The Tale Of A Shaded Comet

The Great Escape

John ignored the pain from his foreleg, instead opting to stare at the assembled group before him. Tears rolled down with the force of a river as he looked at each one in turn. With each face he studied, it felt as if his newly restored heart was being pulled out of his chest. His breathing was raspy, and had traces of hyperventilation starting. As much as he couldn't see extreme detail on the faces due to his watery vision, he could just about understand their reactions from the silence that followed.

John raised his left foreleg, and pointed it at Celestia. She returned the gesture with a small, uncomfortable laugh, unable to meet his gaze. He blinked, clearing his eyes, and looked at the group more closely. Twilight seemed to be scared beyond her wildest dreams, and the other Elements had mixed reactions to his statement. John didn't say a word nor move a muscle from that position, letting his tears fall and splash against the floor. He held the pose for a couple of seconds, then looked down.

The shattered remains of his daughter looked back up at him. His heart stopped beating for a split second as he regarded her. His daughter. His inspiration. His life. And now, his failure. Throughout the past two years, she had been his only support. The only thing that kept him going. His entire life had revolved around her.

She had been there when his first girlfriend, her mother, had cheated on him, and then walked out on them after being together for a year, and giving birth to his daughter. She had been there when John's ex-girlfriend had come crawling back to him, begging for help with her drug addiction. She had been there when John found the stash of cocaine in their bedroom a month later. She had been there when she walked out on them a second time, after throwing all their hard-earned money down the drain on more drugs. She had been there when John had broken down after being called to court for possession of her.

She was always there to comfort him, throughout every bad situation that was thrown their way. And now, she was gone. Because of him.

He bent down, and picked up the only unharmed part of her, her head, and cradled it his left foreleg. His teardrops dripped onto her once angelic face, now just cold stone. Dead, carved eyes stared up at him, comforting him slightly. He lowered his head, and kissed her on the forehead, taking one last look at her innocent features. Guided by his instincts, he let a familiar feeling enter his body.

"Now hush little baby, don't you cry

Everything's gonna be alright

Stiffen that upper lip up little lady, I told ya

Daddy's here to hold ya through the night

I know mommy's not here right now and we don't know why

We fear how we feel inside

It may seem a little crazy, pretty baby

But I promise momma's gon' be alright"

John's vice started to break up, the tears threatening to make him choke, but he swallowed them and continued in a softer tone, almost a whisper.

"And if you ask me to

Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird,

I'mma give you the world,

I'mma buy a diamond ring for you,

I'mma sing for you,

I'll do anything for you to see you smile.

And if that mockingbird don't sing and that ring don't shine,

I'mma break that birdies neck,

I'll go back to the jeweler who sold it to ya,

And make him eat every carat don't... fuck... with dad."

As he finished, he felt an even stronger sensation grip him, an unexplainable and uncontrollable anger exploding into his brain. His left foreleg lay the head on the pile of dust and cobble that was his daughter's existence, and let his wings guide his movement. He could taste blood in his saliva, and he resisted the urge to spit it out.

He half landed, so that he was standing bipedal with his wings helping to keep him standing. He started stepping slowly towards Celestia, with only one action in mind. His right foreleg dripped blood in a steady stream after each movement. His eyes were locked with Celestia's, who was now shuffling her hooves nervously.

Soon, he was close enough to practically hear her breathing. It was frantic, soft. She hadn't moved at all, nor had Twilight and her friends. John breathed in through his nose, trying calm himself down. But, unfortunately, he failed miserably.  He looked deeply into Celestia's eyes, warning her about what his body was about to do. He could swear he saw a flash of green momentarily in the rose coloured irises as he continued to stare at her.

Without warning, he took another step towards her, standing directly in front of the Princess, literally inches away. And he scowled at her, letting his anger overwhelm him. "You just fucked with my family Princess. Nobody. Fucks. With. My. Family."

Twilight jumped back in shock as Shaded spat in Princess Celestia's face, a mixture of blood and saliva splattered against her white coat. Two guards appeared from the doorway, and dragged him backwards with their magic, restraining him from further action. Twilight stepped forward to say something, but Princess Celestia put a hoof in her way, silencing him.

She could only watch as Shaded was pulled out of the door, and taken somewhere that she didn't want to think about.

John closed his eyes, letting the adrenaline rush drain out of him, taking his energy with it. He could dimly hear the guards' hoofsteps as the descended several flights of stairs, going deeper into the castle's passages. The blood loss from the multitude of cuts and his foreleg pushed him into semi-consciousness.

He wasn't sure how long they had carried him, but after a while, he felt himself being thrown down onto the floor. Hissing with pain, he heard a door slam and a lock click behind him. Forcing his eyelids open, he found himself in a cell, unsurprisingly. It was damp, it was dark and it was cold. The only light source was outside the door, a small slit in the wood allowing the brightness in.

The room stank of sweat, and the walls were coated in what seemed to be a mixture of bile, urine, blood and something he really didn't want to think about. Nevertheless, he slumped himself against a dry patch on the far wall. He held his right foreleg out, letting the blood dry. He wasn't sure if it was a complete compound fracture, but it was still extremely painful.

He sat like this for so long that his entire body went numb from the effort of keeping himself awake. If he fell asleep, nopony knew what room they'd drag him into, never to be seen again. His energy levels were incredibly low, and if he shut his eyes, he'd fall asleep.

Thoughts of his daughter swum into his mind, breaking the mental barrier that he had erected. Memories flooded his brain, causing him to start to cry. When she was born. Her first birthday. He couldn't even bring himself to say her name.

