Pirates Of The Caribbean: Lands Beyond The Tides

Baltimare
2:00pm

After tensions were being settled, Celestia knew she has to set up some diplomacy between these new humans. They were nothing like her friend, they were rude, dirty, and lacked some basic common sense. Celestia knew the best place for her and the humans to ask questions, Baltimare city hall. Celestia invited the humans there, they were a bit unsure of the invitation but after a bit of convincing, they agreed. Jack instructed only a few of his most loyal men to accompany them, while the rest stayed with the ship. Barbossa walked up to his sword, still stuck in the ground and gave it a quick tap, and then another. Deciding it wasn't gonna move on its own again, he picked it up and sheathed it. Celestia saw this, and knew these specific humans were not used to magic. Though it would be quite a walk, she decided it would be best for them to walk to City hall rather than teleport.

While being escorted by the local Coast Guard, The group of ponies and group of Pirates made there way through Baltimare. The Pirates looked upon the building with awe; they had never seen architecture like this before. Tall concrete skyscrapers were nothing like the wooden buildings they were used to back home. They get a little agitated, feeling incredibly out of place. This did nothing in easing their anxiety. After a decently long walk, and the uneasy sightseeing, they make it to the city hall. The pirates take a sigh of relief, at least the inside of the historical city hall looked somewhat familiar to what they were all used to. They were led into a conference room, where each side sat down, across from each other. Each side was giving each other very unsure looks.

"I'm terribly sorry for the long walk humans, if there was another way to get us here that wouldn't cause any disharmony for you, I would have done it." Celestia said, the pirates barely reacted. "Now, can we please begin discussions?"

"I asked for a place for a drink? How about we get a drink first and I'd be more inclined to answer any question ye got, savvy?" Jack would ask before leaning back in his chair, placing his boots up onto the table with his arms behind his head.

"Very well, what would you like to drink?" Celestia would sit back in her own chair.

"Rum!" Jack loudly exclaimed.

"Aye! Rum!" Gibbs would join in.

"Rum! SQUAWK! Rum!" Cotton's parrot began squawking.

"You all want rum? But it's only 2 o'clock." Twilight spoke up, confused at why anyone would drink at this time.

"No rum, no questions." Jack would say with a head sway, now turning his attention to the ceiling.

"Fine, we'll get you some rum." Princess sighed heavily. After a few minutes, a few coast guard ponies came in, holding a few bottles of rum. They set them on the table, and were then about to set down a few glasses for them, when suddenly Jack took a bottle in his hand. He opened it, the cork making a very satisfying sound. He takes a large swig from the bottle, savoring the flavor. He pulls the bottle away and looks at it. It was... different. But rum is rum. He licked his lips and smiled.

"Aye, that will do." Jack said as he began to pass the bottle around, all of the members taking large drinks from the bottle. By the time the bottle got passed back to Jack, it was completely empty. Jack reached for a new bottle and uncorked it.
"Ye may begin talking now." Jack took another drink from the bottle.

"Finally, First, may we begin with your names?" Asked Celestia. Jack gave her a smile as he put his boots back onto the ground and stood up. He took his hat off with his other hand, placing it on his chest and bowing.

"I be Captain Jack Sparrow. Captain of the Black Pearl!" Barbossa scoffed and rolled his eyes, his monkey sitting on his shoulder. Jacks stood back up and placed his hat back on top of his head. "And these be my merry men. Joshamee Gibbs, me most loyal first mate." Gibbs gives the group a nod. "These two be Terry Ragetti and Abner Pintel." Pintel gives them a serious look as to try and look tough, but Ragetti smiles and waves. Pintel looks at him, nudging him. Ragetti quickly pulled his hand down and glances down at the floor. "This here be Cotton, and his parrot, Chip." Cotton remained unmoving but his parrot fluffed its wings in response. "Down here be one of me most loyal crew, Marty." Marty was much shorter compared to everyone else, but he too stood still, only eyeing the ponies. "and finally, a dear friend o' mine, the lying, backstabbing, filth rat, Hec-"

"I don't need ye to introduce me Jack, I be doing it meself!" Barbossa snapped at Jack before he himself turned back towards the ponies. He put his hand to his head, swirling it in a circle and bowing his head. His monkey is still firm upon his shoulder. "I be Captain Barbossa, the real captain of the Black Pearl."

