Author's Note

FUN FACT: A tidbit of this chapter came from what I had originally planned for the previous chapter!

Chapter 34: The path to redemption

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?"