Sprocket closed his eyes as he walked out the door. He couldn’t help but mentally berate himself over the fact that he had driven someone else away again. His whole life had seemingly been failure after failure, and this was only the latest in a long string of them. He hated to admit it, but Gadget leaving him, even if for only a few days, was one of the worst possible things he could imagine. It was selfish to think so, but he didn’t really care about anything or anyone else nearly as much. Sprocket could get by on his own just fine, he had for most of his life, but not having his best friend… or ex best friend as it now was, by his side really made things all the more depressing for him.

He knew that he couldn’t just sit around doing nothing, so he walked down the street, avoiding going home. It was still late afternoon, but sulking around alone in his studio would just ruin his day even more. He needed to go find somepony… anypony to talk to. If he could distract himself constantly he wouldn’t spend the rest of the day letting these negative emotions get to him. He paused in his stride for a moment, hanging on a momentary thought. It was strange for him to admit his own faults, unnerving even. It wasn’t often that he reflected on his own actions like this.

He shrugged and resumed his walk, maybe it was a good sign that he was actually acknowledging his mistakes, perhaps if he actually worked towards bettering himself it would make his talk with Gadget go by so much smoother. Maybe it was his pony instincts talking, but Sprocket needed friends, and he needed them now more than ever. He knew exactly who to talk to, and he was sure that they would still be there. He paused for a moment, finally taking flight and doing what he did most other days: head to the park for a nice relaxing stroll… or at least try to.

Assorted boxes all sat stacked around the workshop waiting to be loaded into Marcus’ van. It seemed as if the entire warehouse was all packed up… or at least the majority of Tinker and Gyro’s belongings were. If one thing never failed to amaze Silver, it was the speed that Tinker and Gyro could accomplish something when they needed to work in a hurry.

The pegasus flashed his new director an embarrassed look, avoiding making eye contact. “I uhhh… I guess we’re going to need a bigger van.”

Silver facehoofed. “Tinker… What did I say about only bringing the essentials?”

Tinker scratched the side of his head, resuming eye contact. “Well Silver… these… these are the essentials!”

Silver gestured to one of the many boxes that littered the room, leaning closer to inspect the label that had been hastily applied to the side. “So scrapped plans are essential for getting our initial base set up?” he replied in a questioning tone.

“Well I…”

Silver sighed and rubbed a hoof against his temple. “Tinker. For Marcus’ sake we’re only bringing the bare minimum essentials that we need. No more, at least not yet. Once we have actual facilities built up we can go from there ok? I know you’re excited to get to the site, but you need to realize that by the time we get there it’s going to be night and we’re not going to have a lot of time to set anything up. If you weren’t so gung ho about this I’d hold us for the night and leave in the morning.”

Tinker hung his head in resignation. “Oh alright, fine.” He rummaged through a few boxes, finally condensing his many belongings down into a couple bags. “You’re the boss, if you think we should wait until tomorrow then why aren’t you vetoing this?”

Silver smirked and lightened up a little. “Look, to be completely honest, I’m excited to get there too. We just need to assess the site as soon as we can, and the more time we spend driving there the less daylight we’ll have to check on stuff. A small construction crew’s already been dispatched and should be setting up the basic camp, but it’s going to be easier to see what the extent of the work will be during the day… well for the rest of you that is. If we get there tonight we’ll have all day tomorrow to actually look at what we need to really do.”

Tinker nodded in agreement. “So what kind of living situation are we looking at once we’re there?”

“It’s… kind of complicated right now, but I requested that the crew secure the old town hall, it’s an abandoned building but should be sound enough to work for us, at least until we can start overhauling the place. Sunset Blessing’s been doing this in Riverview for a little while now and it’s seemingly working in her favor, plus it was easier to acquire some abandoned ghost town than it was to go buy a bunch of land and start building a city there.”

“Well... it’ll be a roof over our heads at least… that’s better than nothing!”

Silver smiled. “Let’s get going friend, I’m sure Marcus is all ready for the drive.”

The two walked out to the waiting van, their few belongings in tow.

Marcus was already hard at work herding the group in, much to the excitement of Silver and Tinker. He seemed to be in good spirits, and Silver was glad for that. Marcus stepped to the side, dramatically gesturing at the door of the van. “Alright children, everyone in, we’re taking a little field trip today!”

“Alrighty, who do I hand my permission slip to?!” Patrick enthusiastically shouted much to Calamity’s annoyance.