"Pearl is mine mate!" Jack quickly added, causing Barbossa to glare at Jack.

"Ye lost the Black Pearl! It be mine!" Barbossa began to argue.

"I be the one who got it raised back up from the depths by Davy Jones! It's my ship and always will be!" Jack narrowed his eyes

"Ah Jack, don't ye rememeber? Ye let yer guard down and allowed yerself to be mutinied upon. So the ship be rightfully mine." Barbossa shot back.

"Then I took the ship back once I shot ya in the chest. It's mine!" Jack said firmly.

"Ok, ok. Calm down everypony." Celestia butted in, to stop the quarrel of the two men. She let out a long sigh before speaking again. "Allow us to introduce ourselves. As I said, I am Princess Celestia, ruler of all of Equestria. This is my sister Luna, she rules along with me. Princess Cadence, of the Crystal Empire. Princess Twilight Sparkle with her friends, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer."

"Aye, pleasure." Was all Jack said as he sat back down, putting up his feet again and taking another big gulp of rum.

"Do you know La Buse?" Celestia quickly said, eager for his answer.

"I know of him. But knowing him personally, I'm afraid not love." Jack gave Celestia a quick wink.

"Hey pal, show the princess proper respect!" Rainbow Dash spoke up, causing all the pirates to glance over at her. They all began to laugh and chuckle.

"Very well, Apologies...Princess." Jack smiled a toothy grin before handing the second bottle to his crew. Celestia let out another long sigh, these humans were very tiring.

"If you don't know La Buse personally, how did you find passage to my world?" Celestia asked, his gaze falling upon Jack Sparrow alone.

"We simply followed his instructions, left behind on his Cryptogram." Jack answered, placing his arms behind his head again.

"What do you mean ‘his cryptogram’?" She raised an eyebrow. "May I see it?"

"Hector, show her." Jack ordered. Barbossa would roll his eyes before pulling the paper out of his pocket. His eyes would widen upon seeing the paper glow with the same golden aura before being lifted out of his hand. All the crew quickly backed up from it, and Jack quickly sat up. They watch the paper float towards Celestia. By now Jack could see Celestia's horn glow with the same aura. She unravels the paper and analyzes its contents.

She look over the parchment, as if trying to decode it herself. The pirates begin to whisper amongst themselves about what they were witnessing.

"How she be holding that without actually... holding it?" Ragetti looked to his uncle.

"She must be a witch." Pintel whispered back.

"If she be a witch, then we best not make her angry..." Gibbs joined, looking wide eyed at Celestia and back at the pair. "I'd rather not be ending up cursed... or worse!"

"Will ye three shut yer traps! If she be a witch then why she be as elegant as that? All witches I've laid me eyes on have all been hags, such as Tia Dalma before we released her." Barbossa butted in.

Celestia raises an eyebrow at their conversation before going back to the parchment. She was indeed able to decode it, giving it an approving nod. It indeed came from La Buse, only he could have given out such fine instructions in a well coded manner. However, she feels confused. Why would La Buse write instructions to find Equestria? What was his purpose of doing so? He was the first and last human to come to Equestria, and his absence over the past few years have troubled her greatly.

"How did you get a hold of this?" Celestia asked, setting the cryptogram onto the table.

"We... acquired it on a small island in the Indian ocean. Along with a necklace that came with it.'' Jack answered somewhat truthfully.

"Necklace? May I please see it?" Celestia felt a sudden anxiety, having a good idea what the necklace must be. Jack then reached into his pocket, and pulled it out. letting the pendant hang down below his hand. All the ponies there, including Luna and Cadence make an audible gasp. Celestia's eyes only softend, her fears coming true.
"That... that's it... that's the necklace I gave him..."

"You gave away this necklace? To whom?" Jack raised an eyebrow, taking in the pony's reaction to the necklace.

"I gave that to La Buse... the last time he was here. How do you have it?" Celestia asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Well we-" Jack was about to explain, but was quickly interrupted.

"Wait a minute there lassie, I be a bit curious." Barbossa spoke up, crossing his arms. "How do we know fer sure this be yer necklace? I be needing proof!" The crew then look to each other in agreement. As this world seemed to be very much distant from their home, they wanted proof that this was Celestia's necklace. Celestia only closed her eyes and stood up, she then turned to the side to reveal her cutie mark. The crew were left stunned, as it resembled the pendant perfectly.

