He then looks at both of his shoulders for the culprit to see nothing there when he hears the same female voice whisper again, "I am not there Jack, I'm here inside your mind. You should know who I am by now."

He then returns to steering his ship north past the skull-shaped rock and answers her, softly saying, "Aye, love, that I do, though this buzzing noise is very irritating. What is it you need from me?"

Equis then sighs and answers him, "Time has flown by, and I have enjoyed watching the lives of those you have affected. Sadly, the balance must be maintained if you catch my meaning."

Jack then thinks on that for a few moments before finally getting the idea and sighing before looking at his compass and saying, "Has that time finally come?"

She tries to lighten the mood a little and says, "Almost, there is one more task left for you to do before that though. Follow your compass, it will lead you to your next destination. Fare thee well Jack, for our time together was brief but enjoyable. Thank you...for helping me remember how to have fun and think of ways to test others." then without another word, she departs his mind and leaves to begin plans of her own.

He feels her depart as the incessant buzzing in his ears fades away into silence and sighs while shaking his head saying, "She is quite fond of being cryptic..." then pulls out his compass and looks at it and sees it pointing due north, curious what his next task will be and continues sailing to Portuga to restock on supplies.

Three weeks later at Portuga

Mister Apple hands the keys and the deed to his home to the buyer and says, "I hope ya enjoy yer new home gentlemen, ya both are great fishermen."

Harold looks at his twin brother Gerald and says, "We intend to get our father's first vessel back and save our family's pride before the pirate lord Jack Sparrow took it all away, someday that pirate will get what is coming to him. Our sister's death taught us that vengeance is best left to fate, may he suffer for the lives he has ruined. Enough about grim topics, we have heard you plan to find a way to Equestria to begin exploring. We wish you good luck with your venture Mister Apple, may you find what you seek one day."

He then smiles and nods his head saying, "Why thank ya very much, I wish ya the same in yer venture. I am sorry that yer sister is gone, may ya succeed in restoring yer family's pride." He then turns and walks away to go find Money Pear to go tell her the news.

Money Pear is browsing through produce stalls for some fresh fruit and vegetables when she hears someone call her name. She then turns to see who it is and smiles widely at seeing the face of Mister Apple, and says, "Why hello there Mister Apple, what brings you to the market today?"

Mister Apple then continues smiling and says cheerfully, "I finally have done it, the last place I own has been sold. That means that we can start planning our journey to Equestria."

She then nods and asks, "Then shall we gather some supplies, or live off what we can find in the land and find us a ship to ask to ferry us to where we want to go?"

He then looks at her and thinks for a moment before saying, "Hmm...let's get enough supplies to last us both a few weeks, then when we run out, we'll start living off the land. Once we have our supplies, we will find a ship to take us to Equestria. How does that sound to ya?"

Money Pear then beams at him with a wide smile and nods her head in approval saying, "I like that idea, it offers us the chance to feed ourselves without having to inconvenience the crew for the duration of the journey there. Let's get started, so we will work together to decide what we want to get for supplies."

Mister Apple adjusts his monocle a little and then says, "Okay then, let's do that. As for the supplies, I was thinking that we should get some fresh produce that we will use up first, then some food that will last a while which we will switch to until we get there. Naturally, we should try to ration our meals so they will last a little longer during our time on the ship."

Four hours later, just outside Portuga

Jack watches the crew furl the sails and then run out the sweeps to row the rest of their way into the port, seeing a couple of small fishing vessels in the harbor which he pays no mind to while the crew rows toward the closest dock available.

Several minutes pass by as Money Pear looks around the harbor saying, "Oh we're in luck Mister Apple, there are a couple of smaller ships in the harbor along with the Black Pearl that is just reaching the dock! Do you want to go ask one of them for a ride?"

Mister Apple's eyes widen as he remembers what the locals said about the Black Pearl's captain and gulps audibly saying, "The fishing vessels are not very likely to offer us passage across the sea, as they tend not to travel into troublesome waters. It seems that we have no other choice but to take a chance and ask the fearsome Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Celestial Seas to kindly agree to offer us passage to Equestria."

Money Pear's eyes widen slightly in surprise saying, "You mean what the locals say about him is true? That he is really a pirate?"

He then looks at her and nods his head saying, "Yes, and from what I heard from a couple of siblings, their sister fell victim to his ruthlessness. We should not be so trusting of Jack Sparrow, for he might betray us and sell us into slavery."

She then narrows her eyes at him and scolds him saying, "That is not a very nice thing to assume and say about someone you have not met yet, you must wait to form your opinion of them once you have met them and have gotten to know them a little bit first. He might just surprise you with how he really is, c'mon, let's go meet this Pirate Lord."

Jack watches the crew disembark to gather more supplies as he sees a couple of earth ponies make their way toward him and makes his way toward the boarding ramp and waits for them to get closer the ramp and asks, "What might you two need from me?"

The sea foam green mare with a butter yellow mane and tail looks up at him then speaks up first asking, "Captain Jack Sparrow, we wish to ask you to give us passage to Equestria. How much would you require for such a trip?"

The captain puts his right hand's thumb and forefinger to his beard and twiddles it thinking for a few moments before saying, "Hmm...I would have to ask for ten gold for both of you."

Mister Apple then scoffs at the absurdly high price and says, "Preposterous! I offer ya five gold to take us there."

Jack then grins and says, "Hmm...how does 9 gold sound then?"

He then thinks for a second and frowns saying, "Still too high. I could agree to pay 6 gold plus one extra if we leave today..."

The captain considers the tempting offer and then holds a finger in the air and smiles saying, "AHA, I got it! How does 8 gold sound and we leave in a couple of hours?"

Mister Apple thinks about it for a few long moments before sighing to himself and then nodding his head saying, "Very well then, 8 it shall be then."

Jack then offers him his right hand to shake on the deal and says, "We have an accord then, where in particular do you wish to travel to?"

The heavyset earth pony then takes his hand and shakes it saying, "We wish to go to the closest port city to Portuga that would have ya."

The captain grins and says, "Apologies, but I along with the Black Pearl are banned from every one of Equestria's port cities. Would taking you to the closest shore be acceptable?"

Mister Apple sighs in annoyance and nods his head saying, "Yes, that will be fine as long as ya keep your end of the bargain."

Jack then smiles widely and steps aside, welcoming them on board with his arms saying, "Well then, come aboard then! Ladies first though, if you please."

Money Pear then makes her way up the ramp first with a curtsy and a smile saying, "Why thank you, kind sir." then steps onto the deck of the beautiful ship as Mister Apple makes his way up after her. She then stands to the side of the ramp and asks, "Where might we be staying during the voyage there?"

He then thinks for a moment and says, "Well I don't have any actual guest quarters like any fancy vessels, but there is a space at the stern under the captain's cabin behind the brig we use to store goods that you can stay in during our journey to your destination."

The stallion then nods his head and makes his way to the stairs saying, "I think that will work for us both, what do ya think Money Pear?"

She continues to gaze up at the captain's handsome face before snapping out of her dreamy gaze and looks down at Mister Apple saying, "Yes, that will suit us just fine indeed." and ignores the heat building in her cheeks and flanks, then follows her companion on their journey together as he heads down below and says to him, "You should at least give him half of the gold before settling into our temporary room..."

Jack watches the mare walk down the staircase as she looks over her shoulder at him and gives her rear a gentle shake along with a wink before disappearing down the stairs to settle in for the journey to the Equestrian shoreline thinking, 'At least this journey will be an enjoyable one'

A couple of weeks later, A few hundred miles from the shoreline between Manetown and Fillycity

It is late at night under a cloudless, lit by the light of a waning crescent moon that the pearl floats along slowly from a couple of windless days. Jack lies in his bed as Gibbs is at the helm keeping them on course and watching for anything on the sea, when he hears a knocking on his door and says, "Who is it and what do you want at this hour?"

A light giggle is heard through the door as a female voice then says, "The only other female that is staying on this ship with you, Captain Sparrow. I was feeling rather lonely tonight and I had hoped that you might keep me company for a few hours before I return to my bed down below, may I have permission to enter your cabin?"

A smile crosses Jack's face as he then scoots to one side of the bed with one lantern casting the room in a gentle, warm light saying, "You may enter, for I find myself shivering from the cold mid-spring night and could use some assistance with keeping warm."

THIS SECTION CONTAINS SEX AND IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK! PLEASE SKIP TO THE END IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ IT!

The door then opens to reveal a sea foam green mare having a butter yellow mane and tail with rose-colored eyes as she walks in with a hungry look in her eyes as she starts to scan the dimly lit room, closing the door behind her as she takes a few steps further before finding her target on the bed.

Jack lays on his side in a white linen long-sleeve shirt, held closed by only a couple of buttons and the covers hiding his lower body, and says, "I am jealous of you ponies for getting thicker coats when winter comes around while we humans must clothe ourselves to keep warm."

Money Pear sashays over to Jack with a portion of her bottom lip between her top and bottom teeth while running her hands up and down her sides, a predator-like hunger burning in her half-lidded eyes as she looks at the very handsome captain and says in a sultry voice, "Thick fur makes it possible for us to endure the cold nights of winter. Did you know that we have to shave our coats down when summer comes?" She then stops by the edge of the bed, her heavy coat the only thing hiding her private places from the naked eye, and bends down to put her palms on the bed and says softly, "It is easy for a pony to become too hot from their thick coat, perhaps I could have you trim my coat for me when the time comes. What say you, Captain...Jack...Sparrow?"

The captain grins and leans forward, then grabs her chin with his right hand and pulls her face towards his, stopping when their faces are inches away from each other. Her face is close enough to his that he can practically hear her heart pounding in her chest as her quick breaths are hot against his face and grins at her saying, "I might like that if the chance arises, but for now...we only have tonight...so let's just enjoy ourselves, savvy?"

She giggles again and grins at him, quietly wondering if he even realizes she is in heat right now but decides to keep quiet about it saying, "I intend to do just that...and more." She then crawls up onto the bed and kisses his lips, feeling her hunger to breed burn hotter as she pushes him onto his back and says in the same sultry voice, "You are in for the ride of your life stud, so try to keep up with this wild mare."

Jack grins salaciously and says, "I have had many interactions with other mares, each one of them worn out by yours truly. It is you who are going to have to keep up..." he then wraps an arm around her neck and pulls her in for another deep, sexually charged kiss.

Money Pear smiles mischievously and straddles his body, sitting where his hips should be and pulls out of the kiss panting lightly and chuckles again saying, "You have never been with a country girl like me before, I am stronger than most mares, and I am always in charge behind closed doors." She then begins to grind her rear against his hips, doing whatever she can to get him hard as a rock.

The captain then uses his hand to lift one of her large double D's up to his mouth and starts to suck on her left breast when she roughly pushes him down, using one arm to hold him down by keeping a solid grip on his shoulder, saying to her while looking into her eyes, "OI, what's the big deal, love?"

She then frowns at him, pulls one arm away, and waggles one finger in the air side to side while shaking her head and clicking her tongue then saying, "Like I said, naughty one, I am in charge now..." She then moves her free hand behind her and lifts her rear off of him, then throws the covers back to uncover his lower half. She then glances back over her shoulder and sees that he has a pair of loosely tied breeches on and sees they will be easy to move.

Jack then watches her as she scoots down his body and sits on his legs, then slowly slides his pants down to his knees, revealing his semi-hard member, then grabs it gently with her right hand and lowers her open mouth towards it.

Money Pear closes her eyes as she takes his member into her mouth all the way to the base, sucking lightly while pulling her head back to the tip. She stops just before it pops out of her mouth and gets into a slow up-and-down rhythm, enjoying how he tastes in her mouth.

The captain lies back and closes his eyes while a smile crosses his face at the pleasure the mare is giving him when she eventually stops and slides her upper body up his body as her lips come to his and her tongue wrestles with his.

She slowly moves her hips over his hard cock, preparing herself for him to enter her when she feels herself start to slide smoothly over his cock and moves her hips to position her entrance just above his tip before pulling out of the kiss that leaves her panting gently and very very eager to breed. With a grin and a chuckle, she says, "Are you ready to be boarded, Captain Sparrow?"

Jack only has time to grin and start to respond when his words are cut off by her slamming her pelvis down to his, making a meaty slap echo briefly throughout the cabin as he hears her sigh blissfully and say, "Yes...This is the pleasure I have been looking for."

Money Pear smiles hungrily at him in a slight daze at the pleasure she is feeling from being naturally tight and says, "I don't find it enjoyable with how stallions must always have control. Sometimes it can be much more enjoyable to just let someone else take charge, you know?" while lifting her hips and slamming them down and also rocking them back and forth.

The captain hears the bed knocking against the cabin wall, having to use his hands to keep himself from sliding across the bed as he manages to say, "More than you know, love."

A half-hour passes by as the mare works herself into a sweaty mess as she drives herself towards her first orgasm of the night when it finally hits her, making her clamp down on him and throw her head back as she cries out, "AT LAST...YES!" She then giggles and feels him come a second time, and trails a finger from her mouth down her chin and neck to cup and squeeze her right breast when she feels herself get pushed onto her back, saying, "Oof, who said you could take over?"

Jack looks down at her grins salaciosly at her and says, "I don't need to wait for anyone's permission, love. I take what I want when I want, for I am a pirate...and it is your turn to be pillaged." He then hooks his arms around each of her legs, then takes her hands and interlocks their fingers together, and holds them against the headboard so she can't regain control.

Money Pear's eyes roll back into her head as she is overloaded with pleasure at being folded in half and pounded roughly, her heavy moans turn into squeals and screams as she experiences several orgasms in a row, causing her to lose track of time completely. She manages to regain enough composure between her frequent panting to ask, "No stallion could ever hope to match your endurance, Captain Sparrow."

He then lays on her legs as they lay against her chest and kisses her deeply, then pulls away and says, "That is because I'm Captain..Jack..Sparrow, Savvy? I think it is high time I give you a brief break while I feast for a bit."

She wonders what he means by that and weakly lifts her head up to see and feel him kissing down her body, sucking on each breast for a few moments before reaching her nethers. Causing her to lose what strength she was using to hold her upper body up, moaning again while lifting her legs and crossing them over his back as she grips his hair in her hands.

Jack spends a few minutes eating her out, enjoying the sweet nectar that shoots into his mouth whenever she orgasms. He plays with her clit with his teeth and tongue, causing her to squeal out in pleasure, simultaneously squeezing him with her legs, gripping his head tighter, and pushing his head further into her lips while also arching her back as she squirts into the back of his throat once more.

Money Pear's strength leaves her as her arms and legs fall limp onto the bed, leaving her gasping for air as her desire to breed fades away. She feels the captain kissing his way back up her body and manages to weakly lift her hand and caress his head sighing blissfully and saying, "Thank you for a very pleasant night, Captain Sparrow. I should return to my own bed, though we could cuddle until my legs start working again."

THIS IS THE END OF THE SCENE, ENJOY THE REST OF THE CHAPTER!

The captain then grins and sidles in beside her, helping her onto her side and facing him as she nuzzles her head against his chest. He wraps one arm around her to hold her close and says, "Thank you for helping me to stay warm this cold spring night, love." He then lays his head down and closes his eyes, quickly falling asleep as the gentle rocking of the ship soothes him.

She giggles softly, saying, "You are welcome, I thank you for keeping me company tonight." She waits for him to answer then giggles again when she hears soft snoring then thinks, 'I wonder what name I should pick for my foal...' then closes her eyes and enjoys the warm cuddling. Her eyes then shoot open once she remembers that she is traveling with Mister Apple and grins at the idea forming in her mind, deciding to wait until she gets her strength back to put her plan into action.

A few hours later, Mister Apple is asleep in his bunk when he feels someone caressing his face. Slowly waking from his slumber, he turns to see that it is Money Pear with a strange smile on her face and groggily says, "W-What is it Miss Pear? Is something wrong?"

Money Pear smiles lovingly at him and shakes her head saying, "Nothing is wrong, I was just thinking...would you be willing to start a family with me?"

It takes a few moments for the question to register in his brain when he suddenly wakes up and sits up quickly, then looks at her asking, "Of course I do, but what brings this question up?"

She sighs and frowns for a moment and continues her act then says, "Well...I have been so alone my whole life, but now that you are here, I don't feel so alone anymore. So do you want to be together and raise a family?"

Mister Apple's smile crosses his face as he feels happiness and says, "I know how you feel, I feel the same way about you. Do you really want to be with me and raise a family together?"

Money Pear nods her head and says, "I do want to be with you, so why don't we get started on building our family tonight, my darling?"

His eyes sparkle with happiness as his heart leaps for joy while he nods his head eagerly and says, "Okay dear, let's get started tonight!"

She closes her eyes as he kisses her affectionately and pulls her close while she thinks, 'I think I will tell my mother about this, she will not be happy about it at all and will track us down to try to break us apart. However, I will never let her...it will become the birth of a beautiful family competition.'

Chapter 23: Fate or Destiny?

Author's Notes:

I hope you all aren't too upset about me skipping out on more details involving Cursed Celestia's/Daybreakers life with Jack Sparrow after taking the coin and not wanting to really dive into gory details about the appearances of their cursed forms.

A day later, a few hours from sunset

Captain Sparrow looks at the coastline to his port and calls out, "Furl all sails lads and lower the longboat, we have arrived. Could one of you go inform our guests that we are ready to take them ashore?"

A few minutes later, Mister Apple hurries up the deck with a big smile on his face as he looks at the captain and says, "Hey Captain Sparrow, I'm starting a family with Money Pear!"

Jack looks at Money Pear behind him, who hides a smirk before shifting his gaze back to Mister Apple and saying with a big smile, "Well congratulations to the both of you. Pintel and Ragetti, you both shall row these two lovers to shore so they can begin their happy life together.

The pair look at the captain and nod their heads saying, "Aye aye, captain." then head to the longboat to take it to shore

The captain looks at Gibbs and says, "Oi, will you strip the bedding off my mattress and take the other longboat to shore and burn them? Celestia will skin me if she knows I had a mare in our bed."

Gibbs nods his head quickly and says, "Aye sir. Ya know that she will be coming today, right sir?"

Jack looks at Gibbs with a surprised look and asks, "What!? Of course she is, I knew that. When you get back, put the other bedding on the bed."

The first mate chuckles silently while grinning and makes haste to Jack's cabin to change the bedding and destroy the set currently on it.

A few hours later...

Celestia enters the cabin and notices different bedding on it and looks at Jack and asks, "Dear, why did you change the bedding?"

The captain smiles nervously and says, "Well, it was infested my dear after not having been washed for so long my love."

She sighs as her daughter hurries into the cabin and goes back to reading the book she brought along with her and says, "Very well dear, it was a shame that happened...I liked that bedding."

Jack feels the wind change direction and looks at his compass to see it pointing inland, knowing where it wants him to go and sighs with a brief smile saying, "So did I love, so did I. Care to join me on a week-long journey, my darling wife?"

Celestia's mane blows in her face for a brief moment from the shifting wind and brushes it aside with her fingertips and then asks with a curious smile, "Where to, dear husband?"

Summer Poppet hears her parents talking and excitedly hops off the bed and runs to the cabin door saying, "An adventure papa! Where are we going?! Will there be villains to fight?"

Jack chuckles and looks at his daughter with a smile saying, "Unfortunately not darling, but you may not come with us on this journey." He then turns to his wife and says, "For where we are going, curses really do exist."

Summer Poppet cocks her head curiously before her mother gasps and tells her to go catch up with the crew, sighing and saying, "Yeees mother." before remembering that there is a hole in the wall under the stairs she can watch from and makes her way to eavesdrop on her parents' conversation.

Celestia's eyes narrow in suspicion then places her hands on her hips and says, "Are you insane, my love?! You told me how wicked that gold is and I know you fear it, so why must we go there of all places?"

The captain sighs and puts his hands up placatingly and says, "Aye my love, I do fear it. Regrettably, it is a part of my grand scheme to save your sister. Will you please go along with it? I promise that everything will work out in the end, just please trust me on this."

She hangs her head and rubs her temple to ease her growing headache for a few moments before sighing and looking up at him saying, "Oh very well, you know I can't say no when it involves rescuing my sister. When do we depart?"

Jack smiles sadly and says, "We depart once we arrive in Horseshoe Bay. If I could save your sister by any other means, love, I would do so in a heartbeat."

Celestia sighs and nods her head saying, "I know you would dear husband, but to suffer from such evil..."

The captain pulls her into a hug and holds her head on his shoulder to ease her sorrow saying, "Don't worry love, nothing can truly defeat me."

Summer Poppet pulls away from the hole as her parents start to make out in front of her eye and gags thinking, 'Could have gone without seeing that.' She then decides it would be best to catch up with some of the crew and heads below deck.

Horseshoe Bay...A couple weeks later

Jack and the crew make their way to the shore as they all can't fit on the longboats, the crew carrying several barrels of rum among other provisions for their journey.

Celestia looks at the crew and notices that the cook isn't among the crew and asks, "Where is Shining Belle, isn't he part of your crew dear?"

The captain smiles sadly and says, "For this part of the plan, I thought it would be best if he left our company with fair pay to make a home for his wife and child."

She cocks her head and asks, "What exactly does this part of the plan entail, my love?"

Jack looks at her, unwilling to risk spoiling the plan, and says, "You shall see, my love. Have a little patience and all will be made clear...eventually...just think like me."

Equis watches as it takes them a week to get through the woods when they stand before the ruined castle of two sisters as Jack guides them into the castle ruins and towards the hidden vault. With a sorrowful sigh, she says, "The next stage is nigh upon us, just a bit longer and everything will be set."

The captain looks at his loving wife and asks, "May I have the key, my dear?"

With a trembling hand, she pulls the key out, sets it in her palm, and holds it out towards him with a nervous look on her face as she stammers saying, "H-Here y-you go d-dear."

Jack opens the door and enters the room, then stands before the solitary chest in the room beneath the sun's light and says, "My love, please deactivate the enchantment. Gather 'round men."

Gibbs nervously gathers around the chest as he hears the captain continue speaking, "I know you all fear this dreaded and accursed chest, but if we are to set free Celestia's beloved sister, whom is trapped, we must first suffer from this curse and be who and what we are......pirates."

The captain places his left hand on the chest and walks around it, trailing his fingertips along the lid saying, "For a pirate, we do whatever we must to achieve our goals...no price is too high, except when it involves this accursed treasure. But alas, I have no choice in the matter as it seems to be my destiny to suffer. I have no right in asking this of any of you...but...would you all join me in enduring this punishment and show this world what pirates really are and why we are so feared?" He then stops and places both of his hands on the chest lid and attempts to push it off.

The first mate sees the captain struggling to push the lid aside and joins in saying, "Aye cap'n, I will join you in this fate. Your schemes have a knack for working out for the better, I would throw my lot in with you sir."

Jack and Gibbs shove the lid off the chest as it lands just behind the chest and rests against it, leaving Jack and Gibbs to gaze upon the cursed coins as Jack reaches in first and takes a single coin. He notices immediately that he can't feel the damp air of the chamber, not even the chilly air that seems to be in just this room and closes his hand around the coin as Gibbs takes his piece and tucks it away.

Celestia watches as the crew slowly reach in and take a single piece of it, then reaches in herself with quaking hands and grasps one of the coins gingerly as if it would hurt her. She winces, expecting to feel some sort of pain or agony, but is surprised when nothing happens and says, "I was expecting to feel some sort of pain, but there was none."

The captain looks at her with a sad smile and says, "Aye my love, but this treasure causes you to suffer in other ways...that are much worse."

Summer Poppet quietly sneaks past the crew as they start to exit the room and looks at the chest as her parents start to make their way out of the room and moves to take one of the coins when she hears Elizabeth scream at her again, 'DON'T YOU DARE LAY A SINGLE FINGER ON THOSE COINS MISSY OR I WILL TAKE YOUR BODY OVER AND LOCK YOU AWAY AS PUNISHMENT!'

Summer smirks and grabs one of the coins and replies to the comment thinking, 'If you could do that, you would have done so already...Lizzie.' She then holds the coin in her palm and closes her hand around it, and starts looking for a way to sneak back out of the chamber.

Jack looks at Hector and says, "You have a choice here, mate. You can come with us, or you could remain here and guard the treasure."

Barbossa thinks about it for a few moments and says, "I would choose to remain here and watch over this place, leave the key with me...and some of the rum that we brought with us. I wish to have a clear conscience if I wish to meet your wife's sister."

Celestia is so shocked to hear that, she is rendered speechless as she hears Jack say, "Alright then mate, I will have the crew leave a few barrels here to help keep yourself from going completely crazy."

The captain looks out the door and says, "Men, leave three barrels of rum behind so that Barbossa will have something to pass the time with."

After locking the door behind him, Jack tosses the key to Barbossa and says, "Do whatever you can to maintain your sanity Hector, I promise you that you shall be free when the time comes."

Barbossa looks to Jack and catches the key, then tucks it away and nods his head briefly, saying, "Aye Jack, I shall. I will find a way to deal with this, you should go and continue with that scheme of yours."

Equis watches with a couple tears in her eyes as they take their leave of the ruined castle and says, "I weep for you all, especially you Celestia, your suffering is just beginning."

A year passes as Celestia's appearance gradually changes, with her mane and tail being made of fire. Her eyes are yellow with slitted pupils and black irises. There are two fangs hanging down over her lower lip, and her cutie mark is surrounded by orange and yellow.

Summer Poppet wonders where Elizabeth has gone as she eats her food, forcing herself to swallow the ashes it becomes in hopes to satisfy her hunger.

Jack then looks at his wife's different look and smirks saying, "You look so...fiendishly hot, my love. Are you ready to truly become a pirate?"

Daybreaker looks at her husband with her slitted dragonlike eyes and smiles seductively, then licks her lips saying, "Oh you know I am, dear. What shall be our first target?"

The captain then smirks and says, "We shall be going after merchant ships, be sure to be as terrifying as possible."

She chuckles and says, "I look forward to our first target's unfortunate encounter."

Equis watches the terrible carnage they unleash upon the merchant ship, leaving just one survivor behind to tell his tale of survival, sighing as she fights a bout of morning sickness and says, "I pray this foal will be kind-hearted and better than her father is..."

A few years later, somewhere in the Neighdian Deep

Daybreaker looks back at the burning wreck of the merchant ship, and sighs blissfully, turning to her husband with a sultry look in her eyes and says, "Another successful attack, my love. Those wretches screamed for mercy, yet we spared them none. Shall we retire to our cabin to celebrate the victory?"

Jack grins and looks at her, then addresses his first mate saying, "Gibbs, take the helm and head to the Celestial Sea...I am bored of these pitiful merchant ships." He then looks back at his wife and says, "Lead the way, my love, let us waste not another moment." then makes his way to the cabin while holding his wife's arm in his.

Daybreaker enters the cabin and sees her daughter reading a book and says, "Go outside and do something, brat."

Summer Poppet hurries out of the cabin before she angers her mother, sniffling and saying, "I'm sorry...mama."

Sorry, this section contains content NOT SAFE FOR WORK! Please skip this section if you do not wish to read a sex scene!

Daybreaker pushes her husband onto the bed and quickly strips out of her clothing, ignoring the tears of her daughter as she quickly left the cabin and says, "The season is proper, so lets make another daughter...one that doesn't belong to my weaker half.

Jack smiles and looks up at the nude form of his wife and says, "Aye my love, let's raise a child all our own..." then takes off his clothes and tosses them into a pile on the floor as his member stands stiff in the air.

She looks at his member hungrily as her sex hungers for him, then walks forth and takes him into her mouth to the base in one swift motion. Not feeling any gag reflex, she bobs her head up and down a few times before pulling off completely and running her long, forked tongue up to the tip. She then wraps her tongue around him and pulls it back into her mouth, pushing it further into her throat and hearing a groan from her husband and grins around his cock. She pulls off with a pop saying, "I bet my weaker half couldn't do that, my beloved husband."

The captain's member twitches as he shakes his head side to side saying, "Definitely not, you are the only one that is able to do that."

Daybreaker then looks at him and crawls up his body, running her forked tongue up his whole body before reaching his mouth and sliding it into his mouth for a deep kiss as she then rubs her marehood against his throbbing member, breathing lightly and enjoying tormenting her beloved husband this way.

Jack nearly comes after the teasing when she stops and chuckles, making him say, "What is wrong, my love, have you changed your mind?"

She chuckles evilly and shakes her head side to side saying, "Oh no I haven't my beloved, I just want this to last all night long..."

Jack smiles nervously as she then slides his cock up her marehood and runs it along her groin, then closes her thighs around him and uses her hooves to raise and lower her hips. He closes his eyes at the new feeling and says, "Wow, this is really enjoyable."

Daybreaker then grins and feels his tip slide against her opening and tilts her hips to let it go in but gasps, as it slides into the one behind it and clamps down on him as her first orgasm of the night, hits her like a freight train. As she relaxes herself, she continues pushing herself down towards his hips and says, "I think I enjoy having this hole penetrated by you, dear."

The captain reaches up and grabs her breasts with his hands, then sits up and sucks on her right nipple. He then tastes a sweet liquid in his mouth, but then turns tasteless and changes into ash and pulls away to spit it out.

She enjoys the feeling of him nursing and pulls his head back to her breast and says, "Yes, my love, don't stop." then starts to raise and lower her hips onto his in a vigorous manner saying, "Drink, my love, taste the nectar that I shall be sharing with our foal!"

Forced to swallow ash, Jack drinks from her breast as he feels himself nearing a climax when she slams her hips down and has a second climax. He groans as he is unable to climax himself when she pauses for a few moments, only to lift her hips off him completely and shift him into the proper hole as she pulls him off her nipple and kisses him deeply, shoving her long forked tongue into his mouth and coiling it around his tongue, running it part way down his throat as she clutches his head to hers.

She moves her hands to his back and digs her nails into his skin as she starts to slam her hips against his, trying to force him into her womb as she feels him repeatedly strike her inner barrier. She starts to get frustrated and digs her fingernails in deeper, unknowingly drawing his blood and breaking the kiss saying, "Get inside me you filthy pirate and make me a mommy!"

Jack feels the pain fade away to nothing when she rakes her fingernails up his back, and finally is pushed into her womb. He feels himself getting close to his climax and grips her thighs firmly and flips her onto her back and pushes her knees by her head saying, "I will have my release you bloody horse!" then lays on her legs and pulls her firey mane back to give her a deep kiss as he finally reaches his climax.

Daybreaker drags her nails down his back again as she feels him fill her with his seed, triggering her own orgasm and causing her to scream out in ecstasy, "YESS, MAKE ME A MOMMY!" She closes her eyes and feels her inner fire start to die down as he continues to fill her with seed.

After a few moments, she feels him stop twitching inside of her and casts a barrier to keep the seed in her. Curious, she then looks down at her stomach and is surprised to see it the size of a mare carrying triplets about to give birth and caresses it lovingly saying, "I can't wait to meet our coming foal. Although, I can't go around looking like this..."

The captain looks down at his wife's bloated belly and chuckles asking, "Why not, I think you look rather beautiful like that."

Daybreaker then blushes and scoffs saying, "How am I even supposed to walk or fight with a belly this big, I look like I am a champion cake eater!"

He kisses her lower legs lovingly and feels himself softening inside her then says, "Fine then, do as you wish, my love. Perhaps you might give birth to more than one foal when your weaker half could only produce only one?"

Her eyes sparkle with delight as she smiles maniacally and then says, "I most certainly will do so!"

Jack then slides in beside her and wraps his arms around her as he feels her soft wings pressing into his chest, then kisses her cheek lovingly and says, "I am sure you will too, my love."

THIS IS THE END OF THE SCENE, PLEASE ENJOY THE REST OF THE STORY!

A year and two months later...

Daybreaker breathes heavily as she relaxes after giving birth to her second foal while the doctor cleans them up, then lays them both on a table and weakly asks, "Is there something wrong, why are they so quiet?"

The doctor slowly backs away with wide eyes as he struggles to keep on his hooves and stammers, "I-I....uh...."

She waits for the doctor to answer her for a few moments before becoming very annoyed and shouts, "Well answer me, you stuttering idiot!!!"

The doctor continues to tremble as he looks at the two foals, one filly and one colt and says, "Y-You did so well...but yet...I-I don't understand...why......I-I...I'm...sorry, Your Highness."

Daybreaker then uses her magic to fling him aside and bring the foals to her. She cradles them in each arm and jostles them saying, "Come on Sunset, open your eyes for mommy. Oh Sunburst, don't sleep for so long." She then licks their foreheads and shakes them a little harder as tears come to her eyes as she keeps trying to wake them up and talks a little louder saying, "Wake up my darling foals, let your eyes open and gaze upon your mother!"

Jack is worried for his foals and looks to the doctor, then draws his sword and holds it against his throat threateningly and says, "If you value your life mate, you best tell me what you did..."

The doctor shudders at the blade pressed against his throat and gulps nervously saying, "I-I did nothing at all, Lord Sparrow. I monitored her pregnancy closely, and they were so healthy. I just don't understand why they would be born dead...p-please don't kill me..."

Daybreaker holds her lifeless foals to her chest as she starts to sob, then eventually wail at their deaths saying, "NOOO....NOT MY BABIES!!!"

A few minutes passes as her mind breaks at the trauma when her grief transforms into anger as she snaps her head around to glare at the doctor with rage, blaming him for their deaths and shouts, "HOW DARE YOU TAKE MY FOALS FROM ME!?! YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THIS MISERY, AND SHALL NOW PAY THE PRICE!!!" then casts a spell to make his insides boil.

The captain watches as the doctor momentarily protests his innocence in their deaths before he starts to scream out in agony, then decides to kill him and stabs his cutlass through his gut whispering into the screaming doctor's ear, "The worst way to die is from a gut wound...though I doubt you have the capacity even to reason now."

Daybreaker holds her foals closely, chuckling as the doctor finally stops screaming and goes silent, falling to the floor lifelessly. She stares at the corpse with a smile and looks up to Jack saying, "We shall make all ponies pay for the deaths of our foals... What say you to that, my beloved husband?"

Jack grins at her, not really intending to seek vengeance for their deaths, and says, "Aye love, that we shall. Our first target shall be Manetown, let us strike in the dead of night when the moon is full and at its highest."

Equis sheds a few tears at the fate of the stillborn foals, then wonders if anything could be done for them. An idea comes to her as she thinks of the goddess Calypso and walks out of her cave to try to gain her attention.

It takes her a few hours to reach the sea and tosses a shell into the waters and prays, "Goddess Calypso, I wish for an audience with you."

Goddess Calypso hears her prayer and momentarily leaves her love's side saying, "I shall be back in a few moments, I must answer a plea for aid."

Captain Davy Jones nods his head and continues searching for souls lost at sea saying, "Very well, my love, for I shall be waiting for your return."

She then disappears with the waters and travels to the world the prayer came from and slowly rises from the sea, walking towards the shore with a smile saying, "For what purpose do you call to me?"

Equis is still sad at what happened to the two foals and says, "The reason I call to you, Goddess Calypso is to seek your aid to grant life to two foals born without life or breath."

Calypso looks at how upset Equis is at their fate and smirks asking, "I do not take or grant life so lightly, so what reason have you to provide they deserve it?"

She struggles to think of a good reason to give her, then comes up with one and starts to speak, "Because..." but cuts herself off and changes her reason and continues, "Because they have not had any chance to live, Goddess Calypso."

The goddess chuckles lightly and smiles saying, "Your reason is fair. Now what can I do..."

The spirit watches as Calypso then starts to glance around the sand beneath the waters, mumbling to herself and bending down to pick something up out of the sand. She then extends her palm to her to reveal two objects with a series of dots on the surface and asks, "What are these, Goddess Calypso?"

Calypso smiles and says, "These are a pair of dice. A game of chance for you to grant their life, if you roll an amount over 7 on both of them. However, should you roll below that, they shall remain as they are. Do you want this?"

Equis stares at the pair of dice, her conscience and mind warring with each other over what is right when she hastily reaches out and snatches the dice from the offered hand and asks, "So I gain your favor if I roll a 7 or higher?"

She nods curtly and says, "Yes..." then extends her hand forward and continues, "You don't want it? Give them back."

The spirit closes her hand around the die and says, "NO...I mean...I want this, but I can't roll on a soft surface like sand."

Calypso grins and looks at a large, flat boulder and gestures to it with an extended finger saying, "That might be a suitable surface, shall we go there for this game to begin?"

Equis looks at the flat boulder and smiles saying, "Yes, let's go there."

After walking over to the boulder, Equis cups her hands together over the dice in between them and moves them back and forth. She hears the dice clack as they strike each other and then takes a deep breath and kneels beside the boulder and opens up her hands, letting the dice roll and fall as they may.

Calypso watches the dice roll with a grin as one falls on a four, then watches the other one bounce along and strike another edge and tumble back towards its brother. The other dice falls on its final face as she says, "Hmm, how interesting."

Confused, Equis opens her eyes and looks up at the goddess and asks, "What is interesting, Goddess Calypso?"

The goddess chuckles and nods down to the dice and says, "Look down and see the answer for yourself, Equis."

The spirit nervously looks down, expecting to see a very low number but is surprised to see a dice with four dots and another with six dots. She then cocks her head and says, "...I lost?"

Calypso laughs and shakes her head saying, "No little one, you rolled an amount equal to ten. So that means you won the game of chance, earning the foals a new chance at life. Unfortunately, I cannot bring them back to life having the same mother. So I shall allow them to experience new life under a different mother."

Equis smiles widely with tears streaming from her eyes and says, "Oh thank Celestia...oops, I mean Oh thank you, Goddess Calypso for your generosity."

The goddess pulls her in for a quick hug and whispers, "You are welcome, child, and be sure to take great care of the child you carry which is also Jack's...for they might play a part in saving him." She then releases her and walks towards the water to return to her beloved.

The spirit then blushes and asks, "How do you know that?" but watches her disappear into the waves without an answer and caresses her lower abdomen where her foal waits to be brought into the world.

A month later, near the sleeping port of Manetown

A low, rolling fog breezes into the port under the dim light of the full moon, hidden by a few clouds where every pony, young and old alike lie asleep in their comfortable, warm beds. The breeze picks up, causing the fog to rise higher as the wind causes a few windows to rattle. Though unknown to them, a silent terror arrives at the edge of their small town to introduce new fears to its citizens.

The Black Pearl slowly rotates to present its port-side cannons to the unused, but still armed fort watching over the town. The gun port doors open up silently as cannons are rolled into place.

Jack stands beside his wife, looking at the sleeping town with a dark grin on his face and looks to the crew saying, "Let's wake everyone up lads, it's time to make them understand what real pirates are like...open fire."

Daybreaker hovers in the air, watching as the first shots ring out and destroy most of the fort's defenses. To take advantage of the moment and wreak a little havoc of her own, she shoots a ball of flame at some of the fort's wooden walls and grins as the fire starts to spread when a loud explosion obliterates any buildings left standing. She then hears a commotion rise up inside the town as the citizens come out to see what is going on and looks at her husband with a manic grin and says, "My beloved husband, why don't you have a little fun with the curious villagers..."

Having no choice but to be the ultimate villain at this moment, Jack frowns and sighs for a moment before drawing his sword and shouting, "Turn all port-side cannons to the town and prepare them for the horrors to come...and fire!"

The townsponies shriek in fear as the ship fires upon them and panic, not knowing what to do as some of the ones brave enough to fight back either shoot spells or fly towards the ships.

The captain sees the ones attacking him and scoffs saying, "Take them out men, show no mercy to those that fight back!"

Daybreaker watches as the defiant ponies are swiftly dealt with as the two fishing boats in the harbor begin to burn and sink, causing her to cackle maniacally and shout in the royal voice, "ALL OF YOU SHALL LEARN TO COWER IN FEAR AT THE MIGHT OF THE BLACK PEARL!!!"

A lone filly wanders through the smoke-filled streets as ponies run every which way in a complete panic, wondering with tear-filled eyes where her mother is at and coughs calling for her, "Mother? Mother, where are you?!"

Jack then puts his sword back into it's sheath and says, "Still the guns lads, the hour of terror is upon us. GO RAID, PILLAGE, AND PLUNDER YOUR WEASELY BLACK GUTS OUT AND BURN EVERYTHING TO THE GROUND ONCE YOU LOOTED EVERYTHING OF VALUE, THERE IS NO GRAND ARMY WE NEED FEAR HERE!"

Daybreaker watches the crew set out in the longboats as others jump off the ship to enjoy their newfound immortality and walk along the harbor floor.

A few minutes pass by as new screams of terror start to fill the air when the crew's laughter mixes in with it as they smash open doors to shops and houses. Fires start to sprout where the crew have been, soon transforming into an inferno that brightens the night sky.

The insane, cursed Alicorn watches with glee as she starts to hear ponies crying out about zombies walking amongst them and that it's the end of the world. She cackles with delight until she hears one tiny voice ring out above the others, screaming, "MOMMY! MOMMY GET UP THE MONSTERS ARE COMING TO GET ME! MOMMYYYY!!" Unable to bear hearing the tiny foal's screams any further, she races towards the filly and looks to her mother, seeing her corpse crushed under a fallen beam as her daughter tugs on her arm when it rips free.

The filly lands on her rear with a thump then is knocked onto her back when something lands on top of her, she pushes it aside and then looks at it to see an arm lying next to her matching her mother's coat. She then looks to where her mother is and finds that she is missing an arm, causing the filly to scream and cry out, "MOMMY, I'M SO SORRY!! I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YOU, PLEASE GET UP!"

Something hits her deep inside that makes her almost want to cry for the filly's loss and take care of her, the feeling grows until she can no longer bear to watch this poor filly suffer any longer. She then hears something cracking and races forth, scooping the filly up in her arms and moving her out of the city saying, "Find a family caring enough to take you in and live a happy life away from fearful things." then sets her down and takes off back towards the ship.

Jack watches as the screams of the townsponies fill the air as fires engulf the city as the crew pillage every building they can when he notices his wife hurrying back and asks, "My beloved, is something the matter?"

Daybreaker's eyes swell with tears at the filly's plight as she hastily responds, "Nothing at all, I don't feel well." then lands on the deck and makes her way into the cabin, closing the door behind her as the screams of terror fade away completely when she starts to hear sobbing coming from inside the cabin. She lights one of the candles and sees her daughter hungrily devouring an apple as tears stream down her face and asks, "What is wrong my dear, why do you cry while eating a delicious apple?"

Summer's head drops as she sits looking into the corner and throws the apple away and spits it out into her hand and closes her fingers around it and sobs saying, "I'm so hungry, but no matter how much I eat......it won't satisfy my hunger and turns into this when I take a bite." She then sobs and holds her small hand out to her mother to show it to her, then opens her fist to reveal what she spat out.

She gasps at seeing a dull grey blob in the palm of her hand and thinks of it like a joke and says, "Dear, you can't eat ash. Try a fresh apple."

The starving filly sighs and pulls a new apple from her father's desk, then turns around to face her mother with a sad look in her eyes as she puts it up to her mouth and takes a bite out of the apple. She then chews it a few times and then spits it back out into her hand once it loses its taste and says, "See? It turns into ash like I said, and I should have died from starvation a few years ago. I tried drinking water, apple juice, grape juice, even salt water and orange juice...but they did not satisfy my thirst. I even drank a whole bottle of papa's rum, and still...nothing happened!" She then throws her hands over her eyes and begins to cry again from not knowing what is causing her to suffer like this.

Daybreaker gasps and makes her way over to her daughter's side and sits beside her, then wraps her arms around her in a loving embrace saying, "Worry not my dear, for I too suffer as you do. I however, do know how to deal with it."

Summer Poppet looks at her mother and says, "How is that, mother?"

She then sighs and says, "A little bit of blood is all it will need, but I am very cross with you for taking one of those cursed gold coins. You are going to be grounded for a while for this sweetie."

A few hours pass by as the two rest on Summer's bed, in each other's arms as the moon's light filters through the windows and fall upon the sleeping pair.

Daybreaker stirs as the light strikes her eyes and disturbs her sleep, causing her to stir and wake from her slumber. She sits up and stretches her arms out, hearing her joints pop a little louder than normal when she opens her eyes and then looks over at her daughter. Her eyes go wide with terror as her heart starts to hammer wildly in her chest while she gazes upon the rotting corpse of her daughter lying on top of the bed and goes to touch her when she sees her own rotting arm. She curiously gazes upon her rotted, yet still moving arm as she moves her fingers around when she spots a tall mirror on one side of the room and gets up off the bed to go check herself out. She stops in her tracks as she leaves the moonlight, thus returning her appearance to what it was before. She takes a few steps back into the light and sees her appearance instantly change back to her rotting form, yet still she has control of her body. She is broken from her thoughts by the opening of the cabin's door and a chuckle following it then hears her husband say, "So you finally learned about this little bit, eh?"

Jack walks towards the moonlight and stands in it, then pulls out his coin and shuffles it across his fingerbones and chuckles softly again saying, "Yeah love, the moonlight shows us for what we really are. We are not amongst the living, so we cannot die. Yet neither are we dead, so we simply exist like this...suffering from an unquenchable thirst and an unsatisfiable hunger, unable to feel anything at all such as the wind, cold, warmth, softness. We have been eternally cursed by these coins, my love, just like I planned to accomplish our goal. Now, we shall continue on with this plan and teach all Equestria what true pirates are like. Better sleep if you can, love, before that little pleasure is taken from you as well..."

She stares at him in shock as he goes to his bed and prepares for sleep and hastily throws the covers over her daughter's cursed body. Wondering what she is going to do to save her daughter from the terrible curse, she waits till Jack is asleep and then puts her plan into motion by quietly fetching a bag and exiting the cabin. Quietly shutting the door behind her, she makes her way below deck and searches for the coins the crew held.

It takes her until a couple of hours to sunrise to find the last of the coins when she makes her way back to the cabin for the final three pieces. She enters the cabin quietly and heads towards the bed where her husband sleeps and kisses his lips one last time after taking his coin from his clothing and whispers to his ear, "I'm sorry, my dear husband. Please forgive me..."

The captain grins and squints his eyes open, whispering back, "It's alright, my loving wife. I understand, and there is nothing to forgive." then closes his eyes and returns to sleep.

Daybreaker gasps for a moment and pulls away in shock, then hurries to her daughter's bed. She then casts a spell to keep her asleep and picks her up in her arms, then heads toward the cabin door and opens it with her magic.

Mister Cotton's parrot watches Daybreaker as she exits the cabin carrying her daughter, and is about to squawk in alarm when Daybreaker looks over her shoulder at him and shushes him, then hears her softly whisper, "Dead birds tell no tales...understand?"

She watches the parrot nod his head quickly with trembling feathers and takes off towards the ruined castle thinking, 'Soon, you will be free from your suffering my dear daughter.'

Chapter 24: The end of the beginning

Author's Notes:

Ready for a bit of a wild surprise...HERE YA GO!

Daybreaker flies towards her old castle, aiming to spare her daughter from the suffering she is enduring that is being caused by her taking one of the coins. She holds her sleeping daughter in her arms as she senses that it is time to raise the sun and lower the moon, and continues to fly towards the ruins even faster.

Meanwhile, at the ruined Castle of Two Sisters...

Barbossa takes the dirty goblet he found in one of the still-intact rooms and holds the bowl to his mouth, then blows out the dust inside of it. He then gazes inside the goblet then takes his handkerchief and uses it to wipe out the remnants, then tucks the handkerchief back into a pocket. Bending down to pick up the bottle sitting at his feet he discovered in the old library, he stands straight and raises his hand clutching the neck of a dust-encrusted bottle. He opens his mouth and brings his mouth down towards the cork, bites it, and then jerks it free with a pop. He then spits it out across the floor and turns his gaze back to the bottle and sighs sadly saying, "Well...here goes nothin. Let's see if I can taste this at all."

The lone pirate moves the cleaned goblet into position near the open bottle and pours some of the contents out into the goblet until it reaches half-full, then swirls the bluish glittering liquid around in it and raises the goblet's rim to his lips and takes a drink from it. He is surprised to feel a tingling sensation followed by something similar to waking up hungry in the morning and says, "Hmm...interesting. I wonder what kind of beverage this drink may be." then takes another drink from the goblet and empties it.

After finishing the bottle off, he drops it to the floor and picks up a book about magic then starts to read it to entertain himself during his time here. He then half chuckles and says, "This world sure is a lot more interesting than the other one is."

A couple of hours later, Barbossa finishes the book and sets it down when he hears hasty hoofsteps echoing down one of the corridors leading into the room. He rises to his feet and moves in front of the passage leading towards the vault, then reaches for the hilt of his sword and draws it when the steps draw nearer saying, "Who or what creature dares to tread upon these haunted halls?!?"

Daybreaker carries her sleep-spelled daughter around the corner and into the room with a sigh saying, "Relax Barbossa, it is just my daughter and me."

He then relaxes and sheathes his sword with a roll of his eyes saying, "Here I was, hoping that some poor wanderer had come here searching for treasure. What brings you back to these ruins, hmm?"

She then looks down at her daughter affectionately and says, "My daughter found a way to follow us into the vault and foolishly took one of the coins, therefore I am here to end her curse so she can enjoy life without such suffering."

Barbossa looks at the little filly and chuckles saying, "Mischievous little whelp, she is definitely Jack's daughter alright..." He then turns his eyes up to her and asks, "So how are things on board the Black Pearl with your husband and the crew?"

Daybreaker looks away in shame as a few tears roll down her face when she recalls how she set fire to many of the homes inside Manetown and chokes out, "Horrible..."

He looks at her with curiosity and asks, "Oh, do explain further please."

She begins sobbing as she starts to tell him how things started to go from bad to worse, then she continues her tale saying, "Then, after we buried my stillborn twins......I asked him to make the ponies pay for their deaths...and he agreed to it! So we sailed to Manetown and arrived in the middle of the night amidst a heavy rolling fog with a night sky having a full moon blocked by only a few clouds, then opened fire on the unused fort. Once the fort was destroyed, I-I..."

Barbossa hangs on her words, eager to hear the full story and asks, "You...what...hmm?"

Daybreaker squints her eyes closed and continues, "I asked him to have a little fun with the curious villagers..." She then sobs a bit more and resumes saying, "So he turned his cannons onto the town and began firing, I even joined in by casting a few fireballs at the panicking citizens. I watched a structure collapse and laughed at the suffering I was bringing upon my own subjects, but then I heard a small filly's cries for her mother above the screams. Something inside me couldn't tolerate it anymore so I raced toward her to silence her when I found her tugging on her dead mother's arm. I don't know why, but seeing her mother's arm tear-free and knock the filly down, then land upon her struck a chord in me once she started crying out an apology for hurting her. So I took the filly up and carried her away from the town and set her down, telling her to find a family nice enough to take her in and care for her. After that, I took off back to the ship and headed inside the cabin to get some time to myself. I was instead greeted by the sounds of soft crying coming from my daughter. After asking her what was wrong, she told me that she couldn't satisfy her hunger or thirst anymore and that she should have died a year or so ago. When I held her in my arms to comfort her, we fell asleep for a little while and I saw her rotted body in the moonlight. I went to touch her, but noticed that my own arm was rotted as well. So after I went to the mirror to look myself over, Jack told me that the moonlight reveals us for what we really are. After he showed me what he looked like in the light, I couldn't bear to deny my daughter the chance to live a happy life...so I brought her here to give her that chance at happiness."

After hearing her story, he smiles sadly and then jerks his head towards the passage behind him saying, "Oh the things we do for those we love..." then turns and starts walking down the hall, then stops after a short ways and glances back over his shoulder asking, "Well...aren't you coming?"

She quickly starts following him down the empty ruin, spying a familiar empty bottle and says absentmindedly, "I completely forgot that we kept a good stock of mana-infused liquor for when my sister and I used to try out new spells when we were younger, they can remain here though, I have no need for them anymore." then continues on down the hall.

Barbossa leads her to the vault and watches her activate a mechanism to reveal the hidden door, then enters with the key and unlocks the door for her, and stands to the side. He watches her head towards the chest and set her daughter on the floor, then stands back up to grab the ancient knife and kneels by her daughter's side.

Daybreaker then takes her daughter's hand in hers gingerly and holds her palm up saying, "I'm sorry sweety, but you may never see your father again after this night..." and runs the blade across her palm, slicing it open. She then sets the knife down and retrieves her daughter's coin and lays it in her palm, staining it with her blood before tossing it into the stone chest.

A metallic clunk is heard as the gold piece lands atop the other pieces, the blood price paid as the curse fades away from the young filly.

She watches as her daughter starts to shiver from the cold and unconsciously wrap her arms around herself, allowing her to release a sigh of relief when she looks at her own hand. Picking up the knife once more, she quickly slices her own palm open rather deeply accidentally. Unable to feel the pain as blood runs down her palm and up her forearm, distracting her for a moment before she tosses the blade into the chest and retrieves her own coin.

