Second Sun

Silver woke up sitting in a chair with no knowledge of how he got there. He tried to look around but couldn’t due to the pitch black darkness surrounding him. Suddenly, a bright light shined down upon his face. He moved his hand to block the light from blinding his eyes. An unfamiliar voice spoke to him out of nowhere.

Why did you do it?

“Do what?”

Pilot the Strider

“B-Because I had to or else everyone would have died.”

Are you sure?

“What are you talking about? Who are you?”

You wanted to be rewarded, didn’t you?

“W-well, no…I mean, yeah, but…”

You’re afraid of being hated by others.

“B-but I…”

You’re afraid of dying alone.

“Leave me alone.”

You’re afraid of dying.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Black and white images from Silver’s experience in the strider flashed before his eyes. He closed his eyes and covered his ears, hoping everything would go away. However, the images were still there appearing before him. They wouldn’t go away no matter how hard Silver wanted them to.

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

“You didn’t know what the hell you were doing…”

“Help! Please!”

Silver was back where he was before, being held down tightly by an enemy strider. Poseidon struggled with all its strength but to no avail. Before Spike or Rainbow could act, the pirate raised its blade and stabbed it through Poseidon’s chest and began slicing it open. Poseidon began to float lifelessly. Static was the only thing left that could be heard…

Silver woke up again laying on the floor, his blankets hanging on his leg. He was in his cabin, safe and sound, with only silence keeping him company. His eyes remained wide open with his nightmare still fresh in his mind. Silver curled up while covering his blankets over him. ‘You’re okay. You’re alive. It was just a dream. It didn’t really happen.’ Silver got up and looked at his alarm clock which stood on his small bookcase. 2:14 AM. 5 more hours until he had to get up and ready for work. He took a closer look at the color of the numbers. Red. The color of blood.

“It didn’t really happen.”

Episode 3
Cause and Effect

Silver wandered the empty halls as quietly as he could, making sure he wouldn’t wake anyone else up. He walked all the way to a lounging room which was nothing but a couple of lounge chairs, a minibar off to the side, and a huge window which showcased the darkness of space. Silver took his seat and began to stare into the galaxy. He attempted to get everything out of his head but with no such use. Closing his eyes and trying to drift off to sleep didn’t seem to work either.

Everything about what had happened seemed to come back to haunt him in the worst way possible. He continued to stare out the window, watching the stars and nebulas that drifted by until a voice was heard behind him.

“It seems I’m not the only one that’s staying up late tonight.” Silver turned around and noticed Spike standing at the entrance with a peaceful look across his face. “Trouble sleeping?”

“Um, yeah. What are you doing here?”

“I like coming here when everything’s all calm and quiet. Helps me relax.” Spike went up and laid his green/purple jacket on the seat next to Silver. He then sat down and looked out the window.

“So, you’re Spike, right?” Silver asked.

“Yeah. And I’m guessing you’re Silver?"

Silver nodded his head slightly.

“Oh yeah, I think I’ve heard about you before. Didn’t you run a cleaning business back in Ponyville?”

“My Dad did. I just helped out.”

Silver and Spike continued to stare out the window. The silence actually helped soothe Silver a bit. Spike put his hands behind his head closed his eyes and sighed in relaxation. “It’s nice, huh?”

“Yeah, it kind of is.” Silver’s mind went blank for a few seconds as he stared out into the stars once more.

Spike turned towards Silver. “You still thinking about what happened?”

Silver sighed. “I’ve been trying not to.”

“Hey, Everyone’s been there, trust me,” Spike turned back towards the window. “When I piloted Ares, I was scared out of my mind. When I got my first kill, I completely lost it.”

“And what about the other one?”

“Rainbow? She wouldn’t come out of her room for 3 days.”

“I guess she wasn’t as tough as she seems.”

“Well, no. Back then, killing wasn’t really in their nature. They usually went down the ‘friendship’ route. But then, The Day of Departure happened. They went through some extreme circumstances. They were forced to adapt. They learned that love and tolerance couldn’t solve everything.”

Silver became confused. “They?”

“The elements, of course.”

