The Tale Of A Shaded Comet

The night was giving way to the day, the glorious sunrise painting the sky with it's brilliance. There was no clouds in the sky, and the warm morning air of Equestria seeped in through the window that John was currently standing by. He had large, unsightly bags under his eyes from the stress and lack of sleep, and his eyes were bloodshot from crying. His mane hung limply, the once colourful blues dull in comparison to earlier. A rustle behind him alerted him to Twilight's presence. She had been up all night as well, searching tirelessly for a spell that could locate the missing Rainbow Dash, who had been ponynapped by Discord during the night whilst she was asleep. The purple unicorn mare had been digging around the library for hours, without any breaks, without any success.

John hung his head, gritting his teeth. The stalls in the market were probably being set up around now, so he decided he'd get some breakfast for the both of them.

"Twilight?" His voice came as a soft rasp; his throat was dry, and the lack of rest had given him one hell of a headache. Come to think of it, he seemed to always have a headache. Twilight looked round, dropping the books in defeat.

"I can't do it. I'm sorry Shaded, but I'll have to stop for now. I just can't concentrate." She sighed, a sad and tired expression obvious on her face.

"Look. I'll go get us some breakfast. Just get some rest, okay?" He gently pushed her up the stairs with his head, ignoring her protests of not needing rest. Once up at the top, she gave up, and climbed into the bed. Burying herself under the covers, she smiled dizzily at him, her eyes unfocused. "I'll be back soon." He climbed down the stairs, hearing the mare sigh as she dropped into dreamland.

Opening the door, he breathed deeply, smelling the air. It was pleasantly scented with a mixture of fruits, vegetables, flowers and cakes. Feeling refreshed, but still depressed, he closed the door to the library behind him, and began to walk into the town. The residents of Ponyville were beginning their daily routines; they were all early risers.

He passed many houses, and eventually found himself in the moderately busy town square, where all the stalls were. Thankfully, the crowds were hiding Applejack's stand from view, so he breathed a sigh of relief. He observed every stand as he walked past, each with a familiar pony selling the items. Carrots, tomatoes, roses, daisies, cucumbers, the list just went on. John couldn't help but almost drool at the sight of all the available produce. He looked at Sugarcube Corner, the events of last night still fresh in his thoughts. He could go and get breakfast from there, but it would be extremely awkward.

He couldn't see a stand where he could get something that classed as breakfast. John sighed. There was no alternative. Sugarcube Corner it was. Various ponies he didn't recognise from the show waved at him, so he assumed that Shaded knew them. He just awkwardly waved back, trying to smile. He couldn't tell anypony about Rainbow Dash, but that was the only thing that crossed his mind.

As he approached the door, a sense of trepidation fell over him like a shroud, blotting out any other emotion but fear. The mending flesh underneath his bandages tingled as he got closer, and he put a hoof against his flank, rubbing the fabric. The door was already open, and he peeked inside. There seemed to be no pink party fanatic visible behind the counter, so he crept through the door as quietly as he could.

There were a few ponies inside that he knew from the show, namely Bon Bon and Lyra, but he ignored their greetings. John had a suspicious feeling that somepony, or at least something, was watching him as he approached the empty counter. He breathed in slowly, trying to calm himself down. As he got closer, he saw a small cake on the counter, with a piece of paper propped againat it.

He picked up the piece of paper, and scowled at it. It was a note, written in Equestrian. Turning back to the door, he started to leave; there was nopony to serve him. The next thing he knew, the door was blocked by a pink mare with a scarily straight mane. Her blue eyes were quivering, and very bloodshot.

"Aren't you going to take your cake?" Pinkie pouted, holding up the cake with both hooves. She looks just like how she did in 'Party of One'. John thought to himself, keeping his face in a neutral expression as he gingerly accepted it.

"Erm...Thanks?"

Before she could say anything, John lightly pushed past her, walking back out into the square. She followed closely behind, making him even more nervous. A pale yellow pegasus and a white unicorn, both mares, appeared from a building in the distance that he guessed was the spa, and approached the silent pair.

This is too peculiar. It seems...set up.

The crowd parted, revealing Applejack. The orange mare looked uncomfortable as she looked at them. John closed his eyes in frustration, trying to maintain his calm state of mind. They weren't making it easy though; he could sense them coming closer as he stopped dead in the square.