"By the Devil! Yer tattoo be the same as the necklace!" Gibbs shouted, pointing towards the alicorn princess. All the crew were suddenly acting as if they were a bit agitated. Jack raised his hand to signify to his crew to calm down. A large smile began to form across his face.

"So, you really did know ol' Levasseur." Jack asked as Celestia nodded at him. Jack slowly rose to his feet and turned towards his crew, his smile only getting larger.
"Good men, do you know what this means?"

"...We really are be going crazy?" Asked Pintel.

"No, that means we be in fact on the right track of locating Olivier Levasseur's lost treasure! Our trail in fact did not run cold, it be as warm as ever!" Jack announced, soon all the men's faces began to light up.

"Captain's right! If Levasseur was here, and his code led us here, it must be here!" Gibbs deduced. Now all the men had crooked smiles, but as Jack turned back to face Celestia, she had a very unimpressed look.

"You plan to steal from La Buse?" She asked, her voice taking a sharp and cold one. Jack and his crew look at each other, not liking Celestia's tone.

"My dear, ask me this. Is it really considered stealing, if you steal from a dead man?" Jack asked her, not once losing his smile. However, he did lose his smile at seeing Celestia's new expression. His words seemed to stab her, as her head flinched backwards, showing both confusion and worry.

"...La Buse is dead!?" Celestia's mouth was left slightly gapped. Jack turned to Gibbs, to which Gibbs looked back at Jack. He motioned Gibbs to step forward, as he knew the story best. Gibbs rolled his eyes and stepped forward.

"Aye, tis true. Olivier was captured by the Portuguese and would be tried for piracy. He would be found guilty, and the punishment for piracy be as followed, hung by the neck until death." Gibbs began to explain as the ponies listened closely. "As he stood at the gallows awaiting his drop, he shouted to the crowd. 'Find my treasure, the one who may understand it!' and before he took his final drop, he tossed to the crowd a necklace, with a piece of paper wrapped around It. it is a code that supposedly marks the location of his treasure." Celestia listened to the whole tale. She slowly lowered her head to look back down at the cryptogram.

"La Buse... is dead..." She now spoke in a saddened tone. "...But... but he promised he'd come back..."

"Hold on a second." Princess Cadence finally chipped in. "That doesn't make sense. How can the punishment for piracy be death? That is ludacris."

"Really, pray tell, they what be the punishment for piracy here?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There isn't one. Pirates are adventurers. Sailing the high seas and making discoveries, finding lost treasure and fighting off monsters. The profession is admirable at best." Cadence began to explain.

"...not for humans..." Celestia spoke again, not raising her head. "Human pirates are thieves and murderers."

"Well... not entirely true." Jack quickly said, but was quickly cut off.

"Well that certainly explains the hostility we were shown at first contact." Luna now chiming in, glaring specifically at Barbossa, who sneered back.

"Is that true? Are you bad humans?" Twilight now voicing her thoughts, giving the human pirates a fearful look. The crew were taking a few steps back, as they soon feared a confrontation was about to erupt. However, Jack remained calm. He put a smile back on and sat back down.

"I can assure you lass, we not be bad people, but we still be pirates." Jack grabbed the third and last bottle of rum that was brought to them. He opens it and takes another hardy drink. "As Pirates, we do not live by any laws given by any country, our home is the sea. As such, instead of laws, we live by a code. A code that we follow to ensure that we at least keep our dignity. So lass we may be seen as thieves, killers, and criminals, we have standards." The ponies look at each other. Though Jack's words were honeyed, they didn't know if they should be trusted. Luna seemed to be unmoved by the words, only raising an eyebrow to him.

"You mind sharing some rules in your 'code' please." Luna all but demanded. Jack seemed a bit taken back, hoping to not be called out on.

"Well... you see... uh, Mr. Gibbs, would you please." Jack quickly averted the Question to his first mate. Gibbs sighs and lowers his head before speaking again.

"Ye always have the right to Parley. When Parley is declared, ye be taken to the pirate captain fer negotiations. Ye remained unharmed during the whole process." Gibbs began to explain. "Freeports are a safe haven and shall not be touched by conflict. All pirates be equal to their brother. When it comes to loot, all shall partake in the rule of thumb. The crew comes before taverns and wenches." Luna raised her hoof, signifying him to stop.

