//------------------------------//
// An old friend returns 
// Story: Secret of Five 
// by Yugimotou 
//------------------------------//

Sea woke up the following morning with a splitting headache.
He sat up in bed, itching at something in his mane tenderly.
Looking around, there was no sign of Twilight. As usual.
She always woke up incredibly early, but avoided waking him, which he appreciated.
Sea slipped out of bed, blinking as the sunlight assailed his eyes.
Muttering to himself, he trotted down the stairs to the lower portion of the room.
He pulled the door open, and looked down on the main room of the library below.
Spike was sweeping the floors, as he did every morning.
Sea approached him, tapping him on the shoulder with a careful hoof to get his attention.

"Have you seen Twilight today?"

Sea asked, somewhat awkwardly.

"Yeah, she was going to meet up with her friends and go to visit Fluttershy."

Spike explained, a glimmer of worry in his eyes.

"Fluttershy hasn't been well lately... We're all worried about her..."

Spike went on, his eyes to the floor.
Sea patted Spike on the back, offering comfort to the worried dragon.

"It'll be okay. I'm sure Twilight will find a way to break Fluttershy out of the depression she's in."

Sea couldn't keep the doubt out of his voice.
It had been months since Fluttershy had gone into a depression following Sombra's death, but she showed no signs of improvement.
Every day, she continued to spend all her time inside, coming out only to check her mail. Most of her animals had started scavenging for their own food, now that she no longer supplied it.
Spike returned to sweeping the floors, whilst Sea went into the kitchen to fix breakfast.








Twilight and her friends stood outside Fluttershy's cottage, a collection of gifts and conversation topics in their saddlebags.

"Fluttershy, darling, we've come to see you. Please open the door."

Rarity asked in her typically alluring way.

"No! I don't want to talk to anyone right now! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Fluttershy's normally sweet and gentle voice just didn't sound right in a frantic yell, driving the mares deeper into worry.

"Ah know you miss 'im, Fluttershy, Butcha can't dwell on this forever."

Applejack pleaded, her hat in her hooves.

"I don't care! Just leave me alone! I DON'T CA-!"

The final words were never spoken, as Fluttershy choked on tears.

The mares cringed. None of them knew quite what to do.

Rainbow Dash stepped in, irritated by Fluttershy's behavior.

"ALRIGHT, IF YOU WON'T OPEN THIS DOOR, I'LL BUST IT OPEN!"

Rainbow reared up, before flying at the door with all the force she could muster.
At the last possible moment, the door opened, and Rainbow Dash went flying into Fluttershy's living room, crashing into a Sofa on the far side.

Fluttershy peeked out the door at her friends, a twinkle of longing in her eyes.

"Come in, I guess..."






Back at the library, Sea sat by the window, savoring the sunlight as it shone down onto his furry muzzle.
He turned a Sphere over in his hands. He knew that he had to get some kind of help for Fluttershy, but couldn't risk doing something Twilight wouldn't like.

Sea sighed.

"What to do... What to do..."

He mused to himself, staring into the sphere in his hooves.
Coming to a decision, Sea held the Sphere to his chest, and concentrated.
Sea held the sphere up to his face, concentrating into the mist swirling within.
Eventually, the mist began to take the shape of a large Green stallion with purple eyes.

"AHOY THERE SEA, WHAT CAN I DO FER YA TODAY?"

Sea winced. Green knew very little self control when it came to his speaking volume.

"Hey Green. I just wanted to ask you something."

Sea almost pleaded, hoping with all his heart that Green's cornucopia of wisdom would hold the answers he needed.

"ASK AWAY, LAD!"

Green bellowed, a hearty smile on his face.

"Do you know anything about helping a pony out of depression?"

Sea asked.

Green froze, his hearty smile shattered to a downtrodden grimace.

"This is about that yellow lass, ain't it laddy?"

Sea shrugged.

"Yeah. She's been down in the dumps since Sombra died. We all want to help her, but don't know how to go about it."

Green thought for a moment.

"Well laddy, listen carefully. Me father once told me that once a lovebird loses its mate, it just gives up on living, to be with the one it truly loves. So what I'm thinking, lad, is that we need to get back that lovebirds other half. There's also an old sailors tail that me father passed down to me, about a realm where the sea's dead live out their afterlives for eternity. Now, I know that Mr. Tall dark and gruesome died not only on land, but in a different world entirely. But surely, he has to have gone Somewhere, donchathink?"