Barbossa watches with a nostalgic smile as he remembers when his own curse was lifted, then returns to the present as Daybreaker lays the coin in her bleeding palm and clenches it tightly, then chucks it up into the chest. He hears the coin land among the others and watches as her appearance begins to shimmer and revert to what it once was saying, "Such a beautiful thing to watch...you are back to looking like the Celestia I know."

Celestia smiles and casts a healing spell on her daughter's hand and her own, then watches as a scar forms on her own with only a small scar appearing on her daughter's and sighs sadly, saying, "It is a small blessing to be able to feel things again, the times ahead will be difficult, but at least my daughter will be able to have a happy life free from that wretched curse..." She then looks at Barbossa and says, "You could do the same as us and enjoy a peaceful life, Hector."

He chuckles and shakes his head saying, "Nay, missy. I have a destiny of me own to seek out, so I shall be upholding my deal with Jack for the time being. But feel free to stop by from time to time to keep me informed on the events of the outside world, hmm?"

She then picks up her daughter and blinks away a tear saying, "I shall do that, fare well for now until my next visit Hector." and then takes her leave of the cursed treasure.

A couple of months later, in Canterlot Castle

Summer stomps her hooves as she marches towards her mother's room, kicking the door open roughly and storms in shouting, "Wake up, mother. I am angry and demand to speak to you!"

Celestia wakes with a start at her door being kicked open, then sees her daughter standing there and takes a breath to calm herself then says, "You startled me dear, what is it you need at this hour?"

She frowns and crosses her arms saying, "Why do you keep me locked away here, I am not a criminal!!"

The mother sighs and casts a privacy barrier and then sits up in bed saying, "No you are most certainly not dear, but your father...most certainly is. Just last month he attacked and sank 20 merchant ships, leaving no one alive. If you are going to demand to see him...the answer is no."

Summer Poppet scowls at her mother and stomps her hoof saying, "I don't care, because he is my father and unlike you...I still love him! I want him to be in my life, is that too much to ask?!"

Celestia feels a pain in her heart at how she betrayed her husband and winces at the memory, then narrows her eyes at her daughter and says, "I still do love him, but as he is now...he cannot be a decent father figure for you."

She then scoffs and crosses her arms once more, then starts tapping her hoof on the floor in agitation saying with a roll of her eyes, "Stop lying already...I know you hate him, so why are you still married to him if he is such a monster?"

The princess winces as another pain hits her heart and then strengthens her resolve to be a good mother and says, "That is no concern of yours, you are still grounded for taking one of those accursed coins."

Summer glares at her mother and keeps trying to get her way and says, "I must thank you for this lovely little scar, it makes me want to be more like papa than you."

Celestia can't take any more lip from her daughter and then uses her royal voice while gesturing to the filly's room bellowing, "I'VE HAD QUITE ENOUGH OUT OF YOU TONIGHT, GO TO YOUR ROOM RIGHT NOW!"

She wilts as her desire to see her father fades away, sadness quickly taking her desire's place. Her eyes start to tear up as she sniffles and turns around, then races towards the door. She passes right through the barrier and races off towards her room as tears start streaming from her eyes thinking, 'My mother has never, ever, used the royal voice on me...'

The princess collapses into her pillow, sobbing as she leaves the barrier up at how things have came to be this way between her daughter and her. She looks at the scar on her hand and clenches her fist thinking, 'Would things have been better if I hadn't removed her curse while she was asleep?' and cries herself to sleep.

Several years later, at the port city of Van Hoover...

After her newest flagship has been finally finished called the Sunrise, the largest ship to have ever been built having 62 six-pound cannons on four lower decks, Celestia sighs at knowing that in spite of her repeated attempts to get her husband to stop attacking merchant ships and port towns...she will have to stop him herself. She stands upon the aft deck and looks at the captain of the ship, then orders him to set sail for the recent spotting of the Black Pearl.

It takes the Sunrise a couple of months to travel to the last known position when a scout comes back, then stops to salute Celestia saying, "Your Highness, the Black Pearl has been spotted a hundred miles away to the East. They are currently on a course that seems to be heading to this very ship."

Celestia sighs and says, "Thank you for your report, soldier. Please return to your post." then looks to the captain and says, "Adjust course to pursue, Captain Hoofington."

As the ship continues on its course, the princess can't help but dread this inevitable confrontation necessary to protect her citizens from the Black Pearl's cursed crew and thinks, 'My daughter will definitely be unhappy about me putting her father in chains and seizing his ship, I just hope that she can forgive me someday...'

A few hours pass as two ships appear within sight of each other, both continuing on their course to engage each other in an unavoidable battle in which there can only be one victor.

The captain looks at Princess Celestia and salutes her, then politely asks, "Forgive me Your Highness, but I do not think that you should remain on this ship while she engages with the pirate ship...you could be injured. Can you keep us safe from the air?"

She nods her head with a smile and says, "Thank you for being so considerate, I shall do just that." then takes off into the air, a hundred feet above the ship as the Black Pearl starts turning to their starboard as her ship starts turning to port. She watches the two ships as both their gunports open up and the cannons are rolled out, then begin to fire at each other.

As a few cries of pain are heard, cannons continue to fire on both ships in a contest of survival when the Sunrise's main and aft masts crack and topple to the port side.

Jack gazes upon the crippled man-of-war with pity and says, "How sad it is when a ship sails on her maiden voyage and sinks on it..." He then looks to his crew and shouts, "Load the burning, heavy shot!"

Celestia watches with astonishment at how poorly her ship is damaging the Black Pearl, then watches curiously as the Pearl's cannons are pulled back, then rolled back out to fire upon the crippled Sunrise once more and begins to cast a spell to protect her crew from the attack. Unfortunately, she is too late to cast it as the Black Pearl fires her cannons. She watches as time seems to slow down as the cannons continue to fire off individually, launching out a projectile that starts burning when the cannon is fired. She watches as the projectile strikes the side of the ship and punches right through the wood, then disappears as minutes seem to pass when a low crackling starts to fill the air.

The low crackling gets louder as it seems to get even faster when a reddish glow begins to emanate from the open gunports, revealing its source when fire slowly rushes out of every open gunport.

The princess watches as her eyes take in the sight of her flagship exploding in agonizingly slow motion as every board around the ship's middle begins to bulge outward. The boards around the middle of the ship transform into splinters that are driven away in several different directions as the remains of the deck collapse into the lower decks while the ship slowly starts breaking in half and starts slipping below the water's surface.

Time resumes as a large boom sounds out through the air, showering the nearby area with deadly wooden shrapnel as the gutted ship splits in half and each portion manages to remain floating for a few seconds while burning wildly.

Celestia's vision becomes red as she watches her first warship become nothing more than burning debris floating on the water and snaps her vision to the cause of it...Jack Sparrow and his beloved Black Pearl. She then glares at him in a rage and uses her royal voice to shout, "CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW, YOU HAVE TAKEN MY SUBJECTS FROM ME FOR THE LAST TIME!!! EVERYTHING AND EVERYPONY YOU COME IN CONTACT WITH IS RUINED...NOW YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED FOR IT!!!" She then charges up a spell she hasn't used in a long time and continues shouting, "DISAPPEAR FROM MY LIFE AND SINK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEAS WITH YOUR BELOVED PEARL YOU MONSTER!!" She then fires her spell at the ship, causing it to glow with a sickly green aura as she then finishes shouting, "I BANISH YOU FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!!"

Jack stands on the bow, watching the ship as it starts to glow and slowly drifts forward, the Black Pearl's bow slowly dipping down towards the sea and pulls out his necklace they got at their wedding and winds it up while looking at his wife saying, "Sticks and stones love...did you know that I finally finished putting words to this song that means so much to us both? Allow me to sing it to you..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ex-K2SpUsE

He smiles as he begins walking slowly towards the helm and starts singing along with the music box, "Brave and bold, like a ship at sea, you saw me, and restored to me... Hope and love, oh please grant me, a new life, with you now... Troubles come, and they all shall go, I shall face the foes, or be the foe... Through long years, I shall be with you, our love won't ever die... Come, my love, our life at sea waits, by my side, til forevermore... Through the screams, to eternity, I claim the sins, as mine... Hear our song, and think of me, when dangerous, times seem to come... You shall know, that I will be there, I'll always be, inside... Cursed and dark, may I have become, evil still, but maintain hope... Wounds I caused, may sometime mend, but you shall, always be." He pauses a moment as he starts going up the stairs then continues singing a little slower while holding the rail with his free hand, "Brave and bold, like a ship at sea, you saw me, and restored to me... Hope and love, oh please grant me, a new life, with you now..." at the final note, he clicks the locket shut and tucks it inside his shirt and takes hold of the wheel with one hand, and grabs his hat with his right hand and flourishes a bow to her saying, "Happy Anniversary, Your Highness! Or rather...Pirate Princess Celestia!" He then returns the hat to his head and calls up to her as he feels his feet getting wet, "Remember this day as the day you almost..." but is cut off by the sea completely engulfing his head and groans saying, "I never get to finish saying that..." then turns towards the wheel and takes it with both hands as he starts to feel drowsy wondering, 'I wonder how long I shall be gone for...' as his eyes drift shut while his ship continues gliding toward the ocean floor.

Celestia's red haze and rage dissipate as she recalls what he sang to her in great detail as his ship slowly sank to the bottom of the sea, causing her wings to flutter for a brief moment and lose some altitude when her eyes start to tear up uncontrollably. She wipes her eyes free of the tears, but they keep coming as she starts sobbing and looks down at the sea where the Black Pearl was, seeing the dull glow fade away completely. The knowledge that she just banished her own husband hits her hard, causing her to nearly fall from the sky as she just wants to curl up and cry for her loss. Instead, she turns around and looks for any survivors of her flagship, finding only the captain still alive and pulls him out of the water.

It is a long flight back to Van Hoover while carrying him and trying not to plummet into the ocean from her seemingly endless tears still flowing down her face when she arrives back in the port and lays him on the ground shouting, "This brave pony captain needs aid right now!"

A doctor and nurse rush up to start looking at the soaking-wet captain as the doctor looks up and asks, "What happened to the Sunrise and her crew, Your Highness?"

The princess starts to openly cry in front of a crowd and gets herself under enough control to sob out, "T-The evil has been vanquished at a great price...I am sad to say that the Sunrise and her crew have been lost, claimed in the battle against the Black Pearl. I must take my leave and rest in Canterlot for a while before I start to repair the damage done by the Black Pearl's wicked reign over the Equestrian seas."

They both bow to her in respect as she quickly turns away, still sobbing, and flies towards Canterlot as the nurse looks at the doctor and says, "Way to go you idiot, you made the princess fly away crying."

The doctor looks at the nurse and shakes his head with wide eyes saying, "No I didn't, she was already upset over what happened with the fight against the evil Black Pearl and her captain."

A few hours later, in Canterlot Castle

Celestia makes her way through the castle, ignoring the guards questions if she is alright and heads for the doors to her room. She then hastily throws them open and closes them behind her, rushing towards her bed and falls upon it. Managing to use some strength to crawl up onto her bed further, then clutches a pillow to her chest as she casts a quick privacy barrier before letting herself cry out over having to banish her husband.

Summer Poppet pokes her head out of her room after having heard her mother's sobbing and seizes the opportunity to finally try to get her way and see her father, then grabs the book she was reading along with the gorgon eye she found hidden away in the castle's secret vault and heads to her mother's room with a grin on her face thinking, 'Thanks for helping me come up with this idea Lizzie.'

Elizabeth crosses her arms and asks, 'You are not really going to use the spell...are you?'

The 17-year-old filly scoffs mentally and says, 'Of course I am not, I just want to...encourage my mother into letting me see our father. I have no desire to turn myself into an object for birds to perch on and crap all over...'

Elizabeth sighs with relief and says, 'Well that is very good to hear, I was actually worried that you intended to use it.'

Summer pushes one of the doors to her mother's room open to see her crying into her pillow uncontrollably and closes the door behind her with a smirk and walks into her mother's privacy barrier saying, "Mother, you and I need to have a talk..."

The princess sobs and hears her daughter speaking to her and looks at her out of the corner of her eye and weakly says, "Can it please wait until tomorrow...my dear?"

She presses her advantage and says, "No mother, it cannot. I want you to let me see my father, right now...or else I will punish you."

Celestia sobs and clutches the pillow closer to her head and mumbles into it, "I'm...sorry......but it is impossible."

Summer raises one eyebrow questioningly and says, "I'm sorry, what did you just say? I can't understand mumble."

In a fit of grief, she lifts her head from the pillow and cries out, "I said I'm sorry but it is impossible!"

The filly looks at her mother's tear-stained face and her red eyes and then narrows her eyes at her and asks, "Why? Why is it impossible?" She then thinks for a moment before she asks with a little anger in her voice, "What. Did. You. Do?"

Princess Celestia turns away weakly and looks at the wall shamefully like a filly caught with her hand in the cookie jar and chokes out, "F-Forgive me...please."

Summer Poppet gets a little madder and then shouts back at her in the royal voice demanding her answer, "TELL ME! TELL ME WHAT YOU DID RIGHT NOW!"

The princess quakes at the volume her daughter put into the royal voice and hiccup-sobs saying, "I...I banished him from Equestria."

The daughter's vision starts to turn red as she glares at her mother and screams in the royal voice, "YOU DID WHAT!?!" and clenches her hands around the objects she holds as her arms tremble with anger.

Princess Celestia turns back toward her daughter and tries to curl up on herself as she then says, "But-but I had no choice after he destroyed my ship and killed nearly the entire crew of the Sunrise, otherwise I would have arrested him and put him into the dungeon so you could visit him while keeping the Black Pearl in our custody."

Summer Poppet's vision zones in on her mother and bellows at her full strength, "HOW DARE YOU! THAT IS FATHER'S SHIP, NOT OURS AND YOU KNOW IT! BRING HIM BACK RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

She looks down at the pillow with sorrowful eyes and shakes her head slowly, saying, "I cannot, it is too late because the spell I used to banish him cannot be undone by me, him, you, or anypony else. I am sorry, please forgive me for wanting you to have a happy life without the curse making you suffer."

The filly's vision returns to normal as her rage instantly dissipates when something snaps inside of her, leaving her somewhat calmer as she then looks at her with disdain and turns away saying, "Very well then, you have chosen your own punishment." and walks quickly out of the room with one place in mind to enact her punishment.

Princess Celestia reaches weakly for her daughter as she exits the room, not liking what she said and tries to get off the bed. Her hooves feel like spaghetti under her as she tries to rush to catch her daughter, her own body seeming to be unwilling to cooperate with her as she stumbles and falls a few times.

Summer Poppet stands by an empty marble column just across the Canterlot Gardens from the statue of Discord as she waits for her mother to catch up when she sees her tumble out of the glass panel double doors and weakly scramble towards her on her hands and knees with tears streaming down her face.

The princess tries to stand and run to her daughter saying in a pleading manner, "Please, do anything to punish me...just don't run away from me!"

The filly climbs onto the short column as her mother gets closer to her and stands on the column, holding the book open while holding the eye in her other hand about shoulder level and then looks down at her mother over the top of the book saying with a grim resolve in her voice, "I intend to punish you, but I am not running away from you. I intend to have you look at me every day of your entire eternal life and remember what you have done to deserve this. I shall return when my father does..." She then closes her eyes for a moment and channels all her magic into a single spell and then chants, "Lapis immortalis transformatio, fatum patris." then crushes the gorgon eye and holds her hand in a tight fist as she feels the spell cast itself, sending a tingling feeling throughout her whole body as an invisible wind picks up and causes her long mane and tail to blow in the breeze, and her cloak to flutter behind her.

Princess Celestia looks on in dread as she recognizes the book her daughter is holding when she looks back at her daughter as it slowly begins to turn to stone, starting from her hooves and moving up her body when her daughter keeps her eyes closed and addresses her saying, "I utterly despise how you took my father from me...now suffer for your crime..." then adds one more word with particularly strong venom in it saying, "Mother" then smiles ever so slightly and opens her eyes and looks at her just before they too turn into lifeless stone.

The princess looks up at her daughter as the spell finishes transforming her into a statue, then lets herself crumble into a heap and openly starts sobbing at what her daughter has done to punish her. Her quiet sobs slowly devolve into uncontrolled crying, then slowly into all-out wailing as she loses all composure and frantically claws at the statue, screaming out, "NOOOOO!!!! NOT MY BABY GIRL...PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS SWEETHEART, I'M SORRY!!!"

One of the maids comes out to investigate the noise and spots Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria, dragging her bloody fingers against a stone statue and wailing out in complete misery. Deciding that this is completely not within her ability to handle, she goes to inform the princess's assistant to inform her of the development.

Swift Quill is in Princess Celestia's study when there is a knock at the door and says with a sigh, "What is it now, did the twins start a fire in the guard's latrine again?"

The maid enters and clears her voice, but manages to calmly say, "Uhm...I went to investigate some noise in the Canterlot Statue Gardens, and I found Princess Celestia kneeling in front of one of the statues...wailing and crying out while dragging her bloody fingers all over it. She seems to be extremely upset about something, which I am not qualified to deal with."

The assistant gasps and rushes past the maid saying, "Quick, go get a few things to tend to her wounds while I get her back to her room!" then quickly races to where the princess is at, finding her still wailing and clawing weakly at the statue. She then gets up behind her and strikes her in the back of the neck to knock her out.

After carrying Princess Celestia back to her room and tying her hands and hooves so she can't fight against her, she sets a nullifying ring on her horn and begins to dab a wet cloth across her forehead to fight against the fever she has.

It takes a full year for Celestia to somewhat recover her sanity as she looks around the room drowsily and asking, "Wha...What is going on? Swift Quill, are you there?"

Swift Quill sits beside her bed and takes her hand and says, "I'm right here, Your Highness. Are you feeling any better?"

The princess tries to sit up, but her aching body insists that she lay down and groans saying, "What happened, why am I so sore?"

The assistant looks at her with a sad look in her eye and says, "You first suffered from a mental breakdown, which was compounded by what the doctors that have been sworn to secrecy are calling, 'The Broken Heart Syndrome.' Basically what happened was that you suffered such a severe emotional trauma that your body and mind just totally broke down and caused you to act like you just watched your soulmate die." She then takes a breath and asks, "Now I don't want you to push yourself too hard or go through that again, but could you tell me what might have caused it?"

Princess Celestia shakes and sobs as she remembers what happened and sighs saying, "I was left no choice but to banish my husband Jack Sparrow after the Sunrise was sunk and most of her crew were killed, then to make it all worse...I told my daughter and she punished me by turning herself into that statue that I was trying to change back into her..." she then places both of her hands over her eyes and rolls over onto her side and then curls up on herself like a foal would and begins sobbing over how utterly alone she feels.

Without saying a word, Swift Quill leans over and crawls onto the bed, then wraps her arms around the grieving princess.

Chapter 25: Living nightmares

Ten years pass as Celestia kneels before the statue of her daughter, wearing a black mourning dress even though it is the longest day of the year, sobbing quietly and hoping against hope that her daughter will return to her very soon.

Swift Quill looks on at the longing look on Celestia's face as she watches her from nearby when she sighs and makes her way towards her and says with a bow, "I'm sorry to disturb your day of mourning, Your Highness, but there has been an increase in Timberwolf sightings, manticores, and Cockatrices in the outer edges of the Everfree Forest near a small farmhouse. May I ask what you wish to do about the issue?"

Princess Celestia hangs her head and sighs as a tear falls from her cheek and says, "Send a letter to the Griffons and offer them what timber they desire if they come and cut the Everfree Forest back. Now may I return to my day of mourning?"

The assistant nods quickly and sets to her task saying, "Of course, Your Highness, my deepest apologies for interrupting so rudely."

380 years later, in a cave in the Everfree Forest...

Equis holds her darling little pink alicorn baby foal in her arms, sweaty from how much of a toll the labor took on her and nuzzles her affectionately saying, "Oh my little Cadence, I wish I could raise you myself but I know you will be well loved in the care of another. Let's go walk together before we must part ways my darling daughter." She then uses her magic to call forth a woven straw basket with a letter she created several days ago lying against the side of the basket and carefully sets her filly inside of it, moving the letter aside and covering her with a soft pink blanket to keep her warm. She then lays the letter on top of the blanket with the name Celestia facing up, then takes a calming breath as she shakily gets up and picks up the basket.

After she makes her way to the sleeping village of Ponyville, she stops by a tree guided into being a library with a smile on her face. She sets the basket in front of the door as a few tears fall from her eyes and bangs firmly on the door to wake the occupants, then makes her way back to the forest without looking back, knowing that her little girl was going to be just fine.

Seventeen years later, inside of a tower in Canterlot...

Celestia is in her room, looking around it curiously for ideas with what sort of a present to give a promising young filly for her birthday when she looks up at a tattered, four-legged pony sitting against a book titled Myths and Prophecies and chuckles to herself when an idea comes to her.

A young, light mulberry unicorn filly with a dark blue mane and tail, and violet eyes tears open the birthday presents that her family and friends got for her as she groans when she opens one containing clothing saying, "Mooooommmaaa.....stop always giving me more clothes, I would much rather get a good book."

It is nearly sunset when only her family and foal sitter are with her still when a knock is heard on the door, drawing Twilight's mother's attention and making her go answer the door.

Twilight Velvet opens the door and gasps as she sees Princess Celestia herself outside her door and immediately bowing to her saying, "Oh Princess Celestia, it is a great honor that you have come to visit us! Please come in, would you like some tea and cake?"

The princess smiles and shakes her head saying politely, "Please rise and thank you. I would love some cake and tea, thank you for offering. I heard that you have a little filly with a birthday today..."

Twilight gasps in delight as she hears who is at the door and races over then skids to a stop as she remembers to be polite to the ruling princess and bows to her saying, "Hello, Your Majesty. What brings you to visit our home?"

Princess Celestia chuckles lightly and smiles down at the filly and says, "I came over to give you a few presents as I knew it was your birthday." She then uses her magic to bring them out of her own storage dimension and hands her the three items. She giggles as the little filly squeals with delight and races to the table and starts to tear into the big flat one first.

The mother chuckles at her daughter's enthusiasm and steps aside to allow the princess to come in and says, "Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable your highness, I will bring you a slice of cake and some tea."

The overly excited filly finishes getting the wrapping off one of the presents and squeals with delight saying, "It's a book! Thank you, Princess Celestia!"

Celestia holds her tea and watches Twilight tear into the second-biggest gift when she removes enough wrapping around the box to allow the lid to fall off the upside-down box, and an old pony doll flops out of the box onto its head. Celestia hides a slight titter and wipes away a tear unnoticeably and says, "I know that may not be a pretty doll...or a book...but that old doll is something I cherish and would like you to look after him for me."

Twilight picks up the aged and worn doll, then smiles widely and then looks at the princess and asks, "Really?! You want ME to look after your precious doll?!?"

The princess giggles and nods her head saying, "I most certainly do, and I believe that you are just the right pony for the job."

The little filly squeals and hugs the doll tightly saying, "Thank you, Princess Celestia, I will!" then sets the doll onto the table gently and spots the letter, then cocks her head curiously and picks it up asking, "What is this one, princess?"

Celestia smiles and says, "Open it and you will see..."

Twilight then starts to open the letter sealed with wax, succeeding after a few moments and then pulls out a tri-folded paper. After reading the first few lines, she speeds through it again and again before shrieking with delight in such a high pitch that could cause glass to become powder, "I'M INVITED!!! I GET TO ATTEND THE PRINCESS'S SCHOOL FOR GIFTED UNICORNS!!!"

The princess then smirks and says, "You have definitely earned this invite....but to attend my school, you must first...pass the entrance exam...

The little filly's abundant excitement instantly changes into fear as her eyes become like saucers as she fails to say anything but, "...oh..."

Eight years later, at the Castle of Two Sisters

Barbossa sets aside the book he was reading for the twentieth time and sighs saying out loud, "I've read every book in this decrepit old ruin a dozen times at least.." then looks up at the night sky and says, "When shall my time here be finished...hmm?"

He is then distracted by the distant sound of a couple ropes snapping and then the sound of wood striking stone, causing him to get up and investigate. Walking down the hall leading to the vault, he heads towards the above-ground ruins and stops near the end of the corridor when he sees a wisp of purple smoke zip through the corridor ahead and cocks his head curiously.

Before given the chance to investigate, he is about to open the doors when he hears multiple voices talking to each other and goes to the broken window instead. He pokes his head out and peers outside then chuckles darkly and sees six young ponies making their way across the bridge.

Deciding to watch them from a distance, he pulls away from the window and heads back down the corridor he came from and waits for them to come search for the vault in a hidden alcove when he hears one of the double doors open with a loud, slow creak that echoes down the corridors and decides to have a little fun with them and forms a circle with his hands and fingers.

Fluttershy looks around the room when she faintly hears, "Abandon all hope...ye who enter here." echo into the room from an open wooden door hanging onto the frame by just one hinge. She then trembles and darts behind Applejack and squeaks out barely loud enough for the others to hear her, "Wh-wh-wha-what w-was th-that?"

Barbossa chuckles as he hears one of them say, "Ah'm bettin' that's just the wind sugarcube, so don't let that scare ya." then another say, "Oh yeah, because this castle is totally abandoned and rumored to be haunted." and another pipes in and says, "Now don't try to tell us tall tales Rainbow, we need to find the elements so we can save Celestia from Nightmare Moon." when the other 'Rainbow' responds with a single chuckle, "Heh, sorry Fluttershy."

Barbossa continues to listen to their conversation for a few minutes before a swirling noise is heard and something happens to one of them called 'Twilight'.

A few moments pass when he hears them spot something and start running off after it, deciding to find out what is going on and makes his way to where they were to figure out where they went so he could follow after them. He enters the room to see light coming through a wrecked wall and heads towards the stairs leading to the room.

Following the commotion up a spiral hall, Barbossa stops just near the top so he can watch as the battle concludes with a blinding flash, forcing him to quickly turn his head to preserve what sight he has for a moment.

After the light fades away, he turns his gaze back to where it came from and spots a small filly lying at the back of the room and scratches his chin thinking, 'Hmm...curious. Among the others here I don't yet know, who might that one be?'

Princess Celestia slowly makes her way to the room where the fillies are as she hears one of them say, "Gee Twilight, ah thought that ya were just spoutin' a lot of hooey but ah reckon that we really do represent the Elements of Friendship." She showers the room in her golden light as she makes her way down through the ruined window and says, "Indeed you do."

Barbossa walks further ahead and sees Princess Celestia appear as a big ball of golden-yellow light, then appears with a flash having her wings outstretched in a regal manner and standing tall and straight. He watches as the others except for two of them, which one is unconscious or sleeping and the other named Twilight gasps.

After watching their short interaction, he watches her look toward the unconscious or sleeping pony and hears her address her saying, "Princess Luna..."

The smaller princess wakes up with a fright, gasping when she sees her sister walking towards her in a regal manner with her wings raised and hears her continue, "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. It is time that we put our differences behind us. We were always meant to rule together...little sister."

Barbossa's eyes widen as he smiles and takes a keen interest in what is being said, and starts to listen more intently when they continue. As Celestia asks her sister to welcome her friendship, he smiles as the small Princess Luna races to her sister and gives her a big hug while happily accepting her friendship with tears streaming down her face.

A few minutes pass when a brief silence washes over them as Barbossa can't resist being mysterious and starts walking down the corridor before they notice him and calls up from the bottom saying in a low voice, "So it came to pass that the sister returns... Curious and perilous times lie ahead for Equestria's future..." and continues walking away.

Everypony gasps as they hear that and almost ask in unison except for Celestia, "Who/What was that?!"

Celestia's happy mood at being reunited with her sister is shattered as she silently sighs and blinks a tear away slowly saying, "I might have an idea about it, but unfortunately it will have to wait until another day. The main reason being we all should enjoy this day because my beloved sister Princess Luna has returned."

Pinkie Pie then jumps up and cheerfully says, "Hey! Do you know what this calls for? A WELCOME BACK PARTY!"

Late evening the next day, at Canterlot Castle

Celestia sits at her desk, winding up a tarnished golden locket with a silver ship on it when she stops and then opens the locket to hear the melody play. She listens to the melody play out as tears start to trail down her cheeks while her heart aches deeply, from remembering that one day when her heart was utterly torn apart.

Little Princess Luna walks towards her sister's room when she hears a strange melody playing and knocks on the door when she then hears her sister sobbing and knocks on the door asking, "Sister, is everything alright with you?"

She quickly snaps the locket shut, stopping the melody and hastily puts it into a drawer. She slams it shut and then wipes her eyes dry and sniffles, then clears her voice and says, "Y-yes it is dear sister, I was just remembering a painful memory is all. Please come in."

The little princess enters the room and shuts the door behind her and approaches her sister asking, "Is it when we fought and you banished me?"

A sob escapes her as she tries to stop thinking back on both of those days that hurt her, but loses her strength and her upper body falls forward onto the desk. Unwilling to speak the truth, she says, "I am sorry for not seeing what was truly bothering you sister, it still breaks my heart to think back to when I banished you." and devolves into a fit of sobs when flashes of her daughter's stone statue shoot through her mind.

Princess Luna hurries over to her sister and wraps her arms around her, then pulls her close and nuzzles into her saying, "I'm sorry for causing you such pain sister, I don't want us to ever fight like that again."

A few years later, a few miles west of Seaquestria...

Scootaloo looks around and sees an area that is darker than any other in the sea and asks curiously, "Hey, what is going on over there?"

Terramar looks at Scootaloo and asks, "Over where Scootaloo?"

She then points her left forefin at it and asks, "To the west over there, why is that area so dark and gloomy looking?"

He then follows her finger and looks over there and gulps nervously saying, "I don't know, Queen Novo forbade any seapony from investigating a couple shipwrecks over there."

Scootaloo then gasps and looks at Terramar then asks, "Oh really, why is that?"

Terramar looks back at her and says, "Well I have heard a legend that states there was once an infamous band of pirates that sailed on a ship called the Black Pearl. You see, they once kidnapped Princess Celestia herself several centuries ago, and after she managed to escape them, their captain flew into a rage and started to attack the port towns of Equestria...and burning them to the ground. He even attacked merchant traders and left very few, if any survivors. After the first port town was destroyed, Celestia herself built a ship even bigger than the Black Pearl and hunted her across the seas. When they finally caught up to her, a grand battle broke out between them and went on for hours before a victor was decided. The Black Pearl's strength was greater than Princess Celestia thought as the ship she had built was ripped apart when its powder stores were ignited. As if it was a miracle, Princess Celestia managed to escape the blast mostly unharmed. Unfortunately, only the captain survived the ordeal... In her grief over the losses, she flew into a rage and used all her magic to bombard the ship with numerous spells. After she stopped her attack, the ship was somehow still afloat, causing her to use a forbidden magic spell to blast the ship apart. When the spell was over, the Black Pearl still floated on the sea's surface, but a hole was burned right through it and was letting water get in. After the ship slid beneath the surface with its tattered sails still clinging to their rigging, she searched for the captain of the ship and returned him to the port, then headed to Canterlot to restore order." He then gulps and looks around to see Twilight even paying close attention and then continues saying, "Rumors say that if you go a few miles to the west of here and wait until midnight during the Summer Solstice...you can hear the ghostly echoes of cannon fire as the two ships still continue their battle...some old sailors claim that if you wait long enough, you can hear a melody play on a music box. Others say that after the cannon fire ends you can hear the captain's last words vowing to return and get revenge on Equestria." Just off to the right of a big stone, he notices a seapony slowly making its way behind the group before him. Recognizing it as Princess Skystar with a webbed finger over her lips, he takes the hint and looks back at the group with a few fingers on his chin in thought saying, "I know there was one more...but what was it...hmm. Oh right...that rumor." He then looks directly at each of them and hisses saying, "I'm not sure you all can handle this next one...its really scary."

Sweetie Belle eagerly says with a lot of excitement in her voice, "Come on, come on, PLEAASE?"

Terramar then chuckles and grins saying, "Okay then, don't say I never warned you..." He pauses a moment for her to get into place and then finishes his tale saying, "I have only heard this one once... If you visit the location under a full moon that same night...after the cannon fire you can hear the melody play...but once it ends and you look in a certain direction and catch a ghostly image of the damaged ship with tattered sails...you will disappear forever..."

Princess Skystar seizes the moment and gets right behind them and shouts, "BOO!" while raising her forefins in the water and waving them wildly about for added measure.

Every single pony in the group jump and scream in unison, including Princess Twilight. Terramar and Princess Skystar roll around in the water laughing hard as she says, "Oh we got you so good." then returns to laughing her fins off.

Princess Twilight tries to get her breathing under control again as she then glares at Princess Skystar and says, "You most certainly did, but was any of that based on actual events?"

Princess Skystar giggles and says, "Well the majority of the story is true based on what little we know about what actually happened between the pirates and Princess Celestia, although, the rumors are just that...rumors. Many seaponies go there during those times on that day, but always come back saying that nothing happened. Would you like to travel to that location and see the ship? I promise that the area west of here is not forbidden territory, so we can't get in trouble."

The bookish princess is curious and looks to the others and asks, "I don't suppose that you girls would want to come along, would you?"

Unsurprisingly, they all nod their heads and say yes, including Terramar who speaks up, "We can go there no problem, but the only issue is..."

Skystar starts leading the way and purposely waits before finishing by looking over her shoulder and saying, "It's completely overgrown with a variety of kelp that can't be cut away or removed. The only thing that can be seen of the actual ship is the figurehead and the nameplate at the back of the ship. Oh, and the ship's colors."

The group swims along with Princess Skystar leading the way when Twilight spots a very thick field of kelp generally shaped like a ship and says, "Well...from here I can tell that that kelp field is where the ship is and it has three masts, though I can't tell how it is rigged due to the thick kelp."

The seapony princess looks over her shoulder and nods her head saying, "Good eye Twilight. We will go a bit closer toward the bow, then we will see what the rest of you can tell me about the ship."

As they stop near the front of the bow, Scootaloo cocks her head as she looks at the figurehead and says, "Is that figurehead a pegasus?"

Princess Skystar smiles and nods again saying, "Yes it is Scootaloo, what else can you tell me about the figurehead?"

Scootaloo looks at the figurehead a little more and says, "Well...I think it is supposed to be female by the long mane, there is also a bird in her outstretched hand."

The seapony princess nods again with a smile still on her face and says, "Correct again, to be precise, it is a dove she is holding with outstretched wings. Can you tell me what that might mean?"

The orange pegasi looks at it and thinks for a few moments before saying, "She wants to help?"

Princess Skystar keeps smiling and shakes her head saying, "Nice try, but it is a little bit different than that." She then looks at Twilight and asks, "How about you Twilight, what do you think that means?"

Twilight looks at the figurehead closely and says, "Umm...since it is a dove she is holding, doesn't it mean freedom?"

She smiles widely and claps her fins together saying, "Correct Twilight, good guess. Now let's go look at the back of the ship and then head back to Seaquestria."

As they swim around to the back of the ship, marveling at how the nameplate is still readable reading, 'Black Pearl' and then start to head back when there is a change in the current, taking them all by surprise, including the seaponies.

Princess Skystar and Terramar look at each other with surprise in their eyes as she says, "That was weird, there is no current in this area...there never has been."

Twilight hears a slow fluttering and looks behind them to watch the flag switch directions, following the current coming from the east. As the flag reorients itself, Twilight gasps when she spots a white skull and crossbones against a black flag saying, "O-Okay, I guess Princess Celestia really did fight these pirates..." then turns away slowly, curious about why they fought and couldn't get along with each other.

A few days later, Celestia is in the throne on a brief break from the petitioners as she reads through Twilight's report on a group trip to Seaquestria when her eyes widen and her hand starts to tremble. She then finishes the letter and looks up to her assistant and says, "Notify all forces in Equestria to start chasing down and arresting any and all pirates sailing the seas, and transport them all to the castle dungeon."

A year and a half later, inside Celestia's chambers in the castle

It is well after sunset when Luna stands before her sister's room with a worried frown on her face as she knocks on the door saying, "Sister, I need to talk to you, may I come in?"

Celestia is about to put the locket away but stops when she is about to drop it and sighs when she realizes that her sister suspects something, and has asked about what the melody was. Steeling her resolve, she returns the locket to the desk and closes the drawer gently. Sliding it to the edge, she then moves to the bed and sits down near the middle while picking up the locket and closing her hand around it tenderly then takes a steady breath saying, "Please come in sister, I feel that I too need to talk with you."

She opens the door and enters the room, closing the door behind her and casting a privacy barrier before looking at her sister with a worried expression on her face asking, "Sister, I have heard a melody playing from your room. Also, I have noticed that you are not really happy when you attend the Summer Sun Festival, then when night comes, you go visit the Canterlot gardens and stand before a single statue while sobbing and saying something I can't quite understand. Did something happen to make you so sad?"

Luna's sister sits on her bed and looks up with a soft, sweet smile on her face and slowly nods saying, "Yes sister, something did happen...I lost somepony that was very dear to me." She then remains quiet for a few moments before adding, "Let me explain it a bit more, though I can't tell you everything because it is still quite painful for me..." She then pats the bed beside her and says, "Please have a seat beside me, my dear sister."

Luna makes her way over and sits next to her, then places her left arm around her and gazes at her face with a few tears gathering at the corners of her eyes saying, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to dear sister."

Celestia's soft smile turns into a gentle frown as she sniffles and then shakes her head saying, "It isn't that I don't want to, but it is something that I need to tell you. You have been quite patient with me for a few years now since you first heard the melody, so I shall tell you about the melody you heard." She then opens up her hand and carefully winds up the old locket saying, "You see, this is the melody you heard." she finishes winding the locket and then pops it open saying, "Somepony gave me this locket as a gift, but it wasn't them that I loved, it was the one that put words to this melody." she then decides to say no more as the melody begins to play once more, humming along with it as she leans against her sister and laying her head on her shoulder.

She quietly listens to the melody as it also makes her feel happy yet also sad enough to cry. Numerous questions enter her mind, but she holds them back as her sister begins to cry and lays down on her lap. She runs her hand along her cheek and neck tenderly while her sister curls up on the bed, clutching her skirt in her free hand while still holding the open locket. Her eyes moisten as she watches her sister openly cry on her lap wondering what happened to make her sister cry like this.

Meanwhile, in a cave in the Everfree Forest

Equis watches the touching moment between the two sisters and sighs saying, "I apologize to all of you, for what I am about to do will affect a few of you more than others." She then closes her eyes and begins to weave a magic spell saying, "After all, a deal is a deal..."

Twilight is dreaming peacefully on a ship reading a book during the late evening, the caw of gulls and the gentle tossing of the ship calm her when she looks up to see the sun sink over the horizon. A sudden flash of green races across the sky, revealing a ship in the distance. She tries to focus on the ship when the sky begins to cloud over, darkening the sky and making her lose the ship entirely until lightning flashes across the sky. Able to see the ship for just a moment, a storm kicks up, getting worse by the second as her mane and tail blow wildly in the howling wind. Rain begins falling as lightning continues to illuminate the sky for brief moments, granting her glimpses of the ship as it comes closer with each flash. Her eyes catch a glimpse of a large, three-masted ship sailing right past her tiny raft as it tosses about wildly on the churning sea when she hears numerous doors open up. She then sees huge, brief gouts of flame erupt from several tubes on the ship, screaming at the loud booms produced by the explosions. Everything around her goes dark, but the storm continues as a city in front of her eyes is illuminated by a flash of lightning momentarily before several explosions rip through the city, starting numerous fires as the residents begin to scream.

Luna quickly flies over to Twilight's castle when she is unable to enter her dream to stop her nightmare, landing hastily and rushing towards the doors to go wake her directly, thinking, 'I do not understand...why can I not stop her nightmare?'

The young princess continues to scream as the fires engulf the city, thrashing about while screaming, "PRINCESS LUNA, PLEASE SAVE ME!!"

With no other choice left to her, Luna raises her hand and slaps Twilight's cheek hard as she thrashes wildly for a moment more before stopping with a gasp when Twilight opens her eyes finally.

Twilight sits up quickly and accidentally buries her face into the cleavage of somepony, then pulls away a little and sees that it is Luna. She reacts by throwing her arms around Luna and sobbing while saying, "Oh Luna I'm glad you woke me from that terrible nightmare, I've never been so scared!"

Luna hugs her back with a few tears in her eyes and says, "I'm sorry, for some reason my magic wasn't enough to stop the nightmare. So I had to act directly to wake you from it...I am sorry for having to strike you to do so..."

She sobs and smiles thankfully, then shakes her head saying, "It's alright, I'm not mad about that. I'm actually thankful you did that, I hope I never have that horrible nightmare again."

The next day...a few hours from sunset

On a ship named Gallant Stride, the captain looks behind them to see their pursuer closing in on them and shouts, "Prepare for a fight lads!" and draws his own sword as the others draw theirs.

An intense fight breaks out, lasting for a half hour before several of the crew are arrested while one small unicorn foal watches the fight from the stairs leading to the hold. Fearing for his life, he runs away to grab his good luck charm his mother claimed was a family heirloom, and clutches it tightly when a guardspony grabs him and puts a nullifying ring on his horn saying, "Hopeful Dream, you are under arrest for associating with pirates and shall be transported to the Canterlot dungeons for your crimes."

Many days pass as Hopeful Dream sits in his cell, sobbing as he clutches the coin tightly. He thinks on how Princess Celestia sentenced him to fifty years in the dungeon, opening his hand to gaze at the tarnished gold charm. The misshapen coin has a few cracks along the edges, showing a shield on one side and a cross on the other with EITC appearing in tiny letters at each end of the cross and remembers what his mother told him, "Remember what I have taught you, Hopeful, if you should ever feel trapped and have nowhere to run...send out a call for help and sing that song. Never sing it unless you have a true need for it..."

With a sigh, he looks around at the small cell and sighs while a tear falls from his eye saying, "Well, there is certainly nowhere left for me to go now..." He then goes silent as the rest of the prisoners continue to cry out their innocence and closes his hand while stealing his resolve, remembering what the words were.

Equis smiles as she continues channeling the spell saying, "Finally, the time has come at last...let us begin." and pours a little more magic into the spell to begin the next part.

Hopeful Dream hangs his head and closes his eyes singing slowly, "The lone, bold hero...found himself in a bind..." as all noise in the dungeon dies as the prisoners focus on the direction the voice is coming from as he continues without noticing, "and got another chance...he came in pain, and sought to heal..." he then looks up at the ceiling and keeps on singing while holding the charm closely when a golden glow starts to emanate from him, "when he found, his love..."

Another prisoner in the dungeon realizes the situation he is in and starts to chuckle and joins in a few moments later after a brief pause, singing just as slowly, "He found, the way, to free us all..."

Other prisoners smile and see a single light in their dark hour of need, then join in on the song, "Draw swords, one and all...forever free, to die." as they too begin to glow with a golden light.

Luna wanders through the dream realm, worriedly checking all the doors after finding one to be locked. Finding yet another locked door, she pulls harder on one of the doors as she starts to sense her subjects having troublesome dreams one after another simultaneously when she hears the song continue, with many more voices joining in on the song, "Free no more, our hope yet burns...for he is not gone..." She goes to another door and frantically pulls as hard as she can on it when she starts to see trails of a golden magic filter from each door into the dream realm, slowly merging together to form a trail that starts to lead somewhere. Without any urging, she quickly follows the trail.

As she gets close to the start of the trail, it races away from her. She races after it while wondering where it is going and what kind of spell it is used for when the song continues with a voice she recognizes joining in, being slightly louder than the others, "With nowhere left to run, and our freedom to lose...run to your final rest..."

Luna runs after the trail as it blazes a trail away from her, trying to get ahead of it to stop it from arriving. Managing to see a glowing door up ahead, she uses her wings to try to go even faster to reach her sister's dream before the magic trail arrives. She throws the door open and charges into her sister's dream as she sees her kneeling in front of the same statue with her hands clasped together in prayer when she continues singing with tears falling from her chin, "He took, a gamble...and stole his prize! Draw swords, one and all...always free to die."

She is almost to her sister and reaches out to her with her arms and hands screaming, "SISTER, WAKE UP! YOU ARE CASTING A SPELL IN YOUR SLEEP!!" She is almost able to touch her sister when she is suddenly jerked backward and hurled out of her dream with the door slamming shut in front of her eyes. She stares at the glowing door as it begins to get even brighter, making her say with wide eyes, "Just what in Equestria is going on?"

Discord pops up out of her mane and says with a sigh, "A deal being upheld between two creatures, I only wish that it was my doing...pity really as I am finding this little bit of chaos enjoyable as multiple creatures around the world join in on this song...both inside this realm and the waking world. It appears to me that your sister is going to be the medium to cast a really big spell...you better race to her room and wake her up if you want to stop the spell...tata for now and good luck." then disappears with a pop.

Luna looks over her shoulder at where the draconequus was at and groans in frustration saying, "Discord, if I find that you had any part in this...you are going back to being a statue!" then returns to her body and rises out of the throne to race towards her sister's room as the song continues on, "Free no more, our tears still blaze fiery trails, hear our sorrowful cries...cry out for him, to save us all...our hearts need you now!"

She races past the guards with curious looks on their faces as some ask what is wrong, but ignores them as she heads to her sister's room. Finally arriving after what feels like an eternity, she sees a golden light filter under the door and hastily throws the door open. Hurrying inside to see her sister's body glowing the same golden color as she then sings more slowly, "He found, the way...to free us all."

Luna then runs to her sister's side and begins shaking her violently to wake her shouting, "SISTER, WAKE UP!" though her sister continues singing slowly, "Draw swords...one and all..."

With no other choice than to strike her, she then raises her hand as she hears, "forever free..." and slaps her hard screaming, "PLEASE STOP CECE!! WAKE UP!!!"

Celestia's eyes open, though still in a trance as they glow with a golden light, her head turns and looks up at the ceiling for a moment, unable to see her sister on top of her.

Luna sighs happily as her body suddenly stops glowing for a moment and says, "Sister...you're awake at last."

She then finishes the song by saying, "to die..." and casts the spell, sending out a blast of golden energy that races outward.

Caught in the blast, Luna is hurled backward and slams into the wall so hard she blacks out saying, "Sister...nooo..."

Equis then falls to the ground exhausted, landing on her rump saying tiredly, "Now...it is up to you girls to do the rest... Succeed or fail, it all rests with you."

Chapter 26: It all falls down

Celestia wakes up exhausted along with a headache and gazes around the room, catching a glance out the window to see that it is still dark out. Curious why she woke up, she continues looking around the room when she gasps at seeing her sister laying on the floor with her back along the wall. She hurriedly rises out of bed and jumps to the floor, then runs toward her fallen sister. Kneeling by her side, she worriedly grasps her sister's shoulders and calls out to her, "Lulu, LULU...PLEASE WAKE UP!

Luna groans and sits up with a massive headache saying, "Ughhh...my head's killing me."

The older sister sighs with a smile then says, "It is good you are awake, are you injured anywhere?"

She thinks about it for a bit and moves a few parts, then shakes her head slowly saying, "Thankfully, I'm just suffering from aches...how long was I out?"

Celestia uses a little spell to check what time it should be and gasps saying, "OH TARTARUS! It is three hours past sunrise, we need to raise the sun and lower the moon!"

In spite of the pain she is in, Luna rises up from the floor and returns to her hooves. She then walks to her sister's balcony as they quickly begin changing the time from night into day when she asks, "Do you remember what that spell was that you cast last night?"

She cocks her head as they finish switching it to daytime as she tries to think of what happened but shakes her head with a sigh saying, "Unfortunately I can't remember anything, can you tell me about it to jog my memory?"

The little sister thinks back to what she saw but sighs saying, "I couldn't identify the spell, but when you cast it...it sent out a wave of golden light that blasted me off of you and caused me to slam into the wall where I was then knocked out. I am sorry if your face is a little sore, I slapped you last night to try to wake you from your sleep."

Celestia blinks and feels her cheek, discovering that it is a little tender and smiles saying, "It is alright, did you succeed?"

Luna shakes her head sadly and says, "Unfortunately no, after I slapped you, you finished singing a strange song which you cast your spell immediately after the last word."

She looks at her sister curiously and asks, "Could you tell me more about what happened last night before we have to prepare for the Summer Sun Festival?"

The little sister nods her head and says, "Of course, let me start from how it all began..."

Later that morning, several miles west of Seaquestria

A ship sails west-northwest under full canvas as the Swift Guardian chases after her a league or two when the pegasus captain looks behind the ship saying, "We still have hope lads! Unicorns, use your magic to attack their ship to slow her down!"

The pegasus captain on the Swift Guardian steers his ship onward and sees glowing horns preparing to attack and says, "Some unicorns skilled in defensive magic protect the ship, you others try to take down their sails!"

The captain of the pirate ship adjusts his course to try to dodge the attacks from their pursuer, although a few spells strike his sails and snap a couple ropes holding the side of one. Feeling his ship start to slow, he knows that he can either choose to repair the rope and stop attacking: granting the other ship the advantage...or he could make his final stand. As he makes his choice, he calls out, "All hands continue attacking them! Draw swords and prepare for our last stand!"

Just about close enough to start boarding the pirate ship, he says, "All hands draw your sabers and prepare to board!" when he hears the lookout calls out, "Captain Silverhoof, something strange spotted a few miles west of our location!" and pulls out his spyglass to see what it is.

After hearing the other lookout's report, the pirate ship's captain pulls out his own spyglass while keeping his wing on the wheel mumbling, "Could it be?"

As both captains continue watching the gathering fog when something begins to appear from beneath the ocean, but is unable to see anymore as the Stormy Gale blocks his sight and groans in annoyance, "Bring her to half-sail, I must know what that is."

The captain of the Stormy Gale watches as the objects keep rising out of the sea, revealing them to be part of a ship but his spyglass is not strong enough to see more detail and says, "Bring me the strong binoculars, I can't see much with this blasted thing!"

Moments later, a crewmember brings him the binoculars and gazes through them at the ship and grins saying, "Lads...IT'S HER! SHE'S BACK! REPAIR THE ROPES ON THE SAILS!"

The captain of the Swift Guardian focuses a bit more on the ship as the Stormy Gale's crew cheers at what their captain said, watching as the unknown ship's crew starts running about, pulling seaweed and kelp off the rigging, sails, and the deck. He sees a ship with black sails flying no colors and says absentmindedly, "What and who are you?" He continues watching the strange ship as she draws nearer, a light fog seeming to follow after the ship when he sees a flag go up and puts the spyglass away calling out, "It's another pirate ship, we will deal with her once these miscreants are arrested. Bring us to full sail!"

The pirate captain smiles as his crew finish repairing the ropes and turns the wheel, changing his course straight towards the other pirate ship softly saying, "We will let the Pearl take you all..." He then straightens the wheel out and calls out, "MORE SPEED, WE MAY YET HAVE A CHANCE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY!"

Jack Sparrow gazes through his spyglass at the other pirate ship being pursued and looks at the other ship's flag, and frowns at seeing the flag of Equestria. He puts his spyglass away as the crew finish ridding the ship of the seaweed and kelp, shifting his gaze to the front ship calling out, "Full canvas and then wait to open all gunports til the second ship draws near!" the crew then goes to the task saying, "Aye aye!"

As the Stormy Gale draws closer to the Black Pearl, he takes a closer look at the ship and gets an eerie feeling like something isn't quite right with her. He looks the ship over to see that her sails are tattered and torn, with big holes where there shouldn't be any, and a heavy fog that follows in her wake. Chills run up his spine as he maintains his course thinking, 'I really hope we make it back to Portuga today...'

The Swift Guardian's captain ignores the eerie sensation he gets when he looks at the ship with black sails and hull, taking a few moments to look the ship over again and scoffs saying, "Hmph...even though it is a big ship with three square-rigged masts, she isn't much of a threat because of the state her sails are in."

After the Stormy Gale sails on past the Black Pearl, the Swift Guardian's captain sees small doors open up on the side and chuckles saying, "Look lads, they are jumping ship!" and hears his crew join in.

Moments later as the black ship draws nearer, the captain sees something being pushed out of each hole. His eyes go wide as he realizes what they are and shouts, "CAST YOUR PROTECTIVE SHIELDS, THEY HAVE CANNONS ON BOARD!"

Jack watches as the ponies cast their shields and chuckles saying, "Let's introduce ourselves shall we...fire all."

The captain ducks behind the wheelhouse as he hears the cannons begin firing, hearing the crunching sound of wood breaking into pieces as he hears a slow creaking as one of the masts starts coming down. Moments later he hears magic shields shatter followed by the pained screams of his crew as they are hit.

Seconds pass by as the screams suddenly stop when the cannons finish firing, allowing a moment for the captain to assess the damage. Standing up from his cover, he turns to look at the deck. His eyes go wide as he begins to tremble at seeing the bodies of his men torn apart and the mainmast hanging off the edge of the ship. He looks at the carnage again and sees there are gaping holes in various places along the top deck, then turns around to look at the ship that caused all this destruction and sees the name on the back of the ship reading: Black Pearl. He watches the ship slowly come about to attack again and hides beside the undamaged wheelhouse, praying for his life to be spared from this carnage."

