Pessimism and Sarcasm

by Jerec the Ascendant

Chapter 17: Silhouette

Pessimism and Sarcasm

Chapter 17

Silhouette

It's been a few days since the "Flutterbat" incident. During that time Rainbow Dash has been keeping her distance from me, while Lyra on the other hoof has overcome some of her shyness, leaving less and less distance between us everyday. Rarity in her "oh so generous" nature saw it fit to share with the rest of the group exactly what went down the night before the incident, causing me to attempt to keep my distance as well. I say attempt because it would take a true master of stealth to avoid Pinkie Pie.

Today I've decided to stay in the library, considering Twilight’s one of the only ponies who hasn’t been teasing me. She’s been too busy studying me and my new abilities. She spent the last couple days trying to compare my shapeshifting to that of a Changeling’s.

It’s morning now, before Celestia has even raised the sun. I’m in the library, getting some early gaming in, when Shade appears.

"Hey Bro!" she says, jumping onto my lap to look at the screen of my handheld device. "What game are you playing?"

I relax, realizing that she isn’t here to tease me. "Today I figured I'd do a bit of monster hunting." She snuggles up to me, making herself comfortable while watching me game. I have my character make his way through the village doing checks at some of the shops before heading to the village chief for a quest. I'm just about to start when Twilight teleports into the room. Her sudden entrance has my heart racing - it’s surprising to even see her up this early.

"Oh Jacob, there you are,” she says, sighing. “Thank goodness I've found you."

“Twilight, we've been over this,” I say. “I'm not going to run away because of some teasing, and Silhouette isn't going to take over again and send me running through the Everfree Forest. All you had to do was check your own house."

That’s the name she’s been using, by the way. Silhouette. The shapeshifting side of me. She’s been testing out names for a while now: Amorpha, Sophie, Sophia, Melissa Grey, Unanswered Question, Shifting Shape, Sue. I think she's sticking with Silhouette though; it’s lasted longer than any of the others.

"It's not that,” Twilight says, her eyes darting around the room. “I just received a letter from Celestia. She's called me to an urgent meeting."

"Okay..."

"And she wants to make sure that nopony in Ponyville knows I'm gone."

"Uh-huh..."

She rubbed a hoof behind her ear and looked at me. "So she and I thought that you could disguise yourself as me for a while, and make everypony think I'm still here." She gives me a cheesy smile, just praying that I’ll say yes.

"No."

"What? Why not?!"

"I'm not going to be you for the day."

"But Jake, I need your help."

"Asking the wrong guy."

Her lip pouted and her forehead crinkled. "What is it this time?"

"This time?" I ask, back to playing.

"Rarity informed me all about your little chat in the restaurant a few days ago.”

I exhale so strongly that Shade covers the back of her head and turns to glare at me.

"In this case, it isn't that I'd be changing into a pony,” I say. “It's the fact that I'd be changing my gender." Twilight raises a hoof in protest, but I continue. “In any case, I have a better idea. Silhouette can do it.”

Twilight’s mouth drops open. “Are you crazy? She’s been terrorizing the townsponies since she got here!”

“They’re just little pranks!” The last couple days, Pinkie Pie and Silhouette have been hanging out, and the two naturally started having some fun - innocent fun - with a couple ponies. To be fair, it hasn’t been helping with her reputation. “Listen, if she gets to do this, think of how much she’d learn about normal pony interaction.”

Twilight sighs. "You have a good point..."

"Alright, it's settled, Silhouette gets to play the role of Twilight for the day.” I pause, hearing a voice in the back of my head. “Though, she does have one condition."

"What's that?" Twilight asks, rolling her eyes.

"That you ask her."

Her mouth drops open again, eyes wide. I set Shade on the ground. “Have fun at school,” I say. “Sorry we couldn’t hang out much this morning.”

---

(Twilight's PoV)

Jacob's skin and clothing begin to ripple, changing shape and size. They grow and lengthen out into the form that Silhouette has chosen to take for now. He’s really doing this to me?

