The Tale Of A Shaded Comet

Chapter 25: March Onwards, For Equestria!

"Shaded?"

John's eyes snapped open. Beside him, curled up underneath his outstretched wing, he could just about see Hope in the dim lighting inside the makeshift barracks. She was still deeply asleep, and gently snoring in the midst of her peaceful slumber. Her light yellow mane fell gracefully around her face, framing it innocently in the twilight. John couldn't help but smile sadly, his eyes beginning to water. He couldn't help but think that this could be, yet again, the very last time he'd see her. The very last time he'd hear her. The very last time he'd hold her close, so close that they could both feel each other's heartbeat. They had only just been reunited, but to be torn apart from each other's embrace so soon? It broke John. He, the night before, after Applejack had handed her to him, had explained everything to her, down to the littlest detail. She wasn't that young, so she knew the implications of what was going to happen, and she understood completely. Hope didn't want him to leave, but he had to. This was his mess, and he had to clean it up.

"Darling? It's time." He whispered to her, nudging her with the end of his wing. She woke almost immediately, and pulled herself closer to him, wrapping her hooves around his neck as she dragged herself up to meet his eye level. Without saying a word, she embraced John tightly, laying her head against John's cheek. In this position, he could feel the warm wetness of their shared tears dripping down both of their cheeks, pooling into the bedding and sheets below them, leaving a dark splotch that was still visible in the low light levels. They stayed in this position for what seemed to be hours, mutely dwelling on their relationship and memories together. Deep down inside him, right in the bottom of his heart, John knew that they shouldn't do this, that he should have never told her that this could be the very last of their time together. That he could destroy his integrity, and fool himself into believing that he would be fine.

But he knew otherwise, and so did she. Even with the possibility of him returning, it was wiser, John decided to be on the safe side and spend what could be his last moments with her together, thinking of the happier times.

"Hope? Do you remember that Christmas?" he asked, breathing in slowly.

"How could I forget? She was never there, but you were. I got everything I wanted and more; it was the best Christmas ever." She smiled into his cheek, the tears still flowing between them. John smiled back.

"Shaded?" The voice called again. It was Gage.

Sighing, John rolled onto his back, pushing Hope above him. She giggled in response, and he kissed her on the forehead again. Pushing upwards with his wings, he sat up straight, still holding her in his hooves.

It was time.

"Darling? I have to go now."

Her bottom lip quivered, and her rose eyes watered in the darkness. Her entire body quivered with the silent sobs in his forelegs. Lifting her up onto his back, she gripped his mane and neck tightly, but not tight enough to suffocate him. Satisfied that her grip was strong, he stood up on all four hooves, and pushed through the "door", which was in reality just a veil of black cloth. As expected, Gage was waiting outside in full armour, his sword in a sheath at his side.

"I'm sorry about this Shaded, but..."

"I know."

John walked past him, trying to stay composed and strong, but only just succeeding. If one was to look closely, his legs were trembling, his brow was drowned with sweat, and his cheeks were streaked with tears. Walking through the barracks, a few soldiers noticed these signs and gave him looks of anguish and empathised pain.

All saluted however as he walked past, but he didn't acknowledge their gestures or their expressions, his face of stone and his body unresponsive as he stepped past, his hoofsteps echoing against the respectful silence. The barracks themselves were a sequence of large tents containing smaller tents and dividing walls. At the entrance or exit to each tent, was a grey rectangle of fabric, adorned with an embroidery of Shaded's, no... His cutie mark, John's own cutie mark. Pushing through this final barrier with no resistance, he felt the cool air of the extended night kissing his cheeks, drying out the watery residue.

Outside, waiting very patiently, was four of the five girls he would be protecting. He ignored all of them, continuing to walk on. He lowered his head, letting Hope hug him tighter, refusing to let go as she saw who was with them.

"Captain." John spluttered out thanks to the tears. "Zecora."

They both nodded, and John lifted his head up, turning it round so he could look at Hope. "Hope...please. Go with Zecora. She'll be looking after you for now."

The filly stood her ground, a hint of Rainbow Dash in her attitude.

"No! I want to stay with you!"

"Hope...please."

"No!"

"I don't want to do this either, but it has to be done. Please, just go with Zecora, Hope."