The Black Pearl nears the crippled ship as Jack looks at the useless state the remaining sails are in then says, "Furl the sails lads and bring her in, it's time to announce our return..."

The captain hears grapnels being thrown over and begins to shake more violently as he puts his hands together in prayer and says repeatedly, "Oh humble and beloved ruling princesses, please hear my prayer and come save me in my hour of need..."

Jack makes his way across the ship and onto the crippled vessel when he hears hooves quietly knocking against wood and chuckles saying, "Your princess is not a god mate...so give up and stop praying that she will come to save you..." and steadily makes his way around the gaping deck holes, heading towards the aft of the ship where one survivor is when he comes across a surviving crewmember. He looks at the pony briefly and sees that it is a unicorn, then draws his sword and stabs them through the heart.

The captain tries to stop his hooves from shaking so badly, but is unable to and tries to maintain some sense of calmness and says back, "Oh yes they will, the ruling princesses will gather the elements and send you back to Tartarus where you belong!"

As he makes his way around the other side of the helm, he slowly walks to the left side of the terrified pony and chuckles, drawing the pony's attention and says, "Tartarus didn't want me mate...I'm too dangerous. Now did my ears deceive me or did you just say ruling princesses and something about elements?" He then brings the tip of his sword to his throat as it still drips the fresh blood from his slain crewmember and says, "Answer me or lose your wings..."

He looks at the blade, wet with fresh blood, and trembles even more trying to speak, "Y-Y-Yes, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I-I-I'm not telling you anything about the Element Bearers so just go ahead and k-kill me."

Jack leans forth while keeping the sword tip at the pegasus's throat, then reaches up with his other hand and grabs the pony by the throat. He pulls him up from the deck and chuckles saying, "No mate, I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna tell you why... How are they gonna know about me eh? Now here's what you're gonna do, you will fly back to Canterlot and tell them all about what happened here. Oh and one question, along with your name, what might the day be mate?"

The captain calms a little at being allowed to live and says, "I-I am c-captain Sharp Feather, and it is the longest day of the year."

He huffs in annoyance and whacks the side of his head with the side of his sword, causing the pony to flinch in response and says, "The sooner you tell me, the less likely the chance you will die." To get his point across, he trails the tip of his sword down the side of his face lightly.

Sharp feather sighs and then says, "It is June 21st...now may I go?"

Jack grins and says, "Yes, and be sure to tell dear Celestia happy anniversary...she will understand. Now scram and fly to Canterlot like your life depends on it...because it does." then sheathes his sword, and grabs him with both hands and hurls him off the ship while saying, "Spread your wings and fly mate, fly like the worst evil is chasing you!"

The frightened pegasus opens his wings quickly and flaps them hard, barely avoiding landing in the sea and continues to fly away from the wrecked Swift Guardian to inform the princesses of dire news.

The captain watches the pegasus fly away, having a tan coat with a cream-colored mane and tail when he turns away and heads back to his ship. As he returns, he looks to the crew and says, "Set fire to this heap, then we search for others like her. This world will tremble at the mention of our name after we visit one of Equestria's ports..."

Close to sunset, inside the Canterlot castle's throne room

Celestia looks over the balcony while gazing at the statue garden, sighing heavily as she wishes that her daughter will come back soon when she hears the doors open and close. She turns around and looks back at the doors to see who just entered, seeing that it is her sister, she smiles and says, "Evening sister, it is almost time to change the day to night."

Luna walks up and stands beside her sister, then leans on the stone railing and says, "It is indeed sister, how are you feeling today after attending the celebration?"

She sighs and hangs her head a little saying, "I wish that I was feeling better, but I am still sad about who I lost..." Her attention is drawn towards the sound of the doors opening and somepony hurrying inside while breathing heavily, causing her to quickly turn around to see that it is a ship captain.

Sharp Feather stumbles over his own hooves and tries to get up while looking around the throne room frantically for the princess and calls out, "PRINCESS CELESTIA, PRINCESS LUNA, ARE EITHER OF YOU HERE!?"

The younger sister walks towards the frightened pegasus captain and says, "We are both here, what is the matter?"

The captain quickly jerks his head towards the voice and turns to face them, still lying on his stomach when he bows his head to them and says, "I bring troublesome news from the Celestial seas, Your Majesties."

Celestia looks at him with worry on her face and hurries towards him saying, "Please rise and explain what happened, captain Sharp Feather."

Sharp Feather takes a calming breath and then continues, still scared from the experience and begins his story, "I was on the Swift Guardian, chasing down a pirate ship called the Stormy Gale. We were about to overtake, then board and arrest them when a strange mist started appearing to our starboard side. After slowing the ship down to identify strange objects that began appearing on the ocean surface, I brought out a spyglass to get a closer look. Some moments passed as a ship rose above the water's surface, then came to float on it as its crew started hurrying about pulling seaweed and kelp from the rigging and sails, slowly revealing the three-masted ship to have black sails..."

She gasps and takes a few trembling steps back, fear starting to show on her face as she barely mumbles, "No..."

The captain continues his story and says, "We resumed our pursuit of the Stormy Gale when we heard the crew cheer and turn towards the unknown ship, realizing too late that it was a pirate ship when she opened her gunports and rolled out her cannons. I quickly ordered the crew to cast their shields as there were cannons on the ship, taking cover myself moments later when she started passing our bow..."

Celestia backs up further when a hoof slips a little, sending her off balance and quickly trying to regain it while wobbling precariously on one hoof mumbling a little louder, "No...please no..."

Sharp Feather pulls his knees up under his chin as he starts to rock back and forth, resuming his tale, saying, "When she began firing, I started hearing shields shatter followed by the screams of the crew as they were hit. A few moments passed when I heard one of the masts going over, rocking the ship as the screams continued. Then the screams stopped a little before the cannons stopped firing, allowing me a chance to survey the damage... The main mast was in the water, attached by only a few ropes. Our foremast was still standing, but the sails were completely shredded. I then noticed the crew, scattered across the blood-soaked deck in pieces. When the ship was behind us, I took a look at the back and saw the name, Black Pearl in gold lettering as she started to come back around. In my panicked state, I hid against the side of the undamaged wheelhouse when the Black Pearl's crew pulled our crippled ship in. I then started to pray for Princess Celestia or Princess Luna to come spare me from the carnage, but then a voice laughed and told me you were not a god and to give up praying because salvation was not coming. I then heard him stab a surviving pony when I gathered some courage and told him that you were, and you were going to gather the elements and send him back to Tartarus. He then came into view and said that Tartarus didn't want him because he was too dangerous, and then asked me to tell him more about the ruling princesses and the elements. After threatening to take my wings, I told him both of your names but refused to say anything about the elements and told him to just go ahead and kill me. He then laughed and said he wouldn't do that because you would not know what happened, he then ordered me to come find you in Canterlot and inform you of the matter. He then asked for what day it was and what my name was, I told him it was the longest day of the year but he whacked my head with the side of his sword. After telling him my name and that it was June 21st, he called you dear Celestia and said to wish you happy anniversary. He then threw me overboard and said to fly like the worst evil was chasing me."

Luna's eyes stare at the terrified captain, wide with fear when she hears her sister's hooves scrape along the floor. Quickly followed by a thump, she turns to look at her sister and sees something completely new on her face, sheer terror. She looks at her sister as she tries to back away from the captain, shaking her head side to side occasionally with wide-open eyes as her arms tremble while her legs and hooves scramble backward and asking, "Sister...what causes you to be so afraid?"

Celestia doesn't hear her sister's question as she thinks back on how the Sunrise was taken from her, then remembers what her daughter said to her. With a sharp gasp, her eyes fill with wild hope as she then smiles and stands up hastily, spins around, and jumps off the balcony while opening her wings. She races for the statue gardens and lands a short distance away, then lays her hands on the column saying repeatedly, "Come back sweetie, please come back..."

She blinks at her sister's sudden reaction and looks at the captain saying, "Thank you for your report, you are dismissed." then follows her sister off the balcony, and looks for where she might have gone. She hears a distant sobbing by the statue gardens and heads over there, finding her sister lying on the ground with one hand weakly reaching up the column as she cries uncontrollably. She lands near her sister and then comes to sit beside her asking, "Sister..." then pulls her off the ground and wraps her arms around her saying, "I'm here for you whenever you want to talk about it Cece."

She quickly wraps her arms around her sister's back and grips her tightly sobbing, "Why him and not her..." before devolving into an unconsolable state as her head falls onto her sister's shoulder while tears run in rivers down her face, taking her makeup with it.

The next morning, at Twilight's castle in Ponyville

Applejack hurries through the open door, then closes it behind her while trying to catch her breath saying, "Pardon my tardiness, had to ensure that Big Mac will take care of Applebloom while she's sick with the flu." then turns to gaze at the table and sees Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Starlight, and nurse Redheart all gathered around the table, causing her to blink a couple of times asking, "What the hay is goin' on, why are there so many of y'all here? Are we under attack?"

Twilight sighs and shakes her head saying, "I'm not sure, I haven't heard of anything like that happening Applejack. The table called every single one of us here for some reason and is showing that we need to go to Manehattan for a friendship problem."

Rarity then smiles and says, "We should gather a few things that we might need for the trip, I just hope that nothing too dangerous happens."

The Princess of Friendship then nods her head in agreement saying, "I think that is a wise idea Rarity, let's get what we each need for a trip to Manehattan and meet up at the train station around noon. Okay, everypony?"

A few hours later, Twilight and the others meet up at the train station and then board after purchasing tickets when Rarity speaks up saying, "While we are there, do you mind if I check in on how things are going and give Sassy Saddles the latest designs?"

Twilight then nods her head saying, "Of course not, Rarity. I don't think we will locate the problem right away."

An hour later at Canterlot, inside Celestia's chambers

Celestia sits on her bed beside her sister, hanging her head in her hands. Still upset at what has happened, she says through her fingers, "I want to tell you everything, but can you wait until I send a message to Twilight and call the girls to my room?"

Luna nods her head and rubs her sister's back saying, "Of course I can sister, I am eager to understand what is causing you to act this way."

She then sighs and brings out a quill and parchment, then starts writing a letter to Twilight. After finishing the letter, she ties it closed with a ribbon and seals it with wax saying, "I hope they get here soon."

Meanwhile, at Twilight's castle in Ponyville

Spike is reading one of his comics when he looks up and suddenly burps green fire, causing a scroll to appear before him and grabs it, then opens it and starts to read quietly, 'Dear Princess Twilight, an important matter has come up and I want you, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Starlight Glimmer to come to my room in the castle at Canterlot immediately.'

He then blinks and hurries to grab a quill and paper to reply, then sends it to Princess Celestia with a breath of fire. He then pulls out another paper and dips the quill into the ink to write when he burps out another scroll. After opening the scroll, he then reads it quietly, 'Thank you for notifying us of their departure, however, we shall head to Twilight's now and wait there until they return.' He then gulps and looks around the castle, seeing that it needs a good cleaning after Twilight started re-sorting her books. He then rolls the two letters up and places them on the map table, then races off to start straightening the castle up for their arrival as nervous sweat trails down his face.

Hours later, just after sunset, a few miles East of Manehattan

Jack looks up at the sky, seeing a cloudless sky with a full moon slowly rising into the sky as the Black Pearl sails towards the sleeping port. He then quietly says, "Furl all sails lads, there are ponies having pleasant dreams...it would be rude of us to wake them now."

Twilight stirs awake in her seat on the train and then yawns sleepily, wondering what woke her when she looks out the window to see the big city of Manehattan with a large ship sailing into the port through a heavy fog while furling its sails. She cocks her head and tries to focus on it when somepony brushes up against her, startling her and making her turn her head to the side. When she sees that it is just Fluttershy, she breathes a sigh of relief saying, "Oh, it is just you Fluttershy. You startled me."

Fluttershy smiles gently at her and says, "I'm sorry for scaring you, I had a little trouble sleeping and saw you looking out the window at something. What is it you were looking at?"

She smiles at her friend and returns to looking outside at the distant ship saying, "I see a rather large ship entering Manehattan's harbor... I don't know why, but I get an uneasy feeling like I have seen it before somewhere." She then casts a spell for seeing a little further away and then tries to get more detail on the ship, then gasps saying, "I have seen it before...in my dreams. What was her name again...Bright Flight? No, that's not right...Dark Colour? That's not right either, Stack Peril?"

Rainbow stirs awake when she hears Twilight mumbling some names and then gets up to look out the window, then sees the large ship out in the harbor and grins saying, "Oh do you mean...Black Pearl?"

Twilight tries to remember what her dream was exactly and gasps saying, "Yes, that's right! What do you know about her?"

She chuckles darkly and seizes the chance to tell a scary story saying, "I've heard...and read tales from many centuries ago saying that there was once a ship that nearly met its end in the Equestrian-Griffonian war. She was the only surviving warship out of hundreds in her class after she faced their Armada...the captain was driven mad from the horrors he witnessed and turned pirate. A few years later, there are rumors saying that he and his crew kidnapped the queens and princesses from various nations...including Princess Celestia herself, having his way with many before ransoming them back to their nations. When Celestia was the last to be freed due to lack of funds, she swore to make the captain pay. A decade or two later, the captain became mysteriously more violent as he began to raid port cities...burning them to the ground and sparing none he came across. When Princess Celestia finally caught up with him on the seas, a gigantic battle took place between the two grand ships. At a great cost, she prevailed against him and sent him along with his ship to their doom..."

Everypony leans in to hear the rest of the story as Rainbow then says, "However, before his ship sunk beneath the waves...he vowed to return and...TAKEOVER EQUESTRIA!!" causing them all to briefly scream with fright before giggling a few moments later

The princess chuckles and rolls her eyes saying, "Good story Rainbow, but there's no way that any of it is true...that is just a legend...I hope..." then looks out the window towards the sleeping city with nervousness settling deep down for some unknown reason.

As the other girls talk amongst each other, Rarity moves beside Twilight and gazes out the window at the big city with a happy sigh saying, "Oh what a beautiful sight Manehattan is at night...don't you agree, Twilight darling?"

Twilight looks over at Rarity and smiles saying, "It sure is quite a sight Rarity, but I can't help but feel that something is off." when she hears the others gasp and turns to look at Pinkie, and sees her rubbing her knee and gulps saying, "Uhm Pinkie...please tell me that you are not having a...pinchy knee."

Pinkie then shakes her head and says, "Nope!" causing the others to sigh with relief and continues saying, "I'm having a very, very pinchy knee!"

The ponies all gasp as Twilight says, "Uh-oh...we all know what that means..." and turns to gaze out the window when she spots something rising above the ship's sails, trying to focus on what it is when she gasps and says, "It's...it's not possible..." while seeing a few flashes appear from one side of the ship. She quickly stands up on her seat and leans against the window shouting, "NO!" as she starts seeing explosions illuminate some parts of the city.

The train begins turning towards the city when the conductor sees the flashes and applies the brakes at full power, quickly backing down the throttle to stop faster. The cars behind him slam against the couplers and continue pushing him further with their weight as he says, "What in the hay is happening to Manehattan?"

The girls hold on as the train screeches to an agonizingly slow stop when Starlight crawls out of the pile first and scrambles to one of the windows, hoping to catch another glimpse at the city's harbor. Unable to get a good view from either side, she hurries outside and looks towards the city's harbor. Her ears fall against her head as she sees multiple fires start to break out as the booms sound out the attacks from the ship.

Twilight helps the others get out of the pile and rushes out to join Starlight, then looks towards the city saying, "Rainbow, let's get a better look at what is happening right now. We need information, not go after the ones attacking until the citizens are safe, understand?"

Rainbow nods and salutes her saying, "Yes ma'am!" then takes off towards the city like a shot. She quickly reaches the city and starts to see buildings collapse, seeing one about to fall on a little filly and races towards her. She barely makes it in time when an explosion singes her tail, not phasing her at all when she sets the filly down outside the city and says, "Stay here and I will go find your mother little one..." then goes to take off when the filly grabs her hand.

The little pegasus filly shakes her head and screams, "DON'T GO! M-MOMMY WON'T WAKE UP...I TRIED SO HARD! WHY WON'T SHE WAKE UP!?"

Her wings go limp as she lets herself fall to the ground while looking at the filly, then hurries towards her and picks her up in her arms saying, "I'm going to take you to my friends okay, they will keep you safe. I have to return to the city and help as many other ponies as I can, okay kiddo?" while tears gather at the corners of her eyes.

Twilight looks around the city, her fear rising as she hears the ponies below screaming in fright. Not knowing what she should do, she hears a pony screaming for help and attempts to locate her. She lands near a partially collapsed building and ducks under a beam to go into the house and sees an earth pony mare using all her strength to keep the roof from falling on her colt saying, "Hold on, I'm coming!"

The mare's legs tremble as she looks over to see Princess Twilight Sparkle making her way towards her and smiles saying, "Please hurry, I can't hold this roof up for much longer!"

The princess leans down and pulls the colt free, then uses her magic to set him outside and turns to her saying, "Hold on, I'm going to use my magic to lift the roof off of you, then you can go to your son. Ready..." and uses her magic to lift the heavy burden off the mare and finally says, "GO!" She watches the mare rush out of the building and slowly sets the roof down when she sees the body of another pony lying in the corner of the room. She goes to check on him, but finds no pulse and hangs her head saying, "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner..." then turns around and starts heading out of the room when a chunk falls and strikes her wing, causing her to hear a sickening crunch and scream out in agony. The pain brings her to her knees, but she forces herself to ignore the pain and continues to head for the door.

The mare watches the princess crawl under the beam, sobbing from the pain and rushes towards her saying, "Oh Princess Twilight, let me help you out of there!" and pulls her away from the building's entrance when it finally collapses completely.

With no other choice, she looks to the mare holding her up and says, "Cover your ears please, I'm going to use the royal voice." then watches the mare shift her arm over to cover both ears and then bellows at full power, "I AM PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE, ALL CITIZENS OF MANEHATTAN EVACUATE THE CITY!!" She then releases her magic and stands on her own saying, "Thank you for helping me, you need to get to safety outside the city." After thanking her again, the mare picks up her colt and takes off running down the street when an explosion comes from a building behind her. Sighing and thinking of her choices, she is forced to make her way back out of the city when she hears a flapping of wings and looks up to see Fluttershy landing beside her with a worried look on her face.

Fluttershy sees Twilight's wing and then cries out louder than she ever has before, "Rainbow!! Get over here now, Twilight needs help!" and gingerly helps her up when she sees Rainbow land in front of them with a scared look on her face, saying, "We need to get out of here until the danger is gone..."

Barely able to stay conscious from the agony of her shattered wing, she weakly protests and gasps in between words saying, "We need...to stay and...protect them...from the pirates."

The shy pony then glares at Twilight and says, "I'm sorry Twilight, but how can we do that when you are so badly injured...your wingbones are sticking out of the membrane."

Unable to fight it anymore, she passes out saying, "We need to..."

Jack lets the cannons bombard the city for a while before saying, "Ease up on the cannons, it's time to raid the city. Oh and be sure NOT to steal any dresses unless you plan on wearing them, savvy? Other than that...RAID PILLAGE AND PLUNDER YOUR WEASELY BLACK GUTS OUT LADS!"

Chapter 27: The story is told, Part 1

As the crew returns with their loot nearly two hours later, Jack then says, "Time to put this city behind us lads and find another target..." then turns his head to look at the burning city while his crew gets the ship underway."

With Starlight's magic, Fluttershy and Nurse Redheart manage to stop the bleeding and bandage her wing as best they can when nurse Redheart sighs saying, "We need to get Twilight back to Ponyville General, we've stabilized her and have the bleeding under control..." then looks her body over, focusing on her shattered wing bones and continues, "but some of you need to stay here and do what you can to restore order and rescue those trapped in the city."

Rarity then nods saying, "I will stay because Twilight would want someone to organize things, Pinkie Pie could you go and help nurse Redheart take her to the hospital?"

Pinkie Pie nods her head as her hair lies flat, tears rolling down her face at Twilight's state and the attack on the city saying sadly, "Okay, no problem at all." then helps nurse Redheart carefully pick Twilight up and load her onto the train, then tell the Conductor to return to Ponyville with all haste.

The next morning, at Twilight's castle in Ponyville

Celestia and Luna sit at Twilight's friendship table, waiting for her and her friends to return from Manehattan when they hear the train whistle blare as the older sister looks at Spike and asks, "Spike, could you go see if that is them?"

With a nod, Spike says, "I sure will, Princess Celestia." and takes off running toward the train station. As he stops and looks around for the group that left with Twilight, he spots nurse Redheart and Pinkie Pie...with flat hair carrying somepony on a stretcher with a sheet over them and rushes towards them asking, "Holy Moly, what happened?!"

Nurse Redheart looks around at the ponies looking at them curiously and then shifts her attention to Spike and quietly says, "Follow us to the hospital and I will tell you, we must hurry or she may never fly again." She then hurries off as Pinkie follows her, with Spike just behind her.

They rush through the emergency entrance doors as nurse Redheart calls out for a doctor immediately, when the doctor hurries over, he pulls the sheet back to see who is injured and gasps at seeing Princess Twilight Sparkle lying unconscious on the stretcher with a crushed wing that is stained from blood loss and shouts, "Prepare OR1 for urgent surgery, we have a crushed wing here!"

Spike stands in the hallway, in shock at seeing Twilight so hurt as she is placed onto a rolling stretcher and wheeled down the hall. He slowly raises his arm towards Twilight as she is taken to the OR, and tears start rolling down his face as he sobs for his adopted sister's state. Remembering that Princesses Celestia and Luna are at Twilight's castle, he wipes his tears away and rushes out to doors to go inform them of her state.

Princess Celestia sighs as she rolls the tea around in her cup, not really hungry or thirsty when the front door is roughly pushed open, causing it to slam against the wall and startling her into dropping her cup. The cup falls to the floor as she looks at Spike with worry on his face as it shatters and asks, "Spike, what is the matter?"

He closes the door behind him and cries out as tears fall from his face, "Twilight is badly hurt! She was taken to the OR!"

Luna and Celestia both gasp and get up hastily, then race out the other door and head towards the hospital to go see what happened. Tears roll down Celestia's face as she blames herself thinking, 'Oh what have I done...'

The two hurry into the hospital and make their way to the observation room to watch the surgery, looking through the glass to see that the surgeon is working on her wing. They listen to him as he comments, "Her humerus suffered only a couple of fractures, but her radius suffered multiple breaks in five places, and her ulna bone in two. Good work on getting the bleeding under control and the bones somewhat reset, nurse Redheart. You have saved us precious time to save her wing, she has a good chance of flying again if everything goes smoothly. More suction please, I'm having trouble looking for bone fragments."

As Celestia and Luna watch the surgery press on for several hours, finally coming to an end late in the evening as the surgeon enters the room with a heavy sigh, removing his mask and saying, "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna...the surgery was a success. She won't be able to fly for several months, due to the cast. We will be prescribing her strong medication to deal with the pain, she should be monitored closely by an adult to insure that she doesn't abuse the medication. Once the cast sets, she will be able to go home but don't let her do any lifting of anything 20 pounds or more."

Celestia then nods and says, "I shall watch over her closely, I feel it is my responsibility to do so when her brother and sister-in-law are busy with the Crystal Empire, and her parents are in Van Hoover." She then looks to her sister and asks, "Sister, would you be able to inform the citizens that due to personal matters, day court is canceled for the time being?"

Luna nods her head saying, "I shall do so right away sister, please be sure to let me know when the others return as I tend to matters in Canterlot."

She smiles briefly and nods her head saying, "I will sister, you deserve to know everything."

The younger sister gives a brief smile back and then leaves to go deal with the urgent matter, hoping that it won't take too long so that she might be able to be there when Twilight wakes up.

The next morning

Twilight groans as she wakes up, opening her eyes slowly to find herself at home, in her own bed when she feels something heavy on her back. She gets up out of bed, gasping for breath at the pain she feels coming from her back, and remembers that her wing was badly injured by a chunk falling from the roof. She walks to the full-length mirror and looks herself over, turning to the side to see her wing in a cast, and sighs painfully saying, "Well there goes my flying privileges for a good while...but how did I get home?" She then hears a knock on her door and says, "Come in."

Celestia walks in with breakfast saying, "Good morning Twilight, did you sleep well?"

She is shocked to see her mentor Princess Celestia at her home, bringing her breakfast and says, "Wha-What are you doing here, Princess Celestia?"

The older princess chuckles lightly and says, "Why I'm taking care of you, isn't that obvious my faithful student? I have your morning medication to deal with the pain from your injured wing, be sure to take the two pills with one of the spinach, carrot, and rose petal sandwiches. I also brought you orange juice to drink."

Twilight takes the tray from her and sets it on the nightstand, grabbing the sandwich first and taking a good-sized bite from it. After chewing for a bit, she grabs the two pills and drops them into her mouth. Swallowing the food and medication in her mouth, she then puts the sandwich back onto the tray, then picks up the glass of orange juice, and takes a drink from it. She then puts the glass down and sits back on her bed, sighing as she asks, "So...two questions, how did I get home and how long am I grounded for?"

Celestia sits beside her saying, "As for the first, I brought you home because I was here with Luna waiting for your group to return to tell you all something from long ago but that will have to wait until they come back from Manehattan. For the second, unfortunately, you won't be able to fly for eleven months due to the severity of the injuries to your radius and ulna bones."

With a sigh, Twilight sits down and hangs her head saying, "Eleven months is quite a while, if I was Rainbow Dash and didn't have any Daring Do books to keep me entertained, I would probably be going insane about now."

She giggles lightly and then sighs asking, "Would you mind telling me what happened at Manehattan that caused you to be so badly injured?"

Twilight is about to start telling her when she feels a tingling coming from her rump and sighs saying, "Well, it looks like they got the job done..." She then takes a breath and says sadly, "I only wish that I could have helped more..." Twilight then begins to sob as she thinks back to what happened and starts telling her experience saying, "A few miles away from Manehattan, I saw a distant ship out in the harbor..."

Celestia listens in and pulls her student to her shoulder, then caresses her tenderly as she tells her about what Rainbow said, the flashes coming from the ship and the city. When she hears how she saved a mare and her colt before being struck by a chunk from the roof, she smiles with pride and says, "You did a very good deed saving them and evacuating the citizens Twilight, but there is nothing else you could have done in your state. I am positive that one of the others took your place in providing aid for the citizens, so don't be sad. You should be happy you got there when you did or things would have been much, much worse for them.

Curious, she lifts her head and asks, "Really, something worse could have happened? Did something similar happen long ago, Princess Celestia?"

She then smiles at her curious student and nods her head saying, "Indeed...but it is going to have to wait until the others come back, for there is something that I need to tell all of you, including my sister. Speaking of which, I should send a letter to inform her that they may be returning in a few hours. You should try to finish your breakfast, if you are still hungry I can make more for I shall be watching over you for a while until your wing is healed."

A few days later, in the evening

Twilight's adopted brother Spike helps his sister's former mentor Princess Celestia take care of Twilight by cooking for her, and bringing her books whenever she's not asleep due to the side effects of the medication she is on. Twilight is lying on a couch when he hears a knocking on the door when Twilight calls out to him sleepily, Spike, someone is at the door. Could you please go get it, I'm still drowsy from these stinking pills?"

He then puts down his comic and hurries toward the front door saying, "Sure thing, big sis." then answers the door to see Starlight Glimmer at the front saying, "Welcome back Starlight, are you here to check on Twilight?"

Starlight's face is filled with worry for her mentor as she nods her head saying, "I am, did she make it back in time?"

Spike smiles gently and opens the door wider saying, "Yes she did, she is on the couch right now resting. Come on in, I'm sure Princess Celestia will be anxious to hear about your journey to Manehattan. Twilight is on pain medication that causes her to suffer drowsy spells, so you will have to be patient and take your time speaking to her."

She sighs as she thinks back to the days they spent there helping the citizens clean up and do some repairs saying, "I sure hope that we won't have to go through that experience again." then starts to walk in to rest for a bit.

Rarity is the first to stop and ask Spike, "How is Twilight Spikey, is she ever going to be able to fly again darling?"

Celestia enters the room with a gentle smile on her face as she stands there just past the entryway and says, "Welcome back from your journey my little ponies. Twilight will be able to fly again, but not for nearly a year until her wing fully heals."

Twilight hears several ponies talking in the map room and lifts her head off the pillow it was on, then turns her head to look through the doorway and calls out, "Spike, who is it?"

Spike heads over to the study where Twilight is relaxing and stops just inside the door and says, "It is just the others that went to Manehattan with you Twilight, they are back to check on you."

The princess looks at the group and smiles before heading toward the study and pokes her head in the room and asks, "Twilight, are you feeling up for hearing a story about my past, or do you want to rest a bit more?"

Twilight looks up at her drowsily and then does her best to eagerly nod her head saying, "Although I am tired Princess Celestia, I would rather hear the story if it is about the Black Pearl."

Celestia smiles and sighs, then lets out a chuckle saying, "I had a feeling that you would choose the story. Though I need to inform my sister to come because she too wants to hear this story, so I need to find a fast pony to race up to Canterlot to deliver a message to Luna for me." She then heads to the door and looks at Rainbow Dash saying, "Rainbow Dash, I have an important task for you. Being the fastest pony in Ponyville, will you race to Canterlot, find my sister, and please tell her that if she is ready to hear my story, I am ready to share my tale at Twilight's castle inside the study."

Rainbow cheers up instantly at the task only she can do and salutes the princess with her hand saying, "On it ma'am, I'll be back before you can count to twenty!" then races out through the front door and takes off into the sky like a shot.

Luna is in the throne room when the doors open to let in Rainbow Dash and greets her saying, "Welcome to Canterlot, Rainbow Dash. What brings you here today?"

She looks at Luna and hurries toward her saying, "I come here with a message from your sister, Princess Celestia. She told me to tell you that if you are ready to hear her story, she will be inside the study at Twilight's castle."

The princess gets up from the throne and jogs towards Rainbow Dash saying, "Alright then, we shall teleport there right away." She then looks to the two guards in the room and says, "One of you please inform the guards outside that I have gone to deal with important business, and that I will be back once I am done." She continues to head toward Rainbow in a hurry and charges her horn, then stands beside her and casts the spell.

Rainbow finds herself just outside of Twilight's home when she sees Princess Luna hurry inside the castle, then rushes after her wondering, 'Jeez, I wonder why she is in such a hurry to hear a story from Princess Celestia?'

Celestia sits at the back of the study as she watches her sister join them in the room, followed by Rainbow Dash and uses her magic to pull the doors closed saying, "Alright everypony, gather around and get comfortable. This story takes place some 600-700 years after my sister was banished to the moon..." She then watches them take a spot nearby and then begins the story by saying, "It all began around three centuries ago, I was on the Canterlot Castle throne room's balcony setting the moon and just starting to raise the sun to start a new day when all of a sudden there was a green flash that raced across the sky for just a split second...visible to any creature of the planet that would happen to notice it. When that happened, I was greatly irritated by whatever pony caused it and ruined my beautiful sunrise, so I sent a few ponies to investigate but were unable to find anything in the end. Nothing else related to this story happened until a couple of days after the flash when I was listening to petitioners silently praying for something to come along and save me from my boredom when suddenly, a courier rushed into the room with a scroll sticking out of their pocket. When I asked them for their report, they told me it was a report from Baltimare. They continued on to tell me of a large warship belonging to no known nation in Equis, that the ship had not yet reached the harbor and it flew a white flag. The courier then handed the scroll over to me saying there was further details inside, so I took it and read it over. I read it twice to ensure I wasn't reading things wrong. Hmm, I wonder if I still have it..."

She then closes her eyes and summons her chest of keepsakes in front of her, then pops open the lid and rummages around for it. She grins as she succeeds saying, "Aha, there it is." and grabs it with her hand, then pulls it out and hands it to Twilight first with a wink and says, "Be careful when opening it, it might be rather brittle from age."

Twilight takes it with her magic, then begins to unroll it slowly with her hands. When she finishes opening it, she reads through it as her eyes get bigger and bigger saying, "Wait a minute...don't tell me that the ship in this report is..."

Celestia nods her head quickly and cuts Twilight off saying, "It is indeed." then continues on with the story saying, "I was excited to have something to pull me from the boring routine, then my curiosity was piqued when I learned it was a heavily damaged three-masted ship which had one dragging in the water off the port side and had a hull colored completely black. For those of you who don't know, when you are on the ship and facing the front of it, the left is called the Port, the front is called the Bow, the right side is called the Starboard, and the rear of the ship is called the Stern. Now back to the story... With my curiosity piqued, I decided to get away from the palace for a little while and investigate it myself. After I had the guards prepare a chariot, I went to change my attire to be more presentable. Thinking there may be wounded on board, I had a few healers accompany me on the journey there. I arrived there a bit over an hour later and made my way to the front of the docks to wait for the ship's arrival. When the ship finally docked, the captain left the ship and made their way up the dock to the wharf. The captain then greeted us and asked if we understood them, which I promptly told them that all ponies there, including myself did. I then asked them who and what they were, and where they came from."

Twilight hands the scroll to Starlight carefully and listens to what Celestia says, hearing, "So the captain said that the whole crew including him were human males, and came from another world called Earth. He then asked if I was royalty, which I told him I was and introduced myself while also telling him I was the ruling princess. I then informed him that he was in Horseshoe Bay in the port town of Baltimare, and then asked him to introduce himself and his friend that came with him. He then introduced himself as Captain Jack Sparrow and his friend as first mate Joshamee Gibbs, who was only there to relay orders to the crew. After that, he asked if his crew could receive treatment for their injuries, which I agreed and asked him to send them ashore to receive treatment. Once he relayed his orders to his first mate, I asked him what kind of vessel his ship was and what happened to leave it in such a state. He told me that it was originally an East Indiaman Galleon employed by the East India Trading Company named the Wicked Wench. Since that time he had changed the ship and rechristened her The Black Pearl."

Luna listens along with the others intently for awhile as she hears about how her sister opened up for a complete stranger, telling her about what happened with her sister saying, "I am shocked you opened up so easily to somebody you did not know dear sister. Why did you let him continue to hold you like that?"

She lets out a half chuckle and says, "Well, at the time, I was deeply hurt at losing you and was missing you greatly...so when he placed his arm around me and pulled me closer, it just felt so...nice to be held that I couldn't help but break down and tell him everything." She feels heat rising in her cheeks and forces it to go away, then continues the story saying, "Well after I told him what happened 600 years ago, he then asked if there was a way to get them to work again which brought me out of my grief as I began to think of where we could look for any way to bring them back. So, after saying that there might be a way, and that we would have to search through the old library, he gave me some conditions to agree to for his help."

Rarity rolls her eyes saying, "Really, he wanted something in return for helping you? How outlandishly rude of him, to prey upon one's weakness like that!"

Rainbow Dash then says, "Yeah, please tell me you refused his help..."

Luna then asks curiously, "What were his conditions sister?"

The blush rises to her cheeks and she looks away sheepishly saying, "Well...his first condition was that all repairs to the ship, current and future were to be paid by whomever ruled Equestria at the time. The second condition was that all costs for the crews current and future treatments were also to be paid for by whoever ruled Equestria at the time." She then fidgets a little and continues, "With how desperate I was to get my sister back, I didn't think it over that long and..." then she turns to look at them out of the corner of her eye with a wincing grin adding, "Growled softly and accepted the deal with a handshake."

Rarity is the first to react by facehooving herself saying, "Oh good heavens, darling..."

After seeing their disapproving reactions and giving them a few moments, Celestia continues her tale and tells them how they both went to the old castle to begin their search. She then says, "After we got there, I heard him toss a book onto the floor and scolded him for it because of its age. He then asked me my age, which at first angered me. However, after a moment, I then told him I was 800, which prompted him to look at me with wide eyes and complimented me by asking me to lead him to our fountain of youth because I did not look it."

Luna continues to listen to the story, finding how she acted toward the stranger rather curious as her sister tells about how she found nothing until Jack discovered a book called The Theories of Harmony and comments, "Hmm, I don't recall ever reading that book. Perhaps it would be wise to relocate the books from the old library into our new one?"

Celestia smiles and nods her head saying, "I think that would be a good idea, perhaps we could do that after this story ends." She then tells them what the captain said and what she discovered in the book when she adds, "He then said if I considered us friends I could just call him Jack, so I then told him he could do the same when not in a formal setting. A little while later, he said he found something rather disturbing hidden inside a brick, when I looked at what it was, it looked far older than I was and was there even before our parents were born. Once I took a closer look at it, I noticed the ink was a strange reddish color and nervously asked if the ink was actually blood. He confirmed it so I began to read it, though he asked me something which I didn't really hear and told him to go ahead. The reason I didn't really listen to him was because of the prophecy that was written on the pages in the form of a lullaby, I wonder if I remember what it said."

She then thinks a moment before singing in a low, soft, and eerie tone, "Heroes vanish into thin air, the gift is taken to keep safe. One who cant figure plain truth, forcing the other to give a sad fate. Oh poor victor suffers from the grief, to raise hope she creates heroes. The lone savior, clever soul, hunts for coin and gold. They'll come with green flash of light, but suffer in pain...deep, deep, pain. A ship appears black as night, with no nation to be seen. This one soul may choose their fate, choosing well avoids a grisly and dark fate. Oh poor creatures suffer from great fright, dark shades are revealed by night's light. The one redeemed, fights their love, gains faith love and cheers. Foes run from the ghost, shades loosed to sea, they sail to claim what's...held...most...dear." With a curious look, and wanting to know what they think the prophecy's about, she asks, "Let's see what you all think the prophecy was talking about, any of you care to tell me what your opinions are?"

Twilight spends a moment or two as the others stay silent, thinking it over before saying, "That first part...sounds like when Star Swirl the bearded and the others disappeared. My mind is a bit fuzzy, but it seems like the part after that talks about the elements and your sister."

Starlight catches on to her thinking and the puzzle becomes a little clearer saying, "Yeah, after they disappeared, didn't you and your sister take the elements of harmony to protect Equestria with them?"

Celestia smiles and nods her head, already knowing most of what the prophecy talks about and says, "That is correct Twilight. We did indeed take the elements for protection. What else can you figure out?"

Starlight then thinks a bit more on it and says, "Well, after your sister transformed, you banished her. So as you felt the sadness of her absence, you created new heroes to cheer the ponies up."

Rainbow catches the hint and beams a wide smile saying, "That's right, you created the wonderbolts for that purpose!"

Twilight figures out the next piece and says, "The part after that talks about the captain that arrived shortly after that flash you saw on board the Black Pearl. As for the rest of it, I can't figure it out."

The princess smiles and nods her head saying, "It is quite alright, perhaps you will have a better idea after hearing the rest of the story." Taking another breath, she adjusts her position in her chair and resumes the story, "After reading over the prophecy again, I went back to the first book when he suggested we have found enough to formulate a plan. He then politely asked if we could return to the tour of Equestria, and requested a tour of Canterlot as well. However, I was not really wanting to do that at the time."

Celestia takes a moment before telling them about what happened during that time and how she received a letter from the King of the Griffon Empire declaring war on Equestria, in which she came up with the thought to ask the captain for his help. With irritation rising in her voice, she then huffs and says, "As I approached his room, I could hear rather...intimate sounds coming from inside. So when I opened the door, I found him in the room with another one of my maids. I then scolded him and asked what he would do if they would become with foal, which he told me he would never permit himself to be foolish enough to beget a child. I then warned him about mares being naturally drawn towards bearing children. Immediately after that, I got back to the reason I went there in the first place and asked him for his services to deal with the threat at sea from the Griffon Empire while I assembled an army to handle them on land. When he asked for something in return for his services, I offered him 2,000 bits if he could get them to surrender or call off the war."

Luna then listens to her sister continue on as the others gasp at hearing what the captain did while indecent, but notices the blush on her cheek when she hears her talk about how he told her what the ship meant to him. The blush deepened a little further when her sister talked about how he had tempted her to get away from the castle for awhile. A sly smirk comes to Luna's face as she considers where their friendship was leading, which slowly grows into a grin when she hears about how she flirted back. When she hears about their interaction in the cabin, Luna can't stop herself from chuckling while saying, "I had a...feeling that something...might happen between you two."

Celestia turns away as her face blushes further in embarrassment at her sister's words when she hears her say, "Never in a thousand years did I think that you, of all ponies, would become romantically involved with a pirate!" followed shortly by her giggles, causing her face to slowly become beet red and stammers saying, "A-Anyway...le-let's get back to the st-story..."

Chapter 28: The story is told, Part 2

Rainbow Dash doesn't really pay attention to all of the details, but catches enough to get a basic image of what happened. Her attention is then grabbed when she hears how the Black Pearl was the only warship that Equestria had to fight the armada. She finds herself riveted as she hears that the Black Pearl and Captain Jack Sparrow were single-handedly responsible for the armada's total destruction, having raided a few ports and completely driving the griffons out of the Griffish Isles, and finally ending the war. With her eyes open wide and her jaw hanging open, she then closes it while completely missing the solemn look on the princess's face saying, "So the Black Pearl sank every single ship in the armada, attacked several ports, and ended the war single-handedly...by themselves? That...is...totally...AWESOME!!"

Fluttershy sees the solemn look on the princess's face and then asks out of concern, "Uhm...Princess Celestia, did the captain do something bad to upset you?"

Celestia looks at Fluttershy and then sighs saying, "Well, I learned from the ponies I had keeping track of him that he had snuck into the griffon princess's chambers during the night, and during the next morning he beheaded the king in front of his own daughter." She then takes a moment before continuing the story, telling them how she waited at the dock in Baltimare for them to return. When he did return, she shared what happened in the cabin. Continuing on with the story she then says, "After he explained what happened with the griffon princess, he then shared his plan to build a neutral port on the Griffish Isles and rename it Portuga."

As she continues the story, she decides to tell them about her periodic stays onboard the ship. Deciding to skip over their first night together completely, she tells them about the building of Portuga. As the story progresses to when the port town was nearly complete, she absentmindedly rubs the spot on her right wrist. She looks down to catch herself doing that and then brings her hand before her eyes, staring at where the hidden tattoo is.

Twilight sees the princess looking at her wrist and asks in a concerned note, "Uhm...Princess Celestia, is something wrong with your wrist?"

Celestia diverts her attention to Twilight and smiles saying, "No, nothing is wrong with it. I was just lost in thought is all." She then looks at her wrist again and sighs, then looks at the girls saying, "There is something I wish to share with you all, but before I do, could you all Pinkie promise not to tell anyone else about it?"

A few moments pass as everypony eventually nods their heads, more curious than worried, and goes through the motions to make a Pinkie Promise.

The princess smiles at hearing that and then looks to Rarity and asks, "Rarity, might I get a wipe from you to remove some makeup?"

Rarity summons her makeup bag and digs through it saying, "Of course you can, darling." then pulls one out and hands it to her saying, "Here you go, Your Majesty."

Celestia takes it and then continues the story saying, "About when Portuga was nearing completion, I was completely in love with Jack. I felt like he was keeping something from me as I sat at the oval table with them, then Jack wanted to test my love for him by saying, 'Before our relationship could go any farther, I must tell you something that only the ones in this room know.' So, I thought it over for a moment, and couldn't bear to end our relationship and so I agreed to keep it a secret from anyone not considered family. So he told me that he had a couple of family members in this world, which Rich Bit was his grandmother he called Grandmama, and Tacky Jack was his uncle he called Uncle Jack. After some more talking, his grandmother told me if I wanted to be part of her grandson's life, I had to make a choice...to either become a pirate or say goodbye." She then brings the wipe to her wrist saying, "I thought about it a bit more and it hurt my heart to say goodbye..." and starts to wipe the makeup away, then shows them all her wrist bearing a black P saying, "So I chose to be a pirate to stay with him."

They all stare at Princess Celestia's tattoo in shock as Pinkie Pie's mane explodes, shooting out confetti everywhere and sounding like party favors being blown as she stands there shocked.

Luna looks at the black tattoo on her sister's wrist in shock as she has no clue what to think about this revelation, and then asks, "Can you continue the story? That way I can sort out how I feel about all of it and what I think."

She nods her head and then continues on, saying, "After I was given this tattoo, I was slapped on the back just above my wings and welcomed to the family, called a scurvy mongrel. Grandmama had two personalities, her natural cantankerous one, and the affectionate one hidden deep down inside that was brought out by our world's magic. Anyways, back to the story...after that it was decided that a new Brethren Court would be formed, a book would be written pertaining to the Pirate's Code, and contests would be held in the forms of duels to decide who would become Pirate Lords." Celestia then chuckles in embarrassment as she remembers what happened later, saying, "Grandmama and the others decided to introduce me to the rum that they make, however, I turned them down. After Jack became the Pirate Lord of the Celestial Sea, I continued our discussion about expanding our family which he always tried to avoid. I managed to warm him up to the idea and got him to agree, so we discussed how I would manage to get away from my duties in Canterlot for that to happen when he mentioned kidnapping me. After a short discussion, we decided that he would abduct me during the dreadfully dull Grand Galloping Gala."

Celestia then pauses a moment to take a sip of her tea, then continues, "When I was finally ready to begin trying to add to our little pirate family, I flew towards the Black Pearl after hearing that she was sighted in Portuga recently. When I got there, he told me he needed to talk to me. At first, I was worried that he didn't want to have foals with me, but that night, I found out it was something else..." She then looks off to the side and resumes her tale, "He told me in his cabin that during the war, he had encountered a ship captained by griffon and his family. After killing everyone on board, he was looting the ship when he found a portrait of his family. He went outside and saw movement above them, after recognizing the two griffons above as the ones in the portrait, he called out to them and offered them the portrait, which one of them accepted and flew off. Earlier that day, he learned that during his attack on Griffonstone, he caused one of the surviving family members to suffer greatly after the adults were slain. With the three children left to fend for themselves, she held him responsible for also being responsible for ruining the griffon princess's life. Therefore, she claimed that he owed her a blood debt. So you know, a blood debt is very serious because it means that only blood can settle it, meaning one's life or conceiving a child with them. With me wanting a foal, I told him that I would rather he have a child with her instead. So after that, we started trying for our first foal that night."

Luna listens intently, hearing how she was suffering from a strange illness one day when the crew came across a grand treasure inside Black Skull Island.

She continues on with her story, saying, "When he returned while the crew was loading the treasure onto the ship as I had Pintel wash out the smell from the bucket, Jack led me to his cabin on the Pearl and sat me on the bed before presenting me with a lovely coral ball gown having a scooped neckline with lace around the neck and on the ends of the sleeves with intricate gold designs on it which I would wear for the upcoming Gala. Sadly, the dress was in very rough shape and had a waist that was for a much smaller woman from his world. At first, I thought it was remarkable how the women survived childbirth having waists so tiny, but then he told me how they used corsets with whalebones inside them to force their bodies into a different shape. A couple of weeks prior to my visit to the Black Pearl, I had banned the use of corsets, permitting their use in formal events." She then gets a stray thought and chuckles at it saying, "In fact, I still have that dress... Sorry, I digress."

Rarity is drawn further into the story when she hears about how he had dove into the sea to save a maiden who had fallen from a cliff and was forced to remove the heavy dress dragging her to the bottom and then cutting her corset off to allow her to breathe. Sighing dreamily at how lovely that sounds, she says, "Oh how brave of him, did he date her after that?"

Celestia chuckles and answers, "I asked the same thing. He said that he once entertained the idea, but gave up on pursuing it when she betrayed him."

Applejack cocks her head and asks, "Betrayed him how?"

She smiles darkly at the other ponies and chuckles asking, "Have any of you heard or believe in Davy Jones?"

Every pony around the room shakes their head except for Rainbow Dash who says, "I have, but he is a fairy tale. The legend says that he travels between worlds, ferrying souls to and from the beyond. For those that cross him, he sends the Kraken after you."

Celestia smiles and says, "Very good, Rainbow. For once, that legend is mostly correct."

Twilight then jerks her head back to Celestia and stares at her with wide eyes saying, "W-Wait a moment...you mean to say that D-Davy Jones a-actually exists?!"

She nods her head and says with a grin, "He does, and so is the Kraken. You see, when the maiden betrayed Jack, she and him stood on the deck of the Black Pearl when she kissed him passionately before sneakily guiding him against the mast, where she then locked his wrists in a manacle and left him for the Kraken. He managed to escape in time to turn and see the Kraken open up its round mouth, having rows upon rows of large pointed teeth, as it began roaring at him. After being covered in slime from the beast's roar, he found his favorite tri-corned hat and returned it to his head, then drew his sword and charged the Kraken. It then swallowed him whole and dragged his ship down into Davy Jones's locker. He was there for a time, but he did manage to escape, however that is his tale to tell. Let's return to the main story, shall we?"

Luna listens to more of the story with rapt attention, gasping at hearing the possibility of her being pregnant, saying eagerly, "Sister, was it true? Were you really pregnant?"

Celestia keeps her smile from becoming a knowing smile and chuckles saying, "I will be getting to that part shortly, be patient, dear sister." As she thinks of the next part of the story, the smile slowly slips from her face as she says, "Unfortunately, the treasure and the dress wasn't all they found that day..." She then releases a sad sigh as her mood sours and tries to force the frown away, but fails and continues the story, "He then mentioned that they found a great stone chest, and when I asked about it he told me that it must be either destroyed or hidden from the world. For owning a single piece of it is a curse worse than death, and that is all he said about it at the time. Sometime later, I was curious and explored the hold to see just how much treasure they found, which was a lot. Two of the lowest decks were so full that I thought the ship would not stay afloat for much longer, then I spotted the stone chest underneath the cargo grates in the very lowest deck with two high-backed thrones on either side of it, one was gold with red cushions, and the other was silver with blue cushions. Curious, I approached the gold and red throne first, then sat upon it and found it comfortable, more so than the other when I sat on it next. After I made my way back to the cabin, I found him putting something under his desk and inquired about what he intended to do with the two thrones down below. He told me he planned on selling them in Portuga, so I then asked how I might get one of them from him."

Luna listens to her story intently, eagerly wanting to know if she was pregnant. Her sister tells her about their plan to buy the melted foreign currency from Portuga and turn it into bits while he sells the rest to other nations, then hears about how and where they decided to hide the chest saying with a questioning glance, "Why would you hide it at the old vault instead of Canterlot where it is well guarded?"

She then smiles at her sister and says in a gentle tone, "Because what was in that chest is extremely dangerous, and must be well guarded where very, very few have access to it. I will tell you why momentarily." She then goes back to her story saying, "So, after I took him to the vault and showed it to him, he agreed to hide it there after arranging several conditions to ensure that nopony would ever learn of its existence. So, we returned to the ship via teleport and talked about the future regarding our child if I was indeed pregnant. So, after I disguised myself with magic and returned to Canterlot by teleporting, I quickly went to find a doctor suitable to keep the results secret. I finally got my results two hours later and acted dramatically to keep ponies from learning who I was, then hurried back to my room in the castle to look over the test results again." She lets the moment hang in the air for a bit before saying, "And the results were...positive, I was indeed with foal. My assistant Swift Quill knocked on the door after I kissed the paper and held it close, so once she entered with my permission, I told her my plans to go on a secret vacation so I could give birth to my foal and spend some time raising it. After telling her my intentions of legalizing herds due to the stallion population being down after the war, I made my way back to the Black Pearl to load the chest and hide it away in the old vault. When I got back to the ship with a large chariot, I moved them into place and started to lift the chest into place. Despite being made of stone and containing solid gold coins, the chest proved to be quite a challenge for me to lift. I asked why it was so heavy and Gibbs said there's no greater burden than sin and punishment. Once it was loaded, we went on our way while first discussing mine and Jack's foal, then continued to go over the plans for my abduction at the Grand Galloping Gala."

Rarity gasps and says, "You actually helped to plan your own marenapping?!? You were really quite bold to go that far to escape ruling over ponies."

Celestia grins and nods her head with a chuckle saying, "I disliked the nobles at the time, so stuffy, way too formal, pompous, and of course a few were corrupt and greedy." She then returns to the story, saying, "Once we got there, we talked a bit as he worried for the foal growing in my belly. When I offered my key to him after opening the door, I saw that he was afraid. For both the growing baby in my belly, and of the chest we were hiding. I asked him why he was afraid of it, and this is what he said." She then repeats what Jack told her word for word, taking a moment before adding, "So, after I lifted the lid and set it aside, I looked inside the chest. I saw many pure gold pieces inside, two of which were partially stained a deep red. There was also an ancient dagger inside that chest, which piqued my curiosity so I asked. So as he placed his fingers upon the coins in the chest, dragging a few of them a few inches to make them clink against each other, and this is what he told me about the coins." She then recounts what he said word for word, shuddering as she thinks back on hearing it the first time.