What kind of a father was he? He could have prevented this. But he didn't. Because he was weak, because he was ignorant, because he forgot. He tried to hold his head up, but eventually it slumped down, his muscles giving into sleep.

Hoofsteps awoke him, and he started to panic. Had he fallen asleep? What time was it? He didn't open his eyes, fearing what he would see. Instead, he relied on his hearing. The door to the cell burst open, slamming against the stone wall.

"Get him up. As much as I hate to do this, we gotta do it."

The male voice, deep and mysterious, made his mind race. Hate to do it? Gotta do it? He felt himself being grabbed from under the front forelegs, and bit his tongue to stop himself from yelping as the guard on his right brushed against the protruding bone.

He screwed his eyes closed, and prayed that they were just moving him, not daring to think about what they were going to do. He was now being physically dragged across the gritty stone floor, sliding roughly across the unpolished surface. John attempted to make himself a dead weight, letting all of his muscles untense.

If it had any effect, it was minimal. Eventually, they stopped dragging him, and he was harshly lifetd up placed onto some form of table. Feeling his forelegs and hindlegs being strapped down, he immediately tensed. Somepony punched him hard in the stomach, making him jerk upwards and cough. His eyes went crazy, searching for a way out.

He was in a dimly lit room with one white unicorn guard and one brown earth pony. The unicorn was sitting down opposite to where John was strapped down, so the earth pony was the one who punched him. He looked to his sides. His hooves were cuffed with leather bindings, but his wings were flapping behind him, meaning that the table had a hole cut in it.

The unicorn stood up, and the earth pony stepped aside. A cold chill crept into his bones as the unicorn walked up to him, and tapped him with a hoof.

"Ah. You're awake. Good."

What the fuck is going on!? The walls around him were also splattered with blood, and the room smelt faintly of bile and urine. His heartbeat became fast as he realised the situation.

Cupcakes. The hated fan fiction had just come to life.

John struggled against the bindings, his muscles tensing. The unicorn chuckled, and tapped him again.

"There's no escape, my friend. But not to worry, there will be eventually. But for now, all we want is answers."

Escape eventually? John caught his meaning, making him struggle even harder, the agony burning in his right foreleg pushing him further into hysteria. The unicorn grinned evily at him.

"Shall we begin?"

The earth pony nodded, and the unicorn grinned as he stood over him.

"Who are you?"

What sort of a question is that? When he didn't answer, the unicorn gave him a grim, crooked smile. That can't be good. Using his magic, the unicorn levitated something shiny over to the trio. It was a shiny, jagged knife that had been forcefully dulled, leaving some of the edge sharp, but the majority crooked.

"I'll ask nicely again. Who are you?"

John could do nothing; his fear stopped him from speaking properly, making him stutter. The unicorn rolled his eyes, and moved the knife to John's left hind leg.

"Every time you don't answer immediately, this'll happen." The blade touched the leg gently, pressing down against it. Without warning, he drew it across the limb viciously, leaving a jagged cut about an centimeter deep. Blood sprung up like a freshwater spring as the blade left his leg, and the unicorn held it aloft, listening to John's scream.

"One last time. Who are you?"

John panted, sweat pouring down his face, mixing with tears of pain. The unicorn placed the knife down against his left leg again, an inch down from the last cut. With a choke, John managed to cough.

"My name...Is..." The coughing cut off his answer.

The unicorn smiled, "Wrong answer," and cut him again. John howled, seeing the knife carving into his flesh made him feel dizzy. They've put something on that knife to make it hurt more. I'm sure of it.

"Let's try something else, since the knife doesn't seem to work." The unicorn dropped the knife neatly onto a table, and picked up a smaller knife, but with multiple blades. A razor. He frantically bucked against the table, but the restraints almost made him tear of his own limbs.

The unicorn passed the razor to the earth pony, who held it over his left flank's cutie mark. The unicorn paused for dramatic effect, and smirked at him.

"This'll hurt even more. But only if you don't tell us what we want to know." The earth pony's face held no emotion as John visually pleaded with him.

"Where are you from?"

Where the fuck was Shaded from? Was I ever told that? John brainstormed as fast as he could. he closed his eyes in concentration, panic rising within him when he realised that he didn't know.

"Times up. Do it."

John screamed again as the razors sliced effortlessly into his flank, scoring shallow but extremely painful cuts on his cutie mark. When he didn't hear the unicorn say anything, he assumed that the earth pony had finished. How wrong he was.

The razors bit his flesh again and again, making him emit an ear-piercing burst of verbal pain. After a few seconds, John opened his eyes, and immediately vomited all over himself. His entire left flank had been massacred, the cutie mark unrecognisable behind the hundreds of small cuts that adorned his left flank.

"Alright. That didn't work either. We have one more way to make you sing, and we will use it. Unless you comply with our questions."

The stench of the previous contents of his stomach filled his nostrils, and he threw up again, the splash of bile mixing with the blood on his flanks, soaking into the flesh. He howled with pain again.

Please. Let it end. Let it end! John winced as the unicorn brought forward the next object to torture him with. It was a large pair of pliers. He positioned them over the incisions on his left leg, and closed them on the split flesh.

"You wouldn't..." John managed to splutter. His eyes stung from the tears, and his stomach was constantly churning. The blocked out the smell of his sick, and closed his eyes, letting imagination supply him with an alternative to this horrible place.

"I would. Now, final question. Why are you here?"

"I...don't...know..." John growled at the unicorn, wishing it was all over, that the pain would go away.

"Really? What a shame."

