//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: We're the Foals Who Lived // by Maddie Koester //------------------------------// Princess Celestia had convinced Morning Shine not to go looking for the Mirror of Erised again, and for the rest of the Hearths Warming holidays the invisibility cloak stayed folded at the bottom of her trunk. Morning Shine wished she could forget what she'd seen in the mirror as easily, but she couldn't. She started having nightmares. Over and over again she dreamed about her parents disappearing in a flash of green light, while a high voice cackled with laughter. "You see, Princess Celestia was right, that mirror could drive you mad," said Radiance, when Morning Shine told her about these dreams. They had almost given up hope of ever finding Lulamoon’s past in a library book, even though Morning Shine was still sure she'd read the name somewhere. Once term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Morning Shine had even less time than the other two, because Quidditch practice had started again. Wood was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits. The Weasels complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but Shine was on Wood's side. If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the house championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, Morning Shine found that she had fewer nightmares when she was tired out after training. Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Wood gave the team a bit of bad news. He'd just gotten very angry with the Weasels, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms. "Will you stop messing around!" he yelled. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Lulamoon's refereeing this time, and she'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!" Gallop Weasel really did fall off his broom at these words. "Lulamoon's refereeing?" he spluttered through a mouthful of mud. "When's she ever refereed a Quidditch match? She's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin." The rest of the team landed next to Gallop to complain, too. "It's not my fault," said Wood. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Lulamoon hasn't got an excuse to pick on us," Which was all very well, thought Morning Shine, but she had another reason for not wanting Lulamoon near her while she was playing Quidditch... The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Morning Shine headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where she found Eclipse and Sparkling Radiance playing chess. Chess was the only thing Radiance ever lost at, something Morning Shine and Eclipse thought was very good for her. "Don't talk to me for a moment," said Eclipse when Morning Shine sat down next to him, "I need to concen - " He caught sight of Shine's face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible," he said Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear, Morning Shine told the other two about Lulamoon’s sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee. "Don't play," said Radiance at once. "Say you're ill," said Eclipse. "Pretend to break your leg," Radiance suggested. "Really break your leg," said Eclipse. "I can't," said Shine. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all," At that moment Nettle toppled into the common room. How he had managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor tower. Everyone fell over laughing except Radiance, who leapt up and performed the countercurse. Nettle's legs sprang apart and he got to his hooves, trembling. "What happened?"  Radiance asked him, leading him over to sit with Shine and Eclipse. "Malfoal," said Nettle shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on." "Go to Princess Celestia!" Radiance urged Nettle. "Report him!" Nettle shook his head. "I don't want more trouble," he mumbled. "You've got to stand up to him, Nettle!" said Eclipse. "He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier," "There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoal's already done that," Nettle choked out. Morning Shine felt in the pocket of her robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, the very last one from the box Radiance had given her for Hearths Warming. She gave it to Nettle, who looked as though he might cry. "You're worth twelve of Malfoal," Shine said. "The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoal? In stinking Slytherin," Nettle's lips twitched in a weak smile as he unwrapped the frog. "Thanks, Morning Shine... I think I'll go to bed... D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?" As Nettle walked away, Shine looked at the Famous Wizard card. "I don’t recognize this one," she said, "It must be a new-" She gasped. She stared at the back of the card. Then she looked up at Eclipse and Radiance. "I've found her!" she whispered. "I've found Lulamoon! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here and must’ve lost the card- listen to this: 'Trixie Lulamoon is particularly famous for her defeat of the dark changeling Queen Chrysalis in 2016, with the help of her best friend Starlight Glimmer. And her traveling magic shows.'!" “Mom…” Eclipse whispered. Sparkling Radiance jumped to her hooves. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework. "Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Morning Shine and Eclipse barely had time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms. "I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading." "Light?" said Eclipse, but Radiance told him to be quiet until she'd looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself. At last she found what she was looking for. "I knew it! I knew it!" she shouted. "Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Eclipse grumpily. Radiance ignored him. "Trixie Lulamoon," she whispered dramatically, "first came to Ponyville and boasted about her magic skills, when Twilight Sparkle outwitted her and proved her a phony. Trixie then returned wreaking havoc with the Alicorn Amulet, taking over Ponyville and making it her empire. She was again defeated by Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Trixie feeling humiliated takes an apology tour around Equestria. Meeting Starlight Glimmer, the newly crowned Princess Twilight’s student. Trixie then reveals that she partly became friends with Starlight to one-up Twilight, much to Starlight's horror. After Trixie expresses her own heartbreak over her and Starlight's falling-out, Twilight convinces Starlight to assist in Trixie's magic show—performing a trick previously