The Manetown Chronicles: A Hidden Heritage

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Prologue
Chapter 8

Chapter 1

“Hey, everybody!” Kristyn Spellan cried as she burst through the homeroom door. She spun around and around, and as she did so, the other guys in the room stared. Kristyn was certainly the prettiest, most popular girl in school. Everybody loved her. She was perfect. Everyone wanted to be just like her. Everyone, that is, except me, Jicxie Darenesk. I did not like Kristyn, but I was stuck with her. She and I were cousins.

“Hey, Susie! Got my hair styled yesterday! You like it?” Kristyn asked as she fingered her perfectly curled blonde hair. Her light pink strand of hair rested delicately on her right shoulder.

“Totes adorbes!” Susie exclaimed. Susie Lyrica was a go-with-the-flow type of girl, one who followed the crowd.

Showoff, I thought bitterly. I curled my blue streak of hair around my index finger. I chewed at the end of it. I had a bad habit of chewing my hair when I wanted to distract myself from something. Right now, it was Kristyn who was annoying me. As I mulled over how annoying Kristyn was, the lights seemed to dim and flicker. Everyone looked up at the wavering lights. Some of the girls yelped. Suddenly, the lights burst and died. People started yelling for lights. Kristyn tried to call for order.

“Guys! Chill! It’s going to fine!”

People started to slow down and take a seat.

“That’s it!” encouraged Kristyn. She clapped her hands delightedly.

All this time, I was sitting at my desk near the back of the classroom. I stared up at the lights. I looked at my hand. It was clenched. I opened my fist and the lights went back on. I closed my hand in a fist again and the lights started to go out again. I opened my hand again. The lights turned on again. By now, most of the kids were staring at me. I opened my hand one last time. The lights turned on. Everyone glared at me. I shrunk down in my desk. At that moment, the teacher, Miss Molina, entered the classroom. She followed the line of glances until her gaze rested on me. She didn’t know what had happened, but she knew that it must have been trouble. Miss Molina shook her head at Jicxie. At that moment, I wished I could disappear. Instead, I looked down at my hands in my lap. What had just happened?

“Mom?” I called. “I’m home! Can we talk?” I walked slowly down the front hall, looking for my mom. My mom, Selene, had a strange habit of turning up in weird places. Once, I had found her in the hall closet, closing her eyes and almost absorbing the darkness. Another time, I found her in a tree at night, staring up at the full moon. Either way, I hoped that Mom would be accessible.

“Hello, my dear. How was thy… your day?”

I jumped. I turned around. My mom was right behind me. She was holding an intricate, leather-covered notebook. And there it was again: I noticed that Mom had said “thy” again. For some weird reason, my mom used “thou,” “thy,” and “thee” a lot. I wondered why.

“I had a good day, I guess…” I said slowly. I had just noticed something. Mom seemed to be glowing; a bluish haze hovered around her. I decided that it was my mind playing tricks on me.

“You guess? I know from experience that that usually means that you have had a… what is it again… a bummer day. What happened?” Mom asked.

“Oh, well…” I faltered. Would my mom believe me or not? “Well… today, at homeroom, when I was taking a seat, Kristyn came into the room. As usual, she was being a showoff.” At this moment, Mom put her hand on my shoulder.

“Let’s go sit down, Jicxie. I’ve made a snack.” Mom pointed to the dining table, where a glass of milk and a plate of cookies sat on the table. I noticed that the cookies were shaped like crescent moons. I smiled despite my jealousy. My mom always made it a point to cook something shaped like a moon, like a sandwich cut into with a moon cookie cutter, or in this case, moon-shaped cookies. I walked over to the dark, wooden table and grabbed a cookie. I took a bite.

“Mmm!” I sighed. “So good!”

“Wonderful!” my mom exclaimed as she pulled out a chair and sat down across from me. She grinned as she watched me tuck into the cookies. “So,” Mom said quietly after a moment of silence. “What happened at school today?”

I stopped mid-chew. “Oh,” I sighed. “That. Well, as I was saying, Kristyn was being a total showoff (as usual), and I got really jealous. I clenched my fist and all of a sudden, the lights started to dim and flicker. Kristyn called for order, and even I listened to her. I unclenched my fist and the lights went back on, and as Kristyn clapped, the lights seemed to get even brighter! I sound crazy, don’t I?” I asked.

“No,” Mom said, without skipping a beat. “You do not sound crazy. I understand.”

“You do?”

“Yes. I was once outshone by… someone,” Selene stopped herself.

“Who?” I pushed.

“No one, my dear. You should go to your room and start your homework while I start cooking dinner. We’re having company.”

“Really? Who?” I asked, curious.

“Oh, my dear girl. You must have a lot of homework,” my mom said, trying to change the subject. “You should go to your room. I want you to try to finish your schoolwork before dinner tonight.”

“Oh,” I sighed. “Okay, Mom. I’ll go start my work.” I turned on my heel and trudged up the stairs. At that same moment, my dad, Lenny Darenesk, walked in the front door. Being the principal of Manetown Elementary School made it so that Dad could come home earlier than most dads.

“I’m home, Lu… Selene!” he called. I stopped halfway up the staircase. Why did Dad hesitate? I wondered. He started to say something, like he was going to call Mom something else. I shook my head. Maybe I was just going crazy. First, I had made lights flicker, and now I was hearing things! I ran up the stairs to her room, where piles of textbooks and papers awaited me.

Ding, dong, went the doorbell. I slammed my algebra book closed. Finally, I had finished my dumb homework. I rose from my black, cushioned swivel chair, walked past my bed with the blue quilts covered in stars, and opened my bedroom door. The tantalizing smells of spaghetti and meatballs wafted through the hallway and into my nose. I heard Dad walk to the front hallway and open the door.

“John! Kalissa!” he cried delightedly.

Uh, oh, I thought. If Aunt Kalissa and Uncle John are here, then that means that…

“Hi, Aunt Selene! Love your hair! Did you get it curled?”

Yep. Kristyn was here, too.

“Hello, my dear,” I heard Mom say. I imagined that she was hugging Kristyn at that moment.

“Hey, where’s Jicxie?” Kristyn asked my mom.

No, Mom, I pleaded telepathically. Don’t tell...

“I believe that she’s in her room, Kristyn. She’s finishing her homework.”

“Why don’t you go say hello?” I heard Aunt Kalissa suggest.

“How about you don’t?” I muttered bitterly.

“Okay, Mom!” Kristyn called as she headed for the stairs. “I’ll go do that!” I heard my cousin’s soft footsteps clomp up the stairs.

“Oh, no,” I whined.

“Hey, Jicxie!” Kristyn called down the hallway. “You there?”

“Yeah,” I groaned. “I’m here.”

G-R-8! Great! You wanna hang out?”

“Not particularly,” I replied.

“Jicxie,” came Dad’s warning voice from the first floor.

“Okay,” I submitted. I opened my bedroom door wider for Kristyn to enter. “Hey, Kristyn,” I greeted my cousin half-heartedly.

“Hey, Jicx!”

“Jicx?” I repeated incredulously.

“Yeah! It’s the new nickname I’m givin’ you! And you can call me ‘Kris!’”

“No way.” I waved the idea away. “Just because we’re cousins and our moms are sisters doesn’t mean that we can be… you know…”

“Friends?” Kristyn finished my sentence. She slowly sunk down into my swivel chair.

“Well… yeah.” I bit my lip. If Mom and Dad were in here, I’d be in so much trouble for speaking to Kristyn this way, but they weren’t.

“That’s totes fine!” Kristyn exclaimed.

“It is?” I asked, surprised. I had expected Kristyn to throw a tantrum, like the rich, spoiled popular kids like her usually did.

“Yeah! I expected you to say that! I mean, you and I are like, total opposites! It would seem weird for you to want to be BFFs right away,” Kristyn said.

“Okay, Kristyn,” I said. “Do you maybe want to start as, I don’t know… frenemies?”

“Sure! Better that than blood enemies.” Kristyn was too optimistic for her own good.

“Okay, then,” I sighed. The room was silent for a few minutes. Then, Kristyn broke the barrier of silence.

“So, what do you wanna talk about?”

“Oh, um… How about your Sweet 16 coming up?” I suggested.

Kristyn’s face lit up. “Yeah! It’s gonna be totes amaze! Mom’s getting a DJ for the party, and we’re gonna have a chocolate fountain and a seafood buffet, and my dad is leaving the house that night. He says that parties like my Sweet 16 are too ‘crazy’ for him! Plus, you’re coming!”

“I’m what?” I bolted upright. I didn’t remember RSVP’ing!

“You’re coming to my party,” Kristyn repeated. “Your mom said that you were going to come to my party!”

“Oh,” I sighed. I rested my head in my hands. I couldn’t go to Kristyn’s party, not when all of the other popular kids were going to be there. And seafood? No way. “Kristyn, I hate to break it to you, but I can’t go to your party,” I said.

“What?” Kristyn looked heartbroken. “Why?”

“Well,” I began, “I have a big… magic test that day.” Magic test? I thought. Where did that come from?

“A magic test?” Kristyn asked skeptically.

I blushed and nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been taking magic classes in my free time. I have a test on the same night as your party.” I was shocked. I had lied.

Kristyn squinted her eyes, as if she was trying to read my thoughts. After a few silent, agonizing seconds, Kristyn opened her eyes again. “M’kay! I believe you. I mean, us frenemies gotta stick together.”

“Mm-hmm…” I agreed uncomfortably. “Yep.”

“Girls! Time to eat!” came Aunt Kalissa’s voice from the kitchen.

Saved by the aunt, I thought as I trotted toward the staircase. “C’mon, Kristyn! We’re having spaghetti!” I ran down the stairs, with Kristyn following not far behind.

Chapter 2

“Uggh,” I groaned as I flopped onto my bed. “I think I ate too much pasta.” Kristyn, Aunt Kalissa, and Uncle John had just left, and I was resting in my room. I slid off of my bed and stood up. I padded over to my closet and grabbed a black tank top and a pair of navy blue pajama pants. I dressed in my PJs and pulled back the blankets on my bed. I eased under the covers and closed my eyes, even though I knew that I wouldn’t fall asleep for a while. For some strange reason, I could never fall asleep right on the spot like most girls my age. I often lay awake for an hour or more before finally going to sleep. I tossed and turned in my bed, thinking about the evening. Kristyn had seemed upset that I wasn’t going to go to her party because of my fake magic finals. Even though I had lied, I didn’t feel as guilty as I thought I should be. I tossed and turned in bed, thinking about Kristyn and how annoying she was. Why had Mom told Kristyn that I was going to attend her party? I decided to ask Mom about it, so I slipped out of bed and slid my feet into my black-and-midnight-blue, stripped slippers. I padded to my bedroom door and walked down the hall. At the end of the hallway, I stopped at my parents’ bedroom door. It was closed. I was just about to go back to bed when I heard voices. I didn’t mean to listen, but I heard Mom’s voice. Mom was talking to her husband, and she sounded worried. I just couldn’t resist. I tiptoed to the closed door and pressed my ear against it. What I heard made my eyes fly open.

“Are you sure that she told you that?” I heard Dad say.

“Yes, Lenny. I am sure. I believe that she has powers, even though I gave up mine,” Mom said.

“Oh, dear. If Jicxie has Equestrian magic, then she could go through the same… changes you went through, Luna.”

Luna? I wondered. Why did Dad just call Mom “Luna?” And what’s “Equestrian magic?”

“Yes, I know,” Mom said. “That’s what I’m afraid of. She doesn’t know about her ancestry, and she doesn’t know how to control and contain… dark magic,” Mom said sadly.

“You’re right as usual, Princess,” I heard heard Dad admit playfully. I jerked my head back, like I had just been punched in the face.

“Princess?” I said aloud. I clapped my hands over my mouth. Oh, no, I thought.

There was silence behind the door. I bit my lip.

“Hold on one moment,” Mom said.

“Yikes,” I whispered to myself. I turned on my heel and raced down the hallway. I yanked my bedroom door open, shut it behind me, and leapt into bed. I pulled the covers under my chin moments before Mom opened the door. I closed my eyes, hoping that I looked asleep.

“Jicxie?” I heard I whisper. She slowly approached the bed. “Are you awake? I know you heard your father and I talking. Open your eyes.”

I cracked one eye open, and saw my mom staring down at me. She looked upset and regretful.

“Yes, Mom?” I slowly pushed myself up onto my elbows.

“I know you were eavesdropping,” my mom said.

“What?” I exclaimed. I forced a nervous laugh. “Why would I do that?”

“What did you hear?” Mom asked.

I sighed. “Princess?”

Mom gasped. “Oh, well, that is… a… um… nickname your father has given me.”

“You sure?” I pushed. I needed to know the truth.

“Yes.”

“Okay… so, who are my ancestors?” I wondered aloud.

“Thy… your ancestors are… magicians,” Mom said. I noticed that my mom said “thy” again.

“Oh. So that would explain the dark magic stuff,” I said.

“You heard about that?” Mom asked. I nodded.

“So… what kinds of changes did you go through? What did Dad mean by that? And will it happen to me, too?” I asked my mom.

“Ah, well… all that your father meant was that… well…. it’s hard to explain. Just think of a terrifying villain and multiply it ten times.”

“You were a villain, Mom?” I clarified.

“Well… not exactly. Just make sure that you do not get jealous,” Mom warned. “Jealousy can be more powerful than you think.”

“Okay…” I agreed.

“Good,” Mom sighed as she rose from the bed. “Sleep well.”

As Mom approached the door, I called out, “Wait. Mom?”

“Yes?” Mom turned to face me.

“So… why did you tell Kristyn that I was going to go to her party?” I asked.

“It is important for you to be close to your family, no matter how different you may be.” That was all that Mom said. Then, she walked out of the room, leaving me to wonder what she meant. Surely Mom didn’t think that Kristyn and I could be best friends? I turned onto my side and stared at my glow-in-the-dark clock. It was 11:10 pm. I closed my eyes, and for the first time in my life, I fell asleep before midnight.

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs sizzling on the stove. I leapt out of bed and pulled on a dark blue, lacy shirt and a black-and-blue skirt. I ran over to my dresser and opened up my jewelry box. I removed a silver ring with a midnight blue pearl on the top of it. I slipped it on and grabbed my classic black Vans from the shoe rack and ran down the stairs.

“Good mornin’, Mom!” I greeted Mom. I plopped down into the closest chair.

Mom turned around. “Hello, Jicxie… How are you?”

“Oh, well… okay, I guess.”

“I see… Well, I have made some breakfast for you.” As she said this, Mom placed a plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of me.

“Thanks, Mom,” I thanked Mom, my mouth already full. Mom nodded.

Just then, I heard a horn blare outside.

“Gotta go, Mom. Bus is here!” I walked over to my mom and gave her a hug, then I headed for the door. But before I left the house, I ran to the bookshelf in the hallway. I scanned the shelves until I saw it: the leather-bound notebook I had seen my mom with the day before. I grabbed the tome and shoved it into my backpack. I planned on reading it during lunch.

