//------------------------------// // From Truth To Turmoil // Story: More Than Just The Music // by Renegade3299 //------------------------------// "Just look at you... sitting up here all day, playing that guitar of yours. Don't you have anything better to do?" My mother's voice was heavy as lead as she stood in the doorway, under the influence of whatever drug she'd decided to take at that patricular time. Obviously, it was putting her in a bad mood, so I just kept playing. "Are you even listening to me?" she barked after I'd ignored her for a few moments. I didn't respond to that, either. Upon that, she went over to my amplifier and unplugged it, cutting the sound of the guitar off. "Hello!? Are you deaf?" she tried again. "I wasn't done playing." was the only response I gave her. For weeks, she and my brother had been doing drugs, getting wasted out of their minds, and lately, they'd been taking all their stresses out on me. I was starting to get fed up with it. "Well, maybe if you'd listened, it wouldn't be a problem, now would it?' she asked with a sneer. I let out an exasperated sigh, "What do you want?" "I'm tired of you sitting up here with this stupid guitar and that stupid music player all the time! Do you realize that we're in need of money?" She was right about that, but I wasn't to blame. I was the only one with a job, and I paid to keep everything in the house going. Whatever money they ever managed to steal from me, they would throw it all away on drugs. "So, go out and earn some money." I replied blankly. As expected, she wasn't very pleased to hear that. "You ungrateful litte.... after all that I do for you, this is how you repay me!? You're the one with the money, so I think I-" I stood up, cutting her off. I'd had it. "Don't even start with that!" I yelled, "I am sick of you and him demanding money from me all the time!" She looked at me with a blanked, yet surprised stare; she had never really seen me get mad, let alone erupt. I continued venting, "All the two of you do is sit in this house doing drugs! I go out and work my hooves to the bone, I pay for everything around here! And do you show any apprection? And you're complaining that I'm making nothing out of my life, just because I like to stay in here and make music! All you do is belittle me and complain that I don't give you enough money!!" I paused to take a breath. For years, I'd always been the outcast in the house because I wasn't like them- being that I didn't do drugs, that I made an honest living. And all they wanted to do was walk all over me. I was done with it for good. "You fail to realize that without me, you'd lose this house in no time! You'd lose everything... well, you know what? Since it seems like the only way you learn lessons is through the hard way, that's what we'll do then!" I placed my hoof on her shoulder and swiftly led her out of my room, turning her around to face me. "So, as of now, don't ask me for any more money, because guess what? I'm not giving the two of you any more of what I make. If you want money so bad, you're gonna have to earn it! Now, I don't wanna see you in this room!! With all my might, I slammed the door so hard that it shook the entire house. I stood there for a few minutes in silence, brooding in anger over what had just happened. But I'd finally stood up for myself and stood my ground. I was my own stallion now, and there was nothing that was going to change it. The next morning, I awoke to silence in the house, which was something I wasn't used to. Normally, the television would be blaring while the others in the house were either watching it or getting wasted. I went downstairs and saw that all the lights were turned off, and after searching through, I discovered that the house was empty. "Wonder where they went?" I wondered aloud to myself. No matter, I had some minor plans today, anyway. So, I exited the house and began making my way to the diner. As I turned the corner that would lead me to the downtown area, I stopped dead in my tracks. About ten yards away from me, I saw my mom and brother- only this time, there were three police ponies who were writing down what I guessed to be a report. Upon further looking, I noticed that the two of them were in cuffs. As I stood there, a bit shocked (but also not surprise), one of the police approached me. "You're Shadow Chord, right? Her son?" "Yes, sir. If I may ask, what's going on?" I questioned politely. "Well, to make a long story a short one, we caught these two under the influence, and when we searched them, they had a pretty big amount of drugs on them. It's enough to send them to prison for quite a while." I sighed, "I told them that this is where they would eventually end up." "I'm truly sorry, Shadow." the officer said in a professional manner. "I wish it were otherwise." "No need for an apology, officer," I answered, "This may actually teach them something, and I for one, would like to see them learn the error of their ways." "Well, I'm glad you're looking at it that way." the officer said, unaware that I was nothing more than relieved that this was happening. "I think I'll be on my way now." I said, "Keep it safe officer, have a good day." "The same for you!" I trotted over to the diner for an early lunch. All the while, my mind was reeling with relief, yet buzzed with a thousand thoughts at the same time. Finally, these drug users would be off my back. And now, I truly was my own stallion. I had planned to go walking along the shorelines, but this sudden turn of events left me thinking. So, I made my way back to my house. And as if to coincide with my relief, for once, the sky had turned blue and the sun was out. I stood out front in the morning air for a long time. I then walked through the entire house for just as long, thinking hard on something