Tale of a Comet: White Light

by Ashfur

Companions by candlelight

Author's Note:

Until he learns equish (which I plan to do over a timeskip soon), Comet will have his speech translated for your convenience. When you see [text], nopony can understand it in the story.

Comet stared at his reflection in the mirror, gray eyes gazing back. He had been like this for half an hour since he woke up, his mind desperately trying to process his surprise change of species. For what it was worth, though, that was only the first of many things wrong with the room.

For starters, his body was that of a pegasus now. Admittedly strange, but he managed to walk over to the mirror in the dim light of the crescent moon out the window. What he saw put him at ease, but also worried him slightly. Looking at his new cutiemark, he recognized the stars he used in his dreams to keep his insecurities at bay, but their lack of color was disturbing. There was also eight stars instead of seven, but something told him it belonged.

The other major problem was that of the clipboard at the end of his hospital bed. It was written in an indecipherable script, some foreign language that Comet didn't recognize. Everything else in the room was written in it too, so he had no idea of where he was or even what the inspirational posters on the wall said. What he did find, though, after stumbling about on his new legs, was a lantern affixed to a small gold chain hanging from the wall.

Deciding to find out where he was, Comet took a running leap and yanked the light fixture down from its hook. He made some noise, but at least he had a portable light source! Taking it up in his mouth despite hating the taste, he grabbed the lantern and awkwardly stumbled out of the room.

The hallway was deserted. Not another soul in sight was awake at this late hour as the gray pegasus roamed the halls. The little bit of light from his lantern guided him as he moved around as quietly as he could, looking for a way out of the building.

At the center of the city, a few dozen blocks away, a young pony was trying to sneak out herself. Granted, being a princess, Flurry Heart had her own dedicated guard, so she had to start her escape attempt by flying out her window and quickly swooping down into the gardens below. Thankfully nopony saw her leave, so all she had to do was slip past the guards in the garden and she should be able to sneak out through the courtyard as the guards ran their nightly patrols. It was tricky, and the guards knew she had tried it before, but she kept to the shadows and managed to get to the outer courtyard by cutting through the hedges.

Sneaking out of the courtyard would be harder. Guards kept a close watch on the sky and the gate so no intruders could get in. This also meant that nopony could leave without being noticed, either. That is, until a messenger ran through the gate and made an announcement.

"I just got word from the Cryatal Jewel Memorial hospital! Comet has disappeared!"

Within minutes the courtyard was abuzz with activity as search groups were formed. Flurry had to retreat back to the gardens to avoid detection, but she was able to slip over the wall unnoticed as a cloud covered the moon due to the sudden absence of nearly half the guard force.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Comet had managed to find and exit one of the matinence doors in the back of the facility. He nearly dropped the lantern from his mouth as he looked around him, buildings made of crystal glittering in the moonlight. Still, he decided to pick a direction and start walking, hoping to find someone to help him with his predicament.

It wasn't long after he started walking that he came upon a place untouched by the shimmering crystals of the city. A small park featuring a hill and a few trees added some much needed nature to the mineral city. Deciding that a higher vantage point might help him get his bearings, he trotted up the hill to try and figure out where in this crazy city of crystals he was.

Flurry heart, meanwhile, was resting against a tree in her favorite park to stargaze in. She knew she would get found by the guards eventually and brought back to the castle, likely getting quite the talking-to, but she just wanted to get away from the role of princess. The week had barely begun and already her peers at school were trying to get on her good side again. It infuriated her, to be honest.

Suddenly, a light climbing the hill caught her eye, if only for a moment. She turned to face it, but it did not seem to be approaching her location. Shrugging it off as a pony out late, possibly lost, Flurry laid back down and watched the sky. However, the pony with the light was rather distracting as he climbed to the top of the hill and seemed to look around, lost. Against her better judgement, Flurry flew over to the mystery pony.

"Hey, are you lost?" She asked.

[Whoa, who's there?!] The pony jumped in surprise and spun around, dropping the lantern he was holding. Flurry recognized the colt quickly in the dim glow of the lantern. It was Comet, the pure gray pony who had fallen from the sky a few days prior.

Flurry took a startled step back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Flurry Heart, but you probably knew that. How did you get all the way over here?"

Comet tilted his head to one side, perplexed. [I'm sorry, I can't understand you, horse thing. Do you speak english?]

Flurry didn't recognize the language coming from the colt's mouth, but it held the inflection of a question. It was pretty obvious this pony didn't speak her language. So she pointed to herself. "Flurry Heart."

[Is that your name? Oh hey, you have wings too!] He glanced at the wings at her sides. [Can I call you feathers for now?]

Flurry was becoming even more confused. She laid down and beckoned Comet to do the same, the lantern ther only light as the moon vanished behind a cloud. "Do you not know who I am, or have you never seen an alicorn before? You must come from really far away, or at least hit your head pretty hard." Comet chose this moment to reach over and hold out a hoof in greeting, a smile on his face. He didn't need to say anything, as his message was clear. A greeting, and possibly friendship. She reached her hoof over to make contact, and he moved their hooves up and down in an odd motion.

[A handshake. Er, hoofshake.]

"I still don't understand you."

"There you are. Do you know how worried I've been Flurry?" A voice called from further down the hill.

Flurry's ears shot up and her eyes widened. "Oh, no! Mom found me! Aw mane, I don't wanna go home yet."

Comet looked down the hill and saw the silhouette of a lager pony approaching. He then looked back at the worried Flurry. In his mind, he thought the larger pony was trying to catch his new companion, but he didn't know why. Still, he put a hoof to his mouth go indicate silence and whispered, [Don't worry, Feathers. I wanna keep everyone safe. Just trust me.]

"What are you-" Before she cold finish, Comet grabbed the lantern and, not knowing how to turn it off with his mouth or hooves, resorted to spinning in place and letting go, sending the lantern flying. Now barely visible, he motioned for her to follow before galloping down the hill away from Cadence.

That was, at least until Cadence used her magic to grab the lantern, Flurry Heart, and Comet all in one go. Pulling Flurry close, she hugged her and began fussing over her. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, mom. I don't think he knows who we are. Or even how to speak Equish."

Comet was befuddled. [Wait, they know each other? So much for saving the day. And... I guess unicorns can levitate things? That's so cool!] It was then he noticed the two looking at him and asking him questions he couldn't even translate. He settled on one word.

[Hi!]

Comments

[The Watcher Face]

He had been like this for half an hour sin e he woke up, his mind desperately trying to process his surprise change of species.

Where’s the C?!

[Ashfur]

9215543
Oh, great. Another typo. I try to catch these. It's with all the other autocorrections my phone "helpfully" throws at me. Fixed.