A Shadow of Myself

BAMM, BAMM, BAMM

Empathy wrung his hands and shook his head. "That is very loud. It hurts my ears."

Andrea lowered her gun and looked at the target. None of her shots had hit the bullseye. They all landed just south and to the right of it and were close together. At least she'd been consistent. Was the aim off because of her, or was it something to do with the sight of the gun? She couldn't physically overpower a giant robot, so she needed to be as accurate as possible with her firearms if she was going to be helpful at all against the Decepticons.

She started reloading the gun. If something was off about the gun, she could adjust. If it was her, then she needed more practice.

"Barbaric weapons, a further reminder of your world's corruption."

Andrea rolled her eyes. Great, the bitch was back. She aimed at the next target and fired off three more shots. This time she was further off the mark, and her shots fell at nearly triangular different points on the circle.

"And so inaccurate too."

Andrea turned and looked at the high-pitched bitch who seemed to live to be critical of others. "Do you need something?"

Shrieky gave the gun in Andrea's hand a disgusted look and took a step back. "Your princess has decided to Urltij Kif."

"Go where?" Andrea asked in confusion.

"Urltij Kif," Shrieky repeated. "It is our most sacred place. It is said that it was where humanity first walked the world and that it was also where the first magic was cast. The primitive art at the deepest levels is believed to be over fifty thousand years old. The Allspark was kept there for many years in possession of the Cloudkeeper. Your princess wants to see if the Cloudkeeper left traces of how he made the care bears, so she can better undo what my uncle has done. There is some possibility she might find something. My uncle made Beastly after a journey there. Your princess requests that you, me, and others accompany her.."

"She's a princess, not my princess," Andrea muttered. She put her gun away in her pack. "Fine, I'll go to this place. It's better than sitting around here. What does Urltij Kif even translate out to?"

Shrieky shrugged. "No one knows for sure. It's a very ancient name. Kif may be a very early form of our word git, which translates to place in this dirty tongue, but what Urltij means is anybody's guess– maybe someone's name? Legend says that it is the name of the original tribe that lived in the mountain, but that's just a legend; we don't have any verification of that. For all we know, Urltij Kif is a corrupted version of the actual name. I'm willing to admit that working with a mostly oral tradition has drawbacks, and we haven't quite mastered your writing."

Andrea gaped. "You people have a history that goes back that far, and you managed to copy relatively advanced technology from Earth, but you never developed a writing system?! How do you figure out electricity, motorbikes, and movie projectors without figuring out how to write??"

The neanderthal balled up her hands into fists. "We have writing! Each artisan guild had its own specific writing system to fit its needs best. We just don't use writing outside those things, and each guild only understood its own writing. Record keeping with writing really wasn't done much other than recording promises. There is a sacredness to the spoken word that shouldn't be infringed upon."

"That sounds so inefficient and stupid," Andrea said flatly.

Shrieky waved a finger in her face. "You have no respect for our ways and traditions! You prove your culture is filthy!"

"I might feel a little guilty for dissing your culture, but all I've heard from you is how bad Earth's is," Andrea replied, pushing the finger away. "And you aren't even talking about our up-to-date culture. How old were the movies you were watching? I'd like to think some things have changed in a hundred years."

"You're both being mean. You should be nicer to one another if you are working together," Empathy said in frustration.

Andrea scowled and bit back a nasty retort. Instead, she took a deep breath and looked at Shrieky again. "I'm sure you had a very impressive civilization, and it is astonishing it stayed mostly the same for so long. I'm sorry that got messed-up when your people found those movies, but we had nothing to do with that. Let's focus on trying to free your people, and you can worry about trying to get them on track. It sounds like they will need someone to help them, and it really should be one of their own guiding them, not some alien from another universe."

Shrieky snorted, which sounded like a squeak. Even her snorts were high-pitched. "Like you have any say in that. I don't know what your position is– some sort of soldier, maybe? I do know you command no authority in your group. They defer decisions to your princess, and when not her, that leathery-winged pony that whimpers in her sleep and keeps away from everyone, although I have yet to figure out how such a pathetic creature commands respect or what she brings to your mission."

"I don't know either. She used to be a big deal, but she's retired. I guess old habits die hard when it comes to listening to her," Andrea replied. "So when do we leave?"

"Two hours. Get your supplies together. There's no telling how long we'll be there," Shrieky answered. She then left the practice range.

Empathy patted her on the leg. "You did good, trying to be nice."

"I just wanted to be less of a bitch than her," Andrea muttered.

At least they were going out to do something.

Charlotte was pleased as punch that by the end of the day, she was going to have her injuries healed the rest of the way. It would be great because she wouldn't have to be wheeled around in a chair by her well-meaning but completely annoying mother.

"I wasn't happy your sister had all those guns on her, but after what happened to you, I think you should take something with you this time around. I don't want you getting kidnapped again," her mom rambled.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Mom, I've never even held a gun. I'd probably end up shooting myself by mistake if I tried to use one."

"Don't say that," her mom hissed, turning the chair a little too hard around the corner in the crystal hallway. "Sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Charlotte lied. The jostle had sent a wave of pain through her leg, but she didn't want to upset her mom. "Sunset's coming this time. She'll keep me safe. Bursa won't even be there this time. I left her stuck at Wabash Manor."

Her mom grunted. "Sunset says they have transferred her somewhere else, but she isn't the only threat. There's those bears, robots, vampires, and who knows what else. You aren't your sister; you can get hurt much more easily. Look at you right now."

"I survived," Charlotte muttered.

"Barely! And you had help," her mother countered. "If it weren't for the fact that you are the only one who can reach your sister right now, I would put my foot down to keep you from going on another mission."