only carried out by pony magician Hoofdini—and the two new friends make amends. Later, Trixie accompanies Starlight to Our Town when she is invited to celebrate its Sunset Festival, and she later teams up with Starlight, Thorax, and Discord to save Equestria from a changeling invasion. While inside the changeling castle, Trixie frequently teases and argues with Discord, the Spirit of Chaos. She later serves as a distraction for Starlight Glimmer and Thorax to find and destroy Chrysalis' throne. After Chrysalis is defeated, Trixie joins the ponies of Starlight's old village to celebrate the Sunset Festival and engages in further back-and-forth with Discord. The two remained best friends, Trixie even became fast friends with Sunburst during his visit to Ponyville, discovering that he shares her fondness of prestidigitation. She later helps him reconcile with Starlight when the latter feels neglected throughout his visit. But The Great Magic War lead to great disaster when-” This didn't have quite the result she'd expected. "When what?" said Morning Shine and Eclipse. "That’s it… the page was torn out! What terrible treatment of a book..." Radiance mumbled. She pushed the book toward them, and Morning Shine and Eclipse stared at the ripped. “But who would rip the page out?” Morning Shine questioned. “We were so close to finding the entire truth!” “The only reason somepony would rip that page out is if they-” Eclipse started. “- is if they didn’t want us to read the page!” Radiance finished. The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Morning shine  and Eclipse were still discussing what they'd do about the missing page. It wasn't until Eclipse suggested that Lulamoon took the page when Morning Shine remembered that Lulamoon was refereeing the next Quidditch game. "I'm going to play," she told Eclipse and Sparkling Radiance. "If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Lulamoon. I'll show them... it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win," "Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," said Radiance. As the match drew nearer, however, Shine became more and more nervous, whatever she told Eclipse and Radiance. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee? Shine didn't know whether she was imagining it or not, but she seemed to keep running into Lulamoon wherever she went. At times, she even wondered whether Lulamoon was following her, trying to catch her on her own. Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Lulamoon was so horrible to Morning Shine. Could Lulamoon possibly know they'd found out about part of her past? Morning Shine didn't see how she could - yet she sometimes had the horrible feeling that Lulamoon could read minds. Morning knew, when they wished her good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Eclipse and Radiance were wondering whether they'd ever see her alive again. This wasn't what you'd call comforting. Shine hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as she pulled on her Quidditch robes and picked up her Nimbus Two Thousand. Eclipse and Sparkling Radiance, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Nettle, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried. Little did Morning Shine know that Eclipse and Radiance had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd gotten the idea from Malfoal using it on Nettle, and were ready to use it on Lulamoon if she showed any sign of wanting to hurt Morning Shine. "Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis," Radiance muttered. "I know," Eclipse snapped. "Don't nag," Back in the locker room, Wood had taken Morning Shine aside. "Don't want to pressure you, Glimmer, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Lulamoon can favor Flufflepuff too much," "The whole school's out there!" said Farrier Weasel, peering out of the door. "Even - blimey - Princess Celestia's come to watch!" Morning Shine's heart did a somersault. "Princess Celestia?" she said, dashing to the door to make sure. Farrier was right. There was no mistaking the alabaster alicorn. Morning Shine could have laughed out loud with relief. She was safe. There was simply no way that Lulamoon would dare to try to hurt her if Princess Celestia was watching. Perhaps that was why Lulamoon was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, something that Eclipse noticed, too. "I've never seen Lulamoon look so mean," he told Radiance. "Look - they're off. Ouch!" Someone had poked Eclipse in the back of the head. It was Malfoal. "Oh, sorry, Glimmer, didn't see you there,"  Malfoal grinned broadly at Crab and Gargoyle. "Wonder how long the other Glimmer's going to stay on her broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, little Glimmer?" Eclipse didn't answer; Lulamoon had just awarded Flufflepuff a penalty because Gallop Weasel had hit a Bludger at her. Radiance, who had her hooves crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Morning Shine, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch. "You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoal loudly a few minutes later, as Lulamoon awarded Flufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Glimmer, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasels, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longflank, you've got no brains," Nettle went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoal. "I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoal," he stammered. Malfoal, Crab, and Gargoyle howled with laughter, but Eclipse, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Nettle," "Longflank, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than the Weasels, and that's saying something," Eclipse's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Morning Shine. "I'm warning you, Malfoal - one more word-" he started, teeth gritted. "Eclipse!" said Radiance suddenly, "Shine-" "What? Where?" Eclipse stammered, searching the sky. Morning Shine had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Radiance stood up, her crossed hooves in her mouth, as Shine streaked toward the ground like a bullet. "The Weasels are in luck, Glimmer’s obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoal. Eclipse snapped. Before Malfoal knew what was happening, Eclipse was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Nettle hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help. "Come on, Morning Shine!" Radiance screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Shine sped straight at Lulamoon - she didn't even notice Malfoal and Eclipse rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of hooves that was Nettle, Crab, and Gargoyle. Up in the air, Lulamoon turned on her broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past her, missing her by inches - the next second, Morning Shine had pulled out of the dive, her hoof raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in her aura. The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly. "Eclipse! Eclipse! Where are you? The game's over! Shine's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Sparkling Radiance, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Gypsy Firefly in the row in front. Morning Shine jumped off her broom, a foot from the ground. She couldn't believe it. She'd done it - the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, she saw Lulamoon land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped - then Morning Shine felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked up into Princess Celestia's smiling face. "Well done," said the sun princess quietly, so that only Shine could hear. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror... been keeping busy... excellent..." Shine left the locker room alone some time later, to take her Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broomshed. She couldn't ever remember feeling happier. She'd really done something to be proud of now - no one could say she was just a famous name any more. The evening air had never smelled so sweet. She walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in her head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift her in their auras; Eclipse and Sparkling Radiance in the distance, jumping up and down, Eclipse cheering through a heavy nosebleed. Morning Shine had reached the shed. She leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead. She'd done it, she'd shown Lulamoon... And speaking of Lulamoon… a hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Morning's victory faded from her mind as she watched. She recognized the figure's prowling walk. Lulamoon, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner - what was going on? Morning Shine jumped back on her Nimbus Two Thousand and took off. Gliding silently over the castle she saw Lulamoon enter the forest at a run. She followed. The trees were so thick she couldn't see where Lulamoon had gone. She flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until she heard voices. She glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree. She climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to her broomstick, trying to see through the leaves. Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Lulamoon, but she wasn't alone. Mistral was there, too. Morning Shine couldn't make out the look on her face, but she was stuttering worse than ever. Shine strained to catch what they were saying. "... d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Tr-tr-trixie..." "Oh, Trixie thought we'd keep this private," said Lulamoon, her voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about our relationship, after all." Morning Shine leaned forward. When she listened in again, Mistral’s stutter was gone. "Now we wouldn’t want that would we Trixie?" asked Mistral smoothly. "No, we wouldn’t. Would we, your majesty?" Trixie said her voice dripping with venom. "As clever as ever. You don't want me as your enemy, Bellatrix," said Mistral, taking a step toward her. "Trixie doesn’t know would she? Trixie’s not as loyal as she used to be Mother," Trixie, or Bellatrix said, her expression not changing. "You know perfectly well what I mean," Mistral said, her teeth grinding together and her eyes glowing green. An owl hooted loudly, and Morning Shine nearly fell out of the tree. She steadied herself in time to hear Lulamoon say, " -if you touch one hair on any of their manes, so help me Trixie will-" "You will what darling?" Mistral said icly, her expression turning into a wicked grin as a flash of green fire surrounded her. And she let out a high pitch cackle. Her silver coat melted off revealing black cyton covered in holes; her mane fell out, being replaced with blue-green cobwebs. She sprouted insect wings, and her horn grew more crooked by the second. And her eyes, her eyes were a sickly green; looking as if they contained evil itself. It took Morning Shine every bit of will she had in her to keep herself from screaming. "You are weak. I only kept you around because I need an heir. I should have known you would start gaining affection for these ponies. But, I gave you the chance to prove me wrong and you failed. Heck you don’t even know who you are anymore, you keep referring to yourself in the third person. As long as you are my daughter, you will obey me. Understand Bellatrix?" Queen Chrysalis spat. “This can all end now, the princesses are right outside that border,” Trixie started, her eyes flashing green. “We can finish this war before it even-” "Very well," Queen Chrysalis cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie, Bellatrix," She morphed back into Mistral and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Morning Shine could see Lulamoon, standing quite still but Morning Shine could see that she was terrified. "Morning Shine, where have you been?" Radiance squeaked. "We won! You won! We won!" shouted Eclipse, thumping Shine on the back. "And I gave Malfoal a black eye, and Nettle tried to take on Crab and Gargoyle single-hoofed! He's still out cold but Madam Petal says he'll be alright - talk about showing Slytherin! I've waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Farrier and Gallop stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens." "Never mind that now," said Morning Shine breathlessly, fear etched on her face. "Let's find an empty room, you might want to sit down for this..." She made sure nopony was inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told them what she'd seen and heard. "So we were right, Lulamoon did know our parents. But that’s not all, Professor Mistral is Queen Chrysalis! And she’s Lulamoon’s mother, making Lulamoon a changeling! I thought Lulamoon was the enemy, but it sounded like she didn’t want to do any of this… she wanted to protect us… Queen Chrysalis is planning to do away with us, that why our parents disappeared. But Lulamoon threatened to get the princesses-" "So you mean we’re only safe as long as Lulamoon stands up to Queen Chrysalis?!" said Radiance in alarm. "We’re dead. We need to put that plan into action, we need to leave," said Eclipse. “You’re not going anywhere,” a voice said.