//------------------------------// // Secret of Five // Story: Secret of Five // by Yugimotou //------------------------------// It was straight out of the donut store and into a library for the two guards in item. Still in disbelief, Gold stomached his own inability to make sense of what had happened. For one, there were now two supernatural beings living in the arms of two ponies. To top it all off, a royal marriage had been broken in a donut store and there were distinctive marks left in the aftermath. Book after book, the two searched for something, anything that could help explain what was going on. Of course, the marks weren't the only thing on Gold's mind. "Hey, Shiny." He muttered, his eyes still scanning through the contents page of a dusty tome. "Whassap?" His captain replied. "What just happened anyway? That was crazy, breaking a marriage like that." Shining paused, letting his book fall to the ground. "There were lots of reasons. Some I don't care to admit, but seeing as its you, I owe you the explanation." Shining murmured. Gold turned to face his friend, eyeing him expectantly. "Well?" Gold prompted. "To put it simply, Cadence has no sense of adventure. She used to, I don't know what happened. After she became the crystal princess, she put her work and her duties to her people before anything else. That's cool and all, and it's great that the empire has its ruler again. But, what about me? We hardly talked, and when we did, she was just fishing for attention. We hardly even slept in the same bed, with our conflicting hours. On top of that, she wanted me to move out into the empire and become a prince. She didn't even consider that I would be leaving my friends, career, position, family, and all else behind. She was counting on me, for everything. But she gave nothing. Her kisses were empty. Her compliments were dry. The list goes on, Gold. On, and on." Gold blinked, taking in the information. "So, you didn't want to become her prince? You wanted to stay a guard?" Gold inquired. "Yeah. That's right. I was bred for action, not paperwork. I think I'd rather manage 6 extra squadrons than go through all the signing and the organisation that the crystal empire would require." Shining muttered. "Surely the babe factor was an upside, at least?" "Nope. No sense of adventure in the bedroom either. Wouldn't even uh... you know. Clean the pipe." Gold cringed. "Well then." Gold sighed, fully aware of the sandstorm of trouble heading his way. "And then there was you." Gold paused. "Me?" Shining prodded Gold's shoulder. "Yeah, you. Our history together, the fact that It was going to end. That's what scared me." Gold stared. "So, there WAS a reason you never let the other guards haze me when I entered the ranks?" Gold asked. "Yeah. I didn't want that to happen to you. I cared, right from the first sight." Shining murmured, putting an arm around Gold. Gold was surprised, but didn't resist. "You must have had your reasons... but promise me. You'll have to tell me the whole story one day." Shining squeezed Gold close. "Yeah. You'll hear the whole thing eventually." Gold smiled, before his eyes settled on something interesting in the book he was studying. "Ever heard of the Shining Phoenix and the five Prophets?" Gold mused to Shining. "The old pony's tail, right? The Shining Phoenix that gave life to the land, and its five... prophets who were.... emblazoned with its marks." Gold and Shining looked at each other, before staring at their forearms. "So, this is the head..." Gold whispered. "And these are the wings..." Shining muttered. "Then there are three other ponies like us with these marks?" The two exclaimed in unison. "But why? This legend is just a legend, and even if there's truth to it, this all happened thousands of years ago. Before the Princess' ascension!" Shining hurriedly babbled. "Wait..." Gold paused, remembering a dream he had on the train ride back to Canterlot. "The secret of five is what we need to find to survive." Gold said slowly. "Huh?" Shining grunted, looking at Gold with confused eyes. "There are five of us. And we have a job to do. I think that's the jist of it, right?" Gold returned Shining's confused look. "Yeah. I'm getting some sick leave. Meet me at the station a bit later. We're going on a little emblem hunt." Shining said, the power and authority returning to his voice. Gold stood up straight, fixing his hoof into a salute. "Sir, yes sir!"