The crystal pony rolled his eyes, unenthusiastically hopping into the van. “Great, can’t wait to hear loudmouth yammer to us for the entire ride again…”

In stark contrast, Patrick ran up, excitedly jumping in. “Awesome! We can be carpool buddies again!”

Midnight and Stanley chuckled to themselves as they walked up, settling in the back corner, taking a seat next to Silver. The three would likely all be asleep for most of the journey. Staying grouped together in one place would make it all the easier for them to sleep relatively undisturbed.

Tinker and Gyro opted for the front of the van with Marcus, they’d likely be talking about some of their usual jargon for the ride.

Gizmo was the last to enter, and took a seat in the middle next to Patrick and a very annoyed looking Calamity, much to the latter’s relief. Gizmo could handle the young pegasi’s enthusiasm and he figured that Calamity would certainly not object to it.

Marcus pulled the door shut and made sure their luggage was all secured, asking one final question. “Alright, everyone all buckled in? That’s rhetorical by the way, I don’t think seat belts exactly work for you all. Please keep your hooves, arms, wings, and legs inside at all times, and remember to watch your kids!"

As was the norm, Calamity rolled his eyes, giving a terse reply. “Cut the crap Marcus and let’s get this over with. Loudmouth here’s just going to talk our ears off for the ride anyways so the sooner we get there the better.”

“Oh come on Calamity, I’ll be quiet just for you!”

Calamity just rolled his eyes.

Sprocket walked through the park, trotting up to Arrow and Jet. The two were as close as always, hanging out in their usual spot by the pond. With a lack of knowing anypony else in the park, he tried to start idle conversation. “Hey guys, what are you uhh.. up to today?”

The two broke their eye contact and looked back at him. “Oh not much, just the usual. Hanging out in the park with my best friend, enjoying the beautiful afternoon together!” Jet replied, cheerful as always.

“That’s… that’s fun. Do you mind if I hang out with you guys?”

“I… Well sure, I mean the more the merrier right?”

Sprocket smiled. “Yeah!”

“Speaking of more… where’s... Gadget?”

Sprocket sadly looked away, hanging his head low. “She’s… She’s out on her own right now.”

“When’s she going to be back?”

“I… I uhh.. I don’t know. We kind of had a bit of a falling out I’m afraid. We’re taking some time apart to clear our heads.”

Arrow leaned in close, embracing the night pony. “Sprocket… I’m sorry to hear about that, I know you two were good friends…”

He shifted uncomfortably. “I know… Just please… can we change the conversation?”

Arrow spoke up again, hoping to salvage the conversation. “Well… Oh I know, what’re your dinner plans Sprocket? Jet and I were going to go grab something down at that new pony restaurant across town…” She looked at her coltfriend with a brief look of concern. “You’re more than welcome to join us if you want.”

Sprocket seemed to cheer up a little. “Really?”

“Of course, Arrow and I love hanging out with others, and you seem like you could use a nice fun evening dinner. We’ll treat you!”

He smiled. “I’d… I’d really like that!”

“Well, do you want to start heading over now or should we wait a little?”

“I’m fine going over whenever you are!”

“Awesome! Let’s fly over, just follow me and Jet.”

“Th..thanks guys…”

“It’s cool Sprocket, we all have our down days, I’m just glad you’re not letting it get to you too much!”

The three took to the skies, flying at a leisurely pace, admiring the sight of the spectacular city below them. Sprocket dared not turn his head towards the pegasi, for fear of accidentally throwing off his flight path. He hesitantly began to speak to them, careful to keep his focus in check. “So uhh… have you guys gone to this place before?”

Jet answered, maneuvering around to face him. “No, not yet. We’ve actually been hoping to go along with some of the other ponies around here, but well… I guess they were all busy. But hey you’re just as good as the others Sprocket, Arrow and I are glad to have you join us.”

The three slowed down for their landing, coming to a graceful stop right by the entrance. The restaurant certainly seemed new to Sprocket, and his thoughts returned to Gadget, wondering what she was up to right now. The two loved to explore the little hangouts around town and this place would have been right up her alley.

“Heya Sprocket, you feeling ok?” Arrow asked with concern.

Sprocket snapped out of his daze. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, I guess I was daydreaming a little. Gadget would have loved this place, we love… loved seeing all the little pony hangouts around town. I guess I just let that distract me a little.”

“Don’t sweat it Sprocket. I know you’re not having a great day, it’s fine. Just try not to think about that.”

Sprocket rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. Well that’s easier said than done… not that you’d understand.

“Sorry did you say something?”