Blonck! Blonck! The bus driver was getting impatient. I threw open the front door and sped toward the yellow bus. The driver opened the door for me, and as I boarded the bus, I thought that I saw Mom looking out the front window. I felt a pang of guilt as I thought about how I had taken Mom’s book without permission.

The bell rang as all the students raced for the classroom door. I slowly rose from my seat at the back of the classroom and headed for the cafeteria. I casually walked down the hallways, and as I did so, the other students stepped aside to let me pass. I wondered why. Maybe they had heard about the whole “light flickering thing.” Maybe they were scared of me. I didn’t know why; I shook the idea away.

Five minutes later, I stood in line, waiting for the lunch lady to place a burger on my tray.

“Thank you,” I said when the lady handed me a cheeseburger. I slid my tray down the line, and then I took a seat at a table near the back of the cafeteria. As I lifted the ketchup-drenched burger toward my mouth, I noticed that my backpack that was sitting in the chair next to me was glowing. I reached over to my bag and unzipped it completely. I put my hand inside the pack and pulled out the journal I had taken from the house. It was dimly glowing. I placed the book in front of me, and I pushed my now-empty tray to the side. I slowly opened the book, and what I saw blew my mind.

When I turned to a random page, I saw an old picture of two unicorns hugging. One had white fur and a light blue and light green mane. The other unicorn had black fur and a dark blue mane.

What in the world? I thought. What is this? Unicorns?

I flipped to another random page, and this time, the picture was even more confusing.

This picture was a painting of four unicorns with wings. The first one had white skin and a pink and white mane and tail. The second unicorn was light purple and had a mane and tail that was hot pink and purple. The unicorn flying above the light purple pony was sporting light pink fur and a grape purple, pale yellow, and pink mane and tail. The last unicorn was black with a dark blue and dark purple mane and tail.

Under the picture was a caption:

“Left to Right: Princess Celestia, princess of the sun; Princess Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship; Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, princess of love; Princess Luna, princess of the moon.”

“What the…” I whispered. The name “Luna” sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d heard the name. I rested my head in my hands, trying to remember where I’d heard “Luna.” At that same moment, I felt someone slide into the seat next to me.

“Hey, Jicxie,” Kristyn sighed. “Whatcha readin’? Looks old.”

“Oh,” I exclaimed. I pushed the book to the side. “Just an old journal. Nothing important.”

Kristyn nodded knowingly. “Okay. I believe you.” She smiled. “Like I did with your magic lessons.”

I managed a little grin. “Thanks.” I thought for a moment. Could I trust Kristyn with the journal’s secrets, even thought I myself didn’t understand them? “Hey, Kristyn?”

“Yeah, Jicxie?”

“Have you ever, I don’t know, read one of your mom’s books? Maybe one that looks like this?” I pushed the book toward my cousin.

“No, but now that I think about it, Mom does have a book that looks like that, except it has a gold sun on the cover, not a silver moon,” Kristyn realized.

“Really? Okay, that can’t be a coincidence,” I half-whispered to myself. “So, have you ever read your mom’s journal?”

“No. Why?” Kristyn asked, confused.

“Well, it’s just that there are some weird things in my mom’s book.”

“Like what?”

“Oh, nothing important. Just forget about it,” I suggested.

“Oh, okay,” Kristyn said apprehensively.

The school bell rang.

“Oh! Time for algebra!” Kristyn exclaimed. “You coming?”

“In a minute,” I mumbled.

“’Kay! See ya’ in class!” Kristyn said cheerfully.

“Okay,” I agreed. Kristyn walked off. I turned my attention to the book again. I pulled it back in front of me again. This time, I flipped to the very first page, the title page. When I read the name of the journal, I had to look again, just to make sure that the title was for real.

Private Property of Princess Luna

Her Journal

There was no mistaking it this time: My mom was definitely somehow connected with this “Princess Luna” person… pony.

Chapter 3

“Mom! We’ve gotta talk!” I yelled. I had just left the bus, and now I was looking for my mom. Hopefully she wasn’t hiding.

“Mom?” Where is she now? I thought. “Guess I have to search for you again.”

I roamed down the hallway, looking left and right for Mom. I turned toward the kitchen doorway. I peeked in, but no Mom. I walked farther down the hall, headed for the back door and the hall closet. I reached the back door. I opened the back door and left the house. I walked toward the lawn. I sauntered past the grill and the trampoline, and headed for the garage.

“Strange,” I said to myself. “The garage door’s open.” I knew that whenever my parents were home, they left the garage door closed. So why was it open?

I walked toward the garage. “Mom?” I whispered. “You in here?” There was no answer, but I noticed something. The ladder that led up to the attic was pulled down. Someone was up in the attic.

I approached the base of the ladder. “Mom?”

“Moon. Sun. Luna. Celestia.”

“Mom? Is that you?” I climbed up the ladder. When I reached the top, I hoisted myself onto the wooden landing. I squinted my eyes as they adjusted to the darkness. How could anyone see up here? After my eyes adjusted to the dimness, I saw something. Someone. Mom was sitting cross-legged on the floor, squished between two plastic bins. What was even stranger was that she was glowing blue.

“Mom? What was all that?” I blurted out. Mom paid me no attention. She kept her back facing me, and she was still glowing.

“Moon. Sun. Luna. Celestia,” my mom repeated. She began glowing even brighter.

“Mom! I’m talking to you!” I yelled. Mom’s glow started to flicker and go out. She slowly opened her eyes and turned around. When she saw me standing behind her, Mom clutched at her chest and staggered back. She bumped into a storage bin.

“Jicxie? What are you doing here? What… what did you see?” she asked apprehensively.

“Mom, we need to talk,” I declared.

“About what?” Mom said carefully.

“We need to talk,” I repeated. Without another word, I reached into my backpack and pulled out the old journal. I held it out for Mom to see. I bit my lip.

“Oh,” Mom sighed. “About that. Well, I guess you must know sooner or later.”

“Know what?” I asked.

“About where I am from. Where we from,” I answered regretfully.

“Who?” I pushed.

“Kalissa and I.” Mom bit her lip, as well.

“Aunt Kalissa?”

My mom nodded. She walked toward the ladder. “Follow me.”

I plodded down the steps after my mom, wondering what was going on.

“So, where did you get this book?” Mom began. She pointed to the leather journal resting in the center of the dinner table.

“I took it from the front hallway when I left for school. I remember seeing you with it almost every day. And every time you read it, you look like you’re glowing blue,” I confessed. “I just wanted to know what was so special about that book, but now I don’t know what to think.”

Mom grasped my hands. She looked at me. There were tears in her eyes. “Oh, Jicxie. I did not want to have to tell you this. But now it seems that I must.”

“Tell me what? What?” I demanded. “No more secrets. You and Dad always seem to be speaking in secret, and you are always in really weird, dark places. What’s up with that? Not to mention the blue streak in my hair. I was born with it, wasn’t I? How is that possible? I want answers.” It felt great to get that off of my shoulders.

“And you shall get them,” Mom assured me. “Give me the journal.”

I pushed the book toward my mom. She grabbed the book and ran her index finger over the embossed cover. Her finger stopped when it touched a tiny, silver star pressed into the leather. I hadn’t noticed it before.

“Has that always been there?” I asked.
Mom shook her head. “No.” Her voice cracked.
Mom pushed her finger into the star. It went into the cover. It took me a moment to realize that the star was a button. A silvery-blue light began to travel around the edges of the silver stars and crescent moon. All of a sudden, the cover of the journal burst open like a door. An image, somewhat like a hologram, came into view.
It was an image to two winged unicorns. One unicorn was black with a blue mane… like the one I had seen inside the journal. The other pony was white with a pink, blue and green mane. I remembered seeing this pony in the journal, too.

“Who… what… what is that?” I stammered, pointing to the image.

Mom smiled. “That would be Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, the royal rulers of Equestria.”

“You mean that those two pony things are princesses? The same ones in the book?”

“Yes.”

“What’s ‘Equestria?’” I wanted to know.

“The magical pony realm,” Mom answered matter-of-factly.

“Wait. Magical pony realm?” I repeated.

Mom nodded. “Maybe this will explain it better,” she said. She reached forward and touched the image of the blue pony. The image rippled like water, and a new image came into view, but this time, it was a video.
It was a video of the blue princess.

“This is Princess Luna,” my mom explained. “In the pony realm, she raises the moon each night, and her sister, Princess Celestia, raises the sun.”

“Mom, this is messed up! This must be some kind of prank, and it’s not very funny,” I said loudly. I was just about to walk away when something stopped me: a voice.

“Hello, my dear,” someone said. It sounded just like Mom, so I turned around, thinking that it was Mom. It wasn’t. The hologram pony was speaking to me.

“Umm… hi?” I replied, unsure of what to say.

The hologram paid me no attention. “If you are seeing this, it means that I have decided to tell you where I am really from. I am not from… Kansas. I am a pony princess from the magical realm of Equestria. I am Princess Luna.”

“How do you know me?” I asked the pony. “I mean, we’ve never met!”

“Yes, we have,” the princess assured me. “Most likely I am sitting with you right now.”

I turned to face Mom. A look of complete shock was on my face. Mom nodded slowly.

“I am going to leave my kingdom and powers in Equestria. I want to settle down. I am in love with a human named Lenny Darenesk. Your father. Yes, child. I am a pony princess and your mother.”

I gasped. I glanced at my mom out of the corner of my eye. Mom’s eyes were watering.

“Please, listen to me, my child,” the video image said. “Do not let your jealousy gain control over you. Trust me. The consequences are dire.”
At that same moment, a new voice came into the video, but the speaker didn’t come into view.
“Luna! We must get going! Princess Twilight cannot keep the mirror stable forever.”

Luna looked to the left, toward the speaker. “I am coming, Celestia! I will be there in a minute.” She turned to face me again. “Remember what I have told you. No jealousy.”

The video flickered away. The room was silent.

“Mom…” I started to say.

Mom nodded again.

“Pony princess? Magical world? Aunt Kalissa, too?”

Mom nodded yet again.

“Not possible. I don’t believe it,” I decided. Without another word, I turned on my heel and raced up the stairs. Right before I slammed my bedroom door closed, I heard my mom sigh.

“Sweet Celestia! What am I going to do? Jealously will consume her. She will become Nightmare Moon, as well,” Mom said.

“Nightmare Moon?” I repeated to myself. “Who’s that?” I walked over to my desk and turned on my black Macintosh laptop. I typed “Google.com” in the URL bar, and when the GoogleSearch page popped up, I clicked on it. I typed “nightmare moon.” I punched the Search button.

When the page loaded, I scrolled down the page, looking for some logical explanation. Maybe “Nightmare Moon” was a special moon phase, like the waning or waxing moon. Instead, a bunch of articles and photos from a TV show popped up. Apparently, Nightmare Moon was a villain from the little kid’s show “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” I scanned the page.

At the top of the page, there were several pictures related to “Nightmare Moon.” I saw several pictures of a creepy-looking, black, winged pony with a sharp horn, glowing eyes, and blue, flowing mane.

Underneath the pictures, I saw different descriptions and stories about Nightmare Moon. I clicked on the first article, one titled “Nightmare Moon: The Story Behind the Villain.” I began to read.

“Nightmare Moon. The very name sends shivers up your spine. Nightmare Moon. Every brony, pegeasister, and My Little Pony fan knows her. But do you know the truth?

“According to pony legend, Princess Luna was born 500 years ago. Everypony loved her, but not as much as they loved her older sister, Princess Celestia . Celestia raised the sun every morning, but Luna was born with the task of raising the moon, a job that was much less glorious than causing the sunrise. Luna became jealous, and as her jealously grew, her heart grew darker, too. Pretty soon, she had lost all love for her older sister. Luna vowed that the night would last forever. Every pony in Equestria lived and played in Celestia’s sun, but they slept under her moon. It was her turn to shine!

“Soon, Luna’s jealousy reached the point where she turned into a power-hungry, hateful monster. She approached her sister, and told her that she was going to take over the day. The night was going to last forever. Celestia refused, and a terrible battle ensued. Celestia won, but she regretfully had to banish her sister to the moon for 1000 years. Once Luna was sent to the moon, lines of craters were etched onto the surface of the moon. The craters formed the shape of a unicorn head. This was called ‘The Mare on the Moon.’ After 1000 years, Nightmare Moon returned and tried to take over the night again. This time, six young mares stopped her. They were Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle.

“After these six ponies stopped Nightmare Moon, the evil alicorn (a unicorn with pegasus wings) returned to the good side and rejoined her sister as the youngest ruler of Equestria.

“Equestria has been safe ever since.”

I rested back in my seat. “Wow,” I breathed. “It’s real.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed my eyes with my balled fists. What was happening? Mom claimed to be a pony princess from a magical world. Aunt Kalissa was a princess, too. How was that possible? If they really were from an alternate universe, how did they get from their world to the human world? Was there some sort of portal? And if “Luna” and “Celestia” raised the sun and moon in their world, who did it now? I had a lot of questions, but I knew that it would be a long time before they were all answered. For the moment, I had bigger problems to deal with. Kristyn’s party was in two nights, and Mom didn’t know that I was planning on not attending. I would have to fake going to the party. The question was how?

Chapter 4

Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

I groaned and smacked my glow-in-the-dark alarm clock. I glanced at it. It was 6:30 a.m. I had to leave for school in an hour. But first, I had to do some research. I had stayed awake for hours after I climbed into bed, think about the video and Princess Luna. I had finally fallen asleep at 12:30 p.m. That was the latest I’d ever stayed up, even though I had a hard time falling asleep no matter what time it was. It was starting to make sense. If I was the daughter of a moon princess who ruled the night, it made sense that I would inherit a sense of night-owl-ness. It would also explain why Mom always seemed to absorb darkness. I leapt out of bed, ran over to my desk, and opened my laptop. It woke up and out of “Sleep Mode.” I clicked on the Safari icon, and turned on the Internet. When my homepage came up, I clicked the GoogleSearch bar and typed in “pony magic.” When I hit the “Enter” button, a whole slew of results popped up. There were articles about Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and something about a mirror portal. I clicked on the article and began reading.

“In the ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ feature film, ‘Equestria Girls,’ Princess Twilight Sparkle uses a magic mirror to teleport from the pony world of Equestria to the human world. She is transported to the human high school Canterlot High in order to regain her crown, which was stolen from her.”

I exited from the article and began a new search: “pic of my little pony magic mirror.” The picture that caught her eye was one of an intricate, purple mirror. It was encircled with delicate metal curves, and eleven pink gems were set into the rim of the mirror.