She broke, the tears falling again. Her chest heaved with each heart breaking sob, but she eventually slid off of his back, and walked in front of him. John felt ill, leaving his daughter alone, even if it was in the hooves of the dependable Zecora.

"I love you so much..." He whispered, stroking aside an errant strand of her blond mane, looking deeply into her rose eyes, and kissing her on the forehead again, but with as much fatherly love he could muster. She jumped on him, wrapping her hooves around him one final time, pouring her heart out.

"You'd better... come back...promise me..." She sniffled, refusing to let go. John's composure flickered, and he dropped his voice a few decibels, so only Hope could hear him.

"Cross my heart...and hope to fly...Stick a...cupcake...in my...eye..." He softly whispered, nuzzling her face.

Pushing her lightly towards the zebra, he swallowed heavily, looking around with his blurred vision. Twilight and her friends were softly crying, whilst Gage and Shining Armour were beginning to look a bit uncomfortable, on the verge of tears. Taking what could be his very last look at his daughter, he nodded stiffly at Zecora, who wiped away her tears with the back of her hoof, and began to walk away, Hope close behind, never looking away from John.

Amidst all his emotional termoil, he felt a spark grow inside him. He allowed it to fill him, and began to sing.

"I gaze off into the boundless skyline,

Heavenly choirs singing in the sunshine.

Turn 'round pick up my sword and wield

The blade that'll force all evil to yield.

If this battle should leave me slain,

I know pure evil will call my name.

Better to take a stand,

Than to let that evil rule the land."

All the ponies around him were moved to tears by the small performance, and when he looked again, Hope was gone.

"Too right Shaded. Get suited up; we're gathering in about ten minutes. And for what it's worth...I'm really sad now. I mean, you and your daughter had just..."

"It's all right Gage. She'll be fine."

"That's not my point. That promise...you can't actually promise that."

"I know. And that's why I have ponies like you to guard the rear."

Gage snorted in sad laughter. "Rarity has your armour. She's been adding things to it. I won't say what, but let's say it's her way of apologising."

John raised his eyebrow, eager to take his mind off of Hope.

/br/

As soon as John stepped inside Rarity's illuminated shop and home, he realised that he was being followed. It was that sensation in the pit of one's stomach, that someone, or somepony, or something, was following you closely. He turned his head around, revealing Twilight and the other Elements. They still had streaks of tears on their faces, not in the slightest looking happy. Then again, why should they look happy? They were going to war.

"Girls." John said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. He knew why they were here.

"Shaded... I'm so sorry..." Twilight began, reaching out a hoof towards him.

"Don't be. It's not your fault." He pushed her hoof away lightly, seeing the emotional pain in her eyes. Behind her, he could see their reactions as well in the shop, the studio lights reflecting off their teary eyes. "I was brought back to do this. To get you inside Canterlot, so you can defeat Discord and Chrysalis. So you can save Equestria. Not to make friends." What the?! I wasn't going to say that!

She was visibly hurt then, wincing at his cruel words. After a moment, she leaned forwards.

"What about Rainbow Dash? I thought you loved her, we thought you loved her!" She shouted at him, her horn flaring up in confused anger.

"I do...but you don't understand." He returned, his voice hoarse, almost a whisper in volume. What the hell?! What's going on!

Fluttershy surged forwards with a blast of air, her face contorted with fury. John flinched, jumping back from the butter-yellow pegasus. What the hell! Fluttershy? What...? Why is my body acting like this!?

"Understand what? That you don't love Rainbow Dash? That you cheated on her, driving her to try to commit suicide?"

That stung, to say the least. Seeing the Element of Kindness delivering such a low blow to his emotions well, killed him inside. Anger reared it's ugly head, but he quickly dispelled it, trying to regain control. His mouth, however, refused to follow his orders.

"She doesn't love me..." He whispered, his body seemingly being controlled by another being, another consciousness, instead of his own. She jumped forward at him, teeth bared. He recoiled in shock, his wings bursting out at his sides in surprise.

"How..dare..you. HOW DARE YOU! You think that, even through this, Rainbow Dash stopped loving you? She cried every night! Every night! For you! She refused to go and find another stallion, because she loved YOU! At least once a week, she'd go and cry at your statue, for YOU! YOU, SHADED COMET!"

