The Light of the Night

Back at Princess Twilight’s castle in Equestria, Starbeam’s lifeless body laid upon a bed in one of the rooms. Sci-Twi, of the human world, stayed by her side brushing Starbeam’s cold arm while staring silently at her. All the others were in the throne room, the center of the castle itself, going over the terms in relation to what transpired.

“Does every pony understand the plan?” The Princess asked.

“The REAL question is: Is this even going to work?” The demon asked.

“I won’t deny there’s always going to be risks. But as of right now, our options are few and we have no other choice.”

“What about Starbeam's body? And the other Twilight?”

“… The other Twilight will remain here with us,” Twilight spoke regrettably. “Since she has no magic to fight Midnight, she must stay here and keep watch over Starbeam until we return.”

“You’re crazy… All of you!”

The demon’s yell, however, went unanswered as the Princess turned toward the remainder of the team. Sunset Shimmer, who had stood silently with her arms folded the whole time, hadn’t spoken a word after what happened with Starbeam. But needless to say, she had been listening the whole time.

“Are you both ready?” Princess Twilight asked.

Sunset Shimmer didn’t answer, as she turned toward the demon. Staring into a form of her past self, a reluctant ally to work with after what transpired. Yet no pony or human could blame Sunset for being hesitant to work with the creature that she too brought to life, a creature who nearly ruined hers.

“Look… I’m not thrilled about this either,” The demon informed Sunset. “Whether we like each other or not, we don’t have time to talk about our issues. Starbeam’s life is at stake, and I don’t have a choice but to work with you. Can you afford to bear with me again? Just this once?”

“Sunset?” The Princess spoke.

After a long pause, a deep sigh escaped Sunset’s lips as she forced herself to look the demon straight in the eye.

“… Sure.”

<>

Meanwhile, Midnight Sparkle flew a great distance toward her destination. Clutched deeply within her grasp, Starbeam’s lifeforce glowed into a tiny swirling ball.

“Not much further, little star,” Midnight Sparkle spoke towards the orb. “Finally, everything’s going according to plan.”

However, Midnight Sparkle didn’t get very far when she suddenly stopped. There in front of her, Midnight’s gaze caught a familiar sight: Sunset Shimmer, the human turned pony. Only, judging by the shift in her face and her cold demeanor, she was far from the usual Sunset that Midnight was used to.

“… Hello, Midnight!” Sunset frowned.

Just then, a flash of light appears behind her as Midnight turns around. In an instant, Sunset’s former inner demon floated there staring daggers toward her.

“This is as far as you go, Midnight Sparkle,” The demon declared.

“Please…” Midnight Sparkle smirked arrogantly. “You really think you’re petty alliance will stop me? You are more pathetic than I thought. Why else did I come here? This place generates more magic than anywhere else in all of Equestria. With this magic generating my former power, soon I shall take over ‘everything’ and start anew. Through this place, I can create a brand-new home and be rid of those who dare to oppose me!”

“You’re not going anywhere, Midnight…” Sunset declared. “Not without us!”

All of a sudden, with a flick of aura from her horn, Sunset transports herself and the others into an entirely unknown location. Midnight Sparkle looks around briefly, before facing Sunset while chuckling.

“A location swap… surely, you must be joking! I can just simply teleport out and—”

SNAP!!!

Midnight Sparkle snapped her fingers… except nothing happened.

“Huh?!”

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!!!!

But no matter how many times she snapped her fingers, Midnight couldn’t understand what was going on.

“Why can’t I teleport?!”

“Oh I’m sorry, are you confused?” Sunset asked, drawing closer. “Seems ‘someone’ has never been trapped inside a time stop before. Hmm?”

Midnight growled, as her glowing eyes turned towards Sunset.

“YOU!!!!” Midnight growled. “What the hell did you do to me?!”

“Oh, it wasn’t just me,” Sunset replied. “You see, I’ve been through this scenario before with one other pony. Needless to say, creating this place is not as easy as you think.”

“Let me guess…”

“Hello… Midnight Sparkle.”

Midnight Sparkle turns her head violently, as Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Equestria herself, appears beside Sunset Shimmer.

“Welcome to your own nightmare,” The Princess declared.

“My nightmare?” Midnight smirked. “Frankly, my dear… I’m a living nightmare. Such a shame it had to be this way; this could’ve ended so painlessly. But it seems you girls are such gluttons for punishment.”

Casting Starbeam’s life-force aside, she waves her arms to at least summon beams all over to prevent it from going anywhere. Soon, the dark magic swirls herself around the demoness as she faces the trio standing in her way.

“But seeing as you’re so adamant on stopping me, you leave me no choice but to play your game. Come ponies, let’s share this nightmare together!”

Suddenly, Midnight fired several dark orbs toward them. Quickly, Twilight casted a barrier around the group, blocking the orbs and preventing them from making contact. While the Princess assumed the defense, Sunset Shimmer and the Demon unleashed a wave of attacks of their own. Midnight Sparkle deflected every attack hurled towards her before advancing toward them.

