Upon Dandy Lion’s face was a mother’s sincere worry. Lemon Hearts, who had initially gotten in the way of the elder Lulamoon, now stepped aside to let Trixie’s mother get close and look after her daughter, but Sumac remained defensive, aggressive even. Perched on Sumac’s horn, a half awake and cranky dragon gave Dandelia a baleful glare.

“We have not met under the best circumstances,” Dandelia said to Sumac as she lifted Trixie’s limp body from the floor. “This is not how I imagined this meeting, not at all. I wanted us to be happy now that the mean old tyrant is dead.”

“Tyrant?” Lemon looked confused, bewildered even.

“Look,” the elder Lulamoon drew in a deep breath, pausing before she continued, “I love my father, but he was a terrible pony. An awful pony. I couldn’t just leave him, he was my father. And after his stroke…” Dandelia fell silent, her barrel heaving, and she dumped Trixie down upon the soft, well cushioned sofa. “I cannot excuse what I did, but Trixie expected me to choose between her and my father, which I just couldn’t do. She ran away.”

“I’m sure it’s complicated,” Lemon Hearts replied in a voice that held both sympathy and understanding.

“You have no idea.” Dandelia looked afraid, real fear, and her eyes changed from light green to pale grey. “All of this, it is my fault. I made this mess and I don’t know how to fix it.” A look of sincere regret spread over Dandelia’s face. “Kiddo, I’ve failed you.”

“Huh?” Sumac, ears perking, stared up at Trixie’s mother.

“Kiddo… it has been a very, very long time since I have called her that. It would… it would”—Dandelia’s barrel began to shudder as she spoke—“it would cheer her up after Caper had one of his fits.”

Sumac, whom Trixie called ‘Kiddo,’ said nothing and remained silent.

“Everything is going to come out. There’s going to be scandal. I don’t know how my father found out, but he did. He was immensely powerful, as far as unicorns go. I was a fool to think I would be able to hide anything from him.” Lifting up a foreleg, Dandelia stroked her daughter’s neck. “And poor Trixie is going to suffer most of all. I wish I could save her from what I know is about to happen.”

Shaking her head, Lemon Hearts gave the elder Lulamoon a nudge. “What’s going on?”

“Secrets do not stay buried,” Dandelia replied as she turned to look at Lemon Hearts.

“I have already been in contact with Princess Celestia just before I came here.” Dandelia closed her eyes, shook her head, and took a deep breath. As she let it out, she said, “I couldn’t bear to tell Twilight, before I came to you, I tried, and couldn’t.” Trixie’s mother tilted her head to a poised, regal angle, and looked down at Sumac. “You are her son, are you not? I’ve tried to learn a little bit about you, but I had ponies show up at my door and warn me that it was not wise to keep asking questions. I can sense your power, little one.”

“Trixie adopted Sumac, so don’t you get any ideas.” Lemon Hearts’ voice was kind, but firm and unyielding. “And no, before you say anything, no, I do not trust you, but for Trixie’s sake, I will be nice to you.” Lemon drew herself up to her full height, but she was still a full head shorter than Dandelia. “Just who are you ponies, anyhow, and why the smug attitudes?”

“You mean that you don’t know?” Dandelia’s mouth fell open and she shook her head in disbelief. “Has our family fallen this far down? Have we inherited Princess Luna’s curse to be forgotten?”

“What does Princess Luna have to do with it?” Sumac asked.

“Why, we Lulamoons are the sons and daughters of Prince Pollux, the son of Princess Luna. We are his recognised heirs and children of the Lunar Court. House Lulamoon is of the Court of Lions. We’re more than just mere nobles, we’re royalty.”

“Royalty that lives out of a wagon and has a bad knee,” Sumac remarked. “But I think Princess Cadance fixed the knee. And we don’t live in a wagon any more. Uh, I’m not sure, but I don’t think it meant very much to Trixie.”

