Rainbow Dash was in her quarters writing in a journal.
Captain's Log, it's been three months since we started this journey to cure Celaeno of her poison and three days since we had a stowaway join our motley crew. She's been less difficult thankfully but that's probably because I've been keeping my distance from her. I tell whenever I'm near her she gives me a cold stare. I can't really blame her since we did have a bad first meeting and I did threaten to send her to the brig. I must confess but the more I watch this young filly, she reminds me of well… me in my younger days. Of course I was already flying circles around the other foals my age while this filly cannot fly at all! For what reason I shall never know. Fluttershy thinks she's a late bloomer just like she was in our youth. Twilight thinks it's a birth defect or a disease of some kind. Whatever it is, I hope someday the filly can experience the joys of flight as I do. Every pony that's born with wings deserves that chance…
A knock came at the door interrupting her. Twilight entered the room.
"Captain?"
"Yeah, what is it Twilight?"
"I don't know how to tell you this but when Amethyst and Moon Dancer and I were going over the navigational charts, our compass broke."
"What?! That thing was brand new when we got it in port four days ago?! The Flim-Flam Brothers guaranteed it would last for years!"
"I thought something was strange about those two brothers, even Applejack thought there they were a little off but you are the captain so what else could be done?" the unicorn shrugged.
"Ugh! We need a new compass! Or else we won't know where we're going!"
"But… aren't you a master of celestial navigation? Can we just use the stars to guide us?"
"No! Because we're running out of time to help Celaeno! Quibble had managed to waylay the poison this long but since now that he's on his way to South Amareica to get the cure who knows how much longer she can hold on!" she stomped her hoof. Then slowly she turned her head to her night stand to spot her silver compass sitting there. She went to it and gently pick it up as she contemplated the struggle she was feeling. She didn't want to part with the precious gift and yet she knew there was no other way. She deeply sighed and held out the device to her second mate, "Just don't lose it."
Twilight gapped, "C-captain? Are you sure? That's-"
"I know…" and she looked at the portrait of her old friend, "But I can't lose someone close to me again…"
The unicorn slightly nodded, "Understood. I won't let it out of my sight." she took it with her aura.
Rainbow made a small smile, "I know you won't."
The cabin girls or now known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders were swabbing the deck as the crew went about their business. Apple Bloom questioned to her companions, "So how do you think we should try for our cutie marks today?"
Scootaloo and Sweetie went, "Hmmm…"
Scoots then spotted the three ship navigators looking over charts, "How about Cutie Mark Crusaders Navigators?!"
The other two's eyes lit up in excitement and exclaimed, "Yeah!" and the three slapped their hooves together.
Sweetie voiced out in concern, "But how are we going to get to the charts?"
AB smirked mischievously, "Leave that to me." she ran up to the three mares and declared, "Twilight, come quick!"
"What is it, Apple Bloom?"
Bloom pointed to the starboard side of the ship, "One of the crewmembers accidently dropped a book into the sea!"
Twilight let out a huge gasp and ran to the edge of the vessel and started shouting out orders to retrieve the book. Amethyst and Moon Dancer obeyed immediately giving the Crusaders a chance at the maps and charts.
Scootaloo commented with a smirk, "You're good."
AB had a smug look, "Yeah, I know."
They then eyed the charts and Sweetie mentioned, "Wow, who knew it took so many numbers just to navigate somewhere?"
Scootaloo rubbed her temple, "It's making me dizzy just looking at it."
Apple Bloom stated, "So much for getting cutie marks in navigation."
Scoots then spotted the compass on the table with awe and slowly put it in her hoof and told her friends, "Well maybe we still can, we can just use this compass to navigate where we're going."
Sweetie beamed, "Yeah! Great idea!"
Scootaloo pointed the compass to the bow of the ship and the arrow pointed east making the pegasus exclaimed, "This way, mateys!" and they followed the compass.
Then Twilight came back looking confused and started to question, "Apple Bloom are you sure a book was dropped in the sea?" then saw that the earth filly wasn't there. "Apple Bloom?" she looked around and when she looked at the table she realized something was missing and gasped, "The compass!" and began to fret, "Oh no-no-no-no! Rainbow Dash is going to be so angry at me!" and in a panic she galloped around the deck not seeing the three fillies going below deck.
