I really couldn't ask for better reviewers. You people have actually given me so much more confidence in my writing, and the ideas you have given me are inspirational. Anyway, I'm trying to take on a more informal approach to my story, and the reviewers. And Luke is back! YAY! So, without any more blathering, here are some review responses:
AllTheStuffILike - Yes. I agree. More action. About 20% more action will be in chapters further ahead.
GAMMA DAWN14 - Yup. And you did. I have the details. And you weren't logged in, but it was easy to find out who it was.
kabal1337 - Thanks, but I seriously don't know what Luke is planning until I see the storyboard. He's evil like that.
Mavum - I would like to kindly request that you stop reaading the storyboards before me. You kinda hit the nail on the head, if you catch my meaning.
Responses over, so it's story time! Yay!
Chapter 9: The Musician
John shifted uncomfortably on the cushion he was sitting, averting his gaze from the light grey earth pony rushing around in front of him. The Earth pony's mane and tail were a few shades darker than her skin, and she had a purple treble cleft as a cutie mark.
Her flank was thrust in the air as she searched for some instruments, causing John to strain not to look. The pony in question was Octavia who, whilst excited to have someone new join the preparations for the Grand Galloping Gala, still had a duty to perform.
John had expected her to slightly stuck up. But , she was actually really nice, and decently modest about her musical talent. She was eager to find out what instruments John had played and in what style, questioning him on the matter for hours.
When the interrogation was over, she had pulled him into a storage room, intent on finding him the instruments he had mentioned. John looked to his right. There was a violin, a guitar and a piano, which she had pulled from another room on his left, with the help of a few other members of the band that would be playing at the Gala.
When she had finished digging in the forest that was the storeroom, she returned to his side. John turned his head back to the piano, and stood up. Octavia followed his gaze, frowning in confusion.
He began to walk towards the violin, and picked it up. The bow was lying in the case, the wood glistening. As she understood his intentions, she moved backwards and stood next to her own cello, which was resting against the grey wall.
Assuming the appropriate position, John began to play a song that he adored. It was moderately simple, but sounded really nice. As the bow passed over the strings, the song began to take shape.
It was from one of his favourite games: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. He couldn't remember who created the theme, only what it was called. It was the violin parts from the Operation Kingfish theme, from the credits.
As he neared the end, the climax of the moving melody drifting gently into the air, the notes began to get louder. Passing the bow swiftly over the strings, he finished the song. Octavia politely tapped her hooves against the ground.
"That was good Shaded. I think you're going to be perfect for the Grand Galloping Gala."
Octavia watched as he nodded, and set down the instrument, laying it back in the case. Why didn't he speak? Why isn't he talking? She paused, rewinding back to the letter that Princess Celestia had sent her.
It stated that Shaded would see her, and she was to do everything she could to help him express himself musically. That was 6 days ago. The Gala was tomorrow.
Snapping back into reality, she saw Shaded sitting at the piano. Studying him, she also thought of the day, just over a year ago, when his deceased body was preserved by the Princess.
She knew that he was back from the dead, unlike most ponies. He was lucky that the majority of Canterlot's population was Unicorn, and about half of the rest were Earth ponies. And anyway, the only few Pegasai that weren't part of the Royal Guard had never heard of him or his history.
A few chords surged into the air surrounding her; Shaded had begun to play the piano. She closed her eyes, listening to the gentle song flow. Suddenly, vocals joined the song, singing along to the melody.
"Her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining,
Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying,
She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day,"
Octavia opened her eyes, to see Shaded singing along, his voice perfectly merging with the chords.
"Yeah, I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me,
And it's so, it's so, sad to think that she don't see what I see,
But every time she asks me do I look ok, I say..."
Octavia's jaw literally hit the floor as she lost her composure, listening intently to the intensity of his voice. He really could sing.
"When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change,
Cause you're amazing, just the way you are,
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while,
Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are."
"Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she let me,
Her laugh, her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy,
She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day."
"Oh, you know, you know, you know, I'd never ask you to change,
If perfect's what you're searching for then just stay the same,
So, don't even bother asking if you look ok,
You know I'll say..."
"When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change,
Cause you're amazing, just the way you are,
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while,
Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are,
The way you are, the way you are,
Girl you're amazing, just the way you are"
The notes slowed down, signalling the end of the song.
"When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change,
Cause you're amazing, just the way you are,
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while,
Cause girl you're amazing, just the way you are. Yeah."
John breathed deeply, sucking in air to calm him down. That was the first time he had attempted to sing, let alone speak, in Shaded's body. At least it seemed as if Shaded could actually sing before he died.
Octavia smiled deeply at him as he turned round from the piano. His brain kicked into overdrive as he saw the seductive look in her eyes.
"Whoa. Calm down Octavia." He glanced at her body posture. His voice seemed to have awoken her from whatever fantasies she was having, and she blushed a rosy pink. Shaking her head, she smiled guiltily.
"Sorry Shaded. I don't know what came over me." She apologized, and walked over to him, now a little shy. John looked out of the window, trying to distract himself. The sun was beginning to set. Tommorow was the Grand Galloping Gala.
Closing his eyes, he began to drift in his thoughts as if they were a river, slowly floating along the current. He raised his eyes to look up at the sunrise, and by an impulse, nuzzled Octavia, with the intention of comforting her.
She returned the gesture, and together they went outside to stare at the sunset, the beautiful orange glow illuminating their bodies, standing alone against the backdrop of Canterlot.