“It’s complicated.” Dandelia let out a sigh. “Trixie was not recognised as a formal heir. It’s all my fault and now, with Caper gone, it is time to set things right somehow. I don’t know how to fix everything though, and everything is about to become very, very complicated.”

Just as Dandelia said the word ‘complicated,’ the door banged open and Twilight Sparkle stormed into the room, looking more than just a little frantic. She stood just inside of the door, wide-eyed, with her ears twitching. She stood staring at Dandelia and Trixie, who was passed out on the couch.

“Why did I just get a formal legal summons to the Court of Lions from Princess Celestia?” Twilight demanded as the corner of her eye began to tic. “Right now, everything is all up in the air, I have so much to plan for and so much to do, and as if I didn’t have enough stress, I get a legal summons to the Court of Lions. Why? What sort of political maneuvering is this?”

Dandelia, who was taller than Twilight, stood there in a regal pose, but said nothing.

“I want answers!” Twilight barked.

“In time, you will have them,” Dandelia replied. “We must travel to Lulamoon Hollow. It is just north of the Canterhorn, in the shadow of the great city of Canterlot, a place forever in shadow.” She paused, then smiled just a little bit. “There are no trains that go there. Caper had a chance to have a rail line to the Hollow, but he steadfastly refused. He couldn’t stand trains.”

“Forever in shadow?” Sumac brushed up against Lemon’s legs and shook his head. “Sounds creepy.”

“The Canterhorn blocks most of the sun in Lulamoon Hollow. At high noon, when the sun is overhead and shining down from a southern angle, the Canterhorn keeps Lulamoon Hollow almost as dark as night.”

“Oh.” Sumac blinked. This didn’t sound so bad at all.

“It won’t take us long to be there, I have a portal gem ready to go and a hundred mile jump is nothing.” Twilight made an impatient stomp of her hoof. “Trixie will just have to wake up in a different place. We’re going. Now.”

“Twilight… Boss… maybe we—”

“Now!”

“Right, Boss!” Lemon Hearts’ barrel puffed out and she turned a stern glare to Dandelia. “Before you even think of bossing me around, Miss High and Mighty, Princess Twilight Sparkle pays my salary and I have sworn fealty to her. I’m not your servant!”

“I have to fetch Spike before we go. Be ready, I shall return shortly and then we can get down to the bottom of this.” Twilight let out a frustrated huff and then vanished in a flash of magenta light.

Sumac, who had returned to his usual laid back state, looked up at Dandelia. “So, uh, are you my grandmother and do you have a collection of wooden spoons?”

“Spoons?” Dandelia looked confused and she shook her head. Her lips puckered into a confused, somewhat annoyed moue. She blinked a few times, then replied, “Yes, colt, I am your grandmother. You may call me Grandy Lion, if you wish.” The mare’s puckered lips smoothed out in a wry, self satisfied smile as Lemon Hearts groaned from the pun. “Are you ready for a trip, little one?”

More than just about anything else, Sumac hated traveling by portal gem. Shorter distances weren’t bad, but they were still very much unpleasant. The pressure in his ears was painful and he yawned as he tried to get his ears to pop. As his vision cleared, he saw a patch of brilliant glowing blue flowers that illuminated the night.

All around him, there was magic. A flying fish passed by his head and it had a bubble of water held all around it as it floated by. Blinking, he watched as it headed for a nearby pond. He had never seen a flying fish that had brought its own water along before. Arc bats swooped overhead, shocking insects with bolts of lightning. The colt’s mouth fell open and he sat in silence, overwhelmed.

In the distance, an ivory white tower with glowing windows rose up and just looking at it made Sumac’s magic sense tingle in the most alarming way. Everything here was touched by magic, right down to the strange blue grass that Sumac found himself sitting on. Another flying fish went floating by and its water bubble reflected the many sources of light all around.

“This place,” Twilight gasped, overcome by what she saw.

