The Light of the Night

The freezing night air blew against Starbeam Glitter, the sharp cold blistering against her. She could feel the sharp chill against her bare feet as she walked along the sidewalk, her arms folded across her with nothing to keep her warm but her night gown. Starbeam had ran from her house for what felt like hours, not as if she kept track. But after running for perhaps a half hour, she got tired and decided to walk the rest of the way.

It was silent out in the neighborhood, hardly anyone else was out during this time. Neither was there a vehicle passing through the streets this late. But it did not matter to Starbeam, the loneliness wasn’t what was keeping her from going back to the house. After everything she had witnessed, what she saw her magic had done, she felt the need to be as far away from the house as possible. Just any excuse to keep her magic away from hurting the two people she cares about. Even if she was at risk of catching a cold before the night was over.

A glow appears from behind her, getting brighter by the minute. Without pausing, she turns her head behind her and notices two headlights of an approaching vehicle. Regardless, that did not stop the young girl from walking even as the lights drew closer. The car drives up ahead, so the driver’s side is in full view of the despondent young girl, as the fiery hair of a familiar woman leans toward her.

“Starbeam!” Sunset called out. “Starbeam!”

But Starbeam neither answered nor seemed to acknowledge her mother’s call. She just kept walking down the cold block, her head looking toward the ground, her bangs over her eyes. Eventually Sunset drove further ahead and eventually pulled up right in front of the girl, the car parked right along the sidewalk preventing her from going any further. She switches off the engine, unclasps her seatbelt, and steps out of the car to confront her daughter.

“Starbeam, we need to talk,” Sunset stated.

“You saw what happened!” Starbeam shouted, tearing up. “I hurt my mom and couldn’t control myself! I hurt her; I nearly killed you…”

“Starbeam, you need to calm down…”

“You don’t understand… I need to be away! My magic destroys everything it touches, people get hurt, and no matter what I try I can’t prevent myself from…”

All at once, Starbeam was starting to fall into a panic attack, rambling as her mother, Sunset Shimmer, approached. Sunset hugged her daughter, despite Starbeam’s struggles to break free. But all she can do is just cry upon her shoulder, just cry while Sunset can only hug her daughter. Never minding the fact something strange and unusual had happened moments before, a moment not even Sunset can explain. But she knew whatever it was, Midnight Sparkle was involved.

Without another word, Sunset Shimmer leads Starbeam toward the passenger’s side of the car helping her into her seat while the tears kept falling from her red face. After securely fastening her daughter into the car, Sunset makes her way back into the driver’s side, closes the door, and releases a deep sigh.

“I don’t want to go home,” Starbeam stated.

“We’re not going home…” Sunset answered. “Not just yet anyway.”

Leaving it at that, Sunset starts the car, shifting to reverse to pull it off the sidewalk. Going the opposite direction from the house, Sunset proceeds to drive down the quiet streets to take so the girls could find a quiet place to settle this emotional conflict. Among other reasons, Sunset knew this was the one way to ensure this conversation was far from over.

<>

It was a rather uneventful drive, a mostly quiet drive for Sunset Shimmer and Starbeam Glitter. They didn’t say much during the drive, not even the occasional question. But fortunately, it wasn’t a long drive for the girls suffice to say. They eventually pulled into the park, finding a space where their car could see the sparkling lake under the starry night (Though why the park wasn’t locked, they were in no mood to ask). For a while, they sat quietly as the moon shined over the car and they looked toward the glittering water in front of them. Yet while Sunset Shimmer and Starbeam Glitter weren’t vocal for the past few minutes, their minds had been active.

“Are you ready to tell me what just happened?” Sunset asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know what happened…” Starbeam answered, quietly. “I was just getting ready for bed when…”

“I’m not talking about what Midnight Sparkle did to you. I’m talking about your magic. I know for a fact you used time travel.”

For the first time, Starbeam Glitter turned toward Sunset Shimmer especially at the mention of those two words that came out of her mother’s mouth. As if the words Sunset spoke were completely foreign to her.

“Time Travel?” Starbeam questioned.

“Hmm… Of course you wouldn’t know,” Sunset nodded understandingly. “Let me try to put this as clearly as possible: One moment I’m lying on your bedroom floor bleeding… Ten minutes later I’m back in my room writing to one of my friends like nothing happened.”

“But how could you possibly know that’s what I did? Mama Twi acted so oblivious about it!”

“Do not forget you’re not the only one who can use magic in our house. As I can still use magic, I am well aware of the effects of time travel. Your mother, unfortunately, being that she no longer can use magic would never have known what happened in that short time… To her, it didn’t happen.”

The more Starbeam thought about the way her mother described the scenario, it did make sense. After all, they talked about how Twilight Sparkle gave up all her magic to ensure Starbeam’s existence. A subject she still felt troubled over, but it did make sense. Still, she felt it barely answered that one question on her mind.

“But… How?” Starbeam asked. “How do you know so much about time travel?”

“Personally? I’m not an expert on the subject,” Sunset admitted. “There was that one instance during that music festival years ago when I kept reliving the same day over and over, but that wasn’t my doing it was one of the performers using Equestrian Magic. Now Twilight Sparkle, that being the Twilight from Equestria, she once dealt with a pony who attempted to use time travel to ruin Twilight’s future by breaking her apart from her friends.”

