The Tale Of A Shaded Comet

Chapter 16: The Truth

The rain sprinkled down, giving anything it touched a light soaking. The raindrops slowly raced down the window, sliding effortlessly on the smooth surface. The sky seemed to move as the dark stormclouds began to roll in from the south. In the distance, thunder crackled and lightning flashed.

Most of Ponyville was inside, preparing for the worst. A few stragglers were running inside now, closing the doors and locking the windows of their homes. The trees of Sweet Apple Acres were swaying on the horizon, the furthest away almost bent over horizontally by the wind.

The light pitter-patter of the storm began to increase in frequency and volume, gaining strength. John sighed. It was going to be a long night. The hospital staff were kindly letting him stay to watch over Rainbow Dash, who was recovering from the physical and mental trauma from the past couple of days.

The pegasus mare was snoring gently, hidden by the white cotton sheets of the hospital beds. The only thing visible was part of her rainbow mane, poking out from under the blankets. John felt...content, as he sat, watching her sleep.

He was happy in a sense, but he couldn't shake the air of trepidation that hung over Ponyville like a deadly shroud. Subconsciously, he rubbed his left hind leg, his hoof gently gliding over the freshly healed scars of yesterday. Princess Luna's spell had recently come into effect, increasing his healing rate.

He still needed to use bandages for the massive chunk of missing flesh and skin from under his ribcage to just above the livid white marks that would serve as a constant reminder to not annoy Princess Celestia.

John preferred to not think about those recent events, but he couldn't clear his head. A million different thoughts swum in his head as if it were a garden pond, constantly changing direction, but following the group, so he could not focus on one.

He put a hoof to his forehead, trying to concentrate. How would Rainbow Dash react if he told her everything? John had told the other Elements of Harmony a mildly believable version of the truth, but they were still skeptical.

He breathed in through his nostrils, letting the familiar and by now unwelcome lingering scent of antibacterial spray into his system. His stomach growled. He hadn't eaten anything since around midday, and by now it was late afternoon.

Giving in to the urge, he quietly raised himself off of the supplied chair, and opened the door with his newfound magical abilities. It still puzzled him that he could do it, and he was open to any theories as to why he could.

"Must be a mixture of Discord and Luna. Either that, or Luna cast the same spell that Discord did." He muttered, scanning the hallway outside. The benches were empty of occupants, and it was eerily silent. He could dimly hear the crash of the thunder outside as the storm came closer.

"I can't stay here. I'm putting Ponyville in danger..." He looked further into the distance. He could just about make out Canterlot aginst the gloomy backdrop. "I need to find Discord..."

Somepony cleared their throat behind him, but he didn't turn around.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?" It was Twilight. Instead of responding, John shook his head a little. Somepony else joined the conversation.

"There wasn't supposed to be any rain today Twi. This is strange." It was Spike. John shuddered at the memory of him cowering in the corner, and turned to face him.

The purple baby dragon completely blanked John and hid behind Twilight. To be honest, he had expected to happen. He had made him afraid. John noticed the others of the mane six enter through the door behind Twilight.

John sighed. They were probably looking for answers. When they didn't say a word, but instead ignored him and walked into Rainbow Dash's room, he frowned in confusion.

Twilight noticed this. "They haven't completely forgiven you. You may have saved Rainbow's life, but you still released Discord again."

John exploited a major loophole in their logic.

"By shunning me, isn't that causing even more disharmony?" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Exactly what I said. They, and I have to be honest, myself included, don't believe that Celestia did that." She pointed a hoof at John's bandages.

"At least you're talking to me." John muttered, just loud enough for Twilight to hear him. His head began to throb again. Why was Equestria like this? What happened to Friendship, laughter and joy?

Twilight seemed to read his mind. "Discord has the Elements again. This time, without a riddle to guide us. Funnily enough, Princess Celestia didn't do anything this time. She just let him go."