Rainbow tries to keep her body from trembling and tries to act brave saying, "That would be a great story to tell around a campfire or during Nightmare Night, but it isn't real. Curses don't really exist." chuckling nervously after she says it.

She then raises one eyebrow curiously and asks, "Oh, you really think that?" then returns her look to normal and smiles before telling them a bit more of the story.

Rarity listens as she hears the part after she loaded the throne onto the chariot and asks curiously, "Sorry to interrupt Princess Celestia, but what happened to the throne after that? Do you still have it?"

Celestia smiles and nods her head saying, "I do still have it, you've all been in the throne room a few times. I'm certain you couldn't have missed it."

Luna's eyes widen a little as she says, "That is where that came from!? no wonder it is so detailed..."

As Celestia continues her story, she sighs saying, "A few weeks after we hid the chest, Jack told me about something that had happened between Grandmama and him, and how that led him to cut her out of our lives which saddened me." Changing the mood a bit, she then tells them about the Grand Galloping Gala saying while laughing, "Oh you should have seen their faces when he asked me to dance, then again when he all but demanded they return to playing. I found it so exhilarating when he finally gave me the signal words to start our act to steal me away from that boring Gala, everyone bought it. With the exception of Sturdy Shield, who took a bit more effort to convince. After we made our escape, we hurried to the Black Pearl to spend the following years together." She then reminisces about that day, saying absentmindedly, "Oh I remember that day I got my freedom for a few years so well...the clinking of the heavy anchor chains as the anchor was hauled in, the smell of the ocean air as it blew across the coast. He also gave me the best gift that I treasure to this day...my beloved Philomena. Even though the ship's cook found it in the cave on the skull island, he managed to hatch it."

Fluttershy says sweetly, "Awwe, how nice of him. What was the cook's name?"

She thinks back to those days and chuckles saying, "If I remember right, he might be a relative of Rarity's. Your family's name is Belle right?"

Rarity smiles nervously and nods her head slowly, asking, "Umm...yes it is, what is his name?"

Celestia then smirks and says, "His name was Shining Belle, is he related to you?"

She gasps dramatically and screams like a little filly for a moment before collapsing onto the floor, crying into her arms sobbing, "Oh no!!! I am ruined!!! I enjoy making fabulous outfits with gems on them because I have pirate blood in me!!"

Applejack giggles softly and pats her on the back saying, "There there Rarity, you may have pirate blood in you, but you are still the Element of Generosity. So those scoundrel's genes must be way back in your family tree."

Celestia looks at Applejack with the same smirk and says, "Actually, you are also related to Jack through Money Pear. I learned this many years later in the story though, through a letter she wrote to me. She apologized to me after having her way with Jack one estrus season and found herself with foal, so she then partnered with Mister Apple. Mister Apple and her were traveling together after he left Portuga to make his family proud."

The honest pony's face is filled with shock, her eyes are fully dilated, her jaw is completely slack, and her body is completely frozen in shock. She then blinks slowly and finds herself only able to say, "Huh?? Wha?"

Pinkie then takes an ecstatic gasping breath, then shouts, "THAT MEANS I'M RELATED TO HIM TO THROUGH APPLEJACK'S FAMILY!"

The princess then giggles softly, saying, "Distantly, but yes, you three are related to Captain Jack Sparrow. Anyways, let's return to the story at hand. A day had passed after that, so we were on our way to the Dragon Lands to do some trading." She then tells them about her encounter with Davy Jones, Calypso, the goddess of the sea, and the 1000-foot-long Kraken.

Spike then hears her talk about Captain Jack Sparrow's adventure into the Dragon Lands and gasps saying, "Wait, so Captain Sparrow was the one that started the tradition with the Dragon Scepter?! That is pretty cool!"

Celestia then continues telling them what happened during the months leading up to her inevitable birth saying with a smile and a happy glimmer in her eyes saying, "If any of you would like to skip the details about the birth, you may go outside and I will cast a privacy barrier. I will let you know when it is safe to come back in." She watches as only Spike takes her offer and steps outside, then prepares to cast the barrier saying, "You may leave the doors open, I will call you back in once I am finished. Thank you, Spike."

Luna listens intensely to how her sister grew to be so big that her robe couldn't fully close, and her size forced her to be bedridden and grounded. She quietly giggles at the little spat she had with Jack after her water broke, but her happy mood at the possibility of being an aunt instantly shifts to one of shock as she hears of Captain Jack's proposal to her in front of the doctor and how she said yes. Unable to even think due to the shock, she stares at her sister with wide eyes and a slack-jawed mouth.

She looks at each one of the shocked faces with a happy chuckle, seeing Pinkie's jaw actually stretching to the floor as her mane vibrates violently, shooting confetti everywhere. She puts her hand over her mouth to try to control her laughter, only succeeding in muffling it a degree saying between bouts of laughter, "Is it really that shocking?"

They all stare at the princess with shocked faces as Discord pops into the room saying, "OH boy was that little tidbit hilarious, I actually laughed myself into literal pieces!" He looks at the other's faces and then looks at Princess Celestia saying, "Allow me to translate what they are attempting to think and say at the moment. You just totally floored us with that information, Princess Celestia. We're too shocked to even think of responding right now, please wait until our brains reboot." He then smiles and floats in the air, shrinking in size saying, "Well, that is all I wanted to pop in and say, tata for now!" then vanishes with a snap of his fingers.

The others look at Celestia as she has a happy smile on her face when their brains finally start functioning and say in unison, "WHAT!?! YOU'RE ENGAGED?!?"

Celestia smiles and then says, "Yes, I had that same look on my face just before I got engaged to Captain Jack Sparrow on the day I gave birth. Are you ready to hear the rest of how that day went?" She watches as they all just stare and nod their heads, still having shocked looks on their faces.

Rarity listens to her continue as she manages to get her facial expression under control then thinks, 'At least he was protective and very loving to Princess Celestia.'

Twilight is unable to regain control of her facial muscles as a shocked expression remains on her face, failing to put her thought into words, 'You said no to taking the pain away during CHILDBIRTH?! Were you CRAZY?! I've read books on the subject, and they all say that a mare's first foal is the longest and most excruciating experience!'

Celestia watches Twilight's expression as it remains frozen to her face, continuing to tell them about the birthing right up to the end saying, "I'm sure you must be thinking that I was crazy, Twilight. But I was not, I just loved my baby too much to want them to be born into this world under the influence of some drug. After I gave birth, the doctor told me she was a little filly. He was kneeling down and staring at my filly, so I asked him to let me see her. When I looked at her, my heart jumped with joy at how beautiful she was. She was a beautiful unicorn filly with a blonde mane and tail, a painted two-tone coat with the more predominant color being snow white with black patches around her flank, running up her back to cover the base of her neck and most of her right shoulder, coming together in a strip going up her throat and completely covering her head minus her left ear and a stripe with a snip down her forehead and mouth. However, it was what I saw next that shocked me nearly speechless. I looked at both sides of my little filly, and I was startled for a moment to see that she had a pair of wings on her back."

Everyone is shocked once more, but manages to speak in unison once more, screaming, "YOU GAVE BIRTH TO AN ALICORN!!" while Luna uses the royal voice to shout it.

Luna looks at her sister with desperate eyes and asks, "Where is she? What happened to her? Is she okay?!" while starting to panic.

Celestia walks up to her sister, fighting back the tears as she is reminded of the answer to all three questions. She grabs her sister's shoulders with both hands and squeezes them gently saying in an affectionate, but slightly sad tone, "I-I'm getting there dear sister, please be patient."

Confused, she looks at her sister and sees tears welling up in her eyes, making her wonder, 'Sister, what happened to your daughter to make you so sad?'

She then takes a breath and gathers her self-control and then continues the story saying, "Then together, I gave him the choice of the first name or the second. He chose the second name, so I decided to name her Summer while Jack picked Poppet. After I handed Summer back to the doctor to remove the cord, then she was swaddled and handed back to me. Then once the placenta came out, I told him that our family was nearly complete...with only one member missing." Remembering Spike is outside, she dispels the shield and says, "Okay Spike, you can come back in now." then continues on, saying, "He must have looked outside because he then asked when the sun was supposed to set, and I remembered that it was supposed to set a half hour ago. So as I tried to change the cycle, I found I didn't have the strength to make the sun budge. Fortunately, Jack quickly thought of the idea to claim that day as a holiday and let the sun stay up longer than the rest of the year, which I did just that and called it the Summer Sun Celebration. Once I threatened the doctor with a fate worse than Tartarus to ensure he kept quiet about my little alicorn filly, I asked Jack to bring the bassinet he traded some goods for. When I saw it an hour later, it was so beautiful that it brought me to tears." She then tells them what it looked like, continuing with the story a little bit before adding, "Later I asked Jack where he got that and who made it, which he told me that it was made by some zebras in Farasi."

Luna listens as the story continues, piquing her curiosity about why she would alter her daughter's body and asks, "Sister, why would you take away your little filly's wings? That is what makes her who she was meant to be."

Celestia hears her sister and sighs saying, "I know that sister, but do you remember how the ponies acted towards us growing up? They worshipped us and treated us like royalty, but I didn't want that for my little filly. I wanted her to grow up and experience life as a normal pony would, and away from the royal life inside a golden cage. All I did was seal her wings away inside her body as a magic she would never use, feel, or know of. To return them, all I need to do is end the spell on her."

Rainbow Dash listens to Celestia as she tells of what happened the following weeks, and collapses onto her side laughing her ass off at what Jack Sparrow did one night at the Storm King's realm. She gasps for breath desperately while trying to say, "S...So he...raided the...Storm King's realm...with...nothing but...full diapers?" she then continues squirming around on the floor laughing so hard she is crying tears of joy while Pinkie tries to catch her breath between manic giggle snorts.

She tries her hardest to keep a straight face, but a grin comes to her face as she says, "I'm sorry sister, I know I shouldn't find this funny, but I just can't help it." She then moves her right hand to her mouth as she begins to silently laugh, saying, "And it wasn't just that one time he went on a diaper raid..." her shoulders start to shudder as she giggles a bit louder adding, "It became a routine tradition he would do once or twice a month, depending on how much the filly fed. I learned early on to put a null ring on her horn to help with her magical outbursts, lost count of how many things we needed to fix on the ship from her fits."

Luna's face is red with embarrassment at how her sister let him continue with the diaper raids on the Storm King's realm, and sighs in frustration asking, "If you all are done laughing about the diaper raids, can we get back to hearing the rest of the story?"

Celestia slowly gets her laughter under control again and cough laughs saying, "I do apologize Lulu, where was I...oh right. As the first few months flew by, I kept trying to figure out what Jack was planning for our wedding. The only thing that he would tell me is that it was a secret and to invite whoever I wanted, and he would only be inviting the people on the ship, Davy Jones, and Goddess Calypso. He then told me to have them meet us thirty miles west of Fillycity, where we would then sail toward our destination. Each time he would refuse to give me any details, I tried to pout to guilt him into telling me, though it never worked that time." She then looks around the room as she remembers that day and smiles when she sees the doll that she gave to Twilight, chuckling and saying with a nostalgic smile, "Princess Twilight, do you remember that doll I gave you so many years ago? The one you named Smarty Pants?"

Twilight cocks her head in confusion and looks around the room for the doll, then pulls it down with her magic saying, "Of course I remember it, I will never forget it because it is the first present you got me. Why do you ask about him, do you want the doll back?"

She shakes her head side to side slowly with the same nostalgic smile and says, "No, not at all Twilight. I was only asking because I wanted to say that when I tried to get information and pouted with Jack's refusal, I was holding Summer in my arms as she was playing with that very same doll, though she called him Spotty Pants."

She looks at the doll as her eyes widen as she then smiles and sets it down beside her saying, "I...I didn't know it belonged to your daughter."

Celestia then says, "I know you didn't Twilight, but I found you and I believed you were special deep down, so that is why I chose to give my daughter's old doll to you to cherish." and continues on with the story, saying, "When the big day finally arrived, I had to wait on the Windy Gale until we got there and the ceremony began. I asked them what day it was and Swift Quill told me that it was June 21^st, the same day as the Summer Sun Celebration, which was when Summer Poppet was born." She looks at the mostly curious expressions with a few happy expressions among the faces of the group before her and then begins to tell them about the wedding in great detail.

Rarity oohs and awes at the picture that the princess is painting for her saying, "Oh wow darling, I can't believe he went so far to make the wedding so remarkable, I wish I could see it to get inspiration!"

Luna sighs and hangs her head, then looks down and away saying in a somber tone, "So I guess you became queen then since you married..."

She looks at her sister with a slight grin on her face and walks over to her, then uses a finger to gently lift her eyes up to her and shakes her head side to side slowly saying, "No sister, I didn't because Jack was adamant in his refusal to be given any such title that might take away his freedom to sail the sea. To be honest, I didn't want to rule Equestria by his side...I wanted to rule it by yours."

Luna looks up into her sister's eyes as her eyes start to tear up and overflow sobbing happily as she says, "Oh sister, I was so worried that you did not want to share leadership with me..."

Celestia pats her sister's back affectionately saying, "Don't be silly sister, of course I want to. I will never want to be without you again." She then holds her sister until she goes silent and calms down, then releases her after a gentle hug saying, "Now, let us return to what happened after we said our I do's..." and gets back to telling them what happened next. As she gets towards the end of the reception line, she grins and chuckles behind her hand saying, "When Calypso and Davy Jones presented their gifts to Jack and I, Jack was willing to accept one of them but not the other. The gifts that Davy Jones was offering to Jack were two new crew members, and one of them was Bootstrap Bill Turner while the one he didn't really want was his former first mate, Hector Barbossa. Jack didn't want to accept him because he had mutinied against him in the past. So, when Davy Jones threatened to send him to the locker to suffer, Jack gave in and accepted them, albeit a little bit snarkily. Once we were done with the reception for the gifts, we were guided to different places on the floating docks so that a couple of paintings could be made of Jack and I. Perhaps one day when you all are in Canterlot and have a little time, I could show them to you."

As she continues on about the proceedings for the wedding, she then says, "I still haven't figured out who that strange pony was that gave me away, I couldn't make out any of her features due to the bright glow. She did give a speech though, wishing us happiness and said she would be always watching over us before she turned into a wisp of air and vanished." She then continues on with how the wedding proceeded and then giggles saying, "When it came time for the garter toss, Jack began to pull my underwear down with his teeth, but I slapped him and scolded him with a blush stating that if he tried that again, I would stomp on his hand. He then put them back and started removing the actual garter, though he did it in the most provocative way imaginable. Still using his teeth, he pulled it off my shoe. I found it tricky to stand on one leg wearing a very high heel while on a floating platform in the middle of a chilly ocean with ribbons of light dancing through the sky above us, though I never stumbled and fell. After he turned around and tossed the garter over his shoulder to the crowd behind him, a short brawl broke out over the garment which Barbossa emerged victorious while calling the others in the group cack-handed deck apes. He then put it against his cheek saying it was still warm, which got a laugh from several of the Black Pearl's crew before he put it on his hat. After that, it was time for the last dance..." she then pulls the locket from within the top of her dress and winds it up as both of her rings rest in the slack just above the locket, then presses the button to open it to allow it to play saying, "Though it was played on a Hurdy Gurdy, this is the song that played."

Luna recognizes the song and the locket from a couple times before, wondering why that song means so much to her and why was she in front of the statue of that pony crying.

Celestia reminisces about their last dance, then thinks about how lovely their wedding night was as the song finishes playing. Closing the locket, she then smiles fondly from the happy memory and says, "After that, Jack then lifted me up in his arms and carried me down the dock, up the plank, and all the way into the cabin where he welcomed me home before we both enjoyed our wedding night. When the next day came, I woke up and went outside to find Jack talking with his two new crew members Hector and Bootstrap. So as I saw the crew moving the gifts down into the hold, I suggested that we go down and see what we were given. After we went down there and started looking through them, Jack found these two lockets. It was an accident that he discovered it was a music box, when I recognized the tune and asked if it meant something to them, he told me this song was dear to them both because it showed how devoted Davy Jones was to Goddess Calypso before he cut out his heart and hid it from the world. Jack said that we were given these to remind us to stay true to each other and never forget our bond. If we should ever forget or lose sight of it, all we needed to do is be together or listen to the song to find our way again. He then handed this to me saying no matter what fate lies ahead for us, and that he would always keep me in his heart and mind. I asked him why he said that as if he knew something bad would happen, but he said quite a few things to assuage my worries. But of them all, only one made them go away, which was his plan to be with me until he was old, grey, and wrinkly while I was still young and beautiful, and taking care of him while his health declined from old age."

Applejack listens as she resumes the story, telling them about how she put the locket around her neck and asked to try some of the rum. She chuckles gently when she hears that she took a sniff of the rum at first. Finding the following piece funny, she can't help but ask, "So did you ever drink it in front of those pesky nobles, Princess Celestia?"

She smiles and then nods her head saying, "I most certainly did, though I told them it was just a different kind of apple cider. I wish I still had some of it left, it has quite an addictive kick and taste though it doesn't take much to make a pony drunk." She then tells them about her kissing him with a mouthful of rum, then tells them how he asked her to look into the nobles' dealings for illegal activity and his subtle hint of a plan for the dirty nobles during their honeymoon.

Luna shakes her head and sighs as she hears how he planned another diaper raid on the Storm King's realm, getting a few laughs from Rainbow and Pinkie Pie. She blushes fiercely as she hears she had sex behind the barrels while a guard was helping move the gifts to the top deck to load them into the chariots and gasps saying, "Please tell me you didn't actually do that behind the throne while during Daycourt!?"

Celestia giggles at her sister for a moment, then shakes her head saying, "No, of course I didn't, though I certainly did want to try it back then. When it was finally time for me to go back to Canterlot, Jack brought up the jug of rum I wanted to take with me and called it 'vegetable juice' in front of the guards. I still can't believe that I forgot it down below... Anyways, after saying goodbye to Jack and taking our leave, I had the guards circle around the Black Pearl a few times. I watched as the ships departed while the Kraken used her tentacles to smash the mostly empty platform and the surrounding docks, reducing the beautiful arch and wedding decorations left behind to debris. I shed tears while watching the place where Jack and I got married be destroyed, I then managed to watch as the Dutchman sailed below the surface of the sea. After everything was gone, I told the guards to take us back to Canterlot while imagining how many children we might have in the years ahead."

Chapter 29: The story is told, Part 3

Celestia takes another drink from her teacup and sighs as she starts the next bit of the story, saying, "After I returned to Canterlot from my 'captivity' on the Black Pearl, I made sure to take my rings off and ran the chain of my locket through them both and put it back around my neck. I never ever went anywhere without it around my neck, and I still don't. Anyways, Summer asked me if I was mad with just a single word, which was 'mad' but I told her that I was just missing her father and that I wanted to be anywhere but in Canterlot. So, after I gave a speech explaining with a partial lie about the situation with me not being Summer's mother to the citizens of Canterlot overjoyed at my return, I went inside and went back to my royal doodies."

She hears Pinkie giggle snort a few times at her word choice and smiles before continuing the story for a bit then saying, "Then when a month had passed, I took a vacation which only I knew that I was actually going to the Black Pearl with all I learned about several of the nobles' dealings. As soon as I got out and tried to get information about our honeymoon, Jack refused to give any. When Summer saw him, she immediately started crying while reaching for him. As he took her, he grinned saying he would begin to potty train her so he wouldn't have to change her diapers anymore. He then told Summer he would remember that so that when she became a teen and started looking for a boyfriend, he could embarrass her in front of him. When she heard that, she made the biggest and cutest puppy dog eyes ever and begged him for mercy saying, No papa! Oh it was so adorable to watch Jack try to fight against it and fail, resulting in him relenting to only embarrass her in front of her friends if she teased him too much.

Rarity scoffs and huffs, saying, "Oh darling, what a cruel thing to do to such an adorable young filly!"

Celestia smirks at Rarity then says, "In his defense, do you know how many of her diapers he has changed?"

She blinks and stares at the princess for a moment in disbelief before saying with a soft glare, "It doesn't matter if he changed a billion of her diapers, you should never go to such measures just to get even with your own flesh and blood!"

The princess giggles and says, "Well, we will just have to agree to disagree on that, because he changed every single one of her diapers until our stay in Canterlot." She then returns to the story saying, "Most honeymoons begin right after the wedding, but ours started later because the first three months on the ship were spent with him training me to fight. When I asked him what he thought of my progress, he said I was learning quickly and was as good as his first mate. But then he asked me out of the blue if I could bring myself to take a life belonging to one of my beloved subjects if it meant that I got to live. I asked him how he could even ask me that, so I said that I was a princess and didn't know if I could handle taking one's life even then. Then he said to me that is something that shouldn't be asked, and that being a pirate meant that if you wanted something which wasn't yours, you would most likely have to fight someone to get it. He also said that taking a life would definitely change you, because it isn't something that should be taken lightly without a good enough reason."

Twilight looks at her mentor like she just grew a second head and says, "But there is never a good reason to kill someone, there is always a way to fix the problem and make friendship succeed."

Celestia looks at Twilight with a sweet smile and says in a gentle tone, "That is true for the way things are now Twilight, but back then...things were...a little different." She then returns to the story saying, "I then asked him if that meant it would be okay to kill someone to return to my little girl. He confirmed that telling me it would if it could not be avoided, but it would be great if I could find a way to avoid such situations. He gave me a good piece of advice, if I remember right he said, 'Life's greatest gift is the choice, the chance to choose your own actions and path to follow in life. What are you trying to achieve, and why are you trying to achieve it? What purpose does it serve? Decide on a goal in life and formulate a plan to achieve said goal, improvise for it if you must'"

She then takes another sip from her tea and discovers that it is empty already and sighs, then wonders if she has anything stronger to drink. Remembering about some alcoholic spiked cider she has stashed away, she smiles and summons the jug in front of her saying, "I know it isn't Hearth's Warming, but I need this for the story ahead."

Luna watches her sister pour some of the spiked cider into the teacup, returns the cork to the bottle and then sets it on the side table. Her eyes widen as she sees her sister swirl the cider around the cup, bringing it up to her nose and taking a deep whiff of it sighing before saying, "This is very delicious, but I miss the rum from the old days."

With one smooth motion, Celestia brings the cup up to her lips and shoots it back like the teacup was a shot glass, shocking them all for a moment or two before letting out a pleased sigh saying, "Now back to the story... He then asked me about the nobles' dealings and how I thought of them with Equestria's best interests in mind, if I would spare the lives of those involved or condemn them. I told him that it would depend on their response to my request. If they would willingly surrender their life of crime, they would spend some time in the Canterlot dungeon. However, if they refused to surrender, I would deal with them rather harshly. With that answer, he welcomed me to the crew and told me what we were doing for our honeymoon which started right then."

Fluttershy nervously asks in her soft voice while wringing her hands together, "Uhm...so...did you ever have to take anyone's life, Princess Celestia?"

She refills the empty cup with the jug and returns the cork once more, but sips at it instead of shooting it back, looking at Fluttershy with a sad look on her face saying, "Unfortunately, yes I did. Though quite a few we fought did surrender, which were held in the brig for a time until a chariot came to take them away."

The shy pony smiles, not knowing what to say for a bit before saying, "Oh, well at least you were nice enough to give them the chance."

Celestia then smiles back at her before telling them of the first few years of her life spent going back and forth from the Black Pearl to Canterlot saying, "As soon as Summer learned to walk, she nearly gave Jack and I heart attacks on a regular basis whenever she nearly walked off the edge of the ship. That changed though when I modified a shield to cover the sides of the ship, because we started having one of the crew, me, or Jack looking after her. Whenever we went pirating, I would leave her inside the cabin with a protective sound-proof barrier around her. Sometimes I would stay with her if the ship we were after had cannons on board, which surprisingly, many did."

She then takes a little bigger drink from the cup, then sets the cup down saying, "She must have watched the crew as they worked the two cannons in the cabin, because one day I was up in the crow's nest looking for ships when I heard one of the cannons fire. I looked down and saw the smoke near the back of the ship, so I jumped off and flew down to the ship from the crow's nest. Scared for my little filly, I hurried inside the cabin to check on her. I found the port-side gunport door mostly missing with smoke rolling from the barrel of the cannon, and Summer was on the other side of the cabin with her hands over her ears while a botefeux, which is the pole or stick that's used to ignite the fuse, was laying on the floor smoldering. When Jack got there and saw what she did, he got really mad and grabbed a broken piece of wood to spank her with it. After that, he instructed the crews to unload the cannons after every engagement. During the times we were in Canterlot, the clever little filly would find a way to escape her foal sitter and find her way into the throne room. I would also find the time to take her on flights around Canterlot in my arms or on my shoulders, I would also take her around the city to get candy.

Luna smiles and says, "Sounds like she was a troublesome little filly, perhaps one day I might get the chance to experience motherhood. I look forward to finding the right stallion..."

Surprised by what her sister said, Celestia looks at Luna with wide eyes briefly before smiling and saying, "I look forward to becoming an aunt as well, perhaps I can try to help you find your special somepony." She then turns away after sharing a pleasant smile with Luna and continues her story saying, "Then a few months later, I was on the ship overseeing the loading and unloading of supplies while Jack held Summer's hand and took her to Portuga for the first time. He told me later that he got her some candy while he offloaded some of the supplies we looted from our recent targets, then he went to the tavern and gave her cider while he enjoyed a bottle of rum as well as a game of Liar's Dice."

Pinkie Pie giggles and then says, "Wowie, I haven't played that game in a LONG while, and it has been around for like...ever!"

Celestia chuckles and smiles saying, "It has been around for awhile, did you know that the game came from the world Jack came from? It was he that first introduced it to us after all..." She then chuckles again and continues the story, saying, "On her third birthday, I got her a small dollhouse, some dresses, and of course her favorite candy which was striped peppermint sticks. Jack had got her a small hat, a frilly shirt, a pair of colt's breeches, and a wooden sword, which she absolutely went nuts for. I still wish that she would have been a bit more girly..."

Applejack cocks her head and then nervously asks, "Umm, forgive me Princess Celestia, but did you say would have? Does that mean something happened to her?"

A tear worms its way from her cheek as she tries to blink away the memory saying, "I-I will get to that part, Applejack." She then finishes off what is left in her cup before refilling it and continues the story with a sigh, saying, "As we enjoyed our time together, three years passed in the blink of an eye. However, things began to slowly change after we went through a hurricane in the southern part of the Celestial Seas. After making it through it, we looked over the ship for damages. Finding that the ship had a month's worth of damages including needing a new Foremast, I expressed my sadness for what happened during our last diaper raid on the Storm King's Realm. When our daughter finally learned how to use the toilet by the time she turned two, we paid another visit to the Storm King's Realm for our last diaper raid. During a heavy thunderstorm, someone must have put the diapers on top of a mostly empty box of cannonballs because when the cannons were reloading, in a brief lull of silence...we heard something heavy collapse. Shortly after that, Jack ordered the cannons to be stowed and the sails to be unfurled. Several days later, I received a report from my assistant saying that the Storm King's wife was killed after a stone column collapsed after being struck by a cannonball during a heavy thunderstorm. With Jack's help, it took me the better part of two years to recover from the guilt."

Celestia then shakes her head and half-chuckles saying, "Sorry, back to the story, "Once we got back to port, a couple of weeks passed by as we waited for repairs when I asked Jack if we could visit Grandmama just once to introduce Summer to her. He then grumbled and asked if he'd agree to take us to see the seawitch, would I stop asking, which I did. I then tried to entice him by saying if he would feel glad about seeing Grandmama for Summer, I would do a certain something he liked. After he heard that, he smiled widely, overjoyed at what I would do for him, and promptly accepted my offer."

Twilight then looks at Celestia curiously and asks, "Forgive my curiosity, Princess Celestia, but what was it you offered to do for him?"

She turned her head away in embarrassment and clicked her tongue saying, "I was really hoping none of you would ask that..." but she then groans and looks back at the group with a heavy blush on her face and says, "I offered to...do a dance on a pole I learned during one of our many trips across the seas to Saddle Arabia."

The injured alicorn's eyes go wide with realization as she then says, "OH..."

Rarity gasps as she then understands what Twilight just figured out and says, "Y-You learned how to pole dance like those floosies do at strip clubs!?!"

Celestia then glares daggers at Rarity and narrows her eyes asking, "Are you calling me a floosie?"

The fashionista starts sweating profusely as she quickly backpedals away, then runs into the wall as she scrambles to think of something to say, saying in a panic, "OH OFOFOF C-COURSE N-N-NO-NOT P-P-PRINCESS C-C-CELESTIA!! I-I-I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING, I SWEAR ON MY MANE AND TAIL! I SH-SHOULD HA-HAVE WORDED THAT BETTER!"

Applejack giggles behind her hand at how Rarity is acting and says, "Eeyup, you should have thought that over much more carefully Rare."

The princess then huffs in annoyance at Rarity's poor choice of words and then continues the story saying, "So we started to make our way to Grandmama's manor as he called her the wicked witch of the east and a cantankerous old bat that was nearly as old as I was at the time. I am not sure when, but Jack mentioned he helped Lyrupa, the griffon princess find work as Grandmama's assistant. It was a touching and heartfelt reunion coming mostly from Grandmama as Jack still disliked her, explaining that she had me to thank for bringing him to her. In response to that, she looked over to me and saw the two rings on my left hand, which caused her to hurry up to me and gives the rings a rapid succession of kisses before stopping and thanking me repeatedly for letting her see her grandson and his family again. I learned earlier that she had a particular way of showing her affection toward others through violence, so while rubbing her back affectionately, I warned her that I would not tolerate it anymore towards my husband or my daughter. If she continued to show her affection in that manner, I would have no choice but to punish her by keeping our family away from her. Then Jack explained to her how the magic of our world works, that it only brings buried emotions to the surface, and doesn't create new emotions within you. After that, she hugged Jack again and apologized for her actions, then he expressed his worry about any more of his dysfunctional family coming to our world and possibly threatening its safety. I then introduced Summer to her, which after she introduced herself to her, he told Summer she could just call her nana or wicked witch, which earned him a brief glare from Grandmama. When Summer ran up to her and hugged her, I saw Jack put his hand on his pistol and thought he would draw it, but to my surprise, he didn't."

Applejack smiles at hearing that and sighs happily saying, "That right there is a happy reunion between a separated family."

Celestia smiles and lets her eyes drift to the floor a moment in thought saying, "It was and we did spend holidays together for several years, however, a few days after we introduced Summer to her and let her be a part of our family again...Something scary happened that changed our lives forever. I heard about this from Jack after it happened, but in the night while Jack and I were sleeping, Galanda boarded the Black Pearl unseen as a heavy fog had covered the port. She slipped into the cabin while Summer was still awake, reading a book when she should have been sleeping, and knocked her out. When Jack awoke, he saw that she was not in her bed and looked all over the ship for her. Finding it odd that she wasn't on the ship, he checked the cabin again to see if she was hiding in there when he lit a couple of candles and saw the letter and a strangely familiar blood-stained feather inside the book Grandmama gave her. After he took the feather and finally remembered where he saw it last, he pulled out the letter and got dressed, then left the cabin. He went into the sleeping port town to meet up with Summer's abductor and stood in the light of a torch as he was greeted by Galanda holding onto Summer with a nullifying ring on her horn and then asking how he wanted to pay his blood debt...with his blood or hers, then she drew her sword and raised it to her neck. After trying to placate her anger by raising his hands, he offered to satisfy the debt by giving her a child through intimate means. She then rejected the offer outright angrily saying, 'You actually think I want your disgusting body to get that close to mine?! You ruined my whole family, and destroyed any possibility we will have to achieve a happy future! I do not want to bear any of your children to satisfy this debt...so decide how you are going to pay.' then asked him again if it would be with his blood or hers. As Jack looked at her crying face, he told her to take his because he should have died many times before. Then said how he took life for granted way too long and had learned something valuable that she wouldn't understand, so he kept it to himself...even when I asked what it was later. She must have been shocked by that because her mouth fell open for a moment before lowering her sword from Summer's neck and telling him to step forward to accept his fate before shoving her to the side. Jack watched Galanda as she drew her sword back to stab him when Summer suddenly rushed toward the griffon. She laughed as Summer grabbed her and then kicked her away while telling her to get off, calling her a stupid filly because her father decided to save her life. She then told her to be thankful or she would kill her for trying to stop her. Galanda then noticed something the filly had because she asked what it was that she had there, making Jack curious as well. When he looked at his daughter, he saw her trying to pull the flint striker back on the griffon's pistol. As Galanda reached to take the pistol from her, Jack started to hurry toward his daughter when he heard it cock back while telling her not to touch that because it was dangerous. Then he saw her raising the pistol toward her, placing her finger on the trigger and attempting to pull it, making him panic and begin to say don't pull on that. He only managed to say, no darling, don't before he was cut off by the pistol when it fired, which caused Summer's arms to fly back as the pistol flew out of her grip. Galanda was shot in the head, which made a pretty gruesome fountain of gore. Her body then fell forward onto Summer, which Jack quickly rolled it off to see if she was okay. As the blood started to pool around Summer, he pulled the gag from her mouth and untied her hands. Able to speak again, Summer asked if he was mad because she saved him from the mean griffon. He then picked her up in his left arm, telling her he wasn't mad, though he was thankful for her saving him. He then told her that she was getting a little too big to be carried like that, but due to her experience, he would carry her home that way. I learned later to my dismay, that he promised to teach her how to fight with a sword to protect herself from others with ill intent. I woke up with a start when I heard a pistol fire and looked around the cabin to see Jack and Summer both gone, I then started looking all over the ship for them and even checked under the beds. I was about to leave the ship to go fly over to Grandmama to have her send out search parties for her when they walked in through the cabin door with blood in Summer's coat and mane. Worried sick, I then shouted at him in the royal voice, asking what happened and why there was blood in our daughter's mane and coat. He then asked if I wanted the long version or the short version, and I picked the long one which led to us getting into our first big fight." She then tells them about the fight, and that her daughter learned how to use the royal voice which she used to make them stop fighting.

Taking a drink from her cup, Celestia fills it back up again and groans saying, "If I didn't get grey hairs in my mane and tail, I most certainly got them after she began climbing up the ropes. When she learned to swim, she would tie a rope off the side rail of the ship and let it drag into the water before climbing onto either the crow's nest's railing or the mainyard of the topgallant sail on the mainmast and then jump from it into the sea. When she was somewhere around twelve or thirteen...oh me...she would climb to the top of the fore or aft masts and then climb the ropes tying them together at the very top, hand over hand 40 or 60 feet above the deck. When she reached sixteen, she started swinging around on ropes from yard to yard. I blame her father for every single strand of grey hairs I've got in my mane and tail..."

Luna then listens as her sister gets back to the main story, about how Celestia and Summer continued spending their time going back and forth between the Black Pearl and Canterlot. She is shocked to see her sister empty the cup and set it aside with a sad sigh before taking the bottle and tipping it back, taking a few large gulps down. Worried for her sister, she says, "Perhaps you should take it easy on that Cece, that spiked cider is pretty strong."

She looks at her sister with eyes full of anguish, and hate before saying, "For what's to come, this 'liquid courage' will help keep me from falling apart as I did a few nights ago." With a warm sensation building in her belly as the alcohol finally kicks in, she then sighs and looks at the group saying, "It all started to fall apart two years and a few months after Summer's kidnapping... After Summer and I returned from spending a month or two in Canterlot, I noticed different bedding on our bed in the cabin and asked why he changed the bedding. He then told me that it became infested from not being washed after so long, which I sighed and accepted it while saying it was unfortunate to happen to my favorite bedding. He then looked at his compass briefly when a gust of wind blew across the deck and asked me to join him on a week-long trip. I then asked him where we were going when our daughter spoke up, all excited about going on an adventure. Then Jack told her there weren't going to be any villains to fight on this journey, but she wasn't allowed to come with us because where we were going...curses really did exist. When I heard him say those words, I gasped and told Summer to go catch up with the crew. After she left, I stared at him with narrowed eyes and asked if he was insane telling him he told me how wicked that gold was and how he feared it. I then asked him why must we go there of all places, and he confirmed how he feared it, but it was part of his grand scheme to save Luna. He then asked me to go along with it, promising me that it would work out in the end."

Hoping that her sister didn't do what she is thinking, she says, "Cece, please tell me you didn't..." She gets her answer as Celestia just looks away with a shameful look on her face, giving her a slow nod.

Celestia then lifts her head up to look at the group to continue her story, and says, "I agreed with his plan, I was desperate to get my sister back, so what was I supposed to do?"

Luna walks up and hugs her sister as she breaks down a little and cries into her shoulder saying, "I'm so sorry, but I didn't know what else to do! Please forgive me Lulu!" She then moves her right hand to the back of her head while her left pats her gently on the back above the wings in a comforting manner saying, "It is alright sister, I am not disappointed, upset, or even mad at you for trying so hard to bring me back."

It takes a few moments for the sobbing sister to calm down enough to continue the story, returning to her seat saying, "So sorry about my behavior everypony, let's get back to the story, shall we?"

Everypony smiles and tell her that it is alright for her to be upset about things that hurt her inside, and it makes the pain go away a little when talking about it.

Celestia smiles and then looks at them saying, "Now then, where were we... Right. We set off for Horseshoe Bay where we fit the entire crew onto the longboats minus the cook who Jack had decided it would be best for the current part of the plan to him off with fair pay so he could make a home for his wife and child. When I asked him what this part of his plan entails, which his response was that I would see. I just needed to have a little patience and everything will be made clear...eventually...and to think like him whatever that means because I still haven't figured that part out!"

Rainbow listens as she continues telling the story leading up to where they all made their way into the secret vault, finding herself leaning forward in anticipation hearing the princess repeat Jack's speech word for word saying, "For a pirate, we do whatever we must to achieve our goals...no price is too high, except when it involves this accursed treasure. But alas, I have no choice in the matter as it seems to be my destiny to suffer. I have no right in asking this of any of you...but...would you all join me in enduring this punishment and show this world what pirates really are and why we are so feared?"

She lifts the bottle to her lips again, taking a few more gulps and swallowing before saying, "And then I watched as Gibbs told Jack he agreed to join him in the suffering, for his schemes had a knack for working out for the better. Gibbs then helped Jack to push the lid off the chest, leaving it to fall to the side as Jack was the first one to take a coin from the chest of cursed gold. As Gibbs took the next piece, the rest of the crew took a coin for themselves. The last one to take a coin...was me, or so I believed. So, with trembling hands, I reached in and took a coin from the chest. I grasped it gingerly and winced, expecting to feel some pain or agony..." then looks around the room to see every one of them leaning forward expectantly and continues on without pausing for a moment, "until suddenly..." leaving the end of the sentence hanging in the air for added effect while leaning forward herself slightly as she stretches her arms out wide, then suddenly brings them together with a loud clap shouting, "BOOM!"

Everyone in the group yelp with surprise as Rainbow falls forward, but quickly stands back up and joins everyone in asking what happened.

Celestia laughs at getting them all saying, "I apologize for that everyone, but I saw you all leaning forward and couldn't resist the temptation of startling you." She then adopts a more serious and somber tone and continues, "The truth, is that nothing happened, which confused me. So when I asked Jack about it, he said that the treasure makes others suffer in other ways. What he said next shocked me speechless...he gave Hector a choice."

Twilight then looks at the princess curiously and asks, "Uhmm...Princess Celestia, what ch-choice did he give to Barbossa?"

She then sighs grimly and says, "I didn't catch everything, but he told him if he wanted to, he could either come with us or remain here and watch over the treasure. But Barbossa chose to remain behind, asking that we leave the key with him. So then we walked out of the vault, Jack locked the door since he was the last one to leave, he then tossed the key to Hector and the rest of us walked away as Jack wished and urged him to do whatever he could to maintain his sanity."

Taking a few moments before returning to the story, she swirls the last bit of Spiked Cider in the bottom of the bottle before raising it to her lips and draining the last bit into her mouth. Celestia then swallows it down and sets the bottle behind her with a sigh saying, "I just hope that is enough to keep me together when I finish this tale... Anyway, it took a year for my cursed form to gradually appear, my mane and tail were made of fire. My eyes changed to yellow with slitted pupils and black irises. There were two fangs hanging down over my lower lip, and my cutie mark was surrounded by orange and yellow flames." She then looks at Twilight and says, "I do believe you met my alter ego Twilight, you called her Daybreaker in one of your letters after Starlight attempted to change the past."

Twilight looks at her curiously and says, "Princess Celestia, do you mean you actually became the crazy, ego-driven Daybreaker?"

Celestia shakes her head and says, "Just on the outside because of the curse, I was still me on the inside though my personality may have been cursed as well. Jack found my new appearance fiendishly hot, and he immediately asked me if I was ready to become a pirate. When I asked what our first target would be, he said we shall begin targeting merchant ships. I heard that and chuckled, finding the idea of attacking the helpless rather entertaining." She then looks away in shame as she continues while looking at the floor, "Every ship we attacked, we were totally ruthless and left only one survivor. My daughter never joined in the fighting, she instead grabbed all the food available on the ship. When we finished attacking a ship and I wanted some alone time with Jack, I would refer to our daughter as brat and tell her to go outside and do something. Sometimes I would yell at her in anger, which she would start sobbing and run away from me saying she was sorry and called me mama. As we continued to raid merchant vessels for a few years, I then found myself pregnant once more."

Fluttershy watches Princess Celestia as her body begins to tremble as she hears her continue the story while her voice starts to get shaky saying, "A year and two months went by and I gave birth to twins..." then Celestia's voice gets softer as she says, "both were stillborn." She then starts to make her way towards Celestia to give her a hug and show her kindness.

The princess sees Fluttershy making her way around the group toward her quickly, but holds up her right hand saying, "Please stop there Fluttershy, I know you want to show me affection, all of you do. Just not now, I need to get through the rest of this story because if I start crying now, I don't know if I will be able to stop for a while." Mustering what strength she has left, she then says, "I'm sorry everypony, but I am going to push through this with as few breaks as possible, so I won't answer any questions until later."

With one last steadying breath, she starts to push through the story saying, "Once the filly and colt were born, I didn't hear them crying and asked what was wrong. The doctor was stunned, terrified, and confused about it too. As he stammered while trying to explain it, I got impatient and demanded him to hurry and spit it out. He then managed to say he didn't understand because I did so well, so I flung him aside with my magic and brought the foals to me. I cradled them in my arms and tried to jostle them awake, looking at them trying to tell one to open their eyes and the other not to sleep so long. As I resorted to licking them and talking louder, Jack drew his sword and put it to the doctor's throat threatening him into telling him what he did. He tried to convince Jack saying he did nothing at all, that he monitored my pregnancy closely and that they were both healthy, and that he just didn't understand why they were born dead. He then tried to beg him not to kill him, but then I began to wail over their loss. After a few moments, my mind broke from the trauma and I went off the deep end. The next thing I did was turn my attention to the doctor as my grief transformed into anger as I glared at him in rage. Blaming him for the loss of my foals, I shouted how dare he take my foals from me, that he was responsible for all of this misery and that he will pay the price. I then cast a spell immediately after saying that to him, which would make his insides boil. He then started to try to profess his innocence when he started to scream out in agony, then Jack drew his cutlass and stabbed him through the gut and whispered something into his ear which I couldn't hear. I held my foals in my arms and began chuckling when the doctor stopped screaming, then I watched him fall to the floor lifelessly with a smile as I turned to look at my beloved husband and suggested we would make all ponies pay for the deaths of our foals. I then asked what he thought about that, which he agreed and said our first target would be Manetown, and we would strike in the dead of night when the moon was full and at its highest. I don't know why, but I don't remember where Jack and I buried them. A month had passed as we sailed into the sleeping port of Manetown under a cloudless night sky with a full moon above, engulfed by a heavy bank of fog that always follow wherever the ship went. As I stood beside Jack at the back of the ship to watch the attack, the Black Pearl turned its port-side cannons to the unused fort that watched over the town and Jack gave the order to begin firing upon it. I flew up into the air and watched as the fort's defenses were quickly destroyed, and I wanted to take advantage of the moment to wreak a little havoc of my own. So I cast a few balls of flame at some of the fort's walls, grinning as I watched the flame start to spread when a large explosion destroyed any buildings left inside of the fort. A commotion coming from the town caught my attention, then a thought came to my mind which brought a manic smile to my face so I flew down to my husband and suggested he have a little fun with the curious villagers. So he had the crew turn the ship with the sweeps and began to fire on the town, causing the ponies to shriek and panic. Some were brave enough to turn and fight the ship using their magic or try to get to their ships to try to board the Black Pearl. I then flew higher into the sky, watching as the ponies trying to defend their town were swiftly dealt with when the two fishing boats in the harbor started to burn wildly and sink. I then cackled maniacally and used the royal voice to shout, 'all of you shall learn to fear the might of the Black Pearl. I heard Jack give the order for the crew to raid, pillage, and plunder their weasely black guts out, and loot everything of value before burning a building to the ground for there was no army to fear here. I turned my head to watch the crew depart the ship, some of them departed in the longboats while others jumped off the side of the ships to walk towards the town. Minutes passed as new screams of terror filled the air when the laughter of the crew started to mix in with it, I could hear the smashing of windows and doors from the sky as they looted buildings. The crew started fires that spread through the town, causing the night sky to brighten with the orange light. I listened as the ponies screamed about zombies and the end of the world, cackling with glee at their misery until one small voice screaming for her mother to get up because monsters were coming irritated me. I then raced toward the filly to shut her up and watched her as she was by her mother's side which her body was crushed underneath a fallen beam, pulling on her arm when it pulled free and sent the filly to the ground on her back. When the arm landed ontop of her, the filly pushed it off and slowly realized that it was her mother's arm, causing her to scream and cry out an apology for hurting her."

Celestia then looks up at them with tears flowing down her cheeks as she says, "I don't know why, but something about seeing that brought me out of my insane state of mind. It made me want to cry for the filly's loss, as the feeling grew too painful to bear, I heard something crack and raced forth to scoop her up into my arms. I set her outside the city and told her to find a caring family to take her in and live a life away from fearful things, then I hurried back to the ship to cry over what has happened. When Jack saw me hurrying back and asked if something happened, I told him that nothing was wrong and that I was not feeling well. So I hurried into the cabin and closed the door, only to hear sobbing coming from inside the cabin. I lit a candle and found my daughter hungrily devouring an apple, then asked her why she was crying while she was eating a delicious apple. My daughter sat facing the corner and tossed the apple across the room and spat something into her hand and sobbed saying that she is so hungry, but no matter how much she ate, it didn't sate her hunger...then she moved her hand behind her to show me what was in it, opening her fist to reveal ash adding and turns into this when I take a bite. I gasped when I saw the grey blob in her palm and thought of it as a joke and said that she couldn't eat ash and to try a fresh apple. She then sighed and grabbed a fresh apple from the desk and then faced me. I watched as she lifted it to her mouth and bit into it, then chewed a few times before spitting it back into her palm. I looked down at her palm and saw ash when she asked if I saw that, then told me that it turns to ash as she said and that she should have died years ago from starvation. After telling me that she tried literally every kind of food or drink she could find, even drinking a whole bottle of Jack's potent rum didn't do anything which would normally kill a pony her age, she threw her hands over her eyes and started crying again. It was right then I realized what was affecting her and went to her side then sat beside her, hugging her as I told her not to worry because I suffered it too, but knew how to deal with it. After she asked what it was, I sighed and told her that a bit of blood was all that was needed. I also told her how cross I was with her for taking one of those coins, and that she was going to be grounded for a while. When I crawled into her bed first, she snuggled up against me when I asked how she managed to get into the vault after we locked it. She then told me that she had snuck into the water and hung off the back of one of the longboats, then followed us right in, snuck around the crew members when they took their own coins and walked away. After I took my coin, she grabbed hers while the crew stood around in silence and snuck out before we started making our way out of the room. She then kept out of sight until we returned to the rowboats and hitched a ride hanging from the back of one of the longboats again, climbing in through the back window of the cabin to change clothes before we returned to the cabin.

Chapter 30: The story is told, Part 4

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the massive chunky paragraphs, but I really wanted to get this out of the way to resume the story. So...Merry Christmas and go easy on the eggnog or sugary foods if you're under 18!!

As Celestia sits in the chair, suffering from grief over what happened in the past that seems intent on crushing her soul into powder. She barely contains her desire to curl up and cry for a long time, and raises a trembling arm in front of her face and continues with the story saying, "I remember what happened next far too clearly...We both fell asleep on her bed when I was awoken a few hours later by the full moon's light shining through the back windows and onto my face. I sat up and stretched out my arms, hearing my joints pop louder than usual when I opened my eyes and looked over at my daughter. What I saw lying there beside me caused my eyes to go wide with terror as my heart started to hammer wildly in my chest. I began to reach over to touch my daughter's rotted corpse when I noticed my arm had also rotted away, causing me to get distracted as I tried moving my arm, hand, and fingers. I spotted a tall mirror in the side of the room and stood in front of it to see my body was in a severe state of decay. The only thing left behind were bones, my slitted eyes, flesh, mangy patches of my coat, and even my mane limply hung in the air. When took a few steps closer to it, I stopped once my body left the moonlight and returned to its previous appearance. I stepped backward into the moonlight and saw my appearance change and return to its previous decayed look, I found it curious how I was still able to control my body. I was then pulled from my thoughts when the cabin door opened as Jack walked into the room and chuckled while rhetorically asking, 'so I finally learned about this little bit, eh?' He then walked forward and stood into the moonlight himself, then took out his cursed coin and shuffled it across his fingerbones. With a chuckle, he then told me the moonlight shows us for what we really are, that we were not among the living so we cannot die. Yet neither were we dead, that we would simply just exist like this. Suffering from an unquenchable thirst, and insatiable hunger, unable to feel anything at all, wind, cold, warmth, softness. That we had been eternally cursed, just like he planned just to accomplish their goal, and would continue to teach all of Equestria what true pirates are like. He even told me that I better sleep while I could before that little pleasure was taken away. I stared at him in shock at what he just told me, so while he prepared to go to sleep, I went to our daughter's bed and hastily threw the covers over her cursed body. I watched over her while trying to think of how I could save our daughter from a life of misery and suffering, and realized there was only one thing I could do. So I put my plan into motion once Jack fell asleep, grabbing a small pouch before exiting the cabin quietly and going down into the hold. I searched for the coins that each crew member had, placing them inside the bag and counting them to ensure I had them all before making my way back to the cabin. I quietly entered the cabin and closed the door behind me, then walked toward the bed and searched my husband's clothing for his coin. After putting it into the bag with the rest, I kissed his forehead and apologized before asking him to forgive me. I then gasped in surprise when he opened his eyes in a squint and whispered to me it was alright, he understood, and that there was nothing to forgive before going back to sleep..."

Starlight's brain lurches forward as a chunk of the puzzle becomes clear and says, "I'm starting to understand now."

Still fighting to keep herself together, she looks at Starlight curiously and asks, "What do you understand, Starlight Glimmer?"

She sighs and looks at her mentor saying, "He knew."

Celestia looks at her with confusion saying, "He knew what, that I took his coin?"

Starlight looks at her questioningly and cocks her head asking, "You haven't realized it yet, Princess Celestia?"

The princess gets even more confused and a little annoyed and asks, "Realized what, Starlight? Please make sense."

She then looks at her with a sympathetic smile on her face saying, "Your husband knew that you would betray him. The mystery is starting to become clear, please continue on with the story so I can solve it and tell you all."

Celestia then blinks in confusion and says, "Uhm, okay then. After he returned to sleep, I hurried to my daughter's bed and cast a spell on her to ensure she would remain sleeping so I could pick her up. I sensed that the sun should be raised in a little while, so I opened the door and exited the cabin and heard a small rustling noise behind me and looked behind me over my shoulder to see Cotton's parrot open his beak to squawk out in alarm. I then softly shushed him and threatened him saying, 'Dead birds tell no tales...understand?' Once he nodded his head quickly in understanding, I took off and flew towards the ruined castle. I was halfway to the castle when I had to stop and hover in the air to raise the sun and lower the moon while holding my sleeping daughter in my arms. After that was done, I continued on my way toward the castle in a hurry before the others could come after me. When I arrived, I hurried through the passages when I heard a sword drawn from its sheath as Hector greeted me saying, 'Who or what creature dares to tread upon these haunted halls?!?' I continued around the corner and into the room telling Barbossa that it was just me and my daughter, which he then rolled his eyes and sheathed his sword saying, 'Here I was, hoping that some poor wanderer had come here searching for treasure. What brings you back to these ruins, hmm?' I then looked down at my daughter and told him how she had followed us into the vault and taken one for herself, then how I intended to save my daughter from the curse so she could enjoy life. Hector then looked down at Summer and chuckled saying, 'Mischievous little whelp, she is definitely Jack's daughter alright.' before looking up at me and asked things were going on the Black Pearl with my husband and the crew. I looked away in shame as tears rolled down my cheeks when I remembered the attack and managed to choke out that things were horrible."

