Pessimism and Sarcasm
Chapter 12
A Shady Day.
The day started rather normally; Jake got up early and left the room to watch something on his laptop without disturbing Twilight or Spike. So, I followed him. It's really easy to do that when you're a shadow as no one can hear you unless you want them to. You don’t even have to open doors - I just sneak under the crack at the bottom. I made my way up to him as he sat down in his favorite spot and placed the computer on the table in front of him.
"Hey, big brother, what'cha gonna watch?" I asked as he started clicking his way through folders.
"I dunno, how about some more Avatar?" he replied.
“Yay!” I squealed as I hopped over to his side. Avatar is my favorite of the cartoons he watches. My favorite character is the Avatar himself. He reminds me a lot of myself: he’s mischievous, funny, and all around just a kid wanting to have fun. I jumped onto his shoulder and assumed piggyback riding position while he set up the video. He started the episode and I heard the now familiar "Water, Earth, Fire, Air."
We watch shows every day, and even more when he doesn’t have to work, but this wasn't one of those days. Today, just like normal, we watched an episode before he got ready to go to the spa. Then Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell stopped by to help me walk to school.
What was special about today was that we only had a half day at school, so I spent the afternoon with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, wandering around Ponyville in search of our Cutie Marks. I don’t actually know if I can earn a Cutie Mark - I probably can’t. So I mostly just watched the three have fun, from the safety of Applebloom’s shadow.
We were close to the train station, watching ponies get on a train headed to Canterlot. As I watched, something caught my eye and made my stomach start to hurt. A mint green unicorn mare was stomping toward my shadow, and seemed to be glowering straight at me. I didn’t understand how she could see me, and now it seems like I just overreacted, but my knees began to knock against each other, and soon I was dashing blindly from shadow to shadow! I guess I was getting closer and closer to the train as I ran, and once that unicorn was out of sight, I was actually in one of the train cars. I looked around hoping to find some nearby shadows that I could sneak to without causing alarm, but the car was well lit and the sun shined brightly all around; getting off unnoticed was impossible.
I started breathing heavily, as more and more ponies boarded the train. In front of my shadow was a patch of sunlight that leaked through a window across the car. If I wanted to leave, I would’ve had to bear that light. Slowly, I reached a hoof out of the shadow. Just like usual, my leg began sizzling, and I instantly felt this sleepy heaviness fall over me. With a grimace, I retracted my hoof and crouched down into the shadow.
It's okay, I kept telling myself. You'll get to Canterlot, transfer to the shadow of somepony who's taking the train back, and everything will be fine. I looked up and saw a stallion with dark red coat of fur, a bright yellow mane, and a black jacket. I stood in this kind and unknowing pony’s shadow. Then I saw his unicorn horn. I felt the scream well up in my throat, but I couldn’t give myself away, so I swallowed it and sat there paralyzed with fear. This was going to be a long trip.
To help pass the time and keep my mind off of his magic, I paid close attention to the stallion’s conversations. I found out a lot about him, like that his name is Firebrand, and that he was headed to Canterlot for some kind of convention. The mare sitting next to him, a red Pegasus with muddy hair was accompanying him. Her name was Ink Rose. I heard other ponies around the car keep saying the two made a cute couple or that they should get married, to which the pair would blush and shake their heads. Other times though, Ink Rose - much to Firebrand's dismay - would joke and start describing their future together. I couldn't see his face during the rest of the trip, as he kept it buried behind his foreleg, and every time it would be brought up again, he'd let out a groan.
As they stepped off the train, I attempted to leave his shadow, only to find out that the sun was shining even brighter in Canterlot. Now I had two options: stay hidden in his shadow or pop out of it and reveal my own shadowy form. The first option sounded better, so all three of us set off into the city. The good news is I got a great view of its sights. The bad news, of course, is that this was going to be an even longer trip.
We finally got to the convention, and I was still stuck hiding in his shadow. When I first saw where we were, I got really excited. The thing was being held in the Canterlot castle, after all! But it didn’t take long for me to realize what that meant, or to remember who lives there.
