The Tale Of A Shaded Comet

Shaded Comet jerked backwards violently, his head hitting the back of the bed. The rainbow was healing him. Painfully. But still healing him. His ragged breathing slowly became regular, and he could taste blood. He felt the silky smooth texture of the bedsheets. He felt the presence of Rainbow Dash. And, most importantly, he felt alive.

As the elements began the task of replenishing his lost blood, and repairing the torn flesh and sinew, he had time to think to himself. Rainbow Dash really does love me. Wow. I didn't think she did. But, she almost killed me. It wasn't her fault. You messed with her mind. And for that, Chrysalis, you will pay. Dearly.

He opened his eyes, slowly. The cyan pegasus who he had came to love over the past two months was there to be his first sight. He rainbow mane was messy, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. But she was looking over him, clearly happy and relieved. Smiling, she stared into Shaded's electric blue eyes. Shaded returned the smile, staring just as deeply into her magneta eyes.

Rainbow Dash cautiously leaned in, still looking into Shaded's eyes. Their faces were now only just apart. Shaded moved a lone lock of rainbow hair off her forehead, and she giggled in retaliation. "Ahem. Awkward." Shaded heard Twilight say from what seemed to be the doorway.

Damn. So close. Shaded mentally cursed his luck, turning to Twilight whilst Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck. "Heh... Uh... I'll leave you two alone then." Twilight walked back outside, blushing. Rainbow looked down at him. "Now, where were we?" Shaded shrugged, teasing her.

"I was just so worried. I stabbed you! I almost killed you! You probably hate me now. I'd understand if you hated me." She was now crying again, her tears landing on Shaded's chest.

Shaded couldn't stand it any longer. He pulled her into him, and kissed her on the lips. There was a moment of resistance, and then she returned the kiss. They stayed like that for about a minute. And then Shaded forced himself to break the kiss.

"I could never hate the mare I love, Dashie." He whispered to her, his voice no longer raspy. The Elements had forcefully healed everything. The deepness of his voice surprised him; he was used to speaking with the rasp and pain of his old voice. She closed her eyes, and snuggled closer to him.

As they lay there, he felt Rainbow Dash lay her head on his chest. He welcomed the gesture, and he soon felt sleep tug at his brain. He didn't resist.

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Shaded dreamt he was flying. Rainbow Dash was with him. They casually raced in the night breeze. They flew up into the sky, the wind blowing in his face, chilly and bracing. Increasing his speed, they stopped abruptly in front of the moon. Shaded lowered his hoof, stroking Rainbow's mane. "I love you." Shaded felt better than he had ever felt before. He was alone with the mare he loved, on a beautiful night where the very stars seemed to dull in her presence. He had wanted to do this for a long time. He searched in his bag for the box, and pulled it out, the soft velvet rubbing against his skin.

"Rainbow Dash, you are the most amazing mare I know. You have been a beacon through the darkness, a light that has filled my entire being in the time that we have spent together. I love you, with all my heart." Shaded opened the box, revealing a gold ring with a cyan diamond encrusted in the middle. "Rainbow Dash, will you do me the honour of marrying me?" Rainbow Dash started to cry passionate tears of joy. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I will marry you Shaded Comet!" She hugged him, their lips meeting in a deep kiss. As Shaded put the ring around her left forehoof, he noticed a ripple in the air.

He looked up from Rainbow Dash's hoof, and saw an extremely mismatched creature grinning at them, an indecipherable look on it's face. It held up a lions paw, and pointed at them. Shaded Comet couldn't take his eyes of the creature, as it began to speak.

"Ugh! This is soooooo boring! Time for a little chaos, I think!" Breaking out of the creature's gaze, Shaded watched him as it clicked it's fingers and disappeared. He looked back to Rainbow Dash. And recoiled in shock. She was grey.

"Actually, I've changed my mind. I don't want to marry you anymore. In fact, I don't want to see you again." She snarled at him, baring her teeth. She tore off the ring, and threw it down to the ground. Shaded hung his head in disbelief and sadness, and watched as the mare he loved flew away.