“What a beautiful mirror,” I whispered. I clicked and dragged the picture onto my desktop. I opened up the picture with the “Preview” app and examined the picture closer. I noticed that there was a purple pony walking through the mirror. That must’ve been Princess Twilight Sparkle. This picture explained a lot, like how Mom… Luna and Aunt… Celestia came here to Manetown, Colorado. It would also explain…

I suddenly realized something. I started a new tab on her browser and typed in “pic of princess luna and princess celestia” in the “Search” bar. When the results loaded, a smile crawled across my face. The “Princess Luna” pony had a blue mane and tail, and the “Princess Celestia” pony had a pink, mint-green, and blue mane and tail. So that’s where my blue streak of hair and Kristyn’s pink streak came from.

Everything was starting to make sense. Before I started getting ready for school, I wanted to search for one more thing. I typed one last thing: “pony magic.” I wanted to search this subject again because something had caught my eye earlier. When the page popped up, I saw the two pictures that I had noticed before. They were pictures of two crowns.

The first crown was golden with a purple gem in the center of it. The picture labeled “Princess Luna’s Crown.” The second was a smaller, plainer, black crown called “Princess Celestia’s Crown.” I kept reading.

“Not many people or ponies know about the power imbedded in the two princesses’ crowns. Princess Luna’s crown is full of magic that, when it falls into the wrong hands (or hooves), it can have devastating consequences. The purple gem in Princess Celestia’s crown, on the other hand, provides her with much of the magic she uses to raise the sun. It is meant to be used for good, but even good magic can become a force of evil in the wrong clutches. When Nightmare Moon tried to take over the night, her secret goal was to take her sister’s crown so that she could destroy any pony who got in her way. Thankfully, Celestia stopped her before she got too powerful. Celestia possesses the most powerful magical item in the world. Even Percy Jackson’s sword, Riptide, or Queen Elsa’s ice aren’t more powerful than Princess Celestia’s crown. Case closed.”

“Jicxie! Time to wake up!” Mom called.

I jumped. I turned in my swivel chair and looked at the clock. It was 7:00 a.m. I stood up and walked over to my closet. I picked out a blue, quarter-length-sleeved shirt and a black, leather skirt with two silver chains attached to the pockets. A white moon pendant was clasped to the end of the longer chain. I slipped out of my PJs and pulled on the skirt and quarter-length shirt. I closed my laptop and grabbed my backpack from my bed knob. I flung open my bedroom door and ran down the stairs, where a plate of omelets awaited my.

“”Sup, Susie! How are you doin’?” Kristyn cried. She ran toward her best friend, Susie Lyrica. They hugged. Kristyn twisted her friend’s hair. Jicxie looked up from the book she was reading. She stared across the blacktop and saw what Kristyn had noticed. There was a mint-green streak of color in Susie’s hair. “I love this,” Kristyn approved.

“Thanks, Kris,” Susie said. “I wanted to copy you… I guess.”

“What?” I whispered to myself. “’Kris?’ I thought that Kristyn was letting me call her that. Not that I would want to,” I added quickly.

“That’s totes coolio!” Kristyn replied. “Love that idea!”

“Ugh,” I sighed. “She always has to use that texting lingo. It gets kind of annoying.” I turned back to my book. I tried to focus on the story. It was about an evil witch who was angry with a king for taking away her dark magic, so she was plotting her revenge. I started to read.

“’He cannot keep my power forever,’ Diabolia muttered. ‘He thinks he is so great and powerful. Well, he is about to meet his match.’”

“I know how that feels,” I said under my breath. I glared at Kristyn. She was skipping across the concrete ground. It seemed that everywhere she walked, guys went goggle-eyed or people seemed happier. I bit my lip until it bled. Kristyn was too nice for her own good. I couldn’t watch this anymore. I slammed my book shut. I left the witch to her problems, but I had nothing. No magic, no friends, not even a normal family. I stomped toward the school building. An angry haze surrounded me. My mind was clouded with jealousy. As I pounded to the covered lunch pavilion, I thought about what a jerk Kristyn was.

Grrah! someone growled. Everyone gasped and stared at me. I stopped walking. Was that me? Had I growled? Everyone else seemed to think so, especially Kristyn. Kristyn was looking at me. A look of horror was pasted on her face. It somehow satisfied me to see my cousin so terrified. Brave, cool Kristyn was just a little scary cat! I yanked the hood of my sweatshirt over my head and ran for the pavilion. What was happening to me?

I sped out of the bus and threw open the front door. I ran into the second-floor bathroom. I dropped my backpack onto the tile floor and squinted into the mirror. I scanned my appearance. Was there something new about me? What would have caused all of the students to act the way they did? I was just about to give up when I noticed something. My four canine teeth were longer and sharper than they had been before. I gasped. I ran my tongue over my teeth. The four fangs left small cuts on my tongue. I tasted the bitter saltiness of blood. I saw one other thing. My eyes had changed drastically. They were now turquoise. My pupils had elongated and had become more reptilian. Even the whites of my eyes had changed; now, the whites were mint-green. My once-normal teenage face now sported fangs and reptile eyes.
“What’s happening to me?” I whispered as I touched one of my new fangs with my finger. I gently lifted my right upper eyelid and examined my new eyes. I looked like a monster, one I had seen before. Where had I seen these eyes and teeth before? I reached across the bathroom counter and grabbed a pair of extra-dark sunglasses. I slipped them over my ears. Now no one would be able to see my new eyes. I resolved to keep my mouth closed as much as possible so that I didn’t reveal my fangs, too. If I didn’t understand what was going on, surely no one else would.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!
I picked up my iPod Touch. There was a text alert. Who could be texting me? Of course. Kristyn. Mom had insisted that I keep my cousin’s cell number on my iPod so that we could text each other, but this was the first time Kristyn had ever texted me. I read the text.

Kristyn had typed, “U there?”

I debated responding. If I did reply to the text, Kristyn might want to see me and hang out. I was just about to push the power button on my Touch and ignore the message when Mom’s voice began echoing in my mind.

“It is important for you to be close to your family, no matter how different you may be,” Mom had said. I sighed and picked up my iPod.

I wrote, “Yes.”

I waited a few minutes, and then saw that Kristyn was texting again.

Kristyn replied, “Gr8! Mom just gave me a cool gift 4 my bday party! Wanna see it?”

“Ugh,” I groaned. “Such a showoff.” I began to text again.

“Why not?” I typed sarcastically.

Kristyn replied with, “K. Here it is!” About a billion smiley face emojis followed the text.

Attached to Kristyn’s text was a pixelated picture. I gasped. I had definitely seen this thing before. I had seen it this morning.

It was Princess Celestia’s crown. I gasped again. Kristyn’s next text was really surprising.

Kristyn wrote, “Mom said I was ‘ready’ 2 handle this crown thingie. Don’t know what she meant. Do u?”

I hesitated. “ Umm… not really,” I wrote back.

I pressed the power button on my Touch. What was happening? Did my mom have a crown, too?

Chapter 5

“Aagh!” I groaned aloud. I rested my head on the table. Mom and Dad looked at me curiously.

“What is wrong, Jicxie?” Mom/Luna asked. She seemed very concerned.

“Is it about what your mother… erm… told you?” Dad questioned.

I looked up. “You know about that?”

Dad nodded. “Selene and I have a no-secret policy. We’ve kept it ever she… moved here.”

“You mean from ‘Equestria?’” I retorted. I still had a hard time believing that my mom was from an alternate universe

“Yes…” Luna’s voice trailed off. She nodded.

“No,” I affirmed. “It’s not about that. It’s about Kristyn. She’s such a showoff.”

“I know how you feel, dear,” Mom said. She reached across the table and grabbed my hand.

I managed a smile. “You do?” I didn’t have the courage to ask my mom about the things I had learned about Nightmare Moon, a.k.a Mom, a.k.a. Princess Luna.

“Yes. Trust me.” As she said this, Mom’s eyes darted. She seemed to be remembering something. The room was quiet for a few minutes, except for the sound of Dad’s fork tapping his plate. All of a sudden, Mom/Luna sprang up and started to yell. “There can only be one princess in Equestria, and that princess will be ME! The night shall last forever! I’m sorry, sister! I am Night…” Her voice cracked and she slumped over in her chair. Dad leapt to his feet.

“Luna!” he cried. He grabbed Mom’s wrist, feeling her pulse. When he felt a normal pulse, he sighed with relief. He turned to face me.

“Is she okay?” I asked worriedly.

“Yes, she will be fine. This happens whenever she thinks too hard about her past. I want you to go to your room while I care for your mother.”

“What? Why? I want to help!” I protested.

“Jicxie, go.” Dad wasn’t kidding.

“But…”

“GO!” Dad raised his voice.

I turned pale. My dad had never yelled at me before. I turned on my heel and raced up the stairs to my bedroom. As I ran upstairs, I thought I heard Dad whisper in Mom’s ear.

“You’re fine, Luna. You’re in the human world. You are not Nightmare Moon. You are mine.”

I stopped halfway up the stairs.

“What… happened?” I heard my mom sigh.

“You’re fine,” Dad repeated. “You had another Nightmare Moon Attack.”

A what? I thought. I turned and finished walking up the stairs. I walked into her room and closed the door. Nightmare Moon Attack? What was that? I flopped onto my bed. This had been a mixed-up day. My life was full of secrets. I rolled around on my bed. I thought about Mom’s “Nightmare Moon Attack,” Kristyn’s new crown, and what a showoff she was. I started to growl.

“Ghrrrh… Kristyn thinks that she is so special. She thinks that she is better than me? Everyone likes her, but not me. They will like me, even if I have to force them to!” I shrieked. I stopped mid-growl. What was I saying? No matter how different Kristyn and I were, that was no excuse to be angry… with the dumb, mean, popular girl everyone at school loved. I wanted respect. And I would get it.

“Yowch!” I yelped. I clutched at my head. I was experiencing a major headache. It felt like someone was pounding a giant spike into my head. I gripped my head with my fingers. I grit my teeth against the pain. I wondered what was causing the pain until I realized…. I was causing all of the pain. I had been digging my nails into my scalp in my frustration. But how? My nails weren’t long enough to cause the pain that they were giving me. I tried to pull my hands off of my head, but my nails were imbedded into my scalp. That was definitely not normal. I yanked harder and harder and harder. With every tug, I felt a strange pull on the sides of my head, near my ears. With one final pull, I separated my fingers from my scalp. I looked at my hands. I gasped. That was what, the third time today?

My nails had turned into claws. My fingernails were now about a half inch long. Tiny red spots, blood, were collected under the tips of my claws. I gasped. Fourth time, I noticed. My new… claws were really sharp. I walked over to my computer. I needed to immerse myself in some of my favorite music. I opened my laptop and clicked the iTunes icon. When my playlists popped up, I grabbed my blue ear buds from the pin they were hanging on. I plugged the end of the cord into the headphones outlet and raised the ear buds to my ears. I tried to put them in my ears, but I couldn’t. My ears were gone.

“What!” I yelped. I jumped up from my chair and raced to the bathroom. I flipped on the lights and slowly walked to the mirror. Did I want to see what had happened to my ears? I decided that I did. I peeked into the mirror. My pale face looked back at me. I gasped. “Fifth,” I sighed, despite my heavy, nervous breathing. I scanned my face, from my chin to the tip of my head. Chin? Normal. There were the fangs I had sprouted. My nose was the same. Eyes? Still blue and creepy. Hair? Still dark brown. The blue streak was still there. Ears? Not there. At least, they weren’t on the sides of my head like a normal teen’s ears are supposed to be, but in the past few days I had learned that I was certainly not a normal teenager. My mom was a pony princess, my mom had a magic journal, Aunt Kalissa was a pony princess, too, Kristyn had a new crown, and my ears were on the top of my head.

I had black pony ears.

That would explain why I couldn’t pull my fingers out of my scalp. My claws had been stuck on my… pony ears. I had pony ears. Pony ears. On a human.

I was lying in bed. I was thinking about my new ears, fangs, eyes, and claws. I was thinking about Mom’s so-called “Nightmare Moon Attack.” But most of all, I was thinking about Kristyn and how I could eliminate her. I wanted Kristyn out of my life for good. I wanted to destroy her.

“Jicxie?” came Mom’s voice.

“Come in,” I called. I pulled on a sleep mask and an old beanie. Both were things I had found in a box in the back of my closet. Mom walked into the room.

“Hello, Jicxie,” she whispered. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” I lied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well,” Luna said. She sat down on the bed. “At dinner, you seemed rather upset. Is everything okay?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you wearing a hat and a blindfold?” Mom asked curiously.

I forced a giggle. “Oh, Mom. This is an eye mask. It helps me sleep. And as for the hat… I got cold.”

“I see… Are you sure that there is nothing else bothering you?”

“No…” I sighed.

“Okay.” Mom stood up and walked toward the door.

My voice stopped her. “Mom? Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Jicxie.” Luna stopped halfway out the door, her hand resting on the doorknob. She stepped back into the room.

“What happened at dinner?” I wondered. “What’s a ‘Nightmare Moon Attack?’”

“Oh…” Luna bit her lip. “Well, remember how I told you about my being a villain?”

I nodded.

“Well, even though I am no longer the monster I was, I still am grasped by… Nightmare Moon’s spirit. She and I still have a connection, because… because… because I was Nightmare Moon. She will sometimes remind me of my jealousy and will send me into long sleep-like states. I will only wake if your father wakes me.”

“Oh,” was all that I could say.

“Is that all?”

I nodded again.

“Okay. Good night, my dear.” Mom walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

I rolled onto her side. I ripped off the mask and grabbed my iPod from the bedside table. I turned it on and texted Kristyn.

I wrote, “Can u and I have a sleepover tomorrow nite? That’s the day before yor party, right? I actually do want to come.”

I didn’t expect a response right away, so I set my device on the table. I had just closed my eyes when I heard something buzzing. I cracked open one eye and pulled off my eye mask. My iPod was beeping. I picked it up.

Kristyn had written, “Of course! Love that idea! See u then!”

I was surprised at the fact that my cousin had responded so quickly. I quickly typed an answer then set down the iPod. My plan was in motion. Kristyn would be gone from Manetown by this time in two days. Make that the whole world.

I had written, “GR8. Can’t wait. This is going to be the best night ever.”

Chapter 6

“Hey, Jicxie! How are you?” Kristyn asked as she approached me. I forced a smile and grabbed my backpack.

“Oh, I’m great. Just peachy.” I was glad that I was wearing my sunglasses, because behind them, my creepy eyes were glowing with blue-white light. Tomorrow was going to be a night to remember.

“Fantastic! You ready?” Kristyn questioned.

“Yep,” I said, holding up my small duffel back packed with her pajamas, a spare change of clothes, a pair of purple high-top boots, and my dress for Kristyn’s party. I had designed the boots and dress myself on a fashion design website. You design your shoes, shirt, bottoms, or dress, the company makes it for you, and then they send you the finished product.

