7 friends were each sitting around in a circle, sitting in what looked to be lounge chairs, in a dark empty room. Everything would be pitch black if it weren't for the lights lights on the floor that put each of the friends in some kind of spotlight. The Mane 6 and Spike were all going over damage reports, crew inspections, and a certain recent event that took place on the bridge. Rarity was going over the file on one Silver Wash.

"He may look odd," she stated with an intrigued tone, "but he seems adorable."

"Hold up now," Applejack turned towards Rarity, "Don't tell me you're gettin' feelings for him."

"I most certainly am not!" Rarity seemed appalled by Applejack's accusation. "I'm just taking pity on him, that's all."

"That probably means you like him." Applejack began to have a smug look across her face.

"Shut Up."

"Ahem" Twilight interrupted, annoyed by the other two's bickering, "Can we please get back to the subject at hand?"

Applejack and Rarity quickly apologized, allowing Twilight to continue. "Now then, everything is set for Silver, I assume?" Fluttershy spoke up, "The arrangements have been made. He'll get room number #17 down in the crew quarters. His ID and uniform will be issued to him once he moves in. Everything looks good to go."

"Very well, then. Alright everyone, listen up. I want all of you to treat Silver Wash as you would with anyone else, got it? That goes double for you, Rainbow Dash." Twilight turned towards Rainbow who had just woken up from a nap she took since the meeting started.

"Eh, wha?" She said groggily, her eyes half-open. "What were we talking about again?"

"We were talking about the new guy, sleepyhead." Pinkie responded, happy as she could be. Rainbow began to roll her eyes, "Oh right. Him." She was still angered and annoyed by the fact that Silver Wash would be joining the team. She then shut her eyes, trying to continue on with her nap. Twilight ignored her and continued on.

"He will need some training in Poseidon," said the captain.

"I'll take him." said Spike, "He and I get along pretty well, I'd be happy to train him."

"Actually, I was thinking Rainbow Dash would do it."

Rainbow Dash suddenly opened her eyes, shocked by the news. "What?! Why me? Why do I have to train the twerp?"

"Because I'm sick of hearing you whine about how much he sucks." Twilight's voice grew more stern towards Rainbow. She later calmed down a bit and continued. "Besides, who knows? Maybe you two might end up being friends." Rainbow crossed her arms and turned her head the other way, like a little child that doesn't get what they want. "20 bits says you're wrong."

"That's an order, Rainbow."

Rainbow huffed as she mumbled under her breath, "All right, fine. I'll do it."

"Great. With that said and done, meeting adjourned. All of you, dismissed."

Episode 4
Under Her Wing

"Well, well, well, Private First Class Silver Wash. Still getting grub from the ordinary people's Mess Hall, I see. Looking pretty sharp too." Vinyl was snickering constantly about Silver's newfound status. However, Silver felt neutral about everything that had taken place in the last two days. He had received an new ID, room, and rank. He was also issued a blue suit, black tie, and white undershirt as his new uniform.. But he decided to only wear the tie and undershirt while still wearing his father's old windbreaker. Plus, he still talked to Vinyl and he still ate at the civilian's mess hall.

"Well, the other mess hall is pretty much the same thing, only fancier and stuff." Silver turned towards her friend, holding a tray of pancakes, bacon, and orange juice. "The only cool place they have is the rec room. Besides, if I didn't still come here, you wouldn't have anyone to talk to about music and stuff."

"That's not true!" she lied, she then pointed to the food, "You're gonna share that, right?"

Silver sighed, "Only one, okay?" Vinyl took a pancake and took a bite as the two friends began to sit down at a nearby table. They sat across from each other and began talking about the things friends usually talk about. They would talk about music, movies and new stuff happening around the ship. All the while, Silver seemed a bit more calm and composed than the other day. He would still get nightmares occasionally, but he would always think back to his discussion with Spike. That would usually help him sleep better.

"So do you still go to the archives like you used to?" Vinyl asked.

"Not anymore, really. I'd like to, though."