The creature appeared again, in a laughing fit. "Oh, the look on your face! Priceless!" It continued to laugh. It stopped suddenly, and looked at him. "Listen closely." It pulled Shaded's head up, forcing him to look the creature in it's eyes.

The eyes then changed colour, mesmerizing him. "If all love does is make your heart break, then maybe no heart will cure the ache." All of Shaded's emotions faded away, leaving his heart as cold as a rock. Rainbow Dash. He snapped out of the trance, and looked at himself. he was grey, even greyer than he was to start with. Even his mane.

Without Rainbow Dash, he had nothing. He made his desicion. He let his wings snap to his body. And he fell. No screaming; he had no fear. He actually began to laugh hysterically. Seeing the ground approaching, he greeted it. He even saw the thieves from Canterlot.

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He awoke with a gasp, sweating and panting. Rainbow Dash was still, thankfully, peacefully asleep. He couldn't get up, as Dash was still on him, resting. Shaded put his hoof on her shoulder, and nudged it.

"Ughh..." Nudge. "Five more minutes..." Nudge. "Fine... I'll get up." He nudged her anyway. Her eyes opened, and she smiled at him. "I said I'll get up. Now stop it." She punched him playfully.

Rainbow Dash yawned. She still couldn't believe that he had spoke. His voice is beautiful. She kissed him on the cheek as she got up, shaking herself awake. A stray thought passed her by. Cloudsdale.

"Oh buck! Cloudsdale!" She quickly helped Shaded up out of the bed. As his hooves touched the floor, she turned towards the door. He followed her quickly, dismissing the doctor with a single hoof. They quickly took off after they had left, not leaving any time for discussion as they flew as fast as possible into the sunrise.

It didn't look good. There were dead pegusai everywhere, and even more wounded. But there was about two dead Changlings for every dead pegasus. That got her hopes up. Until she reached the barracks, with Shaded close behind.

Chrysalis was holding Soarin' by the throat. The other Sergeants were all knocked out, all seemingly interrogated in the same way. They were surrounded by the dead of both armies, but the Changlings were massing behind Chrysalis, looming over the few pegusai that remained.

Soarin' struggled valiantly, but the lack of oxygen soon got the better of him, and he passed out. Chrysalis turned to her army, and hissed one chilling order.

"Break their wings. All of them." Rainbow Dash hid behind a cloud. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Shaded put a hoof on her, and turned away, not wanting to see the rest. She looked into his eyes. They were, at the moment, cold and harsh. Anger and determination blossomed inside them.

Rainbow Dash began to sob, and she let her head rest on his shoulder. He hugged her. And that's when there was a loud "YEAAAH!".

Shaded looked over the edge. It was Rewire Stitch. She wore a black cloak, and had a bow and arrow. She fired, her accuracy precise, and the barbed arrow hit a Changling straight in the head. The Changlings quickly formed ranks, and began to move forward. The blood red pegasus just continued firing arrow after arrow at the advancing horde.

When they were a suitable distance away, she pulled out a bright silver blade, and readied herself. The Changlings began to speed up. She just stared them down. Shaded's jaw fell open, as did Rainbows, at her bravery. Then the Changlings hit her.

Shaded immediately took flight, and tackled the nearest Changling to the floor, punching until it gave no more resistance, and moved onto the next. He looked over at Rewire. She was blocking blow after blow, and slashed under their guard after each unsuccessful attempt to bring her down. Changling bodies began to pile up around her, but there was more coming.

He and Rainbow began to pick up the unconscious Wonderbolts, lifting them to safety. When Soarin', the last one, had been hidden, they turned towards Rewire, expecting to still see an army.

Instead, all they saw were dozens of dead Changlings, and one moderately unscathed red pegasus. She casually walked up to them. "Pest control is here." Rainbow chuckled, but Shaded was unfazed by the joke. Rewire looked directly at him, her eyes red. "Cloudsdale is lost. There are a lot more Changlings than you think in the city. We need to alert the Princess. The majority of the Battalion is dead. We failed." Shaded nodded.

