//------------------------------// // Fade Into The Night // Story: More Than Just The Music // by Renegade3299 //------------------------------// White all around. Nothing but blank, plain white. I wasn't sure what exactly it was, nor did I know where I was at this moment. I didn't even know how I got there. I was just there... whever 'there' was. "H-hello?" I called out, though I didn't know why I did that, either. Of course, I didn't get an answer. As I stood there, I began seeing darker shapes slowly starting to fade in, but I wasn't able to make out what they were. I squinted my eyes and shook my head furiously, then re-opened my eyes. Now, the white was starting to fade and the shaped were beginning to take color. Slowly, I began to see that I was in a room of some sort. Grayish-white walls, white tiled floor. A blue-green curtain was to my right, while I saw various types of machines all around the room. Nearby was a table with equipment of some sort. As everything finally came into full perception, I began hearing a beeping sound, as well as a hissing-type of air coming and going. I took a good, hard look at my surroundings, studying the room and what was in it. One of the machines had a blue screen with certain words and numbers, though I didn't study what they were. Looking at the table, I saw that the equipment was medical apparatus- gauze, tweezers, medical tape, ice compressors, things like that. Another machine held a plastic bag filled with a clear liquid, with a tube that led behind the curtain. It didn't take too long for me to realize that I was in a hospital. Almost instantly, I remembered what I'd gone through upon seeing my location. Hotshot and Copper Coin had gotten mad at me for knocking them both off their hooves a few nights ago, so to get even, they'd come back to my house in force and had beaten me to a pulp. 'Makes sense why I'm here.' I thought. But why did I awaken when I was standing up? Shouldn't I be in one of those hospital beds? In response to my thoughts, I decided to look for the bed I was supposed to be in. Taking a guess, I pulled the curtain aside, only to be caught dead in my tracks. I was right- the bed was on the other side, but moreover, it was what I saw that stunned me. It was already taken by another pony. This pony had a pale gray, almost dull white coat, with dark circles around its eyes that had a purple hue to them. Its black mane was messy, some of it obviously snipped away by the doctors to tend to the head wounds. Bandages and stitches covered the pony all over its body while several IV needles were stuck into its body. It was also hooked up to a heart monitor, which provided the slow beeping sound- definitely below the average pulse. An oxygen mask covered its mouth, providing the wheezing sound of air slowly going in and out of the lungs. After looking over the pony, I realized that I'd seen this pony before, noticing that it had features that I knew all too well. A sense of dread came over me upon my realization, but there was only one way to confirm what I was thinking. I looked over at the registration band wrapped around its foreleg. It read the following: SHADOW CHORD TERRETIA CENTRAL HOSPITAL The pony... was me! But how could I be lying down and standing up at the same time? How was I looking at myself? It just didn't make any sense. But then, I remembered how severe the attack was, and I recalled that I blacked out after they'd stopped. So... was I dead, then? No, that couldn't have been, because the pony, er... I was still breathing, and there was a pulse coming from the flatline monitor. My mind began feeling immense pressure from this. "What in Celestia' name is going on!?" I shouted out, making my way out of the room. Several nurses were bustling about in the hallway. "Can anypony help me out here?" I asked, but nopony even turned a head toward me. "WHAT IS THIS!!??" I yelled as panic began to overtake me. Soon, I was running to and from, asking for help, trying to find out what was happening. It all was the same outcome- noppony answered, or even glanced at me; even the ones I spoke directly to. This was all too much to take in, especially after what I'd gone through. Without thinking, I just began running down the hallways, perhaps in thinking that I could run away from this craziness? I don't know. But one thing was for sure- I was running aimlessly, not looking where I was going. When I flung my head up, I saw that I was coming up on a window that led out of the hospital, and I was going pretty fast. I immediately clamped pressure down on my hooves, only to keep sliding forward on the slippery tile floor. I braced myself for impact, sure that I was in for another painful experience... but that's not what happened. Instead, I went right through the wall/window. No glass breaking, no shattering. I just somehow slipped through it. I would have taken the time to wonder why that happened, but instead, I looked all around me- then I looked down and yelped in surprise. I was about three stories off of the ground. But I wasn't falling, either. I just stood there in