NO! NO! NO! PLEASE! PLEASE! The unicorn dragged the closed pliers towards his face, making the flesh rip. The strip of skin and flesh went up to his ribcage, blood streaming out of the tear. Unable to catch his breath, John blacked out with the pain, coughing up blood, his eyes rolling backwards, his head lolling on the table.

"Woops. I think I overdid it."

The earth pony looked over to the unicorn accusingly.

"You think?"

The unicorn frowned at the earth pony, whilst feeling for a pulse with his magic. Finding one, he smiled again, an evil smile that made the earth pony shiver.

"Put him back in the cell to recover. We'll continue tomorrow."

When John snapped out of the haze of illusion that his mind brought, he found himself back in his cell. He was slumped against the same wall he was against when they came for him. His eyelids fluttered, and in the darkness, he could just about see the dried pool of blood he was sitting in.

Feeling lightheaded, he looked down to his left flank. And threw up a third time. All the skin and some of the flesh from about halfway down his leg to bottom of his ribcage was missing, cutie mark included. Pulling his mouth into a grimace, he realized something. This was just like 'Cupcakes', coincidentally.

At least he was alive. Wait, didn't they say something about tomorrow?

"I can't do this... Nopony should have to endure this... What the fuck is going on...?"

The sound of light hoofsteps clicking on stone broke his stream of thoughts. He slumped his head, was it morning already? A cold breeze wafted in through the door as it was lightly opened. He raised his head, glaring at the shape that entered the room.

"John?" The voice was soft, caring, concerned. He blinked. The shape came into focus, revealing Princess Luna. She obviously couldn't see him in the almost pitch black darkness.

"Over here...Have you come to taunt me, Luna?" John croaked.

"No. I...Came to see you..." He saw her turn her head towards his direction; she still couldn't see him.

"I suggest you don't search for me. You won't like what you see." Clearing his throat, he tried to lift himself off of the wall. Failing this, he just lay there, looking at the Princess.

"Discord escaped. I'm...sorry about your daughter. My sister's student, Twilight Sparkle, told me."

John sighed, letting out his troubles. "It's my fault he escaped in the first place, Luna. And it's my fault that my daughter is...dead." The last word rolled off his tongue as it were pure venom, making Luna wince.

"Please. John. Don't dwell on this, it'll only make you bitter." Luna's statement shocked him, the advice strangely comforting. The ache in his side subsided as her horn glowed. "I can relieve the pain, and I can help with the healing process, but I cannot restore what has been lost. Nor can I remove scars."

He didn't say a word, as Princess Luna cast the spell, her horn glowing. The light given off illuminated him temporarily, allowing Luna to see him. She put a hoof to her mouth, but continued with the spell. He bit his lip as his right foreleg moved back into place and healed over. When the light disappeared, he looked down to his left side again. There was skin growing back at an alarming rate, but with the white scars of earlier shining against the grey. He flexed and rotated his right foreleg. Now he could see what they had done to him properly.

His left cutie mark was still gone, and all the skin grown back in the area which had been ripped off was a lighter shade of grey than the rest of his body. From his flank to midway down his left leg were dozens of small and large cuts, making him look striped with the added effect of the blotches of crusted blood that still remained.

He looked up to Luna, who was smiling. Smiling back, he stood up and stretched his wings, but Luna put a hoof on his back, stopping him from taking off. "The skin is new and weak, so you need to be careful. But if it does break, I also casted a spell on you so that it would grow back faster than usual."

John walked closer to her, the physical pain completely gone now. "What time is it?" She looked up at the ceiling, concentrating. After a while, she answered. "Around three AM. You've been down here for about thirteen hours."

John sat down, thinking. Luna sat down next to him, and nuzzled his neck gently. "I suggest you come with me. You need to leave now, under the cover of darkness." John started to speak, but Luna cut him off.

"My sister has been acting very strange recently. You are such an example. Something has happened to her in the last couple of months, since the second defeat of the Changlings. She is becoming more and more like a tyrant, and everypony is afraid to question her, even me." She stopped speaking, taking a breath.

"I need you to find out what has happened to her. I am afraid of what she'll do next, after seeing you like this."

John nodded in understanding, but was still confused. "Why me?"

"You are one of the only ponies I can trust at the moment. You are my only hope to save my sister from whatever is consuming her kindness, turning her into this... monster." Luna spat out the last word. She suddenly stood up, and summoned a box from outside the door.

Answering the silent question that John gave her, she opened the box. It was a set of dark blue armour, similar to a Royal Guard's armour. "This was Shaded's before he died. I am now giving it to you. I made a few alterations to the design, and added a few enchantments, along with a few extra essential items."

She put the box on the ground. "I'll tell you what I did exactly. Firstly, I made it fireproof, along with the clothing that comes with it. If you're wondering why, Shaded Comet had a particular ability that requires this and the wearer to be immune to fire."

"I also enchanted the blades to be able to break or block any spell they come into contact with. It'll come in helpful."

She nuzzled him one last time, and began to walk towards the door.

"I sense something powerful within you. More powerful than I can imagine. When you find it within yourself, use it wisely. I'm going to leave the door open. Good luck, John."

She teleported once outside the door, and holding true to her statement, left the door wide open.

John tipped the box over, studying the contents. He didn't have much time; eventually they would come back for him. There was a black full-body suit that shimmered like liquid when he moved it, holding it in his hooves. It felt like silk against his skin. It didn't have holes for his wings, so he assumed the wings go inside. He moved it aside, and picked up the next item.