"Well, don't. To be honest, you were kind of boring when you were down there." Silver knew this was true. As interesting as the archives were to him, he was pretty much alone the entire time. In fact, when they first met, Silver invited Vinyl to come with him to look around, but to no avail.

"Yeah, well, who else didn't think that?"

"Hmm, that is true. So, I take it they're treating you well over there?"

"Actually, they kind of are, believe it or not. I don't know if it's just because I'm the new guy or anything, but I actually think I'm starting to like these people. Well, most of them anyway." Silver scratched the back of his head as he remembered the one that absolutely hates him.

Vinyl was confused by his last remark. "'Most of them'? What do you mean 'most of them'?" Silver sighed as he began to tell her about Rainbow Dash and how much she hates him for not knowing what was going on during his venture in Poseidon. "Man, she sounds like a bitch."

"Well, she kind of does, yeah. I just wish she wasn't so harsh, you know? She looks less angry with everyone else, but I just don't get why she's projecting all her hate towards me, though." Vinyl pondered for a bit until she came up with somewhat of an idea. "Maybe she just doesn't like new guys?" Silver's head leaned against hand, his elbow leaning against the table, as he looked off into the distance. "Maybe. Or maybe it's just because I piloted the Strider. Then again, who knows other than her?"

"Ah, there you are!" Silver immediately sat up straight and turned around to notice that Spike was standing near the entrance. Silver was taken by surprise by his unexpected showing. "Spike! What are you doing here? I though you were with the others." Spike chuckled as he pulled a chair up to the table and began to sit down. "Well, we are friends, aren't we? Besides, the other mess hall is pretty boring, so i thought I'd chat with you for a few minutes." Vinyl was probably the most confused. "Um, Silver? Who is this guy, exactly?"

Silver almost forgot that Vinyl was still sitting there. "Oh, um, Vinyl, this is Spike. He's another pilot I work with." Vinyl leaned back against her chair. a sly smile across her face. "Oh, another friend of yours? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were abandoning me for your co-workers." Silver chuckled nervously. "What? No. It's nothing like that, honest." Spike couldn't help but to chuckle along with Vinyl. Spike suddenly snapped his fingers as he had just remembered why he actually came. "Oh, that reminds me, Silver. They need you on the bridge. Something about training, I think."

"Oh, okay cool." Silver complied as he got up from his chair and began to take his tray to the top of the trash can, where it would wait for being cleaned and re-used for someone else's meal. As he began to make his way out of the mess hall, Spike whistled causing Silver to turn around. "And please don't get lost again. I don't want to end up looking for again like last time, okay?" Silver chuckled nervously again, "I'll try." As he continued on his away, he looked back one last time to see that Spike and Vinyl actually looked like they were getting along with each other. Silver continued to stare for a few milliseconds before Vinyl moved her hand, as if she were telling him to 'shoo'. Silver then began to make way for the bridge. 'He's getting along so well with her', he thought, 'Is he really that good at making friends?'

***

When Silver made it to the bridge, he saw Twilight standing watch over everyone else at work before she turned towards his direction. "Ah, Silver. You made it." Silver gave a salute, albeit rather clumsily, causing Twilight to grow a faint smile. "At ease, Silver," she said. Silver put his hand down. He actually did feel at ease around these people. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something made him feel like he could actually hang out with them, while disregarding their ranks. Silver and Twilight began to walk out of the bridge and down a hallway. Twilight began to debrief Silver as they walked, "Now, Silver, starting tomorrow, we're going to be putting you through some training exercises with the Strider so you can be more better prepared for what's to come." It all seemed simple to Silver. All he had to do was to learn how to pilot properly so he can be a bigger help when it came to defending the ship from attacks. It seemed incredibly simple. At first.

They walked into the rec room where a girl was sitting on one of the bean bag chairs watching a movie on the TV attached to the wall. Twilight whistled, gaining the girl's attention. Silver immediately found out who it was, much to his discretion. "Rainbow Dash here will be your mentor."