Well, this isn't good, I muttered sullenly to myself. What was worse was that the inside of the castle was just as bright as the outside. Does everypony have something against darkness or something? My moment came, though, as Firebrand passed by an unlit hallway. I didn't care where it went, just that it had plenty of shadows. I leaped out of his as we passed, and bounded silently into the dark.
"It's a good thing he went on that tour." I giggled with relief. I decided to explore this portion of the castle, wondering why it would be dark during the day.
As I made my way down the hallway, I encountered several intersections where the dark hallway and other lit hallways met. "Okay, so it's just this one hallway. Why though?" I whispered to myself. The answer came in the form of a large, ornate door that seemed to be decorated itself with night.
"That's a big door. What's on the other side?" I whispered. "Only one way to find out!" I gritted my teeth and flattened myself against the shadowy floor. Then, quietly snuck under the door.
I found myself in a huge bedroom with the same motif as the door. Stars and the moon - they were everywhere. I wandered around, feeling simply wonderful. “I guess that answers my ques-” I stopped, eyes bursting. I could hear light breathing, from somepony in the bed. Slowly, I unstuck my legs, which had frozen in terror. I crept toward the bed, and silently stretched my body upward. I peeked down onto the bed, only to see the Princess of the Night herself. Choking back a gasp, I tripped backward over my long legs. The sight of her horn was more than I could bear. I shrank down again and rushed back toward the door, only to be stopped by a sudden dark blue glow around it.
My thoughts had become a tangled mess as I attempted to get through the door any way I could. But the blue glow of Luna's magic made it impossible for me to open the door, or even to slide under it or between the door and its frame. There was only one thing I could do, and so I slowly turned around and sat, staring down at the floor. My ears flattened against my head and I struggled to keep tears back, though my body shivered uncontrollably as I thought about the life I had lived and now was about to lose.
Years seemed to pass as I waited for the end. Eventually, I opened my eyes and looked up. Standing not two feet from me was Luna. She was staring right at me, looking me over with a curious eye. My stomach turned and I shut my eyes again, hoping she'd make it quick. Still nothing occurred. But then came the unexpected.
"Hello Shade, it's nice to finally meet you."
I awoke in the familiar and comforting surroundings of Twilight's library. I got out of my little bed and looked around the room, finding Jake talking to somepony...two someponies...two rather large, familiar someponies.
"Are you all right Shade?" Twilight suddenly asked from beside me.
I squealed and hopped around to face her. "Oh, hi Twilight. Y-yeah I guess so..." I stuttered as I tried to regain my composure. "So, what happened?"
"You fainted the moment I spoke to you." Luna said as she walked up. My chest grew tighter with each step she took. "Now I have a question: how did you make your way from Ponyville to my room in Canterlot?"
"It's a f-funny story actually,” I laughed like a mania, unable to make eye contact. “See, I never even meant to go to Canterlot.”
Luna urged me to continue, and soon I found that I was calming down. Near the end of my story, Jake sat down next to me. I noticed that I could breathe much more easily having him close.
"-And then I found myself in your room, and well now we're here." I finished up the story, feeling much more comfortable as I sat on my big bro's lap.
"I see. So it was your fear of unicorns that drove you to Canterlot. It saddens me that it was my doing that left you fearful of those with magic." Luna said.
Celestia turned to her sister. “Luna, that wasn’t you. Do not feel responsible for something you could not control.”
“But I could control it, sister,” Luna looked down suddenly, and her crown slipped forward on her head. “Now is not the time to discuss this, however.” She looked at me again. "I am glad to have met you. Twilight has written to me and Celestia about you. We too are searching for a spell to give you form." Her voice became cheerier, and she cast a mischievous grin. "And it seems my little ‘daughter’ has adopted a brother, and it's good to see that you two get along so well, and care for each other."
Celestia started to giggle softly.
"What?" Jake said, rubbing his eyes.
Celestia composed herself, then said, with a little smile, "From now on you can call me Auntie Tia."
Then it was Jake's turn to faint. Or did he collapse on purpose?