It was the dark blue body armour. The edges were layered in silver, and the chestplate glowed with a brillance only the stars could match. Along with the chestplate, there were shoulder pads and bracers to match the style. On two of the bracers, there were grooves that looked as if he was supposed to slide something in them. When he turned them over, he saw Shaded's cutie mark embossed onto the metal on each one. He set the set of armour aside, and looked at the last two items.

There was a helmet, and two rectangular boxes. He nudged the helmet aside, and picked up the boxes. They also had grooves, with straps on the side.

"They must go with the bracers..." John murmered as he picked up the items, and strapped the boxes onto the bracers. When he had finished, and they were secured tightly, he put them with the rest of the items.

Finally, he picked up the helmet. It was like the regular guard helmet, but had the same colour scheme and design as the armour. Whilst holding the helmet, he felt something grow within him.

"Could it be...?" He looked up at the ceiling, a strange sensation overpowering him. He felt his energy levels go literally off the scale as he held it. When he put the helmet down, the feeling stopped immediately.

"Do I...Draw energy from the stars?" It was night, so it seemed like an acceptable theory for now. He would ask later.

He could faintly hear voices in the castle above him. He didn't have much time left to escape. Carefully, but as quickly as possible, he donned the armour, starting with the undersuit.

It was cold against his skin, and he opened the zip, slipping into it easily, feeling it expand to accomodate his wings. Testing it, he stretched his wings and held them out to the side, looking behind him. The suit had changed, taking the same shape as his wings. Floating softly, he flapped them. If anything, it was easier to fly with it on.

The suit had a hood to go over his head, as well as a mask. Using the laws of cartoon logic, he pulled the mask onto his head along with the hood. It covered every part of his face apart from his eyes, and it didn't obscure his vision in any way whatsoever. When he zipped it back up, he couldn't even feel himself wearing it. It was as light as air. Landing, a single thought crossed his mind.

Strange. Hang on. How did I...?

He lifted his hoof whilst hovering, and concentrated on lifting up the chestplate. He lifted it effortlessly, a dark blue aura surrounding the item. He put it down, and ended the stream of magic. Without lifting his hoof, he concentrated again. The chestplate rose up again, the aura appearing again.

"Thank you Luna." John whispered, grinning.

Using his magic, moved the chestplate over to him, and put it on. Ending the energy flow, he felt weird. The chestplate was almost weightless, as if he were just wearing clothes. Using his magic, he put the rest of his armour on, excluding the helmet.

John paused. "If I can draw almost infinite energy from the stars, and magic uses energy...Oh my god. I could be as powerful as Luna, as powerful as Celestia! No! With great power comes great responsibility, and I refuse to use it like that."

He looked down at the bracers on his forehooves; the ones that had the boxes on. What the hell did they do? Luna said something about blades. He looked back into the box. There was a piece of paper in there.

He picked it up, and levitated it in front of his face, reading aloud.

"To make the blades appear, say "nocturnumque". Preferably when you are flying. You can also change the length of one or both by concentrating on what length you want them to be. To make them disappear, simply think about them being gone."

Dropping the note, he looked down at his hooves. Flapping his wings, he took to the air. Pointing his hooves out in front of him, he whispered "nocturnumque" and watched as two blades that looked as if they were made of  moonlight spring out, making the area around them clearer. They were about ten centimeters long and about three centimeters wide, with a dark blue aura that sparkled with stars.

Doing as the letter instructed, he imagined them being another ten centimeters long. They responded by becoming exactly the length he wanted. Nodding in satisfaction, he reduced the left one by imagining that it was gone. The light given off by it disappeared. It's like a lightsabre. Heh.

He ended the right blade as well, and landed back on the floor. He picked up the helmet with his magic, and put it on. It fit snugly around his head, much like the rest of his armour. He could only imagine what he looked like. Breathing deeply, he looked up at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry for this mess, but Daddy will be back. Daddy will find Discord and bring him to justice." He began to tear up again, but shook himself out of the stupor. He took a step outside into the corridor.

Before I leave, there's one thing I have to do. I won't ever forgive myself if I don't. Running up the stairs, he saw no guards on duty. Tapping into the energy of the stars, he felt that sensation again. He suddenly knew exactly where she was.

Looking outside through a window, he saw that it was still dark, the moon still pretty high, but close to the horizon. He still had time. Running up the stairs again, he came to a set of doors. Opening them with his magic as to not lose speed, he burst into a hall with a glass ceiling. That was the problem with Canterlot. Everything was fancy.

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones? Well, they shouldn't piss off an extremely powerful human turned pegasus either. Soaring into the air, he braced himself for the impact. This would wake everybody in the palace, so...

John smashed through the glass, the shards exploding out as he held his bracers out in front of him to protect his face. The sound of breaking glass greeted his ears as the remainder of the weakened ceiling fell to the floor below. Letting his newly aquired abilities guide him, he silently flew up to one of the towers.

The balcony was open to the air, so he landed on it as softly as possible. Looking in through the glass door, he could see Twilight and her friends talking, their bodies framed against the light from inside. Breathing deeply, he tapped against the glass, taking his helmet off and removing the hood.

Twilight was calmly chatting with Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. It was really late, and almost morning, but they couldn't shake the feeling of trepidation that they all had from hours earlier.

"Since when did Shaded have a daughter?" Twilight asked as a rhetorical question, looking at the girls. Each of them were puzzled as well. He had been dead for a year, and lived alone. The candles they were using were getting brighter as the wick burned out, letting the wax fuel the flickering flame.

"Ah don't know Twilight, but he was tellin' the truth." Applejack responded, her Stetson hat poised on her head.

"He couldn't have had any children...I mean, he was dead. How does that make sense?" Rarity added, thinking deeply.