My dress was sleeveless and black with a blood-red ribbon outline and a red Chevron pattern on it. The hem of the dress was jagged, like a two-year-old had taken a pair of scissors to it. It had two other layers. The second layer was royal purple and it had the same type of hem as the first ruffle. The third ruffle was indigo colored and had a jagged hem, as well.

The boots were light purple with a magenta interior. It had high heels that were magenta, too. The pegs of the heels were made in a 3D, rectangular shape. There were gold chains threaded across the whole length of the boots.

The only thing missing from the outfit, in my opinion, was a headdress. Maybe… a crown.

Beep! Beep! A car horn honked.

“Oh, yay!” Kristyn clapped delightedly. “Millan’s here!”

“Who’s Millan?” I asked.

“Our chauffer,” Kristyn replied matter-of-factly. She pointed to the curb, where a sleek black limousine was waiting for us. Someone rolled down the passenger seat window.

A man sat in the driver’s seat. He was wearing a perfectly ironed suit and his face was clean-shaven.

“Hello, Miss Spellan. Are you ready?” he asked.

“Hi, Millan! I’m ready! And this is my cousin, Jicxie.”

I nodded. “Hi, Mr. Millan.”

“Oh, please. Call me Millan,” Millan requested.

“Um…okay?” I said. Even Kristyn’s staff was perky!

Millan got out of the limo, walked around the front of the limo, and opened the large, black door of the passenger area of the long car. Kristyn skipped forward and climbed into the car. I slowly walked forward and gingerly crawled into the seat opposite my cousin. Millan closed the door behind me. I reached for the seatbelt, but there weren’t any! I looked at Kristyn in surprise.

“Oh, you’re wondering where the seatbelts are!” Kristyn cried. “We don’t have any. This car is safe enough that we don’t need seatbelts. Plus, my house is only five minutes from here!”

“Oh. I see,” I responded. I looked around the limo. The roof of the limo was glowing, and there was a mini fridge stocked with sodas and fruit. Kristyn reached forward and grabbed two root beers from the fridge. She handed one to me.

“Thanks,” I mumbled. I cracked open the can, and at the same time, Millan started the limo. The long car surged forward, and I spilled soda all over my shirt.

“Oh, no!” I cried.

Kristyn was laughing. “That’s okay. I can fix that!” She snapped her fingers twice, and a heater began blowing on me. Within minutes, me clothes were dry.

“Woah,” I sighed.

Kristyn smiled. “Here we are.” The limo pulled into a circular driveway. Millan stopped the limo and opened the door for us. Kristyn and I exited the car, and as I stood up, I almost passed out. Kristyn’s house was huge! She lived in a mansion.

“Wow.”

“I know,” Kristyn said. “Pretty big, huh?”

I nodded. We walked up the steps to the front door. Kristyn opened the double doors and motioned for me to follow her. I roamed past the giant doors and into a grand entrance hall. Hung along the walls were pictures of Kristyn and her family. There was a picture of Kristyn as a baby and sitting on her mom’s lap. Over there hung a picture of John Spellan placing his hand on a stack of old-looking books. And there, on the opposite wall was a huge, life-sized portrait of Aunt… Celestia and Uncle John on their wedding day. I had to admit, Celestia looked beautiful. Her veil was made of pure-white lace, and pink and blue threads were woven intricately throughout the whole thing. Her dress had a long train that wrapped around her legs three times. The belt fastened around her waist was silver and gold. A golden sun made up the buckle of the belt. John’s suit was black, a standard suit for any rich groom. What caught my eye was the fact that Celestia’s eyes were wild. It looked like she was staring at something behind the person who had been painting her portrait. She seemed like she was about to say something. I walked up to the portrait and looked at Celestia’s hand that was hanging down in the picture. I placed my finger on Kalissa’s painted finger. I turned around. Kristyn was standing behind me.

“This is my favorite picture in the whole house,” she told me. “Mom looks so pretty, almost magical.”

I sucked in my breath. “Magical?”

“Yeah,” Kristyn affirmed. “I mean, look at her! No one could pull of such an amazing dress. It’s almost like it was sewn by a magician.”

“I see,” I sighed. I slowly turned to face the painting again. Kristyn placed her hand on my shoulder.

“When you’re ready to get settled, just walk down the hall and walk up the staircase. I’ll be right up there.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I turned to look at my cousin, but she was already walking up the stairs. I turned her attention to the painting again. Sewn by a magician? Since Kalissa was from a magical world, it would make sense that the dress would have been made by a magical creature. I scanned the hem of the dress for any kind of label or name. Finally, I found one. I read the tiny label.

“Dresses By Rarity. The Carousel Boutique,” I read aloud.

I made a mental note to look up whom this “Rarity” person was. For the moment, I had a plan to carry out and a crown to steal.

“So, where’s the crown you were talking about?” I asked Kristyn slyly. I sat down on a cushy, pink ottoman in Kristyn’s room. Kristyn smiled.

“Oh, yeah! I’ll get it!” Kristyn skipped over to her large, walk-in closet and opened the door. She entered the fashion labyrinth and walked down the isles and isles of dresses, skirts, shoes, and tops. I sat uncomfortably on the ottoman. Did I dare go through with this? Yes. Kristyn was going to get what she deserved.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Kristyn exited the closet and closed the door behind her. In her hands, she held a pink-and-blue striped hatbox. She set it on her bed and motioned for me to come closer. I stood up, adjusted my shades and baseball cap, and walked over to my cousin. I kept my mouth shut because I feared that if I opened my mouth, I would reveal my fangs and start drooling in anticipation of seeing and, eventually, stealing the crown. Kristyn opened the box. I gasped.

The crown was even more beautiful in person.

It was made of pure gold, and intricate designs of hearts and swirls were engraved into the surface of the crown. The ends of the crown were curved and twirled, perfectly molded to fit behind pony ears. It was a bummer that Kristyn didn’t have any pony ears. The crown wouldn’t fit her. But it would fit me. I had pony ears. The purple jewel set into the crown shimmered and sparkled like a star. It seemed to swirl and change color as the two of us stared at the gorgeous headdress.

“Can I hold it?” I asked.

“Sure! Have at it!”

I reached into the box with trembling hands and lifted the crown off of the satin cushion it had rested on.

“Perfect,” I whispered. “Just perfect.”

“What was that?” Kristyn clarified.

“Oh.” I placed the crown back into the box. “Nothing.”

“Okie-dokie!” Kristyn looked at my. “Pretty neat, huh?”

I nodded. “Yesssss,” I hissed. “It’ssss incredible.”

Kristyn stared at me. “You sure you’re okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah.” I forced a cough. “Just got a frog in my throat.”

“Oh, well. Then let’s get you something for that,” Kristyn offered. “I’m sure that Matilda has some medicine we can get for you.”

“Thankssss. Who’ssss Matilda?”

“Our cook,” Kristyn replied. She linked her arm with mine. I tried to pull away. I fought back a growl.

Only 24 more hours of this, I reminded myself.

“Let’sss go,” I groaned.

“So, Jicxie, you decided to attend Kristyn’s party after all?”

I looked up from my mashed potatoes and saw my aunt smiling at me. “Yeah. Figured it wasss time to bussst out of my ssshell and hang out with other pon… people.” i caught myself before I said “ponies.” The whole “Mom’s from Equestria, Mom’s a pony princess” thing was starting to take over her thoughts. Jicxie noticed that she was still hissing.

“Well, then. Will you be staying the night?” Uncle John asked.

i nodded, my mouth full of steak and potatoes.

“All right, then. I’m sure Kristyn wouldn’t mind sharing her bed with you, Jicxie. Would you, dear?” Kalissa/Celestia asked her daughter.

“Nope. We can totes share!”

“Wonderful,” Kalissa said. “I’m sure that you two ladies are tired. It’s nearing eight o’ clock, so I’ll let you girls work out sleeping arrangements.”

Kristyn stood up and walked toward her mom. “Thanks, Mom. G’night, Daddy.” She pecked her dad’s cheek with a kiss. Then, she skipped out of the room.

“Goodnight, Aunt Kalissssssa. Goodnight, Uncle John,” I said. I followed Kristyn out of the room. As I left the giant dining hall, I thought I heard Kalissa chuckle.

“She’s so calm and silent. Just like Luna.”

“Yes, my dear,” John said. “Just like Luna.”

“So, you wanna sleep by the closet or by the door?” Kristyn questioned.

“Oh, well, how about I sssleep near the clossset? Seemsss comfy there.” I grinned. Kristyn had no idea what was coming for her. I looked at my cousin and smiled.

“What’s up with your teeth?” Kristyn asked. She tilted her head, as if she had noticed my fangs. I immediately shut my mouth.

“Oh, it’sss nothing. Probably jussst a piecssse of ssssteak or broccoli ssstuck in my teeth.” I feigned pulling something out from between my teeth.

“Okay,” Kristyn said. At that same moment, Aunt Kalissa peeked in the doorway.

“You might want to get to sleep, girls. By this time tomorrow, you’ll be partying and you’ll want to be well rested,” she advised.

“M’kay, Mom! Thanks!” Kristyn hopped over to her mom and gave her a hug and a kiss. Celestia/Kalissa smiled and left the room. She closed the door behind her.

“So, you have PJs?” Kristyn asked.

“Yeah. They’re in my duffel,” I replied. I walked over to the table by the door and unzipped my bag. I removed a black tank top and a pair of blue-and-purple plaid pants. “Right here.”

“Okay. If you wanna use the bathroom,” Kristyn said, pointing to the open doorway to the right. “It’s open.”

“Thank you, Kristyn.” I grabbed my bag and plodded into the en suite. I flicked the light and groaned. The bathroom was a pink nightmare. The floor was made of white and pink tiles, and the wall had hot pink flower decals stuck on them. Even the glass of the light bulbs was pink, which gave the room a pink glow. I bit my lip, set my duffel on the deadly, pink tiles, and grabbed my pajamas. I closed the door and got into my PJs. When I left the bathroom, I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, I was out of that pink, poisonous prison! Kristyn had already cuddled into the purple-and-pink spotted sheets. She patted the open spot next to her.

“C’mon. Climb in! It’s nice and warm.”

I eased into the bed. It was warm. I looked at Kristyn, a look of surprise on my face. Kristyn smiled.

“It’s a heated blanket,” she admitted. “A plug-in, electrical one.”

Kristyn has everything. A great family, lots of money, and she always seems happy, I thought. “Oh. That makesss sensssse.”

Kristyn smiled and tucked the fluffy blankets under her chin. She snuggled down into her pillow and looked at me.

“Good night, Jicxie.”

“Night, Krissstyn,” I replied. I kept staring up at the ceiling.

“Love you,” Kristyn whispered. Within minutes, she was asleep. I was shocked. Kristyn loved me? Even though we were so different? Maybe Luna was right… maybe Kristyn and I weren’t so different after all. I turned to face Kristyn. Kristyn smiled in her sleep. I managed a small side grin.

I was just about to forget about stealing the crown when a little voice inside my head said, Why do you think this? Kristyn is much different from you. She is the sun daughter. You are the moon daughter. She is the one who shines, now, not you. You should be the one to shine, not the sun. The moon is more important.

“What? Who are you?” I whispered into the darkness. The voice began to speak again. I am you. We feed off of each other. WE are Nightmare Moon.

I gulped. “Oh.”

“What, Jicxie?” Kristyn whispered in her sleep.

“Oh, it wasss nothing,” I lied. Just an evil pony who is helping me. I swallowed again. One who is helping me destroy you.

I closed my mouth. Pony ears, reptile-like eyes, fangs, claws, and now I was hissing. Something was definitely going on.

Chapter 7

“Happy birthday, my dear!” Kalissa sang as she swept open the bedroom door. She held a tiny box in her hands. Celestia walked over to the bed. I opened one eye. Kalissa saw me and her eyes widened. Had she seen my monster-y eyes? I shut my eyes again. Kalissa shook her head and poked the lump in the bed that was Kristyn. “It is time to wake up! You need to get ready for tonight.”

Kristyn groaned. “Five more minutes.”

Kalissa leaned forward and whispered something in her daughter’s ear. Kristyn bolted upright, yanked on her bathrobe, and raced down the hallway, toward the stairway. I discreetly pulled on my sunglasses and beanie hat and looked up at my aunt. “What did you tell her?”

Kalissa smiled. “I told her that a plate of pancakes awaited her downstairs.”

I surprised myself with a giggle. “Makesss sssenssse. Anyone will do anything for pancakesss.”

Kalissa nodded. She leaned at her waist and looked intently at me. “Be careful, Jicxie.” With that, she turned on her heel and walked toward the door.

“What do you mean?” I called, afraid of the answer. Kalissa looked back.

“You know what I mean.” She left the room.

I bit my lip. Did Aunt… Celestia know about Nightmare Moon, too? It would make sense if she did. I slid out of bed and padded down the stairway. When I entered the dining hall, I saw that it was decorated with pink and purple streamers and balloons. More pink. In the midst of all the décor, I saw Kristyn scraping the last bits of maple syrup from her plate. From the looks of things, Kristyn had just finished her pancakes, or as my goofy dad would say, her “pancakies.” I noticed that another stack of “pancakies” sat at the seat opposite my cousin. I sat down and began eating. When I looked up again after a few minutes, I realized that Kalissa was sitting next to Kristyn.

“I have something I would like to give you, Kristyn,” she said.

I stopped eating. “Oh! Do you want me to give you sssome sssspace?”

Kalissa reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “No, my dear. I want you to be here for this.” With that, she handed Kristyn the tiny box I had seen Kalissa holding it earlier. Kristyn took the box and lifted the lid. I strained my neck, trying to see what was in the box. Kristyn gasped and pulled out a necklace. She sighed with delight.

“It’s beautiful.” Kristyn didn’t even seem to notice that the purple gem hanging on the gold chain was cut in half. I said nothing as Kalissa clasped the necklace around Kristyn’s neck.

“Yes, it is,” Kalissa/Celestia agreed. “Legend has it that this gem, when combined with its companion, will fill the wearer with magic and power beyond even the darkest evil.”

I gulped, hoping no one was looking at me.

Kalissa continued. “If you look inside the gem, you will see…”

“A star?” Kristyn finished her mom’s sentence. She was staring into the jewel. She motioned for me to come and look, too. I came over to my cousin’s side and held the gem in my palm. I felt a jolt of electricity surge up my arm. I saw images and visions in my mind’s eye: six ponies with angry expressions on their faces, a blast of rainbow-colored light, and a white, smiling face. I recognized the face immediately. It was Princess Celestia. Were these things I had read online? Things I didn’t remember seeing? Or were they… no. I decided they couldn’t be. Could they be memories? I shook my head. No. I couldn’t possibly remember those things. They had never happened to me. I shook the thoughts away and looked into the gem. I had seen this picture before.

The glass of the gem distorted the image, but I still could make it out. It was the Element of Magic, the powerful pink, star-shaped gem that had released me from my evil, malignant persona. I shook my head again. I had never been beaten or stopped by a star, Twilight Sparkle’s Cutie Mark. How did I know that, too? And what was a “Cutie Mark?” I looked up at Kristyn. Kristyn was staring at me.