The entire square suddenly went completely silent as he opened his eyes, glaring round at them all. They were all staring at him, some confused and some wary. He turned around, moving his gaze to the group of friends.

"What?" John growled at them, unblinking.

"How can you be so calm, darling?"

John snapped his gaze to Rarity, twitching. He took a step towards her, not trying to seem intimidating, but failing horribly. As he moved, he dropped the cake.

"Calm?" He asked, his voice wavering.

"You look like you're having a good day, like absolutely everything was perfect..." Rarity winced as John twitched again.

"You think I'm having a good day?"

"Erm...well...you see..."

"You really think that I'm having a good day? After yesterday?"

John didn't regret the metaphorical venom he spat at her, as he took another step forward. He realised, for the first time, that he towered over the unicorn, who seemed to shrink beneath him. He lowered his head to hers.

"Yes. I'm having a perfect day." He whispered, hysteria taking over. He stood up straight, gaining a few stares from the crowds that had gathered.

"Of course I'm having a good day, I mean, how could I not? The past week of my life has been perfect!"

Applejack pushed herself between the two, pushing her head up defensively. John giggled at the act, feeling his temporary insanity taking over even more. He felt like he was watching the event from outside of his body, curious as to what he coud do.

"Yes! The past week has been perfect!" His out-of-body experience ended, and he found himself pushing his own head against Applejack's, staring straight into her green eyes.

"If, by perfect, you mean..."

It happened again, and John found himself looking out of Shaded's eyes, seeing Shaded's actions. He pulled away from Applejack, moving back a few steps.

"Let's see...hmmmm..."

John put a hoof to his chin, as if he was thinking. Quite a crowd had gathered by now, and they were speaking in hushed whispers.

"Oh! Being thrown into a world that I had no idea how horrible it actually was!"

John winced internally at that statement, but continued.

"Breaking not one, but TWO mares' hearts in ONE night!"

Fluttershy hid behind her freshly styled mane, and Pinkie Pie looked away.

"Having my mind BROKEN and BRAINWASHED by A GOD to ATTACK and KILL both CANTERLOT and PONYVILLE!" The word were drawn out and spoken in a louder voice to put his point across.

"SEEING MY OWN DAUGHTER KILLED IN FRONT OF ME!"

By now he was crying, and the crowd had been stunned into silence, and even more ponies were surrounding them, filling in the gaps. Regardless, he didn't stop.

"BEING TORTURED FOR BEING CONTROLLED! HAVING MY OWN BUCKING FLESH RIPPED OFF OF MY OWN BODY!" He screamed, motioning at his bandages. The crowd gasped in shock, but it wasn't done out of pity. It was genuine fear.

"SAVING MY OWN MAREFRIEND FROM SUICIDE!" He didn't actually believe that Rainbow was specifically his girlfriend, but Shaded's instead. But still, he was Shaded, wasn't he?

"AND NOW! WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT RARITY!"

His hooves started to glow with his familiar blue aura, which in the sunlight, looked just like the same shade as Luna's. Rarity started to cry tears of... something. He couldn't tell what they were though.

"ANSWER ME! WHAT HAPPENED!"

His own anger scared him. The entire town seemed to fall away into a blackness that came from nowhere. He couldn't see anything but the four cowering mares in front of him, which severely struck hard against his heartstrings. It wasn't their falt, but at the same time, who actually cared? His entire life he took the blame for everything, even if he didn't have anything to do with it, so it felt nice to see someone, or at least, somepony else taking the blame.

Each of the mares were shivering in fright as he towered over them, his hooves glowing bright blue. Something snapped inside him as he raised them to his eyes. This wasn't him. This isn't how he should deal with his problems. He turned to his right, and saw several extremely young fillies cowering behind each other, framed against the darkness of his mind. His hooves extinguished themselves as he regarded them.

His emotions faded into nothingness, replaced with regret and sorrow again. He blinked and the town returned. Almost everypony that resided in Ponyville was an onlooker at the confrontation. Hot tears streaked down his cheeks, but he was too numb inside to care.

Why?

Rarity tried to speak, but couldn't form words. John lowered his head, now fully back in his own body. The tears dripped onto the ground below, seeping into the dirt. He tried to bring himself to apologise, but felt as if he couldn't.