“Welcome to my humble home.” Dandelia bowed her head, gave herself a shake, and then seemed fine, unaffected by portal gem travel. She prodded Sumac with her hoof and said, “You may feed your dragon familiar the crystal apples that grow on the tree near the servant’s quarters, over there.”

Sumac was too overwhelmed to respond.

“Mom… Dad… why are you here?” Twilight asked as she saw two very familiar ponies approaching. Just as she was about to say something else, the flapping of wings silenced her and she stood there, staring as Princess Luna landed.

“Twi, what are Mom and Dad doing here?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know, Spike, I just don’t know.”

Lemon Hearts, quick to recover, was the only one who thought to greet Princess Luna. She rose, wobbled around a bit, and waved at the regal Princess of the Night. “Hiya, Princess. Shouldn’t you be enjoying your honeymoon?”

“Oh, We have enjoyed it a great deal, but We received a legal summons from the Court of Lions and We were called to act as a Royal Magistrate.” Princess Luna folded her wings, turned about, and she looked Dandelia in the eye. “We are told that We are the oldest surviving member of this family. What is going on here and why have We been summoned, distant daughter of mine?”

“We are the sons and daughters of Prince Pollux, your son,” Dandelia replied in a soft voice. “We are the recognised heirs, a bloodline that leads back to you. I beg your forgiveness, my Matron, as I made a foolish mistake in my youth that has lead all of us here, to this place, to this moment, and my father, Arcturus Capella Lion Lulamoon, discovered my treachery.”

“Lulamoon.” Princess Luna mouthed the word and her ears flickered and twitched.

“It was once Lunamoon, but during a civil war, in which we stayed loyal to Princess Celestia, we had to go into hiding. Many of us were brave and did not wish to hide too much.” Dandelia bowed her proud head as Princess Luna stared at her. “We paid for our bravery as many of us were hunted down and killed. Very few of us survived. Our numbers are quite few now. In fact, my daughter and I are the last. There are no other legitimate heirs.”

A pained expression crossed over Princess Luna’s face as Night Light and Twilight Velvet joined their daughter. The three of them sat down in the grass together and Twilight Sparkle pulled Spike close to her so that she might hold him during this solemn moment. Lemon Hearts clutched at Trixie, who was just now starting to come to.

“Confess your sins, distant daughter of mine,” Princess Luna commanded.

Dandelia collapsed like a stricken foal and prostrated herself in the grass before Princess Luna. “I was a wicked little filly that tried to deceive her father. I lied and then compounded my lie with more lies. I asked my dearest friend to keep a secret that she should have never had to keep. My daughter suffered for my wickedness and now, my actions have brought us all here, to Lulamoon Hollow.”

“What’s going on?” Trixie asked as she tried to get her bearings.

“We suspect that a more detailed confession is in order.” Princess Luna reached out and prodded the mare grovelling before her with a silver shod hoof. “Get up, We are proud and We do not grovel.” The night blue alicorn’s voice was almost cold and held no emotion. “For now, perhaps it would be best to go indoors and perhaps have tea. Miss Lulamoon the younger looks disoriented.”

“Dandelia…” Twilight Velvet’s eyes had tears streaming from them. “As your friend, I’d like for you to remember that I begged you to just be honest about this. I was there for you then, and I’ll be here for you now.”

“I am with you as well,” Night Light added, “just as I was with you back then, old friend. We’ll face this together.”

“What’s going on?” Twilight demanded.

Princess Luna, her face stern and serious replied, “We suspect that We are about to find out…”

Author's Notes:

This was originally going to be a separate story, but there are too many people having trouble keeping track of what is going on with the side stories, so it was merged back into the central storyline because I felt that it was important enough to warrant it.

If you recall, Trixie received a telegram before going to Castle Midnight... so you can't say that this just came out of the blue. This has been planned for a very, very long time, and when I wrote about Castor and Pollux in The Perilous Romance of Swans, I had this in mind even then.