"My name...is not...Shaded." John growled at her, but she didn't back down. There was a scream of frustration from Fluttershy and a gasp from the girls as a hoof made contact with the side of his head, and he was flung to the floor on his side, hearing one of his wings crack underneath him. He could taste blood in his mouth. Hissing in pain, he shook his head to clear his watery eyes, glaring up at the mare who'd just hit him.

The mare opened her bright blue eyes in shock at her actions, staring at her quivering hoof, and blinking rapidly. Her pink mane shook as she shook her head in disbelief at her action. John lifted a hoof up to his cheek, feeling for the exact place where she had struck him. Finding it and wincing, he turned to look at a mirror. He couldn't see his wing behind him, and he didn't dare to look. Removing his hoof, he stared at the silver-backed glass, straight at the red impact mark on the side of his jaw. Spitting out blood onto the floor, his right eye twitched as he looked up at the mare.

"I'm so sorry...I don't know what came over me..." She tentatively reached a hoof down to help him up, but he slapped it away as he shuffled backwards, his damaged wing protesting against the action. Fluttershy looked as though she'd been slapped across the face, before trying to help him up again.

"Get away from me." John hissed, trying as hard as he could to not get up and scream at her. What is this?! Get OUT of my brain! NOW!

"Shaded...please...I'm sorry..."

That name again. John growled, batting her hoof away again.

"What is going on in here? Shaded! Why are you slapping Fluttershy away?!" Rarity burst in from a door facing away from him, at such an angle so as she couldn't see the mark on his cheek.

Shaded... My name is not...Shaded. Grrr... GET OUT!

He could see his vision clouding in anger, the red threatening to overtake his body. He fought it as best he could, focusing on calmness. But his brain was not complying, and neither was Fluttershy. She kept trying to apologise, lowering down a hoof to help him once again.

He turned away as fast as he could, clenching his eyes shut.

"Shaded!"

That was it. He felt himself jump up, his eyes opening in fury. Various images flashed in front of him, rendering him as confused as he'd ever been. There was a mixture of his and not his. But one persistant image and thought flashed every few seconds.

I could never hate the mare I love, Dashie.

He's ruined my life...

He heard ghost voices, making his ears ring as he fell to the floor, curling up into a ball and whispering to himself, his mouth repeating each voice.

"Why did I say I didn't love you?"

Each thought echoed, as did every word. It sounded and felt to him as if he was in a gigantic empty space, listening to the emptiness mimic him.

"Shaded? Shaded!" Gage's voice sounded so far away, so so so far away. Darkness was on the edge of his flickering vision, and he giggled quietly to himself, for no reason whatsoever.

"Remember Hope! Shaded! Listen to me! Hope needs you! We need you!"

It all disappeared, and he breathed out a breath that he'd apparently been holding in. With a grunt, he placed a hoof in front of him, shivering from a cold that chilled him to the bone. He felt somepony push him back down onto his stomach with their hooves, inspecting his left wing; the one he had fallen on. Gasps throughout the room filled his ears, with one meek yellow pegasus softly whispering "I'm sorry."

"Shaded. You've twisted your wing. I'm going to put it back into place, okay...?"

"Okay." John coughed out, gritting his teeth as Gage put one of his hooves on his back, and with another pony that he couldn't see, began to move his wing back into place. The pain was upon him in an instant, and as quickly as it had appeared, Gage grunted and the agony was gone. Letting out a sigh, the stallion moved in front of him and offered a hoof to help him up.

Graciously accepting it, John pulled himself up and looked around. It seemed as if the girls had been ushered out of the building by a couple of ponies, namely Gage and Speedy Recovery. In front of him, placed upon a mannequin, was what he guessed to be his armour, hidden beneath a shroud of fabric.

"What the hell just happened?" He asked, carefully lifting a hoof up to his wing to see what had happened. It flexed fine, flapped fine and was, on a quick inspection, fine overall.

"Your wing was just twisted all the way round mate. You're lucky you didn't black out. I would have." Gage nudged him, smirking. "If it wasn't for your brother, I wouldn't have known what to do."

I hate this lie. This time, there was nothing controlling him. He had free reign of his own body again.

"Thanks Speedy."

