//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: The Manetown Chronicles: A Hidden Heritage 
// by LincolnShanna 
//------------------------------//

	“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.”