mid-air. Again, confusion rose to my mind. So, as weird as it may seem, I remained standing in the air and tried to collect my thoughts. After a minute or so, I only came to one conclusion, and that was that I must have been going through some sort of outer body experience or something like that. I'd heard of many incidents where a pony had apparently left their body, but to be in one was something else altogether. And furthermore, was that what I was really experiencing? "Shadow Chord..." a deep voice rang out of nowhere. "Who is that?" I responded, looking around but seeing nopony. "Where are you?" Out of the night sky, a blinding flash of golden light appeared before me, and with it rang out the sound of symphony and celestial voices. The silhouette of a large pony came through before the light went away in an instant. Before me stood a silver-ish white Unicorn stallion, much taller than the most ponies I'd seen. His horn was actually longer than that of the average Unicorn and his mane and tail were black, maybe even more so than mine. After a stretch of silence, I finally spoke up, but realized that I somehow seemed to be out of breath. "Who... who are-" "You have quite a few questions, Shadow Chord, I am sure of it." the Unicorn answered, "Of course, you wish to know me first. I am Melodia, your ancestor." "You're... Melodia?" "Yes, that's correct. I am here to answer the questions on your mind, but more importantly, I am to offer you a choice." "Choice?" I asked, confused at what he meant. "One thing at a time, Shadow." he replied, "The first thing I need to do is provide the answers you seek." "Where am I? What is this? Have I died?" "No, you're not dead. You are very still much alive, but your soul is here while your body recovers from the carnage brought upon it." "So, this is an outer body experience, then?" "If that is what you wish to call it," he responded with a nod, "Have you any more questions?" "The only one I have is... what did you mean when you said you have a choice to give me?" "Well," the Unicorn began, "It is a bit complicated. Allow me to start off by telling you what the choice is. You may choose to either return to your own body, or you may pass into the afterlife, and I will be the one to escort you if you do so." "In that case-" I began, having given up on life, but he interrupted me. "I have not finished yet. Before you give me an official decision, there are a few things that I am to show you first. Things that may very well affect your decision." "I don't think anything could affect my decision now. I have no life, anymore." I told him, hanging my head. "It's pointless to carry on." "How do you mean, pointless?" he inquired. "I let all of my friends down. I let my bandmates down." "Again, how?" he probed. "Beause I wasn't careful enough to take precautions!" I shouted in dismay, "I was too concerned with trying to be nice, and for that, I was esentially drugged with a love potion, and look where that got me! Now, the mare that I'm in love with despises me! Without her, without my friends, I'm nothing!" "Your friends were unaware of what happened, Shadow Chord, as were you." Melodia countered, "Your intentions were of nothing bad, nor did you mean to harm anypony. This is not your wrongdoing." "That doesn't make up for the fact that they all hate me now! And I'm sure that my bandmates don't think too highly of me. It's better for me to just pass on into the aferlife." I resigned. "Must you decide so quickly, Shadow Chord?" he asked, "Look at where you began. Look at where you've been and how far you've come. You were always rejected, hated and ridiculed everywhere you went. Ponies went out of their way to harm you. But you never did that to anypony, not even those who treated you with hostility. You had basically everything against you. You against the world. But you overcame all odds, paved your own path. You made an honest living doing what you loved, and you did amazing. You are now the leader of a legendary music group. After all you have been through, everything you have overcome, is a mishap like this really going to cause you to give up?" I wanted to reply immediately, but the turth of his statement stopped me, causing me to think the situation over. He did make a strong point. I'd been teased, bullied, attacked and resented, but that never stopped me. I left my home with hardly anything to my name, moving to a completely new land, but that never got in my way. "But..." I stuttered, "My friends... Rainbow Dash..." "As I stated before, they did not know what truly took place. You gave a great gift, Shadow Chord- you have spread music and friendship all over Equestria, and you have a league of friends- more friends than you may actually think. Along with that, you have thousands and thousands of ponies who love your music. Most of them also know of the hardships that you went through before you formed your group. They all adore you and admire you for it. Even though they would not know of you doing it intentionally... if you were to pass on now, you would let down the hearts of all those ponies." Yet