Chapter 10: The Grand Galloping Gala
The moon still hung lazily in the inky sky, glowing with a eerie vibrance whilst the sun began to rise over the horizon. On the marble streets of Canterlot, the air seemed to radiate energy. There was a slight breeze, only just strong enough to make the banners decorating the castle flutter.
It was around midnight, and the city's inhabitants were rushing around in attempts to prepare Canterlot for the Grand Galloping Gala. The opening events were scheduled to begin a couple of hours, and so last minute changes were being made.
The aroma of bread cooking and cakes baking tingled John's sense of smell. He could practically taste the excitement that had Canterlot in an unbreakable vice. The air around him carried the hopes of the castle ponies, faintly smelling of a multitude of baked goods and pastries.
Breathing in slowly, he let his heart slow down. The balcony to his room was blissfully silent, and he could therefore calm himself. His head pulsed with the intense pain that only a migrain could summon.
John slowly looked down at the castle grounds. The guards were patrolling, following their usual routes. Their horns were glowing in the morning darkness, as they searched every last corner, nook and cranny of the Princesses' residence.
Closing his eyes in concentration, he let himself sit aside in the dark corners of his mind, letting the emotional battle continue. Fear and guilt in one corner, confusion and regret in the other.
In other words, his feelings for Octavia and Rainbow Dash were wrestling for control in the ultimate battlefield: his heart.
John and Octavia had become very close over the past seven days, expressing their fondness for each other through their music. John was once a brony, before he died anyway, and thus knew much about everypony's personality. Octavia was intellectual, funny, well humoured and passionate about their feelings towards each other.
As much as it had not gone any further than the kiss they shared about five hours ago, he had wanted to take it more forwards, but his brain won the fight, and he managed to persuade her to stop before she did something she would regret. But he couldn't bring himself to not be worried about any possible outcomes to their relationship.
Shaded's apparent relationship with Rainbow Dash had also troubled John greatly. He had experienced a heartbreaking memory that didn't belong to him, revealling some of Shaded's past. There was much John didn't know about Shaded. And it troubled him greatly.
What if he did something that Shaded wouldn't have done? He couldn't just tell everypony that he was practically an imposter, possessing a dead body! What if anypony recognises him? What about Rainbow Dash? How would she react to seeing her dead coltfriend walking around and talking to ponies? Shaded had been dead for a year!
Sighing in resentment of his current situation, John put a grey hoof to his head. Past or present? Hide or go? His head began to throb again. The decisions were killing him, slowly eating away at his consciousness. There was an ongoing beat in the back of his head, similar to drums.
The conflict inside him began to subside. He turned back to his room. It was previously decorated in a lavish manner. 'Was previously' being the key phrase. It was practically torn to shreds, every piece of unnecessary furniture piled against the door, preventing the guards from coming in.
John didn't know why he had done it, he just knew that he had. His violin and guitar were in their cases near to the right side of the bed. The mental beat continued, growing in volume. The urge to play a song grew, the performance side of him growing. Baring his teeth, he scowled and looked away.
It was like an unscratchable itch, and he eventually gave in. He was supposed to stay in his room until the opening ceremony. But outside, the preperations were almost complete, and he wanted to have a look. He decided to not bring an instrument with him, and flexed his wings on the balcony.
Pumping the muscles needed, he took flight. It had taken him a while to learn how to fly from various ponies, mainly Soarin', who was apparently an old friend of Shaded's. He was still learning, but he felt confident enough that he would be fine.
Descending from the balcony, he felt the wind lightly press against him as he slowly flew down. When he was nearer the ground, he landed and began to walk at a slower pace. The lights of every shop were on, every owner rushing about, paying no attention to the grey pegasus as he strolled past.
The air was pungent with the delightful aroma of pies and cakes of many different flavours, and John could almost taste the baked goods. Smiling, he stopped an sniffed, inhaling deeply.