“Huh… Oh no, sorry. Just talking to myself I guess.” Maybe I do need to lighten up a little bit. “Anyways, let’s go in. I’ll buy you guys a round of drinks.”

“You don’t have to do that for us Sprocket--”

“--No I should, what’s one good deed? You guys have always been so welcoming to us, you’re even treating me to dinner. I think this is the least I could do to repay all your kindness.”

“It’s fine Sprocket, ponies help each other out, we’re just looking out for you--”

“--No no, I insist. Ponies share too right? Well what better way to share than by buying some friends some drinks.”

“Well we really appreciate it, isn’t that right Jet?”

“Absolutely. Let’s go grab a seat.”

The three trotted into the fairly busy looking restaurant, greeting the cheerful looking hostess. All sorts of ponies were currently occupying the cozy dining room, their conversations coming together to form a loud cacophony that was all but unavoidable. Sprocket cringed back a little, relaxing when he caught the confused gaze of the hostess.

“Hey there, welcome to The Golden Horseshoe! Is it just the three of you today?”

“Yeah, it’s just us.”

The mare smiled cheerfully. “Wonderful, would you like to sit indoors or outdoors? As you can see our dining room is a little busy but we could probably find a seat for you at one of the group tables if that’s alright with you.”

Jet glanced between Sprocket and Arrow, noticing Sprocket’s more reserved stance. “Well you can’t beat the patio right? You guys ok with that?”

“Sure am!”

Sprocket seemed to loosen up a little, glancing out to the relatively empty patio. “Yeah ok, that’s fine by me!”

“Super, just follow me!”

The four walked out to the patio, and Sprocket, Arrow, and Jet took their seats at the low table.

“So is this your first time here?”

“Yeah, we’ve finally had the time to stop by, I’ll take it you guys have been doing well?”

“Well welcome, it’s always fun to see some new faces here, we just opened a few days ago and we already have a nice batch of regulars. You know how ponies love company. I’ll go ahead give you guys a few minutes to look over the menu. Can I get you started with anything to drink in the meantime?”

Jet, Arrow, and Sprocket looked through the drink list for a few solitary moments.

“I’ll have a Mint Dream, what about you Jet?”

“Oh I guess I’ll try a…” He squinted his eyes at the menu, scrutinizing the odd assortment of beverage choices a little more. Sparkling rain - a delectable mix of sparkling rain water produced by local Pegasi with a dash of natural citrus thrown in “Well... the Sparkling Rain kind of sounds good. I guess I’ll have one of those. How about you Sprocket?”

The night pony’s eyes were fixated on the drink list, something called The Moonlight Mango seemed to call out to some instinctual part of his mind, making his mouth water as he imagined the sweet flavor. “What’s the Moonlight Mango?”

“Oh that? It’s been really popular with the night ponies lately. One of the owners traded some drink recipes with a little circle of entrepreneuring ponies for our menu and that was one of them. Some night pony out in Florida came up with it... I’d personally recommend it if you like some nice tropical drinks.”

“I’ll… I’ll take one-- the biggest size you have!”

As the waitress left Arrow and Jet chatted while Sprocket sat, reflecting on all the times he had spent with Gadget. He never really considered her more than a friend, but looking back, she really was someone special to him. This whole ordeal had really been an eye opener for him, but he was still unsure of what to make of it. He supposed that he could try and change his demeanor a bit, but old habits were often hard to break. He owed it to himself to at least try though.

“Sprocket, you there?”

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, blinking a few times in return. “Huh? Yeah sorry. What did you need?”

“What do you think you’re going to get? Arrow and I are going to split the fruit salad.”

“Oh. I uhh… I guess I’ll take a look.”

Sprocket glanced down at the menu, not really seeing anything the particularly piqued his interest. “I guess I’ll just go with the mango flatbread… I guess that sounds good.”

“Wow, you’re sure on a mango kick tonight aren’t you? Are you sure you’re ok Sprocket?”

“Yeah. I just have a lot on my mind, sorry.” He flashed her an unconvincing smile, stalling her line of questioning for the meantime.

The cheerful waitress trotted back up to them. “Are you all ready to order now?”

“Yeah, we’ll split the fruit salad.”

“And for you?”

“Oh.. I’ll have the uhh.. Mango flatbread.”

“Super! I kind of figured you’d go for that, as you can imagine it’s been very popular with our night pony patrons! Anyways I’ll go get your orders started for you.”

“Thanks... ”

“Willow, Desert Willow.”

“Thanks Willow!” He smiled as the waitress walked away.