Silver wasn’t stupid. He had heard about the Elements of Harmony and their endeavors, albeit a long time ago. He would always overhear stories overwork about how they saved Equestria from eternal night, defeated and even reformed the embodiment of chaos, stopped the captain of the royal guard from marrying the queen of the changelings, and even saving an entire empire from its former conqueror.

“Well, most of the time, they preferred to call themselves the mane 6,” Spike continued.

“The what?”

“M-A-N-E 6. It’s something they came up with when they hung out.”

“Oh. Wait, what about you? What did you do?”

“I was Twilight’s assistant. Usually I’d help her with organization and stuff. Other than that, I usually stood off to the side and let Twilight and her friends do the heroism.”

“What about now? Do you still help her?”

“Well, yeah, but only sometimes now. Applejack tends to go over things with Twilight now since she became Twilight’s first officer. But I still help her out with other things. What I wouldn’t give to go back to the way things were…” Spike closed his eyes again.

Silver sighed and laid back in his chair, Spike’s words still in his mind. ‘Maybe he was right. Maybe it was just some sort of phase,’ he thought. ‘If they could get over it…’

“So, would you pilot it again?” Spike asked.

Silver remained quiet, hesitantly answering the question. He was unsure. Out of all things, piloting the strider again had never crossed his mind. He began to fell tired.

“Hey, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” said Spike. “Just know that a lot of people thank you for what you did.”

“Thanks.” And with that, Silver eyelids became heavy. He closed his eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

***

Silver woke up to notice that he was in the same spot has before. He looked to the seat next to him to find out that it was empty. Spike had already left. He looked at the clock on the wall. 8:14.

‘Shit’

Silver got up and began to run down towards his job as fast as he could, dodging the numerous people walking around the hallways. When he made it to his work station, a large, portly man stood beside him.

“Silver!”

He started to sweat as the deep, baritone voice called him out. He had been tardy before, but not for this long.

“This is the seventh time you’ve been late. Not only that, but you should have been here an hour and a half ago.”

Silver looked down and began his apology. “Sorry, sir. I-I-I must have overslept.”

The man became furious. “That’s the same thing you said the last 3 times.” He calmed down and sighed, his face of anger turning into a face of pity. “I’m sorry, Silver, but you know I can’t let you off the hook this time. You’re fired.”

As the man walked away to attend to other duties, Silver hit his head against the wall.‘You idiot.’
Silver got his things together and left towards the mess hall.

***

Twilight was down in the hangar with Pinkie by her side, observing some other engineers repairing the damage dealt to the striders after the attack. She looked over the blueprints that she held in her hand. “Pinkie, I’ve got to ask. That blast.

How did Silver manage to take out two battleships with a single shot? It’s not explained in the blueprints anywhere.”
Pinkie turned to Twilight, a smile spread across her face. “Well, I looked at the blueprints and it looked soooooooo boring. So, I made a few design changes.”

“A few? What other changes did you make?”

“That’s up for Shiver and the others to find out.”

“Um, Pinkie? His name is…” Twilight paused for a brief moment. “…Silver.” The captain had suddenly remembered of
the task she needed to complete. She needed to find a pilot for Poseidon before another attack. She had considered Silver as her number one candidate, however, she then recalled Silver’s face during the aftermath. A face of fear. How could she have him pilot it after what he’s been through? Pinkie waved in front of Twilight’s face, bringing the ship’s captain back to attention.

“Hello? Twilight, you in there?” Pinkie asked.

“Oh, um, I’m fine, Pinkie,” Twilight stammered. “I-I was just thinking, that’s all.”

“Oki-Doki-Loki, then! Hey, you wanna go to Sugarcube Corner with me?”

Twilight closed her eyes and sighed. “Not right now, Pinkie. I’ve got things to do. Maybe later, okay?”

“Oh, ok then. Ooh, maybe I’ll get Dashie to come with me!” And with that, Pinkie skipped off, out of Twilight’s sight. Twilight returned to her thoughts, going over what measures she needed to take next in regards to the new pilot. When she came to her decision, she sighed again. Whatever was in her head, she was highly skeptical that it would work.