It calmed him, but he still couldn't forget about Octavia or Rainbow Dash. They were always going to be in his thoughts until tonight. A sudden impact from his side knocked him to the floor, making him growl in anger. Looking up, he immediately stopped himself from aprehending the pony responsible.
A strangely familiar earth pony stood over him, looking down with a concerned expression on his face. The pony had a royal blue coat, and an extremely messy mane and tail, both of which were of a medium length. His green eyes were opened in shock and surprise, and his mouth was slightly ajar.
John watched him step back, offering a hoof to help him up. Accepting it, he stood up and dusted himself off. As the pony shuffled awkwardly, digging at the concrete, John studied him intently. The pony returned his gaze, with confused and expectant eyes.
"Who are you?" John asked, cautiously treading towards him. The pony now looked extremely confused. "You don't recognise me?" The pony countered, looking deeply into John's eyes. Shaking his head, John made an apologetic smile.
"It's me, Speedy Recovery." The name didn't ring any bells. "Ohh... Yeah... How have you been?" John stuttered, trying to cover for his stupidity. Of course he didn't know him. Shaded would have, not him.
The blue pony cocked his head to the side, before making the conversation very interseting and scary.
"You have forgotten me haven't you... brother."
Rainbow Dash tugged at her gown inside the carriage they were in. They were all weraing the same dresses as last year's Gala, as they weren't really taken notice of. It was more of anxiety than anything else, and the tension was killing her. Metaphorically, of course.
Around her, the others were all doing the same. There was no idle chatter, no speaking. Only uncomfortable silence. Rainbow Dash had literally just told them about Shaded's statue. Now they just sat there, waiting for the carriage to arrive in Canterlot.
One by one, Dash studied each of her friends.
Pinkie Pie was silent, her normally bouncy mane falling straight. She was slouching in her seat, with a pouty look on her face. Fluttershy was hiding behind her mane, quietly sobbing. Applejack looked impassive, but her face was still a deathly white, as was Twilight's. Rarity was just looking down at her hooves.
Deciding to break the silence, she cleared her throat to get their attention. As they all slowly looked up at her, she began to speak.
"Girls... Shaded wouldn't have wanted us to be like this. He would have wanted us to enjoy tonight." She announced, her voice soft yet reassuring.
"Yeah... Ah think Rainbow's right." Applejack agreed, nodding slightly.
"For Shaded, I promise that I will enjoy tonight!" Rarity added confidently.
Fluttershy, Twilight and Pinkie all nodded. A small smile crept on their faces.
"Let's make this the best night ever!" They all shouted to nopony in particular.
John and Speedy were in John's room, talking. Princess Luna was also there, listening for most of the time, but sometimes adding details.
"So you have amnesia? That explains why you didn't seem to know me." Speedy was sitting on John's bed, whilst John was hovering near the window.
"Yeah... But you still haven't told me why you're in Canterlot." John replied, curious as to why Shaded's brother had came to Canterlot.
"I haven't seen you in a year. Thought I'd come and see you. And I got invited to the Grand Galloping Gala," Speedy answered. "But I didn't know that you had amnesia..."
Luna glanced at Speedy, making him cringe. "I thought that you lived in Manehatten? It was destroyed a year ago. It has been rebuilt since then, but where were you then?" She asked softly, not trying to intimidate him.
Once Speedy had recovered from the shock (I just made a joke! About my own OC! Lolol!), he answered, choosing his words carefully, as to not annoy the Princess.
"I was in Appleloosa, in an athletics competition. When I returned to Manehatten, I had nothing left. Everything was destroyed. So I travelled to Ponyville, in the hopes of finding Shaded. But he wasn't there. I was told that he was doing some undercover work for you and Princess Celestia. So I waited, even getting a job in the hospital. But news never came."
His eyes were glazing over, and his voice was cracking. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes.
"I waited more. Eventually I forgot that you were gone, until I recieved a letter from Princess Celestia, telling me that you were back. And it came with a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. So here I am."
John put his forelegs around Speedy, hugging him tightly. Giving him a reassuring glance, John smiled. Luna shifted uncomfortably off to his right.