Rainbow Dash stared at the drawer that had her parents' letters inside. She debated about finally opening them. Then a small knock came at her door, and she knew right away of who it was.
"Come on in, Fluttershy."
The rosy-haired pegasus slowly came in, "Oh dear, I hope I'm not interrupting you."
Rainbow chuckled, "Like you could interrupt anything. No, I was just deciding whether or not I should open my parents' letters."
Fluttershy's eyes lit up, "Oh please do! My parents keep telling me that your parents worry everyday for you and that my letters are the only thing keeping them from despair."
Rainbow's eyes casted down, "I don't want them to worry but… I just feel so ashamed from falling from grace… Think about it, Flutters. My parents had always encouraged me to follow my dreams and they were so proud of me when I was accepted into the academy and then they were equally as proud when I became a midshipman in the ranks…" she sighed.
Fluttershy gently wrapped a hoof around her, "Oh Dashie… Your parents love you no matter what… I know… I saw it every day in our childhood. They won't care that you became a pirate, they just want to hear from you."
Rainbow gave an unsure look, "But if I do finally write to them… are you sure they won't be disappointed?"
"Well… read their letters first and then we'll see…"
Dash stood there for a moment and took a deep breath; slowly she moved her hoof to open the drawer but then stopped. She hesitated. Fluttershy looked on in concern. Dash's hoof shook and with a grunt she turned away. She sadly told her friend, "I can't do it…" and hung her head.
Fluttershy patted her back in comfort.
Rainbow expressed, "My parents are part of my past, and I'm trying to erase that from my mind…"
"But aren't I a part of your past, Dashie? Shouldn't you try to erase me from your mind?" the butter-cream mare inquired with big eyes.
"It's different with you, Fluttershy."
"How?"
"Uh…" the rainbow-haired mare tried to answer but even she wasn't sure.
Suddenly Twilight burst into the room and shouted at a fast pace, "Rainbow! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen! I just turned my back for one second and suddenly it was gone!"
"Whoa! Slow down, Twilight! Now, what happen?"
"Your compass! It's missing!"
Fluttershy gasped and looked to see Dash's reaction which was stunned.
Rainbow felt like her heart had been stabbed and slowly she glared, "You… lost… it…?"
Twilight pleaded, "I'm really sorry! All I did was turn away for one moment!"
Rainbow stomped her hoof and yelled, "I want every part of this ship searched until it is found! Got it?!"
Twilight declared, "Got it!" and ran out to fulfill her orders.
Fluttershy said, "I'll go help her." and fluttered out of the room.
The Crusaders kept following the compass below deck and were starting to get bored.
Sweetie voiced, "All we're doing is going in circles."
Apple Bloom agreed, "Yeah, and besides, we're stuck on a ship anyway there's not many places we can go."
Scootaloo sighed, "You're right. Let's take this back." they started going back up to the deck when they saw the crew acting in a panic.
AB asked Lyra as the unicorn was frantically searching for something, "What's going on? Are we under attack?"
"No! The captain is missing something and she's in foul mood because of that! We need to find her compass or else it's going to get worse!"
The trio exchanged looks when they heard the word 'compass'.
Apple Bloom uneasily inquired, "W-what does this compass look like?"
"It's silver and it has words inscribed on it." then the mare ran off.
The girls looked at each other and then Scootaloo took out the compass and sure enough it was silver.
Sweetie started to question, "Do you think that…?"
Scoots motioned, "That this is the captain's compass? No way! Besides it would need to have words on it in order…" she stop short when examining the compass more and sure enough she saw the words, With this, you will always find your way to me… on it. "Oops…"
Apple Bloom gestured, "What do we do? If we give this back, Rainbow Dash will know it's us that took it in the first place!"
Sweetie Belle fret, "She'll punish us for sure!"
Scootaloo stated, "Whose says she has to know? I say we wait till nightfall when everyone's asleep and then we sneak into her room and leave it there. That way, she gets her compass back and we don't get into any trouble!"
