I am Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?

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!"