Pessimism and Sarcasm
Chapter 19
The Moon's Shadow
I let out a yawn and stretch my legs out a bit, then flip over to stretch my wings.
"This bed is so comfy! I wonder if Big Brother and Sister’s beds are this comfy." I roll over and close my eyes, almost falling asleep again before I realize what I just said.
"I have a new sister! I have a sister!" I leap out of bed and run to Silhouette’s room. With my magic, I throw the door open and jump onto her bed. But she’s not there!
“Hey, where is she?” I hop from her bed back to the ground and leave the room. “Guess I’ll check on Jake.”
Jake’s door is already open, and when I climb onto his bed I see that Silhouette must have been the one to open it.
“Oh, I wish I had a camera!” The two are sleeping peacefully; Silhouette is loosely wrapped around Jake, dressed in a pair of shorts and a shirt that just barely covers those weird mounds on her chest. "What are those anyway?"
With a tiny groan, Jake turns over and faces Silhouette, nuzzling right up to her mounds. His eyes suddenly open and he flips over again, revealing that he is definitely awake. His hands pull at his hair, and he mutters to himself as a massive blush spreads across his face.
“What’s wrong, Jake?” I ask. That looked really comfortable. Why is he unhappy about it?
"Plenty." He tries to get out of bed, but in her sleep Silhouette pulls him closer, constricting him with her arms and legs. Jake shuts his eyes and balls his hands into fists. “Where did she get the idea for this form? Please don’t let this become a running gag!”
I giggle as Jake pries Silhouette off of him and crawls out of the bed. A deep growl resonates around us, and we look at Silhouette, who suddenly seems to be in a panic. Her arms search for Jake, reaching out toward him and then wrapping around her own body.
“Jake, something’s wrong with her. She looks really scared,” I say, watching my sister whimper in her sleep. I move closer to her, and I see how her arms are making the lumps on her chest squish. I step a little closer, and suddenly her arms reach out. She pulls me to her and curls herself around me.
Now my face is exactly where Jake’s was, but I still don’t see what the problem is. “What are these things?” I ask, poking one with my hoof.
Jake is pacing around the room. “I thought this would happen. She’s having separation anxiety. Our minds were together for too long, and now she’s scared to be on her...Shade, what are you doing?!”
"I'm seeing what these things are. They're so weird and soft.” I bury my muzzle in Silhouette’s chest, squishing her lumps over and over.
“Stop that, Shade!” he shouts, jumping onto the bed and trying to free me from Silhouette.
I hold onto her, though. “What’s wrong with you? I like this!” I hear Silhouette yawn, and she relaxes her grip on me.
"Oh, Shade. Good morning! Funny, though. I could have sworn I was in Jake's-"
"You are,” Jake mumbles, sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from us. “I need to get ready. I’ll just wait outside for you to leave. Please excuse me.” He leaves the room, still blushing and mumbling to himself.
Silhouette lets me go and gets out of bed. She stretches her arms up, and the small shirt lengthens to cover her belly, her shorts lengthening into pants. I bet Rarity would be so jealous to see how easily Silhouette can make clothing.
I jump off the bed and try to leave the room, but Silhouette scoops me up and carries me out with her. She’s so tall, it’s kind of scary up here. When I was a shadow, I could grow to any height, but even in my Nightmare Moon form I wasn’t nearly as tall as Silhouette.
She carries me into the main room and we wait for Jake so we can get breakfast. When he’s ready, we head out the door and down the hallway toward the dining room. As we near the dining room, I see somepony coming toward us. It’s the unicorn from yesterday! I quickly duck behind Silhouette's legs. A unicorn, of all ponies.
"Good morning, Jake. Silhouette." She looks around and sees me hiding. She gives me a warm smile and a wave. "Hi, Shade!" I wrap my forelegs tightly around Silhouette’s leg. She kneels down and picks me up again.
"Just give her some time,” Jake says. “She'll warm up to you. She warmed up to Twilight, Luna, and Celes- well, Twilight and Luna anyway." I like Aunt Celestia! She’s just kind of imposing, is all.
We continue on down the hallway together. When we get to the dining room doors, two guards quickly usher us in.
Aunt Celestia and Mom are already in the room, talking and chuckling about something. I leap out of Sil's grasp and gallop over to give Mom a hug.
"Mommy!" I cry, grasping her foreleg.
She smiles and scoops me up in her wings. “Good morning, little Shade.”
"You see?” Aunt Celestia says. “This is exactly why I hope somepony else pops into Equestria. I would love an adoptive child of my own."
That makes me a little sad, so when Mom puts me down I give Aunt Celestia a big hug too. She laughs sweetly and covers me with her soft, white feathers.
I sit next to Mom and Silhouette as we eat breakfast. Everyone else talks all seriously about something or other, but we build little houses out of our pancakes. Mom’s magic is such a pretty color, illuminating forks and the syrup pitcher. After we finish each lovely little house, Sil demands that we make it bigger, taller - like her. Soon our plates are covered in pancake mansions that tower high above me.