“Is this what you all wanted? Instead of everyone, like me, having a happy ending in a new place… WE GET TO RELIVE THE HURRIED EVENTS WE’VE EXPERIENCED!!!”

In a flash, multiple clones of Midnight Sparkle albeit ‘shadows’ of herself soon surrounded the demoness as the trio looked on.

“That’s one of King Sombra’s attacks!” Twilight warned. “They manipulate your thoughts when they contact you. Whatever you do: Don’t let them get close!”

“Got it!” Sunset nodded.

Using her magic, Sunset shoots several beams toward the clones, dispelling the shadows and burning the dark figures away.

“Is that all of them?”

“EMBRACE THE DARKNESS~”

“AAAH!” Sunset screamed, as one of the shadows latched onto her.

“Sunset!!!”

Twilight turned toward where the demon shouts, shocked as the shadow quickly wrapped around Sunset Shimmer and knocked her unconscious. The ‘real’ Midnight Sparkle took the opportunity to strike. However, Twilight sensed the assault and quickly evades the attack before one of Midnight’s claws could swipe at her.

“Tend to Sunset!” Midnight called out to the Demon. “I’ll buy you some time!”

“What do you expect me to do? Cuddle her?!”

“Anything to get through to her! Now go!”

The demon nods and approached Sunset’s fallen side. In the meantime, the Princess turns toward Midnight Sparkle as the former’s horn glows with a strong aura.

“You’re quick Midnight Sparkle, I give you that,” Princess Twilight declared. “But I’ll never give up until you’re defeated.”

“… Then prepare to be very disappointed, My Little Pony,” Midnight declared.

“I’m starting to regret coming here,” The demon grumbled when a creepy grin formed. “Then again, she did say I can do anything…”

While the Princess kept Midnight Sparkle busy, the demon picks Sunset Shimmer off the ground and shook her.

“Alright sleeping beauty. Time to wake up!”

She delivers a hard slap on the side of Sunset’s head; however, that didn’t seem to faze her.

“What the—come on, you idiot! Get your act together and wake up!”

She kept smacking the pony around for an extended period of time, until both her cheeks turned red with heavy marks. But eventually, even the demon got tired as she started to pant.

“Okay, clearly this isn’t working… How pathetic! The once brave and powerful Sunset Shimmer reduced to falling for good ole mind control. C’mon woman, you’ve been through heavier stuff than this! Look, I know this isn’t easy for you but you damn well better be the same pony who fought against stronger odds than this. Now you snap out of it or I’ll… I’ll… I’m going to do something I REALLY don’t want to do!”

<>

Meanwhile, deep within her subconscious, Sunset Shimmer found herself trapped within the confines of her own mind. Before her very eyes, visions of her past actions swirled around her. Some of them were good, while others were bad. Some were of fun times, and times too embarrassing for words. But it was all there, out in the open, as a familiar voice echoed in her head.

“How interesting… I always knew you had a history. But never did I imagine it to be ‘this’ much. Working with a Princess, running away from a princess… no wonder how you were always ‘so’ intelligent. How’s about we do a little… ‘show and tell’?”

A vision soon plops right in front of Sunset Shimmer, something that she was neither expecting nor familiar with at all.

“You may not recall as much as I do, but I’ll tell you anyway. A long while back, while I was stuck in this place, she fell into temptation of my power, her ‘other’ self. Was it an accident? Did she plan it all along? Because she was merely another version of ‘Twilight Sparkle’, she tried to save her… but she failed… because she was weak! Now, by some miracle, she’s fighting beside you and all it took was for Starbeam to come to me.”

“Why are you telling me stuff I already know, Midnight?!” Sunset demanded.

“Consider this: Starbeam Glitter is empowered through my magic, regardless of what you or anyone else thinks. Whenever she’d spiral out of control, you were there to stop her… fitting that you’d want to bring justice to your friends by ‘killing’ her, over and over… until she’s no more. And how thrilled you were to finally take action.”

“I… I was just—I was just…” Sunset trembled.

“—doing what you thought was right? Heh-heh-heh… just admit it: You enjoyed it! I know that grin anywhere; in fact, I recall that one time YOU attempted to kill her in her sleep! The expression you had on your face… like something straight out of a tragic story. You were willing to sacrifice your very well-being, your very self, to bide her time… my time.”

“Y-You’re wrong! I’m not… I’m not like that!”

“Have you looked in the mirror recently?!”

In that moment, a mirror appears directly in front of her, showing Sunset Shimmer with a twisted smile.

“This is YOUR reminder; THIS reflects you true self. You cannot turn a blind eye from the truth, Sunset Shimmer! You’re no better than me; you can NEVER be better than me!”

Sunset covered her face in her hoofs, trying to hide from the terrifying image, but it was so horrible she began to cry as the hideous laughter vibrated off the walls of her mind.

<>

Back on the battlefield, Princess Twilight fought Midnight Sparkle as hard as she could. For the most part, they were so fairly even that neither one could lay so much as a scratch upon the other.

