The Light of the Night

Three years later…

The sun shined over the backyard of the household, looming along a cloudless blue sky. A tiny figure leans down over the garden, picking off a number of weeds by hand. Looking up toward the sky, her face partially shrouded by a gardener’s hat, it is a now eight-year-old Starbeam Glitter, bearing a similar appearance even after three years. She wore a long-sleeved white shirt with blue overalls and work boots, her white hair cut along the top of the neckline and her bangs clipped off. She wore thick gloves over her hands, to keep the dirt from getting in her nails as she plucked the weeds one at a time.

It was early in the morning, hardly anyone was up at this hour. On any other day, especially on a Sunday, Starbeam would rather just sleep in. But at this time of the week, when there was really nothing much to do other than household chores, in and out of the house, and since her parents were still asleep, Starbeam decided to get up for an early start. In a sense, having this time for herself in the background as somewhat peaceful, if not therapeutic given the events that had transpired those many years ago. And if anything, Starbeam needed something to keep her occupied given how restless she had been.

“Didn’t want to wait for your mom and I?”

A voice drew Starbeam back quickly, as a figure stood behind her. To her relief, it was just one of her moms, Sunset Shimmer, dragging an empty garbage can. Even after three years, apart from being a few inches taller and a hint of gray, Sunset Shimmer was still the same woman she appeared to be since the day Starbeam was born. She looks over toward Starbeam, her arms folded across her chest and an eyebrow raised with a smirk.

“Oh, hey mom,” Starbeam smiled, scratching the back of her neck. “Guess I was a little ahead of myself.”

“Uh huh… Sure you were. Mind if I join in?”

Starbeam nods her head, gesturing her mother to join in. Sunset walks over toward her daughter, positions the can and then drops down on her knees. Fortunately, she was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt suitable for the yard while also putting on a pair of her own gloves. If Starbeam hadn’t known any better, her mother knew her daughter would get an early start and had been prepared. Then again, this was Sunset Shimmer, she had her means of reading nearly everyone’s intentions.

“We certainly have a lot of weeds in the garden today,” Sunset observed. “Your mom would have a real field day when she sees these weeds all around her plants.”

“That’s mom all right,” Starbeam nodded.

“Were you planning on getting all these weeds pulled out at once? Probably going to take all morning and afternoon at this pace.”

“Well… Since we really didn’t have anything planned today nor any reason to go out, I figured it be nice to get something done today and this garden’s been neglected long enough. Besides, what better pastime than a little gardening on a beautiful Sunday morning?”

“Yes indeed…”

One by one, both mother and daughter plucked the weeds from the soil. They dug deep through the soil, grabbing the weeds where the roots were embedded thereby removing it entirely from the ground. They’d place the weeds into a pile until it was just big enough to grasp with the palm of their hands, before scooping them up and hurling them into the empty trash container. This process continued for some time in silence, a pastime between Sunset Shimmer and Starbeam Glitter, as the sun hung over their heads.

“You’ve been missing our lessons these past few weeks,” Sunset brings up. “Matter of fact, I can’t remember you ever using magic lately.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s entirely true,” Starbeam replied. “I honestly haven’t felt a need to use magic on ‘any’ occasion.”

“I see…” Sunset nodded understandingly. “Well, I just hope you know that when I said you couldn’t use magic for time travel, I never said you couldn’t use magic at all.”

“I know what you meant. But like I said, I don’t feel the need. Maybe I just don’t want to use magic.”

Sunset Shimmer could tell that Starbeam Glitter was feeling a bit irritated with the subject, judging by the tone of her voice and her body language. But all the things Sunset Shimmer had been discussing, her intentions were clear. It was more than the fact her daughter was choosing to pluck the weeds manually by hand when she knows her daughter could easily clear the weeds with her magic and wouldn’t hesitate to do so. Something was truly bothering her daughter and Starbeam seemed very determined not to talk about it.

“Does Twilight Sparkle know about what happened?” Sunset asked. “Did you two even talk about it?”

“What am I to say?” Starbeam asked. “That a terrifying demon took hold of me, forced me onto her, and the things she made me do… What I almost…”

The very thought of all the ‘what ifs’ made Starbeam plunge a hand deep into the soil, pulling out not just the weeds but a clump of soil so violently. Sunset could see the pain in Starbeam’s eyes, the urge to fight against tears. But she could feel how those painful thoughts drove into her.

“Mom can never know what happened,” Starbeam cried. “She would never look at me the same; she’d just be scared all her life. She’d be unhappy… I don’t want that from her, not after everything… If I were just a normal girl…”

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Sunset shook her head. “Normal… Special… Midnight Sparkle never cared about that. Midnight would go after you and your mother because you exist. She exists because of both of you.”

Sunset removed the gloves from her hands, discarding them onto the grass. She gently places her hands along Starbeam’s shoulders, drawing the little girl to turn to her mother with tear-filled eyes. This was the best Sunset could do to help, if nothing else but to look upon her with loving eyes as possible.

“When you’re mother was much younger, she too was so afraid that she felt she couldn’t tell anybody her problems,” Sunset continued. “She could not tell any of her new friends nor even me, despite all that we’ve witnessed. We knew that the Midnight Sparkle incident would still haunt her for quite some time. But we never knew how affected Twilight truly felt, not until we started noticing the signs.