The fillies gave concern looks as AB voiced, "I don't know, Scootaloo… it sounds risky to me…"
The pegasus insisted, "It'll be fine! Just you wait."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie were still unsure but redundantly agreed.
Rainbow shouted, "You couldn't find it anywhere?!" to her crewmates when they gave her their progress report later that afternoon.
Twilight exclaimed, "We've looked everywhere!"
Applejack stated, "I had the entire ship searched from stem to stern but there's no sign of it anywhere!"
Pinkie piped up, "I even searched the food I was going serve tonight but it was not there!"
Rarity sadly said, "Oh darling, we are so sorry… we know how much that compass meant to you…"
Meanwhile, the Crusaders were pasting the captain's quarters when they heard the shouting.
"That compass was my only link I had left to the stallion I loved!" Dash bellowed emotionally.
The trio glanced at each other in shock as they kept listening.
"It was our way of getting engaged! We didn't want rings like other couples, we wanted to stand out and have something that was practical for us to use!"
Back inside, Fluttershy wrapped her wings around her friend and assured her, "We will find it, Dashie, I promise."
Applejack motioned, "That's right, we're not going to give up until we do."
The others around her agreed.
The Crusaders exchanged guilty looks with Scootaloo saying, "I'm going to return it."
Apple Bloom gapped, "What?! But you said-"
Scoots held up a hoof, "I know. But just now listening to all that… I don't have it in me for her to wait any longer. You go ahead, I'll take the fall."
AB proclaimed, "No way!"
Sweetie added, "We Cutie Mark Crusaders stick together! Besides, we're just as guilty as you are."
Apple Bloom said, "We'll disappoint our sisters but at least we'll know we did the right thing."
The girls nodded and all three took a deep breath and slowly they knocked on the door.
Rainbow had a hard look on her face while the rest of her cabinet made disappointing looks toward the fillies especially Applejack and Rarity.
Sweetie apologized, "We're sorry, we didn't mean any harm…"
AB pointed, "We were just tryin' to find our life's purpose…"
Scootaloo directly told the captain, "I didn't know that the compass meant that much to you…"
Rainbow was still scowling while clutching the compass close to her chest.
Twilight spoke, "Thank you for coming forth with the truth and for returning the captain's compass. But that doesn't change the fact that you tricked me away from my duties and took the compass away in the first place."
The fillies hung their heads.
Applejack gestured, "Therefore, you'll be given extra chores to go with your duties. Starting with helping Pinkie Pie to make dinner since she was force to get rid of some the entrees she had due to your carelessness."
They sighed, "Yes, Applejack…"
Pinkie led them away, "Come on, girls."
Once they were gone, Rainbow fumed, "I should have known that little stowaway was behind this."
Applejack frowned, "Now Rainbow, you're just overreacting."
Rarity tried to assure her, "The filly didn't mean to cause you distress, after all she didn't know that the compass was of value to you."
Fluttershy said, "She's right, so don't be so hard on the young filly."
Dash retorted, "We don't know anything about her! So we don't know what she's capable of!"
Twilight scoffed, "And you do? Ever since she's been here, you been keeping away from her."
"Only because she's been keeping away from me! She hates me!"
Applejack voiced, "Sounds to me you both need to get to know each other better, from what Apple Bloom has told me about her she's well… a lot like you…"
Rarity nodded, "I have to agree, Sweetie Belle has given me a list of traits of the filly as well and it does sound like you two would have a great deal in common."
Fluttershy added, "If that's true Dashie then you should get to know Scootaloo more."
Dash frowned as she pondered on their words. She already knew that she and the filly are alike in some way but she couldn't let her crewmates know that and instead said, "I'll get to the know the filly if only know to know what she's like and if she poses as a future threat to our cause."
The girls exchanged exasperated looks but if it was the only way for the captain to get close to the new cabin girl then so be it.
The fillies were in their beds feeling sore from kitchen duty and groaned.
"If I don't have to peel another potato it'll be too soon." said Apple Bloom.
"Or wash dishes." said Sweetie Belle.
"Or cleaning the stove and countertops." stated Scootaloo.
By then Applejack came down and asked the girls, "Busy day?"
They moaned in response.