Applejack mumbled something inaudible to him, and his eyes shot up at her.

"What did you say?" He whispered emotionlessly, not wanting to shout anymore.

She mumbled again, making Rarity nudge her. When she didn't answer, Rarity gave up.

John turned around to walk away, only to find himself face to face with a gigantic red stallion. The stallion in question was wearing a yoke, and chewing on a piece of wheat. The look the stallion was giving him was one of sympathy, but of hatred as well. This, strangely, made John even angrier than he was before.

"Out of the way. Now." The harshness in the sentence made the stallion blink. Big Macintosh frowned down at him, whilst John stared up at him. The crowd began to sound angry.

"Eenope."

John sighed, a grimace on his lips as he stood up on his hind legs, without using his wings for support.

"For your own safety. Move."

"Those sound an awful lot like fightin' words mister. Ya'll just threatened ma sis'."

Wordlessly, John raised a hoof, lifting Macintosh off the ground. The stallion struggled in his powerful telekinetic grasp, only to fail miserably. The magic intensified, creating strong winds that encircled the pair in a swirl of dust and leaves. A cold chill swept through Ponyville, but was completely unnoticed by John.

He was suddenly tackled to the ground by somepony, making him lose hold of the grip. The winds stopped, and he dust settled, revealing his assailant. It was Twilight. She teleported the two of them away from the crowd and her friends, into the library.

It was strangely comforting knowing she was there to stop him, but it only made him feel worse. She immediately began the questioning.

"What was all that about?" Her tone was worried, but stern. John ignored her, letting his anger subside. But he still had that feeling of...

Shit.

"Twilight. Please go upstairs for a minute." He sounded unnaturally calm, and Twilight gave him a funny look, but followed the order without a second thought. John walked over to the carved wooden wall, and tapped it lightly. There was no hollow thud, so it was sturdy. Good.

John released all of his built up anger in a single punch, screaming out in frustration as he did so. What he didn't expect, however, was for his hoof to punch a large hole in the wall with a splintering of wood.

Double shit.

Twilight ran back down the stairs, having heard the impact. Apon seeing his facial expression and the hole in the wall, she hugged him tightly.

"Please listen to me. I didn't mean to make you angry."

John returned the hug, but in a friendly manner. The chill had now been expelled from inside him, and he could think a bit clearer.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think."

Twilight released him from the hug. "Can you tell me what happened now that you don't seem angry anymore?"

John nodded, and started.

"I went to the market, to see if there was anything we could have for breakfast. There was nothing, so I went to Sugarcube Corner. I didn't see Pinkie inside, so I went in. There was a cake on the counter, but nopony there. So I went outside, but was blocked by Pinkie. She gave me the cake, and I left. But then, as if by chance," John said it with pure sarcasm, "Rarity and Fluttershy appeared. Then Applejack."

Twilight nodded in understanding, but looked a bit suspicious at his explanation so far.

"Rarity asked one of the most stupid questions I have ever heard."

"If you were alright?" Twilight asked.

"No. Why I was so calm. I mean, how can I be calm right now? I was ignoring it, but she didn't seem to realise it. I started yelling at them, and then Big Mac intervened, and then you teleported us back here."

Twilight smiled at him, brightening the mood.

"Sounds like an interesting morning. My morning was no better."

"Oh really? What did you do, considering I've been gone for about an hour."

Twilight shook her head. "Nope. Six hours. It's just gone past noon." John looked outside, and sure enough, the sun was straight above him. Strange. Equestrian time is very different to Earth time.

"Okay... What did you do this morning Twilight?"

She picked up a piece of paper from a stack nearby, levitating it towards John. He accepted it. Yet again, it was written in Equestrian. Facehoofing, he turned to Twilight.

"I'm sorry... I never really learnt how to read." Twilight just stared at him, her jaw literally touching the floor. All she could make was little sounds like "eh" and "wha", as she physically burst into flame.

"WHAT? How could YOU, of all the ponies I know, not know how to read?"

"I never really learnt. Didn't think I would need it. Never told my parents though." John grimaced as Twilight rolled her eyes.

"I'll teach you later. Anyway, this is a spell that will let me find Rainbow Dash!"