I was debating on. I went up to my room and looked out the window, at the blue sky and bright sun. As I took the the day's rare beauty, I finally made my decision. "I'm outta here." I said aloud, to nopony but myself. I had lived in this dump for my entire life, getting nowhere and achieving nothing. Well, today was my final day in Terretia. I was leaving this place. Getting my suitcase out of the closet, I began packing my belongings. I didn't own much, so it only took me about twenty minutes to complete packing. Getting my guitar, I made my way downstairs and out the door. "Good riddance..." I muttered as I closed the door behind me. I trotted over to the train station, where I looked at the departing times, as well as the prices. Money wasn't really an issue, though, since I had saved nearly every bit that I'd made, so I had enough to cover myself. After I'd found what I was looking for, I approached the booth and slid one hundred bits to the pony behind the glass. "A one way passage to Equestria, please." My eyes snapped open, and for a moment I wondered where I was. looking around, I soon remembered that I was in Terretia, back in my old house. I'd actually been here for three days, I think. I'd just stayed in the house- I hadn't eaten, barely slept. Time seemed to drag by. Immediately, the swarm of hurt and sorrow returned. What was I going to do now? My life was completely meaningless without Rainbow Dash or my friends. And she'd probably told everypony already of what I'd done. Should I even bother going back to Equestria? Nopony would welcome me after what had happened, that was for sure. MEANWHILE... I was at Golden Oaks, with my five friends and the rest of the band encircled around me, all looking on with concerned faces. Fluttershy held her hoof around my shoulder as I painfully recalled what had happened two nights before. "And even though I tried to talk, he just bluntly ignored me!" I wheezed through tears. "He even shoved me away!" "This just sounds so unlike him..." Striker said, appalled at what he was hearing. "And then after I left and went back to my house, he had the nerve to come and make amends. Saying there was some kind of explanation for what he'd done. Yeah, some explanation!" "And what was it?" Applejack asked. "Don't know." I said. "Don't know?" all eight of them repeated. "I didn't let him explain!" I bitterly growled. "There was no logical explanation for him doing something like that!" After a silent minute, Twilight seemed to be in deep though before she spoke up, "Rainbow... how do you know that there's no logical explanation?" "What possible explanation could there be for the way he acted!?" I countered. Without missing a beat, she answered, "I honestly don't know. But we all know Shadow Chord, and this kind of behavior does not seem like him, not one bit. And you did say he tried to explain to you what had happened. Maybe you could have listened to him?" I understood where she was coming from, but I tried to stand my ground, "Why should I?" "Well, he's always listened to you, hasn't he?" Twilight asked. As much as I didn't want to hear this, Twilight was right about that. Whenever I had troubles, Shadow was always there to hear me out. I could vent and unleash for as long as I pleased, and Shadow Chord would always listen to what I had to say. Heck, even a few times in the past, I'd had to bail out of our plans together, and Shadow was always understanding. Should I have at least listened to what he had to say? My mind quickly told me otherwise. "That doesn't make up for the fact that he was being cozy with the mare who always makes fun of me!" I shouted, pounding my hoof down on the table. "And I bet he still doesn't care!" "Actually, he might..." Virtuoso said. I looked up at everypony, and saw that they all had extremely serious looks on their faces. Looks that said this was no light matter at hand. An equally serious tention filled the room. "What makes you say that?" I asked, trying to appear as calm and cool about this as possible, thought I knew something was up. "Because two nights ago," Lightning Shredder ominously explained, "Shadow Chord didn't come home. And... he hasn't been seen since." Immediately, my anger and sorrow left, and soon I was filled surprise, followed quickly by anxiety. "He's missing?" I asked, to which everypony nodded. "Nopony's seen him. Not here, not in Canterlot, Manehattan.... we've checked everywhere, Rainbow Dash. That's why we came to you in the first place- to find out if you'd seen him." "No, I... I haven't..." was the only response I could give. I had imagined Shadow would have tried again and again to talk things over with me. But this was something that I had not expected. ************ For an additional three days, we all searched everywhere we cuold possibly search. We'd checked in Everfree, only to learn that he was nowhere in sight. Even Zecora had told us that she'd not seen him. We sent word to Capriole Shores, only for the search there to come up empty-hoofed. Appleloosa, Las Pegasus, Detrot, none of them had seen Shadow Chord. And by the third day, all resentment I had for him had left, replaced by worry and trepidation. And that evening, as we all sat around Twilight's table, scouting out different locations, that it all turned around. Applejack came in and seated herself- upon looking up at her, we all noticed that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were with her. "These young'ns have something that I think everypony would like to hear. Especially you, Rainbow." Applejack said with a grin before she gestured to Apple Bloom to speak. "Today," Apple Bloom said, "Diamond Tiara came up to us at the schoolhouse. She told us that Glamour Gem snuck a love potion into Shadow Chord's cider at the club." We all stared at the three fillies