"Would you like to see me perform at the Gala?" John asked Shaded's brother, still uncomfortable about the situation. They may have the same body, but Shaded and John were two completely different ponies.
Speedy scowled. "Whoa. Hang on. You play instruments now?" John nodded, smirking. "Had to learn to do something."
Speedy Recovery nodded, and John led him outside, picking up his instruments on the way. Putting the guitar on his back, he strapped the violin to his saddlebags.
"Come on."
Luna teleported to the throne room. Seeing Celestia alone, waiting for the Gala to begin, Luna apprehended her. "Why can't I tell him about Twilight and her friends? They're coming to the Gala for hoof's sake!"
"Exactly. Twilight Sparkle and her friends are arriving early, by the way."
Luna stood in shock. Had her sister been planning this all along?
"Well... I'm going to tell him. And you can't stop me."
Before Celestia could say otherwise, Luna teleported away, onto the streets of Canterlot. Walking into the entrance to the gardens of the castle, she saw John and Octavia preparing for their performances, whilst Speedy stood nearby.
She ran towards him, knocking over several ponies in the process. As they finished preparing, she saw John stand on the stage, and strum his guitar. Quite a few helpers stopped and gathered round, listening to him beginning to play.
Luna was in a very bad situation. She had promised her sister that she wouldn't use the Royal Canterlot Voice anymore, and she wouldn't break that promise now. Her path was blocked by the ponies, and she didn't want to bring attention to herself.
But she had to tell him! Stopping at the very back, she let herself listen. Letting the music fill her mind, she decided that they wouldn't arrive that soon.
Rainbow Dash walked down the streets of Canterlot. They had arrived about ten minutes ago, and she was planning to pay homage to whatever remained of Shaded's statue. The air was thick with delectable aromas, and there was plenty of tasty food on display.
Her friends had gone straight to the castle, with the intention of seeing Princess Celestia. Apon her insistance, they had left without her, and she began to go to the gardens. In the distance, she could hear a faint song beginning. Listening intently, she honed in on it.
It was coming from the Gardens. Stopping outside the entrance, she began to compose herself, whilst listening to the music. Somepony was singing, but playing the guitar as well.
"You say I love you boy...
I know you lie...
I trust you all the same...
I don't know why.."
The melody made Rainbow attentive, forgetting why she was there. She took a step inside, but couldn't see who was singing. The song made her think about her and Shaded's relationship.
"'Cause when my back is turned...
My bruises shine...
Our broken fairy tale...
So hard to hide..."
"I still believe...
It's you and me 'til the end of time..."
Luna looked behind her, sensing somepony there. "Oh no..." She muttered. On the balcony high up in the castle, Princess Celestia was watching and listening to the music with Twilight and her friends. They could clearly hear the musician, but couldn't see who he was.
"When we collide we come together...
If we don't we'll always be apart...
I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it...
When you hit me, hit me hard..."
"Sitting in a wishin' hole...
Hoping it stays dry..
Feet cast in solid stone...
I've got Gilligan's eyes..."
"I still believe...
It's you and me 'til the end of time..."
John closed his eyes for the chorus, letting the music empower him, controlling all his senses. He continued strumming, albeit more loudly.
"When we collide we come together...
If we don't we'll always be apart...
I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it...
When you hit me, hit me hard..."
"'Cause you said love was letting us go against what...
Our future is for many of horror...
Our future's for many of horror..."
"I still believe...
It's you and me 'til the end of time..."
Octavia smiled sweetly, enjoying the music. She had really fallen for Shaded over the past seven days. She had even fantasised about him and her! Beginning to blush, she cleared her mind.
"When we collide we come together...
If we don't we'll always be apart...
I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it...
When you hit me, hit me hard..."
In an errant thought of ecstasy, Octavia ran up the stage and jumped on him, kissing him wildly. John was more or less forced into the loving embrace, and his thoughts surrounded him. Feeling his migraine increase in power, he saw the crowd disperse after stomping their hooves against the ground, creating a clapping noise.
