//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 - A Mother and Daughter 
// Story: A Light for Someone's Sake 
// by Lunaria 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 6
A Mother and Daughter



"It doesn't look any different," Twilight said.

Indeed, in front of herself was what looked like any other forest trail, nothing indicated that just a few paces forwards was some invisible barrier.

Lemon smirked. "That's the deceptive part."

The earth pony had opted to wear something a bit more practical for the outing. Instead of a large dress she wore a scout get-up.

Minuette just sighed. "Let's get on with this so we can be done," she glanced to her coworker. "Are you certain this is the path the campers took?"

Lemon shrugged. "As sure as I can be, this trail should loop around to a campsite to the east. Meaning that if they went there, we'll find them on the trail or at the location."

Minuette grunted and opened up her saddlebag, retrieving a large package from within. "This is for you Twilight."

Twilight grabbed it in her own magic and looked it over: It was a decently large box wrapped in brown packaging paper and then tied together with thin rope. 

"What is it?" She asked as she stuck the entire thing in her bag as best as she could.

"Emergency supplies. If we somehow end up separated, or if something goes wrong, then the first thing you should do is open that thing," Minuette explained.

Twilight frowned. "Why?"

"The types of dangers you'll find in there are rarely visible to the naked eye, as the temporal magic can run havoc. If neither of the two us are close by then we can't protect you."

Twilight gulped and nodded.

Minuette took a step forward. "We have delayed long enough, let's go."

Lemon placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder and flashed her a smile. "Relax, we'll be in and out in an hour or two, tops!"

Twilight gave a nod and joined Minuette. In unison the three of them stepped through the invisible barrier. The experience was weird, like a cold shiver progressively ran across her entire body. 

Lemon let out a sigh of relief. "Well that wasn't so bad..."

Twilight glanced behind her, where once there was a trail that exited the forest, now there was only a flat white wall stretching up through the overhang.

"I don't recommend touching that," Minuette voiced.

Twilight turned to Minuette. "What is it-" 

"Wait, don't move!" Lemon glanced from side to side with worry. "Something is wrong."

Minuette turned to the earth pony. "What do you mean?"

"Can't you feel it? The flow is completely asunde-"

Twilight's vision blurred, a cold shiver overtook her entire body as forest scenery flashed before her eyes. When things finally settled down she was standing in an open field. She barely managed to take a few steps in confusion before dizziness took over.

She could feel a massive headache coming on as she slumped over and emptied her breakfast in front of herself. Twilight could feel her dizziness increasing, and had the foresight to lean to her side as to not fall face first into the pool of stomach acid; the world slowly turning dark as her eyes closed.

Twilight wasn't sure how much time had passed when she awoke, but her throat was very dry. With a sigh she hefted herself up to a sitting position. After a quick experiment of channelling a light spell into her horn to make sure it was fine, she retrieved her water canteen and drank.

Taking in the sight around her revealed her to be in a large fielded area. There was no doubt that she was inside the anomaly, the white wall stretched up and onwards in the distance, reaching all the way up above the clouds in a curve. Another thing was also evident: she was alone.

'What happened?' Looking back at what she could remember, Twilight was certain they had reached and entered the anomaly... and then Lemon got really anxious about something?

Twilight blinked in realisation, the box! She quickly retrieved it from her bag and started unwrapping it. Once she got the paper off and opened the box itself, the first thing that greeted her was a letter.

If you're reading this, then that means that the very first thing you need to do is retrieve the included bracelet, I REPEAT: PUT ON THE INCLUDED BRACELET. It is more critical than reading this letter.

Twilight frowned, indeed, right under where the letter was rested a metal bracelet; in the center of it rested a hollow green gem filled with some kind of liquid. She picked it up and attached it to her left forehoof, it made a quiet humming sound for a few seconds before turning quiet.

Do you have the bracelet on? If no, do so now.

Twilight rolled her eyes and skipped forwards past all the similar warnings of danger.

With the most important thing out of the way, the first thing I must express is my apologies; this letter was never meant to be read. The things we at the TIA do are anything if predictable however, as such we have constructed a safety kit for those we bring in to help but don't have our expertise.

The bracelet you just put on is the most critical part, if you're working with us that means you're working with temporal magic. I will not bore you with complicated details, but safe to say that if it goes out of control or is done wrong with purpose, then the consequences could be very dire.

The bracelet will regulate a field of magic around you as well as expand and cover any living thing you directly touch. It will anchor yourself to what we call Equestrian Time, that is to say the way time flows in Equestria. If a spell is flung at you that is meant to displace you in time or manipulate time around you, it will have no effect.

