“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.