Rainbow Dash's POV

I had exactly zero interest in hearing whatever Soarin had to say.

The second we landed under that ridiculously huge oak tree, he started talking. And the second he started talking, I tuned him out.

"Alright, so first, we're gonna work on—"

Nope.

I stretched my wings, gazing off into the sky like the clouds were the most fascinating thing in the world.

Soarin sighed. "Dash—"

"Oh wow, crazy how the wind is making so much noise," I said loudly, flaring my wings out. 

Soarin's eye twitched. "Rainbow Dash—"

Silver Lining suddenly stepped forward, cutting Soarin off with a loud clap of his hooves. "Don't worry, buddy. I got this."

Soarin groaned. "Silver, no—"

Silver ignored him completely. "Alright, rookie! Soarin says to do fifty wing push-ups, but every time you push up, you gotta shout 'Silver Lining is the best!' Loud enough for the gods to hear you!"

I smirked. "Sounds legit."

I dropped to the ground and started the push-ups.

"Silver Lining is the best!" Push-up.
"Silver Lining is the best!" Push-up.
"Silver Lining is the best!" Push-up.

Soarin looked like he was about to explode.

"Silver," he gritted out, "I did not say that."

Silver cupped a hoof around his ear. "Sorry, what was that? Can't hear you over all the respect I'm getting."

I smirked and kept going.

Soarin stomped over. "Rainbow Dash, you're here to train, not—"

"Oh wow," I interrupted, "this is such a great workout! Thanks for the training, Silver!"

Silver beamed. "Anytime, rookie!"

Soarin actually growled. "Rainbow Dash, stop listening to Silver and—"

"Silver Lining is the best!" I shouted, finishing my set.

"Celestia help me," Soarin muttered, dragging his hooves down his face.

"Alright!" Silver clapped his hooves. "Next drill! Soarin says you gotta do twenty laps, backwards, blindfolded, while singing!"

I gasped. "That is BRILLIANT!"

"NO IT'S NOT!" Soarin yelled.

But I was already up in the air, flying backwards while dramatically belting out the Wonderbolts anthem.

"Silver," Soarin said dangerously, "why are you like this?"

Silver grinned. "Because this is the best day of my life."

After about five minutes of absolutely unnecessary drills—Silver had me balancing on one hoof while "channeling my inner lightning" (whatever that meant), rolling in the dirt for "stealth tactics" (still don't know why), and practicing an "intimidation growl" (which honestly, sounded kinda cool)—Soarin finally snapped.

"Okay, FINE!" he shouted.

I paused, mid-growl. "Fine?"

"You don't want to listen to me? Great! I don't care!" Soarin threw his hooves in the air. "Go ahead! Train with Silver! Have fun failing in front of Spitfire tomorrow!"

I narrowed my eyes. "Are you seriously throwing a tantrum right now?"

"No, I'm just realizing I don't need to waste my breath if you're not gonna listen anyway." He turned away, flicking his tail. "So do whatever you want."

I frowned. That was... unexpected.

Silver leaned in. "Ooooh, ignoring you back, huh? Petty. I love it."

I scoffed. "Pfft. Like I care."

Silver smirked. "Sure you don't."

I glared at Soarin's back. He was just standing there, facing away like I didn't exist. He wasn't even mad, which somehow made it worse.

Fine. He wanted to ignore me?

Two can play at that game.

I turned to Silver. "Alright, what's next, coach?"

Silver grinned. "Oh, I am gonna have fun with this."

And Soarin?

He didn't say a word.

But I could feel his frustration. And for some reason... that didn't feel as satisfying as I thought it would.

Silver gave me a devious grin as he pulled out a set of rings from the training kit. "Alright, rookie," he said with a wink, "next up—ring drills. You've got to fly through these bad boys while doing barrel rolls. Sound easy?"

I smirked, flexing my wings. "Easy as pie."

I took off into the air, dodging and weaving through the rings as Silver cheered me on. "That's it! Keep it up, Dash!"

But despite the thrill of the challenge, my eyes kept flicking over to Soarin, who was still standing there, ignoring me like I was just a speck of dust. He was facing away from me, his wings tense at his sides, clearly frustrated.

The adrenaline was wearing off, and with each turn I made, I couldn't shake the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. Soarin had always been the one pushing me, the one motivating me, but now he was standing there—silent. Was he really that upset?

I banked a sharp left, narrowly missing a ring. "Whoa!" I muttered to myself.

"Focus, rookie!" Silver shouted from the ground. "You're all over the place. Gotta keep those eyes on the prize!"

But no matter how much I pushed myself, I couldn't stop thinking about Soarin. How was I supposed to prove to him I wasn't just goofing around if he wasn't even watching?

I zoomed through the last of the rings, my heart not in it anymore. Landing back on the ground, I looked over at him, wondering if he'd even acknowledge that I'd finished.

Nothing.

Not even a glance.

Silver, on the other hoof, was still bouncing around, full of energy. "Nice work, Dash! You're really getting the hang of this!"

"Yeah..." I muttered, glancing at Soarin again. "I guess so."

Silver followed my gaze, then raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nah. Nothing."

But as the silence stretched between us, I couldn't ignore the growing discomfort in my chest. It was like there was this huge gap between me and Soarin now. A gap I didn't know how to fix.

I felt Silver's eyes on me, like he knew exactly what was going through my mind. "Why did you ignore him?" he asked, voice quieter than usual.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He wants you to tell him what is wrong. To tell him why you're so mad. But is that really what you want? To ignore him"

I looked at Soarin's still form again. The anger was still there, bubbling up from where I couldn't reach it. But Silver was right. Soarin wasn't going to apologize—not unless I did first. And something about that didn't sit well with me.

So what now?

Silver saw me contemplating. "Look, you've got two options here: you can either keep going like he nearly killed you, or you can face him and get it over with. But you can't let him call the shots."

I didn't have an answer right away. I wanted to do something, but I wasn't sure what. My pride wasn't gonna let me just let him off the hook for this. But I also wasn't about to let him get away when he did what he did when we were little.

I glanced back at Silver. "What would you do?"

Silver's smirk returned, mischievous as ever. "Me? I'd go up there and give him a piece of my mind. But hey, that's just me. You do you, Dash."

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, I'll talk to him."

Silver's smile widened. "That's the spirit! You're not gonna let some stallion walk all over you, are you?"

I really wanted to get him off my mind because of what he did. But is it the right thing to do? Do I have to listen to Silver Lining? 

No, no I won't!