Time slowed down as he saw who the crowd revealed. He saw a very worried Princess Luna, and behind her... Oh no.
Rainbow Dash felt her wings flap erratically as she saw a grey earth pony mare kissing a grey pegasus. She still couldn't see him properly; the earth pony was in the way. But she felt a sense of recognition when she looked at the pegasus.
Curious, she moved forward. The earth pony had, by now, moved off him, and she could easily see him, but still not clearly. The pegasus had teal and electric blue hair. She had a single thought crossed her mind, and she listened it.
The pegasus put down the guitar, and began to run with a worried expression on his face. Rainbow Dash could clearly recognise him now. Could it be...?
"Shaded...?" She whispered, her voice cracking from the emotional pain. Her wings stopped flapping, and she fell to the floor, watching Shaded run into the castle. Tears streaked her cheeks, dripping into the earth below.
Everything turned into a whirlwind, the world around her spinning in her shock. She felt a hoof on her back. Turning herself over, she saw it was a blue earth pony, strongly resembling Shaded. "Go." He whispered, scowling towards the direction that he had run in.
Rainbow Dash stood up and ripped off her dress, shakily extending her wings. The grey earth pony was nowhere to be seen; she had run after him. Anger gripped her in a vice, and she saw red. Growling in resentment of the pony, she literally burst into angry flames. Diving through the door, wings beating heavily, she spied the pony trying to run away.
Accelerating, she tackled the pony, who she now recognised as Octavia, one of Vinyl Scratch's friends. Baring her teeth, she raised a hoof, pointing it towards her face.
"WHY OCTAVIA? WHY!" She screamed, ready to punch her. They were both crying now, tears freely streaming down their cheeks. Octavia could do no more than wimper, making Rainbow Dash look straight into her eyes. Octavia's pleading eyes did nothing to Rainbow Dash's emotions.
Her hoof connected with her right cheek, sending a dull thud through the hall. Dropping Octavia roughly, she screamed.
"SHADED! WHERE ARE YOU!"
Twilight could do no more than watch in fear and shock, with Princess Celestia next to her, in a similar reaction. They had just watched Shaded Comet run past, soon followed by Octavia. Moments after, Rainbow Dash came out of nowhere and tackled Octavia, screaming at her.
Twilight was too stunned to hear the words spoken, but she heard and felt the punch connect. "Wha...What...?" She mumbled to herself. She felt several hooves on her back, belonging to the other four members of their friendship. All where a deathly white, and completely silent.
They watched as Rainbow was quickly surrounded by the guests, all wondering what they had just seen. Pushing forward, they got to the center, picking up the sobbing Rainbow Dash. Carrying her outside, they placed her softly on the grass.
"Sh...Shad...Shaded...He..." Twilight and the others hugged her, silencing her. Together they cried, and together they let out their emotions.
John slammed the door behind him, and slumped to the floor. "No..." He whispered, staring out of the balcony window, out to the open night. Losing his composure, he raised his hoof, and punched the door. His hoof powered through, leaving a hole in the solid oak. Withdrawing his leg, he felt splinters sticking into his flesh, cutting him deeply.
Ignoring the pain, he let all of his built up sadness and anger.
"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" He hollered, undoubtably being heard in the gardens, maybe even by the main gates. Noticing how he had reverted to human swears, he facehoofed. Immediately pain crippled him, the migrain exploding into another flashback.
He saw Shaded flying. Rainbow Dash was with him. They casually raced in the night breeze. They flew up into the sky, the wind blowing in their faces, chilly and bracing. Increasing their speed, they stopped abruptly in front of the moon. Shaded lowered his hoof, stroking Rainbow's mane. "I love you." He searched in his bag for the box, and pulled it out, the soft velvet rubbing against his skin. John could only watch, seemingly above them in a bubble away from the world.
"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. As did John.
John 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. Discord!
"Ugh! This is soooooo boring! Time for a little chaos, I think!" Clicking, he began to laugh. John watched as Rainbow Dash became grey, losing her identity, reversing her personality.