John racked his brains, thinking hard. His migraine didn't help and only made it harder, so he gave up, turning back to the window. He had a strange urge to go outside and sit in the rain. He glanced round at Twilight, who was staring at the door to Rainbow Dash's room.

"I'm going outside for a while. But I'll go say goodbye to Dash first." Walking past Twilight, he pushed the doors to the hospital room open, and stepped inside.

All four mares visiting immediately went silent and glared at him. They were sitting around the bed, so he assumed Rainbow Dash was still asleep. Trying to entice a false sense of security, John calmly looked at each one in turn, and nodded at them. When they didn't return the motion, he gulped at their reactions. Applejack and Pinkie were tied for the nastiest look possible to give to another pony. Fluttershy just turned away, ignoring the human turned pegasus. Rarity's facial expression turned grim, and her eyes went cold.

Shaking off the awkward moment, he tried to walk up to the bed, but was blocked by the girls getting up, hiding the sleeping Rainbow Dash from view. They really do hate me. Can't blame them, but still..

Fighting back a tear, he shook his head and silently turned back around. He could feel their gazes burning into his back. Stopping about one step away from the door, his heart began to pound, and he couldn't hold back the flood anymore. A single solitary tear rolled down his cheek, and dripped onto the floor.

Listening to the impact, he tried to push the door with his hooves, only to find it already opened by Twilight, who was standing with an unimpressed face. Actually pushing past her, he trotted down the hallway, faintly hearing Twilight calling his name. After a few more steps, he felt a hoof on his back, and he turned his head around.

To his surprise, it was Rainbow Dash. Her mane was ruffled from sleeping, and her eyes were still glazed, but her face was full of concern. John closed his eyes, his headache worsening. Her presence alone, however comforting it was to him, made his head throb. Another hoof touched his back. It was Twilight, with the exact same expression as Rainbow Dash.

The thunder boomed overhead, and the room flashed as lighning crackled. His eye twitched as he watched their faces melt away, to be replaced with the unicorn and earth pony's faces from the dungeon. Yelping, he swatted away their hooves, and backed away, his eye still twitching.

The faces came closer, sneering at him. John's breathing became rapid, almost hyperventilating. A voice echoed in his head, but with two layers to it, as if two different ponies were speaking.

Who are you?

John shook his head in a feeble attempt at clearing his mind. He felt a ghostly pain shoot up his leg, and he whinnied, tripping over backwards onto his back. The monstrosities came closer, and they flickered back to Dash and Twilight's faces. They both reached out a hoof towards him, which he stared wide eyed at.

The room flashed again, and they changed back to his torturers again, but this time, their whole bodies changed. He flinched at the transformation, and pushed himself backwards against a wall as quickly as possible. He looked down at his hoof; it was shaking uncontrollably. The voices spoke again.

Where are you from?

It felt like invisible knifes cut his skin again, exactly where they were the first time. He found himself unable to breath, and began to panic. His heart pounded as if were trying to burst out of his chest, and he pushed himself against the wall hard, his head banging against the brickwork.

The torturers came closer, literally standing over him. The earth pony lowered his head, and his face flickered between Rainbow Dash and the object of his fear. His entire body was convulsing now, and he felt lightheaded.

Why are you here?

John felt the regrowing flesh being ripped off of his bones a second time, the invisible tools gripping the edge, yanking it towards his head. He couldn't help it, and he screamed in fear and agony, pushing away the white unicorn's face with his magic.

His breathing began to come back, so he picked himself up, and smashed through the door without looking behind him. He kept running for as long as he could, and eventually, his legs gave up on him and he collapsed to the ground panting.

The rain was cold, and the chilly wind didn't exactly help either, so without getting up, he looked for shelter from the weather. Most of the houses around him had lights on, but one house in particular caught his attention. As if he was drawn to it, he shakily got to his hooves, and approached it.

