> Secret of Five
>  by Yugimotou
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A single dark-furred stallion floated through an endless abyss. The cold sent pinpricks of pain through his body. It felt like being frozen perpetually. 
Every now and again, a tingle would shoot through his body, igniting the doused flames in his heart.
A single name, echoed through his mind endlessly.
The one pony he couldn’t live, or die without.

Fluttershy.

> Nightmare Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sea! Sea? Sea! There you are. What do you think?”

Twilight stood before Sea, dressed in a pirate-like corset, with a large captains hat atop her head. Sea had cut out eye holes in a sheet and called himself a ghost. It was a lucky thing that the sheet contained his blushing. He couldn’t deny it. Twilight looked beautiful. 

“It’s, uh… You look stunning. It uh, kinda reminds me of Green”. 

Twilight looked at him quizzically. “You mean that big burly sailor pony you and my Brother used to pal around with? What are you trying to imply?” She muttered, raising an eyebrow. 

“Oh, I, Didn’t mean… I mean… You know… eheh…heheh…” Sea spat out in a panic. 

Twilight eyed him, before letting off a sly smile.

“I’m just kidding around.” Twilight giggled. From across the room, a small purple dragon made gagging motions before grabbing his Jack-o-Lantern basket and taking off out the door. No sooner had the door closed did a knock reverberate throughout the room. 

“The Trick ‘o’ Treaters aren’t wasting any time this year” Sea hastily muttered, determined to change the subject before he dug his hole even deeper. 

Twilight picked up a bowl of Candy, and opened the door. 

“Trick or Treat!” 

Three little fillies, (And a rather old mare) beamed up at Twilight, their own baskets deposited at the doorstep, as if waiting to be filled. Of course, these weren’t just any fillies. These were Ponyville’s own Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Twilight beamed back down at them, examining their costumes and depositing a generous heap of candy into each of their baskets. “I see you’re a Grim reaper this year, Applebloom. Did you borrow that scythe from Applejack?” Twilight chimed, the smile never leaving her lips. It was nearly impossible to do anything but smile to the three adorable fillies.

“Eeyup! The blade is fake though. Applejack didn’t think ah should be carryin’ ‘round a real scythe, in case I hurt somepony.” Applebloom chirped. Twilight made a mental note to complement Applejack on the superb responsibility she had displayed helping Applebloom with her costume, but decided against it. Applejack didn’t normally take praise very well. 

“Oh look Sweetie Belle, that’s a beautiful princess costume!” Twilight regarded Sweetie Belle with a mix of admiration and adoration. Sweetie couldn’t contain her giggles at the praise. “Thanks Twilight! Me and Rarity made it! Isn’t it FABULOUS!?” She squeaked. 

“It’s very beautiful.” Twilight smiled delicately, before depositing some candy into Sweetie Belle’s basket. 

She then turned to the third filly, and had she been drinking something at that moment, she would have spat it out in surprise. “Oh… Scootaloo, I see youre dressed up as…” Twilight began, but was quickly cut off by the ecstatic filly. 

“IM DRESSED UP AS RAINBOW DASH! ISN’T THIS COOL? I LOOK JUST LIKE HER!” She nearly screamed. 

Twilight was taken aback. It looked as if someone had taken a paintbrush to Scootaloo’s coat and mane. Not trusting herself to speak, Twilight put on the biggest smile she could, and deposited some Candy into Scootaloo’s waiting basket.
Just like that, they were gone, the old mare wobbling after them. Off to hunt more candy. 

“Have a Good night, girls!” Twilight called after them, before closing around and seeing Sea Breeze standing right behind her. 

“I don’t know what was cuter. The fillies, or you.” He almost whispered the complement, as If scared to have it heard. This time It was Twilight’s turn to blush.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” She smiled that delicate smile of hers, almost melting Sea’s Heart.

The lovebirds strolled through the Nightmare Night festival, in the heart of Ponyville. Apple bobbing, Spider flinging, Pumpkin catapulting, Three legged races, Caterpillar races, you name it, Ponyville had it. Sea was taken aback.

They had certainly heard of Nightmare Night in Trottingham, but they certainly didn’t celebrate it like this. The whole town had turned up for the festivities. The two made their way over to a table, where the rest of Twilight’s friends sat.

Twilight quickly began exchanging small talk with her friends, whilst Sea looked around the Town Square in awe.
There were only ever really celebrations in Trottingham when a ship returned safely. He had always thought it was awfully grim to have a “Hooray! We didn’t die this time!” party after every voyage.

Eventually, he just couldn’t take the anticipation anymore. He tugged at Twilight’s corset, urging her to turn her attention to him. After about 10 tugs, Twilight turned to him with an eyebrow raised. 

“What’s wrong?” She muttered, slightly irritated at Sea’s foalish behaviour. 

“Can I please go see some of the attractions now, please?” Sea urged, slightly desperate to get away from the flock of giggling mares eyeing him. He had never felt comfortable around Twilight’s friends. 

He had spent most of his life surrounded by stallions, and stallionlike-mares. These Filly-like mares were completely new to him. Twilight smiled. “Sure, but only If I get to come with you.” She whispered into his ear. The sudden contact made Sea nervous, but in a good way.

“Alright” He chuckled. “Let’s go.”

With a wink, Sea lead Twilight away from the giggling mares, who whispered “Ooh la la!” to each other, followed by more giggling.

Sea Breeze erupted from the barrel, his ghost ‘costume’ completely soaked. Another try, and he hadn’t managed to find an apple in the green coloured water. 

Twilight giggled beside him, before handing the showpony another bit to allow Sea another chance. “Alright, This time I’m definitely gonna get an apple. Just watch me!” He grinned, before diving into the barrel once more. He felt around with his mouth for a little bit, before finally finding what he was looking for. 

Something round. Something that tastes like apples. Though, it is awfully firm for an apple… Sea pulled out of the barrel, pulling his find with him. To his surprise, the ‘apple’ slammed straight down to bottom of the barrel, pulling him with it. 

The force of the slam knocked the air out of his lungs. He frantically attempted to breathe, only to have his mouth filled with the sickly warm water. He felt someone pulling him up and out, as the edges of his vision began to fade. Next thing he knew, he was on the ground, panting and coughing up water. 

The showpony was cackling to himself, making no effort to hide his amusement at Sea’s misfortune.

“What’s wrong with you?!” Twilight yelled, holding the coughing and croaking Sea in her arms.

“It’s nightmare night!” The Showpony crowed. “The perfect time for a good prank, eh? Bahahahah! But I’ll tell you what, for making me laugh you get a free attempt, It’s on the house. You up for it, sonny?” 

Sea had no intention of going into that barrel ever again. He stood up, water still streaming down his throat and out of his mouth. 

“No thanks. Take your stupid game and shove it.” Sea muttered, glaring at the showpony. 

This stallion had made him look like a fool, and all the worse, he had made him look like a fool in front of Twilight. That was unforgivable. 

“I must have looked like a total dork!” Sea thought to himself angrily. He felt a light hoof on his shoulder, and spun round to see Twilight smiling at him. She leant in, giving him a tender kiss on the cheek, before leading him away to the pumpkin catapults.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Ponyville, a pale yellow mare with a deep pink mane lay in bed, tears in her eyes. This was Fluttershy’s life. She had spent the past 6 months doing nothing but taking care of the animals of Ponyville, and crying herself to sleep. There was no point denying it, she was lost without Sombra. Every time she thought about him, it felt as if he was still right there with her. 

But he wasn’t. He was under a big fancy grave under the Canterlot courtyards, to be remembered as a hero for all time. That should comfort her, but It didn’t. She just wanted Sombra back, no matter what It took.

Fresh tears welling up in her eyes, Fluttershy heaved herself out of bed and went downstairs. She wasn’t participating in Nightmare Night. How could she? She never had energy to do ANYTHING anymore. 
She was just waiting to die, so she could be with her soulmate. She thought about her friends. Twilight and Sea Breeze were now a happy couple. Shining Armour and Cadence were joined for eternity. Gold and Braeburn were living their lives out on the frontier, spending every waking minute together. Where was she? Alone, and in tears.