John grinned, and hugged Twilight. She was smiling broadly, and gladly returned the hug.

"Have you already found her?"

Twilight stopped smiling as widely. John noticed it as she pulled away from the hug, looking really uncomfortable.

"Yes, I have..."

If John had them, he would have raised an eyebrow. "Well? Where is she?"

Twilight glanced out of the window. John immediately knew where she was, and couldn't help but close his eyes in frustration, his brain opening a few days of repressed memories.

"Canterlot."

"Twilight. Are you absolutely sure that Rainbow Dash is in Canterlot? I mean, why would Discord take her to Canterlot?" John refused to believe the results of Twilight's spell, trying to make himself believe that it had gone wrong somewhere, but deep inside him, he already knew that it was true.

Twilight didn't respond, staring down at the floor. Her dark puple mane hid her face from John's view. She didn't want to believe it either, but there was something else on her mind that he noticed immediately.

"Twilight? What is it?" She was obviously troubled by something, and it looked as if it was killing her inside. He put a hoof on her back to try to comfort her. She slowly looked up at him, her eyes meeting his own. They had no indication of love, thankfully, just trust.

"It's the Princess. I've been her personal student almost all of my life, and I trust her completely, but," she sniffed, "I don't trust her anymore. After seeing you in the dungeon, and now..." John pulled her into another hug. She gladly returned it, burying her head into his shoulder.

It's true. The Princess hasn't exactly been herself. Hang on... Been...Herself?

It all clicked together, finally finishing the puzzle.

The Princess acting differently, her eyes, her magic aura... It all makes sense.

"That isn't Princess Celestia. Do you recall your Brother's wedding?" Twilight nodded, not seeing his point. "I think that something has happened to the Princess, similar to what happened to Princess Cadence."

It dawned on her then, and her eyes grew wide, her mouth opening in surprise. "You don't think that..."

John nodded, looking out the window.  "We don't have a chance if Discord and Chrysalis have teamed up if it's only us. We're going to need help. A lot of help." He walked to the door, and placed a hoof against it.

"Where are you going?" Twilight stopped him from opening the door with her magic, approaching him. John turned around, pain evident in his eyes. Without saying a word, he placed his head aginst hers in a manner that two siblings would.

"I need you to get anypony that will listen to join our cause. Without any backup, we will fail. Equestria will die." He whispered, opening the door with his hind legs. John felt starngely calm as he stepped backwards. Twilight had tears in her eyes as she watched him move backwards.

"What if I fail?"

John gritted his teeth. This would be the hardest lie to believe yet. But at the same time, he completely believed it. His doubt was swallowed, replaced with prid in the purple unicorn.

"You won't. I know you won't fail."

From the bottom of his hooves, a shadow erupted, ending just before Twilight's. The warm sun's rays fell down onto his back, making him spread his wings. He chuckled mentally, imagining how he would look to Twilight. She smiled up at him, looking confident and determined.

"You didn't answer my question."

John rolled his eyes. "I'm going to make peace with myself, before I go insane. And, if I remember correctly, I have some friends in higher places that could help us. But first, I need to speak with a few ponies."

Twilight nodded in silence, before levitating an unidentifiable object from inside towrds him. On closer inspection, it looked like a necklace. Twilight placed it around his neck lightly. He couldn't see it clearly, but it looked like it was made of silver, with a multicoloured gem inside a circle.

He lowered his head to it, cupping the necklace in his hoof. The gem seemed to change colour across the full spectrum as he tilted it. It shined with a brillance only the stars themselves could match, refleting the light in all directions. Grinning in happiness, he looked back up at Twilight, who was blushing a deep red.

"It was a gift for your birthday a year ago, but we never got to give it to you, before you...you know...died." The embaressment on her face was extremely funny, and he couldn't resist chuckling quietly. Twilight slapped him lightly across the face with her hoof, before embracing him again.

"It's unfortunate really, how you returned. But you're back now, and that's what matters. And since I know you're thinking about it, no, I don't see you as a love interest. I see you as another older brother, much like Shining Armour. Not as special, but still..."

John put a hoof over her mouth, sighing in relief.

"Good luck."