"Evacuate all survivors to Ponyville." Rainbow looked round at her, and Rewire Stitch nodded. "I'll get help. You tell the Princess." Shaded closed his eyes, listening to the screams of the pegusai as they were butchered in their homes. In their city.

A tear formed in the corner of his eye. Rainbow Dash noticed, and gently wiped it away. "It's okay... What's wrong?" She asked, her eyes searching him. Shaded sighed, and motioned for her to follow him. Shaded quickly took flight, and landed under a tree, about a mile away. When Rainbow landed next to him, he hushed her.

"I'm just thinking back to about four years ago, Dashie. When I got my cutie mark." Shaded stopped, studying her.

"How did you get it?" She whispered, looking into his elecric blue eyes.

"I killed a pony. A pegasus, to be exact." He sighed, turning away. "Why?" Rainbow Dash was still wanting an answer. "He and another pony broke into a shop, murdered the owners and tried to escape..." Shaded scanned the horizon, looking at the bright sun. "How did you kill him? I mean, your cutie mark is a comet, so how can it have anything to do with... oh."

"Exactly." Shaded didn't need to say any more. Rainbow Dash sat next to him, shocked. "I broke the sound barrier and the visible light spectrum, much like when you performed your Sonic Rainboom at Princess Cadence's wedding. Except, when I broke the visible specrum, it turned from light energy into heat energy."

Rainbow silently nodded, letting Shaded advance the story. "After creating a sonic boom and engulfing myself in flames, I caught the thief in mid-air. He screamed so much, Dash. It was obvious that I was hurting him. But I didn't stop. I couldn't control the flames. He died painfully in my arms, his entire body covered in soot and scorch marks."

Shaded turned back to Rainbow Dash, tears in his eyes. "And that's when I was promoted to a Royal Guard Sergeant. But the pegusus' screams still haunt me. I see him in my dreams. I see him when I open my eyes." He blinked back the urge to weep, as Rainbow Dash hugged him firmly.

"It's all in the past now, Shaded. You don't need to worry." She kissed him on the cheek. Shaded was aware of a pony behind her, and regarded him with a glare.

He was a white unicorn, with an ice blue mane that partially covered one of his eyes. His eyes were a cold, icy blue that made his blood run cold. His cutie mark was three icicles, which were the same shade of blue as his mane. And Rainbow Dash recognised him as she looked round in confusion.

"Frostbite..." She growled at him, and then adopted a wide grin. "Good to see you, bud! How's it been?" Frostbite chuckled, and replied with an equally wide grin, "Good to see you too, Rainbow Dash!" The two regarded each other as old friends.

Shaded got up, and raised his hoof to shake Frostbite's hoof. He complied, and Shaded introduced himself. "I am Flight Commander Comet of the First Airborne Battalion." Rainbow giggled. "But you can call me Shaded." He finished, and looked at him. "Well, Shaded. I'm Frostbite. One of the last Cyromancers in Equestria." He replied, with a smug expression.

"I thought that Cyromancers lived in Antarticolt! What are you doing here?" Shaded questioned him, looking into his ice blue eyes. "Learning from a Cyromancer instructor in Manehatten. And trying to find the perfect mare." Frostbite yawned, clearly bored. But his eyes were centered on Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow was blushing furiously; two of the most handsome stallions she had ever seen were in front of her. My heart belongs to Shaded, though. She looked up at the tree, listening to the calming birdsong. "Look. If you ever need me, I'll be in Manehatten." Frostbite spoke to Rainbow Dash. She nodded in confirmation, and waved him away. "Yeah, I heard ya."

"See you around, Commander" He nodded at Shaded, his sarcasm emphasised. Shaded passively stared at him, ignoring his sarcasm. With a breath of icy wind, he disappeared, fading into nothing as he teleported. "He seemed nice." Shaded turned to Rainbow Dash, sarcasm evident in his tone.

She shrugged off the comment, and shook herself. "We need to warn the Princess. Playtime's over."