Rainbow Dash was fuming. When she had arrived in Canterlot, Gage had simply told her that the Princess requested her presence at the Gala. Literally, he could have told her that in a letter! But no, he had to make her travel for one lousy piece of information.
Nevertheless, she was told that Shaded's statue had been destroyed in a freak spell incident. Fresh tears bubbled under her eyes, streaking down her cheeks. Pouring her heart out, she freely sobbed now that she was in the comfort of her own home.
A small puddle of water began on the floor, her pain being ripped out of her by the sheer strength of the tears. She sat like this for a while, her breath coming in ragged gasps, eventually having no more moisture to expend in her teardrops.
After a few more minutes, her sorrow eventually changed to fatigue, and her head drooped to the side, making the streaks of sorrow shine in the moonlight.
John turned restlessly in his bed. The room in the castle that Celestia had given him was softly lit up with Luna's moon. It was also facing Ponyville. He had a horrible feeling of dread deep inside himself. Quietly, he slid out of the bed, and opened the door next to his bed, walking to the balcony outside.
The cool air calmed him slightly. He looked into the distance, clearly seeing Cloudsdale. He looked specifically below it, significantly to a cloud mansion above Ponyville. Rainbow Dash's home. He was strangely drawn to it, not being able to avert his gaze from the rainbow spouting cloud.
A dull throb began again in his head, slowly increasing in pain. Ignoring it, he continued to look to Dash's home. Suddenly, a blistering amount of agony erupted behind his eyeballs, making him drop to the floor, screaming.
He saw things in his mind, as he clutched his head in his hooves, hearing voices at the door slowly fade as he was immersed in whatever he was seeing.
He- No, Shaded Comet was fighting a mirror image of himself. Blood streaked his gold armour from the wounds he had sustained. Small cuts above his eyes caused him to blink rapidly to rid the blood from his sight. As he did so, a searing cut on his hind legs caused him to yelp in pain.
His sight began to desert him from the bloodloss, his opponent clearly suffering lesser injuries. The fake Shaded grinned evily, battering at Shaded's chestplate, making sparks appear from the dented gold.
Staggering back, he raised his gauntlet, blocking another blow. The metal rang loudly, and silence seemed to envelope the battlefield. John saw Cloudsdale under attack from creatures he couldn't identify as Shaded reeled backwards with the impact of the glancing attack.
Time slowed down as Shaded looked up, closing his eyes gently, waiting for his death. It seemd as if he welcomed it. But it never came. The silence was then absolutely destroyed by a massive roar of energy, his eardrums perforating with the volume.
Shaded opened his eyes to see a multicoloured circle expand outwards, and a rainbow tinted streak erupting from it. Squinting, he saw Rainbow Dash speeding towards them, spinning in the air.
Having no strength left to defend himself, he was helplessly picked up by the other Shaded. John saw Shaded look deeply into his doubles eyes. They flashed green, and he was thrown up as a meatshield as Rainbow Dash tore through the air.
His insides were shredded by the impact, and he saw a pair of magneta eyes go wide in shock. Hitting a cloud, they bounced and slid along it's surface. A crimson splatter decorated their path with grisly results.
John saw her crying, and her mouth formed words he couldn't hear. Shaded was picked up, and temporarily blacked out. When he awoke, he had a spasm, and grabbed Rainbow Dash, pulling her close.
She was covered in blood. His blood. Shaded's blood. And then Shaded's vision went black.
John could see no more, but driven by an unexplainable determination, forced himself awake. He could hear ringing in his ears, words barely audible through the haze.
"I was just so worried. I stabbed you! I almost killed you! You probably hate me now. I'd understand if you hated me."
"I could never hate the mare I love, Dashie."
He was covered in a sheen of sweat, and there were several guards standing over him, with worried expressions. Shivering with the cold, they helped him up, and carried him back into his room, closing the door behind them.
Princess Luna was satnding there, confused by the screaming. She motioned for the guards to leave, after thanking them for their services. When they had left the room, she knelt down beside John.
"What did you see?" She asked, concerned. Her blue eyes searched his face for any indication of any answer.
"I...I don't know. I saw the first Shaded getting stabbed by Rainbow Dash in the middle of a battle in Cloudsdale. It was an accident, but..."
She pressed him for more answers, questioning him. "But?"
"There was another Shaded. That's all I remember." He lied about the last part, as she didn't need to know that. She nodded slightly.
"I think you had a vision of the past. You are in another's body, so you will develop their emotions, their thoughts and their memories. Especially their memories."
John sighed in exhaustion. Luna cast a spell on him, and levitated him into his bed.
"You will now be able to sleep peacefully tonight. You will need your energy for tomorrow."
She then said goodnight, and left the room, softly closing the door behind her. John closed his eyes, and was immediately assaulted by sleep.
A/N-
Yay! Lukes back! That means more frequent chapters! Anyway, I really need to stop blathering about everything. I constantly digress from what's important. So, thank you for reading Chapter 9 of "A Tale of a Shaded Comet", and please tell me what you thought of the chapter. You know, the normal stuff. OC submissions are open to any newcomers who enjoy the story, and I would like to congratulate myself on getting past the 20k word milestone! Next stop, 50k!
P.S. The next chapter is the finale of Part 2, and as such, will be longer, contain more action, more heartbreak, more decisions and more complications in Rainbow Dash and Shaded Comet's relatonship! Hurrah!
-Jadazzle1994