"No problem, though I'd suggest getting your armour on." Shaded's brother replied.

"Fair enough."

"I've got to get back to Blitz and Bright, so hurry up Shaded."

"And I've got to get back to Iron Heart. He'll go nuts if I'm late."

After a nod from John , the two left the establishment in silence, closing the door behind them.

"So...this is it." He whispered to himself, calmly walking towards his armour, each hoofstep eerily echoing with a thump in the empty establishment. He had a feeling in the pit of his stomach, that feeling. Fear. Breathing in slowly and deeply, he placed a hoof against the cold material hiding his armour, letting the cold metal underneath cool him down, sighing in anticipation. Taking his time to be alone with his thoughts, he placed his head against the hidden chestplate, letting his mane fall over his face.

"Dashie...I'll be there soon, just hold on. That...," He grimaced, turning his head away in disgust at the memory, "Bastard... Yeah, bastard." Closing his eyes, he hissed the name.

"Discord."

A chill went down his spine. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and a faint tingling sensation went down each of his limbs as his eyes snapped open in retaliation to the tingling. The fear in the bottom of his gut grew larger, and he shivered at thought of what he could have done to her, what Chrysalis could have done to her. If anypony were to be standing around to see, they would have seen his eyes glinting with rage, temporarily flashing a deep crimson similar to the hue of his eyes.

"He will pay." John spat, imagining what he could do to him in retribution for his crimes. As each creative thought flashed past, he found each increasingly painful for him and more funny for himself to think up. As each creation whizzed past, he found himself to be giggling, his brain unrelenting in the images. His laughter built in intensity with each and every picture and situation, before dying in his throat at the last image. As he watched the vision in his mind's eye, he felt himself beginning to be immersed in that blackness again.

Oh no.

/br/

The heavy scent of burning wood hung in the air like a cloud of malice; one sniff could send a pony into a coughing fit. Looking down at his hooves, he found them to be surrounded in not one, not two but three swirling magical auras, each a different colour. Red, blue and yellow. Primary colours. His coat bristled with energy, arcs of electricity springing and crackling across each hair, giving him a truly electrified appearance. As he looked up again, all he could hear was the roaring of fire, the flames of which were at the edges of his vision. Flickering strands of yellow interacted with red, creating a dazzling display of light that was both terrible and beautiful to behold. He could feel the waves of scorching heat as waves of air passed over him, warming him to the core as he watched Ponyville burn.

High above them in the sky, black clouds gathered directly above him, and with each few seconds, a roar of thunder and a flash of light erupted from within their depths. A confusing mixture of raindrops and hailstones fell with the force of bullets, most being vapourised as soon as it came in contact with the flames, but some splattering into the soggy ground, leaving deep imprints and miniature craters where they fell. John watched a single hailstone with an intense glare, following it's descent. It fell at an angle, but then again, every raindrop and hailstone fell at a different angle to another, making it dauntingly impossible to contain. His eyes never left the path of the ball of ice, the deafening silence of peace overwhelming him as he gazed apon where it was going to land.

What is going on?

It landed inches away from a pony. The pony, a pegasus mare, was struggling with all her might to pull her right wing from the remains of a collapsed building that looked as if it was once made of stone. She had been caught, literally, between a rock and a hard place. Surrounding her on every side, inches away from her hooves was the remains of another building, ingulfed in an inferno of death. The only way out was forward, but she couldn't move. Her rose eyes, filled with betrayal and grief, latched onto John's own emotionless pair. With a sickening grin, John made the flames even hotter and even longer, making her scream as one particularly lengthy tendril of flames brushed her flank, burning her just behind her cutie mark, a red, yellow and blue lightning bolt below a cloud.

She remained wordless however, as she struggled valiantly to remove herself. John closed his eyes and breathed in the smoke, listening to the screams of mothers looking for children, of fathers looking for wives, and of siblings looking for siblings. It amused him.

I would never... What is this? Dashie!