She just couldn’t see any silver lining. It truly seemed as If fate had left her to be alone. It was a cruel fate, to have once known true love but to have it snatched away from you by circumstance. She mused to herself. She could write a tragedy novel. A grim smile crossed her face at the thought. It was 2 years ago now that Sombra had first abducted her in the Everfree forest. Everything In between that and his death seemed like naught but a happy dream.

Fluttershy opened her fridge, sifting through it. She only ever really kept food for her animals in here. She didn’t eat much nowadays. She sometimes felt weak in the middle of the day, and sometimes had to lie down. But she didn’t really care. She hadn’t had an appetite for a long time. She ate what she needed to survive, and never enjoyed it like she used to. Food just tasted like ash in her mouth.

She decided on a near empty bottle of milk. It smelled sour, and looked chunky. With a grunt, she hurled it into her nearby trashcan, and It made a satisfying shattering sound as it hit the bottom.

Fluttershy went to her cupboard, pulled out some bread, and ate it. She didn’t even bother putting spreads on bread anymore. They all just tasted like dirt anyway. When her feast was completed, she trudged back up the stairs and into her room. Needless to say, she was thinking about Sombra. She only ever thought about Sombra. 

She trotted into her room heavily, and chanced a brief look out her window. No Trick ‘o’ Treaters had come that night. Why would they? She was just the creepy broken mare that lives at the edge of town. The town itself was lit up, Nightmare Night celebrations in full swing. Fluttershy looked to the sky. 

She remembered happier days. Like when she and Sombra had looked at the stars at night whilst aboard the Equila. Sure, the fate of equestria was at stake, but that didn’t stop them from enjoying themselves. With Sombra, she was always able to have fun, No matter what the situation was. Thinking about him sent a jolt of pain shooting through her body. Not physical pain, but emotional. With fresh tears forming in her eyes, Fluttershy trotted over to her bed and climbed into it, and was once again swallowed by the dark of night.

> A Nightmare Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sea Breeze and Twilight Sparkle stumbled back into the library as the brilliant lights of the celebration died down for the night. Spike had long since passed out in a pile of cushions in the corner, and was snoring contently.

“You know, Sea…”

Twilight began.

“We have the room all to ourselves tonight…”

Sea blushed furiously. It certainly hadn’t crossed his mind, and now that he came to think about it, it seemed as almost an alien concept. Even more so given the quiet, Studious mare proposing it.

“Well?”

Twilight eyed him from head to hoof, a mischievous twinkle of attraction glimmering in her eyes. Sea smiled goofily.

“Sure.”

Twilight smiled slyly, before making her way up the stairs.

“I’ll get ready. Don’t take too long, alright?”

Sea smiled up at her.

“I… uhh… I won’t.”

Twilight giggled, before making her way into the room at the top of the stairs. 

Sea carefully snuck into another room, to avoid waking spike. He fumbled around in his sheet, finding his prized possession; A Sphere.

Sea played with the sphere in his hooves for a while, remembering what Green Flash had said to him as he left for Trottingham.

“YE BEST BE SURE TO MAKE GOOD USE OF THAT, LADDY. IT WASN’T CHEAP! STAY IN TOUCH, AND TRY NOT TO DRIFT OUT OF TOUCH. YER STILL A MEMBER OF MY CREW, AND I MIGHT BE NEEDIN’ YA SOON. FAREWELL, SONNY!”

A feeling of longing welled up in Sea’s chest. He missed Green. But he didn’t just miss Green. He missed Shining, And Gold, And Braeburn, And even Fluttershy. The old Fluttershy, before she was overcome by grief.

Sea turned his attention back to the Sphere in his hands. He had never understood how they worked, only that they were magical devices of a bygone era. They were capable of connecting across time and space, allowing ponies to communicate with each other no matter where they were. 

Of course, Sea had used his many a time. And he was about to use it again.
He held the Sphere close to his chest, picturing clearly in his mind the pony he wished to see. 
Green Flash.

In a cabin on the Equila, many miles away, Green’s attention was caught by a blue glow emanating from one of his desk drawers.


Back in the library, Sea held his breath. He really needed Green’s guidance. Sea concentrated, and slowly, a figure began to appear from the misty depths of the sphere. Slowly, sound began to reverberate from the sphere, carrying to Sea a familiar voice.

“AHOY THERE LADDY! A BIT LATE TO BE CALLIN’, ISN’T IT?”

Sea winced, hoping that Green’s booming voice wouldn’t wake Spike in the next room. 

“Try to keep it down, okay? I need some advice.” Sea said, fidgeting around.

“CERTAINLY MA- I mean, Certainly matey. What can I do for ye?” Green boomed, then whispered.

Sea gulped.

“Well Uhh… I think Twilight is trying to seduce me.” Sea whispered.

Green beamed.

“Good on ya, laddy! What’re you doin’ talkin’ to me? Yer about to become a man!” He boomed.

Sea gulped again.

“Well, that’s the thing. I don’t know what do to. What If I mess it up?” Sea whispered.

Suddenly, Green was very serious.

“You won’t mess it up, laddy. You love this mare, yes?” Green said softly.

“Y-yeah.” Sea almost whimpered.

“Then you won’t mess it up. If you really feel something for her, yer heart will guide ye.” Green smiled.

Sea gulped once more, before steeling himself.

“Thanks. I’ll do what I think is right.” Sea said firmly.

“That’s what I like to hear, matey. NOW GO AND GIVE HER THE BUISNESS! BWAHAHAHAH!”

Sea shut off the Sphere hurriedly, hoping that Green’s unrestrained laughter hadn’t woken Spike.
Thankfully, It hadn’t. The small dragon continued to snore in his pile of cushions.
Sea made his way up the stairs, determined to make this a night to remember.


When Sea opened the door and entered the room, Twilight was already in the upper portion. Sea climbed the last set of 
stairs, stopping at the side of the bed.