“Holy cow…”

“Yeah… I found that insane too. Twilight explained to me how she tried multiple times to prevent that pony’s attempts, only to land into one possible future after another. All of them worse than the last. I was even more surprised that even after all that… All of it… That pony would eventually become one of Twilight’s students. It’s… Complicated…”

Starbeam nodded as understandingly as she could show. She did not always tell either Sunset or Twilight, but she was still getting used to the fact that she carried a pony heritage and that one of her parents was an actual pony, in her case a Unicorn. There were so many stories about parts of her past, not just about her times as a human, but times as a pony that Starbeam was still coming to terms with. As if growing up with all this magic she’s struggled to get used to was complex enough.

“That only leaves one question,” Sunset spoke. “How many times have you been using time travel?”

“How many times?” Starbeam questioned. “I barely even knew I was using it till tonight.”

“That does make sense when you put it that way; after all, you’re still new to all this. Though if I can throw in my two cents, these past few years I’ve been having what I thought was a sense of déjà vu. Some days, I go about my day yet for some reason I feel as if some part happened before… But at the same time, it’s different. I’m not saying you probably did anything; I just have to know if it’s ‘possible’ that this isn’t the first time.”

Starbeam turned to look out the window as she tried to consider the question that was being asked. On one hand, if she had been using time travel long before tonight, they were typically for small reasons and none of which had anything to do with Midnight Sparkle. Like perhaps she had forgotten her key to the house one day or she made a wrong turn while skateboarding. As far as déjà vu, she admit there were days she shared that same feeling but hadn’t really thought about until now.

“You must understand, Starbeam,” Sunset further explained. “Time travel is not a type of force to trifle with. While I’m impressed you are able to control this ability without a magic scroll or an Equestrian artifact, it’s still an unfortunate purpose to use magic for.”

“Unfortunate because I saved your life?!” Starbeam asked, frustrated.

“No… I do appreciate that, a few minutes ago I would have been dead by now and we wouldn’t even have this conversation now. But time travel is unfortunate because it’s not an ability to take lightly. Every action in the past affects not just your future but everyone else, even the tiniest act. Regardless if your intentions are good, it can still leave room to more consequences in the future.”

“… Swell. As if I didn’t have another reason for Midnight Sparkle to come for me.”

A thought crossed Sunset’s mind as her daughter leaned her head upon her hand. Sunset wasn’t entirely certain, but she needed to know. She reached out with one hand toward her daughter, as Starbeam acknowledged her mother’s right hand towards her.

“May I?” Sunset asked.

It was a small request, not one for specifics but Starbeam didn’t need to read her mother’s mind to know what her mother was offering. Though reluctant at first, Starbeam reached with her left hand toward her mom’s. As soon as their hands make contact, she watched as her mother’s eyes began to glow as Sunset used her ability in an effort to seek out for something important. The minutes spent was uncomfortable for Starbeam, painfully awkward, but she knew this was the only way for her mother to seek answers.

After a while, Sunset Shimmer finally released her grip as her sight adjusted to the present.

“Nothing…” Sunset shook her head. “I can’t find a trace of Midnight Sparkle in any of your memories.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Starbeam asked, concerned.

“There are many ways to describe Midnight Sparkle, but she’s not foolish. If she’s learned from our previous confrontations, she’s determined to keep any trace of her as closely hidden from my as possible. In other words, she’s blocked every picture of herself from your mind.”

“Great… So, now what do we do?”

A deep sigh escaped Starbeam’s lips between her sentence, the frustration was visible to see through the furrowing of her eyebrows and the frown of her lips. Sunset Shimmer couldn’t blame her daughter for acting this way. For five years, they had peace and not a trace of Midnight Sparkle was heard. Then the moment Starbeam started learning she had magic and started using it, Midnight Sparkle had been making her presence felt. It’s not enough she was tormenting her wife, now her daughter was at risk.

Twilight Sparkle… Again the name came up in Sunset’s thoughts. Twilight Sparkle had long suspected that Midnight Sparkle was still haunting her to some degree. But if her suspicions have confirmed that Midnight was expanding, targeting those closest to her, the guilt would come back to Twilight and it would all go back to square one. Sunset knew how this would all work out, as inevitable as the fate would be, but still she couldn’t chance it.

“For now, Starbeam,” Sunset spoke. “All we can do keep a close eye out, if and when Midnight makes her next move. I’ll do the best I can to help, but from here on we need to trust each other. If experience has taught me anything, this is not a matter for anyone to handle alone.”

Starbeam nodded slowly, there was no arguing against that form of logic. All the same, it did not make the situation any easier but there was no other way around it. After a while, Sunset turned back toward the way they entered knowing a certain someone was waiting at home.

“Right now,” Sunset continued. “We really should get back to the house. Twilight’s worried enough as she is, and if I’m not back with you, she’s bound to call the police.”

“I don’t know if I feel ready to tell mom about any of this,” Starbeam sighed.

“She’s going to want ‘a’ explanation when we get back. Don’t worry about telling her just yet; you have all the time in the world.”

Without another word, Sunset Shimmer turns the key to ignite the engine as the car rolled back from the empty parking space toward the entrance to the park. But apart from the rolling of the car and the breeze in the night sky, all was silent still. While the potential looming threat of Midnight Sparkle still hung over, a thought that would not leave for a while, to have this peaceful moment to talk was more than enough. All the girls can do now is hope that the worst was still yet to come.