***

Silver sat at the usual table with no sign of his friend in sight. The last time he saw Vinyl was when she came into his room crying. After that, they talked a bit and then left. ‘That’s odd,’ he thought. ‘She’s usually here by now.’ Soon after, a wall-eyed woman with a pair of gray wings behind her back walked up to Silver’s table with a small bright yellow haired girl holding her hand. As they went up to Silver, the woman placed a fresh muffin before him upon a napkin. The girl began to hold the woman’s leg as tight as she could.

“Um, t-thank you.” She began to walk off with the girl running after her. Silver watched as the two left his sight.

“A lot of people are grateful for what you did.” Silver turned to find Vinyl holding her tray of assorted foods.

“V-Vinyl! I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come.” Silver tried his best to be in a joking mood. Vinyl took her seat across from him as usual. Silver became worried. “You’re not still mad at me, are you?”

“A little bit.”

“Look, I said I was sorry. But, I saved the ship didn’t I? And you said it yourself; a lot of people seem to be grateful for what I did.”

Vinyl slammed her hands down against the table. “You could have died out there! Hell, you almost did.” Silver shrank down in his seat as Vinyl continued to tear into him. “I was worried about you during all that. I looked ridiculous!”

As she crossed her arms and refused to make eye contact, Silver managed to speak up. “I-I’m sorry. I just wanted to help, that’s all.” Silver wanted to state his defense but couldn’t due to the two men In security uniform that had entered the mess hall. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the two guards that walked up to Silver’s table.

“Are you Silver Wash?” one of them asked. Silver looked up at them. He was more intimidated by their voice, let alone their body structure.

“Y-Yeah,” Silver stammered, swallowing his fear the best he could. “That’s me.”

“The captain wishes to speak with you.” Silver now had every reason to be terrified. Even Vinyl started to give a worried look, although Silver didn’t notice it. The two men helped Silver out of his seat as he was led out of the mess hall. As everyone else who wasn’t important went back to what they were doing, Vinyl couldn’t help but watch as Silver left. She looked down and noticed the lone muffin that Silver left on the table.

“You’re such an idiot,” she uttered to herself

***

Silver quietly followed the two officers down the crew quarters, a hallway with numbered doors on each side, each leading to someone’s cabin. They stopped at Room #1. The words “Captain Twilight Sparkle” were etched under the room number on the door. The officer to Silver’s left put his ID against the wall, causing the door to slide open.

“Who is it?” Twilight’s voice called out.

“Silver Wash is here to see you, ma’am,” the other officer replied.

“Send him in.”

Silver felt a hand on his back as he was pushed lightly by the officer to his right, causing his feet to shuffle himself into the room. The guards stepped out and the door closed behind him. Silver got sweaty again, almost as bad as when he entered the strider. His heart pounded faster and faster with each beat. He repeatedly clenched his fist over and over, hoping his little hand gesture would calm him down, but there was no such luck.

Twilight stepped out into view in her casual wear; her dark purple hair let down, touching her shoulders. She went to a small dining table next to her and pulled out a chair from under it. “Have a seat,” she said. Silver nodded slightly and made his way to the table, heavily breathing through his mouth. He sat down as Twilight took her seat across from him. He looked around the cabin and noticed that it wasn’t very different as he thought it was. It was about the same size as everyone else’s and the only things that were different was the king sized bed in her bedroom and the huge bookshelf next to it.

“Ok,” she began. “We know that picking a civilian like you to pilot Poseidon wasn’t Fluttershy’s best intention. But, from what we heard from her testimony, she had no other choice.” She levitated a file towards her and placed it on the center of the table. She opened it and read through the papers that depicted the previous battle. “And judging by your performance, you seemed to handle it quite well.”

“Am I in trouble?” Silver asked nervously.

“No.”

Silver looked at Twilight not with fear, but with confusion. If he wasn’t in trouble, then why did she send him here in the first place? He decided to continue following along with what Twilight was saying, hoping to find a reason for all this.

“What I’m saying is,” Twilight said. “No one else will take the job; and we need another pilot.”

“And you want me, is that it?” Silver finished Twilight’s statement perfectly.

“Yes,” she replied. She wasn’t sure if Silver would take the job, but it was the last bit of hope she had left.