Twilight rubbed her head, moaning in confusion. Shaded had just gone absolutely mental, eventually throwing Twilight back down the corridor, thankfully landing on Applejack as they left to follow the very confused Rainbow Dash, who was hovering just inside the hospital, watching where Shaded went.

Applejack got up and dusted herself off, after pushing Twilight to her feet.

"What in tarnation? We all heard a scream, an' then-"

Rainbow Dash chose this moment to come back, an odd look in her magenta eyes.

"He's gone, but I have a feeling where."

John knocked on the door again, after not hearing a reply. There was no lights on in the house, but the door was ajar. Shrugging, he entered and shook himself off. Not seeing a light switch, he used his hooves to illuminate the room he was in. It looked like a sitting room.

There were several cushions on the floor, facing a fireplace. The fireplace had logs in it, suggesting someone had been here recently. In the far side of the room, there was an empty bookcase, accompanied by a table a few feet away. The walls were all painted a sky blue, and the floor looked like it was made of oak.

He looked to his right, seeing a staircase upwards. Along the hall that the staircase was in was what seemed to be a kitchen. He was hungry, but he didn't want to impose on whoever lived here. Entering the sitting room, he set the logs alight, and closed the door. The room was softly lit by the fire, and he sat down on one of the cushions. It was also sky blue, but streaked with a slightly more vibrant shade of blue.

He looked around, and spotted a photo frame on the table. Using his magic, he picked it up. As he was about to raise it to his eyes, he heard the door open and close behind him.

"Thought you'd be here." It was Rainbow Dash, her mane wet from the rain. Funnily enough, he coulddn't hear the weather outside as he looked at her. She smiled, and sat down beside him on another cushion.

"What was all that about?"  She whispered, putting a hoof on him. John closed his eyes, and tapped his side with his hoof. She reached down, and placed hers on top of his. John scrunched up his face, and lowered his head, letting his hoof drop.

"Rainbow...Would you believe me if I told you absolutely everything. Because I'm going to speak the entire truth and not a word about anything else, and you won't like some parts of it." John opened his eyes, and saw her nod.

"Let's start at the beginning. As I already said, my name is John. Not Shaded Comet. You know this body to be Shaded Comet. A week and three days ago, I became a pegasus. Shaded Comet."

"That explains the pillar of fire..." She mumbled.

"Yeah... Immediately after that, the week before the Gala, I was welcomed into the Canterlot life, and began to prepare for the Gala, where Princess Celestia had arranged for me to perform."

"Hang on. You sing?" Rainbow nudged him in the side, making him wince. "Oops. Sorry."

"Yes. But please, remember that I'm not actually from Equestria. Actually, come to think about it, I'm not even from this universe."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm what we, in my universe, call a human. Not a pony. I'm from Earth, which is a planet in the Solar System, which is in a galaxy called the Milky Way. My universe is full of these galaxies, but humanity hasn't actually been to any of them."

"Huh?" John looked round at her, and saw her adorable confused face.

"Sorry, I'm not following the topic here, am I? Anyway, I died. But, Princess Celestia brought my soul here, to Equestria, and effectively put me in Shaded Comet's body. When preparing for the Gala, because I was a muscian as a human, and my traits carried over, I met Octavia."

Rainbow Dash frowned at this point, her eyes changing from soft to demanding.

"In that week, we spent most of the day together, practicing. Eventually, she fell in love with me. The night before the Gala, she kissed me. It never went further than that."

John paused, swallowing hard. His throat had gone dry.

"Then came the Gala. What's there to tell about that? You were there. You saw Octavia jump on me, you heard me perform, so I'll leave that out."

Rainbow Dash nodded, so he continued.

"Then Discord escaped. He came to my room. He hypnotised me. From that point onwards, I registered what I was doing, but I couldn't stop myself. I went to Ponyville, with the intentions of bringing you, Twilight, and your friends to Discord. When you pinned me down, I guess seeing you crying snapped me out of it."

