I am Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?

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!"