Charlotte grit her teeth. She wanted to snap that she was eighteen and her mom couldn't stop her from doing squat, but she was determined not to let her temper get the best of her.

Deep breaths.

"We'll get Andrea back. You aren't going to lose anyone else. Sunset's coming, and while Cadence and the other Equestrians hesitate to do anything violent, you know Sunset won't hesitate to break a Decepticon down to scrap metal or disembowel a bear," Charlotte said calmly.

"She said she isn't going to go on a genocide," her mom replied.

"Doesn't mean she isn't going to be the same old Sunset if someone takes a shot at one of us," Charlotte said as they reached the door to Rainbow's room, which had two guards standing at attention.

Her mom went to open the door, but the door opened, and Sunset stepped out first, closing the door behind her.

"I have promised not to kill any of the bears, a condition of my going there, and one for which I shall be tried for murder if I violate," Sunset said as she stepped before them. "The Decepticons are another issue. The Equestrians aren't sure that robots constitute living beings, and they also present more of a threat. My only regulation in regards to them is I have to be defending myself or someone else from active attacks if I scrap one of them. I'm not allowed to go hunting them down to destroy them. However, none of these ponies said anything about me doing severe bodily injury that either set of foes survives."

"Did you have your ear up to the door as you waited for us to arrive?" Charlotte asked.

Sunset glanced back at the door and briefly lit her horn as if checking something, nodded, and returned her focus to them.

"I was near the door and overheard you, but it wasn't for the sake of eavesdropping," Sunset said. "Your friends need to clean themselves up before you see them. They had a brief lapse of sense."

"What do you mean by that?" her mom asked, voice dripping with suspicion.

"It seems that synthetic blood is an acceptable alternative for them, but consuming over a certain amount in a single sitting seems to trigger a temporary bloodlust reaction. No one was hurt, but they went through far more of the blood bags than I intended for this test, and they made a gore-covered mess of themselves before they regained their senses," Sunset explained.

Her mom gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh my god, is it safe for Charlotte to be around them?"

"As I said, they seem to have regained their senses," Sunset said calmly. "This requires more testing. However, I did confirm I'm capable of restraining them with ease when they're amped up on blood. They aren't powerful enough to overpower me or even put up much of a fight against me."

"Gloating about your power again," Charlotte muttered.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Simply stating the facts. I never asked for this much power, nor wanted it, but I use whatever assets I've been given until they no longer serve a purpose. Would you believe I have contemplated how to give away my power?"

Charlotte blinked. "You can do that?"

Sunset nodded. "It is a complex spell, but Luna knows it and has shared it with me. It is a question of who to give it to. My power does nothing for an alicorn, so it would need to be a non-alicorn to be of any worth, but giving that much power to anyone, even someone who seems to be the epitome of good, has risks. Power corrupts, and this much power is not given lightly. And no, you aren't even a consideration on who to give it to. You're me, and frankly, the reason I want to give it away is I'm unworthy of it and prone to abusing it. I'm at least old and have had to endure the misfortunes of my actions; you don't have the same past tragedies to hold your hubris in check. I hope you never do."

"So…should we come back later?" her mom asked, looking at the door.

Sunset shook her head. "They should be clean enough. The place is a mess, but Charlotte's seen a bit of blood before, and I've cast a spell to suppress the smell. If you want to leave her with me, I can take care of her."

"No! I want to see what my daughter is getting into!" her mom yelled. "I don't trust you to-"

"Mom," Sunset interrupted, making their mom practically gag on her words. "I know I don't play that card often, but you forget, she and I started out the same, and I'm tired of being treated like some hostile outside entity. I still remember many of the same things Charlotte remembers before our paths split. You're my mother. I may have gone down a different path than Charlotte, but I'm still technically your daughter. I don't ask for your love, but I ask you to believe I live to protect my family, and Charlotte is as close to me as the family can get, considering she's me."

Sunset looked at a window with a far-off gaze. "My version of you and Dad are dead and buried, and so is my Andrea. I do not know how much time Amicus has left, and we've lost the younger Kristin. My wife is dead and what remains has only faint echoes of who she was and is alien to her in so many ways– I guess you can empathize with how that feels when you look at me and compare me with the Charlotte you raised. One of my sons is gone, and my eldest daughter is aging and trapped on an alien world. Even my ex-husband is deceased. The world teeters on the brink, and all I love are in danger. I'm losing family left and right, and I will not let anything happen to those I have left. Trust me. Trust my love and dedication to the family."

Their mom seemed to struggle to get words out, but eventually, her shoulders slumped. "Fine, but I still want to see what she's getting involved with. I'm scared."

Sunset walked over to their mom and, to Charlotte's shock and their mom's, leaned her head against her in a rare show of public affection and vulnerability.

"I understand that more than you know. I'm scared too. I just hide it better," Sunset said quietly.

Charlotte watched as her mom timidly put her hand on Sunset's back, as if unsure what she should do. This wasn't something she was used to seeing. Her other self never let herself be seen this vulnerable, and while she knew that the losses of the past few years had hit Sunset hard, this was the first time Sunset looked ready to break down in public. Yet somehow, Charlotte just felt numb to it all. She'd cry about Kristin sometimes, but it didn't feel like the crushing weight it should. Did that make her a bad person? Once again, she felt like her other self was showing her superiority, and Charlotte could only look at the gap between them.

Her mom and Sunset stayed like that for a minute or so before the unicorn withdrew from her mom and wiped her eyes. "They should be ready; let's go say hi. I know Rainbow has been eager to see Charlotte again. Please, don't make her feel bad for the blood."