I watch the shapeshifter take her final form. She's a tall creature, burgeoning at almost seven feet tall. She’s trim and fit, covered from head to toe in a grayish fur. Her fingers and toes end in small claws, her head and face resemble Jacob’s more than any pony’s, but they also don't hide her primal origins. Her ears, much like a wolf's, are located further up on her head. Her mouth though humanlike in appearance sticks out slightly more than Jacob’s. Her silvery grey eyes almost seem to have a predatory nature, and I can see myself reflected in their large black pupils. Behind her wags a fox-like tail.

She’s decided to wear clothing, and stands in front of me adorned in a pair of loose shorts and a t-shirt. Despite her impressive size, she’s like a filly trapped in a mare’s body. She still has much to learn about social protocol and such, and Pinkie Pie isn't helping. Am I really supposed to trust her?

I groan. Pull yourself together. She's a friend, and if Jacob trusts her, I can too. I mean, she's only a shape shifting predator from another dimension who up until five days, thirteen hours, and twenty seven minutes ago was completely feral and wanted to eat us.

Silhouette smiles at me, revealing glimmering fangs beneath her human lips.

I feel my knees quaking. Come on, Twilight. Just put your best hoof forward...

---

(Silhouette's PoV)

How nice it is to be awake! I’ve spent too much time studying these ponies from the back of Jake’s subconscious. I look down at Twilight and wait. I sense her anger and fear. I smile to calm her down, but the little pony only starts shaking.

Finally, she takes a large breath and speaks. "Hello Silhouette, I assume you have heard our plan, yes?" After a second, I nod. She is speaking almost too quickly for me to understand. "Good! Then if it is no trouble for you, would you please take my form now?" She smiles broadly. Ooh, squeaky toy! Where? Where?! Stay focused, Silhouette.

With another nod, I transform. Before Twilight can blink, she’s staring into a mirror. I decide to have some fun to help loosen her up. Her eyes are wide when they see me, and I open mine up to match her. She lifts a hoof, and I mirror her.

"Wow," she says, and I move my own mouth with hers.

"What do you think Twilight? Will I do for the job?" My voice startles me; it’s just as squeaky as hers.

"Yes, you should do fine.” She rubs her chin and watches me with her face squinched up. “I just need to be sure you have my personality down, and then I'll be on my way." She seems to be more comfortable now that I have no claws and my teeth are just as dull as hers.

She starts poking me, fixing my posture and the fall of my mane. "Twilight?” I ask as she licks her hoof and brushes my tail.

“Mmhm?” she mutters.

“When you get back, can we talk about your problem with me?"

"Problem?!” She leaps back, tucking her hoof in. “What makes you think I have a problem with you?!"

"You're afraid and angry. I understand why you’d be afraid of me, but why are you so angry?"

"I'm not angry!" she shouted. Then her horn glowed and a giant clock appeared in front of my face. "Oh, would you look at the time? I have to go!” She dashed to her room, then came back with saddlebags and a scarf. “I'll be back soon!" She’s grinding those flat teeth of her. She’s so angry. She swallows something hard. “Remember, nopony’s supposed to know!"

And then she’s standing at the front door, only to disappear in a bright violet flash.

Five hours later, no one has stopped by the library at all. Even Spike is gone, out getting another claw massage. I stretch myself out and yawn. I've even checked Twilight’s to-do list just to see if there's anything happening today. I wish Shade didn’t have to go to school.

“There just has to be something to do!" I let out a groan that shakes the library. Some books tumble off the shelves.

Then the door crashes open and Pinkie Pie hops in. "Hi Silhouette!"

"Pinkie!” I stretch my purple legs out and stand up. “Wait, how'd you know it was me?"

She laughs so hard she snorts. “Oh, that was easy. Twilight would never be bored in a library, silly!" She skips over to me and nuzzles her poofy mane against my cheek. "So, you wanna go have some fun in town again?"

I smile wide. "Sure! I'll just-” Then I remember how Twilight trusted me. How I was trying to make a good impression. I groan again. “On second thought Pinkie, I better stay here."

"Okay, we'll just have some fun here!"

"Like what? There’s nothing to do here."

She smiles and steps toward Jake’s room. "Well, we could watch something on Jake's lappy...compy...thingy."

I think for a second, then reply, "Pinkie Pie, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Then together we cry, "MOVIE TIME!"