Conversely, if you're in an anomaly, then despite your perception of time inside, your body will age at the rate time passes in Equestria. This is not perfect, it only regulates how inaccurate temporal spaces affects you. Meaning you won't simply fall over and age fifty years in but a moment, something which is a risk if you come in contact with an unpredictable flow.

Regardless, if you're reading this then you're on your own. The TIA agents you were working with will likely attempt to find you, and if they are unable we'll send somepony else to help you as soon as feasible. 

If you're inside of an anomaly, then this might not be a quick process. You must therefore plan ahead, you're unlikely to have an infinite supply of food and water. Depending on how time is affects, whether or not it's day or night, as well as the terrain, your options may be limited. 

But your very first focus should be finding a suitable place for potential farming, or a source of water. Included in this package should some useful tools as well as high quality seeds, some of which should be enchanted to grow faster.

Twilight dropped the letter, there was more to it, of course: it was closer to a small booklet than a paper. But Twilight wasn't sure she could believe it, planting seeds? That suggested she could be here for months. She glanced about with her eyes, the field, the wall, the forest in the distance. She could feel a panic attack coming on, she hadn't had one since her first job.

The places wasn't that big, Minuette would surely find her before the week was up, right?







Twilight trudged through the underbrush, using the machete she had gotten from Wing Spark when needed. Breaking through the last of it into a new clearing, she could hear the scribbling start up behind her again.

"You know, you didn't have to come. I'm more than capable to take these notes myself."

The scribbling stopped for a few moments, before it recommenced.

"Yes, but this is fun."

Twilight shook her head with a smile. She quickly walked over to the center of the clearing and settled down. Most of it was large boulders, so it was hardly the most comfortable place.

"Beats farming any day," Raven walked over and glance about the small clearing as she continued taking notes.

Twilight glanced up and compared their current location to her mental map, they were getting quite close to the edge of the south eastern quadrant. Any further trips to the unknown and Twilight practically had to cut through the middle; something she was not very keen on, least of all if Raven was tagging along.

The mare had all but insisted on coming along on her trips and help take notes. Twilight wasn't entirely sure what her companion found so interesting about it all, she had only started taking notes herself out of convenience. It was a good thing Raven's actual parents had brought a map, she herself had lacked that foresight.

"Mom? There's something here."

Twilight got up and walked over to where Raven was studying one of the many thorn bushes that ran alongside the edge of the clearing. At first she wasn't sure what she was looking for, not until Raven lifted the offending branch with her magic.

Attached to thorn was something brown and moldy, maybe only as large as her hoof. Twilight narrow her eyes and looked closer... it seemed like a piece of cloth?

"That's strange..."

She picked it up in her magic and pulled it off of the bush.

"It looks like the stuff our bags are made out of... cloth, right?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, but it's been sitting out here in the elements for quite some time."

Twilight wasn't quite sure what to make of it, especially since there weren't any other signs of anypony having been there. She frowned, this had to mean something, Wing Spark certainly didn't seem to bring her saddlebags around much. Plus, the pegasus would just fly, it didn't make sense for them to come down here. She'd have to ask her about it the next time she took a trip to the center.

"You got that look..."

Twilight blinked and turn to see Raven looking at her intently with a frown on her face.

"What do you mean?"

Raven tapped the top of her ink pen against the cloth. "This is important, right?"

"...yeah," Twilight managed.

"I'll be sure to take note of it then."







"Mooom, we don't have to, it's not a big deal. You know how bad the oat harvest was."

"Shush, I will not hear it," Twilight turned back to where she was preparing the crumble pie. "This is a big deal."

"I'm not a filly anymore."

Twilight chuckled. "I'm not so sure what with how you act sometimes."

She could hear the grumbling from the table as she finished the final touches of the pie. She lifted the metal pan and inserted it into the makeshift oven, nudging the gemstone just right with her magic to start it up.

"It's going to get burnt if you use that thing again."

"Hush," Twilight walked over and sat down at the table with Raven. "I know better how to manage it after last time."

Raven frowned, which in turn made Twilight frown.

"You shouldn't feel down Raven, this is meant to be a happy occasion."

"It's hard not to when we're wasting all of the apples and oats we had left on something frivolous."

Twilight didn't regret imparting the need for being conservative with their food to Raven. In fact, should anything happen to herself then she wanted to be sure the filly--now mare--could take care of herself.

But in return they sometimes had issues doing anything beyond what was strictly speaking necessary. They hadn't had to go hungry for years now though, taking the time for a treat every now and then wasn't the worst. Besides, worst come to wear then Twilight knew where they could scavenge for berries.