Silver looked at Twilight as if she was crazy. But he knew she wasn't. She was dead serious and was intent on having Rainbow train him, despite their current relationship. "Well, I'll leave you two to chat for a while. Your training starts tomorrow." Silver's eyes opened as wide as they could. 'She wants me to chat? With her?' As Silver watched Twilight exit the room, he turned back towards Rainbow, who was already making her way back to her bean bag chair to finish her movie.

"Well don't just stand there," she called out, "Have a seat." Silver made his way over and plopped another bean bag chair next to Rainbow's. He sat down, watching the movie next to her. "So," he said hesitantly, with a dash of fear in his voice, "What are we watching?" Rainbow sighed and replied, "Daring Do and the Mountain of the Damned. It's based off one of the books." Silver could only reply with an 'Oh' and continued to watch the movie as a girl in an adventurer's outfit ran through a corridor and fought a bunch of men in grey uniform. As the credits rolled, Rainbow turned towards Silver, "Man, you don't talk much, do you?" Silver looked at Rainbow as she ejected the DVD and put it into it's case, "Well, I do. It's just that..."

"It's because of me, right?" Rainbow had finished Silver's sentence almost perfectly, as if she had read his mind. She put the DVD case back on the shelf only to pull out another case and began to put another DVD into the player. "Well, listen. The only times we'll see each other is now, during training, and when we're out in the Striders. Other than that, we won't even have to look at each other, deal?" Silver agreed to her proposition and leaned back into the bean bag as another movie began to play on the TV. The movie this time was Daring Do and the Fires of Castle Ayleth. As the hero was leaping over chasms, Silver had built up the courage to ask Rainbow another question.

"Hey, Rainbow?"

"Hmm?" She turned towards Silver once more, cocking her eyebrow.

"Why do you hate me so much?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" Silver stammered because of her response. He seemed afraid of what her answer might be. "Um, well, you don't really have to answer that if you don't want to." Rainbow began to laugh at him, "Man, you sound just like Fluttershy." A few seconds later, Rainbow's laughter had calmed down to where she could speak properly. "Alright, look. I don't hate you as much as you would think. It's just that...well, you frustrated me back there. To no end. Losing one guy was bad enough. But finding out that you, a civilian no less, almost died out there? That stuff just angers me. But, who knows? Maybe this training thing will work out and I don't have to deal with you standing around looking like an idiot half the time."

Silver was hurt by what Rainbow had said. The fact that it was the truth made it hurt even more. "I'm sorry. It's just that...I wanted to help when no one else would. That's why I volunteered." As Silver began to explain his actions in full detail, it became clear to Rainbow that all Silver wants to do is to help and to be accepted in return. However, the only thing in his way was his fear of death. As Silver finished, Rainbow gave another sigh and continued the conversation, "Ok, look. I think we got off on the wrong foot. So, let me introduce myself," she held her hand out towards Silver, "I'm Rainbow Dash. Lieutenant. I'm 19 years old and the pilot of the Artemis. What's your name?"

Silver was thrown off by Rainbow's sudden gesture, but decided to play along. "Silver Wash. Private First Class. Um, 19 years old and pilot of the Poseidon." He gripped Rainbow's hand as they shook hands. Rainbow turned back around towards the TV. "Cool. Now shush. I wanna watch this." Silver began to continue watching as well. "Isn't this the one no one really liked?" he asked.

"Shut up."

As Silver continued to sit through a rather poorly made movie, he was still trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. Is she so quick to understand what Silver was going through at the time? Does she even understand at all? He didn't even know what to think of her at this point.

***

The following day, Silver went back to the rec room where he found Spike and Rarity playing a game of pool. "Hey, guys." The other two turned towards Silver. "Hey dude, what's up?" Spike said, chipper as always to see his friend. "Nothing much," said Silver. "Rainbow told me to meet with her here. Guess I got here a bit early."