"It was super mean of him to be like that to Rainbow! The meanie was in a relationship with Octavia!" Pinkie pouted.

A tap on glass made Twilight jump, and she looked round at the window. She could just about see a pony waiting on the balcony. It must have been Princess Luna. As she came closer, she saw the shape remove something on it's head: a helmet.

"It's a guard!" Twilight announced to the others, who all sighed in relief. Opening the door with her magic, she smiled. "How can we help you, sir?"

The guard took a step inside, revealing himself. It was Shaded. He had a grimace on his face, and he uncomfortably tapped his right forehoof against the floor.

"How...?" Twilight was too stunned to even ask properly. He was in a full body black suit that looked like it had been made from the night sky, underneath some modified guards armour that was dark blue with silver trim.

"Erm... Hi?" He half whimpered, nervous. Twilight took a step forward, and he cringed. Composing himself, he took another step forwards inside the room, closing the door with a burst of blue magic.

It was Rarity's turn to be stunned. "Pegusai don't have magic..." She stuttered, her eyes searching his face for an answer.

"Sit. I'll explain everything." Shaded spoke, motioning towards the cushions on the floor. Without a word, the group fell silent and sat down.

"Firstly, yes I escaped. But that's not why I'm here. I came to make amends. I am sorry for everything that I have done since I came back. I am especially sorry to you, Twilight, for what I said. I let my emotions get the better of me in a bad situation, and look how it turned out. Heck, look how things have turned out since I came back! I basically cheated on Rainbow Dash, and ended up releasing Discord again..."

Twilight gave him a suspicious look. "Basically?"

"Yes. When I came back, I spent every day with Octavia practising for the Grand Galloping Gala. She had feelings for me, but I didn't have them for her. I realised that a day before the Gala, when she kissed me. I will always love Rainbow Dash, with all my heart. But I didn't tell Octavia that, for fear that I would break her heart. It never went further than that kiss, I promise."

Rarity put a hoof to her mouth. "Oh my... And Rainbow thinks..."

"Yes. I need to see her, and to tell her everything. Where is she?"

Fluttershy answered. "She's in Ponyville, in her cloud house crying. Please, make her feel better...if that's okay with you..."

Twilight intervened at this point.

"Hang on. How can we trust you? Not a day ago, you assaulted and killed around fourty ponies, including my brother."

John hung his head in shame. "I know. And I will never forgive myself. I can only hope that you forgive me."

Before Twilight could respond, the door to the room was pushed open, revealing two guards. "Twilight! Shaded Comet has escaped! You need to come with us!"

John took off into the air as they noticed him, drawing their weapons. Taking a closer look, he recognised them as Shining Armour and the brown pegasus from a couple of days ago.

"I don't think that will be required, Captain." John locked eyes with the white unicorn.

"What are you doing here!?" The brown pegasus questioned, pointing his sword at him.

"Apologising. And since you're here..." John flapped his wings, and landed a few inches away from the point of the pegasus' sword. "I'm sorry to you two. I really am."

Shining Armour responded with a bolt of magic, which John blocked with his right bracer.

"Please. I don't want any more fighting." John whispered, feeling the effects of absorbing the spell. He couldn't summon energy from the stars if he wasn't weraing his helmet, but he still had lots from earlier left over. If he needed to use it.

Shining Armour charged the spell again, and John quickly lifted him into the air with his own magic, disabling any chance of a peaceful meeting. The pegasus lunged towards him, and he lifted him into the air as well.

"I'm serious. But if you want to fight..." John rolled his eyes as they remembered the first encounter with him when he had magic. Shaking their heads, he moved them back onto the floor.

"Please. I lost my daughter a few hours ago. I'm not in the mood. This time, I will kill you if you attack me." The harshness in his voice startled him, and tears sprung to his eyes again. Wiping them away, he used his magic to put his mask and helmet back on.

"How did you do that? Discords influence is gone from you..." Shining Armour asked.

"It's a long story. Please, just let me explain everything to the best of my ability."

"You don't have time for that. Princess Celestia herself is looking for you. How did you escape from the dungeons?"

"The door was left open. And if you want to know what they did to me, I'm not saying." He gritted his teeth as he remembered the feeling if his skin and flesh being torn from his leg to his ribcage. Subconsciously, he rubbed the left side of his body with his right hoof as he hovered in the air.

The pegasus caught the motion, and winced. John turned to the balcony, and stood bipedal on the edge. "I'll see you all whenever. Right now, I've got a Element of Loyalty to explain to."

Applejack noticed his planned exit. "You ain't serious..."

John winked at her, and fell backwards off the balcony, spiraling in the air. Before he hit the ground, he opened his wings, letting the updraft carry him upwards. Gaining speed, he flapped his wings harder.

The cold air seemed to warm up around him as he rose in altitude, his speed increasing with every flap of his wings. Let's see if I can perform a sonic rainboom. I seem fast enough.

Going even higher, he looked down to see Canterlot as a tiny speck in the distance. Looping around, he dived downwards, his armoured front hooves spread in front of him. The air resistance around him increased as his speed bordered on the sound barrier.

His eyes watered as he saw a sound cone form around his front hooves, the barrier threatening to throw him off. Increasing his speed even more, the cone slowly got narrower. His excitement peaked at seeing this, until he heard roaring behind him.

Pulling up into a gliding position, he looked behind him, gasping in awe. So this is why Luna made the armour fireproof... He was going faster than he had ever dreamed, the flames behind him pushing him forwards with the intensity of the energy given off.