Sea climbed in next to Twilight, who shuffled towards him.



~~~~

With a sigh, Twilight fell asleep in Sea’s arms, completely exhausted.

Sea grinned at the sleeping mare, before slowly slipping out of bed.

He went downstairs, taking careful care of the condom, disposing of it whilst making sure Spike would never find it.

He then went back upstairs and onto the balcony of the library. 

Sea looked up at the stars and moon, drinking in their beauty.

For some reason, he felt uneasy. It felt like it was the start of something.

He shrugged it off. Whatever it was, it could certainly wait for morning.

Sea went back inside, crept into bed next to Twilight, and fell asleep.
> An old friend returns
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
> 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.
> Enter Brother #2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Meet me in Canterlot, I need to talk to you big bro."

The message had been short, but it's purpose was painfully clear, even to a simple Gemcutter. True, he may not have been the one stallion in the family blessed with the wings inherited from his great uncle, but he was still a successful tradesman out in Fillydelphia. 

Watch out, mares. He's single.

The stallion, appropriately named Gem Cutter, had simply received a short message from a high priority mailmare. He was summoned to Canterlot by his dearest friend, and little brother, to discuss what he had known would one day be an issue on the table. 

"I can't believe he's finally gonna make his stand. NOW, of all times. He's got a flair for the unpredictable, that Goldiebutt."

The stallion mused to himself, a trait that his little brother had most likely inherited from the childhood years spent almost inseparable. It had always stung, that his little brother had abandoned their plan to run a jewelry store, but he knew his brother had good reason. The untimely death of their parents had filled the young colt with a fierce desire to ensure that the ponies of the world lead happy lives. Particularly fillies and colts. Goldrush had always been good with the kids. Provided he wasn't in a sour mood, then he could get pretty sarcastic. Typical Colt Cuddler.

The train would have likely been a much faster alternative to the air-carriage Gem sat in now, but at this time in Fillydelphia? Good luck on securing train tickets, to the royal capital at that. He just hoped he would get there in time to talk some sense into Gold Rush. The poor colt had always had a tendency to get wrapped up in his emotions.

~

Gold stepped off the train, the familiar smell of perfume in the crisp mountain air filling his nose and muzzle. He was home. 

"Do I wait for Gem? Nah... If I wait, Shiny might get carried away in something... I want to talk to him with full attention."

Gold kicked himself mentally. "Here we go", he thought, hasn't even seen his crush's reaction to the confession and he's trying to be possessive.

"Darn man, I'm going to end up just like a mare if i keep this up."

Gold walked off of the platform, his rump bobbing with every step. The scenery of Canterlot hadn't changed much, except that It was the middle of summer and the place was sweltering. Gold smirked discreetly as the noblemares tried desperately to hide their sweat patches from potential suitors. Life was the as ever here, it seemed.

Little by little, the palace came into view. More specifically, the guards' tower. It was there that the guards had their breaks, and at the top was where the captains office was situated.

"Man, I hope I can still get in. It's been a while, the roster could have changed completely."

Gold's worry was quickly dispelled. As he reached the gates of the palace, one of the guards on duty stepped out in front of him.

"Where do you think you're going without saying hello?"

Gold looked up. It was the smiling, joking, tall and lanky stallion who had made all those training exercises and nighttime shifts bearable.

"Hey Palomides. Is the captain around?"

The tall stallion looked dejected.

"Aw, cmon. We don't see you for months, and you just walk through here straight to the captain? You always were his little pet, I suppose. Yeah, he's up in his office, working late on the paperwork."

Gold nodded with a smile on his face.

"Thanks, pal. First round of donuts is on me If I end up back on active duty."

Palomides patted Gold on the shoulder.

"I'll be holding you to that, buddy. Good luck on the grill."

Gold gulped. 

"Thanks. Feel free to hold me to that, if I don't die of mortification here tonight."

With that, Gold began to walk away.

"Hey Gold! Don't do anything you would normally do."

Gold scoffed.

"Thanks but no thanks, that's exactly what I'm here to be doing."

Palomides smiled knowingly. 

"I look forward to hearing the shouting!"

~

Gold trotted up the stairs, through the different levels of the tower. The place was just about deserted, but the musky smell of the training rooms was certainly still present. It took a while, but he managed to reach the top of the stairs without tripping over even ONCE.

"Stairs 12, Gold 8. We'll finish this later."

Gold muttered, as he approached the door.

He heard exclamations coming from the room on the other side. 

"For the love of Celestia, please don't let that be who I think it i-"

Gold tripped and tumbled through the door, knocking it open and landing in a sprawled heap on the opulent rug inside.

".....is."

Gold's arrival was met with mixed reactions. Shining Armor beamed, delighted to see his best friend.

Cadence however, glared bloodstained daggers straight at Gold.

Gold gulped, but remembered what his Mom had once told him.

"Just take a deep breath hunnybunch, and take the plunge!"

Gold stood up tall, straightening his scarf.

"Shining Armor, I have returned to confess my hidden feelings for you."

Nailed it.

Cadence looked disgusted. 

"Get out. We don't need you here right now."

Shining Armor furrowed his brow.

"Why don't you leave us alone, Cadence? We evidently have a lot of speaking to do."

Cadence whirled around, pointing the stab-o-vision at Shining.

"Why don't YOU kick him out and make sure he stays out this time?"

Gold frowned. Cadence had never liked him very much, but this was a new level of animosity.

"Wait," he thought to himself. "I sorta just did confess love to her husband. Go figure."

Shining stood up, and barked at Gold.

"We have a 4-11 at X027m Y0362m. All units converge and meet up there immediately."

With that, he strutted out with his head held high. Even if it had been a while since those orders were given, Gold would always remember exactly what the code meant. "We have menstrual mares attacking. Disperse, disappear, and meet at Pony Joe's for donuts."

Gold turned wordlessly, with intent to follow his captain and finish what he came here to do. As he approached the door, it slammed shut so intensely it just might've fallen off of its hinges. Gold turned, already knowing full well the situation he was about to face. Gold met Cadences cold, daggery stare with his own fiery, indignant one.

"And who the buck do you think you are, hotshot? He's a married man, married TO ME. I don't get why you'd bother putting yourself in more hot water with us. He never got over you leaving!"

Gold didn't flinch. If there was one thing he had learned out in Apploosa, it was never to show weakness towards the pony you were arguing with.

"I came here to settle my affairs. You and I both know he won't act on anything I've just said. He'll understand."

Cadence looked ready to crash the crystal empire into the office.

"NO. You don't understand it at all! There is a hole in his heart, Gold Rush. A hole that I cannot fill, and now that you've gone and inflamed the whole situation, he might..."

Cadence paused. Gold raised an eyebrow.

"He might...?"

Cadence raised a hoof and slapped Gold. Within moments, his composure had returned and he was staring again.

"He might actually begin to act on the feelings that I were never able to quell."

With that, Cadence stormed out of the office, her tail sweeping in wide arcs behind her. As she left, Gold became aware of the prickling, stinging sensation on his arm. He raised it to look, and almost had the breath taken out of him. On his arm, a very intricate pattern had begun to glow through his fur. There was no denying what they were. Wings. 

Gold blinked. This time it was alright to show weakness, right? It's not like his arm is going to jump off and kick him in the-

The mark began to resonate, and glow. A powerful force began to emanate. 

"Goddamnit, can't I just derail a marriage without this kind of stuff happening?"

Gold leapt out the window just in time. As he entered the night air and his wings spread, his arm exploded with fire. Gold tried his best to maintain his flight pattern, knowing full well that the ponies down below could see him seemingly being eaten alive by a fireball. The sensation was overwhelming. It wasn't pain, it was like something else was coming out of his arm.

With a blast, the fireball detached from Gold's arm, throwing him back. He fell. Desperately, he tried to regain his flight, but was to no avail. He was plummeting down the tower, half numb, and all dead.

The fireball dissipated, and something shot out of the sky and caught Gold as he fell.

Strong arms held Gold as he was carried down into the large courtyard of the palace. They were orange, scaly, and he could definitely discern wingbeats. In moments, he was placed gently on the ground, as the creature returned him to his senses with grace and poise. Gold turned, his eyes wide. 

Before him was a majestic creature. Draconian in appearance, yet far too small to be a dragon. Gold focused on its face. It had a fierce visage, yet its expression was gentle. Its strong wings folded, and it bowed. Taken aback, Gold took on his royal guard training and returned the bow. As the guards drew near, the creature extended a claw. It pointed directly to the now very clear orange mark on Gold's arm, before becoming a pillar of flame and being absorbed into the mark once more.