Rarity looked at her watch, "Oh shoot, I needed to get back to work five minutes ago. Oh, Applejack will be so frustrated with me if I don't get back there now. Spike, I'm afraid I have to end our little game for now. And Silver, I do hope we get to chat sometime soon." Rarity's pace quickened every second as she walked out the door and back to her post, leaving Spike and Silver. "Bye, Rarity." Spike said affectionately, as he sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Isn't she wonderful, Silver?" Silver was confused, "Who, Rarity?" Spike only sighed again and repeated the name. "Uh, are you okay?" Spike suddenly snapped back to reality. "Can you keep a secret?"

Silver finally had somewhat of an idea of what was going on. "Um, yeah, sure. Go ahead." Spike got back up and looked around to make sure no one was near. "Ok, here goes," he said as he cleared his throat, as if he was getting ready to make some sort of big announcement (Well, in his case...). He almost began to speak but another voice from behind already finished it for him. "He has a crush on Rarity." Silver turned around to notice that Rainbow was standing near the entrance. "Spike, you really need to give up at this point. She knows, we know, the whole damn ship knows how much you love her."

Silver let Rainbow and Spike talk it out for a few minutes, for he was rather inexperienced on the subject of romance. He could recall one time when he had a rather short crush on Sapphire Shores when she debuted with her first album. He was 8 at the time, but his crush didn't really last long, though. Other than that, he never really had a girlfriend at all in his life. He spent most of his days either by himself or working with his father in the family business of cleaning windows back in Ponyville. He didn't even see Vinyl as a romantic interest. He would talk to a few girls but only if they were customers or people he accidentally bumped into.

"So you haven't told her about your feelings after all these years?" He asked. "Well, I tried once," Spike said, "But she cut me off before I could finish my sentence. It also didn't help that we were kind of falling to our deaths." "Which I saved you from, remember?" Rainbow interrupted. Spike gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head.

Silver turned back towards Spike, "Wait, how old are you anyway?" "18, why?" Spike answered, confused why Silver would ask that out of nowhere. "I didn't mean anything by that. I was just wondering, that's all." Silver put his hands in his pockets and looked the other way. 'That can't be right. He doesn't look 18 at all!'

Rainbow tried not to snicker at the two as hard as she could, but couldn't help it. "I'd love to watch you two bicker on like morons as much as the next guy, but me and Silver gotta go. I wanna limber up in the fly room before we go out in the Striders," Silver only nodded and began to follow Rainbow as he waved Spike goodbye. 'The fly room?' Silver thought. 'The hell kind of name is that?'

Before he could ask Rainbow anything, he watched two people with wings exit the door, sweating after some much needed excercise. As he and Rainbow entered, he found himself in an enormous white room, one that seemed too big to even be on the ship. "Welcome to the fly room, newbie." Rainbow said, her hands on her hips looking proud of the room.' Newbie? She's giving me nicknames now?' "We had this place installed so that us winged folk can fly around without any restrictions. Y'know, since we're in space and all that." Silver was astonished how well the technology allowed for a place such as this. His mouth was slightly hanging as he was at loss for words. That is, until Rainbow slapped him upside the head.

"Hey, you in there?" She asked, holding a grey ball in her hands. She had already taken her leather jacket off and was wearing a cyan tank-top and a pair of jeans, showing off her slim figure. When she began stretching her legs and arms, it was that moment where Silver was glad his dad taught him self-control. On her back, her wings straightened out, ready to fly. "Come on, let's fly around for a bit. Put your jacket on the wall over there." Silver did just so as he took off the windbreaker and put it on a hook hanging against the wall right next to Rainbow's. The next minute, he just stood there, looking like he didn't know what to do next. Rainbow was already hovering in the air."Come on, dude." she said, as frustration started to grow in her voice. "You have wings, don't you?" "Well, yeah. It's just that I've never really used them that much."

"Let me get this straight," she asked, "You have a pair of wings and you've never even bothered to use them?" Silver began to defend his use of his wings, "Well, that's not true. I use them, honestly. Just not as much as everyone else does. They're mostly for hovering, really." He tried his best not to look more like a moron in front of Rainbow than he already has. Rainbow had no choice but to settle his excuse for an answer. "Ok, then," she said, "Might as well start using them now." She immediately tossed the ball she had towards Silver, who was caught completely off guard. "Come on, let's play a game of catch in the air for a few minutes." She began to fly higher into the air. Silver's wings straightened out and started to flap. After facing a few problems, he finally managed to get himself off of the ground and get to about Rainbow's height.