The space in front of his hooves was clear, until the very edges of his vision. The flames started around the ends of his bracers, pushing outwards. The fiery trail behind him was hued light blue, whilst the flames constantly flickered between teal, cyan, light blue and dark blue. He laughed. I must look like a comet. The landscape beneath him flashed past at an impossible rate, and he could see the Everfree Forest in the distance. Beyond that lay Ponyville.

He barrel rolled in the air, creating a helix of flame behind him. Slowly decreasing his speed until he was flying at a normal pace, his head began to throb again. "No... Not now..." John moaned, feeling the forced memory that wasn't his enter his mind. As it took over, he was dimly aware that he was falling.

Well... Shit.

Twilight looked on in awe as the streak of blue sped towards Ponyville at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash jealous. Ironic, really. She and her friends were standing on the balcony with Lieutenant Gage and Shining Armour.

Gage could only say one thing as he gazed at the fiery trail behind Shaded.

"Bucking Hell... How do we tell Princess Celestia?"

John was floating in that bubble again, watching the scene below him unfold. He was standing over a brown pegasus with a blonde mane, who was hiding behind a pillar, eavesdropping on a conversation. John couldn't understand his significance until he looked closer at the pegasus below him. The brown faded to grey, and the blonde changed to blue as he studied him. Ah. A disguise. It was Shaded. John glanced around the room they were in. It looked as if they were in the Palace Main Hall. Behind him was the throne room.

He listened intently and observed what was happening.

"Dash! He loves you for pony's sake! He might be listening!" Twilight's voice.

"He won't be, he's too busy talking to the Princess." He saw Rainbow Dash speak.

The cyan mare looked really angry, and was on the verge of tears. Her wings hung limp at her sides, and she was trembling ever so slightly.

"Are you saying you don't actually love him? For hoof's sake! You slept with him!"

Rainbow Dash was silent, and her shoulders sagged. "I'm an outcast now, Twilight. The pegasus population in Canterlot made that pretty clear. Even the Wonderbolts hate me." She was crying now. "He's ruined my life..."

Shaded looked like he couldn't take it anymore. Openly crying, he rubbed his hooves against his eyes. Beginning to stop his tears, he walked round the pillar he was standing behind. He didn't even raise his head as he approached the group. John narrowed his eyes as he watched him walk towards them.

Twilight and Rarity looked at Shaded, and immediately saw through his disguise. Gasping, Rarity turned away in shock. Twilight almost made the transition between purple and bone white as her eyes opened in fear. The others were quick to follow. With the lone exception of a certain cyan pegasus and Fluttershy.

"If...If that's how you really feel Dash... I'm sorry..." He heard Shaded speak, quite clear to him. Then, the vision fell away.

John awoke to find himself in a tree, the smell of crushed pine needles lingering in his nostrils. His armour had protected him from the impact, but he could feel a familiar wetness inside the fireproof suit.

"Damn..." He put a hoof to his flank, feeling the area squelch beneath it. Drawing energy from the withdrawing stars, he levitated himself to the forest floor. The dirt was dry beneath him, but his blood oozed through the black material, beginning to drip onto the leaf dotted ground.

Laying backwards, he waited calmly for the bleeding to stop. When the dripping stopped, he got up and began to walk, limping slightly on his left side. He couldn't let a scab form, because if he took the suit off...

Shaking his head, he began to explore the forest, looking for somewhere safe to dress the wound. Seeing none in the immediate area, he continued walking, until he heard a twig snap behind him.

Turning round, he found himself facing a dark blue unicorn with red eyes. The unicorn shook his light blue mane, and nervously smiled at John. "Uhm...Hello?" The unicorn put a hoof on John's armoured back. "You alright?"

"Sorta, I suppose... You are?" John responded. Who was this?

"Tundra. I live here. Who are you?"

"Shaded. Shaded Comet."

The unicorn warmly smiled at him. John continued walking, but slipped on a patch of moss. Immediately his flank burned, and he resisted the primal urge to scream. Tundra ran up beside him, supporting him with his magic.

"Now, seriously. Are you alright?"

John shook his head, the pain too much to handle. He concentrated on keeping himself from howling in agony, whilst Tundra supported his left side. Helping him walk, the dark blue unicorn directed them towards a hut that he hadn't seen before. Go figure.

It looked strangely familiar, but he couldn't remember how. As they reached the door, John looked up to see various African styled masks. Zecora, duh. Tundra knocked on the door. John's ears perked up as he heard the zebra open the door. Tundra and Zecora had a hushed conversation, and he limped inside with the help of the unicorn.

Gently lowering John to the floor, Tundra turned to Zecora.

"Can you help him please? I'm not sure what's wrong with him, but he's bleeding."

"I can indeed, I am always happy to help a friend in need."

John rolled his eyes, and put a hoof to his flank again. The blood was drying. Not good. He quickly flapped his wings, rising above the pair. Using his magic, he removed all of his armour and put it in a neat pile against a wall, gleaming in the light.

Next, he pulled the hood off of his head, feeling the warm air against his skin for the first time in ages. Breathing deeply, he removed the rest of the suit from his body, hearing a slight squelch as the fabric was peeled away from the torn skin. He placed it aside.

He squinted at his left flank. It was swollen, and weeping blood. As was the area between the bottom of his ribcage and midway down his leg. The new skin had broken apon impact, opening the floodgates. He winced at the sight, and turned to the pair.

Tundra was staring at him with a confused facial expression, whilst Zecora bit her lip, apparently thinking.

Tundra broke the silence.

"How the bucking hell did that happen?" The unicorn's eyes moved from his chest to his legs, studying every scar and open cut.