Silver sighed and thought it out, his thoughts racing through his head. Multiple questions were asked all at once. Was he sure about this? What happens if he doesn't accept? What happens if he does? What would Vinyl say? The more questions he thought, the more his head would hurt.

“Now, I know this may not be easy for you,” Twilight continued. “But, I understand if you wish to refuse the offer.”
Silver lost his train of thought once Twilight spoke up. “Wait, you’re giving me a choice?” he asked.
Twilight nodded. “I’ll give you 24 hours to make your decision. If you accept, you’ll get new accommodations and become part of the crew. If you decline-“Twilight pointed at the document, “We burn this, decommission Poseidon, and pretend any of this ever happened.

Silver was left speechless, not knowing what to think. However, he still managed to understand Twilight’s offer and nodded.

“But for now…” Twilight took a VIP pass from her pocket and handed it to Silver. “…take this with you. Applejack will give you a small tour. Consider it a token of our appreciation.”

Silver took the pass and clipped it to his jacket. Twilight took notice of this.

“I’m sorry if this sounds odd to you, but haven’t you worn that already?” Twilight asked. “Don’t you think you should have that thing washed?”

“It gets washed.” Silver replied. “I wear it because…it’s my father’s.”

“Oh, is he aboard the ship as well? If so, we should notify him about-“

Silver cut her off. “No. He died when I was 14.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. Um, I think I should get going now.”

“Oh, yes. You probably should.” As Silver got up and headed towards the door, Twilight went with him as well. “And remember, you have up to 24 hours to make your decision.”

“Got it.” The door slid open, allowing Silver to leave the room. As he left, Twilight turned around and went to her bedroom. Beside her bed laid two picture frames; one of her and her friends together in Ponyville, the other of a man with light blue hair and white armor. She picked up the second picture and looked at it teary-eyed. She wiped her eyes and put the picture back down, deciding the maybe it was time for a well-deserved nap.

***

Silver made it up to the bridge with the pass clipped to his chest and was met by a girl with a cowboy hat and a white uniform. “Well, hey there,” she greeted happily. She took his hand and shook it violently, shaking Silver along as well.

“Name’s Applejack. I reckon you must be the one Twilight’s told me about. Er, Wash, right?”

“Um, yes, ma’am,” replied Silver. As Applejack finally let go of Silver, he put his hand close to his chest and caressed it, soothing away the pain from Applejack’s incredibly strong grip.

“Come on, let me show you ‘round,” said Applejack. “We got some cool stuff here.” But before they could leave, someone started to cry out Applejack’s name.

“APPLEJACK!” A woman with purple, curled hair appeared in front of them, the very woman that took Silver back to his cabin yesterday. “I thought you were going to help me out.”

Applejack applied her palm to her face and sighed in annoyance. “Rarity, you’re the navigator. You know this stuff better than I do. Why do you even need my help, anyway?”

“I needed to be at the spa 2 hours ago and you were supposed to cover for me,” she complained. “And here you are, escorting him around an area that’s supposed to be off-limits.”

“Rarity, Silver’s allowed to be up here for a while. Twilight said I should give him a look around.”

Rarity suddenly realized what was going on. “Oh, If that’s the case then. My apologies, Silver. I tend to get a bit…moody during situations like these.” She then performed a curtsy with her dress, showing just how proper she could be. “My name is Rarity. Like Applejack here said, I’m the navigator for the ship.”

Applejack cleared her throat, regaining the other two’s attention. “Listen, Rarity. I’ve yet to show him around. I’ll talk to you later and see what I can do, alright?”

Rarity huffed and blew her hair upwards. She stormed off mumbling something unintelligible under her breath. Applejack rolled her eyes and turned back towards Silver. “You’ll have to forgive Rarity. She can be a bit…prissy.”

“I heard that!” Rarity yelled.

“Come on, let’s get to it then.” Silver followed Applejack as they quickly left the bridge. As they continued walking down the hallway, they soon ended up at a huge circular room with a round desk sitting in the middle and doors leading down to more hallways.

“This here’s the main lobby,” she pointed out. “It’s how most of us get around.” Applejack went down another door leading into another corridor. After a few more seconds of walking, they entered another room full of plants and dirt. Silver almost thought was a greenhouse until he saw the numerous tombstones put in an organized order.