Green said, with a rare seriousness in his voice.

Sea nodded.

"Yeah. I think I get what you mean. I should look into a way to bring Sombra back?"

Green nodded back.

"Exactly, laddy. No magic can bring back the dead. But maybe you don't need magic. You live in a library now, doncha? I suggest you hop to it and get reading, lad."

Sea smiled.

"Will do. Thanks for the info."

"Anytime, lad."






Later that night, Twilight and her friends walked back into Ponyville's square after an unsuccessful trip to Fluttershy's cottage.

"Well that was Simply Dreadful."

Rarity moped.

"I'll say. How long is she gonna keep up this whole sad act?"

Rainbow rared.

Pinkie pie simply looked down, lost for words.

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other, then to the floor.

"I don't think its an act, Rainbow. Fluttershy lost a very important part of who she is. She just needs time to recover."

Twilight Sighed.

Applejack stepped in.

"Twilight's right y'all. Fluttershy just needs us to be a little patient with her right now, that's all."

With that, the ponies trotted off, returning to their respective homes.

Twilight sighed, before returning to the library.









When Twilight returned, She found Sea Breeze looking through the dustiest old books in the library.
As she approached him, he attempted to stifle a sneeze. 
It didn't work very well.

"You want me to get you a tissue?"

Sea looked up, his eyes red.

"No thanks. But if you wanna help, you can start reading through that pile of books over there."

Sea turned back to the book he was reading, skimming through each page with growing frustration.

Twilight trotted over to the pile of books Sea had directed her to.

"Occultopedia? An occult guide to summoning the dead? Just what are we trying to achieve here?"

Twilight asked, a puzzled look on her face.

Sea turned, rubbing his nose with a foreleg.

"We're trying to get Sombra back. I called Green, he said that there may be a place where the dead go for their afterlives. If we can find it, we can revive Sombra."

He explained, before sneezing once again.

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Oh Sea, I know you're trying to help. But there simply isn't any way to bring back dead loved ones. I know you believe Green when he tells you this, but I'm afraid its just not possible. We need to help Fluttershy look towards the future, not revive the past."

Twilight said softly, putting a hoof on Sea's shoulder.

Sea shook his head.

"I'm gonna keep looking into it. It's the only thing I can really do to help Fluttershy."

He sighed, licking a hoof and turning the page.

Twilight smiled.

"That's very sweet of you. Good luck."

With that, She walked up the stairs to the bedroom, leaving Sea to his books and thoughts.





The following morning, Twilight walked into the Libraries' foyer to find Sea asleep among a pile of books. Twilight approached him carefully, nudging his shoulder gently in an attempt to wake him.

"Sea... Sea, wake up."

Twilight whispered, nudging him again and again.

Eventually, Sea raised his head groggily, rubbing his eyes with his hooves.

"Uhh... Morning."

He mumbled drearily.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. Were you reading all night last night?"

Twilight giggled.

"Uh... I think so. I fell asleep as the sun was coming up."

Sea replied, his eyes crusted over with sleep.

Twilight giggled again, as she often did around him.

"Well alright. I'm gonna go get some Breakfast, you want anything?"

Twilight asked, a twinkle of concern in her eyes.

"No thanks. I've got to keep reading."

Sea muttered, returning to his book.

Twilight, worry in her eyes, trotted back up the stairs the way she came.

Breakfast could wait. She needed to call someone.





Shining armor sat in his empty office in Canterlot, going over the memories.

It was in this room that he first had a real chance to talk with his wife, Cadance.

It was in this room that he had met his best friend, a bright eyed Pegasus colt eager to enter the Canterlot Royal Guard.

It was in this room that he had filed mountains upon mountains of paperwork.

And now he was going to leave it all behind, to join his wife full time in the Crystal Empire.

It hurt to leave everything he had worked for behind, but he was once told that sometimes you have to give up what you had to be a part of something bigger.

He wanted to believe that, with all of his heart. But he knew, he wasn't feeling it. He was also sure that Cadance was aware of his uneasiness. He wanted to believe that his marriage would last forever, but his days as a recruit in the royal guard had taught him a certain 'appreciation' for other stallions.

And there was only one Stallion he had his eye on now.