“So Sprocket, what’re your evening plans?”

“Huh? Oh. I guess just go hang out, maybe work on some project… I’m not actually sure.”

She furrowed her brow. “Oh.. Well Jet and I were going to catch a movie if you wanted to join us. “

Sprocket smiled. “I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I need to clear my mind a little more after this.”

Arrow nodded, a smile spreading across her face. “That’s understandable, I’m just glad you’re not letting something ruin your night.”

Marcus was currently unloading the van as the group stood in front of a rather desolate and run down mining town. It was a bit of a shock for them to see how bad of a condition it was, and Silver was already making a mental list of the obvious things that would need to be addressed first. What was important was that it was theirs, and was a quick way to at least get their plans for the Oasis jump started.

“So this is it huh? Your Oasis in the desert?”

“Now look Cal, I know it’s a bit rough right now, but it has some serious potential--”

“It’s Calamity. Not Cal. Anyways, why did you bother rushing us out here if we’re just going to live in some ramshackle building that I’m pretty sure can’t even be called structurally sound.”

Silver gestured to the town around them. “Because we needed all the time we could to analyze what needed to be fixed versus what we need to demolish and rebuild. Just trust me on this--”

“--It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that we’re out here in the middle of the desert, setting up shop in an old abandoned mining town that hasn’t been inhabited in close to 30 years. What about food? Water? Did you even consider that? We’re in the middle of the desert for God’s sake, we’re going to need as much of that as we can possibly get! You can bet your ass that the pegasi won’t be able to solve that problem, there’s hardly any clouds here, let alone ones that could even remotely condense enough moisture to give us even a speck of rain. So yes, I trust you, but I’m a skeptic… I think I have a right to be one right now.”

Silver sat there and considered the crystal pony’s words for a moment. “Well Calamity, that’s where Gizmo comes in... for our long term food production at least. There’s a water station being set up inside town hall, that’s where we’ll get our water for now. We’ll have some rations at our disposal too, but it won’t be long until Giz can get a farm running and then we’ll be all set. Once we have the initial town set up we can work on getting proper utilities run out here. As for the cloud problem? Well I doubt it’d be too hard to set up a mister system around the city once we get to the reconstruction point, I’m sure the pegasi would be able to utilize that to form more substantial clouds, but in the meantime we need to focus on even getting to that point first.”

Calamity rolled his eyes again. “Fine. I’ll give this a chance, but just make sure that you actually have a clear plan.”

Silver’s tone changed to a more relaxed one as the two seemed to calm down a bit. “I know you have some concerns, but we’ll discuss this as soon as I can get everything set up. Sunset’s not going to let her new assets just wander into the desert unprepared. You’re a part of that too you know? You, Midnight, and Giz have all lived in a village that wasn’t all that different than what we’re doing here. Midnight told me you guys thrived there for months, so what’s a few more?”

Calamity raised an eyebrow. “You actually trust Blessing? What if she just cuts you loose and pulls out of your little deal? What then, are we just supposed to give up and go back to our everyday lives? Need I remind you that that’s not even remotely possible for some of us.” He seemed to consider something for a moment, but quickly resumed his line of questioning. “What’s your plan Silver, for this, for the PRISM, and of course if Blessing pulls out of your deal? Do you really even genuinely care about making this better world for others?”

“I do… this place… It’s going to change the world Calamity… you ever have a nightmare that just refuses to leave your head no matter how much you try and distract yourself? Something that genuinely scares you to the point that you go to some crazy extreme to try and solve it? That’s what my plan is. When I was a foal I used to read anything I could get my hooves on. Eventually those old foals stories bored me and I moved on to stuff like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells… those stories… these crazy tales about men going to the moon, taking a journey to the center of the earth, exploring the unknown depths of liquid space, taking a trip through time… they inspired me, they made me think that anything was possible if I worked hard enough to do something. That’s what this is all for, I want to spark that same sense of inspiration in others, because maybe if ponies and humans believe that we can solve this problem… we might actually be able to.”

Silver took a breath and glanced out at the landscape around him. “Yeah, I’ll admit that it might have been a bit of an over optimistic pipe dream before, but now we actually have funding! Funding and resources that we never could have dreamed about having a short time ago. Yes there’s some caveats, but there’s provisions in our little deal that ensure that both parties will have the opportunity to pull from the deal amicably. To put this in very simple terms, anything we develop on our own is ours, and once we get going and actually have stuff we can patent we’ll have a viable means of staying afloat financially. I don’t think I need to delve into every little intricacy of this just to prove some point to you. Believe me, I don’t exactly know what to think of Sunset right now, but I think she genuinely has good intentions… her emissary seemed to imply that heavily and I’m willing to trust them. So tell me this, are you in or out Calamity? Because regardless of the answer, we’re pushing forward with or without you.”