“I’m sorry. There’s something I gotta take care of first. Could you wait here a moment?” she asked.

“Um, sure.” Even though he was confused, Silver stood as he watched Applejack approach one of the tombstones.

Silver couldn't make out the name for most of it was covered in moss and mold. She kneeled in front of it and closed her eyes, whispering something Silver couldn't make out, yet he figured out what was going on. A few moments later, she got up and walked back.

“Eh, sorry about that,” she said.

“It’s alright. I understand.”

“Thanks. Let’s get going.”

They left the cemetery, officially beginning the tour.

***

“And finally, we have our rec room. We usually come here to relieve some stress from work.” As Applejack introduced the final part of the tour, Silver looked around to notice a few arcade cabinets here and there, a pool table, a punching bag, some bean bags placed around a small round table, and next to it, a huge TV connected to the wall. As Silver continued looking, beeping could be heard from Applejack’s pocket. She pulled out a small tablet and sighed in irritation.

“Ah, geez. Rarity’s bugging me again.” She put the tablet back in her pocket. “Listen, think you can you stay here for a while? I need to go set Rarity straight.”

“ Ok.” Silver went and stood beside the table as Applejack took her leave. He stood there twiddling his thumbs until he heard some footsteps from down the hallway. The rainbow haired girl from yesterday entered the rec room and stopped when she noticed Silver. He felt fear once more as he stood there frozen, not knowing Rainbow’s next move.
They stared at each other for only a few moments. Rainbow’s menacing gaze pierced right through Silver until she stormed off, her footsteps louder than before. Silver took a sigh of relief as she left the room. Another pair of footsteps was heard, not very far behind. This one happened to be more of a friendlier face as Spike went through the doorway the next minute after Rainbow had left.

“Oh! Hey.” Spike said, surprised. “ Didn't expect to see you here.”

“Uh, I’m on tour.”

“Ah.” Spike went towards one of the bean bag chairs, grabbed the remote on the table, and turned on the TV, watching some old cartoons.

“Can I ask you something?” Silver asked.

Spike turned his attention away from the TV and towards Silver. “Sure. What’s up?”

“Why do you pilot the strider?”

Spike pressed mute as the sound coming from the television cut off. “I pilot it because…” He stopped and thought it over. “I pilot it because…I want everyone to be happy. I want to protect the people I care about, Twilight and the others.” He got up and leaned against the wall, staring at the fan. “Everyone here’s doing the best they can and I just want to do my part.” He looked back at Silver, who was looking at the ground, taking what Spike had said into account. “Twilight asked you, didn't she?”

“I want to help, but I don’t want to die either. And there’s nothing else I can do that would benefit.” Silver took a breath. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“Hey, you do whatever you feel is right. Either way, we wouldn’t think any different of you.”

“But you don’t know me at all!” Silver rose his voice. “I’m a freak, a liar, and a coward. I can’t do anything right. Hell, I can’t do anything at all! All of you are protecting everybody, getting praise for what you people do. Yet, here I am with my thumb up my ass, not knowing what to do with my life!”

Silver turned around and headed for the door. “I’m sorry, Spike. I just can’t.”

When he left, Applejack came back through the door. “Alright, now that that’s settled, we can-” She looked around to find that Silver was already gone. “Where’d he go?”

***

Silver headed back to his cabin, doing his best not to get lost. When he arrived at the bridge, Twilight just happened to be there sitting in her chair. “Ah, Silver!” she exclaimed. “Have you happened to make your decision yet?”

Silver took another breath and turned towards the captain. “I’m sorry, ma’am. But, I refuse to pilot.”

Twilight closed her eyes and sighed in disappointment. “So be it. I understand. Be on your way, then.”

Silver violently grabbed the pass, unclipped it from his jacket, and tossed it on the floor. Twilight stared at it with a sad face and called Applejack on her earpiece.

“Twilight! Have you seen Silver? He-”

“Never mind that. Tell engineering to decommission Poseidon; and burn all records of Silver Wash’s actions since yesterday.”

Applejack’s tone turned to disappointment as well. “So, it’s not happening, I take it?”

“I’m afraid not. Return to your post.” She tapped her earpiece and sighed once more. “That was it, our last shot. And we lost it.”