upon hearing this revelation. Everything suddenly clicked together in an instant as virtual light bulbs all came on in our heads. As we all murmered about, I quickly realized something. "But, wait a minute," I said, "I thought that if you take a love potion, you're locked on after looking into their eyes for an hour!" Twilight was already on the ball as she set a large book on alchemy & various types of potions on the table with her magic, flipping through the pages. Stopping at a certain section, she spoke, "That's actually a love poison, Rainbow. And even if it was a love poison...hm, let's see here... yes! Even if it was a love poison, Apple Bloom said that Glamour Gem put it into his cider. According to this book, it says that diluting just about any type of potion will cause it to lose its full effect. So, it makes sense- putting a small amount of the potion into a full mug of cider is why he broke out of it!" Everypony sighed, relieved to hear that this was not Shadow Chord's doing. "I knew he wasn't that kind of pony!" Pinkie said. I was SO glad to hear this, yet at the same time, I was as nervous-cited as could be! I immediately began planning to go up to Shadow and flat-out apologizing for not hearing him out. But then, I quickly realized- none of us still had any clue where he was. ****SHADOW CHORD'S P.O.V.**** I had lost count of how many days I'd been here. I hardly thought anything at all. The house remained empty, except for me, confirming that my mother & brother were indeed still locked up. My friends were gone, my life meant nothing. Rainbow Dash hated me. And I couldn't deal with that. I'd been locked in a state of melancholy that I'd never before felt. My body was weak from not having consumed any food, nor harldy slept at all. But if I died, then so be it. I wasn't going on without my friends, without Rainbow. I spent a good portion of the day crying my eyes out, realizing that I truly was alone again. After all I'd worked for, everything I'd given, it all came crashing back down to nothing. I knew that it was Glamour Gem's doing, but I couldn't help but blame myself for it. I shouldn't have even let her speak with me. Because I didn't want to hurt anypony else's feelings, I let it slide, and it got me into this mess. Around 3:00, a loud knocking was heard on the door. "Mom?" I said aloud, but I quickly dismissed the idea. She wouldn't knock on her own door. So, I got up, turned the know and opened it. And there, standing in front of me were Hotshot and Copper Coin, along with three other ponies who I'd gone to school with. They all had menacing grins on their faces, but I couldn't care less. "Oh, no, no, no- you guys just turn around and get the hay away from this house." I said, already frustrated to the point of exploding. "Hey, we told you we weren't done, you midnight-maned freak." Hotshot hissed. "And turns out, some of the boys missed stomping you into the mud too! Now you're gonna pay for when you attacked us!!" "Whatever." I said, beginning to shut the door, but Copper Coin swung it back open. "Don't you close that door on us!" he growled, punching me across the face. Spitting out the blood, I turned my head slowly. "You've done it now." The five ponies obviously took that as a challenge- immediately, they all began swinging and kicking at me. Though they fought clumsily, they still outnumbered me, and I was weak from starvation and insomnia. I wasn't able to fight back very well, only able to dive past them, out into my front yard- they followed close behind. Hotshot attemtped to choke me, but with some effort, I threw him on the ground. Then, the tables turned completely. I was only able to look up in time to see that one of the ponies had grabbed a brick when he struck me in the head with it. I went down like a sack of oats. I tried to get up, but immediately noticed that all of them were now brandishing differing types of objects- lead pipes, a brick and a thick plank of wood. As quickly as I tried to scramble away, it did no good when I was grabbed by the hind leg and pulled back to the group, who then began beating me relentlessly with their weapons. The only consolation I had out of this,was I heard somepony on the street shouting: "Oh my gosh! Somepony alert the police!!!" I expected the pain to be excruciating, but it wasn't. Don't get me wrong, I felt plenty of pain, but it was dulled down, in a way. Maybe from the lack of sleep? Whatever it was, the ponies continued striking me all over with these items for well over five minutes. I had stopped struggling now- it would have done me no good at this point, only would have tired me out even more. One of my eyes eventually swelled shut, and I could feel several of my bones cracking under some of the strikes. Blood shot out of my mouth and nose whenever I coughed or gasped for air, which now only came in short wheezes. Finally, after what seemed to be ten minutes, the ponies finally stopped, looking toward the street, their sadistic grins giving way into scared, shocked frowns. A voice that I could hear faintly explained why. "This is the police! Drop the weapons and put your hooves on your head now!" I rolled over, now racked with pain. I attemtped to crawl, but I could barely lift a hoof, and I could feel the world around me fading out quickly. Now-blurry vision began darkening, and any noises began getting quieter by the second. I tried to draw in a breath, only to cough it right back out, along with another smatter of blood. I collapsed onto my back again, looking at the sky. For the first time, even though she wasn't there to hear it, I uttered the words I'd been wanting to say for so long, as if these could be my last words. "I...love you....Rainbow Dash..." Then, I tilted my head back and gave into the nothingness. Everything faded to black.