again, he had a point. Could I really just bid farewell to everypony who had backed and supported me throughout my career like it were nothing? Would that be right of me to do? "But how can I face my friends after what I did?" I asked. "I don't think that will be a problem." Melodia answered, "Now it is time for me to show you what I said I would show you." The instant he completed his sentence, the gold light appeared again, this time surrounding the two of his. After a couple of seconds, it disappeared again, leaving me to look at my surroundings, which were no longer the land of Terretia. I quickly realized we were in Equestria- in the library, to be exact. And sitting at her desk was Twilight Sparkle, who looked up when a knock was heard at the door. She got up and opened the door, allowing a certain regal Alicorn to walk in. "Princess Celestia! It's so good to see you!" Twilight said, hugging her mentor. Celestia returned the hug, but we could see that she had no joyous expression on her face. "Is something wrong?" Twilight asked. "I have news on Shadow Chord." she said. "Shadow? That's wonderful, we've all been worried sick about him! Where is he?" I was a bit surprised to hear her say that they were worried- I was kind of expecting her to say that she didn't want to hear about me. "I am unsure of where he is, Twilight," Celestia replied, "But something has happened to him." "Something's happened? But how do you know?" "Since I am the ruler of these lands, I always know when something happens to my ponies. But he is not here in Equestria- otherwise, I would know exaclty what has happened. Unfortunately, I am unaware of this. That is why I've come to you." "What can I do, though?" Twilight asked. "I have a teleportation spell that can send you to wherever Shadow Chord is, but you will have only an hour before you return to Equestria. I need you to find Shadow Chord, and let him know that we all are worried about him and we await his return." "Of course, Princess." Twilight said, "I'll get going immediately." "Thank you, my faithful student." the Alicorn said, "I will gather the others and we will wait here for you to return." With that being said, Celestia lowered her horn and completed the spell. Upon this, we quickly found ourselves once again outside the hospital in Terretia, on the ground this time. We could see Twilight looking up at the building, reading the sign. Her expression turned into that of great concern as she entered the doorway and approached the desk. The nurse behind the reception didn't even look at Twilight. "Excuse me, nurse?" Twilight asked, "Could you please tell me if somepony named Shadow Chord is here?" With an irritated scoff, the nurse began looking in the directory, acting as if Twilight were wasting her time. The purple pony was taken aback by this- clearly, she was not used to Terretia's hostile ways. "Room 337." was all the nurse said before turning back to the computer. "Um, thank you." Twilight responded timidly before heading to the elevator, going up to the third floor. Upon exiting the doors, she walked foward, but then stopped when she saw the sign above the doorway, reading it aloud. "Intensive care unit... oh, no. This just keeps getting worse." She walked through the doorway, only to bump into a doctor. "Are you all right, miss? Anything I can help you with?" the doctor asked warmly. Luckily, it seemed like this doctor was one of the few caring ponies in Terretia. "I'm fine, thank you. I'm uh, actually looking for a patient named Shadow Chord." The doctor's face fell grim upon hearing this. "I was wondering when somepony would arrive for that poor stallion." he said, beckoning her to follow. "What happened to him?" "According to the police reports, he was assaulted by a group of ponies who beat him relentlessly." "Beat him?" Twilight asked in shock. I was becoming more and more surprised, as well as feeling guilty. Did I honestly think that my friends would automatically hate me for what I'd done? Was I really that clueless? By this time, the two of them had walked to the room I was in. "Yes, and quite badly, I'm afraid. Now, before I allow you in, are you sure you want to see him? He's in very bad shape." Twilight gulped and nodded, making sure she fulfilled her promise to Celestia. The doctor turned on the lights and led her in. A loud gasp was heard from Twilight. "Oh...my....Shadow!" she exclaimed in shock, running over to my side. Again, immense guilt consumed me as I saw the concern on her face while she was looking me over. Her jaw hung open and her eyes wide with horror. "Are you well acquainted with Shadow Chord, miss..." "Twilight." she replied, "And yes, I am very well acquainted with him. He's like family to me." "Good, because we needed somepony to make this decision. Unfortuntely, his only family is incarcerated and cannot do so. But I will warn you, this decision will not be to your liking." "...What decision?" she asked, tension rising quickly. "I hate having to tell you this, Miss Twilight, but I must be honest with you. We don't expect him to live through the