John turned his vision to the left, expelling a wall of flame to see what would be revealed. He was rewarded with the sight of an orange earth pony mare bucking a door to a familiar undestroyed building in a frenzied panic, her brown stetson lying forgotten on the sodden ground. After a few kicks, she finally gained entry to the house, and ran inside to rescue whoever was trapped inside. After a few seconds, she reappeared in the doorway with a white unicorn. Their eyes quickly found John, and he cheekily waved to them. Their eyes reflected the same emotions as the mare before. With a quick burst of maniacal laughter, he pulled the building down on them, quickly setting the remains on fire. Unknown to him, the stetson, now trampled into the mud by fleeing ponies, had began to burn.

No! I would never!

He erected the wall of flames again, moving his vision to the left again. This time, when he pulled down the barrier, he was rewarded with the sight of a yellow pegasus and a pink earth pony fleeing a burning building, with the yellow pegasus clutching two screaming foals. With a lazy flick of his hoof, a circle of fire was summoned around the earth pony. It was too high to jump over, and too hot to run through without harm. He grinned in satisfaction as the yellow pegasus, still hovering, had to make a horrible decision: best friend, or children? Before she could make her choice, she was struck with a bolt of lightning, which in turn slammed her into the flames, the foals flying out of her grasp. The earth pony, forgetful of what was surrounding her, burst into a sprint towards the burning pegasus, whose screams could be heard clearly, even from where John was standing. She, in turn, burst into flames. But, tragically and unfortunately, the flames were magical. That meant, in dumbed down terms, they couldn't be put out easily, they were extremely hot and, to top it off, extremely deadly. To his disappointment, they both died within seconds, their bodies turning into ashy husks before he could have any actual fun.

NO! I AM NOT EVIL!

He turned to his left one final time, leaving his eyes to wander over the purple unicorn and her purple dragon, too imersed in disbelief and trepidation to move an inch. Realising what had just happened, she frantically looked around for her friends. When she discovered that they were no more, she turned on him, her eyes glowing a deathly white. With a smirk, as she cast her spell, he half-heartedly held out his hoof, and caught the incoming bolt of magic. The last thing she saw was a flash, quickly followed by a bolt of gigantic proportions speeding towards her from above, leaving a fiery trail of red, blue and yellow behind it. To put it simply, when the smoke had cleared, they were no more.

He looked back to the first mare. Her mane was on fire, as was her tail and her wings. She seemed to have passed out from the pain. Shrugging, he increased the intensity of the flames, leaving them to lick her body as he turned away to behold the chaos, the destruction, the loss he had caused today. With a snigger, he looked up into the sky, staring at the eclipse, and laughing until tears streamed from his eyes.

No...

/br/

John breathed in, cold sweat beading his forehead, his body and mind numb.

"Wh...at?" He coughed, shivering. What was that?

Sitting down with an audible thump on the cold floor, he held his head in his hooves, and began to try and control his breathing. Right now, he felt confused. Alone. His emotions waged war inside of him, fighting for dominance over his actions. Blanking them, he focused on one thought. Dashie.

A knock on the door from outside broke his concentration, and he answered with a shaky "Yes?". Nopony came in, so he tried again. "Yes?"

"Shaded?" It was Gage. "I hope you're done admiring your armour, 'cause we're gonna move in a minute. Hurry up!"

With a confused sigh, he stood up again, and pulled the cover off of his armour. He didn't pause to look at it or the changes made, instead pulling all of the required parts on in order faster than he deemed possible. With a grunt, he finished tightening the chestplate and the straps for nocturnumque. Shaking his mane, he tied the helmet strap to a new hook on the side of his armour, and looked at himself in a mirror nearby.

There were two things he noticed immediately.

The first was his eyes. They looked haunted, empty, deviod of any and all emotion. Just as well, he wouldn't be showing mercy to those who desired it.

The second was one word written in white on the left side of his chest plate, directly over his heart. Hope.

Smiling to himself, he turned towards the door. With a confident smirk to himself, ignoring his eyes, he stepped outside.

Arranged outside, visible in the darkness, was row after row after row of gleaming gold armour, all at different heights to the next. Row after row of determined ponies, of every gender, of every age. Row after row of ponies desiring revenge for family. Row after row to take back Canterlot. Row after row for him.