“What?” I asked ignorantly.

Kristyn pointed up at my forehead.

“What?” I repeated. I reached up and felt my forehead. There was a strange, large bump in the middle of my forehead. When I took my head away from the bump and looked at my finger, I saw that my finger had a very faint blue glow to it. Oh, no, I thought. Not another change. I excused myself and ran to the closest bathroom. I ripped off my hat and scrutinized my head. This was the third time this week I’d done so. I rubbed the obscure bump on my head. I knew what ears, eyes, fangs, and claws were, but I had no idea what this was.

No fifteen-year-old girl was supposed to have a large, blue bump in the center of her forehead. Acne was one thing, but this… this was a whole other thing.

I pulled on my hat again, tucked in my ears and new bump, and exited the bathroom. I didn’t go back into the dining hall. Instead, I went upstairs, took a shower, got dressed, and sat down on my side of Kristyn’s bed. I looked at the closed closet door. Did I dare? I stood up and approached the closet. I half-expected Kristyn to swoop in on me and attack me, or that a bunch of booby traps would be activated. I turned the closet’s doorknob and waited. Nothing happened. I breathed a sigh of relief and entered the closet. I closed the door behind me. As soon as the door opened, a long row of pink lights flickered on automatically. I slowly ventured down the pink, carpeted hallway, looking left and right. Where was the crown? All of a sudden, I heard a click, like a light switch. I stopped walking, balancing on one foot. I looked all around. No one was there, but all of the lights flickered out. The whole closet, the whole mall of fashion was pitch-black. The whole closet was dark, except for the end of the hallway. A small, mechanical claw uncovered a small pedestal. I turned to face the pedestal. I held my breath. Sitting on the pedestal was Celestia’s crown. I smiled, no longer afraid of someone seeing my fangs. I yanked off my sunglasses with my right hand and with my left ripped off my beanie. I had no idea why I did this. Maybe it had something to do with Nightmare Moon. I let go of the sunglasses and hat. They dropped to the floor. I walked forward, hands outstretched, like I was in a trance. I was about to grab the crown when a familiar voice echoed in my mind.

Not yet. It was Nightmare Moon. Not yet. You must wait until tonight, when the party has started.

“Um, okay?” I said. “How can you talk to me? I mean, no one elssse isss here, and telepathy isssn’t real.”

I can talk to you because you know me.

“How?”

I am your mother, Nightmare Moon said.

“Huh?” I was confused.

Hundreds of years ago, I, Princess Luna, became jealous with my fool of a sister, Princess Celestia. She raised the…

“Yeah, I know all of that,” I interrupted. “Celessstia, my aunt, raisssed the sssun and you got jealousss. You became a monssster and tried to take over the day. You were sssent to the moon as punissshment. Then, you returned a thousand yearsss later, but were defeated by sssix poniesss. That made you become good again.”

But the DARKNESS is better! Nightmare Moon screamed.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “You’re… right. I’m way better than Krissstyn. It’s my… our time to ssshine.” I reached forward and got close enough to the pedestal for my fingers to brush the tips of the crown. All of a sudden, the other lights flickered on. I blinked as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. I realized that it had been me who had turned off the lights. I had unconsciously clenched my fist when I entered the closet/mall and had put out the lights with my strange “darkness powers.” I whirled around. Kristyn stood at the door. Her finger was on the light switch.

“Jicxie?” she called down the hallway. “What are you doing?”

I thought hard for an answer. “Oh, I’m… I… wassss getting the crown to clean it,” I lied.

Kristyn started walking down the hall. My hand flew up to my ears. The hat had come off. I touched my eyelid. The glasses were gone. Funny, I thought. I don’t remember taking them off. I frantically searched the shelves and floor for my beanie and sunglasses. There, on the floor by my feet. I snatched the hat and glasses from the pink, floral carpet and tugged the hat over my pony ears. I slipped the shades over the dent where my human ears should have been and hid my eyes from view.

“Why do you do that?” Kristyn was now standing directly in front of Jicxie. Without waiting for an answer, she walked over to the nearest rack of dresses and began browsing for clothes.

“Do what, Krisssstyn?”

Kristyn turned around. She held a rose pink tank top in one hand and a salmon pink tank top in the other. “Which one?”

I shrugged. “They look the ssssame to me.”

Kristyn shrugged, too and put both tanks back on the rotating rack. “I mean, you’re always wearing sunglasses and a hat inside. Plus, you seem to always seem to be hissing and growling.”

“I don’t know why, Kristyn.” I bit my lip. “Maybe I’m jussst going through a weird phassse.”

“Okay, maybe you’re right.” Kristyn smiled. “Hey, c’mon! Wanna help me pick the frosting color for my ice cream cake?”

“Ssssure,” I agreed. “What kind of icssse cream?”

“Strawberry,” Kristyn answered matter-or-factly.

“No sssurprissse there,” I muttered. “Pink.”

“What was that?” Kristyn asked. She looked up from the shoe rack she was examining.

“Nothing!” I said quickly. Kristyn smiled and headed for the closet door.

“Let’s go! Matilda can’t keep the cake from melting for long.” Kristyn jogged for the door. I looked longingly back at the crown sitting on the pedestal. It glittered like it was made of melting ice and diamonds. I reluctantly followed my rich, fashion-loving cousin. As I left the closet and grabbed the doorknob to close the closet door, I paused and stared back at the crown sitting at the end of the long, fashionable hallway. I sighed and closed the door. Little did she know that at the end of the hallway, on the pedestal, the crown began to glow. The purple gem set into the top of the crown began to swirl. The purple hue of the jewel began to mix with a black liquid. Little did I know that the darkness growing inside my heart had somehow connected with the magic in Celestia’s crown. Good and evil magic was mingling, a dangerous combination.

Nightmare Moon was awakening.

“Jicxie! Kristyn! You must start getting ready! The guests will be arriving in an hour!” Kalissa called up the stairs. I looked up from my hand of cards. Kristyn did, too. We set down our cards. Kristyn had a hand full of aces, but I had a mish-mash of all different types; a full house.

Showoff, I thought.

“We’d better go, Jicxie.” Kristyn advised. She fingered the gem necklace Celestia had given her. “Party starts soon.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. O slid off of Kristyn’s bed and walked over to the pink ottoman by the door. My duffel bag sat on top of it. I unzipped my bag and pulled out my dress and boots. I carefully refolded the dress around the boots and tucked the bundle at the bottom of my Old Navy duffel bag, so that Kristyn wouldn’t see them. In my opinion, this outfit was fit enough for a queen, especially an awesomely evil one. Like Nightmare Moon. Like me.

Kristyn entered her closet and closed the door behind her. Ten minutes later, she emerged wearing a hot pink dress. The whole torso of the dress was covered in pink, sparkly sequins, and the belt she wore was made of a gold and silver metal braid. The buckle was shaped like a heart. Inside the heart buckle, I saw that a sun was etched into the center of it. I realized that every day, Kristyn wore something with a sun on it, whether it was a purse, a shirt, belt, or even shoes. It made sense, with Kristyn being the daughter of the most powerful monarch ever. I managed a smile.

“Wow, Krissstyn. You look… great.”

“Thanks,” Kristyn acknowledged. She looked me up and down. “But… where’s your dress?”

“Oh, well…” I searched for an answer. “I’m gonna wait until the party actually ssstartsss and thingsss ssstart getting… interessssting. Then I’ll put on my dressss.”

Kristyn frowned, but nodded. “Okay.”

Kalissa poked her head through the door. “Oh, Kristyn! You look beautiful. Can you come to me, please? I wish to tell you something.” She looked at Jicxie. “In private.”

“Oh, sure, Mom! Coming!” Kristyn grabbed her shoes from the table and hopped on one foot as she yanked the pale pink boot on the other. Then, she pulled on the other boot. She walked toward her mom. “What’s up?”

Kalissa gently grabbed Kristyn’s arm and pulled her out of the room. She threw a warning look at me. I bit her lip as Celestia closed the door behind her. I tip toed to the closed door and pressed my ear against it. I closed my eyes and concentrated on what the two Spellans were saying.

“Your new crown…” I heard Kalissa whisper. “Surprise… you. Friends… after dinner… special ceremony… coronation.”

I held her breath and waited for Kristyn’s response. “Oh, wow! Thanks, Mom! You’re the best!” Kristyn burst through the door. I fell to the floor.

“Were you eavesdropping, Jicxie?” Kristyn asked.

“No!” I answered quickly.

“Umm… okay?” Kristyn replied. “So, guess what? Go on, guess!”

“Oh, umm… an evil, power-hungry villain isss coming to your party tonight?” I responded with a wry grin.

“No! Mom just told me that she’s planning a special coronation for me tonight after dinner, when everyone is here!”

“Oh. Joy,” I sighed sarcastically. Now sIhe would have to take the crown directly from the closet, the plethora of fashion. Back to the drawing board.

“Yeah, c’mon! Everybody getcha’ hands in da air!” the DJ cried as he spun the records. Kristyn giggled as she danced hand-in-hand with Susie Lyrica. I stood over by the crystal punch bowl, with a pink, plastic cup of sparkling pink lemonade in hand. I felt so uncomfortable. I looked out into the crowd and saw him. Sam Gronico, my crush. He was perfect for me. All of the “couples” were dancing together, and any single kid was avoiding me for reasons unknown. I had a feeling that it had something to do with the fact that I was wearing my sunglasses and a purple beret inside. I shrugged and looked sadly into my cup. A pink reflection of Jicxie Darenesk stared back at me. I sighed and glanced up at the nearest clock. It was 9:00 p.m. In thirty minutes, Aunt Kalissa would be heading up the stairs for Kristyn’s room to get the crown for the spontaneously planned coronation. In ten minutes, I would head upstairs for the crown.

Uh, oh, I thought. Dan and Hannah Favian were coming toward me; two of the “coolest” kids in school. In my opinion, they were two of the most annoying kids in school, aside from Kristyn.

“So, look who decided to show up,” Hannah said scornfully. “Licxie! As weird as always! How are things? Aside from your obvious fashion crisis.” She pointed to my shades and beret.

“Nothing, Hannah. My name’sss not Licxie. It’sss Jicxie,” I hissed. I felt my fists begin to clench. I had to hide my dark magic. I couldn’t reveal Nightmare Moon, not yet. But when I did, Hannah and Dan would be the first to “go” after Kristyn. “Clear out.”

“Umm… no. You can’t tell us what to do,” Dan butt in.

“Ssssure about that?” I said. O took a menacing step forward.

“Ooo! Feisty!” Hannah sighed. “I like it. Oh,” she put a mockingly gentle hand on my shoulder. “I like the attitude, not you, dearie.”

I shrugged away Hannah’s hand. “That’ssss helpful to know.” I looked up at the clock again. It was 9:10. I had to get going. I tried to walk away, but Hannah grabbed my right forearm and Dan grabbed my left arm. They pulled me back to their sides.

“Where’re you going, Licxie?” Dan asked scornfully. He gave me a mockingly sweet smile.

“Oh, jussst going upstairsss,” I hissed. For the first time, hissing seemed natural to me. I yanked harder on Hannah and Dan’s grips, but they only tightened. A white-blue glow clouded my view and I began to growl. I thought I heard Hannah speak, but it sounded like Hannah was speaking from the opposite end of a tunnel. I heard Dan’s low, gurgling laugh as he and his brat sister jerked on my arms. Then all I heard was a yelp. It was Hannah. The blue glow cleared from my vision. I shook my head and looked at Hannah. She had a look of horror pasted on her makeup-covered face. She slowly raised her shaking hand and thrust it in my face. Despite my anger, I gasped. There was a single trail of blood gliding down Hannah’s palm. I stared at my navy-blue-painted claws. They had tiny drops of red blood under them. I clasped my hands and looked at Hannah and Dan.

“That’s what happens when you mess with the daughter of the moon.” I shook my head again. Where had that come from? I turned on my heel and raced for the stairs. It was 9:20. I had wasted ten minutes dealing with the Favian brats. Ten priceless minutes. Ten minutes that could affect my getting the crown or not.

“Wait!” Hannah yelled. “Where’re you going? Come back here!”

I stopped halfway up the staircase and whirled around to face the Favians.

“Messss with the girl, you get the clawsss.” I glared at Kristyn. “Messss with the moon, you get the grief.” Where did that come from? I guessed that Nightmare Moon had something to do with it. For now, I had to worry about Kristyn and getting her crown before Kalissa did. I raced up the stairs and swerved toward Kristyn’s room.

Chapter 9

I watched as the purple and gold flames licked at my skin. Strangely enough, the fire didn’t burn me. If anything, the flames felt comforting to me. I looked down and saw all of the kids staring up at me. Up at me. I looked around and realized that I was floating, surrounded by a pillar of magical flames. It somehow felt natural. I spread my arms out wide like I had seen Kalissa do in the closet and enjoyed the expression of terror pasted on Kristyn’s face.

All of a sudden, the flames surrounding me dissipated and I was left floating in the air. I felt a sharp tug on the middle of my forehead and felt the muscles in my back flex. I raised my right hand to my forehead and tapped it with my pointer finger. It felt normal, until I felt the long, bumpy rod sticking out of the middle of my forehead. I pulled my hand away from the bump and looked at my index finger. It was bleeding. I flew toward the nearest window and looked at my reflection. I didn’t even recognize myself. My blue, reptilian eyes had a slight silver glow to them, and my upper fangs had grown so long that they now stuck out over my lower lip. My skin was now black, pitch black. My pony ears had stayed the same, but my claws had grown a half-inch. The bump I had seen earlier that morning in the bathroom had changed. It was now eighteen to twenty-four inches long and it was now black like my skin. It was as sharp as a two-edged sword. It was also glowing electric blue.
So that’s what Aunt Celestia meant by “horn,” I thought.

The strangest changes were the wings and hair. During my transformation, I had grown black wings that matched the ones I had seen Nightmare Moon having in the Google pictures. That would explain the flexing back muscles. My single blue streak of hair had become a whole head of sparkling, flowing, midnight blue hair. Sitting on my head was the crown. It was glowing.

“Haah!” I sighed loudly. I glared at Celestia and Kristyn. “Ssso, Krissstyn?”

“I… what… huh?” Kristyn stuttered. She still cowered behind her mom, who was staring at Kristyn’s purple gem necklace.