“You know Princess, I expected more from you. It’s just surprising you’d want to save her. How pitiful… Willing to fight for a mistake who caused EVERYONE and EVERYPONY great anguish; yet you create a child for a pony and a human for what? Was it just scientific curiosity… like your ‘other’ half? The loss of your own very existence from this world; the former separation from your own kind. You know the child will only grow to be the one creature you fear more than any monster in Tartarus: Yourself. But you know, as well as I, with all this magic it’s possible to back in time where wrongs can be righted. Don’t—”

But Midnight Sparkle never finished, as Twilight Sparkle used Midnight’s monologue to strike her in the back when she wasn’t looking. The demoness hissed in pain, as smoke seared from where she was hit.

“I have done wrong all my life,” Princess Twilight admitted. “I’ve betrayed and broken trust with the ponies I know. I’ve lied and deceived my own friends for results! There are consequences I alone must live with, outcomes not even my power can change! I’ve paid my dues.. but I DON’T regret this one.

“Starbeam may be part of you, the same as she’s part of the other Twilight… but that doesn’t make her life less valuable. If I must sacrifice my own existence to ensure she goes back to a life with her family, back to how they were before you came back, so be it! I’ll use whatever magic I have in me to finally stop you from taking over this and every other world in the multiverse!”

Despite Twilight’s strong declaration, Midnight Sparkle merely smiled.

“You’ve made your choice… let’s see how long that hope lasts!”

<>

“Mom… Mom… Listen, mom… I’m here… Mom, look…”

Slowly, Sunset Shimmer removed the hooves from her face as the hot tears stained her face. What she saw surprised her so much, her eyes went wide: Embedded in a glowing white hue, there stood a figure that resembled and looked like Starbeam Glitter… two figures to be exact. One of her human form, the other as a unicorn, both with the platinum blonde hair and the jean-jacket.

“Starbeam…” Sunset gasped.

“Hi, mother…” They said in unison. “I need you… to listen… okay?”

“Is this… another trick?” Sunset asked, reaching out. “I don’t know what’s real anymore.”

“Mom… I know… it’s scary… seeing your… darker self… staring you… in the eyes…”

“I hate to admit it Starbeam, but she’s right!” Sunset cried, looking down. “No matter what I do, I see myself as her. I tried so hard not to be. Midnight, she’s so… ruthless, hateful, murderous! You were meant to bring us together… and I almost killed you… over and over. She—I… enjoyed it.”

“Mother… it’s not… your fault… you fought… for your… friends and family… no matter what I did… you always loved me… I… deserve the consequences…”

“This doesn’t help, Starbeam…”

“Maybe not… but everything… can be good… if you just try… right?”

Then the two Starbeams came together, until only a single Starbeam Glitter remained. She strolled through the light and approached her mother, standing tall over the knelt pony form of Sunset Shimmer.

“You always saw good in me, even despite having her,” Starbeam spoke, very clearly. “I’ve always seen good in you, mother. So does mom… your friends… everyone. I believe in you… I never stopped.”

“Heh-heh… you’re as wise as your mother,” Sunset chuckled.

“I am wise just like you,” Starbeam added. “Midnight Sparkle is wrong about you, she’s wrong about us. Only someone pure than her… can see good in everyone… even in freaks like you and me. You… will never be her, mom. You and you alone must be ready to forgive yourself, to be the parent you want to be.”

And Starbeam Glitter extends her arm toward Sunset Shimmer, who looked toward the young girl’s hand.

“I believe in you mother,” Starbeam continued. “What do you believe?”

Sunset Shimmer didn’t answer, instead she peers her eyes toward her gaze hypnotized by the glittering shimmer in her eyes like diamonds in the sky. She leaned there wordlessly, drawn to such a vision that she was blissfully unaware of everything that’s happening outside.

<>

The battle raged on between pony and monster, as Midnight Sparkle realized she was having trouble against the Princess of Friendship herself.

“Why don’t… you creatures… understand?!” Midnight questioned.

While trying to strike the princess, one of the beams actually hit the engaged lifeforce causing it to glow.

<>

“AH!!!” Starbeam’s spirit cried out.

“Starbeam!” Sunset screamed.

“I’m… I’m okay. But you must get out, now. Your teacher and your friends are counting on you. Never forget how brave you are… how strong you are… you’re the most strong-willed person… and pony I know. That’s why I look up to you mother because I know deep down you’ll never give up on anything or anyone! Promise me… you won’t give up on them… not on me… not the ones who believe in you!”

Finally, Sunset raised her hoof and contacted Starbeam’s hand and the environment around them began to glow as if an invisible barrier was breaking.

“Thank you, Star!” Sunset smiled tearfully. “I promise I won’t give up.”

“Go now, mom!” Starbeam urged. “They need you; I’ll be rooting for you, all the way!”

As she said that, her spirit finally disappeared no longer able to remain present. Sunset stepped back on all four hooves, as the darkness surrounding her slowly started to disappear into the light. With a burning drive, she transformed into her Daydream Shimmer form and broke through the darkness with great ease.

“Hang in there, Star. You’re mom’s coming to save you!”