Fractures (revised)
Comet woke the next day, more exhausted than before he went to bed. The memories of Nova still tormented him as he forced himself out of the bed, wishing just to have some silence. The shower of scalding hot water barely registered on his mind, which was pressed against the tile wall. After ten minutes of that, Comet was dejectedly putting on his armor, watching his orange pelt magically shimmer to a brilliant white. He grimaced, thinking of what Nova would say seeing him like this. The world he was in felt far away, like he was watching it through a telescope.
As he left the bunk room, he turned back to his bunk and subsequent footlocker and murmured, "Goodbye, Nova. I'll be back soon, okay?"
The mess hall wasn't the same today. Everypony was talking as normal, but Comet couldn't hear them. The food had no taste, which was no surprise, but it felt odd when he ate a ripe apple along with two sugar cubes and his tongue didn't register there was food. Once he finished, he walked away slowly to his post, guarding Philomena. The hallway was long and winding, but it just seemed to go by without catching his attention at all.
Soon, he was outside Philomena's door and when he pushed it open, Comet was greeted by several loud caws and a happy looking Philomena who nipped at his tail. Comet ignored it and went to his spot, planted his rump and waited. Philomena tilted her head at him and got off her perch, curious to see why he wasn't being himself. She cautiously approached him, half expecting him to startle her, but soon was less than a foot away.
Philomena often had trouble reading pony expressions, but even she knew what a tear on his face meant. She cawed to him, hoping to catch his attention, but Comet kept his eyes fixed on the ground. Philomena had seen Celestia like this before and did what she did to Celestia. The phoenix rubbed her head against Comet's shoulder and backed away, hoping to garner a reaction. Comet just stared sadly at the ground and Philomena left him alone after that.
On the other side of the spectrum, Valyrie was still half asleep. Her less than ideal kiss with Comet from the night before had started to leave a bad taste in her mouth. She knew Comet had taken Angel out on a date, but tried to suppress the thoughts. Maybe if she let it drop, there would be no reason for it to be brought up.
When the door to Philomena's chamber came into view, Valyrie took a deep breath. With an increasing sense of nausea in her stomach, the gryffon pushed open the door. Inside the room, she noticed the absence of Angel immediately, but saw the familiar golden armor and white pelt of Comet sitting on the floor along with a worried looking phoenix.
"Hi, Valyrie," came the clearly sad voice of Comet. The gryffon panicked and rushed up to Comet, half expecting him to be hurt.
"Oh my Griffin, Comet! Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. She reached out a claw to see his face, but a hoof shot up to block her.
"I'm fine," Comet said without meeting her gaze, "I just want some silence, okay?"
Valyrie gulped and nodded, even though Comet wasn't looking at her and withdrew her claw. She slowly backed away from him, worried he was going to lash out at her about yesterday. The horrible thought of he and Angel fighting climbed into her mind and Valyrie made the connection. Evidently, Comet had told Angel what had transpired and she reacted as expected. She had probably broken up with him, yelled at him and made him feel guilty. It also explained why Angel wasn't here at the time too. Valyrie gulped hard and sat at the opposite end of the room, leaving a very confused Philomena unattended.
Angel was actually snoring slightly as she slept soundly in the empty barracks. She had gotten back really late last night after Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's dinner and was now dreaming. In her thoughts, a young Comet sat there crying to himself as he sat near a headstone. Angel stood back away and tried to call to him, but Comet seemed not to notice. Angel then tried running up to him, but she never gained any ground. The young Comet just sat there, weeping to himself even as Angel tried to tell him it wasn't his fault.
The day passed with little happening aside from Philomena and Valyrie spending some time together. The gryffon wanted so badly to ask about what had happened, but the fear of him getting angry at her stayed her voice. Comet, for his part, sat on the floor, trying his best to push out Nova from his mind, but with little success. His beloved big sister stayed at the fore, torturing his already hurt spirit.
About half an hour before the shift ended, Angel woke up, determined to talk to Comet. She had to tell him she knew about his deep dark secret and she was going to help him with it. She sped off to Comet, who she could only guess was up in Philomena's tower.