"It's not frivolous though, this is something to celebrate," she put on a smile, but Raven only glanced the other way.

Twilight got up and walked over, sitting down next to the mare and wrapping her hooves around her in a hug.

Raven eventually sighed and returned the hug. "I just don't get why it's such a big deal, why we had to rush back home."

"Every filly deserves a cute-ceañera, and honestly I have been expecting you to get your cutie mark for quite some time."

"Is it really that big of a deal?"

Twilight scoffed. "Of course it is: remember that moment when it came to you. The realisation, the euphoria of being so in tune with yourself? That's why it's important and why it's worth celebrating:"

Raven sighed before forcing a smile. "If you say so mom."

Twilight released Raven from her embrace. "Honestly," she scoffed. "I just wish I could do more to make this memorable. But I know you love crumble, so."

Raven licked her lips, and Twilight couldn't help but to chuckle.

"It tastes wonderful, and I can already smell it."

Twilight gave the other mare a light nuzzle before getting up. She did need to keep watch over the pie, as to properly make sure this one didn't burn too.







"Ah, you're here," Spark turned and flashed Twilight a smile.

Twilight gave a polite nod and walked up to the pegasus who was standing right up against the marked line, parchment with notes strewn all around her.

"I didn't see you at your camp so I figured you were here."

"Yeah, I have been focusing on getting as much done as possible," Spark bent down and started rolling up her notes, stuffing them in her bags.

Twilight eyed the Time Eater, how many of these monsters were there? How many pony lives had they ruined? As many times as she had seen it her feelings hadn't changed, she had no idea how Spark managed to be so calm and analytic about the demon.

"I wasn't expecting you yet for a few days, it's not been a month yet, has it?"

Twilight shook her head. "Not quite yet, no, but something came up."

"Ah, good, so I didn't lose track of the days again. It's kind of hard to keep up when they all blend into each other," Spark finished packing up her things and took a few steps closer to Twilight. "So, what's the occasion, did you finally find our two lost ponies?"

"I don't think so, but... maybe a lead?" Twilight picked up the piece of fabric from her saddlebag. "I found this two weeks ago in the south west. It might not mean anything but... well."

Spark's eyes widened. "That's cloth, right?" She glanced off to the side. "That means it's likely Lemon passed through that area..."

Twilight blinked. "Why Lemon? I would have come over sooner with it, but some other things came up and I wanted to scan it properly," she put the mundane piece of ripped cloth back inside her bag.

Spark returned her focus to Twilight. "You don't know? That mare is obsessed with wearing the unwearable. I'm not surprised some of it got torn... though," a smirk grew on her lips. "I'm gonna head back to my shelter for just a minute to deposit my notes."

Twilight didn't get a chance to answer before the pegasus launched herself into the sky, clearly being in a hurry. It wasn't too unusual, whenever they got an idea in their head they tended to act on it immediately.

It wasn't long till she heard the flapping of wings, signifying the return of Spark. Twilight's ears twitched, there was some other sound coming from  the other side of the clearing.

"Sorry about that, I wanted to make sure that I had my notes in order," Spark smirked as she landed and took a step towards Twilight.

She didn't make it much further before a golden beam shot out from across the clearing, forcing the pegasus to jump backwards with a yelp in order to avoid being struck.

"I would take a step back from the pegasus, Magus," a voice called out from the direction the beam had come from.

Glancing over, Twilight's eyes widened. There was no doubt about it that the pony she was staring at was Minuette, though her mane was a complete mess, full of leaves and branches. She also had tiny wounds around her legs, likely from thorn bushes.

"Minuette?"

"Damn right," the cyan unicorn did not take her eyes off of the pegasus as she slowly stalked closer.

Twilight took a step backwards towards the trail and away from both of them, glancing at Spark revealed that the pegasus was smirking and focusing her attention at the unicorn.

"Aren't you two both from the TIA?" Twilight started.

Minuette huffed. "I don't care what sweet tales this filly has spun, she's not one of us," her eyes narrowed. "Which begs the question, just who are you?"

The pegasus shrugged with her wings. "Who's to say I'm not and you just don't know about me?"

"Hardly, now spill. I'd also like to know what you were planning to do with this abomination," Minuette gestured with her hoof towards the Time Eater.

"Oh, that? Psh, I'm simply studying the Time Eater, you know, something you've failed to do."

Minuette stopped her slow approach. "So you know of it and what we call it... and clearly you knew enough about us for a set-up. Who are you?"

Spark chuckled. "Does it really matter? Besides, it's not like I plan on sticking around. You can fix this and be a hero and we can all part ways happily."

