Chapter 5

The first thing Silver Star saw when he opened his eyes again was the town's resident librarian, Twilight Sparkle.

Well, more like three of her.

He rubbed his eyes, and the three unicorns morphed into one. "Where am I…?" he mumbled. He tried to move, but a sharp pain made him wince. It was then he realized not only that he was hurt, but that his breathing was a bit labored.

"You're in the hospital. Don't you remember last night?" she responded. Then, it all came back to him; the walk home, the shoving into the alleyway, the beating, and-

"What about Gold Dust…? Is he…gone?" he started to hyperventilate.

"Calm down. He's not dead, but he did slip into a coma on the way here. We don't know how long he'll be out for."

"We…?" he didn't remember Twilight being on Ponyville General's staff. But, then again, he took quite a pummeling yesterday.

"Yes. I'm training to be a nurse. Princess Celestia recommended that I should, just in case something like Rocky Road's case ever happens again."Silver Star remembered Rocky Road's story; it was ten years ago he nearly died and came back a changed stallion. He was now living with his partner Caramel, in a house in Canterlot. They had adopted a filly and named her Caramel Road.

"Oh…" by now, he could see that he was indeed in the hospital, hooked up to a heart monitor and other equipment. Ironically, the room he first met Gold Dust in was adjacent to the one he was in now.

"Now, about your injuries; you had a collapsed lung, quite a few bruises, and a few broken teeth. But they fixed you up ASAP, and you'll be fine after a few days here." She turned back to a stack of books placed on a stool. "Can I…can I see Gold?" he asked.

"Not right now. You need your rest. You'll see him after you're out of here. I can't guarantee he'll be awake by then." She proceeded to open up a book entitled "Medicine and Herb Remedies". Silver sighed and leaned back in his bed. There was nothing he could do now but wait.

And wait he did; as mentioned, he was out of the hospital in a few days. However, as soon as he took a day or two to rest at his own house (with a tub of ice cream and daytime soap operas), he returned to Ponyville General asked to see Gold Dust. The receptionist allowed him. Quietly, he wandered over to Room 406, where his partner was.

Gold Dust looked like a wreck; his collarbone was bandaged up to the point of no movement at all, his face was covered in cuts, and he was indeed in a coma. Ironically, Twilight Sparkle was also there, tending to him.

Oh, hi Silver Star." She stepped aside to let him pass. Shakily, he walked over to Gold.

"Dusty…" was all he could say for a minute. "Dusty…if you make it through this…I promise, I'll stay with you forever. We'll be happy as can be. Just please…do this for me…" he kissed Gold straight on the lips and turned aside. However, a flicker of movement brought his attention back to the unicorn. Then, slowly, his eyes opened. Silver watched in amazement as Gold slowly opened them up all the way and tilted his head in the direction of the astonished stallion.

"Hello, Silver…fancy m-meeting you here…" he smiled through his dazed state.

"Oh…Oh, thank God!" he nearly danced around the room with glee. "You're alive! Oh, sweet Celestia!"

"Yeah…I'm pretty shocked, too, after the hell I went through…" he turned his head so it faced the ceiling. "By the way…there's something I need to tell you. I was going to, later, but…"

"What is it?" Silver moved closer so he could hear.

"I...I…I had my manhood removed forcibly from me by the same pony who nearly killed me; Coal Miner." He closed his eyes and sighed.

"He…he lopped them off?" Silver covered his mouth with his hoof. "That's…that's a heavy topic…" then he put his hoof down. "It's okay though; we don't need sex to be happy."

"You have that right."

"However…I also wanted to ask you something…" Silver pawed at the ground nervously.

"What is it?" Gold's eyelids fluttered open.

"Well, I wanted to wait a few more months before I did this, but the fight made me realize how soon life could be taken away…" Twilight had moved a bit closer so she could hear.

"Yes. Life isn't a game; I've learned this twice now. It can end whether you're happy or depressed." Gold Dust sat straight up as he was speaking.

"Exactly my thoughts. So, Gold Dust…" he reached around and pulled a small black box out from his bag. "Will you…"

It was nighttime and Twilight Sparkle felt a warm fuzzy feeling she hadn't experienced in ten years. Using her magic, she picked up her quill pen and started writing her daily letter; she didn't want to use Spike for this one:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I learned that from sadness can come happiness and vice versa, even in the most dire of circumstances. This is the case of Gold Dust.

Abandoned by his father, ignored by his mother, looked down upon by his peers, Gold Dust thought the world hated him. So, he risked his life attempting by jumping out of a window. However, he was rescued by a fellow unicorn, Silver Star. Together, they developed a bond that turned into a relationship. But Gold's luck would soon change, as his prom night with Silver turned into a near-death experience. After being mauled by two ponies called Coal Miner and Rock Steady (they are awaiting trial for assault and attempted murder as I write this), he slipped into a coma. A kiss from his dearly beloved partner brought him back.

With that, dearest Celestia, I extend a hearty invitation to the wedding of the said Gold Dust and Silver Star to be held on the 27th of this month, starting at 1:00 in the afternoon. Everypony will be glad if you attended.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

[[Wow. That's all I have to say. I swear, I'll look back at this in a year when I'm a famous MLP fanfiction writer (yeah, right) and go "How did I do that in only my third fanfic?". I feel great about this one, better than A Trip to Ponyville.

And now, customarily, I'll give shout-outs to all who reviewed:

Devil's Flamethrower

Lavasharks (He has some great MLP fanfics. Check 'em out.)

DarkenedGhost (He has great clopfics.)

ShadeandthePonies

Thank you all, and to make up for the shortness of this fanfic, I'll be doing a 10-15 chapter one next. The title I'm using right now is Saving Private Macintosh. No, I won't use the plot from the movie; it's just a title, not even a confirmed one. I need some help with it, though; if someone could message me good, ponified names of Great Britain and The Soviet Union, I'll be grateful.

Thanks for reading!

~DD~]]