Destined

In the Eye of the Sapphire Star

Twilight saw the captain every day she was a prisoner on the air-ship. Whether it was for a long chat, to bring her food, discuss her visions; but one day she didn't come. Twilight sat and waited, trying to meditate, but with her ears perked to try and hear anything through the thick wood and the heavy sound of machinery. Sunlight flooded the room through the small porthole and then left with the sun. As much as Zaria tried to forestall her thoughts from straying into that train of thought, she wondered what had happened, curious and a bit worried. She held no hate for the mare, even for kidnapping her, as it was all part of the vision that Twilight had seen. And the captain had never been cruel. Twilight had even been rather surprised by her hospitality...despite keeping her locked in a cell. Around what Twilight felt was midnight, she heard hoofsteps coming towards the door.

"Captain?" She called out. But as the door creaked open, it wasn't the captain who walked in, but her number 2; Parasol.

"The captain needs your help."

Twilight cocked her head. "My head?"

Parasol took the keys to the cell out of her pocket. "You're a healer, aren't you?" Before Twilight had a chance to answer, the lock clicked and the door opened. As Twilight walked out, Parasol placed her hoof on her shoulder. "If you try to run, you won't get very far...and the captain dies."

Twilight's stomach dropped. What had happened? " I won't run."

As Parasol took lead Twilight through the halls of the ship, all she could think about was the captain. There's no way AppleJack would've hurt her that much. She remembered Cadence saying that AppleJack made an oath not to kill any creature except one with a heart as black as Glade's. Sure, AppleJack is a determined samurai and takes her job seriously, but maybe just a few cuts on Rainbow at the least? Not fighting her to death! Finally, they reached a thick wooden door that resembled all the others on the ship.

"The captain's quarters." Parasol said, outloud. "She's a bit unruly. Call if she tries to break your neck."

Twilight took a deep breath and opened the door slightly. But it was enough that Rainbow Dash could see who it was. "Great! Parasol isn't giving up on this, is she? I'm fine!"

"I'm a trained healer. You must be in a great amount of pain. Rainbow Dash sat up from her bed and crossed her hooves. "No duh."

Twilight walked in all the way and motioned to a chair near her. "Please, sit."

Rainbow Dash sighed and sat down. Wordlessly the princess began to work, sitting at the other chair, facing Rainbow's injuries. She picked up a few medical supplies, angular hooves removing large splinters of wood and a few shards of glittering glass and placed them aside. As she worked, she would smooth the blood away with a damp cloth. Every once in a while, Rainbow would hiss with pain, mouth pressed into her forearm.

"Careful!" Screamed Rainbow Dash.

Twilight flinched at her sudden shout. "My apologies. You know, for all your questions about me, I know very little about you.

Rainbow Dash snickered in a sarcastic way. "And I'd like to keep it that way, your highness."

Twilight looked around the captain's quarters, trying to find something that could tell her what the captain was all about. Then, on a shelf next to her bed, was a picture of a pegasus, just like Rainbow Dash, fighting a dragon. And in the dragon's mouth, was the star sapphire necklace that the captain had around her neck. 

Twilight pointed to the picture. "What's that picture about?" 

Rainbow Dash looked up at what Twilight was pointing at. "It was how I found my gem pendant. A dragon in a cave and I had that painted for me to remember it by."

Twilight cocked her head. She remembered a few days ago that the pendant didn't choose Rainbow Dash the same way her diamond had chosen her. But this story...sounded like destiny's work.

"I was running away. My father...I didn't want to do what he did, at first. I never seemed good enough! So I ran, and ran, right into a cave with a dragon.  I nearly died, I was so scared. I haven't been scared like that in a long time."

Rainbow Dash's voice started to shake. She got up, just as Twilight finished, and collapsed on her bed. Twilight slowly started to back out of the room. Rainbow Dash could hear her leaving and looked back.

"I"m sorry, but this needs to be done. I need...I need to prove that I'm not a coward. I need to...I need him...I need my father back..."