A Shadow of Myself

Charlotte paused in front of the door to the guard room. In a moment, she would be introducing Empathy to the family. It was a family of weirdos, politicians, pillars of business, sociopaths, scoundrels, scientists, great mages, and more. There were some perfectly regular people there, too, like salespeople and weather ponies. Empathy had already met the three big names, Sunset Blessing, Wild Growth, and Phobia Remedy, which had gone…okay. Wild Growth didn't seem to care; Sunset was being Sunset, and Phobia…well, Phobia might want to kill the elephant, but that was only one out of the big three, so that wasn't so bad. Now it was on Charlotte to make sure he made a good impression with the rest of the family; his whole future here could depend on it.

"What's the hold-up?" Andrea asked.

Charlotte looked at her eldest sister. "I'm considering how to introduce Empathy."

Andrea gave her a sour look. "It's not complicated. Hey, everybody, this is Empathy Elephant. He's a care bear cousin I summoned with my powers, and he'll be staying with us for a while. See? Easy as that."

"He needs to make a good impression."

"That's on him, not you," Andrea asserted. "Personally, I think we'll have other issues than introducing your new bud when we get in there."

Charlotte blinked. "What issues?'

Andrea shook her head. "I don't want to jinx us by saying. Go on in; sitting out here isn't doing anything other than drawing this out."

Charlotte wasn't going to let her sister be cryptic. "Tell me what other issues."

"Fine," Andrea said with a sigh. "I'm surprised you didn't already think of it. All the family V.I.P.s are in the guard room, right?"

"Right."

"And they have been probably watching what's been going down in Sunset's office and my room by camera, which includes sound," Andrea continued. "What else other than this elephant and care bears have we been discussing that some of them might not have been aware of before?"

Charlotte's eyes went wide as she realized what Andrea was referring to. "Oh, shit…"

"Hey, no cussing in front of the elephant," Andrea chided.

Charlotte looked at him. "Sorry, Empathy."

He looked back and forth between them. "I'm sorry, I don't understand." Okay, apparently, he had no concept of cussing, so nothing translated to him. She was still going to avoid cussing around him. He seemed so childlike, and cussing around children was about as poor manners as you could have.

"Kristin is going to be furious at us," Charlotte whispered. "Maybe Mom and Dad too."

"I doubt Mom and Dad will take issue with it, but Kristin will," Andrea confirmed. "I'm glad it was only the V.I.P.s and not the whole damn family."

"I don't even know who all the V.I.P.s are," Charlotte lamented.

"None of Andri's kids, that's what I care about," Andrea replied, sounding smug.

The door to the guard room suddenly opened, and an earth pony Charlotte didn't know marched purposely out. He paused and looked at the three of them, quickly dismissing Andrea and only taking long enough to examine Empathy as a curiosity. He looked Charlotte over much harder.

"As if one of her wasn't enough," he muttered.

"Excuse me?" Charlotte asked, offended.

He haughtily drew his head up. "Stand aside. I need to go to Sunset's office. She seemed to forget I even existed when she called Wild Growth and Phobia Remedy. I don't have time to deal with her little clone."

"Okay, ma'am," Empathy said as he stepped aside.

"I'm a sir, pachyderm," the pony snapped. He then marched past the three of them and up the stairs before they could respond.

"Apple fell very far from the tree on that one," Andrea said as she watched the earth pony depart.

"Who was that?" Charlotte asked. "I'm sure I never met him."

"Amicus's eldest son, Martin McDonald, the congresspony," Andrea answered.

"McDonald? Like the restaurant?" Charlotte asked.

"McDonald as in Amicus and Legal Brief's last name before they turned into ponies," Andrea explained tiredly. "Did you never listen to Amicus go on and on about all her kids?"

Charlotte blushed. "I always kind of tuned out. She starts then doesn't stop, and all you can do is nod."

"Well, he definitely has an opinion about hearing the truth about us, or at least about hearing the truth about you," Andrea said. "Sunset isn't popular with all the family. Be ready for more of that."

"Great," Charlotte said dryly. "Let's get this over with. Empathy, we're about to meet a bunch of ponies and humans, be on your best behavior."

"I'm always on my best behavior, Charlotte Human, ma'am," Empathy said happily, then frowned and rubbed his hands together. "Um, except when I broke into Care-A-Lot, or those times I stole Heavyheart's cherries, or that time I told Old Heavyheart that I would watch her star buddies, but I asked Heavyheart to do it instead and went swimming, or that time—"

"We get it. Nobody's perfect, Empathy," Charlotte replied. How long would he have kept going on?

