Morning Shine woke up bright and early and looked the alarm clock. It was eight o’clock.
“It’s the first of September!” She shouted, as she rushed over to her sleeping brother. “Eclipse wake up! We’re going to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns!”
Eclipse opened on eye and rolled over, throwing his pillow at his sister.
“Fine, I guess you’ll just miss out on the place Auntie Twilight and Dad learned most of their magic…” Shine said, knowing that just by the mention of her parents, Eclipse would give her his full attention.
Morning Shine started to trot out of the room when a blur of purple whizzed down the hall, towards Sparkling Radiance’s room.
“Wake up Radiance! It’s the first day of school!” Eclipse yelled.
But as usual Radiance was on top of things and was packing the last few essentials.
Morning Shine and Eclipse made their way to breakfast, when Twilight came bursting into the room.
“Mom? What’s wrong?” Sparkling Radiance asked.
Twilight breathed heavily and was frantically packing a suitcase.
“There’s an emergency in the Crystal Empire, your father and I need to leave immediately!” Twilight said with shrill panic.
The foals glanced a worried looks at the panicked purple princess. Flash came running in with an overflowed suitcase, and stuffed pancakes into his mouth.
“But what’s going on?” Morning Shine questioned.
“Thereb’s nom time to expwain!” Flash said with his mouth full.
“But it’s the first day of school!” Eclipse reminded them.
“Shoot!” Twilight Sparkle muttered, looking at a clock. “We have enough time to take you to the train station. No diddle dallying!”
And the royal family ran to the train station levitating multiple cases of luggage.
“Why can’t you just teleport us to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?” Sparkling Radiance asked.
“It’s a security precaution,” Twilight explained. “In order to get in you must take the train or be escorted in by royal guards. That precaution includes any nobles or royals,”
“Where’s your platform?” Flash asked, hastily loading the luggage on to a train cart.
“There’s only one platform, Uncle Flash,” Eclipse said looking at his ticket. “But the ticket says Platform 10 and 10/10… What? Wouldn’t that just be 11?”
Morning Shine looked at the ticket and saw that it, indeed said Platform 10 and 10/10. The whole group stared at the ticket, when the clock started to chime.
“Sweet Celestia! We should be in the Crystal Empire right now!” Twilight Sparkle shrieked. She proceeded to give each foal a kiss on the forehead, and teleported herself and Flash out of sight.
The foals turned and saw the puff of smoke left behind. Eclipse’s mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of the fact that his parental figures had just up and left them.
“We’re going to have to ask somepony for directions,” Morning Shine stated.
“But how? We can’t mention Platform 10 and 10/10 or ponies will surely think we’re crazy!” Sparkling Radiance pointed out.
Eclipse was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he and his sisters had ten minutes left to get on the train to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station. Spike must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Dragon Alley.
At that moment a group of ponies passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.
"- packed with ponies who don’t need to know about this entrance, of course -"
Eclipse swung round. The speaker was a plump unicorn mare who was talking to three colts, all with flaming red manes. Each of them was pushing a trunk like Eclipse's in front of him - and they had an owl.
Heart hammering, Eclipse pushed his cart after them, his sisters following his lead and pushing their carts after him. They stopped and so did foals, just near enough to hear what they were saying.
"Now, what's the platform number?" said the colts' mother.
"10 and 10/10!" piped a small filly, also red-maned, who was holding her hoof, "Mom, can't I go... "
"You're not old enough, Whinny, now be quiet. All right, Prancer, you go first," the mare said.
What looked like the oldest colt marched toward the middle of the platform. Morning Shine, Eclipse, and Sparkling Radiance watched, careful not to blink in case they missed it - but just as the colt reached the wall, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of them and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the colt had vanished.
"Farrier, you next," the plump mare said.
"I'm not Farrier, I'm Gallop," said the colt. "Honestly, mare, you call yourself our mother? Can’t you tell I'm Gallop?"
"Sorry, Gallop, dear." the mare apologized.
"Only joking, I am Farrier," said the colt, and off he went.
His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone - but how had he done it? The plump mare and the red-maned filly started heading to the barrier when Morning Shine got the courage to speak up.
"Excuse me," Morning Shine said to the plump mare.
"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?"
"Yes," said Morning Shine. "The thing is - the thing is, we don't know how to -"
"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and the three foals nodded.
"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier that’s disguised as a wall. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous,"
"Er - okay," said Morning Shine.
She pushed her trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid. She started to walk toward it. Ponies jostled her on their way to platform. Morning Shine walked more quickly. She was going to smash right into that barrier and then she'd be in trouble - leaning forward on her cart, she broke into a heavy run - the barrier was coming nearer and nearer - she wouldn't be able to stop - the cart was out of control - she was a hoof away - she closed her eyes ready for the crash.
It didn't come... she kept on running... she opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Celestial Express, eleven twenty. Morning Shine looked behind her and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Ten and Ten-Tenths on it. She had done it. Morning Shine turned around to see Eclipse and Sparkling Radiance barreling through the barrier.
Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. The three foals pushed their carts off down the platform in search of an empty seat. They passed a round-faced colt who was saying,
"Gran, I've lost my toad again,"
"Oh, Nettle," she heard the old mare sigh.
A colt with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.
"Give us a look, Leaf, go on."
The colt lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the foals around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.
The foals pressed on through the crowd until they found an empty compartment near the end of the train. Eclipse and Sparkling Radiance headed in the train car, while Morning Shine loaded the luggage. She put Hedwig, their owl, inside first and then started to shove and heave the trunks toward the train door. She tried to lift it up the steps, with her magic, but could hardly raise one end and twice she dropped it painfully on her hoof.
"Want a hoof?" It was one of the red-maned twins she'd followed through the barrier.
"Yes, please," Morning Shine panted.
"Oy, Farrier! C'mere and help!"
With the twins' help, The trunks was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.
"Thanks," said Morning Shine, pushing her mane out of her eyes.
"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Morning Shine's diamond-shaped birthmark.
"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you?”
"She is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Morning Shine.
"What?" said Morning Shine.
"Morning Shine Glimmer, "chorused the twins.
"Oh, her," said Shine. "I mean, yes, I am,"
The two colts gawked at her, and Morning felt herself turning red.
“Does that mean your brother, Eclipse is here too?” one twin asked.
“And Princess Sparkling Radiance?” asked the other.
“Were they the other two foals with you?” they both asked.
“I… uh…” she started.
Then, to her relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.
"Farrier? Gallop? Are you there?"
"Coming, Mom," With a last look at Morning Shine, the twins hopped off the train.
Morning Shine sat down next her siblings, and a window where, half hidden, she could watch the red-maned family on the platform and hear what they were saying.
"Where's Prancer?" said their mother.
"He's coming now." the filly responded.
The oldest colt came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black school robes, and Morning Shine noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter ‘P’ on it.
"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves -"
"Oh, are you a prefect, Prancer?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."
"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin.
"Once -"
"Or twice -"
"A minute -"
"All summer -" the twins joked, going back and forth.
"Oh, shut up," said Prancer the Prefect.
"How come Prancer gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.
"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there,"
She kissed Prancer on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.
"Now, you two - this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've - you've blown up a toilet or -"
"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet," a twin replied.
"Great idea though, thanks, Mom," the other twin grinned.
"It's not funny," their mother stated.
"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"
Morning Shine leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.
"You know that orange coated filly with the cream markings and purple mane who was near us in the station? Know who she is?"
"Who?" the mother asked
"Morning Shine Glimmer!"
“And the two foals with her are Eclipse Glimmer-” one twin started
“-and Princess Sparkling Radiance!” the other twin finished.
Morning Shine heard the little filly's voice.
"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see them, Mom, eh please...."
"You've already seen them, Whinny, and the poor foals aren't something you goggle at in a zoo. Are they really, Farrier? How do you know?"
"Asked Morning Shine. Saw her birthmark. It's really there - like diamond," one of the twins explained.
"Poor dears - wonder why they weren’t with Princess Twilight. Morning Shine was ever so polite when she asked how to get onto the platform."
"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" the other twin asked.
Their mother suddenly became very stern.
"I forbid you to ask her, Farrier. No, don't you dare. As though she needs reminding of that on her first day at school,"
"All right, keep your mane on," Farrier grumbled.
A whistle sounded.
"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the two colts clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.
"Don't cry, Whinny, we'll send you loads of owls," a twin waved.
"We'll send you a toilet seat," the other waved, also.
"Gallop!" their mother glared.
"Only joking, Mom," Gallop smiled.
The train began to move. Morning Shine saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.
Morning Shine watched the filly and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.
The door of the compartment slid open and the red- maned twins poked their heads in.
"Hey, Morning Shine, and I’m assuming you two are Eclipse and Sparkling Radiance," one twin spoke. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Leaf Shoot's got a giant tarantula down there,"
"Right," mumbled Eclipse, unsure if he wanted to keep talking to the twin strangers.
"Sorry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Farrier and Gallop Weasel. Well, we’ll leave alone then, you can join us if you like. Bye,”
"Bye," the three foals. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.
They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. Eclipse decided he wanted go see the tarantula with the Weasel twins and Sparkling Radiance had stuck her nose into a book.
Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled mare slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"
Morning Shine, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to her hooves. Morning Shine went out into the corridor.
Not wanting to miss any of the unique treats on the cart, she got some of everything and paid the mare with some bits.
"Hungry, are you?" Eclipse asked coming back from the middle of the train.
"Starving," said Morning Shine, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.
"Do you know what these are?" Morning Shine asked Eclipse, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" She was starting to feel that nothing would surprise her.
"No," said Eclipse. "But there are cards inside, I learned a few things from the Weasel twins"
Morning Shine unwrapped her Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It had Princess Celestia on it. “It’s Princess Celestia,” Morning Shine told her brother. Suddenly the image of the sun princess had disappeared.