Minuette narrowed her eyes. While Twilight took a few steps over to stand next to the unicorn, not letting her eyes leave the pegasus. She wasn't entirely sure what the situation was, but the pegasus had played their hand and outright admitting that they had lied about themselves.

"So all that stuff you said, it was all a lie?" Twilight shot, she could feel her temper rising.

Spark turned her eyes to Twilight and her smirk morphed into a more genuine smile. "A bit here and there, most of what I said was true though."

"Enough," Minuette barked. "If you're not going to be forthcoming, we'll simply bring you in the hard way."

"Oh?" Spark smiled and turned her eyes skywards. "I'd like to see you try."

Minuette smirked and lit up her horn. Twilight was about to ask what the plan was, but didn't get the opportunity. As soon as the unicorn's spell finished with a flash everything had changed. Twilight had to blink to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

On the ground in front of the pegasus lay Minuette, unconscious from the look of it. Behind them was another familiar earth pony in a similar position.

Spark huffed. "That takes a lot out of you," she shook her head as she caught her breath.

"W-what just happened?"

Spark sighed, looking more serious then she ever had. "What happened is that the two of them had the brilliant idea to try and fight me using their own speciality," Spark sat down. "Clearly they didn't have the mind to consider the facts they knew, the fact that I could do the same did not occur to them."

Twilight lit her horn, preparing several offensive spells in her mind. She was rusty, oh so very rusty. She'd never been the best, but she had been good. But had been over a decade since she last had to put her skills to use.

Spark seemed to notice it, as she focused her attention towards Twilight. "Look, I don't want to fight, especially not you."

Twilight huffed. "That's a bold claim to make after what just happened, not to mention outright lying to me."

Spark lowered her gaze. "That's fair... for what it's worth though, I didn't intend to drag anypony else into this."

Twilight fired off a powerful stunning bolt at the pegasus, she wasn't entirely sure what she was dealing with. But regardless, she had a job and she'd do it. She was expecting the pegasus to jump out of the way or to suddenly appear elsewhere, since that was apparently a thing these ponies could do.

What she didn't expect was for a yellow bubble shield to surround the unicorn, staving off the attack. Spark didn't even look up or meet her eyes, she only let out a sad chuckle.

"I came prepared, you know?"

Twilight took a few careful steps to the side. "How?" She narrow her eyes.

Spark grabbed her braided mane in her hooves and brought it forwards, flashing the pearls inserted within. "Enchantments, what else?"

Twilight considered her options, she had expected a pegasus opponent. But if they had the backing and preparation from a unicorn... who knew what spells they might access to?

"Look, I really don't want to fight. These two," Spark gestured to the unconscious ponies around her. "Are fine, maybe a bit worse for wear but nothing permanent."

Twilight huffed. "As far as I know you'd attack me as soon as I turn my back to you."

"Ugh, fine!" Spark snarled. "Look, clearly I can't say anything that'd make you trust me at this point. Not that you have much reason to, but I really don't want to see anyone come to harm."

Diplomacy had never been Twilight's strong suit, she licked her lips. Of course, by the point a magus was sent to deal with a pony it likely was well past the point for such things; she was expected to bring ponies to justice, not make friends.

"If you want to make things right, you could start by fixing this entire anomaly mess."

Twilight wasn't expecting much, but she needed to try and buy time to either come up with a better plan, or for buying enough time for the two TIA agent's to wake up.

Spark stared at Twilight, before eventually closing her eyes and sighing. "Fine, it's not like I'll be able to get anymore research done now."

Twilight glanced between the concentrating pegasus and the two unconscious ponies, seeming to have a clear shot she grabbed the two of them in her field and quickly floated them over to herself.

She'd barely sat them down before a chill overtook her entire body, it lasted but a moment before fading away. It was shortly followed by a large booming sound, making Twilight cringe and fold her ears; still she kept her horn a lit.

Something was missing though, the weird physical representation of the Time Eater was gone. She could see Spark slowly stand up, opening their eyes and facing her. A quick glance up revealed a clear blue sky, a sight she hadn't seen in years.

Twilight's eye twitched. "I thought you said you couldn't do it."

Spark shrugged her shoulders. "I lied," she slowly turned and started walking.

"That's it? You're just going to leave?"

"That was the plan, yes."

Twilight didn't let them take a single step further, firing off a scattershot of magic blasts in an effort to overwhelm the pegasus' enchantment. It worked too, the shield shattered after the majority of shots made contact, forcing the pegasus to jump to the side to avoid the last few.

Spark turn her head after a quick recovery, her eyes meeting Twilight's. "Look, just let me go, it will be easier that way."