Gold heard the shouts of royal guards as the night watch approached.

"Guess this calls for donuts."

Gold took off silently, slinking around the guards and out of the palace grounds.

And boy, was he confused.
> Just Donuts. Absolutely nothing more... right?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gem stumbled through the stuffy summer night, dodging sweaty nobles left and right.

"I don't see how Goldie likes this place..."

Gem muttered to himself. How was he going to find his brother in this mess of a town? Even Fillydelphia had wider streets than this. His internal bellyaching was cut short by a scream. Looking to where the nobles nearby were pointing, he saw a fireball burst out of one of the towers of the palace. Yep. That was Gold. The eighteen years had taught him that whenever something dramatic was happening, it was happening to Gold or someone close to him.

Gem chuckled to himself, remembering how flustered Gold used to get this stuff happened. When their parents would walk in with the kitchen on fire. "The haynuggets were EVIL! They were ATTACKING ME! IT WAS SELF DEFENSE!". Snapping back to reality, he noticed a two silhouettes. One looked like a falling pony, and one looked like... What was that thing?

His heart speeding up, Gem began to push through the crowd headed for the palace. Within minutes of pushing through the rumbling crowd, he had managed to make his way to the castle gates. He saw a familiar small silhouette slink over the walls and out of sight, despite the fact that there were no guards at the gate. Yep. Definitely Gold.

Gem began to trot towards the silhouette, but lost it when a shrieking voice met his ears.

"DON'T YOU DARE MOVE GOLD RUSH! GET BACK HERE! WHO IN TARTARUS DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

Gem turned, knocking into an exasperated and fuming mare, sending her to her feet.

"Oh hey, sorry about that!" Gem exclaimed, offering a hoof to the pink, curly heap on the ground in front of him.

The mare looked up, and the two locked eyes. For a moment, Gem could see past the anger and hatred in her eyes, and saw a gentle soul. The mare took his hoof, and he gently helped her to her feet.

"Hey there. What's got you so wound up?"

The mare blinked.

"Relationship issues." she murmured, not wanting anyone else to hear.

"Need a strong shoulder to cry on, by any chance?" Gem teased, raising an eyebrow. The mare paused, and then smiled.

"I'd like that. Call it a date?" She said through her beam.

"I feel like I'm the rebound guy here. But with a mare as pretty as you, I'm not complaining." Gem joked, a half smile forming on his face. "Oh stop it you." Cadence giggled. Patting her suitor playfully on the shoulder.

"Hey, I heard about this great place for donuts from my brother here. Wanna check it out?" Gem asked politely.

"I'd love to."

~


Gold entered the Donut store quietly, scanning the tables for his target. His gaze was met with a familiar pair of cyan blue eyes with their eyebrows raised.

"Glad you could make it." Shining grinned, taking a bite out of a particularly good looking raspberry jelly donut. "Care to explain the explosion I saw as I was leaving the grounds?"

Gold trotted over, and took a seat.

"Here, maybe this'll explain it better than words." Gold said, raising his arm to bring it into view. Shining looked puzzled, as he eyed the fiery orange wing pattern that had engraved itself onto Gold's arm.

"So you got a tattoo. It exploded?" Shining joked.

Gold scoffed, grabbing a donut from the plate. "Knock it off buckethead, You know I'm not the type of guy to get a tattoo. Especially an exploding one." he muttered, shoving at least half the donut into his mouth.

"Alright, Alright. So your tattoo caused an explosion? What happened, exactly?" Shining asked, an eyebrow yet again raised.

Gold explained it all. The searing sensation as he argued with Cadence, the incredible force, his near fatal fall and his strange rescuer.

"So, It went back INTO this mark when guards were coming? So, it's inside you?" Shining inquired, struggling to put the pieces together.

"Yeah. It was weird, but It had a gentleness to it. It wasn't there to hurt anyone, I just don't get where it came from." Gold replied, taking another donut from the plate.

"That certainly is weird. And possibly the only interesting thing that's happened around here in months. You really are something else, Gold. Never a dull moment, huh?" Shining chuckled, meeting Gold's gaze.

"I guess so. As if the situation wasn't complicated enough already, my arm is giving birth to never-before-seen creatures." Gold sighed.

"D'you think It'll get all loose and flappy after it's done it a few times?" Shining said, barely concealing his giggles.

"Dude! Can we NOT?" 

The two stallions laughed together for the first time in a long while.

"I missed this." Gold sighed, looking out the window beside him.

"I missed this too. It scared me to death that we might never laugh together again." Shining murmured, a certain conflict to his voice.

"Gold..."

"Yeah...?"

"...Horseapples."

"What did you just say to me?"

Gold looked apprehensively at his friend, as his friend pointed to the door.

"...So, a princess and a big brother walk into a donut store..." Gold tried to joke, but his heart wasn't in it.

~

Cadence glared at the two stallions, and Gem bit his lip. This may have been a less-than-optimal idea. Cadence stormed over to the table, slamming her hooves down, just about smashing the plate of donuts.

"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE? IS THIS WHAT THAT MESSAGE MEANT? SHINING ARMOR, YOU ARE A SACK OF-"

Gold's mark burst out with light. Shining and Gem gasped in disbelief, whilst Cadence decided to try her mareglare on the supernatural force.

Shining grabbed Gold's arm, yelling to him

"You have to stop thi-"

Shining was cut short, as his own arm began to burn. Out of nowhere, a pattern began to etch itself onto his arm, as if responding to Gold.

The pattern took only a short time to complete itself - and It was very clear what it was when it was finished.

It was a head, complete with a beak.

Electricity began to surge from the newly formed mark, as Gold's responded with its own pulsing flame.

Gem took Cadence in his arms, pulling her away from the unfolding events. From the marks emerged a pair of creatures - one orange and Draconic, the other Feathery and white. The two creatures burst from their marks, forming a wall of wings between the surprised mare and the recipients of her rage.

Gold took a good look at the two creatures, now that he had a chance to see not one, but two of them in proper light.

His creature was orange, scaly, with large muscled arms and legs and powerful wings.

Shining's creature was majestic, with feathers like a Valkyrie, and the proud build of an eagle. A very large eagle. The feathers on its head seemed to pulse with electrical current, its tail was nothing but tendons of electricity.

Cadence had had enough.

"THAT'S IT! SHINING ARMOR, I'M DONE WITH YOU! I'M DONE WITH YOUR STUPID GUARD FRIENDS, I'M DONE WITH ALL OF THIS! I WANT TO SETTLE DOWN AND BRING PEACE TO MY EMPIRE, AND ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS GALLOP AROUND DOING WHATEVER YOU WANT!"

Shining was speechless, a frown on his face.

Gold and Gem could only watch the scene unfold.

From her magic, Cadence brought out an opulent looking scroll.

"You see this? It's our wedding pact."

With one motion, Cadence ripped it into two pieces. She threw it onto the floor, and stamped on it.

It was Shining's turn to have had enough.

"Fine. You want to lead a boring life? You want to live not knowing what's out there? You want to protect people by using their resources FOR them? You aren't the only one who's done here. You wanted me so much to be your prince charming, but I'm not. I'm the daring knight in shining armor, and always will be."

Shining pulled out his own copy of the wedding pact. It was equestrian tradition that two sacred documents be created - the marriage is null should both copies be destroyed.

Shining looked Cadence in the eye, and said to her his last words as her husband. 

"All the best."

With that, Shining Armor tore the marriage pact in two, letting the pieces fall to the ground.

Cadence looked as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. The rage and hatred faded from her eyes, and she turned to Gem.

"Hey. I'm still up for that date, if you are." She whispered, a smile on her face. She turned and walked from the store, her tail swishing in an arc behind her.

Gem turned to the two stallions. "Hey uh, It may be soon, but do you mind If I score on that?" he asked.

Gold chortled. Shining smiled.

"Yeah bro. Go for it. She's fair game." he replied.

Gem left the store, and the two creatures turned to their masters.

"Yeah. They definitely aren't here to hurt anyone." Shining said through a beam.

"It's like they came to help us out. What are they?" Gold mused.

The two creatures enveloped their masters in their wings. Fading and returning to the marks.


"Hey Gold?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this a date?"

"I... I dunno."

"Let's say it is."

Shining leaned in, Gold was too surprised to react.

And the third unbelievable event took place that night, as the two kissed over a plate of donuts.
> Secret of Five
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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!"
> The Timberwolves are a'howlin!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight and Sea Breeze woke to the sound of chaos in the town outside. The two rushed from bed and into the town, which was in total disarray. Twilight spotted them first. A pack of Timberwolves had seemingly left the forest and come into town to hunt. Twilight took charge first, amplifying her voice with a spell.

"EVERYONE, PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR HOMES AND KEEP EVERYTHING LOCKED UP. IF YOU'RE TOO FAR FROM HOME, COME INTO THE LIBRARY AND WE WILL KEEP YOU SAFE HERE."