She took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping into the room.

All eyes turned on her, and she had to grip the doorframe to not turn and run. She had hoped that Sunset sending away the less critical family and guests would significantly reduce the number of people in the house. There were a lot more people here than she knew— a lot. Sunset Blessing highly valued most of her family.

Empathy walked in behind her, lifted his arms and trunk, and gave everyone a huge smile. "Hi! I'm Empathy Elephant the Ninth. What are your names?"

Well, she knew now that Empathy wasn't at all shy.

Several foals and children, ages ranging from barely being able to speak to younger teens, all rushed forward to greet the elephant. Some parents quickly moved to pull their kids back, but several kids managed to make it to the elephant.

"I'm Sea Wave!" Líng's seven-year-old pegasus son announced as he beat out the crowd.

"I'm Yue!" Sea Wave's unicorn filly cousin announced, shoving past him.

"Madison Lamp, a pleasure to make your acquaintance," a prissy-looking nocturnal filly who was nearly a teen said, holding out a hoof in greeting.

Several other foals tried saying their names, but Madison spread her wings and literally hissed at all of them, bringing them to an abrupt silence. Charlotte was unsure who Madison's parents were— she was probably a granddaughter of Phobia, but she made it clear to everyone she was at the top of the pecking order.

"You can greet him one at a time after me," Madison said with a sniff and held out her hoof again to Empathy. Someone was an entitled little brat. At least the priss was making sure Empathy didn't get overwhelmed.

Andrea stepped into the room, and Charlotte had to grab her before she could bolt back out. Andrea had been wrong. Andri's direct offspring, including the distraught woman from the funeral, were in with the V.I.P.s.The grandkids and great-grandkids were luckily, or perhaps unluckily, not present.

Kristin moved like she had a pack of wolves chasing her as she shoved past Charlotte and Andrea and through the door. "I'm done! You two can deal with this nightmare you pulled down on us."

Charlotte couldn't object. She was tempted to take off as well.

A very young pegasus colt with blue fur and a black mane walked up to her and stared. He seemed too young to talk, but he still seemed fascinated by her for some reason.

A pegasus mare with the same coloration came over and quickly deposited him on her back. "No, no. Leave the nice lady be." The mare looked up at her and gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry. Sunny's very curious about new people. I don't think grandma Sunset has introduced us before. I'm Drizzle. I know having your secret get out must be rough. I know it was a shock to me, but I wanted you to know that there are plenty of us who're willing to support you. Not everyone is going to look at you cross-eyed."

Charlotte smiled in gratitude. "Thank you; I appreciate that."

The colt started to get fussy, and Drizzle adjusted him on her back. "Okay, okay, let's get you back with your daddy and get you fed. I think somebody needs a nap. Talk to you later, Charlotte. Don't hesitate to come say hi."

"See?" Andrea groaned. "Most of them are more concerned about us than the elephant. Most of them are probably concerned about you, except for Andri's brood. You're the young Sunset, and they're going to try to figure out where that puts you in the family hierarchy or wonder what kind of chaos you can cause."

"I wish they wouldn't. I'm not her," Charlotte whispered.

"All they know is that you are a younger version of her, and you just did something that up until today seemed impossible, that only draws more comparison," Andrea asserted.

"Your sister speaks wisdom," another pegasus mare with the same coloration pattern as Drizzle and Sunny said, walking up to them. "Excuse me, we have not been properly introduced. I'm Lántiān. You just spoke with my daughter, Drizzle— you may have noticed the family resemblance. Drizzle and I have been mistaken for being sisters."

Charlotte never met her, but she recognized the name. This was her other self's eldest adopted daughter who rarely came around. Sunset sometimes left the house to visit her, one of the few ponies Sunset traveled to see. Usually, Sunset kept within a short distance of the house when she went out, but two or three times a year, she traveled to Skytree to see Lántiān and Drizzle. Charlotte didn't know much about her, other than hearing she was very stiff and formal, always referring to Sunset as ma'am, and being more independent of Sunset— probably because Lántiān had been in her teens and already a mother herself when she came into Sunset's care. Despite the distance, independence, and at times rocky relationship, Sunset cared about Lántiān just as much as she cared for the rest of her foals and valued her opinions. Charlotte also knew that Lántiān acted as a secondary matriarchal figure for much of the family, even though she had no political power or history of adventures and great deeds.