And then he was gone through the door, closing it behind him. A he stepped out onto the street again, he felt a tingle down in his stomache, followed by a growling. He facehoofed hard, before looking at the apple trees in the distance, licking his lips.

"I haven't eaten in two days..."

All his previous plans were pushed aside as he started walking in a direction that hopefully led to Sweet Apple Acres. He could easily kill two birds with one stone now, but only if Applejack was willing to listen. He let his thoughts absorb him as he mindlessly walked through the town, ignoring the stares he got because of earlier.

Eventually, the buildings stopped appearing so frequently, replaced with more and more apple trees. The air was thick with the scent of the fruit, and he could almost taste apples in the air as well. He slowed down his pace as the trees revealed the familiar entrance to the farm.

There was nopony in sight as he walked through, the dust beneath his hooves dry. It was eerily silent. He went up to the lonely house that resided in the farm, and knocked once on the door. There was no answer. Putting his ear against the wood, he could faintly hear somepony upstairs. Stepping backwards, he stretched his wings and landed on the roof with a very quiet thump. Using his magic, he levitated himself in the air and looked through a window.

To his surprise, it was the window to Applejack's room. The orange mare was sitting on her bed, with a yellow filly and a red stallion. They were talking to her, and John kept quiet. They were literally inches away from each other, with only a pane of glass to seperate them, so the slightest sound would alert them to his presence. He couldn't hear what they were saying, so he watched.

Soon enough, Big Macintosh and Applebloom left Applejack on her own. When they closed the door behind them, he tapped on thr window with his hoof. Applejack looked round wth a speed that would be very hard to match, and saw the neutral faced pegasus floating outside the window. John winced as she took a step towards the glass, looking really depressed. With a sigh, he pulled the window open, and flew inside.

Not wanting to waste any time, he got straight to the point. "Applejack. Listen to me. If you don't believe anything I am about to say, you can kick me as hard as you want." John landed in front of her, which attracted her atttention.

"Right. Can you forgive me for earlier? I shouldn't have kicked off like that, and I certainly shouldn't have blamed you for for what happened to Rainbow Dash. I just lost my cool, and it's been one hell of a week for me, and-"

He was interrupted by a swift kick to the ribs, making him stumble backwards. Applejack quickly stepped over him, and offered a hoof to help him up. Accepting it, John pulled himself up.

"'Twas mah fault that Rainbow was taken. Ah was the one that convinced Rarity and the girls to question yah..." There were tears in her green eyes as she spoke, showing her true emotions.

"That's not why I'm here Applejack. We may forgive each other, but there is something even more important to deal with at the moment," John glanced at the window, "So I need you to go to the library. Twilight and I will explain everything later, but I need to get the girls first."

He pulled away after giving her a quick hug, and retreated through the window without giving her time to complain. He began to fly away, but Applejack pulled him backwards with a lasso. It looped around his waist, and he rolled his eyes, before landing by the front door. Applejack was standing there with the lasso in her mouth, and motioned towards a bag.

She opened the bag, and dropped the lasso. She picked up an apple pie, and passed it to John, who somehow ate it in one gulp.

The fuck? How did I do that?

Dismissing the thought, he thanked Applejack, and took flight to his next stop. The Everfree Forest sped past underneath him as he searched for Fluttershy's cottage.

Where is it? Where is it? Ah, there!

He circled down, landing on the bridge that lead to her cottage. Even from here, he could hear the faint sound of somepony crying. Shaking his head, he walked up to the door, hanging his head in genuine shame. Raising a hoof, he tapped on the door. It swung open almost immediately, a white rabbit that John recognised as Angel opening the door. The rabbit was about to close it again, but John graabbed him with his magic, pulling him outside the door.

He put the rabbit down gently, lowering his head to speak to him.

"Listen to me Angel. I know you're mad at me for making Fluttershy cry, but please, listen to me. I am really sorry. I had a bad day, and needed to release it. But now, I need your help," Angel looked away, making John sigh, "You'll get a nice tasty carrot if you help me."

Angel's ears perked up, and he nodded slowly, suspicious.

"I need you to tell Fluttershy to come to the library as soon as possible. Tell her that we found Rainbow Dash. And tell her that Shaded says sorry." With that parting sentence, he nudged the rabbit back inside, and closed the door, looking into the distance.

It would be better if Angel told her. I would only make things worse.