“Nothing to sssay, for once? Well, cousssin, looksss like it’sss the end of the line for you!” With that, I looked toward the moon and smiled. “Nightmare Moon! If you’re ready…”

The moon began to glow, but it wasn’t the normal “beautiful moon” kind of glow. It was more like an evil, dark magic kind of glow. A beam of gold and silver light flowed from the moon and shone right on me. I screamed. The light burned me. It burned my skin, hair and even my will. I felt all of my fun, sweet memories disappear. My sixth birthday party? Gone. Learning to ride a bike? Forgotten. My thirteenth birthday? Nada. Starting driver’s education? Nope. The only thing I remembered was Kristyn and how much I hated her and the sun. I felt tears of anger, betrayal, and pain flow down my cheeks. My eyes flew open and beams of white light shot out of them. Everyone remembered that they could scream, and they made use of that ability. I was positive that the people of Timbuktu could here the other kids screaming! I was fine with that. Among the chaos, I saw Kalissa pull out her iPhone and start dialing someone. Now that was a disorganized princess! I laughed and looked up at the moon again. A shadow was starting to flow down, out of the moon and headed straight for me. I spread out my arms even wider, as if I knew who or what was coming. And it turns out, I did.

“FREE! FREE! FREE!” the shadow screamed.

When the shadow reached me, it screeched to a stop and hovered in front of her.

“Nightmare Moon,” I breathed.

The shadow dipped its head in a nod.

"So, can you help me?” I pointed to Kristyn, Celestia, Susie, and Hannah and Dan. They were all cowering on the ground, except for Celestia. She stood up, glaring at me and the shadow.

“Ah, yes,” the shadow sighed, baring its pearly white fangs. “Revenge. A dish best served with darkness!” With that, Shadow Nightmare Moon reared up in the air and blasted me with a bolt of blue energy. I arched my back and screamed again. Shadow Nightmare Moon kept infusing me with power for about five minutes. I was so sore that I barely heard Kalissa yell into her cell phone.

“Luna! Bring it!”

I stretched and arched my back. I looked at my hands and feet. I felt my head. I ran my tongue over my teeth. Everything was the same, so what had happened? Did Nightmare Moon’s magic do anything? I stared questioningly at Shadow Nightmare Moon.

“Use your horn!” Nightmare Moon told me.

“Horn?”

Shadow Nightmare Moon sighed and rested her head on her hoof. “Must I do everything? Summon the magic inside of you. Think of your evil goal and channel that goal into dark magic!”

I shut my eyes tightly and thought of Kristyn throughout our lifetimes. I remembered how at my tenth birthday, Kristyn had done a song and dance routine that had attracted everyone away from me. Everyone thought that Kristyn was the greatest, including Sam Gronico, the guy I had been crushing on for six years. I recalled the day Kristyn and I had set up a lemonade stand and everyone gave Kristyn extra coins just for being cute! Kristyn made fifty bucks that day, but I only earned twenty. Those two memories were enough to give me a headache. With a heart-wrenching shriek, I clasped my hands and then opened them again. Floating between my palms was a ball of silver and blue light. The ball sparkled with small bolts of lightning. Shadow Nightmare Moon smiled, for shimmering inside the globe of light was an image of a moon. Inside that image was an image of a unicorn. I recognized this as the “Mare On the Moon.” I was just about to throw the power-ball onto my “enemies” when something caught my eye. It was my mom.

“Jicxie! Stop!” Luna cried. She stood below me. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and the wind created by mine and Nightmare Moon’s wings whipped her hair. Her four blue streaks of hair stood out; they were glowing. It was at that moment that I realized something: Mom had four blue streaks. One for each Equestrian princess.

“NO!” I replied with Nightmare Moon’s voice. I looked over at Nightmare Moon. As I spoke, Nightmare Moon’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. She was speaking through me again. Now that was creepy. “You of all people should know what I am feeling!”

“Yes, Jicxie! I do know!” Luna stared up at me. “But I also know that this magic will get out of hand.”

“NO!” Nightmare Moon and I repeated.

Mom sighed. How I heard my mom sigh over the sound of the wind and screams was beyond my comprehension.

“I did not want to do this, Jicxie, but you leave me with no choice!” With that, she ran up the giant staircase and met up with her sister. I flew toward the two princesses and softened the blow of my wing beats so that I could hear what they said.

“Where is it, Tia?” Luna asked.
Despite the dire danger, Kalissa smiled. “You haven’t called me that in over a hundred years.”

“The gem?” Luna said.

“Oh, yes! Kristyn,” Celestia said, turning to her daughter. “Give me the necklace!”

Kristyn looked up at her mom. Her mascara was running and her lipstick was smudged. “What? Why?”

“If you don’t, Jicxie will destroy us all!” Luna cried out.

Kristyn jumped up, yanked the chain from her neck, and handed it to her mom. Then, she resumed her place, curled up on the front porch with the rest of the guests.

Luna and Celestia looked at the gem. Luna reached for her neck and pulled out a silver chain from under her dress collar. Hanging on it was the other half of the purple gem. Celestia held her half of the gem between two fingers. Luna did the same thing. They began to join the two halves to make one gem.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia began, “if you can hear this, give us our needed magic!” The two gems connected. Nothing happened.

“Ha!” I yelled, pointing at my mom and her aunt. “Your gem is defective! Maybe you need to change the batteries,” I mocked.

The gem still did nothing.

“Princess Twilight! Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia cried over the wind. Still nothing. “Dearest Twilight?”

Luna looked longingly at her sister. “Together,” she said.

“Together,” Celestia replied. They held hands as they thrust the jewel into the air. The two chains twisted together in the wind. The gold and silver chains intertwined and braided themselves together. But that was the only thing that happened.

“Twilight!” Celestia and Luna screamed into the wind.

Chapter 10

In another time and place…

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, if you can hear…”

Spike the dragon sat up. The cucumber slices flew from his eyes and hit Owlicious, Princess Twilight Sparkle’s pet owl, in the face.

“Was that…” he said to himself. He looked out the spa door and peered into the library across the hallway.

“Whoo?” Owlicious said.

“It couldn’t be…”

“Whoo?”

Spike spun on his heel and looked at the owl. “Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, that’s who!” He spun around and around, as if he was confused. After five minutes of spinning, Spike grasped Owlicious’s perch for stability and shook his head. He smacked his head with a clawed hand.

“What am I doing? TWILI-I-I-I-IGHT!” he screamed as he ran down the hall. He didn’t even stop to talk to the masseuse pony who was coming to check on him.

“T-T-Twilight!” Spike gasped. He grabbed the gold doorjamb opening into the throne room of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Princess Twilight Sparkle all stared at the panting dragon.

“Why, whatever is the matter, Spikey Wikey?” Rarity asked.

“Oh, oh, oh!” Pinkie Pie shrieked. “Is it Discord? Is he being a naughty lizard-pony-goat-dragon? Oh, or is it Cheese Sandwich? Is he back? ‘Cause I wanna throw a party right about now!”

“Let’s just let Spike tell us what the problem is,” Rainbow Dash butt in, pointing to the baby dragon.

“What? Problem?” Pinkie cried. “If Cheese Sandwich is back, that’s no problem! Parties are not problems!” The pink party pony stomped her hooves in frustration. She wanted to see Cheese Sandwich the Super-Duper Party Planner again.

“Pinkie!” Applejack sighed.

Spike collapsed onto the floor from exhaustion.

“Oh, goodness!” Fluttershy exclaimed. She flew over to the unconscious dragon and got down on her knees. “Spike!” She turned to the nearest soldier. “I need a bowl of sapphires, STAT!”

“Yes, miss!” The unicorn ran off. Twilight blushed, for that unicorn was Flash Sentry, the royal guard she had “feelings” for.
Twilight alit from her throne. She trotted over to her number-one assistant and lifted his head with her hoof.

“Spike? What’s the problem?”

Spike cracked open one eye and looked at his friends. Once again breaking the fourth wall, Pinkie Pie stuck her head around Twilight’s shoulder.

“Is it Cheese Sandwich? Please say it’s Cheese Sandwich!”

“No,” Spike croaked. Fluttershy lifted a blue sapphire to his lips. Spike crunched the gem and swallowed. His eyes cleared and his pupils focused. “Not Cheese Sandwich.”

Pinkie Pie frowned.

“It’s… it’s… it’s…”

“What is it, Spike?” Applejack asked.

“Celestia and Luna.”

Twilight almost dropped Spike in surprise. “What?”

Spike nodded. “In the library. Portal.”

“Cadence!” Twilight Sparkle yelled. A pink alicorn with purple, yellow, and pink mane ran into the room.

“What is it, Twilight?” she questioned.

“They need us, Cadence,” Twilight whispered.

“I see… Let’s go!”

Twilight gently set Spike down onto the floor and ran for the library, with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza by her side.

“Oh, no!” Twilight and Cadence cried at the same time. They looked at each other.

“Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said softly.

Princess Cadence nodded. They turned back to the mirror portal. There was no noise, but the image said enough.

There was a group of humans crouched on the ground, and two familiar-looking people stood side-by-side. They were holding a gem in the air. Twilight recognized the jewel as the gem that had been set into Princess Celestia’s gold collar. She had brought something from Equestria. Next to Celestia and Luna crouched a young girl of… fifteen, sixteen summers? Somehow, Twilight Sparkle knew that the girl was Princess Celestia’s daughter. What caught her attention were the two figures floating in the air. One was a pony… no, a shadow. Nightmare Moon. The other figure was a girl, but this girl had wings, a horn, and Celestia’s crown. Twilight had seen this before. When she had gone to Canterlot High in the human world, Sunset Shimmer had taken her crown and upon wearing it, became a monster.

“Cadence?” Twilight said, still staring at the image.

The princess of love turned to look at Twilight Sparkle. “Yes, Twilight?”

Twilight smiled grimly. “I think that it’s time to use that defense spell Luna and Celestia taught us.”

Cadence nodded. The two pony princesses crossed horns and started to give each other their magic, which strengthened them. Twilight and Cadence spread their wings and made a curtain with their wings, shielding their faces from view. Before Princess Luna and Princess Celestia left Equestria, they had told the two remaining princesses that when they did this spell, that they were to cover their faces with their wings. The spell would cause their faces to glow so brightly that any non-royal pony would be injured when they saw the light. The two ponies kept their horns crossed for five minutes, and then they shot a purple-and-pink bolt of magic toward the mirror portal, straight at the image of Celestia and Luna. The surface of the mirror rippled like water when the bolt hit it, but then it stilled.

The two princesses collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.

Cadence laughed. “They made it look so easy!”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “They usually do… did.”

“That. Was. AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash yelled. She bolted up into the air and punched the air with her hoof.

Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight shakily stood up. Spike barreled into Twilight with a hug.

“Great job, Twilight!” he exclaimed.

“Sure was amazin’!” Applejack agreed.

“That was fantastic, dah-lings,” Rarity approved.

“I agree,” Fluttershy whispered. She gently blew a stray strand of mane out of her face.

“Uhh…” Pinkie Pie sighed. “I’ve seen better!”

All of the other ponies giggled.

“Wha-a-at?” Pinkie wanted to know. Ponies usually laughed because of her, but Pinkie was positive that she hadn’t done anything funny. “What’s so funny? What’s so funny?”

Author's Note

Can you see this happening? When I wrote this chapter, I imagined tears in Twilight's eyes as she remembered Celestia teaching her and Cadence the defense spell. I imagined the two remaining princesses sweating as they tried to cast the spell. And most of all, I imagined the shock, awe, and pride running through the other five ponies as they saw their best friend saving her own teacher.

Chapter 11

Back at the Spellan’s mansion…

The sky began to glow pink and purple. For a moment, it looked like the sunrise, but typically, sunrises don’t rain pink and purple sparkles. Luna and Celestia smiled at each other. The sky glowed brighter and brighter, and if one looked hard enough, they would have seen a large group of clouds morph into the shape of a unicorn’s bowed head. The glowing sky tinted the clouds purple.
It was an image of Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Thank you, Cadence,” Celestia said as she looked up at the sparkles. “Thank you, Twilight. I miss you.”

If Nightmare Moon and I hadn’t been in the air, and if the kids weren’t all screaming, any silent listener would have heard the wind whisper.

"I miss you, too, Princess Celestia."

Celestia smiled and wiped away a single tear trickling down her cheek. She looked at Luna. Luna nodded.

“I need to do this, Tia.”

“I know.”

The two princesses raised the gem into the air again. The purple and pink sparkles began to settle into the gem, and as the gem began to glow, Celestia let go of the gem as if it was burning her. She knew what was coming.

Luna closed her eyes and began to rise up, off of the ground. She tucked her legs together, as if floating in the air was the most normal thing in the world. Blue sparkles floated out of the gem and began to circle around Mom. Blue sparkles hovered around Mom’s hands and feet. Lines of sparkles trailed up from her forehead and from her sides. A thin line of blue sparkles floated out from Luna’s tailbone. I realized that her ears were sparkling, too, and the top of her head was glowing. I realized that the glow on Mom’s back, tailbone, and the top of her head looked like a pair of wings, a tail, and pony ears. Luna arched her back and clutched at her head as the sparkles surrounded her in a magical chrysalis. There was a blast of blue and silver light, and a pillar of white light shot into the sky, parting the clouds. When the light dissipated, Luna relaxed. She straightened her back and blinked a few times. She looked up and smiled. She looked down and smiled. She was still hovering, but without the help of the gem. The gem was now hanging around her neck on the now-braided chain.

“No!” Shadow Nightmare Moon and I screamed. “Not possible!”

“Oh,” Luna retorted. “But it is.” She flipped her head. Her mane was tossed by the wind. She turned and grinned at Celestia, who was doing something quite unlike herself. She was jumping up and down, punching the air with her fist.

“Yes!” she yelled triumphantly. “Well done, Cadence! Well done, Twilight! Well done, Luna!” She stopped yelling mid-bounce. Everyone had stopped screaming or hovering and stared at her. Celestia straightened her back and brushed an invisible speck of dust off of her party dress. “Please,” she said, “continue.”

Luna whirled around to glare at Nightmare Moon and I. “You shall not control my daughter,” she said defiantly.

“Oh,” Nightmare Moon sighed. “How can I not control myself? You, of all ponies, should know that any daughter of the moon is Nightmare Moon!”

“You are wrong!” Luna replied. “I changed! I am right! And I will take my daughter with me!” Her voice echoed against the marble walls of the mansion. She looked surprised.

The shadow smiled evilly. “So, you do still remember what the ‘wrong’ side of darkness feels like. I can see it in your eyes. You miss being Nightmare Moon…”

“I do not!” Luna screamed. She crashed to the ground and stomped her hoof. She flexed her wings and launched herself into the air. She pointed her front hooves in front of her and ignited her horn. She aimed for Nightmare Moon and I.
The princess of the night had returned.

“NO!” I screamed. “No! Stop! Desist!” I held my arms out in front of me, as if my palms would somehow protect me from the full power of the moon.

Luna sped forward, paying no attention to my pleas. Like any mother would, Luna was going to do anything and everything to save me. As she flew, tears streamed down her cheeks. She did not want to do this, but it had to be done.

The moon princess conjured the biggest, most powerful power bolt she had ever made, squinted her eyes, and aimed the point of her horn right for my heart.