"Sunset and your brothers have mentioned you before. I know Sunset cares a lot about you," Charlotte confirmed.

Lántiān smiled. "Ma'am and I share a mutual respect, even if we don't always see eye to eye. She has always been a shoulder to cry on, even when I didn't want it. She is my adopted mother and has earned my love. I keep track of who's who in the family, and it's nice to clear up the mystery surrounding you and your immediate family at last. Come, sit with me. The others will not bother you when you're with me. I don't command the same respect as my adopted mother or sister, but I carry enough to keep the wolves at bay."

This wasn't Phobia or Wild Growth, but this was one of the prominent members of the family Charlotte needed on her side now that everyone knew about her. Charlotte looked at Empathy, who was still surrounded by foals, and getting introduced to each of them. Madison seemed to have taken up gatekeeping who was speaking to him and when.

"Fear not for the elephant. My grandniece can be arrogant, but she is much better intentioned than her mother. The poor filly could do with some more socialization," Lántiān assured them, gesturing for them to follow her.

Charlotte still wasn't completely comfortable walking away from him. "Empathy, are you alright?"

He looked over at her and grinned. "Very good, Miss Charlotte Human, ma'am! All these ponies are very friendly!"

The foals might be; Charlotte wasn't so sure about the adults. "I'm going to be over in the corner. Call out to me if you feel like you need help, and don't leave the room."

"Yes, Charlotte Human, ma'am! I will serve well!"

"And just call me, Charlotte. Not Charlotte Human or ma'am!"

He nodded. "Whatever you wish, Miss Charlotte!"

Andrea hesitated, looking at Andri's elderly offspring, who were looking at her in turn. "Fuck it. I need to go talk to them. I'm not sure if there is a right thing to do here, but I need to try to give them closure. I'll catch up with you soon."

"Good luck," Charlotte replied as Andrea walked towards the small group. She then turned and followed Lántiān to a secluded corner, very aware of how many people were still watching her.

Lántiān sat down and stretched her wings before settling them at her sides. "Let me start by saying I have no intention of judging you based on my adopted mother. You two have very different life experiences, and on the nature versus nurture debate, I put more weight on nurture."

That was good. That was more or less how Charlotte felt about it.

"I also feel that this is the position most family members will take," Lántiān continued. "However, there are some who bear watching. Martin McDonald has always been resentful that my mother has not taken him more into her confidence nor lent him political support. My mother tries to stay out of the political limelight, believing it to be the equivalent of a bad addiction for which she tries to stay clean. She avoids her nephew since he would draw her back into something unhealthy. Mister McDonald feels slighted at this. He may take his resentment out on you, but I believe it will only be in a disgruntled temperament, not any real danger."

"I ran into him just before I came in here. He seemed rude," Charlotte confirmed. "Why are you telling me this?"

Lántiān nodded. "Expect more of the same from him, and perhaps from his siblings and children, but they're merely unfriendly, not threats. The threat you need to concern yourself with is my adopted niece, Phobia's daughter, Arachne. The reason I'm pulling you aside and speaking to you is her. I want you to be wary of her for your own good. Ma'am would want me to look out for you."

"Why Arachne?" Charlotte asked, remembering how unfriendly Phobia had been just a few minutes ago. She didn't know much about Phobia's kids or grandkids.

"Arachne is envious," Lántiān said flatly. "She is envious and also an opportunist. She is envious of her mother. She is envious of her aunt, Wild Growth. She is envious of her grandmother, Sunset Blessing. She sees three impossible legacies that came before her and desires to be somehow greater than all of them. Her envy makes her dangerous. She is also very much like my mother in a few ways. She is manipulative and willing to play the long game to get what she wants, and she is always on the lookout for resources and opportunities. You're a younger version of one of the greatest mages ever to live and a stand-in for one of those legacies she wishes to surpass. She could see you as a potential future resource— or a potential rival to be removed."

"That's Madison's mother?" Charlotte asked, looking at the haughty filly across the room.

Lántiān sighed. "Don't judge the filly by her mother. Arachne doesn't give her the attention a daughter deserves. Madison was born to riches and has little contact with others other than to be trotted out as a prop for her mother to show off. The filly is in dire need of some love and attention. Her father is the only real source of love she has. Street Lamp is a good stallion but sadly clueless to his wife's nature."

"Miss Charlotte! I may need help!" Empathy yelled out.