Darting up into the air, he flapped his wings, reaching Ponyville in no time at all. Seeing Rarity's house first, he entered through the front door to her shop. There was nopony there, so he looked around. Rarity had left some paper and a pencil on the counter, so he picked up the pencil and started a message, reading it aloud as he wrote it.

"Rarity. It would mean the world to me if you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my actions this morning. It hadn't exactly been the best day so far, and you were only curious. I shouldn't have started an argument with you about it. I am extremely sorry about it, and can only hope for your forgiveness. When you read this, could you please go to the library as soon as possible. Twilight has found Rainbow Dash. Shaded."

As soon as he finished, putting the pencil down, he frowned and tried to read it. Unfortunately, it seemed that using magic to write a letter translated it into Equestrian. He blinked a few times at the unknown symbols, and shook his head.

He exited again, his mind even clearer.

One left. And, unfortunately, the one that'll be the hardest to talk to.

He walked back into the square, and went into Sugarcube Corner. Mrs Cake was behind the counter, selling some muffins to a certain grey pegasus. Derpy happily skipped past John, tripping as she left. Mrs Cake smiled apologetically at John, before addressing him.

"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! How can I help you?"

John uncomfortably shifted, before looking up at the ceiling. "Is Pinkie Pie here?"

Mrs Cake looked thoughtful, and nodded.

"Have you got any candy I could use?" John hated to ask, but he still had a few bits with him. As he took them out, Mrs Cake waved them away.

"No, no no no. It's free. We were going to throw it out anyway," She pulled out an absolutely huge bag of mixed candy, "So you can have it."

"Thank you." John opened the bag with his magic, leaving Mrs Cake completely gobsmacked, and started placing the candy in a line to the door.

(10 Minutes Later...)

Twilight looked out of the window with Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy, brought to giggles by the incredibly strange sight of Shaded Comet luring Pinkie to the Library with candy that he placed on the floor. The pink party pony willingly followed, her hair bouncy instead of straight. It was just a hilarious sight that ended with Shaded walking calmly through the door, and Pinkie finally realising where she was with a shout of surprise.

She turned round to the assembled girls, and motioned for them to sit on the provided cushions. They all sat, and Shaded began to speak.

"Okay. You're all here. Good. First of all, I am sorry to all of you. Over the past few days, I have acted like an absolute idiot and have been exceptionally cruel to you. Last night and this morning being perfect examples. It was my fault that Rainbow Dash was taken by Discord, and I shouldn't have blamed you all for it. Even so, if you wanted to talk to me, you didn't need to attack me and tie me up," Applejack looked away, "But still, I forgive you for that. All I ask is that you can forgive me for my actions."

He was immediately hugged by the four mares at the same time, making Twilight giggle again. Shaking his head, he continued when they released him.

"Now. As I am sure I have already told some of you, Twilight has found Rainbow Dash."

"Well what are we waiting for, darling?" Rarity asked, with the other three mares nodding in agreement.

John coughed awkwardly, grimacing. "She's been brought to Canterlot. Now, Twilight and I have a theory why."

Questioning looks all around him made him move on.

"It's a trap." Fluttershy realised before the others, putting a hoof to her mouth. John nodded.

"Yes. But we can't ignore it. Discord wants me to go to Canterlot to try and free her. Unfortunately, Twilight and I also have a theory as to why Princess Celestia didn't help you when Discord took the Elements." John glanced at Twilight, who shook her head.

"Princess Celestia has also been taken, but a lot longer before Rainbow Dash was. Since that point in time, an imposter has been the Princess. You already know her, as do I. She is the Changlings' leader, Queen Chrysalis."

They all either gasped or bared their teeth.

"She was at the wedding two years ago. She almost beat us. And now she's back, with Discord to back her up. Together, they're only just unstoppable. And since we don't have the Elements, they are practically invincible. And that's where you come in."

Twilight continued for him, and John took a step backwards.

"We're going to need help if we want any chance at defeating them. So, we are going to go and rally some help in the more peaceful towns and cities, whilst Shaded goes to the more violent places. We need all the help we can get."

Rarity put a hoof up, to ask a question.

"What happens if we fail?"

Twilight glanced back at John, who nodded.

"If we fail, Equestria dies."