The two hardly had time to get out of the doorway as the stampede of ponies tore into the library, with two Timberwolves close in tow. Sea and Twilight slammed the door as the last pony entered the library, just barely managing to cut off the Timberwolves close behind. The two turned to the babbling, traumatized mass of ponies now standing in the library lobby. Sea stood forward, clearing his throat.

"Do any of you know why the Timberwolves have attacked? Did anything happen?" He asked, not expecting a coherent response. A small colt waddled forward, his legs trembling. It was Pipsqueak.

"I saw it, I did! A strange looking fellow in a robe! He did something and the Timberwolves all came tearing outta the forest and into town!" He whimpered. Twilight offered a hoof out to him, hugging his trembling frame close. Responding to the warmth, Pipsqueak began to calm down. Twilight looked to Sea, a dead seriousness in her eyes.

"My friends are still out there. I need to make sure they're okay." She said, her voice unwavering and strong. Sea returned her gaze.

"I'll go find them. You stay here and make sure the Timberwolves don't get in."

"Good luck!" Twilight said with a forced smile and a nod.

Sea looked out the front windows, making sure the coast was clear before quietly slipping from the library and into the desolate town beyond. There were no signs of violence, it looked like all the ponies had been able to escape the wolves. Sea decided that his first objective should be Sugar Cube Corner. He began to slink through the town, hiding behind fruit stalls and street lamps, and was managing to avoid the wolves quite well. Until...

"Shouldn't you be hiding like the rest of your kind?" A cold voice jarred through the silence. Sea looked around hurriedly, sure that he was simply hearing things.

"I'm talking to you, runt."

This time, Sea was able to ascertain where the voice was coming from. Looking up, he saw a robed figure standing on the rooftops just across the street. The figure removed his hood, revealing a seemingly normal face. Sea couldn't pin down what was strange about it, until he settled on the Scleras.

This Pony's scleras were pitch black.

Sea, whilst unnerved, could still find the courage to speak.

"You're the guy that brought the wolves here. Why would you do this to us?" He stuttered. 

"Don't play coy with me. Hiding your mark won't protect you from me." The pony above smirked.

"What are you talking about? Why am I playing coy? What mark are we talking about?" Sea managed to force out.  The pony above seemed genuinely surprised.

"We've waited thousands of years for this day. And you're telling me the Prophets don't even know what role they're meant to play?" He muttered irritably.

"What's a 'Prophet'"? Sea asked.

"Fine!" The pony above yelled. "I'll give you the introduction. I am a false prophet. It is my destiny, my god given right to bring this world into the shroud of darkness for this cycle. You are a Prophet, and you're supposed to be trying to stop me. But your mark isn't even visible. You're nowhere near prepared."

Sea blinked. He'd heard some strange crocks in his time, but this one was pretty highly ranked. 

"What's a cycle? What's a mark? Who are you?" he asked.

The pony roared.

"I'll answer those questions, they'll be the last answers you hear for a long time, so listen well. The cycle is a period of Ten thousand years, of which is either spent in darkness and disarray or happiness and joy. The marks are your identification as a Prophet, and the means to which you summon your Eidolon. And my name is Greed. I am one of the five False Prophets, and I will seal you for this cycle just as you have so many times before in previous incarnation!" The pony screamed, clutching a hand to his arm. 

His arm erupted with a purple light, a gigantic glyph appearing in the sky overhead.

"Come to me, Blight! Let us burn this town in the chilling flames of retribution!"

The glyph shattered. a pitch black figure shot down from the distortion, coming to rest behind its master. Sea recognized the creature from stories that Green used to tell him. It was a leviathan.

Greed pointed towards the library, the leviathan rearing up and preparing to strike. Sea looked desperately, hoping to Celestia that...

"Don't insult me, boy. I know all about your life. I know what you value, what you hold closest to your heart. And I'll take it away from you, right before your very eyes! Blight! Attack!"

A beam of pure ice erupted from the leviathan's mouth, shooting towards the library. Greed laughed, and Sea could only watch.

"What's happening? Why? How?" He monologued to himself, tears filling his eyes.




"Pssh. Don't tell me you learned NOTHING from hanging out with me on that stinking boat?" Said a familiar voice.

Sea looked up, to see a feathery wall stopping the Ice dead in its tracks. Greed angrily turned to Sea. "Blight! Kill him, Kill him now!"

"If you could step this way, please!"

With that, Sea was gone. Greed looked around furiously.

Sea looked down on the scene, a prickling sensation filling his left arm. He looked around. It appeared he was being carried by a large orange creature.

With a sharp dive, Sea was on the ground again. A familiar Golden stallion jumped down in front of him, a long orange scarf trailing from his neck.

The stallion turned to face the stupefied colt.

"Hey, I know. The scarf is flashy, but try not to explode from sheer awe. Good to see you again!"

Gold Rush patted Sea on the shoulder, beaming broadly.

"I know. This is a lot to take in, trust me. We're still getting over it ourselves. But here's what you need to know." Gold said, grabbing Sea's left arm and bringing it up to view.

On the forearm was a peculiar mark. The mark of a Phoenix's tail. Sea gawked. 

"So this is what the crazy stallion was talking about?" Sea asked.

Gold nodded.

"We'll explain all that as soon as everyone is safe." Gold said empathetically, turning to face the Timberwolves that were sprinting towards them.

"You need to take that mark in. It can manifest either when you're extremely distressed, or when you ask it to. Given the fact that you're calm all the time, I would imagine you'd be better off asking." Gold muttered, turning to the draconic creature standing at his side.

"Can Tinderwolves burn? I bet they can burn." Gold said, pointing towards the approaching horde.

With a roar, the creature began to breathe searing hot fire in a wide arc before them. Sea was taken aback, the heat was unlike anything he had felt before. As the wolves crackled and whined, Gold turned back to his friend sitting in the dirt.

"Hey, are you gonna help or what? Wish on the mark, pal!" Gold urged.

Sea looked at the mark. He wished, he wished as hard as he could. He wanted to survive. He wanted everyone to survive. A chill jolted down his spine, engulfing his consciousness with a cool clarity he'd never experienced before. Holding the mark above his head, Sea bellowed just like Green would.

"All hands on deck! Let's do this!"

A clear blue glyph appeared in the sky above, shattering as quickly as it had appeared. An icy blue figure rocketed down, taking position behind Sea. Sea already knew what it was, it was the second he'd seen today. He'd called a leviathan. Sea turned to Gold, his turn to take charge.

"Gold, I'm going to help Shiny protect the townsponies. Please, drive off the Timberwolves!" he pleaded.

"Well, since you asked so nicely..." Gold said slyly, jumping onto his steed.

"Let's take to the skies!" He exclaimed, his steed taking off at incredible speed, spewing fire down at the Timberwolves prowling the streets.


> Let he who is without sin cast the first Icicle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sea climbed onto his unorthodox partner, and the two slithered through the streets heading back towards the library.
Gold was soaring around the whole town, raining down torrents of fire over the Timberwolves. It was surprising that he wasn't starting a raging series of housefires. It wasn't long before Sea was back at the library, which enveloped in a feathery shield.

The negative equivalent of his creature was pounding away at the shield, whilst its master smiled a perverse smile, seemingly unaware of Sea's presence. Sea was unsure of what to do. If he could fire something at the False Prophet now...

As if reacting to his thoughts, the creature he rode turned and opened its mouth, facing Greed with incredible accuracy.

"Alright then..." Sea mumbled.

"Sick 'em." He shouted.

A huge beam of icy energy erupted from the creature, hurtling towards Greed with amazing speed. Greed turned, smiling his perverse smile. And then, he was gone. His creature, along with him, disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Sea looked around frantically. Had they won? Were they gone?

As Sea looked around frantically, something cold fell on his nose. He looked up, shocked to see a dark mass of clouds that had amassed over Ponyville. And seemingly, ONLY over Ponyville.

"That was a spineless and cowardly move, Prophet." Greed's voice echoed out.

"And your town will be the one to pay the price. This snow will bring no wonder, no fun. It will bring only death. If you want to save the town - For a little longer, you'll have to come and face me properly" Greed's voice laughed, fading away into the distance.

"Man, seriously? That guy takes a flair for the dramatic way too far." Gold quipped, coming in to land on a rooftop next to Sea.

"And you're one to talk, Mr.Marriagebuster." Shining teased, settling on the rooftop next to Gold.

"That's not the only thing that's gonna be busted around here if you aren't careful." Gold smirked, an eyebrow raised.

Shining rolled his eyes. "Oh please, as if you're going to be the one doing the bust-"

"WE GET THE PICTURE!" Sea yelled, his world spinning around his head.

Sea cringed, to which Shining returned to business.

"Dismiss, and blend into the crowds. Sea, you need to say your goodbyes to everyone here. As if it wasn't made clear enough, this snow  pretty much means you have to come along with us." Shining ordered, his spirit dropping him onto the street below and disappearing.

