Choice Selected: A: Walk up and say hello

Wanting to make a good impression, Tomas walked casually toward the front gate.

As he got closer to the horse-like creatures, he was able to make out more details. For a start, they were a bit smaller than any horse he'd seen before; they had to be roughly half the size. Secondly was the fact that both their coats were pure white - something rare back home - and both their manes and tails were bright blue in color. He wondered if it was dyed, or if they were twins. Or both. Both was also an option.

Yet another difference was the fact that both of them had horns; did this make them some sort of unicorn? Putting that question to the side for now, he inspected their armor. Seemed sturdy, but also slightly restricting. They probably wouldn't be able to reach back if something landed on their backs; he noted this as a potential weak point if he had to fight them.

The moment they saw him approaching, the horse-things' horns glowed, a similar glow surrounding their spears - which were quickly leveled at Tomas's chest. The pirate stopped, giving them a small smile and holding up his hands to show he meant no threat.

"Hi there."

"Who, and what, are you, creature?" The horse-thing on his left demanded. Tomas wasn't too surprised it could talk - the intelligent look in their eyes showed they were just as sentient as a human.

"I am a human. My name is King Z. Tomas - call me Tomas."

"King? You're royalty?" The one on the right asked, a little surprised.

"No, not royalty." He shook his head. "'King' is my family name. Tomas is my personal name."

"And what's a 'human'?" The one on the left demanded.

"The being standing before you right now." Tomas replied simply. "I simply wanted to try and talk with whoever is in charge around here - would I be wrong in assuming they live in the castle back there?"

"You want an audience with the Princesses?"

"What makes you think you'd ever get close to them, creature?"

"I'm willing to wait." The pirate said with a shrug. "All I want is to talk to them about something important, if they're willing to listen."

Tomas sat quietly on the floor of his cell. Apparently the guards hadn't been entirely trusting of him - something he respected, in all honesty. If a strange creature showed up out of the blue and asked to speak with your leader, who wouldn't take steps to ensure their leader's safety?

Of course, while he had willingly given up Sandankamae (on the condition he get it back later), he couldn't help but notice how they'd simply placed him in a cell without binding his hands in seastone. Maybe they didn't have it here? He'd have to ask sometime.

The faint sound of a door opening, followed by the clip-clop of hooves, let him know some horse-things - he'd heard them calling themselves 'ponies' - were coming his way.

He looked up as they arrived at his door. He couldn't see them, as there were no windows, but closing his eyes, his Haki let him know there were three beings on the other side. Two were the same guards from before, but the third...

It was bigger than the others, almost twice as tall, and just seemed to exude power - this was certainly someone he did not want to piss off. Especially since, judging by the reverence practically radiating from the guards, this strong entity was their leader.

He remained sitting as the door slowly opened, though his stopped his Observation and opened his eyes. Before him stood a tall 'pony' - one with both a horn and wings, he'd noted. On the trip to the prison, he'd seen the other guards having either one, or the other, or sometimes neither. He idly wondered if having both wings and a horn was a sign of prestige as the tall pony sized him up.

"You said you would like to speak with me... Tomas?" She said, her voice calm, though he could pick up a slight hint of wariness, so well-hidden he almost didn't notice.

"I did indeed." He replied, nodding respectfully. "Before we begin our talk - assuming that's what you are here for - would I be able to get your name?"

"Celestia. Princess Celestia."

"Pleasure to meet you, Princess." Tomas replied, bowing from his sitting position. "My name is King Z. Tomas, AKA 'Black Flag' Tomas."

"Black Flag?" Celestia asked, confused.

"It was the epithet the Marines decided to put on my bounty poster." Tomas replied, causing Celestia's eyes to narrow.

"You're a criminal, then?"

"Depends on who you ask, really. To the World Government and those who blindly follow the Government's orders, I was a pirate. To the many innocent lives I protected on a near-daily basis, I was a guardian angel who would protect them to my dying breath." He replied, closing his eyes. "I would protect towns or even small cities, and ask for nothing in return other than the occasional room and board. The World Government, however, saw my actions as a pirate amassing territory... and began attempting to wipe out the towns I'd 'corrupted with my evil'. They slaughtered everyone they could find in the name of their 'justice' - even the littlest child."

Celestia's eyes went wide before she scowled. "Why should I trust someone with a bounty on their head, such as yourself?"

Tomas chuckled. "Of course. Why would the criminal paint the government that hunted them in such a bright light?" His smile vanished as his expression darkened. "Honestly... I wish I could lie about the things the World Government has done."

Celestia thought for a moment before subtly lighting her horn. A quick mind-reading spell - known only to herself and Luna, for obvious reasons - allowed her to secretly enter his head to view his memories.

Tomas tilted his head to the side in confusion as Celestia's eyes went wide, her knees trembling as she witnessed the tragedies that this... poor soul both witnessed... and committed.

She saw these 'World Government' figures wiping out entire islands for not allowing them entry, claiming the island to be full of evil before moving on to the next.

She saw Tomas slaying these figures for this egregious crime, these 'Marines' calling him a monster despite the actions they themselves had taken.

She saw thousands of innocents as they watched Tomas fighting off what appeared to be a band of thugs, who continued attacking despite Tomas's attempts to force them to leave.

She saw Tomas's final moments on the execution stand as the Government listed off his 'crimes' to an enraged crowd - but they weren't angry at the one sitting before her now, she realized. No... they were angry at the monsters posing as the lawmakers of his world!

Her eyes widened, however, as she came across a recent memory... a voice she hadn't heard for many, many years.

Tomas watched as Celestia calmed herself from her abrupt mood swings before looking at him in a whole new light.

"You... are here to protect." She said, clearly not a question. "I know of the six you seek... but should you bring harm to an innocent, or abandon your duty as their guardian... You will receive no mercy."

Tomas smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Princess."

What does Tomas do now?
A: Learn more about this world's culture - might help me gain their trust faster.
B: Head straight to the six - The sooner I find them, the sooner they can be protected.

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long, and sorry if this seems sub-par. Due to a bunch of snow days, my midterms were pushed back to both before and after Spring Break, not to mention all the work I had to do during said break.

Anyway, same drill as always - pick an option, and let me know what you want!