"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. John felt his pain.
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." He snapped out of the trance, and looked at himself. He was grey, even greyer than he was to start with. Even his mane. He let his wings snap to his body. And he fell. No screaming; he had no fear. He actually began to laugh hysterically.
John watched in fear at Shaded's actions, and the vision faded away as he hit the floor.
Waking, the sweat covering him cold, he shook his head. He could still hear Discord's laughter. Wait a second.
He looked up in panic, scanning the room. On the balcony, casually lounging on a cotton candy cloud and drinking a glass of chocolate milk, was Discord himself, laughing heartily.
"Good evening Shaded. Or is it John? Never mind. Guess what? I'm baaaaaaack! And it's all thanks to you!"
"Oh shit..."
Gage flew as fast as he could, directing his flight towards Princess Celestia's tower. Landing, he quickly looked around. She was there, looking startled at the sudden intrusion. The Elements of Harmony were with her.
"Princess! Discord has escaped!" He screamed in fear. They reacted similarly, and he continued the message. "He's in Shaded's room!"
Rarity fainted, Fluttershy hid behind her mane whimpering, Pinkie Pie began to bounce in joy saying "Chocolate Rain! Yay!", Applejack took her hat off in a clearly wooried fashion, and Twilight blinked in suprise. Rainbow Dash just stood there, scowling.
"Oh...Right...Him and Octavia...Oh dear..."
"Why are you back Discord?" John asked, trying to stay calm. The Draconequus simply grinned. "Well...Let's see. You caused one of the biggest acts of disharmony I have ever seen, breaking me out of that statue. And you need my help."
"Do I?" John snarled.
Discord teleported beside him, and looked deeply into his eyes. "Listen closely." His eyes then changed colour, mesmerizing him. "If all love does is make your heart break, then maybe no heart will cure the ache."
John looked at his hoof, feeling nothing as he gave in to Discord's trickery. It turned a darker shade of grey, and he grinned. "Wha...?" Discord was confused at the expression. Then grinned himself.
"I see that you have nopony at the moment. Would you like to be my right hand pony? We can cause massive amounts of Chaos together..." He tried to convince John.
John nodded, uncaring, and let the power sieze him. It flowed like a river, bending around him. The light given off by the magical energy almost blinded him. He and Discord began to laugh And then all was black.
The Elements of Harmony ran up the stairs to Shaded's room as quickly as possible; time was of the essence. Skidding at the door, they could see a hole in the middle, as if something had hit it from inside. Streaks of light flashed through the aperture, and Twilight looked through.
She could see a very dark Shaded grinning, laughing like a maniac. Gasping, she whispered.
"We're too late... He's Discord's now." The others responded with more teary eyes, apart from Rainbow Dash. When Twilight looked again, they were gone.
"We need to tell the Princess! Come on!" She ran back down the staircase that they had originally ascended from, fearing the worst.
Looking up, she could see pink clouds gathering, and brown rain beginning to fall. She sighed.
A/N-
'Sup? Chapter 10! Yay! I have picked up a few followers through the story so far, and I am eternally grateful towards them. Thank you! Anyway, please leave a review of this chapter, maybe of the story so far... If that's ok with you...
Lol! Digressing from the norm, I want to present my new personal record on file size. It may not be big to you, but it's huge to me. 24.8 KB! Huzzah! The fun has been doubled!
Anyway, there were a few OC's in this Chapter. Specifically mine. If you're confused, Speedy Recovery belongs to me, and Shaded Comet is Luke's. Just for clarification.
Ok! OC list!
OC/s: Speedy Recovery, Lieutenant Gage
Creator/s: Myself, Lieutenant Gage (respectively, obviously)
Thanks for reading Chapter 10 of 'A Tale of a Shaded Comet'.
P.S. I'm not entirely sure that the owner of Lieutenant Gage is still called Lieutenant Gage. But for now, I'll keep it as such.
3
Jadazzle1994