Luna listens as her sister continues on, telling them about the conversation she and Hector had. Hearing more about what happened in detail during the attack, even telling her what she did after that.

She continues with the story, telling them how he momentarily surprised her by jerking his head toward a corridor saying, 'Oh the things we do for those we love.' then continued watching as he got up and started walking toward the passage behind him, stopping a short distance away, glancing back at her over his shoulder, and saying, 'Well...aren't you coming?' I then followed him through the empty ruins and recognized an empty bottle of that mana-infused wine we used to drink when trying new spells. I then followed him to the vault and activated the secret mechanism, and let him go in first so he could unlock and open the door for me. I entered the room after he stood to the side of the room, to show the open chest in the center of the room with no barrier around it. After reaching the chest, I laid my daughter down on the floor and then stood back up. I took the ancient dagger from the chest and knelt down beside my daughter, taking her hand in mine gingerly with her palm up. Even though she was under a sleeping spell, I told her that she may never see her father again after that. I then used the dagger and sliced her palm open, then set the dagger down and grabbed her coin, then laid it in her palm. I then closed her fingers around the coin and squeezed her hand tightly to stain the coin with her blood, then opened her hand and removed the coin before looking up at the chest and tossing the coin up into the chest. As I heard the metallic clink of the coin landing on top of the others, I watched with a baited breath for any sign of the curse lifting from my daughter. When I saw her shiver and unconsciously wrap her arms around herself, I let out a sigh of relief and then looked at my own palm. Eager to be rid of the curse, I picked the dagger up in my right hand and quickly sliced my palm open. In my haste, I accidentally cut it rather deeply. I couldn't feel the pain as blood ran up my forearm from my upraised palm, distracting for a few moments before I snapped out of it and tossed the knife back into the chest before retrieving my own coin. After placing it in my palm and closing my fist around it tightly to stain it, I opened my fist to see my blood coating a good portion of one side of the coin. I then chucked the coin toward the chest and watched it as it flipped end over end and disappeared past the rim, hearing a metallic clink as it struck the other coins and bounced a couple of times before coming to rest with the others. Moments later, I felt a tingling sensation engulf my body all over which startled me at first, but I reached back to bring some of my mane before my eyes. I smiled as I saw that it was back to its original color, then ran a tongue along my teeth to find they too were all flat when I heard Barbossa comment, 'Such a beautiful thing to watch...you are back to looking like the Celestia I know.' I then smiled happily and looked at my daughter, then cast healing spells on me and my daughter's hands. I watched as a small scar formed on my daughter's hand, while a more prominent scar appeared on mine and let out a sad sigh saying how it was a small blessing to feel things again, and that the times ahead would be difficult, but my daughter would be free to live a happy life away from the wretched curse. I then turned to look over at Barbossa and told him he could do the same and live a peaceful life, but he told me that he had is own destiny and would keep the deal he made with Jack. He also told me to feel free to stop by from time to time to tell him of recent events, which I did for a time. I then picked my daughter up and blinked away a tear as I told Hector I looked forward to my next visit, then we both left the chamber, he locked the inner door then I closed the outer one and finally took my leave of the cursed treasure."

Applejack then cocks her head curiously and asks, "So...I take it that Barbossa is still there, guarding the treasure? Because when we were exploring the ruins, I don't remember seeing anyone else there besides us girls and Spike."

Celestia nods her head solemnly saying, "He is indeed still there, do you remember that low voice that called out saying, 'So it came to pass that the sister returns. Curious and perilous times lie ahead for Equestria's future.'? That was Barbossa, he must have been watching you from the shadows since you arrived. Did anything else happen while you were in the old castle ruins?"

Fluttershy quiets down a little and says, "W-Well, I thought I heard somepony say abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

She sighs and half chuckles saying, "That would most definitely be him messing with you while ensuring you didn't go near the vault." With a heavy sigh, she then returns to the story saying, "I wish I could say things got better and we were happy, but it is not what happened..." She then tells them about the fights that began during the first two months of their lives together in the castle at Canterlot saying, "Two months went by when my daughter barged into my room, startling me awake when she kicked the door open as hard as she could with a frown on her face stating that she was angry and demanded to speak with me. I then calmed myself down and told her she startled me and then asked what she needed at that hour, she crossed her arms across her chest and asked why I keep her locked up in Canterlot, stating that she was not a criminal. Knowing what was coming next, I cast a privacy barrier and told her that she wasn't, but her father, however, certainly was after having attacked and sank twenty merchant ships in the last month and leaving no survivors. I then stated that if she was going to demand to see her father, the answer was no. She then responded by scowling and stomping a hoof saying that she didn't care because he was her father, and unlike me, she still loved him asking if it was too much to ask for her father to be in her life. Her words hurt me emotionally, causing me to wince as I then recalled how I betrayed him, so I then narrowed my eyes and told her that I still loved him, but he could not be a decent father figure for her as he was then. She then crossed her arms again and started tapping her hoof against the floor in aggravation, then rolled her eyes at me and told me to stop lying already, saying that she knew I hated him and asked why I was still married to him if he was such a monster. I then winced at the emotional pain her words caused and kept trying to be a good mother to her, telling her that it was no concern of hers and that she was still grounded for taking one of those accursed coins. She then glared at me and thanked me for giving her the small scar on her palm and that it made her want to be more like her father instead of me. Her words caused me to wince again from the emotional pain they inflicted and I got tired of her treating me that way and angrily used the royal voice to bellow at her while pointing at her room, telling her that I've had quite enough from her that night and ordered her to go to her room immediately. She wilted before me as her hope turned into sorrow, crushing my soul as tears started forming in her eyes when she started sniffling just before turning around and racing away from me out of my room. Seeing what I did took my anger and instantly changed it into sadness, as I then immediately collapsed back into the pillow and began sobbing. Completely forgetting about the barrier as I thought about how things came to be that way between my daughter and me, I looked at the scar on my hand and wondered if things would have been better if I hadn't removed her curse as she slept. After thinking that, I cried myself to sleep.

Fluttershy looks at the princess with worry as she asks, "Princess Celestia, did you try to go to her and apologize for yelling at her?"

Celestia looks at her and smiles briefly saying, "I did Fluttershy, and she forgave me for it but still wasn't happy that I wouldn't let her see her father." She then sighs and the smile falls away saying to no one in particular, "Perhaps I should have, maybe things would be different..." Catching herself thinking out loud, she shakes her head and continues with the story saying, "Anyway, back to the story... As I kept trying to get Jack to stop attacking the merchant ships and raiding ports...the Black Pearl ignored my requests and continued to terrorize the seas and burned Fillycity to the ground one year later, sailors were terrified of sailing the seas and we began to have problems getting things like wood, high-quality cloth, imported fruits, and spices. That led me to search for a way to deal with the Black Pearl and her cursed crew, which took me a couple of years to find which was a spell I hadn't used in a very long time and forgot about. The only problem was that I had no ships that could challenge the Black Pearl at sea, so I had many skilled ponies discuss ideas for a new ship design. When we finally settled on a design, it was a challenge to get the proper wood it required as well as a few other materials. Luckily I thought it would be wise to have craft that would move through the air, so we experimented with the idea a bit over a few years. They proved to be very helpful with keeping the Black Pearl from destroying them, though the crews were fired upon by muskets from the cursed crew. When the ship was finally completed, it was painted white and had gold trim with white sails bearing my cutie mark..."

Hearing the description brings a smile to Rainbow's face as she says, "That's the Sunrise you're describing, Princess Celestia! I'd know that description anywhere because I read a few tales that all said the fight between the Black Pearl and the Sunrise was EPIC, the battle was so large that smoke could be seen from Columbuck way to the North. When the Black Pearl was finally defeated, the sky all around Equestria turned red for a few short minutes!"

She looks at Rainbow with a soft smile, not realizing that her spell actually did that and says, "You are right Rainbow, it was the Sunrise that I took to face off against Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl. However, the real story is nowhere near as grand as the story makes it sound. When we set sail from Van Hoover, it took us to track the Pearl down. We came to the last known location the ship was sighted, on the sea near Aquastria. We then received a new report that she was a hundred miles west of our location, so I gave the order to change course and pursue. A few hours passed by when we came within sight of each other, and Aquastria was only a few miles behind us as the wind was against us. With 62 six-pound cannons on the three lower decks and on the top deck, four cannons at the stern and two at the bow, everypony believed the Sunrise would come out unscathed. Even though I knew we wouldn't get out of this fight unscathed, however, I hoped that Jack would surrender if I put the Black Pearl in a magically sealed port to lock it in place until I saw fit to release it when he made amends for his crimes. I also hoped that my daughter would forgive me and start loving me again. Fearing for my safety when the conflict finally came, Captain Hoofington asked if I would protect them from above the ship to keep myself safe from the cannonfire. When the Pearl turned to her starboard and the Sunrise to port, the cannons were rolled out and the ships began to fire at each other. Watching from above, I did what I could to protect the sailors on board, but the heavier cannonballs just shattered my shields and went on through. Seeing how poorly the Sunrise was faring against the Pearl, taking more than a fair amount of damage while only dealing light damage to the Pearl. When the main and aft masts of the Sunrise went over her port side, the Pearl sailed on and came back around to attack again. This time, however, I heard Jack give the order to load the heavy burning shot, so I started to cast a spell to protect everyone on the crew. I was too late because right when I began to cast it, the Pearl started to fire once more. Time seemed to slow down as I saw the first round leave the cannon and began burning while moving towards the starboard hull of the Sunrise and punching right through, a moment felt like an hour when I heard a low crackling begin to fill the air. The low crackling grew louder and faster when a reddish glow began to emanate from the open gunports of the Sunrise, I then watched as fire appeared out of the gunports and rushed outwards. While time continued to slowly progress, I watched as each board around the center of the ship bulged outwards and slowly transformed into splinters that were sent outward by the exploding magazine. Once the boards became splinters, what remained of the deck collapsed into the lower decks and the ship slowly broke in half and started slipping below the water. The speed returned to normal with a loud boom as the explosion sent splinters every which direction while the two halves of the ship sank down a little ways before staying afloat for a few seconds burning wildly. After watching the Sunrise and her crew become little more than burning debris on the ocean's surface, my vision started to turn red from rage as I snapped my focus to the one who caused it all. I then faced him while glaring at his face and used my royal voice to shout, 'Captain Jack Sparrow, you have taken my subjects from me for the last time! Everything and everypony you come in contact with is ruined...now you shall be punished for it!' So I charged the spell I hadn't used in a long time and continued shouting, 'disappear from my life and sink to the bottom the seas with your beloved Pearl you monster!' I then fired the spell at the Black Pearl, causing it to start glowing a sickly green color, and shouted, 'I banish you for all eternity!' As he stood on the bow, he looked at his ship while it began to glow and slowly drift forward with the bow slipping toward the water's surface. Then he pulled out his locket we got at the wedding and started to wind it up while looking up at me saying it's all sticks and stones, then asked if I knew that he finished putting words to the song that meant so much to us both. He then rhetorically asked me to allow him to sing it for me and started to walk toward the back of the ship as he started singing along with the music box."

Celestia then pulls out the locket with the two rings sitting around the chain and winds it up with a smile on her face, saying, "I was still seeing red when he sang it to me, but once the ship vanished under the sea, the haze faded and I recalled everything that he said. If I remember right, I think it went like this." She then opens the locket to let it play and starts singing, "Brave and bold, like a ship at sea, you saw me, and restored to me... Hope and love, oh please grant me, a new life, with you now... Troubles come, and they all shall go, I shall face the foes, or be the foe... Through long years, I shall be with you, our love won't ever die... Come, my love, our life at sea waits, by my side, til forevermore... Through the screams, to eternity, I claim the sins, as mine... Hear our song, and think of me, when dangerous, times seem to come... You shall know, that I will be there, I'll always be, inside... Cursed and dark, may I have become, evil still, but maintain hope... Wounds I caused, may sometime mend, but you shall, always be. Brave and bold, like a ship at sea, you saw me, and restored to me... Hope and love, oh please grant me, a new life, with you now..." As the locket stops, she closes it and tucks it away saying, "When the locket stopped playing the last note, he closed it and tucked it away under his shirt before taking hold of the wheel with his left hand. Grabbing his hat with his right, he then took it off and flourished a bow to me while saying happy anniversary Your Highness to me and then adding, or rather...pirate Princess Celestia. He then returned the hat to his head and called up to me as his feet went under the water saying, 'Remember this day as the day you almost...' but was cut off as his head went under the water. When I figured out every word he said, my wings fluttered for a moment. I lost some altitude as tears formed in my eyes. I tried to wipe them away a few times but they just kept coming and I started to sob, then looked down to where the Black Pearl was and watched as the green glow became dull and vanished from sight. When I realized what I had just done to my husband, it hit me so hard that I nearly fell from the sky because all I wanted to do was curl up and cry. To keep myself together, I looked around the floating wreckage of my flagship and only found the ship's captain alive. I then pulled him from the water and made my way back to Van Hoover. It was a long flight with tears streaming down my face endlessly, the captain in my arms, and fighting my sobs to remain in the air. When I landed, I laid the captain on the ground and shouted to anypony, saying that the brave pony captain needed help immediately. Then a nurse and doctor came to start looking him over when the doctor asked what happened to the Sunrise and her crew. I then began to cry in front of a crowd of ponies and fought to get it under control, managing to sob while telling them that the evil was vanquished at a great price, how the Sunrise and her crew were claimed in the battle against the Black Pearl. Wanting to get away and let myself cry myself dry, I told them I needed to leave and return to Canterlot to rest before starting to repair the damage caused by the Black Pearl's reign over the seas. After saying that, I quickly turned toward Canterlot and took off while still sobbing."

With the most painful part of the story remaining, she hesitates as her body shudders even harder, every muscle threatening to go limp and make her curl up into a ball on the floor to cry her pain away. Taking a shaky breath, she steels herself the best she can and begins the last part of the story saying, "When I entered the castle, I made my way toward my room while ignoring the guards' questions. When I reached my chambers, I hurriedly opened the doors and walked in before slamming them shut. I then ran towards my bed and fell upon it, barely having enough strength in my body to crawl onto it fully. When I was on the bed, I grabbed a pillow and clutched it my chest while casting a quick privacy barrier before letting myself cry over banishing my own husband. As I cried uncontrollably into the pillow, my daughter came into my room and entered my privacy barrier saying that we needed to talk. I then looked at her from the corner of my eye and asked her if it could please wait until tomorrow, but she persisted and said that it could not. She then told me she wanted to see her father right now or she would punish me, I responded by sobbing and clutching the pillow closer to my head mumbling in a quiet voice saying I was sorry and that it was impossible. I couldn't see her face, but I heard her ask what I said and commented that she didn't speak mumble. In a fit of grief, I lifted my head up to look at her and cried out saying I was sorry but it was impossible. As she looked at my face, having clear signs of grief on it, she narrowed her eyes and asked me why it was impossible. She was silent for a moment before she asked four one-word sentences with anger in her voice, asking what did I do. Feeling like a filly caught with her hand in the cookie jar, I weakly turned away from her in shame and looked at the wall choking up while asking her to please forgive me. She got madder because she shouted at me in the royal voice, demanding that I tell her what she did at that moment. My body quaked from the volume she used with the royal voice and started to hiccup-sob, barely telling her I had banished him from Equestria. She then responded by screaming at me in the royal voice, saying, 'I did what!?!' I turned back toward her and tried to curl up on myself, telling her that I had no choice after he destroyed the Sunrise and killed her entire crew and that I had planned to arrest him to put him in the dungeon so she could visit him while keeping the Black Pearl in custody. She then used her royal voice at full volume saying how dare I, that it was her father's ship and not ours and that I knew it. With the same volume, she demanded I bring him back immediately. I looked down at the pillow sorrowfully and shook my head saying that I could not, that it was too late because the spell I used couldn't be undone by me, him, her, or anypony else. I then apologized and asked her to forgive me for wanting her to live happily without suffering from the curse. After I said that, something changed because she calmed down instantly and glared at me in disdain before turning away, accepting what I said and telling me that I have chosen my punishment. She then started walking away from me quickly and I weakly tried to reach out for her as she turned and went down the hall. Something about the way she said that upset me, so I attempted to get off of the bed. I had enough strength to manage to barely steady my upper body, but as I stood up, I barely had enough strength to hold myself up. I found it difficult to walk as my legs would give out as soon as I tried to move one forward, so I resorted to crawling on my hands and knees after several attempts at walking. As I crawled after my daughter down the hall, she would wait until I got within sight of her latest point and move to the next one. Guards continuously asked if I was hurt, in pain, or needed help, and each time I told them to shut up and do their job. After a while, I reached the double glass doors leading to the Canterlot gardens and saw my daughter standing a fair distance ahead of me. Reaching up for the handles, I managed to grab them and pull myself up enough to stand on my wobbly legs. When turned the handles to open the doors, they were pushed open as I fell forward. With tears streaming down my face, I then returned to my hands and knees and proceeded to scramble toward my daughter as she stood next to a short column. As I got closer to her, I tried to stand again and managed to take a few slow, weak running steps and called out, pleading with her to please do anything to punish me if she would not run from me. I continued my slow, wobbly, and weak running steps as she climbed onto the column and stood upon it holding an open book in her right hand and a round object in her left. She then looked at me over the top of the book and grimly told me she intended to punish me and that she wasn't running away, also intending to have me look at her every day of my entire eternal life and remember what I did to deserve it. She also told me that she would return when her father does. I then watched as she closed her eyes and started channeling her magic into a spell chanting lapis immortalis transformatio, fatum patris. She then crushed the object in her hand and kept her fist closed as a non-existent wind began to blow, causing her long mane and tail to wave behind her, and her cloak to flutter in the breeze. As I got closer, I looked at the book and felt dread course through me when I recognized it. I watched as my daughter began to turn to stone, starting at her hooves and slowly moving higher. As she kept her eyes closed, she said that she utterly despises me for how I took her father away, and that I would now suffer for the crime. When she was almost completely stone, she called me mother with as much venom in her voice as she could and smiled slightly and opened her eyes to look down on me."

Luna's eyes are running over with tears as she heard what her sister's daughter had said and done, she watches as her sister crosses her arms in front of her and begins to hug herself while starting to slowly rock back and forth, hearing her say in a soft tone, "As I watched the spell finish and turn her into a statue, I crumbled into a heap on the ground and started to openly sob about her choice of punishment for me. My sobbing slowly devolved into uncontrolled crying, then into all-out wailing as my composure evaporated when I started frantically clawing at my daughter's statue. Unfortunately, I can't remember much after that because my mind shattered and I went insane from losing my daughter as well. It took me a year to somewhat recover my sanity, which I then learned that a maid investigated the statue and found me dragging my bloody fingers against a stone statue while wailing out in complete misery screaming incoherently. Out of her area of expertise, she went to get my assistant Swift Quill, who then told the maid to get things to treat my wounds before coming up and knocking me out with a hard blow to the back of the neck."

Everypony is frozen in place at what happened with her daughter, too many emotions were racing through their heads to let them do anything as the princess continued to tell them more of what happened during her bout of insanity, and after once she regained it.

Unable to take anymore, Luna sprints over to her overwhelmed and severely distressed sister still rocking back and forth in the chair, and throws her arms around her shouting, "I AM SO SORRY YOU ARE IN SO MUCH PAIN, PLEASE LET YOURSELF CRY, YOU HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY HERE TO SUPPORT YOU!!"

Celestia's final thread of resistance snaps as she subconsciously reacts by wrapping her arms around the hugging pony's back and squeezing them against her as she breaks down. She bursts into tears and her cries change into screaming wails as she leans against the warm pony holding her.

One by one, each one rushes over and joins in the hug, with Twilight being the last one due to her heavily medicated state. They then pull the wailing princess into the center of the room, closing the study doors to keep the sound from drawing the eyes and ears of other ponies to prevent having to explain what happened to them.

Chapter 31: Solving Puzzles

A few hours ago

Equis watches through a window in her small dimensional space as Celestia is halfway through the retelling of her meeting Jack and the life they had together, nodding her head saying, "Alright, now it is time for a little nudge..." and casts a small spell to start the next part of her plan.

As the group continues to hug Celestia as she wails out her grief, in the room on the other side of the room unknown to them, the friendship map briefly activates. It calls forth a map of the world for a brief moment and zooms in on Twilight's castle before summoning a cutie mark above it, showing a multifaceted light blue crystal heart between gold laces before abruptly deactivating.

The spirit huffs in annoyance at the table saying, "Pesky grandchild tried to ruin my surprise..." then goes back to watching things unfold through her magic window into the lives of everypony in the world she watches over.

Around noon at the Crystal Empire

Cadance is holding court when she feels her cutie mark tingling and turns her head to look down at her rump as it starts to flash. With a smile coming to her face at getting a reason to visit Twilight, she then looks up to her subjects and says, "I apologize my beloved subjects, but it appears that I am being summoned to Ponyville for a friendship mission. I shall have my husband sit in and take care of everything while I'm away. She then gets up and makes her way toward her room to get a bag for her journey when she stops by the stairs, turns her head to a crystal guardspony, and says, "Guardspony Swift Lance, please go find where my husband is at and tell him to come to our room at once."

The guardspony then bows to her saying, "At once, Your Majesty." then heads swiftly toward an archway leading further into the palace to begin searching.

Shining Armor is with his daughter Flurry Heart looking at a few market stalls when he hears somepony call out to him, making him turn his head to see a guardspony standing a few feet away and bowing to him. He then lets out a quiet sigh and shifts into his royal persona, turning his body to face him and saying, "You have my attention, guardspony Swift Lance. Please rise, what do you require?"

The guardspony then rises from his bow and says, "Excuse me, Your Majesty, but your wife, Her Majesty has sent me to find you and inform you that your presence is required in your room."

He smiles at hearing that and nods his head saying, "Thank you guardspony Swift Lance, I shall go at once, you may return to your duties."

The guardspony then bows again for a brief moment before rising from his bow saying, "Yes, Your Majesty." then turns and starts heading back towards his post at the palace.

Shining Armor looks at his daughter and smiles gently while thinking, 'Perhaps Cadance wants to spend some quality time together...' then says, "I'm sorry sweety, we will have to return to continue searching for a birthday present for your mother later."

Flurry Heart looks at her father with a sigh saying, "Alright papa, but all I want for my birthday next year or Hearth's Warming is a little brother or sister. Can you or mommy please get me one?"

He chokes a little and coughs while a blush colors his cheeks, looking away bashfully for a moment before glancing back at his daughter occasionally, and saying, "W-Well...umm...I-I'll have to talk to your mother and see what we can do about that." Clearing his throat, he then shakes his head to remove the look on his face and looks at Flurry saying, "Alright, let's get going back to the castle so I can find out what mommy needs alright?" and then starts heading back to the castle while taking hold of his daughter's hand.

Cadance finishes packing a few things for her trip to Ponyville when she hears the door open, turning her head to see her husband close the door behind him with a grin on his face and chuckles saying, "Sorry dear, but I didn't call you here for that."

The hopeful grin on his face falls away and becomes a disappointed frown as he asks, "Okay, if not for that, what did you call me here for dear?"

She chuckles at her husband and shakes her head with a smile on her face saying, "Stallions...always so easy to read." She then walks up to her husband and kisses him lovingly and steps back a step saying, "The reason I called you here is that I need you to take over court for me and look after the empire while I go to Ponyville on a friendship mission."

Shining Armor then nods his head and says, "Alright, I can do that for you dear." then cocks his head curiously and comments, "Well, since I didn't feel any tingling from my cutie mark, I guess that it is just you making the trip. Be sure to tell Twily hi for me when you see her." He then steps forward and pulls his wife into a deep, loving kiss before parting and saying in an affectionate tone, "I love you, Cadybug. Perhaps when you return, we could talk about having another foal since Flurry told me a few minutes ago that she wanted a little brother or sister..."

Princess Cadance smiles and responds, "I love you too, Shiny Patootie. I will make sure to do that when I see her." then gives her husband a naughty smile and says in a lusty tone, "Oh we will, don't worry." She then hugs him goodbye saying, "I'll say goodbye to Flurry Heart before I get on the train to Ponyville."

The two lovers then part as Cadance grabs her bag off the bed then puts it over one shoulder while her husband heads towards the door and opens it for her. Cadance then exits the room as her husband follows her out, closing the door behind him. They say farewell one more time before she heads down the hall toward their daughter's room, he then heads in the opposite direction to take over his wife's duties.

Presently...in Ponyville

Finally arriving in Ponyville after the long train ride, Cadance notices that the sun is still up but eagerly resumes making her way toward her sister-in-law's castle saying, "Oh I can't wait to see Twilight again and find out what has happened lately..."

Twilight is at the back of the group hug, doing what she can to comfort Princess Celestia's decimated spirit and soul. Not caring for how long it will take to help her heal from her heavy loss and the suffering it has caused her, she stays there with her arms outstretched around her friends' backs while the princess continues to wail out in her soul-shattering grief.

Spike presses himself up against the others as they try to comfort the grieving princess when he hears three heavy bangs come from the front door, drawing his attention as he steps back from the group hug and walks around them to speak to Twilight. He taps her on her shoulder and asks, "Hey, Twilight, I know this is a bad time...but somepony is at the door. What do you want me to do?"

She looks over her shoulder at Spike and sighs saying, "If it is anypony really close to us, let them in. However, if it is anyone else, please have them come back tomorrow and say that we are busy with important business."

He nods his head and then says, "Alright, I will go answer it and come right back to help Princess Celestia get better." He then turns around and heads for the closed study door.

Twilight smiles tiredly at Spike and says, "Thank you, Spike, I'm so glad to have you as my adopted brother and number one assistant to help look after me while I am recovering.

Spike looks back at Twilight with a grin on his face and waves off her thanks and praise saying, "Don't mention it, it's what a little brother and assistant are supposed to do." He then opens up the study hall door and exits the room, closing the door behind him as he jogs towards the front door. As he reaches the door, he turns the handle and pulls it open a bit, and sees Cadance standing just outside the door and greets her saying, "Oh Princess Cadance it's you! It is a pleasure to see you again, please come inside."

Cadance smiles and walks into the castle saying, "Thank you, Spike, is Twilight here? I came here when my cutie mark started to tingle and flash, it seemed to me that the friendship map had a mission for me."

He then closes the door and faces Cadance saying, "Oh yes, she is, and will be for a little while."

She cocks her head and asks, "Oh? Did something happen?"

Spike sighs and looks over to the study door for a moment, then looks back at Cadance and says, "Yeah, she and several others went on a friendship mission to Manehattan a few days ago, however, she was brought back early with an injured wing."

Cadance starts to panic as she asks worriedly, "Oh no, what happened!?! Is she going to be okay, can I see her?"

He raises his clawed hands into the air to calm her, and says, "She is going to be fine, her left wing is in a cast. The good news is that in eleven months, she will be able to fly again. Twilight is on strong medication that causes her to suffer drowsiness, but she is inside the study with the others trying to help calm Celestia down."

She then sighs with relief and says, "It is unfortunate that she got hurt so badly, but it is wonderful to hear that she will get to fly again. Her panic worsens as her eyes shrink a little and her heart beats a little faster, hastily asking a little louder than she means to, "Why, what's happened to Aunty Celestia? Did something happen to Aunty Luna!?!"

Spike frantically waves his arms saying, "Woah, please calm down. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are unharmed, the only thing that happened is that Celestia told us a story about her past, and then she broke down and started crying when Luna held her close and told her she was there for her along with us."

Cadance calms down at hearing that as she takes in a deep breath and closes her eyes, then lets out a breath to slow her heart down and opens her eyes saying in a calmer tone, "Okay, that is reassuring to hear. What did she say that caused her such pain?"

He then rubs the back of his neck saying, "I would, but I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it myself. I think it would be best if one of the others told you but be prepared for the pain and sorrow because it turns bad and ends even worse. Please follow me Princess Cadance, I will take you to where the others are."

As Cadance nods her head and follows Spike saying, "Okay, I will do what I can to try to help her calm down once I hear what happened." When Spike opens the door and leads her inside, she is taken aback by the sight of a big group of ponies surrounding a hoarsely wailing Princess Celestia.

Spike then closes the study's door and then heads over to Twilight, grabbing her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze saying, "Twilight, Cadance is here, can you tell her what is going on?"

After hearing Spike say Cadance was here, Twilight smiles as tears roll down her face as she looks at Spike, saying, "I'll do what I can, but I'm starting to feel drowsy again."

Twilight then moves her hands to her side and leaves the group hug, turning around to see Cadance looking at her with tear-filled eyes and makes her way over to her sister-in-law saying, "It's so good to see you again Cadance."

Cadance feels tears run down her face as they hug each other, then prepares to do their traditional greeting and dance, singing along with Twilight's drowsy voice, "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hands and do a little shake!" After sharing a brief laugh, she then says, "It is very good to see you, Twilight. I'm so sorry that your wing is in a cast, do you need me to stay and help look after you?"

She looks over her shoulder at Princess Celestia as she continues wailing hoarsely, then lets out a sigh and turns back around to look at Cadance saying, "I'm afraid that Princess Celestia is not going to be able to look after me, she is going to need help to recover from her grief. What brings you all the way to my castle here in Ponyville?"

The princess then smiles at her saying, "Alright then, I shall remain here and look after you just like I did when you were young. I came here because I was summoned for a friendship mission. Can you tell me what happen to make Aunt Celestia like this?"

Twilight sighs and nods her head saying, "Well I can tell you how it started..." She then stays silent a moment and begins her story by saying, "Close to a week ago, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Nurse Redheart, Starlight, and I all were sent to Manehattan by the friendship map..."

Cadance listens as Twilight tells her about how a ship called the Black Pearl began attacking Manehattan while the ponies slept, reaching her part of the story saying, "And as I started looking around, I heard a pony screaming for help and went to find her. The sound was coming from a partially collapsed building where I found a lone mare using what strength she could muster to keep the roof from falling on her son, I then quickly used my magic to pull the colt free and move him outside. After he was safe, I lifted the roof up off the mare so she could go to him, but then I saw a stallion in the corner and set the roof down to check on him. I couldn't find a pulse and hung my head, apologizing to the mare for not coming sooner. I then turned and started to leave when something fell and struck my left wing, which I was able to hear a crunch come from it as I was brought to my knees by an agonizing pain shooting through my body coming from my injured wing. I then forced myself to ignore the pain and made my way out of the house, having to crawl under a beam while sobbing from the pain. The mare then pulled me out as the roof collapsed into the entrance, possibly killing me if I remained there any longer. Left with no other choice, I used the royal voice at full power to order the citizens to evacuate the city. A few moments later, the mare thanked me and ran toward the outskirts of town with the foal in her arms when I heard an explosion come from a building behind me. I then thought of the options to escape myself but was left with no option but to walk when Fluttershy arrived and rushed to help support me as I began having trouble standing up, a moment later she screamed loudly for Rainbow to come because I needed help. When she told Rainbow we needed to get to safety until the danger was gone, I fought to remain conscious from the agony and weakly protested, gasping for breath as I told them in short bursts of two or three words that we needed to stay and protect the ponies from the pirates. But Fluttershy was unrelenting as she glared at me and said that we had no choice due to the state of my wing, I tried to say we needed to stay and protect the citizens but only said a few words before I passed out. When I woke up, I was at home and in my own bed but couldn't remember how I got there. I felt something heavy on my back and got up out of bed, gasping for breath from the pain coming from my back." She then continues to tell her how she went to the mirror and saw her wing in a cast, telling herself she had lost her flying privileges for a while until her left wing healed.

Twilight finishes telling her part of the story saying, "The others came back a few hours ago, so Celestia then asked if I wanted to hear a story about her past. Then I told her I would be interested if it involved the Black Pearl, so she responded and told me she had a feeling I would choose the story. She then sent Rainbow to find her sister and let her know she was ready to tell her the story and to come to the study at my house when she had time. Princess Luna must have teleported here because about thirty seconds later, she and Rainbow came in through the front door, practically running to the study. When she was settled in, Princess Celestia started her story by saying how it all began about 600 or 700 years after her sister was banished to the moon."

Cadance looks at Twilight and pulls Twilight into another hug saying, "Oh I am sorry that you are in such a bad situation, but I will be here to look after you until your wing heals. I will let my husband experience what I go through for awhile..." while cutting herself off immediately when she realizes what she saw when she got off the train and screams at the group of ponies, "PRINCESS CELESTIA, PRINCESS LUNA...THE SUN IS STILL UP AND IT SHOULD BE WELL INTO THE NIGHT BY NOW!!"

Luna gasps in shock and shakes her sister lightly and shouts, "SISTER! SISTER! WE NEED TO SET THE SUN AND RAISE THE MOON, IT IS STILL DAY OUT WHEN IT SHOULD BE ALMOST MIDNIGHT AND PONIES SHOULD BE SOUNDLY ASLEEP BY NOW!

Momentarily yanked out of her sorrow, she slowly quiets down and says in a very hoarse voice, "Oh no! Quick Luna, teleport us onto the balcony of the throne room. We will need to figure out how to get the cycle back in order after this ordeal is over."

The younger sister nods and channels her magic to teleport just her and her sister to Canterlot to change the cycle then casts the spell and finds her and her sister on the balcony saying, "We need to just set the sun and bring the moon just over the horizon, if we changed it to midnight, it would adversely affect the world."

Celestia sighs and lets out a few sobs as the pain is being held back momentarily by her urgent need to end the day and begin the night, nodding her head slowly as she begins to take hold of the sun and drag it over the horizon as Luna does the same with the moon saying hoarsely, "You are correct sister, perhaps we can work on catching up during the winter and make a few nights of the year last longer until the balance is restored."

Luna smiles at her sister saying, "That is a wise idea sister, we will have to discuss it later when this present crisis with that ship is dealt with."

As the two finish raising the moon and lowering the sun, Luna teleports them both back to the study to allow Celestia to continue grieving.

Twilight watches as Celestia makes her way to the group, then smiles when she sees Cadance and holds her arms wide as tears come to her eyes, hoarsely saying, "Oh Princess Cadance, it is so good to see you again. What brings you to Ponyville dear niece?"

Cadance smiles at her aunt and says, "It is good to see you too Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, I have come here for a friendship mission because I felt my cutie mark tingle and saw it flash. I heard from Spike and Twilight about how a story made you so upset, sorry I arrived too late to hear your story. I'm also sorry that you are so upset from telling it, maybe there is a way for me to help you through it using my abilities?

She then shakes her head gently and says in a hoarse voice, "You have nothing to be sorry for, so please don't worry about it. It is my fault for not thinking of inviting you to hear it. So, therefore, I must apologize." Casting her gaze around the room, she then asks, "Perhaps one of you could tell her what happened so long ago? Unfortunately, I don't have the strength to tell the story again, as I fear I will begin crying again once my mind and body realize that the cycle has been changed."

The princess looks at her aunt and shakes her head gently, saying, "Oh you don't need to apologize about it. I'm sure that you must have been dealing with a lot at the time. All I care about is helping to get you through the sadness so that you can go back to being happy."

As nopony willingly volunteers to share the story, Twilight sighs and looks at Starlight, and asks, "Starlight, do you think that you could tell Princess Cadance the story?"

Starlight stands straight as a board as her muscles stiffen instantly, nervous about her mentor's request, and says in a slightly higher voice saying, "Erm...why me? Surely you or Princess Luna would be better suited for the task?"

Twilight sighs and smiles gently at her pupil saying, "I know you might be nervous, but I think that you are the best candidate for this because with my medication being so strong, I need to be looked after, which means I'm out. Princess Luna is out as well because she needs to be there for her sister, and I think that the others are still trying to wrap their heads around the entire story as I might need to go over the story again in my mind once I'm off the medication. That makes you the best pony available for the job, as you're the smartest in the room due to my medicated state...you're it."

She sighs in defeat as her posture wilts at having no way out and then stands up straighter and nods her head, accepting the task saying, "Alright then, I can't argue with you there." Starlight then looks at the princess and asks, "Princess Cadance, would you want to hear the story outside?"

Princess Cadance thinks about it a moment before saying, "I would, thank you. Before we leave the room, would you mind if I tried to help aunt Celestia through her sadness?"

Starlight then shakes her head and smiles saying, "Not at all, go right ahead." She then looks at the others and adds, "It upsets me to see the princess so sad, so let's all get back to helping her through it."

Princess Celestia's mind slowly begins to return to her former state as tears start to stream from her eyes while she takes a seat on the ground, her sister following and sitting in front of her. When her sister leans forward to hug her, she meets her halfway and starts to sob.

As the others join in and hug the princess, Cadance then moves around behind her and hugs Celestia's back. She then starts to use her talent to look into her aunt's emotions and appears inside her emotional state of mind. Finding it becoming more chaotic by the second, she begins to search for her strand of love and gasps in shock and fear at the state it is in. Looking at the narrow, tattered, and fraying emotional strand, she begins to follow it back to its source.

When she arrives at the love strand's source, she covers her mouth with both hands as she stares at the very poor state it is in saying, "How can it be this bad?!" She walks a little closer to get a better look at it, seeing a golden brazier sitting atop a waist-high column with several smaller fractures running through it with a major crack down the center of it. She gazes at the pink flame barely there, burning very weakly inside the brazier. Knowing that she can't do anything to help her through her grief until it is repaired, she sighs sadly and begins retreating from her emotional state.

As she opens her eyes, she gives her aunt a loving hug and says, "You will be alright after you go through your sorrow aunty, but I must find a way to help you mend your source of love."

Celestia's sobs worsen as she gasps saying, "O-Okay...M-My heart...it aches so badly from her absence and his betrayal..." before burying her head into her sister's shoulder as her sobs become gentle wails.

Without another word, Cadence pulls away with tears in her eyes at the condition of her aunt's source. She then makes her way toward the front of the room and looks to Starlight asking, "Starlight, can we go outside so I can hear the story?"

Starlight pulls away from the others in the hug and nods her head saying, "Certainly, Princess Cadance." then opens the door for her.

After the two girls exit the study, Cadance hears the door close and then sighs saying, "Her story must be pretty bad if her font of love is in that state, please tell me the story so I can think of a way to help save it."

She then nods her head saying, "Very well Princess Cadance, but may I ask what is wrong with it?"

Cadance sighs and then gives her a gentle smile, saying, "I prefer just Cadance if you please. The problem with her source is that it is so badly damaged, I fear that if something else terrible happened...she would lose her ability to love and become colder than Sombra's raging blizzard."

Starlight's eyes widen with shock as she says, "That is pretty bad, I don't want that to happen to her. I will try to find a way to help as well, let me start her story from the very beginning as she did. You should probably get comfortable, this will take a few hours to tell." She then clears her voice and begins, "Well 600 or 700 years after Nightmare Moon's or rather Luna's banishment to the moon, Princess Celestia saw a green flash one day while she was raising the sun..."

As she listens to Starlight intently, Cadance then lays down on her stomach to hear the story, hoping to be able to help her aunt heal her bleeding heart.

It takes Starlight 4 hours to tell the story with a few breaks in between, drinking some apple cider she retrieved during her first break to keep her throat from going dry. When she finishes the last bit of the story, she takes a moment to take another drink of cider saying, "Now I know why Princess Celestia kept drinking throughout the story, it really dries your throat out."

Cadence lays a couple of fingers on her chin in thought, tapping her forefinger against her skin as she lets out a half chuckle and half sigh saying, "Wow, Captain Sparrow is remarkably wily and cunning."

Starlight cocks her head in confusion, saying, "He is most definitely those things, but he is also the most cruel. So why do you sound impressed by him?"

She then smiles and raises an eyebrow curiously, saying, "Do you recall the odd things he said every once in a while? How they sounded like hints and clues to a puzzle?"

She thinks back on it and then facepalms herself for forgetting her suspicion and says in an exasperated tone, "Yeeessssss...I do now. Why did he make them into such an elaborate puzzle, I can't figure out what it means. All I have is a suspicion that he knew what was going to happen."

Cadence then smiles gently and says, "Start from the very beginning and think about how Jack makes his plans, it will come to you." To emphasize her point, she then repeats what her aunt told them Jack said, saying, "Life's greatest gift is the choice, the chance to choose your own actions and path to follow in life. What are you trying to achieve, and why are you trying to achieve it? What purpose does it serve? Decide on a goal in life and formulate a plan to achieve said goal, improvise for it if you must." She then grins and says, "Just think like Jack and you will figure it out like I did when you reached the point where Jack was banished."

Starlight stands up and paces back and forth, starting from the first hint and poring through them in chronological order. It takes her a half hour before she considers something out loud, saying, "Wait a moment, Jack read through a book but didn't give it to Princess Celestia...he put it back without her seeing it." The puzzle pieces all snap together and it all becomes clear, causing her to gasp excitedly with a big smile saying, "He couldn't have known what would happen, so he instead made an elaborate plan to ensure Luna would return! Why did he have to do all of those bad things though, what did all of that have to do with bringing Luna back? Just what did he find in that book?!?"

She then chuckles gently and gets up off the floor and stands up saying, "I do not know, that is another puzzle we will have to solve. Though I have a plan brewing on how we can accomplish that..."

Twilight's pupil then looks at Cadance in shock and exclaims in surprise, "Wait...WE!?!"

Cadance then grins and nods her head saying, "Yes...we...because you are a part of this plan, like it or not. Now come on, we have a princess to help through her grief, and some bait to collect."

Starlight looks at Cadance like she grew a second horn and asks, "What do you mean, bait?"

She then chuckles and opens the door saying, "I'll fill you in on the train later, now come on."

Chapter 32: Meeting a legend

As Starlight and Cadance enter the study, Cadance clears her voice and makes her way around to Celestia's back, and hugs her. She then tries to get her attention saying into her ear, "Hey Aunty Celestia, did you know that Captain Jack Sparrow is responsible for making your sister's return possible?"

Celestia's body jerks at hearing that and her sobbing slows, then stops for a few moments as her hoarse voice wavers asking, "H-H-Howww d-d-do y-y-you k-k-know-w-w th-th-thisss?" then snaps her head around to look into Cadence's eyes.

Her face nearly hits Cadences as their horns strike each other, seeing a wild look of uncertain curiosity and hope in her eyes then places her hands on either cheek. With a gentle smile on her face, she says, "Because silly filly, you forgot yourself in the grief and didn't remind yourself of what Jack told you." while still holding her hands on her cheeks gently, she parrots back to her, "Life's greatest gift is the choice, the chance to choose your own actions and path to follow in life. What are you trying to achieve, and why are you trying to achieve it? What purpose does it serve? Decide on a goal in life and formulate a plan to achieve said goal, improvise for it if you must." adding at the very end, "That is how Jack told you he thinks, so think like Jack and remember every odd thing he said and done. Think about the time you both were in the old castle's library searching for clues, you told the others that Jack was looking at another book while you reread the ancient writing. That prophecy is the first clue, though it is very subtle. That book he was reading but put it back before saying it was time to get started with the plan is the second clue to this puzzle, think of the odd things he said aunty and go through them in the order he said them and finish with the song he sang to you. You will surely understand it by then."

She then turns her head and stares off to the side, her eyes flicking back and forth as she flashes through each thing he said to her as the puzzle pieces finally become clear to her. Her eyes go wide as the song gives her one more piece, but leaves her unable to fully solve the puzzle and looks back to Cadence with a little more hope than before and asks, "If he did all that to bring my sister, then why did he not uncurse himself? Did I do something to make him hate me?"

Cadence sighs as she still doesn't fully grasp what he did and shakes her head saying, "You silly, silly little filly...did he ever stop wearing his ring or give it to you, did he stop carrying the locket you both were given on your wedding day?"

Celestia's hand instinctively clutches the locket and ring around her neck as the realization hits her in the head like a brick, as a small smile slowly spreads over her face and says in a bare whisper, "No...he didn't..." and gets a bit louder as she repeats herself, "No he didn't..." Her voice returns to its normal hoarse volume as she says, "He never, ever took either of them off for any reason. That means that he still loved me when I used that spell..."

Not wanting to lose an opportunity to get what she needs for her plan, she whispers to her ear, "Aunty, if you still have those cursed coins...can you give them to me?"

She hears her request as her mind stops functioning for a moment while her pupils relax and dilate, and answers back with a single flat, emotionless word, "Sure." then uses her magic to summon the bag of cursed gold.

Cadance sees the bag of coins in a black velvet pouch tied shut with a golden string and snatches it up hastily, then looks to the others saying quickly and desperately, "Now she will need you all the most, including you Princess Luna and Twilight. She will begin to fall apart again shortly, so do what you can to be there for her and help her feel loved." She then glances up at the ceiling and says, "Unfortunately that means you too Discord, so get your mismatched flank down here."

Discord appears from her ear and hops down to the floor, then grows to his normal size with a cheeky smile saying, "Oh, really? My help is needed for once? Don't I feel so special now, consider it done!" He then holds his arms out to the side and extends them, then wraps them around each and every pony in the room.

She chuckles and shakes her head saying, "Don't wrap your arms around Starlight and I, for we have an important mission and time is now of great importance." then moves her hand to her back and uses her talent to check her emotional state, and follows the strand back to the source. She finds the pink flame reduced to a bare flicker, though the column is in much better shape, but slowly starts to worsen as a chip falls to the floor, making Cadance sigh and return to herself. She then looks to Starlight saying, "We are on a tight timeframe Starlight, we have about two weeks until her source of love falls apart."

With a small giggle, he removes his arms from around them saying, "Oops, my bad."

Luna looks at Cadance with concern and asks with fear in her voice, "What would happen if that came to pass?"

Cadance looks at her with fear and sorrow on her face, and says, "Without her ability to love, she will lose her sense of self and slowly go insane permanently, because a pony cannot be themself without love."

She gasps in shock at hearing that as a tear slips from her eye and says, "You need to hurry then, time is against you so go and find a way to save her source. Please be careful."

She then nods and looks at Starlight saying, "Alright Starlight, we have a train to catch." then hustles towards the castle's front door, hoping that the train she came in on is still there.

Then, as Cadance warned, Celestia started to break down. Her smile slowly falls from her face as she then remembers what happened after that and says in a somber tone, "But he won't love me anymore when he finds out our daughter is a lifeless statue..." Tears start to stream from her eyes in rivulets as sobs start to wrack her body, not realizing she handed the cursed coins to Cadance.

Cadance and Starlight hurry to the train platform, seeing it preparing to leave, and hurry to the ticket booth for two tickets to Baltimare.

After paying the pony, they hustle into one of the emptier cars so Cadance can tell Starlight her plan when the train lurches forth. Momentarily caught off balance, they make their way to a seat as Cadance sighs saying, "Alright, my plan is relatively simple. With these coins in our possession, we will find a ship and sail out on it while hoping the Black Pearl finds us in time."

Starlight stares at Cadance all bug-eyed and says with wide eyes, "Are you CRAZY!! The pirates on board will most likely just outright kill us!"

She shakes her head saying, "I'm not, and they won't. Do you know why they won't kill or harm us?"

She looks at Cadance with fearful eyes and says, "Because they will have our way with us first before they sell us as slaves?!"

Cadance groans with frustration as she sighs saying, "Will you calm down and think rationally already? Remember the part of the story about the eerie lullaby prophecy written in blood?"

Starlight's eyes then start to return to normal as she begins thinking about it and says, "Ye-Yeah, I remember that, what about it?"

She then says, "That part about what's held most dear to them has two different meanings, but points to one answer." then pulls out the coins and raises the bag up with a smirk saying, "I have a feeling that there is something different about Jack's compass, so I don't think we will be on the ocean for very long."

The next morning, Cadance and Starlight hear the whistle on the train as it starts to slow down, nearing the city of Baltimare. Once the train stops at the station, they both get out and head to the shipyard to search for a ship.

While spending a few minutes wandering the shipyard, Cadance spots a ship that is offloading supplies and heads over to it. She then calls aboard the ship saying, "Excuse me, anyone onboard know who the captain is on this ship?"

A pegasus pony hops off a barrel and bows to her briefly, saying, "That would be me, Captain Fair Weather. How may I be of service to you today, Princess Cadance?"

Cadance looks at the captain as she straightens up and says to her, "I would like to request your help with a potentially dangerous mission, and will reimburse you for any expenses incurred during this mission Starlight Glimmer and I are on. In the extreme chance that your ship is sunk, I shall have a new ship built for you as an apology."

Captain Fair Weather's eyes grow a little bigger as she says, "Woah there...dangerous, dangerous how, and why is this so important to you?"

She then tells her the truth, saying, "We need to find the Black Pearl to save Equestria."

The captain paces a bit on the dock, nervously pondering the offer and asks, "I have heard tales about that ship, that it was a pirate ship that laid waste to any vessel it came across, killing everyone on board and sparing only other pirate ships. You seriously want to go after that ship, Princess Cadance?"

Cadance nods and says, "If you require more in order to accept this mission, I am willing to offer you any amount of bits you want. It is imperative that we get on a ship and begin our search for the Black Pearl, will you please help us?"

Captain Fair Weather thinks it over and says, "I will hold you to your word on that if anything happens to my ship, as for the additional payment for our services...I will take you out into the sea for 200 bits."

She smiles and nods saying, "Thank you for agreeing to our offer, let me get you the amount."

The captain then waves her hand in the air saying, "It would be best to wait until we are back here safe and sound before you pay me, Princess Cadance. After all, we are going after a notorious pirate ship crewed by ruthless pirates."

Cadance then nods saying, "How silly of me, that would be a very wise choice. When can we sail?"

Fair Weather then sticks her finger in her mouth, then pulls it out and holds it in the air for a moment saying, "Within the hour if the wind holds."

She smiles at her and says, "That will be just wonderful, where shall we be staying?"

The captain smiles and says, "You both can sleep in my cabin, I'll bunk with the crew."

Cadance continues smiling at her warmly and says, "That is very kind of you, but we don't want to inconvenience you at all."

Fair Weather shrugs her shoulders saying, "Nah, don't worry about it Princess Cadance, I've bunked with the crew more than I used the cabin, heh. So go ahead and make yourselves comfortable while the crew gets these supplies offloaded and resupplies the ship."

Two days later, on a ship heading east from Horseshoe Bay

Starlight trembles as she goes through Cadance's plan in her head saying, "I can't believe you came up with a crazy plan such as this! You're using the gold and us as bait to bring the cursed pirates to us! How do we know they won't just kill us and take the gold?!"

Cadance sighs and shrugs her shoulders saying, "We don't...we will have to protect ourselves and find a way to speak to Captain Jack Sparrow."

She stares at her in disbelief and shock as she feels her stress and fear rise to a new level as she looks up at the cloudy night sky, thinking, 'Oh I hope that we make it through this in one piece...'

A dozen miles north of Horseshoe Bay, the Black Pearl sails southward after hitting more Equestrian ships seeking out Pirates over the last few days. Jack is at the helm checking at his compass for another target when it leads him southeast, away from the port it was pointing to a few hours earlier saying, "Make up your mind mate, I thought we were gonna raid another port to force Celestia and Luna to come after us..." and closes it while adjusting course saying, "Full canvas you scabrous dogs!"

Starlight tries to get some sleep but is unable to as she can't stop thinking about Cadance's plan to sail aimlessly on the seas so the Black Pearl can find her and looks out across the sea, groaning and saying in frustration to no one in particular, "How are they supposed to know where we are!?" She then paces around the deck, hoping to calm herself down when she looks up at the captain of the Maid's Honor and sees her with a spyglass looking out portside over the water and asks, "Do you see something out there Captain Fair Weather?"

Captain Fair Weather looks at the fog rolling in from port and sighs saying, "There's some fog rolling in from our portside, just looking at it makes my feathers tingle with the urge to fly away. I don't know why that fog is creeping me out so much, I've been through thick fog before but there's just something sinister about this stuff though."

She makes her way toward the aft deck and looks at the captain asking, "Do you mind if I have a look through your spyglass captain?"

She hands it over to the unicorn with a shrug of her shoulders saying, "Not at all, knock yourself out. Doubt you'll see much because of the cloud cover making it that much more difficult to see. I wish there was more light though..."

Starlight chuckles nervously and takes the spyglass from her hand and puts it up to her eye saying, "I would be careful about what you wish for at this time, have you ever heard of the Black Pearl?"

Fair Weather looks at her and scoffs saying, "What, that some centuries-old ghostly warship from the Equestrian/Griffonian war is sailing the seas to enact their revenge against Equestria? I stopped believing in ghost stories when I was a little filly."

She is about to say something to admonish her, but notices some dark spot out in front of the heavy rolling fog and says, "Well...the Black Pearl isn't really a ghost ship, she's a pirate ship and the ghost ship is called the Flying Dutchman. As for the Black Pearl, she is most definitely real...and headed our way." and hands the spyglass back to her to see for herself.

