Secret of Five

by Yugimotou

That's the way the Gold Rushes.

A young stallion sat alone in a train carriage, Aploosa slowly fading into the distance behind him. It had all happened so quickly, he hardly had time to process what was going on. His long time lover, Braeburn, had simply upped and said he still had feelings for a member of the wonderbolts. And within the hour, the young stallion was on the train with what little possessions he had brought with him to the town, heading straight back to where he started.

Canterlot.

The Stallion had only one choice now - Return to his post as a member of the royal guard. Before leaving, he had been the right hoof to his dear friend Shining Armor, making coffee and donut runs one hour, chasing down a thief at market the next. The stallions name, was Goldrush.

Gold let out a huge sigh, not sure what to feel. It was true that his relationship with Braeburn had been lacking, and insecure for several months now, but he never imagined it'd end like this. The worst part was that he had left possibly the pony he treasured most behind in canterlot. Gold thought about the old times. As a recruit in the royal guard, he was almost subject to the typical hazing that new recruits often suffered. However, when the captain had decided to take a liking to him, he became reserved property. There's no denying what happens in the royal guard, especially with the single stallions. Yet the captain had become awfully protective of him very quickly.

"Ahh, what to do. It's a pity, really."

Gold muttered to himself, in full awareness that there was no one else in the carriage to hear him. The thing was, as he worked more and more with his captain and eventual friend, Gold developed specific feelings for him that many of the Canterlot elite would likely frown on. That's right, Goldrush had a gay crush on his commanding officer. And just when said commanding officer had started to shown signs of ulterior affections, Gold left to be with the pony he thought he loved. A momentary surge of anger overtook Gold, but was quickly dismissed. If there was anything he had learned in his life, it was that holding your temper was crucial to your well being.

With another sigh, Gold continued his train of thought, allowing the memories and thoughts to flow through his mind like a mountain stream. If there was one thing he ever regretted in his life, it was letting that relationship go. A few weeks back, he had received word that his captain was going to move completely to the crystal empire in order to help his wife manage the place. "Spectacular", Gold thought to himself, as he lamented over his forbidden love interest. He knew that it'd never work, but it was the best time now to tell Shining Armor in private. Doing so, he would be able to gain closure and move on with his life. His eyelids fluttering, Gold allowed himself to be taken by the reprieve of sleep. He'd need all the energy he could get for the upcoming confrontation, after all. Standing against the undisputed demigod of your world is nothing before confessing to your crush, after all.

Gold dreamt. He dreamt he was floating in an endless sky. Clouds swirled around him, white and pure. Looking around, Gold took in the full beauty of the sun and sky around him. Just as he was about to chalk this one off as a good dream, he heard thundering cracks from all around him. In an instant, the fluffy white clouds had become menacing storm clouds, and the sky had become gloomy and the still air had become a raging tempest. In the distance, he saw something. He couldn't see it clearly, but he felt it there. It had a very distinct aura about it, one of malice and danger. It came closer, and closer. Powerless to resist, Gold could only await his fate. For a dream, he thought, he was incredibly lucid. He could feel the wind whipping through his mane, his tail felt like it was being torn off. His wings prickled, as if to warn him. As he resigned to his untimely yet imaginary fate, he felt a strong pulsing warmth on his arm. From behind him, light pierced through the gloomy scenery. The light emanated from behind him, and from his arm.

As everything went white, Gold felt words travel through his mind. He hadn't heard them, nor had he seen them. They were simply, there.

"The secret of five is what you must find, if you want to survive."

Gold woke with a jolt, his whole body prickling. "That's one incredible cheese dream. 'Cept, I didn't eat any cheese..." Gold mused to himself. "Dang, that was one cheesy joke." he continued, not content without making a pun to break his own tension. Gold looked outside the window, seeing that it was well into the night at this point. However, he had long since left the endless and lifeless expanses of the desert behind him, and lush greenery rolled past him as it had done so many times before. The familiarity of the landscape gave Gold a sense of belonging, even if he suddenly felt like a huge burden had been placed on his shoulders.

There would be plenty of time for him to worry about that later, for now, he was home.

Author's Note:

A bit of a reboot style chapter here, with a new storyline to merit the introduction of old characters that were well received in previous installments. Not as long as previous ones, as it's sort of a water testing case. I might have the wordcount of the chapters reduced overall as well - that way, I won't feel pressured to force it out in order to keep updates regular enough, and it'll give the story a bit more time to mellow in your minds, so you can feel more invested. Let me know what you think of this, so I can improve later.

-NOTE-

This story is no longer a clopfic. The previous stories will remain 18+, but from here on out I will be trying to weave an epic tale, not a porn script.

Comments

[Julbot1]

Good writing, but making Shining Armor a sort of closet bi is a little too much of a shake-up. Hell, he and Cadence threw out the changelings with a love powered blast.

[Yugimotou]

Whether or not it'll actually happen is something you'll have to read to learn. There are plenty of stallions out there, after all.