Charlotte whipped her gaze to Empathy and saw several giggling foals were trying to climb on him. Madison was snarling at all of them, but the kids had decided she was all bark and no bite, and they were now ignoring her. Parents were already coming to help remove foals as Charlotte got up to go to his rescue.

At least things seemed to go over well with introducing Empathy. She supposed that the family was so used to insane situations with Sunset Blessing that they were just numb to whatever happened. Of course, Empathy was Charlotte's doing, but if they viewed her as a younger Sunset, then they probably just shrugged and went, 'that's on par'. It also seemed like most of the family were okay with her after finding out the truth— just a few to watch out for. This wouldn't be so bad.

"The girl needs to be contained. She needs to have magic suppressing gear on her at all times. We might need her to be held under guard until her powers are fully understood," Martin insisted, stomping a hoof.

Wild scowled at him. "She's a child, not a criminal."

Martin turned and glared at the senator. "She's an aberration that shouldn't even exist. An alternative version of Sunset Blessing taken out of the past? That alone is enough reason to have her jailed, along with the mage that made her. Do you realize how dangerous such magic could be? Any threat that is killed or neutralized can just be brought back by someone jumping back in time and making another one."

"She didn't make anyone," Wild asserted. "And the knowledge of time travel magic has already been Dreamwarden promise sealed. She can't spread the knowledge to anyone else."

Martin raised an eyebrow. "And that was supposed to be the case with transformation magic too, wasn't it? Yet the younger Andrea demonstrated that was false. How can we trust any assurances? This also brings into question how trustworthy the wardens are; if Sunset Blessing can violate their promises, who else can?"

"My mother was released from that oath about a year after taking it," Phobia cut in. "Yinyu independently made the call to remove it; it was not a group decision. We have since voted and confirmed that none of us may make unilateral decisions to remove oaths that we have administered to others, and such action will need a majority vote, even at the request of other governing bodies."

"And Yinyu wasn't punished for her actions, and you didn't immediately reapply the oath?" Martin asked in disbelief.

"Our agreement to administer an oath had already been fulfilled. We did not need to administer a second one," Phobia replied. "Our contracts are clear and binding. We follow the exact wording. If something is not said, it does not apply. Yinyu was chastised for her actions in lifting the oath, but there had been no violation in the contract by doing so. It did not require a censor."

"Chastised?! What kind of punishment is that?!" Martin demanded, incensed.

"The one we did. You and the government have no authority over us. We operate beyond the realm of any single country. We are a force of nature, answerable only as much as we allow ourselves to be. What regulation the government has in regards to our actions is purely at our allowance," Phobia said flatly.

Sunset Blessing sat and listened as they continued to argue about blame and things that had no bearing on the matter. The fault was not important, at least not until the issue was resolved. What mattered was what they were going to do about the hostile force they had been exposed to. She hadn't wanted to get Martin involved with this discussion, but considering it might be a full-scale invasion coming, she would be remiss if she left a sitting congressperson who was present out of the debate for what steps to take next.

She took a deep breath. "If the intelligence we gained from the elephant is correct, we should expect an attack that is magical in nature rather than ground forces. However, at this time, we do not know how reliable his information is. We need to be able to scout the situation to gain proper intelligence. Charlotte's powers are the only method we have of sending a scout team or retrieving them. We do not need to contain her; we need to help her get proper control of her ability."

"Can't you devise a way of replicating it?" Martin asked. "You saw what she did, and you're famous for being able to replicate spells after a single viewing."

"I can replicate simple to moderately complex spells after a single viewing, spells done with pony magic," Sunset corrected. "This is very complex and not pony magic. I may be able to learn how to replicate the effect, but I would need more examples of it being done to examine. Ideally, I would have at least one other of the great mages helping me. The more minds working on this, the better."

"What about your son?" Wild asked.

Sunset shook her head. "He isn't versed in this type of magic. I'm going to have him help me study the elephant's physiology, resonance, and magical capabilities, but interdimensional portals are outside his range."

"And it's in yours?" Martin asked skeptically.

She shrugged. "I'm familiar with portal magic. Not quite interdimensional portals, but aside from Princess Twilight, there aren't experts in that field."

"Then we should reach out to her," Martin asserted. "It will reassure many if they know she is spearheading this instead of you. No one has forgotten Riverview, and if people knew you have been messing with time travel, continuing to dabble in transformation magic, and whatever other things you have been keeping secret, you'd end up with far more people trying to break down your gates."