"Not bad for a guy that hasn't really flown in an extremely long while," Rainbow said teasingly. Silver shrugged it off as he threw the ball back at Rainbow. As she caught it with no problem whatsoever, Silver was mildly impressed with her fast reflexes. "So what did you do back in Ponyville?" she asked, giving the ball another throw. Silver was thrown off guard again, not by the ball, but this time by her question. He didn't expect someone like her to start up another conversation.

He never told the truth to anyone about what he used to do for he would've felt embarrassed if he did. But there was something about Rainbow. He couldn't quite tell what it was, but something about her made him tell the truth this time. "Well, to be honest, I was a janitor for the most part. Just cleaning windows with my dad and that's about it."

"So, the nobody janitor who becomes a full-time Strider pilot," she said, "Almost sounds like the beginning of a book."

Silver threw the ball back at Rainbow, "Heh Heh, yeah it kind of does. So what did you do?" Rainbow caught the ball and threw it back to Silver. It continued to toss back and forth during their little conversation

"Me? Well, I mostly just flew."

"That's it?"

"Well, that and Weather Patrol. Also, trying out for the Wonderbolts."

"The Wonderbolts? You mean that team of fliers?"

"What the hell do you mean 'that team of fliers'? The Wonderbolts are only the most spectacular, awe-inspiring, team of fliers that ever graced Equestria." She spoke of them as if they were her gods, which they practically were. "They were my heroes. My idols. My role models. So, of course, I sign up for Wonderbolt Academy."

"Did you make it?"

"Yeah. I got in, and was doing pretty good too. I actually had a shot of making it on the team. I actually got to fly with them numerous times too. You remember the young fliers' competition?"

"That was you?" Silver then realized how stupid he sounded. Who else could do a sonic rainboom but her?

"Yeah. I almost made it."

"Almost? What happened?"

"What do you think? The world fucking blew up."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Silver actually felt bad for Rainbow. Being so close to your life long dream only to have it taken away from you almost instantly. Along with everything else.

"What are you apologizing for? It wasn't your fault. Anyway. So, naturally, I moved on. I became a Strider pilot and started working for the ship. Actually, two of the Wonderbolts are on this ship right now. Soarin's working down in engineering with Pinkie, and Spitfire helps teach the little winglings* on how to fly. Fact is, Everyone's here moved on from Equestria. We didn't choose to. We were forced to." Silver knew she was telling the truth. He never really had a dream of his own, but he knew that everything that ever was was just a memory now. He also couldn't quite tell, but he could have sworn he saw a tear crawling down from Rainbow's eye. She caught the ball and put it under her arm. "Alright, I think that's enough. Let's head out to the Striders."

Rainbow landed on her feet, while Silver wasn't quite as graceful. The minute he had touched ground, he had lost his balance and fell backwards on his wings. He yelped out a short cry of pain while Rainbow couldn't help but laugh. "Oh come on, it isn't that funny."

"Sorry dude, I couldn't help it. You're just so damn clumsy. Come on, Fluttershy'll have a look at you." Rainbow extended her hand towards Silver and helped him back on his feet. They grabbed their jackets and headed down to Sick Bay.

***

As Silver sat on the hospital bed, Fluttershy held out his wing, examining it for any fatal damage."He seems fine to me, nothing broken. His wing should heal up in a few minutes. Just don't use it for a while."

Rainbow was sitting on the hospital bed right next to them, "That's what he's been doing for the past few years!" she laughed, "I told you it was nothing to worry about. Now come on, we're wasting enough time as it is." Silver put his windbreaker back on and headed out the door with Rainbow. "Thanks, Fluttershy," He said, waving. "Sorry for wasting your time over nothing."