Luna reared up in the air and let loose the largest power bolt she had ever conjured. It hit me square in the chest. Luna gasped and dropped heavily to the ground. She hit the ground hard enough to make a large dent and millions of cracks in the pavement.

Celestia grabbed her cell phone and texted Dad.

“Kalissa Spellan” wrote, “You wanted to see what the princess of the night really looks like? Come to my house.”
“Lenny Darenesk” replied, “On my way now!”

I started to flail around in the air. My wings began to flicker, as if they were just an illusion. My horn lost its black, magical glow. Nightmare Moon began to howl like a wolf.

“NO!” she screamed. “Not again!” She reared up in the air and ignited her shadowy horn. The sharp, pointed tip of the horn sparkled with electricity, like a frayed electrical cord. Her magic had been destroyed. “What? No. No! NO!”

White light began to circle around Nightmare Moon, surrounding her in a glowing, blue-and-white chrysalis. The encasement tightened around the struggling figure. The light began to flow like water. It flowed toward the moon, which was glowing brighter than it would have glowed naturally. The shadow encased in the light chrysalis struggled and fought. Anyone watching Princess Luna at that moment would have seen a black trail of smoky ooze float out of her chest. The last bits of darkness in her heart had left her. Luna was lying on her side, gasping for breath. She hadn’t flown or done magic for sixteen years, so she was out of shape. Celestia ran to her younger sister’s side and raised her head. She dropped to her knees and hugged her sister. Tears mingled with tears as the two princesses wept.

“Oh, Luna! I’m so proud of you!” Celestia cried between sobs. “If only I could join you…”

Luna smiled weakly and lit up her horn. “As the last spell I shall cast,” Luna gasped, “I wish for you to have wings and a horn!” Luna tapped her sister’s chest with the tip of her glowing horn. A pale yellow light ignited on Celestia’s chest. It burst out of her chest and began to swirl around her.

“Luna?” Celestia said. “Did you…”

Luna smiled and rested her head on the pavement. She fell asleep. Casting spells like that was exhausting.

Celestia laughed despite the sadness in the air, and as she giggled, she began to hover. Her arms began to move forward on her body and widen. Her nose elongated. Her ears moved to the top of her head and grew a bit longer. Her hair began to float and change color. White blonde hair began to turn pale pink, mint green, baby blue, and turquoise. She grew a horn and a tail. Her back straightened and lengthened, making room for wings. With a blinding flash of yellow light, Celestia became Princess Celestia once more.
The beloved Sun Princess had returned.

At that same moment, a navy blue minivan pulled into the roundabout driveway of the Spellan’s estate. The driver rolled down the window and gaped. It was Dad.

He thrust open the driver’s side door, ran around the back of the parked car, and skidded to a stop right under the flying Princess Celestia.

“Kalissa? I mean, Celestia? What are you… who... why… huh?” my dad gasped.

Celestia lowered herself to the sidewalk with a few gentle beats of her wings. She landed three feet from her brother-in-law. He backed up, as if he was afraid.

“Don’t be afraid, Lenny. It is I, Princess Celestia ‘Kalissa’ Spellan, princess of the sun!” As she spoke, rays of golden light began to emanate from behind Celestia. Lenny covered his eyes as the rays grew brighter and brighter.

“Oh! I am sorry, Lenny! I forgot that I could do that.” Celestia stopped glowing. She looked over her shoulder. Luna was still gasping on the pavement. Celestia looked in the opposite direction, where Jicxie was collapsed on the ground. Celestia nodded toward Luna. “She needs you, Lenny.”

Dad craned his neck and gasped when he saw his wife crumpled on the ground with a horn and a pair of wings. He slowly stood up and walked toward Luna, while Celestia warily approached me. I watched all this happen through tear-filled, bloodshot eyes.

“Luna?” Dad whispered. He got down on his knees next to the unconscious princess. She had a crown stuck into her mane, which wasn’t flowing as it was supposed to. Her mane and tail weren’t sparkling, either. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was shallow.

Luna cracked open one eye. When she saw her husband, she shakily lifted one of her wings and covered her face.

“You can’t see me like this…” Mom sighed. “I look awful.”

Dad gently pushed Mom’s wing down. “You do not look awful. You look beautiful.” He softly brushed a finger on Luna’s soft, fuzzy, matted coat.
Luna smiled weakly. “You always know what to say.” She tried to stand up, but cried out as soon as she tried to bear any weight on her four legs. She fell to the ground again.

Celestia set her right front hoof on my heaving shoulder.

“Jicxie?” she whispered.

I didn’t respond. I was too busy crying. All of the sweet memories Nightmare Moon had taken from me were surging back to me, and now, as I saw Kristyn dancing around the sidewalk with her “Fresh Lemonade” sign from years ago, and as I watched my cousin dancing at my tenth birthday party, I saw something in her that I had never noticed before. I saw a happy, kind girl who longed for equality in the world. Kristyn wasn’t popular because she was pretty or rich. She was pretty because she was so kind to everyone. And I had probably just ruined it.

“Jicxie.”

“What?” I responded curtly. I turned and looked at my aunt. Celestia had to stifle a cry. My face was cut and bleeding. My cheeks and chin were riddled with bruises.

“Jicxie, your mother and I…” Celestia began.

“Are banishing me!” I interrupted. I turned back onto my stomach and began to sob again.

“What? Who told you that?” Celestia asked, shocked.

“I told myself that,” I admitted miserably.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m Nightmare Moon, right? The creepy voice in my head said that I was Nightmare Moon. She said that I was evil, and you and Mom were going to punish me by banishing me to some place called the ‘Everfree Forest.’”

“Oh, Jicxie!” Celestia dropped to her knees and lifted my chin with her hoof. “You are only who you choose to be! I once had a student who thought that she was a failure. She did something, and thought that it would anger me, but instead, it brought her to find her true destiny.”

“What?” I snuffled. I sat up and wiped my nose with my wrist. “Who was that? What was her destiny?”

Celestia smiled. “The student was named Twilight Sparkle. She was my favorite student, and as to what her destiny was… she became a princess, like Luna and I. And you.”

“Me? A princess?” I stuttered.

“Yes. You are the daughter of a princess, are you not?” Celestia hinted.

I managed a grin. “Yeah… I am.” She looked at her aunt and gasped. “You… you’re a… a… a pony.” I had just realized that my aunt had wings and a horn. Celestia’s crown was where it belonged, on her horned head.

Celestia nodded. “Yes, I am. And so is your mother, who I believe is wounded.”

I glanced over Celestia’s shoulder and saw my mom and dad crouched on the pavement together. I grasped my aunt’s broad, white shoulders and used her as a crutch. I hobbled up the stairs, completely unaware of the kids cowering six feet away from me. I dropped to the ground next to Mom and Dad.

“Is… is she okay?” I questioned.

Dad turned to face me. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. “No, Jicxie. She is not okay, thanks to you.”

I was shocked. I turned at my waist and stared at my magical aunt for help. Celestia slowly walked up the stairs and towered behind her brother-in-law. As she spoke, her voice echoed deeply.

“Lenny Darenesk! Do not judge your daughter. How would you feel if you had just been rescued?”

“Rescued from what?” Dad said.

“I know that it is hard to believe, but for the past four days, Jicxie has been possessed and controlled by a power-hungry villain from Equestria.” Celestia’s voice was now softer, but her eyes still glowed with an unshed anger.

My dad was speechless. He turned to look at Mom, who was still unconscious.

Celestia placed her hoof on my shoulder. “Jicxie, Luna is very hurt. From the looks of things, I do not think that she will ever be able to walk again unless you help her.”

“WHAT?” I said. “How can I save the life of a pony princess?”

Celestia smiled. The tip of her horn began to glow. I reached up to feel my horn.

“But…. but my horn’s gone!”

Celestia held out her hoof. She raised her eyebrows.

“Oh…” I said. I looked intently at my mom. Luna was staring at me, unshed tears in the corners of her eyes. Kristyn slowly stood up and walked toward the motely group of people and ponies sitting on the steps. I turned to face my cousin.

“I… I… I’m so sorry.”

Kristyn said nothing. She just lowered herself onto her knees and set her right hand on Mom’s furrowed brow.

I took a deep breath and clenched my fist.

“What’s she doing?” Hannah Favian shrieked. I ignored her.

For the first time, I was able to channel my powers and create a blue haze around my fist. Mom’s, Dad’s, and Kristyn’s eyes all widened. I smiled grimly.

I lowered my glowing hand onto Luna’s heaving bosom. The blue glow seeped through her coat and began to spread throughout her body. Her front legs began to glow. Her mane and tail began to shimmer. As the glow covered Luna’s legs, Jicxie was surprised to see that the glow was making a pattern on her mother’s legs. The glow was forming a zigzag pattern. It took us all a moment to realize that we were seeing an x-ray image. The magic was seeping into Luna's broken bones! I bit my lip. Would the spell work? Luna squeezed her eyes shut and stomped her left hoof on the ground. She grit her teeth against the pain. The glow spread from her front legs to her torso and hips. The blue glow spread to Mom’s wings. The feathers on her wings were outlined with the blue glow. The grooves in Luna’s horn began to fill up with the glow, as well. Within minutes, Mom’s whole body was glowing. She began to float with the help of my magic. Luna sighed. It was hard to tell whether she was in pain or not. After she had been hovering for about three minutes, Luna slowly descended and rested on the ground. She wiggled comfortably and sighed again. Aunt Celestia smiled and nodded at me.

“She will be fine, Jicxie. Well done.”

I smiled, and for the first time, it was genuine. I stood up and grasped my aunt’s neck in a hug.

“Thank you.”

Celestia raised her right hoof and embraced me.

“Any time. Now,” the princess of the sun said, as she let go of my shoulders, “I think that you need to go talk to the guests over there.” Celestia smiled a quirky smile. I bit my lip and slowly turned around. I placed my hands on my hips. Hannah and Dan were standing up, and as soon as they saw me, they crossed their arms and shook their heads. Susie stood off to the side. She was fingering the mint green streak in her hair. She seemed confused. Susie pulled out her iPhone and aimed the camera lens at the group sitting on the stairs. A flash of light sparked. Susie had taken a picture! The DJ scowled at me.

“Not cool,” he said.

I flashed an embarrassed smile. This time, I wasn’t scared to show my true colors. I was Jicxie Danette Darenesk, daughter of Princess Luna and Lenny Darenesk, sole daughter of the moon. I smiled. I was a princess, and no jealousy could ever change that.

Chapter 12

“Bye, Mom! Going to school!” I called as I opened the front door. Mom came barreling down the hallway. She rammed into me with a hug.

“Have a wonderful day, Princess Jicxie,” she said as she tapped my nose playfully.

I grinned. “You too, Mom!” I pecked my mom’s cheek with a kiss, and then ran out the door. Right before I boarded the bus, I turned around. “I left something on your bed for you!” Without saying anything else, I swung my backpack into the bus and took a seat next to Kristyn. Before she closed the door, Luna saw Kristyn and I hug.

“Well done, Princess Jicxie. Well done.”

“So, guys?” Susie Lyrica said apprehensively. She walked toward Kristyn and I. We were sitting at a bench on the blacktop at Manetown High. It was Nutrition, so Kristyn and I took the opportunity to make up for the years of friendship they, namely md, had wasted.

“Yeah, Susie?” Kristyn and I said simultaneously. They giggled.

“Jinx!” we cried. “Double jinx!”

“Guys!” Susie sighed.

“Oh, yeah. What’s up, Susie?” I asked sweetly.

“Yeah! What’s up?” Kristyn added.

“So…” Susie played with her streak of mint green hair. She tried to find the right words. “So… I mighta, kinda, sorta twisted the truth when I told you about my new colored streak.”

“How so?” Kristyn asked curiously.

“Well, I never really went to a salon to get it done. On the day I showed you, Kristyn, my streak, it kinda just appeared.”

“Huh?” Kristyn and I gasped.

“I woke up that morning and the streak was just there. I asked my mom about it, and she laughed when I told her! I remember her saying, ‘You humans are so funny!’ ‘Humans?’ I said. Mom went on to tell me that she was really from another world, a magical pony-filled world called ‘Equestria.’ Apparently, when any girl who is the daughter of a ‘pony’ from this magical world is born with a colored streak in her hair, but sometimes, it doesn’t show up for many years. My mom’s ‘pony’ name is Lyra Heartstrings. You think that she’s making it all up?”

Kristyn and I looked at each other and smiled. We linked arms and stood up. Kristyn took Susie’s arm.

“Well,” Kristyn began, “remember my party last month?”

Susie rolled her eyes. “How could I forget?”

I turned six shades of red.

“Well, what your mom says is true.” I continued my cousin’s sentence.

Susie’s jaw dropped. Kristyn and I laughed.

“It’s true!” we both said.

“I’m ho-o-ome!” I called. I dropped my backpack onto the floor. Luna came speed walking toward me.

“Welcome home, Jicxie.” We hugged.

“Hey, Mom. You find my gift?” I asked with a wry smile.

“Yes, I did. And I think that it’s lovely.” I put my arm around Mom’s shoulder.

“Glad you like it, Mom. Susie and Kristyn gave it to me. Susie took it on the night of Kristyn’s party. Let’s go to the kitchen. I’m craving some moon cakes!”

Luna nodded. “I purchased some this morning.”

I looked at my mom and grinned. “ Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Jicxie.”

“Well, on the night before Kristyn’s party, I saw a painting in the Spellan’s hallway. It was a portrait of Aunt Celestia and Uncle John on their wedding day.”

I noticed that my mom had pursed her lips and was trying to keep a straight face.

“Anyway,” I continued, “in the painting, Aunt Celestia looked shocked, like she was about to say something.”

Luna laughed. “Oh, that was because of me! I was making silly faces behind the artist painting Celestia’s and John’s picture.”

“You?” I asked.

“Yes, my dear. Even a solemn princess like me can be funny if she wants to be!”

“I see…” I was laughing, too. “Also, on the hem of Aunt Celestia’s dress, I saw a label stitched into it. It said ‘Dresses By Rarity: The Carousel Boutique.’ Who’s Rarity?”

“Ah, well, she is a unicorn seamstress from Equestria. Before Tia and I left Equestria, Celestia and I asked Rarity if she would sew us our wedding dresses. If I remember correctly, when my dear sister asked Rarity if she would make our dresses, the poor unicorn swooned, pulled a couch to herself with her magic, and fainted on it! Princess Twilight Sparkle aided Rarity by showing her what the body of a human looked like, and Rarity made us our gowns. Honestly, I think that Tia has the prettier dress.”

“Well,” I added, “I’ll bet yours is just as pretty. Can I see it?”

“Someday,” was all that Mom said.