"The public should not hear about any of this, not yet," Wild stated. "It would cause needless panic. We don't even know if the bears can mount an effective attack. They may not have the numbers, and if it is mind control magic, as was suggested, we have the perfect counter."

Phobia grimaced. "The Dreamwardens will need to examine the elephant's mind closely. We can determine the truthfulness of what he says. We can also pull memories from him to analyze so we can evaluate things his simple mind may not have realized. It is a tricky business, working with memories of one who is simple. They forget critical details, but I'm confident we can gather a great deal of information. As with anyone else, we will need his permission. If he refuses us permission to disseminate what we learn, you may count him as dishonest and act accordingly. We need to examine him anyway. His mind magic must be reviewed to determine if it is in any way a violation of our rules. I understand it may be a passive ability he can't help, but such things still must be reviewed to determine if harm is being done— intentional or not. I expect you to give me immediate access to him."

"He isn't even an Earthling; your jurisdiction does not cover him," Wild said harshly. "You can't dictate everything about him."

Phobia looked at Wild. "He is a mind magic-user in our universe. It doesn't matter where he comes from; he is here. He would fall under our jurisdiction if he were some other alien on a planet a billion light-years from us. We have universal dominion."

Martin chewed his lip. "Are there other magic users out there, light-years away? Would you know?"

Phobia shook her head sadly. "There are no intelligent magic users out there. There are what you might call animals out there, but when it comes to intelligent life, we are very much alone in this universe, and you know why. Charlotte's ability is dangerous not only to us but to whatever universe she brings into contact with us. The threats that speed towards us could spread to their universes. She could be inadvertently responsible for the deaths of untold trillions that we didn't even know were out there until today. Not to mention an invasion or even disease from another universe could cause havoc, making us incapable of mounting a defense when the true great enemy arrives. That cannot be permitted."

Sunset scoffed. "You're getting paranoid in your old age, Phobia. The girl does not represent a world-ending threat."

Phobia looked at her. "I am getting older, old enough that I plan to soon retire to Equestria. I know I sound harsh, but I do sympathize with the girl. If what the elephant describes is true, I would see us help his universe as well, if possible, but I need to make myself clear. I have dedicated much of the last thirty years to ensure we are prepared to meet the coming threat. I don't want to see that all fall apart right before I go. Too much is at stake."

Sunset's eyes went wide. "I was only joking about the old age. You are only…."

"Fifty-five," Phobia finished. "The recommended safe retirement age for Dreamwardens is late forties to mid-fifties. I'm not the most healthy of mares, and I don't intend to join the ranks of the undead wardens. This brings up another issue. I know Princess Twilight has offered you a teaching position in Canterlot multiple times. I happen to know they will soon require a new headmare. It is getting harder and harder for you to put a damper on your infamy, and the number of attacks on you has only increased with time— with your responses only getting more extreme. Your seeming agelessness combined with the backlash that may erupt if news breaks about some of your unknown actions over the last thirty years will only make things worse. Please, Mom, I'm imploring you, not as a warden, but as a daughter who loves you and our family, to legitimately consider taking the princess up on her offer."

"That would mean exile from my family," Sunset whispered.

"I'll be there," Phobia gently replied. "Most of the family is eligible to visit Equestria from time to time. I know it is hard. I'm in the same position, and you have no idea how hard it is to think about saying goodbye to family in addition to never being able to see Yinyu, Ghadab, or Arbiter again. It's hard, but we have to think about the right thing for both the family and us. We deserve peace, and the family deserves to be safe. This wouldn't be the end for us, merely a new chapter in our lives."

"Phobia is talking sense. You should listen to her, Aunt Sunset," Martin said, much kinder sounding than he had before. "If you don't go, eventually, someone is going to get hurt. If you don't go, someday, you will have to be held accountable. Take the offer."

Her ears sagged as she looked at Wild. "And you agree with them, don't you?"

Wild sighed. "I'm the only one of us who has been to Equestria. It's nice there. My parents chose to go there, and they live good lives there. They don't have much time left… I don't think they would mind having you there in their last days. It gives them one last chance to say goodbye to the pony who turned their lives upside down. You do that to everyone you meet, for better or worse. As headmare of the school in Canterlot, you could continue to change lives, but hopefully not in such a traumatic way."

Sunset looked at all three of them, then drew her head up. "I promise I'll consider it, but we have to deal with the immediate crisis first. We must contact the government and Equestria and decide what course of action to take."

One last adventure before leaving it to younger generations. This time dealing with other universes. No one could say she wasn't going out with a bang.