John breathed in. "Trust me. You don't want to know. Let's just say that I crossed the Princess."

Tundra sharply looked up into John's eyes. The silence said a thousand words.

"You just used magic as well. Is there any more of your story to tell?" Zecora asked. The zebra was staring at him accusingly.

"No. I was born able to do this." John lied, praying that she'll believe him.

"Why are you here? In the forest?" Tundra raised the obvious question.

"I crashed. I was going to Ponyville."

"Ponyville is in the middle of a disaster. They were attacked by a servant of the chaos master." Zecora reminded him, and John recoiled from the memory.

"Let's get you two a meal. Then your injuries will start to heal." She continued, and walked over to a shelf adorned with various different vegetables.

"Zecora, have you got a bandage?" Tundra asked, not taking his eyes off of John's armour.

Zecora nodded, and motioned towards a drawer on the far side of the hut. Tundra opened it with his magic, and pulled it out, bringing it back to him. He began to wrap it around John's wounds as Zecora came back with two bowls of mixed chopped vegetables. When Tundra finished, they both sat and began to eat.

John was deep in thought as he ate the food, thinking about what he saw. Was it true? Did she mean it? What happened afterwards? He snapped out of the maelstrom of thoughts, and looked back at his armour.

"Zecora? Do you mind storing my armour for me?" The zebra looked round at him, nodding slightly.

"That I can do, as a little favour for you."

"Thanks." John looked out of the window; it was almost morning, and the sun was coming up. The trees outside obscured any signs of civilisation. He shakily stood up, the bandage holding steady. He needed to go and talk to Rainbow Dash.

"Tundra, what's the fastest way to Ponyville from here?" He already knew it, but wanted to act normally. Tundra's eyes gleamed as he stood up as well. "I'll show you. Come on." He opened the door, and waited for John to move.

"Thank you for your hospitality Zecora. I won't forget this." He beamed at Zecora, who returned the smile. "Thanks." Tundra closed the door behind them. John couldn't help but notice a pony wearing a black cloak sitting on a patch of dead grass as he left.

"Who's that?" He nudged Tundra.

"Huh? Oh... That's Decay Mourn. He doesn't really talk to anypony. Just leave him be."

John nodded, and followed Tundra deeper into the forest. After a few minutes of walking in silence, he could see parts of Ponyville behind the trees. Tundra stopped, and turned to face John.

"This is where you need to go. Just keep walking in that direction, and you'll eventually come out in Ponyville." He pointed straight ahead.

"Thanks. See you around?" John watched the unicorn begin to walk away.

"I doubt that. I live in the forest." He chuckled, and disappeared into the undergrowth.

John blinked once, and started to walk through in the direction specified. "Here goes nothing..."

Twilight and her friends stepped off the train, happy to be back in Ponyville. The morning sunlight welcomed them as they walked together to Sugarcube Corner for breakfast.

Rainbow Dash sat on the edge of her cloud home, too depressed to care. She turned her head to look at the picture of her and Shaded on her windowsill. Anger filled her, and she threw it across the room. It bounced off of the cloud walls, and lay on the floor.

"Why. Why! WHY!" She screamed at the ceiling. Her life just got really complicated. The love of her life had just returned, and she found him cheating on her. He had then attacked her and her friends. Feeling miserable, she felt her depression deepen. She could only see one way out of the pain. She walked to her front door, and opened it. Not stopping to close it, she walked up to the edge of hercloud home.

One way out...

Pinkie Pie looked up at the sky randomly, as her entire body began to vibrate violently. Twilight, alarmed, jumped backwards, expecting something to drop from the sky. Applejack rushed over, and put a hoof on Pinkie.

"What is it?" Her voice held a tone of urgency.

"I-i-i-i-i-t-t-t-t-t-s-s-s-s-s R-a-a-a-a-i-i-i-n-n-b-b-b-b-o-o-o-ow-w-w-D-d-d-d-a-a-a-a-a-s-s-s-s-h-h-h-h! She abruptly stopped shaking. "It's a doozy! Wait. No! Quick! Follow me!"

The pink party pony galloped forwards a few metres, and looked up at Rainbow Dash's cloud home.

"Too late!" She squeeked, watching as a cyan dot appeared on the edge.

Twilight blinked, unable to believe that Rainbow Dash was doing this... They could only watch as the dot fell off the edge, gaining speed.

Rarity gasped,"She's not going to open her wings!"

John looked up as he exited the forest. Breathing in the scent of cake and flowers, he looked up towards Rainbow Dash's home. And his heart grew cold. His wings took over as he watched the cyan blur drop off of the edge of the cloud.

He looked down the street. He heard Rarity's exclamation. He looked at the dot in the distance. Flapping his wings as fast as possible, he stretched his front hooves in front of him. She was falling faster than he was going, unless...

He went into a steep dive, going as fast as he could. Rainbow Dash wasn't far off the ground now. Time was of the essence. Levelling out, he quickly matched her speed. No! NO! He flapped his wings even harder, as he got closer. He wasn't going to make it!

Twilight screamed as the cyan dot got even closer to the ground, still not opening her wings. Fluttershy covered her eyes, cowering behind her mane. A split second before she hit the ground, a grey dot crashed into her, forcing her away from the ground. "Sh...Shaded?" She whispered, the silence overwhelming.

"Come on girls! We need to find where they landed!"

John groggily stood up. His wings ached, and he was bleeding again. But, thankfully, Rainbow Dash was fine. She was knocked out by the impact, and John had put her down in a bush, where she still was. Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked up to the sky.