"Very well, we can see you do have some standards. But can we be sure about your behavior?" Luna asked. Twilight looked over to Celestia who has been quiet for the longest time. She could see the look of grief in her eyes, just how close was she to La Buse?

"Ye have me word, we be on our best behavior." Jack tipped his hat to her. "If he be willing to trade us some more of this rum, we promise to be all but cordial." Luna rolled her eyes.

"All you want is alcohol?" Luna asked.

"Aye, Rum and some food. And we promise to not be a bother. Once we find Levasseur's treasure, we be on our merry way back from whence we came." Jack gave her his word.

"...That won't be possible." Celestia finally spoke up again, now looking back to the pirates.

"And what ye mean by that?" Barbossa narrowed his eyes at the princess.

"You came here via a magical portal in our ocean, that portal only opens once every year on the Winter solstice. You and your crew are stuck here until this time next year." Celestia explained. All at once, the pirates gave Celestia a shocked and horrified expression.

"Once a year!?" Gibbs repeated to his own shock.

"We be stuck in this bleedin' world fer a year!?" Barbossa yelled. Jack, his monkey, let out a screech upon his master's anger.

"I understand your anger, but there is nothing I can do to remedy this just yet.” Celestia began to explain.

“When be the Winter Solstie thingy?” Jack asked, tilting his head to the side. Celestia looks at a nearby calendar. It was the 22nd of December.

“It was yesterday.” Celestia raised an eyebrow at that. “Tell me, was it night time when you started looking for the treasure?”

“Aye.” They all said in unison.

“What time exactly?” Celestia asked.

“We don’t bloody know! We not have a clock on board!” Barbossa barked at the Princess. Celestia let out a long sigh as she looks to the side, These humans were either the the most unlucky people ever to be in the right place at the right time… or… was it even an accident? Celestia narrows her eyes. The conditions had to be met so perfectly, there is no way they came here by accident. Something… has guided them. Whatever that something is, she doesn’t truly know. But she knew this, if they were guided here by a supernatural force, she shouldn’t get in the way.

“I believe you did not come here on purpose, but you met the conditions perfectly. You were at the exact spot of the portal, on December 21st, the time had to be past 9 o'clock, that’s the winter solstice. It’s the time of year, where the tides are at their lowest, as the moon is closest to your planet, it triggers the opening of a portal between our worlds” Celestia explained, but most of it went directly over the pirates' heads.

“Oh! I think I understand! It’s somewhat similar the mirror portal that leads to Canterlot High!” Twilight chipped in, causing Celestia to smile at her.

“You are correct, my student. But this portal is in the middle of our ocean, and it leads to their world instead.” Celestia pointed to the pirates. She then looks back at Jack before continuing to speak. “Since the solstice was yesterday, you will have to sit tightly until the portal opens next year. In the meantime..." Celestia closes her eyes, as if debating on her decision. "You and your crew may stay here and we'll help accommodate you to the best of our abilities... And provide any aid you may need in accomplishing your quest."

"You're allowing us to look for the treasure while here in your world?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes... If what you say is true, then it sounded like La Buse... wanted somepony to find it. You have my blessing to look for it." Celestia relented.

"Like we be needing permission from that harlot." Barbossa whispered to himself.

"Very well. We promise not to be a burden on your world as we look for the treasure. If ye be willing to, make sure we don't run out of food and drink. Do we have an accord?" Jack asked with his own toothy grin.

"Sister, perhaps we should debate this." Luna warned, giving her sister a glance. "We think you are allowing them too much freedom."

"They will be monitored non-stop by our coast guards. If they step one hoof out of line, we will be notified. Besides… They are stuck here whether we like it or not and I will not allow them to starve while they are here. That doesn't mean I'm happy about their arrival." Celestia responds before looking back at Jack Sparrow. "One other thing. I want to see the treasure before you leave. That is my only condition." The crew looked at each other, raising an eyebrow at the fact Celestia wants to see the treasure. After a few thoughts about it, Jack answers.

"Very well, Princess. I accept yer terms." Jack finally responded.

"Very good. We shall head back to the pier, and I will arrange to bring you and your crew some food and drink." Celestia.

"Sister!" Luna's voice raises before putting her mouth close to Celestia's ear. "We must object to this. These creatures... We think they are untrustworthy, just look at them."

"Fear not sister." Celestia whispered back. "One step out of line, I shall deal with them myself."