“I said I’ll give it a chance Silver. A chance is more than I would have given a few days before. I would be lying if I said you guys’ plan didn’t catch my interest, I think you genuinely care about the world. The idea of really making a positive impact on the world is what inspired me to become a police officer back before ETS, if anypony else shares your vision it’s me, I just wanted to know what was really at play here, whether it was genuine compassion or merely blind faith… I think I know my answer now, or at least have a better feel for you.”

Silver lightened up, looking the crystal pony in the eyes. “Thanks Calamity. It means a lot more to me than you probably even know.”

The sun had already set, the van was unpacked, and Silver had assembled the group around a large bonfire, hoping to raise morale a little. His thoughts were all over the place tonight, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he had jumped to conclusions with everything too soon… Sprocket especially. This whole place, the Oasis that is, needed smart ponies, and Sprocket seemed like just the kind of pony that might fit the bill, but he needed the right motivation. Calamity’s little outburst earlier, while a little accusatory, was perfectly warranted and genuinely made Silver rethink his whole plan and whether all of this was truly viable or not. Everytime he asked himself this he came to the same conclusion: he had to at least try and inspire some positive change in the world, no one could fault him for trying, not when the future was on the line.

“Silver, if you’d be so kind, could you please snap out of it? I believe you had something to say to all of us?”

“Oh… that, well… thanks Tinker. I just want to say thanks for everything, I know this isn’t exactly the Oasis we’ve all had in mind, but I know we can make it that... and we can do so much more. It’s going to take a lot of work and time, and I know this is just the start, but if we all work together we can do it. We need to remember what’s important, and that’s working towards making a place where we can push the boundaries of what’s possible and hopefully inspire others to do the same.”

Gyro raised an eyebrow. “There’s a lot to do.”

“But you’re right Silver, it’s possible. It’s going to be a lot of work but I know we’ll be able to get it done. What’s the first order of business?”

“Well we need to take stock of everything. I want to at least get town hall up and running, we can use that as our own little home base for now and go from there. I have some… blue sky plans that I drew up, but I’m not sure if they’ll even be useable, but it’s something. I have a few ideas for town hall that might work out well for us.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well ideally we want a bunch of multi purpose rooms that we can use as flex space as needed. Definitely a boardroom, maybe a couple specialized labs while we get the rest built, a canteen, and living quarters, at least until we can get some proper houses built. Offices too, I think the the first floor will be all our temporary stuff, the rest of the floors can be a little more permanent because those will be for the operations and administration teams.”

“I take it you already have the plans in mind?”

Silver smiled and tapped his head with a hoof. “They’re all in here!”

“When can we start?”

He poked the fire a little, keeping it going steady. “Tomorrow. I’ll draft up some general plans tonight and turn them over to the crew to make sure they’re all sound.”

Tinker smiled. “I’m excited Silver, I really am!”

“Me too, me too!”

The three sat and finished their meal, ending the evening with a final round of drinks. An assortment of empty drink glasses sat in front of Sprocket, much to the bewilderment of his two friends, who shared a surprised look on their faces. He might have gone just a little overboard with the mango drinks tonight but he was genuinely happier, and as wary as he was of spending time with the others he had to admit that Arrow and Jet were genuinely good ponies. They could be a little… much at times, but Sprocket knew that they would happily include him any time.

Willow walked up, collecting their plates and setting them onto a nearby cart. “Did you happen to save room for dessert tonight? We have a fantastic mango sorbet that you might be interested in!”

Sprocket’s eyes widened at that, and he was half tempted to order one, but his friends’ look of concern quickly dashed those plans. “No… I think I’m good. I’ll take another Midnight Mango to go though!”

“Another? You’ve had a dozen already though.”

“Well what’s one more right?”

“Alright… if you say so… I’ll uhh.. be back with your drink and check, just give a holler if you need anything else.” She flashed him another concerned look before pushing the cart back to the kitchen.

Sprocket looked back to his two friends, feeling a cheerful warmth pass over him for the first time in hours. “Thanks guys… it’s been genuinely fun.”

“Would you want to join us again tomorrow? We might go stop by some new bar and we wouldn’t mind if you tagged along again!”

Sprocket began to decline but stopped himself. “I.. I would like that a lot. Thanks guys!”