"It's just as well you're in bed already, you'll have to get up early to help with breakfast tomorrow."
They groaned again.
"Now, now, it's only for a few more days then you can return to your regular chores."
Scootaloo grumbled under her breath, "All this over one compass…"
Applejack heard her but didn't comment, instead she told her, "The captain wants to see you."
Scootaloo froze in fear and stammered, "Am I to be punished some more?"
AJ shook her head, "No, the captain just wants to have a little talk with you that's all."
Scootaloo gulped as she climbed out of her bunk and slowly went up deck while her friends had concern on their faces.
The young pegasus hesitated to knock on the captain's door but when she finally did, she heard the captain's stern tone.
"Come in."
She slowly opened the door and peeked her head in, seeing the older pegasus was sitting at the table and watched her with an emotionless expression on her face. She spoke, "Well don't just stand there, get in here."
Scootaloo obeyed and closed the door behind her but she stayed where she was at, not daring to come any closer.
Rainbow noticed this and decided to break the ice, "You're afraid of me, aren't you?"
Scootaloo felt herself boiling and shouted, "I'm not afraid of anything! Especially not you!"
"Then why do you stay away from me?"
"Because you're pirate! And pirates are mean and ruthless!"
"Kid, you got a narrow-minded view of what pirates are like. If I was so mean and ruthless why would I let you stay on my ship? Or for that matter why would I save you from falling into the sea when you couldn't fly?"
Scootaloo gapped at her words before she scowled and yelled, "I don't know maybe you thought I was worth money to you!"
"Let's get one thing straight, I hate the idea of selling any pony. And I don't give out ransoms either. That's not how I operate."
Scootaloo was genuinely curious now by what pirate doesn't like to sell ponies or ransom them and softly inquired, "Then… what kind of pirate are you?"
"I'm a pirate that's on a crusade to help a friend get better from a terrible illness that's befallen on her." she pointed to the portrait of Celaeno hanging on the wall.
Scootaloo looked at it in awe.
Rainbow continued, "That's why I couldn't let you off the ship, there isn't much time for her and she needs a cure to heal her. That's also the reason I let Twilight have my compass in the first place so she could properly navigate to where we need to go."
"I… I had no idea… you really aren't like other pirates…"
Dash slightly smiled, "As Twilight would say you can't judge a book by it's cover."
Scootaloo hung his head and moved her hoof in a circle, "I'm sorry for ever thinking of that of you. It's just… I've had a run in with pirates before and it wasn't good…"
Rainbow's eyes widen at this, "Wh-what happen? If you don't mind me asking."
Scootaloo turned her head away and it looked like she was on the edge of tears. "My parents… they were killed…"
Her eyes widen further before they casted down and she solemnly said, "I'm sorry…"
Scootaloo wiped her eyes, "Hey, it's fine, I'm doing alright on my own."
Rainbow found that hard to believe but decided not get into it, especially if she wanted this filly to fully trust her now that she knew she had a terrible experience with pirates. She questioned, "Do you know why my compass is so important to me?"
The filly admitted bashfully, "It was a present from the stallion you loved. That's why I decided to give you back the compass personally rather than just trying to sneak it back to you."
"Wise decision, kid, I'll admit I do like your guts."
Scoots' eyes widen in surprise, "Really?"
"Yeah, but if you tell anyone I told you that, I'm going to deny it. Got keep up my reputation after all, can't have anyone knowing I'm a softy, now can I?"
And for the first time since she stowaway on the ship, Rainbow Dash heard her giggle.
"There we go, see, once you get to know me I can be pretty awesome." she gave a smug smile.
Scootaloo smiled up at the mare and felt herself actually liking her by the minute.
Rainbow stated in a firm tone, "But don't think you're off the hook, far from it. As of this moment, I'm going to go out of my way to make sure I pound a few skills into that thick head of yours."
Scootaloo was confused, "What?"
"From now on, I'm not letting you out of my sight."
"But-"
"You won't so much as eat, sleep, or do anything else without my say-so."
Scootaloo retorted, "Well don't do me any favors then!"
Rainbow smirked and used her wing to touch the filly's chin, "Oh, you can be sure of that, matey, you can be sure of that…"