"Thank you Luna. Without you, she would have..."

John slapped himself with a hoof. All this death and despair was getting to him. Dusting himself off, he looked round at the peaceful cyan mare. Her soft breathing made him smile, and he knelt down next to her.

"Never, ever, scare me like that again." He whispered into her ear, her rainbow coloured mane tickling his muzzle. Using the last of his energy, he picked her up with his magic, and put her on his back. Seeing Ponyville in the distance, he began to limp back, carrying her with him. About halfway back, he began to hear voices.

"Can you see them? Keep searching!"

It was Twilight. She must have taken the train just after I left. Increasing his speed, he pushed himself onwards towards the voices. They were getting nearer, so he shouted.

"Twilight? Over here!" The trees around him swayed in the breeze, eventually revealling the very worried face of Twilight. Apon seeing Rainbow safely on his back, she ran up to him and hugged him.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She was crying into his mane now, and he gently patted her on the back.

"She's knocked out. We need to get her to the hospital." Twilight looked down. "You're bleeding..."

"Ignore it. She needs more medical attention."

Twilight nodded, and called to the other girls and a few Ponyville citizens. "They need medical attention!" A few unicorns, including Rarity and Twilight, lifted Rainbow Dash of of his back. Growling, he glanced at his blood soaked bandages. He ripped them off without a second thought.

Most of the ponies in attendance gasped as they saw the left side of his body. "What happened to you?" Twilight asked softly.

John scowled. "This is what Celestia ordered on me."

They said nothing more as they walked back, or in John's case, limped back, to Ponyville. By now, the blood lost that was coating him had dried. He was too tired to fly, so he just marched onwards. His hoof found a loose rock on the hill they were climbing over, and he slipped, tearing the scab.

The pain made him black out for a moment. When he came to, he was lying at the foot of the hill, fresh blood pouring from under the aperture in his skin. Groaning, he looked up to see Big Macintosh and Dr. Hooves lifting him up and placing him on their backs.

Giving up, he let fatigue control his body, dozing off as the ponies made their way back to Ponyville.

...

...

...

Beep.

...

...

...

Beep.

...

John awoke to the beautiful sound of a heart montitor nearby. Lying up, he rubbed his eyes, looking around. He was in Ponyville Hospital. A pony he recognised as Nurse Redheart came in with a tray of food, pills and a glass of water. Accepting it, he came to the conclusion that they had let him sleep here. After wolfing down the food and the nutrient rich supplements with the glass of water, he pushed the tray aside, letting priorities taking over.

He jumped out of the soft bed, and looked down at himself. His wounds were dressed in a fresh bandage. Smiling, he turned to the closed door, and opened it with magic. The door swung open effortlessly, and he stepped through it, to hear the unmistakeable sounds of crying from a room down the hall. Outside the room, Twilight and Applejack were waiting on benches.

When they saw him, they gave him small smiles. He motioned towards the door, and they nodded. Stopping outside the door, he prepared himself for the shitstorm that was to come. Gently opening the door, he peered inside. Rainbow Dash had her head buried in the pillows, sobbing.

Frowning, he entered, closing the door behind him. He used his magic to muffle his hoofsteps. There was a chair beside the bed, and he sat on it, hearing it creak slightly. Rainbow Dash obviously hadn't heard him enter. He put a hoof on her head, stroking her rainbow tinted mane.

Her sobbing became softer as he repeated the motion. Swallowing hard, he bit his lip, trying to think of something to say.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again. Ever." He whispered, smiling slightly. At least she was alright. She didn't recognise his voice.

"Wh-who are y-you?" She whimpered, her voice strained.

"My name is John. But you know me as Shaded Comet." He whispered again, this time closer to her ear.

She turned over suddenly, and her magneta eyes went wide. John gave a small half smile, nervously waiting for Rainbow Dash to verbally rip him to shreds. Her sobbing stopped completely as she blinked rapidly.

"I'm not an illusion, Dashie. I'm really here." She lifted a hoof, reaching out to touch him. The tip of her hoof lightly nudged his muzzle, and he lowered his head, closing his eyes, waiting for the punch.

It came. And it was hard. John rolled to absorb the impact, but the left side of his cheek still stung from the punch.

"I guess I deserved that." He smiled softly.

A pair of cyan arms sprung up and dragged him into a tight embrace. Forced into it, John began to choke. "Erm...Dashie? Air?"

She loosened the embrace, but still held him close.

"Never leave me alone again." Her tomboyish antics were pushed aside momentarily as she began crying again, this time into his mane.

"I won't. I'm so sorry Dashie. I really am. I already told you about Octavia, but when you're better, I'll tell you everything. Every little detail. But there is one thing you need to know."

She dropped the embrace, and looked up.

"I'm not the Shaded Comet you remember."

"What do you mean?"

"When I said my name was John...I meant it. That is my name. I am not Shaded Comet, but he is me."

"Come again?" Her face was scrunched up in confusion.

"Shaded Comet is dead. His body is now mine."

She looked down, still confused. Before she could say anything, John stood up.

"You're hurt..." She said, pointing to John's flank.

"Don't worry. That wasn't caused by you. Like I said, I'll explain everything later."

John took a few steps towards the door.

"I'm sorry if you expected the original Shaded Comet. But I'm here now, and I'm here for you if you ever need my help. Rest well, Dashie."

He opened the door with his magic, and walked through. John nodded to Applejack and Twilight as he went past, signalling that it was okay to go in. They thanked him, and he closed the door behind him.

He slumped down against it, sliding until he hit the floor.

"That hurt."