"Well, uh, I'll be going now, Comet. Are you okay by yourself?" Valyrie asked, hoping to get a reaction from him. Comet just sat there in his usual silence and Valyrie smiled weakly as she left. It was still early, but she did have to use the restroom like all living creatures.
Angel darted up the opposite hallway and stopped at the door just after Valyrie turned the corner. It was then the bat pony realized she had not thought of a way to tell him she knew of his sister, but she barged in anyways. Philomena cawed happily at her arrival, but Angel's big gold eyes automatically locked onto the white pegasus sitting on the floor.
"Comet!" Angel exclaimed as she rushed over to him.
Comet just sat there, lost in the darkness of his thoughts before he noticed a gray hoof reach over and move his head. Soon, he was staring at the familiar gold of Angel's eyes and he yanked his head out of her grasp, returning his gaze to the floor.
"Yeah, what do you want, Angel?" he asked with no intention of hearing an answer. The bat pony backed up a bit, clearly flustered by Comet's behavior.
"I, uh, I kinda, um..." Angel said, unsure of how to tell him she knew about Nova. Clearly Comet was in no mood to talk, but Angel felt she had to say something.
"Comet, I met your parents last night," she stated flatly and Comet's head gave a slight shake.
"Okay. You want a medal or something?" Comet retorted with an edge.
Angel gulped and continued. "Comet, I... I know about her."
"Who?"
"Your parents told me about your big sister, Nova," Angel said, voice filled with uncertainty.
That caught Comet's attention as his head snapped up. Angel had pestered Comet before to when he was irritated, but the look he gave her was one well past the usual reaction. His eyes were full of sadness and anger and his face was locked into a scowl.
"Where did you hear that name?" he hissed, barely concealing his anger.
"I said your parents told me," Angel responded a bit defensively. Comet's face hardened even further than Sun Storm's had yesterday.
"Get away from me," he growled, breaking his gaze.
Angel took a step forward before Comet shouted, "Get away from me, now!"
A look of hurt crossed Angel's face as she stepped back once. Comet took several deep breaths and cursed under his breath at his parents. Nova was not something for them to tell Comet's friends, no matter the circumstances.
"Comet, why are you--?" Angel started to ask.
"I don't care what you're going to say, I don't want to talk about her!" Comet shouted, his angry gaze coming back to Angel. Her face registered more hurt, but that only fueled Comet's anger.
"Comet, if you just listen..." Angel tried to say before Comet cut her off.
"No, you listen," he growled, now baring his teeth, "You don't know what it was like. You don't know, my parents don't know, those stupid doctors didn't know! They've never had to pull the pony they love most back to their home, knowing each second they spend is one less for her to stay alive. They've never sat at a dying pony's bedside for days, watching them slowly die and feeling helpless. THEY DON'T KNOW!" Comet finished with a shout loud enough to scare both Angel and Philomena, as well as Valyrie standing outside the door.
Angel looked back at him with a couple tears starting to roll down her cheeks and tried to say something before Comet turned away from her.
"Don't ever think you can sympathize with me. My sister was in my care and I failed her. My failure cost her life and I've continuously been told it wasn't my fault when I know that's a lie. I could've stopped her that day, but I didn't."
Comet repressed his own sadness welling up by using his anger to drown it and pressed on. "Just, just get out, Angel. Don't ever talk about her again."
Angel stared at him, defeated and upset. This was not how she wanted this conversation to go and now Comet was furious with her, more than she had ever seen. Philomena gently got off her perch and approached Comet, but he aimed a kick at her and the phoenix cawed in terror and flew to the other side of the room. Angel wanted to give him a hug, but feared for her own safety after that.
Instead, she gave a sob and opened the door, bolting away from the room, past Valyrie who stared at her running down the hallway. Valyrie slowly turned her head to Comet in the room, who had his back turned to her. Unknown to Valyrie, Comet stood there, biting his lower lip as hard as he could stand, trying desperately to hold back the horrible emotions he felt. His anger had burned itself out at Angel's sob and now he felt a gaping hole in his chest. The sadness from the memories of Nova were mixing with his own feeling of hate to himself for yelling like that at Angel. She was only trying to help, but Comet had pushed her away like he did his mother and father.