The captain takes the glass back and looks out at the fog again and sees a black silhouette of a ship against the greyish-white fog closer than it was before, feeling the tingling get a little stronger and says, "Hmph, I bet that is just some ponies trying to prank us with their magic.

Starlight starts to worry and goes down to wake Cadance up, thinking, 'The safest place to be is up on deck if and when she attacks...'

Jack then looks up at the moon hidden by the clouds as they slowly start to disappear and looks back at the distant ship with a smile saying, "Such a good night for a surprise attack on an unsuspecting ship..." and shifts his course slightly to starboard to let them get a little further ahead before coming up on their port side.

An airship under the command of Captain Celaeno makes its way south, following the movements of the Black Pearl over the past few days. She races towards the Equestrian ship soon to be preyed upon by the ship she had heard tales about that were passed down from her ancestors from long ago. Using her large spyglass, she looks over the side at the Black Pearl and the other ship saying, "Batten down the hatches! We're going to attempt to save the ponies on the Equestrian ship before the Black Pearl can attack."

A few minutes later, Cadance and Starlight stand on the deck after Cadance hands the coins to Starlight. She then uses magic to hide the pouch of coins in a dimensional pocket that only she can access when she hears the props of an airship coming towards them. Looking up at the airship, she watches it land beside them and recognizes the captain of the ship as Captain Celaeno from when Twilight told her she was chased by the Storm King not too long ago.

Captain Celaeno watches the Black Pearl begin to change their directions and says in a panicked tone, "QUICK! CLIMB ABOARD, YOU'RE ALL IN DANGER FROM HER CANNONS!" as her crew throws grapples over the ship's rail and pulls her closer.

Starlight watches as Cadance hurries over to the other ship, and looks at the captain saying, "Please come with us Captain Fair Weather, you and your crew will be much safer there than here!"

Captain Fair Weather calls out to her crew and says, "All hands incapable of flying, head to safety aboard the airship. Those of you that can fly, abandon ship and fly to Baltimare!" She then looks at Starlight and says, "You go on, I shall stay here with the ship."

She remains behind to try to convince the pegasus captain to come with them but is grabbed by someone and dragged away, reaching towards the captain saying, "We can't leave her behind, the pirates will kill her!" but her pleas are ignored as the airship begins to depart and return to the sky.

Captain Celaeno sighs sadly at how brave the pony captain is being and salutes her by taking her hat off and holding it over her chest a moment, bowing her head in respect before saying, "I understand you want to bring her with us, and so do I. But she is a captain in her own right and makes her own choices. We must hurry to get out of range before the Pearl attacks us next!"

Jack watches as his ship approaches the side of the Equestrian ship and says, "Ready the cannons!" then hears the gunport doors open up as the cannons are rolled out.

Captain Fair Weather watches in horror as the ship comes alongside her ship and sighs before closing her eyes hearing, "Fire all!" followed by the booming of the cannons as they fire upon her ship, tearing it to pieces.

Giving the order to board the ship, a couple crew members come back with a few barrels of cider and a pegasus with an injured wing. After the captain sees the only pony on the ship, he opens his compass once more and sees it pointing towards the escaping ship saying, "If she's not bleeding, take her to the brig and put the cider in the hold." He closes it before putting it away, then grabs his spyglass to look at the ship. He spots a black flag with an image he does not recognize and scowls saying, "Take a cannon and bring that fleeing pirate ship down or I'll lock you inside of a chest and dump you on the ocean floor you scabrous dogs!"

Pintel and Ragetti nod and roll a cannon away from the top decks railing as the Black Pearl chases after the ship, then remove the cannon from the cradle and fasten a rope to the end and start pulling it upward.

Captain Celaeno looks over the edge to see the ship's sails furl just off to the port of her ship and an upraised cannon held upwards by ropes aimed at her ship and calls out, "Improvised mortar, take cover!" then races to the helm to quickly change course when she hears the cannon fire, followed by a whistling sound. She has just enough time to look up to see the cannonball punch right through the balloon holding the ship in the air and shouts, "EVERYPONY BRACE, WE'RE GOING DOWN!" and hears cries of terror as ponies huddle together, trembling in fear of what may happen to them.

Jack watches as the airship quickly starts losing altitude and plummets toward the sea's surface, creating a wave of spray when it crashes and stays afloat. He then closes his compass and says, "Half sail lads, let's find out what they were trying to keep from us..."

Starlight recovers from the ship falling to the sea, looking around to see that the ship is still floating, and sighs with relief saying, "Whew, so this ship can float on the sea...well that's a relief."

The parrot captain stands near one of the ponies they rescued from the other ship before the attack and crosses her arms saying, "Yes, she can stay afloat for a little while until the balloon is patched up. I must know why the Black Pearl is after you, did you do something to draw their attention?"

Cadance steps forth and sighs saying, "We apologize for what just happened to your ship, we are on an important, time-sensitive mission to save Princess Celestia."

Captain Celaeno's eyes widen in shock at hearing that and asks, "Oh? What has happened to her that makes you chase down the dreaded, infamous Black Pearl?"

Starlight sighs and says, "We could tell you, Captain Celaeno, but it is a story that would take a few hours to tell..." she is then interrupted by the sound of grapples landing on the deck, drawing her attention to the port when she sees the Black Pearl's crew start to pull the ship in.

The crew starts to rush aboard and take prisoners as Jack draws his sword and begins to make his way over. When he steps onto the ship, he spots a strange creature wearing a familiar large hat with a long plume in it and asks, "Just who and what might you be, and where did you get that hat?"

Captain Celaeno scowls at the pirate and proudly says, "I am Captain Celaeno, Pirate Lord of the Skies. This is my ship you have just crippled, which is called the Adventurous Friendship."

Hearing that she is a pirate lord like him, he takes off his hat and flourishes a light bow saying, "It is an honor to meet you, Lord Celaeno. I am Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Celestial Seas and captain of the Black Pearl. I do apologize for causing damage to your ship, but I am searching for something or someone here."

She returns the gesture and returns to scowling at him with a raised eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, and says, "I am not too pleased with you attacking my ship, Captain Jack Sparrow...she was a gift to me for my part in assisting in saving Equestria. Who or what is it you are searching for?"

Jack looks around the ship and says, "That is for me to find out, you never did say where you got that hat."

Celaeno sighs saying, "It is just a hat that was passed down in my family for a long time, never knew where it came from though."

He then turns his back to her and pulls his compass out, then opens it to see where it points. He walks around the deck a bit, looking at where the arrow is pointing and sees it pointing to a pair of ponies behind the captain.

Starlight watches nervously as the infamous, cursed captain walks around the ship looking at his compass when he stops and stands by her and Cadance and cocks her head asking, "M-May I help you, Captain Jack Sparrow?"

Jack then grins and snaps his compass shut and puts it away saying, "Oh you most certainly can love..." then grabs her by the shoulders and hauls her to her hooves. He gets into her face and says, "You can drop the disguise now, Celly...I know it is you, my compass never lies."

Cadance clears her voice saying, "Captain Jack Sparrow, Lord of the Celestial Seas, could you please let her go? I assure you that she is not Princess Celestia, though I do know what you seek. The two of us have heard your story, can you please take us onto your ship so we can talk?"

He then cocks an eyebrow at her, asking, "What do you mean that she is not Celestia? My compass has led me to her!"

She then shakes her head with a smile saying, "Because the real Princess Celestia is crying somewhere in Equestria. I am Princess Cadance, and I rule over the Crystal Empire alongside my husband, Shining Armor...which makes him a prince through marriage. It would be wise to show me some respect...pirate."

Jack then grins maliciously and looks up at the sky, seeing it beginning to clear up and gets up into her face saying, "And if I were you, Princess Cadance...it would benefit you to remember that I'm a cursed pirate that cannot die." When he is close enough, he pulls out a couple of null rings and tosses them onto their horns, and continues in a threatening manner, "If I wanted, I could cut off your wings, tie you to a cannon and send you to the bottom of the sea just because I could. Since you want to come with me willingly, come with me." and starts guiding the two towards his ship.

Starlight looks up at her horn and groans at seeing the null ring around her and Cadance's horns, thinking, 'Oh what did I get myself into now?'

They follow him over to his ship when he then leans against the mast and asks in a serious tone, "So if Chelly isn't here to face me, what good are you to me?"

Cadance sighs and says in a soft voice, "We are here because Princess Celestia is falling apart, mentally and emotionally."

He then stands straight and heads to the staircase to the lower deck, discretely guiding them to the brig to put them under lock and key without looking back and asks, "She is, is she? I leave for a few years and you see what happens, everything goes to pot! Why should I care?"

She then says, "Because she told us the story of what happened with you two and she still loves you."

Jack then laughs saying, "Oh I really doubt that! She wouldn't have banished me to the bottom of the sea for...how many years has it been since I've been banished?"

Starlight then says, "It has been about...400 years since then Captain Sparrow."

He makes his way down another staircase, heading towards the brig and chuckles with amusement saying, "If it has been that long, then I can guarantee that whatever love we had for each other is dead and gone." he then stands off to the side and gestures through the passage saying, "Ladies first."

The two head through the passage and find themselves at the very back of the ship on the lowest deck as Starlight gasps at seeing Captain Fair Weather in one of the cells with a broken wing and says, "She needs to see a doctor or she will never fly again Captain Sparrow!"

Captain Fair Weather sits in the back corner of the cell against the hull of the ship, rocking back and forth with her arms around her sides, sobbing from the pain her wing is in, and says, "My wing...it hurts...so much."

Jack then looks at her with a cold, unfeeling expression on his face and says, "I've been on the bottom of the sea for 400 years, awake for 200 of them... Do you have any idea what it was like to suffer that long!? It is more than enough to break one's mind I assure you." He then opens one of the cells and grabs Cadance by the wrist and says, "In you go, Your Highness." and drags her into the cell, shutting it behind her.

Starlight looks at Captain Sparrow with anger and fear in her eyes as he then grabs her by the arm, then pulls her towards another empty cell saying, "You can't lock a princess in a cell!"

He then shoves her into the cell and slams the door shut saying, "I can and I did, now sit tight while I go talk to my crew." and then heads towards the stairs to the upper deck.

Cadance sighs and looks around at the cell, finding herself enjoying it a little bit too much and bites her lip thinking, 'When I get back to the Crystal Empire, I will have to remember how much I liked this and make a special night for Shiny and I to make the most of it.'

She looks at the princess in the cell next to her saying with annoyance, "Is this a part of your plan as well, Cadance? If it is, I hate it!"

After Jack gets back to the crippled ship, he calls out, "Are there any unicorns here capable of healing magic?"

A light orange unicorn raises his hand nervously and says, "I do sir, what do you need of me?"

He then looks at the unicorn and says, "Follow me to the brig below, the captain I captured hurt her wing and I'm sick of hearing her sobbing."

The unicorn follows him down into the lowest deck of the ship, seeing a few crates of rotten fruits and vegetables. When he arrives at the cells, he sees his captain in the corner and says, "I'm here to look at your wing captain."

Jack then opens up the cell and says, "Get in there and treat her so she will be quiet. She should consider herself lucky for being able to feel, smell, taste... We are cursed and can't enjoy any of your simple pleasures, forced to forever starve and thirst, never able to sleep."

Captain Fair Weather listens to what he says, and tries to control her sobbing as she feels her crewmember start to heal her wing. The pain starts to ebb as the wing knits itself back together, allowing her to let out a sigh of relief before turning to the pirate captain saying, "I appreciate you allowing my wing to be treated, sir. What do you plan to do with us now?"

He looks at the captain and half-jokes saying, "I was debating either feeding you to the sharks or making you walk the plank, but now that you aren't irritating me with your sniveling...I plan to get you onto that other ship so I can be on my way." He then walks into the cell and grabs the captain and hauls her to her hooves, then brings her out of the cell saying, "Let's go, the sooner you follow me, the quicker I can get back to pirating."

She follows him up the stairs, then he lets her go in front of him along with the healer and asks, "Sir, what do you plan to do with the other two in the cells?"

Captain Jack Sparrow follows her towards the front of the ship and sees the stairs ahead saying, "That's my business, not yours. Let me ask you one thing, do you believe in ghost stories?"

Fair Weather scoffs and rolls her eyes as the unicorn chuckles, remaining silent to let her speak first and says, "Pony feathers, of course not, those are all just a bunch of nonsense."

He then stops at the foot of the stairs as he sees moonlight illuminate the stairs and lets them go up first before starting up them saying, "Is that what you think? Then let me enlighten you... You best start believing in them now, because you're part of one." and stands at the top of the stairs in the moonlight.

She stops and turns around, rolling her eyes until they land on the gruesome, pirate captain's rotting corpse. Freezing in her tracks and unable to think, her eyes bug out of her head as she hastily turns around and screams bloody murder while fearing for her life and runs back to the other ship with the unicorn hot on her trail saying, "Monsters do exist!"

Jack chuckles darkly and calls out, "Aye mate, that be true!" He then addresses his crew saying, "All hands back to the ship, we have a new heading!"

Chapter 33: Two lovers reunite

Jack watches as his fellow-cursed crew returns to the ship in the moonlight, then makes his way to the helm and calls out, "Full sail lads!"

Captain Celaeno watches as the Black Pearl sails away and calls out to her captain, "Sparrow! Do you really intend to just leave us here stranded?!"

He then looks at her saying, "Aye love, I do. If you're descended from the one's child I gave that to as a present, I've no doubt that you'll find a way out of that mess. After all, I was that child's father."

It takes a moment for what he said to register in her brain when her eyes dilate and grow larger, then stares at her suggested forebearer in disbelief, squawking, "WHAT!!! YOU MEAN TO SAY THAT I AM RELATED TO YOU!!"

Not saying another word, he grins at her and begins to guide the ship to the port side of the ship. He watches as the crippled ship starts to shrink, with a look of disbelief still on her face.

---

Starlight sits in her cell for what feels like an eternity and groans from extreme boredom saying, "I'm going to go insane if I have to sing 99 bottles of cider on the wall..."

Jack walks into the brig and glances down at his compass to see it still pointing to the unicorn having a light off-pink-colored coat, a purplish mane, and tail with a light aquamarine streak through them both. He shifts his gaze up from his compass and snaps it shut and narrows his eyes at her and asks, "Just what might your name be love? If you were wondering, if you start singing that...I will shoot you."

She gulps nervously and looks up at him saying, "O-Ok...well, Captain Sparrow, my name is Starlight Glimmer."

He then walks up to the bars while drawing his cutlass, saying, "Now...would you be a dear and tell me what you intend to do about Chelly with you being way out here instead of with her?"

Starlight sighs and says, "Well, after figuring out your elaborate puzzle, Cadance came up with a plan to find you..."

Jack smiles at hearing that and says, "Oh so someone took notice of my clues, well that just brightens my day! So you've come to save me have you, that is quite kind of you."

She then looks at him grimly and says, "Well...not really. We came here to get you so that you could talk to Celestia and make amends between you two in order to save her source of love, keeping her from losing herself completely and going insane."

The smile falls from his face as he glares at her and throws his hands up angrily saying, "Yet again am I secondary to another..." he then sheathes his sword and paces back and forth between the cells, continuing his rant, "When will someone come to save me just because they like me!!?? Why never, because I'm a twice-cursed pirate that is feared and hated by all..."

Starlight then ignores his ranting and says above his voice, "If it makes you feel any better, you are the key to our plan. For it to work, we need you to come with us to Ponyville, try to make amends with your wife, and protect her ability to love."

Jack then stops and looks at her curiously, saying, "That does make me feel a little better, but I still don't like playing second." He then sighs and faces at the back of the ship, crossing his arms and saying, "There's no doubt she found a way to turn our daughter against me by now..."

She then sighs and hesitantly says, "Well...about that..." and trails off at the end, leaving it to hang in the air.

Jack then looks at her curiously and asks, "What is it?" and walks up to her, and places his hands on the cell.

Starlight gulps nervously at how close he is to her and says, "About your daughter...Princess Celestia didn't turn her against you..."

He drums his fingers against the cell in annoyance asking, "Well, what did she do then, banish her too? Spill it already!"

Cadance sighs and smiles sadly at how Starlight tries to find a way to tell him the hard news, standing up and placing her hands against the cell. She then clears her throat and looks at the captain, saying in a gentle voice, "Well, mere hours after you were banished into the sea...she told your daughter about what happened. When your daughter learned it was impossible to bring you back, she..." trailing off for a moment before looking into his eyes and continues, "She used a spell to punish her mother for taking you from her, and turned herself into a statue while Celestia sobbed and watched helplessly." She waits a few moments to let it sink in before saying, "There is more that happened, but if there is anything inside you that still cares for Princess Celestia... Please be there for her and keep her from losing her ability to love and going completely insane forever."

Hearing about his daughter's fate touches his heart deeply, causing him to feel an ache deep down, and coughs saying, "What would you have me do?"

She then smiles at the possibility of this plan succeeding, and says, "Well, we need you to come with us to Ponyville where both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are, and find some way to repair her source of love."

Jack then paces around the mast in thought for a few moments and says, "Fine then, I suppose I could be persuaded to join you on your little trip to go see the missus...so persuade me."

Thinking of a way to entice him, she smirks and says, "Well, I'm sure that Starlight would enjoy a kiss..."

Starlight nearly snaps her neck with how fast she turns to look at Cadance, having an aghast look on her face along with a fierce blush at being sailed down the river like that and tries desperately to come up with a response, but ends up looking like a fish out of water. When a few more moments pass by, she finally says in an exasperated tone, "WHY DO I HAVE TO K-KISS HIM, ISN'T THERE SOMETHING ELSE YOU COULD OFFER?"

He then waves his hand and turns toward Cadance with a slight grin on his face saying, "Sorry love, but as enticing as that sounds, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it while suffering from this curse...what else have you to offer?"

Cadance chuckles and says, "As it turns out, one of us has what you have been searching for which was taken from you. Though they are hidden in another dimension, we will only return them after you manage to restore Princess Celestia's source of love. Do we have a deal, Captain Jack Sparrow?"

Jack's eyes narrow briefly as he studies her for any clues that she may be lying, looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze for a few seconds before extending his hand into the cell with a grin, saying, "Alright, you've persuaded me. Let's be on our way to see 'ol Chelly... We have an accord, let us be on our way once we find a place to drop anchor." he then makes his way towards the stairs, leaving them locked in the cells.

Starlight watches him leave with a blush on her face and calls out, "Aren't you going to let us out, now that we are working together?"

He then looks back and says over his shoulder, "Of course not, I will not give you the opportunity to make a fool of me and disappear." and then returns to heading towards the stairs to the upper deck saying, "Fear not, for I shall come to release you once we are ready to depart."

Gibbs is at the helm when he sees Jack make his way toward the wheel and grins asking, "Is our salvation at hand, cap'n?"

Jack stands beside Gibbs and looks at the crew with a grin and shouts, "Rejoice lads, return to the ship, our suffering is nearly at an end!" and hears the crew cheer out in happiness and fire off their pistols.

---

Hours pass by as Starlight is woken by a loud, metallic clack and looks to see what it was, seeing that the door to her cage has been opened along with Cadance's and smiles saying, "We've finally arrived at Baltimare?"

He then chuckles and shakes his head saying, "No love, we are a bit south of Horseshoe Bay. We shall be making our way to Baltimare by land, walking the rest of the way there. After we arrive, it is up to you two to get us to wherever this Ponyville is at."

Starlight and Cadance follow Jack out of the hold and into the deck above, looking around curiously and saying, "Is it just me or does this ship seem really eerie?"

Jack grins at hearing that and says, "It looks eerie because of the crew's curse, once it is lifted it will need some repairs."

Gibbs watches the sun rise over the horizon and looks forward to being rid of the curse, saying, "I can't wait to be able to feel the heat from the sun, savor the taste of food and drink, and smell the environment around me."

He hears what his first mate said and nods his head in agreement, then goes up the last set of stairs saying, "Lower the longboat, I am off to see the missus. Mind the tide and guard the ship while I go see my beloved ball and chain. Don't think about taking off with my ship in my absence or you know what will happen to you when I catch up to you later." He looks over his shoulder at the two girls with him and asks, "Is there a need for us to be in any rush?"

Cadance watches as the longboat is lowered and smiles at how the plan is working out for the moment saying, "Yes there is, Captain Sparrow. We have less than two weeks to get back to Ponyville.

Jack then says, "If we're going to make it back in time, we will need to run most of the way. By chance, did you take a chariot to the port you sailed from?"

Starlight shakes her head and says, "No, we took a train from Ponyville to Baltimare."

The captain then groans in annoyance saying, "What's a train? They weren't around 300-400 years ago."

She then says, "It's relatively new to the Equestria, it is powered by magic that is stored in some kind of special device that travels along a pair of metal rails. You can go practically anywhere with the train, arriving much faster than if we were to travel by hoof."

Jack then twiddles his beard between two fingers, finding that interesting, saying, "How curious, if we are unable to find the train you took, we may have to travel to Ponyville on foot."

Cadance then smiles and says, "Oh we won't have to do that because the trains run on a schedule, Captain Sparrow."

He then heads toward the port side of the ship and starts climbing down to the longboat saying, "Well that is good news at least, let's be on our way, shall we?"

After the two girls join Jack in the longboat, the captain rows them to shore and pulls the boat further inland. Before departing, he ties a rope around a tree to keep the longboat from being carried out to sea by the tide.

Jack looks at his compass and says, "Alright, we need to go this way, ladies."

As they make their way toward Baltimare, Jack remains silent while the two girls talk to each other. Mostly ignoring what they're talking about as he thinks of what he will do next.

Starlight smiles when they finally reach Baltimare five hours later saying, "It feels so good to be back in Baltimare, doesn't it Cadance?"

Jack looks around at the large city with wide eyes saying, "Things sure have changed since I've been gone, this used to be a small town. Now look at it, it transformed into a noisy city."

Cadance then takes the lead and starts heading towards the train station saying, "Please follow us, Captain Sparrow, I shall lead the way to the train station."

As the group makes its way to the station, Jack looks around at the bustling city while ponies stop what they're doing to look at him and talk amongst themselves, asking things like, 'Who is that? What it that? Where did it come from?'

Jack follows the girls to the train station and looks it over saying, "It certainly looks strange enough."

She makes her way towards the ticket master and says, "Come this way, Captain Sparrow. We need to buy tickets to ride the train, and I shall pay for your ticket as well, so do not worry."

He follows her to a booth where she pays fifteen bits for three train tickets and then follows her onto the train saying, "I sure hope the ride is better than in a chariot, all that rocking and bumping was annoying."

Cadance makes her way to a train car, with a smile on her face and giggles saying, "Oh it is, though improvements were made in that mode of transport."

After Jack follows her onto the train, he sits on a bench across from the other two and waits for the train to depart. He then wonders what happened after he was banished and asks, "Now then, while we wait for the train to be on its way, how about you tell me what happened after I was banished?"

Starlight then sighs and looks over at him saying, "Alright, well after that, Celestia searched the Sunrise for survivors and rescued the captain, taking him to Van Hoover to get him aid..." and continues to relay to him what Celestia told them.

---

The captain sits in silence, thinking over what had happened to his daughter after he was banished. He wonders if there is a way to bring her back and goes over what she said in his head thinking, 'Hmm...so she will return when I do? There are a few different answers to that, but with me returning from my banishment, that makes for one less...'

Hours pass by on the train as Jack tries to think of a scheme to bring his daughter back, twiddling his beard while thinking, 'Well, first things first. I need to go to this Ponyville place and save my bonnie lass from certain doom, meet her sister, then return to the Pearl for my crew and head to the vault to lift our curses. After that, I will fulfill my deal with Hector and try to come up with some way to rescue my daughter from her prison...'

As the train pulls up to the station platform, Cadance rises from her seat and walks towards the end of the train car to exit the train. Starlight follows after her and looks over her shoulder at the still-seated captain and asks, "Captain Sparrow, why are you still sitting there? We have finally arrived at Ponyville, so please stand up and follow us to my mentor's home."

Jack is pulled from his thoughts and follows her off the train saying, "Hmm? Oh, right. Lead the way then, love."

Cadance looks back at Jack and says, "You can see my sister-in-law's crystal castle in the distance. That is where everyone else is, trying to help Celestia until we come back with a way to save her, meaning you."

He follows them into the town, looking around as ponies stop to look at him when he spots a familiar creature making its way toward town and smiles saying, "I see the zebra tribes have finally ventured out into the world."

She sees the one he is talking about and walks towards her with a smile saying, "Excuse me Zecora, do you have a moment?"

Zecora turns to see a light pink alicorn calling to her and meets her halfway, bowing to her saying, "What a surprise, to see you with my own eyes, Princess Cadance. What assistance may I do you? Need any herbs, potion, or brew?"

Cadance smiles and then shakes her head side to side saying, "I don't need anything like that, I just wanted to introduce you to an...acquaintance of mine and Starlight's. Zecora, this is Captain Jack Sparrow. Captain Sparrow, this is Zecora, who happens to be good friends with Twilight, my sister-in-law."

The zebra turns her head to the tall being and gasps with fright and takes a step back nervously, "Blessed be! I see a dreadful legend before me!"

The princess tries to calm her down saying, "You have heard about him?"

Zecora looks at the princess with fearful eyes and nods while glancing at him briefly, saying, "I have indeed, he has done many a foul deed. Meeting the cursed ship's captain is a displeasure, for my friends, I shall guard and treasure. Many legends have I heard, the most dreadful came from my own herd. Many moons ago, the infamous Pearl roamed the seas, showing no mercy to any despite their pleas. Left with her last resort, Princess Celestia gave them their just desert!"

Jack sighs with a grin saying, "Ah, I have missed the traditional way the zebra tribes speak, for I shall relish this for the week. Alas, for that was centuries ago, I had no choice but said actions to undergo."

She looks at him with narrowed eyes and says, "Your actions brought fear to pony folk, your return is certainly not a joke!"

Starlight approaches the angry zebra and tries to pacify her saying, "Please calm down Zecora, we are going to remove his curse so he will not do bad things anymore."

Zecora looks at Starlight and says, "It is doubtful he shall find salvation, for his evil deeds he deserves damnation." then storms off into town without another word.

The captain smiles saying, "Well at least that one didn't slap me after seeing me."

As the girls let out a nervous sigh, they continue on toward Twilight's home. Arriving a few minutes later, Cadance goes to open the door when she turns to Jack and asks, "Are you ready to be reunited, Captain Sparrow?"

Jack looks at her and grins, then nods saying, "I am, but would you let me make a grand entrance?"

Starlight sighs and rolls her eyes asking, "What do you plan to do?"

He looks at their horns and pulls the ring off of them and returns them to his pocket saying, "Well, I need you to shroud the room with thick fog so I can have a bit of fun with them first."

Cadance grins at what he might do and says, "Let me check if the study's doors are closed or not..." She then goes to the front door and opens it a little, then peers inside before pulling her head out and closing the door saying, "The door to the study is open slightly, so the fog will drift into the room."

Jack smiles and heads to the door, opening it and peering inside briefly before closing the door again saying, "Starlight, could you do the honors and fill the outer room with fog thicker than pea soup?"

She rolls her eyes and casts the spell saying, "You're lucky I learned how to do this from my friend..." filling the room with a heavy fog clear to the ceiling, then says, "There...it's done, now hurry up and do whatever you plan on doing."

Inside the study, Pinkie Pie looks down at her knee and says, "Ooh, ooh, I have a pinchy knee!"

The captain then looks to them saying, "Follow me and close the door quietly behind you but make no sound..." He then opens the door and walks inside, then waits until he hears the door close softly. Hearing his cue, he begins to walk forward, making sure to step heavily to make a slow steady beat as he begins to sing in a slow, deep voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrsifI9382k

Luna hears the singing and looks towards the cracked door, seeing heavy fog rolling in through the crack saying, "I wonder who might be singing that?"

All eyes except for Celestia's turn to the mostly closed doors as a few stand between the door and the princesses, waiting to see what or who is on the other side of the doors.

Jack slowly makes his way to the cracked door, raising a foot in preparation to kick it open singing, "Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell...HA" and puts all his strength into the kick singing the end of the song, "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"

Luna watches the door fly open as fog shrouds the figure from sight and says, "Who are you and why are you bothering us?!"

He steps forth as the fog rolls into the room, coming into view of a beautiful, dark blue alicorn with a flowing mane and tail saying, "I have come here to see my wife who banished me to the bottom of the sea, I am Captain. Jack. Sparrow."

Rarity uses her magic to clear the fog and coughs, "OH DEAR, WHAT A DREADFULLY DRAMATIC ENTRANCE THAT WAS! THANKS TO YOU, I WILL BE HAVING BAD DREAMS OVER HOW DESCRIPTIVE THAT SONG WAS!"

Pinkie Pie then giggles and says, "CREEPILY EPIC GREETING...YOU NAILED IT!"

Jack then looks to the white unicorn with a grin saying, "You're quite welcome, love. Now where is my darling wife..." and looks around the room as the fog clears up, finding her with her face looking down at the floor and eyes downcast, saying, "Ah, there you are... Hello, my dear...did you miss me?"

Celestia trembles with fear as she looks up at her husband and says with a wavering voice, "Hello...dear, a little..." She then looks away with both fear and sorrow saying, "I-I'm sorry about what happened to our daughter Summer Poppet, I was having trouble walking due to how upset I was and wasn't able to stop her..."

He then takes a few steps forth toward his wife saying, "It was inevitable my love, even I was shocked to hear what our daughter did after I was banished. You know that she was totally a daddy's girl, so it is understandable for her to get mad like that. Turning herself to stone was a bit over the top I think..." He then tries to go to her, but finds his path blocked by the group up front and asks, "Would you lot mind parting and letting me through to talk to my dear Chelly?"

The group hesitantly parts, not trusting him yet and watch his every move as Rainbow says, "Don't you dare try anything bub, or you will regret it..."

Jack then chuckles saying, "You all must be the elements that one pegasus captain mentioned. Let's all introduce ourselves once this mess is dealt with completely, savvy?" and walks towards his wife, placing his left hand's forefinger under her chin with his thumb on the front of it. Lifting her head up, he looks into her eyes saying, "My love, I do not hate you for what happened to our daughter. It was something she did all on her own, so you are not to blame. Yes it is true that she was angry for you refusing to let her see me, but you were right to do so as I could not be a proper father figure to her. So do me a favor and stop crying already, I have a present for you."

Celestia blushes and looks into his eyes and asks, "W-What's that, are you going to curse me and return me to the ship as part of the crew?"

He scoffs and says, "Of course not dear, we're all sick of the curse. It has served its purpose, so now I get to continue on with my plan. Close your eyes and I will give you your belated birthday present, my love."

She closes her eyes, wondering what he is going to do or give her, and fearfully says, "O-Okay, but please make my suffering short."

Jack grins and reaches into his frock and pulls out a nearly empty bottle of rum, then yanks the cork out silently and drops it to the floor. Raising the bottle to his lips, he drains it into his mouth, ensuring to hold it there while tossing the now empty bottle into the chair behind her before placing his now free hand behind her head. He quickly opens her mouth with his left hand and tilts her head back, then leans in to kiss her.

Celestia feels his lips touch hers and then a liquid flows into her mouth, it takes her a few moments to identify it as rum and then starts to swallow it greedily. Wanting more, she places her hands behind her husband's head and pushes her tongue into his mouth, allowing more of the liquid she has yearned for so long.

Luna and the others turn their heads as she watches her sister making out with a pirate, a fierce blush on her face after seeing her wrap her left leg around the back of Captain Sparrow's hips saying, "I really hope you two don't start having sex in front of us because we all will need therapy afterward..."

Jack gives her the rest of the rum before it loses all flavor due to the curse, then breaks the kiss despite Celestia wanting more and looks at the blue alicorn saying, "Who are you?"

She looks at him out of the corner of her eye, saying, "I am Princess Luna, and that is my sister that you are currently trying to suffocate with kissing..."

He grins and says, "It's about time my grand scheme paid off, thanks to what I found in that book I didn't show to Chelly. It is good to finally get to meet you."

Chapter 34: The path to redemption

Author's Notes:

FUN FACT: A tidbit of this chapter came from what I had originally planned for the previous chapter!

Discord shrinks himself down to the size of an ant and watches the scene unfold before him, lounging on a sofa while snacking on popcorn and drinking a slushie.

Starlight huffs and then shouts, "JUST WHAT DID YOU FIND IN THAT BLASTED BOOK?!"

Jack then steps to his left while turning his and Celestia's body to the right to be able to see the room, looking at Starlight and saying, "I might be willing to show ya after we take care of some business first, so just be patient and wait like a good little pony."

Celestia savors the taste of well-aged rum in her mouth and moans blissfully as her eyes become half-lidded, placing her left hand over Jack's shoulder and placing her hand on the back of her neck saying, "Oh I've been desperate for the taste of rum for so long..." She then raises her hand toward his cheek and strokes it affectionately with the back of her fingers saying, "Please tell me you have more of that delightful beverage dear...because I need more."

He chuckles and smirks saying, "Of course I brought more, but go easy on it because I doubt they make it this strong these days."

She sighs and touches her nose to his saying sadly, "I won't make you any promises about that. The rum they make these days tastes so different from what it used to be like."

Jack then moves his left hand around his wife's neck and uses his right to dig for the second bottle he brought with him, then pulls it out and holds it up for her to see and says, "So Chelly dear, shall we all continue this happy occasion and relocate to where the Pearl and her crew are waiting for me to return?"

Celestia spots the bottle from the corner of her eye and releases her husband, hastily snatching the bottle from his hand and holding it close to her body like it was the most precious thing in the world. She then turns towards her sister and breaks through Jack's tender hold of her while walking over to her with a deliriously happy smile on her face saying, "Please let me share with you a taste of what real rum is supposed to taste like... Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, and prepare for a shock when you taste this."

Unable to fight her sister as she uncorks the bottle and forcefully pours a big mouthful into her mouth, closing her lips as she takes a breath before swallowing it down in small amounts at a time. The powerful flavor takes her by surprise and nearly sends her to her knees with how strong it is, her vision becomes a bit hazy as her whole body gets a few degrees warmer. She then lets out a slow, pleased huff as she exhales the fumes in her mouth saying in a slightly slurred manner, "Sooo that's what you re..." then shakes her head as she tries to think of what she wants to say, and tries again, saying, "So that's what you enjoy sooo muchhh..." A sly grin comes to her face as she says a moment later, "Rum's good."

She takes another big swig for herself and says, "This is one of the things I miss about times long ago."

Feeling ignored, the captain taps his foot on the floor saying, "OI, what about me?"

Celestia rolls her eyes at him saying, "Yes dear, I've missed you too... Can't you let me enjoy this a little longer?" and looks at him with pouty lips, pleading for him to let her have her moment.

He crosses his arms and removes his hat to flourish a bow to her saying, "By all means, Your Nibs. Please forgive me for being cursed for 400 years and wanting to be rid of it!"

Unable to fight her curiosity, Twilight looks at the captain and asks, "Excuse me, Captain Sparrow, but what does this curse feel like, how does it affect you?"

Jack looks at the new pony that just spoke and looks into her eyes saying, "It feels miserable because it takes away all of the little pleasures one enjoys such as touch, smell, taste, feel, and sleep, it leaves you to suffer from an endless hunger and an unquenchable thirst. Though it does have the benefit of making you immortal in a morbid sort of way, being between living and dead."

After Celestia gives Luna another drink, and finishing the bottle off herself, she then looks to her newly returned husband saying, "Alright dear, let's teleport over to where your ship is. Could you please tell me where you left it?"

The captain looks around the room and says, "Well it is a few miles south of Horseshoe Bay, be sure to bring everyone along on this trip, okay love? I promise you it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and no one will want to miss it."

She nods her head and recorks the empty bottle and puts it into her personal storage dimension saying, "Very well then, everypony hold on and stay still, it has been a while since I have used this spell."

Luna stays as still as possible, unable to keep herself from leaning from side to side in a moderately drunken state as she looks at her new brother-in-law curiously and wanders over to him with a smile on her face saying, "Captain Shparrow, I wish to thank thee for the good you've done for my shishter and I."

Jack looks at Luna as she walks over towards him with a sway in her weaving journey toward him, asking, "Oh you do, eh? And just what might you reward me with?" expecting a handsome reward of coin.

Celestia tries to concentrate on the spell, but finds it hard due to her sister moving around and says, "Luna, I can't cast this spell until you stop moving, so hold still!"

With a smirk, she says, "Shorry shis." and lunges at Jack, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck with a glint in her eyes as she then leans her head toward his face. She confuses the knowledge of seeing how some lovers kiss each other with how family members kiss each other, resulting in her giving him her first romantic kiss saying, "Thank you."

Rarity and a few others stare slack-jawed as Luna starts to make out with Celestia's husband when the princess finishes casting her spell, blinding her and all the other ponies that were staring at the shocking sight of Luna deeply kissing the captain.

As she looks around to see if anyone was missed and freezes when she sees Luna eagerly making out with her husband and gasps shrieking, "JACK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SISTER!!!"

Discord laughs so hard, he rolls off the couch and laughs himself into pieces gasping for breath saying, "I'm...here...too...Celestia,...don't worry!...I'm just...fighting for breath...from all...this...hilarity!"

Jack quickly pulls his head away and pulls his hands away from Luna's slender waist and holds them in the air and pleads, "Oi, don't blame me, she started it!"

Celestia ignores Discord and storms up to her sister then rips her off of him as her mane smokes from irritation, setting her to the side before turning to her husband and bringing her right hand back to slap him across the face.

Gibbs watches from the deck along with the crew as they all burst out laughing at the scene unfolding before them and calls out, "Aye, this looks all too familiar from way back in the day. Whenever we would come to a port, some lass would rush up to him and slap his face."

The captain reels from the painful slap and holds his cheek saying, "OI, I may be cursed, but I still feel pain!"

Seeing his chance, Spike hurries up to him and glares at the captain saying, "Normally I would scold you for what you've done, but because you hurt Twilight..." and then balls up his fist and punches him in the groin saying, "That's for Twilight's broken wing you caused!" and hurries back to her side.

Jack holds his hands over his family jewels with crossed eyes as he then blinks them straight, saying in a higher-pitched voice, "How did I cause that?"

Nurse Redheart then glares at him and crosses her arms while tapping her hoof on the sand saying, "Don't try to weasel out of your recent attack on Manehattan! While you were firing upon the sleeping town, many ponies died from that attack and many more were injured as fires spread and ponies were trapped in their homes. Princess Twilight's wing was crushed when she helped to save a mare's trapped foal from a building with a collapsing roof, now because of you, she won't be flying for several months!"

He groans from the pain shooting up his body from his aching testes and bends over saying, "I do apologize for that love, but in my defense...I wasn't in my right mind at that time due to being cursed and all that."

Pintel and Ragetti both hold their jewels and hiss when Pintel says, "Oh that's gotta hurt..."

Ragetti then looks at his best friend and says with a slight shrug, "Aye, but he deserved it though. None of us were in our right minds when we returned from the sea floor."

After a few moments, he coughs a few times to return his voice to normal and then looks at the scowling group asking, "So, are we square then?"

Pinkie Pie looks at Fluttershy with wide eyes saying, "Oooohhh she's mad, like...really really mad."

Fluttershy then walks up with a frown on her face and her mane drawn back behind her ear, showing both eyes as she glares at the captain saying, "Not by a long shot, mister! You ARE going to apologize to those you have harmed in Manehattan, and help them rebuild their homes before any of us will forgive you."

Jack looks into her glaring eyes, and shrugs his shoulders as he feels slightly guilty for attacking the town saying, "Fine then love, I'll do that. Now will you stop glaring at me, I'm finding it rather attractive."

Applejack gasps and then says in shock, "WAIT A SECOND...did he just...SHRUG OFF THE GLARE!?!"

Twilight stares in shock as she robotically nods her head saying, "Yes, he did..." and pauses for a few seconds to process what just happened and says, "I think that the curse might have something to do with that though, I'm not sure, and I have no intention of studying the curse in further detail."

Starlight then sighs with relief saying, "Good, because I really don't wanna know what your cursed form looks like..."

Before any more time can pass by, he straightens his posture and heads toward the tree and unties the rope securing the rowboat to shore saying, "Alright ladies, wait here and I shall return with my crew."

Celestia looks at her sister with a frown and says, "As for you...no more rum."

Luna puts her hands together in front of her in a combined fist and looks at her sister with big puppy-dog eyes and pleads, "Nuuu, don't do that, pleashe? I'm really, really showwy!"

She looks away with a sigh saying, "Alright, but please stop begging... You know I find it too adorable and can't resist it."

Her face brightens up with a wide smile as she runs up to her sister and kisses her cheek saying, "Thank you Cece."

Jack rows his way back to the ship and climbs up to the deck saying, "All hands, to the rowboats, for our salvation is here!"

Gibbs then cheers with the men and does a happy jig, then rushes up to Jack asking, "What'cha gonna do with the Pearl, cap'n?"

He looks at his first mate saying, "We're going to pull the ship onto land and moor her on shore as we did on that island where the Pelagostos lived, so haul out the mooring lines."

The first mate then looks at the crew and hollers, "Ya heard 'em lads, haul out those mooring lines!" and goes to fetch a coil himself.

Rarity watches as the crew head to the shore with large coils of rope, a few just hop off the side of the ship with a thick rope held onto their shoulder. She looks at the Black Pearl curiously as the crew starts to pull it in, chanting heave in a slow rhythm. She sees the fine details on the ship that were once gold, the solid black sails hang in tatters from the masts. The hull itself looks gloomier with the gold having lost its luster long ago, granting the ship an eerie appearance.

Jack sees her staring at his ship with a curious eye and says, "A ship symbolizes freedom to me love, if you have lived a life surrounded by laws and rules, feeling tied down...a ship of your own will grant it to you."

She smiles and looks at Captain Sparrow for a moment saying, "She was once beautiful long ago, but the curse has changed her into having a much darker and evil look."

He looks at her, then asks, "So, love, what might your name be?"

Rarity then introduces herself saying, "I am Rarity Belle, and I am the Element of Generosity. It is interesting to meet you, I hear that my ancestor Shining Belle was a member of your crew."

Jack smiles at remembering the pony saying, "Oh aye he was, good stallion, and a good pirate. He was our ship's cook for quite a few years, but I dismissed him from the crew with a fair portion of gold so that he could go provide for his family. The main reason I dismissed him from the crew is that I didn't want him to suffer from the curse with us, the guilt of knowing he took the lives of other ponies just like him would crush him."

She stares at him in surprise, finding out that her ancestor was dismissed to avoid the curse and smiles saying, "That was mighty generous and kind of you to do that darling, did he ever take part in the fights when you went after other ships?"

He grins and shakes his head saying, "Alas, he did not love, under my orders that he remain safe to provide food for my crew and growing family. Come to think of it, I've never let Chelly stain her hooves with the life of another, as it would change who she was deep down."

Celestia hears that and stares at her husband in shock for a few moments before asking, "Wait, so you mean to say that I have never taken a life of one of my subjects?"

Jack nods his head as he looks at Celestia saying, "Not while you were sane at least, though you can't be blamed for what you did while your mind broke from the loss of our twins. And before you argue, you lost your sanity just before you killed the doctor."

Applejack watches as the crew continues to heave the ship onto the shore and asks, "Would you mind if ah lent a hand in bringing the ship ashore? It looks challenging and kind of fun."

He looks at her and shrugs his shoulders saying, "Go right ahead, the more hands the faster this goes."

Rainbow then grins and says, "Oh yeah, I do like a challenge..." and looks at Applejack saying, "Hey Applejack, let's work together and see how quickly we can pull that ship onto shore!"

She looks at her friend and smiles saying, "You're on sugarcube, let's do it!" then hurries toward one of the heavier lines as Rainbow latches onto a smaller line and they both wait for the next command to pull.

Celestia watches the two girls with a chuckle as their combined strength pulls the ship several feet onto the shore and cheers them on saying, "Keep going everyone, only twenty more feet to go."

After taking twenty minutes to pull the ship ashore, Applejack and Rainbow wipe their foreheads with their arms as Applejack says, "Whew, now that was a good workout!"

Rainbow chuckles and stretches her muscles a bit saying, "You're telling me, that was a lot of fun. I didn't know that it weighed so much!"

Jack then nods and looks at the ship saying, "That is because you were feeling the weight of the sin that the ship and the crew bear for what we did after taking those cursed coins." He then looks at his wife and says, "Dear, I'm proud of you for uncursing yourself and our daughter after the attack on Manetown."

Tears well up in her eyes as she hears him praise her and says in a shocked voice, "Y-You knew? H-How, I never said what I was doing when I took those coins from you and the crew."

He then chuckles and says, "Remember how I said there was nothing to forgive? I hoped that seeing our daughter's suffering and cursed form would shock you back to your senses. I kept my plan centered around what that lullaby prophecy could mean, and I so happened to catch our daughter sneaking into the vault when our backs were turned. Once I saw you taking my coin with the large bag in your hand, I knew what you intended to do...and was happy for it. So thank you, I would not have been able to do that because of the curse and my plan to bring your sister back to you."

Celestia can't believe what she is hearing as she is overwhelmed by the revelation and leans heavily against her sister as she starts sobbing, not out of sorrow...but happiness at finally hearing that.

Cadance feels a shift in Celestia's body as her tears flow freely, walking up to her and places her hand onto the princess's back and checks her source of love and smiles saying, "Thank you Captain Sparrow for restoring her source of love, as for your reward..." and looks to Starlight with a nod of her head.

Starlight sees the nod and uses her spell to take the coins out of her storage space, catching them in the palm of her right hand as they fall from a small hole saying, "As we promised, Captain Sparrow, here is what you have been searching for."

He sees the coins in her hand and walks over to her, then takes the pouch from her and tucks it into his frock coat. With a salacious and overjoyed grin on his face, he grabs her shoulders with his hands and pulls her in for a deep kiss.

Her eyes dart every which way as they bug out of her head while she scrambles to think of what to say. Having a mind of its own, her tongue wrestles with his as she thinks, 'Out of everything that has happened in my life...WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME!?'

Jack pulls away from her after her eyes become half-lidded and says to her, "Thank you very much, love." He then turns toward Cadance and starts making his way toward her next.

Starlight's mind is still fried from the intense, mind-blowing kiss and exhales dreamily, saying "You're welcome...handsome."

Twilight looks at her student's face as it stares off into the distance with a blissful, dreamy look on her face as she turns to Celestia and asks, "Princess Celestia, what is that look that Starlight has on her face right now?"

Celestia lifts her head from her sister's shoulder as she gets her sobbing under control, and takes one look at Starlight and groans saying, "That, my dear Twilight...is the face I so detested all those years ago. I call it the 'Oh Jack' face due to the fact how good of a kisser he is, his kisses are almost like tasting that rum I had earlier and shared with Luna."

Jack stops in front of Cadance as she starts to take a few steps back from him and says, "Allow me to say thank you as well, love." and reaches for her head.

Cadance backs into a tree, trying to get out of kissing him and says in a panicked voice, "Y-You're welcome Captain Sparrow, y-you really don't need to k-kiss me though because I do have a husband and little filly at home."

He then takes a step closer and places his hands on her cheeks saying, "There is where you're wrong, love. I do need to thank you somehow, for you have no idea what it was like to suffer from this curse for hundreds of years, unable to satisfy hunger, thirst, or even fall asleep and dream."

She trembles against the tree in worry, saying, "A-Are you sure you want to compromise the honor of a princess happily married, with a family waiting for me to return home?"

Jack closes the distance and gently grabs her around the waist, then pulls her against him with a grin on his face. The swift motion draws a short, cute little eep from her lips just before her body collides with his. He looks into her eyes as she looks back with a heavy blush, then whispers into her ear, "Love, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. If you heard the story from my dear wife Chelly and think I wouldn't do something like this...then your dead wrong." and prepares a surprise for her and pulls out his pouch, removing the cork on a string, then takes a big mouthful before dropping the empty pouch to the ground.

Gibbs sees his pouch fall to the ground and shakes his head with a sigh saying, "I was wondering where that went..."

Cadance is taken by surprise when he presses his lips to hers, holding her there by the back of her head, and uses her hands to try to beat him off of her when his other hand forces her jaw down as a liquid starts to enter her mouth. His tongue then enters her mouth, angering her further as she hits him harder while she is forced to swallow the beverage. When he finally breaks the kiss, she gasps for breath with a blush on her cheeks and shouts, "HOW DARE YOU! Just what did you make me drink?!" and returns to beating on him with her fists.

Jack endures the assault with a chuckle, unable to feel the pain from her dainty little fists saying, "That was just rum, my dear, no need to get upset over a little kiss."

She then glares daggers at the pirate that just kissed her and shrieks, "That was NOT a little kiss! You have just created a problem in my marriage to my loving husband!"

He rolls his eyes at her and says, "Oh would you quiet down, it's not like you didn't enjoy it you know? You kissed back too, even if just a little."

Celestia glares at the exchange between them and clears her throat while her mane starts to smolder saying in a poisonous, sickly sweet voice, "Excuse me you two, but could we get back to the matter at hand?" She then hears something fall to the ground and looks down to see a tombstone near them reading: 'Here lies Discord. Did many foul deeds in his life, but was reformed and made a few friends in his final years. He laughed himself to death, remember him fondly.' and rolls her eyes saying, "Discord, stop clowning around already, you are immortal just like Cadance, Luna, and I."

An arm emerges from the tombstone and snaps its fingers, transforming itself back into Discord as he stands there with a giant smile on his face saying, "I knew some of you would miss me."

Jack grins as Cadance turns away and gives him the shoulder, shrugging and saying, "If he truly loves you, he will forgive you and just blame me. I'm used to being blamed for things like that." while she lifts her nose into the air, huffing indignantly while crossing her arms in front of her. He then squats down and picks up the pouch and tosses it to his first mate saying, "Sorry about borrowing that mate, but I just had a feeling I should bring as much rum as my pockets could carry before we make our way back to the vault."

Gibbs then catches it and puts it away with a smile saying, "That's quite alright, cap'n, now what shall we do?"

The captain looks at Gibbs and his crew saying, "Now lads...we take a journey towards the castle ruins where Barbossa waits for us."

The solar princess then says, "It will take us hours to reach the castle on hoof, wouldn't it be better to just teleport there?"

Jack nods saying, "It would be better, however, I intend for the crew and I to enjoy it the slow way."

She sighs and complains saying, "But it will be night in a few hours and you know ponies can't see that well in the dark."

He then grins as she doesn't catch his meaning and says, "Yes, and I hope there won't be a cloud in the sky as we enjoy our final moonlight walk as cursed beings."

Luna rolls her eyes as she understands why he is doing this and sighs saying, "Fear not the dark, for the moon shall be bright and full to illuminate our surroundings."

Jack then pulls out his compass and sees it pointing to the west and a bit north saying, "Let's be on our way then, Hector awaits for our arrival."

As they walk through the forest for several hours, the sun stretches towards the horizon, heralding night's impending arrival. Tired and weary from the walking, Luna looks at Jack and says, "Jack, do you think that we could rest for a bit and take a brief nap? Our hooves are killing us from this extensive walking."

He looks at the others and nods his head saying, "Go right ahead, being cursed grants us unending stamina, though it does get boring after a long while."

Applejack looks to Rarity and asks, "Rarity, do you think that you could clean the area up so that we could get some rest?" She then looks at Starlight and asks, "Starlight, would you mind preparing a campfire so ah can cook us some grub after gathering some wood?"

Rarity then smiles and nods her head saying, "Of course I can, just give me a few moments." then begins to grab stones and sets them in a pile and prepares the area to put down some sleeping bags.

Starlight then works on making a pit for a campfire so Applejack can cook and turns to Jack and asks, "So Captain Sparrow, would you mind telling us where you came from?"

Chapter 35: Lifting curses

Jack looks at Starlight and chuckles saying, "Well, the world I came from was called Earth instead of Equus, and there were many continents ruled by many different nations. I was wanted dead or alive by most of them for piracy, and it is far more advanced in warfare than your world is. Though your world has magic and harmony, where we came from has neither which results in no big loss as they were just fine with hating other nations because it is their way of life." He then goes on to tell them more about the ponies of his old world and the different nations in it.

Applejack returns to the campground to hear how three different nations are at odds in a different world and says, "Wow, what did ah miss?"

Twilight stops taking notes for a moment to look at Applejack and says, "The captain was just telling us about where he and his crew are from."

As they continue working while listening to him talk about his world, he then looks at them and says, "I will tell you about my life there when I came to find myself here once we resume traveling."

---

After three hours pass, the group are on their way toward the castle ruins with Jack leading the way. As he walks through the Hayseed Swamps, he and a few of his crew spend a half hour fighting a hydra that tries to attack them, causing Fluttershy to shed tears for the poor beast.

Jack leads the group through the swamp for what seems to go on and on, he sees a break in the tree line up ahead and says, "We are nearly through this bloody swamp, shake a leg."