"Wait!" Fluttershy exclaimed. Silver stopped in his tracks and looked back at Fluttershy. "I...I...just wanted...to say...that I'm glad." Silver was confounded. "You're glad? About what?" Fluttershy swallowed and tried to finish her sentence, despite her quiet personality. "I'm...I'm glad...that you decided to join us...and...thank you." "You're welcome." Silver smiled and continued out the door.

"You'll have to forgive Fluttershy. She's a little...bashful around new people." Rainbow said as the two entered the elevator and headed down towards the hangar bay. "She seems nice." said Silver.

"You're pretty quick to judge other people," Rainbow chuckled.

"It's not like a trait or anything. But I can tell that she means well."

"So what do you think about me then, huh? Do I mean well?"

Silver needed to pick his next words carefully. One wrong move and it's a swift kick to the teeth. He seemed to get along with her pretty well, but he didn't want to ruin his chances and end up back at square one. "Well," he started, "You can be pretty harsh and aggressive at times." Rainbow began to cock an eyebrow at him. Silver gulped and continued, "But I think that deep down, you can be a nice person."

"And that's what you really think of me?" Rainbow had a smug smile across her face.

"Well, it's what I think of you so far. I have been wrong before, you know." The two faced forward as the elevator stopped and its doors opened to reveal a familiar pink-haired, hyperactive, engineer. She rushed towards Silver, giving him one great big hug. Silver couldn't breathe. Pinkie's hug, affectionate as it may be, was almost killing him. "I'm so so so so so so soooooooo happy you decided the join the team, Quiver!" Silver tried his best to talk, despite choking. "Um, It's *agh* Silver, actually. Now, can you *argh* please put me down? I'd like to live." Pinkie giggled as she let go and put Silver back on the ground. Silver and Rainbow got out of the elevator and onto the catwalk as Silver tried to catch his breath.

Later, a man with blue swept back hair walked up to the three. "So, this is the new guy I keep hearing about." The man extended his hand towards Silver. "Name's Soarin'." As they shook hands, Silver suddenly recognized the man. "Soarin'? You were part of the Wonderbolts team, right?" Soarin' smiled and chuckled, "So, I take it Rainbow's told you about us, huh?" "Yeah, I did." Rainbow said, although her voice had a serious change in tone whenever she talked to Soarin'. Silver could tell there was some history between those two. All of a sudden, Pinkie went up to and put her hand around Silver's ear. "In case you were wondering," she whispered, "The reason Rainbow doesn't like Soarin' is because they used to date for a while. It didn't go well as you'd think."

"I see. Wait, how did you know I was wondering about that?" Silver whispered back.

"Pinkie!" Rainbow exclaimed, "What did you tell him?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a little prank I'm planning."

"I sincerely hope so. Now come on, Me and newbie are going to be out for a while." She said while walking towards her Strider, the Artemis. Silver walked towards the seat laid outside, awaiting for his return. It felt weird being back in Poseidon after last time, but at least he was better prepared for the launch sequence this time. He sat down and strapped himself in as the window above him closed. The lights flickered on, the main screen turned on, as Pinkie notified that all systems were go. Silver braced himself by holding the two joysticks as tight as he could as he was launched out into space following Artemis.

Rainbow buzzed in. "Come on, let's put ourselves at a safe distance from the ship."

"Wait, but what happens if we get lost?"

"Relax, dude. The ship can lock on to us and we can let the autopilot have us automatically dock back into the hangar. We just can't get too far away. You remember how to use the controls, right?"

Silver nodded and remembered that the left joystick moved Poseidon and activates the blade and the right joystick turns Poseidon around and aims the gun. He followed Artemis pretty far from the ship but far enough for the autopilot to work.

"Ok, then. Up for a little race?" Rainbow asked

"Alright." Silver said with a little confidence.

Artemis looked around and pointed at an asteroid. "To that rock and back." A pair of mechanical wings popped out of Artemis' back as it got ready into position. "Push the red button off to the side," she instructed. Silver looked to his left to notice a glowing red button. When he pushed it, a pair of thrusters popped out of Poseidon's back.

