The Pirate Master

Celestia showed Rusty a building that looked like an observatory. It had a giant telescope, a bathroom, two hallways, one bedroom and a big dining hall.

"Will i stay here?"

"Well, i know it's a bit big, but you will be used to it," Celestia said.

"Celestia, i know normal students don't get their own observatories," Rusty said.

"Of course not, you will have a roommate."

"Still, i wonder why i get all this," Rusty said, now wanting answers from Celestia.

"The reason is," Celestia said. "I have seen what you were good at your school. Navigation, Exploration, Sailing, Learning. You seem to be the right pony for this task I'm going to assign you to."

"A task?" Rusty asked.

"I want you to be one of my royal navy captains," Celestia said.

"A captain? I don't think i have the skills for that," Rusty said.

"Don't worry, you will learn about being a captain," Celestia assured.

"Is that part of my studies?" Rusty asked.

"Yes. You will learn how to sail your own ship, recruit the crew and to fight with a sword," Celestia said.

Rusty didn't like so much the thought of using a sword, but ignored it a bit later.

"Now, let me show you who your roommate will be," Celestia said.

She trotted out the door of the observatory and looked like she waited for somepony.

In the distance, Rusty saw a grey coated unicorn stallion trotting towards them.

"Rusty, this is Shadow Gear," Celestia said. "Shadow Gear, this is Rusty Gold."

Shadow Gear held his hoof out, ready to do a hoofshake. Shadow seemed like a nice pony. He had a black mane and tail, and green eyes. If Shadow were an earth pony, he would look like a tough guy.

"Hello, i am Shadow Gear," the unicorn greeted

"Hi Shadow Gear. I am Rusty," Rusty said.

"Rusty here is going to be the new captain of the royal navy," Celestia said, smiling. "We will need you to help him out a bit."

"So you're the new captain. I'll wish you good luck on your new job," Shadow said. "Not many dares to take the job, hehe."

Rusty hoped being a captain wouldn't be that dangerous. Rusty did seem a bit nervous, but luckily somepony were gonna help him through this.

"So let's go to the docks, Rusty."

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The docks where his ship were, was in Ponyville, so it wouldn't be too far away from his home, but far away from the Canterlot University. Which meant he had to travel from his home in Ponyville to Canterlot to study. Then he would have to travel from Canterlot to Ponyville Docks to practice sailing.

Near the docks were a few sailboats and some schooners. Rusty could see a big galleon ship in the distance of the waters. "Where is my ship?" Rusty asked.

"Oh, it's here, silly," Shadow said and pointed towards a small ship next to him.

Rusty looked at the ship next to Shadow. It was a small ship, but not too small in size. Of what he knew about ships, this ship looked like a trade schooner, because of the size and two masts.

"It's a decent ship, i would say," Shadow said. "What do you think."

Rusty took a few more seconds to look at the ship. "It's good enough," he answered. What could he expect? Every captain should start with something small, then they could later use the bigger ships.

"Well, it's yours now," Shadow said. "You will get a few days to make the ship ready for next travel," Shadow said, now leaving the docks.

"I will make sure to do that," Rusty said.

Rusty decided he should check the ship. He took a look at the two masts and the steering wheel. He went into the captain's office. It was big enough for a few ponies, but nothing much more. This ship did seem like a light ship that could move fast across the waters, and didn't seem too expensive to build.

He remembered what Celestia said. He would need to learn how to recruit crew for his ship. He would also need to take some time in sailing the ship for practice.

When Rusty decided it was enough, he went home. The way home wasn't long at all, but it was about to become evening.

_______________________

Rusty opened the door to his home. He could see his sister come from upstairs. "Where have you been?" Sunlight asked.

"I've been at Canterlot and the Ponyville docks," Rusty said.

"What did you do at the Ponyville docks?" his mom questioned him.

"I saw my new ship."