Rainbow blinked at him, smiling slightly.

"I went back to Discord, trying to get him to release me completely. Then..."

John's eyes filled up with tears, and Rainbow Dash noticed. She wiped them away gently with her hoof, comforting him.

"He showed me a picture of my daughter in my arms, a memory I have from being a human. She had changed into pony form, so I didn't recognise her at first, but it eventually clicked. He then changed the picture, making my daughter shatter in front of me."

Dash went to say something, but John unintentionally cut her off by speaking again.

"I had to go to Canterlot, and destroy the Elements of Harmony to save my daughter. But he removed everything, so I was just a regular pony. When I arrived, all I could think about was my daughter, what would happen if I failed. That spurred me on."

John punched the floor in frustration, startling Rainbow Dash.

"I killed and severely injured around thirty guards in getting to the castle. When I got there, the door to where the Elements are kept was locked with magic. So I smashed into it in desperation. When I broke through it, but snapped my right foreleg in half when I hit the floor."

Rainbow Dash winced, and moved her cushion closer.

"It started to bleed. I tried to get up, but couldn't. Princess Celestia was holding me down with her magic. I tried to escape, but she had me held down. I begged her to let me get to the Elements, but she threw me into a wall. Around this point, your friends came running in. Seeing a chance, I dragged myself to Fluttershy, in the hope that she would help me. But she turned away."

Rainbow Dash came even closer, and John began to cry.

"Discord teleported in...He had my daughter...I could only watch in helplessness as she physically shattered in front of me. My wings found the strength to lift myself off of the floor, and I went to the remains of my daughter. Twilight approached, saying it was my fault the filly died. She didn't know it was my daughter."

Rainbow hugged him, resting her head against his.

"I pushed her back. I walked, with the help of my wings, up to the Princess."

He shuddered at the memory.

"I spat on her."

He closed his eyes in regret, and turned his head towards the fire.

"I was dragged down to a dungeon, and thrown into a cell. They left me there for a while. Then they came for me. They pulled me into another room. They strapped me down onto a table, and..."

John motioned towards his side, and Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her mouth.

"What did they do?" She whispered, hugging him tighter.

"They started by cutting my leg. They asked me questions I had no answers to. I was cut again. They moved onto a razor. They slashed me across here," he pointed to where his cutie mark once was, "so many times. Then..."

John lightly pushed Rainbow Dash away, and stood up. He pulled off the bandage completely, wincing as it met the warm air inside the house.

"They put a pair of pliers over the cuts on my leg. You can probably guess what happened next."

Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to vomit as she imagined the scene, so John put a hoof on her mane, comforting her. After a while, when she stopped looking so green, he continued again.

"I blacked out. When I awoke, I was back in the cell, sitting in a pool of my own blood. Princess Luna came and visited me, and helped me to escape. She gave me a few gifts to help me," He used his magic to make the fire crackle, "such as that, and left the door open behind her."

He sat down again, hugging the shaking cyan mare, who would probably have nightmares for the next few days.

"I broke out, and went to Twilight. I apologised. I then went to Ponyville, but crashed in the Everfree Forest. A zebra named Zecora helped me, and a unicorn directed me towards Ponyville in the morning. When I arrived in Ponyville..."

Now Rainbow Dash was crying, sobbing into his mane.

"I saw you falling. I thought I wouldn't make it in time. But I did. And here we are now."

He finished the story, and looked out of the window. There was a black shape literally just outside the window, and it seemed to be staring at him. John stared back, sweat on his brow. The shape faded into the rain, and he turned back to Rainbow Dash.

"Your daughter...Is she actually...?"

John grimaced, and Rainbow pulled him against her tighter. He could feel her rapid heartbeat against his chest, and she was shivering. They sat like this for a while, listening to the fire and the rain. Eventually Rainbow Dash fell asleep, and he gave into sleep without a second thought, but one thought stuck in his mind.

Why was he actually here?