Keeping a steady beat with his hooves, he kept his head high as he walked past, attempting to find his group. It was easy; the five girls were grouped together, away from the rest and at the front of the rows. As he approached, he could practically taste the bitter resentment radiating off them towards him, and they hid Fluttershy from him as he moved past. Trying not to say anything, he turned to Gage, who was waiting impatiently nearby with Lazer Bright and Infinity Blitz. Each of the stallions had gold armour on as well, with a single blue star in the center, compared to the regular lightning bolt that was the norm. Twilight and her friends were armourless, which would have been wiser; they would move quicker, since they weren't used to the weight.

Gage nodded at him as he approached. "Ready to go get Rainbow Dash?"

"They'll regret the day they took her."

The girls winced in the corner of his eye at this statement, but he disregarded them. Shining Armour, in his signature purple armour, appeared behind Gage. With a nod, he turned with a grimace towards the rows of gold. His horn glowed purple for a second, and he coughed to clear his throat. When he spoke, it was amplified enormously.

"Right! Listen up!"

"The past week has been hell for us, and believe me, we all know it. And I'm definately sure that some of you have been wondering 'where in Tartarus are the princesses?'. So here's your answer."

"Princess Celestia was attacked in the night by Chrysalis, and subsequently captured. Chrysalis drained her of her power, and then put on a performance to fool us. This, my ponies, was over four months ago, when we all thought that the Changlings had been defeated once again."

One massive mix of gasps, growls and howls of anger sprung from the ponies assembled.

"Princess Luna was also attacked in the daytime by Changlings, and overwhelmed as she tried to fight back. She, with the help of Shaded Comet, discovered that Chrysalis had overtaken Celestia, but played along so Discord and Chrysalis didn't catch wind of what we were doing."

"Princess Luna, at the moment of her defeat, was attempting to free Rainbow Dash, a pony some of you are familiar with. Discord had foalnapped her and put her in a cell a week ago, and since then, to our knowledge, there she has remained."

Another gasp from the ponies.

"So now you know why we are fighting. We are fighting for our very freedom. Our leaders. Our role models."

He stepped back, and motioned for Gage to move up. He did so, and Shining cast the spell on him.

"We are fightning for our families, for our friends, for our husbands, for our wives, for our marefriends, coltfriends and any other thing. But most of all, we are fightning for our children. For their future. For our children's children's future. And so forth. Do you want a future where we are all dead? A future where we are used as slaves?"

"NO SIR!" Everypony shouted at the top of their lungs. John felt a heartstring pang as he looked around.

"DO YOU WANT A FUTURE WITHOUT THE THREAT OF CHANGLINGS?!"

"YES SIR!"

"FOR PRINCESS LUNA!"

"FOR PRINCESS LUNA!"

"FOR PRINCESS CELESTIA!"

"FOR PRINCESS CELESTIA!"

"FOR EQUESTRIA!"

"FOR EQUESTRIA!"

"THEN MARCH ONWARDS!"

Forming ranks, the ponies quickly began to stomp forwards, up the road out of Canterlot and towards Canterlot, with vigour and pride in their hearts. John watched as non-combatants waved goodbye to their families and their friends with proud tears streaming down their cheeks. But he couldn't rid himself of the fear in the pit of his stomach, and he couldn't forget that vision.

"Well. This is it." John muttered, before following the five mares and the three stallions into battle.

/br/

Up in one of the highest towers in the castle where the Princesses resided, a certain Queen Chrysalis stood behind a telescope, staring into the distance with a vague interest. She was extremely bored, up to a few seconds ago, when she spotted unnatural activity down in Ponyville. She was still watching, waiting, formulating a plan. They seem to be all ground based, so a ground defense? Yes, with aerial assistance.

Discord was somewhere in the city, causing chaos, wreaking havoc on the remaining ponies. All others had retreated out of Canterlot, or had been...consumed...by the Changlings. She had waited an entire year for this to happen, and now that she had, she was not going to let a single pony and his army destroy her rule.

"Fang! Biter! Prepare a defense!" She called backwards towards her two generals, who had been prodding a knocked out Rainbow Dash. "But first, take her back down to her cell, and throw away the key. I have no more use for her."

"Yes, my queen." They responded, and picked her up between them, carrying her out of the door. As soon as it had been closed, she sat down on Celestia's balcony with a smirk. I'll have to go back down to the throne room to meet him when he arrives, but they won't get the Elements or Rainbow Dash. Because...

"Everything is going as planned."