"Roger that, boss." Gold replied, his spirit fading and his wings carrying him down into a backstreet.

"Wait, how do I..?" Sea began to ask, but was cut off when the spirit gave way underneath him. After a crash and a yelp, Sea found himself sitting in the middle of a street, his peaceful life in shambles.

~

Twilight knew something was wrong when Sea silently entered the library, his ears drooped and his eyes to the floor. She rushed over to him, panicked by the events unfolding around town.

"Sea! Oh my gosh, are you alright? What's going on? Why is it snowing in the middle of summer? Is someone playing a trick on us?"

Sea opened his mouth to speak, and Twilight fell silent.

"Your brother and Gold want my help in finding out whats going on. I need to meet with them now, and I might not be back for a while." Sea mumbled.

"If ever." He finished in his mind.

"I'll go with you!" Twilight exclaimed, already beginning to pack necessities.

Sea hesitated. "Are you sure? Look at what's happened here. This could be beyond any of us."

Twilight grinned. "I saw what was going on. And from the looks of it, all three of you are pretty clueless as to what's going on. I can tell when my brother is just putting up a front, and if he doesn't know then there's no chance that Gold knows. You'll need someone with booksmarts to help you make sense of things along the way!"

As items from throughout the library flew into Twilight's saddlebag, something hit Sea on the back of the head, before fastening itself onto his waist. Thankfully, it was only another saddlebag.

"You could give me a little warning when you're going to do that, you know." Sea blushed.

"You already know what it's going to be though, so why waste time?" Twilight chimed.

As both saddlebags filled to the breaking point, the couple felt the strain of the weight more and more.

It was only the beginning of the strain they would both have to endure in the coming days.

~


Gold and Shining sat together on a rock, overlooking the town from a familiar vantage point. The place had taken on a deathly white shade, and no ponies walked the bitter icy streets.

"False Prophets huh?" Shining murmured.
"Looks like they're playing hard ball." Gold mused.

The two sat in worry. They'd gained each other in the wake of the prophets' ordeal, but at this rate it was going to cost everyone else dearly.

"Ahoy there." A voice behind them called.

Gold and Shining turned, surprised to see Twilight standing next to Sea.

"Uhh, why is my little sister here with you?" Shining asked.

"Gee, about that I wonder." Gold teased, before being promptly pushed off of the rock and down the slope behind it. Ignoring Gold's cries of surprise and irritation, Shining eyed his sister.

"You know that this is going to be too dan-" he began.

"Save it. You know full well that you're gonna need some sit-in smarts for this one. I mean come on, the last time you guys were left to do things on your own you crashed a flying pirate ship into the suntower." Twilight explained, her bright purple eyes bearing the will and resolve of tempered steel. Shining stopped to try and think of a rebuttal, but was suddenly assaulted by water from behind. Gold stood there, shaking himself violently to get the water out of his mane. 

Shining grinned. "Oh, so you went all the way down into the river?"

Gold snarled. "You knew this was going to happen, so don't even try to play it off."

Gold climbed back up onto the rock, his fur sopping wet. Twilight giggled, procuring a towel from her saddlebag and throwing it to Gold, who received it with gratitude.

"Thanks. If only your brother could learn such good manners." Gold muttered irritably, drying his mane and torso with the towel. Shining yanked the towel away from Gold with his magic, throwing it around him and putting an arm around it for good measure.

"Yeah, NOW you decide to be a gentlecolt." Gold griped, a shiver reverberating through his body.

Confused by the unexpected display of affection, but not deterred, Twilight stepped towards the huddling two.

"Alright then. We need to get moving. You guys have a destination? You can tell me all about whats going on here on the way."

> We totally didn't forget anything, guys.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As three prophets left the town, a mild Lemon-yellow pony looked on from her window.

She wanted to go with them. She wanted to think that maybe, that amazing power could bring back the one she cared about most.

But she couldn't pluck up the courage to ask them. 

"The opportunity is gone, anyway..." she muttered to herself.

But then, something in her knew that it wasn't true. On their adventures, she and her friends had made the impossible possible multiple times. 

"Maybe... this is what I need." Fluttershy shakily said to herself.

After a few moments of frantic packing, she was out the door.



"Remind me why we're going to Manehatten again?" Gold whined, the bustling city full of bad memories.

"Because Manehattan is the gossip capital of Equestria. Anything worth hearing goes through those busy streets and coffee shops, and if we want to find out what's going on we need to gather some intel!" Twilight answered, not phased in the slightest by Gold's attitude.

"That place has baaad memories, I'll tell you what. Green fuzzy mutant monkeys, badly insulated walls, and I blew a whole month's pay on a spur of the moment in an alleyway." Gold griped, prompting a shocked and confused look from Shining.

"You paid someone off in the back alleys?" Shining asked, prompting a wide eyed epiphany from Gold.

"W-wait! No, that's not what I meant! I meant I gave it away to Fluttershy and Mr. Doomgloom! Gave it, for free!" Gold exclaimed, clearly flustered.

Sea and Twilight exchanged looks. Twilight was clearly still confused, but Sea could plainly discern what had changed between Gold Rush and Shining Armor. Twilight saw it in his eyes, and nudged Sea off to the side for interrogation. Not noticing, Gold and Shining kept trotting along.

Twilight eyed Sea, giving him a stare that no mortal stallion could stand unbroken by.

"Well?" She asked.

"Well what?" Sea tried to play off.

"You know what I mean. What's going on with my brother and his partner?" Twilight pried. 

"Well uh, It's funny you should use the word partner there... because it looks like Gold and Shining have, uh... Taken on a secondary spin on that role. If you know what I mean."

Twilight's scream could have easily dispersed the clouds, if the sunset had any. Hearing the outcry, Fluttershy began flying at full - but slow nonetheless - speed rushed towards the sound.

~

Blissfully unaware of the maelstrom of drama heading their way, Gold and Shining trotted along the long road to Manehattan, simply enjoying each others' company.

"Alright, spill it." Shining said affectionately, his eyes fixed forward into the sunset.

"Well, If you insist. I think I know one of those reasons you wouldn't care to admit for your actions over the past few days."

Shining broke his entranced fixation on the sunset, turning to look at Gold.

"Yeah?" He gently encouraged.

"You said you were bred for action. You're a historically high marking guard, with few peers throughout the history of the Royal Guard's operation. But time and time again, you were helpless to change anything as the ones you loved were threatened. The reason you became a guard, the strength you aimed to achieve was ripped away from you, time and time again."

Shining blinked.

"Yeah. That's pretty much my darkest secret in a nutshell. All the strength and training in the world were useless. I was pushed to the side over and over, while my sister and her friends or my ex-wife did all the fighting. I felt as helpless as when I was a colt."

Gold tilted his head. He'd only heard that kind of pain in his captains voice two times in the years he'd known him.

"What happened when you were a colt?" Gold asked.

"Long story. We were out getting ice cream. All four of us. Mom and Dad, Twilight and I. We were both really young. Twilight was barely walking on her own, and barely forming words, so she doesn't remember that day. Dad and Mom were important members of Celestia's court, helping make and change laws according to public feedback. They were targets, but the guard had them under constant protection. An unusual stallion lined up behind us, I remember he was twitchy. In a flash, he'd shoved me aside and taken dad by the throat. He knocked over Twilight's stroller as well, and she was on the cold concrete, crying her eyes out. I'd hit my head, I could hardly make sense of everything. Way too dizzy. Mom was crying, Dad was angry and scared. My uncle happened to be assigned to our escort that day. He shot the freak with an arrow, and he lurched back. My uncle was rushing in to finish the job and apprehend the stallion, but the stallion wasn't as wounded as everyone thought.  Once my uncle got close, the freak flailed. My uncle avoided most of them, but I guess one of them was the lucky break. It went right through my uncles throat."

Shining was grimacing, tears in his eyes by this point. His eyes were clamped shut, his breathing sharp and strained. Gold strafed closer, putting an arm around Shining's shoulder.

"My uncles squad loaded the stallion with arrows immediately after. Turns out, my uncle told them to hold their fire. He didn't want to needlessly take a life. He was buried with honors later that week, and all I could do was sob and moan. I joined the guard to be an amazing stallion like he was, but also to gain the strength to protect those I loved. So nobody had to die needlessly again. With Cadence, my entire life, my identity and my experience, was null. Because she was a princess, and she had magical power and authority. Once again, I watched as a cheese-legged psychotic horsefly attacked my sister, my parents, my princess, and my wife. I made it up to them, sure. But I was still fooled. Used. And then there was the crystal empire. My magic was useless, my strength was nothing, my wife worked herself to death and all I could do was watch, and ask my sister for help. I was powerless, everything I had ever done was worthless. Pushed to the side again. It wasn't just in times of danger that this happened to me. All the time, I was being pushed to the side while Cadence worked or attended parties. I was an accessory. Barely even worth the ink they used to sprawl my name on documents. Cadence loved me, but she stopped as soon as she really begun to know me. Comic books, board games, trading card games, all that sorta stuff that I loved, Cadence hated. She'd get really angry whenever she caught me reading, or playing them with friends. She hated my friends, too. Thought they were creepy, and gross. She wanted a hunky guard, but that's only part of who I am."