night. We have tried everything to keep him steady, but the injuries are massive." Twilight turned to him slowly, her lips quivering. With a sigh, the doctor continued. "We need to ask if you wish for us to pull the plug or not on his life support." "There...there's nothing that can be done?" she asked, barely above a whisper. "We certainly have tried, Miss Twilight, but the chances against him living are 98 to one, maybe even 99. He was just beaten so very badly." Twilight squinted her eyes shut, likely trying to shut out this situation. Now I was indeed feeling horible for thinking the way I did about them. She finally sighed. "If there is nothing that can be done... please don't pull the plug just yet. If he goes, let him do so naturally." "Very well, Twilight." the doctor said, "I am truly sorry about this. I've seen a lot of heinous acts, but this is just despicable. Again, I'm terribly sorry." "Don't be." Twilight sighed, "It's not your fault, and you at least tried." "Well, if there's anything else I can do, please just let me know." "Thank you, doctor." she said as he exited the room. I was ready to speak to Melodia, but he simply motioned for me to keep looking. Twilight Sparkle appeared to be going through a mental battle, likely trying to dismiss what she'd heard, perhaps hoping that there was another way. But finally, she hung her head in despair & defeat and then teleported herself back to Equestria, where she was immediately in her library, surrounded by her friends, as well as the rest of the band, along with Celestia & Spike. They all turned their heads to her, but they could tell that something had not gone the way she'd expected. My heart sank in shame as I saw the worried looks, especially the look on my Rainbow's face. Twilight just stood there, still as a stone for a good minute or so. "...Well, where is he?" Rainbow Dash finally exclaimed. "I... I found him." Twilight stammered, trying to collect herself. "He's back where he grew up... and he's in the hospital." "IN THE HOSPITAL!?" Pinkie Pie gasped, nearly jumping out of her seat. "In the intensive care wing." the purple mare added. "What in the hay happened, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, her eyes widening along with everypony else. "I...he..." Twilight was stuttering, "The doctor said that he was attacked... beaten nearly to death by some other ponies. I saw him... he was in horrible shape... the bruises, scars.... it was too much to take! And then I was told.... I was told...." "Told what?" Virtuoso asked in an alarmed voice. Twilight's voice choked up and cracked as she spoke the next few words that she was dreading to say. She fell to her knees. "He's not going to make it!" she blurted out before she began crying. In complete horror and sorrow, I looked on at all of the shocked expressions form, then turn into bitter sadness. Not one face that bid me good riddance. My bandmates hung their heads and began hugging one another. Applejack removed her hat, drooping her head low. I saw Pinkie Pie's bouncy mane and tail go completely flat as she ran into Striker's arms, burying her face into his chest. Rarity, eyes shining with tears, tightly hugged a broken Fluttershy who was weeping openly. Celestia and Spike walked over to Twilight and comforted her, the two of them wearing saddened expressions. Rainbow Dash... my one and only Rainbow. Like Twilight, she had collapsed to her knees, tears streaming from her eyes. Her breathing was so heavy that she may have been hyper-ventilating. If not, she was close to it. Clearly she could not believe what she had just heard, and it was tearing her apart. But, truth be told, they were not the only ones being torn apart. Now, I was being ripped open by guilt for thinking the way I had. I'd thought that none of them cared about me anymore, that all of them would have been delighted to have me gone, never to return. And this alone proved just how wrong I was. I felt like I had brought this suffering on them! I desperately wanted to run up and hug every one of them, to tell them all not to worry, that Shadow Chord was here to stay! But, Melodia beckoned for me to continue looking on. Rainbow Dash ran up to Celestia, still crying openly. "Princess," she squeaked, "I need to see Shadow Chord!" "Rainbow Dash," the princess sighed, "That may not be the best thing. Shadow Chord is clearly in bad shape, and that would not be pleasant for you to see. And sadly, there is nothing that can-" "I don't care!" the pegasus shouted, "I just need to see him! At least give me the chance to say goodbye! Please, I'm begging you!!" Celestia looked at the pony, who was still breathing heavily. Celestia nodded, understanding Rainbow's despair. This was almost too much for me to take. "Very well, Rainbow Dash." Celestia said. "I can take us to where he is, but we cannot stay long." Rainbow sniffled and nodded her head. Celestia rose up and solemnly told everypony that she would return before she and Rainbow Dash blinked out of sight. As expected, we found ourselves once more in the hospital, where Celestia and Rainbow Dash stood