Finally unable to restrain himself any longer, Comet gave several choked sobs and Valyrie stood there, unsure of what she was seeing. She had thought Comet and Angel were fighting over her, but it was starting to dawn on her that maybe they were fighting about some other pony. Philomena walked over to Valyrie, clearly wanting to leave him alone and Valyrie extended a claw. Philomena climbed up her claw and onto her shoulder, finding a good place to perch herself. The gryffon cast one last look at Comet, who was clearly in no state to see anypony/gryffon, and she slowly shut the door, leaving him alone. She walked off, cooing to an upset phoenix as she walked back to the bunks, hoping to comfort Angel.
Comet lost all track of time as he stood there, unable to bring himself back from where he had gone. Years of sadness and self hatred just gripped at him, unwilling to let go. He needed his sister now more than ever, but she was six feet under the ground back in San Prancisco. In his depressed state, Comet's mind flitted back to the memories after Nova's funeral. He remembered his mother hugging him tightly as she cried, his father standing outside with him, watching the sun set.
While he needed his sister now, he felt a longing for his parents, only to remember the arguments they had as well. He remembered the anger he erupted with when his parents were upset about him catching hypothermia, the hurt look of his mother as he yelled at her and his father's apologies for what had happened that day.
Most of all, he reflected on Angel. All she had done was profess knowledge of Nova, not offer sympathy. Comet was in no mood to talk about Nova today, or any day for that matter, but he had treated her unfairly. In truth, he knew next to nothing about Angel and reacted as if he knew what she was going to say.
The bitterness of his anger had left the worst sour taste in his mouth and Comet knew he had to apologize to Angel. However, the memories of all the arguments he and his parents had stuck to the fore of his mind. He shakily rose to his hooves and spread his crumpled wings. He did need to mend his relationship with Angel, but first he had to see his parents.
Comet pushed open a window and flapped his wings, disappearing into the night. He knew where his parents were staying, so he made his way into town.
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Has Comet ever wondered if the irregular heartbeat would have happened even if Nova Didn't go with him? Cause he seems to need to confront that fact.
2089152
He doesn't believe that's what happened. He thinks it's a lie they told him to cover up the fact he caused her death.
:D Good chapter
Great chapter. So many feels
. Looking forward to the next one.
2089175
Again, learning about life and love in Canterlot castle.
2089157 Then, if you want him to move on from it sometime in this story, i would recommend throwing in the idea that what if him constantly beating himself up and blaming himself for her death isn't what his sister would want. Because once you confront someone in mourning for an extended period with that logic, theres pretty much no arguement.
Hmmm. Comet had every right to get upset. But he shouldn't have yelled at Angel. It wasn't necessarily her fault. She didn't know. If anything he should get upset at his parents. They're the ones who told her about Nova, which was none of her business...
2089184
You know, I'm always amazed at how my readers seem to know what I'm going to do before I do it.
At least the ending is still a surprise.
2089185
True, but Angel really went about telling him the wrong way.
That outburst made no sense. All she did was say his parents told her about Nova and now he's yelling at her and telling her not to speak for his sister. You need to make his outburst less forced; it comes right the hell out of nowhere as soon as she mentions his sister. Perhaps an offer of understanding and pity and a reaction of frustration over such; Comet seems like a guy who's hostile to pity, especially after it would have been showered on him constantly for it, and he would be even more frustrated over Angel attempting to make a sympathetic connection by saying she understands how he feels. But as it is, it feels forced and disjointed and not very well written.
Well that was interesting.
Do we get a bit more of Angel's back story soon?
2089181 yeah, yeah. now back to the shinenigens, stat!
Dang, it's not even a month old, and already close to twenty chapters... How do manage to pump out so much high quality work so fast? I can't even keep up reading it. Still loving this fic, though, good work.
disappointing chapter... characters seem out of well, character the more this story develops and their emotional reactions don't scale well at all with the time frames between events
2089232
They might seem out of character because I'm writing about one dealing with the most traumatic moment of his life that he's run away from for years?
2089202
Just wait until the changelings get in on the shenanigans.
Another good chapter... difficult to read with everypony raw from so much emotion, but the characters remain believable and sympathetic. Also, I noticed your writing style is getting stronger and more consistent. Good show!
good chapter, as always.