After breakfast, we split up - everypony goes with Aunt Celestia to do boring stuff and talk more, but Mom and I go out into the courtyard to practice flying.
I get so close to really flying! I’m almost above Mom’s head when my little wings start burning and I fall on my face again. Looking up from the grass and dirt, I see Sunset Shimmer watching from the castle doorway. I feel like she was laughing at me. Horrible unicorn.
"Mom, why does Sunset Shimmer follow us wherever we go?" I ask, getting back to my feet.
Mom frowns at me, and I feel a small darkness in my belly. “Shade,” she says. “Do you know about what happened to Sunset? Did Twilight tell you about her adventure a few months ago, when she and Spike went through a magic mirror?"
To get rid of the darkness, I flutter my wings, trailing my hooves along the grass. "To get her crown back because somepony stole it, yeah."
"The pony who stole it was also named Sunset Shimmer."
I gasp, settling back onto the ground. "So, you mean she took-"
"No Shade,” she says, kneeling down to my level. “The Sunset Shimmer you've seen here isn’t the one that stole Twilight’s crown. That one is still in the world beyond the mirror.”
Two Sunset Shimmers? Did they split apart like Jake and Silhouette? Like me and Mom?
I want to ask, but before I can find the words, Mom speaks again. “Shade, our Sunset Shimmer watches us play together now because she had something more important than a crown stolen from her. She lost her own friends, her family, her entire life.”
I look at her with wide eyes, unsure what she means, but certain it isn’t good.
Digging at the ground with my hoof, I ask softly, "So that’s why she’s around us all the time?"
“That is part of the reason. She misses what she had. She used to look much like Jake, if you can imagine that. Though the world from which he came is very different from hers, he’s still the most familiar being she’s encountered since she came here, two and a half years ago.”
She stands up and lifts me with her magic. There’s a terrible darkness that grows in me again. “Mommy, put me down. You’re scaring me.”
Mom sets me down, but frowns again. “Shade, we also think that Sunset being around is beneficial for you.”
“How so? She scares me much more than you do.”
Her frown grows bigger, and I realize what I said. As I step forward to hug her, she says, “That is exactly why. She is going to help you get over your fear of unicorns.” I look up at her, about to protest. "Now I don't expect you to get over it right away,” she says, placing a hoof over my mouth and wrapping a wing around me. “It's going to take time, but I would like you to give her a chance, just like you did with Twilight and Rarity. With your aunt and myself.”
She squeezes me between her feathers, tickling me a little. I giggle and say, “Okay, Mom. I’ll try my best.”
We practice a couple minutes more, but I don’t make much progress. Then a guard meets us, telling Mom that Aunt Celestia needs her.
"Can I come with?" I ask.
Mom shakes her head. "I’m sorry, Shade. This is royal business, and there’s a pesky protocol that disallows you from attending. One day, however, you will have to attend meetings like these. Your brother and sister too, as you three are now royalty.” She pushes me with her wing and we start walking toward the castle. "For now, enjoy your childhood, dear.”
We turn the corner at the castle doors and see Sunset Shimmer. She’s talking to another guard, so I hide in Mom’s tail, before she can see me. But Mom pushes me in front of her.
"Remember, Shade, she's going to get you over your fear of unicorns. To that end, I decided you will be spending the rest of the day with her."
My jaw drops open. "Where are Jake and Silhouette?"
She sighs, her ears flattening. "They are probably in your suite by now. Jake has just received news that…” She closes her eyes and turns away from me. The darkness inside appears again. “That Celestia and I have found no way to send him back to his home. No safe way, that is.”
“But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” I ask, laying a hoof on her hind leg. “I don’t want Big Brother to go away.”
“I understand why you wouldn’t. But imagine how Jake feels about this. He will never see his true mother again. He’s trapped in this strange world, and unlike Sunset Shimmer, his form hasn’t adapted to it. He is an alien in Equestria, and it will take much effort from him in order to fit in and live a life that is so different from his old one.”
She looks at me with her big, deep eyes. I look back as tears fall from mine. Is Big Brother really in so much pain?
“I thought having you spend some time with Sunset might give him the space he needs to accept this news,” Mom continues. I nod and look over at Sunset. That’s when I notice that her eyes are red, undoubtedly like mine. “She’s been working as hard as the rest of us to find a way to send Jake home,” Mom says. “Today is the day she gave up.”
I nod again, without realizing it. It’s hard to speak, but I do it anyway. “Okay, Mom. I’ll go with her.”
She brushes me with her wing, and I leave toward Sunset. I slowly step across the room to where she still speaks with the guard. Before she notices me, I grasp her foreleg and bury my face in it, as I begin to sob.
I feel her as she gasps, then hear her burst into tears.