“Any time Sprocket, it hurts to see other ponies get so sad, we’ll never mind your company if it makes you feel better.”

Sprocket smiled and thanked them again, taking flight once more. He quickly flew back to his studio, walking into the empty apartment, and turning on the TV. As he tossed his bag onto the couch he heard the metallic clink of his fragile prototype. His ears flinched back as he quickly ran over to it, sighing a sigh of relief as he noticed that it hadn’t been damaged too harshly. A solitary thought hit him as he gazed at the object that could have completely saved everything… maybe he really could put his talent to better use with this. The Tinkerer and Silver seemed to believe it and It was certainly the right kind of project that he could use to show Gadget how much the day’s events had really opened his eyes.

Sprocket sighed, picking up the lone gauntlet and walking over to the table. He slipped his tool strap on and began to inspect the damage. “I guess there’s no harm in seeing this through to the end.” He began to tinker with the gauntlet, finding new found inspiration, quickly working through the night before dozing off.

The fire was safely out, and Silver walked back towards his makeshift office, settling down for his first sleep in Mesa Verde. It was hard to tell whether the group would have the motivation necessary to really make this dream a reality, but he figured that stressing over it wouldn’t help him at all. Instead he settled down on his makeshift bed… a rather uncomfortable cot, but it was better than the floor. He looked out the broken window, looking at the desert landscape outside. It was a beautiful landscape and Silver was happy to finally call this place home. He closed his eyes and let the hold of sleep carry him away, his last thoughts being about the future that lay ahead of him.

Silver was back in the Observatory again. It seemed like he had been spending less and less time in it as his life took the radical turn that it had. There was no sign of the intruder so far, so Silver simply walked over the large window and took a seat, gazing out at the ocean beyond. There was a lot on his mind and he just needed to clear his head tonight, worried that he had maybe done something a little too drastic with how he handled Sprocket earlier.

“Long time no see Silver, I almost gave up checking on you at your usual time.”

Silver smiled and greeted his old friend the only way he could think to do. “And you’re quite late you know?”

“Well sorry but that kind of tends to happen when your prime patient breaks out of his shell and stops being a recluse…” They smiled warmly. “ It’s good to see you again Silver, I’m genuinely glad you don’t need my help anymore.”

“You too old friend, you’re going to be so proud of me! We’ve officially formed a team now, and they elected me to be the director. We’re actually at our site now, just waiting for Sunset’s construction team to get the grid up and running. The city’s a little rough… rougher than I originally realized, but I think it has some promise! It’s all ours too, lock stock and barrel.”

“You’re leading a directorate now, and a fledgeling city too? And to think that you were merely a social outcast a short while ago.”

He gazed out at the inky abyss of unknown. “You know, you’re an intelligent pony, you would make a great addition to the team. We need ponies like you, the ones that care about others, about the future.”

The figure smiled. “I’m honored Silver but you know that I can’t. My pursuits in here are far too important for me to just give up on.”

“That’s why I’m asking you to join us. We need dreamers from far and wide, and you spend all your time seeking out those that feel like they have no purpose, to try and help them. I wouldn’t be where I am without your constant encouragement. All I’m asking is that you keep an eye out for ponies that are like us, and when you find them, send them our way.”

“I’ll consider it Silver. I have my own reservations on the matter but I do see it’s potential merit.”

Silver chuckled. “You know, It almost sounds like the roles have been reversed this time doesn’t it?”

The two laughed to themselves, both realizing how far they had come in the short time they’d known each other.

Silver gazed out of the window again, smirking again. “There’s so much that I’m still worried about, but seeing that there’s other ponies in the world that care, that share the same fears as me, really gives me hope that somewhere out there, there’s ponies that are working towards the same goal, and that maybe someday we’ll actually find something to use… I know it’s a pipe dream, but just knowing that there are ponies that care eases my fears a little. I don’t know if we’ll ever find something, but just knowing that ponies are actually giving this dream a chance reassures me more than anything else… Thanks again friend. I know I don’t say this to you a lot, but I really do appreciate everything you’ve done, it means more to me than I think even you know.”

Silver turned towards the intruder, and chuckled again, seeing that they had sneakily made their exit. No longer able to tolerate being alone in his own dream, Silver stood up and sought out Scarlet, the only pony he could even think to visit right now. He smiled warmly and closed his eyes, thinking about all the dreams they explored together, eager to see what they’d do tonight.

Chapter 14 should have another week or week and a half delay while I finish up some real life stuff that’s been eating up time.