Rarity sighs dramatically and says, "It is about time, I am getting sick of these annoying bloodsucking pests trying endlessly to get a meal out of me!"

He then smells himself and asks in wonder, "Well they haven't been bothering me, how about you, Gibbs, Ragetti?"

Gibbs shakes his head and says, "Not a one cap'n, how peculiar."

Ragetti then shakes his head saying, "No captain, perhaps it might be because we're cursed?"

The fashionista continues breathing through her mouth and says, "It's hard to say, though it might be because you smell positively horrid."

Jack then blinks at her and says, "Well, trifles then because we can't help that until we rid ourselves of it."

They finally make it through the swamp and start making their way across a dry, grassy plain as Applejack sees a tiny settlement in the distance and says, "Up ahead is Dodge City, which is a few miles away from Appleloosa where a few of my relatives live. Since you are related to us apples, perhaps you could come to our next Apple Family Reunion next year?"

He continues walking and glances over his shoulder and says, "I will certainly consider it."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jquJLs0wdFk

As the sun finally reaches the horizon, the group stops so Celestia and Luna can lower the sun and raise the moon as Gibbs sighs happily saying, "Here it comes lads."

Jack watches the moon as it crawls over the horizon and into the sky, looking down at his hands in the light and saying to the group, "The moon is finally out lads, though its light is not quite strong enough yet. Let's enjoy our trip to the ruins as it continues its journey across the sky."

Everyone in the group except for Cadance and Starlight shares curious glances with each other as they steal looks at the Black Pearl's crew, wondering what they look like in the moonlight. As the moon rises higher into the sky while they walk, the moonlight finally is strong enough to show the crew for what they are. When they see what the crew looks like in the moonlight, Rarity is the first to react at how a few of them look in their cursed state, saying, "EEWW, I can't wait until that curse is gone from each one of them, that is enough to give anypony nightmares for years!"

Curious, Rainbow walks up to one of the pirates and sticks her hand through the hollow space below the ribcage as bits of flesh and fabric sway back and forth. While they walk, she wiggles her fingers around with a chuckle saying, "Yeah, they do look pretty nasty, but it is weird how the moonlight transforms them into this."

Celestia looks at the crew with sympathy and says, "That is because the moonlight is pure, and the curse was placed on that chest a great many years ago by the gods of a human tribe after a bloodthirsty warrior called Hernan Cortez. That gold was paid to him by the Aztec people to stop his slaughter, but he took it and continued. Therefore, the gods they worshipped put a terrible curse on the gold. Should you take but a single piece from the chest, you will be cursed as they are for an eternity until the price is paid with blood."

Fluttershy trembles in her hooves and squeaks out frightfully, "Y-You mean they're going to sacrifice us!?!"

Jack turns his head to look at her saying, "Of course not, love. We won't be needing your blood..." To distract them, he begins to tell him his story and begins with his days as a young boy.

Several hours later, at the ruined castle

Hector is playing with his magic and summons a ball of blue fire in his skeletal hands, using his mind to control and shape the flame into the shape of Celestia's little sister once more and sighs saying up to the moon sitting high in the sky, "Just when might my time and suffering here come to an end, hmm?" when he starts to hear echoes filter in from the distance and grins saying with a dark chuckle at the end, "So, those curious ponies have come back to search the castle again... Time to put on a little show to scare them out of their wits." and makes his way to the right door as the left is cracked open, then looks outside for the visitors.

He is shocked to see Jack on the other side of the ravine a fair distance from the bridge walking toward it with the others, accompanied by several ponies including Celestia. Deciding to play with them a bit, he begins focusing his magic into his hands and begins casting an illusory barrier trap spell. He focuses on the ravine and casts the spell, creating the trigger and placing it at the beginning of the bridge.

Jack makes his way toward the bridge, eager to return to normal already, saying, "After this, I look forward to enjoying myself some rum."

Celestia then looks at him and says, "That would be nice, but I doubt there is any more of that vintage anywhere in Equus."

He then looks at her and smirks saying, "Oh I might know where some is..."

She then looks at him with wide, shock-filled eyes and asks desperately, "Really?!? Where?"

Jack chuckles and faces forward saying, "You shall see, love, you shall see." He then steps onto the bridge and stops when he hears a deep booming voice say, "Dead men tell no tales..." followed by blue flames erupting from the bottom of the ravine and frantically tries to put them out saying, "Hot hot hot, it's burning me!"

Celestia quickly uses her magic to yank her husband towards her to help put out the flames when she hears a deep cackling laughter coming from the castle and says angrily, "Hector, that was really mean for you to do that to your captain!"

Barbossa moves to the edge of the cracked open door and pushes it wide open, chuckling darkly while saying, "Fear not, missy, for it was only a joke. I wonder though, is that fire actually real?"

Starlight then checks out the fire with her magic and groans saying, "So it was an illusion to start with..."

The captain blushes in embarrassment as he quickly says, "Of course it was, I knew that all along!"

Applejack walks up to him with a knowing grin saying, "Oh you did, did you? Then why did you shout about it being hot and burning you?" earning a snicker from Pinkie and Rainbow.

Jack then hastily turns and walks onto the bridge saying, "I was playing along with his joke, now let's go on inside and be done with this curse nonsense."

Celestia then watches as Hector ends the spell with a flick of his wrists and asks, "How did you learn to cast magic, Hector?"

Hector grins and steps into the moonlight saying, "When you have all the time in the world, you find things to entertain yourself with. Those mana-infused drinks also played a part in me gaining the ability, which means I can even do this..." and summons forth a blue ball of fire to hit Jack in the face with, then hurls it at him with all his strength.

He watches as the ball flies toward him and strikes him in the chest, sending him back across the bridge and landing on his back with a cough saying, "Oi, what was that for mate!?" while getting back up to his feet and returning his hat to his head.

Barbossa points a skeletal finger at Jack and says, "That was for taking so long to return." He then waits for him to return to his feet before hurling another at him.

Jack is once again knocked onto his back, coughing and sits upright throwing his hands into the air briefly shouting, "OI, what did I do to deserve that?"

He shrugs his shoulders and says, "I don't know, but it just felt right. Now come on, we have a curse to end and a bargain to be upheld."

Discord chuckles at how funny it was seeing Captain Sparrow being knocked flat on his back saying quietly to himself as he floats above the group, "Oh I am just enjoying all of this lovely chaos that tends to follow the captain around."

As the group head inside the ruined castle, Jack follows behind Hector and asks, "So how have you managed to maintain your sanity after being stuck here all these years?"

Hector continues walking through the room towards the corridor and says, "Well Celestia's visited me every once in awhile, but in between visits, I kept myself busy by exploring the castle, and reading the books. I know every nook and cranny of this castle" and looks over his shoulder at Celestia continuing without missing a beat, "I've even found Celestia's playrooms when she was young and when she grew up. There are quite a few interesting things in her later years' playroom though, perhaps I could show it to you after lifting this damnable curse."

Celestia's face flushes crimson with embarrassment when everyone's turn to her with questioning expressions, including her sister. She then turns her gaze to Barbossa in embarrassment and says in a slightly higher pitch than usual and says, "I was a much younger alicorn then, so naturally I would try to experience new things."

Barbossa chuckles and looks forward with a dastardly grin saying, "Trying out new things when young are all well and good, but some of them were rather...well used. So I would say you once had some rather peculiar tastes for a royal...or perhaps you still have them?"

The imaginary sound of nails being driven into a coffin lid reaches Celestia's ears as her face slowly turns a deeper red as she starts to sweat nervously and tries to save face saying in a stammer, "I ha-have no i-idea what you are talking about, Hector."

Knowing she is lying is good enough for him so he changes the subject a little and says, "Anyways, "After I found a book about magic spells, I kept looking for books that might teach one how to use it. I managed to find one after a few weeks worth of looking through tomes, and when I read through it, I found it quite helpful as it gave me enough information about what magic is and how one can channel it. At first, I had no idea what I was actually supposed to channel, but I learned about certain tools that can detect mana potential in one's body. I searched every inch of the castle and found a box containing an orb with a note inside, I read the note in the box and found out that it won't illuminate if one has no mana at all, which the note said was impossible because all ponies had some sort of mana in them. I thought learning magic was out of my reach until I found that mana-infused liquor in the cellar, and I drank one of the bottles. Shortly after, I felt as if I had just awoken from a refreshing nap, however, my body felt as if it was starving for air and trying to breathe in as much as it wanted. That feeling went away after a few days, so I think what happened was that after my body absorbed a little bit of mana, my ability to use magic awakened."

Celestia looks at Barbossa with wide eyes and asks, "You drank that?!? Surely it must have gone rancid after being down there for who knows how many years!"

Hector chuckles and says, "I didn't even notice because of the curse, but all of it is gone now. Anyhow, as I was saying..." but is interrupted by Twilight.

Twilight cocks her head curiously and asks with great interest, "Oh? If that is true, I would love to do some non-invasive research about that if any of your crew would care to help me with that, Captain Sparrow?"

Jack looks at the curious pony and says, "Well, once we deal with this curse nonsense and sail to the nearest harbor with a drydock big enough to hold the Pearl and make repairs, the choice remains with them as I intend to take a break from the seas for a little while." As he thinks about that, another issue comes to his mind and looks at his wife asking, "Dear, might it be possible to come up with a way for several people to keep in contact with each other over long distances if they travel?"

The white princess thinks about that for a moment and sighs saying, "Baltimare has made changes to their harbor over the years, so the only one I can think of is in the city that you recently attacked..." then looks off to the side to think it over and says, "Oh, I know a couple of ponies that could try to come up with something." looking at Starlight and Twilight finishing, "How about it Starlight and Twilight, would you two be interested in working on that project for my husband's crew while the Pearl is getting repairs?"

Starlight looks at Twilight, who has a big grin on her face, and looks back at her nodding rapidly. With a chuckle, she looks back with a smile saying, "We would be delighted to do that."

Barbossa looks at them all, rolling his eyes and huffing in annoyance saying, "Since you all have got that out of the way, can I resume my story, hmm?"

Twilight and Celestia smile sheepishly as Jack says, "Apologies, mate, go right ahead."

He then turns around with an annoyed huff and continues down the corridor as the hidden passage is coming up saying, "Even though it took me a few decades, I finally managed to learn how to pick something up by channeling my magic through my hands. As I learned more about my newfound magic ability, I began to try the more destructive ones in the ravine below. After a century or so went past, Celestia stopped coming to visit me. So I had to make do with my magic and the books in the library. I got even with ya for that though just now by bringing up that room, so we're square."

Jack follows him to the room as he activates the mechanism and walks into the corridor, then pulls a tri-bladed key from around his neck and hears him unlock the inner door saying, "This has been a long time a coming..."

The captain then looks over his shoulder and says to the others, "Beware of the small square stones on the floor, or you will find yourself in the dungeon." and follows him into the room, revealing the still-uncovered and unshielded treasure saying with a pleased sigh, "Just as we left you..." and steps into the room, looking around to find the three barrels of rum resting against the wall, one of which was empty, saying, "Not as we left you..." then looks at Barbossa and asks, "Oi, did you do that or was someone else here besides you?"

Hector looks at the barrels and says, "Aye, that I did. I enjoyed one while I could still taste it, the other two are untouched and should be even better now."

Jack walks to the back side of the chest and says, "Alright, members of the crew stand in a circle around the chest, be sure to stay out of the moonlight surrounding the chest. My dear wife, since you had taken our coins from us, you shall stand in the circle with us on my left. You will then take the dagger from the chest and cut your right hand, then pass it to me. After I cut my hand and pass it on, I will hand the bag to you to hand them out to each of us with your right hand. After everyone has cut their hands, return the dagger to the chest. Once the coins are handed out, Barbossa will hand you his coin, then you will apply your blood to it and wait." He then looks to the crew and says, "My wife is the start of the line and the end, so when Hector's coin is handed to her, we each toss our coins in while saying the words begun by blood, by blood undone together and hope it lifts our curse."

Celestia then nods her head saying, "Alright my love." and makes her way beside him as Hector stands to her left while Gibbs stands to Jack's right. She then walks forth and grabs the dagger from inside the chest while the group of ponies stands around the room, watching curiously while Discord floats near the corner, still snacking on popcorn and drinking soda. She then returns to her spot and faces the chest with the knife in her left hand, then turns her right hand over and slices into the palm. She then hands the dagger to her husband with her left and watches as he then slices into his palm, wiping the blade off on his sleeve before handing it to Gibbs.

Jack then uses his left to pull the bag of coins out and sets it into the upturned palm of her bleeding right hand saying, "Here you go love, a little while longer and we all will be free."

Equis watches from her cave as Celestia makes her way around the circle, passing a coin to each pirate's bleeding hand with her left hand and says, "Only a little while longer until my part of the deal comes up..."

Barbossa watches as Celestia pulls the last coin from the bag and puts it into Ragetti's right hand and pulls his coin out of his pocket and sets it into his right palm, then grabs the empty bag from her hand and quickly tucks it away before making a fist. He then moves his fist over her upturned palm and turns his over saying, "Let us be done with it then..." and dumps his coin into her hand and returns his hand to his side to wait for the signal to speak the words.

The captain watches as Celestia returns to her spot and looks at everyone in the circle saying, "Are we all ready then?"

Everyone in the circle nods their heads, each saying, "Aye."

Jack then nods his head saying, "Alright then, make a fist lads." and waits for them to do that before saying, "Together now, lads." He then pauses to take a breath before raising his fist up to signal them to toss their coins in, then lowers it and tosses his coin in first.

Everyone in the circle tosses their coins into the chest, following along with the captain and saying slowly, "Begun by blood, by blood undone."

A chilly, midnight breeze makes its way into the castle, traveling through the empty corridors and into the vault. It swirls around the room for a few moments around the crew, tossing their clothes and hair around playfully as it dances around the circle when one of them saying, "It's right chilly in here, ain't it Pin?"

Pintel then rubs his hands against his arms saying, "Aye it..." Then looks at him with an overjoyed expression on his face saying cheerfully, "HEY IT WORKED!"

Barbossa sighs and then breathes in deeply, saying, "It has indeed. Some of you really need to bathe, it smells quite foul down here."

Jack chuckles and nods his head saying, "Aye mate, and I am certainly one of them. Though first, I think that a momentous occasion such as this deserves a party...a pirate party."

He then smiles and says, "Aye, that be true! Some of you kack-handed deck apes bring those two barrels of rum to the entry room!"

Pinkie Pie jumps with glee and shouts, "I'LLHANDLETHEDECORATIONS!!" then vanishes in a puff of smoke to begin decorating the destroyed room.

As they all make their way back, Jack and Barbossa return the lid to its place on the chest before stepping away from it. Jack then looks to his wife and asks, "If you would, please restore the shield for us, dear?"

Luna then says in a soft, sweet voice, "Allow me." and casts the spell to reactivate the barrier.

Jack turns to see Princess Luna standing near the door and quickly moves to stand in front of her with his back to her, then looks at Hector saying, "Hector, please allow me to fulfill our deal now. Allow me to introduce you..." then steps aside quickly while gesturing dramatically to the princess behind him and continues, "To Princess Luna, my dear Chelly's sister." He then turns to look at the princess and says, "I do hope you two get along, Hector has waited so long for the chance to finally meet you."

Celestia stares at her husband and then glares at him and angrily shrieks, "WAIT A MOMENT, ARE YOU TRYING TO PLAY MATCHMAKER WITH MY SISTER!"

Hector then hears a cannon go off and draws his sword, shouting, "To arms, we be under attack!"

Luna then giggles softly and shakes her head saying, "Do not worry Hector, we are not. That is just Pinkie Pie using her party cannon."

He then looks at her with a strange look and asks in confusion, "What's a party cannon?"

She continues smiling and says, "It is a cannon that Pinkie Pie uses to decorate for parties, it doesn't cause harm to any ponies."

Jack then looks at her and cocks his head saying, "Really? Quite a strange use for a cannon if you ask me."

A half-hour later, Celestia, Jack, Hector, and Luna make their way to the front room to see it filled with tables loaded with pies, chips, cake, and other dishes along with punch as Jack hears no music playing and calls out, "It's far too quiet in here, might any of you happen to have a Hurdy Gurdy and someone to play it?"

Barbossa looks around the room, taking notice of a basket full of apples by one of the tables, and walks over to it. He reaches into it and pulls out a green apple, raises it up to his mouth and takes a bite out of it. As he tastes the tart flavor of the apple, he savors the taste of it until it is gone saying, "Even the apples taste better here!" earning a few laughs from the crew as they understand his meaning.

The captain looks at Pinkie and sees her digging at her mane and asks, "Have an itch you can't scratch love?"

Pinkie Pie giggle snorts at that and smiles saying, "Of course not, I'm trying to find where I put that instrument you asked for silly!" Finding it a few moments later, she says, "AHA, here it is!" and pulls it out of her mane, then heads to a chair to play it.

Jack stares at the strange, pink pony like she just grew a second head and asks, "How did she just do..." but then hears someone talking beside him and sees that it is one of the ponies.

Twilight chuckles warmly and says, "That is just how Pinkie Pie is, completely random and unpredictable. Don't question it too much or you might drive yourself crazy trying to understand her as I once did."

A few hours pass by as Barbossa talks with Luna, trying to get to know her more and says, "I was there when I saw you reappear in that room up there, you sure have matured quickly for being so young." and takes another bite of his apple.

Luna smiles and says, "Oh you were? I didn't notice but I did hear what you said though, and for a moment I thought that our old castle had become haunted."

He finishes chewing and swallows before saying, "Nay missy, that was just me. There are no ghosts here but bad memories, it's best to leave them in the past and learn from our past mistakes, hmm?"

She smiles at hearing that, finding herself enjoying his company and starts warming up to him saying, "You are correct and wise, but I am not as young as I seem to be. I am just a few years younger than my sister, it was my state of emotions that had left me looking so small."

Barbossa smiles and flirts with her saying, "Well if that is the case, you certainly look far more youthful for that. In my opinion, younger females are all well and good, but a woman that has been around a bit is far more enjoyable."

Cadance watches the two from across the room, nomming on an apple pastry as a slow grin crosses her face and thinks, 'It looks like a new bond is forming between those two, I wonder how it will turn out with them...'

Celestia notices Cadance looking at something with a great deal of interest and walks over to her, asking, "What is it that has your eye, Cadance?" and starts to glance around the room.

She looks to her aunt and smiles saying, "Oh I was just looking at Luna talking with Hector, she has already started to warm up to him. I think they would make a great couple, wouldn't you?"

The princess looks at her sister and huffs in annoyance, then takes a drink of her tankard of rum and groans softly saying, "As much as I would hate to admit it, they do look good together. My husband is responsible for that because this must have been what he was plotting behind my back."

Cadance giggles at hearing that and says, "Oh cheer up auntie, aren't you happy that your sister is taking a liking to somepony, or rather...some one? Now she will get to experience everything that you have had with Jack." She then grins and decides to needle her a bit and says conspiratorially, "I would like to hear more about this secret room you have here in the castle." earning her a fierce blush from her aunt.

As the party wears on, the music comes to an end as Pinkie puts away the Hurdy Gurdy to let people talk when she spots a blindingly pure-white pony with no features to be seen and beams a wide smile before rushing over to her and giving her a warm hug shouting, "Equis, you made it! I was really worried that you would miss the happy uncursing party."

Equis hugs her back saying, "I wouldn't miss this party for anything, and I'm sorry that I can't attend your parties, but I do watch them and enjoy every moment of each of them."

She smiles widely and says, "That's okay, I know that you can't leave your hidden plane inside the cave where the tree of harmony is, but I am overjoyed that you got to come to at least one of my parties even if it wasn't to see me."

Celestia sees the same, blindingly-white featureless pony from her wedding and gasps saying, "You..." She then subconsciously starts making her way over to her, having so many questions for her saying, "Who are you, and how are you related to me?"

The spirit looks at her distant relative with a smile saying, "I am Equis, the guardian spirit of this world, dear Celestia. You and Luna are both related to me by blood because I was the one who gave birth to you many years ago, I am proud of how well you two have done in your lives through the hardships dealt to you. I would like to chat more, but my time here is limited as I must return to my dimension in a few minutes." She then looks at Jack and makes her way toward him slowly, saying, "Jack Sparrow, I am not pleased with you kissing our daughter like that, but then again, you didn't know so I can't put all the blame on you."

Everypony's mouths are agape and staring between Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Jack, and Equis as Pinkie jumps up into the air in shock screaming, "WAIT, WHAAAATTT!" as her mane and tail explode, sending confetti everywhere.

Barbossa then looks at Jack with an irritated glare saying, "I was wondering why it felt so good to hit you with those fireballs...you scoundrel."

Jack looks at Cadance and then at Equis with a floored expression on his face and says, "Wait...how is that possible?" He then remembers her saying that Celestia and Luna were also her daughters, making his eyes shrink to pinpricks as he looks at her and squeaks out, "EH!?" and begins to blink several times, trying to make sense of it all.

Equis looks at him and sighs saying, "Do you remember when you stole a kiss from me? Well, you know how normal mares go through a seasonal cycle? It works quite differently for me, I go through a cycle every few centuries. I won't tell you how it works in detail, but since I'm a spirit, my body goes through different changes than a normal mare does. So each time some pony or creature kisses me, my body absorbs a bit of their DNA to create a new life within me." She then heads over to Cadance and gives her a big hug saying, "It is so good to be able to hold you again, my darling daughter. I am proud of you for freeing your father and his crew from their curse, now that I can finally fulfill my part of the bargain we made oh-so-long ago."

Cadance's eyes start to water at hearing she found her mother and hugs her back while her tears spill from her eyes saying through sobs, "I-I have a m-mother..." and nuzzles into her happily saying, "I'm so happy to finally meet you, mommy."

A few tears slip down Equis's face as she nuzzles her daughter back and says, "Yes, sweetie, mommy is happy too."

After a few touching moments, Discord watches gleefully as Equis parts from her hug with her newly revealed daughter, softly saying, "Oh this chaos is just so delectable, I'm going to enjoy this for many years to come!" and continues to hork out on popcorn and soda.

Jack jerks as Equis stands before him and slaps him across the face saying, "OI, why did you slap me?" while rubbing his cheek.

Equis chuckles menacingly, saying, "Well, I have to punish you somehow for kissing our daughter like that..."

He then thinks about it and grumbles, then begrudgingly agrees with her saying, "I guess I did kind of deserve that, now what about my reward?"

She then sighs in annoyance and says, "Have a little patience, would you pirate? I look after a world, so I don't get out that often, and I tend to want to enjoy it when I can." Feeling that her free time is ending soon, she then sighs and says, "You are right though, a deal is a deal, so come here and embrace me for a moment."

Jack steps forward and wraps his arms around her in a soothing embrace as a floating mist starts to flow out from her and watches it curiously for a few moments when it floats towards the crew. He is about to ask about it until he starts to feel something making his body seem stronger.

Equis channels her magic into her spell to include Barbossa in her deal as well for her daughter's sake, making them both return to their prime years and says, "As agreed, Jack, I shall now extend your life so that you age like an Alicorn does." then looks at Barbossa and says, "I have included you in the deal as well, Hector for your part in Jack's scheme." She then addresses the rest of the crew saying, "As for the rest of the crew who joined Jack on his journey through the curse, I cannot make you live longer, but I can return you to your prime as I have them. And for the ponies that helped bring this plan to the end, I shall cast a blessing on you so that you have good fortune in life."

As the spirit makes Jack and Barbossa's lives longer, she then moves on to the others and grants them their reward as well. After it is all finished, she breathes heavily from exertion and says, "It is done, our deal is complete. I must take my leave of you all now, but first I will hug my other two daughters." She then parts from her hug with Jack and holds her arms out invitingly saying, "Come here Celestia and Luna, give mommy a hug before she returns to watching over you all."

Celestia and Luna hurry over to her and give her both a hug, shedding a few silent tears from the joy of meeting their mother for the first or second time as Celestia says, "I still can't believe you were there to give me away at my wedding, I'm so happy that you were there to do that for me."

Luna then quietly asks, "Would you do the same for me if I ever decide to marry?"

Equis smiles and rubs Luna's head affectionately, saying, "Of course I will be there for you too, Luna." She then speaks up so that Cadance can hear her as well saying, "I look forward to how many grandchildren you three can give me before your ability to produce children goes away."

Celestia, Luna, and Cadance all look at each other with grins on their faces as Luna says, "I shall need some time to find my special somepony and tie the knot with them, and have my first foal." and says in a conspiratorial tone "After that...let the competition begin, sisters."

She then parts from her hug with Celestia and Luna, then looks at Jack saying, "Jack, I am sorry for what happened to Summer Poppet, I have faith that you will find a way to free her from her stony prison. I also look forward to the family she will raise someday." and starts walking away looking over her shoulder as she slowly begins to disappear saying with a chuckle, "Enjoy your extended life, Jack, for who knows how long they will be peaceful..."

Jack then raises his hands his mouth and calls after her, "OI, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!? OI!...OI!" and sighs as she doesn't answer and fades away completely. He then groans in irritation grumbling, "That spirit is troubling, always leaves me with questions."

Chapter 36: Secret plots (Edited 1/15/2023)

After the party continues to wind down, proper introductions are made as they meet each other formally. As Luna and Barbossa get closer, Celestia and Jack are patching things up between them after their rough patch. Eventually, Jack has to hide the last bit of rum so that he can take it to someone to try to make more of it and sighs saying, "I wish there was a way to get the rum that was made in the old days..."

Starlight hears him say that and remembers how she worked on one of Starswirl's spells to go back in time and thinks, 'I wonder if I could make some alterations to it to allow me to go further back in time to get some...' when she is interrupted by someone asking her a question and turns to see who it was that asked it when she finds Jack looking at her curiously, asking, "Sorry, I was lost in thought, what did you ask me, Captain Sparrow?"

Jack chuckles and says, "I noticed an intense look on your face, so I asked what you had on your mind. So, what is it, love? Wondering if you wanted to kiss me again?"

She blushes fiercely at hearing that and shakes her head saying, "NO!" then clears her voice saying in a quieter manner, "I mean, no, I wasn't thinking that. I was wondering if I could alter a spell formula to travel far enough back in time to acquire some of that rum that you and Princess Celestia keep mentioning."

An idea pops into his head and he says, "Well love, why don't you take some time and look into it? Speaking of looking into things, I'd like to reveal something to you...come with me." and heads away from the group toward the passage that leads to the vault.

Starlight follows him, silently hoping that he doesn't confess his love to her. As he makes his way through the castle's passages, he has to use his shoulder to force open one of the doors, grumbling, "This bloody door opened so easily 400 years ago..."

Jack finally shoulders the door open and rubs his shoulder saying, "That bloody hurt. Come on, the old library should be just up ahead a bit."

It takes five minutes of wrong turns and dead ends until they finally get to the proper door as Starlight says, "Let me get this door for you, it looks pretty well-rusted shut. Let's see if that spell I learned from my mentor, Twilight will help with this." She then channels magic into her horn and focuses it on the hinges, hoping that her corrosion reversal spell works.

He watches in awe as the hinges slowly return to a much newer state, having a shiny, greyish look to them as he then says, "If magic can do that, I definitely must find some mana-infused drink somewhere."

She then focuses on the door handle and latch mechanisms saying, "Well I am not sure, but perhaps Princess Celestia or Princess Luna might know something about it." and finishes her spell, looking at the pristine blued iron door knob with a smile on her face saying, "There we go, all done. Now you can show me wha..." but is cut off by Jack suddenly grabbing her face and turning her toward him. She sees him move toward her and says, "Don't kiss me, you don't have to kiss me for fixing the door Ja..."

Jack's lips land on hers and cut her off, then starts to kiss her deeply. After a little bit, she stops fighting him and starts to grab his coat, trying to pull him closer to her as she kisses back eagerly.

Starlight feels Jack push her up against the wall, pressing his body against hers and surrenders to the passionate kiss while saying to herself, 'Oh...why does this pirate have to be such a good kisser? Bloody pirate! I hope that Celestia can forgive me and Jack for this...'

He feels her wrap her legs around him and pulls away, stopping the heated kiss, and says, "Sorry for doing this to you love, but we can't go any further without Celestia's permission." and sets her back on the ground with an apology in his eyes.

She breathes in huffs, attempting to catch her breath as her body is heated up and wants more, saying in a frustrated tone, "First you kiss me like you are desperate for oxygen and steal my breath away, then you get me all hot and bothered and leave me like this?!?" She then exclaims in a growl, "UGH...BLOODY PIRATES!" then angrily opens the door and stomps inside in a tiff shouting, "WHAT WAS IT YOU WANTED TO SHOW ME IN HERE!?"

Jack heads into the room and tries to remember where that one book was and pulls out his compass and opens it saying, "Help me out here mate...show me where that book was." and watches the arrow as it turns to point at Starlight and whacks it with the palm of his left hand saying, "OI, the book first, loins later." He nods in approval as the needle moves to the bookcase saying, "Thank you, mate. I am so grateful that I bartered you from Tia Dalma all those years ago..." and closes his compass and puts it away before heading to the bookcase it pointed to and starting to read through the titles. He then pulls one out saying, "Aha, here it is." and starts walking toward a sexually frustrated Starlight saying, "Here you go love, hopefully, this will distract you from your present state." and holds the book out to her.

Starlight huffs in annoyance as she looks at the book for a moment, seeing the title as it reads 'Thoughts and Conjecture' and takes it from him, then starts to read through it when she eventually finds an interesting passage and gasps saying, "Wait, this is the final clue that explains everything. So this is why you had to make such an elaborate plan and keep it from her because Princess Celestia wouldn't let you do it if she knew you had to do such bad things to pony towns." She then looks up at him to see a sad and happy smile wrestling for a position on his face.

He then lets out a sad sigh and nods his head saying, "Aye, that it is love. In order to bring back one of such power as Princess Luna, I had to put two towns to the torch and kill many innocent ponies that lived there. In all truth, my plan didn't really develop that early. I first had to learn as much as I could about Luna and her abilities." he then heads for the door saying, "Come love, it is up to you if you want to deliver the final clue to them or not."

She looks down at the book for several minutes, trying to decide what to do. Making her decision, she sighs and opens her personal storage space, then puts it inside saying, "As much as I would love to help them understand everything, I think that it would just do more harm than good. It is enough for me to know why you did what you did, but I will tell them if it is vital for their sanity as it was mine. I think that my mentor may be such a case, though I'm not sure if Cadance might be. Are you okay with my choice, Captain Sparrow?"

Glad that the distraction worked, he smiles and nods his head saying, "I'm fine with whatever you choose to do with the knowledge, love. I'm just glad that you aren't furious with me anymore."

Her frustration returns full force at hearing that and she remembers who caused it and huffs while stomping away saying, "Don't get your hopes up about that, you bloody pirate."

Jack leaves the hall and feels small, cold fingers tease the back of his neck and turns around when he hears a feminine giggle behind him and says, "Who's there?"

The female presence circles behind him again and runs her chilly fingers up his neck and giggles again as he spins around, trying to catch her and freezes him in place with ice while wrapping her arms around his shoulders saying in a bare whisper, sounding like a light echoing wail, "It's been so long Jack, go to her...she waits!" and takes her arms off of him, then rushes past him to return to her host.

For a split second, the voice sounded like Elizabeth's voice but shakes his head saying, "No, it's not possible because she is living a happy life with Will on some island, so why would she be here?" He then continues to head down the hall to return to the party as it slowly comes to an end.

Celestia watches Starlight walk toward a table with some punch in a bowl sitting on top of it, stomping her hooves in frustration as her face is flushed, but agitated. Making her way over to her with a knowing sigh, she asks her, "What is wrong Starlight, did Jack do something to upset you?"

She groans in agitation as she says, "He is just so frustrating, you know? He said he wanted to show me something in the old library, but he fooled me by kissing me like he was desperate to breathe. Then, when I gave into the kiss and started to...well...you know..."

She lets out a long sigh and nods her head asking for confirmation, "You really got into it and wanted even more, right?"

Starlight nods her head and then hangs it, looking down at the floor saying, "He then stopped before we could go any further and left me that way, claiming that we couldn't go any further without permission from you. So I stormed off after he said that, agitated that he would leave me in such a state that he caused."

Celestia pulls Starlight in for a hug saying, "Oh my little pony, I did try to warn Jack about what he did with a mare many years ago. It seems he has forgotten about it..." She then looks down at her and asks softly, "So tell me, Starlight, do you have thoughts of hearing the pitter-patter of tiny hooves on the ground in your current state?"

She then blushes and looks up at the princess with shock in her eyes and a blush on her cheeks, saying in an embarrassed tone, "I-It's all that my mind can think about! How do I get rid of this feeling, Princess Celestia?"

The princess chuckles and says, "It won't go away, unfortunately, but if you want to make the most of it and get even with that pirate, I can offer you some advice."

Enticed by her offer, Starlight then blinks a few times while thinking it over and finally says, "What do I have to do?"

Celestia smiles and then lowers her head to her ear and whispers, "I will teleport us into the dungeon so I can share my thoughts with you about that." she then channels magic into her horn for the spell and casts it, taking the two of them to the dark, lightless dungeon.

She looks around the dark space, unable to see any details saying, "I can't see anything at all, Princess Celestia, it's so dark in here."

The princess chuckles and looks at the unlit torches saying, "Allow me to fix that, give me just a moment." and uses her horn to ignite a few of the snuffed-out torches, saying, "There we go, now you will be able to see."

Starlight looks around in shock at the rusty manacles on the walls and gasps, shrieking out, "DO Y-YOU WANT ME TO LOCK HIM UP DOWN HERE FOR WHAT HE DID TO ME?!?"

Celestia chuckles with amusement and says, "Not for long...but yes. You see, this is what I have in mind for your revenge..." and then whispers it into her ear.

She gasps again and says, "B-But I can't do that...you are married to the Captain!"

The princess chuckles darkly and walks along the wall, feeling her fingers running over the old manacles hanging from the walls saying, "That is true, we are married..." and turns her head to look at her with a sly grin, continuing, "However, we are married under Herd law of Marriage. Even though it has been a few centuries, I do believe that the law is still in effect... You may have to ask Twilight if she read about it being dismissed."

Starlight stares at the princess agape, not sure what to feel at hearing this come from her own lips and says, "B-But P-Princess Celestia, I..." but is stopped by the princess putting her finger over her lips and silencing her.

Celestia holds her finger over her lips and says, "Please feel free to call me just Celestia when we aren't in a formal setting, Starlight dear." She then looks away with a slight blush on her cheeks and says in an abashed tone, "Did you know that when I was younger, the stallions I would lock up down here on occasion gave me a nickname?" and looks at Starlight from the corner of her eye.

Afraid to ask, she softly clears her voice as her curiosity wins her over and asks, "Uhm...what did they call you, P...Celestia?"

She chuckles as she then says, "The nickname they gave me was quite appropriate from when I was your age, they called me Molestia."

Starlight's mind wrestles with itself over what to do as the innocent side gains strength, making her say in a more reserved tone, "But...should a mare really do something like that to another mare's stallion, even though she gave permission?"

Celestia rolls her eyes and says in a disappointed tone, "Geez, traditional relationships are still superior after so many years of effort... They are the cause for the pony population to go up so slowly, I need to try harder to encourage ponies to understand the need to change their stubborn way of thinking." She then places a forefinger on her right hand on her left cheek and trails it toward her chin in an alluring manner, saying in a sultry voice, "Perhaps you might consider helping me put my plans to improve Equestria into effect, what do you say about that, Starlight dear?"

She feels her body temperature rise as her heartbeat quickens, causing her to have trouble thinking and nervously turns her head to look into Celestia's eyes and gulps saying in a soft tone, "Uhm...uhm I-I...uh...don't know, p-princess."

The princess looks into her wavering eyes with a gentle smile and bends her finger, then starts running the top knuckle back up the bottom side of her jawbone saying, "Oh Starlight, didn't I tell you to call me Celestia? Perhaps this will help you to change your mind." and slowly moves in for a kiss.

Starlight's mind panics and frantically tries to think of what to do as her body heats up even more, causing her even more difficulty thinking rationally. When she feels a pair of lips meet hers, her own part as a tongue slips into her mouth, causing her entire body to electrocute itself from realizing that Princess Celestia is french kissing her. The overwhelming shock overloads her brain, shorting it out and causing her eyes to dilate, feeling steam rising off her body as she loses the ability to think for several moments and kisses her back like the pirate captain did.

Celestia feels her kissing back and keeps trying to win her over, trailing her fingertips down her spine as she feels Starlight moan into her mouth, thinking, 'That's it, young student, there is much to learn in the school of pleasure.'

An hour flies by as the two slowly part, with Starlight gasping in delight with a dopey grin on her face as she says drunkenly, "It would be a pleasure to help you improoove Equestria, Celestia. You can count on me."

The princess smiles happily and asks, "Then you will go through with what I suggested to you?"

She nods her head as her mind starts to reboot, saying, "I will, though it will take a little time as I have to research something for Captain Sparrow."

Celestia cocks her head curiously and squints her eyes suspiciously, asking, "Oh? And just what might that be?"

Starlight smiles and says, "It's nothing that will harm anypony, I swear, but it is a surprise that I am sure you will love just as much as him."

She then sighs and accepts it saying, "Alright then, I have faith that you will do well with it, whatever it may be. Shall we return to the party, I think it should be about time for us all to return to the Black Pearl and take her to Manehattan." and snuffs out the torches before teleporting the two of them back to the party.

Jack arrives back at the party after looking around for any hidden treasure that was left behind, finding nothing but a rancid bottle of mana-infused wine with a sigh and asks, "Ahh, there you are love. I was wondering if you or your sister might know where one might acquire more of this mana-infused wine, I found one more bottle hidden away behind a brick. I took a whiff of it and it smells a little strange, so I do not desire to try it as it may put my life in peril."

Celestia then looks at the bottle in his hand and takes it from him, bringing it to her and sniffs it herself and coughs as the smell tickles her sensitive nose, then jams the cork back in quickly saying in between coughs, "Y-Yeah, this is definitely rancid and would either kill you or give you an incurable poison." She then glances over at Hector saying, "Consider yourself very lucky you drank the rest of this stuff while you were cursed, Barbossa."

He caresses Luna's hand with his fingertips as he says, "I do thank me lucky stars for that, and for Jack upholding his promise of introducing me to your sister."

The pirate captain then smiles and says, "Well...shall we all get back to the Black Pearl and be on our way to Manehattan to repair her?"

She hears the crew all cheer and say, "AYE!" as Celestia looks to the others and asks, "Do any of you wish to go back to Ponyville or would you like to accompany us there?"

Nurse Redheart sighs and says, "As much as I would like to, I have to return to Ponyville for my shift at the hospital."

Twilight stifles a groan and says, "I need to return and take my meds, I can feel them wearing off..." and looks to Starlight and asks, "Starlight, would you mind looking after me for a while?"

Spike then waves his hand briefly saying, "I would also like to go back, so I can help look after Twilight with you."

Starlight nods as her mind begins to unscramble itself and says, "Of course, it would be my pleasure as I have some research to do." She then says, "I can teleport those who need to return, back to Ponyville. Who else needs to get back?"

Pinkie Pie thinks about that for a moment saying, "I'm good to go on a journey, no parties planned until the day after tomorrow."

Applejack then says, "Ah have a few things to catch up on at the farm, so ah need to go with ya."

Fluttershy then quietly speaks up, "Uhm, if it is possible, I would like to go with you to check on the animals."

She waits a little bit longer for others to say something, but they all remain silent as she finally says, "Is this everyone that needs to go back?" When she sees them all nodding, she says, "Alright, gather around everypony and I will take us back to Twilight's castle."

Celestia and the others staying behind watch as the others gather around Starlight, who then uses her magic to teleport them all back to Ponyville and says, "Alright, let's get back to the Black Pearl and ensure she makes it to Manehattan, gather around and I will take us to the beach."

They all gather around as Jack grabs a handful of Celestia's rear and says, "I see that you have been enjoying cake quite a bit love, there is more of you that cannot fit in my palm."

She quickly reaches behind her and grabs his hand firmly and yanks it off her while blushing fiercely at him saying that in front of everyone saying, "Don't make such comments in front of others dear, I do have a reputation to uphold, and I will not have you tarnishing it."

Jack places his hands on her waist and says to her in a sultry voice, "Which is what? Being the biggest, strongest, and most fearless Pirate Princess that Equestria has never seen before?"

Luna looks at her sister with a grin as she gets roasted by Jack and pitches in saying, "Oh she has fallen in love with cake the past few years, so you might have to fight for her affection back."

He then sighs dramatically and says, "Oh woe is me...alas, I have been replaced by a desert." then suddenly grips her waist hard and gets up to her ear and says for everyone to hear, "However...I am a pirate, so that means I will be ruthless in getting it back."

Celestia feels his hands roaming up her sides over her dress and bites her lip to keep from moaning, but fails as she feels him kiss and nip the back of her neck and groans, "Jaaaack....not in front of others, please?!

Discord sits on Barbossa's hat, still pigging out on popcorn and drinking soda. Absolutely loving the chaos that is unfolding right before his eyes as Jack turns Princess Celestia into a hot, panting mess when she looks back at Jack with a fire in her eyes.

Cadance watches the two with a blush as she can practically taste the lust coming off Celestia in waves and turns to Luna asking hurriedly, "Princess Luna...oops, I guess I should start calling you sister now, huh?" and then giggles saying, "Since those two are busy trying to devour each other, would you please teleport us all back before they start stripping?"

Luna glances at her sister with an embarrassed blush and nods saying, "I do think that would be wise, because I would not want that image coming to my mind as I am intimate with my special somepony." and starts to channel her spell to teleport them back to the shore.

Jack doesn't even notice the sensation as they are brought back to the shore as he and his wife try to devour each other's faces when he hears Luna shout, "WHY DON'T YOU TWO COME UP FOR AIR, YOUR FACES WILL STILL BE THERE WHEN YOU FIND SOMEWHERE PRIVATE!"

Celestia looks at her sister with a pout on her face saying, "Sissy, you didn't have to use the royal voice to get our attention..."

She puts her hands on her hips in annoyance as she looks at the two of them and looks down at their chests saying, "Oh I didn't? Why don't you take a look and see what you were doing to each other?!?"

The two look down at each other and see that while they had been making out, their hands had been undoing the buttons on each other. Seeing that they had gotten halfway down each other's outfits before Luna stopped them, Jack chuckles nervously while Celestia looks away beet red in embarrassment as she hurriedly starts to button herself back up.

Cadance sighs with relief and says, "Thank you for bringing them back to their senses sister."

Luna smiles and nods happily saying, "You're welcome, I'm glad to help my youngest sister protect her mind from such a sight as that."

Barbossa huffs in agreement and says, "I agree with you on that, missy. I would at least have the decency to mosey into the trees a ways before doing such things..."

Jack finishes buttoning himself up and looks at everyone saying, "Alright, you scabrous dogs...cast off those lines, it's time to return the Pearl to the sea where she belongs!"

The crew all happily get started on untying the lines as the tide starts to come in as Pintel looks to Ragetti saying, "This sure reminds me of the time when we were trying to salvage the Pearl on the Pelagostos Islands."

Ragetti unties the line and says, "At least this time, there aren't any starving cannibals coming after us."

Pintel chuckles and says, "There's the truth of it!"

As the crew get the lines cast off and hauled in, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance work together to push the ship back out to sea. Jack watches as the ship slips out to sea, bobbing happily on the surface and turns to the group asking, "Well, everyone, shall we return to the ship?" while gesturing to the longboat.

Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie, and the three princess sisters head to the longboat and get onto it as Jack pushes it further into the water and looks to Rainbow Dash and asks, "So, Rainbow is it? Since the Pearl's sails are pretty much useless, would you like to challenge yourself by pulling the ship toward Manehattan?"

Rainbow looks at how large the ship is and smiles asking, "I don't know, is it going to be difficult?" while sniggering to herself, already wanting to do it.

Jack grins and says, "Love, I can promise you it will test your endurance as she is still carrying the loot we claimed from our raid on the city."

She then sighs and says, "I will do it on one condition, since you just said that, you have to return what you took from the citizens of Manehattan." while sticking her hand out and asking, "Do we have a deal?"

The captain then holds out his hand and says, "We have an accord, now let us be on our way to the ship." then lets go and starts rowing the longboat back to the ship.

Chapter 37: A shocking arrival

As the crew uses a smaller line to fashion a harness around Rainbow Dash's body, she makes sure they leave her wings unobstructed so she can pull the ship. She stands on the bow of the ship, feeling slightly nervous about pulling something so big and says, "I didn't realize how big this ship was, but I am determined to do my best."

Gibbs looks at her and nods his head saying, "Aye, aside from the Sunrise many years ago, she's the largest ship on the seas."

Rainbow chuckles and says, "Well, I wouldn't say that because there are cruise ships out there that have more decks and are far longer, but this ship is definitely the biggest sailing vessel though."

Pintel and Ragetti finish tying the harness and rope to Rainbow's body as Ragetti says, " There ya go, poppet, all done."

She looks at him like he has two heads and says, "My name's not Poppet, it's Rainbow Dash."

Pintel chuckles and says, "We know that missy, poppet is a term of endearment we use to address a female."

Ragetti nods his head and says, "Aye, it is, it means that we see you like an endearingly sweet or pretty child or young girl, we call many ladies like you poppet. We mean nothing by it, really."

Rainbow is relieved to hear that and says, "Oh, well then I have no problem with that, though I am not sweet at all, I am totally awesome!" She then stretches her wings out and says, "Alright, it's time for a workout, let's get this ship moving!"

Jack walks up to the bow and watches the blue pegasus take off and calls up after her, "Oi, be sure to avoid getting too close to rocky shores, the hull can't take that kind of a beating in this shape!"

As she slowly pulls the rope tight, she looks back down the rope to see that it is twisted and performs a few barrel rolls to remove the unnecessary stress on the rope. With a steadying breath, she puts more of her strength into her wings.

He nods as she begins to pull on the rope to get the ship to move, knowing that getting the ship to start moving will take a little bit saying, "Keep at it, Rainbow! The hassle is getting the ship moving at first, but once you achieve that, it's a little easier to keep it moving!"

Rainbow flaps her wings even harder, looking at the shore to the left of her to track her progress and sees that it hasn't budged an inch saying, "I know!"

Jack then looks at the three crew members and says, "I need you three to go down and patch up a few holes, and throw that spoiled food off the side while you're at it."

Rarity looks at the shredded sails and sighs saying, "I'm sorry Captain Sparrow, I thought that I might be able to patch up these sails with some thread but they are far too aged to patch. You would need to replace them, and I would be generous and make all the sails for you at no cost, but I do have a business to run. However, I shall be as generous as I can and make the sails on the center mast for you at no cost, though it will take me a little while to make them as they are so large."

He then grabs her left hand in his and pulls her to him in a swift motion, then places his right hand just above her waist saying, "Thank you love, that is certainly generous of you to offer. How much would it cost to replace all the sails?"

Her breath hitches in her throat as he holds her against him, her mind conjures up a fantasy to entice her with when she shakes her head and dismisses it saying, "O-Oh, it would be around 4500 bits, give or take, due to me having to make the sails myself."

Jack then pulls his hand off her waist and trails a finger along the underside of her jawline and says, "That sounds like a fair price for all that hard work, all I ask is that they are the same color."

Rarity's body heats up as he continues to hold her against him and takes a breath to calm herself down, gulping nervously and nodding her head saying, "Very well darling, I can handle that for you. Could you let me go now, or do you plan on offending this lady's dignity?"

He then lets go and scoots back with a flourish, then brings the back of her hand to his lips in a smooth move saying, "As you wish, love, I look forward to seeing what you create."

Her heart hammers in her chest as her mind starts to become overwhelmed at how smooth and suave he is. When she feels him kiss the back of her hand, her mind overloads and wars with itself over how she should feel about him. The overloading of her brain causes her to sigh, and instinctually raise her hand to her forehead as she faints dramatically, falling to the deck while her face has a dopey, doe-eyed lovestruck expression on it.

Rarity's mental debate

Rational Rarity looks at Dreamy Rarity with crossed arms and huffs saying, "Now what are we going to do about this little dilemma darling?"

Dreamy Rarity clasps her hands together and holds them under her cheek as she lies on the floor, fantasizing about how gentlemanly he was to her and sighs blissfully saying, "Oh he is so dreamy, and smooth..."

Rational looks at her and frowns saying, "Yes he most certainly is, but he is a pirate."

Lost in her own little world, Dreamy fantasizes about what her life would be like with him saying, "Oh he is a major improvement to the last stallion I set my eyes on..."

She scoffs and stares at her in disbelief screeching, "An improvement?!? He is not a noble! The captain is a pirate lord of all things, and he is already married...to the princess!"

Dreamy looks at Rational with a pout saying, "Stop ruining my fantasies, a mare has to have something to live for!"

Rational sighs at being able to bring her back to her senses and snorts dismissively saying, "I agree with you on that dear, but a life with him wouldn't be a dream come true for you...it would be a nightmare."

Hoping to find a new fantasy to get lost in, she then asks, "Oh, and why would you say that darling?"

She answers her and says, "Why? It would be bad for you because you would be stuck on the ship with him while he sails the seas with you onboard or at home worried sick like the princess was. If you were with him, he would no doubt go pirating and pull you into all that nonsense!"

Dreamy finds a couple of fantasies to get lost in and grins, then goes back to fantasizing about what their life would be like at sea saying, "Oh what a life we could have...a family maybe? Oooohh the possibilities!"

Rational sighs at realizing this may take awhile and says, "He would be a terrible role model, teaching his kids how to be a pirate like him?!? He does not deserve a lady of your stature!"

As she falls into her fantasy deeper, she sighs blissfully and says, "Oh how wonderful it would be if I became a mother, the clothes I could make..."

Groaning with frustration, she sighs and says, "Aaannd she's gone..." while thinking, 'This is going to take awhile...'

Back on the ship a few moments later

Celestia looks down from the aft deck and sees the look on Rarity's face as she lies on the deck beside the mast and groans thinking, 'Great, the Oh Jack face is back...'

Jack watches for several minutes as the ship begins to move finally and cheers Rainbow on saying, "Keep it up Rainbow, she's starting to move!"

Rainbow grunts from the effort she's putting in and says, "It's about time, I'm getting one heck of a workout from this! I'm loving it!" and puts even more of her strength into her wings, trying to see how fast she could get the ship to go."

As the crew work on patching holes and tossing the spoiled food overboard, a few work on tossing the water back into the sea. The ship gets lighter as the crew continues working on the leaking hull while the last of the food is tossed over.

Celestia takes a deep breath at not smelling spoiled food anymore and smiles saying, "The ship is starting to smell better already..." and turns to her sister Luna and asks very quietly, "Sister, do you enjoy our royal duties?"

Luna looks back at her sister and smiles sweetly saying, "I do enjoy looking after our subjects...but to be honest, it is getting a bit tedious and boring. Why do you ask?"

She smiles and then whispers into her ear, "What do you think about us retiring from leadership to enjoy our lives?"

A startled and shocked look crosses her face as she stares at her sister and tries to keep her voice a whisper, asking, "If we were to retire, who would lead Equestria in our place?!"

Celestia smiles and then says, "I believe that Twilight has proven herself and may fit the role quite well, what do you think sister?"

Luna smiles and nods her head, looking out to the sea happily and softly says, "I shall look forward to our retirement, when will that be?"

She grins and walks toward the side rail of the ship, with her sister following her as they look out at the water together and says, "It will be some years away yet, as we have much to do to prepare to step down and have her step in as ruler."

She looks at her sister with a refreshed smile saying, "Then let us make the most of these last few years as rulers." and then looks toward Hector with a smirk on her face and saunters up to him saying, "Hector, would you mind taking the time to help a princess that doesn't get out much, about sailing the seas?"

Barbossa looks at her as he holds the wheel and holds it with one hand, holding the other out towards her saying, "It would be my pleasure, Miss Luna." and begins to tell her about the workings of a ship first.

A few days pass as Celestia and Luna raise the sun and lower the moon once more while the crew lets Rainbow Dash sleep in a little due to the hard work she's putting into moving the ship towards Manehattan.

A few hours pass by as Ragetti and Pintel grab an old feather and tickle the sleeping pegasus's nose with the tip while the girls watch as Pinkie Pie stifles giggles at the prank the two are pulling on her.

Ragetti gets slapped in the face as the pegasus rolls over mumbling, "Buzz off stupid fly..." and sniggers under his breath as he hands the feather to Pintel on the other side to resume tickling her nose.

A few minutes pass as the pegasus finally wakes up and tries to get out of the hammock and cries out in alarm, "WOAH!" as she falls into the waiting arms of Pintel and Ragetti and asks, "What's up guys?" and tries to move her arms and legs, but can't and asks, "What the hay...why can't I move my arms and legs?"