A good chapter, but slightly over the top I think
Jeez...poor Comet needs a big ass hug
Twice you've made me feel sad! It's so good though!
Driving Towards The Daylight - Joe Bonamassa
Not quite sure what to make of Comet's reaction.
Over-the-top, to subtle, to emotional?
I think it's a little early to start jumping to conclusions, don't you agree?
Hmm...
...perhaps...
MAN WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT PLAYING ME HEART STRINGS LIKE THIS?!
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THE FEELS
Oh damn! Comet should take a vacation or something, do some soul-searching. Still, this chapter made me hhhnnnnnnnngggg...
2089192 I think you and I will have to agree to disagree there. It is very well written. Tell me, if you were relieving the most traumatizing event that had ever happened to you, would you wait for someone to offer you pity or "understanding" before blowing up at them? Unlikely. If I've spent the past several years trying to bury something, only to have a parent go behind my back and tell a close friend of mine, I wouldn't wait for pity. I'd blow up at them for even mentioning the thing I've tried to forget, which is exactly what Comet does here. Anger (and hurt) causes people (or ponies) to do or say terrible things without meaning to, with very little reason to do so.
Anyway, an excellent chapter. Some readers might claim that Comet's reaction was way over the top, but I say ignore them. I've been in Comet's position. I know what it feels like, And I know that in my anger and my pain I'll explode at the barest mention of anything.
This whole chapter is full of moments that make me react like this.
global3.memecdn.com/i-dont-know-what-my-feelings-are_gp_169545.jpg
Well, looks as if somepony is emotionally disturbed, apparently he has yet to learn that lashing out is a good way to keep digging a hole. Though Angel has NO tact, which is kinda awesome.
Boy, this went to hell fast
I can hardly see it happening in any other way if not for motives of a higher order. Nicely played, sir.
Mangrove... you were wrong. Terribly so.
2089712 Call me a sadist, but I've been waiting eagerly for the time where her abrasivess would bite her in the ass. Now we know her shield of cheerfulness is far from impenetrable.
so many feels
This fic has sat for too long now in my 'read later' folder
IT HAS BEGUN.
will report back when I have finished
I may be some time
by any chance did the music that you asked for come into play in the last two chapters
2089791
I like the happy, bubbly people, cause they are exactly what I am not. I like the crazy stuff they do though,
"every man has his weakness" - Vladimir Makarov
2090071 I just like seeing characters in all their facets, like Rainbow Dash being girly, Rarity angry, Fluttershy concentrated... It adds that sense of freshness to them, yanno?
Those feels. Comet needs a hug.
2089298I can't wait for a changeling to read Comet's mind and transform into Nova, the bodyparts shall fly.
You sir are the first I have seen that spells it "gryffon"
2090094
Rainbow Dash, girly? What blasphemy is this?!
Jokes aside, I do find Dash acting girly to be comedic, though I feel she still needs to put on an act of trying to do it secretly. Can't be spoiling her image now.
What is concentrated Fluttershy? Is that like lethal amounts of cuteness?
Legit tears right now
damn...damnit, why is this story so good?
I-I just need a minute
oh man, Angel
2087796
I see what you did there.
2089697
Same here xD.
I love chapters with heart wrenching drama. It's just so good.
I said it before, I'll say it again.
It's hard to say Goodbye.
Interesting. Sounds to me like a mood swing. Now, let's see what this parent visit will lead to.
2074004 I'm for angel
Comet needs Robin Williams...
Wow.... That was unexpected. I really thought that Angel would comfort him and hey would kiss and then it would be over... And what is Comet's special talent then? Taking care of the sick? Probably something to do with protection..
wow, okay so I'm finally done now after 2 hours 10 mins
in black with electric blue hair :3 oh my yes)
insta-faved after the first chapter, and imma be watching you
can't wait for more, completely forgot about the things that are happening with the things that happened to the other ponies (arglebargle I hate trying to say things without spoiling anything for those who haven't read the story XS)
totally rooting for angelburst, not a valerie/comet fan tbh, but I guess that's just a standard bias (totally into happy goth girls - imagine