outside the room. "I know this will not be easy, Rainbow Dash," Celestia said, "But please don't take too long. I can feel that this land is a place of greed and hatred. We cannot be here for an extended amount of time." Rainbow nodded again before going into the room. My heart sank again as she approached, and upon seeing me, violently thrashed her head the opposite way in utter horror, hiding her face into Celestia's shoulder. Her crying now turned into heaving sobs. "Shadow Chord!" she sputtered, walking up to where my body lay. After taking a minute to calm herself, she began whispering. "It's me, Rainbow Dash. The doctor says that you're not gonna live through this. That there's nothing can be done. I...I just don't want to believe that! I came here to say goodbye, but I don't want to do that!!" Now the words were flowing from her mouth as freely as the tears from her eyes. My heart ached for her. How could I have doubted Rainbow Dash? "If I had just.... if I'd listened to you, then this wouldn't have happened! I should have known that it was Glamour Gem all along, how in the hay could I have doubted you!?" I was very surprised to hear that- they had all somehow been informed that Glamour Gem was responsible for what had happened. Melodia turned to look at me, as if to say 'Do you really think she hates you now?'. He then turned his attention back to the weeping pegasus, as did I. "Don't leave me, Shadow! I need you.... you hear me!? I NEED YOU!!" She flung herself over the bed, wrapping her forelegs around my neck, sobs of complete heartbreak erupting out of her like lava from a volcano. Celestia quietly walked up behind her. "Rainbow Dash, we must be on our way." "No! Just leave me here, Celestia!" Rainbow cried. "You know I cannot do that, Rainbow Dash. You are the Element of Loyalty, and you are needed in Equestria." "And I need Shadow Chord!" she countered, "I sure as hay wasn't loyal to him!" "You didn't know what had happened, Rainbow." Celestia said. "I understand your pain. We all are deeply saddened by this. but we must continue to go about our lives. Hush now, there will be time for grieving when we get back. Let's go." Despite Rainbow's protests, Celestia teleported them back. Only this time, Melodia and myself remained in the hospital room. My mind was ablaze with intense thought, pity, sorrow and guilt. I couldn't believe myself, that I would think my friends all shunned and hated me now. That was for the land I was in at the moment- shunning and hatred belonged in Terretia, not in Equestria. I was more than ready to run back to Equestria and apologize for ever doubting them, to assure that that I wasn't going anywhere! "Do you still wish to pass into the afterlife?" Melodia asked me. He was right, this had not only affected my decision, it had changed my mind! "No." I said,"I realize now that I have too many ponies... too many friends that I can't just leave and abandon." Melodia chuckled. "I am pleased that you now see it that way. In that case, I send with you my blessing and goodwill. Return now to your life. Keep bringing the gift of music to the world, Shadow Chord." With that, Melodia's horn glowed, and the familiar golden light surrounded me completely again. I expected to wake up in the hospital bed, where I would recover and return to Equestria... but that wasn't at all what happened. Instead, I found myself on standing on my hooves in my house back in Equestria! Sunlight was beginning to peak through, indicating that a few hours had passed since Melodia sent me back, even though to me it had felt like ten seconds or so. I noticed that I was behind my bandmates, who were updating our website. Lightning Shredder spoke aloud as he typed: "Shadow Chord was a talented musician, but more importantly, the best friend anypony could ask for. He will be greatly missed by us and everypony who..." I attempted to step forward, but I noticed that even though many of my injuries had vanished, I was still very weak. Likely from the sleepless days and nights... and perhaps from being beaten, as I was extrmely sore. I stumbled upon trying to walk, which caught their attention. They all whipped their heads around and their eyes once again widened, but in a joyous surprise this time, not in terror. "Shadow Chord!?" Striker exclaimed. "I...I, uh...." I stuttered. "You're alive!" Virtuoso stated in surprise. I was about to speak, but instead, I just began laughing a silent, breathless laugh. I don't know why, but I continued to laugh for a few moments before I felt fatigue overpowering me. I thought that I would be running up and hugging them and explaining the entire situation; but frankly, at the current moment, I didn't care about explaining anything to them just yet, probably because of how weak and weary I had become. But that didn't necessarily bother me, either. I was back home in Equestria, back to stay, and that was all that mattered to me. I quickly stumbled over my own hooves as I approached the sofa. "Aw, jeez...." That was all I managed to stutter before I flopped down onto the sofa and instantly fell asleep.