“I know you mean well, Starbeam. You want to protect your mother, and in turn you want to protect me. Any parent would be grateful to have a child so caring. But you must understand, there are secrets that can’t stay hidden forever just as there are many problems that one person, a child especially, cannot hope to solve alone. Sooner or later, your mom is going to find out about Midnight Sparkle, if she doesn’t know already.”

“Then what will happen with me?” Starbeam asked. “What if mom hates me for that?”

“She could never hate you,” Sunset assured. “I would never hate you; you our a very special little girl. You may be gifted, so smart, but you are still our child. A precious eight year old girl.”

A chuckle escaped Starbeam’s mouth, even though her face still showed a trace of sadness. But what those words did for her was remind her of an earlier time in her life.

“Although I feel like a thirty year old…” Starbeam began.

“In an eight year old’s body,” Sunset and Starbeam said, in unison.

“I know…” Sunset nodded. “We know it’s not going to be easy for you; but you need to think that it hasn’t been easy for us either. Midnight’s problems are just as ours, as it is yours. If your mother finds out Midnight is still active and not one of us told her about it, she’s not going to be mad… But she will be miserable for the rest of her life.”

“Because of what I could have done?” Starbeam asked.

“No… She’ll be miserable because she’ll think she don’t trust her, just as I felt when she couldn’t talk to me. The last thing we want is history to repeat itself again. We won’t be able to help you understand this problem if you don’t help us understand. Do you really want that?”

“I just don’t want my magic to be the reason that the ones special to me get hurt. What good is magic if it seems all my tricks do is destroy?”

“Do they? Or maybe that’s just what your thoughts have been thinking? Magic is a complex subject, but they say it’s tied to one’s emotional state. What you feel fuels whatever you’re doing. The stronger the feeling, the stronger the magic. How you use those feelings to drive your magic is always up to you. You are always in control, never let anyone tell you otherwise. Not Midnight Sparkle… Not your mom… Not even me… Only you can decide what to do with it. But always know that the magic will always be with you, whether you want it or not.”

Breathing in every word whispered into her ear, Starbeam closed her eyes unable to stop a single tear from streaming down her cheeks and hanging slightly upon her chin. After a while, the teardrop slowly falls and lands upon the garden soil with a tiny, silent splash. In it’s place, an aura starts to glow starting small and faded until it expands and glows ever so brightly. Starbeam’s eyes remained closed as Sunset looked on, her eyes catching sight of the power at work.

All the weeds start to disappear one after another from the very tip where tiny yellow pollens grew to the very roots themselves. In their places, an abundance of flowers and vegetable stalks proceed to grow. Vines wrapped around the stems, the buds opening to greet the shining sun, and the vegetables sprouting along the sides. They grew until they were just at the right size, about as tall as the very tip of an adult’s chin. Sunset looked on before turning back to her daughter, who turns to Sunset with open eyes and a smile.

“You see, Starbeam?” Sunset spoke softly. “There is nothing but beauty that your magic can provide.”

“… Okay,” Starbeam nodded. “I will talk to mom… I’ll tell her as much as I can. I promise.”

Starbeam wasn’t implying she’d tell Twilight the entire truth, not in the way she had it worded out. But that did not matter to Sunset, at least not at this time. All that mattered was that their daughter needed to be open about what was going on and what was bothering her. And if she could at least offer that bit of information, as small as it may be, what more could Sunset ask.

“I know you will,” Sunset said.

Then the two grasp each other by the hand and proceed to walk back toward the household, where Twilight Sparkle had woken up by this time. And still the day was young, there’d still be much more to come. But so long as they had each other, that they’ll all be prepared for what happens next, they have no reason to fear…

<>

Deep in the darkness, nothing but fog and faint light, there is but hardly a single trace of life to be seen nor stirred. All of a sudden, a stream of purplish dust streams through the darkness drifting in the breeze. Soon the dust begins to assume a form, similar to an equine, albeit a shadowy equine with minimal design or notable features. It takes time for the figure to be fully complete, till its ‘eyes’ open to reveal a purplish gaze. It snorts, scuffing it’s front hoof onto the ground, as it trotted through the dark.

“Hello darkness… My old friend…”

A familiar voice echoes in the dark, causing the shadowy equine creature to halt in place. Motioning through the shadows, not a sound stirred with each step, a cloaked figure stepped toward the creature. A single claw arose from the dark material covering the figure from head to toe, brushing its long nails through the stream of the equine’s glowing mane.

“So… Did you bring what I asked for?”

The equine brayed in response, neighing toward the figure. Proving to be more creature than a being with any form of intelligence. A creature purposely put together by the shadowed figure herself.

“Excellent… I can always count on you… Come here you…”

The creature steps forward towards the enigmatic being, her clawed hand brushing under it’s chin and caressing the creature along the muzzle. A humming tune emits from her, as she draws the creature closer to her. She holds the creature, wrapping her arm around its head drawing it to her chest. She leans her head towards the creature, whispering into its ear.

All at once the two figures start to glow unanimously, the creature makes not a stir or sound but stands completely still as the light wraps itself around the shadowy equine. Then it appears to dissolve, as its body shrunk down as if it’s solid figure was breaking down into a gaseous form. The figure reverts into the dust as it first appeared, drawn into the mouth of the cloaked figure as if it were being sucked into the void. A few seconds pass until the dust completely disappears and all that’s left is the cloaked figure of a very familiar demoness.

Then, two flames appear where the eyes should be… A devilish grin forms as the pearly whites of her teeth unveil in the dark… Followed by a sinister chuckle…