"On your mark," she began. "Set. Go!" Artemis soon shot out like a bolt of lightning. Poseidon followed suit. No matter how hard he tried, Poseidon couldn't match the amazing speed of Artemis. Artemis than landed on the rock feet first, then launched with a backflip and boosted back to the ship. Poseidon simply touched the asteroid and flew straight back. Before he could make it back, Rainbow had already won.

"Ok, now that's not even fair," he said.

Rainbow simply laughed. "That's 'cause Artemis here's a Class D. The D classes are generally the fastest striders out there. Spike's a Class E. The berserker class."

Silver recalled Spike telling him about Ares' abilities during his fight with the pirates, only to have his train of thought be broken by Rainbow. "Alright, then. Let's do some combat training. Now listen, if you pull the left trigger, a blade pops out of the wrist. Keep pulling the trigger and the Strider swings the blade for you. Try it now." Rainbow instructed. Silver complied and gave a few swings with the sword. He couldn't believe it. He's learning how to pilot a Strider. It's even as easy as he thought it would be.

"Alright, cool. You seem to be getting the hang of this. Now, just hold the trigger and the blade'll retract and you'll be using your fist." Silver held the left trigger as he was told as the blade retracted back into Poseidon's wrist.

Rainbow looked around and noticed a pair of asteroids floating. "Ok, how about this? You see that group of stray asteroids over there? Why don't you try aiming and firing your plasma cannon." Again, Silver complied as he remembered using the nub on the back of the right joystick to aim and pulling the right trigger to fire. Rainbow couldn't help but be slightly impressed by how much progress Silver was making.

The next few training sessions were pretty much the same routine. Spend some time in the fly room, then train outside in the Striders. A few days, they would shoot some asteroids, then the next few days they would spar against each other. It was even sheer luck that the ship wasn't attacked again. They would repeat this pattern until Rainbow felt that Silver was ready enough to handle anything that was thrown at him.

Two weeks later, Artemis and Poseidon docked into the hangar bay as Rainbow and Silver exited the Striders. Rainbow walked up to Silver and gave him a pat on the shoulder, throwing Silver off guard by her gesture once again. "I'm surprised, newbie," said Rainbow, "You learn pretty quick."

"Thanks, Lieutenant," replied Silver

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Oh please, just call me Rainbow. Or Dash, whatever floats your boat."

Silver smiled, "Thanks, Rainbow. So, wait. Does this makes us, like, friends or something?"

Rainbow's face turned blank, "Don't press your luck."

Silver rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "Eh, sorry." He checked a clock on a nearby wall. "It's pretty late. I should head off to bed."

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"You too." As Silver headed back towards the elevator, Rainbow went back up to the bridge and approached Twilight, who was looking out towards the stars.

"So, is he good to go?" The captain asked.

Rainbow Dash reached down in her pocket and pulled out a bag that held about 20 bits. Twilight held out her hand as Rainbow laid the small bag on it. "Yeah," she responded, "he's ready."

Twilight looked at Dash. "Good job, Rainbow. Why don't you go get some rest? You've earned it."

"Thanks, Twilight." As Rainbow began to make her way towards her room, she turned back towards Twilight. "20 bits says he'll be a damn good pilot."

"Deal."

***

As Silver made his way to bed, he laid down and pulled the covers over him, the memories of his training still fresh in his mind. He had remembered every nook and cranny it took to pilot Poseidon and everything that Rainbow taught him, which later made him think about her. Her hair, her body, her smile, her eyes, her laugh. He tried to not think about her too much and attempted to go to sleep, but somehow, throughout his tossing and turning in his bed, he couldn't stop thinking back to Dash.

It was the first time in years that Silver ever stayed awake, thinking about a girl.

つづく

予告

A gigantic creature attaches itself to the Second Sun.

Spike, Rainbow, and Silver attempt every option to defeat the beast but to no avail.

But, it turns out Fluttershy may hold the key to defeating the creature.

Will she save everyone in time or will the Second Sun be ripped to shreds?

Next Time:

Episode 5
Ingentibus Res

Author's Note

*Winglings-Children born with wings. (A little term I came up with.)