We rush over to the laptop, and I open it and turn it on using my version of Twilight’s magic. We start scanning through the different movie files, looking for something interesting.

"Hey, Silhouette,” Pinkie says, “How are you so good at magic? I mean, you've never used it before, right?"

"It's simple,” I tell her. “Twilight is good at magic, and right now I'm Twilight."

Pinkie squints her blue eyes. "But Twilight's good at magic through practice right?"

I keep scrolling through the files, my chin resting on a hoof. "You see, when my species shape shifts into something we don’t only gain their form, but everything about them. This includes their memories, quirks, and talents. If I tried, I could almost be a perfect clone."

"Why just almost?"

I stop scrolling, staring at the screen. “I have her memories, but I can only look at them from my own perspective. Like, I can remember a prank you played on her with invisible ink and I can remember her reaction to it, but I can’t tell exactly how she felt about it." I sigh and look around the library. "It was so much easier when what I turned into thought as much as I did."

Pinkie’s big grin bounces into my view. I smile back at her. "It’s just more challenging. Everything I turn into now has plans for the future, odd thoughts and emotions, thoughts on right and wrong, things that I never really used to encounter. It's all so complicated. The good thing is when I change back I lose all of these memories."

"Really? Well, that doesn’t sound fun."

"It can’t be helped. I won’t be Twilight anymore, so I won’t be able to access any more of her memories. But I will remember that sweet prank you pulled on her.” I nudge Pinkie with my elbow. “And I’ll remember this moment right now, looking for a movie and talking with you.”

"Awww." Noodley limbs wrap themselves around me and we sit there smiling. Then Pinkie bursts into laughter.

“What is it?” I ask, startled.

She snorts as she tries to speak. "You really are Twilight! You explained shapeshifting just like she would have!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"You know, all lecturey! As if I’m in school and you’re the teacher," she says before falling over giggling.

I start laughing, too. "I guess you're right!"

As we settle down, we go back to the laptop. “Ooh, that one!” Pinkie cries, stepping on my mane in her excitement. “Do that one?”

"Magic School Bus, huh?"

We watch a good amount of episodes before Twilight returns, teleporting right in front of us. The bright flash has me choking on a piece of popcorn.

I wave goodbye to Pinkie Pie as she hops out of the library, still singing the theme song.

"Ride On The Magic School Bus!"

Twilight smiles after her, then glances at me and hurries toward her room.

“Oh no, you don’t,” I say, stamping my hoof. “It’s time to talk about your issue with me.”

"Issue? Silhouette, we discussed this. I don’t have an issue with you." She laughs, her eyes darting around the room.

"I can smell it on you, Twilight. Anger and fear." She backs away from me. "I just want to know why. Please."

I step closer and she gulps under my shadow. She backs up again, into a bookcase. The old books above wobble as we watch, but only dust falls from the shelves. With a sigh, Twilight looks into my eyes - her eyes.

“So, what’s eating you?” I ask.

Finally, she spoke. "It's not what is eating me, but what could be."

My ears flatten, and I step back. She’s afraid I’ll eat her? Suddenly, she seems taller, and I feel a swirling fear in my own stomach.

She turns away from me. "You may not have done anything since then, but I don’t think you understand what we felt the first time we met you." She turns back and her eyes widen before she grins and looks down at me. I retreat as she advances, towering over me. "First you run off in my friend’s body. Then when we find you, this strange creature, the first thing you do is attack us!"

We’ve crossed the room and now I’m the one backed against a wall. Her cheeks are growing red, and tears come to her eyes. “The worst part is you put the lives of my friends in danger! And how have you made it up to us? Even more, I don't really know you! I've never even seen what you actually look like! How am I supposed to know if you’re really a friend or just playing as one?! Why shouldn't I be angry at you?!”

I’m crying too, cowering in the corner. “Now change into something other than me as a filly,” she snarls. “It’s weird yelling at myself!"

"Huh?" I look down at myself and see tiny purple legs and hooves. I stand up straight, the fear in my stomach turning to bricks of guilt. "Twilight, I'm sorry. But you have to realize,” I stretch out my legs out, and as I do they grow thicker, more muscular, “I wasn't even capable of thought back then."