Pinkie Pie laughs and giggle snorts, saying, "Well because you're all tied up, Rainbow!" and falls over laughing.

Rainbow looks down and sees a rope coiled around her whole body and asks, "Nice prank, how'd this happen? Did you two do this while I slept?"

Ragetti chuckles as Pintel speaks first saying, "Nah, after you fell into the hammock, all we did was tickle your nose while you were asleep and you handled the rest on your own, you did."

She chuckles at that and says, "So I pranked myself, that's new! how about you two help me get out of this, I look like a spring roll."

After helping Rainbow get out of the rope, she makes her way back up the deck and stretches out before returning to pulling the ship to Manehattan saying, "Well, back to the workout I go, let's see how far I can get today."

Manehattan harbor, several hours later...near sunset

An old pegasus sits on the dock in a rocking chair, enjoying the breeze as he watches the ships come and go each day. He looks to the south as something catches his eyes, squinting at the distant object and sighs saying, "Oh these eyes ain't what they used ta be..." and looks back at his niece as she sits on the edge of the dock, dangling her hooves into the water and calls out to her, "Sweetie, could you be a dear and go get me my big spyglass?"

The freckle-faced mare looks at her uncle and nods her head saying, "Sure thing Uncle Knot!" then reels her line in, secures the hook, and sets it aside before hurrying off to her beloved uncle's house to get it for him.

Knot sits in his chair when his tan-coated earth pony niece stands beside him and holds it toward him and says, "Thank you, sweetie, you really should start looking for your special somepony, you aren't getting any younger you know?" and takes it from her hands, then removes the protective caps from the end.

She sighs and says, "I know that I should Uncle Knot, you sound just like my pa. Right now I can't because of how busy everypony has been after that terrifying attack not so long ago. It is hard enough to find a stallion these days, there are so few options to get a good one."

He raises the glass up to his left eye and starts to scan the watery horizon for the object and says, "I know I do, and you're probably sick and tired of hearing it. Perhaps if you can't find one here, you should look elsewhere... trailing off as he spots the object and extends his glass to get a closer look at it, whistling before saying, "That's the biggest one I've ever seen in all my years!"

Bittersweet Crunch looks out to where her uncle is looking and asks, "What do you see way out there, Uncle Knot?"

He looks at it a bit longer and says in a curious tone, "How many masts does she have...THREE? Does that ship really have three masts?! That must mean she's pretty large then if she has that much sail..." He then sees a pegasus in front of the ship with a rope leading to the ship and sighs sadly saying, "Poor girl's sails are in rough shape, as there is a pegasus out in front towing her. Must've been through one heck of a storm to leave 'em like that. Why in the hay is she completely black though? That is not a cheery color at all..."

Hearing the coloring of the ship raises a red flag to her as she steps further ahead and looks at her uncle and asks, "Uncle Knot, may I have a look? I've heard legends of a ship matching that color that menaced the seas a few centuries ago which proved to be quite troublesome."

Uncle Knot chuckles at hearing that and says, "What, you mean those stories they tell around the campfire about a ship of brigands that were cursed after angering a god and were changed into ghostly beings that sneak into ports during the dead of night to kidnap misbehaving fillies and colts in the night?"

She ignores his dismissive tone and huffs saying, "Well the legends have to come from some sort of truth, so can I look at it for myself?"

He continues to chortle at the tall tales and hands the spyglass to her saying, "Those are nothing but tall tales told by old ponies to mess with their grandfoals when they behave too wildly, I wouldn't put much stock in them being real at all Sweetie."

Bittersweet Crunch takes the spyglass and focuses in on the ship coming in and notices the pony out front saying, "Rainbow Dash is the pony out in front of that ship, and it looks like she is pretty worn out. I doubt that the ship will arrive tonight, so we will have to wait until tomorrow to find out if that legend is true or not..." She is about to hand it back when she sees something happening and looks again saying, "There are oars aboard that ship? I have never heard of a large ship carrying oars of that size before?"

Uncle Knot looks up at his niece with a shocked expression and says, "Those were called sweeps back in the day. You're telling me that she has sweeps on board?"

She nods and continues to watch the ship row toward them as Rainbow returns to the ship's deck while the crew removes the rope from Rainbow's body saying, "I think that she might just make it here by sunset, Uncle Knot, but I can see right now that the ship is in very rough shape and needs a large dock to receive repairs."

He then looks at his niece and says, "Well, Sweetie, I guess you better go inform the Dockmaster about the incoming ship so he can prepare the dock for her arrival."

Bittersweet hands the spyglass back to him and nods with a sigh saying, "I'm on it, Uncle Knot, something just feels off about that ship to me, it's almost...creepy." and trots towards the Dockmaster about the ship coming in.

Back on the Black Pearl

Jack watches through his spyglass as ponies start working to prepare the drydock for their ship and says, "Keep up the hard work lads, we're almost there!"

Below deck, Pintel and Ragetti pull on one of the sweeps to the cadance Gibbs is keeping, Ragetti says, "Perhaps I might have the time to search for a glass eye now when we reach the drydock, what do you think Pin?"

Pin grins and pushes the sweep away from him, keeping with the cadance, and says, "It's possible, since we all will get the chance to take a well-deserved break from the sea."

Above deck, Barbossa stands beside Luna as he continues his lesson saying, "It will take some practice for you to become as skilled as me, but I have every ounce of faith that ye'll get there."

Luna smiles as she feels the wind pick up and gently blows her mane in front of her face, raising her left hand to move it behind her as she looks at Hector with a light blush on her cheeks, finding great pleasure in being behind the wheel of a ship and says, "Thank you for introducing me to this 'art of sailing' mister Barbossa, I shall endeavor to learn more about it in the days to come...and about you."

He looks back at her with an affectionate look as he stands to her left with a happy smile on his face as he trails his right forefinger along her cheek and down to her chin saying, "As do I missy, as do I."

Jack stands at the edge of the bow, looking forward at the quickly approaching dock and looks back hollering, "Row harder, you scabrous dogs! Our destination on this hellish journey is nearly upon us, row, ROW like the Kraken is chasing us!"

A pony on the shore watches as the ship passes by in front of them, the last rays of day land on the ships name at the back of the ship and reveal her name to the young filly. She looks at the name of the ship and freezes in place, subconsciously hugging the doll in her arms closer to her chest as she then squeals in fright and screams at the top of her lungs, "IT'S THE BLACK PEARL, SHE'S COME TO GOBBLE US UP!" and races back down the street, away from the harbor.

Another pony chuckles at the screaming filly, shaking his head saying, "Oh those youngins just love those campfire legends." and freezes in his tracks as well when he spots the name on the back of the arriving ship, then joins in on the filly's fear and screams, "Every pony run for your lives, THE CURSED SHIP HAS COME TO DESTROY MANEHATTAN!!" and drops the flowers he was carrying, then races towards his home to get his family and leave town.

Celestia sighs at hearing the screams as they pick up in volume and number, turning to Luna after they finish changing the cycle of day and releasing a sigh saying, "I was afraid this would happen...come, sister, let us go calm the citizen's fears before any serious damage is done in their panicked state."

Luna walks away from the back of the ship and follows her sister, saying, "I agree, it would be quite sad if anypony was hurt over their misconceptions of the past version of the Black Pearl."

Together, they both fly towards the panicking townsponies and try to get their attention, having to resort to using the royal voice to get their attention shouting in unison, "CALM YOURSELVES!/BE STILL!"

As the townsponies stop in their tracks at noticing the two princesses, they immediately bow in reverence to their princesses as Celestia addresses them first, saying a little softer in the royal voice, "My beloved subjects, you need not fear the cursed ship known as the Black Pearl any longer for the curse affecting them has been lifted!"

Luna then takes her turn and says, "It is true, my little ponies. You no longer have to fear the Black Pearl attacking you in the night, for her crew have been released from their curse! It is sad we could not foresee and prevent the attack you suffered several days ago, but we have convinced the crew to give the valuables they took, back to you."

After a few moments of silence, the ponies watch the ship as it is pulled into the open drydock and begin cheering, stomping their hooves, clapping, or even grabbing each other and doing a cheerful dance.

Hearing their success, the two sisters fly back to the ship to await for Jack to speak with the dockmaster about making repairs to the ship as Luna returns to Hector's side, causing Celestia to sigh at what her husband schemed, saying, "Ugh...I sure hope that he treats her well..."

Jack stands beside Celestia on the deck as the two make their way off of the ship, laying an arm across his wife's shoulders saying, "Not to worry love, I'm sure he will love and treat her with the respect she deserves."

She leans into her husband's side, loving and missing the warmth from not having him at her side for the many past years saying with a blissful sigh, "Oh Jack, I have missed you so much."

The captain embraces her back, saying, "Aye, love, so have I. Soon, our family will be complete once more, do you have plans on revealing our union to your subjects?"

Celestia nuzzles into his shoulder, ignoring the foul odor of his desperate need for a bath and says in a cheerful tone, "After our big announcement in a few years, honey."

Jack looks at her curiously and asks, "And just what might said announcement be about, dear?"

She giggles and leaves his side, walking away from him while looking over her shoulder saying with a smirk, "That is something you'll find out then dear."

He then follows after her, trying to get more out of her, but fails each time and eventually gives up to go find the dockmaster to talk to him about making repairs to the ship when he sees a crowd of ponies coming their way and remembers hearing what Luna told them about getting their things back and calls out to them, "Ponies, please gather some long tables as there are many things to return to you."

Discord slithers out from under his hat and hovers in front of Jack, causing him to shiver and jerk away while asking who he was and how he did that. With a smile on his face, he gives him a flourishing bow saying, "Glad to meet you Captain Sparrow, Lord of the Celestial Seas, my name is Discord and I am a draconequus as well as the spirit of disharmony and chaos." He then straightens his back and walks across the air to stand in front of him and says, "I have greatly enjoyed the chaos you caused with no effort at all, it made me laugh myself to literal pieces a few times." Eager to be of service to him, he steeples his fingers in front of him and asks, "Might there be a way for me to aid you in your endeavor?"

Jack smiles at him and nods his head saying, "Pleasure to meet you, I am glad you enjoy my antics. It so happens there is a way you could assist me, might you be able to magic all the items my crew looted from these ponies back to them?"

He nods his head and says, "That is easier for me to do than breathing, my friend. Just bring everything that you took, out here and I will use my magic to return it to who it belongs to."

After Jack instructs the crew to start emptying the hold of their ill-gotten goods, Discord empties the barrels onto the tables with a snap of his fingers. He then begins to use his magic to enchant the items to return to their rightful owners when he hears a high-class mare cry out at getting her items back saying, "My golden brush and luffa! Oh how I have missed these..." and returns to her home.

It is a few hours into the night when the last few items are returned to their owners, however, when Jack looks down at the tables, there are a few items still on the table and looks at Discord curiously and asks,"Oi, how are these still here Discord, did you forget about them?"

Discord sighs and shakes his head and snaps his fingers to try again, but watches as they briefly get encased in a pinkish aura before it turns black and disappears, saying with a sad note, "I tried several times, but I think that the owners of these items are...no longer among the living, Captain Sparrow."

Jack turns his gaze toward the ground as he then sighs saying, "If that is the case, can you find out who the last owners of these items are closely related to?"

He nods his head with a sad smile and says, "I can, but what do you plan on doing after that?"

The captain looks at him with a sigh asking with a sorrowful tone, "Isn't it obvious mate? I intend to have you track down their closest relatives and pass the items to them so they can remember who they lost."

Discord gives him a sweet smile at hearing that and says, "Fluttershy would be proud of you, I'm sure of that."

Jack looks at the draconequus and says, "Alright mate, can you use that magic of yours to take us to the first items' relative?"

He then nods and picks up the items, then puts them into his storage space while holding onto one saying, "Certainly, let us be on our way to the first one, shall we?" and snaps his fingers to enchant the item to tell him who the closest relative would be for the previous owner. He sighs as he learns who the closest relative is and says, "Captain Sparrow, our first stop is Ponyville..."

Chapter 38: Unfortunate Tasks

Before Discord snaps his fingers, he remembers what time it is and turns to Jack asking, "Perhaps it would be best to wait until morning to do this as the relatives will be very sad about hearing of their grim fate?"

Jack looks up at the night sky as the moon sits high in the sky and nods saying, "I think that you might be right about that, let's get some sleep and find the harbormaster in the morning so I can find out what needs to be repaired on the ship. I would fear hearing the price, but I have a deal with Celestia about all costs being paid by the current ruler of Equestria."

The Draconequus nods saying, "Alright then, I shall come find you an hour after sunrise. Goodnight Captain Sparrow, may you have a good night's rest." and snaps his fingers to return home so he can rest for tomorrow.

The captain makes his way back to his ship and crawls into bed, however, as he dreams about the happier days of the past, his pleasant dream of the Black Pearl sailing on an endless sea slowly morphs into a much darker dream. Storm clouds begin to form and quickly begin to fill the sky, slowly growing darker as a nasty storm starts to roll in. The sea begins to come alive with swells that grow in size, becoming 100-foot swells in several minutes. He orders his crew to man their stations when he sees flashes of lightning in the clouds ahead of him, seeing a ship's silhouette against the brief moment of illumination, he squints even harder and focuses on the spot where the ship was when another flash grants him another look as he spots a vaguely familiar shape but shakes his head at the impossibility and says, "That's impossible cause they're dead and gone now." but when he turns around to head back to the wheel, he hears a gravelly voice dripping with venom whisper to his ear, "I'm coming for you, Sparrow."

Jack spins around, looking for whoever said that but sees no one around him, recognizing the voice, saying, "That's not possible mate because you're dead, you perished over there."

As the captain looks around in vain to find the one who is whispering into his ear, the voice chuckles and says, "Si, that is true. You survived, but I didn't. I will find a way to hunt you again, little Sparrow."

He wakes up with a start and looks around to see that his cabin is empty, to his relief as he thinks on what the voice said and thinks, 'I shall make the most of what time I have left here before that happens, and I will do whatever possible to keep him from coming to Equestria.'

The next morning

The next morning comes as Jack walks out of his cabin to find Discord just outside and says, "Ah, good. You're here, so I won't need to track you down. Let's go see what the harbormaster has to say about repairing my ship."

As he makes his way toward the harbormaster with Discord following him, Jack hears a faint sobbing coming from an alley to his left and then heads toward it.

An orangish-colored filly lies on the ground with her back against the cold stone wall behind her, using a broken box as a shelter after the attack. Missing her parents terribly, she continues to sob and mumbles, "Mother...why did you have to leave me?"

Jack stops a little ways into the alley when he spots a young pony with an orangish coat and clears his voice before asking, "Oi there little one, what troubles you?"

The filly stays put and curls up on herself saying, "What's it to ya, leave me alone bub."

He makes his way in front of the shelter and crouches down to look inside, seeing a dirty, young earth pony filly lying down with her back to the wall having dark green eyes, different shades of amaranth in her mane and tail with a pair of apple-bottomed scissors for a cutie mark and says, "It troubles me to see a young filly such as you in a dark, dank alley. Where do your parents live?"

She looks up to see a strange-looking being and says, "My parents are dead, they died in the attack a few days ago when their roof collapsed and crushed them."

Jack remains crouched and asks, "What happened to you when that happened?"

The filly scowls at him and shouts, "You wanna know my story, FINE! I was sleeping when the attack woke me up, the loud noises outside scared me. My mother then entered my room and dragged me from my bed into the living room when the house shook, we then started to hear a cracking coming from above so my mother picked me up and threw me out of the window hurriedly. I scrambled back onto my hooves in time to see the roof cave in and crush my parents, I tried to go back in to save them but the window was blocked by debris. I tried to clear the debris so I could save my mother and father, but by the time I cleared the window...I saw my parents lying under debris holding each other when the house started to burn. I must have passed out at some point because I woke up to see the house burnt to the ground. Now leave me to my misery!"

The captain sighs and says, "I apologize for the suffering you went through, love. Do you have any other family that can take you in?"

The filly's scowl softens a little as she then sniffles and says, "Y-Yeah, Aunt and Uncle Orange, my cousin Applebloom that lives with her sister at Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville but I don't wanna trouble any of them, so beat it!"

Seeing that she isn't going to come willingly, Jack then stands up and starts tearing the box apart.

As she hears him tearing the wooden shelter down, she scrambles out of it and gets up on her hooves shouting, "Wha-What are you doing, that's my home!"

He smiles at getting her out of the box and stops, saying, "Oh good, you decided to join me out here..." then swiftly spins around and hits her hard in the side of the head with the back of his boot, adding, "Sorry love, hope you'll forgive me for this someday."

She stumbles forward from the punch when her head bashes into the wall, causing her vision to swim, saying, "Ow..." before everything goes black as her eyes close, leaving her to collapse to the ground.

Jack watches as the filly collapses onto the ground wearing a dirty, torn-up top that covers very little of her chest and a pair of dirty shorts with numerous tears. He then walks up beside the unconscious body and picks her up in a bridal carry, shifting her head so that it rests against his shoulder to avoid making any ponies aware of her unconscious state while making his way back to his cabin on the Pearl.

Discord gasps when he sees the filly and lowers his voice asking, "What happened to this poor little one, Captain Sparrow?"

He looks around to see a few curious looks and says loud enough for others to hear, "Poor filly was living in a box since the attack, so I'm taking her to my ship's cabin, would you mind looking after her while I go speak to the harbormaster, Discord? Once that's done, we can be on our way to take her to her relatives in Ponyville."

He nods his head and says, "Of course, I will."

After returning to the ship with the filly in his arms, he places the filly on the ground for a moment to throw the covers on the bed back and asks, "Discord, do you think that you can bind her hands and hooves so she can't run away, then do something to ensure she can't scream for help?"

The draconequus crosses his arms and looks at the captain suspiciously and asks, "What for, are you planning on doing something nefarious to an innocent, young filly while she is unconscious?"

Jack rolls his eyes at him and scoffs saying, "Of course not, mate. I fully intend to take her to her relatives in Ponyville, I just don't want her to get any bright ideas and make a big bloody scene about me showing her this kindness."

Discord smiles at hearing that and relaxes his arms saying, "That is good to hear, now I won't encase you in ice and turn you in to Princesses Celestia and Luna." then snaps his fingers, making ropes wind around her wrists and ankles and tighten themselves up before making a knot. He smirks and snaps his fingers again to take her mouth away saying, "Now you won't be a scoundrel and kiss her while she is out."

He spins around to face him and says with an annoyed look, "I would never do such a thing, she is still a bloody child you miscreant!"

The draconequus chuckles and says, "Oh how sweet, a pirate with a heart."

Jack huffs and yanks the covers back, only to discover that they stink. He then smells the mattress and discovers it also reeks, letting out a sigh, he looks to Discord and asks, "Would you be able to replace the mattress and bedding?"

Discord walks up to the bed and pushes down on it and clicks his tongue saying, "Tisk, tisk, tisk, spring mattresses are so last millennium. What you need is a cloud-stuffed mattress, allow me to dispose of these relics of a bygone era." and snaps his fingers to get rid of the old mattress and bedding, then snaps his fingers to make a new one appear. Finding out that it is too small for the frame and snaps his fingers to adjust the size to fit.

He watches Discord work his magic, making a bedding set appear, having a white silk cover and matching silk sheet. A comforter then appears, dark red in color with fancy black and gold intersecting diamond embroidering. Impressed, he then smiles and says, "Good work, Discord."

He then literally pats himself on the back and smiles saying, "I know, I should be an interior decorator, but nobody appreciates my brand of designs. Now for the finishing touches..." and snaps his fingers one more time to make four white pillows with two red pillows in the front of the four appear at the front of the bed. With the last bit put into place, he looks at Jack and bows saying, "Now everything is as it should be, shall we get back to the previous task?"

Jack shakes his head saying, "I can't believe you actually thought that I would do such things with a little filly!" He stands back up and throws the new covers back, then turns back to the unconscious filly missing a mouth with her hands and hooves bound. He shifts her around so that her head is on his right shoulder instead of his left and turns back towards the bed, then walks toward it and leans forward to set her on the mattress.

After tending to a few of her duties, Celestia returns to the Black Pearl after yesterday's events and raises her hand to knock on the door when she remembers that she is still married to him, pausing mid-air and just opens the door and walks right on in to find him leering at a young filly lying on his bed. Her anger rises rapidly as her mane begins to smoke and emit flickers of fire, shouting without using her royal voice, "CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW, EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT YOU ARE DOING LEERING AT THIS YOUNG FILLY AT ONCE!" then casts a spell to light every candle in the room and sees that it is a young filly, causing her mane to burn and shouts, "HOW DARE YOU BRING A YOUNG FILLY INTO OUR BED AND HAVE RELATIONS WITH HER! I'M GOING TO SEND YOU TO THE CANTERLOT DUNGEONS!"

Discord watches from a beam at the back of the cabin, snacking on plunderseeds while trying to keep his laughter down thinking, 'You really are a wonderful source of chaos, Captain Sparrow.'

Jack turns towards his angry wife and smiles at her while pleading, "Now hold on love, hold on. I don't intend to have relations with her, I just found her in the alley living in a beat-up crate, I swear!!"

As she looks at the filly, she sees that her hands and hooves are bound and has no mouth. The filly has woken from her shouting and starts to writhe on the bed and attempts to speak, then narrows her eyes at Jack and says, "Why is she tied up and missing her mouth, are you kidnapping innocent fillies and making them join your crew?!"

Jack pleads his innocence and says, "Not at all love, her parents died in the attack a few days ago and she is the only survivor, young fillies like her can't live on their own. Therefore I am going to be taking her to her relative's home in Ponyville, whether she likes it or not. Family will always take care of you, no matter what. Don't be mad, but I had Discord use his magic to keep her from screaming for somepony to help her. She is a stubborn filly who doesn't want to admit she can't care for herself right now."

Celestia calms down and rolls her eyes at hearing Discord was a part of this and looks at the filly saying, "Little filly, I am sorry for what you are going through, but Jack is right." then looks at Jack with a sigh saying, "Of course, Discord just had to have something to do with this, I assume the mattress and bedding are his doing as well?"

He smiles and nods his head saying, "It is indeed, would you wish to try it out after I take the little filly to Ponyville?"

She chuckles and shakes her head saying, "Perhaps another time, and be sure to take a decent bath when you have a chance so I don't have to breathe through my mouth."

Jack turns towards the bed and sees the filly writhing madly on the mattress, then places a knee on the bed and reaches for her legs. It takes him a couple of moments to get a grip on her legs as he pulls her toward him, causing her shirt to ride up her body and reveal the bottom part of her breasts saying, "Stop squirming like an eel or I will see more of you than I want to see, savvy?"

The filly's face turns red with embarrassment as she immediately stops trying to get free and settles for glaring angrily at the Captain for knocking her out.

He then picks her up in a bridal carry, then sets her down on the floor, and pulls her shirt back down saying, "There, now you are somewhat covered despite that tattered top and bottoms you're wearing. I will have Discord return your mouth to you once we get to Sweet Apple Acres, savvy?"

She huffs and looks away from him, then gives him a reluctant nod as her mind recalls how warm she felt sleeping in his bed, shaking her head to get her mind off of it.

Jack turns back to his wife and picks her back up in the same manner as before, asking, "Now what may I do for you, Your Royal Highny?"

Celestia then says, "I was just wondering when you would be available to pay a visit to the Canterlot Gardens?"

He sighs sadly and says, "I have a few unfortunate duties to tend to first, but I might be finished by this afternoon. Be sure to tell your guards to be expecting me and to let me keep my weapons, eh?"

She rolls her eyes at him and nods saying, "Very well, Jack, make sure you clean yourself up and launder your clothes before you come to the castle because you smell horrible."

The captain then huffs and snarkily says, "Well forgive me, I wasn't given a chance to bathe after spending a few centuries on the bottom of the sea." and bows his head flirtatiously toward his wife before looking for Discord saying, "Alright Discord, let's be on our way to Ponyville..."

The draconequus snaps his fingers with a heavy sigh saying, "Very well, Captain Sparrow." and takes them to the outskirts of Ponyville, at the end of the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres.

Jack sets the filly down on the driveway, looking at her, and asks, "Right this way little one or do you want me to carry you there in my arms?"

She sighs through her nose as a blush rises to her cheeks and looks down at the ground, then shakes her head and waits for the bindings to be removed so she can follow him down the road.

As the captain spots a farm in the distance, he glances at Discord and asks, "Could you remove her bindings so she can follow us, Discord? Thank you."

The filly stretches her arms and legs, causing her to inadvertently reveal more of her breasts than she wants and hurriedly crosses her arms over them to serve as some sort of cover while the blush deepens.

Jack coughs uncomfortably and starts walking toward the farmhouse saying, "Come on, keep up or I will carry you there on my shoulder."

She huffs frustratedly through her nose but follows the captain to her relative's home, not wanting to be a burden on them.

Inside the home, an elderly green mare hears somepony knocking on the door and calls out, "Applejack, could you get that? Someone's at the door."

Applejack makes her way to the door and opens it to find Captain Jack Sparrow outside with Discord beside him and a filly hiding from view behind Jack and says, "Mornin' Captain Sparrow, what can ah do ya for?"

Jack sighs and says, "Hello miss Applejack, I have come here to aid someone, perhaps you might know her..." then reaches behind him and brings the little filly before him saying, "Now before you get mad, you should know that I've found this filly in an ally living inside a box. I have done nothing to make her look like this, can you take her in and care for her?"

Her eyes widen at seeing her relative in tattered clothes that barely cover anything and says, "BABS! What in tarnation happened to ya?!" and looks at Jack asking, "Why is her mouth missing, and how come she looks so ashamed?"

The captain holds her in front of him and says, "Well, you see...during the attack a few days ago, her parents died saving her and the house collapsed and burned down. When I found her like this, she wanted nothing to do with me so I was forced to knock her out, tie her up and take her mouth away so she wouldn't make a fuss for me saving her from her own stubbornness."

Applejack sighs and steps forward, takes Babs by the shoulder saying, "Come with me young'un." then looks back at Jack saying, "We'll take her in, she's family after all. We will never abandon our family or friends. Thanks, Captain Sparrow for bringing her here. Do ya want to have dinner with us?"

Jack shakes his head and says, "I appreciate the offer, love, but unfortunately, I have other matters to tend to in Ponyville today."

She then nods her head and says, "Alright then, take care, Captain Sparrow." and starts to head inside to help Babs to settle in to her new home.

The filly then stops and turns around, glaring at the captain for a moment before looking down at her mouth repeatedly to remind him to return her mouth.

Not getting the hint right away, he looks at her in confusion for a couple of minutes before realizing that her mouth is missing and says, "Ah, right, I had Discord take your mouth. One moment." and looks over to his companion saying, "Would you mind giving it back to her, friend?"

Babs feels her mouth return to her after Discord snaps his fingers and says, "Thanks a lot, you filthy pirate!" before being pulled away by Applejack into their home.

Jack sighs and then heads back down the path saying, "Alright Discord, show me to the town of Ponyville."

A little while later in the town of Ponyville...

Rose Luck prepares to go to lunch when she spots someone heading towards her stall, accompanied by Discord, who hangs back after handing the other a small box. As the handsome being heads toward her, she flushes a little and says, "Hi sir, what can I get for you today?"

The captain looks around to see other ponies looking at him curiously and offers her his hand asking, "Might we have a word in a quieter place? I have an unyielding need to speak to you."

She blushes at thinking he will ask her out on a date and stammers a moment, saying, "O-Of c-course we c-can, right this way."

After being led just behind a shop called Sofa's and Quills, Jack watches the mare fidget nervously before taking a long, nervous breath before reaching for the small jewelry box containing a silver necklace bearing a white lily carved out of a pearl. He holds it before him gingerly and looks at her face asking, "Pardon me for this weirdness, but might you know this?" and opens the box to show it to her.

Rose smiles at seeing her sister's necklace that she gave to her on her wedding day, but it falls from her face as concern takes the happy feeling away and says, "I do, but why do you have this? This necklace belongs to my sister, Lilly."

Jack looks at her with a sad look and says, "I am sorry to inform you of your sister's passing during the attack on Manehattan a few days ago..." and looks away in shame and says, "We were cursed at the time, but have been set free and I sought to return what we took. Sadly, there are those that perished, and so the items we took must be given to their closest relatives. I am sorry for your loss, miss."

The mare stands on trembling legs threatening to give out on her from the devastating news and takes the box from them as her eyes slowly fill with tears, when her legs give out, causing her to land on the ground. She stares at the necklace as the tears begin to flow in trickles down her cheeks mumbling, "Nooo...not my Lucky Lilly..."

The captain turns and says, "Your friends will be there for you in your time of need, so go to them when you are done mourning." and heads back to where Discord is, hearing the devastated mare wailing over her sister's death. When he reaches Discord's side, he sighs and says, "Onto the next location, Discord."

Without a word, Discord lets out a sad sigh and snaps his fingers thinking, 'I feel sad for those who lost family in the attack, but it is good that he is doing the right thing and returning the items they looted.'

A few hours later in Manehattan

After delivering the items to their owner's family and paying a visit to the harbormaster, Jack looks at Discord and says, "With that item returned, we're done mate. We best be on our way to Canterlot eh?"

Discord looks the captain over and then grins, saying, "We really should, yes, but might I make a suggestion first, Captain Sparrow?"

Jack raises an eyebrow and asks, "What might that be, mate?"

He chuckles and says, "I don't think that it would be wise to show up at the castle while smelling...as you do."

The captain raises an arm and smells himself, then gags from his own stench saying, "Unfortunately mate, I have to agree. I really do smell worse than a rotting corpse left to rot under the hot sun. Where can a man go to bathe?"

The Draconequus thinks of a place that would allow the captain to bathe due to way he presently smells and then says, "Hmm...there are two possible places. One is at the Spa in Ponyville, although a few customers there will be unhappy, and the other is a bath house slash sweat house. Which place will you choose, captain?"

Jack thinks about it for a moment and says, "I care not what ponies think of me, mate, so let's go to the place in Ponyville."

Discord nods saying, "Very well, I shall go on ahead and let them know to expect you and inform them of your...situation. I will be back in ten minutes, Captain Sparrow." and snaps his fingers to go there. Once he appears in front of the Ponyville Spa, he heads on inside and speaks to the receptionist saying, "Excuse me miss, but I have a friend who is a ship captain that is in dire need of a bath. He will be needing a standard treatment, and will pay the bits owed for it. Just so you know, he has been at sea for quite awhile and never had the chance to manage his hygiene. It is bad enough to make anypony's eyes burn and make them gag involuntarily, so you might want to warn your current customers as well as the staff."

The receptionist blinks a couple of times and says, "Are you pulling my leg, Discord? I'm not in the mood for your pranks."

He scoffs and crosses his arms, saying, "If I was, you would be able to feel it. For your information, I am being quite honest here so you might want to run along and let others know what to expect when I bring my friend here within five minutes." and snaps his fingers to return to the captain, saying, "Are you ready to go, Captain Sparrow?"

The captain nods and says, "I am, aye. Hopefully, I shall be ready before sunset. There be an appointment I'm keen on keeping, savvy?"

Discord is about to snap his fingers when he pauses to say, "I told them to just give you the standard treatment because prim and proper just isn't your style normally. I hope you don't mind, but you are going to have to pay for it." He then snaps his fingers and sends them both in front of the Ponyville Day Spa, then heads for the door.

An hour later, inside the spa

Inside the massage parlor, Rarity enjoys her time on the massage table when it comes to an end and she has to move to the next treatment. She then sits down into the chair so that Aloe and Lotus can give her a mani/pedi and a facial treatment.

Jack makes his way out of the shower with a towel around his waist after having Discord store his effects, following the abnormally muscled stallion leading him toward the massage table next. When he enters the large room, he looks around to spot a familiar light grey mare with a purple mane and tail in a chair. Recognizing the mare, he smiles and calls out, "Fancy meeting you here, miss Rarity. Enjoying a fancy high to-do treatment fit for royalty?"

Not recognizing the voice right away, she then asks, "Oh I am just loving the treatment these fine ponies are giving me. I'm sorry, but I don't recognize your voice, darling. What might your name be?"

He then lies down on the table and waits for the massage to begin and says, "I am slightly offended by you forgetting who I am, trifles, but I understand because we only met once or twice. My name is legendary and spoken of only in rumors, savvy?"

Rarity thinks on it for a moment before gasping and saying, "CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW?! What in Celestia's name are you doing here in Ponyville?"

Jack enjoys the firm massage he is getting and then says, "Well, I thought it would be an opportune moment to 'freshen up' as it were before my visit to the castle in Canterlot.

Chapter 39: A Family Reunited

Rarity then smiles and says, "Oh you most definitely needed to freshen up, your...aroma was intense enough to knock out a single pony with just one whiff. You won't find a better establishment than this to cater to most of your body's needs, but do not expect to get any intimate treatments here as it offers only massages, baths, manicures and pedicures, mane and tail treatments, body wraps and facial masks."

Jack then huffs in light indignation and retorts, "Of course not, love, what do you take me for?"

She then grins and says, "A no-good scoundrel of a man that honors his word to others, but gets all he can from it in the meantime."

The captain continues relaxing on the table as the stallion moves onto his shoulders and back, saying, "Trifles." pausing a moment to change the subject saying, "Well with the Black Pearl in the drydock for a good six months, I hope that Celestia and Luna will permit me to stay in the castle until the ship's seaworthy again."

Rarity then chuckles and says, "I'm sure they will allow it...as long as you don't go chasing the maids around, darling."

Bulk massages his upper arms when he notices markings all over his back and asks, "What are these markings all over your back, sir?"

Jack remembers the day he got the tattoo and says, "It is an old poem I heard about one day, called...Desiderata. If I recall correctly, the words to it went something like this, 'Go placidly amid the noise and the haste...'

Everyone stops what they're doing to listen to the poem as fashionista is completely taken aback by how eloquent the poem is and says, "Whoever pony wrote that had a real way with words, if only you could follow those ideals...you might make a decent stallion."

He chuckles and then sighs blissfully as the stallion massages his stiff shoulder, then says, "I do...more or less, but I already am a good stallon...errr...man in this case."

Rarity half chuckles, saying, "Ha, your actions speak otherwise dearie. Didn't you attack Manehattan several days ago?"

Jack huffs and says, "I was cursed and was not in the right frame of mind, mind you, and I gave back what I took from those ponies."

A couple hours pass as the two continue lightly bickering when their sessions come to an end and walk out of the spa together when the captain huffs and says, "I don't have to take any of this from you, I have a previous engagement at the Canterlot Gardens. Discord, buddy, old pal, won't you please take me there?"

Discord watches from his realm and writes a letter while laughing, then sends it to him with a snap of his fingers, along with his voice saying, "My dear friend, Captain Jack Sparrow. I am unfortunately tied up at the moment, so you will have to find your own way to Canterlot. I would recommend taking the train, as it is the fastest way to travel across Equestria these days."

Jack crinkles up the paper as he makes a fist and says, "Fine then Discord, be that way. I never needed your help anyhow..." then storms off towards the train station.

Rarity chuckles at Discord's behavior and quietly says, "I know you are enjoying this chaos, Discord, but make sure you don't take it too far." and then trots to catch up with the captain.

Pinkie Pie watches and giggles as Rarity and Jack bicker amongst themselves and joins them wherever they may be going and asks, "Hey you two, where are you going?"

Without missing a beat, they both turn around at the same time and speak in unison, saying, "I'm going to the Canterlot Gardens."

She then giggles and joins them saying, "OOH, ME TOO! LET'S ALL GO TOGETHER!"

As Jack, Rarity, and Pinkie head to the station, bickering the whole way there, they are joined by Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Applejack. Fluttershy does what she can to get the two to stop bickering when she turns to Pinkie Pie and asks, "What happened to make those two so mad at each other, Pinkie?"

Pinkie then giggles and whispers into her ear, "Oh, don't worry about it, it's just a lover's quarrel because Rarity is attracted to Jack but doesn't want to admit it, while Jack likes her sophisticated behavior."

Rainbow then groans and says, "...oh, so it's going to be a long journey to the Gardens then...great."

Applejack then huffs and says, "Why don't ya both just pipe down and make out already, JEESH!"

Without missing a beat, Jack and Rarity turn on Applejack with irritation and say in unison, "I would never make out with a heathen!/I would never make out with a tease!"

The countryfied mare then pauses for a moment after getting her head bitten off like that and blinks a couple times before asking,"Jeesh, ya try to help out a couple friends and see what happens?"

Rainbow Dash trots along and puts her arm around Applejack's shoulders, pulling her along and says, "Nah, don't worry about it, Aj. They are just having a lover's quarrel."

They both turn on Rainbow for saying that and shout in unison, "This is not a lover's quarrel!"

An hour and a half later, in the Canterlot Throne Room

Celestia, Luna, and Barbossa sit side by side in the throne room as they start to hear a bickering coming from the corridor, when they eventually open to reveal most of the element bearers and Celestia's husband. Celestia smiles at seeing them here to see her daughter return when she notices that Jack and Rarity are bickering back and forth and tries to quiet them saying, "Greetings, my little ponies."

Luna watches as the two continue to ignore her sister's greeting and says, "Excuse me, you two, but could you quiet down?"

Rainbow groans and rolls her eyes, saying, "I'm sorry Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but they have been like this ever since they left the Ponyville Spa."

Luna hears Barbossa whisper into her sister's ear saying, "They be having a lover's quarrel, Your Highness. Perhaps you could make them cease their arguing by forcing them to...kiss and make up?"

Celestia rolls her eyes at hearing that and says, "I don't really want to use the royal voice...so, alright then." and makes her way down the steps to stand beside the two as they face each other and argue nonstop. She then places her left hand behind Jack's head and her right hand behind Rarity's, and then pushes their faces together suddenly.

The bickering suddenly comes to a stop as their lips collide, causing Rarity's face to turn beet red from embarrassment. She jerks her head back and turns her head to the side as Jack pulls away and starts spitting on the floor, then tries to brush the sensation off his lips with his fingers before turning his head to the right saying, "OI, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT FOR MATE?!" then smiles widely and tries to act like nothing happened saying, "Hello love, been standing there long, have you?"

She taps her left hoof on the ground irritably while her arms are crossed over her chest with her eyes narrowed as she frowns at her husband, saying, "I have, dear, and I am none to pleased at how you were too busy arguing to hear me."

Jack then smiles even wider as he takes off his hat and bows his head to her saying, "I deeply apologize, your nibs."

Celestia then huffs and grabs his left ear saying, "Stow it, you're coming with me." She then starts heading to the doors to the throne room while dragging her husband with her by the ear and looks over her shoulder saying, "Please come with us everypony, there's someone you haven't met yet in the gardens."

As Jack is dragged from the throne room, he winces in pain saying, "Ow ow ow ow ow ow!" all the way to the gardens by his ear when he is finally released, and takes a moment to rub his ear saying, "That hurt, love."

After releasing her hold on her husband's ear, she crosses her arms over her chest and then huffs, saying, "Good, then you learned something." and looks up at her daughter's statue saying in a slightly softer tone, "Now break the spell trapping our daughter."

He then takes notice of a stone column in front of him and looks up to see the statue of Summer Poppet, his and Celestia's daughter, standing upon the column with her right fist about eye level and an open book held in her right hand. His daughter's long mane and tail locked in place by the spell she used, as if there was an invisible breeze blowing them along. He then looks at the stone cloak behind her, lightly flowing as if there was a breeze. With a gentle smile, he looks up at her and says, "Daddy's home."

Everypony watches the statue for a few minutes with bated breath when Rainbow cocks her head and asks, "Uhm...is something supposed to happen right away, is there a key word to use, or possibly some form of magic?"

Celestia then cocks an eyebrow and says in confusion, "I'm not sure, that spell has a cure that must be chosen by the one to cast it, so I have no idea what she would have chosen as a cure." She then looks to her husband and says, "Keep trying dear, our daughter really liked you better."

Jack then looks over his daughter's stone body for any clues or hints as to what to what the cure might be, running the fingers of his right hand through his beard before he decides to pull out his compass. He brings out his compass and says while opening it, "I need your help here mate, give me a clue."

The compass then spins around slowly and comes to a stop, pointing right at the statue.

The captain sighs and says, "She has the clue? Be more specific."

The compass then turns and points to the right, providing Jack with the next clue.

Jack turns to the right to locate where the clue is, but it then turns to the left to point at his daughter once more. He then turns back to the statue and says, "Okay mate, now what?" then watches the compass point to the right side and then turns right, but keeps turning right as the arrow continues to point to the right.

Pinkie Pie giggles and laughs as the captain spins in circles to the right, only making himself dizzy.

The captain stops when he feels like he is going to throw up and says, "Come on mate, give me a better clue, I'm getting sick over here from the spinning."

She laughs and snorts saying, "You're too funny, Captain Sparrow! Hahaa! Why don't you try holding the compass on its side?"

Jack then shakes his head saying, "Oh...I haven't thought of that." and then turns the compass onto its right side while turning his body to face his daughter's statue.

The compass is relieved at someone finally getting the hint, then slowly turns to the left to point upward at the statue's face.

As he looks at the compass while it points upward, he looks in the direction to see only sky and thinks, 'The clue has something to do with my daughter's statue, so it can't be the sky. Might it be trying to tell me something specific about her statue?' then turns to his left and follows the arrow to where it leads. Following the arrow's direction leads him to gaze at his daughter's face and then smiles saying, "Hmm, it leads me to her face, so let's find out why."

Celestia watches as Jack climbs onto the column, grabbing onto their daughter's body just above her hips while he pulls himself up, shouting, "WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GRABBING, THAT IS OUR DAUGHTER UP THERE YOU MONGREL!"

Jack continues to pull himself up onto the column, holding onto his daughter's waist to help him keep his balance and looks back at his wife saying, "I do apologize for that love, but unlike pegasi and you alicorns, humans don't have wings and can't fly so I have to have somewhere to hold onto..."

Her face flushes with irritation as she huffs out a heated breath saying, "Just be careful of where your hands go, filthy husband of mine."

The captain then turns back to the statue, having to kneel down to look at his daughter's face to find out how to cure her. As he look over every inch of her face, he notices that her lips are parted slightly with her tongue pressed further into the bottom part of her jaw and cocks his head to the side thinking, 'Why would she leave her mouth open and her lips parted like that, was she thirsty?' Having reminded himself of thirst, he then reaches underneath his coat for his bottle of rum and pulls it out to take a swig when he sees how much is left and sighs at the tiny mouthful left, saying, "Why is the rum always gone..." then shrugs his shoulders and empties the last bit into his mouth. He is about to swallow it when he then gets an idea and drops the bottle before placing his lips against his daughter's then spits the rum into her mouth through her parted lips, earning him several gasps from everyone behind him.

Barbossa is shocked by what he sees Jack do to his own daughter and says, "Jack, I am utterly appalled at what you have done to your very own flesh and blood! How dare ye steal a young maiden's lips like that!"

Jack hears the others join in on berating him for his actions and looks over his shoulder saying, "Oh shut it, I'm trying to cure her." and then turns back to her and holds her shoulders and begins to sing a song he once heard long ago, "Yo Ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me...we pillage and plunder, we rifle and loot...drink up me hearty yo ho..."

Celestia stands there with her arms crossed, absolutely fuming that he stole their daughter's first kiss as he continues to sing, thinking, 'When you get done and find a way to free our daughter, you are going to get what you deserve for that...'

As he continues the song and brings it towards an end, singing, "We're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs...drink up me hearty yo ho..." he then gets closer to her ear and continues in a softer tone, "We're beggars and blighters, and ne'er do-well cads...aye but we're loved by our mommies and dads...drink up me hearty yo ho!" then whispers very softly into her ear, "Daddy's home...Poppet." and pulls her into a hug saying, "I've missed you."

A few moments ago, inside Summer's mind

Summer screams and pulls at her mane after her father kissed her, shouting, "All he had to do was pour some rum into my mouth and sing that song to release me!"

Elizabeth stands beside her with her hands on her hips, saying, "How was he supposed to do that when you were looking down, huh?"

She stomps her hooves and says, "He was supposed to have a bottle of rum with enough to just pour it into my mouth!!"

She looks at the angry filly and sighs, then shakes her head saying, "I tried to warn you about that, I do know your father better than you do since I knew and sailed with him on the Pearl."

The filly then stops throwing a tantrum and groans with exasperation saying, "I know that Lizzy, but I really thought that he would spare some rum for when he came back from his imprisonment..."

Elizabeth shakes her head and says, "Oh silly, naive little filly...you should realize that the rum is always gone when it comes to your father when he least expects it. I still can't believe you chose rum and that song to release you...will my torment ever end?"

Summer looks at her and then says, "Well you loved my father and that was your song to him, so I thought I would remind you of the good times you had with him."

She blushes and stammers saying, "I-I didn't like him like him, I looked up to him so I could learn to be free like he was..."

Presently, back in Equestria

Celestia is the first to gasp as a shimmer ripples over her daughter's statue, clasping her hands together and placing them in front of her mouth as a light begins shining from the tip of her horn and slowly works its way down to the base while she whispers, "It's...working."

They all watch as the spell work its way down the filly's head, revealing a snow white horn and a blonde mane on top of a head having a black coat with a stripe and snip down her forehead and mouth. The spell continues its way down her head as her eyes fall closed due to exhaustion, revealing a white left ear and a two-tone, black and snow white painted coat. As the spell releases more of her body, the filly's head and neck fall onto Jack's right shoulder while her mane hangs straight down past Jack's elbow. A black strip goes down her throat to a band going around the base of her neck, the filly's arms fall to her sides as the spell releases them.

As the book to falls to the ground, Rarity thinks about how much Twilight would love to study a new book and hastily snatches it with her magic before it hits the ground and tucks it away into her saddlebags before returning her gaze to the fading spell. Curious, she walks around to the back of the statue to see the pattern of her two-tone coat. The filly's left arm and shoulder is mostly snow white as her left elbow and shoulder are black with a strip going down either side of her spine, running all the way to a patch covering a small part of her barrel, the front part of her flank and her knees. The last thing to return to normal is her hooves, which her body falls limp against her father as he shifts her into a princess carry position while holding her head against his right shoulder.

Jack smiles and nuzzles his daughter gently, turning his body around to face is wife and says to her, "Our daughter is free at last, love. Might you, our daughter, and I share a room until she wakes?" and then carefully hops off the column, trying not to disturb his sleeping daughter.

Celestia smiles and strokes her daughter's face affectionately and then nods saying, "Of course we can dear, our family is whole once again and I know just the room we can stay in. I can't wait for when she wakes up, though I doubt she will be happy to see me." She then looks to the others and smiles saying, "Would you all like a room to stay the night and meet Summer after we get her caught up and settled in?"

They all nod and smile happily, eager to get to finally meet the newest alicorn as Barbossa puts his arm around Luna's shoulder saying, "Aye, with a family whole once again, a celebration might be needed in a few days once the little missy here gets her bearings once more."

Pinkie Pie vibrates with an abundance of excitement as she prances in place saying with barely restrained shouting, "Definitely! A private party is totally going to happen!" then she looks to Celestia and Jack with a manic smile saying, "Ohhh...and there are so very...many...many questions I must have the answers to whenever you two have the time to spare."

Fluttershy gulps and softly says, "Oh no...Pinkie has 'that' look in her eye again..." She then tries to sidetrack Pinkie and says, "A party sounds really nice, but she needs time to adjust to not being a statue anymore. Plus, I think that she really needs to spend a few weeks with her family, why don't we get some much needed sleep first and give Princess Celestia and Captain Jack a few days alone with their daughter before you start asking your questions. Okay, Pinkie Pie?"

The party pony turns her head around to look at Fluttershy with a gentle giggle saying, "Of course they need some time alone, I'm not just gonna start spouting out questions like I used to! Besides, I have to go through my party schedule to see when I have openings for a party of this magnitude."

Celestia gulps and then says with a nervous chuckle, "Pinkie Pie, perhaps the first party can be a small, private party for just family and my husband and I's friends. When I tell my daughter the secret, perhaps we can let her decide if she would like a big party or not. Is that okay with you, Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie Pie smiles and then nods her head with a giggle saying, "Of course it is, a party is still a party after all!" she then asks, "So where are our rooms going to be, Princess Celestia?"

Luna feels Barbossa's fingers running trails along her collarbone and then looks at him from underneath her long, dark lashes and smiles at him saying in a low, sultry voice, "Well, my dear, could you keep me company tonight as I watch over the Dream Realm?"

As Celestia, Jack and Summer head into the castle to find a room, Barbossa begins to walk with Luna saying, "It would be my pleasure, my beloved."

After setting the sun and raising the moon with Luna, Celestia heads inside the castle then looks at a passing maid and says, "Please find six other maids and go to the hallway where my chambers are, and clean the room on the left at the end of the corridor. It's the room that has a door leading onto one of the parapets, clean everything, but be sure to leave the objects where they lay."

The maid looks at her and bows to the princess saying, "At once, your Highness." then heads back where she came from to begin searching for others to help her clean.

As Jack, Celestia, and their daughter Summer make their way through the castle with Jack carrying the little filly like a princess, taking their sweet time to allow the maids time to get the room fully clean when Jack asks, "I take it we are taking her to the room she had here, then?"

She walks beside Jack and lays her head on his shoulder saying, "Yes we are dear, and when we get to the room, we'll all squeeze onto her full-size bed and be there for when she wakes."

When the three of them get to their daughter's old room, they head to the bed so Jack can lay Summer down upon it. As Jack climbs in beside his daughter, Celestia snuggles up against her and lays her head on her shoulder, using her horn to keep her husband from doing anything in the night.

Jack then takes his hat off and tosses it onto a sconce, having a gem attached to the top of it to provide light. He then snuggles into his daughter's side with his head laying beside hers and his wife's horn just a few inches above his head and thinks, 'I sure hope that I remember that her horn is there, or I might lose an eye...'

The night passes relatively quickly for Luna as Barbossa keeps her company throughout the night, finishing her patrol of the Dream Realm and wakes up to find herself lying on top of him with her left leg wrapped around his right leg. Her head rests on his shoulder as she takes a deep breath, taking in his unique scent of hickory wood with a hint of firewood smoke. Picking her head up off his shoulder, she turns her head to look him in the eye before moving her muzzle closer to Hector's and rubs her nose against his gently saying, "I look forward to when it is time to set the moon and raise the sun, then we can cuddle before we rest."

Hector then reaches up with his right hand and places it behind her head, gently pulling her into a slow, romantic kiss before pulling away saying, "Although I have waited for your return for a few centuries, Lunie, I am most fortunate for having met you now. The way I feel about you now, my heart feels like it could beat right out of my chest whenever we're near another."

Luna's heart skips a beat and continues to beat quickly in her chest as a smile and a blush come to her face, saying, "Though it has only been a few days, I look forward to our time together in the years to come. Can we be lovers?"

The pirate then smiles and caresses her cheek fondly, then rubs her ear gently saying, "I would like nothing more than to court a lovely mare like you, and I could never fall for another as you are my special star in the night sky."

Feeling like she is going to float away, she begins to gently rub her body against Hector's. She then goes in for a deep, romantic kiss when she feels his hands roam along her sides.

---

Celestia wakes up and stretches, then looks over at the sky and gasps as she thinks of what time it should be and thinks, 'Oh how could I let myself sleep for so long, it is a half past sunrise!' She then gets up out of bed and hurries toward the throne room, hoping that Luna isn't upset with her for forgetting.

She looks at the doors up ahead, seeing the guard on her left looking to his right and the other guard looking to his left with a heavy blush on both of their faces. In too much of a hurry, she ignores it and hurries through the doors. However, the moment she enters the throne room and closes the doors behind her, saying, "Oh sister, I'm terribly sorry for..." but is cut off when she looks up to see her sister sitting on top of Barbossa's lap with his pants around his ankles. Frozen in place due to shock, she hears them reach the end of their lovemaking as her sister's back arches with her head bent behind her own back, with her face looking back at her locked in a state of pleasure with closed eyelids.

Luna sits there in bliss and bites her lower lip saying, "Oh Hector, that was amazing..." and slowly opens her eyes to see her sister staring at her with wide eyes and mouth agape. Her face turns cherry red at suddenly realizing her current state, stammering as her mind tries and fails to come up with anything to say.

She quickly turns around and heads outside the throne room blushing fiercely as she hears her sister call out, "Sorry!"

Hector lifts his head and looks towards the door asking, "Who was that, my beloved?"

Luna straightens her back out and then looks down at her love, sighing heavily with embarrassment all over her face saying, "My sister..."

Finding this funny, his shoulders begin to shake as he starts to slowly chuckle, unable to restrain himself from the humorous situation, he starts roaring with laughter.

She looks up at the sky, huffing at how he is finding this so funny when she begins to slowly chuckle along, then looks back down at him saying, "My poor sister just got an eyeful, and is probably going to be scarred after seeing us. It is past sunrise, so pull your pants back up so we can raise the sun and set the moon."