Gold kissed Shining on the cheek, squeezing him close.

"Easy there, big guy. I understand. Hey, you should teach me the rules to a few of those games. Maybe after some hard practice, I can keep up with you and your pals at game night." Gold grinned.

Shining returned Gold's embrace, and the two held each other close.

"That'd be awesome."
> Lost chapter - Ending
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The heat was becoming unbearable. Without Helios' protection, it wouldn't be long before the heat seared the flesh from Gold's bones, giving him early access to a new world. Yet still, he angled his wings, winced against the pain and plummeted downward in hot pursuit of the celestial entity he had served not a half hour before. He had no plan. He only heard Sombra's roars of resistance, and the near irresistible pull of Helios' will calling out to him. The only thing he could think to do was to reach them. To rescue them both. 

He knew there was likely no way he could stand up to the full might of the godly figure hell bent on granting the world salvation by rebirth, but he knew waiting for the end meekly would change nothing. Weaving between jagged rocks as the tunnel downward became narrower and narrower, Goldrush followed the familiar aura beckoning to him from beyond the flames. Of all the ones that had been branded, he perhaps bore the greatest responsibility for the warping of history. The contest was between him and Sombra - whom had once unwittingly used the influence of his brand to rewrite history in favor of having a ridiculous clause passed into legislation. The two of them had inexorably changed the fates of their friends, families, and world. And clearly, not for the better.

The aura was growing stronger, and Goldrush knew he was catching up. It could easily come down to a split-second finale. Either his dive would end with fire and brimstone, or maybe he'd be able to reunite with the only one that could shield in from the flames and give him a fighting chance. Gold's life flashed before his eyes - His upbringing. His royal guard training. The incident with Sombra. The desert. The journey he had taken to save the Princess, and now what was looking to be his final venture. He knew there would be no more. Either he would preserve the world as it was and die doing so, or he would fail and die doing so. But that was fine. He'd clean up his mess, regardless of the cost.

The heat was becoming unbearable now. Burns quickly developed over Gold's body, searing deeper and deeper. As his strength evaporated, Gold lost control over his descent. What was once a maintained nosedive became a feeble tumble as the heat began to reach fatal heights. His eyes seared shut, Gold held his arm in what he could only assume via momentum was the direction in which he was falling. He focused his mind as he had so often done over the past few days, calling out to the fiery beast that he had been bound to by fate. The response was faint, yet approaching. Unable to discern whether or not the light he was seeing was the arrival of his savior, or his gateway to the next world, Gold allowed himself to be swept away. 

The glimmering light overwhelmed his minds eye, replacing the pitch black with a radiant shine. A warmth completely unlike the burning flame that had engulfed his body shot through his senses, making the pain of his seething burns vanish in an instant. Finally able to open his eyes, Goldrush took in his surroundings with a sigh of relative belief. He was wrapped in Helios' arms, his burns quickly retreating and the fire licking at his form passing over him harmlessly. From within Helios' presence, he heard a familiar voice; Sombra. 

"There's probably nothing we can do, you know. But at the very least, allow me to regain a shred of my lost dignity here at the end. I'm not dying in the breast of a beast."

Goldrush nodded solemnly. "This is our last hurrah" he murmured, as Helios released him, maneuvering to allow access to its back. Gold latched on as Helios spread its wings, lurching downward and closing the gap between the three and their quarry.

"Sombra, did you manage to get a clear bead on that thing while you were trapped inside it?" Goldrush asked, relieved for Helios' protection allowing him breathable air again.

"Oh yeah, sure. You can totally analyse a monster from within its stomach." Sombra spat, clearly disappointed that Gold had come so far with no answers to the crisis facing them.

"That's not helping." Goldrush sighed. "How about you?" he murmered, patting Helios on the shoulder as gently as was possible at near terminal velocity headed for the planet's core. From within Helios, thoughts began flooding into Gold's mind. In that instant, the truth revealed but a tiny shred of hope; the beast was only complete in appearance. The servants that had guarded the branded throughout their journey were still alive, lending their bodies to create the godly form. 

"So then..." Goldrush began, before Sombra cut him off irritably. "Yes yes, we can destroy the individual beasts to unmake the god piece by piece. We don't have time for the facts to sink into your thick skull. Just get started!"

Goldrush curled his hooves around Helios' shoulders in anger, but chose to let the affront go unrequited. There'd be an eternity for back-and-forth once this was over.

"Now, how are we going to get those guardians to separate from the main body so we can destroy them?" Goldrush pined aloud. 

"Do I have to explain everything to you?" Sombra snarled from the unseen recesses of Helios' consciousness. "It's the same thing that let us - or rather me - to screw up the world so badly. The creatures are pulled to one another. They'll manipulate history, as well as their hosts in order to get to one another." he explained hurriedly. "Just get close - I'm sure they'll come for you. They'll either want you dead, or they'll forcibly assimilate you to get your creature to come back to them."

Goldrush nodded. Sensing his resolve, Helios put even more strength into the dive, coming closer and closer to the blinding light of their target. Surely enough, the long serpentine form of Poseidon broke away from the main body, causing the Phoenix's head and left wing to evaporate. In a terrifying, lightning fast motion Poseidon had both Helios and Goldrush throttled in its coils. Helios let out a roar of surprise, then of pain as Poseidon's grip tightened. It wasn't Helios' pain that was causing it to cry out, however - Goldrush's ribs cracked almost immediately under the pressure. The pain was immense, impulses of pure agony darting through his every fiber as the tightening continued. Desperate, Helios bit down on Poseidon's slippery hide, its fangs breaking through the hardened scales of the serpent with ease, sinking deep into the flesh of the elongated monster. Poseidon's grip faltered slightly as it screeched in pain. Eager to exploit the weakness it had created, Helios autonomously loosed a gullet full of searing flames directly into the open wound. 

Poseidon immediately uncoiled, allowing shallow pained breath to pass through Gold's mangled chest. Not allowing a single  moments reprieve for their foe, Helios pulled the serpent in, gripping its head and neck with vicious brutality. In a single, twisting motion the serpent went limp, before plummeting past the Alabaster Phoenix towards the core. Running out of time before the Phoenix reached its destination, Goldrush immediately willed Helios dip back down to lure out the next contender. Responding quickly was Soter, taking with it both of the Phoenix's legs and talons. As the vanguard charged forward, a split-second evasion by Helios allowed for a quick and definitive crunch to the neck - with a single tear, the ever-noble Soter fell from grace. The Phoenix, its center of mass compromised, began to spin out of control. Helios closed the gap once more, enticing the final surviving guardian, Ikelos, to emerge.

Gold froze, shaking. As the body of the Phoenix disappeared, a gigantic shadowy Spider spread its spindly legs, bringing its descent to a stop just shy of the planet's core. 

"It doesn't have enough energy to go through with its plan anymore. It'll all come down to this - if it takes back Helios, the world ends." Sombra remarked, his voice growing faint as Goldrush's fear took hold.

"What's your problem?" Sombra queried, snapping Gold back to his senses. "Surely you've seen it before - Ikelos takes the form of its opponents worst fear in order to trap them with their own nightmares."

Gold shook out his head. "I was really, really hoping it'd forget about that gimmick in the heat of the moment." he whimpered shakily, before a blast of heat from Helios snapped him back to his senses. "I'll be fine. I have Helios with me." Goldrush affirmed to himself with a deep breath. 

Ikelos however, was not content to wait for its prey to overcome its fear. With a rapid scuttle, it charged towards its liberated counterpart, moving unpredictably. Helios responded with a hearty stream of spit-up magma, narrowly missing Ikelos' legs as they darted upwards, seemingly without gravity. 

"That's a good idea." Sombra offered. "Deal with the legs, and it'll plummet into the core and melt away before it can change form to save itself."

"I wish I could take credit." Goldrush said, a meek smile creeping across his charred face as he pat Helios on the shoulder. "Keep going, partner!"