She still glares at me, so I close my purple eyes and let my fur change. I feel it grow darker, black and grey. I stretch taller. “Back then, I was a simple-minded predator, trapped in a strange world and forced to take on a strange shape.” Claws poke through where I once had hooves, and my flat teeth sharpen and hang over my bottom jaw. “I suddenly had a mind full of thoughts that overwhelmed me, that I had never imagined could be thought. I was scared, hungry.” My stomach turns as I think about eating the pony in front of me. About how I almost hurt a friend.

“Then there was this spark,” I continue, growing still larger. “Things started making more sense and less sense at the same time. I could think, feel emotions and put a name to them. The more I looked through Jake's mind, the more things started to make sense. Then we learned about the thing who did this to us, this experiment. That thing with no ethics, and to us, no face or name.”

I open my silver grey eyes, hoping they look gentle to the tiny pony below me.

Her mouth is open, and I’m worried she didn’t hear a word I said. “So, th-that’s your tr-true f-form?” she asks.

I drop my head. “Well, I’m smaller than usual. My true form is simply too big for your library.”

She lifts my chin with a hoof, and smiles at me. “Oh, Silhouette. I understand. And I’m sorry for doubting you. Jake trusts you, and that should have been enough for me.“

My tail wags behind me, and I grin at her before I can remember that I have my fangs once again. But she only winces, and asks, “So, how big should you be?”

I put a claw to my chin and think. “Oh, I know!” I kneel down to her level and open my mouth wide. Twilight leaps back at first, but steps closer when she sees what I’m trying to show her. In my mouth, two forms take shape. One is Jake, and the other is another version of herself.

I watch as the little pony’s ears drop. "Is that really an accurate size comparison?"

With a chuckle I reach into my mouth and hold the tiny figures in my paw. "Yup!"

Twilight begins breathing heavily, and before I know what I’ve done, she passes out.

"Oops..."

Author's Note:

Pessimism and Sarcasm is officially back and alive again. Let's hope that it is better than it was before. For all those who followed this before, you'll want to go back and re-read the chapters as they have changed quite a bit.

I also finished the next chapter of The Other Sunset Shimmer.

Comments

[TheVirginianist]

Silhouette? Really, homie? Also, how come you made The Shapeshifter tell Twilight that she have doubts on it, and what made Twilight passed out? Is what she saw inside? Cause I'm confused.

(Note: I'm not being mean, I'm just asking. No need to think of me offending your work. You know I try my best and respect you and others. Just saying is all, nothing mean. )

[Jerec the Ascendant]

6699978 Silhouette as her name makes sense, as she is a "silhouette" of whatever shape she takes.

Doubts on what? You'll have to clarify.

Twilight passed out because of just how big Silhouette really is. As is written in the story, Silhouette shows Twilight a size comparison between her actual form, my character, and Twilight. In essence, Silhouette at her full size is easily capable of gulping down Twilight and my character at the same time, with no real effort.

[TheVirginianist]

6700009 I see. Is what Silhouette is doing is bad? I'm not making fun of it or doubt it, I'm just asking.

[Amethyst Blade]

Shit been trippin man...the last part feel out of place somehow...Twily being awfully mean and shit...

[Jerec the Ascendant]

6700018 No, Silhouette isn't doing anything bad... Just accidentally freaking out Twilight.

[Jerec the Ascendant]

6700106 Well, it is canon that Twilight can be untrusting and even mean, not downright cruel but mean, to characters who have wronged or threatened her and/or her friends in the past.

[Amethyst Blade]

6700128 Which part...Sorry, but I don't watch every episode at least 10 times so I don't know.

[Jerec the Ascendant]

6700134 When Trixie returns, Discord on multiple occasions, obviously "Cadences" first appearance (Though her gut feelings are correct)... I think there are a few others, I just can't remember them.

[TheVirginianist]

6700123 Oh okay. Awesome Job by the way, homie!

[Amethyst Blade]

6700144 Discord doesn't really put much of an effort really...Trixie return with a vengence and a magical enhancement, which she made ament with at a fucking fast speed at the end of the episode...Starlight Gleamer..."That was fast".