***

Silver lay on his bed for a few hours, his eyes still open. He said what he wanted, and that was enough. But he still couldn't get the thoughts of recent events out of his head. Did he do the right thing?

"What the fuck were you thinking?"

You're afraid of being hated by others.

"You could have died out there!"

You're afraid of being hated by others.

"You just didn't know what the hell you were doing."

You're afraid of being hated by others.

He turned to his side and slowly closed his eyes, trying desperately to at least get some sleep. A knock was heard on his door, causing Silver to open his eyes.

“Who is it?” he asked, hoping it wasn't one of the crew.

“It’s me.” Silver immediately got out of his bed and opened the door. Vinyl stood there with her hands behind her back. “Can I come in?”

Silver stood there motionless for a few seconds and later snapped back to reality. “Uh, yeah, sure.” He moved out of the way so that Vinyl could step inside. He closed the door behind her and put his hands in his back pockets. “So, why’d you come?”

“I, uh, heard what happened.”

“You were snooping again, weren't you?”

“Shut up! That’s not important right now.”

“Sorry.”

“Anyway, I came here because I wanted to apologize for this morning.”

Silver gave a sly smile. “It’s okay. You don’t have to. I already told them I wasn’t going to pilot.”

“Well, yeah, but still. I was acting like a complete jerk and I’m sorry.”

“Thanks, Vinyl.”

Vinyl smiled and almost turned out the door but suddenly stopped in her tracks when she forgot another reason why she was there in Silver’s cabin.

“Oh, yeah! Before I forget…” She held out her hands to reveal the muffin Silver had left at the mess hall. “You left this. I didn't wanna feel like a hog and saved it for you when you got back.”

Silver took the muffin from her hands and stared at it with eyes wide open. He flashed back to this morning.

“Um, t-thank you.”

“Silver? You okay?” Vinyl tilted her head, curious of Silver’s look. “It’s just a muffin.”

“A woman gave this to me.” He turned his head back towards Vinyl. “A mother and her child. They thanked me. Because of what I did.”

“You’re not thinking of going back there, are you?”

“It’s like you said. A lot of people are grateful for what I did.”’

Vinyl gave up and sighed in defeat. “Fine. Go.”

Silver became confused. “Really? Just like that?”

“Yeah. Just promise me something.”

“What?”

“Don’t ever change.”

Silver smiled and chuckled. “Thanks, Vinyl.”

“If you do get the job, IF they let you get the job, you’ll still come and see me, right?”

Silver hugged Vinyl as tight as he could. “Of course.”

Silver let go of her and put the muffin on a nearby table and ran out the door. He ran through the numerous hallways and corridors that led him to the main bridge. When he made it to the entrance, he was stopped by two guards.

“Halt.” They said sternly.

“I *huff* need to *huff* see the captain.” Silver put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He clearly never ran that far in a long time. “Please. Let me see her.”

“I’m afraid we can’t do that.”

Silver quickly looked and pointed to the side. “Look, someone’s stealing!” The guards gave a quick glance to where Silver had pointed. He immediately made a break through the entrance, but not without catching the attention of the guards.

“HEY, STOP!” Silver had made it through put had his arm pulled by one of the guards. Silver saw Twilight standing in the middle of the room and tried to get her attention.

“Captain!” he yelled, desperately trying to get her to turn the other way. Everyone else was already watching including Rainbow who also happened to be there, surprised to see him of all people. “Twilight! I changed my mind! I’ll do it!” Twilight looked at Silver with open eyes.

“Guards, cease! Let him go!” The guards stopped pulling and released Silver’s arm. Silver took his arm back and started to rub it.

Twilight then approached him. “Are you sure about this?”

Silver nodded. “I’m positive.”

Twilight gave a faint smile. “Well, then.” She extended her hand towards him. Silver grabbed it as they shook. “Welcome aboard, Silver Wash.”

つづく

予告

Silver becomes part of the crew

Rainbow Dash becomes his mentor

Despite their many differences, they begin to form a new bond

Many obstacles lie ahead for Silver Wash, but will he be ready for them when they come?

Next Time

Episode 4
Under Her Wing