Helios was happy to oblige, spitting glob after glob of burning magma towards the rapidly approaching threat. Each missed their mark as its legs moved like nightmarish shadows in Helios' peripheral vision. Unable to track its foe, Helios was swatted into the tunnel wall by an unnoticed leg, slumping down on an outcropping. Goldrush freed himself from underneath his beast as Ikelos hoisted itself over the outcropping, baring down upon its prey. Out of options, Gold shunted aside the pain spreading throughout his nearly-crushed chest, spread his wings and crashed himself into the Ikelos' cluster of eyes.

"Blast it! Now!" Goldrush commanded, Helios responding with only a moments hesitation for the safety of its master. Letting loose an unquenchable torrent of flames, Helios blasted the nightmarish spider down into the miasma of flame below, Goldrush in tow. In an instant, Helios was in pursuit. As the two fragments of the Phoenix reached the core, a blinding light engulfed the cavern, rapidly rising out of the crevice to purge the world above...




When Goldrush awoke, he was weightless. Floating in a sea of stars. Below him floated the planet, moments before its destruction. Looking around, Gold quickly located the Alabaster Phoenix, regarding him with silent, yet definitively sorrowful eyes.

"Would you look at that?" 

Goldrush spun around as best he could in total weightlessness, seeing Sombra body and all for the first time in months.

"Looks like we're good and dead, now. That monster reached its destination, but the world hasn't been renewed. I think you can figure out why." Sombra murmured, with a gentleness and peace to his voice previously unheard of.

Gold nodded silently, turning to face the towering bird behind him. 

"That's not the Phoenix as it used to be. That's you, isn't it? Helios?" he muttered, the solemn reality of the situation dawning on him. The bird was silent, giving only a gentle yet sorrowful nod.

"You absorbed Ikelos when you both reached the core. This means you get to make the choice." Gold choked softly, knowing full well what was going to happen. The phoenix spread its wings, its outline becoming hazy and undefined.

"Why the tears?" Sombra asked, the condescending tone returning to his voice. "This is what you wanted. This is what you died for."

"Y-yeah." Gold stammered, tears streaming down his face. "It's all going to go back to the way it was. Before the Clause. It's for the best, I know that. But..."

"Don't falter now." Sombra commanded. "This world is better off without all of this. Without me, without these two gods showing up, and without you as you are." He explained sternly.

Gold nodded, his teary eyes fixed on the rapidly dissolving god spilling untold radiance across the sky. With its last motion the Phoenix lowered its wings, wrapping Goldrush in its dispersing light.

"We'll meet again Helios. I'll look for you in the next life. Wait for me."
> Lost chapter - Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy whirled around, convinced she'd seen some kind of specter in the corner of her cottage. Her eyes scanned the area, certain she had seen something dreadful like King Sombra lurking in the shade, perish the thought. Yet, there was nothing. Shrugging off the feeling as her mind playing tricks on her, Fluttershy stepped outside. It would be a short walk to the nearby prairie, where a small army of woodland creatures were waiting not-so-patiently for their lunch. She wasn't about to keep them waiting. The warm sun beamed down over the countryside, cool spring breezes gently caressing the world. It was a day just like any other. 

Fluttershy started as Angel attempted to climb her legs to get at the food she had prepared. Fluttershy gently sat down, causing Angel to slide back to the ground in a huff. "I'm sorry, these aren't for you, Angel. But I'll make you some just like them when I get back, I promise." she softly cooed, scratching an indignant Angel Bunny behind the ears gently. As Fluttershy set off on a happy trot down the hill, formless shadow watched from the shade of her cottage, as if saying its final goodbyes to a world that has forgotten he existed.


Hundreds of miles away in the port town of Trottingham, Sea Breeze toiled away, tying his Captains vessel to the docks. He was eager to spend some time on land tending what he thought might be a scurvy. They'd been at open ocean for weeks, delivering a cargo of construction supplies to the recently settled Eversummer Isles. True to form, Green had insisted that they leave immediately, not even getting a good nights rest on shore. 

As a result, Sea found himself struggling to maintain his focus, not nearly as home on the churning waves as his bounding captain. Just as he completed the knot, Green Flash whirled past, nearly knocking him into the briny sea below. "CHANGE OF PLANS, LAD!" he bellowed from the helm. "WE'VE GOT A DELIVERY TO MAKE TO SADDLE ARABIA, AND THE LUBBERS SHAN'T BE WAITIN'!"

Sea sighed, dreams of a soft bed on a quiet night free of a squeaking hull drying out and whittling away like a beached Jellyfish as several surly earth ponies began loading crates onto the ship. Sea managed to slip onto the ship between towering crates, making his way to Green up by the helm. "Are you sure we can't stay in port for just one night? I think my health might be at risk if I embark on another lengthy voyage so soon." Sea stammered, unused to speaking out against his captain - regardless of how kind Green was, under his dismissive and boisterous exterior.

"NONSENSE, LAD! THE SEA CALLS TO US BOTH, AND SHE WON'T BE TAKIN' NO FOR AN ANSWER! THAT BESIDES, WE'RE GETTIN' PAID TRIPLE FOR TAKIN' THIS DELIVERY ON SHORT NOTICE! WE'LL BE RICH, LADDY!" Green roared, patting Sea roughly on the back hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs. Dismissive was right.

"But you always spend most of both your pay -- and mine, for that matter -- on maintenance and repairs to the ship..." Sea mumbled, eyes downcast. Green went silent putting an arm around Sea's neck. "Laddy, one day you'll understand that bein' a true sea dog ain't about the bits. Freedom is priceless laddy, priceless. And nothing in the world can get between a sea dog and adventure!" Green preached, unaware that he was strangling his first mate whilst occupied by his own lofty ideals. 

Sea wriggled free, rubbing his sore neck. "Can I at least head to market and buy some oranges to ward the scurvy?" He muttered, not particularly enraptured with his captain's speech. 

"Sure thing lad. Make it snappy, we leave at sundown!" Green ordered, beaming ear to ear. Sea trotted from the ship, having to wonder about the circumstances in which Green imagined it'd take him well over 6 hours to buy oranges.

"At the very least, I suppose I've never been to Saddle Arabia before. Maybe this time I can convince the captain to let us stay a few nights to soak in the culture..." Sea mused to himself, dodging yet another crate as he touched down onto the pier and trotted off in the direction of the marketplace.


Meanwhile, in the heart of the capital of Canterlot, Shining bellowed at his wayward private at the gates of the guard barracks. "My little sister cleared that course faster, rookie! Are you trying to make light of this guard?" he snarled, looking down at Goldrush, who was recoiled in embarrassment.

"S-sir! No Sir!" he stammered, trying and failing to keep his composure. Shining sighed, preparing to give the notice of discharge to a frankly lost cause. He wasn't without empathy - the royal guard training program was tough. It'd be downright murder to send a runt like this into the field. He turned to fetch the parchment from his pouch, and turned back to see what looked like several years of aging done in a brief moment. The soft faced recruit he was just about to send home suddenly seemed several inches taller, with the youthful naivete absent from his eyes. Additionally, though he couldn't quite make it out, there seemed to be a faint white light fading from his peripheral vision.

"Oh, are those my walking papers?" Goldrush inquired, a puzzling expression of relief on his face. "Uh... Yes. This isn't working out." Shining cautiously began, before being cut off by a bizarre and out of place display of joy. "Sweet Tartarus, that makes this way easier. Hurry it up already!" Gold exclaimed, blissfully indifferent to the confusion of his commanding officer. "Where was this confidence and gusto while you were flunking all of your physicals?" Shining curtly inquired, wondering if the colt- no, stallion in front of him had just spent several months willfully wasting his time.

"Eh. That's for me to know, and nobody else to ever find out." Gold grinned, before snatching the normally-dreaded document from his now-former commanding officers hand, turning tail and strutting off as if he'd achieved something incredible by ruining his career. Shining could only look on, flabbergasted at the sudden transformation in both body and personality, as well as behavior so outlandish he had to wonder if the recruit he'd just booted was even from the same planet. His stupor was broken as Twilight and Cadence crossed over from the main castle, calling for him. "It's our anniversary dinner tonight! I hope you didn't forget!" Cadence called as she closed the distance between them.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Shining grinned as he embraced his wife, Twilight looking on with a gentle smile. For reasons she couldn't quite understand, looking upon the lovers embracing made her feel as if she had lost something important to her. A single tear rolled down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away before anyone could see.

Shortly afterward, Goldrush sat in a train cubicle alone, staring at the midday sky through the open window as he hurtled away from everything he knew. It was faint, but he could feel the familiar call. Beckoning to him from somewhere far beyond Equestria's borders. Perhaps not even from anywhere on the continent.

"I didn't forget, Helios. Wherever you are, or whoever you've become, I won't keep you waiting long. I promise."