"She's gone!" Morning Shine explained.
"Well, you can't expect her to hang around all day," said Eclipse. "She'll be back,"
Sparkling Radiance had finally stuck her nose up from her book to help herself to some of the chocolate frogs, and then went to the restrooms to change into her robe.
When she left, Morning Shine decided to open a bag of Berry Pot's Every Flavor Beans.
"You want to be careful with those," Eclipse warned his sister. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor - you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and malade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. Gallop reckons he had a booger- flavored one once,"
Eclipse picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.
"Bleaaargh - see? Sprouts,"
The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.
There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced colt Morning Shine had passed on platform 10 and 10/10 came in. He looked tearful.
"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"
When they shook their heads, he wailed.
"I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"
"He'll turn up," said Eclipse.
"Yes," said the colt miserably. "Well, if you see him..."
He left.
“I’d feel the same way if I lost Scabbers," Eclipse said.
The rat was still snoozing on Eclipse's lap.
"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Eclipse stated. "I tried to turn him yellow, with a spell the Weasel twins gave me, to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."
The compartment door slid open again. The toadless colt was back, but this time he had a Sparkling Radiance with him. She was already wearing her new robes.
"Hi, I’m back. Has anyone seen a toad? Nettle's lost one," she said.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Eclipse. “Do you want to see a trick?”
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." Sparkling Radiance smirked.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow," Eclipse said.
His horn grew orange, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" Sparkling Radiance questioned. “Where did you get it?”
“The Weasel twins,” Morning Shine told her.
“Well, that explains a lot,” Sparkling Radiance sighed. “They’re the biggest jokesters in the school! Anyway, we'd better go and look for Nettle's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
And she left, taking the toadless colt with her.
Shortly after they left the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Nettle the toadless colt, or Sparkling Radiance this time.
Three boys entered, and Morning Shine and Eclipse recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale colt from Gypsy Lollipop's robe shop. He was looking at Morning Shine and Eclipse with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Dragon Alley.
"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that the Glimmers and Princess Sparkling Radiance are in this compartment. So it's you two, is it? Where the almighty Princess?"
"Yes, and Radiance is helping a colt find his toad,"growled Morning Shine.
She was looking at the other colts. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.
"Oh, this is Crab and this is Gargoyle," said the pale colt carelessly, noticing where Morning Shine was looking. "And my name's Malfoal, Draco Malfoal."
Eclipse gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snicker. Draco Malfoal looked at him.
"Think my name's funny, do you? I heard you were hanging out with the Weasel twins...My father told me all the Weasels have red manes, freckles, and more children than they can afford," he sneered.
He turned his attention to both siblings. "You'll soon find out some ‘wizarding’ families are much better than others, Glimmer. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there,"
He held out his hand to shake Morning Shine's, but Shine didn't take it.
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," she said coolly.
Draco Malfoal didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Glimmer," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasels and that Spike, and it'll rub off on you,"
Both Morning Shine and Eclipse stood up, their horns glowed bright orange.
"Say that again," Eclipse said, his face redder than his aura.
"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoal sneered.
"Unless you get out now," said Morning Shine, more bravely than she felt, because Crab and Gargoyle were a lot bigger than her or Eclipse.
"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some," Malfoal said.
Gargoyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Eclipse. Eclipse leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Gargoyle, Gargoyle let out a horrible yell. Scabbers the rat was hanging off his hoof, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Gargoyle's hoof - Crab and Malfoal backed away as Gargoyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard hoofsteps, because a second later, Sparkling Radiance had come in.
"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Eclipse picking up Scabbers by his tail.
I think he's been knocked out," Eclipse said to Morning Shine. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No - I don't believe it - he's gone back to sleep-"
And so he had.
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" Sparkling Radiance stated, a frown spreading across her face.
"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Eclipse.
"All right - I only came in here because I heard a commotion, and I wanted to make sure you two are okay,” she sighed glancing at Eclipse carefully.
Morning Shine peered out of the window. It was getting dark. She could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. She and Eclipse pulled on their long black robes.
A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately,"
Morning Shine's stomach lurched with nerves and Eclipse, she saw, looked pale. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.
The train slowed right down and finally stopped. Foals pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Morning Shine shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Morning Shine heard a familiar voice: "First years! First years over here! All right there, Morning Shine?"
Spike's face beamed over the sea of heads.
"C'mon, follow me - anymore first years? Mind your step, now! First years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Spike down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Morning Shine thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Nettle, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.
"You will all get your view of the castle in a sec," Spike called over his shoulder, "just round the bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more than four to a boat!" Spike called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.
Morning Shine and Eclipse were followed into their boat by Sparkling Radiance and Nettle.
"Everyone in?" shouted Spike, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everypony was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
"Heads down!" yelled Spike as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.
"Hey, you there! Is this your toad?" said Spike, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.
"Trevor!" cried Nettle blissfully, holding out his hooves. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Spike's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Spike asked.
Spike raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.