Mom and I walked side-by-side, laughing. And as we walked past the bookshelf in the hallway, the moon tome glowed and lit up the newest treasure displayed on its shelf: a framed photograph of Dad, Luna, and Celestia (in their pony forms). In the photo, Mom was lying on the ground in, glowing and smiling. Dad was resting his hand on Luna’s shoulder, and Celestia stood behind Dad and Mom. She was smiling and emanating yellow rays of light. And me… I was standing triumphantly on the top step of the Spellan’s porch. I had my fists on my hips and I was smiling. A blue glow surrounded me.

Let me tell you now, this all really happened. Princess Luna really is my mom, and Princess Celestia really is my aunt. I really am the daughter of the moon, and I really did become Nightmare Moon. I’ve turned around, but let me warn you now: don’t let jealousy consume you. You might not be the daughter of a pony princess, and you might not become a monster, but jealousy can affect you. Trust me. If you’ll excuse me, I have to meet with Kristyn. We’re going to see if she has any powers, like I do. This is all I have time to say, but who knows? Maybe I’ll meet you again. If you’re ever in Manetown, look me up!

Prologue

“Are you quite sure that you can handle this task?” Princess Celestia asked her student.

“Yes,” she replied. “I’m positive.” As Twilight Sparkle nodded, her purple-and-pink mane bounced.

“This is no easy task we are giving you,” Celestia’s younger sister added. She looked worried.

“It’s going to be fine,” Celestia’s niece, Princess Cadence assured. “We can do this.”

“I know you can,” Celestia admitted, “but I’m not sure that every other pony feels the same way.” She fought back a tear as she thought about what she was getting herself into. Giving up their thrones would be worth the loss. Love tugged at Celestia and Luna’s hearts, and they couldn’t ignore it any longer.

Celestia’s dearest student smiled sadly. She returned the smile. Celestia had no idea when she would see Twilight again. She trotted over to her. Teacher and student hugged.

Princess Luna tapped Princess Celestia on the shoulder. “We must get going, sister.”

“I know,” Celestia replied quietly.

Celestia walked toward her student, while her sister approached their niece. Celestia tapped her horn on her student’s horn, and Celestia’s sister did the same thing to Cadence. Celestia felt a tug on she flank, and she looked at her flank. Her sun-shpaed Cutie Mark was gone. So was Luna’s. It didn’t matter. They wouldn’t need them anymore. The sun princess turned to face Twilight Sparkle.

“You are now the sole controller of the sun,” she told Twilight. Twilight nodded solemnly.

“And you now rule the moon,” Celestia’s young sister said to thier loving niece.

Celestia hugged her student one last time.

“Goodbye, Princess Twilight.” Celestia smiled at Twilight Sparkle. She had grown so much since she joined Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns. Now, she was going to be the one to teach the magical race of ponies. The sun princess wiped a single tear from Twilight’s cheek. “I will miss you.”

“Goodbye, Princess,” Twilight said to her teacher.

Celestia turned to look at her niece. “Take care of her, Cadence,” she told her. Cadence didn’t look at her aunt. Celestia lifted her chin with her hoof. Cadence was crying. Celestia wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“It will be all right, my dear niece,” the sun princess assured her.

Cadence smiled and nodded.

Luna and Celestia turned to face the magic mirror.

They walked through the portal. They were going empty-hooved. No magic, no Cutie Marks, no reigning power. Only a small gem on a gold chain and thier crowns. Celestia knew that at the other end of the portal stood their new partners for life. Thier fiancés. Their human fiancés.

As Luna and Celestia entered the portal, Celestia heard Twilight speak to Cadence.

“So, do you want to stay with me in my castle? It would make the whole sun-moon thing easier…”

“Maybe… I’d have to check with Shining Armor…”

As the two princesses spun around and around through the portal, Celestia felt her horn disappear and her wings vanish. Her mane and tail changed drastically. Her mane was now white-blonde, but she found a few pink streaks of mane… hair among the white. Luna was going through the same changes. Her hair was now black, but Celestia noticed a few blue streaks in her hair. At least they would have something to remind them of Equestria.

As Celestia fell out of the portal, she saw a flat hoof outstretched. She had to remind herself that this was called a “hand.” Celestia took the hand and someone pulled her up. Celestia looked up and saw him. Her fiancé. She saw that Luna’s fiance was there, too.

“Hello, Celestia,” Celestia’s fiance said.

“Hello, John,” the sun princess replied. “How are you?”

“Wonderful, now that you’re here.”

Celestia blushed. Luna giggled as she held her fiancé’s hands in hers. “John?” Celestia asked. “Lenny?” Celestia addressed Luna’s fiance.

“Yes?” The two men looked at Celestia.

“I was wondering… the names ‘Luna’ and ‘Celestia’ do not sound like typical human names. What do you think Luna and I should do about that?” Celestia wondered aloud. Luna nodded.

“Well,” John said. “Lenny and I have actually been researching that same subject. We found two names that we think that will suit you just fine.” He handed Celestia a folded slip of parchment… paper. Lenny gave Luna a piece of paper, too. They unfolded the papers. In plain writing, Celestia’s read: Kalissa. Luna walked over to her sister and showed her her paper. It read: Selene.

“Selene means ‘moon,’” Lenny said. “I thought that you would like your name to refer to your… um… previous magical influence.” Celestia saw Luna cringe when Lenny mentioned the fact that they no longer had magic. She knew that Luna already missed their wings and magic.

“And Kalissa means ‘sun.’ I believe that this name fits you perfectly,” John told Celestia as he looked at her. He grinned that lopsided grin she had fallen in love with. Celestia smiled back at him, full of joy. She closed my eyes and raised her face to the sun. So this is what it feels like to be normal, the sun princess thought.

“I love it,” Luna and Celestia said at the same time. Celestia looked at her sister. She had tears in her eyes. Celestia wondered if they were tears of joy or sadness. She looked at John.

“Thank you, John,” Celestia thanked him. She stood on my tiptoes and pecked his cheek with a kiss. At that moment, the sun seemed to get a bit brighter.

Author's Note

No one, not even me, knows how the Sky Princesses met their husbands. You are the reader. You decide. Shoot me a comment if you have a theory on how they all met.

Chapter 8

“Aunt Kalissssa?” I whispered as I opened the door of Kristyn’s closet. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. I slowly walked down the isles, looking left and right. I didn’t see Kalissa, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t there. I reached the pedestal with the crown resting on it and reached out to grab it, but something stopped me. It was the picture hanging behind the crown. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now that I saw it, I felt drawn to it. It was an intricately painted watercolor of two ponies. I recognized them as Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. It was bordered with a beautiful gold frame. The name of the painting was “The Royal Pony Sisters.”

I looked past the painting and saw several others. Under each one was the title of the painting engraved on a gold plate.

The next painting was a painting of an alicorn with pink, blue, and green mane. The pony’s head was bowed, and her mane flowed down and became the sea. Yellow sparkles floated out of the pony’s horn. It was a painting of Princess Celestia. The name of this painting was “The Sun And The Sea.”

The painting after “The Sun And The Sea” was a sweet-looking portrait of Princess Celestia shielding a younger pony from the rain with her wing. The younger pony, Jicxie noticed, was Twilight Sparkle. The two ponies were grinning at each other. The name of this one was called “The Teacher And Her Faithful Student.”

The next one was an exquisite watercolor. In the painting, the pony Twilight Sparkle was floating in the air. Purple wisps of magic surrounded her. Her face was one of surprise and shock. The name of the painting was “THE Change.” I wondered what the “change” was, until I saw the last picture.

“The New Princess” was the name of this painting. Now I could discover what the “change” was. In this painting, Twilight Sparkle had wings, and not just a horn. A blast of pink magic circled her. She had a huge smile on her face.

I growled. I had seen this pony somewhere before. This had been the pony who had defeated me years ago. What? I had never been defeated. But… hadn’t Nightmare Moon been defeated a long time ago? If I was Nightmare Moon like the voice in my head said I was, then that would explain all of the strange memories and flashbacks. It would also explain why I knew what a “Cutie Mark” was and who “Twilight Sparkle” was. But there was more to this. I just had to figure out what.

“Jicxie?”

I whirled around. Kalissa stood right behind me.

“Whoa!” I gasped. “You’re quiet! What… what are you doing here?”

“I’ve come for the crown,” Celestia said, pointing to the golden headdress. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I jussst needed to be alone,” I said. It was true, but not the whole truth.

“I see… Well, I had better get this crown downstairs.” Kalissa reached for the crown and I gasped. The gem in the center of the crown was glowing. The closer Aunt Celestia’s hand got to the crown, the brighter the gem glowed.

“Jicxie, close your eyes,” Kalissa demanded. She looked intently at the crown, not even paying attention to me.

“What? Why?” I protested.

Kalissa glared fiercely at me. “Close your eyes!” Her eyes were glowing white. She reached out and grabbed the crown. Both Celestia and the crown began glowing with an intense, white light. I yelped and crashed to the floor. I covered my eyes with my hands, but I peeped through my fingers, despite what Kalissa had said. I gawked. Kalissa was suspended in the air, and there was a white, glowing image forming behind her. It took me a moment to realize that the image was a pair of glowing wings! Kalissa spread her arms out wide, like she enjoyed being zapped by a magical crown. Her hair flowed like they were made of little flames of fire. All of a sudden, Celestia and the crown dropped to the ground. I raced to my aunt’s side and helped her stand up.

“Now you see what Selene and I mean,” Kalissa whispered. She looked straight ahead, like she saw something that I didn’t.

“What do you mean, Aunt Kalissssa?” I asked, confused.

Kalissa kept looking at the wall. “The claws, fangs, hissing, eyes, and horn. Do you still not understand?” I followed Celestia’s gaze.
She was looking at “The Royal Pony Sisters” painting.

“What? Understand what?” I protested. I was shocked. How had Celestia known? I had been keeping my… changes from everyone!

“Up! Down! Left! Right! We’re gonna party tonight!” came the DJ’s muffled voice.

“Let’s go, Jicxie,” Kalissa said. She shakily stood up and walked for the door, crown in hand.

“Horn? What do you mean?” I repeated. Kalissa kept walking.

“The coronation is upon us.” Celestia ignored my question.

I sighed and followed my aunt out of the closet. As I did so, a familiar voice began to speak.

Soon, Jicxie. Soon, you will be the gem of your school, and I… I will be free.

“Nightmare Moon?” I whispered as I walked down the stairs.

Yes, child. Get ready. Your destiny awaits.

“Kristyn Firena Spellan, you have come of age and are now ready to bear this crown. I give you the Crown of the Sun.” Kalissa lowered the crown onto Kristyn’s head. It was an inch from her head when a voice ran out.

“WAIT!”

All heads turned to the staircase where I stood. I was wearing my party dress and chain-covered high-tops. I had put black eye shadow on my eyelids, giving my eyes a deep, smoky look to them.

“You! Not you again!” Hannah and Dan Favian yelled in unison. Hannah was pressing a pink napkin on her tiny cut, the one I had given her. I ignored them.

“Can I… can I… crown her?” I asked.

“What?” Kristyn and Celestia asked simultaneously.

I stepped forward and made a tiny bow. “Please?”

Kalissa looked skeptically at me. “Jicxie Danette Darenesk, are your motives pure?”

I bit my lip. “I… uh… I…” All eyes were on me.

Nightmare Moon spoke to me. "Say yes, fool! Truth has no grip on you! To any villain, 'yes' means 'no,' and 'no' means 'yes.' Say yes!"

“Yesss,” I half-whispered.

“Very… very well.” Kalissa handed me the crown.

I smiled mischievously. “Yessss.”

I slowly approached Kristyn and started to set the crown on her head. I needed everyone to think that I had the right motives. When the crown was about a half inch above Kristyn’s head, I stopped lowering the crown.

“Jicxie?” Kristyn said apprehensively. “What are you doing?”

“Jicxie?” Kalissa began.

I ignored them. I grasped the crown so tightly that my knuckles turned white. The gem started swirling black and purple again, but only Kristyn noticed.

“What’s up with the jewel?” she asked innocently.

Kalissa looked at the gem. Her eyes widened in fear. “Jicxie!” she yelled. “Put the crown down!”

I looked at her aunt and cousin. Kristyn slipped her hand into her mother’s.

“No, Celessstia,” I said in a voice quite unlike my own. It took me a moment to realize that the deep, echoing voice I was speaking with was Nightmare Moon’s voice.

“’Celestia?’” Kristyn repeated. “What does she mean?”

“Oh!” I gasped mockingly. “You didn’t tell her?” I asked Kalissa.

“Tell me what?” Kristyn questioned. She looked questioningly at her mom.

“Your mother is a princesssss!” Nightmare Moon declared, for that is who I really was. Nightmare Moon and I were one. Nightmare Moon was no longer a voice in my head. I was Nightmare Moon.

“Mom?” Kristyn stared at Celestia. “You’re a… a… princess?”

“Yes,” Kalissa sighed hesitatingly.

“What a touching ssscene,” I sighed, clasping my hands to my chest. “It’ssss too bad that it won’t lasssst!” With that, I turned on my heel and ran out of the entrance hallway, crown in hand.

“Jicxie! Wait!” Kristyn raced after me, with Kalissa and the rest of the party guests in hot pursuit.

When I reached the front steps, I stopped and turned to face the mob of teenaged kids following me. I saw Kristyn, Susie, Hannah, Dan, and Sam Gronico. When they all exited the mansion, I smiled and reached up for my sunglasses. Everyone was silent. All eyes were on me. I scanned the crowd. Kristyn stood in the center of the group, and Aunt Kalissa stood next to her. Her hands were placed in her hips. Standing next to Celestia stood Hannah and Dan Favian. They both had their arms crossed. Susie Lyrica was next to Kristyn. She slowly shook her head at me. I smiled and pulled off my shades. Everyone gasped.

“Jicxie!” Kristyn cried. “What… how… huh?”

“I knew there was something strange about her,” Hannah declared.

“Cool contact lenses!” Susie cried. “I want some!”

Kristyn sighed.

I laughed a low, evil laugh and reached for my beret. I ripped the beret from my head. Everyone freaked out.

“What’s going on?” Susie wanted to know.

“Jicxie’s a monster!” Dan yelled, pointing a finger at Jicxie.

“Jicxie?” Kristyn sighed.

“No,” Celestia whispered. Her voice was barely audible.

I grinned maniacally and took a step toward my cousin. Everyone took a step back.

“For years, Kristyn has outshined me! For years, I have been known as the ‘weird girl,’ the ‘goof-off,’ the ‘misfit!’ Now, I will be the one to shine!”

With that, I jammed the crown onto my head. I saw everything in slow motion. Celestia’s arm was outstretched, as if she was trying to take back the crown. Hannah and Dan gripped each other tightly. Susie stared at Jicxie in horror. And Kristyn… Kristyn was hiding behind her mom’s back.

I cackled an evil laugh. Nightmare Moon was awakening!

A burning, pins-and-needles sensation trickled up my arms, down to my toes, and up to the tip of my head. It took me a moment to realize that I was on fire.