"I don't think so, not after what you did here. Messing with temporal magic is a high level crime, even if I wasn't here specifically for it, it would be my duty to bring you in."

"Ugh, this is why I hate the magi," she turned around fully. "You might be the best magi I know Velvet, but that does not mean you stand a chance in a fight with me."

Twilight didn't wait for her opponent to act, she fire off another strong stunning spell before raising her own shield bubble; she cared not to wait to see if she had hit. It was a good thing too, because it was barely up before a sharp sound was heard and a metal ball made impact with her shield.

Twilight's eyes widened as she took in the pegasus, she was gripping what looked like a long barrelled flintlock. Twilight gritted her teeth, she hadn't expected southern weapons.

Knowing that her opponent would have to either spend quite some time to reload or switch over to something else, Twilight opted to teleport; appearing under the shade of the trees to the side of Spark.

The pegasus wasted no time in flinging her weapon into her bag and taking to the air. "At least you're tiring yourself out," she said as she flew upwards.

As much as she loath to admit it, she was tiring herself out. It didn't help that she'd spent the entire morning carrying water back to the farm. Nonetheless, she fired up a scatter shot of weaker stunning spells; she couldn't let the pegasus get further away or she'd struggle to do anything against them.

For a moment she thought her magic would hit, but right as they reached her there was a resounding pop of a teleportation spell. Twilight eye's widened and she glance about as to where they'd gone. No matter where her eyes scanned however, the pegasus was not to be seen.

After several minutes or so of quiet and no sight of the pegasus, Twilight started to relax. The entire thing felt strange, had they been honest in saying that they didn't want to fight? She couldn't imagine someone who pulled something like this to just sit idle; they'd be back, sooner or later.

Not to mention, getting someone to enchant a pearl for teleportation couldn't have been cheap, likely she had a partner then. Just what had Twilight gotten herself into?







"Mom!" Raven ran over, an excited grin on her face. "Look, the sky! It's finally..." she trailed off as she noticed that Twilight wasn't alone.

Twilight nodded. "I know, I finally ran into my associates and we solved the issue," she gestured with her hoof to the two ponies behind her. "Raven, meet Lemon Chrome and Minuette."

Raven's eyes slowly widened and she took uncertain steps backwards into the house.

"We'll, she's certainly shy," Lemon said with a light smile, the bags over her eyes telling how exhausted she actually was.

"I guess I should have seen that..." Twilight mumbled. "Can you two wait here for a bit and we'll pack our things?"

Getting two nods in return, Twilight slowly walked inside what had been her home for over a decade. Raven was hiding just behind the wall, clearly rattled by something.

"They are nice ponies Raven," Twilight walked over and nuzzled the unicorn.

"I... they are so different."

Twilight had to hold back a chuckle. "Of course they are dear, all ponies are different."

"I'm not sure what to do."

"Introducing yourself might have been a good start," she sighed. "You can do that later though. Grab your bag and pack what you want to keep, we're leaving."

Raven's eyes widened. "But this is our home."

Twilight sighed as she started emptying things she didn't need nor care to keep on the table. "You're right I suppose. But I have another home waiting for me in Canterlot."

Twilight turned when she heard snivelling, she could see the tears form in Raven's eyes. "W-what about me?"

Twilight blinked for a few moments before taking slow steps towards Raven, embracing her in a hug. "Of course you're welcome to join, for as long as you want. I'm not going to leave you now."

Raven squeezed Twilight tight.

"Besides, weren't you so excited about meeting Shining and Sparkle? You talked at length about how excited you were to meet them and show them your stories."

"I..." Raven nodded and broke the embrace, a small smile working it's way across her lips.

Twilight kissed the unicorns forehead. "Now, only pack the things you want to keep from here, don't worry about food or such."

With a light nod the younger mare was off, grabbing any and all things she had a connection to and stuffing it in her preferred pair of saddlebags.

As Twilight started to collect the things she wanted to keep, she had to constantly remind herself that she wouldn't need most of it, despite the memories made within these walls.

In the end, most of what filled her bags were the things she had written and some of the hand crafted tools she had made over the years. She packed only enough food that she thought the two of them would need on the trip back to Canterlot.

Raven was already done packing and by the door by the time Twilight finished trudging through their things and her memories. 

"All set?" Twilight asked.

Raven nodded. "I think so."

Glancing back one more time to take in the sight, a thought struck her. "Just one moment," she said as she unpacked and levitated the old survival knife.

With finality she scratched one more tally mark against the wall.

"Okay," Twilight turned and nodded. "Let's go."

The two of them walked out side by side towards the future.